Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Syrian snake eating girls

Two years ago there was a minor kerfuffle in Miami when the Israeli Consul General in Miami sent out a flyer, apparently without authorization from Israel's Foreign Ministry:

Members of the Miami Jewish community were shocked last week to receive an official email from the city’s Israeli Consulate featuring an academic article describing Syrian "barbarism and cruelty," authored by the Consul General Dr. Yitzhak Ben Gad.

The essay, which Ben Gad sent without approval and which directly counters Israel’s official stance, demonizes Syria by graphically describing barbaric scenes which its author claims are typical Syrian practices: girls slaying snakes with their teeth and soldiers strangling puppies to drink their blood.

He alleges that at the time Syrian television showed adolescent girls training with the Ba’ath party militia caressing snakes while Assad and senior party members gazed at them approvingly. Ben Gad embellishes a graphic scene in which the girls bite the snakes and skin them with their teeth, blood dripping down their chins, and then the Syrian militiamen drink the blood. We certainly live in tough surroundings, the Consul General writes, as Syrians are well known for their barbarity.

The Foreign Ministry’s response avowed unequivocally that Ben Gad’s racist line contradicted Israel’s official stance. “If anyone else in the world raised such accusations against Israelis, people would decry them as anti-Semitic attacks. Israel’s line of publicity generally employs positive and updated messages and shuns demonization,” the ministry said.

A little searching finds corroboration of at least part of the story. From Time in 1983:

At graduation ceremonies for the "Revolutionary Youth" group, teen-age girls still demonstrate their newly acquired survival skills by biting live snakes behind the head to kill them and then cooking the reptiles over a campfire, to the delight of guests.

I remember seeing such a video many years ago on a Sunday morning Christian TV show, showing Syrian girls biting snakes in celebration of an anniversary of the 1973 war in front of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad, but had never been able to find any video on line.

Until now: (Warning: very disturbing. You only need to see the first two minutes. )

The greatest insult

If Martians decided that the biggest insult would be to call people "Mercurians," and if a Martian then went right up to you and called you a "hot-blooded, two-eyed Mercurian fleej," while curling one of his antennae in disgust, would it matter to you? Would you be filled with rage and decide to destroy Mars in retaliation? Chances are that you would laugh it off as if the insulter was a child.

Now imagine your Martian would-be tormenter returns to his home planet and starts bragging to his pals,"You should have seen that Earthling! He was stunned! He didn't know what hit him!" while his compatriots give him a series of high-threes.

But as they monitor the Earth TV transmissions, they see that the hated five-fingered newscasters look at the incident as a minor, laughable act of a deranged Martian rather than being deeply insulted.

The Martians, of course, need to let the Earthlings know how badly they lost this skirmish and how they should be ashamed to be in the same solar system as their much-superior antagonists. So they write op-eds in Earthling-language Martian media, that might sound something like this:

Bush made a light-hearted remark, a joke even, as the second shoe sailed by, just past his head — "It’s a size ten!" — in part to ease the tension, in part to reduce the gravity of someone throwing anything at the President of the United States, but in large part because he had no idea how deeply he was being insulted.
If the man had thrown a stone or even a grenade — the former more dangerous than a shoe, the latter potentially lethal, it would have been a more respectful gesture; an attack on the president's physical safety but not on his honor.

There are two parties to every insult - the insulter and the insulted. For an insult to be effective, the person who is being insulted is the one who needs to realize it, not the insulter.

The Arab world is so psyched about the shoe thrower, utterly uncomprehending that the West looks at them as if they are mentally deficient to make such a big deal over this. And since they are emotionally attached to the idea of dishonoring their greatest satanic enemy, they are desperately trying to let all of us know that we should be deeply shamed. Because what kind of a victory is it when the loser doesn't know he lost?

The paradox is that it is their very obsession with this incident that proves that they are the losers; that to the Arab world, symbolism is more important than reality. The fact that Americans don't feel shame over this incident is in fact much more shameful for the would-be victors, because it shows them that what they consider victories don't gain them a single thing in the real world, except a momentary imaginary boost of self-esteem.

On the difficulty of posting a comment on Al Jazeera

I just saw a stupid article in Al Jizz, once again trying to make Jews look like Nazis and Gazans look like Jews.

So I tried to write a quick comment:

Genocide? Are you crazy?

Last I checked, Gaza's population was still increasing.

I read the Palestinian Arab press daily and have yet to find a single example of a person who starved to death. In fact, the UNDP director just stated explicitly that "This is not a humanitarian crisis. It's an economic crisis, a political crisis, but it's not a humanitarian crisis. People aren't starving."

Before you throw around terms like "genocide" make sure you have a clue what the word actually means. More Jews were killed daily during the Holocaust than Palestinian Arabs that have been killed in years. To even hint at equating the two shows nothing but pure anti-semitism.

Al Jazeera's algorithm rejected the posting because it contained the following words:

genocide crazy arab undp starving before jews arabs

It looks like commenters can't even use words that Al Jazeera's columnists use!

Today's PalArab news

A "military court" in Gaza sentenced a man to death for "collaboration" with Israel. Human Rights Watch just came out with a report decrying the 11 people sentenced to death in the West Bank and Gaza this year, not including this latest example, most of them for the same "crime."

Islamic Jihad again reiterated it has no interest in maintaining a "truce" with Israel. Of course, they have been ignoring the truce for a month and a half now.

There are reports that Jimmy Carter was giving political advice to Hamas leaders in Damascus, suggesting that if they just stop rockets for two more months that they'd have a more pliant government to deal with in Israel. Don't worry about Israeli threats to invade Gaza; they are just election propaganda, Carter said.

Another Hamas raid at al-Azhar University, attacking female students while in class.

Three stories from Saudi Arabia

Saudi women who get international scholarships have problems getting and staying married to Saudi men:

“Most men prefer young docile girls and with this kind of prevalent marital environment, traveling abroad for married women is an idea that many are still not used to. Not to forget that a man’s ego also plays a role; he might not tolerate the idea if his wife becomes more successful, his male superiority might get affected...

"Most of these women don’t get married easily, since they are used to receiving respect and being treated at par with men abroad, and so their level of tolerance to any type of ill-treatment is low. Its hard for them to find men who would treat them the way they are used to.”

In a possibly related story, monkeys terrorize a girls' school in Saudi Arabia.

A group of monkeys has been wreaking havoc on Al-Ajer Intermediate and Secondary School for Girls in Tandaha in eastern Khamis Mushayt. The monkey scare has forced panicky students and teachers to stay away from the school altogether.
The school’s principal has sought the help of municipal authorities to restore order after piles of monkey waste were found in the school’s courtyard a day after the initial attack on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia just opened its first movie theatre in 30 years!

After a long wait of 30 years, public cinema is back in Saudi Arabia. Using the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, Rowad Media and Kawthar Foundation and Production screened a show for the public at the King Abdul Aziz Cultural Center in Abraq Al-Raghama, attended by a large number of interested men and women who watched the comedy film “Manahi.”

The 2008 Splodie Awards

It is time for the much-anticipated Second Annual Splodie Awards, where we honor the best of the year's "work accidents" and other self-inflicted deaths in the peaceful Palestinian Arab areas.

Without further ado...

