Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Saturday, October 06, 2012

Saturday night links

From Ian:

BBC coverage of Gaza abuses story is deliberately pro-Hamas
Human Rights Watch report condemns injustice towards civilians in Gaza under Hamas rule

"It is disappointing to say the least that the BBC has decided to disregard this information and rather, to afford Hamas a 'right of reply' which takes precedence over the main story. It is unfortunate that nearly 25 million people involuntarily subscribe to the BBC through the license fee and yet they are persistently and intentionally misled about the systematic abuse which is taking place by Hamas in Gaza. Does this correlate with the BBC’s editorial guidelines? I think not."

Banking protest mural resembling Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda to be removed from East End

East London's Tower Hamlets council says it has received numerous complaints about the mural
Councillor Peter Golds said it is 'horribly similar to the propaganda used by the Third Reich in Nazi Germany'
He has urged the police to pursue artist Mear One - real name Kalen Ockerman -under race hate laws
The piece is also being defended by resident Azmel Hussain, who owns the property

Geneva mayor heads to anti-Israel tribunal condemned by UN’s Richard Goldstone

As a taxpayer of Geneva, a great city with its rightful place in the history of human rights and international law, I cannot understand why my mayor this weekend will be lending the good name of Geneva to the “Russell Tribunal on Palestine,” an extremist political exercise that corrupts the core principles of justice, including Audi alteram partem.
Mayor Rémy Pagani, head of Geneva’s À gauche toute! – a regrouping of the city’s Communist Party and other left-wing factions — is scheduled to participate in the anti-Israel event on Oct. 6-7 in New York.

Man killed in French anti-terror raid was member of Salafi Muslim group

10 terror suspects arrested in Paris and Nice as part of an investigation into the firebombing of a kosher store in September
"French authorities have released that the man killed by police in an anti-terror operation in Strasbourg on Saturday was a member of an ultraconservative Salafi Muslim group. Ten people were arrested in concurrent raids on anti-terror suspects in Paris and Nice.
Saturday’s operations were part of a larger investigation into the firebombing of a kosher supermarket in a Paris suburb last month, according to officials."

With Syria ablaze, dozens of Golan Heights Druze seek Israeli citizenship

Long loyal to Damascus, many young Druze now consider their best option is to become Israeli
"Syrian Druze residing in the Golan Heights once burned ID cards offered to them by Israeli government authorities, after Israeli law was extended to the area in 1981. Three decades later, after 19-months of brutal civil war in Syria, Druze residents of the Golan are flocking to the Interior Ministry by the dozens to request Israeli citizenship."

Egypt's hardline Islamist party unravels, pointing to fragility in political Islam

"Internal feuds are threatening to unravel the political party of Egypt's ultraconservative Islamist Salafis, as pragmatists try to shake off the control of hardline clerics who reject any compromise in their stark, puritanical version of Islam."

U.S. Cracks Down on Lebanese Charities Tied to Hamas

The United States on Oct. 4 imposed financial penalties on two Lebanese charities that fundraise for Hamas, an effort by the Obama administration to disrupt the Islamist group’s activities. The U.S. Treasury added the two Beirut based charities, Al-Waqfiya and Al-Quds International Foundation, to its list of entities hit with asset freezes.

Does Archbishop Tutu Endorse Holocaust Conspiracies?

Tutu, however, seems to have let his animosity toward Israel sully him and tarnish the Nobel Prize he wields as a symbol of supposed moral authority. He is a long-time endorser of the Free Gaza movement, the organization which brought us the Gaza “flotilla” and any number of other protests and marches. Greta Berlin, the American co-founder of Free Gaza, recently tweeted, “Zionists operated the concentration camps and helped murder millions of innocent Jews.” Free Gaza has also, according to the Jerusalem Post, claimed that the Jews supported Hitler.

Mo Ibrahim Foundation: Desmond Tutu awarded $1m

Good riddance: Hate preacher Abu Hamza lands in the U.S. after losing last-ditch bid to stay in Britain

"Hamza is expected to face a judge in New York within 24 hours on charges that include conspiring with Seattle men to set up a terrorist training camp in Oregon and helping abduct 16 hostages, two of them American tourists, in Yemen in 1998.
The Islamist fanatic lost the last of his countless appeals in a legal farce that has seen him thwart extradition for more than eight years at a cost to taxpayers of millions of pounds."

Gujarat seeks to deepen biz ties with Israel

"The combination of strategic geographic location, skilled manpower, multi-language speakers, and local Authority which placed the economic growth and development at the top of its list of priorities, makes Gujarat an attractive market for the Israeli companies," Offer Zaks, the CEO of Israel Export Institute said explaining the overwhelming response from the Israeli business community."

Israeli Startup Gets Boost from Apple’s ‘Maps’ Debacle

With millions of Apple users frustrated over bugs and errors associated with the release of the “Maps” feature, Apple CEO Tim Cook is encouraging them to turn to competing software such as the Israeli mapping application Waze while Apple fixes the issues.

