Human Rights Watch condemns incitement against Shiites, but not Jews

From Human Rights Watch:

The lynching of four Shia by a mob apparently led by Salafi sheikhs in the village of Abu Musallim in Greater Cairo on June 23, 2013, came after months of anti-Shia hate speech at times involving the ruling Muslim Brotherhood and its political party, Human Rights Watch said today. The episode shows that the government needs to recognize that Shia in Egypt are at risk and to take protective measure to ensure their protection and equal rights.

“The brutal sectarian lynching of four Shia comes after two years of hate speech against the minority religious group, which the Muslim Brotherhood condoned and at times participated in,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

The anti-Shia hate speech by Salafis, who consider Shia Muslims heretics, and the Muslim Brotherhood has been going on for two years, Human Rights Watch said. Muslim Brotherhood members and officials at Al Azhar, Egypt’s main center of Islamic learning and authority, have publicly called for an end to the spread of Shiism in Egypt.

Look at that - HRW has the ability to condemn hate speech that could lead to people being killed!

But Arab antisemitism has never been condemned by HRW, or Amnesty. Not once.

Even though there are still Jews living in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and elsewhere. Even though the Arab antisemitism is being spread among Muslims in Europe and results in attacks against Jews there. Even though there happens to be a Jewish state in the midst of the Arab world.

The Khaybar miniseries is being broadcast throughout the Arab world in July. The entire point of the series is to instill hatred of Jews under the guise of entertainment. Despite repeated calls for HRW and Amnesty to condemn it, and the delivery of a petition this week to their offices in New York, these "human rights groups" remain silent about incitement against Jews that will be seen by tens, or perhaps hundreds, of millions of Arabs.

HRW is showing its hypocrisy with its belated denunciation of the Egyptian incitement against Shiites. Yet how was this incitement framed? By saying that Shiites are even worse than Jews. In other words, for Muslims,  Jews are the standard against which all hate must be compared.

HRW and Amnesty apparently have no problem with this.

They are happy to condemn white European antisemitism. They are happy to condemn Arab hate against other Arabs. But direct Arab incitement against Jews?

Nothing.

(You can still sign the petition demanding HRW and Amnesty condemn Arab antisemitism and the Khaybar series in particular - all signatures get emailed to them. Now including Joe Stork.)

Read More

Al Aqsa Foundation declares all Biblical archaeology to be lies

The Al Aqsa Foundation issued a statement today saying that every piece of evidence that points to the existence of any Jewish Temple - first or second - on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is a lie.

The group says that it rejects these myths and confirma the Islamic and Arab character of the area.

According to the statement, they say that all the experts in the Israel Antiquities Authority who claim they found stones and jewelry and seals in the area of ​​the Al Aqsa Mosque, claiming they are archaeological discoveries of Jewish objects dating from the time of the First and Second Temples, are lying, since there were no Temples. The group said "these lies and myths are a figment of the imagination," and said that international and even Israeli archaeologists have confirmed through research and vigorous exploration that was scientific and objective that there were no structures in the area that were Jewish temples.

They stressed that Arabs Canaanites were the first residents who built Jerusalem, with Jebusites and Amorites living there for thousands of years, while "the Jews" were there for only a short time.

The Al-Aqsa Foundation says that the Israel Antiquities Authority and other groups are trying desperately to fabricate history of Hebrew presence in Jerusalem, through the myths and legends of the alleged phantom structure in the place of or under the Al Aqsa Mosque, to the point of wanting to demolish the mosque. The groups asserted that the real history is clear and it has proved beyond a doubt that the al-Aqsa mosque is for Muslims alone,

The foundation even says that relics found by sifting through the tons of debris that were criminally excavated from the site by the Islamic Waqf and dumped outside Jerusalem were really not from the Temple area at all.

They even illustrate the article with some of these lying relics.

It is true that there is only fragmentary yet intriguing archaeological  evidence so far of the First Temple, because it was replaced by the Second Temple and no one is allowed to dig underneath the Temple Mount to look for it. But lots of the Second Temple is still there, as Wikipedia summarizes:

After 1967, archaeologists found that the wall extended all the way around the Temple Mount and is part of the city wall near the Lion's Gate. Thus, the Western Wall is not the only remaining part of the Temple Mount. Currently, Robinson's Arch (named after American Edward Robinson) remains as the beginning of an arch that spanned the gap between the top of the platform and the higher ground farther away. This had been used by the priests as an entrance. Commoners had entered through the still-extant, but now plugged, gates on the southern side which led through beautiful colonnades to the top of the platform. One of these colonnades is still extant and reachable through the Temple Mount. The Southern wall was designed as a grand entrance. Recent archeological digs have found thousands of mikvehs (ceremonial bathtubs) for the ritual purification of the worshipers, as well as a grand stairway leading to the now blocked entrance. Inside the walls, the platform was supported by a series of vaulted archways, now called Solomon's Stables, which still exist and whose current renovation by the Waqf is extremely controversial. The temple itself was constructed of imported white marble that gleamed in the daylight.

On September 25, 2007 Yuval Baruch, archaeologist with the Israeli Antiquities Authority announced the discovery of a quarry compound which may have provided King Herod with the stones to build his Temple on the Temple Mount. Coins, pottery and an iron stake found proved the date of the quarrying to be about 19 BCE. Archaeologist Ehud Netzer confirmed that the large outlines of the stone cuts is evidence that it was a massive public project worked by hundreds of slaves.[30]

Moreover, there is a significant and growing collection of artifacts that verify specific parts of the Biblical narrative.

But I guess they are all fake too.

Also, as I learned during my tour of the Temple Mount earlier this year, the Al Aqsa Mosque itself was constructed on top of the Herodian extensions of the Mount, meaning that the Temple was not underneath it - the Temple was where the Dome of the Rock is.

Read More

6/27 Links Part 2: Karsenty’s conviction, EU Hypocrisy and the ‘blue and white’ moonshot

From Ian:

---

Amona and the Lie of ‘Private Land’

Until the liberation of Judea and Samaria in the 1967 Six-Day War, the Jordanian king had fictitiously registered most of the land in the Benjamin region. It is easy to differentiate between authentic Arab ownership of land in Judea and Samaria, which is registered in the Turkish-era registry, and the registration that took place after the Jordanian conquest. For some reason, the state of Israel decided to ignore the authentic deed. It has chosen to ignore the Balfour Declaration and the League of Nations’ decision that earmarked the territory for the Jews and to recognize the foreign Jordanian conquest and the way it allocated the spoils of the land of the Jews. This has created the situation in which Amona, like many other towns in the Benjamin region, is sitting on “private” land.

Leading critic of French al-Dura coverage convicted

A French media analyst was convicted Wednesday of defamation for accusing a state television network of staging a video that depicted a young boy being killed in a firefight between Palestinian gunmen and Israeli soldiers.

What Karsenty’s conviction doesn’t prove

To prove that Israel was not responsible may have been enough. Israel is held up to higher and sometimes impossibly high standards by the rest of the world. The burden of proof is always greater when Israel is forced to address falsehoods and libels thrown its way.
So to prove that not only was the IDF not responsible for al-Dura’s death but also that the boy had not even died during that incident was perhaps a step too far. That’s not to say that this possibility was not worth investigating.

