Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, July 23, 2012

Today's horrible photos of Jews on the Temple Mount

Palestine Today reports about how Jews are brazenly ascending to their holiest spot during the nine days of commemoration for the destruction of the Temples.

According to the article, "extremist groups have today been performing Talmudic rituals and prayers in the courtyards of Al-Aqsa under the protection and escort of special occupation police units."

Qudsmedia says that they expect more Jews to "storm" the courtyards of the Mount as the upcoming Tisha B'Av fast day approaches next Sunday.

Fatah's Palestine Press Agency also covered this, as did Hamas' Palestine Times, which captioned the photo "Al Aqsa is in Danger." All of them emphasized the heebie-jeebie "Talmudic prayers" supposedly said by the visitors.

Because everyone knows that Talmudic prayers are especially heinous.

Since this is Ramadan, this essentially daily occurrence of Jews peacefully visiting the Temple Mount is being published far and wide in Arabic media, from Egypt to Jordan to the UAE. You see, they are upset that Jews, by breathing holy Al Aqsa air, are disregarding the feelings of a billion Muslims as they play soccer on Judaism's most holy site.

The new Egypt tightens up anti-alcohol rules

From Egypt Independent:

Tourism Minister Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour Tourism has modified the rules for tourist facilities, such as restaurants, nightclubs and hotels, by banning the sale of alcohol beverages to Egyptians on all religious occasions and not just during Ramadan, in respect for Muslims.

Those occasions include the month of Ramadan, Islamic New Year's Eve, the night of the prophet’s Night Journey, the prophet's birthday and the day of Arafat during the pilgrimage.

Facilities violating that decision would be suspended. Previously, alcohol was only banned in Ramadan, but the minister immediately agreed to a proposal by Sherif Ismail, his legal adviser, to extend the ban to other occasions.

This is of course a law aimed at Egyptian Christians.

But that's nothing. Saudi Arabia takes the gold medal in religious coercion:

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior urged non-Muslims residing in the kingdom to respect Muslims, who are fasting during the holy month of Ramadan, by not eating openly or else face serious consequences that include deportation.

“The non-Muslim expatriates in this country should respect the sentiments of Muslims by not eating, drinking and smoking in public places, including roads and workplaces,” stated an Interior Ministry statement issued by the Saudi Press Agency, adding that violators will be either deported or sacked.

The ministry said that eating and drinking openly are seen as an embarrassment to Muslims, as abstaining from food and drinks from sunrise till sunset are one of the visible features of Ramadan that must be respected.

“Being a non-believer of Islam does not exempt an expatriate from being inconsiderate of the feelings of Muslims and the Islamic symbols of this country.”

Egypt's new government has something to shoot for.

Egyptian actors freak out, turn violent when told they are on Israeli TV (updated x2)

Here is a brilliant MEMRI video of a "Candid Camera"- type TV show in Egypt, where famous actors are told they would be interviewed by a German TV station but then they "discover" during the show that it is really Israeli.

A female hostess and "producer" get physically attacked, furniture gets overturned, actors say "I hate the Jews to death," and a great laugh is had by all as the program proudly shows off what they call Egyptian "patriotism."

UPDATE: Here is the transcript:

Following are excerpts from pranks played by Al-Nahar TV on several Egyptian actors, which aired on July 20 and 22, 2012.

July 20, 2012:

Interviewer Iman Mubarak: We have a phone call… Hello…

Voice: Mr. Tuhami, we love and respect you. We love your works and enjoy your movies, but I cannot believe what I am seeing. We used to love you, but when we see you on such a TV channel – a dubious Israeli TV channel… Shame on you!

Iman Mubarak: The call has been cut off. You may call again…

Dear viewers, let’s take a short break, before we resume our show, “With the Other,” from Cairo.

[Turning to Ayman Kandeel] What?

Ayman Kandeel “Tuhami”: Was that sister Palestinian, Egyptian, or what?

Iman Mubarak: I can’t tell her nationality, but the call was cut off.

Ayman Kandeel: I heard her say that this is an Israeli channel. Is this an Israeli channel?

Iman Mubarak: The production didn’t tell you that this is an Israeli channel?

Ayman Kandeel: No.

[…]

Production member Amr ‘Alaa enters

Amr ‘Alaa: What is the problem?

Ayman Kandeel: May I ask who you are?

Amr ‘Alaa: I am an Israeli. You are talking about weapons… You are a comedian. You ought to be talking about comedy, not about weapons.

Ayman Kandeel: Fine, fine.

Amr ‘Alaa: Am I standing here, pointing a gun at your face?

Ayman Kandeel: No, you didn’t point a gun at me, and you can’t. You are trying to provoke me, but I am calm.

Amr ‘Alaa: I’m trying to make peace, so how can you say that I’m provoking you?

Ayman Kandeel: Peace was decided on by the governments, but we, the people, have different criteria. You are feeling so mad that you…

Amr ‘Alaa: That’s because I understand that you do not want to reach a solution…

Ayman Kandeel: Man, nobody can provoke me.

Amr ‘Alaa: I don’t want to provoke you. I want to reach a solution with you.

Ayman Kandeel: The solution, my dear boy, is that you go to the doctor to get treatment…

Iman Mubarak: What does that mean?

Ayman Kandeel: It means that you are all sick. It’s better that we talk about it on the air.

Amr ‘Alaa: We are off the air now.

Ayman Kandeel: No, I’d like to talk on the air.

Amr ‘Alaa: Are the sick people those who try to make peace, or those who go around carrying guns? Are you denying that you have a gun in your pocket?

Ayman Kandeel: Yes, I have a gun.

Amr ‘Alaa: Why? What are you afraid of?

Ayman Kandeel: I’ll tell you what I’m afraid of. Of some scumbag trying to attack me.

Amr ‘Alaa: What scumbag?

Ayman Kandeel: Any scumbag. A thief, a robber.

