Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, May 24, 2010

Free Gaza - from Hamas

Jameel brings us this nice video:

200 Palestinian Arabs stranded in Kish, Iran

Ma'an Arabic reports about an interesting situation between the Iranian tourist island of Kish and the UAE.

It seems that a couple of hundred Palestinian Arabs, independently, managed to get out of Gaza in search of jobs elsewhere in the Arab world. These people managed to get to the United Arab Emirates on tourist visas, and then to gain employment contracts in the UAE. However, they were not allowed to work on their visas, and were told to leave the UAE and then return as workers.

They couldn't go back to Gaza, and the person interviewed said that he couldn't go back to Egypt where he attended university, so they instead went to the closest country they could - Iran. They checked into some of the hotels in the tourist island of Kish.

Then, when they tried to return to go back to the UAE, the officials there refused to take them in for security reasons.

The Ma'an article says that these security reasons are because they are Palestinian, not because they are coming from Iran (the UAE and Iran have some disputes over other islands in the Gulf.)

Now they can't pay their hotel bills, they don't have food, the Palestinian embassy in the UAE is not helping them, and they have nowhere to go.

UNRWA camp burning: Vandalism or terrorism?

A Fatah spokesman has stated that the burning of the UNRWA summer camp yesterday morning, carried out by dozens of masked armed men, was an act of terrorism.

Osama Qawasmi stated that the evidence shows that the attackers were associated with Hamas - the same people who were supposed to be protecting the area.

The New York Times mentioned yesterday that Hamas has in the past blamed UNRWA for "implementing a plan to spoil the growing generation of Gaza," which mirrors the threats that accompanied the attack.

UNRWA has been careful to describe the attack as "vandalism," not terror.

In a related story, a candy shop in Gaza was blown up yesterday

Flotilla of fools

In January, the Free Gaza website gave the first mention of the flotilla of boats that are now starting on their way towards Gaza.

The ships are trying to bring some 10,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Sounds impressive, right?

Except that only in the past week, Israel has provided 14,069 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

In fact, in the same amount of time that the Free Gaza moonbats and their friends have managed to scrounge their 10,000 tons of cargo, Israel has sent over 230,000 tons of aid to Gaza, not counting the many tens of thousands of tons of fuel. This includes a CT scanner, an elevator, building supplies, glass, clothing and many other products.

Will we be hearing them talking about that? Of course not.

In fact, Free Gaza is against humanitarian aid to Gaza. They've stated this repeatedly, most recently only last November.

They have stated their desire for violent revolt by the Palestinian Arabs. They have shown blatant disregard for Gazan lives. And in their internal communications they don't consider themselves a humanitarian group or an aid organization, but rather a resistance group.

Just something to keep in mind as you read the upcoming media articles and op-eds that refer to this group as "humanitarian."

Qaradawi calls to "cleanse Palestine"

Yusuf al-Qaradawi, one of the most influential Muslim preachers, just gave a talk at the Olympic Stadium in Nouakchott, Mauritania in front of some 15,000 people.

He criticized the Arab nations for not fighting Zionism sufficiently, calling on them to go back to the basics of the Holy Quran and thereby "liberate" the Al Aqsa Mosque and "cleanse" Palestine.

Qaradawi also recalled his early days with Yasir Arafat, whom he said he got to know while fighting alongside the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt in the 1950s. Qaradawi said that Arafat claimed that while in prison, he learned that the Zionists were not afraid of Arab armies but rather of Islam's deity, and the reason was because the Zionists "came to their country to live, but the [Muslims] came there to die."

Qaradawi also called to return to the ideals of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al-Banna.

The guy who also inspired Al Qaeda.

So when Qaradawi calls for Muslims to "cleanse" Palestine, what do you think he means?

South African paper threatened over Mohammed cartoon

From the Mail & Guardian:

It was a late night in court for the Mail & Guardian as the Council of Muslim Theologians on Thursday evening tried to stop the newspaper from publishing a Zapiro cartoon featuring the Prophet Muhammad.

An interdict was not granted, but on Friday morning M&G editor-in-chief Nic Dawes and other staff were fielding a flood of angry callers, and even death threats hit the newspaper's office.

