PalArab media apparently scammed by fake report of Arafat statue in Ukraine (update)

Earlier today Ma'an Arabic reported on a new monument to Yasir Arafat unveiled recently in Kiev in a large ceremony with many Palestinian Arabs in attendance. It mentioned the name of the sculptor as well.

Then the story disappeared, but not before it was picked up by other Arab websites and Facebook pages. (It may have originated here.)

No one seems to have looked closely at the statue, though, because it shows Nikolai Mikhailovich Karamzin, a famed Russian writer and historian.

Which might explain why it disappeared from Ma'an.

However, some of the headlines in the media concerning the fake story are quite enlightening. They said "Yasser Arafat honored in the European capitals before Arab capitals."

And I had never thought about it, but I am not aware of any Arafat memorials in any Arab states! A quick search doesn't find any, although there were almost certainly false rumors about one in Brazil last year.

Apparently, no one in the Middle East or the West was really fooled by Arafat by the time of his timely demise. No one outside of Palestinian Arab areas is pretending he was a great statesman or leader, or even that he was a great military leader.

I think that this says volumes about the "peace process." I don't think anyone thinks any better of Abbas than of Arafat, as a leader or as a peacemaker. Yet the world keeps barreling forward as if he has any stature whatsoever, because of the bizarre notion that a fake peace plan signed now is more important than actual peace - one that requires leadership, mutual respect and real compromises.

The Arab world and the West all hailed Arafat as a great leader when he was alive. Upon his death, we can see that it was all an act -no one wants to honor the syphilitic master of lies nowadays. Today's concern over "peace" using a discredited land-for-peace formula where releasing murderers is considered a prerequisite before even "peace" talks can begin is, I suspect, an act as well, but one that is played out with gusto because no one in the West is wise enough to consider any alternatives.

UPDATE: I hadn't looked closely enough; the photo was Photoshopped to look more like Arafat. The original is here.

(h/t FJSC)

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PA says releasing murderers is a step towards "peace." In Arabic they are complaining that it is not enough

From Ma'an:

The Palestinian Authority Minister of Detainees said Monday that Israel's decision to release the first group of Palestinian prisoners was an important step for promoting peace.

"President Abu Mazen has succeeded in putting the issue of prisoners as a political and national priority and saved it from unfair conditions imposed by Israel," Issa Qaraqe said.

The first stage of the prisoner release is a strategic step to toward the liberation of all Palestinian detainees, he added.

Abbas Zaki, a member of Fatah's Central Committee, also welcomed the prisoner release, saying freeing all Palestinian detainees was a key priority.

Israeli attempts to use the issue of prisoners as a bargaining chip is doomed to fail, he added.

You see that? Releasing murderers is a step towards "peace"!

Orwell lives!

In Arabic, the word "peace" isn't mentioned. Abbas Zaki in fact mentioned that this was a reminder of the first lopsided prisoner release to the PLO, a 1983 swap of 4700 Lebanese and Palestinian Arabs for 6 Israeli soldiers.

Also in Arabic the Palestinian leaders are complaining about the release of prisoners, saying that some of them would have been released soon anyway, and that 16 of them were unjustly sentenced to begin with (they were only "accomplices.") These were also not the most senior prisoners, nor the ones that have become "symbols." They are literally saying that this release is an insult and a "stab in the back" and the list is "childish" and an attempt to thwart negotiations.  Furthermore, they are complaining that some of the prisoners are being released to Gaza instead of the West Bank.

Ma'an has a list of the prisoners being released, but of course nothing about the victims.

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List of terrorists being released this week for no good reason. And their forgotten victims. (UPDATED)

Here is the list of terrorists being released by Israel on August 14 in exchange for literally nothing.