[…]

Iman Mubarak: We’re back with our guest, Egyptian actor Ayman Kandeel. Hello, once again.

Ayman Kandeel: May God grant us good fortune. There was a phone call, which everybody heard, in which it was claimed that this show is being aired on Israeli TV. It doesn’t matter to me what TV station this is, but I came to a show that is being filmed in Egypt, on a TV channel that you said was German…

Iman Mubarak: We never said that this was a German channel.

Ayman Kandeel: When the producer called me…

Iman Mubarak: I’m sure you didn’t hear it properly…

Ayman Kandeel: No, my hearing is just fine. You people deceive and lie…

Iman Mubarak: Sir, you cannot level such accusations against us. Sir, the reactions on Israeli social media pages…

Ayman Kandeel [losing his temper]: F$@# the social media pages! I cam to an interview on an Egyptian TV channel. Then it turns out that this is an Israeli TV channel, and you bring in someone who got on my nerves. He is standing right there, let’s see him come in and talk to me.

Amr ‘Alaa enters the studio

Amr ‘Alaa: This is my channel. I am never afraid. It is you who are afraid, and that is why you are carrying a gun.

Ayman Kandeel: I don’t have a gun.

Amr ‘Alaa: You don’t have a gun?!

Ayman Kandeel: In order to use my gun against you, I need to feel that you are worth something. But let me tell you what I can do. You stand right here. Relax.

Ayman Kandeel slaps Amr ‘Alaa and shoves him

You son-of-a-@$#! You’re making fun of me?

Ayman Kandeel slaps Iman Mubarak

You b#@ch! What, you sons-of-b#!@&$? To hell with #%$, you sons-of-b#!@&$!

You sons-of-b#!@&$!

Production member: Stop! We’re just kidding with you.

Ayman Kandeel: You say you are Egyptians?! Are you kidding me?! F%@$ you!

Production member: Ayman, please… It’s a prank. Shame on you for hitting a woman.

Production member: Get her a chair.

Ayman Kandeel is handed Iman Mubarak’s ID card

Ayman Kandeel: I can’t get it out…

Turns the card to the light and looks at it

She’s Egyptian?

Production member: Let’s have a round of applause, please.

You brought it upon yourself. Why did you fall so quickly?

Iman Mubarak: You hit me so hard.

Ayman Kandeel: It was just one slap.

Iman Mubarak: You see what can happen to the interviewer?

Amr ‘Alaa: People, let’s have a round of applause for Iman.

Ayman Kandeel [to Iman Mubarak]: After the show, come to my car with me. I’ll put some lotion on your back.

Iman Mubarak: I don’t want anything.

[…]

Iman Mubarak: Dear viewers, we’ll take a short break, before we return with [actress] Mayar Al-Beblawi.

[…]

Mayar Al-Beblawi: In that country [Israel], they are all liars. You wouldn’t believe it. They are real liars. They keep whining all the time about the Holocaust, or whatever it’s called. With all the Palestinians that you have killed, you are still whining about the Holocaust and its lousy figures?!

[…]

These people sawed off [the head] of John the Baptist. They are the slayers of the prophets, what else can we say about them?

Iman Mubarak: You’ve got it wrong, They are the Chosen People…

Mayar Al-Beblawi: The Chosen People?! Allah did not curse the worm and the moth as much as he cursed the Jews.

[…]

[The caller] said that this was an Israeli channel?!

Iman Mubarak: You are indeed on an Israeli channel. This is Channel 2 from Israel.

Mayar Al-Beblawi: No, I came for an interview with a German channel.

Iman Mubarak: No. The producer told you that this was an Israeli channel, and you agreed.

Amr ‘Alaa: There’s no problem. Let’s move on.

Mayar Al-Beblawi: What do you mean, “no problem”? What do you mean, “Let’s move on”?

Iman Mubarak: Let’s complete the interview.

Mayar Al-Beblawi: I’d like to know what channel this is.

Iman Mubarak: You knew right from the beginning that this was Channel 2… Shalom, shalom…

Mayar Al-Beblawi: You’re kidding me, right? I won’t allow something like this.

Iman Mubarak: Kidding? Why?

Mayar Al-Beblawi: No, I won’t allow it.

[…]

July 21, 2012 [via Youtube]

Actor Mahmoud Abd Al-Ghaffar: Who are you? Are you Egyptian, or what?

[shaking Amr ‘Alaa] What country are you from?

Amr ‘Alaa: Where I come from is not the issue. You were being interviewed, and I wasn’t talking to you. Let’s complete the interview.

Actor Mahmoud Abd Al-Ghaffar [attacking Amr ‘Alaa]: We’re completing nothing. Who are you? Who are you?

Iman Mubarak: Mahmoud… Mahmoud…

Mahmoud Abd Al-Ghaffar: You are a Jew!

Iman Mubarak: Mahmoud… Mahmoud…

Mahmoud Abd Al-Ghaffar: Mahmoud what?!

Iman Mubarak: Mahmoud, this is a candid camera show.

Mahmoud Abd Al-Ghaffar [pulling Amr ‘Alaa by the hair]: Who are you? Tell me who you are.

Iman Mubarak: Mahmoud, this is a candid camera show.

Applause

Iman Mubarak: Mahmoud, this is a candid camera show. We are all Egyptians. Long live Egypt! I’m an Egyptian – Iman Mubarak. This is Amr ‘Alaa, and this is Amr Sallah.

Mahmoud Abd Al-Ghaffar: You brought me someone who looks like a Jew…

Al-Ghaffar hugs Amr ‘Alaah

[to Iman Mubarak]: If you weren’t a girl, the moment you told me you were Jewish… I hate the Jews to death.

[…]

Iman Mubarak: I’d like to tell you that I enjoyed today’s episode with Mahmoud. I didn’t know that there could be such patriotism, but it exists in every Egyptian who breathes the air of this country.