Philippe Karsenty on Al-Dura Verdict: ‘A Dark Day for French Democracy and a Dark Day for the Truth’ (INTERVIEW)

Shortly after a French court found him guilty of defamation over his work to expose the now infamous al-Dura hoax, Phillipe Karsenty spoke to The Algemeiner and shared his reaction to the verdict.

Richard Millett: History lecturer: “Britain should apologise for Balfour Declaration.”

A little known history lecturer is quickly becoming the new poster boy of the anti-Israel movement. Last night at SOAS James Renton detailed why he thinks the British government should apologise for the Balfour Declaration. He was invited to speak by Jews for Justice for Palestinians.
The thrust of Renton’s argument is that there should be such an apology because the Balfour Declaration lacked clarity on the meaning of “national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine, which, he said, unleashed an expectation of statehood amongst Jews that was never intended. He blames the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on this “misconceived, ill thought through policy of the British government”.

BDS Momentum Quashed at UC Santa Barbara

The anti-Israel, boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement has infiltrated numerous state universities in California and has spread untruthful propaganda about the State of Israel. Unfortunately, the anti-Israel movement’s scare tactics have worked by persuading student government associations at UC Davis, UC Berkeley, and UC Irvine to boycott Israeli products and to divest from Israeli companies. Many thought that other California state schools such as UC Santa Barbara would adopt nearly identical BDS policies, however they haven’t fallen into the trap, yet.

Jewish leader blasts EU’s ‘discriminatory’ policies

European Jewish Congress President Moshe Kantor told European Union leaders that moves to label goods from the West Bank without labeling Hezbollah a terrorist group is “discriminatory.”
In a letter sent to the leaders of EU member states, Kantor said the EU “appears to be singling out one disputed territory of the world for special treatment, whereas the European Union has no similar policies for the other tens of territories that are the subject of international disputes.”

McDonald's roasted over Ariel boycott

The Big McInsult
The refusal of Israel's McDonald's franchise owner to open a branch at the new mall in Ariel just because it is located across the Green Line is an unfortunate decision that discriminates against residents of the city and the surrounding area, both Jews and Palestinians.

Revelation: King George VI Blocked Escape of German Jews

According to the Guardian:
"Some documents from the period have already entered the public domain, giving an indication of the royal couple’s views. In the spring of 1939 George VI instructed his private secretary to write to Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax. Having learnt that ‘a number of Jewish refugees from different countries were surreptitiously getting into Palestine,’ the King was ‘glad to think that steps are being taken to prevent these people leaving their country of origin.’ Halifax’s office telegraphed Britain’s ambassador in Berlin asking him to encourage the German government ‘to check the unauthorized emigration’ of Jews."

When Helen Keller Confronted the Nazis

The outcry around the world included this moving letter from Keller, addressed to “the Student Body of Germany.”
“History has taught you nothing if you think you can kill ideas,” Keller wrote. “Tyrants have tried to do that often before, and the ideas have risen up in their might and destroyed them. You can burn my books and the books of the best minds in Europe, but the ideas in them have seeped through a million channels, and will continue to quicken other minds. I gave all the royalties of my books to the soldiers blinded in the World War with no thought in my
heart but love and compassion for the German people.”

New Yad Vashem exhibit honors Holocaust heroes

The exhibition, “I Am My Brother’s Keeper,” features five 8-minute-long, animated video presentations of rescue stories projected in a dark, cavernous hall.
Yad Vashem broke down the rescuers into five different categories:
“In the cellars, pits and attics” describes those who offered shelter and cared for those they hid. “Under the benefaction of the cross” pays tribute to rescuers who were members of the Christian clergy. “Paying the ultimate price” is dedicated to those who were killed as a result of their actions. “The courage to defy” honors those who refused their bureaucratic orders to help Jews. And finally, “Parting once again” tells the stories of those hidden children, like Heller, who lost their identities.

Ukraine’s President: Anti-Semitism Will Not be Tolerated

Much has been made of the Svoboda (“Freedom”) political party, whose overtly anti-Semitic platform reached a crescendo earlier this year when one party official verbally attacked Ukrainian-born actress Mila Kunis. In the Ukraine’s 2012 Presidential election, Svoboda won a surprising 10.44 percent of the national vote and 38 out of 450 parliamentary seats.
But Yanukovych stressed the warm relations between the country and its Jewish population, which numbers more than 70,000.

UN holds Israel-led panel on entrepreneurship

The conference — which is the result of the passing last year of an Israeli resolution calling on member states to promote entrepreneurship — is part of an effort by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to steer away from conflict-oriented issues and brand itself as a world-leader in using innovation as a means of battling poverty, creating jobs, and increasing growth.
“Israel is a young, dynamic, and creative state. We have decided to go public, not on Wall Street, but at the UN Headquarters on 1st Avenue,” said Israeli envoy to the UN Ambassador Ron Prosor. “This initial public offering has 141 signatories. It is important that the whole world can enjoy Israel’s knowledge, technology, and innovation.”

The Future of High-Tech Warfare and Israel’s Role Within It

Cohen predicted that in the future, Israel would be able to neutralize enemy weapons systems and units with “a single keystroke.” Unit 8200, besides serving as the Israeli equivalent to America’s NSA, is also considered one of the breeding grounds for the talent behind Israel’s “start-up nation” society of innovators and entrepreneurs, which most recently made headlines with Google’s $1.3 billion acquisition of the Israeli navigation start-up Waze.

Inspiration, via the ‘blue and white’ moonshot

People have looked to the skies for inspiration from time immemorial – and in a start-up nation twist on that notion, the heads of SpaceIL, an Israeli group that is actively planning a “blue and white” moonshot, delivered a shot of inspiration to a group of Jerusalem entrepreneurs about the challenges they face and how they overcome them.

This is the Land (A collection of fantastic photos of Israel)

On her first visit to Israel recently, Dr. Qanta Ahmed saw the country ‘as God sees it.’ The Muslim physician and daughter of Pakistani immigrants was smitten by the natural beauty, history and modern achievements that came into vivid focus.

Read More

Abu Dhabi builds its own "Dome of the Rock"

A UAE citizen, perhaps with a lot of extra cash lying around, has built his own Dome of the Rock which he plans to open as a mosque.

I hope he builds an Al Aqsa Mosque next to it .

Then they can ban Jews from visiting. 

Read More

JPPI report on European Jewry is very well done

The Jewish People Policy Institute release a report, European Jewry - Signals and Noise, which seems to do a very good job in only 12 pages of describing the situation of Jews in Europe and the reasons things are the way they are today.

The paper is more nuanced than the reporting about it has been.

For their part, European Jews, on the whole, enjoy comfortable day-to-day lives, and their representative bodies have not felt the necessity to launch any emergency pan-European or even local strategic thinking process in response to these developments. Since they do not encounter state-sponsored anti-Semitism or barriers to their social and professional fulfillment, they trust their governments to protect them and believe that – provided they lower their Jewish profile – they can comfortably remain in Europe.

