Scathing cartoon slams Arab states for not giving a damn about Palestinians

To the West, Arab states and Palestinian Arabs love to pretend that they are united and love each other.

This cartoon shows otherwise:

The figure on the left is a famous symbol of Palestinian Arabs by cartoonist Naji al-Ali who died in 1987. I don't know if this is an old cartoon of his or a more recent one using his character.

Either way, it is a powerful indictment of Arab hate towards their Palestinian "brethren."

I found it on the Facebook page of the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria. 9 more Palestinian Arabs were killed in Syria last week (during Eid) and no one really cared.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

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8/13 Links Part 1: Winning the Peace, What Crisis in Gaza?, A Syrian Father's Tears of Gratitude.

From Ian:

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Winning the Peace

Israel has been engaged in a long drawn out struggle for the moral high ground. The moral high ground is to the modern Israel what the land of Israel was to their pioneer ancestors who drained swamps, built roads and shot bandits; some of whom were later discovered to be the oppressed peoples of the region, fresh from Syria or Jordan, and protesting the settlements built on that stretch of swamp that had been set aside in their revisionist history as belonging to their great-grandparents, complete with oversized house keys to some of the choicer logs in the swamp.
Sadly the only way to win the moral high ground is by losing. Just look at the massive Arab armies who repeatedly invaded Israel, did their best to overwhelm it with the best Soviet iron that the frozen factories of the Ural could turn out, and lost the bid to drive the Jews into the sea, but won the moral high ground. Then their terrorist catspaws spent decades winning the moral high ground by hijacking airplanes full of civilians, murdering Olympic athletes and pushing old men in wheelchairs from the decks of cruise ships.

Israel’s Neighbors Don’t Want Peace

The 2013 Middle East — which is increasingly dominated by the 14-century intra-Muslim chaos, uncertainty, shifty policies and horrific intolerance — is incompatible with a 9- to 15-mile width of Israel, as espoused by the well-intentioned U.S. administration.
The 2013 Middle East highlights the tenuous nature of Arab regimes, policies and agreements and the absence of intra-Arab comprehensive peace. However, Israel is pressured to ignore the nature of its Middle East neighborhood and retreat from the tangible mountain ridges of Judea and Samaria — which constitute its cradle of history and tower over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and 80 percent of Israel’s infrastructures — in return for an intangible and tenuous Arab agreement.
Acquaintance with the Middle East environment, and its implications for vital U.S. economic and national security interests, while the U.S. withdraws and cuts its defense budget, warrants a stronger Israel, which is incompatible with the proposed Palestinian state and an Israeli retreat from the Judea and Samaria high ground.

Building blocs

Palestinians cannot expect Israel to turn back the clock over 40 years to a time when Jordan, not Israel, controlled the West Bank and there was little, if any, talk about establishing a Palestinian state there.
The settlements that were built on the West Bank are just as much a product of years of rejectionism during which Arab nations and Palestinians opposed the very existence of, not to mention negotiations with, the State of Israel – not just after 1967 but from its very inception.
It might be convenient for Ashrawi, Barghouti and Shtayyeh to accuse Israel of “sabotaging” talks by building in established settlements and neighborhoods.
But the reality on the ground is not so simple.

HuffPo: The Soft Bigotry of Low Palestinian Expectations

At bare minimum, Palestinian discourse should strive to allow for constructive criticism in the hopes that it will improve existing living conditions and ripen the prospects for peace with its neighbour. It should not be far-fetched to expect Palestinians to openly condemn continued terror waged against Israeli civilians, such as a rocket fired from Gaza recently that the PA did not denounce, along with the need to disarm and dismantle terror organizations, like Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades.
Hamas, the terror organization that controls Gaza, should be encouraged to recognize Israel, renounce violence and respect previously negotiated agreements. A debate must ensue about Israel's requirement that it be recognized as a Jewish state.
When PA and Hamas news organs and educators incite and indoctrinate Palestinian youth towards martyrdom, Palestinian supporters should rebuke this practice front and centre. That would mean ending the glorification of Palestinian terrorists as "freedom fighters and holy warriors."

Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Danon: Convict Release ‘Encouraging Next Generation of Terrorists’

In an interview with The Algemeiner, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon said he was opposed to the demand for any pre-conditions to returning to the negotiating table, and was especially against the release of convicted terrorists.
“Leave aside the security issues, because that’s something debatable, whether those people will be a threat or not, even though we saw in the past that many people released went back to be active in terror, I think it is a moral issue and a wrong decision morally. By releasing them we’re encouraging the next generation of terrorists to become involved in terror activities,” the deputy minister said.
“The fact that they are going to go back to their villages and be heroes is wrong,” Danon said, adding, “Today the Israeli public is asking why?”

