Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Sunday, September 26, 2004

New Iran missiles can reach London (WorldNetDaily)

Iran said today it has successfully test-fired a long-range 'strategic missile' and delivered it to its armed forces, saying it is now prepared to deal with any regional threats and even the 'big powers.'

Iran's new missiles can reach London, Paris, Berlin and southern Russia, according to weapons and intelligence analysts.

If there is anything bad about US involvement in Iraq, it is that we are less likely now to confront Iran, which is proving itself to be the biggest threat to the world today. -EoZ

Syria brokers secret deal to send Iraqi atomic weapons scientists to Iran (Daily Telegraph)

Syria's President Bashir al-Asad is in secret negotiations with Iran to secure a safe haven for a group of Iraqi nuclear scientists who were sent to Damascus before last year's war to overthrow Saddam Hussein.

Western intelligence officials believe that President Asad is desperate to get the Iraqi scientists out of his country before their presence prompts America to target Syria as part of the war on terrorism.

The issue of moving the Iraqi scientists to Iran was raised when President Asad made a visit to Teheran in July. Intelligence officials understand that the Iranians have still to respond to the Syrian leader's request.

A group of about 12 middle-ranking Iraqi nuclear technicians and their families were transported to Syria before the collapse of Saddam's regime. The transfer was arranged under a combined operation by Saddam's now defunct Special Security Organisation and Syrian Military Security, which is headed by Arif Shawqat, the Syrian president's brother-in-law.

The Iraqis, who brought with them CDs crammed with research data on Saddam's nuclear programme, were given new identities, including Syrian citizenship papers and falsified birth, education and health certificates. Since then they have been hidden away at a secret Syrian military installation where they have been conducting research on behalf of their hosts.

Growing political concern in Washington about Syria's undeclared weapons of mass destruction programmes, however, has prompted President Asad to reconsider harbouring the Iraqis.

American intelligence officials are concerned that Syria is secretly working on a number of WMD programmes.

They have also uncovered evidence that Damascus has acquired a number of gas centrifuges - probably from North Korea - that can be used to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb.

Israelis Win 7 Paralympic Medals

The Israeli Paralympic team has brought home seven medals, three of them gold, in what has been Israel's most successful Paralympic performance ever.
Israel's sailing team, made up of members Dror Cohen, Arnon Ephrati and Benny Vexler, has dominated the sonar division, coming in first place after finishing fourth in the in the seventh leg and first in the eighth leg of the nine-race competition. They won their final race today.

“We are very happy for ourselves and for Israel," said skipper Dror Cohen. "The flag of our country is being displayed now."

Israeli swimmer Keren Leibowitz won Israel's second gold medal Wednesday, coming in first place in the 100-meter backstroke race.

Leibowitz narrowly missed winning the gold in the 100-meter freestyle Monday, after which she lamented: "I don't feel like I won the silver - I feel like I lost the gold." Leibowitz had raced against American Jessica Long, who pulled ahead of Leibowitz at the very end of the race, beating her by 19/100 of a second. Two years ago, in the Sydney Paralympics, Leibowitz won three gold medals and broke three world-records.

This morning, in an interview with Army Radio, Leibowitz said she was glad to again represent the State of Israel in the position that suits it: "Number one," she said. Leibowitz was seen smiling, with tears streaming down her face, at the singing of Hatikva, Israel's national anthem.

Israeli Itzhak Mamistalov also won a gold medal, coming in first in the men's 100-meter freestyle Tuesday and setting a new Paralympic record. Mamistalov is paralyzed in three limbs, swimming using only his right arm. He also took home a silver medal on Wednesday in the 200-meter freestyle.

Other Israeli winners include Inbal Pezaro, who took the bronze in the women's 200-meter freestyle and Doron Shaziri, who won a bronze medal in the men's rifle contest. Nimrod Tzabiran placed sixth in the men's 100-meter freestyle.

