Orwellian Quote of the Year, courtesy of the ASA

Did you think this graphic of mine was satire?

Actually, real Israel-hating "academics" say exactly this. From Inside Higher Ed:

Curtis Marez, president of the association and a professor of ethnic studies at the University of California at San Diego, was quoted as saying: "The boycott is the best way to protect and expand academic freedom and access to education."

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The deranged hate that some people have against Israel, that causes such an obvious disconnect from reality,  can only be compared to one other historical deranged hatred. For good reason. Because any way you slice it, the illogical hatred against the Jewish state we see today is a straight line descendant of historic bigotry against the Jews as a group. The proud, self-declared anti-semites of the late 1800s and first half of the 1900s offered lots of academic-sounding arguments as well to put a scholarly facade on their bigotry.

The American Association of University Professors wrote an open letter to the ASA saying why academic boycotts are hypocritical. But you won't find a copy of it on the ASA website or Facebook page. Some issues are apparently so important that it would be dangerous to expose people to another point of view. The ASA must think that its members simply cannot be trusted with hearing both sides of a story.

(h/t DM)

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12/06 Links Pt2: Mandela and Zionism, A modest proposal for the ASA, Boris dancing with a dreidel

From Ian:

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Nelson Mandela and Zionism

This latter point is important because there is a widespread misapprehension that Mandela was an opponent of Zionism and Israel. In part, that’s because a mischievous letter linking Israel with apartheid, purportedly written by Mandela, went viral on the Internet (in fact, the real author was a Palestinian activist named Arjan el Fassed, who later claimed that his fabrication nevertheless reflected Mandela’s true feelings.) Yet it’s also true that, in the Cold War conditions of the time, the ANC’s main allies alongside the Soviets were Arab and third-world dictators like Ahmed Ben Bella in Algeria and Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. The confusion is further stirred by the enthusiasm of some of Mandela’s comrades, like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to share the South African franchise on the word “apartheid” with the Palestinians.
But those activists who want to make the Palestinian cause the 21st-century equivalent of the movement that opposed South African apartheid in the 20th century will—assuming they conform to basic standards of honesty—find it very difficult to invoke Mandela as support. Mandela’s memoirs are full of positive references to Jews and even Israel. He recalls that he learned about guerilla warfare not from Fidel Castro, but from Arthur Goldreich, a South African Jew who fought with the Palmach during Israel’s War of Independence. He relates the anecdote that the only airline willing to fly his friend, Walter Sisulu, to Europe without a passport was Israel’s own El Al. And the ultimate smoking gun—the equation of Israel’s democracy with apartheid—doesn’t exist.

Jewish Groups Mourn Death of Nelson Mandela

Jewish organizations have joined the global community in mourning Mandela. “Nelson Mandela will be long remembered as one of the greatest figures of his generation and one of the most inspirational and effective freedom-fighting figures in modern history,” Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, said in a statement.
“During the years of his trials and tribulations, the Jewish community of South Africa supported him, and when he sought freedom Mandela returned the friendship and appreciation,” Foxman added.

Divest This! A modest proposal to the American Studies Association

For in 2007, as a response to a proposed academic boycott from the major academic union in the UK (which was soon rescinded – of course), over a hundred US college presidents declared that for purposes of any academic boycott that their institutions should be considered Israeli universities and also boycotted.
Now this list includes schools like Tufts, the University of Minnesota, Rutgers, the University of Florida, Berkeley, the University of Connecticut, the University of Michigan, the University of Washington, San Francisco State, Wesleyan, Perdue, and Columbia – all colleges where members of the ASA Academic and Community Activism Caucus (the group that forced the boycott motion on the organization) are currently employed. In other words, the very people who insist that their entire field distance itself from Israeli institutions are now drawing paychecks from colleges and universities that declared themselves (in a declaration that was never rescinded) Israeli institutions of learning.
So the “scholars” driving the boycott within the ASA are now in a position to demonstrate their commitment to the cause by resigning en mass before spending another hour continuing as scabs to the very boycott they initiated. No doubt severing their ties to their current employers might cause some professional hardship, but such suffering is as nothing compared to the plight of the people they claim to be fighting for.

Having Boycotted Israel, American Academics Must Now Boycott Themselves

Let’s assume—and we’ve no reason to assume otherwise—that the ASA’s council members are sincere in their outrage, that they believe—as they state repeatedly in their statement—that U.S. financial and military support for Israel is a key engine of the occupation, and that they wish to stand strong against American and Israeli colonialism alike. If they truly believe all that, why not start at home? A bit of morbid math, for example, will reveal that Israel has killed, according to Israeli human rights organization B’Tzelem, 6,722 Palestinians between September of 2000 and October of 2013, while in Iraq alone, the United States Army may have claimed the lives of more than half a million civilians. It’s hardly an anomaly: even America’s fiercest defenders have to admit that while striving to live up to its promise as earth’s last best hope, this great nation has, on occasion, succumbed to greed, bloodlust, bigotry, and other serious ills. If the ASA is boycotting colonial powers, then it must boycott America, too—a move that would have even greater symbolic effect, since it would be done by an American organization of scholars employed by American universities and dedicated to American studies.

