Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, March 17, 2014

03/17 Links Pt2: The Goal of The Boycott Movement is Not Peace; The Esther Award goes to...

From Ian:

The Goal of the Boycott by Russell A. Berman

The goal of the boycott movement is not peace: it is the elimination of the State of Israel. This is the logical implication of all its arguments. Its supporters refrain from spelling out this endgame in order to avoid scaring off moderates who would reject the eliminationist agenda, but the end of Israeli sovereignty altogether is the clear purpose of the movement. It will fail in this pursuit, and Israel will survive, but the radicalism of the boycott movement is succeeding in poisoning debate on the Middle East.
The boycott movement bases its animosity toward Israel on the twin claims that it is a colonialist state and that it relies on an apartheid system of racial segregation. These are not arguments but slurs, and an examination of the historical record shows that they are falsehoods.
The boycott movement ostensibly dodges the question of the political future of the region, claiming agnosticism between the two-state and one-state solutions. In fact its arguments subvert the possibility of a two-state solution — a secure Israel next to a sovereign Palestine. In its de facto opposition to the two-state solution, the boycott movement stands outside the mainstream of the political discussion about the future of the region.

The Esther Award goes to...

It is easy to spot Haman in today’s world. The Iranian mullah’s with their destroy-Israel infatuation, a few European NGOs who back killers under the slogan of human rights, a Palestinian Authority which teaches its children to hate Jews and to detest life, to name a few.
But who is this year’s Esther? My vote is with Scarlett Johansson.
Scarlett, a world-renowned actress, and hidden Esther-like Jew, stood up against EU and UN-types when she said goodbye to Oxfam in favor of the Israeli SodaStream. There was an element of Purim-like turn around when Oxfam tried to pressure Scarlett to drop SodaSteram; it was they who got the cut.

Isi Leibler: Putin, Ukraine and the Jews

The international crisis created by Putin’s military incursion into Crimea has also served to highlight, again, Russia’s relationship to the Jews. The Russian president has included radical nationalism and anti-Semitism in the Ukraine as major justifications for his intervention.
I have personal experience of the feral anti-Semitism which pervaded the region from my direct dealings with senior Soviet authorities in the campaign to free Soviet Jewry, which was the central focus of my public life for many years. I have no doubt that both in the Ukraine and Russia, a substantial proportion of the population continues to hate and fear Jews.
Yet today it is almost surreal, particularly when recalling the major contribution of Soviet Jewish dissidents toward the downfall of the Evil Empire, to observe President Vladimir Putin, the authoritarian former KGB official, displaying overt friendship toward Jews and Israel.

The IDF has some very loud noisemakers for Purim

Here is how some IDF troops listen to the Megillah on Purim:

(h/t Ruchie)

If you want to drive Israel haters crazy - do something good for Israeli Arabs

Nothing gets under the skin of Israel haters more than Israel acting in ways that contradict the principle by which they live their pathetic little lives.

And when that happens, they have to twist theire brains into geometrically improbable shapes in order to pretend that Israel's actions to end discrimination are really actions to enforce discrimination.

A wonderfully convoluted post at Electronic Intifada by Yara Sa'di is today's example:

The phony pluralism of Israel’s universities

Palestinian students at Israeli universities are likely to notice an increase in the number of scholarships they can apply for in the coming months. Various websites for academic institutions will also be translated into Arabic.

These changes are the result of a government decision to allocate some $82 million over the course of six years for integrating “minorities” into the higher education system.

At first glance, it may appear that Israel has undertaken a U-turn in policy following decades of discriminatory and exclusionary practices against Palestinian students.

Yet when deeper questions are asked, it becomes obvious that whatever intentions those who drafted this policy had, standing up for the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel was not one of them.

The new policy was devised as part of a project to boost “pluralism” in Israeli universities by ensuring greater access for minorities.

The Israeli Council for Higher Education, the body behind the project, has identified the minorities targeted as “Arabs, Druze and Circassians.”

So if Israel making a serious investment to help minorities is not really to help minorities, what is it for?

Israel has realized that its policies towards Palestinians holding Israeli citizenship were having an adverse effect on its image abroad.

Ah, it is the Arab student equivalent of "pinkwashing!"

And in case you don't make that connection...

[This logic,] for example, underpins the “pinkwashing” campaigns undertaken by Israel, which depict Israel as a defender of gay rights in order to divert attention away from the occupation of Gaza and the West Bank.

