Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, November 01, 2013

11/01 Links Pt2: A pro-Palestinian 'activist' shills for Assad, Praising the EU Definition of Antisemitism

From Ian:

And as they seek to twist Netanyahu’s arms to create another artificial Arab state for the Ramallah figurehead, it would serve us well to envision what things would be like had such a state already existed. Islamist fanatics from the world over would be streaming southward from Syria to the new Palestine, all armed to the teeth, and hell-bent on “liberating” the lands still left under the jurisdiction of hair-raisingly slender, vulnerable and enfeebled little Israel.
This is the security Kerry guarantees us. He could learn to live with the unprecedentedly escalated dangers to our continued self-preservation. We probably wouldn’t live for long.
Odds are that Kerry isn’t intentionally inimical. He just doesn’t get it. So – before he sets out imperiously to help Obama dominate the world – perhaps the Secretary of State just ought to busy himself with securing his own house first and leave our security to us.

JPost Editorial: Settlements aren’t the problem

The idea that Jewish settlements are “an obstacle to peace” is based on the morally repugnant premise – supported by the international community – that the very presence of Jews in these territories is an affront to the Palestinians, while Palestinians expect Israel to absorb not just the 1.6 million Arabs with Israeli citizenship but also an unknown number of Palestinian “refugees.”

'Palestinian State' Would Leave Israel 'Indefensible'

One prominent Israel advocate who has taken it upon himself to clearly illustrate the case is New York based attorney Mark Langfan. On Tuesday Langfan appeared on the CBN News show "The Watchman with Erick Stakelbeck," and, with the aid of three topographical maps set out to prove why in his view a Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria would create an indefensible security situation for Israel.
The show starts with a regional map showing how Israel provides "the first and last line of defense" between Islamic terror and NATO nations, first among them Greece.

What is a pro-Palestine activist doing promoting an Assadist nun?

Not that any of this stopped Agnes from being invited last week on a coast-to-coast speaking tour of the United States by, of all people, a pro-Palestine activist. Paul Larudee is a founder of the Free Gaza Movement, whose aid boats famously challenged Israel’s naval blockade of the Strip’s waters, and is also involved with the International Solidarity Movement, which carries out non-violent activism in the West Bank. One might have thought a man with such a background would take a dim view of a regime that now air-strikes Palestinian refugee camps. But Larudee has found a new calling, and recently started a nonprofit called the Syria Solidarity Movement (which, like the “Hands Off Syria” slogans, would be more accurately worded if ‘Syria’ were replaced with ‘Assad’), whose website appears to double as a clearinghouse for the latest Press TV and Russia Today reports. It is this organization that brought Agnes, whom Larudee describes as “charismatic,” to America’s shores on Thursday.

Survey: Most Israelis Feel 'Very Secure'

Fifty-eight percent said they feel a high sense of personal security in their hometown, and 56% said they feel very safe at enclosed shopping and entertainment centers with security.
Forty-one percent said they feel very safe at unsecured stores and entertainment centers as well, and 38% said they feel very safe on public transportation. Forty-four percent said they feel their children are very safe in school or daycare.

Groundbreaking Law to Facilitate Jewish Prayer on Temple Mount

Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home) has advanced new laws this morning (Friday) that would enact the establishment of regular prayer hours for Jews visiting the Temple Mount, Yediot Ahronot reports.

Arab Family Fails in Campaign to Build Over Ancient Village

An attempt by far-left Israeli groups to win approval for Arabs to build at the site of an ancient Jewish village has been rejected.
The groups had sought construction approvals for land in Susiya, in the Hevron region, immediately adjacent to the modern-day Jewish community of Susiya.

The Independent or Richard Silverstein? An internet rumor of rabbis, soy and sex

Yair Rosenberg writes the following in an Oct. 30 story for Tablet:

Visit the web site of the national British daily newspaper, the Independent, and you’ll find an article titled, “Rabbi bans students from eating soy in case it leads to gay sex.”
Actually you won’t find it anymore, because, after Rosenberg’s superb fisking of the story – which demonstrated that the Hebrew source for the claim said the exact opposite - the Independent completely removed the article from their website.

In praise of the EUMC Working Definition of Antisemitism

In 2005, following several years which saw a disturbing rise in antisemitic violence across Europe, the European Union Monitoring Center on Racism and Xenophobia (EUMC) reached a Working Definition of Antisemitism.
Later in the year, the Working Definition of Antisemitism was prominently referenced at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Cordoba Conference. And, since then, many other bodies have advocated its usage. The one-page Working Definition of Antisemitism (below) evolved as a result of the efforts of a large number of European institutions and human rights experts.

Poll shows anti-Semitism in US down 3% in 2 years

Twenty-six percent said they believe “Jews were responsible for the death of Christ,” down from 31 percent in 2011. Nearly a fourth said they agreed that “Jews still talk too much about what happened to them in the Holocaust.”
Higher-than-average levels of anti-Semitism were measured within the African-American and foreign-born Hispanic communities, though in both cases levels had dropped significantly since 2011.

Extremist Islamic Web site founder admits to postings supporting terrorist attacks

A New Jersey man who prosecutors say used his Islamic Web site to advocate violence against those whose ideals he found offensive to his religion pleaded guilty Wednesday to using the Internet to put another in fear of death or injury, admitting that he posted material supportive of various terrorist attacks and hinted that his followers should target a Jewish organization in Brooklyn.
Yousef Mohamid al-Khattab, 45, an American-born man with dual citizenship in Israel, told a federal judge in Virginia that he wrote the posts “out of my stupidity.” Yet he vigorously disagreed with prosecutors’ assertion that he intended to incite violence.

New book examines Poles who killed Jews during WWII

He has suffered death threats, is boycotted in the Canadian Polish community where he lives today, and is not always welcome even in his homeland, but eminent Polish historian Jan Grabowski will not give up his struggle to expose the truth.
The son of a Holocaust survivor, Grabowski, 50, is a graduate of Warsaw University and is currently a history professor at University of Ottawa. For the past several years he has published a number of books with a common theme — Polish participation in the killings of their Jewish neighbors.

The film Poles don’t want you to watch debuts in the US

The Times of Israel speaks with the director of controversial movie, ‘Aftermath,’ based on the true story of Polish massacres of their Jewish neighbors during WWII

Gestapo Chief Reportedly Buried in Jewish Cemetery

As head of the feared Gestapo secret police, Heinrich Müller perpetrated some of the worst crimes of the Nazi regime. His fate was unconfirmed -- but now a newspaper claims he was buried in a Berlin Jewish cemetery in 1945.

Kristallnacht 75th Anniversary: Berlin Shops to be 'Shattered'

Storefronts in the German capital will next month once again be marred by the jagged pattern of broken glass to mark the 75th anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogrom.
Adhesive film will be used to cover shop windows to create the illusion of large holes and hairline fractures to commemorate the violence unleashed during the infamous event.

