Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, October 01, 2015

Jordan's king ignored Palestinian issue in UN speech

Remember how upset Saeb Erekat was that President Obama didn't mention Palestinians even once during his UN speech?

It turns out that the king of Jordan placed exactly the same priority on "Palestine" that Obama did.

King Abdullah's speech at the UN Monday did not use the word "Palestine" or "Palestinian" once.

His entire speech was about Muslim extremism where he put forth a seven part strategy for countering the ideology of terror.

The only oblique reference to Israel was an astonishingly hypocritical but parenthetical section on Jerusalem that he tried to put in context of Islamic extremism:

Sixth, by all means, let us be intolerant of intolerance! Extremists rely on the apathy of moderates. But moderation does not mean accepting those who trample on others and reject all who differ. Today’s global fight is not between peoples, communities or religions. It is between all moderates, of all faiths, against all extremists, in all religions. Leaders of every country, every belief, every neighbourhood, need to take a clear and public stand against intolerance of any kind. This includes respecting all places where God is worshipped, whether mosque, church, synagogue or temple.

And nothing can be more important and can have more impact in framing this respect and coexistence than Jerusalem. The Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic and Christian Holy Sites is a sacred duty, and we join Muslims and Christians everywhere in rejecting threats to the Holy Places and the Arab character of this Holy City.

Yes, King Abdullah is ignoring the importance of Jerusalem to Jews in the context of "coexistence" where Jerusalem is a purely Arab city.

But he is also ignoring the Palestinian issue altogether because it is insignificant next to the larger problems in the Arab world.

Will Saeb Erekat slam King Abdullah for this (almost certainly deliberate) slight?

Ma'an reports:

Adviser to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that while agreements with Israel had not been cancelled, the Palestinian Authority "won't comply" with the agreements, saying that “we won’t work as employees for Israel.”

Abbas said in his United Nations General Assembly Wednesday that PA's continued complicity with past peace agreements are dependent on circumstances which have not yet been clarified by Palestinian leadership.
While many understood the Palestinian president's speech to the as be groundbreaking, no clear changes have been made in regards to cooperation between the Palestinian Authority and Israel in occupied Palestinian territory.

Adviser and supreme judge for religious courts Mahmoud al-Habbash said that in his speech, Abbas began a new “stage in the relationship with Israel," adding the exact parameters of such a move remain unclear.

Asked to elaborate about future steps by the PA to make good on Abbas' announcement that the body would step back from it's commitment to past peace agreements, al-Habbash said: “future steps haven’t been made public yet."

"Each step," al-Habbash added, "will be determined according to the circumstances."

Al-Habbash said that Abbas' UNGA remarks would not be immediately implemented, and the leader would likely return to the occupied West Bank with the coordination with Israeli authorities.

So the threatened "bombshell" is really a dud.

This is the same Abbas aide who threatened World War III yesterday.

By the way, the idea that the PA has honored its agreements with Israel is ludicrous. The entire second intifada was a multi-year repudiation of all agreements.

Here are some of the agreements with Israel that Abbas has openly ignored for well over a decade from the Wye River Memorandum alone:

Nullifying the Palestinian National Charter provisions that call to destroy Israel (Has anyone ever seen a new version?)
Prohibiting illegal weapons under PA areas
"The Palestinian side would issue a decree prohibiting all forms of incitement to violence or terror, and establishing mechanisms for acting systematically against all expressions or threats of violence or terror."
"The Palestinian side was to make known its policy of zero tolerance for terror and violence against both sides."

Yet the world, as always, ignores Palestinian violations of signed agreements. On the contrary, the world supports Palestinian violations such as its own unilateral moves in Area C and applying to become a UN member state.

I come before you today from Palestine, compelled to sound the alarm about the grave dangers of what is happening in Jerusalem, where extremist Israeli groups are committing repeated, systematic incursions upon Al-Aqsa Mosque, aimed at imposing a new reality and dividing Al-Haram Al-Sharif temporally, allowing extremists, under the protection of Israeli occupying forces and accompanying ministers and Knesset members, to enter the Mosque at certain times, while preventing Muslim worshipers from accessing and entering the Mosque at those times and freely exercising their religious rights.

Jews have no religious rights in Jerusalem.

This is the scheme that the Israeli Government is pursuing, in direct violation of the status quo since before 1967 and thereafter.

Jews have no religious rights in Jerusalem.

By doing so, the occupying Power is committing a grave mistake, because we will not accept this, and the Palestinian people will not allow the implementation of this illegal scheme, which is aggravating the sensitivities of Palestinians and Muslims everywhere.

Jews also have no real religious feelings about Jerusalem - only Arabs.

I call on the Israeli Government, before it is too late, to cease its use of brutal force to impose its plans to undermine the Islamic and Christian sanctities in Jerusalem, particularly its actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque, for such actions will convert the conflict from a political to religious one, creating an explosive in Jerusalem and in the rest of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

If Arabs don't have exclusive religious rights in Jerusalem, they will start a religious war, and I won't lift a finger to stop them.

