Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, August 05, 2013

Centrist Pakistani politician sues rival over being labeled "Zionist"

First, background from Wikipedia:

The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a centrist, nationalist and communitarian political party in Pakistan, which was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party is an anti-status quo movement advocating for an egalitarian and modern model of Islamic democratic welfare state.

Now:

Chairman [of] Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, says he has decided to sue Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) leader, Maulana Fazl-ur-Rahman, for his "Jewish lobby ties" remarks, Geo News reported.

"Mualana Fazl-ur-Rahman will now have to take the stand in the court of law to prove that I am pursuing a Zionist agenda. A libel lawsuit will soon be filed against him", said Imran talking to media here on Sunday.

Khan, who was flanked by party leaders Shireen Mazari and Assad Umer, said, it's time Fazl evidenced his allegations in the court that he (Imran Khan) was an agent of Jews, adding everyone very well knew whose agent Fazl was.

Citing one of the WikiLeaks released diplomatic wires, the PTI leader said that Fazl should not forget that it was he who begged a US ambassador to install him (Fazl) as Pakistan's prime minister in return of 'any service.'

I imagine in a few decades we will be seeing similar lawsuits from politicians in Europe upset at being described as "Zionist."

8/05 Links Part 2: UN accredits NGO whose head is ‘glad to be labeled anti-Semitic’

From Ian:

UN accredits NGO whose head is ‘glad to be labeled anti-Semitic’

At a session in New York last week, the UN Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People officially granted accreditation to five civil society organizations, among them the Perdana Global Peace Foundation, which was founded by Mahathir Mohamad.
Mohamad, who served as Malaysia’s prime minister from 1981 until 2003, has repeatedly sparked controversy with his anti-Western and anti-Semitic comments. In a 2003 speech, he said that “the Jews rule the world by proxy” and get “others to fight and die for them.” During the same speech, he further stated, “They invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong so they may enjoy equal rights with others. With these, they have now gained control of the most powerful countries.”

Australian ex-deputy PM slams ‘Jewish lobby’ over Pius criticism

A former deputy prime minister of Australia attacked the “Jewish lobby” for what he considers unfair treatment of pope Pius XII, prompting Jewish groups to accuse him of anti-Semitism.
In an interview with Australian media, Tim Fischer suggested that a “Jewish lobby” controlled by Israel silences attempts to defend the wartime pope’s record. This lobby needed “momentum and profile” and had become “increasingly shrill” in its criticism of the pope, he said.

Sunnis Boycott Al-Quds Day in Ontario

Expert and blogger Jonathan Dahoah Halevi, who witnessed the event, wrote afterward that “Besides the regular and expected manifestation of hatred towards Israel (“From the river to the sea Palestine will be free”, “IsraelHell” etc.) and Zionism (“Down with Zionism”) demonstrators proudly carried and waved the flags of Iran, Syria, Hizbullah and Palestine, the flag of the Mahdi (Muslim Messiah) as well as pictures of Ayatollah Khomeini.”
The staunch support for Iran, Syria and Hizbullah was not dampened by the fact that all three parties are accomplices in the horrendous genocide of the Sunni Muslim community in Syria, Halevi noted.

Lunatic At Toronto Al Quds Day Rally Says Israelis Should Be Given 2 Minute Warning To Get Out Or They Start Shooting

"Elias Hazineh, Former President of Palestine House, attended the annual Quds Day rally that took place on August 3, 2013 in Toronto. In his speech to a crowd of hundreds holding anti-Israel banners and waving the flags of Palestine, Iran, Syria (Assad regime) and Hezbollah, Hazineh uttered a threatening message to the Jews living in Israel, while talking in favor of endorsing a strategy that will give the Israeli Jews an ultimatum to leave immediately the country or to be shot dead."
Palestine House is an anti-Semitic NGO defunded by the [Canadian] federal government.

Ultra-Orthodox man who offered to spy for Iran served in IDF

An ultra-Orthodox man accused of offering to spy for Iran on Israel previously served in the Israel Defense Forces but was released for reasons of mental health.
The man, a member of the anti-Zionist fringe group Neturei Karta, was remanded for two days during a hearing at the Jerusalem District Court Monday.

Egyptian anti-Obama video goes viral, blames him for siding with Muslim Brotherhood

An example of the vitriol in the country can be seen in a new video clip featuring a song by Egyptian performer Sama Elmasry. Titled “You Obama, Your Father, Mother,” it attacks the US president for allegedly preferring Islamic radicals over the army. It has gone viral, with over 160,000 views since last week.
The clip features Obama in traditional Islamic dress. Elmasry curses him while mentioning that he had called for former president Hosni Mubarak to leave immediately, seeming to imply that this proved he was pro-Brotherhood.
The song also mentions Obama’s support for Islamistled Turkey as well as Israel. It is highly nationalistic in tone and ends with a photo of Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who led the anti-Morsi coup.

IDF Enlists New Robot to Defend Israelis from Explosives

Yahalom, the elite special force of the Combat Engineering Corps, operates in various terrains. It specializes in robotics, diffusion of bombs, minefield neutralization, and destruction of enemy infrastructure and outposts. It is also trained for active combat, such as the planting of bombs in enemy territory. The unit’s explosives disposal detachment is to begin using the Talon IV robots in the near future, bolstering its ability to thwart attempts to kill and injure Israelis using planted explosives.

Top 10 Israeli apps that are revolutionizing your journeys

Whether it’s a navigation aid you’re seeking, or a city bus or parking, these apps have you covered. One will check your tire pressure and another checks your breath to gauge if you’re too tipsy to drive – and it’ll even hail you a cab if you are.

Tadir Gan wins $45m Volkswagen contract

Tadir-Gan (Precision Products) Ltd. (TASE: TDGN), controlled by First Israel Mezzanine Investors Fund (FIMI), has won a $45 million contract from Volkswagen AG (DAX: VOW) to supply engine parts over eight years from 2015. The contract is the result of two acquisitions by Tadir Gan earlier this year.
Tadir Gan will supply aluminum components produced at its plants in Afula and Germany and magnesium products from its plant at Kibbutz Neve Or. The components are designed for large engines for Volkswagen's high-end models.