"You've got to watch your back" and "This will cost him his life" were some of the remarks made.

The cartoon followed the furore surrounding the Facebook page, "Everybody Draw Muhammad Day", which was sparked by threats by a radical Muslim group against the creators of US TV series South Park for depicting the prophet in a bear suit.

Zapiro's cartoon, published in Friday's M&G, depicted the prophet reclining on a psychiatrist's couch and bemoaning his followers' lack of humour.

Here it is:

The judge that dismissed a last-minute attempt to quash the cartoon was Muslim.

On the other hand, the head of the SA National Press Club, also a Muslim, found it "offensive and provocative."

Gaza gunmen burn down UNRWA summer camp

From UNRWA:

At 0230 on Sunday 23 May 2010, a group of approximately 30 armed and masked men attacked and set fire to an UNRWA recreation facility under construction on the beach in Gaza city. The location is one of 35 beach facilities currently under construction, which will form part of UNRWA’s annual “Summer Games” program for over 250,000 refugee children in Gaza, due to commence on 12 June.

UNRWA’s Director of Operations in Gaza, John Ging, condemned the incident, calling it “vandalism linked to extremism and an attack on the happiness of children” He went on to reassure parents and the children of Gaza that “UNRWA will not be intimidated by such acts and will quickly rebuild the location in good time to host the Summer Games."

Palestine Press Agency adds that the gunmen tied up the guards and handed them a letter, with four bullets. The letter warned UNRWA "not to continue extracurricular activities which are detrimental to the morality of children."

On Friday, the group circulated threats against UNRWA head John Ging in mosques and on the Internet, calling him an "agent of the occupation." Major Gaza terror groups condemned the act, and the PLO particularly pointed out that it acted as a "witness to the tragedy of the Palestinian people."

Almost always, UNRWA is silent about attacks on its facilities and people, but this one was way too big to ignore.

Hamas leader brandishes machine gun during speech

From Ma'an:

Surprising his Friday night audience at a political panel in Gaza City, senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahhar raised a machine gun mid-speech saying "If we had these in 1948, we would be in a different situation."

Props to the Hamas prop department.

Zahhar addressed the panel on the subject of "milestones in the question of Palestine since 1948," and spoke of what he called the "fiascos" of the Palestinian factions and the harm they have done to both resistance and the greater Palestinian cause.

Describing Palestinians slain in the struggle for a state as men and women whose "blood irrigated the land, and will not stop," reminding listeners of early killed fighters like Sheikh Izz Addin Al-Qassam and Fawzi Qawaqji from Syria, Abdullah At-Tal from Jordan and Abdul-Qadir Al-Husseini from Palestine.

Notice that three out of the four militant leaders he mentions were not from Palestine (the fourth was the nephew of the Jew-hating Mufti,) showing yet again that this is was never a Palestinian-Israeli conflict but an Arab-Israeli conflict.

(Qawaqji was an pan-Arab nationalist, not a Palestinian Arab nationalist. He spent World War II in Germany and was reportedly part of the Wehrmacht. He never won a single battle in his life.

(Abdullah Al-Tall was implicated in the assassination of Jordan's King Abdullah I. )

Hamas considers Israeli missile defense to be "terror" (UPDATED)

Hamas' English website has learned the lessons of propaganda very well. They just have to repeat over and over again: good is evil, up is down, and defending civilians is terror:

In a dangerous and condemned step, the United States Congress voted Thursday to approve $205 million in aid to Israel for the Iron Dome missile defense system. The funding passed by a vote of 410 to 4, with eight abstentions.

By this unjust and prejudiced decision of supporting Israeli terror, US declares full hostility against the unarmed Palestinian people.

This American hypocrisy and prejudiced behavior shown in House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman's speech when he said:" We must ensure that our most important ally in the region has the tools to defend itself ".

Meanwhile, the Jewish Florida Congressman Ted Deutch announced that " Iron Dome “could help save the lives of innocent Israelis who every day live in fear of rocket attacks on their homes, schools, and marketplaces".

Here, the strong effect of the Zionist lobby on the American policy is very clear and enough to realize that America is still controlled by a group of criminals who are creating conflicts among peoples of the world to serve their own interests.

