Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, March 05, 2012

Israelis plan comedy film on Mabhouh hit

From AFP:

Inspired by the alleged Mossad assassination of a Hamas leader in 2010, an elite team of Israelis are planning their own hit... movie, that is.

A team of Israeli and French filmmakers believe the assassination of Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh, found dead in his Dubai hotel room in January 2010, will be perfect fodder for a movie, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Monday.

The incident caused an international uproar, with the Dubai authorities quickly pointing the finger at Israel, and releasing surveillance footage showing a team of alleged Israeli agents they say killed Mabhuh.

But the filmmakers are planning a comedy spoof of the incident, which earned Israel international rebuke following reports that those involved used fake Western passports.

The film’s working title is “Kidon” or “Javelin” − the codename given to the operation in the film, the paper said.

The plot revolves around two senior Mossad agents, played by prominent Israeli actors Shlomo Bar-Abba and Sasson Gabai, who are shocked to hear about the operation, knowing the intelligence agency was not behind it.

They learn the assassination was part of a complex fraud plot involving a motley crew of criminals, among them a student, a fraud expert and a brothel owner.

Filming is expected to begin in April, Haaretz said, though no projected release date has been given yet.

The assassination of Mabhuh, a founder of Hamas’s military wing, has already provided Israeli advertisers with creative inspiration.

In March 2010, an Israeli supermarket chain used actors dressed like the alleged agents seen in the Dubai surveillance footage for an advert saying they would “eliminate the prices.”

Here's the commercial that made fun of the Dubai CCTV footage:

Linkdump: Reactions to Obama's AIPAC speech

The Atlantic: It was all politics.

Ha'aretz: "A strong commitment to Israel? Assuredly. Capitulation to the dictates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu? Not a chance."

Peres: It was a "determined" speech.

Former Israeli chief of staff Naftali Bennet: "Right now we are seeing big words but a very, very small stick."

Robert Satloff makes many points, including: "One additional item noticeable by its absence was any message to the people of Iran. This was a lost opportunity."

Lenny Ben-Israel: Obama's red line seems to be only at the final building of a nuclear weapon, not any point beforehand.

Barry Rubin: War is inevitable

Yid with Lid slams the speech as "lie-filled."

Erekat: The PA is "disappointed" that the speech gave "unprecedented support" to Israel.

Dan Senor: Why Israel still has doubts about Obama (if paywalled, try looking here)

Hamas continues to pressure Egypt for fuel

A Hamas spokesman said that there were Arab countries like Algeria willing to provide fuel for Gaza, but that Egypt was holding up the process.

Yousef Rizqa, political adviser to Ismail Haniyeh, said "There are Arab countries including Algeria willing to supply fuel to Gaza, but you need permission from Cairo to pass the fuel through its territory."

He said that there were two sticking points with Egypt.

One is that Egypt wants to supply fuel via the Kerem Shalom crossing, which is controlled by Israel and this has a "political risk" where Israel could turn the fuel off at any time (even though they never have except when crossings are directly attacked.)

He added that Gaza wants to have an independent crossing for trade with Egypt and the Arab States and "the introduction of oil through the Karm Abu Salem eliminates this." In other words, Gaza can get fuel today but Hamas' real aim is to pressure Egypt to build a new Rafah crossing for goods and fuel, and they are willing to sacrifice their own people's needs in the medium term to force Cairo to do what they want. Apparently they are gambling that the new Muslim Brotherhood government in Egypt will not publicly tell them to drop dead and popular pressure will force Egypt to do what they are demanding.

The second point that hinders the supply of fuel to Gaza is Cairo's request of charging one dollar per liter of fuel. After taxes this would mean that the cost for Gazans would be 6 shekels a liter ($1.58) which would be "a hardship and crisis for the citizens of Gaza, especially that the sector is going through a state of unemployment and economic weakness."

He said, "we wanted a lower price, but the Egyptian government said it imports petroleum and can not reduce the price."

Of course, Hamas could reduce the tax and help out their citizens, but protecting their own profit is a big part of creating this artificial crisis.

Meanwhile, in black markets in Gaza, people are paying as much as 17 shekels (over $4) per liter for gas.

