Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, November 04, 2013

Is Jordan the next victim of the "Arab Spring?"

Bordering the media headline-grabbing countries of Israel, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Jordan is sometimes overlooked because of its peace with Israel, its close alliance with the US and its relatively liberal socio-economic system.

However, the Hashemite kingdom is plagued by a number of economic and social problems that threaten to plunge Jordan into its own Arab Spring.

At its heart, the Arab Spring was about economics, being sparked by poor and desperate people unable to make ends meet. Many are wondering which country will be affected next.

In Jordan, over 70 per cent of the population is less than 30 years old.

The unofficial unemployment rate stands at one in three, and growing.

Jordan Employment Agency spokesperson Haithan Alkhasawni said: “It’s known that Jordan’s debt is getting higher when we compare it to people’s income. Also, we have the unemployment problem, it is very high.”

Unlike its attention-grabbing neighbours of Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Jordan has remained relatively peaceful, until now.

Its royal family is an absolute monarchy and many people are afraid to speak out against the kingdom.

Israeli political analyst Ron Pundak said: "Jordan is more democratic than many others and the freedom of speech is… relatively not so bad, but it is still not an open liberal Western society.”

At the moment, Jordan is at peace with Israel.

It also enjoys a close alliance with the US and has a relatively liberal socio-economic system which explains why the country is so often overlooked by the media.

However, that doesn't mean Jordan has been left untouched.

Two and a half years ago, Jordanians went to the streets to protest.

They were concerned about rising prices and inflation and wanted limits placed on King Abdullah's powers.

However, things are reaching a head, with the unrest in Syria creating a humanitarian disaster for the kingdom of six million people.

More than half a million Syrian refugees now live in Jordan -- accounting for about 10 per cent of the population.

The Za'atri refugee camp in northern Jordan -- which houses Syrian refugees -- is now Jordan's fourth largest city.

As things heat up on its other borders, Jordan needs all the friends it can get and its western neighbour, Israel, is only more than happy to oblige. However, Amman's friendship with Tel Aviv makes Jordan unpopular with many in the Arab world.

Jordanians are hoping that in a region that has seen its own fair share of drama, their country does not join the circus.

They hope that it would not have to take an Arab Spring to get their government to sit up and listen.

The article ignores the role that Islamists play in Arab turmoil. Jordan has an active Muslim Brotherhood which is itching to ignite protests that it can parlay into political leadership.

It also ignores the fact that peace with Israel - even though it does benefit Jordan both directly and indirectly - is unpopular among the antisemitic Jordanians (only 2% of Jordanians had a favorable impression of Jews in 2011.)

Questions no one is asking about Hamas' textbooks

The NYT reports:

When a class of Palestinian ninth graders in Gaza recently discussed the deadly 1929 riots over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem, it was guided by a new textbook, introduced this fall by the Islamist Hamas movement.

Asked the lesson of the uprising, one of the 40 boys in class promptly answered, “Al Buraq Wall is an Islamic property,” using the Muslim name for the site, one of the holiest in Judaism. Pleased, the teacher then inquired whether the students would boycott Israeli products, as Arabs had boycotted Jewish businesses in 1929. A resounding chorus of “Yes!” came back from the class.

For the first time since taking control of the Gaza Strip in 2007, the Hamas movement is deviating from the approved Palestinian Authority curriculum, using the new texts as part of a broader push to infuse the next generation with its militant ideology.

Among other points, the books, used by 55,000 children in the eighth, ninth and 10th grades as part of a required “national education” course of study in government schools, do not recognize modern Israel, or even mention the Oslo Peace Accords the country signed with the Palestine Liberation Organization in the 1990s.

...What Gaza teenagers are reading in their 50-page hardcover texts this fall includes references to the Jewish Torah and Talmud as “fabricated,” and a description of Zionism as a racist movement whose goals include driving Arabs out of all of the area between the Nile in Africa and the Euphrates in Iraq, Syria and Turkey.

“Palestine,” in turn, is defined as a state for Muslims stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. A list of Palestinian cities includes Haifa, Beersheba and Acre — all within Israel’s 1948 borders. And the books rebut Jewish historical claims to the territory by saying, “The Jews and the Zionist movement are not related to Israel, because the sons of Israel are a nation which had been annihilated.”

People are acting shocked. Jeffrey Goldberg tweeted "It seems as if Hamas's "anti-Zionism" is actually plain old anti-Semitism. Not that we didn't know that already." and "Children in Gaza are being taught that the Western Wall is Muslim and that the Torah is 'fabricated.'"

Yet the moderate, peace-loving PA has officially stated that the Western Wall is Islamic and has no holiness to Jews as well.

Official PA media refers to Israeli cities as "Palestinian" all the time, as do PA textbooks.

And it isn't Hamas saying that the Torah is "fabricated" - it is a mainstream Islamic opinion. That is how, for example, Islam can celebrate Abraham's sacrifice of Ishmael instead of Isaac - they claim, as doctrine, that the Torah text was corrupted. If Goldberg is honest, he would notice that Islam is antisemitic, not just Hamas.

So what's the difference between what Hamas is saying in textbooks now and what the PA and indeed all Muslim countries tell their people all the time?

