Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, February 17, 2014

Saeb Erekat admits he is a Jordanian Bedouin, not a "Canaanite"

On February 2, after Saeb Erekat claimed to be descended from 10,000 year old Canaanites, I was the first to show that his family actually came from the Huwaitat tribe which was on the Arabian peninsula, between what is now Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Apparently, an Israeli columnist at Israel Hayom mentioned this as well a week later, and the Arab media picked up on it. (Here is a case where Arab media was more aggressive than Western media in confronting Erekat on his lies.)

So Erekat responded that, sure, he is a Jordanian and a Bedouin and he is proud of it.

The head of the PLO’s negotiations department, Saeb Erekat said: “It is an honor for me to be a Bedouin and to be a Jordanian.”

This was said in an interview he gave to the Dunya Al-Watan newspaper, answering rumors spread by Hebrew newspapers. He (Erekat) added: ”The Israelis said that my mother was Jewish, and they accused me of having a relationship with Livni."

The top Palestinian negotiator said: “It is an honor for me to be a Bedouin, an Arab and a Jordanian. I have a special feeling that Allah bestowed an honor upon me and gave me a gift for which I thank him, namely that I was born a Palestinian. I was born a Palestinian only as a gift from Allah”.

He added: “We were born Palestinian so we can regain Palestine with Eastern Jerusalem as its capital city.”

Reuven Berko, the political analyst at the “Israel Hayom” newspaper said: “Erekat is a Jordanian Bedouin from the Huweytat tribe, and not a Palestinian.”

He's a Jordanian/Bedouin/Canaanite/Palestinian/Arab, so he can pick and choose whichever self-definition he finds more appropriate at any point in time. There is nothing "Palestinian" about him except an accident of where he was born.

What a liar.

What a "negotiating partner."

(h't Ibn Boutros)

02/17 Links Pt1: Renowned scientists debunk myth Arafat was poisoned; Egypt rejects Israeli Medics

From Ian:

Renowned scientists debunk myth Arafat was poisoned

What was this blood disorder mentioned by Palestinian officials?
Arafat’s personal physician, Dr. Ashraf al-Kurdi, had already answered this question in 2007. Arafat’s blood contained the HIV virus, he said while insisting that the virus had been injected into Arafat’s body close to his death.
When al-Kurdi claimed this in an interview with Al-Jazeerah, the network cut short the live interview. Al-Kurdi was kept away from Arafat when his situation began to deteriorate and was refused entrance to the French hospital where Arafat died.
Roth may have laid to rest the claim that Arafat was poisoned by Israel once and for all. But it seems we are likely to see the myth continue to live on in the Arab world and poison the minds of Palestinians.

Palestinians: The Invented People

“The history of the Palestinian people goes back as far as”… This is where Arab “historians” disagree.
Some say the “Palestinian people” have a proud 4000-year history; others say 10,000 years, 30,000 years, and even –don’t laugh- 200,000 years, which makes the Neanderthals pretty young people compared to the “mysterious Palestinians”. But although Arab historians do not agree on the “insignificant” details like the age of the “Palestinian people”, they do agree that this people is incredibly ancient-far more ancient than Jews, Romans or Greeks.
In the glorious history of the “Palestinian people”, there is only one “small” problem; nobody in history ever found them. (h/t Bob Knot)

David Singer: Kerry Confronts Ghosts In State Of Confusion

US Secretary of State John Kerry and the US State Department apparently missed – or deliberately ignored – the demise of the Palestinian Authority.
Kerry obviously believes he has been involved in negotiations under the agreed negotiating framework with a Palestinian Authority President, a Palestinian Authority negotiator and a Palestinian Authority – that clearly no longer exist.
The War of the Letterheads should serve as a clear signal to Kerry that he is negotiating with ghosts – not a legally constituted and accountable entity under the agreed negotiating framework.
Kerry – in preparing his own eagerly awaited framework agreement – needs to take notice of this fundamental change wrought by Abbas – who no longer wears a hat or name tag designated “Palestinian Authority”.

Could Israeli water expertise bring Mideast peace? Of course not!

Wishful thinking in a NYT op-ed by Seth M. Siegel:

Nuclear proliferation, religious militancy and income inequality are all major threats to Middle East stability. Sadly, a new one is brewing: water scarcity.

The human causes are clear: rapid population growth, antiquated infrastructure, the over-pumping of aquifers, inefficient crop practices and pollution from fertilizer and pesticides. Then there are the factors that climate change is accelerating, like evaporation of lakes and rivers and diminished rainfall.

One country in the region might have a solution to these water woes: Israel. It shares the same problems of climate and desertification as its neighbors, but it has mastered the management of water resources, such that it can endure periodic droughts while supporting a growing population. Its water management can not only be a model but can even reduce regional tensions.

Wasteful farming practices — in particular, flooding a field to irrigate it — are the biggest factor behind the regional water shortage. Starting in the 1960s, Israeli farmers abandoned this technique in favor of drip irrigation, which reduces the loss of water to evaporation, gets water to roots more efficiently and, critically, produces crop yields vastly greater than those with conventional irrigation. Israel also treats household sewage as a precious resource, reusing more than 80 percent of it for agriculture. In Iran and many Arab countries, sewage is dumped, which can threaten public health by contaminating wells and aquifers.

...No one should wish for a water crisis anywhere. But as water problems grow, one hopes that ideology will give way to pragmatism and may open a door to an Arab and Islamic outreach to Israel. A partnership that starts with engineers and extends to farmers could contribute to deal making, even reconciliation, among leaders. Rather than seeing Israel as a problem, Israel’s antagonists would be wise to see it as a solution.

When are people going to wake up?

Arabs don't just hate Israel - they are emotionally invested in maintaining hate for Israel. This includes Israel's "peace partners" in Egypt and Jordan. There may be some tactical cooperation, and some under-the-table relationships blooming based on common interests, but they can never translate into real peace the way normal people define peace.

Every Arab country has organizations dedicated to fighting "normalization" with Israel. Every Arab country routinely insults Israel in international bodies. Practically no Arab media will publicly oppose antisemitism or Holocaust denial (there was a very rare exception last week.)

The atmosphere is toxic, and three generations so far have been raised with this insane hate. Occasionally, some Arabs will notice that Arabs treat each other worse than Jews treat Arabs, but those are not exactly meant as compliments.

Just this morning an idiotic tweeter responded to my pointing out that Arab nations planned to persecute their Jewish population before the UN partition vote in November 1947 by claiming that it was a reaction to Jews kicking Arabs out of their homes. (The only people kicked out of their homes in Palestine before the partition vote were in fact Jews.)

Arab lies about Israel are not only meant to demonize Israel and Jews. They are meant to assuage Arab shame at losing wars to the Jews. Westerners simply cannot understand the centrality of honor/shame in Arab culture. Israel's very existence is shameful and a reminder of Arab impotence (which is why they use over-the-top words like "Naqba" and "Naqsa" to refer to wars lost to Jews, but never for far deadlier intra-Arab wars or wars fought by Western powers in the Arab world.)

This is a problem that cannot be solved short of Israel's destruction.

All Israel can do is to ensure that it offers such technologies to its neighbors where they can relabel them as if they came from Europe - and keep up their public stance of hating Israel.

Arab governments will privately be happy that Israel exists, because the alternative is another Libya or Syria and no one wants that at their borders. Countries like Morocco will continue to quietly trade with Israel. treaties about specific common topics - including water - will sometimes be drafted under the auspices of third parties. But Arab nations will not and cannot accept Israel as a permanent nation in their midst.

The only proof you need is that Israel can and does offer, today, far more than water technology, and the Arab world refuses to take advantage of it, even though it would help them immensely. Nothing would thrill Israel more than sending professors to Arab universities to teach or to Arab governments to advise about technical issues like farming and medicine and disaster preparation. To Arabs, publicly accepting help from Israel would be another instance of Arab shame.

