Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Thursday, March 11, 2010

The likely next Al Azhar leader - a "moderate"

After the death of Sheikh Tantawi, who led Egypt's Al Azhar University, the most likely successor is the current Grand Mufti of Egypt, Sheikh Ali Gomaa.

From Gomaa's Wikipedia entry he comes across as being very moderate:

Since taking office Gomaa has issued a number of fatwas and statements that have made an impact in the media. He has issued a fatwa asserting that men and women enjoy equal political rights in Islam, including the right to become president of a modern state.[12]

In November 2006, prof Gomaa ruled that female circumcision (also referred to as female genital mutilation or FGM) should not be applied; this ruling is in accordance with Egyptian law, that also forbids female circumcision. This ruling came about after a conference instigated by research and a documentary on FGM in Somalia by the German action group Target. This fatwa is now also used in Western Europe to combat FGM.[14] On June 24, 2007, after an 11-year-old died under the knife undergoing circumcision, he decreed that female circumcision was not just “un-Islamic” but forbidden.[15]

He has also stated that Islam does not call for and has never known a theocratic state and that there is no contradiction between Islam and liberal democracy saying, “I consider myself a liberal and a Muslim, but this does not mean I am a secularist. The Egyptian [historical] experience has combined liberalism and Islam in the best of ways.” [16]

In 2007 he "unequivocally told the Washington Post that the death penalty for apostasy simply no longer applies."[18]

Gomaa has publicly asserted that the anti-Semitic The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is a forgery and made an official court complaint concerning a publisher who falsely put his name on an introduction to its Arabic translation.[19]

Sounds pretty good, right?

Unfortunately, the Wiki entry does not fully address his feelings towards suicide bombing against Israelis. The Nationmaster encyclopedia fills in the blanks:

In an interview with an Egyptian paper “Al-haqiqa” in July 2003, Sheikh Ali Gomaa was asked a number of questions regarding Palestine. He also made some statements regarding the issue which were reported in al-Hayat newspaper on the 30th September 2003. [6] [7]

When asked about the rule of an Egyptian man illegally entering Palestine and carrying out a ‘martyrdom’ operation without the express permission of the head of state he replied that "he is a Shahid [martyr], because Palestine is a special case and not the ordinary case existing in the world… This is because in Palestine there is an enemy that rules the land. This rule is considered a crime by international conventions and resolutions… The world has let the Jews spread corruption throughout the land and they have succeeded in obtaining international legitimacy to territories that were conquered after 1967…Israel is a special case that does not exist [anywhere else] on the face of the earth. We are facing a criminal occupation that is the source of terror."

When asked about the explicit ruling on “martyrdom” operations he replied that "The one who carries out Fedaii [martyrdom] operations against the Zionists and blows himself up is, without a doubt, a Shahid [martyr] because he is defending his homeland against the occupying enemy who is supported by superpowers such as the U.S. and Britain."

In the same interview, referenced above, he was then asked regarding the rule regarding differentiating between civilian and non civilian targets replying that

"The Zionists themselves do not differentiate between civilian and military personnel. They have set the entire people to military service. The civilian settler who occupies land in a state of war is a Harbi [that is, a non-Muslim living in an area regarded as 'Dar Al-harb,' the 'domain of war,' in which Islam does not dominate]. Besides, everyone in Israel, civilians and military personnel, bear arms. That is, they are 'Ahl Al-Qital'[that is, those who deserve to be fought]."

Various other questions and answers from the same interview include:

Question: "Do you differentiate between operations carried out within the 1948 borders and operations carried out within the 1967 borders?" Sheikh Gum'a: "Even Zionists do not differentiate. They occupied the entire territory. We differentiate when there is a difference, [but] there is no difference between Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Hebron."

Question: "Is it permitted to kill an Israeli traveling outside the borders of his land?" Sheikh Gum'a: "Yes, it is permitted to kill him, because he is a Harbi and the Harbi spreads corruption throughout the face of the earth."
Question: "Even if he is wearing a diplomatic uniform, for example?" Sheikh Gum'a: "He can wear a diplomatic uniform as much as he likes, but his blood is permitted. But permitting his blood does not mean that he must be killed; it only permits his killing."

Wikipedia mentions only the last question and quotes another person who says that the sheikh denied making that statement. It also quotes Church Times:

During a press conference on Wednesday, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, Dr Ali Gomaa, rejected press reports that he had praised suicide- bombers in Palestine. The reports were wrong and had “muddied the picture. . . We are against any persecution of any minorities,” he said.

That denial is not a denial, it is a non-sequitur.

But so long as you can accept that the word "moderate" has completely different definitions when referring to Arabs/Muslims and when referring to any other human beings, then you can certainly call him a "moderate."

Emiratis freak out over Israeli supermarket ad

From ITN:

This supermarket ad is front-page news at the UAE-based Gulf News, and the reader comments indicate how offended they are by the ad, which hasn't even aired yet as far as I can tell.

Meanwhile, Dubai Police Clown Khalfan is backtracking from his statement that the UAE will stop all Israelis (and Jews) from entering the country, saying that they will be stopped "only if they are Mossad suspects." Of course, since his suspect list keeps growing, that may soon include every white man and woman in the world.

Ramallah central square to be named after child-murderer

From YNet:

The Palestinian Authority decided Wednesday to postpone a ceremony naming Ramallah's central square after Dalal Al-Mughrabi, a female terrorist who carried out a deadly terror attack on an Israeli bus in 1978.

For the time being, a new date has not been set for the ceremony.

The postponement is assumed to be linked to a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden, who is currently in Israel. Earlier in the day, Biden condemned Israel for approving the construction of 1,600 new housing units in east Jerusalem.

In recent weeks, Israel has conveyed harsh messages to the Palestinians regarding the plans for the square's new name. Al-Mughrabi is a popular figure, considered by the Palestinian public to be a major hero of their struggle, with many legends linked to her name over the years.

Her attack killed 37 people, including at least 10 children and American photographer Gail Rubin, shot in cold blood at the beginning of the attack.

Palestine Today quotes Fatah sources as confirming that the square will be named after Mughrabi "despite Israeli threats." The official made it clear that terror attacks have been an integral part of the "Palestinian revolution."

There are girls schools named after Mughrabi in Gaza and Hebron. Summer camps and other institutions are named after her as well.

Anti-semitic, anti-Israel protest at the Waldorf

This is my edit of two videos taken outside the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York on Tuesday night. Thanks to tmdrdd for the footage, and check out his other videos of the event.

I saw in a supermarket a bottle of something called Pepsi Throwback - an old-style bottle of Pepsi made with cane sugar, available "a limited time only."

It just so happens that this is the only time of the year that one can get Coke made with cane sugar - the yellow Coke caps indicate the kosher for Passover Coke, which do not use corn syrup.

Coke aficionados have known for years that the only way to get Coke made the old-fashioned way with sugar was to buy the Passover formula Coke, and they probably buy more of them than Jews do. (Mexican Coke is apparently also made with sugar.)

Pepsi seems to have noticed this trend, and it is unwilling to concede even this limited market share to Coke. So, Pepsi introduced Throwback - this is its second year - at roughly the same time that Passover Coke is in stores.

The ironic part is that Pepsi Throwback is not kosher for Passover!

Gazans get their Internet from...Israel (and Egypt)

Gazans have been complaining for a while about the poor Internet service they have been receiving from PalTel. It has been unreliable and slow.