Terrorist		Date of Arrest		Charge(s)		Names of Victim(s)
Fayez Mutawi al-Khur		Nov-85		Murder, Attempted Murder		Solomon AbuKassis, Menahem Dadon
Salah Ibrahim Ahmed Mugdad		Jun-93		Murder		Israel Tannenbaum (night watchman in Netanya) Israel Tenenbaum was born in Poland on 11 September 1921. His father was Zorah Tenenbaum. He immigrated to Israel in 1957, at age 36, and settled in Moshav Ein Vered. He worked in agriculture on the moshav for many years, and was well regarded by the other residents as a quiet, modest man. On Monday, 14 June 1993, Israel’s body was found at the Sirens Hotel in Netanya, where he had been working as a night watchman. A terrorist had murdered him on the job.
Samir Nayef al-Na’neesh		Mar-89		Murder		Binyamin Meisner Binyamin Meisner was born to Ruth and Eric Meisner in El Salvador on 30 April 1964. His family immigrated to Israel when he was 3.5 and settled in Kiryat Tivon. In January 1983, Binyamin joined the IDF. On 24 February 1989, Binyamin fell while patrolling the Casbah in Shechem (Nablus) during reserve duty. Binyamin was survived by his parents; his brother, Raphael; and his sister, Tamar.
Yusef Abdel Hamid Irshaid		Mar-93		Murder, Attempted Murder		Nidal Rabo Ja'ab, Adnan Aj'ad Dib, Mofid Can'an, Tawfik Jaradat, Ibrahim Said
Mustafa Othman al-Haj		Jun-89		Murder		Friedrich Rosenfeld Steven Frederick Rosenfeld was born to Eugene and Ethel Rosenfeld in New York on 29 August 1941. He immigrated to Israel in 1968 and volunteered at Kibbutz Masada, where he was injured when a truck he was driving hit a landmine. Following rehabilitation, Frederick began working on archaeological digs in the Ein Bokek area, where he met his wife, Rachel. He was a Zionist with a great love the for the Land of Israel. On Saturday, 7 June 1989, Frederick went on a hike in the hills near Ariel, where he lived. He encountered a group of shepherds who stole a knife that he had in his possession, stabbed him to death, and hid his body on the side of the path. A different shepherd who was passing through the area found the body the next day. Frederick was 48 at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife and brother.
Salameh Abdallah Musleh		Oct-93		Murder		David Reuben
Atiyeh Salem Musa		Mar-94		Murder		Aizik Rotenberg (Holocaust survivor, 67) Isaac Rotenberg was born to Natan and Miriam Rotenberg in Poland on 15 March 1927. A selektzia was held in his city following the outbreak of the Second World War, and his family was sent to the Sobibór extermination camp. With the exception of him, his younger brother, and his sister, his entire family perished. He was taken with his brother to a labor camp. When a revolt broke out, the two succeeded in escaping the camp, but they lost track of each other in the ensuing commotion. Isaac then made his way to the forest and joined the partisans. In April 1947, Isaac reached the Land of Israel. He joined the IDF the next year, and fought in the War of Liberation in the north, near Kibbutz Manara. Isaac was married to Riva, and they had two children, Tzipora and Pinhas. He worked as a plasterer, and was a founder of the city of Holon. Upon reaching retirement age, he decided to continue working a few hours per day to keep himself busy. On 29 March 1994, during the Passover holiday, as Isaac was hunched on his knees, fixing a floor in his workplace in Petah Tikva, two of the Arab laborers on site attacked him and struck the back of his neck with axes. He was critically wounded, and entered a coma. Two days later, on 31 March, he died.
Salah Mahmoud Mukled		Jul-93		Murder, Attempted Murder		Joshua Deutsch
Mohamed Abdel Majid Sawalha		Dec-90		Murder, Attempted Murder		Baruch Heisler
Atef Izzat Sha’ath		Mar-93		Accessory to Murder		Simha Levi Simcha Levy was born to Jiran and Yosef in 1942, and immigrated to Israel in 1950. In 1992 Simcha moved to Midreshet Hadarom in Gush Katif, where she made a living providing transportation to local workers. Simcha was a small woman with a big spirit. She was a proud Jew who lived among the Arabs in order to make ends meet. She loved the people of Midreshet Hadarom among whom she lived. She was a helpful person and would discreetly provide assistance to those less fortunate; she would donate boxes of produce to needy Jewish and Arab families. On 12 March 1993, Simcha picked up a group of female agricultural workers in Khan Yunis. Among them were three male terrorists dressed as women. As the workers looked on, the three murdered Simcha in her vehicle with blows and stabs from a knife, then fled. The subsequent investigation revealed that many workers had received instructions not to come to work that day, so that there would be space for the terrorists. Simcha was 51 at the time of her death, and was survived by brothers and sisters. She was interred at Ofakim Cemetery.
Yusef Said al-Al		Feb-94		Throwing a bomb, Accessory to Murder		Ian Feinberg, Sami Ramadan
Midhat Fayez Barbakh		Jan-94		Murder		Moshe Becker, citrus grower
Ali Ibrahim al-Rai		Apr-94		Murder		Morris Eisenstadt
