11/07 Links Pt2: The Lies of Protest Tourism, Norwegian Amb. blames Israel for Syria

From Ian:

---

CAMERA: Countering the Lies of Protest Tourism

Ardie Geldman, a resident of Efrat, has written a piece for The New English Review that details the manner in which Palestinian activists have helped turn the West Bank into a theme park where privileged tourists from the United States and Europe adopt the persona of human rights heroes assailing Israel’s misdeeds. Like most theme parks, there is a huge amount of trickery and showmanship going on.

A Norwegian Diplomat Who Only Harms His Country's Image

In Israel, the greatest damage to how Norway is viewed was probably caused by its current Ambassador Svein Sevje.
In a recent interview with extreme left wing Israeli journalist Akiva Eldar, Sevje explained why Bashir Assad will go down in history as a barbarian dictator instead of a democratic reformer. He implied that the Syrian civil war resulted from the absence of a peace agreement with Israel saying: “I believe that with such an agreement, Syria would have been a different country today.

The Myths of Ilan Ziv’s film

Having previously hesitated, the BBC this week chose to screen Ilan Ziv’s film Searching for Exile: Truth or Myth?, which focuses on the idea of Jewish exile after AD 70.
Ziv uses the community of Tzippora Jews in the Galilee to argue that there was no Jewish exile, as Jews were still living in the region after AD 70. The Bar Kochba revolt of 135 is also held up as evidence against the ‘myth of exile’.
Yet no-one would say that all the Jews disappeared from Jerusalem in AD 70. Of course there has been a continual Jewish presence in Israel.

Spies R Us

The difference between outraged Americans and impassive Israelis is striking, and illuminating. It is the difference between a public for whom security is largely a theoretical issue, and a public for whom defending the homeland is a perpetual concern.
The explanation is basic. According to a Pew Research Center survey from 2011, “just one-half of one percent of American adults” served on active duty at any given time over the previous decade, even though it was a period of sustained war for the United States.
By contrast, a vast majority of Israelis serve in the military at some point. As many as one in five personally witnessed a terrorist attack. And according to the Israel Defense Forces, in 2012 more than one million Israelis were living under the threat of rocket attacks from Gaza.
Israelis cannot afford to not worry about their safety, and so they look at the indignation of Americans and, say, Germans over Washington’s spying on Chancellor Angela Merkel as hypocrisy or naiveté. They’re thinking: Keep on spying, America, because as long as you do we know you’re still helping police the world.

Open Letter to Hamas Spokeswoman

Similarly, what is your opinion of modesty operations by Hamas policemen in Gaza over the past few months, in which women are detained in the street if their dress is considered to be immodest or their haircuts too modern?
I would also love to hear your thoughts regarding Article 18 of the Penal Code (1936) applicable in Gaza, whereby judges are expected to mitigate the sentence of a man who murders his daughter, wife, mother, sister or other family member in order to preserve “family honor”. Is this a worthy law in your eyes?

Former CIA director renews call for Pollard’s release

In a two-minute video, recorded on Monday at a conference in Manhattan in which Woolsey took part, Woolsey said: “If you look at other allies of the United States, such as South Korea and the Philippines, where we have caught spies, the sentence that they had has been light, not like Pollard’s; it’s been about six or seven years. What I said in The Wall Street Journal essentially was that if anybody is hung up over the fact that he’s an American Jew or that he’s Israeli, just pretend that he’s a South Korean and set him free.”

Galloway’s Viva Palestina Booted Off Charities Register

There may be many reasonable explanations for the failure of Galloway’s charity to file accounts, and indeed for the failure to account for the money that it claimed to have raised.
However, given the litigious nature of Mr Galloway and his friends, it would be best to keep comments closed on this article, lest some uncharitable person speculates unfairly on the reason behind these failures.

UK Politicians Collaborate with Muslim Brotherhood Islamists?

Speakers at the upcoming Global Peace and Unity conference can be categorized as follows: 65% are anti-Semitic, misogynist, homophobic and pro-terror preachers, 20% are public servants offering political legitimacy and moral credibility to the other speakers, while the remaining 15% could perhaps claim to be part of the conference's "project dedicated to creating a more harmonious world."

The U.S.-Saudi Royal Rumble

In early 1939, a Saudi delegation went to Nazi Germany to negotiate an arms agreement, part of which would have been diverted to Palestinian Arabs fighting Jewish immigrants in the British mandate of Palestine. At least some of the Saudi group met Adolf Hitler at his mountain top hideaway at Berchtesgaden.
German arms never reached the kingdom -- or Palestine - as the Saudis could not afford to consummate the deal (that was in the days before the oil revenues started flowing in). However, King Abdullah still treasures a dagger given as a gift from the Fuhrer himself, and occasionally shows it off to guests. Visiting U.S. officials are briefed in advance so they can display appropriate diplomatic sang-froid if Abdullah points out the memento. (h/t Yoel)

Berlusconi says his kids feel like Jews persecuted by Hitler

Replying to a question about whether his five children had asked him to sell his media empire and leave Italy to escape his legal troubles, Berlusconi said: "My children say that they feel like Jewish families in Germany under Hitler's regime. Truly, everyone is against us."

Holocaust museum highlights Myanmar’s Rohingya

Myanmar’s government views the exhibition as inappropriate. The U.S. government-funded Holocaust museum primarily commemorates the genocide against the Jews by the Nazis during World War II. But it also documents the mass killings that have blighted Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan, and seeks to spotlight situations where it sees a repeat of such atrocities. It has previously projected images on its walls of Holocaust survivors, and from South Sudan and the Darfur region of Sudan.
“We are not saying that genocide is taking place in Burma,” said Michael Abramowitz, director of the museum’s Center for the Prevention of Genocide. “We are not trying to equate these different situations. The Holocaust was a unique event in human history. But what we do want to do is use our assets to try to prevent these kinds of crimes from happening to others in the future.”

Huffington Post Planning Israel Website

The Huffington Post is planning to launch an Israeli website, founding editor Roy Sekoff told Israel’s Channel 2 on Wednesday.
Sekoff said that the move is part of HuffPo’s road map for opening foreign sites, sometimes creating them in local language. “With so much innovation in Israel, we had opportunities to work with many Israelis,” Sekoff added.

Rabin’s granddaughter inks Hollywood TV deal

Noa Rothman, the granddaughter of the late Yitzhak Rabin, gave Israeli audiences a glimpse into a prime minister’s family’s gilded world when she wrote the drama “The Prime Minister’s Children.” Now American audiences are about to also get a taste, thanks to a deal inked this week with Hollywood’s Timberman-Beverly productions to produce an adaptation of that program for American television.

Israeli Energy Minister: ‘Everyone Wants to Hug Israel’ Because of Its Natural Gas Production

Israeli natural gas is saving the country’s economy $300 million a month, a figure that could reach as high as $1 billion, Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom told Bloomberg News, adding that the country has become an attractive natural gas supplier in the global marketplace, one that “everyone wants to hug.”
“It means it will bring a huge improvement to the Israeli economy because the gas will be much cheaper. We will cut the tariff for electricity. We will cut the tariff for water that is produced by electricity, and all the products that are produced in Israel will be much cheaper,” Shalom told Bloomberg.

Israel’s Mobli Gets Major Boost From Mexican Billionaire Carlos Slim

The photo and video-sharing platform Mobli has received a major financial boost from one of the world’s richest men.
Mexico’s América Móvil SAB de CV, controlled by multi-billionaire Carlos Slim, is leading a new $60 million round of investments into the company. As part of the deal, Mobli will get distribution with América Móvil’s millions of mobile users.

Israel’s Sodastream to Air $4 Million Super Bowl Ad

Sodastream, the popular Israeli carbonated drinks company, has announced that it will kick off its 2014 advertising campaign with a $4 million Super Bowl ad for the second year in a row.
“The Super Bowl is a proven venue for SodaStream to deliver our beverage revolution message to over 100 million viewers, empowering consumers to enjoy a smarter, ‘better-for-you’alternative to packaged soda,” SodaStream CEO Daniel Birnbaum said in a statement.

Paula Abdul floats idly in Dead Sea after lathering herself in mud during spiritual retreat in Israel

As she continues her spiritual journey through Israel, Paula Abdul took part in an age-old tradition that dates back to biblical times.
She submerged herself in the skin-nourishing qualities of the Dead Sea last Friday.