Some of them have come up with an innovative idea to solve it.

They obtain Israeli or Egyptian cell phones that have Internet capability and tether them (either via cable or Bluetooth) to their PCs and laptops.

It appears that Israeli mobile phone providers Cellcom and Orange have coverage over most of Gaza and they seem to have a way to get Gazans to pay their bills, perhaps electronically. Also, it seems that the Cellcom phones can be directly connected to routers, allowing many to share a single cell phone connection.

The Israeli and Egyptian wireless internet services are cheaper and faster than PalTel. You can be sure that the Internet traffic going over both countries' wireless infrastructure is being captured and analyzed as well.

Women of Islamic Jihad rally in Gaza

Here's a photo of a rally in Gaza by the Women's Movement of Islamic Jihad:

To the West, PalArabs love to talk about how many women are in Israeli jails, implying that women somehow couldn't do anything that would necessitate imprisonment. Yet here's how the women display themselves to their own people - as soldiers.

You gotta admit, the burqas make them look hot.

Literally.

Gaza play makes fun of Fatah, Hamas

It is unbelievable that Hamas has allowed this play to be staged in Gaza:

A new play has shocked audiences in the Gaza Strip by shouting out what many in the Hamas-ruled territory mutter behind closed doors -- that Palestinian politicians are a bunch of crooks.

The biting comedy entitled "Umbilical Cord" goes after the Islamist Hamas and its secular Fatah rivals, accusing them of ignoring the suffering of their people and selling out to Iran and the United States, respectively.

Though it takes to task all the main Palestinian factions, the play is remarkable for its criticism of Hamas, which has ruled the embattled territory since driving out its Fatah rivals in June 2007.

The main Palestinian factions are represented throughout the play by four men in suits sarcastically referred to as "The Great Ones", all carrying briefcases labeled "politics."

A colored cord identifies their factions -- green for Hamas, yellow for Fatah, black for Islamic Jihad and red for the smaller leftist factions, hence the title.

Throughout, the play heavily implies that Fatah is in the employ of the United States while Hamas works for Iran.

"Setting up a faction is easier than opening a shop," says Lafi al-Ahbal, the wise fool of the play.

"If you want to set up a faction just shout slogans about Jerusalem and the settlements and the wall and incontinence... You'll make a fortune in aid."

The harshness of the criticism shocked many in the audience. Since it seized power Hamas has brutally cracked down on any perceived threat to its rule, whether from Fatah members or more radical Islamic groups.

Yet despite fears of a shutdown the play ran as planned, each evening drawing some 1,500 Gazans eager for diversion after all the enclave's formal theatres and cinemas were shut down during the first Palestinian uprising, or intifada, in the 1980s.

A handful of local and international cultural centers, like the al-Shawa Cultural Center where "Umbilical Cord" was shown, however, carry on cultural life here, hosting plays and other events.

"This is a scream in the face of the officials, because the people are sick and tired of the way they do business," said Iyad Abu Shariya, who heads an independent cultural organization that produced the play with aid from the Swiss development fund and local donors.

Perhaps the Swiss aid is what made Hamas think twice about shutting the play down.

The latest desecration of the Temple Mount

As Sabeel (Jordan) breathlessly reports on the latest outrage at the Temple Mount:

A number of guards of Al Aqsa Mosque said that four ultra-Orthodox Jews on Tuesday performed rituals near the door of mercy within the Al Aqsa Mosque.

They said that small groups of Jewish extremists and foreign tourists stormed the Aqsa mosque on the Mughrabi Gate.

Those Jews and their violent "rituals"...how dare they!

Arab press quoting bizarre plan for Israel to annex Iraq

I recently mentioned a bizarre article by a nutty American writer (and "truther") named Wayne Madsen that Israel was working with Kurdistan to annex parts of Iraq.

At the time, the question was whether the Arab world would embrace this crazy conspiracy theory.

A data point just came in: Palestine Press Agency has just quoted essentially the entire article.

The Police Clown of Dubai does it again

This is great:

Dubai Police have warned spies operating in the Gulf to leave the region within one week or face consequences.
"Those spies that are currently present in the Gulf must leave the region within one week — if not, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it," Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim told Gulf News.

The statement comes following the January 19 assassination of Hamas commander Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, which Dahi has blamed on Israel.

The ultimatum indicates that Dubai Police are aware of the identities of spies operating in the UAE and the Gulf region and appears to be a warning of exposure if they do not comply.
Asked if the alleged spies are holders of European passports, the police chief said: "Europeans and others", but he did not respond when asked if he was also referring to spies holding Arab passports.

It is unclear if Dahi was referring to spies working for European governments or those who use European passports to spy for others.

Dahi also accused Israel of "vast falsification" of Western passports. "We discover false passports on a daily basis," he said.

Is Khalfan the Clown saying that he is allowing espionage to occur freely over the next week in the UAE? If he knows the identity of the spies, why not arrest them today before they cause any more damage?

Or is he busily planning his umpteenth press conference next week to announce the names of the "spies" that got away - a selection of Europeans who just left the country?

Khalfan - the Keystone Kop of the Gulf.

The religious leader of Egypt's Al Azhar University, Sheikh Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, died of a heart attack in Saudi Arabia.

Compared to other sheikhs, he was a moderate. He recently got into trouble not only for shaking Shimon Peres' hand but also for banning the burqa at Al Azhar.

Of course, like most Arab Muslim religious "moderates," he also supported suicide bombing against Jews in Israel.

Holocaust denial and Jew-hatred in Jordanian newspaper

The Translating Jihad blog, which I just discovered via Jihad Watch, has accurate translation of Arabic articles that are somewhat less than moderate.

Here's his latest, from the Jordanian As Sabeel newspaper:

The Jews are experts at exercising power over others by invading their thought, culture, and education, and controlling their views and thoughts. Thus the Jews convert others into their supporters by subjecting them to their lies. They succeed greatly in this Satanic mission because of the ignorance of the Gentiles and the ability of the Jews to plant their agents of thought, culture, media, politics, government, finance, and art, and convert them into soldiers. These soldiers then undertake to "normalize" every Gentile and make them slaves, followers of the Jews. Everyone who takes an honest look at the conditions of the modern world and the Jews' dealings in it realizes this truth. Among the clearest examples of this is the Holocaust.

The Jews succeeded in converted the The Holocaust, a malignant term, into dogma. Every man throughout all the world must have faith in and profess this creed, for woe unto he who denies or doubts it.

The meaning of this Jewish creed is thus: the Jews were slaughtered in Nazi prisons in the days of the second world war, in which they claimed that Hitler and his regime executed and burned more than 5 million Jews in gas ovens in Germany and elsewhere!! The Jews blackmailed Germany, calling for her to pay financially for the crimes of the Nazis and recompense the Jews for the sacrifices of the Holocaust. They took billions upon billions from Germany and the rest of Europe, and still continue to blackmail and milk the Europeans!!

If any Western thinkers attempt to doubt the numbers of Jews killed in the Holocaust, they are branded anti-semites who must be tried, convicted, and punished, as happened with Jarudi.

