Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Open thread

Sorry, haven't been able to blog this morning. Here's an open thread to discuss vital issues amongst yourselves.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

07/10 Links Pt2: The UN ignores antisemitism, de-Judaizes Holocaust; Students for Justice in Palestine Says Progress Impossible ‘So Long as Israel Exists’; Israeli spacecraft aims for historic moon landing

From Ian:

Watchdog group: United Nations ignores antisemitism, de-Judaizes Holocaust

The United Nations has failed to seriously combat antisemitism and in some cases has de-Judaized the Holocaust, a Geneva watchdog group said on Monday.

UN Watch made the accusation in a report it presented at a special event at the Knesset.

Israel has long argued that the UN’s treatment of it is tantamount to antisemitism because of the body’s long record of excessively condemning Israeli actions above and beyond those of other nations.
Haley says UN could benefit from fresh set of eyes, calls out anti-Israeli bias at UN, January 19, 2017 (Reuters)

“When it comes to Jews, when it comes to Israelis, the UN has become a hostile and biased body,” said Yesh Atid head MK Yair Lapid, who chaired the Knesset event. “The organization that is meant to fight antisemitism, which is sworn to fight antisemitism, is guilty of antisemitism itself.”

The UN Watch report, presented by the group’s executive director, Hillel Neuer, said that in addition the UN has done little to tackle antisemitism even though it is tasked with combating worldwide racism, xenophobia and discrimination.

The report lauded some UN actions on antisemitism, including UNESCO’s Holocaust education program and the statements of some UN officials, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

But the bulk of the report protested the failure of UN officials and relevant bodies, including outgoing High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, to properly address the problem of antisemitism.

Zeid did not make a “single standalone statement” in reaction to an antisemitic event during his four years in office, UN Watch said.

He also “trivialized and de-Judaized the Holocaust,” the group said.

Is the United Nations engaged in an effort to bring peace, justice and economic development to the world? Or is it a group of haters of freedom and capitalism, engaged primarily in spewing ignorance and malice toward the United States? @mhtncontrarian https://t.co/jyPGiheyb7
— Gatestone Institute (@GatestoneInst) July 10, 2018

At Jerusalem event, terror survivor recounts police capture of friend’s killers

Kay Wilson is intimately acquainted with evil. Eight years ago on a sunny December afternoon, Palestinian terrorists brutally stabbed Wilson and her friend as they hiked a trail in a picturesque forest outside Jerusalem.

As she helplessly watched her friend Kristine Luken be murdered with a machete, Wilson made the split-second decision to play dead — a move that would end up saving her life.

Bound, gagged and stabbed 13 times, Wilson was determined not to die deep in the woods alongside Luken where their bodies could be overlooked. Somehow, she mustered the strength to walk over a kilometer through the forest on what she calls her own personal “death march” to call for help.

Her eyewitness testimony and remnants of the killer’s DNA led to the capture of Luken’s killers. They later confessed to murdering another woman, Neta Sorek, earlier in 2010.

The extraordinary story of Wilson’s will to survive, and the subsequent police investigation was the subject of an 2018 Israeli TV documentary titled “Black Forest,” directed by Hadar Kleinman Zadok and Timna Goldstein Hattab.

The 50-minute film produced by public broadcaster Kan provided a therapeutic outlet for Wilson, who years later, is still healing from the physical and emotional trauma she suffered in the grisly attack.

As Literary Award Changes Its Name to Escape Allegations of Racism, Instances of Anti-Semitism Go Unnoticed

Children’s literature news does not ordinarily make it into lead stories in the New York Times. Last week’s announcement by the ALSC (Association for Library Services for Children, part of the American Library Association) that it had changed the name of one of its most prestigious awards was an exception. The award formerly known as the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award has now been renamed the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. The ALSC reached this decision after months of debate about the psychological impact of racism in Wilder’s books on young readers. A broad-based movement to increase diverse and accurate representations of people of color and other marginalized groups has engulfed the world of children’s books. Wilder’s work, which undoubtedly includes insensitive and offensive material about Native Americans, had become a very visible target. Where do Jews come into this story?

