Hamas MP freaks out over Dr. Oz visit to Israel

Egypt's Youm7 reports that many prominent Palestinian Arabs are condemning the visit by popular TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz to Israel.

A member of the Hamas Legislative Council described the visit as "support of the occupier of Arab and Islamic land, and sending a dangerous message to support Israeli settlements."

Another MP, Mariam Saleh, said, "Israel used this visit to discredit Turkish history, and try to send a message that Turkey and Israel have a strong relationship, as opposed to the popular and official view in Turkey that supports Palestinians against Israeli plans."

In addition, "[Oz] talks about the humanitarian aspects of health, but it is clear that his message is different during his visit to the Palestinian territories by supporting the killer of humanity, and expressing solidarity with the murderers of Palestinian children through direct killing of tens of thousands at the hands of the Israelis."

The Egyptian paper also noted that Dr. Oz visited Yad Vashem, which might have also raised the ire of some.

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8/03 Links: Latma to Close?, Abbas the Phony, Stoudemire seeks Israeli citizenship

From Ian:

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Mahmoud Abbas: The Palestinian Authority’s Phony ‘Moderate’

Some of the PLO leaders occasionally claim that they are connected to the Philistines, and while this is historical and anthropological nonsense, it is interesting that they are using a tactic of the Philistines by getting the Israelis to give up their arms and their assets even before talks begin.
The PLO just got America’s help to force Israel to release convicted Palestinian terrorists – including mass murderers – from jail in order to “start” talks. That won headlines, but will cost lives.
Today the term “Philistine” means someone of superficial nature, like a president or secretary of state who believes in phony Palestinian moderates and gets a real and reliable ally – like Israel – to endanger itself for the sake of a headline.
Israel is entitled to demand a little strategic depth, and it is also right to demand a certain depth of perception from its leaders and from those who claim to be friends.

Water or fuel to the fire?

The head of Israel's Shin Bet security service, Yoram Cohen, stated that 60 percent of released Palestinian terrorists revert to operational terrorism. Most of the 1,150 terrorists released in the May 21, 1985 Jibril exchange played a key role during the First Intifada. Over 50% of the Palestinian terrorists who were released between the 1993 Oslo Accord and the eruption of the Second Intifada participated in that wave of Palestinian terrorism.
Mahmoud Abbas' commitment to embrace -- and not to condemn -- terrorists shed light on his prime values, which are consistent with his track record: A Holocaust denial Ph.D. from Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow; enrollment in KGB courses; the coordination of Palestine Liberation Organization ties with ruthless communist regimes in Eastern Europe; the logistical coordination of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre; collaboration with Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait; and subversive and terrorist activities which led to his expulsion from Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

Israeli Prisons, Hothouses for Breeding Palestinian Terrorists

There, terrorist murderers are sent to Guantanamo and held in solitary confinement. In Israel, although classified as terrorists, they are treated as prisoners of war. Their families are allowed to visit, the Red Cross comes to see them and the Geneva Conventions are in force – all of which were denied to Gilad Shalit. The various human rights organizations work day and night to improve their conditions, the same organizations that conveniently ignore the existence and rights of the families mourning the prisoners’ victims.
Moreover, as opposed to the ordinary felons who have to deal with the prison authorities on a one-to-one basis, the security prisoners have operational autonomy. In each jail, terrorists move within their own microcosms made up of prisoners from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or even al-Qaida and Hizballah. Each group has its own spokesman. The spokesman’s role is to represent whichever organization he, and sometimes she, belongs to in dealing with the prison authorities.

Interpol issues global security alert, cites jailbreaks across Mideast

Interpol on Saturday issued an alert advising its 190 members to step up their vigilance against possible terror attacks after a series of recent prison breaks from Libya, Iraq, and Pakistan and six other countries that involve hundreds of terrorists and other criminals. The agency said al-Qaeda may have been involved in some of the incidents, and that it was trying to determine if the different events were somehow linked.

Latma to Close because of Failure on the Right?

In this week’s edition of Latma, Israel’s only right-wing, news-satire show, the anchors hinted that this edition of Latma may be the last show they produce. Latma has been in danger of closing since the beginning of the summer, as it hasn’t been able to raise sufficient funds to continue production. Latma is the brainchild of Caroline Glick, who has run around the world raising money for the past few years to support the popular pro-Zionist news show. Latma’s mission is to counter the numerous post-Zionist shows on Israeli TV, as well as the mainstream Israel news media, which leans strongly to the left. If Latma is allowed to close, it will be a distinct failure of the Jewish Right to put their money where their mouth is.

CAMERA: The Boston Globe's Berger

For those who remember Alan Berger's infamous February 18, 1988 comparison of an incident involving the non-lethal injury of four Palestinians -- who did not even require hospitalization -- to the mass graves at Babi Yar, his distorted commentary on why there have been recent challenges in the Arab-Israeli peace efforts will be no surprise.
He traces the current peace delay to Israel's prime ministers having to "fear the fury of settler zealots," and remembering "an Israeli fanatic assassinating Yitzhak Rabin at a peace rally in 1995..."

The ‘Core Issues’ of the Israel-Palestinian Peace Talks, BBC Style

Also here in a nutshell we discern the BBC’s inherent, partly explicit and partly implicit bias and enmity against Israel. It’s there in the language, the repetitive negative portrayal “Israel unwilling”, “Israel rejects”, “Israel wants to curtail”. Get the message? Israel is the blockage. The Palestinians (who just ‘want’ their ‘rights’ and ‘normality’) keep knocking at the door of peace but Israel won’t open it.
And then, even if we accept that these are some of the core issues, let’s try a little rephrasing of the first three:

BBC showcases convicted anti-Israel activist in context-free illustration

The person on the right is prominent anti-Israel campaigner Adib (also spelt Adeeb) Abu Rahma (also spelt Rahmeh) who has played a lead role (literally) in the weekly violent demonstrations in Bil’in and appears extensively in the film ‘Five Broken Cameras’. Abu Rahma’s deliberate, and sometimes violent, provocation of Israeli soldiers guarding the fence at Bil’in is extremely well documented.

Syrian Christian towns emptied by sectarian violence

Tens of thousands Syriac Christians – members of the oldest Christian community in the world – have fled their ancestral provinces of Deir al-Zour and Hasakah in northeastern Syria, residents have said.
"It breaks my heart to think how our long history is being uprooted," said Ishow Goriye, the head of a Syriac Christian political Hasakah.
Mr Goriye, told The Daily Telegraph how, over the past two years he has watched as Christian families from Hasakah pack their possessions on the rooftops of their vehicles and flee their homes "with little plan to come back".

50-Year-Old Syrian Brought for Treatment in Israel

The woman, who was listed in moderate condition, was at first brought to the Ziv Hospital in the city of Tzfat.
It was subsequently decided, however, to transfer the woman to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, the largest hospital in northern Israel, after doctors determined that she had shrapnel in her heart.

Iran: Rouhani's Remarks on Israel Were 'Distorted'

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded earlier on Friday to Rouhani's remarks, saying that his “true face has been revealed earlier than expected. Even if they will now rush to deny his remarks, this is what the man thinks and this is the plan of the Iranian regime."

Ahmadinejad Makes Final Threat as Iranian President, Says ‘Devastating Storm’ Will Wipeout Israel

Speaking at what is likely to be his last public address on Friday in Tehran, he addressed crowds ahead of President-elect Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration on Sunday.
“I will inform you, with G-d as my witness, a devastating storm is on the way that will uproot the basis of Zionism,” Ahmadinejad said, speaking at an annual Quds Day rally in support of Palestinians.
Israel “has no place in this region,” he said.

