Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

11/12 Links Pt2: Anti-BDS Leftists, Kristallnacht’s shadow hangs over Europe, Belarus honors Begin

From Ian:

The BDS movement and the opportunistic exploitation of self-denying Jews

As I have argued elsewhere, there is little doubt that a Greater Palestine is the ultimate political objective of the international Campaign for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel (BDS). Not surprisingly within the BDS movement, the opinions of the small minority of anti-Zionist Jews loom larger than life. For example, Federal Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon has claimed that "many Jewish communities support this work." In fact, no Jewish communities support the BDS. Similarly, the Mayor of Marrickville, Fiona Byrne, proudly cited support from the NSW Jews against the Occupation group which has about 10 members, and also claimed support from "a growing number of Jews from all over the world." In fact, the only organized Jewish community group in Marrickville, the Inner West Jewish Community and Friends Peace Alliance which is left-oriented and strongly supportive of a two-state solution, devoted considerable time and resources to opposing the Marrickville BDS proposal during the 2011 NSW State election campaign.
Similarly, BDS campaigner Professor Jake Lynch, head of Sydney University's Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, has responded to accusations of discrimination against Israeli Jews by citing talks at the Centre by anti-Zionist Jews such as Ilan Pappe and Noam Chomsky as evidence of a non-racist policy. But Lynch is disingenuous in not acknowledging that virtually all the Jews hosted by the Centre have been fanatical anti-Zionists, and that the Centre has specifically excluded any pro-Israel Jews. (h/t Daphne Anson)

Gerald Steinberg - NGO Monitor: A still, small leftwing voice against BDS

The radical anti-Zionist Left also promotes what is euphemistically referred to as a “bi-national solution”, and invents legal arguments, such as a “right of return” for millions of Palestinian who claim refugee status. Both concepts have no substantive foundation, and are the equivalent of wiping Israel off the map.
This political warfare goes far beyond criticism of occupation and settlements, and debates on Israel’s policies on the complexities of borders, Palestinian terrorism, and security. In launching their campaign to counter the radical Left, Ameinu’s leaders recognize that the use of terms like apartheid, accompanied by systematic discrimination against the Jewish homeland, and boycott campaigns (BDS) are designed to roll back the clock to 1948 and delegitimize Israel, regardless of borders. As many Israelis have long known, this means that even with a peace agreement, the hatred and mass terror would continue, nullifying benefits from concessions required for a two-state solution.

Brooklyn College to Play Host to Another Anti-Israel Event

The City University of New York’s (CUNY) Brooklyn College is again provoking passions, playing host this week to an anti-Israel activist who many, citing his published writings, believe to be anti-Semitic.
Ben White, who describes himself as a writer, freelance journalist and researcher on his Twitter page, will give a talk Thursday, November 14th called “Israel: Apartheid not Democracy,” as part of a mini-tour of college campuses that will also include a stop at John Jay College in Manhattan. The event is to be hosted by the school’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).

Breaking the Facade of Breaking the Silence

The pair hope to spark debate in the Israeli public, so they visit American college campuses? Israelis hoping to find the pairs' book in Hebrew should not waste their time. If the book, Our Harsh Logic, published by the American publisher Picador, exists in Hebrew, it has not left so much as a trace on the Internet. So much for sparking public debate among the Israeli public.

German trade union leader opposes West Bank boycott

German trade union leader Michael Sommer vowed to stand up to unionists who want to boycott goods made in West Bank Jewish settlements.
“As long as I am head of this organization, there will never be a resolution that says ‘Don’t buy from Jews,’ ” said Sommer, 61, chair of the Federation of German Trade Unions, accepting the Arno Lustiger Award at the third annual German-Israel Congress on Sunday.

Kristallnacht’s Long Shadow Hangs Over Europe

The Nazi Holocaust was the quintessential example of humanity’s capacity for evil. Here are three points for gentile and Jew to reflect on this Kristallnacht.
First: If European leaders refuse to protect live Jews, they shouldn’t bother attending memorials for 6 million dead Jews.
Second: Stop de-Judaizing the Nazi Holocaust. Evil is not merely an abstract idea. The Nazis murdered Anne Frank and six million of her brethren for death only because she and they were Jews. Public memorials and teaching modules omitting this truth desecrate the dead.
Third:We Jews have to toughen up. Accepting the status quo in Europe is demeaning and only emboldens the bigots on the street and in the halls of Parliaments.

Anonymous fights Zionist 'apartheid' with a Twitter hashtag. Doesn't it know how stupid it looks?

This weekend the hacktivist collective Anonymous launched what it calls #OpBOYCOTTIsrael, a Twitter campaign aimed at encouraging "disinvestment" from Israeli goods. The manifesto for this operation, posted on Pastebin, says "Disinvestment works – the strategy played a potent role in dismantling apartheid in South Africa and it can work to dismantle Israeli apartheid in Palestine, too."
The plan – explained in excellent detail here by The Daily Dot – is to highlight the 729 barcode which identifies Israeli goods, and thus enable a boycott. Facetiously, I could suggest that therefore that Anonymous should stop using Intel processors (invented in Israel), removable hard drives (invented in Israel) and VOIP Internet calls (you guessed it, Israel).

West must stop appeasing efforts to ban criticism of Islam

It is no accident that the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, "Congress shall make no law ...abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." It is also no accident that there is no such absolute provision in the Arab and Islamic world.
On the contrary, for at least fifteen years a concerted effort has been made by Islamic organizations, particularly the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) to prevent or limit criticism of Islam and the Prophet.

Pat Condell - How gay is Islam?

BBC changes fraud show trailer amid antisemitism concern

BBC producers have changed a trailer for a series about tax and benefit fraudsters following complaints that it could be seen as antisemitic.
The original trailer for Britain on the Fiddle featured the song “If I Were a Rich Man”, from Fiddler on the Roof, the 1960s film about Jews in a Russian shtetl.
Some viewers felt that the choice of music pandered to negative stereotypes about Jews and money.

Report: Jordan vetoes Israeli request to allow Jewish prayer on Temple Mount

The top Jordanian government official responsible for the custodianship of religious holy sites in Jerusalem is quoted in local press on Tuesday as saying that he is “adamantly opposed” to any Jewish worship atop the Temple Mount.
Abd Al-Nasser Nassar, who serves as Amman’s top legal adviser for Islamic and Christian property in Jerusalem, is quoted as telling the Jordanian daily al-Rad that his government rejected an Israeli request to allow for Jews to pray in a small, designated area atop the site.

Conference Urges Israel Advocates to Champion Judea and Samaria

US Secretary of State John Kerry drew fire from Israelis late last week, when he slammed Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria as "illegitimate". But an upcoming conference in New York City to challenge Jews in the Diaspora to do more to confront the delegimization of the "settlements" themselves.

