Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Wednesday linkdump

From Ian:

Why Arabs Hate And Kill Palestinians by Khaled Abu Toameh

The Arab League did not hold an emergency meeting to discuss what Palestinians describe as "massacres " against the refugees in a Syrian camp, home to more than 50,000 people. Those who meddle in the internal affairs of Arab countries should not be surprised when bombs start falling on their homes. Palestinians are not always innocent victims. They bring tragedy on themselves and then want to blame everyone else but themselves.

After UN status upgrade, Palestinians seek to join other international organizations
Israel attempting to block move by pressuring Washington, host countries; Foreign Ministry memo reportedly warns EU will seek to impose Palestinian statehood, bypassing negotiations

"In the wake of its successful November UN status upgrade bid, the Palestinian Authority is now seeking to join other international organizations, Maariv reported on Wednesday. The list of organizations the Palestinians have applied to join include: the Universal Postal Union (UPU), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Health Organization (WHO)."

How will European-Israeli relations look in 2013?

“Though Europe remains mired in a massive financial crisis, European capitals continue to fund NGOs that seek to undercut Israel’s democracy.
Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg, the head of NGO Monitor who teaches political science at Bar- Ilan University, wrote the Post, “Europeans also need to practice the values that they preach, particularly with respect to democracy and transparency. The recent confused decision of the European Court of Justice, which allowed the EU to keep all documents and procedures relating to funding of political NGOs as super-sensitive secrets, and the ECJ’s failure to hold a single session to hear oral arguments, highlights the gap between lofty principles and anti-democratic practice. After the Israeli elections in 2013, the conflict over EU secret funding for NGOs promoting political warfare against Israel is likely to intensify.”

A divided message of peace
Palestinian threats force Jews and Arabs to hold separate Christmas coexistence events.

"With the help of American aerial artist John Quigley, Israelis and Palestinians had planned to form a large human sculpture of a peace sign, with the concrete barrier running through it.
But at the last moment, threats from Palestinian hard-liners to sabotage the project forced organizers to scrap the barrier event out of safety concerns."

Palestinians allegedly planned to kidnap Israeli in the West Bank
Security services arrest 10 on terror charges; hostage was to be used as bargaining chip in bid to release jailed terror chief

"Two of the suspects were allegedly planning to kidnap an Israeli citizen or soldier. According to suspicions, the kidnapped Israeli was to be held as collateral and released in exchange for Ahmad Saadat, the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine."

Stretch of West Bank Highway Has Become Known as “Roulette Road” After Increase in Arab Attacks on Israeli Drivers

"A stretch of Highway 60 that crosses the territory has become known as “Roulette Road” because of the threats travelers face while traversing it. Only last week three Israelis were injured while traveling down the road, including an IDF officer who suffered a wound to the head so severe that it required surgery. The latest incident, which left one Israeli lightly hurt, occurred on Monday."

Court: End of Free College for Terrorists
The High Court ruled Tuesday that terrorist security prisoners were not eligible for free university education in Israeli schools.

Senior Hamas leader calls for third intifada By Khaled Abu Toameh
Head of Hamas J'lem Dept calls for renewed confrontation with Israel over plans to build new housing units in e. J'lem.

Hamas outlaws contact with Israeli media outlets By Khaled Abu Toameh
Gaza-based terror group calls "zionist" media outlets "hostile," bans Palestinians from contact with Israel.

Haniyeh: Israel is a 'Cancerous Tumor'
"Israel is a cancerous tumor that must be removed and uprooted," Hamas's PM says in a conference on education.

MEMRI: Saudi Cleric Al-Munajid Issues Fatwa Permitting Hacking into "Jewish Websites”

CIF Watch: ’The Jewish State Which Ruined Christmas in Bethlehem’: A Guardian Production

"Yet, like a holiday ritual, Harriet Sherwood, in the spirit of Phoebe Greenwood’s ugly Guardian piece last year (‘If Jesus were to come this year Bethlehem would be closed’, Guardian, Dec. 22, 2011) chose to advance, as if by rote, a predictable Christmas tale of Israeli oppression against Christians."

Honest Reporting: Editor’s Picks: 10 Best Blog Posts of 2012

Report: Syria Converted Combat Aircraft to Drones with WMDs
A MiG-21 combat aircraft flown by a Syrian pilot who defected was found to have been upgraded back in Syria to carry chemical weapons.

"A MiG-21 combat aircraft flown by a Syrian pilot who defected to Jordan in June was found to have been upgraded back in Syria to carry chemical weapons and to fly without a pilot, the Yisrael Hayom daily reported on Tuesday."

Iran media report new cyberattack by Stuxnet worm
An Iranian semi-official news agency says there has been another cyberattack by the sophisticated computer worm Stuxnet, this time on the industries in the country's south.

Weapons of mass distraction
Female Russian technicians at Iranian nuclear plant violate dress code, have ‘corrupting’ influence on their coworkers

"A Tuesday report by the semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted Mahdi Mousavinejad, a representative of the southern Iranian port of Bushehr, where the plant is located, as saying violation of the dress code by the Russian workers has had a “corrupting and negative impact” on his constituency."

How soccer turned Russian Jews into Brits

In a new book, journalist Anthony Clavane explores how a single sport kickstarted a new, nuanced identity for an immigrant minority
"If you want to make the historical link between London’s Tottenham Hotspur soccer club and its famous Jewish following, a good place to start is Russia in 1881, the year Czar Alexander II was assassinated."

Sudanese minister says his country will not be ruled by "Jews and their conspirators"

During a national celebration, Sudanese Interior Minister Ibrahim Mahmoudh said that the conspiracy against Sudan with "Jews and conspirators" will not succeed in ruling the country.

Iran pays Russian women nuclear technicians to wear hijab

From Al Arabiya:

An Iranian lawmaker has complained that female Russian technicians working at the Bushehr nuclear power plant are not respecting the country’s dress code despite that they are being paid to wear the Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab.

Bushehr’s Russian women technicians receive a “hijab payment” but “do not properly observe” what is required by their contracts, said Seyyed Mehdi Mousavi Nejad, a member of parliament from Dashtestan in southern Bushehr Province, told Sepas News Agency.

He said despite that there is a “special gathering” for Russians in Bushehr but the female workers often appear in markets and streets without the hijab or with a “poor hijab.”

He urged Russian women to fulfill their “commitments” as written in their work contracts.

On the plus side, paying women to accept their second class status is somewhat better than arresting them for failing to do so.

The Arab woman and the rabbi

From Arutz-7:

The assistant director of the Kashrut department at the rabbinate of the northern Israeli city of Akko was attacked by Arabs on Monday evening.

The attack occurred as the man was standing and talking with the chief rabbi of the city of Akko, Rabbi Yosef Yashar.

"We concluded a working meeting this evening with the Kashrut department and as we stood near the building of the rabbinate, several young Arabs passed by, beat the assistant department head and fled," Rabbi Yashar recalled in a conversation with Arutz Sheva.

He said that he and the assistant director began chasing the attackers until "we encountered police officers nearby and they continued the chase and managed to arrest them."

Rabbi Yashar said that the attack is not a first, and that Akko's Jews have been suffering from violent attacks by local Arabs.

An Arab woman, Annette Haskia, was so upset over this attack that she met with the chief rabbi of Acre to express her disgust. They spoke in public; here is the audio and a rough partial transcript in English:

Anet Haskia: "..This is not my city [Acre] I don't live here but I have nephews and family [here] and by no means whatsoever do I want that they will start to think that the Jew is their enemy. Because he is not. I lived in the other side [the 'Jewish' side] for many years and that [perception] is wrong. I know that the Islamic movement is making inroads. It tempts the young. It buys [things] for them etc."

Rav Yashar: "I am happy to hear your words. There is a saying [in Judaism] 'words of truth are recognizable' (ניכרים דברי אמת). ... I think that there is a certain reality here that we encounter and it completely doesn't matter if we want it or not. There is what one wants and there is what one faces. It could be that according to what one wants, Jews want to live in a Jewish-only environment and the Arabs want to live in an Arab-only environment. That is what one may want. But the reality is not like that. The reality is that we all exist here. Muslims are here and Christians are here and Jews are here. Now, what should be done? To expel?"