It's easy to marginalize Hamas for its opinions of Jews and Israel, but when the PA's viewpoints are virtually identical, isn't that a bigger story?

Finally, the question I asked in May when I first reported this story - since UNRWA policy is to use the textbooks of its host country, will it start using Hamas textbooks in its schools? UNWRA schools in Gaza already teach jihad, so it is hardly a stretch.

"Turkey and Iran cooperate well on intelligence"

From Hurriyet Daily News:

The intelligence cooperation between Turkey and Iran is in a “very, very good state,” according to the Iranian Ambassador Alireza Bigdeli.

Speaking to the daily Hürriyet, Bigdeli said the intelligence cooperation between the two countries were at a level that should be between strong neighbors and brothers, which bothered Western powers, as well as Israeli authorities.

“Why do they not like it when Turkish and Iranian intelligence agencies cooperate? They expect Turkey to have good cooperation with MOSSAD or CIA. There is that side to it. Turkish and Iranian agencies always have cooperation, and they should have so, and they will have so. It is normal between neighbors to have that, but they treat it with doubt,” Bigdeli said.

When asked about the recent claims of Turkey handing over Israeli spies to Iranian authorities, Bigdeli did not go into details, and just said, “I’ve been here for only seven months. The claims in that story go back a year. I have no information regarding them.”

Bigdeli said Iranian-Turkish relations contained many levels and dimensions, and to assume a rift on Syria’s policies would cause a rift between the countries would be wrong.

“Unlike what is assumed by others, the relations between the two countries are so deep that an issue like Syria cannot have that great of an impact. If it had been two other countries that experienced the last few months, they could have gone through serious crises. But the warmth between us has never gone away,” Bigdeli said.

Clearly the interview was meant to tweak Israel over the reports that Turkey exposed 10 spies for Israel in Iran.

This interview could boomerang on Turkey though and give the West even less reason to trust that country.

Three Palestinian Arabs killed planting explosive devices. In Egypt.

DPA reports (according to Al Ayam) that an Egyptian security source said three Palestinians were shot dead by the Egyptian army on the road to Rafah, in Sheikh Zuaid.

The source said troops spotted three Palestinians planting explosive devices and tried to arrest them but they fled, Egyptian security fired at them and killed them.

Now, late last week Israel killed several Hamas terrorists in Gaza, and it made worldwide headlines. This story, as of this writing, has not even been reported in English yet. No one is complaining about "disproportionate force" or speaking of the Palestinian Arab "right of resistance" against the country that is besieging them.

Keep in mind that Egypt has a complete blockade of the media in the Sinai, so any stories of clashes such as these and especially of civilian casualties and home demolitions are sparse and hard to verify. And, let's face it - "human rights" organizations find it is much easier to file reports from Israel than from Egypt, which is actually dangerous and where they can lose their NGO accreditation in an instant if Egyptian authorities dislike what they say.

Hamas Al Qassam Brigades member Mohammed Telbani was killed Sunday on a "jihadist mission."

Palestine Today says that he died inside a "resistance tunnel" in the central Gaza Strip.

Hamas, of course, is calling him a "martyr."

I haven't yet seen any UN report blaming Israel for the many people who manage to off themselves in so-called "work accidents," but I'm sure that Richard Falk is working on it right now.

Iranian business selling US, Israeli flags to be burned and trampled

An Iranian holiday is coming up; the anniversary of the hostage-taking at the US embassy, known as the national Day Against Global Arrogance. On this day, traditionally, Iranians go into the streets and burn US and Israeli flags.

This shop in Tehran is selling Israeli and US flags for the occasion, with a sign saying they are meant for "setting on fire and trampling."

As this classic, and hilarious, video shows, the idea is not original.

(h/t Golnaz)

Tunisia banned from Davis Cup tennis next year over refusal to play Israel

From BBC:

Tunisia has been suspended from the Davis Cup tennis tournament after Tunisian player Malek Jaziri was ordered not to compete against an Israeli opponent last month.

The International Tennis Federation said there was no room for prejudice in sport and the one-year ban was a "fitting penalty".

Jaziri withdrew from the Tashkent Challenger last month ahead of a match against Amir Weintraub.

He was cleared of wrongdoing.

Officials found Jaziri - who had claimed to be suffering from a knee injury - had been ordered to pull out of the match.

The ITF board voted unanimously to suspend the Tunisian Tennis Federation for one year from the Davis Cup, one of the most important tournaments in men's tennis.

"There is no room for prejudice of any kind in sport or in society. The ITF Board decided to send a strong message to the Tunisian Tennis Federation that this kind of action will not be tolerated by any of our members," said ITF president Francesco Ricci Bitti.

Jaziri himself seems to have been against dropping out of the match:

The brother and manager of Tunisian tennis star Malek Jaziri on Monday slammed as ‘shocking’ the political pressure to boycott a match with Israel’s Amir Weintraub from the authorities back home. This decision is “shocking, because it brings politics into sport ... We are totally against that. And Malek is the first victim, because tennis is his career, his bread-winner,” Amir Jaziri told AFP. “To be clear, Malek pulled out for sporting reasons, because he was injured. He did his warm up, something was wrong and the doctor found that his knee was swollen,” he said.

