Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Coptic priest murdered in Egypt

From AP:

A Coptic Christian priest has been killed in southern Egypt, triggering street demonstrations by several thousand Christians.

The priest was found dead in his home. A fellow clergyman, Danoub Thabet, says his body had several stab wounds. He says neighbours reported seeing several masked men leaving the apartment and shouting "Allahu akbar," or "God is great," suggesting the killing was motivated by the divide between Egypt's Muslims and its minority Coptic community.

About 3,000 protesters scuffled with Muslim shop owners Tuesday night and smashed the windows of a police car in the city, Assiut.

(h/t MP, AR)

WaPo deja vu: Hamas 2005 and Muslim Brotherhood 2011 (David G)

From David G:

Yesterday the Washington Post featured an article, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood faces prospect of democracy amid internal discord

The gist of the article is, now that they have the obligation of running for office they'll be too busy to be extreme, not that they were extreme in the first place.

It was reminiscent of the sort of article you'd find about Hamas before the elections of 2006.

For example in late 2004 and early 2005, Hamas participated in several rounds of municipal elections and this is what the Washngton Post reported then.

In Gaza, New Hamas-Dominated Council Attends to Basics

Certain elements appear in each story.

1) Hamas is misunderstood by (Israel and) the West; but it is appreciated by the locals

1a) Gaza 2005

Hamas -- with its armed wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades -- is condemned by the United States as a terrorist organization and reviled by Israel as the perpetrator of some of the deadliest suicide bombings of the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. At the same time, Hamas has won respect among Palestinians by providing education and health programs. Now, when the U.S. and Israeli governments are demanding greater democratization of the Palestinian Authority, voters in the West Bank and Gaza are handing a sizable share of power to a group that many U.S. and Israeli leaders associate more closely with terrorism than with political reform

.
1b) Egypt 2011

Secular Egyptians and many in the West view the Brotherhood warily because it seeks to deepen the role of Islam in people's lives. Deeply religious Egyptians, meanwhile, view it as too liberal.

2) It is only one of the competing factions.

2a) Gaza 2005

Candidates aligned with Fatah, which has been the dominant Palestinian party for decades, have won the most local council seats overall in both Gaza and the West Bank. But Hamas has been victorious in the larger, more influential cities where it has capitalized on disorganization and bickering within Fatah, as well as its reputation for corruption.

2b) Egypt 2011

After decades of fighting for the right to participate openly in politics, Egypt's largest opposition movement soon will face competition from emerging political factions, led by tech-savvy young Egyptians, as the country gears up for what could be its first fair election.
The Islamist group also is facing internal discord, with a handful of young members breaking away. Some say they disapprove of its rigid top-down leadership structure and its politics.

3) De-emphasis of religion

3a) Gaza 2005

In Beit Hanoun, and in communities across Gaza and the West Bank, Islamic politicians are earning wide support using old-fashioned tactics valued the world over: fixing potholes, picking up garbage and turning on the lights.

3b) Egypt 2011

Since Mubarak's ouster, the Brotherhood has offered few signs that it aspires to transform Egypt into a repressive Islamic state. The group bills itself as a moderate movement that seeks to broaden the appeal of Islam from the ground up. It also has long lobbied for a democratic system that ensures freedom of expression and term limits.

Luckily, we have the benefit of hindsight to see how Hamas ended up.

Too bad reporters cannot seem to learn from their mistakes.

Morning linkdump

Things that crossed my desk recently...

Khaled Abu Toameh on how the PLO is using the US veto to bolster its image

An Arab MK says Obama can go to hell. Which means that the US has to redouble its efforts to make Arabs happy, in the current logic of the administration.

And speaking of the UN vote, Melanie Phillips goes after Britain for voting in favor of the resolution.

The Irish Independent has an op-ed that is skeptical of real freedoms breaking out in the Arab world.

The MERIA Journal on Syria's triumph in Lebanon (you do remember Lebanon, don't you?)