Best house explosion: A house exploded in Gaza on February 15th, killing an Islamic Jihad member and his entire family of 8. Apparently, the house was also the site of a missile factory, as eyewitnesses saw debris from the huge explosion that looked like Qassam rockets. Which just goes to show - sometimes, they really are home-made rockets!

Almost as bad as sand in your swimsuit: A beachfront Hamas training area was rocked by an explosion on March 20, killing two Hamas members. Hamas claimed that it was merely two really, really bad cases of sunburn for the vacationing jihadists.

Best place for Farfour the Mouse to play: On May 11, a Hamas member who was trying to bring some explosives to Israel exploded at the Gaza border fence. The Hamas press release said that he had been killed in the "playground of death" while preparing for a Jihad mission. Well, the UN does complain that Gaza doesn't have enough playgrounds.

Second best house explosion: In June, around 7 Hamas members attained paradise when the house of the Hamouda family in Beit Hanoun blew up. Unless there is a clause in a hadith somewhere that you don't get into heaven unless you kill some Jews. Boy, that would suck, wouldn't it?

The pen is mightier than the sword award: In October of 2007, Reuters credulously reported that Hamas was building a "media city" at the site of the former Israeli community of Ganei Tal in Gaza. They even showed a picture of a building being built there. Well, in July, a large explosion destroyed a building in that same community, killing two Hamas members. It must have been those highly-combustible 8mm tapes.

True truce award: Right after the "calm" started with Israel, a Hamas member was killed and his 17-year old brother severely injured when a bomb they were preparing blew up a bit earlier than intended. It was a moderate bomb, though, so Israel had no need to be concerned.

Best solution to the Gaza overpopulation problem: Hamas decided that the best way to train for urban battles was to

use live fire - and missiles - in a residential neighborhood of Gaza City. Residents panicked and many houses were damaged. But, Gaza is so crowded, what choice does Hamas have? Anyone who complains must be a collaborator, anyway. (A similar live-fire exercise did kill a civilian a couple of months later.)

Bada bing, bada boom award: A senior Hamas member, along with four others, were fragged at an explosion at the El Hilal Cafe. They were warned not to criticize the soup. It is, after all, a matter of honor.

Cyber warfare award: One of those nests of evil and vice, an Internet cafe, was targeted by a very religious and moral man who couldn't stand the idea of something so vile in the middle of the beautiful place known as Gaza. He managed to blow it up, thank Allah. Unfortunately, he was still inside, giving a new meaning to the phrase "distributed computing."

"Can you dig it? Um, no": A smuggling tunnel collapsed in Rafah in August, killing 5, and another one a week later killing 6 more. At least they had a really good accidental death plan from their employer.

The dead can't complain award: A bus filled with happy Hamas supporters took exception to the Islamic Jihad member who asked them not to sing when they were passing a funeral home. So they killed him. But they were very respectful about it.

Best bomb disposal of the year: A bomb was discovered near Gaza City and the Hamas police were called in to defuse it. The explosives expert carefully transported the device to the police station. There, surrounded by other explosives and weapons, he managed to detonate the bomb, killing himself and wounding others, as well as causing secondary explosions. I guess that Hamas experts have much more experience building bombs than dismantling them.

(Last year's awards can be seen here.)

Iranians calling to assassinate Mubarak

This goes a little beyond "regime change..."

From MEMRI:

Iran's attacks and accusations against Egypt and Saudi Arabia have recently intensified. In early December, Iran's leading conservative government dailies Kayhan and Jomhouri-ye Eslami accused the Egyptian and Saudi regimes of treason, and called on their peoples to topple their regimes. Kayhan editor Hossein Shariatmadari, who is close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, praised Khaled Islambouli, the assassin of the late Egyptian president Anwar Al-Sadat, and called to follow his example. At the same time, student demonstrations were held in Tehran, during which protesters called for killing Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and threw firebombs at the Egyptian interest office.

Kayhan editor Shari'atmadari wrote in Kayhan's December 2, 2008 editorial: "...The absence of [Sadat's assassin] the martyr Khaled Islambouli, God bless his soul, is sorely felt. Many more should follow his example. "

And, since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a sign from an anti-Egypt rally from Iran's FARS news agency:

Not much subtle about that.

Links!

I'm going to be traveling this week and posts will be sporadic. To help tide you over, check out:

Dr. Nasrallah! at Judeopundit

On the Road Again and What medical crisis? at Backspin

Severe human rights violations in Gaza from ZioNation

Where's Waldo, Islamic edition (h/t Israellycool)

The Energizer ...Rabbi? at Daled Amos

Daled Amos also weighs in on the NYT and defining terror

CAMERA notices some anti-semitism in the London Times' coverage of Mumbai

Iran's brain drain at Pajamas Media

This morning's peaceful PalArab news

Israel started releasing some 250 Palestinian Arab prisoners today, including people from Gaza. Hamas and Islamic Jihad welcomed these confidence-building measures and promised to reduce rockets and other terror attacks.

Just kidding. They said that this prisoner release was proof of the effectiveness of the "resistance" and that they would work to intensify those actions.

Israel today opened the crossing points to Gaza for about 100 trucks of goods - 26 for UNRWA, 24 for the "private sector", and some 40 trucks filled with wheat and other food and many more filled with fuel. This despite yesterday's Qassam and mortar attacks.

Hamas abducted three children in the Jabalya camp, the oldest of whom was 13, including two brothers. Witnesses say that the boys were thrown into a car while playing and driven away.

Another person died from the collapse of a smuggling tunnel. About twelve were injured in a fire in another tunnel.

The Palestinian Arab press is ecstatic over the Iraqi who threw his shoes at President Bush yesterday. Videos of the event are all over, and jokes about it are being repeated. For example:

President Bush asked President Abbas and journalists accompanying him to come to the White House on Friday without shoes.

The security services raided shoe factories in Hebron in the West Bank after the discovery of a shoe store near the Press Syndicate, and the journalist union denies the union/warehouse relationship.

The Union of Italian footwear manufacturers sent a letter of protest to the Iraqi government and will sue the journalist because his throwing their shoes was an insult to them.

[This is in the format of terrorist press releases - EoZ] In an official statement, the Hebron Shoe Association congratulates the successful operation in Iraq...

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 219.

Carnival barking

I have been remiss in mentioning the carnivals that have linked to stories of mine lately.

This weekend saw Soccer Dad's Shiny Happy Dhimmi #5 which linked to this post of mine.

Haveil Havalim #196, at the former site of Jack's Shack, includes a link to this.

And while it isn't a carnival, Sultan Knish's Friday Afternoon Roundup included links to two posts of mine.

Check them out!

Cash in Gaza: Cause and effect

Last week Israel started transferring cash to Gaza so that the PA could pay salaries. Supposedly none would go to Hamas.

And now, Hamas suddenly has cash!

Ma'an reports that Hamas distributed some $130,000 in cash to the needy over the weekend.

But, of course, none of Hamas' newfound cash could possibly go towards rockets and explosives, could it?

Iran's creative reaction to its economic crisis

The Globe and Mail reports:

Of the Middle East's oil producers, Iran, OPEC's second-largest producer, is the hardest hit of all. With daily production of about 2.5 million barrels, Iran loses about $1-billion a year for every dollar drop in the price of oil.