Thirty two Jewish graves desecrated in South Africa

Ryan Machet, a local resident who has been leading fund-raising efforts to build a wall around the graveyard – which is over a century old – told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that unknown vandals broke the headstones by pushing them over causing them to shatter.
“We reported it to the Jewish board and they are coming out in the next day or two” to inspect the damage, Machet said, referring to the Board of Deputies, the representative body of South African Jewry.

New hope in untangling Alzheimer’s Disease

The researchers also found several important microRNAs at low levels starting in the brains of young mice. If the same can be found in humans, these microRNAs could be used as biomarker to detect Alzheimer’s disease at a much earlier age than is now possible — at 30 years of age, for example, instead of 60.
“Our biggest hope is to be able to one day use microRNAs to detect Alzheimer’s disease in people at a young age and begin a tailor-made treatment based on our findings, right away,” says Dr. Barak.

RackSpace buys out Israeli cloud tech start-up

Add the Texas-based RackSpace to the long list of international tech companies opening research and development facilities in Israel. Last week, the company acquired Israeli start-up ZeroVM, which has developed a virtual server system, called a hypervisor, specifically for cloud use. With the acquisition, ZeroVM’s Tel Aviv office will be turned into RacksSpace’s Israeli R&D center. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Paula Abdul continues tour of Israel with visit to Western Wall in Jerusalem

After meeting President Shimon Peres earlier this week, Paula Abdul visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Thursday evening.
Abdul, who was born to Jewish parents was in Israel as part of a 10-day tour in Israel where it was reported she would visit locations in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Galilee.

StandWithUs UK

Toldot d'var Torah and a blog milestone

Seven years ago, I posted an original d'var Torah on this week's Torah portion. Here it is, slightly updated:

One major question that I never thought had an adequate answer is - why did Yitzchak (Isaac) favor Eisav (Esau)? From the text is seems clear that Eisav was not a very good person, and this was very obvious to Rivka (Rebecca) as well. How could Yitzchak have had such a blind spot?

Even though Yitzchak is spoken about the least of all the forefathers, we do know enough about him to glean parts of his personality.

Clearly the defining event of his life was the Akeidah, a profoundly spiritual experience. We also know that he spent time meditating outdoors, as when he first saw Rivka he was praying outside. He also was a very accomplished farmer, with G-d granting him unimaginable yields on his crops. Similarly, the other major episodes mentioned in the Torah about him was how he dug wells - both re-opening those of his father and his digging new ones.

Looking at these examples, it appears that Yitzchak associated spirituality with the outdoors. Specifically, Yitzchak spent his most spiritual moments in the fields.

A Sadeh is the specific word that described Yitzchak's place of prayer, as well as the place that his father went to considerable trouble to purchase a burial ground for Sarah (the "s'dei Ephron." )

Now, look at the initial description of Eisav - Eisav is described as being "a man of the fields," an Ish Sadeh.

In other words, when given a choice of a son who spends his time outdoors and one who is seemingly a "bookworm" staying in tents, Yitzchak would tend to assume that the "man of the field" is a more likely spiritual heir than Yaakov -especially since Eisav is the first born.

In other words, Yitzchak could not even imagine a person who could spend time outside and not be a spiritual person. To him, the field was where G-d primarily manifested Himself and it was obvious that anyone who spent time with nature would see things the same way!

When Yitzchak asks Eisav to get food for him so he could bless him, he specifically asks him to go into the field. Far more striking, however, is when Yitzchak is speaking to Yaakov (Jacob) who is pretending to be Eisav:

וַיֹּאמֶר, רְאֵה רֵיחַ בְּנִי, כְּרֵיחַ שָׂדֶה, אֲשֶׁר בֵּרְכוֹ השם
"See, the smell of my son is like the smell of the field that G-d has blessed."

To Yitzchak, the concept of "field" and "G-d" were intertwined. And to a man like this, a man who spent his life outdoors and who associated the field with spirituality, it seemed clear that Eisav, the man of the field, was the chosen heir.

Perhaps only when he was faced with the juxtaposition of experiencing Yaakov speaking of G-d while smelling of the fields, immediately followed by Eisav's entrance without the reference to G-d, did he realize that his assumption that men of the field had to be spiritual was incorrect. Spirituality can be found everywhere. With this realization he reiterated the blessing for Yaakov, later on to add to Yaakov another blessing of "bechira", of being the chosen son to carry on in the ways of Avraham.

Now for the milestone:

This week, EoZ posted its 18,000th post. A thousand times "chai!"

Shabbat shalom!

The PLO says "jump," South Africa asks "how high?" (UPDATE)

South Africa doesn't even pretend to be even-handed:

South African ministers do not visit Israel, International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane said.

"Our Palestinian friends have never asked us to disengage with Israel [through cutting diplomatic relations]. They had asked us in formal meetings to not engage with the regime," she said at a Congress of SA Trade Unions international relations committee meeting.

"Ministers of South Africa do not visit Israel currently. Even the Jewish Board of Deputies that we engage with here, they know why our ministers are not going to Israel."

She said South Africa had not been asked to "close down" its diplomatic relations with Israel.

"We have agreed to slow down and curtail senior leadership contact with that regime until things begin to look better," Nkoana-Mashabane said.

"The struggle of the people of Palestine is our struggle."

She said South Africa had a Palestinian embassy, which was supported "100 percent".

Nkoana-Mashabane said the South African struggle was not just about itself, but also international solidarity.

"The last time I saw a map of Palestine, I couldn't go to sleep," she said.

"It is just dots, smaller than those of the homelands, and that broke my heart."

The meeting was also addressed by a group campaigning for the release of all Palestinian political prisoners, including Marwan Barghouti, who had become a symbol of the Palestinian struggle.

From her very words, it appears that the PLO is directing South African policy in the Middle East. Can anyone imagine a US leader saying that their policy is dictated by what their "Israeli friends" demand?

The version of this article in the Mail & Guardian was headlined "Nkoana-Mashabane: SA ministers do not visit Palestine."

This same minister issued a completely one-sided condemnation of Israel in 2009. She mentions Hamas rockets but only condemns Israel's response.

(h/t @jethrosteve)

UPDATE: A week later, the Aouth African government denies any such policy.

11/01 Links Pt1: The beautification of Bashar, the veneration of Rouhani, Erekat fake resigns again

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: The War between Mahmoud and Mohamed

The failure of the mediation efforts prompted Dahlan last week to launch a scathing attack on Abbas and his close aides in Ramallah, reigniting the war between the two men.
Dahlan was quoted as saying that Abbas and his team were not negotiating with Israel about the restoration of Palestinian rights, but in order to win American and Israeli backing. "The leadership of the Palestinian Authority is so weak that it can't turn down any Israeli request," Dahlan was quoted as saying.
Dahlan was also quoted as accusing unnamed Palestinian Authority officials of providing logistical aid to construction work in Jewish settlements.

The beautification of Bashar, the veneration of Rouhani

When he took power 13 years ago, Bashar Assad was considered the great white hope of the West. Western analysts told us that Bashar (“Baby Assad”) was going to modernize and moderate-tize Syria. He was going to bring Syria into the civilized world, and make peace with Israel.
Now the same “experts” are working overtime to lionize and sanitize the new Iranian poster boy, President Hassan Rouhani.

