Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, September 02, 2014

"Cultural genocide" alert: Ali Abunimah accuses NYT of couscous-washing! Tzipi Livni dances the "Dabke!" (video)

Ali Abunimah, founder of Electronic Intifada whose ridiculous pro-terror tweets during the war have shown the world that he is firmly against human rights, was very upset at the New York Times on Sunday. After a food writer published a recipe that involved "Israeli couscous," Abunimah tweeted:

.@martharshulman By calling maftoul "Israeli couscous" you participate in Israel's ethnic and cultural cleansing of Palestine of its people.
— Ali Abunimah (@AliAbunimah) September 1, 2014

Only one problem: What people call "Israeli couscous," which is called "ptitim" in Israel, is not maftoul. It is not even couscous! And it is very Israeli:

"Ptitim" was invented during the austerity period in Israel (from 1949 to 1959).[1] Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, asked Eugen Proper, one of the founders of the Osem food company, to quickly devise a wheat-based substitute to rice.[1] Consequently, it was nicknamed "Ben-Gurion's rice" by the people.[1] The company took up the challenge and developed ptitim, which is made of hard wheat flour and roasted in an oven.[1] The product was instantly a success, after which ptitim made in the shape of small, dense balls (which the company termed "couscous") was added to the original rice-shaped ptitim.

Abunimah doesn't even know the cuisine of his own supposed people!

Meanwhile, Arabic sites are buzzing about another terrible appropriation of "Palestinian" culture - the "Dabke" dance - by Tzipi Livni, who attended a wedding in a Galilee village and danced with the bride:

The Arabs are complaining that it is inappropriate for Livni to ever be happy for any reason whatsoever when Israel has attacked Arabs who were firing rockets at it.

09/02 Links Pt2: Holocaust deniers in B'Tselem; The Twitter Hypocrisy of Kenneth Roth

From Ian:

Ben-Dror Yemini: Holocaust deniers in B'Tselem

B'Tselem is the main supplier of factual background material thanks to researcher Atef Abu a-Rub who is also a Holocaust denier. The man is responsible for dozens of "researches" and reports about the Israeli abuse in the territories. He is so good at his job that when foreign reporters calls B'Tselem to visit the territories, it is Abu a-Rub who is sent to serve as their tour guide and shows them the area through his eyes.
Member of B'Tselem public council Hussein Abu Hussein described Israel as a "big monster that attacks us on a daily basis and nibbles through our flesh… we all feel like crushing its head, but just talking will not help, therefore everyone has a role. Atef Abu a-Rub has a role. He is responsible for a flowing supply of "information" to describe Israel as a monster.
How much Abu a-Rub's information is worth? According to him, the mountains adjacent to the Jordan Valley used to be green until the Jews came and stole the water beneath them. In addition those Jews "kill dozens in their sleep and tell everyone it's because of the resistance". But the Jews, he said, manage to hide their evil deeds because they have a strong media. Yes, that is the man's opinions and the world is fed with B'Tselem "researches".
This diabolic propaganda is fascinating, because it succeeds in turning the tables. Holocaust surviving Jews become part of Hamas' propaganda mechanism that wishes to continue the work of those who were engaging in extermination of the Jewish people. Abu a-Rub and other "human rights" activists like him, succeed in creating one of the biggest scams of recent decades.

The Twitter Hypocrisy of Kenneth Roth

What is going on here?
For several years now, critics of Human Rights Watch—including the organization’s co-founder and chairman emeritus, Robert Bernstein—have pointed out that it directs a disproportionate amount of critical attention to Israel, a country that, unlike most others in the Middle East, has a large and flourishing civil society and human-rights sector of its own. HRW has usually batted away that claim by pointing out that other countries in the Middle East have been the subjects of as many or more HRW “reports.” This is a disingenuous response, because the overall amount of material put out on Israel, measured by words and pages, is strikingly out of balance and because HRW’s reports on Israel are uniquely accompanied in almost every case by high-profile press releases and press conferences. As its executive director, Roth has devoted much of his letter writing and public work to alleged Israeli crimes, to the exclusion of other matters. And he has taken his conduct to Twitter.
It is not only the frequency of his Israel-related tweets that leaves little doubt that the Jewish state occupies a special, preeminent place in Roth’s pantheon of villains. It’s also what he chose to tweet. He jumped on any and every critical piece in the papers. Moreover, the sneering tone of many of his tweets rather undermines his claim that he has no special animus against Israel and was just giving that human rights–abusing, international law–breaking country the critical scrutiny that it so obviously deserve.Roth’s pleasure was apparent when he tweeted a New York magazine blog post that claimed that an Israeli spokesman had admitted that the kidnapping of three Israeli boys that ignited the current fighting had not been perpetrated by Hamas: “Remember when #Israel insisted Hamas was behind kidnap-murder of three West Bank teens. Oops, turns out it wasn’t.” That article and its claim were later discredited; Roth did not see fit to tweet that correction of fact.