Mohamed Jaber Nashbat		Sep-90		Accessory to Murder		Amnon Pomerantz Amnon Pomeranz was born to Tzipora and Moshe Pomeranz on 15 August 1944. He was an electric engineer and scientist, and worked in research and development. Amnon was an original and creative thinker, theoretical and practical at once. During his time at Raphael he worked on missile and robotics development. For him, work was a challenge. He did not pursue honor, and did not compete for social standing. Amnon also was an outstanding athlete. On 20 September, Rosh Hashanah 1990, Amnon left his home in Havatzelet Hasharon for reserve duty in Gaza. Three hours later, he was brutally murdered by a horde of murderous rioters thirsty for Jewish blood when he made a wrong turn on the way to his base and accidentally entered Al Burj Refugee Camp. He was stoned and murdered, and his car set on fire. Amnon was 46 at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife and three children: Hofit, Snapir, and Gideon.
Samir Hussein Murtaji		Oct-93		Kidnapping, Manslaughter		Samir al-Silawi, Khaled Malaceh, Nasser Akilah, Ali al Zaabot
Hosni Faregh Sawalha		Dec-90		Murder, Attempted Murder		Baruch Heisler, 24 On 2 December 1990, Yaacov missed his ride to his yeshiva and instead boarded bus 66 from Petah Tikva to Tel Aviv. Three Arab terrorists boarded at the Pardes Katz stop, and immediately thereafter, at the junction of Ben Gurion Road and Jabotinsky Road in Ramat Gan, began stabbing passengers. Baruch Yaacov was murdered; three others were injured.
Faraj Saleh al-Rimahi		Jul-92		Murder		Abraham Kinstler, 84 Avraham Kinstler was born to Zissel and Rabbi Kalman Kinstler in Kańczuga, in Polish Galicia, on the eve of Shavuot, 4 June 1908. At the age of 20 he founded the town’s branch of Hovevei Zion, and in addition to his work there he taught his friends Hebrew. In 1935 he married Hannah, and the two immigrated to the Land of Israel, where they reared their daughters: Ada, Shlomit, and Batya. Avraham was an individualist and an original thinker, a multi-talented person, studious, as well as a Torah scholar. He was highly familiar with both general and Jewish culture, while especially treasuring Jewish thought and studying it to the last of his days, seeking to bring the world of Judaism to the young generation. Above all, though, Avraham was a working man. He believed in work, made it a value, and kept at it his entire life. On 7 July 1992, Avraham went to work as usual. There was a heavy dust storm that day, and the trees had to be watered. But he didn’t get to the point of turning on the water: a terrorist ambushed him and murdered him with an ax. The terrorist was caught several months later, brought to trial, and sentenced to life in prison.
Ala eddin Ahmed Abu Sitteh		Jan-94		Murder		David Daddi, 43  Haim Weitzman, 33 David Dadi was born to Shimon and Miha Dadi in Tunis on 1 September 1950. He immigrated to Israel as a child and settled in Ramla. David had a beautiful voice and loved to sing. He had a greatjoie de vivre and laughed and smiled much. He also loved to study Torah, and was a true scholar. Hayim Weizman was born to Annette and Hanania Weizman in Morocco on 4 July 1960. His family immigrated to Israel in 1962 and settled in Ramla. As an adult he married and had a son, Eliran. Hayim was a lively and happy person. He enjoyed bungy jumping and even won a championship in it. On 31 December 1993, David was stabbed to death along with his acquaintance Hayim Weizman in his apartment in Ramla: Arab workers from Gaza who were working in a neighboring apartment entered the apartment while they slept and killed them.
Ayman taleb Abu Sitteh		Jan-94		Murder		David Daddi, Haim Weitzman
Esmat Omar Mansour		Oct-93		Accessory to Murder		Haim Mizrachi Hayim Mizrahi was born to Mazal and Pinhas Mizrahi on 8 December 1963. He grew up in Bat Yam and Holon with his sisters, Margalit and Asnat, and his brother, Itzik. As a child, Hayim belonged to the junior league soccer team of Hapoel Tel Aviv. Following is army service, he became religious, moved to Beit El, and married Iris. On Friday, 29 October 1993, Hayim went to buy eggs from an Arab-owned farm near his home, as he was wont to do. He was greeted by terrorists who attacked him and fled in his vehicle after wounding him and stuffing him into the trunk. The terrorists proceeded to murder Hayim, then burned and abandoned the vehicle north of Ramallah. Hayim was 30 at the time of his death. He was put to rest in Holon Cemetery. Hayim was survived by his pregnant wife, his parents, his sisters, and his brother. Half-a-year after his murder, his daughter, Tehilla, was born.
Khaled Mohamed Asakreh		May-91		Murder		Annie Lee
Nihad Yusef Jundiyeh		Jul-89		Murder		Zalman Schlein
Mohamed Mahmoud Hamdiyeh		Jul-89		Murder		Zalman Schlein
Jamil Abdel Wahab Natsheh		Dec-92		Accessory to Murder		Shmuel Gersh
Taher Mohamed Zaboud		Feb-93		Murder		Abraham Cohen
Sabih Abed Hammed Borhan		Feb-01		Murder		Jamil Muhamad Naim Sabih, Aisha Abdullah Kharadin

