Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Where welfare mentality and violent pathology mix

Palestinian Arabs in general, and Gazans in particular, have a strange mentality.

They firmly believe that the world owes them everything, that it should be handed to them on a silver platter, that they should not have to expend the slightest amount of effort to get anything. They "deserve" free food, medical attention, a salary independent of actual working, (plus, of course, a state or perhaps two.)

At the same time, they are taught from birth that the solution to their problems is in violence. The charter of the PLO says so explicitly, and their heroes are the people who have killed the most. They don't plaster pictures of soccer players on their walls and websites; rather they have pictures of terrorists.

Put the two pathological mentalities together and you see stories like this:

The popular committees in the refugee camps of the northern West Bank have decided to shut down the offices of UNRWA, the UN's agency for Palestinian refugees, saying that UNRWA failed to fulfill a commitment to the committees regarding the distribution of aid.

“The agreement signed between the UNRWA and the refugee camps states resuming distribution of aid portions for refugees three times a year as follows: [Families with] (1-3) members get one portion, (4-6) members get two portions and (7) members above get two portions plus 200 shekels," the committees said in a statement.

The committees said that they would shut down the offices of UNRWA directors, UNRWA Social Affairs offices, but would exclude medical facilities from the protest.

The committees warned that they would escalate beyond this initial protest if their demands are not met.

If they aren't getting all the free food and money they demand, why, they'll shut down the offices of the people who are trying to give them free food and money!

This is not the first time that PalArabs have attacked UNRWA - the one agency who is dedicated to not only helping them forever but also to perpetuate their fake "refugee" status. They were attacked and threatened last April as well, but hushed it up.

To anyone in the civilized world, the idea that people who are dependent on an organization would attack that organization and hurt themselves in the process would be considered insane. To Palestinian Arabs who have been raised with the twin pathologies of violence and entitlement, it makes perfect sense.

The world is funding Hamas

One of the major reasons that Hamas remains in power despite the international "boycott" is because the boycott is a joke.

The infrastructure of Gaza is paid for by the PA, which gets its money from the same governments that pretend to not fund Hamas. Hamas is then free to do whatever it wants without worrying about people getting too upset.

A new study by the Palestinian Economic Council for Development and Reconstruction (not yet available in English) shows some stunning numbers:

The PA employs 150,870 staff, of whom 78,000 employees are in the Gaza Strip, including 31,350 military personnel and 45,650 civilian staff. So more than half of the paid employees of the PA "work" in Gaza, which has roughly one third the population. Not only that, but the Gazans get paid more: right now 68.5% of the PA wages get paid to Gaza employees.

335 million shekels flow from the PA to Gaza every month, and Hamas gains tens of millions more from its own taxes - none of which go back to the PA. Outside donations give Hamas another 77 million shekels a month.

PECDAR goes on to estimate that the PA pays some $368 million dollars annually to employees in Gaza who do, literally, nothing.

When Israel still occupied Gaza, Gaza was responsible for 30% of the PA's GDP - because of the jobs that the evil Zionists provided to the Gazans. Now the number is virtually zero. Yet the percentage that the PA spends in Gaza has increased, from less than 50% in 2005 to the 68.5% now.

The reason Hamas prospers is because the world, via the PA, is funding it. Hamas is free to concentrate on weapons and smuggling because it doesn't have to worry about schools and water and all the normal civic responsibilities that every government has.

Is there any wonder that Arab nations are now balking at funding the PA?

Egypt: Hijab women get more harassment

The Sacramento Bee has a fluff piece about an Islamic booth at the California State Fair:

"Just out of curiosity – and I don't mean any disrespect," asked Cassidy, who lives in Cool, "but why do you (Muslim women) cover your heads?"
Salihah Bustamam, 25, smiled and answered that it is wrong to think that their religion subjugates women.
"It holds women in high regard," said Bustamam.
According to the WhyIslam Web site, for Muslim women who veil themselves or practice hijab, it represents an act of obedience to God. It also represents a step toward freedom from being judged by their looks rather than their intellect.

Well, this might not be quite true. From the Washington Post:

Surprisingly, some Egyptian women say that their veils don't protect against harassment..., but fuel it. A survey released this summer supports the view.