When Jaziri withdrew from Friday’s match against Weintraub, in the quarterfinal of the Challenger tournament in Tashkent, he also cited knee problems. “‘After the meeting at the ministry of youth and sports with Riadh Azaiez, I regret to inform you that you cannot play,’” Amir, said quoting the email, and referring to the director of the country’s sporting elite at the ministry.

Both Jaziri, who is currently ranked world number 169, and Weintraub are members of the same top-flight tennis club in France – Sarcelles Tennis – north of Paris and have known each other for years through their sport. Contacted by AFP, the club’s president Jonathan Chaouat said Jaziri was in fact the reason for Weintraub’s recruitment by the club. The 29-year-old Tunisian, who has declined to talk to the press since withdrawing from the tournament in Tashkent, could have risen to 135th had he won.

The ministry insisted that it had nothing to do with the order instructing him not to play, stressing that the decision came from the tennis federation. Amir said he didn’t know whether his brother would have played the match if he hadn’t been suffering from a knee injury. But he said he failed to understand how such an order could be given after Malek had already played Weintraub and “Tunisia has played Israel in the 2009 Fed Cup.”

Last April, the sports ministry recalled the national Taekwondo team after it met Israeli sportsmen at a competition in Belgium. “The ministry ordered an immediate inquiry because of the encounter between members of the national Taekwondo team and the Israeli team in an international competition abroad, without consulting the relevant authorities,” the ministry said at the time. But it never announced the result of the inquiry. The Tunisian authorities have never officially banned sporting encounters with Israeli nationals, and since Jaziri’s decision to withdraw from the tennis tournament in Uzbekistan no such directive has been made public.

Jaziri's Facebook page has many comments of "bravo" although the context is not clear.

It is nice to see a sports federation do the right thing.

Birthwashing

To Israel-haters, this is worse than Birthright.

From Ha'aretz:

For the first time since casualties of the civil war in Syria began receiving treatment in Israel, a Syrian woman gave birth to a baby in an Israeli hospital.

The baby was born on Sunday morning at the Ziv Medical Center in Safed to a 20-year-old first-time-mother. The woman was taken to the hospital by Israel Defense Forces soldiers during the night while she was in labor.

According to the hospital, this is the first time an Israeli hospital delivered a Syrian baby. Until now, Israeli hospitals have only treated Syrians wounded in the fighting. The staff said the mother told them that she lives in the Quneitra region, which is under closure, and that she didn't have access to the local hospital located nearby.

"There are no midwifes in the village and there was no one to deliver my baby," she said. "I'm a nurse by profession and I knew that wounded Syrians were treated in Israel, so when I felt that the labor was starting I asked to be quickly taken to the border in hope that the Israeli army will let me get help with the birth. Happily, the Israeli military drove by and saw that I was in great pain, they picked me up and took me to a hospital in Israel."

"I was wary of going to Israel, but I was more concerned for the wellbeing of the child in case there were complications while giving birth at home. The staff of midwives and doctors treated me with respect and sensitivity, and the birth went smoothly. I really don't feel like I'm in an enemy country, everyone is helping me and caring for me."

YNet adds:

"We've been eating mainly rice for a while, as a result of the blockade. It's the first time in a long time that I've been eating meat and vegetables. I feel better and I'm relieved; I'm eating and growing stronger and my sweet baby is getting great care."

OK, haters, breathe deeply and repeat to yourselves, "They're only doing this to distract the world from occupation. They're only doing this to distract the world from occupation. They're only doing this to distract the world from occupation."

After a few hours, you will believe it enough to start writing that on message boards.

11/03 Links: How the British Empire failed Zionism, Singing Hatikvah in Riyadh, Lockheed Opens R&D

From Ian:

The Balfour betrayal: How the British Empire failed Zionism

Zionism is, at its heart, an anti-imperialist movement.
Theodor Herzl failed in all his encounters with imperial powers – the Germans, the Ottomans, the Russians, the British – to find support for a Jewish homeland in Eretz Yisrael.
The brilliant Vladimir Jabotinsky believed that England was the key to the realization of Zionist goals – he took a gamble that failed and his followers later fought the British Empire in the pre-state underground. In the end, it was the blood, sweat and toil of Jews that built the State of Israel.
Diplomacy and legal recognition were no doubt important – and are still important today – in the reality of the State of Israel. But let us never forget that the revival of our people by Jewish men and women, many who gave their life for the cause, forged the reality of that revival in Eretz Yisrael.
The lesson we should learn is that the promises of empires and superpowers to the Jewish people often turn out to be the worst sort of perfidy.

How Islamists Use History to Justify Terrorism

Nonetheless, today’s accepted narratives do not come from antiquated historians or primary historical texts; they come from the Saudi-funded ivy league—Berkeley, Columbia, Cornell, Georgetown, Harvard, Princeton, etc.—all of which peddle pro-Islamic propaganda (I personally had direct experience at Georgetown), including the “freedom loving jihadis” vs. “oppressive tyrants” thesis.
Percolating out of liberal academia to liberal mass media, the effects of this well-entrenched but false narrative have taken their toll, ultimately helping to create a disastrous U.S. foreign policy.

