Sunday, November 28, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Sunday, November 28, 2010Elder of ZiyonImages published Saturday by Iranian media outlets show a Star of David on the roof of the main national airline's building at the Tehran airport.
The satellite image was taken from the Google Earth service. According to the Iranian report, the Iran Air building was "built by Israeli engineers," who operated in the countries before the 1979 Islamic Revolution during the days of Shaa Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
"It's interesting that even 32 years after the victory of the revolution, this Zionist star symbol has yet to be removed from this building," a local news website wrote.
The calls to remove the Star of David, which the Iranian authorities view as a symbol associated with Israel, were accompanied by local media reports on the close relations with Israel in the past, which were completely severed after the revolution.
Sunday, November 28, 2010Elder of Ziyon
flotillaTwo women, one a Jewish-American and the other a Christian-Malaysian, last week provided some deep insights into the Israeli occupation of Palestine and appealed to global activists and media to help the world hear an alternative perspective on the long-standing conflict.Which explains of course why every other ship in the flotilla - the ones without any IHH activists - were taken peacefully without incident.
Anna Baltzer, a political activist and a grandchild of Holocaust refugees, and Kuala Lumpur-based human rights activist Mary Shanthi Dairiam, were on the programme to commemorate the UN International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People organised at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand by the Bangkok arm of the Palestine Solidarity Council on Thursday.
...Ms Dairiam's presentation was directly relevant to Thailand. She was one of a three-member panel appointed by Thai Ambassador Singhasak Phuangketkeow after he assumed chairmanship of the UN Human Rights Council in June to investigate the May 21 attack by Israeli commandos on the Mavi Marmara, the Turkish aid ship seeking to break the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip.
Ms Dairiam provided insights into the Human Rights Council investigation panel's findings. She said that as she was watching Ms Baltzer's documentary, it occurred to her that the Israelis always seem to have reasons for everything that they do. ''We have to fully understand the rationale that Israeli gives and attack that rationale, not just the incidents,'' she said.
Although she called herself a pacifist who had never held a gun in her life, she said the accounts of violence she had heard from victims of the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara had changed her forever. ''I have learned so much about the violence in this investigation. It is mind-boggling. I am not the same person now. I am not proud of the knowledge I have.''
Ms Dairiam said the panel had concluded that it had been the Israeli intention all along to cause as much physical injury as possible. She said the Israelis were apparently embarrassed by the many maritime efforts to break the blockade and the adverse publicity it was generating. ''They were going to stop it once and for all. They were intending to kill,'' she said.
This violence was totally unnecessary, she said. The captain of the ship told the investigators that if the Israelis had simply intended to stop the ship from sailing onwards, all they had to do was blast the propeller, which would have rendered the vessel inoperable.And leave the ship stranded in the sea? The Mavi Marmara, as I recall, was too big to be able to safely tow to port in a reasonable amount of time. (And commenter Eliezer, who has served in the Israel Navy for decades, flatly says that it is impossible to blast the propeller without sinking the ship.)
Sunday, November 28, 2010Elder of Ziyon
Saturday, November 27, 2010Elder of Ziyon
Friday, November 26, 2010Elder of Ziyon
Friday, November 26, 2010Elder of ZiyonHumanitarian dilemmas are a recurring issue in the Judea and Samaria region. A terrorist fires at IDF soldiers, is shot and gets wounded. Is an IDF medic to be called to treat him? A building is about to collapse in the heart of Ramallah. Does the IDF enter? Does it jeopardize its soldiers’ lives, or does it call the International Red Cross and risk losing precious time?Maybe the IDF should receive the Muammar Gaddafi Prize for Human Rights!
To Israel, the answer to these questions is clear. According to Division Medical Officer, Lt. Col. Michael Kassirer, “The treatment of the Palestinian population is first and foremost a moral and professional obligation for every one of us.” Do we treat them? There is no question about it. But what happens in the long run and how? Where do international organizations fit in? How will an independent Palestinian medical body be established and how does coordination between bodies happen in life? These are the real questions.
In order to start answering these questions, a special conference on the topic of humanitarian medicine was held on Monday (Nov. 22), atHadassah Medical Center at Mount Scopus in Jerusalem. Commanders and medics attended in order to speak and learn, from the most senior, IDF Chief Medical Officer and the Commander of Judea and Samaria Division, to the 19-year-old paramedics serving with the battalions in the region.
“Up until September 2000, a Ramallah resident could have taken his car and driven to Ichilov Hospital [in Israel],” began Commander of Judea and Samaria Division, Brig. Gen. Nitzan Alon. “But from September 2000 we’ve been in a state of terror. Hundreds were killed, Jews and Palestinians alike. The battles took place in the heart of the cities, in places where enemies stood side by side with civilians, with difficult conditions and limited ability to evacuate. We could not practice medicine beyond the minimum. In those days, we were on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.”
