Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Tuesday links - two sets for the price of one!

From Ian:

No Future in France: Dire Times for French Jews

The Toulouse massacre did not bring French anti-Semitism to a halt. It actually increased.
“Any time young people approach me in order to get married, I ask them various questions about their future. Eighty percent of them say they do not envision any future in France.” This is what one rabbi in Paris told me last week. I heard similar statements from other French rabbis and lay Jewish leaders: “We have a feeling the words are on the wall now,” one leader in the Lyons area confided to me. “It is not just our situation in this country deteriorating; it is also that the process is much quicker than expected.”

Honest Reporting Op Ed Righting a capital offense

“When HonestReporting filed a complaint with the UK’s Press Complaints Commission in response to The Guardian’s labeling of Tel Aviv as Israel’s capital, we did so expecting accuracy and common sense to prevail.
Outrageously, the PCC not only ruled in favor of The Guardian but actually went as far as to unilaterally declare that Tel Aviv was Israel’s legitimate capital, based mainly on the fact that many foreign embassies are located there.”

Hezbollah Leader: Our Rockets Can Hit All of Israel

Speaking in Lebanon on Monday ahead of “Quds Day”, Sheikh Nabil Kaouk said Hezbollah will continue its attempts to free “Palestine”, rid Israel from its presence in Jerusalem, and that the group’s missiles can reach anywhere in Israel.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Accuses Israel of Ruling World by Proxy

Fars: Senior Cleric: Regional Revolutionary Nations Able to Annihilate Zionist Regime

TEHRAN (FNA)- Tehran's provisional Friday Prayers Leader Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami underlined the importance of this year's International Qods Day rallies, and said the revolutionary nations of the region are able to annihilate the Zionist regime.

Security services record Islamist exodus to Egypt

German security services have recorded a leap in the number of radical Islamists traveling to Egypt, according to a report due to be published in Monday's Der Spiegel magazine.

Captured Syrian pilot calls on Assad forces to defect

Video posted of pilot who rebels claim they shot down during bombing run

Catholic Church picks Bahrain as Gulf HQ

In February, it was reported that a Kuwaiti parliamentarian was set to submit a draft law banning the construction of churches and non-Islamic places of worship in the Gulf state.

Jewish groups protest ‘revisionist plaque’ at Babi Yar

Victims, formerly identified as Jews, now referred to as ‘peaceful citizens and Soviet prisoners of war’

Canada to release Raoul Wallenberg stamp

Israeli Innovation: Helping to Solve Global Water Issues

“The Israeli desalination company, IDE Technologies, which has been in operation for more than 40 years, has made many advances in desalination technology, installing over 400 desalination plants in 40 countries, including the Caribbean Islands and United States. In recent years, IDE won major contracts with Cyprus, India, Australia, and China.”

HIV peptide packs a punch for cancer treatment

Hebrew U. medical researchers find a tiny peptide encoded by the HIV virus could hold the key to making cancer therapies more successful.

Israel Trail named one of world’s best

National Geographic compliments the 620-miles stretch for its combination of ancient and modern history, Middle East wilderness

From Zvi:

Israel Home to Former Olympic Legend

"Agnes Keleti, 91 now, won 10 Olympic medals in gymnastics, including five golds, for Hungary in the 1950s before defecting and emigrating to Israel."

Danger to Israel-Egypt Ties

"The dramatic development also caught Israel by surprise. Several Egyptian officials who were "retired" by Morsi had close working relations with their Israeli counterparts over a period of many years. The personnel changes may have an adverse effect on the diplomatic and security relations between the neighboring countries."

Israel and Uganda Remember Entebbe

"Ayalon will today inaugurate a new trauma center and emergency Ward at Mulago hospital, funded and constructed through MASHAV – Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation."

India-Israel Free Trade Talks

"In an important step that will scale up their economic ties, India and Israel will hold the fifth round of negotiations over a free trade area (FTA) agreement in New Delhi from Tuesday.The negotiations, to be held Aug 14-16, will be led by D.S. Dhesi, joint secretary in the Indian commerce ministry and Ohad Cohen, deputy director general of the Israeli ministry of industry and trade."

South Africa is boycotting Israel

"The sources said a call by South Africa’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Ismael Ebrahim on Sunday to his countrymen to refrain from visiting Israel “let the cat out of the bag,” and demonstrated the hollowness of South African government protestations that it was against boycotts, and that the recent move to label items from the settlements was just trying to “promote transparency.”"

North African Jews originated in biblical-era Israel, DNA analysis shows

"North Africa’s Jews originated in biblical-era Israel and are more closely related to Jews from other parts of the world than they are to non-Jewish North Africans, according to a new genetics study. The study “strengthens the case for a biological basis for Jewishness,” said medical geneticist Harry Ostrer of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who led the study.However, his research also found that Ethiopian Jews are so distantly related to other Jews that their community must have been founded by only a few itinerants, who converted local people to Judaism.The latest research builds on an earlier study that found significant genetic similarity between European and Middle Eastern Jews. Among the new findings: Jews from Morocco and Algeria are more closely related to Jews from Europe, while Jews from Tunisia and Libya are more closely related to those in the Middle East.That DNA evidence lends credence to accounts that in 312 B.C., Egypt’s king settled Jews in what is now Tunisia. The traditional belief, now bolstered, is that after the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70, 30,000 Jews were deported to Carthage, in what is now Tunisia.One surprising finding: Georgian Jews are closely related to those of the Middle East, including those in Iraq and Iran."

Also, at CiFWatch:Islamic Human Rights Commission & Al Quds Day: Tip of the UK’s Iranian support network iceberg

Plus: Neo-Nazi flash mobs strike German cities, aim to become 'immortal' on YouTube (h/t O)

And at Palwatch: PA TV music video honors killer of 13

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It's been a fun ride so far!

PalArab "civil society" isn't very civil

I've noted before that anti-Israel BDSers claim that they are supported by "Palestinian civil society" - which is really a collection of mostly tiny organizations, many of which are not even based in the areas of British Mandate Palestine.

Here's another example of how this "Palestinian civil society" is anything but civil, as they attack a true Palestinian Arab success story who (quixotically) wants a two-state solution:

The Palestinian billionaire Munib Al-Masri, a former Palestinian Authority minister, has become the latest target of a boycott drive aimed at ending normalization efforts between Israelis and Palestinians.

Masri has been singled out by the Boycott National Committee (BNC) for discussing the Arab League’s 2002 Peace Initiative with Israeli businessman Rami Levy, at a meeting at one of Levy’s supermarkets in the West Bank, as part of an effort to persuade Israelis to take the initiative seriously.

Masri told the Palestinian Ma’an news agency on August 1 that a group of independent Palestinians has launched an effort to revive the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, a peace plan outline adopted by the Arab League but largely disregarded by Israeli decision makers. Masri said the Palestinians intended to reintroduce the plan to members of Israeli civil society “across the political spectrum.”