Anet Haskia: "No"

Rav Yashar: "Should Jews expel the Arabs?"

Anet Haskia: "No. Definitely not."

Rav Yashae:"Should Arab expel the Jews?"

Anet Haskia: "Definitely not. Definitely not".

Rav Yashar: "It is not realistic. It is not human..."

Anet Haskia: "No. Right"

Rav Yashar: "And one should not even think in this way".

Anet Haskia: "Indeed. Indeed. I agree with you."

Rav Yashar: "We have here... We are all here and need to stay together and live together".

Anet Haskia: "Indeed".

Rav Yashar: "Of course, how do we live together [in peace]? Only... there is only one formula: when everyone recognizes and respects the customs of the other and the culture of the other and the religion of the other then ones can live together."

Anet Haskia: "Indeed".

Rav Yashar: "If I respect your religion and you respect my religion then it is fine".

Anet Haskia: "Indeed. It was like that".

Rav Yashar: "Now, I want to live my life..."

Anet Haskia: "Indeed".

Rav Yashar: "... that no one would interfere, exactly as you want to live your life."

Anet Haskia: "Sure. Indeed. Indeed"

Rav Yashar: "So why should we disturb each other?"

Anet Haskia: "Also, why live in fear?"

Rav Yashar: "And it also doesn't disturb me... Someone came and said that the muezzin [muslim call for praying] disturbs him. To tell you the truth, the muezzin does not disturb me. Really, it doesn't disturb me... When one makes it very loud then, obviously, it is deafening. But in principle - I respect [it]. For them, the Muslims, the muezzin is calling, so that's fine. I don't see anything bad..."

A comment from someone in the 'audience': "Yes, but I lived in Wolfson. They put a loudspeaker in Wolfson..."

Rav Yashar: "... I'm not talking about provocations. The religion [Islam] does not tell them to make a provocation. Does the Islam tell them to make a provocation? To put a loudspeaker there to annoy [people]? No. You can put loudspeakers. There are rules. There is religion. There is tradition. There are laws. There is Halacha. Now, as you say, we respect [the use of muezzin]. It does not disturb me. When I see the Arabs celebrating Ramadan should I come and disturb them deliberately? Absolutely not. I respect them and I also come to them. I come to respect them. And I want that they will also respect me, let me celebrate my festive days. Now, if I cannot celebrate my festive days we have a problem here and you are right... I fully believe that those who behind this [the recent attack on the Acre rabbinate by Arabs] are [motivated by] political factors..."

Anet Haskia: "Yes".

Rav Yashar: "... They want to gain a political gain of this. I don't believe that the residents... the ordinary Arab resident would do something like that. What one thinks it doesn't matter. An Arab is allowed to think that he would prefer to be here without Jews. To think so is fine. But you cannot do it. You would not expel the Jews from here..."

Anet Haskia: "No".

Rav Yashar: "...And the Jews would not expel the Arab from here. It would not help. We will live here together..."

Anet Haskia: "Indeed. There is the reality"...

(h/t and translation O)

Suha again says the intifada was pre-planned by Arafat

From MEMRI:

Following are excerpts from an interview with Suha Arafat, widow of Yasser Arafat, which aired on Dubai TV on December 16, 2012:

Suha Arafat: Yasser Arafat had made a decision to launch the Intifada. Immediately after the failure of the Camp David [negotiations], I met him in Paris upon his return, in July 2001 [sic]. Camp David has failed, and he said to me: “You should remain in Paris.” I asked him why, and he said: “Because I am going to start an Intifada. They want me to betray the Palestinian cause. They want me to give up on our principles, and I will not do so. I do not want Zahwa’s friends in the future to say that Yasser Arafat abandoned the Palestinian cause and principles. I might be martyred, but I shall bequeath our historical heritage to Zahwa and to the children of Palestine.”

She has said this before:

As have prominent PLO officials:

Palestinian Media Watch has an entire list of such statements.

There is a pattern of Israel's enemies attacking Israel in order to make political gains - effectively expecting to be rewarded for aggression. World leaders, and way too many Israelis, are eager to let them get away with it.

Hamas bans "Zionist media" from Gaza

From Reuters:

The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday forbade local journalists from working with "hostile" Israeli media, it said in a statement.

The weekly cabinet meeting decided "to ban work with all Zionist media and journalists," and to declare Israeli media "hostile."

The statement mentioned Israeli media and television stations which operate in Gaza through local Palestinian production companies, working with Palestinian journalists.

This was the first time Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2006, has issued such an edict, the statement noted.

It will be interesting to see if Reporters Without Borders or the International Federation of Journalists condemn this.

Muslims in India try to take over "Jewish" Masonic temple

From Two Circles:

Shia community has once again raised the demand for handing over the Free Masonic Temple situated at Ram Tirath Marg in Hazratganj at Lucknow. A signature campaign has begun by Shia-e-Haider-e-Karrar for staking claim over the campus.

The association aims to get over two lakhs signatures in support of their campaign. “We will hand over the signatures and memorandum to the Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. Shia clerics have also extended their support to our movement,” said Ehtisham Haider, an office bearer of the association.

Earlier on 12 September 2011, hundreds of of Shia Muslims led by Imam-e-Juma Maulana Kalbe Jawwad had staged protest to stake claim over Free Masonic Temple. Shias claimed it be to a mausoleum of their Imams and presently being illegally occupied by Jews.

As per the claims of the Shia Muslims, the Free Masonic Temple is waqf property registered by the name Waqf Karbala Moatmuddaula with Shia Waqf Board. It was constructed by King Naseeuruddin Haider in 1815. It came under the possession of East India Company in February 1856 and they handed it over to Jews."

According to them, Britishers confiscated the properties of Shias for their participation in independence struggle.

At the earlier rally in September 2011:

Regarding the Free Masonic Temple, they claimed that the organisation is anti national and is engaged in subversive activities. "There should be a vigil over their activities. We do not want such organisations to stay in India. However, if the government is desirous they can hand over another suitable location to them," said Jawwad.

Meanwhile, the local residents surrounding the complex remained apprehensive due to heavy police force and agitating Muslims. Many of them climbed on their rooftops and locked their doors.

It appears that Muslims in India believe that they have the right to any land they want through intimidation and false legal claims when in fact their only claim is based on a perceived loss of honor. The idea that "Jews" control an area that they regard as theirs is simply unacceptable.

But I'm sure that's only in India.

Somehow, zillions of reporters in Bethlehem missed this story

From Holy Land Missions, December 21:

Pressure from the local community is forcing the hands of the Bethlehem municipality to take down a large Christmas billboard sign that has Jesus on it.

"€œIn the birthplace of Christianity, we have seen over the years that the Christmas holiday has been reduced to snowmen and bells,€" said Pastor Steven Khoury of Holy Land Missions; the ministry behind putting the 1200 square foot sign up. He added, "€œThe essential message of the holiday season has been taken away for fear of what the dominant factors in Bethlehem would say."

Vandals had cut the electric cable surrounding the sign to ensure that it would not be lit up during the night. Barraged with phone calls from the local community, the municipality informed Pastor Khoury that many are campaigning asking us to take down the sign. ...The billboard sign is located at Manger Square with the slogan "Jesus born to die and rose again. Invite him into your heart so you might live - Merry Christmas"€ has caused some people to come out of their cars and take pictures.

Out of fear of repercussions, no one is willing to sell electricity access to the billboard. So Pastor Khoury has been going out with a portable generator and several high beam spotlights and lighting the sign up himself. Anticipating that the sign might be coming down any time, Khoury quickly did one last film next to the billboard sign.

How did every single reporter in Bethlehem miss a story about a pastor who was trying to put up a billboard with a Christian message?

It has an attractive protagonist, who speaks English well. It is an underdog story. It is about freedom of religion. It has the irony of Jesus being absent from Bethlehem. This story is made for TV and print media.

There must be a reason why the reporters ignored this story. Perhaps because of the types of people who are against the sign? Pastor Khoury doesn't identify them, so it is unclear who they are. All we know is that they are dominant in Bethlehem (so they can't be Christians), that they are from the local community (so they can't be Jews) that they are threatening those who support the message with violence (so they can't be Quakers,) and that reporters are reluctant to report when these people are acting against freedom of religion and freedom of expression.