...Beside this apparent ‘business as usual’ discourse, it may, however, be possible that Jews are much more pessimistic about the future than they claim. According to a large-scale survey on Jewish people’s experiences and perceptions of anti-Semitism commissioned by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA), the official results of which have to be published in October 2013, Jews all over Europe feel insecure.

More than one in four (26%) of Jewish respondents claim to have experienced anti-Semitic harassment at least once in the 12 months preceding the survey and one in three (34%) had experienced anti-Semitic harassment over the past 5 years. 5% of all Jewish respondents said that their property had been deliberately vandalized because they were Jewish while 7% of respondents had experienced some form of physical attack or threats in the last 5 years.

In three of the nine states surveyed (namely Belgium, France and Hungary), between 40 and 50% of respondents said they had considered emigrating from their country of residence because they did not feel safe there.

The paper notes that many specific initiatives that make practicing Jews feel disenfranchised are put forward as being anchored in universal values. Cumulatively, however, they make normal Jewish life impossible:

* The attempt to ban circumcision in Germany (so-called ‘intactivist’ movements have also pushed for a ban in Denmark, Austria, the United Kingdom, and other European countries – resting on children’s rights and medical claims;
• The attempt to ban ritual slaughter (Shechita, along with Halal) in Holland, Poland and France, which is already proscribed in Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland – resting on animal rights claims;
• The abolition of eternal cemeteries (in Switzerland and Belgium) – resting on environmental claims;
• The rejection of requests to accommodate conflicts with the Jewish calendar in scheduling public examinations (in France and Switzerland) – resting on a claim of church/state separation;
• The rejection of requests by Shabbat observant Jews for non-electric entry access in private condominiums (in France) – resting on security claims;
• The reconsideration of traditional public funding of Jewish cultural institutions (in France and other countries) – resting on equity claims;
• The increasing interference in the internal operation of Jewish day schools (all over Europe) – resting on ethnic non-discrimination claims, and more.

The report discusses several reasons why Europeans push this anti-religious agenda.

One is that economic decline and political turmoil often increases antisemitism.

Another is because Europeans believe religious freedom is far less important than loyalty to the nation:

The opposition to religious dress, rituals, and practices is not an incidental conflict between the value of religious freedom and the bodily integrity of children or animal rights that can be resolved by conciliation. Instead, these rituals will be increasingly perceived as threats to the national ethos and to its core values of Equality (secular neutrality inthe public sphere), Liberty (individual autonomy and emancipation) and Fraternity (civic loyalty to the community of citizens), especially as conceived in the French political tradition. According to the French conception of the Social Contract (Rousseau), one gives all of one's powers and rights to the volonté génerale and one receives back civic rights, not natural rights. In the predominant political philosophy in America, that of John Locke and Jefferson, in contrast, one retains one's natural rights and only gives the state the power to protect them. In response to the massive influx of Muslims, the state secularist attitude has been strengthened in France as cultural patrimony.

A third reason is that, while the tiny Jewish community's adherence to brit milah and shechita would not bother anyone, the much larger Muslim community's insistence on similar accommodation and the resulting cultural shift forces a pushback against Islam and towards "European core values" - and Jews get caught in the middle.

The fourth, related reason is that Europe does not trust religious particularism:

Built following centuries of bloody ethno-religious and national conflicts, the founding ethos of the European Union is that strong ethno-religious and national identities are better avoided. Jewish particularism is perceived with suspicion. Nicolas Sarkozy's successor as leader of the UMP liberal party and current French opposition leader, Jean-François Copé, whose mother is of Jewish Algerian descent and whose father is of Jewish Romanian ancestry, illustrates this pressure to disengage from ‘assigned' Jewishness in order to make one's way to national political leadership. He felt the need to declare, "[his] community of reference is not the Jewish one but the French one." Whereas Judaism as a culture is sometimes praised and celebrated, the ethnic, collective, and communitarian dimensions of Jewishness are repudiated. All over Europe, Jews are increasingly encouraged to privatize their identity and avoid emphasizing their Jewishness. This has already been the rule for the last two hundred years, but with the demographic shifts and the massive influx of Muslim populations, this expectation of "voluntary amnesia" is becoming mandatory in the public sphere.

All of this has major impact in the lives of practicing Jews:

All over Europe but especially in the United Kingdom and France, which are home to 80% of Western Europe's Jews, we find the expression of this polarization In order to avoid friction with their environment, Jews take various steps – the more practicing Jews relocate in self-segregated neighborhoods, the more idealistic ones make Aliyah, and the most ambitious ones quit Europe for more promising horizons.

The analysis seems to me to be on the money.

(h/t Irene)

Read More

Egypt's siege of Gaza tightens (a headline you'll never see in the media)

Palestine Today reports that there are severe diesel and construction material shortages in Gaza.

Egyptian security forces have managed to stop nearly all the smuggling traffic to Gaza, in a new crackdown before the planned June 30 demonstrations in Egypt. Egyptians themselves are suffering from a huge petrol shortage (see here for a video of a miles-long line to get fuel) so it is doubtful that there is much cheap fuel available for Gazans.

Israel does provide some diesel as well, but at normal market prices, not the subsidized Egyptian fuel prices. But even that is running out in Gaza as people are hoarding fuel, anticipating a potential meltdown in Egypt.

The sudden shortage of construction material smuggled from Egypt has caused building in Gaza to be at a virtual standstill. Dozens of workers are losing their jobs, and with Ramadan coming up in a couple of weeks they are nervous.

Tunnel owners are calling the current crackdown on smuggling "unprecedented."

Israel did stop shipping goods earlier this week in the wake of a barrage of rockets from Gaza, but it seems to have resumed Wednesday and continued today.

I am looking for stories about Egypt's inhumane siege of Gaza, but I'm having trouble finding them.

Read More

6/27 Links Part 1: Why the world loves Palestinians, Hamas Losing Power? and Hezbollah's Disneyland.

From Ian:

---

Khaled Abu Toameh: Is Hamas Losing Power?

Hamas's failure to improve the living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has also driven away an increased number of Palestinians -- in addition to reports about fierce internal squabbling among Hamas's top brass and the absence of a unified policy toward many controversial issues plaguing the Palestinians and the Arab world.
In a move reflecting Hamas's growing predicament, the movement was forced this week to welcome Palestinian singer Mohamed Assaf, who won the popular Arab Idol contest held by Saudi Arabia's MBC TV station.
Although Hamas leaders have condemned the contest as "anti-Islamic" and "morally corrupt," they were forced to voice their support for the 23-year-old Assaf in the wake of the overwhelming and unprecedented support he received from Palestinians.
When Hamas leaders begin to "sweat," it should be seen as a positive development in the Palestinian arena. It now remains to be seen whether Palestinians will take advantage of the situation and turn against Hamas.

Barry Rubin: Arab World War Two: Sunni versus Shia

As a new report by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center puts it:
“The depth of the Sunni-Shi’ite schism can be seen in all the major arenas where regional conflicts are being waged. It is reflected in Hezbollah’s growing involvement in the fighting in Syria, the spilling over of the Syrian civil war into Lebanon, record-breaking sectarian violence in Iraq, and the aggressive stance taken by the Persian Gulf states towards Iran and Hezbollah. Thus, the Sunni-Shi’ite schism is emerging as one of the most influential factors shaping the Middle East in a time of regional upheaval.”