Israelis pay $2.20 per liter of gasoline. Egypt's subsidized gasoline costs Egyptians about 50 cents a liter, which is what Hamas has been relying on smuggling in for the past year.

The cynicism of Hamas in creating and using this crisis to advance their own agenda is breathtaking, but so far very few people are publicly blaming them for treating their citizens like dirt. Egypt doesn't want to make waves and the PA is officially still trying to "unify" with Hamas so they are keeping pretty quiet.

Should these Palestinian Arab companies be boycotted?

The 22nd annual International Agro-Mashov Exhibition was held in Tel Aviv last week, attracting 20,000.

Including Palestinian Arab attendees and exhibitors.

Over 300 Palestinian agriculturists came to Agro-Mashov to meet potential Israeli and international partners to develop their businesses.

Furthermore, 10 Palestinian companies presented their products to the public. A unique booth was installed to promote their presence. The Civil Administration coordinated their arrival.

Haim Allouche, the Managing Director of the Agro-Mashov said that for 22 years he has been inviting Palestinian agriculturists, and that this is the 2nd year that the Agro-Mashov hosts Palestinian companies: “What we are making here is real peace together, trough cooperation and business”, he added.

We met with different dynamic Palestinian companies, developing and exporting all over the world. Here are two profiles of the participants.

CANAAN FAIR TRADE

This Jenin-based company is a fair trade organization that works with small Palestinian farmers and produces mainly olive oil, but also soaps, couscous and spices.
Created in 2005, the enterprise distributes its products all over the West Bank, particularly the big cities: Jenin, Ramallah, and Bethlehem.
On top of this, Nasser, the CEO, tells us that the company also exports to 16 other countries, mostly Europe and North America, but also South-Korea and Australia.

Canaan Fair Trade produces 500 metric tons of olive oil a year and generates 6 million dollars of revenue per year. All the products are organic and fair trade certified.
Canaan Fair Trade has also attended the Agro-Mashov Exhibition last year. Nasser hopes to find Israeli partners and start selling in the country, which represents a huge market.

TAYBEH BREWING CO.

Taybeh Brewing Co. is the only Palestinian brewery, located next to Ramallah. Madees Khoury, the Operations Manager is serving beers at her stand.
Created by her father in 1994, the Brewery has 5 different kinds of beers: Golden, Amber, Dark, Non-Alcoholic and apple flavor.

Mrs Khoudy, born in the US, studied Business Management in Boston and spent her childhood between Taybeh and America. Smiling, she claims to be the 1st Palestinian female brewer.

Taybeh Brewing Co. is a growing company. It exports to a lot of countries including Japan, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium. The brewery produces 600 000 liters of beers each year and is present in Israel as well. The Taybeh beers are available is various pubs throughout Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv.

“Our goal is to make the Taybeh Beer brand very famous in Israel”, added Madees Khoury.

So these companies must be "collaborators" with the "Zionist enemy" and should, of course, be boycotted for their cooperation with Israel. They are clearly contradicting the supposedly unanimous call from "Palestinian civil society" to boycott Israel. In the interests of supporting Palestinian Arab history of non-violent resistance, they should be firebombed.

Too bad, Electronic Intifada - no more Taybeh beer for you.

UPDATE: For some reason, some people think I am advocating boycotting Palestinian Arab companies who want to do business in Israel. As I thought I made clear, I am saying that he BDSers would want to boycott these companies because they "collaborate" - just as the advocate boycotting Palestinian Arab produce that is exported by Israeli companies.

Report of Iranian nuclear test, plus Khamanei's support for nukes

From Spengler at PJ Media:

The Sunday morning edition of Germany’s Die Welt reports that Western intelligence agencies detected two nuclear weapons tests in North Korea in 2010, and that one or both of them might have been conducted for Iran. Die Welt sets the reported nuclear tests in the context of new documentation showing that the Iranian regime began its drive for nuclear weapons as early as 1984, under the direct orders of the late Ayatollah Khomeini. The author is the respected German analyst Hans Rühle, whose evaluation of Israel’s capacity to cripple the Iranian nuclear program created a stir last month.