"These guys are animals. If they saw a female dog, they would harass it," Hind Sayed, a 20-year-old sidewalk vendor in Cairo's Mohandisseen district, said, staring coldly at a knot of male vendors who stood grinning a few feet from her.
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In accord with her interpretation of Islamic law, which says women should dress modestly, Sayed wore a flowing black robe and black veil. Together, they covered all but her hands and her pale face with its drawn-on, expressive eyebrows. Despite her attire, Sayed said, she daily endures suggestive comments from male customers and fellow vendors.

"I think a woman who wears hijab can be more provocative to them," Sayed said. "The more covered up you are, the more interesting you are to them."

Zuhair Mohammed, a 60-year-old shopper on the same street, said she long ago stopped wearing the traditional Islamic covering, in part for that reason.

"I feel like with the hijab, it makes them wonder, 'What are you hiding underneath?' " Mohammed said.

Mona Eltahawy, a 41-year-old Egyptian social commentator who now lives, unveiled, in the United States, said that as a Muslim woman who wore hijab for nine years and was harassed "countless times" in Egypt, she has concluded that the increase in veiling has somehow contributed to the increase in harassment.

"The more women veil the less men learn to behave as decent and civilized members of society," Eltahawy wrote in an interview via Facebook. "And the more women are harassed, the more they veil thinking it will 'protect' them."

Female travelers consider Egypt one of the worst countries in the world for harassment on the streets -- second only to Afghanistan, where the Taliban forced all women behind the veil and into seclusion in their homes.

And it's not just women's perceptions. The United States and Britain both warn female visitors in travel advisories that they may face unwanted attention, or sexual attacks, in Egypt.

When Egyptian lawmakers objected to Britain's advisory this summer, calling it a slur, Britain responded that more female British tourists were harassed and assaulted, even raped, while in Egypt than in any other country.

A new survey by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights makes harassment on the streets appear not a risk, but a virtual certainty. According to the center, 98 percent of the foreign women and 83 percent of the Egyptian women surveyed said they had been sexually harassed in the country.

About half of the women, Egyptian and non-Egyptian, said they were harassed every day as they went about the streets. The survey polled 2,020 Egyptian men and women and 109 non-Egyptian women.

Foreign women identified Egyptian policemen and other security officials as the most frequent harassers.

Two-thirds of the Egyptian men surveyed admitted to harassing women, in actions ranging from staring openly at their bodies, shouting explicit comments, touching the women or exposing themselves.

"It makes a woman happy when I call to her. It makes her know she's attractive," 20-year-old Alla Aldin Salem said on the sidewalk in Mohandisseen, after going out of earshot of the glaring fellow vendor in hijab.

"The woman herself is the one who makes men harass her," said Fawzi Tahbet, a 50-year-old man selling kitchenware on another stretch of the sidewalk, under the shade of a tree. "If she's walking, swinging as she goes, of course it will happen."

In fact, the survey's results challenged a stereotype, according to Nehad Komsan, chairwoman of the women's rights center.

While both men and women surveyed said that short skirts and tight clothes triggered harassment, the survey found that women in hijab were the most frequent targets of unwanted comments and touching on the street.

Among Egyptian women, 72 percent of those who described incidents of harassment said they were veiled at the time.

"It surprised me," said Komsan, who wears hijab. "It doesn't matter what you wear."

Egypt's most notorious case of harassment occurred last year when two fully veiled Gulf Arab women were surrounded by dozens of men on a street and molested.

Morning links

Al-Watan (Kuwait): Lebanon should spurn Syria and embrace Israel (h/t Israellycool)

Boker Tov Boulder on one-way "gestures"

YNet on the Italian government agreeing to allow the PLO and PFLP to roam free in Italy in exchange for agreeing not to target Italians. (Essentially, the world does that anyway even today, pushing Israel to make concessions thinking that this will reduce Arab terrorism against the West.)

Arutz-7: There will finally be a ceremony during the Olympics to mark the Munich massacre. It shall be recalled that the Munich attacks were organized and funded by people today considered Israel's "moderate" peace partners.