WSJ has a good analysis on the latest in Libya.

Michael Totten has a great piece on Libya as well in TNR.

Lee Hiromoto writes about what Israel is really like in the Harvard Crimson. This article should be published in every college newspaper in the US and UK.

Barry Rubin analyzes tweets by Egypt's famed Sandmonkey blogger.

Hate for Israel might be the only thing Egyptians can agree on.

Jeff Jacoby on the larger lessons of the Lara Logan episode.

Michael Ledeen discusses the back door being used from Germany to Turkey to Iran.

Why Israel worries about Jordan.

A German soccer fans seem to really like an Israeli player.

(h/t T34, Silke, Zach N., Joel, DM, Richard)

Tweets on Gaddafi's speech

Here are some of my tweets during Gaddafi's bizarre rant yesterday:

#Gaddafi's internal microchip just rebooted. (During a long pause)

Gaddafi: "I built Benghazi block by block. And now they are destroying it." Awwww.

Nothing says "strong national leader" than screaming like a homeless lunatic from a ruined house.

The transcript from #Gaddafi's speech should be turned into performance art. Better than "Seven Jewish Children."

The Partnership For a Drug-Free America really needs to record #gaddafi's speech and make a PSA out of it.

Did the translator just commit suicide? (during one section where the translation stopped...after about 50 minutes, the translator was indeed replaced, probably because of a nervous breakdown)

T-shirt: "I survived the first hour of Gaddafi's speech"

And others had some good lines as well:

Inventing a drink. Pour every type of alcohol you own into a glass.. Add bleach. Voilà! Le Gaddafi. Best served in a tent or w/ umbrella.

bloody hell, where's Kanye when you need him?

Gaddafi's cell phone bills must be a nightmare.

Successful Arrow anti-missile test in California (video)

From JPost:

In face of Iran's continued race for nuclear power, Israel conducted a successful test of the Arrow 2 ballistic missile defense system off the coast of California early Tuesday morning, when it destroyed a target simulating an Iranian ballistic missile.

It was the eighteenth test of the Arrow, and the second in which the modified Arrow 2 was tested in its entirety, along with the Green Pine radar manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

The test was conducted jointly by the IAF, the Defense Ministry's Homa Missile Defense Agency and the US Missile Defense Agency. The Arrow is a project developed in cooperation by the IAI and Boeing.

The Arrow interceptor was launched at around 10:30 pm Pacific Standard Time from a US Navy base along the California coast and intercepted a missile fired from a nearby navy vessel. Defense officials said that the enemy missile impersonated a "future threat that Israel could one day face in the region." Defense officials lauded the successful launching as another indication of Israel's defense capabilities in the face of Iran's continued quest for a nuclear weapon. They said that the Arrow system could protect Israel from all of the missiles in Iran's arsenal.

"This test is important for Israel as it prepares to counter the ballistic missile threat in the region," Herzog said. "This test proves the success of the system after it underwent new upgrades." Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that the test was an important milestone in the Israel's development of missile defense systems. Last week, the IAF successfully tested the Iron Dome counter-rocket defense system ahead of its planned deployment in southern Israel.

The PLO insult to America (NewsRealBlog)

A more expanded version of my earlier scoop about how the PLO is insulting the US can be found at NewsRealBlog.

Palestinian Arab government insults US. No one reports it.

A press release from the Palestinian Arab Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, in Arabic:

U.S. veto: an obstacle to peace

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs: February 21, 2011)

The United States of America's use of the veto to prevent the passage of a UN resolution condemning Israel's settlement policy confirms that it is not an honest broker, and it is no longer able to carry out its responsibilities as a sponsor of any future Palestinian - Israeli negotiations.

This first veto of the administration of President Barack Obama puts the credibility of the sponsor of the peace process in jeopardy, as this administration has chosen to stand in the face of international law and against the international consensus, which sponsored the draft resolution, thereby providing protection for the occupying power, Israel, against international condemnation of its illegal actions in settlement building on occupied Palestinian territory. ...

