Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, January 03, 2012

To Reuters, they aren't just "Jewish settlers" anymore

First there were "settlers."

But that wasn't inciting enough.

So we then had "Jewish settlers."

But with overuse, it didn't bring in the hate that journalists wanted to bring across.

So then came "Right-wing Jewish settlers."

But even that didn't capture the seething disgust that objective journalists wanted to convey towards them.

So now we have, from Daylife/Reuters:

Extreme right wing Jewish settlers, one of them injured from a rock hurled by pro-Palestinian activists during a weekly protest, stand in front of their house in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of East Jerusalem December 30, 2011. Some 100 activists protested against the Jewish settlement in the predominantly Arab neighborhood and threw rocks towards a house occupied by the settlers leading them to confront the protesters, to minor clashes.

So people who live in a house in Jerusalem are "extreme right-wing Jewish settlers."

But the people who throw rocks at them, literally spilling their blood, are simply "pro-Palestinian activists."

Not "violent protesters." Not "left-wing terrorists." Not "anti-Zionist provocateurs." Not "pro-Palestinian stone-throwers." Not "rioters." Nope, they are peaceful supporters of Palestinian Arabs, mere "activists" - who throw stones at people they don't like.

And who can blame them:? After years of reading Reuters describing these Jews in such terms, who wouldn't want to throw stones at them?

To Reuters, it's the people who are being hit by rocks who are "extreme."

Tel Aviv one of "world's most creative cities"

From the Globe and Mail:

For the better part of a decade, the Martin Prosperity Institute at U of T’s Rotman School of Management has been studying the complex web of factors that encourage and sustain innovation in regions around the world. First published in 2004, the institute’s Global Creativity Index measures a nation’s innovation potential, focusing on what it calls the Three Ts: technology, talent and tolerance. We used this index, but also dove deeper, to choose cities that are best positioned to nurture their creative edge into the future. "The GCI is really trying to help regions understand where they are," explains Kevin Stolarick, research director of the Martin Prosperity Institute. "Even when times are good, you have to worry about what comes next."

The entire population of Israel may only number seven million—smaller than New York City—but this Middle Eastern state spends more of its GDP on research and development than any other nation. And it shows. In April, 2011, Israeli software start-ups PicApp and PicScout sold for a combined $30 million (all currency in U.S. dollars) to Indian and American buyers, respectively. A month later, cellular company Provigent was snapped up by U.S. chip maker Broadcom for $313 million, while Google paid $70 million for app developer Snaptu. In September, eBay bought e-commerce site The Gifts Project for a reported $20 million. All are start-ups. All have offices in or near Tel Aviv. In the first three quarters of 2011 alone, 422 Israeli start-ups raised $1.57 billion in venture capital, and an estimated 250 multinationals maintain R&D operations there. What makes Silicon Wadi—as the coastal region between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is known—so special? Some say that a service requirement in the country’s famously high-tech military has given many young Israelis a technological sophistication that bolsters creativity and inventiveness. What we do know is that while Tel Aviv is small, it’s one giant innovation engine.

“In Israel, personal relationships aren’t all that relevant to business. Israelis will do business with you within five seconds of meeting you. In fact, there’s virtually no small talk at meetings. Nothing. Zero. They’re very direct.” —Dr. Neal Naimer, CEO of Woojer, a Tel Aviv-based start-up.

(h/t Yerushalimey)

Moroccan king appoints Islamist cabinet

From Al Arabiya:

Benkirane

Morocco's King Mohammed on Tuesday appointed members of a new power-sharing cabinet, the official MAP news agency reported, more than a month after the Nov. 25 elections in which the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party won the biggest share of seats in the parliament.

“The king named the members of the new government at the royal palace in Rabat,” an official said.

On Nov. 29, King Mohammed appointed PJD leader Abdelilah Benkirane as prime minister-designate after the moderate Islamist party won a Nov. 25 parliamentary election.

The Islamist Justice and Development Party took 11 of 31 cabinet posts, including foreign affairs, justice, and transportation and communication.

