Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The likely next Al Azhar leader - a "moderate"

After the death of Sheikh Tantawi, who led Egypt's Al Azhar University, the most likely successor is the current Grand Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Ali Gomaa.

From Gomaa's Wikipedia entry he comes across as being very moderate:

Since taking office Gomaa has issued a number of fatwas and statements that have made an impact in the media. He has issued a fatwa asserting that men and women enjoy equal political rights in Islam, including the right to become president of a modern state.[12]

In November 2006, prof Gomaa ruled that female circumcision (also referred to as female genital mutilation or FGM) should not be applied; this ruling is in accordance with Egyptian law, that also forbids female circumcision. This ruling came about after a conference instigated by research and a documentary on FGM in Somalia by the German action group Target. This fatwa is now also used in Western Europe to combat FGM.[14] On June 24, 2007, after an 11-year-old died under the knife undergoing circumcision, he decreed that female circumcision was not just “un-Islamic” but forbidden.[15]

He has also stated that Islam does not call for and has never known a theocratic state and that there is no contradiction between Islam and liberal democracy saying, “I consider myself a liberal and a Muslim, but this does not mean I am a secularist. The Egyptian [historical] experience has combined liberalism and Islam in the best of ways.” [16]

In 2007 he "unequivocally told the Washington Post that the death penalty for apostasy simply no longer applies."[18]

Gomaa has publicly asserted that the anti-Semitic The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a forgery and made an official court complaint concerning a publisher who falsely put his name on an introduction to its Arabic translation.[19]

Sounds pretty good, right?

Unfortunately, the Wiki entry does not fully address his feelings towards suicide bombing against Israelis. The Nationmaster encyclopedia fills in the blanks:

In an interview with an Egyptian paper “Al-haqiqa” in July 2003, Sheikh Ali Gomaa was asked a number of questions regarding Palestine. He also made some statements regarding the issue which were reported in al-Hayat newspaper on the 30th September 2003. [6] [7]

When asked about the rule of an Egyptian man illegally entering Palestine and carrying out a ‘martyrdom’ operation without the express permission of the head of state he replied that "he is a Shahid [martyr], because Palestine is a special case and not the ordinary case existing in the world… This is because in Palestine there is an enemy that rules the land. This rule is considered a crime by international conventions and resolutions… The world has let the Jews spread corruption throughout the land and they have succeeded in obtaining international legitimacy to territories that were conquered after 1967…Israel is a special case that does not exist [anywhere else] on the face of the earth. We are facing a criminal occupation that is the source of terror."

When asked about the explicit ruling on “martyrdom” operations he replied that "The one who carries out Fedaii [martyrdom] operations against the Zionists and blows himself up is, without a doubt, a Shahid [martyr] because he is defending his homeland against the occupying enemy who is supported by superpowers such as the U.S. and Britain."

In the same interview, referenced above, he was then asked regarding the rule regarding differentiating between civilian and non civilian targets replying that

"The Zionists themselves do not differentiate between civilian and military personnel. They have set the entire people to military service. The civilian settler who occupies land in a state of war is a Harbi [that is, a non-Muslim living in an area regarded as 'Dar Al-harb,' the 'domain of war,' in which Islam does not dominate]. Besides, everyone in Israel, civilians and military personnel, bear arms. That is, they are 'Ahl Al-Qital'[that is, those who deserve to be fought]."

Various other questions and answers from the same interview include:

Question: "Do you differentiate between operations carried out within the 1948 borders and operations carried out within the 1967 borders?" Sheikh Gum'a: "Even Zionists do not differentiate. They occupied the entire territory. We differentiate when there is a difference, [but] there is no difference between Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Hebron."

Question: "Is it permitted to kill an Israeli traveling outside the borders of his land?" Sheikh Gum'a: "Yes, it is permitted to kill him, because he is a Harbi and the Harbi spreads corruption throughout the face of the earth."
Question: "Even if he is wearing a diplomatic uniform, for example?" Sheikh Gum'a: "He can wear a diplomatic uniform as much as he likes, but his blood is permitted. But permitting his blood does not mean that he must be killed; it only permits his killing."