Sa'di goes crazy over a little seen (and excellent) video that Israel's Council for Higher Education released last year. Thanks to her, now far more people will get to see this video showing how Israel is helping its minorities than the 150 who had seen it up until now:

The video frankly acknowledges that Israeli Arabs have a harder time than Israeli Jews to reach their academic and career goals, for various reasons, and it shows how things are changing for the better. With Israeli Arabs taking center stage.

Isn't that horrible? They must all be brainwashed by the Zionist propaganda machine!

Not only that, but the video is guilty in "its refusal to acknowledge that Palestinian citizens of Israel live under a system of apartheid." It's also guilty of not acknowledging that the Earth is flat.

Of course, being Electronic Intifada, it takes as a given that Israel institutionalizes racism at all levels, and the many other initiatives being done to improve Arab education and career growth are ignored. Because they don't fit the narrative. When the evidence becomes too overwhelming, then they are dismissed as mere public relations - PR that costs tens of millions of dollars and directs hundreds of people to act towards a goal of eliminating discrimination. Yeah, that makes sense!

Sa'di ends off with:

So long as Israeli universities remain committed to Zionism, no amount of money will lead them to become “pluralist.”

So unless Israel dismantles itself, it has no right to help Arabs, because that help doesn't really help.

Sa'di proves that she is the one who is bigoted against Arabs, not Israel.

For bigots like Sa'di, it is better that Arabs don't have any opportunities to improve their lives rather than work within a system that she believes is immoral to begin with.

Israel helping Arabs is immoral because it makes the Arabs less miserable and less likely to spend their entire lives with the same hate that she has.

This is the same racist logic that says that Palestinian Arabs in Arab countries must remain in misery as long as Israel exists, so they can be pointed at to prove Israel is at fault.

And Yara Sa'di is a "postgraduate student and activist from Haifa." Yet seeing other Israeli Arabs trying to reach new heights in this video fills her with anger and bile.

If that isn't bigotry, what is?

03/17 Links Pt1: Why Abbas thinks Jewish state is a ‘delusional myth’; Saudi Cleric Bans Buffets

From Ian:

PMW: Why Abbas thinks Jewish state is a ‘delusional myth’

Abbas’s denial of Jewish history and refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state are the ideological foundations for the PA teachings that the existence of the State of Israel constitutes a theft by “Zionist gangs” and that Israel’s existence is temporary. This is not PLO rhetoric from the pre-Oslo days. This is current PA education and indoctrination and remains a most severe impediment to a genuine peace process.
Netanyahu’s demand and the PA’s refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state are clearly not just a quibble over semantics, and Netanyahu’s demand is in fact a minimalist request. Any PA recognition – if it is to impact at all on peace – must include recognition that Israel is the continuation of thousands of years of Jewish history and therefore Israel has a right to exist. Furthermore, in order for these declarations to be more than mere embellishments to yet another insincere agreement, they must be immediately integrated into PA children’s education and public discourse. Without this, Abbas’ recognition of the Jewish state would be like Arafat’s recognition of Israel in 1993: a meaningless ornament to a deceptive peace process that is cited regularly by the PA to create a façade of sincerity.
PA public recognition and education of its citizens to see Israel as a Jewish state with a history and right to exist are absolute necessities if there is ever to be a Palestinian population that accepts Israel as a neighbor and truly seeks peace. For now, while Abbas’ recognition on the diplomatic level would certainly not be enough to affect this change, it is nonetheless a necessary first step in the right direction. (h/t Elder of Lobby)

Abbas defined Jewish history in Jerusalem as a "delusional myth"

Amb. Alan Baker: Arafat and the Jewish State: Setting the Record Straight

Kerry opined that he views Israel’s position “as a mistake,” considering that the “Jewish State” issue was “sufficiently addressed by UN General Assembly Resolution 181 of 1947, which recommended the establishment of independent Arab and Jewish states in Palestine.”1 He said there are “more than 30–40 mentions of a ‘Jewish state’” in the resolution, and added that the late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat “confirmed that he agreed it [Israel] would be a Jewish state” in 1988 and in 2004.
It would appear that once again, as with previous one-sided and pre-judgmental statements, Secretary Kerry has either been ill-advised or is deliberately engaged in an effort to neutralize the “Jewish State” issue in the current negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. He is doing so by attempting to determine that the question of Palestinian support for a Jewish state was already resolved by PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 1988, and is therefore redundant and unnecessary.

