Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, September 08, 2011

A perfect symbol for Palestinian Arabs

The Palestinians have officially launched their campaign to join the United Nations as a full member state, saying they will stage a series of peaceful events in the run-up to the annual gathering of the UN General Assembly later this month.

About 100 Palestinian officials and activists gathered at the UN offices in Ramallah for a short ceremony, where they announced their plans in a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The letter urges Mr Ban to add his "moral voice in support of the Palestinian people".

The letter was handed over by Latifa Abu Hmeid, a 70-year-old woman who lost one son in fighting with Israel and has seven other sons in Israeli prisons because of alleged militant activities. Officials said Ms Abu Hmeid was selected to deliver the document because her personal story reflects the plight of the Palestinians. A resident of a West Bank refugee camp, her house has twice been demolished by Israeli authorities as punishment for her sons' activities, they said.

Mrs. Hmeid's kids do like to work fast. Last year she only had four sons in prison, as noted by Palestinian Media Watch quoting Al Hayat al Jadida:

Issa Karake, Minister of Prisoners' Affairs, awarded the Shield of Resolve and Giving to Khansa of Palestine [reference to a woman in the earliest period of Islam who sent her four sons to battle and rejoiced when they all died as Martyrs], Um Yousuf Abu Hamid, inscribed with the names of her four sons who are imprisoned in the Israeli occupation's prisons. He emphasized, 'The Palestinian mother is a central partner in the struggle, by virtue of what she has given and continues to give. It is she who gave birth to the fighters, and she deserves that we bow to her in salute and in honor.'

This [was said] during a visit yesterday by [Minister] Karake and a delegation from the Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs, human rights organizations, and released prisoners, to the home of the Abu Hamid family in the Al-Am'ari refugee camp. [Karake] joined the meal breaking the [Ramadan] fast with the mother of the four prisoners who were sentenced to several life terms, as well as a fifth Shahid (Martyr) who was caught and executed on the spot by the Israeli special forces, having killed an Israeli intelligence officer and having wounded soldiers. Karake praised the Abu Hamid family as a model of willpower and of the struggle for the independence of Palestine... It should be noted that the Abu Hamid family is one of the fighting families of Palestine... All of the family's younger generation have been arrested, and four sons are still in prison.

The sons:

Nasser Abu Hamid: 7 life sentences + 50 years - commander in Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, in Ramallah. Convicted of the murders of 7 Israeli civilians and 12 attempted murders.

Nasr Abu Hamid: 5 life sentences - Member of Fatah’s Tanzim faction, another military wing, and convicted of involvement in two terror attacks.

Sharif Abu Hamid: 4 life sentences - carried out terror attacks against civilians and soldiers. Helped transport a suicide terrorist to his attack in March 2002.

Muhammad Abu Hamid: 2 life sentences + 30 years for terror attacks.

Fifth brother Abd Al-Mun'im Abu Hamid: Killed by Israel after he attacked and killed an Israeli intelligence officer.

So Mrs. Hamid/Hmeid is really the perfect symbol to represent Palestinian Arabs in their statehood bid, having raised seven terrorist sons.

And in another perfect case of symbolism, this official ceremony - which was apparently organized by the PA - was denied by its parent organization the PLO as invalid:

While the Palestinian Authority said Thursday it had officially launched its UN statehood-recognition bid, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA) that the PA "does not have any international relations mandate," and that the PLO was the only body that could make such a move.

Earlier, it was reported that the Palestinian Authority had submitted a letter with the move's official plans to UN chief Ban Ki-moon in ceremony in Ramallah with more than 100 Palestinian officials and activists in attendance.

The PLO representative told DPA that a date had not yet been chosen for the official launch, but that it would be made in the coming weeks

They can't figure out who their own leaders are, but they are more than ready to pretend to become a state.

(h/t Challah Hu Akbar for research)

Some refreshing contrast

I spend a bit of time at terrorist websites where I see a never ending stream of photos like this of some recent Islamic Jihad "martyrs":

The IDF today provides a great antidote.

Saudi sheikh recalls the handing out of sweets in Mecca on 9/11

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from a statement by Saudi Sheik Wajdi Al-Ghazawi, owner of Al-Fajr TV, which was posted on YouTube on August 4, 2011:

Wajdi Al-Ghazawi: When Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden were at the height of their might, they were extremely popular in Saudi Arabia. From mosque pulpits across Saudi Arabia, preachers would pray for their success. Moreover, from the pulpits of the most important mosques – the Al-Haram Mosque in Mecca and the Nabawi Mosque in Al-Madina – direct prayers for the success of Al-Qaeda were made, during the days of the bombing of Tora Bora: "Oh Allah, help our brothers in Afghanistan." These supplications were made during evening prayers, as well as Friday prayers. The preachers would pray for them, in violation of the ministry's instructions.

