Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Monday, November 05, 2012

More bizarre Fatah accusations of Hamas collaborating with Israel

Yesterday, Mahmoud Abbas' official spokesman declared that the PLO will release confidential documents - stolen, no doubt, by their crack intelligence services who are so secret that they are utterly unknown - that prove that Israel, Hamas and other countries are collaborating in sabotaging the PLO's bid to declare statehood at the UN.

Today, a Fatah spokesman upped the ante, claiming that Israel and Hamas are cooperating in the assassination of Mahmoud Abbas and the liquidation of the PLO's national aspirations.

Ahmed Assaf says that since the 2007 coup in Gaza, Hamas has accepted Israel's existence and Israel in return is pushing a temporary Palestinian Arab state in Gaza, which would be an Islamic emirate that Israel wants to establish on its border.

Assaf said that "it is a shame and disgrace that Hamas stands side by side with Israel in its designs."

He additionally charged that other Arab nations have joined the scheme to frustrate the PLO's move to be recognized as a non-member state at the UN, and that this is also a "shame and a disgrace."

The article also quotes Saeb Erekat, the PLO's chief negotiator and liar extraordinaire, of accusing Hamas of conducting secret contacts with Israel through intermediaries in Switzerland, negotiating a temporary state with provisional borders, the opposite of Hamas' claim that they demand a Palestinian state from the sea to the river.

Assaf said that Hamas' burning of Abbas' photo in effigy over the weekend in reaction to his pretense of abandoning the "right of return" an "offense and an assault on the consciousness and the will of the Palestinian masses." (Hamas also created posters of Abbas, with an Israeli flag behind him, opposite Lord Balfour with the British flag.)

The paranoia among Fatah and PLO leaders is growing, and there is no sign that their mass psychosis is going to slow down anytime soon.

#BDSFail: Batsheva dancers ignore interruptions and get rave reviews

From Scotsman.com:

“Ignore”. That was the first word spoken during a voiceover in the opening moments of Deca Dance. It wasn’t something special, added in for the occasion – it’s always there – but tonight it had a special resonance.

Back in August, when the main Batsheva company played Edinburgh, the dancers paused each time a futile interruption from anti-Israeli protestors came their way. But not this time. Instead, during the eight shout-outs the ensemble (Batsheva’s youth wing) kept right on going.

Created over a period of 20 years by Batsheva’s artistic director, Ohad Naharin, Deca Dance changes almost on a monthly basis. Featuring slow, thought-provoking ensemble pieces, high energy routines, a sensual duet, and quite possibly the most joyous bit of audience interaction you’ll ever see, it’s a work that bears a few repeat viewings.

Aged just 18-23, the ensemble’s dancers are still learning their craft, but they’re already technically strong, sharply synchronised and more than capable of injecting a vast well of emotion into their performance.

What grabs you most about Batsheva, however (both the main company and its funky little ensemble sister), is the way these dancers move. Naharin has devised an entirely unique dance style called Gaga, and it is this that marks his companies out as different. Fluid, dynamic, expansive yet delicate, animalistic yet profoundly human, Gaga gives his dancers a whole other vocabulary with which to speak to us. And, despite the vain attempts to block it, their voices came through loud and clear.

Batsheva Ensemble, Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Star rating: * * * *

Another reviewer, Thom Dibdin, called it "a stunning performance of a thoroughly entertaining piece of dance."

I'm glad that the dancers kept on going. Ignoring the idiots who came to disrupt the performance is the smartest way to ensure that the protesters are the ones who are marginalized.

I'm sure it isn't easy to ignore them, but who said representing Israel is easy?

(h/t CiFWatch tweet)

Sudan's foreign minister says America controlled by Jews

Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti denounced the United States, describing it as "hypocritical and weak and Machiavellian" and controlled by "a few Jews."

He stated this in response to the US extending sanctions against Sudan for the 15th consecutive year.