As oil goes, so go Mr. Ahmadinejad's political fortunes. And while his vaunted nuclear program is not immediately threatened, those in the West who seek to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons should gain considerable economic leverage as a result of the financial crisis.

As recently as last month, Mr. Ahmadinejad put on a brave face, boasting that Iran was capable of enduring oil prices as low as $5 a barrel. But last week the Iranian President was forced to admit his government will have to come up with a new budget, based on more realistic price estimates.

With inflation at about 30 per cent and unemployment at 10 per cent, Mr. Ahmadinejad has run out of political options, says David Menashri, chair of modern Iranian studies at Tel Aviv University. "Thirty-per-cent inflation is a terrible hardship for someone on a fixed income," he said, noting that "800,000 people are added to Iran's work force every year; the government can find jobs for only about half of them."

So Iran came up with a creative way to slow down its losses - close all markets for a brand new "holiday":

All markets in Iran will be closed on Monday as a protest to the crimes of the Zionist regime in the Gaza Strip.

Releasing a statement on Saturday, the Basij department of the merchants’ union announced the merchants will close their shops on Monday throughout the country to show their resentment to Israel over its brutal measures in Gaza.

It isn't clear how closing markets will help Gazans, or Iranians, but it does save a day of expenses in an economy that is heavily subsidized by the government.

NYT: Jews in Judea/Samaria cannot be victims of terror

In an otherwise halfway decent article about the use of the word "terrorism" by the media in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, we see this sickening unofficial decision by the New York Times:

James Bennet, now the editor of The Atlantic, was The Times’s Jerusalem bureau chief from 2001 through 2004. After his return, he wrote a two-page memo to Chira on the use of “terrorism” and “terrorist” that is still cited by editors, though the paper has no formal policy on the terms. His memo said it was easy to call certain egregious acts terrorism “and have the whole world agree with you.” The problem, he said, was where to stop before every stone-throwing Palestinian was called a terrorist and the paper was making a political statement.
Bennet wrote that he initially avoided the word terrorism altogether and thought it more useful to describe an attack in as vivid detail as possible so readers could decide their own labels. But he came to believe that never using the word “felt so morally neutral as to be a little sickening. The calculated bombing of students in a university cafeteria, or of families gathered in an ice-cream parlor, cries out to be called what it is,” he wrote.
The memo said he settled on a rough rule: He would use the words, when they fit, to describe attacks within Israel’s 1948 borders but not in the occupied West Bank or Gaza, which Israel and the Palestinians have been contending over since Israel took them in 1967. When a gunman infiltrated a settlement and killed a 5-year-old girl in her bed, Bennet did not call it terrorism. “All I could do was default to my first approach and describe the attack and the victims as vividly as I could.”

Now, why would victims of terror in the disputed territories be considered any less human than those within the Green Line?

Certainly the terrorists don't make such distinctions between Jews on either side of the line. Certainly the victims are just as "civilian" on both sides of the line. And certainly mainstream Arab thought considers Israel to be occupying Arab land equally on both sides of the line, although they might be more willing to temporarily accept an Israel that gets diminishingly smaller with each passing year and decade.

If you define terror by its perpetrators, there is no difference. If you define it by the victims, there is no difference.

The only possible reason is that the New York Times feels that Jewish women and children who live on the eastern side of an arbitrary armistice line, to a small extent, deserve to be attacked. It appears that the NYT holds that terrorists have more justification when they attack Jews who live in un-politically correct portions of the Land of Israel.

So while the august Newspaper of Record wrings its hands over the use of the word "terror" in a way that makes a political judgment, they have just justified doing exactly that.

(h/t Backspin)

Morning links (updated)

Some really good stuff out there this morning:

Anti-Christian persecution by Palestinian Arabs, in the Jerusalem Post (h/t Backspin)

Bookmark this one, from the Globe and Mail: (also h/t Backspin:)

In fact, coupled with a large surplus of fruit and vegetables intended for markets in Israel, the vast majority of people here aren't wanting for food.
Reports that as many as 50 per cent of children are suffering from malnutrition are exaggerations, says Khaled Abdel Shaafi, director the United Nations Development Program.

"This is not a humanitarian crisis," he said. "It's an economic crisis, a political crisis, but it's not a humanitarian crisis. People aren't starving."

Sultan Knish asks "What does being Pro-Israel mean, anyway?"

A scholarly paper on the role of blogs in the 2006 Lebanon War "fauxtography" scandal, specifically discussing Little Green Footballs.

'Iranian ship to Gaza has hidden agenda' from the Jerusalem Post

Hamas mocks Gilad Shalit in rally at Haaretz

And, in an unintentionally telling headline from the Arab Times of Kuwait, we see Iranians chant ‘death to Israel’ (and 'death to America') in support of Gaza Palestinians. Notice that supporting Gazans, in the Arab and Muslim mindset, necessarily means the destruction of Israel.

Time for the annual December Bethlehem wars

Since terror attacks have gone down drastically from the West Bank territories, life has been getting better for both sides:

After eight bleak years, Jesus' birthplace finally has a Christmas season to cheer about.
Hotels are booked solid through January, Manger Square is bustling with tourists, and Israeli and Palestinian forces are working to make things go smoothly.

Elias Al-Araj's 200-room hotel is fully booked for the season, and he plans to open a 100-room annex. He says he already has bookings through July.

"This year, business was great," he said.

Bethlehem's economic fortunes are closely tied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Tourism blossomed in the 1990s, when peace hopes were alive, but was crushed by the outbreak of fighting in 2000. Christmas after Christmas, tourists were scared off by Palestinian violence and Israeli travel restrictions.

With calm gradually returning to the West Bank, Bethlehem has again become a magnet for Christmas pilgrims.

"It's a difference between heaven and earth," said entrepreneur Mike Kanawati, who is so optimistic he's opening a new restaurant near the Church of the Nativity.

Palestinian officials say that 1.3 million tourists have visited the West Bank this year, nearly double last year's level. The total for 2008 could rise to 1.6 million. The tourism boom has created 12,000 new jobs, said Riad Malki, the Palestinian information minister.

Bethlehem's 19 hotels are fully booked through January, said Mayor Victor Batarseh. He said he expects 30,000 visitors on Christmas Eve alone, compared with 22,000 last year, with about 5,000 more expected during Orthodox rites in January.

Batarseh said he hopes the signs of recovery will persuade more Bethlehemites to stay in their town. In recent years, growing numbers, particularly Christians, have emigrated.

"Calm and an increase in tourism will create more job opportunities and encourage families to stay in the city," said Batarseh, who is Christian. Officials say 40 percent of the town's 32,000 residents are Christian, down from 90 percent in the 1950s. The rest are Muslim.

This news does not sit well with those who would rather see Bethlehem in misery, so they could blame Jews for Christian suffering. Of course, some may choose to ignore the good news:

A vicar has banned the Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem from his services after witnessing the strife-torn state of Jesus's birthplace.
The Rev Stephen Coulter has decided that the words 'How still we see thee lie' are too far removed from the reality of Bethlehem today and should not be sung in his parish.
He toured Bethlehem in a recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land and was shocked at how the Arab-Israeli conflict that has raged around the West Bank town has decimated its population, wrecked its economy and hit tourism.
'The Christians we stayed with consider themselves descendants of the very shepherds who were keeping watch over flocks by night 2,000 years ago.

