Monday, March 28, 2011

  • Monday, March 28, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
Palestine Today (Islamic Jihad) reports that Hamas officials are optimistic that Egypt will re-open their embassy in Gaza.

The embassy was closed after the Hamas coup in Gaza.

Embassy to Cairo in the Gaza Strip.

Dr. Mohamed Awad, Hamas minister of foreign affairs said Hamas had applied to the Egyptian government to reopen its embassy in the Gaza Strip, saying that "the government is waiting for the Egyptian response to the request" and saying that there are "positive signs" in that direction.

He said that Egyptian-Palestinian relations "has improved markedly and were better than in the past".

In a related story, Hamas leader Mahmoud al Zahar was scheduled to meet with Egyptian intelligence head Murad Muwafi and Assistant Foreign Minister Nabil Arabi on Sunday, marking the first time Hamas officials have met officially with the new Egyptian government.

Looks like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are getting quite cozy in this new Egyptian "spring" and that Hamas is trying to be recognized as the official Palestinian Arab government to Egypt.

It also means that the Egyptian revolution may have destroyed the "peace process." Egypt was an important intermediary between Israel and the PA, and that seems to be gone now. Not only that, but by strengthening Hamas politically, it puts the idea of unity between the PA and Hamas that much further away, and any unity government would be much more extremist making peace with Israel even less likely.

Not that you will find any Western media noticing that. Because how can they admit that two things they wanted so badly are incompatible with each other?
  • Monday, March 28, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
Over the weekend, Syrian riots have spread to the coastal town of Latakia. From BBC:
Syrian troops have deployed in force in the northern city of Latakia, where at least 12 people have died in a wave of unrest that has shaken the regime.

Officials blamed foreign forces for the violence, but residents said pro-government gangs started the clashes.

Syrian troops are now in control of Latakia, 350km (220 miles) north-west of the capital Damascus, our correspondent says.

The government says 12 people were killed during clashes on Friday and Saturday, but residents say the number could be higher.

The streets of Latakia, home to 450,000 people, were completely deserted on Sunday and all shops remained closed.
AP adds:
A Latakia resident says the streets are mostly deserted on Monday after unidentified men carrying sticks and hunting rifles pulled over cars and asked for IDs on Sunday and through the night. He spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
I had mentioned that Syria had earlier blamed "Palestinian extremists" for the unrest when it was just starting, and an advisor to President Assad has made the same accusation about Palestinian Arabs who live in the unofficial Latakia "refugee" camp.

Now a new conspiracy theory is making the rounds.

According to Palestine Press Agency, the person behind the Latakia escalation is Assad's cousin Rami Makhlouf. For two years, Makhlouf has been trying to move the entire Latakia Palestinian Arab camp elsewhere - because they are on valuable beach property and he wants to turn that area into a resort.

A crackdown in Latakia that blames Palestinian Arabs could be the excuse he needs to set up his cream project.

Makhlouf is reportedly a billionaire and one of the most powerful men in Syria.

His name seems to be coming up in many demonstrations as a symbol of Syrian corruption.

The Latakia camp is not an official UNRWA camp but was set up in 1955. Its residents are said to mostly have originated in Jaffa.

Palestinian Arab leaders in Syria have been trying very hard to distance themselves from the demonstrators.
  • Monday, March 28, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
EoZ is up against 7 Agorot in the first round of the quarter-finals of the Pro-Israel Blog-Off.

I was really busy when asked to submit an article and pretty much picked an article I had written that day which didn't even get that much traction here, but which I thought was important.

Last time I took a chance and submitted a cartoon, and while I lost the popular vote (35% of the total score)  the judges liked mine the best and my post won.


So go to Israellycool, read both articles, and vote for which you think is best.

  • Monday, March 28, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From The Muqata, translated from YNet:
Close to 50 million people live in South Korea, and everyone learns Gemara (Talmud) in school. "We tried to understand why the Jews are geniuses, and we came to the conclusion that it is because they study Talmud," said the Korean ambassador to Israel. And this is how "Rav Papa" became a more well known scholar in Korea than in Israel.

It is doubtful if the Amoraic scholars, Abbaye and Rava imagined their discussions of Jewish law in the Beit Midrash in Babylon would be taught hundreds of years later in East Asia. Yet it turns out that the laws of an "egg born on a holiday" ("ביצה שנולדה ביום טוב") is actually very interesting to the South Koreans who have required that Talmud study be part of their compulsory school curriculum.

Almost every home in South Korea now contains a Korean-translated Talmud. But unlike in Israel, the Korean mothers teach the Talmud to their children. In a country of close to 49 million people who believe in Buddhism and Christianity, there are more people who read the Talmud - or at least own their own copy at home - more than in the Jewish state. Much more.

"So we too will become geniuses"

"We were very curious about the high academic achievements of the Jews," explains Israel's ambassador to South Korea, Young Sam Mah, that was a host on the program "culture today."

"Jews have a high percentage of Nobel laureates in all fields: literature, science and economics. This is a remarkable achievement. We tried to understand what is the secret of the Jewish people? How they - more than other people - are able to reach those impressive accomplishments? Why are Jews so intelligent? The conclusion we arrived at is that one of your secrets is that you study the Talmud."

"Jews study the Talmud at a young age, and it helps them, in our opinion, to develop mental capabilities. This understanding led us to teach our children as well. We believe that if we teach our children Talmud, they will also become geniuses. This is what stands behind the rationale of introducing Talmud Study to our school curriculum."