Why the world loves Palestinians

The unique outpouring of love and money for the Palestinians can’t be because the other Arab nations care for them. If they did, they wouldn’t treat them so badly whenever they come in contact with actual Palestinian Arabs. And it certainly can’t be because they are such exemplary world citizens: Palestinian Arabs popularized airline hijacking and suicide bombing (the main ingredients of the worst terrorist attack ever), and have been responsible for several wars in Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, etc., not to mention terrorism against Israel. How many people are dead that would be alive were it not for Palestinians and their Cause?
I think the explanation is simple: the world loves the Palestinians because of their choice of enemies! (h/t Norman F)

With Kerry en route, Israelis and Palestinians trade barbs

Just hours before the start of US Secretary of State John Kerry’s fifth visit to Israel in three months, officials on both sides of the conflict blamed each other for the stalled peace talks but promised to approach the prospect of new negotiations seriously.
“The ball is in the other court,” said senior Fatah official Jibril Rajoub said in an interview with Israel Radio Thursday morning. “Does Netanyahu really believe in two states for two peoples? Are we going to negotiate to resolve the conflict, or just to manage it? That’s what worries us. Believe me… the Palestinian leadership — we’re a partner. We have a mandate. We want and believe in [making peace].”

Abbas: We will only negotiate based on 1967 lines

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told Al Jazeera Wednesday that the Palestinians would return to the negotiating table only if Israel accepts the vision of two states based on the 1967 borders. His comments came a day before US Secretary of State John Kerry was due in the region in an attempt to revive peace talks.
Abbas denied that he was setting preconditions to talks, saying he merely wanted clarity on the parameters of the negotiations.

‘$4b. for Palestinians contingent on peace progress’

A $4 billion foreign investment package to boost peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians will not be considered unless US Secretary of State John Kerry succeeds in bringing the negotiating parties back to the table, The Times of Israel has learned.

Palestinians Want this Video Removed

It repeats some well known facts about the very loose connection between Muslims and Jerusalem, highlighting facts such as their bowing in prayer with their face to Mecca and their backsides to Al Aksa mosque, and the kids playing soccer in the sacred plaza.
Incidentally, Palestinians want a lot of things removed, it’s no reason to get over excited.

Michael Totten: Hezbollah's Disneyland

Hezbollah completely and utterly sanitized itself on top of that mountain.
Nowhere on the grounds is any mention whatsoever of the airplanes Hezbollah hijacked. Hezbollah pioneered suicide-bombings in the Middle East. Such things were unheard of before the Lebanese civil war. That’s a crucial part of Hezbollah’s history, and of the modern Middle East generally, but you wouldn’t know it from their museum. No exhibit chronicled the invasion of Beirut in 2008. Hezbollah’s involvement in the Syrian war is ignored. Acts of mass murder carried out in Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and Bulgaria are conspicuous blanks.

Why Syria Finds It So Hard to Thank Hezbollah for Saving Its Bacon

Late Tuesday, Syria's U.N. envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari, refused to respond to questions about Hezbollah's role in the fighting. Asked repeatedly to comment on Syria's military ally, Jaafari dodged, weaved, and ducked. When that didn't end the questioning, he insulted a reporter asking the question.
The hesitancy to acknowledge Hezbollah's role, according to Emile Hokayem, a Middle East analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, reflects the Syrian leadership's reluctance to admit its dependency on foreign fighters to prevail in battles on its own territory. At stake is the ability of the Syrian leadership, which already receives direct military assistance from Iran, to demonstrate convincingly that it is a truly sovereign nation with the power to rule its own country.

IDF Blog: How Hezbollah Funds Terror: Illicit Drugs and Money Laundering

To mark this year’s International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, the IDF Blog examines how Hezbollah supports many of its terror activities – through illicit drug sales across the globe.

Saudi FM: “Cannot Be Silent” as Shiite-Backed Syrian Regime Conducts “Genocide” Against Sunni Rebels

Gulf states are calling attention to the critical roles being played by Iran and its Lebanese terror proxy Hezbollah in propping up the embattled Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad, with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal accusing the Shiite-backed regime of conducting a “genocide” against largely Sunni rebel forces. Speaking at a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, the foreign minister added that his country “cannot be silent” about the dynamic, and would take measures against the regime and its backers.

Moscow Announces All Military Personnel Evacuated from Syria

All of Russia’s military personnel have been successfully evacuated from Syria, including from its Mediterranean naval base at Tartus, Russian media reported Wednesday. Moscow is Syria's sole remaining major ally, other than Iran.

UN diplomat: 10 incidents of chemical use by Syria

Swedish chemical weapons expert Ake Sellstrom, who is leading the investigation team, was in Turkey on Sunday and Monday, reportedly talking to doctors who treated victims of chemical use, and is expected to produce an interim report on his findings, perhaps in the first few weeks of July, the diplomat said.

Israeli doctors save Syrian lives

“We treat patients regardless of religion, race, nationality, and give the best care we can provide,” Ziv Medical Center director Dr. Oscar Embon tells ISRAEL21c.
Some 30 patients (80 percent of the total) have been treated at Ziv, and the remaining Syrian victims have been cared for by Western Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya, Rambam Medical Center and Poriah Hospital near Tiberias.

ANALYSIS: Rouhani’s Election Proves Sanctions Work. Boost Them Now

Asked how he could continue negotiating with Yasser Arafat even as terrorism against Israeli civilians continues, Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin famously insisted that “we shall negotiate peace, as though there were no terrorism, and we shall fight terrorism as though there is no peace.”
The Obama Administration and its Western allies would be wise to adopt the same stand toward Iran: pursue negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, but don’t lift the sanctions aimed at compelling the Iranians to stop it. In fact, they’d be well-advised tighten the sanctions to show that the West is losing patience.

President Elect Rohani Plagiarized Ph.D. Thesis

A spokesman for Glasgow Caledonian University said they’ve received several complaints about Rouhani’s doctoral work and would be looking into it. Apparently, the university library has already established that the thesis references Kamali’s book in the main body of Rouhani’s thesis and that the text was cited in the bibliography.
According to the Telegraph, two passages in the short extract from the 500 page thesis have come under scrutiny.
Finally, the Telegraph notes that it’s doubtful that Rohani, a high-ranking official in the Islamic Republic in the 1990s, actually attended the British university in person.

"Sunrise" over Istanbul

By now, it must have dawned on even the most dim-witted European politician that there is a discrepancy between Turkey's rhetoric and performance -- at least, as far as Europe is concerned. Turkey's EU Minister Egemen Bağış has from time to time entertained us with his various distortions of reality, including his recent claim that "the sun of Europe rises from Istanbul every morning nowadays." But the events that have unfolded in Turkey in recent weeks present a different picture.

Read More

Jordan paper warns that "normalization" is just another form of "occupation"

In Assabeel, writer Ahmed Shawabkeh warns that Israel's desire to have normal relations with its Arab neighbors is nothing less than a method for Israel to non-militarily occupy the Arab world.