Kerry to arrive as Palestinians threaten to walk away from talks

According to the Palestinian Ma’an News Agency, Erekat sent PA President Mahmoud Abbas a letter in which he cited Israel’s lack of commitment to the peace process and continued construction beyond the Green Line as the reasons for his resignation.
The report was published as the PLO’s Executive Committee was convening in Ramallah for a session chaired by Abbas.
Top PLO official Wassel Abu Yousef, however, denied the reports of Erekat’s quitting.
At the end of the meeting, he said the subject of Erekat’s resigning was not even discussed during the committee’s session.

The Guardian corrects false Palestinian “political prisoner” claim

Though this may seem like a narrow issue to some, it needs to be understood as part of the British media’s increasing tendency to submit to the corruption and politicization of ordinary language by radical ideologies which attempt to turn truth, logic and moral common sense upside down.
It is quite urgent that we continue to resist efforts to mainstream such horribly misleading euphemisms, so please contact us if you see other examples of British media reports on the Palestinian prisoner release issue which employ such propagandistic terms.

IAF strikes in southern Gaza after 5 soldiers injured by Hamas bomb

One soldier was seriously wounded and another was in moderate condition Friday after an IDF operation Thursday night to destroy part of a tunnel, east of Khan Younis inside the Gaza Strip, was targeted by Hamas. A total of five soldiers were injured when an explosive device planted by Hamas detonated, the IDF said in a statement Friday.
Four members of Hamas’s armed wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam, were killed in the clash, including three of the Islamist group’s tunnel and rocket experts, an Israeli military source said.

IDF sources deny Palestinian killed by army fire

Ahmed Tazata, 20, a Palestinian who was reportedly shot and killed by IDF soldiers during a Thursday morning clash near Jenin in the West Bank, was actually injured in an “internal conflict” among Palestinian factions, according to a report Thursday afternoon.
Tazata had been injured and was already hospitalized at the time of the confrontation between Israeli troops and a group of Palestinian stone-throwers, during which he was reported by Palestinian media to have been killed, according to Israel Radio, which cited anonymous IDF sources.

Accuracy and impartiality failures in BBC report on incident in Kabatiya

The report – which is based entirely on claims made by Palestinian sources – leaves readers with the definite impression that Ahmed Tazaza was killed by Israeli forces during an operation in the town of Kabatiya (also Qabatiya), south of Jenin.

‘Israel loaned Soviet jets to US for testing in 1968’

The US “secretly acquired” a Soviet MiG-21 aircraft from Israel in 1968 and tested the fighter jet at the legendary Area 51, a US government facility in the Nevada desert, The Guardian reported this week.
The US government – which released the relevant documents on Tuesday – declassified them after George Washington University’s National Security Archive requested them through the Freedom of Information Act.

US fast-tracking six Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to Israel

Israel will be the first U.S. ally to get the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft, a star of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday night.
Hagel said in an address to the Anti-Defamation League in New York that delivery would be "expedited," meaning "Israel will get six V-22s out of the next order to go on the assembly line, and they will be compatible with other [Israeli defense] capabilities."

Israeli Security Official: Assad Still Transferring Advanced Weaponry to Hezbollah

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has not given up on his effort to move advanced weapons to Lebanon’s Hezbollah, behavior Israel considers to be crossing a red line, an Israeli security official told Israel’s Walla News website Thursday.

‘Turkey behind strike on Latakia airbase in Syria’

A report by Lebanon’s MTV Thursday cited Turkey as being behind the Wednesday attack in Latakia, Syria, which targeted “missiles and related equipment” meant for Lebanese terror group Hezbollah. The Lebanese report cited Israeli officials who allegedly claimed the attack came in response to the June 2012 interception of a Turkish jet, which Syrian forces shot down. The pilots were subsequently killed. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Syrian refugees face hardships in Jordan’s cities

Most can’t legally work, aid officials say. Some scrounge for off-the-books jobs in construction or on farms. Refugees say they earn less than Jordanians and live in fear of getting caught by police. All are eligible for UN food vouchers, but fewer than half qualify for cash aid.
Psychological burdens compound the struggle. The refugees often feel isolated or say they are resented by their Jordanian neighbors, whose own rents have risen and wages fallen in areas with large numbers of Syrians.
The vast majority of refugees have settled in cities: Of the 550,000 in the country, about 423,000 are in urban areas rather than in camps.

Largest camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan becoming a city

The manager of the region’s largest camp for Syrian refugees arranges toy figures, trucks and houses on a map in his office trailer to illustrate his ambitious vision. In a year, he wants to turn the chaotic shantytown of 100,000 into a city with local councils, paved streets, parks, an electricity grid and sewage pipes.
Zaatari, a desert camp near Jordan’s border with Syria, is far from that ideal. Life is tough here. The strong often take from the weak, women fear going to communal bathrooms after dark, sewage runs between pre-fab trailers and boys hustle for pennies carting goods in wheelbarrows instead of going to school.

Elkin briefs Israeli ambassadors in countries near Iran

According to a report in Walla News Friday, the meeting was held in Tbilisi, Georgia, and was aimed at discussing efforts to strengthen ties with these countries. The Israeli ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan — three countries that share a direct border with the Islamic Republic — as well as those from Kazakhstan and Georgia, were reportedly in attendance.

Iran Enrichment Commitment Repeats Increasingly Familiar Pattern of Rumored Concessions, Explicit Walkbac

The dynamic – in which optimistic coverage produced in Western outlets was quickly followed by an explicit Iranian walkback – repeats a pattern that has become almost routine since the election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.

Analysis: As Iran closes in on nuclear capability, regional states pursue their own programs

For example, in 2011, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Turki al-Faisal said his country might produce nuclear weapons if Iran got them. The Guardian reported in 2010 that Western intelligence officials believe Pakistan promised to provide Saudi Arabia with nuclear weapons in a crisis.
And in a TV interview on Egypt’s Channel 1 this month, Egyptian Prof. Muhammad al-Naschie said that nuclear energy was needed for energy, desalination and military defense, according to a transcript provided by MEMRI (the Middle East Media Research Institute).

This Turkey is cold

We have not yet reached the point of seeing the end of Turkey, according to the Americans, but this could certainly be the direction things are headed. Washington is not alone in asking itself, unhappily, if under the stewardship of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan Turkey has distanced itself from its traditional ties to the West to the point that its 61-year membership in NATO is becoming increasingly meaningless.

Turkey Government Conducts “Purge” Against Economic Technocrats for Supporting Protesters

Now Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is moving against the country’s cadre of economic technocrats in general, and especially those who were linked to this summer’s anti-government protests. Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News described the moves under the headline “The Great Purge in Turkish economic policymaking”:

Turkish military ‘trying to provoke an incident’ with Israelis in Mediterranean

The sources said Ankara has been dismayed by Israel’s growing military cooperation with Greece. They said the Israeli cooperation, which included
military exercises, training and arms projects, replaced Turkey with Greece as a leading defense partner of the Jewish state. In November, Israel plans to host three NATO members in the largest international exercise in the country.
“Erdogan thought that Turkey could isolate Israel militarily, particularly in NATO, when the opposite has taken place,” another source said. “Israel has more military exchanges than ever with individual NATO members while Ankara has been marginalized.”