“In order to make sure that this initiative is taken seriously on the Israeli side, we are trying to present it to various Israeli elements, especially from outside the peace camp,” Masri told Ma’an. “The peace camp is a traditional supporter of the initiative, but these days it does not influence Israeli public opinion or developments inside Israel.”

Masri’s search for an unlikely Israeli partner led him to supermarket mogul Rami Levy. But since a number of Levy’s supermarkets are located in the West Bank, the entire chain has been branded by BNC as supporting the settlement enterprise.

In a statement published on Bethlehem Radio 2000 on Saturday, BNC lambasted Masri for meeting with Rami Levy — a meeting reported by Israeli daily Haaretz on July 24 – at the Etzion Bloc supermarket branch.

“The warm relationship revealed recently between a segment of Palestinian capital and Israeli capital is among the worst kinds of normalization,” the BNC statement read. “It gives the occupation-state a fig leaf with which to cover its continued occupation, ethnic cleansing, and racism.”

The statement asserted that the Arab Peace Initiative had been rejected by Palestinians, since it ignored the rights of Arab Israelis and attempted to eliminate the “right of return” of Palestinian refugees by calling for “an agreed upon solution” to their plight through negotiations with Israel.

The statement ended by demanding that the PLO put an end to the meetings between Masri and Levy.

Actually, about two-thirds of Palestinian Arabs supported the Arab peace initiative when it came out, and even today most continue to support it. (Israelis, for very good reasons, continue to reject it.)

Nevertheless, it is clear that al-Masri represents the feelings of most Palestinian Arabs far more than his Israel-bashing detractors.

When the BDSers tell credulous Westerners that they represent Palestinian Arab opinion - they are lying. And they know it.

Most ME Muslims believe in Mahdi's imminent return. And in Jinn.

The latest Pew survey of worldwide Muslims show a great deal of superstition in the Middle East:

People talk about Jewish and Christian messianism as a great stumbling block to peace, making the assumption that zealots would purposefully provoke a cataclysmic war in order to bring about end times. But these results indicate that we should be much more afraid that Muslims would act in accordance with their own superstitious beliefs.

Think about it: hundreds of millions of Muslims are expecting the Mahdi not just to come - but to come in the very near future. Combine that with the amount of other supernatural beliefs and we have an explosion just waiting to happen.

It is also stunning that Mahdiism is not only a Shi'a belief, as it is usually portrayed in the West - the poll makes clear that a significant number of Sunnis believe in his arrival as well.

This is very scary stuff.

(h/t @WarpedMirrorPMB)

Lebanon, Jordan worried about Syrian terror cells

The Daily Star Lebanon reports on the latest uproar in that country:

A military judge begins investigations Monday into former Minister Michel Samaha, who along with a high-ranking Syrian military official, was formally charged in a terror plot aimed at destabilizing Lebanon.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Sunday that the results of the investigation would determine the stance to be taken in order to defend the country’s sovereignty.

The charges against Samaha, a longtime ally and friend of Syrian President Bashar Assad, and the chief of Syrian National Security Bureau Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk, threaten to further strain the already tense relations between Lebanon and Syria following a series of deadly incidents on the shared border between the two countries.

Samaha’s reported confessions to his involvement in the terror plot sparked calls by some March 14 politicians for Lebanon to sever ties with the Assad regime.

Samaha, a former MP and two-time information minister, was charged Saturday by Lebanon’s Military Tribunal with plotting to assassinate political and religious figures in the country and planning terrorist attacks.

In an unprecedented move, Mamlouk and a Syrian brigadier general, who was identified as Brig. Gen. Adnan, were also included in the indictment.

Jordan is alarmed:

Jordanian officials in Amman are openly expressing concern over the possible existence of a "Jordanian Michel Samaha" on their land, noting that they have repeatedly arrested "Syrian sleeper cells" in a number of Jordanian cities which are hosting large number of Syrian refugees.

The Lebanese authorities' accusations leveled against former minister and MP Michel Samaha, including his alleged involvement in plots to carry out bombings in various areas under the guidance of the Syrian regime, has seemingly had a significant effect on Jordan. This has prompted some elements within the Jordanian government to sound the alarm and call for greater caution. Some Jordanian newspapers even rushed to openly express their concern over "the presence of a Michel Samaha among Jordanian supporters of the Syrian regime.”

Jordanian security services have declared a state of security alert since the beginning of the popular uprising in their northern neighbor. Subsequently, security services have also formed a so-called "strategic security cell," which includes senior officials from state institutions, especially the General Intelligence Directorate.

According to statements made by a prominent Jordanian minister to Al-Hayat, in only a short period of time, this cell managed to "monitor Syrian cells hidden in northern areas," Besides monitoring individuals who presented themselves as defectors from the Syrian army but turned out to be Syrian security elements entering into Jordan to spy. Furthermore, the Security Directorate of Jordan previously confirmed that the relevant apparatuses had foiled arms smuggling operations from Syria.

It seems likely that Iran is behind this. They make no secret that they want the Jordanian regime to fall, as their media approvingly quotes Islamic Jihad:

Representative of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad Movement in Tehran Abu Sharif stressed that the recent popular uprisings in the region have harmed the interests of Israel and are breaking the security chain around the Zionist regime.

"These developments (popular uprisings) in the region are in the interest of the regional nations and against the interests of the Zionist regime and have disturbed the power balance between the supporters and opponents of the Zionist regime," Abu Sharif said.

He pointed to the blows struck at the Zionist regime since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, and stated, "30 years ago, the Islamic Revolution in Iran inflicted great damage on Israel. The deterioration of relations between Turkey and Israel was the second blow at the regime and (Hosni) Mubarak's fall in Egypt was another blow."

"If the regional changes reach Jordan, the Israeli regime will lose the last part of its security chain."

Morsi appoints Islamist VP, breaking election promise

The Guardian reported in June:

Mohamed Morsi's first appointments as president-elect of Egypt will be a woman and a Coptic Christian, his spokesman has told the Guardian, as he moves to allay fears of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Sameh el-Essawy said that although the names of the two choices had not been finalised, they would be Morsi's two vice-presidents.

When the appointments go through, they will constitute the first time in Egypt's history that either a woman or a Coptic Christian has occupied such an elevated position in the executive branch.

The Muslim Brotherhood is at pains to calm fears of what an Islamist president might mean for Egypt and the region at large. Appointing both a woman and a Coptic Christian is an attempt at a show of unity, and a rule by consensus.

The story was also reported by CNN and earlier by Egyptian media.

Well...there goes another election promise:

As part of a number of sweeping reshuffles and appointments made within the government and armed forces on Sunday, a new vice president, Mahmoud Mekki, was appointed.

... Mekki was suggested as a possible candidate to be fielded by the Muslim Brotherhood in the 2012 presidential elections. The nomination, however, was given to Brotherhood leader Khairat El-Shater, and then Mohamed Morsi, following El-Shater's disqualification from the presidential race.

The Mekkis are considered to be affiliated with the Brotherhood due to their Islamist leanings, although they are not official members of the organisation.

Remember all those articles about how the world needn't fear an Islamist leadership in Egypt?