Ebay's sick trade in Holocaust souvenirs: Outrage over auctions of Death Camp relics

TV historian Simon Schama said: ‘This is absolutely beyond belief. Plainly there is no moral atrocity to which eBay will not descend to make a buck. This is an unspeakable act of moral cretinousness.’ Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, eBay’s global revenue in 2012 was £9 billion. Its first president was Canadian Jeffrey Skoll, who is from a Jewish family.
The company bans the sale of Nazi paraphernalia, but said in these cases that the items had ‘slipped through the net’.

Elliot Adrams: Is the US spilling its allies' secrets?

There is a pernicious pattern here, and other examples could be cited. Add this to the National Security Agency revelations, and the United States seems to be aggressive in stealing the secrets of some close allies and aggressive in ignoring the interests of allies by conveying intelligence information to the press. The continuing leaks about what Israel has been doing are dangerous and damaging. Israel is acting where we are not, enforcing red lines when we have failed to do so, and assuming risks we have refused to take. We act as a poor ally if we repeatedly and indeed recklessly increase the risk to Israel by treating sensitive information as fodder for the press.

Israel to US: Syria raid leak ‘endangers our national security’

Israel’s fury was conveyed directly to the White House, as well as during meetings and conversations between senior Israeli officials and their US counterparts in the Pentagon, the CIA and the State Department, the report said.
Israel’s shocked complaints produced no American explanation or reaction whatsoever, the report went on, which Israeli officials ascribe to embarrassment on behalf of the administration. Israel believes the leaks may be “a consequence of negligence.”

NSA tracked Israeli drones, missiles, papers show

And for the first time, the papers also reveal that Israel, along with nearly every other country on the planet, has been the target of NSA spying.
According to the papers, thousands of which were leaked by Snowden, the NSA has tracked “high priority Israeli military targets.”
These include unmanned aerial vehicles and the Black Sparrow missile system, a ballistic missile used as target practice for the Arrow missile-defense system.

Israel denies spying on Americans after Snowden leak

Regional Cooperation Minister Silvan Shalom said unequivocally on Israel Radio on Thursday that Israel does not spy on the US, and has not done so since the Jonathan Pollard affair in the mid-1980s.
“As someone knowledgeable of all the details, there are crystal clear directives against any action in the US or against the US,” he said. “There is a complete ban.”
Shalom characterized any claims that Israel’s intelligence services acted against the US as a “lie and a libel.”

Defense minister: Hamas preparing for new violence

Days after a clash on the Gaza border left five IDF soldiers wounded, Israel’s top defense official warned that continued violence from the Strip would bring an aggressive Israeli response.
“Hamas has been deterred and therefore maintains the quiet, but is preparing itself for a renewal of violence,” Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Sunday morning while visiting soldiers who were wounded late Thursday in an explosion on the Gaza border.

Movement within Gaza Seeks to Bring Down Hamas Government

Iyad Abu-Rok, official spokesman of the Gaza Arab 'Tamarod' movement, expressed his confidence that the expected anti-Hamas campaign scheduled for November 11 will proceed as planned.
In an interview with Al Quds Al-Arabiya this past Friday, Abu-Rok explained that the main goal of the protest, in which Gaza residents will flood city streets in a demonstration of civil disobedience, is to topple Hamas's draconian control of the regional government - a government which disgruntled Gazans claim has taken away residents' rights, committed crimes against its own people, and completely destroyed the freedom of speech by using force to crush opponents.

Singing Hatikvah in Riyadh

One deeply offensive article published by Iran’s government-backed, oft-farcical English language news outlet, Press TV, even went so far as to suggest that the two countries should merge and become “Saudi Israelia” establishing the state religion as “Zio-Wahabbism.”
Of course, despite the temporary alignment of interests the Saudis are no friends of the Jewish state. Maintaining no diplomatic relations with Israel, an effective Saudi ban on Israeli goods remains in place.

Khamenei: Israel, Zionists 'Illegitimate and Bastard Regime'

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attacked Israel and the US in remarks on his state-backed website today (Sunday), firing at Israel's supposed "illegitimate and bastard" regime and labeling the US alliance with Israel as an alleged "indulgence."
"The Americans have the highest indulgence toward the Zionists," Khamenei stated, "and they have to. But we don't share such indulgence[s]." Khamenei further referred to the US as a "smiling enemy" who is not to be trusted for leaving the option of a US and Israeli strike on Iran in the event of continued nuclear weapons development.

Two new 'Death to America' songs revealed in Iran ahead of major anti-U.S. protest

Hard-liners in Iran have unveiled two new 'Death to America' songs at the former U.S. Embassy in Tehran, hoping to keep anger high ahead of nuclear talks with Western powers.
They performed the songs on Saturday ahead of a massive planned protest Monday to mark the anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover in 1979.
'Death to America' was one of the main slogans of the Islamic revolution that year.