UN Watch: Richard Falk: UN Watch harmed my academic career

Richard Falk, the infamous 9/11 Truther and author of the New York Times 1979 classic op-ed “Trusting Khomeini,” has not received a moment of our attention since his 6-year term as the UNHRC’s special investigator of “Israel’s violations of the bases and principles of international law” expired, at long last, in June of this year.
Yet the former committee member of Human Rights Watch, expelled by Ken Roth 24 hours after we protested his role at the global NGO, continues to evince a profound bitterness to UN Watch, the only human rights group at the United Nations that dared to expose his toxic mix of pro-Hamas appeasement, anti-Western invective, support for 9/11 conspiracy theorists and demonization of Israel.
Our allies in condemning Falk’s poison included UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the U.S., the UK, Canada — and the Palestinian Authority, which famously tried to fire him. For a glimpse into Falk’s numerous statements supporting terrorism against America, the West and Israel, click here.
While we stopped watching him after he left the UN, it seems the man is bitter. Here is Falk’s latest tirade against UN Watch, from his essay yesterday on the alleged misuses of anti-Semitism:

An Insider’s Guide to the Most Important Story on Earth Dennis Prager Matti Friedman

Obama's Curious Rage (Bret Stephens)

From Bret Stephens in WSJ:

Barack Obama "has become 'enraged' at the Israeli government, both for its actions and for its treatment of his chief diplomat, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. " So reports the Jerusalem Post, based on the testimony of Martin Indyk, until recently a special Middle East envoy for the president. The war in Gaza, Mr. Indyk adds, has had "a very negative impact" on Jerusalem's relations with Washington.

Think about this. Enraged. Not "alarmed" or "concerned" or "irritated" or even "angered." Anger is a feeling. Rage is a frenzy. Anger passes. Rage feeds on itself. Anger is specific. Rage is obsessional, neurotic.

And Mr. Obama—No Drama Obama, the president who prides himself on his cool, a man whose emotional detachment is said to explain his intellectual strength—is enraged. With Israel. Which has just been hit by several thousand unguided rockets and 30-odd terror tunnels, a 50-day war, the forced closure of its one major airport, accusations of "genocide" by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, anti-Semitic protests throughout Europe, general condemnation across the world. This is the country that is the object of the president's rage.

Think about this some more. In the summer in which Mr. Obama became "enraged" with Israel, Islamic State terrorists seized Mosul and massacred Shiite soldiers in open pits, Russian separatists shot down a civilian jetliner, Hamas executed 18 "collaborators" in broad daylight, Bashar Assad's forces in Syria came close to encircling Aleppo with the aim of starving the city into submission, a brave American journalist had his throat slit on YouTube by a British jihadist, Russian troops openly invaded Ukraine, and Chinese jets harassed U.S. surveillance planes over international waters.

Mr. Obama or his administration responded to these events with varying degrees of concern, censure and indignation. But rage?

...
Now think about what, specifically, has enraged the president about Israel's behavior. "Its actions and its treatment of his chief diplomat."

Actions? Hamas began firing rockets at Israel in June, thereby breaking the cease-fire it had agreed to at the end of the last war, in November 2012. The latest war began in earnest on July 7 when Hamas fired some 80 rockets at Israel. "No country can accept rocket fire aimed at civilians," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the next day, "and we support Israel's right to defend itself against these vicious attacks."

On July 15 Israel accepted the terms of a cease-fire crafted by Egypt. Hamas violated it by firing 50 rockets at Israel. On July 17 Israel accepted a five-hour humanitarian cease-fire. Hamas violated it again. On July 20 Israel allowed a two-hour medical window in the neighborhood of Shujaiyeh. Hamas violated it. On July 26 Hamas announced a daylong cease-fire. It then broke its own cease-fire. On July 28 Israel agreed to a cease-fire for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. The rocket attacks continued. On Aug. 1 Israel accepted a 72-hour cease-fire proposed by the U.S. Hamasviolated it within 90 minutes. On Aug. 5 Israel agreed to Egypt's terms for another three-day cease-fire. Hamas violated it several hours before it was set to expire, after Israel announced it would agree to an extension.

If Hamas had honored any of these cease-fires it could have saved Palestinian lives. It didn't. Mr. Obama is enraged—but not with Hamas.

