Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

12/20 Links Pt2: Author of pro-intifada kids' book says 'Christmas is a Palestinian festival'; BuzzFeed attempts to wave off Linda Sarsour accusations, but only raises more questions

From Ian:

Ex-professor who wrote pro-intifada kids' book says 'Christmas is a Palestinian festival'

A former Pace University history professor has come under fire for writing a children’s book that claims “Christmas is a Palestinian festival” and that Jesus was an Abrahamic prophet born in a Palestinian city.

Golbarg Bashi’s book “P is for Palestine” has been labeled an “incitement for terrorism” and “anti-Semitic propaganda.” But the author told Fox News it’s “a fun diverse children’s rhyme book” that “tells a social justice story about Palestinian history and culture through each letter of the English alphabet.”

Bashi, a “kids’ author committed to BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions against Israel) and empowering, diversifying kids media,” was heavily criticized for writing “I is for intifada” and calling intifada a “peaceful resistance.”

But B for Bethlehem, C for Christmas, and J for Jesus also raised some flags – for another reason.

“As I have said repeatedly, I believe it is very important for American, Mexican, Canadian, Central and South American, British, Swedish and children from any region and nation whose most important holiday is Christmas to know that Christmas is a Palestinian festival, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, an Abrahamic Prophet who was born in Bethlehem, a Palestinian City,” wrote Bashi.

IsraellyCool: JVP Holds Children’s Book Readings of Book Glorifying Terrorism

A few days ago, Jewish Voice for Peace held a special reading of P is for Palestine – the book glorifying palestinian terrorism – for children. And it was billed as a special Hanukkah event.

Delightful?! What the hell is wrong with them?

As a reminder, Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the re-dedication of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem thousands of years ago. Hardly convenient to the “palestinian” narrative that this land belongs to them. But it just goes to show you how un-Jewish Jewish Voice for Peace truly is.

And unscrupulous. This was a reading for children.

BuzzFeed attempts to wave off Linda Sarsour accusations, but, if anything, it only raises more questions

Sarsour, who was running the Arab American Association, worked with Fathelbab, an Americorps employee who was placed with the organization and coordinated the youth program. That much was confirmed in the BuzzFeed article.

However, the stories begin to diverge as Sarsour retells her version of the events, who completely denied the accusations that she enabled sexual harassment or assault. She even presented affidavits, email correspondence, and witness statements that cast doubt on Fathelbab's version of events. Sarsour did not respond to requests for comment from both the Washington Examiner and the Daily Caller.

Majid Seif did live in the building that housed the Arab American Association, and often helped Fathelbab and AAA with Arabic translation or event planning. He denies any type of sexual misconduct with Fathelbab.

In an affidavit produced on Aug. 13, 2009, Sarsour defended Seif against the accusations Fathelbab was making and said it was she who was creating a hostile work environment. And, to Sarsour, the accusations that Fathelbab brought forward weren't as bad as what she told the Daily Caller.

“The exact words were, ‘He makes me feel uncomfortable,’” Sarsour recalled, who also denied that she ever body-shamed Fathelbab by asserting she as too fat to be the object of harassment. “There was nothing about touching or groping. There’s no evidence, no email she can pull out where she ever gave those claims to us.”

She continued. "This is character assassination. This is where we have to draw the line. I have two daughters. This is not the type of behavior I engage in."

The problem with Sarsour's defense is that one BuzzFeed article doesn't absolve her of any wrongdoing. It's certainly possible that Fathelbab exaggerated her version of events or even didn't tell the entire truth, but that doesn't discredit the idea that she could've been sexually harassed or assaulted. An affidavit saying that Sarsour defended Seif actually proves Fathelbab right, in that she took his side over his accuser's.

Islamic reform. Is it possible? Can Islam be the “religion of peace” some tell us it is, or is meant to be?

This idea is repugnant to many on the right. Small wonder what with radical Islam’s hold on the world, the rampant terror, terror that is too ugly to read, speak, or even think about much of the time.

Not to mention, terror, when it occurs, is almost invariably committed by Muslims.

None of this, however, precludes the possibility that a different Islam exists and can take hold, as long as we don’t squelch it with preconceived notions.

I had a dear friend, Robert Werdine, who was a devout Muslim, who saw me as the big sister he always wanted. He believed in Islamic reform. He was a brilliant scholar of history and of Islam and could have done great things with his life. Alas, he was not blessed with good health and died much too young of complications due to diabetes.

Whenever he landed in the hospital, and this was often, he’d insist his mother let me know he was okay, so I wouldn't worry. I was not surprised when his nephew, someone I’d never met, took the trouble to inform me, by private message, that Robert had died. He was thoughtful that way, always taking time to wish his Jewish friends a happy holiday before each and every Jewish festival.

I thank God/Allah for having met Robert, who defended me against the worst haters, who explained the other Islam to me—the one no one believes can exist—and who believed in Muslim coexistence with the Jews.

Robert not only believed this, but actively worked to spread these views, giving lessons to children in his local mosque, helping them to use their critical thinking skills and apply them toward the question of how Islam sees the Jews.

Robert told me that his great grandfather had been a sheikh in Lebanon who worked for coexistence with the local Jewish community. He also explained to me that Arabs were late to become literate, and that when they could finally read, the only religious tracts available for purchase were those commentaries written by awful, violent clerics. That is how this awful, violent form of Islam took hold.

Robert explained to me that where Islam speaks of Jews as “pigs and monkeys,” it is speaking only of those Jews who scorn their own religious tenets. Jews who turn away from the Torah.

The Jews are the People of the Book, and the Bani Isra’il, the Children of Israel. They have a right to their land. This is enshrined in Islamic religious texts, in the Quran. Islam, in this light, is pro-Israel.