Knesset committee discusses attacks on Israelis, others at Mount of Olives

One day after a yeshiva student was hospitalized following a rock-throwing attack while driving near the Mount of Olives – illustrating the ongoing pattern of violence endemic to the area – the Knesset Interior Committee met on Monday to discuss improving security there.
In east Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives is home to Judaism’s oldest cemetery, where four prophets, former prime minister Menachem Begin, Hebrew revivalist Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and leaders of revered rabbinical dynasties are buried. It is accessible only by driving through Palestinian neighborhoods.

Rafi Eitan says US told Israel that Pollard would only serve 10 years

Former cabinet minister Rafi Eitan, who was the intelligence officer who operated Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard in the mid-1980s, revealed Monday that he incriminated him because he was told Pollard would serve no more than 10 years in prison.
Speaking to Army Radio to mark Monday’s anniversary according to the Hebrew calendar of Pollard’s arrest in 1985, Eitan referred to secret understandings reached between the Israeli and US governments.

The truth about anti-Semitism in Germany

Two weeks ago German public television broadcast a film titled Anti-Semitism today – how hostile is Germany? 1.6 million people watched the 50-minute-documentary – not very many in a country of 82 million.
A few newspapers wrote about it, and not a single political leader commented on it.
Public outrage? Not at all.

Amazon’s Holocaust shame

In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeffrey Bezos, we appealed to Amazon’s sense of corporate responsibility, arguing that “no one should profit from the sale of such vile and offensive hate literature,” adding that “many Holocaust survivors are deeply offended by the fact that the world’s largest online retailer is making money from selling such material.”
Apparently, the company has chosen to ignore our campaign. As of this writing, those titles are still being sold on the site.

Israelis in Odessa: We're attacked by neo-Nazis

"I also know of about 12 Israeli students who were beaten. Yesterday I tried all day to get in contact with the Israeli embassy, and no one answered."
His description of the horror facing foreign students in the city continued: "These gangs threaten Arab-Israelis and Jews both, and in general all foreigners. Around the afternoon it's already dark, and then we can't leave the house anymore. The danger is greater for the girls. I haven't been to the local hospital because I don't feel safe there and I'm afraid." (h/t Zvi)

Neo-Nazis Rally in Kansas City on Kristallnacht Anniversary

A Neo-Nazi group rallied outside of a Kansas City, MO courthouse over the weekend and ripped up a tallit (Jewish prayer shawl) in front of hundreds of booing counter-protestors, Vocativ reports.
The National Socialist Movement allegedly rallied outside the courthouse in commemoration of the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, a night of systemic pogroms against German Jews by the Nazi government and a historic marker signaling the beginning of the Holocaust. A video clip shows one Neo-Nazi ripping up the tallit behind a police barricade, to a chorus of boos and protests.

Last Jew in Afghanistan faces ruin as kebabs fail to sell

Zabulon Simintov always removes his kippah, the skullcap worn by Jewish men, before entering his cafe in a dilapidated building that also houses Afghanistan's last synagogue.
"Let me take off my cap, otherwise people will think something bad about me," Simintov said cheerfully as he descended grime-caked stairs to the ground-floor cafe.

Ministry: October a Record Month for Tourism

Israel set a tourism record last month, as 339,000 tourists entered the country in October 2013 – 14% more than a year earlier, and the highest single month number of entries in the country's history. This October broke the last record, set in 2010, by 4%, Tourism Ministry officials said Monday.

For the ‘start-up nation,’ an Arab challenge

The Israeli government has also come to realize the importance of Arab high-tech. The Economics and Trade Ministry, headed by Naftali Bennett, has allocated NIS 414 million ($118 million) to the development of industrial zones in and around Arab cities. The ministry also reimburses employers for 30 percent of the salaries of Arab employees during their first three years of work.
Yet Rasem Natour, head of industry development in the Arab sector at the Ministry of Economy, said that Arab society still lacks an entrepreneurial spirit to match that of the Jewish majority.
“The initiative cannot come from the government,” he told The Times of Israel. “We need Arab entrepreneurship, which is sadly lacking.” (h/t Zvi)

Belarus Commemorates Former Israeli PM Begin With Statue, Releases Stamps Honoring Zionist Leaders

The statue marks the centenary of his birth and was placed in the town square next to the Jewish school Begin attended as a boy. The square was also the site where hundreds of Jews were rounded up by the Nazis before they were executed on the river Bug, among them his father.
The Belarussian mail service also published a set of stamps with portraits of Zionist leaders born in the country. Among them are: Prime Ministers Begin and Yitzhak Shamir, Presidents Chaim Weizmann, Zalman Shazar, and Shimon Peres.

After four days of stonewalling, Brandeis University commented on the Fascist-style display at an Islamic Jihad rally at its partner Al Quds University last week.

The Brandeis University community abhors the actions that took place on the Al-Quds University campus and condemns all acts that incite or encourage senseless violence.

We have been told that the events of November 5 at Al-Quds University were led from people outside the university and this was an unauthorized demonstration. The administration of Al-Quds University assures us that threat of violence implied by the demonstration are not acceptable on their campus and the University administration is conducting a full investigation.

I know that you share my outrage that demonstrations of this nature occur in any part of the world and particularly on a university campus, where they have no place whatsoever.

The only problem is that is not true.

As Tom Gross reports:

Palestinian students at Al-Quds University tell me that the rally was organized and attended by Al-Quds university students belonging to the Islamic Jihad faction of students at Al-Quds University, and held on campus with the full knowledge of the Al-Quds University administration, and the Brandeis statement is incorrect.

In addition, the photos show a very clearly organized event, with a huge printed backdrop with pictures of suicide bombers, a “red carpet” style Israeli flag walkway for all to trample on, seats carefully laid out for the audience, and a sun cover mounted over the seats to shield the audience from the sun.

The statement by the Brandeis president also ignores the previous two similar demonstrations held on campus so far this academic year by the Hamas student faction at Al-Quds. Will the Brandeis president call for the dismantling of the Islamic Jihad faction of students at Al-Quds University? Islamic Jihad, by their own admission, have killed civilians including children and babies and are listed by both the U.S. and EU as a terrorist group.
...
I am told further, having spoken to students at the university, that there is no such thing as an unauthorized demonstration at Al-Quds University, or indeed almost anywhere under Palestinian Authority control. The university has security guards at the gates that monitor everyone that comes into the university. You have to show student ID to get on to the campus. Last Tuesday's student-organized Islamic Jihad rally lasted between two and three hours and up to 1000 students attended or watched the rally for at least part of this time, according to students who were there.

And in the Al-Quds demonstration by the Hamas student faction a few weeks ago, vile literature was handed out, including leaflets comparing the Israeli campaign in Gaza to the Hiroshima nuclear bomb, and photos of suicide bombers were displayed.