I once made an infographic about what Israel gets back from "goodwill gestures."

Hebrew list here.

There are apparently 12 Arab victims, presumably Israeli Arabs, listed here. Since no reporter seems to bother asking the families of Jewish victims how they feel knowing that the murderers of their loved ones are being freed for no reason, I wonder whether anyone will ask the Arab families what they think about this deal.

(h/t Josh K)

UPDATE: Added victim details from Al Magor.

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Heavy metal peace

From CNN:

Khalas performing in Tel Aviv

Two Israeli bands, one Jewish and one Arab, are joining together in "metal brotherhood" to spread a message of peace through rock 'n roll.

Arab group Khalas (Arabic for "Enough") and Jewish band Orphaned Land are heading out on an 18-day European tour that they hope will foster tolerance between the two sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict.

"We want to share the stage together, we want to show co-existence," said Kobi Farhi, Orphaned Land's vocalist.

The bands will also share a tour bus for three weeks. What more perfect example of co-existence, asks Farhi.

"We will snore at each other, we will do laundry together, we will make coffee for each other," he said.

Among those on the tour bus will be Abed Hathout, Khalas' guitarist and band manager. "If we can do this co-existence on a bus, why can't we do it all over this country," he said.

...Farhi recounts a[n] incident when Orphaned Land played with a Tunisian band on their last tour. The Tunisian band's manager received emails asking them to boycott the tour.

"If you want to interpret (touring with an Israeli band) as legitimizing, that's your interpretation ... we simply have a message that we love each other and we want to live together."

Orphaned Land's lyrics are often political, observing the Middle East's governments and religion. Khalas' latest album features metal covers of '80s Arab wedding songs.

"Khalas doesn't deal with politics ... it's not because we are not connected to our people or we don't care, but there are so many people talking about the occupation.

"I have the right to write about having fun and love and drinking beer."

Sounds like Khalas is an Arab Christian band.  I don't think any Muslim group will sing about drinking beer!