As for Israel's supposed ill-treatment of Mr. Kerry, the president should read Ben Birnbaum's and Amir Tibon's account of his secretary's Mideast misadventures in the July 20 issue of the New Republic. It's a portrait of a diplomat with the skills and style, but not the success, of Inspector Clouseau. Mr. Obama might also read Haaretz columnist Ari Shavit's assessment of Mr. Kerry's diplomacy: "The Obama administration," he wrote in July, "proved once again that it is the best friend of its enemies, and the biggest enemy of its friends."

Both Haaretz and the New Republic are left-wing publications, sympathetic to Mr. Obama's intentions, if not his methods.

Still, the president is enraged. At Israel. What a guy.

A new poll from the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research shows that the moderate, rational Palestinian Arabs are anything but:

An overwhelming majority of 86% support the launching of rockets from the Gaza Strip at Israel if the siege and blockade are not ended.

Only 30% believe that Hamas should warn Israeli civilians in the specific targeted areas before launching its rockets; 68% believe it should not do so.

60% say that Hamas does not launch rockets from populated areas, but 30% say it does. 49% think it is justified for Hamas to launch rockets from populated areas and 46% disagree with that.

43% agrees with the statement that the inclusion of Hamas into the PLO means an implicit acceptance by Hamas of the PLO peace program and the existing agreements with Israel.

About two thirds (64%) believe that Iran, Turkey and Qatar combined have given the Gaza Strip the ability to remain steadfast against Israeli attacks and to be able to continue to launch rockets during the war; only 9% believe Egypt too has contributed to that. Iran comes on top with 28%, followed by Turkey (21%) and Qatar (15%); 25% select other countries or actors.

In an evaluation of the performance of the various Palestinian actors during the war, Prime Minister Rami al Hamdallah comes at the bottom, with 35% giving him a positive rating. The PA comes next with 36%, Abbas with 39%, the reconciliation government with 43%, and the PLO with 44%. On top comes Khalid Mish’al with 78% approval and Hamas with 88% approval. ... Khalid Mish’al’s approval rating in the Gaza Strip is 70% and is 83% in the West Bank.

If new presidential elections are held today and only two were nominated, Haniyeh, for the first time since we have started asking about his popularity about 8 years ago, would receive a majority of 61% and Abbas would receive 32%. Vote for Haniyeh stands at 53% in the Gaza Strip and 66% in the West Bank. Abbas receives 43% in the Gaza Strip and 25% in the West Bank. Two months ago, Abbas received the support of 53% in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and Haniyeh 41%.

The percentage of Gazans who say they seek immigration to other countries stands at 43%.

A majority of 53% believe that armed confrontation is the most effective means to establish a Palestinian state next to the state of Israel. Only 22% believe negotiation is the best means to establish a Palestinian state and 20% believe that popular non-violent resistance is the most effective route to statehood.

57% of the public say that they supported the June 2014 kidnapping of the three Israelis in the West Bank when that incident took place.

A majority of 54% supported the killing of the three kidnapped Israelis and 42% opposed it.

The public is divided over the identity of those who carried out the kidnapping and the killing of the three Israelis: 32% accuse Israel, 30% accuse Hamas, 21% believe a Palestinian acted on his own, and 2% accuse Fatah.

In the absence of viable negotiations, 60% support a return to an armed intifada.

Since this poll goes against the conventional wisdom, the mainstream media will ignore it.

09/02 Links Pt1: Richard Kemp: Hamas was Defeated, Can’t be Trusted; Which side is UNRWA on?

From Ian:

Military Expert: Hamas was Defeated and Can’t be Trusted, ISIS Threatens New 9/11

In an interview on Israel’s Channel One television news the former commander of British forces in Afghanistan said that Hamas was defeated during Operation Protective Edge.
The key achievement was to defeat Hamas, and that’s effectively what has happened, although Hamas, as you would expect, have had their victory celebrations and parades. Of course the truth is far different from that. …. Hamas has been defeated. They haven’t been destroyed, they haven’t been annihilated, but they’ve been defeated, in as much as they have had to accept the terms of a ceasefire, which had been offered to them right at the beginning of the conflict. So they have been responsible for perpetuating the conflict that has killed a large number of their civilian population when they could have accepted these terms before. But they’ve now been forced by Israeli military action … to stop their offensive against Israel. And of course the other achievement, as well as stopping the rockets, is the destruction of all those attack tunnels, which were designed to come in and massacre, murder, kidnap, drug Israeli citizens and to take some of them back into Gaza. So two major, major achievements.