So far, Morsi is doing exactly what critics of the "Arab Spring" predicted an Islamist leader would do.

Did Morsi fire Tantawi over Rafah crossing?

Yesterday, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi replaced the leadership of the Egyptian army, including Defense Minister Mohammed Hussein Tantawi who was the leader of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

Arabic media today is reporting that Morsi and Tantawi had a sharp argument in the hours before the dismissal.

According to multiple articles, Tantawi said that he had evidence that the militants who were attacking Egyptian soldiers and others in the Sinai came from Gaza, and he insisted that the Rafah crossing be closed once and for all because of the magnitude of the threat to Egyptian national security.

Morsi, who had made promises to Hamas to enlarge the Rafah crossing, responded that Palestinian Arabs would never accept such a closure.

Tantawi said that this was a military decision, and the SCAF is the party that should make this decision. Morsi cut him off, saying "I am the Supreme Commander of the armed forces."

Tantawi and other military leaders were replaced within hours, according to these reports.

Tunisia draft constitution forbids normalization with "Zionism"

From the draft Tunisian constitution:

Chapter 27: All forms of normalization with Zionism and the Zionist entity a crime punishable by law.

This makes it sound as if it is not only illegal for the state to ever establish relations with Israel - a strange enough clause to include in a constitution - but that any Tunisian cannot have anything to do with Israelis or Israeli products.

It might be a fun idea for Israelis to start emailing Tunisian officials, or tweeting them, trying to get them to respond....

Egypt now censoring history

From Al Ahram:

The Egyptian Print Censorship Authority has banned the import of A History of the Modern Middle East by eminent academics William L Cleveland and Martin Bunton, now in its 12th edition.

Khaled Fahmy, chair of history at the American University in Cairo (AUC), said that he received an email from the university informing him that the book he had requested for his modern Arab history course had been banned from entering the country. The short email did not give any reasons for the ban.

The author of All the Pasha's Men said that he has no idea of why the book was banned especially it does not contain anything that is particularly contentious. Fahmy thinks "it's an excellent simple book for the freshmen students of the modern history of the Mideast. I've been using this book for almost 10 years, for its simple smooth presentation of the modern Arab history."

Fahmy expressed dismay at the ban."It's strange how we as a society give the responsibility of the Egyptian National Security to some clerks in the Print Censorship Authority, who prove everyday that they lack the basic knowledge of the priorities of scientific research, as well as their disregard of national security too."

Books that relate in particular to Egyptian military affairs since the 1950s are more likely to be banned than others. Fahmy asserted that the best way to protect national security is by making books available, not banning them.

The Egyptian Print Censorship Authority could not be reached for comment.

So far we have print media, broadcast media and academia being censored under the new Egypt. What's next?

Israel electric company threatens to pull plug on West Bank

From Ma'an:

An Israeli electricity company has threatened to cut off supplies to the West Bank over unpaid debts, a Palestinian electricity company official said Monday.

The Jerusalem Electricity Company received an official warning from the Israeli Electric Corporation that it would cut off electricity due to unpaid debts amounting to 424 million shekels ($105 million), Hasan Muslih, a member of the JEC's board of directors, told Ma'an.

A major reason for the accumulation of debt is that refugee camps in the West Bank refuse to pay their bills, Muslih said. There is also a disparity in the buying and selling tariff of electricity, he added.

The threatened cut to supplies would affect areas in Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Ramallah and Jericho, Muslih said, adding that power cuts in the West Bank could become as frequent as in the Gaza Strip.

The Jerusalem Electricity Company has organized a campaign to collect unpaid bills.

The "refugee" camps aren't paying their bills...I wonder if UNRWA usually takes care of that or not.

Of course, if IEC does cut off electricity, the world will blame Israel. Because free electricity is a human right, at least for a small percentage of humans.

Monday links

From Ian:

Former PA minister and billionaire slammed by Palestinian boycott group for discussing peace with supermarket mogul

“The Palestinian billionaire Munib Al-Masri, a former Palestinian Authority minister, has become the latest target of a boycott drive aimed at ending normalization efforts between Israelis and Palestinians.”
Masri has been singled out by the Boycott National Committee (BNC) for discussing the Arab League’s 2002 Peace Initiative with Israeli businessman Rami Levy, at a meeting at one of Levy’s supermarkets in the West Bank, as part of an effort to persuade Israelis to take the initiative seriously.
“The statement asserted that the Arab Peace Initiative had been rejected by Palestinians, since it ignored the rights of Arab Israelis and attempted to eliminate the “right of return” of Palestinian refugees by calling for “an agreed upon solution” to their plight through negotiations with Israel.
The statement ended by demanding that the PLO put an end to the meetings between Masri and Levy.”

Sinai: New Islamic Terror Emirate? by Khaled Abu Toameh

"The Egyptians were the first to condemn Israel each time it fired back at terrorists who launched rockets and missiles at Israeli cities and communities. The Egyptians are finally learning that terrorism is a double-edged sword, and that those who approve of terror activities will one day find themselves targeted by the same terrorists."

'Incitement Index' shows PA facilitates demonization of Israel

Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon presents "Index of Incitement" to Knesset Index finds that Palestinian Authority is actively working against normalization with Israel on all levels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: Palestinian Authority is incapable of adopting a dialogue of peace.

Khamenei's Sacred Word: Destroy Israel by Clifford May

“There's nothing wrong with negotiating with your enemies. There is something wrong if you don't know that those sitting across the table from you are your enemies. Too many Americans, Europeans and even Israelis still don't grasp that Iran's rulers—not average Iranians, but those who wield power—believe it is their sacred obligation to destroy us. This is not some misunderstanding that can be resolved through outreach, diplomacy, engagement and "confidence-building measures." It is at the core of their ideology and theology. We know this because they tell us, clearly and repeatedly. More Americans should understand this—and keep it in mind as the debate goes forward.”
“In his presentation in Jerusalem, Aznar recalled another meeting, this one with Vladimir Putin, in which he advised the Russian president against selling missiles to Iran. "Don't worry—I, you, we can sell them everything, even if we are worried by an Iranian nuclear bomb," Aznar quoted Putin as saying. "Because at the end of the day, Israel will take care of it."”

US didn’t foresee 9/11, officials in Jerusalem say, after White House claims it would know if Iran was about to get the bomb

Withering response from anonymous sources in Israel to Obama spokesman’s attempt at reassurance

Turkey: Gender-based violence leading cause of death for women aged 15-44

More Turk Bias Against Greeks, Armenians

“Armenians, for example, need not apply. They are by law unable to own housing or businesses in Turkey. Greeks have it better. They are merely banned from purchasing houses or stores in Istanbul and coastal provinces. Such discrimination is rooted in Turkish historical animus.”

Widow of murdered Yemenite Jew immigrates to Israel

Luiza Nahari, a Yemenite Jew whose husband, Moshe, was murdered in their hometown of Raydah in December 2008, immigrated to Israel on Sunday morning with four of her children.