Young says that he himself studied the Talmud at a very young age: "It is considered very significant study," he emphasized. The result is that more Koreans have Talmud sets in their homes than Jews in Israel.

"I, for example, have two sets of the Talmud: the one my wife bought me, and the second was a gift from my mother."

Koreans don't only like the Talmud because they see it as promoting genius, but because they found values that are ​​close to their hearts.

"In the Jewish tradition, family values ​​are important," explains the South Korean Ambassador.

"You see it even today, your practice of the Friday evening family meal. In my country we also focus on family values. The respect for adults, respect and appreciation for the elderly parallels the high esteem in my country for the elderly."

Another very significant issue is the respect for education. In the Jewish tradition parents have a duty to teach their children, and they devote to it lots of attention. For Korean parents, their children's education is a top priority. (YNET)
I thought this was a Purim joke...but it's not.

Here's an article in the Korean Herald about a rabbi who teaches Talmud in Korea.

Here's a message board posting from 2005 in a Christian forum where a visitor to Korea is trying to figure out why all Korean kids are learning Talmud.

Here's a Korean website filled with Talmudic sayings and stories.

And, most convincing to me...pictured here is a Korean children's book called "Splash Into the World of Talmud". I found other books filled with Talmudic stories for kids.

If only Jewish parents would be as interested in teaching Judaism to their kids as Koreans are!

UPDATE: The story is not exactly what it seems.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
I was sent this (the person in the photo wanted to remain anonymous):



The rally was called "We Stand With Israel Against Islamic Terror" held at noon on Sunday.
  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
An EoZ fan offered to pay to publish a newspaper ad with a selection of "Apartheid?" posters, so here's what I put together for him:

  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
A sickening cartoon in The Economist, that was published on March 17 - after the Itamar massacre:


Yes, it is trendy for oh-so-sophisticated British to say that Jews building homes - within their existing communities - as being as deadly to peace as wantonly killing demonstrators.

Years of Arabs repeating the mantra that "settlements are the obstacle to peace" easily gets into the heads of credulous leftists who are already looking for reasons to hate Jews.

(h/t Gabriel)
  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
Palestine Press Agency and Ma'an News (Arabic) report:
Look how moderate he is!
Fatah spokesman Osama Qawasmi said "resistance is a legitimate right of the Palestinian people for liberation from Israeli occupation for and achieving their goal of independence and the establishment of a Palestinian state with its capital in Jerusalem."

He said in a press statement issued by the Office of Information and Culture: 'Resistance and means to achieve the objectives of a comprehensive national goal is subject to its weapons and methods for a clear vision of strategic objectives and progress according to a unitary national and political goals agreed upon by the Palestinian people."
He goes on to say that Hamas' use of weapons has not been strategic and has hurt the goal of achieving a state, but in general there is a place and time for using terror against Israel.

I do not know if the "Office of Information and Culture" is a Fatah or PA organization.
  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon

The British media is failing to report the attacks upon Israel, and only reporting Israeli responses, thus creating the entirely false impression that Israel is the aggressor. Thus in turn creating the kind of hatred of Israel in the world which is leading to mass murder.
(h/t Joel)
  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
Binyomin Netanyahu will be on YouTube answering the most popular questions submitted by people around the world. Although I am asking my question a bit late, here's what I would like to hear him address:

What is the Government of Israel's official stance on the legal status of the territories? Are they occupied, disputed, or something else?

Israel used to be adamant that they were "disputed" (except for Jerusalem which was annexed) but the recent governments seem to have gone away from that formulation. I would simply like a clear answer.

If you like my question, go to the Vote page, somehow find my question (I don't see a search function but I put it under "Peace Process"), and vote for it.
  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon

This is supposedly a video taken in Daraa on Friday, showing people trying to topple a statue of Hafez al-Assad and hearing the sounds of shots by the regime.

It doesn't look like they succeeded in toppling the statue, and I am not sure what the photo of Saddam Hussein for the last minute of the video is meant to signify.

From Palestine Press Agency.
  • Sunday, March 27, 2011
  • Elder of Ziyon
From YNet:
During secret talks with Iran, the Argentinean government offered to "forget" the bombings of the Israeli embassy and the Jewish community center in the capital Buenos Aires in the 1990s in exchange for improved ties between the two countries.

The Argentine weekly Perfil reported Saturday that the negotiations were aimed at increasing the trade volume between Argentina and the Islamic Republic, which is currently estimated at $1.2 billion a year.

According to the report, Cristina Kirchner's government offered to suspend the investigation of the bombings, which are believed to have been orchestrated by Iran.

It was further reported that a memo sent by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that "Argentina is no longer interested in solving the mystery of these two attacks and would rather improve its economic relations with Iran."

Perfil said Argentinean Foreign Minister Hector Timerman asked Syrian President Bashar Assad and Foreign Minister Walid Moallem to relay the offer to Tehran. The three met at the Syrian city of Haleb on January 23, the weekly said.

In the 1992 embassy bombing, 29 people were killed and 242 were injured. In the bombing at the AMIA Jewish community center in 1994, 85 people were killed and more than 300 were injured. No one has been indicted despite the fact that Israel and the US have been assisting in the investigation.

Iran's Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi is wanted by Interpol for the attack on the Jewish center, as are four other Iranians.
The Prefil report is here.

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This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 14 years and 30,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

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