CIFWatch: My photos from yesterday’s march in Jerusalem by thousands of Christian friends of Israel

Also:
Electronic Intifada feeling uncomfortable (Harry's Place)

Defending Free Gaza's anti-semitism at Open Zion and 972mag

Translation of August interview with Iranian woman on Israeli TV:

Syria unrest sparks rifts among Lebanon’s Palestinian factions

(h/t Ronald. Yoel, Daniel)

IDF shoots down UAV over Negev

From the IDF:

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) was identified penetrating Israeli airspace from the west this morning (Saturday, October 6), and was intercepted by the IAF at approximately 10:00 AM.

The aircraft remained under the surveillance of IDF forces on the ground and in the air, including fighter planes. The UAV was downed in the area of the Yatir Forest, in the northern Negev, so as to avoid damage to a civilian area.

IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yoav (Poly) Mordechai emphasized that this was a full operational success. He noted that the aircraft was identified before entering Israeli airspace and was downed in accordance with a decision of the IDF's top leaders.

Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz was briefed on the incident. IDF soldiers are currently searching the area where the drone was downed, in open areas in the northern Negev, to locate debris and identify the drone.

YNet adds that it seems likely to have come from Hezbollah via the Mediterranean:

After IDF collects remnants of unmanned aircraft shot down over southern forest, security establishment examining possibility it was launched by Hezbollah to photograph Israeli reactor; army fears drones will be used to hit strategic sites

After Israeli fighter jets shot down a drone over the Yatir forest in the south Mount Hebron area on Saturday, the army is trying to figure out what its destination was. One of the possibilities the security establishment is looking into is that the unmanned aircraft, which was apparently Iranian-made, was on its way to test the option of infiltrating the nuclear reactor in Dimona, perhaps even to examine the option of targeting the plant in a future conflict.

A drone such as the one that was downed on Saturday after penetrating Israel's airspace through the Mediterranean Sea could not cause serious damage to the reactor, but such an incident would mark a psychological victory for Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, whose leader Hassan Nasrallah recently threatened to attack strategic targets in Israel, including power plants.

Operating a drone by remote control from such a long distance requires advanced capabilities, which Israel was not aware Hezbollah had acquired. By examining the drone's parts, the army hopes to find out whether the drone was controlled from a command center in Lebanon or was directed by a space-based satellite navigation system (GPS) according to predetermined coordinates. If that was the case, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) may have directed itself automatically and was supposed to return to its base or self-destruct over the sea.

Copt teacher in Egypt cleared of "blasphemy". She is VERY lucky.

I mentioned this case a couple of days ago, but the details are chilling. To call this a happy ending would be to ignore all the people who willingly went along with a baseless accusation against a Copt:

A Coptic teacher who was arrested last week on charges of contempt for religion and insulting Prophet Mohamed has been released, and all charges dropped, her lawyer confirmed to Ahram Online.

The case is one of several recent incidents in which Egypt's Coptic minority found itself under fire.

Nevine Gad, a social studies teacher at a preparatory school in Manfalout village, in Assiut in Upper Egypt, was explaining a lesson on Islamic history with a section on the life of the Prophet Mohamed in a class on Wednesday last week.

The next day she was told that a pupil, Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Hashim, had filed a complaint against her, claiming that she had said something offensive about the Prophet.

Following that, more than 20 teachers working with her at the same school also complained about her to the school administration, based on the student's story.

After investigating, the administration dismissed the complaint because of the conflicting accounts of the students from the class, and a lack of evidence. To avoid problems, Gad was suspended from teaching temporarily.

However, on Sunday afternoon, police arrested Gad and took her to an Assiut police station, on charges of contempt of religion and insulting Prophet Mohamed, following a complaint from Moustafa Ahmed Hashim, the student in question's father, who is known locally to be a Salafist.

Gad denied all charges, but was detained and spent the night in a solitary confinement cell, her lawyer told Ahram Online, causing her family great worry as she is eight months pregnant.

The next day, she went before the attorney-general of Assiut, who asked her about the validity of the statements, and she again denied all the allegations.

Lawyer Magdy Farouk told Ahram Online exclusively that during the investigations, he had noticed inconsistencies in the statements and complaints of the student in question.

In addition, Gad remembered that this student was absent on Wednesday and Thursday, and therefore could not have attended the lesson.

"The educational administration in Assiut supplied us with the official student attendance lists for those two days...it showed that the student, Mohamed Moustafa Ahmed Hashim, who accused her, was absent and didn't attend that lesson. The police then released her yesterday [Wednesday] and closed the case file, considering it a malicious complaint," said Farouk.

"Most lawyers had refused to get involved in this case, fearing for their lives, but I agreed to defend her and to attend the investigations with her after I got security guarantees from a well-known businessman from Upper Egypt," he added.

Farouk cited concerns related to a case a month ago when lawyers defending, Bishoy Kamel, another Coptic teacher accused several months ago of contempt of religion, were attacked at the courthouse in Sohag in Upper Egypt.

Gad was lucky, but look how easily anyone can get someone to be arrested in Egypt! Not only that, but Gad's fellow teachers, instead of acting in solidarity with her, threw her under the bus.

It is apparent that everyone in Egypt is so frightened of being perceived as being soft on blasphemy that the accusers have the cards stacked in their favor.

The question is whether the student's father will be prosecuted for knowingly endangering an innocent, pregnant Coptic woman.