Last year’s recipient of the Wilder Award was the distinguished African-American author and poet Nikki Grimes. Grimes is the author of many critically acclaimed works, including one which is distorted by the most blatant and lurid anti-Semitic tropes. At Jerusalem’s Gate: Poems of Easter accuses the Jewish people of venality, corruption, and hatred in the events surrounding the death of Jesus. The book closely follows the Gospels’ interpretation of these events. The high priest Caiaphas is described as “a mongrel smelling blood.” The Pharisees and Sadducees are conflated as members of the same evil elite, and Pontius Pilate is a passive and blameless victim of the enraged Jews who force him to kill the Messiah. The book is composed of poems, each one prefaced by the author’s comments and suggestions for discussion. Grimes encourages children to think creatively about the motives for killing Jesus: “Why would false witnesses agree to provide a legitimate excuse to have an innocent person crucified? My guess is money. Perhaps there were other reasons. Any ideas?” The poems are accompanied by illustrator David Frampton’s dangerously beautiful woodcuts, giving the story intense visual impact. One picture shows the Jewish leadership holding coins and other treasures, which they would supposedly risk losing should Jesus and his followers triumph.

Hamas trying to re-establish terrorist cells in West Bank

Sometimes we forget to read how Palestinians themselves think. Here's an article cheering the continuation of armed terrorism in the West Bank from a Hamas newspaper. Keep in mind that there are a lot of Hamas-oriented newspapers and that they reflect the thinking of roughly half the Palestinians, they are not "terror newspapers" but they are normal media with editorials and articles and sports and weather that take a pro-terror viewpoint.

From Al Resalah:

Palestinian resistance activists in the West Bank continue their attempts to establish a position in the Palestinian arena, despite the resistance being subjected to desperate attempts by the occupation and the Authority to narrow and eradicate them.

The resistance fighters have been able to carry out three shootings since last Tuesday from the city of Ramallah, and the resistance withdrew from the place of implementation safely, sending messages that the resistance remains and will not die.

A spokesman for the Israeli army said that last night, shots were found in the direction of the settlement of Beit El, which is located on the land northeast of Al-Bireh.

According to the army spokesman, the operation is the second in a matter of days and that the army is searching for the perpetrators.

The resistance had carried out an operation in the same place last Tuesday and managed to withdraw from the place safely, there were no casualties in the ranks of the enemy.

In the same context, the resistance carried out last Friday a similar shooting at the Beituniya checkpoint, without causing injuries to the occupation.

Two days ago, the Israeli media released a video showing the targeting of a settler vehicle near the town of Jatt in the Nablus district, in a homemade bomb, without any talk of casualties.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Arson fires continue (many photos and video)

There are still dozens of fires a day in Israel from Gaza arson kites and balloons.

Here are some photos (and video) showing different aspects of the damage, and some typically Israeli responses.

(h/t Yoel)

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

07/10 Links Pt1: Fatah to US: “We don’t want your flour, your wheat, or your aid”; IDF stops boat seeking to break Gaza blockade; Israeli Border Police Soldiers Save Life of Palestinian Baby in Hebron

From Ian:

PMW: Fatah to US: “We don’t want your flour, your wheat, or your aid”

At a Fatah demonstration earlier this month, Abbas' deputy chairman of Fatah, Mahmoud Al-Aloul, announced that Palestinians don't want US aid, because US is "forming an alliance" with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, "the Israeli enemy":

Fatah Deputy Chairman and Fatah Central Committee member Mahmoud Al-Aloul: "Mahmoud Abbas has told him [Trump], and we are telling him, that America is not fit to be a sponsor of peace... This American Trump is forming an alliance with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, the Israeli enemy, who is sowing havoc and destruction over the land by expropriation and building settlements... We want freedom. We want independence. We want an end to the occupation. We don't want your flour, your wheat, or your aid." [Official PA TV, July 2, 2018]

Al-Aloul's statement rejecting US aid follows the passing of the Taylor Force Act in the US, in March 2018, which cuts almost all funding to the PA if it continues paying salaries to terrorist prisoners and allowances to families of so-called "Martyrs." The law was named after US citizen Taylor Force who was murdered by a Palestinian terrorist in Tel Aviv on March 8, 2016.

Al-Aloul's comments also follow the passing of a new Israeli law to deduct the amount of money the PA pays imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA, which was passed by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018.

PMW: PA leader Nabil Shaath: Australia is “worthy of being spat on”

PA Chairman Abbas’ advisor Nabil Shaath: "This filthy talk of ‘the criminals’ in connection with our Martyrs and prisoners – while they are our heroes, the heroes of self-sacrifice and the candles of freedom. They cannot be compared to the Israeli criminals in Israel’s prisons... Australia’s decision [to stop] transferring $10 million angered me greatly... It transferred [the aid to the UN]... so that it would not serve for payment of the salaries of the [prisoners and Martyrs’] families. In other words, the truth is they are worthy of being spat on. You [Australians] are the servants of the US… I don’t want your 10 million, I don’t want to chase after them." [Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, July 3, 2018] Nabil Shaath is PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas’ advisor on Foreign Affairs and International Relations Australia cuts direct aid to the PA - Australia announced on July 2, 2018, that it is ceasing its direct aid to the PA, and will transfer aid through the UN. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop explained that Australia unsuccessfully sought confirmation from the PA that the aid was not going to pay terrorists. Bishop added: "Any assistance provided by the PLO to those convicted of politically motivated violence is an affront to Australian values and undermines the prospect of meaningful peace between Israel and the Palestinians." PMW has led the exposure of the salaries paid by the PA to terrorists and their families.

