Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

YNet: New Hamas rockets can reach Tel Aviv

From YNet:

Hamas has completed a series of experiments on its advanced Fajar rocket, which has a range of almost 80 kilometers (roughly 50 miles) and can as far Kfar Saba, northeast of Tel Aviv, experts say.

In a few months, Hamas will be able to begin manufacturing the rockets, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Tuesday.

The progress made by the Gaza group on the rocket front is huge, considering that Hamas' original Qassam rockets had a range of around 1.5 km (roughly 1 mile.)

The long-range rockets acquired by Hamas are of the Fajar-5 type, and it is believed that they arrived in the Strip via the Sinai peninsula.

Israel believes that the rockets were developed by scientists working for the organization and for research institutes located in Arab countries in the region that have been working non-stop to arm Hamas in Gaza.

Hezbollah had used Fajr-5 rockets in the 2006 Lebanon war.

Here is a video where Honest Reporting re-visits the event that helped start that organization - the mis-captioning of a September 2000 newspaper photo to make it look like an Israeli border policeman was beating up an Arab, rather than saving the life of a Jew.

Since then, Honest Reporting and its blog Media Backspin has exposed countless cases of media bias and outright lies against Israel, always with meticulous research and transparency. HR, along with other media-aware organizations like Just Journalism and CAMERA, have certainly helped improve the fairness of coverage of the Middle East.

Life Magazine looks at the Arab world, 1957

I thought that this was interesting, part of a much longer two-part article, from Life, April 1, 1957. Click to enlarge.

My comment to Juan Cole

Juan Cole writes in his blog:

The spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, made waves this week when he included in his blessing for Rosh Ha-Shana, the Jewish New Year, a prayer that a plague should strike the Palestinians and wipe them out, including Mahmoud Abbas. He said, “Let Abu Mazen [Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority] and all these evil folk perish from this world. May God smite them with plague, them and these Palestinians.”

I wrote a comment - we'll see if he publishes it:

It is amusing that Juan Cole, who famously defended Ahmadinejad by claiming that his statement to wipe Israel from the face of the earth was a mistranslation, relies on Yahoo to translate the words of Rabbi Yosef. YNet today gave a more accurate translation: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3945840,00.html

Yosef did not wish a plague on all Palestinians, only the ones who “persecute Israel.”

Since Cole cares so much about accurate translations, I trust that he will correct this and apologize.

This picture was taken in Iran in 2008. I guess the podium designer doesn't know Farsi as well as Cole does.

(h/t Dan)

The Great Spongebob Debate

Over the weekend, Elder Brother of Ziyon requested that I get rid of Spongebob Squarepants on the bottom of my blog logo.

His reasoning was that he often refers other people to the site, or he quotes it in message forums for various newspapers, and he thinks that it should look more serious in order to be taken more seriously. At this point in time, he says, EoZ has content and analysis that is as impressive as most major media sites and the picture of Spongebob detracts from what this site should be.

When I originally requested that the beautiful and talented Daughter of Ziyon design the logo, I specifically asked for Spongebob because I wanted to always remind myself as well as my readers that this is still a blog, and that I shouldn't take myself too seriously. (If I ever get to the point that I tell people that I am right because of what an expert I am and without giving any real proof, please shoot me.)

The blog has had the current layout for many years already; probably since 2007 or so. Since then my readership has increased dramatically, while the blog itself is a bit outdated in its design as well as slow to load. I've been wanting to do a major overhaul for a while; perhaps something like this test site I've been playing with off and on.

Yesterday I replaced the E with something more generic, and a couple of people noticed and requested that Spongebob, with any attendant copyright issues, return.

EBoZ's larger point is a good one, although with the name of the site as it is, I am not sure how seriously anyone could ever take it anyway unless they actually deign to read it.

Anyway, I decided to ask my readers whether I should return to the old logo, keep the newer one, or forget about both of them and re-do the site already (not that the test site is what a new site would look like.)

The poll is on the right hand sidebar.