The debate is about our right to exist

This is what you found? A murmured response to the question by PLO leader Yasser Arafat in 1988, and an additional hum directed toward Haaretz journalists? And after this, they'll be angry that people talk about U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in terms of messianic obsession.
Why should it be necessary to search high and low for Palestinian recognition of a Jewish state? Because there is none. One can read the declarations of the Palestinian Authority and its leaders over the past 20 years. Indeed, opposing recognition of Israel as the national home of the Jewish people is more important to the Palestinians than land, since this is the true heart of the conflict, rather than the other territorial nonsense that the Left has been selling for years. It's not about territory and not about settlements and not about refugee rights, not at all. (h/t Bob Knot)

Are the Palestinians Prepared for Peace?

The Israelis remain hesitant and with good reason. It is unclear how long Mahmoud Abbas will remain in office; his presidency may easily be ended by a coup that will extend Hamas's power from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank.
Unfortunately, whenever Mahmoud Abbas speaks he contradicts himself, increasing Israel's reservations. The Palestinians are brainwashing the younger generation with hatred and hostility, and preparing them for continuing the conflict. We all understand Abbas's manipulations: talk about peace and prepare the Palestinians for the next war with Israel.

Starvation death toll in Yarmouk is up to 133

According to the Action Group for Palestinians in Syria, the only organization that keeps track of these things, an elderly man starved to death this morning. This brings the number of people who died of starvation to 133, This was quoted in Palestine Today.

They also reported unconfirmed reports that food would be allowed in today.

The Gaza "siege" is around 8 years old now, and not one person has starved to death. But in a measly 9 months of the Syrian siege of far fewer Palestinian Arabs in Yarmouk, 133 have starved to death.

It's almost as if language itself is being manipulated to make Israel look bad.

But how can that be? If people were deliberately misusing words and phrases like "starvation," "apartheid," "siege," "concentration camp," "international law," "occupation," "war crimes" and others, just to demonize the Jewish state, wouldn't someone have noticed it by now?

Yet when there are documented cases of horrors committed against Palestinian Arabs by other Arabs, cases that dwarf the worst that anyone can say about Israel in their wildest dreams, they don't get one percent of the coverage that Israeli actions do.

I'm sure there is a good explanation for this wild inconsistency. Let me think....Ah, I think I got it. Syria is acting in partnership with Israel to distract the world from Zionist crimes and the media has caught on to this trick and is therefore downplaying Syrian "massacre-washing" and "starvation-washing" because it is really Israel behind everything Assad is doing (except when Israel is behind what the rebels are doing.)

Whew. It all makes sense again. Now we can justify ignoring Syrian actions, because they only make Israel look good by comparison, and to many "pro-Palestinians,:" that is the real crime.

Unity! Hamas arrests Abbas supporters in Gaza

As Mahmoud Abbas prepares to meet with President Obama today, his party is organizing rallies to make it look as if he has widespread support at home.

Here is the only photo I could find of one of these rallies, in Jenin, from the official WAFA news agency. It doesn't look very impressive:

Note the maps of "Palestine" in the banner.

They did a little better in the rallies in Tulkarem and Ramallah.

Fatah tried to put together a demonstration in Gaza as well, but their friends in Hamas didn't take too kindly to the idea. Reports say that "Hamas police severely beat members of Fatah and they confiscated pictures of President Mahmoud Abbas and the flags of Palestine and the Fatah movement." A number of men were arrested and supposedly some women were assaulted as well.

Also in Gaza, Fatah members were fighting - other Fatah members. Supporters of Mahmoud Abbas and supporters of Mohammed Dahlan clashed at Al Azhar, each burning photos of the others' heroes. Police had to intervene.

We've seen rallies of support for Hamas and Islamic Jihad, and they typically get tens of thousands of people. Fatah rallies rarely get those sorts of numbers.And you know that the people attending are government workers who are gently encouraged to attend - no one is taking off of work for a fake show of support for Abbas.

Someone should see how many Sodastream employees took the day off to attend one of these rallies!