The Die Welt report reads like a line-by-line refutation of the reported U.S. intelligence evaluation that there is no “hard evidence” that Iran is building nuclear weapons. That is a noteworthy reversal: the Obama administration’s intelligence chiefs claim that Iran is not an imminent threat, while a former top German official warns of immediate danger to the Jewish state. The fact is that there are some Germans who do not want to be responsible for a second Holocaust.

Rühle, who headed the German Defense Ministry’s policy planning staff during the peak of the Cold War in the 1980s, deplores the “credulousness of Western experts” who accept Iran’s protests that its nuclear program is peaceful.

Many Western experts still give credence to these representations. Despite numerous indications to the contrary, they give Iran the presumption of innocence, arguing that a nation’s intent to weaponize nuclear power is not proven until it has carried out a nuclear test. But what if Iran had already tested a nuclear weapon, and not on Iranian territory, but in a place where nuclear tests are conducted without regard for world opinion, and where nuclear expertise and technology have long been exported in exchange for hard currency payments–in North Korea?

Evidence of the 2010 nuclear tests in North Korea was published Feb. 3 in Nature magazine, citing the work of the Swedish nuclear physicist Lars-Erik de Geer. The Swedish scientist analyzed data showing the presence of radioisotopes that betrayed a uranium bomb explosion. De Geer took the radioisotope data and compared them with the South Korean reports, as well as meteorological records. Nature reports, “After a year of work, he has concluded that North Korea carried out two small nuclear tests in April and May 2010 that caused explosions in the range of 50–200 tonnes of TNT equivalent. The types and ratios of isotopes detected, he says, suggest that North Korea was testing materials and techniques intended to boost the yield of its weapons.”

But why should North Korea keep the nuclear tests secret? asks Rühle. North Korea proudly advertised its previous nuclear tests. But the North Korean tests of 2006 and 2009 used bombs with a plutonium core. The 2010 tests, according to Lars-Erik de Geer’s calculation, employed enriched uranium. North Korea might have secretly enriched uranium on a sufficient scale to produce sufficient explosive material for two test bombs. But the more likely explanation is this, Rühle concludes:

The second explanation would be that North Korea conducted a nuclear test for a foreign entity, in this case, an Iranian explosive. That would be a sensation, although not quite a surprise, to be sure. Intelligence services have observed a close degree of cooperation between North Korean and Iranian experts over a period of years for the preparation of a nuclear test, although the previous assumptions centered on the prospect of an underground nuclear test in Iranian territory.

Rühle observes:

It became known a few days ago that the International Atomic Energy Agency has a document showing that it was the religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini himself who decided in 1984 to resume the nuclear weapons program suspended by the overthrow of the Shah. As his successor Ayatollah Khamenei declared, an Iranian nuclear weapon is viewed as the only way to protect the Islamic revolution and to prepare the way for the arrival of the Imam Mahdi. In Khamenei’s words, an Iranian nuclear arsenal is a deterrent in the hands of the holy warriors. With this sensational report from Tehran’s inner leadership circle it becomes clear that Khomeini’s often-cited fatwa that nuclear weapons are not compatible with Islam was a purely deceptive maneuver. Iran has been totally committed to becoming a nuclear power for decades.

Elements of Rühle’s story can be challenged by experts, to be sure. But the German analyst is making a point that has been lost in the fog of spin in Washington: It is outrageously wrong to proceed against an opponent like Iran in the presumption that intelligence agencies can accurately assess the precise degree of progress towards a nuclear device so that the U.S. government can fine-tune a response. Yet that is precisely whatPresident Obama told Jeffrey Goldberg on March 2nd: “Our assessment, which is shared by the Israelis, is that Iran does not yet have a nuclear weapon and is not yet in a position to obtain a nuclear weapon without us having a pretty long lead time in which we will know that they are making that attempt.”

No intelligence professional could support that sweeping, and entirely indefensible, assertion from the president. American intelligence failures regarding nuclear weapons proliferation have been numerous and notorious. The CIA famously failed to give any advance warning of India’s first nuclear test, and was raked over the coals for this lapse at the time. Jeffrey Goldberg’s failure to challenge Obama’s statement turned the exchange into a public relations exercise rather than a news interview. A cub reporter for a college newspaper would have known enough to ask, “How can you be sure that we will detect an Iranian nuclear bomb before it’s ready? What’s our track record of detecting nuclear bombs elsewhere?”