Speaking on state radio, Karti described the United States as "hypocritical and Machiavellian and weak," pointing out that the US has issued contradictory statements about Sudan. In recent years the US has praised Sudan as cooperative in the fight against terrorism has commended President Omar al-Bashir's position on the peace agreements with South Sudan.

Karti added that America shows weakness because it is "in the control of a few Jews in the decision-making centers." He stressed that Sudan has nothing to do with terrorism and had no plans to harm U.S. interests.

Sunday links

From Ian:

BBC Watch: Airbrushing terror: the BBC on Abu Jihad

“Unlike the BBC, the Palestinian Authority is quite certain about al Wazir’s connections to terror attacks in which hundreds of Israelis were killed and injured. In fact, as recently as April 2012 the PA organized a week-long celebration of the man and his terror attacks, including the naming of sporting events in his honour, TV broadcasts of footage of him planning a terror operation and the presentation of 125 Israelis killed in attacks he planned as an ‘achievement’.”

Abbas interview aimed to interfere with Israeli elections, Liberman charges

Foreign minister dismisses moderate comments by PA leader as an attempt to strengthen parties ‘who represent Palestinian interests’
"The foreign minister added that Abbas doesn’t say the same things in Arabic that he does in English, and that Israelis who failed to see through the tactic were deluding themselves. “The attempt to lie to ourselves [about Abbas's moderation] amazes me every time,” Liberman said."

Peres praises Abbas for ‘brave’ new statements on peace, Netanyahu dismisses them

Abbas said Thursday he had no territorial claims to pre-1967 Israel and no ‘right’ to return to live in Safed; thousands protest his remarks in Gaza
"But in a statement issued by his office, Netanyahu said there was “no connection” between Abbas’s words and deeds. Abbas had “refused to restart negotiations with Israel for four years despite a series of steps taken by the prime minister to resume them — such as an unprecedented construction freeze in the West Bank,” the statement said. “In addition, Abbas refuses to discuss security arrangements that are necessary to protect Israeli citizens.” Still, the statement said Netanyahu’s offer to restart negotiations and meet with Abbas without preconditions still stands."

Rocket fired from Gaza lands in southern Israel
No injuries or damage reported

Meanwhile - Alan Dershowitz: Following the Elections, Mideast Peace Negotiations Should Resume

Correcting the Record, Haaretz Style

"We saw a similar phenomenon a few years ago when Haaretz published soldiers’ “testimonies” from the Gaza war alleging IDF abuses. Ultimately, the stories were proven bogus, but not before Big Media fulfilled the maxim generally attributed to Mark Twain:
"A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes."The Globe & Mail shows the truth got halfway around the world. But Levy’s still racing it."

3 Syrian tanks cross into Golan demilitarized zone, Israel raises alert

The Israeli army, which has been braced for Syrian fighting spilling into Israel, reports the incident to UN peacekeepers
"The incident — the first such violation in 40 years — was not regarded as an incident of hostility toward Israel. Rather, the Syrian tanks were apparently facing off against Syrian rebel forces. Nonetheless, Syrian-Israeli relations are relentlessly fraught, and any border incident raises tensions."

Islamist gunmen kill three Egyptian policemen in the Sinai
Assailants ambush cops in El-Arish, shout ‘God is great,’ then flee. [See also how Egyptians are blaming "Zionists."]

Ex-neo-Nazi regrets joining the Taliban
Jailed German jihadist tells court he ended up contracting hepatitis A, and his wife missed her mobile phone and supermarkets

Anti-Semitic incidents in the US down by 13%, ADL audit finds
1,080 occurrences of assault, vandalism and harassment cited

In the midst of a forest, a house for Herzl
An early 20th-century villa built in tribute to the Zionist founder is nestled in the center of the Hulda Forest, surrounded by lush foliage of every variety. A training farm for pioneers, it proved an unlikely retreat during the riots of 1929

Top 10 ways algae boost science, energy and medicine
Israeli scientists find novel approaches to tap into the potential of this slimy plantlike organism for fuel, nutrition and innovative medical therapies.