I think we all know the answer to that.

Mohammed needs defending!

From Egypt Independent:

Mohamed Assem Abdel Maged, a leader of Jama’a al-Islamiya and the al-Ansar movement to defend the Prophet Mohamed, launched on Friday the “Knock on Doors” campaign.

The goal of the campaign is to collect LE1 billion [$160 million] that would be used to create a satellite channel and publishing house to disseminate information about the Prophet Mohamed and defend him from insults. Abdel Maged said he is also considering establishing a film production company abroad as part of the campaign.

Poor Mohammed, needing so much money to defend himself from insults. Isn't this Allah's job?

But here's where things get a little, shall we say, fishy:

"The billion pounds will also be used to support the Syrian people by sending medical convoys and food ... [and] a portion will be allocated to the Syrian families in Egypt," Abdel Maged told Al-Masry Al-Youm.

The movement has already sent a number of medical convoys to Syria, he claimed.

Whoa. A charity to defend Mohammed, and send medical convoys to Syria (how exactly are they entering?), and also to send money to Syrians (presumably refugees) in Egypt?

It is starting to sound like a portion of the money might also be going towards lining Mohamed Assem Abdel Maged's pockets.

Friday links

From Ian:

Palestinian Authority Rigging Courts Canada, UN Complicit by Khaled Abu Toameh

"The Canadian Development Agency, with the help of the UN Development Program, has been funding new courthouses in the West Bank "to improve the Palestinians' access to justice." But justice can be achieved even if the judges, lawyers, prosecutors and defendants sit in a tent. Instead of investing in new buildings, it would be more helpful if the Canadians and the UN agency demanded that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his aides stop obstructing the work of the judges."

State Stands by its Man
Update: Israel critic and terrorist sympathizer ‘valued and highly credible,’ official says

"Al-Marayati has been a vociferous critic of Israel, once suggesting that Israel should be put “on the suspect list” for the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. His organization, MPAC, has requested that militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah be removed from the list of United States-designated terrorist groups.
Al-Marayati’s inclusion in the U.S. delegation attracted the ire of Jewish leaders and others who feel he is the wrong person to represent America at a forum focusing on human rights and tolerance."

Anti-Semitism on the Rise in Europe

"We witnessed the terrible massacre in Toulouse earlier this year, the bombing of a community center in Malmo and many other serious attacks against Jews across the continent. The future of Jews in Europe is under threat and being Jewish we shouldn’t ask ourselves ‘what will happen’ but ‘what we are going to do about it’."

Experts: Iranian military stuck in the past

Iran may be technologically advanced but its military capabilities are so limited it can't risk war on its own soil, Israeli experts claim

Don’t Be Misled By Iran-Hamas Split

"While the spat between two groups of violent Islamist extremists can be viewed with schadenfreude, if not amusement, the West should not be fooled by this development into buying into some incorrect assumptions about Iran, Hamas or the situation in Syria. We should not be deceived into viewing Hamas’s decision as a harbinger of moderate behavior by the terrorist group. Nor should we be gulled into thinking Hamas’s defection from the Iranian fold will materially damage Iran’s hopes to keep Assad in power or lessen the need for a greater Western effort to end his reign of terror in Damascus."

Staff at Palestinian Embassy in Cairo Involved in Drug Trafficking
Ma’an News Agency reports that members of the staff at the Palestinian embassy in Cairo have been arrested for involvement in a major drug trafficking scheme.

Radical Islamic leader claims Burgas suicide bomber for his disciple

"In an interview for the Centre for Middle East studies, published in a Bulgarian daily, the radical Islamic leader Omar Bakri claimed that the suicide bomber who killed five Israeli citizens and a Bulgarian bus driver on the airport of the city of Burgas in July was his disciple."
Furthermore, Bakri was certain that the man of the footage released by the Bulgarian interior ministry was indeed Mehdi Ghezali-a Swedish citizen who has previously been a Guantanamo inmate.

Two reportedly held in Istanbul over US ambassador’s killing in Libya
Tunisians arrested by counter-terror forces and found carrying false papers, Turkish media reports

Sharia-Medicine: Egyptian Clinic Treats People with Camel Urine Per Prophet’s Advice

On September 16, popular TV persona Wael El-Ibrashi hosted Dr. Zaghlul al-Naggar, a prominent Islamic thinker and Chairman of Egypt’s Committee of Scientific Notions in the Quran, on the topic of medical science and Islam. Inevitably the idea of drinking camel urine as a form of therapy—first proposed in the 7th century by Muslim prophet Muhammad—came up.

Israel, Palestinians cooperate on Gaza Internet

For two days, Israel and PALTEL worked together to lay 15 km. of optical cables to provide Gaza high-speed Internet service.

Christians Show Love of Israel in Jerusalem Streets

There was love in the air of Jerusalem on Thursday afternoon. Marching through the streets of Jerusalem, approximately 6,000 Christian friends of Israel made their way with flags and smiles, which they readily shared with Israeli bystanders—from ultra-orthodox to secular Jews of all ages and backgrounds.

Iconic posters of a nation under construction

My anti-Obama ad

From the first Obama/McCain debate in 2008.