The Jewish devils direct UNESCO, the international cultural organization under the umbrella of the United Nations, exploiting the stupid Gentiles and using them to issue international resolutions which require every nation in the world, including those in our Arab and Islamic world, to consider the Holocaust a worldwide tragedy. UNESCO has obligated every nation in the world to teach its people "the history of the suffering of the Jews in the Nazi Holocaust"! Through different means they have defined, directed, and taught this doctrine in various educational programs, media foundations, and cultural organizations. Every center and foundation in every nation of the world is required to imprint this definition of the suffering of the Jews in the prefaces of their consitutions and convince their people to believe in the same.

This Satanic Jewish plan is alarming, as it strives to exploit United Nations foundations, principally UNESCO, and employ them to subjugate Arabs and Muslims and force them into cultural and thought normalization.

The Holocaust will enter into the training and education curriculum in our schools, colleges, and universities; in our centers of guidance, thought, and planning; in our scientific, literary, and cultural activities; and in our seminars, lectures, newspapers, magazines, novels, films, and stories. Jewish cultural normalization will enter into every foundation, center, school and university, even into every house and home!! ... All of this and the Holocaust is a Jewish myth, legend, and lie.

Latest from the Police Clown of Dubai

From AFP:

Dubai's police chief accused Israel on Tuesday of "vast falsification" of travel documents, noting that dozens of false passports were uncovered following a Hamas leader's murder in the emirate.
"I ring alarm bells. Israel is falsifying Western passports on a large scale. We discover forged passports on a daily basis," Dahi Khalfan told AFP.
"The world must stop an operation of vast falsification of official documents (that) a formal body (Israel's spy agency Mossad) is carrying out," he added.
"It is shameful for the European countries that a country which claims to be a state of law is falsifying their passports," he said.

So Dubai has been finding dozens of fake passports since the Mabhouh hit, and is blaming the Mossad for all of them!

Khalfan the Clown must believe that the "Israelis" invented forgery in ancient Egypt, and the vast worldwide Jewish conspiracy has the market cornered on forged documents today.

Synagogue controversy in Egypt

I reported yesterday about the Maimonides (Rambam) synagogue being rededicated in Cairo, and quoted the World Jewish Congress website as saying:

Egyptian officials were absent from the ceremony, and Culture Minister Faruk Hosni said Sunday's opening was a purely religious ceremony. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s Antiquities Department, said that a more formal opening next Sunday would be attended by Egyptian officials.

This is being reported differently in Egypt.

The Al-Shorouq newspaper is quoting others as saying that the Egyptian government was outraged that the tiny Jewish community of Cairo invited Israeli representatives to the opening ceremonies. This was considered "inappropriate and unacceptable" to Egyptian officials, who felt that they could not attend if Israelis were there for the ceremony.

The second re-dedication ceremony that was mentioned as being scheduled for March 14th is up in the air as well, as Egyptian officials are now saying that the restoration is not complete yet and will have to wait until the synagogue is completely ready.

Lebanese "defense strategy" talks center on Hezbollah

Today, various Lebanese groups are meeting to discuss "defense strategy" - and there is great disagreement over what that means:

Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said that the mere fact that dialogue will resume is a "positive sign."
"The mere fact that the key parties are meeting even if they don't reach quick results is also a good sign," Geagea said in remarks published Monday by the daily An-Nahar.

Politicians from rival parties are due to meet Tuesday for a new session on defense strategy under President Michel Suleiman at Baabda Palace.

National dialogue was launched in March 2006, before the devastating summer war between Hizbullah and Israel, to determine the fate of the weapons held by the group.

But it has been delayed several times because of the country's successive political crises.

Prime Minister Saad Hariri's government has failed to resolve the thorny issue of Hizbullah arms since its formation in November, when it defeated the Hizbullah-led March 8 coalition.

Hizbullah has refused to disarm since the end of the 1975-1990 Civil War and insists that its weapons are necessary to defend Lebanon against Israeli aggression.

He noted that the "only" item which remains for discussion on the dialogue table was Hizbullah weapons.

"So, there is no room for argument," Geagea said. "The topic has already been determined and Hizbullah arms fall under the defense strategy."

"We look at the matter from this angle," he added.

Hezbollah and its allies disagree:

While the majority March 14 alliance holds on to defense strategy as a single item for discussion, the Hizbullah-led opposition argues the possibility of raising additional issues on the agenda, including the "economic-water security."

The major controversy, however, revolves around Hizbullah arms.

While Hizbullah insists that the group's weapons are not up for discussion at the table, March 14 demand that Hizbullah arms be debated.

Hizbullah Deputy Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem on Monday noted that "there is no discussion topic at the dialogue table dubbed 'weapons,' because those weapons are the outcome of the defense strategy and not its source."
"Furthermore, there is no attempt at the dialogue table to undermine the strength of Lebanon, but to discuss the defense strategy," Qassem added at a ceremony to commemorate the birth of Prophet Mohammed in Beirut Southern Suburbs.

Qassem said that "Lebanon's strength" may require coordination and means "to enhance the capabilities of the Mujahedeen of the resistance and the army … to reach a real defense capacity that frightens Israel and obliges it to know its limits."

Asharq al-Awsat quotes the Lebanese Defense Forces as saying that they will resist Israel if attacked, and that Hezbollah's weapons are illegal.

UPDATE: As I was writing this, two hours into the meeting, the meeting was adjourned until April 15th. One can take a good guess as to what happened.

Hamas ready to implode?

The not-always-reliable Kuwaiti press is reporting that Hamas is losing its grip on power in Gaza.

Firas Press reports of a Kuwaiti newspaper that quotes unnamed sources as saying that Hamas is in serious trouble, both from a security and an economic perspective, in Gaza, and it might prompt them to ignite fighting in the West Bank.

The sources said that the recent riots in Jerusalem helped divert attention from Hamas' internal problems, mentioning recent explosions against Hamas officials which are being blamed on unpaid workers protesting. It quotes rumors, that Hamas has denied, that Hamas' minister of the interior Fathi Hammad is being fired from his job.

The sources also point to well-known differences of opinion between Hamas leadership in Gaza and its leaders in Damascus.

Iranians caught with stolen Israeli passports

Ma'ariv reports that three Iranians were caught at an airport in Seychelles trying to use stolen Israeli passports. The Iranians were sent back on a flight to Nairobi, Kenya, from where they came.

Seychelles authorities passed the information to Israeli authorities, who found that the passports were stolen from Israelis who traveled to Thailand last year.

Israeli authorities fear that this was the precursor to a terror attack in the archipelago, which has been advertising heavily to attract Israelis on Passover vacation this year. Charter airlines now go directly to Seychelles from Israel.

Palestinian Authority considers Richard Falk to be too pro-Hamas?

Richard Falk, the UN's "special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories," says he has been asked to resign by the Palestinian Authority - because he is too pro-terror even for them:

Richard Falk, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Monday the Palestinian Authority (PA) urged him to step down after he criticized the PA’s treatment of a UN war crimes report.

Falk confirmed reports that the joint PA-PLO mission to the UN in Geneva also delayed consideration in the UN Human Rights Council of his most recent report detailing Israeli abuses of Palestinians’ rights.

Arabic-language news reports of the delay surfaced last week.

He said PA officials formally approached him in February asking him to resign, arguing that he is unable to carry out his responsibilities since Israel detained him at Ben Gurion International Airport and deported him in late 2008.

But, he stressed in an interview, "what they [the PA] say formally and what they say informally are quite different."

"Informally they say different things, things that are essentially untrue, that my health doesn’t me allow to do the job or that I’m a partisan of Hamas," Falk added.

