Friday, November 22, 2013

From Ian:

Arab Bank: Released Murderers' Stipend is 'Terror Money'
The Arab Bank's refusal to pay "terror money" to Musa Karan of Ramallah, a terrorist freed after 23 years in jail, was reported by a Hamas website. Karan's brother Mohammed told the site that Musa ran into trouble opening an account due to his being a freed terrorist.
The bank's designation of Karan's salary as "terror money" comes after Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon on Monday called for an end to international monetary aid to the PA until it stopped funding terror.
Hamas Launches Torture Campaign to Check Encroachment by Rival Fatah Faction
Hamas is in a state that some analysts are willing to describe as “hysteria.” Its position abroad and its domestic control are both eroding, and Israel has thus far managed to stymie the group’s efforts to bolster its image with a spectacular terror attack.
Fatah partisans sense weakness and are moving to exploit it. Hamas is now resorting to torture to check the encroachment:
Hamas: Our Rockets Will Reach North of Tel Aviv
Al-Masri, who spoke at an event organized by Hamas students to commemorate a year since the IDF's counter-terror Operation Pillar of Defense, claimed that Israel "will be surprised by the abilities of the Al-Qassam Brigades."
On Monday al-Masri similarly claimed that Hamas now has missiles with a 100 kilometer (62 mile) range, putting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv in their sights.
Gaza in Deep Sewage, under Egyptian Siege
Hamas has refused to import Israeli diesel because of taxes imposed by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority, which is led by rival terror organization Fatah.
Gaza's residents now face daily power failures of 12 or even 18 hours. "Businesses have cut back production, hospitals are rationing electricity to keep dialysis and cardiac support systems running…" all because of Egypt's cutting off smuggling, and Hamas' refusal to pay Ramallah taxes.
Hamas Looking to Buy More Electricity - From Israel
He said the Hamas government submitted its proposal in this regard Israel's Electric Company through the private sector - and that an agreement has been made - but this also requires the restoration of local power grid at a cost of millions of dollars.
Egyptian politician Imad Hamdi, from the Egyptian Popular Front, has criticized the move, calling Hamas hypocritical. Hamdi pointed out that Hamas is guilty of using Israel's resources despite denying its very existence, and stated that Hamas is not effective as a resistance movement against Israel.
Neturei Karta Anti-Zionists Give Hamas a Shiny New Ambulance
Hamas has a new ambulance, thanks to the efforts of their Neturei Karta anti-Zionist comrades. How long will it take before Hamas tries to use it to smuggle terrorists into Israel?
Lion cubs born in Hamas-run zoo die
Mohammad Abdel-Rahman, acting manager of the zoo in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza, said the cubs died of an unspecified illness. He said the zoo’s staff was unable to save them because they lacked experience in caring for newborn lions.
The cubs struggled from the outset, the Guardian reported. They were not feeding well, and their father displayed aggression toward them.
Zoo staff reached out to an Egyptian zoo in an attempt to procure food and equipment, but restrictions at the Egypt-Gaza border prevented the aid from coming through, a Gaza veterinarian told the Guardian. (h/t MtTB)
Michael Oren: Israel’s Oren in LA Times Op-Ed: ‘Netanyahu is Merely Doing His Job’ in Warning Against a Nuclear Iran
Oren notes that Netanyahu’s policies usually reflect the viewpoint of the Israeli intelligence services, rather than just his own opinions.
“Netanyahu may at times appear to stand alone on Iran, but he is backed by a world-class body of experts,” writes Oren.
As if to defend this statement, Oren demonstrates how Netanyahu has been ridiculed for his public stance, only to be vindicated later on.
“In 2011, these same analysts predicted that the Arab Spring…would be hijacked by Islamic radicals. They foresaw years of brutal civil strife. Netanyahu publicly expressed these conclusions and was denounced as a naysayer by many of the same columnists who are now lambasting him on Iran,” Oren said.
Iran Launches ‘Massive’ War Drills
Iranian military forces launched a series of “massive military drills” across nine provinces on Wednesday following an order by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to state media reports.
The drills, codenamed “Towards Jerusalem,” will continue over the coming days and throughout the rest of the year.
White House Refuses to Condemn Khamenei’s ‘Rabid Dog’ Comments
Deputy White House press secretary Josh Earnest joined his administration counterparts in refusing to condemn Iranian Ayatollah Khomenei’s reference to Israel as a “rabid dog” Thursday in the White House press conference.
Earnest oddly denied the White House is concerned that condemning the rhetoric might imperil the Geneva talks. However, the Obama administration spokesperson still avoided explicitly rebuking Iran for the inflammatory comments:
Israel ‘unpleasantly surprised’ by mild US reaction to Khamenei’s vicious speech
US Secretary of State John Kerry did speak out against Khameini’s address, yet stopped short of issuing a forthright condemnation.
“Obviously we disagree with it profoundly,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “It’s inflammatory, it’s unnecessary, and I think at this moment when we are trying to negotiate what can and can’t be achieved, the last thing we need is names back and forth,” Kerry said, according to ABC News. “Obviously we don’t believe that anything is served with, you know, names that challenge everybody’s sense of propriety and justice and rectitude. We’ve been through this before, as we’ve heard prior, very disturbing assertions regarding the Holocaust.”