Panetta: US may have to use military force against Iran

While the US has “implemented unprecedented sanctions and pressure on Iran, we may very well have to use military force to back up our policy,” Leon Panetta said on Thursday night.
The former US defense secretary and CIA director made the remarks while addressing around 600 people at the Anti-Defamation League’s 100th annual meeting.
Related:
Panetta, who was receiving the ADL’s William and Naomi Gorowitz Institute Service Award, said the US needs to “maintain a healthy skepticism” when negotiating to suss out Iran’s true level of commitment to negotiations over its nuclear program.

Reports: Syrian Opposition Meets with Arab League Chief

Leaders of the Syrian Opposition met with top officials of the Arab League in Cairo yesterday (Saturday) to discuss efforts to end the Syrian Civil War, Lebanese news site The Daily Star reports.
The meeting reportedly took place between members of the Syrian National Coalition and Arab League Secretary General Nalib al-Arabi, where a discussion was launched regarding a possible peace conference to end the war, which has raged since the 'Arab Spring' in 2011.

Lebanese Media: Assad 'Weak' for Not Attacking Israel

A clip from a popular Lebanese satire program on the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (LBC) channel, blasting Syrian President Bashar Assad for being too "weak" and "ineffective" to respond to recent Israeli air strikes on Syrian military targets, has gone viral in Arab social media circles.

Exposed: Muslim Brotherhood Operatives in the U.S.

El Watan, one of Egypt’s most widely circulated and read newspapers, has published a report discussing the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence over the United States, especially in the context of inciting pro-Brotherhood policies against Egypt’s popular June 30 Revolution, which resulted in the ousting of Muhammad Morsi and the Brotherhood from power.
Titled (in translation), “With Names, Identities, and Roadmap… El Watan Exposes Brotherhood Cells in America,” it’s written by investigative journalist Ahmed al-Tahiri,

ADL Honors Ukranian Archbishop Who Saved Jews During Holocaust

The Anti-Defamation League posthumously honored a Ukrainian Archbishop on Friday for his role in saving Jews during the Holocaust.
Metropolitan Archbishop Andrei Sheptytsky, a spiritual leader of Ukrainian Catholics who headed the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church from 1900 until his death in 1944, was honored with the ‘ADL Jan Karski Courage to Care Award’ during the ADL’s Centennial Meeting in New York City. The religious leader was recognized for his courageous efforts to protect Ukrainian Jews from extermination by supplying false identification papers and shelter from the Nazis at a time when such acts were punishable by death.

Uruguayan Delegation Visiting Israel Seeks to Learn How to Become a ‘High-Tech Nation’

A large delegation of Uruguayan business and political leaders arrived in Israel on Friday aiming to learn how “to turn Uruguay into a a high-tech nation and exporter of technology,” Uruguayan Vice President Prof. Danilo Astori told Israel’s Globes business daily.
“We’ve come here to learn from you, because you’re the pioneers in this area, and you have a global reputation,” Uruguay’s vice president said.

New hope in untangling Alzheimer’s Disease

A team of Tel Aviv University researchers have identified a specific set of molecules called microRNAs that detrimentally regulate protein levels in the brains of mice with Alzheimer’s disease and beneficially regulate protein levels in the brains of other mice living in a stimulating environment.
“We were able to create two lists of microRNAs — those that contribute to brain performance and those that detract — depending on their levels in the brain,” says Dr. Boaz Barak, one of the authors of the study. “By targeting these molecules, we hope to move closer toward earlier detection and better treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Lockheed-Martin to open major subsidiary in Israel

Lockheed-Martin announced earlier this year that it intended to open a facility in Israel specializing in information technology, but, according to Executive Vice President Patrick Dewar, work is to begin immediately on expanding that project into a full-fledged subsidiary of the tech defense giant, Maariv reported on Sunday.
Dewar, who is currently visiting Israel, said over the weekend that the company, in addition to building a branch for IT and cyber protection, will seek to expand cooperation with Israeli defense companies and to work in the domestic security market. (h/t Bob Knot)

Mahmoud Abbas' heroes (poster series)

I have been trying to identify the murderers that Mahmoud Abbas embraced last week. Here are four of them.

As predicted: Hamas blames Israel for Gaza electricity shortage

On Friday, I reported that Gaza was running out of fuel because of the failure to pay their bills, and I predicted that soon we will see heartbreaking photos out of Gaza that will blame Israel.

Right on schedule, Hamas came through on Twitter:

Even Gazans no longer buy Hamas' lies, as this Gaza-based reporter writes for AllVoices:

Quite frankly, the party responsible for all the crises in the Gaza Strip is Hamas, which has failed in managing Gaza's affairs since it seized it in 2007, because it relied on illegal ways to obtain goods and petroleum through the tunnels between Egypt and Gaza.

Last week, Ala al-Rafati, Hamas' economy minister, confirmed that the closure of tunnels since June has cost Gaza around $230 million monthly.

This is the amount that Hamas obtains from taxes imposed on the entry and exit of goods through tunnels.

Unfortunately, Hamas does not spend this amount on Gaza 's population, but only for Hamas' members. This is clear to all the people of Gaza who suffer so much from its rule.

Many people in Gaza are eagerly waiting for Nov. 11. This is the day agreed upon by most of the population of Gaza to demonstrate and call the whole world to help them end Hamas rule in Gaza, which led to a rise in poverty rates and unemployment, in addition to the electricity and water crises.