Falk’s mandate is narrowly defined to include only the human rights record of the occupying power, Israel, in the occupied West Bank and Gaza – he does not report to the UN on the actions of the PA or the Hamas government in Gaza.

But Falk did raise hackles in Ramallah when he publicly criticized the PA for delaying UN action on judge Richard Goldstone’s report that accused Israel and Palestinian militias of committing war crimes during the 2008-2009 Gaza war. Goldstone’s UN-mandated report dealt with the three-week attack that left some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis dead.

President Mahmoud Abbas’ decision, under US pressure, to delay a vote in the UN Human Rights Council on Goldstone’s report provoked a political crisis, including calls for Abbas to step down, and for the dissolution of the PA. Rights groups slammed Abbas for harming their efforts to bring accused war criminals to justice.

Now Falk says Abbas’ men have done the same to his own report. He says the PA-appointed ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Ibrahim Khreishah, put forward a resolution in a recent plenary session of the Human Rights Council which delayed a discussion of his own report on Israeli rights violations from March until June. The resolution passed unanimously.

Falk, a Princeton international law expert, said he is "not happy" about the PA’s actions, but has no plans to resign. "I feel that it’s very important not to succumb to this pressure."

The delay of Falk’s report also caught the attention of Hamas leaders in Gaza. On Monday, The justice minister in the Hamas-controlled government in Gaza, Muhammad Faraj Al-Ghoul, held a news conference denouncing the delay as an effort to "kill the report and give Israel a cover for its crimes."

It is entirely possible that Falk is making this entire thing up. He has an exaggerated sense of self-worth and he has lied multiple times before.

Even so, it highlights that UN officials are more closely aligned with how Hamas views the Middle East than how the US does.

Mahmoud Zahar the deadbeat

Palestine Press Agency quotes Fatah member Jamal Nazzal as claiming that Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar did not pay the electric bill for his large house in 2006 and 2007, owing several thousand shekels.

Arab leaders call for Jihad over Jerusalem. Again.

Over the past 150 years, Muslims have learned that the threat of Jihad scares Westerners. The concern that hordes of half-crazed third-world Mohammedan zealots would go nuts is a consistent motif throughout contemporary newspapers of a century ago no less than it is today, just today it is less politically correct to think in terms of half-crazed third-world Mohammedan zealot.

From the March 2, 1899 Otago Witness:

From the Evening Independent, February 7, 1913:

From the Timaru Herald, September 27, 1876:

Over the years, Muslim leaders have learned that the very idea of a religious war strikes fear in Western hearts, because Westerners tend to be afraid of naked fanaticism. The thought that religion is enough reason to wage war seems primitive to modern ears, and being confronted with people who are fundamentally irrational is a scary thought.

Arab and Muslim leaders have cultivated this fear over the decades, to the extent that Westerners now censor their own speech to avoid any chance of offending the irrational Muslim hordes and spark a Jihad, or at the very least a murder spree.

I have called this mindset "the diplomacy of fear." These leaders have learned that their very threats can get the Western world to bend to their bidding, and the fear is based on the concept that Muslims cannot be trusted to act rationally. Leftists embrace this soft bigotry and the Muslim and especially Arab leadership exploit it.

In that context, it is telling that a conference in Cairo over the weekend called on all Muslims worldwide to initiate a religious war in defense of Jerusalem as a reaction to Israel daring to consider the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb to be "Jewish." The intent is not so much a show of strength by rioting Muslims - whose actual jihads have invariably fallen far short of the threats - as it is to frighten the West into pressuring Israel not to tick off the crazy, irrational "Mussulmans."

Rambam synagogue and school rededicated in Cairo

From CNN-I:

[A] small group of Jews from around the world gathered in Egypt's capital on Sunday afternoon to celebrate the rededication of a 12th-century religious school once used by one of Judaism's most revered figures, and a neighboring 19th-century synagogue built in his honor.
The $2 million, 18-month restoration project of the Rav Moshe synagogue, in an area of Cairo once called "the neighborhood of the Jews," was financed by the Egyptian government.
The school attached to the synagogue was the study of Rabbi Moses ben Maimon -- better known as Maimonides -- a 12th century religious scholar and medical doctor who led the Mediterranean Jewish world and whose patients included Saladin, the Muslim ruler of Egypt and Syria.
The Egyptian government has kept largely quiet about its synagogue restoration campaign. There were no public officials on hand for the rededication of the Rav Moshe synagogue on Sunday, and Egyptian security forces prevented some journalists from entering the building.

Al Masry al-Youm describes it a bit differently:

Newly-appointed Israeli ambassador to Egypt Yitzhak Levanon attended the celebration, along with the US and Canadian ambassadors and French embassy officials. Officials from the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), however, which funded the restoration operation, did not attend.

Festivities took place amid a heavy security presence, with police cordoning off a 500-meter area around the synagogue. Local residents were banned from leaving their homes during the event and were ordered to keep their windows tightly closed. All shops in the district were shut for the duration of the event.

In advance of the celebration, Cairo Provincial Authority workers had cleaned the area, paved the sidewalks and painted nearby building facades.

Israeli embassy security personnel, in charge of security inside the synagogue, barred Egyptian journalists from entering the building to cover the event. A Jewish reporter from Israeli daily Haaretz was also denied entry for lacking an official permit.

As to why Egyptian officials didn't attend:

Egyptian officials were absent from the ceremony, and Culture Minister Faruk Hosni said Sunday's opening was a purely religious ceremony. Zahi Hawass, the head of Egypt’s Antiquities Department, said that a more formal opening next Sunday would be attended by Egyptian officials.

Iran's new short-range cruise missile

From AP:

Iran announced Sunday that it has started a new production line of highly accurate, short range cruise missiles, which would add a new element to the country's already imposing arsenal.

Gen. Ahmad Vahidi told Iranian state TV that the cruise missile, called Nasr 1, would be capable of destroying targets up to 3,000 tons in size.

For some reason, Google's autotranslate of the rocket name mentioned in Al Asharq al-Awsat calls it "Nasrallah-1."

"Nasr" means "victory," and I thought perhaps Iran intended a pun on the name of their Hezbollah leader friend in Lebanon. But it looks more like an auto-translate bug than anything else.

Musab Youssef on Israel TV

h/t Oleh Girl

The Mufti, the hotel and the cemetery

Tom Segev and Haim Watzman in their book "One Palestine, Complete: Jews and Arabs Under the British Mandate," tell an incredible story about the infamous Mufti Husseini of Jerusalem and his hotel.

According to the book, the Mufti didn't knowingly build the Palace Hotel on top of the Mamilla Cemetery. At least, not at first. He built the hotel across the street - but the workers did find human remains.

The Mufti's reaction? Don't tell anybody about it and move the bones elsewhere.

Later, when Husseini's archrival Mayor Nashabishi of Jerusalem refused to connect the Palace Hotel to the sewer system, Husseini agreed to lay pipes to send the hotel's (partially treated) sewage - to the cemetery itself.

This excerpt from the book (pp 278-279) is fascinating, and exposes yet again the hypocrisy of Arab Muslims concerning the supposed sanctity of Muslim graves in Jerusalem (click to enlarge):

Disco Dubai open thread (translated)

Translation, courtesy Annie:

Nobody told me there's going to be a party
If I'd have only known, I'd also have come along
From one minute to the next it all becomes clearer
Everyone was there besides me, it seems.