ASA’s Anti-Israel Gesture Politics

Consider the Executive Committee. Five of its six members had endorsed the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) as of May 2013. Those members are Curtis Marez, the outgoing president of ASA, Lisa Duggan, the incoming president, Karen Leong, who was among the proposers of a similar boycott by the Association for Asian American Studies, Nikhil Pal Singh, member of a scholar’s delegation that has called for a boycott, and Chandan Reddy. Four of the six signed a 2009 letter to then president-elect Obama, describing Israel as the perpetrator of “one of the most massive, ethnocidal atrocities of modern times.”
The National Council is only a little more balanced. Ten of the eighteen members who voted on the resolution had endorsed the USACBI as of May 2013 and seven signed the 2009 letter to Obama. One other Council member is part of a Queer Solidarity with Palestine effort to promote a boycott. One, J. Kehaulani Kauanui, is a member of the USACBI’s advisory board, and another, Sunaiana Maira, is part of the USACBI’s (I’m not making this up!) “Organizing Collective.”
As far as I know, not one member of the Council has been on record as raising a question about, much less opposing, a boycott. It is therefore hard to believe that a diversity of perspectives were needed “to aid the National Council in its discussions and decision-making.”

Maybe it’s time to reconsider the tax-exempt status of academic boycotters

The ASA is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization. The anti-Israel boycott arguably exceeds ASA’s legal purpose used to obtain that tax exempt status:
At a time when support among Americans for Israel is at all time highs, the people of this country have the right not to subsidize the boycott of Israel through tax preferences. Tax exempt organizations can boycott Israel all they want, but they should have to do so on their own dime.
Maybe it’s time to give academic boycotters a taste of their own medicine, as unfortunate as such a result would be. They brought the war against Israel into their organizations, and should live with the consequence.

Jake Lynch – BDS FAIL

Jake Lynch with legal action pending against him for his part in boycotting an Israeli academic, Dan Avnon of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem., now faced with this partnership with the Technion at the University where he is employed.
The New South Wales government has announced $300,000 over three years to fund a partnership between photonics researchers in Australia and Israel to develop a communications system that will speed up the next generation of computers.

New Blog: San Francisco State Unbecoming

On November 7, 2013 the General Union of Palestinian Studies at San Francisco State University set in motion a chain of events that served to highlight the intolerance, the bigotry and anti-semitism of their group. This site will be an archive of what transpired afterward.

Diplomat: Israeli Resolution at UN Cosponsored by Record 114 Countries Shows Weakening of Arab Bloc

The resolution calls for the empowering of youth, especially those living in rural areas, and building and strengthening agricultural cooperatives through investments in technology, sustainable production and marketing techniques. It also advocates increasing the participation of women and youth to dramatically reduce poverty, provide food and job security, and increasing access to information and communication technology and agriculture.
Ironically, Arab countries are among those that could benefit the most from Israeli agricultural technology, a point that Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations was sure to drive home in his remarks following the passing of the resolution.
“There is one group of nations standing in the way of us achieving consensus on this resolution, not surprisingly the Arab group,” Prosor said. “Ironically, few countries could benefit more from agricultural technologies than the Arab world. Across this region people are hungry for change and thirsty for progress, yet the Arab governments are stubbornly determined to put politics before people.”

Austrian mayor: Journalists should be hanged like Jews

The mayor of the Austrian town of Gföhl said on Tuesday in city council meeting that journalists who reported on asylum seekers should be hanged like the Jews.
The Austrian news outlet Heute.at reported on Wednesday that Gföhl’s mayor Karl Simlinger expressed fury about asylum applicants who would be lodged in a planned complex.

Jewish Chronicle slams Clegg for “meaningless” Chanukah words

The Jewish Chronicle, Britain’s most widely read publication aimed that the Jewish community in Britain, has used its front page this week to slam British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg for his “meaningless” words over extremism, intolerance, and hatred.
Clegg, speaking at the Board of Deputies of British Jews Chanukah reception in the House of Commons earlier this week stated, “Expressions of intolerance, of extremism, of hatred, and sentiments of violence… must be countered through messages of tolerance, of resolve, of determination to stand up for the values of unity and respect”.
But Clegg’s comments were quickly rebuked as “meaningless” as he and has party have continuously failed to act over repeated anti-Semitic tweets from Lib Dem Member of Parliament David Ward.

