Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, October 03, 2013

"Jewish UN wants to destroy Syria to fulfill Isaiah prophecy, take over world"

Here's a new twist on the usual Arab antisemitic conspiracy theories.

The official Syrian RTV agency says that Syria is the last obstacle for Jews to finally take over the world.

All you need to do is read the Bible, the Talmud, and (of course) the Protocols of the elders of Zion, and it all makes perfect sense.

The pre-war on Syria, and the current war on Syria, is World War III. We live the war and pay for it and most of us do not know the reasons for it. ...The real reasons for war are written in the folds of old yellowing books.

What is happening today is not caused by the desire to establish democracy or freedom, or concern for the interests of the Syrian people. Control of the oil resources is the economic engine of the war prior to the final declaration of victory for Israel over the world and the establishment of a global state, which is the United Nations and its Supreme Council and the International Court of Justice, which brings together presidents and leaders to establish this state. To those who think this is just a conspiracy theory I invite them to read the Torah and the Talmud and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and specifically to read the policies included in the book of Isaiah 16: [sic - it is 17:]

1. The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
2. The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
3. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus; and the remnant of Aram shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts.

(Apparently, Aroer is similar sounding to another Syrian city.)

The article goes on to claim that other prophecies say that every Jew will have 2300 non-Jewish slaves, and all of the wars in the world are meant to fulfill that promise to enslave a good part of the planet.

The reason America went to war in Iraq? Well, there is another [Koranic?] prophecy that Iraq would destroy Israel, so the Zionist puppets in the US moved to destroy Iraq before that could happen.

But America is also $15 trillion in debt, and that is how the Zionists plan to take over the US, that is already under their control. Or something like that.

In the end, the Jews were behind the destruction of the Soviet Union, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Syria is the last piece of the massive puzzle before Jews can exert total global domination.

Again, this is in official Syrian government media.

Egyptian paper compares Islamists, unfavorably, with Jews

An article in al-Mogaz looks at the supposed similarities between Islamists and Israel.

After a brief history of how Arabs grabbed Jewish-controlled cities in Arabia ( if I am reading it correctly, he seems to imply that their actions were illegitimate!) he discusses how Israel exists, in his mind, by using religious justification and a feeling of superiority to justify its creation.

He then says that the Islamists, like the Muslim Brotherhood, have the exact same mindset of being always right and relying on their interpretation of religion to justify the creation of Islamist states.

However, there the comparison ends. Because, he says, Israel is a democracy, with among the best educational system in the world, a leader in information technology and in weapons development, and in agriculture. It is a society that does not interfere with people's faiths, and the State does not impose the lifestyle of "certain ideological members." It is also a free society for its citizens, all equal before the law.

The Islamists' idea of nationalism includes none of these.

It has really been amusing over the past few months to see how many articles discuss how the authors' ideological enemies are "even worse than the Jews." Here we have one of the biggest backhanded compliments I've ever seen in Arabic media towards Israel.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

Iranian cyberwar chief assassinated (update)

Because firewalls cannot stop bullets....

Mojtaba Ahmadi, who served as commander of the Cyber War Headquarters, was found
dead in a wooded area near the town of Karaj, north-west of the capital, Tehran. Five Iranian nuclear scientists and the head of the country’s ballistic missile programme have been killed since 2007. The regime has accused Israel’s external intelligence agency, the Mossad, of carrying out these assassinations.

Ahmadi was last seen leaving his home for work on Saturday. He was later found with two bullets in the heart, according to Alborz, a website linked to the Revolutionary Guard Corps. “I could see two bullet wounds on his body and the extent of his injuries indicated that he had been assassinated from a close range with a pistol,” an eyewitness told the website.

The commander of the local police said that two people on a motorbike had been involved in the assassination.

Western officials said the information was still being assessed, but previous deaths have been serious blows to Iran’s security forces. Tighter security measures around leading commanders and nuclear scientists have instilled a culture of fear in some of the most sensitive parts of the security establishment.

The last victim of a known assassination was Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, a chemist who worked in the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz, who died when an explosive device blew up on his car in January last year.

The death of Ahmadi, a leading specialist in cyber defences, could be an extension of this campaign of subterfuge. Iran has been accused of carrying out a number of cyber attacks detected in the West.

The Revolutionary Guard has also been accused of lending its expertise to Syria’s regime, helping it to hack Western targets through a body known as the Syrian Electronic Army.

It wasn't the Mossad. It was Twitter!

(h/t Elder Of Lobby)

UPDATE: Iran's Revolutionary Guards are denying it was an assassination, calling the bullets in his heart an "accident."

10/02 Links Pt2: Biden's Profound Ignorance, Arafat's Bolonium tests 'delayed', Clinton on Rowhani

From Ian:

Lapid Denounces Anti-Semitic Incidents in Hungary

Speaking during a conference on European anti-Semitism in the Hungarian parliament, Lapid said today's politicians must ensure such tragedies did not happen again.
He recounted the story of his father, former MK and government minister Tommy Lapid, who narrowly escaped being killed along with thousands of other Jews who were taken to the banks of the Danube and shot in public in the winter of 1945.(h/t Yoel)

Palestinian Propaganda Invades the Arts in Canada

Palestinian propaganda has been ramped up a notch, using the prominent Toronto Film Festivals, in a manipulation of the arts to emotionalize its message. The Sixth Annual Toronto Palestine Film Festival (TPFF) opened on Saturday September 28th, on the heels of the renowned Toronto International Film Festival . Although described as "dedicated to bringing Palestinian cinema, live musical performances, cuisine and art to audiences," it is more accurately a propaganda fest that promotes Palestinian victimhood and paints Israel as a criminal. The event is promoted by the Canadian Arab Federation, which has been condemned by the Canadian government for its support of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

CiF Watch prompts correction to false Guardian claim about SodaStream

As Guardian reports on fledgling BDS efforts against Israel go, Benedictus’s article isn’t too bad. However, the strap line falsely claimed that SodaStream’s company headquarters was in “the occupied West Bank”, when in fact only one of their factories (in Mishor Adumim) is in the disputed territory. The company’s corporate headquarters is located in Airport City, adjacent to Ben Gurion Airport and not on the “wrong side” of the green line.
After contacting Guardian editors the strap line was corrected, and the false claim about SodaStream’s company headquarters was removed.

Guardian Letters Page Throws Up a Surprise

I’m not sure I can remember seeing a newspaper publish a letter so overtly hostile towards and critical of the newspaper itself as one in today’s Guardian. It begins with the following sentence:
The reason that you receive letters exclusively from people (including Jews) who are hostile to Israel is that no one who supports Israel bothers to read the Guardian any more. That is why your circulation is dwindling to zero, by the way.

BBC’s Marcus promotes ‘moderated’ Iranian Holocaust denial

For some reason, Jonathan Marcus seeks to persuade BBC audiences that Israel should be gratefully giving out “brownie points” to any Iranian official who does a mealy-mouthed makeover on Ahmadinejad’s previous performance. The waters of that “wave of euphoria” appear to have turned Mr Marcus’ critical and analytic faculties rather soggy.

Fisk Losing Touch With Reality

No surprise that serial Israel-basher Robert Fisk takes a typically snide and bitter view of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the UN. His latest in The Independent includes the following:

Now, with the pleasant smile of President Rouhani gracing their television screens, fully accepting the facts of the Jewish Holocaust – unlike his deranged and infantile predecessor – the Americans (75 per cent, if we are to believe the polls) don’t want to go to war with Iran either.
Exactly when did Rouhani “fully accept” the facts of the Holocaust?