You thought you could keep it from me, a big secret
But "naive" Dahi has a big mouth and he's got cameras
All the world and his wife saw how you flew off without me
To the crazy costume party in Dubai.

Cheese... cheese... cheese

Only me they didn't invite to El Mabhouh's party
Wow, if I'd have been there I'd have sat him on a low chair
Also naive Dahi was there, found some bullets
And since then, from morning till night he's eating movies.

From one press conference to another he rattles on
From all that smoke he can't see the fire.
"I'm on to you, you killed Mabhouh"
DJ Dahi is in his groove, and whoever isn't jumping is suspect.

Cheese... cheese... cheese.

Straighten up your glasses, your wig's a little crooked
Straighten your mustache and smile at the camera
Put on the tennis cap and call the elevator
Because Mabhouh is coming in a minute and we'll put a pillow on him.

Golan Hen - lyrics, melody and coffee
Avihai Porat - vocals, sound and beer.

Open thread time!

Fake "Palestinian" culture gets a boost from the Netherlands

From Ma'an:

A 5,000 year old city is the focus of a UNESCO, Nablus and Dutch government initiative seeking to boost the Palestinian Department of Antiquities and Cultural Heritage's resources and technical experience, a statement said.

A 300,000 euro donation from the Netherlands to UNESCO will support continued excavations and preservation at the Tell Balata Archaeological Site. Under the initiative, students from the University of Leiden will participate to provide technical expertise, officials said at the signing ceremony on Monday.

The Tell Balata site is listed by UNESCO in the Inventory of Cultural and Natural Heritage Sites of Potential Outstanding Universal Value in Palestine, and is located in the city of Nablus. According to experts, the area includes towers and buildings from the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age dating back 5,000 years.

There is nothing objectionable about archaeological research, of course. What is curious is the reason given by the Dutch for doing this:

Dutch representative to Palestine Jack Twiss Quarles van Ufford called the initiative a step in support of caretaker Prime Minster Salam Fayyad's plan to build state institutions ahead of the declaration of a Palestinian state in 2011. "The creation of institutions can only be sustainable if it goes hand in hand with the strengthening of the cultural identity of the Palestinian people," Twiss said in a statement.

Hold on...if the "Palestinians" have been a unique people living on their land for thousands of years, why do they need outside help to strengthen their cultural identity? Do the Chinese or Greeks or Egyptians need help from Europeans to remember who they are and where they came from?

Not only that, but it Twiss seriously thinking that the residents of the region in Chalcolithic times have any cultural or historic ties to the Palestinian Arabs of today?

Deep down, Twiss and his ilk knows that "Palestinian" culture is a recent and mostly artificial phenomenon driven more by politics than anything else. But since they want another Arab state to exist so badly, they are willing to throw Dutch government money at an initiative that is apparently meant not so much to do serious scientific research but to create a fake history and culture where virtually none exists.

(And, yes, I have looked for years for examples of this ancient Palestinian Arab culture. The closest I have found have been some unique clothing styles and crafts that more reflect normal local and tribal custom than anything that could be remotely called "Palestinian." Palestinian Arab art, music and literature was virtually non-existent a century ago.)

Riot at Bethlehem University

From Ma'an:

Bethlehem University’s student senate accused the university's guards of assaulting 17 students on campus on Friday, following a brawl.

Anan Jawabra, president of the student senate, told Ma'an that the attack followed an attempt to allow a visitor on campus. The senate president said BU's vice president, Mussa Darwish, refused to permit the visitor entry and university guards took the guest to a room and began beating him.

Students were then attacked by guards wielding batons during a 40 minute brawl, Jawabra said, with two students left bleeding for two hours before being transferred to hospital.

The student senate further accused the university guards of brining knives and fire extinguishers to the fight, and calling on friends to assist them in the brawl. The senate says the incident was re-instigated at 2:30pm, despite the campus being cleared of students.

Call the Human Rights organizations!

Oh, that's right - they don't get involved when Israel can't be blamed.

Fatal car accident? Blame Israel!

A tragic accident near Ramallah:

Five [now six - EoZ] Palestinians were killed on Friday evening and two others were injured when their vehicle accidentally slammed into a military hummer at the Silwad Bridge, by the entrance of Ofer near the central West Bank city of Ramallah.

The Public Affairs Department at the Palestinian Police in Ramallah said that all of the deceased residents are family members; a husband, his wife and their children.

Israeli sources reported that four Israeli soldiers, who were in the military hummer, were lightly wounded and were airlifted to an Israeli hospital.

The Israeli police said that the Palestinian vehicle was speeding, and that one of its tires exploded leading the vehicle to slide into the opposite direction of the street to slam into the military vehicle.

But that's just what you would expect the lying, genocidal Zionists to say, isn't it? In fact, this is a new chapter of Zio ethnic cleansing via car accidents.

At least, that's what a spokesman for the "moderate" Fatah movement says in Firas Press:

Fatah spokesman Osama al-Qawasmi condemned the killing of six Palestinians from the same family in a collision with an IDF vehicle, saying that the incident was deliberate.

Qawasmi said that Israel's ruling authorities have been trying to push the region into violence, pointing out that a resolution annexing the Ibrahimi Mosque and the vicinity of Bilal Ben Rabah mosque and the walls of Jerusalem to the list of so-called list of Israeli heritage sites, as well as deliberate shooting on the Shalaldeh family in the Bethlehem area and the continuing incursions of the holy places, particularly in Jerusalem, and other unilateral actions are in creating new facts on the ground.

You see how insidious the so-called "Israelis" are? To support their claim on "heritage sites" in the West Bank, they target and murder entire Palestinian Arab families by forcing them into car accidents!

Someone compliments Israel. PalArabs freak.

From Jerusalem Dispatch:

“I will always support Israel, guardian of the world’s capital, Jerusalem,” Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli told President Shimon Peres during a welcoming ceremony on Tuesday at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem.

In his opening remarks, President Martinelli said he “preferred to speak from the heart. As a citizen of Panama I say with great honor and joy: I will always support Israel, guardian of the world’s capital, Jerusalem.” He added that “Panama is a country of immigrants, which includes our thriving and active Jewish community. I am proud that three of the ministers in my government are Jewish, and that there are several Jews in other important positions in our government.”

Naturally, the fact that a tiny country supports Israel amid a sea of anti-semitism is too much for Palestinian Arab leaders to bear.

Fatah Central Committee Member Nabil Sha'ath sharply condemned on Saturday President of Panama Ricardo Martinelli's remarks in which he referred to Israel as the "guardian" of the holy city of Jerusalem.

"Martinelli’s comments did not only insult the Palestinian people, the Arab, Islamic, and Christian world, but also insulted international law," Sha’ath said in a statement.

To people like Sha'ath, being the "guardian" of Jerusalem means to guard against any Jews visiting or living there.

Hamas attacked Red Crescent - confirmed

Early Friday morning I reported that Hamas attacked a Red Crescent headquarters in Gaza, expelled staff and doctors, and stole files. I predicted that Ma'an wouldn't cover the story until some official commented on it, because they fear Hamas reprisals when they actually do any real reporting from Gaza that makes Hamas look bad.

And that is exactly what happened.

Human rights organizations have yet to comment, however.

Latest from the Dubai police circus

From The National (UAE):

The chief of police yesterday gave the 26 people whose identities are alleged to have been stolen by the killers of Mahmoud al Mabhouh one month to file legal actions over identity fraud.

