Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, April 27, 2012

Iran, Syria using Lebanese banks to move money?

From WSJ:

The Obama administration is intensifying its scrutiny of Lebanon's financial system, concerned that Syria, Iran and the militant group Hezbollah are using Beirut's banks to evade international sanctions and fund their activities.

Despite action by Beirut and Washington over the past 14 months to close banks and sanction individuals, the Treasury Department and Drug Enforcement Administration are continuing an aggressive probe into an alleged Hezbollah-linked money-laundering operation, U.S. officials said. They allege the operation involves hundreds of millions of dollars in drug-sales revenues from a Lebanese narco-trafficker that they say have gone to the Lebanese militia and political group.

The Treasury Department also is pressing Lebanese financial regulators to more closely monitor local banks that have operations in Damascus and Tehran, senior U.S. officials said.

U.S. officials believe Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is trying to use these financial links as other channels for moving money are blocked by international sanction campaigns against his government, triggered by his yearlong crackdown on political opponents.

"We're concerned about Lebanon being used as a channel by Syrians attempting to evade sanctions," said a senior Treasury official involved in Middle East policy.

A stream of Treasury officials, including U.S. sanctions czar David Cohen, have visited Beirut in recent months to meet Lebanese officials and private bankers.

Let's hope it is not too little, too late.

Iranian caught spying on Jews in India

From the Pune Mirror:

The Special Branch of the city police deported 40-year-old Iranian national Hamid Kashkouli, who was pursuing his PhD programme, from the University of Pune (UoP) last month. He was found spying on city-based Israeli nationals and Israeli centres such as Chabad House in Koregaon Park, and the Rasta Peth Synagogue. It was also learnt that Kashkouli was on the payrolls of the Iranian intelligence.

Kashkouli was produced before a city court by the police with the evidence of his illegal activities during his stay here following which an order of deportation was passed against him.

He was then deported to Iran from Delhi, last month. Interestingly, the topic of Kashkouli’s thesis was ‘Foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran during the presidency of Khatmi’. He had enrolled himself for the programme in 2007 at UoP’s Department of Defence and Strategic Studies.

He lived in Bavdhan and was an active member of the Iranian Students’ Association. Police claim Kashkouli worked as an undercover agent of the Iranian government. “He came to India under the pretext of being a student but was keeping a close eye on the Jewish centres in Pune.

He had collected information about visitors’ movements at the Chabad House and the Synagogue which he forwarded to intelligence officials in Tehran,” said an SB officer. The needle of suspicion pointed towards him especially when it was found he regularly travelled in a private car to the Iranian Consulate in Mumbai for unexplained reasons.

He used to hire a city-based driver for the purpose, whom the SB officials also detained for questioning. The driver, who had over a period of time become familiar with Kashkouli, said that he was employed by the Iranian government and that top government officials from Iran would often come down to Mumbai especially to meet him.

Intelligence officials zeroed in on Kashkouli’s movements in January 2011 when they stumbled upon the fact that in four years he had not been able to advance with his PhD thesis neither did he submit the progress report.

What was also curious is that, despite being a student, he did not have a Student’s or Research visa. Tracking the movements of foreign nationals, if they are on a tourist visa, which allows them free movement in the country, becomes a tedious task for authorities.

“This was a matter of grave concern, especially since he called himself a PhD student. The names of the foreign nationals coming to India are enrolled immediately but there is hardly any check on foreigners visiting India on Tourist visas,” the officer said.

Investigations at the Iranian Consulate in Mumbai revealed he was a government employee. His emails were intercepted and it was proven that he was an undercover agent for the Iranian government.

The emails that went across provided information about Jews living in Pune and businesses they were involved in. “We also investigated pictures he had taken and messages sent across,” said the officials. Investigations revealed that he was in touch with other Iranians in Delhi. Police are still in the process of verifying the calls he made to his compatriots in the national Capital.

So, how many more Iranians are spying on synagogues and Jewish centers in far-flung countries?