Peace is impossible. Détente is the ideal, and to a large extent, is already here. And the only thing that can make it more ideal is Israeli strength where its existence is accepted as a fait accompli, not Israeli concessions that give Arabs hope that they can reverse the "naqba" and avenge their shame.

(h/t Ronald)

Saeb Erekat spoke at the Oxford Union on Friday night, although for some reason his statements do not seem to have been reported in English.

Arabic media reports that he resorted to his usual threats unless Israel caves to the demands of the people they supposedly oppress. (It is remarkable how the "oppressed" act like they have the upper hand, isn't it?)

This time, Erekat said that at the stroke of midnight on April 29, the PLO "will resort to international courts, and United Nations bodies and we will join calls for an economic boycott" of Israel.

He added that the Palestinian Authority is preparing an "attack" of lawsuits against Israel in The Hague, where the PLO has prepared 50 petitions to be ready in the event of the likely failure of the negotiations.

Then he said that after April 29, "You can not maintain the [PA] government at its current status. If Kerry's negotiations fail, the government will collapse and Netanyahu will be forced to take control of the West Bank, and this will be very ugly."

Of course, if the PA/PLO/"State of Palestine" collapses, then who will bring all of these lawsuits to the Hague?

If Israel is so hell-bent on expansionist policies, then why is threatening to dissolve the PA a threat - wouldn't Israel want to re-occupy the entire Judea and Samaria?

But consistency is not something to expect from a liar like Erekat. The chances that Abbas will willingly give up his power base is exactly as low as it was the many previous times that he threatened to do that.

Commemorating when the Arab countries decided to persecute their Jews

From JPost last July:

February 17 will be the national day of commemoration for Jewish refugees of Arab countries, according to a bill authorized on Sunday by the Ministerial Committee for Legislation.

The bill, proposed by MK Shimon Ohayon (Likud Beytenu), states that an official date will be held to honor the 850,000 Jews who were forced out of or fled homes in Arab countries in the mid-20th century.

Ohayon chose February 17 because it was the day in 1948 when the Arab League approved a law for member states to place sanctions against their Jewish population.

The MK also sent a letter to Arab League Secretary-General Dr. Nabil el-Araby Sunday, saying his organization should “accept historic accountability for the humiliation, the suffering and the losses incurred by innocent Jewish victims of the Arab world’s declared war on the State of Israel.”

“As a matter of law and equity, the Arab League must assume full responsibility for ensuring rights and redress for Jewish refugees, the direct result of the collusive actions,” he added. “This is an important element of any future peace and reconciliation between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East.”

I cannot find direct reference to this decision in the February 17, 1948 meeting of the Arab League. They did decide on "political, military, and economic measures to be taken in response to the Palestine crisis, including withholding petroleum concessions and other possible sanctions against countries aiding the Zionists."

However, it does appear that this was when a draft plan to persecute Jews did get realized. This draft plan was written in 1947 and was approved by Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia by January:

The Arabs made no secret that they were threatening Jews in Arab countries during the debates before the UN partition vote in 1947. Heykal Pasha, the Egyptian delegate, said, “The United Nations ... should not lose sight of the fact that the proposed solution might endanger a million Jews living in the Moslem countries. ... If the United Nations decided to partition Palestine they might be responsible for very grave disorders and for the massacre of a large number of Jews.”

The New York Times reported on the dangers faced by Jews in Arab countries in May, 1948:

It is clear that this was a coordinated effort by Arab countries, using the excuse that it would be a popular uprising against local Jews.

In the end, 99.5% of Jews were ethnically cleansed from their homes in Arab states.

Lots more information in this publication by Justice for Jews in Arab Countries.

(h/t Rudi)

Abbas playing out his strategy on destroying Israel - and Israel's Left is doing its part

Last month I mentioned that Mahmoud Abbas had written a strategy as early as 1977 of meeting with Israeli outsiders in order to help split Israeli society. At first, he recommended meeting with Mizrahi Jews, thinking (quite wrongly) that their marginalization in Israeli society at the time would lead them to be more conciliatory with Palestinian Arabs.

Then, he changed the strategy to target the Israeli Left as a means to weaken Israeli society. The PLO mentions this explicitly in their current strategy documents.

Sunday he met with left-leaning Israelis again, carefully lying to people who already adore him and not allowing any surprise questions to embarrass him.

The event was co-organized by the One Voice association and Labor MK Hilik Bar, who heads the Knesset Caucus for the Promotion of a Two-State Solution for the Israeli-Arab Conflict. Interestingly, more than one participant explained to me that they did not "trust" the Palestinians, but were motivated to push for vast territorial concessions because they saw no other option. None could explain how a lasting peace could be made with a partner you do not trust; and this strange desperation to believe was to underline much of the subsequent proceedings.

...Buoyed by the sympathetic, largely left-wing audience, Abbas exhibited a rhetorical deftness for which he is less well-known than his Israeli counterpart and nemesis, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu - but unjustifiably so. For artfully woven in between the diplomatic platitudes was some breathtaking double-talk, historic revisionism and sugar-coated incitement - executed with a charm that was almost endearing.

..When, during the Q&A session, one of the carefully-vetted questioners asked how Abbas could assure that an influx of "refugees" - in whatever context - would not tear the demographic fabric of the Jewish state, the veteran diplomat simply grinned and offered a revealing tongue-in-cheek response: "What, do you want to impose birth control on us?"

Hilik Bar shifted uncomfortably in his seat, cleared his throat, mumbled something about it not exactly answering the question... and urged proceedings along.

The Israeli Left is being played like a banjo - and they are either too stupid to notice, or too far gone to care.

I once wrote up a quick list of questions that anyone meeting Abbas should ask him:

If you are so interested in peace, why did you go out of your way to meet with child-murderer Samir Kuntar?
Why does the PA name institutions after terrorists who targeted innocent civilians?
Why is there still daily incitement on PA TV against Israel?
Do you believe, as Arafat did, that there was never a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem? Do you realize that this position is at odds with what Muslims said openly before 1967?
Do you agree with many of your people that there should be no "normalization" with Jews in Israel?
Why did you threaten your citizens who dared to shop in a Jewish-owned supermarket that has low prices?
Recently you said that you believe that the Holocaust occurred. You wrote a book that claimed that it was exaggerated. Were you lying then, or are you lying now?
Do you really believe that Jews are raising dogs and wild boars and training them to attack Arab farms, as you have stated in front of the UN?
Do you really believe that Hamas would accept Israel's existence if you reconcile with them? Do you actually read any of their material?
Why does the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group still exist, if you are the leader of Fatah? How do they get funded?
Do you agree with the Fatah platform that terrorism is legal under international law?
Why does some 6% of the PA budget go towards terrorist prisoners and released terrorists?
Do you consider the Mufti of Jerusalem who collaborated with Hitler to be a hero?

There are lots more, of course:

You used to support Lebanese Palestinians' rights to become citizens in Lebanon. Then you changed your mind and said you are against it. What do you really believe, and why?
More generally, if a Palestinian Arab wants to become a citizen of his Arab host country, should he be allowed?
Do you consider the West Bank to have been occupied by Jordan from 1949-1967? Why or why not?
Did the PLO really nullify the sections of the Palestinian National Covenant that denied Israel's right to exist? If so, can you point me to an official copy of the current charter? It doesn't seem to exist anywhere.
What exactly is the legal basis for your being president for over ten years?

Magicians and psychics carefully use misdirection and make their own rules to trick people. Abbas is the same - he creates situations where he can avoid or bypass answering hard questions without fear that anyone will be persistent and he can pre-emptively answer questions that aren't being asked but that people addicted to wishful thinking will pretend are substantial answers.

The questions I list are not meant for conservative Zionists. They are meant for Zionist liberals to ask. After all, if Abbas is a partner to be trusted, shouldn't be honestly answer these questions rather than brush off the easy ones?