The Egyptian Mustache Club

I don't know how I missed this MEMRI clip earlier this month. Others have already blogged about it, but it is worth mentioning for those who hadn't seen it.

One great screen shot:

And the punchline, shown with much laughter on Egyptian TV:

Brief programming note

This blog, along with many other Israel-oriented blogs and news sources, is now listed in Alltop under the Israel page.

Alltop is an attempt to put lots of relevant links about particular topics in a single page. Check it out!

Open thread for Sunday

This is the easiest regular feature I ever tried!

In training : Palestinian militants from the Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees take part in a training exercise in Beit Hanun in the Northern Gaza Strip. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)

We've seen Mahmoud Hams' propaganda before, specifically only taking photos that make terrorists look heroic and never taking pictures that make them look like terrorists. He has stated in the past that his purpose in working for AFP is to act as an unapologetic advocate of Palestinian Arabs, and AFP is happy to employ someone like that.

Do you think that AFP would ever frame a picture of US or Israeli soldiers in such a flattering light?

Abu Rish Brigades leader begs to get out of Gaza

Firas Press (autotranslated, cleaned up:)

Younis Oweidat, leader of the Ahmed Abu Rish Martyr Brigades, asked President Abbas to intervene to allow their people to enter the Palestinian territories of the West Bank after Hamas carried out various operations and attempted executions on more than one occasion, even knowing that they are wanted by the forces of Zionist occupation. [Apparently, a group of them are still in limbo between Gaza and Israel at the Erez crossing.]
He stated: "Yes, better to be behind bars in occupation jails than to return to the grip of Hamas, who sentenced me and seven of my militant brothers to death, they attacked my house...The culture of blood and murder that Hamas planted in the hearts of their sons made the blood of all the Palestinian people, especially militants, cheap. "
He ended by appealing to President Abbas as saying the immediate and rapid intervention to solve their problem, as they board the Erez crossing for more than ten days left homeless.

Isn't it great that some Palestinian Arabs prefer to be in those horrid Israeli prisons rather than being under Hamas rule?

Another update on Masab Yousef

The family of Masab Yousef, the son of a Hamas leader who converted to Christianity, has reacted to the proof that he indeed had converted (after their initial denials.)

In an interview, relative Suhayb al-Zaman says that the family is shocked, especially the father who is still in prison. He states that neighbors in Ramallah are ostracizing them and the extended family is also pressuring them.

Despite this, Suhayb says, the family has decided not to abandon Masab, and they bring in Islamic scholars of Christianity to debate with him for hours at a time over an Internet connection, saying they are redoubling their efforts to bring him back to Islam.

The family also denies that he converted while living in Ramallah.

They emphasize that they will continue to try to bring him back to Islam, so that he can be saved from going to hell.

Peaceful PalArab weekend

Hamas police violently broke up a protest by wives and children of detained Fatah members in Gaza. Reports state that Hamas threatened any media outlets from filming or reporting on the protest and Hamas' reaction.

A woman's body was found in Jericho; she was from Jerusalem and had been missing for two weeks.

Rhetoric between Egypt and Hamas is heating up, as Hamas accuses Egypt of working with Israel to keep Rafah closed.

Israel seized some weapons and ammunition from an Arab in Hebron.

Hamas fired on a 21-year old in Jabalya, injuring him.

One of the Church of the Nativity terrorists who was exiled to Gaza was abducted and apparently tortured by "unknown elements."

Al Aqsa Brigades members threatened the Fayyad government of the PA in Bethlehem.

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 151.

Saudis pay $500 for Indonesian "wives"

From the Saudi Gazette:

Jakarta – ‘Tourist marriages’ have increased in Indonesia during the summer months when Saudis travel abroad.

Officials are saying during the summer months when there is an increase in Saudi tourists to a region, some men marry local women in ‘tourist marriages’ and then leave the country, abandoning them.

Faraj Al-Dawseri who heads a section at the Saudi Embassy caring for citizens said one case involved four young Saudis who married four Indonesian girls in Bandon, 220km from Jakarta.
The Saudi men alleged the marriages were unofficial because they did not acquire a permit from the Ministry of the Interior in Saudi Arabia and instead the marriages were officiated by a mosque’s Imam in the presence of the girls’ father. They alleged they did not deceive their father-in-law because they declared the marriages were only being conducted to “protect them from temptation.”