(h/t Zvi)

Latest Latma

Egyptian master's thesis on Indonesia quotes the Protocols

A student at the University of Zagazig in Egypt wrote his master's thesis on the history of the various conspiracies against Islam that colonialists imposed on the population.

An article in Moheet summarizes it.

He says that the Dutch introduced communism to Indonesia, and the movement grew stronger until the Muslims defeated it. He then went on to discuss the ties between communism and Zionism, specifically via the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and the fact that Karl Marx was Jewish.

He also quotes that the Protocols instruct Jews to use secularism to conquer the world.

This is a master's thesis in an Egyptian university.

Well, maybe they have a good sports program.

Links from all over

Twitter links I posted today:

http://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/66895/israel-64-the-might-bumble-bee -- Israel at 64: The might of the bumble bee

Dubai withholds #Israeli cardiologists visas http://bit.ly/IG6mvb

#Hamas calls to boycott #Algerian writer attending symposium in#Jerusalem http://www.qudsmedia.com/?p=63720

Cool looking 3D technology from #Israel - anyone @Microsoft have any more details? http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=tBPc4wCsa-Y

Islamists sweep Jordanian teachers' union electionshttp://en.ammonnews.net/article.aspx?articleNO=16376

Lebanese comedian on trial for showing a few cm of his underwear - during charity auction http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/04/26/210391.html

Honest Reporting made a nice slide show for Israel's Independence Day.

Shraga Simmons on what Michael Oren should have told 60 Minutes' Bob Simon if he wasn't worried about being politically correct.

Muslim, Zionist and Proud. (h/t O)

Surfing in Israel:

In my first week, some new-found friends were taking me out for the after-surf meal of choice-shakshuka, a spicy bowl of marinara sauce with two poached eggs on top and a sausage inside.
When we got to the port and headed into the Scubar cafe, we found that the back wall had just been blown out by a Qassam missile from Gaza. The wait staff was cleaning up and simply said they would be closed for the night, but come back tomorrow.
A bit taken aback, I asked one of my companions what that meant--should we head home? He replied that it meant that we eat next door at the Blue Bar, and that I would not be able to have a Guinness with dinner. At dinner I asked how they could be so nonchalant about the missile. I was told that this is the life, and you must learn to live it and love it now. The missile was an hour ago, but good company and dinner were now. Not to enjoy it was to let the terrorists win. The shakshuka was good.

(h/t Israellycool)

Ian's Links:

Ambassador Ron Prosor guest posts on HuffPo!
Fuel for Thought in Gaza
“Like a group of smiling tour guides at a Caribbean resort, legions of pundits and policymakers have been dancing the limbo with Hamas for years, setting the bar lower and lower for what is acceptable. Instead of holding the regime responsible for the well-being of the people of Gaza, most have turned a blind eye to their oppression.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...

Netanyahu on CNN
Israel " Netanyahu ,Islamic Republic_Iran ,World Great Danger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Israel "PM" Netanyahu & Islamic Republic_Iran
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...
Israel "Netanyahu"on Palestine & Arabs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...

PA Declares Church in Bethlehem to be Unlawful
PA: Bethlehem Church will no longer receive rights as a religious institution; birth certificates, marriage licenses deemed illegitimate.
http://www.israelnationalnews....
One of many examples in this article
Muslim Persecution of Christians: March, 2012 by Raymond Ibrahim
http://www.gatestoneinstitute....

Anti-Christian and Anti-Jewish Sentiment in Malaysia by Anna Mahjar-Barducci
“In March 2012, the Malaysian opposition, Pakatan Rakyat (PKR), started to pressure the government also to legislate the banning of all ties with Israel, direct or indirect. The PKR leader even said that Malaysia should ban "the use of our ports by any company that has a trade interest with the Zionist regime." A Malaysian scholar based in Singapore, Dr. Farish A. Noor, further commented in the Malaysian Insider that as elections in Malaysia are around the corner all political parties are competing to show how "anti-Israeli" they can be.”
http://www.gatestoneinstitute....