'Can you imagine how they feel being stopped by security guards, Jews from Russia, who have been in the country for just five years and who have all the freedoms denied those who have been there for centuries?
'They ask how the Jews who were treated so badly in the Second World War now inflict the same treatment on others.'

The good vicar seems to know exactly who to blame for Bethlehem's problems, and they are those Jews from Russia, not the Muslims from Hamas.

Even though the amount of anti-Christian bigotry by West Bank Muslims has been well-documented and many Christians have spoken out about how they live in fear of their Muslim neighbors, even though Bethlehem's Muslim population continues to increase even as its Christian population continues to dwindle, even though Muslims have been burning down churches in the West Bank and Gaza, even though we have documented threats by Fatah against Christian pilgrims from as far back as 1967 - Coulter and his ilk will always blame the Jews.

Islamic Jihad news gets "Jewish" and "Israeli" mixed up

Palestine Today, a mouthpiece for Islamic Jihad, mentions the murder last night of a Jewish man in Yemen.

But since Islam is the religion of peace, and it is inconceivable that even a mentally deranged Muslim would murder a father of five just because he was Jewish, the newspaper has to define the details of the case a bit differently:

Press sources revealed that an Israeli businessman was killed by a Yemeni pilot who fired dozens of gunshots to the passers-by.

Moshe Yaish-Nahari, a 35-year-old married man with nine children, was killed on Thursday night by machine-gun fire in the Bedouin in Yemen amid watching citizens.

The Israeli businessman who was murdered also taught the Torah in Israeli religious schools in Yemen, and it was not immediately clear what the real causes of his death.

And, no, it is not a translation error, as the Yemeni Arabic press certainly refers to Yaish Nahari as "Jewish".

They also add a detail that the murderer used to be a MiG-29 pilot until he killed his wife two years ago; he then got psychological treatment in Egypt and lost his pilot privileges. Apparently, he was considered sane enough to walk the streets with a submachine gun, though.

I love spontaneous rallies

There was a large anti-Israel demonstration today in Tehran. Even Iran's president marched.

But, officially, it wasn't sponsored by the Iranian regime. No, it was just spontaneous anger in Iran's streets.

And all the demonstrators were so united, they came out with their own statement!

Iranians attended a protest rally against Israel and in support of the oppressed and defenseless Palestinians particularly 1.5 million Gazans in blockade before Friday prayers.

Shouting “down with the US” and “down with Israel” marchers showed their hatred towards Israeli brutal measures and support for freedom of Palestine.

They also called for Muslims unification to defy cruelty and crimes of Israel and its biggest ally the United States.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Government Spokesman Gholam Hussein Elham were also among marchers.

The crowed [sic] also issued a statement that said intensification of cruel blockade imposed on Gazans is undoubtedly the offspring of alliance of the United States, Israel and some Arab states betrayal aimed at destruction of Palestine’s Islamic resistance and compensation of Israel’s disgraceful failures.

I've never seen a crowd issuing a statement before.

I wonder if Robert's Rules were used while formulating this statement, or something more informal.

I also wonder if Ahmadinejad would have dared to attend this rally from a few days ago.

Quick! Call Juan Cole!

Even though defenders of Iran keep trying to say that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad never advocated destroying Israel when he said that Israel should [be wiped off the map]/[vanish from the page of time]...he keeps saying it in different ways:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad re-stated necessity to raze Israel to the ground. The Israeli Government has blockaded Gaza Strip to influence on upcoming presidential elections in Palestine and to bring a necessary man to the post, the President said.

How do you say "unambiguous" in Farsi?

Today's Palestinian Arab news

There are reports of a "secret deal" between Hamas and Israel, brokered by Europeans, to extend the six month "truce". Hamas finds the truce to be very convenient for them, according to the article.

Meanwhile, there were two rockets shot at Israel today, and one rocket fell short and severely damaged a house near Khan Younis. Even so, Israel continued to send goods through the Gaza crossings today, for the fourth day in a row, although it did seem to close one of the crossings after the rocket attack.

Israel also transferred shekels to Gaza banks, allowing the PA to pay salaries to some 70,000 workers and allowing Hamas to continue to control the territory without taking responsibility for actually administering its daily activities. Israel is starting to make noises that there is no reason that Gaza cannot use Egyptian pounds rather than shekels as currency.

An aide to Mahmoud Abbas blames Hamas as well as Israel for the "siege."

A Syrian group will attempt to send a ship from Lebanon to Gaza.

An Arab newspaper slammed Abbas for describing the "Free Gaza" boats as a "farce" and a "silly game" yesterday. It sarcastically stated that perhaps Abbas didn't notice who was on these ships, "being too busy meeting his friend Olmert who imposed the blockade."

Apparently, the moon will be particularly large and bright over "Palestine" tonight. Not sure if that applies through the rest of the world. (The Arab press is always keenly interested in any news about the moon.)

Sharia killed the Yemenite Jew

YNet reports:

Moshe Yaish-Nahari, the brother of a prominent rabbi in Yemen was shot to death on Thursday in Rida, Yemen, located north of the capital Sana'a, the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat reported.

Local sources said the suspected killer, Abed el-Aziz el-Abadi, a former MiG-29 pilot in Yemen's air force, has been apprehended and taken in for questioning.

Eyewitnesses told the newspaper that el-Abadi had confronted Nahari at the market in Rida, called out to him "Jew, accept the message of Islam" and then proceeded to open fire with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Nahari was struck by five bullets.

To Yemen's credit, this is an anomaly, and the government stepped in to arrest the murderer. Unfortunately, the only reason that the killer was on the streets is because of Islamic law:

According to the preliminary investigation, the suspect had murdered his wife just two years ago, but avoided jail time by offering her family compensation.

Sharia allows the family of the victim to make such a choice, and this is why Moshe Yaish-Nahari is dead today.

Jimmy ready to sacrifice more of Israel for "peace"

Western dhimmis might not always be enthusiastic about personally giving concessions to radical Islamists, but they are always more than willing to demand that Israel make the sacrifices for them.

In the name of "peace," of course!

Former US president Jimmy carter and his delegation had a round of talks with prime minister Fouad Siniora and some members of the cabinet around 8:PM Thursday.
He added : "I look forward to see the establishment of close diplomatic relations between Lebanon and Syria, which will be a step forward for peace in the region . The day after tomorrow (Saturday) I will visit Damascus to meet with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in order to encourage him to speed up this process."
He expressed his belief that Israel's withdrawal in the near future from the Shebaa Farms area and the village of Ghajar would bring peace to the region as a whole.

Notice that Carter doesn't even rely on Hezbollah lies to make these sorts of statements anymore. Hezbollah refused to meet with him, so he has no idea if Hezbollah would agree that these withdrawals would bring peace.

No, Jimmy has now become a proxy for Hezbollah, tacitly agreeing with them that if anyone is wrong, it is always Israel.

Hezbollah themselves, of course, have made it clear that they will never put down their weapons even if Israel gave them Shebaa Farms and Ghajar.

