Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Syrians perform in Edinburgh. Where are the protests?

From Syrian government mouthpiece SANA:

Syrian dramatist Dr. Hannan Kassab Hassan, playwright Omar Abu Saada and dancing designer Osama Hilal participated in Edinburgh Festival for the British Contemporary Arts which was held between August 22nd and 28th.

The Festival presented variety of British contemporary shows and held a number of meetings to provide opportunities of opinions, experiments and knowledge among dramatists from different parts of the world. The Festival also conducted dialogues about the Arab theatre.

Prominent Arab and African dramatists also took part in the international festival, among them Director of Beirut Spring Festival Randa al-Asmar and the Executive Director of Jordan Festival Suha Bawab.

Elizabeth White, Director of the British Council in Syria said that each Summer, Edinburgh embraces new productions and opinions at all streets, halls and theatres where the coffees are crowded with dramatists, playwrights and spectators who enthusiastically discuss the good and bad works.

Somehow, I missed the protests by British "human rights" activists that must have occurred outside the festival, calling attention to Syrian war crimes.

After all, they have determined that the human rights of Arabs is far more important than any arts performance, didn't they?

Iran and Israel sending naval forces into the Red Sea

From UPI:

Iran will send a submarine and another warship from the republic's 15th fleet to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, Adm. Habibollah Sayyari said.

The navy will continue to maintain a highly active presence in the area to serve the country's interests, Press TV quoted the navy commander as saying Tuesday.

Sayyari did not say when the naval vessels would be dispatched.

Iran's presence will not only enhance security in the area, but will convey a message of peace and friendship to all countries, he said.

Iran's announcement came shortly after Israel said Tuesday it was boosting its naval presence near the border with Egypt Tuesday, following reports Sinai terrorists plan attacks on Israel.

Due to the warnings based on concrete intelligence received by the security establishment, Israel also boosted its ground forces along the border with Egypt and Gaza.

Israel informed the Egyptian authorities of the move.

Al Masry al Youm reports that first Iran made their announcement and then Israel announced that two warships would be deployed in the Red Sea. Predictably, they interview an Egyptian "expert" who says that Israel's move is designed to "provoke Egypt."

"Empty chair" poster

Just a quick graphical reaction to the PLO's "Empty Chair" stunt I mentioned yesterday:

Joseph Goebbel's secretary breaks her silence

From ABC News:

She kept a promise of silence and secrecy for 66 years. A promise made to one of the vilest leaders of Nazi Germany.

Now Brunhilde Pomsel, 100 years old, is talking about her time as secretary to Joseph Goebbels, propaganda chief for Adolph Hitler, a man who railed against Jews and once wrote, “Adolf Hitler, I love you because you are both great and simple at the same time. What one calls a genius.”

All these years later, his secretary calls him something else.

“I will never forgive Goebbels for what he brought into this world,” Pomsel tells Bild, Germany’s most widely-read paper. “And the fact that he could murder his innocent children in this way.”

She worked for Goebbels from 1942 until May 1, 1945 — a week before V-E Day — when he killed himself in Berlin.

“He got away lightly with suicide,” she says. “He knew he would be condemned to death by the Allies. His suicide was cowardly, but he was also smart because he knew what was coming if he didn’t take that way out.”

Countless books have been written about Goebbels and his role in the war, but none had the benefit of a conversation with Pomsel, whose job was to take down Goebbels’ every word — “The Jews must get out of Germany, indeed out of Europe altogether”, “The Jews ought to please observe the laws of hospitality and not behave as if they were the same as us,” and so on.
Pomsel tells Bild she was asked to work for Goebbels because she was a fast typist. “It was an order to be transferred to work for him. You couldn’t refuse.”

And while Pomsel kept notes on all her boss’ hate-mongering, she also claims — in colorful language — to have never known about the horrors that were underway. “I didn’t know about the Holocaust. I was a stupid, politically uninterested little sausage of simple means. I only learned about the Jewish extermination program after the war.”

Pomsel recalls eating goose with Goebbels at his home outside Berlin, and receiving dresses from his wife Magda after her own home was destroyed in an allied bombardment. But “you couldn’t get close to him,” she says. “He never once asked me a personal question. Right up until the end I don’t think he knew my name.”