Nasrallah, in vicious public address, calls for the destruction of Israel

The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, rallied hundreds of cheering supporters Friday with pledges of support for Palestinians and vicious anti-Israel rhetoric. Israel was “a cancerous growth” that had to be wiped out, he said. “The only solution is to destroy it without giving it the opportunity to surrender.”
Speaking on Quds Day, Nasrallah said “the elimination of Israel is not only a Palestinian interest. It is the interest of the entire Muslim world and the entire Arab world.”

Al-Quds Day event banned in Toronto

In 2011, the Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs videotaped the Al-Quds Day protest held on the legislature’s grounds. Speakers accused Israelis of being “racist,” “inhuman” and “barbarians” who “suck the resources and blood from people all around the world.” At the time, the center called the statements “reminiscent of historic antisemitism.”
One speaker referred to Israel as a cancer that must be killed. Footage also showed protesters displaying the image of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian leader who created Al-Quds Day in 1979, and the flag of Hezbollah, which is banned in Canada as a terrorist organization.

Knicks star Stoudemire seeks Israeli citizenship

Stoudemire’s Jewish connections have been the source of much media fascination in recent months. At his wedding last year to Alexis Welch, Stoudemire donned a yarmulke and prayer shawl for the “Hebraic” ceremony.
In July, he announced he had become a part owner in the Israeli basketball club Hapoel Jerusalem. And in an interview in Jerusalem last month with JTA, Stoudemire said he is in regular dialogue with New York rabbis, studies Torah and observes the High Holidays.
“I’m not a religious person, I’m more of a spiritual person, so I follow the rules of the Bible that coordinate with and connect with the Hebrew culture,” Stoudemire said.

New Film ‘When Comedy Went to School’ Explores the Genesis of the Jewish Comedian (VIDEO)

“Why do Jewish people represent such a small percentage of the overall population but such an overwhelmingly large percentage of well-known comedians?”
This question was the starting point for writer and producer Lawrence Richards’ exploration of the rise and staggering influence of 2oth century Jewish comedians that has resulted in the new film “When Comedy Went to School,” screening now in New York.

Surviving Holocaust contributed to longevity, study finds

Possibly reflecting the resilience of the human spirit, Holocaust survivors live longer than comparable people who did not experience the Shoah, a new study by researchers in Haifa and Leiden universities revealed.
The study, published July 24 in online scientific journal PLOS ONE, found that male Jewish Holocaust survivors lived on average 14 months longer than Jews who immigrated to Israel before the Second World War and that the older they were when they experienced the trauma, the longer they lived.

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Weekend open thread

Have fun, but be careful out there.

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8/02 Links Part 2: Terror Threats Against US Embassies, No Fox Store in Ramallah - 150 Jobs Lost

From Ian:

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Barry Rubin: America’s Real "Dangerous Slide" is to be on the Wrong Side in the World

Would you ever imagine that the leading American newspaper would openly advocate siding with radical Islamist forces in the Middle East against all of America's allies and friends, and I mean with eyes wide open and with full awareness that it sought to overthrow them? Well, the day has come.
How has the argument for this strategy, which the Obama Administration is already pursuing being made?
A New York Times July 30th editorial entitled “Egypt’s Dangerous Slide” shows a real catastrophe for the United States. What is amazing is that it takes less than five minutes to deconstruct Obama Administration’s Middle East policy.

US embassies to shut down Sunday due to terror threat

US embassies and consulates across the Middle East and Asia — including in Israel — will be closed on Sunday due to an al-Qaeda-related terror threat, officials said Thursday.
The US has been “apprised of information that out of an abundance of caution and care for our employees and others who may be visiting our installations, that indicates we should institute these precautionary steps,” said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.

Senate Confirms Power as UN Ambassador

She has also been criticized for past statements against Israel, including a 2002 interview in which she said that "external intervention" may be necessary to prevent "genocide" and "major human rights abuses" in the "Palestine/Israeli situation".
During that interview, Power responded to a hypothetical question and said that if given the opportunity she would advise the president to sacrifice billions of dollars of aid to the Jewish state, allocating the funds instead to “the new state of Palestine.”
Two weeks ago she appeared to have done a complete 180, slamming the UN’s "unacceptable bias" against Israel and pledging to lobby hard to get Israel a seat on the Security Council in 2018.
Power said at that time that America enjoys a "special relationship" with Israel, whose "legitimacy should be beyond dispute, and its security must be beyond doubt."
She added, "Within this (UN) organization built in the wake of the Holocaust... we also see unacceptable bias and attacks against the state of Israel."

Antisemitic Perdana Global Peace Foundation from Malaysia Added to Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People

Contrary to the requirements of the UN Charter and the supposed criteria for UN accreditation - which preach "respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion" - Mohamad has a long history of antisemitism.
As far back as September 1986, he gave a speech at meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement, in which he stated: "the expulsion of Jews from the Holy Land 2,000 years ago and the Nazi oppression of Jews have taught them nothing. If anything at all, it has transformed the Jews into the very monsters that they condemn so roundly in their propaganda material. They have been apt pupils of the late Dr. Goebbels."
Today, his antisemitic (anti-American and anti-Israel) diatribes continue unabated on his "chedet" blog - conveniently available directly from the website of the now UN-accredited "Perdana Global Peace Foundation" - which he controls.

Israeli Arab businessmen backtrack on Ramallah 'Fox' store following protests

Fox is an Israel-based clothing store that has many stores around the country, including in the Arab sector.
One of the businessmen is from east Jerusalem, while the second is from the North.
The two won the franchise to open a Fox store in Ramallah, the first of its kind in the Palestinian territories.
The new project was supposed to provide jobs for nearly 150 Palestinians, some of whom had already received training to start working in the Ramallah branch.
Although the owners had obtained permission from the PA Ministry of Economy to open the clothing store, Palestinian activists and journalists launched a campaign against the opening of the store in Ramallah.

EXCLUSIVE: SWC’s Rabbi Cooper Responds to Roger Waters’s Open Letter: ‘He Needs a Reality Check’

“I’m representing an institution that represents the reality, not the cultural imagery, of anti-Semitism and Jew hatred. So whatever his motivation, it is the impact of the things he is doing: the images he uses, his affiliation with the BDS movement,” said Cooper, who referred to Waters as an “open hater of Jews” after footage of the pig balloon was initially released.
Rabbi Cooper explained that the real dangers posed to Jews in Europe are manifold, and that Waters’s imagery is toxic and incendiary: “The reality of 2013 means he needs a reality check and to rate that over his cultural and political viewpoint.”
“Every Jewish institution in Europe has armed guards in front of it. And this guy has the chutzpah to float a pig that has the Star of David on it. It’s an update of the classic Jewish stereotype that goes back to the middle ages. You can’t get a more fundamentally anti-Semitic symbol than that,” Cooper said.

Netanyahu: Rouhani reveals true face sooner than expected

Rouhani spoke in Tehran Friday — just two days ahead of his inauguration — after attending International Quds Day events in solidarity with the Palestinian people.
Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Rouhani as saying: “The Zionist regime has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world for years and the wound should be removed.”
“Even if others hasten to deny his remarks, this is what the man thinks and this is the plan of the Iranian regime,” said Netanyahu, adding, “his statements should shake the world from the reverie some have found themselves in since the [June 14 presidential] elections. There’s a new president, but the intentions of Iran remain the same — to obtain nuclear weapons that will threaten Israel, the Middle East and the peace and security of the entire world.

Iranian Supreme Leader’s Twitter Feed: Western Governments Under Zionist Control, Will Soon Be Overthrown

The official Twitter feed of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei today lashed out amid renewed peace talks between Israeli and Palestinian officials, emphasizing instead that Israel must be destroyed to make way for a Palestinian state.