Voicemail for video

Supermodel Noa Tishby helps launch new Israel-based startup, Minit, for bare-bones video sharing via smartphone.
Noa Tishby, perhaps best known for selling hit Israeli TV series such as In Treatment and Homeland to Hollywood, has joined Minit, a three-person startup based in Tel Aviv making what Tishby describes as “voicemail for video.”

Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan says Halloween party was "satanic and homosexual"

From AFP:

Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood on Saturday condemned Halloween celebrations held in an Amman cafe as "Satanic" and homosexual, while a newspaper reported acts of vandalism at the party.

"We watched with disgust and shame last night (Friday) homosexual and Satanic rituals in an Amman cafe," the Brotherhood said in a statement on its website.

"This presents a challenge to the values of the Jordanian people and their Arab and Muslim identity, as well as a violation of religious laws," it added.

The group demanded that those who organised the party be tried for the "grotesque act," decrying that such events are allowed to go ahead when the people are "stricken by poverty and amid political crises" in Jordan.

Al-Ghad newspaper, meanwhile, reported that violence broke out when "angry youths tried to prevent the Halloween celebrations from taking place" in the cafe in Amman.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian paper reports of a similar gathering in Egypt where seven people got together in an apartment to practice homosexuality and, yes, Satanism. They were arrested.

Abbas spokesman to release "proof" Israel conspiring with Hamas against PLO

For someone hailed as a serious leader, Abbas sure loves conspiracy theories.

The president's spokesman said late Saturday that the Palestinian Authority will release proof that Arab countries, Palestinian groups and Israel have held secret talks to sabotage the president's bid for a UN upgrade.

"What is this harmony between (Israeli premier Benajmin) Netanyahu and (Foreign Minister Avigdor) Lieberman on the one hand, and between Hamas and Arab parties on the other, in the attack on the president before heading to the United Nations?" Nabil Abu Rudaineh said in a statement.

Local groups, Arab countries and Israel have planned a campaign to thwart President Mahmoud Abbas efforts to upgrade Palestine to a non-member state at the UN General Assembly in the next month, the spokesman alleged.

He warned that they will soon publish confidential files of meetings to that effect.

I, for one, am anxiously awaiting the release of these files.

Abbas has previously insisted that Israel trains wild dogs to attack Arabs and wild pigs to destroy their crops. His Fatah group has previously accused Hamas of collaborating with Israel.

So why is a habitually lying paranoiac considered such a wonderful, moderate leader?

I don't know - ask Thomas Friedman.

The death of Arab secularism (The National)

This is a very useful overview of how Arab secularism has all but disappeared and Islamism has ascended. Excerpts:

The death of Arab secularism is the story of a country that no longer exists and a world almost impossible to imagine.

That world can be glimpsed in old newsreels from the Arab cities of the 1950s and 1960s. The cities of the post-war period - Cairo, Beirut and Damascus, Baghdad and Aden - look much the same as many developing countries of the time: American-built cars, European-style suits, a certain easy mingling of men and women.

The vision of the future the men and women in those over-saturated newsreels had, how they saw their modern world unfolding, cannot easily be understood.

But it can perhaps be surmised from a joke, told by Egypt's leader Gamal Abdel Nasser to an audience in the years after the Muslim Brotherhood was accused of attempting to assassinate him. Nasser described meeting with the Brotherhood's leader in 1953 in an attempt to reconcile the group with his leadership. (Nasser doesn't mention whom he met, but it was most likely Hassan Al Hudaybi, a judge who led the group for 20 years from 1951.)

"The first thing he asked me was to make the wearing of hijab mandatory in Egypt," says Nasser, "and to force every woman walking on the street to wear a hijab." The crowd laughs and Nasser hams it up for them, looking perplexed at such an outlandish request. "Let him wear it!" shouts an audience member, and the crowd erupts in laughter and applause.