They also said they were being cautious not to father children with the women because the marriages were strictly “tourist marriages.”

Al-Dawseri said there were thousands of children in Indonesia abandoned by their Saudi fathers, Al-Watan reported. He said many of the cases go unreported because many of the victims do not approach the embassy. The embassy attempts to facilitate contact between the Saudis and the allegedly abandoned wives and children.

Al-Dawseri said many times Indonesian families have settled for payments of SR2,000 or 4 million Indonesian rupees. The increase in these marriages is associated with match makers offering their services to vacationers coming from Gulf countries in return for money.

These match makers often carry albums of the women they are promoting as wives and customers can select a ‘wife’ for SR2000, Al-Watan quoted a source as saying.

That's $534 for a "wife" who they abandon when they leave the country.

But it's OK, because they had to 'marry' them to protect themselves from temptation - from doing something worse.

Previous posts on the Saudis and their habits of "marrying" women for sex here and here. But in this case, the women don't seem to be in on the scam.

Clan clash!

A 17-year old Palestinian Arab (who would be called a "child" if killed by Israelis) was killed in a clan clash in Gaza.

Israellycool points out that he was killed by one of those harmless stones that Palestinian Arab youths love to throw at Jews during their "peaceful" demonstrations.

As in the photo on the right, described as "A Palestinian demonstrator holds stones, during clashes with Israeli border police, not seen, during a protest against Israel's separation barrier in the West Bank village of Bilin near Ramallah, Friday, Aug. 15, 2008."

That same weekly protest is described invariably in the Palestinian Arab press as "non-violent."

The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 150.

Arab American News: "In Defense of Prejudice"

In an unbelievable move, the Arab American News - a leading newspaper that rails against perceived American prejudice against Arabs - has printed an article by the vile anti-semite "Israel Shamir" called "In Defense of Prejudice."

"Shamir" has been denounced as a fraud by even far left anti-Zionists and goes by many other names including Jöran Jermas and Adam Ermash and probably was never Jewish (he now happily says he is Christian and he advocates all Jews converting to Christianity.)

The article is typical "Shamir", where he says things like:

Stereotypes and prejudice are a legitimate part of our life. They are here to make our life easier. If you walk the dark streets of an urban ghetto and notice a gang of male teenagers without a single woman among them, your prejudice tells you to make a prudent detour. If a tramp in rags proposes to sell you a gold watch, your prejudice advises you to avoid the deal. If a charming stranger is eager to get bedded, your prejudice calls you to use a condom - or run away. ADL correctly states that there is a stereotype of a "malicious cabal of Jews" who are "pushing for war," as well as that of "Jewish media-lords" that "clinch the party line." A stereotype, or prejudice, usually is a result of many unpleasant experiences by persons who did not heed them....

A person unhappy with a stereotype or with prejudice may fight it. There is a good, hard way to fight a stereotype you dislike: act contrary to the stereotype....The Jews fought against prejudice a few times and won every time....They can do it now again. They may engage in work conducive to the general benefit, shy away from stock markets and banks, give Christmas presents, demand "troops out of Iraq, no aid to apartheid Israel." be friendly to their non-Jewish neighbors. Do not demonize nor threaten with legal action everybody who does not agree with you. Do not turn the media into your private reserve. Try this, and an old stereotype will wither and vanish.

The stereotyping of Jews is quite justifiable, and only their behavior change will change it.

"Shamir" of course can write whatever bigoted tripe he wants, but it is telling that the Arab-American News would choose to publish this pure hate - because that newspaper seems more interested in maintaining anti-Jewish stereotypes than in fighting against anti-Arab stereotypes.

All of "Shamir"'s arguments can be used against Arabs to stereotype them as terror supporters or as anti-semitic. This obvious point is lost to the editors of this periodical, whose apparent hatred of Jews overcomes their own sense of self-preservation.

There is as of yet not a single comment on the article decrying its premise nor the flip-side that it implies against Arabs.