The quest continues to honor Arab hero doctor

While Helmy is the first person from the Arab world to be designated by Yad Vashem, more than 60 Muslims who saved Jews in Bosnia, Albania and the then-Soviet republics have been recognized, said Irena Steinfeldt, director of the Righteous Among the Nations department.
Despite the Hassans’ refusal to accept the honoring of Helmy, Yad Vashem is pursuing several avenues, including Egypt’s embassy in Tel Aviv, to locate additional relatives.

Read More

Egypt denies Israeli firm securing Suez Canal

The not-very-reliable Middle East Monitor reports:

A report by the Arab Organisation for Human Rights has revealed that an Israeli company, Seagull Maritime Security, provides maritime security services for cruises and cargo ships passing through the Suez Canal in Egypt. The Egyptian authorities have granted the company a license to work in the Suez Canal, the Red Sea and in Arab and African ports including Jordan, UAE and Oman.

According to the report the company is one of the few whose guards are allowed to disembark fully armed on the Egyptian Tiran Island.
The company's official site does not reveal its Israeli identity however several other sites connected to the company reveal the background of the company's directors and managers as IDF veterans from elite units. The company is a member of the Israeli Association of Private Security Companies. The company was founded by its CEO, Kfir Magen who served as an officer in the Israeli navy, in 2008.

According to related sites the company's directors were prominent leaders of the Israeli army, including Eliezer Marom who served as a navy commander between 2007 until 2011. Marom planned the attack against the Freedom Flotilla in 2010 and Operation Cast Lead in 2008.

Seagull Maritime Security is definitely an Israeli company. Although its webpage is currently down, while it didn't say Israel explicitly it didn't try to hide it much either:

Kfir Magen– CEO. Served as a commanding officer in the elite Naval Commando and has acquired years of maritime operational experience. Holds a BSc. degree from the Technion – Institute of Technology.

Jeremy Weiss– VP BD, Marketing & Sales Served for over 20 years as Senior Commander in the Special Forces. Following, he was an Executive Director at InSightec ,a Hi-Tech medical device company. Jeremy holds an Executive MBA from Northwestern Uni. Kellogg School of Management.

Yuval Brenner– COO, an officer in an elite scouts unit. Worked at Zim Integrated Shipping services as Senior Logistic and Equipment Manager. Joined Seagull in 2010. Holds a BSc. Degree from the Technion – Institute of Technology.

It specializes in securing commercial ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aqaba areas:

We hold a Weapon Storage at the port of Eilat. Together with our fast boats we can provide unique and flexible embarkation and disembarkation of our security teams throughout the Gulf of Aqaba and Red Sea (27°N Red Sea, port of Eilat and port of Aqaba).

So it is plausible that they work in the Suez Canal as well.

Of course, Egypt was quick to vehemently deny it:

Egypt’s Suez Canal Authority denied Wednesday allegations that Egyptian authorities gave permission to Israeli firm Maritime Seagull Security to secure ships in the Red Sea.

The Canal Authority insisted seven Egyptian security and military bodies only are in charge of securing the sea passage.

News that the Israeli company operates in the area based on an "official" permit using fully-armed personnel on the Egyptian island of Tiran in the Red Sea went viral on social media, Al-Jazeera reported.

Read More

Video: Anti-Jewish books publicly displayed on Jordan's streets

The filmmaker visited four book kiosks on the streets of Amman.



Just think, a kiosk can only hold maybe 100-200 titles, usually best sellers, and yet Mein Kampf and books about Jewish domination of the world are prominently displayed in each one!

(h/t Israel Muse)

Read More

Swedish Jew wants asylum - in Sweden

In August, I linked to a heartbreaking story about a Swedish Jewish woman and the antisemitism she had experienced there.

The woman, Annika Hernroth-Rothstein, has written something new that is also worth reading:

A case for asylum

I just got my tickets for the 21st annual Jewish film festival here in Stockholm. It’s the 2nd Jewish event I’ve been to in this city this fall alone. Well. When I say Jewish event I mean Jewish cultural event, of which this city of some 4000 Jews has more than its fair share.

And I guess that’s why so many of my fellow Jews and friends say that we are doing ok. That there’s no need to rock the boat or cause any trouble in a time where hundreds of people are buying tickets for a klezmer concert and watching holocaust-movies at the local art theatre.

But you know what, we are not ok. I am not ok. This is not ok.

Kosher slaughter has been outlawed in my country since 1937. And as I go to work tomorrow morning I will continue writing the response to a bill demanding the ban of the import and serving of kosher meat. Another pillar of the Jewish faith, circumcision, is also under threat. In my profession as a political adviser I personally have dealt with 2 such bills in the past year, and the issue of a national ban is gaining both bipartisan political support as well as traction in the public debate. Public display of one’s Jewish identity, such as donning a kippah in public or wearing a magen david , is paired with risk of verbal harassment and physical harm. Synagogues are heavily guarded, so much so that Jewish tourists cannot attend services unannounced or pre-scanned by security, but are turned away. And we, the members, celebrate chagim in the constant presence of police. On Rosh Hashana, as we were taking the 5 minute walk to the water for tashlich, my young son turned to one of the policemen guarding us and asked him why they were all there. The officer replied: “so that no bad people can hurt you”. This is the reality that mine and other Jewish children in Sweden grow up with. They form that self-image, that being Jewish means being under threat of “bad people”.

And I ask- why are we putting up with this? Why do I hear people, even my own people, say that we are ok? Why do the politicians and the pundits tell me that Jews in Sweden are safe when in reality they are telling us that we are safe as long as we are assimilated?

We are not being murdered. True. Nor are we being physically driven out. But, we are driven to assimilation. How is this not a crime? How is killing our observance not an imminent threat and a clear violation of our basic human rights?

I want my religious freedom to be protected. I want to be able to live as an observant Jew in Sweden. I want not to have to flee my own country in order to be who I am and live according to my faith.

What I am asking for is no more than what is given to any refugee seeking asylum in my country, or in the whole of the EU. They want the freedom to practice their religion. Not to be persecuted due to ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or political beliefs. These are basic human rights, expressed in the United Nations universal declaration of human rights as well as a crucial part of the Swedish constitution. People from all over the world seek refuge in my country in order to be who they are. To have the ability to live freely. I want this for them, and I want this for us.

According to The Swedish National Council for Crime Prevention, anti-Semitic crimes have tripled since 2010. Worst is the situation in Malmö where we see an increase in 320% just from the year 2011. These are the statistics of reported crimes; we can only imagine how many crimes go unreported each year.

When I raise these issues I often get the answer that I and the rest of Swedish Jewry should make Aliyah, that Europe is doomed and that the time to make a difference has come and gone. But I cannot accept that to be true, no matter how much I promote the idea and practice of Aliyah. Because what is happening is simply not right. And as a people, as humans, we must protest inequality and discrimination in our midst as adamantly as we do when it is perpetrated abroad. Many Swedish politicians and activists are quick and vocal in their fight against oppression all over the world, but silent when it comes to what is going on within our borders.
And that is why I think it is time to make a statement heard around the world.

I call upon all Swedish Jews to seek asylum. Not in America, nor in Israel. But here, in our own country, and make the Swedish government live up to the promises made. The statues provided by the European Union clearly state that a person should be granted asylum if he or she “has well-founded reasons to fear persecution due to race; nationality; religious or political beliefs; gender; sexual orientation; or affiliation to a particular social group”. Jews in Sweden, particularly in Malmö, meet these criteria, and should thereby receive the protection and support given to non-natives.

I do realize the absurdity of what I am writing, what I am asking. But the situation is beyond absurdity, beyond op-eds and strongly worded letters. This situation calls for action, reaction, and a statement from Swedish Jewry that it refuses to chooses between fear and assimilation. And as we make that statement we are fighting not only for ourselves, but for all minorities. As we all know it may start with Jews but never ends with Jews. We are now fighting for the right to live a religious life, to preserve cultural and individual identity, and to be who you are without fear of persecution.

So please, tell me I am not being naïve. Tell me I am not asking too much when demanding the right to practice my religion freely and openly. Or is this no longer to be expected in the Europe that was once the leader in liberal ideas and progressive thought? Is alive and assimilated good enough now, have we given up on the dream of living freely, observantly, Jewishly?