Another organization designated by the West as a terrorist group, the PFLP, which also has a student faction at the university, also held a student rally a few weeks ago on the campus of Al-Quds.

I guess, to Brandeis, being "liberal" means cozying up to terrorists. It's chic.

PA: "Jews poisoned Arafat just like they poisoned Mohammed"

From Palestinian Media Watch:

In a recent sermon broadcast on official PA TV, the Palestinian Authority Minister of Religious Affairs compared Arafat's death to that of Islam's Prophet Muhammad, saying both were poisoned and murdered by Jews.

According to the Hadith (sayings and practices attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad), a Jewish woman in the Jewish town of Khaibar served Muhammad poisoned meat. On his deathbed three years later, Muhammad told his wife Aisha that the pain he was experiencing was caused by the poisoned meat that he was given by the Jews.

In his sermon, PA Minister of Religious Affairs Al-Habbash preached that Arafat was murdered in the same way as Muhammad, repeating three times that Muhammad died from poison given to him in Khaibar - a town known for being Jewish in Islamic tradition:

Yasser Arafat died a Martyr (Shahid) - we don't have the slightest doubt that they (i.e., the Jews/Israelis) killed him. One way or another, they killed him. Even Allah's Messenger [Muhammad] - they (i.e., the Jews) killed him with poison. When he was dying, he said to his wife Aisha: 'I feel the same pain I felt from the poison that I ate at Khaibar (Jewish village).' Poison that he ate at Khaibar. He continued to feel the pain until he died. 'I feel the same pain I felt from the poison that I ate at Khaibar.'

Be satisfied, oh mighty one, oh Martyr Arafat, that you were killed the same way Allah’s Messenger was killed... We have no doubt, and I don’t think there is a single one among us who has the slightest doubt that Arafat was killed. Deep inside we all know who killed him.”

How can he compare Arafat with Mohammed?

Arafat was into boys, while Mohammed was into girls.

For months, an organization called Tamarod Gaza has promised a massive anti-Hamas rally for November 11. It gathered media attention and Hamas was nervous with some arrests of some of the leaders ahead of time.

November 11 came and went, and nothing happened.

A regular weekly women's protest calling for the end to the division between Hamas and Fatah in a square in Gaza was broken up by Hamas which didn't allow people or vehicles to enter the area.

That was it.

Tamarod Gaza's Facebook page pretends that its non-protest was a success, saying "read between the lines" and it is better to bounce back after a fall than to lie there and be trampled.

Hamas is weaker than it has been at any time since it took over power in Gaza. It no longer has sponsorship from the Egyptian government. People are upset not only at the continued division but also at the inability to travel to Egypt and Hamas' holding Gazans hostage to get a better deal on fuel for the power plant. This was the perfect time to kick off a popular anti-Hamas movement and to put real pressure on the terror movement - and from all appearances, they chickened out.

11/12 Links Pt1: Kerry’s ME dream world, Hamas 2.0, Khamenei the Billionaire, Saudi Camel News

From Ian:

John Kerry’s Middle East dream world

To those outside the Kerry bubble, Egypt is ruled by a regime more repressive than any in decades, with a muzzled media and thousands of political prisoners. Syria is mired in an anarchic struggle whose most likely winners appear to be Assad and al-Qaeda , with neither inclined to negotiation. Israelis and Palestinians are further apart on the terms for a settlement than they were at the turn of the century. And the emerging conditions for a deal with Iran threaten to drive a wedge between the United States and some of its closest allies.
This raises the question: Does Kerry really believe his rhetoric? In fact, it appears he does, particularly on the Israeli-Palestinian account. Desperate for a legacy at the end of his long career, the former senator has convinced himself that a) the terms for a settlement are readily apparent and b) he has the political skills to convince Netanyahu and Abbas to accept them. Kerry, like President Obama, also is convinced that detente, if not a “grand bargain,” has all along been possible between the United States and Iran, if only the right people (like him) are at the table.

The Obama Administration is Spineless in the Middle East

Here, in a nutshell, are the principles driving the Obama Administration’s Middle East policy. Screw the Syrians. Don’t upset the Iranians. And stop those damn Israelis from wrecking Israeli-Palestinian conflict negotiations.
We are coming to the end of year marked by shameful climb-downs in the face of our enemies and utterly unreasonable demands made of our allies. In Syria, Obama temporarily toyed with the idea of launching air strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad, before being seduced by a Russian proposal to have that same regime dismantle its own weapons of mass destruction. There were lots of good reasons to attack Assad, for example his military reliance on the Iranian regime and the terrorists of Hezbollah, as well as the moral imperative of combating the sheer evil of chemical weapons, but Obama, buoyed by isolationists on right and left, placed his faith in Vladimir Putin instead.

HuffPo Monitor: The Actual Truth about "Palestine"

There's a new video making its way around "debunking" Danny Ayalon's video that came out (wait for it) two years ago. As is usually the case with Palsbara, insults, ridicule, whining, the race card, and strawman arguments take the place of actual arguments. So Matt and I thought we would create a video debunking their debunking. Check it out below:

IsraellyCool: The “Real” Truth About Palestine: Sex Appeal, Lies and Videotape

My point here is not to criticize the women’s choice of profession (although their politics leaves a lot to be desired). It is to show that the organization that put together the video hired a couple of attractive actresses – neither of whom are actually “Palestinian” according to the definition of someone born here – in order to increase the appeal of the video. They even had one of them put on a fake accent, presumably to make her more appealing (in my opinion, it worked!)
None of this surprises me, given the level of authenticity of the arguments they put forward in the video.

Stuxnet, gone rogue, hit Russian nuke plant, space station

A Russian nuclear power plant was reportedly “badly infected” by the rogue Stuxnet virus, the same malware that reportedly disrupted Iran’s nuclear program several years ago. The virus then spread to the International Space Station via a Stuxnet-infected USB stick transported by Russian cosmonauts.
Speaking to journalists in Canberra, Australia, last week, Eugene Kaspersky, head of the anti-virus and cyber protection firm that bears his name, said he had been tipped off about the damage by a friend who works at the Russian plant.

Police Close Down Fatah Club in Jerusalem Neighborhood

The riot broke out after police attempted to close down a social club operated by the Fatah terror group. Institutions and offices operated by the Palestinian Authority or PA terror groups – of which Fatah is one – are not allowed to operate in Jerusalem, and police close down offices operated by Fatah and Hamas on a regular basis.
Police were alerted to the gathering a large group at the site, which turned out to be a memorial service for Yasser Arafat. As police entered the premises, Arabs began to riot, but police used anti-riot tactics to quell the riot.

Hamas, version 2.0?