And Jimmy the Dhimmi's willingness to accept Hezbollah's positions extends to his desire for "peace" between Syria and Lebanon. Both Syria and Hezbollah agree with that goal - to destroy any last vestiges of Christianity and secularism in Lebanon and to cooperate fully with Iran in gaining more and more weapons to use against Israel.

But the new Greater Syria would be at "peace" with itself, so Carter's single-minded idiotic goals would be reached.

Le Monde: Hamas isn't really that bad!

An op-ed in Le Monde, written by a former French official, shows that there are still plenty of very stupid people in Europe:

Hamas is known as as "terrorist" or "resistant", the movement has become the central part of the dispute with Israel. The Islamist movement, this durable, politically and socially in the territories, will partner in the peace process.

I stayed in Gaza twice during which I met the political leadership of Hamas. I came away with the impression that the Islamist movement continues its transformation began in 2005 through its participation in municipal elections, then legislative elections in 2006 he won everything provided by membership in response to the failure of the Palestinian Authority and corruption which undermines Fatah. This commitment in the electoral process that previously excluded in the name of Islamic ideology has created tensions within the movement and is now considered anathema to Al Qaeda.
Since then, Hamas has evolved significantly in terms of ideology. It no longer refers to its charter inspired Islamist radical nor does the destruction of Israel and the extermination of Jews, but contains anti-Semitic references on the topic of global conspiracy that would have created the Hebrew state. When we suggest the abolition of the charter (written in 1987), leaders of the movement say that it "was not adopted by a Hamas" and that "only references are the platform and the election policy, "presented by Ismail Haniyeh during his investiture by the Palestinian parliament in January 2006.
Reading these two texts confirms the movement's ideological evolution in a more Islamist nationalism. The failure of national unity government in March 2007 and control by force the territory of Gaza in June led by radical Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, did not upset this trend .
The Europeans have put three conditions: renouncing violence, accepting past agreements between the PLO and recognition of the State of Israel. This is the dogma that closes any prospect....

You see? Murderers from Hamas told a French diplomat that they really don't hate the blood-sucking Jews, that their still-extant charter is not really very important, and that Haniyeh is just a cuddly teddy bear - so why shouldn't he believe them?

And how dare the stupid EU insist that Hamas recognize Israel, accept past agreements and renounce terror! That's just crazy talk, meant to punish the wonderful people of Hamas, and utterly unrealistic. Hamas is plenty moderate already - to ask them to stop murdering women and children is just humiliation!

When you are already infected with vile misozionistic or anti-semitic tendencies, the tiniest whispers of "moderation" take on huge new meanings and the pesky counterproofs are dismissed. For an example of the latter, here is what a cleric said on Hamas' own TV channel last month:

The Koran warns against the hostility of the Jews, whom it presents as the worst enemies of the Muslims: "You will find that the people strongest in enmity for those who believe are the Jews and the polytheists."

This verse exemplifies how deeply rooted is the Jewish enmity toward Islam and the Muslims. The fire of hatred was ignited in their hearts, when they realized that the Prophet who was sent was not one of their own. Beforehand, "they used to pray for victory against those who disbelieve," but when he was sent, they denied him. Therefore, the Prophet waged a lengthy Jihad against them, which continues to this day, and will continue until the day of their annihilation, Allah willing.

The Jews are known to be treacherous. They murdered their own prophets. Ibn Mas'oud said: The Israelites would kill 300 Prophets in a single day, and then they would go shopping for vegetables. After killing 300 men, they would go to the market, as if nothing happened. Ibn Mas'oud said that the Israelites killed 43 Prophets in a single hour, first thing in the morning. When 170 Israelites enjoined the killers to be virtuous and to refrain from vice, they were all killed in a single hour at the end of the day. Killing comes naturally to them. We're talking about a time when they didn't possess the enormous military arsenal that they have today. All they had were swords. When the Prophet Muhammad went to Al-Madina... We don't harbor hatred toward anyone. We are hostile to the Jews only because they occupied our land and defiled our holy places. That's why we declared war against them.

We are honored to be the spearhead in defense of the honor of the Arab and Islamic nation in the face of these apes and pigs. This, however, does not exempt the Arabs from their responsibility, about which Allah will reckon with them on the Day of Judgment.

You see, since Hamas leaders didn't quote these words to him verbatim, and the words that they have written down that say the same thing were written in 1987, our brilliant writer just knows, deep in his heart, that Hamas doesn't agree with what it shows on the TV stations it owns and controls. We just need to show a little more trust with the terrorists, to understand them a bit better, to read their minds and between their words to know that they are really moderates who shout their Jew-hatred only to keep up appearances.

Don't believe what they say to their own people dozens of times a day - believe what they tell a gullible French sycophant who is just itching to show that he is relevant.

UN Follies of the Day

Folly #1:

Yesterday, the UN gave out a series of Human Rights Prizes, an event that happens every five years. One of the recipients is Ramsay Clark, who has been described as "the war criminal's best friend," for defending Nazi murderers, PLO terrorists (in the Leon Klinghoffer lawsuit), Slobodan Milošević, and Saddam Hussein.

Folly #2:

The current General Assembly President, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, upon learning that Israel's ambassador to the UN would be speaking on Human Rights Day as the rotating representative of Western nations, tried to stop her speech. When Europeans objected strongly, he decided to add speakers who are openly hostile to Israel.

This same person hugged Mahmoud Ahmadinejad when he visited the UN, and has called for a global campaign of "boycott, divestment, and sanctions" against Israel. He has never publicly condemned Hamas rocket attacks aganst Israel.

Folly #3:

In yesterday's UN press conference, the General Assembly President's spokesperson made very clear that Brockmann is attempting to restructure the UN so that the General Assembly resolutions become mandatory, not recommendations, thus rendering the Security Council ineffective and turning the UN into an even bigger joke than it already is, as it would be utterly hijacked by despotic regimes.

A 22-year old died from injuries he received in a tunnel fire under Rafah three days ago.

Israel is sending some 110 trucks of aid to Gaza today, marking the third day in a row that humanitarian aid is allowed to Gaza. This despite a Qassam rocket yesterday and a mortar the day before shot from Gaza to Israel.

Iran claims that they are sending a ship to Gaza.

And here are some pictures of poor, oppressed, starving Gaza kids celebrating Eid al Adha. Since the pictures were a little too happy, the photographer made sure he framed a picture to make it look like the amusement park was inside a prison.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 218.

Morning headlines

Here are some stories in the world press that you may have missed:

Rachel Ehrenfeld and Samuel Abady write the best case against Islamic ("sharia") banking I have seen yet, in the Washington Times.

While some Israel-bashing British academics frolic in Gaza, the University of College Union (UCU) in Britain voted against any boycott of Israeli universities:

Instead of pushing for a boycott of Israel, the UCU says that it will now research and publish a report on academic freedom in a number of countries, including the Palestinian territories.

Besides the third day in a row of humanitarian aid, Israel also approved transferring 100 million shekels to Gaza to stem their cash flow crisis.