The establishment of normal relations "between the perpetrator and the victim," allows Israel, and indeed all Western powers, to achieve what cannot be achieved by direct military occupation - and it costs less, too!

The worst types and the worst form of normalization, Shawabkeh informs us, is practiced by "the Jewish entity" against all its Arab neighbors, either through treaties and formal conventions or via vague and veiled understandings, all done forcibly against the will of the people.

This awful occupation involves Israel using natural resources of the "occupants," spying on them, marketing Israeli goods to them - many of which are carcinogenic and other items [perhaps, ideas] that kill souls and bodies. Israel also is said to have poisoned Egyptian land by planting trees and other agricultural initiatives.

Military occupation is preferable to this insidious "civil occupation," he says, because the occupant knows he is being occupied in a military occupation and can be on guard for the enemy's evil plots - but normalization is worse, because it is like a cancer spreading throughout your body that you are not aware of.

How can self-respecting Arabs establish relations with the likes of those who had spurned God and His prophets, and occupied the land and killed people and desecrated the holy places? How can they sign agreements and treaties and open their embassies and exchange visits and meetings and kisses with these Jews?

Shawbakeh concludes by saying that reconciliation and normalization with Jews should provoke anger and abhorrence and indignation.

By the way, the author is a dean of an Islamic university and holds a PhD in modern history from Ain Shams University in Cairo.

Read More

Muslim Brotherhood pours millions into Hamas while Egypt suffers

Asharq al-Awsat has a withering indictment of the illegal financial ties between Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas leaders.

Some countries dig holes for themselves that they can escape later. A policy adopted by some of the rulers of Third World countries is to keep citizens in poverty and illiteracy and isolation for easy control. This is what was adopted and approved by the rulers of Egypt. If we reviewed data from Egypt, it is clear that it is in a bottomless hole in its balance of payments, initiated by the 50% deficit in depending on imported food, not to mention the energy bill, which consumes a quarter of the annual budget.

A ddemonstration was expected on June 30 current, reflecting the bitterness of many against the rule of the Muslim Brotherhood...People that stand queues in front of bakeries .. Water that is not available for agricultural land, and malnutrition affects a quarter of the Egyptians according to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, and the Government of the Muslim Brotherhood talks about the arrival of bumper wheat crop which will never arrive.

However, despite all the suffering of Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood is focused on supporting their ally in the Gaza Strip, Hamas.

Hamas lost its primary benefactor Iran, and the Brotherhood decided to compensate the tours undertaken by Khaled Meshaal and Ismail Haniyeh to Qatar, Turkey and Egypt.

In Egypt there is now the Egyptian Foundation and the army on the one hand, and on the other is the leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood. Because of the Sinai attacks from extremists and terrorists, the Egyptian armyclosed of a large number of tunnels between Sinai and the Gaza Strip last month, as it tries to stop to Hamas rearming, including short-range rockets and anti-tank missiles.

But the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt supports Hamas in ways that sometimes hurts the public interest.

In spite of the continued deterioration of the economic situation in Egypt under the presidency of Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood has been providing direct financial assistance for its the sister branch of Hamas.

During the revolution, Hamas received much secret aid from the Muslim Brotherhood; because of the financial crisis experienced by Hamas, the Brotherhood decided compensate them and pay millions of dollars being smuggled into the Gaza Strip at the expense of Egyptian interests and millions of Egyptians who are living below the poverty line.

In the program about real estate activity in the Gaza Strip, 'France 24' TV had an amazing investigation, as the land in Gaza doubles in price per month... Luxury villas worth at least a million dollars, yet they are always occupied.

Tunnels are the way to wealth, and smuggling is the first step to wealth, and those close to the government are the lucky ones. At the end of the TV program, a contractor says: "the future of land and real estate will be in Gaza .. Prices in all the world goes down, but in Gaza it is going higher."

Khairat al-Shater, a senior businessmen and among the most important planners in the Brotherhood is said to be responsible for coordinating the transfer of funds to Hamas. In recent months, [he?] stated that he had transferred millions of dollars to the head of financial affairs for Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, in Egypt, and to the chief financial officer of the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip. A large portion of these funds are transferred to the military wing of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as well as other uses of the movement.

In addition to remittances, senior Hamas figures invest in assets for the profit of the movement and for themselves as well in Egypt. In these cases, leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood are directly involved in Hamas investments in Egypt...

Hamas members in Egypt enter in an investment partnership with senior financial officials of the Muslim Brotherhood. They benefit greatly from the heavily-backed investments in Egypt, which is at the expense of the Egyptian people.

As well as remittances and investments, there are those who accuse Hamas of violating Egyptian law by smuggling undeclared sums, more than 10 thousand dollars from Egypt to the Gaza Strip. According to the International Association of Air Transport Association (IATA), an individual leaving from Egypt may take up to $10,000 and 5000 pounds. But Hamas members leave Egypt with millions of dollars at a time through Rafah.

And Cairo continues to transfer millions of euros allocated to Hamas from Middle Eastern countries through Egypt, and a senior official continues to fill his bags with millions of dollars while leaving Egypt into Gaza through the Rafah crossing, and also it is said that there are some prominent activists in the military wing of Hamas in Gaza who continue to transfer millions of dollars and euros from Egypt into Gaza.

In an article published in the journal «Atlantic» American Jonathan Schanzer, vice president for research at the «Foundation for Defense of Democracies», wrote that Hamas leaders have begun floating an idea attractive most of the people in Gaza: "Why don't you raise the economy of Gaza from the tunnels to the surface, with the help of Egypt? Hamas through the abuse of this tunnel method with the Muslim Brotherhood began to achieve this, which is in fact a vibrant economy based on smuggling, chaos and the Egyptians deprived of their rights, and also depriving the people of Gaza .. It's an economy to enrich Hamas officials.

Keep in mind that while this article is probably correct, it is clearly timed to have an effect on the upcoming June 30 anti-government demonstrations in Egypt.

Read More

"Khaybar" update - payback for Mohammed YouTube video?

Today we see the first response by someone involved in the antisemitic "Khaybar" miniseries to the condemnations by Jews, specifically from the Zionist Organization of America.

The series had been described by people on the set as showing how Jews educate their children to "meanness, deception, depravity and Machiavellianism." One actor says it sets out to depict Jews as "the ugliest slice of humans."

One of the actors on the film, responding to the mounting criticism, said that it is a work of historical facts and historical events that can not be denied about the Jews of the Arabian Peninsula.

This is pretty much the defense I expected - that when confronted with their own words, the people behind the film will pretend it is merely a historical drama and not incitement. Yet their own words when speaking about it freely to the Arab world revealed a much different story.

We need to keep the pressure on and force the people behind the series as well as the nations that will be broadcasting it to explain exactly why Jew-hatred is acceptable in Arab culture, when they stress to Westerners all the time that they have no problem with Jews.

(You can still sign the petition demanding Amnesty and HRW condemn the series.)

Another article says that the series will be shown in Algeria, Iraq, the UAE and Qatar, with negotiations still in place. Surprisingly, the producers have not yet inked a deal with Egypt.