Egyptian Israelophile arrested for "spying"

YNet reports:

Security forces in the city of Suhaj in southern Egypt arrested a 24-year-old man who was corresponding with an Israeli citizen on Facebook, al-Youm al-Sabaa reported on Sunday.

The man is suspected of adding "Israeli pages" to his account, such as pages about the Mossad and the IDF Spokesman.

The man also allegedly criticized Egypt and attempted to travel to Israel through Sudan.

The paper also reported that the man has a Star of David tattoo on his arm, and that a search of his home uncovered a Hebrew-Arabic dictionary.

According to the report, the man reached the Israeli embassy in Cairo in an attempt to get a visa to Israel, claiming he wants to visit Jerusalem, but was unsuccessful.

Egyptian media are of course covering the story. His name is Shenouda Ashraf Sobhy Zekry. Here is his tattoo (UPDATE: No, this photo is from a 2011 story. Egyptian media quality shines through. H/t Bob K)

According to the Egyptian reports, he met an Israeli girl named "Nicolas"(?) in Sharm el-Sheikh, slept with her, she paid him $150 and then he turned into a fan of Israel.

He started a Yahoo account called ISRAEELLOVE579@YAHOO.com and tried to find Israelis to correspond with.

Zekry is charged with "collaborating with the state of Israel in order to damage the status of Egypt's military, political, diplomatic and economic situation, as well as acceptance of money from a foreign state for the purpose of committing an act detrimental to the national interest of the country, have also been a prosecutor charges correspondence with a foreign country in order to share secrets about the defense of the country." He is in jail for 15 days while they find more "crimes" to pin on him.

Sounds just like the Mossad, doesn't it?

The lies about the "Palestinian footballers" (updated)

Bob Knot in the comments has a tour de force of investigative journalism that destroys the recent libel claiming that Israeli troops fired on the feet of "Palestinian football players" and exposes the people using that incident to disqualify Israel from FIFA as liars. Here I reproduce the comment as a single post.

I found the news about the two young “Palestinian” footballers that were shot by Israeli border police and the growing demands to ban Israel from International competitions upsetting. I know that Zionists “control the world” and all that; there is nothing really to fear, but still, I had to dig up information on the incident.

It would seem that the anti-Zionist Jew-hating camp never miss an opportunity to demonize and smear Israel .

Dusty of Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers wrote about this new libel here and so did Edgar of Confronting anti-Semitism and Israel hatred on his blog here . Unfortunately, it is not enough.

There are now many calls for the expulsion of Israel from FIFA.

A quick note first and then on with the findings; there was one detail that both Dusty and Edgar were incorrect about in otherwise excellent articles: the two “Palestinian” boys were first treated for their injuries in Hadassah Hospital and were released after four days. Their families checked them then in into a medical facility in Ramallah to be later transferred to King Hussein Medical Center in Amman.

Conflicting reports

The Arabic media first reported on this shooting incident two days after it took place and only after a lawyer for the “Palestinian Ministry of Detainees” got involved. Now, as is often the case in the “Palestinian” world of distortions and lies, there are several conflicting reports on this incident , all disregarding the Israeli Border Police statement .

Notice how Ma’an published two different versions:

“Adam Abd al-Rouf Jamous, 17, and Jawhar Nasser al-Din Halbieh, 19, were mauled by police dogs after Israeli forces opened fire on them without warning near al-Zayyem checkpoint near Abu Dis east of Jerusalem on January 30, Barghouth said.
The pair were visiting a friend's home nearby when Border Police suddenly opened fire in their direction before siccing the dogs on them.” (Ma’an News Agency, Saturday 01/02/2014 (updated) 03/02/2014 10:19, emphasis added)

And then…

“Jawhar Nasser Jawhar, 19, and Adam Abd al-Raouf Halabiya, 17, were shot by Israeli soldiers as they were walking home from a training session in the Faisal al-Husseini Stadium in al-Ram in the central West Bank on Jan. 31.” (Ma’an News Agency, Published Friday 14/02/2014 (updated) 16/02/2014 11:54, emphasis added)

Questions

Did the incident take place on the 30th or on the 31st of January?

Were the two visiting a friend’s home as initially reported or were they returning home from training?

Does the Abu Dis Youth Club train in Al-Ram?

Was there actually a training session in the Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium on the 3oth?

Did the two attend one? How about the 31st or were they in the hospital already?

What about the cigarettes story, why was it changed?