My major problem with President Obama is his foreign policy naivete, which is demonstrated by this clip.

The Muslim world doesn't hate America because of its policies. It hates America because it is powerful. That is never going to change.

The world doesn't want America as a friend. The world needs America as a leader. Even if that makes us unpopular.

Obama's policy of purposefully diminishing America's leadership role is a mistake that can take generations to repair, if ever.

Arabs riot on Temple Mount

Because throwing stones isn't a desecration of a holy place - but Jews peacefully walking around it is.

Following the conclusion of Friday prayers at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, hundreds of Arabs threw stones at security guards in the area. Police charged through the Mughrabi Gate in the Old City and fired stun grenades to disperse the angry mob.

Unconfirmed Palestinian reports suggested that several people were lightly injured.

Police officials, having restored calm, said that they would arrest some of the stone throwers in the coming days.

Rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites of Israel Shmuel Rabinovitch expressed shock following Friday’s violent demonstration, assessing that it was meant to prevent Jewish worshippers from praying in the area during Sukkot. He said that it was up to the police to arrest those who “wish to harm the delicate fabric of the holy sites in the Old City, and to harass worshippers.”

Rabbi Rabinovitch called on the public to continue observing the holiday at the Western Wall.

On Thursday, a confrontation at the Temple Mount plaza led to six arrests as a group of Muslim worshipers threatened Jewish visitors to the site.

According to a police spokesperson, about 30 Muslims began chanting “Allahu Akbar” (God is great) and tried to attack a group of Jews who were visiting the site. Police broke up the altercation, and arrested five Arabs and one Jew.

Jordan: King dissolves parliament; tribe freaks over Israel envoy appt

From AFP:

Jordan’s King Abdullah II dissolved parliament and called early elections on Thursday, the royal palace announced on the eve of a major opposition rally to demand reforms.

“The king has decided to dissolve the chamber of deputies from this Thursday and to call early elections,” a statement said. It gave no date, but the monarch has said he wants polls to be held by the end of 2012.

The opposition Muslim Brotherhood said earlier that it was going ahead with its planned rally in central Amman on Friday by an estimated 50,000 supporters.

Numerous demonstrations have taken place in Jordan since January 2011 to call for political and economic reforms and demand an end to corruption. In response, King Abdullah said early elections would be held.

But the Brotherhood says it would boycott the polls as they did in 2010 to protest against the lack of solid reforms, while calling for a parliamentary system where the prime minister is elected, rather than named by the king.

A demonstration in support of the king was called off over fears of unrest as it would have coincided with the Islamist rally, organizers said.

In an exclusive interview with AFP last month, the king said a decision by the Islamists to boycott the vote was “a tremendous miscalculation.”

“As constitutional monarch, my mandate is to be the umbrella for all political groupings and all segments of our society, and as part of that responsibility, I am telling the Muslim Brotherhood that they are making a tremendous miscalculation,” he said.

“The countdown to the elections has already started. Registration is under way. We have already crossed the one-million person mark. Parliament will be dissolved. The elections date will be announced. And we will have a new parliament by the new year.”

“This elections law is not perfect. We all understand that. But there is no better consensus on an alternative. What is critical is that we keep going forward, and -- mark my words -- we will have a new parliament by the new year,” the king said.

Jordan's monarchs know how to hold onto office, and for now Abdullah seems safe. But things are happening fast in the Arab world.

In other Jordan news, the Obeidat tribe went crazy over the announcement that one of their members would be the new ambassador to Israel:

Members of the Jordanian Obeidat tribe this week condemned the appointment of Walid Obeidat as Jordan's new envoy to Israel, considering the move 'shameful' and blasted Obeidat's acceptance of the position a grave offense to his tribe.

Following a meeting of a number of Obeidat tribe members in northern Jordan Saturday evening, a statement was issued renouncing Khalid Obeidat from the tribe, stating that "whoever accepts this position, and puts his hand in the hands of those who seized the land, killed and displaced Palestinians... has crossed all prohibitions and red lines."

The statement, a copy of which was sent to Ammon News, considered the acceptance of the post as a grave insult to the nation and the tribe, stressing that this 'shameful' stance contradicts the history and stance of the tribe and its successive generations towards the Palestinian cause.

The announcement came after the government appointed Obeidat last Thursday as ambassador of Jordan in Tel Aviv.

Members of the tribe stressed that the Obeidats will continue to be loyal to its nation and will not make truce with its enemies until the liberation of Palestine, noting that the tribe was among the first to recognize the dangers of the Zionist settlement scheme in the 1920's.

The statement also blasted the Jordanian-Israeli Wadi-Araba peace treaty as 'shameful' and denounced by the tribe and the nation, and condemned the presence of a 'Zionist' embassy in Amman, and the reciprocation of a Jordanian Embassy to the 'Zionist entity.'

Later, the tribe offered incentives for Khalid to reject the position.

Fatah releases video of Hamas "collaborator" shaking hands with IDF officer,

Here's the latest example of how ridiculously immature both Fatah and Hamas are.

Yesterday, Fatah released a short video that they claim proves that Hamas collaborates with Israel, with a known West Bank Hamas member Mahmoud Ramahi along with MP Ahmed Attoun shaking hands with an Israeli soldier.