When intelligence agencies use the term “evidence,” what they mean is incontrovertible proof. “Hard evidence” of Iranian nuclear intentions in intel-speak, as Rühle points out, means specifically that a nuclear test already has been conducted. When intelligence officials use this terminology, they are saying in plain English that their political masters are giving Iran the presumption of innocence, as Rühle wrote. The intelligence chiefs did not say that there was no “information” and no “reliable reports” that Iran is trying to get hold of nuclear weapons as fast as it possibly can, only that there is no “hard evidence.” By definition, one obtains this kind of “hard evidence” only when it is too late.

There have been a number of reports out of Iran claiming that Ayatollah Khamenei issued a fatwa banning the development of nuclear weapons. This is being wholeheartedly believed by many pro-Iranian analysts such as Juan Cole.

However, as reported in this piece, the IAEA reported that current Supreme Leader of Iran pushed for nuclear weapons as early as 1984. His exact quote is "A nuclear arsenal would serve Iran as a deterrent in the hands of God's soldiers." This contradicts the wishful thinking of those who prefer to believe his politically expedient fatwas of today.

It is especially unlikely that Khamenei's reported anti-nuclear fatwa is legitimate because it is highly unlikely that Khamenei would contradict Ayatollah Khomeini's own words urging such development. Khamenei is not considered a brilliant Islamic scholar, and his importance comes from his position - he didn't gain his position because of his credentials in Islamic jurisprudence. The source for Ayatollah Khomeini's support for Iran's development of nuclear weapons is here, where he writes that he unfortunately must agree to a cease fire with Iraq in order for Iran to move forward in coming years to develop weapons such as an atomic bomb to be able to gain military superiority.

Why is it so unbelievable that the leader of a nation would engage in deception under a religious guise?

Also, other Iranian religious leaders have issued fatwas supporting the development of nuclear weapons.

Beyond that, if you read Khamenei's statements against nuclear weapons, you can see some hypocrisy:

Iran is not after a nuclear bomb. Why would Iran want a nuclear bomb? Moreover, when an atomic bomb is detonated, it does not just kill enemies. Rather, it kills innocent people as well, and this goes against Islamic beliefs and the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran. An atomic bomb does not discriminate between good and bad people, and it is not something that the Islamic Republic would use.

Given that Iran supported Hezbollah's shooting rockets in Haifa in 2006, killing innocent people, this is more propaganda than truth.

Or, more likely, he believes that there is no such thing as an innocent Israeli citizen.

The giant blue UN chair in Ramallah bites the dust

Remember that ridiculous giant blue chair that was built in Ramallah to symbolize the PLO's bid to become a member state at the UN? The one that shows that Palestinian Arabs care far more about symbolism than substance, and more about stunts than real life?

From tweeter @JalalAK_jojo:

The original chair:

After some rain and wind:

And now...dismantled and discarded:

Since the PLO is so crazy about symbolism, what do you think this symbolizes?

Jerusalem declared "capital of Palestine, Arabs and Muslims"

How delightfully original!

From Iran's ABNA:

Supporting the Resistance in Palestine Committee organized a forum on Al-Quds (Jerusalem) in Resalat Hall, Beirut on Sunday in the presence of political parties and national factions from Lebanon and Palestine.

Speeches at the forum, under the title “Declaration of Al-Quds as the capital of Palestine, the Arabs and Muslims,” stressed the importance of Al-Quds as the inevitable capital of Palestine in the face of Zionist aggressions and schemes to Judaize it.

The Al-Quds forum began with the singing of the Lebanese and the Palestinian anthems followed by a speech delivered by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in which he warned against the Israeli enemy’s attempts to declare Al-Quds as the capital of the Jewish people, indicating that regional changes demonstrate the near achievement of Al-Quds liberation.