Father of American Victim of Palestinian Terror Calls New US, Israeli Laws Penalizing PA ‘a Good Beginning’

The recent passage of laws in both the US and Israel penalizing the Palestinian Authority (PA) over its payments to terrorists and their families marked “a good beginning, but there is much more to be done,” the father of an American military veteran who was killed in a stabbing attack in Tel Aviv two years ago told The Algemeiner on Monday.

Stuart Force, the father of the late Taylor Force, traveled to Israel to attend last week’s Knesset vote on a bill modeled on a US law — named after his West Point graduate son — that was approved by Congress and signed by President Donald Trump in March limiting American aid to the PA.

“Watching the legislation’s passage in the Knesset was a very emotional and special time for me,” Force said. “I feel that the resolve shown by both countries to address this part of the war on terror will provide a stimulus for nations worldwide to look at where their humanitarian aid actually goes.”

“If it cannot be shown that the intended recipients of our assistance are receiving it, then it should be withheld until it can,” he continued. “Something is terribly wrong when the leaders of terrorism are living like wealthy warlords, with their ‘subjects’ having no hope for a better future.”

What would we do without the European Court of Human Rights?

The European Court of Human Rights is an international court that was established by the European Convention on Human Rights, an international treaty that defends human rights. The European Court hears cases alleging that a contracting state has breached one or more of the human rights established in the Convention and its protocols.

Logo of the European Court of Human Rights. Fair use

But human rights are human rights -- regardless of where you live.

A couple of months ago, Akiva Eldar wrote an article in Al Monitor, Compromise is possible on Palestinian right of return, demonstrating there is no Palestinian "right of return" according to international law:

After deliberating on a petition by Greek Cypriot refugees, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in March 2010 that claiming a certain land or property as “home” is insufficient to establish a right. An overwhelming majority of the 17 judges agreed that given that 35 years had passed since the petitioners lost their property when Turkey invaded northern Cyprus in 1974, and the local population had changed, the claimants were entitled to compensation in cash, but not necessarily in land. The judges warned that rectifying an old injustice could result in a new injustice. One can infer that UN Resolution 194 of 1948, stipulating that a refugee can choose between a return to Israel and compensation, does not grant every refugee a personal right to return. [emphasis added]

Going a step further, we can see the options are not even that narrow.

The language of UN resolutions subsequent to Resolution 194 shows that even according to Resolution 194 -- the return of Palestinian Arab refugees to their homes is not a right, but rather one of the available options.

According to UN Resolution 194, in the second paragraph of Article 11:

Instructs the Conciliation Commission to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation, and to maintain close relations with the Director of the United Nations Relief for Palestine Refugees and, through him, with the appropriate organs and agencies of the United Nations (emphasis added)

Is the UN actually suggesting repatriation AND resettlement or are those two different things?

Check out UN Resolution 393, Article 4:

Considers that, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 11 of General Assembly resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948, the reintegration of the refugees into the economic life of the Near East, either by repatriation or resettlement, is essential in preparation for the time when international assistance is no longer available, and for the realization of conditions of peace and stability in the area; (emphasis added)

"Repatriation" by definition means to send refugees back to their original home.
"Resettlement" here means to settle them in any home -- not necessarily in their original land -- rather than leave them as refugees.

Similarly, UN Resolution 394:

Calls upon the governments concerned to undertake measures to ensure that refugees, whether repatriated or resettled, will be treated without any discrimination either in law or in fact. (emphasis added)

And UN Resolution 513, according to which the UN General Assembly:

Endorses, without prejudice to the provisions of paragraph 11 of resolution 194 (III) of 11 December 1948 or to the provisions of paragraph 4 of resolution 393 (V) of 2 December 1950 relative to reintegration either by repatriation or resettlement...

The point is that the United Nations itself clearly indicates that there is no absolute Palestinian right of return and that while there was a possible option to return back in 1948, return back then was merely one possibility.

Now along comes the European Court of Human Rights and makes the point that "claiming a certain land or property as “home” is insufficient to establish a right".

