Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, April 27, 2014

Betrayal (Michael Lumish)

The progressive-left, and the grassroots / netroots of the Democratic Party, has betrayed its Jewish constituency through its acceptance of anti-Semitic anti-Zionism, and the BDS movement, as part of its larger coalition.

This betrayal is a symptom of the undermining of progressive-left values due to the ascendancy of the multicultural ideal over that of universal human rights within the heart of the western progressive movement and of the Democratic Party in the United States and the West, more generally.

The undermining of universal human rights as a core value within the progressive movement led also to the betrayal of women, the betrayal of Gay people, and the betrayal of Christians throughout Islamic regions of dominance, particularly in the Middle East and Africa, but also in Europe.

It also brought the defamation of Jewish supporters of Israel as something akin to Nazis or "ZioNazis," as is sometimes claimed, in a delicious inversion of historical reality for the purpose of beating up Jews as guilty for the very crime that murdered our families.

The movement to boycott, divest from, and sanction the Jews of the Middle East (BDS), which has found a home for itself within the international progressive-left and the grassroots / netroots of the Democratic party in the United States, has a history that goes to traditional Islamic Jew hatred, Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union.

Within traditional Islam, of course, the Jews were mainly considered second and third-class non-citizens for 1,300 years throughout the region, including the Jewish homeland of Judaea and Samaria. The Arab-Muslim boycott of the Jews is derived, in part, from the fact that within al-Sharia no land that was ever under Islamic control can ever be considered anything but part of the vast Arab-Muslim holdings of Dar al-Islam. The Arab boycott of the Jews, in the twentieth-century, was also heavily influenced by the earlier Nazi boycott of Jewish goods which served as an example and inspiration that long outlived World War II; a war that actually never ended for the Jews of the Middle East.

Soviet Communism, of course, allied with the Arab states against the Jewish State of Israel during the Cold War and Marxist ideology, as it expressed itself in the west, opposed all forms of nationalism, but particularly Jewish nationalism.

The rise of post-modernity and neo-colonial theory within western academic fields in the humanities, following World War II, gave rise to important theorists such as the late Edward Said, of Columbia University, and Rashid Khalidi, of the University of Chicago, both of whom represent significant influences on the political ideology of US president Barack Obama.

Meanwhile a new generation of Israeli historians, including Benny Morris, Ilan Pappé, and Avi Shlaim, sought to deconstruct the idealized founding myths of the Jewish State in order to allegedly present a more balanced historical picture.

All of these factors came together in the beginning of the twenty-first century to create a political alliance between "Arab Spring" Sharia Islamists, of the type aboard the Turkish Mavi Marmara, and western progressives, including significant "liberal" politicians, who joined them aboard that ship for the purpose of freeing Hamas to break that blockade and bring additional weaponry into Gaza in May 2010.

Thus, through the final months of 2012, Hamas and Islamic Jihad and their allies could launch hundreds of rockets against the minority Jewish population of the Middle East without any concern by the western progressive-left, including most of progressive-left Jewry. And, yet, when Israel finally hit back the Jews of the Middle East were castigated as something akin to Nazis by many within western-left circles.

Iran says destroying Israel is top priority

From FARS News:

Iran's Ambassador to Beirut Qazanfar Roknabadi and leaders of over 30 Lebanese parties discussed the latest developments in the region, and stressed the need for exchanging their experiences to overcome the regional problems.

In the meeting on Saturday, the participants reviewed bilateral relations, the latest international and regional developments, Lebanon and Syria.

The Lebanese political activists also expressed support for Iran's peaceful nuclear program and also praised Iran's policy and stance, especially in defending Palestine.

Roknabadi, for his part, underlined Iran's support for resistance and said that on top of Iran's priorities is the issue of resistance against the Zionist regime.

Just in case you are unclear of what he means by "resistance," or if you think it is against the "occupation," read this section from Hezbollah's official program:

Our primary assumption in our fight against Israel states that the Zionist entity is aggressive from its inception, and built on lands wrested from their owners, at the expense of the rights of the Muslim people. Therefore our struggle will end only when this entity is obliterated.