US envoy to UN condemns Khamenei tongue lashing
Hours after Israeli officials expressed dismay over the mild American response to harsh comments from Iran’s supreme leader, a top US official condemned the remarks in unequivocal terms late Thursday.
Samantha Power, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said comments from Ali Khamenei painting Israel as a rabid dog were “abhorrent,” according to CNN.
Iran Infographic: Good Deal vs Bad Deal
Block writes that "to help educate and fight a dangerous deal, TIP (The Israel Project) has created (an) infographic...and a website laying out the terrible impact of deal that would breathe life into Iran's economy while leaving the world's leading sponsor of terrorism with the capability to build nuclear weapons."
AIPAC Applauds Harry Reid on Tougher Iran Sanctions Bill Despite Obama Plea
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said he will go ahead with proposing a bill calling for tougher Iran sanctions early next month, despite President Barack Obama’s request to delay new sanctions during negotiations.
Smile -- and escape
It is not easy being an Iranian journalist these days. The Iranian journalists in Geneva are more open than ever, going along with Iranian President Hasan Rouhani's policy of smiles. This is entirely different from how they acted in the past in Turkey, Iraq and Kazakhstan. But on Wednesday, Iranian Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave a very aggressive speech, and this also influenced the Iranian journalists in Geneva. Should they smile like Rouhani or curse like Khamenei? To smile or not to smile, that is the question.
The same Iranian journalist who on Wednesday morning spoke to me knowing exactly who I was, even interviewing me for his media outlet, quickly came back to me later and asked me not to publish the picture I took with him during the interview. In the new Iran, there are still many shades of gray.
Iran Owes Terror Victims Billions of Dollars, Says Activist Lawyer
An Israeli lawyer who has won billions of dollars for relatives of terror victims has asked Obama administration officials why they are discussing letting Iran off the hook on sanctions while it owes American relatives colossal sums of money.
Nitsana Darshan-Leitner, who heads the Israel Law Center, has won billions of dollars for relatives of terror victims in lawsuits against the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organization as well as banks and other agencies that aid terrorists or act as a pipeline for funds for them.
Reporters Without Borders Criticizes Iranian Assault on Press
Over 100 days after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s election, Iran continues to crack down on the press and remains “one of the world’s biggest prisons for journalists and netizens” according to journalist advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.
The group said in a statement on Tuesday that it was “very disappointed by President Hassan Rouhani’s record on freedom of information,” noting that since Rouhani took office, at least 10 journalists have been arrested, 10 more have been sentenced to “a combined total of 72 years in prison,” and three newspapers have been shut down by the government.
Ya'alon: A stronger Iran means a stronger Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad
Ya’alon stated that the Iranian regime “is involved in every conflict in the Middle East and has also set up terror bases in Africa, Asia and South America. They want to defeat Western culture, and are prepared to sacrifice to achieve this.”
He added: “The Iranians want, under the cover of the nuclear umbrella that they will have, to advance their terror activities, such as using a ‘dirty bomb’ at various targets in the Western world. Therefore, we must not tolerate the possibility of a nuclear Iran. One way or another, Iran’s military nuclear project must be stopped.”
Jihadi Brit in Syria was imprisoned 2009 anti-Israel protestor
The violence in 2009 began when police tried to move protesters away from the gates of the Israeli embassy following increasingly violent protests during Operation Cast Lead. One police officer was knocked unconscious and two more were injured. There were reportedly running skirmishes between the officers and groups of young men, each time prompting a further charge from the officers and sending the crowd running screaming in the opposite direction.
At least one Iran embassy bomber a Palestinian
A Palestinian national was among the two suicide bombers who attacked the Iranian embassy in Beirut earlier this week, security sources told The Daily Star Thursday.
They said investigators were still trying to identify the second bomber.
Saudi Arabia urges citizens to leave tense Lebanon
Shiite-led Hezbollah has indirectly blamed Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia for Tuesday’s twin suicide blasts, which killed 23 people. A Sunni radical group linked to al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility.
Hezbollah-Backed Syrian Offensive Risks New Refugee Wave, “Catastrophic” Destabilization of Lebanon
The army’s offensive in the Qalamoun mountains surrounding Qara – enabled and backed by Hezbollah fighters – threatens to trigger a new refugee crisis that would see nearly 20,000 civilians may be driven into Lebanon.
Jean Ogassapian, a Lebanese politician closely linked to the country’s anti-Syrian March 14th movement, declared that Hezbollah’s continued support of the Syrian army, especially in the Qalamoun regime, risked “catastrophic repercussions in Lebanon” and a “total sectarian war.”
Iran Determines Hezbollah's Actions