Andrew Roberts notes that Goebbels was the exception - that most Nazi leaders were very kind to their employees as they carried out the most horrific crimes known to man.

Two horrific tales of rape from Libya

From Al Arabiya:

Five female bodyguards of Muammar Qaddafi say they were sexually assaulted by the former Libyan leader in a report published in the Malta Times on Sunday.

The claims have been collected by Benghazi-based psychologist Sehram Sergewa who is compiling a dossier for the International Criminal Court for any criminal proceedings against Qaddafi.

Qaddafi was known for his female bodyguards who were always well groomed and rumored to be up to 400 according to a recent report in Al Arabiya. Qaddafi made his guards take a vow of virginity and renamed all of them Aisha, after his only daughter.

The women who stepped forward to share their experiences, however, speak of horrifying crimes of rape by the leader and then his sons or other officials.

One woman, who said she was raped before becoming a female guard by Qaddafi when she sought his intervention to be re-instated at university, was blackmailed into becoming a bodyguard.

“She was told you either become a bodyguard or your brother [detained on fabricated charges of drug trafficking] will spend the rest of his life in prison,” Dr. Sergewa told the newspaper.

Charges of rape aren’t limited to Qaddafi. When conducting a survey at a refugee camp in Tunisia, Dr. Sergewa spoke to women who said they were raped by Qaddafi troops.

An 18-year-old claimed she was raped in front of her father by a soldier.

And it gets worse:

A father slit the throat of his three teenage daughters in an ‘honour killing’ after they were raped by Gaddafi loyalists during the siege of the port city of Misrata.

Allegations of the shocking executions are contained in a report by the respected Physicians for Human Rights group into war crimes and atrocities in the embattled city, which faced two months of being cut off from the rest of Libya.

The father is said to have carried out the ‘honour killings’ because of his humiliation and shame at the rape of the sisters – aged 15, 17 and 18 – in Tomina, on the outskirts of Misrata. The victims were not named.

(h/t jzaik)

The hidden divide between the Israeli Left and the Palestinian "moderates"

Nothing illustrates Palestinian Arab intransigence more than their rejection of the concept of "two states for two peoples."

Especially when one remembers that this idea was originally floated by the Israeli Far Left - and it was at one point considered political heresy in mainstream Israeli politics.

One early example of this formulation can be seen in the 1974 book "Land of the Hart" by Israeli pioneer - and super-dove - Arie Eliav, as can be seen in these two snippets:

(Eliav quit the Labor Party over its settlement policy at the time and participated in a series of far-left parties.)

Similarly, a 1989 demonstration organized by Peace Now in Jerusalem used the slogan prominently. That demonstration, which only attracted a few hundred, was overshadowed 13 years later by the famous Peace Now rally of some of 50,000 Israelis in 2002 - featuring that same slogan.

In other words, the concept of "two states for two peoples" has been the mantra of the Israeli "peace camp" for decades.

In what can only be considered a triumph by the leftists, this idea, which was was considered anathema to Israeli governments of both the right and the left, became mainstream Israeli policy. Even Ariel Sharon used that exact phrase in May, 2004 when unveiling the disengagement plan from Gaza (placing him far to the left of Yitzchak Rabin, who never accepted the idea of a "Palestinian state.")

Similarly, that phrase has been highlighted by both George Bush and Barack Obama.

Yet the mainstream, supposedly moderate Palestinian Arab leadership has never accepted this key concept, and has been consistently and adamantly against it. To them, the idea of even accepting the existence of a Jewish people cannot be countenanced - even in private.

Any reasonable observer can see that this is a dealbreaker. The PLO's insistence on trampling the idea of a Jewish people and a Jewish homeland means that real peace can never be achieved. They are the ones who are the true obstacle to peace, far more than anything the Israeli government has ever done. The majority of Israelis have steadily moved to the stated positions of the "peace" movement in the past two decades, while the majority of Palestinian Arabs have remained as obstinate as ever.

However, the Israeli Left, the vanguard of "two states for two peoples," willfully ignores, and even hides, this huge divide between their concept of peace and the red lines drawn in no uncertain terms with their purported "peace partners." They will not publicly castigate Mahmoud Abbas for his repeated insistence on this point, nor on his insistence on "return."

The extremism of the PA and the PLO gets a free pass.