But that's not the punchline. Nasser tells Al Hudaybi he knows the Brotherhood's leader has a daughter studying medicine, and his daughter doesn't wear the hijab. "Why haven't you made her wear the hijab?" he asks, before delivering a knockout blow: "If you cannot make one girl - who is your own daughter - wear the hijab," he says, "how do you expect me to make 10 million women wear the hijab, all by myself?" The crowd roars its approval.

Nasser's joke is instructive for the world view it implies. The middle and upper classes of 1950s Egypt considered it ridiculous that the wearing of the hijab could be enshrined in law. Most did not wear it; they considered the proper role of religion to be private, outside the realm of government and politics. Nasser himself explicitly declared the same thing.

Contrast that with today's Egypt, and indeed the wider Arab world, and it is clear how much has changed in just half a century....The days when the very notion of large numbers of women wearing the headscarf was unthinkable have passed into history. Nasser's punchline is now Egypt's reality.

The writer goes into a brief history of how the demise of the Ottoman Empire, which was officially based on Islam, required a new way of thinking to unify the Arab world, and secularism in the form of Nasserism and Baathism was the high-water mark of that attempt with the formation of the United Arab Republic.

He doesn't note the obvious influence of the Iranian revolution on the Islamic revival in the Arab world.

What is left unsaid is that the current Islamist revival is different from the Ottoman model; the Ottoman Empire used religion as a means to maintain unity but it was not driven by religion. Today's pan-Islamic movement, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, is far more extreme and far more dangerous. The Ottoman Empire was still political with the veneer of religion, the new Islamists use an extreme interpretation of Islam that they believe includes politics.

If religious rulings trump political decisions, then all of the rules of international politics go out the window when dealing with the new Islamism. For better or for worse, diplomacy is nearly meaningless to Islamists - it is only a means for them to gain power, not to co-exist. In the Islamist mindset, concessions can only be considered when the alternative is a war they know they cannot win.forc Only force would be respected.

Moreover, when religion defines politics, the extremist interpretations seem to have free reign - even though the Muslim Brotherhood won the Egyptian elections, there has been very little pushback from them on a religious basis on the Salafist attempts to move Egypt even further to extremist Islamism.There are no "moderate" imams who command the respect of the extremists, and the extremists have a monopoly on accusations of blasphemy against their enemies.

People who think that it can be business as usual with the new Islamic states emerging in the Arab world are fooling themselves. And the fatal error from the West is to conflate Islam as a personal religion and Islamism as a political movement. The former, while problematic, is ultimately benign, while the latter is truly evil and must not be coddled by the free world.

(h/t John G)

Arabic media: Tzipi Livni extorted prominent Arabs with sex!

Hubba-hubba!

This story is literally all over the Arabic media based on an original at Egypt's major newspaper Al Masry Al Youm, but the only English translation so far is this one from Gulf Daily News:

Former Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni said she had been involved in several special operations during her work with Mossad which involved sexual relations with prominent personalities to extort information for the Israeli intelligence agency. Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth quoted Livni as telling Time magazine in an interview that she never minded having sex and committing murders to obtain intelligence to benefit her country.

She said she was prosecuted in a number of European countries for murders and sexual extortion but was able to get away due to her government's influence.

The Arabic versions helpfully add:

The former leader of the opposition Kadima party justified the fact that she wasn't involved in any romantic relationship throughout those years, by saying that these kinds of relationships require trust and faith between the spouses and she couldn't build such a relationship with anyone. She said: "Nevertheless, short, passing relationships don't cause pain or damage, if both sides abide by the rules."

Israeli media is amused, noting that Livni had a 2009 interview with the Times of London where she said the exact opposite, that she would never have sex with the enemy when she was in the Mossad. It also quotes a friend of Livni's who says that she was amused by the "revelation."

To its credit, Shorouk News reported that the article was fabricated.

