Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, August 23, 2013

That "dismantled" terror group keeps making appearances

Back in January 2008:

A dozen Palestinian gunmen surrendered to Palestinian forces on Tuesday, and the top Palestinian security official said this means a violent West Bank militia, is now defunct. However, Israeli officials are skeptical of such claims, and say gunmen still pose a threat to Israel.

The gunmen who gave themselves up Tuesday are from the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, a violent offshoot of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.

Al Aqsa was formed at the start of the Palestinian uprising in 2000, and at its height had hundreds of members who carried out scores of shooting attacks against Israelis. Most recently, Al Aqsa was involved in the killing of two off-duty Israel Defense Forces soldiers in the West Bank last month.

In recent months, Abbas' security forces have tried to assert control in the West Bank, particularly in Nablus, the West Bank's second largest city and a former militia stronghold.

As part of the campaign, they have urged Al Aqsa gunmen to surrender their weapons, in exchange for a promise of amnesty from Israel and the prospect of jobs in the security services. Hundreds have so far taken up the offer, but holdouts have remained.

In Nablus, a small Al Aqsa splinter group, which called itself The Knights of the Night, was the last to surrender, Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razak Yehiyeh said Tuesday.

This is the last military group of Al Aqsa to hand over its weapons, Yehiyeh told The Associated Press. The Al Aqsa Brigades have been dismantled.

Five and a half years later, the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades still maintains its webpage, and you can see its latest activities.

For example, they greeted one of their old comrades when he was one of those released by Israel as a "goodwill gesture."

You can almost read their minds: "Israel made a goodwill gesture, maybe we should reciprocate and send a hail of bullets back to those swell guys."

A couple of weeks before, as the new round of negotiations were just getting underway, this group - as proud members of Fatah,whose leader is Mahmoud Abbas -showed off their arsenal of weapons that inexplicably managed to make their way through the much-praised PA security forces and declared, "Armed struggle is the only way to liberate Palestine, we will continue developing our own weapons to crush the enemy, wherever he is."

There are only two alternatives: either Mahmoud Abbas approves of a terror group under his own command, or he is too weak to stop them.

The US is pressuring Israel to sign a "peace agreement" with someone who either supports this terror group, or who is too weak to control his own political party, let alone his political opponents.

It doesn't really matter which it is.

8/23 Links Part 1: Resetting US foreign policy, Egypt’s Polish syndrome, Latma - We will be back

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Resetting US foreign policy

Aside from the carnage in Benghazi, the most enduring image from Hillary Clinton’s tenure as US secretary of state was the fake remote control she brought with her to Moscow in 2009 with the word “Reset” in misspelled Russian embossed on it.
Clinton’s gimmick was meant to show that under President Barack Obama, American foreign policy would be fundamentally transformed. Since Obama and Clinton blamed much of the world’s troubles on the misdeeds of their country, under their stewardship of US foreign policy, the US would reset everything.
Around the globe, all bets were off.
Five years later we realize that Clinton’s embarrassing gesture was not a gimmick, but a dead serious pledge. Throughout the world, the Obama administration has radically altered America’s policies.
And disaster has followed. Never since America’s establishment has the US appeared so untrustworthy, destructive, irrelevant and impotent. (h/t Jewess)

Sarah Honig: Egypt’s Polish syndrome

Jewish culpability always was – and apparently still remains – a key element in lending moral authority to any contentious cause. Jews have known this for millennia but the dispiriting fact of our existence is that it still goes on, unabated, in the 21st century and that it motivates not only declared and implacable enemies but also forces of supposed enlightenment and liberality in the West.
As it was from time immemorial – it’s just not a marketable story without that eminently salient Jewish connection.
The blood-soaked internecine turmoil convulsing the Arab realm – from the Maghreb to Mesopotamia – has nothing to do with Jews, with Zionism, the Jewish national liberation movement or with Israel, the Jewish state. The carnage is spawned by internal Arab ethnic, religious, clannish and political conflicts. Each side reinforces its case by recruiting throngs of volatile and violent demonstrators. This rent-a-mob fest is palmed off to clueless foreigners as democracy-in-action. (h/t NormanF)

Do Abbas and the PA Really Want Peace?

The Palestinian Authority, despite billions in aid over the years, does not appear ready to run a state for whose success or failure it would be held accountable. Better to drag out the process and drama of negotiations by which—for merely for showing up—they succeed in forcing more unilateral concessions from Israel. Why sweat the details when there are broad hints from Washington and the EU that nine months down the road Israel will be forced to capitulate even without a mutual agreement?
A month from now, Mr. Abbas will once again address the UN General Assembly. He will doubtless denounce a “Judaized Jerusalem” and “illegal Settlements” as the main obstacles to peace. But the truth is that the real stumbling block is the failure of President Abbas to tell his people in Arabic, once and for all, that the Jewish state of Israel is here to stay. Instead he retains the map and hope of a Palestine from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River, while his PA continues to present terrorists as role models for their youth.
Unless and until such a mindset is deconstructed, all the American and European arm-twisting of Israel alone won’t bring peace to either people, only hasten more needless violence and suffering in a region already on the brink of a total meltdown.

The PLO Charter Still Calls for Israel’s Destruction

Contrary to belief in some quarters, the Charter has never been amended and in fact, fealty to “armed struggle” (i.e., terrorism) was reasserted as late as 2011. In pursuit of its goals, Palestinian terrorism has killed more than 5,000 Israelis since 1949. Airplane hijackings; sniper shootings (including an infant in her father’s arms), bombings on buses, in cafes and in restaurants; little boys bludgeoned to death; children murdered in their homes in front of their parents. Raw anti-Semitism pours today from Voice of Palestine Radio. School children learn that Israel is only a temporary impediment to Palestinian aspirations and that killing and dying is the highest good.
This would seem to preclude peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel.

Abbas: We’ll renounce claims to Jaffa, Haifa for peace

If offered a just agreement, the Palestinian Authority would agree to a final end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and “will not demand in the future to return to Jaffa, Acre or Haifa,” Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told a group of left-wing MKs who visited his Ramallah office on Thursday.
The statement appeared to signal a disavowal of the long-held Palestinian demand for a right of return to Israel for refugees of the 1948 war and their descendants. bbas expressed similar sentiments in an interview with Channel 2 in November. He later played down those comments.

Fatah: “Without blood Palestine will not return”

Fatah's official Facebook page continues to promote and glorify violence and terror for children. In one post, young Palestinian boys are shown holding rifles with the text:
"The children of Palestine - this is how they celebrated their holiday."
In another post, a masked man is holding a rifle with these words beside the picture:
"Machine gun, wake up the sleeping and tell them that without blood Palestine will not return"

Kerry’s Peace Talks Could Lead to New Terror Attacks

Until today, terror has helped the Palestinian Authority gain the trappings of an emergent nation state. So as long as violence continues to produce favorable outcomes for the Palestinians, the PA leadership is likely to perceive this as the better option.
Moreover, by receiving a virtual get-out-of-jail-free card from Mr. Kerry, the chances the PA will negotiate in good faith on final status issues, such as the so-called right of return for the 1948 Palestinian refugees and the fate of Jerusalem, are probably slim to none.
Bearing that in mind, it’s possible PA leader Mahmoud Abbas will intentionally torpedo peace talks with Israel, and instead pursue the more favorable methods of incitement, violence and terror, as the PA has consistently done in the past.