Ministers Ignored Shin Bet, Added Terrorists to List

The Shin Bet had provided a list of 40 terrorists from which the ministers were to choose the terrorists they wished to release. The list was compiled with the goal of avoiding freeing terrorists who would pose a particularly high threat to Israelis.
However, the committee led by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon reportedly decided to replace some names on the list it was given by the Shin Bet with other terrorists’ names, due to “Israel’s wish to strengthen the status of Abu Mazen.”

Poll shows Palestinians evenly split on support for talks

More than half of those asked (52%) said they oppose a two-state solution that includes East Jerusalem, with 45% saying they are in favor of such a deal.
When asked what approach they preferred to bring about the “end of the occupation,” 62% of respondents chose peaceful methods and 31 chose armed conflict. A further breakdown of the numbers revealed that of those who supported a peaceful end to the conflict, 25% chose direct negotiations, 20% chose a nonviolent popular uprising and 17% chose an international conference imposing a solution on both parties.

No human being is illegal: The Guardian’s vilification of settlers is immoral & illogical

Ultimately, the disposition of settlements is a matter for final status negotiations. While one may legitimately support or challenge Israeli settlements in the disputed territories, they are not illegal, and demonizing Jews who live in communities across the green line is certainly not moral and does not help the peace process.
Harriet Sherwood’s ‘obstacles to peace’ have neither the size, population, nor placement to have a serious impact on sincere efforts to reach a comprehensive agreement on all issues related to the disputed territories.

BBC coverage of building tenders reaches hysterical highs

That same notion was promoted on BBC television news in a filmed report by Kevin Connolly – also titled “New Israeli settlement homes anger Palestinians” and also featuring Saeb Erekat.
Significantly, at no point in any of these reports does the BBC bother to inform its audiences that the announcement of tenders for these new apartments in no way contradicts the agreements so far reached with regard to the renewal of talks. Instead, it both parrots and amplifies to the point of near hysteria the tactical narrative promoted by PA officials and in doing so, creates a smoke-screen which conceals from BBC audiences issues far more detrimental to the success of the upcoming talks than tenders for houses which will not see the light of day for many months to come.

Russia’s Anti-Gay Mentality? What about Palestine's?

The past few days have seen a well-circulated public address from television quizmaster and tea connoisseur Stephen Fry, directed at Prime Minister David Cameron, Lord Coe and the Members of the International Olympic Committee, to boycott the upcoming Russian Winter Olympics in 2014. I myself shared Mr Fry’s address, and I also think that there is some merit to this kind of consciousness-raising political statement.
But if we criticize a nation like Russia for its laws and threaten to boycott one of the largest events on the international stage as a result of them, it is only fair that we focus the same level of scrutiny and condemnation upon others, like Palestine, which are guilty of not similar but much worse acts against homosexuals.

IDF Blog: What Happened to the Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza?

Despite what you may hear from the media, Gaza is not an “open-air prison.” This summer, Gazans are out in force, enjoying themselves in sparkling new malls, beautiful beaches and hotels, and doing their shopping in pristine grocery stores and markets heaving with fresh produce. Gaza even boasts an Olympic-size swimming pool.
Here are some of the places you can visit in Gaza on an ordinary summer’s day:

Turkey: Erdogan's Ergenekon "Victory"

There is no longer room for doubt: through a pseudo-legal witch-hunt at home and deceitful propaganda abroad, Erdogan and the AKP are committed to totalitarian suppression of their political critics and opponents, both in Turkey and elsewhere. They feed an apparently insatiable Turkish appetite for conspiracy theories and, as may be observed online, assiduously spread disinformation about "threats to Turkey." Turkish commentators worry that the West ignores Erdogan's violations of civil rights out of the need for him as an ally in confronting the bloodthirsty Assad regime in Syria. But looking the other way while Turkey is transformed into an authoritarian Islamist state will in no way help the suffering Syrian people.

Syrian opposition plans for life after Assad

Prominent Syrian opposition figures are presenting a plan for a political transition should President Bashar Assad’s government fall.
The report by about 300 activists, including military leaders and members of the main opposition group, calls for disarmament of militias and remaking security services. Under the plan, a new national assembly would draft a constitution based on an earlier one written in 1950. The final document would then go to a referendum.
The activists envision a government with both a president and a parliament to offer checks and balances, and recommend creating an independent judiciary.

Galilee: A Syrian Father's Tears of Gratitude
X-ray technician at Western Galilee Hospital tells story of 12 year old Syrian patient at ICU, Shin Bet and more.