London Mayor Boris Johnson Thanks Jewish Community for ‘Leading the World in Giving’ for ‘Hundreds of Years’

At a boisterous Channukah party in London’s Trafalgar Square last week, the city’s Mayor, Boris Johnson, who was photographed dancing with an over-sized dreidel, thanked the Jewish community for leading the world in the spirit of charitable giving, according to the UK’s Jewish News.
Speaking to a record crowd of 6,000 at an event called ‘Chanukah in the Square,’ organised by the Jewish Leadership Forum and Chabad, Johnson described London Jewry as “the greatest Jewish community” on Earth and said he was hopeful for an economic recovery in London, while calling for a simultaneous “boom in giving.”

‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ Approaching 50th Anniversary, is Strong as Ever

Worldwide performances of “Fiddler on the Roof” attest to its cultural power, as it evokes the yearning for tradition in a changing world. What is behind its staying power? According to Alisa Solomon, author of the new book “Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof,” it is the show’s balance between the universal and the particular.

Aquaponics – farming with a fishing rod

Moti Cohen is pioneering a new spin on an old method, in Israel. His approach is a combination of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants on water).
He’s building aquaponics farms and is consulting for agencies, such as the United Nations, on how to make aquafarms successful.
The idea is to create a circular farm that provides people with fish and plants to eat in a closed loop. The crops feed off the waste created by the fish, while the fish thrive on the oxygen made by the crops. Both become an important source of nutrients for the people –– with no waste, fertilizer or much water needed.

Big tech scrambles for Israeli firms

Executives say the uncertain environment the young Middle East nation faces has also played its part in developing a culture of adaptability and risk-taking.
"Since we live in such an unstructured environment where things change so rapidly, we have to learn to change, adjust, modify and adapt," said Asaf Peled, founder and CEO of Israel-based media company FTBpro.
The combination of factors has led Israel to become a global player, with U.S. firms and investors drawn to its innovative technology.
"The companies being founded in Israel are very relevant for what we are looking for in terms of networking, data centers, security and video," said Tal Slobodkin, senior manager of corporate development at Cisco Systems in Israel.
Cisco has made 11 acquisitions and invested in 22 start-ups in the country since 1998.

Israel’s Tower Semiconductor, Shanghai’s Integrated Circuit Consortium in Alliance

The agreement is the latest in deals between the Jewish state and the Chinese, who have long sought deeper ties to Israeli technology firms, capitalizing on opportunities to bring Israeli ingenuity to bear on the growing economy. As well as state visits and plans for freer trade, the Chinese are also funding Israeli university projects and technology incubators in Israel. And while some groups continue to stage boycotts of Israeli products, some economists see eager Chinese buyers as a partial solution.

Grammy-winning pianist to receive Israeli citizenship

Internal Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Minister of Immigration and Absorption Sofa Landver, and Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky are set to hand the world-famous musician and proud Israel advocate his Israeli identification card at the event.
Though Kissin, 42, has no plans to reside permanently in Israel, the Moscow native was granted approval by senior government officials for his citizenship request, which he filed for last year.

Norway Delegation: Israel Belongs to the Jews

Pastor Terje Ligerod, head of the Norwegian delegation of roughly 40 Christian leaders visiting Israel this week, told Arutz Sheva that his group came to ask forgiveness for Norway's antagonism towards Jews, and to pledge support for the Jewish state.
Ligerod noted "we believe we are called as a nation to be an ally and to support Israel, and we as leaders want to work for change in our country, and for a repentance among the Christians in our country, we want to support Israel."

Exclusive: 65 percent of new visitors leave Israel with better impression

A staggering 65 percent of first-time visitors from Britain to Israel have an improved impression of the country after seeing the state for themselves, a new survey has revealed, writes Justin Cohen.
The research, initiated by the Jewish News and conducted by easyJet among more than 500 passengers, also highlights the extent to which the media shapes British views of the Jewish state. Of the 529 first-time easyJet travellers to Israel, 57 percent reported having a ‘much’ or ‘slightly’ better impression on their return to the UK – rising to 65 percent among the 172 respondents who had never previously been at all.

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Israel sponsors UN resolution on agriculture; Arabs who would benefit abstain

From Jordan's Petra news agency:

The Arab Group at the United Nations abstained from voting on an Israeli draft resolution aimed at ostensibly improving the development of sustainable agriculture technologies.

The General Assembly approved by a recorded vote of 138 in favor to one against (Bolivia) and 34 abstentions, among which were the Arab states at the UN.

The representative of Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, said there was no reason to present the draft resolution as its content had been covered by a resolution previously submitted by the G77 and China. The resolution did not take into account the needs of the developing countries, including technology transfer requirements, financing and the elimination of obstacles created by agricultural commodities. There were many resolutions that requested Israel to refrain from its practice of occupation which were ignored by the occupying power.