When the twin towers in New York were attacked, they handed out sweets on the streets of Mecca. By Allah, they did. I witnessed this myself. The young people bowed in prayer and hugged one another out of joy. People were in heaven because of these young men, who "destroyed America and bombed this idol." Am I right or not? Was it like that or not?

Back then, when the Taliban broke off a piece of the nose of the Buddha statue, which was hewn in the mountain, an entire sermon was dedicated to it in the mosque in Mecca, and the preacher was later reprimanded for this sermon. The entire Saudi people supported and loved Al-Qaeda.

This went on until our brothers in Al-Qaeda – and I don't know what was going through their minds – began to carry out operations inside Saudi Arabia. That's when we all raised our hands, and said: "You've gone too far. We won't support you in this."
[…]
The atmosphere here in Saudi Arabia is one of extremism. It is characterized by focusing on minor details. Many things are forbidden. Yes, maybe they are indeed forbidden, but by forcing people to avoid them, and by acting as if these were major sins, an atmosphere was created that gave rise to extremist youth, who might act recklessly at the most trivial provocation.

For instance, we blew out of proportion the issue of music, the issue of smoking, or the issue of hanging pictures in public places. True, there are clear texts on these issues, but the young people embraced these issues as if they were fighting usury, fornication, or alcohol. No, these are not among the seven major sins. So our society has become extreme.
[…]
This extremist atmosphere has given rise to people who accuse others of heresy, and people who purport to be waging Jihad. It has created genes that gave rise to cells of Al-Qaeda and other terrorists. We must examine our breeding ground, in which these young men were sown.
[…]
By Allah, what can possibly emerge from such an atmosphere? Muftis who accuse others of heresy, sheiks who incite, and young people who bomb. Am I right or not?
[…]

Islamic Jihad insists "martyr" was killed by Israeli airstrike

Yesterday, an Islamic Jihad member was killed when his car exploded. Islamic Jihad claims it was an Israeli airstrike; the IDF denied it.

The Al Quds Brigades website insists that it was an Israeli airstrike, and that the cowardly Zionists don't want to admit that they are breaking the supposed truce (where the Israelis don't fire but the Gazans keep shooting rockets into Israel.) They note the huge intensity of the blast and say the mujahid's body parts were all over. They also claim a huge crater that proves it came from a missile.

The photos of the car indicate that there was indeed a huge explosion, but I cannot see anything that looks like a large crater - I do see a small one on the very bottom here:

This photo shows the street was discolored but there is no hole there:

Lots of other photos at the Islamic Jihad website.

Seven Hamas members killed during Ramadan....

...but only two of them were killed by the IDF.

The Al Qassam Brigades website has a feature about the seven Ramadan "martyrs" and the circumstances of their deaths.

Two of them were killed in "Zionist bombings." One was killed in an "accidental internal explosion." Two of them died in unspecified "accidents." One died from electric shock, and one more while in "treatment."

The website says these were "a constellation of Mujahideen who gave their lives cheaply in the way of Allah."

Schools in Gaza forcing girls to wear veils

Palestine Press Agency quotes a report from Al Hayat about schools in Gaza forcing Muslim girls to wear veils.

The 16-year old [girl] cried bitterly when her teacher at her new high school asked her to go to the office of school director. It is the first day in the first secondary (X) in her school, which she moved to after finishing her studies in a junior high school affiliated with UNRWA in Gaza City.

She recounted to the London newspaper Al Hayat: "It was a shock for me to be expelled from the classroom by the teacher, and she asked me to go to the school administration." She felt very insulted, but what made her feel more offended was the discriminatory way that the teacher asked her: "Are you Muslim or Christian? Why not wear a jilbab and hijab?" The teacher said that these were the instructions of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education in the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip.

This scene repeated itself with other students suffering degrading and discriminatory treatment, witnesses told Al Hayat. The Director of allowed Christian students (after verification of their religion) not to wear veils and robes.

The article goes on to say that Hamas is justifying its Islamicization of Gaza in order to slow down increasing fundamentalist Salafi influence.

Dip Your Apple - Rosh Hashana video

Very good musical parody and video by the Ein Prat Fountainheads.

(h/t Yerushalimey)

Video of civilian executed in Syria

From Al Arabiya:

Some 30 people were killed in Syria on Wednesday. mostly residents of Homs.