Rather than exposing the PLO for ruining any chance for peace, the Israeli Left instead keeps on blaming the Israeli Right for the lack of progress in the "peace process." They simply cannot admit to themselves that their "two states for two peoples" formulation has no takers on the other side.

So they choose to ignore it. They paper over their differences with their "moderate" counterparts on the Arab side. Perhaps it is out of embarrassment, perhaps it is from a refusal to admit that there is no peace partner.

This has far reaching implications. The world media takes its cue from the Israeli Left, symbolized by Ha'aretz. The Western world has largely subscribed to the ideas of the Israeli Left. As a result, for years, journalists have also failed to highlight the inflexible and obdurate position of the Palestinian Arabs and their leaders.

This is one reason that stunts like the unilateral declaration of independence gain any traction to begin with. If the Israeli Left was as ferocious in denouncing Palestinian Arab inflexibility and intransigence as they are of the Israeli Right, then world leaders would be a lot more skeptical about accepting and facilitating these anti-peace stunts.

Instead, the Israeli "peace camp" has dropped the ball in its quest for peace. Its voice could have been a powerful ingredient in pressuring the PLO for accepting compromise and coexistence. Instead, Israeli leftists chose to play political one-upsmanship with the Right and to hide their differences with their supposed Arab counterparts.

This emboldens the Palestinian Arabs to continue to refuse compromise and say no to negotiations and peace, as they are given political cover by the Israeli Left and the journalists who admire them.

And the entire world will pay the price.

The PLO's "flotilla" stunt - from 1988

This summer's floptilla has a historical antecedent:

As in the more recent example, it failed to sail - and the organizers blamed the Greeks! (WaPo)

A Palestine Liberation Organization plan to sail a ship filled with people deported from the occupied territories to Israel, much as Jewish war refugees did in 1947 aboard the Exodus, has been stalled by a "secret" Israeli dissuasion campaign aimed at Greek merchant shipping, PLO officials charged today. Israel denied the charge.

An Israeli Embassy spokesman here denied the charge today. But in Israel, Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir has expressed outrage at and opposition to the PLO plan to copy the Jews' postwar tactics to settle refugees in what was then British-administered Palestine. Greece also denied being pressed by Israel or the United States-as the PLO had alleged-to prevent the sailing.

The PLO plans to load the ship with international observers, reporters and 131 Palestinians who were deported from the Israeli-occupied territories on the West Bank and Gaza and sail it to Haifa in Israel. The ship would make a stopover in Larnaca, Cyprus to pick up more international observers, including a number of Palestinians, the PLO said.

And just like today, anti-Israel stunts are catnip to the media.

Palmer Report finally due on Friday

From JPost:

The Foreign Ministry is drawing up talking points and writing press releases in the run-up to Friday’s expected release of the Palmer Commission report on the Mavi Marmara incident.

The preparations follow Turkey’s rejection of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s proposal that publication of the report be postponed for another six months. Release of the report has been delayed repeatedly since May 15, when it was first scheduled to be published.

According to Israeli officials, the Turks – in addition to demanding an apology for the incident and compensation for the families of the nine Turks killed on the ship – are also interested in seeing the report buried because it upholds Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip and places Ankara in a negative light.

What Netanyahu hoped to do by postponing publication of the report, the officials said, was to give the Turks what they wanted regarding burying the report, as well as to postpone the apology issue.

Israel has already said it would pay compensation through a fund set up by the Turkish government.

According to Israeli officials, the 102-page report comes to the following conclusions:

• Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza was legal, as was the interception of vessels trying to break the blockade.

• The IHH activists behind the flotilla were looking for a violent provocation.

• Turkey had a role with the IHH in the flotilla setting sail.

• The IDF soldiers defended themselves after coming up against premeditated violence by those on the ship.

• The IDF soldiers used excessive force.

The publication of the report has been delayed for months in the hopes that Israel and Turkey could reach an amicable agreement that would obviate the need for its publication. The concern is that once the report is released – a report that calls on Israel to express “regret” for the incident, but not apologize – it will be more difficult for Israel and Turkey to reach any type of reconciliation.

Israel has already expressed regret for the loss of life in the incident.

It's about time.

But after it is released, and all the findings are made public, you can be sure that the usual anti-Israel idiots will go crazy over the last bullet point and ignore all the other findings that show that after their year of whining about the Mavi Marmara and international law that they were completely and fully wrong.