As was Robert. To the bone.

Robert was well aware of the scam of the Arab “refugees” accusing Israel of occupation. He saw straight through Linda Sarsour and termed her “dreadful.” He hated the New York Times piece, Linda Sarsour Is a Brooklyn Homegirl in a Hijab, and called it “a fluff piece masquerading as an in depth profile.”

When Robert felt well, he’d send me brilliant pieces he’d written (apparently just for me), all footnoted and sourced, explaining Islam from its kinder, more peaceful perspective.

Here is what I learned: just as Judaism has different arbiters of the law, so does Islam (l'havdil).

And people can choose to follow a harsh taskmaster or a kind and merciful one.

There is no contradiction here.

The long pieces Robert wrote for my benefit were the reason we took our correspondence from Facebook private messaging to email correspondence. And that's when our friendship really bloomed and my understanding of Islam grew.

Yes. I have read the history books by Bat Ye’or. I am not ignorant of how Muslims treated the Jews in the past—making them wear bells, walk in the gutter, and wear two different shoes; making them pay tribute; raping them; kidnapping them; and stealing their homes, their land.

Yes. I know that Haj Amin El Husseini was in cahoots with Hitler. I know of the slaughter, prejudice, and maltreatment. Do you think that I and my family have been immune from first hand knowledge of such things?

But I also know that it doesn’t have to be this way. That Islam can coexist with Judaism. I know that because of Robert. I know that because of my work with Rabbi Avi Feld. I know it because of other friendships I have had with Muslims.

I know it because of clips like this that come out once in a blue moon.

I don’t care how many people tell me there is only this one, horrid Islam. I know otherwise. Because of my friend Robert.

And I don’t know why God didn’t bless him with good health, so that he might have amplified his views and his work. I don't know why he suffered so much, though he was such a thoroughly good person.

But I do know there is a bigger picture.

Perhaps the world wasn’t ready to believe what I believe: that there can be a different, kinder Islam. And so Robert died, his work unfinished, undone.

But whenever I despair, I think of Robert Werdine, of blessed memory, whose Arabic name was Sharif, and I believe, no I know, that things can and will be better.

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Gov't Clerks On Strike, No One Notices Difference In Service (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook page.

Jerusalem, December 20 - A strike among public-sector workers entered its fourth day today, but the public has not caught on because there appears to be no noticeable difference between the current availability of those workers and their availability on any other day.

Citizens lined up at the entrance to the Ministry of the Interior facility on Shlomtzion Street in the capital displayed no knowledge this morning that a work stoppage was in effect, as their inability to enter the reception area seemed identical to the situation when no such stoppage was taking place. Similar scenes developed around the country at National Insurance offices, public health care facilities, government ministries, and other public-sector institutions that typically handle large numbers of visitors seeking documentation or approval for procedures.

"Yeah, it's like this every day," lamented a visitor to a National Insurance branch in the southern coastal city of Ashdod. "You come here, you wait forever, and maybe, if the stars align just so, you get in that day. I guess today isn't that day." He betrayed no knowledge of a strike.

Some visitors had heard reports public sector workers were striking, but reported they were unable to confirm the reports firsthand. "I read it online somewhere, yeah," recalled a visitor to a Kupat Holim Klalit clinic in Beersheva. "But you never know with these reports - quite often the strike is called off at the last minute when an agreement is reached, and the strike wasn't the issue so much as the threat of a strike was. I've been waiting to get inside and take a number since six-thirty this morning, and it's only ten-thirty now, which is about par for the course. Maybe in a couple of hours I'll be able to discern whether there's a strike going on. Stay tuned, I guess."

Two factors compound the confusion, according to experts. "Some, but not all, sectors of the public are striking," noted Avi Nissencoreleone, director of the Histadrut, the country's largest labor union and a major force behind the current strike. "Public transportation is still operating, for example. So some people might not feel the impact as much as others do. Also, many government and public-sector employees find it difficult to transition from their routine stonewalling of citizens to the stonewalling that takes place as part of a strike. We're probably seeing some of the impact of those difficulties."

Similar episodes took place last year, when workers in the mail sorting and delivery departments of the Postal Authority went on strike, but no one noticed.

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12/20 Links Pt1: Murray: Europe's "Arab Street" Rises Up; n Dershowitz: The Conflict over Jerusalem Is ALL Obama's Fault

From Ian:

US says it’ll be ‘taking names’ of countries that oppose Jerusalem move at UN

United States Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said the US will be “taking names” of countries that support a draft resolution rejecting President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, set for a General Assembly vote Thursday.

Turkey and Yemen requested the urgent meeting of the 193-nation forum on behalf of the Arab group of countries and the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) after the US vetoed the measure in the Security Council. The two countries circulated a draft resolution that mirrors the vetoed measure, reaffirming that any decision on the status of Jerusalem has no legal effect and must be rescinded.

Egypt had put forward the draft, which was backed by all 14 other Security Council members in a vote on Monday. Like the Egyptian draft, the text before the assembly does not explicitly mention Trump’s decision but expresses “deep regret at recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem.”

Haley reacted angrily to the move, tweeting, “On Thurs there’ll be a vote criticizing our choice. The US will be taking names.”

In a letter sent to several UN ambassadors, Haley warned that she would report back to Trump on the countries that supported the draft resolution.

“The president will be watching this vote carefully and has requested I report back on those countries who voted against us,” she wrote. “We will take note of each and every vote on this issue.”