Hezbollah Uses Civilians as a Human Shield

  • Friday, November 22, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon

  • Friday, November 22, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon
The latest on the Iranian nuclear negotiations:
The US has said any interim agreement would see the bulk of international and US sanctions targeting Iran's nuclear programme remain in place.

Mr Obama said sanctions relief would be worth between $6bn and $7bn.

The essence of the deal would involve Iran making no more advances in its nuclear programme and agreeing to "more vigorous inspections", he said.

Analysts say a major sticking point is Iran's insistence on its right to enrich uranium - a process that yields material used to manufacture fuel for power stations, but can also be used for weapons.
Giving $6 billion for Iran allowing the IAEA what it should have been able to do all along?

Here is a great op-ed by Charles Krauthammer on this joke:
president desperate to change the subject and a secretary of state desperate to make a name for himself are reportedly on the verge of an “interim” nuclear agreement with Iran. France called it a “sucker’s deal.” France was being charitable.


The only reason Iran has come to the table after a decade of contemptuous stonewalling is that economic sanctions have cut so deeply — its currency has collapsedinflation is rampant — that the regime fears a threat to its very survival.
Nothing else could move it to negotiate. Regime survival is the only thing themullahs value above nuclear weapons. And yet precisely at the point of maximum leverage, President Obama is offering relief in a deal that is absurdly asymmetric: The West would weaken sanctions in exchange for cosmetic changes that do absolutely nothing to weaken Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
Don’t worry, we are assured. This is only aninterim six-month agreement to “build confidence” until we reach a final one. But this makes no sense. If at this point ofmaximum economic pressure we can’t get Iran to accept a final deal that shuts down its nuclear program, how in God’s name do we expect to get such a deal when we have radically reduced that pressure?
A bizarre negotiating tactic. And the content of the deal is even worse. It’s a rescue package for the mullahs.
It widens permissible trade in oil, gold and auto parts. It releases frozen Iranian assets, increasing Iran’s foreign-exchange reserves by 25 percent while doubling its fully accessible foreign-exchange reserves. Such a massive infusion of cash would be a godsend for its staggering economy, lowering inflation, reducing shortages and halting the country’s growing demoralization. The prospective deal is already changing economic expectations. Foreign oil and other interests are reportedly preparing to reopen negotiations for a resumption of trade in anticipation of the full lifting of sanctions.
And for what? You’d offer such relief in return for Iran giving up its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Isn’t that what the entire exercise is about?
And yet this deal does nothing of the sort. Nothing. It leaves Iran’s nuclear infrastructure intact. Iran keeps every one of its 19,000 centrifuges — yes, 19,000 — including 3,000 second-generation machines that produce enriched uranium at five times the rate of the older ones.
Not a single centrifuge is dismantled. Not a single facility that manufactures centrifuges is touched. In Syria, the first thing the weapons inspectors did was to destroy the machines that make the chemical weapons. Then they went after the stockpiles. It has to be that way. Otherwise, the whole operation is an exercise in futility. Take away just the chemical agents, and the weapons-making facilities can replace them at will.
Yet that’s exactly what we’re doing with Iran. It would deactivate its 20 percent enriched uranium, which besides being chemically reversible, is quickly replaceable because Iran retains its 3.5 percent enriched uranium, which can be enriched to 20 percent in less than a month.
Result: Sanctions relief that leaves Iran’s nuclear infrastructure untouched, including — and this is where the French gagged — the plutonium facility at Arak, a defiant alternate path to a nuclear weapon.
The point is blindingly simple. Unless you dismantle the centrifuges and prevent the manufacture of new ones, Iran will be perpetually just a few months away from going nuclear. This agreement, which is now reportedly being drafted to allow Iran to interpret it as granting the “right” to enrich uranium, constitutes the West legitimizing Iran’s status as a threshold nuclear state.
Don’t worry, we are assured. The sanctions relief is reversible. Nonsense. It was extraordinarily difficult to cobble together the current sanctions. It took endless years of overcoming Russian, Chinese and Indian recalcitrance, together with foot-dragging from Europeans making a pretty penny from Iran.
Once the relaxation begins, how do you reverse it? How do you reapply sanctions? There is absolutely no appetite for this among our allies. And adding back old sanctions will be denounced as a provocation that would drive Iran to a nuclear breakout — exactly as Obama is today denouncing congressional moves to increase sanctions as a deal-breaking provocation that might lead Iran to break off talks.
The mullahs are eager for this interim agreement with its immediate yield of political and economic relief. Once they get it, we will have removed their one incentive to conclude the only agreement that is worth anything to us — a verifiable giving up of their nuclear program.
Brilliant.

  • Friday, November 22, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon
From AFP:
The humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated one year after a truce that ended fighting between Israel and the Hamas rulers of the Palestinian enclave, UN officials said Thursday.

"After 12 months the initial hopes for a significant improvement on the ground have not been realized," said James Rawley, the United Nations' humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories.

"In fact I am sorry to report that the situation for Gaza's 1.7 million people is worse than it was before the hostilities a year ago" between November 14 and 21, he said.

Speaking at a news conference marking the anniversary, Rawley said the fuel and energy crisis was a primary cause of the situation.

Robert Turner, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, noted the impact of the demolition of smuggling tunnels under the border since Egypt's army ousted Islamist president Mohamed Morsi on July 3.

"The closures of the tunnels has led to a near total collapse of private sector constructions, as it compounded the constraints due to the pre-existing ban on construction materials from Israel for the private sector," said the UNRWA chief.

The two officials deplored Israel's decision to ban the import of building materials – including to international agencies – from October 13, following the discovery of a tunnel that Hamas fighters dug to use for attacks.

Oxfam said Gazans were still "trapped under the Israeli blockade and largely cut off from the outside world" despite the ceasefire meant to allow the movement of people and goods in and out of the enclave.

"Exports allowed out of Gaza have dropped by half since 2012 and Palestinian fishermen and farmers continue to be prevented from accessing the most productive areas," it said.
In the past few months, Egypt has severely curtailed the movement of people and goods through Rafah. Egypt has nearly stopped smuggling through the tunnels especially of fuel and construction materials.