Fatah spokesman Ahmed Assaf said "The videos leaked to the media, as well as information confirmed to us, prove beyond doubt that MPs and leaders of Hamas in the West Bank are collaborating with the occupation authorities initiated by their leaders in the Gaza Strip and abroad directly or through intermediaries." Assaf added that this Hamas "collaboration" is offensive to the Palestinian public and the Arab and Muslim world.

Hamas is now lashing out at Fatah, saying that the video is taken out of context. Apparently it was taken when Israel released Hamas prisoner Abdel Rahman Zeidan from the Ofer prison last Sunday.

Hamas is threatening to sue the video production company.

This is the level of discourse that Fatah and Hamas engage in all the time, and it is just one tiny proof that Palestinian Arab leaders are simply unable to act like adults.

(For some reason no one in Israel is demanding that the Israeli guard be fired for shaking hands with Hamas members. Must be proof of Zionist weakness, in the bizarre mindset of Palestinian Arabs.)

Syrian rebels threaten to kill 48 suspected Iranian IRGC members

From Al Arabiya:

A brigade of the Free Syrian Army has given the Syrian regime 48 hours to release opposition detainees and stop the shelling of civilians before it begins executing a number of Iranian hostages accused of helping the President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, Al Arabiya TV reported on Friday.

In a video aired by Al Arabiya, members of the Bar’a brigade in the East Ghouta, on the outskirts of Damascus, said, “If the Syrian regime, backed by the Iranian regime, does not release detainees and stop the shelling on unarmed civilians and indiscriminate killing of innocent of people within 48 hours from the release of this statement, an Iranian prisoner will be killed for each martyr who is killed.”

In a previous video aired by Al Arabiya, the Al Bara’a brigade claimed that it kidnaped 48 members of the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards and denied Iran’s claims that they were pilgrims.

The brigade “captured 48 of the Shabiha (militiamen) of Iran who were on a reconnaissance mission in Damascus,” said a man dressed as an officer of the Free Syrian Army, in the video aired by Al Arabiya.

“During the investigation, we found that some of them were officers of the Revolutionary Guards,” he said, showing ID documents taken from one of the men, who appeared in the background with a large Syrian independence flag held by two armed men behind them.

Abdel Nasser Shmeir, interviewed later by Al Arabiya and presented as the commander of Baraa Brigade, gave similar details.

“They are 48, in addition to an Afghani interpreter,” he said, claiming that the captives were members of a 150-strong group sent by Iran for “reconnaissance on the ground.”

Iran has appealed to Turkey and Qatar, both with close relations with the Syrian opposition, for help in securing the release of the hostages it claims were pilgrims visiting the Sayyida Zeinab shrine, a Shiite pilgrimage site in the southeastern suburbs of Damascus.

I have a feeling that Turkey will not be sympathetic to Iranian pleas for help.

I wonder how many other Iranian "pilgrims" are going on visits to shrines in Syria these days?

Sukkah arson - in 1896

From the New York Times, September 27, 1896:

Suckers?

Israeli judge says, but doesn't rule, that Jews should be allowed to pray on Temple Mount

From Ha'aretz:

A Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court judge said Wednesday that the police should allow Jews to pray on the Temple Mount – an exceptional remark given that the High Court of Justice has ruled that policy on the Temple Mount is the sole purview of the police.

Police currently enforce the Muslim ban on Jewish prayer at the site, citing security concerns.

“There is room to allow for Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount,” said Judge Malka Aviv, during a remand hearing for Hagai Weiss, the son of Prof. Hillel Weiss, who was arrested on suspicion of trying to pray at the site.

She added that “the [police] explanation that Muslims don’t approve of Jews praying on the Temple Mount cannot, in and of itself, prevent Jews from fulfilling their religious obligations and praying on the Temple Mount.”

To her mind, she said, Jewish prayer should be permitted on the Temple Mount “in a structured fashion, in a place designated for it,” that would maintain the security of Jewish worshipers.

It should be noted that despite her clear, unequivocal statements, Aviv was not instructing the police how to act, but merely expressing her opinion.

Fifteen Jews have been arrested over the past few days for trying to pray on the Temple Mount, including right-wing activist Moshe Feiglin, who was arrested Tuesday.

Naturally, this story was immediately picked up by Arabic media. Tomorrow, the Aqsa Heritage Foundation and Qudsmedia are going to freak out.

Here is one scandalous photo of Jews "storming" the Temple Mount today, which caused a mini-riot.

"Blasphemy" arrests in Egypt skyrocket

From Egypt Independent:

Egyptian prosecutors are bearing witness to a wave of blasphemy accusations following the production of "Innocence of Muslims," a movie released this summer, as two Coptic minors and a teacher are referred to prosecution on religious blasphemy charges.

Prosecutors referred Nabil Nady Rizk, 9 and Mina Nady Farag, 10, to a juvenile detention facility Tuesday night after they were accused of urinating on two copies of the Quran in a Beni Suef village, according to Isaq Ibrahim, a researcher at the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

The defiled Qurans were reportedly found by a sheikh near Ezbet Marko’s village mosque in the Upper Egyptian city. The sheikh then brought the kids to the local bishop and insisted someone else had incited them to desecrate the Qurans and throw them near the mosque.