“The guard (a Druze who spoke Arabic) brought him to the side so I could do my job. Believe it or not, I have a very good bedside manner, especially with kids. After I was done, the guard came and told me that when he brought the guy to the side that he asked what I was with the getup and all. When he explained that I'm a very religious Jew and that's how we look, the dad got nervous. However, when he saw how nicely and kindly I treated his kid, he started crying and said that he can't believe that none of Syria's Arab neighbors like Lebanon or Jordan will take them in, but the religious Jew from Israel treats his kid like his own daughter.
“If only he would pass on his revelation to the rest of his country,” concludes Halevi.

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EU, knowing it is wrong, still refuses to correct "1967 borders" terminology

Last month I had written to the EU about its use of the incorrect term "1967 borders" in many of its documents. The response seemed to admit that they understood that they were not real borders:

As stated in various Council Conclusions, in the context of the Middle East peace process the agreed EU position envisages an agreement on the borders of the two states (Israel and Palestine), based on the June 4 1967 lines with equivalent land swaps as may be agreed between the parties. The EU has stressed that it will not recognise any changes to these lines unless agreed by the parties. Though essentially corresponding to the 1949 Armistice Line as far as these concerns the division between Israel and the West Bank, the reference to 1967 has become more customarily used by the international community.

Note how they are careful here not to refer to them as "borders" but as "lines" and how they understand that they correspond mostly to the 1949 Armistice Line, which was obviously never an international border.

So I wrote back to them asking them to correct their reports, both retroactively and going forward, since they seem to know that they are wrong. And I explained why this is critical:

I assume you can appreciate the importance of being accurate in this matter. It is not merely a question of semantics. The 1949 armistice lines were never accepted as borders for a reason, even in UN resolutions, and giving them more importance after the fact - pretending that they had the legal standing of borders - is serious indeed. It is nothing less than changing history to fit better with the EU's current position, and that is what is offensive about this repeated reference to "borders."

Their response, received today,  is outrageous.

From the Deputy Head of Division – Israel, oPt, MEPP, from the European External Action Service:

I am sorry you did not feel we had properly answered your question. You ask if we will stop using the term “borders” in the context to which you refer. However, use of this term is language agreed by all EU member states in the Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), most recently in the agreed FAC conclusions of December 2012 which I attach for ease of reference. Specifically, these stated in paragraph 4, “Recalling its parameters for the resumption of negotiations between the parties, as set out in previous Council Conclusions, including in December 2009, December 2010 and May 2011, the European Union reiterates that it will not recognise any changes to the pre-1967 borders, including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties.” This text is an agreed position of the EU and we will therefore continue to use all the terms therein.

Truth be damned! We all decided that they were borders, so they will continue to be called borders!

The EU is literally changing history in order to strengthen its political position, rather than changing its position to adhere to those pesky little things called facts. Their pathetic defense is that they all agreed to lie, therefore the lie is now the truth.

Maybe we should start calling the EU the "FU." After all, who cares what they claim now that they call themselves? I think they were called the "FU" since 1975! Facts are just tools to be manipulated to get what we want.

It is way past time for the Israeli government to step in and insist that any EU (FU) document that refers to imaginary borders is nothing more than fantasy, and that they will be pointedly treated as such..

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Prisoners end hunger strike; they they didn't get any of their major demands

I mentioned last week that Abdallah Bargouthi, responsible for the murder of 66 people, was on a hunger strike in Israeli prison, along with other Jordanian prisoners.

His main demand was to be transferred to a prison in his native Jordan. Ma'an lists his other demands, from an article in July:

Barghouthi is also demanding that Israel disclose the whereabouts of 20 missing Jordanian prisoners and wants Israel to remove the bodies of Palestinians who died in Israeli custody from nameless graves.

Now they have ended their hunger strike, and apparently they didn't get any of their major demands.

However, it looks like they downgraded their demands to declare victory over the Zionists.

Relatives will be able to visit for four hours in three weeks, and then a 90 minute visit each month afterwards while Israel will help them come over from Jordan.

Also, the prisoners will have access to Jordanian newspapers, magazines and TV channels.

Yes - these heroes who murdered so many didn't eat for a hundred days to be able to watch more TV. They must miss their soap operas.  

Jordanian media is hailing this great victory, with no one noticing that the terrorists' original demands were rejected outright.

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UNRWA investigating educator who quotes Hitler (UPDATE)

From the Washington Free Beacon:

The United Nations’ refugee arm has launched an investigation into one of its top Jordanian officials after he posted on his Facebook page a “motivational” poster featuring Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.

Dr. Fares Haider, reportedly the dean of education at the U.N.’s Relief Works Agency’s (UNRWA) educational facilities in Jordan, posted on his “official” Facebook page a picture of Hitler saluting, along with a quote from the Nazi leader.

UNRWA, which is primarily funded by the United States, is responsible for the education of some 485,000 Palestinian children throughout the Middle East.