Shrugging Off Turkey Isolation Efforts, Israeli Air Force Preps Trilateral Air Exercises

Last August the Israeli Defense Forces and U.S. European Command ran two weeks of bilateral naval and air exercises military exercises.
Now the Israeli Air Force is prepping for wider, trilateral exercises. Next month Israel will assemble nearly 1,000 personnel from three nations for two weeks of air-to-air and air-to-ground exercises modeled on the U.S. Air Force’s annual Red Flag military training exercise. Dubbed Blue Flag, the drill will take place at the Ovda training range in the Jewish state’s south.

Video of Bedouin who supports Israel's Prawer plan

This video is from Israel's Minister of Foreign Affairs, so the people who hate Israel anyway won't believe a word of it, but what he is saying is exactly in line with what I saw when I last visited the Negev.

It should be required viewing for those who are only hearing the lies that "Israel is stealing Bedouin land".

China says attack in Tiananmen Square was from Islamic terrorists

From AFP:

China's top security official has named an Islamic movement as "behind-the-scenes supporters" of this week's fatal attack in Tiananmen Square, in Beijing's first claim of an organised link to the incident.

"Its behind-the-scenes supporters were the terrorist group the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) based in Central and West Asia," Meng Jianzhu said when asked about the Tiananmen incident on a visit to Tashkent in Uzbekistan, video posted online Thursday showed.

A high-profile car crash on Monday killed two tourists and injured dozens at the popular site and symbolic heart of the Chinese state. The three people in the car -- a man, his wife and his mother -- all died in the crash, police say.

They said the vehicle had a licence plate from Xinjiang, the far western region where China's mostly Muslim Uighur minority is concentrated, while the names released of the three people inside and five other detained suspects sounded Uighur.

ETIM is known as a militant Islamic separatist group that seeks an independent state in Xinjiang.

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying on Friday called the group "the most immediate and realistic security threat in China".

Come on, China. If Muslims demand a state, and threaten terrorism when you don't give it to them, the rule is - give it to them! It might take a couple of decades for them to convince the world that they are the victims, but there are enough idiots in the West who will take their side. Might as well give it to them now. I mean, you know they won't demand more after they get their state, right? They are honorable terrorists and they would never lie.

And that goes for you, too, Philippines.

Get ready for more heartbreaking photos of Gaza children using candlelight and riding donkeys and blaming Israel for the "siege".

The truth is, Israel has been providing all the fuel needed both for petroleum and for the Gaza power plant - but Gazans haven't been paying for it.

Palestine Press Agency reports that the head of the gas station consortium in Gaza says that stations will run dry today because the debt owed to Israeli fuel companies has exceeded NIS 600 million (about $170 million.) Existing agreements between the PA and Israel agree that Israel will not provide fuel when the debt exceeds that value.

Palestine Today says that the Gaza power plant will cease operations today as well, but they blame the PA for imposing taxes on the fuel. Chief of the Energy Authority in Gaza, Fathi al-Sheikh Khalil said "All attempts to provide diesel fuel needed to operate the plant at the right price failed."

He said that the stockpiles of fuel for the power plant have been going down all week and will run out this morning.

Khalil said "the only solution" is for the PA to stop taxing diesel.

This means that the Gaza energy chief could have paid the higher price to at least the plant going for several hours a day, but instead decided to turn the plant completely off rather than pay for more expensive fuel.

Either way, you know that when Reuters publishes photos of dark streets in Gaza City, it will blame the "Israeli siege."

Why are there so many Jewish Nobel laureates? (Zvi)

From Zvi:

Why so many Jewish Nobel Laureates?

The medicine, physics, and other such Nobel Prizes are typically awarded for major game-changing contributions in their fields.

A Nobel laureate in physics, chemistry or medicine is an expert in his/her field. But rather than becoming dogmatic, s/he remained open-minded, keeping eyes open and searching intensively for the truth rather than in following the intellectual fashion of the day (I am thinking, for example, of the discovery of quasi-crystals).

As a result, the Nobel laureate saw something that nobody else saw. Given the same data that others had in their possession, s/he had game-changing insights. And s/he pursued these insights instead of following the crowd, and ultimately persevered.

Why are there so many Jewish Nobel laureates in these particular fields?

Jewish culture values discussion, not suppression. And this tendency is thousands of years old, part of our cultural and religious DNA. There is no pope in Judaism, and a page of the Talmud is a discussion, not a dictate. Jewish scholars have been debating and discussing and publishing their ideas for millennia. Ask two Jews for an opinion, and you famously get three opinions. And we're not shy about sharing those opinions with you. Look at Israel's political culture. This is a country of only 8 million people, and yet the diversity and fluidity of political opinion is incredible.

Jewish culture values truth, not convenient falsehood. Consider, for example, how readily Israel's enemies resort to the simple Big Lie ("Israel is Apartheid", for example), while Jewish advocates for Israel struggle to communicate the truth to the world. NGOs and media publish utter nonsense moments after something happens; the IDF refuses to comment until it has actually investigated and knows what happened.

Jewish culture values knowledge, not blind obedience. While Jews are as likely as the next person to cheer a prince or a sports hero, not all cultures have historically treated scholars and philosophers like "rock stars," as Jews have historically done. Also, with Jewish history littered with expulsions, pogroms, laws designed to prevent us from owning land, and attempts to destroy our people, prestige and measures of success among Jews tended to be based on something portable: knowledge, education, skills, ability.

"Modern" Jewish culture is relatively merit-driven, rather than worshipping authority or staying in hereditary boxes. Sure, leadership has been hereditary in a few cases, and sure, there are Levites and Cohanim. But Jewish communities throughout history have been repeatedly uprooted, expelled or smashed. The relatively well-off family of one generation might be driven out by antisemitic forces and forced to start over in the next generation. In the succeeding generations, talent and abilities allowed Jews to make a new start.

Jewish culture values entrepreneurship, and also values improving the world. This has been true for millennia, too. There has always been a willingness to start from scratch and build a new life, rather than simply crying in our wine. Memory impels us rather than debilitating us. And there have always been people - our prophets, our entrepreneurs and merchants, our pioneering doctors, the ingathered exiles who rebuilt Israel. Faced with an empty desert, these people see its potential to bloom. Even the crazy Jewish leftists are responding, at some level, to Jewish instincts (sadly, their minds have been trapped in the mirror-world of socialist nonsense, and they have closed their eyes and their minds to what is real). And there have been people who, faced with a scienti fic theory or approach that sort of works but isn't quite good enough, are willing to strike out on their own and find one that works better.

Jewish culture values perseverance. Of course it does. We would not be here otherwise.

So is it any wonder that Jews win a lot of Nobel Prizes in the sciences and medicine, despite the ridiculously small number of Jews in the world?