If they do not, they will be considered by the Dubai police to have collaborated with the alleged assassination, Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim said.

“Those who claim that their identities have been stolen by the squad who murdered al Mabhouh, have to file a law suit against the perpetrators to their respective countries or arrest warrants will be issued against them,” he said.

“If their claims are correct then they should report the offense, otherwise in our eyes they are collaborators with the squad and thus they will be wanted for the authorities,” said Lt Gen Tamim. “We will give them one month to file lawsuits after which we will put them on the wanted list.”

Dubai police have said the innocence of these people should not be taken for granted on the basis of that claim alone.

Who, exactly, must the victims file their lawsuits against?

As if we needed any more proof that the Dubai police have no clue.

In other Dubai police news, their previously most sensational murder case, that of Lebanese singer Suzanne Tamim, has suffered a setback. The people they accused of the murder are getting a retrial, possibly because the evidence provided by the Dubai police was inconsistent and incomplete.

We get results!

From JPost:

A Human Rights Watch spokeswoman told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday night that its embattled senior military analyst Marc Garlasco resigned nearly three weeks ago....

HRW suspended Garlasco with pay in September, “pending an investigation,” after allegations surfaced that he was an avid collector of Nazi memorabilia.

...As for the “pending investigation,” Daly repeated that Garlasco had resigned and said, “We are not commenting on it any further.”

Garlasco’s collection was initially revealed by Omri Ceren on his blog “Mere Rhetoric” in September, when he wrote that Garlasco was “obsessed with the color and pageantry of Nazism, has published a detailed 430-page book on Nazi war paraphernalia, and participates in forums for Nazi souvenir collectors.”

The subsequent media coverage sparked controversy and condemnations from groups such as NGO Monitor, which released a statement saying that Garlasco’s background, “when combined with his central role in the condemnations of Israel under false banners of ‘human rights’ violations and ‘war crimes,’ show that he is entirely inappropriate as a human rights reporter.”

One of my readers had tipped me off to Garlasco's hobby,and I emailed Omri and other bloggers about it, letting him run with the story. (I also found the Garlasco quote "The leather SS jacket makes my blood go cold it is so COOL", which I also told a number of other bloggers about and they posted it before I did.)

During the days afterwards I was involved in exposing both Garlasco's picture with his daughter while wearing an Iron Cross sweatshirt as well as the fact the HRW sent out sockpuppets to various blogs to defend Garlasco.

The problems with HRW are not limited to Garlasco, of course, but this was one of the increasing number of cases where we mere bloggers manage to break news as well as any reporter.

Latest from Latma

Another episode from an Israeli satirical review. Most of it is great, with the bonus that many of the stories I covered this week are also mentioned:

h/t Mohammed the Teddy Bear

Freedom for women increases in Arab world, decreases in PA territories

From Freedom House:

Despite continuing resistance from religious and cultural elites, women in the Middle East and North Africa have made modest progress in achieving certain rights over the past five years. While women in the region suffer from greater inequality than do women elsewhere, they now enjoy more economic opportunity, fewer barriers to education, and expanded ability to participate in the political process than they did five years ago. These are the conclusions of Women’s Rights in the Middle East and North Africa: Progress Amid Resistance, a new study released today by Freedom House.

“These findings remind us of the complexities of women’s status in the Middle East,” said Jennifer Windsor, executive director of Freedom House. “There are more women entrepreneurs, more women doctors, more women Ph.Ds, and more women in universities, than ever before. However, substantial roadblocks remain for women pursuing careers. For instance, women in Saudi Arabia are allowed to earn law degrees, but not to appear in court on behalf of their clients.” She continued, “and these same women are still subject to abuse at home, lack child guardianship rights, and are legally compelled to be ‘obedient’ to their husbands.”

According to the study, 15 out of the 18 countries in the region recorded some gains in women’s rights over the past five years. Kuwait, Algeria and Jordan saw the most significant progress while Iraq, Yemen and the Palestinian Territories—countries enduring internal conflict and the rise of religious extremism—are the only countries to record overall decline.

The Palestinian Arab author of the Palestinian Territories report, of course, blames Israel for much of the decline in the scores since 2004. Some of her "facts" about Israel are complete fiction. For example:

The increased number of checkpoints over the last five years and the construction of a West Bank separation wall,[4] which is over 50 percent complete, have worsened social and economic conditions for all Palestinians. In particular, women now experience further separation from their families, farmlands, water resources, schools, and hospitals. When the wall is completed, it will stand eight to nine meters tall and stretch more than 700 kilometers, adversely affecting the lives of an estimated one-third of the Palestinian population in the West Bank.[5]

I don't have specific numbers (and neither does she), but I would wager that the number of checkpoints has decreased in the past five years, not increased.

There is no doubt that the economic conditions of West Bank Palestinian Arabs have become much better in the past five years, so she is lying there.

Her "source" for the claim that the wall will be 8 to 9 meters high across all 700 kilometers, B'tselem, says no such thing, and in fact most of the barrier is a fence, not a wall. Indeed, B'Tselem calls it a "separation barrier," not a wall.

Even worse, her quote from B'Tselem that one-third of the PalArabs are adversely affected by the barrier is an outright lie. Her link shows that B'Tselem generously counts about 11% of the PalArabs as being affected, not 33%, and up to half of them are questionable (counting communities that are "partially surrounded" by the fence, where it is unclear that it affects their lives at all.)

She does blame Hamas for much of the decrease in women's freedom in the territories, however, and also mentions honor killings and the legal protection for those crimes.

Work accident!

Ma'an reports:

[The] Al-Qassam Brigades announced the death of a fighter during a what a statement called a "jihad mission" near Deir Al-Balah overnight.

The young man, identified as Nabhan Kamal Abu M’eiliq, 22, was killed while on a mission for the brigades. The statement provided no details as to the nature of his death or the purpose of the mission.

Hamas' website notes the death, asking Allah to embrace him in Paradise. Somehow, I don't think Allah will be taking Hamas up on that request.

This is at least the eighth internal terrorist death this year, and there is evidence that some of them might not have been accidents, but the results of infighting.

Report: Hamas invades Red Crescent hospital

Palestine Press Agency reports that Gaza government forces broke into the headquarters of the Palestine Red Crescent Hospital and expelled its staff and doctors. The Hamas forces also took hospital files.

Even though that news outlet is very anti-Hamas, most of its stories end up checking out. Since stories like these are not reported by the Gaza-based press due to fear of Hamas, the only place to read about egregious Hamas abuses like this is the Palestine Press Agency. (Ma'an will only cover it when PCHR or some other organization publicly complains about Hamas abuses; they then have cover to publish the story in the context of the third party accusation. )

Hamas losing control in Gaza?

The anti-Hamas Palestinian Press Agency is reproducing a letter, allegedly from al-Qassam Brigades leader Ahmed Jabari to Khaled Meshal, Hamas' "political" leader in Damascus. The letter details the security chaos in the Gaza Strip and indicates that Hamas may be losing its grip on power. The implication is that some of the recent "work accidents" might have actually been murders of Hamas members.

I cannot auto-translate the letter itself because it is not in text format; if anyone out there knows Arabic and wants to give it a shot, please do so. Page 2 does seem to list specific events that would prove the point, though.