Why Europe Must Not Be Trusted to Monitor Hamas

Hamas would likely resort to violence to thwart any attempts to disarm the group. It is therefore highly unlikely the Europeans would confront Hamas in any meaningful way.
Spanish intelligence agents met secretly with Hezbollah operatives, who agreed to provide "escorts" to protect Spanish UNIFIL patrols. The quid pro quo was that Spanish troops would look the other way while Hezbollah was allowed to rearm for its next war with Israel. Hezbollah's message to Spain was: mind your own business.
If the European experience with Hezbollah in Lebanon is any indication, not only will Hamas not be disarmed, it will be rearmed as European monitors look on and do nothing.
What is clear is that European leaders have never been committed to honoring either the letter or the spirit of UN Resolutions 1559, 1680 and 1701, all of which were aimed at preventing Hezbollah from rearming.

Elliott Abrams: Which side is UNRWA on?

Which side is UNRWA on? Its supporters would say "on the side of Palestinian ‎refugees," but instead the agency appears to be on two other sides: its own, always ‎expanding its own empire and responsibilities, and on the side of Hamas.‎
Any transition to UNHCR would need to be slow and careful, but it should begin. ‎One good way to start is to demand independent studies and planning for such a ‎step (independent because you obviously can't leave this work to UNRWA itself, nor ‎should all of it be conducted within the U.N. system). For example, a plan might start ‎in one country (such as Jordan or Lebanon) rather than in Gaza. Or it might start by ‎redefining "refugee" the normal way. The United States should begin, after a set ‎future date, to move funding from UNRWA to UNHCR. If UNRWA or the U.N. ‎refuse, so be it: let those who insist on retaining UNRWA, its pernicious definition of ‎‎"refugee," and its ties with Hamas pay the freight.‎
Such a transition will be extremely difficult and take years. That's clear -- but it's time ‎to begin. The Gaza war has illuminated once again the ways in which Hamas has ‎been acting as a parasite feeding on this U.N. agency -- to which the United States is ‎the largest donor. Time for a change.‎

We Used Palestinian Rhetoric To Express A Zionist Point Of View. You’ll Never Believe How It Turned Out

Jerusalem, September 1 – Israeli efforts to shake off the yoke of Muslim occupation of Jewish land continued today in the form of an announcement that the government intends to appropriate nearly 1,000 acres of uninhabited territory in the Etzion Bloc of communities south of Jerusalem.
The move comes after Occupation forces kidnapped and murdered several Israeli teens in July, sparking a series of violent attacks that culminated in the launching of thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians. To drive home the point that the Resistance will not be defeated by such war crimes, the government decided to initiate the largest appropriation of land in Judea and Samaria in decades.
“Our noble Resistance has shown that the anti-Zionist enemy is only thwarted by measures that demonstrate the futility of his continued attacks,” Minister of Housing Naftali Bennett. “Through farming and development we shall liberate you, Judea and Samaria,” he continued, using a common Resistance slogan.

Iranian general calls on Muslims to "remove" the US and Israel

From Iran's Fars news agency:

Commander of Iran's Basij (volunteer) force Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi described the US and the Zionists as the main stumbling block standing on the way of the Islamic civilization, and called on the world Muslims to take action to remove these barriers.

"Today, the materialization of the Islamic civilization is our great cause and the biggest obstacle standing on this path is the US and the Zionists and therefore, there needs to be a serious stream created to move and exclude this obstacle," Naqdi said, addressing Basij and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) public relations officials in Tehran on Tuesday.

He underlined that all the protest rallies which are being held in Pakistan and Yemen should change the direction of their protests from Islamabad and Sana'a to the holy Quds since the root cause of all the regional problems and divisive plots is the usurper Zionist regime, stressing that the Muslim countries can talk to each other to annihilate this regime and settle their problems.

So the Muslim world cannot become civilized as long as the US and Israel exist!

I'm sure this is just a mistranslation. After all, Iran is now the US' de facto ally in the war on Islamic terrorists. Iran now has a "moderate" president. The US is negotiating with Iran in good faith.

This must be just one big mistake.

"Human Rights" activist supports war crimes

On Sunday I revealed that three people killed in Gaza who were considered ambulance workers by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights were in fact members of the Al Quds Brigades of Islamic Jihad.

One response to my tweeting about it is quite instructive:

@elderofziyon @ngomonitor May the souls of these courageous members of Palestine Resistance rest in peace. God bless Palestine #FreeGaza
— Mary Hughes-Thompson (@Mariapalestina) September 2, 2014

Who is Mary Hughes-Thompson who considers terrorists to be "courageous members of Palestine resistance"?

She describes herself as a "Human Rights Advocate, co-founder Free Gaza Movement."

Using an ambulance with the intent to deceive an enemy is considered a particularly heinous war crime under international humanitarian law.

This means that a self-described "human rights advocate" advocates for war crimes.

I have never seen a single human rights NGO criticize the Free Gaza movement - which is an offshoot of the International Solidarity Movement - for supporting terrorism.

This is how low the "human rights' community has sunk.

