Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Settler Sabbath stripping to "provoke" PalArabs. Yeah, right.

Ma'an reports, without the slightest skepticism:

Israeli settlers in the south Hebron hills assaulted Palestinian villagers on Friday evening, residents told Ma'an.

Three Israelis from the Karmel settlement entered Um al-Kher village, and one threw rocks at the Palestinians living there, local council chief Abu Hamza Hathalin told Ma’an.

If the article had ended there, it might have been believable. I don't know if the residents of Karmel are religious, but the possibility of a hothead is always there.

Artist rendering of the offending settler

But the article goes on:

Another settler took off all his clothes, and a third insulted the Prophet Muhammad, in order to provoke the villagers, Hathalin said.

Israeli troops arrived at the council's request, but assaulted several villagers, he said.

Ah, so here is another case of Palestinian "eyewitnesses" who make up their stories from whole cloth, secure in the knowledge that no matter how ridiculous the lies are, there will be newspapers more than willing to publish their charges without doing the slightest modicum of investigation.

IDF intercepts a ship to Gaza, no one cares

From the IDF this morning:

A short while ago, Israeli Navy soldiers boarded “Estelle”, a vessel which was en-route to the Gaza Strip, attempting to break the maritime security blockade. The boarding was carried out in accordance with international law, with directives of the Israeli Government and after all attempts to prevent the vessel from reaching the Gaza Strip were made, both via direct contact and through diplomatic channels, but to no avail.

The boarding was carried out only after numerous calls to the passengers onboard; as a result of their unwillingness to cooperate and after ignoring calls to change course, the decision was made to board the vessel and lead it to the port of Ashdod.

The Israeli Navy soldiers operated as planned, and took every precaution necessary to ensure the safety of the passengers. After boarding the vessel by IDF soldiers, who did not need to use force, the passengers were attended to and offered food and beverages.

Upon arrival of the vessel at the Ashdod port, the passengers will be transferred to the custody of the Israel Police and immigration authorities at the Ministry of Interior.

It should be stressed that any organization or state who wishes to transfer supplies or aid to the Gaza Strip can do so via the existing land crossings and in coordination with Israeli authorities.

Times of Israel adds:

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the IDF on Saturday for its takeover of a Gaza-bound ship carrying pro-Palestinian activists. He said the Estelle ship’s passengers aimed only to provoke, and to slander Israel.

The IDF found no humanitarian equipment onboard, despite activists’ claims that they were delivering needed materials to the Strip.

In a televised statement, the prime minister hailed the military’s “efforts in safeguarding the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip in accordance with international law.”

Netanyahu said that the people on the ship, among them three Israelis, “know that there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and their only goal is to create a provocation and to slander Israel’s name.”

He added that if human rights were indeed important to the activists, 25 in total, they would have sailed to Syria.

The faux-humanitarians, on the other hand, only said that the IDF "attacked" them. Apparently, they were attacked with the food and beverages they were offered.

Now, can we get back to real news?

How Obama is selling out another ally (Tony Badran)

There is a very important recurring theme of the Obama presidency, and his "hands off" approach to foreign policy will almost certainly have the most dangerous long-term consequences to US interests imaginable.

When the US gives mixed signals about its allies, it means that our allies will no longer trust us - and the weaker ones will find other patrons.

You don't have to be a big fan of Turkey to see that from a geopolitical viewpoint President Obama is making the same mistakes with that ally that he has made elsewhere.

From Tony Badran in Now Lebanon:

Over the last two weeks, the Syrian regime has directed mortar and artillery fire at Turkish villages. The US ambassador to Turkey, Francis Ricciardone, might have stated, in response, that the United States stands behind its ally, Turkey, however it sees fit to protect itself. Instead, he confidently declared that Washington sees no possibility of war between Turkey and Syria. What the ambassador couched as a benign prediction was, in fact, an obvious instruction to Turkey.

Many have wondered whether the Assad regime’s shelling was meant to provoke Ankara. A cartoon in the daily al-Hayat depicted the Syrian president thumbing his nose at Turkey, while shells were fired from his fingers.

Assad’s aggression is an expression of his contempt not just for Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan but, in addition, the United States. He sees, on the one hand, Iran rallying all the members of its alliance network in the region (Hezbollah, Iraqi Shiite militants, and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki) to prop him up and to isolate their common adversary, Turkey. On the other hand, Assad sees the US leaving its Turkish ally and the Syrian opposition alone in the cold.

Assad correctly interpreted the US position and concluded that he could attack Turkey with impunity. Washington not only had no interest in coming to the defense of its NATO ally, but also did not want to see any escalation from the Turkish side.

Reading Obama’s preferences is easy for Assad. The US president has been advertising his inhibitions for many months. Last March, when the Turks came to plead with the administration to take the lead on more assertive measures in Syria, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, shot them down repeatedly. The Turks tried again in August and were once more rebuffed.

The more the US has signaled its intent, no matter what, to stay out of the game in Syria, the more aggressive Assad and his Iranian patrons have become.

Since as early as last summer, the Iranians have been showing the Turks that they would use the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) against them. Tehran has shown its ability to reach a tactical alliance with the PKK in order to exploit one of Ankara’s principal vulnerabilities: the Kurdish issue. They first released the PKK’s commander, Murat Karayilan, in July of last year. A year later, Iran was allowing the PKK to use its soil to launch operations against Turkey.

But the most brazen attack came in July with the shooting down of a Turkish F-4 jet over international waters off the Syrian coast. The Turks were enraged, but once again, word immediately came from Washington that left no doubt about the Obama administration’s preferences. In comments to the Wall Street Journal, an anonymous senior US defense official not only did not endorse the Turkish account of what happened, but also seemed to lend credence to the Syrian version.