The question of Palestine was one of the first just issues brought before the United Nations from the time of its inception, and yet it remains unresolved until this moment, as the organization and its Members continue to be unable to end this injustice inflicted upon our people and to assist our people to exercise their right to self-determination and freedom in their independent and sovereign State.

I don't want to negotiate with Israel because negotiations mean I have to give things up. So I want the international community to impose a solution on Israel while retaining my right to do whatever I want.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,I ask you to consider the history of the question of Palestine and the relevant United Nations resolutions to realize the obvious truth: that a historic injustice has been inflicted upon a people and a homeland, a people that had lived peacefully in their land and made genuine intellectual, cultural and humanitarian contributions to mankind.

We are particularly proud of our contributions towards airline hijackings, suicide bombings and bombing pizza shops and discos.

This people do not deserve to be deprived of their homeland, to die in exile or be swallowed by the sea, or to spend their lives fleeing from one refugee camp to another.

Even though I keep tens of thousands of my people in refugee camps myself. I could build them houses but Id rather keep them in misery.

Our people have placed their hopes on the countries of this organization to help them to gain their freedom, independence and sovereignty, so that their wish and right to their own State, like all other peoples of the Earth, can be achieved, along with a just solution for the Palestine refugee issue in accordance with General Assembly resolution 194 and the Arab Peace Initiative.

Not only do I want the international community to impose a solution; I want that solution to include the destruction of Israel by pretending that they have a right to "return."

We are calling for rightness, justice and peace.

Words that we decide how to define for our purposes.

While Palestine was partitioned into two States - according to which Israel was established 67 years ago - the second part of that resolution still awaits implementation.

My fellow Arabs never accepted partition that included a Jewish state but now we pretend that we are all for it as long as it is a stage towards the end of the Jewish state,

Do the votes by democratic countries against Palestine-related resolutions and the legitimate rights of our people serve peace and those who believe in the two-State solution? Or do they serve and encourage extremists and increase their hatred and racism, making them believe that they are above the law, to the point where they commit the burning of a Palestinian family in the town of Duma in the West Bank, claiming the lives of an infant, Ali Dawabsheh, and his father and mother?

Calling every Palestinian a terrorist is racist. Calling all Jews terrorists is acceptable speech to the UN.

Due to the time constraints, I shall not be able to discuss in detail how many Israeli violations are being committed against our people and how many repressive laws have been issued by successive Israeli governments, the latest of which is the formal legislation of instructions to fire live ammunition at and arrest and repress peaceful Palestinian demonstrators.

My definition of "peaceful" is "people who throw stones that can kill Jews."

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,We do not respond to the Israeli occupation’s hatred and brutality with the same. Instead, we are working on spreading the culture of peace and coexistence between our people and in our region.

Actually, we are adamantly against any form of coexistence with the hated Jews. It is hard to keep a straight face while I feed these lies to you, but I know that you'll believe anything.

Is it not the time for the six thousand Palestinian prisoners and detainees in Israeli jails to see the light of freedom and to live among their families and communities?

People who murder Jews are heroes, not criminals!

Despite all the obstacles imposed by the occupation, we, since the establishment of the Palestinian National Authority, and until this moment, have worked incessantly to build the foundations of our State, its infrastructure and sovereign national institutions.

We might have a joke of a justice system, a corrupt executive branch, and no new universities since Oslo, but we do have an Olympic team and membership in UNESCO!

We have made real progress on the ground, as affirmed by several international bodies, especially the United Nations, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund.

We promised to be financially independent and off of international charity by 2013. And you believed us then, just like you believe me now.

As for the internal Palestinian situation, we are determined to preserve the unity of our land and our people.

In fact, only last week I worked with Egypt to flood Gaza's smuggling tunnels.

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,Palestine is a country of holiness and peace. It is the birthplace of Christ, the messenger of love and peace, and the Isra’ and Mi’raj (ascension to heaven and night journey) of Mohammed, peace be upon him, who was sent as a mercy unto the world.

But the land is meaningless to Jews.

This is Palestine that is still looking for peace, and its people want to live in their homeland in safety, security, harmony, stability and good neighborliness with all peoples and countries of the region.

Except for...well, you know.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,You are all aware that Israel undermined the efforts made by the administration of President Barack Obama in past years, most recently the efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry aimed at reaching a peace agreement through negotiations.

I have been dead set against negotiations since Netanyahu was elected, and since the US and EU hate him as well, I can claim that he is the roadblock to peace without fear of contradiction.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,The transitional Oslo Agreement and its annexes, and the subsequent agreements signed with Israel, stipulated that the agreements would be implemented within five years, ending in 1999 with full independence for the State of Palestine and the termination of the Israeli occupation.

We waited out the five years without offering anything for peace, and then the first chance we had we started an all-out terror war against Israeli Jewish men, women and children. We should be rewarded for this decision.