How liberal! São Paulo Art Biennial dissociates itself from Israel

A followup to this story from Sunday, from Hypoallergic:

After registering objections from 61 participating artists that were supported by the entire curatorial delegation of its 31st São Paulo Biennial, the Fundaçao Bienal São Paulo has agreed to “clearly disassociate” Israeli funding from the general sponsorship of the exhibition. The agreement, announced this morning in a release from the Biennial’s objecting participants, has the Israeli consulate’s logo appended only to the presentations of the Israeli artists who received its direct financial support.

The deal was struck in negotiations with Biennial administrators last night, a source close the discussions tells Hyperallergic. The number of participant signatories to the original letter was also up to 61, from the original 55, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency wire service. The curators’ statement of support, released one day after the August 28 artists’ letter, was unanimous, though Israeli curator Oren Sagiv “stressed” to Ha’aretz “that he did not support the letter but rather the artists’ right to protest.”

The three Israeli artists with whom the sponsorship is associated are Yohai Avrahami, Leigh Orpaz, and Nurit Sharett. A fourth Israeli artist, Yael Bartana, was a signatory to the letter of protest; the other three were not. Agence France Presse reports that Israeli funding comprised approximately $40,000 of the Biennial’s $10.5 million budget.

The exhibition actually had guards stand in front of the Israeli logo to protect it from being defaced by these oh-so-progressive artists and their fans. We wouldn't want the audience to be subjected to something that is clearly too extreme for a group of people for whom placing images of religious figures in urine is already passe.

The person who spearheaded the anti-Israel campaign is Tony Chakar, a Lebanese artist. He writes about how Israel supposedly oppresses Palestinians but has not a word to say about how his own country treats Palestinians far worse than Israel could ever be accused of. He lives in a country where Palestinians are discriminated against by law, where they cannot build, buy land, work in many jobs or become citizens.

In other words, he is a typical hypocrite that naturally becomes a darling of his hypocritical friends.

The Biennial itself did not release a statement as far as I can tell, but it changed its "partners" page to delete all international partners, not just Israel.

Before:

Now:

It looks like the Brazilians are trying to give in to the demands of the artists without appearing to cave all the way. In other words, they have no principles either.

The other sponsors should be speaking up as well. Perhaps a word from Bloomberg Philanthropies can sway the Biennial organizers.

Saudi op-ed reiterates how evil Jews are

Perhaps stung by the fact that Saudi Arabia and Israel have been on the same side in many regional conflicts, the official Saudi news agency Okaz published an op-ed to ensure that Saudi readers will never think warmly of Jews.

Written by Abdullah al-Sultan, the article touches on many of the classic manifestations of Arab and Muslim antisemitism, the bigotry that no "human rights" group wants to admit exists.

Some lowlights from the article:

After World War II, the Jewish-controlled media started concentrating on making Arabs and Islam look bad.
"Much of the culture of mutilation practiced by Jews against Arabs comes through movies, books, newspapers, magazines and entertainment programs on satellite channels."
Jews ruthlessly used 9/11 to incite the West against Muslims.
Israel publishes false copies of the Kora n to make it look evil and bigoted.
Jews love to kill others and to seize their property and possessions and honor, not to mention how they are the killers of prophets.
Jews are known for breaking their covenants and conventions.
As the Koran says, Jews are in the forefront of treachery, fraud and extortion.
Jews make themselves look moral, but Judaism allows them to cheat and steal and kill with complete impunity.
This is because they think they are God's chosen people, and this makes them feel greatness and superiority over others.
In conclusion, while the Jews were able to outwit the world for a while, they will not be able to continue to do so forever.

Articles like this never have any negative repercussions. There are never any outraged letters to the editor or comments and the articles are never considered controversial in the mainstream Arabic press. When anything remotely anti-Muslim is written in Israeli newspapers there are instant condemnations from all quarters and anguished responses written to distance the responderfrom the noxious article - but in the Arab world, virulently antisemitic articles written for state media doesn't cause the slightest consternation.

In fact, if you want to make Arabs sit up and notice an article, write one that is complimentary to Jews and Judaism - and watch the outrage that results.

This simple test shows the huge difference in morality between the Arab world and Israel. In one side, hate is encouraged and co-existence is derided, and the other side is the exact opposite. But pointing out that self-evident fact is not something that the media or human rights groups are comfortable with.

So they pretend it isn't there.

09/01 Link Pt2: UK Rally against anti-Semitism; Guardian runs debunked "Jews only, red roofs" story

From Ian:

Thousands rally in London against rising anti-Semitism

A year after his gala installation as British chief rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis told a crowd of up to 4,500 that he could not have foreseen needing to rally against anti-Semitism.
In response to the rise of recorded instances of anti-Semitism in the United Kingdom, Sunday’s rally was held outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London.
“We demand zero tolerance of anti-Semitism,” Mirvis said. After the murder of the three yeshiva students in the West Bank, “little did we realize that anti-Semitism would reach high levels around the world and here in the UK as well.”
Calling for an end to all forms of prejudice including Islamophobia, Mirvis noted the “deep esteem” in which the Jewish community of Britain is held.