The Turks, rightly, saw this leak as a calculated American effort to tarnish their credibility. The purpose of the sleight was clear: the Obama administration did not want this incident to become a slippery slope to US involvement in Syria, on the side of Turkey. The downing of the jet, therefore, had to be papered over, and Turkey had to swallow its pride. That was, in effect, the point made by US Chief of Staff, General Martin Dempsey, who admitted publicly that he impressed upon the Turks the importance of not being “provocative.”

This display was not lost on the Russians. At the time, the Obama administration was in the middle of its ill-conceived attempt to coax Moscow into supporting a “peaceful transition plan” for Syria. Seeing that the Americans had thrown the Turks under the bus, the Russians piled it on. They upheld the Syrian account, and then rubbed Erdogan’s nose in it by offering to provide him with “objective observation data” about the incident. They then advised the Turks not to allow the incident to “ignite passions.”

Ambassador Ricciardone’s comments on Tuesday repeated Dempsey’s message: The US will not support Turkey escalating its response against Syria’s provocations.

Riacciardone’s comments are a perfect distillation of the US position on Turkey and Syria. After encouraging Turkey to take the lead on the Syria policy, the Obama administration has now opted to leave the Turks alone in facing Assad’s Iranian and Russian allies.

The American policy is short sighted. At stake is the balance of power in the region that is favorable to US interests. Iran is marshaling all the elements of its national power to support its Syrian ally and pressure Turkey. By urging restraint on Ankara, Washington is inadvertently helping.

In Moscow, in July 2009, Obama said that powers forging “competing blocs to balance one another” was an antiquated “19th century view.” Two months later, he again asserted at the UN General Assembly that “no balance of power among nations will hold.”

Power politics may be dead and buried in Washington, but for Assad and his allies, it is alive and well.

I don't know enough specifically about Romney to know if he agree with this general problem with Obama's view of the world, but if he does, he can easily say it in his two minute statement at Monday's night's foreign policy debate. I hope he does. it is the most important distinguishing factor between the candidates, and it has the most far-reaching ramifications.

US leadership does not mean invading countries on a whim. It does not mean imperialism or colonialism, as some believe. It means showing our allies that we are consistent in our national beliefs, that we will keep our promises to them (even if done by another administration,) and that we will not abandon your friends without a damned good reason. If we have friends who do not live up to our standards of democracy and especially freedom, we must push them, both in private and in public - we don't have to blindly accept what every dictator does, even if he is on "our side" in a particular circumstance. But on the other hand, we must not abandon those who we have said we would support.

Right now, the unthinkable is becoming possible. Assad might survive. If he does, then Iran will be the de facto strong horse of the Middle East, as scared Arab countries will realize that America's promises are useless. And when America is perceived as weak - it is weak, and it signals that it will tolerate being pushed around by two-bit thugs.

This is not an Israel issue. This is not a Jewish issue. This is the future of the free world.

Friday links

From Ian:

Latma: The spinmasters finest hour and what truly motivates Obama

The world wants Israel to show restraint. But why should it place its life in the hands of foreign bureaucrats?

“The leaders of Iran have declared many times that they wish to obliterate Israel. Why should Israel not believe this threat? More to the point, why should Israel stay its military response and instead put its trust in the capacity of the bureaucrats in “the international community” to shuffle papers?”

Honing Anti-Semitism in France and Sweden "Blame the Victim"

“In France and Sweden -- and in the UN -- authorities fail to acknowledge that Europe's Jewish communities are under attack by Muslims who have formed insular, radical and often criminal enclaves. They are attacked NOT because of what they do or do not do; NOT because of what Israel does or does not do, and NOT because their tormentors face discrimination in Europe, but because they are Jews.”

Judith Butler: More Palestinian than the Palestinians

“Viewing the two-state solution as a sell-out, Butler attacks the PA application to the United Nations for recognition. The bid’s only value, she argues, is that it allows the left to jump up and down on grave of the “sham of the peace negotiations” and celebrate the “break with the Oslo framework.”

CIF Watch: Following CiF Watch post, Guardian corrects John Pilger’s false casualty figures from Gaza War

What is Abbas' true ideology?

The official PA daily quotes Abbas' Facebook page: "...our land is occupied and not disputed territory, and this applies to all the territories that Israel occupied before June 1967.

(Ma'an says Israeli media misunderstood the Arabic - but Abbas changed the FB text right after it was exposed - EoZ.)

Hamas denying Palestinians energy billions
Hamas’s supremacy is the chief impediment to attaining the life-transforming economic miracle that beckons for Palestinians

“Palestinian Gaza has an offshore natural gas resource worth an estimated $4 billion. While massive gas discoveries off Israel are proving to be world class, Palestinian Gazans should be looking to their own energy miracle and a bright future. Instead, abject poverty and hopelessness prevails – and it’s all self-inflicted.”

Report: Palestinian Authority Involved in Money Laundering

“Israeli political sources say the Palestinian Authority recently asked the Bank of Israel to increase the limit of Palestinian Authority deposits to $2 billion, the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported Wednesday.
The report said officials of the Bank of Israel were surprised that the PA was asking to allow deposit of such a “mountain” of money while the PA leadership claims to be facing a severe financial crisis. The report highlighted that Israeli officials were starting to have suspicions that the Palestinian Authority “is helping criminal Arab families” inside Israel with money laundering. “

Terror attack against Israeli targets said thwarted in Cyprus
Cypriot newspaper reports security forces seized 100 grams of explosives in resort town

Calorie counting misreporting: Leading Arab daily equates IDF to Nazi army
The only thing left is to send [Palestinians] to the gas chambers, says London-based paper in editorial
See also Honest Reporting: New York Times and The Guardian Starving Readers of Context

Hezbollah jeopardizing regional peace, UN chief says in report

Jewish groups statements on Australia’s success in winning a seat on the UN Security Council for 2013-2014

Anglican Friends of Israel respond to calls for boycott
TALKING POINTS on the so-called "illegal settlements"

Historic Jewish graves desecrated in Auckland

Denmark: MP denied entry to Bahrain over Israel passport stamp

Turkish pianist Fazil Say goes on trial accused of insulting Islam on Twitter

Israel Promotes First Female Christian Arab to Combat Commander

Mona Abdo, 20, grew up in a Christian home in Haifa. She voluntarily enlisted in the IDF when she turned 18 with the encouragement of her family. Upon enlistment Mona was assigned to the Ordnance Corps. However, she quickly realized that she wanted more of an active role and was transferred to the combat unit Caracal—which has both male and female, and Arab and Jewish soldiers fighting alongside each other.

