Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, February 20, 2009

Things I didn't blog this week

Some stories that, for whatever reason, I didn't feel like going into this week, but that are still important or noteworthy. Many were sent to me either via email or comments.

The Park Slope Food Co-op, a major Brooklyn cooperative food store with 15,000 members that many Jews frequent, is considering boycotting Israeli products. The board has not brought it up yet as an official agenda item. (via email as well as Vicious Babushka)

Lots of blogs covered the case of Muzzammil Hassan, founder of Bridges TV, who apparently beheaded his wife in Buffalo. Bridges TV is meant to fight ugly stereotypes against Muslims, like the canard that Muslims like to behead people or support honor killings.

sshender via email points me to many more Pierre Rehov videos available online, including one about Arafat, The Road to Jenin (the truth about the Jenin "massacre,")and Suicide Killers (about the minds of suicide terrorists.) He has an entire YouTube channel as well (h/t ahoovah)

Bishop William Richardson, the Holocaust denying cleric who was reinstated to the Catholic Church last month, has been told to leave Argentina, officially for technical reasons but clearly because of his noxious views.

A number of rumors started swirling around Presidential Determination No. 2009-15 of January 27, 2009, "Unexpected Urgent Refugee and Migration Needs Related To Gaza," which seem to imply that the US will be taking in Gaza refugees. WND researched it and found it to merely be a method for the US to authorize some $20 million for relief efforts in Gaza.

Multiculturalism now includes "put yourself in the terrorists' shoes."

US allowing Durban II to be like Durban I

A very troubling article in NRO:

President Obama had been warned to avoid having anything to do with the U.N.’s Durban II “anti-racism” conference this year. The U.S. walked out of the 2001 Durban I conference because it proved to be a U.N.-sanctioned platform for anti-Semitism. Its final Declaration singled out Israel for criticism, accusing the country of racism.

Ignoring these warnings, the U.S. sent a seven-person delegation to a preparatory meeting in Geneva this week — without asking anything of conference sponsors in return. The State Department explained the decision as an effort “to try to change the direction in which the Review Conference is heading.” But the delegation’s behavior during the week, which began by expressing “strong reservations about a document singling out Israel for criticism,” more closely resembles a double-cross.

...In other words, it didn’t take President Obama’s delegation two days before it sat in silence while Israel was singled out as guilty of racism — again.

Why would the delegation behave this way? The idea, seemingly, is to make it appear to an American audience that the Conference’s prospects are improving, that there are no intense disagreements. Just business as usual at the U.N., where multilateral engagement is always a force for good. The less said by the United States, the smoother multilateralism proceeds.

Read the whole thing. It is even worse than I predicted.

Peace rallies, Pakistani-style

The third paragraph of this story pushes the irony meter to 12.

Hundreds of journalists throughout Pakistan have protested against the murder of a reporter in the volatile Swat Valley.
Journalists rallied in cities across Pakistan to mourn the death of television reporter Musa Khan Khel.

The 28-year-old was kidnapped at gunpoint while covering a peace rally to celebrate the planned introduction of Sharia law in the Swat Valley.

His bullet-riddled body was found later outside the town of Matta.

That was some "peace rally!" But I guess the murder was perfectly halal according to Swat Valley Sharia.

What's so far right about Lieberman?

A guest post from EBoZ because I don't have time to write anything thoughtful:

The "far right" label is beginning to stick to Lieberman. See, for example, today's NYT which characterizes him as "ultranationalist," or NPR, AP and CBS who prefer the "far right" terminology.

But what is so far right about Lieberman? The loyalty oath he wants from Arab citizens? Every new US citizen must take a similar oath. Every member of congress must take a loyalty oath every time they are sworn into office. Every first grader in the country does it when they recite the pledge of allegiance.

Lieberman wants to cede Arab parts of Jerusalem to the Palestinian state. Normally, someone who wants to give up sovereignty over united Jerusalem is considered "left wing". He also wants to cede Umm el Fahm which is within the Israeli green line. Umm al Fahm residents are up in arms at the very thought of joining a Palestinian state, (while at the same demonstrating in
favor of Hamas).

The buttonholing of Lieberman into the far-right camp is part of the media's desire to oversimplify a nuanced election platform while at the same demonizing a large Israeli constituency.

UAE allows Israeli tennis player to compete

From AlBawaba (Jordan):

An entry permit has been issued to permit the Israeli tennis player Andy Ram to take part in next week's tennis tournament in Dubai, the Director of the Consular Affairs Department of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sultan Al Qertasi, said Thursday in a statement issued to the Emirates News Agency, WAM.