We see the U.S. veto as encouraging Israel to move forward in the processes of settlement and Judaizing Jerusalem, and the construction of a wall of annexation and expansion. It also provides cover for these egregious violations of international resolutions, and encourages [Israel] to continue to evade its commitment to the peace process and entitlements, and this gives them a certificate of innocence to intentionally sabotage and derail the negotiations. [We] hold the U.S. administration to be fully responsibile for the consequences and repercussions.

Accordingly, we call upon the U.S. administration, if it wishes to restore its credibility, to work to correct its decisions, and quickly take the necessary steps to correct this situation which it has committed against the Palestinian people...

This statement is a pure insult to the United States. The PLO is calling into question America's integrity and commitment to peace, it is stating flat-out that the US cannot sponsor peace negotiations any more, and is even calling US actions "an obstacle to peace."

If an Israeli spokesman would say something one tenth as provocative, there would be an immediate dressing down - in private and in public. This diatribe, however, has not even been reported in the media.

Let's send it to some reporters to get a reaction at the next daily White House briefing.

(This little diplomatic temper tantrum also shows that Susan Rice's abject attempt to suck up to the PLO was worse than meaningless - it might have even emboldened the PLO to write this to begin with.)

Samir Kuntar visits Syria to promote his book

From Syria's Al Baath newspaper, a celebration of a baby killer:

The dean of Lebanese prisoners freed from Israeli jails, Samir Kuntar, spoke of the steadfastness and principled positions of the Syrian government that gives courage for the resistance to achieve victories...

Kuntar spoke while promoting his book, "My Story," now in its second edition, in a discussion held yesterday at the University of October at the invitation of the National Union of Syrian Students to support the unlimited help provided by Syria to the [Hezbollah] resistance in the victory in 2006 and that this culture of resistance constitutes a milestone for Syria. He noted that this culture is planted in the minds and hearts of the youth and the sons of Syria, and that Syria's heroic struggle stems from betting on the young generation... gathered around the leader of the nation, Mr. President Bashar al-Assad.

Kuntar said that the youth of Syria is real and effective in supporting and sustaining the resistance and the educational and cultural institutions play a major role in promoting a culture of resistance and victory. he told the masses of students that... under the leadership of President Bashar al-Assad Syria is the focus of pride and the pride and respect for the whole world.

Here's his book.

Jordanian lawyers to sue former PM for peace treaty with Israel

From Jordan's Ammon News:

A group of Jordanian lawyers said that they intend to sue former Prime Minister Abdul Salam Majali following comments he made on signing the Wadi Araba Peace Treaty with Israel.

Lawyer Muhammad Khreisat stressed that he will file a lawsuit against the former Prime Minister after the latter made statements admitting that he "was wrong to sign the peace treaty with Israel," and that he regrets signing the agreement.

Khreisat added that Majali has "harmed the Jordanian state" by signing the peace treaty and through his recent admission in statements to the press that he regrets signing it.

Video of people being shot in Bahrain (updated)

Not sure when it was taken, uploaded yesterday:

(h/t Missing Peace)

UPDATE: Mike sends me the same incident from another angle, showing more. It was uploaded on the 18th.

Arab leaders meet to condemn their fellow dictator

The Arab League is going to have an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in Libya.

You know...these guys, standing around the other guy wearing brown:

And these guys, around the guy wearing with the long hair (although the person to his left will not be there.)

Ya gotta wonder what they will say without sounding like they are writing their own epitaphs.

In the same vein:, from Reuters:

Hamas supporters step on a poster depicting a crossed-out portrait of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a rally in Gaza City against the Libyan leader February 22, 2011.

Yet just a little over a year ago, Hamas leader Khaled Meshal traveled to Libya to hold talks with Gaddafi.