The birth of a new games: How one inspirational man escaped the Nazis and created the modern day Paralympics

“A pioneering neurologist who fled Nazi Germany for a safer life in Britain could never have dreamed that a low-key archery contest for war veterans with horrific injuries would one day become the London 2012 Paralympic Games.”
“Dr Guttmann's story has now been transformed into an upcoming BBC2 (Best of Men) drama with Eddie Marsan as the German doctor and Rob Brydon as one of his patients, to be screened on Thursday August 14.”

Israel helps India clean up the Ganges river

Israel Daily Picture: The Jerusalem Windmill Will Soon Turn and Mill Again.

Built in 1857, It Operated for less than 20 Years

Windmill in 1866, when it was operational

Also, a Palestinese lexicon.

Sir Gerald Kaufman and Hamas Chic at Harry's Place

(h/t Leo Dam Hofshi)

Video: Hezbollah's terror theme park

From VICE:

Part two will be posted tomorrow.

Egyptian "scientist" claims NASA hiding proof of Quranic miracle

An Egyptian named Abdul Baset Mohammed, President of the Academy of the scientific miracles in the Holy Quran and Sunnah, is claiming that NASA has proven the Quranic story of Laylat al Qadr.

According to the legend, on that night - being celebrated in various odd-numbered dates towards the end of Ramadan - the sun appeared without any visible sunbeams, sort of like the moon. This is the night that Muslims believe the first verse of the Quran were revealed to Mohammed.

Mohammed says that ten years ago, NASA found proof of this phenomenon but is hushing it up.

Not only that, but another NASA scientist who has seen proofs of the Koran in his space research converted to Islam - and was then fired by NASA.

He goes on to tell other stories about how Quranic claims about anatomy have been proven by science, ,as well as a tale about British scientists who supposedly determined that the stone at the Kaaba was not from this solar system.

This all recalls the Muslim claim that Neil Armstrong and other astronauts heard the Muslim call to prayer when they walked on the moon, and that scientists determined that the Kaaba in Mecca is a center of cosmic radiation.

Today's anti-semitism in Iran's PressTV: Creepy Jewish Olympics mascots

Sometimes they don't even seem to try to hide their Jew-hatred:

The international peaceful sports event that has taken place in London unfolds as the pro-Israeli lobby’s activities lose disguise in front of people, including researchers.

Many conspiracies have been forming ever since London was voted as the 2012 host for the summer games back in 2005.

Soon after the vote, Britain began planning and constructing the Olympic Park along with various elements. These elements have gradually shown signs of mystery and controversies that are linked to secret organizations.

London-based secret investing organizations include possibility movements of the Illuminati, Freemasons, the British Royal Family and the highly funded pro-Israeli lobby or Zionist groups.

The pro-Israeli lobby in Britain has been statistically proven to be more powerful and influential than its influential branch in the US.

The US holds 13 pro-Zionist senators in its Senate and another 30 in the House of Representatives. Though, in Britain, the Jewish community is 20 times smaller, but there are 18 in the House of Commons and 41 in the House of Lords.

Whoops, they forgot to change "Jewish" to "Zionist" there.

In case you have any doubt, there are a lot more than 13 Zionist senators and 30 Zionist members of the House in the US - but that is the number of Jewish members.

Then the article goes on into uncharted waters of crazed hate:

The goal of the Zionist movement is very similar to that of the New World Order conspiracy known as the Illuminati that some believe is behind many of the activities related to the current 2012 London Olympics.

It is said that a small but very powerful Zionist group, has a place in the Illuminati inner circle powers. Their aim is to create a single government that could control all aspects of the global population.

According to Icke and Springmeier, thinkers of conspiracy, the secret powerful Zionist investors already dictate world economic and food policies, controlling presidents and prime ministers and manipulate young generations of people through music, movie and sports entertainments.

Conspiracy researchers believe that pro-Israeli lobbies and Illuminati powers take a liking to clues and symbols.

The 2012 logo for the London Olympics has been recognized in jumbled letters to spell the word Zion, the Zionist religious name for New Jerusalem.

A possible element of Zionist or Illuminati influences can be seen in the physical appearances of the London Olympics mascots Wenlock and Mandeville, both designed with one large eye that parents in London find strange and creepy as the creatures are supposed to be role model characters for their children.

Plus, if you look carefully, they are wearing "Zionist" yarmulkas!

Usually this kind of writing on PressTV is done by their stable of Western conspiracy theory columnists, along with disclaimers that this is not necessarily the opinion of PressTV, but this article seems home-grown.

Iranian officers leading the Shabiha gangs in Syria

From Al Arabiya:

Defected Brigadier General Ibrahim al-Jabawi said on Monday that the Syrian regime’s gang-like militia, the Shabiha, were led by Iranian military advisors when they stormed al-Shamas district in Homs.

According to Jabawi, each Shabiha group followed an Iranian military advisor, Al Arabiya news channel reported him as saying.

The Shabiha are known for their ruthlessness, as they do not wear uniforms when they attack anti-regime activists. They are said to be responsible for a number of massacres, including the Houla massacre (108 killed) and the Al Qubeir massacre (78 killed.)

Which means that the Iranian military is involved in war crimes every day.

No doubt the UN will jump right on this information.

In other Syrian news, rebels appear to have shot down a Syrian MIG-23 fighter jet- and they posted video:

(h/t Yoel)

Arabs keenly interested in Israeli initiative on Jewish refugees

In the past day there have been numerous Arabic articles about a new Israeli initiative, spearheaded by Danny Ayalon, to have the international community recognize the plight of Jews from Arab countries and to compensate them for the property they have lost.

As Ambassador Ron Prosor wrote in the Huffington Post last month:

Forging a peaceful future in the Middle East will require Arab governments to finally learn the lessons of their pasts. They must build inclusive societies that protect minorities and offer everyone a seat at the decision-making table.

The first steps toward true pluralism will come when Arab countries acknowledge the history of persecution and intolerance in their own lands. They should start by unearthing the 850,000 untold stories of Jews ripped from their ancient homes.

The historic Jewish presence in the Arab World must be recognized. The grave injustices inflicted upon them must be acknowledged. The crimes committed against them must be rectified.

The Israeli government recently agreed to set aside a day to remember the Jews of Arab countries, probably on the anniversary of the Farhud pogrom in Iraq.

The campaign is making inroads in the US, as the Forward reported yesterday:

In a rare show of pre-election bipartisanship, lawmakers from both parties are sponsoring a bill that would link the plight of Palestinian refugees with that of Jews from Arab countries.

The legislation would require the administration to include mention of the need to resolve the issue of Jews who were expelled from their homes in Arab countries in diplomatic discussions about Palestinian refugees. The bill specifically cites talks that take place within the framework of the so-called Middle East Quartet, made up of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the U.N.

Arabic articles are saying that Israel plans a conference on September 10 in Jerusalem on the issue, and plans to push it at the UN General Assembly on September 21.

Naturally, the Palestinian Arab press is taking a keen interest in what they feel is a cynical way to deflect the world's conversation from their own dominant refugee narrative.

But the worldwide Arabic press is noting these initiatives as well.