This is a tough one.

(h/t Petra)

Saudi network says enemy sheikh needs a psychiatrist

From Al Arabiya:

The Middle East Broadcasting Center’s children entertainment channel MBC3 hit back on Tuesday at a prominent Saudi preacher who urged parents to prevent their kids from watching the channel because its content promotes “atheism and corruption” according to him.

Sheikh Mohammad al-Arifi, known for his controversial statements, wrote in a twitter post, "It is prohibited to enable your child to watch MBC3 children; its scenes are full of ideas of atheism and corruption; remove it now; your child is in your care.”

MBC3 issued a statement describing Arifi's twitter post as "tendentious and far from reality altogether."

The MBC3 statement pointed to a previous seen as preposterous religious edict by Arifi in which he said a daughter should not sit alone with her father for fear that she might tempt him into lusting after her.

"Words cannot describe such mentality and such rationale, especially that it is coming from individuals who should be at the psychiatric hospital to treat abnormal thinking instead of issuing fatwas,” the MBC statement added.

Sheikh Arifi had called on his followers on Twitter to boycott advertisers on MBC channels. Ironically as some commentators may see, the sheikh presents a religious show on another Arab television network which has a similar grid of programming and Western content.

"Mitzvah Day" in Detroit - for Jews and Muslims

Transcript from NPR:

Now we turn to a community in Detroit that's unexpectedly playing Santa Claus today. You may have heard the joke that Chinese restaurants get packed on Christmas Day with all the people who don't observe the holiday. About 20 years ago, the Detroit Jewish Community Relations Council decided to forgo the chop suey and instead spend the day serving the city.
The council now runs an annual Mitzvah Day that brings out close to a thousand people - mostly Jewish, but other faiths participate, as well. And they volunteer at homeless shelters, group homes and nearly 40 other projects around the city. We wanted to hear more about this service event, so we've called on two faith leaders in the Detroit area who've been involved for a number of years.
Micki Grossman is the co-chair of Mitzvah Day, which she's participated in for the past two decades. And Dr. Muzammil Ahmed has organized members of his Muslim community to pitch in, as well. He's head of the Michigan Muslim Community Council. Welcome to you both.
MICKI GROSSMAN: Thank you.
MUZAMMIL AHMED: Thank you.
HEADLEE: Micki, let's begin with you. We know about the Chinese food joke. That's been a long-running bit of humor. But how did this begin with the Jewish Community Relations Council? Why did the group decide to spend Christmas Day differently?
GROSSMAN: Well, first of all, I have to tell you that traditionally, in the Jewish community, synagogues and temples had independently picked up programs and would go into a soup kitchen and so forth on Christmas Day. They would have their men's club and sisterhood do something like that.
So there were a few congregations that did it. About 20-some years ago, it actually was a group of women who - Jewish women, who did volunteer work during the year who sat around and discussed the fact that: Why don't we do something big on Christmas Day? And see what we could do about it. And so we started out that way.
I didn't originate the plan, but I was on that steering committee. And we had about 200 volunteers that year, men and women.
HEADLEE: Well, for those of our listeners who are not Jewish, explain what mitzvah means and how a mitzvah is part of the Jewish faith.
GROSSMAN: Mitzvah is a commandment. It's become translated as a good deed, but it actually is a requirement that we have to do something to repair the world, to make life better for other people. Whether they're homeless, hungry, sick or poor, that's just one of the tenets of our faith. And so we use the word mitzvah. And so it became Mitzvah Day that we're going out and doing something good, and it's also a good way to spend the day or part of the day.
HEADLEE: So, Dr. Ahmed, does the Muslim faith have something like mitzvah? Is that also a commandment for Muslims?
AHMED: It certainly is. One of our five pillars of faith is giving zakat, which is charity. And as part of charity, we consider performing charitable acts and deeds something that is highly encouraged and very much an example that we want to set for ourselves and our families. So doing service work, doing small things and large things for the community is something that is an integral part of our faith.
HEADLEE: But why Christmas? How did the people in your Muslim community get involved, and why choose Christmas as the day for serving the community?
AHMED: That's an excellent question, and in some way, I think we're following the footsteps of the Jewish community in that many Muslims that have been in America have been doing a lot of charitable activities and functions over the years, but on Christmas Day, we don't necessarily celebrate Christmas, but we did want to recognize and respect the people around us that do have wonderful experiences on this day. And we wanted to share in that experience somehow, yet maintain our own independence and identity. And the Mitzvah Day seemed like a wonderful way to give back to the community at a time when they need it. And the community has always stepped forward to stand up for the Muslim community in recent months with different things that have happened. We thought this would be a great time to be able to give back.
GROSSMAN: Could I jump in for just a minute? Because...
HEADLEE: Of course.
GROSSMAN: ...about three years ago, the executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Council was having lunch with two leaders from the Muslim community, and they were just sitting around talking. And somehow, Robert told them about preparing for Mitzvah Day, and he had said, you know, this is something for us to do, because we don't celebrate Christmas the same way.
And so that's how it evolved. And it's ongoing. I mean, we have many partnerships that the Jewish and Muslim community do together, but this has become a spectacular event.

Tuesday links

From Ian:

Palestinians Burning Their Bridges

"The Palestinians and their leadership have spent the last 20 years converting a strong Israeli majority in favor of the peace process into one that regards the whole concept as a dangerous fantasy. Twenty years ago the Israeli left romped in an election that relegated the Likud to minority status. In next month’s Knesset elections, not even the Labor party will spend time advocating for more concessions to the Palestinians in exchange for the hope of peace. Terrorism, the second intifada, the rise of Hamas and the conversion of Gaza into a terror state have effectively destroyed the Israeli left. But rather than react to this somber shift in the mood of their neighbors with an attempt to restart peace talks or to convince them that their goal is to end the conflict rather than to merely continue it on more advantageous terms, the Palestinians are planning on doubling down on their negative image."

Majority in House: Punish PLO, Close Its Office
A majority of the House of Representatives wants to punish the PLO and close down its DC office, but the Senate rejected a similar move.

Maikel Nabil Sanad, Political Activist and Blogger Brings Tidings From Egypt to Israel

“I’m breaking a taboo coming to Israel, but I’m not the first Egyptian to do so,” said Maikel Nabil Sanad, a political activist and blogger who was jailed and tortured for 302 days for criticizing the Egyptian army post-Mubarak. He was pardoned by the Egyptian military in January 2012 following international pressure and efforts of several different human rights organizations including UN Watch.

As Hagel’s star withers, will a blunt-talking policy wonk drop her kids to take the Pentagon?

Michele Flournoy has been touted by conservatives, Israel supporters, women’s rights activists and Democrats for the US defense secretary post. But does she even want the job?
"A senior Republican Senate aide told Politico that Flournoy was well versed in Israel’s Iron Dome anti-missile system, which is partially funded by the US, as well as regional arms sales and the importance of Israel’s military edge over its neighbors.
On Iran, her views seemingly fall in line with the pentagon’s official position, that a military strike against Tehran’s nuclear facilities must be kept on the table, though the option is not an effective one."

Bethlehem's Christmas war on Jesus

"The Khoury's live in Bethlehem. Steven was raised there where his father, Dr. Naim Khoury, started Holy Land Ministries in 1980. During the past 32 years Steven, his family and the ministry's congregations have experienced opposition to the gospel of Jesus the Messiah, God's incarnate Word made flesh.
There have been threats and muggings, fire bombs and murder. Many believers have fled the region, but the Khoury's remain. Every Sunday, worship and teaching are broadcast from speakers atop their local church's steeple, clashing with Islamic calls to prayer."

Radical Muslims Take Anti-Christian Protest to St Paul's Cathedral on Christmas Eve

"A group of radical Muslims is planning to use St Paul's Cathedral to protest against the sins of British society and the fallacy of the Bible.
The protesters were due to gather outside the cathedral at 1pm, while a Christmas Eve Eucharist takes place inside.
Ahead of the protest, radical preacher Anjem Choudary claimed that Jesus belonged to Islam and that British society was riddled with "sin".