Peace and Literature

What about the Peace and Literature Prizes? Jews have indeed won a number of these prizes. However, the number here is drastically smaller than in the sciences and economics. Jews tend to win in the sciences and also in economics (often in areas related to psychology or modeling) because in these areas, the impacts of discoveries are more readily measurable. The personal, political, antisemitic or in some cases severe anti-American biases of Nobel committee members are less able to decide the matter.

Literature is interesting. Only 8 Literature prizes have been awarded to the United States since 1945, reflecting a near-permanent anti-American / pro-European bias on the part of the Nobel committee. Israel, the US, and a handful of other countries host the vast majority of Jews. Of the 8 US prizes, 3 were awarded to American Jews (Isaac Bashevis Singer, Saul Bellow and Joseph Brodsky). If the US were not virtually blacklisted by the Nobel Literature committee, it is likely that there would be many more Jews on the list (Philip Roth, for one).

In any event, forget about the Nobel literature committee. The real test of quality literature is time. Some of the most important Jewish books have lasted for thousands of years, and yet remain extremely relevant; they have been translated into virtually every human language, and are consulted daily by hundreds of millions of people. Now that's great literature. And with a literary tradition like that in our family, how could we help but strive for excellence in writing?

France, and the EU, cozying up to Hezbollah

Al Monitor has a very sobering article:

On July 22, 2013, all 28 European Union (EU) countries unanimously agreed to add Hezbollah’s military wing to the EU list of terrorist organizations. But less than three months later, Europe has opened its doors to Hezbollah as a special guest. On Oct. 12-14, the French Foreign Ministry received Hezbollah deputy Ali Fayyad of the Lebanese parliament as a guest lecturer for French diplomats, analysts and experts; he explained how Paris was wrong and Hezbollah was right.

...Once there, Fayyad met with officials of the Middle East department and the center of analysis and exploration in the ministry, where he gave a two-hour introduction and question-and-answer session.

According to Hezbollah sources, the French have decided to open up to Hezbollah, the most powerful Shiite organization in Lebanon, and are ready to start a new phase of French and European dialogue with the party, while the party asserts that it is adhering to all its positions and choices.

But what has changed in these three months? Hezbollah circles confirmed to Al-Monitor that since the EU’s decision in July, it was clear to the party that the issue was not serious and did not reflect Europe’s actual convictions. Even before the decision was issued, three European ambassadors in Beirut visited Hezbollah officials and informed them that they were not personally convinced about the decision. They also noted that their governments were not convinced about the decision that was about to be issued. Even after the decision was issued, a record number of meetings were held between Hezbollah officials and European diplomats in the Lebanese capital. Even the EU ambassador to Lebanon, Angelina Eichhorst, visited Hezbollah’s international relations official Ammar Moussawi as well as Hezbollah cabinet ministers Mohammed Fneish and Hussein Hajj Hassan, within just one week of the decision.

[...]

Those watching the relationship between Paris and the southern suburbs of Beirut (Hezbollah’s stronghold) may note the various reasons behind the French and EU decision to invite Fayyad. Those reasons can be summarized as follows:

First, the French move came within the context of the recent American-Iranian openness. It is a factor that cannot be ignored with regard to the French initiative. It is as if those in Paris and Europe are trying to tell the Americans: “We are not mere followers or implementers of your policy. If Obama can contact President Hassan Rouhani, we too can host Hezbollah and hold dialogue with it directly.” Such French and European calculations don’t have to be read negatively. They can be interpreted positively: “Fine. You [the Americans] have decided to open up to Tehran. We too can help in this direction. And this is a small example of that.”

Second, Hezbollah’s visit to the French capital came in the context of the putative Russian-American agreement on Syria and the nearing of the Geneva II conference, in which Iran is likely to participate. It is clear that any settlement of the Syrian crisis will open up large horizons in the Levant, politically and especially economically. On the political level, there is the impression that the “Syrian solution” will be a model to be replicated to redraw the Levantine map as a whole and to resolve the wars and crises of most countries in the Arab region. That includes Lebanon, which France has historically cared about. Ending the Syrian war will also open up major investment opportunities in reconstruction and in energy sources and transportation routes in the eastern basin of the Mediterranean (Syria and Lebanon). Hezbollah is a key player in both countries and has a big impact on the developments there.

Third, those who are familiar with Hezbollah’s capabilities and its influence as a political force realize that the Shiite organization is present beyond Syria and Lebanon. It is present in Iraq, in all its detailed political composition. Some in Beirut say that representatives of the Iraqi political forces meet regularly in the cafes of Beirut’s southern suburb, where they discuss the outcome of their meetings with Hezbollah officials. Hezbollah is also present in Palestine, although to a lesser extent than before, given that its relations with Hamas have cooled somewhat. But Hezbollah still has contacts with Hamas and with other Palestinian factions. Hezbollah even has varying degrees of influence in Yemen, Bahrain, Kuwait and even Saudi Arabia and various Arab Gulf states, where Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah can influence public opinion in each of these countries....

(h/r Herb)

New fighting in Gaza plus live tweets

YNet reports:

An IDF force apparently came under mortar fire emanating from Gaza Thursday night while operating on both sides of the border fence as part of the efforts to uncover additional parts of an underground terror tunnel that was located in the area a month ago. The force returned fire.

Palestinian sources reported that an IDF tank opened fired at a terror cell belonging to Hamas' armed wing - the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which was situated east of the city of Khan Younis in south Gaza.

The Palestinians further reported that during exchanges of fire between terrorists and IDF forces near the city of Abasan in south Gaza, a Palestinian terrorist was killed and another was wounded, apparently from IDF tank fire. The Israeli forces were targeting a . The Palestinians identified the terrorist who was killed as Rabiya Barakeh, 21.

According to the Palestinians, the incident followed the limited entry of IDF forces into Gaza, near the border fence, but Israeli officials said the forces operated beyond the security fence but still within Israeli territory.

From IsraelNewsFeed (@IsraelHatzolah):

Tweets by @IsraelHatzolah

The tweets were coming fast and furious when I posted this, so it seemed like a good idea at the time....(this comment may be dated by the time you read it)

10/31 Links Pt2: Who is “Financing the Flames”, The Humiliation of Palestinians in Arab States

From Ian:

Extinguishing the Fires of Anti-Israel Agitation (REVIEW)

In Financing the Flames, we finally get the real answer to the question, as Edwin Black meticulously details how anti-Israel efforts are being funded by non-Arab nations (such as the United States and Great Britain) and by presumably non-aligned, well-intentioned private donor groups – some Jewish, which are then implemented by misguided Jews and Jewish organizations.
In other words, the Jewish gifts for socially-conscious fund raising and media wizardry, if indeed such things exist, are ironically being used against Israel.
We learn from Financing the Flames how these funds have created an industry-of-confrontation against Israel, and have led to careers for many of Israel’s adversaries.