Sick twist in Saudi pedophilia "marriage"

I blogged a few days ago about a Saudi man who sold his 8-year old daughter "in marriage" to another Saudi man in his 50s.

MEMRI Blog adds an even sicker detail:

A Saudi man in his 50s has announced that he refuses to annul his year-and-a half-long marriage to an eight-year-old girl, because he claims never to have done anything forbidden by Islamic law.
He said that Islamic law does not set a specific age for marriage, and that the Prophet Muhammad married 'Aisha when she was nine.

Source: Al-Hayat, London, August 13, 2008

So the father didn't just "marry off" his eight year old daughter - he sold his six and a half-year old daughter!

And even after a year and a half, the Saudi legal authorities have been unable to do anything about this while this little girls gets raped, probably nightly, by a pedophilic pervert.

Friday links

Jewish Standard on the Bnei Menashe from India

Soccer Dad on the Reuters reporter accidentally killed by the IDF and the hypocrisy of those who dismiss Israel's conclusions (also a nice example of how the blogosphere can work together)

The Egyptian ambassador who spied on Israel

Surprise! Fatah man who "pledged" not to be a terrorist anymore lied!

Al Jazeera denies apologizing to Israel for celebrating Kuntar

Israeli innovations in nanotechnology

Israeli "seaweed gel" could save thousands of lives of heart patients

Today's PalArab press roundup

Ma'an quotes the UNIFIL head in Lebanon as complaining that only Israel is violating UN Resolution 1701; saying that relations between UNIFIL and Hezbollah are "wonderful" and that the reason that UNIFIL doesnt attempt to stop weapons smuggling from Syria is because the Lebanese government never asked it to. The Hezbollah statement was confirmed in the Jerusalem Post (using the word "excellent" instead of "wonderful"); neither statement made it into the official press release from UNIFIL.

The news about the Hamas leader's son who converted to Christianity, and is now attacking Islam as a whole, is finally being believed by the PalArab press after his TV interviews.

PLO official Yasser Abed Rabbo is now referring to Hamas leader Zahhar as "speaking like he is mentally ill". Apparently there is a dispute concerning the PA continuing to pay salaries to people in Gaza.

Islamic Jihad is bragging about new rockets that they have been developing during the "calm. " (They've also enlisted CNN in this PR push; here's how the CNN reporter described the "factory":

The "factory" is anything but; it's a tiny room with rockets lining the walls and masked men trying to light a fire from a gas canister to heat the explosives.
First, the lighter doesn't work, then there's a gas leak and the room becomes filled with suffocating gas.
You hear of unexplained explosions in Gaza from time to time, euphemistically called "workplace accidents." That thought is enough to make us squeeze out of the room and wonder whether we've gotten just a little too close to the story.

Egypt considers a planned rail line between Haifa, Ashdod and Eilat to be a threat to the Suez Canal, as freight trains can move huge amounts of material between the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Aqaba in 6-12 hours.

More and more Muslims are warning against Jewish plots to take over and destroy the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount, claiming that plans for the Third Temple by various religious groups are being studied by the Israeli government. One said despairingly that "it could be argued that the city of Jerusalem is already Jewish."

UPDATE: Another Helles family member died from his wounds from Hamas' attack two weeks ago. The 2008 PalArab self-death count is now at 149.

Four years

Four years, 4668 published posts, 317,000 visitors, 390,000 page loads, 5,441 comments.

Blogging is certainly an interesting pastime. As readership goes up, my sense of responsibility increases as well, leading - mostly - to less and less sleep.

The blog has changed over the years, and if there is any real pattern I think it is that I dislike doing what other bloggers are doing. More than anything I want to be original, to find stories that others miss or to find an angle on a story that others might have overlooked. I don't expect people to only read this blog; there are plenty of other excellent Zionist blogs that cover many other topics and I encourage everyone to read as many as they can. I will ignore some good stories because I see that they have been covered very well elsewhere, so I hope you are also reading elsewhere.