Hezbollah is part of the "resistance" Iran is referring to.

Iran is saying clearly, in its own media, that Israel's destruction is its top priority - not pursuit of nuclear power, not fixing its economy, not human rights, not advancing Islam.

Just destroying Israel.

Abbas compares Palestinians to Holocaust victims

Here is the entire statement from Mahmoud Abbas on Holocaust Remembrance Day:

In response to a question on the occasion of Holocaust Day, raised in conversation with Rabbi Marc Schneier, President Mahmoud Abbas said that: what happened to the Jews in the Holocaust is the most heinous crime to have occurred against humanity in the modern era. He expressed his sympathy with the families of the victims and many other innocent people who were killed by the Nazis.

President Abbas stressed that the Holocaust is a reflection of the concept of ethnic discrimination and racism which the Palestinians strongly reject and act against.

'The world must do its utmost to fight racism and injustice in order to bring justice and equality to oppressed people wherever they are. The Palestinian people, who suffer from injustice, oppression and denied freedom and peace, are the first to demand to lift the injustice and racism that befell other peoples subjected to such crimes.'

'On the incredibly sad commemoration of Holocaust Day, we call on the Israeli government to seize the current opportunity to conclude a just and comprehensive peace in the region, based on the two states vision, Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security.'

If he had shut up after the first paragraph, it could be argued that this is significant. As it is, Abbas is cynically using the Holocaust as a way to say that Jews are doing to Palestinian Arabs the same "injustice" and "oppression" that Jews suffered under Nazis. Jews are merely other people who are subjected to "such crimes" that Palestinian Arabs suffer today. The Holocaust, in Abbas words, changes from an almost successful attempt to destroy an entire people into a mere "reflection of discrimination and racism."

At the very same moment of this cynical statement, Abbas is demanding to ethnically cleanse Judea and Samaria of every single Jew who lives there today.

And today you can read his own book that denies the Holocaust from his official webpage - copyright renewed 2011.

Why does the world continue to be dazzled by statements made by accomplished liars?

Malaysian Islamist leader: Feminism is a Zionist-Christian anti-Muslim plot

From Malay Mail Online:

Feminism is a facade used by a secret Zionist-Christian alliance to dishonour Muslim women, according to Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) president Abdullah Zaik Abdul Rahman.

He said feminism, which seeks to promote women’s rights and gender equality, is a cynical ploy which aims to commoditise women and help capitalists control the world.

“The model introduced by the west is a model that will destroy women especially Muslim women… all these slogans of women’s liberation, under the name of women’s rights, would actually turn women into objects of trade and help their attempt to dominate the world and Muslims,” Zaik told a press conference after opening the Isma Women’s Convention yesterday

“All the fight for women’s rights upheld by the West like feminism is actually a facade.”

Since Malaysia’s general elections in 2013, the non-governmental organisation has been growing in popularity, striking a chord with more conservative Malay Muslims who support its push for Malaysia to become an Islamic state.

The president of the conservative Islamist group added that feminism will not improve the standing of women and that Muslim women embracing feminism would fall into the trap of the “Jewish capitalist” conspiracy.

Zaik also argued that the rationalism and critical thinking promoted by feminism was a way to trick Muslim women into abandoning Islam.

“The west is trying to paint Muslim women as conservative, uncritical not progressive. This comes from the ideology of rationalism that idolises rational (thinking).

“They are trying to trick Muslims into being critical of Islam, the hadith. If you are critical then you are portrayed as modern and rational,” he said.

Zaik said Muslim women should instead look towards Isma’s campaign to promote “moderation” among women.

He said that “moderation” meant concealing the body and being demure.

I love how Malaysian Muslim antisemites always forget to translate their bigotry into socially acceptable "anti-Zionist" terms.