With seven medals total, Israel's Paralympic team surpassed its record of five medals in Sydney.

The Paralympic Games are a biennial event for elite athletes with any disability. They follow the Olympic Games every two years, with both summer and winter games. The Paralympics 2004 has more than 4,000 disabled athletes from 136 countries competing for 525 gold medals in 19 sports.

Egypt bans Madonna after Israel visit

Egypt has issued an order barring pop star Madonna from entering the country because she visited Israel.

Members of Egypt's parliament have demanded Madonna, who has not requested entry into Egypt or announced any plans to visit the country, be barred from entering Egyptian soil. The parliament directed Egyptian embassies abroad to deny any visa requests from Madonna.

Egypt gets $2 billion annually for its Camp David "peace" with Israel. - EoZ

G'mar chatima tovah

For those who observe Yom Kippur, have an easy fast and may we all be sealed for a great year!

Jordan plans to build 5th minaret on Temple Mount

It is appearing that Israel's government has lost interest in having anything Jewish about the "Jewish state." Politics should not decide what happens to Judaism's most holy site. - EoZ

Jordanian Wakf officials are planning on building a fifth minaret on the Temple Mount, and Israel has not objected to the proposal, a senior Jordanian official said Tuesday.

"We informed the Jerusalem police chief the day before yesterday that we are going to build a fifth minaret at the site," said Dr. Raief Najim, the vice president of the Jordanian Construction Committee, in a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post from Amman.

Najim, who is overseeing the renovation of the southern and eastern Temple Mount walls, said the planned minaret was the brainchild of Jordanian King Abdullah II and would be constructed near the eastern wall of the Temple Mount next year.

Four other minarets exist on the Temple Mount, three near the Western Wall and one near the northern wall.

Jerusalem police declined comment Tuesday, but Najim said Wakf officials inferred from the silence of the Jerusalem police chief, Cmdr. Ilan Franco, that Israel had no objection to the plan.

A spokesman for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Raanan Gissin, told the Post the building of the minaret is "within Jordan's religious autonomy" as the traditional overseer of maintenance at the site.

According to decades-old regulation in place at the Temple Mount, Israel maintains overall security while the Wakf, or Islamic Trust, is charged with day-to-day administration.

Najim said construction work on the minaret – which is estimated to cost 250,000 Jordanian dinars ($352,000) – would begin in 2005, after a design similar to the four existing minarets is completed.

He added that the tentative location chosen for the planned fifth minaret, just north of the Golden Gate near the eastern wall, would not require "deep excavations."

But leading Israeli archeologists, who have been decrying the lack of archeological supervision at the site for the past four years, lambasted the plan.

"Before any change is made at the ancient Temple Mount it is essential that archeological supervision resume immediately at the site," said Dr. Eilat Mazar, a Temple Mount expert and member of the Committee Against the Destruction of Antiquities on the Temple Mount.

"In the past, Wakf requests for small structural changes on the Temple Mount were actually an excuse for large-scale Islamization of the site, which caused massive antiquities damage," she added, referring to the unilateral Wakf construction work carried out in the late 1990s at an architectural support of the mount, known as Solomon's Stables. That project began after Israel approved a request for an "emergency exit" to the underground site.

During this period, Israel has been keen to involve the Jordanians in the ongoing repair work on the Temple Mount, with the Jordanians considered to be more moderate than the Palestinian heads of the Wakf appointed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.

Hizbollah upset over Iraqi-Israeli handshake

I found it interesting that the BBC doesn't identify exactly who is criticizing the handshake in the headline, implying that the entire Arab world agrees. Maybe they do but the only criticism comes from Hizbollah, which is hardly newsworthy. - EoZ

Iraq's interim prime minister is facing some withering criticism for shaking hands with Israel's foreign minister at the United Nations general assembly.

Lebanese militant Hezbollah group said Iyad Allawi's gesture was 'scornful' to Arabs and an 'insult' to Iraqis.