Wikipedia mentions only the last question and quotes another person who says that the sheikh denied making that statement. It also quotes Church Times:

During a press conference on Wednesday, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr Ali Gomaa, rejected press reports that he had praised suicide- bombers in Palestine. The reports were wrong and had “muddied the picture. . . We are against any persecution of any minorities,” he said.

That denial is not a denial, it is a non-sequitur.

But so long as you can accept that the word "moderate" has completely different definitions when referring to Arabs/Muslims and when referring to any other human beings, then you can certainly call him a "moderate."

Emiratis freak out over Israeli supermarket ad

From ITN:

This supermarket ad is front-page news at the UAE-based Gulf News, and the reader comments indicate how offended they are by the ad, which hasn't even aired yet as far as I can tell.

Meanwhile, Dubai Police Clown Khalfan is backtracking from his statement that the UAE will stop all Israelis (and Jews) from entering the country, saying that they will be stopped "only if they are Mossad suspects." Of course, since his suspect list keeps growing, that may soon include every white man and woman in the world.

Ramallah central square to be named after child-murderer

From YNet:

The Palestinian Authority decided Wednesday to postpone a ceremony naming Ramallah's central square after Dalal Al-Mughrabi, a female terrorist who carried out a deadly terror attack on an Israeli bus in 1978.

For the time being, a new date has not been set for the ceremony.

The postponement is assumed to be linked to a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, who is currently in Israel. Earlier in the day, Biden condemned Israel for approving the construction of 1,600 new housing units in east Jerusalem.

In recent weeks, Israel has conveyed harsh messages to the Palestinians regarding the plans for the square's new name. Al-Mughrabi is a popular figure, considered by the Palestinian public to be a major hero of their struggle, with many legends linked to her name over the years.

Her attack killed 37 people, including at least 10 children and American photographer Gail Rubin, shot in cold blood at the beginning of the attack.

Palestine Today quotes Fatah sources as confirming that the square will be named after Mughrabi "despite Israeli threats." The official made it clear that terror attacks have been an integral part of the "Palestinian revolution."

There are girls schools named after Mughrabi in Gaza and Hebron. Summer camps and other institutions are named after her as well.

Anti-semitic, anti-Israel protest at the Waldorf

This is my edit of two videos taken outside the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York on Tuesday night. Thanks to tmdrdd for the footage, and check out his other videos of the event.

I saw in a supermarket a bottle of something called Pepsi Throwback - an old-style bottle of Pepsi made with cane sugar, available "a limited time only."

It just so happens that this is the only time of the year that one can get Coke made with cane sugar - the yellow Coke caps indicate the kosher for Passover Coke, which do not use corn syrup.

Coke aficionados have known for years that the only way to get Coke made the old-fashioned way with sugar was to buy the Passover formula Coke, and they probably buy more of them than Jews do. (Mexican Coke is apparently also made with sugar.)

Pepsi seems to have noticed this trend, and it is unwilling to concede even this limited market share to Coke. So, Pepsi introduced Throwback - this is its second year - at roughly the same time that Passover Coke is in stores.

The ironic part is that Pepsi Throwback is not kosher for Passover!

Gazans get their Internet from...Israel (and Egypt)

Gazans have been complaining for a while about the poor Internet service they have been receiving from PalTel. It has been unreliable and slow.

Some of them have come up with an innovative idea to solve it.

They obtain Israeli or Egyptian cell phones that have Internet capability and tether them (either via cable or Bluetooth) to their PCs and laptops.

It appears that Israeli mobile phone providers Cellcom and Orange have coverage over most of Gaza and they seem to have a way to get Gazans to pay their bills, perhaps electronically. Also, it seems that the Cellcom phones can be directly connected to routers, allowing many to share a single cell phone connection.

The Israeli and Egyptian wireless internet services are cheaper and faster than PalTel. You can be sure that the Internet traffic going over both countries' wireless infrastructure is being captured and analyzed as well.