"The relevant Government department has issued a special entry permit to allow the tennis player Mr. Andy Ram to enter the country to take part in next week's international tennis tournament being held in Dubai," the statement said. "The decision to issue the permit is in line with the UAE's commitment to a policy of permitting any individual to take part in international sports, cultural and economic events or activities being held in the country, without any limitation being placed on participation by citizens of any member country of the United Nations," Al Qertasi said.

A commitment that is now approximately one day old.

The visa permit for the Israeli player came following stern international criticism against the organizers of Dubai women's tennis tournament after they failed to issue visa permit to Israeli player Shahar Peer.

But Dubai still has to make sure that the Arabs don't freak out and start slaughtering the collaborators/traitors/infidels who allow Israeli tennis players in the country:

"This is a well-established policy and has no political implications. Nor does this decision indicate any form of normalisation of relations with countries with whom the United Arab Emirates does not have diplomatic relations," the statement concluded.

Whew, glad they cleared that up!

Prisons and private homes have taken over from mosques as recruiting hubs for Islamist radicals in Europe, a shift that cannot be tackled simply by short-term government security measures, an academic said yesterday.
Under pressure from state surveillance and disapproval from local communities, activists who once trawled high-profile mosques for recruits increasingly use more discreet venues including makeshift prayer halls and bookshops, said Peter Neumann, a political scientist at Kings College, London.

"This pattern of withdrawal from open agitation is consistent across Western Europe," said Neumann, author of "Joining Al Qaeda," a report on radicalisation in Europe.

"A lot of open activities that used to go on at mosques are now taking place in private flats, as mosques themselves become more vigilant and restricted," he said.

"Recent years have seen the emergence of radical Islamic prison gangs which - although not always overtly political in outlook - are aggressive in their rhetoric."

Neumann said such gangs provided inmates with a protective social network and a sense of self-esteem, the report says.

I suppose that the fact that European mosques no longer openly advocate jihad is somewhat of an accomplishment.

Conspiracy theory of the day: Jews to colonize Iraq!

From the nutty Online Journal, January 30:

Israeli expansionists, their intentions to take full control of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and permanently keep the Golan Heights of Syria and expand into southern Lebanon already well known, also have their eyes on parts of Iraq considered part of a biblical “Greater Israel.”

Israel reportedly has plans to relocate thousands of Kurdish Jews from Israel, including expatriates from Kurdish Iran, to the Iraqi cities of Mosul and Nineveh under the guise of religious pilgrimages to ancient Jewish religious shrines. According to Kurdish sources, the Israelis are secretly working with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to carry out the integration of Kurdish and other Jews into areas of Iraq under control of the KRG.

Kurdish, Iraqi Sunni Muslims, and Turkmen have noted that Kurdish Israelis began to buy land in Iraqi Kurdistan, after the U.S. invasion in 2003, that is considered historical Jewish “property.”

The Israelis are particularly interested in the shrine of the Jewish prophet Nahum in al Qush, the prophet Jonah in Mosul, and the tomb of the prophet Daniel in Kirkuk. Israelis are also trying to claim Jewish “properties” outside of the Kurdish region, including the shrine of Ezekiel in the village of al-Kifl in Babel Province near Najaf and the tomb of Ezra in al-Uzayr in Misan Province, near Basra, both in southern Iraq’s Shi’a-dominated territory. Israeli expansionists consider these shrines and tombs as much a part of “Greater Israel” as Jerusalem and the West Bank, which they call “Judea and Samaria.”

Reportedly assisting the Israelis are foreign mercenaries paid for by U.S. Christian evangelical circles that support the concept of “Christian Zionism.”

Iraqi nationalists charge that the Israeli expansion into Iraq is supported by both major Kurdish factions, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headed by Iraq’s nominal President Jalal Talabani. Talabani’s son, Qubad Talabani, serves as the KRG’s representative in Washington, where he lives with his wife Sherri Kraham, who is Jewish.

Also supporting the Israeli land acquisition activities is the Kurdistan Democratic Party, headed by Massoud Barzani, the president of the KRG. One of Barzani’s five sons, Binjirfan Barzani, is reportedly heavily involved with the Israelis.

The Israelis and their Christian Zionist supporters enter Iraq not through Baghdad but through Turkey. In order to depopulate residents of lands the Israelis claim, Mossad operatives and Christian Zionist mercenaries are staging terrorist attacks against Chaldean Christians, particularly in Nineveh, Irbil, al-Hamdaniya, Bartalah, Talasqaf, Batnayah, Bashiqah, Elkosheven, Uqrah, and Mosul.