If Hamas cannot slaughter Israeli civilians with impunity, that is "terror!"

Now, is there any "moderate" Arab that would dare to publicly contradict them?

UPDATE: A commenter lists the members of Congress who voted against:

John Conyers (D-MI)
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH)
Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX)
Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA)

UPDATE 2: Only the English edition of the Al Qassam website uses the word "terror" to describe Iron Dome, not the Arabic, showing that Hamas understands the use of propaganda quite well.

"Hamas wants peace, dialogue with America"

That's the headline in Ma'an, in an article that says:

The Hamas government's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmad Yousef called for face-to-face dialogue with the American government and the people of the United States.

Speaking at a news conference alongside Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and a delegation of American citizens promoting international conciliation, Yousef credited the delegation with the public announcement.

That's pretty funny, considering how "Death to America" is one of Hamas' favorite phrases:

And who was in this American delegation to Gaza?

The best I could find so far was this:

A high-ranking U.S. delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip on Friday to hold talks with Hamas movement, which rules the enclave, sources in the deposed government of Hamas said.

The sources said that the seven-member delegation, which represents the National Institute for International Reconciliation crossed into the blockaded enclave through Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

The delegation will hold talks with Hamas officials in the frame to congregate views between the Palestinian factions and achieve an inter-Palestinian reconciliation between the rival Palestinian groups, said the sources.

The U.S. delegation, which will also look at the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, will return to Egypt through Rafah crossing on Saturday.

Needless to say, this "National Institute for International Reconciliation" seems to have been made up on the spot. They have no website and no mentions on any site before yesterday. Even the Hamas website doesn't have any pictures of them, and only quotes the Xinhua story above.

EoZ sells out, part 2

I just added a shopping page with a subset of items offered by Amazon. In case you are buying something online anyway (books, electronics, DVDs, toys or music) just go to my EoZ Market page and buy it from there. I'll end up getting some tiny percentage of the sale, and Mrs. Elder won't be quite as upset over the amount of time I spend blogging.

Best of all, it doesn't impact the blog experience, which is what I dislike about most ads.

If I do ever put ads on the site, they would be in their own dedicated column. I will never do those irritating ads where random words in a post turn into links, nor will I ever place ads in between posts. I positively hate that.

The EoZ Market link is on my left sidebar, under "pages."

Otherwise, consider this an open thread, and have a Shabbat Shalom!

Resolution 194

To give an idea of how Efraim Karsh uses real facts to turn Arab propaganda that has become conventional wisdom on its head in his book Palestine Betrayed, here is what he writes about UN General Assembly Resolution 194, which the Arabs always insist provides for a "right of return":

While underscoring “the right of the Arab refugees to return to their homes in Jewish-controlled territory at the earliest possible date,” [Count Bernadotte's] report also considered the possibility of resettlement outside Palestine, with those who chose not to return being adequately compensated for their lost property. “It must not... be supposed that the establishment of the right of refugees to return to their former homes provides a solution to the problent,” the report read. "The vast majority of the refugees may no longer have homes to return to and their resettlement in the State of lsrael presents an economic and social problem of special complexity. Whether the refugees are resettled in the State of Israel or in one or other of the Arab States, a major question to he faced is that of placing them in an environment in which they can find employment and the means of livelihood. But in any case their unconditional right to make a free choice should be fully respected."

This principle was duly incorporated into General Assembly Resolution 194, passed on December 11 after a three month deliberation of the mediator's report, which placed repatriation on a par with resettlement elsewhere. It advocated, in its own words, that “the refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should he permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date,” but also that efforts should be made to facilitate the “resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees."

In tacit acceptance of the Israeli position, the resolution did not treat the refugee problem as an isolated issue but as part of a comprehensive settlement between Israel and its Arab neighbors. All of its fifteen paragraphs deal with the facilitation of peace, including the single paragraph that alludes to refugees in general - not “Arab refugees" - in language that could as readily apply to the thousands of Jews driven from their homes in the prospective Arab state and Jerusalem by the invading Arab armies. Moreover, the resolution expressly stipulated that compensation for the property of those refugees choosing not to return “should he made good by the governments or the authorities responsible,” indicating that the Arab states, as well as Israel, were seen as instigators of the refugee problem. be it Arab or Jewish.