UPDATE 2: A number of commenters noticed the huge disconnect between how Egyptians think of Jews in this show and how Israeli Jews think of Arabs, in a very different hidden camera show from last year:

PA TV shows painting of Jew impaling and eating children

From Palestinian Media Watch:

PA TV host: "Artist Abd Al-Hai Msallam has been dealing with the Palestinian nation's problems, such as the Gaza massacres. What have you been working on lately? This painting is about the Gaza massacre."
Artist Abd Al-Hai Msallam: "Here I show the people, the children, and the Zionist enemy's cruelty and savagery."

[The painting shows a monster impaling children on his bayonet and eating them one by one. On the lower right, dead children are piled up to be eaten and two baby monsters are also shown eating children. The three monsters wear skull caps with a Star of David. The scene takes place in the monster's underground lair, just under cacti that are growing on the surface. A Star of David is also painted on the lock of the lair.]

Here's a slightly higher resolution image of a detail from the picture:

The "USA" on the bayonet is a nice touch.

Gaza patients in danger because of Hamas/Fatah bickering (UPDATE: First death)

Unity!

A dispute between the two rival Palestinian governments is preventing hundreds of patients in Gaza from receiving urgent medical care abroad, officials said Sunday.

One Gaza man said he has tried unsuccessfully for the past week to get his wife transferred out of Gaza for the removal of a brain tumor. Salman Tawfik said his wife Rasha, 50, lapsed into a coma two days ago, while he was caught in a bureaucratic maze.

"No one wants to help. No one wants to hear," Iyad Alami of the Gaza-based Palestinian Center for Human Rights said of the politicians involved in the dispute. He said several patients are in danger of dying if they are not moved quickly.

Alami's group has been trying to mediate between the Hamas government in Gaza and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority of internationally backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Gaza hospitals offer only basic medical care, and patients seeking treatment abroad need a referral from a medical committee in Gaza before they can cross into Israel or Egypt.

The committee technically reports to the West Bank government, but it operates with the tacit approval of the Hamas authorities in Gaza.

Last week, the West Bank's health minister appointed a new committee, replacing one that was set up in 2009. Rival health officials in the West Bank and Gaza offered conflicting explanations of why the committee then stopped working.

Omar Nasser, a spokesman for the Health Ministry in the West Bank, said that after the new appointments, Hamas police entered the offices of the committee and expelled those working there. Ashraf al-Kidra, a spokesman for the Health Ministry in Gaza, denied there was a raid. He said local employees refused to work with the newly appointed committee members.

The committee handled about 18,000 patient cases last year, and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank paid about US$42 million for their treatment in hospitals in the West Bank, Israel, Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world, said Nasser.

It was not immediately clear why the West Bank health minister replaced all committee members. A similar dispute between the rival governments in 2009 was blamed for the death of nine patients, including a cancer-stricken child.

"We are the victims of selfish political factions who don't care about people's health," said Tawfik, 55, the husband of the patient with the brain tumor. Tawfik said he was bounced from Hamas-loyal officials to those linked to Abbas for the past week.

Israeli officials said they have not received any requests from the Gaza committee for transferring patients since Wednesday.

UPDATE: A girl died in a Gaza hospital because of this.

EoZ has a Wikipedia entry!

I don't know who wrote it, and now that I'm mentioning it I imagine the content will change for the worse, but still...pretty cool!

And no less than 14 footnotes, too!

(h/t Aaron)

Sunday Links

From Ian:

Hamas debates declaring Gaza a ‘liberated territory’

"PA fears the move would play into Israel’s hands; Egypt had also been opposed, but may change tack under its Islamist president, Hamas hopes
"Hamas is considering declaring the Gaza Strip “a liberated part of Palestine” and cutting all commercial ties with Israel. According to the London-based Arab daily Al-Hayat Sunday, the idea was discussed in a meeting between Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal and Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi last Thursday, and will be discussed further in a meeting between Morsi and Hamas’s prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, this Thursday, July 26."

UPDATE: Hamas denies this.

Prime Minister’s Office to BBC: We insist you call Jerusalem Israel’s capital

British broadcaster has already changed its Olympics website once, now brands Jerusalem as ‘seat of government’
“A quarrel between the Prime Minister’s Office and the BBC over the broadcaster’s disinclination to list Jerusalem as Israel’s capital is rumbling on, with the PMO’s spokesman sending a second letter demanding the BBC change its Olympics website to explicitly refer to the city as the country’s capital.”

Still refusing moment of silence, Olympic head says memorial will be held in Germany
Jacques Rogge says he will lead an IOC delegation to Munich’s Furstenfeldbruck airbase in September

Israel denies its agents are hunting Olympic terrorists

“Israel reportedly "hunting Iranian-backed terrorists in Europe" to avoid repeat of Munich Defense Minister Ehud Barak: We are working to minimize chance of attack Security chief Amos Gilad dismisses story, says there are always general warnings.”

Store sorry for selling toy Katyushas

Rocket launchers made by Dutch company available in pink, yellow or beige at London’s Liberty department store

Still on Sale?

UNWatch: The Guardian’s Ian Williams Lobbied for Bashar al-Assad’s Syria to Join UN Security Council

“Using the same methods as the Assads themselves, Williams reframed the discussion away from Syria’s despicable record by pointing at the Israeli bogeyman. It worked: Syria was elected by a huge majority of 160 out of 177 votes.”

Honest Reporting: Romney Trapped by the Israel Lobby Spider?

Commenting on US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s upcoming visit to Israel, The Independent’s Rupert Cornwell employs some disturbing imagery to describe the so-called “Israel Lobby.”

Fighting anti-Semitism at the U of California

“For a university to solve its anti-Semitism problem, it needs to acknowledge that it has a problem.”

From Zvi:

The author has a number of facts wrong, but he has an interesting and different perspective.

