Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Jerusalem Day: Videos

Today is Yom Yerushalayim, the day to celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem after the artificial splitting of the city for 19 long years from 1948-1967.

JCPA came out with a brilliant video showing the history of Jerusalem in 5 minutes, highlighting how only under Jewish rule has it been truly a place for freedom of religion.

Not nearly as good, but I made a video a couple of years ago comparing how important Jerusalem is in Jewish and Muslim culture:

Last year, Aish HaTorah put together their own nice tribute for Yom Yerushalayim:

Administrivia/open thread

The blog has broken its previous record for pageviews this month, with over 169,000 pageviews and 120,000 unique pageviews.

In the past 12 months I have over 1.3 million pageviews. My Alexa rank has gone up to 139,878 out of all websites in the world, up from around 210,000 in December. That's pretty good.

I am getting so many emails with suggestions for posts that I cannot possibly post them all. When I can, I put them in linkdumps, but there are really a lot to go through, so my apologies if I cannot acknowledge them all. As it is, I am only skimming the comments because there are so many and I don't have enough time.

But I'm working on how to live without sleep altogether. When I succeed, then I'll have a little bit more time to spend on the blog...

I made it to the finals of the Pro-Israel Blog-Off at Israellycool. The final voting will probably be the week of June 12th since next week is the holiday of Shavuot. My opponent for the final is Israel Muse.

I can enter any post from the past six months for the final. I intended to make a video but unfortunately I will not have the time to do it as well as I want to, so I apologize for those who voted for me on that basis :)

Since I don't like to submit old posts, right now I am leaning to submitting the audio post of my lecture on How to Be a Media-Savvy Advocate of Israel that I gave last week. My second choice is my post also last week on Bursting Liberal Assumptions About the Peace Process. Since I've been swinging for the fences in my submissions in the first three rounds, I think I will again, even if it means that the judges must listen to me for 65 minutes!

If you think I should change my mind, I'm open to other opinions.

The winner, based on a combination of votes and judges' opinions, gets an iPad.

When the voting begins, I'll remind you all to vote. Repeatedly. Because, let's face it, who doesn't want an iPad?

And here's an open thread for your enjoyment and edification....

Video: Who do the territories belong to?

Well done and accurate, now with English translation in the comments.

Why are there so many Egyptian birth defects?

Al Masry al-Youm interviews doctors who list the three major reasons why Egyptian babies have a high number of birth defects.

Number three is economic conditions, that make it difficult for women to get proper pre-natal care.

Number two is pollution, such as contamination of water sources or living near factories that emit dangerous byproducts.

But the major reason for birth defects is inbreeding.

Some 35-40% of Egyptians marry their own cousins, according to the article. And they are not alone.

This 2005 study says:

One distinctive feature of Arab families is the relatively high rate of marriage between relatives (in particular, between cousins), a practice known as consanguinity. Marriage between relatives is particularly high in Sudan, Libya, and Saudi Arabia, where 40 percent to 50 percent of ever-married women ages 15 to 49 are wed to their first cousins. These consanguineous marriages are not necessarily arranged marriages; they may well reflect the wishes of the marrying partners. But marriage between close relatives can jeopardize the health of their offspring, as can marriage among families with a history of genetic diseases.

A 1997 study in the UAE found:

The consanguinity rate in the UAE has increased from 39% to 50.5% in one generation.

Israeli Arabs have high rates of consanguineous marriages as well.

This is a major health crisis in the Arab world that falls under the radar.

The sad part is that this is a problem that is relatively easy to fix. Yet none of the people we see so often who pretend to love the Arabs so much seem to care when Arab problems cannot be blamed on Israel.

"Free Software Foundation" founder cancels Israel lectures

From Thinq.co.uk:

Open sourcerer and president of the Free Software Foundation, Richard Stallman, has cancelled a bunch of lectures and public appearances he was due to make in Israel, since he'd tacked them on to a visit he is to make to the Occupied Territories paid for by Palestinians.

Stallman was had booked himself in to speak at Haifa University, Tel Aviv University and Shenkar College in July when he also has engagements in the Occupied Territories as part of a trip paid for by Palestinian organisations.

When they found out about Stallman's other engagements his Palestinian paymasters threatened to pull the funding, which in turn lead Stallman to cancel his Israeli dates.