Honest Reporting: The 5 Best Articles of 2012

"I don’t want to let the curtain fall on 2012 without acknowledging that sometimes, Big Media gets the story right. While looking over content for the 2012 Dishonest Reporter Awards, I promised myself I’d follow up with a positive list. It’s my own subjective list, and I invite you to post your own list of articles in the comments section."

Eye on the UN: Antisemitism & The Latest Performance of Roger Waters

Egyptian Army Thwarts Rocket Smuggling to Gaza
Armed forces in the Sinai foiled an attempt to smuggle 17 rockets to Gaza.

"Armed Forces personnel in North Sinai, in cooperation with local Bedouins, foiled an attempt on Monday to smuggle 17 rockets to Gaza, the Egyptian state news agency MENA reported.
A military source told the agency that the rockets are a French-made TDI model, caliber 68 mm, range three kilometers and can be used air to land or land to land."

‘Agent 15’ Paralyzing Syrian Victims
Assad’s forces probably are using “Agent 15,” which causes paralysis. The worse news is that Assad has more deadly chemical weapons.

Russian military presence in Syria poses challenge to US-led intervention
Advisers deployed with surface-to-air systems bolster President Assad's defences and complicate outcome of any future strikes

Assad’s Cash Problem: Will Syria’s Dwindling Reserves Bring Down the Regime?

"But it is the Syrian leader who faces total collapse in the face of bankruptcy. So dire are Assad’s finances, in fact, that in recent months Russia flew eight plane-loads of Syrian banknotes, printed in Russia, to Damascus, in a kind of rescue package estimated to weigh about 240 tons, according to flight records obtained by ProPublica, a U.S.-based non-profit investigative journalism organization."

Female Warrior to be Honored for Killing Terrorist
A female soldier from the Caracal unit who killed a terrorist near the border with Egypt will be given a citation on Tuesday.

"The Head of the IDF's Southern Command, Tal Russo, will award a citation on Tuesday to a female fighter in the IDF's mixed sex Caracal unit, who shot and killed a terrorist who carried out a terror attack near Israel's border with Egypt in September."

Spain, Israel plan to work on infrastructure projects

"Spanish Development Minister Ana Pastor Sunday opened the door to Spanish businesses and experts to participate in big infrastructure projects that Israel will put up for bidding in the near future at a total cost of more than 10 billion euros (USD 13.2 billion).
Expansion of ports, electrification of railroad lines, new highways, tunnels and even the construction of a mixed high-speed train line between the Mediterranean and Red Seas are some of the projects to which Spanish firms will aspire after the signing Sunday of a technical cooperation agreement between the two countries."

Sacramento City Council Members Who Resisted BDS Dedicating Ambulance to Ashkelon

"The ambulance was given as a gift to Ashkelon by Robert Leeds, a 13-year-old from the Los Angeles area who wanted to make a contribution to a worthy civic cause, according to a StandWithUs press statement. Attendees of Leeds’s bar mitzvah, instead of giving him gifts, were told to designate money toward the ambulance.
“The ambulance dedication is a thank you to the city of Sacramento for approving the newest sister city resolution with Ashkelon last August despite opposition from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement in their on-going attempts to pariah the state of Israel,” Gail Rubin, representing the Sacramento-Davis area chapter of SWU, told JNS"

Israel Daily Picture: Christmas in the Holy Land 100 Years Ago
The photographs on this page were taken by the American Colony Photographic Department before and after World War I when the British captured Palestine after 400 years of Ottoman rule.

Egyptian sheikh says secularists are even worse than Jews

El Balad reports that Sheikh Mahmoud Murad Amam, a preacher in Damanhour, attacked Egypt's secularists while delivering a sermon Friday.

He described secularists as "more dangerous than the Zionists and Jews."

"They are receiving external funding to destabilize Egypt," he said, adding attacks on the media and journalists, accusing them of lying and slander against him for their reporting on his previous sermons.

(h/t Lachlan)

Arab nations still reneging on pledges to the PA

From Ma'an:

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad on Sunday criticized Arab states for evading their financial commitments to the PA.

Arab countries have yet to follow through on a pledge in March to provide a financial safety net of $100 million monthly to the PA to mitigate Israeli sanctions, which were imposed in November.

During a visit to Jenin, Fayyad called for an urgent Arab summit to address the PA's financial crisis.

So what else is new?

Dead Sea Scrolls and 15th century Mishnah online

The Dead Sea Scrolls:

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) is very proud to present the Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library, a free online digitized virtual library of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Hundreds of manuscripts made up of thousands of fragments – discovered from 1947 and until the early 1960’s in the Judean Desert along the western shore of the Dead Sea – are now available to the public online. The high resolution images are extremely detailed and can be accessed through various search options on the site.

With the generous lead support of the Leon Levy Foundation and additional generous support of the Arcadia Fund, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Google joined forces to develop the most advanced imaging and web technologies to bring to the web hundreds of Dead Sea Scrolls images as well as specially developed supporting resources in a user-friendly platform intended for the public, students and scholars alike.

The Mishnah:

The text of the Mishnah describes the first written account of the early Jewish oral tradition and the earliest significant work of Rabbinic Judaism. It dates from the period of the second century BCE at a time when persecution of the Jewish populations gave rise to the fear that the details of the oral traditions dating from the first five centuries BCE might be lost. As a written authority it is second only to the Bible text and can be used as a source of authority for making judgments. The Mishnah is divided into six orders (Shisha Sedarim) and over the next six centuries, along with further commentaries, came to form the Talmud. The major part of the text of the Mishnah is written in Hebrew and reflects the debates which took place in the first and second centuries CE by a group of Rabbinic thinkers known as the Tannaim. It teaches by drawing on examples of specific judgments along with debates by notable Rabbis, and discusses problems from all areas of human existence.

This is one of only three complete manuscripts of the Mishnah, and considered to be 'an outstanding witness of the western type of Mishnaic Hebrew'. Of the manuscript, Schiller-Szinessy (vol. ii p. 9) writes: ‘Although this copy can lay claim neither to a very great age, nor to absolute correctness, we cannot hesitate to pronounce it to be a MS. beyond all price.’ Edited by W. H. Lowe, ‘The Mishnah on which the Palestinian Talmud Rests’ (Cambridge, 1883) – although that title can be considered inaccurate given more recent research on the manuscript.

((h/t Yoel)

Today's fake PCHR "civilian"

Hamas continues to slowly release obituaries of terrorists killed during Pillar of Defense. (HRW used the absence of names on the Al Qassam website as evidence that the dead could not be terrorists!)

The Palestinian Center for Human Rights described a "civilian" death this way:

At approximately 19:50 on Saturday [November 17], an Israeli warplane fired a missile at a gathering of Palestinian civilians in Wadi al-Salqa village, killing Ali Hassan Bin Saeed, 25, and wounding 3 others.

But Hamas released Saeed's obituary today, referring to him as a "mujahid."

Saeed was born in Saudi Arabia, but went to UNRWA schools in central Gaza. He attended Palestine Technical College for management and office automation, and received his bachelors degree in business administration. He joined Hamas in 2005 and the Al Qassam Brigades in 2006. He was involved in working on several weapons smuggling tunnels and participated in Cast Lead as well as Pillar of Defense.

This is one of the people who are being identified in the media as a "civilian" killed by Israel, basing it on PCHR's bogus statistics.

(poster h/t Challah Hu Akbar)

Bibi Netanyahu's Christmas message - and Ha'aretz' hallucinogenic interpretation

Barak Ravid in Ha'aretz writes a truly bizarre article that discerns anti-Muslim bigotry in this brief talk.

“Today Christian communities throughout the Middle East are shrinking and many of them are in danger,” said Netanyahu, according to the announcement published by his bureau in Hebrew and English. “...this is of course not true in Israel. Here there is a strong and growing Christian community that participates fully in the life of our country.”

Netanyahu did not specify in his greeting exactly who is threatening to annihilate the Christians, but it's clear from the wording that he means the Muslims. As he did last year, he emphasized that the Christian community in Israel is large and that it enjoys freedom of religion and freedom to worship, but this year he added a hinted reference to the “Judeo-Christian heritage.”

The reference is to a sensitive term taken from the conceptual world of the rightist-evangelical anti-Muslim wing of the Republican Party.