"Why we must challenge double standards on Israel"
By Carol Hunt, in the Irish Independent

(A slightly older piece by Ms. Hunt, also worth reading)

Iran's War on Israel
(For WSJ articles, do a search in Google on the title and then it should show up in full.)

Plus:
The Musta’arib Jews Who Have Lived In The Land Of Israel For More Than 3300 Years

Israeli bus comes under fire in Eilat

What's the most popular name in Gaza? Isn't it obvious? (Arabic)

Germany had a tip-off three weeks ahead of Munich massacre, Der Spiegel claims

The battle over the "occupation" narrative, by Dore Gold

Store sorry for selling toy Katyushas

(h/t Yoel, Leo dam Hofshi)

Mahmoud Abbas' connections to the Munich Olympics massacre

This Sports Illustrated article from 2002 has some details that are relevant on the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Munich Olympics massacre.

Following the Oslo Accords of 1993, the mastermind of Black September's Munich attack enjoyed a certain respectability. Mohammed Daoud Oudeh, a.k.a. Abu Daoud, sat on the Palestinian National Council, where in 1996 he joined a majority in voting to revoke the clause in the PLO charter calling for Israel's destruction. Though Israel had long known of his role at Munich -- Mossad was believed to have been involved in a 1981 assassination attempt in which he was shot six times -- he even carried an Israeli-issued VIP pass that allowed him to shuttle between his home in Amman, Jordan, and the occupied territories.

All that changed in 1999 after Abu Daoud openly acknowledged his role in the Olympic attack, both in his memoir, Palestine: From Jerusalem to Munich, published in Paris, and in an interview with the Arab TV network al-Jazeera. Germany issued an international arrest warrant on Abu Daoud, and Israel canceled his travel credentials, barring him from the Palestinian lands he had spent his adult life trying to liberate....

"At the time, it was the correct thing to do for our cause," Abu Daoud told SI. AP
In late July, SI's Don Yaeger went to the Middle East to find the 72-year-old Abu Daoud. After five days in Syria, where he met with leaders of several Palestinian groups, including the Palestinian Authority, PA president Yasir Arafat's Fatah faction and the militant Hamas, Yaeger received a call from Abu Daoud, who said he was in Cyprus. Abu Daoud, who would not reveal where he resides -- saying only that he lives with his wife on a pension provided by the PA -- agreed to answer written questions. Among his claims, in his memoir and to SI, are these:

Though he wasn't involved in conceiving or implementing it, "the [Munich] operation had the endorsement of Arafat." Arafat is not known to have responded to the allegations in Abu Daoud's book. In May 1972 four Black Septembrists hijacked a Sabena flight from Brussels to Tel Aviv, hoping to free comrades from Israeli jails. But Israeli special forces stormed the plane, killing or capturing all the terrorists and freeing every passenger, leaving Arafat, by Abu Daoud's account, desperate to boost morale in the refugee camps by showing that Israel was vulnerable.

Though he didn't know what the money was being spent for, longtime Fatah official Mahmoud Abbas, a.k.a. Abu Mazen, was responsible for the financing of the Munich attack. Abu Mazen could not be reached for comment regarding Abu Daoud's allegation. After Oslo in 1993, Abu Mazen went to the White House Rose Garden for a photo op with Arafat, President Bill Clinton and Israel's Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. "Do you think that ... would have been possible if the Israelis had known that Abu Mazen was the financier of our operation?" Abu Daoud writes. "I doubt it." Today the Bush Administration seeks a Palestinian negotiating partner "uncompromised by terror," yet last year Abu Mazen met in Washington with Secretary of State Colin Powell.
[...]

While he doesn't regret his role in the operation, Abu Daoud told SI, "I would be against any operation like Munich ever again. At the time, it was the correct thing to do for our cause. ... The operation brought the Palestinian issue into the homes of 500 million people who never previously cared about Palestinian victims at the hands of the Israelis." Today, he says, an attack on an event like the Olympics would only damage the Palestinians' image.

Daoud also was interviewed about the Munich massacre for a film called "One Day in September," produced by John Battsek and Arthur Cohn for Sony Pictures Classics. Director Kevin Macdonald said Abu Daoud admitted Black September was merely the cover name adopted by Fatah members when they wanted to carry out terrorist attacks.

The PLO operative recalled how Arafat and Abu Mazen both wished him luck and kissed him when he set about organizing the Munich attack.

In an interview in 2006, Abu Daoud described how the Olympics massacre was a great victory for the Palestinian Arab cause:

Discussing the Palestinians' struggle for a homeland and rejecting the use of the word "terrorist" to describe its fighters, he said of the Munich days: "There was nothing we weren't prepared to do to keep the Palestinian cause in the public eye.

"Before Munich, we were simply terrorists. After Munich, at least people started asking who are these terrorists? What do they want? Before Munich, nobody had the slightest idea about Palestine."

"Today, I cannot fight you anymore, but my grandson will and his grandsons, too," he said, addressing Israelis.

Unfortunately, the murderous calculus of the PLO was correct. Only two years after Munich, Yasir Arafat was honored at the UN.

When Abu Daoud died in 2010 of kidney failure in Damascus, Mahmoud Abbas praised him without any equivocation:

President Mahmoud Abbas sent a telegram of condolences yesterday over the death of the great fighter Muhammad Daoud Oudeh, 'Abu Daoud,' who died just before reaching 70. The telegram of condolences read: 'The deceased was one of the prominent leaders of the Fatah movement and lived a life filled with the struggle, devoted effort, and the enormous sacrifice of the deceased for the sake of the legitimate problem of his people, in many spheres. He was at the forefront on every battlefield, with the aim of defending the [Palestinian] revolution. What a wonderful brother, companion, tough and stubborn, relentless fighter. [Al Hayat al Jadida, July 4, 2010]

President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday held a telephone conversation with the family of the Shahid (Martyr) fighter Muhammad Oudeh, Abu Daoud, member of the Fatah Revolutionary Council and former head of the movement's Supervisory Committee, and expressed his condolences over [Oudeh's] death.