But today, he says, the situation is different. Thanks to many efforts on both sides, stability has been restored. “The political leadership is able to make decisions not in the context of buses exploding. And now, along with direct military activity – patrolling, arrests, crossings – we are starting a new kind of routine. Medicine is an integral part of it. In today’s reality, we are obligated to do a lot more than the minimum. Our addressing of the situation should be as wide ranging as possible,” said Brig. Gen. Alon.
...Dr. Tawfik Nasr, Director of the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem and coordinator of all hospitals in east Jerusalem, described the example of patients coming from Gaza to be treated in Jerusalem, sometimes over a period of three to four months. They are housed in a special hotel on the Mount of Olives.
...And, unbelievable though it may sound, because of desire and will, it is working. Last year, 180,000 Palestinian citizens entered Israel to receive treatment.
Friday, November 26, 2010Elder of ZiyonInitially, you had indicated that you were not planning to apologise to Lauren Booth. What made you change your mind?
I said I was sorry for "speaking in haste and choosing my words poorly". It's true. I am sorry about that. The minute I said it, I thought of a dozen funnier, less vulgar comments I could have made instead. Hindsight's 20/20.
What is your reaction to the Appeals Panel's decision to impose a penalty of a 40 per cent reduction of your first preference votes? Do you see it as a fair penalty?
My reactions were, in chronological order: surprise, befuddlement, amusement, hysterical laughter, and contacting every single reporter and blogger who has been in touch with me over the last month. Was it fair? No. I may be biased, but I'm around 99% sure that this penalty reflects who I am, not what I did. As I said, I don't really think the Rules were intended to prohibit what I did, and if they were, there was discretion to impose a) no penalty, b) a far less severe penalty that wouldn't have the effect of rigging the election.
Why have you agreed to this interview, given that it could lead to further penalties imposed on you as a candidate?
I think it's important that people know what's going on – same reason I spoke with the Tab. As to the possibility of further penalties – it would kind of be like sentencing someone serving a life sentence to another 100 years in jail. I wasn't ever going to win this election. Anything else they throw at me now will just make them look kind of silly. Plus, I don't think I'm breaking any of the rules – I'm not soliciting votes, or talking about my campaign. I'm talking about what I see as a fairly ridiculous disciplinary hearing, and the resulting punishment. While there is a certain cadre of people currently running the Union may not like that, I don't think they can do much. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.
Gabriel Latner has been disqualified from the election for the Union presidency, after Returning Officers found that he had given an interview to Varsity, in contravention of election rules.
Latner had previously been penalised 40 per cent of his first preference votesfor commenting for an article by The Tab.
In a statement, the Union Returning Officers said: "Due to the fact that this is second time that Mr. Latner had been found guilty of such an offence and that, in this case, the article was much more focused on the Candidate’s own quotes, the Returning Officers have resolved to disqualify Mr. Latner from the current election."
Friday, November 26, 2010Elder of ZiyonThe Western Wall is a remnant of the retaining wall of a plateau revered by Jews as the Temple Mount, the site where their ancient temples once stood. The plateau is also the third holiest site in Islam.Actually, it is the third holiest place in Sunni Islam only. Shiites have many other shrines that they say are more important.
In Muslim tradition, the wall is the place where the Prophet Muhammad tethered his winged steed, Buraq, during his miraculous overnight journey from Mecca to Jerusalem in the seventh century.If you look at 19th century sources, it appears that the spot that Muslims believed Muhammed tethered his flying horse was quite a bit to the north of the Kotel. From The survey of western Palestine: Jerusalem By Sir Charles Warren:
Mr. Netanyahu, in a statement issued by his office, said the Western Wall “has been the Jewish people’s most sacred place for almost 2,000 years, since the destruction of the Second Temple.”He is wrong; the most sacred place remains the Temple Mount. The holiness of the Kotel and the other remaining portions of the wall around the Temple Mount derive from the super-holiness of the Mount itself. To say that the Kotel is the most important spot today is like saying that moonlight is more important than sunlight. By saying this, Netanyahu is effectively abandoning Jewish tradition and claims to our holiest site, and the fact that the prime minister of the Jewish state can make such a statement is a very sad commentary on how far we have fallen - and a very big warning as to how committed he is to other Jewish holy sites.
Friday, November 26, 2010Elder of Ziyonhasbara
Friday, November 26, 2010Elder of ZiyonThe Ezzeden Al Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, mourned on Thursday evening November 25th one of its heroes, the mujahed Bilal Maher Zaqout ,22, from Jabalia refugee camp.And what heroic thing was he doing when he became a martyr? Here's how they described it in paragraph 2:
...Ezzeden Al Qassam Brigades said in its military communiqué that the mujahed was martyred after a long bright path of jihad, hard work, struggle and sacrifice.
In addition, the Brigades reaffirmed the commitment and determination to continue the resistance against the belligerent occupation forces.