Caroline Glick: The international community and the liberal media

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley glared at her colleagues at the UN Security Council Monday as she cast the lone nay vote against a draft resolution presented by Egypt to nullify US President Donald Trump’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Haley then berated her UN colleagues for their assault against US sovereignty and for their prolonged efforts to delegitimize Israel and blame the Jewish state for the absence of peace. In her words, “The United States refuses to accept the double standard that says we are not impartial when we stand by the will of the American people by moving our US embassy, but somehow the United Nations is a neutral party when it consistently singles out Israel for condemnation.”

The liberal media, led by The New York Times chastised her.

“Punctuating America’s increasing international isolation, the United Nations Security Council demanded on Monday that the Trump administration rescind its decisions to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and to put the United States Embassy there,” the Times wrote in a purported news article.

While attacking Trump and Haley for isolating the US, the Times and its colleagues failed to explain what an international community-aligned US foreign policy looks like.

Notably, just such a policy and its consequences were the subject of a 15,000-word investigative report published Monday morning by Politico.

“The secret backstory of how Obama let Hezbollah off the hook,” by Josh Meyer, detailed how in the interest of advancing a policy supported by the international community, then president Barack Obama imperiled US public health, national security and its allies.

As Meyer recalled, Obama entered office in 2009 promising to turn over a new leaf with Iran.

By promising to turn over a new leaf in US-Iran relations, Obama signaled his belief that the sorry state of those relations was America’s fault. Because if it wasn’t America’s fault, then no American president could change the situation.

Obama’s assumption was entirely wrong.

Douglas Murray: Europe's "Arab Street" Rises Up

It is now a fortnight since President Trump made his historic announcement about the status of Jerusalem. The speech which announced that America would drop the pretence that Jerusalem is not the capital of the State of Israel was relayed live around the world. Across the major networks and the world's front pages the response was almost unanimous. They proclaimed this a major foreign policy blunder which would lead to any number of problems including -- many predicted -- an immediate "third intifada."

The world's cameras immediately turned to Bethlehem where a small group of enterprising Palestinians burned an American flag for the cameras. This picture went around the world. Otherwise, not very much appeared to be happening. Hamas called for a "Day or Rage" -- as opposed to the days of peace and harmony the terrorist group ordinarily calls for -- but this did not spill out very far. The Friday immediately following the announcement might have been a flashpoint, tempers being famously frayed after the act of afternoon worship. And yet, as the BBC's veteran reporter Jeremy Bowen tweeted from the scene, "At Damascus Gate in Jerusalem press pack outnumbering demonstrators." The fabled "Arab Street" had been meant to rise up. And it did rise up. But not in the Arab world.

In London, the American Embassy was the scene of a protest called for by a number of prominent left-wing and Labour party activists as well as a some Muslim groups. The Labour MP Andy Slaughter was among those who addressed the crowds. This swiftly arranged protest soon degenerated into the usual anti-Semitic rally, with the crowds chanting "From the Rivers to the Sea Palestine will be free" (that is "There will be no Israel at all, not even a sliver of the land"). And the crowd also chanted "Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, Jaish Muhammad, sa yahud". That is, "Jews, remember Khaybar, the army of Muhammad is returning." For the crowd outside the American embassy in London, threatening Jews with the memory of the seventh century obliteration of a Jewish community near Medina was clearly an entirely appropriate move.

Meanwhile, in Amsterdam, a man carrying a Palestinian flag and wearing a keffiyah headed to a heavily Jewish quarter of the city. There he proceeded to smash in the windows of a kosher restaurant. The whole thing was caught on camera. Again it appeared to make perfect sense to the assailant. The American president recognised Jerusalem as the capital of the state of Israel and this man headed out to carry out a replay of Kristallnacht at a Jewish business on a Dutch street.

Daniel Seidemann’s “endless admiration” for Ahed Tamimi (Petra Marquardt-Bigman)

By Petra Marquardt-Bigman

Daniel Seidemann is the founder and director of the NGO Terrestrial Jerusalem (TJ), and TJ’s website describes him as a “world-renowned Jerusalem expert.” Seidemann’s NGO “works to identify and track the full spectrum of developments in Jerusalem that could impact either the political process or permanent status options, destabilize the city or spark violence, or create humanitarian crises.” TJ also claims to represent “a proud Jewish/Israeli voice.”

Yesterday, Seidemann announced on Twitter that he has “endless admiration for Ahed Tamimi;” he explained that she is “16 yrs old and under arrest for her courage in resisting occupation. A slap is not a war crime - we Israelis have ‘earned’ the right to be humiliated.”

How’s that for “a proud Jewish/Israeli voice”…

(Note: Ahed is 18, not 16 - EoZ)

You can watch Ahed Tamimi helping IDF soldiers get their Seidemann-declared “right to be humiliated” here.

Here's another more violent cut of the obstruction of the officer's execution of his duty. He had 2 options - field arrest, or arrest at a later date. He avoided the immediate viral provocation and chose to follow up later on. pic.twitter.com/TcmLdWsbId
— LTC (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) December 19, 2017

For some reason, the tweet showed up in my feed, and since I wasn’t aware of Seidemann’s awesome status as a “world-renowned Jerusalem expert,” I thought he might perhaps not know much about the background of the teenager for whom he professed “endless admiration.” So I responded by posting some of the facts about the Tamimis’ ardent Jew-hatred and support for terrorism that I’ve documented in great detail.

It didn’t take long for Seidemann to respond to me – by blocking me.

Unfortunately, I now can’t ask him anymore if this is also the modus operandi of his NGO: when you encounter facts you don’t like, you just block them and pretend they don’t exist.

I have no doubt that as a “world-renowned Jerusalem expert,” Seidemann knows very well that the Tamimis have been rooting for years for a “third intifada,” and that as far as they are concerned, the ultimate goal of this intifada is the end of Israel. As Ahed’s father Bassem Tamimi put it two years ago during a speaking tour in the US: “Israel is a big settlement” and “the problem is the ‘colonial project’ of Zionism.”