Terrorist planned to be jailed so he could get a salary from the PA

From Palestinian Media Watch:

Imprisoned Palestinian terrorist Husni Najjar explained to Israeli Police that he planned a second terror attack in order to be captured and imprisoned by Israel a second time, so that he would receive the salaries the Palestinian Authority pays to prisoners while in jail and following their release. In his signed statement given to the police following his second arrest, a copy of which is in the possession of Palestinian Media Watch, he explains that the money he received from the PA as salary during his first prison term amounted to only 45,000 shekels. However, the salary he would receive following his second prison term and subsequent release would leave him with "135,000 shekels." "And thus I would cover my debts," the terrorist explained his motive for planning the attack.

The testimony of this Palestinian terrorist confirms PMW's contention that the PA's policy of paying high salaries to terrorists during their imprisonment in Israel and after their release not only rewards terror, but also constitutes a motivation for terror.

In his statement, the terrorist showed precise knowledge of the payments the PA gives to those arrested for terror. He explained that PA law grants terrorists imprisoned for more than five years a salary of 4,000 shekels a month, which continues for three years following their release from prison. This is in addition to monthly salary payments while in prison. The terrorist explained that because his first imprisonment for planning a suicide terror attack (which was foiled) lasted less than five years, it was not enough to prompt the 4,000 shekels monthly salary upon release. He therefore planned another attack in order to reach a total of five years in prison, which would entitle him to the additional salary upon his second release, which would cover his debts, he explained:

Prisoner Najjar: "And after [my] release [from prison]... I had a bank account with 45,000 shekels from [my] salary from the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners' Affairs... and there remained a deficit of 30,000 shekels for the wedding... I decided to arrange an imaginary plan for the Israeli Shabak [Israel's General Security Service] so that I would be arrested... After I would spend five years [in prison] I would receive a salary of about 4,000 shekels [upon release], and this amount would be for three years. That means there would be a total amount of 135,000 shekels (the correct amount would equal 144,000 shekels - Ed.) and then I would cover my debts."
[Testimony of suspect, Israel Police interrogation transcript, Aug. 18, 2013]

Husni Najjar is currently in prison awaiting trial. It should be noted that the terrorist prisoner is already receiving a PA salary, since PA law stipulates that the salary "will be paid to the prisoner from the date of his arrest." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, April 15, 2011]

Now, if the Mahmoud Abbas is against ongoing terrorism as he constantly claims, wouldn't he suspend its "cash for prison" program?

Yet another question that Abbas will never be asked by clueless journalists.

(h/t Josh K)

Islamic Jihad publishes book-sized guide to the IDF

The Al Quds Brigades, part of terror organization Islamic Jihad, has just published an illustrated book about the IDF to help its fighters understand the enemy.

Chapter 1 gives an overview of the IDF, ranks and levels in the organization. Chapter 2 concentrates on the infantry, Chapter 3 the navy and Chapter 4 the air force.

The book also analyzes the IDF's strategy for fighting to it can be ready for the next war.

As far as I can tell, there are no secrets in the book. But I would be surprised if it wasn't directed and bankrolled by Iran.

YNet reports:

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has told some 300 young Israelis visiting him on Sunday in the West Bank that he does not want to "drown Israel with millions of (Palestinian) refugees to change its nature."

"The propaganda purports that I want five million refugees to return. This is false and will not happen. We need to solve the refugee problem, but we do not want to drown Israel with refugees," Abbas said, adding that there needs to be a "moral solution" the refugee issue.

"There is no escape from a just solution that both sides can agree on. No one will force a solution on the other," he said. Abbas told his Israeli visitors he seeks a "creative solution" for refugees, suggesting he is not demanding a blanket "right of return."

Really?

In 2008, Abbas made very clear that he refused to accept the idea of Lebanese Palestinians going anywhere but Israel:

President Mahmoud Abbas denied today, the accuracy of the news reports about the possibility of settling Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.

He said in an interview with satellite channel Russia Today that the idea was an "unacceptable and irreversible abrogation of the right to return, and we are guests in Lebanon, in the interest of us in the internal problems in this brotherly country, and assure the Lebanese brothers that the resettlement of refugees in their country is rejected. We will not accept it."

Also in 2008:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was quoted Wednesday as rejecting the naturalization of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. "We would never accept any settlement that leads to naturalizing Palestinians in Lebanon," Abbas told pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat.

"We would not accept any settlements that would lead to a demographic change in Lebanon. This is totally unacceptable ... We won't accept a settlement that obliges Lebanon to naturalize even one Palestinian. We will find a settlement that satisfies Palestinians in Lebanon and satisfies Lebanon ... I'm sure of this and time will prove it," Abbas added.

And in 2009:

Palestinian refugees in Lebanon will not be offered Palestinian Authority passports, President Mahmoud Abbas said on Monday following his meeting with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman at the Republican Palace.

Abbas’ remark quashed recent rumors concerning the issuing of PA passports to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, adding that the refugees’ presence in the country is temporary, particularly as Lebanon’s membership in the UN Security Council next year will help the Palestinian cause.

And in 2012:

According to Beirut-based Now Lebanon news agency, Abbas told the An-Nahar newspaper of “permanent” cooperation with the Lebanese government to maintain security in Palestinian refugee camps.

The president also voiced hope that the lives of Palestinians in Lebanon would be “easier”, adding that they did not “want to be naturalized.”

Abbas (at least since 2005) has been adamant that the only solution for Palestinian Arabs in Lebanon is to have them flood into Israel. he didn't even want them to come to the West Bank. And now he suddenly is claiming to an Israeli audience otherwise?

Either he is lying now or he was lying then. And if he changed his mind between 2012 and now, it means that he is willing to use his own people as pawns.

Why exactly should Israel sign an agreement with a liar who doesn't even care about his own people, let alone his enemies?

Any why can't a single reporter ask Abbas about his many lies directly?

02/16 Links: BDS fail- Code Pink uses Israeli web platform; PA Paid Terrorists $100M in 2013

From Ian:

BDS fail: Code Pink uses Israeli web platform for their new website

Code Pink's new website, promoting its Woman's delegation to Gaza was created using Wix. Its a great choice with cloud-based web development, easy templates, and no coding required. It might be the first smart act we've seen from Code Pink in a long time.
They overlooked one crucial thing. Code Pink is one of the leaders of the BDS movement, and Wix is an Israeli company. Ooops. BDS fail.
If you do anything web-based, Israeli tech is hard to avoid. To avoid being a BDS hypocrite, you're going to need to to live like this guy.

Honest BDS Activist Lives Off Grid, Forages, Avoids Medicine (satire)

The New Hampshire native has fashioned a serviceable crossbow that he uses to hunt rabbit, deer, and other game, and lives in an abandoned stone hut overlooking a man-made lake. “I used to go fishing there, but then I found out there’s a Zionist summer camp on the other side, I couldn’t in good conscience benefit from their maintenance of the lake,” he explained, referring to Camp Moshava, which is run by the Tel-Aviv-headquartered religious Zionist youth movement Bnei Akiva.
Despite the hardships, Thorpe eschews all medical care except for basic first aid, since Israeli pharmaceutical companies produce vast amounts of the generic drugs employed by hospitals and health clinics all over the world. “Simply making an appointment to go see a doctor would mean endorsing their use of Israeli technology in the clinic management software, or the hardware in the terminals themselves,” said Thorpe. “And forget about all the imaging technology to detect abnormalities or growths.”
Thorpe hopes his principled stand will inspire others to be more consistent in their activism. “There’s nothing I’d like to see more than all my fellow BDS advocates dying of some treatable disease,” said Thorpe. (h/t Mightier than the Pen)

Other nations that supported the Balfour Declaration

I found this today in Establishment of a National Home in Palestine: Hearings before the Committee on foreign affairs, House of representatives, Sixty-seventh Congress, second session, on H. Con. Res. 52, expressing satisfaction at the re-creation of Palestine as the national home of the Jewish race. April 18, 19, 20, and 21, 1922

SERBIA

SERBIAN WAR MISSION TO THE UNITED STATES.