While a new constitution gives the new Prime Minister Benkirane unprecedented powers, the king still holds final veto over any of his decisions.

In a Q&A on their website, the PJD indicated that it would not be as friendly towards Israel as Morocco had been, with unofficial and economic ties.

Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood might get a majority of seats

The third and final round of Egypt's parliamentary elections have started today.

There have been some reports of illegal campaign activities at some polling places; one judge closed two polling stations because of violations by the Muslim Brotherhood FJP party.

After the first two rounds of voting, according to Wikipedia, the Muslim Brotherhood has taken over 48% of the parliamentary seats even though it won only 36.6% of the votes. This seems to be because of the runoff system, where the top two candidates - usually FJP and the Salafist Nour parties - go head to head.

Some areas where the voting is being held today are considered Islamist strongholds, like the North Sinai. It is possible that the Muslim Brotherhood will end up with an absolute majority of seats in Parliament, meaning that they will not have to rely on a coalition to rule and considerably weakening the role of any partners they choose to ally with.

According to The New York Times, the exact formula for allotting seats has not yet been determined by the military rulers of Egypt so things are a bit up in the air. They also quote MB leadership saying that they doubt that they will gain over 50% of the seats.

The Muslim Brotherhood has stated that they have not made any deals with any potential coalition partners. The Salafists said that they will refuse to serve in a coalition with the liberal parties in parliament.

Interestingly, in the second round of voting, the liberal Egyptian Bloc's share of the vote plummeted from 13.4% to 7%. The second liberal party, Al Wafd, went up a little from 7.1% to 9.6%, but altogether things are looking even worse for the liberals than they did in the initial round.

Iran escalates rhetoric; its currency hits new lows

Last Wednesday, the Pentagon said that any Iranian moves to close the Strait of Hormuz would "not be tolerated."

Iran just finished war games exercises intended to show how they could close the strait at will.

The latest escalation of words and deeds:

USS John C. Stennis

A senior Iranian Army commander has warned the U.S. Navy not to move an aircraft carrier which left the Persian Gulf during Iran's recent military drills back into the body of water which forms much of Iran's southern border.

According to the Reuters news agency, army chief Ataollah Salehi suggested to the IRNA network on Tuesday that Iran would take unspecified action if the carrier returned to Gulf waters.

The USS John C. Stennis and another U.S. Naval vessel headed out of the Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz last Tuesday after a visit to Dubai.

"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf," Salehi reportedly told IRNA.

"I advise, recommend and warn them (the Americans) over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once," Salehi told the semi-official Fars news agency, according to Reuters.

Meanwhile, the Iranian currency is not doing so well. From Emirates 24/7:

Iran's currency, the rial, slipped to a record low on Sunday, the day after the United States imposed extra sanctions targeting the Islamic republic's central bank and financial sector.

The state news agency IRNA and an Iranian website tracking the currency said the rial's street value at money changers' slid to around 16,000 to the dollar.

That represented a huge difference with the official central bank rate of 11,179 rials to the dollar.

On Saturday, US President Barack Obama signed the new sanctions into law.

The measures aim to further squeeze Iran's crucial oil revenues, most of which are processed by the central bank, by making foreign firms choose between doing business with the Islamic republic or the United States.

They were being imposed as part of a Western push to force Iran to halt its nuclear programme, which the United States and its allies believe is being used to develop atomic weapons despite Tehran's denials.

Iran, the second-biggest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia, depends on oil sales for 80 percent of its foreign revenues.

The European Union is mulling an embargo on buying Iranian oil, on which a decision could be announced at an EU foreign ministers' meeting at the end of the month.

Iranian leaders and military officials have warned that extra Western sanctions could push them to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Gulf.

(h/t Yoel)

Hamas blames Fatah for "unity" problems

Over the past week I reported about the many arrests by Hamas of Fatah leaders in Gaza.

Today, Hamas made the same accusations of Fatah, putting out a report that said that 72 people were arrested by the Fatah-dominated PA in December, including ex-detainees, imams and preachers, and university students, many of them Hamas members. He also accused the PA of torturing their prisoners.

