Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, March 01, 2013

Paid NYT obituary takes shot at NYT

Friday Links Part 1

From Ian:

LATMA: What is academic courage, and the blessed approach of the 3rd Intifada

Palestinians to Hagel Report: "We Don't Need U.S. Troops Here" by Khaled Abu Toameh

There is also no guarantee that Egypt, Jordan or any Arab country would be prepared to join a US-led force in wake of the current events in the Arab world.
Many Arabs and Muslims continue to view the US as an enemy, especially because of Washington's support for Israel. Any Arab leader who agrees to join a U.S. or NATO force will be denounced by his people as a traitor and puppet in the hands of Americans and Zionists.
Besides, who said that the Arab countries are keen on sending troops to patrol the streets of Palestinian cities?
Does anyone seriously think that Jordan's King Abdullah would ever send Jordanian soldiers to Palestinian cities? Hasn't Jordan's policy over the past two decades been to distance itself as much as possible from the Palestinians?

PMW: PA TV honors terrorists who killed 22 children and 4 adults for the second year in a row
Other terror attacks by DFLP also honored

The Ma'alot massacre was done by the DFLP in 1974. Terrorists took school children as hostages.
22 of them were murdered along with four adults.
The PA TV tribute also honored terrorists who were described as "the heroes of Beit Shean, the pride of the Palestinian revolution."
These were three PFLP terrorists who killed four civilians in the Israeli city of Beit Shean.

CIF Watch: A glimpse into how the Guardian reported Palestinian terrorism in 1974

Though the snapshot from the video is blurry, the story appears to open with the words, “Sixteen Israeli schoolchildren were killed tonight and 70 wounded by Arab terrorists…”. The focus is on the victims. The perpetrators were not described, per the author, Eric Silver, as “militants” (or some other euphemism), but, rather, “terrorists”.
The terrorists are referred to as “Arab”, not “Palestinian”.
Finally, though the strap line lurches towards something suggesting sympathy for the terrorists – by characterizing them as “trapped” – the headline aptly describes the event as a “massacre”.
It’s inconceivable that such terrorist savagery would be reported similarly today.
It’s difficult, short of scouring the Guardian Archives, to say for sure when the Guardian – a truly liberal and Zionist paper under the leadership, and subsequent legacy, of former owner C.P. Scott – began to first turn on the Jewish state. However, in 1974 (based on their coverage of the Ma’alot Massacre) they were still willing to unambiguously inform their readers that cold-blooded fanatics had murdered innocent Jewish children.

BBC Watch: Where can terrorism be named as such by the BBC?

One can be fairly confident that the BBC will not be setting up an interview between the police spokesman and Mishal Husein so that she can ask him how many residents of Northern Ireland were actually killed by “home-made contraptions”.
Notably, the BBC does not suggest any kind of linkage (implying extenuating circumstances) between the discovery of the weapons and the actions of Protestants in Northern Ireland or the policies of the British government.
In this case, the BBC has managed to report the story for what it is: the illegal possession of military-grade weapons by a terrorist group which threatens civilian lives.
It is a pity that the BBC is so often unable to apply the same standards of reporting to certain parts of the Middle East.

Accessories in Fogel Murder Sentenced
Three PA Arabs have been sentenced to prison for aiding the murderers of the Fogel family

Over two years after the vicious murders of five members of the Fogel family of Itamar, four PA Arabs have been sentenced to between two and seven years in prison for the assistance they rendered to the two Arab terrorists who carried out the attack.

Egypt confiscates missiles smuggled from Libya

An Egyptian security official says authorities have confiscated two pick-up trucks carrying 60 anti-tank missiles smuggled across the border from Libya.
The official says two truck drivers were arrested and the weapons seized just south of Cairo on Wednesday morning.

Hezbollah in a Slump
Arab sources openly denounce the organization as a subsidiary of Iran. Hanin Ghaddar, of the Lebanese web site, NOW, recently wrote:

Hezbollah is not, as it claims to its supporters, a Lebanese party whose mission is to protect Lebanese people and territories. It is a militia which uses Lebanon as a geographical base from which to launch attacks against Iran’s enemies no matter where or who they are.

Report: “Independent” Campaign Against Iranian Sanctions and Military Intervention Has Numerous Links to Regime

The Campaign Against Sanctions & Military Intervention in Iran (CASMII) was founded by Abbas Edalat in 2005. CASMII claims to be an advocate of Iranians everywhere as well as “independent of all political groups and governments, including the Iranian government.” But a recent report released by the Germany-based Stop the Bomb, a nonpartisan initiative aimed at stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, appears to counter these claims. According to the report, many of the people associated with the campaign have close ties to the Iranian regime, or have publicly supported it.

Ethiopian Israeli Stars on the Rise
A new pop singer and a new Miss Israel hit the mainstream

In what might be construed as either a coincidence, a rising trend, or a cultural rebuke against Israeli immigration policies, Ethopian stars seem to be making some serious headway in the Israeli cultural landscape.