Douglas Murray Speaks At #NoToAntiSemitism

Diversity, hope and strength: Why I'm proud to be Israeli

I am proud to be Israeli. I'm proud that, in Israel, a bacon-eating Jew and a beer-drinking Muslim can sit in the same parliament as devout co-religionists, and everyone can speak their minds.
I'm proud that Israel, like Australia, is a place where journalists, academics and everyone else can air their grievances without fear of retribution. Oh, they might involve themselves in an argument, but they won't be gaoled or tortured or shot.
Two weeks ago in this paper, an anonymous Israeli declared shame in her citizenship. I'm proud that she has the right to do this, and can do so safely, both here and in Israel. However, her anonymity was insulting. Australia and Israel is not Gaza or Nazi Germany. Israelis and Australian Jews can, and do, criticise Israel.
Although I'm sad that it has been forced to do so, I'm really proud that Israel has invested billions of dollars on bomb shelters and air-raid sirens and radars to detect incoming rockets and missiles to shoot down those rockets, all in the name of protecting its people.
I'm proud that I could do my small part in protecting other Israelis by serving in the army. The army consists of people just like you and me; people who would prefer to start their adult life earlier, but understand the importance of defending their country. That said, I hated the idea of fighting Palestinians.

‘Anything that happens to the Jews they will exaggerate’

What do average Palestinians think about the Holocaust, if they know about it at all? Amateur Israeli filmmaker Corey Gil-Shuster, who moved to Israel from Canada 15 years ago, set out to the West Bank to find out as part of his YouTube series, “Ask an Israeli, ask a Palestinian.”
The results, unscientific though they were, weren’t especially encouraging.
There were three types of answers that surfaced during his interviews: lack of knowledge about the Holocaust, the view that the Holocaust happened but was exaggerated or is what the Israelis are doing to the Palestinians now, or the idea that Adolf Hitler was right for killing Jews.
The question “Palestinians: What do you know/think of the Holocaust?” was sent in by “Jason from Canada.” Gil-Shuster and his translator filmed on his $180 Best Buy camera mainly in Ramallah while this summer’s fighting in Gaza was still ongoing.

Palestinians: What do you know about the Holocaust?

"Moderate" PA prime minister spins a conspiracy theory

One of the things that the West simply cannot understand is that even the most "moderate" Palestinian Arabs will spout nonsense.

Rami Hamdallah is the prime minister of the PA, and formerly president of An Najah University. No one has anything bad to say about him.

But no Western media will publish the things he says that are ridiculous.

From the official PA news agency Wafa:

Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah discussed Monday with President of the Democratic Socialist Party in the European Parliament Gianni Pittella preparations for Gaza reconstruction, said the Palestinian Government Media Center in a press release.
During a meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Ramallah, Hamdallah briefed Pittella on the latest political and economic developments as well as on the preparation for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

Hamdallah confirmed that Israel is exploiting the Gaza Strip as a pretext in order to continue with its violations against the Palestinian people and prevent the establishment of an independent Palestinian state on the 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital.

The accusation is clearly insane. Israeli leaders don't sit around all day discussing pretexts for attacking Palestinian Arabs out of the blue.

But it also reveals a deep psychosis that affects Palestinian Arabs as a whole. They really think the world revolves around them. Even the most moderate, Western-educated Palestinian leader truly cannot think that Israel ever acts in self-interest, but can only believe that Israel makes all its decisions based purely on how they will affect Palestinian Arabs.

This is another facet of the narcissism of the Palestinian Arabs that we discussed recently. Even the president of a major university does not have the ability to look at the world through someone else's eyes. Everything revolves around him and his people.

PA economy in the toilet, but they will pay salaries to terrorists anyway

From Ma'an:

Palestinian Authority minister Shawqi al-Ayasa said the West Bank-Gaza unity government is working on a "deteriorating" budget after not receiving money from donors as scheduled.

"The government's budget is below zero, and it's starting to borrow from banks to move forward, because only less than third of donor funds that were scheduled to be received this year arrived," Al-Ayasa told Ma'an in a television interview.

"The US has not provided a single penny since Jan. 1, and Europe and Arab states only provided a third of what they were scheduled to give," he said.

Before the war the biggest issue between Fatah and Hamas was about salaries in Gaza. Since 2007, the PA was paying its Gaza workers to sit home and not work, as Hamas took over all the jobs. With the unity government, the PA tried to reinstate the Fatah workers and not to pay the Hamas workers who supplanted them. Hamas workers were unhappy and there were some tense scenes and violence outside Gaza banks.