Al Masry al Youm is actually one of the more reliable Egyptian media outlets, which gives you an idea of how reliable Arabic media is altogether.

No correction yet on the Al Masry al Youm website.

(h/t Al Gharqad)

Saturday night links

From Ian:

Rabin's last Knesset speech by Dore Gold

When Rabin began detailing his map he began with what meant most to him: "First and foremost a united Jerusalem ... as the capital of Israel, under Israeli sovereignty." In 1994, he concluded the "Washington Declaration" with King Hussein, which stated that Israel “respects the present role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in the Muslim Holy Shrines in Jerusalem." It added that "when negotiations on the permanent status will take place, Israel will give high priority to the Jordanian historic role in these shrines.”

School text book that mixed up Jews and Muslims withdrawn

A error-strewn school religious studies text book has been withdrawn after mixing up Jews and Muslims.
“Staff at the Jewish Free School, in Kenton, North West London, have issued GCSE pupils with a list of corrections. One angry parent of a JFS pupil told the Jewish Chronicle newspaper: "The textbook contains countless errors and general, confused assertions about Judaism. The factual errors are laughably bad."A section headed 'Reform Judaism' in fact talks about the practice of Orthodox Jews. A picture of a person kneeling in prayer, described as a Jew, is in fact a Muslim, while a picture of Jews ostensibly at a Seder table, is a Shabbat meal.”

Abbas: No justification for Gaza rocket attacks

In Channel 2 interview, PA president denounces Hamas, firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel; denies Fayyad resignation.
“Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas denounced the firing of rockets from Gaza into Israel in an interview with Channel 2 that aired in its entirety Friday night. The comments could deepen a rift between the PA and Hamas, which governs the Gaza Strip and remains committed to terrorism as a tactic in its fight against Israel.
"There is no justification for rockets from Gaza or anywhere else," Abbas said. "Rockets attacks are in vain because they do not bring peace any closer."

Senior Palestinian official says UN upgrade will lead to suing Israel for ‘its crimes’

Nabil Shaath, of Abbas’s Fatah party, claims nonmember status bid will receive ‘overwhelming’ support
“Shaath’s belligerent remarks were in stark contrast to the conciliatory tone struck by Abbas in an interview televised Friday on Israel’s Channel 2, where he declared his willingness to restart peace negotiations.”

Haniyeh blasts Abbas over moderate remarks in Israel TV interview
Hamas PM says PA president’s statement that he does not have the right to live in Safed, where he was born, is ‘extremely dangerous’

UNRWA teachers in Jordan refuse to teach Holocaust

Refusal comes after the UN's Palestinian refugee agency said Holocaust studies would become part of the elementary school syllabus.
“It’s impossible that I would teach my students about the so-called Holocaust. UNRWA is planning to impose this on us, but we refuse to teach the history of our eternal enemies,” he insisted to The Media Line.

'Gaza Ark' flotilla set to break blockade from inside
A ship attempting to break the blockade on the Gaza Strip is set to sail from inside Gaza, taking goods to international markets in the early months of 2013, Ma'an News Agency quoted a Red Crescent official as saying on Friday.

Turkish PM in talks with Hamas to visit Gaza
Erdogan would become second head of state to visit Strip since Hamas takeover in 2007

Syrians choose war over Jordan Zaatari refugee camp

The Zaatari camp in northern Jordan was meant to be a place of refuge for 30,000 Syrians. But every day, dozens are choosing to leave the safety of Jordan and make the perilous journey back into the war zone.
“This place of refuge has become the setting for an increasingly ugly battle between Syrian refugees and their Jordanian hosts. Demonstrations inside the camp have, on at least one occasion, turned violent, prompting an exodus back into Syria.”