Veto on Disease

A little tolerance can go a long way. If the immune system, for instance, could be coaxed into tolerating foreign tissue rather than rejecting it outright, a variety of blood disorders could be treated by bone marrow transplants. Immune tolerance could also help extend these transplants to people who are currently too frail to receive them; in addition, it could facilitate the transplantation of kidneys, liver and other body organs.
An international team led by Weizmann Institute researchers has recently managed to induce a certain degree of immune tolerance by making use of so-called veto cells. These are naturally occurring immune cells that exert veto power over their own destruction: When attacked by the recipient’s immune cells, they launch a pre-emptive strike, destroying the attackers.

Israeli Researchers Invent Spray to Stop Hospital-Acquired Infections

One out of every 20 hospital patients in the United States contracts a hospital-acquired infection, with infants in intensive care and the elderly facing the highest risk of infection and death. Israeli researchers have invented a new spray that can help stop hospital-acquired infections.
The spray stops microorganisms from sticking to the surface of objects and reproducing, a process known as bio fouling. (h/t Jewess)

Dr. Mehmet Oz praises ‘coexistence’ at Israeli hospital

America’s favorite physician, Dr. Mehmet Oz, and Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, recently wrapped up a 10-day tour in Israel that included all the main tourist sites and a stopover at the world’s largest and most advanced “fortified hospital” at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
Dr. Oz, the Turkish-American cardiothoracic surgeon who hosts The Dr. Oz Show, toured the Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital and Rambam’s state-of-the-art shock-trauma ward, prior to hosting a public lecture on health, morality, religion and culture.

Jews were interned in Indonesia during WWII

From Asahi Shimbun:

A Dutch woman has come forward to confirm that occupying Japanese forces rounded up and placed Jews in Indonesia into a separate internment camp during World War II, where they were subject to beatings and near-starvation rations.

Anne-Ruth Wertheim, 78, a former senior high school teacher who is now living in Amsterdam, confirmed its existence as a living witness of the camp.

“When I was in Indonesia in my childhood, I was put in an internment camp for Jewish people,” she said in an e-mail.

At her home in Amsterdam, Wertheim talked about her past while clutching her mother's diary.

She was born in Batavia (current Jakarta) in Indonesia, which was then a colony of the Netherlands. Her father, who was Jewish, was the principal of a law school. Her mother was not Jewish.

Japan occupied Indonesia in March 1942 in an attempt to secure oil supplies and shore up its defense lines in Southeast Asia. Wertheim's father was sent to an internment camp for Dutch and other civilians in Indonesia. At that time, other family members were allowed to remain at home.

In January 1944, however, Wertheim was sent to an internment camp for women and children in Jakarta along with her mother, older sister and younger brother. At that time, she was 9 years old.

In September 1944, a Japanese officer told internees in the camp, “If even one drop of Jewish blood flows in your bodies, tell me.”

Her mother wrote in her diary, “Though I am not Jewish, I wrote my name in the list of Jewish people in order not to be separated from my children.”

In December 1944, Wertheim and her family members were transferred from Jakarta to an internment camp in Tangerang, in the western part of Java Island. Two-thirds of the people in the camp were Jewish. The remaining detainees were members of the Freemasonry fraternal organization, and those who had belonged to the ruling class.

In the camp, iron bars were installed on the windows. Boards, each measuring only about 50 centimeters in width, were placed in rows to serve as beds.

“The living conditions in the camp were clearly worse than those in the previous camp,” Wertheim said.

Meals in the camp, which consisted of only one scoop of rations, were decreased from three times to twice daily. On such near-starvation rations, women stopped menstruating and children's growth became stunted.

Harsh disciplinary measures were observed in the camp. If internees did not bow sufficiently to Japanese soldiers, they were struck by camp staff. In addition, all the prisoners would then be forced to stand in the hot sun for many hours to take collective responsibility for a breach.

The article gives some background material:

Aiko Utsumi, director of the Center for Asia Pacific Partnership of Osaka University of Economics and Law, has detailed knowledge of Japan’s policies concerning wartime internment camps in Indonesia. Among historical materials she copied at the national archives of the Netherlands, there was a list of names of Jewish internees.
...
After the end of the war, employees of the Japanese Justice Ministry visited released war criminals and interviewed them. The records of the interviews were also found in the National Archives of Japan.

According to the records, one of the former war criminals said about the former section chief, “As a researcher of Jewish issues, he clamped down on Jewish people and, as a result, he angered them.”

During the war, the former section chief contributed several articles to The Java Shimbun, a newspaper published on Java Island by The Asahi Shimbun, and also gave interviews. One of the articles read, “Jews and Freemasons are plotting to control the world.”

Judging from these historical materials, Utsumi said, “It is certain that there were internment camps exclusively for Jewish people in Indonesia that was under the occupation of Japan.”
...
According to Ikuhiko Hata, an expert on modern history, the view that Jews and Freemasons were plotting to control the world was spreading widely in Japan during the war.

There was a conference on this topic in 2010:

A key aspect in the factors leading to Jewish suffering in Indonesia was one known in other areas too. Indonesia’s economic position and the ongoing war inevitably led to a severe financial crisis. As part of the Japanese effort to pacify the local population in these difficult times, a scapegoat was targeted: the Jew. With a Muslim majority, anti-Semitic incitement and mobilizing a war on the Jewish “enemy” was no great challenge.

“This distinctive combination of causes led to greater suffering for the Jews of Indonesia, compared to the other minorities – including Jews – in other regions under Japanese occupation. Unlike the calculated German racial doctrine, this was not part of some Japanese ideology or planned policy; but the results were tragic for the Jewish community,” Prof. Kowner summed up.

(h/t Yoel)

Palestinian Arabs, visiting Israel, find their local merchants have been gouging them

Al Hayat al Jadida reports that hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs have received permits to enter Israel during Ramadan - and they are finding that identical items of food and clothing are a fraction of the cost that they are charged back home.