Normally resolutions like  these are adopted by consensus. The Arab bloc requested the vote even though there was an automatic majority just from the cosponsors.

113 countries co-sponsored the resolution, the most that ever co-sponsored an Israeli draft resolution:

1 Albania 2 Andorra 3 Angola 4 Antigua and Barbuda 5 Argentina 6 Armenia 7 Australia 8 Austria 9 Azerbaijan 10 Belarus 11 Belgium 12 Belize 13 Benin 14 Bosnia and Herzegovina 15 Brazil 16 Bulgaria 17 Burkina Faso 18 Burundi 19 Cameroon 20 Canada 21 Chad 22 Chile 23 Colombia 24 Costa Rica 25 Cote D'Ivoire 26 Croatia 27 Cyprus 28 Czech Republic 29 Denmark 30 Dominican Republic

31 El Salvador 32 Equatorial Guinea 33 Eritrea 34 Estonia 35 Ethiopia 36 Finland 37 France 38 Georgia 39 Germany 40 Ghana 41 Greece 42 Grenada 43 Guatemala 44 Guinea 45 Guinea-Bissau 46 Guyana 47 Haiti 48 Honduras 49 Hungary 50 Iceland 51 India 52 Ireland 53 Israel 54 Italy 55 Jamaica 56 Japan 57 Kazakhstan 58 Kenya 59 Latvia 60 Liechtenstein 61 Lithuania

62 Luxembourg 63 Madagascar 64 Malta 65 Marshall Islands 66 Mexico 67 Micronesia 68 Monaco 69 Mongolia 70 Montenegro 71 Mozambique 72 Nauru 73 Nepal 74 Netherlands 75 New Zealand 76 Nigeria 77 Norway 78 Palau 79 Panama 80 Papua New Guinea 81 Paraguay 82 Peru 83 Poland 84 Portugal 85 Republic of Korea 86 Republic of Moldova 87 Romania 88 Rwanda 89 Saint Kitts and Nevis 90 Saint-Lucia 91 Samoa

92 San Marino 93 Serbia 94 Seychelles 95 Sierra Leone 96 Slovakia 97 Slovenia 98 South Sudan 99 Spain 100 Sri Lanka 101 Suriname 102 Sweden 103 Switzerland 104 Tajikistan 105 The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 106 Togo 107 Uganda 108 Ukraine 109 United Kingdom 110 United Republic of Tanzania 111 United States 112 Uruguay 113 Zambia

As far as the supposed Arab objections to the resolution, I asked Simonne Levavi, an expert on the topic and member of Israel’s mission to the U.N., whether they made any sense:

The representative of Saudi Arabia, speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, said there was no reason to present the draft resolution because they claim agricultural technology is covered by another resolution submitted by the G77 and China, entitled 'Agriculture development and food security".

The truth is, that resolution was initiated after 2007, in an attempt to undermine the Israeli resolution. It is very general about agricultural technology and does not go into specifics.

The Arab Group also claimed that the resolution did not take into account the needs of developing countries, including technology transfer requirements. This claim is preposterous. The resolution clearly touches on the importance of supporting national efforts to foster utilization of local know-how and agricultural technologies in developing countries. It encourages international efforts to strengthen the capacity of developing countries to enhance the productivity and nutritional quality of food crops and animal products, to promote sustainable practices in pre-harvest and post-harvest agricultural activities and to enhance food security and nutrition-related programmes and policies that take into consideration the specific needs of women, young children and youth.

It was very clear that the Arab group was once again using this opportunity as a platform to demonize and delegitimize Israel.

Demanding a vote is unusual. Levavi told me that in the UN's economic and financial committee about 60 resolutions pass by consensus each year, with only about 4 that are submitted to a vote.

I also asked Levavi how this resolution could help Arab countries specifically:

The resolution on Agricultural Technology for Development focuses on capacity building, education and skills transfer – the essential building blocks of development. The vast potential of agricultural technology is proven through global initiatives already in place.

In recent years the people in the Arab World have been very vocal with their strong discontent with their social condition; people are hungry for change and thirsty for progress. Natural resources in most of these countries are abundant and highly unutilized; the possibilities are endless.

Last year Israel sponsored a resolution on entrepreneurship that had 97 co-sponsors and passed 131-31-11.

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12/06 Links Pt1: Terrorists in Israeli Jails study Genocide, Iran: The Mullahs Must Go.