Dexter Van Zile in The Algemeiner points out that every Christian knows that Muslim extremists are indeed threatening Christians in the Middle East; it hardly needs to be mentioned.

In fact, by not mentioning the Muslim tormentors of Christians, Netanyahu was going out of his way to make his Christmas message upbeat, not the hateful rant Ravid thinks it is.

Moreover, Ravid asserts that Netanyahu "hints" of the the phrase "Judeo-Christian heritage" and implies that this is an unforgivable anti-Muslim phrase.

In reality, the phrase is not as loaded as Ravid believes it is - it has been used way before modern Zionism.

Netanyahu's actual words can hardly be more innocuous - or accurate. He said "We hope that you will recall the places where Judaism and Christianity emerged." Who but a conspiracy theorist can find offense at that sentence?

Just like Netanyahu doesn't use the word "Muslim," he doesn't use the phrase "Judeo-Christian." Ravid is basing his article on what Netanyahu doesn't say and draws fevered conclusions from what he believes are the secret racist beliefs underlying the message with these omissions!

This isn't the work of a journalist or of a editorialist - these are the ravings of a paranoiac who is determined to see hidden meanings in everything uttered by his imagined enemies.

Finally, it is useful to point out that, unlike Netanyahu's positive message for Christians on the holiday, Mahmoud Abbas' Christmas message was literally filled with explicit hateful attacks on Israel and Zionism, referring to the Jewish state's "injustice and tyranny" and Israel's desire to "Judaize the whole earth." He accuses Israel of "eroding the national and religious culture" of Palestinian Christians. He says that Israel is "tormenting" Palestinian Arabs and making their lives a "living hell." Beyond his explicit message of hate, Abbas further implies that Palestine is only sacred to Christians and Muslims, not Jews.

The contrast between Netanyahu and Abbas could not be starker.

Ha'aretz, of course, has nothing bad to say about Abbas' speech. In fact, it never even reported it. That would upset the narrative of the evil, extremist Netanyahu versus the moderate, liberal Abbas. We can't have that.

Abbas has no plans to outlaw "honor killings"

In May 2011, to much fanfare, Mahmoud Abbas announced that he removed leniencies to the Palestinian Arab laws that reduced murder sentences in the case of "honor killings," if a woman is murdered for reasons of "family honor."

I noted at the time that he didn't bother to get rid of the law, but sort of amended it a little with still lots of loopholes.

It was even worse than I interpreted it. Abbas did literally nothing.

President Mahmoud Abbas has no plans to amend laws that reduce sentences for suspects who claim an "honor" defense for murdering women, his legal adviser says.

"Why change it? This would cause serious problems," Hassan al-Ouri told Ma’an, adding that such a reform would "not benefit women."

In May 2011, the president pledged to amend the law to guarantee maximum penalties for "honor killing" in response to protests over the killing of university student Aya Baradiya in Hebron.

The decision was announced in a phone call to a primetime show on state TV, drawing tears among crowds of mourners shown in a live link-up from the Ramallah studio to Baradiya’s hometown.

Abbas suspended Article 340, which offers a pardon for murder if the perpetrator committed the crime on finding his wife in bed with another man.

The reform was cosmetic: Article 340 had never been used in Palestinian courts since it was legislated in 1960.

"So why did we change the law? To garner public opinion," al-Ouri said in an interview in the presidential compound in Ramallah.

"I, personally, was against the amendment because the crimes that happen in the street have no relevance to Article 340," the legal adviser added.

Al-Ouri says the president will not change the go-to clauses for lawyers seeking leniency for clients who claim they committed murder to defend family "honor."

Articles 97 to 100 of the Jordanian Penal Code, in force in the West Bank, still offer reduced sentences for any act of battery or murder committed in a "state of rage."

In 2009, Abbas ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, but al-Ouri, the legal adviser, says it will only be implemented "so long as it doesn’t contravene Islamic code."

"Look, we are for total equality but if there is a basic tenet of Islamic code that we would be forced to change under CEDAW, then people would revolt and brand us as non-believers," al-Ouri said.

It's still open season on Palestinian Arab women, thanks to Mahmoud Abbas, the darling of the the Left!

I'd love to hear what the anti-Israel Code Pink group has to say about this....

(h/t Challah Hu Akbar)

The most appropriate video for "Nittel Nacht" - ever!

For the confused, here is Slate's article about Nittel Nacht. A more "lomdish" article is here.

(h/t Yerushalimey)

Hamas lie of the day

Hamas' spokesman, Abu Obeida, responded to Human Rights Watch's charges that they target civilians by simply denyng it.

While he admitted that the Hamas rockets aren't accurate enough to target precisely, he claimed that all of Hamas' rockets are aimed at military sites.

Now, compare what Hamas says now with its press release on the last day of the fighting last month (excerpts):

The Al Qassam Martyrs Brigades claimed responsibility for the following jihad tasks :
Day: Wednesday Date: 07 Muharram 1434, corresponding to 11/21/2012
Details :
- At 01:55 we bombed occupied "Ashdod" with 5 Grad rockets.
- At 04:30 we bombed occupied "Ashdod" with a makeshift rocket.
- At 09:45 we bombed occupied "Beersheba" with a Grad rocket.
- At 10:15 we bombed "Kiryat Malachi" with 3 Grad rockets.
- At 10:15 we bombed "Sderot" with a Qassam rocket.
- At 11:07 we bombed "Nir Yitzhak" with 3 Katyusha rockets.
- At 11:18 we bombed "Kiryat Malachi" 7 Grad rockets.
- At 11:10 we bombed "Kissufim" with two mortars.
- at 13:50 we bombed occupied "Beersheba " with 4 Grad rockets.
- at 15:20 we bombed troop concentrations in the military location of "Nahal Oz" with two mortar shells caliber.
- at 19:50 the bombing of "Ofakim" with a Grad missile.
....

This brings the number of rockets fired by the Qassam Brigades towards enemy positions since the beginning of the aggression to 1573 rockets.

This comes in the context of responding to the Zionist crimes and massacres committed against civilians and the bombing of houses over the heads of their inhabitants what led to the martyrdom and injury of dozens of innocent citizens

The Qassam Brigades committed itself to turn the life of Zionists into hell, and make them regret their heinous crimes against the innocent and crush their pride and to soak their noses in the dirt.

They also published numerous posters glorifying their ability to make ordinary Israelis run into shelters, which is consistent with their stated goal of - literally - terrorizing ordinary Israelis.

But if they repeat the lie that they only target military sites often enough, the media will start believing it.

Monday links

From Ian:

Hamastine: A Present from the U.N. to Khaled Mashaal by Amin Farouk

"The West, which stands on the sidelines and condones their criminality through inaction, should take into consideration that eventually Israel will be forced to take determined steps against the Palestinian terrorist organizations in the Gaza Strip, as the Allies did for example, against Dresden. When that happens, the UN would do well not to complain: Israel has the right to defend itself, just as, in the Second World War, the Allies had the right to defend themselves -- as any country has a right to defend itself."

When the Terrorists Become the Standard Bearers

"When Wolf Blitzer was covering Operation Pillar of Defense, he had a guest on the show from Gaza describing the Gaza side of the story. The conversation seemed more like a Saturday Night Live skit. The guest explained how Israel was sending missiles into heavily populated areas, and that the missiles were doing a lot of damage. Wolf then asked with a curious intonation whether the rockets that were being fired from Gaza were guided or were falling haphazardly into Israel. The guest concurred that not only were they unguided, but Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system was abating the impact of the Hamas weapons. To which Wolf asked, “There is no Iron Dome or its equivalent on the Gaza side, right?” The guest said, “No, Israel’s missiles are hitting inside and destroying….” Gaza’s infrastructure."

CIF Watch: CiF Watch prompts Guardian correction to Ashrawi claim regarding ‘Jews only’ homes

"Ashrawi was slyly attempting to con CiF readers into believing that new homes in eastern Jerusalem would be leased to residents based on a discriminatory policy in order to buttress her broader narrative of Israeli racism."

Honest Reporting: Squeezing a Story Out of Bethlehem

"The Guardian regularly trashes or undermines Jewish historical claims to the land of Israel that go back to biblical times. Why is it, however, that the same paper has no problem promoting the claims of Palestinians using biblical imagery to buttress the case if those Palestinians happen to be Christian?"