Piron: Our Grandchildren May Know Peace

Education Minister Shai Piron has expressed pessimism about the odds of true peace between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
Piron told Maariv that he wants peace and thinks Israel should sacrifice for peace. “If I knew that we could end the conflict and make peace with our neighbors by establishing two states for two peoples, and paying the price by giving up communities in Judea and Samaria, I would support that,” he explained.
However, he continued, as Education Minister, he gets reports about the anti-Israel and anti-Jewish incitement in the PA school system.

BBC describes known terror finance man as ‘activist’

The BBC’s choice of the term “activist” gives audiences no insight into the type of pursuits engaged in by Bassam Saadi (also a-Saadi or al Saadi) – which, contrary to the impression readers might receive, are not limited to folding flyers or licking envelopes.
Bassam Saadi is a senior figure in the Jenin branch of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad who has been imprisoned due to his involvement in terrorist activity in the past. Palestinian Authority documents seized during ‘Operation Defensive Shield’ in 2002 named Saadi as part of the PIJ’s terror financing network.

Abraham Foxman: An Open Letter to Roger Waters From the ADL: ‘Your Animosity Towards Israel is Colored by Anti-Semitism’

Your single-minded obsession with trying to convince others to boycott the Jewish state, while ignoring the world’s true human rights violators, must be driven by something other than a guilty conscience. Taking all this into account, one must conclude that your views on Israel are in fact colored by offensive and dangerous undercurrents of anti-Jewish sentiment.

Rental Agency Apologizes for Map

Israeli customers of the global car rental agency "SixT" earlier expressed their surprise and anger at the company's decision to unilaterally erase Judea, Samaria and the Golan Heights from its maps of Israel.
Information gathered by Arutz Sheva revealed that the company's European branches made the decision to take the politically-charged step, which effectively takes sides in the as-yet unresolved dispute between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

eBay to Cooperate With Israeli Exporters for First Time

For three months, the online retail giant will assist 10 Israeli exporters with small businesses in the field of consumer goods by exporting their products through eBay’s online commerce platform.
This is just the first stage in the planned cooperation. “We see this support as a top value and hope to make it permanent in the future,” said the head of eBay’s business activity in Israel, Elad Goldenberg, according to Yedioth Achronoth.

How Israel has Rebranded Amid a Volatile Geopolitical Backdrop

Mr. Aharoni launched "Brand Israel" in 2005 when he was serving as consul for media and public affairs at the Israel Consulate in New York. The campaign is meant to "rebrand" Israel, emphasizing its relevance and modernity. Mr. Aharoni, who joined the Israel foreign service in 1991, calls his specialty "country positioning." In short, he's worked to define what makes Israel attractive for tourism, foreign investment and export, and then used those advantages to promote his country to relevant audiences.
At Ad Age's CMO Strategy Summit in San Francisco on Oct. 16, Mr. Aharoni will share how he's worked to define Israel's brand and discuss how he deals with the obstacles Israel faces, given its difficult geopolitical situation.

A Glimpse into United Hatzalah Israeli Rescue Squad

Arutz Sheva visited United Hatzalah of Israel’s main center in Jerusalem, where over 2,000 people volunteer and answer hundreds of phone calls a day in order to save lives.
The center responds to over 650 calls daily from dozens of locations across the country. The 24/7 rescue team uses the “best” and most advanced technology, called the Moskowitz Life Compass. The team also uses the Israeli mobile navigation, Waze, in order for respondents to arrive as fast as possible.

Israel’s ‘green’ house cleans up in world contest

Israel’s entry, an 85-meter modular house built of locally-produced materials, came in first in the “energy balance” category for homes that produce more energy than they consume. It also won the hot water production category, and was second in the architecture category and fourth in the market appeal category.
The results were announced last week in Datong, China, where the contest took place. Two Chinese teams — from the University of Wollongong and the South China University of Technology — came in first and second overall, while Team Sweden came in third.

Caroline Glick: We will be back

The Israeli media is impossibly post-Zionist. The Tribal Update is without a doubt the best satire show ever produced in this country. And the fact that we cannot get a television contract for our show -- which by all accounts would receive massive rating -- shows the inherent and all-encompassing bias and hatred driving the media elites in this country -- and the cowardice and fecklessness of Likud apparatchiks in the face of this situation.
I will have more to say about our experience once the dust clears, and our plans are set.

British Christian cultural festival indoctrinates children against Israel

This weekend:

This year, Greenbelt celebrates 40 years as a Christian arts, faith and justice festival. The festival organizers have chosen the theme ‘Life begins’, and we will be using our presence there to remember those for whom life is permanently on hold.

Our installation in the Centaur foyer aims to give a glimpse of the challenges faced by ordinary Palestinians living under Israeli occupation. There'll be a giant, interactive floor game - Occupation! - for all ages. Roll the dice and make your way through checkpoints and challenges, permit denials and poverty. On your journey, you’ll learn about the issues affecting the West Bank and Gaza and find out how you can help Embrace the Middle East to make a positive difference to the lives of marginalised people.

Occupation! is just a game, and you can walk freely away whenever you want, but the message behind it is a serious one. In the West Bank and Gaza, injustice continues to weave through the fabric of Palestinian life. Join us as we embrace the work of our Palestinian Christian brothers and sisters in their determination to be agents of change.

Not that Greenbelt is only indoctrinating children:

One of our Greenbelt highlights will be the official launch of Kairos Britain: A Time for Action, the new booklet from British Church leaders responding the 2009 Kairos Palestine Call, challenging British Churches and Christians to take action and stand with our Christian brothers and sisters in Palestine against Israel’s 46-year occupation of their land in East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza. The launch will be at 12.30pm on Sunday. We’re hosting a reception after the launch, so do stay and take the opportunity to talk some more.

While the Greenbelt site has many, many articles about how evil Israel is, there is not a single posting there about how Coptic Christians are being attacked, today, in Egypt. In case the social justice people at Greenbelt missed it, here are the latest stats:

47 churches attacked, of which 25 were burned, seven looted and destroyed, five partly damaged, and 10 attacked without sustaining heavy damage. Nor how Christians are fleeing Lebanon.

Nor does Greenbelt discuss how Muslims have pushed Christians out of Bethlehem. They used to be a majority, including under Israeli rule; now under the PA they are almost gone. And it isn't because of Israel. It is systemic Muslim discrimination and therefore a topic that must not be discussed.

Christians in Gaza? Not a topic that Greenbelt wants to discuss. Wouldn't want to upset Hamas, would we?

Not a word about how the Middle East is turning into a Christian-free zone, everywhere -except Israel.