The $230 million figure is way inflated, Hamas' budget is nowhere near that amount, but Hamas did get most of its revenue from taxing tunnel goods.

And the planned November 11th protests, which we have reported here for a while, will be very interesting indeed. Hamas has been threatening reporters who talk about the anti-Hamas movement in Gaza.

Meanwhile, Mahmoud Abbas says he is working to resolve the fuel crisis, but he seems to be trying to work not with Israel, but with Egypt!

Yasser Wadia, leader of the independent figures in the Gaza Strip, said that President Abbas promised to resolve the crisis within the next few hours, indicating that intensive contacts took place during the past few hours with the leadership in Ramallah and Hamas in Gaza and the Egyptian leadership to solve the electricity crisis.

With regard to contacts with the Egyptian side Wadia said PalPress "We talked with the Egyptians on all matters pertaining to Gaza to overcome the current crisis and return to normal," adding that the Egyptian leadership understands the Supreme command.

He pointed out that Egypt promised to solve the problem of fuel the country in the coming days, saying, "The Egyptians told us clearly that the security problems in the Sinai is what is preventing the arrival of fuel to Gaza."

I find this hard to believe. Egyptians in the Sinai have their own fuel problems and if Egypt starts allowing fuel to Gaza they will riot. This sounds more to me like Egypt is pushing the Gazans off.

96 years of whining as Arabs mark Balfour anniversary

There were lots of stories in the Arab media about the 96th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration on Saturday.

Some demanded that the Arab world sue Great Britain.

Some note the supposed treachery of the 1919 Faisal-Weizmann Agreement that allowed a Jewish home in Palestine while the entire rest of the Middle East went to Arabs.

Hamas even produced a documentary about how Balfour was the beginning of all Arab woes and problems.

No Arabs, as far as I could tell, blamed themselves for any part of their problems.

I found an interesting article in the Palestine Bulletin from January 14, 1930, which shows that at least some Arabs saw the difference between how Jews were building a nation while Arabs did nothing but call meetings to complain about the Jews.

...The writer of the article contrasts the achievements of Jew and Arab during the last twelve years and complains that "'The Arabs have met seven times. They have sent as many delegations to London, to the Hedjaz, to Iraq. They have broadcast thousands of protests. They have arranged hundreds of memorial meetings and celebrations. But what have all these delegations, all these protests. all these memorial meetings, all these celebrations accomplished?. True, the Supreme Moslem Council has repaired the Mosque. The Supreme Moslem Council has purchased three thousand dunams of land. 'The Supreme Moslem Council has constructed a large hotel which it transferred to a Jew in order that he might better compete with small Arab hotels.. But in the meantime Zionists have managed to bring in 80,000 immigrants, compelling. the Arab to make room for them. They have acquired 1,200,000 dunams of the best lands. They have established .factories whose products we and our Arab brothers in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Transjordan buy, thereby regaining many times over the price they paid to us for lands. They have gained control over commerce. They have built -dozens of colonies. In view of these alarming facts, we would suggest that our delegation remain at home. That instead, we collect funds from Moslem and Arab countries to develop agriculture and industry. If; after we have accomplished these undertakings, we send a delegation to London, it will be able to say for us: We know how to use our lands. We know how to advance civilisation. We know how to build the bridge that is to unite East and West"

The same newspaper, a month earlier, describes a roughly translated Arab children's song:

Nothing has changed. It's been 96 years since the Balfour Declaration, nearly 66 years since the UN partition plan and 20 years since Oslo, and the Palestinian Arabs are still spending more time, effort and money trying to blame Israel than to do anything positive themselves.

Of course, it all makes sense when you realize that their goal isn't the creation of yet another Arab state but the destruction of the only Jewish state.

Rafah opens - but not for most Gazans

From DPA:

Egypt opened the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip on Saturday, following at least a week of closures

Palestinian officials said the crossing was opened at 10 am. Only holders of foreign and Egyptian passports, as well as medical patients, would be allowed access, they added.

So students and other ordinary Gazans are still imprisoned by Egypt

For some reason, there are no special UN sessions dedicated to condemning Egypt, though.

(Ma'an says that students would be allowed to travel on Wednesday.)

The Daily News Egypt adds:

According to a statement released on the official page of the army spokesman, security forces have been carrying out “security missions” all over Sinai and managed to destroy the largest diesel gas smuggling network so far. The network consisted of seven underground tanks near the Rafah border, four of which are concrete and three are plastic, storing 30 tons of diesel gas to be smuggled to Gaza through pipes.

A small sailing boat was also caught attempting to smuggle subsidised diesel gas to a commercial ship in the Red Sea.

Security forces also managed to destroy two tunnels that are used to transport people and merchandise with entrances inside houses in the city of Rafah, North Sinai.