Foreign Ministry slams Guardian newspaper for insisting Tel Aviv is Israel’s capital
http://www.timesofisrael.com/f...

Radical leftists to honor Palestinian terrorists on Memorial Day
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/t...

Turkey Blocks Israel From NATO Meet, Obama Shrugs
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-P...

"Moderate" Hamas leader calls to kidnap more Israeli soldiers

Khaled Meshal, the Hamas "political" leader who is hailed by clueless Westerners for his pragmatism and moderation, yesterday called upon Arabs to kidnap more Israeli soldiers in order to get prisoner swaps like the Shalit deal.

He also praised hunger strikes and demanded that Arab governments use political pressure on Israel to gain the release of more prisoners.

War crimes are just another form of politics.

Outrage! Dome of the Rock barely visible behind Independence Day stage

Qudsmedia, which seems to exist solely for inciting Arabs, finds offense in this photo of the stage Jerusalem set up to celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut:

Can't see it? Here, they'll enlarge it for you:

Yes! From a certain angle, standing up, looking between the speakers, someone might see a juxtaposition of an Israeli flag and the Dome of the Rock!

Obviously this was done to injure the very, very, very sensitive feelings of Arabs and to rub their noses in their ignominious defeat in 1967, not to mention 1948.

Those Israelis never stop their single-minded obsession with humiliating Arabs.

Palestinian ISP says it has no choice but to censor websites

From Ma'an:

The largest telecommunications company in the occupied territories has no choice but to enforce orders issued by the Palestinian Authority, its chief executive said Wednesday.

Ammar Aker says PalTel conducts its operations in compliance with regulatory and legal instructions, but has no further involvement in decisions imposed by the government.

"Our role is to implement those orders and instructions and not to enter into such matters that the company cannot deal with or accept to be part of," Aker said in an emailed statement.

The executive's remarks further distanced the company from evidence of a secretive initiative by the Palestinian Authority to censor websites critical of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Ma'an published Monday the first part in an investigation into the program, allegedly ordered by attorney-general Ahmad al-Mughni, to force PalTel and others to block access to eight websites.

It's funny, but while the PA (and Hamas) have, for years, routinely intimidated and arrested reporters, stopped distribution of newspapers and engaged in similar forms of censorship, the world yawned. But stopping access to eight Internet news sites has woken people up.

In New York, a press freedom group sharply criticized the Palestinian Authority.

"For a free online press, the Internet has to be open for everyone," said Danny O'Brien, Internet advocacy coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists.

"By blocking these websites, the Palestinian Authority is creating a dangerous new infrastructure for the suppression of speech in its own country," he said in a statement.

The State Department spokesperson likewise commented, saying that the US is "raising these concerns with the Palestinian Authority."

680 more Gazans become Egyptian citizens - and what we can learn

Since 1950, the world has been fed a lie - the lie that most Palestinian Arabs do not want to become citizens of other Arab countries in order to keep their own nationalism alive.

The origins of this lie can be seen in this 1951 UNRWA report:

The desire to go back to their homes is general among all classes; it is proclaimed orally at all meetings and organized demonstrations, and, in writing, in all letters addressed to the Agency and all complaints handed in to the area officers. Many refugees are ceasing to believe in a possible return, yet this does not prevent them from insisting on it, since they feel that to agree to consider any other solution would be to show their weakness...

Palestinian Arabs have always been sensitive to publicly adhere to the "politically correct" idea that they will not accept any solution besides "return." Westerners who spoke to them were impressed with this seeming determination and would report this as fact. This idea was pushed by self-proclaimed leaders (as this report indicates) making any Palestinian refugee reluctant to publicly oppose it. (Within a few years, UNRWA itself would have its teachers continue this insistence on "return" at the expense of solving the refugee problem - a form of job security.)