“Military rules for success … Assad Allah good morning all,” Haider wrote along with the picture, according to the Israel-based Center for Near East Policy Research.

The text accompanying Hitler’s image reads: “The two most important rules in order to be successful—the first: never give up. The second: remember the first rule,” according to a report and translation performed by pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon.

The quote is attributed directly to “Adolf Hitler.”

Haider’s Hitler post has garnered 31 “likes” since it was first posted on May 13, and was “presumably meant for students,” according to Elder of Ziyon.

An UNRWA official told the Washington Free Beacon that it would be investigating Haider’s post and will take “disciplinary” action if it is warranted.

“UNRWA takes all allegations of misconduct by its staff very seriously; an investigation will be carried out; if a staff member is found to have behaved improperly, there will be disciplinary consequences,” UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told the Free Beacon.

It turns out that this wasn't the only Hitler poster Haider put on his Facebook page. Here was his "Poster of the Week" for May 22: (h/t JPP)

It says:

"'You have two ways to have the highest building: Either you destroy all the buildings around you, or you build higher than the others.' - Adolf Hitler"

I don't know if this is an actual quote by Hitler.

Haider is a big fan of motivational posters and slogans for his students to achieve their goals, and he apparently thinks that Hitler is just as good a source for these slogans as anyone else.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

UPDATE: The posters have been taken down.

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"Zionist media incitement against Palestinians"

Over the past couple of years, after it became clear that organizations like MEMRI and Palestinian Media Watch were exposing the virulent antisemitism and hatred and opposition to peace in the Palestinian Arab media, the other side started monitoring Israeli media looking for anti-Arab incitement, to show that Jews are at least as bad.

Here are some examples they dug up during May and June:

Yediot Ahronot dated 05/01/2013, mentions "the return of Palestinian terrorism" in reference to the stabbing murder of Evyatar Borovsky the day before.

Israel Hayom on May 5 said "the overwhelming number of terrorists are Muslim."

Israel Hayom, 5/5, had an article calling for striking Islamic terrorism in Judea and Samaria.

Yediot, 5/5, said the bedouin were taking over the Negev.

Makor Rishon, 5/13, said that Palestinian Arab prisoners were murderers and terrorists.

All the articles saying that Muhammad al-Dura was not killed by the IDF was considered to be incitement.

Israel Hayom, 5/20, discussed the Palestinian culture of lies that led to the Al Dura hoax.

They did bring a couple of cases that were close to legitimate examples of bias, for example the assumption that a bank robber in Beersheva was an Arab without (apparent) evidence, but I see very little that can be considered incitement in their examples - and this is without even checking if they were translating them accurately.

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Sinai Jihadists claim responsibility for rocket to Eilat

The Mujahadeen Shura Council took responsibility for firing a rocket (or rockets) at Eilat early Tuesday morning.

This is not the Ansar Jerusalem group who had four members killed on Friday.

The statement says "In response to the recent crime of the Jews which killed four of the Mujahideen in the land of Sinai, the black Mujahideen Shura Council [announces] the bombing of the city of Rashrash 'Eilat' with a missile at one dawn on Tuesday."

The statement added that the missile caused the Jews to have "dread and horror" as they rushed to their underground shelters.

The Mujahideen Shura added that the city of Eilat "and other cities of the Jews" will not enjoy security nor tourism, pointing out that "the Jews will dearly pay the price for the blood of the mujahideen.

Iron Dome intercepted one rocket. Residents reported hearing two explosions, one of which may have been Iron Dome firing.

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SpongeBob found a new job

Baruch Hashem,  Spongebob Squarepants managed to land on his freakishly tiny feet.

Last we saw, Spongebob was reduced to begging for money while withering in the heat of Las Vegas after he was suddenly  fired from his job at Elder of Ziyon.

Well, I placed a few calls within the International Zionist Web, and found a great gig for him - as spokes-sponge for Sabra hummus!

Here is was spotted in a Nashville supermarket:

No comment yet from the BDS crowd as to whether they will boycott him now.

(h/t L. King)

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8/12 Links Part 2: Best of Latma, Against All Saidists, Tel Aviv No. 2 City For Tech Startups

From Ian:

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Best of Latma Part 1



Against All Saidists... and in Defence of the West

Orientalism, however, is an accusatory and deeply reactionary text, the catastrophic effects of which continue to be felt in both Occident and Orient. Demonstrably ahistorical and flawed though its arguments are, large parts of Western academia (perhaps encouraged by Gulf funding) and Western culture in general have internalised them to such a degree, they are convinced that universalist value judgements about Islamic culture are simply a projection of their own inescapable racism. Consequently, they have fallen silent about human rights abuses committed by anyone but the West (and, naturally, Israel).
Meanwhile, in the Muslim world, religious fundamentalists have been adept at weaponising the bitter mindset of conspiracism, victimhood and vengeful grievance that Said encouraged, and directing it towards the West and the Jewish State. There remains a stubborn tendency to blame European Imperialism, American neo-Imperialism, Western cultural imperialism and 'colonial feminism', 'Orientalism', Zionism and sundry other -isms for the parlous state of their societies, rather than the regressive cultural and religious values that inhibit personal emancipation and retard learning, research and political/economic development. (h/t EOZ)