Top Iran Official Calls for Israel’s Destruction, Blames Muslim Violence on Jewish State

Iranian state media reported this week on statements made by Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi in which the powerful Iranian official – Naqdi is the commander of the Basij paramilitary force – explained the sources of regional instability and how to solve them. A lot, it turns out, hangs on the Jewish state’s existence and elimination:

Top Iran leader issues edict on Bahai faith

The fatwa, or religious edict, by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is his latest against the group. It supports similar fatwas in the past by other clerics.
An Iranian news website, Tasnim, reported Wednesday that Khamenei called the Bahai “deviant and misleading.”
Bahai followers are frequently under pressures from Iranian authorities, which has prompted outcry among international human rights groups.

Kerry: The Egyptian Army 'Saved Democracy'

Kerry made the remarks in a interview in Pakistan, where he earlier congratulated the new government on an historic transition of democratic power in a country long dominated by the military.
He was asked by Geo television why the United States had not taken a clear position on military intervention against Morsi’s democratically elected government.

Report: Egypt Coptic Christians Have One of Their ‘Worst Months’

According to the report, April was “one of the worst months for Christian Copts.” On April 5, six Christians were killed near Cairo after a dispute between local Muslims and Christians escalated. Afterwards, what the report called a “collective punishment” spree against Christians resulted in “the injury of at least 20 other Copts, an Evangelical church being set on fire, and an attack on a Coptic church.”

Egyptian Athlete's Public Anti-Israel Display Condemned

On Thursday, the British Jewish News website reported how Egyptian-born Mohamad Salah, who plays for Switzerland's FC Basel, found himself at the center of controversy after it emerged that he refused to shake hands with Maccabi Tel Aviv players during this week’s Champions League qualifying game.

Former ThyssenKrupp Chairman Who Saved Hundreds of Jewish Oil Workers During Holocaust, Dies at 99

In a statement, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Lehner, chairman of ThyssenKrupp’s supervisory board, said: “During World War 2, together with his wife, he set an impressive example of courage and humanity by saving hundreds of persecuted Jews from the SS, risking his own life in the process. He played a key role in the post-war reconstruction of Germany. He is held in high esteem both in Germany and abroad.”

Eric Burdon rocks Israel — no misunderstanding

Turns out, he was just a boy whose intentions were good. Clearly, he had just been misunderstood. Because here in the flesh, following local fave T-Slam’s opening act at a jam-packed Zappa Shuni Amphitheater in Binyamina, was Eric Burdon.
Less an Animal, more a stomping grandpa with a comfortable paunch, Burdon belted through a tight, blistering mix of greatest hits and newer recordings Thursday night, and was plainly enjoying himself from the get-go. The relentless death threats that led his manager to announce two weeks ago that he’d be canceling this Israel trip? Not a mention. The subsequent cancelation of that cancelation? Not a word. Just a big smile from behind his shades at the start, a “thank you, you’ve been a great audience” at the end, and half a century’s controlled musical mayhem in-between.

Does the new iPhone feature Israeli start-up’s eye-tracking tech?

Whenever rumors about new iPhones abound, they tend to focus on what tech advances those phones will include. The latest spate of (persistent) rumors on an upcoming Apple release feature technology developed by an Israeli company, uMoove, which allows devices to respond to the movement of a user’s eyes and face.
Called eye-tracking, the technology is already available to an extent in Samsung’s Galaxy S4 device. With the S4, users can pause a video by looking away from the screen while it’s playing. The phone “knows” when to pause playback because of the eye-tracking technology built into it; if the front-facing camera detects that a user’s eyes have moved, the video stops playback.

EyeYon’s noninvasive answer to a common eye problem

You may not have heard of corneal edema, but this painful eye condition caused by accumulation of fluids is not uncommon as a result of eye surgery, trauma or aging. The edema (swelling) causes the cornea to lose its transparency, affecting vision and leading to irreversible scarring of the cornea.
Until Israeli startup EyeYon Medical invented its patented therapeutic contact lens, Hyper CL, there was no effective way to relieve symptoms of the condition – which can be cured only with a donor cornea from a deceased person.

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8/02 Links Part 1: LATMA, Pal NGO's Condemn Talks, Is The NIF/Indyk Promoting Arab Riots?

From Ian:

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LATMA: Flock Builder on how to conduct a National Referendum and simulation of the peace talks


Sarah Honig: Another Tack: Who’s the sucker?

We’d therefore do better to go back to basics, proclaim loud and clear that we are in our historical homeland by right; that we were attacked; that the Arabs only conjured Palestinian nationality in order to stake rival claims; that a Palestinian state never existed (i.e. we certainly didn’t conquer and subjugate it); that we didn’t drive out hapless refugees (who themselves launched the war); that they caused their own downfall by plotting genocide and ethnic cleansing against us; that our only sin is surviving. We can even remind the world of the Nazi legacy of “Palestinian hero” Haj Amin al-Husseini.
Admittedly, we may not convince anyone. The cards are stacked against us. But we’ve nothing to lose by rediscovering our defiant spirit and lost Zionist ideals. Excessive pragmatism – the sacrifice of national honor for temporary gain – will lose us everything, from our own sense of justice to the souls of our youngsters.

Only if Israel gives a bit more...

Two decades ago they told us that only if Israel agrees to talk directly to the PLO could peace become a possibility, despite that organization’s monstrous terrorist record. Then we were informed that only if we allow the creation of the first self-governing authority in Palestinian history, in Gaza and Jericho, could peace ensue.
And we said fine – we’ve had enough of the conflict; we will live with this, for the sake of peace.
But the Palestinian Authority could sustain itself, we were then told, only if Yasser Arafat got himself a police force with tens of thousands of rifles and other military equipment. Even when this “police” force and other PA security forces mushroomed far beyond the numbers permitted by accords with Israel, and even when these “police” fired on IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, we said fine – somehow we will live with this. Peace requires us to look the other way.

Israel – Palestinian Authority Negotiations ‘Dangerous,’ Palestinian NGOs Say

A group of 133 Palestinian NGOs based in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem said in a statement Wednesday that renewing Israeli-Palestinian conflict talks would be “dangerous” after a three-year hiatus.
The Palestinian NGO Network believes renewed negotiations are unwise because Israel has refused to return to its pre-1967 lines, freeze construction in Judea and Samaria, and release Palestinian terrorists incarcerated in Israel jails. The Israeli cabinet, however, agreed on Sunday to free 104 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned before the 1993 Oslo Accords as a goodwill gesture for the start of negotiations.

Irish Times fawns over mother of an Arab who murdered a Holocaust survivor

Ateya Abu Moussa, as we noted in our post, was convicted of murdering Isaac Rotenberg with an axe in 1994. The terrorist attack on Rotenberg was carried out by Abu Moussa and an accomplice as a precondition (an initiations of sorts) of their entry into a terrorist organization – information evidently not deemed interesting by Indy editors.
As we noted, Rotenberg was a Polish Jew, born in 1925 (alternately listed as 1927), who survived the Sobibor Nazi extermination camp during the Holocaust. (With the exception of Isaac, who miraculously was able to escape during a revolt, the entire Rotenberg family perished in the camp.)
Rotenberg reached the Land of Israel in 1947, joined the IDF a year later and fought in the War of Independence.

Karl Vick Emphasizes Palestinian Narrative of Imprisoned Terrorists as National Icons

The sad thing about Karl Vick's Time piece on Israel's release of 104 Palestinian Arab criminals as a gesture to restart peace talks is that the article is probably not intended to be a partisan pro-Palestinian piece. Rather Vick evidences a journalist so immersed in Palestinian victimization that he has adopted its corrupt moral universe as the central narrative of the conflict.

Fund Chaired by Indyk Promoting Arab Rioting?