Bill Clinton on Rowhani: Interesting That Admitting Holocaust Occurred Qualifies Him As Being A Moderate

Biden’s ‘hawkish’ speech garners mixed reviews at J Street

US Vice President Joe Biden came directly to the J Street conference in Washington, DC, from a one-on-one meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He brought with him a no-nonsense message that emphasized Washington’s support for Israel’s security and a strong stance against Iran. The message might have been coolly received had it been delivered by someone else, but J Street’s largely Democratic supporters welcomed the vice president like a rock star.

Biden Criticized for Calling Palestinians ‘Least Ideological and Sectarian’ Mideast Arabs

“In light of all these problems, some people ask us: Why Biden, why, why Obama. Why are you so set on trying to resolve the peace process?” Biden said.
“The Palestinian-Israeli issue involves the least ideological and least sectarian Arabs in the Middle East,” he said in an answer to his rhetorical question.
Dr. Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum, said Biden’s characterization of the Palestinians revealed the Obama administration’s “profound ignorance—or willful denial—about the Middle East.” He said the Palestinians, contrary to Biden’s assessment, have “shown themselves over the last century to be the most radicalized of populations not just in the region, but globally.”

Overheard at the 2013 J Street Conference

The evening also featured an unannounced appearance by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who called the two-state solution “essential to U.S. national security.”

J Street and the Decline of American Power

Nonetheless, J Street’s moment in the sun is the result of fortuitous political circumstances, rather than any ingenious strategy on its part. As the Washington Free Beacon’s Adam Kredo reported last week, the group has spent $100,000 reaching out to lawmakers to look kindly upon both Iranian diplomatic entreaties and Palestinian efforts to secure unilateral recognition—a stance that directly contradicts the administration’s commitment to direct talks.

J Street Lobbied Congress, But Did They Listen?

But with the government shutdown in effect, and members of Congress shuffling in and out of the chamber trying to reach a solution, meetings were being cancelled and moved, staged and re-staged. The schedule was completely in flux. While still going out of their way to make time for J Street’s activists, there was a sense that the priorities of those on the Hill might just be elsewhere.

Experts late with test results in Arafat death case

Informed Palestinian sources told the newspaper that there was fear among the Palestinians that the delay was the result of an “official decision” to procrastinate. Forensic investigators from the three countries took samples from Arafat’s body last November for tests to determine whether he had been poisoned by polonium – a toxic, radioactive element found on some of his personal belongings.
Palestinian officials expressed fear that the Arafat death probe has entered the process of a “differential calculus” between Western and Russian intelligence agencies, in wake of the Syria crisis and the resumption of peace talks between Israel and the PA.
The officials said that the delay may be designed to prevent the emergence of any issues that could have a negative impact on the peace talks.

Sheikh Salah’s ready-made solution

Islamic Movement head Sheikh Raed Salah and his friends are in a bind. Radical Islamists like them have become pariahs in Arab nations and around the world as a result of their peers' acts of terror against innocent civilians.
The Islamist movements, their funds and their dawah (proselytizing) activities have now become a target for intelligence and counterterrorism agencies worldwide, and the source of primal fear in the West. Radical Islam is now perceived as a threat against freedom and normalcy.

Palestinian Supreme Fatwa Council - men and women should only talk on social network sites if they are seeking marriage.

"The main purpose of the conversation should be marriage through legal ways, and it shouldn't have any other goals which could mark a violation of Sharia law. Any personal details, which could arouse lust, must not be addressed during the conversation."
The second precondition states that women must avoid describing themselves physically to men on social network sites or display any photos.

The Church of Sweden used as a weapon against Israel

Today the Church of Sweden is a big critic of Israel and high-ranking bishops refer to the Israeli presence in the West Bank as a “sin” and an “abomination against God.” On their website the Church of Sweden recommends that their congregations “suspend investment, impose sanctions and boycott companies and products from the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian Territories.”
There is clearly nothing spiritual about the views of the Church of Sweden regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
It is politicians who are using one of Europe’s biggest churches as a weapon against Israel. Sadly enough the anti- Israel rhetoric in Sweden often spearheaded by the Social Democratic Labour Party has infiltrated the Church of Sweden in a nasty way.

Dutch PM to Peres: 'We Never Even Considered Yesha Boycott'

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, has said in a joint press conference with Shimon Peres, that the Netherlands is opposed to boycotting goods from Israel and that the issue had not even been considered within the country.

Cal State University-Northridge Says Anti-Israel Prof Klein Does Not Have Permission to Use School Servers to Advance Boycott

After an intense letter-writing campaign and in-person pleas by AMCHA Initiative, a national organization fighting anti-Semitism on college campuses, California State University’s interim general counsel, Andrew Jones, has affirmed that CSU-Northridge mathematics professor David Klein has not been granted express permission to use school email and web hosting to support a boycott of Israel.

New morphing glass can be dimmed, frosted or see-through

As you enter the elevator at the Aish HaTorah yeshiva in the Old City of Jerusalem, you’d never suspect that you were about to experience the future of glass technology. But as the car rises from the first to the fifth and final floor, its walls gradually transform, from what seemed at first to be solid and opaque to entirely transparent.
When the elevator ultimately comes to a halt on the rooftop of the building, you are surrounded by clear glass – and a stunning view of the Western Wall.
The glass used in Aish HaTorah’s morphing elevator is super-charged with next-generation liquid crystals developed by Gauzy, an Israeli firm that is revolutionizing the way glass can be used in all manner of construction projects – from windows in offices that can be dimmed with the touch of a button, to eco-friendly refrigerators that go transparent so you can see what’s inside without opening the door and wasting energy.

Israeli Holocaust historian Israel Gutman dies

Israel Gutman, who survived the Nazi atrocities of World War II and dedicated his life to researching the Holocaust, has died. He was 90.
Estee Yaari, spokeswoman for the Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem, said Gutman died in his sleep late Monday in Jerusalem.
Gutman was born in Warsaw in 1923. He was wounded during fighting in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising in 1943 when a few hundred poorly armed Jews put up resistance to Nazi troops who were rounding up residents and sending them to death camps.

Stop media demonization of Israel (petition)

From Honest Reporting:

Recent cases of anti-Israel bias have crossed the line. Demonization of Israel is recognized as a form of anti-Semitism in both the U.S. State Department and European Union Working Definitions of Anti-Semitism.

It's time for the media to adopt these recognized and considered definitions of anti-Semitism. Sign our petition and demand that the media do so.

Sign the petition here.

Saudi paper: Never any Jews in Jerusalem; Israel using Zionism to take over world

Al Bilad, one of Saudi Arabia's oldest newspapers, has an article by Dr. Ghazi Hussein, former PLO envoy to Austria.

Jerusalem is one of the most important holy places that has been associated with the Arabs, Muslims and Christians throughout the ages. Jerusalem is the symbol of the nationalism and holy to Christianity and Islam, the first Qiblah [direction of Muslim prayer] and Islam's third holiest site and the City of Flowers and the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the birthplace of Jesus Christ and the essence of the question of Palestine Arab-Zionist conflict.

Jerusalem occupies a central position among the Arabs for its historical and religious have and to Muslims all over the world.