Here's Khalas in concert with some heavy metal belly dancing:

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Israelis and Palestinian Arabs agree on....K-Pop?

From Al Arabiya:

While Israeli and Palestinian delegates return to the negotiating table in a new attempt to find common ground in the Middle East’s most intractable conflict, an entirely different phenomenon is uniting young people in the region, BBC News reported earlier this week.

Researchers at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, say the Korean Wave, or the “Hallyu” movement, is taking off in Israel and the Palestinian territories, the BBC reported Israel daily Calcalist as saying.

There are around 5,000 K-pop followers in Israel and 3,000 in the Palestinian territories, according to researchers’ estimates. They hope to bring together fans from across the divide, according to the reports. Calcalist quotes Arab student Alaa Abid saying: “It’s something that gives you hope, and in Jerusalem it is sometimes hard to find hope.”

Calcalist newspaper quotes Dr. Nissim Atmazgin from the Hebrew University as saying that young people in Israel and Palestine see K-pop (South Korean pop) as “cultural capital” because it makes them stand out from the crowd.

Hallyu refers to the interest in South Korean popular culture including K-pop, K-dramas, K-fashion and K-beauty. The Hallyu movement began with the spread of South Korean dramas to its South East Asian neighbors and has evolved over the past decade into a global phenomenon. K-pop’s most famous star, pop singer Psy, topped YouTube’s Most Viewed videos chart in 2012 with his song “Gangnam Style.”

One annual K-pop convention in Israel has reportedly seen attendance increase tenfold in three years, while Korean soap operas are apparently trumping U.S. dramas because they show how to preserve traditional culture while modernizing, and their leading characters remain positive in the face of adversity.

I have previously covered South Korea's infatuation with the Talmud, as well as an interesting contrast between how South Koreans and Arabs react to terror attacks done by their members.

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Secular Egyptian paper says Muslim Brotherhood is acting out the Protocols of the Elders of Zion

We've seen before how the secular Egyptian party al-Wafd has pushed the most bizarre anti-Zionist, anti-semitic and anti-American conspiracy theories around.

Today they continue, with a long article that (yet again) describes the forgery known as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion - and how the Muslim Brotherhood is part of this vast Jewish conspiracy.

For example, the first protocol supposedly says that the Jews must cause strife and infighting in the nations they want to destroy - and that's what the Muslim Brotherhood did!

The ninth protocol says to fool people with false slogans - and that is what the Muslim Brotherhood did!

The tenth protocol forces world leaders to adhere to the wishes of the Jews in order to stay in power - and this is exactly what the Muslim Brotherhood did!

The article goes on and on, piling idiocy upon stupidity upon crazed conspiracy.

Remember, these guys represent the secularists - the best of the best of Egypt, the ones that the West is hoping will take over (although they pretend that the West loves Morsi and always did.)

Once again, I cannot find the tiniest pushback to these crazed anti-semitic conspiracy theories in the Egyptian media. Either the sane voices are too afraid to speak up, or they don't exist.

Either way, it is not an auspicious sign for the future of Egypt.

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Here's a prisoner that the US didn't want released

From the Washington Times (h/t My Right Word):

U.S. law enforcement officials expressed outrage over the release from prison of Mexican drug lord Rafael Caro Quintero and vowed to continue efforts to bring to justice the man who ordered the killing of a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent.'

Caro Quintero was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the 1985 kidnapping and killing of DEA agent Enrique Camarena but a Mexican federal court ordered his release this week saying he had been improperly tried in a federal court for state crimes.

The 60-year-old walked out of a prison in the western state of Jalisco early Friday after serving 28 years of his sentence.

The U.S. Department of Justice said it found the court’s decision “deeply troubling.”

“The Department of Justice, and especially the Drug Enforcement Administration, is extremely disappointed with this result,” it said in a statement.

The Association of Former Federal Narcotics Agents in the United States said it was “outraged” by Caro Quintero’s early release and it blamed corruption within Mexico’s justice system for his early release.