But that is not the only European Court decision that supports Israel's position.

In 2015, Marko Milanovic, an associate professor at the University of Nottingham School of Law, wrote that European Court Decides that Israel Is Not Occupying Gaza.

The case deals with people displaced by a conflict who are later unable to return to their property and in this case denied the right to return to their village of Gulistan, located in the territory of Azerbaijan, but close to an area of conflict. The Azerbaijani government claimed that the village was not under the actual control of Azerbaijan and was inaccessible to any civilians.

Azerbaijan went so far as to claim:

The Republic of Azerbaijan declares that it is unable to guarantee the application of the provisions of the Convention in the territories occupied by the Republic of Armenia until these territories are liberated from that occupation. (emphasis added)

The European Court went to work on defining "occupation":

Article 42 of the Regulations concerning the Laws and Customs of War on Land, The Hague, 18 October 1907 (hereafter “the 1907 Hague Regulations”) defines belligerent occupation as follows:

“Territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of the hostile army. The occupation extends only to the territory where such authority has been established and can be exercised.”

Accordingly, occupation within the meaning of the 1907 Hague Regulations exists when a state exercises actual authority over the territory, or part of the territory, of an enemy state(1) . The requirement of actual authority is widely considered to be synonymous to that of effective control.

Military occupation is considered to exist in a territory, or part of a territory, if the following elements can be demonstrated: the presence of foreign troops, which are in a position to exercise effective control without the consent of the sovereign. According to widespread expert opinion physical presence of foreign troops is a sine qua non requirement of occupation(2) , i.e. occupation is not conceivable without “boots on the ground” therefore forces exercising naval or air control through a naval or air blockade do not suffice(3) . (emphasis added)

Milanovic points to this key paragraph:

144. The Court notes that under international law (in particular Article 42 of the 1907 Hague Regulations) a territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of a hostile army, “actual authority” being widely considered as translating to effective control and requiring such elements as presence of foreign troops, which are in a position to exercise effective control without the consent of the sovereign (see paragraph 94 above). On the basis of all the material before it and having regard to the above establishment of facts, the Court finds that Gulistan is not occupied by or under the effective control of foreign forces as this would require a presence of foreign troops in Gulistan.

He then notes:

See what I meant? Replace “Gulistan” with “Gaza”, and there you have it! In fact, I’m pretty sure that this is at least one judgment of the European Court that Israeli governmental legal advisors will be citing all the time, whenever the issue of Gaza’s occupation is brought up (and good for them).

Actually, this is the second ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that Israel can cite. We already saw that the court also ruled that a claim to land or property is not a right.

Who knew that the European view of international humanitarian law could be so supportive to Israel's position?

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Sheikh Mohammed Ahmed Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian territories, said again on Tuesday that it is forbidden to allow any part of Jerusalem and the land of Palestine to be sold to the "occupiers"

The fatwa says, "Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and prayers and peace be upon the honorable prophets and messengers, our master Muhammad, may Allah bless him and his family and companions,

"It is considered a betrayal of Allah, His Messenger, peace be upon him, and the faithfulness of Islam (Al-Anfal: 27), for the sinner who sells his land to his enemies, or takes compensation for it; because the seller of the land to the enemies results in the removal of Muslims from their homes....the sale of land to the enemies and brokering them to [middlemen?] is essentially blasphemy, and is considered loyalty to the infidels and warriors, and one whose loyalty is away from Islam is a traitor to Allah, His Messenger, peace be upon him, his religion, and his homeland.

"The Muslims must boycott him. They do not treat him or marry him, nor do they seek him, do not attend his funeral, do not pray with him or bury him in Muslim graves."

This is essentially a demand for excommunication. But excommunication in Islam is controversial even against unbelievers, as Wikipedia summarizes:

Takfir or takfeer (Arabic: تكفير‎ takfīr) is a controversial concept in Islamist discourse, denoting excommunication, as one Muslim declaring another Muslim as a non-believer (kafir). The act which precipitates takfir is termed mukaffir. Contemporary formulation and usage of the term have its roots in the 20th-century Islamist theorist Sayyid Qutb's advocacy of takfirism (doctrine of excommunication) against the state or society which deemed as jahiliyah (state of ignorance and disbelief). According to Qutb, violence is required to be sanctioned against corrupt state leaders, on the premise that quietism is not the Islamic prescriptions against one who deemed as apostates. This position is widely held and applied by jihadist organizations to varying degrees. At the same time, the concept is opposed by religious establishment as an ostensible reason for violence. They hold that excommunication against those who profess their Islamic faith is not sanctioned by Islam, or an ill-founded takfir accusation is a major forbidden act (haram).