We therefore declare that we cannot continue to be bound by these agreements and that Israel must assume all of its responsibilities as an occupying Power.

I threatened a bombshell and instead I am repeating that I am threatening to do something that sounds ominous but is meaningless.

May the peace, mercy and blessings of God be upon you.

Unless you are one of those...you know.

Another UNRWA teacher posts antisemitic cartoon

Emad Sbeihat works as a teacher for UNRWA in Jordan.

He loves the idea of unity - that is, unity between the terror groups from Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Fatah.

This peaceful UNRWA teacher has lots of photos of guns, too.
.
He also likes cartoons that portray Jews as frightened, sidelocked Haredim fearful of rockets:

No doubt this is all consistent with the vaunted human rights curriculum that UNRWA is so proud of.

09/30 Links Pt2: Abbas threatens to stop abiding by Oslo Accords; The Advent of Pallywood

From Ian:

Abbas: Palestine a state under occupation, no longer bound by Oslo accords

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said Wednesday that the PA would cease to abide by agreements signed with Israel, including the 1993 Oslo accords, claiming Israel had shown that it, too, was no longer committed to them.
“So long as Israel refuses to commit to the agreements signed with us, cease settlement construction and release prisoners, Israel has left us no choice but to insist that we will not remain the only ones committed to these agreements,” Abbas told the UN General Assembly in New York.
Israel, he said, must now “fully assume all its responsibilities as an occupying power… our patience for a long time has come to an end.”
The Israeli government later rejected the speech as “deceitful” and called for renewed peace talks.

Full text of Abbas’ 2015 address to the UN General Assembly

Full text of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ address to the United Nations General Assembly, September 30, 2015.

EoZ December 02, 2010: Fayyad says he will no longer abide by Oslo Accords

Fayyad said during his weekly radio show on local Palestinian radio stations Wednesday that the Palestinian National Authority 'will not be a prisoner to the restrictions of Oslo'.

Netanyahu: Abbas’s speech filled with lies, direct talks best way forward

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly was filled with falsehood and promoted incitement, charged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Office as Israel once again called on the Palestinian leader to resume direct talks.
“Abu Mazen’s [Abbas] speech was filled with falsehoods that will only promote incitement and disaster in the Middle East,” the PMO said.
Netanyahu is already in New York, where he is expected to address the UN General Assembly on Thursday evening Jerusalem time.
The reaction released by his office, did not respond to Abbas’s threat to dissolve the 1993 Oslo Accords that govern relations between the Israel and the PA.
But the PMO did address Abbas's opening statements at the start of his speech, in which he accused Israel of trying to violate the status quo on the Temple Mount by allowing Jewish visitors to the site.

The Abbas "Bombshell"

If one person can stand at the UN and unilaterally declare a state, I advise the leader of the Kurds, the Catalans, the Druze and any other ethnic groups that feel entitled to have their independence to make their way to the building and do so.
It is, therefore, the European Union and several European governments, including France and the Netherlands, that are complicit with the Palestinian Authority (PA) in knowingly and purposefully violating their own, signed agreements. Moreover, according to the Oslo Accords, the PA was designated as an interim body, not a permanent one.
If one really wants to help the Palestinians, one will try to help rid them of their corrupt and repressive leaders; not reinforce them. The Palestinian people deserve better than this.

Abbas: No bilateral talks with Israel while it's an occupying power

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas rejected the latest Israeli overture for direct talks and called instead for a multilateral peace process on the eve of his major address to the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.
“The peace process must be multilateral. The same pattern of negotiations imposed for years will not work, because Israel is the occupying power,” Abbas said in an opinion piece published Tuesday on the Huffington Post website.
“Israel controls our territory, natural resources, economic affairs and our daily lives, violating every fundamental human right of the Palestinian people. We cannot directly negotiate with a power that has this level of control and exhibits such contempt for the rights and existence of our people,” Abbas wrote.

"Jews destroyed Iraqi antiquities in revenge for Babylonian exile"

From MEMRI:

Iraqi historian and archaeologist Ali Al-Nashmi said that there was an international Jewish mafia that aimed to acquire Iraqi antiquities. Walid Al-As'ad, director of Palmyra Museum, said that the Jews wanted "to destroy the city [of Palmyra] and wipe it off the face of the Earth," in order to erase the memory of their Babylonian exile. Walid's father, Khaled Al-As'ad, was killed in August by ISIS militants. He had served as director of the museum for 40 years until his retirement in 2003, when Walid took over the position. The statements were broadcast on Mayadeen TV on September 9, 2015.

It all makes so much sense now!

UNRWA Schools To Add Math, Sciences To Core Antisemitism Curriculum (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook page.

Amman, Jordan, September 30 - The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees will upgrade its teacher training to facilitate an enhanced curriculum that, in addition to its core antisemitism component, will now include mathematics, physical and life sciences, and literacy, an agency spokesman announced today.

UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness said in an interview about the announcement by press release that the organization's educators and administrators would begin the training program to acquire the necessary technical knowledge next month. The agency's 15,000 teachers and principals across over 200 schools in the Palestinian Territories, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria will apply the educational skills they have already proved in disseminating hatred of Jews and Israel, and in glorifying violence against them, to impart other materials that will help prepare coming generations of registered Palestinian refugees to grow into productive members of society.

"Our educators have a documented track record of going above and beyond the technical demands of teaching to model for their students what a productive citizen looks like outside the classroom," explained Gunness. "Be it on Facebook, in extracurricular involvement, or other community initiatives, UNRWA teachers are all-stars at taking the antisemitism they preach beyond the school walls, showing the students that the glorification of terrorism and political violence as the only legitimate tool to liberate Palestine is more than some intellectual exercise needed to pass a written test."

Gunness pointed to several online collections of the extracurricular hate and violence-promotion in which UNRWA teachers excel, helpfully compiled by bloggers and UN watchdog groups. He said that once those entities had brought the diligence and devotion of UNRWA faculty to their students to the agency's attention in such a concentrated form, the UNRWA administration realized it had at its disposal a group of educators who could almost certainly handle an enhanced curriculum that also equipped students with knowledge that other youngsters around the world possess.

The best part about the new program, said UNRWA director Pierre Krähenbühl, is that it does not add very much classroom time despite the clear augmentation of materials. "As designed, our new curriculum integrates the mathematics and science training directly and seamlessly into existing antisemitic and violence-promoting components," he said. "For example, instead of merely teaching that Palestine can only be redeemed through blood and fire of the usurper Jew, the new educational package has the teacher use arithmetic, geometric, or trigonometric principles to illustrate the magnitude of the tragedy of Jewish sovereignty, and the ways in which science can be used to engineer the slaughter or mass expulsion of those Jews from Palestine."

09/30 Links Pt1: Terrified Jewish Children Hounded by Muslim Mob; IAEA at Parchin – a farce in 3 acts

From Ian:

Watch: Terrified Jewish Children Hounded by Muslim Mob

A hassidic child cries, clinging to his father's hand as an angry mob hounds them, hurling anti-Semitic abuse.
Scenes not from Europe in the early twentieth century, but from the streets of Jerusalem's Old City on Sukkot, 2015.
Muslims in the holy city have been rioting for more than two weeks now, clashing with police and attacking Jewish residents. Several people have been injured and one man - 64-year-old grandfather Alexander Levlovich - was murdered by Muslim terrorists who hurled rocks at his car, causing a fatal crash.
Arab Muslim rioters claim their actions are in order to "protect" the Al Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount from Jewish "invasions"; Jews note such "invasions" are merely peaceful visits to the Temple Mount (not even the mosque itself), which is Judaism's holiest site, and that the violence is meant to prevent them from visiting the Mount and even to drive from the Old City altogether.

Humiliated Father Describes Old City Assault

Yehonatan Levy, the haredi father who was assaulted and humiliated by an Arab mob in Jerusalem's Old City Monday, described the ordeal in a television interview Wednesday morning, on Channel 20.
The video that shows Levy and his two sons emerging from an alleyway has been widely circulated and photos of his sons crying in fear as he walks onward, silent and grim-faced, were disseminated worldwide by news agencies.
Levy said that the event began several minutes earlier, as he and his sons were making their usual route toward the Western Wall, in honor of Sukkot. They were initially accosted by women, he said, and these women were then joined by men. He described being kicked and spat upon. His son's kippah was knocked to the ground and when the father tried to pick it up, it was kicked away from him three times.

WATCH: Palestinian Kicks Jewish Baby In Stroller

Following the disturbing scenes of palestinians screaming in hatred at the Jewish man and his young, petrified son in the old city of Jerusalem comes this even more disturbing scene.

Iranian Commander on Mecca Stampede: The Jews Did It

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri said that last week's stampede near Mecca which killed over 1,100 Muslim pilgrims may have been a "deliberate crime" on the part of the Saudis and the Israelis, reports the Fars News Agency [FNA].
On Monday Jazzayeri told the FNA that
"Given the usurper Zionist regime's infiltration and influence on the al-Saud, there is a growing possibility that the crane crash incident at the Grand Mosque [which killed over 100 and injured hundreds more two weeks ago] and the death of thousands of people in Mina were the result of deliberate crime.
"Given the eyewitness accounts and the increasing possibility that the two painful and regrettable incidents at the Grand Mosque and Mina have been the result of intentional action, fact-finding groups from all Muslim states have the responsibility to decrypt this al-Saud crime."
He also claimed that making the Grand Mosque in Mecca unsafe and insecure is a major policy of the US and Israel.
The stampede occurred during the ritual known as "stoning the devil" in the tent city of Mina, about two miles from Mecca. At least 169 Iranians died in the incident which claimed 1,100 lives [according to Fox News; the FNA's tally is 2,000].