It was just these clauses in Resolution 194 that made it anathema to the Arabs, who opposed it vehemently and voted unanimously against it. Equating return and resettlement as possible solutions to the refugee problem; placing on the Arab states some of the burden for resolving it; and, above all, linking the resolution of this issue to Arab acquiescence in the existence of the state of Israel and the achievement of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peaoe were seen, correctly, as rather less than useful to Arab purposes.

Gulf newspapers agree they aren't anti-Zionist enough

Just a small indication of Arab press objectivity:

The Gulf Press Association (GPA) meeting in the Bahraini capital on Wednesday agreed on several moves in its annual review of the GPA’s activities.

The GPA final statement said that the Assembly also discussed wider issues of concern in the Arab world, “notably the continued enmity and studied and programmed Judaization by the Zionist enemy in Jerusalem, at Al-Aqsa Mosque and in occupied Palestinian lands”.

The statement said that the meeting called upon Arab and Islamic governments to take a “more resolute stand against these malicious plans and protect Islamic and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem and Palestine”.

According to the statement, the Assembly also called upon Gulf and Arab newspapers to “intensify their campaigns to expose the Zionist plans and confront them by all means which preserve the status of Jerusalem for the Arab and Islamic peoples”.

They also voted to censure Saudi Arabia for its Muslimization of Mecca and Medina, and they condemned its apartheid system of not allowing any non-Muslims in those cities whatsoever, especially in light of how Medina used to have a substantial Jewish population that was slaughtered by Mohammed.

Just kidding!

Book Review: Palestine Betrayed

Efraim Karsh's "Palestine Betrayed" is an answer to the "New Historians'" view of Israel during the War of Independence. In it, Karsh makes a strong argument that the vast majority of the tragedy of the "naqba" was because of Arab, not Jewish, actions.

Karsh makes a startlingly effective case for the fact that the mainstream Zionist leadership wanted to live with their Arab cousins in peace. He brings quote after quote, from Herzl to Jabotinsky to Ben Gurion, that shows that the plan of ethnic cleansing that we are told so incessantly about by Arabs today is simply a fiction. He goes into some detail about Arab-Jewish cooperation immediately after the Balfour Declaration - and before the Mufti.

Much of the blame for the severe deterioration on the relationship between the communities goes directly to Hajj Amin Husseini, who almost single-handedly led the Palestinian Arabs to disaster - as Mufti of Jerusalem, as president of the Supreme Muslim Council, and as president of the Arab Higher Committee. His unwavering anti-semitism combined with his positions of power and his ability to outmaneuver his rivals created an atmosphere where compromise was unthinkable. Karsh also shows that Husseini, far from being a nationalist, was always more interested in a pan-Arab nation - first as part of Greater Syria, but even later he viewed the Arab Palestine as being a stepping-stone to pan-Arab unification. Karsh follows his career from Jerusalem to becoming a Nazi sympathizer.

The centerpiece of the book is the description of the fighting and Arab flight during the first part of the War of Independence. Karsh puts forth a strong argument that the vast majority of Arabs fled their homes as a result of fear, and often in spite of Jewish entreaties to stay put. He goes into detail of the flight of Arabs from Haifa and Jaffa, into the complete breakdown of Arab leadership and the almost non-existence of a unified Arab front, neither within Palestine nor without.(A fascinating detail from Haifa: the Arab flight occurred during Passover, and the rabbinate of Haifa gave a special dispensation for Jewish bakers to bake bread for Arabs during that time to help them out as their infrastructure evaporated.)

According to Karsh, the only expulsion that Israeli forces did to a major urban Arab area was for Lydda, where the Haganah feared that a potential rear-guard fighting force could jeopardize their forces' advances. He does mention a few smaller villages that were depopulated by the Jewish forces, and he gives the military justification for some.

In fact, Karsh provides an appendix listing how many Arabs fled every town and village, roughly 600,000 refugees in total, somewhat less than the UN and Arab claims at the time, which Karsh shows were often inflated.