The ultimate aim of the Israelis is to depopulate the Christian population in and around Mosul and claim the land as biblical Jewish land that is part of “Greater Israel.” The Israeli/Christian Zionist operation is a replay of the depopulation of the Palestinians in the British mandate of Palestine after World War II.

Wow, these Joooz are amazing! I guess that since Israel's attempt to expand to the Nile was derailed by that damned peace agreement with Egypt, they are setting their sites on the Euphrates.

The author, not surprisingly, is a 9/11 conspiracy theorist as well.

Even though this is simply stupid, Iraqpundit points out that the fact that it has been translated into Arabic makes it potentially dangerous:

When talking about what might derail progress in Iraq, people rarely mention the power of the conspiracy theory. Rumours have traditionally done a great deal of damage in the Middle East, and Iraq was never spared from this exercise. Sometimes the talk can be so silly that it's harmless, such as Saddam Hussein wore a crucifix under his suit. And sometimes it can be so carefully constructed that it can persuade even the cynical. I used to think the stories were created only by locals. But here's an American-made conspiracy rumour that is spreading.....

The problem is his story was translated into Arabic, which makes it sound more credible. The the Middle East, if something is written by Americans, British, etc, it is more likely to be believed. Many times people start a rumour and attribute it to a western source.

On the surface, the story sounds so absurd that it should be dismissed, right? But Madsen wants to make sure he ignites something: "According to Kurdish sources, the Israelis are secretly working with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to carry out the integration of Kurdish and other Jews into areas of Iraq under control of the KRG."

Tensions are rising between Kurds and non-Kurds in Iraq. And when Madsen introduces such a conspiracy, he is bound to stir up trouble. The disagreement between the Kurds and non-Kurds centers on a land dispute. And when Madsen brings in Israel, he is playing with fire.

Whether wittingly or unwittingly, conspiracy theorists know to play with the Mideasterner who loves to find the most negative angle possible to explain any situation. Some pretty strange stuff has happened in our past, which is why conspiracy theories are not always so easy to disregard.

Conspiracies have been powerful in Iraq. Under the Baathists, access to information was so limited that people depended on gossip for news. Saddam Hussein used gossip to help control the population. Such habits, the belief in rumours, can be very difficult to break. But ignoring the problem is not a good idea. Serious news coverage in Iraq would be helpful. Maybe when people see that Israel does not colonise Iraq, they can figure out that such stories are not to be believed. If Madsen succeeds in persuading Iraqis that Israel is helping Kurds to take over, say, Mosul -- I don't even want to go there. All I can tell you is that it would be foolish to underestimate the power of the conspiracy rumour.

Iraqpundit is right on. No one knows which theories disappear and which gain traction, but the ones that get believed can have deadly results in the Arab world.

(h/t Suzanne)

Europe caves, starts talking with Hamas

From the Independent (UK):

European nations have opened a direct dialogue with Hamas as the US intensifies the search for Middle East peace under Barack Obama.
In the first meeting of its kind, two French senators travelled to Damascus two weeks ago to meet the leader of the Palestinian Islamist faction, Khaled Meshal, The Independent has learned. Two British MPs met three weeks ago in Beirut with the Hamas representative in Lebanon, Usamah Hamdan. “Far more people are talking to Hamas than anyone might think,” said a senior European diplomat. “It is the beginning of something new – although we are not negotiating.”
Mr Hamdan said yesterday that since the end of last year, MPs from Sweden, the Netherlands and three other western European nations, which he declined to identify, had consulted with Hamas representatives.
“They believe they made a mistake by blacklisting Hamas,” he said, referring to the EU decision in 2003 to add the political wing of the movement to its list of terrorist organisations. “Now they know they have to talk to Hamas.”
Political contacts with Hamas are banned under the rules of the international Quartet for Middle East peace – which groups the US, the EU, Russia and the UN – on the grounds that the Palestinian faction remains committed to the destruction of Israel. The international community insists that the ban will only be lifted once the Islamists agree to recognise Israel and renounce violence. But the policy, set out in 2006 following the Hamas victory in Palestinian elections, has been called into question since the three-week war in Gaza which is ruled by Hamas.

I guess that the EU believes that Hamas won, and want to reward them for their valiant ability to continue shooting rockets at women and children.

War crimes? Nah, they only apply to Israel.

Professor loses job in tough economy, blames Zionists

It would be tough to find a better example of how pure hatred dissolves the ability to think. From Inside Higher Ed:

Joel Kovel — one of the more outspoken professorial critics of Israel on American college campuses — is out of his job at Bard College. This week Kovel sent a letter to all Bard faculty members denouncing the way he has been treated and charging that his politics cost him the position.