Michael Oren's Israel compared to Egypt

This is why I couldn't be an ambassador.

Oren even used my line from this poster:

Proving once again that I control the world! Bwa-ha-ha!

Kol hakavod to Oren to be able to do stuff like this.

While Oren was talking about how friendly Americans and Israelis are, the US Embassy in Egypt issued a warning to Americans there:

The current security environment in Egypt may offer opportunities to groups or individuals that want to target westerners or U.S. interests. While these risks cannot be completely avoided, there are many personal security measures that U.S. citizens can take to lower their profiles and minimize their exposure to situations and environments that pose a significant threat. These include but are not limited to:

Varying times and routes in your daily schedule;

Maintaining awareness of your surroundings;

In traffic, maintaining space around your vehicle in which to maneuver, always leaving yourself an exit, and avoiding choke points;

Keeping the windows of your car rolled up and doors locked;

If followed while driving, blowing your horn repeatedly to attract attention and driving directly to a safehaven (e.g. a police station or hotel). Make a point to know where these potential safehavens are in your neighborhood;

If walking, using well-lit, heavily traveled streets. If you feel threatened, walking into a store, police station, or other public building;

Varying the times and locations of your recreational activities so as to avoid establishing an identifiable pattern;

Limiting knowledge of your personal activities to those who need to know;

Learning uniforms of local police and being able to recognize their credentials;

Being on a constant lookout for surveillance activity;

Never giving out personal information, such as family member or household staff names, addresses, and telephone numbers in an open setting;

Avoiding emblems on clothing and cars that overtly identify you as a U.S. citizen;

...
U.S. citizens should avoid areas where large gatherings may occur. Even demonstrations or events intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and possibly escalate into violence. U.S. citizens in Egypt are urged to monitor local news reports and to plan their activities accordingly.

This isn't a warning to diplomats, or intelligence operatives - it is a warning to every American who wants to visit Egypt.

So as hard as Oren's job to explain Israel is, just imagine the poor shmuck who has to put a happy face on Egypt.

(h/t Ian)

Tanzania and Iran playing games with oil tanker flagging

Forbes does some real reporting, which is refreshing:

Trying to elude the reach of U.S. sanctions, Iran’s oil tankers have put on quite a circus this year, renaming, reflagging and at times switching off their onboard vessel tracking systems to drop off the maritime grid. Now comes a further drama, fraught with mystery, in which ship-tracking databases show a growing number of Iranian oil tankers flagged to Tanzania, while Tanzanian authorities say they have no such Iranian ships registered.

The ships at the core of this conundrum belong to Iran’s main tanker company, NITC, formerly known as the National Iranian Tanker Company. This past July, the U.S. Treasury blacklisted NITC, along with 58 of its vessels, as belonging to the government of Iran. Among the blacklisted NITC vessels were more than 30 tankers which had only recently distanced themselves from looming European sanctions by reflagging from Malta and Cyprus to Tanzania and the Pacific archipelago nation of Tuvalu.

Under U.S. pressure, government authorities of both Tuvalu and Tanzania said in August that they would de-register ships blacklisted by the U.S. as owned or controlled by Iran. By mid-September, Tuvalu had done exactly that, not only de-registering more than 20 NITC tankers which had been sailing under its flag, but also de-flagging a nest of Iranian cargo ships, blacklisted by the U.S. as part of Iran’s large state merchant fleet, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL).

But what’s going on with Tanzania? Rather than de-registering the 11 NITC tankers that were already sailing under its flag, Tanzania appears to have let them stay, and added more, according to ship-tracking data from Lloyd’s List Intelligence.

Worse yet, Tanzania’s shipping registry appears to have picked up at least eight of the NITC tankers evicted last month by Tuvalu.

All told, among the ships listed by Lloyd’s as currently flagged to Tanzania are at least 44 now blackballed by the U.S. as owned or controlled either by IRISL or NITC. That would account for well over one-fifth of all Iranian ships currently on the U.S. Treasury’s blacklist of Specially Designated Nationals, widely known as the SDN list. If the shipping data is accurate, it would mean that Tanzania’s shipping register is now the world’s second-largest host, after Iran itself, to major vessels of Iran’s commercial fleet.

The article gets better, as the reporter tries to track down apparent Tanzanian lies that Iran is illegally sailing using Tanzanian call signs.

The episode would be almost funny if it didn't prove that sanctions can only go so far, and all it takes is a tiny country or two for Iran to be able to create a huge gap in the sanctions.

Hamas cracking down on - baggy pants (updated x2)

From Al Arabiya:

Young people in Gaza Strip are complaining that their freedom to wear saggy pants and have haircuts of their choice is hampered by security officers as they might be arrested.

Both Khaled and his brother were arrested by a security officer for wearing saggy pants and for him wearing a silver chain around his neck.

Initially Khaled and his brother did not know the reason of their detention until one security man said to his boss “look at his outfit.”

The security men did not respond to Khaled when he asked them to outline “if there is any Palestinian law that prevents young people from wearing saggy pants or silver chains?”

Young men can also be scoffed at for wearing shorts.

Ahmed, another resident from Gaza, said that he was going to buy some food from one of the city’s restaurants but was scolded by a police man for wearing shorts and showing his legs.

According to the police man, Ahmed shouldn’t be wearing shorts in front of girls unless he was at home.

