Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, February 25, 2011

Egyptian kiddie show: "Liberate Jerusalem from the disgusting Jews"

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from the "Ammo Alaa" children's TV show, which aired on Nour Al-Khaleejiyah TV on December 29, 2010.

TV host: Let's see how we should answer the disgusting Jews, who say that Jerusalem belongs to them. What proof do we have that Jerusalem is Islamic? We tell our friends that... Am I making you fall asleep, Mr. Sa'd, or what? Wake up Sa'd... Have a carrot... First of all, we tell the Jews that the Arabs lived in the blessed city of Jerusalem, more than 2,000 years before the first Jew settled in there.

2,000 is a very big number. Not one year, not two, not ten, not a hundred – 2,000 years. That's the first thing. We tell them that the Arabs lived in Jerusalem 2,000 years before the first Jew set foot in it. Okay? Okay!

[..]

The disgusting Jews are getting ready, and they let their little children do many disgusting things, so that they will hate Islam, and kill all our Muslim brothers there.

My advice to you is to place Jerusalem inside our hearts, learn and be smart. When we take exams, we must kill ourselves memorizing. We must do well and be very good Muslims, so we can use our knowledge to liberate Jerusalem.

[...]

Scientists know how to make weapons and things that serve Islam. They can make the Muslims have a strong state, and make a nuclear bomb and an atom bomb, and all those things that make [the Jews] stronger than us.

The show aired in December, so we can rest assured that these attitudes disappeared with Mubarak's exit.

Libya update: Gaddafi's last stand? (updated)

Things are happening very, very quickly in Libya today, and the feeling is in the air that Gaddafi's rule is about to end.

There have been more towns captured by the opposition, and counterattacks by Libyan troops failed to re-take Zawiyah and Misurata.

But the main action is taking place in Tripoli itself today - and it is falling to the opposition, neighborhood by neighborhood, even in the face of deadly attacks. The Souk al Juma and Tajoura areas of Tripoli haves been taken by the opposition. There is lots of shooting in the streets, and many are being killed. Some think the total death toll has passed 2000.

Some are reporting that all that is left is Bab Azizyah, a heavily fortified 6 square-kilometer compound where Gaddafi is presumably holed up. It is said to be able to withstand bombings from the air.

The feeling is that if Tripoli falls, then it is game over, although some fear Gaddafi making it to a neighboring African country and waging new battles from there.

The tweeters are way ahead of the media here.

UPDATE: Gaddafi emerged to speak to supporters at Green Square. And the latest reports are that presumed mercenaries are looking for protests and shooting on sight. So reports that Tripoli is close to falling seem to have been premature.

Islamic Jihad mouthpiece Palestine Today will introduce a 24-hour satellite channel tonight, after a successful trial run for the past three months.

It will be available on Nilesat and Arabsat.

Note the stylized map of "Palestine" in the logo.

I smell Iranian money.

Robert Fisk thinks Gaddafi is ALMOST as bad as Netanyahu

For a columnist with a history of asinine and idiotic articles, Robert Fisk still has the ability to surprise.

Check out his review of Gaddafi's rambling, incoherent speech on Wednesday:

He had not even begun to use bullets against his enemies – a palpable lie – and "any use of force against the authority of the state shall be punished by death", in itself a palpable truth which Libyans knew all too well without the future tense of Gaddafi's threat. On and on and on he ranted. Like everything Gaddafi, it was very impressive – but went on far too long.

He cursed the people of Benghazi who had already liberated their city – "just wait until the police return to restore order", this dessicated man promised without a smile. His enemies were Islamists, the CIA, the British and the "dogs" of the international press. Yes, we are always dogs, aren't we? I was long ago depicted in a Bahraini newspaper cartoon (Crown Prince, please note) as a rabid dog, worthy of liquidation. But like Gaddafi's speeches, that's par for the course. And then came my favourite bit of the whole Gaddafi exegesis last night: HE HADN'T EVEN BEGUN TO USE VIOLENCE YET.

So far so good...Fisk is pretty accurately describing Gaddafi's rant (although when watching it, the word "impressive" is certainly not one I would have used.)

But then Fisk can't stop himself from saying this:

Indeed, there were times last night when Gaddafi – in his vengefulness, his contempt for Arabs, for his own people – began to sound very like the speeches of Benjamin Netanyahu. Was there some contact between these two rogues, one wondered, that we didn't know about?

And there we have it.

A poster child for the Left is so filled with utter hate for Israel, that he thinks that Gaddafi's bizarre performance art at times only approached speeches made by Netanyahu?

Even if you believe that Netanyahu is a right-wing Greater Israel zealot - and he is far from it - how can any sane person say that Bibi's speeches have ever been anything but sober?

Can Fisk point to a single Netanyahu speech where he expressed contempt for Arabs? Let alone contempt for his own people?

How in the world can Fisk even float the idea that Gaddafi and Netanyahu are partners in genocide, part of a secret (Jewish, naturally) cabal intent on killing every Arab on the planet? I can imagine the phone call from the Libyan dictator, asking advice from Bibi on how to be more bloodthirsty.

The sad thing is, Fisk can say such things in his little Zionist-hating bubble, without anyone calling him on it. His reporting from the Arab world lately has not been half bad, and he is one of the few reporters who never fell for the "rehabilitated Gaddafi" of 2003. But Fisk's abject hate for Israel - that in any normal planet would make him a joke - instead makes him a hero in the circles he travels.

Truth be damned - Fisk knows a higher truth, that Israel is a genocidal nation and its leaders are war criminals, far worse than anything the Arab world can produce. Nothing can shake him from his faith in Israel's absolute evil - and Arab dictators' repression is a mere faint echo of Israel's wish to kill, kill, kill.

God only knows why Fisk's murderous Israel hasn't nuked half the planet by now.

(h/t Dan)

Morning links

Iranian warships are just "a message of peace."

Khaled Abu Toameh discerns a bit of hypocrisy among those who are faster at condemning Israel for building houses than they are at Arab dictators slaughtering their own people.

Martin Peretz and Danny Ayalon notice that Israel doesn't seem to have anything to do with Middle East unrest. Who knew?

Gullible amnesia about the Muslim Brotherhood.

Honest Reporting resumes their excellent series on photo bias in the media, and I play a small part.

This weekend the J-Street conference will begin, and its luster has definitely gone down in the past year. Not that the JTA, Forward and other Jewish newspapers will stop their love affair with the fringe group that tries to pretend it is mainstream.

Norway's Foreign Ministry is sponsoring some friendly Israel-bashers in a conference in a "dialogue."

A British fashion designer seems to have gone on a drunken, anti-semitic rant in a Paris restaurant.

