Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, June 10, 2016

06/10 Links Pt1: Explaining Palestinian “Heroes”; Tel Aviv Terror Attack Shatters Five Myths; #Stupid_CNN

From Ian:

The status quo has continued not because more houses or apartments are being built in existing Jewish communities in the West Bank or Jerusalem (almost all of which are in places that peace processers conceded would remain in Israeli hands even if there were an agreement with the Palestinians). Nor does it continue because hard-hearted men who don’t want peace lead Israel. If Palestinians wanted a two-state solution, they could have had one many years ago. They refuse because the price of Israeli acceptance of a Palestinian state is Palestinian acceptance of the legitimacy of a Jewish state alongside it no matter where its borders might be drawn. And that price remains too high for any Palestinian leader or the Palestinian public to accept.
Terrorism against Jews didn’t begin in June 1967. The Palestinians have been waging a century-long war on Zionism and that struggle has become inextricably linked with their sense of national identity. That’s why they cheer people who commit indiscriminate murder against Jews and call them heroes. They were doing that long before the Six Day War, let alone the two intifadas, and it is not illogical to suppose they would continue to do so even if Israel were so foolish as to withdraw its forces from the West Bank as it did in Gaza.
While some Israelis search their souls in vain for enough guilt about winning wars launched against them that would have ended the “occupation” of Tel Aviv, this is a futile quest. The status quo will change when the Palestinians stop thinking of people who kill random Jews as heroes and when they are ready to accept peace with the Jewish state.
That is why it is important that the world react to crimes such as yesterday’s murders by avoiding statements calling on both sides to show restraint or use it as an excuse for more pressure on Israel to make concessions. For too long, Palestinians have been led to believe that they could prevail against Israel if they had enough patience or were willing to shed more blood. When a sea change in the political culture of the Palestinians makes a change in their thinking possible, they will find Israelis willing to accept a deal. Until then, they will continue cheering terrorists and doom themselves to pursuing a hopeless effort to eliminate Israel that keeps a status quo neither side wants in place.

Tel Aviv Terror Attack Shatters Five Myths

The June 8 terrorist massacre in Tel Aviv exposed all five of the major myths that cloud discussions of Israel and the Palestinians.
Myth #1: “The problem is the settlements”
Myth #2: “It was a reaction to the occupation”
Myth #3: “The Palestinian Authority condemned the attack”
Myth #4: “Ordinary Palestinians are against terrorism”
Myth #5: “The major American news outlets are staffed by objective, professionally trained journalists; if their coverage of Israel is unflattering, that’s because of Israel’s own policies, not because of media bias”

Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren Calls for Solidarity With Israel Following Deadly Tel Aviv Terrorist Attack (VIDEO)

The host of Fox News‘ “On the Record” called for the international community to show support for Israel in response to Wednesday’s terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, which claimed the lives of four people and wounded several others.
“Israelis stand always with us. It’s time to make sure they know we do the same,” Greta Van Susteren wrote on Facebook, shortly after it was revealed that two Palestinian terrorists went on a deadly shooting rampage at the restaurant-laden Sarona compound before being neutralized by security guards.
Van Susteren also posted online an “off the record” video, in which she called the terrorists “evil, evil people full of hate.” She also expressed sorrow for the “innocent Israeli victims” who were at the Sarona Market “just out on a nice summer eve in Tel Aviv.”
Van Susteren reminded viewers of Israel’s immediate response to help in international crises, and said she hopes nations around the world will “stand with the Israelis, because they stand always with us.”

The Huffington Post has an article by an ACLU official:

Gov. Cuomo’s BDS Blacklist Is An Affront To Free Expression

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order this week requiring state agencies and authorities to divest from any company or institution that supports the Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions movement targeting Israel. The order not only threatens to punish constitutionally protected political speech but also requires the state of New York to create a blacklist of allies of the movement, which BDS supporters describe as an effort to ensure human rights for Palestinians.

“It’s very simple: If you boycott against Israel, New York will boycott you,” Cuomo said when he announced the order.

The directive requires all agencies and departments over which the governor has executive authority as well as certain public benefit corporations, public authorities, boards, and commissions to divest funds from any company or institution supporting BDS. The entities are also banned from investing in those companies in the future.

The order itself makes clear that the activity the governor wants to punish is political in nature. But, as the Supreme Court made clear, government can’t penalize people or entities on the basis of their free expression, and political boycotts are a form of free expression.

What is the Supreme Court ruling that the ACLU is citing?

In 1966, the NAACP called for a boycott of some white-owned businesses in Claiborne County, Mississippi. The businesses sued the NAACP in 1969 for their lost revenue over the boycott. The Mississippi High Court rejected two of the three arguments for the lawsuit but upheld a third, that black citizens were intimidated into boycotting the stores with threats of violence. Some NAACP members actually engaged in violence and others stood outside the stores to record the names of any black customers.

The Supreme Court said that non-violent free speech cannot be penalized on First Amendment grounds, and that the NAACP cannot be held responsible for the violent or threatening acts by some of its members, so the lawsuit against the boycotters was dismissed.