However, every time the opportunity arose, individual Arabs would invariably choose to become citizens of their host countries and would go to great lengths to obtain such citizenship. The worry about showing "weakness" was a concern for the Palestinian Arabs as a group, but each one individually seems to be eager to better their lives by becoming citizens wherever they can.

Last year, Egypt finally started implementing a 2004 law saying that children of Palestinian fathers and Egyptian mothers can become Egyptian citizens. Tens of thousands of Gazans started applying for citizenship, going back generations to prove their Egyptian parentage - and against the public pronouncements of their "leaders." And every few months, a few hundred Gazans would get their prize - Egyptian citizenship and an opportunity to stop being treated like dirt by the entire Arab world. So far between two and three thousand Palestinian Arabs have been able to become citizens of Egypt.

Today another 680 Palestinian Arabs became Egyptian citizens.

Given the choice, almost every Palestinian Arab would choose to become naturalized in any Arab country.

But they would all keep telling credulous Westerners the opposite.

They are afraid to say the truth publicly because it contradicts everything their leaders - and other Arab leaders - have been saying for decades. Publicly opposing the politically correct line of insisting on "return" is dangerous. So they say one thing and act the opposite way, and no one is the wiser.

And their human rights are being trampled by the Arabs who pretend to love them.

Horrific video of man being buried alive by Syrian Army

In Homs:

According to the uploader, the Syrian soldier asked the doomed man to say "there is no god but Bashar" but he says "there is no god but Allah" as he gets buried.

UPDATE: A tweet says that a BBC reporter is not convinced this video is legitimate. (h/t Tam)

Google Yom Ha'atzmaut Doodles (updated)

Google created this nice Google Doodle for Yom Ha'Atzmaut in Israel:

This is not the first time Google Israel celebrated the holiday, though. Here's its doodle from 2010:

And from 2008:

(I had missed 2011, h/t What About the Arab Lobby:)

1948 films: "Israel Reborn" and "Israel In Action"

Two newsreel/propaganda films by the United Palestine Appeal. The first shows Israel's rebirth while the second has some amazing war footage.

Gratuitous Yom Ha'Atzmaut Israeli Swimsuit Post

Israel21C has the list of the top ten Israeli swimsuits for this summer.

How can I not report such an important story?

The spike heels in the desert are a nice touch.

I know that when women go swimming, they love having a heavy blocky object around one of their wrists at all times.

I'm sorry, but I'm seeing dots in front of my eyes.

And for those who want more modest swimsuits - here's one for you as well:

Kampeas is wrong on one topic, right on another

JTA's Ron Kampeas writes:

I'm ancient enough to remember the younger Benjamin Netanyahu warning audiences to pay attention to what Yasser Arafat says in Arabic, as opposed to his relatively moderate pronouncements in English.

Such warnings are passe, with the onset of the Internet and a multilingual, wired world -- if a leader says something provocative/embarrassing/saber-rattling in his or her native language, it'll be out there in English, guaranteed, within minutes.

I wish this were true.

However, I've been using Google Translate for years now to see what Arabic sites are saying, and the vast majority of the things I uncovered were never reported in the mainstream media, or even by MEMRI or Palestinian Media Watch.

There is just too much stuff out there. MEMRI and PMW focus on the worst incidents, the stuff that can make headlines, the songs sung by little kids about killing Jews, anti-semitic cartoons andsimilar items. But the causal hate that pervades the Arabic media is not something that you can appreciate from just reading a couple of cherry-picked examples a day. If people knew how Hamas, day in and day out, praises terror attacks - even attacks from years ago - they would never believe the stupidity pushed by some that Hamas is moderating, or willing to be at peace with Israel, or willing to accept a two state solution.

But it is not reported.

A couple of weeks ago I searched for every mention of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion on Arabic news sites from the previous 30 days. While a couple of sites did refer to them as forgeries, most mentioned them - in asides - as if their veracity is unquestioned among the readership. This is a story that is current - but no media covered it besides me.