From Ian:

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What You Can Lose When You Try Too Hard

In a sense, this is the greatest tragedy of Oslo. Despite its failure, no one on any side has any better ideas. It seems that it was not the Oslo concept itself that was flawed. Even the many mistakes made during the process, such as the fact that it was negotiated in secret, that it was pushed through the Knesset by a narrow margin, that its supporters felt it unnecessary to build a wide political consensus behind it, would not matter if it had succeeded—if the terrible “no” had not been uttered by Arafat at the end.
This “no” is what none of those involved in the peace process has ever really confronted or wanted to acknowledge. To a startling extent, all of the diplomatic efforts expended today by people like Secretary of State John Kerry are attempts to get back to the “no” and somehow reverse it. But there is little reason to think this will happen, mainly because the Palestinians still appear to regard a “yes” as something like a defeat. They do not seem to want a state through an agreement with Israel. They want to wrest it out of Israel’s hands. And, among some of them, a great deal worse than that.
It is this, more than anything else, that puts the lie to the claim that there is nothing to lose by negotiating peace. In fact, the concessions that must be made along the way can have terrible consequences. And at the end, one may well receive a “no.” Or a great deal worse than that. For the moment, it appears Israelis are less than enthusiastic about taking that gamble again.

We Really Need to Talk About Corruption

Today, American diplomats are falling all over themselves to placate the wrong Palestinian leaders. Washington’s goal is to reach a peace deal, pure and simple, even as the Palestinian government suffers from the same endemic corruption and abuse of power it always has. The failure to address these issues will inevitably give rise to the same wave of frustration that elected Hamas, an outcome that would threaten the very peace deal Washington hopes to foster. Furthermore, the best possible way to encourage the civil society needed for a stable state, let alone a durable peace, may be better achieved from the bottom up, rather than simply hoping that corrupt leaders will make it happen from the top down against the interests of their profitable patronage networks and their own continued enrichment.
In other words, administration officials continue to ignore the Palestinian struggle for good governance, despite the lessons learned from the election of Hamas and the Arab Spring movements that have recently toppled multiple Arab regimes similar to the PA.
Seemingly desperate for a peace deal and disinclined to challenge the Fatah leadership, Washington now appears only too willing to enter into yet another transactional relationship at the expense of a transformational one, and at the expense of a sustainable two-state solution.

Analysis: A tale of two Kerrys

The John Kerry that Israelis saw deliver a statement to the press following his meeting with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday was not the John Kerry that they saw a short month ago in a joint television interview with an Israeli and Palestinian journalist.
That Kerry, the one from the interview with Channel 2’s Udi Segal and Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation’s Maher Shalabi on November 7, was the Kerry threatening Israel with a third intifada if the talks with the Palestinians collapsed.
That was the agitated Kerry who lectured about the settlements, pretty much placing the onus for a lack of movement in the talks with the Palestinians on Israel, and warning that if a peace agreement was not reached, Israel would face increasing isolation and delegitimization.
That was the Kerry who said, “Israel says, ‘Oh, we feel safe today, we have a wall, we’re not in a day-to-day conflict, we’re doing pretty well economically.’ Well, I’ve got news for you. Today’s status quo will not be tomorrow’s or next year’s.”

Trying to smooth over Iran feud, Kerry moves from sticks to carrots

Speaking at a press conference after his meeting with Netanyahu Thursday morning at the Prime Minister’s Office, Kerry went out of his way to please his host. “I join with President [Barack] Obama in expressing to the people of Israel our deep, deep commitment to the security of Israel and to the need to find a peace that recognizes Israel as a Jewish state, that recognizes Israel as a country that can defend itself, by itself,” Kerry said. “That is an important principle with which the prime minister and the president and I are in agreement.”
Kerry’s quasi endorsement of Netanyahu’s demand for Israel to be recognized by the Palestinians as a Jewish state does not signify a reversal on US policy. Back in March, Obama had said in Jerusalem that the “Palestinians must recognize that Israel will be a Jewish state.” But still, it’s music to Netanyahu’s ears every time he hears it, and Kerry knew exactly what to say to try to get back on “my friend Bibi’s” good side.

Palestinians reject US security ideas for peace accord

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and declined to elaborate on the proposals, said Kerry presented them to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas after discussing them separately with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
"The Palestinian side rejected them because they would only lead to prolonging and maintaining the occupation," the official said, referring to Israel's hold on the West Bank, where, along with Gaza and east Jerusalem, Palestinians seek an independent state. (h/t MtTB)

Israel agreed to absorb 200,000 refugees, ex-Fatah leader says

Israel agreed to absorb 200,000 Palestinian refugees in its territory during the latter half of 2000, a former Palestinian security official and negotiator told The Times of Israel on Tuesday.
Mohammed Dahlan, the former leader of Fatah in the Gaza Strip and a Palestinian negotiator under Yasser Arafat, said that the Israeli position was put forth in the period between the failed Camp David peace summit in July 2000 and the presentation of the Clinton Parameters for a final status agreement in December of the same year.