And only a single article about Syrian Christians becoming refugees. In the past two years, Syria has become the only Arab country that one is allowed to criticize without worrying about losing your lefty credentials. It is still nowhere as monstrous as Israel, of course, based on the amount of attention it gets at fun, family festivals like Greenbelt. They'd have to gas at least a half million more people to death and etch crosses in their faces to start getting the same attention Israel get from good, moral, justice-seeking Christians like the ones at Greenbelt.

See also the Archbishop Cramner site. H/t to Alex for WSJ link, a very worthwhile article.

Earthquake-washing - in 1953

You know how Israel-haters claim that anything humanitarian that Israel ever does does not reflect the true attitude of Israelis, but are only meant to cover over their supposed crimes?

I'd love to hear how they explain this:

In August 1953, Israel had just concluded celebrations of the country's fifth anniversary. The festivities weren't joyful: An economic recession and military threats were causing no end of anxiety to the country's leadership. The country was also preoccupied with the task of absorbing waves of immigrants, who had come from Arab lands and post-Holocaust Europe. Israel's international position was also precarious: On the one hand many countries had recognized the newly founded state, but on the other hand their leaders refrained from paying official visits because of the Arab boycott. A number of European countries had not yet recognized Israel, among them Germany, Austria, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Greece.

The Israeli Navy was in the process of building its force, having at its disposal only a small number of old frigate-class warships, which had been renovated and put into service, along with a mixed assemblage of young soldiers lacking experience or naval training. On Aug. 12, 1953 the navy flotilla was on its way back to Israeli shores, after four weeks of intense training in the Aegean Sea, aimed at creating a professional naval force. Suddenly S.O.S alerts were sounded off the Greek shores: A series of deadly earthquakes, measuring 7.3 on the Richter scale, had struck the area of the Greek islands, Kefalonia, Zante, and Ithaca. The commander of the Israeli flotilla reported back to naval headquarters in Haifa and requested permission to turn back and offer aid. The Israeli response was immediate: "Enter and provide assistance."

The Israeli fleet, 15 hours away from the site of the disaster, doubled back and sailed past the American and British fleets, which could not access the areas on the islands that had been hit, due to the immense size of their warships.

In his blog "Seven days - notes from the Great Blue", Yiftah Kozik vividly describes the sights encountered by the Israeli naval personnel arriving at the devastated islands:

"huge clods of earth were falling into the water at tremendous speeds, the summit of Mount Ainos on the island of Kefalonia looks as though it were split in two, pillars of smoke rising from cracks could be seen throughout the town, and fierce fires had broken out in the olive oils storerooms and were burning all that remained...in most of the island's village not a building remained standing, and thousands were wounded in critical condition, among them pregnant women, old and young, people with amputated and crushed limbs, and all were in need of immediate help....the casualty clearing station was located on a wharf of the island's central port, the flotilla's senior physician, Dr. Ashkenazi, along with his younger colleague, Dr. Seelenfreud, were in charge of medical treatment, distributing the limited medical resources, and performing triage. The Israeli teams performed emergency surgeries: a broken pelvis, skull fractures, premature births, complex fractures, hemorrhages, panic attacks, despair, and havoc everywhere..."

According to the Law of the Sea of that time, the first rescue force to arrive on the scene takes command of the operation, and since the Israeli navy was the first to land on the shores of Kefalonia it took charge and also directed the rescue operations of the American and British fleets. For three days and nights the 450 Israeli naval men struggled side by side with the Americans and the British to provide relief to the residents of the Greek islands, saving hundreds from a sure death, transporting 400 seriously wounded casualties to the mainland, and providing medical assistance to 16,000 local residents. Although at the time the Greek government had not yet recognized the state of Israel, and official recognition would arrive only 37 years later, the Greek people expressed their gratitude. The king of Greece came personally to greet the Navy soldiers to convey a message of thanks to David Ben Gurion, Israel's Prime Minister, and to award badges of merit to the commanders of the operation, Shlomo Harel and Yizhak Dviri. In an act of appreciation for the Israeli navy, the Greek press called it "the fleet of love and hope," and "the Israeli sailors of salvation."

As the Israeli fleet departed from the Kefalonia bay to make its way back to Israeli shores, the other ships that took part in the rescue operations sounded their horns in a prolonged cheer, in a spontaneous show of professional homage.

Obviously, the Israelis were trying to whitewash the future "occupation."

PalArab gets arrested for selling "Morsi" perfume

When you want to smell like an Islamist....

Palestinian security services have arrested an Islamist sympathizer in the West Bank for selling perfume named in honor of Egypt’s ousted President Mohammad Mursi, family members said on Thursday.

Islambuli Badir, a 36-year-old member of Islamist movement Hamas, was arrested during a raid on his perfume shop in the town of Tulkarem, his brother Abdel Fattah Badir told AFP.

“Men from the security services on Tuesday raided my brother’s shop and confiscated all the perfume bottles that were labeled ‘Mursi,’ then arrested Islambuli and also seized his laptop,” said Abdel Fattah.

“The day after the arrest, my younger brother Qassam, 24, put a sign up on the shop door saying: An apology to customers -- our Mohammad Mursi perfume has been seized by the authorities.”

Arab media report that the perfume was created after the Egyptian coup, and it was a best seller in the West Bank.

I'm not sure if the target market is women or men.

Hamas terrorists hold a pathetic parade in Rafah

This parade/motorcade occurred yesterday, in Rafah, by Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades:

It appears that there were ten vehicles, filmed over and over, with masked terrorists triumphantly holding their weapons to the utter indifference of passers-by.

They are holding up four fingers to symbolize Cairo's Fourth Square where hundreds of Muslim Brotherhood members were killed.

If Hamas is trying to give the impression that it is not involved in Egyptian terrorism, this isn't the best way to get that message across.

"Jews violating the sanctity of Al Aqsa" (video)

Al Wattan TV has a video of what they describe as "Dozens of Jewish settlers, on Thursday, wandered in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and and violated its sanctity."

They have video of the horrible desecration:

Clearly, the Jews were desecrating it by not screaming slogans and acting like a mob.

Threats, insults and intimidation must reflect the sanctity of the Al Aqsa Mosque much better than peacefully walking around.

"How to Survive as a Jew in Sweden" (Mosaic)

From Mosaic Magazine, an excerpt from a letter to a writer who discussed Jewish life in Europe today:

On April 26 of this year, I was on a train with my five-year-old son Charlie. We were on our way to spend shabbat with friends in the city. You see, our town, significant in the history of Swedish Jewry, shut its synagogue in the late 90s. All that remains now is a plaque stating that there was once Jewish life here, while we are left with an hour-long train ride every weekend to attend services.

My son was wearing his kippah as we got on the train. He loves his kippah. He is not yet old enough to know the dangers entailed in wearing it, for this is a fact from which I have tried to protect him. But April 26 would change all that.

There was a gentleman sitting in our reserved seat. An Arab, maybe fifty years old, listening to music. Apologizing for the inconvenience, I asked him politely for our seat. He got up, inspected my son, and then leaned over me, saying: You people always take what you want. You need to learn.