Israel started increasing the amount of construction materials into Gaza as a result of Egypt's crackdown, but then Hamas decided to use these materials to build tunnels meant to kidnap Israelis (a war crime.) As a result, Israel decided that it makes no sense to give Hamas materials that can be used to perform terror attacks. Israel still allows construction materials to enter Gaza for specific approved NGO projects, just as it did before.

Hamas has also chosen not to spend its cash on fuel, and is holding Gazans hostage to their negotiations with the PA to get cheaper fuel. Israel is willing to sell whatever fuel is needed.

During the year, Israel has worked closely with Gaza farmers to turn the export industry from one dependent on seasonal products like strawberries into a much more lucrative, year-round export industry of spices. Obviously, the price of spices per kilo is orders of magnitude higher than tomatoes. In October 2013, five truckloads of spices were exported, as opposed to zero in October 2012. That very well might explain why the number of trucks of exports have decreased, assuming it is true - the real question is how much those exports are worth.

But the only party that gets "deplored" by the UN and Oxfam is - Israel. They don't have a bad word to say about the Hamas terror tunnels, nothing negative about Hamas' cynical use of its own people as pawns to pressure others to give it cheap energy, nothing at all to say about Egypt's closing Rafah, and nothing bad to say about Egypt protecting its security by enforcing restrictions on movement to Gaza.

These NGOs swear up and down that they aren't biased against Israel, but their own words prove their one-sided view, day in and day out.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

  • Thursday, November 21, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon
From MEMRI:



Following are excerpts from an interview with Sheik of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayeb, which aired on Channel 1, Egyptian TV on October 25, 2013:

Ahmad Al-Tayeb: A verse in the Koran explains the Muslims' relations with the Jews and the polytheists. The second part of the verse describes the Muslims' relations with the Christians, and the third part of the verse explains why the Christians are the closest and most friendly to the Muslims.

This is an historical perspective, which has not changed to this day. See how we suffer today from global Zionism and Judaism, whereas our peaceful coexistence with the Christians has withstood the test of history. Since the inception of Islam 1,400 years ago, we have been suffering from Jewish and Zionist interference in Muslim affairs. This is a cause of great distress for the Muslims.

The Koran said it and history has proven it: "You shall find the strongest among men in enmity to the believers to be the Jews and the polytheists." This is the first part. The second part is: "You shall find the closest in love to the believers to be those who say: 'We are Christians'." The third part explains why the Christians are "the closest in love to the believers," while the Jews and the polytheists are the exact opposite.

[...]

[The Christians] are humble and are not arrogant.

Interviewer: They are not condescending, whereas the Jews say they are the Chosen People.

Ahmad Al-Tayeb: Right, they do not say that they are the Chosen People... That is why the Jewish religion is closed to others. They have no proselytism. They consider themselves to be the best creation, the Chosen People.

Interviewer: They consider everybody else to be inferior to them...

Ahmad Al-Tayeb: Extremely inferior. They even have very peculiar laws. For instance, they are allowed to practice usury with non-Jews. Some things are not allowed among Jews, but are allowed between Jews and non-Jews. They practice a terrible hierarchy, and they are not ashamed to admit it, because it is written in the Torah – with regard to killing, enslavement, and so on.

Therefore, they have generated a problem not only in their relations with the Muslims, but in their relations with all other people as well, and history has been clear on this.

Interviewer: There is even great enmity between them and the Christians.

Ahmad Al-Tayeb: Of course. These practices and beliefs have made people, even non-Muslims, hate them.
It's funny - Muslims usually say how wonderful their relationships were with Jews before Zionism, but now Al-Tayeb says that Jews (and Zionists!) have oppressed Muslims for 1400 years.

Of course, neither are true.

Nevertheless, antisemitism continues to be broadcast on mainstream Egyptian TV. Today.

It is that time of year again, where we will the celebrate the best Hasbara (Israel advocacy) with the 2014 Hasby Awards! Here is the latest list of nominees.



As with last year, we have a number of categories.

Here are the rules, such as they are:
  • Fell free to nominate in any category as many examples as you want in the comments. Please include URLs!
  • Self-nominations (or seconds) are welcome.
  • Only nominees that are seconded will be in the running. (Probably.) You can second them in the comments as well. The ones listed here must also be seconded. 
  • If you have other categories, feel free to suggest them along with at least one nominee. Some others are listed in last year's nominations page.
  • Last year's winners are no longer eligible for awards in the same category they won.
    It is obvious that I am not good at remembering specific videos/incidents over the past year, so please help me fill those in!
  • I decide who wins, but there will also be People's Choice awards based on a poll.
  • I'll put out a press release when the winners are announced, because some of the nominees last year asked me to.
  • I reserve the right to decide if a nominee is appropriate and will pare down the number of nominees if needed.
  • Please, no extraneous comments on this thread, only nominations, seconds and category suggestions. I will delete them. 
  • This thread is not for voting. That will come later. If your favorite candidate is already seconded, don't comment further.
  • If someone can offer me a decent venue to give the awards as I did last year and in 2010, I'll be happy to give the awards out live! (I'll be in Israel from December 16-24, back on the East Coast before and after.) But if you do offer me a venue, you'll probably also be subjected to a speech. 
And the categories are:

BEST PRO-ISRAEL TWEETER (Last year's winner: Avi Mayer)

David HaIvri
Martin Kramer
Arsen Ostrovsky (seconded)
Margie in Tel Aviv (seconded)
CiFWatch (seconded)
No Camels (seconded)
William Daroff (seconded)

BEST PRO-ISRAEL MEDIA OUTLET/WRITER NOT EXCLUSIVE TO ISRAEL (Last year's winner: The Commentator)

Douglas Murray (seconded)
Melanie Phillips (seconded)
Gatestone Institute(seconded)
Charles Krauthammer (seconded)
Walter Russell Mead (seconded)
Jihad Watch
Brett Stephens (WSJ) (seconded)

BEST PRO-ISRAEL COMMENTATOR EXCLUSIVE TO MIDDLE EAST/ISRAEL (Last year's winner: Barry Rubin)

Caroline Glick (seconded)
Martin Kramer (seconded)
Daniel Gordis (seconded)
Evelyn Gordon (seconded)
Sarah Honig (seconded)
Khaled Abu Toameh (seconded)

BEST ENGLISH-LANGUAGE PRO-ISRAEL ONLINE MEDIA OUTLET (Last year's winner: Times of Israel)

Algemeiner  (seconded)
Israel HaYom (seconded)
Jewish Press (seconded)
Tablet (seconded)
JPost (seconded)
The Tower (seconded)
No Camels
Israel21c (seconded)

BEST MAINSTREAM MEDIA WATCHDOG (Last year's winner: Honest Reporting)

CAMERA (seconded)
BBC Watch (seconded)
CiF Watch  (seconded)
Presspectiva
Mideast Media Sampler at Legal Insurrection (seconded)
Huffington Post Monitor (seconded)

BEST WATCHDOG - ARABIC MEDIA AND NGOs

MEMRI  (seconded)
Palestinian Media Watch (seconded)
NGO Monitor (seconded)
UN Watch (seconded)

BEST PRO-ISRAEL BLOG (PRESENT COMPANY EXCLUDED) (Last year's winners: Daphne Anson and Missing Peace)

Israellycool  (seconded)
Israel Matzav (seconded)
Augean Stables
Sultan Knish
This Ongoing War (seconded)
Jews Down Under (seconded)
Sultan Knish
Atlas Shrugs
Daled Amos 
Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers (seconded)
5 Minutes for Israel (seconded)
IsraelSeen (seconded)

BEST PRO-ISRAEL VIDEO

Israel Apartheid Week 2013 - The Real Truth
How to Answer Anti-Israel Slurs (reluctantly)
Created in Israel - Part of Your Life
Israel: 65 years of achievement
Pat Condell - Patronizing the Palestinians (seconded)
A Song for Jerusalem (Latma) 
Pro-Israelis wipe the floor with paranoid anti-Israel campaigners
"I'm an Israeli Soldier" (Latma) (seconded)
Jonathan-Simon Sellem, seul, manifeste contre la "nakba" à Yafo (Jaffa)
Naftali Bennett on CNN (seconded)
Boycott Israel by Ari Lesser (seconded)


BEST PRO-ISRAEL SOCIAL MEDIA PAGE (Facebook, Pinterest, Vine, Scribd, Google+, YouTube...)

IDF (idfnadesk) on YouTube (seconded)
StandWithUs (FB, YouTube) (seconded)
Sussex Friends of Israel Facebook (seconded)
Einat Wilf's Facebook (seconded)
Corey Gil-Shuster's "Ask an Israeli/Ask a Palestinian" project


BEST SPEECH

Ron Prosor at the UN
Bibi Netanyahu at Bar Ilan (seconded)
Bibi Netanyahu at the UN (seconded)


BEST "OWN GOAL" (Anti-Zionists acting so stupid they disgust even disinterested parties)

"Shoot the Jew" at Wits University
Iran's Fake Stealth Fighter
Max Blumenthal, in entirety
Jimmy Carter
ISM Oakland attacking a girl writing a pro-Israel message in chalk (seconded)

BEST ARTICLE

Will we ever be forgiven the Holocaust? (Howard Jacobson) (seconded)
There is nothing remotely progressive in today's left wing loathing of Israel (Brendan O'Niell) (seconded)
Edein Atias HY'D at Israel Matzav
It's a pretty simple choice: freeom or oppression. Take your pick (Alan Howe)

BEST INDIVIDUAL EXAMPLE OF HASBARA

Ed Klinger's note on the BDS MacBook (seconded)
Brighton BDS Counter-protest (seconded)
David G's NYT Op-Ed Index 2012 (seconded)
A New Shoah: The Untold Story of Israel's Victims of Terrorism by Giulio Meotti (book)
IDF Girls Gone Wild (parts 1, 2, 3) (seconded)
UN interpreter hot mic  (seconded)
Video: Boycott Israel by Ari Lesser




From Ian:

The Social Construction of Hatred
The social construction of hatred toward the Jewish people by the Islamic world and the western-left should, at this point in human history, be axiomatic.
In the Arab-Muslim world they scream bloody murder on a daily basis that the Jewish minority is evil and must be destroyed. Western “liberals” either do not care or believe that the Jews deserve whatever beating that we get for allegedly being mean to Palestinian-Arabs. Ayatollahs and imams throughout the Middle East shake their fists in the air and tell their people that the tiny Jewish minority are vile in the sight of Allah and that it is a spiritual blessing to murder Jews. In the mean time, western progressives tell one another that the Jews of the Middle East are racist, imperialistic, colonialist, apartheid, war-mongers and thereby justify an ancient Arab-Muslim culture of violence toward the Jewish people.
The Trial of Mahmoud Abbas: Fanning the Flames of Incitement
As such, an application of international law to Mahmoud Abbas’ statements and actions demonstrates a compelling case for prosecution. He has a clear record of incitement to genocide as defined under the Genocide Convention and its application to date. Furthermore, Abbas’ Palestinian Authority has repeatedly sought to dehumanize Israelis and Jews. An especially egregious example of PA-sanctioned incitement is its perpetuation of the “Holocaust myth,” which remains rampant in Palestinian society – particularly in the education system and media.
Until the international community decides to charge Mahmoud Abbas with incitement to violence and genocide, we can expect a few more streets and town squares in the Palestinian Authority to be named after terrorists; a few more youth events to be held in honor of terrorists; and a few more Palestinian textbooks to portray a world without Israel.
European Anti-Semitism and the Fear of Muslims
When European history teachers omit the Holocaust from their curriculum, they do not do this because they hate their Jewish students more than their Muslim students. They omit it because they are afraid of their Muslim students. They might also believe they do it to be "nice," but then how come this same "niceness" is not afforded to the Jews?
In the "Stockholm Syndrome," now seen, ironically, in Sweden, victims start bonding with their abusers in the wish that if they share the same values as their abusers, their abusers might stop abusing them. "We must be open and tolerant toward Islam and Muslims because when we become a minority, they will be so toward us." — Jens Orback, former Swedish government minister.
The ignorant Israel boycott advocates, in America too
Contrary to the expressed opinion of some BDS supporters there is nothing vague about academic freedom. It denotes a free exchange of ideas and opinions, an exchange in which the validity of those ideas can be examined and challenged, and which is not limited either internally in a particular country or externally. John Stuart Mill knew that free inquiry is the basis for acceptance or rejection of wrong or incorrect ideas and information.
Supporters of BDS have tried to qualify their position by suggesting that their call for action is against institutions not individuals. But this is a sleight of hand evasion of the truth.
MEMRI: Sheik of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayeb Justifies Antisemitism on the Basis of the Koran VIDEO

MEMRI: Egyptian Journalist Amr Sombol: U.S. Foreign Policy and World's Oil Supply Controlled by Jews VIDEO
Interviewer: Okay. So what you want to show is that the April 6 movement is supported by, or in fact, founded by Jews.
Amr Sombol: Exactly.
Interviewer: By American Jews...
'Israelis Don't Believe in Two-State Solution'
In an exclusive Arutz Sheva interview, Middle East expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar, of Bar-Ilan University’s BESA Center (Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies), dismissed calls for the establishment of a Palestinian Authority state in Judea and Samaria, saying that the number of Israelis who still believe in the "Two-State Solution" can "fit in two telephone booths".
"And two years from now they will fit into a half of a telephone booth," he added dryly.
When asked why, Dr. Kedar responded that "Gaza changed everything."
Bennett: Leaving Gaza Cost 1,000 Times More than Staying
At an address to the Conference of Major Jewish Organizations today, Minister of Economy Naftali Bennett was asked about the economic costs of staying in Judea and Samaria. In an unequivocal response, he explained why withdrawing from the region would cost Israel far more than remaining.
"I'm a businessman! I can tell you the economic costs to Israel of leaving Gaza was 1,000 times the cost of staying in Gaza. The costs to the communities being struck by thousands of missiles, the costs of Iron Dome, the costs of the deaths many fold exceeds the costs of staying in Gaza,” he declared.
UN Watch: What happened to UN interpreter caught on hot mic? UN chief responds (& disowns her critique)