Also, what you will not see in Arabic sites is the complete absence of the other side of the story. We take it for granted that Jewish and Zionist media, like JTA, will have a variety of viewpoints on the subject of Israel and the Arabs. But that multiplicity of views is missing in Arabic media. Arabs are simply not exposed to anything besides anti-Israel propaganda, day in and day out. Tehy don't even have Arabic-language access to the truth. This is a story that is ignored - and it shouldn't be.

When reading the Arabic news sites, on first glance, it appears that they are similar to Western media. There are news items along with special interest stories, sports, ads, odd stories and so forth. It takes time to realize that most news sites have a sponsor and they faithfully report only one viewpoint. To see the truth about Fatah, you must read Islamic Jihad and Hamas sites (along with a very few maverick websites;) to see the truth about Hamas you must read the Fatah sites. Different Egyptian papers will cover different stories and ignore the ones that embarrass their sponsors.

None of this is obvious and practically none of it is reported. And that is a shame, because it is impossible to truly understand how Arabs think without reading their own words - about everything.

But Kampeas is right about one thing:

Bringing us back to Bibi and his two totally different Independence Day messages, one geared to Israelis and one to Americans. In the former he looks forward to hanging around the "mangal" or barbecue grill tomorrow, and he lists priorities for next year: A fence separating Israel and the Egypt, expanding Iron Dome, free education for kids from age 3 and reducing the cost of living (in that order.) He extols Israel's advances in high-tech.

For Americans and other English speakers, his cast is "Israel is unique." He emphasizes "restoring sovereignty" for a powerless people, and also becoming a "global technological power" (although here he qualifies that with a "despite threats"). He extols a "vibrant liberal democracy" where women are equal and says Israel is especially unique for the "tens of millions" of supporters it has, Jewish and non Jewish.

Nothing at all wrong with this: Two different constituencies, two different messages. Happens everywhere.

What throws me off, though, are the cat and the parrot singing "Hineh mah tov" at the end of the Hebrew version (which features Arabic subtitles). The cat is miserable, and apparently paw-cuffed; the parrot appears ready to hop into the blender standing alongside it.

What message are these unhappy creatures meant to convey?

Why are Israelis guided, unprepared, into this 20-second nightmare?

Indeed - that cartoon is creepy and bizarre, and I cannot come up with a single rational reason it was tacked onto the end of Bibi's Hebrew address.

British engineer in UAE on trial for saying "when will we finish the damn mosques?"

From The National, January 12:

An engineer told an appeals court yesterday that he did not mean to insult religious monuments when he said "damn mosques" during a meeting.

The British engineer, who works at the parks and recreation section of Abu Dhabi Municipality, was appealing against a one-month prison sentence imposed by the Court of Misdemeanours.

He was in charge of a project to create gardens around a mosque.

He lost his temper during a meeting because the project was progressing slowly. He was reported to the police by his work colleagues for saying: "When will we finish with the damn mosques?"

He explained to the judge that he did not mean to insult the mosque as a religious place and that he respected Islam and the UAE.

"I said it out of concern for the project because I wanted it to be ready as soon as possible," he said.

The judge asked him: "So your keenness on completion drove you to curse?"

The engineer reasserted his respect for mosques he works on and said he wanted them to be presented in the best way possible way.

A decision on the appeal will be announced on February 7.

He lost the case, and is now appealing. From Al Arabiya:

The lawyer of an engineer jailed in Abu Dhabi for insulting Islam by referring to “damn” mosques has insisted a UAE court look up the word in the Oxford English Dictionary.

“The first meaning for the word ‘damned’ says: ‘According to Christianity, a damned (person) is someone who God is angered with forever... the second meaning says ‘damn’ can be used for strong criticism in an unofficial way and is a way of expressing anger,” read out the translator at the Appeals Court, according to a report from The National.

The Appeals Court and will announce its new verdict on April 30, the newspaper stated.

I wonder what would have happened if he said "f--ing mosques." Would that have been considered worse or better than "damn mosques"?