Mothers who spent a large amount on Ramadan clothes in the West Bank are upset at seeing the same clothes, or clothes of better quality, for half the price in Tel Aviv.

One woman said, "It's a scandal for our merchants ... I bought clothes for my kids from shops in Ramallah at high prices, but when I went to the shops in the Israeli cities and found the same clothes, but the price difference is substantial...It's incredible and unjustifiable what our merchants are doing to exploit citizens, and the official institutions in power do nothing to stop this."

The writer estimates that if every Arab visiting Israel spends only 200 shekels, that means that 50 million shekels are being spent in Israel instead of in the PA-administered territories.

While the PA stated that Israel issues the permits just to gain economically, others aren't buying their line any more. The head of a consumer protection agency in the West Bank says that the local merchants have no incentive to keep prices low because they simply have no competition.

Merchants, not surprisingly, claim that they have too many expenses, in rent, workers and taxes, and cannot compete with Israeli prices. While I don't know how much they are taxed, it is obvious that Israeli workers get paid about double the rate that Ramallah shopkeepers pay, and the rent in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem is no less than in Ramallah, so this argument doesn't hold much water.

Meanwhile, Gazans can only wish for the ability to visit Israel as freely. But this year they don't have much money anyway. Hamas has delayed paying salaries to its workers before the upcoming Eid, causing much grumbling. Hamas knows very well that the economy has been a major component in some of the Arab upheavals bu it seems to have lost its Iranian and Egyptian patrons for now, so it is scrambling for its very life.

8/05 Links Part 1: Reuters Kills the Mideast Domino Theory, The Return of Al Qaeda

From Ian:

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians Dismiss Prisoner Release as a "Bribe"

The prisoner release could benefit Abbas in the short-term. But in the long-term, many Palestinians will continue to see it as part of an Israeli-American scheme to extract concessions from Abbas and the Palestinian Authority leadership.
After the celebrations over the release of the prisoners end, Palestinians will continue to criticize Abbas for "succumbing" to US pressure and going to the peace talks against the recommendation of the PLO leadership. And of course they will continue to attack Israel for not fulfilling all their demands, including a settlement freeze and the release of the rest of the prisoners.

Palestinians, Breaking Kerry’s Promise, Reveal Timetable for Prisoner Release

Although U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said last week that the Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams would keep the details of their renewed talks confidential, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat on Saturday said Israel would release 26 Palestinian prisoners on Aug. 13, Israel Hayom reported.

‘Boycott Israeli sports,’ urges PA official

Departing starkly from messages of peace and coexistence expressed by Israeli President Shimon Peres as he welcomed the Barcelona FC soccer team on Sunday, Fatah official and Palestinian Soccer Association head Jibril Rajoub took advantage of “the most important event in the history of Palestinian sports” to call for a sports boycott of Israel.
Speaking to journalists at the entrance to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem Saturday, Rajoub said that sports were the best means to combat racism. He then proceeded to call for a sports ban on Israel, which “incites against anything Arab.”

Dore Gold: The Return of Al Qaeda

In the meantime, internal security in Iraq has been deteriorating with about 80 car bombs and suicide bombing attacks employed. Over 1,000 Iraqis have been killed in May, the highest number in five years. Understanding that the escape of al-Qaeda operatives from an Iraqi prison had broader implications beyond Iraq itself, Interpol issued an alert that the escape constituted a “major threat to global security.” The New York Times ran an editorial on July 29 with the title “Al-Qaeda in Iraq scores big,” which reached the conclusion that the “attacks showed the fearsome and growing strength” of the organization.

US reopens Tel Aviv embassy, but extends closures across region

The US State Department on Sunday announced the extension of the closure of 19 US embassies and consulates across the Middle East and Africa through to Saturday August 10, but removed its Tel Aviv posting from the watch list.
Over the weekend, security forces closed roads, put up extra blast walls and increased patrols near some of the 21 diplomatic missions in Asia and Middle East — including Israel — that Washington had ordered closed following warnings of a possible al-Qaeda attack.

Honest Reporting: Reuters Kills the Mideast Domino Theory

More than 100,000 people have died in the Syrian conflict and violence has flared again in Iraq, with over 1,000 killed there in July alone, many at the hands of al Qaeda. Tensions over Iran’s disputed nuclear program have also risen, while a struggle for power between Islamists and the military is playing out on the streets of predominantly Sunni Egypt.
Arguably, none of these crises will come any closer to being settled should, by some miracle, Israel and the Palestinians finally agree to divide the land where they live . . .
In public, Muslim leaders have traditionally railed against Israel, happy to fan ordinary Arabs’ sincere anger about the plight of the Palestinians – and perhaps deflect criticism of their own failure to make badly needed reforms.
Arab leaders can no longer get away with this.

Michael Totten: Hezbollah Plays the Israel Card

Hezbollah desperately needs the Israel card, but it won’t work this time unless Israel invades Lebanon. Yet Israel won’t invade Lebanon unless Hezbollah starts something. And Hezbollah wouldn’t dare start something now while it’s busy in Syria. The last thing it needs is open-ended conflict on two fronts at once. Hezbollah isn’t a superpower. It only has a few thousand fighters.
It’s obvious to just about everyone now that Nasrallah needs a distraction, but the truth is that his relentless war against Israel has always been partially a distraction. His hatred of Israel is real, no doubt, but it serves a dual purpose. It papers over the dangerous rift between Sunni and Shia Muslims that has led to so many wars, the majority of which the Shia lost.