DEAR CAPTAIN ALBALA : I wish to express to your Jewish brothers the sympathy of our Government and of our people for the just endeavor of resuscitating their beloved country in Palestine, which will enable them to take their place in the future society of nations, according to their numerous capacities and to their unquestioned right. We are sure that this will not only be to their 1 own interest, but at the same time to that of the whole of humanity. You know, dear Captain Albala, that there is no' other nation in the world sympathizing with this plan mope than Serbia. Do we not shed bitter tears on the rivers of Babylon, in sight of our beloved land, lost only a short time ago? How should we not participate in your clamors and sorrows, lasting ages and generations, especially when our countrymen of your origin and religion have fought for their Serbian fatherland as well as the best of our soldiers. It will be a sad thing for us to see any of our Jewish fellow citizens leaving us to return to their promised land ; but we shall console ourselves in the hope that they stand as brothers and leave with us a good part of their hearts, and that they will be the strongest tie between free Israel and Serbia.

Believe me, dear Captain Albala,

Very sincerely yours, VESNITCH.

FRANCE.

The French Government made the following official declaration in favor of a Jewish State in Palestine in accord with the declaration to the same effect made by the British cabinet on November 2, 1917. The Provisional Executive Committee for general Zionist affairs has been authorized, by M. Tardieu, the French high commissioner to the United States, to make public the following communication bearing on this subject:

The Provisional Executive Committee for general Zionist affairs has beep authorized, by M. Tardieu, the French high commissioner to the United States, to make public the following communication bearing on this subject: .

[Message from Foreign Minister Piehon to M. Tardieu.]

FEBRUARY 12, 1918. Having seen M. Sokolow (representative of the Zionist organizations), I authorized him to state that, as regards the question. our views were essen-tially the same as the views entertained by the British Government.

[Naval radio from the press bureau of the ministry of foreign affairs.]

M. Sokolow was received to-day by Mr. Stephen Pichon. M. Pichon was happy to reaffirm that the understanding is complete between the French and the British Governments Concerning the question of the Jewish establishment in Palestine.

ITALY.
• Through its ambassador at the Court of St. James, the Italian Government, on February 25, 1918, officially signified its approval of the English and French declarations in favor of the Zionist movement and of a Jewish national home-land in Palestine. Mr. Nahum Sokolow, representative in London of the Zionist International Political Committee, received from Ambassador Imperiali the following formal statement of Italy's attitude of these questions:

"On the instructions of His Excellency Baron Sonnino, His Majesty's minister for foreign affairs, I have the honor to inform you that His Majesty's Government is pleased to confirm the declarations already made through their representatives in Washington, The Hague, and Salonica, to the effect that they will use their best endeavors to facilitate the establishment in Palestine of a Jewish national center, it being understood that this shall not prejudice the legal or political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country."

GREECE

On March 14, 1918. M. Politis, the Greek minister for foreign affairs, stated in the Chamber of Deputies: "I have already had occasion in Salonica to express the very sincere sym-pathy of the Liberal Party and of all Hellenes for the Jewish nation, for 20 centuries the victim of misunderstandings and persecution I am glad to renew to-day the promise which I then gave that at the right moment the Liberal Government will put forth every effort to assist the national task of the Jews in full accord with the great allies of Greece. Apart from the motives of sympathy which we have had for the Jewish race, a new bond is now added. Among other points in common, the Jewish race and the Greek race have that of both belonging with those races which have ceased to be subjected to perse-cution. At this moment when Hellenism has been literally led to exhaustion by the barbarians of the East, I address with emotion to the Jewish race all my wishes for their establishment as a nation."

HOLLAND.

Mr. Jacobus Kann, president of the Dutch Zionist Federation, was authorized by the Dutch Government to declare that it is sympathetic toward Zionist as-pirations.

SIAM.

The Zionist organization of America received the text of a statement issued by the Siamese Government expressing its approval of the plan to establish in Palestine a national homeland for the Jewish people. The statement was issued to Mr. E. S. Kadoorie, one of the leading bankers of China and president of the Shanghai Zionist Association, by H. R. H. Prince Devawongse Varopakar, Siamese minister for foreign affairs. It reads as follows:

FOREIGN OFFICE, Bangkok, August 22, 1918.

Dear Sir: I have the honor to state that the Royal Siamese Government expresses its accord with the sympathetic position taken by its allies with reference to the establishment of Palestine as a national home for the Jewish people and, in cooperation with the allied powers, will use its best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of this object, it. being clearly understood that nothing will be done that may prejudice the civil or religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine. I am, very truly yours,

DEVAWONGSE.

CHINA.
The Zionist organization of America received a cablegram from Mr. E. S. Kadoorie, president, and N. E. B. Ezra, secretary of the .Shanghai Zionist Association, informing it that on December 14, 1918, the Chinese Government had officially indorsed the project for establishing a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The text of the Chinese indorsement is as follows:

"The Chinese Government expresses its complete accord with Great Britain's proposals for the restoration of Palestine as the national home of the Jewish people, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country, and will cooperate with her allies at the Peace Conference in the attaining of that object."

JAPAN.

The Government of Japan authorized its ambassador to Great Britain to announce its approval of the project to establish in Palestine a Jewish national homeland, in accordance with the principles enunciated in the Balfour declare-ton of November 2, 1917.

The end of the book includes a very strong support from Congress for a Jewish national homeland in Palestine. It says, in part:

We of America should be glad to give our moral support to a project which is based upon justice and humanity. To give this recognition to so laudable an endeavor of a people seeking to create a haven of refuge for the oppressed and homeless of their race is to act in consonance with the loftiest, American ideals. The Jews have suffered greatly during the war. There are now countless thousands of innocent members of the Jewish race in Poland, Galicia, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, and Rumania who have been utterly ruined and for whom there is no place in the lands where they had formerly lived. The World War has overwhelmed them. They are seeking a home where, with the generous help of their brethren of other lands who are in more comfortable circumstances, they may re-create their own forms of life and realize their ideals.

The hope of a return of the Jewish people to Zion has had the good wishes of our foremost American statesmen. President Woodrow Wilson, in a letter dated August 31, 1918, wrote as follows:

I welcome an opportunity to express the satisfaction I have felt in the progress of the Zionese movement in the United States and in the allied countries since the declaration of Mr. Balfour. on behalf of the British Government, of Great Britain's approval of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people and his promise that the British Government would use its best endeavors to facilitate the achievement of that object. with the understanding that nothing would be done to prejudice the civil and religious rights of non-Jewish people in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in other countries.

Antisemitic Egyptian play says Mossad behind Arab Spring (video)

I read translations of Arabic media all day. I see and post about the endemic antisemitism in the Arab world. But sometimes even I am surprised at how virulent it is.

There is no comparison between reading an antisemitic article in a newspaper and seeing it as a play broadcast on TV.

From MEMRI:

A play titled "The Spy," recently aired on the Egyptian Al-Hayat TV channel, displays antisemitic stereotypes and portrays Mossad officials preparing "for a huge operation of espionage and sowing disunity" which targets the entire Arab world.

Following are excerpts from the play, broadcast on January 31, 2014:

Mossad headquarters, Mossad officials listen to an Israeli child singing Umm Kulthum's Enta Omri. All male Mossad officials are named Binyamin and listed here according to their seating from left to right.

All Mossad officials: How great...

Binyamin I: What's wrong with you, Binyamin?

Binyamin V: Binyamin, why do you cry whenever you hear this song?

Binyamin III: To tell the truth, I don't understand a word of the song.

Binyamin I: Ummu Kulthum's song, Enta Omri, is very beautiful.

Binyamin II: Just beautiful?! That boy Elisha sings it better than Umm Kulthum herself.

Female Mossad official: Binyamin, do you think that the Egyptians stole this tune from us, or vice versa?

Binyamin III: They stole it from us, of course – just like they stole the pyramids and the Sphinx.