Why did Ma’an publish a different version ten days after the first one?

Just look at this map , it is practically unlikely that they traveled from Al-Ram to Abu Dis at night.

The many open questions and holes in the news reports should cast serious doubts about the validity of the “Palestinian” version. Any serious journalist would have looked into the circumstances that led to the boys’ injuries, verify the information, and only then publish the story. That is apparently not the way people that are out to demonize Israel work. Let’s face it; facts are irrelevant, a little research and integrity are not required when the ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel.

Love of the game

The Nation, Mondoweiss, and others based their libel and calls for FIFA to kick out Israel on the latest Ma’an article because racism and violence have no place in football. Thumbs up for that, Israelis believe the same; let’s find out more about these two young, innocent, “footballers”, their club, and what does their “training” entail?

Player Joher Naser , club
The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP)

(more after the break)

A 2-year old dies from a Gaza rocket explosion

Last week I mentioned a "work accident" that killed 4 Hamas terrorists in Beit Hanoun, and injured several others, in a family house. (Some sources say three were killed.)

Today, a 2-year old child who was injured in the explosion died. he was named Mohammed al-Hamadin, the same name as one of the Hamas members who was killed, and the house was owned by that family.

According to that article, the terrorists were working on building rockets in their house when it blew up on them.

A 62-year old woman also died last Friday from a separate blast with unknown origins in Beit Hanoun the day before.

PCHR used to keep track of the people killed in "work accidents," "internal explosions" and the like. They hardly do that any more. They did not report about either of these. The Al Mezan Center for Human Rights likewise has ignored deaths of Arabs because of Palestinian Arab terror groups.

Which is funny for organizations that pretend to care about "human rights." Apparently, even they believe that only Arabs killed by Israelis deserve "human rights;" those killed by Arabs are just irritating distractions from the important news.

(h/t Yenta)

Gershon Rosenzweig's "Tractate Amerika"

If you take your Jewish humor seriously, this year is the 100th anniversary of the death of Gershon Rosenzweig - an almost forgotten yet brilliant satirist whose crowning work was a parody of the Talmud called Masekhet Amerika (Tractate America), of the Yankai Talmud, published in 1891.

Rosenzweig uses his "Talmud" to make a biting commentary on the hard times that Jewish immigrants had to make ends meet. He discusses all aspects of American labor issues at the time, including strikes, "scabs" and mistreatment of workers. (His mention of "scabs" in the context of labor actually refers to a Talmudic page where it talks about real scabs.)

In this first page he describes America as a place where thieves, murderers and other criminals can go to start with a clean slate, saying that the word "America" is derived from "memarekes" (cleansing), it cleanses the sins of the people who immigrate there.

Another section makes fun of those who disdainfully wear top hats to feel like they are better than others.

If you are interested in some exhaustingly scholarly analysis of Rosenzweig's brilliance, check out these two recent papers by Ephraim Nissan, here and here. Unfortunately they are so scholarly as to drain most of the humor from his work, but Purim is still a good time to recall Gershon Rosensweig.

03/16 Links: Johansson hails SodaStream as a ‘model’; Eight Crucial Questions for Abbas

From Ian:

Johansson hails SodaStream as a ‘model,’ slams politicized Oxfam

Johansson was vigorous in her response, however. “I stand behind that decision. I was aware of that particular factory before I signed it.”
“Really?” the interviewer interjected, apparently surprised or disbelieving.
“Yes, and… it still doesn’t seem like a problem,” Johansson said. “Until someone has a solution to the closing of that factory to leaving all those people destitute, that doesn’t seem like the solution to the problem.”
When the interviewer then put it to her that “the international community says that the settlements are illegal and shouldn’t be there,” Johansson said: “I think that’s something that’s very easily debatable. In that case, I was literally plunged into a conversation that’s way grander and larger than this one particular issue. And there’s no right side or wrong side leaning on this issue.”

Eight Crucial Questions for Abbas (and One for President Obama)

There seems to be a double-standard when it comes to how Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the Palestinian Authority's erstwhile President, Mahmoud Abbas -- now in the tenth year of his four-year term -- are treated by the Obama White House, as well as by many journalists. While Netanyahu is humiliated, insulted, threatened, and told that he must make "painful concessions" for peace, such as releasing more than 100 terrorists merely to get the Palestinians to come to a negotiating table, Abbas – a facilitator and supporter of these terrorists – is treated with kid gloves, and with Obama virtually begging him to visit.