11/02 Links: ADL- US seen as ‘weak and retreating’, Tunisia banned for Tennis snub, A Nazi in Asda

From Ian:

Anne Bayefsky: Anti-Semitism to Blame for Double Standard on Israel

On October 29, 2013, Israel ended 18-months of non-participation with U.N. human rights mechanisms that are dedicated to its demonization and defeat.
The surrender spawned victory laps by the U.N., the State Department and bigots in foreign ministries across Europe.
Leading the campaign to bring the Jewish state to its knees was none other than Germany. The diplomatic blackmail reached its apex in a letter of October 25, 2013 sent from German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Germany threatened that it “would be hard-pressed to help” Israel respond to the “severe diplomatic damage” which would allegedly have occurred if Israel failed to attend one more Israel-bashing session engineered by the U.N. Human Rights Council.

Samantha Power Vows to ‘Oppose Every Example of Anti-Israeli Bias in the UN System’

Appointed to the position by U.S. President Barack Obama in June, she took office three months ago.
“I have made it a priority – in the spirit of the remarkable lineage that I am now part of, the spirit of Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the spirit of Richard Holbrooke and the spirit of my recent predecessor Susan Rice, among others — to oppose every example of anti-Israeli bias in the UN system,” Power said.

Merkel: Kristallnacht ‘one of darkest moments in German history’

Speaking in her weekly podcast, Merkel called the violence of November 9, 1938 — “The Night of Broken Glass” as it’s known in English — “one of the darkest moments in German history,” AFP reported.
Merkel entreated all Germans “to show their civil courage and ensure that no form of anti-Semitism is tolerated.” She added that it was “almost inexplicable but also the reality that no Jewish institution can be left without police protection.”

My street, your street and J Street

Daniel Levy, co-founder of J Street, said it clearly: “If a collective Jewish presence in the Middle East can only survive by the sword, it cannot be accepted.”
So let me get this straight: If we Jews dare to defend ourselves from our enemies, it makes the Jewish state untenable? After the Holocaust, I actually thought that was one of the reasons for Zionism, a homeland where Jews could defend themselves from their enemies? Not a very pro-Zionist or pro-peace statement, wouldn’t you agree? Dr. Charles Jacobs sent me a link to a very interesting, balanced and factual film he has been involved in creating about J Street. When it’s ready for distribution, I hope everyone will screen it before succumbing to the rhetoric of this dangerous organization, which is making so many converts in synagogues and on college campuses across America.
The road to J Street might be paved with good intentions. But as we saw with Oslo, this kind of delusional thinking inevitably ends up covering our streets in Israel with blood.

Swap Islam for Jesus: Hoax story riles Muslims

A satirical news piece claiming Spanish citizenship would be granted to Moroccan citizens who gave up Islam and converted to Christianity has been taken seriously by the North African country’s media. The 'news' has not gone down well in Morocco.

Dutch PM: We Have No Control Over Anti-Israel Report

The Simon Wiesenthal Center’s letter to Prime Minister Mark Rutte condemned a report by the Advisory Council on International Affairs, which calls for the Netherlands to distance itself from Israel and develop closer ties with Hamas.
In his response, dated October 20, Rutte said that the government has no control over the Advisory Council’s reports, noting it is a body which is independent from the Dutch government.
“The Dutch government has taken note on the views of the Council, which is an independent body that advises the government and parliament on foreign policy,” wrote Rutte.

Arab MK: Thank Me for Allowing Jews to Live in Israel

On Tuesday, Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) appeared on the Knesset TV Channel, and made a provocative statement that she should be thanked for "allowing Jews to stay in my homeland."

Hamas Brags It Taught Israel “Painful Lesson” After Five Israeli Soldiers Wounded, Four Hamas Fighters Killed

A team of Israeli soldiers working to destroy one of those tunnels overnight yesterday came under attack from Hamas. Five Israeli soldiers were wounded, with one being serious wounded. Israeli military forces responded to the attack, killing one gunman, and Israeli pilots subsequently struck another Hamas tunnel, killing three more Hamas members.
Hamas declared the day a win:

Hamas, the Islamist movement which governs the Gaza Strip, said all four militants belonged to its armed wing, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri “blessed” the attack on the troops, saying it taught Israel a “painful lesson”, the Associated Press reported. “Gaza will be the land of hell” for Israel, Mr Abu Zuhri said.

Experts: Hamas Lash Out Regarding Power Plant Shut Down “Insane”

Hamas has for the better part of a decade been regularly blasted for manufacturing humanitarian crises by shutting down the single power plant in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. In 2008 the terror group plunged Gaza into darkness and claimed that Israel was preventing sufficient fuel from reaching the territory. Israeli officials pointed out that electricity was still flowing into the territory from Israeli plants and explained that Hamas deliberately causing the blackout.
Hamas has also at times simply refused to accept fuel shipments necessary to run the power plant. Other times the group’s operatives have stolen fuel for terror operations, including from hospitals.

Davutoglu: Turkey will never cooperate with Israel against a Muslim country

Turkey on Saturday denied reports of its involvement in an alleged Israeli air strike on a military base in Latakia, Syria on Wednesday, which allegedly targeted “missiles and related equipment” meant for Lebanese terror group Hezbollah.
Turkish Foreign Minister Agmet Davutoglu said Saturday: “There is an attempt to give the impression that Turkey has coordinated with Israel. We have issues with Syria, an issue based on a principle. But let me say it clearly: The Turkish government has never cooperated with Israel against any Muslim country, and it never will.”

