Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, July 19, 2018

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez Blunder (Noah Phillips)

With her primary-election upset victory over incumbent Representative Joe Crowley, Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez—at 28 years old—is the emerging face of millennial politics and an ardent proponent of modern socialist ideology. While she certainly has mobilized her supporters effectively, Cortez’ campaign is marred by her blatant lack of any knowledge on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and yet, her unseemly outspokenness on it’s intricacies.

Over the course of her campaign to unseat Crowley, Cortez railed against the actions of the Israeli government; yet on her July 13 interview on PBS’ Firing Line, where she referred to “the occupation of Palestine,” the settlements, and drew vague comparisons between Israel and Ferguson Missouri, Cortez’ lambasting culminated with five words: “I am not the expert.”

Cortez was neither pressed or challenged on her views on the conflict by host Margaret Hoover, but rather asked to “expand” on her beliefs, which she failed to do for the sole reason that she has no views, no individual contemplations on the matter at hand, but a party line which she touts and parades around on Twitter and at events. She’s committed the anti-Israel playbook to memory—on full display during the interview—liberally claiming “occupation” and “massacre” (in a Tweet) without comprehension of what she’s spouting: hyper-partisan language which deliberately denies fact. And while Cortez is certainly apt at dishing out this rhetoric with the adroitness of a seasoned politician, during the interview, she follows her unsubstantiated assertions with a sequence of uh’s and oh’s, as she connives a way to legitimize her ideas… without factual evidence to support it.

All in all, the greatest grievance against Cortez is her enduring stubbornness. Throughout her campaign, she easily could have remained silent on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict due to insufficient research, but rather, it took an utter blunder on a major national news network for her to admit that she is not well-versed in the geopolitics of the region. Politicians cannot be blamed for not being savvy in every area of expertise, but rather can be faulted for expressing a highly controversial and largely unjust opinion in these circumstances, in the absence of such knowledge, which Ocasio-Cortez did throughout her bid.

But what’s troubling still is how Cortez is idolized by a sizable portion of young people, and how she appears to be on the fast-track to become a major fixture in the Democratic party after unseating the Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and the long-term, well-respected politician Joe Crowley, and obtaining fame overnight. Her socialist views and millennial-age inherently binds her to the up and coming left-wing generation of voters, and to a large extent, garners their support and attention from the get-go. To have Cortez’ language on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict normalized among her base is particularly unnerving, regardless of whether or not there exist facts to back up the claims, because they will be taken as truths nonetheless.

Cortez, unfortunately, is a part of a growing trend of partisanship and far leftism among the Democratic party, a struggle in which support for Israel is caught in the crosshairs. After her interview with Margaret Hoover, Cortez appeared on Democracy Now! hosted by Amy Goodman, where she, according to the Jerusalem Post, “took a neutral stance on the two-state solution” rather than outrightly stating her recognition of Israel’s legitimacy and right to exist, a stance she had previously adopted. The ‘partisanization’ of Israel-centric issues over recent decades is undeniable, hence the period of no productivity in the United States-Israel relationship under Obama, and almost immediate progress under a Republican president. While there exist notable exceptions to this trend, namely Chuck Schumer, Jerry Nadler, and some others, Democrat politicians know what vernacular on the conflict is socially acceptable among their crowd and which isn’t. They know the talking points and the key players, but adhere closely to the Democratic mantras and idioms often bashing Israel. Such partisanship has permeated into even the highest ranks of the Democratic party: Bernie Sanders—who is currently campaigning with Ocasio-Cortez in Kansas—took to Twitter in April to pledge his support for the Gaza protesters while disregarding the violent actions of many protesters and the significant role played by internationally-recognized terrorist organizations, just one of many lopsided stories portrayed by some Democrats as the whole picture of what occurred.

With Democrats poised to dominate Congress in the midterm elections this November—including Cortez, the clear frontrunner in her district—and potentially the presidency in 2020, it’s incredibly dangerous and damaging to have untrue statements being taken as fact by policymakers. While Cortez’ PBS embarrassment was a high-profile instance of Democratic lack of awareness on the conflict, it served as a wake-up call to viewers, that rhetoric will always merely be rhetoric, and the distinguishing factor between Cortez and other, more informed politicians, is possession of the facts that reinforce their claims.

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The program to target children with anti-Israel propaganda

Teen Vogue has an article that uses the same stupid logic we've seen before to try to link police violence in the US with Israeli defense against violent rioters who want to destroy her.

"The recent history of police violence enacted on unarmed black and brown citizens by American law enforcement mirrors the recent history of Israel treating Palestinians as violent insurgents." #DoBetter https://t.co/nWzX1xDFN7
— Teen Vogue (@TeenVogue) July 16, 2018

We've debunked the logic before. (Of course, Teen Vogue adds twists like US and Israeli police supposedly use the same brand of tear gas. What a smoking gun!)

The troubling thing is that Israel's enemies are deliberately targeting children with anti-Israel propaganda - children who are even more susceptible to half-ruths and lies than adults are.

Teen Vogue has been consistently serving up anti-Israel lies for a while. But the issue isn't one magazine, but what is behind it.

This year, the organization IfNotNow tried to pressure Camp Ramah to push an anti-Israel message.

I wrote about a high school in Houston that had an anti-Israel presentation.