Abbas: "Free Gaza" a joke, PA pays 70,000 Gazans

In a long interview with the Palestine Press Agency, Mahmoud Abbas was asked about the "Free Gaza" ships to break the "siege" around Gaza. Here was his answer:

This is a ridiculous game called "break the siege" ... Yes, there are ships that sail off the port of Larnaca, Cyprus. First the Israeli embassy takes all passports of the passengers of the vessel to ensure the identities of the passengers and then examine what assistance will be on the ship. Secondly the Israeli navy ensures those on the ship and cargo loaded, before allowing them to continue the trip to Gaza .. Where is the blockade being broken?. Some States said they would send ships .. Where are those ships?

... If you want to send aid to Gaza, why not Tersloha[?] via Egypt or Jordan .. Egypt reaches everything as well as Jordan. Consequently, this is cheap, false propaganda and not the first nor the last time.

He also admitted yet again that 58% of the PA budget goes to Gaza, something which surprised the interviewer:

Q: 58 per cent of the [PA] budget is spent on the Strip?

A: Yes, 58 per cent of our budget goes to Gaza, including the salaries of 77 thousand employees. A few days before, "one Hamas leader« island », Israel prevented the introduction of 240 million shekels to the Gaza Strip and the source of these millions is power. We say to them that there Kerem Shalom crossing, Karni and Erez and Sofer .. To work to open the crossings and keeping them open .. The Rafah crossing, we will try to reopen the agreement with all parties .. And respond to either open the Rafah crossing or all crossings remain closed .. Such as what happened in the case of pilgrims .. Their own logic was either go out to her Hajj Visa or one would not even carry the Visa ..

Which means that Gazans get twice as much of our tax dollars, per capita, than West Bankers.

"Slaughter the Jews"

Remember how Islamists always say to Western audiences that they are not against Jews, but only Zionists?

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from speeches by Arab Islamic leaders expressing solidarity with Gaza, which aired on Al-Manar and Al-Aqsa TV, December 3 and 5, 2008.

Sheik Himam Sa'id, Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan: Oh noble Gaza, raise your head high. You have made the Muslims raise their heads high. And you, people of Hebron – you are now waging a war against the Jews. You are well-versed in this. We saw how, on a day in 1929, you slaughtered the Jews in Hebron. Today, slaughter them on the land of Hebron. Kill them in Palestine. Arise, oh people of Palestine, all the people of Palestine – arise in defense of your Al-Aqsa Mosque, arise in defense of Nablus and Hebron. Arise and face the [PA] Preventive Security forces. Fear them not, for they are rabbits. They are wolves, so fear them not, oh lions.

[...]

Oh young men, what will you say to the Jordanian government? Expel the Jewish ambassador from Amman. Amman is pure, and the Jewish ambassador must not defile its soil. Recall the Jordanian ambassador from Palestine. Only mujahideen should be in Palestine - not ambassadors, not ministers, or any representative of this nation. Do not recognize the ambassador of this nation in Palestine. Palestine is the land of Jihad, of sacrifice, and of preparation. We say to this government: Stop normalization with the Jews. Stop all imports and exports with the Jews. Our markets are full of Jewish vegetables and Jewish fruits. Traders who bring these fruits and vegetables are traitors, collaborators. Tell them this. Make them hear our voice. The position of the religious scholars is that anyone who trades with the Jews is a traitor and collaborator.

[...]

Husan Abdallah, Lebanese Association of Islamic Scholars: I say on behalf of the Association of Islamic Scholars: The truce with the Zionist entity is meaningless. The solution is to renew the resistance in a stronger and more effective way. Let pure bodies blow up again in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, and in all the cities of occupied Palestine, because this enemy understands nothing but the language of force.

[...]

To the courageous Egyptian people we say: Arise and bring down the artificial border, and bring food and medicine to your besieged brothers in Gaza. The Egyptian people is required to display an act of violence, even if they go to jail, even if they die – they will be martyrs for the sake of Allah.

[...]

Osama Hamdan, Hamas Representative in Lebanon: Our goal is to liberate all of Palestine, from the river to the sea, from Rosh Hanikra to Umm Al-Rashrash [Eilat]. From Gaza, gentlemen... We do not want a state 364 square kilometers in size, nor do we want a state which we had to beg for at the negotiating table. Such a state will never come to be. What we want is a free state, which maintains its dignity, 27,000 square kilometers in size – the size of Palestine in its entirety.

(h/t Israel Matzav via jhrhv)

Peaceful Palestinian Arabs, yet again

In Palestine Today's photo essay of Palestinian Arabs thronging to the courtyard of the Al Aqsa mosque during Eid al Adha, we see this giant banner draped over the entrance:

Looking closer, we see:

A map of "Palestine".

Which does not show Israel as existing.

Neither does it show any of historic Eastern Palestine, on the other side of the Jordan.

So no one can argue that they are just depicting a map of "Palestine" as it existed for centuries, because that map would look something like this the picture on the right.

The Negev isn't a part of it, and the western parts of Jordan are.

Once again, we see that the definition of "Palestine", according to "Palestinians," is whatever territory Israel happens to control at that point in time. It has nothing to do with age-old conflict nor does it have anything to do with historical facts - the desire for a Palestinian Arab state is simply the desire to destroy the Jewish state. Otherwise, they would be pining for much of Jordan.

The Palestinian Arabs have not the least compunction about publicly declaring their desire to see Israel destroyed, using huge signs, in full view of tens of thousands of people. (This is not even mentioning the Fatah logo, the maps shown in schools, and so on, which all echo the same desire to annihilate Israel.)

And the West refuses to notice.

A diplomatic victory

For once, Israel did something right:

The European Union's 27 foreign ministers unanimously approved upgrading relations with Israel on Monday, despite vigorous efforts by the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to thwart the move.

The first expression of this decision will be a first-of-its-kind meeting between Israel's prime minister and all the leaders of the EU member states in Brussels this April.

Separately, the ministers decided to shelve a proposed action plan for the peace process in 2009, in response to Israeli pressure.

Throughout some 18 months of talks on the upgraded relationship, Egypt, the PA and other Arab countries lobbied against it. At the least, the Arabs argued, the upgrade should be conditioned on an Israeli settlement freeze.

As a result of the upgrade in relations, Israel's foreign minister will start meeting three times a year with all 27 EU foreign ministers. Other ministers will meet once a year with their European counterparts. Israel and the EU will also conduct a strategic dialogue on issues such as the peace process, the Iranian threat, counterterrorism and organized crime. In addition, the EU pledged to help Israel integrate into UN agencies and to include Israeli experts in EU peacekeeping forces.

If I had to guess, Livni probably managed to convince the Europeans by saying that it would prop up her chances of staying in power rather than a more right-wing government.

Anyway, PA prime minster Fayyad is not happy:

Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad expressed disappointment at the decision of the European Council of Ministers on upgrading relations between the European Union and Israel.

Fayyad said 'appreciate that this decision missed a very important opportunity by the European Union to positively influence Israel towards the rules of international law, as well as abide by the agreement and the spirit of partnership between the EU and Israel, in terms of respect for human rights'

Was this picture drawn by:

A) A precocious fourth grader?
B) A mentally challenged 35-year old?
C) A prisoner taking an art class?

The answer is, of course, none of the above (although B is a possibility.) It is from our old friend Anis, proudly displayed on his website!

And if I know Anis, he'll threaten me for "copyright violation" by reproducing his "art" here.

"Free Gaza" sails again. No one cares.