Abbas says unity gov't recognizes Israel, Hamas disagrees (updated)

Ma'an reports:

President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the unity government would continue to follow previous PLO policies and that he remains willing to extend peace talks with Israel, which halted the talks in response to a Fatah-Hamas unity deal signed earlier in the week.

"The upcoming government will obey my policy," Abbas told the PLO council. "I recognize Israel and reject violence and terrorism, and recognize international commitments."

What does Hamas have to say? So far, despite days of PLO officials promising that they accept existing agreements with Israel, Hamas has not uttered a peep except for an MP who disagreed vehemently.

In reaction to this speech, however, Hamas tried to distance itself from that part about recognizing Israel emphasized by Abbas:

Ehab Ghussein, spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza, said that "the speech of President Abu Mazen is mostly positive, except for some things that need to be emphasized. That which was contained in the agreement relates to the government of national consensus, and the only agreements we made [Cairo and Doha] for a government of national consensus have nothing to do in regard to political [policy] and are and non-binding, [such as whether the unity government would] recognize or not recognize Israel."

Ghuessin is correct: the Doha and Cairo agreements said nothing about the unified government's political positions on anything.

Saeb Erekat, the PLO's chief negotiator, took a different tack, saying that of course Hamas is not obligated to recognize Israel to be part of the government. Indeed, he said that they have the right no to recognize Israel. Abbas added that Israel is interfering with internal Palestinian affairs by making such demands, and he added that Hamas is not a terrorist organization.

Both Hamas and the PLO are trying to have it both ways, playing Hamas as newly moderate to the West while insisting that Hamas has not changed at all to their own people.

What is ridiculous about this whole charade is not that Hamas is being misrepresented so that wishful-thinking Westerners will turn a blind eye to its explicit statements of support for terror and of destroying Israel.

No, what is ridiculous is that Fatah is exactly the same as Hamas in both those attributes but no one can say that aloud in English - not Israel which was forced to accept the terrorists of Fatah as a "peace partner," not the US and EU which believe that Fatah is somehow more moderate than Hamas.

Maybe Abbas is personally against terror and recognizes Israel in a limited way. But the fact remains that he is the head of Fatah which still, to this day, maintains several "military wings" including one that shot rockets towards Israel as recently as last month. Fatah's current political platform embraces terrorism. Abbas said explicitly in 2009 that there was no substantive difference between Fatah and Hamas.

And the PLO is controlled by Fatah.

This is the truth that no one dares to say out loud, and this is why the entire drama of the supposed unity between Hamas and Fatah is of little real consequence. The disagreement between Fatah and Hamas is not on their fundamental positions, but on how willing they are to lie about them.

UPDATE: Hamas has said explicitly it will not recognize Israel. And it is threatening to sue anyone who says otherwise. (Does that include Abbas?)

04/26 Links: Why Does Jimmy Carter Ignore Hamas Terrorism?; NYU SJP Denies Israel's Right to Exist

From Ian:

LATMA 2012: Hamas and Fatah with the song "Anyone You Can Fool I Can Fool Better"

Why Does Jimmy Carter Ignore Hamas Terrorism?

Here is the Elders’ statement applauding the Palestinian unity deal. In the past, Elder delegations have traveled to Gaza to parlay with Hamas and have called for the lifting of a blockade which, of course, did not prevent the import of food, medicine, or building materials, but only mandated an inspection given Hamas’s predilection for rocketry, explosives, and terrorism. Carter and his fellow Elders have ignored Hamas terrorism and remained completely uninterested in details or facts that would interfere in their narrative of demonizing Israel. Indeed, Carter has even gone so far as to falsify his own notes in order to rewrite history to exculpate Syrian dictator Hafez al-Assad.
That Mary Robinson has joined Carter in the most recent statement praising the Hamas deal also shouldn’t surprise. After all, she was the sponsor of the UN’s so-called “World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance” which, under her leadership, became an orgy of anti-Semitic hatred. And, while she led the UN Human Rights Commission, she presided over the passage of a resolution that endorsed suicide bombing against civilians as legitimate under international law. Hence, her love affair with Hamas seems par for the course.