Please tell me that the dream isn’t dead. Pleas say that there’s some fight in us yet.

Annika Hernroth-Rothstein

(received via email)

(h/t Andrew)

Read More

11/07 Links Pt1: Fascist Rally at Al Quds Uni, Iranian Nobel Laureate - Rouhani is no Moderate

From Ian:

---

Tom Gross: Scenes yesterday afternoon from a “moderate” Palestinian university

Al-Quds is a Palestinian university in east Jerusalem. It is often hailed as a “liberal” or “moderate” university by western diplomats and journalists.
Academics and students (including, quite possibly, some in these photos) have received and continue to receive grants from European governments, charities and foundations. Al-Quds University is also currently in partnership with liberal (and largely Jewish) institutions in the U.S., including Brandeis University and Bard College.
I would urge you to take a quick look at these photos. These kinds of scenes can be seen regularly at Palestinian universities and elsewhere in the West Bank but Western news organizations strenuously avoid reporting on them.
As long as the Palestinian Authority encourages such demonstrations and the university authorities tolerate them, it is doubtful there can ever be peace between Palestinians and Israelis. Peace which presumably we all want.

EU MP: We Froze Aid Money PA Was Using for Terror

After the meeting, Susy de Martini, a European Parliament MP and member of the Parliament's budgeting committee, said that “the EU should not be funding these anti-Israel groups and activities. From what I understand, the EU recently made a decision to freeze money being sent to the Palestinians because we found that some of that money was being used to fund terror.
“I believe that the EU needs to be friendlier to Israel and to those who are interested in real peace in the region,” de Martini added. “Economic stability is as important as political stability. I am a friend of Israel and I hope the relationship between Israel and the EU improves.”

Palestinian Hatred is the True Obstacle to Peace

The rambunctious Israeli press, politicians, and public cover the political spectrum, and aren’t shy about disagreeing with government positions regarding the peace process. An alphabet-soup of Jewish and Israeli organizations regularly protests government policy.
By contrast, where is the Palestinian dissenting opinion? Where are the Arabic opinion columns arguing that Jews aren’t treacherous devils? That Jews have a deep and ancient connection to the land? That blowing up Israeli cafes and buses is inherently wrong? That real peace with a Jewish Israel isn’t an entirely bad idea? That peace may require that not all of the millions of descendants of 1948 refugees be able to settle in Israel?
Where is the Palestinian Peace Now? The Arab Voice for Peace? P-Street? The Palestinian movement to boycott and divest from Palestinian entities until terror and violence against Israelis is ended?
Curbing Palestinian incitement would go a long way toward peaceful coexistence. But incitement is only a symptom; the uniformly anti-Israel monopoly on Arab and Palestinian opinion is the bigger problem.

Missing Peace: Israeli goodwill measures and Palestinian intransigence

The atmosphere surrounding the current peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel seems to be poisoned since the release of 26 Palestinian prisoners who were convicted of serious crimes, such as murder. The release was part of a deal that was reached with the US administration prior to the renewed negotiations.
Many in Israel were outraged by the prisoner release which took place despite continuing Palestinian terror and incitement against Israel.

Two-State Paradigm 'Unworkable'

For these and other reasons, Inbar said, the current situation – a status quo in which the PA controls the civil life of Arabs in its jurisdiction, with Israel responsible for overall security – is the best solution for everyone. “It's good not just for Israelis, but for Palestinians, too,” he said. “The Palestinians look at the failed Arab states” like Syria and Egypt “and understand that things could be much worse for them.”
And it's not just Israel and the PA that have come to this conclusion, Inbar said: Slowly, the rest of the world is coming to realize that the current status is the most workable one for the long term. “The Palestinian issue is becoming less important on the international stage,” he added, “and as a result there is less pressure on Israel to agree to setting up a PA state.”

Oslo Architect: No Repeat of Past Mistakes

Doctor Yair Hirschfeld of Haifa University, one of the architects of the Oslo Accords, has admitted that "mistakes were made" in the plan, and expressed his opinion that the current round of peace talks with the Palestinians will not end with the signing of a comprehensive agreement.
Regarding Oslo, Hirschfeld said he sees it as an important part in the process of the "two state solution," however he admits that the the process saw mistakes and problems from both sides.

Kerry: US considers Israeli settlements to be 'illegitimate'

"Let me emphasize at this point the position of the United States of America on the settlements is that we consider them... to be illegitimate," Kerry said after discussions with Palestinian President

Kerry pledges $75m. more in US aid to Palestinians

US Secretary of State John Kerry says the United State will provide an additional $75 million in aid to create Palestinian jobs and help them improve roads, schools and other infrastructure.
US officials say the aid is designed to boost Palestinian public support for faltering peace talks with Israel by showing them tangible benefits from the process. (h/t Herb Glatter)

Israel: Arafat 'Poisoning' Sounds More Like a Soap Opera

In response, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told the BBC, "This is more soap opera than science."
Palmor said the investigations had been commissioned by "interested parties" such as Arafat's widow and the Palestinian Authority and had "never bothered" to look for some key data.
"The other huge hole in the theory is the absence of all access to the French hospital where Arafat died and to Arafat's medical files," said Palmor.
"How can the cause of death be determined without the opinion of the doctors or the results of the medical tests they ran on the patient? Israel doesn't feel concerned in the least,” he told the BBC.

Arafat polonium — junk science

With the most amazing measuring equipment, in the most physically shielded room possible, you couldn’t find a piece of radioactive Polonium-210 eight years after it was made. Looking for some in an exhumed body or belongs is astonishing.
The decay products of Polonium-210 are not uncommon enough to look for either.
There’s no way on earth this lab found anything scientifically significant in the corpse of Arafat (hence their very cagy language).
Arafat died of natural causes, Aids or something else: releasing an unedited version of his medical records would go a long way to solving this little mystery. Certainly that would do more than a pseudo-sicence dance in Switzerland. No matter what his widow and his adoring terrorist friends would like to think.

Lieberman Acquitted, Will Return to Foreign Ministry

In a unanimous verdict, a three-judge panel on Wednesday acquitted former Israeli foreign minister and Yisrael Beiteinu party chairman Avigdor Lieberman of corruption charges, Israel Hayom reported.
“I congratulate you on your acquittal and I am pleased with your return to the Israeli cabinet so that we can continue to work together for the benefit of Israel,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who on Sunday will ask his cabinet to reinstate Lieberman as foreign minister.

Report: IDF Deems Hebrew U Area Unsafe for Soldiers

The report revealed that the IDF base in the area now locks its gate at 6 p.m. From that point on, soldiers are allowed to leave the base only in secure convoys.
During the day, soldiers are not allowed to leave on foot at all.
The new regulations were put into place following an attack on two female IDF commanders. The two women were targeted by an Arab gang throwing firebombs as they drove near the base.

Palestinian man allegedly tries to run over IDF officer

An IDF officer was nearly run over early Thursday morning while conducting operations in the West Bank. The incident near the West Bank village of Naalin occurred during a security sweep of the area.
The officer, a company commander, was standing outside his vehicle during the operation when a Palestinian driver allegedly attempted to ram him. Soldiers opened fire at the car, and the driver fled. The vehicle was found abandoned several hours later.

Smuggling Into Gaza By Sea On the Rise

As a result of the closure of many underground tunnels into Gaza, smuggling of weapons into Gaza by sea is on the rise, The Israel Navy thwarts many smuggling attempts into Gaza. Navy soldiers have noticed that one thing is missing: no vessels have arrived with medicine or humanitarian goods.

Senior IDF Commander: Hezbollah’s Battle Tactics Spreading to Syria

Hezbollah is transferring its knowledge of warfare to Syria, teaching its Syrian allies to fight underground and lay bombs along Israel’s border. As the cooperation between Hezbollah and Syria grows stronger, the IDF is preparing for a different kind of war in the north.

Former Jordanian MP Yaq'ub Qarash Glorifies Jihad and Martyrdom on PA TV, States: The Israelis "Can Only Survive as Nazis" VIDEO

The [Jews] want everything, although they have no religious rights. They want to prove myths, elevating them above the truth, although these are nothing but myths that they fabricated and now believe in. By Allah, if that [Wailing] Wall really was part of a temple, I am certain that the companions of the Prophet would have honored that. The Islamic nation is known for never having desecrated a synagogue or a church. It is a fact, however, that they do not have any rights. We confront myths.