Palestine: History of a Name

I’ve recently condemned the focus on Reza Aslan’s religion – Islam – when talking about his new book about Jesus, “Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth”. I think there is no room for propaganda when reviewing history. No one is objective. But we can try to be truthful.
Putting aside the thesis of his book i.e., that Jesus was an anti-Roman Jewish revolutionary, in all his interviews, Aslan goes out of his way to refer to Jesus’ Judea i.e., the land of the Jews, as “Palestine”. For all I care, he can call it “Nebraska”, as long as he doesn’t give the impression that this is really what it was called by the inhabitants of Judea in Jesus’ time. But Aslan wraps this “Palestine” name with a veneer of history. When challenged on his use of the name “Palestine” for ancient “Judea”, his answer is that he’s using the “Roman designation” for the area. According to Aslan, this designation was “Syria Palestine”. This is absolutely wrong. More than this, it demonstrates a certain cynicism when manipulating history for the purpose of ideology. Let’s look at this word “Palestine”. Where does it come from?

Douglas Murray: Pretenses the West Goes On Pretending

"Hear no evil, see no evil," the old saying goes. And so the new presidency of Iran continues as the old one intended to go on. And the West continues the pretense that it wishes to go on pretending. For with Rouhani, as with Ahmadinejad, there will always be those – officials, semi-officials, non-officials – who will claim that the leader has been misrepresented or mistranslated, and then the rest will all go away. Won't it? Or was the very presence of Rouhani at al-Quds day, like that of the North Korean officials at the swearing-in and the promise of greater cooperation between these rogue regimes against the US and its allies, all just misspeak too?
The root of the problem with our relations with Iran is not a problem of mishearing or mis-speaking. It is a problem of our not listening. Not listening to the words that have repeatedly come from their mouths. And not recognizing that the whirring noise in the background is not the noise of their subtle brains working overtime, but of their centrifuges performing that very task.

Iran's new defense minister orchestrated attacks on US, Israeli forces

Iran's new president, Hasan Rouhani, has appointed Brig. Gen. Hossein Dehghan as the new defense minister in place of Brig. Gen. Ahmad Wahidid. Dehgan, according to a report by Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Dr. Shimon Shapira, a senior research associate at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, was responsible for attacks against U.S. and Israeli forces in Lebanon in the 1980s.
The appointment will become official once it is approved by the Iranian parliament.
Dehgan has reportedly served in the Revolutionary Guard his entire military career, since the Islamic revolution in 1979. According to Shapira's report, after Israel's invasion of Lebanon in the summer of 1982, Dehghan was sent to Lebanon. He served as commander of the training corps of the Revolutionary Guard, first in Syria and soon after in Lebanon. In this role he was responsible for building up military force of Hezbollah, which was also established at that time.

Washington Post: Iran Luring Latin American Students to Tehran for Indoctrination, Program Headed by AMIA Bombing Suspect

The article cited a report issued in May by an Argentine prosecutor who found evidence of “local clandestine intelligence networks” created by Iran in Latin America aimed at developing a “capability to provide logistic, economic and operative support to terrorist attacks decided by the Islamic regime.”
The program is supervised by Iranian cleric and government official Mohsen Rabbani who is wanted internationally on terrorism charges, the Washington Post said. As cultural attache in Buenos Aires, Rabbani was accused by Argentina of aiding the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish community center that killed 85 people, the country’s deadliest terrorist attack.

Russia set to build a new nuclear plant for Iran

According to a report from the Russian news site RiaNovosti, citing the semi-official Iranian news agency Mehr, Salehi said that negotiations on the planned site were nearing a conclusion.
“Iran has held consultations with the Russian side and soon an agreement of mutual understanding will be signed on the construction of a new nuclear power plant,” Salehi said.
Last week Russian parliament speaker Sergei Naryshkin attended newly elected Iranian President Hasan Rouhani’s inauguration in Tehran. Naryshkin said Russia and Iran may expand collaboration in civilian nuclear-power engineering after the Bushehr site becomes Iran’s first fully operational nuclear power plant this coming September.

’Moderate’ Rouhani Misled West, Sneaked in Centrifuges? The reactor is to be brought online in 2014, according to Iran’s projection.