During the conversation the President noted [Oudeh's] life filled with the struggle, his devoted effort, and the enormous sacrifice of the deceased for the sake of the legitimate problem of his people, in many spheres. He was at the forefront on every battlefield, with the aim of defending the [Palestinian] revolution." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 5, 2010]

And official PA media were even more explicit in their praise for the Olympic massacre and its architect:

"In its [Black September terror group's] ranks were many distinguished men and women, headed by the Panther of Palestine, Salah Khalaf 'Abu Iyad.' Abu Daoud was one of his prominent assistants. His [Abu Daoud's] name shined brightly in the German city of Munich in 1972, where the Olympics took place....May Allah have mercy on this great Fatah fighter and patriot, Abu Daoud."
[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 6, 2010]

(I posted the SI article originally in 2005.)

Islamists take over Syria border post with Turkey; Kurds take control of their lands

Just great:

Rebel forces gained control of the Bab al-Hawa crossing between Syria and Turkey on Thursday.

But by Saturday evening, a group of some 150 foreign fighters calling themselves as Islamists were in control of the Bab al-Hawa post, an AFP photographer said.

Some of the fighters said they belonged to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), while others claimed allegiance to a group called Shura Taliban.

They were armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, rocket launchers and improvised mines.

The fighters identified themselves as coming from a number of countries: Algeria, France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and the Russian republic of Chechnya.

But there is some better news, as the Kurds are asserting control of their lands in Syria:

On the second day of events in Syrian Kurdistan, several more cities have fallen into the hands of Kurdish groups.

Fawzi Shangal, the leader of the Kurdish Accord Party in Syria told Rudaw that the city of Amude and Efrin fell on Friday and they expect Derek city liberated within hours.

Shangal maintained that the Kurdish cities fell without any major clashes. The forces of the Assad regime withdrew from the area, he said.

“According to the Erbil agreement [signed between Syrian Kurdish political factions] On June 11, the Kurdish National Council and the Council of Western Kurdistan have formed a joint leadership to run those cities,” he said.

Members of the Democratic Union Party [PYD] raised the Kurdish flag alongside the official flag of the Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK] on all government buildings in the newly liberated cities on Friday.

Kobane, in the province of Halab [Aleppo], was the first Kurdish city near the Turkish border to be liberated yesterday.

On Thursday PYD stopped soldiers of the Free Syrian Army [FSA] from entering Kobane as the news of the liberation reached other parts of the country.

“The Kurdish forces rejected a request by the FSA and told them that they [Kurds] can control their own areas,” Hussein Kochar, a PYD official told Rudaw.

Kurdish leaders are preparing for the full liberation of Syrian Kurdistan and the responsibility of restoring peace and order in those cities.

And another city was liberated from Assad's troops this morning in Syrian Kurdistan.

The biggest wild card in Syria is still Assad's chemical weapons.

(h/t Yoel)

Israel-haters know they are lying (followup to Metro-North Map that Lies ad) (UPDATED)

Last week I reported on the lying advertisements that were posted in Metro-North railroad stations this month, showing the ridiculous Map That Lies.

The person who put the ads up, Henry Clifford, told Fox News, “There’s always room for discussion of different sides of every story, but there’s no room for discussion on fact. Anyone who challenges these maps and the content of these ads, it’s their obligation to show that they’re historically wrong. The ball is in their court.”

I responded with a point-by-point refutation of the maps, pointing out that now the ball is in his court. Besides an initial response claiming he is too busy to do a full response, and even after I sent him a reminder email on Friday, he has not bothered to respond.

But Yaacov Lozowick emailed him a similar reply to mine - a bit shorter and better written. And Clifford's response to that email proves, yet again, that the anti-Israel crowd knows that they are lying, but they pretend they are lying for a good reason.

Here is his entire response to Yaacov:

In any format the bottom line is irrefutable - the Palestinian people have lost most of their homeland.

What happened to your professed interest in facts, Henry? You issued a challenge to disprove the ads based on facts, and they were disproved easily. But now, instead of admitting that your ads are lies, you are appealing to what you clearly consider "the bottom line."

Your pithy response indicates that you cannot respond to the facts. It indicates that you believe that lies are justified for the Palestinian Arab cause you advocate.

If you were a real man, consistent in your words and deeds, you would publicly admit that the ads were deceptive and have no relationship to the truth.

But you aren't. You are just a hater, and lying to further your hate is par for the course for you and the anti-Zionist crowd.

UPDATE: He finally replied to me, similar to his non-reply to Yaacov:

I'm sorry, I have received at least 500 emails, 90% positive, am flooded with requests for comment or interviews, I just don't have time to debate. The Palestinians have lost most of their homeland and the earth is not flat. You can't change fact.

Yet that is exactly what this hypocrite is trying to do with these ads.

Gas pipeline to Israel/Jordan bombed yet again

From Egypt Independent:

February 2011 explosion

The pipeline transporting Egyptian natural gas to Israel has been bombed for the 15th time since the January uprising last year, according to North Sinai Governorate sources.

The explosion, which took place in the Taweel area, 10 km east of Arish city, would appear to confirm that gas exports to Israel have restarted.

The source referred to information about the resumption of gas exports to Israel four days ago.

However, Mohamed Ayyoub, head of the Gasco Company in Arish, denied that exports had restarted, saying the gas inside the pipeline was left from before Egypt had announced it was halting gas exports. According to sources, the company continues to pump gas to keep the equipment efficient but does not pump the gas to Israel.

The blast apparently took place in a depopulated area and was caused by improvised explosive devices. No casualties were reported.

Reuters adds:

The blast occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning at al-Tuwail, east of the coastal Sinai town of al-Arish, at a point before the pipeline splits into separate branches to Israel and Jordan, security officials and witnesses said.