So now that the PA has severe financial trouble, what is it going to do?

The Palestinian Authority will pay Hamas civil servants in Gaza on Wednesday, ending a months-long salary crisis following the announcement of a unity government.

Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouq said an agreement was reached between Hamas and PA officials on Sunday.

Yes, the cash-strapped PA will pay for double the workers that Gaza needs!

And of course the money that goes towards Hamas workers and institutions will be subject to being diverted to some other purposes.

Of course, the PA will continue to pay salaries to terrorists in prison, families of dead terrorists and to freed prisoners, since they are the top priority of the "moderate" PA government.

(h/t Yoel, even though I found it first :) )

09/01 Link Pt1: Richard Kemp: Post-war, Israel must be supported; The UN, an empty presence

From Ian:

Richard Kemp: Post-war, Israel must be supported

The US and the EU in particular, as well as regional states, should be pressuring Qatar, Turkey and Iran to end their support for Hamas.
Responsibility for reconstruction in Gaza should be removed from the UNDP and UNRWA whose work has helped further Hamas’s aims.
Internationally controlled mechanisms, approved by Israel, must be put in place to ensure that materials supplied for reconstruction are not again diverted into engines of war.
All 28 EU foreign ministers have demanded that Hamas and other Gaza terrorists disarm, and it looks likely that the US will table a UN Security Council resolution along these lines.
If the EU and the US are to be taken seriously they must consider carefully the extent of any aid provision to Gaza in the absence of compliance with their demands. Improving the lot of the Gazan people should be demonstrably linked to removal of Hamas’s terrorist capability.
Hamas’s arsenal has been seriously depleted. The international community must ensure it stays that way. As I recommended in my April paper, international military and intelligence forces should work to monitor and interdict efforts to re-supply Hamas such as we saw with the Klos C weapons shipment from Iran that was destined for Gaza earlier this year.
Israel should also be supported in its own actions to prevent terrorist attacks from Gaza. Responsible nations should accept the need for Israel to control materials coming into the Strip, and should refrain from patently false accusations of illegal blockades or an illegal occupation.
These irresponsible allegations suggest an equivalence between Israel and Hamas and encourage and legitimize terrorism.
The UN Human Rights Council’s Schabas Commission is about to commence its investigation into the Gaza conflict. This looks set to be a re-run of the now discredited Goldstone investigation into the 2008-09 conflict in Gaza. Judge Goldstone’s report – falsely accusing Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity – encouraged Hamas to continue and refine its rockets, tunnels and human shields strategy. Too many UN members supported it or abstained. Any country that does not vigorously reject a similar report by Schabas will have blood on its hands if there is another round of fighting in Gaza.

Chloe Valdary: Hamas and Hypocrites

If you come across anyone in America who calls for an end to aid to Israel for allegedly persecuting Gazans, feel free to use the below as a model response:
Notwithstanding your faulty premise, let us play along. You are American. Your tax dollars also goes to UNRWA which provides aid to Gaza all of which is pocketed by Hamas’s gang of bandits all of whom just so happen to be mostly millionaires. This money is used to maintain Hamas’s dictatorship which entails the persecution of political minorities in Gaza, the murder of gays in Gaza, the murder of so-called collaborators in Gaza, the torturing of political dissidents in Gaza, the persecution of Christians in Gaza, the teaching of martyrdom in Gaza, the conscription of 12 year olds in gaza for the sake of martyrdom, child slave labor vis-a-vis building tunnels in Gaza (wherein, according to Palestinian Arab sources, 160 children were murdered in the process) and the sanctioning of honor crimes by Hamas (and other groups) in Gaza, just to name a few. Therefore by your own standard, you must not only protest aid to Israel, you must also protest aid to Gaza since it is stolen and mismanaged (thats a nice way of putting it) by Hamas.
Moreover, these human rights abuses committed by Hamas dispels your entire premise. The idea that a blockade of Gaza which, ostensibly, persecutes Gazans is the reason why Hamas launched rockets against Israel makes no sense, when you consider that Hamas engages in ACTUAL persecution of Gazans, which you seem to be sinisterly silent about. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you have been largely innocent of this fact. I await your condemnation of Hamas and your subsequent call to end all aid to Gaza based upon the standard that you have set forth.

“Disproportionate focus” on Israel?