"Harlem Shake" shaking up Egypt, Tunisia

I've been seeing lots of Arabic articles about young people performing the "Harlem Shake" dance craze as a protest in Egypt and Tunisia. Bloomberg seems to have done a decent synopsis:

Farid Sayed says more than two years of protests are bringing about little change in Egypt, so he decided to try something different: dancing.

The university student and his friends brought the Harlem Shake to the Cairo headquarters of President Mohamed Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood late yesterday. In front of the building, emblazoned with the group’s twin-sword logo, a dancer wearing a Mickey Mouse head and traditional Arab robe was joined by dozens of dressed-up protesters.

“We are sending a certain message: Our revolutionary struggle will continue and we will continue to be creative and sarcastic,” Sayed said before the rally.

Tunisians are also using the dance as a protest vehicle. A Facebook group is calling for a mass Harlem Shake today at the Ministry of Education, which is investigating students who made a dance video. Harlem Shake dancers have clashed with Salafists, followers of a strict version of Islam, and in Egypt at least four have been arrested.

While many Arabs, like people elsewhere in the world, are making videos inspired by the dance craze for fun, there’s a political edge to it in countries like Egypt and Tunisia. Their revolutions of 2011 have been followed by the rise to power of Islamist groups, raising concerns about restrictions on women’s rights and free expression.

Jonathan Rashad, who attended a Harlem Shake filming at the pyramids last month, said police stopped participants and asked them about the purpose of their dance. “They didn’t get that we were just doing that for fun,” he said. “Now, it’s becoming sort of activism, and resisting the government.”

Dance as a form of protest is “part of the renaissance movement that aims to break all taboos and red lines,” said Ezzedine Choukri Fishere, a political science professor at the American University in Cairo. Younger generations are reacting because their hopes for freer countries after the uprisings are being dashed by Islamists who are pushing them aside and monopolizing power, he said.

Tunisian Minister of Education Abdellatif Abid told Mosaique FM radio that he was ordering a probe into the filming of the video by students in a school compound in Tunis, and said those involved may be punished. Tunisian Salafists have confronted dancers over Harlem Shake videos, criticizing them as imitations of the West and as frivolous activities while Muslims are dying in Palestine.

A tour of the Belz synagogue in Jerusalem (EoZNews video)

Here is the video I made of the personal tour I had of the immense Belzer Hasidic synagogue earlier this week, that I mentioned in yesterday's post of the interview with the Belzer representative:

Hamas stole machine to print Egyptian IDs: Report

Youm7 reports that in the months after Egypt's revolution, a machine designed to print Egyptian ID cards was stolen from the Sinai and smuggled into Gaza, where fake Egyptian IDs are being printed to allow Gazans to move about Egypt without restrictions.

According to security sources, Egyptian authorities tried to get Hamas to cooperate in finding the machine in Gaza, but were rebuffed.

As a result, the report says, Egyptian security has been working hard to find all Palestinian Arabs in the Sinai and have set up numerous checkpoints to nab anyone using the false IDs.

Meanwhile, in another example of friction between Egypt and Hamas, several of the people involved in attacking and killing 16 Egyptian soldiers last year were positively identified as being from Gaza, both from autopsies and from what they had with them. The investigators say that a large number of Gazans were involved in the operation, together with radical jihadists in the Sinai.

Hamas denies both claims. Spokesman Abu Zuhri said that they had not the slightest basis in fact, and that the Egyptian people love the Gazans.

Hamas seems to have gotten the message that rockets must be stopped

I mentioned earlier that Israel has closed the Kerem Shalom crossing since a rocket attack on Monday.

It looks like Hamas has gotten the message that Israel will not turn a blind eye towards these events as she did in the past.

According to the (virulently anti-Hamas) Palestine Press Agency, in response to Hamas claims that Fatah is cooperating with Israel in keeping calm in Judea and Samaria, an apparent Hamas directive calling for the arrest and prosecution of people launching rockets in Gaza was leaked.

The document, dated 28/02/2013, is titled "A directive for the public interest in order to preserve the security and safety of citizens."

The directive called on all provincial managers, specialized departments and police stations to pursue rocket launchers and bring them to Hamas officials and then be handed over to the Internal Security Agency where they will be held accountable for a severe violation of the law.

PalPress released a facsimile of the order, pictured.

Keep in mind that PalPress is criticizing Hamas for keeping the peace, just as Hamas is criticizing Fatah for not publicly pushing a full-blown intifada in their areas. Unity talks between the two have been suspended indefinitely and the accusations have been increasing.

13,000 Gazans eagerly became Egyptian citizens in two years

You know how the Arab world (and their apologists) has been insisting for years that Palestinian Arabs have no desire to become citizens of any other country because they don't want to lose their "Palestinian" identity? (This includes, of course, becoming citizens of the "State of Palestine.")

The only problem is that every time a loophole opens that allows them to become citizens of Arab countries, they have jumped at the opportunity. It happened in Lebanon in the 1950s and again in the 1990s.

Now, an Egyptian law that allows children of Egyptian mothers to become Egyptian citizens has resulted in over 13,000 Gazans claiming and earning Egyptian citizenship in the last two years. Thousands more have applied for citizenship.