There is a particularly interesting aspect to the video that has recently surfaced, in which Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, gloats over Iran’s success in coopting European negotiators to keep the Iranian nuclear program on track in the mid-2000s, in spite of pressure from the United States.
The video clip, from an Iranian news-program interview of Rouhani in Farsi, was published by Reza Khalili. Ryan Mauro highlights it at the Clarion Project, tying it to a report from 31 July in which Mauro outlined Rouhani’s extensive history of using deception about the Iranian nuclear program back when he was the chief nuclear negotiator for Tehran.

Urge Swiss to Withdraw Nomination of Qaddafi Ally to UN Rights Post

We urge you to withdraw your government’s nomination of Jean Ziegler to the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, the election for which is scheduled for September 27, 2013.
If elected, Mr. Ziegler, who has written books advocating “reasonable hatred of the West,” would absurdly occupy one of only three seats allotted to Western countries. The official criteria for the position are expertise in human rights, high moral standing, independence and impartiality. An analysis of Mr. Ziegler’s record raises serious questions as to his satisfaction of these requirements.

No perfect answers: My 2 years as an IDF spokesperson

Reflecting on the past two years representing the IDF in the West Bank, so many thoughts run through my mind – lessons learned, ideas discovered, emotions felt, and experiences had. For the past two weeks, I have tried to sum it all up, rather unsuccessfully. Overwhelmed with ideas, emotions and experiences, it has been difficult for me to write a comprehensive summary of all that I’ve seen, heard, felt, thought and learned. Nonetheless, this is my attempt at doing so, so that I can share with all of you – my friends, family, colleagues, and those who have joined me digitally – my final reflections before I leave my position as Spokesperson for the Judea and Samaria Division.
Whenever I brief on the situation in the West Bank, I am consistently struck by the complexities and intricacies of the IDF’s critical mission in the area. While I have spent the past two years explaining incidents that involve our troops, this past Tuesday (Aug. 6, 2013), I found myself in the midst of a security event that could have ended very badly.

Rapper Pitbull Arriving in Tel Aviv for Monday Performance, Hotel Stocking Bar

Cuban-American rapper Pitbull – real name Armando Christian Pérez – will be arriving on Sunday night in Tel Aviv via private jet for a concert on Monday. Israel’s Channel 2 reports that his hotel is busy stocking up with the hard partying performer’s must-haves in anticipation of his arrival.
For his concert, which will feature seven other musicians and four dancers in Hall 1 of the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds, Pitbull has two full-time bodyguards, as well as a long list of requirements to make his short stay comfortable.

A breakthrough in inhalation masks for infants

Researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have made a breakthrough that could lead to radical changes in the design and effectiveness of inhalation masks for infants.
Until now, infants’ inhalation masks have been miniature versions of adult ones. Since very small children’s faces contain features that are different in their relative proportions from those of adults, the masks currently in use often fit poorly, with serious gaps between the mask and the infant’s face. This leads to treatment deficiencies, since dosages of medicine, when exposed to air, lose their therapeutic function. Ill-fitting masks also cause discomfort to the wearer.

Israeli tablet helps seize int'l crime ring

A technology for the extraction and analysis of data from cellular phones, which was developed by Israeli company Cellebrite, helped expose a wide-scale crime ring in a recent operation which included the arrest of 46 members of an international crime organization and the confiscation of assets worth €13.75 million (about $18 million).
The crime organization was uncovered in a joint operation launched by the Belgian and Spanish police forces, with the help of the European Union's law enforcement and criminal intelligence agencies, Europol and Eurojust.

Tel Aviv No. 2 city for tech startups

The Boston Globe, one of the most important newspapers in the United States, has named Tel Aviv the world's second best city for tech startups, after Silicon Valley in California.
Startup Genome, a resource for tracking and building startups, formed a list of the world's leading high-tech cities for startup entrepreneurs. Tel Aviv precedes New York, which only made it to the fifth place, Los Angeles (3) and London (7).
Eight factors were tracked to determine the ranking: Total activity of entrepreneurship in the region, amount of active and comprehensive risk capital, total performance and performance potential, how many risks founders took, ability to adopt new technologies, quality of support network, talent and differences between Silicon Valley. (h/t Jewess)

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Abbas' Presidential Guards page edits PA flag onto Kotel

From Palestinian Media Watch:

Last week, the official Facebook page of Mahmoud Abbas' Presidential Guard posted a picture of the Western Wall with a Palestinian flag superimposed on it.

Text on the flag:
"The Al-Buraq Wall"
(Muslim term for the Western Wall of the Temple Mount)

Text on picture:
"Public Relations and Information - The Presidential Guard"
"Palestinian youth know their rights"

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that the Palestinian Authority rejects that the Western Wall, the remnant of the Temple Mount destroyed by Rome in the year 70 CE, is a Jewish holy site, and claims it as an exclusively Islamic holy site.