The reason I bring this up, of course, is that it is generally believed that the impending release of over 100 terrorists from Israeli prison in return for "peace talks" was pushed by the Obama administration and reluctantly accepted by the Israeli government to keep good relations with the US. Israel has released prisoners in lopsided swaps before, but never for literally nothing.

It is worth reading this article from Adi Moses, one of the victims of a murderer slated for release, and compare the depravity of freeing scores of similar terrorists against releasing a Mexican drug lord:

You know the story of my family. In 1987 a terrorist threw a firebomb at the car my family was traveling in. He murdered my mother and my brother Tal, and injured my father, my brother, his friend and myself. It is a story you know. But me, you do not really know. I was eight years old when this happened.

While my father was rolling me in the sand to extinguish my burning body, I looked in the direction of our car and watched as my mother burned in front of my eyes.

...In the room next door, my brother Tal is screaming in pain. I call out to him to count sheep with me so he can fall asleep. Three months later, little Tal dies of his wounds. I am seated, all bandaged up, on a chair in the cemetery and I watch as my little brother is buried.

...I am thirty-four years old but the last few days I have returned to being that eight-year-old facing that burning car and waiting for her mother to come out of it. Yitzhak Rabin, who was minister of defense at the time of the attack, promised my dad they would catch the terrorist. And they did. And they sentenced him. To two life sentences and another seventy-two years in prison. And you Cabinet ministers? With the wave of a hand you decided to free him – he who caused all of this story.

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8/11 Links: Peace is more than a piece of paper, A New Low for J Street, Tel Aviv Protests Against Russia

From Ian:

---

Netanyahu to Kerry: Palestinians continuing incitement against Israel

Netanyahu wrote to Kerry that leading Palestinian Authority officials were calling for Israel’s destruction even after peace talks resumed on July 31 in Washington — the first major effort since negotiations broke down in 2008.
“Incitement and peace don’t go together,” Netanyahu wrote, explaining that new generations of Palestinians were being taught to hate Israel, further fueling the cycle of violence.
“Instead of educating the next generation of Palestinians to live in peace with Israel, the education of hate poisons them against Israel and lays the groundwork for continued violence and terror,” he wrote.

Peace is more than a piece of paper

Peace can only come when the people of Palestine learn to value individualism and life, and have representation that believes in those same principles of liberty.
Instead, they have leaders who blame others for their shortcomings and demand the world pay for their services because of irresponsible and corrupt leadership. Of course, what Kerry and the Americans are missing, or refuse to accept, is that the Palestinian leadership doesn’t want to stop the conflict.
In addition to radical factions opposing the existence of a Jewish state in the first place, the PA itself has no interest in resolving conflict because it’s how its leaders prosper. At the end of the day, the PA could not enforce an agreement even if one were to be reached. For the Obama administration to think otherwise is dangerously imperious.

Negotiator Erekat: Jerusalem Will Remain Unified in Peace Deal

According to a Kol Israel report on Saturday, PLO negotiator Saeb Erekat has told U.S. House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, on a visit to Jerusalem with a group of 36 Democratic Congress members, that by the end of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Jerusalem will remain a unified city.

Bereaved Families Ask: ‘Israelis, Where Are You?’

Families of victims of terrorism marched through Jerusalem on Sunday in a protest against the government’s plan to approve the release of 26 terrorists.
They marched from the central memorial for terrorism victims, located in Mount Herzl in Jerusalem, to the Supreme Court building, where the court is to hear a petition against terrorist release filed by the Almagor organization.

J Street Cancels Poorly Attended Event, Then Covers It Up

Pro-Israel insiders said that this is yet another embarrassment for a group that purports to represent the will of the American Jewish community.
“Even by J Street standards, trying to scrub a Facebook event page is a new, pathetic low,” said one pro-Israel official. “You’d think [Elsner] would have built up a fan base somewhere.”
“Apparently not even the Israel haters that J Street caters to want to hear his propaganda,” the official said. (h/t Jewess)

Amnesty calls on Hamas to abort scheduled executions

Human rights group Amnesty International has called on Hamas to cancel the planned public hanging of several prisoners in Gaza after the ruling authorities declared they would execute the men as an example to others.
“We acknowledge the right and responsibility of governments to bring to justice those suspected of criminal offenses, but the death penalty is cruel and inhuman, and there is no evidence that it deters crime more effectively than other punishments,” said Philip Luther, director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, in a press statement issued last week.