[...]

Our perspective is a simple and humble one. All we want is to control the whole world. Long live Israel!

Mossad officials: Long live Israel!

Binyamin III: Long live Israel!

Mossad officials: Long live Israel!

[...]

Binyamin III: Long live Israel!

Mossad officials: Long live Israel!

Binyamin III: Long live Israel!

Mossad officials: Long live Israel!

All Mossad officials break out in dance to the tune of Hava Nagila

[...]

Binyamin III: Lady, take your son and go away. We are preparing for a huge operation of espionage and sowing disunity, and we don't want anyone to know anything about it – not its target nor its location.

Mother of Ezra (a would-be Mossad operative): Where will it take place?

Binyamin III: In Egypt, God willing.

Ezra: And what is the target?

Binyamin III: The entire Arab world.

[...]

Binyamin IV: I don't understand, Binyamin #5, how come you are accepting this boy back into the Mossad so easily.

Binyamin III: If we don't, he will stand opposite the Mossad headquarters, and throw stones on us. He is mentally retarded.

Binyamin V: You're right, but let's focus on what's important – today begins the most important of the Arab Spring revolutions.

Binyamin I: I've heard that it is still a demonstration. It hasn't transformed into a revolution yet.

Binyamin III: That's why we need to keep an eye on that demonstration.

Binyamin V: Eyes are a thing of the past. Today, we know what is going on from Facebook and Twitter.

Binyamin II: We know everything but the color of their underwear...

They all burst into laughter

Binyamin I: Would you believe that they still have signs on buildings: "Keep Away" and "No Photography"?

They all burst into laughter

Binyamin III: Google Earth gives us all the information we need.

[...]

Binyamin IV: The most important thing that we need to know is whether the demonstrations are taking place only in Tahrir Square, or in other places as well.

Binyamin II: Right now, they are only in Tahrir Square, but soon enough, they'll spread all over. After all, the Egyptian people is demanding change...

[...]

Will the mainstream media, so anxious to find individual bigots in Israel, ever bother reporting on a play broadcast on TV with a crowd laughing at anti-Jewish stereotypes?

From PressTV:

Seventy Iranian lawmakers have signed a letter to question Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif over his positions vis-a-vis the Holocaust and the Israeli regime.

“The signatures for this question have reached 70,” senior Iranian lawmaker Mohammad Javad Karimi Qoddousi, told Fars News Agency in a Saturday interview.

“The question has been sent to the Foreign Ministry and it will be reviewed in the first session of the National Security [and Foreign Policy] Committee of Majlis,” said Karimi who sits on the committee.

In the letter to the Foreign Ministry, Iranian legislators pointed to Zarif’s interview with a German TV channel in early February in which he slammed the Holocaust as a “a horrifying tragedy” that “should never occur again.”

The lawmakers also called Zarif’s remarks about Palestinians’ right to recognize Israel, as ‘passive’.

“What is the reason for the passivity in your views about the issue of the illegitimate Israeli regime and the Holocaust,” the letter asked.

There are 290 members of Iran's Majils, so nearly 25% of them have signed this letter so far.

"Islamist groups planned to attack Egyptian synagogues"

Elihayu HaNavi synagogue in Alexandria

El Badil reports that members of "Ansar al Bayt al Maqdis", one of the Sinai Islamist groups fighting in Egypt, have admitted to plotting to blow up synagogues in Cairo and Alexandria.

The report says that they were doing surveillance of the spots.

It further quoted security sources as saying that they would not allow any such attacks and citizens should not worry.

I have not seen this verified anywhere else in Egyptian media.

It is hard to know what to believe, as the hatred of much of Egyptian media towards Islamists has caused them to make up stories in the past. It is quite possible that they want to ensure that the Jewish world is sympathetic towards Egypt's crackdown on civil and human rights in going after Islamists. On the other hand, the idea that Islamists want to attack synagogues is also quite believable.

None of Egypt's synagogues have any Jewish services anymore, and they are mostly preserved as part of Egyptian heritage.

02/15 Links: Palestinians Confirm: “No”; Syrian peace talks collapse; Zionism and Camels

From Ian:

Palestinians Confirm: It’s a “No”

The Palestinians may be aware that issuing an outright “no” to having any agreement with Israel ever would not play out well for their international standing. A “no” has to be delivered in such a way that it can at least be framed as merely a rejection of specific proposals. But by making every single proposal a red line it is clear that the Palestinians are in effect saying “no” to the whole thing. And if they are serious about pushing this line that they don’t have the authority to make an agreement with Israel, then they are essentially ruling out the very possibility of agreeing to anything. Presumably the only thing that would change this status would be new Palestinian elections–and there’s no sign of these coming anytime soon.
Whether the U.S. administration or the international community wish to acknowledge it, the Palestinians are saying loudly and clearly “no.” At some point policy will have to be adjusted to recognize this reality. (h/t NormanF)

Erekat: No to Recognition, No to Israeli Presence in 'Palestine'

Erekat, the report said, told his audience that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas made it clear to the Americans that he would not recognize Israel a Jewish state, claiming that Israel's demand for recognition stems from its desire to change historical facts.
He further noted that Abbas will not agree that any Israeli civilians or military officials remain in the future Palestinian state.
Erekat also said that the PA demands that Israel compensate the so-called “Palestinian refugees” whether they decide to stay in their own countries, move to the Palestinian state, or return to Israel.

Anti-Semitic, Anti-American Conspiracy Theorist Set for Princeton Honors

The long tenure of Richard Falk at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHRC) – where for years he served as the body’s special rapporteur on Palestinian human rights – did not exactly cover that already controversial organization with glory.
In just a few months last year, he embroiled the UNHRC in controversy by blaming the Boston Marathon bombing on “American global domination” and “Tel Aviv,” trying to ban a pro-Israel human rights watchdog group from attending UNHRC sessions, and publishing anti-Semitic cartoons and articles on his blog.
U.S. officials routinely and repeatedly called for Falk to resign.
Under the headline “Trusting Khomeini,” Falk once praised the Iranian dictator as “a desperately-needed model of humane governance.” He is a quite open 9/11 conspiracy theorist. He has accused Israel of “slouching toward a Palestinian Holocaust.” In 2011 he defended the government of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi as the “lawful diplomatic representative of a sovereign state.”
Now comes news from the Wall Street Journal that Princeton is preparing to honor Falk:

02/14 Links Pt2: Dr. King’s pro-Israel legacy; BDS Fail at UC Riverside; Viber sold for $900m

From Ian:

Dr. King’s pro-Israel legacy: His prophetic voice still speaks, part 1

Since his death, many groups have attempted to use the name of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. as champion of their cause. His timeless quotes are applied to all things related to social justice, equality and political freedom. Of course, in addition to being a beacon for all of the above, Dr. King was also a staunch supporter of the State of Israel, and loyal friend to the Jewish people. Yet this historical, indisputable fact does not seem to phase anti-Zionists who also claim Dr. King’s posthumous blessing on their agenda. How do they reconcile such a blatant discrepancy? They simply label the Palestinians as victims and the Israelis as perpetrators, and voila: Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, becomes an obvious condemnation of the Jewish State.
The problem is, we have Dr. King’s unambiguous words supporting Israel, and none of his words to the contrary. In fact, his most full-throated endorsement of Israel may surprise you, not just because of its content, but its context.

Leftist figures did not set Schulz straight on facts

On Tuesday, European Union Ambassador to Israel Lars Faaborg-Andersen hosted a dinner in honor of Schulz at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Among those in attendance was Naomi Chazan, a former Meretz MK and deputy Knesset speaker who is now a director in the left-wing NGO New Israel Fund; Yossi Beilin, former Meretz leader and cabinet minister and one of the architects of the Geneva Initiative; Ron Pundak, who helped draft the Oslo Accords in 1993 and is a former director-general of the Peres Center for Peace; Akiva Eldar, former Haaretz correspondent, and Professor Manuel Trajtenberg, chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee at the Council for Higher Education. Labor MK Hilik Bar was the only politician at the event. No government or right-wing representatives were invited.
At the event, Schulz said that he had just visited the Palestinian Authority, where he had been told that Israel did not distribute water fairly. He also said he was told of infringements on Palestinian freedom of movement. No one in the audience challenged Schulz on the facts or tried to set the record straight. Some of the people at the dinner said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be able to make better decisions if he faced more outside pressure.