Others suggest, however, that Kovel was treated the way many non-tenured professors are being treated these days as colleges retrench — and that mixed student reviews of his organizational skills in the classroom may have hurt him more than his politics.

And while the college is generally avoiding comment, some at Bard are angry at Kovel’s accusations that appear to link Israel’s treatment of Gaza with the college’s treatment of him.

His faculty letter concluded this way: “If the world stands outraged at Israeli aggression in Gaza, it should also be outraged at institutions in the United States that grant Israel impunity. In my view, Bard College is one such institution. It has suppressed critical engagement with Israel and Zionism, and therefore has enabled abuses such as have occurred and are occurring in Gaza. This notion is of course, not just descriptive of a place like Bard. It is also the context within which the critic of such a place and the Zionist ideology it enables becomes marginalized, and then removed.”

Kovel stands out among academic critics of Israel in that he does not just criticize actions of the government there, or advocate for a Palestinian state, but argues for the replacement of Israel with a secular state for Israelis and Palestinians. In interviews, he has called Israel an “abomination” and said that he understands “the desire to smash Zionism.” His book Overcoming Zionism set off a controversy last year when its American distributor — the University of Michigan Press — temporarily halted sales, and then ended its relationship with Pluto Press, the publisher.

In his letter, Kovel argues that his position at Bard deteriorated as his opposition to Zionism grew and became more public. ...(While Bard does have ties to Israel, it notably has ties to Palestinian higher ed that may be deeper than those of most institutions, just this week announcing a series of joint programs with Al Quds University.)

A Bard spokesman declined to comment on the situation, citing the confidentiality of personnel actions. But an evaluation of Kovel, which he released, suggests that his “long and productive career” at Bard has been problematic of late. The evaluation notes an increasing number of student complaints about Kovel’s lack of organization, which he has previously explained by saying that he likes his courses to focus on current material.

The concerns expressed in the evaluation focus on these issues, although the review also notes that Kovel has been teaching a course about his book Overcoming Zionism, despite some qualms from faculty colleagues. “It is possible that the pitch of controversy in regard to Zionism has impeded dialogue in this case. ...” the evaluation says. (Kovel says that the evaluation was biased because one of the three professors involved is a supporter of Israel.)

Kovel has taught at Bard since 1988, first holding the Alger Hiss Chair of Social Studies, and later moving to a part-time professorship. He never had tenure, only renewable contracts, the last one of which will not be renewed. (He will receive emeritus status, however.)

While Bard officials did not respond to inquiries, President Botstein did send Kovel a letter that included in it permission to release it, which Kovel did at this reporter’s request. In the letter Botstein notes that Bard is eliminating a number of part-time positions to try to preserve full-time professorships, and that — had finances remained “flush” — Kovel’s contract probably would have been renewed.

“To take what is self-evidently a result of economic constraint and turn it into a trumped-up case of prejudice and political victimization insults not only your intelligence but the intelligence of your readers,” Botstein writes. He goes on to thank Kovel for teaching at Bard and to say that he was never offended by having someone with his views on the faculty. “I am delighted that you hold views that many consider wrong or dangerous. You are not as controversial as you would like to believe.”

And Botstein notes that he is proud that Bard is working with help improve Palestinian education through the Al Quds University effort, writing: “I’m sure that over the years ahead Bard will do much good on behalf of education and justice in the Middle East. Parenthetically, may I express my disappointment that you never inquired about this new program, which was announced to the faculty last spring.”

That last sentence speaks volumes.

If Kovel cared about Palestinian Arabs he would have jumped to work with Al Quds University. The fact that he showed zero interest proves that he doesn't care about Palestinian Arabs at all, but just hates Palestinian Jews.

And that hatred translates reflexively into the idea that anyone who finds fault with him must be one of those hated Zionists, and that the world revolves around himself and his "controversial views" which are a dime a dozen on college campuses. He finds it much easier to preach hate against Israel than to take even the smallest step to help Palestinian Arabs. (Kovel's ego is so wacky that even tried to become US President with the Green Party in 2000!) He has a victim mentality he learned well from the group that he identifies with and yet spurns.

Incidentally, his degrees were not in social studies or any related field, but in medicine and psychiatry. And he appears to be Jewish himself.

The Hostages of Hatred - full documentary

The video I posted earlier about UNRWA is in fact part of a full documentary by Pierre Rehov, called "The Hostages of Hatred," that was made in 2004. It is an excellent and accurate overview of Palestinian Arab history from 1948 onwards.

Here's the entire film:

Thanks to sshender for the link.

Sunni clerics declare new Jihad

From the BBC (h/t Andre):

At a weekend meeting in Istanbul, 200 religious scholars and clerics met senior Hamas officials to plot a new jihad centred on Gaza.