In 2014, Charles Jacobs listed some more outrageous examples of anti-Israel inculcation in US public schools:

We’ve just now learned that Newton students are given PLO-produced maps to learn about the history of Israeli “occupation” of “Palestine.” One of the maps labeled the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem as an “illegal Israeli settlement,” and another map claimed entire Palestinian cities are “walled in” by Israel.

In Williamson County, Tennessee, one biased text asks students: “If a Palestinian suicide bomber kills several dozen Israeli teenagers in a Jerusalem restaurant, is that an act of terrorism or wartime retaliation against Israeli government policies and army actions?”

In New York, preparatory materials for the famed Regents exam falsely claim that Israel prevailed militarily in 1948 only due to strong support from the US.

In Albany, New York, an English teacher had her students write an essay, as part of a persuasive writing exercise, imagining themselves to be Nazis, and assigned some of them the task of describing why Jews are evil. After this case came to light – the result of assertive parents – the school superintendent publicly apologized and the teacher was removed from the classroom.

At New York’s Riverdale Fieldstone prep school, administrators held an Israel-Palestine day and under the pretense of “evenhandedness” invited Rashid Khalidi and Tony Judt as featured speakers to represent “both sides” of the conflict. Both Khalidi and Judt believe the State of Israel should not exist.

At the Campbell Middle School in Smyrna, Georgia, ...one lesson describes a video left by a female Hamas homicide bomber, who describes her act of martyrdom as “...my most wanted wish that I asked God Almighty to fulfill.” Another lesson in the curriculum is an editorial titled “A Palestinian’s Plea” that concludes with, “It is not hard to understand why people would take their anger and frustration out on somebody, and it is understandable that person would be Jewish. It is the Jews that take our land, it is the Jews that destroy our homes, and it is the Jews who have killed our children!”

Clearly, the anti-Israel crowd wants to spread their hate among those who are least equipped to understand what is happening to them.

It is not necessarily a centralized movement but it is very deliberate. For example, teachers in Washington State can borrow the "Palestine Teaching Trunk" where they can give students two- to six-week anti-Israel lessons complete with workbooks, maps, novels and DVDs. Many teachers seem to have already used it.

The Middle East Children's Alliance similarly has a "Teach Palestine" initiative to provide free anti-Israel propaganda to children.

Some of the Teen Vogue article seems to be from the "Teach Palestine" playbook:

• Collaborate with educators and community activists on key points of interdisciplinary and inter-community curriculum—for example, how borders and walls affect communities around the world, including at the US/Mexico border and in Palestine; how the criminalization of youth affects children and families in Palestine and in the United States.

Here's a slide from another online resource put up by an anti-Israel teacher, inviting students to imagine themselves as Palestinian victims of Israeli aggression in terms of their own bedrooms:

The lesson plans often pretend to be even handed in order to get into the classrooms, but the orientation is obviously anti-Israel.

This is all deliberate and part of a grand strategy to make Israel look evil to kids. The the pro-Israel side seems way behind in the battle over the minds of children.

(h/t Jay)

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Here is the text of the controversial "Jewish nation-state" law that passed last night.

I do not see anything problematic, although the wording about Arabic seems strained. Even so, the status of Arabic is above that of English.

There is nothing here that contradicts other laws (and international conventions that Israel has signed) that ensure no discrimination against non-Jewish citizens of the state.

_____________________________________

Basic Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People

1 — Basic principles

A. The land of Israel is the historical homeland of the Jewish people, in which the State of Israel was established.

B. The State of Israel is the national home of the Jewish people, in which it fulfills its natural, cultural, religious and historical right to self-determination.

C. The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people.

2 — The symbols of the state

A. The name of the state is “Israel.”

B. The state flag is white with two blue stripes near the edges and a blue Star of David in the center.

C. The state emblem is a seven-branched menorah with olive leaves on both sides and the word “Israel” beneath it.

D. The state anthem is “Hatikvah.”

E. Details regarding state symbols will be determined by the law.

3 — The capital of the state

Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel.

4 — Language

A. The state’s language is Hebrew.

B. The Arabic language has a special status in the state; Regulating the use of Arabic in state institutions or by them will be set in law.

C. This clause does not harm the status given to the Arabic language before this law came into effect.

5 — Ingathering of the exiles

The state will be open for Jewish immigration and the ingathering of exiles

6 — Connection to the Jewish people

A. The state will strive to ensure the safety of the members of the Jewish people in trouble or in captivity due to the fact of their Jewishness or their citizenship.

B. The state shall act within the Diaspora to strengthen the affinity between the state and members of the Jewish people.

C. The state shall act to preserve the cultural, historical and religious heritage of the Jewish people among Jews in the Diaspora.

7 — Jewish settlement

A. The state views the development of Jewish settlement as a national value and will act to encourage and promote its establishment and consolidation.

8 — Official calendar

The Hebrew calendar is the official calendar of the state and alongside it the Gregorian calendar will be used as an official calendar. Use of the Hebrew calendar and the Gregorian calendar will be determined by law.

9 — Independence Day and memorial days

A. Independence Day is the official national holiday of the state.

B. Memorial Day for the Fallen in Israel’s Wars and Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day are official memorial days of the State.

10 — Days of rest and sabbath

The Sabbath and the festivals of Israel are the established days of rest in the state; Non-Jews have a right to maintain days of rest on their Sabbaths and festivals; Details of this issue will be determined by law.

11 — Immutability

This Basic Law shall not be amended, unless by another Basic Law passed by a majority of Knesset members.