MKs Unite, Call on US to Release Jonathan Pollard
Twenty-eight years less one day have passed since US intelligence officer Jonathan Pollard was arrested by FBI agents outside the Israeli Embassy on Washington, DC, on suspicion that he had spied for Israel on the US. He has been in jail ever since.
On Wednesday, Knesset Members from across the political spectrum united in calling for his release.
Nasties on Video
At the Arc de Triomphe, with a big banner in English, the better, no doubt, to (try to) catch headlines, a bunch of French screamers reacts to the Hollande government's cordiality with Israel:
Another cacophony of hate can be heard in this video of nasties in New York, performing various antics as they protest a fundraiser for the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
Dutch Catholic TV airs Jews-killed-Jesus video
A Dutch Catholic public broadcaster has apologized for and pulled off the air a video clip featuring a song which accuses Jews of plotting to kill Jesus.
The video, which was aired earlier this month at the end of a children’s program on the Rooms-Katholiek Kerkgenootschap, or Roman Catholic Church Association, television station, featured a song by Pearl Jozefzoon, about how Jews regarded Jesus. “Do not follow him. He is mad. Break him, break his heart. Kill him. Bury him with criticism, do not love him,” the lyrics said.
Georgetown Rescinds Invite to Egyptian Nazi
Jan is listed representing "Christians Against the Coup" in a promotional flier for the event posted by Georgetown Tuesday morning. He is omitted from an updated flier posted six hours later. In between the two, Jan's Nazi ideology was exposed in a Twitter post by Hudson Institute Fellow Samuel Tadros.
"It's remarkable to find such a guy," Tadros told the Beacon. "Just by inviting him that tells us something about the nature of the conference and those organizing it."
Norwegian prof boycotts Kristallnacht memorial
A Norwegian university distanced itself from a professor who said he opposed commemorating Nazi-era pogroms because it serves Israeli propaganda.
The views expressed last week by Trond Andresen, an assistant professor in the department of engineering cybernetics at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, are “far from what we stand for as a university,” Jan Erik Kaaro, a university spokesperson, told JTA on Tuesday.
‘Norway unwilling to confront war crimes’
The government of Norway is unwilling to “confront the issue” of crimes allegedly committed by some of its citizens during World War II, said Efraim Zuroff, a Nazi hunter and the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Jerusalem office.
Zuroff spoke with The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday after the cancellation of a planned trip to the Scandinavian nation in which he had hoped to speak with Justice and Public Security Minister Anders Anundsen.
Congressman presses Turkish FM on anti-Semitism
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), a co-chairman of the Congressional caucus on Turkey, pressed the Turkish foreign minister on reports of anti-Semitism and human rights abuses in his country.
Cohen said he asked Ahmet Davutoglu, when the caucus met Monday with a Turkish delegation, about reports of a surge of anti-Semitism, and about the repression of dissent in Turkey.
Elderly Jewish Woman Punched in ‘Knockout’ Attack
A 78-year-old Jewish woman was punched in the face by a group of teenagers while walking in the Midwood section of Brooklyn this weekend, becoming the eighth victim of the so-called knockout attacks that have been occurring in New York City over the past few weeks.
At Microsoft 2.0, start-ups get top billing
The idea came from Israel, said Zack Weisfeld, a senior director of Microsoft Ventures, the start-up investment arm and sponsor of the MS accelerators. The Israeli accelerator in Herzliya set up just two years ago was the first of the dozen Microsoft Ventures Accelerators and the role model for them all.
“We were the first to run an accelerator of this kind for Microsoft,” Weisfeld said. “It was seen as an experiment by the company, but people inside the company believed in what we were trying to do.”
Keshet’s ‘Rising Star’ earns US deal
“Rising Star,” the Israeli singing competition that has been the darling of the international television market since its launch here in September, has landed its biggest international deal yet: a 10-episode order for US screens from major American network ABC.
The deal is the first to be inked by the newly-launched Keshet DCP, a partnership between Dick Clark Productions and Keshet International, home of “Homeland” and the global arm of Israeli media giant Keshet.
Dylan video coup for Israeli digital ad whiz
The first official music video for Bob Dylan’s “Like a Rolling Stone” is making the rounds on the internet. And Dylan’s endorsement is only half the reason why.
The video, produced by media start-up Interlude, includes a novel interactive channel-tuning button, each channel mimicking a different cable channel or news program, featuring cameos by Drew Carey and a matzah-eating Danny Brown.
The video was filmed under creative directorship of 27-year old Vania Heymann, an Israeli graduate of the Bezalel Arts school.
Pillar of Defense: A Year Later IDF Soldier Reveals How Flow of Humanitarian Aid Was Maintained
Sgt. (Res.) Evan Pelz, an American who made aliyah to Israel, served as a lone soldier from 2011 to 2013, and now lives in Jerusalem and studies law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In a guest post on the IDF blog on Wednesday, Sergeant (Res.) Pelz described his time in the Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza (CLA) unit that acts as a liaison between the IDF and the civilian population in the Gaza Strip.
  • Thursday, November 21, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon
From Algemeiner:

As Israel Defense Forces work to close the terror tunnels dug by Gaza-based Hamas, the Islamist party has resorted to using reconnaissance balloons to spy on Israel, even posting photos of them aloft onto the Hamas Facebook page.

In an interview with Israel’s Channel 2, a senior IDF officer in the Southern Command said that Hamas has resolved to gather intelligence deep inside Israel, and not just on the border. To this end, the officer said, Hamas has also erected a line of poles to which they’ve attached balloons filled with helium and mounted with cameras.

The officer said that the observation balloons have alarming capability to collect intelligence on military and civilian movements in Israel. He said the IDF sees Hamas trying to expand its reconnaissance abilities to strengthen its offensive capacity, based on building its rocket arsenal and digging tunnels into Israel.

The officer said that Israel recently allowed a large shipment of helium gas into Gaza for civilian use, the transfer of which may be rescinded if the intended use is to fuel more spy balloons.
This doesn't make much sense.

I can't find any Hamas announcement of these balloons, and I can't find the Hamas Facebook page the article refers to. The only Arabic articles I'm finding are quoting Hebrew sources.

But even stranger is the simple question: if the IDF is worried about balloons, why don't they just shoot them down? It can't be that hard. It is not as if it is a violation of the laws of armed conflict to destroy an enemy surveillance system.

A few months ago I wrote about IDF balloons being used for reconnaissance into Gaza. If this report didn't seem legit (IDF officer interviewed on TV), I would have guessed that this was the same story after a few rounds of Arabic media "telephone." And it still seems possible to me that there was a mis-communication, that an Arabic site that screwed up the earlier balloon story somehow got onto a Hamas page and the IDF officer was only reacting to a rumor, which got mixed up again in this report.