It looks like Israel's decision to ignore the "Free Gaza" freaks is paying off. Their fourth boat of publicity hounds arrived in Gaza yesterday to the collective apathy of Gazans themselves, let alone the world.

Their "ton of medical supplies and high-protein baby formula" that it brought is dwarfed by the aid that evil Israel brought in to Gaza yesterday as well - some 70 truckfuls of food and other supplies, along with fuel pumped through Nahal Oz. (Another 55 trucks are due today. Each truck probably holds at least 3 tons.)

Only a couple of dozen Gazans came to watch the circus, and the only TV coverage came from Iran's Press TV.

Meanwhile, Free Gaza's debt continues to grow. They seem to be "cooking the books" - if you compare their bizarre thermometer graphic from October to the one on their website today, you will see that they are now claiming to have spent less total money than they had two months ago!

October:

Today:

Somehow, through the miracle of modern accounting, the total amount the have spent went from $740,000 down to $654,000!

If you assume that they really mean that they spent $866,000 that the graphic indicates, this means that their debt has increased to $430,000 today from $415,000 indicated in the October chart. Their business model, which is that they would make money from a combination of leftists and "passenger fees" (which seem to have disappeared - I doubt that the UK moonbat teachers on this boat ponied up $1,000 each for the voyage) is falling apart.

But given that they are now linking to Iranian news stories, and Iran is the only country that pretends to care about Gazans as much as the Freaks do, perhaps they are working on a deal with their tolerant pals in Tehran.

Neo-Nazis going bananas over Chicago Tribune story

The LA Daily points out some of the comments being made at "White Power" sites like Stormfront and Vanguard News Network in response to today's news that the Chicago Tribune is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Most interesting is this comments from "Bob R." which I reproduce in all its glory:

what this means is, this guy was nothing more than a front person for Jewish Bankers to buy up the media conglomeration that owns TV stations across the country. The Jew bankers are the ones who decided his 300 million dollars was enough equity to loan him 8 billion dollars, it's all a fictional, fairy tale rationalization for laundering money, but soon the Jews won't need to come up with any excuse for flooding the economy will bullshit money, because Americans will all be mulattos and MTV retards who don't understand anything I"m saying.

Jews do this to every business that gets fairly large, they simply have some rich, swaggering guy, as a front man go around and buy them up in 'leveraged' buyouts, but they are simply frontmen for the Jews, and they immediately fire all the white males, ship the factories to Mexico, start importing all their parts from Asia, begin using the corporation to hire niggers and hot white women and put them in the same room all day, and they slap their occult satanic logos all over the company.

John McCain's wife said her favorite show is the X-files. This show is mind scrambling non-sense that has very little plot continuity, soon we will have female governors and senators who can't figure out that the show doesn't actually make any sense.

He's got it all figured out!

Bob R. seems to be a regular commenter, with dozens of posts just today; here's another prime example of the mentality of today's deranged racists:

women have been driven insane by Jew/Nigger culture. White males don't go out having sex with black women in Britain, white women do, so of course they will have more 'partners'. 'Partners' is a totally faggified term , btw, homosexuals have destroyed our culture. These people belong in padded rooms in straight jackets so they cannot masterbate.

Eid: The festival of sexual harassment

From the Daily News Egypt:

More than 50 men were arrested on Monday, the first day of Eid Al-Adha, in downtown Cairo for alleged acts of sexual harassment targeting women in the street.
Fearing a repeat of acts that tend to happen on the first day every Eid, the Interior Ministry ordered a campaign to crack down on any further incidents, which led to the arrests.
The 50 were taken in and police reports filed against them for various offences including verbal harassment and catcalling, according to the local press. The men are currently in custody and will soon be referred to the prosecutor’s office.
Apparently, 15 of the men arrested are from governorates outside Cairo, including Menufia and Kafr El Sheikh, and had come to Cairo for the holidays.
On the first day of Eid El Fitr in October in Mohandiseen, 150 young men aged 15-22, physically attacked female pedestrians, tearing off some of their clothes. Thirty-eight of them were arrested; last month a teenager was sentenced to a year in prison for assaulting two women.
Two years ago the first case of organized sexual harassment occurred Downtown after a film premier, triggering a public debate over women’s safety on Egyptian streets and the inaction of police.
According to a survey conducted and released by the Egyptian Center for Women’s Rights, 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women in Egypt have been subjected to some form of sexual harassment.

Previous stories:
Hijab women get harassed more in Egypt
Honor/shame and sexual harassment in Egypt
40% of Egyptian women have been sexually abused

Egyptians against Jewish pilgimage to holy man's grave

An interesting article in Palestine Today that shows the real hatred that Egyptians have for Jews:

With the advent of the month of December each year comes the renewed desire of Jews to converge on the village of Dmitoh, in a province north of the lake Egypt, to the grave of "Abu Hatezira". Israelis and Jews come from Europe and the United States to commemorate the birth of the Jewish rabbi, blessed him and asking for miraculous cures.

The cause of headaches suffered by the people of the village is the strict security measures by the security forces to protect the Jewish revelers that anger the villagers, who doubt the existence of the Jewish Rabbi Abuhatzeira altogether, describing it as "another foothold of Jews in Egypt", as described, as well complaints about practices of the Jewish revelers from the "slaughter of pigs and drinking, dance and exercising unethical behavior," according to reports.

Politicians and activists and MPs are trying to collect one million signatures to demand a halt to the celebration of the birth of Abuhatzeira, to be held in the twenty-fifth month of January next year. A number of lawmakers involved in the campaign, their intention to progress a memo of protest to Dr. Ahmed Fathy Sorour, President of the People's Assembly, to stop this ceremony.

A number of bloggers, for the second consecutive year, also launched an online campaign against the celebration of the birth of Abuhatzeira,

The bloggers who are demanding to prevent celebrations by the Jews in Egypt said that the tomb of Abuhatezira had no visitors for a hundred years. A court ruling five years ago to abolish this celebration has still not been implemented.

A second group , in which the young owners of the Egyptians refused to establish a "birth of the alleged Abu Hasira," rejected "the Zionist set foot on Egyptian soil to the orgy," according to the expression.

Has announced a number of lawyers who succeeded in obtaining judicial rulings preventing stop-born Jews from the assembly; their intention to renew their jurisdiction to compel the government to implement judicial decisions, and to prevent "this harassment and moral pollution" caused by the Israelis and the Jews of Europe to the people of the village.

According to Jewish sources; Abuhatzeira is a Jewish cleric named Jacob Aharon, was born in Morocco in 1807 who came to Egypt and lived there, and died in 1880, which has the respect and appreciation of many sectors of the Jews.

But Mustafa Raslan, a lawyer and a son of the village of Dmitoh, filed a lawsuit in which he called for cessation of Jewish celebrations on the ground of his home town, which claims that Abuhatzeira was not Jewish, but a Muslim who lived in Marrakech, Morocco named Mohammed bin Yousef bin Yacob, who was a cobbler of shoes for the Egyptians, and completed seven of the Kaaba Hjat supervisor, according to his assertions.

But only since 1978, following the signing of the "Camp David", have the religious Israelis been seeking to formally organize trips to the village to celebrate the birth of Abuhatzeira that they allege to be "a man of blessings", sometime between December and February evey year.