Moreover, as I’ve noted previously, if the “third intifada” the Tamimis have tried to incite for years “was brought about by knife-wielding Palestinian teenagers stabbing Jews on the streets of Israel’s cities, the Tamimis could see nothing wrong with that. They had always advocated the use of children in violent confrontations with the IDF, and now they were ready to hail teenaged terrorists as ‘heroes’ if they were arrested, and as ‘martyrs’ if they were killed while killing or trying to kill” — and often enough the Tamimis claimed at the same time that the “martyrs” they celebrated were innocent victims executed in cold blood by the evil Zionists.

Of course, Ahed Tamimi cannot be blamed for the way she was brought up, but by expressing “endless admiration for Ahed Tamimi” and applauding her attack on Israeli soldiers, Seidemann implicitly endorsed the vile views and the despicable conduct of her parents.

So let’s not forget that for Ahed’s mother Nariman Tamimi, her daughter’s aunt Ahlam Tamimi – who planned and facilitated the Sbarro bombing and was deliriously happy about the carnage it wrought – is not a terrorist, but an admirable rebel.

One thing is for sure: “world-renowned Jerusalem expert” Daniel Seidemann would be (rightly) horrified if a Jewish teenager was brought up with this kind of “values,” but the bigotry of lower expectations requires that he feels “endless admiration” for a Palestinian teenager who has been ruthlessly indoctrinated by her Jew-hating terror-loving parents.

(For more EoZ articles on Seidemann, see here and here.)

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UN official weeping for a double-amputee terrorist (UPDATES: He planned to die)

From the UN News Centre:

Shocked at the “incomprehensible” killing of a wheelchair-bound amputee protester by Israeli security forces, the top United Nations human rights official has called on the country to open an independent and impartial investigation into the incident.

“International human rights law strictly regulates the use of force in the context of protests and demonstrations. The lethal use of firearms should only be employed as the last resort, when strictly unavoidable, in order to protect life,” Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Tuesday.

“However, as far as we can see, there is nothing whatsoever to suggest that Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh [the protester] was posing an imminent threat of death or serious injury when he was killed,” he added, stressing: “Given his severe disability, which must have been clearly visible to those who shot him, his killing is incomprehensible – a truly shocking and wanton act.”

According to the news release, Ibrahim Nayef Ibrahim Abu Thurayeh, a 29-year-old man from Gaza, who reportedly had both legs amputated after an Israeli attack on Gaza in 2008, was among hundreds of Palestinians marching across farmland towards a fence following Friday prayers on 15 December to protest against the United States’ decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

He appears to have been killed by a bullet to the head when he was approximately 20 meters from the fence, it added.

Here's what this "human rights official" doesn't bother to say:

Israel’s military said no live fire was aimed at Abu Thraya and it was impossible to determine the cause of death. It said its investigation was hindered by the refusal of Palestinian authorities to share details of his injuries.

“It is impossible to determine whether Abu Thurayeh was injured as a result of riot dispersal means or what caused his death,” the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement. “The initial investigation indicates that no moral or professional failures were identified.”

The only source for Abu Thraya's death is - Hamas.

The only source saying that he was shot in the head is - Hamas.

The only source that his death came from an Israeli bullet is - Hamas.

And when Israel tries to investigate, the Palestinians don't cooperate.

Isn't that convenient? I mean, it isn't as if there haven't been many times that Palestinians were killed by their own actions and they falsely blamed Israel.

And there is more about Abu Thuraya.

Tomer Ilan did some very impressive research to show that the alleged victim of Israeli fire was not some civilian protester but a known terrorist. Excerpts:

*** Membership in Force 17 ***
Abu Thuraya is mentioned in a 2005 report from Gaza by British newspaper the Independent as a member of Force 17:
“Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, a member of the Palestinian presidential security group Force 17, who was shot three times in the leg [by HAMAS]”
His membership in Force 17 is also mentioned in the book “Hamas: The Islamic Resistance Movement By Beverley Milton-Edwards, Stephen Farrell“ where an interview with him from 2005 is quoted:
“Ibrahim Abu Thuraya, a twenty-year-old member of the Palestinian Authority’s Force 17”
The above book is also quoted in a Newsweek article on his death from 15 December 2017.
Force 17 was a commando and special operations unit of the Palestinian Fatah movement and later of the Office of the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority. Force 17 was founded in the early 1970s by mega-terrorist Ali Hassan Salameh, murdered Israeli civilians in Cyprus in 1985. After the outbreak of the 2nd Intifada II, Force 17 was involved in shooting and mortar attacks against Israelis both on the West Bank and in Gaza.
*** Sources describe Abu Thuraya as a “Colonel” militant in Hamas ***
After his death, some sources have described Abu Thuraya as a “Colonel” in the “Resistance” (Hamas):
Russia Today News (RT News) have reported in their Arabic edition on 15 December 2017: "Colonel" Ibrahim Abu Thuraya "Qaid" Palestinian resisted the Israeli army half body”. He is named “El Aqid”, a rank used in Hamas and equivalent to “Colonel” in Western armies.
Interestingly, the same story in RT News English edition bears no mention of the Colonel rank. The report naming him “Colonel” is repeated in several other Arabic language publications such as .
Al Mydan News, a publication in Egypt, describes him on 16 December 2017 as “a 29-year-old Palestinian militant”.

For all we know, the disabled Abu Thuraya might have chosen to be "martyred" by his fellow Hamas members in order to elicit exactly this sort of reaction from the UN and world media.

Farfetched? Maybe. But only maybe.

Here is a photo of the legless man from May during another protest. What is strange about this picture?