CiF asks Palestinian supporter of ‘armed resistance’ her views on the peace process

An August 1 essay at ‘Comment is Free’, titled ‘The Middle East peace talks are back to disappoint‘, by Gaza based blogger (and Electronic Intifada contributor) Rana Baker didn’t include anything particularly surprising – at least by ‘CiF’ standards.
In her column, Baker, an activist from Gaza, demonizes Israelis as ‘colonisers’ who administer an “apartheid-like system in impoverished Bantustans”, dismisses the newly relaunched peace talks as an act of surrender and exercise in futility, and mocks as “irrelevant”, weak and spineless Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

BBC tones down Iranian rhetoric and extremism

Why the BBC should find it necessary to tone down Rouhani’s remarks in a manner which it presumably thinks makes them more palatable to Western audiences is anybody’s guess, especially as other members of the Western media managed to report the geographical intentions of Rouhani’s words accurately.
The problem is, of course, that the BBC has invested much in educating its audiences with regard to its own definition of “occupation”, but rarely bothers to clarify the fact that for other parties – including Iran and its terrorist proxies – “occupation” means every last inch of Israel. Hence, average readers would be liable to fail to grasp the real significance of Rouhani’s words quoted later on in the article:

Lebanese Christian Leader: Hizbullah Fired on Palace

One of the rockets struck within the security perimeter of the Presidential Palace, and the other exploded within the security perimeter of the Army headquarters. The attack came hours after a speech by President Michel Suleiman on Lebanon's Army Day.
“The rocket attacks came the same day of the president’s speech on Army Day. They were launched from areas that come under the military control of a certain party,” Geagea said, in a reference to Hizbullah.

Israel, US have vastly different takes on Iran's Rouhani inauguration

The US hoped the new Iranian government would “heed the will of the voters by making choices that will lead to a better life for the Iranian people,” Carney said.
This conciliatory tone was at odds with the tone coming from Jerusalem, where Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu again urged the world not to be “taken in” by Rouhani’s perceived moderation.
“On Friday, the Iranian president said that Israel ‘has been a wound on the body of the Islamic world,’” Netanyahu said at the opening of the weekly cabinet meeting.
“The president of Iran has been replaced, but the goal of the regime has not been replaced, it remains as it was,” he continued. “Iran’s intention is to develop a nuclear capability and nuclear weapons in order to destroy the State of Israel, and this constitutes a danger not only to us and the Middle East, but the entire world, and we are all committed to prevent this.”

Iran May Try New Path to Nukes

Iran may be preparing to use a heavy water reactor for producing weapons-grade plutonium, according to U.S. and European officials cited in the Wall Street Journal. This is an alternative method for reaching a nuclear bomb, which joins its existing uranium enrichment project.
A heavy-water reactor is an easier target to hit than the underground facilities that house Iran's uranium-enrichment facilities, the newspaper notes.

PLO threatens to sue Volkswagen over old, fake commercial

About nine years ago some enterprising video producers created this brilliant fake Volkswagen commercial:

Today, the the PA's Foreign Minister Dr. Riyad al-Malki is threatening to sue VW - for a commercial it never made.

Al-Malki, who is currently in Tehran (which is interesting in itself), stated, "We are going to ask our embassy in Germany to discuss the issue with the company, in addition to that we will called the German ambassador to PLO."

He added, "We will demand the company to withdraw its commercial and apologize to the Arab public on this abuse."

"I have not seen the commercial yet, but if it contains inflammatory material, we will take all legal action against the company."

Yes, PLO ministers make public statements and denunciations based on nothing more than rumor.

Snopes has the story behind this video, including that VW intended to pursue legal action against the producers.

Egyptian siege continues - only two groups visited Gaza in July

Palestine Today reports that there has been a sharp drop in outside parties visiting Gaza over the past month, with only two delegations allowed into the Hamas-ruled territory during July.

In contrast, some 27 groups visited in June and 20 in May.

Officials said that this is because of much stricter Egyptian rules allowing people to cross the Rafah crossing.

According to Aladdin Batta of Hamas' ministry of foreign affairs, the lack of visitors hurt the education and medical sectors.

I still have not seen anyone referring to Egypt's near-total isolation of Gaza as being a "siege" or a "blockade."

Meanwhile, Israel isn't only allowing medical patients and their families to come into Israel from Gaza, but also some families to visit relatives in the West Bank:

Many other Gazans cross into Israel to visit relatives living in Judea and Samaria. Each month, IDF officials help more than 3,000 Palestinians pass through the crossing to visit their families. This month, as Palestinian Muslims observe the holiday of Ramadan, higher numbers of travelers are visiting Israel to celebrate the holiday with family members.

PalArab joy at FC Barcelona visit soured by photos of team at Kotel

Legendary soccer team FC Barcelona visited Arab sections of West Bank over the weekend, where they have many fans:

As soon as they got off the coach, the players were surrounded by a swathe of adoring fans, including several children wearing Barça shirts. They headed for the Basilica of the Nativity, where it is believed that Jesus of Nazareth was born, and paid a visit to the temple. After greeting the senior religious figures in the town, they posed for a group photo outside the basilica.

They then made their way to the headquarters of the Palestinian presidency for a private visit where they were received by president Mahmoud Abbas. Treated as if he were a head of state, Sandro Rosell was accompanied by the other members of the board, plus the players, and exchanged a few words and gifts with the Palestinian leader. Then Jibril Rjoub, the head of the Palestinian Football Association, spoke to the media and explained what a historic moment this is for his people. “We are hugely respectful of this visit being paid by Barça” he said. “It is big step towards our desire for peace”. He spoke about his high hopes for a future independent state of Palestine, and announced that if that day should ever come, then FC Barcelona would be the first team they’d be inviting to play.

The "peaceful" speeches given by PA officials included insults to Israel saying that the Jewish state uses repression to hurt their sporting program. Apparently those Arabic statements were not translated to the players.

But things soured yesterday when the team paid a visit to the Kotel.

Arabic media has photos and stories saying that the visit "angered" Arab fans of the club, as the players inserted notes into the cracks of the Western Wall and paid their respects while wearing kipot, "a hat worn by Jews when performing Talmudic prayers."

See how the visit fostered "the desire for peace" among Palestinian Arabs?

104,000 Muslims permitted in Jerusalem Friday

COGAT reports that 104,000 Palestinian Arabs crossed over into Israel on the last Friday in Ramadan.