So nowadays, the only people who try to apply this idea of excommunication are jihadists (and Iran, which did it to Salman Rushdie.) Mainstream Islam says very explicitly that if a person declares himself to be a believer, he is believed - only people who admit to be apostates can be considered to be unbelievers.

Yet the current Palestinian Grand Mufti is issuing a fatwa that places the sale of land to Jews in the same category as the worst possible crime in Islam, with a punishment that goes beyond Islamic law. He is saying that selling land is blasphemy, which has no legal basis whatsoever. (He did use a Quranic verse, 60:9, that says that those who drive Muslims out of their homes are wrongdoers, and he equates the sellers of land to the people who drive people out of their homes, but even then the Quran never says they are blasphemers.)

Mainstream Muslim clerics should be as adamant against this fatwa as they are against ISIS, since Qutb's idea of takfirism is based on a relatively new interpretation of the Quran - and the mufti Hussein is going way beyond Qutb in declaring that selling land is legally the same as blasphemy and treachery.

Apparently, perverting Islamic law is OK if it serves a valuable political purpose.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Today, a Gaza group called National Authority for Return and Breaking the Siege in Gaza is putting Gazans injured during the current weekly riots on a boat in a publicity stunt.

They are pretending to try to sail to Cyprus, but they are barely pretending. They want Israel to intercept the boat and then they will try to gain world headlines about cruel Israeli practices of stopping injured people from going on a journey that would probably harm the passengers more than the capture would.

This is the second such voyage from this group. The first one was in May, Israel intercepted the boat (originally planned to be a flotilla,) and outside the region no one showed any interest.

The group is also demanding the release of the captain of the first boat, who is still being held by Israel.

Since the entire point of these things is publicity, and the first one didn't generate any, it's entirely possible that one of the passengers is deathly ill and wants to die for the cause of gaining world headlines and making Israel look bad. It isn't as if this sort of thing hasn't happened before.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

07/09 Links Pt2: Imagine if the London bombers had been Palestinian bombers; Progressive Democrats increasingly criticize Israel, and could reap political rewards; When FDR wanted to silence the Jews

From Ian:

PMW: Imagine if the London bombers had been Palestinian bombers

Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of the London bombings on July 7, 2005. On that day, Muslim terrorists detonated three bombs on London's Underground and a fourth on a double-decker bus. In the explosions, 52 people were murdered and over 700 were injured.

Since its creation in 1994, the Palestinian Authority has spent billions of shekels rewarding and incentivizing Palestinian terrorism against Israelis, paying monthly salaries to imprisoned terrorists as well as monthly allowances to the families of the so-called "Martyrs," including suicide bombers.
If the London terrorists had been Palestinians who had carried out equivalent attacks in Jerusalem targeting Israelis, the PA would have already paid the families of the four terrorists a combined total of £142,680 pounds (687,200 shekels).
PA Minister of Education and Higher Education Sabri Saidam announced in November 2017 that the UK government had agreed to pay its annual contribution of 20 million pounds, which is "allocated to support the [PA] general budget of Palestine." [WAFA, official PA news agency, Nov. 25, 2017]

This allocation is only a fraction of the financial support the UK government provides to the PA annually.

In its 2018 budget, the PA allocated 680 million shekels from its general budget, predominantly to pay allowances to the families of thousands of dead Palestinian terrorist "Martyrs," including those who have carried out suicide attacks.

One of the Palestinian families who receives such payments is the family of suicide bomber Wafa Idris who carried out a suicide attack in the heart of Jerusalem in January 2002, murdering one and injuring over 100.

Progressive Democrats increasingly criticize Israel, and could reap political rewards

It was during the Obama administration that Democrats’ once-united position on Israel began to fragment. The tepid relationship between Netanyahu and Obama led to voters increasingly splitting along party lines on the issue, with Democrats growing unhappy with the connection between Republicans and the Israeli government.

Over the last few decades, a handful of left-leaning Democrats have previously shown open support for Palestinian causes and regularly criticized Israel’s political and military actions. Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia was arrested by Israeli authorities for her participation in an effort to send a flotilla to provide aid to Palestinians in circumvention of Israel’s 2009 Gaza blockade.

Shibley Telhami, a professor at the University of Maryland and a fellow at the Brookings Institution, has polled on American attitudes toward the conflict for over a quarter century. He believes that as public opinion has shifted on the issue, Democratic candidates have responded to their voters and have become less afraid of the repercussions of criticizing the Israeli government.