NYU SJP Denies Israel's Legal Right to Exist

A day after the New York University chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine distributed anti-Semitic mock eviction notices on campus, the group doubled down on its Jew hatred. The group took to Twitter to deny Israel's legal right to exist.

@Laura_E_Adkins @WildFTracks @MaxBlumenthal The existence of Israel is in undeniably a flagrant violation of UN Resolutions and int'l law
— NYU SJP (@NYUSJP) April 24, 2014
NYU SJP also claimed that Israel is a settler colonial state guilty of ethnically cleansing Palestinians:

CNN's Jim Clancy's 'Jaw-Droppingly Awful' Interview About Palestinian Unification Deal

On Friday, CNN Reporter Jim Clancy conducted an eight-minute interview with Palestinian spokesperson Hanan Ashrawi and former Israeli Ambassador Dore Gold that was unique in its level of bias and lack of professionalism of the interviewer.
Clancy allowed Ashrawi to regurgitate the Palestinian talking points about the Fatah/Hamas reconciliation deal for the first four minutes of the interview and trash Israel in the last minute and in-between accusingly asked Gold if an Israeli attack on terrorists in Gaza was done to try and scuttle the reconciliation deal (and ignored his answer).
When he turned to Ambassador Gold, his first question was, "Did he [Prime Minister Netanyahu] personally order that strike on Gaza as they were in the midst of celebrating this deal?" making the implication that the strike was done to break up the celebration. Gold responded that Israeli military actions in Gaza had no link to the deal or its celebration. Cutting off Gold in the middle of his answer, Clancy asked about the civilian casualties. Finally the former Ambassador was able to return to the Hamas/Fatah deal and Hamas' long record of terrorism.

Carter Center accepts Mohammed as its prophet

From a report by the Carter Center about Syria last month:

While it is true that at least the Carter Center is reporting on Syria when most organizations ignore it, the use of "PBUH" (and "Prophet", for that matter) indicates a less than objective viewpoint from Jimmy.

Just in case it crosses your mind that Carter is simply adopting the terminology used by locals as a gesture of respect, the Carter Center consistently refers to the Kotel, or Western Wall, as the "Wailing Wall" - a name that Jews never use and one that is, frankly, a little offensive in this day and age.

(h/t @hahussain)

04/25 Links Pt2: Jews in NYU dorm served ‘eviction notices’; Chloe Valdary interviewed at AIPAC

From Ian:

Jews in NYU dorm served ‘eviction notices’

Jewish students living in an NYU dorm woke up to “eviction notices” posted on their doors, apparently by activists from the organization Students for Justice in Palestine.
“We regret to inform you that your suite is scheduled for demolition in three days,” read the notices, according to a Times of Israel blog post by NYU student Laura Adkins.
“If you do not vacate the premise by midnight on 25 April, 2014, we reserve the right to destroy all remaining belongings,” the notices continued. “We cannot be held responsible for property or persons remaining inside the premises. Charges for demolition will be applied to your student accounts.” (h/t jzaik)

Dorm storming at NYU targets Jewish students (Updates)

The latest dorm storming was at Palladium Hall at New York University early this morning, before students awoke, as reported by NYU student Laura Adkins at The Times of Israel. (added) According to an email forwarded to me, such dorm storming would violated Palladium policy: “All people/clubs must have their flyers approved for posting at the Palladium RC. No flyers are permitted to be slid under apartment doors.”
An important point, Adkins makes, is that Palladium Hall is known on campus for having a high concentration of Jewish students to the extent that it is the only dorm with a Shabbat elevator (which runs automatically during the Sabbath, so religious Jewish students do not have to press the buttons to go to and from their dorm rooms):

Major Islam conference said mired by anti-Semitism

The speeches were given “a place of honor” at Wednesday’s 31st congress of the Union of Islamic Organizations in France, or UOIF, sociologist Michele Tribalat wrote in the Le Figaro daily Thursday. He singled out a speech by Hani Ramadan, a prominent Muslim leader from Geneva who spoke before thousands of congress participants.
According to the news site europe-israel org, Ramadan said during his address: “All the evil in the world originates from the Jews and the Zionist barbarism.”
The UOIF congress is one of France’s largest and most prominent Islamic events.