In addition, Hamas said that contrary to reports, the PA has not sent enough blank passports to Gaza to allow citizens to leave the sector.

Those two issues - political prisoners and passports - were top two priorities since the original "unity" meeting between Hamas and Fatah in May. Apparently, little has changed.

Meanwhile, Fatah official Nabil Sha'ath has visited Gaza. According to Ma'an, he will meet with "all political factions" in Gaza, which sounds like it includes terror organizations like Islamic Jihad who have been considered as PLO members.

Hamas leader admits Gaza isn't occupied

From YNet:

Senior Hamas member Mahmoud al-Zahar dismissed a statement made by Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal, who claimed recently that the group will hold mass rallies against Israel within the Gaza Strip.

"Popular resistance is inappropriate for the Gaza Strip," al-Zahar said. "Against whom exactly would be rally? Such resistance would be fitting if Gaza was occupied." However, he claimed that all forms of resistance – including the armed kind – are appropriate for the West Bank, as it is "still under occupation." (Elior Levy)

So in this one brief news story we confirm three things that "Middle East experts" insist are not true:

Hamas has not given up on armed resistance
Hamas leaders in Gaza and Damascus are still at loggerheads
Gaza is not occupied by Israel

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch insist, against all legal arguments and logic, that Israel still occupies Gaza.

(h/t CHA. Interview done by Ma'an.)

Israel: "Hollywood's hottest spawning ground"

From the LA Times:

When the season finale of the Showtime thriller "Homeland" ran last month, it didn't just cap Claire Danes' triumphant return to series television — it marked the latest milestone for a small country that lately has become an improbable player in Hollywood.

"Homeland," which broke Showtime's ratings record for a first-year series finale, is adapted from the Israeli show "Hatufim" (Prisoners of War). It's one of a host of U.S. programs that began life as a Hebrew-language series in this Mediterranean nation of only 8 million people. "Who's Still Standing?," the new NBC quiz program in which contestants answering incorrectly are dropped through a hole in the floor, is also an Israeli import. So is the former HBO scripted series "In Treatment," which starred Gabriel Byrne and ran for three seasons.

And that's just the beginning: Nearly half a dozen shows in development at U.S. networks — including the divorce sitcom "Life Isn't Everything" (CBS), a time-travel musical dubbed "Danny Hollywood (the CW) and the border-town murder-mystery "Pillars of Smoke" (NBC) — are based on hit Israeli series, their themes and language tweaked for American audiences.

Unbeknown to most viewers, a small group of creators and industry types has built a pipeline between Israel and the Los Angeles entertainment world 9,000 miles away. Although many American Jews have a political relationship with Israel, the entertainment pipeline is a new development born of the maturation of the Israeli television industry — and has turned a nation known for politics into Hollywood's hottest spawning ground.

..."When you don't have a lot of money, you find more interesting and clever ways to write a script," said Daniel Lappin, the creator of "Life Isn't Everything," a sitcom about a divorced couple that can't get out of each other's lives that ran for nine seasons in Israel. Lappin — who like Raff and Stollman, also spent some of his formative years in the U.S. — is working with "Friends" writer Mike Sikowitz on the CBS version of "Life."

American executives, who for years looked to more established territories for imports, say they've felt a certain kinship with Middle East creators.

"God bless those Israelis," said NBC entertainment chief Robert Greenblatt, whose network has "Still Standing" and "Pillars of Smoke." "They've somehow done a great job of finding things that translate well."

Wow. "Zionists" really do control Hollywood!

At the rate things are going, BDSers might have to throw out their TVs.

(h/t David H)

Muslims at Madame Tussaud's

From FrontPage:

With all the major official sites closed the day after Christmas, my wife and I headed over to Madame Tussaud’s to take in the famed tourist trap. As we strolled the halls filled with famous cultural figures, most from the 20th century, we came across the wax doll for Albert Einstein. And there, crowded around the figure, stood five young Muslims – two male, three female. While other guests stood next to the model and smiled, or put an arm around it, these Muslim worthies stood next to the wax model – and put their hands around its throat, simulating strangling it. At first, I couldn’t believe what I was watching – did Einstein do something to offend these people? – but then it dawned on me that they were doing this because Einstein was a Jew. In fact, Einstein was the only prominent Jew in Tussaud’s. And who wouldn’t want to strangle a prominent Jew, after all?