Social Television, a web channel sponsored by the New Israel Fund, has been encouraging its viewers to take part in protests against the Praver plan for legalizing Bedouin communities in the Negev. The pre-planned riots took place Thursday and had an extremely violent nature. They were led by radical Arab MKs Hanin Zouabi and Jamal Zahalka (Balad) at Wadi Ara in Israels north-central region, and also took place at Lehavim Junction in the Negev.
In Wadi Ara, 18 rioters were arrested because of violence. In the Negev, two Arabs were arrested after rocks were thrown.

'US leaks on alleged Syria strikes could be attempt to harm Israeli interests'

“The mere fact that such leaks happen often indicates that the Pentagon leadership does not have Israel’s interests at heart,” Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post. “It is difficult to assess the motivation of such leaks.”
Inbar listed several possible motives, including the wish to prevent future Israeli action.
Other possibilities include an attempt by Pentagon sources to embarrass US President Barack Obama, by pointing out the “ease” with which Israel allegedly operates in Syria at a time that the White House says US intervention is too complex and risky.

Lawyers: EU Has No Right to Determine Israel’s Borders (VIDEO)

Over 1,000 international lawyers, ambassadors, and professors from 30 different countries signed a petition protesting the European Union’s recent funding ban on Israel’s settlements.
Israel’s former ambassador to Canada and legal advisor, Alan Baker, who heads the Legal Forum for Israel’s International Action Division, initiated the petition and an accompanying letter, which drew widespread support across the world.

Dismantle the EU's "Political Wing"

While Egypt's Muslim Brothers are told that they can count on Europe's support and friendship, Jewish sportsmen, artists and scientists no longer get any EU support if they are Jewish and live beyond the 1949 armistice lines. The EU wants "every significant group" included in the Middle East peace process -- except Jews who happen to live beyond the 1949 Green Line. The Muslim Brotherhood is embraced as a friend and partner of Europe, but Jewish sportsmen, artists and scientists are considered a dangerous threat to peace in the Middle East.
Will Baroness Ashton visit Jewish settlers when she happens to be in Judea and Samaria? Obviously not, since the EU advocates their discrimination and impoverishment. But in Egypt, she rushes to the Muslim Brotherhood and Mohamed Morsi to wish them well.
The EU's double standards are also apparent from its decision to cut all financial and commercial links to the Jews beyond the Green Line, while at the same time it refuses to include Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations by making a hypocritical distinction between the so-called "military wing" of the organization and its "political wing." This way, it remains possible to raise funds for Hezbollah -- both its "wings" -- in the 28 EU member states.

Ron Prosor: Hezbollah’s partial isolation

It is for good reason that the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands long-ago labeled Hezbollah a terrorist group — and did so without distinguishing between the political and military wings.
Until Sept. 11, 2001, Hezbollah held the distinction of being responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist organization. In 1983, Hezbollah orchestrated the truck bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, which resulted in the death of 241 U.S. servicemen, mostly Marines. They were also responsible for an attack a few months earlier on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that killed 60 people.

Time to discuss controlling Hezbollah arms: Sleiman

Controlling Hezbollah weapons needs to be discussed because of the party’s military intervention in Syria, President Michel Sleiman said Thursday during celebrations to mark Lebanon Army Day.
“It has become urgent that we review and approve the National Defense Strategy in light of developments in the region,” Sleiman said.

A Glimpse of Things to Come: Arab Press Protesting Hamas Repression

Head of the journalists syndicate Abdul-Nasser Najjar addressed the protesters and expressed astonishment over the ongoing assaults against journalists in Gaza.
“We were surprised as Hamas continued with assaults against Palestinian media organizations, shutting down offices of Ma’an News Network and some other media offices. This is part of an ongoing practice,” Najjar said. He highlighted that “since Hamas staged its coup in Gaza, the main three Palestinian daily newspapers were banned in the Gaza Strip.”
But, you know, only a year ago, in July 2012, Abdel Nasser Najjar called for boycotting a meeting between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Arab journalists. Najjar, an old PLO hand, warned that punitive measures would be taken against journalists who attended the meeting in Jerusalem.
It must be embarrassing, if not outright infuriating, for a journalist who spends half his day working like a serious professional in a Western democracy, vilifying Jews and whatnot, and then, at night, crossing over to the Heart of Darkness that is the Palestinian-run areas.

Syrian Rebels Strike Back with Massive Homs Bombing

Syrian rebels carried out a large-scale attack in the al-Nuzha district of the hotly-contested city of Homs on Thursday, hitting a weapons depot in the government-held city. At least 40 people were killed in the subsequent explosion, human rights groups reported.

Rockets Explode Near Lebanon's Presidential Palace

It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets or from where. Eyewitnesses said one rocket fell only a few meters from an entrance to the presidential palace, according to the Associated Press.

Jordan stops large arms transfer from Syria

The spokesman says the group arrested late Thursday included Jordanians and other Arab nationalities.
The official said the arms included mainly machine guns. He said an investigation had begun.

Syrian Rebel Leader Urges Attacks on Russia

The Islamist rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad have been helped by thousands of foreign terrorists, from elsewhere in the Middle East and from as far as the United States. A significant portion have come from the Caucasus, even forming their own rebel battalion.
Now the leader of one Islamist group is telling them to stay home – and attack there.

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BBC whitewashes Iranian desire to destroy Israel

The BBC writes:

Iran's Rouhani calls Israel occupation 'old wound' on Islamic world

Iran's President-elect Hassan Rouhani has denounced Israeli occupation of Palestinian areas as an "old wound on the body of the Islamic world".

The BBC is making it sound like Rouhani is only talking about the territories captured in 1967, not all of Israel, especially when it calls them "Palestinian areas." This is the terminology the BBC uses to refer to the territories. (See here, for example, where they explicitly say "Palestinian areas of the West Bank," or here, "the West Bank, where the Palestinian Authority controls Palestinian areas."

While it appears that Rouhani used the word "occupation," the BBC is - seemingly purposefully - misleading its readers into believing that he is only talking about the hated "occupation" but has no problem with Israel. Iran, of course, considers all of Israel to be "occupied" so this terminology in the headline and subhead is deceptive - and seemingly purposefully so.

Rouhani makes it clear that he is referring to all of Israel in the part quoted later on:

"There is an old wound on the body of the Islamic world, under the shadow of the occupation of the holy lands of Palestine and Quds [Jerusalem]."

AP and others correctly reported Rouhani's meaning:

Ahead of his inauguration, Iran’s new president on Friday called Israel an “old wound” that should be removed.

Yet the BBC chose deliberately to downplay Rouhani's remarks, seemingly in order to push the idea that Rouhani is a "moderate."

Indeed, the BBC did take pains to point out that Rouhani did not say that this wound must be "cleansed" as other media apparently incorrectly reported.


The BBC is proud that is can detect any nuance that would make the new Iranian president seem to be conciliatory, but it can overlook any clear evidence to the contrary.

(h/t Simon)

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Jordan treats Palestinian Syrian refugees "worse than dogs"

From Amnesty:

Cyber City is an unusual camp beside a desolate crossroads outside Irbid, in northern Jordan. Hidden behind a wall and some pine trees, a dreary six-floor block looks out over rusting machinery and a dry plain. Formerly for migrant workers, it now hosts around 500 refugees from Syria.

After passing security checks I bump into Abu Alaa, a dignified 60-year-old refugee whose two sons are missing in Syria. “No news still,” he sighs, holding my hand warmly. “I was just calling again.” His phone shows repeated unanswered calls to numbers back home. He says his two grown-up sons had tried following him into Jordan but were refused entry due to their Palestinian origin. On separate occasions over the coming months, each appears to have been detained by the Syrian security forces and Abu Alaa fears they may not be alive.