He then walked straight into my son, causing him to fall over, and took the seat behind us.

We sat. Hiding my trembling hands from my son’s sight, I picked up Shabbes for Kids and started to review the week’s Torah portion with him. We hadn’t progressed as far as a page before the man stood up and screamed: Quiet! I don’t want to hear that! You take what you want and never think of others! Shut up!

He stamped his feet, grunting and glaring at my son. Fighting tears of rage, I assured Charlie that the man was just grumpy and tried to turned the episode into a game, one that required us to remain super quiet for as long as possible. I even managed to coax a conspiratorial smile out of him.

But even this failed to appease our tormentor, who spent the rest of the trip repeatedly kicking the back of my son’s seat. At one point I glanced around our compartment: there were four other people there, four adults witnessing a single mother and her five-year-old child being attacked by a grown man. They did nothing. I tried forcing them to meet my gaze; but they just turned away, put on their headphones, stared at their screens, ignored what was happening in front of them.

I did not summon the railway police. I did not scream back at the man. I know better. I know that the only way to survive as a Jew in my country is not to be seen as one. Not to be exposed but to shut up and fade into the woodwork. I’ve known this for quite some time. Unfortunately, my son knows it now, too.

In your fascinating and informative article you mention that ritual slaughter, kosher as well as hallal, is under threat in Europe. Well, in Sweden kosher butchering was outlawed in 1937 and has been illegal ever since. The threat is not a threat but a reality—for me as, on a much graver scale, it had been for my grandparents, forced into hiding in a Sweden silently collaborating with the Nazis throughout the world war. The next threat on the horizon is a ban on even importing kosher products, compelling me and many of my friends to smuggle kosher meat from Israel on our return trips from that land.

By contrast, hallal slaughter is not banned in Sweden. My government, when asked about the disparity, replies that the methods of slaughter in Judaism are uniquely barbaric.

...In your essay you mention that Jewish religious and cultural activities in Western Europe are everywhere on the rise. This, too, is not my reality. What I see is that the Holocaust wing at the Jewish Museum is crowded with visitors, while the synagogues are empty. I see cute Woody Allen-ish activities being promoted, and actual Jewish life being banned. The dead, suffering Jew is glorified; the healthy, active Jew is vilified.

...What frightens me most is that my government is proscribing Jewish life. Yes, by outlawing circumcision, banning kosher slaughter, and telling us forthrightly that the only way to avoid being harassed in the streets is to distance ourselves from Israel, they are reinventing the conditions of the Eastern Europe past that brought our community to this country in the first place. This is what is driving us out: one by one, bill by bill.

Of course, mere survival isn't living. From this description, it looks like Jewish life in the real sense of the word is already dead in Sweden.

8/22 Links Part 2: The Only Place Where Muslims Can Speak Freely in the ME, Regime Change in Jordan

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Where Muslims Can Speak Freely in the Middle East

While Muslim Brotherhood leaders have been thrown into prison in Egypt, Raed Salah and Kamal al-Khatib, the leaders of the Islamic Movement in Israel, continue to lead normal lives and organize various political activities around the country.
One of them, Islambuli Badir from Tulkarem, was detained for manufacturing and marketing a perfume named after Morsi. The second, Mahmoud Ayyad, a poet from Bethlehem, was taken into custody for wearing a shirt with a portrait of Morsi.
Last week, Palestinian Authority policemen used force to break up a pro-Morsi rally in Hebron. Two local journalists, Akram al-Natsha and Mahmoud Abu Ghania, complained that the policemen threatened and insulted them during the confrontation.
Today it has become evident that leaders and members of the Islamic Movement in Israel enjoy more freedom and rights than the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Jordan and even -- under the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank -- Hamas.

Israel’s Heroic Restraint

Israel routinely gets crucified by its enemies, not least for the behavior of the Israeli military. The Jewish state’s reckless soldiers eagerly spill Arab blood, as if for sport. Or so the story goes.
Kuwaiti officials accuse the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) of “intentional killing, intentional destruction of civilian objects, intentional scorched-earth policy.” Pakistani authorities complain that the “horrors of Israeli occupation continue to haunt the international community’s conscience.”
“The IDF faces a challenge,” according to Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British forces in Afghanistan and an outside expert on the IDF’s strategy and tactics. “It is the automatic, Pavlovian presumption by many in the international media, and international human rights groups, that the IDF are in the wrong, that they are abusing human rights.”
If Israel’s critics would calm down and face facts, they would be astonished by the IDF’s efforts to reduce or eliminate civilian casualties through its policy of military restraint.

BBC documentary on Tel Aviv gay pride fails to keep up with the news

The trouble with that statement is of course that a suspect in the Bar Noar shootings has been caught (in fact he was arrested during the time that Samuels was in Tel Aviv making the programme) and was charged with two counts of murder and attempted murder on July 8th 2013. The implication that the shootings were purely an anti-gay hate crime is also problematic given the information which emerged after the arrests. That means that whoever wrote that synopsis has either not bothered to keep up with the facts of the case – and hence misleads audiences by making inaccurate statements – or that the facts of the case do not tailor themselves to the message he or she is trying to get across. Clearly, that synopsis needs to be corrected.

‘All the News That’s Fit to Print’ Really?

The Times is entitled to its fantasy that land for peace will seal the deal between Israelis and Palestinians. But Palestinians have rejected every international recommendation for the partition of land west of the Jordan. All or nothing has its cost, but readers should not hold their breath in anticipation of Times recognition that it has been Palestinian recalcitrance, not Jewish settlements, that have proven to be the overriding obstacle to peace.
Two weeks ago the Times reported the discovery in Jerusalem by a prominent archeologist of a fragment of King David’s palace. Jerusalem bureau chief Steven Erlanger made sure to insert his own doubts about its veracity, equating historic Jewish claims to Jerusalem with Yasir Arafat’s absurd denial of any Jewish connection there. But several days later, when the print media overflowed with accounts of the discovery of a juglet with a 3,000 year-old text from King David’s time, pre-dating the earliest known Hebrew inscription from the 8th century BCE, the Times ignored the story.

Palestinian official threatens to go to UN over settlements

If the US is unable to halt Israeli construction on war-won lands, deemed illegal by most of the international community, the Palestinians may have to seek redress elsewhere, said Hanan Ashrawi, a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organization.
“We are saying very clearly that if Israel does not stop, then we have to move,” Ashrawi said during a tour of Israeli neighborhoods in east Jerusalem where hundreds of new apartments are planned.
Ashrawi said she was expressing the official Palestinian position, though it was not clear if her warning was a sign of frustration or actual intent. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas might be reluctant to disrupt recently relaunched negotiations with such a step, for fear of incurring US anger.

PLO official: Israel asked US out of negotiating room

A PLO official accused Israel on Thursday of undermining negotiations by demanding the removal of the Americans from the negotiation room in a bid “to exploit their power over the Palestinians.”
“We had an agreement on three-way negotiations. The Americans from the beginning were supposed to be there. I don’t see why the Israelis don’t want the Americans there, as witnesses,” Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the PLO Executive Committee, told The Times of Israel. “These are not two-way negotiations,” she added.