Anyone who claims to be "pro-Palestinian" who says that Palestinian Arabs must not be allowed to become citizens of Arab countries, if they so desire, is a hypocrite. Human rights advocates must demand that Palestinian Arabs be given the same rights that other Arabs have of applying for citizenship in any other Arab country, let alone their host countries that the vast majority were born in.

More Palestinian Arab farmers "collaborating" with Israel

Once again, contrary to what we are told by the Israel-haters, Palestinian Arab farmers visited Israel in order to cooperate in learning the latest farming techniques.

A colorful and a bit idyllic picture characterized the busy day that 40 farmers and merchants from the Gaza Strip spend during a professional-agricultural tour in Israel. The tour was coordinated by the agriculture department at the District Coordination Office (DCO) in Gaza, and was accompanied by the DCO Agriculture Coordinator, Mr Uri. Madar and Mr Eli Sadeh, also from the DCO’s Agriculture department.

The merchants came to Erez crossing as early as 8:00 am. For some, it was the first time in Israel, and others who have experienced past tours or seminars organized by the DCO, were warmly received by Eli Sadeh. The group boarded excitedly on the bus waiting for them at the crossing, and started the tour.

During the day, the group members visited agricultural factories around the country, where they were exposed to a variety of technological developments used in the agricultural industry in Israel. Between greetings and light refreshments, the farmers received information about the products manufactured in the factories, which will allow them to acquire the most appropriate products for their crops, and use it correctly. The farmers eagerly listen to every bit of information said by the professionals in the factories. Throughout the tour, the farmers asked questions about issues they encountered at the field, and received substantive and professional response.

"One tomato is enough for an entire family’s salad," marveled one of the farmers during visit in a factory for the production of different varieties of fruits and vegetables, and took a bite of an engineered tomato. Thus, this strain was added to list of products that the farmers planned to order on his return to Gaza. The list included pesticides, types of sheets and other products the farmers heard about during the day. Leaving the factory, the farmers were warmly invited to visit in the summer, during which a selection of watermelons and cantaloupes strains will be showcased.

Israel's policy of cooperation is dependent on calm from the Arab side, though:

None of this would have been possible if not for the tranquillity prevails in the Gaza Strip and around the Gaza Strip in recent months since Operation Pillar of Defense and under the framework of the new understandings, allowing Gaza’s farmers frequent visits for professional training and agricultural meetings. The Coordination and Liaison Gaza Strip will continue to promote the issue of agriculture and economy in Gaza as long as the situation will allow, and welcomes the opportunities and initiatives.

Indeed, since the rocket fire from Gaza on Monday, Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing, sending a message that cooperation is a two-way street. Hopefully the message has been received and goods transfers can resume soon.

This story shows yet again that the groups claiming to represent "Palestinian farmers" who call for boycotting Israel represent no one.

UC-Irvine researchers excited by Israel's water management

From Zvi:

We are accustomed to hearing bad news from UC Irvine. Last year, UC Irvine's student senate voted to join the ranks of the BDS (a.k.a. Bigotry and Double Standards) movement. UC Irvine allowed a group of hate-filled hooligans to repeatedly and aggressively attempting to silence Amb. Michael Oren.

Today, the news is of a very different kind.

A group of Irvine water researchers is visiting the region, exploring opportunities to share knowledge and to collaborate. I should say, first of all, that being water researchers, these visitors adhere to a point of view that is progressive and environmentally focused. For them, the water shortages in the middle east and around the world are looming crises that must be addressed soon in order to stave off disaster. They recently published a study on water losses in Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran over the years from 2003 to 2009. The researchers were invited to Israel by Friends of the Earth - Middle East.

In National Geographic Water Currents, Prof. James Famiglietti, director of the Hydrologic Modeling Center at the University of California – Irvine comments on their recent visit to the Technion.

Technion University was our first stop on this water journey,, where we met with researchers at the Grand Water Research Institute (GWRI). During our conversation at Technion, we learned about the Israeli tools to allocate, reuse, and distribute water and how academic research improves these tools. Israel’s water monitoring and allocation system is phenomenal – every drop of water, from freshwater resources to desalinated water, is accounted for, priced accordingly, and delivered to the end-user. ....

For we Californians, it was surprising and inspiring to hear about the innovative strategies in place to meet agricultural water demands and, even more so, that the farmers were completely in support of these policies. ...

As our discussions at Technion illustrated, the support for such innovative management policies begins with knowledge transfer to stakeholders. For example, the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture hosts annual meetings that farmers, academics, and decision makers attend with the goal of sharing their respective water experiences and to work toward more efficient water practices. A core aspect of that effective communication is creating practical, actionable results rooted in technical research. During our discussion at Technion, we repeatedly heard an emphasis on interdisciplinary research, bringing together economists, engineers, hydrologists, and politicians to guide those actionable results for water management. Technion is one of many universities that are part of the Middle East North Africa (MENA)Water Centers for Excellence project, sponsored by USAID. This platform provides the foundation for collaboration between researchers throughout the MENA region including in Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan.