Palestinians have been heavily affected by the violence in Syria. Almost half of the 500,000 or so Palestinian refugees in Syria have been displaced. Refugee camps and other areas in which they live, including Dera’a Camp, and Yarmouk and Sayida Zaynab in Damascus, have witnessed heavy fighting. Some 6,000 residents were forced out of Ein al-Tal Camp in Aleppo in April 2013. Sbeineh Camp in Damascus was reportedly hit by a ground-to-ground missile in May 2013, killing at least five people. Two children and two women were among at least five others killed by mortar shells fired into Khan Eshieh Camp near Damascus in June 2013.

Yet Abu Alaa’s sons are among hundreds if not thousands of Palestinian refugees fleeing the violence in Syria who are believed to have been turned away at the Jordanian border, in violation of international law. While Jordan is hosting around half a million people from Syria, it is generally not allowing access to Palestinian or Iraqi refugees...

Of some 7,000 or more Palestinians who did manage to enter Jordan, either before the country denied all access to them early last year or as a result of using false documents, some were later forced back to the border, also in violation of international law.

Bilal, who entered Jordan ahead of other family members, tells me his father and brothers were detained in Amman and escorted to the border in December 2012. “One night my elder brother rang and told me they had been taken there at gunpoint. My younger brother had been pulled by his hair and forced into the security vehicle that took them there. They waited three days just 100 metres beyond the Jordan border post, with fighting nearby, hoping to be allowed back, until my elder brother was injured and they realized the only option was to seek aid inside Syria.”

A worse fate befell Mahmud Merjan, who Cyber City residents say was killed on a Syrian street in late 2012, three weeks after being forced to sign a “voluntary” paper that he would go back to Syria. “It wasn’t an arbitrary killing,” says one man who knew him well. “He was known and wanted by the regime.”

All those in Cyber City have fled from Syria. But while the Palestinians from Syria used to be the majority, I am told, their numbers have dwindled as many got fed up with conditions and returned to the conflict zone. “I prefer to go back and die in Syria with some dignity rather than live without it here,” many say.

Complaints about the conditions here are many. Palestinians are not officially permitted to leave Cyber City. Now and again informal permission is granted to visit relatives in Irbid and Amman and so on, but mostly they are confined to the building and the immediate vicinity. Such conditions amount to arbitrary detention. “I’m sorry, but a dog can come and go more easily than we can,” says a very frustrated Ali, who has been here for more than a year.

The closed border to Palestinians and the arbitrary detention of Palestinians is further dividing families, whose identities reflect decades of turmoil and flight. Sena, a Syrian woman, is here with her children while her Palestinian husband is unable to enter Jordan. Ziad is in Cyber City while his Syrian wife and children are in a Jordanian town. Elderly Abu Khaled has to stay here while family members holding Jordanian nationality do not.

While Syrians and Palestinians from Syria appreciate being in safety in Jordan, they struggle to make ends meet. Individuals are entitled to a monthly coupon worth 24 Jordanian dinars (about US$34) which they exchange for food in a small shop next to Cyber City. This works out as a mere 0.80 dinars per day, it is repeatedly pointed out. A 160g tin of tuna on the shop’s shelves costs more than that.

“It is 100 per cent worse for Palestinians here than for the Syrians,” says Ziad. “One, they are allowed to leave this place while we are not and, two, when they go out they can visit charitable organizations, show their UN refugee agency card” – which Palestinians do not have as they fall under the mandate of [the UN Relief and Works Agency] instead, although they should receive the same services – “and collect further relief.”

“Every day here is the same,” Bilal continues. “Eat, sleep, eat, sleep.” With others, he counts off the names of families who have decided to risk their lives to go back into Syria. “Yes, this is what the Jordanian government wants, for us to go back. But what is the alternative? We live without purpose here. This is not life.”

A friend of the deceased Mahmud Merjan summed up the despair: “It was one of our life’s dreams to visit Jordan, but we came and encountered such hate. Let’s hope there are no more refugee camps for Palestinians in heaven.”

Even Lebanon, which has anti-Palestinian laws and severe restrictions on what Palestinians are allowed to do, allows refugees from Syria of Palestinian ancestry to go to overcrowded UNRWA camps there to get services. Jordan isn't even allowing that, preferring to send them to their possible deaths in Syria.

Here we have systemic and institutionalized discrimination against Palestinians by their fellow Arabs, far worse than anything Israel does, and the world media is silent. I cannot find a single English language media outlet to report this story from Amnesty even though it was published on Monday.

Just yesterday, five more Palestinians in Syria were killed, including two children. The media silence is deafening.

Similarly, so-called "pro-Palestinian" groups say nothing.

The reason is because so-called "pro-Palestinian activists" who are brilliant at getting press coverage for anti-Israel stunts don't really give a damn about real Palestinians - when their suffering cannot be blamed on Israel. The media similarly doesn't consider Arab hate for Palestinians to be newsworthy.

The double standards applied to Israel are crystal clear.

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Morocco's king honors Israel's outgoing chief rabbi

From L'Observatour, translated at Point of No Return:

Casablanca-born Rabbi Amar received the Ouissam Alaoui 'exceptional class' award from King Mohammed Vl as Palestinian and Israeli neogtiators sat down in Washington to resume peace talks.

In an interview with L'Observateur du Maroc, the rabbi said he was immensely moved and happy. "It's a great day for me, and a great day for the Moroccan-Jewish world, which like me remains deeply connected to Morocco. I am also happy to see that his Majesty the king is wisely leading his country in the best possible way.

"It is G-d's will that I should have received this honour from the hands of King Mohammed on the day that Israel and Palestine should resume their dialogue for peace. This is a process which his Majesty has never ceased to call for, as one who is deeply attached to the values of peace and brotherhood between peoples and religions. I see a message in this...Like the King we wish with all our heart that peace should reign not just between Israelis and Palestinians but throughout the world."

Shlomo Amar will be succeeded as Sephardi chief Rabbi of Israel by Yitzhak Yosef, who won last week's rabbinical elections.

This was covered in Arabic media as well, which reported that Rabbi Amar met with the king in Tangier ten years ago and had always wanted to return to visit his original hometown in Casablanca.

So far I have not found any negative coverage about an Arab king honoring a Zionist Jew.

(h/t Norman)

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#BDSFail-ures admit they will claim victory even if it isn't true

I had missed this story two weeks ago at the BDSMovement site:

Victory! US pension fund giant TIAA-CREF drops SodaStream stock

Pension fund giant TIAA-CREF has removed the increasingly controversial Israeli company SodaStream (NASD: SODA) from its portfolio. As of March 2013, financial data posted on TIAA-CREF’s website valued shares in SodaStream at $9,444,292. According to financial data available today, it is zero.

But did TIAA-CREF say they sold the stock because they intend to divest? Of course not. There could be many reasons for them to sell.

Even the BDSers are tacitly admitting that they will claim victory no matter the reality:

“No matter the reason TIAA-CREF dropped SodaStream, we view this as a conscientious decision.” said Sydney Levy of the We Divest Campaign.

Hater Anna Baltzer says something similar:

Well, we cannot be sure of the reasons why TIAA-CREF divested from SodaStream. We do know that SodaStream has performed very well over the last 12 months, market-wise; well above average. And yet TIAA-CREF decided to divest.

Regardless of TIAA-CREF’s reasons, I think what we’re seeing is that it is increasingly unacceptable to associate in any way, to invest in, to sell products that are produced in illegal Israeli settlements. And we’re seeing this as part of that trend.

Perhaps the age old financial advice of "buy low, sell high" is too difficult for BDSers to fathom.

It is nice to see that even the BDSers admit that they are more than willing to lie and declare victory when the evidence is lacking.

One thing that is very certain is that the sale of SodaStream stock was not because they are divesting from Israel. As noted recently in a linkdump:

For the fourth year in a row, the TIAA-CREF Board refused to put divestment from Israel to a vote at its annual share holders’ meeting. TIAA-CREF, the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical, and cultural fields and a Fortune 100 financial services organization was supported by a recent ruling of the Securities and Exchange Commission in choosing not to plunge its four million investors into the controversial geopolitical issue of sovereignty of disputed areas in the West Bank/ Judea Samaria.