An official in the company that manages the pipeline said exports of gas to both Israel and Jordan had been halted since an explosion that hit the pipeline in April and that the flames were caused by residual gas.

Residents in al-Arish, however, said gas shipments had begun three days ago through the pipeline, which at one point supplied Israel with about 40 percent of its natural gas.

Egypt in April terminated its agreement to supply gas to Israel because of what it said was a business dispute.

Piecing this together, it seems that Egypt never resumed pumping gas to Israel, nor to Jordan, since April. Some testing or maintenance probably occurred a few days ago and Sinai residents assumed that the shipments were resuming, so they arranged for another bombing.

Given that Egyptian officials have been sentenced to prison for selling gas to Israel at low prices, it seems very unlikely that any gas shipments were resuming.

The main party to be impacted by these explosions is not Israel - but Jordan. Jordan was far more dependent on Egyptian gas than Israel was, and it is interesting that this time the pipeline was bombed before the split.

Arabs being hurt by other Arabs isn't news, though.

Just some Muslims planning terror attacks

Two articles from The Times of Israel:

BOSTON (AP) — A Muslim-American man admitted Friday that he plotted to use remote-controlled model planes packed with explosives to blow up the Pentagon and US Capitol.

Rezwan Ferdaus, 26, pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to terrorists and attempting to damage and destroy federal buildings by means of an explosive.

Ferdaus was arrested last year after federal employees posing as members of al-Qaeda delivered materials he requested, including grenades, machine guns and plastic explosives.

Under a plea agreement, federal prosecutors agreed to drop four other charges. Prosecutors and Ferdaus’ lawyers also agreed to jointly recommend a 17-year prison term. Sentencing is set for Nov. 1.

Ferdaus grew up in Massachusetts and has a physics degree from Boston’s Northeastern University.

Prosecutors said Ferdaus began planning jihad, or holy war, against the United States in 2010 after becoming convinced through jihadi websites and videos that America was evil. He later contacted a federal informant and began meeting to discuss the plot with undercover agents.

And:

A Muslim husband and wife convicted of planning a terror attack against Jews in Manchester, England, were jailed Friday.

Shasta Khan, who was convicted of preparing for acts of terrorism and two counts of possessing information likely to be useful in an act of terrorism, was sentenced to eight years in prison. The 38-year-old hairdresser, who had pleaded not guilty, will serve four years minus the 350 days she spent on remand.

Her husband Mohammed Sajid Khan, 33, an unemployed car valet, was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection, which means that after a minimum of seven-and-a-half years, his position will be regularly reviewed by a parole board. He had pleaded guilty to engaging in conduct in preparation of terrorism.

The sentences “reflect the fact that Mohammed Sajid Khan was clearly the dominant character in this terror plot, and we hope he spends a long time behind bars,” said Mark Gardner, spokesperson for the Community Security Trust, an organization which provides security advice, infrastructure and manpower to British Jews. “We will never know if Shasta Khan would have turned to terrorism had she not married her husband.”

The Khans were in the early stages of building a home-made bomb, following instructions they found on the internet, when their plot was discovered in July 2011. Police had been called to their home in Oldham, greater Manchester, following a domestic dispute.

They had spent months scouting out potential Jewish targets in Manchester, including two synagogues and the Jewish Agency building.

They couple, who had met on the internet in 2010 and married just six weeks later, had become radicalized by material they read on the internet, including an English-language magazine published by an al-Qaeda affiliate.

Both Muslims.

Both became would-be jihadist murderers based on stuff they read on the Internet.

Both chose targets that have only peripheral involvement with Israel.

Now, certainly they only represent a "tiny minority of Muslims" that we hear so much about.

But if that tiny minority is only 14% - which is the number of Muslims who felt 9/11 was completely or mostly justified - that is still tens of millions of adult Muslims who are potential jihadists. (And 23% felt that 9/11 was "partially" justified.)

It is not exactly a comforting thought.

Saturday night links

From Ian:

‘Base of Islam’ claims responsibility for Burgas attack

The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Saturday dismissed a claim by Qaedat al-Jihad that it was responsible forWednesday’s terrorist attack in Burgas.

Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman Vesela Cherneva dismissed the previously unknown Islamist group’s assertion of responsibility for the attack in an email sent Saturday to Elnashra, a Lebanese newspaper.
The previously unknown group is a possible affiliate of al-Qaeda, commentators in Israel said Saturday evening, noting its name in Arabic — “Qaedat al-Jihad.”

Muslim bus driver killed in Burgas bombing laid to rest

No Bulgarian officials present to pay respects at Mustafa Kyosev’s funeral
Kyosev, 36, belonged to Bulgaria’s ethnically Turkish, Muslim minority, which comprises 8% of the country’s 7 million people.
He was survived by his wife Emine and 10-year-old daughter.

The Levy Report and the ‘Occupation’ Narrative by Dore Gold

“Levy’s discourse is relevant for the Palestinian side in one important respect. If the Palestinians are constantly fed by the international community the “occupation” narrative, their propensity to consider making a real compromise, which is critical for any future agreement, will be close to nil. In fact, this false narrative only reinforces their mistaken belief in the delegitimization campaign against Israel as an alternative to seeking a negotiated settlement of the conflict. Rather than creating a setting for diplomacy to succeed, it only makes a real Middle Eastern peace more remote than ever.”

Palestine – United Nations Perfidy Exposed by David Singer

“The canard – supported by countless United Nations General Assembly Resolutions – that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are illegal in international law – has been dealt a crushing blow with the the recent release of the Levy Committee Report in Israel rebutting that claim.”