Stallman wrote:
"The funds for my travel to Israel are coming from Palestinians who invited me to give talks for them. They are unhappy that I offered to give talks at Israeli universities, and say they won't buy the tickets if I'm going to do that. So I can go, and cancel these speeches, or not go, and cancel these speeches.

"I think it is best if I go, and give the speeches they originally invited me to give."

"I am sorry for the disappointment this will cause."

My initial thought was that some Israeli university should offer to pay for the trip without any strings attached, so Stallman - who writes so extensively on freedom in relation to software - would understand what "freedom" really means.

It wouldn't work. Apparently, Stallman is a complete idiot as far as Israel is concerned.

Part of his website has something called "political notes" where we are treated to such gems as:

Egypt has opened the Rafah border crossing for people, but not for goods.
This will help Palestinians who want to leave Gaza for medical treatment; Israel will no longer be able to kill them by blocking their exit.

Does Stallman really believe that Israeli policy is to kill Palestinian Arabs by blocking their ability to leave? In fact, does Stallman believe that Israel has had any say in the border between Gaza and Egypt in recent years?

He repeatedly and approvingly quotes Uri Avnery and MJ Rosenberg, quotes ridiculous news sources saying that Israel shot artillery at the Malaysian "aid" ship without any skepticism, and in short fully believes every anti-Israel statement anyone makes without having the intellectual honesty to check both sides of the story.

These notes mention Israel hundreds of times but as far as I can tell only gives voice to anti-Zionist opinion. I don't see a single mention of the Itamar massacre, while he notes cases of tear gas canisters hitting "peaceful" protesters with slingshots and boulders and Molotov cocktails. No mentions of Qassam rockets this year, but in 2006 he wrote:

Considering that Qassam missiles are almost totally ineffective, Israeli policy resembles that of a grown man who shoots children that try to stab him with crayons.

Brilliant analogy there, Stallman. Why should Israel care about rockets that only occasionally kill people? Just smile and laugh - they are nothing but crayons!

Go speak to the Palestinian Arabs - you deserve each other.

(h/t Silke)

Iranian diplomat accused of spying against Egypt

I edited this from stories in Bikya Masr, Ya Libnan and Al Masry al Youm:

An Iranian diplomat working at the Iran mission in Cairo was detained on Saturday, security sources told Bikya Masr. The diplomat, Qassem Hosseini, was taken in for questioning after a tip-off led investigators to the Iranian diplomat’s villa in Maadi. Early reports said that Hosseini was being held for “passing information” from the mission in Cairo back to his headquarters in Tehran.

Security sources confirmed that Hosseini was arrested and interrogated.

“The state security prosecutor detained and questioned Qassem Hosseini after the Foreign Ministry confirmed he is an Iranian diplomat,” Aly Hassan, a judicial analyst with the justice ministry said.

The Egyptian Supreme State Security Court prosecutor, Taher El Khouli, accused Hosseini of attempting to organize an espionage network in Egypt while working at the Iranian mission in Cairo. The Iranian diplomat is being called an “undercover operative” by the prosecutor, who also said that investigators found spying devices in his home, which are banned in Egypt.

The prosecutor’s office reported that Qassem Hosseini became active in collecting intelligence during the 18-day revolution which ousted Egypt’s president and authoritarian regime from power. The diplomat “took advantage of the security vacuum” surrounding the uprising, El Khouli told reporters. Egyptian investigators followed Hosseini for several weeks and found that he had violated diplomatic procedure and protocols.

Egyptian security officers found documents, a computer and spying devices banned in Egypt at Husseini’s apartment, a security official told the Associated Press news agency on Sunday.

The investigation also revealed that al-Husseini had asked his sources to offer Iranian financial backing to popular Egyptian political organizations and movements in order to strengthen ties with them.

In late April of this year, Kuwait and Bahrain expelled several Iranian diplomats after a court verdict in Kuwait linked Iranian diplomats with a spy ring operating in Kuwait. The diplomats were accused of having direct connections with the espionage network while also reporting back to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

Tweeters and bloggers overwhelmingly pro-Israel after Obama, Bibi speeches

From the Pew Research Center's Journalism.org:

By almost a 3-to-1 margin, bloggers and users of Twitter and Facebook expressed strong support for Israel over the Palestinians in the week following President Obama's May 19 address on the Middle East, according to an analysis of social media conducted by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism. Many of those expressing support also took President Obama to task for suggesting that peace in the region would best be achieved by creating a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders.