Video: Chloe Valdary discusses her passion for Israel and her battle with Richard Silverstein

Before viewing the following interview of Chloe Valdary, filmed at the AIPAC convention in March, you can first get up to speed on the racial abuse hurled at the African-American Zionist by Richard Silverstein (a blogger and ‘Comment is Free’ contributor) in CiF Watch posts here, here and here.

Chloe Valdary at AIPAC '14

Al Wafd is starting a series of articles by Ramsey Zikilma about, what else, Jews.

And the Protocols of the Elders of Zion.

And the Talmud.

He starts off by recommending that people read the Protocols, and something called the "fifth edition of the Talmud."

He talks about the bogus "Benjamin Franklin prophecy" warning about how Jews are evil and would take over the US. Naturally, the Jews and their Freemasons are trying to destroy Egypt.

The second article introduces his idea of the Talmud, which we are told is a book that was taken by the Zionist gangs to control the world and and not only Arab peoples. And he goes on to say that Jews killed Christians in Egypt to use their blood for the cakes used in the "Feast of Yom Kippur."

Can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

The writer has written for other mainstream Arabic media like Asharq al-Awsat and El Shorouk.

04/25 Links Pt1: What Is Abbas Trying to Achieve?; Waiting for the Palestinian Godot

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Time for consequences

It’s hard not to admire Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’s brazenness.
Two weeks ago, Abbas signed on to 15 international agreements that among other things require the PA to respect human rights and punish war criminals.
And this week, he signed a unity deal with two genocidal terror groups all of whose leaders are war criminals. Every leader of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the two parties that signed the deal with the PLO, are war criminals. Under the Geneva Conventions, which Abbas signed onto just a couple of weeks ago, he is required to put them on trial, for their war crimes.
Here it is worth noting that under the Geneva Conventions, every single rocket launch from Gaza into Israeli territory is a separate war crime.

Khaled Abu Toameh: What Is Abbas Trying to Achieve?

Abbas seems to be enjoying that each time he does something dramatic, the U.S. launches another big diplomatic offensive to try to convince him to backtrack. Abbas wants his people and the Arabs to see him as a hero who can stand up to the Americans.
Abbas's biggest fear is that the U.S. will cut off financial aid to the Palestinian Authority and work toward isolating him, as the Bush Administration did to Yasser Arafat in 2002. He is aware that neither the Europeans nor the Russians nor the Chinese will be able to replace American sponsorship.
Abbas is now waiting to see what the Americans will offer him for rescinding his plan to join forces with Hamas. When this happens, Abbas will most probably come up with new demands and conditions, as he has done all these past weeks.

Netanyahu: Palestinian Pact with Hamas Killed Peace Talks

Netanyahu issued a strong warning to those hoping for renewed talks between the Israelis and Palestinians while Hamas is still involved, telling Mitchell “We will not sit and negotiate with a Palestinian government that is backed by Hamas in which Hamas has effective share of power.”
The Israeli prime minister expressed his disappointment with the Palestinian unity pact, saying “[They] have taken a giant leap backward and embraced the very people who call for the eradication of the Jewish state. That’s incompatible with peace. He can’t think he can have both. He made a terrible decision for peace and his own people…”

Abu Mazen Says NO to Peace

Yet another #BDSFail as UC Santa Barbara votes against divestment

From the UCSB Daily Nexus:

After an intense nine-and-a-half hour meeting, the Associated Students Senate voted not to pass a resolution to “Divest From Companies that Profit from Apartheid” in a secret ballot, with 8 supporting and 16 opposing.