Hamas' newest law: No male hairdressers for women

Palestine Today reports that Hamas is now preventing men from working as hairdressers for women in Gaza.

Police confirmed that the decision, posted on its website, was made "in accordance with the instructions of the Minister of Interior and National Security (in the Gaza government) Fathi Hammad.

The police stressed that it "will pursue anyone who violates this resolution and expose himself to accountability and legal accountability."

Several women's hairdressing salons in the Gaza Strip have been subjected to bombings in recent months.

Remember the good old days when Hamas was recently elected and its leaders strenuously denied that they would force Islamic rule on everyone in Gaza?

A mysterious assassination in Dubai - and no one cared

From the New York Times last April:

Sulim B. Yamadayev was a former general in Chechnya and foe of the republic's Kremlin-backed president. He was killed in the Persian Gulf emirate of Dubai on March 30, 2009, in what appeared to be an assassination, the police said. He was 36.

The attack evoked others on Chechens, in Russia and abroad, who ran afoul of President Ramzan A. Kadyrov. The Kremlin has invested Mr. Kadyrov with almost unchecked authority in a bid to return stability to Chechnya after nearly a decade of bloody war and political turmoil. With Moscow's blessing, Mr. Kadyrov has created a personality cult and imposed his own interpretation of Islamic morality in Chechnya, whose population is predominately Muslim.

AFP adds:

The killer fired three bullets from a gold-plated gun at the victim's chest as Sulim Yamadayev climbed from his car in the private car park beneath his luxury residence in Dubai.
Yamadayev was the decorated commander of a famed Chechen battalion, loyal to Moscow. His brother had been gunned down in Moscow just months earlier. And the Yamadayev clan were sworn foes of Chechnya's strongman leader.
The March 28 murder was the latest apparent contract-killing in an extraordinary trail of blood leading from Chechnya that already stretched to Istanbul, Moscow and Vienna. And now the bustling emirate.
Yamadayev was the fifth person to be murdered in recent months seen as an opponent of Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed president of Chechnya, a mainly Muslim region of Russia's southern fringe that fought two wars with Moscow.

So an outside non-Arab power, known for assassinations, was suspected of carrying out a brutal assassination of a pretty famous public figure in Dubai. Yet there were no political repercussions, no public calls for sanctions, no daily circuses of press conferences, no talk about how the killers entered the country and if they used faked passports - nothing.

Wonder why?

(h/t LBS)

Al-Arabiya Sports leaves out a small fact

Al Arabiya mentions that the Egyptian football (soccer) team will be playing "Palestine"'s Olympic team in a friendly match at the end of the month, in the Faisal Al husseini Stadium in Ram, near Jerusalem.

The Egyptians are stressing that they are not going to go through Israel to get to the match and are not getting any Israeli visas. They want to help the morale of the Palestinian Arabs and make them feel less isolated.

The article mentions that this is the first meeting between the two teams since a match in Jerusalem in 1934, in a World Cup qualifying match, where Egypt beat Palestine 4-1.

Here is the Palestine Post account of that game. It seems that it wasn't in Jerusalem, but in Tel Aviv, at the stadium used by the Hapoel Zionist team. Could it be that the players in that earlier game were - gasp - Jewish?

In fact, it appears that there were other games between the Egyptians and the Zionists in the 1930s. In this game later that year, the Alexandria team lost to Hapoel (note the names of the players at the end of the article, click to enlarge:)

And Hapoel met the Egyptian team in 1935 as well, as this article says that Egyptian football is what gave the impetus for Zionist teams to grow and compete. This article seems to imply that it these are the same teams that played in 1934:

There was even an earlier game, in 1933:

So, indeed, Egypt did play Palestine before in football. But the Palestine that they played has nothing to do with the "Palestine" team that they plan to meet later this month.

Now, why would Al Arabiya try to imply that Egypt played an Arab Palestinian team in 1934?

Dubai police chief: "We could infiltrate the Mossad"

The latest interview with the clown known as Lt. Gen Dahi Khalfan (Tamim) muddies the waters even more, as he attempts to portray an illusion of competence. Even so, he seems to disprove some of the rumors that have been bandied about by Arabs about the case:

Dubai police did not know in the beginning the identity of the victim as his identity papers did not include his last name and he was not one of Hamas's publically known faces, the police chief said.

Arab sources had earlier indicated that Mabhouh traveled to Dubai with a passport under his own name, and implied that this was how the (presumed) Mossad knew where he was.

"Had we known who he was, we would not have allowed him in to Dubai," he told Al Arabiya. "We do allow officials from Hamas’ political office, but not members involved in secretive work."

This is too funny.

Regarding how the details of the crime were unraveled, Khalfan denied reports that the perpetrators left evidence that made it easy to do so and that they intended to deliver a certain message through leaving traces.

"On the contrary, the murderers tried their best to mislead us. They left the hotel room neat and tidy to give the impression that it was a natural death."

In fact, he added, the Dubai police was about to declare it a natural death as the identity of the victim had not been known yet and there was no criminal suspicion.

"Things started to change when a Palestinian man who knows Mabhouh tried contacting him in Dubai several times and failed. After learning of his death, he called his family in Gaza and told them that he was murdered."

It was then that officials from Hamas contacted the Dubai police and informed them that the victim was a leader in the Islamic resistance organization.

"Revealing the victim's identity gave the case a whole new turn and an autopsy was immediately made."

The autopsy, Khalfan explained, revealed the Mabhouh was strangled after being injected with a drug that causes paralysis.

"Israeli media said he was subjected to electric shocks and this is not true."

Actually, it was Mabhouh's brother that made that claim.

"If Hamas has information, then let them look for the man who leaked information to Israel about Mabhouh's movements."

Mabhouh was betrayed from within, stressed Khalfan.

"Someone from inside Hamas and who was close to him leaked information about his whereabouts to the Israel."

As for a Palestinian man detained in Dubai for alleged links to the case, Khalfan refused to give information about his political affiliation.

"I personally do not care whether he is from Hamas or Fatah, but the U.A.E. is not a battlefield for warring factions."

Here's another example where Khalfan, basking in his newfound fame, is making stuff up so he can confidently claim that the case is closed.

But the person who ranted against Jews in Arabic leaves his best whopper for last:

Khalfan stressed that the Dubai Police possesses an "astounding" data base and that they have the ability to infiltrate of the office of the Mossad director, if necessary.

If the Dubai police are so good at espionage, maybe we should be pointing an accusing finger at them! Maybe Khalfan is responsible for the hit himself!

I just don't understand how such a world-class detective organization wouldn't notice a Hamas leader in their midst.

How Israel-bashers win at York U.

From the National Post (h/t Callie):

Next week, York University will once again open its halls and classrooms to "Israel Apartheid Week," so-called. This year as every year, militants and activists will use the taxpayer-funded facilities of York to vilify the Jewish state.

Well, that's free speech, isn't? Everybody gets to express his or her point of view, no matter how obnoxious, right?

No, not right. Not at York. At York, speech is free -- better than free, subsidized-- for anti-Israel haters. But for those who would defend Israel, York sets very different rules.

In advance of York's annual hate-Israel week, the campus group Christians United for Israel applied to use university space to host a program of pro-Israel speakers.

The university replied that this program could only proceed on certain conditions.