Video Captures Arab Firebombing of Historic Jewish House in Jerusalem’s Old City

"Arabs in the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem’s old city videotaped their firebombing of the Jewish Meyuhas House according to Israel’s Channel 10. The video was posted to YouTube on December 22nd and was apparently shot the night before. The video credits “Bustan
Cultural Center” for capturing the footage."

Israel Targeted Gaza Civilians – with Humanitarian Aid

"Israel “targeted” Gaza civilians with humanitarian aid during the counter-terrorist Pillar of Defense operation, at the same time Gaza terrorists committed war crimes by firing missiles on Israelis, as cited by Human Rights Watch on Monday."

Al Jazeera: Assad Unleashed Chemical Weapons

Assad has dropped bombs containing toxic gases, killing six people and blinding others in Homs, Al Jazeera reported Monday.

Air strike kills dozens of Syrians in bread line

Activists say large crowd was queuing for bread, video shows dozens of dead bodies; special envoy arrives for new talks.

Christianity 'close to extinction' in Middle East

Christianity faces being wiped out of the “biblical heartlands” in the Middle East because of mounting persecution of worshippers, according to a new report.
"The study warns that Christians suffer greater hostility across the world than any other religious group.
And it claims politicians have been “blind” to the extent of violence faced by Christians in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
The most common threat to Christians abroad is militant Islam, it says, claiming that oppression in Muslim countries is often ignored because of a fear that criticism will be seen as “racism”.

Here's the beginning of the book this article refers to:

November Free Chapter - Christianophobia by Robert Shortt

Christians in Israel Well-Off, Statistics Show
Christians in Israel are prosperous and well-educated - but some fear that Muslim intimidation will cause a mass escape to the West

"The Central Bureau of Statistics on Sunday released statistics on the 158,000-strong Christian community in Israel. The statistics showed that Christians living in Israel are well-educated and prosperous – but there were fears that Muslim intimidation in cities in northern Israel, where many of them live, are causing large numbers to consider emigrating to the West."

After 1,500 years, frankincense returns to the Holy Land in time for Christmas

"Seven years after I revealed her success in sprouting a 2,000 year-old date palm seed found on Masada, botanist Dr Elaine Solowey of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies has done it again.
1,500 years after the last frankincense tree disappeared from the Holy Land, Dr Solowey has managed to grow the first shoots of a tree whose scented white sap was once worth more than gold."

Israel water tech start-up all WET after contest

"TACount, which developed an innovative technology to detect bacteria in water and food, was declared ‘ready to export’ at the Water Export Technology Revolution Competition
Last week was a big one for water in Israel, as seven companies competed in the final round of the prestigious W.E.T. (Water Export Technology) Revolution Competition."

ISRAEL21c’s top 10 stories of 2012
2012 was a year of innovation and progress. To celebrate the New Year, ISRAEL21c looks back at the top stories of the year.

"If you read the world’s newspapers, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the only things happening in Israel this year were security related: the looming threat of a conflict with Iran, missiles from Gaza and unrest on Israel’s borders. The pages of ISRAEL21c, however, tell a completely different story."

Israel distances itself from NRA

From the New York Daily News:

When it comes to Israel and school shootings, Wayne LaPierre doesn’t know what he’s talking about, Israeli security experts said Sunday.

Such shootings are very rare in Israel and have been associated with terror attacks, not crazed gunmen, they said.

Appearing on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, NRA honcho LaPierre said: “Israel had a whole lot of school shootings, until they did one thing. They said we’re going to stop it and they put armed security in every school and they have not had a problem since then.”

But Yigal Palmor, spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, said the situation in Israel was “fundamentally different” from that in the United States.

“We didn’t have a series of school shootings, and they had nothing to do with the issue at hand in the United States. We had to deal with terrorism,” said Palmor.

“What removed the danger was not the armed guards but an overall anti-terror policy and anti-terror operations which brought street terrorism down to nearly zero over a number of years,” he said. “It would be better not to drag Israel into what is an internal American discussion,” he added.

“There is no comparison between maniacs with psychological problems opening fire at random to kill innocent people and trained terrorists trying to murder Israeli children,” said Reuven Berko, a retired Israeli Army colonel and senior police officer.

In recent years, restrictions on gun ownership in Israel have been tightened, not relaxed.

“Israeli citizens are not allowed to carry guns unless they are serving in the army or working in security-related jobs that require them to use a weapon,” said Berko.

The worst attack on an Israeli school was in 1974, when terrorists from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine took 115 people hostage in a school in Maalot in northern Israel. Twenty-five people were killed as Israeli commandos stormed the building, 22 of them children.

“The attempt to compare the two tragedies is absurd,” said Prof. Gerald Steinberg of Bar-Ilan University. “Palestinian terror attacks like one one at Maalot — the goal of which was to use the children as hostages in order to free other terrorists — are totally different from crimes committed by deranged people with guns.”

Despite having a standing army of more than 100,000 and police and security guards carrying guns on the street, Israel has strict firearms licensing and supervision.
Licenses must be renewed regularly and cannot be issued to people with a history of mental problems or a criminal background.

“In a country where hundreds of thousands of people carry firearms, it is essential to manage the training, licensing and authorization of those who wish to be armed,” said Yakov Amit, head of the firearms licensing department of the Public Security Ministry.

Muslims upset over prayers at Kotel HaKatan

I have occasionally written about the Kotel haKatan, the small area of the Western Wall that is rarely visited even though it is actually closer to the holiest area of the Temple Mount than the more famous Kotel is.

Yesterday afternoon there was a Jewish prayer service there for the occasion of the fast of the 10th of Tevet.

A Muslim took a video of these "Talmudic rituals" being performed and now there are articles are in today's Islamist media complaining about how this literally otherwise empty area is a holy Muslim spot called "the strap of the Kurds." Even the supposedly liberal Ma'an in Arabic complained about the "Talmudic rituals" being performed there.

For fun, I did a Google search on the "Strap of the Kurds" in Arabic. There are thousands of results, but every single one I could find was in articles about how Jews are trying to pray there.

Like the larger Kotel and so many other Muslim "holy sites," their importance is directly proportionate to how much other religions are interested in them.

Waqf destroying more priceless artifacts on Temple Mount

From Times of Israel:

The Muslim authority managing the Temple Mount on Sunday dumped tons of unexamined earth and stones excavated from the holy site into a municipal dump, in violation of a High Court injunction, Maariv reported on Monday.

Israel’s top court in September 2004 prohibited removal of earth from the Temple Mount and ruled that, should it be necessary, the Antiquities Authority must be notified a month in advance so it may examine the earth for artifacts.

Jews regard the Temple Mount as their holiest site, where the First and Second Temple were located. Muslims call it the Noble Sanctuary and regard it as their third holiest site after Mecca and Medina. According to the existing arrangement, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, or trust, administers the Temple Mount complex.

Despite the High Court of Justice’s ruling, the Waqf has reportedly removed large piles of dirt from the Temple Mount in recent years and dumped them in the valley east of the Old City walls, provoking an outcry from biblical archaeologists and Jewish groups.

Tzachi Dvira, the archaeologist managing the team that sifts through soil excavated from the Temple Mount, told Maariv that mounds of earth containing historic relics were carted off and dumped on Sunday without notification and before archaeologists could investigate them.

Police claimed the removal of the soil was coordinated in advance. Dvira, however, said there were no Antiquities Authority officials on site, and the one police officer monitoring the operation had no idea of its significance.

Heavy earth moving equipment on the Temple Mount

Soil from the Temple Mount that had been removed to the Kidron Valley in recent years has yielded “tens of thousands of finds, including signet rings from the First Temple era, painted floor tiles from the Second Temple era, ancient gold coins, and horseshoe nails and arrowheads belonging to the Knights Templar, who stabled their horses in Solomon’s Stables,” Dvira said.

This video of the material actually being dumped shows what are undoubtedly carved stones.

The Israeli government is clearly giving the Waqf a wide berth to destroy any vestiges of Jewish history on the Temple Mount, apparently to avoid trouble. This is dangerously shortsighted.

The most valuable artifacts in the world are being wantonly destroyed by racists and Israel, which is supposed to guard Jewish heritage, is looking the other way.