There is no wheelchair visible.

Ibrahim's Hamas pals took him out of his wheelchair and placed him on the hard ground by himself, just so their complicit reporters could take a pathos-filled picture of a disabled man who cares so much about freedom that he goes out, alone, with only a flag to protect him.

The only reason that picture could be taken is if Abu Thuraya wanted to engage in his own Pallywood production of a poor legless man pathetically protesting while immobile.

Clearly, the man is happy to act as a victim to make Israel look bad.

Could he also have been complicit in his own death? A man who probably has no marriage prospects, no ability to fight, and useless to his cause - except for becoming a martyr?

I have no evidence for this. It is all conjecture. I dislike conspiracy theories. But there is more to this story than is being reported, and there is a reason the Gaza officials aren't being transparent.

But our UN "human rights" official isn't calling for Hamas to cooperate. He's only calling on Israel to allow a kangaroo court to come and make their foregone conclusions.

UPDATE: My conjecture may be right. From RT:

The Palestinian’s brother told Ruptly that Thurayeh knew he would not be coming back from the protest alive. “Yesterday my brother said to me while he was eating dinner us: ‘Brother, forgive me. This is the last night you will see me. And you, my mother, forgive me, and you my sisters, you all forgive me...’

“He kissed the hand and the leg of my father and said to him: Father, forgive me. This is the last night you will see me, as I intend to be a martyr. I am bored of this life, I have no legs and I have nothing. I want to die and rest from life.”

His mother told Ruptly that her son wanted to “sacrifice himself for the homeland,” adding that “he has become a martyr.” His father said that his son died for Jerusalem.

A person in a wheelchair would not be afraid of dying at a protest. There is definitely something going on here.

(h/t Adam L and Tomer who also originally found the RT article)

UPDATE 2: A more detailed statement from the IDF from that same RT article:

According to the military, no live fire was aimed at Thurayeh during the "extremely violent" Friday protest. “Few controlled shootings were carried out towards main instigators,” an Israeli military spokesperson told +972 Magazine on Monday. “Troops received approval prior to shooting each round by a senior commander in the field. No live fire was aimed at Abu Thuraya.”

EoZ on Right Millennial podcast

I was interviewed by Stefanie MacWilliams at the Right Millennial podcast last night. We had a wide ranging discussion about Israel, the Arab world, honor/shame, zero-sum mentalities, and Iran, among other topics.

Here it is:

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12/19 Links Pt2: If Obama protected Hezbollah, he should give back Nobel; Mattis: Iran Working to Destabilize Middle East

From Ian:

Congressman: Investigate Obama protection of Hezbollah

A Republican Congressman urged Congress to launch an investigation into a report that the Obama Administration shielded the Iran-controlled Hezbollah terrorist organization in order to protect the nuclear deal with Iran, Fox News reported.

Rep. Robert Pittenger (R. N.C.) asked House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy to open the investigation after Politico reported that the Obama Administration had deliberately derailed a years-long investigation of the terror group's involvement in the drug-trafficking business to avoid tensions with Tehran during negotiations with the rogue regime.

In 2008, the Drug Enforcement Administration launched what was dubbed “Project Cassandra”, a secret criminal investigation into the Lebanon-based Shi’ite terror group Hezbollah.

According to an investigative report published by Politico Monday, a team of DEA agents aided by dozens of US and foreign security and law enforcement agencies spent eight years mapping out Hezbollah’s intricate web of organized crime operations, massive drug dealing and other money-making schemes around the globe aimed at funding the terror group’s operations in the Middle East.

Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy in Lebanon, conducted hundreds of terror attacks against Israeli forces during the 1980s and 1990s, and was responsible for the 1983 bombing of a US Marine Corps barracks in Beirut which left 305 people dead, including 241 American servicemen.

In 2006, Hezbollah carried out an unprovoked attack on Israeli forces inside Israeli territory, killing three, and taking two captive. The attack sparked a month-long war between Israel and the Shi’ite terror group, which pounded northern Israel with missiles, rockets, and mortar fire.

But the Lebanese terror group has also demonstrated a global reach, aiding the perpetrators of the 1992 suicide bombing of the Israeli embassy in Argentina which killed 29, and being widely suspected of carrying out the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires, killing 85.

Lapid: If Obama blocked Hezbollah probe, he should give back Nobel

Israeli politicians lashed out at former US president Barack Obama after an exposé in Politico alleged that his administration had blocked a major investigation into Hezbollah’s global drug trafficking activities so that Iran would sign the 2015 deal to curb its nuclear activities.

“Obama must return his Nobel Peace Prize,” if the Politico story is correct, Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid said.

“Israel warned repeatedly that there can be no connection between the nuclear deal and anti-terror activity, certainly against Hezbollah... We also warned of this specifically, because of the proven link between Hezbollah and Iran.”

Regional Cooperation Minister Tzachi Hanegbi wrote on Facebook that the report is not surprising, due to Obama’s “persistent efforts to give Iran, Nasrallah’s patron, legitimacy at any price.

“Up until the Obama Administration, every American President fought terrorism uncompromisingly... I am convinced that the Trump administration will not turn from that tradition, and that the outrageous and mistaken policy that was revealed this week will not be repeated,” Hanegbi said.

The Politico piece details the efforts of the US Drug Enforcement Administration, which launched Project Cassandra in 2008. The group tracked Hezbollah’s global criminal-syndicate operation, backed by Iran, including drug and weapons trafficking worth $1 billion annually.

But while DEA gathered evidence, including of Iran-backed activities in Latin America and the US, Politico charged that the Justice Department and other US authorities refused to file charges against major players.