Arabs were the first to build the foundations of the city around 3000 BC....

The Islamic conquest of Jerusalem came during the reign of Caliph Omar ibn al-Khattab may Allah be pleased with him; when it was liberated by the Romans it had no single Jew in it.

The Patriarch of the city of Damascus signed a declaration to the caliph that Jerusalem was not inhabited by Jews.

Jews used their ambitions for the Arab land and their wealth to settle it with colonialism to serve the interests of Jewish Jerusalem saying that it had special significance to them. The rabbis and leaders of the Zionist movement cemented these allegations and superstition and greed in the minds of Jews, despite the absence of any impact of religion on the city from them at all.

The founder of Zionism Theodor Herzl supported brutality and barbarism in his books in which he says: "If we got one day to Jerusalem and I was still alive and able to do anything, we will remove and burn everything that is not holy to Jews."

The Zionist founders mockingly used the Jewish religion as a sharp weapon in the Judaization of Palestine and for hegemony over the Middle East as a prelude to world domination. And therefore they used it for the success of the colonial Jewish settlement in Palestine and to convert settler colonialism as a center of Jewish worldviews and created the illusion that Jerusalem is the capital of the occupiers.

The clear Jewish ambitions in the city of Jerusalem can be seen in the Jewish Encyclopedia, which said that they aim to control of Jerusalem and to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque: "the Jews wanted to go to Jerusalem and overcome the power of the enemy, and establish their own temple there. "

Don't forget - Saudis are "moderate."

Ghazi Hussein is also a Holocaust-denier, which makes him well-suited to be an honored writer for the Arabic press.

I can confidently predict that no one in the Arabic-speaking world - no professors of history at a single Arab university - will write a response to this article pointing out its absurd lies.

Iran resumes support to Hamas; Hamas says US gave EU green light to talk to it

Palestine Today reports that after a freeze of some months, Iran has resumed supporting Hamas.

The two parties were at odds over Hamas' support of the rebels in Syria.

The rapprochement came after a senior Hamas official visited Tehran recently.

Hamas spokesman Ahmad Yusuf admitted Iranian support - presumably monetary and military - is not at the levels it reached previously.

He stressed that both Iran and Hamas understand each others' positions on Syria but they have a common enemy in Israel.

When asked whether Hamas had contacts with the U.S. administration, Yusuf replied: "There had been both formal and informal communications previously, but those close to U.S. President Barack Obama are wary of these contacts, in case the U.S. administration would get in trouble with Congress or with Israel....[However,] the Americans gave the green light for the Europeans to open talks with us. Europeans are more aggressive in dealing with us."

10/02 Links Part 1: Reactions to Netanyahu's UN Speech, What Abbas Missed in His UN Speech

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: What Abbas Missed in His UN Speech

Abbas does not seem to have time to talk about the suffering of his people at the hands of Arab governments and terror groups.
As he was speaking, thousands of Palestinians were stranded on both sides of the Gaza Strip-Egypt border due to the closure of the terminal by the Egyptian authorities. Abbas saw no need to refer in his speech to the Egyptian blockade on the Gaza Strip, which is hurting not only Hamas, but also the entire population.
As his speech has shown, he is more concerned about Jews visiting the Temple Mount than thousands of Palestinians who are being butchered and expelled from their homes in Arab countries. That hundreds of mosques and churches have been destroyed in Syria and Egypt is of no concern to Abbas, who sees evil only in the actions of Israel and Jewish settlers.

The speech the world needed to hear

It was not the speech the world wanted to hear, but it was the speech it needed to hear. Netanyahu was not looking to make friends in his speech Tuesday. He was looking to give the world the truth -- and the truth sometimes hurts. Clearly, the world would rather live in the Iranian bubble, which Netanyahu came to burst Tuesday.
The world decided to give Iran a chance. It has nothing to do with Israel's foreign policy, but with other nations' internal affairs. As in 1938, today as well the citizens of the world prefer to hear a tune that is not war, threats and conflict, and it does not matter if today, as on Tuesday, there are good guys and bad guys. And frankly, that is understandable, we too, would prefer that.

Iran Learns the Language of the West

To be sure, Rouhani’s performance at the United Nations was stellar, although he did not have much to live up to. Former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood on the podium at the General Assembly denying the Holocaust and promoting 9/11 conspiracy theories before claiming that he’d felt “bathed in light” during his speech. Certainly not conducive to winning any PR points.
Rouhani’s UN appearance reminds me of one of the UN’s more infamous moments (of which there are too many) when, in 1974, PLO leader Yasser Arafat addressed the General Assembly stating: “Today I have come bearing an olive branch and a freedom fighter’s gun. Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand.”
Rouhani entered the UN with the equivalent of an atomic bomb poking out of his clothing. Yet, like Arafat before him, the crowd focused on the “olive branch” while ignoring the gun. In the subsequent years, Arafat’s gun was responsible for murdering and wounding thousands of innocents. Will Rouhani also follow suit albeit with more horrific weapons?

White House 'Understand's Israeli Skepticism on Iran'

Following the speech made by Binyamin Netanyahu to the United Nations General Assembly, White House Spokesman Jay Carney has said in a press briefing, that the US administration understands Israeli fears as it attempts a rapprochement with the Islamic regime.
“We’ve said all along, as the president has said, we understand, and it is entirely justifiable, that Israel is skeptical about Iran and Iran’s intentions,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said, "after all, this is a country whose leadership, until recently[?], was pledging to annihilate Israel.”

J Street, Israeli Left blast Netanyahu speech

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu faced criticism for his UN General Assembly address Tuesday from Labor and Meretz MKs in Israel and from the pro- Israel, pro-peace lobby J Street in Washington.
J Street released a statement expressing disappointment that Netanyahu did not spend more time addressing “the promise of a better future with the Palestinians,” especially in light of the ongoing peace process.

Israel’s Deputy Defense Minister: Jewish State Will Know if Rouhani is Serious Within ‘Weeks’ (INTERVIEW)

Israel’s Deputy Defense Minister, Danny Danon, said that it won’t take Israel long to determine whether Western talks with Iranian President Rouhani will yield a breakthrough in the international standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. His remarks were made in an interview with The Algemeiner hours after Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu addressed the United Nations General Assembly.

Ya’alon: Diplomacy with Iran based on ‘wishful thinking’

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon on Wednesday acknowledged there were differences between Israel and the US on Iran, and expressed concerns over Western attempts to engage in diplomacy with Tehran, warning against “wishful thinking” in the face of duplicitous Iranian “sweet talk.”

‘If diplomacy with Iran won’t work, we’ll do the job alone,’ says deputy FM

Deputy Foreign Minister Ze’ev Elkin said Tuesday that Israel believes the Iranian nuclear dispute could be solved diplomatically, but asserted Jerusalem would not hesitate to strike if it felt the international community’s efforts to curb the regime’s reach for an atomic bomb failed to deliver results.
“The government of Israel believes that there is the possibility to solve the problem through diplomatic means. However — it won’t be done through smiles and easing the pressure. Rather, the only way that works is a tightening of sanctions in addition to a real military threat,” Elkin (Likud) told The Times of Israel on the sidelines of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s dramatic speech at the United Nations on Tuesday.