The concept of a “water research network” is lacking in the United States, as is the connection between researchers and decision-makers at the local, state, and national levels. In Israel, this model of collaboration has resulted in meticulous monitoring of water resources to inform water management policies and the subsequent support from all stakeholders. If we could shift our water management paradigm in the United States to effectively link researchers, policy-makers, and local stakeholders with open lines of communication, the outcome could be groundbreaking.

Our meeting at the GWRI at the Technion left us with many ideas for potential collaboration between our research center at UC Irvine and the Technion. On a technical level, we discussed a wide variety of potential research topics, ranging from the development of a 3D groundwater model; the evaluation of the linkages between water and soil management at a global scale; the use of enviromatics to better manage and monitor regional water systems; and optimization of land-surface and water management models to better reflect the reality of water demand and supply. On a broader level, our meeting provided a glimpse at new strategies and tools that we, in California, can use to more effectively manage water resources, link stakeholders, communicate knowledge, and develop policies to sustainably manage our resources.

This Israel-California knowledge transfer model is an exciting venture, and we hope that over the duration of our trip we will find more ideas, collaboration opportunities, and links with civil society, academic, and governmental agencies.

Universities and researchers around the world need to reject bigotry, double standards and lies, and instead actively support collaboration with Israeli researchers. They do not need to do this for the sake of Israel; rather, they should do it for the sake of their own societies.

Thursday Links Part 2

From Ian:

Norwegian minister admits Palestinian incitement funding
The Norwegian Secretary of State has stated on national television that Norway helps fund Palestinian incitement

The Norwegian government appears to be one of the first European countries to be reconsidering its untargeted aid to the Palestinian territories on the basis of recent reports into incitement and anti-Semitism.
The issue, covered in depth by The Commentator, arises from the fact that Western governments give money often without conditions, to fund the budget of the Palestinian Authority. This has led to reported abuses of the cash, including the paying of terrorist salaries, rabid and frequent anti-Semitism and incitement in school textbooks, and the dedication of cultural events and organisations to known terrorists.

Norwegian State-Owned TV Links Country’s Funding of PA to Promotion of Hatred Towards Israel (VIDEO)

Norwegian state-owned TV, NRK, recently aired a 10-minute report on the PA’s incitement against Israel through hate speech in government sanctioned media. The report followed on the heels of a report by Palestinian Media Watch which drew a direct connection between the PA’s promotion of hatred and terror glorification and the Norwegian funding of the PA, at 300 million kroner a year ($52,628,700).

The PA promotes terror, the UK pays for it

While PA officials readily speak to Western audiences of their determination to reach peace with Israel, a very different story is presented to their domestic audience.
The imagery and language of hate broadcast in the Palestinian Authority’s name is well documented. From maps replacing the State of Israel with “Palestine”, to images of children carrying weapons, and cultural events named in honour of notorious Palestinian terrorists. And this has all been done with very little condemnation from the international community, including the United Kingdom.
This litany of inflammatory material fundamentally harms the peace process and hopes for a two-state solution. Ignoring incitement and hate education because we do not want to ‘rock the boat’ will not help us along the path to peace and it does not provide the steady foundations needed for peaceful co-existence.

A Web of Hate: European, U.S. Laws Clash on Defining and Policing Online Anti-Semitism

European laws on the issue, however, are not uniformly applied across the EU. Even the European Court of Human Rights does not offer an accepted definition for “hate speech,” instead offering only parameters by which prosecutors can decide if the “hate speech” is entitled to the protection of freedom of speech. Prosecutors therefore exercise a great amount of discretion, as do policemen, who must classify the act as a hate crime or not, and judges, who must assess which action or speech is likely to disturb public order. “That assessment can be subjective,” Naamat said.

Breaking the Silence leaked EU report on Israel
Left-wing NGO behind leak of annual EU report that slams Israel for its Jerusalem and settlement policies.

The far-Left NGO Breaking the Silence was behind a leak on Wednesday of the annual report put together by heads of EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah, which blasted Israeli policies, saying “settlement construction remains the biggest single threat to the two-state solution.”

As is the case each year, one diplomatic official said, the damning report generates headlines, but does not have much of an impact on overall EU policy. Nevertheless, he added, even if the findings and recommendations don’t become official policy, that they are leaked to the press ensures they will be “picked up by the chattering classes, and become accepted as conventional wisdom.”

MK Ben-Dahan: Stop EU’s Pro-PA Endeavors
MK Ben-Dahan slams EU report on settlements, suggests Israel respond by stopping Europe’s pro-PA building in Judea and Samaria.

MK Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan (Bayit Yehudi) had strong criticism Wednesday for a European Union report that recommended a boycott targeting Israelis living in Judea and Samaria. The EU also condemned construction in majority-Jewish neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
“We are again witness to blatant interference in internal Israeli policy, in such a way as to give one-sided support to the Palestinians,” he said. EU consuls should be reminded that the British Mandate has been over for some time, he added.

Neo-Nazi Parties Threaten to 'Upend European Parliament'
Anti-Defamation League urges United States Congress to mobilize a united voice against the return of political anti-Semitism.

Calling the election of neo-Nazi parties to European parliaments “one of the most alarming setbacks in the fight against anti-Semitism,” the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today urged members of the United States Congress to mobilize a united voice against the return of political anti-Semitism.