A richly deserved Dick of the Week.

(h/t David G, Zach N, Yisrael Medad, Richard Landes' excellent linkdump, Suso, Martin Kramer)

Latest Latma (2/25/11)

The Democracy Song, the UN condemns Israel for Libya, and more:

MSM Roundup (David G)

From David G:

1. Saudi Arabia:
Jackson Diehl writes that the Saudis may be next unless they do something. Maybe they'll reform; maybe they'll help stymie the change in Bahrain.

Abdullah has no love for Obama; he spurned the U.S. president's request for help in the Arab-Israeli peace process and fumed at Obama's turn against Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak. According to the New York Times, the last of their two phone calls during the Egyptian crisis "ended in sharp disagreement."

Still, I'm betting that Abdullah would rather be a Gorbachev than a Brezhnev. Rather than invade, he's more likely to embrace the strategy of trying to get ahead of the Arab wave of change before it is too late.

Diehl puts some hope in Adel al Jubeir, who is extremely westernized. (He's also as I recall, as is normal for someone of his background, extremely anti-Israel.)

But if Diehl was sounding a warning, someone may have been listening or anticipating his column. The NYT features

A Saudi Prince’s Plea for Reform By ALWALEED BIN TALAL BIN ABDULAZIZ AL-SAUD

Moreover, Arab countries have been burdened by political systems that have become outmoded and brittle. Their leaderships are tied to patterns of governance that have become irrelevant and ineffective. Decision-making is invariably confined to small circles, with the outcomes largely intended to serve special and self-serving interests. Political participation is often denied, truncated and manipulated to ensure elections that perpetuate one-party rule.

Disheartening as this Arab condition may be, reforming it is neither impossible nor too late. Other societies that were afflicted with similar maladies have managed to restore themselves to health. But we can succeed only if we open our systems to greater political participation, accountability, increased transparency and the empowerment of women as well as youth. The pressing issues of poverty, illiteracy, education and unemployment have to be fully addressed. Initiatives just announced in my country, Saudi Arabia, by King Abdullah are a step in the right direction, but they are only the beginning of a longer journey to broader participation, especially by the younger generation.

Prince Alwaleed is, of course, famous for his post-9/11 offer of $10 million aid to NYC which Mayor Giuliani rejected after Alwaweed suggested that 9/11 is partly America's fault.

There have been a few news stories about the Saudis including this from the WaPo:

16 miles away, Saudi Arabia's watchful eye looms over Bahrain unrest

"Saudi Arabia fears a constitutional monarchy in Bahrain," said Kristin Smith Diwan, an assistant professor at American University who studies Islamic movements in the Persian Gulf region. "It's about empowerment of the Shia and what that might mean for Shia in the eastern province" of Saudi Arabia, she said, in addition to fears about Iran's influence, which she deemed largely unjustified.

"In this current crisis, none of the solutions look good for Saudi Arabia," Diwan said. "A crackdown in Bahrain would be destabilizing. A reform itself would be destabilizing, unless Saudi Arabia was willing to make some reforms."

More on the eastern province of Saudi Arabia here:

The eastern province, by the way, is where the oil is.

2) You may recall in 2004 a group of former diplomats made the news when they condemned the Middle east policies of George W Bush.

The group was organized by the anti-Israel Council on the National Interest. Though they had a very clear agenda, for some reason their stunt was treated as news as a sign of deep discontent in the American foreign policy establishment.

I was surprised to learn that something similar recently happened in Turkey.

Interesting, even as a New York Times story (yesterday) holds up Turkey as an example of what we should be rooting for in Egypt, no one the MSM seems much interested in internal dissension in Turkey.

It's not just how things are reported that reveal the bias of the media, it's also what is (and isn't) reported.

3) NYT: Protests are being held around the region

Interesting note:

The Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist movement that was banned for decades but is playing an active role in politics here, also pledged to hold protests in Cairo and across the country with similar demands.

After the MSM's studiously ignoring anything about about the Brotherhood, this sentence suggests that it is more influential than we've read until now.

More from around the region in the NYT:

The Washington Post reports that regimes in the Middle East are buying protection.

It might be against protesters. It also might be ...

Amid all the change sweeping the region, the multibillion-dollar business of arms sales to the Middle East may remain the one constant. The rich Persian Gulf states - particularly the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia - are scooping up as much weaponry as they can. Some of it could, in theory, be turned on their own populations. But diplomats and defense industry representatives say the goal is to defend against Iran and to secure energy infrastructure that has become even more valuable with oil topping $100 a barrel.

There's been a tendency to downplay Iran's growing influence in the region. This acknowledges that remaining regimes are concerned about it too.

4) Even as most of the MSM is ignoring Sheikh Qaradawi, Jeffrey Goldberg isn't.

Daily Alert has a summary and a link.

5) A new meme emerging from the anti-Israel left: (h/t Yaacov Lozowick and Martin Kramer who tweeted this.)

Beinart’s take on the situation — and I do not think it is an unusual one among American Jewish leftists and American leftists in general — is equal parts wishful thinking and willful self-deception. His thesis, to the extent that one can be gleaned from Beinart’s grab-bag of homilies, is that Israel is opposed to the Egyptian revolution because it is opposed to Arab democracy. The reason Israel is opposed to Arab democracy is that a democratic Arab world would make it much harder for Israel to do evil unto the Palestinians. Beinart presents no evidence whatsoever that this is actually the case, and it should be noted that the Israeli government has thus far declared no opposition to democracy in Egypt, though it has expressed strong concerns about where the current upheaval in that country may be leading. In Beinart’s eyes, however, even this elementary skepticism is simply incomprehensible and unconscionable. While he admits that “a theocracy that abrogated Egypt’s peace treaty with the Jewish state would be bad for Israel,” he informs us that this is “unlikely” because Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood “abandoned violence decades ago, and declared that it would pursue its Islamist vision through the democratic process.” He asks, “Might the Brotherhood act differently if it gained absolute power? Sure, but it’s hard to foresee a scenario in which that happens,” and reassures us that “Mohammed ElBaradei, the closest thing the Egyptian protest movement has to a leader, has called the peace treaty with Israel ‘rock solid.’” Indeed, Beinart appears to believe that Israel’s concerns about radical Islam are caused by nothing more than paranoia and craven self-interest.

Egyptian: "Unfortunately, my young son wasn't killed by the IDF"

On January 29th, a 10 year old boy named Bilal came home from school in Egypt and saw an anti-Mubarak demonstration nearby.

He immediately went to join the rally, and then was shot three times by Egyptian forces in the abdomen, and he died.