As the news of a campaign by security officers against “saggy pants” started proliferating, Islam Chahwan, the spokesman of the Ministry of Interior denied that there is such campaign.

He said that his ministry does not interfere in the personal lives of citizens in Gaza.

“We have not received complaints from the citizens regarding such issues, but maintaining the morals and values of the Palestinian society is highly required.”

To be fair, the baggy pants might be used to hide Zionist spy equipment. You can't be too careful with the lives of Gazans.

Speaking of, during the last two weeks of September, 3 Qassam rockets fell short and landed in Gaza instead of killing Israeli kids as they were intended.

UPDATE: Israellycool had the baggy pants story weeks ago.

UPDATE 2: But one of my own linkdumps, courtesy Ian, beat him to it!

Islamists kill secular politician in Tunisia during riot

Freedom of expression, Islamist-style:

Clashes between Islamists and secular opponents in the southern Tunisian town of Tataouine on Thursday left a secular politician dead, a local official and resident said.

The violence broke out during a march organized by a group of Islamists close to the Ennahda party, which leads Tunisia’s Islamist government. Protesters chanted slogans against the secular Nida Touns party, accusing it of being close to ousted leader Zine ElAbidine Ben Ali, a resident said.

The Islamist group, the Association for the Protection of the Revolution, was passing the building of the local Agricultural Union which is headed by the local representative of Nida Touns, when the clashes began.

“The coordinator of Nida Touns in Tataouine, Lofi Nakd, was killed after he was attacked,” Nida Touns official Khemais Ksila told Reuters by phone. A resident who gave his name as Samil Smida said knives and stones were used in the violence.

“The clashes broke out between Islamists and some people from Nida Touns,” he said. “The Islamists were chanting slogans against Nida Touns, calling them liars, telling them to leave. Those inside reacted, throwing stones and it all began.”

Notice how Reuters tries to be even-handed in describing the death as a result of "clashes," when it appears clear that the Islamists - carrying knives - were rioting against and besieging a group of people inside their workplace.

500 dead - and hypocritical "pro-Palestinian activists" are silent

You know how all the Israel-haters pretend to be "pro-Palestinian"?

Here's more proof that they are anything but.

It appears that as of today, more than 500 Palestinian Arabs have been murdered in Syria by Bashir Assad's regime.

(Calculation: 482 documented on October 7, 8 killed last Friday, 12 killed today.)

Have any of the supposedly "pro-Palestinian" groups, like "Ship to Gaza" or "Miles of Smiles," said anything about this?

Have there been any press releases from passionate advocates of the "Palestinian cause" about "genocide" being perpetrated by the Syrian regime?

Have you read any articles written by them about how terribly Syria is treating Palestinian Arabs?

No, of course not. No fundraising, no speeches, no tours of college campuses, no flotillas, no op-eds - nothing.

Here's another interesting proof of Arab hatred for their Palestinian brothers that "pro-Palestinian activists" completely ignored, buried at the end of an AP article yesterday:

The U.N. refugee agency said Thursday the number of Syrian refugees who have fled their country's civil war and found shelter in Egypt has now topped 150,000 — a significant jump from last month's figure of 95,000.

The director of UNHCR in Egypt, Mohamed Dayri, said that despite the growing number of refugees in Egypt, only 4,800 Syrians have registered with the agency in Cairo. He called on Egyptian authorities to help UNHCR deal with the "rising emergency" of Syrian refugees here.

...[Dayri] said that the U.N. is urging Egypt to maintain an "open door policy" not only for Syrians, but also for Palestinian refugees in Syria who also are fleeing the civil war.

"The Palestinian refugees should be treated equally like Syrians who are fleeing violence and insecurity," Dayri said.

It doesn't take much reading between the lines to see that Egypt is not treating Palestinian Syrian refugees as they are treating the rest; it is possible that Egypt is not even allowing any of them to enter Egypt.

And it is not only Egypt. Other countries are singling them out too:

Syria's roughly 500,000 Palestinians "have been been thrust into the crisis since June and July," Radhouane Nouicer, the UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for Syria, said at a Cairo press conference.

"Many of them have been displaced like Syrians and we are trying to encourage neighbouring countries to adopt an open door policy with them, like Syrians," he said, adding that he hoped Palestinians would not be forced out of Syria.

He is apparently referring to Jordan and Lebanon, although probably those fleeing to Iraq are having similar issues.

UNHCR knows this, and of course the Palestinian Arabs who tried to flee to Egypt know this, but I have not seen a single article anywhere that discusses the extent of Egypt's discrimination against Palestinians.

In the end, the "pro-Palestinian activists" don't give a damn about their Palestinians. Like the Arab leaders for the past 65 years, they only want to use them as pawns to destroy Israel.

And their silence when hundreds of Palestinians are killed and tens of thousands singled out by their Arab hosts is all the proof you need of their hypocrisy.

Of course, the media is also burying the stories of discrimination against Palestinian Arabs by Syria's neighbors, even after UN officials point it out explicitly. No follow up questions, no independent investigations as to the extent of this discrimination and the hypocrisy of Arab governments who pretend to support Palestinians but treat them differently than every other Arab.

The red line (video)

Well worth watching:

Website here.

Hamas releases video, magazine about Shalit kidnapping

From JPost:

Hamas on Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of the Gilad Schalit deal, in which the captive IDF soldier was exchanged for 1027 Palestinian prisoners, by releasing a 45-minute film describing the kidnapping and including interviews with terrorists who took part in the abduction.

The video, produced by Hamas's armed wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, depicts military preparations for the operation, maps of the area in which Schalit was captured, the tunnels through which his captives accessed the soldier, as well as what appears to be a re-creation of the mission itself. It also includes some of the first footage of Schalit upon his release from captivity.

But Hamas' Al Qassam media unit has been also working on a magazine - a slick 84-page publication that is sort of like a grade-B version of Al Qaeda's "Inspire" magazine.