J'lem court convicts Islamic Movement leader for incitement to violence

The prosecution also said that Salah made references to blood-libel against Jews as the basis for a separate claim against him for racist incitement.
In his speech, Salah said that he and other Muslims never made their Ramadan bread with the blood of children, adding, "whoever wants a more comprehensive explanation, should ask what happened to some of the European children whose blood was mixed with flour for use in holy bread."
Salah's lawyer successfully convinced the court on this point that Salah's words on the blood libel issue were potentially open to multiple interpretations, including to the Christian crusaders killing of children in Europe.
As a result, the court convicted Salah of incitement to violence, but not racist incitement.

John Bolton: Obama Should Listen to Saudi Arabia

The Saudis have been entirely candid: They think the Security Council is broken. For nearly three years Riyadh has watched Moscow and Beijing stymie every effort to have the Security Council weigh in against Syria’s Assad regime, while U.S. diplomacy has been inconsistent and ineffective. Weak American policies toward Iran, moreover, combined with Russian and Chinese political cover for Tehran, have largely rendered the council a bystander to the Iranian nuclear problem. Now, with President Obama yearning for a negotiated “resolution” of Iran’s nuclear weapons threat, the Saudis have snapped.
Make no mistake: For Saudi Arabia as well as Israel, an Iranian nuclear weapon constitutes an existential threat. The dangers are as great for Riyadh as for Jerusalem, and very similar in nature: a religious conflict that has existed almost since the birth of Islam, ancient ethnic disagreements, and the continuing inability to establish stable conditions for regional peace and security. That is why, if necessary, the Saudis (and most other Gulf Arab states) would privately welcome an Israeli military strike against Iran’s nuclear weapons program. The Arab governments will not say so publicly and, if Israel did attack, would likely join the international chorus of disapproval. But I for one would dearly love to see the private message that Saudi Arabia’s king would transmit to Bibi Netanyahu after a successful Israeli strike.

Iran says nuclear deal possible this week

A second round of talks between Iran and the West kicked off in Geneva Thursday, with the Iranian foreign minister saying that a deal over his country’s controversial nuclear program could be reached by week’s end, if all parties strove to reach that goal.
“If everyone tries their best we may have one,” Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted by Reuters as saying. “We expect serious negotiations. It’s possible.”

Israel preemptively opposes new Iran proposal

Israel is reportedly urging its Western allies to reject an expected proposal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for limited relief from crippling economic sanctions.
“Israel in the last few hours has learned that a proposal will be brought before the P5+1 in Geneva in which Iran will cease all enrichment at 20 percent and slow down work on the heavy water reactor in Arak, and will receive in return the easing of sanctions,” an Israeli official told AFP Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Israel thinks this is a bad deal and will oppose it strongly,” the official added.

Iranian Nobel Laureate Criticizes 'Moderate' Rouhani

Iranian Nobel Peace laureate Shirin Ebadi has strongly criticized the human rights record of Iran’s new President Hassan Rouhani, whom the West has touted as a “moderate”.
As part of his efforts to woo both Iranians and the West, Rouhani has previously said that a strong government does not “limit the lives of the people and has claimed that he believed social networking sites such as Facebook were a welcome phenomenon.
Ebadi, however, is not buying the new president’s seemingly moderate statements. Speaking to The Associated Press, she cited a dramatic increase in executions since Rouhani took office this year and accused the government of lying about the release of political prisoners.

Read More

"Jews have always stolen and looted"

Vetogate, an Egyptian news site, has an antisemitic screed that accuses Jews of a long history of thievery and crime - from gold in the time of the Pharaohs until today, when they are stealing, um, music.

The article by Mohammed Laithi says that Jews could never live with their non-Jewish neighbors. They lived separately in ghettos in Europe. The Haskalah movement, meant to integrate Jews in the countries they lived in, was a failure. The reason is, we are told, that it is forbidden for Jews to have any dealings with the gentiles.

On the other hand, we are also told that Jews have a love of money and would use usury and inflated prices to get rich at the expense of the neighbors who they had no contact with. They would even take over the economies of these countries from their ghettos, apparently, forcing their hosts to get rid of them.

Consistency is not a hallmark of antisemites.

Anyway, since Jews had failed to infiltrate these societies with haskalah, they then decided to steal Palestine, continuing on their love of stealing.

Laithi then detours back to Pharaonic times, noting that even then the Jews lived separately but that they stole jewels, gold and kitchen utensils from the Egyptians under the pretense that God wanted them to.

The Jews in Egypt only built mud storehouses in the cities of Pithom and Ramses, and had nothing to do with the Pyramids. Hardly proof of their technical superiority!

This wasn't the first time Jews stole from Egypt, obviously, since they stole the Sinai in 1967.

And now, after this litany of Jewish theft, we get to the latest outrage of Jews stealing from Egypt:

Their music!

Laithi links to 10 videos of Israeli artists singing Egyptian songs with Hebrew words. "If we assume that the Israelis are actually descendants of the sons of Israel, it is valid to say that they are addicted to stealing from the Egyptians."

This is not the first time that Arabs complained about Israel "stealing" their music (and cuisine, and clothing, and dances....) This video compares Arab tunes with the ones Israelis supposedly stole.



That specific charge, at least, appears to be true. In 2010 an Egyptian artist accused an Israeli of taking his tune, and the Israeli apologized and said he would be happy to give him credit. I don't know whether Israeli singers are generally open about taking tunes from Arab songs (UPDATE: Phil in the comments shows that they are.)

I somehow doubt that any Arab artist would sell the rights of a song to an Israeli Jew.

Even so, it is very funny that the punch line of a huge anti-Jewish article is the unauthorized taking of Arab music.

Read More

"Saudis ready to buy nuclear weapons from Pakistan"

In Time magazine, Fareed Zakaria wrote one of the dumbest columns I've ever read. He argues that the US shouldn't care if the Saudis are upset at Washington's incompetent Middle East policy, because Saudis have a terrible human rights record and are largely  responsible for Wahhabi terrorism.

I was thinking of writing about it, but the BBC found a much better response.

The Saudis, alarmed that President Obama will not stop an Iranian nuke, are reportedly working on getting their own:

Saudi Arabia has invested in Pakistani nuclear weapons projects, and believes it could obtain atomic bombs at will, a variety of sources have told BBC Newsnight.

While the kingdom's quest has often been set in the context of countering Iran's atomic programme, it is now possible that the Saudis might be able to deploy such devices more quickly than the Islamic republic.

Earlier this year, a senior Nato decision maker told me that he had seen intelligence reporting that nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery.

Last month Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden that if Iran got the bomb, "the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring."

Since 2009, when King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia warned visiting US special envoy to the Middle East Dennis Ross that if Iran crossed the threshold, "we will get nuclear weapons", the kingdom has sent the Americans numerous signals of its intentions.

Notice that Saudi Arabia never felt threatened by Israeli nuclear weapons, but the prospect of Iran with nukes is enough to start a nuclear arms race throughout the Middle East.

There are many other ways that Iranian nuclear weapons would change the world for the worse, but this one is immediate - and it was quite predictable. The BBC article notes the evidence that Saudi Arabia would acquire nukes if Iran develops them have been around for over a decade.

But the Saudis have a horrendous human rights record, so to Fareed Zakaria, who cares what they do?

Read More

Israeli video wins FIAT/IFTA award in Dubai, Arabs freak

Earlier this year I reported about the shameful actions of FIAT/IFTA, the International Federation of Television Archives. They did not complain when Dubai banned the Israeli nominee for their awards from arriving in the country an they decided to allow the ceremony to go forward anyway - and they even said this showed their "independency! [sic]"

Well the Israeli video, called "Israel: A Home Movie," won the Archive Achievement Award. Here's the entire ceremony; the award is at around 17:50. The award was accepted by what I believe is a FIAT/IFTA official.official.



The video itself shows archival footage of Israel's history through the eyes of ordinary people and their home movies. Here's the trailer:



At least one Arabic media outlet is enraged that the winner of an award given in Dubai dares say that Israel is the home of the Jews. It rails against the idea that these rich Jews, owning expensive movie equipment, came to Palestine to replace the "indigenous" Arabs. The movie shows Jews in these home movies having fun, their weddings and other family events - the sort of thing that home movies would show -  which is a slap in the face of the suffering Arabs, according to the article.

