Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, December 14, 2012

Americans continue to sympathize far more with Israel

For decades, the public has sympathized with Israel over the Palestinians and that remains the case today. Overall, 50% say they sympathize more with Israel, compared with just 10% who say they sympathize more with the Palestinians; almost a quarter (23%) do not offer an opinion while 13% volunteer that they sympathize with neither side, and 4% say both.

Attitudes on this question have been stable over the past six years, after showing more volatility in the middle of the last decade.

There continue to be stark partisan differences in Middle East sympathies. Conservative Republicans maintain strong support for Israel with fully 75% saying they sympathize with Israel compared with just 2% who sympathize with the Palestinians. By contrast, liberal Democrats are much more divided: 33% sympathize more with Israel, 22% with the Palestinians. Independents sympathize more with Israel by a 47% to 13% margin.

Among religious groups, white evangelical Protestants remain strongly supportive of Israel. Two-thirds (67%) say they sympathize more with Israel; only 5% say they sympathize more with the Palestinians. Opinion among other religious groups is more mixed. Catholics, for example, offer more sympathy for Israel than the Palestinians by a 44% to 11% margin.

There also are age differences in Mideast sympathies. About four-in-ten (38%) people younger than 30 sympathize more with Israel than the Palestinians. That is only slightly lower than the percentage of 30-49 year olds who sympathize with Israel (46%). However, more than half of those 50 and older (58%) sympathize with Israel more than the Palestinians. Age differences were more modest in 2011 and 2010.

Note that even the one group that was least sympathetic to Israel, liberal Democrats, shows that they are 50% more likely to sympathize with Israel than with the Palestinian Arabs.

And moderate Democrats were more sympathetic to Israel by nearly a 6-1 margin. Not the 37-1 of conservatives, but still very pro-Israel.

This must drive the haters completely bananas. Their shrillness gives the impression that they are mainstream, but they don't represent US liberals any more than Neturei Karta represent Jews.

I would love to see how J-Street members would answer the questions.

Egyptian preacher says Jews behind anti-Morsy protests

From Egypt's Youm7 today:

The preacher in the Al-Madina Al-Munawara mosque in the Faysal quarter of the city of Suez vehemently attacked all those demonstrating against Muhammad Mursi and the constitution, describing them as "saboteurs", and that they are like the Jews, destroying Egypt, and that Israel and the Jews are training them to do that. These words raised the ire of a large number of the people who prayed there.

Ashraf Muhsin, a leader in the "Suez Youth Bloc" movement told the "Yawm Al-Sabi'" [newspaper] that after the prayers he spoke to the preacher asking for proof about the Jews training the demonstrators. The preacher refused and a verbal confrontation and a brawl broke out.

(Muhsin) said, "Some of the sheikhs and the preacher tried to drive me out of the mosque and accused me of deception. They said that the Islamic media said that the (anti-Mursi/constitution) demonstrators are agents working for the Jews, this is the truth, and they (the sheikhs and the preacher) believe this."

Note that the people were not upset at the sheikh's anti-semitism - but at the idea that the Egyptian opposition could be in cahoots with Jews.

(h/t al-Gharqad for translation help)

Facebook comments vs. Hamas (video)

A nice video From StandWithUs:

Jewish War Heroes #1 (1944 comic book)

I stumbled across this gem, released by the Canadian Jewish Congress in 1944.

There were three issues in total. Here is the first; I will publish the other two over the next two Fridays.

Jewish War Heroes 1

Understanding the Settlements: A Primer (The David Project)

From The David Project, a fair and accurate backgrounder about the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria.

(h/t Ruchie)

Egypt bans "romantic" songs on state TV

From Al Arabiya:

The broadcasting of any “romantic” songs or music videos on Egyptian state television channels has been banned, a state-run newspaper announced on Thursday, adding that only “patriotic” tunes will be allowed to be aired.

Nationalistic tunes “that are worth broadcasting” will be allowed on the country’s 23 state-owned channels, the al-Ahram news website reported.

Meanwhile, sarcastic songs mocking public figures will be also banned because of the “sensitiveness of the political situation,” it said.

Maybe it is time for someone to make a romantic song about Morsi.

PalArabs violently protest UNRWA

The culture of entitlement continues:

Refugees continued to protest UNRWA cuts in West Bank camps on Thursday, burning tires and forcing staff from their offices.