In short, the Supreme Court ruled that the state cannot penalize people for engaging in nonviolent free speech.

But choosing not to give government contracts with, or invest in, a business that boycotts Israel is not in any way, shape or form a violation of people's right to free speech. There is a huge difference between forcing people to pay a financial penalty for their non-violent speech and saying that you won't financially support their speech. States have the right to decide how to spend and invest their money, and that does not violate the right to free speech. Not until they prosecute someone for what they write on a blog or say on a street corner.

Freedom of speech does not mean the right to be paid for your opinions. It is not the right to have your opinions be respected as much as all other opinions. It is not the right not to feel uncomfortable when others disagree with your ideas.

The BDSers are not being stopped in any way, shape or form from expressing their opinions. Being exposed as idiots and liars is not a violation of their right to be idiots and liars.

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Here are the number of retweets for recent Amnesty International tweets from their @AmnestyOnline account:

-Ireland’s ban on abortion violates human rights – ground-breaking UN ruling - 174
-I fled war in Syria, was attacked in #Germany: Report on failure to tackle hate crime rise - 127
-GOOD NEWS! Torture survivor Yecenia Armenta now free in Mexico - ends 4 years of injustice - 113
-Bahrain shatters façade of reform with persecution of opposition leader @ariel_plotkin oped - 109
-UN: Shameful pandering to Saudi Arabia over children killed in Yemen conflict - 154
-Nowhere safe: Refugee women on the Greek islands live in constant fear - 60
-Malawi: Killing spree of people with albinism fuelled by ritual practices/police failures - 260
-Two Syrian refugees are first at risk of forced return to Turkey under #EUTurkeyDeal: Tell @imouzalas to STOP this! - 124
-Evidence counters UK claims that no British-made cluster munitions used in recent Yemen war - 219

It is very clear that AmnestyOnline can count over a hundred of its followers to pretty consistently retweet nearly every tweet of theirs, no matter how obscure the topic.

With one exception.

Amnesty released a fairly strong statement about the Tel Aviv bombing (although it also couldn't stop itself from warning against Israel engaging in "collective punishment." How many people retweeted that statement from this account since yesterday?

Israel/OPT: Tel Aviv attack displays total disdain for human life - 37 retweets

Amnesty International's Twitter followers apparently care far less about Jews being murdered than any other human rights issue on Earth.

This is not the first time that Amnesty's followers showed a marked indifference to dead Jews. Last November Amnesty tweeted a similar message against killing Israelis, and it received only 46 retweets. Yet a general anti-Israel tweet in the midst of the knife attacks weeks earlier received nearly triple that amount.

During the Gaza war, an Amnesty tweet against the US providing Israel with fuel gathered over 1500 retweets. The daily tweets that Amnesty did last summer on events that happened in Gaza a year earlier routinely gathered 100-200 retweets.

The pattern is consistent: Not only does Amnesty tweet far more against Israel than against people trying to kill Israelis, but its fans don't give a damn about dead Israelis the few times that Amnesty decides to pretend to be "even handed" and condemn the terrorists.

It is hard to escape the conclusion that most of Amnesty International's active online fans either don't care about dead Jews or that they feel that slaughtering Israeli civilians is justified and should not be condemned as much as, say, Bahrain persecuting an opposition leader.

(AmnestyUSA's fans does not show the same overt bias as its international Twitter account followers do, the AmnestyUSA tweet about the attacks garnered 148 retweets, which is about average for that account.)

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This Arab dramatization of the Tel Aviv attack, based on false early reports that the shooters were disguised as religious Jews, was produced and released less than 24 hours after the murders.

It uses the hashtag "Ramadan operation."

Unlike apologists for Palestinian terror speaking to gullible Westerners, this video for Muslim audiences doesn't try to justify murdering Jews in a restaurant as being because of "occupation" or "oppression." The video juxtaposes the murderous rampage with the Ramadan iftar meal and a visual of the Dome of the Rock. it shows that it is religion, not politics, that animates these terror attacks.

Hamas openly associates Ramadan with religious war against Israel. But no analyst at the New York Times or CNN would dare say that.

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A BDS lexicon (Poster)

After reading the ridiculous reactions of the Israel-hate crowd over Governor Cuomo boycotting the boycotters, I created this.

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06/09 Links Pt2: Why Even-Handed Isn’t Pro-Israel; Anthropology and Anti-Semitism;

From Ian:

Anthropology and Anti-Semitism

One of the core principles of modern anthropology is cultural relativism, the idea that researchers must not make value judgements about the societies they study. Anthropologists think of themselves as setting aside their biases and preferences in order to see a society and culture "from the native's point of view." Whether studying the raiding activity of Bedouin tribal nomads, witchcraft by African villagers, or head-hunting by grieving Philippine tribesmen, anthropologists embrace the sentiment that "nothing human is alien to me."
Except when it comes to Jews. Once again, Jews and the Jewish state have been uniquely selected for official opprobrium by the American Anthropological Association (AAA). A motion to boycott Israeli academic institutions, an initiative reminiscent of anti-Jewish boycotts of the 1930s, was presented this spring to the membership, which voted online. The resolution, which claims that "the Israeli state has denied Palestinians – including scholars and students – their fundamental rights of freedom, equality, and self-determination through ethnic cleansing, colonization, discrimination, and military occupation," was defeated, according to the official tally released on June 6, by a vote of 2,423 against and 2,384 in favor.
By the narrowest of margins, AAA will not formally join the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. This was surely a great disappointment to its Middle East Section, which has long been obsessed with defaming Israel. While the U.S.S.R. was invading Afghanistan and slaughtering its people in 1979, the Middle East Section discussed only Palestine, and condemned only Israel.