[By the way, it's been a couple of weeks since the Levy report was released. Has anyone seen any attempt by its critics to rebut its arguments? - EoZ]

Obama administration sends CIA officers to find biological and chemical weapons in Syria

Israel ‘will have to strike’ if Syrian weapons are moving to Hezbollah, says top analyst

Islamic Jihad leadership abandons Syria for Iran

“Circumstances in war-torn country force terrorist organization to relocate, reports London-based Arabic daily”

BBC pictures reveal more about their attitudes to the Middle East Conflict than they might wish

"With the BBC continuing to report on the Middle East conflict in the way it does - who needs the Balen Report?"

Batsheva Faces Ugly BDS, But The Dire Plight Of Gaza's Christians Is Ignored

“The acclaimed Batsheva Dance Company is due to perform at the Edinburgh Playhouse from 30 August to 1 September as part of the Edinburgh International Festival.
But inevitably the usual suspects have mobilised against the visit – "Don't Dance With Israeli Apartheid" is the name of a Facebook page, for example.”

Pat Condell: American Dhimmi

MEMRI:
Egyptian Retired General Ahmad Mansouri: If Iran And Syria Are Attacked, Egypt Will Join Them In Taking Action
Egyptian Screenwriter Wahid Hamed: The Muslim Brotherhood Has Reneged On All The Promises It Made

Israeli scientists see through walls, barriers

"Move over Superman, scientists have found a way to see around corners and through solid materials.”

Also, The Daily Telegraph declares the Galilee Judenfrei

Egypt's Seventh Day newspaper reports that Egyptian officials are charging Raafat Hashim, 57, with a misdemeanor for possessing 63 toy machine guns that "insult Aisha."

The article notes that after an investigation, the guns were indeed found to be insulting Mohammed's favorite wife, and Hashim is being charged with "exploiting religion in promoting the dissemination of extremist ideas and sedition."

He says that he bought the toys six months ago in Cairo's Jewish quarter.

This story has been going around the entire Arab world since at least last year. We have shown video of a cleric in Sudan railing against the toy and then "proving" how it insults Aisha.

"Go, go, go. Pull over. Save the hostages." is being interpreted as "Shoot Aisha!"

One would think that Mr. Hashim has a good, solid defense. But then we must remember exactly what kind of judge is going to listen to him.

"Nine Iranian plots against Israelis and Jews in 2012" (updated)

From Reuters:

New York police believe Iranian Revolutionary Guards or their proxies have been involved so far this year in nine plots against Israeli or Jewish targets around the world, according to restricted police documents obtained by Reuters.

Reports prepared this week by intelligence analysts for the New York Police Department (NYPD) say three plots were foiled in January, three in February and another three since late June. Iran has repeatedly denied supporting militant attacks abroad.

The documents, labeled “Law Enforcement Sensitive,” said that this week’s suicide bomb attack in Bulgaria was the second plot to be unmasked there this year.

The reports detail two plots in Bangkok and one each in New Delhi, Tbilisi, Baku, Mombasa and Cyprus. Each plot was attributed to Iran or its Lebanese Hezbollah militant allies, said the reports, which were produced following the bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria of a bus carrying Israeli tourists.

Wednesday’s bombing in the Black Sea city is listed in a document headed “Suspected Iranian and/or Hezbollah-linked Plots Against Israeli or Jewish Targets: 2012 Chronology,” the latest of the nine 2012 plots linked to the Islamic Republic or its proxies.

U.S. officials say they increasingly concur with Israeli assessments that Iran and its proxies organized the killing of seven Israeli tourists in Burgas by a suicide bomber after they boarded an airport bus.

One U.S. official said Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim militia, had in the past carried out suicide bombings.

A second U.S. official said U.S. federal authorities’ tally of alleged Iran-linked plots in 2012 largely paralleled the NYPD list.

AFP adds:

The Pentagon said Friday that there were "distinctive Hezbollah markings" linked to the Burgas terror attack which claimed the lives of five Israelis.

Also, Walla reports that US ambassador Dan Shapiro said that there are some signs that Hezbollah was involved in the attack.

(h/t Yoel)

UPDATE:

In the past year Israel successfully prevented numerous terror attacks against Israeli targets abroad – most of which were not reported.

Yedioth Ahronoth reported Friday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday revealed never before published information about one of the foiled attacks. He said that an attack against Israelis was prevented in South Africa, but did not disclose any further details.

A very senior defense official said that since May 2011 more than 20 terror attacks have been prevented, including in Azerbaijan (twice), Kenya, Turkey, Thailand Cyprus and Bulgaria (prevented at the beginning of the year) and in Turkey (an attempt to attack the Israeli Consul in Istanbul).

"Iranians and Hezbollah members are incarcerated in jails throughout the world, the senior security official said. “We don’t know how long the wave of terrorism will continue – it's global.”

Friday links

From Ian:

Latma Summer Series:
Alone in the dark
The stiff-necked sheikh

Prayer to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the massacre at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich

Antique Pictures of the Western Wall to Be Released Online. How Antique? Think Abe Lincoln's Days

Who Will Save the Christians in the Gaza Strip? by Khaled Abu Toameh

"We only hear voices telling us not make too much noise. Today it is happening in the Gaza Strip, tomorrow it will take place in Bethlehem. In a few months, there will be no Christians left in Palestine." — Christian man, Gaza City

Al Jazeera: Mark Regev on the Bulgaria bus attack (Freudian slip at 4min)

Terror Gives the Lie to Iran’s Pose as Rational Actor by Jonathan S Tobin
More "rationality" from Iran: Iran Could Ban Images Of People Eating Chicken

“As a last resort to fight soaring food prices, a top Iranian official has proposed a ban on images of people eating chicken on television.”