(h/t Lianne)

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Destitute Spongebob seen begging in Vegas

Spongebob Squarepants is not doing well.

The formerly popular sponge has had a rough time.

Earlier this year he survived a fatwa that was issued against him, along with accusations of his being gay. (NTTAWWT.)

Then, earlier this week, Spongebob was suddenly sacked from his long-running gig at the EoZ blog.

His reign on the E of the Elder logo was always controversial.

"The decision to let him go was not an easy one," said the Elder. "My heart goes out to him and his underwater family. But I was not prepared to see him sink this low, this fast."

Elder is referring to his chance encounter with SpongeBob in Las Vegas earlier today.  The yellow sponge was begging for money from passersby, most of whom ignored him.

"He was so alone," recalls EoZ.

"It was very surprising to see him in person. His work for us has been via telecommuting; I certainly didn't expect to run into him in person!" said a visibly shocked Elder.

"I had given him a generous payout, but  apparently he went through it already."

"It was really awkward. But on the other hand, he seemed happy, as always."

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Syrian newspaper asks Palestinians for support - since Palestine is southern Syria

Syria-News, which I believe is in opposition to the government, has an article that is concerned that the West will end up dividing Syria along sectarian lines, as it did with Greater Syria in the early 20th century.

So the author is appealing to Palestinian Arabs, who they regard as fellow victims of the Sykes Picot agreement, to help fight against that eventuality - as fellow Syrians!

The author reproduces a letter written by a group of Palestine Arabs in 1919 to the British asking to remain united with Syria. (I think this is the same letter referred to by Daniel Pipes here as being written by Amin Husayni, future mufti of Jerusalem, on behalf of the Arab Club.)

While I couldn't find the full text of this letter online in English, the Arabic translation includes some standard anti-Zionist rhetoric. Interestingly, one of the arguments they give is that Jews act as if they are their own nation and their own people, separate from others, which would cause problems in living with the Arab population. Of course, nowadays the ideological descendants of the Mufti claim  that Jews are not a people.

If someone can find the full text of the original letter, let me know. This version has seven main points arguing against a separate Jewish state.

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8/01 Links Part 2: Anti-Boycott Lawsuit in Australia, 'Viva Palestina' Investigated, Israeli Ice Rinks!

From Ian:

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'Shurat HaDin' Files Suit Over Australian Israel Boycotts

An Israeli civil rights group, Shurat HaDin, has filed a class action complaint under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 with the Australian Human Rights Commission over a Sydney professor's participation and public support of boycotts of Israel including an academic boycott of Israeli universities.
Recently, faculty and students at Sydney University called for the severing of links with Israeli institutions, actions that would be deemed racist and in violation of Australian Federal anti-discrimination laws.
The complaint filed by Shurat HaDin's Australian solicitor Alexander Hamilton is the first time that a Racial Discrimination Act action has been launched in Australia against those promoting boycotts, sanctions and divestment (BDS) against the Jewish State. It is the first time that Australia's anti-racism laws have been utilized against those seeking to harm Israeli academics or businesses because of their national origin.

‘Viva Palestina’ UK Charity Connected to Anti-Israel Activist George Galloway, Under Investigation

A UK charity created in 2009 supposedly to provide aid in the wake of the Israeli ground incursion into Gaza at the time, is being investigated by the Charity Commission after failing to file any annual reports since its inception, Jewish News reported, citing the commission.
Viva Palestina was set up by a group that included far-left British member of parliament, Bradford West MP George Galloway who is known for his anti-Israel rhetoric, and has tried to run convoys carrying supplies into the area.

The anti-Israel lesbian avenger

The real “washing” is by Schulman who consistently whitewashes those most guilty of violating progressive and LGBT principles. She whitewashes Hamas, claiming she can’t judge the group because all she knows “was fed to me on American television” though she could have looked at Hamas’ founding document and leaders’ statements which call for the murder of Jews, obliteration of Israel and establishment of an Islamist caliphate, and liberally quote from the anti-Semitic forgery, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” She justifies participating in demonstrations with Hamas supporters because, she explains, she had also participated in gay parades with Republicans and Orthodox and Hasidic Jews, equating these groups with an internationally designated terrorist organization notorious for its suicide bombing and rocket attacks on innocent civilians. She attributed her concerns about Hamas to her “prejudice.”

BBC Persian Service promotes antisemitic Holocaust denier Atzmon

It is bad enough that the BBC promotes Atzmon in English language broadcasts, especially given that anti-racists in Britain are trying to oppose the spread of his hate speech. But it is even more reprehensible and irresponsible on the part of the BBC to go to the trouble of translating his racist opinions into Persian for promotion in a part of the world which has been spoon-fed with anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial for years by its own repressive regime.

Guardian falsely claims that most new Israeli immigrants move to the West Bank

So, a photo depicting a joyous occasion for a new arrival to the Jewish state was contextualized by the editor to suggest that since such immigrants disproportionately become “settlers”, they can be seen as injurious to the peace process.
However, contrary to the claim made in the caption, most new immigrants do NOT move to “settlements” in the West Bank. As statistics over the last several years published by the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics indicate, the most popular destinations are Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, with a small minority going to the West Bank (Judea and Samaria).

Obama: Weapons Transfers to Hezbollah Are “Unusual and Extraordinary Threat” to U.S. National Security

In a letter addressed to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate, Obama extended for one additional year a 2007 decision to freeze the assets of individuals whose activities undermine stability in Lebanon. “Certain ongoing activities, such as continuing arms transfers to Hezbollah that include increasingly sophisticated weapons systems, serve to undermine Lebanese sovereignty, contribute to political and economic instability in Lebanon, and continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States,” Obama said in the letter.

Chief of IDF Northern Command: Hezbollah is Better Armed, Better Trained and More Cautious

The ceremony, held at a memorial site in Israel’s north, honored IDF soldiers who lost their lives in the Second Lebanon War. Senior IDF leaders, including Deputy Chief of the General Staff Major General Gadi Eizenkot, attended the ceremony.
“With regard to the situation seven years ago, Hezbollah is better armed, better trained and more cautious,” Maj. Gen. Golan said. “It is facing internal challenges, fighting inside Syria, continues to be a central pillar in the axis of evil and continues to see Israel as a devil that but be exorcised from the world. Hezbollah is deterred, very deterred, but is still intent on evil.”

’Hezbollah maintains complex network of front companies trading in counterfeit medicine’

Hezbollah runs a complex network of front companies in Lebanon, the Gulf states and Europe that trade in counterfeit medicine, Kuwaiti daily Al-Seyassah reported on Tuesday.
This international business in counterfeit medicine “facilitates the group’s terrorist operations,” the report stated, and includes Iranian citizens.
The group exploits the free trade zone in the Gulf and in Europe to run its business.
Hezbollah also steals drugs from shipments of drugs donated to African countries, sources quoted by the paper said.

French President to Visit Israel by ‘End of the Year’

French President Francois Hollande will visit Israel by the end of the year, the country’s foreign minister said Tuesday, according to French media reports.

A Far East collision with the Middle East

Encouraging Chinese students to study at Rothberg is part of an initiative that aims to strengthen ties between Israeli and Chinese universities. Twelve additional scholarships will be offered in October to Chinese students interested in obtaining a master’s degree in Middle Eastern studies and the council will continue to offer additional scholarships to Chinese students over the next two years.
“The perception of Israel in China is not favorable, to my knowledge,” said Azjenstadt, noting that the Chinese are often scared to come to Israel, knowing only what they hear in the news. “This program shows them that life goes on here and Israel is not a scary place. It’s an important diplomatic mission. Forty-seven students won’t change China, but you have to start somewhere.”