The father wants justice, but he is emphasizing that Bilal had fervently hoped to become a martyr defending Gaza from Israel.

The father told Egyptian newspaper El Shorouk, "He had wished to die in defense of the children of the Intifada in Gaza. But, unfortunately, he was not killed by Israeli soldiers."

What a touching story!

"Apartheid Week" poster #9

I had posted this photo, taken by reader Veet, a few months ago.

Hasbara 2.0, part 3: Getting the message across

The latest chapter in my Hasbara 2.0 series for NewsRealBlog is now up.

America in the 1950s and 1960s was also a more outwardly religious nation. No one was insulted at the idea that the Founding Fathers would invoke Scripture and the word “God” was not considered inappropriate to use in public. The idea of a Jewish state in the land of the Bible was simply considered fitting.

As a result, Americans were very receptive to Israel’s narrative. The “barrier” between the two nations was very low, and trust was implicit.

Today the situation is different. Because of decades of propaganda and indoctrination, America is less patriotic and less religious. Moreover, the culture of hard work being its own reward is being slowly replaced with a culture of entitlement. The unity of purpose that America had during World War II – and even after Sputnik – has eroded.

To be sure, the heartland of America remains much as our nation was five decades ago. But on college campuses and in large cities, American ideals are being replaced with a philosophy that is truly dangerous to the nation over the long term.

This is of course a very big topic on its own.

But for Israel, this means that the barrier of communication with Americans has been raised. The constant demonization of Israel in the media and on campus has turned Zionists into “the other,” people no longer to be implicitly trusted. They are now regarded as Goliaths instead of Davids, as bullies instead of the bullied, as religious extremists who cannot be related to by an increasingly secular America.

The barrier is now high, and it must be broken down.

Read the whole thing.

Who knows...I might turn it into a book one day.

Jews should visit Hebron (Moshe Arens)

Ha'aretz just had a series of articles decrying the idea that Israeli students should visit Hebron as part of their curriculum. After all, the deep Jewish connection to the ancient holy city is not nearly as important as the certainty that Arabs will be upset at Jews visiting it.

As the Ha'aretz editorial said:

Visits by schoolchildren to this place, while ignoring what Israel and the settlers have done there, is anti-educational. The visits will intensify nationalist feelings, faith in power and blindness to the injustices of the occupation.

Star Israel-bashing reporter Gideon Levy was more explicit in his hate of the idea of Jewish nationalism:

Here, too, as at Auschwitz, they will only scare them more and more. At Auschwitz they will make them frightened of the Poles and in Hebron of the Arabs. Everyone always wants to annihilate us. They will return from Hebron excited at having touched the ancient stones and even more blinded from not having touched the people who lived alongside those stones. They will see nothing and learn nothing. As at Auschwitz, they will come home even more nationalist: Hebron forever, and the force of arms.

Ha'aretz, being such a bastion of liberalism, therefore trotted out an opposing viewpoint whose words could be shouted down by the clueless commenters. But at least we have the article itself, by Moshe Arens, who is not religious but very nationalist indeed:

Who are the people, including the editorial writers of this newspaper, who have gone ballistic over the education minister's announcement that students should be taken on heritage trips to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron? Are they Zionists, non-Zionists, post-Zionists or anti-Zionists? Have their roots in the Land of Israel withered over the years, or have they lost hold of their senses in these tumultuous times?

They seem to have forgotten the very foundation of Zionism: that the Jewish State is located in the Land of Israel just because it is the ancient homeland of the Jewish people, and that the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem are the icons of the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel - constant reminders to one and all that the Land of Israel is the ancient homeland of the Jewish people, who have returned after 2,000 years in exile.

They seem to have fallen under the spell of the "1967 borders." They are infatuated by the "Green Line" drawn like a scar across the Land of Israel. West of this line Israel is kosher, not an occupier of another people, but east of that line, you had better watch out. These, they hold, are occupied territories where Israel rules over another people, and no Jew should be living there, or God forbid, be allowed to settle there.

So what is this sacrosanct Green Line? It is nothing more than the armistice line agreed between representatives of Israel and Jordan at Rhodes on April 24, 1949. It was never intended to be a border between two nations. It simply represented, with some modifications, the line where the fighting during Israel's War of Independence ceased. The British-officered and -equipped Jordanian Arab Legion that had invaded the newborn state of Israel on May 15, 1948 had reached the point during the fighting where its commander, Glubb Pasha, realized that unless Jordan agreed to a cease-fire, the Israeli army was going to advance to the Jordan River and his army would be powerless to stop it.

The armistice left the biblical heartland of ancient Israel, the mountains of Samaria and Judea, the major historical and biblical sites of the Jewish people, east of the armistice line. The War of Independence brigade commanders Moshe Dayan and Yosef Tabenkin had urged the Israel Defense Forces' General Staff to allow them to capture the Old City of Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Hebron, but they were halted by the cease-fire of October 22, 1948.

With Jordan in control of these areas, not only were Jews not allowed to live there, but during the 18 years of Jordanian occupation, Jews were denied access to the Western Wall, the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel's tomb. Masada, a site visited over the years by almost all Israelis, young and old, came under Israeli control only in March 1949, when IDF units moving from Be'er Sheva reached the Dead Sea at Sodom and Ein Gedi. One can imagine that had this "last-minute" operation not taken place, the very same people who now complain about students visiting the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron would be arguing against visits to Masada, located in "occupied territory."

This perverse objection by some to visits east of the March 1949 armistice lines seems to be part of a wider boycott movement of the whole area. Whether it is Ariel or Hebron, these rootless Israelis will not set foot there. They give credence to the frequently heard Arab propaganda that the Jewish claim of a historic connection to this land is nothing but fiction.

The supporters of the "two-state solution," who insist that Israel withdraw to the 1949 armistice lines and consider Judea and Samaria to be occupied territory, seem to give no thought to assuring contact between the Jewish people and these sites if such a withdrawal were to take place. Was this even on the agenda in the negotiations between Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat, or between Ehud Olmert and Tzipi Livni and the Palestinian Authority?

Perhaps supporters of the "two-state solution" would prefer to sever the connection between the Jewish people and the sites that are reminders of the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel. That might be one explanation for the objections voiced to visits by Israeli students to the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron.

(h/t Elan Miller via Facebook)

Don't forget my earlier "Apartheid" posters

Besides the posters I've been publishing in recent days, I did make some other posters that are appropriate for printing and displaying in the upcoming "Israel Apartheid Week" on college campuses:

Afternoon links and things

CAMERA on the NYT and Qaradawi:

For the past several weeks, The New York Times has been running interference for the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist organization set to play a significant role in Egyptian politics after the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak. In addition to publishing commentaries by two apologists for the Muslim Brotherhood, Tariq Ramadan and Essam El-Errian, on its op-ed page, the Times has published a news story that depicts the group's spiritual leader, Yusuf Qaradawi, as “committed to pluralism and democracy.”