A French-language Algerian paper describes the bidding war in that country for which network would broadcast the series. EPTV won, and will broadcast it on all four of its TV channels. The paper says that the series has been sold to a dozen countries so far and also, interestingly, that Arabs have been clamoring for a film as payback for the "Jewish" YouTube video that made fun of Mohammed. 

I don't think Khaybar was written from that perspective but it sure seems like some Muslims are viewing it that way.

Read More

WaPo's senior editor is clueless. Serially clueless.

Weymouth is turning 70 next week

Lally Weymouth is Senior Associate Editor of the Washington Post. Her interview with Yair Lapid was
published in last Sunday's paper.

This section indicates that Weymouth, and probably most Western journalists, simply do not understand why many Israelis want to hold onto their biblical land, nor the value of the settlements from a defense and negotiating standpoint, nor even how coalitions work in  Israel.

The depth of that cluelessness can be seen in this exchange:

LW: Both the Israelis and the Palestinians seem to feel that if something doesn’t happen soon and settlement construction continues, there won’t be anything left to discuss.

YL: Yes, everybody’s afraid that there will come a point of no return. Therefore, I don’t think we have limitless time. It’s always complicated because when you negotiate about anything, whoever seems to be more anxious about the timetable is going to lose the negotiations.

LW: But why doesn’t the prime minister freeze the settlements?

YL: He needs to know why is it that he’s freezing the settlements. This is a big move for this government.

LW: Why is it such a big move?

YL: Because the Likud is not even the most right-wing party in this coalition. To ask an Israeli prime minister to jeopardize the existence of his own government without knowing what the end results will be is a lot to ask.

LW: I don’t see why.

YL: Well, the former government froze the settlements for 10 months, and the Palestinians didn’t come to the table for those 10 months.

LW: So why not do it again?

Yeah, why not keep repeating a failed strategy where you make concessions that tear at the very soul of your country and get nothing in return except more demands? I don't see why not. Really, why not? Why would anyone be against it? It makes no sense to me. Can you explain why again? And then again? And a few more times? Because while I'm sure it makes no sense for any Israeli to want to have a connection with the Biblical land of their forefathers, I need to ask again and again because you are so handsome so maybe you can break through my thick skull.

Nope, no such luck.

(h/t Irene)

Read More

Saudi foreign minister describes Jewish letter writing campaign as "intellectual terrorism"

This article was written by Saudi bigwig (member of the Shura Council, and seemingly a member of the royal family) Abdullah Yahya Bukhari and published in Okaz: I found it amusing:

During my PhD studies in one of the famous universities in the United States, when I would go from my home to eat, or lectures, or the library and back, my attention was drawn to large numbers of students and young people entering and leaving a small building on campus at different times of the day and evening. I knew a few of those students who walked in or out of a small building which was built at the end of the nineteenth century, and they were Jews.

One day I decided to sate my curiosity and find out what's going on inside the building at whatever cost. During my walk home on campus after the end of lectures of the school day, I wandered into the small mysterious building, to see inside a large hall surrounding a huge oval-shaped table in the middle, surrounded by a large number of ergonomic office chairs. The hall was filled with students sitting around the table, engrossed in writing and in front of each and every one of them I could see Time magazine, Newsweek, or daily newspapers, or a book.

My curiosity increased as I watched these students engrossed in reading and writing, with complete silence hanging over the area, like a public library. I left after a time and stood in front of the building a bit until I saw someone come out of the building, who was a classmate of mine, and I asked him innocently and very curious, what are you doing in this building, and what are you writing so enthusiastically and with such concentration?

My colleague, who was a student and was also one of the Jews, replied that all of the students inside are doing volunteer work, to respond to each article or news item published in major U.S. magazines or newspapers, such as Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, and others, if any of those articles or news items affects Israel's policy and offends them, or offends the Jewish leadership, or could cause harm in general to Jews in America and the world, and so on!! Then these Jewish students volunteer to respond to these articles, and write to the media, or attack any senator or US official who says or does anything anti-Judaism or against the State of Israel, and write the senator or U.S. official which represents the state where they have the right to vote, expressing discontent, protest, or asking him to intervene immediately to stop such statements or articles or news, otherwise he will lose their vote in the upcoming elections.

This voluntary collective action is influential and effective and orderly, but at the same time can be described as intellectual terrorism and psychological intimidation, with the implicit threat.

A letter writing campaign is "intellectual terrorism"?

The article goes on to complain about a recent organized Saudi complaint campaign , so this idea should not be too surprising for a member of the royal family. Yet it reveals that even after Bukhari lived in the US for years he did not grasp the idea of democracy at all.

By the way, a little research shows that Bukhari attended the University of Pennsylvania and received his PhD in architecture and urban studies in 1978. The Hillel building on campus at the time fits this description.

I spoke to the person who was executive director of all Hillels in Philadelphia at the time and he was not aware of any such initiative (if it was funded, he would know about it.)

But doesn't it sound like a good idea? (Except for writing to senators to pressure newspapers; he probably made that part up even if the rest is true.)

Read More

6/26 Links Part 2: UNESCO Rewrites History, UK Jewish Patrol Protects Mosques

From Ian:

---

Op-Ed: How the U.S. gains from Israel alliance

Naysayers suggest the alliance with Israel has not been cost-free for the United States, particularly in the Muslim and Arab world. But measured in empirical terms, Arab ties with the United States, at both the official and popular levels, have boomed in the past decade. Arabs are coming as students or visitors in record numbers; anti-American street protests have fallen dramatically since the start of the Iraq war in 2003; and defense cooperation with most Arab countries is closer than ever.
Just as important, public opinion in every Arab or predominantly Muslim country polled has turned sharply against al-Qaida, notwithstanding the tight U.S.-Israel connection. Finally, Israel has been at most a very marginal factor in all the recent Arab uprisings. Even the new Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt is maintaining the peace treaty with Israel and decent working relations with Washington.

Douglas Murray: Lying and Getting Away With It

To study the history of extremist activity on UK campuses is to come to a number of irrevocable conclusions. Among them is the realization that there is a serious problem, and that British universities are breeding-grounds of the most appalling hatred against America, the UK, Israel, free-thinkers, "apostates" and religious and sexual minorities. It also spurs a realization that terrorism is never enough steps away from student Islamic societies as it is from, say student Labour Party clubs or any chosen sports society.

‘We’ve got to stand for what is right… We don’t worship at the altar of consensus’

In characteristically straightforward terms, Canada’s Foreign Minister John Baird explains why his country is so supportive of Israel, and why others aren’t

The woman Britain’s left loves to hate

The book chronicles her evolution from the one-time darling of the British left to one of its most hated figures – “she-devil of the Western world,” as Phillips puts it.
From her platform in Britain’s second-largest newspaper, The Daily Mail, she has become famous for stinging attacks on the establishment, accusing it of deliberately destroying the fabric of British life by promoting multiculturalism and denying the religious nature of Muslim terrorism. She is Israel’s staunchest defender in the British press, a global warming “denier” and an opponent of gay marriage.

IDF Captain Breaks the Silence on Smear Campaign

In an exclusive interview with Tazpit News Agency, Raz explained that he had had “enough with the nonsense that this organization [Breaking the Silence] represents.”
“Breaking the Silence is an immature and unprofessional organization,” he told Tazpit News Agency. “At the IDF we deal with many organizations that hold counter views, but they communicate with us – there is an open e-mail and phone exchange, and verification of issues that come up. Breaking the Silence does not engage in any of that and prevents the IDF from properly addressing any of their claims.”