I know - we can ask UNESCO to intervene! That's their job, right? They wouldn't stand by while priceless cultural and religious artifacts are being destroyed, would they?

(h/t Yoel and Yisrael Medad)

Gaza: 101 terrorists, 68 civilians killed

The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has released their findings of people killed in Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza (Hebrew only). They found that, as usual, far more terrorists were killed than had been reported via the Gaza Health Ministry and the Palestinian Center for Human Rights.

Among their findings:

The best estimate they can make is that 178 people were killed during the fighting and afterwards from injuries. They identified 169 of them.

Of the 169, 101 of them were known "activists" and 68 were civilians.

They list every terrorist and their affiliation.

They also find that that the Gaza Health Ministry inflated the numbers of those killed, including some who died a natural death in Gaza at the time.

Of the 101 identified terrorists, 71 were Hamas, 17 Islamic Jihad, 6 from the PRC, 3 from Fatah, 2 from the Army of Islam, one from the PFLP, and one from a Salafi group.

25 of the terrorists killed moonlighted at other jobs. Five were journalists, two were clerics.

The ITIC charges that Hamas and Islamic Jihad deliberately do not release the names of all of their members killed, in order to improve morale and to make it appear that more civilians were killed.

The report includes photos of 73 of the terrorists killed.

The report concludes that it is clear that Israel did not target civilians. Indeed, the ratio of terrorists to civilians killed is unprecedented in military operations in an urban environment.

By the way, Hamas is still slowly releasing the obituaries of those killed; here's one from today. Remember, HRW used the absence of names being listed on the official Hamas site as evidence that they were not members of Hamas, not realizing that Hamas leaks out the information over months.

HRW condemns Hamas for rocket attacks but is still clueless

HRW came out with an article condemning Hamas, and other Gaza groups, for rocket attacks against Israeli civilians. The short piece (not a full report) seems perfunctory, as if HRW must add a little "balance" to the many anti-Israel reports it writes.

Some parts are somewhat noteworthy.

While the report says that intentional rocket attacks against civilians are war crimes, and that there is evidence that Hamas and other groups did exactly that, HRW does not explicitly charge Hamas with war crimes.

HRW, taking a page out of the Goldstone playbook, tries to distinguish between Hamas and the "armed groups" that deliberately shot rockets at civilians. It says:

Hamas, the ruling authority in Gaza, is obligated to uphold the laws of war and should appropriately punish those responsible for serious violations, Human Rights Watch said.

Given that Hamas itself is churning out models of the rockets that they aimed directly at Tel Aviv civilians, this idea that Hamas should "punish" the violators is simply a denial of the reality that Hamas is a terror organization.

Some rockets launched by Palestinian armed groups fell short and struck inside Gaza. On November 16, a rocket that appears to have been launched from within Gaza hit a crowded street in the Gazan town of Jabalya, killing a man, 23, and a boy, 4, and wounding five people.

We knew about this. HRW does not seem to have done any serious research into how many other Gazans may have been killed by errant rockets aimed at Israel.

Human Rights Watch interviewed four witnesses to rocket launches from densely populated areas inside Gaza, and heard second-hand reports about many more. Unlike during previous fighting, armed groups seem to have fired many rockets from underground tunnels, opening a hatch to launch the munition.

One rocket was launched on November 20 at around 1:30 p.m. just off Wehda Street in Gaza City, about 100 meters from the Shawa and Housari Building, where various Palestinian and international media have offices. “I saw it [the rocket] go up and heard it, and then smoke was in the office,” a witness said.

One man said he saw a rocket launched from the yard of a house near the Deira Hotel in central Gaza City, though he could not recall the date.

International and Palestinian journalists traveling around Gaza during the fighting told Human Rights Watch that they did not see any Palestinian militants moving in the open, suggesting that Hamas has developed a network of tunnels for personnel and perhaps rockets.

HRW doesn't even entertain the idea that the militants were walking around in civilian clothing, violating another law of war! Given that we saw that during Cast Lead, this omission shows that this report is not a serious attempt to uncover war crimes but window dressing for the next dozen anti-Israel reports. As was the case in Cast Lead.

Of course, HRW cannot resist comparing Israel's actions that were provably aimed only at military targets and those of terror groups whose entire purpose is to target civilians:

The November 14 to 21 hostilities between Israel and Hamas and armed groups in Gaza involved unlawful attacks on civilians by both sides.

HRW repeats that Israel killed 103 civilians, using suspect statistics from PCHR which we have already shown are not accurate.

HRW seems to have parachuted into Gaza, interviewed a couple of people to verify their preconceived viewpoints (on both sides,) and written up their reports according to their Cast Lead templates. Which means we can expect another few anti-Israel reports from HRW now that they got their obligatory "we condemn rockets too" article written.

Hamas rally in Lebanon draws thousands

Thousands of people, including Lebanese politicians, attended a 25th anniversary celebration of Hamas' founding in a Beirut sports arena on Sunday night.

Progress MP Abdul Majid Saleh represented House speaker Nabih Berri and MP Jamal Jarrah represented former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on the podium. Original songs were composed for the occasion.

Ali Baraka, Hamas' representative in Lebanon, stressed that Hamas provided "25 years of giving and sacrifice for Jerusalem and Al-Aqsa, 25 years for the freedom of prisoners, 25 years for Palestine, all of Palestine." He added, "Resistance is the shortest route for the Liberation of Palestine, and we are united in the face of the occupation, and the right of return is a sacred right."

Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, speaking over the phone from Gaza, said that the choice of violent resistance is the strategic choice for Hamas and through it lies victory; it could bring about a "return," and the liberation of prisoners. He said that the "right of return" is a sacred right, and "every Palestinian must return to his village and his town in Gaza and the West Bank, to Jaffa, Acre, Safed and everywhere."

Haniyeh called for more Palestinian Arab rights in Lebanon, including the right to own land. He stressed that he was not demanding Lebanese citizenship for hundreds of thousands who were born and raised in Lebanon, instead asserting that they were "guests" would one day "return" to "Palestine."

Haniyeh also cannily said that Hamas would send funds to displaced Palestinians from Syria who fled to Lebanon, a hugely symbolic political move at the same time that Fatah is struggling to pay its debts.

"Today you celebrate in Lebanon; tomorrow you will celebrate in Jerusalem, God willing," he concluded.

So far, no English-language media has covered this.

Here are photos:

Gaza rocket towards Israel falls short

From JPost:

Palestinians in the Gaza Strip fired a rocket Sunday evening, causing no damages or injuries.

The IDF would confirm only that the rocket did not make landfall in Israel.

There still have been no rockets of mortars that landed in Israel in December, but that streak seems to be in jeopardy.

(h/t Daled Amos)

Open thread

It's been one of those days. So here's an open thread for you guys to post interesting links. Don't let Ian have all the fun. :)

I also want to thank those who generously responded to my request for donations last week. You rock!

Sunday links

From Ian:

How Algeria lost its Jews
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the exodus of the Jews of Algeria. The exhibition at the Jewish Museum in Paris has been attracting wide interest into this neglected aspect of French, Jewish and Algerian history.

"The issue has been neglected by France because the 130,000 Jews were subsumed into the great mass of pieds noirs – the 800, 000 French settlers who fled Algeria. It’s been neglected because the loss of Algeria, the jewel in the crown of France’s colonial empire, was a humiliation which French society was glad not to be reminded of. It’s been neglected by the Jews because they too saw themselves as Frenchmen. It’s been neglected by Israel because, unusual among the 850,000 Jewish refugees from Arab countries, 90 percent of Algerian Jews went to France and not Israel. It’s been neglected by independent Algeria because it has chosen to erase all traces of Jewish presence, culture or history."

Buried Christian Empire Casts New Light on Early Islam
Archeologists are studying the ruins of a buried Christian empire in the highlands of Yemen. The sites have sparked a number of questions about the early history of Islam. Was there once a church in Mecca?

"After the triumph of Islam in the 7th century, the church was torn down and stripped of its treasures, and a mosque was built on the site. As Barbara Finster, an archeologist from the Bavarian city of Bamberg, discovered, some of the columns in the mosque came from the wrecked church, while some of the church's magnificent mosaics were sent to Mecca, essentially as booty."

