Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

A-Z Meme (gee, thanks AbbaGav)

I am always torn about these things. On the one hand, they are pretty much identical to computer viruses (and chain letters) and I don't like to help propagate them. On the other hand, someone actually wants to know how I would answer the questions.

So, here are my answers to the A-Z meme, but I will not pass it on to others, especially right before Pesach!

Accent: None that I'm aware of. I like to think I speak in the same way a national anchorman speaks.
Booze: I never understood why people like drinking things that taste like ashtrays. When I must drink for some social reason, I can stomach a gin and tonic. That is very rare.
Chore I Hate: Pretty much all of them. That's why they are called "chores."
Dogs/Cats: We have a Lhasa Apso, perhaps the dumbest dog in the world. In fact, that's how I call him: "Here, you stupid dog!" And he always comes to me.
Essential Electronics: PC, Casio Exilim camera, Blackberry. And my old Treo which has Bejeweled and a siddur. And a USB memory stick. And a USB WiFi adapter. And a Panasonic camcorder. And....
Favorite Perfume/Cologne: Some twenty years ago, when I taught Hebrew school, I got two colognes for Chanukah. One was English Leather. It took me years before I could bring myself to throw them out.
Gold & Silver: Sorry, I didn't read how others answered this, so I don't know what it means. I don't have any, at any rate.
Hometown: Born in Philadelphia, now in central NJ.
Insomnia: Only when thinking about blogging. Which is often.
Job Title: Guru.
Kids: 2, known as Daughter of Ziyon and Junior Elder.
Living Arrangements: I share my bedroom with my wife. Shocking, I know.
Most Admired Trait: How would I know? The readers need to answer that one.
Number of Sexual Partners: More than zero and less than two, unless I'm really forgetful.
Overnight Hospital Stays: Bli ayin hora, never for myself. DoZ was born on a Friday night so I did stay in the hospital that night.
Phobia: Memes.
Quote: "You deserve the best, but nobody owes you anything." -E. of Z.
Religion: The Jewish part is easy, but I have no idea which subdivision of Orthodoxy I might fit in.
Siblings: 2.
Time I Usually Wake Up: 6.
Unusual Talent: The ability to make faces in a crowded room to a teenage daughter, making her laugh despite herself, without anyone else noticing.
Vegetable I Refuse To Eat: Plenty I dislike but haven't yet seen any I couldn't force down.
Worst Habit: Apparently, responding to memes.
X-Rays: Well, my teeth have been X-rayed a few tmes.
Yummy Foods I Make: My rule is never to spend more time making a food than it takes to eat it. I used to doctor up pre-made foods when I was single, for example putting honey on pre-made breaded chicken before baking, or putting chopped onions in pre-made chopped liver, and those shortcuts made ordinary pre-packaged stuff much more interesting.
When my kids were little I would ask them to take out 3 random (non-dairy)ingredients from the refrigerator or cupboard and then I would mix them up and put it on chicken pieces. Practically everything works (mustard, marmalade, OJ, onions....)
Why I spent more time answering about how little time I spend on food preparation, I do not know.
Zodiac Sign: Virgo, both in my Hebrew and English birthdays.

The Palestinian Arab welfare state stats

Some more statistics and information about how utterly dependent the Palestinian Arabs are on free money:

This article says that the PA pays $118M every month just for salaries. Since the PA employs some 140,000 people, that means that each "worker" gets over $10,000 a year on the average. This may not be high by Western standards, but compare this to Egypt, whose average annual income is $1530 (in 2001) and Jordan's is $1750. (I am assuming that "average annual income" is per worker; I couldn't find a definition.)

I also found this article from 2000 showing how thousands of Palestinian Arabs are employed by NGOs and getting paid far more than civil service workers, and seem to have plenty of corruption that goes along with the extra money and perks, with little accountability. As we see international funding shift from directly funding the PA to the "humanitarian aid" organizations, watch as the NGOs become more and more corrupt and infiltrated with terror supporters themselves.

Unless the international community starts overseeing the NGO budgets, the problem is just moving terror dollars from one pocket to another.

Who is working to give the Palestinian Arabs financial independence?

GAZA: Israel suspended formal security ties to the Palestinian government yesterday in what Hamas said amounted to "a declaration of war".

Meanwhile...

Israel must not be recognized and the Palestinian Foreign Ministry should aim to establish a Palestinian State from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, in place of the Jewish State, PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar said according to Palestinian media reports.

So Israel refusing to cooperate with those who want to destroy it is "declaring war", but Hamas saying they want Israel to be replaced by another Arab state is just evidence of its desire to live in peace with its (Islamic) neighbors.