Ex-Soldier: Since Jenin, We’ve Been Fighting for Our Names

The “Jenin, Jenin” law, which would defend IDF soldiers from slander, continues to make its way through Knesset. This week it gained the support of a former elite soldier who fought in the battles that sparked the vicious anti-Israel slander which ultimately led to the proposed law.

Yet Another Enemy of Israel Poised to Join US Foreign Policy Team

Robert Malley is so offensive, he was actually kicked off (despite the lipstick smear called “resignation”) the Obama election committee in 2008 for meeting with the terrorist organization Hamas, although he had been one of Obama’s closest advisors for Middle East issues until his affinity for Hamas became public.

Israel hits back at UNESCO in wake of condemnation

Israel has lambasted UNESCO over the passage of a Palestinian-sponsored resolution condemning Israel over its activities in Jerusalem, saying that such moves will eventually destroy the organization.
“This is a dark day for UNESCO, a day the organization will want to erase from its history as it demonstrates that it is acting outside the boundary of reality,” Israel’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

FBI’s bus ads taken down over Muslim/terrorist stereotyping

The 16 men in the ad are affiliated with extremist groups around the world. Seven are from African countries, four are from the Philippines, one each is from Malaysia and Chechnya, and three were born in the United States.

Dutch rabbi says it’s Israel’s fault he was beaten up

A spokeswoman for the Amsterdam police told JTA that police are investigating but are not certain the attack was anti-Semitic.
“Currently we are assuming it is an argument about traffic that got out of hand,” she said.

Jewish Patrol Group Aids Wary Muslim Community in London Borough

A local British chapter of the Jewish patrol group Shomrim have offered up their services to mosques in their community, in a sign of solidarity, the Hackney (UK) Gazette reported Monday.

Israel Tied for Second Most Educated Country

According to Canadian newspaper The Windsor Star, Canada was ranked the most educated country in the world, with 51 percent of its population aged 25-64 possessing a college or university degree. Tied for second place are Japan and Israel, both with 46 percent. The United States, with 42 percent of its population holding college degrees, was ranked third.

Threat of rocket barrage pushes Israel’s largest hospital underground

With the Syrian civil war threatening almost daily to spill over the border into Israel, there is a quiet tension in the air at Rambam Health Care Campus.
Northern Israel’s largest hospital was at the heart of a month-long Hezbollah rocket barrage during the bloody 2006 conflict with the Lebanese militia and would undoubtedly be in the thick of action again if the Syrian regime or its Hezbollah allies turned their weapons south.

Israeli researcher helps alcoholics stay on the wagon

If you know someone who’s suffering from alcohol or drug addiction, a little amnesia might be just the thing to get them back on the wagon, researchers at Tel Aviv University have shown.
“One of the main causes of relapse in alcoholics are memories linking objects and places connected to alcohol consumption, such as shops, liquor bottles, and of course the smell and taste of alcohol,” said Dr. Segev Barak of Tel Aviv University, who is leading a team studying ways to prevent recidivism in addicts. By “disengaging” the memories associated with alcohol, Segev’s team found, it was possible to significantly cut the return rate for alcoholics.

Prince Charles attends ceremonies for Kindertransport

Prince Charles hosted a reception in honor of the 75th anniversary of the Kindertransport and attended a ceremony honoring Britain’s outgoing chief rabbi.
Sunday’s Kindertransport reunion was likely the last large gathering of its kind due to the age of the survivors. Some 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Europe entered Britain in 1938 during the Kindertransport rescue mission. The British Parliament agreed to waive immigration restrictions.

‘We will sing to the Nazis what we cannot say’

In a concentration camp designed by the Nazis to eradicate Jewish cultural life, among 120,000 of its inmates who would ultimately be murdered, a rising young musician named Rafael Schachter managed one of the miracles of the Holocaust.
Assembling hundreds of sick and hungry singers, he led them in 16 performances learned by rote from a single smuggled score of one of the most monumental and moving works of religious music — Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem Mass.

Read More

Reuters quotes anonymous "activist" lies

Nidal al-Mughrabi at Reuters has a good sized article about Gaza's water woes.

A tiny wedge of land jammed between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean sea, the Gaza Strip is heading inexorably into a water crisis that the United Nations says could make the Palestinian enclave unliveable in just a few years.

With 90-95 percent of the territory's only aquifer contaminated by sewage, chemicals and seawater, neighborhood desalination facilities and their public taps are a lifesaver for some of Gaza's 1.6 million residents.

But these small-scale projects provide water for only about 20 percent of the population, forcing many more residents in the impoverished Gaza Strip to buy bottled water at a premium.

"There is a crisis. There is a serious deficit in the water resources in Gaza and there is a serious deterioration in the water quality," said Rebhi El Sheikh, deputy chairman of the Palestinian Water Authority (PWA).

There's nothing wrong with this topic, and this is accurate. But when the question comes up as to what is causing the problems, we read (paragraph 11):

Further complicating the issue is Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip, which activists say has prevented the import of materials needed for repairs on water and waste facilities. Israel says the blockade is needed to prevent arms from reaching Hamas, which is opposed to the existence of the Jewish state.

Notice how the second sentence seems to support the first, as if Israel's blockade is aimed at water infrastructure.

Has Israel ever stopped any water projects in Gaza?

Not that I am aware of.

COGAT's list of projects from 2010-2012 lists a Rafah wastewater treatment plant, pumps for a sewage station, re-activation and upgrading of Deir al Balah desalination plant, improving capacity of CMWU to monitor quality water supply, building the Tel Sutlan sewage pumping sttaion, sewage projects in Deir Balah, replacement of Beit Lahia water network, a solid waste management system for all of Gaza, complete wastewater networks installed in the Khan Yunis area, installing pipelines in Khan Yunis, reservoir construction - dozens of such projects approved by Israel and implemented by NGOs like UNDP, USAID, UNRWA, the ICRC and others.

Israel used to ship metal pipes directly into Gaza - which were promptly turned into rockets and shot back into Israel. Since then, Israel only sends in materials like that through recognized agencies that can oversee their proper use. But that doesn't mean that Israel is stopping life-saving water infrastructure from reaching Gaza, and Reuters indirect, anonymous quote claiming they are is simply not journalism.

So who are these "activists" that say that Israel has been preventing water infrastructure materials into Gaza, and what was not allowed? Reuters won't tell us, because it is simply repeating anti-Israel rumors with the assumption that they must be true.

Much later on in the article, in paragraph 28, after most readers have moved on to the next item, we find out that the "activists" are full of it:

Israel is trying to drum up aid for the territory, the senior security official said, alarmed at the prospect of a looming water catastrophe and possible humanitarian crisis on its doorstep in a few years.

"We have talked to everyone we know in the international community because 1.4 million people will be without water in a few years," he said, asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue.

He said Israel, a leader in the desalination industry, was helping to train a handful of Gazans in the latest water technology, which the Palestinian Water Authority confirmed.