I'm fairly certain that between 1949 and 1967, there were never that many Muslims visiting Jerusalem in total at any time of the year. I'm trying to find any news articles about a mass pilgrimage to Jerusalem during those times, when it was under Arab control, and the most I see are 5000-10,000 Arabs visiting during - Easter.

Israel allows Turkish aid workers into Gaza while Egypt bans Erdogan

Whose siege is it anyway?

From Arutz-7:

The IDF gave permission to two Turkish groups to visit Gaza. The permits were signed by IDF General Eitan Dangot, who is in charge of government relations in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.

The Turkish groups include a delegation from the Turkish Red Crescent Society. The group of 14 doctors, nurses, and medical personnel visited a new hospital being built in Gaza with Turkish money. The group also visited an agricultural project Turkey is funding. The second delegation consists of executives from the construction firm that is building the hospital. No date has been set for that visit.

From Ma'an:

Egyptian authorities have canceled a planned visit to Gaza by the Turkish Prime Minister, a popular Egyptian news site said Sunday.

Youm7, or the seventh day, quoted Egyptian diplomatic sources as saying that Tayyip Erdogan's visit to the Gaza Strip had been canceled following the military ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and subsequent change in government.

The Gaza trip was also canceled because of Erdogan's support for the Muslim Brotherhood, Youm7 reported.

Egypt's crippling siege of Gaza continues...

An embassy question

I'm not near a decent Internet connection, but can someone investigate why the US embassy in Tel Aviv was closed today? And is it closed tomorrow?

The reason I'm asking is that it sure seems like the State Department was closing the Tel Aviv embassy more to assuage Arab honor than out of any real security concerns. If Al Qaeda was going to bomb a target in Israel, I don't think the embassy would be their top priority.

And if the State Department is making decisions for its Israel staff just to avoid embarrassing its hosts in Jordan and Egypt, isn't that news?

#BDSFail - PalArabs continue to buy settlement goods

From Al Monitor, July 26:

The official campaigns that targeted ordinary citizens and merchants proved their seriousness and came bolstered by a decree issued in 2010 by Abbas, who can issue laws in exceptional cases of extreme necessity as a result of the Legislative Council’s inability to convene since the elections of 2006.

The penalties stipulated by the Law to Prohibit and Combat Settlement Products served as an effective deterrent, because all those who participated in or contributed to the trade or import of goods or services from the settlements were subject to a prison term of two to five years and a fine of no less than 10,000 Jordanian dinars [$14,100]. The same law proclaimed the establishment of the National Dignity Fund to combat settlement products.
...

But, it seems that the law was not deterrent enough, leading to 72 tons of goods being seized, according to the official, since the beginning of this year — with 15 cases being referred to the Economic Crimes Office. This means that there still is public and commercial appetite for settlement products.

In describing the situation, Mansour told Al-Monitor on July 22 that official enforcement of the ban against settlement products was seasonal, which explained why Palestinian markets are flooded with agriculture products from the settlements — such as grapes and dates, among others.

The primary shortcoming faced by the PA and Fayyad’s government emanated from their call on Palestinians to stop working inside the [Israeli] settlements, futilely promising to provide them with alternatives.

In this regard, Mansour said, “Despite the millions of dollars given to the PA by donor countries, it failed to provide a source of income to approximately 40,000 Palestinians who gained their livelihoods by working in the settlements.”

Working in the settlements goes against the national project to build a Palestinian contiguous state. But this is not the only contradiction faced by Palestinians, for the Palestinian people’s appetite for settlement goods and — even worse — their going to the settlements to shop, both embody the height of illogicalities.

Each month, hundreds of Palestinians visit the shopping centers owned by Israeli businessman Rami Levy in the settlements of Kfar Etzion in Hebron and Ma’alie Mikhmas near Ramallah, in search of the cheapest prices and offers.

Mother of five, Dalal al-Kuwaiti, told Al-Monitor in Ramallah, “The first time I went to shop from Rami Levy four years ago, it felt strange for me to be in an Israeli settlement mingling with settlers, but I got used to it.”

Kuwaiti shops at Rami Levy twice a month, spending 1,000 shekels [$280], or one-third of her husband’s salary, who is a PA employee. “I would need at least twice that amount if I were to shop at the local Palestinian market. There are always offers and sales on food items, which is unheard of in local markets.”

Despite the National Dignity Fund publishing censored photographs of car license plates and Palestinian shopper’s faces to deter them from shopping at Rami Levy, they continued to do so.

(h/t Yoel)

New photos of pre-Islamic columns, wall on Temple Mount

From Qanta Ahmed in Times of Israel, about her recent trip to the Dome of the Rock and the Temple Mount:

Leaving the Dome, we walked South, on to Al Aqsa....Low domed roofs arched overhead, each rendered in the same limestone. Pleasing corridors stretched in longitudinal halls. Here and there, a lone woman studied her Quran. Other than that, Ibrahim and I were alone. We walked around the corner and, approaching a smaller vestibule, we confronted enormous columns. Their diameter deeper than the height of a tall man, they were disproportionate to the low roof. Each of the massive pillars were carefully supported by modern concrete abutments and steel girdles. These pillars looked much older. They didn’t belong to Al Aqsa. Nearby, Ibrahim pointed out the roof overhead. A distinct break in the brickwork was evident.

“This was the entrance to the Second Jewish Temple that was here before Al Aqsa. You can see it is absolutely distinct.” And without doubt, it was easy to see, this had been a place of worship for Jews centuries before. Perhaps we were standing at the gate. Somehow, these hardy arches, these massive pillars had escaped even the Romans’ determined destruction of the Second Temple. Before this place was made ours, it had clearly been theirs. We were on borrowed ground. Incredible at something so ancient, confronted with the profound reality preceding Islam, we fell into the shared silence of young believers.