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Don't feed Palestinian Arab babies food. Better to feed them lies.

We mentioned last week that Jordanian MP Tareq Khoury called for Jordan to kidnap Israeli diplomats and tourists.

Here is the banner photo  Khoury uses on Facebook.

Don't feed the baby food. Feed it lies instead.

Just reason #1904 that peace is impossible.

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8/12 Links Part 1: How does freeing murderers bring peace?, Palestinians Build a Settlement

From Ian:

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Housing Minister Ariel: How does freeing murderers bring peace?

Politicians came out for and against releasing prisoners Monday, after the government decided overnight Sunday to let 26 terrorists out of jail.
"Terrorists belong in jail. Otherwise, the government is making a mockery of the legal system that ruled these vile murderers should be in prison," Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel said.
Ariel pointed out that the terrorists being released killed women and children, adding that "it's not clear to me how releasing murderers can bring peace."
"Releasing terrorists and peace are total opposites," he stated.

Abbas Vows to Free All Terrorists

Abbas stressed that he will continue to work towards the release of all terrorist prisoners.
On Sunday evening, the ministerial committee headed by Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon met and approved the release of 26 terrorists as part of a gesture to the PA.

PA urges ambassadors to refer to prisoners as ‘freedom fighters’

A letter issued by the Palestinian foreign ministry which was made public Sunday urges Palestinian ambassadors to stress among international diplomats that the 104 long-serving prisoners set to be released by the Israeli government are not terrorists, as Israeli authorities claim, but “freedom fighters.”
The letter, which was obtained by Haaretz, further claims that Israel itself is responsible for terrorist activities committed in its name and that the “political prisoners” had been forced to react to the Jewish state’s aggression.

Abbas: None of the freed Palestinian prisoners will be deported

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday that no freed Palestinian prisoners will be deported, despite claims by Israel that it will demand that some be sent to Gaza or neighboring Arab countries.
Abbas added that Israeli-Arabs and Jerusalem residents would be among the 104 prisoners released by Israel in the near future.

MK: Jailed PA Murderers Make $3,400 a Month

"If [the Palestinian Authority] asks for the release of the murderers as the first step, that says something about their priorities,” he added.
He noted that the highest salary paid by the Palestinian Authority (PA) is that paid to terrorist murderers in Israeli jails. While a person serving in the PA security forces makes about 3,000 to 4,000 shekels per month ($850 to $1,150), the salary of a terrorist prisoner is between 10,000 and 12,000 shekels ($2,850 to $3,400).”
What is even worse, Elkin added, is that the more serious a terrorist's crime was, the higher his salary. “There is a very problematic educational message here,” he said drily.

This is a celebration of Palestinian terror, say bereaved families

The bereaved families were to stage a demonstration on Monday afternoon in front of the Kirya Defense Headquarters in Tel Aviv to protest the prisoner release. On Sunday, they petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice in an attempt to prevent the release. The court has historically refrained from intervening in such processes.
Families of terror victims now have 48-hours to appeal the government decision.

Terrorists Who Murdered Seniors with Axes to be Released

Al Haj Othman Amar Mustafa, who murdered Steven Rosenfeld on June 7, 1989, will be released as well. Rosenfeld went on a hike in the hills near Ariel, where he lived, when he encountered a group of shepherds who stole a knife that he had in his possession, stabbed him to death, and hid his body.
Another terrorist to be released is Abdel Aal Sa’id Ouda Yusef, who murdered Ian Sean Feinberg on April 18, 1983. Feinberg, who served for several years as an officer and lawyer in Gaza, had worked with commercial companies from Gaza and was murdered during a business meeting in Gaza City. Terrorists burst into the room and announced that they had come to kill the Jew. They then proceeded to murder Feinberg using a gun and an axe.
Ramahi Salah Abdallah Faraj, who murdered 84-year-old Avraham Kinstler in July of 1992, will be released as well. Kinstler was ambushed and murdered with an axe by a terrorist as he arrived to work at his orchard.

Among the terrorists to be released, the murderer of a Holocaust survivor

The list included 17 names of prisoners who had murdered Israelis, including Abu-Musa Salam Ali Atia of Fatah, who murdered Holocaust survivor Isaac Rotenberg in a Petah Tikvah construction site in 1994.
According to Almagor, an organization of terror victims’ families that has campaigned against the prisoner release, Rotenberg’s family perished in the Sobibor extermination camp during World War II. Rotenberg escaped and joined the partisans fighting the Nazis in the forests of Eastern Europe. He arrived in Israel in 1947, joined the IDF and fought in Israel’s Independence War on the Lebanese front.