Like the video, the magazine goes into detail on the Shalit kidnapping, with lots of pictures. It also has the posters and graphic we expect from Hamas, such as this guide to Hamas' weapons.

The modern terrorist knows that he must use the media at least as much as he uses explosives. And for the times when Hamas can't get op-eds in major Western newspapers, this is the next best thing.

Thursday links...

From Ian:

Israel to UN: Send Humanitarian Boat to Syria, not Gaza

Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor has asked the international organization to convince pro-Arab activists not to try to sail the "Estelle" boat to Gaza and try to break the maritime embargo on Hamas. Syria is need of the aid, he added.

Abbas is right - Education can incite
In which case, he may want to take a closer look at what Palestinian children are learning in their classrooms

“Israel's educational curriculum – the official approved textbooks by Israel’s ministry of education - actually includes an overwhelming amount of messages that vehemently oppose racism and violence towards our Palestinian neighbours.”“Sadly, a similar search in Palestinian textbooks did not uncover equivalent quotes. The newest Palestinian textbooks hardly acknowledge the existence of the State of Israel. Take, for example, this quote taken from the Al-Sham grade five history books, stating that “The Levant countries presently consist of the states of Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.” Israel remains absent in the vast majority of textbook maps as well.”

UN agency funded with Saudi money wants to edit worldwide textbooks

The UN agency that promotes education wants a say in how future textbooks are written, and Saudi Arabia -- a nation whose own school books have been criticized for promoting hatred of Christians and Jews -- is helping to bankroll the effort.

Feeling judgemental? Think twice

"At HonestReporting, we are often dumbfounded at how blind to logic some commentators can be. As if living under a rock during a Hamas missile assault on Israel last year, some media led their coverage with Israel’s attempts to prevent continued attacks by firing on terrorists and their weapons caches.
Those journalists inverted the chronology of events to the point that a news consumer would reasonably infer that Israel fired at targets in Gaza, which met with a response of rocket fire on Israel’s civilians."

FBI: Man Pleads Guilty in New York to Conspiring with Iranian Military Officials to Assassinate Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the United States

Time to impose sanctions on Scandinavia?
Sweden and Norway have a long history of courting radicals and anti-Israel sentiments.

"Other than their latent – and sometimes blatant - support for radical Islamists, both Norway and Sweden have a history of spearheading the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement. So for those of us in Israel, perhaps the time has come to think twice before stepping into Ikea and purchasing that conveniently flat-packed sofa."

Iran further expanding enrichment capacity – diplomats

Irish ties to Israel hurt by NGO funding

The Irish government is either oblivious to Trócaire’s extensive anti-peace activities, or knowingly carrying on a long tradition of anti-Israel bias.
The answer may have something to do with the fact that Trócaire’s “Occupied Palestinian Territories/Israel Programme Officer,” Garry Walsh, was previously employed as the National Coordinator for Ireland Palestinian Solidarity Campaign – an openly partisan and biased organization far removed from any humanitarian objectives.

National Geographic Channel 'bombarded' with terror threats over bin Laden raid movie

The National Geographic Channel has beefed up security at its Washington headquarters after being 'bombarded' by threats over its upcoming film, "SEAL Team Six: The Raid on Osama Bin Laden," a source has said.

MEMRI: Muslim Brotherhood General Guide Muhammad Badi': Jerusalem Will Be Regained Only Through Jihad, Not Through Negotiations

IDF Blog: 3 Breathtaking Stories of Injured Soldiers Who Returned to Service

Stand With Us: StandWithUs Pro-Israel ads to go up on San Francisco buses

"...encourages the public to "Tell Congress Not to Support Palestinian Groups Like Hamas Because They Don't Want Peace."

CIF Watch: Unchosen: Memoirs of a Philosemite

“..Julie [Burchill] is going to write a new book. Like me, she’s a gentile who loves Israel, and she’s going to write a memoir based on this theme, entitled Unchosen: Memoirs of a Philosemite. Given her deep and longstanding love of Israel and the Jewish people, together with her outrageous sense of humour and unrivalled literary dexterity, it won’t be anything less than a fascinating read.”

Also:

Arab Lawyers Union honors Palestinian suicide bomber

The Arab Lawyers Union on Friday awarded its highest decoration to the Palestinian woman who carried out the 2003 suicide bombing at Maxim’s Restaurant in Haifa, which killed 21 and wounded 51. The Cairo-based union, which represents lawyers from 15 Arab countries, dispatched a delegation to the home of suicide bomber Hanadi Jaradat in Jenin to present her family with the award.

Jeffrey Goldberg on How to Beat Obama in next debate (h/t Omri)

Biden said the U.S. would know if the Iranians had begun to manufacture a warhead. But the U.S. didn’t know its ambassador in Libya would be assassinated. It didn’t know that the World Trade Center would be attacked. American intelligence doesn’t know a lot of things. Such is the nature of intelligence. Biden’s sanguine approach to weaponization suggests either that he strayed far from Obama administration policy, or that the White House is more relaxed and confident about stopping Iran than it should be.

Obama’s record in the greater Middle East had already provided Romney with ample opportunities in the next debate on Oct. 22. Biden just gave him another.

CiFWatch: Guardian contributor tells Palestinians to boycott Western aid if it ‘disempowers’ terrorist groups

Morsi’s warm letter to Peres sparks anger and denial in Egypt

And Challah Hu Akbar doing what he does best.

Here's a fundraising idea for the Arabs "defending Jerusalem"

Every so often, I come across Arabic sites that talk about various Muslim organizations are raising funds to "defend Jerusalem." While they raise millions of dollars, it is never enough. (I have a sneaking suspicion that there is not much transparency in these supposed charities, and that a great deal of the money raised ends up in pious people's pockets.)

But I have a win-win idea that can help them raise funds.

You know how when you go on an amusement park ride, or embark on a boat ride, people take pictures of you and your significant other to sell it to you as a souvenir of your trip?