Author of ‘IBM and the Holocaust’ Takes Apart NIF Funding Sources in New Book (INTERVIEW)

The book, “Financing the Flames,” takes a hard look at the many non-profits funded by NIF, the role of the historically anti-Semitic Ford Foundation in propagating hate materials in 2000 and 2001, and how that ethos and funding transformed into NIF. Black also highlights many of the grievances long made by watchdog group Palestinian Media Watch and others, showing general readers the payments, effectively subsidized by U.S. tax payers, and received every month by Arab terrorists sitting in Israeli jails.

Financing the flames from a mobile home in Florida

Those who wonder whether Palestinians and Israeli can reconcile and co-exist in peace must also confront the fact that foreign influences are working to make that more difficult. In the case of the internationals at Deir Istiya, the foreign intervention reaches all the way into the United States, and to a humble trailer located off the road, deep in the woods of Florida.

JPost Editorial: Israel and the Rights Council

This was accompanied by nebulous carrots dangled before Israel. One is that Israel will cease being the sole geopolitically unaffiliated country at UN forums in Geneva.
Presumably, at some unspecified date, Israel will be coopted to the Western European and Others Group, as it is in New York’s UN forums.
The other carrot is that moves will be undertaken, again at an unspecified time, to release Israel from the dishonorable unique status accorded it at the UNHRC under Agenda Item 7. This turns Israel into a permanent subject of debate at every council session. No other country has a compulsory agenda item reserved for it.
These promises are far too vague to constitute tangible diplomatic achievements. They certainly do not justify Israel’s reversal of an eminently justified policy.

CFR: What is the U.S. position regarding the legality of Israeli settlements? by Elliot Abrams

U.S. officials have tried to avoid an argument over the legal status of the settlements, instead urging that expansion is a bad policy. The use of the term "illegitimate" rather than "illegal" suggests a desire to express disapproval as a political judgment without getting bogged down in arguments over the international legal status of the Palestinian territories and Israel's actions in them.

Douglas Murray: Are we losing the war for the soul of Islam?

The extremists may have a bad interpretation of Islam, they may have a wrong interpretation of Islam, but for very many people it is also a perfectly plausible interpretation of Islam. We do not acknowledge this because we do not want to.
In February 2011 America's Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, was asked about the Muslim Brotherhood at a House Intelligence Committee hearing. He declared the Brotherhood to be a "largely secular" organisation with "no overarching agenda".
Whatever his title, Mr Clapper is clearly a man of no curiosity or intelligence. Since its founding in 1928 the agenda of the Brotherhood has been absolutely clear. It desires to impose sharia and restore the caliphate.

Jewish groups launch pro-circumcision task force

Responding to recent attacks in Europe on ritual circumcision, Jewish groups convened a special task force in Brussels to mount a “proactive defense” of the practice.
“The days of waiting around to firefight individual attacks on brit milah are over,” said Philip Carmel, European policy adviser for the European Jewish Congress, in reference to the non-medical circumcision of 8-day-old Jewish males for religious reasons.

Report: Deal in works to reveal fate of IAF navigator Ron Arad

A Kuwait newspaper reported Wednesday that a deal was coalescing by which Israel would be given new information on prisoner of war Ron Arad in exchange for Iran receiving information on four Iranian diplomats who went missing near Beirut during Lebanon’s civil war in 1982. The report comes 27 years after IAF navigator Arad was taken as a prisoner of war by the Lebanese Shi’ite group Amal. (h/t Bob Knot)

Helping the Methodists with their Israel boycott questionnaire

The UK Methodists have put out a questionnaire to help them construct a briefing on the arguments for and against boycotting Israel. As the deadline looms we offer some help
British Methodists have until November 4, to complete a questionnaire on what they think about BDS (Boycott Divestment Sanctions) against Israel. We thought we'd offer a bit of help. Here are the questions with our answers underneath them and in italics:

Daphne Anson: Adelaide BDSers Scrubbing The Uncomfortable Truth (videos)

In the City of Churches, BDSers get busy with the scrubbing brush when, in two separate incidents earlier this year, they find subversive messages from a pesky supporter of the Zionist Entity who got there ahead of them chalked on their patches in the Rundle Mall.
In the first video, which, like the second, features well-chosen supplementary footage from elsewhere, BDSers in their familiar green t-shirts discover that their patch bears the chalked label "Danger Propaganda Zone" followed by the very appropriate "Boycott Real Racism":

Israeli Law Center Sues Australian Academic for BDS Campaign

Israeli law center Shurat HaDin has filed a legal suit in the Australian federal court against the director of the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at Sydney University in Australia Jake Lynch for supporting the the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

Satanic Israel and Other Acts of Refined Anti-Semitism at York University

Then I saw a press release, plastered all over the place, announcing that Satan has donated $25 million to York University, signed by Gloria Suhasini, Senior Media Relations Officer at York University. Normally, I would think that something like this is a bad joke, but at this notorious university you can’t dismiss any possibility.

The Humiliation of Palestinians in Arab States

French Jewish Leader Says Climate for Jews in Country is ‘Not Pleasant’

According to i24 News, Curkierman said France “is facing three distinct forms of anti-Semitism. First, there is the rise of the far right, including the growing public acceptance of National Front party; on the other hand, there is the anti-Semitism of the far left, originating with pro-Palestinian activists calling for a boycott of Israel. Cukierman described this type as ‘anti-Semitism dressed up as anti-Zionism.’
Finally, anti-Semitism prevails among young suburban immigrants, ‘predominantly Muslims,’ who are ‘eager to commit violence when they see a Jew a yarmulke.’”

Jewish Actress Lisa Kudrow Talks Anti-Semitism, Her Son’s Bar Mitzvah in Revealing Interview

Jewish actress Lisa Kudrow opened up about her past experiences with anti-Semitism in a recent interview with the Saturday Evening Post, describing how in college she faced a dispiriting backlash because of her religion.
“In college there was more anti-Semitism than before college, because there were people who never met a Jew before. A friend of mine, when she found out I was Jewish, said, ‘Really? Oh, I don’t like Jews,’” she shared.

Thank You Pastor John Hagee

The Jewish community owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Pastor John and Diana Hagee. On November 7, at the Grand Hyatt in New York, notable community leaders and friends of Israel will gather to say thank you. Professor Elie Wiesel, Ari Fleischer, Malcolm Hoenlein, former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, and others will add their voices to the chorus of praise.

Israel’s Mekorot Wins Contract to Create Water Master Plan for Azerbaijan

The project is part of a wide memorandum of understanding between Mekorot and Azerbaijan’s government that calls for water treatment within its capitol city of Baku, building a command and control center, and treating water contaminated by radioactive sources. So far, Mekorot has provided monitoring laboratories and sampling equipment, and has been training Azerbaijani officials at seminars in Israel.

Israel and Japan to Collaborate in Agricultural Research

Israeli Agriculture Minister Yair Shamir announced Monday that the Israeli and Japanese governments will establish a joint research and development fund after a meeting with Japanese Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo.