(h/t Josh K)

8/04 Links: Denying Israel's existence for $100, FC Barcelona in Israel, The ‘Dry Bones’ Seder

From Ian:

PMW: Denying Israel's existence is worth $100 - PA TV quizzes during Ramadan

$100 prizes for defining Israeli cities as "Palestinian" - on PA TV VIDEO

July: 38 Israelis Wounded in Terrorist Attacks

The IDF and Shin Bet have released their report on terrorist attacks in the month of July. Over the course of the month, 38 Israelis were wounded in terrorist assaults.
Among the wounded was a young toddler who suffered a head injury when Arabs hurled stones at a Jewish family near the Old City of Jerusalem.
An eight-year-old Jewish boy was also injured in a rock-throwing attack in the Old City, and a baby girl was wounded in a rock attack on a bus heading for the Kotel (Western Wall).

Palestinians held in mezuza theft at Cave of Patriarchs

Two Palestinians were detained for the theft of a mezuza from the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron on Friday.
Friday’s incident follows one that occurred two weeks ago in which three mezuzot were stolen.

Increase in Palestinians Treated in Israeli Hospitals

A report published recently by Israel’s Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Unit (COGAT) shows that 219,464 Palestinian patients received medical treatment in Israeli hospitals during 2012 – 21,270 of them children. These numbers include companions accompanying the patients to Israel.
The numbers show a dramatic increase in Palestinians receiving treatment from Israeli medical professionals. 197,713 Palestinians received medical treatment in Israel in 2011, and 144,838 in 2008.

CAMERA: CNN’s Zakaria Predictably Promotes Palestinian Journalist’s Propaganda

Palestinian Journalist Daoud Kuttab, who uses reasonable sounding language to promote an erroneous Palestinian line, appeared on the July 28, 2013 edition of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” to discuss the latest negotiations between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. Zakaria, who had interviewed Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States earlier in the program, enabled Kuttab's anti-Israel propaganda as he has done previously.

Islamists at Berlin al-Quds Day call for destruction of Jewish state

Jochen Feilcke, head of the Berlin and Potsdam German-Israel friendship society, told the more than 100 attendees that “there should be no al-Quds demonstrations in the future in Berlin” and that “Holocaust-deniers and enemies of Israel” should be denied access to Berlin streets to protest.
The coalition of pro-Israel groups protested under the umbrella name “No al-Quds Day – Against anti-Semitism, anti-Zionism and Homophobia – Solidarity with the democracy movement in Iran.”

Hariri says Hezbollah resistance against Israel outdated

Former prime minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri joined a growing chorus against terror group Hezbollah over the weekend, calling on the organization to disarm and saying it was no longer needed.
Hariri’s statement came after a rare public speech by Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah Friday in which he called for the elimination of Israel.

Recovering in Israeli hospital, Syrian patient says he saw how war began

Israel on Saturday allowed a TV report to provide the most detailed exposure to date of its medical assistance to victims of the Syrian civil war. And one of the patients interviewed for the report, named as Bilal, described from his hospital bed how the civil war began in his home town of Daraa two years ago.
The report on Channel 10 news showed extensive coverage of numerous Syrian patients being treated in two hospitals in northern Israel, and brief footage of the field hospital Israel has established on the Golan Heights border between the two countries.

30 Palestinians died in Sinai anti-terror offensive

A senior Egyptian official told local media Saturday that as part of its anti-terror campaign in Sinai over the last month, the Egyptian army has arrested 90 suspected terrorists, 7 of whom were West Bank Palestinians, and that 60 armed militants were killed, including 30 Palestinians.

El-Sisi Slams US for Abandoning the Egyptian People

Egypt’s armed forces chief General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi lashed out at the U.S., urging the Administration to pressure the Muslim Brothers to end their resistance to the new rule.
In an interview with the Washington Post, El Sisi—who led the military coup that ousted President Mohamed Morsi on july 3—is warning of police action that would put an end to the protests.
Despite the $1.3 billion in military aid the U.S. gives Egypt every year, El-Sisi accused President Barack Obama of abandoning Egypt.

Al-Qaeda Head Blames U.S. for Egypt Coup

Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri has accused the United States of "plotting" with Egypt's military, secularists and Christians to overthrow Islamist president Mohammed Morsi, AFP reported on Saturday.

FC Barcelona shoots for peace on tour in Israel

While Israeli and Palestinian leaders sit down with American negotiators for peace talks in Washington, here in the Middle East Israelis and Palestinians are holding their own events for peace this week with the Barcelona Football Club.
FC Barcelona, considered one of the best soccer teams in the world, kicked off a two-day “peace tour” of the region on Saturday with a soccer clinic for local Palestinian children at Dura Stadium in the West Bank. Lionel Messi and newly signed Brazilian footballer Neymar are among the star players on hand for the trip.

Disaster recovery solution reduces costs for government entities

Axxana today announced that the Scottish Government has deployed The Phoenix System RP to meet its business continuity goal of zero data loss, and to reduce ongoing replication costs. Axxana’s disaster recovery (DR) system is capable of surviving any disaster while ensuring 100% data protection and recovery over any distance, with continuous cost savings.

Israel And India To Develop 5G Technology Together

India and Israel have agreed to work jointly on development of fifth generation (5G) telecom technologies, sources said. The matter was discussed during the visit of Indian telecom and IT minister Kapil Sibal to Israel last month, they said. Sibal and his Israeli counterpart Gilad Erdan agreed that both countries can cooperate on exploring the possibilities of standard formulation, development and manufacturing in the area of 4G and 5G telecom technologies.

Archaeologists Uncover Temple-Era Jewish Village

Archaeologists have discovered the remains of the ancient Jewish village of Sichin in the Galilee. The village was found near the northern edge of the Tzipori national park.
The discovery was made by a team led by Dr. Mordechai Aviam of the Galilee Archaeological Institute at the Kinneret academic college.
The village of Sichin was mentioned by the ancient scholar Josephus (Yosef Ben-Matityahu) as one of the first Jewish towns established in the Galilee in the times of the Second Temple.