The BBC's Bill Law was the only Western journalist at the meeting.

In a hall crowded with conservative Sunni Muslim sheikhs and scholars, in a hotel close to Istanbul's Ataturk Airport speaker after speaker called for jihad against Israel in support of Hamas.

The choice of Turkey was significant. Arab hardliners were keen to put aside historic differences with the Turks.

As one organiser put it: "During the past 100 years relations have been strained but Palestine has brought us together."

The conference, dubbed the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign, also gave impetus to Sunni clerics concerned about the growing power of Hezbollah, the Shia movement backed by Iran, which rose to international prominence in its own war with Israel in 2006.

"Gaza is a gift," the Saudi religious scholar Mohsen al-Awajy told me. He and other delegates repeatedly referred to the Gaza war as "a victory".

"Gaza," he continued, "gives us power, it solves our differences. We are all now in a unified front against Zionism."

In closed meetings after sessions delegates focussed on the creation of a "third Jihadist front" - the first two being Afghanistan and Iraq. The intensity of the Israeli attack had "awakened all Muslims," Mr Awajy claimed.

"Palestine is a legitimate theatre of operations for jihad (holy war)," he added.

Mohammed Nazzal, a senior Hamas leader based in Damascus, challenged Arab governments to "open their borders and allow the fighters to come."

Delegates from all over the Middle East, and from Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan and Indonesia applauded as he stabbed the air with a raised finger and declared: "There will be no agreement with Israel... only weapons will bring respect."

Gaza has opened a gulf between Arab people and their regimes, clerics say

Mr Nazzal told his audience: "Don't worry about casualties."

The 23 days of bombardment of Gaza, in which some 1,300 people, many of them civilians and nearly 300 of them children, are believed to have died, was "just the beginning" of the struggle, Mr Nazzal said.

To laughter in the audience, another speaker noted that twice as many babies were born as children were killed during the war.

Every death, I was told, was a martyrdom on the road to liberation.

For the hardline sheikhs, it was an opportunity to underline what they see as the growing gulf between Arab regimes who are hesitant to back Hamas and the people of the region who, they say, embrace Hamas as heroes fighting against overwhelming odds.

More importantly, this conference represented something of a coup for Hamas. They were promised weapons, money and fighters.

This is not particularly new - it is not as if Muslim clerics were ever moderate towards Israel, as many Friday sermons through the years show.

However, this is noteworthy because the fact is that some of what they say is correct - the people were far more pro-Hamas than the governments, which were more pragmatic. Even Hezbollah, which had promised to send rockets in support of Hamas, decided against it.

One of the ironies from the pro-democracy push that George Bush advocated is that if there were free elections in the Arab world today, chances are that they would be the only elections in history - because the Islamists would win and would never give up their power. Democracy is meaningless without freedom, and the clerics might say they want democracy now but they certainly don't want freedom.

Every "friendly" Arab country is only one bullet away from becoming another Gaza, ruled by Islamic extremists and ready to turn their nations into theocracies. Sure, there would be plenty of average Arabs who would not be happy about it but none of them are as fanatic about freedom as the extremists are about political Islam, making the chances of Arabs getting rid of the mullahs on their own are very slim.

So while there is no additional danger yet to Israel from the Sunnis in Turkey letting off steam and celebrating the deaths of 1200 Arabs, their words do indicate that they have power that can blossom in their own countries if their current leaders make a mistake. And if they take power, all the weapons that we have sold them will immediately be earmarked for Israel - and the West.

Islamist threat forces Israelis to play tennis to empty house

From AP:

Sweden and Israel will play their first-round Davis Cup match in an empty arena next month because of security concerns.
Several anti-Israeli demonstrations are planned during the best-of-five series, which will be played March 6-8 at the 4,000-seat Baltic Hall.
Malmo officials announced the decision after a vote on the issue in the city's recreational committee. The Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Left Party won the vote 5-4 after a long debate.
The committee said it could not guarantee security for the fans.
``It's a high-risk match,'' committee chairman Bengt Forsberg was quoted as saying by Swedish news agency TT.
Only officials, some sponsors and journalists will be allowed to enter the arena.
Carlos Gonzales Ramos, the committee's vice chairman, wanted to call off the match.
``But since it was not possible to do so, this was best result,'' he told TT.

Now, what sort of security concerns could cause such a decision? Could it be because everyone knows that when normal people protest, it is not too disruptive, but when Muslims protest, there is always a decent chance for violence?

Nah. This is simply being careful, nothing to do with the possibility of Islamic rioting and destruction.

(h/t LGF)