PreOccupiedTerritory: Suspiciously, No Jews Killed In Mecca Stampede (satire)

Given the precedent of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Virginia, in which many in the Muslim world believe no Jews were killed because they had been warned to stay home, authorities have quickly latched onto the similarities between the stampede’s outcome and that of 9/11, noting that coincidence alone was not enough to explain why no Jews seem to have been among the Mecca dead, said a Saudi investigator who spoke on condition of anonymity.
“While I cannot confirm hard evidence of any specific cause other than a systemic failure, the irregularity of no Jews dying in this stampede raises more than a few eyebrows,” he said. “Naturally, it would have to appear that the catastrophe was an accident, so the initial evidence would have to be consistent with human error, or some unfortunate confluence of circumstances. The red flag is the utter lack of Jewish deaths – not just in the stampede or its aftermath, but in the entire Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It strikes us as curious, to say the least, that not a single Jewish death was recorded in the country not only on the day of the stampede, but for decades.”
Indeed, the mysterious and suspicious lack of Jewish deaths is not restricted to Saudi Arabia. Certain towns and villages in Eastern Europe appear to have recorded no Jewish deaths since 1942, and until the first half of the sixteenth century, no Jewish deaths at all were registered in the Americas.

Thousands of Jews at Kotel "desecrating Buraq square" according to Palestinians

Today, thousands of Jews are flocking to the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem to participate in the semi-annual Birkat Kohanim ceremony as well as a "Hakhel" ceremony that occurs once every seven years.

Palestinian news outlet Safa.ps headlines their article about this as "Tens of thousands of Jews and rabbis desecrate Buraq Square." The article says that thousands of "settlers" are "flocking to Buraq Square to participate in Talmudic rituals."

Egypt's Masrarabia site calls the Jews arrival there an "intrusion."

Another Egyptian site, Masrawy, says that the Jews are "entering Al Aqsa Mosque."

This is the kind of antisemitic incitement that is blared daily in Arab media, but the Western media doesn't want to cover the issue.

Palestinians upset that world no longer considers them important - so they threaten World War III

Saeb Erekat is upset at President Obama for not mentioning Palestinians once in his UN speech:

Secretary-General of the PLO’s Executive Committee Saeb Erekat Monday expressed his disappointment in US President Barack Obama for ignoring the Palestinian question during his speech before the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

The PLO official wondered if President Obama believes that he can beat ISIS and terrorism, and bring about peace and security in the Middle East by ignoring the continued Israeli occupation, settlement construction, and attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque ]compound[?

Obama has dedicated large portion of his speech to the conflict in Syria, the campaign against the ‘Islamic State’ militants, the nuclear agreement with Iran and the refugee crisis in Europe.

Only a couple of years ago the concept of "linkage" was trendy among so-called academics and pundits, claiming that if only Israel did what everyone demanded, there would be peace throughout the Middle East.

The world has finally woken up to the fact that Palestinians are not the center of the universe.

Nothing upsets Palestinians than finding that they are irrelevant. They are so used to being coddled by the UN with their own agencies and permanent topics on the calendar and an entire Human Rights Council that spends more than half its time on them that when they fall from the top stories they are frightened by the idea that they might actually have to compromise for peace.

For example, last year Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman claimed that ISIS wouldn't exist if it wasn't for the "occupation."

That line of logic didn't get them far, so instead, they up the ante to push themselves back on the front pages.

Abbas promises a "bombshell" in his UN speech today.

And one of his officials yesterday threatened World War III over the Israeli restrictions of rioters on the Temple Mount.

Really.

Former Religious Affairs minister for the PA, Mahmoud Habash said that what is happening in Jerusalem at the Temple Mount will ignite World War III while speaking to official Voice of Palestine radio.

"Israel is sparking a war in its aggression against Al-Aqsa and this war will not be a political or a military war, but will be religious, and people all over the world will pay the price," Haash said, adding "if Israel does not stop its aggression against Al-Aqsa and if the world does not intervene right now, especially with the United Nations meetings currently taking place, there will be dire consequences. "

If there is any evidence that Palestinian Arab leaders have more emotional maturity than the average tantrum-throwing three year old, I haven't seen any evidence of it yet.

Did Muslims set fire to Al Aqsa on Sunday?

An interesting video has emerged showing what appears to be flames flickering inside the Al Aqsa Mosque where rioters had barricaded themselves on Sunday:

The Arabic news reports on this blame Israeli forces for the fire.

But as we have seen, the rioters inside the "third holiest place in Islam" routinely shoot firebombs and fireworks. In this video you can see some of them launching fireworks from outside the mosque before they barricaded themselves on that same day.

If there had been a fire as large as it appears in this video that could be blamed on Israel, you would expect by now that the Arab and Muslim media would be making this into a huge deal. But since Sunday I have seen nothing about a fire at Al Aqsa.