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07/18 Links Pt2: Linda Sarsour and the Rejection of MLK; Playing Politics With Birthright? That’s Like Stealing A Free Trip To Israel; How the World Really Views Israel

From Ian:

Michael Lumish: Linda Sarsour and the Rejection of Martin Luther King, Jr.

On a recent MSNBC news discussion show, left-wing anti-Zionist activist Linda Sarsour claimed:
Dr. Martin Luther King warned us about people like Chuck Schumer. He said it wasn’t the Ku Klux Klan and white citizen counselors who were the obstacles towards justice. It was people calling for “civility” and people that were telling us when to protest and at what time and how to protest.

I find it fascinating that “progressives” like Linda Sarsour have the chutzpah to evoke Martin Luther King, Jr., when the very last thing that King stood for was Sarsour’s brand of ideological racism.

The primary admonition of Dr. King was to judge people according to their individual character, rather than immutable characteristics like ethnicity. This was the fundamental message of his “I Have a Dream” speech on the National Mall on August 28, 1963. How someone who represents the American left could not understand this requires explanation.

Anti-racism was the essential message of the civil rights movement in the United States following World War II. Yet Sarsour insists, “If you’re in a movement and you’re not following a woman of color, you’re in the wrong movement.”

This notion contradicts the teachings of King and of the entire movement for social justice — from abolitionism to Abbie Hoffman — because it is racist on its face. What Sarsour is saying, in no uncertain terms, is that the quality of one’s character is directly determined by one’s ethnicity and gender.

This is turning the ideals of the civil rights movement inside out and backwards.

Washington Post Column Says USA Is Reenacting The Holocaust — Minus The Genocide

Over and over again, Beorn hedges his argument by admitting “we are not dealing with a genocidal regime in the United States.” Given that genocide was the chief legacy of Nazi Germany, it is unclear where any parallels are obvious to the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

Nevertheless, Beorn persists in his comparisons.

“Politically, the president has certainly taken actions which are in many ways parallel to those of the early Nazi movement,” he wrote.

“Even his management style has similarities to Hitler. Like Trump, Hitler was reluctant to surrender too much authority to one subordinate, and so his Cabinet (which he never called) was a den of backbiting and maneuvering underlings seeking the support of Hitler, who was the only one who decided policy. There are similarities with Trump, even if he has not achieved this level of dominance,” the column explained.

Don’t worry, however, Beorn thinks he’s being reasonable. After all, according to him, “Trump is not hitler” because “Hitler was arguably a far more astute politician.”

Impact of the Suez crisis on the Jews of Egypt

The Suez Crisis, aside from producing an understandable rise in support for President Gamal Abdel Nasser and his regime, had devastating effects for persons living within Egypt who had become ‘egyptianized’ i.e. those who were not Egyptian citizens; or those whose ancestry was not wholly Egyptian, but had attained Egyptian citizenship through various legal statutes.

These people were collectively known as the mutamassirun, and, in the immediate post-colonial period in Egypt (from 1922 onwards) they owned a large share of capital and operated a large number of businesses in Egypt. They were also acknowledged to have made significant contributions to Egyptian cultural, religious and linguistic diversity in the past.

Although measures to expel members of the mutamassirun were already underway before the Suez Crisis came to a head, the Crisis is widely seen as giving Nasser the necessary impetus and legitimacy to proceed to make it extremely difficult for ‘egyptianized’ persons to remain in Egypt. It was a natural step for Nasser to seek to blame the Suez Crisis on the mutamassirun population.

After all, Nasser had risen to power on an avowedly pan-Arab, anti-colonial message. As Britain had directly ruled Egypt from the late nineteenth century until 1922, and France had previously invaded under Napoleon in 1798, the mutamassirun were easy targets for blame post-Crisis Egypt, as many were of British or French nationality or extraction. There was also a sizeable population of Jews living in Egypt around the turn of the twentieth century.

By Peter Paul Rubens - This file was derived from: Peter Paul Rubens-The Judgement of Solomon-Statens Museum for Kunst.jpg:, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18113395

24 And the king said: 'Fetch me a sword.' And they brought a sword before the king. 25 And the king said: 'Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.' 26 Then spoke the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her heart yearned upon her son, and she said: 'Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it.' But the other said: 'It shall be neither mine nor thine; divide it.' 27 Then the king answered and said: 'Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.' {S} 28 And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king; for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do justice. {S} (1 Kings Chapter 3)

Solomon was wise. For he knew that a real mother values her child’s life above all and would do anything to spare it harm. So it is with Israel, and those who claim her.

Both Jews and Arabs claim that the deed to Israel belongs to them alone. But were the Jews and the Arabs to stand in court before King Solomon, the facts of Arab eco-terror would certainly reveal the the Jews as the true deed-holder to the land.

As of this writing, according to the IDF blog, "Hamas has burned more than 7,400 acres of land and set more than 750 fires, an average of more than 11 fires a day, using arson kites and incendiary balloons."

The Jews, on the other hand, have planted over 240 million trees. In fact, according to the Jewish National Fund (JNF), Israel is one of just two countries that have entered the 21st century with a net gain in number of trees. The very creation by the Jews of an organization whose main mandate is reforestation, reveals the desire to grow, nurture, and develop the land.

The real owner of the land, loves the land. And you do not burn or destroy what you love. You make it grow. You cultivate every inch.