Isi Leibler: Germans lurching toward anti-Semitism
There is growing resentment against Jews, who are blamed for imposing excessive emphasis on collective German guilt for the Holocaust.

Benz equates Islamophobia with anti-Semitism, alleging that critics of Islamic practice are reminiscent of Nazi anti-Semites attacking the Talmud. He recently challenged the fact that the Muslim terrorist murders in Toulouse had an “anti-Semitic dimension.” He dismisses concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood as being reminiscent of anti-Semitic phobias like The Protocols of the Elders of Zion and bizarrely complains that drawing attention to the fact that Muslims comprise 70 percent of Berlin prison inmates is comparable to Hitler’s ravings over “the fact that 89% of Berlin pediatricians in the 1930s were Jews.”

For Jews, the positive side of Germany is the evident abundance of pro-Israeli and even philo-Semitic rank-and-file Germans in all walks of life. Yet simultaneously, the intensifying efforts by left-wing activists uniting with Muslim extremists, and occasionally even Nazis, to demonize Israel and promote anti-Semitism, provide valid grounds for concern about a future for Jews in Germany.
The situation is likely to further deteriorate drastically after the culmination of Angela Merkel’s term as chancellor.

‘Split personality’ phone solves major security breach
Red Bend’s new dual-persona Android OS platform for Samsung phones provides a better solution to the ‘BYOD dilemma’

When employees were using their company-issued devices strictly for company work, system administrators had a large measure of control over how that data could be used — a crucial security feature, especially nowadays, as cyber-attackers and hackers develop ever more sophisticated tactics to steal data. There are many solutions out there to ensure data safety on dual-purpose devices, but few are as elegant as the one that data security company Red Bend has developed for Samsung, which was introduced at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week.
There’s a golden rule among network security administrators: the more exposed a device is to the Internet, the less secure it is. When a device is used strictly to interface with a company’s mail or data server, it’s easy to set up a secure data pipe for communications that is unlikely (or at least less likely) to be compromised by hackers.

Egypt searching for Hamas terrorists in Sinai

Isn't this interesting?

The Interior Ministry is searching for 500 Palestinian citizens who are allegedly Hamas members, and who are accused of illegally entering the country in between 14 and 24 February, security sources said.

Three of the individuals are suspected of terrorist activities, said the sources, who requested anonymity.

The ministry allegedly received intelligence that Palestinians were staying in apartments and hotels in Cairo’s Azbakeya district, but left two days ago after being tipped off prior to a police raid.

Police found four weapons in the apartments and two Palestinian passports, one of which allegedly belonged to an individual who had previously been arrested for ties to a Lebanese terrorist cell.

Egypt isn't embracing Hamas in the manner that Hamas expected. There were (probably false) rumors yesterday in the Egyptian press about Hamas threatening the Egyptian army over demolishing some of the Rafah tunnels.

But hard evidence of Hamas terrorists in Egypt is not going to help matters for the Islamic movement in Gaza.

"Price tag" attack last week was fabricated by Arabs

From Ma'an last week:

Armed settlers attacked a village south of Nablus overnight Wednesday and torched six cars, a Palestinian Authority official said.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, said dozens of residents of the Esh Kodesh settlement outpost entered Qusra village firing heavily.

They torched six cars, belonging to Raed Musbah, Abed Taher, Yousef Odeh, Yasser Abu Rida, and Nashat Fawzi, Daghlas told Ma'an.

Villagers confronted the settlers, Daghlas said. A large force of Israeli soldiers entered the village and also clashed with locals, he added.

An investigation has determined that the Palestinian Arab claims are fabricated.

A police investigation revealed that residents of the village burned the vehicles, and accused the residents of the nearby outpost, Esh Kodesh, of the act. Six vehicles were burned a day after severe clashes erupted between residents of Korsa and residents of the nearby outpost, and the Palestinians were quick to also invite the media and human rights organizations who expressed shock at the act attributed to settlers.

Police said that the “evidence” supplied by Arabs that Jews had undertaken the attack – an Israeli identity card left at the scene – was fabricated. The ID card belonged to a soldier who, on the night of the attack, was stationed far from the Arab village. He had apparently lost the ID card, with Arabs finding it and holding onto it, apparently for an event just like the one that occurred in the village last week.

(h/t None)

"Right of Return" conferences in Boston - and Rafah

Anti-Israel activists are organizing a "Right of Return" conference at Boston University for April.

They will be presenting pseudo-scholarly papers discussing how to legally destroy Israel. The conference materials themselves say this:

While asserting the inalienable right of Palestinians to return to and live in their homeland, we also principally affirm the right of Israelis to live in Palestine as well.

Assuming, ab initio, that there will be no Israel after "return."

In case anyone is fooled by the seeming gravitas of papers submitted to the conference at Boston U., we can see in the abstract linked things like

Application of international law on refugee rights and internally displaced persons indicates that Palestinian refugees have valid restitution claims to land and property located in present-day Israel. UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions further reaffirm the refugees’ right of return.

This is simply false. While there was one UNSC resolution (237) that called on Israel to facilitate the return of any Arabs who fled in 1967, Israel did so. The word "right" was never mentioned in UNGA 194, and indeed it was interpreted by the UN itself in 1950 as not to apply to the situation today.