Ibrahim told Egypt Independent that the sheikh filed a complaint accusing the two of blasphemy at Fashin Police Station. The two minors, who denied the accusations, are expected to stand before the prosecution for the second time on Sunday.

The incident came one day after a Coptic teacher was interrogated by the Assiut Prosecutor’s Office over accusations of blasphemy. Nevine al-Sayed, a preparatory school history teacher, was accused by one of her students of insulting the Prophet Mohamed while teaching a lesson about his life.

The teacher said that Prophet Mohamed was raised in a poor family, but according to the interrogation reports, the student said she described the Prophet as being “unfortunate,” a word that is very close to the word “poor” in Arabic.

Sayed was released pending investigations on Thursday and left her home in Assiut fearing a violent reaction from the student’s family.

“There have been more than 17 cases of religious blasphemy filed in front of the prosecution after the incident of the inflammatory movie against Prophet Mohamed,” Ibrahim said.

Insulting Islam and the prophet is considered a crime in Egypt under Article 98(f) of the Penal Code.

The article states, “Confinement for a period of not less than six months and not exceeding five years ... shall be the penalty inflicted on whoever makes use of religion in propagating, either by words, in writing, or in any other means, extreme ideas for the purpose of inciting strife, ridiculing or insulting a heavenly religion or a sect following it, or damaging national unity.”

Human rights activists say the article poses a threat to freedom of expression and that it has been used to suppress dissident voices.

In related news, the Nasr City Misdemeanor Court adjourned the trial of owner of Al-Umma channel Sheikh Ahmed Mohamed Mahmoud Abdallah, known as Abu Islam, his son and a reporter at Al-Tahrir newspaper to 14 October. The three are charged with blasphemy after allegedly burning a Bible during protests against the film “Innocence of Muslims.”

The Arabic Network of Human Rights Information, in a statement released Wednesday, slammed the recurring crackdowns on freedom of expression through religious blasphemy charges, deeming them a “general inclination by the state to silence opponents.”

You don't like your neighbor in Egypt? Just accuse him of blasphemy! Problem solved!

Thursday links

From Ian:

Anti-Israel, Pro-Hamas Muslim Leader Is US Delegate to Warsaw Human Rights Conference

"For this administration to appoint to an august human rights organization Salam Al-Marayati, who has openly supported Hizbollah, claimed that the FBI has illegally incited Muslims on terrorism charges because of FBI sanctioned policies of “racial profiling,” has defended as innocent the most notorious members of Hamas who were found guilty of laundering millions of dollars to a terrorist group, and someone who has complained of ‘having the Holocaust shoved down [his] throat,’ is an outrage."

NY State Sen. Breaks Silence About Why He Walked Off Stage at Muslim Day Parade: ‘Attack on Our Country’

"I was deeply offended by the various remarks that were made during the on stage presentation and felt they were an attack on our country as well as the State of Israel and were anti-Semitic in nature and as a result I left the stage in protest."

Who Is(n’t) a Refugee?

"Far more remarkable than millions of invented Palestinian refugees receiving UNRWA largesse is the even larger number of Jewish refugees from Arab states who, along with their children, have rejected perpetual dependence and special pleading to build fulfilling lives elsewhere. Indeed, a Committee of Baghdadi Jews in Ramat Gan (Israel) opposes the effort to equate Jewish and Arab refugees as a politically driven effort to offset Palestinian claims, rather than a genuine attempt to rectify individual losses."

Kangaroo Court and Clown Show rolled into one - the Russell Tribunal on Palestine stumbles into New York this weekend

“A tribunal, as defined by the meaning of the word, is a court with the authority to render decisions of justice. So among the other abuses perpetrated by the Russell Tribunal on Palestine is a debasement of the English language by the upcoming gathering this weekend of prejudiced fanatics and buffoons who comprise it.” See also: NGO Monitor backgrounder

The Age and Human Rights in Gaza

"For perhaps the first time in recent history, and at least for the first time since Ruth Pollard took the reigns as Middle East correspondent at the Age, a story has run which portrays Hamas in a negative light…the last time this happened was most likely back in 2008, a good four years ago…writes Emily Gian."
“One cause that the Age has really relished in trumpeting over the past few years is the Free Gaza Movement, who, among other things, have been behind the flotillas to “break the blockade” of Gaza. If you recall, correspondent Paul McGeough even wrote a six-page spread back in 2010 which featured in the Good Weekend magazine entitled ‘Project Gaza’, focussing on six activists involved in the movement."
Back then, McGeough wrote about the “motley crew of cash strapped activists” that united to form the Free Gaza Movement. One of those people was the Free Gaza Movement co-founded and Board Secretary Greta Berlin, who has now found herself in quite the pickle after posting an extremely anti-Semitic video on the Free Gaza Movement’s twitter page.”