Well, the Islamists are already taking tons of photos of unsuspecting Jews who visit the Temple Mount. Like this one from today, for example:

That could be a great souvenir shot that this couple can show their grandchildren! Why put it on the Internet for free when you can charge a few shekels for it? Maybe make a cheap plastic commemorative frame to jack up the price!

Islamists can make trinkets that say "I did a Talmudic ritual - in Islam's third holiest place!", "Proud Settler" and "I'm a usurper par excellence!"

This will help the economy of Arab Jerusalem more than any number of unpaid pledges.

Muslims should take some of the spaces they use now for volleyball nets on the Temple Mount and build a gift shop to fleece those usurping Jews. Everyone will end up happy.

Egyptian teacher cuts girls' hair for not wearing hijab

From AP:

A teacher in southern Egypt punished two 12-year-old schoolgirls for not wearing the Muslim headscarf by cutting their hair, the father of one girl said Wednesday, in an incident that stokes concerns over personal rights following the rise of Islamist political movements.

This is the teacher. You'l have to trust me.

The governor of Luxor province where the incident occurred called the teacher's actions “shameful” and said she had been transferred to another school. But rights groups say that some Islamic conservatives have been emboldened by the success of groups like Muslim Brotherhood and the ultraconservative Salafi trend in parliamentary and presidential elections and have been increasingly brazen about forcing their standards on other Egyptians.

In the village of Qurna in Luxor province, 500 kilometers (300 miles) south of Cairo, father Berbesh Khairi El-Rawi said the teacher forced the two girls to stand with their hands above their heads for two hours and then cut their hair in their school.

The teacher, Eman Abu Bakar, could not be reached. She told the Egyptian semi-official newspaper al-Ahram that the amount of hair she cut off of the girls' heads “did not exceed two centimeters” (one inch).

Abu Bakar was quoted as saying she only resorted to cutting her students' hair after warning them repeatedly to cover their heads. After these repeated warnings, a student handed her a scissors from his bag, and that he and other students asked her to “implement” her threats.

In a photo published by Al-Ahram, Abu Bakar is shown wearing the niqab, a garment that covers everything but a woman's eyes.

And so it goes...

Hamas' "majestic parade" missing an important component

Yesterday, on the first anniversary of the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap, Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades staged a parade that they labeled "majestic" in the streets of Gaza City, as scores of SUVs filled with masked terrorists with machine guns and RPGs passed by:

What is missing?

No one is watching the parade!

No throngs of families crowded on the sidewalks cheering on their favorite celebrity terrorists. No stands of officials greeting the incoming brave jihadists. Nothing.

This becomes very obvious when you watch the video:

There is one other thing that other parades have that this one seemed to lack: the leaders of the group throwing the parade, in the open.

What happens when you stage a parade and nobody comes?

You issue press releases saying that the parade brought " joy and happiness the people of the Gaza Strip!"

(Now, if the IDF had decided to drop a few guided bombs on all these celebrating jihadists, that would be a compelling video!)

Palestine Press quotes Gaza Salafi officials saying that Hamas staged a series of raids against prominent Salafist sites in Gaza this morning, arresting a number of leaders.

Hamas has a history of animosity and attacks towards these groups, the only terror groups remaining in Gaza that do not cooperate with Hamas.

One of the Salafi groups, the Masada al Mujahideen organization, has blamed Hamas for the Israeli attacks against their leaders on Friday night, implying that Hamas tipped the IDF off. Israel's Terror Watch website makes the same claim that Hamas acted as an informer to Israel to rid themselves of their rivals. This seems unlikely, although it is possible that Hamas is "turnng" the "collaborators" that they have already caught to feed the IDF intelligence for those they want to eliminate.

(h/t Yoel, Challah Hu Akbar)

Arab groups rush to agree teaching the Holocaust is a crime!

What happens after Arab teachers in Jordan freak out over an unsubstantiated rumor that UNRWA schools will teach the Holocaust?

Their brethren in neighboring areas try to outdo their Jordanian cousins on being revolted at the very idea!

From JPost:

Hamas on Wednesday reiterated its strong opposition to teaching the Holocaust in UNRWA-run schools in the Gaza Strip.

The Refugees Affairs Department of Hamas said that teaching the Holocaust was a "crime against the issue of the refugees that is aimed at cancelling their right of return."

You get that? The Holocaust wasn't a crime, but teaching about it is!

The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine also condemned the fictional claim, saying that teaching the Holocaust would be "a serious violation in the work of the education process."

A PLO spokesman said that the idea "constitutes a serious violation towards education and a clear deviation against all educational goals for the children of refugees...this is an indication that the presidency of UNRWA and local heads began to systematically adopt the Israeli narrative."

In Lebanon, things aren't much better. Al Akhbar reports that Palestinian Lebanese officials are assuming that UNRWA's donors, being Zionist, are the ones pushing this idea. They also said that it would be unconscionable to teach the Holocaust without teaching about alleged Israeli massacres of Arabs.

An op-ed in Al Watan Voice says this supposed UNRWA curriculum is "filled with poison" because of its emphasis on teaching students about "peace and tolerance."

By the way, since I exposed the UNRWA Gaza school websites that were filled with material glorifying jihad and martyrdom over the summer, every single one of those individual school websites mysteriously disappeared from the Internet, as did their curricula. And at least at the moment, there are no UNRWA job openings for teachers who specialize in Islamic studies as there were when I reported them.

Does this mean that UNRWA has reformed its curricula in Gaza? Or just that they don't want probing eyes into what they are doing?

Ha'aretz lies to paint Israel as "apartheid" (CAMERA)

Two days ago, I started seeing dozens of Arabic articles all gleefully quoting the same Ha'aretz article by Akiva Eldar:

Amid a dry economic report published yesterday in TheMarker lies an official announcement/acknowledgment of unparalleled importance: The government of Israel confirms that between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River there is no longer a Jewish majority. In other words, in the territory under Israel's jurisdiction a situation of apartheid exists. A Jewish minority rules over an Arab majority.