Israel's Silvan Shalom said it was the first official contact between Israel and Iraq. He told Mr Allawi he hoped for peace in the Middle East, he said.

Israel and Iraq are neighbours at the alphabetically-seated New York venue.

Mr Shalom and Mr Allawi and other Israeli and Iraqi delegates exchanged handshakes and pleasantries just before the start of the UN's annual debate on Tuesday night.

Hezbollah said the gesture showed how the US was trying to pull Iraq away from the Arab and Islamic worlds and draw it into an American-Israeli sphere of influence.

'It was also in blatant disregard of the pains and sufferings of the Palestinian people, and of the feelings of Arabs and Muslims everywhere,' the statement added.

Mr Shalom told Associated Press he hoped Iraq would establish relations with Israel and US officials have expressed the same aspiration.

However, Mr Allawi has said Iraq will not establish relations with Israel until other Arab states did so as part of a Middle East peace settlement.

Iraq's mission at the UN said it had no information about the incident.

No to another terror state (Joseph Farah)

There is an opportunity right now to weigh in on one of the greatest and most important issue of our time – whether the world should create a Palestinian Arab state.

A group called Global Israel Alliance is attempting to mobilize opposition to this misguided plan now, prior to the November elections. If the turnout is high enough, the organizers believe it might help reverse U.S. support for the so-called Mideast "roadmap."

What's wrong with the idea of creating a Palestinian Arab state?

There are many reasons to oppose the creation of what would certainly be another breeding ground and support base for Islamic terrorism. But I want to focus on just one.

One of the great untold stories of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is that the Palestinian Authority's official policy is to demand all Jews get out of the country they are attempting to create.

I'll bet you didn't know that. But it's true. This is why the Palestinian Authority is calling for the dismantling of Jewish communities within its territory. There is no room for any Jews in the country the children of Yasser Arafat want to start.

In any other part of the world, this kind of racist, anti-Semitic effort at ethnically cleansing a region would be roundly condemned by all civilized people. Yet, because most people simply don't understand the clear, official plan by the Arab leaders to force out all Jews from the new Palestinian state, Arafat retains a degree of sympathy, even political support, from much of the world.

Think about what I am saying: It is the official policy of the Palestinian Authority that all Jews must get off the land! Why is the United States supporting the creation of a new, racist, anti-Semitic hate state? Why is the civilized world viewing this as a prescription for peace in the region? Why is this considered an acceptable idea?

Is there any other place in the world where that kind of official policy of racism and ethnic cleansing is tolerated – even condoned?

Why are the rules different in the Middle East? Why are the rules different for Arabs? Why are the rules different for Muslims?

Would America consider it acceptable if the new Iraqi government said the few Jews remaining in Iraq would have to leave? Would America consider it acceptable if the new Iraqi governing council said Christians would have to go?

Of course not. So why – even before a Palestinian state is created – do we accept as a fait accompli that Jews should be forced off their land in the coming state of Palestine?

Why are U.S. tax dollars supporting the racist, anti-Semitic entity known as the Palestinian Authority?

Is it any wonder Israelis seek to build a wall to protect themselves from the racist, anti-Semitic supporters of suicide bombers determined not only to kill Jews in the Palestinian Authority, but to kill as many as they can in Israel as well?

While the Arabs do not even believe Jews have the right to live in the Palestinian state, the Israelis, on the other hand, offer full citizenship rights to Arabs in the Jewish state.

What a contrast!

In fact, as I have said many times, nowhere in the Middle East do Arabs experience more freedom than in Israel.

So, sound off. Participate in the referendum. Make your voice heard.

There's still time to stop the creation of another terror state in the Middle East.

Iran Moves to Roll Back Rights Won by Women

Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, women have been forced to cover their heads and wear long, loose coats in public. But many had defied the restrictions since Mr. Khatami's election in 1997 and started wearing tighter and more colorful coats and showing more hair.