Futuristic transport pods coming to Tel Aviv

A group of engineers and dreamers are hoping to ease Tel Aviv’s notorious traffic by making the First Hebrew City the first city in the world to host a mass transport system of magnetically levitating pods.
The city recently hired US consultancy Jenkins Gales & Martinez to get the ball rolling, or pod sliding, on the project.

IDF boot camp commander traveled the world to find a place he belongs

Jonathan Sleischmann was 13 years old when a firebomb was hurled into the open window of his Jewish day school in Caracas.
He didn’t see it. He just heard the screams. The teachers asked the children to quickly exit the classroom and lie down outside. They hid in the grass for five hours.
This wasn’t the first bout of violence. A few years earlier, a Jewish student was kidnapped in the same school – Venezuelan soldiers came through the doors and simply escorted a child from his classroom seat. Everyone watched, stunned.
Chavez could do what he wanted. He happened “to have close relationships to countries that don’t like Jews,” Sleischmann told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview.

IDF legal adviser backs detention of 5-year-old Palestinian stone-thrower

The soldiers who detained a five-year-old Palestinian stone-thrower in Hebron earlier this month were justified, the IDF’s West Bank legal adviser Doron Ben-Barak wrote to NGO B’Tselem in response to a complaint it had filed with him.
“One can’t stand idly by while minors throw stones that endanger bystanders and themselves,” Barak wrote in an opinion dated July 22, which B’Tselem published only on Wednesday.

IDF Honors ‘Inspiring’ Foreign Volunteers

Senior military officers, including Technical and Logistics Directorate head General Kobi Barak and Chief Logistics Officer Brigadier-General Mofid Ghanem, attended the event, as did Sar-El director Brigadier-General (res.) Tzvi Shor.
Since the Yom Kippur war in the early 1970s, more than 160,000 people have volunteered through various IDF programs.

Start-Up Nation: TaKaDu and Netafim Apply Israeli Ingenuity to Improve Global Water Use

Israeli start-ups TaKaDu and Netafim are bringing the country’s ingenuity and experience in water management to play an important part in helping the world use its limted water resources as efficiently as possible, BBC News reported, in a feature on the global water crisis.
TaKaDu has developed a platform to manage big data analytics with cloud-based software to monitor water networks, increasing efficiency with quicker detection of leaks and burst pipes, and saving municipal users millions of dollars annually.

Advantix air-con empire built on ice and salt

When three Israeli brothers back from vacation decided to start a recreational ice-skating business in Israel, they came up against the obvious challenges of making ice float in the Middle East: heat, humidity and high energy bills.
Taking a slab of Dead Sea salt and inspired by the way the lowest place on earth sucks up water from the atmosphere, a new cooling idea was born.
Dan, Tom and Mordechai Forkosh, with their father and uncle, eventually went on to build 22 slush-free ice rinks in Israel and Europe using their patented energy-saving approach.

Israel Daily Picture: Before There Was Jerusalem, There Was Shiloh

We recently discovered online an antique book, "A Month in Palestine and Syria, April 1891," posted by the New Boston Fine and Rare Books. The book includes a travelogue and several dozen photographs of tourists and pilgrims. They also visited Shiloh.

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iPod, Yahoo Weather puts Ariel in "Palestine"

Maariv (quoted by Palestine Press Agency) notes that if someone queries Yahoo Weather for Ariel and Maaleh Adumim, the response is that they are in "Palestine."

I checked it out and, for Ariel, it is true:

But Maaleh Adumim, in the web version, is in "Jerusalem, IL."

The screenshot in the article doesn't show Yahoo weather, but iPod weather, which I verified here:

Interestingly, Yahoo Weather is powered by The Weather Channel - but that website puts Ariel in Israel:

The mayor of Maaleh Adumim apparently has a Yahoo weather app on his phone, as he angrily complained that Yahoo was determining political boundaries unilaterally.

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8/01 Links Part 1: Netanyahu We Were Here First, Ramallah vs. Peace Process, Assad Joins Instagram

From Ian:

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Khaled Abu Toameh: Ramallah vs. the "Peace Process"

While Palestinian activists were busy threatening the owners of the clothing store, their representatives, Saeb Erekat and Mohamed Shtayyeh, were sitting with Israeli minister Tzipi Livni in Washington and talking about ways of achieving peace and coexistence between the two sides.
What Kerry and the U.S. Administration need to understand is that Abbas has failed to prepare his people for the possibility of peace with Israel. Abbas may be conducting peace talks with Israel, but at the same time he is also backing campaigns that promote boycotts and hatred of Israel. It is important to talk peace. But it is even more important to educate people about peace -- something that neither Yasser Arafat nor his successor, Abbas, have done for the past two decades.

Jeffrey Goldberg: Seven Reasons Kerry's Mideast Talks Are Delusional

Well OK, then: In about nine months, the Arab-Israeli conflict will be over, and we can all move on to something else.
Here's what John Kerry, the U.S. secretary of state, said yesterday at a news conference in Washington, in the presence of the lead Palestinian and Israeli peace negotiators: "The parties have agreed here today that all of the final status issues, all of the core issues, and all other issues are all on the table for negotiation. And they are on the table with one simple goal: a view to ending the conflict, ending the claims. Our objective will be to achieve a final status agreement over the course of the next nine months."
Just to be clear, this is what will need to happen by next April, in time for the White House signing ceremony:

The five flaws of Kerry's Mideast peace process

With so many inherent defects in the current peace talks, why would the U.S. push its most reliable Mideast ally (and the only Middle East democracy) into such perilous waters or inevitable blame? One explanation is the increasingly fashionable idea (promoted by Arab governments) that settlements are blocking a peace deal that would produce Mideast stability.
But inconvenient facts completely contradict this idea: Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, and Yemen (etc.) would remain the same conflict-torn mess as they are now after any Israeli-Palestinian peace.

WATCH: Netanyahu's response to Arab MK who said Arabs were here first

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen in the video immediately raising his hand to be allowed a response from the Knesset podium.
"I did not plan to speak but I heard what MK Zahalka had to say. You said 'We were here before you and we'll be here after you're gone.' The first part is not true and the second part will never take place," the prime minister said, slamming his hand on the podium and leaving.
Netanyahu's comments were met with applause from much of the Knesset, even though Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein asked MKs to refrain from clapping.

Anne Bayefsky: Obama Using the UN to Bully Israel

The UN made me do it. That’s how Obama officials are explaining Secretary Kerry’s intense efforts to move Israel onto the front burner, and shove over the bloody turmoil immediately affecting millions of Israel’s neighbors and the imminent catastrophe of an Iranian nuclear weapon.
Speaking to reporters on July 30, 2013, senior officials said the administration was seeking “to avoid a train wreck” at the United Nations. “Throughout the course of this year Palestinians have been making clear that if they couldn’t see progress on the peace front, their intention would be to seek other elevations of their status…at the UN.” “A new dynamic vis-à-vis the United Nations,” was driving the immediacy for renewed talks.

Jewish Human Rights Group Knocks ‘Irony’ of Abbas’s Jew-Free Palestinian State

Officials from Jewish human rights group the Simon Wiesenthal Center hit back at comments made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas that any future Palestinian state would be bereft of Israelis.
“Abbas’ vision of peace in the Holy Land is duplicitous and repugnant and only serves to undermine Secretary of State Kerry’s peace initiative,” said Rabbi Marvin Hier, founder and dean of the Wiesenthal Center and Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Center’s associate dean.
“The bitter irony is that Abbas has made a career out of rejecting Israel as a Jewish State, yet has the audacity to claim for himself that the future Palestinian state will be cleansed of Jews,” they continued.