But why expect honesty in a paper designed to facilitate the destruction of the Jewish state?

Luckily, Hamas doesn't try to clothe their desire to destroy Israel in faux academic garb. Here are photos from their recent "Right of Return" conference in Rafah:

EoZNews Video: A hareidi response to the Israeli draft

This week I was given the opportunity to be given a personal tour of the headquarters of the Belzer Hasidic movement in Jerusalem.

The building complex is very impressive and I plan to post a video of the tour of the huge synagogue itself soon.

While being showed around, I spoke to the Belzer representative, Yechezkal Friedman, about the major issues being discussed today concerning the hareidi community in Israel today, specifically the idea of being drafted for army or national service, the perception that the hareidim are freeloaders off of Israeli society and the hareidi economic model.

Whether you agree with the haredi movement or not, it is worthwhile hearing their point of view, which is a little more nuanced than how it is reported in most Israeli and world media. (One point that Friedman made that I didn't follow up on was that the Belzer opposition to national service was specifically for those who are young, 18 or so; he said that he did not know whether the Belzer Rebbe opposed older members - say, 27 year olds - doing some sort of service. This might point the way towards an agreement of sorts.)

Thursday Links Part 1

From Ian:

Oxford students overwhelmingly vote down Israel boycott
Jewish groups hail 69-10 tally, but motion will still likely appear on agenda at national student union confab next month

Aslan-Levy, who was also present at the vote Wednesday night, said he hoped that other British universities would follow Oxford in voting down BDS measures.
“Tonight Oxford students showed that their commitment to intellectual freedom is unshakeable. In rejecting calls for a boycott against Israel by a seven-to-one margin, we demonstrated resoundingly that we want Oxford to continue to cooperate with Israeli academics, trade with Israeli businesses and — yes — debate with Israeli debating societies,” he said.
He told The Times of Israel that students had been puzzled about why they were being asked to support a motion promoting an academic boycott.
“Students don’t think the role of a student union is to be making foreign policy,” he said. “They were confused why they were asked to embrace a boycott of Israeli universities – they were confused about the point. There was a strong belief that such motions are divisive.”

Video: Zionist Student Protest Counters Pro-Arab Demonstration

Arabs and leftists held a protest outside the Tel Aviv University on Wednesday, in support of the terrorist prisoners in Israeli jails.
The protesters called out racist remarks against Jews.
They were countered by Jewish students and activists of the Im Tirtzu movement, who held a counter-demonstration at the same time in support of the activities of the IDF and the Israeli security forces.
The counter-protesters made it clear that supporting terrorists is a moral deformity, as they put it, and that anyone who supports terrorists being held in prisons “supports terrorism in general and those who act to harm innocent civilians.”

CiF Watch complaint to PCC prompts Guardian to begrudgingly revise Rachel Corrie op-ed

After many months, and a series of correspondences between Sela, the PCC and Guardian editors stubbornly resistant to admitting error, the Guardian begrudgingly agreed to amend their editorial to acknowledge that the Israeli court ruling contradicted claims that Corrie was preventing a home demolition on that day.

MEMRI: Lebanese Lecturer Hassan Jouni: Rich Jews Sent Poor Jews to the "So-Called Holocaust"

Saudi Cleric Saleh Al-Maghamsi: In His Death, Bin Laden More Honorable Than Any Infidel VIDEO

Syrian tank shell lands in Israeli Golan Heights town
Amid reports that Assad’s forces have left the Syrian side of the Golan, errant fire is first spillover incident since mortars fell over the border in November

A tank shell fired from Syria landed in the Golan community of Alonei Habashan late Wednesday morning, the first such incident since several mortars landed in the Golan in November.
No damage was reported. The shell, believed to be an errant shot from a battle between Syrian government forces and rebels, landed in an open area and did not explode. Sappers later disarmed it.

Report: Nasrallah's Hizbullah Deputy Injured or Killed in Syria

The second-in-command to Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah has been injured -- and may have been killed -- in an attack on a convoy by Syrian opposition forces.
Naim Qassem, deputy to Nasrallah, was wounded Tuesday in the blast along with several high-ranking Syrian officers, according to the Lebanon-based al-Mustaqbal newspaper.

Iranian Officials: The Jews Are Responsible For The Massacre Of Muslims In Myanmar

As part of the demonizing of Jews and Judaism in Iran, officials and mainstream media have accused the Jews of playing a considerable role in the massacre of Muslims in Myanmar in the summer of 2012. This report will review some of these statements, as well as Iranian cartoons conveying the same message.