In fact, Qaradawi is a virulent anti-Semite who has called on Allah to wipe out the Jewish people. Moreover, he has worked to undermine the democratic principle of free speech by defending the Iranian fatwa calling for the death of writer Salman Rushdie and by promoting a “day of rage” against cartoons of Muhammed printed in Sweden and Denmark.

The man has also defended the practice of female genital mutilation and affirmed Muslim teachings calling for the death penalty to be applied to those who leave Islam and encourage others to do the same.

Speaking of, Jeffrey Goldberg seems to understand Qaradawi a bit better than the Times:

Mark Gardner and Dave Rich did yeoman's work not long ago, analyzing the Egyptian cleric Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi's 2003 book, Fatawa Min Ajl Falastin, or Fatwas on Palestine, and came to the conclusion that this putatively moderate Islamic cleric argues clearly and consistently that hatred of Israel and Jews is Islamically sanctioned, and that the destruction of Israel is mandated by God.

But the NYT does have an analysis that notices that Iran is a big winner from Arab turmoil.

While it is far too soon to write the final chapter on the uprisings’ impact, Iran has already benefited from the ouster or undermining of Arab leaders who were its strong adversaries and has begun to project its growing influence, the analysts said.

Meanwhile, a Saudi man in Texas was arrested for wanting to blow up some stuff, like George W. Bush's home and reservoir dams in Colorado and California:

One extract from what is alleged to be Mr Aldawasari's diary says: "And now, after mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for Jihad."

Here's some garden variety British anti-semitism.

JoshuaPundit has a nice piece on the hypocrisy of the ICC.

A very funny article about Thomas Friedman at TNR.

A Facebook group is parodying "Israel Apartheid Week" posters.

On that same topic, an "IAW" event in New York was canceled because of objections by a Zionist gay porn director.

"Apartheid Week" poster #7

This will probably be the last one of this particular series.

Muslim Brotherhood says Camp David already null and void

Last week, a Muslim Brotherhood spokesman tried to allay fears that the group would rip up the Camp David agreement:

"The decision on the treaty does not belong to the Brotherhood, it belongs to the entire Egyptian people," said Essam al-Erian, a spokesman for the Islamist group, in an interview with Al Arabiya.

"The important thing is the position of the Egyptian people and not the Brotherhood," Erian said. "The Brotherhood will not impose their vision on the Egyptian people. The Brotherhood are part of society that accepts what the Egyptians accept and nobody can wipe out a treaty with a pen," he added.

To Iran, however, MB leaders are singing a different tune:

A senior member of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood said there is virtually no peace agreement with the Zionist regime following the recent developments in the country, adding that any treaty not approved by the Egyptian nation must be abrogated.

The Egyptian nation considers as null and void any agreement between the toppled regime and the Zionist regime which has no respect for justice and rights of the Egyptian people.

He said the world was witnessing massive changes. “People worldwide want to see unjust laws scraped. It is no surprise for the Egyptians to want the same,” he said.

Halbavi then touched on the dismantling of Berlin wall, adding that following the dismantling, many previously signed treaties were abrogated.

He said the time was over for surrender to treaties which have brought humiliation to the Egyptian nation.

Halbavi also called for permanent opening of Gaza crossing and said the closing of the crossing has been a joint conspiracy by the US, Zionist regime and Mubarak’s regime.

But of course the hard-line statements are simply posturing and the more moderate-sounding statements are the correct ones. Because it has to be that way in order for the media to continue with their memes of a progressive, socially-active, uninfluential, non-political Muslim Brotherhood.

Summary of Gaddafi's latest speech

Tweeter iyad_elbaghdadi live-tweeted Gaddafi's latest speech, given by phone from an undisclosed location, and his description contains details that are not being reported in Al Jazeera. Here is a summary:

Life in Libya is stopped completely because of what's happening, there are armed gangs and lootings. Protesters are drunks and junkies.

[He's even describing what the "hallucinogenic drugs" are and that their effects are (did he use them himself?)]

Are there no men or some reasonable person to stop these kids and take them off the streets and back home? Al Qaeda is behind all of this, they have recruited our kids. Why are you all joining Bin Laden?

These kids in Darna and Al-Bayda should be taken to Gitmo. Men, get out of home and pick up your kids and put them back home. God says you should obey your leaders. You should not obey Bin Laden's agents.

(Now he's talking about differences between Muslim Brotherhood, Salafis, and Alqaeda.)

You protesters are following Israel and Bin Laden. (!) Let Bin Laden come and feed you when your oil is gone!

There are so many kings in the world who have ruled much longer; I haven't been in power since 1977. [He claimed that he is only a symbolic leader, like Queen Elizabeth - EoZ]

Speech summary? Israel told Bin Laden to give drugs to your kids. Now ground your kids.

Map of who controls what in Libya (updated)

Via Michael Totten's Twitter, h/t Challah Hu Akbar:

Updated around 3 PM EST by original creator

Rumor: Gaddafi threatened to kill thousands of Libyan Palestinians

A Hamas news source in Damascus is claiming that Moammar Gaddafi threatened to kill tens of thousands of Palestinian Arabs in Libya because of his anger at the perceived support that Hamas and Islamic Jihad were giving the uprising.

According to the story, Gaddafi also threatened to cut off funds for Gaza development projects that Libya is underwriting.

The story goes on the claim that the PA instructed its people to not speak publicly about the Libyan revolution, saying it is an internal Libyan matter.

Of course, Libya already was discriminating against its Palestinian Arab population.

The New York Times Op-Ed Rogues Gallery (David G)

From David G:

Here's a very partial list of some of the autocrats and their cronies who have been given op-ed space in the New York Times:

Land and the Intifada By Yasir Abed Rabbo Published: May 16, 2001 - Spokesman for the PA
Feb. 3, 2002: The Palestinian Vision of Peace By YASIR ARAFAT - Chairman of the PLO
The Road From Here By ABDULLAH II
What Hamas Wants By AHMED YOUSEF Published: June 20, 2007 - Spokesman for Hamas
Pause for Peace, also by Hamas' AHMED YOUSEF
Land First, Then Peace By TURKI al-FAISAL Published: September 12, 2009 - Member of the Saudi royal family
A Peace Plan Within Our Grasp By HOSNI MUBARAK Published: August 31, 2010

And that's in addition to the Qaddafis mentioned yesterday.