Hundreds attended and nearly 100 students and community members spoke at public forum to voice opposition or support for the divestment legislation, which focuses on divesting from five Israeli companies that the University works with. The meeting was held at Corwin Pavilion to accommodate the large crowd expected due to last year’s divestment hearings, during which Senate meetings ran well into the early morning several weeks in a row before the resolution was ultimately struck down.

What is most interesting is that there was a similar resolution last year:

A revised resolution aimed at divesting from companies that “profit from the military occupation of Palestine” failed to pass — despite a 12-11-1 vote — after it was reintroduced during Wednesday’s 11-hour Associated Students Senate meeting.

The burden of deciding the resolution’s fate ultimately fell to Internal Vice President Mayra Segovia, who was forced to determine whether or not the 12 senators in favor constituted enough of a majority to pass the resolution based on the A.S. Legal Code. Under Legal code, a simple majority is 50 percent of Senators plus one, not counting abstentions — meaning that passage of the resolution would have required a “yes” vote from 13 of the 23 senators present (rounded up from 12.5).

In other words, last year the Israel-haters at UCSB managed to get a bare majority to vote for divestment but not enough to pass; this year it was decisively defeated by a 2-1 margin.

Can there be a better illustration that the tide is turning against the Israel-haters on campus? And this is in California!

Following the even more lopsided vote at SDSU also on Wednesday night, the vote against even having a committee looking at the topic in Dearborn earlier this month, the Cornell resolution failure, the University of Michigan failure last month, and the UCLA failure (and meltdown) in February, the haters don't have much to point to in their effort to portray BDS as gaining steam. They won in the University of Windsor by using illegal methods - and that was overturned. In one of their very few victories, they barely squeaked by a vote in UC Riverside. They also lost at Loyola, University of New Mexico and elsewhere.

Electronic Intifada doesn't even bother to cover all of these losses anymore. They'll have articles leading up to a vote, and then...silence. Or at best, claiming victory by even having the vote take place, so that antisemitism and Israel-hatred can be publicly aired at universities - because that's the entire point, isn't it?

Tunisia spurns Arab League and allows Israeli Jews to visit pilgrimage site

From JTA:

Tunisia’s tourism minister has been summoned to appear before the country’s parliament to explain her decision to allow Israelis to enter the country on their passports for a religious festival.

Tunisia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel; the lawmakers say that allowing the religious pilgrims to use their Israeli passports is tantamount to recognizing Israel.

It is the first time that Israelis traveling to Tunisia for the traditional festive procession on Lag B’Omer near the Ghriba synagogue on the Tunisian island of Djerba will be allowed to enter the country on their passports, rather than use a special visa issued by the Tunisian embassy, the Associated Press reported .

Eighty-five lawmakers in the 217-member parliament signed a petition requiring Tourism Minister Amel Karboul to appear and defend her actions.

Tunisia’s interim Prime Minister, Mehdi Jomaa, on Tuesday defended the decision, which is seen as a way to boost tourism to the country.

“We must dispense with these political arguments and focus on the essential,” Jomaa said, according to AP. “All the previous government authorized Jews from Israel to come to Tunisia for the annual pilgrimage; we just decided to do it in total transparence.”

The details from Arabic website El Badil are interesting:

"The success of the tourist season is essential Because tourism is an activity that generates revenue quickly," [Jomaa] said of the Constituent Assembly a few days ago...

Tunisia is facing a serious economic crisis since 2011, and Israeli tourism - especially the pilgrimage to the Jewish Temple in Djerba - is essential for the development of this [tourist] sector, which is facing difficulties.

Some of the MPs objected to this reminding all that Tunisia is still officially "in a state of war " with Israel.

The Web site of the Secretary General of the Democratic Alliance, Mohammed Hamdi, said, "The Pilgrimage to the Temple of Djerba is not a problem in itself, but there is a political problem, Tunisia as a member of the Arab League must respect its obligations."