Demonstrators shut down the UN agency's offices across the West Bank for the second day in protest over the dismissal of 130 employees and cuts to services.

In Bethlehem, dozens of protesters forced staff from the UNRWA center and burned tires, carrying signs condemning the decision to fire workers.

Sameer Attallah, popular committee member in Aida camp, said demonstrations sent a message to UNRWA's administration and that protests would escalate. He said the cuts were the first stage in withdrawing services to Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA is heavily dependent on voluntary contributions, which it says have not kept pace with the increasing needs of a growing refugee population.

Of course the budget of UNRWA cannot keep pace with the "growing refugee population" - because UNRWA refuses to come up with a definition of "refugee" that is remotely in sync with the rest of the world.

As I have shown, far less than 1% of those receiving free UNRWA services are true "refugees." And even if you include descendants of refugees in your definition, only about 20% of those receiving UNRWA services are deserving (the remainder are either Jordanian citizens or already live in "Palestine.")

But as this article shows, UNRWA is not the only party to blame. The "refugees" themselves in the camps that scandalously remain operational even within Areas A and B - under PA rule and in Gaza under Hamas - are not interested in becoming productive citizens of their own communities, but instead they demand more and more free services. These hypocrites close down the very UNRWA offices that they demand services from and deny those very same services to their neighbors.

They have been raised in UNRWA schools to learn that violence is the only way to get anything accomplished.

Instead of the UN looking at ways to slowly eliminate the "refugee" problem, countries continue to enable it. Only this week millions were donated to UNRWA from Japan, Malaysia. and Switzerland. And no one has the guts to say that this is not a sustainable model. The UN shoudl create a plan to close the "refugee" camps and integrate the residents into their host countries, with UNRWA funds being given directly to governments to offset the cost of integration over the next decade.

It will never happen, though, because these people are being kept in misery for one single reason: to continuously blame Israel.

Chanukah video night 6: Chanukah Time (Josh & the Jamtones)

Thursday links

From Ian:

Radical and Moderate Palestinians Who Is More Popular? by Khaled Abu Toameh

"Erekat and the rest of the Palestinian Authority leadership do not see Hamas's ambition of destroying Israel is an obstacle to peace -- nor do they see that the real threat to the two-state solution is Hamas and the unwillingness of many Palestinians to accept Israel's right to exist.
Abbas, Erekat and other relatively moderate Palestinian leaders represent a dwindling minority of Palestinians that still believes in the two-state solution and peace with Israel. As demonstrated by last week's Hamas celebrations, an increased number of Palestinians have still not come to terms with Israel's right to exist."

Abbas condemns Hamas head’s statements; Likud doesn’t buy it
Hatnua chair Livni congratulates PA president for taking stand against calls for Israel’s destruction; she’s ‘burying her head in the sand,’ PM’s party says

PMW: Fatah glorifies Hamas' rockets from Gaza against Israel and supports armed conflict

"The Palestinian Authority and Fatah condemned Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense that aimed at destroying Hamas’ terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. It never once condemned Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel during the 8-day conflict.
Instead, senior PA and Fatah leaders “bless Hamas,” “praise and salute” the launching of rockets against Israel, and even advocate “armed struggle.”
Five Fatah Central Committee members have recently lauded Hamas and Islamic Jihad for their rocket attacks against Israel and/or promoted the use of armed struggle."

Ehud Olmert’s Peace Delusion

"It seems that the Palestinian strategy for peace is this: Force the Israelis to give up land for “peace,” then use terror attacks and international pressure to force them to give up more. Repeat until Israel is no longer recognizable or defendable. This being the case, how can Israel be expected to trust in Abbas that he doesn’t share Hamas’ view on Israel’s right to exist?"

Israeli Envoy Sees Radicals Risk Preferable to Assad

Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Oren said the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad would be a boon to Israel and the Mideast, even if radical Islamists try to fill the vacuum left by his departure.
“There’s the possibility that you’ll have Sunni extremist elements who will try to come to the fore,” Oren said yesterday in Washington. “Our opinion is that any situation would be better than the current situation” in which the Syrian regime has a strategic alliance with Iran and the Lebanese Shiite Muslim terrorist group Hezbollah, he said.

Barkat: E1 building will strengthen Jerusalem
In Wall Street Journal op-ed, J'lem Mayor denounces global condemnation of E1 construction plans, says building will strengthen city.