This is exactly what the Jews have done since their return to the land and Jewish statehood enhanced these efforts. Israel had been left denuded and destroyed by the Muslim Conquest and subsequent uncaring foreign occupations. The Ottomans, for example, did nothing to restore the territory to the former glory of, for instance, Temple times. All of the occupiers, ancient and contemporary, came and conquered, plundered and destroyed, then moved on to greener pastures. They left an arid dust bowl and ruins.

Roman Statesman Dio Cassius wrote of the Roman destruction of Israel:
"Of their forts the fifty strongest were razed to the ground. Nine hundred and eighty-five of their best-known villages were destroyed....

Thus the whole of Judea became desert, as indeed had been foretold to the Jews before the war. For the tomb of Solomon, whom these folk celebrate in their sacred rites, fell of its own accord into fragments, and wolves and hyenas, many in number, roamed howling through their cities."

Historian Carl Hermann Voss wrote:

"In the twelve and a half centuries between the Arab conquest in the seventh century and the beginnings of the Jewish return in the 1880's, Palestine was laid waste. Its ancient canal and irrigation systems were destroyed and the wondrous fertility of which the Bible spoke vanished into desert and desolation... Under the Ottoman empire of the Turks, the policy of disfoliation continued; the hillsides were denuded of trees and the valleys robbed of their topsoil."

Of the once fertile Galilee, Mark Twain wrote:

"These unpeopled deserts, these rusty mounds of barrenness, that never, never do shake the glare from their harsh outlines, and fade and faint into vague perspective; that melancholy ruin of Capernaum: this stupid village of Tiberias, slumbering under its six funereal palms.... We reached Tabor safely .... We never saw a human being on the whole route."

Of the Holy Land in general, Twain remarked:

"Nazareth is forlorn .... Jericho the accursed lies a moldering ruin today, even as Joshua's miracle left it more than three thousand years ago: Bethlehem and Bethany, in their poverty and their humiliation, have nothing about them now to remind one that they once knew the high honor of the Savior's presence; the hallowed spot where the shepherds watched their flocks by night, and where the angels sang, "Peace on earth, good will to men," is untenanted by any living creature... Bethsaida and Chorzin have vanished from the earth, and the "desert places" round about them, where thousands of men once listened to the Savior's voice and ate the miraculous bread, sleep in the hush of a solitude that is inhabited only by birds of prey and skulking foxes.

"Palestine sits in sackcloth and ashes.... desolate and unlovely... it is dreamland."

But with the Jews’ return, homes were built and farms were planted. The Jews took a land left barren and made it flourish, coaxed life out of every corner. Saw its potential, like a mother sees worlds in her newborn infant, a blank slate that might yet save the human race.

One might suggest that the idea for a two-state solution mirrors King Solomon’s solution. Offer to cut the land in two, and give half to each party. The real mother will refuse, offering instead, aid or autonomy. The real owner knows that ceding land that keeps her citizens safe, secure, and prosperous to a murderous enemy is to destroy the whole.

Giving the enemy half the land in the form of statehood, is just a trick to dupe the real mother out of her baby. Which is what the enemy wants. They certainly don't care about the land, or they would not be setting it aflame. They want death and destruction. The land is beside the point. They don't care how you cut up the baby/Israel. They don't care if Israel dies a cruel death. As long as the real mother doesn't get her back alive.

The Jews' enemy is Israel's enemy. It is an Angel of Death claiming sole ownership to the land, even as it destroys all that lies within: the vegetation, the animals, the people.

A falcon attached to a rope with flammable material was found today near the Gaza Strip. Arson fires have been caused by incendiary materials flown from Gaza into Israel. Apparently it’s not enough to destroy nature with kites, now falcons are being used for terror as well. pic.twitter.com/j6noxwCwqS
— COGAT (@cogat_israel) July 16, 2018

And it has always been this way. This lust for destruction lies in contradistinction to how an owner feels about his property. It shows scorn rather than respect for the life the Jews have eked out of the land, hardscrabble. The only thing they have proven with Arab eco-terror is that Israel is a land that can flow with milk and honey and life, or be burnt to a crisp.

You don’t burn the things you care about. You don’t burn what you love. You protect it with everything you’ve got. You protect every tree, every animal. You take care of the ecosystem. You recycle, sustain, and cherish.

In the Arab people of the PA and Gaza, you have not a potential caring steward of the land, but as in the story of Solomon's wisdom, a jealous harlot who sells a pack of cheap lies masquerading as the real deal. One who applauds the mortal wounding and murder of a baby, just so long as the other woman doesn’t get to have it alive. This Arab harlot is motivated by hate and jealousy so large that it crowds out the maternal instinct that makes other human beings nurture and protect the things they hold dearest.

In burning the land, in destroying its ecosystem and killing innocent children and animals, the Arab people of the PA and Gaza have once again betrayed the false nature of their claims to the land. They have proven that it is the Jews who are the real owners of Israel. Because it is the Jews who continue to strive to preserve and protect and defend, even as the Arab people of the PA and Gaza continue to rape, destroy, and pillage the land, without end. The terrorists even use the aid they receive from Israel, the EU, and the United States to stoke the fires of their terror machine, instead of using the money to build schools and hospitals for the good of their own people. Hamas even pays a stipend to anyone who will lend a hand in the destruction of Israel.

So the next time you hear the excuse that kites and condoms are the Arab people’s only weapons against the mighty Jews who stole their land, don’t you believe them for a minute. The real owner would never lay a hand on the land, would never burn the land and the animals, or harm the people.