Let the great debate begin!

Story of a Mossad hit

On August 2, 2008, I quoted a Jordanian paper:

Well known sources informed Albawaba that General Mohammed Suleiman, an adviser to Syrian president Bashar al Assad, was assassinated on Friday. Suleiman also served as Syria's liaison officer to Lebanon's Hizbullah movement.

According to the sources, Suleiman was shot dead by a sniper in the Syrian port city of Tartous. They added the funeral service will be held on Sunday in Suleiman's home-town of Driekesh which is located less than 20 kilometers away from Tartous.

The sources told Albawaba the Syrian authorities have been making huge efforts to prevent the publication of the news regarding Suleiman's killing. It should be mentioned that on February 13, 2008 Imad Moughniyeh, the military commander of Hizbullah, was assassinated in Damascus.

I commented then:

Syria's formerly airtight grip on internal security seems to be unraveling.

My assumption that it was an internal Syrian hit was wrong.

From YNet, in a fascinating article that you really need to read about Israel's bombing of the Syrian nuclear reactor:

On the evening of August 2, 2008, 11 months after the bombing of the reactor, a festive dinner was held on the terrace of a summer house in Rimal al-Zahabiya, north of the Syrian city of Tartous. The summer house was adjacent to the shore and had a magnificent view. The terrace overlooked the sea and served as a refuge from the summer's high humidity. The guests were close friends of the house's owner, General Mohammed Suleiman, who had traveled there for a weekend break.

Suleiman was President Assad's top aide on military and security matters. He was in charge of the reactor's construction and its security. Government circles in Damascus referred to him Assad's shadow. His office was located in the presidential palace, next to Assad's, and few knew him in Syria and abroad. While Suleiman's name was not mentioned in the media, Mossad and Western intelligence agencies knew him and his actions well. The 47-year-old Syrian was an engineering graduate of Damascus University. During his studies he befriended Basil Assad, then-President Hafez Assad's firstborn son and Bashar Assad's older brother. After Basil's death in a road accident, his father was sure to bring Suleiman close to himself and his heir. In 2000, Hafez Assad died and his son Bashar was elected president. With his rise to power, the young president made Suleiman his confidant and close advisor.

Suleiman played a unique role: He was a member of the Syrian research board, which dealt with the development of missiles, chemical and biological weapons and nuclear research and development. As part of his job, he was Syria's contact with North Korea. He coordinated the transfer of the reactor's parts to Syria and was in charge of security arrangements for the North Korean scientists and technicians involved in its construction. The reactor's bombing was a serious blow for Suleiman, but not a lethal one. After overcoming the initial shock, he began to plan the construction of an alternate reactor, for which a location had yet to be determined. Suleiman's new mission was much more complex and difficult than before, since he was now aware that he was on the Israeli and American intelligence agencies' radars.

Ahead of the next phase of his secret mission, Suleiman took a few days off and traveled to his summer home. A vacation and dinner with his friends was the best medicine for the pressure he was under. From his seat by the table he watched the waves lazily crawling up the shore. But what he didn't see, at a distance of some 150 meters (165 yards) from the terrace, was two figures waiting, motionless in the dark water. They reached this point from a far off distance in a ship that dropped them off some two 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) from Suleiman's house. From there they dived until they neared his home. The two were professional snipers, possessing a wealth of experience and nerves of steel. They carried their weapons in water-proof covers. When they reached the shore they immediately spotted Suleiman's house. The information they received from their country's intelligence agency was accurate. They identified the building and the terrace, scanned the people seated at the table and focused on their target: The general sitting opposite them, among his guests.