Eugene Kontorovich; "Israel's Borders in International Law"

Kerry frustrated at peace framework between Jews and Amalekites in Persian Empire

Achashtranim News Sevice (ANS) SHUSHAN - Secretary of State John Kerry is preparing to return to the Persian Empire to defuse the escalating tensions between the Jews and the Amalekites in that Middle Eastern kingdom.

Secretary Kerry thought that he had a framework agreement hammered out between the two parties, including that Jews should be allowed to live "freely and peacefully in the Empire." But Parshandata, spokesman for the Amalekites, refused this condition, saying "International law is on our side."

"The King specifically passed a decree saying, and I quote, 'to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey.' The UN and international laws upholds the right of kingdoms to make up their own decrees and to enforce them, This is a local Persian issue and there is no reason for Secretary Kerry to get involved."

Mordechai, a Jewish activist from Shushan, disagrees. "The Amalekites and Agagites are suggesting no less than genocide against an entire people," he said, as he led a small protest outside the King's gates wearing sackcloth and ashes in a media stunt..

Parshandata vehemently denies Mordechai's statement. "There is no such thing as a Jewish people. The idea of Jewish peoplehood is incompatible with the facts of history. They are nothing but criminals, and they have no right to live freely and peacefully."

Mordechai, the Jewish leader, continues to insist this language be included.

Aridata, an Agagite leader and head of the "Brutally Decapitate Semites" (BDS) movement, charged that the Jews were poised to take over the entire kingdom and must be utterly destroyed. While sharpening his sword, he stated, "They already illegally occupy the capital, and many other cities and villages have gathering places where they get together and scheme to dominate everyone else. I hear rumors that there is a Monica Lewinsky situation going on in the King's palace itself, and that the king is being held hostage by a Jewish woman who is blackmailing him!"

Secretary Kerry, not wanting to upset either of the parties in this delicate time for negotiations, and showing frustration that his plan could unravel without an agreement, backtracked on the "live freely and peacefully" condition. He told Congress this week that insisting on the "freely and peacefully" language would be a "mistake for some people to be, you know, raising it again and again as the critical decider." However, in a move that may upset the Amalekites, Kerry insisted that the United States does not want to see the Jews "perish" on the 13th of Adar. "We would strongly protest any mass murder, if it comes to that," Kerry said.

Amnesty International refused to take any sides in the matter. Deborah Hyams, Amnesty researcher on Middle East issues, said, "We are of course against genocide, but the Amalekites have a point when they say that Jews are not a people and killing them all would not constitute 'genocide'. Also, the language of the decree does not sanction mass murder explicitly, but only 'to cause to perish,' which may mean to allow Jews to have the human rights to kill themselves if they so choose.

"We have more important issues to deal with, such as the illegal building of Jewish homes in Judea by the minority who remain there illegally after their alleged Temple was destroyed."

(expanded from an idea by Soccer Dad with his permission)

The Na-Nachs (video)

From NPR:

Natan Gabbay takes a gulp of clear liquor and warms up on his shofar, the ram's horn trumpet that is sacred in Judaism. He's a member of a whimsical Orthodox sect known as Na Nach. Tonight, about a dozen Na Nachs have been hired as an entertainment act for a fancy wedding outside Tel Aviv. It's a surprise — the guests have no idea what's in store for them.

"We barge in, all of us together, and start to dance with them," Gabbay says. "The people in the wedding will see a different kind of happiness. This is happiness with holiness, together."

They slip the DJ a special CD of their music. Suddenly, a dozen young men with big beards, stiff dress clothes and long, curling sidelocks rush the dance floor.

Electronic dance tracks begin to pump from the speakers, and the Na Nachs jump around like teenagers at a music festival. With heavy bass drums and hard-edged synthesizers, the soundtrack isn't much different from those of the wild trance parties Israel is famous for — save for the lyrics, which all concern God and the Torah. The religious themes don't stop the secular wedding guests from joining in and having a good time. After 15 minutes, the Na Nachs rush out as suddenly as they came, leaving big grins on everyone's faces.

Na Nachs make merry at weddings for money, but they're more than a novelty act. They're a growing religious movement with a distinct vision of ultra-Orthodox Judaism.