That suspicion was confirmed a few minutes later when we reached the wax statue of Adolf Hitler. Britons and Americans tried to choke the figure, or pointed their fingers at it in imaginary guns, or yelled at it. These young Muslims happily stood next to it, and took smiling photographs with it as though they’d stumbled upon a friendly uncle. Which, in a way, they had.

And, of course, nobody said anything to these delightfully diverse young people. Mustn’t show evidence of that old, imperialist spirit, you know.

And from Edgar Davidson:

I was not actually going to post about my visit to Madame Tussaud's in London yesterday because I wasn't sure how much could be extrapolated from a single visit, but by a remarkable coincidence, Daphne Anson reports today on a very similar recent experience written by American Ben Shapiro.

What I saw were several different groups of Muslims (women with hijabs and men) queuing to have their photo taken with the Hitler waxwork and two of the men actually gave the Nazi salute. As it was a bank holiday (and raining heavily) it was incredibly crowded in there and I did not want to stay long. I looked at the scene around Hitler for about 3 minutes. I also saw two other European looking men have their photo taken while giving the Nazi salue, so it would be wrong to say this was a uniquely Muslim phenomenum, although these two guys seem to be doing it as a joke. In contrast the Muslims, as similarly observed by Ben Shapiro, seemed to regard Hitler is a genuinely admired leader.

Unlike Ben Shapiro I did not witness any anti-semitic scenes around the Einstein waxwork. Perhaps not many people know he was Jewish.

(h/t Daphne Anson)

Fatah Youth Movement, Women's Brigades honor master terrorist

Ma'an Arabic reports that the Jerusalem branch of the Fatah Youth Movement marked the anniversary of Dalal Mughrabi's birth last Thursday at her sister's house.

Mughrabi was the ringleader of the 1978 Coastal Road Massacre which killed 38 Israeli civilians including 13 children.

The movement recalled stories of her "heroism."

Meanwhile, the Fatah Women's Brigades celebrated the anniversary of the PLO's founding with a celebration of all woman terrorists, featuring Mughrabi, highlighting that they are no longer just staying in the kitchen but that they are also in the forefront of the resistance.

While looking up the Fatah Youth Movement I stumbled on this webpage which may be associated with that group. This screenshot tells you everything you need to know:

Hamas again denies abandoning violence

Qatar's prime minister, Hamad bin Jassem al Thani, said that Hamas has ended "armed resistance."

And, once again, Hamas denies it:

The Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, would never give up armed resistance against the Zionist regime of Israel, a Hamas official said, rejecting reports that the group has accepted to end its armed struggle against the Israeli regime.

"Hamas has not abandoned any method of resistance since the very first day of its establishment 24 years ago and it will continue the same path in future," Ismaeil al-Ashqar, who also represents Hamas in Palestine's parliament, told FNA on Sunday.

He made the remarks in response to the claims made by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani that Hamas has ended armed resistance.

"Hamas will never give up armed resistance," al-Ashqar underlined.

Al Ashqar told FARS that "Hamas deals with resistance as an overarching concept that impacts all aspects of intellectual life: cultural, artistic, political, military, and security. We apply our understanding by following the appropriate methods [of resistance] depending on the circumstances and conditions....Armed resistance is one of the ways in which we pursue our goals, and how to use this method or tactic is subject to circumstances at the time."

As Hamas tries to play both sides of the fence, we will be seeing lots more of this type of thing.

Summing up Cast Lead (Jonathan Sacerdoti in New Statesman)

A rare, and welcome, dose of reality in a decidedly liberal publication:

Three years ago, Operation Cast Lead saw Israel send troops into the Gaza Strip in response to the thousands of rockets and mortars launched into Israeli civilian areas. Which other government in the world wouldn't defend its citizens in such circumstances? If some wish to portray this operation as a "massacre", they would have to ignore the facts to do so.