‘Dry Bones’ goes to the Seder

Dry Bones has been tickling readers’ funny bones for the past 40 years in The Jerusalem Post and scores of other newspapers.
The internationally syndicated editorial comic strip, featuring the affable key character Shuldig, has been ribbing politicos and their constituents for decades, taking a gentle poke at the Jewish world and the human condition.

Bizarre Islamic video says Arab League are Zionist Zombies

No joke. From "IslamicTVChannel1"

You have to admire the professionalism of their paranoia.

(h/t Sandra)

Hamas starts crackdown on potential "rebels"

The Tamarod Palestine Facebook page passed 20,000 members, and Hamas is nervous.

According to Palestine Press Agency, Hamas has declared a "state of emergency" following a declaration by the Tamarod group of November 11 as a day of protest against Hamas and Fatah, on the anniversary of Arafat's death.

The newspaper says that Hamas started arresting suspected members of Tamarod in Gaza.

Hamas, continuing its recent paranoia, is blaming Fatah for the Tamarod movement to cause a coup in Gaza.

Gaza is exporting spices to the US

Palestine Today reports that, over the past several months, Gaza farmers have exported some five tons of spices to the US market, as well as 25 tons of spices to Europe this year.

Basil and mint are among the exports, and Gaza farmers are looking to add more spice crops, which have a higher profit margin and longer shelf life than vegetables.

The article doesn't mention that Israel helps Gaza farmers get up to speed on the latest farming techniques and they also help them export their goods.

I wonder how these spices are labeled. While Israel might approve the exports, that doesn't mean Americans want to inadvertently buy spices where some of the money ends up paying Hamas taxes.

Is it time to start a Gaza boycott campaign?

Hamas MP freaks out over Dr. Oz visit to Israel

Egypt's Youm7 reports that many prominent Palestinian Arabs are condemning the visit by popular TV personality Dr. Mehmet Oz to Israel.

A member of the Hamas Legislative Council described the visit as "support of the occupier of Arab and Islamic land, and sending a dangerous message to support Israeli settlements."

Another MP, Mariam Saleh, said, "Israel used this visit to discredit Turkish history, and try to send a message that Turkey and Israel have a strong relationship, as opposed to the popular and official view in Turkey that supports Palestinians against Israeli plans."

In addition, "[Oz] talks about the humanitarian aspects of health, but it is clear that his message is different during his visit to the Palestinian territories by supporting the killer of humanity, and expressing solidarity with the murderers of Palestinian children through direct killing of tens of thousands at the hands of the Israelis."

The Egyptian paper also noted that Dr. Oz visited Yad Vashem, which might have also raised the ire of some.

8/03 Links: Latma to Close?, Abbas the Phony, Stoudemire seeks Israeli citizenship

From Ian:

Mahmoud Abbas: The Palestinian Authority’s Phony ‘Moderate’

Some of the PLO leaders occasionally claim that they are connected to the Philistines, and while this is historical and anthropological nonsense, it is interesting that they are using a tactic of the Philistines by getting the Israelis to give up their arms and their assets even before talks begin.
The PLO just got America’s help to force Israel to release convicted Palestinian terrorists – including mass murderers – from jail in order to “start” talks. That won headlines, but will cost lives.
Today the term “Philistine” means someone of superficial nature, like a president or secretary of state who believes in phony Palestinian moderates and gets a real and reliable ally – like Israel – to endanger itself for the sake of a headline.
Israel is entitled to demand a little strategic depth, and it is also right to demand a certain depth of perception from its leaders and from those who claim to be friends.

Water or fuel to the fire?

The head of Israel's Shin Bet security service, Yoram Cohen, stated that 60 percent of released Palestinian terrorists revert to operational terrorism. Most of the 1,150 terrorists released in the May 21, 1985 Jibril exchange played a key role during the First Intifada. Over 50% of the Palestinian terrorists who were released between the 1993 Oslo Accord and the eruption of the Second Intifada participated in that wave of Palestinian terrorism.
Mahmoud Abbas' commitment to embrace -- and not to condemn -- terrorists shed light on his prime values, which are consistent with his track record: A Holocaust denial Ph.D. from Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow; enrollment in KGB courses; the coordination of Palestine Liberation Organization ties with ruthless communist regimes in Eastern Europe; the logistical coordination of the 1972 Munich Olympic Games massacre; collaboration with Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait; and subversive and terrorist activities which led to his expulsion from Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Lebanon.

Israeli Prisons, Hothouses for Breeding Palestinian Terrorists

There, terrorist murderers are sent to Guantanamo and held in solitary confinement. In Israel, although classified as terrorists, they are treated as prisoners of war. Their families are allowed to visit, the Red Cross comes to see them and the Geneva Conventions are in force – all of which were denied to Gilad Shalit. The various human rights organizations work day and night to improve their conditions, the same organizations that conveniently ignore the existence and rights of the families mourning the prisoners’ victims.
Moreover, as opposed to the ordinary felons who have to deal with the prison authorities on a one-to-one basis, the security prisoners have operational autonomy. In each jail, terrorists move within their own microcosms made up of prisoners from Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Fatah, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, or even al-Qaida and Hizballah. Each group has its own spokesman. The spokesman’s role is to represent whichever organization he, and sometimes she, belongs to in dealing with the prison authorities.

Interpol issues global security alert, cites jailbreaks across Mideast

Interpol on Saturday issued an alert advising its 190 members to step up their vigilance against possible terror attacks after a series of recent prison breaks from Libya, Iraq, and Pakistan and six other countries that involve hundreds of terrorists and other criminals. The agency said al-Qaeda may have been involved in some of the incidents, and that it was trying to determine if the different events were somehow linked.

Latma to Close because of Failure on the Right?

In this week’s edition of Latma, Israel’s only right-wing, news-satire show, the anchors hinted that this edition of Latma may be the last show they produce. Latma has been in danger of closing since the beginning of the summer, as it hasn’t been able to raise sufficient funds to continue production. Latma is the brainchild of Caroline Glick, who has run around the world raising money for the past few years to support the popular pro-Zionist news show. Latma’s mission is to counter the numerous post-Zionist shows on Israeli TV, as well as the mainstream Israel news media, which leans strongly to the left. If Latma is allowed to close, it will be a distinct failure of the Jewish Right to put their money where their mouth is.