Livni: EU Doesn't Determine Borders

The European Union is not the body to determine issues relating to Israel’s borders, Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said on Sunday.
Livni made the comments during a meeting with German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, who met with Israeli officials on Sunday on a visit to support the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinians Build a Settlement

Though it was entirely unintentional, the New York Times deserves credit today for pointing out the hypocrisy of critics of Israel’s settlement building. No, the paper hasn’t reversed its policy of treating the presence of Jews in the heart of their ancient homeland as wrong or an obstacle to peace that is reflected on its news pages as much as it is on their editorial page. What they did was something more subtle than that and will require some context for their readers to understand. They published a feature about the Palestinians doing something that Israel hasn’t tried in more than two decades, the building of an entirely new city in the West Bank.

Peres Peace Center rejects play for mentioning 'Jewish state'

The Peres Center for Peace decided not to include the play "Snow Ball" in its program for the visit of the Barcelona soccer team in Israel, because the play includes the line that "the state of Israel is the national home of all Jews."
The affair began in April of this year, when the new play, directed by Roy Horovitz, was performed as part of the Haifa International Children's Theatre Festival. The play is based on an original Israeli script that tells the story of Felipe, a 10-year-old new immigrant to Israel from Argentina who is a huge fan of FC Barcelona star Lionel Messi.

Harriet Sherwood parrots false charge of ‘Water Apartheid’

Even if the rate of water consumption by the 200,000 or so additional Israelis who live in eastern Jerusalem (which the NGOs count as “settlers”, and for which data doesn’t appear to be available) is astronomically higher than the average Israeli consumption, Sherwood’s claim that “600,000 Israeli settlers in the West Bank and East Jerusalem consume almost six times as much water as 2.7 million Palestinians” couldn’t possibly be true.
Once again the Guardian cited a claim which is consistent with their anti-Israel narrative, but that simply is not backed up by the data.

BBC’s Donnison returns – with an old party trick

Sadly, those weeks of absence have not honed Donnison’s ability to produce accurate and impartial reporting. In an item comparing the size of the Gaza Strip to Australia which is apparently supposed to be whimsical or amusing, Donnison manages to squeeze in some of his tried and trusted old themes.
“There are neighbourhoods with some of the highest population densities in the world.”

Bahrain blocks Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV website

Sheikh Fawaz bin Muhammad al-Khalifa, the communications minister, announced that the government would block websites affiliated with organizations that are internationally recognized as funders and promoters of terrorism, according to a report by the Bahrain News Agency website on August 3.
In addition to Hezbollah’s website, those run by al-Qaida will also be blocked.

JPost Editorial: Rethinking Camp David

Israel and the present Egyptian leadership have a common interest in neutralizing terrorist groups operating in Sinai, though Cairo could never admit to coordinating military actions with Israel against the Islamists. Still, Egyptian officials tipped off Israel of a potential rocket attack against the Eilat Airport, resulting in its temporary closure last Thursday.
As part of the battle against Sinai’s Islamists, Israel and Egypt have agreed secretly or publicly to alterations to the Camp David accords. It seems the old arrangements underpinning security relations between the two countries are out-dated and ill-suited to an era when a quasistate run by Hamas has emerged in Gaza and when a hodgepodge of Beduin clans, al-Qaida-affiliated organizations and Salafists have filled the security vacuum in Sinai. Perhaps the time has come for Egypt and Israel to rethink these arrangements in an effort to confront the challenges emanating from Sinai.

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PalArab org panics over report of $145M to "Judaize Jerusalem"

Ma'an Arabic reports that Dr. Hassan Khater, head of the Jerusalem International Center, said that Jews were in "frantic efforts to Judaize Jerusalem" noting that the UJA Federation of New York recently allocated $145 million on Jerusalem projects.

Khater notes that this is only the New York Federation - there are many others throughout the US that are also sending vast amounts of money to erase all signs of Islamic life in Jerusalem.

Khater added that "The Jewish money flowing to Jerusalem today has become much easier and more influential in the light of the almost complete absence of money from the Arab and Islamic world," as he stressed that "the steadfastness of Jerusalemites can not be achieved in words and wishes, but they must be supported with a similar continuous financial commitment."

If only!

The UJA-Federation of New York did manage to raise $145 million this year, but they spend that money all over the world, on things like assisting people in need, improving Jewish education, summer camps and other charitable needs; it looks like far less than half its budget is spent in Israel.

I have no idea if any of their funded programs are meant to "Judaize Jerusalem," a phrase that makes as much sense as "moistening water."

I guess Ma'an didn't consider that the head of an organization that is meant to Islamicize Jerusalem might be making facts up in order to shame Arab nations into giving him hundreds of millions of dollars.

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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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