Peter Beinart’s Open Zion feels the pain of pre-Oslo murderers and their loved ones

An Aug. 20 essay by Maysoon Zayid at Peter Beinart’s blog Open Zion, titled ‘Palestinian Prisoners Are Released and No One Cares‘, mostly stands out in the way in which Arab murderers are characterized sympathetically while the victims of their brutal crimes are all but ignored.
Indeed, we’ve been posting frequently on the sympathetic portrayal, by some in the media, of the the 104 pre-Oslo prisoners who Israel has agreed to release – all of whom were convicted of murder, attempted murder, or being an accessory to murder, and the dearth of information about the victims and their families. And, in fact, Zayid spends most of the space allotted to her commenting on the pain felt by the recently released murderers – in “the middle of the night”!, we are reminded – and the ‘feelings’ of their families.
In addition to the moral inversion typical in the far-left’s coverage of the prisoner release story, here are a few of the smears and falsehoods in Zayid’s Open Zion essay.

Israel, the un-apartheid state – a comparison with Australia

The anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions Movement justifies its racist persecution of Jewish Israeli businesses in Australia, the UK, Europe and North America with the accusation that Israel is an apartheid state.
They like to imagine that their campaign of aggressive protests around tiny retail cosmetics stands and chocolate shops is comparable to the mass protests against the Springbok rugby team that characterized the campaign against South African apartheid in the 1970s and ‘80s.
But the analogy between Israel and apartheid South Africa is false on every level. A comparison of Israel with Australia, a country generally admired for its freedom and successful multiculturalism, reveals this clearly.

Words Supporting Boycott of Israel Deleted From JCC in Manhattan Official’s Article

The new version of the op-ed does not include the words “and the importance of the use of boycott to get international attention towards pressuring Israel to end the occupation is unquestionable.”
In his op-ed, Zablocki opposed a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement letter asking Iranian film director Moshen Makhmalbaf to boycott the Jerusalem Film Festival. He also criticized calls for Lebanese director Ziad Doueiri to boycott the festival.
Before the language in Zablocki’s op-ed was altered, he defended the story in a comment on its Web page.

Who needs Waters when we have much finer wine

If all this coverage of one aging, has-been, rock star who once wrote some lyrics for a very fine band before destroying it, makes you think cultural boycotts of Israel are on the rise: think again.
For every idiot like Roger Waters, who’s happy to play gigs in the country which has imprisoned more reporters in the last few years than any other (Turkey) but won’t play in the only free and open democracy in the Middle East, there are dozens more who love playing in Israel.

Refaeli takes on Waters over boycott letter

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli tweeted in Hebrew that she no longer wants to be associated with British rocker Roger Waters after his open letter calling for a boycott of Israel.
“Roger Waters, you better take my picture off of the video art at your shows. If you’re boycotting — go all the way,” Refaeli said Wednesday on Twitter.
Her image is among dozens beamed on the wall during Waters’ concerts.

The case for regime change in Jordan

The popular uprisings, in various Arab states, which were hailed by the pundits as the “Arab Spring,” were directed against despotic rulers, who invariably represented a minority, either ethnic, religious, or army juntas.
These despots established dynasties which remained in power for decades. Their unmitigated ruthlessness and kleptocratic greed kept the vast majority of the population in a state of fear and subjugation, hunger and rage. The people invariably called for regime change.
Nowhere is the rule of a minority over the majority more blatant than in Jordan.

Iranian gets life for planned attacks on Israeli targets in Thailand

A Bangkok court sentenced an Iranian man to life in prison for a botched bomb plot last year that officials believe was aimed at Israeli diplomats in the Thai capital. His accomplice, also an Iranian national, received a sentence of 15 years.
The Iranians were detained shortly after a cache of homemade explosives accidentally blew apart the villa where the men were staying in February 2012.

India and Israel’s strategic ties

At first glance, Hindumajority India, with approximately 1.2 billion people and a subcontinent, would seem to have little in common with Jewish-majority Israel, which has only about eight million people living on territory roughly 15 times the size of India’s capital city. While full diplomatic relations were established between Jerusalem and New Delhi only in 1992, the two countries actually have much in common.
Both countries are homelands for ancient peoples who gained their independence from the British in the 1940s.
Both states have gone on to create vibrant, multicultural democracies that have experienced dynamic, technology driven economic growth. India and Israel each also have a large Muslim minority population, and each faces an ongoing terrorism threat from foreign and domestic Islamic extremists; indeed, both Israelis and Indians were targeted and killed in the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. Even more serious, India and Israel each face ballistic missile threats from at least one close, hostile Muslim state.

Punjab Farmers Learn Farming Techniques in Israel

A 10-member delegation of dairy farmers from the Punjab region of India recently visited Israel to participate in a training program about modern dairy farming techniques. The unique program was especially designed for the group by the Center for International Agricultural Development Cooperation (CINDACO), part of Israel’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Liberman hopes to turn Arad into Israel's Hollywood

Milchan, 68, said tax credits persuaded movie studios to film top movies in Romania, Hungary, and New Zealand, so he saw no reason why films cannot be made in Israel. He said thee money invested by the countries came back in jobs, hotels, restaurants, construction, and tourism.
“This could be great public relations for Israel,” Milchan said. “It is possible to build a first-class studio here in Arad. If we do and there is cooperation from all sides, there is no reason why the biggest productions won't come to Arad instead of Budapest.”

Israeli Security System to be Used in NY Housing Projects

A one-building pilot project at the 1,600-unit Knickerbocker Village has been using the SafeRise program from the Israeli-based FST21 that is now rolling out to all dozen buildings.
The company is headed by retired IDF Major General Aharon Zeevi Farkash, formerly the head of Israeli Military Intelligence. He said the system is the ultimate answer to lost ID cards and security guards who don’t really examine IDs.
“Everyone who tried the system, was, ‘Yes I want it,’” Farkash told the newspaper. “This is the best way to introduce new technology.”

Canyoning, anyone?

Canyoning is all about accessing parts of nature you can’t otherwise access. It’s not just backing off a cliff for a high-energy rappelling experience and then climbing back up to do it again. Instead, this sport is about combining rappelling (abseiling) and rope-work, climbing and scampering, jumping and swimming.
“Israelis are good at canyoning because they like to explore, they like the fear factor and they like to do extraordinary things,” Adam Sela, founder of Challenging Experience — a jeep tours and wilderness activities venture – tells ISRAEL21c.
Israel is blessed with varied topography. And that means there are dozens of places to go canyoning. Israel’s top canyoning spots are found in the desert and the Golan Heights. Most of the trails are open to everyone and no prior experience is required. Sela notes that there are also canyons reserved for the more experienced.