Ambassador Ford slams Syria - on Facebook

The US Embassy Damascus Facebook page has a note from the US Ambassador to Syria, Robert Ford:

This past weekend, as Eid al-Fitr was concluding, I read reports of peaceful protests yet again being met with security force gunfire in places like Basra ash-Sham, Telbissa and Jassem. International media reports already speak of dozens of civilians killed. This is yet another sad day to reflect on the courage of the tens of thousands of courageous Syrians who march peacefully.

Some of the people who write on this page complain that the U.S. is “helping terrorists” in Syria. We support the right of Syrians to protest peacefully. Peaceful protesters are not “terrorists,” and after all the evidence accumulated over the past six months, no one except the Syrian government and its supporters believes that the peaceful protesters here are. Also, the United States is not providing any assistance to any armed group in Syria. If the Syrian government has evidence, let’s see it. I’ve asked them and I’ve gotten nothing back from the officials. The United Nations, which was finally allowed to send an assessment team here, instead has directly assigned responsibility for the violence in Syria to the Syrian government. The Arab League has assigned responsibility for the violence to the Syrian government. The European Union and its member states have done so. The governments of Canada, Japan and Saudi Arabia have done so. The Turkish government has done so. Don’t like or trust the United States – fine – look at what other organizations and countries are saying.

Some Syrian security service members have been killed. Some want the United States to acknowledge it; well, I’m the American ambassador, and I just did. But the number of security service members killed is far, far lower than the number of unarmed civilians killed. No one in the international community accepts the justification from the Syrian government that those security service members’ deaths justify the daily killings, beatings, extrajudicial detentions, torture and harassment of unarmed civilian protesters. I entirely agree with the group of Muslim scholars in Aleppo who says that the Syrian government, which has a clear preponderance of arms and force, bears the responsibility for the violence. And given the extent of the government’s brutality, neither the Syrian protest movement nor the international community will believe that this Syrian leadership desires or is capable of the deep, genuine and credible reforms that the Syrian people demand. This isn’t about Western military intervention. This isn’t about oil (many governments have banned its import). This isn’t about Israel or the West wanting to dominate the Arab world (an old, discredited government line). This is about basic political freedoms from the United Nations’ Human Rights Charter – signed by Syria, don’t forget – which calls for freedom of speech and freedom of peaceful assembly. And the United States wholly supports Syrians’ rights to exercise those freedoms.

Better than nothing.

Work accident(s)!

From Ma'an:

A member of Hamas' armed wing died Wednesday during a "Jihad" mission near Ash-Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, the Al-Qassam Brigades announced.

Muhammad Rushdi Aqbalan, 52, died after suffering an electric shock, the group said.

This sounds like he was killed while in a weapons tunnel. That's the usual place that Gazans die from electric shock. 52 is a bit old for being a tunnel worker, though.

An Islamic Jihad terrorist who was killed when his car exploded may have been the victim of another "work accident" as well, as Israel denied any airstrikes. It all points to a lack of quality control in Gaza's rocket industry.

Tunisia synagogue looted

A few days ago I noted a Wikileaks cable talking about how Tunisian anti-semitism was well-hidden under the rule of Ben Ali, where he took special precautions to protect the Jewish community. I wondered whether that protection would continue after his fall.

The JC provides the answer:

A synagogue in the Tunisian city of Sfax has been vandalised.

According to CRIF, the representative body of French Jewry, Synagogue Beth-El was ransacked towards the end of last month while Tunisian Muslims were marking the month of Ramadan. It is believed the synagogue has not been guarded since the Arab Spring revolutionaries overthrew the government of President Zein el-Abbadin Bin Ali.

Witnesses told CRIF that windows were broken, marble plaques marking supporters of the synagogue were smashed and the contents of cabinets including collection boxes and silver Judaica items were stolen.

In addition, several household appliances including the air conditioner unit are missing from the apartment adjoining the synagogue.

CRIF adds that there has been a shortage of police because of the chaotic security situation. However, the synagogue was looted on a Ramadan night opposite a popular coffee house, so it is unlikely that no one saw it. CRIF details the vandalism - marble plaques, stained glass windows, silver candlesticks.

See entire comic book here.

Hilariously, a Mondoweiss writer saw this cover and interpreted it as saying that the authors view all Palestinian Arabs and their allies as "vermin" and said this was "reminiscent of Nazi propaganda."

Note especially how offended the Mondoweissers are that a pro-Israel organization "shamelessly appropriated Jewish religious symbols." Don't they know that Jewish symbols only exist for anti-Israel groups to use to prove their Jewish bona-fides?