“Congressional candidates and politicians who embrace Israel or fail to criticize Israel will not be punished by and large by their constituents,” Telhami said. “Those candidates who take on the Israeli government’s specific policies could be rewarded.”

Public opinion polling shows that sentiments have indeed shifted, especially among Democrats. According to a Pew Research poll conducted earlier this year, Democratic voters sympathize about equally with the Israelis as the Palestinians, with sympathy for Israel dropping 16 percentage points in the last two years.

Telhami said Democrats have increasingly seen the conservative Israeli government as one that has an opposing set of values.

“Democrats, even separate from the partisan issue, have basically seen [the Palestinian] issue as part of their value system,” Telhami said. “They increasingly see their values as not a part of the values of Israel.”

Even as Democratic voters drifted away from their previous steadfast support for Israel, Democrats in elected office have been slower to follow their base. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has continued to take ardently pro-Israel stances, as he was one of just four Senate Democrats to vote against the Iran Deal in 2015.

Earlier this year, Schumer sponsored legislation that would criminalize boycotts against Israel that he has derided as “an anti-Semitic movement.”

Nevertheless, several Democratic candidates with ties to the party’s progressive wing have still faced some controversy for associations with causes critics deem “anti-Israel.” They have not, however, lost support from prominent Democratic officials and organizations. (h/t Jewess)

UN Watch today released "The UN & Antisemitism: 2008-2017 Report Card," at a terrific event hosted in the Israeli Knesset by MK @YairLapid. Speakers included Israel's Minister of Justice @Ayelet__Shaked, Opposition Leader @HerzogMK, Professor @IrwinCotler. https://t.co/ozb5dd855r
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) July 9, 2018

Roger Waters concert backdrop: "Resist Israeli anti-semitism"

Here are two photos of images being shown behind Roger Waters during his current tour:

Waters is saying that he is not antisemitic - because Arabs are semites, and therefore it is Israel that is antisemitic, not him.

This is one of the oldest and dumbest arguments in the book. The definition of anti-semitism is in every dictionary, and it is Waters' Palestinian pets who are antisemitic, as is Waters himself based on plenty of evidence.

But no one accused Roger Waters of having a towering intellect.

As usual with this sort of news, Israellycool is all over it.

(h/t Jonathan Hoffman)

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Well it’s another even-numbered year, which means the Presbyterian Church in the USA (or PCUSA) got together for their bi-annual conclave (called a General Assembly) to (1) condemn Israel while ignoring virtually all other suffering in the Middle East; and (2) put a brave face their latest membership decline as their denomination continues towards oblivion.

Throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, I was somewhat obsessed with the ups and downs of the Presbyterians, documenting preparations for each national conference as divestment came onto the agenda even-numbered year after even-numbered year.

The saga began in 2004 when the organization first passed a divestment measure, which was rescinded in 2006 after the church came under attack by both Jewish groups and their own members who were appalled over what was being said and done in their name.

But, as BDS-watchers know all too well, once an organization makes any move towards boycott or divestment, the boycotters have already decided the group belongs to them and exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to pass resolutions encapsulating their propaganda directed at the Jewish state.

And so, despite being rejected by the membership, BDS came back onto the organizations agenda in 2008, 2010 and 2012, being voted down each time, despite efforts by church leadership to box members into having only one choice (their preferred one) of returning the church to its 2004 divestment position.

Now a normal political movement might have gotten the message by then, or might have seen all of the damage their endless campaigning was doing to the church in terms of wrecking internal harmony and destroying the church’s reputation within the wider American society. But, as we all know, BDS is not in the normal business. And so the campaign continued as more and members left PCUSA (either as individuals or as whole congregations which defected to other Presbyterian branches not so obsessed with politics), and as the reputation of the church for fairness and faithful witness also headed into a tailspin.

When divestment was passed in 2004, it was possible for PCUSA leaders to convince the public that this was the democratic vote that represented the will of the membership. But after watching the corrupt leadership of the organization ally with BDS advocates to stack committees considering Middle East issues only with divestment supporters, remove anyone who could make trouble from positions of leadership, refuse members access to information and voices that contradict the BDS narrative, and insist that any “No” vote was just a postponement of an inevitable “Yes,” it became clear well before divestment was restored in 2014 that these votes demonstrated nothing but the lengths to which a degenerate organization would go to hand its reputation over to someone else.

When divestment was voted back in that year, the Jewish community decided enough was enough, refusing bad-faith calls to enter into interfaith dialog with a church dedicated to slapping Jews in the face every two years (all while claiming such slaps were given out of love and concern for their Jewish brethren).