One thing is clear: if you oppress your own, your sins are ignored. Your opinion is valued if you promote freedom for the Palestinians.

In an editorial the other day, the editors of the Times wrote:

Bahrain’s brutality is not only at odds with American values, it is a threat to the country’s long-term stability. Washington will need to push harder.

And dictators and terrorists are not at odds with the freedoms that the Times advocates?

In a shameful justification of the paper's decision to run the Yousef op-ed, then public editor Clark Hoyt wrote:

Op-ed pages should be open especially to controversial ideas, because that’s the way a free society decides what’s right and what’s wrong for itself. Good ideas prosper in the sunshine of healthy debate, and the bad ones wither. Left hidden out of sight and unchallenged, the bad ones can grow like poisonous mushrooms.

His confidence was touching, but it's not like the ideas of Yousef would never have gotten a hearing. Reporters always look for good quotes from Hamas. The op-ed page should be saved for opinions that ought to be debated and by people who allow a reasonble amount freedom of expression. (Well, maybe Abdullah II does.) But is burnishing a bad person's reputation by giving him a voice in a presumably respectable venue really honorable?

When the person in question was Henry Blodget - a stock analyst who was convicted of fraud - "healthy debate" wasn't the issue. Blodget's past criminal record was. From Hoyt again:

The bigger question is whether The Times should be publishing him at all. Like Nocera, I believe in second chances, and Blodget seems to be doing fine establishing a new career. But why would The Times give a former analyst who lied to investors a platform to write about financial markets? If he wanted to write about how investors can spot phony reports by analysts, that would be one thing. But each time the newspaper uses Blodget as it has, it is conferring greater expert status on him.

These deals work two ways. The Times’s luster may help Blodget. But some of his taint rubs off on The Times.

A disgraced stock analyst makes the New York Times look bad, but giving terrorists a platform for their lies is just "healthy debate"?

According to the NYT, terrorism and repression are acceptable - as long as you criticize Israel.

Egyptian army fires at Coptic monastery (video)

From AINA:

For the second time in as many days, Egyptian armed force stormed the 5th century old St. Bishoy monastery in Wadi el-Natroun, 110 kilometers from Cairo. Live ammunition was fired, wounding two monks and six Coptic monastery workers. Several sources confirmed the army's use of RPG ammunition. Four people have been arrested including three monks and a Coptic lawyer who was at the monastery investigating yesterday's army attack.

Monk Aksios Ava Bishoy told activist Nader Shoukry of Freecopts the armed forces stormed the main entrance gate to the monastery in the morning using five tanks, armored vehicles and a bulldozer to demolish the fence built by the monastery last month to protect themselves and the monastery from the lawlessness which prevailed in Egypt during the January 25 Uprising.

"When we tried to address them, the army fired live bullets, wounding Father Feltaows in the leg and Father Barnabas in the abdomen," said Monk Ava Bishoy. "Six Coptic workers in the monastery were also injured, some with serious injuries to the chest."

The injured were rushed to the nearby Sadat Hospital, the ones in serious condition were transferred to the Anglo-Egyptian Hospital in Cairo.

Father Hemanot Ava Bishoy said the army fired live ammunition and RPGs continuously for 30 minutes, which hit part of the ancient fence inside the monastery. "The army was shocked to see the monks standing there praying 'Lord have mercy' without running away. This is what really upset them," he said. "As the soldiers were demolishing the gate and the fence they were chanting 'Allahu Akbar' and 'Victory, Victory'".

He also added that the army prevented the monastery's car from taking the injured to hospital.

The army also attacked the Monastery of St. Makarios of Alexandria in Wady el-Rayan, Fayoum, 100 km from Cairo. It stormed the monastery and fired live ammunition on the monks. Father Mina said that one monk was shot and more than ten have injuries caused by being beaten with batons. The army demolished the newly erected fence and one room from the actual monastery and confiscated building materials. The monastery had also built a fence to protect itself after January 25 and after being attacked by armed Arabs and robbers leading to the injury of six monks, including one monk in critical condition who is still hospitalized.

The army had given on February 21 an ultimatum to this monastery that if the fence was not demolished within 48 hours by the monks, the army would remove it themselves.

From Al Masry al-Youm:

Around 2000 Copts gathered on Wednesday in Tahrir Square to protest reports that an Egyptian army unit had attacked the Monastery of Saint Pishoy in the Nitrian Desert earlier on Wednesday.

Protesters said that a military unit using armored vehicles had demolished newly-built fences surrounding the old Coptic monastery. They claimed that the soldiers fired live bullets at monks. They added that two had been injured and transferred to the Anglo-American hospital in Cairo.

Al-Masry Al-Youm failed to independently verify the reports about the injured monks.

"The army told the monasteries to protect themselves, so the monks tried to build a fence after the release of prisoners from Wadi Natrun. Then the army starting attacking the monastery," said Yasser Farag, 37, a Coptic engineer who went to the monastery after the attack.

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), which has governed the country since the 11 February ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak, said on its official page on Facebook that soldiers had removed "some walls that had been illegally built on the road and on land owned by the state."

The SCAF denied claims that the armed forces had been involved in attacks on the monastery or that it had any intention to demolish the building due to its “belief in freedom and the sanctity of places of worship."

Here are two videos of the events at one monastery:

(h/t Missing Peace)

"Apartheid Week" poster #6 - a good one

All "Apartheid" posters can be seen here.

"Symposium on religious harmony" in Jordan. Only two religions, though.

Ammon News reports that Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan sponsored a symposium on religious tolerance at the University of Jordan. The speakers spoke about what unites religions, how religions can be used to solve world problems like poverty.

As far as I can tell, only two religions are represented in this symposium - Islam and Christianity.

Well, it is true that there are no Jews in Jordan, so I guess it was hard for them to find anyone Jewish to attend.

Work accident....kid killed

Palestine Today (from Islamic Jihad) says that there was a massive explosion in a house in Khan Younis, killing a seven year old girl and injuring two others.

Palestine Times says that there were aircraft in the sky at the time, but doesn't quite say they shot anything.

Libya update

Some updates, mostly from Al Jazeera:

A number of cities seem to be in the hands of the people, including Kufra, Benghazi, Derna and Tobruk. News organizations are getting into those cities and broadcasting anti-government rallies.

Gaddafi's TV claimed that Derna was taken over by Al Qaeda, a cliam that the residents ridiculed.

Tripoli is still a Gaddafi stronghold, with horrific stories about killings there, and even plain clothed men with swords in the streets.

Many nations are trying to evacuate their citizens from Libya. Turkey has some 25,000 nationals there.