Only a small percentage of the conversation was neutral as most users shared strong opinions about the difficult issues involved in the peace process.

In the seven days following Obama's speech, fully 55% of the conversation on blogs on the issue has been in favor of Israel and opposed to a move to the 1967 borders, while 19% has been in favor of the Palestinians and the creation of an independent state. About a quarter, 27%, was neutral.

On Twitter and Facebook, the tone of conversation was similar with 60% pro-Israel compared to 20% pro-Palestinian and 20% neutral.

These are the results of a special edition of the New Media Index from the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, utilizing computer technology from Crimson Hexagon. Based on more than 48,000 blog posts and 430,000 posts on Twitter or Facebook, this report goes beyond the normal methodology of PEJ's index of new media to look at the specific themes and tone of the online conversation related to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

The pro-Israeli tone of conversation also stayed relatively constant throughout the week examined. On blogs, the ratio of support for Israel over the Palestinians was virtually the same on May 19, the day of Obama's speech (55% to 19%), as it was on May 25 (54% to 20%).

On Twitter and Facebook, there was a small change over time away from the pro-Israel position, but not enough to see a significant change in the overall makeup of the conversation. On May 19, 62% of the discussion was pro-Israel compared to 20% pro-Palestinian, while a week later the makeup was 54% to 23%.

You're welcome :)

(h/t Zvi)

IAEA notes Iranian nuke weapons program; Saudis to build 16 nuclear reactors

The nuclear arms race in the Middle East is in full swing.

From the NYT last week:

The world’s global nuclear inspection agency, frustrated by Iran’s refusal to answer questions, revealed for the first time on Tuesday that it possesses evidence that Tehran has conducted work on a highly sophisticated nuclear triggering technology that experts said could be used for only one purpose: setting off a nuclear weapon.

The disclosure by the International Atomic Energy Agency was buried inside a nine-page report on the progress of Iran’s nuclear program.

The agency gave some details in Tuesday’s report on work that was apparently done on how to trigger a nuclear device, dating back to late 2003.

“The agency has not described these experiments to this detail before,” said Olli Heinonen, the agency’s former chief inspector.

The disclosure about the atomic trigger centered on a rare material — uranium deuteride, a form of the element made with deuterium, or heavy hydrogen. Nuclear experts say China and Pakistan appear to have used the material as a kind of atomic sparkplug.

The report said it had asked Iran about evidence of “experiments involving the explosive compression of uranium deuteride to produce a short burst of neutrons” — the speeding particles that split atoms in two in a surge of nuclear energy. In a bomb, an initial burst of neutrons is needed to help initiate a rapid chain reaction.

Harold M. Agnew, a former director of the Los Alamos weapons laboratory, said the compression of uranium deuteride suggested work on an atomic trigger.

“I don’t know of any peaceful uses,” he said in an interview.

Tuesday’s report also gave fresh charges on the design of missile warheads. Documentary evidence, it said, suggested that Iran had conducted “studies involving the removal of the conventional high explosive payload from the warhead of the Shahab-3 missile and replace it with a spherical nuclear payload.”

The Shahab-3 is one of Iran’s deadliest weapons, standing 56 feet tall. In parades, Iran has draped them with banners reading, “Wipe Israel off the map.”

Today, Al Arabiya reports that Saudi Arabia si planning to build no less than 16 nuclear reactors by 2030. The estimated cost is $300 billion. The official reason is "energy security" so as not to be dependent on oil...which it controls.

The Saudi move almost certainly reflects the regimes' own nervousness at the potential that Iran will have nuclear weapons.

But the West has sanctions against Iran, so the problem will take care of itself, no doubt.

(The IAEA report also noted that Iran seems to have recovered from Stuxnet.)

(h//t Serious Black)

Newest nutty Egyptian rumor: Mossad tried to grab Mubarak from hospital

Popular Egyptian daily Rose el-Youssef has spun a new conspiracy theory to rival the one from yesterday (which also originated there) about the Mossad grabbing Egyptians' email and contact lists via online TV viewing software.

This one says that last Friday, the Mossad almost grabbed Hosni Mubarak from his hospital in Sharm el-Sheikh.