"In this respect, he said that the push to divide "the united...capital of the state of Israel" is misguided, as "no divided city in history has ever succeeded."
"Isn't it ironic," Barkat continued, "that many in Europe who recently celebrated 25 years of the reunification of Berlin are at the same time calling for the division of another capital on another continent?"

BDS-linked professor to chair California university anti-Semitism task force

“Manzar Foroohar, a professor connected to the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, has been selected to chair a committee aimed at combating anti-Semitism in the California State University (CSU) system."

CAMERA: FBI Figures: Still No ‘Wave of Islamophobia’

“Nearly half of hate crimes reported in 2011 were racially motivated,” The Baltimore Sun noted (“U.S. hate crimes decline,” December 11). Religious bias accounted for nearly one-fifth of the total. “Thirteen percent of the 936 religious bias crimes were anti-Islamic, but the large majority [63.2] were anti-Semitic in nature.”

Proposed Army manual tells G.I.s not to insult Taliban, speak up for women

The draft handbook offers a list of "taboo conversation topics" that soldiers should avoid, including "making derogatory comments about the Taliban," "advocating women's rights,"
"any criticism of pedophilia," "any criticism of pedophilia," "directing any criticism toward Afghans," "mentioning homosexuality and homosexual conduct" or "anything related to Islam," according to the Journal.

UN Watch: Human Rights Day Marred by Election of Slave-holding Mauritania as VP of UN Human Rights Council

"According to a recent report by the Guardian, "up to 800,000 people in a nation of 3.5 million remain chattels," with power and wealth overwhelmingly concentrated among lighter-skinned Moors, "leaving slave-descended darker-skinned Moors and black Africans on the edges of society."Despite having murdered tens of thousands of its own people, the Bashar al-Assad regime remains a full member of UNESCO's human rights committee, "and no one at UNESCO seems to care the slighest bit," said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer.

A war-wary terrorist
By all indications, these days Nasrallah is sweating bullets under his turban.

"First, the decapitation of Hamas with the targeted killing of its military chief Ahmed Jabari, which opened the operation, affirms that Israel’s policy of targeted killings has been further perfected. The seamless synergy between precise real-time intelligence, hair trigger reaction and pinpoint accuracy responsible for he hit on Jabari amounts to a tactical breakthough which surely did not escape Nasrallah’s attention. It was as if the IDF was “roof knocking” (a tactic where occupants are warned by the Israeli military to escape just ahead of bombing a terrorist target) on his bunker. Moreover, Nasrallah must now suspect he would be the first target of any future Hezbollah-Israeli conflict."

Israelis and Palestinians to meet in Jordan in February, King Abdullah says

Jordanian monarch bashes Egypt for harming kingdom economically and marginalizing it diplomatically, Arab paper reports Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev refused to comment on the report, and a Palestinian government spokesman was not available for comment.

US denies holding backchannel talks with Hamas

State Department urges Israel to reconsider withholding PA tax revenues; Ashton reportedly ‘shocked’ by Liberman statement comparing Europe’s stance on Mashaal speech to Holocaust era inaction

Four EU states reportedly tried to foil condemnation of Mashaal hate speech

"According to an Israel Radio report Wednesday, Denmark, Finland, Portugal and Ireland pressured European foreign ministers to condemn Israel solely for its E1 settlement construction plan at a meeting of the body’s foreign council Monday.
In the end, the statement included a brief rebuke of Hamas’s call for Israel’s destruction, after an 11th-hour intervention by Germany and the Czech Republic, Israel Radio reported."

Congress seeks to double US funding of anti-missile cooperation with Israel
In wake of Pillar of Defense success, Iron Dome spending may balloon from $210 million to $680 million

"A letter sent Wednesday by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and James Inhofe (R-Okla.) to the top senators on the Armed Services Committee urges them to agree to the higher House increase in the bicameral conference talks that finalize the act."

India Expresses Desire for Iron Dome System

"India wants the Iron Dome defense system. Defense News reports that India and Israel are cooperating on the development of weapons systems and that India’s main wish is to acquire the Iron Dome on a “buy and build” basis. This means India wants to acquire it and obtain a license from Israel for its manufacture."

Caption contest!

From today's Hamas rally in Nablus:

"New Israel Fund" tries, and fails, to defend its grantees demonizing Israel

Im Tirtzu wrote an open letter to the new head of the New Israel Fund, which funds anti-Israel NGOs:

Dear Mr. Lurie:

We write to ask a simple question: Do you stand by the latest accusations NIF-funded groups are making against Israel?