US LGBT leaders praise Tel Aviv’s support for Gay Cente

American LGBT leaders from advocacy organizations, government and academia visited the Gay Center, owned and operated by the city of Tel Aviv.
“None of us are aware of another municipality where they are solely funding the LGBT community center,” said Malcolm Lazin, executive director of the Equality Forum, a national and international LGBT civil rights organization with an educational focus.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark to Israel’s Peres: ‘I Will Remember this Visit for the Rest of My Life’

On a state visit to Israel, Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark told Israeli President Shimon Peres, who thanked Danes for saving Jews during the Holocaust 70 years ago, that he “will remember this visit for the rest of [his] life.”
“On a personal note, it is fantastic to be in Israel and to visit so far the museum and to witness also the part that tells a positive story during World War II about Danish Jews being shipped and rescued on small boats across from the shores of eastern Denmark to Swedish shores, that was a very bold act of good Danish citizens who came from all walks of life and who did not hesitate to act when it was very necessary,” the crown prince said. “For me this is something personal but today our two countries commemorate this. I will remember this visit for the rest of my life.”

CNN is reporting that a White House official has confirmed that Israeli warplanes struck a military base near
the Syrian city of Latakia this morning.

Israeli officials have refused to comment.

Al Arabiya also reports the story, citing "exclusive sources":

Israel was behind a series of explosions that rocked a Syrian air base in the northern Latakia province, Al Arabiya television reported on Thursday, quoting exclusive sources.

The bombing targeted a shipment of surface-to-air missiles (SAM) that was headed for Hezbollah in Lebanon, the sources said.

Initial rumors claim that the target was Russian SA-8 missiles en route to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Naharnet says:

Another security official said that the attack occurred in the port city of Latakia and that the target was Russian-made SA-125 missiles.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the attack.

There is a good reason Israel stays mum on events like this - because acknowledging them opens up the possibility of widening the conflict in Syria.

For an administration that prides itself on extricating itself from wars, it sure looks like it likes to try to start them as well.

ICYMI: Thousands of weapons seized in Ashdod port

For some reason, most news outlets seem to have missed this story. From Your Jewish News, last week:

A large shipment of illegal weapons was apprehended at the port of Ashdod, Israel, according to officials.

Ashdod port workers and customs agents were stunned after discovering more than 14,000 illegal weapons on Wednesday night.

The tax authority had marked the container as suspicious, and after being placed under a scanner, customs agents decided to open it for further inspection.

When the container was opened, agents found a large number of dangerous weapons, which were hidden between clothes.

Specifically, agents found 4,000 flashlight shaped electric shockers, 1,000 iron batons, 3200 pepper sprays, 2000 slings, 4000 laser pointers prohibited for import into the Palestinian Authority and 3,500 fake Casio watches.

Police said that a 27-year-old Palestinian man of Hebron, was arrested in connection with the container. The man has a history of smuggling.

I'm not sure if I would characterize fake Casio watches as weapons....

It almost sounds like these are meant more for an "intrafada" than an intifada.

I saw this at the COGAT site. The only Israeli (English) media I could find mentioning it was Arutz-7.

10/31 Links Pt1: UN- Releasing Murderers is Good, Building is Bad, Iran still enriching to 20%

From Ian:

Israel files UN complaint over PA praise of terrorist

Israel’s ambassador to the UN lodged a complaint with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday over a condolence letter sent by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to the family of a terrorist killed by Israeli forces.
The IDF said Mohamed Aazi was among the planners of the bombing on the No. 142 bus in central Tel Aviv during Operation Pillar of Defense as the bus drove near the Kirya, the Israeli military’s headquarters.
“When we talk about the troubling rise of incitement and its effects on the hearts and minds of young Palestinians,” wrote Ambassador Ron Prosor, “there cannot be a more outrageous example than an incident that occurred last week. At the heart of this incident is Mohamed Assi, a terrorist responsible for the November 2012 bus bomb explosion that injured 29 civilians in the center of Tel Aviv.”

Ban: Releasing Murderers is Good, Building is Bad

Releasing terrorists is good, but approving new Jewish construction in Jerusalem is wrong, according to the head of the United Nations.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in a statement he released on Wednesday, condemned Israel’s announcement that it will build 1,500 new housing units in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Ramat Shlomo.

Abbas vows there will be no peace agreement unless all prisoners go free

Abbas was speaking during a reception at the Mukata presidential compound in Ramallah for Palestinians released from Israeli prison.
After hugging and kissing each one of the freed prisoners, Abbas vowed to pursue his efforts to secure the release of all inmates.
Twenty-one prisoners were released to the West Bank, while another five were returned to the Gaza Strip, where Hamas did not hold a reception for them.

Abbas welcomes 21 murderers released from prison

Guardian images highlight freed terrorist; ignores Holocaust survivor he murdered

Whilst the Guardian’s coverage of the prisoner release continues to highlight the joy of the freed terrorist and their families, the Jews (and Palestinian ‘collaborators’) they murdered continue to largely remain nameless and faceless.

BBC coverage of prisoner release in pictures

Not one image of any of the twenty-five victims of the murders committed by the twenty-six prisoners was shown by the BBC and yet again the faces of family members of the victims also remain unseen. That is not because such photographs do not exist; it is an editorial decision.

US Mideast czar slams settlement expansion

Philip Gordon, the National Security Council coordinator for Middle East policy, emphasized perceived Israeli transgressions in describing the difficulties afflicting renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks in an address Tuesday evening to the annual gala dinner of the American Task Force on Palestine.
“The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement expansion,” Gordon said, an apparent reference to new housing starts announced by Israel in recent weeks.

EU demands Israel stop settlement activity, ‘including natural growth’

“The EU deplores the recent settlement announcements. Any actions that could hamper or undermine the ongoing negotiations must be avoided,” Catherine Ashton said in a statement. “The EU has repeatedly stated that settlements are illegal under international law. It has also called on Israel to end all settlement activity, including natural growth, and to dismantle outposts erected since March 2001.”

French Citizen Detained for 'Spying' on Jewish Community

A French citizen was detained this afternoon for questioning (Wednesday) by civilian security guards on allegations of spying on Yitzhar residents in their homes. The unnamed man, who is suspected of taking unwanted photographs of residents and buildings in the community, may be involved in Palestinian Arab incitement in a nearby village.

Syria completes destruction of chemical arms equipment

The announcement by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons came one day ahead of the November 1 deadline set by the Hague-based organization for Damascus to destroy or “render inoperable” all chemical weapon production facilities and machinery for mixing chemicals into poison gas and filling munitions.
Destruction of the equipment means that Syria can no longer produce new chemical weapons. However, Damascus still has to start destroying existing weapons and stockpiles. The country is believed to have around 1,000 metric tons of chemicals and weapons including mustard gas and the nerve agent sarin.

Huge explosion reported at Syrian air defense base

A Syrian air defense base near the coastal city of Latakia was reportedly destroyed Wednesday night, with multiple Syrian and Lebanese sources speculating that an Israeli strike from the Mediterranean was to blame.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported a loud explosion in a Syrian army base, and Twitter users quoted eyewitnesses who said the blast occurred near Snobar Jableh, just south of the city.