In the meantime, the steady decline of the church continued as PCUSA coupled passage of new anti-Israel calumnies at their bi-annual events with tracking losses of another 5% of its membership. Issues of anti-Israel animus and collapse of the organization are actually linked. For as members died or left the church in disgust, those that remained represented a higher concentration of Israel haters. This was represented by a tendency we see in all organizations where the BDSers think they have the upper hand: overreach. And so, with divestment in their back pocket, the church moved on to condemning Zionism and those that support the Jewish national movement, adding slurs like “Apartheid” to the mix once they realized there were no longer enough fair-minded members ready to stand in their way.

But as the Israel haters wallowed in their “victory” within PCUSA, no one seemed to notice that their pronouncements no longer made news, or even a ripple in the pubic consciousness. Two decades ago, one could claim that a major religious organization making proclamations and condemnations represented moral statements informed by faith that should be taken seriously. But seeing how sausage (in the form of the aforementioned corrupt votes) gets made at General Assemblies for more than 15 years, who could possibly see their statements as expressions of sincere love and faith, rather than the output of venal politics?

Given that the number of Presbyterians nationwide is about to fall below the number of Jews just in New York, it’s also not clear why we need to take what they say any more seriously than they listen to us.

When I was more directly involved with helping those fighting anti-Israel bigotry in the church, I was frequently accused of being an outsider with no real concern for PCUSA and its members, beyond what they were saying about Israel. As I responded then (and continue to respond now): while it’s true I never would have come into PCUSA’s orbit had they not chosen to get into my face in such an aggressive manner, I’m perfectly comfortable that Israel will survive the slings and arrows of a hypocritical and dying organization.

But as someone who appreciates the important role Mainline Protestantism has played in American history, my fear is not for my own tribe but for what it means when this important pillar of national identity gets shattered with the pieces being dragged into the swamp, just so a bunch of anti-Israel bigots can claim to speak in someone else’s name.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

07/09 Links Pt1: Abbas: PA to continue paying salaries to families of prisoners, 'martyrs'; Abbas’ Foreign Affairs advisor: Spit on Australia; What you aren't hearing about Khan al-Ahmar

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Abbas: PA to continue paying salaries to families of prisoners, 'martyrs'

The Palestinians will not allow US President Donald Trump's yet-to-be-announced plan for peace in the Middle East to pass, and will continue paying salaries to families of Palestinian prisoners and "martyrs," Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday.

Speaking at a meeting of the Fatah Central Committee in Ramallah, Abbas said that the Arab countries have told the Palestinians that they too were opposed to Trump's plan, also known as the "deal of the century."

At the beginning of his speech, Abbas sent greetings to Palestinians who were taking part in the Hamas-sponsored protests along the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel and demonstrations against the Trump plan and the plans to evict the Bedouin hamlet of Khan al-Ahmar, near Ma'aleh Adomim.

"We are proud of these marches and protests," Abbas said.

He reiterated his strong opposition to the Trump plan, saying the Palestinians will not accept it and will not allow it to pass. "We want to affirm that our Arab brothers have told us that they too are against the deal of the century," Abbas said. "In addition, there are countries in Europe, Asia and Africa that have begun realizing this deal can't pass."

Abbas lashed out at Israel for its decision to deduct payments made by the PA to families of "martyrs" and security prisoners (from tax revenues collected on behalf of the Palestinians), saying the Palestinians will take measures in accordance with their interest. He did not provide details about the nature of the measures the Palestinians were planning.

"We won't allow anyone to interfere with the money [that is paid to the prisoners and families of "martyrs]," Abbas stressed. "They are our martyrs and prisoners and the injured and we will continue to pay them. We started the payments in 1965."

PMW: Spit on Australia, says Abbas’ advisor on Foreign Affairs

Following Australia's decision to suspend direct funding to the Palestinian Authority because the PA pays salaries to terrorists and their families, senior PA official Nabil Shaath, who is also PA Chairman Abbas' advisor, launched a verbal attack on Australia:

Mahmoud Abbas' advisor on Foreign Affairs and International Relations Nabil Shaath: "This filthy talk of ''the criminals'' in connection with our Martyrs and prisoners - while they are our heroes, the heroes of self-sacrifice and the candles of freedom. They cannot be compared to the Israeli criminals in Israel's prisons... Australia's decision [to stop] transferring $10 million angered me greatly... It transferred [the aid to the UN]... so that it would not serve for payment of the salaries of the [prisoners and Martyrs'] families. In other words, the truth is they are worthy of being spat on. You [Australians] are the servants of the US... I don't want your 10 million, I don't want to chase after them." [Official PA TV, Topic of the Day, July 3, 2018]

Shaath's definition of Palestinian terrorist prisoners as "heroes" and "candles of freedom" exemplifies the PA's policy of honoring terrorists and murderers, as documented by Palestinian Media Watch. Shaath's comments are also a result of Israel's passing of the law to deduct terror salaries from PA tax money.