Why Even-Handed Isn’t Pro-Israel

Most Israelis would be overjoyed to accept a peace settlement that ended the conflict for all time even if it meant painful territorial compromises that would result in the eviction of many Jews from their homes in the heart of their ancient homeland. But as the Palestinians have indicated repeatedly, even their supposedly moderate leader Mahmoud Abbas is not willing to accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders would be drawn. Despite occasional lip service paid to the two-state solution idea for the Western press, neither Palestinian leaders nor Palestinian public opinion is ready to accept Israel. They see all of Israel — not just the West Bank and Jerusalem — as occupied territory. They applaud terror attacks on all Jews. Those dining in Tel Aviv cafes, like the victims in today’s atrocity, are seen by them as extremists as deserving of death as those Jews living in the most remote West Bank hilltop settlement.
The problem with even-handed policies, such as President Obama’s obsession with creating more “daylight” between Israel and the United States, is that they only encourage the Palestinians to continue rejecting peace rather than putting pressure on them to accept the compromises including statehood they’ve repeatedly rejected. That stand seems irrational, but it makes sense when you realize that Palestinians have come to view their struggle against Israel’s existence as intrinsic to their national identity.
Events like today’s attack in Tel Aviv ought to remind all Americans that so long as Palestinians are killing Jews, talk of even-handed policies will not help anyone, least of all Israel. Those who will praise today’s murderers as “heroes” — as both Palestinian moderates and extremists alike will do — don’t deserve support from either Democrats or Republicans. By fetishizing Palestinian statehood and trying to redefine support for that concept as essential to being pro-Israel, J Street and the left are actually harming the cause of peace and strengthening the forces inciting terrorism. If Democrats choose that path, they may claim, like J Street, to be pro-Israel, but that will be a deception. Until the Palestinians show themselves willing to end their century-long war on Zionism, even-handed means putting daylight between their party and the effort to defend the Jewish state.

Reporter Wonders if Israel Suspending Palestinian Entry Permits Akin to Trump’s Muslim Ban

ABC reporter Lana Zak asked the White House Thursday if it likened Israel’s suspension of entry permits to Palestinians in the wake of another terrorist attack to Donald Trump’s proposal to ban all Muslims from entering the United States.
Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire Wednesday at a popular Tel Aviv shopping complex located near Israel’s defense ministry, killing four. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the terrorists’ “savage crime,” and Israel announced it had suspended 83,000 entry permits for Palestinians on Thursday.
Zak wondered at Thursday’s press briefing whether this was akin to Trump’s controversial proposal that the U.S. temporarily ban Muslims from entering the U.S. in the name of security. Both Palestinian terrorists were in Israel on entry permits.
“What does the White House make of Israel’s decision to suspend entry permits to Palestinians?” she asked. “Does the White House find that an appropriate response? Is it too similar in some ways to the presumptive Republican nominee’s proposal to temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States because of terrorism?”

From Ha'aretz Hebrew, translated by Yoel:

Lets face it: we Arabs are a violent people by Abed L. Azab*

Why organize conferences against violence in Arab society, Taleb el-Sana and Samah Salaime Agbaria? Our violence has positive sides: it provides work for the Israeli police; research grants for those who want to study the phenomenon; and something to talk about when you're interviewed by the media.

You claim it does harm and that many human lives are lost? But what's a human's life worth for Arabs? Nothing. In Iraq life is more peaceful than in Denmark according to UN reports. Syria is nothing less than heaven on earth. Egypt? Not even one civilian was killed and not one plane blown up since Mubarak the traitor was ousted and replaced by a Saudi puppet. Saudi Arabia and its neighbours in the Gulf? Even the Swedes have much to learn from them on human rights, especially women and minority rights.

Enough with the hypocrisy. In order to solve the problem let us first admit that we're a violent people. That's our mentality. And don't start with your mantras about Islam being a religion of tolerance, kindness and compassion. Have you noticed that today violence among our Christian brothers is much lower than in Muslim society? Second, if Islam is indeed a tolerant religion - which I doubt - it seems that most Muslims aren't practicing their religion.

Lets be frank and admit that when someone is murdered, the family, clan and tribe rally behind the murderer and start raising money for him so he can pay the murdered person's family legal and ransom money, if they are willing to accept it.

Lets admit it is still considered "honorable" to carry arms. And the more so if those arms are illegal. Lets admit Jews carry licensed arms but they still don't shoot at weddings and villages as is the case by us. When we sit in our coffee shops and see "the unknown" shooters all we do is smile and carry on with our business. When a woman is murdered because of so called "family honor" in most cases her murder is justified. We said we'll talk frankly right?