After Operation Cast Lead in 2009, groups funded by the NIF led a campaign that sought to portray Israel as a war criminal and human rights violator. That campaign culminated in the Goldstone Report, a ruthlessly biased attack on Israel that cited NIF groups hundreds of times. Even Judge Goldstone himself has disowned it.

Now, in the weeks after the latest conflict in Gaza, NIF groups are once again making misleading and unfounded accusations against the IDF.

B’tselem, Adalah, Gisha, and the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel are claiming that the IDF targeted journalists and civilians, violated international law, and is perpetrating “collective punishment,” a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.

In the weeks leading up to Israel’s response, as terrorist rockets forced thousands of Israelis into bomb shelters, none of these groups criticized the attacks or stood up for Israel’s right – its human right, and its right under international law – to defend itself.

Despite this troubling record, we hold out hope for your leadership as the new president of the New Israel Fund. We ask that you hold the groups you fund responsible for the veracity of their accusations, and that you demand just as much accountability from them as they do from the IDF.

And if you do not stand by their latest false accusations, Israelis deserve to know: What will you do to reform the New Israel Fund?

Sincerely,

Im Tirtzu

The Zionist Student Movement

The NIF response is astonishing (not yet online):

In today’s “open letter” to the New Israel Fund chair, the Im Tirtzu organization uses allegation, misrepresentation and outright falsehood to make their case.

* Many fewer civilian lives were lost during Operation Pillar of Defense than in Cast Lead four years ago. This is partially because the Israel Defense Forces, publicly and to its credit, used reports from human rights organizations to improve its operational procedures to better avoid civilian casualties.

The work of NIF-supported human rights organizations saved lives.

The percentage of civilians killed compared to militants in Pillar of Defense is roughly the same as for Cast Lead, about 1 to 1.

Anyone who has read the IDF responses to Goldstone would know that the processes meant to protect civilians pre-dates Cast Lead. Of course, the IDF is always looking to improve, and it looks at criticism from all corners, but the IDF goes to lengths that are literally unprecedented by any other army to minimize civilian casualties. For the NIF to take credit for this is not only obviously false, but more than a little self-serving. And its comparison of casualties in two completely different scales of conflict is knowingly deceptive.

NIF's response is false.

* For three years, Im Tirtzu has accused the Israeli human rights community of being the prime source for the Goldstone report. Repeating a lie loudly and frequently doesn’t make it so. An objective analysis proved that less than two percent of the Goldstone Report’s negative findings about the IDF during Operation Cast Lead were attributable to human rights organizations (link); the vast majority of information came from public sources in the Israeli government and military.

Im Tirtzu does not make that claim in this open letter. It says that the anti-Israel campaign from NGOs culminated in the Goldstone Report and that NIF grantees were cited extensively. Im Tirtzu's language here is mostly accurate (maybe not "hundreds of times" but well over a hundred.) NIF's response is false.

* Not one of the human rights organizations Im Tirtzu attacks accused Israel of war crimes in the recent Gaza action. One organization signed a letter asking for investigation of possible breaches of the Geneva convention by both sides in the conflict.

In Im Tirtzu's fact sheet, they document the accusations with citations:

A B’Tselem statement the day after Operation Pillar of Defense began accused Israel of targeting civilians: “As was the case four years ago [in Operation Cast Lead], Israeli officials are now using the conduct of Palestinian organizations to justify harm to Palestinian civilians….The fact that one side violates the law does not give the other side the right to violate it as well.” (HERE) Days later, B’Tselem accused Israel of targeting journalists (HERE) despite the fact that the “journalists” were well-known senior terrorists in Hamas and Islamic Jihad. (HERE) Adalah, another flagship NIF grantee – it seeks as an official position the end of Israel as a Jewish State – accused Israel of “a serious violation of the laws of war.” (HERE) Sari Bashi, the executive director of Gisha, accused Israel of “collective punishment” during the conflict. (HERE) Collective punishment is a war crime under Article 33 of the 4^th Geneva Convention. The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel signed a statement claiming, without offering any specifics, “concrete evidence indicating the commission of war crimes” by Israel. The statement also blamed Israel entirely for Hamas’s rocket attacks on Israeli civilians and called for another Goldstone-style “investigation” of Israel at the United Nations. (HERE)

NIF's response is false.