In recent months, though, newspapers have reported that scores of women have been arrested in Tehran, the capital, and around the country because they were wearing what the authorities considered to be un-Islamic dress.

Members of Parliament have called for segregating men and women at universities and for other limits on women's activities. Hard-liners have held protests to call for a crackdown on freedoms for women and have contended that women ridicule religious sanctities by violating the dress code.

The previous Parliament, dominated by reformists, embraced more legal rights for women and - despite opposition by hard-liners - expanded women's right to divorce and child custody.

Eshrat Shaegh, a conservative woman who has a seminary education and who is one of the women elected to Parliament in the sweep by hard-liners, wrote a letter to Mr. Khatami in July that called for an end to the mixing of unmarried young men and women in public places.

'How do you intend to resolve problems by allowing half-nude women to mingle and party with men who dress like women?' she asked in her letter, referring to women who in the hard-liners' view show too much hair and men who wear colorful clothes."

"Non-Violent" PSM at Duke won't condemn terrorism

Nice to see them exposed for what they are, yet again. - EoZ

The planners of a pro-Palestinian student conference at Duke University will not sign a statement condemning terrorism as Jewish groups on campus have requested, a spokesman said.

Condemning Palestinian organizations methods would violate the guidelines of the Palestinian Solidarity Movement, said Rann Bar-On, a member of the affiliated Duke group Hiwar.

'We don't see it as very useful for us as a solidarity movement to condemn violence,' he said. 'That will not achieve any particular goal.'

Despite protestations from conference organizers that the Palestinian Solidarity Movement supports only nonviolence, conference opponents have said the group tacitly supports suicide bombings and other violent acts by leaving its position on them deliberately vague.

Jewish groups placed an advertisement in the Duke student newspaper earlier this month saying conference organizers must condemn the killing of civilians in order for Jewish and Palestinian groups on campus to have a useful dialogue.

The request conflicts with one of the groups guiding principles as stated on its Web site.

'As a solidarity movement, it is not our place to dictate the strategies or tactics adopted by the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberation,' the statement reads."

Arabs continue to support kidnappings, beheadings; but worry about PR

Muslim outrage over killings found lacking
By Paul Martin
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
LONDON — The beheadings of two Americans in Iraq this week have been treated as unwelcome developments in the Arab press, but the concern has been more for the image of Muslims than for the victims.
Most organizations continued to cast the outrage as a small part of a wider conflict in which the United States is seen as the prime culprit.
"There has been little sign of the outrage that greeted the kidnapping of two French hostages last month and none of the soul-searching prompted by the ... siege" at a school in Beslan, Russia, said Sebastian Usher, who monitors the Arab media for the British Broadcasting Corp.
A survey of the Arabic press in the past few days found that almost all reported the kidnappings of two Americans and a Briton and the Internet posting of statements and videotapes depicting the grisly killings of the two Americans. Appeals for mercy from the family of British hostage Kenneth Bigley also were widely reported.
But in most cases, the stories were quickly overtaken by extensive and colorful reports of bloodshed elsewhere in Iraq or in the Palestinian territories.
Al Jazeera, the most widely watched Arabic television channel, conducted a telephone poll during its top debating program, the Other Direction. In it, 93 percent of viewers said they approved of kidnapping foreigners in Iraq — even though by then, one of the two American hostages had been decapitated.

French Reiterate Support for Arafat

UNITED NATIONS - Disagreeing with US officials, France’s foreign minister said on Thursday that no progress could be made in the Middle East peace process by marginalizing or not negotiating with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

“There are a number of political authorities who say that nothing can be done with Yasser Arafat,” said Michel Barnier, answering a question on whether he was concerned that recent calls by US President George W. Bush for a change in Palestinian leadership would further undermine the stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

“I believe that nothing can be done without Arafat, or against Arafat,” Barnier said. “He is the legitimate and chosen leader of the Palestinian people, and we must have a dialogue with him because he represents his people.”

The French have never met a murderous dictator they didn't like. - EoZ