Don't you know the youths who ride around the village on ATVs, endangering peoples' lives and sometimes running them over? Are they from a Jewish village? And when you recognize them what do you do? You wink at them and tell them what men they are. And you say it in Hebrew because it sounds so much cooler. But if they are from a rival family you curse their father, mother and sister, since rivalries are what keeps us going and our sole raison d'etre.

[...]

This is the essence of the cursed Arab mentality: me and my brother against my uncle, and me and my uncle against someone else. And don't start blaming the economic situation and the police for this. True, there is discrimination and racism. But that is exactly why we must unite against violence, not rally in support of it. The cancer of violence in our society will only be eradicated when every father will report his son carrying illegal arms, when every daughter will report her father. Excuse me, I must have been dreaming.

*A chemist and a teacher who lives in Ara

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Vic Rosenthal's Weekly Column

Today Israel’s PM Binyamin Netanyahu is concluding a two-day visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is the fourth time within a year that Netanyahu and Putin have met. Russian-Israeli relations now are probably the best they have been since the period immediately after the War of Independence.

Some of the topics that they admit to discussing have been economic, trade, technological and agricultural cooperation and the funding of pensions to Russians who have immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Military aides discussed communications to prevent accidental clashes between Russian and Israeli forces operating in Syria. Russia and Israel have many interests in common, and both Netanyahu and Putin are happy to talk about some of them publicly.

There are other things that they keep private. The situation is remarkably complicated.

Israel is not happy about Russian sales of sophisticated arms to Iran, such as the S-300 air defense system. Israel wants to break the chain of supplies from Iran, through the Syrian Assad regime, to Hezbollah in Lebanon. It is also worried about the Hezbollah and Iranian forces in the Syrian Golan Heights.

But Hezbollah is fighting alongside Assad, and Putin is supporting Assad. He wants Assad to keep control of at least part of the country in order to protect Russian naval and air bases. Putin also hopes to make Syria a client and embarrass the West, who are supporting some of the anti-Assad rebels.

Meanwhile, Israel is trying to improve relations with Russia’s historic rival, Turkey, while Turkey has been assisting some of Assad’s enemies, and even shot down a Russian plane last November.

Complicated enough? Don’t forget the Islamic State, which more or less everyone opposes, except maybe Saudi Arabia and Turkey (but they don’t admit it). The Saudis are also supporting some of Assad’s other enemies, which puts them in conflict with Russian aims.

Where is the US in all this? Almost nowhere, since it made it clear that it would not intervene against Assad when he used chemical weapons in Syria, probably because it didn’t want to upset Assad’s patron, Iran. It is operating against the IS to a limited extent, and supporting Iranian forces fighting IS guerrillas.

Israel has tried to stay out of the conflict in Syria, but it is the strongest power in the region and is right next door. The rational thing would be for Russia and Israel to jointly decide Syria’s fate in a way that would serve both their interests. Not even the US or Iran would be able to prevent the two from dictating such an arrangement.

Russia has a great deal of influence over Iran, certainly more than the US has obtained from Obama’s sycophantic courtship of the contemptuous regime. It seems to me that there is plenty of room here for cooperation, and for Israel to drive at least a small wedge between Russia and Iran. Suppose Israel agreed to help Russia guarantee Assad’s survival in at least part of Syria in return for Russia pressuring Iran to withdraw Hezbollah forces from the area close to Israel’s border?

Russia’s help would also be valuable in staving off an international agreement on Syria that includes the Golan Heights.

The Russian S-300 system was initially considered a game-changer. Its delivery to Iran was delayed for years, perhaps a result of Netanyahu’s approaches to Putin. But we haven’t heard many complaints from Jerusalem since the first units were delivered. Could it be that Israel has developed countermeasures to render it less dangerous? It is even imaginable that Israel received information from Russia about how to neutralize the version sold to Iran.

The US has protected Iran’s nuclear program from Israel, because the Obama Administration (stupidly) does not consider Iran a threat against the American homeland. Iran recently tested a missile with a range of about 2000 km (Tel Aviv is 1500 km from Tehran). It won’t be long before Moscow, only 2500 km away, will also be in range. It’s hard to believe that the Russians will be comfortable with this. Will they help Israel delay Iran’s nuclear arming?

Finally, there is the Palestinian issue. There have been hints that the US would not veto a UN Security Council resolution declaring settlements illegal or setting a time limit for Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria, especially if it is proposed after the American elections in November, when the administration will not have to fear political fallout. Russia is one of the five Security Council members that has the power to veto such a resolution. Even if it didn’t go that far, it could apply pressure to weaken the resolution before the vote.

Russian diplomacy has in the past leaned toward the Palestinians, although there have been several recent statements by Russian diplomats opposing imposed solutions and calling for direct negotiations between the parties. Everything considered, a turnabout in American and Russian votes in the Security Council would be surprising – but it could happen.

Russia wants to increase her influence in the Middle East and reduce that of the US. Putin understands that the Obama Administration has pushed Israel away, and sees an opportunity to step into the gap.