The shadow war against the Iranian-Hezbollah armament program

Iran continues to try to supply Hezbollah with advanced weapons for use against Israel, and the Assad regime, which owes its survival to Tehran and Hezbollah, has never been more compliant with Iranian requests to transfer or provide weapons to the Shi’ite terror organization in Lebanon.
With Hezbollah already in possession of 80,000 rockets and missiles, some of which can strike any target in Israel, Jerusalem faces a daily dilemma on when to intervene to stop the armament program – a step that could trigger a wider conflict – and when to step back and allow the force buildup to continue.

Hagel: US ‘clear-eyed’ on Iran’s support for terror

The United States is testing Iran’s diplomatic intentions but remains “clear-eyed” on Iran’s role as a state-sponsor of terror and exporter of extremism, said US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel.
“But foreign policy is not a zero-sum game,” he said. “If we can find ways to resolve disputes peacefully, we are wise to explore them.”

ADL chief: US seen as ‘weak and retreating’ on world stage

American wariness of foreign military involvement is making it seem “weak and retreating,” warned the Anti-Defamation League’s Abraham Foxman.
“Make no mistake about it. If what we are seeing now is the beginning of a deep change in American foreign policy, it will be bad for the Jews,” said Foxman, the ADL’s national director, at a conference Thursday marking the group’s 100th anniversary.

Cheney blasts Obama administration's Mideast policy

Cheney, speaking about energy and international security issues at the conference, said he had a “worrisome concern” regarding current threats of terrorism in the world.
“I used to believe that was a major threat. I still believe it is a major threat today,” Cheney said. “If anything it’s worse today than it was on 9/11. We’ve seen in the Middle East especially a set of developments in recent months… of the reassertion or reenergizing of al-Qaida.”

Pro-Israel Organization Pushing for Tougher Iran Sanctions

The nation’s largest pro-Israel organization is ramping up its push for tougher Iran sanctions, vowing that lawmakers will “pay the price” if they cave to White House pressure and delay a new round of penalties against the Iranian regime.
Christians United for Israel (CUFI) said its supporters have sent over 10,000 emails to senators since Wednesday, calling on them to support new sanctions on Iran’s oil industry. The emails were sent in response to an “action alert” distributed by the pro-Israel group.

Egypt TV station cuts popular political satire show

A private Egyptian TV station stopped the airing of the latest episode of a widely popular political satire program Friday after it came under fire for mocking the ultranationalist, pro-military fervor gripping the country.
CBC announced the program by Bassem Youssef, often compared to US comedian Jon Stewart, would not be shown because the satirist and his producer violated its editorial policies.The announcement came just minutes before Youssef’s show “El-Bernameg,” or “The Program” in Arabic, was to air Friday night.

British Grocery Store Kicks Out Man Wearing Nazi SS Uniform

Paul Dutton, 48, of Cambridge was kicked out of his local Asda supermarket after fellow shoppers spotted him browsing the aisles wearing a black SS outfit, complete with cap and red armband emblazoned with a swastika.
Dutton later took to Twitter to claim responsibility and to complain about the treatment he received.

Tunisia suspended from Davis Cup for preventing match against Israeli

Tunisia was suspended from the Davis Cup for a year on Saturday for preventing one of its tennis players from competing against an Israeli last month.
The International Tennis Federation ruled unanimously that the Tunisian Tennis Federation (TTF) was in breach of the ITF’s constitution.
Last month, the Tunisian federation ordered the country’s top player to withdraw from a match against an Israeli at a tournament in Uzbekistan.

Cancer-resistant mole rat may yield ultimate cure clue

Now picture the cancer research lab of the future – white coats, test tubes, and, if Prof. Aaron Avivi at Haifa University has his way — cages of mole rats.
Pioneering studies in Israel appear to demonstrate that the subterranean Israeli blind mole rat, Spalax, is far superior to lab mice for the purpose of cracking the mystery of human cancer.
These wild rodents are extremely resistant to cancer and live 10 times as long as mice, according to Avivi, head of the Laboratory of Subterranean Mammals Biology in the Evolution Institute of Haifa University, and senior researchers Imad Shams, PhD, and Dr. Irena Manov.

Israeli Company Ices Tumors, Now Aims for Lung Cancer

Israeli company IceCure, developer of a treatment for breast tumors by freezing them into ice, is currently attempting to expand its technique into the treatment of lung cancer.
The site NoCamels reported Wednesday that the biomedical company specializing in cryoablation, a process of destroying diseased cells by freezing, will soon conduct its first clinical trials in Japan using the same technology on lung tumors.

Report: Egypt arrests another Hamas member

Palestine Press Agency quotes a german news agency that Egyptian authorities have arrested a member of Hamas' al Qassam Brigades in the Sinai.

According to the report, his name is Aref Ghanem. He infiltrated into Egypt through a smuggling tunnel and was discovered in the area of Salah al-Din.

The report says that Ghanem had a sniper rifle.

He has been transferred to a security station in El Arish to investigate.

Hamas has strenuously denied having anything to do with the militants in the Sinai, but this is not the first report of a Hamas member being arrested by Egypt.