Steinitz: Iran wants to both keep nuclear program and salvage its economy

International Relations Minister says Israel is not opposed to a diplomatic solution, but it must follow the Libyan track, rather than the North Korean.
Europe and the United States both understand that Iran is using negotiations with the international community to both rescue its economy, currently crumbling under the weight of heavy sanctions, and its military nuclear program, the cause of those sanctions, International Relations Minister Yuval Steinitz said Wednesday.

JPost Editorial: Bibi and Obama dovetail – for now

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama are no strangers to dissent. And the remarkable developments in recent days in US-Iranian relations that included a phone call by Obama to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani – the first leader-to-leader contact between the United States and Iran in 34 years – seemed to provide the fodder for yet another feud.
The US leader seems more than willing to give the Iranians a chance. In contrast, Netanyahu has expressed his conviction that Rouhani is a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” who is using diplomatic overtures to stall for time.

Rouhani: We'll Hold Referendum on US Relations

Iranian president Hassan Rouhani announced Wednesday that he intends to hold a referendum among Iranians, to gauge the public's attitude on the thawing of relations with the US.
Speaking after his government's session, he appeared to be referring to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's speech in the UN Tuesday when he said that "Israel sees its sword breaking and Iran getting stronger from day to day, and this upsets it."

Iran Dismisses as ‘Baseless’ Reports Israel Captured Revolutionary Guard Corps Spy

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham on Tuesday categorically denied Tel Aviv’s claims about Iran’s involvement in alleged spying activities in Israel, according to state news agency Fars.

The Security Council Resolution on Syria: Farce and Fait Accompli

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has come up with a resolution on Syria’s chemical weapons, but it’s hard to see what the point is.
While Syrian noncompliance seems inevitable, the current resolution doesn’t allow for military action under chapter 7 of the UN charter. Instead, if Syria fails to comply with this resolution, the Security Council would need to pass another resolution in order to respond to the Assad regime.
Okay…
What is the point of passing a toothless resolution at this stage? Does anybody really believe that in the wake of Syrian noncompliance, Russia would support military intervention?

McCain Hires Discredited Syria Advocate

That’s not the case for Elisabeth O’Bagy, hired last week by U.S. Sen. John McCain as a legislative assistant. O’Bagy, 26, became an influential analyst on policy toward Syria after publishing a column in the Wall Street Journal that advocated arming Syrian rebels fighting dictator Bashar al-Assad despite concerns about radical jihadists in their ranks.
It turns out O’Bagy lied about having a PhD. and worked as the Syrian Emergency Task Force‘s political director when the group helped arrange a secret trip to Syria for McCain to meet rebel leaders last May. Several task force officials have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and reports indicate that the Arizona Republican inadvertently met with terrorists on his trip.

Turkish Parliament Introduces Motion to Engage Syria Militarily

The motion asked for authorization to send troops to, or to engage in a military operation in, Syria, citing the use of chemical weapons by the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad as an immediate threat to the security of Turkey. The motion referred explicitly to an attack Aug. 21 in the suburbs of Damascus by regime forces that killed more than 1,000 Syrian civilians.

Al-Qaeda Battles for Control on Israel’s Border

The group, Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (“The Army of Islam in the Beit Al-Makdas Region”), has announced its loyalty to Al-Qaeda, and particularly, to the Al-Qaeda leadership in Iraq.
The group in question has carried out many attacks targeting Egyptian soldiers in Sinai. It has also attempted to attack Israel by infiltrating the border, shooting over the border, and firing rockets on Israeli towns.

Sinai Terrorists: Egyptian Army is 'the Enemy of Allah'

In the video, the group calls the Egyptian army “The Camp David Army", a reference to the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, adding that the army “has not fired one shot at the Zionist enemy for forty years, yet in one day killed thousands of Muslims in Cairo."
The group also accused the Egyptian army of “collaboration" with Israel, of “heresy" and of “waging a war on Allah's religion.” In light of this, says the organization, the conclusion is that "jihad" must be carried out against the Egyptian army.

Egyptian Terrorist Sympathizer To Receive Human Rights Award?

Seif was nominated largely because of her Twitter account, which includes 220,000 followers. She uses this, and other social media platforms, to express her "tweets of terror" and her hatred for Israel.
In March 2012, Seif wrote, "I am ready to shed my blood in the West Bank and Jerusalem to become a martyr." She also repeatedly declared that, "the day will come when I fight to the death in Gaza." Seif consistently supports Palestinian Authority terrorism against the State of Israel, including firing missiles at Israeli civilians.

Morsi Supporters Demonstrate in Tahrir Square

Anti-military protesters demonstrated in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday, for the first time since Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was removed from office in July following mass protests against his leadership.
Al Jazeera reported that around 100 protesters gathered in the square, chanting, "Down with military rule!"

Jordan Arrests 3 for Supporting Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood

Three Jordanian men have been arrested for carrying posters supporting Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, a judicial official told AFP on Tuesday.
“The three men were arrested last week. They were carrying posters with the slogan of Rabaa,” he said.

UN awards Iran key post - on disarmament committee

In July:

Iran is campaigning for a key position on a U.N. General Assembly committee that deals with disarmament and international security amid strong criticism from Israel and others who accuse Tehran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran is competing against Kuwait to be the rapporteur of the U.N. General Assembly's First Committee for its 68th session, which begins in October, U.N. diplomats said. The rapporteur reports on the proceedings of the 193-member committee.

A spokesman for Iran's U.N. mission confirmed the country's bid on Tuesday. Asked why Tehran was interested in the position, he said: "It's a normal routine by a member state."

The First Committee considers all disarmament and international security matters, cooperation in the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as principles governing disarmament and the regulation of armaments.

The UN approved it - an hour after Netanyahu's speech. From IRNA:

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been elected as rapporteur of the UN First Committee on Disarmament and International Security for the 68th annual meeting.

The election of a member of the Iranian delegation to the sensitive position in the UN took place despite months-long efforts by representative of the Zionist regime to prevent Iran’s election.

The Zionist regime representative issued a protest letter urging members not to let Iran be elected as a member of the commission’s presiding board.

The election took place in the site of the General Assembly just one hour after the Zionist regime prime minister vigorously criticized the attitude of the Iranian government during his remarks.

It is one thing to know that the UN is a joke, but to see it confirmed day after day after day is still remarkable.

(h/t Arsen/Arnold)

The New York Times is not happy with Bibi:

Mr. Netanyahu has legitimate reasons to be wary of any Iranian overtures, as do the United States and the four other major powers involved in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program. But it could be disastrous if Mr. Netanyahu and his supporters in Congress were so blinded by distrust of Iran that they exaggerate the threat, block President Obama from taking advantage of new diplomatic openings and sabotage the best chance to establish a new relationship since the 1979 Iranian revolution sent American-Iranian relations into the deep freeze.

Even though the Times admits that pretty much every fact Netanyahu brought up is accurate!

Mr. Rouhani and the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, have insisted repeatedly that Iran wants only to develop nuclear energy and that obtaining a nuclear weapon would harm the country’s security.

Even so, Iran hid its nuclear program from United Nations inspectors for nearly 20 years, and the country is enriching uranium to a level that would make it possible to produce bomb-grade nuclear material more quickly. It has also pursued other activities, like developing high-voltage detonators and building missiles that experts believe could only have nuclear weapons-related uses.

These facts make it hard not to view the upcoming American-brokered negotiations skeptically. But Mr. Netanyahu has hinted so often of taking military action to keep Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon that he seems eager for a fight.