UN Watch Dissident Egyptian Blogger Launches Peace Mission to Israel

"GENEVA, Dec. 23 – As reported today by the New York Times, Maikel Nabil, one of Egypt’s most famous human rights dissidents and democracy bloggers — a former political prisoner who is also his country’s most outspoken supporter of peace with Israel — has arrived in Jerusalem on a peace-building mission, where he will deliver university lectures, meet with leading public figures and peace activists, and visit the Palestinian territories."

PMW: "No one has removed the rifle from the equation" - Fatah official Jibril Rajoub

Fatah Central Committee member, Jibril Rajoub: "This is a popular struggle. We still believe in all forms of the struggle. No one has removed the rifle from the equation. However, for us, the struggle is a means, and the end is freedom and independence."

Israel to join NATO ops despite Turkey tension
Approval to join 2013 NATO activities follows granting of Turkish request for deployment of Patriot missiles along Syrian border.

PM in TV interview blitz: Kotel isn’t occupied
Netanyahu rejects charges that approval of building plans is related to election campaign.

“I said to them, would you accept it if you could not build in your capitals?” Netanyahu recalled. “My fundamental position is that we live in a Jewish nation; Jerusalem became that nation’s capital over 3,000 years ago. We will build in Jerusalem because it’s our right,” he said.
Had the Jewish people bowed to international pressure, the State of Israel would not have been created, the Six Day War would not have been fought, the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak would not have been bombed and Petah Tikva and Kfar Saba would never have been built, Netanyahu told Channel 1."

'Hamas preparing for West Bank takeover'

The Sunday Times' claims Hamas instructed its sleeper cells in West Bank to prepare for armed struggle to overtake the territory.
"The Sunday Times claimed that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu had been warned by Israeli intelligence services of Hamas's possible usurpation of power, and quoted what it described as a close Netanyahu associate as saying: “Bibi [Netanyahu] understands the geopolitical changes in the Middle East. No way would [he] give up an inch of the West Bank - he is convinced that the intelligence assessment about a Muslim Brotherhood [Hamas] takeover is solid.”
The Sunday Times also alleged that relations between Hamas and Iran were on the upswing after a brief cooling off period; relations were strained when Sunni Hamas abandoned its support of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Shi’ite Iran's primary ally in the region.

CAIR Leader Mimics Hamas in Calling for Israel’s Destruction
On November 15, McGoldrick tweeted, “Palestine is a land occupied by foreign settlers. They [Hamas] have the right to resist, to defend themselves, ‘by any means necessary.’”

"The ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by Egypt, took place on November 21. However, that did not stop McGoldrick from tweeting and posting to his Facebook page one week later, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” When McGoldrick said that “Palestine” was “land occupied by foreign settlers,” he wasn’t referring to Gaza and the West Bank; he was referring to all of Israel."

Rebels threaten to storm two Syrian Christian towns
Insurgents claim government troops are using the towns as a base; commander orders locals to ‘evict Assad’s gangs’ or face attack

"Abdul-Fidaa accused regime forces of taking positions in the two towns in order to “incite sectarian strife” between Christians and the predominantly Sunni opposition. Assad belongs to the Alawite minority sect, an off-shoot of Shiite Islam.
The threat comes just two days after a UN team investigating human rights abuses in Syria accused anti-Assad militants of hiding among the civilian population, triggering strikes by government artillery and the air force."

Turkish Police Raid Dorms, Arrest Marxist Student Protesters

Turkish police raided university dorms and arrested 12 students last week following protests against PM Erdogan at a university event.
Erdogan came with massive security at the Middle East Technical University on Dec. 18 to attend a ceremony to mark the launch of Turkey's Gokturk-2 satellite. The prime minister arrived with 105 security vehicles, 20 armored cars, one “intervention tank” and 2,500 police officers, according to the report.

Yoram Kanuik novel to become US television series
New Regency to turn popular Israeli book into a weekly half-hour satirical black comedy.

New Regency is the latest US production company to take a cue from Israeli culture. The firm recently announced its intentions to turn popular Israeli writer Yoram Kanuik’s 1994 bestseller, Magic on Lake Kinneret, into a weekly half-hour satirical black comedy in the United States.

Israeli birth control product wins Gates grant

Not yet out of the lab, Hervana’s non-hormonal, long-acting and non-invasive solution could be a game-changer for women in developing countries.
The Israeli company behind a new contraceptive won a $1 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and test its formulation for a safer, long-acting, non-invasive contraceptive solution, and also won second place in a startup competition at the Israel Life Sciences Biomed Conference in Tel Aviv last May.

After first-round success, Microsoft accelerator lines up its new start-ups

Thirteen of Israel’s best start-ups are enrolled in what the software giant believes is the country’s – maybe the world’s – best program to help them succeed
The Azure accelerator was considered a big success in Microsoft, so much so that the Israeli model is being utilized in India and China, and is likely to be exported to other countries as well, said Weisfeld. “We’ve got a great physical plant for them and a fantastic mentoring program, with over 100 top professionals who work with the start-ups regularly. And the accelerator staff is here to help them all hours of the day or night.”
It’s a program that is appropriate for a “start-up nation,” he added — and one that will help keep Israel that way.

How Arabs teach Jewish history in the West

Here is an English language history resource, meant for Muslim children, from Albalagh.

There is an article on persecution of Jews which starts off OK:

Jews have been persecuted throughout history. From the times of the Pharaohs of Egypt to the totalitarian regime of Hitler in Germany, Jews have been mercilessly tortured and discriminated against. Their cities have been burned to the ground by various armies, their unlucky new-born sons doomed for execution at the hands of the Pharaoh, and their worship severely restricted. Their temples have been razed to the ground numerous times, and they have been expelled many times from Jerusalem. They have been mercilessly chased out of their homes during the Spanish Inquisition. All in all, the persecution of Jews was mainly spurred by religious and nationalistic sentiments, and slowly zigzagged its way in terms of severity until it reached the peak in the Holocaust, after which it gradually stopped and resulted in the sponsored establishment of Israel.

Later the lies start to creep in:

In a society where the white Christian was supposed to be supreme, nobody cared to question any of the ongoing persecutions. However, the situation was different in the Muslim world, where they prohibited the persecution of any culture – let alone the Jews.

As I have documented many times, while Jews had generally better lives under Muslim rule than under Christian rule, they were still persecuted and scapegoated.

But finally we see the hate being taught to Muslim children in English-language schools:

The outcome of all this was the creation of Israel. A sorry Europe shipped its Jewish inhabitants off to a foreign land, and hoped that would make up for all of the previous vices they had committed. They gave the Jews a free hand – and also very generous support – to set up a state that would call for the ethnic cleansing of the people living there. That state, under the watchful eyes of its benefactors, uprooted centuries-old towns and villages, rudely disrupted the prevailing atmosphere of peace and tolerance, and instead brought misery and suffering to the bewildered, yet helpless inhabitants. It upset the harmonious equilibrium that had been in place for more than a few centuries, and began a new genocide against the Palestinians.

Today, it is considered extremely evil to even speak against – let alone persecute - Jews and anything associated with them. Denying the Holocaust can land a person in jail. Speaking against Israel will be brandished as being anti-Jewish. Protesting against the ongoing occupation in Palestine will result in furious demands of an immediate retraction. People who are desperately devoted to regaining their own precious homeland from the barbarity of the foreign Israeli occupiers are labeled as terrorists. In effect, Jews are now an untouchable force. (There is an immense double-standard here, as many Jews routinely bash other races – especially their own neighbors. An example is the famous quote of a famous rabbi: “A million Arabs are not worth one Jewish fingernail.”) Although adherents of many religions have also been subject to equally horrendous persecution, none have been bemoaned as loudly as the Jews have. Millions of Muslims and Christians and others have been killed throughout history solely on the basis of their religion, yet there is a profound silence concerning them...The question still lingers: why is the persecution of Jews more publicized than any other form of hate? Why is being anti-Jewish considered more evil than being anti-anything-else? The answer – no doubt, a very complex issue – is deeply tangled in the fact that exaggerating Jewish sufferings is actually a crucial means of garnering more support for the Zionist state of Israel.

(h/t Greg)