Beyond that, the article asks, how can an Israeli work be honored on Arab land?

From what I could tell (I didn't watch the entire video nor the discussion afterwards ) FIAT/IFTA downplayed the fact that the Israeli director was not there, simply saying he couldn't be there without saying why or making a statement in favor of freedom and against Dubai's bigotry.

Read More

Video: Muslim women in Montreal attack Jewish man in coffee shop

I suppose he should have asked permission, but their reaction shows volumes.

(h/t Tarek Fatah/Judge Dan)

Read More

11/06 Links Pt2: Racism in Gaza, UK MP 'Israel should never have been created'

From Ian:

---

Black Palestinians shrug off racism

“Hey, chocolate,” “Hey, cappuccino,” “Hey, Galaxy [brand of chocolate],” “Hey, brown one” and “Hey, black one,” are jocular expressions used by some in Gaza when a man, woman or child of African descent passes by. Sometimes the racism is expressed nonverbally through looks. Gazans, however, seem unaware of this racism.
He said that they are originally from Sudan. His ancestors came at the beginning of the 20th century and lived in Palestine — in a village called Roubin, neighboring Jaffa — until 1948, when they were forced to migrate to the Gaza Strip. "But I never felt that I did not belong here. Palestine is the homeland I have always known, and is a homeland to about 10,000 other dark-skinned people in the Gaza Strip."
Ahmad remembers when he was a teacher in the late 1950s, and one of his colleagues invited everyone, except him, to a wedding. “That day, I felt embarrassed, and I decided that no one in my family would go through such an experience,” he said. (h/t BCF)

Inclusion of anti-Israel speaker at Berlin conference on ways to tackle anti-Semitism sparks uproar

The Jewish Museum – and a British professor accused of rejecting Zionism – faced withering criticism for their role in a slated event to mark the 75th remembrance of Kristallnacht later this week.
A who’s who of academic and human rights critics on Tuesday blasted Berlin’s Jewish Museum for hosting a conference with Oxford philosophy professor Brian Klug because he contends that Zionism, the founding philosophy of Israel, “prevents Jews from having a normal conception of their own life.”
German political scientist Dr. Clemens Heni told The Jerusalem Post, “Brian Klug is a bad choice as a keynote speaker at a conference on anti- Semitism because he denies that there is a new anti-Semitism. In his view this is a ‘myth,’ as he wrote in [New York-based magazine] The Nation.”

Barry Rubin: Why Most of the Mass Media Can't Report Honestly on Israel—or Other Middle East Issues

To report truthfully would require comprehending and communicating the following two paragraphs:
–Most Israelis believe, on the basis of their experience during the 1990s' Oslo era and with the "peace process" generally, that Palestinian leaders cannot and will not make peace, and that most Arabs and Muslims still want to destroy Israel. As a result, they explain, past Israeli concessions have made Israel's situation worse, risks to show that Israel wants peace have not persuaded onlookers, withdrawals from territory have only led to that territory being used to launch attacks on Israel. (h/t Norman F)

Honest Reporting: Razing a Racket

You’re the mayor of Jerusalem. And it all comes down to you.
You’re dealing with 11 illegally built Palestinian apartment buildings on your city’s northern outskirts. They’re within the municipal boundaries alright, but they’re outside the security barrier.
You rub your head at another only-in-Israel moment no other mayor in the world deals with. The apartments were illegally built. Heck, the cops even arrested a few Palestinians for fraud involving the land some of those buildings were built on. But it ain’t safe for building inspectors to travel outside the security barrier to neighborhoods like Ras Hamis and Ras Shehada, which is why the Palestinians managed to brazenly build nine and ten-story buildings now occupied by hundreds of people.

NYT Part II: Telling Readers How to Think About Palestinians

This passage follows the newspaper's overall pattern of downplaying Palestinian hate speech in what is already minimal coverage of the issue, by casting it as a debatable Israeli accusation in a longstanding fight. The last time the newspaper ran an article about the topic, in December 2011, it was headlined and framed as Israelis “finding fault” with Palestinians. That article focused more on attacking the credibility of and motives behind Israeli charges of incitement than it did on providing examples of Palestinian incitement.
It is telling that in this article, as well, The New York Times places the word “incitement” in quotation marks, qualifying it as a claim by Israel. In this way, the newspaper continues to avoid presenting the issue as straight, unvarnished fact. Nor does it accept the concept that Palestinians are guilty of terrorism. In sharp contrast to their qualification of the use of the word “incitement,” reporters adopt Hamas' justifying parlance as their own to describe terrorist attacks, notably without the use of quotation marks.

David Ward MP says, “Israel… should never have been created”

But last night Ward bemoaned his party again, stating, “Actually I never said that [Israel shouldn’t exist] but that it should never have been created.” His criticisms reportedly lay with the fact that he sees a difference between calling for the end of the Jewish State, and stating that it should never have been brought to existence in the first place.

Jenny Tonge attacks Israel for not obeying the Ten Commandments

Last night in Parliament (ex-Liberal Democrat) Baroness Jenny Tonge said “If they had only obeyed their own Ten Commandments and half the stuff in the Old Testament…Israel could have been a force for good in the world” (see clip here from 8 mins. 35 secs.)
Tonge was speaking at the Palestine Return Centre event Britain, It’s Time To Apologize for the Balfour Declaration.

Ireland: Israeli products marked with yellow sticker

A pro-Israeli activist residing in Dublin, Ireland, was shocked this week when he discovered that a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) organization had taped yellow stickers on Israeli products reading "For justice in Palestine, Boycott Israel".
Sources in the Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem said that the phenomenon is severe and it is not by chance that the BDS organization chose to express its protest with a yellow sticker – which is reminiscent of dark days of racism and incitement.(h/t Yenta Press)

NGO Monitor: NGOs and the Negev Bedouin Issue in the Context of Political Warfare

The conflict over Bedouin citizens of Israel and land claims in the Negev has become a major point of focus for many Israeli and international NGOs. The involvement of political advocacy NGOs in this complex issue has increased significantly, particularly after 2010, including reports, calls for action, media visibility and lobbying in frameworks such as the European Union and the United Nations. This activity contributes significantly to the demonization and delegitimization of Israel.

The UN’s hypocritical Human Rights Council: Bercovici

Israel’s group — Asia — is dominated by Arab and Muslim members which block its inclusion.
“This hobbled and undignified position in which … Israel uniquely finds itself is without doubt morally shocking; but it is also manifestly unlawful and constitutes a breach of both the letter and the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations … Israel’s continuing exclusion from the regional group system is both unlawful and strikes at the roots of the principles on which the United Nations exists.”
So declared Sir Robert Jennings, eminent Cambridge law professor and judge of the International Court of Justice, in a legal opinion in 1999.

UN Watch: Human Rights Politicized at UN: Hillel Neuer on CTV

Sounding the alarm: in an interview on Canada’s CTV, UN Watch’s Hillel Neuer calls on the U.S. and the EU to end their silence over the UN’s planned election next week of the world’s worst abusers to its highest human rights body.

Germany
Seized Nazi loot includes previously unknown Chagall

A hoard of more than 1,400 artworks found by tax investigators in a German apartment includes a previously unknown piece by Marc Chagall and works by some of the masters of the 20th century, authorities said Tuesday. Some of the works are believed to have been missing since they were seized by the Nazis.
Investigators searched the apartment in an upscale Munich district in February 2012, as part of a tax investigation that started with a routine check on a Zurich-Munich train in late 2010.

German spa withdraws ‘romantic Kristallnacht’ ad

In a statement issued Monday, the hotel owners apologized for their “insensitive naming of this event,” which was “extremely inappropriate.” They explained that they frequently tag part of their name, “Kristall,” onto their events.
“We are extraordinarily regretful and of course this was unintentional; believe us, we are quite ashamed about our mistake,” the statement said.

Israel’s NightSense Medical Device Start-Up to Protect Diabetics From Hypoglycemia When Asleep

Israeli medical device start-up NightSense has developed an application to alert sleeping diabetics if their blood sugar suddenly falls at night, a medical emergency called hypoglycemia, Israeli business daily Globes reported on Tuesday.
The company estimates that each day there are 200,000 severe hypoglycemic attacks, when insulin flushes sugar from the body faster than the patient can produce it, with 5 per cent of juvenile diabetes sufferers dying from it.