CAMERA: The Boston Globe's Berger

For those who remember Alan Berger's infamous February 18, 1988 comparison of an incident involving the non-lethal injury of four Palestinians -- who did not even require hospitalization -- to the mass graves at Babi Yar, his distorted commentary on why there have been recent challenges in the Arab-Israeli peace efforts will be no surprise.
He traces the current peace delay to Israel's prime ministers having to "fear the fury of settler zealots," and remembering "an Israeli fanatic assassinating Yitzhak Rabin at a peace rally in 1995..."

The ‘Core Issues’ of the Israel-Palestinian Peace Talks, BBC Style

Also here in a nutshell we discern the BBC’s inherent, partly explicit and partly implicit bias and enmity against Israel. It’s there in the language, the repetitive negative portrayal “Israel unwilling”, “Israel rejects”, “Israel wants to curtail”. Get the message? Israel is the blockage. The Palestinians (who just ‘want’ their ‘rights’ and ‘normality’) keep knocking at the door of peace but Israel won’t open it.
And then, even if we accept that these are some of the core issues, let’s try a little rephrasing of the first three:

BBC showcases convicted anti-Israel activist in context-free illustration

The person on the right is prominent anti-Israel campaigner Adib (also spelt Adeeb) Abu Rahma (also spelt Rahmeh) who has played a lead role (literally) in the weekly violent demonstrations in Bil’in and appears extensively in the film ‘Five Broken Cameras’. Abu Rahma’s deliberate, and sometimes violent, provocation of Israeli soldiers guarding the fence at Bil’in is extremely well documented.

Syrian Christian towns emptied by sectarian violence

Tens of thousands Syriac Christians – members of the oldest Christian community in the world – have fled their ancestral provinces of Deir al-Zour and Hasakah in northeastern Syria, residents have said.
"It breaks my heart to think how our long history is being uprooted," said Ishow Goriye, the head of a Syriac Christian political Hasakah.
Mr Goriye, told The Daily Telegraph how, over the past two years he has watched as Christian families from Hasakah pack their possessions on the rooftops of their vehicles and flee their homes "with little plan to come back".

50-Year-Old Syrian Brought for Treatment in Israel

The woman, who was listed in moderate condition, was at first brought to the Ziv Hospital in the city of Tzfat.
It was subsequently decided, however, to transfer the woman to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, the largest hospital in northern Israel, after doctors determined that she had shrapnel in her heart.

Iran: Rouhani's Remarks on Israel Were 'Distorted'

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu responded earlier on Friday to Rouhani's remarks, saying that his “true face has been revealed earlier than expected. Even if they will now rush to deny his remarks, this is what the man thinks and this is the plan of the Iranian regime."

Ahmadinejad Makes Final Threat as Iranian President, Says ‘Devastating Storm’ Will Wipeout Israel

Speaking at what is likely to be his last public address on Friday in Tehran, he addressed crowds ahead of President-elect Hassan Rouhani’s inauguration on Sunday.
“I will inform you, with G-d as my witness, a devastating storm is on the way that will uproot the basis of Zionism,” Ahmadinejad said, speaking at an annual Quds Day rally in support of Palestinians.
Israel “has no place in this region,” he said.

Nasrallah, in vicious public address, calls for the destruction of Israel

The leader of Hezbollah, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, rallied hundreds of cheering supporters Friday with pledges of support for Palestinians and vicious anti-Israel rhetoric. Israel was “a cancerous growth” that had to be wiped out, he said. “The only solution is to destroy it without giving it the opportunity to surrender.”
Speaking on Quds Day, Nasrallah said “the elimination of Israel is not only a Palestinian interest. It is the interest of the entire Muslim world and the entire Arab world.”

Al-Quds Day event banned in Toronto

In 2011, the Centre for Jewish and Israel Affairs videotaped the Al-Quds Day protest held on the legislature’s grounds. Speakers accused Israelis of being “racist,” “inhuman” and “barbarians” who “suck the resources and blood from people all around the world.” At the time, the center called the statements “reminiscent of historic antisemitism.”
One speaker referred to Israel as a cancer that must be killed. Footage also showed protesters displaying the image of the Ayatollah Khomeini, the Iranian leader who created Al-Quds Day in 1979, and the flag of Hezbollah, which is banned in Canada as a terrorist organization.

Knicks star Stoudemire seeks Israeli citizenship

Stoudemire’s Jewish connections have been the source of much media fascination in recent months. At his wedding last year to Alexis Welch, Stoudemire donned a yarmulke and prayer shawl for the “Hebraic” ceremony.
In July, he announced he had become a part owner in the Israeli basketball club Hapoel Jerusalem. And in an interview in Jerusalem last month with JTA, Stoudemire said he is in regular dialogue with New York rabbis, studies Torah and observes the High Holidays.
“I’m not a religious person, I’m more of a spiritual person, so I follow the rules of the Bible that coordinate with and connect with the Hebrew culture,” Stoudemire said.

New Film ‘When Comedy Went to School’ Explores the Genesis of the Jewish Comedian (VIDEO)

“Why do Jewish people represent such a small percentage of the overall population but such an overwhelmingly large percentage of well-known comedians?”
This question was the starting point for writer and producer Lawrence Richards’ exploration of the rise and staggering influence of 2oth century Jewish comedians that has resulted in the new film “When Comedy Went to School,” screening now in New York.

Surviving Holocaust contributed to longevity, study finds

Possibly reflecting the resilience of the human spirit, Holocaust survivors live longer than comparable people who did not experience the Shoah, a new study by researchers in Haifa and Leiden universities revealed.
The study, published July 24 in online scientific journal PLOS ONE, found that male Jewish Holocaust survivors lived on average 14 months longer than Jews who immigrated to Israel before the Second World War and that the older they were when they experienced the trauma, the longer they lived.