The NIF response letter continues:

* The right to dissent is often a casualty of war. After Operation Cast Lead, Israel’s human rights community were threatened and vilified and it is now happening again. As in any conflict anywhere, it is the responsibility of human rights groups to monitor and report, and it is their right and everyone’s to offer opinions regarding the conduct of the conflict. While NIF does not necessarily agree with the positions of the many organizations we support, we staunchly defend their right to do their jobs, dissent from the majority based on their own analyses, and point out controversial issues of concern.

Here, the NIF is acknowledging that they cannot defend everything that the organizations they fund do - but they are willing to continue to fund them nonetheless! Is there any oversight? Are there any checks and balances? Are there any reviews of issues that the NIF might find problematic? Or is an organization's criticism of Israel enough to give it the benefit of the doubt?

Moreover, it is a bit hypocritical to complain about NGO's being "vilified" when that is exactly what they do to Israel, every day. The simple fact is that the NGOs must adhere to the standards they demand from the Israeli government and the IDF. Demanding that their biases, their sources of funding, their methodologies and the identity and affiliations of their researchers be exposed is simply asking them to be transparent - something that any legitimate watchdog organization should welcome. They draw conclusions about Israeli motivations using far, far less credible evidence than their detractors use to criticize them. It is when they stonewall on this vital information that we can start to wonder if they are as pure and objective as they claim to be.

Any unbiased observer must conclude that they are not - far from it. And this letter from NIF proves it.

This doesn't mean that what they do is worthless - all democracies must have checks and balances, and Israel is no exception. But when they cross the line from truth into lies, as the NIF response does, it is reasonable to question everything else about them.

It is not a small matter. While the NGOs claim that they are working to save people's lives, their work can also endanger people's lives. The debate as to where the line must be drawn between valuing some lives and endangering other lives during wartime is a valuable one, and one that the IDF does every day with or without the NIF.

Criticism is fine - but lies are not. This response shows that, apparently, the funder of these anti-Israel NGOs does not know the difference.

(h/t N.)

Iran stymies IAEA again

From Reuters:

Inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog arrived in Tehran on Thursday to hold talks over Iran's disputed nuclear program but there was no sign they would gain access to the Parchin military complex as requested.

The Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) said "no plans were announced yet for inspectors to visit Iran's nuclear facilities or other sites", without giving a source.

Thursday's talks in Tehran are the first such meeting between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Iran since August.

The IAEA wants an agreement that would enable its inspectors to visit a military complex, Parchin, and other sites that it suspects may be linked to what it has called the "possible military dimensions" to Iran's nuclear program.

The nuclear watchdog believes Iran has conducted explosives tests with possible nuclear applications at Parchin, a sprawling facility southeast of Tehran, and has repeatedly asked for access.

The IAEA had previously expressed frustration at being denied access the Parchin, which satellite images show as a site of very suspicious activity.

Evidence of a military component to Iran's nuclear program has been mounting steadily.

Today, ISIS says:

The latest commercial satellite imagery from the alleged Parchin high explosive test site in Iran shows a steady pace of what appears to be the “reconstruction” phase of the site which between April and July 2012 had undergone considerable alterations. Such alterations included building demolitions and earth displacement. Figures 1 through 4 provide a reverse timeline of imagery starting from the latest changes to before major alterations began in late spring 2012.

(h/t CHA)

Hamas terror rally in Nablus draws tens of thousands (updated)

Palestine Times has lots of photos from today's Hamas anniversary celebration rally in Nablus, the first such rally there since the Fatah/Hamas split:

That would be the women in the back.

Fun for the whole family!

The rally included signs and speeches giving praise to rockets that were aimed at Israeli civilians and the Al Qassam Brigades terror group.

Fatah media says that Fatah members also joined the celebration, and it was broadcast on PA TV. I don['t see any yellow flags, though.

It will be interesting to compare the size of this demonstration with the planned Fatah rally in Gaza on January 1, which is the 49th anniversary of Fatah's first terror attack, a failed attempt to damage Israel's water carrier. (Yes, that is really what the "moderate" Fatah celebrates every year.)

What the US and EU utterly ignore is the fact that if elections were held today, Hamas would win again. Pushing Israel to make concessions to an artificial PA that is not supported by even half of its own people has nothing to do with peace; it is more like a psychosis where the fake "peace process" is given magic powers that would somehow transcend what the Palestinian Arabs want.