Roving Sea Peoples may have settled Transjordan, archaeologist says

New evidence unearthed at an ancient site in the Jordan Valley suggests that the Sea Peoples — a group which includes the ancient Israelites’ nemeses, the Philistines — settled as far inland as the Transjordan, a Swedish archaeologist argues. Not everyone in the archaeological community, however, is convinced by the finds.
The find, made by a team digging at Tell Abu al-Kharaz, also strengthens the ties connecting the Sea Peoples and the Aegean — reinforcing the theory that the Philistines were among a number of tribes of non-Semitic peoples who migrated across the Mediterranean and settled in Canaan in the early Iron Age alongside the emergent Israelites.

114 year old Kurdish rabbi in Jerusalem

From Rudaw.net:

In a humble apartment in Jerusalem’s Baka neighborhood, about a mile south of the walls of the Old City, the world’s oldest living Jew goes about his daily ritual. As he has for over a century, the rabbi rises in the morning, puts on his tefillin, or prayer phylacteries, with the help of one of his students, and says his morning prayers. Then, he sits to learn the Torah, Talmud, or kabbalah, examining it with the same fervor and passion he did when he started learning as a teenager.

In addition to being the world’s oldest Jew, Rabbi Zechariah Barashi, 114, is also the world’s oldest Kurd.

Barashi, still sharp and gregarious in his old age, remembers details from events 80 years ago with surprising clarity. He gives exact dates, names, and even prices of bus rides as he recounts his time growing up in the Badinan region of Kurdistan, and his journey to the British-controlled territory that would soon become Israel.

...Barashi remembers a man named Mirza as the Agha of Meriba, the town his family was living in. He was as “an important man, one of the greatest governors in the mountains of Kurdistan.”

Mirza’s wife saved Barashi’s life at the age of 11. It was after the Passover holidays, and not one speck of food remained in the house. For two days, the family did not eat, and Zechariah fell sick. His father was away trying to buy meat on the black market. After having lost so many children, his mother was determined to save him. She went to the Agha’s wife, and begged her for food. The wife hesitated at first, saying she was afraid her husband would find out, and be angry that he would now be forced to give to everyone who asked. Barashi’s mother persisted, her only son’s life was at stake, and assured her that she would hide the food under her dress, and no one would know. The Agha’s wife agreed, and the boy recovered.

The Agha was very committed to the Jews in his region, Barashi remembered. His family used to visit the Agha on Friday nights. But when his sons got older, they began to smoke while Barashi’s family visited. Eventually, Barashi’s father told the Agha that his family can no longer come by, as smoking is forbidden on the Sabbath, and they wished not to be around it. The Agha’s decision was swift. “You are forbidden from smoking in this house on the Sabbath,” he told his sons, thus ensuring that his Jewish guests would feel comfortable during their visits.

...At the age of 18, Barashi met the woman who would become his wife.

“I met her the same way people meet their wives today,” he said with a smile. “On the dance floor. On Friday night, after the festive meal, all the youths would go to the big plaza in the middle of the village and we would perform Kurdish dances until one o’clock in the morning. The next day, after the meal, we would meet again and dance until the third Sabbath meal. Her older brother was my friend, and her grandfather, Yosef Arbaya, and I asked my father to talk to him and ask for her hand in marriage.”

They got married two years later.

He still speaks of his wife, long since deceased, as if they were both teenagers in love on that dance floor in the middle of Sindor.

“You can’t buy love, and no one except God knows what draws a man to a certain woman and not another one. In the village, there were dozens of beautiful and good girls, but I fell in love with her, and good that it turned out this way. There was no bad in this woman that became my wife. Modest and quiet and determined and pretty.”

...Last year, a Kurdish journalist came to Barashi’s apartment to film an interview with him for a Kurdish TV. The reporter, stunned by the purity of Barashi’s Kurdish, stayed for hours. He wrote down words that he had never heard before, and looked them up when he got home, discovering that they were old Kurmanji words that had fallen out of use.

Barashi is happy to share a blessing with his visitors, and is always ready to share his secret to a long life. “There are three things,” he says. “Always be happy, never jealous. Stay active. And never overeat, always leave the table a little hungry.”

But does he ever wish he could go back to the old villages in Kurdistan?

“No,” he says, smiling. “I have had the fortune of living in Jerusalem for 75 years. I’m in heaven.”

(h/t Ellen)

02/14 Links Pt1: PA tells Kerry NO to framework deal; The obstinancy of Abbas

From Ian:

PA tells Kerry no to framework deal in current form

The Palestinian Authority has informed US Secretary of State John Kerry that it will not accept his framework peace proposal as it currently stands, PA officials told The Times of Israel.
The officials claimed that the Obama administration’s current proposal, which is intended to serve as the basis for continued talks on a two-state solution, includes pretty much everything Israel demanded — almost down to the last detail — but does not address vital requirements from the Palestinian side.
The Palestinian officials detailed to The Times of Israel what they said were the main clauses of the framework proposal.

The obstinancy of Abbas

If anyone out there believes that Abbas is a realistic partner (following in the footsteps of Yasser Arafat), they should listen to former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who came out last week and explained what happened behind closed doors in the negotiating room. In an interview with Channel 2, Olmert said that in the 36 meetings he held with Abbas, everything was agreed The only thing that was missing was a signature.
Olmert gave up the Jordan Valley, divided Jerusalem, handed over control of the Temple Mount, returned to the 1967 lines, retreated to the settlement blocs, made territorial swaps, agreed in principle to the right of return, accepted the symbolic resettlement of 5,000 refugees, and invited Abbas to fly with him to the U.N. General Assembly, where they would jointly declare the establishment of an independent Palestinian state. He even held out a pen for Abbas to take so that he could initial the deal.
How surprising -- Abbas refused. Today, there is widespread consensus. Since Abbas didn't sign then, he won't sign ever.

Sarah Honig: A page from Barker’s playbook

The long and the short of it is that nobody will compensate the Arab realm’s Jewish refugees. Obama knows it. Kerry knows it. So why make promises that can’t possibly be kept? Well, of course Kerry’s entire misnamed peace framework is a promise that can’t be kept.
But the specific attempt to tempt Jewish refugees borrows a page from Barker’s playbook. Its premise is that the Jew will sell his soul for money. Hence, the promise of a windfall can magically transform Sephardi hawks into Ashkenazi doves – that is if you at all buy into the blanket generalization of facile (and inherently offensive) stereotypes. (h/t Norman F)

Saudi Vice episode 36: Don't give birth without your guardian!

It is time for another episode of:

Where we follow our heroes from the Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice as they protect and serve the Saudi public, guarding them from evil forces!

From Arab News:

The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia) has officially prevented women from visiting medical clinics without male guardians.

This came after a member of the Council of Senior Scholars issued a “fatwa” (edict) prohibiting women from visiting male doctors without having male guardians present.

“Islamic law does not permit women to visit their doctors without male guardians,” said Qais Al-Mubarak, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars. “Women are prohibited from exposing body parts to male doctors in Islamic law, especially during childbirth. This does not include medical emergencies. Islamic jurisprudence makes exceptions,” he added.

If childbirth isn't an emergency, it is unclear what is. But,hey, you can understand how Saudi male obstetricians can get uncontrollably turned on at the sight of a sweaty, screaming woman exposing her private parts. It's only natural, and Islamic jurisprudence must guard against it.

Male guardians can only be the next of kin in Islam. They are sons, grandsons, husbands, brothers, fathers or uncles.