Photojournalist Stages News for Profit and Ideology

Fadi Arouri is one of Ramallah’s biggest opponents of normalizing Israeli-Palestinian ties. He’s also a photographer who isn’t interested in separating his professional journalism and political activism.
And that raises questions about his association with the Reuters wire service and China’s Xinhua News Agency. HonestReporting has learned Reuters fired Arouri, apparently over his extra-curricular activities, but the wire service continues to use his work on a free lance basis.

PA minister urges Palestinians to revolt against Hamas

A Palestinian Authority cabinet minister in Ramallah on Wednesday issued a fatwa (Islamic religious decree) obliging Palestinians to revolt against Hamas and end its control over the Gaza Strip.
The fatwa, issued by PA Minister for Wakf Affairs Mahmoud Habbash, is yet another sign of mounting tensions between Fatah and Hamas in the wake of the crisis in Egypt.

Iran gives Gazans aid, but bypasses Hamas

Already under pressure from the new military-led government in Egypt, the militant group Hamas took another public-relations blow Tuesday when Iran began distributing food aid to Gazans, but delivered the charity through Hamas' rival, Islamic Jihad.
Hamas, the Islamist group that controls Gaza, has seen its ties with Iran fray over the last two years, particularly after Hamas refused to back Syrian President Bashar Assad in that country’s civil war. Though Assad had long given exiled Hamas leaders refuge, Hamas political chief Khalid Meshaal left Syria last year after not supporting Assad’s crackdown against predominantly Sunni rebels.

"Radicalizing" the Muslim Brotherhood

The poor Brotherhood. It seems, according to The Times, that people it cannot control are pushing it into violence it does not want. Pardon me, but how do you "radicalize" an organization the credo of which is, "Allah is our objective; the Quran is our law, the Prophet is our leader; Jihad is our way; and death for the sake of Allah is the highest of our aspirations"? The Brotherhood was born in violence and knows the value not only of violence, but also of martyrdom. Since its ouster, its leaders have been threatening and inciting violence, hoping to provoke the secular government into killing.

Security experts: Missile used by Syrian rebels poses limited threat to Israel

The rebels identified the weapon as the SA-8, a short-range, 1970s-era surface-to-air system.
A monitor at the launch site shows a missile shooting upward and striking an unidentified aircraft, to shouts of “Allahu akbar” by cheering rebels.
Israeli security experts who viewed the video told The Jerusalem Post that the system could pose a limited threat to Israeli air traffic in the North if radical rebels choose to try and target Israel, but that the Israel Air Force could deal with the threat with relative ease.

Report: Syria Moved Missiles Before Israeli Airstrike

American intelligence analysts have concluded that a recent alleged Israeli airstrike on a warehouse in Syria did not succeed in destroying all of the Russian-made anti-ship cruise missiles that were its target, the New York Times reported Wednesday.
American officials who spoke to the newspaper on the matter predicted that further Israeli strikes are likely since some of the missiles hadn’t been destroyed.

Assad Instagram ‘despicable PR stunt’

Syria’s embattled president already has a Facebook page, Twitter account and a YouTube channel. Now Bashar Assad is turning to the popular photo-sharing service Instagram in the latest attempt at improving his image as his country burns, posting pictures of himself and his glamorous wife surrounded by idolizing crowds.

Days before Rouhani to be sworn in, US House sends message to Iran with harsh new sanctions

The Senate is expected to support the legislation— the toughest sanctions package to date, targeting what remains of Iran's oil sector— once Congress reconvenes from its month-long summer recess, sources told The Jerusalem Post.
The bill aims to bring Iranian oil exports essentially down to zero within a year from full passage. Iran has already experienced a 60 percent decrease in oil exports since 2011 due to sanctions.

Tanzania cries foul over masquerading Iranian oil ships

Officials from the East African country’s Zanzibar Maritime Authority have requested that port authorities take stern measures against Iranian ships that use Tanzanian identification codes and reaffirmed that they removed the registration of dozens of Iranian tankers, the website reported.
Authority director Abdi Maalim stressed that his country had canceled the registration of 36 Iranian tankers in order to not fall foul of international sanctions aimed at throttling Iran’s oil exports due to its nuclear program.

Extremist haredi Neturei Karta member offered to spy for Iran

In January 2011, he traveled to Germany and two days after arriving in Berlin entered the Iranian Embassy wearing traditional Jewish garb, introduced himself to the clerk manning the front desk as an Israeli and asked to speak with an embassy official.
At the clerk's request, he handed him his Israeli passport and was allowed into the embassy. He then met with three individuals whose identities are unknown, explained to them that he was a Neturei Karta member and what the sect's principles are, and offered to collect intelligence in Israel on Iran's behalf.

Britain Willing to Restore Ties with Iran

British Foreign Secretary William Hague signalled on Wednesday that Britain was open to improved relations with Iran on a “step-by-step” basis, following talks with his counterpart in Tehran, reported the Daily Telegraph.
The breakthrough phone call between Hague and Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran's outgoing foreign minister, came after overtures from Tehran following last month's general election.

Never mind the Czech gold the Nazis stole...

The documents reveal a shocking story: just six months before Britain went to war with Nazi Germany, the Bank of England willingly handed over £5.6 million worth of gold to Hitler – and it belonged to another country.
The official history of the bank, written in 1950 but posted online for the first time on Tuesday, reveals how we betrayed Czechoslovakia – not just with the infamous Munich agreement of September 1938, which allowed the Nazis to annex the Sudetenland, but also in London, where Montagu Norman, the eccentric but ruthless governor of the Bank of England agreed to surrender gold owned by the National Bank of Czechoslovakia.

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Khaybar: "Deception is the creed of the Jews, conspiracy their religion"

The antisemitic Khaybar series continues to air nightly throughout the Arab world.

Here are some excerpts from MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from three episodes of the antisemitic Arab TV series "Khaybar," which aired on Dubai TV on June 7, 10, and 18, 2013:

Convention of Jewish leaders

Jewish leader Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Under what pretext shall we fight [the Muslims] in order to finish them off? Have they demonstrated any hostility toward us? Have they declared any ill-will that they have been harboring toward us?

Jewish leader Shas bin Qays: Not yet, but they will. And even if they don't I will confront [Muhammad] by myself. I will declare in front of his followers that he is a liar, who is leading them to perdition.

Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Stop clowning around, Shas.

Shas bin Qays: Sallam! Even if he is a prophet, he shall be killed. Have you forgotten that many a prophet has been killed by the Israelites?

[...]

Yousuf, a Jewish convert to Islam confronts two Jewish leaders who come to visit him in the dungeon, where he is shackled

Yousuf: Life and death are in the hands of the Creator alone, and nothing will befall me except what He has decreed.

Jewish rabbi: Is that what it says in [Muhammad's] book? You are much better with our book.

Yousuf: You mean the laws of Moses which you forged?

Jewish rabbi: You are as blind as Ibn Hawwash!

Yousuf: I swear that ever since I have fallen into this dark dungeon, I see better than ever. I see that you will continue in your sinful ways until a new era dawns, and you become as frail as straw.

Yousuf spits

Jewish rabbi: Deprive him of food and drink until he comes to his senses. Shut the door and lock it.

[...]

Jewish leader: We, the Jews, are not satisfied with anything but deception and scheming in the dark.

Senior Jewish leader: Watch what you say!

Jewish leader: Do you know what the master of schemes and deception said before his death?

Sallam Ibn Abu Al-Huqayq: Are you referring to Huyay Ibn Akhtab [the leader of the Jewish tribe of Bani Nadhir]? You didn't tell me that he is dead.

Jewish leader: He was killed.
[...]

Ever since they rebelled against Moses, deception has become their creed and conspiracy their religion – until the end of time.

Besides the obvious incitement against Jews, this also seems to violate the law in many Muslim countries against "defamation of religion."

I mean, they cannot only be referring to one religion and not others, could they?

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