Actually, the main thrust of Bibi's speech was to not to start a war, but a warning against loosening sanctions in exchange for smiles and empty promises:

I have argued for many years, including on this podium, that the only way to peacefully prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is to combine tough sanctions with a credible military threat. And that policy is today bearing fruit. Thanks to the effort of many countries, many represented here, and under the leadership of the United States, tough sanctions have taken a big bite out of Iran's economy. Oil revenues have fallen. The currency has plummeted. Banks are hard pressed to transfer money.

So as a result, the regime is under intense pressure from the Iranian people to get the sanctions removed. That's why Rouhani got elected in the first place. That's why he launched his charm offensive.

He definitely wants to get the sanctions lifted, I guarantee you that, but he doesn't want to give up Iran's nuclear weapons program in return.

Now, here's the strategy to achieve this:

First, smile a lot. Smiling never hurts. Second, pay lip service to peace, democracy and tolerance. Third, offer meaningless concessions in exchange for lifting sanctions. And fourth, and the most important, ensure that Iran retains sufficient nuclear material and sufficient nuclear infrastructure to race to the bomb at a time that it chooses to do so. You know why Rouhani thinks he can get away with this?...Because he's gotten away with it before.

The NYT cannot find any holes in Netanyahu's logic. It cannot find any concrete concession that Rouhani is
offering. Yet, against all known facts, it still insists that Rouhani is the moderate who must be given concessions to, and Bibi is the warmonger.

There is nothing wrong with speaking to and negotiating with Iran, but there is a great deal wrong with loosening sanctions in response to a smile.

So if the Times cannot find anything actually wrong with Bibi's words, why are they so upset at him? The reason seems to be because he called them out for doing the exact same thing with North Korea:

Like Iran, North Korea also said its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes. Like Iran, North Korea also offered meaningless concessions and empty promises in return for sanctions relief. In 2005, North Korea agreed to a deal that was celebrated the world over by many well-meaning people. Here is what the New York Times editorial had to say about it: "For years now, foreign policy insiders have pointed to North Korea as the ultimate nightmare... a closed, hostile and paranoid dictatorship with an aggressive nuclear weapons program.

Very few could envision a successful outcome.

And yet North Korea agreed in principle this week to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, return to the NPT, abide by the treaty's safeguards and admit international inspectors….Diplomacy, it seems, does work after all."

A year later, North Korea exploded its first nuclear weapons device.

That's the real reason the "Paper of Record" is so miffed - because Bibi mentioned its record of believing dictators on the threshold of nuclear weapons capability.

The truth hurts, so the NYT - instead of admitting its very real role in pressuring Washington to believe North Korea's empty promises - is lashing out at the person who pointed it out.

This is behavior one would expect from a teenager who was caught in a lie, not from a newspaper whose entire reputation is dependent on accuracy.

The NYT's choosing to ignore that part of Bibi's speech explains a great deal about its nonsensical editorial that is at odds with facts.

(This is not a real conversation; it is however a real representation of how not only BDSers but also how EU diplomats of the world view things.)

Text and video of Bibi's UN speech

I feel deeply honored and privileged to stand here before you today representing the citizens of the State of Israel.

We are an ancient people. We date back nearly 4,000 years to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. We have journeyed through time, we've overcome the greatest of adversities, And we reestablished our sovereign state in our ancestral homeland, the Land of Israel.

The Jewish people's odyssey through time has taught us two things: Never give up hope. Always remain vigilant.

Hope charts the future. Vigilance protects it.

Today, our hope for the future is challenged by a nuclear-armed Iran that seeks our destruction. But I want you to know: that wasn't always the case. Some 2500 years ago, the great Persian King Cyrus ended the Babylonian exile of the Jewish people. He issued a famous edict in which he proclaimed the right of the Jews to return to the Land of Israel and rebuild the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. That's a Persian decree, and thus began an historic friendship between the Jews and the Persians that lasted until modern times.

But in 1979, a radical regime in Tehran tried to stamp out that friendship. As it was busy crushing the Iranian people's hopes for democracy, it also led wild chants of "Death to the Jews!" Now, since that time, Presidents of Iran have come and gone. Some presidents were considered moderates, others hardliners. But they've all served that same unforgiving creed, that same unforgetting regime – that creed that is espoused and enforced by the real power in Iran, the dictator known in Iran as the Supreme Leader, first Ayatollah Khomeini and now Ayatollah Khamenei. President Rouhani, like the presidents who came before him is a loyal servant of the regime. He was one of only six candidates the regime permitted to run for office. Nearly 700 other candidates
were rejected.

So what made him acceptable? Well, Rouhani headed Iran's Supreme National Security Council from 1989 through 2003. During that time, Iran's henchmen gunned down opposition leaders in a Berlin restaurant. They murdered 85 people at the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires. They killed 19 American soldiers by blowing up the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia.

Are we to believe that Rouhani, the National Security Advisor of Iran at the time, knew nothing about these attacks?

Of course he did.

Just as 30 years ago, Iran's security chiefs knew about the bombings in Beirut that killed 241 American Marines and 58 French Paratroopers.

Rouhani was also Iran's chief nuclear negotiator between 2003 and 2005. He masterminded the strategy which enabled Iran to advance its nuclear weapons program behind a smokescreen of diplomatic engagement and very soothing rhetoric. Now I know Rouhani does not sound like Ahmadinejad. But when it comes to Iran's nuclear weapons program, the only difference between them is this: Ahmadinejad was a wolf in wolf's clothing and Rouhani is a wolf in sheep's clothing – a wolf who thinks he can pull the wool over the eyes of the international community.

Like everyone else, I wish we could believe Rouhani's words. But we must focus on Iran's actions.

And it’s the brazen contrast, this extraordinary contradiction between Rouhani's words and Iran's actions that is so startling. Rouhani stood at this very podium last week and praised Iranian democracy. Iranian democracy, he said.

But the regime that he represents executes political dissidents by the hundreds and jails them by the thousands. Rouhani spoke of "the human tragedy in Syria." Yet Iran directly participates in Assad’s murder and massacre of tens of thousands of innocent men, women, and children in Syria, and that regime is propping up a Syrian regime that just used chemical weapons against its own people.

Rouhani condemned the "violent scourge of terrorism." Yet in the last three years alone Iran has ordered, planned or perpetrated terrorist attacks in 25 cities on five continents.

Rouhani denounces "attempts to change the regional balance through proxies." Yet Iran is actively destabilizing Lebanon, Yemen, Bahrain, and many other Middle Eastern countries.

Rouhani promises "constructive engagement with other countries." Yet two years ago, Iranian agents tried to assassinate Saudi Arabia's ambassador in Washington, DC.

And just three weeks ago, an Iranian agent was arrested trying to collect information for possible attacks against the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. Some constructive engagement!

I wish I could be moved by Rouhani's invitation to join his "WAVE" –a world against violence and extremism. Yet the only waves Iran has generated in the last 30 years are waves of violence and terrorism that it has unleashed on the region and across the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish I could believe Rouhani, but I don't because facts are stubborn things. And the facts are that Iran's savage record flatly contradicts Rouhani's soothing rhetoric.

Last Friday, Rouhani assured us that in pursuit of its nuclear program, Iran has "never chosen deceit… and secrecy." Never chosen deceit and secrecy?!