The real owner celebrates life.

And it doesn't take the wisdom of a Solomon to know the difference.

h/t Dov Epstein, Barb Nisenson, and the Eretz Yisroel blog for ideas and source material.

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God Wishes You'd Decide What He Thinks Already (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook page.

Heaven, July 18 - Supernal sources reported today that the almighty creator of existence itself has grown what in anthropomorphic terms would be described as tired of human vacillation regarding what He desires.

The LORD voiced His ongoing impatience in an interview this morning, expressing exasperation with mankind's inability to arrive at a consistent thesis of the divine will and its implications for human behavior.

"By My Name, I do wish these people would make up their minds what I want," mused YHWH. "They can't seem to stick with an idea for more than a generation or two. This is not exactly the glorious realization of the potential of having made man in My image."

God proceeded to list numerous occasions on which human understanding of the divine will shifted, indicating a pathetic grasp of what the divine attribute of eternity means.

"The development that stands out the most in this respect has got to be Christianity," recalled the Eternal Father. "Couple ambition with a healthy dose of resentment, and voilà, suddenly everyone's been wrong all these centuries about how to serve Me and bring redemption to the world. But of course there are plenty of smaller, more nuanced moments. Remember when there was a 'divine right of kings' to rule? Good times. That gave way to 'consent of the governed' and the like, of course with arguments both philosophical and theological to 'prove' what I wanted. Yeah, I'm definitely fickle that way. Eventually they'll move on to something else - anarchism hasn't seemed to catch on, for reasons obvious to anyone but anarchists, but of course they tend to shy away from acknowledging Me in the first place."

The most annoying, as it were, aspect of this human foible, however, remains the phenomenon of different humans claiming special knowledge of the LORD's thinking. "It's an old problem," acknowledged the Almighty. "False prophets exist in their way in every generation and society. At least the Rabbis of the Talmud and their predecessors - and to some extent, their modern disciples - understood that two seemingly contradictory things can hold true at the same time, depending on perspective, and that absolute truth and objectivity are My realm, not theirs. Not that anyone realizes that's really what I want, judging from human rhetoric."

He Who Spoke And The World Was Created added that despite what that preacher on Sunday morning TV broadcasts asserts, there is no divine desire for said preacher to obtain a private jet. Not that you'll listen.

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07/18 Links Pt1: PA: Palestinians have a “right” to kill Israelis; Glick: Time to Let Gaza Fail; US report finds only 20,000 Palestinian refugees left; Despite Putin’s Despotism, Russia Needs Israel

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians launch campaign to foil Anti-'Pay for Slay' bill

Palestinians on Tuesday launched a “national campaign” to thwart Israel’s decision to deduct payments made by the Palestinian Authority to security prisoners and families of “martyrs” from tax revenues belonging to the Palestinians and which are collected by Israel.

The campaign was launched in Ramallah by representatives of various Palestinian groups and relatives of security prisoners held by Israel and “martyrs.” Palestinian politicians and activists from different factions also participated in the event.

Earlier this month, the Knesset voted into law the so-called “pay-for-slay” bill to slash funds to the PA by the amount it pays out to the prisoners and the families of Palestinians killed in attacks on Israelis. The money will be deducted from the taxes and tariffs Israel collects on behalf of the PA.

Organizers of the campaign said its goal was to thwart the new Israeli bill through a series of activities in the press and social media. As part of the campaign, the Palestinians are also planning to send letters to diplomatic missions in Ramallah explaining the dangers of the Israeli move, the organizers added.

Issa Qaraqi, head of the Palestinian Commission for Prisoners and Ex-Prisoners and one of the leaders of the campaign, said that the drive was directed against Israel’s “piracy and theft” of the stipends. The campaign, he added, will take place in many parts of the West Bank, as well as some capitals around the world.

Condemning the Israeli bill as “Israeli blackmail,” Qaraqi said, “All the racist laws approved by Israel stemmed from apartheid.” He added, “Nothing will discourage our people from supporting those who made sacrifices for the Palestinian cause.”

PMW: PA: Palestinians have a “right” to kill Israelis, PA will continue to pay the prisoners’ salaries

PA responds to Israeli law against the PA’s terrorist salaries
Palestinians have a "right" to kill Israelis

PLO Commission of Prisoners' Affairs Spokesman Hassan Abd Rabbo:
"The [Israeli] legislation... targets the history of our people's struggle and its right to resist the occupation"

PLO Commission of Prisoners' Affairs:
"The Martyrs and prisoners are the symbol of the struggle, freedom fighters, and fighters of independence, and not murderers and terrorists as the occupation defines them"

PLO Commission of Prisoners' Affairs Director Issa Karake:
"[Israel] wants to define the Palestinian people's entire struggle as a "crime" and those who have resisted the occupation as 'criminals.' This is the resistance of our Palestinian people, which is guaranteed by the international and humanitarian laws"

PLO Commission of Prisoners' Affairs:
"The PA [will] not submit to racist laws like these, whose goal is to prevent the Palestinian people's legitimate resistance"

PLO Commission of Prisoners' Affairs Director Issa Karake:
"The president [Abbas is] signing on the status of the prisoners as legitimate prisoners of war"

Caroline Glick: Time to Let Gaza Fail

Israel and the U.S. should not worry about what will happen when Hamas is overthrown. Hamas is unlikely to lose power for the foreseeable future.