"Underwear bomber says excessive force used"

From AP:

A Nigerian accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound plane in 2009 claims he was the victim of excessive force after he assaulted several officers.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab filed a request Thursday asking that no excessive force be used against him when he defends his Islamic religion.

In another request, Abdulmutallab wants to be released and be judged by the Quran. He is charged with trying to blow up an Amsterdam-to-Detroit flight on Christmas Day 2009 by detonating explosive chemicals concealed in his underwear.

It is clear bigotry. Non-Muslims who attempt to blow up airplanes and then assault police officers get treated much kinder than Umar was.

Hamas says Abbas is not safe in Gaza - because of Fatah!

Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar says that the security of Mahmoud Abbas cannot be assured if he would visit Gaza. But it is not Hamas that would want to kill him - but Mahmoud Dahlan's Fatah loyalists!

In an interview he also said that any Abbas visit wouldn't further the supposed reconciliation between Hamas and the PA, as they are already meeting on the topic in Cairo and no progress has been made.

Zahar suggested that the PA is the party that is fighting against real unity, and that the meetings they have had so far were on superficial topics like issuing passports in Gaza.

On a possible Abbas visit, Zahar says that there are no plans now and in his opinion " it is not wise to come under these circumstances."

Zahar also said that any proposal that Abbas may give to the UN that involves NATO or other international forces to help with security would be invalid without first discussing it with Hamas and the other Gaza militant factions.

My (censored) letter to HuffPo on UNRWA

I wrote this in response to yet another set of apologetics by Chris Gunness of UNRWA, this one in the Huffington Post. I wrote it at 10:30 EDT; as of this writing it has not yet been posted.

Many of UNRWA's camps are in Jordan - where most Palestinian Arabs have been citizens for decades. Why are people who are citizens of a state still considered "refugees" by UNRWA?

Many more of UNRWA's camps are in the areas of British Mandate Palestine, in the West Bank and Gaza. If these people are living already in the land that they consider theirs, why are they still considered "refugees" by UNRWA?

UNRWA claims that it is waiting for a full solution for the refugee problem. Yet when it was established in 1950 it actually tried to help resettle the refugees in Arab countries - something that was adamantly refused by the Arab leaders who wanted to perpetuate the problem. Why did UNRWA stop trying to help them resettle and go on with their lives?

On a number of occasions there have been loopholes allowing Palestinian Arabs to become citizens of Lebanon and, most recently, Egypt. Every time that happened there was a huge rush by these Palestinians to become citizens of those states. How can Gunness claim that Palestinian Arabs want to "return" rather than remain stateless when there has been no survey showing that to be true and plenty of evidence that it is false?

In short, what is UNRWA doing to solve the root problem of a perpetually growing problem of stateless Palestinians? Every sane person knows the solution must involve resettlement in Arab countries. Why does UNRWA work so hard instead to perpetuate their misery forever?

I could have kept going, but there is a 250 word limit.

HuffPo had banned my main email address, but I don't remember what I did that caused me to be banned. I posted it under a different email but it looks like my questions are too subversive for the champions of free speech at HuffPo.

Kuwait shelves lawsuit against Israel over flotilla - because it fears losing!

From Arab Times Online:

KUWAIT CITY: The Ministry of Justice intends to shelve the case which has been filed by MP Dr Waleed Al-Tabtabaei and others against the Israeli government for humiliating and assaulting them while they were aboard the Turkish flotilla which was carrying humanitarian assistance to the people of the Gaza Strip in Palestine, reports Al-Dar daily.

It has been reported the ministry was preparing to file a lawsuit in international courts but was advised by lawyers not to go ahead with the suit because Israel could win the case and Kuwait would end up paying billions of dollars in compensation because the ship had violated international law by entering the Israeli territorial waters without permission.

The legal reasoning is probably garbled for the article; I imagine either the problem is that the blockade would be declared legal or that they have to consider Gaza to be Israeli territory if they are calling it "occupied." I also have no idea of where the lawsuit would have been filed.

There might also be an element of the Arab honor/shame society here. Even if they are confident in their case, they are concerned at the huge embarrassment that they would suffer if they lost and had to pay Israel. Even a small chance of that eventuality is enough to scare off any potential legal action.

Either way, this is very funny.