Russia wants to be more involved in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. It seems to me that at this point it would be more flexible and understanding of our position than Obama has been or Clinton is likely to be (I won’t try to predict the behavior of a Trump Administration), so I welcome this development.

Some have said that Putin himself has a “positive attitude toward Jews.” If this is true, it makes him one of a select few among national leaders. But in any event, it is irrelevant. Nobody in Putin’s shoes, and especially not a chess-playing, Machiavellian ex-KGB officer like Putin, makes decisions based on feelings. Israel has been very careful not to step on Russia’s toes – it did not join in Western criticism of Russia for its actions in Ukraine, for example – and Netanyahu seems to have put together a solid package of inducements for a better relationship.

Israel started off life as a state with the support of the Soviet bloc, which it lost in the 1950s, when the Russians felt that it would be a more effective Cold War strategy to support our enemies, and in the 1967 and 1973 wars they armed and supplied them. In 1975, the notorious “Zionism is racism” resolution at the UN was orchestrated by the Soviet Union. During the 1970s and 80s, the Soviets trained and supported the PLO and other terror groups. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, diplomatic relations with Russia were resumed, and more than a million Russian Jews were able to come to Israel (where I live, I hear Russian on the street as much as Hebrew).

Today Russia is one of Israel’s biggest trading partners. Israel buys oil from Russia, sells military equipment to it, and hosts Russian tourists. Visas are not required for travel between the countries – as opposed to the US, which has refused to waive visa requirements for Israelis – and there is a plan to establish a free-trade agreement.

With the American withdrawal from the Middle East and the increasingly anti-Israel tone of the administration, Israel is finding new partners. The Israel-Russia relationship “is complicated,” as Facebook would say, but it could be critical to our survival.

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06/09 Links Pt1: Tel Aviv victims: professor, mother of 4, ex-commando, engaged woman

From Ian:

Israeli anthropologist murdered in #TelAvivAttack, as American Anthro Assoc censures Israel for security measures

Just three days ago, on June 6, the American Anthropological Association announced that the membership narrowly defeated an anti-Israel academic boycott resolution.
The resolution was opposed by many Israel anthropologists, including Dr. Michael Feige of Ben-Burion University of the Negev:
The boycott, if passed, would have directly affected not only universities like Ben-Gurion, but those who work there like Dr. Feige.
Feige was one of hundreds to sign a statement against the boycott.
Despite the loss of the resolution vote, the AAA Executive Board, led by Alisse Waterston, AAA’s president and an anthropology professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, issued without a membership vote a censure and other steps against Israel.
A key justification for the censure and other steps was Israeli security practices such as checkpoints:

Tel Aviv victims: professor, mother of 4, ex-commando, engaged woman

Police have released the names of the four victims killed in Wednesday’s terror attack in Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market.
Forty-two-year-old Ido Ben Ari from Ramat Gan, 39-year-old Ilana Naveh from Tel Aviv, 58-year-old Michael Feige from Ramat Gan and 32-year-old Mila Mishayev from Rishon Lezion were killed when two Palestinian terrorists opened fire inside a restaurant in the shopping complex in central Tel Aviv, according to police.
All four were Israeli citizens, a police statement added.
Sixteen others were injured in the attack. Three of the victims remained in intensive care Thursday morning at nearby Ichilov Hospital, along with one of the attackers who was shot by a security guard, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Ben-Ari was a father of two. He served in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit during his IDF service and was working in a senior position at The Coca-Cola Company’s Israel branch, his sister told the Ynet news site.

PMW: Abbas doesn't condemn killing Israelis; instead, expresses "opposition to any operation that harms civilians"

Since October 2015, the PA and Fatah have honored and glorified all the terrorists who have carried out lethal attacks. At times, the Palestinian Authority did not immediately glorify the terrorists due to fear of international condemnation.
As of today, the process of public honoring has not yet begun for the Palestinian terrorists who killed four Israelis yesterday in Tel Aviv. However, the PA and Fatah have made their opinions clear in the careful language they have chosen to report on the terror attack.
It should not be forgotten that the Palestinian Authority's clearest affirmation of terror is that the two terrorists who murdered the Israelis yesterday in Tel Aviv and who were apprehended by Israeli police will be rewarded with a monthly salary from the Palestinian Authority starting immediately. This is PA law.
Since the terror attack was immediately condemned in strongest terms by many governments and by world leaders including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Mahmoud Abbas has issued a statement, not of condemnation of yesterday's terror attack, but of his "opposition to any operation that harms civilians by anybody, regardless of the justifications." [WAFA (the official Palestinian news agency), June 9, 2016] His statement does not even refer directly to the attack.
He also implicitly blamed Israel, as his Fatah party did earlier in the day explicitly, (see below) when he added: "Achieving peace requires everyone stop carrying out operations that are likely to increase the tension and resorting to violence." The implication is that some "operations" forced these people to "resort to violence."

Haters plead to go on NY State BDS list - and admit their goal is destruction of Israel

The BDS movement tries to be coy about its goals, sometimes saying that they only want and end to "occupation" or they seek "equal rights."