Women of Islamic Jihad rally in Gaza

Here's a photo of a rally in Gaza by the Women's Movement of Islamic Jihad:

To the West, PalArabs love to talk about how many women are in Israeli jails, implying that women somehow couldn't do anything that would necessitate imprisonment. Yet here's how the women display themselves to their own people - as soldiers.

You gotta admit, the burqas make them look hot.

Literally.

Gaza play makes fun of Fatah, Hamas

It is unbelievable that Hamas has allowed this play to be staged in Gaza:

A new play has shocked audiences in the Gaza Strip by shouting out what many in the Hamas-ruled territory mutter behind closed doors -- that Palestinian politicians are a bunch of crooks.

The biting comedy entitled "Umbilical Cord" goes after the Islamist Hamas and its secular Fatah rivals, accusing them of ignoring the suffering of their people and selling out to Iran and the United States, respectively.

Though it takes to task all the main Palestinian factions, the play is remarkable for its criticism of Hamas, which has ruled the embattled territory since driving out its Fatah rivals in June 2007.

The main Palestinian factions are represented throughout the play by four men in suits sarcastically referred to as "The Great Ones", all carrying briefcases labeled "politics."

A colored cord identifies their factions -- green for Hamas, yellow for Fatah, black for Islamic Jihad and red for the smaller leftist factions, hence the title.

Throughout, the play heavily implies that Fatah is in the employ of the United States while Hamas works for Iran.

"Setting up a faction is easier than opening a shop," says Lafi al-Ahbal, the wise fool of the play.

"If you want to set up a faction just shout slogans about Jerusalem and the settlements and the wall and incontinence... You'll make a fortune in aid."

The harshness of the criticism shocked many in the audience. Since it seized power Hamas has brutally cracked down on any perceived threat to its rule, whether from Fatah members or more radical Islamic groups.

Yet despite fears of a shutdown the play ran as planned, each evening drawing some 1,500 Gazans eager for diversion after all the enclave's formal theatres and cinemas were shut down during the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada, in the 1980s.

A handful of local and international cultural centers, like the al-Shawa Cultural Center where "Umbilical Cord" was shown, however, carry on cultural life here, hosting plays and other events.

"This is a scream in the face of the officials, because the people are sick and tired of the way they do business," said Iyad Abu Shariya, who heads an independent cultural organization that produced the play with aid from the Swiss development fund and local donors.

Perhaps the Swiss aid is what made Hamas think twice about shutting the play down.

The latest desecration of the Temple Mount

As Sabeel (Jordan) breathlessly reports on the latest outrage at the Temple Mount:

A number of guards of Al Aqsa Mosque said that four ultra-Orthodox Jews on Tuesday performed rituals near the door of mercy within the Al Aqsa Mosque.

They said that small groups of Jewish extremists and foreign tourists stormed the Aqsa mosque on the Mughrabi Gate.

Those Jews and their violent "rituals"...how dare they!

Arab press quoting bizarre plan for Israel to annex Iraq

I recently mentioned a bizarre article by a nutty American writer (and "truther") named Wayne Madsen that Israel was working with Kurdistan to annex parts of Iraq.

At the time, the question was whether the Arab world would embrace this crazy conspiracy theory.

A data point just came in: Palestine Press Agency has just quoted essentially the entire article.

The Police Clown of Dubai does it again

This is great:

Dubai Police have warned spies operating in the Gulf to leave the region within one week or face consequences.
"Those spies that are currently present in the Gulf must leave the region within one week — if not, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it," Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim told Gulf News.

The statement comes following the January 19 assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, which Dahi has blamed on Israel.

The ultimatum indicates that Dubai Police are aware of the identities of spies operating in the UAE and the Gulf region and appears to be a warning of exposure if they do not comply.
Asked if the alleged spies are holders of European passports, the police chief said: "Europeans and others", but he did not respond when asked if he was also referring to spies holding Arab passports.