Head of the Orthodox Church Archbishop Atallah Hanna, in turn, hailed Sayyed Nasrallah's stances and told the participants in the forum that Palestinians are "strong with your solidarity with us because you are entrusted to the issue of Al-Quds as the cause of the Muslims, Christians and Arabs since it is the holy city which hosts the most important holy sites in Islam and Christianity.”

“Our holy city is going through tragic circumstances since its occupation in 1984 through the weakening of the Palestinian and Arab presence and violation of Al Aqsa Mosque and other sanctities, however, these attempts are doomed to fail,” Archbishop Hanna said in a live video link from Al-Quds stressing the importance of unity among Muslims and Christians for the sake of Al-Quds’ liberation.

Liberation from whom, I wonder?

I'm surprised they didn't declare Jerusalem the capital of "every non-Jew on Earth." Because that is what they are trying to say, after all.

Screw Mecca and Medina and Rome! Jerusalem's importance increases directly in proportion to the amount of hate you have for Jews.

Israelis taking Gulf airlines via Jordan

Firas Press quotes Mako saying that many Israelis are saving money by taking Arab flights via Jordan, especially to Southeast Asia.

According to the story, Israelis travel to Queen Alia Airport in Amman, and from there take Arab flights to their destination. Gulf airlines will usually stop in their home countries, such as the UAE, Qatar or Bahrain, but while the Israelis must disembark to change planes, they don't need to go through security again.

An Israeli travel agency, "Fly East," specializes in arranging these trips, saying it can save hundreds of dollars per trip. According to Globes, some one third of Israeli backpackers going to the Far East - some 40,000 people this year - are using Arab airlines like Royal Jordanian Airlines or Qatar Airways, mostly to save money.

One reason for the uptick in Arab airline use is because Israelis don't want to use Turkish airlines anymore.

The Israeli Foreign Ministry is unhappy with this idea, stressing that the Gulf countries are just as much enemy states as Iran or Syria, and it is equally forbidden for Israelis to enter. Apparently, this advice is being roundly ignored.

(ht Yoel for Mako link)

Gaza fuel crisis continues; factories may shut down, Hamas refuses blame

From Ma'an:

The leader of the business community in the Gaza Strip warned on Sunday that dozens of factories are at risk of closure due to Gaza's fuel crisis.

Ali al-Hayik, the head of Gaza's Federation of Industries and the Palestinian Businessmen Association, called on the Hamas-led government to provide fuel to factories to avert an impending catastrophe for local industry.

The government must take responsibility for the crisis and is tasked with supporting the private sector, al-Hayik said in a press statement.

Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh on Friday blamed Egypt for not resolving the fuel shortage. The Hamas authorities and Egypt cannot agree on an official channel for fuel deliveries, after Egypt sought to cut off the tunnel network.

As I've been reporting for weeks, this is all because Hamas refuses to accept fuel that goes through Israel.

There is a fuel siege of Gaza, but not from Israel. Hamas is actively promoting it in order to push a political agenda. And Hamas has no qualms about causing every Gazan under its control to suffer in order to "win." The head of Gaza's energy authority confirmed this by saying that Egypt wanted to transfer fuel via Kerem Shalom and he personally refused to allow it to go through the "Zionist entity" and insisting that Egypt transfer the fuel through Rafah, which is not equipped to handle the half-million liters needed a day.

Hamas, trying to deflect anger about the fuel crisis, organized some "youths" to protest - at the (closed) Egyptian consulate in Gaza.

Iran increasing support for Syrian massacres

From the Washington Post:

U.S. officials say they see Iran’s hand in the increasingly brutal crackdown on opposition strongholds in Syria, including evidence of Iranian military and intelligence support for government troops accused of mass executions and other atrocities in the past week.

Three U.S. officials with access to intelligence reports from the region described a spike in Iranian-supplied arms and other aid for Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad at a time when the regime is mounting an unprecedented offensive to crush resistance in the key city of Homs

“The aid from Iran is increasing, and is increasingly focused on lethal assistance,” said one of the officials, insisting on anonymity to discuss intelligence reports from the region.

The expanded Iranian role in the conflict has been underscored by reports — supported by U.S. intelligence findings — that an Iranian operative was recently wounded while working with Syrian security forces inside the country.