But this letter to New York Governor Cuomo, written on behalf of major BDS organizations and meant to be a defiant response to his stand against boycotters, proves his point better than anyone else could. They don't care about free speech or human rights - they simply want to destroy Israel.

Interesting that Paul Larudee is speaking on behalf of all these organizations that share the same EIN number.

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PLO calls terrorists "martyrs"- in English

Usually, the Negotiations Affairs Department of the PLO tries to stick to Western-style language when spinning its propaganda.

But in its latest report on supposed Israeli violations, it repeatedly refers to terrorists killed while trying to murder Israelis as "martyrs."

Here is an example:

Thaer Abu Ghazaleh was shot while stabbing 5 Israelis in Tel Aviv.

Baha’ Mohammad Allayan, together with an accomplice, shot and stabbed 3 Israelis to death on a bus in Armon Netziv. The victims were Richard Lakin, 76, Alon Andrei Govberg, 51, and Haviv Haim, 78. when Allayan ran out of bullets he started strangling passengers.

Abdel-Muhsen Hassuneh was shot when he rammed his car into a bus stop at the entrance to Jerusalem, injuring 11 Israelis.

Mohammad Abu Khalaf stabbed a border policeman in the head in Jerusalem.

Abdel Malik Abu Kharoub was killed in a gun battle after he shot at a bus near Jerusalem. Fatah created a poster calling him a "hero and a martyr."

Mohammad Kalouti shot and critically injured an Israeli civilian at a light rail stop in Jerusalem.

Abd al-Hamid Abu Srour blew himself up as he tried to planted a bomb on a bus in Jerusalem, injuring 20.

These are the people that the PLO considers "martyrs."

Maybe some reporter will ask Saeb Erekat why his organization venerates people who murder Jews.

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Apologists want to put Tel Aviv attack in "context." OK, let's do it.

Some Twitter reactions from oh-so-peaceful people:

overdone live @cnn coverage of Tel aviv attack but not a single word on the CONTEXT of the situation, the israeli rejection of french plan?
— Daoud Kuttab (@daoudkuttab) June 8, 2016

I am opposed to all the attacks on Israelis and Palestinians which are result of an illegal occupation. We need to put things in context
— Daoud Kuttab (@daoudkuttab) June 8, 2016

There was a shooting in Tel Aviv sadly. Get ready 2 hear media disinformation about evil Palestinians w zero context about Israeli violence
— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) June 8, 2016

"An occupation leads to foreign rule. Foreign rule leads to resistance. Resistance leads to oppression. Oppression leads to terrorism
— ygurvitz (@ygurvitz) June 8, 2016

MSNBC:

Ayman Mohyeldin and Martin Fletcher took turns blaming Israel’s “right-wing” government for Palestinian “frustration.”

Mohyeldin ranted: “...in terms of the context of what has been happening in the occupied Palestinian territories, the occupation, the shift of Israeli politics, including now the current government, more to the right, to what has been described by Israelis as even more of an extreme right-wing government, some of the measures that have taken place in the West Bank, the siege that continues in Gaza, all of those continue to fester.”

The "context" that these people plead for is "occupation" and "Israel's right wing government."

Context is a funny thing, though. It can be a bit more expansive than these people claim.

The Quran says twice about Jews "Allah has cursed them on account of their unbelief" (2:88, 4:46). Also "you shall always discover treachery in them excepting a few of them" (5:13). It refers to Jews and Christians by saying "may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!" (9:30).

Is that too wide a context? Okay, let's narrow it a bit,to how Muslims treated Jews in the 19th century:

In the year 1823, at the same Damascus, all the Jews suspected of having property were thrown into prison, and compelled to pay forty thousand purses or lose their heads. At Safet, in 1834, their houses were stripped, and great personal cruelties inflicted upon them, for the like purpose of extorting money; and generally in Syria they were compelled to work for the Turks without payment, being bastinadoed if they remonstrated. The lowest fallaah would stop them when travelling, and demand money as a right due to the Musselman; which robbery was liable to be repeated several times a day upon the same Jew.

The occupation of Syria by the Egyptians did not mitigate the hard condition of the Jews of Palestine' They were still defrauded and insulted; the commonest soldier would seize the most respectable Israelite, and compel him by blows to sweep the streets, and to perform the most degrading offices. The contempt indeed in which they are held by Mahometans, however difficult to be accounted for, exceeds that which they have experienced in Christian lands. In the East they are truly become a proverb, the term Jew being applied despitefully, as the most reproachful and degrading known.

In Persia the condition of the Jews is worse even than in Syria. Often whilst they are assembled in their synagogues, a soldier enters with an order from the Shah for money; they are compelled to work without payment; and their women are unceremoniously taken from them, without their daring to murmur.