While Hamas claims to have renounced suicide bombings, it is still committed to rabid anti-Zionism and to violently attacking the Jewish state and its people. Although the past months have been quiet on the Israel-Gaza border, that does not negate the recent Hamas plan to launch explosive laden drone attacks at Israeli towns and settlements (which was ironically foiled by local Palestinian Authority police officers in Hebron).
Yes, Hamas is changing. But this has more to do with realpolitik and less a reflection of any change in the desires and choices of its leadership. When we see its new “softer” face, turned towards Western media, in be an attempt to suggest more substantial policy changes, this is just a veneer. At its heart, Hamas remains as it always has been, the same violent Islamist group, committed to terror and violence. We would all do well to remember that, and not be taken in when we see the new “moderate” face of Hamas. There is no “Hamas 2.0”.

Egypt destroys smuggling tunnels on Gaza border

The closures are also affecting the general population, as the loss of fuel supplies through the tunnel has forced Gaza’s only power plant to shut down, causing power outages that last as long as 12 hours.
Egypt also has halted transfers of Qatari-funded fuel and frequently closed the Rafah border crossing because of militant attacks on Egyptian security forces in the lawless Sinai Peninsula.

In Depth: Iran's Khamenei controls vast financial empire worth some $95 billion

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei controls a business empire worth around $95 billion - a sum exceeding the value of his oil-rich nation's current annual petroleum exports - a six-month Reuters investigation shows.
The little-known organization, called Setad, is one of the keys to the Iranian leader's enduring power and now holds stakes in nearly every sector of Iranian industry, including finance, oil, telecommunications, the production of birth-control pills and even ostrich farming.
Setad has built its empire on the systematic seizure of thousands of properties belonging to ordinary Iranians - members of religious minorities, Shi'ite Muslims, business people and Iranians living abroad.

Iran FM snaps back at Kerry about talks’ failure

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday took to Twitter to strike back at his American counterpart, Secretary of State John Kerry, placing the blame on the world powers for the failure of nuclear talks to yield an agreement over the weekend.
“Mr. Secretary, was it Iran that gutted over half of US draft Thursday night? and publicly commented against it Friday morning?” he inquired via Twitter.

Human Rights Groups, Lawmakers Blast Iran For Abuse of Christian and Political Prisoners

The statement also described “torture during pre-trial detention and harsh sentences after extremely unfair trials” and stated that “the Iranian authorities are silently preparing the death of prisoners of conscience.”
It came on the same day as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that another 12 Iranian prisoners had been executed amid what the outlet described as “a surge in the use of the death penalty there.”

Britain revives ties with Iran, two years after embassy attack

Britain said on Monday it had revived diplomatic relations with Iran and appointed a non-resident charge d'affaires, two years after an angry mob ransacked the British embassy in Tehran.

MEMRI: Hizbullah MP: if Iran Continues to Stockpile Uranium, It Will Be Able to Produce a Nuclear Bomb

Moscow on the Nile

It appears el-Sissi's announcement was meant to lay the groundwork for the high-ranking Russian delegation set to arrive in Cairo this weekend. Russia and Egypt have been holding secret talks in recent months, with the goal of establishing a new strategic alliance in the area. Such an alliance would further weaken the U.S.'s sway in the area and give Russia a foothold in Egypt for the first time in 40 years.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy visited Moscow last month, and now the Russian foreign and defense minister will be arriving in Cairo. The Russian visit is historically significant; it is the first time high-ranking Russian officials will visit Cairo in official capacity since Former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat kicked out his Soviet advisers in the early 1970s.

Egypt Turning to Russia? Don’t Count On It

Saudi Prince Faisal al-Turki, in an interview in the Washington Post, decried the ineffectual nature of the American administration, but asked whether Russia could fill the gap, replied, “I don’t think Russia will ever fill the gap. [Russia's support of Syria] is costing the Russians the rest of the Muslim world. They are fighting on the wrong side.”
It is better to be the “ineffectual” United States than to be Russia “fighting on the wrong side.” The U.S. has more room to maneuver. This may be what prompted Secretary Kerry’s hasty and flowery addition of Cairo to his itinerary, but Arab skepticism about American intentions will not be overcome with mere words.

Egypt 'worst for women' out of 22 countries in Arab world

Iraq ranked second-worst after Egypt, followed by Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen.
The Comoros, where women hold 20% of ministerial positions, is followed at the top of the rankings by Oman, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar.
The poll asked experts to assess factors such as violence against women, reproductive rights, treatment of women within the family and women's role in politics and the economy. (h/t NormanF)

Two Killed as Saudi Government Cracks Down on Illegal Workers

The latest deaths follow the killing of an Ethiopian immigrant on Wednesday. According to reports the man was shot dead by Saudi police as they moved in to clear illegal encampments set up by immigrants.
According to the BBC nearly one million foreigners are believed to have left the Gulf state in the last three months, from countries including Bangladesh, India, the Philippines, Nepal, Pakistan and Yemen.

Saudi Science Discovers Cancer Cure in Camel Urine Nano-Particles

While the Zionists sneer about all the Nobel Prizes won by Jews, Muslim science founded on the unerring Koran and Hadiths transmitted by the Angel Gabriel and occasionally Satan, to an illiterate desert bandit, is about to yield the greatest prize of them all.
A cure for the most dreaded of diseases where you might least expect it, but exactly where a Koran-literate Muslim would expect to find it. (h/t Elder of Lobby)
Covered by EoZ in 2009

Saudi Says First Camel Tests Positive for MERS Virus

The Saudi government said Monday that a camel has tested positive for MERS, in the first case of an animal infected with the coronavirus that has killed 64 people worldwide.
A camel owned by a person diagnosed with the disease had "tested positive in preliminary laboratory checks," the health ministry said in a statement carried by SPA state news agency.

Arafat circus continues as Abbas wants to go to the UN

Tawfiq Tirawi, head of the PA's "National Commission to Investigate the Assassination of President Yasser Arafat" said that there are 100 people working in the organization.

It is unclear what exactly this commission does, even though Tirawi says that it employs the hundred people distributed in committees including security and medical research, investigation, and other components.

The funding for this farce is seemingly coming from Western aid to the PA.

Meanwhile, PA president for life Mahmoud Abbas agreed with the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States to "internationalize" the investigation into the "killing" of former Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, either to the Security Council or the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Abbas said during a TV interview that he formed three committees to follow up on the inconclusive forensics reports, in the areas of security, medical and legal, saying that he had asked the international investigators to examine the body, including Russia, Switzerland and France. (A recent report showed that the PA and Suha Arafat paid for the Swiss investigation, in another misuse of international funds.)

Abbas, known by his nom de guerre Abu Mazen, did point out "We can not charge Israel until the investigation is completed." How big of him.