This included, according to Politico, “Hezbollah’s high-profile envoy to Iran, a Lebanese bank that allegedly laundered billions in alleged drug profits, and a central player in a US-based cell of the Iranian paramilitary Quds force.”

Thinking outside the box

The Nobel Peace Prize is considered a most prestigious award. Politicians who are awarded it enjoy international glory. But twice in recent decades, the glory has been replaced by ridicule. In 1994, the prize was awarded to Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat for their efforts to reach peace in the Middle East and for signing the Oslo Accords. In 2009, it was awarded to then-U.S. President Barack Obama, only a few months after he was sworn in as president, for his efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.

Over the past 24 hours, fascinating reports have been published about the two bizarre Nobel prizes. For years, statesmen have operated on the assumption – unchecked and absolutely false – that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is preventing peace in the Middle East and is the basis of the Islamist terrorist that is striking worldwide. Given that assumption, Israel has been under immense pressure to withdraw, concede, and give in.

The Oslo Accords led to the delusion that peace was closer than ever and despicable murderers would beat their swords into plowshares and release doves of peace. It quickly turned out that the way the Palestinians saw it, the Oslo Accords were designed to deceive the Israeli leadership. They had lethal results, and the international pressure on Israel encouraged the Palestinians' recalcitrance and violence. President Barack Obama was a friend to the Palestinians, and only Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's firm stance and maneuvering allowed Israel to work successfully with the hostile president.

No moral backbone

This latest affair is like a tunnel that sends us back through time to the end of World War II and the start of the Cold War, when the administration of then-President Harry Truman stopped at nothing to enlist some 1,600 Nazi scientists, engineers and technicians, particularly in the field of missile development. That campaign, which was dubbed Operation Paperclip, is now considered the essence of immoral, inhumane conduct, which ignored the crimes against humanity the candidates had committed.

It is becoming clear that the liberal President Obama did not learn from history, and in complete contradiction of his saintly statements, effectively gave a green light to an entire web of ongoing crimes, based on his perception – ridiculous in itself – that it was in America's national interest to do so.

To sum up, Obama not only refrained from taking action against the ruler of Syria when he crossed all the red lines that had been drawn on chemical warfare but also contributed – if indirectly – to Assad building up his chemical arsenal and deploying it against his own civilian population. Obama deserved a Nobel Prize for his Machiavellian, opportunistic and immoral conduct, which also hurt the security of the U.S.'s partner, Israel.

Chanukah music video night 8: Meir Kay/Kosha Dills, Svivon

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Bonus Chanukah video: The Kvetch (who stole Chanukah)

(h/t Yerushalimey)

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Four shootings at Israeli buses in recent weeks

Hamas is bragging that someone shot at an Israeli bus near Hebron last night in an 'operation," quoting Israel's Channel 2.

In fact, we learn from Hamas, there have been four such attacks in recent weeks, which Hamas says "resulted in injuries and damage and panic."

Hamas stops short of taking credit for these shootings.

But isn't it interesting that the media (outside Israeli media) doesn't think shooting attacks on public buses is worth mentioning?

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12/19 Links Pt1: Nikki Haley: A Diplomat who Delivers; Danon: Israel's connection to Jerusalem was never broken by the Romans, Babylonians, Ottomans, British, and NOT by the U.N.!; Bennett: Palestine is a 'fake state'

From Ian:

Nikki Haley: A Diplomat who Delivers

Nikki Haley’s diplomatic career is no longer nascent, but her support for the Jewish state, while no longer surprising, is still one of the most reassuring features of the Trump administration.

Today, 14 members of the Security Council voted for an Egyptian-sponsored resolution regarding Jerusalem’s status. Nikki Haley, speaking for the United States, vetoed that resolution. She explained declaratively and unhesitatingly: “We do it with no joy, but we do it with no reluctance. The fact that this veto is being done in defense of American sovereignty and in defense of America’s role in the Middle East peace process is not a source of embarrassment for us.” And then the zinger: “It should be an embarrassment for the rest of the Security Council.”

Speaking directly to those who would accuse the United States of being unconcerned with the plight of the Palestinians, she noted that the U.S. funded nearly 30 percent of UNRWA’s budget last year. Uninterested in the soft subtlety once expected of female diplomats, Haley minced no words. “I’ll be blunt,” she promised. “When the American people see a group of countries whose total contributions to the Palestinian people is less than 1 percent of UNRWA’s budget, when they see these countries accuse the United States of being insufficiently committed to peace, the American people lose their patience.”

As they should.

Haley, too, seems to have run out of patience. “What we witnessed here today in the Security Council is an insult,” she said. “It won’t be forgotten.”

Thank you, Ambassador Haley. On Hanukkah, you spoke like a Maccabi. You lit a candle of truth. You dispel the darkness. One defeated the many. Truth defeated lies. Thank you, President Trump. Thank you, Nikki Haley. pic.twitter.com/zFIiStoait
— Benjamin Netanyahu (@netanyahu) December 18, 2017

Israeli Ambassador Danon to U.N. Security Council: Israel's connection to Jerusalem was never broken by the Romans, Babylonians, Ottomans, British, and NOT by the U.N.!

The United States vetoed an Egyptian-sponsored draft Security Council resolution on Jerusalem on December 18, 2017. In his remarks following the vote, Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon stated that the United Nations could not sever the historic connection of Jews to Jerusalem.

In his words:
"Today, the United Nations has taken another step backwards. Another step away from advocating for truth and justice.

Almost exactly one year ago, in this very same room, this body adopted the shameful resolution 2334. It was a resolution that had the audacity to try to designate Israel's presence at the Western Wall, at Judaism's holiest site in Jerusalem, as a flagrant violation of international law.