A flight that was reportedly carrying Gaddafi's daughter was refused by Malta. Similarly, a private Libyan jet that was prevented from landing at Beirut's airport reportedly held the wife of one of Gaddafi's sons.

The number of dead has passed 640, according to the International Federation for Human Rights.

There are reports that a Libyan airforce crew bailed out and crashed a plane rather than bomb civilians.

Hundreds of Libyans are fleeing on foot to Egypt and Tunisia.

The London Times says it has gruesome footage of people injured and killed in Libya that proves that heavy weapons were used, such as helicopter gunships or mortars.

A former Libyan justice minister told Aftenposten that Gaddafi had personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing in 1988.

Italy is afraid that some 300,000 Libyans might flee to Europe if Gaddafi falls.

A video showing mass burials in Tripoli has been released.

Libya's former interior minister has joined the uprising, and he claims that one of Gaddafi's aides had already tried to kill him, unsuccessfully. He predicted Gaddafi would commit suicide. Not sure how believable he is - because he might be blamed for some of the violence, and he might be trying to save his skin.

Netanyahu is allowing 300 Libyan Palestinians to go to the PA.

You know the UN is useless when....

Yesterday, the UN Security Council condemned Libya's use of violence in killing its own people.

The members of the Security Council expressed grave concern at the situation in Libya. They condemned the violence and use of force against civilians, deplored the repression against peaceful demonstrators, and expressed deep regret at the deaths of hundreds of civilians. They called for an immediate end to the violence and for steps to address the legitimate demands of the population, including through national dialogue.

The members of the Security Council called on the Government of Libya to meet its responsibility to protect its population. They called upon the Libyan authorities to act with restraint, to respect human rights and international humanitarian law, and to allow immediate access for international human rights monitors and humanitarian agencies.

The members of the Security Council called for international humanitarian assistance to the people of Libya and expressed concern at the reports of shortages of medical supplies to treat the wounded. They strongly urged the Libyan authorities to ensure the safe passage of humanitarian and medical supplies and humanitarian workers into the country.

The members of the Security Council underlined the need for the Government of Libya to respect the freedom of peaceful assembly and of expression, including freedom of the press. They called for the immediate lifting of restrictions on all forms of the media.

The members of the Security Council stressed the importance of accountability. They underscored the need to hold to account those responsible for attacks, including by forces under their control, on civilians.

The members of the Security Council expressed deep concern about the safety of foreign nationals in Libya. They urged the Libyan authorities and all relevant parties to ensure the safety of all foreign nationals and facilitate the departure of those wishing to leave the country.

The members of the Security Council will continue to follow the situation closely.

At the same time, the Arab League was meeting in Cairo. Their statement:

"The Arab League condemns crimes against the current peaceful popular protests and demonstrations in several Libyan cities," Secretary General Amr Moussa told reporters in Cairo after the group met.

He said the security forces use of live rounds, heavy weapons and foreign mercenaries is a grave breach of human rights.

"The organization calls for respecting Libyans' right to freedom of protest and expression as they demand democratic change," he said.

"Humanitarian aid must be allowed into the country," the Arab League leader said.

"Libya will be barred from taking part in the Arab League's meetings until leader Muammar Gaddafi responds to the organization's demands," Moussa said.

The UN did not decide to kick Libya off of the Human Rights Council or any other important committee. It did not do anything concrete besides empty words.

At least the Arab League banned Libya.

You know the UN has turned into a useless organization when the Arab League is more critical, and more willing to do something, concerning of one of their its members - than the UN is.

NYT discovers that the Gaddafis are not wonderful people

The New York Times has an editorial today called Libya's Butcher:

Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi of Libya vowed on Tuesday that he would “fight on to the last drop of my blood” and die a “martyr.” We have no doubt that what he really meant is that he will butcher and martyr his own people in his desperation to hold on to power. He must be condemned and punished by the international community.

Colonel Qaddafi, who took power in a 1969 coup, has a long, ruthless and erratic history. Among his many crimes: He was responsible for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. In 2003, after years of international sanctions, he announced that he had given up terrorism and his pursuit of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.

We applauded those changes, and we are not eager to see Libya once again isolated. But Colonel Qaddafi’s brutal suppression of antigovernment demonstrations has left no doubt that he is still an international criminal.

But the Times has consciously done everything they could to make the Gaddafi family look like reasonable people over the years.

They published an op-ed by Gaddafi in 2009, pushing for the Jewish state to be subsumed in a larger Arab state.

They published Saif Gaddafi's whitewash of Libya's welcome to an arch terrorist. (Remember, Saif was the one who threatened all protesters on Libya TV on Sunday.)

And here is an unreal puff piece on Saif as well, from 2007:

The man — part scholar, part monk, part model, part policy wonk — was Saif al-Islam el-Qaddafi, the powerful 33-year-old son of Libya’s extroverted and impulsive president, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi. He is, in short, the un-Qaddafi.

The younger Qaddafi is in the final stages of his Ph.D. program in governance at the London School of Economics, and his meticulous training showed itself in Cyrene, a rare appearance for him at a large public event. He reeled off statistics about the rate of desertification and calculations of the tens of thousands of jobs that could be created in fisheries, architecture and ecotourism in the region with his project.

Speaking with a small group of journalists after his presentation, he listened carefully to questions in Arabic and English, thinking before each answer. Although his handlers had announced that journalists should confine their questions to the ecotourism project, the queries inevitably got broader, having not been screened in advance.

“What about democracy in Libya?” someone asked.

“Of course we are going toward more democracy,” Mr. Qaddafi said carefully. “But this project is not about democracy.”

It is easy for the NYT to be against the crazed regime once they start bombing their own citizens, or once the inevitable stories of their support for terrorism (including reports that Gaddafi himself ordered the Lockerbie bombing) surface.

But where were they in the years beforehand?

They were the Gaddafi's main cheerleaders in the West.

Which makes this editorial taste very bitter indeed.

(h/t and all research David G, plus Zach N)

2003 Turkish cartoon that applies to Egypt

The Hamas site Palestine Times says that some members of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood are looking at the experience of the Turkish AKP party in how, over time, they could become the major ruling party in Egypt, by adopting a more secular public stance and emphasizing issues like the economy.

I found this Turkish political cartoon from 2003 about the AKP that describes this situation pretty well (I translated it, click to enlarge.)

Hypocrite Ahmadinejad condemns Libyan violence!

From AP:

Iran's president said Wednesday he is certain the wave of unrest in the Middle East will spread to Europe and North America, bringing an end to governments he accused of oppressing and humiliating people.

"This is very grotesque. It is unimaginable that there is someone who kills and bombards his own people. I strongly advise them to let nations have their say and meet their nations' demands if they claim to be the officials of those nations," Ahmadinejad said.