Well, in2002, Iran was caught red-handed secretly building an underground centrifuge facility at Natanz. Then in 2009, Iran was again caught red-handed secretly building a huge underground nuclear facility for uranium enrichment in a mountain near Qom. Rouhani tells us not to worry; he assures us that all this is not intended for nuclear weapons. Do any of you believe that? If you believe that, here's a few questions that you might want to ask:

Why would a country that claims to only want peaceful nuclear energy, why would such a country build hidden underground enrichment facilities?

Why would a country with vast natural energy reserves invest billions in developing nuclear energy?

Why would a country intent on merely civilian nuclear programs continue to defy multiple Security Council resolutions and incur the costs of crippling sanctions on its economy?

And why would a country with a peaceful nuclear program develop intercontinental ballistic missiles whose sole purpose is to deliver nuclear warheads? You don't build ICBM's to carry TNT thousands of miles away. You build them for one purpose – to carry nuclear warheads. And Iran is now building ICBM's that the United States says can reach this city in three or four years.

Why would they do all this? The answer is simple. Iran is not building a peaceful nuclear program. Iran is developing nuclear weapons.

Last year alone, Iran enriched three tons of uranium to 3.5%, doubled its stockpile of 20% enriched uranium, and added thousands of new centrifuges, including advanced centrifuges. It also continued work on the heavy water reactor in Arak. That's in order to have another route to the bomb – a plutonium path.

And since Rouhani's election – and I stress this – this vast and feverish effort has continued unabated. Ladies and gentlemen,

Underground nuclear facilities?

Heavy water reactors?

Advanced centrifuges?

ICBMs?

It's not that it's hard to find evidence that Iran has a nuclear weapons program. It's hard to find evidence that Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapons program.

Last year when I spoke here at the UN, I drew a red line. Iran has been very careful not to cross that line. But Iran is positioning itself to race across that line in the future at a time of its choosing. Iran wants to be in a position to rush forward to build nuclear bombs before the international community can detect it, much less prevent it.

Yet Iran faces one big problem, and that problem is summed up in one word: Sanctions.

I have argued for many years, including on this podium, that the only way to peacefully prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons is to combine tough sanctions with a credible military threat. And that policy is today bearing fruit. Thanks to the effort of many countries, many represented here, and under the leadership of the United States, tough sanctions have taken a big bite out of Iran's economy. Oil revenues have fallen. The currency has plummeted. Banks are hard pressed to transfer money.

So as a result, the regime is under intense pressure from the Iranian people to get the sanctions removed. That's why Rouhani got elected in the first place. That's why he launched his charm offensive.

He definitely wants to get the sanctions lifted, I guarantee you that, but he doesn't want to give up Iran's nuclear weapons program in return.

Now, here's the strategy to achieve this:

First, smile a lot. Smiling never hurts. Second, pay lip service to peace, democracy and tolerance. Third, offer meaningless concessions in exchange for lifting sanctions. And fourth, and the most important, ensure that Iran retains sufficient nuclear material and sufficient nuclear infrastructure to race to the bomb at a time that it chooses to do so. You know why Rouhani thinks he can get away with this? I mean, this is a ruse; it's a ploy. Why does Rouhani think he can get away with it? Because he's gotten away with it before. Because his strategy of talking a lot and doing little has worked for him in the past. He even bragged about it. Here's what he said in his 2011 book about his time as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator: "While we were talking to the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in Isfahan…"

For those who you who don't know, the Isfahan facility is an indispensable part of Iran's nuclear weapons program. That's where uranium ore called yellowcake is converted into an enrichable form. Rouhani boasted, and I quote: "By creating a calm environment, we were able to complete the work in Isfahan."

He fooled the world once. Now he thinks he can fool it again. You see, Rouhani thinks he can have his yellowcake and eat it too.

And he has another reason to believe that he can get away with this, and that reason is called North Korea.

Like Iran, North Korea also said its nuclear program was for peaceful purposes. Like Iran, North Korea also offered meaningless concessions and empty promises in return for sanctions relief. In 2005, North Korea agreed to a deal that was celebrated the world over by many well-meaning people. Here is what the New York Times editorial had to say about it: "For years now, foreign policy insiders have pointed to North Korea as the ultimate nightmare... a closed, hostile and paranoid dictatorship with an aggressive nuclear weapons program.

Very few could envision a successful outcome.

And yet North Korea agreed in principle this week to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, return to the NPT, abide by the treaty's safeguards and admit international inspectors….Diplomacy, it seems, does work after all."

End quote.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
A year later, North Korea exploded its first nuclear weapons device.

Yet as dangerous as a nuclear-armed North Korea is, it pales in comparison to the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran. A nuclear-armed Iran would have a chokehold on the world's main energy supplies. It would trigger nuclear proliferation throughout the Middle East, turning the most unstable part of the planet into a nuclear tinderbox. And for the first time in history, it would make the specter of nuclear terrorism a clear and present danger.

A nuclear-armed Iran in the Middle East wouldn't be another North Korea. It would be another 50 North Koreas!

I know that some in the international community think I'm exaggerating this threat. Sure, they know that Iran's regime leads these chants, "Death to America!", "Death to Israel!", then it pledges to wipe Israel off the map. But they think this wild rhetoric is just bluster for domestic consumption. Have these people learned nothing from history?

The last century has taught us that when a radical regime with global ambitions gets awesome power, sooner or later, its appetite for aggression knows no bounds. That's the central lesson of the 20th century. Now, we cannot forget it.

The world may have forgotten this lesson. The Jewish people have not.

Iran's fanaticism is not bluster. It's real. This fanatic regime must never be allowed to arm itself with nuclear weapons.

I know that the world is weary of war. We in Israel, we know all too well the cost of war. But history has taught us that to prevent war tomorrow, we must be firm today.

This raises the question: Can diplomacy stop this threat?

Well, the only diplomatic solution that would work is one that fully dismantles Iran's nuclear weapons program and prevents it from having one in the future. President Obama rightly said that Iran's conciliatory words must be matched by transparent, verifiable and meaningful action, and to be meaningful, a diplomatic solution would require Iran to do four things. First, cease all uranium enrichment. This is called for by several Security Council resolutions. Second, remove from its territory the stockpiles of enriched uranium. Third, dismantle the infrastructure for a nuclear breakout capability, including the underground facility near Qom and the advanced centrifuges in Natanz. And four, stop all work at the heavy water reactor in Arak aimed at the production of plutonium.

These steps would put an end to Iran's nuclear weapons program and eliminate its breakout capability. There are those who would readily agree to leave Iran with a residual capability to enrich uranium. I advise them to pay close attention to what Rouhani said in a speech to Iran's Supreme Cultural Revolutionary Council. This was published in 2005: "A country that can enrich uranium to about 3.5% will also have the capability to enrich it to about 90%. Having fuel cycle capability virtually means that a country that possesses this capability is able to produce nuclear weapons.
Precisely. This is precisely why Iran's nuclear weapons program must be fully and verifiably dismantled. And this is why the pressure on Iran must continue.

So here's what the international community must do. First, keep up the sanctions. If Iran advances its nuclear weapons program during negotiations, strengthen the sanctions.

Second, don't agree to a partial deal. A partial deal would lift international sanctions that have taken years to put in place in exchange for cosmetic concessions that will take only weeks for Iran to reverse. Third, lift the sanctions only when Iran fully dismantles its nuclear weapons program.