Those words pierced the hearts of Jews everywhere. They mocked the generations of Jews who prayed toward Jerusalem for thousands of years. They belittled the ancient declaration of the Jewish people that states, 'next year in Jerusalem.'

Yet here we are again. We still find ourselves fighting the same battle for truth and morality.

Those who voted for today's resolution have only reaffirmed the UN's decades-long double standard when it comes to Israel. They are guilty of blatant hypocrisy.

Every other country in the world has the right to designate its capital city.

But when it comes to Israel, somehow this most basic national right is questioned and condemned.

We thank the United States for staying loyal to the truth and vetoing this absurd resolution.

On December 9th, taking to her Facebook account, Linda Sarsour justified Palestinian terrorism:

In context of what's happening in Palestine in response to the announcement about Jerusalem and in general living under the longest and most brutal military occupation - we have to get a few things straight.

Nobody gets to tell an occupied people how to respond to their own oppression and the continued stripping of their humanity, agency and land whether they are Palestinians or not. Nobody. Oppressed people determine how, when and where to resist. They set the parameters. You don't have to agree. Unless you have lived in their condition under the boot of a racist, supremacist, violent regime that sees them as less than human - you have no say in this conversation... [emphasis added]

Let's put aside how Linda Sarsour, who lives in the US, has a say in this "conversation" -- but not anyone critical of Palestinian Arabs who attack and kill Israeli civilians.

First of all, the Muslim attacks and persecution of indigenous Jews in that land is nothing new.

It has continued for over a millennium -- how could it be otherwise for non-Muslims under Sharia law which originated the requirement for Jews to wear a yellow star to distinguish them from Muslims and shame them, disallows non-Muslims to testify against Muslims outside of commercial cases and obligates non-Muslims to pay a special, onerous, jizya tax.

Arab attacks and mistreatment of Jews has nothing to do with Arabs being oppressed, but rather the continuation of their being the oppressors. For example, Muslims have a history of stoning Jews that predates the re-establishment of the state of Israel, going back to when the Arabs played host to Jews.

In 1955, S. D. Goitein, in his book Jews and Arabs: Their Contacts Through the Ages, wrote:

In former times--and in remote places even today--it was common for Muslim schoolboys to stone Jews. When the Turks conquered Yemen in 1872, an envoy was sent from the Chief Rabbi of Istanbul to inquire what grievance the Yemenite Jews had against their neighbors. It is indicative that the first thing of which they complained was this molestation by the schoolboys. But when the Turkish Governor asked an assembly of notables to stop this nuisance, there arose an old doctor of Muslim law and explained that this stone-throwing at Jews was an age-old custom (in Arabic 'Ada) and therefore it was unlawful to forbid it. [p. 76, emphasis added]
In Eight years in Asia and Africa from 1846-1855, Israel Joseph Benjamin includes among the multiple indignities regularly suffered by Jews at the hands of the Muslims of Persia:

Under the pretext of their being unclean, they are treated with the greatest severity, and should they enter a street, inhabited by Mussulmans, they are pelted by the boys and mob with stones and dirt.[p 212]
Andrew Bostom gives examples in The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History.He quotes from Robert Satloff's book, Among the Righteous -- Lost Stories from the Holocaust's Long Reach into Arab Lands, where Satloff tells the story of Yehuda Chachmon, who lived under Italian rule in Benghazi, Libya, during WWII and wrote about Arab street gangs:

“Arabs would throw oranges, tomatoes, stones at us,” he said. “Every Jew would hide in his house after five in the evening. The houses were closed [i.e., locked up] with bars and you could not leave until the morning.’” [p 153]

Meanwhile, in then-Palestine, Jews suffered from attacks by Palestinian Arab in control in the centuries leading up to Jewish immigration, illustrating again that Arab attacks on Jews have nothing to do with being oppressed. The examples come from Joan Peters' From Time Immemorial, collected from various authors.

1660: The Jewish community in Safed is massacred. [p. 178]

1742: A rabbi is allowed to settle in Tiberias and his arrival "brought back the Jewish community of Tiberias, which had been virtually purged of Jews for seventy years" [p. 179]

1775: Blood libel is spread against Jews in Hebron, resulting in mob violence. [p. 179]

1799: Safed's Jewish Quarter "was completely sacked by the Turks" [p. 179]

1801: Djezzar sends troops to destroy crops in Nazareth while in Ramleh "during the three days of pillage, the local Latin Christians were either murdered, or lost all their property and fled" [p. 180]

1830's "One book reported the game 'Burn the Jew,' a Christian-Arab children's pastime at Lent in Jaffa. [p. 1888]

1834: Egyptian ruler Ibrahim Pasha levies conscription and when those in Eastern Palestine cross the Jordan to join in a revolt, "forty thousand fellahin rushed on Jerusalem...the mob entered, and looted the city for five or six days. The Jews were the worst sufferers, their homes were sacked and their women violated." [p. 183]

1834: In Safed, the Jewish community is "brutally attacked by Muslim and Druzes" [p. 183]

1834: In Safed, Muhammed Damoor 'prophesies' that on the 15th of June "the true Believers would rise up in just wrath against the Jews, and despoil them of their gold, and their silver, and their jewels"--this becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. [p. 185-6]

1837: Safed is hit by an earthquake which results in another attack by the Muslims on the Jews. [p. 183]

1840: Blood libel in Damascus has repercussions in Palestine. [p. 183]

1847: Charge of ritual murder is brought against the Jewish community in Jerusalem. [p. 190]

1847: Jewish visitor to Palestine writes about the Jewish community "They do not have any protection and are at the mercy of policemen and the pashas who treat them as they wish...they pay various taxes every now and then...their property is not at their disposal and they dare not complain about an injury for fear of the Arabs' revenge. Their lives are precarious and subject to daily danger of death" [p. 190-1]

1848 Hebron plundered. [p. 191]

1848-1878: Reports from the British Consulate in Jerusalem document scores of anti-Jewish violence. Example--"July, 1851: It is my duty to report to Your Excellency that the Jews in Hebron have been greatly alarmed by threats of the Moslems there at the commencement of Ramadan..."