And Mahmoud Abbas has spent a bit of time with the crazy dictator as well, at least twice since 2009:

But then again, some other world leaders have not been embarrassed to be seen with Gaddafi either.

"Apartheid Week" poster

Just playing with the format of a series of posters I'd like to create for the upcoming "Israel Apartheid Week" on college campuses.

In general, I don't like playing defense, but I'd love to see video of the Israel-haters tearing down posters showing smiling, proud Israeli Arabs.

(The entire collection of posters is here.)

More Palestinian Arabs working for Israelis

The latest labor statistics are out from the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics.

Among the findings for the 4th quarter of 2010:

The labor market increased by 41,000 jobs in the West Bank and 13,000 jobs in Gaza.
In the West Bank, the number of Arab workers in Israel or Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria increased by 4000, from 75,000 to 79,000.
The number of Arab workers in settlements themselves went up from 7000 to 9000, a whopping 28% increase. Almost certainly this is largely because the construction freeze ended in late September.
11.5% of all employed West Bank workers are working for Israelis.
While the average daily wage in the West Bank is 86.8 NIS, the average daily wage for those working in Israel or in Jewish settlements is nearly double that, at 160.5 NIS (an increase of nearly 4% in the quarter.)
Gaza's unemployment rate went down from 40.5% to 37.4%. The West Bank unemployment rate decreased from 20.1% to 16.9%.

Statistics are slightly skewed compared to Western standards because the PCBS counts unemployment for everyone 15 years old and above, as opposed to 18 years old. Not surprisingly, the unemployment rate is highest for the 15-19 age group.

Erdogan wants to keep his Gaddafi Human Rights award

From Today's Zaman:

In response to growing calls from Turkish society on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to return the Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights he received last year, the Prime Ministry said yesterday that “returning the award is out of the question.”

As the growing anti-government unrest in Libya is met by the brutal response of security forces, Turkish civil society has begun calling on Erdoğan to give back the award in protest of the Gaddafi violence in Libya, a demand that was rejected by the Prime Ministry in a statement released yesterday. The refusal to return the award may be linked to the safety of thousands of Turks in Libya who still expect to be evacuated.

The Young Civilians -- a civil society group known for its creative demonstrations in support of democracy -- made an open call to Erdoğan yesterday to return the award. “You showed sensitivity to what happened in Egypt. Take the side of the oppressed against the oppressive Gaddafi as well. Fix this evil act, which you cannot fix with your hand, with your tongue. Immediately give back the Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights that you recently received. As long as this award exists on the shelves of the Republic of Turkey’s Prime Ministry, the responsibility for the ongoing massacres in Libya will remain on us,” the Young Civilians said.

...The human rights prize was established in 1988 by Muammar al-Gaddafi. According to its website, the prize is awarded to one of the “international personalities, bodies or organizations that have distinctively contributed to rendering an outstanding human service and has achieved great actions in defending human rights, protecting the causes of freedom and supporting peace everywhere in the world.” Former South African President Nelson Mandela and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez are among the recipients of the award.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also commented on Erdoğan’s silence regarding the Libyan uprising yesterday and argued that “Erdoğan is doing what the award requires.”

Other illustrious past winners include Fidel Castro, Louis Farrakhan, Mahathir Mohamad and Daniel Ortega.

(h/t Harry's Place via T34)

Muslim Brotherhood wants to build a satellite channel

From Al Arabiya:

The Muslim Brotherhood (MB) is currently studying the possibility of establishing a satellite television station and a number of newspapers and magazines, according to leading MB member Essam al-Arian.

“Freedom of access to information is key to keeping up with the evolution of international media,” al-Arian told Al-Masry Al-Youm, adding that Egyptians "are fed up with biased media.”

“Soon we will begin publishing a monthly magazine called 'Al-Daawa,' in addition to a weekly newspaper,” he added.

Head of the MB's media committee Assem Shalabi said the group was preparing to publish daily, weekly and monthly newspapers and magazines.