Sharp increase in terrorist acts in West Bank in September
Majority of the attacks involve Molotov cocktails, Shin Bet report shows

Hamas gate-crashes press conference where it is accused of torture

"Representatives of Gaza's Islamist Hamas government turned up at a Human Rights Watch press conference in Gaza on Wednesday to dispute a recent report compiled by the international rights group accusing Hamas of torture and other abuses of justice The rights group says that Hamas security forces had committed rampant abuses against Palestinian prisoners"

U.N. atomic agency says no date set for fresh Iran talks

Hezbollah commander killed while on 'jihad duties' in Syria

Bypassing Israel, French capital endorses unprecedented agreement with ‘East Jerusalem’
Israel’s Foreign Ministry says the agreement reflects a “make-believe world”

"The agreement was initiated in early 2011 by Green Party councilmen Jacques Picard and Michel Bock, who also serves as chairman of the international and European action committee in the regional council of Île-de-France.”

Venezuela and Its Fleeing Jewish Population
What elections mean for the remnants of the Jewish community

The Campaign Against Scandinavian Jewry

Troubling news from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland
While the tone of the language may sound different when uttered from a podium instead of graffitied on a wall or synagogue, the message is the same. And it’s not good.

Also, an interesting new hasbara/information initiative: Ask Herzl

Some of my materials are there.

Islamic Jihad holds terror celebration

Today, Islamic Jihad celebrated its 25th anniversary, and thousands attended the celebration in Gaza.

The head of its armed terrorist wing said that this rally was a "referendum" on "resistance."

The head of Islamic Jihad itself, Ramadan Shallah, gave a speech from a video screen, the same way that Hezbollah's leader Nasrallah does, afraid that a drone might just pick him off.

His speech emphasized that their goal is the armed takeover of all of "Palestine". He also railed against Oslo, Jews on the Temple Mount, the PLO, the Mohammed video, and the fact that the issue of Palestinian Arab nationalism has dropped off the agendas of most Arab countries.

Some photos:

"Jihad. Jihad. Rah. Rah. Rah. Can I watch cartoons now?"

Special guest star, Mahmoud Zahar, just to make sure everyone knows that Hamas agrees with Islamic Jihad

Are you allowed to grope young boys in public in Gaza?

The crowd was not particularly large, actually.

Fun for the whole family!

Grandma wants a piece of that delicious jihad flavor!

By the way, the EXIF information for these images show that they were shot (not very professionally) with a Canon EOS 7D camera, which costs upwards of $2000 with proper lenses. Islamic Jihad and their "media war" division can get cash when they want to.

(h/t Challah)

A "cultural intifada" to destroy the Jewish state

The latest stunt to try to blame all of Palestinian Arab woes on Israel, called the "Freedom Bus," flew completely under the radar.

From Bikya Masr:

On Monday, the Freedom Bus marked the final stop of its tour across the Israeli-occupied West Bank by hosting a concert in Bet Sahour.

Over a hundred people came to Bet Sahour’s old city to watch Palestinian performers such as the rap group DAM, Haifa-based reggae band Ministry of Dub-key, and Toot Ard, a Syrian band from the occupied Golan Heights.

It sounds like there were more people in the bands and their crews than there were in the audience.
Outside of this article, there seems to have been no media attention given to yet another stunt designed to ensure that Palestinian Arabs do nothing to better their situation and put all of theior efforts into blame, blame and more blame. The "Freedom Bus" website even calls its purpose to wage a "cultural intifada." (And it has a quote from Judith Butler supporting the infantilization of the cause.)

972mag, abandoning what little pretense it had of being a news site, simply copied a press release from the Freedom Bus' spokesperson instead of bothering to actually report on what appeared to be a major fail. The "pro-Palestinian" crowd simply hasn't figured out that the world is sick of their whining and refusal to take even a scintilla of responsibility for their lives.

But let one of the featured bands talk about their view of how the Middle East should look:

Palestine Street, a local rap group from the nearby Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, brought the crowd to their feet during their performance, dedicating their closing song to Palestinian refugees living in exile. “Palestine will be free, from the Jordan River to the sea,” they shouted at the end of their set, arousing immense applause from the crowd.

As long as they choose to deny the reality of Israel, there will be Freedom Bus-like gimmicks for another 65 years, and beyond.

Continued Palestinian Arab fantasies, fed by stunts like this, are the biggest impediment to peace. Which means that this "intifada" will ultimately be as counterproductive for the daily lives of average Arabs in the territories as the last two were.

Secularist Tunisian president: Islamist rise a "poisoned gift" to Arabs

From Reuters:

Islamist militants are shifting their focus from southwest Asia to Arab North Africa and stepping up violence in the region, Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki said in an interview published on Tuesday.

Moderate Islamists who were harshly suppressed by secular Arab dictators have gained political power or prominence following popular uprisings in Tunisia, Libya and Egypt.

But armed, militant Islamist groups, including the North African wing of al Qaeda, have also benefited from lapses in internal security across the region wrought by the often chaotic transition to more democratic government.

Marzouki told pan-Arab daily al Hayat that some of Tunisia's hardline Salafists had links to al Qaeda and that North African countries would work before the end of the year to form a united front against the threat of rising Islamist militancy.

"The centre of the terrorist movement is moving now from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Arab Maghreb region ... and the great danger is at our doors," Marzouki said.