(Disclaimer: EoZ is a partner with StandWithUs, which produces this comic book.)

(h/t Divest This!)

Obama bubblegum spotted in Ramallah

Joseph Dana tweets that he saw Obama-branded bubblegum in Ramallah.

I found a better photo of this product, though:

No, the circle-K doesn't mean "kosher" - it stands for Kenafric Industries, a Kenyan company that makes fine confectioneries and footwear.

This company also makes Magic Obama Special Edition Bubblegum and Obama Pop-Whistle Mouth Painting Lollipops.

PA whitewashed torture death of prisoner

From Ma'an:

Palestinian security officials privately offered American diplomats candid details about the 2009 death of a detainee while they publicly refuted allegations of torture, according to a US diplomatic cable recently released by WikiLeaks.

Suspected Hamas member Haitham Amr, a nurse at a Hebron hospital, died less than a week after the PA’s General Intelligence division arrested him in June 2009.

Security officials claimed publicly that Amr fell to his death trying to escape through a second-story window. But the recently released cable, part of a full batch posted online in late August, reveals that General Intelligence officials told the US Consulate in Jerusalem that their initial account was "simply wrong."

Corroborating allegations of torture from the victim’s family and human rights groups, the cable says the PA’s own investigation found evidence that Amr was abused before his death.

...The PA never retracted its initial account, although Interior Minister Said Abu Ali conceded in October 2009 that there had been a "violation of the rights" of Haitham Amr.

Rights campaigners say the new information casts doubt on the credibility of a special military court which acquitted five officers who were charged in connection with Amr's death.

No PA security official has ever been criminally convicted of abusing persons in custody "despite hundreds of documented complaints of torture and other abuse," [HRW's Bill Van] Esveld says. "Given these serious and widespread abuses, the US should stop funding PA security agencies until the PA ends this record of impunity."

In 2010, the US provided $350 million to the PA for its security forces in addition to $150 million in direct budgetary aid, according to Human Rights Watch.

US government officials have consistently denied that American funds support security agencies accused of torture; they say most aid goes to the PA's National Security Forces.

News reports suggest otherwise. In December 2009, The Guardian quoted Western officials saying that the CIA works so closely with the General Intelligence and the Preventive Security organization that the Americans seem to be supervising the Palestinians' work.

PLO insults the US again

From Al Arabiya:

Yasser Abd Rabbo, secretary general of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said US policy now appeared confined to one point: stopping the Palestinians from embarking on their diplomatic initiative at the United Nations.

“The subject is not settlements, or Palestinian independence or the rights of the Palestinian people, or halting the criminal violations perpetrated by the settlers against the Palestinian people,” he said.

“All this is being ignored and the only issue has become the issue of us not going to the United Nations,” he told Voice of Palestine radio.

“This shows not only disdain for the Palestinian position, but also scorn for what is happening in the Arab region -- a state of revival seeking justice for the Arab peoples and justice for the whole region.”

The PLO feels free to insult the US anytime it pleases, without fear of any diplomatic backlash.

Earlier this year the Palestinian Arab delegation walked out during a speech by Hillary Clinton. Also earlier this year, the PA Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the US was an "obstacle to peace" and "not an honest broker" These are all strong words in the diplomatic sphere, and the US would react harshly if any other entity would constantly insult it.

As usual, though, the PLO will get a pass.

Wikileaks: Hezbollah's intimidation of a Lebanese journalist

From a 2009 Wikileaks cable:

On March 13, Embassy Public Diplomacy (PD) staff met with Beirut-based, Lebanese journalist Tha'ir Abbas of the Saudi-owned newspaper, Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat. Abbas, who is Shi'a, has been a PD contact for several years and is well-known for his objective reporting. While he does not write anti-Hizballah reports, he is known for not being a Hizballah supporter. His residence is located in Dahiyeh in Beirut's southern suburbs, a Hizballah stronghold.

Abbas went to the United States in November 2008 to cover the U.S. presidential elections. Following his return to Beirut, three members of Hizballah visited him at home, he reported. One member entered the house and the other two stayed on the stairs near his apartment: one on the stairs leading up and one on the stairs leading down. Abbas asked the one Hizballah member who entered his house to stay in the doorway. This person told him that he wanted to ask him some questions. Abbas told him that he would answer his questions only near the door.