Karsh also shows pretty clearly that even if the Arabs had won the war, there would be no Palestine today, as Egypt, Transjordan and Syria planned to carve up whatever they could capture. King Abdullah of Transjordan was willing to allow an autonomous but tiny Jewish presence to remain around Haifa.

While Karsh delves into the details of the first phases of the Arab exodus, until roughly June 1948, he all but ignores the next stages that went on until November. This seems to be a shortcoming, as Benny Morris does go into those in detail. Yet even while Morris acknowledges that while there were what he terms atrocities, they were the exception and that most Arab flight occurred from panic even in the latter stages of the fighting. It is just that the detail he gives is so numbing that it appears that the unsavory acts were far more common than they were in reality.

Another seeming shortcoming of Karsh's book is that he seems to downplay the role of the Irgun and the Stern Gang. While his argument of the conciliatory nature of the Haganah leadership seems well grounded, it appears that Karsh is embarrassed about the undeniably terrorist acts of the Irgun, at times justifying them as reprisals and other times minimizing their importance. However, it seems to me that this needs to be dealt with more forthrightly - both in terms of denouncing their terror as well as in the fact that their acts precipitated much of the Arab flight (and, arguably, the British decision to quit Palestine.) War is never 100% clean.

Karsh's epilogue draws a direct line from Husseini to Arafat and beyond, showing that Arab intransigence has not changed much although it has been packaged differently.

A truly dispassionate history of the conflict is probably impossible to write. Karsh's biases are no less obvious than Segev's or (early) Morris', but they are a necessary counterpoint to the prevailing conventional wisdom. Karsh's arguments are well done and well notated, and he unearths a large number of previously unknown primary sources, especially from British archives. The same events can be used to draw different conclusions, and it is ultimately up to the reader to determine whether the author succeeded in buttressing his point of view with solid facts. For the most part, Karsh succeeds.

The Zionist narrative is at least as valid as that of the revisionists (and far more than that of the Arabs) and it needs to be regarded as such. As such, Karsh's book is invaluable.

Top Obama advisor loves "Al Quds," finds Hezbollah "interesting"

Wow.

President Obama's deputy national security advisor, John Brennan, is now on the record as saying how much he loves "Al Quds:"

I did spend time with classmates at the American University in Cairo in the 1970’s. And, time spent with classmates from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine from around the world who taught me that whatever our differences in nationality, or race, or religion, or language, there are certain aspirations that we all share. To get an education. To provide for our family. To practice our faith freely. To live in peace and security. And in a 25 year career in government, I was privileged to serve in positions across the Middle East… In Saudi Arabia, I saw how our Saudi partners fulfilled their duty as custodians of the two holy mosques at Mecca and Medina. I marveled at the majesty of the Hajj and the devotion of those who fulfilled their duty as Muslims by making that pilgrimage. And, in all my travels the city I have come to love most is al-Quds, Jerusalem where three great faiths come together.

By the way, classmates in Egypt in the 1970s did not ever live in "Palestine."

And how could he have seen how the Saudis did their duties as custodians of the mosques in Mecca and Median when the holy cities are closed to all except Muslims?

But the jaw-dropping moment is when this official from the current US administration refers to Jerusalem as "Al Quds."

This all came out on the heels of another Brennan interview where he described Hezbollah as a "very interesting organization:"

The Obama administration is looking for ways to build up "moderate elements" within the Lebanese Hezbollah guerrilla movement and to diminish the influence of hard-liners, a top White House official said on Tuesday.

John Brennan, assistant to the president for homeland security and counterterrorism, met with Lebanese leaders during a recent visit.

"Hezbollah is a very interesting organization," Brennan told a Washington conference, citing its evolution from "purely a terrorist organization" to a militia to an organization that now has members within the parliament and the cabinet.

"There is certainly the elements of Hezbollah that are truly a concern to us what they're doing. And what we need to do is to find ways to diminish their influence within the organization and to try to build up the more moderate elements," Brennan said.

Moderate elements of Hezbollah? Are those the ones who want to spend two years destroying Israel instead of one?

I can't wait for the administration to reach out to the "moderate wing" of Al Qaeda. Because that's pretty much the only Muslim terrorist organization that they haven't yet made overtures to.