The law was passed by the Israeli Parliament on July 2, 2018 and deducts the amount of money the PA pays imprisoned terrorists and families of "Martyrs" from the tax money Israel collects for the PA. The law freezes the deducted money and has Israel hold it indefinitely. Should the PA not pay terrorists' salaries or allowances to families of "Martyrs" for a full year, the Israeli government would have the option of giving all or part of the frozen money to the PA.

The Oslo process is dead, it is time to win

Eve Harrow was at the Knesset, invited to a special meeting of the Victory Caucus on the subject of ’25 Years since Oslo, Time for New Thinking’.

She recorded Stuart Force, father of Taylor z”l, whose murder by Arab terrorists galvanized the “stop pay to slay” legislation in both Israel and the US.

MidEast Forum director Daniel Pipes also spoke, as well as Arab Hevron community leader Ashraf Jabari and others.

Eve then sat down with Gregg Roman of the MidEast Forum to hear details of the joint US-Israel program, years in the making, to end incentives for terror and perhaps finally, bring some real peace to the area between the Jordan River and the Sea.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the decision in Israel to allow members of Knesset and all other Jews to visit the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest spot.

It issued a statement condemning visits from"Israeli officials including ministers, members of Knesset, military, security, ultra-Orthodox and extremist settlers" - pretty much anyone with a yarmulka.

This direct call to violate international law on freedom of practicing religion was accompanied by a call for the international community to enforce discrimination against Jews.

"The ministry warns of acceptance of daily intrusions of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and its courtyards as a matter that has become familiar and normal and does not necessitate a halt to its serious repercussions. This requires the international community and the relevant UN organizations, especially UNESCO, to implement and implement its resolutions on Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa Mosque," the statement said.

Because allowing Jews to peacefully stroll through the Temple Mount is utterly unacceptable, and banning them is "human rights."

One would normally expect real human right organizations to issue statements denouncing the fact that a government recognized by so many nations is explicitly calling to ban people from visiting and worshiping at their holy place simply because they are Jewish. But today's "human rights' NGOs would instead agree with this twisted, perverted idea that the mere presence of a Jew is an infraction on Muslim human rights.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Last year, China proposed a very general and ambiguous peace framework between Israel and the Palestinians. As AP reported it then:

China's U.N. ambassador urged the international community on Monday to support President Xi Jinping's new four-point proposal to end the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and establish an independent Palestinian state.

The four points are:

— Advancing the two-state solution based on 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of a new Palestinian state.

—Upholding "the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security," immediately ending Israeli settlement building, taking immediate measures to prevent violence against civilians, and calling for an early resumption of peace talks.

—Coordinating international efforts to put forward "peace-promoting measures that entail joint participation at an early date."

—Promoting peace through development and cooperation between the Palestinians and Israel.

This proposal went nowhere, although it was floated shortly after a state visit to China by Mahmoud Abbas.

It is a vague proposal, hardly a plan, that doesn't even mention "refugees" or whether the Palestinian state. It is far less specific than a similar Chinese proposal from 2013 that also went nowhere.

Suddenly, the Palestinians are showing interest in this Chinese proposal that says very little. The reason is that they are growing more and more nervous over the US "deal of the century" gaining traction and they want to find any alternative so that they don't appear to be against peace.

Nabil Shaath, Mahmoud Abbas'advisor on foreign affairs and international relations, welcomed the Chinese initiative in an interview with Voice of Palestine Radio on Monday. He said that it would be an alternative to the so-called "deal of the century," which he claims has collapsed "because of Palestinian, Arab and international rejection."

If it collapsed, no one would be talking about an obscure Chinese proposal.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Last Thursday, the Moroccan government denied rumors in the Arab world that there were any official ties between them and the State of Israel.

But they pretty much admitted that there were unofficial ties.

Government spokesman Mustapha al-Khaliji told a news conference that Morocco had no formal ties with Israel, but he did not rule out "networks operating through other countries to circumvent this," - meaning that there almost certainly are informal and unofficial relations between the two countries.

There have been reports that there is $25 million in trade between the two countries over the past five years. In 2016, Morocco denied any imports from Israel when Israeli dates were found to be sold during Ramadan.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.