He added, "We must not forget that our country has ratified the decisions of the Arab League, and, therefore, Tunisia is still in a state of war with Israel, and should not turn this pilgrimage to a pretext for the normalization of relations with the Zionist entity."

The Prime Minister, in response to these accusations, said, "Let us be frank. Normalization, not normalization, set aside these big issues," calling on lawmakers to leave the "history" aside, stressing that these are procedures followed for years by all governments.

According to Elaph, only 61 Israeli tourists are expected to go to Tunisia, so the direct economic benefit to Tunisia cannot be that great. However, if Tunisia can point to them as proof that it is a safe place even for tourists from enemy countries to visit, it can be a big win.

This also shows the importance of the economy in bringing peace (or at least detente.) Here we have Tunisia's acting prime minister essentially thumbing his nose at the entire Arab world saying that their economy is more important than any number of anti-Israel slogans. No doubt this is why there is a small but growing underground trade between Israel and many Arab states.

But, as he stressed, he didn't want to make a big deal out of this because the haters are very, very loud.

The Hamas mouthpiece Palestine Information Center has an exclusive interview with Hamas sheikh and MP Hassan Youssef, where he confirms that Hamas will never recognize Israel.

Reacting to statements by PLO officials that a unity government will recognize Israel and be against terrorism, and that even Hamas will recognize Israel, Youssef asked rhetorically, "Does it make sense to ask [Hamas] to recognize Israel? The concept has nothing to do with logic and righteousness."

For the most part, Hamas leaders and media have been silent about the issue of them adhering to the existing positions of Mahmoud Abbas supposedly against terror and recognizing Israel, knowing that ambiguity is the only chance they have for unity.

Hamas political head Khaled Meshal told Al Jazeera that Hamas would do the "impossible" to facilitate an agreement with Fatah, in order for both of them together to "better able to meet the challenge of Israel, which shed lives and violated sanctities and usurped the land."

(h't Alex)

Hebrew is now fashionable - on clothing

From Haaretz:

With the official opening of the Soccer World Cup in June in Brazil, we can predict that the area on and near the pitch will be filled with players and fans wearing short sweatshirts with the word heshbon in Hebrew on the left side, right above the heart. How do we know? It’s simple: Over the past month, well-known soccer players from Europe’s leading teams, including Mario Balotelli, Didier Drogba, Seydou Keita, Eden Hazard and Marco Verratti, have done it. And the numbers are growing.

The reason is the launch of a new Paris brand last month, H’echbone Paris, with that very Hebrew word on the front. The people behind it are Yoan Barouk and Souleymane Kamissoko, two friends from the Parisian suburb of Sarcelles, the former Jewish and the latter, Muslim. Given that information, the word heshbon, which means “account” or “bill” in Hebrew, could be loaded with significance. But it turns out that the birth of the brand was fairly prosaic − it all started on a joint visit by Barouk and Kamissoko to Israel in 2011.

“We were sitting in a restaurant in Tel Aviv and when we were given the heshbon − the bill − Souleymane fell in love with the word, the way it was written and the way it was pronounced, “Barouk says. “When we founded the label last month, it was only natural that we would pick that word.”

The pair put together a small collection of shirts, manufactured them quickly and got a few of their friends involved − soccer stars who had their pictures snapped while wearing the shirts, posted them on Instagram and directed people to their homepage, which is also their sole sales outlet.

Hechbone Paris co-owner Souleymane Kamissoko, left, with AC Milan star Mario Balotelli.

Do you think anyone would notice if someone changed the logo a little?

It would be nice to see this on fashionable Europeans!

(For the Hebrew-challenged, it says "Hebron.")