BERLIN, April 11, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - The European Union is set to remove derogatory terminology about Islam like "Islamic terrorism" and "fundamentalists" in its new lexion of public communication to make clear that terrorists are hijacking the religion, an EU official revealed on Tuesday, April 11.

"Certainly 'Islamic terrorism' is something we will not use ... we talk about 'terrorists who abusively invoke Islam'," the official told Reuters.

EU counter-terrorism chief Gijs de Vries said that terrorism was not inherent to any religion, and praised Muslims for opposing attempts by terrorists abusing Islam.

"They have been increasingly active in isolating the radicals who abuse Islam for political purposes, and they deserve everyone's support. And that includes the choice of language that makes clear that we are talking about a murderous fringe that is abusing a religion and does not represent it," he told Reuters.

Omar Faruk, a Muslim British barrister who has advised the government on community issues, said there was a strong need for a "new sort of political dialogue and terminology".

The widespread use of the expression "just creates a culture where terrorism actually is identified with Islam. That causes me a lot of stress," Faruk added.

The lexicon, which would set down guidelines for EU officials and politicians, will reconsider other terms like "Islamists" and "jihad," which is often used by groups like Al-Qaeda to mean a holy war against the infidels.

"Jihad means something for you and me, it means something else for a Muslim. Jihad is a perfectly positive concept of trying to fight evil within yourself," said the EU official.

We wouldn't want to cause Mr. Faruk any stress, would we?

The very same website that printed this definition of Jihad has this quote in its "fatwa bank," quoting the "moderate" Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi.

The meaning of Jihad in our present time particularly refers to striving to liberate Muslim lands from the grip of the disbelievers who usurped them and imposed on them their own laws in lieu of the Divine Law. Those disbelievers may be Jews, Christians or both or even pagans, who follow no particular religion at all. Disbelievers are all alike.

Capitalists, Communists, Westerners, Easterners, People of the Book and pagans are by no means different from one other. They should all be fiercely fought if they attempt to occupy any part of the Muslim land. This duty falls on those closest to the occupied land, who should be aided by those closest to them, who, in turn, ought to be aided by those closest to them, till it becomes incumbent on all Muslims to take part in Jihad.

Muslims have never been more severely afflicted than they are nowadays. Many of their lands have been captured by the disbelievers, on top of which is Palestine that has fallen victim to corrupt Jews. Similarly, Kashmir has been dominated by pagan Hindus. Chechnya and other Islamic states have fallen in the grip of pagan tyrannical communism.

Retrieving these lands, freeing them from the clutches of atheists and their twisted laws is the joint responsibility of all Muslims. Declaring Jihad to save our land is an Islamic obligation.

If war is waged anywhere to achieve this goal, namely to free the occupied lands of the laws and the tyranny of disbelievers, it is undoubtedly a case of Jihad for the sake of Allah. It thus needs to be financed from the money of Zakah, the amount of which is to be decided based on the total sum of the charity, the requirements of Jihad as well as the degree of the need of other potential recipients of charity. This is all to be decided by reliable scholars, if they are to be found.

So here is the real definition of Jihad: When talking to Muslims, it means fighting non-Muslims; when talking to non-Muslims, it means "struggle."

I have yet to see an Islamic website mention the terror group "Islamic Jihad" with any anger about how they supposedly usurped the word Jihad.

The EU has succumbed yet again to dhimmitude, and watering down the definition of the war against Islamic terror means that the Islamic terrorists have just won another victory in their jihad against the West.

Islamic feminism

I once had an ancient 1954 World Book Encyclopedia. It had a large entry on "Negro" with such picture captions as "Smiling Pullman Porters help people on the train!" It talked about problems in the Negro world, such as the fact that there were far fewer Negro doctors per million Negro people compared to the number of white doctors per white people.

In other words, World Book was earnestly trying to be politically correct, while at the same time being unwittingly racist.

I am reminded of that article as I read this in the Arab News.

Saudi women need jobs, so let's give them jobs! As long as they are the right kinds of jobs...

JEDDAH, 11 April 2006 — The government’s decision to replace salesmen with Saudi saleswomen at lingerie shops will be implemented in two phases, according to Abdul Wahid Al-Humaid, deputy labor minister for planning and development.

Speaking to reporters in Riyadh, he said the sales jobs at lingerie shops along the streets, central markets and major shopping centers would be restricted to Saudi women starting on June 18.

In the second phase set to begin next year, sales jobs at shops of abayas and women’s readymade dresses will be restricted to Saudi women, the Saudi Press Agency quoted Al-Humaid as saying.