Around 9 pm the snipers returned to test their aim and range. They watched Suleiman, sitting on a chair at the center of the table surrounded by his friends. It was crowded around the table, which forced the snipers to reset their focus and aim at the host's head. They continued to hide in the water. Then the signal was given. The two emerged from the water to the shore, moved closer to the house, aimed their rifles and shot Suleiman simultaneously. The hit was lethal. His head was first jolted back and then collapsed forward on the table. Those present did not understand what had happened, because they didn't hear a sound – the rifles were equipped with silencers. Only after they noticed the blood flowing from Suleiman's head did they realize he had been shot. A commotion broke out on the terrace, which enabled the snipers to flee via a pre-planned escape route. The Sunday Times reported a slightly different version, saying the snipers were IDF Flotilla 13 commandoes who arrived in Tartous on a luxury yacht belonging to an Israeli businessman, carried out their mission, and vanished.

Sometimes, it really is the Mossad that assassinates major Arab figures.

What exactly did Ovadia Yosef say? (updated)

The initial reports over the weekend claimed that former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ovadia Yosef called for a genocide against all Palestinian Arabs, wishing the plague on Mahmoud Abbas and all other Palestinians.

The New York Times said

he described the Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, as “evil” and called on God to strike “these Ishmaelites and Palestinians with a plague; these evil haters of Israel.”

YNet originally reported and translated the sermon this way:

Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Saturday night wished death on Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his people, who he called "evil enemies of Israel."

During his weekly lesson, held at the synagogue near his house in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Har-Nof, the rabbi mentioned the blessing said at the Rosh Hashana feast that says, "May our enemies and adversaries be destroyed", and applied it to the current situation. "Abu Mazen (Abbas) and all those evil men – may they perish from this world. May God Almighty strike them and these Palestinians."

Today, however, YNet has changed the translation - after the entire world has already been convinced that Rabbi Yosef is a genocidal maniac.

Today's story says:

Ovadia, who heads the Shas religious party in Israel's ruling coalition, expressed hope in his weekly sermon Saturday that "all the evil people who hate Israel, like Abu Mazen (Abbas), perish from our world."

"May God strike them down with the plague along with all the evil Palestinians who persecute Israel," he said.

This is much different from what was originally reported. This is not a call for genocide; it is a call for God to strike down Israel's enemies - a much different story and very much in line with daily prayers.

Is this another case of an overzealous media mistranslating (or, in the case of Israel's anti-religious media, misreporting) the words of the religious?

I cannot find the text of the sermon online, so I can't say for sure, but it sure looks like the media again placed their own preconceived notions of Jewish "extremism" ahead of an accurate story.

UPDATE: My readers come through again! Ruchie via email sends a link to the video and the money quote:

אבו-מאזן וכל הרשעים האלה, שיאבדו מן העולם. יכה בהם הקדוש ברוך הוא מכת דבר, בהם ובפלסטינים האלה, רשעים צוררי ישראל

Her translation is:
Abu Mazen and all those villains, may they perish. May the Almighty strike them with the plague, them and those Palestinians, evil enemies of Israel.

With all due respect, I think that YNet's newer translation of צוררי ישראל as "persecutors of Israel" is more accurate.

To engage in a little pilpul, if he meant all Palestinian Arabs he would have not used the word "those", in Hebrew האלה. I think that he was referring only to those who are the "enemies" in the sense that they are actively against Israel. It is hard to know without hearing the entire context.

UPDATE 2: Yeranen Yaakov looks at the context as well.

PA kids TV teach all Israeli cities are "occupied" (PMW)

Palestinian Media Watch shows a children's TV show, shown last week, that refers to a series of Israeli cities as "occupied."

TV host to girl: "You live in Jerusalem. Do you visit the 1948 occupied cities (Israeli cities)?"
Girl (Lujayn): "I’ve been to Hebron."
TV host: "No, Hebron is a city [in the Palestinian Authority] that we all can enter. The occupied cities – such as Lod, Ramle, Haifa, Jaffa, Acre (all Israeli cities) – have you visited them?"
Girl: “I’ve been to Haifa and Jaffa.”
TV host: "Tell us, are they beautiful?"
Girl: "Yes…"
TV host: "We hope all children of Palestine will be able to go to the occupied territories, which we don't know and have never been able to see. Personally, I have never been there."