04/24 Links Pt2: PA Incentives for murdering Jews; Germany funds the demonization of Israel

From Ian:

The Origins of Palestinian Refugee Relief Efforts (REVIEW)

Romirowsky and Joffe’s book Religion, Politics and the Origins of Palestine Refugee Relief is an important volume for those interested in truly understanding the origins of the Palestinian refugee issue. Utilizing a treasure trove of newly released documents, the authors link UNRWA’s (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine) origins to the Quakers/American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). For those readers who thought they knew most of the Middle East story, Romirowsky and Joffe’s version provides another twist. The authors meticulously show how prior to UNRWAs founding in 1949, the AFSC played a leading role and influence in decisions and choices.
It turns out that for the first ten years of UNRWA’s existence, repatriation of Palestinian refugees to Israel was of no interest. Numerous surprising actors from the U.S. State Department, the United Nations (UN), the AFSC and multiple Arab interest groups believed that Palestinians who left when Israel declared statehood, would be absorbed into surrounding Arab territories. More complicated was the process of identifying and defining refugee status given the frenetic frauds perpetrated by non-Israeli Bedouins, riot victims, inflated child counts and those who never resided in Israel e.g. Bedouins. Factor in religion, Holocaust memory and instead of a welcoming by neighboring Arab nations, refugee status is conferred and a politics of Palestinians is born.

NGO Monitor: Why does Germany fund demonization of Israel?

However, there is a vast gap between the words of the leaders and the actions of their government – specifically in the form of taxpayer money provided to non-governmental organizations (NGOs), political foundations and church groups that are central to delegitimization. European money, in general, and German funds in particular, pay for the fuel and ammunition for the political warfare strategy adopted at the infamous NGO Forum of the 2001 Durban Conference, whose participants declared their objective of “the complete international isolation of Israel as an apartheid state.” In many parts of Europe, including Germany, particularly on university campuses, churches and trade unions, this insidious form of warfare has been successful in demonizing Israel.
One of the most egregious examples is the German support for and cooperation with a notorious “one-state” (meaning no Israel) NGO known as Zochrot, whose mission is to “raise public awareness of the Palestinian Nakba” and to support the so-called Palestinian “right of return.” Zochrot repeats modern blood libels, in the form of accusations of “ethnic cleansing” and “forcible displacement and dispossession of the Palestinian people.”

Isi Leibler: Incentives for murdering Jews

It is a damning reflection on the civilized world that one rarely hears a word of condemnation of the criminal Palestinian society in which the murder of Jews is not only considered laudable, but has today effectively become a vehicle for achieving upward social mobility, both socially and financially.
Let us relate hypothetically to Ahmed, a typical youngster in a large and impoverished Palestinian family.
Like his peers, Ahmed has been brainwashed – since kindergarten and throughout his schooling, by the mullahs at his mosque and in the daily media – into believing that the highest level of piety is attained by killing the Israeli enemy. He knows that if he were killed while attacking a Jew, he too would become a shaheed – a martyr – and be compensated for his sacrifice by the rewards and pleasures of Paradise. Moreover, his family would be honored and would receive a lifelong state pension from our “peace partner” Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority.
Ahmed recollects the interviews he watched on PA state television of mothers displaying pride in their offspring’s sacrifice on behalf of Islam, and their frequently expressed hope that some of their remaining children follow the example of the blessed martyr.

The Serpent's Tongue - An Open Letter To Catherine Ashton, EU Policy Chief

Does that bother you at all, Lady Ashton, to be a part of providing an incentive for all those murders? In legal terms, Lady Ashton, doesn't that make you and the EU accessories to those murders? Have you even once forcefully condemned the Palestinian Authority's practice of rewarding and making heroes out of those who murder innocent men, women and children? Has the EU ever once threatened to end the cash flow unless it stopped?
And to add insult to injury, in your remarks, the murder of Baruch Mizrachi barely rates a sentence, almost an afterthought. And you equivocate by calling for 'an immediate end to all acts of violence', as though Israelis were likewise targeting Arab families for murder on the highways. And then you call on Israel and Israel alone to mend its ways and reverse these so-called punitive actions that you deplore so much.
Are you that dead to shame, Lady Ashton? Are you that blind to justice?
Do you sleep well at night?