My major frustration has been the inability for many of my newsworthy "scoops" to ever make it to the media. I am not a natural at self-promotion and I need to get into the habit of sending some of my postings to superstar bloggers or to cultivate contacts in the MSM. Unfortunately, even after four years I cannot figure out which posts would strike a chord and become very popular and which will drop unnoticed.

I would like to thank those bloggers who link to me. To me, there is no greater compliment than to know that I am a resource that other bloggers use, including the foreign-language bloggers who spend the time translating some of my posts.

Thank you all for visiting, especially the regulars, both the commenters and the lurkers. I cannot say how gratifying it is to know that apparently a few hundred people make a daily habit out of reading what I have to say.

I hope I can keep you interested.

Women pictured on pharmaceuticals: Haraam!

The Saudi Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has a website, so we can see every day what they consider newly forbidden for all Saudi citizens.

Today's evil? It appears that some pharmaceutical companies try to make their packaging attractive, and some will put pictures of people on the packages. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, as long as the people pictures aren't - shhh! - women.

Eastern Conference [of the Muttawa?] demanded that the Ministry of Health needs to blur the images of Saudi girls on packages of medicines in circulation in the Saudi markets, according to an order issued by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.

Issued by the Abdullah Al-Qahtani, resulting Assistant Secretary General for Economic Affairs in the Eastern Conference, addressed to the Saudi Minister of Health, the need to develop [means to cover up] outrageous photos on packages of medicine.

Attributing the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice of Saudi Chambers of resolution after noting the spread of the phenomenon of using pictures of girls in the pharmaceutical packaging principles that degrades the image of women of their dignity, pointing out that this matter is contrary to the provisions of the Standing Committee for Scientific Research and Ifta Saudi Arabia in the sixth paragraph of the Committee Legality of the controls.

He says «that the presentation of semi-nude pictures of women in the form of drug posters is an affront to women, not to mention it being a taboo with dignity, and participates in the men living, why make cheap commodity is traded and become designed this way, legitimate and consistent with our tradition to respect the feelings of people frequent and obscure Photo against morality and religion ».
The ads prompted major global pharmaceutical companies infuriated the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, which called urgently to take the necessary precautions, and tighten control over the medical products offering semi-nude pictures of girls in indecent assault and public morals.

It sounds like they may be also upset over ads for drugs, not just packaging.

Those Jordanian "refugees"

Reuters decided to send this picture out over the wires:

A young Palestinian refugee walks near her school wall at al-Baqaa Refugees camp, outside of Amman, May 15, 2008. The graffiti reads 'I will not stay as a refugee forever'.(Muhammad Hamed/Reuters)

We have discussed many times in the past how the definition of "refugee" is completely different for Palestinian Arabs than for any other group in the world, and how UNRWA operationally defines the descendants of Palestinian Arab refugees to be refugees themselves forever. This misuse of the word is so ingrained that wire services routinely refer to anyone with Palestinian Arab ancestry as "refugees."

What about American or Canadian citizens of PalArab origin? Are they "refugees" too? Of course not, because they have a nationality. Everyone recognizes inherently that those who gain citizenship in another country are no longer refugees - they are immigrants. (UNRWA's definition is operational, purely for the purpose of deciding who it should help; the rest of the world adapted that as a real definition for Palestinian Arabs alone.)

Jordan gave citizenship status to Palestinian Arab refugees when Jordan annexed the West Bank. According to this 1997 study, 95% of the Palestinian "refugees and displaced" who live in Jordan today are Jordanian citizens. Some 13% of Jordanian "Palestinian refugees" still live in "refugee camps" even though they don't have to - unlike those in Lebanon, Jordanian PalArabs have every right to move to real houses or apartments elsewhere in Jordan. They choose not to leave because they are getting free housing, schooling and medical care from UNRWA. The less-lazy majority got jobs, moved out of the camps, bought houses and became more self-sufficient.

So it is more than a bit ironic that some young Palestinian Arab graffiti artist who lives in a "refugee" camp, who is not a real refugee by any reasonable definition, and who could choose to leave the camp and raise a family in honor if he would just decide to get a job, would say that he "will not stay as a refugee forever." He in fact chooses to be considered a "refugee" and to live off the largesse of the UN - and to bitterly blame the rest of the world for his choice.