It insisted on heavy security, including both campus and Toronto police -- all of those costs to be paid by the program organizers. The organizers would also have to provide an advance list of all program attendees and advance summaries of all the speeches. No advertising for the program would be permitted -- not on the York campus, not on any of the other campuses participating by remote video.

These are radically different and much harsher terms than anything required from the hate-Israel program. The hate-Israel program is not required to pay for its own security. It is free to advertise. Its speakers are not pre-screened by the university.

The pro-Israel event, scheduled for this past Monday, Feb. 22, was cancelled when the organizers declined to comply with the terms. A university spokesman told the Jewish Tribune that it insisted on the more stringent requirements on pro-Israel groups "due to the participation of individuals who they claim invite the animus of anti-Israel campus agitators."

The logic is impressively brazen: Since the anti-Israel people might use violence, the speech of the pro-Israel people must be limited. On the other hand, since the pro-Israel people do not use violence, the speech of the anti-Israel people can proceed without restraint.

Read the whole thing.

Gaza "mud houses" and UNRWA bias

UNRWA is doing something useful in Gaza, but it can't resist politicizing it.

Hassan al-Err is the head of a family of seven who are preparing to move into a mud house built by UNRWA in the Gaza Strip. UNRWA has resorted to building with mud because other building materials are not available.

The two-bedroom house in Jabalia, north of Gaza City, is an improvement on the tent in which the 67-year-old Hassan had been living with his family - next to the rubble of their former home. The family’s home was one of 4,036 houses in Gaza which were totally destroyed or damaged beyond repair last year in Israel’s 23-day military operation.

Since then, rebuilding has been almost impossible because Israel does not allow construction materials such as cement and steel into the Strip, saying they could be used for military purposes.

“I can’t forget how hard the past year has been for me and my family living in a tent in the cold winter and the hot summer,” Hassan explains. “Of course a mud house is much better than a tent, although it’s not a real solution because I can’t build another flat on top of it for my two married sons who live in a rented house in Jabalia town.”

UNRWA hopes to build around 120 mud brick houses for dozens of homeless families in the next few months in the Strip. Each house costs about US$10,000 and takes three months to build.

While not a long-term solution for homeless families, the mud houses offer better conditions than tents or partially destroyed buildings. They also provide employment for people UNRWA is training to make mud bricks and homes.

International donors pledged US$4.5 billion in aid for the Palestinian Authority, much of it specifically for Gaza, at a conference in Egypt in March 2009, but little has made its way to the Strip because of the continuing blockade and bitter Palestinian divisions between political parties Hamas and Fatah.

First of all, the last paragraph is an out-and-out lie. The majority of the PA budget is spent in Gaza, and Hamas' budget is considerable as well.

However, when reading this article, do you get the impression that these "mud houses" are miserable, temporary shelters that will disintegrate inthe first rainstorm and only marginally better than tents?

Check out what they look like, from the IRIN website:

The caption says that the houses can be used for more than 100 years with minimal maintenance! Why would UNRWA write that they are not a long-term solution?

The fact that one cannot build a two or three-story house out of mud bricks does not mean that the houses are not usable - in fact, they appear to be more durable than most houses constructed in the US, which are often made out of wood.

UNRWA, which is to be commended for this program, still can't resist reporting it with an anti-Israel spin. The house in the photo looks more than just utilitarian - it is a beautiful house, and many Westerners would love to live in such a building.

The Judge Ito of Dubai

Even though Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan Tamim hasn't revealed any substantive evidence in days concerning the Mabhouh hit, he still gets daily headlines.

While the world media still ignores his anti-semitism, he is still being quoted daily as if he had anything new to say. For example, from The National:

Gen Tamim described the methods used by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service suspected in the killing, as “primitive”.

“The majority of those working in Mossad are still stuck in a 1970s mentality,” he said, making reference to “basic disguises”.

Apparently, Tamim has succumbed to Judge Ito disease, where the constant presence of cameras and reporters makes one believe that he is far more important than he really is and that his statements are wiser than they really are.

He will also be the last to know that he has turned into a worldwide punch-line.

UK fatwa against terrorism looks pretty good so far

From the Independent:

British imams must do more to condemn terrorism without any "ifs or buts" and should pronounce suicide bombers as "unbelievers" who are destined for hell, a leading Islamic scholar declared yesterday.

The comments were made during a remarkable assault on the ideology of violent Islamist extremists by Pakistani-born Sheikh Tahir ul-Qadri, a prominent theologian who launched a seminal fatwa in London yesterday condemning terrorism in all its forms.
The 59-year-old scholar, who has written more than 400 books on Islamic jurisprudence, told fellow Muslims: "Terrorism is terrorism, violence is violence and it has no place in Islamic teaching and no justification can be provided for it, or any kind of excuses of ifs and buts. The world needs an absolute, unconditional, unqualified and total condemnation of terrorism".

Although Sheikh Tahir ul-Qadri's fatwa against terrorism and suicide bombing is not yet online, from what I can see so far it does look comprehensive. The table of contents and preface are online.

Many of the previous such fatwas I've seen took pains to make sure that Palestinian Arab terrorism would fall into its own category and would not only be permitted but obligatory. So far, I have not seen any indication that Qadri's fatwa has the same shortcomings.

The reaction from more radical sheikhs will be interesting, as this is being presented as being solidly based on Islamic sources, and their answers would have to do the same.

"Mabhouh celebrated by standing on victim's corpse"

From Gulf News:

The right-hand man of a Hamas leader assassinated in Dubai has confirmed Israeli claims that his boss supplied weapons to Palestinian fighters. Mohammed Nassar spoke to Hamas' Al Aqsa radio in Gaza from Damascus. A transcript was released on Tuesday.

Nassar was an aide to Mahmoud Al Mabhouh, who was assassinated January 19. Israel is widely suspected, but has not confirmed or denied involvement.

Al Mabhouh allegedly smuggled weapons from Iran to Gaza.
Nassar says Al Mabhouh "never stopped thinking about how to fight the occupation by supplying quality weapons to the Palestinian fighters."
The aide also describes how Al Mabhouh celebrated killing two Israeli soldiers in the mid-1980s by standing on one of the corpses.

"Netanyahu ready to go to Damascus"

The Arabic press is buzzing with two items about Israel and Syria.

The first is that Syria has said that it is willing to accept a gradual withdrawal of Israel from the Golan Heights. Ha'aretz had this story, quoting Gabrielle Rifkind of the Oxford Research Group who met with Syrian officials in December:

According to Rifkind, who met the minister along with a group of conflict resolution experts, Muallem suggested that Syria was prepared to consider a phased approach to the return of the Golan Heights.

"There could be stages of withdrawal, the timing of which could involve a form of normalization," he reportedly said. "Half of the Golan could lead to an end to enmity; three quarters of the Golan, to a special interest section in the U.S. embassy in Damascus: a full withdrawal would allow a Syrian embassy in Israel."

While this story did not get much play in the Western press it has been quoted extensively in the Arabic press.

Asharq al-Awsat called up Prime Minister Binyomin Netanyahu's office and asked him for a comment, and the reply was that Israel is "ready to meet with the Syrians immediately and without preconditions" and that Netanyahu is "ready to travel immediately to Damascus to meet Bashar al-Assad, or to invite him to Jerusalem, or to meet him in a third country for this purpose."

While this is really not a new position, there seems to be some excitement in the Arab press over the issue.

The Western press, meanwhile, finally noticed the apples being exported from Israel to Syria that I mentioned last week.