"Of course anyone who does not heed the demands of his own nation will have a clear fate," he added.

Iranian police and paramilitary groups brutally put down protests on their own streets after Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in 2009.

Here is an often gruesome document listing 150 protesters killed in Iran from June 2009 to July 2010.

Coptic priest murdered in Egypt

From AP:

A Coptic Christian priest has been killed in southern Egypt, triggering street demonstrations by several thousand Christians.

The priest was found dead in his home. A fellow clergyman, Danoub Thabet, says his body had several stab wounds. He says neighbours reported seeing several masked men leaving the apartment and shouting "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," suggesting the killing was motivated by the divide between Egypt's Muslims and its minority Coptic community.

About 3,000 protesters scuffled with Muslim shop owners Tuesday night and smashed the windows of a police car in the city, Assiut.

(h/t MP, AR)

WaPo deja vu: Hamas 2005 and Muslim Brotherhood 2011 (David G)

From David G:

Yesterday the Washington Post featured an article, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood faces prospect of democracy amid internal discord

The gist of the article is, now that they have the obligation of running for office they'll be too busy to be extreme, not that they were extreme in the first place.

It was reminiscent of the sort of article you'd find about Hamas before the elections of 2006.

For example in late 2004 and early 2005, Hamas participated in several rounds of municipal elections and this is what the Washngton Post reported then.

In Gaza, New Hamas-Dominated Council Attends to Basics

Certain elements appear in each story.

1) Hamas is misunderstood by (Israel and) the West; but it is appreciated by the locals

1a) Gaza 2005

Hamas -- with its armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades -- is condemned by the United States as a terrorist organization and reviled by Israel as the perpetrator of some of the deadliest suicide bombings of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. At the same time, Hamas has won respect among Palestinians by providing education and health programs. Now, when the U.S. and Israeli governments are demanding greater democratization of the Palestinian Authority, voters in the West Bank and Gaza are handing a sizable share of power to a group that many U.S. and Israeli leaders associate more closely with terrorism than with political reform

.
1b) Egypt 2011

Secular Egyptians and many in the West view the Brotherhood warily because it seeks to deepen the role of Islam in people's lives. Deeply religious Egyptians, meanwhile, view it as too liberal.

2) It is only one of the competing factions.

2a) Gaza 2005

Candidates aligned with Fatah, which has been the dominant Palestinian party for decades, have won the most local council seats overall in both Gaza and the West Bank. But Hamas has been victorious in the larger, more influential cities where it has capitalized on disorganization and bickering within Fatah, as well as its reputation for corruption.

2b) Egypt 2011

After decades of fighting for the right to participate openly in politics, Egypt's largest opposition movement soon will face competition from emerging political factions, led by tech-savvy young Egyptians, as the country gears up for what could be its first fair election.
The Islamist group also is facing internal discord, with a handful of young members breaking away. Some say they disapprove of its rigid top-down leadership structure and its politics.

3) De-emphasis of religion

3a) Gaza 2005

In Beit Hanoun, and in communities across Gaza and the West Bank, Islamic politicians are earning wide support using old-fashioned tactics valued the world over: fixing potholes, picking up garbage and turning on the lights.

3b) Egypt 2011

Since Mubarak's ouster, the Brotherhood has offered few signs that it aspires to transform Egypt into a repressive Islamic state. The group bills itself as a moderate movement that seeks to broaden the appeal of Islam from the ground up. It also has long lobbied for a democratic system that ensures freedom of expression and term limits.

Luckily, we have the benefit of hindsight to see how Hamas ended up.

Too bad reporters cannot seem to learn from their mistakes.

Morning linkdump

Things that crossed my desk recently...

Khaled Abu Toameh on how the PLO is using the US veto to bolster its image

An Arab MK says Obama can go to hell. Which means that the US has to redouble its efforts to make Arabs happy, in the current logic of the administration.

And speaking of the UN vote, Melanie Phillips goes after Britain for voting in favor of the resolution.

The Irish Independent has an op-ed that is skeptical of real freedoms breaking out in the Arab world.

The MERIA Journal on Syria's triumph in Lebanon (you do remember Lebanon, don't you?)

WSJ has a good analysis on the latest in Libya.

Michael Totten has a great piece on Libya as well in TNR.

Lee Hiromoto writes about what Israel is really like in the Harvard Crimson. This article should be published in every college newspaper in the US and UK.

Barry Rubin analyzes tweets by Egypt's famed Sandmonkey blogger.

Hate for Israel might be the only thing Egyptians can agree on.

Jeff Jacoby on the larger lessons of the Lara Logan episode.

Michael Ledeen discusses the back door being used from Germany to Turkey to Iran.

Why Israel worries about Jordan.

A German soccer fans seem to really like an Israeli player.

(h/t T34, Silke, Zach N., Joel, DM, Richard)

Tweets on Gaddafi's speech

Here are some of my tweets during Gaddafi's bizarre rant yesterday:

#Gaddafi's internal microchip just rebooted. (During a long pause)

Gaddafi: "I built Benghazi block by block. And now they are destroying it." Awwww.

Nothing says "strong national leader" than screaming like a homeless lunatic from a ruined house.

The transcript from #Gaddafi's speech should be turned into performance art. Better than "Seven Jewish Children."

The Partnership For a Drug-Free America really needs to record #gaddafi's speech and make a PSA out of it.

Did the translator just commit suicide? (during one section where the translation stopped...after about 50 minutes, the translator was indeed replaced, probably because of a nervous breakdown)

T-shirt: "I survived the first hour of Gaddafi's speech"

And others had some good lines as well:

Inventing a drink. Pour every type of alcohol you own into a glass.. Add bleach. Voilà! Le Gaddafi. Best served in a tent or w/ umbrella.

bloody hell, where's Kanye when you need him?

Gaddafi's cell phone bills must be a nightmare.

Successful Arrow anti-missile test in California (video)

From JPost:

In face of Iran's continued race for nuclear power, Israel conducted a successful test of the Arrow 2 ballistic missile defense system off the coast of California early Tuesday morning, when it destroyed a target simulating an Iranian ballistic missile.

It was the eighteenth test of the Arrow, and the second in which the modified Arrow 2 was tested in its entirety, along with the Green Pine radar manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

The test was conducted jointly by the IAF, the Defense Ministry's Homa Missile Defense Agency and the US Missile Defense Agency. The Arrow is a project developed in cooperation by the IAI and Boeing.