Finally, the Brigades prayed to Allah to accept the martyrdom of the mujahed and to grant his family patience and solace
The Brigades announced in a military communiqué released on Thursday evening that the mujahed Bilal Maher Zaqout was martyred due to a live bullet fired by mistake while he was cleaning his own gun in Jabalia refugee camp north of the Gaza Strip.Yes, this Hamas hero shot himself in the chest while cleaning his gun.
Friday, November 26, 2010Elder of ZiyonEgyptian authorities have rounded up 156 people in connection with this week's deadly protests over plans to build a church near Cairo, the government announced Thursday.Dr. Mostafa El Feki is a high ranking member of Egypt's ruling party who had recently received the Mubarak Award, Egypt's highest honor, andis now a member of the Shoura Council. He is considered
Those arrested have been ordered held for 15 days while the investigation into Wednesday's clashes continues, Egypt's official Middle East News Agency reported.
Police battled about 150 demonstrators outside a government building in the Cairo suburb of Giza on Wednesday. Police turned to tear gas to break up the melee, while protesters responded with Molotov cocktails. The clashes left a Christian protester dead.
Tensions have been running high between Egypt's Muslim majority and minority Christians, who make up about 9 percent of the people. Copts, who are adherents of an Egyptian sect of Christianity, complain of discrimination, including the lack of freedom to build houses of worship. The government denies those accusations.
It is very clear that the fingers of foreign parties are playing havoc on the country and are exploiting the election season for the implementation of their plan to destabilize the security and stability in Egypt. Almost certainly the involvement of Mossad [can be seen] in those events, after the admission of the Israeli director of the responsibility for playing a pivotal role to turn the South Sudan and the African States against Egypt.The only connection I've seen between the Mossad and Southern Sudan is that the Mossad admitted that they are on the ground there, training security forces.
Thursday, November 25, 2010Elder of ZiyonBy the standards of the 1960s, the founding demonstration of the Soviet Jewry movement was hardly notable. On May 1, 1964, a thousand students gathered across from the Soviet mission to the United Nations in Manhattan to protest a Soviet ban on baking matzo and other anti-Jewish measures. Compared to demonstrators for the far better known causes of the time, they were a tame lot. No one blocked traffic or scuffled with police. Instead, protesters marched in a circle so orderly that one reporter commented on how refreshingly responsible these young people were, which was damning praise for a movement aspiring to change history.
Yet that is precisely the process that was set in motion by the May Day demonstration. The struggle to free Soviet Jewry would become one of history’s most successful protest movements, a sustained quarter-century-long campaign that lost none of its fervor and encompassed ever-widening circles of participants. Though the movement failed to persuade the Soviet Union to permit the free baking of matzo, it went on to fulfill its most improbable goal: forcing open the Iron Curtain and restoring to the Jewish people several million Jews marked by the Kremlin for coerced assimilation. In the process, American Jewry discovered its political power and its spiritual vitality, as a once-timid community learned to become a vigorous advocate of Jewish interests. This was the pre-history of the élan that American Jewry acquired in the wake of the Six Day War a few years later.
The movement’s significance transcends its impact on Jewish history. In the mid-’70s, Congress adopted the JacksonVanik amendment linking trade credits for the Soviet Union to its Jewish emigration policy. By mobilizing Congress to override a reluctant White House, the movement helped to establish the principle that human rights supersede national sovereignty, that democracies are morally bound to intervene in the internal affairs of dictatorships. The Soviet Jewry movement in America was also a milestone in modern humanitarian politics.
And, according to Gal Beckerman’s superb and likely definitive narrative of the Soviet Jewry struggle, the movement deserves credit even for helping to hasten the fall of the Soviet Union. Deftly moving between the Soviet Union and the United States, the two main arenas of the struggle, Beckerman shows how Jewish activists on one side of the Iron Curtain emboldened Jewish activists on the other. The more risks Soviet Jews took in challenging their government, the more American Jews intensified their campaign, in turn further encouraging Soviet Jews, who initiated acts unprecedented for Soviet citizens, such as sit-ins at government offices. The “refuseniks,” as Jews denied exit visas were known, created the Soviet Union’s only mass dissident movement that spanned the USSR, and the vigorous support of Jews abroad provided a measure of immunity, ensuring that refuseniks would not become anonymous and therefore extinguishable targets. By weakening the capacity of the Soviet system to instill fear, the movement eroded the self-confidence of Soviet leaders. “Zionism is making us stupid,” Beckerman quotes Leonid Brezhnev complaining to his Politburo. In effect, the Kremlin was confronted with a bleak choice: either renew Stalinist-era repression or concede defeat. Soviet leaders tried to respond with a third, and more ambiguous, approach: allow some refuseniks to emigrate while jailing others and keeping still others in limbo. That process failed because every exit visa pried from the Kremlin only convinced activists to intensify the pressure.
Thursday, November 25, 2010Elder of Ziyon
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PROTOCOLS: EXPOSING MODERN ANTISEMITISM
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