Expert: Stuxnet part of long-term effort to stop Iran nukes
New evidence shows that the virus has been active in Iran’s Natanz facility almost since the day it opened in 2007

Researchers at antivirus company Symantec said they had gathered evidence that earlier versions of the code, which they called Stuxnet 0.5, was already seen “in the wild” as early as 2005, although it wasn’t yet operational as a virus. Stuxnet, said Symantec Tuesday, was the first virus known to attack national infrastructure projects, and according to the company, the groups behind Stuxnet were already seeking to compromise Iran’s nuclear program in 2007 — the year Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility, where much of the country’s uranium enrichment is taking place, went online,

Gaza’s massive haul of devil rays sparks big fish story
Palestinian fishermen catch hundreds of the endangered species and lay them out on beach, prompting absurd online feeding frenzy

The Giant Devil Ray, indigenous to the Mediterranean Sea, is listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The reason Gaza fishermen said that the fish had not been seen in these numbers in several years may have been a result of overfishing in the Mediterranean and a subsequent ban on fishing that would further endanger the species.
The General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean — to which Israel is a party, but the Palestinian Authority is not — issued a ban on trawling below 1,000 meters and driftnet fishing, likely significantly reducing bycatch fishing of devil rays.

Ethiopian woman chosen as "Miss Israel"

From JTA:

Yityish Aynaw, a former Israeli army officer, became the first Ethiopian-Israeli to win the Miss Israel pageant.

A panel of judges awarded the title to Aynaw, a 21-year-old model who came to Israel about a decade ago, at the International Convention Center Haifa on Wednesday.

"It's important that a member of the Ethiopian community wins the competition for the first time," she was quoted by Israeli media as telling the judges in response to a question. "There are many different communities of many different colors in Israel, and it's important to show that to the world."

In the interest of fully informing my readers of all relevant background information, without the slightest hint that I have any gratuitous motives, here is Aynaw together with her competition:

Praising Palestinian Arabs for not lynching an Israeli doctor

The bigotry of soft expectations:

An expert anesthesiologist from Israel secretly visited a Palestinian hospital in the occupied West Bank to treat a man injured by Jewish settlers, Israeli media reported Wednesday.

Micha Shamir, of Hadassah Resuscitation School and Service, and an Israeli nurse went to Nablus on Sunday to move a 27-year-old Palestinian who was seriously injured by settlers in Qusra, the Hebrew-language daily Maariv reported.

"Going to Nablus was dangerous and I had several moments of fear," Shamir told Maariv.

The patient was being treated in a local hospital but his life was in danger and the hospital sought medical help from Israel. Officials contacted Shamir to ask if he would go to Nablus without a military escort.

"I did not think twice before I agreed," the anesthesiologist said.

A Palestinian vehicle waited at the entrance to Nablus, and the driver sped past Palestinian protesters who were clashing with Israeli troops near a military checkpoint.

Shamir spent over an hour examining the patient before they could move him, Maariv said.

The injured man was then evacuated by ambulance to a nearby Israeli military base where a helicopter was waiting to take him to hospital in Israel, according to the report.

As they left the Nablus hospital, the Israeli medics saw dozens of Palestinians gathering near the hospital.

"The way we were escorted was praiseworthy. The Palestinian security used an ambulance and some security patrols for camouflage to secure our mission."

It goes without saying that an Israeli doctor publicly going to Nablus to save an Arab life would be in danger of being lynched by the people he is trying to help. Otherwise, this wouldn't be a news story.

But lets give kudos to the PA for not allowing Shamir to be brutally murdered. Yay!

The double standard isn't only that Israel is expected to act in ways that no other Western country is; it is also that the Arabs aren't expected to even act like responsible adults. As I said in my talk last week, until the world starts expecting Arabs to act more maturely than toddlers with guns, they won't.

Erdogan calls Zionism a "crime against humanity"

From Hurriyet Daily News:

Islamophobia must be recognized as a crime against humanity in the same fashion that Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism should be, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday.

Speaking at the “Fifth Alliance of Civilizations Forum” in Vienna’s Hofburg Palace, the prime minister underlined the rising trend of fascism across the Europe. “We are facing a world in which racist attacks have gained momentum, terrorism has claimed more lives, and religions and sects treat each other with less understanding,” Erdoğan said.

“Just like Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it becomes unavoidable that Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity,” Erdoğan said.

UN Watch slammed the comparison at the UN-sponsored conference, and notes the irony that Erdogan's statement itself is anti-semitic:

"We remind secretary-general Ban Ki-moon that his predecessor Kofi Annan recognized that the UN’s 1975 Zionism-is-racism resolution was an expression of anti-Semitism, and he welcomed its repeal." [UN Watch said.]

UN Watch urged all members of the Alliance’s High Level Group, including Archbishop Desmond Tutu, “to denounce remarks that fundamentally contradict the very purpose of a forum supposedly dedicated to mutual tolerance.”

“Erdogan’s misuse of this global podium to incite hatred, and his resort to Ahmandinejad-style pronouncements appealing to the lowest common denominator in the Muslim world, will only strengthen the belief that his government is hewing to a confrontational stance, and fundamentally unwilling to end its four-year-old feud with Israel.”

Erdogan is saying that Jewish national self-determination is a "crime against humanity," which is by any yardstick an anti-semitic statement.

Will NATO or the UN condemn this vile expression of hate given at a UN-sponsored conference?

(h/t Gidon Shaviv)

Muslim Brotherhood member appointed to lead an Egyptian state TV channel

From Egypt Independent:

Information Minister Salah Abdel Maqsoud, a known Muslim Brotherhood sympathizer, has appointed a Brotherhood member to take over as chief of state-owned Nile News Channel, according to anonymous sources Wednesday.