Bedouin Issue Prompts More Hate in the Irish Times

The Prawer-Begin bill is a five-year economic development initiative seeking to regulate Bedouin settlement in the south of Israel. It aims for a compromise solution for tens of thousands of Bedouin currently scattered in unrecognized villages throughout the Negev, legalizing 63 percent of claimed land.
The plan has become a new cause célèbre for anti-Israel activists who have succeeded in reducing legitimate debate over a very real issue into yet another means to bash Israel.
Writing in the Irish Times, Eamonn McCann resorts to manipulation and falsehoods in an article entitled “Space for everyone in the history of the Negev – except the Bedouins.”

BBC claims Ben Gurion “opposed” the Partition Plan

The unsourced, unsupported BBC claim that Ben Gurion “opposed” partition has remained on its website for twelve years and it is clearly high time for that inaccuracy to be corrected. But it is no less relevant to look at the function of that inaccurate claim within the context of the article as a whole.
The only leader on either side named in that article is Ben Gurion and readers are informed that his and others’ ‘opposition’ to the Partition Plan stemmed from “their ambition was a Jewish state on the entire territory of Mandate Palestine”.

Dueling Arafat Reports Divide Palestinians — And Al Jazeera

Al Jazeera reported last month that the Palestinian Liberation Organization chairman had died in 2004 after being poisoned — apparently confirming suspicions across the Arab world. The new report flatly contradicts that finding.
And internal Al Jazeera emails seen by BuzzFeed reflect deep internal concern about the network’s relationship with the former PLO leader’s widow, Suha Arafat, and with the scientific researcher involved in the report. “We should be bringing in another independent investigator. This is going to look biased,” one Al Jazeera journalist wrote.
The network Tuesday stood by its reporting, even as it carried the contradictory French report on its website.

Golan resident accused of passing information to Syria

The prosecution filed charges in the Nazareth District Court Friday against Majdal Shams resident Rafat Halabi, 28, lifting a gag order on the case.
According to the indictment, Halabi crossed into Syria three months ago to join the Bashar Assad regime in its fight against opposition rebels. He was arrested upon his return to Israel and interrogated by police and Shin Bet security service agents.

Favorite Course of Terrorists in Israeli Jails - Genocide

All topics of study for the jailed terrorists were approved by Prison Services, according to the document.
The course on genocide reportedly engages questions such as how genocide occurs and what historical processes and forces bring it into being. It also includes an attempt to understand how political regimes decide on genocide as their course of action.
In 2011, before the courses were cancelled, 323 prisoners enrolled in classes, 40% more than in 2010.
After Genocide, the most requested courses were Democracy and Dictatorship, Israel in its First Decade, Between Zion and Zionism, Introduction to Middle Eastern History in the New Era, Islam - Introduction to the Religion's History, and Introduction to National Thought. (h/t Yenta Press)

Hamas orders hanging of alleged Israel collaborator

A Palestinian man who allegedly provided Israeli authorities with secret information was sentenced to death Thursday by a Hamas Military Court in Gaza.
The man, whose identity remains unknown, will be publicly hanged, news site NRG reported.

Dare We Say It? The Mullahs Must Go

Khamenei knows that the greatest threat to his power comes from the Iranian people, who despise him and want to be free of his regime. They have long experience with self-government, they are the best-educated people in the Middle East this side of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and they are willing to fight. We should help them.
As the Greens wrote to Obama in 2009, “It is up to the countries of the free world to make up their mind. Will they… push every decision to the future until it is too late, or will they reward the brave people of Iran and simultaneously advance Western interests and world peace?”
To date, we have tried to come to terms with the regime and utterly failed to help the Iranian people; even though it wouldn’t be very difficult or expensive to do so. We should maintain sanctions, which send an important political message to the Iranian people, and we should openly support them, call for the release of political prisoners, broadcast accurate news about the Islamic Republic to them, work with the international trade union movement to support Iranian workers (tens of thousands of whom are not being paid on time), and relentlessly expose the crushing repression to which they are subjected and which has not improved under the new President, Hassan Rouhani. But above all, they should hear from us. To my knowledge, no Western government has contacted the Iranian opposition inside the country since shortly after the 2009 uprising. That must change.

Former Obama Adviser: White House Convinced Israel Not to Strike Iran in 2012

Dr. Gary Samore, the recently retired White House Coordinator for Arms Control and Weapons of Mass Destruction, told Israel’s Yediot Ahronot that the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama talked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu down from striking Iran in 2012 to harm its ability to develop nuclear weapons.
Dr. Samore is now a senior international affairs lecturer at Harvard University, and is visiting Herzliya this week, taking part in a conference on Israel’s overall strategy, Yediot said.