More women soldiers seeking to serve in combat units, IDF says

As of last year, 58.9% of the Caracal infantry unit, stationed on the border with Egypt, was made up of women, and 10% of Artillery Corps soldiers were women. The Border Police consisted of 6.3% women members.
Tavat-Vizel said that female soldiers serving in units such as those operating Iron Dome anti-rocket batteries and in Caracal have all expressed high satisfaction with their service.

Israel preps for massive air drill with US, Greece, Italy

The two-week exercise will take place at the Uvda air base, near the southern resort city of Eilat, and will include air crews from the United States, Italy and Greece, the IAF announced Tuesday.
The drill, which has been dubbed “Blue Flag,” will be modeled after the US Air Force’s annual Red Flag desert exercise. More than 100 aircraft will be on hand to participate in simulated dogfights and surface-to-air exercises.

Five years after near death, Israeli runs NYC marathon

As a commander in Operation Cast Lead, newlywed Aharon Karov almost died. Now he’s raising money for the organization that helped him get back on his feet
Crossing the finish line at Sunday’s New York City Marathon, the scarring on the left side of his head was barely noticeable. Aharon Karov, 27, completed the race in 4:14:31, an impressive feat for anyone. Especially someone who was critically injured five years ago and thought dead.
But his story begins even earlier, at a wedding.

Read More

OIC warns of "religious war" if Jews pray on Temple Mount (ElderToons)

From Al Ahram:

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation warned Israel, the occupying power, of igniting a religious conflict that it would bear the full responsibility for, if it goes too far in their attempts to divide the Al-Aqsa mosque and to allow Jews to pray inside the walls.

At their meeting the OIC adopted a draft ministerial decree that warns Israel, the occupying Power against acts that provoke the feelings of Muslims around the world through the dangerous escalation of its policies and sinful actions aimed at Judaizing and the division of Al-Aqsa Mosque and to allow Jews to pray inside the walls and in its areas. Legalizing such acts are serious and ...could ignite religious conflict that Israel bears full responsibility for. The OIC calls for the international community to rein in Israel, the occupying power, and force them to stop these attacks and serious disregard for peace and security in the region.

Either the OIC is saying that it supports starting a war over the Temple Mount, or they are saying that Muslims have no self control and cannot help their own violent tendencies.

Read More

Report: Qatari cement still going to Gaza, but Hamas is playing games with it

Palestine Press Agency - which is very anti-Hamas - publishes a scoop that cement is getting into Gaza via the Rafah crossing.

This seems to be the cement that Qatar had promised Hamas over a year ago, which had started entering Gaza via Rafah. 

The article implies that the projects that Hamas is using the cement for are not necessarily the ones that Qatar earmarked it for.  Qatar intended for the building materials to help build a new village and also for some infrastructure projects like repaving roads. Hamas seems to be using it for its own purposed (kidnappng tunnels, anyone?)

Hamas also appears to be selling the cement in order to gain some much needed cash.

Incidentally, the ability for Egypt to send any commercial materials through Rafah is in itself enough to prove that Gaza is not "occupied" by Israel, since Israel has no control over that border.

Read More

11/06 Links Pt1: Fatah to Israel - "Die in your rage", Does the US stand for anything at all?

From Ian:

---

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: We Do Not Trust The Americans

"We want the Americans to be involved in the peace process. But the U.S. should focus its pressure on the Israelis and not on us. We want the Americans to force Israel to accept the two-state solution and dismantle all the illegal settlements." — Senior aide to Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas
The Palestinians' biggest fear is that the U.S. will try to impose a solution. That is why Abbas and his top aides have begun moves in the international community to persuade as many countries as possible to get involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, especially the European Union, United Nations and Russia. The last time the Americans tried to extract concessions from the Palestinians, within a few weeks the Palestinians launched the Second Intifada against Israel; Abbas has already threatened as much.

Elliott Abrams: Does the US stand for anything at all?

Does the United States stand for anything at all? Do we have a view about, say, slavery, or child prostitution, or the stoning of gays?
What should be a ridiculous question is raised by Secretary of State John Kerry's offensive obeisance to the Saudis yesterday when visiting Riyadh. Here is the AP story: "On the move for Saudi women to be allowed to drive, Kerry was careful not to appear to take sides. Noting that while the United States embraces gender equality, 'it is up to Saudi Arabia to make its own decisions about its own social structure and choices and the timing of whatever events.'"

Despite rifts, Kerry remains upbeat on peace talks

“I am very confident of our ability to work through them,” Kerry told reporters as he opened a meeting in a Jerusalem hotel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “That is why I am here.”
“This can be achieved with good faith and a serious effort on both sides,” he said, urging both Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who he set to see later in the day, to make “real compromises and hard decisions.”

ADL finds Americans support Israel, but oppose US involvement in peace talks

The majority of Americans consider Israel a trusted ally but believe the US should play only a “minimal” role in peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians, according to a public opinion survey released by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Tuesday.
The announcement that 62 percent of Americans believe “it is up to the Palestinians and the Israelis to solve their own problems” in pursuit of lasting peace came only hours before US Secretary of State John Kerry landed in Israel in an attempt to jump start stalled peace negotiations.
The data provide a stark reminder that while Americans support Israel and distrust Iran, they are ambivalent and often reluctant about intervention in the Middle East.

Min. Ariel: Abbas's Protests are for Show

Abbas “knew in advance about the construction in Judea and Samaria,” Ariel told a delegation of French parliamentarians from the UMP party. “The Americans coordinated it with him, and so his protest is really a coordinated protest, too.”

Lapid: Palestinians Must Recognize Jerusalem Will Never be Divided

Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid said it is a “founding ethos” of Israel that Jerusalem will never again be divided, and that the city is not up for negotiation.
“If the Palestinians want a state, then they must know that this has a price and they will not get everything they want,” Lapid told Israel Radio.

Terror Victims' Org Urges Kerry to Meet With Victims' Families

The anti-terror and victim advocacy group Almagor - who recently launched a massive last-ditch effort to prevent last week's release of 26 convicted Palestinian Arab terrorists to Judea, Samaria, and Gaza - is reportedly appealing to US Secretary General John Kerry this week to stop pushing for terrorist releases as preconditions for negotiations. The group will also protest Kerry's refusal to meet with terror victims' families, who have been most affected by last week's release.

Freed Terrorists get Guaranteed Work in PA

The Palestinian Authority has decided to grant more benefits to freed terrorists. The PA will now guarantee a place of work to “freed prisoners” – the PA’s term for Arabs who have served time in Israeli prison for terrorism-related offenses.
Under the new law, any person who served more than five years in prison for an offense related to terrorism against Israel will be eligible for a job in the public sector if they do not have an alternative source of income.

Abbas says Israel wants to strip Israeli-Arab terrorists of citizenship

PA president warns move would put an end to peace talks; Israel says no decision yet on freeing Arab citizens in future phases of prisoner releases

Hamas is Trying to Destroy the ‘Peace Process’

The process on the Palestinian side appears to be a fraud, designed to produce failure because the Palestinian Authority (PA) cannot afford a success with Israel in the absence of an agreement with Hamas. The PA fears exposing the fact that it does not have functional control of the Gaza Strip and 1.66 million people it claims to represent. And not only does it NOT represent them, the government of Gaza – Hamas – explicitly rejects rule by the PA.

Young Israel Pres.: America Hypocritical on Pollard

Rabbi Pesach Lerner, Executive Vice President of the National Council of Young Israel, spoke out Tuesday calling for Jonathan Pollard's release, citing the hypocrisy of his imprisonment in America after revelations of spying against US allies by the country's intelligence agencies.
In two weeks Pollard, who was accused of spying on the US for Israel, will enter his 29th year in an American jail cell.