A British law firm is said to have written a letter to the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office formally asking for Yemen to compensate Yemenite Jews for huge amounts of property confiscated from them starting in 1947.

The Egyptian press is talking about Israel demanding the rights to some $21 billion worth of property in the old Jewish quarter of Cairo, including the large Adly Street Synagogue (Shaar Hashamayim, built in 1905). They note that in 1971, a law was passed nationalizing all Jewish-owned property in Egypt.

The initiative is some sixty years overdue.

Hamas leader Zahar mocks PalArab refugees?

According to the anti-Hamas Palestine Press Agency, Mahmoud Zahar was interviewed by Al Arabiya and made some disparaging statements about Palestinian Arabs who fled the area in 1948.

I couldn't find the interview in Al Arabiya.

According to the article, Zahar mocked the Palestinian Arabs who left Palestine to go to Jordan, Syria and Lebanon in 1948, saying that they were not as strong as the ones who stayed in Gaza and the territories.

He said, on the other hand, "The people of Gaza and the West Bank and Jerusalem held fast to the ground regardless of the department or authority which governed them."

If he really said that, he is quite ignorant of history because most Gazans and West Bank residents fled homes within what was to become Israel as well, they just happened to stop fleeing within the borders of British Mandate Palestine rather than outside them.

But it is possible that PalPress exaggerated the story a bit. It seems beyond stupid for a Hamas leader to alienate millions of self-identified "Palestinians."

We'll see if there is a denial in the next day or two.

Sunday evening open thread

In other words, no time to blog.

But I can create open threads from my phone.

Sunday links

From Ian:

Abbas urges Egypt to destroy underground tunnels

"Abdel Raheem (Top aid to Abbas) said the tunnels had for some time been posing a threat to Egypt’s national security and the unity of the Palestinians.
Dismissing claims that the tunnels were being used to prevent a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, Abdel Raheem said they served only a small group of people – a reference to Hamas leaders.
“The tunnels have nothing to do with economic prosperity in the Gaza Strip,” he stressed. “The Palestinian Authority allocates more than half its budget for the Gaza Strip.”

CIFWatch: The death of Camp David? On the real world consequences of “Land for Peace”

"And have all these retreats – Bethlehem, Hebron, Jenin, and Gush Katif- brought Israel one moment of peace? The grandchild of the 1978 Camp David Accords, the Oslo process, brought only a dramatic escalation in violence and bloodshed.
Necessity being the mother of invention, Israel must take a cold, hard look at the failed promises, dashed hopes and lives lost as the direct result of the strange calculus known as ‘land-for-peace’. Going forward, a new diplomatic paradigm, based on mutual respect, trade, tourism, investment and collaborative efforts in the fields of technology and medicine should be developed. In other words, scrap land-for-peace and replace it with peace-for-peace.
Until then, Israel and its neighbors are destined to wallow in a state of low-level bellicosity, with occasional flare ups as we’ve seen over the last several days in the Sinai Peninsula."

Open Zion: Denigrating Jewish Refugees by Lyn Julius

“The pro-Nazi Palestinian leader, Haj Amin al-Husseini, instigated the Farhud pogrom against the Jews of Iraq in 1941. He sought Nazi license to exterminate Jews in Arab countries as well as Palestine “ in the same way as the problem was resolved in the Axis Countries.” Before the mass Palestinian exodus, the Arab League hatched a postwar, coordinated Nuremberg-style plan to persecute their Jewish citizens as enemy aliens.”
“By what right can Lara Friedman denigrate the rights of half the Jewish population of Israel, who descend from refugees of Arab and Muslim lands? What is truly degrading is her denial of Jewish refugee rights and belittling of Jewish suffering. Justice for Jewish refugees is an unresolved human rights issue with no statute of limitations. Its pursuit is more, not less, likely to achieve reconciliation between the two peoples.”

There are 200 to 300 Merah in France, the secret services do not have the means to monitor all 24h/24" (French)

“The Interior Ministry on Thursday declassified documents classified defense secrets of the Central Directorate of Internal Intelligence (DCRI) on Mohamed Merah. The terrorist was not only known services since 2009, but it was also a "prime target" of the DCRI for its proximity to Toulouse radical Islamists. The French intelligence could they avoid the drama?”

White House says it has ‘eyes’ inside Iranian nuclear program

"The United States said Friday it had “eyes” and “visibility” inside Iran’s nuclear program and would know if Tehran had made a “breakout” move toward acquiring a nuclear weapon.
The comment by White House spokesman Jay Carney followed Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s remark that new U.S. intelligence suggested that the threat from Iran was becoming more “urgent.”

Peter Kent condemns anti-israel rally at Queen’s Park (Canada)

US and Turkey to take ‘in-depth’ look at creating Syrian no-fly zone

Jewish graves desecrated in Germany

Two teenagers arrested for disturbing the dead and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage to cemetery in Treuchtlingen

Ankie Spitzer to lead worldwide minute of silence Sunday for Munich 11

Widow of Israeli coach who was killed at the 1972 Games will join the JCC Maccabi Games opening ceremonies

RT: Unwanted: Jews in Egypt feel threatened in post-revolution Cairo

"The Arab Spring and rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood have soured its relations with Israel. It's also deeply affecting Jews in Egypt who until recently, considered it their home."

Can Syria's Christians Survive?

In the land of St. Paul's conversion, ancient Catholic and Orthodox communities are finding themselves on the wrong side of an increasingly sectarian conflict.
"A century ago, the Levant supported a population that was perhaps 20% Christian. Now it is closer to 5%. Syria today hosts vibrant, if dwindling, communities of various ancient sects: Syrian Orthodox, Syrian Catholics, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholics and Armenian Orthodox."

Freed Ethiopian Christians Claim Saudi Government 'Hates' Non-Muslims

"A group of 35 Ethiopian Christians arrested in Saudi Arabia last year for holding a midnight vigil at a private home were deported earlier this week, and some of them claim they were apprehended simply because Saudi officials "hate" non-Muslims."

Lebanese star reported for smoking in Ramadan

"Her driver, an Algerian who was fasting, asked her to put out the cigarette, but she refused and kept on smoking, local Arabic daily Al Chorouk reported.
Angered by her reaction, the Algerian drove the car to a police station in the city of Chelghoum Laïd and reported her to the police for failing to show due respect to Muslims."

Fatwa By Senior Al-Qaeda Sheikh Sanctions Killing 'Alawites In Syria

Also, "Forest Fire Jihad" (IMRA)

Israeli tourism booming (AP)

Arabs upset over Ha'aretz cartoon

(h/t Yoel)

Syria sees US/Qatar/Saudi/Israel/Turkey conspiracy

From Reuters:

Syria has accused Israel, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar of running military operation centers in Turkey to support the rebels by overseeing battles in Syria’s 17-month conflict.

In a letter to the U.N. Security Council released on Friday, Syrian U.N. Ambassador Bashar Jaafari also again blamed Qatar, Turkey and Saudi Arabia of “harboring, funding and arming the armed terrorist groups.”