Simply put, if the U.S. stops supporting humanitarian aid to Hamas and its loyal supporters, Hamas’s economic model of governance will be destroyed. The economic incentive to attack Israel will be defeated.

The argument that Iran will fill in for any lost revenues from the U.S. or others is not convincing. First, Iran gives money, arms and training to Hamas no matter what the aid situation is in Gaza. Second, when Iran’s money starts drying up as a result of the U.S. sanctions beginning next month, over time, Iran will have far fewer resources to devote to Hamas.

Hamas is a terror regime dedicated to the goal of annihilating Israel in the course of a wider jihad for global Islamic domination. And the people it governs support it, and its goals, and its methods of advancing its agenda.

It is time to stop telling ourselves fairytales about how all they want is a better quality of life and start acting on the basic reality that enemies attack you when they think it is in their interest. The way to defeat Hamas is to degrade its ability to attack and stop rewarding its aggression. Let Gaza fail on its own terms.

Palestinians are claiming Jews are burning their fields

As Palestinians are bragging about setting hundreds of fires in southern Israel, burning hundreds of acres and causing untold amount of damage, Palestinians are claiming that "settlers" are setting fires to their fields.

We've discussed Ghassan Daghlas before. He is literally paid by the Palestinian Authority to make up stories about what "settlers" are doing. Practically none of his accusations have any proof, and many of them are proven fabrications, but they get published in Palestinian Arabic media as fact - and sometimes even mainstream journalists accept his lies at face value.

He has accused Jews many times of setting Palestinian fields on fire, and today is no exception.

Daghlas claimed that a group of settlers from Yitzhar set fire to land in the town of Asira al-Qibliya, south of Nablus.

He added that the fire "came on dozens of dunums planted with olive trees."

The photo accompanying the article shows a brush fire, common in the dry season, with no olive trees in sight.

Daghlas' would be out of a job if he couldn't make things up.

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From MEMRI:

Jordanian MP Huda Etoom: My Late Mother’s Single Unfulfilled Desire Was to Blow Herself Up among the Zionist Jews pic.twitter.com/yOYoyw6Qb2
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) July 18, 2018

Excerpts:

My late mother was over 80 years old....She implemented every single tradition of the Prophet of Allah.

A single desire was left in her soul: to don an explosives belt and blow herself up among the Zionist Jews.

We shall continue to feel remiss unless we are martyred on the land of Palestine, which is our number one cause, our all-consuming concern, and the right we redeem with every single drop of blood.

It was reported without comment in Jordanian media along with the rest of her speech.

Interestingly, Etoom's speech also referred to the problem of Jordanian schools not teaching proper morality as well as a demand to ban pornographic sites from Jordan because of its moral impact on the nation.

Because she is all about morality.

One commenter on her Facebook page gently chided her, saying "We are all heart and soul with Jerusalem and Palestine but suicide was not the means to express our love for Palestine and we know that it is forbidden by law."

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The editor of Ma'an, Dr. Nasser Al-Laham, describes how ordinary Palestinians reacted to the news that there were several small earthquakes in the north of Israel and that a major earthquake is likely to occur in the future.

In an editorial entitled "Earthquake or a plot to demolish Al-Aqsa Mosque?", Al-Laham writes., "I am stopped by many people in the street and asked: Is there a devastating earthquake coming or is it a Zionist plot to demolish Al Aqsa Mosque?"

He decries the question - not so much because it is ridiculous and ignorant, but because the people are relying on Israel for news about a potential earthquake, and there seem to be few Arab geologists who can make their own determination of whether the recent tremors are natural or man-made.

The idea that Israel is planning to create artificial earthquakes is not new. For example, in 2012 Arab media reported that 28 Israeli experts were planning a carefully calibrated earthquake to destroy Al Aqsa in 2020.

A Jordanian columnist added his own theory in Al Dustour this week, as MEMRI translates:

Suddenly and quietly, the earthquakes in the northern part of the [Jordanian] kingdom stopped, and tremors are no longer emanating from the belly of the earth to rattle everything upon it. It's as if whatever was causing these tremors has moved to some other site, and is waiting for a different mission. The quakes, which were centered around the Sea of Galilee and its region and whose magnitude was around four on the Richter scale, raise many questions as to their cause, location and timing. They may have been caused by detonations carried out by the occupation army deep underground, beneath the Sea of Galilee, to test new weapons, such as small nuclear bombs with limited range, or else conventional weapons for use against the armies in the region, which the occupation state regards... as a threat, to some extent. Perhaps these [tests] are in preparation for carrying out an enormous crime against the Muslim and Christian holy sites in occupied Jerusalem, especially against the Al-Aqsa mosque, the Dome of the Rock and the Church of the Sepulcher, by causing an artificial earthquake beneath them to destroy them, in preparation for building the fake [Jewish] temple as part of the plan to Judaize Jerusalem.

What increases the suspicion that the occupation is involved in causing the recent earthquakes is the fact that it has done nothing and taken no precautions in preparation for the large earthquake that its own expert geologists claim is bound to follow the small tremors. It continued to monitor from afar the global reactions to its nonsense, and when it understood that its tricks had been exposed and that nobody was fooled by them, it stopped the experiments...