This Hizballah member asked Abbas about every member of his family, including his wife, Linda Ayyach, who is a journalist for Hiya Magazine, and his two children. Allegedly, the questions were: what type of cars Abbas and his wife drive; which school do the children attend (Note: They attend an evangelical school. End Note.); what are their political affiliation/s, even the political affiliation of his eight-year old daughter; whether Abbas supports Hizballah; and, what was the reason for his visit to the United States. One of the questions that caught Abbas' attention was whether he has access to the Internet in his house and the reason he does. Abbas said he answered all of the questions because, as he explained to PD, since he lives "in Hizballah's stronghold," he always tries to avoid problems and keeps a low profile.

Following that incident, Abbas learned through his contacts that the security wing of Hizballah has contacts with all the concierges in the area buildings who "spy" on residents and report back to Hizballah. After the visit, Abbas has noticed that he is often followed by another car. He told PD staff that his phone is tapped, that he has another phone which he uses for personal business, and he changes his personal telephone number constantly.

Abbas said he told his story to a person close to Sunni majority leader Saad Hariri, who in turn told Hariri. According to Abbas, Hariri, who sees Abbas on a routine basis and knows him well, allegedly called Hizballah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah, but was referred to Nasrallah's political assistant, Hassan Khalil. Hariri told Khalil what happened, noting that Hizballah has no right to act in this manner, particularly with journalists "who work for Saudi-owned newspapers." Hariri warned that, by acting this way, Hizballah was damaging its relations with him.

After Hariri's phone call, Abbas claimed he received a phone call from Hizballah's media advisor at the time, Hussein Rahhal, who blamed Abbas for letting the story reach Hariri, and tried to belittle the incident. Since that phone call, Abbas has been harassed publicly several times by members of Hizballah. Once, he said, there was a hot exchange between him and a person who blocked his way while he was trying to leave the garage in his building. This person closed the garage for about two hours, making it impossible for Abbas to leave. On another occasion, Abbas was harassed by a Hizballah member who was about to hit him. Another time he received a phone call from a member of Hizballah when he published an interview with Ahmad Al-Asaad, an independent Shi'a figure who is critical of Hizballah.

Abbas said he lives in constant anxiety over the possibility of being harassed by Hizballah. He explained that he looked into the possibility of selling his house and moving away, but he ruled out the idea because of the high prices elsewhere. He characterized the atmosphere in the Dahiyeh as "extremely intimidating" following the July 2006 war between Israel and Hizballah, noting that Hizballah has its own police force now on every street in Beirut's southern suburb. He also said, "Hizballah members were extremely kind and open before July 2006, but now they are completely different." For them, he noted "everyone is an Israeli or an American agent until the contrary is proven."

This fits in well with what Michael Totten described in his book "The Road to Fatima Gate."

(h/t Yoel)

Hamas denies permission to public rallies in support of UN stunt

Palestine Press Agency reports that Hamas has said that it will refuse to allow any public demonstrations in Gaza that support the PLO's attempt to have the UN recognize "Palestine" as a state.

In general, Hamas has not rallied behind the UN stunt, although it has made some occasional noises that it will not publicly oppose the move.

Hamas' opposition seems to stem from its reluctance to do anything to legitimize Israel's existence and to limit Palestinian Arab claims on all of Israel.

Israel kills PRC terrorist firing mortars

From YNet:

A commander in the Popular Resistance Committees' military arm was killed Tuesday evening in a fire exchange in the Gaza Strip.

According to Palestinian sources, the operative killed in Khan Younis was Khaled Sahmoud, 23, who was in charge of the the al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades' mortar unit. The PRC claimed that he managed to fire five mortar shells before being killed.

If you want to read the combination of flowery eulogy for Sahmoud and insane condemnation of Israel along with the requisite gory photos of the dead terrorist, check out the autotranslated article from the PRC website.

Morning links

Arafat's dream: What happens after the UN accepts a Palestinian Arab state?

Latest anti-BDS rally in Australia

What a concept: Jews from Judea and Samaria discussing peace with their Arab neighbors!

Turkish opposition leader slams government's "fake enmity over Israel"

Germany expels Israeli academic from conference because he teaches in Ariel (update: he is reinstated)

A UNESCO designated Jewish heritage site is being destroyed in Lviv, Ukraine - and UNESCO says nothing

BDS fail? A Greek singer who is performing in Israel referred to it as a "fascist state" last month.

Egyptian government press is calling Jews the descendants of pigs and apes. But it is a cultural thing and must be protected.

The PA honors the terrorists who bombed the Sbarro's pizza shop

Israel: From underdog to pariah

Lubavitchers start a biker gang (more here)

(h/t Yoel, jzaik, Russell)