The Arrow interceptor was launched at around 10:30 pm Pacific Standard Time from a US Navy base along the California coast and intercepted a missile fired from a nearby navy vessel. Defense officials said that the enemy missile impersonated a "future threat that Israel could one day face in the region." Defense officials lauded the successful launching as another indication of Israel's defense capabilities in the face of Iran's continued quest for a nuclear weapon. They said that the Arrow system could protect Israel from all of the missiles in Iran's arsenal.

"This test is important for Israel as it prepares to counter the ballistic missile threat in the region," Herzog said. "This test proves the success of the system after it underwent new upgrades." Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the test was an important milestone in the Israel's development of missile defense systems. Last week, the IAF successfully tested the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system ahead of its planned deployment in southern Israel.

The PLO insult to America (NewsRealBlog)

A more expanded version of my earlier scoop about how the PLO is insulting the US can be found at NewsRealBlog.

Palestinian Arab government insults US. No one reports it.

A press release from the Palestinian Arab Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, in Arabic:

U.S. veto: an obstacle to peace

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs: February 21, 2011)

The United States of America's use of the veto to prevent the passage of a UN resolution condemning Israel's settlement policy confirms that it is not an honest broker, and it is no longer able to carry out its responsibilities as a sponsor of any future Palestinian - Israeli negotiations.

This first veto of the administration of President Barack Obama puts the credibility of the sponsor of the peace process in jeopardy, as this administration has chosen to stand in the face of international law and against the international consensus, which sponsored the draft resolution, thereby providing protection for the occupying power, Israel, against international condemnation of its illegal actions in settlement building on occupied Palestinian territory. ...

We see the U.S. veto as encouraging Israel to move forward in the processes of settlement and Judaizing Jerusalem, and the construction of a wall of annexation and expansion. It also provides cover for these egregious violations of international resolutions, and encourages [Israel] to continue to evade its commitment to the peace process and entitlements, and this gives them a certificate of innocence to intentionally sabotage and derail the negotiations. [We] hold the U.S. administration to be fully responsibile for the consequences and repercussions.

Accordingly, we call upon the U.S. administration, if it wishes to restore its credibility, to work to correct its decisions, and quickly take the necessary steps to correct this situation which it has committed against the Palestinian people...

This statement is a pure insult to the United States. The PLO is calling into question America's integrity and commitment to peace, it is stating flat-out that the US cannot sponsor peace negotiations any more, and is even calling US actions "an obstacle to peace."

If an Israeli spokesman would say something one tenth as provocative, there would be an immediate dressing down - in private and in public. This diatribe, however, has not even been reported in the media.

Let's send it to some reporters to get a reaction at the next daily White House briefing.

(This little diplomatic temper tantrum also shows that Susan Rice's abject attempt to suck up to the PLO was worse than meaningless - it might have even emboldened the PLO to write this to begin with.)

Samir Kuntar visits Syria to promote his book

From Syria's Al Baath newspaper, a celebration of a baby killer:

The dean of Lebanese prisoners freed from Israeli jails, Samir Kuntar, spoke of the steadfastness and principled positions of the Syrian government that gives courage for the resistance to achieve victories...

Kuntar spoke while promoting his book, "My Story," now in its second edition, in a discussion held yesterday at the University of October at the invitation of the National Union of Syrian Students to support the unlimited help provided by Syria to the [Hezbollah] resistance in the victory in 2006 and that this culture of resistance constitutes a milestone for Syria. He noted that this culture is planted in the minds and hearts of the youth and the sons of Syria, and that Syria's heroic struggle stems from betting on the young generation... gathered around the leader of the nation, Mr. President Bashar al-Assad.

Kuntar said that the youth of Syria is real and effective in supporting and sustaining the resistance and the educational and cultural institutions play a major role in promoting a culture of resistance and victory. he told the masses of students that... under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad Syria is the focus of pride and the pride and respect for the whole world.

Here's his book.

Jordanian lawyers to sue former PM for peace treaty with Israel

From Jordan's Ammon News:

A group of Jordanian lawyers said that they intend to sue former Prime Minister Abdul Salam Majali following comments he made on signing the Wadi Araba Peace Treaty with Israel.

Lawyer Muhammad Khreisat stressed that he will file a lawsuit against the former Prime Minister after the latter made statements admitting that he "was wrong to sign the peace treaty with Israel," and that he regrets signing the agreement.

Khreisat added that Majali has "harmed the Jordanian state" by signing the peace treaty and through his recent admission in statements to the press that he regrets signing it.

Video of people being shot in Bahrain (updated)

Not sure when it was taken, uploaded yesterday:

(h/t Missing Peace)

UPDATE: Mike sends me the same incident from another angle, showing more. It was uploaded on the 18th.

Arab leaders meet to condemn their fellow dictator

The Arab League is going to have an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Libya.

You know...these guys, standing around the other guy wearing brown:

And these guys, around the guy wearing with the long hair (although the person to his left will not be there.)

Ya gotta wonder what they will say without sounding like they are writing their own epitaphs.

In the same vein:, from Reuters:

Hamas supporters step on a poster depicting a crossed-out portrait of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a rally in Gaza City against the Libyan leader February 22, 2011.

Yet just a little over a year ago, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal traveled to Libya to hold talks with Gaddafi.

And Mahmoud Abbas has spent a bit of time with the crazy dictator as well, at least twice since 2009:

But then again, some other world leaders have not been embarrassed to be seen with Gaddafi either.

"Apartheid Week" poster

Just playing with the format of a series of posters I'd like to create for the upcoming "Israel Apartheid Week" on college campuses.

In general, I don't like playing defense, but I'd love to see video of the Israel-haters tearing down posters showing smiling, proud Israeli Arabs.

(The entire collection of posters is here.)

More Palestinian Arabs working for Israelis

The latest labor statistics are out from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

Among the findings for the 4th quarter of 2010:

The labor market increased by 41,000 jobs in the West Bank and 13,000 jobs in Gaza.
In the West Bank, the number of Arab workers in Israel or Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria increased by 4000, from 75,000 to 79,000.
The number of Arab workers in settlements themselves went up from 7000 to 9000, a whopping 28% increase. Almost certainly this is largely because the construction freeze ended in late September.
11.5% of all employed West Bank workers are working for Israelis.
While the average daily wage in the West Bank is 86.8 NIS, the average daily wage for those working in Israel or in Jewish settlements is nearly double that, at 160.5 NIS (an increase of nearly 4% in the quarter.)
Gaza's unemployment rate went down from 40.5% to 37.4%. The West Bank unemployment rate decreased from 20.1% to 16.9%.

Statistics are slightly skewed compared to Western standards because the PCBS counts unemployment for everyone 15 years old and above, as opposed to 18 years old. Not surprisingly, the unemployment rate is highest for the 15-19 age group.