My friends,
The international community has Iran on the ropes. If you want to knockout Iran's nuclear weapons program peacefully, don't let up the pressure. Keep it up.

We all want to give diplomacy with Iran a chance to succeed. But when it comes to Iran, the greater the pressure, the greater the chance.

Three decades ago, President Ronald Reagan famously advised: Trust but verify. When it comes to Iran's nuclear weapons program, here's my advice: Distrust, Dismantle, and Verify.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Israel will never acquiesce to nuclear arms in the hands of a rogue regime that repeatedly promises to wipe us off the map. Against such a threat, Israel will have no choice but to defend itself. I want there to be no confusion on this point: Israel will not allow Iran to get nuclear weapons. If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. Yet in standing alone, Israel will know that we will be defending many, many others. The dangers of a nuclear-armed Iran and the emergence of other threats in our region have led many of our Arab neighbors to finally recognize that Israel is not their enemy. This affords us the opportunity to overcome historic animosities and build new relationships, new friendships, new hopes. Israel welcomes engagement with the wider Arab world. We hope that our common interests and common challenges will help us forge a more peaceful future.

And Israel continues to seek an historic peace with our Palestinian neighbors, one that ends our conflict once and for all. We want a peace based on security and mutual recognition in which a demilitarized Palestinian state recognizes the Jewish state of Israel. I remain committed to achieving an historic conciliation and building a better future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Now, I have no illusions about how difficult this will be to achieve. Twenty years ago, the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians began. Six Israeli Prime Ministers, myself included, have not succeeded in achieving peace with the Palestinians. My predecessors were prepared to make painful concessions. So am I.

But so far, Palestinian leaders haven't been prepared to offer the painful concessions they must make to end the conflict. For peace to be achieved, the Palestinians must finally recognize the Jewish state and Israel's security needs must be met. I am prepared to make an historic compromise for a genuine and enduring peace. But I will never compromise on the security of my people and of my country of the one and only Jewish state.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
One cold day in the late 19th century, my grandfather Nathan and his younger brother Judah were standing in a railway station in the heart of Europe. They were seen by a group of anti-Semitic hoodlums who ran towards them waving clubs, screaming, "Death to the Jews!"

My grandfather shouted to his younger brother to flee and save himself. And he then stood alone against the raging mob to slow it down. They beat him senseless. They left him for dead. Before he passed out, covered in his own blood, he said to himself: "What a disgrace! What a disgrace! The descendants of the Maccabees lie in the mud, powerless to defend themselves."

He promised himself then that if he lived, he would take his family to the Jewish homeland to help build a future for the Jewish people. I stand here today as Israel's Prime Minister because my grandfather kept that promise.

So many other Israelis have a similar story: a parent or a grandparent who fled every conceivable oppression, and came to Israel to start a new life in our ancient homeland.

Together, we've transformed a bludgeoned Jewish people left for dead into a vibrant, thriving nation, defending itself with the courage of modern Maccabees, developing limitless possibilities for the future.

In our time, the biblical prophecies have been realized: As the prophet Amos said: They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them,
They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
They shall till gardens and eat their fruit.
And I will plant them upon their soil, never to be uprooted again.

ושבתי את שבות עמי ישראל,
ובנו ערים נשמות ויישבו,
ונטעו כרמים ושתו את יינם,
ועשו גינות ואכלו את פרים,
ונטעתים על אדמתם ולא ינטשו עוד.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
The people of Israel have come home, never to be uprooted again.

10/1 Links Part 2: The Guardian's Rouhani Revisionism, J-Street Hate-Fest

From Ian:

CIF Watch: The Guardian engages in Rouhani Revisionism in report on “Holocaust” remarks

And, that’s really the point: Holocaust deniers and revisionists typically understand that their animosity towards Jews and Israel can be seen more as more credible, and less morally suspect, if the historical understanding of the Nazi Holocaust – which serves to evoke sympathy for Jews – can be undermined. Frankly acknowledging the systematic, and historically exceptional, attempt to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Europe would necessarily draw unwanted focus on the extreme antisemitism permeating Iranian life which has inspired their leadership to call for the annihilation of the Jewish state, and would provide credibility to those insisting that a nuclear armed Iran represents an existential threat to six million Jews, and must therefore be resisted at all costs.
‘Counter-revolutionary’ rhetoric which serves to evoke sympathy for the Jewish state, no matter how obliquely, would indeed, as Javedanfar argued, “infuriate” the supreme leader, and so any pronouncements by Rouhani which touch upon the politically inconvenient topic of the Holocaust must invariably include questions about the “scope” of the Nazi crimes, and further be contextualized with the Jewish state’s ‘comparable’ “crimes” against the Palestinians.
Rouhani’s political dilemma in allowing Iran to achieve its nuclear ambitions with minimum Western resistance is to steer a careful course which avoids offending Khamenei while simultaneously staying in the good graces of the sympathetic Western liberal media.
The Guardian’s fawning coverage of the “moderate”, “dovish” Iranian president thus far indicates that he has passed the latter challenge with flying colors.

The Guardian tries out a new narrative: Islamist “dove” vs the Zionist “hawk”

Moreover, the Guardian continues to all but ignore reports which contradict their desired narrative of a new “peaceful” Iranian president. These include vitriolic rhetoric by Rouhani claiming that Israel is “an occupier and usurper” that has brought instability to the region with its “warmongering policies” and “institutionalized aggression”, and even comments by the new president which seem to liken the Holocaust to Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Such obfuscations are par for the course at the Guardian. Indeed, as the paper’s associate editor, and chief “anti-imperialist”, Seamus Milne even expressed sympathy for the ‘tragically misunderstood’ former Holocaust denying president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, we shouldn’t be surprised by continued selective reporting – and what will almost certainly be a chorus of pro-Rouhani propaganda – in the weeks, months and years to come.

Honest Reporting: BBC: Israeli Tail Wagging the American Dog

Examining the perceived decline of U.S. power in the global arena, BBC World Affairs Editor John Simpson opines:

As the international protector of Israel, the US will still have a major part to play in the central dispute in the region, even though the Israeli tail usually seems to wag the American dog.
Even now, as civil war rages in Syria, political violence occurs in Egypt, with an ever-increasing Sunni-Shia divide, the BBC’s traditional mindset cannot bring itself to adapt to the possibility that Israel is not the central dispute in the Middle East.
As for the throwaway comment of the Israeli tail wagging the American dog, that sort of mindset is altogether more crude and sinister.

Debate widens on BBC avoidance of the word terrorist

We have frequently posited on these pages that the BBC’s long-standing policy of avoiding the use of the word ‘terror’ and its derivatives on the grounds that such use would constitute a “value judgement” is in fact a value judgement in itself.
The recent terror attack in Nairobi seems to have brought the subject of that self-inflicted abstinence into the arena of public debate. The Daily Telegraph reported that “[t]he BBC is under mounting pressure to end an effective ban on the use of the word “terrorist””.

Journalists Trip Over Gaza-Bound Construction Materials

Construction imports into the Gaza Strip through Israeli crossings have tripped up journalists twice this year. In January, after communication of CAMERA, a string of media outlets, including the Associated Press, National Public Radio, The International Herald Tribune, and The Los Angeles Times, corrected erroneous reports claiming that until then Israel had imposed a ban on construction materials entering the Gaza Strip. In fact, as explained initially by CAMERA and then by the ensuing AP correction:

Canada's FM: We're Not Neutral on Israel's Security

Regarding Israel, Baird said that his country is not neutral on Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.
“There can be no bargaining over Israel’s existence,” he declared, adding, “While dialogue is a virtue, there can be no virtuous discussion with anyone wedded to Israel’s destruction.”
“Today, the Jewish people are masters of their own fate, like other nations, in their own sovereign Jewish state. Like other nations, Israel has the right to defend itself, by itself,” he said.