Last week, Labor Minister Ghazi Al-Gosaibi said his ministry would not back off from the decision. “The directive is binding and there will be no retraction in its implementation,” Al-Gosaibi said. “Providing jobs for women has been a priority for decision makers in the Kingdom for more than 25 years.”

The Labor Ministry has launched a campaign aimed at employing 200,000 women. Some of the jobs that have been identified for Saudi women are receptionists, tailors, banquet hall employees, nutritionists, governesses, photographers, beauticians, caterers, and hospitality and recreation industry workers.

April 12, 1936: Not worth the paper it wasn't written on

Philip Roth once wrote "Truth is stranger than fiction, but stranger still are lies." And he is right.

We see today that world leaders can transparently and provably lie and yet their statements are treated as if they are newsworthy.

Diplomacy is based on the assumption that both parties are trustworthy. But for some reason, even when one party is proven to have lied over and over again, in today's world people are willing to give them more and more chances - as long as they aren't the ones who can be directly affected by the lies.

Even bald-faced lies can have the effect of buying time, of causing the listener to pause and reconsider. People want to believe so much that they will allow themselves to believe the words of known liars.

So lies almost always work, on some level. And as long as they are rewarded, they will be repeated.

The headline I haven't seen yet

Back in January, I outlined the "nightmare Hamas scenario" where Iran would fund the nascent Hamastan. In this scenario, Hamas remains solvent, terroristic and it becomes a means to deliver nuclear weapons to Israel without any rockets.

It appeared that the scenario was coming true, as Iran forcefully and loudly declares its support for the Hamas terror leadership. Iran did in fact claim to offer Hamas money in February, and we know that Hamas has been getting closer to Hizbollah which is funded directly by Iran.

Iran has also been very vocal in its public support for Hamastan, hosting conferences with the purpose of supporting Hamas and Palestinian Arabs.

But I have yet to see the headline "Iran pledges $100 million to the PA" or anything specific like that. All I am seeing is Iran calling on other Islamic and Arab states to support Palestinian Arabs, and the occasional article saying how Iran "supports" Palestinian Arab rights.

Why hasn't Iran taken the obvious lead in funding Hamas publicly?

Do they not have the cash? Are they full of hot air? Do they want to keep aid to the Hamas military "wing" private and out of the scrutiny of international auditors who watch where Western dollars go?

Any ideas?

CAIR data point

The Muslim supremacist group, CAIR, recently held a fundraiser in Detroit. The Arab American News covered the event. Among the attendees interviewed was this

"[We’re] interested in the future of Islam…[and we’re] opposed to the Zionist state of Israel," said Henry Dudzinski of Redmond, joined by his wife Mary. "[We’re] interested in hearing the keynote speaker."

It is interesting to note that it appears that the general American-Arab population is right in line with Hamas in being against Israel altogether, not against post 1967 "occupation."

But I'm sure it is only a tiny minority.....

How to deal with adversity

A lesson for Palestinian Arabs:

Gush Katif Lettuce being exported en masse to North American communities for Passover

For the coming Passover the “HaSalad” Company is flying out over 250,000 heads of lettuce to some thirty destinations all over the world.

The “HaSalad” Company is one of the leading producers and marketers of chilled fresh leafy worm-free vegetables in Israel. It is currently engaged in exporting by air 250,000 worm-free kosher for Passover lettuce heads to about thirty Jewish communities abroad. The lettuce heads are being taken to five centers in the United States (Los Angeles, New Jersey, New York, Miami and Las Vegas) and to other countries including England, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Russia.

Mr. Roni Ephraim, export manager at the “HaSalad” Company, reports that his firm will export 100 tons of lettuce, with a value of 1.5 million dollars.

The “HaSalad – Alei Katif” company was founded in Kfar Darom, Gush Katif sixteen years ago. It was the first business in Israel which specialized in growing insect-free leafy vegetables.

During the expulsion the plant, the largest in Gush Katif, was transferred temporarily to the industrial zone of Sha’ar HaNegev. In a short time it succeeded in growing lettuce and other vegetables on an area of hundreds of dunams in the western Negev area.

Formerly about 450 dunams in Gush Katif were covered with greenhouses that grew vegetables for HaSalad. In a mere six months the firm has again reached 100% of its former production. Dozens of new workers from Sderot and Netivot have replaced many of the workers formerly employed in Gush Katif.

Yes, Jews were forcibly kicked out of their homes, 16 years of their work and livelihoods destroyed, and six months later they are completely back up to speed - without the EU or the UN giving them a dime, without whining constantly to the world about how bad their lot is, without insisting on handouts and resolutions.