Palestinians, Israelis work together to clear medicines from water

The joint Palestinian-Israeli research team from Al-Quds University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is working to assess the use of advanced membrane and bio-degradation technologies for eradicating pharmaceutical materials from treated waste-water. Organized by the Peres Center for Peace and sponsored by the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, the two-year project aims to investigate the degradation and removal processes of certain drugs found in aquatic environments that come from both domestic and industrial sources.
“In order to facilitate and progress with the research, we need the expertise of the Israeli side,” said Karaman, who is the principal researcher on the Palestinian side. “We can learn from them and they can learn from us, and this way you can do good research in Palestine.” (h/t Zvi)

BDS threats frighten another artist into cancelling Israel gig

From the Facebook page of Salif Keita:

August 22, 2013

Dear Sacred Music Festival, Hadassah Hospital, Salif Keita fans,

On behalf of Salif Keita and the Salif Keita Global Foundation, we would like to thank you for organizing a magnificent unifying music festival, and a visit of the albinism treatment center in Jerusalem. Unfortunately, Mr. Keita will not be able to attend either events because of the cancellation of his show at the Sacred Music Festival.

Although, the show was cancelled, Mr. Keita (and his foundation for albinism) would like to convey his most sincere apologies to all concerned, such as the concert organizers, the Albinism Treatment Center and especially all his wonderful and diverse fans in Israel. The reason for the cancellation is not one which was made by Mr. Keita, but by his agents who were bombarded with hundreds of threats, blackmail attempts, intimidation, social media harrassment and slander stating that Mr Keita was to perform in Israel, “not for peace, but for apartheid.”

These threats were made by a group named BDS, who also threatened to keep increasing an anti-Salif Keita campaign, which they had already started on social media, and to work diligently at ruining the reputation and career that Mr. Keita has worked 40 years to achieve not only professionally, but for human rights and albinism.

Of course, we do not agree with any of these tactics or false propaganda, but management’s concern is to protect the artist from being harmed personally and professionally. Although, we love Israel and all his fans here, and the fantastic spirit of unity of the Sacred Music Festival, as well as the important work your hospital is doing for albinism, we did not agree with the scare tactics and bullying used by BDS; therefore management decided to act cautiously when faced with an extremist group, as we believe BDS to be.

In addition, Mr. Keita is not a politician who plays for governments, but a musician who performs for his fans who are of all faiths and origins in Jerusalem. It is unfortunate that artists like him are threatened by this group who falsely claim to defend human rights, when they should take their concerns to governments or ask for support of their cause in a lawful way, and not by endangering the freedom of expression of artists, or using harassment and intimidation of artists who play for peace and for all people, in order to bring some kind of justice to the Palestinians they claim to represent.

Since Mr. Keita, during his stay and performance in Jerusalem, had planned to visit the Hadassah Hospital and albinism center, he had also planned to make a donation of certain goods to the hospital which he would still like to offer. The boxes are already in Jerusalem and were shipped for his planned visit to the hospital. The modest donation consists of about a couple of hundred new UV protected sunglasses, as well as UV protected clothing, swimgear and hats for patients with albinism.

Again, we thank you for your invitation to Jerusalem, and are deeply saddened and disappointed by the outcome of this planned performance and visit. We hope that you will receive this donation with the love it was intended to bring to the patients, as we determine a future time to be able to perform in Israel, and visit your important center for albinism and skin cancer treatment.

Sincerely,

Salif Keita and Coumba Makalou
The Salif Keita Global Foundation INC
Washington, DC
Email: skgf@salifkeita.us

Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada thinks that Salif Keita is a liar. According to him, a letter that blasts BDS and showers praise on Israel really means "boycott." The terror apologist proposes a bizarre theory to explain both this situation and the Eric Burdon incident:

Resort to unsupported claims of “threats” and potentially defamatory statements may be a tactic that some artists resort to when they do not wish to violate the Palestinian call to boycott Israel, but do not have the courage to take a political stance.

That makes perfect sense! The artists publicly say they love Israel, that they would love to play there, that they hate being intimidated by Abunimah's BDS groupies - but privately they really hate Israel, and they choose not to play because they want to support idiots who shower them with insults and threats.

This is an example of the logic of the BDS crowd. The funny thing is that they think these cancellations are victories, because from within their own tiny bubble that are utterly unaware how normal people are disgusted by their tactics. They honestly think that artists who get hundreds of insults are on their side. Clueless.

(Meanwhile, TV chef Anthony Bourdain is coming to Israel. Let the new set of threats begin!)

The idea of real peace is shameful to Palestinian Arabs

From JPost:

For a group of Palestinian and Israeli researchers investigating methods to completely purify water from medicinal materials, working together is nothing short of critical.

“It is a must,” Dr. Rafik Karaman, of Al-Quds University’s College of Pharmacy in Abu Dis, told The Jerusalem Post on Monday.

The joint Palestinian-Israeli research team from Al-Quds University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is working to assess the use of advanced membrane and bio-degradation technologies for eradicating pharmaceutical materials from treated waste-water. Organized by the Peres Center for Peace and sponsored by the French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, the two-year project aims to investigate the degradation and removal processes of certain drugs found in aquatic environments that come from both domestic and industrial sources.

“In order to facilitate and progress with the research, we need the expertise of the Israeli side,” said Karaman, who is the principal researcher on the Palestinian side. “We can learn from them and they can learn from us, and this way you can do good research in Palestine.”

...While the work together is critical, Karaman stressed that it is nothing new, as Al-Quds researchers have been working with Technion researchers for around a decade on various wastewater projects.

This is the second such project under the auspices of the Peres Center, he explained, crediting the center for enabling them to pursue the research together.

“You learn from the relationship,” Karaman said. “I learn a lot and I also give a lot.”

Here is a great story, a story of cooperation and collaboration between two enemies for the common good. It should be looked upon as a model for the future, a future where two groups of people with historic grievances who are forced to live next to each other put their antipathy aside for the common good.

There is a slight problem, though. Only one side celebrates peace.

Dr. Karaman might have no problem working with Israelis - he received his degrees from Hebrew University - but there is no means within Palestinian Arab culture for that attitude to reach the masses.

If you search through Al Quds University's website, both in English and Arabic, it mentions nothing about working together with Israeli universities. In fact, the only mentions of "Technion" in Hebrew on the site is in an article about how Israel is "Judaizing" Jerusalem. The university has a museum for "prisoners affairs." It has a "human rights clinic" with a single project - to demonize Israel through the Goldstone Report. Not a word that I could find about human rights under PA rule.

Of course, this cooperative project is not mentioned in a positive light in Palestinian Arab media. On the contrary - this article slams Al Quds for being involved in this project, saying that while it used to be a symbol of steadfastness now it has become a symbol of "normalization."

The best that can ever happen on the Arab side is a grudging admission that there is value in cooperating when absolutely necessary - but this should never be publicized.

For Israelis, real peace is the goal. For Israel's Arab neighbors, anything that resembles real peace is something to be ashamed of.

Which makes this just another reason why peace is impossible.