Al-Mubarak said male doctors could conduct medical examinations on female patients only if female physicians are unavailable and only if male guardians accompany them.

“Unaccompanied visits to male doctors can have negative implications,” he said.

I wonder if Saudi medical school textbooks censor gynecological diagrams. Maybe the students practice delivering babies with camels.

Other Saudi Vice news:

Of course, the annual Saudi war against Valentine's Day.

Also, if you are a woman in Saudi Arabia, don't try to go to the main library in the Grand Mosque in Mecca.

The good news? The Saudi king overturned a death penalty for an Indonesian housemaid who has been in jail for a while awaiting her execution. Her crime? Sorcery.

Over the past two days I reported about how Hamas complained about UNRWA's "human rights curriculum," and about how UNRWA caved in to Hamas demands and agreed to suspend teaching about "human rights" in Gaza, also mentioning how this curriculum is in fact not about respecting others' human rights so much as it is about how to demand human rights from others.

As usual when a news story makes UNRWA look bad, they do not mention this on their website. On the contrary, exposure of their less savory aspects cause them to perform cover-ups rather than leading to full disclosure.

Given that UNRWA depends on international donors, shouldn't the agency be completely transparent? Not only should it report about Hamas' bullying (if it cared about this so-called "human rights" agenda then publicizing the issue would help,) but all school materials created by UNRWA should be on their website so everyone can see exactly what UNRWA is teaching hundreds of thousands of students.

By contrast, the other UN refugee organization, UNHCR, seems to bend over backwards to provide transparency for researchers.

UNRWA won't become transparent until the donors themselves start to demand answers about where their hundreds of millions of dollars is going. Our taxes ultimately pay for UNRWA's activities, so it is past time for everyone to contact their elected representatives and ask them to demand UNRWA less like a corrupt agency that is trying to hide something.

A small modification to J-Street's 2 State Valentine

J-Street came up with a cute gimmick to push their version of a "2-state solution" as a Valentine's Day card:

Here's one of their cards:

It is funny, sure.

But it seems to be missing a little context, which would (in my humble opinion) make it even funnier.

An "expert" talks about Zionism, 1922

This comes from a 1922 book called "Truth about the Jews, Told by a Gentile" by Walter Hurt. I have no doubt that Hurt felt he was sympathetic to Jews and that his advice was meant to help Jews worldwide. Yet his analysis, which sounds so thorough, was shown by history to be thoroughly wrong.

Zionism is sentimentalism. Its impractical aspects should be apparent to any who gives the subject serious analysis. This fatal sentimentalism is shown at the outset in the selection of Palestine as the site for a Jewish commonwealth. Sentiment alone, unmixed with any practical considerations, could have governed such a choice. Palestine is a comparatively unfruitful country, partly an arid region and partly malarial marshes. Its arable soil is sterile, its natural resources are exhausted, its topographical advantages are few and unimportant, it is not contiguous to centers of either supply or consumption, it is without navigable streams and has no adequate harbor, it is surrounded by hostile hordes and is internally overrun by antagonistic Arabs. All worth while that remain to it are its traditions, and, while these are historically precious, they are a poor foundation for an economic state. Moreover, the claim to its shrines must be shared with the mass of mankind, for every Christian and Moslem as well as the Jew calls it the Holy Land.

Modern Palestine is, in truth, a land of desolation. It may be the Holy Land, but it is not a happy land.

Because of its territorial limitations (its area is some 10,000 square miles—less than the little state of Maryland), it is not possible in these days for Palestine, however plethorically peopled, to become a national entity of importance and power sufficient to justify its existence.

And what Jews would migrate to Palestine? The persecuted and oppressed? The old Order of racial oppression rapidly is vanishing and soon will be no more than a historical memory. The Zionist movement was originated, I believe, chiefly to provide refuge for Jews from the cruelties of Russia, Poland, and Roumania. But such sanctuary no longer is needed. The regime of Russian tyranny has passed, Poland's barbarous power is broken, and Roumania will be made to behave itself. Persecution of Jews, incidental to their presence among Gentiles, persists to some extent in all lands, but this now is too limited to drive them to Palestine from the ends of the earth.

The comfortable classes will not go. Zangwill says of these that he finds "the majority more united for civilization than for colonization."

Prosperous Jews certainly can not be expected to emigrate to Palestine from the countries of their present contentment. The less affluent who are established in employment could not benefit by severing existing associations and removing to Palestine to make a fresh start.

Self-appointed leaders of Zionism have no intention of personally joining the Palestinian colony. They are leaders who will remain in the rear. They are no Moseses.

...What, then, is the aim of the Zionists as to the personnel of the Palestinian State? Do they plan to dump all their defectives, incompetents, and other dependents into the Holy Land, where collectively they can be cared for least expensively? These scarcely would make a creditable colony, one that would reflect favorably before the world the national aspirations of the race. They are not the material for the building of a powerful and permanent state. They could not successfully manage industries, direct government, and develop culture. Moreover, I fear there are not enough failures among the Jews to constitute a very extensive colony.

If the least capable are thus to be colonized, they inevitably would be exploited by designing demagogues of their own race, as well as become the prey of all predatory foreigners.

...There is no need today for a Jewish homeland, for there no longer are homeless Jews except as a common condition of European warfare. The Jew now is a powerful part of nearly every great nation, enjoying civic rights equally with the Gentile. When other governments shall cease fighting Russia, directly or indirectly, and allow the nation to function normally, that vast region of almost virgin resources will afford desirable residence for the Jews or any other race, and be a fit field for Jewish enterprise. Also, Australia, Canada, the United States, and all LatinAmerica give ample area for Jewish expansion.

Palestine is a land of traditions, where, if the Jew be thence transplanted, the burden of the past will weigh heavily upon him. He needs to dwell in new lands, where he always would face the future. It were better for him that he have a fresh outlook, instead of turning his vision forever backward.

The denationalized Jew is welcomed into every progressive community because he enlarges its productive capacity; he is cordially accepted by every advanced government because he adds to the aggregate of taxable wealth. As a national entity he would be a bone of contention among rival powers and an object of collective spoliation.

Among the diverse difficulties confronting such a colony would be the lack of a universal language. Few things are more conducive to inharmony among mankind than what Roget, the English philologist, laments as "that barrier to the interchange of thought and mutual good understanding between man and man, which now is interposed by the diversity of their respective languages."

As a practical vehicle for intercommunication, Hebrew virtually is a dead language. In its purity it is habitually spoken by only 5 per cent of the Jews of the world, being kept alive to this limited extent chiefly by the Chassidim. Consequently, the Jews in Palestine, gathered from all quarters of the globe, would be hampered in their intercourse by a polyglot nomenclature, consisting of Yiddish, Ladino, and other Jewish jargons, as well as all the various vernaculars of the different countries whence the colonists were transplanted.

From this condition would result a "confusion of tongues" such as we are told in biblical lore prevailed at the building of the Tower of Babel, where, according to Kipling's description, "each man talked of the aims of Art, and each in an alien tongue."

...Realized Zionism would be a reversal of the process of progress, a backward step across the chasm of 2000 years. Judaism should be expanded by emigration, not contracted by colonization. It is but natural, perhaps, that the Jews should chafe at their anomalous position of being a nationality without a nation—a people unique in this as in all other things. But it is precisely because the Jews are not a nation that they can become a part of all nations, to achieve international redemption. Israel was'' dispersed to discharge a mission to spread the principles of truth and justice and be a model of righteousness unto all the nations of earth." How, then, may it fulfill this mission if it withdraw again unto itself?

Modern Zionism simply would make of Palestine a magnified ghetto. The true Zion is a spiritual domain whose dimensions can not be defined by metes and bounds.

Jews should realize that Zionism is not exclusively their own concern. The Jewish mission is a world mission, affecting all the inhabitants of earth.

Wherefore, the destiny of Israel is not an individual destiny; it involves the destiny of all humankind.