Isn't it interesting that they do not refer to Hebron as "occupied," but Haifa is?

Hezbollah rejects call to remove arms from Beirut

For nearly a week, Lebanese politicians have been reacting to the fatal firefight between Hamas and al-Abbash in Beirut by calling for the elimination of arms in Beirut altogether.

Two groups disagree: Hezbollah and their allies in Amal.

Hezbollah first rejected the idea, saying that Beirut needs to be protected from that constant Israeli threat. Then they said that the only weapons that should be allowed in Beirut are "resistance weapons."

And guess who owns all the "resistance weapons"?

Those who still think that Hezbollah is acting for the good of all of Lebanon are delusional.

Arabs see that Abbas has no mandate for peace talks

From The National (UAE):

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, faces a crisis of credibility among his own people as he heads into direct talks with Israel in Washington this week.

Perhaps nothing better illustrates this than a rather awkward security crackdown Thursday in Ramallah, when leftist factions convened a meeting to protest against Mr Abbas’s decision to accept the US invitation to the talks. Security officials justified the actions of dozens of plainclothes security officers, who disrupted the meeting and prevented a press conference from being held, as a legal measure against an “illegal rally”.

But privately, Palestinian Authority officials expressed their dismay at what looked to most like an effort by security services to stifle dissent.

And dissent there is.

All Palestinian political factions, bar one, have denounced the direct talks, some in harsher language than others.

Only Fatah, Mr Abbas’s own group, supports direct talks. Even among its members, though, there are plenty of disapproving voices.

Ordinary Palestinians, as well as the political factions, feel they have little influence on the Palestinian leadership’s decisions. The Palestinian polity is broken. There is no functioning parliament. The Gaza Strip and the West Bank are divided under the leaderships of rival factions. The PA government under Salam Fayyad was appointed by presidential decree and elections – presidential, parliamentary and municipal – have all been postponed indefinitely.

Even the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which is chaired by Mr Abbas and represents Palestinian interests in international forums, including negotiations with Israel, was not properly consulted about the decision to go to direct talks. The US invitation to the talks was accepted, without a quorum as normally required by the PLO’s rules, at an emergency meeting of its executive committee.

The Palestinian leadership’s subsequent attempts to justify their decision to go to talks have also been clumsy.

“There is a real leadership crisis in the Palestinian arena,” said Diana Buttu, a Palestinian analyst and a former legal adviser to the PLO, adding that it “is not responsive to the people it represents or even the factions it represents”.

“The direct talks will lead to direct failure,” Ms Buttu said. “Failure could lead to another intifada, but not necessarily one against Israel. This one might well be directed against the Palestinian Authority.”

And the Quartet, including the US, is willfully blind to all of these issues that are not very far beneath the surface.

Salam Fayyad literally begs Arabs for money

Al Ahram has a sensationalist article that claims that in recent days, Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad has been "crying" and begging Arab countries to help prop up the finances of the PA.

As opposed to Fayyad's public speech last week where he confidently predicted the PA's full financial independence by the end of 2013, in private he has been intensely lobbying and begging members of the Arab League to pay up on their pledges, saying that the PA coffers are empty. The article says that he is writing letters to the Arab leaders with "blood and tears" in his desperation for cash.

The Arab League had pledged some $55 million monthly to the PA and has largely not paid up on those pledges.

Al Ahram also says that of the $500 million pledged in March to strengthen Arab and Muslim institutions in Jerusalem, not a dollar has ever materialized.

According to the article, the US and the EU have "closed off the taps" a few weeks ago in order to pressure the PA to agree to direct negotiations with Israel. I have not seen confirmation of that anywhere else.

Egypt finds 5 caches of explosives, weapons en route to Gaza

Over the weekend, Egyptian security forces discovered five separate caches of weapons, explosives and ammunition that were on their way to Gaza.

110 anti-aircraft missiles were found in one area, and 60 more in another. A third contained 100 kg of explosives. The others had ammunition, more explosives and weapons.