You mean, instead of Israel blocking projects to address Gaza's water woes, it is actually in the forefront of trying to fix it?

If that's the case, then why did Mughrabi quote the unnamed Israel-haters at all, let alone so much earlier?

This is a perfect example of how anti-Israel propaganda gets inserted by reporters with an agenda.  They have the conventional wisdom of Israel as the oppressor, and it is assumed to be true without any fact-checking.

But when an Israeli says the opposite, note that Reuters then runs to the Palestinian Arabs to confirm it!

(h/t Dan)

Read More

6/26 Links Part 1: An International Law Quiz, UNRWA Textbooks, Turkey Reneges on Flotilla Deal

From Ian:

---

Netanyahu tells troops northern training is ‘not theoretical’

The exercise came as an increasingly skittish Israel is preparing for the possibility of the Syrian civil war spilling across its borders. Earlier this month, rebels briefly took control of the Quneitra border crossing, bringing the two-year civil war to the Jewish state’s doorstep.
While stressing that he was not challenging anyone, the prime minister warned that “no one will attack the State of Israel without a strong and decisive response.”

Yaalon: Combat Units ‘Likely to Be Called Up Soon’

Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon hinted Wednesday that Israel may call up its combat soldiers for a major operation in the near future.
Yaalon spoke as he and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu observed a Golani Brigade drill in the Golan.

A quiz for BBC journalists and editors

Seeing as BBC journalists are rather fond of telling their audiences what is or is not legal according to international law – at least in relation to Israel – they will surely all get top marks in this quiz on the subject of the application of international humanitarian law during wartime over on the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs website.

Knesset Review Reveals: Israel Does Not Exist in PA Textbooks

The textbooks used in UNRWA-funded schools never acknowledge any Jewish rights in “Palestine”, nor any Jewish past in the Land of Israel, said Dr. Arnon Groiss, a respected expert in the promotion of Tolerance in Education at a briefing in the Knesset reviewing the Palestinian Authority Textbooks used in UNWRA schools.
Israel is almost never shown on any map and no city is ever identified as a Jewish city, he said, reiterating the extensive history of Anti-Israel propaganda in Arab textbooks.

Majority of Israeli Arabs Reject Israel’s Right to be Jewish

70% of Israeli Arabs do not accept Israel’s right to have a Jewish majority, a new poll conducted by Haifa University and the Israel Democracy Institute has revealed.
The poll, which posed questions to 1,400 Jewish and Arab Israelis over a ten-year period, revealed that, despite the overwhelming rejection of Israel’s Jewish character, 55% of Arab Israelis would prefer to live there than anywhere else, though a large majority, 68%, say they fear being transferred out of the country.(h/t zozosophie)

Hamas Publishes Photos of Shalit Release

The Hamas terrorist group has released a new video on kidnappings in honor of the seventh anniversary of the kidnapping of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit was released in late 2011 in exchange for the early release of more than 1,000 terrorists imprisoned in Israel, giving rise to much controversy on the possible precedent set and the expected - and already proven - return to terror of those freed.

IDF Blog: Seven Years Since Shalit Kidnapping: Motivation to Kidnap Still High

Earlier this year the IDF, in collaboration with the Israel Security Agency (ISA or Shin Bet), uncovered extensive Hamas terror infrastructure in Hebron. The infrastructure was part of an attempt by Hamas to establish a regional headquarters in Hebron. Approximately 20 terrorists affiliated with Hamas were arrested and their large cache of illegal weapons was seized. The terrorist network had plans to kidnap an IDF soldier to use as a bargaining chip for the release of more Hamas prisoners.

MEMRI: PA Religious Affairs Minister Habbash: Hamas "More Dangerous Enemy" than Israeli Occupation VIDEO

The Guardian and a tale of two hooded ‘Palestinian prisoners’

The imagery above does not represent leftist theatrical agitprop, but a genuine photo of one of two Palestinians just before they were hanged to death on Saturday on charges of ‘collaborating’ with Israel – two of at least 16 Palestinians who have been executed in Gaza for spying since Hamas seized the territory in 2007.

Haniyeh: PA Arabs Won't Recognize Israel

Haniyeh said Israel's “blockade” on Gaza aimed to limit the influence of the Islamic model outside Gaza and to isolate “Palestine” in an attempt to force PA Arabs to recognize Israel and accept the conditions of the Mideast Quartet.
The premier thanked activists who came to Gaza, describing solidarity visits as a holy duty and urging more supporters to come.

Rice slams UN Security Council's failure on Syria

"The Council's inaction on Syria is a moral and strategic disgrace that history will judge harshly," Rice chided the UN.
She also reasserted America's past and continued support for Israel. "We've forcefully opposed unbalanced and biased actions against Israel across the UN system, standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel on principle - regardless of whether such actions were popular in these halls."

Syrian death toll tops 100,000

It said a total of 100,191 had died over the 27 months of the conflict. Of those, 36,661 are civilians, the group said.

Minors wounded in Syrian fighting brought to Israel

The two boys, 9 and 15 years old, were transferred to Ziv Hospital in Safed for treatment. The 9-year-old suffered moderate injuries from shrapnel wounds across his body and lost his right eye, according to a report by Maariv. The 15-year-old was listed in serious condition, according to the report.

Nigeria ups charges of 3 suspected Hezbollah men

Nigeria’s military said in May that the weapons were to be used in attacks on American and Israeli targets.
Osagie said, “We have proofs that the applicants belong to the military wing of Hezbollah which is a terrorist organization and in the coming days, this country will know more about them.”

Egypt protesters look to army for support

Just a year ago, Egypt’s liberals and pro-democracy youth movements were demanding the military, which took over from the ousted Hosni Mubarak, leave power. But after a tumultuous year under a freely elected Islamist president, many of them are hoping for the army’s protection as they try to force out Mohammed Morsi with protests this weekend.
Morsi’s opponents calculate they can push him to go through the sheer number of people they bring into the streets Sunday — building on widespread discontent with his running of the country — plus the added weight of the army’s backing.

Turkish PM lashes out at protesters, BBC reporter

He targeted a Turkish BBC reporter who tweeted about a forum held by protesters, where participants reportedly suggested a six-month boycott of goods that they said would help slow down the economy. Without mentioning her by name, Erdogan accused Selin Girit of being “part of a conspiracy against her own country.”
“Their aim is to prevent democracy, to harm Turkey’s economy, to hit tourism,” Erdogan said.

Officials: Turkey humiliating Israel

However, following Netanyahu's apology, the Turks appeared to be in no hurry to fulfill their end of the deal. Israel agreed to pay $5 million in restitution, while Ankara demanded $40 million. During talks held over the past few days the Turks have expressed their agreement to receive $24 million from Israel, while the Israeli side raised its offer to $14 million - a regular Turkish bazaar.
And if this wasn't enough, the Turks announced they could not guarantee that IDF soldiers and officers who were involved in the raid, including former IDF Chief Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi, would not be prosecuted, claiming that in Turkey the "executive branch cannot influence the judicial branch."
According to the Turks, Erdogan cannot act to stop the legal proceedings while anti-government protests are taking place because he does not want his constituents to view him as being pro-Israeli.

Read More