(h/t Zvi)

8/22 Links Part 1: Israel Confirms Assad Used Chemical Weapons, Christians under siege

From Ian:

JPost Editorial: Christians under siege

In the region as a whole, Christians account for between 2% and 5% of the region’s population, versus 20% 100 years ago. Lebanon’s Christians are at the mercy of the Shi’ite Hezbollah, whereas in Syria Christians are victimized by Sunnis. In Iraq they are walloped by everyone. In the Palestinian Authority Christian numbers are falling sharply too, as evidenced by the Muslim majority in once- Christian Bethlehem. Gaza’s Christians are running for their lives.
The one steadily growing Christian community in the Middle East is to be found in much-maligned little Israel.
Only under Jewish sovereignty are Christians safe and free from serial terror and harm. But the one beacon of genuine liberality in an unkind and callously intolerant region is hardly likely to win accolades from the self-styled enlightened world.

What are Western vital interests in the Middle East?

All of which makes it abundantly obvious by now that Arab democracy remains a very distant prospect. There can be no democracy without democrats; without the acceptance of minority rights – including religious minorities and women; without a modicum of law and order and economic sustenance; without the creation of genuine economic opportunities and social mobility for the largely disenfranchised youth of the region; without proper institution building and without the rise of civilian control over the military.
None of this can be achieved short-term by merely spouting pro-democracy slogans. Short-term goals should be economic stabilisation and security – none of which can be achieved by sanctioning the Egyptian military, especially given that Gulf financial support makes Western leverage insignificant and suspension of aid ineffectual.
Western governments should do better than entrust their national interests and foreign policy goals in the region to an incoherent sequence of statements spurred by emotional responses to evolving events they have no control over and are hardly responsible for. They should instead seek clearly to define their interests; understand how best to promote them; and balance them with a long-term commitment to democratisation.

Steinitz: Intelligence confirms Syrian use of chemical weapons

Minister for Intelligence and Strategic Affairs Yuval Steinitz said Thursday that chemical weapons were used in the previous day’s attack in Syria that left hundreds, and according to some reports thousands, dead in the eastern suburbs of Damascus.
“According to our intelligence assesments, chemical weapons were used [in the previous day's attack], and of course not for the first time,” Steinitz told Israel Radio.
Steinitz appeared to be blaming Syrian President Bashar Assad, calling his regime “exceptionally cruel.”
“The international community condemns [these attacks], there are investigations… nothing practical or substantial has been done these past two years in order to stop these massacres of civilians by the Assad regime,” Steinitz said.

France: Force is an option in Syria if gas attack confirmed

France’s foreign minister called Thursday for unspecified forceful action against Syria if it were shown that Bashar Assad’s regime massacred its citizens with chemical weapons.
The statement, by French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, came the morning after Russia and China blocked a motion co-authored by France at the UN Security Council, which harshly condemned the use of chemical weapons and called on Syria to allow UN inspectors to look into Wednesday’s alleged attack.

A chronicle of narrow interests

Obama is a rather suspicious president well versed in safeguarding his presidency against all threats. His United States will act on the Syrian front, or anywhere else in the Middle East, only when Obama fears that a lack of involvement threatens his presidency. Obama's persistent war against al-Qaida, by use of any means at his disposal, does not fit with the image of an isolationist president, rather a president who acts determinedly only according to the narrow interests of the White House.
He is set on puling troops out of long-time war zones, because this will help improve his status in Washington. If he becomes convinced that chemical weapons were indeed used in Syria -- he will act in conjunction with other international elements.

Obama can't, or won't

Assad sees, and understands, that Obama doesn't want to, or can't, or simply doesn't know what to do. His foreign policy record is quite embarrassing. In the meantime, as Assad massacres his people and retains power in Syria, an Egyptian court decides to release deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak from prison after clearing him of corruption charges. Mubarak is not finished with the justice system quite yet, but what sweet revenge for a man who gets to leave the man who usurped his seat, Mohammed Morsi, and Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader Mohammed Badie, behind him in prison, and more importantly, his immediate successor former Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, now unemployed, who didn't protect him.
Much like the French revolution, the Egyptian revolution is bringing nothing but harm to the Egyptians.
And above all, Israeli officials should be asking themselves one simple question: What kind of message is Obama conveying to Iran with his conduct in the Middle East?

Jeffrey Goldberg: Does Anybody Care If Assad Uses Chemical Weapons Again?

The second question is, why would the Assad regime launch its biggest chemical attack on rebels and civilians precisely at the moment when a UN inspection team was parked in Damascus? The answer to that question is easy: Because Assad believes that no one -- not the UN, not President Obama, not other Western powers, not the Arab League -- will do a damn thing to stop him.
There is a good chance he is correct.

BBC Arabic reports on Syrian patients in Israeli hospitals – but not in Arabic

Unfortunately though, Sam Farah’s report does not appear to have made it to the Middle East page, the video page, or any other page on the BBC Arabic website. Isn’t this exactly the kind of news which the BBC claims to be providing for people who are unlikely to hear it from the media in their own countries?

Disinformation: ‘Pravda’ May Be Gone, but Now There’s ‘Russia Today’

While it’s unsurprising that the network’s coverage of the Syrian uprising would track closely with positions staked out by the Kremlin—for example, when Russia vetoed the U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the regime, an RT correspondent stressed that the resolution “could have sent an unbalanced signal to all sides of the conflict”—RT hasn’t simply promoted an anti-interventionist or anti-NATO viewpoint. Instead, it has frequently parroted Assad’s narrative by providing a platform for paranoiacs and conspiracy theorists to dispute that civilians are being killed by the regime, accuse America and Israel of being behind the deaths of Syrian civilians, and argue that the government in Damascus is a beacon of tolerance in the region.

Lebanon: Hezbollah Commander Assassinated

A leading supporter of the Hezbollah terrorist group was assassinated in Tripoli on Thursday.
Al-Mouri was gunned down by "masked men on motorbikes," along with a security official and a bystander, according to a security source quoted by the Lebanese Naharnet website.
The 40 year-old leader of a pro-Hezbollah Sunni militia was standing at the entrance to his home along with the two other men when the gunmen drove up and shot them.

The true face of the Muslim Brotherhood

If the Muslim Brotherhood members and supporters believe in peaceful protests and peaceful means of achieving goals, why did they burn churches down? Why did they incite hatred and violence through speeches in their camps in Rabaa Al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda? Why did their spokesperson say that the Muslim Brotherhood cannot control the anger of its members and supporters? Why did they use weapons against police stations and during their protests in different parts of the country over the last few days? There are images and videos explicitly showing some pro-Morsi supporters using weapons. United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay confirmed that, and added that Egyptians need to be reminded that they should prioritize Egypt, rather than their differing positions.
The West should wake up and look seriously at the dangerous situation in Egypt and the true face of the Muslim Brotherhood. Egyptians should establish ‘popular committees’ to protect their areas, as they did during the 25 January Revolution. The Muslim Brotherhood should denounce violence and accept that ousted president Morsi damaged both the country and democracy.