In other Arafat circus news, David Barclay - the forensics expert who Al Jazeera hired to interpret the Swiss report in ways that the Swiss never intended - wrote an article for Al Jazeera about why he believes Arafat was poisoned. Al Jazeera doesn't mention that he is being paid by them. There's ethical journalism for you.

To PalArabs, education is only meant for "resistance"

There are two tracks to the Palestinian "Right to Education" week: the lies that they tell local students and the lies that they tell international students.

From Ma'an:

Right to Education Week at Birzeit University commenced Monday with a workshop on the education of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli occupation jails.

Events will be held on campus throughout the week highlighting the obstacles faced by Palestinians under occupation in their pursuit of education.

Sundos Hammad, coordinator of the campaign at Birzeit, stressed the importance of education for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation.

"Education is our tool to resist occupation. It is important to keep our Palestinian heritage and to resist the narrative of the occupier."

Let's look at the history of this initiative:

"Initially, Right to Education Week was only on the international level," explained Hammad, who has been an active organizer in the campaign for more than two years.

"The campaign started during the Intifada, when every Palestinian was living under occupation and was always aware of the violations taking place."

"We wanted the international community to be in solidarity with our cause."

However, in the last five years, as Israeli troops have withdrawn from West Bank city centers, campaign organizers realized the need for the campaign to have a local dimension to help educate the public about ongoing violations of the right to education.

"Now, there are violations that are not visible. Occupying the minds of Palestinians, changing the history of Palestine in textbooks, giving the narrative of the occupier- there [sic!] systematic violations changing how we think about Palestine."

Did you catch that? The very organizer of this campaign is admitting that there are no barriers to education in the West Bank and Gaza. And he is saying that there is not even occupation in areas under PA (and Hamas) control!

But Israel's existence, which ensures that there will be no Palestinian Arab state from the river to the sea, is an "occupation of the mind."

However, the message sent to universities worldwide is quite different:

The week of events at Birzeit University is part of a global movement supporting the Palestinian Right to Education. Events will take place on at least 25 campuses in the UK, USA, Norway, Netherlands, South Africa, Canada, and Ireland.

As part of the week, Birzeit University students will participate in events that help students abroad see the obstacles Palestinian students face under occupation, including video conferences.

At the 25 campuses around the world that are celebrating this "right to education" week, the "education" being offered is propaganda - even according to the organizers of the event! There, the college students are being lied to and told that Israel is still stopping Palestinian Arabs from attending university, even though Palestinian Arabs know that it isn't true and adjust the local message accordingly.

The local initiatives, however, stress the "right" to teach Palestinians that Israel is illegal, that terror is legitimate and that resistance is the purpose of education. (Read the whole article if you don't believe me.)

The most successful export under PLO rule is lies.

The NYT christens a new axis of evil: Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Congress

An editorial from the New York Times:

The inconclusive negotiations over the weekend on Iran’s nuclear program were disappointing, but two critical points have mostly been ignored. First, diplomacy takes work, and agreements rarely flow seamlessly from beginning to end. Second, if all those inveighing against any deal — namely members of Congress, Israel and Saudi Arabia — see the weekend results as a new opportunity to sabotage it, what is the alternative?

No one has proposed a better path than negotiations, and getting the best deal possible should remain the goal for Iran and the major powers — the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany — as they look to another round of talks later this month...

Unfortunately, the inconclusive negotiations have given an opening to the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who excoriated the proposed agreement as the “deal of the century” for Iran before it is made public, to generate more hysterical opposition. It would be Let's be realistic, we are told. if Iran could be persuaded to completely dismantle its nuclear program, as Mr. Netanyahu has demanded, but that is unlikely to ever happen.

...The opponents of a deal are energized and determined. The United States and its allies have to be united and smart.

See? The United States and its allies must be united against their enemies: Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the US Congress. Russia is now more on our (e.g., the New York Times') side than our very own elected representatives!

These enemies aren't motivated by serious concern about the their security and the future of the world. No, according to the NYT, their motivation is "hysteria."

Serious thinking from the "paper of record."

I was looking through the results of the World Karate Championships (Junior and Cadet) that I reported on yesterday saying that a Kuwaiti team refused to face Israel.On Saturday, Israeli competitors went up against Egyptians twice.

And Egypt won both times. A. Ismail beat Y. Tzur in the third round of their competition, and E. Abdelkader defeated the same Y. Tzur in the second round of their competition.

Egypt won the most medals in the competition; Israel did not win any. I could not find any mention in the Egyptian media about the rounds against the Israeli competition.

I could not find a single match between Israel and Kuwait listed in the four days of results. It is possible that Kuwait made up the story to begin with!

New conspiracy: Zionists took over Ottoman Empire in 16th century

Egypt's Youm 7 has a doozy of a conspiracy theory.

According to this article, Suleiman the Magnificent, who was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520-1566, married Roxelana, a slave woman who first joined his harem and who he eventually freed and took as his wife. (true)

Roxelana was Jewish! (false)

Not only that, but she had huge influence on her husband (true) and was behind the execution of Egypt's vizier Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha as part of a plot to ensure that her son would become the next Caliph, instead of Suleiman's first-born (possibly true.)

Her son Selim II, who was naturally Jewish (false), eventually became the Sultan (true), and he was instrumental in moving Jews to Thessaloniki (Salonika), Greece (false, this happened beforehand). From Thessaloniki came the rise of (false messiah) Shabbatai Tzvi (the rabbis there expelled him) who was - a Zionist, calling for the establishment of a state in Palestine! (not as far as I know.)

The Ottoman Empire is then said to have been very welcoming towards the Zionist influence, with Theodor Herzl having easy access to the sultans (not really although he met one who spurned his idea).

The article gets hard to understand after that, with mention of Freemasonry, a return to the Jews of Salonika, and the Zionist/Ottomans destroying the empire from within. Jewish connections to Turkish leaders are enumerated. A Jewish plot to separate Turkey from the Arab world is described. Even in modern times, Turkey stood with Israel against Egypt.

It is a very convoluted article but in the end, it shows how the Zionist Jews managed to take over Turkey five centuries ago, and their influence is still felt today as Zionist Turkey supports the Muslim Brotherhood against Egypt's government.

Whew!

The Hamas Interior Ministry is warning Gazans to stay away from a website called "HelpMeGaza.com", saying it is a Mossad recruitment tool.

If it is, it is a very heavy-handed one.

The site is purportedly written by an Israeli Arab who says he wants to help Gazans improve their situation. It is divided into six categories: Financial Aid, Trade, Work, Crossings, Education and Health. It asks Gazans to fill out an on-line form if they want help with navigating through the Israeli authorities to help them, for example, set up an export business or go to university in an Arab or European country.

The site says that Gazans used to be able to freely enter Israel and it hopes that this situation could return one day. But in the meanwhile, the author of the site says he has experience in helping Gazans get around the restrictions in order to improve their lives.

The author is not identified.