Fatah leader to Israel: "Die in your rage"

At a Fatah event celebrating Israel's release of three murderers from among the 26 terrorist prisoners released last week, Abbas Zaki, speaking for Fatah, mocked Israel for agreeing to release Palestinian murderers. He said that Israel gave them life sentences and categorized them as having "blood on their hands," yet, "here they are... fighters, knights, free men":

"No one expected that Israel, which hands down life sentences and decided that they [the prisoners] would go from prison to the grave, [would release them]... We say to Israel: Die in your rage. Go to your cemeteries and recite over your dead whatever you recite. Here they are [who Israel said] 'have blood on their hands' (i.e., murderers); here they are [back] among their own people: fighters, knights, free men!"

Fatah official mocks Israel for releasing murderers from prison



Year after IDF op, Hamas deterred, tactics altered, official says

Nearly one year after Israel’s eight-day offensive in Gaza, during which Palestinians fired over 1,500 rockets at Israel, a senior government official hailed the enduring nature of the relative quiet. He asserted that Hamas — hemmed in by Egypt and Israel and partially estranged from Iran — has not managed to build up its stockpiles to 2012 levels and has shifted its focus from sheer quantity and continuity of attacks to the ability to carry out strategic rocket strikes and raids.
“Of course it is not like it was last year, because they were not able to replenish everything that they lost. And they lost a lot,” Brig. Gen. (res) Yossi Kuperwasser, director general of the Ministry of Strategic Affairs, said at a briefing arranged by The Israel Project in Jerusalem.

Would the world blame Israel if Iranian nuclear talks fail?

This is why Israel's dilemma is so complicated. If Netanyahu is absolutely sure that Tehran wants a nuclear weapon, his challenge is how to stop that from happening -- including perhaps by opposing the nuclear talks he sees as enabling Iran -- without drawing so much of the blame that European sanctions weaken. That's why it's so important for the Obama administration to convince Netanyahu that they share his skepticism: If they convince him that they will oppose any deal likely to enable Iranian enrichment, that reassures Netanyahu and makes him less likely to oppose it himself. This may help explain why the White House is going so far out of its way to work with the Israelis on negotiations.

Netanyahu’s Hypothetical Rouhani Conversation: Stop Threatening Israel

If Iranian President Hassan Rouhani were to call him on the phone, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would tell him to stop threatening his country, he told Israel’s i24 News.
“I’d tell him to stop calling for the eradication of Israel, stop calling Israel the cancer of the world and stop building nuclear weapons to destroy the state of Israel and coincidentally to threaten Europe,” he said.
Netanyahu also rejected Iran’s claims that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Analysis: Saudis unconvinced by Kerry's show of US goodwill

King Abdullah, who is 90 this year and rarely meets visiting officials, mustered a full complement of senior princes to sit in on Monday's talks with Kerry. Such a lineup marked both his high regard for the old alliance with the United States, and his ire at Washington's recent actions.
Saudi leaders fear President Barack Obama's administration has stopped listening to its Arab ally, particularly on Syria's civil war and the nuclear dispute with Iran. This risks handing regional supremacy to their chief rival, Tehran, they believe.

US official: Syria may try to hide chemical weapons

Syria submitted the lengthy declaration of its chemical weapons program on October 27 and must agree a plan with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) by mid-November that explains in detail how and where to destroy the poisons, including mustard gas, sarin and possibly VX.
"We are still reviewing that document. We obviously bring skepticism born of years of dealing with this regime, years of obfuscation in other contexts, and of course a lot of broken promises in the context of this current war," Power said.

Syrian chemical weapons mission funded only until end of month

The international body tasked with ensuring Syria's chemical weapons are eliminated has enough money to fund its mission only until the end of this month, and needs more funds soon for the destruction of poison gas stocks next year.
An official at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which won the Nobel Peace Prize last month, expressed confidence that governments would find more money to ensure the process does not lose momentum.

NYT: Qatar Must Halt 2022 World Cup Abuses

Human rights exposes about horrific working conditions for migrant workers have spread globally, and the story has bounced between the substantive allegations and Doha’s efforts to block journalists and human rights workers from discovering the extent to which those allegations are accurate.
Qatar’s large population of migrant workers – roughly 88% of its total population – makes the country’s labor issues particularly tangled. A New York Times editorial published over the weekend knit the various issues together and called for major reforms:

Read More

"Swiss report concludes Arafat was poisoned with polonium" (UPDATE X5)

Al Jazeera reports:

Swiss scientists who conducted tests on samples taken from Yasser Arafat’s body have found at least 18 times the normal levels of radioactive polonium in his remains. The scientists said that they were confident up to an 83 percent level that the late Palestinian leader was poisoned with it, which they said “moderately supports” polonium as the cause of his death.

A 108-page report (PDF) by the University Centre of Legal Medicine in Lausanne, which was obtained exclusively by Al Jazeera, found unnaturally high levels of polonium in Arafat’s ribs and pelvis, and in soil stained with his decaying organs.

The Swiss scientists, along with French and Russian teams, obtained the samples last November after his body was exhumed from a mausoleum in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank.

Dave Barclay, a renowned U.K. forensic scientist and retired detective, told Al Jazeera that with these results he was wholly convinced that Arafat was murdered.

“Yasser Arafat died of polonium poisoning,” he said. “We found the smoking gun that caused his death. What we don’t know is who’s holding the gun at the time.”

“The level of polonium in Yasser Arafat’s rib…is about 900 milibecquerels,” Barclay said. “That is either 18 or 36 times the average, depending on the literature.”

Details coming.

UPDATE: I just glanced at the Swiss report. It is not the slam dunk that Al Jazeera pretends, although the conclusion is that "the results moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with polonium-210."

Arguments against it include the fact that polonium was itself not found on Arafat's remains, but lead-210 was, which is assumed to be masking the polonium. (I don't understand this because other charts show Po210 on the remains.) The existence of the lead-210 could not be adequately explained by other factors (like smoking or the high levels of radon in the grave.)  The report also points out that the lead concentrations were not uniform on his body, and they assume that if it had a different source it would be.

The report is relying on both the toxicology reports and the previous report of polonium on his underwear and other personal effects. If those were tainted, the conclusions might be different.

There is very little forensics literature about the effects of ingesting polonium so anything that the report says about the month delay between Arafat's meal that got him sick and his death is pure guesswork.

While there are valid issues brought up in the report, it is not definitive.

UPDATE 2: Also relevant:

Framework of our investigations

In examining the toxicological and radio-toxicological investigations, four particular critical problems must be pointed out:

• There was a lack of adequate biological specimens, thus limiting the possibility to perform further analyses. This was partly due to the fact that the blood, urine, fecal and cerebrospinal fluid samples taken during the patient's hospitalization at Percy were subsequently destroyed. In addition, there were no samples taken at an early stage when the initial symptoms developed.

• As a result, our initial investigations were performed on very small specimens, such as a single hair shaft, or on atypical specimens, such as the sweat in the patient's clothing or traces of blood and urine found on his personal effects in the travel bag. The same investigations were performed on biological specimens (hair, bone, scalp) and on non-biological specimens (soil, shroud fragments) collected after exhumation of the deceased in Ramallah. In any event, all of these specimens proved problematic in terms of their analysis, as well as for the interpretation of the results. We have limited experience working with such specimens and very little has been published in the scientific literature. 

• In addition, the fact that eight years passed between the death of the patient and the implementation of toxicological and radio-toxicological investigations contributes to the uncertainty of the analytical results and their interpretation. After such a long delay, especially under less than optimal conservation conditions (ambient temperature of the travel bag, burial), one cannot exclude the possibility of chemical degradation or redistribution with the surrounding environment. When considering radio-toxicological elements, one must keep in mind that they have a very short half-life (138 days for 210Po), rendering their detection eight years after a possible administration very difficult and subject to large uncertainties. Furthermore, the elapsed 8 years prevented us from directly measuring the soft tissues (i.e. liver or kidneys) that would have been more suited to confirm the presence or absence of artificial polonium, as was found in the clothing of President Arafat.

• Finally, the "chain of custody" of the specimens contained in the bag cannot be documented between the death in November 2004 and their reception in Lausanne in February 2012. This was not the case for the specimens collected during the exhumation.

UPDATE 2.5: I don't want to pretend that I understand everything in the Swiss report, most of it is beyond me, so any mistakes are my own.

UPDATE 3: Under the "Security Measures" section, the report says "The access to the grave was highly restricted and controlled by the Palestinian Authority." Not exactly a "chain of custody."