In Morocco they are equally ground down by a barbarous despotism. The Moors consider that the object of a Jew's birth is to serve Musselmen, and he is consequently subject to the most wanton insults. The boys for their pastime beat and torment the Jewish children: the men kick and buffet the adults. They walk into their houses at all hours, and take the grossest freedoms with their wives and daughters, the Jews invariably coming off with a sound beating if they venture to resist. In 1804 those of Algiers were subjected to horrible tortures, being suspended from the walls by long ropes with hooked nails at the ends, merely because they had unsuspectingly lent money to persons who were secretly conspiring against the Dey; nor were they released without the payment of a large sum. In 1827 the Dey threw a rich Jew into prison for no other purpose than to extort from him 500,000 Spanish dollars. At Tripoli the bashaw extorted a large sum from them on account of the drought, which he declared them to be the cause of. Mr. Ewald, after describing the beauty, fertility, and prosperity of the island of Gerba in Morocco, “where, if any where, (he says) every one lives quietly beneath his own vine and fig-tree,” next speaks of the Jews as the only exception, among whom he nowhere witnessed greater poverty and oppression...

Perhaps this context is still too wide for the lovers of context. Let's look only at how the Arabs in Palestine treated Jews before Theodor Herzl coined the word "Zionism."

Jews being banned from Temple Mount, 1883 painting

From James Finn, British consul to Jerusalem from 1853-6:

In times gone by these native Jews had their full share of suffering from the general tyrannical conduct of the Moslems, and, having no resources for maintenance in the Holy Land, they were sustained, though barely, by contributions from synagogues all over the world. This mode of supply being understood by the Moslems, they were subjected to exactions and plunder on its account from generation to generation ... This oppression proved one of the causes which have entailed on the community a frightful incubus of debt, the payment of interest on which is a heavy charge upon the income derived from abroad... the Jews are humiliated by the payment, through the Chief Rabbi, of pensions to Moslem local exactors, for instance the sum of 300£. a year to the Effendi whose house adjoins the ' wailing place,' or fragment of the western wall of the Temple enclosure, for permission to pray there; 100£. a year to the villagers of Siloam for not disturbing the graves on the slope of the Mount of Olives ; 50£ a year to the Ta'amra Arabs for not injuring the Sepulchre of Rachel near Bethlehem, and about 10£ a year to Sheikh Abu Gosh for not molesting their people on the high road to Jaffa, although he was highly paid by the Turkish Government as Warden of that road.

Palestinian Christians were no better to Jews:

In 1847 it seemed probable that the Christian pilgrims, instigated by the Greek ecclesiastics, were about to reproduce the horrors enacted at Rhodes and Damascus in 1840.
A Greek pilgrim boy, in a retured street, had thrown a stone at a poor little Jew boy, and, strange to say, the latter bad the courage to retaliate by throwing one in return, which unfortunately hit its mark, and a bleeding aukle was the consequence. It being the season of the year when Jerusalem is always thronged with pilgrims ( March), a tumult soon arose, and the direst vengeance was denounced against all Jews indiscriminately, for having stabbed (as they said) an innocent Christian child, with a knife, in order to get his blood, for mixing in their Passover biscuits. The police came up and both parties were taken down to the Seraglio for judgment ; there the case was at once discharged as too trivial for notice.
The Convent Clergy, however, three days afterwards, stirred up the matter afresh, exaggerated the state of the wound inflicted, and engaged to prove to the Pashk from their ancient books that Jews are addicted to the above cannibal practice, either for purposes of necromancy, or out of hatred of Christians, on which His Excellency unwisely Buffered the charge of assault to be diverted into this different channel, which was one that did not concern him ; and he commanded the Jews to answer for themselves on the second day afterwards. In the interval, both Greeks and Armenians went about the streets insulting and menacing the Jews, both men and women, sometimes drawing their hands across the throat, sometimes showing the knives which they generally earn» about with them, and, among other instances brought to my notice, was that of a party of six catching hold of the son of the late Chief Rabbi of London (Herschell) and shaking him, elderly man as he was, by the collar, crying out, ' Ah! Jew, have you got the knives ready for our blood ! '

Before any Likud prime minister, before 1967, before 1948, before the Balfour Declaration, before Herzl, Arabs and Muslims treated Jews like dirt both within and without Palestine.

The reason for modern terror attacks isn't because of "occupation" or Israel's refusal to participate in the French peace initiative that is meant to pressure only Israel to make more concessions. It isn't because of Israel's "extreme right wing government." It isn't even because of Zionism.

The reason that Arabs attack Jews is because the very idea of Jews acting as equals, with the right to self-determination and the right to have a land of their own, is an insult to Arab honor. Jews are meant to be wretched, second-class citizens bowing and scraping and paying extortion money to their Muslim masters, and there has never been a greater humiliation to the Arab people than seeing these despised Jews beating them militarily.

Arab psyche is driven by insistence on honor and fear of shame, and everything done since 1948 has been meant to erase the ultimate humiliation of Jews controlling land that Arabs consider their own. Do I really need to catalog the many terror attacks before 1967, before 1948, before 1917?

Yes, let's put the Tel Aviv attacks in context. The context is that Arabs (both Muslim and Christian) believe that Jews are a cursed people and that the existence of proud Jews not acting as proper dhimmis in the Middle East is an affront to Arab honor.

Everything else is apologetics.