“Turkey has established within its territory military operations centers that are run by the intelligence services of Israel, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar,” Jaafari wrote in the letter dated Aug. 2.

See? It seems that Israel isn't as isolated in the Middle East as everyone says!

Two Egyptian wrestlers show up 4 hours late for their matches

From Al Ahram:

A pair of Egyptian wrestlers, Abdou Omar Abdou Ahmed and Saleh Emara, lost their first round matches in the 66-kilogram and 96-kilogram men's freestyle categories by forfeit after failing to show up for their matches on time.

Ahmed was scheduled to wrestle Devid Safaryan of Armenia, while Emara was slated to face George Gogshelidze of Georgia, both matches at 8:30am.

However, the two players showed up four hours late believing that the match would start at 1pm based the schedule of the previous seven days of Olympic wrestling.

All matches on the final day of the Olympics were pushed up to make room for the closing ceremony.

No immediate official word was available on whether the pair simply failed to turn up on time or were not informed by management about changes in schedule.

Oops!

Gaza exports vegetables to Saudi Arabia through Israel

Today, the Kerem Shalom crossing is open and some 270 trucks of goods are entering Gaza.

More interesting, perhaps, is the truck leaving Gaza.

That truck is filled with vegetables that are meant to be sent to Saudi Arabia, according to Arabic media.

We have seen produce from Gaza sent to the West Bank and Jordan, but this is the first time I have seen goods going to the Gulf.

Meanwhile, Israel is working with the Dutch government and Gaza farmers to increase Gaza exports to Europe in the coming years.

It doesn't fit the narrative of Israel trying to destroy Gaza and starve its citizens, does it?

Mohammed Mahdi Akef, former head of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, said in a TV interview that the group has the ability to prepare fighters "to confront the Jews in any war."

He cited a couple of incidents in 1948 where the Brotherhood was involved in fighting as proof.

In the same interview, Akef said "to hell with those who do not accept Islamic rule in Egypt." He went on to say that under Islamic law, Copts and other non-Muslims would be treated fairly according to Islamic law. He said Islamic rule is the one favored by people of all denominations, and no legal system guarantees fairness in rights as Islam does.

How much longer before the jizya tax on non-Muslims kicks in?

UPDATE: Part of the interview is on MEMRI, but not the part about Jews:

Sinai multinational force (MFO) attacked (updated - they deny it)

From Deutsche Welle:

Peacekeepers stationed in the Sinai Peninsula under the 1979 Egypt-Israeli peace accord have come under attack. Sinai has become increasingly militarized as Cairo seeks to root out suspected Islamist militants there.

Unidentified gunmen ambushed a camp of international peacekeepers in Sinai on Sunday, while security checkpoints near Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip also came under attack.

Security sources told the Reuters and AFP news agencies that the attack on the peacekeeper camp occurred in the central region of Sinai. No casualties have been reported.

"The attack happened in Um Shyhan area in the middle of Sinai but no one got injured," one anonymous source told Reuters.

The peacekeepers are part of the Multinational Force and Observers (MFO) mission, an independent organization that is tasked with monitoring the implementation of the Egypt-Israeli peace treaty.

I talked about the MFO being essentially invisible last week during the Sinai attacks on Egypt and Israel. They belatedly updated their website on Wednesday to say that they were safe and taking security precautions.

Debka says that American soldiers with the MFO returned fire.

The NYT mentioned the MFO yesterday before this incident:

Compounding American concerns, the officials added, is the presence of an international peacekeeping force in Sinai that includes about 700 American soldiers and is now led by David M. Satterfield, a retired ambassador. The force, which oversees compliance of the treaty, is not authorized to fight extremists and is not part of the discussions on expanded assistance, but its troops and civilians have encountered the lawlessness in the region, including the threat of kidnappings.

“We have Americans in the Sinai,” Mrs. Clinton told CNN last month after her visit to Cairo. “We’ve had a few concerns about their safety. So this is not only about Egypt and Israel, it’s also about the United States and other members of that multinational force. So it’s in everyone’s interest that we work together to make sure that security is in place in Sinai.”

UPDATE: The MFO denies the story.

Overnight links

From Ian:

Into the Fray: The alchemy of Palestinian nationhood By MARTIN SHERMAN

Poof! Suddenly Jordanian nationals were transformed into a ‘Palestinian nation, Jordanian territory into a ‘Palestinian homeland'.
“Palestine is where the Jews are:
On May 27, 1967, barely a week before the outbreak of the Six Day War, Ahmed Shukairy, Yasser Arafat’s predecessor as chairman of the PLO, bellowed: “D-Day is approaching. The Arabs have waited 19 years for this and will not flinch from the war of liberation.”
On June 1, he crowed: “This is a fight for the homeland – it is either us or the Israelis. There is no middle road. The Jews of Palestine will have to leave... We shall destroy Israel and its inhabitants and as for the survivors – if there are any – the boats are ready to deport them.”

'Hamas fostering terror, damaging ties with Egypt' By KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Former PA security chief Dahlan says Gaza "not under siege", residents "not lacking anything."

Morsi tours Israel-Egypt border, breaks fast with troops, promises new terror crackdown

Egypt claims to have killed 60 Sinai terrorists since Sunday’s attack at Kerem Shalom, in which 16 Egyptian security officers were slain

Hamas asks Cairo to close smuggling tunnels near Israel

Islamist terrorist organization also proposes military cooperation with Egypt to guard
border
“In an unprecedented move, Hamas asked Cairo to shut smuggling tunnels along a section of the Gaza-Egypt border near the site of Sunday’s attack on the Kerem Shalom crossing and suggested a joint border protection force, Lebanese media reported on Saturday.”

Former Lebanese minister arrested for planning attacks for Syria's Assad

Michel Samaha, a former Lebanese minister, reportedly confessed to helping plan attacks on Sunni targets in Lebanon. If true, it illustrates how far Syria's Assad regime can reach into Lebanon.

UN Agency Embraces Terror Group

“Now, there’s nothing wrong with supporting women’s health but there are many charities out there to choose from, most of which are not tainted by involvement in terrorism. Given that money is fungible, and the Iranians use the Imam Khomeini Relief Committee for surveillance and to provide cover to terror operatives, it is shameful that the United Nations would embrace the group.”

Rwanda's Genocide and Lessons America Hasn't Learned for Syria by Shmuley Boteach

“...if America were to take action to stop the slaughter in Syria, North Korea, and other nations where innocent people are being crushed by evil governments, it would give us in the West far great credibility when speaking to our allies abroad about human rights and the infinite value of every human life.”

Indian Shia and Sunni Unite in Hating Israel

“Although Shia and Sunnis do not pray together, as both sects have the same goal – hostility to Israel – the Shia cleric, to set a precedent, recently asked the Sunni Imam to lead a prayer service attended by both congregations.”

Dershowitz - NJDC’s David Harris Must Go

Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz told Breitbart News that David Harris, head of the National Jewish Democratic Council, must step down.
“David Harris and the National Jewish Democratic Council are a bunch of liars. I, Alan Dershowitz, a Democrat, am calling for David Harris to step down in the interests of the Democratic Party. He’s going to turn Jewish voters away from the Democratic Party. They’re going to vote for the Republicans because of what David Harris and the National Jewish Democratic Council are doing.”