Saudi resolution slams Syria’s human rights record

A draft UN resolution initiated by Saudi Arabia would strongly condemn “widespread and systematic gross violations of human rights” by the Syrian government and “any” abuses by anti-government armed groups.
Saudi Arabia, which backs rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad, has strongly criticized the Security Council’s failure to resolve Syria’s civil war and other conflicts, citing this as one reason for rejecting a seat on the UN’s most powerful body earlier this month.

Iran’s secret night flights to arm Syria’s Assad revealed

The US, a cautious supporter of Syrian rebels, has long complained about flights between Iran and Syria, saying Tehran airlifts soldiers and weapons to the Assad regime.
Last year, in the final months of her tenure as US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton struck an agreement with Iraq to intercept and search Iranian planes flying through its airspace, a measure that the government in Baghdad – which has close ties to Tehran – has shown little desire to implement.

Elliott Abrams: Meanwhile, back in Iran

The Obama administration has shown its lack of interest in Iran's human rights situation since June 2009, when the president seemed indifferent to the wave of protests that arose around the presidential election. Today we find in regime stalwarts, who have represented the Islamic republic for decades and smiled while acts of terrorism took hundreds of lives, new hope for reform. But inside Iran, there is no reform; human rights violations continue apace. The "reformer" Rouhani has appointed as justice minister Moustafa Pour-Mohammadi, whom Human Rights Watch called "minister of murder" in 2005 for his previous conduct, including hundreds of extrajudicial executions.

Day After Rushed White House Meeting With Jewish Leaders, Simon Wiesenthal Center Calls Out Obama Admin. on Iran

A leading Jewish human rights group called out the Obama administration Wednesday for its recent efforts to block new Iran sanctions legislation, and urged the senate to “immediately adopt the Nuclear Iran Prevention Act, which earlier passed the House with broad bi-partisan support.”
“We respectfully disagree with the White House’s push to give the Iranians more time,” said rabbis Marvin Hier and Abraham Cooper, founder and dean and associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, who also called on the President to sign the bill if it is ratified by the senate.

Nuclear chief says Iran will keep enriching to 20%

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told the Tehran parliament’s news site Wednesday that “the 20% uranium and fuel plates are being produced and built within the country,” the state-run Fars news agency reported.
“No stop has occurred in the process of the production and it never stopped before,” he continued.

Iran sentences activist actress to prison

An Iranian actress known for her political activism in support of the country's reformists has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after facing security charges, newspapers reported Tuesday.
The case over the 24-year-old actress, Pegah Ahangarani, points to the internal, and sometimes conflicting, centers of power in Iran as calls for greater openness by new President Hassan Rouhani have angered Iran's more conservative judiciary.

Egypt arrests senior Muslim Brotherhood figure

The arrest of Essam el-Erian, the deputy leader of the Brotherhood’s political arm, the Freedom and Justice party, was the latest in a wide-ranging crackdown and prosecution of both the Islamist group’s leaders and its rank-and-file since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, who also hails from the Brotherhood.

Asst. Secretary of State: Egypt Churches Burned by Some People Who Are ‘Simply Anti-Christian’

Obama administration officials took heat from both the right and left over the White House’s brusque stance toward the interim Egyptian government, with California Democrat Brad Sherman wryly noting “we didn’t criticize Morsi’s departure from democracy, but we are criticizing Morsi’s departure.”
But perhaps the most telling moment of testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee this morning came when Elizabeth Jones, acting assistant secretary of State for Near East Affairs, was asked who was behind the burning of Coptic churches across the country.
“Some of them are just — are simply anti-Christian,” she stumbled in an answer that refused to point blame toward the Muslim Brotherhood or any other Islamic extremists.

Hezbollah Prepares for Syria Showdown in al-Qalamoun

The offensive will again pit Hezbollah fighters directly against jihadists and militant Islamists. The al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamist militias Ahrar al-Sham and Liwa al-Islamhave been reinforcing towns and villages in the region to prepare for the expected Hezbollah assault. Some reports claim that as many as 20,000 rebel fighters have poured into the region, some being redeployed from Damascus suburbs.

Saudi court sentences man for spying for Israel

A Saudi court reportedly sentenced a Jordanian national to nine years in prison and 80 lashes for spying for Israel.
Though details regarding the man or his arrest were unclear, Saudi daily al-Riyadh said a special court had determined that the accused contacted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and that he spoke with an Israeli intelligence officer and sent him a picture via email. The court determined that the man agreed to work with Israeli intelligence for a fee.

Why aren't human rights groups defending Jews' rights to visit the Temple Mount?

According to Palestine Today, this morning a a mob of Muslims managed to start a disturbance in order to "expel" a group of about 30 Jews who were visiting the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site.

The Aqsa Heritage Foundation has photos of the "settlers" being "provocative."

As far as I can tell, not only do Jews have the right to visit and to pray on the Temple Mount, but if they wanted to build a synagogue there I cannot find anything in international law that wouldn't support them wholeheartedly.

The overriding consideration in international law is the right to be treated equally, and barring Jews from the Temple Mount is about as discriminatory as possible.

Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights says:

Everyone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.

In addition, Article 20 seems to prohibit the insults and incitement that Muslims engage in towards Jews on the Temple Mount:

1. Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.

2. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence shall be prohibited by law.

Moreover, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief is filled with articles that would prohibit banning Jews from the Temple Mount:

No one shall be subject to discrimination by any State, institution, group of persons, or person on grounds of religion or other beliefs.

For the purposes of the present Declaration, the expression "intolerance and discrimination based on religion or belief" means any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on religion or belief and having as its purpose or as its effect nullification or impairment of the recognition, enjoyment or exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms on an equal basis.

Discrimination between human beings on grounds of religion or belief constitutes an affront to human dignity and a disavowal of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and shall be condemned as a violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and enunciated in detail in the International Covenants on Human Rights, and as an obstacle to friendly and peaceful relations between nations.

All States shall take effective measures to prevent and eliminate discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the recognition, exercise and enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms in all fields of civil, economic, political, social and cultural life.

All States shall make all efforts to enact or rescind legislation where necessary to prohibit any such discrimination, and to take all appropriate measures to combat intolerance on the grounds of religion or other beliefs in this matter.

From these articles it appears that Israel is obligated to allow Jews to visit and pray there, and to protect them from those who want to take away their rights.

It is true that this same declaration says:

Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs may be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary to protect public safety, order, health or morals or the fundamental rights and freedoms of others.

But this clause is referring to cases where the practitioners of the religion are the ones who are a danger to others, not when the others are so intolerant that they threaten violence. To invoke this paragraph to deny Jews' rights to the Temple Mount (which I suspect human rights organizations would do if pressed) would make the rest of that declaration a mockery.

Of course, we will never hear Human Rights Watch or Amnesty or the UN dare to defend the Jewish right to worship on the Temple Mount. Because Jews who want to do so are not considered to be worthy of protection by international law, apparently.

(I hope to expand this into a paper for ASHREI-ME.)