UK Raises Terror Level Threat in Egypt

Iranians mark 33rd anniversary of US embassy seizure
Students in Tehran chant ‘death to Israel,’ call Obama Jerusalem’s ‘loyal dog’; Revolutionary Guard commander urges Washington to stop supporting the ‘usurper Zionist regime’

Pelosi holds secret fundraiser with Islamists, Hamas-linked groups
Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi headlined a high-dollar fundraiser in May that was attended by U.S.-based Islamist groups and individuals linked by the U.S. government to the Hamas jihad group and to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood movement.

West Bank security barrier to be adorned with pro-Israel art
As part of initiative, Israeli artists and schoolchildren will paint pictures on Israeli side of barrier depicting terrorist attacks that originated in Palestinian Authority-controlled areas • Public Diplomacy Minister Yuli Edelstein: From PR standpoint, security barrier has been a burden for Israel.

Egyptians blaming "Zionists" for El Arish police murders

From Al Ahram:

Three policemen were reported killed of gunshot wounds and three others injured during an armed assault by unknown assailants on Saturday in Al-Arish, in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

A medical source from Al-Arish hospital said that six policemen were admitted to the hospital at 3:00pm Saturday.

According to a security source, the assault is believed to be in response to the killing of three men by police in Sinai last week.

Sinai, on the border with Israel, has been witnessing increasing violence in the past months with recurring clashes between security forces and militants.

Bedouins living in the Sinai Peninsula have had long-standing grievances with Egyptian police and have long complained of government neglect.

But Arabic media know who the culprits are!

Egypt's Youm7, and other Arabic media, claim that "witnesses" say that the gunmen were "Zionists." Their proof? Because the shooters had cars and heavy weapons.

I guess that they looked Jewish.

UNRWA affirms it will continue to quote the Quran in ceremonies

UNRWA opened up a new school in Gaza that was funded by Bahrain last week.

During the opening ceremonies, journalists noted that UNRWA omitted public recitation of verses from the Quran, as well as the Palestinian Arab national anthem, as is usual in these events. UNRWA, stung by the charges, responded that this was a technical error, and of course they will continue to recite verses from the Quran in their activities in the territories.

UNRWA's educational vision supposedly endorses "religious tolerance." How can than be possible when only one religion is a source for recitations at official UNRWA events?

Then again, UNRWA has been proven to do far worse than that at their schools in Gaza, and when they were called on it, they simply erased the evidence.

By the way, here is a computer lab at the new school in Gaza:

For a territory supposedly teetering on the brink of starvation, this seems a bit lavish - much nicer than the computer labs at many Jewish private schools I've seen.

But you won't hear any Gazans protesting that money is being spent on computers instead of food - because there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and it hasn't had one since Egypt administered the area.

Abbas explicitly affirms the "right of return," says Israel might assassinate him

Mahmoud Abbas has explicitly affirmed that he in no way, shape or form was weakening the long-standing Palestinian Arab demand to destroy Israel demographically using the bogus "right of return" in an interview on Israeli TV on Thursday. After much criticism from Arabs across the board, he said, as I predicted, that he was only speaking about his own personal position, but not about the bogus "right" as a whole.

The PA's official WAFA news agency reports that Abbas claims that his words in the interview were taken out of context. He then said that "my talk about Safed was my personal position, but it does not mean a waiver of the right of return. No one can waive the right of return, all international texts and resolutions of Arab and Islamic states speak of 'a just and agreed solution on the issue of refugees in accordance with UN Resolution 194', and the words 'agreed' means the agreement must be made with the Israeli side."

He said that the so-called "right of return" would be put to a referendum to Palestinian Arabs who have been brainwashed for generations that they have such a right, and who have been refused citizenship in most Arab countries based on their own explicit discrimination against them, making such a referendum a fait accompli.

Abbas stressed that "the issue of refugees is sacred."

Abbas also claimed that Israel might consider assassinating him "like what happened with the late martyr Abu Ammar [Yasir Arafat.]"

Now, will the media that fell over themselves to report Abbas was showing new flexibility correct themselves now that Abbas has proven that he has once again not changed the official PLO position one bit since 1988?

Yeah, right.