Top 10 Non-Jews Positively Influencing the Jewish Future 2012

Jewish groups denounce Islamic 'hate' rally

TORONTO -- Jewish groups are calling out Ontario Liberals for permitting an "anti-Semitic hate rally" to be held at Queen's Park by an Islamic group labelling Jewish nationalists in Israel as "oppressors and criminals."
An Islamic group marking International Al-Quds Day -- started in 1979 by Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini to mark the last Friday of Ramadan -- has been approved by sergeant-at-arms Dennis Clark to gather outside the Ontario legislature on Aug. 18, as they did last year and years before that.

Saudi Arabia to Build All-Women City

Also, see Daphne Anson demolishing a NYT op-ed.

Avi Bell says "Don't fear the Levy report."

Claire Belinski on questions about that downed Turkish plane.

Egyptian TV host says pro-Israel statements in "Candid Camera" show

Remember the Egyptian "Candid Camera" show where celebrities were told they were on a German TV station and they became violent when they were told it was really an Israeli interview show? And how the hosts of the show would compliment them on their "patriotism?"

Well, one victim of the prank acted in a decidedly different way, and Egypt is in an uproar.

Tawfiq Okasha, who has an anti-government satellite TV station (which was closed last week by the government) was ambushed on this show as well, but when he was asked about his opinions of Israel, his answers were quite different from the usual victims.

As the fake interview questions went to the topic of Israel, Okasha said that he has visited Israel four times.He said that Jews have the right to live in Israel, including Jerusalem - and that those rights are given in the Koran. He said he is friends with a number of "Arab Jews" living in Israel. He said that he is in favor of Egypt exporting natural gas to Israel.

He also said that the Koran borrowed heavily from the Torah and the New Testament.

When told that the TV station is really "Israeli" and not German, instead of being angry he answered that he did not mind at all and that he hoped his opinions would reach all Israelis.

It does not appear that the episode of the ambush show ever aired, but it was shown Friday on Egyptian channel 25 - together with dramatic repetitions of his most pro-Israel statements - and the Egyptians are freaking out. There are multiple news stories about this and the YouTube video already has hundreds of thousands of views.

The talkbacks are universally angry at Okasha, saying he must be jailed or worse.

I don't know whether Egypt's channel 25 is a government TV station; if so it seems entirely possible that this was aired to provide cover for Egypt's closing of his TV station last week.

I'm sure MEMRI will have a translation of this interview very soon. But as far as I can tell, Okasha wasn't praised at the end of this show the way the other victims who showed such hatred towards Jews and Israel were.

Freedom of the press, MB Egyptian style

Hot on the heels of the Egyptian government appointing new Islamist editors for its state-run newspapers and shutting down a satellite TV station it disagreed with, comes the latest in new Egyptian freedom:

The privately owned daily newspaper Al-Dostour is being investigated on charges of insulting President Mohamed Morsy, state-run MENA reported on Saturday.

Al-Dostour's website reported that early morning Saturday, security forces came to the paper's offices to confiscate some of its issues.

MENA reported that investigations into the newspaper had been opened after people accused the newspaper of "fueling sedition," and "harming the president through phrases and wording punishable by law."

Gamal Fahmy, a member of the journalists' syndicate, told Al-Dostour that the investigation was part of a Muslim Brotherhood scheme to limit press freedoms

Other press freedom advocates also condemned the raid, saying the Brotherhood was moving to silence its critics.

"What happened this morning is a new attempt to impose hegemony, domination and exclusion on those in conflict with the group," said Saeed Ziauddin Garhi, legal advisor for the Justice Center for Freedoms.

Spring!

Weekend open thread

Shabbat Shalom!

Artwork by Laura Bolter Design

Israel's historical nuclear ambiguity and the lessons for Iran

It is well-known that for a long time, Israel's public position about whether it had a nuclear arsenal was the very ambiguous statement that "Israel will not be the first area state to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East."

I found a State Department memo from 1969 that shows an attempt to pin down exactly what that means. .Here are some excerpts:

No one can blame the State Department from trying to parse the Israelis' words, wondering if that means that the weapons might be manufactured but not tested, or perhaps manufactured except for the very final screw being attached.

This is relevant today now that a new NIE (or similar intelligence assessment) has leaked that Iran is moving quickly to build nuclear weapons. Anti-Israel activists and Iran supporters have been using the 2007 NIE and other estimates as a talisman to deflect charges that Iran even has a nuclear weapons program, even as everyone could see for years that the Iranians were doing everything consistent with such a program short of actually announcing it - from enrichment beyond what is necessary for nuclear power to building nuclear-capable ballistic missiles to building huge underground nuclear facilities to hiding evidence of testing facilities.

The US skepticism of Israel's announcements in the 1960s was well-founded, and Israel's refusal to clarify was equally understandable. At the time, though, no one seriously believed that Israel did not have the ability to deploy a nuclear bomb in minutes if it felt it was necessary.

But for people who want to believe the Iranian denials, they have no such skepticism.

Today's Mossad plot

The Islamic Jihad newspaper Palestine Today reports that Gaza authorities have foiled the latest Mossad plot to subjugate them to Zionist whims.

What did they do?

They discovered a stash of Tramadol, which appears to be the drug of choice for Gaza smugglers.

According to these officials, the Mossad smuggles Tramadol into Gaza via organized crime rings. The Mossad works together with Sinai Bedouin to bring the drugs into Gaza via smuggling tunnels.

I would compliment them on their imagination, but when every story ends with "The Israelis did it!," it gets a little boring after a while.

Friday links

From Ian:

LATMA Palestinian heritage sites and rifts among the social justice protesters

Stop Iran at all costs by Prof. Benny Morris

“Israel's reasons for a future strike on Iran's nuclear facilities are logical and clear: Iran armed with nuclear weapons threatens Israel's existence; the weapons can fall into the hands of terrorists; and it will undoubtedly ignite an arms race in the Middle East that could end in nuclear war. In light of these threats an Israeli government that chooses to sit by and do nothing will have betrayed its public.”

Tom Friedman — mistaken or misleading?

"Consumed by wishful-thinking, Friedman assumed that Assad could liberalize Syria, attract international investors, normalize relations with Israel and end the Arab rejection of the Jewish state — thus demolishing the Iran-Syria axis and ending Iran’s involvement in Lebanon."

Under Olympic cover, Russian cargo ship approaches Syria

"The voyage of the Alaed shows the irresponsibility of the Russian government to allow a transfer of weapons to a regime that is responsible for the brutal slaughter of its own citizens"

In Egypt, Anti-Semitism Is Back in Fashion

"As Walter Russell Mead has written on his blog, countries “where vicious anti-Semitism is rife are almost always backward and poor.” They aren’t backward and poor because the Elders of Zion conspire against them. They’re backward and poor because, Mead argues, they lack the ability to “see the world clearly and discern cause and effect relations in complex social settings.” He calls anti-Semitism the “sociology of the befuddled.”