My guess is that some Muslim fireworks (or Molotov cocktails) ignited something inside the "holy spot" and it was decided that this is not something that they want to publicize because most people would realize that Israeli riot control weapons are not likely to have caused the blaze.

Old Daph’s plea to the Australian Jewish press: “Give it a rest already!” The cringe-worthy slavering over new prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, I mean, on the grounds that he’s let it be known that he thinks he might quite possibly have maternal Jewish roots. This nauseating hero worship seems to have had its genesis with this over the top article http://www.jewishnews.net.au/menachem-mendel-turnbull/32186, which was liberally quoted from in the Australian Jewish News a fortnight ago when Turnbull deposed Tony Abbott in a sudden coup. The paper may as well have breathlessly raised the question of whether Mr Abbott can claim to be one of the tribe; after all, his Dutch maternal great-grandmother’s name, Bredschneijder, does sound a tad more promising than the Anglo-Saxon monikers with which Turnbull’s maternal line is peppered.

From a letter in the current issue of the communal newspaper: “At his [Turnbull’s] speech at the Caulfield Hebrew Congregation’s Yom Ha’atzmaut breakfast, it was indicated that he might have some Jewish roots or possibly he is halachically Jewish. Without being intrusive, it would be interesting to find out the facts about it.” Glad to oblige. Here’s his apparent lineage, which is close to what a commenter on my own blog posted: no hint of a Yiddishe momma anywhere. (See http://ethnicelebs.com/malcolm-turnbull)

Turnbull – a former head of the Australian Republican (i.e. anti-monarchist) Movement – is certainly to the left of his predecessor, Abbott. Many right-wing Liberal voters (the Liberal Party is Australia’s right-of-centre political party, corresponding to the British Conservative Party, and similarly “broad church”) are extremely bitter at his stab-in-the-back to Abbott during the latter’s first term as prime minister, and disgusted with Abbott’s deputy leader, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, for failing to warn Abbott of the planned coup against him as soon as she had wind of it. But that’s the grubby game of politics: in Australia’s case such disloyalty and jostling for place has over the last few years resulted in a spate of “revolving door ministries” reminiscent of the French Fourth Republic. Ms Bishop has emerged as a winner in all this: she retains the deputy’s position and she retains her Foreign Affairs portfolio. Another winner is Josh Frydenberg, a young, able and ambitious Jewish frontbencher who’s entered the Cabinet for the first time. Educated at two of Australia’s best-known Jewish day schools, he’s perceived, like Turnbull and Bishop, as a friend of Israel.

Moreover, it’s hard for this Liberal voter (yours truly) to disagree with the view that a Turnbull regime is far preferable to the political oblivion that was predicted to face the party had the unpopular and gaffe-prone Abbott not been replaced. Better a Turnbull-led Liberal government than a Labor (ALP) one, with its domination by trades unions and factions, some of which favour policies that are not in Australia’s best interests – or Israel’s. To say nothing of the ratbag dastardly Greens.

I tend to consider the worst Liberal government preferable to the best Labor one. But it’s impossible to ignore the current war of words taking place over Iran between Foreign Minister Bishop and Labor MP Michael Danby, who’s been a stalwart (Jewish) pro-Israel advocate long before as well as during his parliamentary career. Mr Danby has authorised a series of advertisements – some billboard-sized – (www.NoLibIranDeal.com) bearing a photo of a smiling Ms Bishop – blonde locks covered, barely, by a fetching lacy black hood – in conversation in Teheran with a contented-looking Hassan Rouhani. The advertisements bear the words “Say no to Bishop’s Iran deal”.

Danby states: “While claiming to be Israel’s friend, the Liberals appear intent on speeding up Iran’s passage from pariah to international acceptability despite the fact Iran has done little to show the world it deserves losing pariah status. Malcolm Turnbull can be a friend of Israel or a friend of the dangerous Iranian regime. He cannot be both. With Iran still making blood-curdling threats against Israel, Prime Minister Turnbull must call Ms Bishop in and order her to halt and reverse this slide towards appeasement of the hard-line, bellicose regime in Tehran.”

Furthermore: “Since the proposed nuclear deal with Iran, Australia and Julie Bishop have failed to respond, as they have in the past, to war-like announcements by Iran where Israel has been directly threatened. Only recently, the head of Iran’s parliament called for the annihilation of Israel. Supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Khamenei forecast darkly that Israel ‘would not exist in 25 years’ because of Iran’s policy. Just three years ago, Ms Bishop supported international sanctions and loudly condemned Iran. In 2012, as Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Bishop came out swinging when an Australian diplomat planned to visit Iran. Ms Bishop has changed her mind on Iran, nearly as often as she’s changed her preferred Liberal party leader. I hope through my campaign to encourage her to change her perspective on Iran and to stay loyal to the democratic cause in the Middle East.”

Ms Bishop has dismissed Danby’s criticisms.