He said around 3,000 Salafists in Tunisia were estimated to be potentially dangerous and described them as a "cancer" in the country, the first in the Arab world to bring down dictatorship in a wave of popular uprisings.

Marzouki, a secularist in office under a power-sharing deal with the moderate Islamist Ennahda party after it won a free election a year ago, said talks with such militants were futile and the threat they posed must be addressed with legal measures.

"(Militants) are mainly present in Libya and Algeria, and especially in the south," Marzouki said, referring to the remote and thinly populated desert expanses of the Maghreb where policing is weaker and there has been traditional tribal resistance to central authority.

"There is a security problem now threatening the entire Arab Maghreb region ... All our southern borders are threatened with this problem now. There has to be a unified response from all the countries."

The money quote from the Al Hayat interview, which neither Reuters nor AFP published, was this:

The rise of Islamist parties in the "Arab Spring" countries are a "poisoned gift," he said, pointing out that the Arab peoples had big ambitions beyond the current reality.

While the relatively moderate Ennahda party in Tunisia was forced to share power with Marzouk's secularist party, in Egypt the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists achieved an overwhelming majority in the parliamentary elections. So the Salafists that he is warning against in the Maghreb as being potential terrorists are the same ones who are now hugely influential in the Arab world's most populous nation, and helping write the constitution there.

Too perfect:

Organizers of the Bethlehem Walk said Tuesday they have decided to cancel the event following strong protests and threats from Palestinian activists, who objected to the participation of Israelis.

The event was supposed to take place on October 5 in Bethlehem.

Israelis, Palestinians and members of other nations and religions from around the world were supposed to walk quietly in Bethlehem to promote “change and acknowledge basic common grounds and sow the seeds of understanding and acceptance.”

The organizers said in their invitation that “walking in mindfulness is a quiet walk full of respect for the here and now. It is an experience that helps us to develop calm, balance and confidence when faced with the challenges of reality.”

However, the planned event drew strong condemnations from Palestinian youth activists in Bethlehem, who expressed outrage over the participation of Israelis.

The activists called for cancelling the event under the pretext that it was a form of “normalization” with Israel. They also threatened to prevent Israelis from “desecrating our holy city and sites.”

The organizers said they decided to cancel the event “out of respect for the feeling of all those who were outraged by the march.”

One of the Palestinian organizers, who asked not to be identified, said his group “had no intention to spark violence and outrage.”

Just as a thought experiment, would the "activists" have objected if the Israelis who walked were Muslims or Christians?

Hmmm.

Here is the organizers' response:

"We, the organizers of the walk, deeply honor and hear clearly the responses of all of you who have been challenged by the walk. Our purpose is not to perpetuate anger nor violence, and not to undermine any view, but to seek to deeply listen to all voices and hear their concerns and needs with the hope of reaching a common ground that makes all of us stand strong in facing and ending all forms of oppression and violence and create a future where true peace, justice, and equality is lived and honored for all and by all.

Therefore, honoring the concerns of each and everyone of you, the walk will not take place at this time as originally planned. We acknowledge the disappointment of our supporters and affirm our faith in the possibility of peace in our troubled land, and our determination to persevere together to that end. We ask you to remain in contact with us, spread the word, and join us in this vision no matter where you are and no matter how you do it."

See how tolerant they are? They "honor" even the bigots among them!

They are creating an alternate event for tomorrow:

As we move a step forward in creating a new consciousness for real peace, acknowledging the deep work needed by all of us, Israelis are invited to join together on Friday, October 5, for mindful walking and listening circles, at the Spiritual Center in Neve-Shalom/Wahat al-Salam. We will start at 1000 and end at 1400. Please bring a hat, drink and food.

It appears that the only place that peace activists can actually demonstrate tolerance is in that hateful apartheid state of Israel, not in beautiful liberal "Palestine."

(h/t Ian)

Israel Loves America (Posters)

There are lots of polls about how Americans love Israel, but the other side of the story isn't told so often. The fact is, though, that Israel and Israelis love America.

And the contrast with the other countries in the region could not be starker.

Or, if you want it in more graphical message:

Kuwaiti politician accuses Muslim Brotherhood of being Jewish!

Arabic media, including Akhbarak and Egypt's El Barad, are reporting that Safa Al-Hashem, activist and political candidate for the Kuwaiti parliament, has launched a sharp attack on the Muslim Brotherhood.

Funny, he doesn't look Jewish

He said the Brotherhood was like poison that has spread in the body of the Arab world under the auspices of America.

Al-Hashem told Al-Watan-Kuwait that the Brotherhood has a plan to deploy this poison in the Gulf, and he claims that Hassan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, was really a Moroccan immigrant of Jewish descent! According to al-Hashem, al-Banna really meant the "Jewish brotherhood" when he founded the organization.

Dr. Mohamed Badie, leader of the Brotherhood, suggested that al-Hashem read history instead of hiding behind "the guise of religion."

The bottom line is that both the Islamists and the anti-Islamists in the Arab world can be counted on to be anti-semitic. Not only that, but the fact that someone can make such an accusation in order to defame a person or group proves that they know that the entire Arab world is anti-semitic as well - otherwise, it wouldn't be an insult!