“We're expecting amendments to Egypt's press laws that will facilitate the publication of new newspapers," said Shalabi. "This is why we are seeking to issue different publications."

There is of course nothing wrong with this.

The problem is that no Egyptian pro-freedom group could possibly hope to match the expected media onslaught from the Islamists.

Even worse - no Western powers are even thinking in this direction.

The Islamists show yet again, by contrast, that the West has no real strategy to effectively promote freedom in the Arab world. We are great at empty platitudes and worthless words of support, but in the end, no one is on the ground setting up a real marketplace of ideas in the Arab world where Islamism would be just one alternative among many. We think that our system is so obviously better that it doesn't have to be promoted.

Sound familiar? Yes, that's Israel's problem as well.

Strategically, the Islamists run circles around the West, and they have just proved it again.

Freedom House vs. HRW on Libya

Last month I compared how Freedom House rates countries against how much attention Human Rights Watch pays to them.

Libya is a special case, because in 2009 its Middle East and North Africa director, Sarah Leah Whitson, gushed about how wonderful things were there. As quoted by Omri Ceren:
:

For the first time in memory, change is in the air in Libya. The brittle atmosphere of repression has started to fracture, giving way to expanded space for discussion and debate [and] proposals for legislative reform… I left more than one meeting stunned at the sudden openness of ordinary citizens, who criticized the government and challenged the status quo with newfound frankness. A group of journalists we met with in Tripoli complained about censorship… [b]ut that hadn’t stopped their newspapers… Quryna, one of two new semi private newspapers in Tripoli, features page after page of editorials criticizing bureaucratic misconduct and corruption… The spirit of reform, however slowly, has spread to the bureaucracy as well… the real impetus for the transformation rests squarely with a quasi-governmental organization, the Qaddafi Foundation for International Charities and Development.

Yet even without this "Tripoli Spring," HRW wrote only 10 reports on Libya - fewer than for Greece Peru, or the Philippines, or Brazil, and far fewer than Israel, the US, the UK or India.

Freedom House, however, gave Libya the worst score possible - a 7 on civil liberties and a 7 on political rights.

It sure looks like Freedom House's scores correlate a lot better with reality than HRW reports do.

Crazy Libyan rumors of Israeli involvement

Israeli F-16s! Jewish African mercenaries! Zionist riots! According to a bunch of tweeters, one or more callers to Al Jazeera claim to have seen Israeli F-16s land in Libya and/or bomb innocent civilians.

And the tweeters believe it.

Another rumor says that Israeli-trained African Jews are the mercenaries Gaddafi hired to shoot people:

But, of course, the Libyan regime has his own theories:

But no matter what, some tweeters understand that this is a great opportunity to engage in some old fashioned anti-semitism:

US throws Israel under the bus

My latest NewsRealBlog article is up, on the US veto of the UNSC resolution - and Susan Rice's groveling to the Arab world afterwards.

After I wrote it I saw this from Elliot Abrams' blog:

This is amazing language for a diplomat: “folly,” “illegitimacy,” “devastates,” “corroded,” and so on. It’s hard to recall such a vehement statement against Israel, nor one that contains so many conclusions that are, to say the least, highly debatable. Has construction in and around Jerusalem or in Ma’ale Adumim, for example, “undermined Israel’s security?” Given that the Israelis and Palestinians concluded the Oslo Accords and the numerous other agreements while construction activity was far greater than it is today, what is the basis for saying that it “devastates trust?” No doubt the Administration decided that as it had vetoed it would “make it up” to the Arabs with this statement. But emotive language such as Amb. Rice employed serves no purpose. Arab newspapers will headline the veto—assuming of course that they have space in their pages tomorrow after covering the revolts in Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, Libya, Bahrain, and Egypt—and are very unlikely to cover her speech. Only Israelis and supporters of Israel in the United States will study her language, and remember it.