The DNS information says the site is registered to Amir Seif of the Israel-Arab town of Kfar Qasim.

Hamas is warning Gazans that the site is actually a recruitment tool to gain spies in Gaza.

11/11 Links Pt2: How America funds Palestinian terrorism, 900 Holocaust testimonials go online

From Ian:

Edwin Black: How American taxpayers are funding Palestinian terrorism

About 6 percent of the Palestinian budget is diverted to terrorist salaries. All this money comes from so-called “donor countries” such as the United States, Great Britain, Norway, and Denmark. Palestinian officials have reacted with defiance to any foreign governmental effort to end the salaries. “Deputy Minister of Prisoners Affairs Ziyad Abu Ein declared to the satellite TV network Hona Al-Quds: ‘If the financial assistance and support to the PA are stopped, the [payment of] salaries (rawatib) and allowances (mukhassasat) to Palestinian prisoners will not be stopped, whatever the cost may be. The prisoners are our joy. We will sacrifice everything for them and continue to provide for their families.”

Barry Rubin: Nazis, Islamists, and the Making of the Modern Middle East

During the 1930s and 1940s, a unique and lasting political alliance was forged among Third Reich leaders, Arab nationalists, and Muslim religious authorities. From this relationship sprang a series of dramatic events that, despite their profound impact on the course of World War II, remained secret until now. In this groundbreaking book, esteemed Middle East scholars Barry Rubin and Wolfgang G. Schwanitz uncover for the first time the complete story of this dangerous alliance and explore its continuing impact on Arab politics in the twenty-first century. Rubin and Schwanitz reveal, for example, the full scope of Palestinian leader Amin al-Husaini’s support of Hitler’s genocidal plans against European and Middle Eastern Jews. In addition, they expose the extent of Germany’s long-term promotion of Islamism and jihad. Drawing on unprecedented research in European, American, and Middle East archives, many recently opened and never before written about, the authors offer new insight on the intertwined development of Nazism and Islamism and its impact on the modern Middle East. Published by Yale University Press. Available February 25, 2014.

Jpost Ed: Pollard’s fate

Recent revelations of unbridled American espionage against its Western allies have exposed the hypocrisy and injustice that have kept Jonathan Pollard in prison for nearly three decades.
Washington has always presented Pollard’s unprecedented life sentence, including seven years in solitary confinement, as a reasonable response to Israel’s unmitigated gall for running a spy in the US. Successive American administrations have consistently maintained a morally superior posture, posing as the injured party, insisting on perpetuating the excessive punishment of Israel’s agent.
Although Israeli officials have been aware of American agents operating in Israel for decades, they have never openly confronted the US.

Khaled Abu Toameh: Arafat's Death and Palestinian Incitement Against Israel

The Palestinian Authority is also shooting itself in the foot by repeatedly accusing Israel of being behind the "assassination" of Arafat. Many Palestinians are saying that Israel could not have "killed" Arafat without help from the people who were very close to him.
According to this theory, the same Palestinian officials who have been pointing a finger at Israel may themselves have been involved in the death of Arafat. So the charges against Israel are coming back to haunt Abbas and several senior Palestinian officials.
"I'm sure it's someone in his close circle," Arafat's widow, Suha, told Reuters last week. "The expert said that the poison was put in his tea, or coffee or water. It must have been someone close to him."

BBC Arafat binge continues to promote conspiracy theories

To sum up, in a period of less than 48 hours the BBC News website promoted thirteen different reports (shown below) on the subject of the publication of the Swiss findings and related subject matter, with nine of those items amplifying conspiracy theories concerning Israel’s involvement in Arafat’s death. None of the items attempted to propose any other explanation for the as yet unproven poisoning theory.

A Tale of Two Christians in the Holy Land

At no time during our conversation did George claim to have witnessed any actual physical abuse or other form of inappropriate humiliation meted out by IDF soldiers. It appeared he considered the lengthy wait and crowding to constitute the “human rights” abuses of which he complained.
I pointed out to George that on my way to Israel, which included a stay in Memphis and a layover in Amsterdam, I and my family were subjected to numerous lengthy waits, interrogations, and invasive personal searches by TSA and the Dutch authorities. But I do not blame the USA and Dutch governments for the extremely unpleasant and inconvenient predicament we travelers find ourselves in. The blame lies with Al Qaeda and other terrorists who have murdered thousands of people in the last few decades, and created this burden. So it is with Israeli checkpoints (which are now far fewer in number than they were a few a years ago, as the result of the reduction in terrorist attacks). In my view, the fault lies with the Palestinian murderers who made these security measures necessary.

10 years in, Shurat Hadin fights Iranian terrorism and BDS in international courts

On October 30, Shurat Hadin filed a class action lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia under the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975, over Sydney University Prof. Jake Lynch’s participation and public support of boycotts of Israel. The lawsuit cited Lynch’s refusal to submit to the jurisdiction of the Australian Human Rights Commission, with whom Shurat Hadin had filed a complaint in late July.
Shurat Hadin also made headlines in recent months with a Facebook campaign that successfully gathered testimonies for bringing cases at the International Criminal Court against Palestinian Authority leaders should they decide to bring cases against Israelis.

BDS Lynch Mob

Note the technique. Jake defines the subject for us. The “Jews” are a “religion”, as if they are Presbyterians. No hint of a nod to Jewish nationhood not even in Israel. Therefore any claim the Jews have to the land they lawfully settled and the brilliant state they built and where they live is based on their religion. Never mind the law. The Zionists are lawless.
Then come the Goebbels lies. The attack is always multi-layered. There are seven lies in less than six lines. To tackle them all is to retreat and defend. To ignore them is to confirm.
Most of all is the fit up. This is how this works. Pick a country. Any country will do. It doesn’t even have to be an especially unpleasant country. Be sporting. Iran, Syria, Algeria, Saudi Arabia … dozens of others, are no challenge. Then think of some unpleasant things. It doesn’t have to be true. It is enough that there are those who say it is true. In the case of Israel you can look to the neighbours for all the material you need and I don’t mean what they say.

Loewenstein’s Load of BDS BS

For starters, to call the BDS movement as “thriving” would be to ignore the negligible success that it has had. If the aim of BDS is to negatively impact Israel’s economy, then it has failed miserably. If the aim of BDS is to turn Israel into a cultural pariah then the number of international music stars performing in the country would also indicate an abject failure.
Loewenstein is being disingenous when he claims that BDS is an initiative that “attacks institutional links to Israel’s illegal settlements.” BDS, in fact, targets Israel and Israelis irrespective of location within or beyond the Green Line.
The rest of his article also contains a number of unsubstantiated claims and falsehoods.