And they want what Hamas says explicitly.

UPDATE: (I made this photo into a separate post for a caption contest...)

It doesn't get any more phallic than this!

Which explains the appeal of the props to a certain portion of the population...

Which newspaper reported "settlers stormed Joseph's Tomb"?

We are used to seeing headlines of "settlers" "storming" Jewish holy places in Eretz Yisrael in Arabic media, specifically in media associated with Islamists.

Here's one from today:

Settlers storm "Joseph's Tomb" in Nablus

Dozens of extremist settlers led religious prayers in "Joseph's Tomb" near the Balata refugee camp east of Nablus after a number of Israeli military vehicles stormed the city. Local sources said the occupation forces stormed the city from the eastern side, accompanied by a number of Israeli buses where settlers performed religious rituals in "Joseph's Tomb" in Nablus under heavy guard by the occupation forces. According to the sources, the Israeli occupation forces stormed several neighborhoods in the city but no arrests were reported so far.

This is not from a Hamas or Islamic Jihad website - but from Ma'an (Arabic.)

Ma'an prides itself on being unbiased and adhering to generally accepted journalistic standards. But in Arabic, its language is indistinguishable from the Islamists.

Of course, under existing agreements, Jews have the right to worship in Joseph's Tomb, and the IDF regularly coordinates visits with the PA security forces. Jews from both sides of the Green Line visit the holy place.

Often, the Arabs in the area start throwing stones at the worshipers and soldiers protecting them when these scheduled visits occur, which is what happened today. But you'd have to read Islamic Jihad media to even know that.

Abbas' lie of the day: "Hamas recognizes Israel"

From YNet:

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas blasted Hamas Politburo Chief Khaled Mashaal for asserting that his group will never recognize Israel, hinting that the statement hinders the chances of the two-state solution, according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet.

“I don’t agree with Khaled Mashaal’s statement on the non-recognition of Israel because we, in fact, recognized it in 1993,” Abbas told reporters in Ankara at the conclusion of a two-day visit. “A four-article agreement between (Fatah and Hamas) stipulates a two-state vision. And Mashaal approved of this agreement."

So what is this four-article agreement that Hamas signed that accepted a two-state solution?

Apparently, it is not the 2011 Cairo agreement, which has five articles, but it is the 2007 Mecca national-unity agreement between the two.

Here is the full text:

Based on the generous initiative announced by Saudi King Abdullah Ben Abdul Aziz and under the sponsorship of his majesty, Fatah and Hamas Movements held in the period February 6–8, 2007 in Holy Mecca the dialogues of Palestinian conciliation and agreement and these dialogues, thanks to God, ended with success and an agreement was reached on the following:

First: to stress on banning the shedding of the Palestinian blood and to take all measures and arrangements to prevent the shedding of the Palestinian blood and to stress on the importance of national unity as basis for national steadfastness and confronting the occupation and to achieve the legitimate national goals of the Palestinian people and adopt the language of dialogue as the sole basis for solving the political disagreements on the Palestinian arena.
Within this context, we offer gratitude to the brothers in Egypt and the Egyptian security delegation in Gaza who exerted tremendous efforts to calm the conditions in Gaza Strip in the past period.

Second: Final agreement to form a Palestinian national unity government according to a detailed agreement ratified by both sides and to start on an urgent basis to take the constitutional measures to form this government.

Third: to move ahead in measures to activate and reform the PLO and accelerate the work of the preparatory committee based on the Cairo and Damascus Understandings.
It has been agreed also on detailed steps between both sides on this issue.

Fourth: to stress on the principle of political partnership on the basis of the effective laws in the PNA and on the basis of political pluralism according to an agreement ratified between both parties.

We gladly announce this agreement to our Palestinian masses and to the Arab and Islamic nation and to all our friends in the world. We stress on our commitment to this agreement in text and spirit so that we can devote our time to achieve our national goals and get rid of the occupation and regain our rights and devote work to the main files, mainly Jerusalem, the refugees, the Aqsa Mosque, the prisoners and detainees and to confront the wall and settlements.

Apparently, Abbas is claiming that the fourth paragraph binds Hamas to existing PNA laws which implicitly accept Israel (it is the PLO that accepted Israel, that is out of the scope of what the PA can do.)