1858: Muslim in Hebron is confronted with his theft and vandalism of Jews and responds that "his right derived from time immemorial in his family, to enter Jewish houses, and take toll or contributions at any time without giving account" [p. 173]

In contrast, in Israel today, under what Sarsour glibly refers to as a "racist, supremacist, violent regime that sees them as less than human," Israeli Arabs participate in all aspects of Israeli life: social, judicial and political. Among the high-profile political, military, and judiciary roles Israeli Arabs have:

Jamal Hakrush, Israeli police deputy commissioner.
Mariam Kabha, Attorney. Unanimously approved by Israel's cabinet to be national commissioner for equal employment opportunities
George Deek, Israel's Deputy Ambassador to Norway
Colonel Ghassan Alian, Commander of IDF Golani Brigade

Naim Aradi, Israel's Ambassador to Norway
Yusef Mishleb - IDF Major General
George Kara, led 3-judge panel that convicted Israeli ex-President.

Jamal Zahalka, received BA, MA and Ph.D. Member of Israeli Parliament and leader of Balad political party -- while describing himself a victim of "Israeli racist apartheid"

Omar Barghouti, Doctoral student at Tel Aviv -- while a leading Arab advocate for the academic boycott of Israel.
Majalli Wahabi, Former Deputy Speaker of the Israel Parliament -- and acting President of Israel during February, 2007

Reda Mansour, historian, poet and former Israeli ambassador to Ecuador
Salim Joubran, Israeli Supreme Court Justice

Obviously, there is a lot of work still to be done, but clearly, there is movement in the right direction.

Meanwhile, Palestinian Arabs in the "West Bank" now have the closest thing they have ever had to their own sovereign state, something they have never had -- least of all under the rule of the Ottoman empire.

The crux of the problem with Sarsour's convenient claim to Palestinian right to murder Jews is that second paragraph:

Nobody gets to tell an occupied people how to respond to their own oppression and the continued stripping of their humanity, agency and land whether they are Palestinians or not. Nobody. Oppressed people determine how, when and where to resist. They set the parameters.

This actually sounds familiar -- it is reminiscent of the claim Maureen Dowd's made about Cindy Sheehan, whose son was killed in the Iraq War. Dowd wrote that "moral authority of parents who bury children killed in Iraq is absolute" This arbitrary assignment of superior judgment, or in this case, giving Palestinians a pass on murder, just does not cut it.

Her words may resonate rhetorically, but they fall apart when examing the facts.

In his book, The Case for Israel, Alan Dershowitz examines this issue in the chapter, "Is There Moral Equivalence between Palestinian Terrorists and Israeli Responses?"

It is perhaps a sign of how far Sarsour is willing to go, that instead of talking about moral equivalence, Sarsour is claiming moral superiority.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Elder adds:

I think that Sarsour's statement is far more outrageous than Daled Amos is saying in this excellent essay.

Sarsour is saying three things:

1. There is no one who can judge the level of oppression that someone suffers independently of the person claiming oppression.
2. The person who believes he or she is being oppressed is no longer bound by any moral code whatsoever.
3. This "resistance" may be done anywhere, at any time, against any target.

This is a conveniently self-serving definition of morality tailor-made for Palestinians, but it is the height of immorality.

If you take Sarsour's assertion literally, it means that if I am very, very upset at you calling me a bad name (hence you are an oppressor and only I can determine how badly I am being oppressed), I have the moral right to slowly torture your child to death in the most grisly way while making you watch (since no one has the right to tell me how to resist.)

Sarsour's formulation also justifies attacks against any Jews worldwide, as long as the word "resistance" is used. If the attacker believes that the target is complicit with Israel, then it is fair game.

This is in reality the way that Palestinians think, aided by years of coddling by the world. They do claim, in their writings in both Arabic and English, that "occupation" can be legally and morally fought using any means.

There is literally no limit on how depraved they can be in the name of "resistance."

The Geneva Conventions and all international laws disagree. Every religious moral code disagrees. But the Palestinians arrogate to themselves not only moral superiority, but the complete right not to be bound by any morality whatsoever.

Sarsour is also apparently unaware that she has also just justified every alleged crime she claims Israel does to Palestinians. After all, only Israelis can define how they are oppressed and how and when to respond, right?

No....only Palestinians have the right to take advantage of the New Sarsour Morality.

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Fatah Youth Movement extends BDS to boycotting US programs in Palestinian universities

Ma'an reports that the Fatah Youth Movement has decided that all Palestinian universities should cut all ties to American programs, paid for by USAID, claiming that this is a "Palestinian national decision.'

According to the article, Al Quds Open University has announced that they will cut all forms of academic cooperation with the US.

Fatah posted a video showing a student taking down what is claimed to be a display from USAID at Al Quds University in Tulkarem.

The Palestinian strategy seems to be a full court press to isolate the US on this issue the way the Arabs have tried to isolate Israel over the decades. They seem to believe that with Trump in office, the EU will side with them against the US, which is what the UNSC draft resolution by Egypt was about yesterday, which is likely to be followed by a similar symbolic UN General Assembly resolution in the coming days that the US cannot veto.

The question is whether other Western countries will go along with this strategy. The UNSC resolution indicates that, regrettably, they will - publicly siding with the Palestinians no matter what.

They seem to forget that the US funds the bulk of the UN budget, as well as being the biggest source of the Palestinian budget.

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