UPDATE 4: Dave Barclay, quoted here, is being paid by Al Jazeera to spin the results. Reuters says:

Professor David Barclay, a British forensic scientist retained by Al Jazeera to interpret the results of the Swiss tests, said the findings from Arafat's body confirmed the earlier results from traces of bodily fluids on his underwear, toothbrush and clothing.

"In my opinion, it is absolutely certain that the cause of his illness was polonium poisoning," Barclay told Reuters. "The levels present in him are sufficient to have caused death.

Reuters doesn't mention that Al Jazeera is financially and poliically invested in finding that Arafat was murdered, for example, by producing TV specials.

UPDATE 5: So where is the Russian report that supposedly didn't detect any polonium? Al Jazeera doesn't seem to want to release that one so quick.

Read More

How HRW and Amnesty twist international law against Israel: The Nottebohm Case

One of the most bizarre claims made by anti-Israel activists is that the fictional "right to return" applies not only to Arabs who fled their homes in 1948, but also to their descendants, forever.

But it is not only the explicit Israel-haters who make this argument. Both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch claim that such a right exists - and they further claim that it is a right under international law.

Amnesty's policy statement on the matter was written in 2001; HRW's in 2002.

Both use similar arguments.

First they quote the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which says "'No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country."

They then quote the UN Human Rights Committee to interpret the statement as meaning that "his own country" does not necessarily mean a state.

The scope of 'his own country' is broader than the concept 'country of his nationality'. It is not limited to nationality in a formal sense, that is, nationality acquired at birth or by conferral; it embraces, at the very least, an individual who, because of his or her special ties to or claims in relation to a given country, cannot be considered to be a mere alien....Since other factors may in certain circumstances result in the establishment of close and enduring connections between a person and a country, States parties should include in their reports information on the rights of permanent residents to return to their country of residence.

How does one define "special ties" and "close and enduring connections"?

Both HRW and Amnesty pretend that the definition can be determined from the Nottebohm Case, a 1955 ruling by the International Court of Justice that changed the definition of nationality in certain cases. By using Nottebohm, the organizations are claiming that international law supports the "right to return" - not only for refugees but also for descendants.

Amnesty quotes this part of Nottebohm as their definition of "close and enduring connections":

"...a social fact of attachment, a genuine connection of existence, interests and sentiments..."

Both Amnesty and HRW also quote this section:

"Different factors are taken into consideration, and their importance will vary from one case to the next: there is the habitual residence of the individual concerned but also the centre of his interests, his family ties, his participation in public life, attachment shown by him for a given country and inculcated in his children, etc."

Both HRW and Amnesty are misrepresenting Nottebohm. In fact, an unbiased reading of the Nottebohm case would indicate the exact opposite to what they are claiming.

Let's look at the full context of the first Amnesty quote, italicizing the specific part quoted:

According to the practice of States, to arbitral and judicial decisions and to the opinions of writers, nationality is a legal bond having as its basis a social fact of attachment, a genuine connection of existence, interests and sentiments, together with the existence of reciprocal rights and duties. It may be said to constitute the juridical expression of the fact that the individual upon whom it is conferred, either directly by the law or as the result of an act of the authorities, is in fact more closely connected with the population of the State conferring nationality than with that of any other State. . Conferred by a State, it only entitles that State to exercise protection vis-a-vis another State, if it constitutes a
translation into juridical terms of the individual's connection with the State which has made him its national.

Amnesty took the quote out of context, and in context it shows that Nottebohm is specifically speaking about legal citizenship, not a tenuous link with an area that one's ancestors lived. It is talking about the reciprocal relationship between a state and its nationals.

Here's the full context of the other quote:

International arbitrators have decided in the same way numerous casés of dual nationality, where the question arose with regard to the exercise of protection. They have given their preference to the real and effective nationality, that which accorded with the facts, that based on stronger factual ties between the person concerned and one of the States whose nationality is involved. Different factors are taken into consideration, and their importance will vary from one case to the next: the habitua1 residence of the individual concerned is an important factor, but there are other factors such as the centre of his interests, his family ties, his participation in public life, attachment shown by him for a given country and inculcated in his children, etc.

The ICJ is very clear that it is talking about the relationship between an individual and the State, not between him and the place his grandfather may have lived.

In the case of Israel, it is clear that the Arabs wishing to "return" are not interested in any "reciprocal rights and duties" that citizenship demands. They don't identify with Israel, so the demand that they can become Israeli citizens based on Nottebohm is exactly the opposite of reality. Unlike the ICCPR's use of the word "country," Nottebohm uses the unambiguous word "State" to determine whether one's ties are genuine and effective. There is no indication that Nottebohm would consider Palestinian refugees and their descendants to have any links to Israel, which has a completely different culture than the Levant of a hundred years ago.

Other parts of the ICJ ruling make Israel's rights even more explicit:

The character thus recognized on the international level as pertaining to nationality is in no way inconsistent with the fact that international law leaves it to each State to lay down the rules governing the grant of its own nationality. The reason for this is that the diversity of demographic conditions has thus far made it impossible for any general agreement to be reached on the rules relating to nationality, although the latter by its very nature affects international relations. It has been considered that the best way of making such rules accord with the varying demographic conditions in different countries is to leave the fixing of such rules to the competence of each State.

Nottebohm shows that Israel has the sole right to determine who can be a citizen and who cannot.

To apply Nottebohm as an interpretation of the UNHRC's comment is knowingly deceptive. And both HRW and Amnesty extend the deception by pretending that their misinterpretation of the ICJ would also apply to descendants, who supposedly also maintain "genuine and effective links" to a state that never existed.

Beyond that, both HRW and Amnesty - by insisting that Israel give citizenship to a population that is by and large hostile to Israel - are ignoring the Hague definition as well as the European Convention on Nationality, which states

"Each State shall determine under its own law who are its nationals. This law shall be accepted by other States in so far as it is consistent with applicable international conventions, customary international law and the principles of law generally recognised with regard to nationality."

Thsi is fully consistent with Nottebohm, and completely inconsistent with Amnesty and HRW - unless they are arguing that Israel itself is illegitimate.

Furthermore, the entire point of Nottebohm's "genuine and effective ties" test was not to force a state to grant citizenship based on those criteria, as Amnesty and HRW insist, but to allow a state not to accept the citizenship of a person in another state if he doesn't have such ties. (Briefly, Nottebohm lived in Guatemala but had German citizenship; at the outbreak of WWII he changed his citizenship to Lichtenstein, but Guatemala didn't accept that quickie conversion and regarded him as an enemy alien when he tried to return in 1943.) To generalize from Nottebohm to the "right to return" is more than a stretch - it is a completely novel interpretation.

In fact, the ICJ ruled that the only country that Nottebohm truly had genuine ties to was - Guatemala! Yet it did not insist that Guatemala accept him as a citizen, while - if the case supported the "right to return" - it would have forced Guatemala to do exactly that. Indeed, the ICJ accepted that Lichtenstein had the right to apply its own laws of citizenship domestically - it was only ruling whether other countries must accept that citizenship if it appeared to be a sham.

In short, on a number of levels, the Nottebohm case proves that there is no "right to return," that Israel has the full right to determine who its citizens are, and that the "genuine and effective ties" test is meant for ties to a state, not to a land.

Beyond this, HRW - while acknowledging how badly Arab states have treated their Palestinian "guests" - does not call on Arab states to abide by the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which states in Article 34: "The Contracting States shall as far as possible facilitate the assimilation and naturalization of refugees." Neither, apparently, does Amnesty, as its report on discrimination against Palestinians in Lebanon never urges naturalization for those who want to become Lebanese citizens.

The only conclusion that can be drawn is that HRW and Amnesty are purposefully twisting international law in two separate but related ways. On the one hand, they are misinterpreting international law to destroy Israel demographically, creating a standard that they demand of no other country. On the other hand, they  are ignoring international conventions and simple morality by placing no obligations on Arab states to end their discrimination against Palestinian Arabs and their right to citizenship if they so desire. (As we have shown countless times, Palestinian Arabs who are given the rare opportunity to become citizens of Arab countries will not hesitate to take advantage of it.)

Instead of caring about human rights, these organizations are denying the rights of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs who desire to integrate into the countries that they were born into and raised in, and they insist that Israel - and only Israel - doesn't have the right to determine who is allowed to become a citizen.

This is a travesty of both international law and human rights.

Read More