John Stuart Mill wrote in 1862 that "war is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things". Indeed today, even with laws, regulations and technology intended to lessen the horrors of battle, war is always ugly and tragic. But sometimes, it is still an essential response to something far uglier.

In 2006, following the Israeli disengagement and pullout from the Gaza Strip, there was an increase of 436 per cent in the number of Palestinian rockets launched towards Israel from that very territory. For some time, Israel resisted a large-scale military response to such acts deliberately aimed at civilians. As a result, the attacks got worse, and every country, including Israel, has the moral responsibility to defend its people from such actions.

Increased Palestinian terror attacks from Gaza were the cause of Operation Cast Lead. Yet Israel's is a conscript army. Indeed Israel goes to extraordinary lengths to protect its young soldiers (witness the efforts make to secure the release of the kidnap victim Gilad Shalit), and does not send them to war easily.

In the three years since the operation, there has been an unprecedented 72 per cent decline in the number of rockets launched from Hamas-controlled Gaza. No surprise, then, that Israel's Defence Forces Chief of Staff should call the operation "an excellent operation that achieved deterrence for Israel vis-a-vis Hamas". (However, that deterrence is still not enough to have prevented Palestinians from launching 1,571 rockets since the operation, including one attack with an anti-tank missile on a clearly identifiable Israeli school bus.)

Just as Israel's erection of a security fence to prevent homicide bombers from infiltrating Jerusalem saw a bigger than 90 per cent reduction in such attacks, Operation Cast Lead was undeniably effective in reducing terror attacks from the Gaza strip. The numbers speak for themselves.

Colonel Richard Kemp, former commander of British troops in Afghanistan, has repeatedly commented that, "during its operation in Gaza, the Israeli Defence Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare." Furthermore, he points out that the steps taken in that conflict by the Israeli Defence Forces to avoid civilian deaths are shown by a study published by the United Nations to have resulted in, by far, the lowest ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in any asymmetric conflict in the history of warfare.

Kemp explains that by UN estimates, the average ratio of civilian to combatant deaths in such conflicts worldwide is 3:1 -- three civilians for every combatant killed. That is the estimated ratio in Afghanistan. But in Iraq, and in Kosovo, it was worse: the ratio is believed to have been 4:1. Anecdotal evidence suggests the ratios were very much higher in Chechnya and Serbia. In Gaza, it was less than one-to-one.

Since the 22-day Gaza operation, Israel has also been demonstrably fastidious in its efforts to protect civilian lives while targeting combatants. The Israel correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly sites Israel's record this year, saying "the IDF killed 100 Gazans in 2011. Nine were civilians. That is a civilian-combatant ratio of nearly 1:10."

In fact, Israel's effort to combat the Hamas regime in the Gaza strip, while still safeguarding the rights of civilians, can be seen in her actions away from the battlefield as well. Despite the continued and sustained terror attacks from the area, around 60 per cent of Gaza's electricity comes from Israel, rather than from Gaza's other neighbour, Egypt, against whom no missiles are launched by the Palestinians.

Israel allows thousands of tonnes of goods to pass into Gaza weekly, and provides a large amount of the strip's water. If destroying infrastructure were truly Israel's aim, as some claim, this goal could be achieved without the risk to Israeli soldiers inherent in operations which see them sent into the Gaza strip.

It is time to stop blaming the Israeli government and defence forces for protecting Israeli civilians. Instead, we must demand that Palestinian leaders (and their apologists) work towards improving the welfare of their own citizens, rather than constantly attacking Israel's.

One point about the civilian to combatant death ratio:

I have not seen the statistics to back up the IDF's claim that only nine civilians have been killed this year in Gaza. PCHR's numbers make it look like the ratio is more like one civilians for every 3 terrorists killed. As we know, the PCHR is hardly reliable either, but they do give the names and ages of each victim.

Even if you take PCHR's numbers at face value, a 1:3 ratio is still nine times better than the 3:1 ratio that is considered normal for these kinds of wars.

(h/t Ian)