Attacks on Christians Sharpen with Government Collusion by Khaled Abu Toameh

“While the number of Christians in the Arab world continues to decline, Israel remains the only country in the Middle East where they feel safe and comfortable. That explains why Christians living in Israel have been appealing to Israel to open its borders to absorb their brothers who are fleeing from the Gaza Strip, Bethlehem, Egypt, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and Sudan.”

United Church of Canada leaders team up with 9-11 conspiracy nuts to demonize Israel

"As one might expect, Ms Ralph is not the only 9-11 conspiracy theorist in the organization she co-founded. Her co-Chair and fellow Independent Jewish Voices founder Sid Shiniad shares her views and the organization of fringe radicals is liberally peppered with adherents to a movement that proposes the attack by Muslim terrorists on the World Trade Center and Pentagon was actually the work of "neo-cons and Zionists."
"If the United Church's leaders think they can shield themselves from being perceived as anti-Semitic by playing footsie with a small group of fringe Jews whose actions and statements could easily be interpreted to suggest serious, unresolved psychiatric issues, they will find themselves sorely mistaken."

HuffPost front-page headline: Romney chased by "pack of Jews"

Swiss group suspends 'anti-Semitic' Norway scholar

Researcher Johan Galtung suspended form Swiss World Peace Academy after he remarks that Jews control the American media.

London won’t pull bus ad campaign for Iran-linked anti-Israel march

Iran court upholds practicing Christianity sentence

Nepal women banned from Middle East over exploitation

Nepal has banned women under the age of 30 from going to work in Middle Eastern countries amid growing concerns that they are being exploited.

Officials fear wave of fires may be new kind of terror attack

PMW Ramallah municipality to build mausoleum to honor terrorist murderers

“The Ramallah municipality voted this week to build a mausoleum in honor of PLO terrorists responsible for the deaths of 11 Israelis in the 1975 Savoy Hotel attack. Ramallah is the Palestinian Authority’s seat of government.”

Iranian festival accepts Israeli movie, invites filmmaker to attend

"David Shadi submitted his short comedy ‘GentleDog’ around the world; a new Iranian international festival said yes and sent him a visa form"

Ali’s daughter visits Israeli hospital

"Rasheda Ali tours Hadassah-University Hospital-Ein Kerem to see how they combat diseases like Parkinson’s, which afflicts her father"

Chinese 'very impressed' with Israeli economy

"Major Beijing university to offer courses on Israel's high-tech, business culture; another school teaches Hebrew language, culture"

Israel Daily Picture: The 'Kotel' Exposed with the Advent of Photography

Old/New Photos of the Kotel Now Online in Great Detail -- With Thanks to the Library of Congress Archives

Al Arabiya "news:" "Abraham built the Kaaba"

No disclaimers here:

The shrine of the Prophet Abraham was adjacent to the Kaaaba, next to its gate, in the same condition he had left it. It had been there since the building of the Kaaba and until the time of second Caliph Omar Ibn Kattab who moved to the east, an action that only someone as strong and pious as him would be capable of doing.

Abraham’s shrine contains a stone that preserves the footprints of the Prophet Abraham. This was the stone on which he used to stand on when he built the Kaaba’s upper walls. In Islam, the shrine is sacred and is used for prayer. It also bears witness to a miracle because it shows how stone softened under Abraham’s feet.

972mag says Egypt attack is really Israel's fault

The zeal to blame Israel for everything would be comical if so many on the left didn't actually believe it.

The summary of Roi Maor's article in 972mag tells you the latest in 972's absurd anti-Israel "logic":

Lethal Sinai attack is connected to the Gaza blockade

The lethal attack on an Egyptian military outpost, in an attempted incursion into Israel, is another reminder of the terrorist infrastructure in the Sinai Peninsula. This infrastructure was built in part on the basis of the Gaza-Egypt-Israel smuggling industry, which is fueled by the massive restrictions on movement and trade imposed on the Strip by Israel and Egypt.

Wow, how brilliant!

But 972 doesn't go far enough.

In fact, much of the smuggling industry in the Sinai is also from smuggling Africans to Israel. If Israel didn't have Western values and prosperity, then the Africans wouldn't come, there would be less smuggling traffic and Sinai would be safer. Israel should really stop being so damned successful! It's all Israel's fault!

But wait, there's more: if Israel never signed an agreement with Egypt limiting Egypt's army activities in the Sinai, then Egypt could have done more to stop the smugglers and terrorists in the Sinai. Israel should not have insisted in a 1979 peace agreement that their former implacable foe should stay away from the border. They should have allowed the Egyptian army to stay right up against the border to stop the future infiltration of Islamists, which should have been foreseen. It is all Israel's fault!

In fact, if Israel wouldn't have signed a peace agreement with Egypt altogether, then the Sinai would still be under Israeli control and the smugglers and Islamists would never have even come close to Gaza or Israel. How dare Israel sign a peace treaty that inevitably end up killing so many Egyptians in the Sinai. Without Camp David, there wouldn't be any Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai! It is all Israel's fault!

But, of course, you must then go back to the original sin of Israel's creation....

Incidentally, it is interesting that 972 regards an attack on Egyptian soldiers to be a terrorist attack. ("On Sunday evening, terrorists attacked an Egyptian military outpost in the Sinai Peninsula.") Maybe someone can go through the site to see if they ever refer to Arabs who attack Israeli soldiers to be terrorists, without scare quotes.

New Gaza "flotilla" planned; because the world is too obsessed with Syria

A new Gaza "flotilla" that will probably go nowhere is being planned:

Ship to Gaza, a European activist organization, announced that they are in the process of organizing a new flotilla in solidarity with the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip.

The boat is set to sail on a roughly 5,000 kilometer journey, which is estimated to span between two and three months. Beginning in northern Sweden, it will dock in several countries en route to Gaza, holding events to raise awareness about the Israeli blockade.

“Estelle, our beautiful ship, is going to play a key role in Ship to Gaza’s renewed attempt to break the blockade on Gaza,” reads the organization’s website. “At each stop, there will be speakers, concerts, and public festivals providing information about the situation in Gaza.”

So it isn't a flotilla, it is a boat.

The website doesn't even bother to list what aid it is bringing to Gaza; it just says it is bringing a "cargo of necessities."

The article goes on:

Many detractors claim that the blockade is not the problem, and that the activists are merely staging a publicity stunt.

...Supporters of the flotilla, however, argue that such opponents miss the point.

“The point is publicity. Of course, it’s for publicity. We want the whole world to know how people’s lives are being treated contemptuously in Gaza, in all of Palestine,” said Ghassan, a university student from Ramallah.

“The whole world is talking about Syria now and how evil Assad is, but no one has anything to say about the bombings and killings in Gaza,” he added.

Palestinian Arabs who have built their entire culture on the idea of being victims are jealous of those Syrians who have the audacity to be murdered by the thousands, therefore depriving PalArabs of their rightful place in the headlines!