Hagel reassures Gulf allies that US not naive on Iran

The US is entering the new nuclear pact with Iran “very clear eyed” and it remains to be seen whether Tehran is serious about keeping its nuclear development peaceful, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday while on a confidence-building trip in the Persian Gulf.
Hagel spoke from the massive deck of the Navy’s USS Ponce. It gave him a platform to showcase America’s vow that its military commitment to the region remains strong and will not ebb as a result of the Iranian deal.

Battlefield lessons in Syria strengthen Hezbollah's fighting force

Fighters from the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah have helped Bashar al-Assad's regime to stay in power and roll back some of the earlier battlefield gains made by the Syrian armed opposition.
Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian conflict, however, has had a spin-off benefit for the Iranian-backed organization: turning a new generation of young recruits into battle-hardened veterans. This experience should make them a more capable combat force in the event of another war against Hezbollah’s arch enemy – Israel.
Amid the grinding brutality of Syria’s war, analysts say Hezbollah combatants have learned valuable lessons in mounting offensive and defensive operations in urban and rural environments. They have learned how to coordinate with other forces, such as the Syrian army and loyalist paramilitaries; how to build supply lines to sustain long periods of fighting; and simply experience the rigors and chaos of combat.

Syrian Rebels Allege Assad Used Poison Gas

It’s been a particularly violent day in different hotspots in the world. First, out of Syria, the forces loyal to Syrian dictator Bashar Assad are being accused of using poison gas in Syria’s nearly three-year-old civil war.
These aren’t the first accusations since a massive chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus in late August nearly prompted a military response from the United States. While the reports are impossible to verify, two different rebel groups are leveling the charge.

Israel Completes 245 Mile, NIS 1.6 Billion Security Fence Along Sinai Border with Egypt

After three-and-a-half years of construction and decades of border infiltrations, the last section of the Sinai border fence between Israel and Egypt has finally been completed. Spanning 245 miles, from Rafah to Eilat, the final cost of the fence came in at NIS 1.6 billion ($450 million), one of the largest projects in recent Israeli history.

Time poll: Sissi ‘Person of the Year’

Egyptian General Abdel Fattah el-Sissi raked in the most votes in a Time magazine readers poll for the title of “Person of the Year,” beating out Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and American pop star Miley Cyrus, who placed second and third, respectively.
Sissi, who orchestrated the overthrow of Egypt’s first-ever democratically elected government earlier this year, received 449,596 votes, which comprised 26.2% of polled readers. Erdogan received 356,771 votes (20.8%) and Cyrus received 279,300 votes (16.3%).

Egypt Arrests Most Famous Christian Convert

Bishoy Armiya, Egypt's most famous Christian convert from Islam, has been arrested by national security forces.
Armiya, formerly known as Mohammed Hegazy, had fought publicly to change his religion on his identification card. He and his family had been running for their lives after Muslim leaders pronounced a death sentence against him.
In a 2010 interview, he told CBN News he had been jailed and tortured by Egyptian state security agents who wanted him to return to Islam.
Now Mideast Christian News reports he's been arrested again, this time for proselytizing.

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Belgian minister equates funding the PA to opening a local Holocaust museum

From the Antisemitism in Europe blog:

The Joods Actueel news site reports that in a speech given by Flemish Minister-President Kris Peeters, he indicated that the Flemish government opened the Kazerne Dossin museum, a Holocaust museum in Mechelen, as a favor for Israel.   

Peeters spoke at an UNRWA conference: "Trauma and Transformation: the Role of UNRWA for Palestine Refugees" last October.

In his speech Peeters said as follows: "Since the Flemish government pays specific attention to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, we decided to support various projects and programs, of both Palestinians and Israelis.  That is why the Flemish government supported the opening of the Kazerne Dossin museum last year, and in the same way we provide 150,000 euros annually for the Palestinians."   [Last month the Flemish government decided to increase funding to the Palestinians to 250,000 euros.]

Members of the Forum of Jewish Organizations who were present during Peeters' speech said they were 'surprised' about the comparison. 

Needless to say, the Holocaust museum is not a project Belgium undertook for Israel's benefit.  Belgium is not doing Israel a favor by teaching its own people about the genocide that took place in Belgium against Belgian citizens.  Does Peeters think he's doing Israel a a favor?  Does he think he's doing Belgian Jews a favor? 

Interesting mindset, isn't it? Instead of saying "we fund the PA and we fight against delegitimization of Israel" or "we fund the PA and we fight against ethnic cleansing of Jews from Judea and Samaria," he says "we fund the PA but we aren't antisemitic - look, we also fund a Holocaust museum!"

It is worthwhile to mention that a recent European audit of funds to the PA showed that billions of euros disappeared due to PA corruption.