The Arab Education Problem, a Decade On

“A decade ago, the UN’s Arab Human Development Report made waves when it found that “The Arab world translates about 330 books annually, one fifth of the number that Greece translates.” The Report also noted that the Arab world had become a scientific desert:”

What America Gets for Its U.N. Blank Check by John Bolton

Honest Reporting has more on the BBC Olympics site, inc. Mark Regev’s letter: BBC Olympic Coverage Declares East Jerusalem as Palestinian Capital

The BBC's tainted spectacles

“It's of little wonder the BBC has spent eight years and over £270,000 in taxpayers’ money on legal fees to prevent the public from seeing an internal “Balen” report”

An inevitable move: Glenn Greenwald joins Guardian US from Salon

Swiss call for moratorium on death penalties in Gaza - (What about the rockets?)

“Following the hanging of three men by Hamas earlier this week, Geneva says capital punishment is a violation of the most fundamental of human rights”

UK Muslim couple convicted of plotting terror attack on Manchester Jews

“Husband and wife downloaded ‘Make a bomb in the kitchen’ manual from the Internet, cased synagogues and Jewish Agency building”
“This trial has shown the reality of anti-Jewish terrorism in Britain today. It explains why Jewish communities take security and antisemitism seriously,” said Mark Gardner, spokesperson for the Community Security Trust, an organization which provides security advice, infrastructure and manpower to British Jews."

Mellanox provides 562% return on two-year investment

Analysts look ahead at Mellanox, which has provided by far the best return of any technology share on either the TASE or on Wall Street.

Also, the always thought-provoking Diana Muir Appelbaum on Time for Population Separation in Syria.

And the always worthwhile Yaacov Lozowick on his answer to The Map that Lies, and his

NormanF is also asking me to post this.

Photos: Ramadan in Gaza, 2012

This year's edition of Starving Gazan photos:

"Switched at Birth in Gaza?" update

Radio Netherlands addressed the issue I brought up, and I commented further, in my "Switched at Birth in Gaza?" post. Since the post has received thousands of views and is still going strong, I decided to keep the updates in that post itself.

Islamist sites have the best photos

From Qudsmedia, in an article railing against the idea that Israeli law extends to the Temple Mount:

Now if we can just get rid of that ugly spherical thing on the left side....

HuffPo writer insinuates Bulgaria was Israeli "false flag" operation

Sometimes you will run across a self-proclaimed "journalist" who will try to write halfway sober analyses for mainstream, leftist sites and go whole-hog crazy in the unfettered nutcase sites.

Meet Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich.

Her Huffington Post bio page says:

Soraya Sepahpour-Ulrich has a Master's in Public Diplomacy from USC Annenberg for Communication. She is an independent researcher and writer with regular contributions to various online blogs. Soraya is a public speaker and political commentator.

While her articles at HuffPo are sympathetic to Iran, they don't show her crazy side.

Like this:

Netanyahu, one of the most dangerous Israeli leaders, is demanding another war so that he may continue the aggressive usurpation of Palestinian and Arab lands uninterrupted by public opinion and disregard for international laws. The thuggish Netanyahu came to Washington to demand surrender from its puppet master, America, like every other Israeli politician before him. He demands sacrifice from Americans in the firm belief that all sacrifice is justified having witnessed his own brother Yonatan Netanyahu get killed in a 1976 Israeli false flag operation in Entebbe, Uganda.

Lending support to his conviction is the American cover-up of US servicemen murdered by Israel. When the USS Liberty was attacked by Israelis and the servicemen deliberately massacred, the Johnson Administration’s cover-up of the tragic event send a clear message to Israel: American leaders have your back, even if you murder our citizens.

Or when she spouts bizarre conspiracy theories about the United States and Osama Bin Laden.

Or when she describes a secret Jewish conspiracy to fool Americans into loving Jews and Israel in the 1950s and 1960s:

Imperative data indicates that Anti-Semitism in the U.S. was at its peak at the end of WWII. ... One cannot erase from history the fact that the United States was so critical of the Jewish people that Woodrow Wilson was criticized for his nomination of Brandeis to the Supreme Court - he was not considered 'white'. In the 1920s there was widespread discrimination against the Jews including housing and "Christians Only" employment advertisements. What changed?

In the 1950s, during the Cold War, a widespread acceptance of the Jews came about. The change, a geo-political necessity, took place with the help of propaganda. In 1953, John Foster Dulles ...stated that "the world religious community has claims in Jerusalem which take precedence over the political claims of any particular nation." ( Dulles speech, June 1, 1953, Israel Relations (6), Subject Series, Papers of John Foster Dulles, box 10, Eisenhower Library ).

Israel bonded the Christian Americans with the geo-strategically vital oil-rich region. Americans 'ties' to Israel required a unity of religions with a strong sense of belief in the ' Holy Land '. Hollywood helped cement the bond with movies such as "Samson and Delilah" which promoted the Jewish male as strong and masculine and "The Ten Commandments", shown in the Knesset ( Moses and Ben-Gurion," Time, May 30, 1960 ) to cement the bond.

America 's most famous journalist, Edward Murrow (who went on to become the USIA Director in the Kennedy administration), led the way to promoting Jerusalem as the city where Jesus walked. Jerusalem as a territory gained importance, was connected to 20th century America and played in the psyche of the American people. Not long after, the tables were turned on Americans.

So it is not too surprising that this Iran-supporting, Jew-hating "journalist" is being quoted by Russia Today:

RT: But Israel is the victim in this case. Somebody bombed those buses. Do you think there is a legitimate concern that it could be Iran, or who else do you think could be possible suspects here?

SSU: I think many in your audience will know that Israel excels at false flag operations. And in fact in 2004, the New Zealand Herald revealed that Israelis tried to steal New Zealand passports in order to carry out assassinations. And they had stolen Canadian passports to kill members of the Jordanian political elite.

I can’t say for certainty that Israel was behind this or that this was a false flag attack, but I only look at who gains by this operation judging from their past behavior. And to me it does not make sense that Iran would want to carry out this operation.

How equivocal. She's only 98% sure that Israel bombed its own citizens.

(h/t Zach, Lori, and HuffPo Monitor had this as well)