It is unclear if Dahi was referring to spies working for European governments or those who use European passports to spy for others.

Dahi also accused Israel of "vast falsification" of Western passports. "We discover false passports on a daily basis," he said.

Is Khalfan the Clown saying that he is allowing espionage to occur freely over the next week in the UAE? If he knows the identity of the spies, why not arrest them today before they cause any more damage?

Or is he busily planning his umpteenth press conference next week to announce the names of the "spies" that got away - a selection of Europeans who just left the country?

Khalfan - the Keystone Kop of the Gulf.

The religious leader of Egypt's Al Azhar University, Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, died of a heart attack in Saudi Arabia.

Compared to other sheikhs, he was a moderate. He recently got into trouble not only for shaking Shimon Peres' hand but also for banning the burqa at Al Azhar.

Of course, like most Arab Muslim religious "moderates," he also supported suicide bombing against Jews in Israel.

Holocaust denial and Jew-hatred in Jordanian newspaper

The Translating Jihad blog, which I just discovered via Jihad Watch, has accurate translation of Arabic articles that are somewhat less than moderate.

Here's his latest, from the Jordanian As Sabeel newspaper:

The Jews are experts at exercising power over others by invading their thought, culture, and education, and controlling their views and thoughts. Thus the Jews convert others into their supporters by subjecting them to their lies. They succeed greatly in this Satanic mission because of the ignorance of the Gentiles and the ability of the Jews to plant their agents of thought, culture, media, politics, government, finance, and art, and convert them into soldiers. These soldiers then undertake to "normalize" every Gentile and make them slaves, followers of the Jews. Everyone who takes an honest look at the conditions of the modern world and the Jews' dealings in it realizes this truth. Among the clearest examples of this is the Holocaust.

The Jews succeeded in converted the The Holocaust, a malignant term, into dogma. Every man throughout all the world must have faith in and profess this creed, for woe unto he who denies or doubts it.

The meaning of this Jewish creed is thus: the Jews were slaughtered in Nazi prisons in the days of the second world war, in which they claimed that Hitler and his regime executed and burned more than 5 million Jews in gas ovens in Germany and elsewhere!! The Jews blackmailed Germany, calling for her to pay financially for the crimes of the Nazis and recompense the Jews for the sacrifices of the Holocaust. They took billions upon billions from Germany and the rest of Europe, and still continue to blackmail and milk the Europeans!!

If any Western thinkers attempt to doubt the numbers of Jews killed in the Holocaust, they are branded anti-semites who must be tried, convicted, and punished, as happened with Jarudi.

The Jewish devils direct UNESCO, the international cultural organization under the umbrella of the United Nations, exploiting the stupid Gentiles and using them to issue international resolutions which require every nation in the world, including those in our Arab and Islamic world, to consider the Holocaust a worldwide tragedy. UNESCO has obligated every nation in the world to teach its people "the history of the suffering of the Jews in the Nazi Holocaust"! Through different means they have defined, directed, and taught this doctrine in various educational programs, media foundations, and cultural organizations. Every center and foundation in every nation of the world is required to imprint this definition of the suffering of the Jews in the prefaces of their consitutions and convince their people to believe in the same.

This Satanic Jewish plan is alarming, as it strives to exploit United Nations foundations, principally UNESCO, and employ them to subjugate Arabs and Muslims and force them into cultural and thought normalization.

The Holocaust will enter into the training and education curriculum in our schools, colleges, and universities; in our centers of guidance, thought, and planning; in our scientific, literary, and cultural activities; and in our seminars, lectures, newspapers, magazines, novels, films, and stories. Jewish cultural normalization will enter into every foundation, center, school and university, even into every house and home!! ... All of this and the Holocaust is a Jewish myth, legend, and lie.