Geologists are not convinced that what happened was really a [natural] earthquake, but tend to think that it was the result of deliberate actions by the occupation army, because the epicenter of the quakes was beneath the Sea of Galilee... In the coming days, everyone must be cautious and alert to [further] surprises that the occupation may be preparing in order to achieve its historical aims, which must be carefully studied and kept in mind.

I guess Al Laham is wrong - there are expert geologists in the Arab world.

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07/17 Links Pt2: What Ireland's Boycott Bill Means For Israel; UK Chief Rabbi: Labour guidelines show 'unprecedented contempt' for Jews; Anti-Facebook Group Takes Anti-Semitic Signs to Congress

From Ian:

What Ireland's Boycott Bill Means For Israel

Fiamma Nirenstein, a former member of the Italian parliament and currently a Fellow at the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, considers the boycott movement more of a threat due to what she defines as troublesome constituent elements. "On the one hand, BDS is viewed as a way of attacking Israel without being accused of extremism, so in this sense it is a great invention by the Palestinians. On the other hand," she expounded to The Media Line, "the program is connected to the worst anti-Semitic organizations, including terrorist ones."

Nirenstein further highlighted the danger associated with the potential blurring of boundaries. "Boycotting commerce outside of the [1967 borders] interferes with business conducted inside of them, including banking, insurance, etc... So there is a fine line between calling for a boycott of products in [the territories] and advocating for a [blanket] ban of the Jewish state."

As regards the EU, specifically, she considers the body the "mother of the BDS, as it is globalist, anti-religious and totally devoted to the idea of peace whatever the cost may be. By contrast, Israel is a nation-state with religions undertones that must constantly defend itself and Europe cannot forgive that. I do not think that Israel can do anything to change this attitude."

Somewhat paradoxically, though, the law itself is a critical barrier to the implementation of European boycotts on Israeli goods. As noted by numerous economists, should the Irish bill be passed, U.S. companies, for example, might be forced to end their operations in Ireland as American firms are legally prohibited from participating in foreign economic bans not sanctioned by Washington. Such an eventuality would, in turn, render an estimated 150,000 people in Ireland jobless. And the same holds true across the continent, the potential negative ramifications of which have been made evident by ongoing European efforts to negotiate around renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran.

Aside from the legal, economic and moral implications, there is also the long-touted political norm against taking action that could "pre-judge" the outcome of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Increasingly, European countries seem to comprehend that applying uni-directional pressure on Israel is not a recipe for peace, but, rather, serves to push both sides further away from the negotiating table.

Indeed, critics of BDS the movement note its overall limited realization of its raison d'etre to damage the Jewish state diplomatically and financially. Nevertheless, most analysts agree that cases such as the Irish Senate legislation require a fervent Israeli defense, if not measured offensive. Such instances are, in the eyes of Jerusalem and its proponents, more than much ado about nothing, even if the economic sky is not liable to fall.

Ireland, Boycotts, and Israeli ‘Settlement’ Products

Ireland did not extend recognition to Israel until 1963 and did not establish an embassy in Tel Aviv until 1996. Furthermore, Ireland was one of the first European countries to call for a Palestinian state in 1980 and has persistently focused on the Palestinian refugee issue.

Today, despite its subordinate position within the European Union to such larger powers as France and Germany, Ireland has played an outsized role as a voice on matters concerning Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Last year, the Irish parliament passed a symbolic resolution calling on the EU government to recognize Palestinian statehood. Ireland was also the first European country to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization. At the same time, the BDS movement in Ireland is viewed by many as extremely powerful.

The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which has been at the forefront of anti-Israel sentiment in Ireland, led to Israel banning some 20 activists associated with the Dublin-based group from entering the Jewish state as part of a “blacklist” targeting anti-Israel BDS groups.

As such, Kittrie believes that Israel needs to do a better job improving the country’s image in Ireland.

“Israel has a good story to tell. It needs to do a far better job of telling it to the Irish people,” he said.

“Watching the debate in the Irish Senate, one would think that the lack of peace between Israel and the Palestinians is entirely the fault of Israel. That is just not correct. I think education has a big role to play in improving relations between Ireland and Israel.”

EU: Israel spreads ‘disinformation’ by alleging we fund terror-tied BDS efforts

The European Union is pushing back after an Israeli minister accused Brussels of funding boycotts and even terrorism against Israel.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini recently complained to Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, saying a report from his ministry was spreading disinformation in a report accusing the EU of funding anti-Israel groups with ties to terrorists.

EU Ambassador to Israel Emanuele Giaufret also rebuffed the suggestion Tuesday.

“The idea that the EU could support terrorism is entirely unfounded,” he told The Times of Israel on Tuesday. “We’re very determined in our fight against terrorism and remain opposed to the isolation of Israel or the questioning of its legitimacy. That’s why we don’t fund any BDS activity.”

He added that the EU was open to hearing “issues of concern” from Israel.

Mogherini sent a letter on July 5 to Erdan responding to a May report from his ministry that alleged that the EU funds nonprofit groups that campaign for boycotts of Israel or have ties to terror groups.

Knesset passes law barring 'anti-IDF' groups from schools

Education Minister Bennett: If Breaking the Silence wants to change things, it should act at home, not abroad • Breaking the Silence: The law proves how much Bennett fears his own ideology • Delegitimizing groups should be outlawed, right-wing forum says.

The Knesset on Monday passed a legislative proposal designed to keep out of schools nongovernmental organizations that advocate against the Israeli military. The bill passed its second and third readings with a vote of 43 in favor to 23 against.