Turkey’s Erdogan Is Quietly Wooing America’s Enemies

"Relations remain good," said Steven Cook of the Council of Foreign Relations, a longtime Turkey watcher. But, he adds, a nagging question now arises in American foreign policy circles: "What is it that Turkey provides?"
As Ankara seeks new alliances, Erdogan's opponents, both inside and outside the country, point to his "neo-Ottomanism." Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, a former academic who is the main architect of the AKP's foreign policy shifts, often invokes the memory of the old Ottoman Empire, complete with dropping the names of the empire's major outposts.
"Without going to war, we will again tie Sarajevo to Damascus, Benghazi to Erzurum and to Batumi," he promised recently.

Lebanon threatening to file lawsuit against Israel over alleged spying

Lebanon plans to file a lawsuit against Israel over its alleged spying activities, Iran's Press TV quoted Lebanese Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour as saying on Sunday.
“Lebanon is conducting serious investigations regarding the blatant Israeli violations of our sovereignty," Mansour told Press TV.

US says Suriname president's son wanted to host Hezbollah base for attacks on Americans

A son of Suriname's president invited people he thought were from the Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah to set up a base in his country to attack Americans in exchange for millions of US dollars, US prosecutors said on Friday.
Federal prosecutors who already were pursuing drug charges against Dino Bouterse, a son of President Desi Bouterse, filed the latest allegation in US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Jews and Muslims Speak Out Against Controversial Quebec Bill

Jewish and Muslim groups in the Canadian province of Quebec have spoken out against a controversial bill that would ban wearing any religious symbols in governmental offices, agencies and institutions. These include the Kippah, hijab, turban, cross and the Star of David.

Penn State fraternity targeted with swastikas

Swastikas and slogans were spray-painted on about a dozen cars parked outside a mostly Jewish fraternity house at Penn State in University Park, Pennsylvania last week, police said.
The graffiti, spray-painted early Friday morning, appeared to be directed at the Beta Sigma Beta house, State College Police told The Associated Press.

‘Miley Cyrus to perform in Israel’

Miley Cyrus is bringing her sexy act to Israel in June 2014, according to Israel’s Channel 2.
Cyrus’s representatives are reportedly in the early stages of negotiations with an Israeli production company to have the pop star put on a show for 15,000-20,000 people at a yet-to-be-determined venue.

Water filters: a key to world peace?

Considering the fact that only 3% of the water on earth is fresh water, and that more than half of that is in the form of inaccessible glaciers, it becomes clear just what an essential service Israeli water filtration leader Amiad provides to the world, with products that allow water companies and governments to filter out contaminants and produce clean water for users.

IDF sends assessment team to typhoon-struck Philippines

The team, under the Home Front Command, set out “in order to closely form a situation assessment and infrastructure evaluation that would determine the best rapid response the IDF could offer to the Government of the Philippines,” the military said in a statement.
Israel’s emergency medical, ambulance, disaster and blood bank service, Magen David Adom (MDA) was reportedly considering sending a team to assist the International Red Cross working in the Philippines.

Pope recalls ‘Crystal Night’ of ‘our older big brothers’

“Today is the 75th anniversary of the so-called ‘Crystal Night,’ ” he said. The violence on the night between Nov. 9-10,1938 against Jews, their synagogues, homes, and businesses, he said, “signaled a sad step toward the tragedy of the Shoah.”
He added, “We renew our closeness and solidarity with the Jewish people, our older big brothers. And we pray to God that the memory of the past, the memory of past sins, helps us to be ever vigilant against any form of hate and intolerance.

900 of earliest Holocaust testimonials available online

The Nordlicht’s are just one of many families who have discovered a relatives’ Shoah testimony online through the Holocaust Oral History Collection website, created by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Oral History Division in the Institute of Contemporary Jewry. It was launched last Thursday to overlap with the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass.
The website has 900 Holocaust-related recordings and transcripts made available to the public for the first time. Sharon Kangisser Cohen, academic director of the Oral History Division, said in a statement that, “as we have already seen, it has been significant on the personal level as families are rediscovering their family’s past as people have found interviews with their parents and grandparents, which they had never heard before.”

Beatles trivia answer

Yesterday, I put out a Beatles trivia question that I did not think anyone would get:

What do these Beatles songs have in common?

Can't Buy Me Love
A Hard Day's Night
Hey Jude
Got to Get You Into My Life
Savoy Truffle
Here Comes the Sun
Something

Two commenters, Yitzchak Goodman and Andrew, appear to have gotten the answer right without revealing it to everyone else.

And the answer is: These are all Beatles songs covered by Ella Fitzgerald.

Starting at 6:12:

Couldn't find "Here Comes the Sun" online.

As far as my hint went, Fitzgerald sang a song called "It's Only Love," but it was not the Beatles' version.

Thanks for playing!

While Egypt seals off Gaza, Israel meets with Gaza farmers to aid exports

The Rafah crossing between Egypt and Gaza was closed yet again today, for the fourth consecutive day. Thousands of Gazans are stranded at the border.

Meanwhile, Israel not only allowed exports of spices from Gaza today, but recently it met with Gaza farmers to help them export fruit through Kerem Shalom.

From COGAT:

Last Thursday (24.10), a meeting took place at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai between fruit traders from Gaza and representatives of the Israel Fruit Growers Association. The meeting had been coordinated by the Gaza Liaison and Coordination Administration's agricultural officer Uri Madar and was attended by the outgoing Director-General of the Fruit Growers Association, Ilan Eshel, his successor Itzik Cohen, Palestinian Agriculture Ministry Coordinator Mr. Hani Ashkontana and Director of the Gaza Economic Affairs Branch, Lieutenant Colonel Shai Carmona. There are currently around 25 wholesale fruit merchants in Gaza who trade with Israel on a regular basis, while meetings with fruit buyers from Gaza take place once every six months.
...
In the words of Mr. Hani Ashkontana, Coordinator of the Palestinian Agriculture Ministry in Gaza: "The work is crucial to both our Ministries. Daily cooperation in all fields of commerce, and in particular in the agricultural sector, is important to both sides." The Palestinian Agriculture Coordinator went on to emphasize that: "Throughout the 15 years of cooperation with the Liaison and Coordination Administration's agricultural officer Uri Madar, the working relationship has always been sound. This is an interest shared by both parties, and our relations have always remained in tact, even during the difficult periods that have occurred over the years. These meetings are what will engender the hope for peace for both sides. I believe that trade and sound economic cooperation will herald better times than we have witnessed in the past."

After the opening address, traders were given the opportunity to ask questions and, as an integral part of the gathering, to exchange views about the obstacles standing in their way. The Palestinian participants thanked outgoing Director-General of the Fruit Growers Association, Ilan Eshel, and wished success to his successor, Itzik Cohen. "We and our counterparts in the Israeli farming community are just like family, relations between us are excellent. However, delays in inspecting containers at the crossings sometimes result in partial destruction of the merchandise, and this is not always received with understanding on the Israeli side", commented one of the Gazan fruit traders.