Amnesty protests Hamas executions, but backs prize for defender of Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians

However, Amnesty continues to back their nomination of Mona Seif for the world’s top human rights prize, even though she forcefully opposed Amnesty’s call on Hamas to stop targeting civilians, in repeated tweets to her 180,000 followers.

Sinai jihadist group calls for unity against Israel

An Islamic terror group responded to an airstrike over the weekend that killed four armed members preparing an attack on Israel by calling on Egyptians to unite against the common enemy, the Jews in occupied Palestine.
The Mujahideen Shura Council of Jerusalem, a Salafist terror group based in Sinai, made the call to arms in a notification circulated in Egyptian media, Ynet reported on Sunday.
“The treacherous attack, that could not have been carried out without coordination with the Egyptian army, should remind the citizens of Egypt that the primary enemy is the Jews squatting on the occupied Palestinian land,” the statement said.

Will Hezbollah wage terror campaign against UNIFIL?

The European Union’s designation of Hezbollah’s military wing as a terrorist organization has cast a new light on the tussles between the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the armed Shi’ite movement.
A Hezbollah official told the Financial Times last week, “People are not going to accept you living among them and calling them terrorists.”
Gerald Steinberg, a professor of political studies at Bar-Ilan University and the head of the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday, “The reports of increased friction in southern Lebanon are not surprising after the European Union belatedly added Hezbollah to the list of terror organizations.”

Bahrain Deports U.S. Teacher for ‘Radical’ Writing, Hezbollah Flag Reportedly Seen in Her Bedroom

Kilbride was “using Twitter and a number of websites to publish articles on Bahrain that were deemed to incite hatred against the government and members of the royal family,” the ministry said. It did not offer specifics about what she wrote, though it did say she wrote for the Bahrain Center for Human Rights.
Kilbride is listed as the Yemin & Gulf States co-editor of Muftah.org, launched in 2010 with a goal to “provide incisive analysis on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) that eschewed Western obsessions with terrorism, oil, and Islamism and, instead, highlighted issues and concerns that mattered to the region’s people.”

Syrian rebels claim they killed 40 Hezbollah, Iranian fighters

According to their reports, rebels belonging to the Free Syrian Army detonated a car packed with explosives next to a compound belonging to the government defense apparatus, where the pro-Assad fighters were gathered. Members of the Shabiha, the regime’s civilian-clad enforcement apparatus, were reportedly also at the compound when the blast occurred.

Is a free Kurdistan, and a new Israeli ally, upon us?

While Turkey, Iraq, and other countries balk at indications of increased Kurdish self-rule, an independent Kurdish state in the Middle East would be a gift for Israel, many Kurdish and Israeli experts believe.
“Kurds are deeply sympathetic to Israel and an independent Kurdistan will be beneficial to Israel,” argued Kurdish journalist Ayub Nuri in July. “It will create a balance of power. Right now, Israel is one country against many. But with an independent Kurdish state, first of all Israel will have a genuine friend in the region for the first time, and second, Kurdistan will be like a buffer zone in the face of the Turkey, Iran and Iraq.”

Radical preacher wanted over Zanzibar acid attack shot in police raid

A radical Muslim preacher wanted for questioning over the acid attack on two British tourists in Zanzibar was shot on Saturday night as he fled police trying to arrest him.
Sheikh Issa Ponda is understood to have survived the raid and was on the run but injured, police sources told The Daily Telegraph.
He had visited Zanzibar in the weeks running up to the attack on Katie Gee and Kirstie Trup, both from north London, who were on Saturday still in hospital being treated for their injuries.
Ponda earlier this month met with the imprisoned leaders of a Muslim separatist group, Uamsho, who police believe may have inspired the attack on the two women.