But Iran will act rationally when it builds a nuclear weapon, right?

Belgian bank decides not to give itself too Jewish a name

The Dexia Bank of Belgium was bought out by the Belgian government last year in a bailout, and since it is no longer part of the Dexia group it needed a new name.

According to DeMorgan.be, one of the names on the shortlist was Symmon or a variant like Symon or Symona, to give the bank a more personalized flavor. A human name like Symmon would push the idea that the bank is simple to use, has good service and is reliable.

But there were two objections to that name.

One is that it was not particularly Belgian, which many desired.

The other was that the name Symmon was too - Jewish!

Although market analysis showed that the resistance of the Muslim community [to the name] is not insurmountable, the Dexia marketers saw the connotation as a major limitation.

In the end, they chose the name Belfius.

Jewish newspaper Joods Actueel tried to contact Belfius and the advertising agency that helped choose the name, but they refused to comment on that aspect of the story.

The paper noted that Simon is a common Flemish name, among the top twenty names given to babies in Belgium.

It is not clear whether the public relations firm pro-actively polled the name and found Muslim objections to it, or if it assumed that there would be objections from Muslims and that this was an obstacle that needed to be overcome.

The story shows that either the Muslim community in Belgium is inherently anti-semitic, or it is assumed to be so by the Belgian public. Or, more likely, both.

(h/t Rudi)

Competing videos on Obama's Israel record

The Democratic National Committee released this commercial last week:

On Saturday, The Emergency Committee for Israel released an entire documentary about Obama's record on Israel:

While it is perhaps unfair to compare the two directly, they show what each side is emphasizing. The Obama team wants to highlight the amount of military cooperation that the US and Israel have shared, the anti-Obama team brings many examples of how this administration has seemed to have thrown Israel under the bus.

Both points of view are biased, of course.

The two major issues that Israel faces are the Iranian nuclear threat and the Palestinian Arab threat - both terrorist and diplomatic.

On the Iranian front, while some may argue that the US should have done more sooner, Obama's initial outreach to Iran has now been forgotten and his current sanctions are indeed far reaching. It is a shame that some time was lost while he seemed to need to convince himself of what the Bush administration already knew about Iran. On the one hand, the US has not done a bad job in corralling international support for sanctions considering the huge opposition from Russia and China; but on the other hand I don't think that Iran perceives a US military threat as credible, which would be the single most important deterrent possible. Meanwhile, Iran is wholeheartedly supporting Syria's massacres and Hezbollah's terrorist army in Lebanon, and the US has failed to publicly push those aspects of the regime.

Most of all, the Obama administration's actions vis a vis Iran have not been to support Israel; they are to defend Western interests. Not that there is anything wrong with this, of course; this is what nations are supposed to do. Nevertheless, in that sense the narrative in the Democratic video is a little deceptive. US actions on Iran have been meant to try to stop Israel from attacking on its own at least as much as they have been to try to stop Iran from getting closer to building a bomb. Sending Patriot missiles to Israel is nice, but in a sense it shows that the US is starting to consider a nuclear Iran a fait accompli.

As far as the Palestinian issue is concerned, the Obama administration has continued previous US policies of vetoing one-sided Security Council resolutions against Israel. But it has been the most consistently pro-Palestinian Arab administration ever, completely adopting the Arab narrative on settlements and the 1967 lines, ignoring (at least in public) previous commitments given by the Bush and Clinton administrations on Israel's security, publicly pressuring only the Israeli side and providing Palestinian Arabs with political cover for their intransigence. Perhaps the peace process was moribund before he entered office, but it completely fell apart under Obama - and this is after Israel implemented a settlement freeze that, according to conventional wisdom, should have brought Abbas to the table.

Abbas himself explained it best when he said that he is simply waiting for Washington to pressure Israel to do everything he wants.

Obama's record on Israel is not as anti-Israel as the ECI video implies. As I wrote at the time, Obama's "1967 lines" speech also included many very good points, and it seems that Obama's original public position that was exactly congruent with J-Street has shifted a little towards realism.