Hila Raz's article reports that the Tax Authority is trying to pass an amendment to the law for the purpose of revising the ceiling for eligibility for tax benefits, whose aim, in turn, is to encourage exports. According to the Export Promotion Law approved in 2005, a factory is entitled to a tax break if at least 25 percent of its income stemmed from sales to a market with at least 12 million residents. A Ministry of Finance memorandum on the amendment to the law notes that in 2011 the population of Israel and the Palestinian Authority exceeded the 12 million mark, which enables manufacturers who market to these consumers to enjoy a tax break. The Tax Authority's diligent officials would like to raise the threshold for qualifying for the benefit by two million residents, so that they will not have to grant the benefit to exporters who sell their wares in Israel and the territories.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (which is subordinate to the Prime Minister's Office ), of the 12 million residents living under Israeli rule, the number of Jews is just under 5.9 million (as of April 25 ). Twelve million minus 5.9 million Jews equals 6.1 million non-Jews. In other words, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, there is a pretty Jewish state as far as its laws and customs, but the reality is not so democratic. Foreign sources report that Jews had already become a minority in the area of the greater Land of Israel several years ago. From now on, it is an official statistic.

CAMERA looks at the claims and finds, quite simply, that Eldar is lying, purposefully, to make his case:

Let's try to lay out Eldar's false claim, which is based on an item which appeared several days earlier in The Marker, a financial newspaper published by Ha'aretz, regarding the Export Promotion Law. According to this law, a factory is eligible for tax benefits intended to promote exports if at least 25 percent of its income stemmed from sales in markets of at least 12 million residents. Approximately one week ago, the Ministry of Finance sought to revise the law and increase the threshold to 14 milllion residents. Why? Because, wrote Eldar, the population of Israel together with the Palestinian Authority already reaches 12 million people, and therefore even those manufacturers who sell only to the local market are eligible for the aforementioned tax benefit even though it was not intended for them.

At this point, Eldar cites a figure from the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), that there are 5.9 million Jews living under Israeli rule. Using basic math, Eldar calculates that the rest of the population totals 6.1 million. In conclusion, given that the CBS is subordinate to the Prime Minister's Office, the government acknowledges that Jews are the minority between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

The Falsehood

Apparently, Eldar did not at all read the Ministry of Finance's memorandum upon which he relied. He wrote:

A Ministry of Fiance memorandum on the amendment to the law notes that in 2011 the population of Israel and the Palestinian Authority exceeded the 12 million mark, which enables manufacturers who market to these consumers to enjoy a tax break.

This is an outright falsehood. The memorandum, which can be read (in Hebrew) here, does not at all refer to the population of Israel or the Palestinian Authority and does not mention its number of residents, Jews or Arabs. The relevant excerpt from the memorandum follows:

Since Amendment 60 went into affect, more than seven years ago, the law has not been revised despite the increase in the world's population and its markets.

It is recommended to amend clause 18a of the law and to determine what will constitute a manufacturer which contributes to the economic independence of the national economy and a competitor for the local product if 25 percent or more of its income from the manufacturer's sales in the tax year are to a certain market of at least 14 million residents.

It is also recommended to establish a mechanism to automatically update the number of residents that constitute a substantial market, of 2 percent per year, in accordance with the world's population growth rate. (Emphases added.)

In other words, the Ministry of Finance is concerned with the growth of the world's population, not with Israel's population. Moreover, the number 12 million does not even appear in the entire memorandum. It only appears in Hila Raz's item in The Marker:

Since 2011 the population in Israel and the Palestinian Authority has surpassed the threshold of 12 million residents, and so an Israeli industrialist who sells to these populations is entitled to enjoy the tax benefit.

That is not a figure from the Ministry of Finance. It is an unsubstantiated claim by The Marker reporter. And Eldar has turned it into an official, governmental statistic.

...To summarize, Akiva Eldar took an unsubstantiated figure which appeared in The Marker (12 million residents from the Jordan River to the sea) and attributed this figure to the Ministry of Finance and the Central Bureau of Statistics, two governmental bodies, despite the fact that neither of them mentioned the figure. And, based on these journalistic acrobatics, we have the false headline "The government's acknowledgement that Jews are a minority in this land. . . "

...Why did Eldar invest so much effort into manipulating this data? The answer appears in the online subheadline, which posits that even the Israeli government acknowledges that "apartheid is here." Appealing to the most rabid anti-Israel activists, Ha'aretz pulls the "apartheid" genie out of the bottle, all by relying on an incorrect, unsubstantiated figure falsely attributed to the government. Ha'aretz knows precisely for whom they are writing overseas, and Eldar knows how to deliver.

As Mark Twain famously wrote, a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes. And here this lie from Ha'aretz didn't just travel halfway.

It spread like wildfire from local Palestinian Arab press to Al Jazeera to Arabic UPI, all falsely claiming as fact that Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics say that there are 12 million people that Israel is ruling. (Not to mention Mondoweiss, whose journalistic standards fall somewhat beneath those of The National Enquirer.)

Palestinian Arab demographics are famously suspect anyway, but to claim that Israel officially inflates them to be hundreds of thousands beyond what even the Palestinian Authority claims itself is something that can only be believed by those for whom facts are merely an option in their quest to demonize the Jewish state.

Tin Foil Head Open Thread

New York subways are interesting places.

Many trains have an amusing piece of art by Sophie Blackall that shows some of the characters you might get to see when you ride the subway (click to enlarge):

But reality is often weirder than art.

Here's someone I saw this week, sleeping:

Yes, that is tin foil in his hair. I suppose it could be that he was in the middle of curling it, but that doesn't explain his tin-foil necklace.

I wonder who he will vote for...

That being said, here's an open thread!

Wednesday links. Yes, it's that time again.