The overly detailed theory says that the plan was masterminded by fugitive Egyptian businessman Hussein Salem, and that helicopters had been deployed last Friday by the Mossad from Eilat to enable the snatch, that they would enter the hospital with guns blazing while Egypt's security was busy in Cairo for the latest Tahrir Square protests there, and that Mubarak would be disguised with a wig (since no one would consider the gunfire at his hospital has anything to do with him.)

I'm not sure why this brilliant plan was foiled, but I'm sure that Egyptian cunning and intelligence had something to do with it.

Intra-Hamas battles continue

From The Economist:

ALL is not well in the camp of Hamas, the Palestinians’ Islamist faction that rules the Gaza Strip. No sooner had its leader in exile, Khaled Meshal (pictured), declared his readiness for Mahmoud Abbas, who heads the Palestinians’ more moderate Fatah faction, to relaunch negotiations with Israel, than one of Hamas’s leaders in Gaza, Mahmoud Zahar, said Mr Abbas did not speak for the Palestinians: “Our programme is against negotiations in this way because they are a waste of time.”

Formally Mr Meshal, who is based in Syria’s capital, Damascus, speaks for Hamas. But with turmoil there and uncertainty over the policy of Egypt towards the Palestinians—it has said it will open its border crossing to Gaza—Mr Meshal and his exiled coterie have looked homeless and weak. And Hamas leaders in Gaza say they are keen to see the movement’s centre of gravity shift back home. “The main headquarters of the Hamas movement is in the occupied lands,” says Mr Zahar. “Its real weight is there.”

Rival visions have worsened the row. Whereas Mr Meshal relies on diplomatic and foreign ties for his influence, Hamas leaders in Gaza depend more on their own resources. Mr Meshal looks to reconciliation with Mr Abbas’s Fatah movement as a means to regain a national role, and has long sought a place in the Palestinians’ umbrella body, the Palestine Liberation Organisation. But Hamas leaders in Gaza think they already have a big enough platform.

Depending more on friends outside Palestine, Mr Meshal faces pressure from Islamist movements elsewhere in the Arab world to show a more conciliatory face. Hamas’s harsh de facto one-party state in Gaza clashes with the idea of an enlightened democratic movement that sister Islamist groups seek to portray.

This has been a simmering issue in the Arabic media for over a week now.

Today, Mahmoud Zahar refused to go to Damascus to participate in a meeting of Hamas' political movement, even though he is a member of that body.

(The Economist article fails badly in trying to portray Meshal as some sort of a liberal reformer. The fact that he embraces a short-term tactical rapprochement with Fatah to further his goal of destroying Israel hardly makes him the peaceful maverick that the Economist tries to turn him into.)

The "unity" farce continues....

Video of Egyptian judoka refusing to shake hands with Israeli

From JPost:

Arik Ze’evi is on the verge of qualifying for his fourth straight Olympic Games after winning a gold medal at the Grand Slam event in Moscow on Sunday.

The 34-year-old Israeli defeated Cyrille Maret of France in the final of the under-100-kilogram competition after beating 2009 world champion Maxim Rakov in the semis.

Ze’evi’s achievement was marred by a slight controversy when Egyptian Ramadan Darwish refused to shake his hand and quickly walked away at the end of their quarterfinal bout.

The referee ordered Darwish back onto the floor, but the Egyptian still wouldn’t shake Ze’evi’s hand and left swiftly after giving the traditional bow.

(h/t Joel)

Work accidents! 5 new martyrs in "paradise"!

From Ma'an :

Three men were killed Tuesday in an explosion at a resistance training ground in the southern Gaza Strip.

Popular Resistance Committees spokesman Abu Mujahid told Ma'an that three men affiliated with the group were killed in a blast at the Abu Ataya training ground in Tel Sultan, west of Rafah.

It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion but the Israeli military said it was not responsible.

Abu Mujahid identified those killed as Younis Abu An-Naja, Ramzi Abu Harb, and Mahmoud Al-Arqan.

On Friday, two fighters affiliated with Hamas were killed in an explosion in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip.

If you like to gaze at an image of a 'sploded fighter, you can see it at the Hamas Al Qassam website, which improbably claims:

Israeli occupation intellegence services push its collaborators to plant ground mines inside the training camps of the Palestinian resistance factions to cause a state of insecurity and fear in the Strip.

Virtual candy all around to celebrate the latest holy jihadists entering the next world, and being sorely disappointed at their reception!

(I cannot find verification of the Friday explosion anywhere, so I'm not sure where Ma'an got that from.)