I don't know how much of that is from his learning anew what previous presidents had already learned about Palestinian Arab duplicity, and how much is simply his desire to get re-elected.

UPDATE: Obama's speech at AIPAC.

Edited interview of Asma Assad shows hypocrisy of Arab world

From NYT:

A video blogger has remixed footage of an interview Asma al-Assad gave to CNN in 2009, in which Syria’s British-born first lady decried the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, to make it seem as if she was speaking out against the violent crackdown on dissent currently under way in Syria.

The remix posted on YouTube cuts together outraged comments from Mrs. Assad in 2009 (including, “the barbaric assault on innocent civilians has been horrific,” and, “this is the 21st century, where in the world could this happen?”) and video shot last week of the Syrian government’s bombardment of Homs, the city her family is originally from. (Readers should be aware that the clip includes some extremely graphic video of a dead child with a gaping head wound.)

In a similar vein, the editor-in-chief of Asharq al-Awsat wrote last week:

Let us pause here in front of this state of mad dictatorship, and compare it with what Israel has committed against us in recent times, and I say recent times as we are talking about the last 5 years, particularly the Lebanon and Gaza wars. The entire world rushes to stop Israel’s aggressions against Lebanon in 2006, and this war ended after approximately two months, claiming the lives of 1,200 Lebanese. The same thing applies to the Gaza war, which had approximately the same death toll. In both wars, the public opinion in the Arab world rushed to take action, whilst counterfeit “friends of Israel” lists were issued, masterminded by the al-Assad regime; indeed a number of Arab politicians attempted to exploit this tragedy, most prominently the al-Assad regime. However we did not hear anybody ask – even now – why did these wars happen? Whose interests did these wars, and more, serve? Who was responsible for this?

Today, in the case of al-Assad, we have seen the Syrian forces brutally killing their own people on our television screens over the past year – not two months – whilst the death toll stands at more than 8,000 and the tyrant of Damascus’s troops have destroyed mosques, tortured and assassinated children, as well as women and the elderly, simply in order to allow al-Assad to cling to power. Despite all this, we find some countries, politicians, media organizations and figures, who are procrastinating; it is as if we – as Arabs – are saying that if the killer is also an Arab, then this is something that we can accept, however if he is an Israeli, then we must all move as one to put an end to this! This is a saddening and shameful state of affairs, particularly when somebody like Hassan Nasrallah shamelessly comes out to defend al-Assad!

(h/t Michael G)

"Apartheid" video inspired by my posters

From YouTube user SDAMatt2a:

I gotta say, it is nice to have fans!

(h/t jzaik)

A Jerusalem wall collapses from rain; Arabs blame "Al Aqsa excavations" (updated)

Palestine Today has a headline that there was a "landslide" in Jerusalem as a wall collapsed, and cracks appeared in walls, due to - they claim- Israeli excavations under the Al Aqsa Mosque.

Reading the article a little further you can see that the damage was not very close to Al Aqsa - it was in the Al Bustan neighborhood, hundreds of meters away - and that the damage came about as a result of heavy rains that have fallen on Jerusalem and the entire area over the last couple of weeks.

This is just the latest attempt to incite Arabs against Israel.

UPDATE: Ma'an has the story, where the Al Aqsa Foundation is blaming Israeli digs on the "landslide," - but it doesn't even mention the heavy rains in Jerusalem lately.

Moroccan man jailed for "sacrilege" - flying an Israeli flag

From Al Arabiya:

A Moroccan court on Friday sentenced a man to six months in jail after he raised the Israeli flag over his home to attract the attention of local authorities and protest the disconnection of electricity and water supplies to his home, Moroccan media reported.

Mohammed Jadidi, 42, had drawn the Israeli flag on a white cloth and raised it over his home in the Airport neighborhood of the northern predominantly Amazigh (Berber) town of Nador.

He reportedly did so after the electricity and water were disconnected to his home, which belonged to the Auxiliary Forces and occupied by his family since the death of his father, who was part of the paramilitary forces.

Morocco’s Auxiliary Forces supplement the military, gendarmerie and the police when needed.

Jadidi was arrested last Monday and was charged with “sacrilege” through “undermining the national flag.”