So, the Administration emerges having damaged relations with both the Israelis and the Palestinians. Decades of American experience at the United Nations proves clearly the “folly” of such diplomatic action, which “devastates trust” in the United States and therefore “corrodes hopes for peace and stability in the region.” Next time, say you’ll veto, veto, and leave it at that. The United States will end up with fewer angry friends and fewer gleeful enemies.

Exactly. In fact, none of the Arab media I can find is even mentioning Rice's tirade and instead are just concentrating on the veto:

Israeli Muslim sues Coca Cola for putting alcohol in recipe

From Globes:

An Israeli Muslim filed a NIS 1.2 billion class action suit against The Central Bottling Company Group Ltd. (the Israel franchisee for Coca Cola) in the Jerusalem District Court today for compensation for mental anguish and infringing the independent choices of the individual.

The plaintiff, an Israeli Muslim, filed the suit following publication on the web last week of what is apparently the secret recipe of Coca Cola, and which allegedly contains alcohol. The class action suit was filed by Advs. Hani Tannus, Ofir Cohen, and Mahmud Machjana.

Alcohol is forbidden by Islam, and the plaintiff cites he has been unwittingly drinking alcohol for years. He therefore claims Coca Cola is guilty of misleading consumers, infringing the independent choices of the individual, and causing huge mental anguish.

The plaintiff says that his class action suit comprises NIS 1,000 compensation for each of the 1.2 million Muslims living in Israel.

The suit said, "This is one of the greatest deceptions in the history of consumer affairs, when a company ignores the existence of alcohol as an ingredient despite being aware that the Muslim world abstains from products like these. This is a very serious matter and it certainly won't be the last in the world in light of the fraud.

The "secret recipe" story came out last week when a public radio show noticed that one of the pages from Coca Cola's founder's notebook was visible in a 1979 newspaper article. Here's the alleged recipe.

Of course, if it is legitimate, that is a recipe from the late 19th century.

It is a bit crazy to assume that Coke contains alcohol today. The company admits this recipe might be an early version of the formula, but it is not close to what Coke is today.

Not only that, but Coke is manufactured in Muslim countries as well. As the Economic Times reports:

Coca-Cola has no alcohol in it, said the firm's manufacturer in Malaysia as it rubbished reports that the secret of the way it is prepared is out.

Coca-Cola Malaysia's public affairs and communications director Kadri Taib said alcohol was not an ingredient and no fermentation took place during the manufacture of the drink.

"The precise formulation of the drink is our company's most valuable trade secret.

"The ingredients and manufacturing process are rigorously regulated by government and health authorities in more than 200 countries, including Malaysia, which have consistently recognised the beverage as a non-alcoholic product," he said.

The clarification about alcohol is essential for the beverage manufacturer in the Muslim majority nation since Islam forbids it.

This isn't stopping the Arabic press from reporting that class-action lawsuits in all Muslim countries might put Coca Cola out of business.

The demand is for compensation of the Muslim Ummah for psychological and religious damages theyh have suffered as a result of drinking Coca-Cola, which contains a proportion of alcohol... and the teachings of the Islamic religion prohibits drinking alcohol.

Counsel explains that "the Muslim population in Israel, approximately 16%, were drinking Coca-Cola all the time without their knowledge that it contains alcohol, and this is what caused significant psychological damage after discovering the presence of alcohol.

"The Coca-Cola Company is deceiving consumers, particularly Muslims, for the past 150 years, and we demand compensation of 1000 shekels for every Muslim Arab citizen inside Israel, where the number of Muslims in Israel is 1.1879 million, so total of compensation is about 1.2 billion shekels."

If the Jerusalem District Court rules to compensate Muslims inside Israel 1.2 billion shekels, that will open the door to all the world's Muslims, estimated at about one billion Muslims, to bring cases against the Coca-Cola Company, which may have to declare bankruptcy to compensate those affected.

I guess we shouldn't tell them the secret behind Mecca Cola....