Turkey Silences a Secularist

The Turkish criminal courts have increasingly been used to further Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Islamist agenda through hate-speech prosecutions. The May 22 sentencing of Turkish-Armenian Sevan Nisanyan continues this disturbing trend of strangling political and social discourse.
Mr. Nisanyan is a man of many interests and talents. Linguist, journalist and hotel entrepreneur, Mr. Nisanyan is not only known for his guidebook to small, affordable hotels in Turkey, but also was awarded the 2004 Freedom of Thought Award by Turkey’s Human Rights Association for advocating the open discussion on the Armenian genocide. In 2008, he authored “The Mistaken Republic: 51 Questions about Ataturk and Kemalism,” arguing that Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, established a fascist dictatorship under the guise of nationalism. Mr. Nisanyan continues to frequently publish witty critical posts against the authoritarian bodies of the Turkish government on his blog, often with direct critiques on the Erdogan regime.

Nanotech’s ‘small world’ inching ever closer

The tech universe is shrinking rapidly as companies seek to make ever-tinier devices that can do ever-more powerful things. But there’s a limit to how much you can shrink the silicon that goes into computers, cellphones, tablets, and the like; at that point you have to starting thinking about nanotech — developing components out of atom- or molecule-sized material (a nanometer is one-millionth of a millimeter).
Nanotechnology holds great promise for the future, but there are many technical challenges on the road to that future. This week, the Weizmann Institute of Science announced that it had figured out a way to overcome one of the most daunting technological issues that has been holding back nanotech development. The breakthrough, say Weizmann experts, could help jump-start a whole industry.

Dozens protest anti-gay legislation in front of Russian embassy

Dozens of demonstrators gathered in front of the Russian embassy Saturday in Tel Aviv, to protest legislation targeting the LGBT community passed by Russian authorities, as well as the growing number of violent incidents against gay persons in Russia.
Police reported that at least 200 protesters lined up on Hayarkon Street, carrying signs and chanting slogans against the Russian government.

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Book Review: The Eyes of Abel

I've rarely reviewed works of fiction here, but The Eyes of Abel, by Daniel Jacobs, is worth reading.


Set in the very near future,  The Eyes of Abel  starts off with a terror attack on a plane over San Francisco, where the terrorist sneaks the bomb aboard while wearing a burka. While most Americans are upset at the political correctness that allowed the authorities to let her board without proper security checks, liberal Pulitzer-winning journalist Roger Charlin is more concerned that profiling Middle Eastern-looking people at airports would create many more terrorists. To prove his assumption, he pretends to be an Arab and tries to get past El Al security in a New York airport, which is where he meets agent Maya Cohen, a (naturally) beautiful and brilliant agent who sees through his disguise and more.

The plot is relatively typical of the genre. The Eyes of Abel follows the pair as they fall in love and then work to save the world from an impending war centered on Israel but really planned by an alignment of big energy players and the politicians who are in their pockets.

Yes, it is somewhat formulaic. Yes, you have to suspend disbelief a bit. (Charlin manages to go through three months of the narrative without seeming to file a single story.)

But that doesn't mean that the book doesn't work, and it is difficult to put down once you start. Luckily, it is pretty short - less than 200 pages - so you can finish it in an afternoon.

What is most appealing, however, is that while the book works well as a Dan Brown-lite type of thriller, it also discusses the thorniest points of the Arab-Israeli conflict in a refreshingly honest way. Charlin and his colleagues are reflexively anti-Israel and Maya does a great job as she explains Israel's perspective and slowly changes Roger's mind. Media bias as well as the automatic anti-Israel bias of the world community is exposed nicely and pretty accurately, without getting in the way of the story. Plus, as the author emphasized to me, the book exposes the relationship between petrodollars and the war machines that align against Israel - and how the decline of the influence of oil could possibly bring peace.

If you need a good beach read, you can't do much better than The Eyes of Abel. And if you want to ensure that people understand Israel's point of view, you will recommend it to your friends.

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