In response to the traders' complaints against the incidents and delays at the crossings, the Director of the Gaza Economic Affairs Branch, Lieutenant Colonel Shai Carmona, replied that "We are opening a call center in the Coordination and Liaison Administration exclusively for traders, which shall operate 24/7 and offer immediate assistance in solving any problem at the crossings." Lieutenant Colonel Shai Carmona emphasized that: "we attach great importance to these meetings".

Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, which hosted the meeting, is less than a mile from Gaza..

Best articles about Arafat polonium report so far

This article, written by an expert, confirms my initial impressions of the Swiss report, and goes further.

Dan Kaszeta is a former US Army and US Secret Service specialist on chemical, biological, and radiological defense, now working as an independent consultant based in London.

Suspicions about the cause of Yasser Arafat’s death are not new, but an Al Jazeera report published last week detailing the findings of a team of scientists brings new light to the subject. Even though the report itself only “moderately supports” the hypothesis that Mr. Arafat was poisoned by radioactive polonium 210, some forensic scientists, including David Barclay, have called it “a smoking gun.”

Is this an accurate characterization? Unfortunately, no. I have no doubt based on what I read that there were some small amounts of polonium in the samples, as the report indicates. However, the world’s media have leapt to conclusions based on this finding, even though there is ample ambiguity after the passage of so much time.

The thing with detailed reports such as this one is that sometimes it can be revelatory to see what was not explained in the report. Several important concepts are left unexplained and unaddressed. Foremost is the issue of half-life. All radioactive isotopes decay into other elements, and the rate at which they do so is called a “half-life.” For polonium 210, its half-life is about 138.4 days. After one half life, half of the polonium has decayed, after two half lives, a quarter remains, and so on. Around 19 half-lives elapsed between his death and the examination of his personal effects, 21 half-lives with the skeletal remains. This means that, if Mr. Arafat had been poisoned with polonium 210, the percentage of remaining material would be very small, on the order of 0.00004% in the case of the bones.

Another glaring issue with the report is that the units in use are not well explained. The casual reader is not given the context of how big a milliBecquerel (mBq) is. It’s extremely small. Even a Becquerel is a very small unit for measuring radiation sources. (Mega- and even GigaBecquerel are not unusual for describing radiation sources.) Often, these kinds of mBq levels are at the lower detection limit or within the error margin of instruments, although this is not made clear in the report. Even the highest figures noted in the report, in the range of 900 mBq, are actually very small by most standards. It should be noted that much coverage of the report fixates on the single 900 mBq figure, which is the highest, by far, of any of the figures in the report.

Polonium 210 is found in nature as well as occurring as the result of manmade activity. Many of the measurements of the personal effects could easily be within the realm of naturally occurring background levels. As it is a natural decay product from uranium, which is ubiquitous in geology around the world, you will find small amounts of polonium 210 nearly everywhere if you look hard enough. One interesting fact is that polonium 210 is commonly found in tobacco, as tobacco plants absorb uranium from the soil. One Brazilian study found that a single cigarette could easily have as much as 28.9 mBq of polonium 210, although the figures vary widely between brands. Soil contains polonium, which vary widely around the world. As one example, in Norway, the top humus layer of soil can easily contain up to 363 mBq/g, a figure well in excess of many of the figures in the report. Sadly, a similarly detailed report on soil background level in Palestine is not available, so I include this fact as merely as one comparison. In addition, the report shows Radon gas was quite high in the grave, and Polonium is an eventual decay production of the particular isotope of Radon detected.

The Swiss report also makes reference to the issue of “supported” versus “unsupported” polonium 210. The science is complex – as naturally occurring polonium 210 comes from decay of Lead 210. If one measures the Lead 210 in a particular place and compares it to the amount of polonium, mathematical calculations can show if the proportion is correct for the polonium having been caused by decay of the Lead. This is “supported” polonium, and it is much more likely to have come from natural sources rather than nefarious ones. The report clearly states on page 58 that the polonium in the human remains was likely to be “supported.” In my mind this casts some serious doubt on the poisoning hypothesis.

Another huge deficit in the evidence is the chain of custody. This concern is actually voiced in the report itself. The evidence has been out of the control of those examining it for years. There’s no assurance that the personal effects or the human remains were not tampered with in some way between 2004 and 2012. I’m not saying that they were; it is just that it cannot be ruled out. Likewise, it could be possible that Mr. Arafat’s grave could have been tampered with at some point in the intervening years.

The Swiss report fairly states many of these issues if you read it closely enough. But it is by no means a “smoking gun.” Could Mr. Arafat have been poisoned by polonium? Certainly. Is it possible that the evidence could have been tampered with? Yes. Is it possible that much of the polonium detected is from natural sources? Yes. But the passage of time and an eroded chain of custody mean that forensic science done in 2012 faces serious limitations, and we may never be in a position to know for sure.

Also, in The Independent today:

A leading British biomedical scientist says it is “highly unlikely” that former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat died in a French hospital in 2004 from a lethal dose of radioactive polonium.

Professor Nicholas Priest, who formerly headed the biomedical research unit of the Atomic Energy Authority in Britain, told The Independent that, while poisoning by polonium “cannot be totally ruled out”, the symptoms were very different from those of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko, who died in London in 2006. The professor, a specialist in radiation toxicology, is one the few British scientists to have worked with polonium-210. He was involved in the research over Mr Litvinenko’s death – the only known case of fatal poisoning by the substance. “Key indicators it was not polonium [that killed Arafat] were lack of hair loss in the face, and no damage to his bone marrow, both of which were found extensively in Litvinenko,” Professor Priest said. Photographs show Arafat stepping into a helicopter on the way to France sporting a white beard, while pictures of Litvinenko in hospital reveal an absence of any hair.

He pointed out that polonium would be naturally produced in the bones of anyone buried as a by-product of the bones absorbing lead from the soil, a point, he said, that “the authors of the report understand but the journalists do not”. The Swiss researchers’ carefully worded report admits that even in the tiny samples of non-bone body remains it found in the grave “no significant amount of unsupported polonium-210 was measured”. They also admit that the pattern of Arafat’s illness was “not consistent with typical acute radiation syndrome”.

Professor Priest said it was “far too dangerous and scientifically unjustified” to calculate how much polonium was in Arafat’s body on the basis of “such tiny concentrations of polonium”. He explained: “The amount found was about one thousandth of a Bq [becquerel] per gram, and if you multiply it back up to what it might have been eight years earlier (doubling the concentration each 138 days), you get a figure of 192 million Bq administered.”

There have also been good articles from Maurice Ostroff and Nature.

As with everything else in the Middle East, people will believe what they want to believe and they'll ignore what they don't.