Na Nach took off about 30 years ago as a countercultural offshoot of the Breslovers, a Hasidic sect that follows the mystical writings of 19th-century Ukrainian rabbi Nachman of Breslov. Their central belief is that happiness is key to a rich relationship with God, and that it's their spiritual duty — a mitzvah — to spread that happiness to others.

"Rabbi Nachman says that when you're happy, you keep the Torah better," says Zohar Ginsberg, a 24-year-old member of the sect. "So you have to do whatever you can to be happy. Dance. Sing. Jokes. Nonsense."

For the Na Nachs, dancing to electronic music is actually a matter of the soul. That appealed to Ginsberg: He grew up in a religious family, but found himself slipping away from Judaism as a teenager. When he came across Nachman's teachings, it was a revelation.

"You have to find a way to connect with love," Ginsberg says, "not to feel like it's just a bunch of rules that you do and it makes your life better. You want to feel like it's something that gives you liveliness and happiness."

In a sense, the Na Nach are very traditional. They keep strict religious rules about diet and modesty, for example. But in most other ways, their religious style diverges from other Hasidic groups. Shaul Magid, a scholar of Hasidic Judaism from the University of Indiana, says while most Orthodox movements focus on reading and studying, the Na Nachs are more interested in having intense, personal and ecstatic experiences with God.

"Prayer, joy, celebration: This becomes the core of religious living for the Na Nach," Magid says.

The Na Nachs' interest in dancing and ecstatic experiences leads Magid to compare them to another subculture: ravers.

"Rave culture is very big in Israel," Magid says. "And in some way the Na Nach people are replicating a particular certain kind of rave culture within the norms of ultra-Orthodox Judaism."

The group has attracted lots of younger Israelis who grew up in secular families and find themselves interested in Orthodox Judaism. In fact, many of them are former ravers who decided to trade in the party life for a more spiritual lifestyle.

Those rave culture roots show themselves in the Na Nachs' famous joyrides that happen every week in cities all over Israel. A few days after the wedding, Zohar Ginsberg and his buddies pile into a colorful van covered in stickers and drive through Jerusalem's curvy streets, blasting music from a speaker system strapped to the roof. They play house and trance music, but also Torah-themed reggae, rock and even mizrahi ("Eastern" pop).

"Hopefully people will get a little happy when we pass by," Ginsberg says, "and they'll get the light of Rabbi Nachman."

At red lights, the Na Nachs jump out and dance around in the intersections, bringing an instant, religious-tinged rave party wherever they go. What's more remarkable is what happens next: Some pedestrians drop whatever they are doing for a few moments and dance along.

"I just felt acceptance and welcoming. And love," says Gabriella Wernick, a passerby who found the good vibes to be contagious.

Secular Jews like Wernick often like the Na Nachs. Magid thinks that's extraordinary when you consider that tensions are high between secular and religious Israelis.

"The Na Nachs are really just interested in proselytizing joy," Magid says. "So in that sense, they're really a breath of fresh air for a lot of the secular Jews. They allow for a certain kind of exposure to traditional Judaism that secular Jews would never have because they would never have that sort of contact with the ultra-Orthodox community."

(h/t Zvi)

Last week's escalation with Islamic Jihad saying it shot 130 rockets at Israel (about 60 seem to have landed) continue to have reverberations, as the terror group continues to use it to buttress its image in Gaza.

An article in its newspaper Palestine Today interviews the closest thing Palestinian Arabs have to royalty - the families of "martyrs." Those families, especially the mothers, are said to have been ecstatic at the volley of rockets.

The mother of the martyr Abu Muammar confirmed for Palestine Today that from the first moment of the death of her son, Abdel Shafi decided to sit alone, especially since her husband died a short while ago, and she said: "I sat in the room and only looked at the picture of Abdel-Shafi and to the image of his father... and feeling very sad at their passing. "

Um Omar said "I was crying so much on losing him, but I feel proud of the martyrdom of Abdul-Shafi..."

She said that her tears dried up after she heard the sound that one always wishes to hear to deter the Israeli occupation, when the Al-Quds Brigades launched the process of "Breaking the Silence" with dozens of rockets and missiles, saying: "I felt great joy because the blood of my son was the fuel for resistance that ignited Champions of Saraya in the operation that was long-awaited by Mothers of martyrs. "

And the mother of the martyr Abdel-Shafi gave thanks and appreciation to the heroes of Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of Islamic Jihad, headed by the Secretary General of the Movement, Dr. Ramadan Abdullah Shallah...