She told the Australian J-Wire news service: “The Australian government is a steadfast friend of Israel and reversed several UN voting positions of the former Labor government, of which Michael Danby was a member. The government also rejects the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign supported by many within Labor and the union movement. Mr Danby voted for the weakening of Australia’s border protection laws under the Labor government, which resulted in thousands of Iranians entering Australia illegally. The Coalition government [under Abbott] stopped the flow of illegal migration and is negotiating with Iran to facilitate the return of its citizens. Mr Danby should apologise for his role in supporting the weakening of our border protection laws, and for the Labor movement’s support of BDS before making further juvenile comments.”

Danby has retorted: “Julie Bishop’s responses to the story about the media campaign I have launched were laughable and embarrassing. Ms Bishop has completely avoided the Iranian issue. Instead of attempting to defend her Iranian policy, Ms Bishop attacked Labor on unrelated issues. Having organised hot chocolate sit-ins across Australia to support Max Brenner against BDS, it is shameful that the foreign minister is divisive on an issue we all agree on. At its July National Conference, the ALP passed a resolution that specifically rejected the BDS campaign against Israel… I have asked for a Parliamentary debate before any decision is taken about weakening Australian sanctions against Iran. Sadly, based on her comments [talking up the resumption of trade relations between the two countries] on ABC Rural (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-07/julie-bishop-trade-iran/6751132), it sounds like Ms Bishop has already made that decision.”

He added: “The Jewish community justly fears the setting up of Iranian consulates in Woollahra [in Sydney] and Toorak [in Melbourne], given that the role Iranian diplomats played in the bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires [in 1992] and the AMIA [Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina] Jewish centre two years later is beyond doubt. Together with the Labor leadership, I am going to demand Parliamentary debate and public scrutiny of Bishop’s slide towards Iran. If she thinks the issue will go away, then she’s wrong.”

Pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel? Saudi Arabia refuses to play soccer in West Bank

From AFP:

Palestinian football's governing body has said it is "impossible" to accept FIFA's decision that it must play a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia on neutral territory.

The fixture, set for October 13, had been scheduled to take place in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but Saudi Arabia on September 23 demanded that it be played on neutral ground.

The teams met each other in the Saudi city of Jeddah in June, with the Saudis winning 3-2.

That match was actually supposed to be played in Palestine but Saudi Arabia had refused to travel to the West Bank, citing undefined "exceptional circumstances."

Palestine agreed to the switch but had requested that the return fixture, originally scheduled to be played in Jeddah, be hosted by Palestine instead, thus essentially just reversing the home and away fixtures.

Palestinian FA officials said the Saudi decision could have been due to reluctance to pass through Israeli checkpoints on their way to the game.

On Monday, Saudi media said FIFA had agreed to transfer the October match to neutral territory.

The official SPA news agency said the country's FA had received the organizing committee's decision, in which "the international federation understands the justification put forward" by the Saudis to transfer the game.

It did not elaborate on what that justification was.

Many Arab national teams refuse to play in the West Bank, saying it "normalizes" Israel's occupation of Palestinian territory.

Following the FIFA decision, Palestinian FA chief Jibril Rajoub said: "Depriving Palestine of the right to play at home is a dangerous precedent and impossible to accept under any conditions."

The World Cup organizing committee's decision does not say where the game against Saudi Arabia will be played or explain either the reason for the decision or the Saudi FA's objection to playing in the West Bank.

Israel controls all access to the occupied Palestinian territory, and Saudi Arabia has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

Cited by the Palestinian FA, Rajoub said he would lobby internationally to have the FIFA decision revoked.

But FIFA in its decision said the ruling is "final and binding."

On September 8, the UAE team traveled to play the Palestinian team at their al-Ram stadium, saying that they were happy to show solidarity with the Palestinians. They crossed Israeli checkpoints "in record time" with no incident.

But the Saudis successfully convinced FIFA that their hate for Israel is more important than their love for "Palestine" and their respect for the normal protocols of international sports.

This article shows that there is an acid test that can be made to find out if Arab countries are pro-Palestinian or just use the Palestinian cause as an excuse to show their hate for the Jewish state. When they spurn Palestinian pleadings, you can be very sure that they really don't give a hoot about Palestinians to begin with.

09/29 Links: The festering swamp of anti-Zionism; Dershowitz: Obama 'Committing a Crime' with Iran Deal

From Ian:

David Collier: The festering swamp of anti-Zionism

In theory it is possible to be an anti-Zionist and not be antisemitic. At its core, Zionism is simply the belief of the right of Jewish people to be independent. Strict opposition to Zionism could come therefore, from people who are anti-nationalists; ‘one-worlders’ who see borders and nation states as arcane unwanted relics with no place in the coming ‘golden age’.
Back in the real world, the ‘non antisemitic’ anti-Zionist would have nothing to do with a movement like BDS simply because BDS is the flagship of the BNC, a coalition of groups supporting an independent Palestine. BDS singles out Israel as a nation and supports nation status for Palestinians and everyone else, everyone that is except the Jews. A non antisemitic anti-Zionist supporting BDS is simply a fool or a contradiction.
In reality, anti-Zionism is to antisemitism what a swamp is to Malaria. Regardless of its reason for being, the core essence of the swamp cannot fail to provide a fertile breeding ground for Malaria. Antisemitism is therefore the swamp fever of anti-Israeli movements and there is absolutely nothing anyone can do to change that. The only way to clear the disease is to drain the swamp, which is why movements like BDS should be restricted from entering any publicly funded building and opposed everywhere it materialises. Not standing up to BDS, giving it a chance to breath (as with the University of Exeter) directly contributes to a growth of antisemitism.
It is in this swamp that we see the 3-way marriage between left wing idealists, Islamists and rabid antisemites. It is there that antisemitism does what all diseases do, mutating to find a different way of multiplying and attacking. It will attach itself to any and every cause, any and every body of thought. It is why we witness the most absurd partnerships in the name of gay rights, human rights, democracy, academic freedom and free speech, each in turn becoming infected by seeking mutual engagement with the Palestinian cause. Supporting movements like BDS in any way promotes and spreads antisemitism; it must because it is within its genetic make-up. Left wing idealists who permit this activity are not only guilty of creating the very environment in which antisemitism breeds, they are incapable of restricting its growth; just like Malaria in a swamp.

Ben-Dror Yemini: BDS: The lies and the truth

The following short answers do not attempt to defend this government, or any other government of Israel. They are meant only to refute some of the false claims that are uttered time and again against Israel.
Serious accusations have also been heard from within Israeli’s academia and the Israeli media. Here, too, you can hear the accusation that Israel is an apartheid State. Here, too, there are people who claim that Israel is involved in genocide. Israelis claim that the IDF treats the Palestinians the same way the Nazis treated the Jews. The fact that such claims are heard in Israel does not make them true. It is simply proof that Israel is a vibrant democracy, with freedom of speech that allows for the expression of false accusations.
The problem is that throughout the world such claims gain very serious platforms. “Factual” claims are not examined, even though a simple examination would lead to their dismissal.
The ideas presented here are not intended to be a political stance. It is a presentation meant to fight incitement, propaganda and demonization, and facilitate a fair political debate.

Max Blumenthal tells lies about #Israel – a continuing series

It's all on the record: Blumenthal lied, for example, when misquoting Zionist founding father Chaim Weizmann. He lied when claiming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the September 11 attacks. He lied when falsely attributing a statement to Ariel Sharon. He lied when misquoting CAMERA. He lied about supposed Zionist collaboration with Nazi Germany. He lied about Israel opening dams to flood the Gaza Strip. He lied about Israeli Bedouin; about a Netanyahu-backed "Jewish state" law; about Israeli funding for a radical NGO; about Israeli support for a Palestinian state; and about the expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians.
So why wouldn't he lie, on Chicago public radio, about the 2014 war between Hamas and Israel? Below, in chronological order, are some of Blumenthal's falsehoods on the Sept. 21 edition of Wordview.

Doctors Without Borders Openly Supports Hamas, Condemns Israel

As an internationally recognized humanitarian organization, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, aka MSF) is viewed by many as apolitical, solely concerned with improving the well-being of people in need. In truth, MSF has strayed far from its goal of providing emergency medical aid, and it has violated its own pledge to observe “neutrality and impartiality.” Instead, it is taking advantage of its reputation to engage in anti-Israel political warfare.
Over the summer, a number of MSF publications adopted an extreme anti-Israel narrative. First was a July 7, 2015, opinion piece written by MSF-USA Executive Director Jason Cone that whitewashed Hamas attacks against Israeli — and Palestinian — civilians. In the article, Cone ignored Hamas’ war crimes, which include targeting Israeli civilians for death and using innocent Palestinians as human shields. Incredibly, Cone’s only criticism of Hamas related to its decision to ban painkillers in Gaza.
Cone said that rocket attacks against Israeli civilians are “called acts of resistance on one side and terrorism on the other.” Similarly, Cone casually mentioned the rise in “Palestinian attacks against Israeli civilians (mostly settlers),” suggesting that some terrorist attacks are more acceptable than others.
In contrast, Cone showed no nuance or understanding when it came to Israeli policy: “Israeli fears of rocket fire from Gaza… and the ongoing threat of tunnel-enabled attacks… cannot justify the devastating medical and psychological consequences for Palestinians of the barriers, checkpoints, bombing campaigns, blockades, and incursions.” It is unclear what expertise an executive officer of a medical organization has that allows him to weigh military and security strategies in the complicated dynamics of an ongoing conflict.

Chag Sukkot Sameach!

The holiday of Sukkot starts tonight and I will not be blogging until Tuesday night. (And next week the same thing happens again.)

A couple of years ago I created a Sukkah decoration inspired by the artists of Safed, and I completely forgot about it until now. So feel free to print it and use it in your sukkah!