His mother had appeared on a video circulated on Moroccan websites appealing King Mohammad VI to release her son. She said he only raised the Israeli flag to attract the attention of the senior officials to look into the conditions of his family.

The local Rif Association for Human Rights blasted the court’s decision as baseless and said there was nothing in raising a foreign flag that undermines the national flag.

Flying an Israeli flag is "sacrilege"? And it "undermines the national flag" of Morocco?

This is not the first time that the appearance of an Israeli flag in Morocco caused mass angst.

The general psychosis of the Arab world is a most interesting phenomenon.

(h/t Dan)

Weekend links/open thread

If you haven't read it, see Jeffrey Goldberg's interview with President Obama.

Would a post-Assad Syria tilt towards Israel?

Dubai's clown police chief Dani Khalfan says that there is an evil triangle trying to destroy the Gulf: Iran, the Muslim Brotherhood - and the United States.

Nice op-ed in the Harvard Crimson on the occasion of a "one-state" conference at Harvard with the usual suspects.

"Global March to Jerusalem" - exposed.

BDS Secrets - interesting analysis of the Finkelstein interview. (h/t Stan)

Feel free to add any interesting links you have found in the comments.

Hamas accuses Egypt of reneging on fuel deal

Hamas and Egypt are still arguing over the short-term procurement of fuel for Gaza's power plant.

According to Hamas media, Egypt is insisting that Hamas pay $1.00 per liter of diesel for the power plant, and Hamas is balking at paying a half million dollars a day for fuel.

Egypt heavily subsidizes its own fuel prices - the latest numbers I could find were about 50 cents a liter from last autumn - and does not appear to want to charge Hamas any less than it pays itself.

Ismail Haniyeh today said that there were unnamed "parties" who were determined to keep Gaza in the dark.

Egypt's ambassador to Ramallah blamed "technical issues" for the snafu.

It is increasingly clear that the option of Egypt transferring fuel through Kerem Shalom is off the table because of Hamas' refusal.

Meanwhile, Gazans are suffering because of a cold snap and snow that fell last night.

Which side is interested in dialogue? (video)

This video shows how close-minded the anti-Israel crowd is.

Two Israeli soldiers are on a speaking tour of the US, sponsored by StandWithUs. At UCLA they insisted, multiple times, that they would love to engage in dialogue with the protesters in the audience who represented "Students for Justice in Palestine."

But the SJP drones walked out anyway.

There was a bright side, as those who wanted to hear the talk but got there late managed to get seats.

PaArab. aid recipients: "Anti-terror clauses unacceptable"

The Dalia Association is a Palestinian Arab organization that is currently trying to revamp the way that international aid is given to the territories. Many of their objections to the current system are very valid, and we have touched on some of these problems in the past.

Here is their video about their issues with how aid is administered today:

Dalia published a list of things that aid recipients complain about. One of them is most interesting:

Anti-terrorism clauses are unacceptable.

The people giving free money to Palestinian aid organizations, according to the recipients, do not have the right to ensure that their aid will not go towards terrorists. Palestinian "civil society" wants the money to have no strings attached so they can choose to fund, say, Islamic Jihad charities (allowing other funds to be freed up for rockets.)

In Dalia's more comprehensive report on the topic, they write:

While seen as an extremely harmful policy, the anti-terrorism certification, which participants considered racist, was not prioritized as a major objection. Some expressed outrage: “Why do international aid actors treat us like we are terrorists!” but most seemed resigned to sign, regardless of their intention to comply, or they avoid donors that require signing, resigned to miss out on much-needed funds.

At the exact same time that these organizations are complaining that they are being "treated like terrorists," they admit that they might not comply any send the funds to terror groups, or hire known terrorists, anyway!

It is worthwhile to point out that UNRWA originally tried very hard to do exactly that Dalia is suggesting now, to create programs that will ensure self-sufficiency for Palestinian Arabs, and these were mostly dropped because of objections both from host countries and from the Palestinian refugees themselves.

(I once posted about how there are plenty of NGOs in Gaza who are knowingly propping up Hamas, so it is not like there aren't NGOs willing to fund terror anyway.)

(h/t Rudi)