It behooves the Jews to bear faithfully in mind the primal promise to Abraham, "Thou shalt be a father of many nations"—not just one paltry political state. And when disposed to be forgetful of the magnitude of their mission they should recall the covenant with Jacob that "in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." For myself, I am one Gentile who is unwilling to be cheated of his part in this patrimony, but would hold the Jews to the ancient bargain with their fathers.

...Zionism holds in its plan a fatal contradiction. It would re-establish Jewish nationalism as a means of preserving the Jews as a people. A part of the purpose is to relieve the Jew of oppressive restrictions. As a matter of fact, persecution has been his only preservative. Racial cohesion is a consequence of resistance to invasion of his rights. Remove this cohesive agent, and Judaism would dissolve like a lump of salt in water.

So, the pressure of persecution being all that binds the Jews together, Zionism aims a death-blow at Jewish solidarity.

But the Jews now are so cosmopolitan in character, so thoroughly intermingled with other peoples, so firmly affixed in their associations, and have such enduringly established interests that never again will they attach themselves collectively to a territorial unit. They will remain distributed throughout the world, the better to disseminate the doctrines of Judaism.

Incredibly, after arguing that Jews are better off sprinkled throughout the world to spread their universal message, and that modern nations welcome their Jewish citizens, Hurt does a complete turnaround to justify the next argument:

...It is by no means a rash statement to affirm that at bottom Zionism is not a Jewish, but an anti-Semitic movement, despite the unimpeachable sincerity and unquestioned devotion of its Jewish proponents. Crafty Gentile leaders openlv encourage the colonization plan, while a majority of the dominant class secretly promote the project. Why? Is it because they love the Jew and have his best interests at heart? You know it isn't! Jews should again be reminded to "beware the Greeks bearing gifts." Now that the Jew has grown too strong in his dispersion to be longer despoiled, the Gentiles desire no more of him and would be rid of his presence among them. They would have the Jew go to Palestine, that they may seize upon the opportunities he will leave behind. In confession of their weakness, they would relieve themselves of his successful competition.

Again, while there is strength in unity, not always is there strength in concentration. Israel distributed but unified can effectively defend itself; Jews gathered in a single concentration camp can easily be suppressed and controlled. This was proved in a small way by the Pale. Shall Palestine become a larger Pale?

Progressive civilization soon will compel an end of pogroms; but a Jewish nation is a logical object of armed attack in "legitimate" warfare, pretext for which readily can be provided in conformity with "international law." With the Jews collected in Palestine and virtually defenseless, their wholesale slaughter can more conveniently be accomplished. This may be the Gentile solution to the Jewish Problem. This incredible suggestion will, of course, provoke skeptical smiles from confident and confiding Jews who have learned nothing precautious from the sanguinary lessons of racial history, nor even grasped the stupendous significance of the present world-wave of anti-Semitic agitation.

If preservation and not destruction of the Jews is the desire of the Gentile nations, why do they, while approving Zionism, permit in Europe exterminative war against the Jews without so much as a polite protest?—indeed, abetting that slaughter even to the extent of providing the Polish murderers and the anti-Semitic renegade Russian commander, General Wrangel, with the very bullets with which they butcher Jews. None can be so credulous as for one moment to suppose the complaisant powers could not, did they wish to do so, instantly stop this slaughter of Jews merely by indicating that wish. Certain it is that this result could be assured by refusing further aid until the atrocities cease.

Also, the Gentile fears the fulfillment of Israel's mission, which in his blindness he can not see as a universal blessing, thinking it means Jewish material dominance instead of spiritual supremacy—which misbelief is shared by some Jews. Furthermore, the Jewish ideal is opposed to his selfish interests. He would delay the New Dispensation with its reign of social righteousness, that he still may trample truth and justice. In Zionism he sees the surest means for the miscarriage of the Jewish mission and the defeat of humanity's highest hope.

...It is not a part of the predestined program of Jewish emancipation that the Jew should emigrate en masse from the lands of his persecution. That would be defeat. He must tarry and triumph. It is his mission to remain and civilize his persecutors, to the end that persecution may cease; thus, in self-defense, fulfilling his ordained destiny.

If he would be true to his mission, the last place a Jew should leave is the country of his oppression; that is where he most is needed. Instead of forsaking the inhospitable land for a place of paternalistic refuge, he should remain to redeem it and make it fit for the abiding of all men.

Zionism means evacuation and retreat—a desertion of the field and defeat for the cause.

Again, I really believe that the author believed that he was giving honest advice - and that he truly felt that the best thing for persecuted Jews to do is to stay and convince their persecutors to become better people. Unfortunately, too many Jews nowadays still hold onto this bizarre mindset.

Who are this generation's Hurts - Peter Beinart? Thomas Friedman? Roger Cohen? Ian Lustick? We have no shortage of self-proclaimed "experts" whose analysis and predictions are just as painfully wrong as Hurt's, yet who are just as earnest as he was.

The fact is that no one can predict a single move ahead in a geopolitical chess game where the opponent is playing with different rules, a different board and a different frame of reference. It is a generalization of what I have called the If/Then Fallacy - people say that if Israel/Jews do X, then the reaction will definitely be Y. And almost invariably, they are wrong.

None of these "experts" can predict a single future conditional event accurately, let alone a cascade of such events over the course of years or decades. If this essay above proves anything, it is the truth of the famous phrase of David Ben Gurion: "In Israel, in order to be a realist you must believe in miracles."

Just as Walter Hurt's assumptions were proven to be thoroughly at odds with what actually happened, today's "experts" replace the lessons of history with their hubris, making wild assumptions and predictions of dire consequences that are no less invalid than Hurt's was.

02/13 Links Pt2: Why European companies should worry about BDS; David Duke endorses PCUSA

From Ian:

European companies should be concerned by the BDS campaign

When Transjordan conquered the West Bank in 1948 and annexed it in 1950, it did so on a territory that had been allocated to Jewish self-determination by post-World War I international treaties. Hence Jordan’s sovereignty over the West Bank was never recognized by the international community (with the exception of Britain and Pakistan). When Israel conquered the West Bank in June 1967, it did so in a legitimate act of self-defense (as opposed to Jordan’s military aggression in 1948). Israel did not cross an international border, but a temporary armistice line. It did not conquer a recognized sovereign territory, but one that had been allocated to the Jewish People by the League of Nations and that had been unlawfully controlled by Jordan for 19 years.
Therefore, many international lawyers dispute the assertion that the West Bank is an occupied territory and that the 1949 Geneva Convention applies to it. Article 49 of the convention, which prohibits the mass transfer of populations into occupied territories, was meant to prevent what was a common German practice during WWII, not the voluntary settlement of Jews in a land that was allocated to them for that very purpose by the League of Nations.
The actions brought against Israeli companies that operate beyond the 1949 Armistice Line are therefore legally groundless, even according to the disputable opinion that Israel’s presence beyond that line is illegal. However, were other European courts to vindicate anti-Israeli boycotters in the future, then hundreds of European companies would be exposed to lawsuits because of their activities and investments in countries that occupy territories or that control disputed ones. The list includes, among others, China (over Tibet), Russia (over Abkhazia), Turkey (over Cyprus), and Morocco (over Western Sahara).
Although BDS activists do not have a case, they are potentially exposing hundreds of European companies operating in the above countries to liability. I say bring it on and give Europe a taste of its own medicine.

Alan Dershowitz: Ten reasons why the BDS movement is immoral and hinders peace

As a strong supporter of the two state solution and a critic of Israel's settlement policies, I am particularly appalled at efforts to impose divestment, boycotts and sanctions against Israel, and Israel alone, because BDS makes it more difficult to achieve a peaceful resolution of the Mid-East conflict that requires compromise on all sides.
The BDS movement is highly immoral, threatens the peace process and discourages the Palestinians from agreeing to any reasonable peace offer. Here are ten compelling reasons why the BDS movement is immoral and incompatible with current efforts to arrive at a compromise peace.