In a way, Peeters' absurd comparison does highlight a simple fact that everyone knows but few are willing to say out loud. The "Palestinian-Israeli" situation is not about land or justice or democracy or freedom. It is a small part of the decades-old Arab war against the Jews. What Peeters is subconsciously saying is that Belgium wants peace so it funds Arabs and it also funds their enemies the Jews, to have some moral authority over them so they avoid war. Funding the Arabs alone wouldn't be fair, but money to Israel might end up going to the army or Jewish communities in ancient Judea or something that would cause riots.

Giving it to the Jews outside Israel is the safest practice to appear even-handed.

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Now Israel is blamed for potholes and cracks in the street

There have been torrential rains in Israel over the past couple of days (interestingly, immediately after Jews started adding an annual request for rain into their prayers.)

Gaza streets are flooded:

Naturally, with bad weather, potholes start appearing in the streets. In Israel, though, the Jews are behind everything.

A road in Silwan has developed cracks and potholes. 

According to numerous articles, the reason has little to do with the weather. No, these are special potholes, that have appeared because of Jewish archaeological digs in the City of David and the tunnels they are digging (they are uncovering ancient tunnels, not digging new ones.)

Every winter since the digs started, we are told, there have been street collapses and cracks.

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Is Iran preparing Islamic Jihad to run Gaza?

Reuters reported on Wednesday:

A Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday in a killing which the militant Shi'ite Muslim group blamed on Israel.

Hassan al-Laqqis was shot in the head from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath district of Beirut, a source close to Hezbollah said.

Israel, which fought a 34-day war with Hezbollah in 2006, denied any role in the shooting and hinted that the motive may have been Hezbollah's military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his war with Sunni Muslim rebels.

A previously unknown group, Ahrar al-Sunna Baalbek brigade, claimed responsibility for the attack in a message on Twitter. The claim could not be verified but the name of the purported group suggested Lebanese Sunni Muslim connections.

There are plenty of people in Lebanon who hate Hezbollah and attacks on the terror group have seen a large uptick.

Hezbollah's blaming Israel is entirely predictable, for two reasons. One is that its entire raison d'etre is to fight Israel, and the other is that Hezbollah pretends to represent all of Lebanon and the existence of an active and significant anti-Hezbollah contingent in that country exposes Hezbollah's political vulnerability.

Today, Islamic Jihad also blamed Israel for the assassination.

Its statement read, "The assassination of Lakis comes within the framework of an open war with the enemy...This cowardly assassination is a testament to the power of resistance in the face of the Zionist entity."

While Hamas and Iran have been at odds over Syria, and Iranian funding for Hamas has been largely curtailed, this statement indicates that Islamic Jihad is quite aligned with Iran. Islamic Jihad usually doesn't comment on Lebanese affairs, so this looks like Iran instructed PIJ to make this statement.

It would not be surprising if Iran is quietly building up Islamic Jihad to eventually wage a coup in Gaza against Hamas, as Hamas has been largely responsible for the current lull of rocket fire to Israel. Right now the two groups cooperate but that is more because of Hamas' stranglehold on Gaza than anything else. Many Islamists are chafing under Hamas rule and are itching to resume attacks on Israel (and probably Egypt's army as well.)

As Hamas weakens from its budget problems, the opposition voices will become louder. Islamic Jihad will probably act like the Muslim Brotherhood did in Egypt - wait for others to start the revolution, stay on the sidelines,  and then co-opt it at the eleventh hour. Outside of Hamas itself, no group in Gaza has anything close to the organizational maturity and infrastructure as Islamic Jihad.

If sanctions against Iran collapse and its oil revenues go back up, it could have a big effect on Gaza.

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Post Chanukah anti-semitism from Iran and Gaza

Iran's PressTV reported last month:

An exhibition of various forms of art created by the Iranian artists has kicked off in the Gaza Strip in Palestine, Press TV has reported.

Many Palestinian artists and people attended the opening gala that was held on November 18, 2013.

Organized by Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, the recent exhibition is Iran’s second experience in holding art gallery in Palestine.

The event presents some 50 various murals and paintings by Iranian artists and also offers Iran’s cinema through screening some selected movies.

While the exhibition is part of The Third International Arts Festival of Resistance, the show is to promote the culture of resistance as well as highlighting the Islamic awakening.

The video that accompanies the story shows some of the art.



For example, I sort of like this one:

But at 0:18 of the video, next to a subtle painting of a chalk Arabic hopscotch board with blood artfully splashed on it, we can see about half of what looks like an intriguing piece of seasonal antisemitism:

I can't find the original online, so I don't quite know what the "candles" are. Missiles? Baby bottles being burned? (UPDATE: Commenter consensus is that they are bullets.)

The poster can also be seen in the background during an interview at 0:30.

Whatever it is, it once again proves that Iran and Hamas claims to be only against Zionism are quite bogus.

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