Author and former AP correspondent Matti Friedman gives Brian Stelter his take on media coverage of the conflict in Gaza. (h/t dabney)

The Islamic Jihad Terror Ambulance

On August 2, the "human rights" NGO PCHR - one of the sources considered reliable by the UN - wrote:

At approximately 15:30 (August 1), Israeli warplanes bombarded an ambulance of the Ministry of Health. As a result, 3 health workers were killed: 'Aatef Saleh al-Zameli, 42, the driver; Yousef Ejmai'an al-Zameli, 33, a nurse; and Yousef Jaber Darabih, 25, a volunteer paramedic.

Israel attacked an ambulance! War crime!

Except for one thing: All three people killed were Islamic Jihad terrorists.

Here is the martyr poster for 'Aatef Saleh al-Zameli:

The name of the "nurse" killed was actually Yousef Ahmad Sheikh al-Eid. Here is his Islamic Jihad martyr poster:

The "paramedic" Yousef Jaber Darabih was also a proud member of the jihadist terror group:

Darabih was also a "scout leader." I wonder what he was teaching his young charges?

If these three terrorists were using an ambulance as a means to protect themselves and weapons from attack - and given that every single one of them is a member of Islamic Jihad, this seems likely - then they were the ones performing war crimes. It also indicates that the Gaza Ministry of Health was not only working closely with the Al Qassam Brigades to use their ambulances to transport terrorists and probably weapons, but they also worked with Islamic Jihad.

Not that the UN or any "human rights" NGO will investigate that.

(h/t Johnny)

Most of Ken Roth's most popular tweets are anti-Israel lies

From MyTopTweet:

MyTopTweet.com analyzes any Twitter account to show you their most retweeted tweets! We look at the past 3200 tweets sent by the account to show you their top 10 tweets.

I decided to check what the most popular tweets of Human Rights Watch's Ken Roth.

Surprise! Not only are 8 of his top ten tweets anti-Israel, but most of those are lies!

Number 1 with nearly 9000 retweets:

This Washington Post graphic helps us visualize the death toll of the current #Gaza fighting. http://t.co/GUHqRFZm3X pic.twitter.com/JM8jZ7wyhN
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) July 22, 2014

#5 was the same graphic with the text "Israel precision fire killing 4.9 times as many #Gaza civilians as fighters. Who's the target?"

#10 was again the same graphic, with this text:
Palestinians killed: more kids (129) than militants (86). 4.7x as many civilians as militants.

All of these are lies. The ratio of civilians to fighters is closer to 1:1 than 4.7:1, and Roth's insinuation that the IDF was targeting civilians with their precision weapons is beneath contempt.

His other anti-Israel tweets in the top ten:

#2:

"I saw no evidence during my week in Gaza of Israel’s accusation that Hamas uses Palestinians as human shields": BBC http://t.co/toMBmyhip8
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) July 24, 2014

While perhaps the BBC correspondent didn't see anything, Ken Roth knows that under the definition of human shields accepted by international humanitarian law, Hamas uses human shields.

#3:

US is shamefully alone in opposing UN rights council investigation for #Gaza. It passes anyway, 29 to 1; 17 abstain. pic.twitter.com/2cpLl6EoRV
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) July 23, 2014

There is nothing shameful about opposing the disgraceful targeting of Israel by the UNHRC, which spends more time on Israel than every other country combined. Just like Ken Roth!

#7 was this gem:

Remember when #Israel insisted Hamas was behind kidnap-murder of three West Bank teens. Oops, turns out it wasn't. http://t.co/Ltbfbi0kvk
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) July 27, 2014

Oops indeed. Hamas has since admitted multiple times that it was behind the kidnapping, and Roth never corrected his false (and condescending) tweet.

#8:

The "two-state solution" as seen from besieged #Gaza. pic.twitter.com/H2c4p1iVy6
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) July 24, 2014

Ah, the old "Gaza as prison" slander. The prison with beaches, shopping malls and water parks. Funny how no one is concerned over Egypt's allowing fewer Gazans to cross their border than Israel allows to cross into Israel. This is a perfect tweet for liars like Ken Roth!

#9:

Gaza civilians aren't deserving of protection because they elected Hamas?! That's the logic of terrorism. http://t.co/iRp2pwqAKZ
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) July 25, 2014

To take this apart would require an entire post of its own, but suffice it to say that Roth is quoting The Atlantic which implies that Israel uses a calculus to kill civilians that was in fact written by a New York professor in the WSJ in a flawed pro-Israel op-ed. It doesn't.

These are only the tip of the iceberg. Roth has been attacking Israel regularly and giving Hamas every benefit of the doubt. It has nothing to do with human rights and everything to do with Roth's psychotic need to demonize the Jewish state (which means to downplay Hamas war crimes.)

Interestingly, if you look at Human Rights Watch's most popular tweets, not one of them is about Israel or Gaza. Roth seems to have a singular appetite for targeting Israel - often using sarcasm and condescension that proves his disgusting bias.