The sources from State Television said Yasser Al-Dakany has taken the top job at Nile News and will be in control of its programming and news bulletins.

Dakany is the head of the Brotherhood's satellite channel Egypt 25. If confirmed, Dakany will replace Ahmad Sharaf, who accuses the minister of turning the channel into a Brotherhood mouthpiece.

On Wednesday, Sharaf told Al-Masry Al-Youm “Everyone knows that the minister fears my tendencies, whether professional or political, especially because I am against the brotherhoodization of the media owned by the state, while he wants to control the news sector,” Sahraf added.

Another wonderful Spring feeling.

Wednesday Links Part 2

From Ian:

Talk of dual-citizen disloyalty in Zygier affair simply irresponsible by Gerard Henderson

If the likes of Saul or Walker had specifically referred to the (alleged) dual loyalty, or divided loyalties, of any other group or nationality they almost certainly would have been publicly rebuked. But it seems a different standard applies when accusations are made against Jewish Australians and Australian/Israeli dual nationals.
The Jewish community in Australia spends considerable funds guarding its synagogues and schools from attack. Some costs are also borne by state and federal police. In such an environment, it is irresponsible in the extreme for prominent Australians to imply some of their fellow citizens are disloyal.

Barry Rubin: Who Will the Muslim Brotherhood Heed: Allah or Tom Friedman (and such people)? No Contest

Sigh. Forgive me. I really don't want to write this article but it is too good a case study of the contemporary Western foreign policy reporting, debate, and elite attitudes toward international affairs. And doing a better job is vital because this task involves the fate of millions of people; matters of war and peace; the most basic interests of the United States; and the decency of intellectual discourse.
I refer of course to: Thomas L. Friedman's latest effort, "The Belly Dancing Barometer." Hey, tens of millions of lives are at stake so that's worth a flippant title and a goofy concept, right?

Hamas warns Obama against Temple Mount visit
Trip to Jerusalem’s holiest site would be ‘a diplomatic catastrophe,’ Islamists declare; mufti sets three conditions for presidential tour

Responding to unconfirmed rumors that US President Barack Obama intends to visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during his trip to Israel next month, the Hamas terror group warned the American leader against the idea on Tuesday, calling it “a diplomatic catastrophe,” and local Muslim leaders set stiff conditions for a presidential tour there.
A statement issued by Hamas called Obama’s potential visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, located at the southern perimeter of the Mount, “an imminent danger which the Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem have never faced.”

Palestinians: Boycott Jerusalem marathon
PLO says route through eastern part of city is an attempt to assert Israeli sovereignty; municipality calls it a ‘symbol of co-existence’

‘Spontaneous’ Arab Riots a Message from PA to Obama
Former IDF general says ‘spontaneous rage’ riots are a message to Obama and Netanyahu, aiming at restarting Israel-PA talks.

Two Arrested For Suspected Links to Toulouse Gunman
French police arrested two men in city of Toulouse in connection with Islamist gunman Mohamed Merah's March killing spree.

The pair, aged 23 and 20, were being held in detention and questioned over their links to the self-proclaimed, Al-Qaeda inspired shooter who killed a rabbi, three Jewish children and three French paratroopers in and around Toulouse.
They are suspected of providing "logistical help" to Merah, who was shot dead during a police siege.

German soccer squad battles neo-Nazi violence
Extreme right-wing fans increasingly use Borussia Dortmund games to attack enemies and spread messages of hate

Dealing with a surge of right-wing extremism among its fans, Borussia Dortmund has long used social workers at games to defuse tense situations and help promote tolerance.
This month, however, the social workers themselves ended up being attacked by a group of neo-Nazi fans, with one of them beaten badly in a stadium bathroom.
It was one of many recent incidents that highlight how Germany — and Dortmund in particular — is still dealing with grim reminders of its dark days of racism, intolerance and violence.

Dutch TV program prompts call for anti-Semitism probe
Interviews with immigrant students showed admiration for Hitler and hatred of Jews

“The interviewees appear to be partly aware of the Holocaust, but approve of the mass murder of Jews,” the Hague-based CIDI wrote.
One of the interviewees said on camera: “I am more than pleased with what Hitler did to the Jews.” Another said: “I hate Jews, period. Nothing you do will make me change my mind.”

New implant is alternative to spinal fusion

The Israeli company Premia Spine is offering a unique and – it believes – better option. Its trademarked TOPS (Total Posterior Solution) System aims to revolutionize the spinal implant market in the same way that total hip and total knee replacement systems made hip and knee fusions a thing of the past.

Waze named world’s best mobile app
Israeli navigation app steered itself to the industry’s top honors at the Mobile World Congress.

Mobile navigation and traffic community app, Waze, is definitely headed in the right direction. The Israeli startup has been named Best Mobile App for 2013.
The world’s fastest-growing community-based traffic and navigation app triumphed over the likes of Flipboard, Square and Dropbox to take the “Judges Choice – Best Overall Mobile App” prize at the 18th Annual Global Mobile awards.