This agreement has been abrogated numerous times since it was signed, and in fact the Hamas uprising that cut Gaza off from the West Bank - with scores killed - occurred only a few months after this agreement.

Obviously, Hamas never interpreted this agreement, nor the Cairo agreement, the way Abbas pretends they do. Hamas has explicitly and repeatedly stressed that it will never accept Israel's existence.

So which do you believe - a strained interpretation of intentionally vague language that doesn't even mention anything about a two-state solution or Israel itself, of Hamas' explicit daily threats to destroy Israel?

The entire purpose of Abbas' lies is to try to convince the West that the split between the two parties is nothing, really, and that they are really unified.

In fact, if they agree on anything, it is that Israel must be destroyed - they just disagree on the timing and tactics. (And sometimes, Fatah leaders seem to agree more with Hamas on even those.)

The Darwin Award, Hebron-edition (updated)

Here is how Palestine Press Agency reports the shooting of a 17-year old in Hebron yesterday:

When a child is born no one knows what will happen to him from the hassles and difficulties of life, but the most beautiful thing is the feeling that Allah has prepared for martyrs who believed in their covenant with God.

This is what happened with the young Muhammad Ziad Awad Salamiyah, 17, of the city of Hebron, when an Israeli soldier with no concept of humanity and whose vocabulary is filled with hatred shot the martyr Salamiyah near the Ibrahimi Mosque on Wednesday to receive the martyr certificate while smiling as he was at birth.

The martyr, according to the statements of those close to him, was going to buy sweets to celebrate his birthday, carrying with him a lighter pistol, but Israeli hatred did not differentiate between reality and illusion and their goal is to kill by any means and with any justification.

The Palestinian president strongly condemned the crime and accused Israel of trying to drag the region into a spiral of violence by killing innocent and defenseless of our people.

Salamiyah in fact pulled out the fake pistol and threatened the soldiers with it.

Here is a photo of the pistol:

The only question is - was Salamiyah a complete idiot for pulling this out in front of soldiers who have been subject to daily attacks , or was he actively looking for martydom as a birthday present?

While the death is tragic, the gene pool is a little better today.

(h/t CHA for photo and Alya Express News for the idea)

UPDATE: No, it wasn't stupidity - it was terror:

The officer, a 20-year-old from Tel Aviv, recounted the events in interviews with Israeli media late Tuesday night, saying that she and two border police soldiers under her command were manning a checkpoint near the Cave of the Patriarchs when the young Palestinian approached them.

“Following the standard procedure, the soldier who was with me asked him for an ID,” she said. “The Palestinian handed him his documents and I entered the room to run a background check.”

While inside, she continued, she looked out and saw that the Palestinian had charged the soldier and drawn what appeared to be a pistol.

“With one hand,” she related, “he grabbed the soldier’s neck and pressed against him, and with the other he put the pistol to the soldier’s temple. In that situation, the soldier couldn’t break free or react.”

The female officer, who was only a few meters away, cocked her weapon.

“I was looking for an angle from which to fire without hurting the soldier,” she said, and it was only after she ascertained that his life was in danger that she pulled the trigger.

“After the first shot, he continued to hold the pistol to the soldier’s temple, so I fired two more bullets,” she said, at which point the Palestinian fell to the ground, and she quickly kicked the gun away.

“It was my first time in a combat situation,” she said, explaining that she had reacted “exactly like I was taught.”

With a gun being held to the soldier’s head, there was no way she could fire a warning shot, the officer said. “My subordinate’s life was in immediate danger,” and it was important to fire without hitting him, she said.

She rebutted the notion of her being a hero, saying: “Any soldier in my position would have done the same.”

(h/t 1Biodegradable1)

Muslim Brotherhood tortures opponents, part 2

I recently posted about a literal torture chamber run by the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

That was only the tip of the iceberg:

On 5 December, violent clashes raged for hours between supporters and opponents of President Mohamed Morsy, after the latter attacked a sit-in outside the presidential palace by protesters rejecting the constitutional declaration and a snap referendum on the constitution.

A total of 49 people were captured, beaten and kept overnight in makeshift holding cells as their captors interrogated them about their affiliations and the reason for their presence in the vicinity of the fighting.

But they were not arrested by police or military forces — according to numerous eyewitnesses and personal accounts, supported by video evidence, civilians affiliated with the ruling Muslim Brotherhood were the ones who kept them captive for hours under the eye of security forces.