MK Shaked Blasts Israeli Politicians for J-Street Attendance

"To the conference held by this group – for which the definition of radical leftist is an understatement – came several Knesset Members, like Justice Minister Tzipi Livni, Yitzhak Vaknin of Shas, and Tzachi Hanegbi of Likud.
"And I am asking them – dear MKs, are these your friends? Are these the elements with whom you choose to identify? Your participation in the conference grants legitimacy to extreme and unbalanced criticism of Israel."
Shaked added that it is clear, today, that the Obama administration's support for Israel is "less than absolute," and accused the MKs who attended the conference of "strengthening those who led Obama to these delusional places."

MKs fire up J Street crowd with progressive causes

She received deafening applause for her support for “freedom to worship” and access to all streams of Judaism and non-Jews, and enthusiastic responses to her announcement that “we support civil marriage and we support gay rights including same-sex marriage.”
But the applause was more muted when she said that “we believe in a free and democratic Israel with a strong army and secure borders to defend not only our people but our values.” And when she paused after adding “this is the true Zionist dream,” there was no applause at all.

J Street Attendees Show Support For Right Of Return

During an otherwise mundane session on new voices and perspectives in Israeli and Palestinian societies, Fatah’s Husam Zomlot controversially won the support of the floor for expressing the demand that Israel give “full recognition of the Nakba” and present the right of return as an option to Palestinian refugees. (h/t Yenta Press)

Greek PM Promises to Eradicate Neo-Nazi 'Shame'

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras on Monday pledged to eradicate the shame of neo-Nazism as judicial authorities prepared sweeping criminal charges against members of the far-right Golden Dawn party, according to an AFP report.
"We are dedicated in completely eradicating such a shame," Samaras said in a speech to the American Jewish Committee in New York.

Historic Gathering in Auschwitz to Combat Anti-Semitism

On January 27th, 2014, the largest ever delegation of Knesset members will convene overseas in an unusual location - the grounds of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi death camp - together with Holocaust survivors, for a historic gathering on combating anti-Semitism.
The symbolism could not be any more striking, mere meters away from the gas chambers where millions of Jews were once murdered, will meet the representatives of the Parliament of the Jewish State of Israel.
The event is being held on the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, an international memorial day in honor of the 6 million Jews who perished during the Holocaust. This year will also mark the 69th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Allied troops in 1945.

Anne Frank's Life - as a Computer Game?

The famous story of Anne Frank and her family's life in hiding from the Nazi regime has now turned into an interactive computer game created by Kira Resari, a German game designer who created the experience to "facilitate empathy" rather than trivialize the Holocaust, according to German news source, Deutsche Welle.
Nevertheless, as players in the "Anne Frank" game make small choices like fetching a bag of potatoes from the attic or controlling the amount of noise she makes as she climbs the steps, one questions whether the game has gone too far in minimizing the importance of these life threatening choices.
But Resari argues that the opposite is true.

Scientific Breakthrough Reveals How Leukemia Cells Multiply

What keeps leukemia cells alive almost forever, able to continue dividing endlessly and aggressively? New research at the Weizmann Institute suggests that, in around a quarter of all leukemias, the cancer cells rely on an internal “balance of terror” to keep going. When one version of a certain gene is mutated, it becomes a cancer-promoting gene – an oncogene. But the new findings show that the second, normal version of the gene, which functions alongside the mutation, is what keeps the cells both cancerous and alive, able to continue forging their destructive pathway in the body. This research appeared last week in Cell Reports.

New therapy for brain cancer?

An Israeli postdoctoral fellow has identified a genetic protein likely to be involved in the development and spread of glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive type of brain cancer in adults.
Each year, approximately 22,000 people in the United States are diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening brain tumor. Glioblastoma tumors are extremely difficult to remove surgically, and they press on or damage brain tissue as they grow. Chemotherapy and radiation do not help much; the median survival rate even with these interventions is just over a year, and only about 10 percent of glioblastoma patients live five years or longer after diagnosis.

Genband buys fring mobile VoIP pioneer

Israel’s fring, one of the first companies to offer OTT messaging and video services, has been acquired by Genband, the American developer of multimedia and cloud communications software. According to a Reuters report, the deal landed the Tel Aviv startup $50 million.
Fring offers free mobile VoIP services similar to WhatsApp and Skype for mobile group video chat, two-way video chat, voice-only calls and text chat.

Tom Jones adds 2nd Israel gig

High demand for tickets for Tom Jones' upcoming Israel concert has prompted the legendary Welsh singer to add a second gig at Tel Aviv's Nokia Arena in October, Yedioth Ahronoth has learned.
Jones, 73, is considered one of Britain's biggest stars, selling more than 100 million albums throughout his career.

Dr Qanta Ahmed - Israel TV's Foreign News Magazine - Roim Olam

Another victim of the "playground of death"

I had missed this over the holiday, from the Hamas Al Qassam Brigades website:

Military Communiqué

Al Qassam Brigades mourns the death of Abed Al Kareem Fayyad

As Al Aqsa Intifada against the occupation assault on the Gaza Strip continues, Ezzeddeen Al-Qassam Brigades has its best men to be in the playground of death to defend their people from any attack by the enemy ... Today, Al-Qassam Brigades mourn the death of the mujahed:

Abed Al Kareem Asaad Fayyad (21 years old)

Khanyounis city– Gaza Strip

The mujahid passed away after he was shot accidentally. He was martyred after a long bright path of jihad, hard work, struggle and sacrifice.

Al Qassam Brigades mourn the death of the mujahed, reaffirms the commitment and determination to continue the resistance against the belligerent occupation forces.

May Allah (SWT) accept the mujahed & his blessed efforts for the path of Jihad and may Allah grant his family patience and solace for his lose.

"To God we belong and to him we shall return."

Too bad. Hamas had just changed the sign on their Playground of Death to counting the days since the last work accident:

(h/t PTWatch)

Gaza has been increasing its exports of spices, and they are now marketed not only to Europe but to the US as well.

Within Gaza are 200 dunums of peppers, and about 50 dunums of cherry tomato and other tomatoes, and dozens of dunums planted with spices such as basil leaves and mint.

25 tons of spices have been exported to Europe this year so far, and 10 tons of spices went to the US just in the past three months.

Spices are a much more lucrative market, as they can be grown and ready for export in just a month. Gaza has been exporting spices all summer, while its vegetable and flower crops can only be exported in the winter months.

All the crops are being exported by Israeli companies.

I have not been able to figure out what brands these spices are sold under; usually all Palestinian Arab crops were sold under the Coral brand from Agrexco but I'm not sure about the spices. I see that the Israel Flower Growers Association set up a computer system so Gaza farmers can track their shipments abroad.

Of course, Gaza farmers pay taxes to Hamas, so buying Gaza spices indirectly funds Hamas.

Apparently, the Western world is only interested in labeling goods that are from the territories if those goods were created by Jews. I mean, why would any moral person want to boycott goods from Hamastan?