Latest from the Police Clown of Dubai

From AFP:

Dubai's police chief accused Israel on Tuesday of "vast falsification" of travel documents, noting that dozens of false passports were uncovered following a Hamas leader's murder in the emirate.
"I ring alarm bells. Israel is falsifying Western passports on a large scale. We discover forged passports on a daily basis," Dahi Khalfan told AFP.
"The world must stop an operation of vast falsification of official documents (that) a formal body (Israel's spy agency Mossad) is carrying out," he added.
"It is shameful for the European countries that a country which claims to be a state of law is falsifying their passports," he said.

So Dubai has been finding dozens of fake passports since the Mabhouh hit, and is blaming the Mossad for all of them!

Khalfan the Clown must believe that the "Israelis" invented forgery in ancient Egypt, and the vast worldwide Jewish conspiracy has the market cornered on forged documents today.

Synagogue controversy in Egypt

I reported yesterday about the Maimonides (Rambam) synagogue being rededicated in Cairo, and quoted the World Jewish Congress website as saying:

Egyptian officials were absent from the ceremony, and Culture Minister Faruk Hosni said Sunday's opening was a purely religious ceremony. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s Antiquities Department, said that a more formal opening next Sunday would be attended by Egyptian officials.

This is being reported differently in Egypt.

The Al-Shorouq newspaper is quoting others as saying that the Egyptian government was outraged that the tiny Jewish community of Cairo invited Israeli representatives to the opening ceremonies. This was considered "inappropriate and unacceptable" to Egyptian officials, who felt that they could not attend if Israelis were there for the ceremony.

The second re-dedication ceremony that was mentioned as being scheduled for March 14th is up in the air as well, as Egyptian officials are now saying that the restoration is not complete yet and will have to wait until the synagogue is completely ready.

Lebanese "defense strategy" talks center on Hezbollah

Today, various Lebanese groups are meeting to discuss "defense strategy" - and there is great disagreement over what that means:

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the mere fact that dialogue will resume is a "positive sign."
"The mere fact that the key parties are meeting even if they don't reach quick results is also a good sign," Geagea said in remarks published Monday by the daily An-Nahar.

Politicians from rival parties are due to meet Tuesday for a new session on defense strategy under President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace.

National dialogue was launched in March 2006, before the devastating summer war between Hizbullah and Israel, to determine the fate of the weapons held by the group.

But it has been delayed several times because of the country's successive political crises.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government has failed to resolve the thorny issue of Hizbullah arms since its formation in November, when it defeated the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition.

Hizbullah has refused to disarm since the end of the 1975-1990 Civil War and insists that its weapons are necessary to defend Lebanon against Israeli aggression.

He noted that the "only" item which remains for discussion on the dialogue table was Hizbullah weapons.

"So, there is no room for argument," Geagea said. "The topic has already been determined and Hizbullah arms fall under the defense strategy."

"We look at the matter from this angle," he added.

Hezbollah and its allies disagree:

While the majority March 14 alliance holds on to defense strategy as a single item for discussion, the Hizbullah-led opposition argues the possibility of raising additional issues on the agenda, including the "economic-water security."

The major controversy, however, revolves around Hizbullah arms.

While Hizbullah insists that the group's weapons are not up for discussion at the table, March 14 demand that Hizbullah arms be debated.

Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem on Monday noted that "there is no discussion topic at the dialogue table dubbed 'weapons,' because those weapons are the outcome of the defense strategy and not its source."
"Furthermore, there is no attempt at the dialogue table to undermine the strength of Lebanon, but to discuss the defense strategy," Qassem added at a ceremony to commemorate the birth of Prophet Mohammed in Beirut Southern Suburbs.

Qassem said that "Lebanon's strength" may require coordination and means "to enhance the capabilities of the Mujahedeen of the resistance and the army … to reach a real defense capacity that frightens Israel and obliges it to know its limits."

Asharq al-Awsat quotes the Lebanese Defense Forces as saying that they will resist Israel if attacked, and that Hezbollah's weapons are illegal.

UPDATE: As I was writing this, two hours into the meeting, the meeting was adjourned until April 15th. One can take a good guess as to what happened.

Hamas ready to implode?

The not-always-reliable Kuwaiti press is reporting that Hamas is losing its grip on power in Gaza.