Their protracted ordeal ended after members of the prosecution arrested the group, then ordered their release the next day in the absence of evidence of any wrongdoing on their part.

Some of those captured say they felt like prisoners of war. Others assumed they’d fallen into the hands of a private security apparatus.

Their testimonials leave one thing certain: that night, Islamist groups ran sovereign detention centers they’d created in the area around the presidential palace, imposing their authority on captured protesters as well as the security forces on hand.

Former diplomat Yehia Negm, computer engineer Mohamed Omar and Popular Socialist Alliance Party member Ramy Sabry were among the unfortunate group of 49 detained.

A group of Morsy supporters ganged up on each of them, beating them severely then dragging each to the detention centers set up around the palace.

Omar was caught while delivering medical supplies to the field hospital set up at a gas station on the opposition side.

“They captured me, trashed the supplies and accused me of bringing medicine to the non-believers beating them up. They abducted me, I fell and they dragged me on the ground,” he recalls.

Omar says the mob beat him with anything their hands could reach, including a large billboard that landed on his head and cut him deeply.

When he tried to convince them to ease up, their response shocked him into silence. “I told them when the Prophet took over Mecca, he let non-believers go in peace. They told me ‘you are worse than the Prophet’s enemies in Mecca.’ I didn’t know what more to say.”

Drenched in blood, their hands and feet were tied up with a rough material that left visible marks, receiving minimal medical attention from Brotherhood-affiliated doctors, who were the only ones allowed in the area.
...
According to the three witnesses, police forces were not only unable to intervene and stop the attacks against protesters, but also took orders from the Brotherhood leaders on the scene.

A weak cordon of Central Security Forces was the only thing separating detainees from a larger, angrier pro-Morsy mob.

“I asked the police officer, ‘How can you let them beat us up while you’re standing there?’ He said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m following orders,” says Omar.

The three say the leader of the group was referred to as Dr. Alaa, and he frequently went inside the presidential palace and came back to continue assaulting them, a clear indication of coordination with the state.

Add torture and mob rule to the list of President Morsi's accomplishments in office.

Morsi looks a lot like Mubarak, but without the ability to think past the 15th century.

Bonus Chanukah video: Yeshiva Boys Choir "Daddy Come Home"

(Not my cup of tea, but a lot of people like this.)

Trading girls in Yemen creates forced marriages

From Now (Lebanon):

Exchange, or tradeoff, marriages provide a suitable solution to address the problem of high dowries and dire living conditions in Yemen. The idea sounds strange, more like a bartering of goods as in the past, except that goods are replaced by women in this case. Basically, whoever is unable to pay the dowry of the girl he wants marry has to offer his sister to be married to the bride’s brother. Both men thus avoid paying dowries, while the bridegroom’s sister is denied her right to choose her husband, or even her right to a dowry.

In an exchange marriage, if a man divorces his wife, her parents force her brother to divorce his own wife as well. The brother can refuse to do so, but in a country like Yemen, custom rather than law prevails.

Exchange marriages are common in Yemen, says Yemeni Human Rights Minister Huriya Mashhour, especially in rural areas, though there are no statistics on the prevalence of this form of union, which has been around for ages.

Yemen is known for marriage practices that disenfranchise women, especially its reputation as one of the child marriage capitals of the world. According to Human Rights Watch, “Yemeni government and United Nations data show that approximately 14 percent of girls in Yemen are married before age 15, and 52 percent are married before age 18. In some rural areas, girls as young as 8 are married.”

Many in Yemen get married without notifying any officials, as marriage is often limited to a contract signed in front of a sheikh in a mosque. Women are thus forced to enter wedlock without giving their consent and with no rights—slavery under a social and religious cloak.

Ahlam was married to Salem this way, and Salem had his own sister marry Ahlam’s brother. Problems arose between Salem and Ahlam as a crisis developed between her brother and his sister. Salem thus kicked her out of the house when her brother did the same with his own wife. Then Salem divorced Ahlam when his sister and her brother got divorced. Salem did not care the least about the fact that Ahlam had nothing to do with the problems between her brother and his wife, nor did he pay any attention to their children.

Salem told NOW, “I was happy with my wife and children, but when my sister got divorced, they asked me to divorce my wife. I proposed that each mother would have her own children but my stepbrother refused, saying that he wanted his children to remain with him. So I did the same and took my sons away from their mother.”

The article goes on to say that this is against Islamic law.