Morsi Supporters Call for 'Day of Martyrs' on Friday

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi have no intention of backing down on their protests against the military.
With Friday, the day on which the largest protests usually take place following prayers at the mosques, just around the corner, a group of Morsi supporters is calling on Egyptians to hold "Friday of Martyrs" protests against the military.

US Egyptians plan rally at White House against 'Brotherhood terrorism'

The anti-Brotherhood protest is planned to gather at the White House and then move to The Washington Post offices, CNN, then to the headquarters of Islamic Council on American–Islamic Relations, which the group accused of being the Brotherhood's "embassy" in Washington. The rally's final destination is planned to be the Egyptian military attaché’s office in Washington where they intend to "praise the Egyptian army for its heroic stand against MB terrorism".
The protest organizers said they will provide buses to carry demonstrators from various Coptic churches in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, South Carolina and North Carolina. They said the demonstrators will include "both Muslims and Copts."

Egyptian military chief orders army to rebuild every Coptic church burned by the Muslim Brotherhood

A political master stroke, although I don’t think this is aimed at pressuring Obama into not cutting U.S. aid. Sisi doesn’t care about that; the Saudis will pick up the slack if we yank our measly $2 billion. This is, I think, designed not only to solidify Christian support for the military in Egypt (which was already solid) but to signal to western Christians who are reading news stories about massacres that the military’s the protector of pluralism against Islamism. And that PR will help if/when Egypt needs a loan from the IMF, which might otherwise be inclined not to do business with an outfit that’s shooting protesters in the street.

‘Iran would barely retaliate if its nuclear program were attacked’

Iran is unlikely to unleash a war in response to a military strike on its nuclear facilities, Strategic Affairs and Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said, estimating that possible retaliation would include not more than “two or three days of missile fire” against Israel and/or Western targets in the region, causing “very limited damage.”
Speaking to The Times of Israel earlier this week, Steinitz predicted that Iran’s new President Hasan Rouhani will offer minor goodwill steps to signal his willingness to compromise on the nuclear question, which he will follow up with demands to ease the sanctions while the regime continues to inch toward weapons capability. Steinitz urged the international community not to be fooled by Rouhani’s seemingly moderate rhetoric, and called instead for an internationally endorsed deadline that, if crossed, would be followed by the destruction of the country’s military facilities.

Iranian Schools Prepare Students for 'Drone Hunting'

A section on hunting and downing spy drones is to be included in the Iranian school curriculum, said Lieutenant Commander of the Basij Forces, Brigadier General Ali Fazli
Iran has already started teaching the course tp students in junior and senior high schools. Their two to three hour courses focus on ‘civil defense.’
The Iranian government has long sought a larger role for the military in the country's education system.

UK Islamic TV Station Fined for Encouraging Murder

Noor TV, an Islamic television station which broadcasts from the UK, has been fined £85,000 (more than $130,000) for comments inciting murder made by one of its presenters during a call-in show.
In December, Ofcom - Britain's media regulating body - ruled that the station had breached broadcasting codes after Presenter Allama Muhammad Farooq Nizami urged Muslims to murder anyone who disrespects the Islamic prophet Mohammed.
"There is no disagreement about this," he said at the time. "There is absolutely no doubt about it that the punishment for the person who shows disrespect for the Prophet is death."

Lebanese rocket (shrapnel?) seems to have landed in residential area (photos, video)

The IDF stated:

A short time ago, civilians in Israel’s northern region faced rocket fire from Southern Lebanon. Three or four rockets were fired over Israeli territory. One of the rockets was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system between the northern Israeli cities of Acre and Nahariya. The remainder of the rockets of fell outside of Israeli territory.

Kobi Snir took photo and video of where something landed. Not sure if it was part of the rocket, or shrapnel from Iron Dome, or what, but it looks like a residential area:

Plus this video showing police cordoning off the area:

Shrapnel hit that car, as YNet photos show.

And here is what he says is the Iron Dome interception (look to me like maybe afterward)

(h/t Israel Muse)

Julio Iglesias to play in an apartheid state tonight

Two weeks ago, Julio Iglesias played a concert in Caesarea, Israel. The BDS crowd protested, as usual, to no avail and the concert was a smash.

But tonight Iglesias is playing in a country that has killed thousands of Palestinians. This country has a population that is majority Palestinian but they are ruled by a minority group that discriminates against them. While many of the Palestinians are citizens, hundreds of thousands of them had their citizenship stripped from them some 25 years ago, and many others who have lived there for over four decades are still barred from citizenship. Even today many some have lost their citizenship - and what rights they had.

The country, of course, is Jordan.

More recently, Jordan has either placed severe restrictions specifically on Palestinian Syria refugees from entering or traveling around the country, while allowing non-Palestinian Syrians to have more freedoms.

(Jordan also ethnically cleansed Jews from its territory and its law specifically banned Jews who had lived in Judea and Samaria before 1948 from becoming citizens. Jordan is probably the only country to specifically exclude a class of Jews from being citizens in its nationality law. Just sayin'.)

But there has not been one peep of protest to Iglesias from the people who claim to be pro-Palestinian, those who claim to be against apartheid and discrimination. No letters, no Facebook campaigns, nothing. Jordanian apartheid doesn't matter to them. On his Facebook page, under the announcement of the concert, not a single person protested.

Even worse, Jordan is seemingly using Iglesias to whitewash their own awful human rights record:

"Through the Amman Citadel Festival… we hope to promote Jordan as a hub for art and culture… and make it a world class destination," an FJF statement quoted the NGO's chairman, Isam Salfiti, as saying.

How can these paragons of human rights who support boycotting Israel be silent when a country that treats its Palestinian Arab citizens worse than Israel does is hosting such a prominent concert?

Oh, I forgot. King Abdullah isn't Jewish.

Egypt arrests Palestinians, keeps Rafah closed (update)

Today is the fourth consecutive day of the Rafah crossing being completely closed by Egypt.

Still no flotillas to Egypt to protest this siege.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian security forces continue to arrest Palestinian Arabs in the Sinai on suspicion of terrorism:

North Sinai Security Directorate forces arrested Egyptians and Palestinians in Arish over suspected involvement in an earlier attack on the city's civil defense building.

Four Egyptians and five Palestinians were arrested in the sweeping operation.

The suspects were arrested inside a mosque near the meteorological authority building, close to al-Nasr Mosque, a supposed haven for jihadi groups in Arish.

Authorities claimed the four Egyptians had been drafted to attack army and police troops in North Sinai.

The Sinai Peninsula has witnessed escalating attacks against army and police since the overthrow of former President Mohamed Morsy. Attacks are largely blamed on extremist groups in the region.

The army said Tuesday it detained 11 suspected terrorist elements, including two Palestinians.

Given the current mess in Egypt, it is impossible to know whether these Gazans are terrorists or if they are just caught up in the army's crackdown on Islamists (and popular opinion against Gaza.) What is clear is that no "pro-Palestinian" group is making much of a stink over this.

UPDATE: Meanwhile, Gazans are protesting - the Israeli "blockade." (h/t Jonathan Schanzer)