Firas Press reports of a Kuwaiti newspaper that quotes unnamed sources as saying that Hamas is in serious trouble, both from a security and an economic perspective, in Gaza, and it might prompt them to ignite fighting in the West Bank.

The sources said that the recent riots in Jerusalem helped divert attention from Hamas' internal problems, mentioning recent explosions against Hamas officials which are being blamed on unpaid workers protesting. It quotes rumors, that Hamas has denied, that Hamas' minister of the interior Fathi Hammad is being fired from his job.

The sources also point to well-known differences of opinion between Hamas leadership in Gaza and its leaders in Damascus.

Iranians caught with stolen Israeli passports

Ma'ariv reports that three Iranians were caught at an airport in Seychelles trying to use stolen Israeli passports. The Iranians were sent back on a flight to Nairobi, Kenya, from where they came.

Seychelles authorities passed the information to Israeli authorities, who found that the passports were stolen from Israelis who traveled to Thailand last year.

Israeli authorities fear that this was the precursor to a terror attack in the archipelago, which has been advertising heavily to attract Israelis on Passover vacation this year. Charter airlines now go directly to Seychelles from Israel.

Palestinian Authority considers Richard Falk to be too pro-Hamas?

Richard Falk, the UN's "special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories," says he has been asked to resign by the Palestinian Authority - because he is too pro-terror even for them:

Richard Falk, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Monday the Palestinian Authority (PA) urged him to step down after he criticized the PA’s treatment of a UN war crimes report.

Falk confirmed reports that the joint PA-PLO mission to the UN in Geneva also delayed consideration in the UN Human Rights Council of his most recent report detailing Israeli abuses of Palestinians’ rights.

Arabic-language news reports of the delay surfaced last week.

He said PA officials formally approached him in February asking him to resign, arguing that he is unable to carry out his responsibilities since Israel detained him at Ben Gurion International Airport and deported him in late 2008.

But, he stressed in an interview, "what they [the PA] say formally and what they say informally are quite different."

"Informally they say different things, things that are essentially untrue, that my health doesn’t me allow to do the job or that I’m a partisan of Hamas," Falk added.

Falk’s mandate is narrowly defined to include only the human rights record of the occupying power, Israel, in the occupied West Bank and Gaza – he does not report to the UN on the actions of the PA or the Hamas government in Gaza.

But Falk did raise hackles in Ramallah when he publicly criticized the PA for delaying UN action on judge Richard Goldstone’s report that accused Israel and Palestinian militias of committing war crimes during the 2008-2009 Gaza war. Goldstone’s UN-mandated report dealt with the three-week attack that left some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision, under US pressure, to delay a vote in the UN Human Rights Council on Goldstone’s report provoked a political crisis, including calls for Abbas to step down, and for the dissolution of the PA. Rights groups slammed Abbas for harming their efforts to bring accused war criminals to justice.

Now Falk says Abbas’ men have done the same to his own report. He says the PA-appointed ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim Khreishah, put forward a resolution in a recent plenary session of the Human Rights Council which delayed a discussion of his own report on Israeli rights violations from March until June. The resolution passed unanimously.

Falk, a Princeton international law expert, said he is "not happy" about the PA’s actions, but has no plans to resign. "I feel that it’s very important not to succumb to this pressure."

The delay of Falk’s report also caught the attention of Hamas leaders in Gaza. On Monday, The justice minister in the Hamas-controlled government in Gaza, Muhammad Faraj Al-Ghoul, held a news conference denouncing the delay as an effort to "kill the report and give Israel a cover for its crimes."

It is entirely possible that Falk is making this entire thing up. He has an exaggerated sense of self-worth and he has lied multiple times before.

Even so, it highlights that UN officials are more closely aligned with how Hamas views the Middle East than how the US does.

Mahmoud Zahar the deadbeat

Palestine Press Agency quotes Fatah member Jamal Nazzal as claiming that Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar did not pay the electric bill for his large house in 2006 and 2007, owing several thousand shekels.