The brother of another "martyr" was quoted as saying "We are very proud of the heroes of the resistance in Gaza which helps our heads to be raised high and heals our hearts, assured that the operation of "breaking the silence" will put an end to the Zionist enemy and confirming that our people are not afraid and alone, but the Zionists are shivering in horror of missiles of the Al-Quds Brigades."

This micro-war will help Islamic Jihad recruit hundreds of new potential "martyrs."

Meanwhile, Hamas is trying to remain relevant to the bloodthirsty demographic of Gaza by trying to bask in reflected glory:

Head of the political bureau of Hamas movement Khaled Mishaal said that the Gaza Strip was always targeted but will always adhere to the option of resistance.

Mishaal stressed that all the Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, 1948 territories and in the Diaspora have always been ready to make sacrifices to protect their country and are committed to the strategy of resistance as the only option to defend their cause.

He said on Friday evening in Qatar that his movement and all the resistance factions will not stop the resistance until liberating all of Palestine and al-Aqsa Mosque, achieving the right of return and freeing all the prisoners from the Israeli jails.

The Hamas leader has also hailed Qatar's leadership and people for their continued support for Palestine and the people of Gaza.

Islamic Jihad has now eclipsed Hamas as the ideological leader of Gaza.

Which is reason #9345 that peace is impossible.

List of most popular and notable EoZ videos

Here are all the videos I have made that have over 10,000 views that I am aware of, in order of most popular:

Title	Views		Category	Type
Disgusting Turkish shampoo commercial starring Hitler	233000	-	Original	News
"Peace activists" stabbing IDF soldier	188000	-	Recopy	News
The Humanitarian Crisis of the Gaza Mall	98000	-	Original	Humor
"Peace activists" on Mavi Marmara attacking with metal batons	44500	-	Recopy	News
Cute Arab kid hugs an Israeli soldier who is giving him food	46000	-	Recopy	News
Women fight on Egyptian cooking show	35000	-	Recopy	Offbeat
A tour of the main Belzer Synagogue in Jerusalem	35000	-	Original	Education
Hamas throwing Fatah member off roof in Gaza	29000	-	Recopy	News
Two minutes on the Land of Israel	28000	-	Translation	Education
Iranian video simulating a nuclear attack on Israel	21000	-	Recopy	News
BDS Professor at Penn explains how to teach anti-Israel propagand	13700	-	Original	Hate
Egyptian sore loser refuses to shake hands with Israeli at judo match	13500	-	Recopy	News
Saturday's Hunter anti-semitic Iranian film trailer	13000	-	Recopy	Hate
Ahmed, the Palestinian burning- flag salesman	12500	-	Translation	Humor
How Will He Die? - Hamas mascot death watch	12000	-	Original	Humor
Hamas imam says "KIll all the Jews"	11300	-	Recopy	Hate
Rachel Corrie - the song parody	10000	-	Original	Humor

A large percentage received lots of hits because they were topical; I would grab a video from a news source and upload it to YouTube so everyone could see it. Some of my original pieces did quite well, though.

Here are some of my more notable videos that did not reach the 10,000 hit mark yet - but should. (I had to guess on the numbers for some old videos that had been lost when my original YouTube account went away.)

Anti-Israel, anti-semitic Arab cartoons on the eve of the Six Day War	8200	-	Original	Hate
Hello Martyr, hello Fatah	6500	-	Original	Humor
The truth about Christians in Bethlehem	6500	-	Modified	Education
"Peace" - Palestinian style	5500	-	Original	Education
Save the Gazans	5000	-	Original	Humor
If Israel made cheesy Hamas-style videos....	4000	-	Original	Humor
The horror of Palestinian Arab refugee camps	4000	-	Modified	Education
Weeds	4000	-	Original	Education
Jerusalem in Jewish and Islamic culture	4000	-	Original	Education
PaHamas Pajamas!	4000	-	Original	Humor
Gettin' Mighty Crowded	4000	-	Original	Humor
"Civilians"	3400	-	Original	Education
What would a Palestinian State mean?	3000	-	Original	Education
Nothing's Changed: Arab/Israeli Conflict as seen in 1956	2000	-	Original	Education