The number of visitors has increased from a few dozen to a few hundreds and then thousands, arriving each year from occupied Palestine and the West and other countries, despite protests by Egyptian people about the unwanted visitors, which turned the lives of peasants in this village to "hell" because of the security measures that turn the village into a closed area involving searching every car.

And often start the celebration on 25 December get out of hand, where there is an auction for who will enter his tomb first [guess at translation - EoZ], followed by alcoholic operations spilled over the cemetery, and then the slaughter of sacrifices that are often sheep or pigs, roasting meat, and dancing. Celebrants then hysterically sing Jewish melodies as they become almost naked, and then say some prayers, entreaties and tears to the tomb, burning, beating their heads in the Wailing Wall and asked for their needs, according to witnesses.

The cemetery has seen some expansion with the increasing number of arrivals, and the covering of marble shrine, Jewish and fees, especially at the entrance to the tomb. Then he started annexation of some land and build a fence around it, and then the facilities like Balastrahat, a room equipped, and expanded the cemetery from 350 square meters to 8400 square meters. The Jewish parties also sought to purchase five acres adjacent to the cemetery, in order to build a hotel for the visitors to sleep during the celebration.

Observers believe that the Israeli government is keen via its embassy in Egypt to amplify and expand the size of the celebration, with the participation of diplomats, is bringing special planes carrying a large delegation of rabbis, as well as requests for financial aid to the Egyptian government to establish a bridge linking the village, where the shrine by Alawi access to the nearby city of Damanhour, so that the Jews access to it, and fired on the bridge also the name of Abu Hasira.

What increased the anger of the people of the village, a decision by the Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, was No. 75 of 2001, to incorporate the cemetery Abu Hasira to the Egyptian Antiquities Authority, which make the disposal or transfer as demanded by the people of the village difficult.

The lawyers opposed this decision in the courts, rendering the Administrative Judicial Court in Alexandria, the lake, on 9 December 2001 ruling to stop the Culture Minister's decision as the tomb of Abu Hasira and cemeteries around the village Dmitoh and stop the annual celebrations of the birth of Abu Hasira.

I cannot tell how exaggerated this article is; I could find very few references to pilgrimages to visit that grave and the numbers of people were far smaller. And slaughtering pigs?

From Arutz-7 in 2002:

Seventy Jews, attempting to pray at the graveside of the renowned Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira in Alexandria, Egypt, have been denied permission by the Egyptian authorities.

It is Jewish custom to visit the gravesite of a righteous man on the anniversary of his death. In years past, Islamic groups in Egypt insisted that the government prohibit Jews from visiting the grave. They claimed that the Jews behave in unbecoming ways and corrupt the local Muslims. Abuhatzeira is the father of the "Baba Sali" -- Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira -- who was a renowned kabbalist revered by millions in Israel and around the world.

And from the Jerusalem Post in 2007:

Hundreds of Israeli pilgrims motored in police-escorted convoys across the Nile Delta on Tuesday to pray at a 19th century Jewish holy man's tomb, where people received them with curious stares and a little resentment.

Egypt laid on exceptional security. Police special force troops with automatic rifles guarded the convoys of luxury coaches. The Israelis were not allowed to mingle with the residents of this western Delta town, 170 kilometers northwest of Cairo, but were confined to a cordoned-off parking area next to the shrine.

State Security officers refused to admit The Associated Press, and the government press office in Cairo, reached by cell phone, endorsed the refusal.

The pilgrims, some singing and clapping, made the two-hour drive from Cairo to see the tomb of Yaakov Abuhatzeira, a Moroccan rabbi who earned a reputation for healing people and died in 1880. His grandson, called "Baba Sali," is better known and his tomb in Netivot is a popular pilgrimage site.

Residents gawked from their windows and balconies as the big coaches slowly wound their way along the muddy road to the shrine. The authorities had just widened the road, leaving piles of rubble and freshly turned earth on the side, and had created a parking area in what had been a field of lush clover. A steamroller was leveling it as the first coaches arrived.

"I don't want to see them here," tire-repairman Mohammed Sharqawi said of the Israelis. "I watch television and I see what is happening in Palestine."

But, two stores along the main road, Ali Mohammed Tanani said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was one thing, the pilgrims were another.

"We have our sacred places. If they think it's a sacred place, they have the right to visit. They are our guests," said Tanani, who runs a small grocery shop.

Egypt guards the stone tomb, which stands in a small chamber, and allows visitors only for the January anniversary of Abuhatzeira's death. The pilgrims do not walk around Nekraha; they go to the shrine and leave.

But in 2003 a small group of pilgrims stopped at Tanani's shop and, using their interpreter, bought fizzy drinks and chocolates. "They were polite," Tanani recalled.

Abbas compares Hamas to infidels in Mecca speech

From Palestine Press Agency (Arabic):

President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a strongly-worded attack on the Islamic Resistance Movement 'Hamas', likening them infidels and heretics, in a speech from Mecca today, Tuesday.

President Abbas, in his Eid al-Adha speech, accused Hamas of preventing pilgrims from the Gaza Strip to go to the performance of their religious duty, saying that 'Hamas is responsible for those [Gazans] not coming to the Hajj.'

Mahmoud Abbas said in his speech 'Of course everyone here is in pain, and we know that it hurts everybody that these pilgrims cannot come to Mecca and Medina.'

The Palestinian President noted 'that Israel never stopped the pilgrims to come to the pilgrimage for a single day, but this was done by Hamas. Just as in the past when the Quraish infidels denied the Prophet, peace be upon him, to come to Mecca, as well as Alaqramtp , Who prevented the pilgrims for many years to come here, 'he said.

The Palestinian Authority President accused Hamas for being responsible for the siege, saying, 'We know that the siege of our people who live there is due to the Israeli government and Hamas'.

But what does he know? He's a "collaborator!"

Maybe if he gets on his knees

From Reuters:

Leaders of the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim group Hezbollah have turned down a request to meet former U.S. President Jimmy Carter during a visit to Lebanon that began on Tuesday, a Carter spokesman said.

Carter had requested a meeting with the Iran-backed political and military movement, which is listed as a terrorist group by Washington, as part of a visit to assess whether his Carter Center will monitor a legislative election next year.

"I understand that some of the leaders of Hezbollah have said they were not going to meet with any president or former presidents of the United States," Carter said upon his arrival at Beirut airport, adding that he would meet other leaders.

A Carter spokesman confirmed a meeting had been requested with Hezbollah, whose guerrilla army fought a 34-day war with U.S. ally Israel in 2006. "They said they were not able to meet," Carter spokesman Rick Jafculca said.

Compared to Carter, it appears that Hezbollah actually has principles.

Iran getting on Egypt's nerves

From Xinhua:

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday summoned Iranian diplomatic representative in Cairo in protest against recent anti-Egypt demonstrations in Iran.
In a statement issued Tuesday by the Foreign Ministry, Egypt voiced its complaints on the demonstrations staged from time to time outside the office of the Egyptian diplomatic mission in Tehran.
The Egyptian ministry also criticized some Iranian newspapers that have repeatedly insulted Egyptian policies and leadership recently, said the statement, without elaborating.
In a similar incident, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry summoned Iranian envoy in Cairo this July over an Iranian film on the assassination of late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat, which Egypt said "insults the relations between the two countries."