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Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah: The murdered Israelis deserved it

Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah

Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah issued a statement justifying the murder of Jews, although they didn't take credit.

Fatah said in a statement that the Tel Aviv "operation" is a natural response to the "occupation and violations against our people everywhere."

Munir Aljagub, a spokesman, said: "Israel must realize very well the consequences of what they are doing from the continued push towards the option of violence and house demolitions and forced displacement of Jerusalemites and successive intrusions by the settlers to the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinians killed in cold blood in the territories occupied in 1967 ".

At the exact same time, Fatah issued another statement strongly condemning the shooting attack in Jordan that killed 5 soldiers, saying "it is a crime of terrorism par excellence, not only because of a desire for bloody barbarism that drives these shedders of blood, but also to violate the laws and principles of values and ethics of humanity altogether, and the Islamic principles especially, this is the holy month when Islamists slaughter their victims with the idea that it would bring them to paradise."

The moderate Fatah also compared the Muslim Brotherhood, whom they blame for the Jordanian attack, to - you guessed it - Jews, saying "The Brotherhood is characterized by a mentality of revenge and this attribute it identical with its Talmudic twin." (Palestinians may have been responsible for the attack so Fatah wants to blame the Muslim Brotherhood to take the heat off.)

Quite a contrast between how they condemn an attack on a military target and condone an attack on civilians eating dinner. But, you know, those civilians were "Talmudic" and therefore deserved it.

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06/08 Links Pt2: 3 killed, 5 badly injured, in central Tel Aviv shooting attack; Suspected car bomb outside Israels London embassy

From Ian:

3 killed, 5 badly injured, in central Tel Aviv shooting attack

2 Palestinian terrorists, dressed in suits, open fire in restaurant at popular Sarona center; arrested gunmen are relatives from Hebron area
Three people were killed in a shooting terror attack in Tel Aviv’s popular Sarona Market Wednesday evening.
Three others were seriously hurt, with another person said to be in critical condition.
Police said two Palestinian gunmen were involved in the terror attack. One shooting was said to have occurred inside the Sarona complex while another was reported on the adjacent Ha’arba’ah Street.
Officials said one gunman was arrested and another was shot by security forces and taken into custody. Police later confirmed they were Palestinian relatives from the Hebron area in the West Bank.
Some unconfirmed reports spoke of a third gunman who escaped, but police and soldiers deployed in the surrounding streets called off the search after an hour.

Terror alert in central London as police carry out controlled explosion of suspected car bomb outside Israeli embassy just 100 yards from Kensington Palace

A controlled explosion has been carried out on a 'suspicious package' left inside a car parked outside the Israeli embassy in central London.
Hundreds of commuters were evacuated from Kensington Palace Gardens and High Street Kensington this evening after a 'suspicious vehicle' was discovered outside the embassy.
There were reports of a loud explosion and people running as the incident unfolded.
Following the controlled explosion it turned out the 'suspicious package' was in fact personal belongings left in the back of the silver Volkswagen Passat.
A police cordon was set up and dozens of police officers remain at the scene.
A Met Police spokeswoman said: ‘A controlled explosion was carried out after a suspicious vehicle was found parked opposite the Israeli Embassy.’
An eyewitness told MailOnline: 'There was one car with its rear windshield blown in although the rest seems intact.

IsraellyCool: The Failing Independent Takes A Shot At Israellycool And Me

Yesterday the failing Independent “newspaper” in the UK decided to weigh in on the Leanne Mohamad story. In a shocking (not shocking) display of so called journalism, they canonised the little liar and her speech, in the process demonising anyone pointing out the problems with her Israel hating screed.
Articles on the Israellycool website called it an “Isis recruiting video” that amounted to “blood libel”.
Other critics said Leanne did not give evidence for some of her claims, particularly on children’s deaths, and failed to balance her argument with information on terror attacks against Israelis.
The Wanstead High School pupil received widespread support on Twitter but was also labelled an “antisemite” and “advocate for suicide bombers”.
“If the Islamist scum is old enough to be on Twitter and spout lies she’s old enough to be ridiculed,” one person wrote.
As hundreds of people continued to tweet about her speech, Leanne said she had reported online abuse to police.
They mentioned the petition in blind support of Leanne Mohamad and completely failed to mention the petition asking the school to institute some balance (which has gained over 700 signatures).
Yesterday I actually tried to contact the police in the UK myself to see if they want to talk to me. I’d be happy to talk to the police: I would like to explain to them the child abuse going on in their borough.

Arabs upset at Al Arabiya for calling dead Jews "victims"

Shehab News Agency, which is pretty much a pro-jihadist site, published Gazans celebrating the terror attack in Tel Aviv tonight.

It also complained that the original headline at Al Arabiya about the attack referred to the murdered Israelis as "victims."

Many of the commenters at Al Arabiya echoed that complaint, some asking sarcastically why they don't just refer to the Jews as "shahids." Most of the commenters say that only Arabs can be victims, and a few added antisemitic comments for good measure, calling the victims "descendants of apes and pigs" and the like, and calling Al Arabiya a prostitute for supposedly accepting Jewish money to report so favorably on civilians being mowed down.

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