How many decades will it take Arabs to learn the same lesson?

Looks like we need a scorecard

Hamas, Fatah and Islamic Jihad are re-arranging their roles. Somehow, I think their goal remains the same.

This is particularly hilarious:

Some Fatah-affiliated militias are behind the latest wave of Kassam rocket attacks, in the hope of prompting a massive IDF operation in the Gaza Strip that would eventually bring down the new Hamas cabinet, Hamas officials claimed on Sunday.
The officials told The Jerusalem Post that the timing of the recent increase in attacks - almost immediately after the Hamas cabinet was sworn in - was not coincidental. They also accused some elements in the rival Islamic Jihad of working together with Fatah militias.
"Their main goal is to drag Israel into a major confrontation in order to bring down the Hamas administration," a Hamas minister said. He pointed out that Hamas was not involved in firing rockets and that the movement would continue to honor the unofficial truce with Israel.
He said he did not rule out the possibility that some of the Palestinian Authority's security forces were also involved in the "conspiracy" to topple the Hamas cabinet.
"The situation is very dangerous," he said. "I don't rule out the possibility that some of the security forces and their commanders are behind the rocket attacks. They want to plunge the area into anarchy so that they can say that Hamas has failed."
Ghazi Hamad, spokesman for the Hamas cabinet, said the latest wave of violence was clearly aimed at confusing the new cabinet. He expressed regret that the international community was more interested in finding ways to isolate Hamas than in forcing Israel to halt its "state terror."
Another Hamas spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, accused Israel of trying to bring down the new cabinet. "The latest Israeli military escalation is aimed at forcing the Palestinians to succumb and bringing down the new cabinet, which was elected in democratic elections," he said. "The Zionist crimes won't break the will of the Palestinian people and the occupation will pay a heavy price for its crimes."
Both Hamad and Zuhri refrained from openly blaming Fatah or any of the PA security forces.
Meanwhile, a row has erupted between Islamic Jihad's political and military wings over whether to stop Kassam attacks. Sources close to the military wing, al-Kuds Brigades, announced on Sunday morning that the group had decided to halt its attacks for at least one week because of the IDF strikes over the past few days.
"The decision was taken to prove to the world that Israel is initiating attacks on the Palestinians and that we are only responding," it said in a leaflet distributed in Gaza City. "We want to show the world that we are only defending ourselves and that we don't love bloodshed."
Hours later, Khaled al-Batsh and Khader Habib, the top political leaders of Islamic Jihad, denied that the group had agreed to suspend its rocket attacks.
PA Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh chaired an emergency meeting of his cabinet on Sunday to discuss the latest cycle of violence. The cabinet decided to request an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council to condemn Israel's attacks on the Gaza Strip, saying the Palestinians were entitled to "resist the occupation."
The cabinet also decided to dispatch Foreign Minister Mahmoud Zahar to a number of Arab and Islamic countries to seek financial and political backing for the PA.
Information Minister Yusef Rizkah told reporters that Israel was trying to "blackmail" the new cabinet and send a message to Palestinian voters that they had made the wrong choice by electing Hamas. "Israel's message is also directed to the Arab world," he said. "Israel is warning the Arab leaders against supporting the Hamas cabinet."

Dizzying, isn't it? In a nutshell: Hamas says Fatah is using violence against Israel to topple Hamas so Fatah can get back in charge with world backing because Fatah is so much more peaceful than Hamas. Islamic Jihad wants to stop its hundreds of rocket attacks to prove that Israel is the aggressor, but in the end it denies wanting to stop any sort of terror. Hamas says Islamic Jihad is in cahoots with Fatah to bring down Hamas even though IJ never had any political ambitions.

Makes perfect sense!

Haveil Havalim Home-Run!

The Ignoble Experiment hosts this week's Haveil Havalim, in a dizzyingly comprehensive look at the Jewish/Israeli blogosphere.

I am honored to be mentioned no less than 4 times in this roundup:

My picture of April snow,
a wire-news picture of a dilemma,
my article on how Iran perceives Western fears,
and my article on where "humanitarian aid" goes.

Thanks, Irina, for the mentions!

Seraphic Secret has an excellent and heartbreaking post about going through the notebooks of the son he lost.

Elie's Expositions has three articles also about the pain of losing his son last year, and his latest is both saddening and uplifting.

May both Elie and Robert take comfort in the fact that they and their wives raised incredible young men who continue to touch and inspire all of us.

In this Pesach season may we only have שמחות, happiness, and may we go מעבדות לחירות , from slavery to freedom, in every sense of those words.