From Ian:

UK funding for anti-Israel NGOs
When the British taxpayer-funded Hebron Rehabilitation Committee issued a statement in August describing a terror attack by Islamic Jihad as a “heroic operation”, it should have been met with a very swift and severe response from the British Government, and a review of the Foreign Office’s funding practices.

"[T]he government recklessly allocates taxpayer funds to groups which hope to build a Palestinian state not alongside Israel but in place of it, which ignore the relentless campaign of terror against Israeli civilians that demonises Israel through absurd accusations of “apartheid” and “ethnic cleansing”.
By doing so, the government is merely eroding its very own vision of a two-state solution and fostering an atmosphere of mutual distrust and animosity at a time when understanding and co-operation are most needed."

Arab Women in the Middle East by Khaled Abu Toameh

"In Israel, however, Muslim women are not only allowed to drive and run for elections, but can also reach high positions. Not all Arab Israelis are an "enemy from within;" Muslim women in the Jewish state enjoy more rights and opportunities than their colleagues in Arab and Islamic countries.
While female Muslims are being abducted, raped, shot, tortured and forced into unwanted marriages in a number of Arab and Islamic countries, 33-year-old Maria Gharra has just become Israel's first Muslim woman to serve as a police officer."

Wake up, Europe
As Europe approaches the iceberg, there is a need to change course, before it commits ideological suicide.

"Today the threat of Islamist violence is felt in the houses of parliament and government. Europe has changed, and in as little as five years it could look very different. Yet, most Europeans seem unable to recognize the severity of this phenomenon objectively."

Christian Initiative Echoes Anti-Semitism of the Middle Ages

"The recent initiative by a group of Protestant Christian leaders calling on Congress to reevaluate military aid to Israel is a nauseating example of applying double standards against Jews and Israel under the cloak of piety and hypocritical sanctimoniousness."

Incensed Jewish groups weigh response to Protestant letter on Israel
Major US organizations consider canceling meeting with Christian counterparts over letter to Congress calling for possible aid cut

What to do when an enemy drone comes calling
UAVs may be an easy way for a country to collect information, but they are also an easy way for targets to mislead their enemies

"Drones may be even more susceptible to hack attacks than computers. “Drones need to be light; equipment to protect the drone’s navigation, photography, detection and other systems add weight, slowing them down,” Rod added. It’s certainly possible, claimed Rod, who is a top administrator for Avnet, one of Israel’s largest security firms. “Designers of drones often make compromises in order to keep the weight down, choosing to install a protection system for some modules, but not others.”

Netanyahu may seek to legalize West Bank outposts

"The report also concludes that the establishment of settlements in the West Bank does not breach international law, and that Jews can legally make their homes there, because “Israel does not meet the criteria of ‘military occupation’ as defined under international law.”
“A belligerent occupation is between two sovereigns,” panel member Alan Baker, a former Israeli Ambassador to Canada and a legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry, told The Times of Israel in a phone interview. “We could not accept the definition that this is a classic occupation. That is the novelty of this report.”

In East Jerusalem Neighborhood Residents Under Attack Feel Abandoned

"In general, residents report an uptick in terrorist activity in the Jerusalem vicinity, and the residents of Nof Tzion have noted it as well. In their case most of the attacks emanate from a new high school in Jabel Mukaber, which is situated right above Nof Tzion. Students throw stones and objects at Jewish homes and cars. A smashed car is found every few days."

PA confiscates archive of Hamas’s armed wing
Intelligence agency storms West Bank apartment, taking documents and hardware

September Sees Record Number of Tourists in Israel

"The bureau recorded 70,000 one-day visits, a 28-percent increase from last year, of which 33,000 were cruise-ship vacationers visiting for the day. Ben-Gurion International Airport noted a 6 percent increase in travelers in September as well, with 1,225,837 travelers passing through the airport last month. The Israeli Airports Authority said there had been a 1.7 percent increase in departures and arrivals compared with September 2011."

Israeli tablets to purify water for Syrians
Israeli government blesses a deal for Israel Chemicals to sell AquaTabs to UNICEF for Syria despite a law nixing trade with an enemy state.

Also:

Telling it like it is - in Arabic
A stupendous interview with an Israeli Arab woman

Boshra’s appearances on campus made waves, and, among her many radio appearances, she was interviewed by an Islamic, Arabic-language radio station in Johannesburg. The interviewer, a religious Saudi man, asked her questions which revealed a disheartening level of ignorance about Israel...

“He asked why Israel doesn’t let Muslims pray or go to Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem; why only Jews are allowed to pray [in the State of Israel]. I told them that in my own small village in the Galilee there are not only one but two mosques and two imams who both get a monthly salary from the state. The interviewer was in shock. I added that I could go pray at Al Aqsa mosque at will, freely. ...

“I said to him: ‘In Saudi Arabia, can a woman drive a car?’ He said no. I said: ‘I can.’ And he was silent. I asked: ‘Can a woman in Kuwait or Saudi Arabia meet a man and get to know him before getting married or is she just forced into marriage at a young age?’ He said no, she can’t. I said: ‘I can.’ And I would answer his questions with my own questions…and each time he would be stunned silent.”

Amazing video, allegedly of a Syrian helicopter shot down that explodes in mid-air.

Obama and the "T" word

Russia Resets Obama's "Reset"

[Yeah, I know I'm doing more presidential election stuff. The elections are only a month away, the polls are close and I am scared of a second Obama term. I have an outlet and, within reason, I will use it. I wish I knew that Romney would be better, but I cannot imagine how he can be worse on foreign policy, and the world literally depends on it. -EoZ]

A Jewish lawyer was a target for an Islamist terror cell in Paris (French)

Yesterday, Akiva Eldar in Ha'aretz claimed that an Israeli government report officially said that Jews were a minority in British Mandate Palestine, and therefore Israel was an "apartheid" state. Arabic media went wild. CAMERA's Hebrew Presspectiva demolishes Eldar and proves what a pathetic hack he is.