The law, sponsored by Habayit Hayehudi MK Shuli Mualem-Rafaeli, was dubbed the "Breaking the Silence bill" for a controversial advocacy group dedicated to exposing alleged wrongdoings by the IDF. The group has been excoriated numerous times for encouraging legal action against Israeli soldiers, an allegation its leaders deny.

The legislation expands Section 2 of the Public Education Law and states that public education will teach Israeli youth about performing a meaningful role in the IDF or in national service.

The bill also grants the education minister the power to establish guidelines that will prevent organizations from outside the school system from activity in public schools if their work contradicts the goals and values of the public education system.

Here is the introduction of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad video celebrating its monthly accomplishments.

Notice the kinds of things PIJ, and its Palestinian audience, is proud of. Stabbings, rockets, bus bombings, rockets.

Anyone who uses the words "Palestinian resistance" is referring to this, whether they realize it or not.

(Notice also that the animated bus that is exploded has the word "Israel" on it, but backwards.)

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07/17 Links Pt1: 25 Years Since Oslo, Time for New Thinking; PA TV: The Israelis Portray Their Fallen Soldiers as Civilians, Whereas We Portray Our Innocent Children as Fighters

From Ian:

The Israel Victory Project: “25 Years Since Oslo, Time for New Thinking”

Launched by the Middle East Forum in Fall 2016, the Israel Victory Project maintains that peace can only be reached when the Palestinians are forced to concede the futility of their century-long rejectionism and accept Israel’s right to exist. To advance this goal, the Forum created an Israel Victory Caucus in both the U.S. Congress and the Knesset, as well as apprised key members of the Trump administration of the concept, in order to promote legislation and policies that will supplant the failed Oslo “peace process” with persistent pressure on the Palestinians to come to terms with Israel’s existence. Such measures can range from stopping financial support to the Palestinian Authority so long as it continues to pay lifetime allowances to families of killed and/or jailed terrorists, to ending the “Palestine refugee” farce, to harnessing the widest international backing behind Israel’s political stance and sustained military effort to defeat Palestinian terrorism.

Gregg Roman, director of the Middle East Forum, was interviewed by Land of Israel podcast host Eve Harrow on July 3rd’s Knesset meeting of the joint US-Israel program, the Israel Victory Caucus.

Palestinian rejectionism is two parts Palestinian, one part international community, and one part lack of Israeli strategy. Palestinian’s rejectionist Waqf-Fiqh mentality (“waqf” is the Islamic holy trust, and “fiqh” is Islamic legal doctrine), with its Islamic concept of never relinquishing lands that were once in Muslim hands, can be challenged by citing the precedent of the Balkans, and ancient Andalusia, now Spain, where Muslims gave up lands in 1492. The second rejectionist idea, “samud,” (steadfastness), encourages Palestinians to wait millenia, if need be, to defeat the Israelis, but Palestinians want to better their lives now and partake in the benefits of Israeli innovation. Third, the international community (and far left) indulge Palestinian “no’s” with donations that perpetuate the rejectionist cycle, but there are organizations working to separate monies for strictly humanitarian concerns apart from the political ones. Fourth and final is the Israeli security apparatus, fearing escalation or increased risk, which prefers keeping the status quo, instead of bringing about a resolution to the conflict on Israel’s terms.

Palestinian Commentator Tawfiq Abu Shomar on PA TV: The Israelis Portray Their Fallen Soldiers as Civilians, Whereas We Portray Our Innocent Children as Fighters pic.twitter.com/yD2hnFo63W
— MEMRI (@MEMRIReports) July 17, 2018

Falcon found near Gaza with flammable material attached by string

A falcon was discovered near the Gaza border on Monday with strings attached that contained flammable material.

The falcon was found dead, hanging by the attached string from a burned tree near the Nahal Habesor riverbed.

It was not immediately clear if the bird was launched from Gaza to spark fires in Israel, as Gazans have done hundreds of time in recent weeks with kites and balloons, or if the predatory animal attempted to attack a balloon or kite carrying an incendiary device and became ensnared in its attached strings.

The falcon was found on a day when firefighters battled 15 separate fires started by Gazan kites and balloons in the border region.

Nature and Parks Authority officials who examined the bird said it wore a harness, suggesting it was a trained hunting bird, and strengthening speculation that it was deliberately sent to start fires, the Ynet news site reported.

On Monday night the joint "Gunpowder/Resistance" festival was held simultaneously and simulcast between Tehran and Gaza City.

Leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terror groups gathered in the Commodore Hotel in Gaza City to give speeches, celebrate and encourage terror ("resistance") and denounce Israel.

Ironically, the title of the conference was "Resistance is not Terror."

The speakers said things like Israel was planning to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. Hamas emphasized that resistance is legitimate "in all its forms"

They also praised Iran, saying that its leaders with its army and its fighters stand with Palestine.

It is clear that Iran is funding Palestinian terror along with Hezbollah and other jihadist groups.

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Ma'an reports that the Gaza terror group whose aim is to set fires all over Israel has started to weaponize children's pool and bath toys.

They are inflating these toys with helium and attaching flaming materials to them to fly to Israeli forests.

These toys are larger and more sturdy than balloons so they can fly further into Israeli territory.

Ma'an showed photos of the new wave of terrorists filling up an inflatable toy plane with helium and attaching incendiary materials to it.

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