I know it sounds unlikely, but this Hamas surveillance balloon story is more than weird.

UPDATE: I found the Walla article about this. It shows a photo from the Hamas Facebook page of the supposed balloon:


Sorry, this has got to be Photoshopped. There is no way a balloon this large is hovering over a building in Gaza and no one is reporting it.

UPDATE 2: Commenter Heb Macman notes that the photo wasn't Photoshopped but taken at an angle to make it look much bigger. Even so, commenter Bob Knot found another photo that also makes it look pretty big, although again it could just be the angle:


UPDATE 3: Bob Knot found a Facebook page saying that the balloon was built by the Information Office of the Al Qassam Brigades to film a demonstration, probably the first anniversary of Pillar of Cloud.



  • Thursday, November 21, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon
Al Arabiya reports:
Iran will not sign up to a nuclear deal with world powers unless they accept its right to enrich uranium, its chief negotiator told reporters on Thursday.

Abbas Araghchi, speaking a day after talks with world powers resumed in Geneva, said Iran would not suspend its uranium enrichment activities, adding it was a “red line” for the Islamic state to do so.

“We have lost our trust ... we cannot enter serious talks until the trust is restored. But that doesn’t mean that we will stop negotiations,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
Whoa, no one said that it was a red line! That's serious - one you declare a red line, the rules say we cannot cross them!



From Ian:

Tom Gross: Al-Quds seems only to be sorry that they were caught out
As I wrote last week, a better outcome would have been for Brandeis to work with Al-Quds to ensure that this kind of activity never happens again, and for the Al-Quds president unequivocally to condemn this kind of behavior to his students. It seems clear that Brandeis would also have preferred this.
But the fact that in his new statement yesterday, Al-Quds President Nusseibeh (described as a “moderate” by Ha’aretz and the New York Times) not only fails to properly condemn the Fascist-style rally, but says it is all the fault of the “Jews” for having the temerity to ask for Fascist rallies not to be held on the main square on campus, has left Brandeis no choice but to take the difficult decision to suspend relations with Al-Quds.
The Al-Quds president’s statement is very revealing. It is carefully written so as to barely mention the rally itself, suggesting it was a fringe event (when in fact it is the third student rally praising suicide bombers to be held on campus this academic year). Like the other rallies, the Nov. 5 rally was clearly produced with some financial and logistical backing which calls into doubt the notion that it was a fringe event. Rather than being sorry that such a hate-rally took place, the Al-Quds president’s statement makes it sound like he is only really sorry that they were caught.
What Americans Don’t Know About Palestinian Culture
But the point about campus activities at Al Quds is that there is nothing exceptional about large groups of students demonstrating their hate for Israel and their devotion not to Palestinian nationalism but its extreme Islamist adherents such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad that call for the death of Jews. Such groups are not just welcome at Palestinian schools but an essential part of the fabric of student life as well as the general culture.
Thus, the shock here is not that Brandeis (if not Bard) has been alerted to the true nature of their partner and even a respected front man like Nusseibeh. Rather, it’s that it never occurred to anyone in authority at Brandeis that this was the inevitable result of any cooperation with Al Quds. If it had or if more American academics got their heads out of the sand and realized the cancer of hate that is still the dominating feature of Palestinian political culture, the assumption that Israel is the villain of the Middle East conflict might be challenged more often.
Roy Amlot in The Times: Israeli soldiers kill Palestinian children with relative impunity
Beyond the specifics, however, the smear that Israeli soldiers murder Palestinian children with impunity is part of a larger lethal narrative advanced by anti-Israel activists and some Guardian “journalists” which we’ve addressed previously. Indeed, no matter how absurd the charges that the IDF targets innocent Palestinian kids, such morally reckless memes evoking the specter of unimaginable Jewish malevolence have become so ingrained in the Islamist and extreme-left imagination that the facts regarding such libels become almost irrelevant.
However, as it is the job of professional journalists to distinguish between proven facts and unsupportable accusations, we eagerly await a clarification by Amlot (or Times editors) which includes details on the supposed ‘impunity’ granted to Israeli soldiers who allegedly have ‘killed Palestinian children’.
Huffington Post Serves as a Mouthpiece for Hamas
In the article, Almodallal voices her support for standard-issue genocidal Hamas threats (that all of Israel should be wiped out, as it sits on Palestinian land), and her belief that Hamas has a bad reputation not because of its terrorism, genocidal threats, or suicide bombings, but because of “unfair Israeli media.” Her new job, she says, is to make the Palestinian issues “more human” to the outside world.
Ironically, earlier this year, another pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel propagandist, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin – who happens to be one of the top hosts of HuffPostLive, its video “news” service – described his job in almost identical terms: as being “to humanize” the Palestinians.
If you define “humanizing” a culture as whitewashing terrorists and publishing false, incendiary propaganda about their victims (namely Jews), then HuffPost’s senior management (which repeatedly claims it is a “nonpartisan” news operation) has been allowing Shihab-Eldin to fulfill his “job”.
Azerbaijan jails Iranian for plot against Israeli embassy
Hasan Faraji, 31, was arrested in late October after he was seen wandering near the embassy, Azeri news site APA reported. A security guard stopped him for questioning and, after refusing to cooperate, Faraji was detained and taken to a nearby police station. He was later sentenced to 30 days in prison, but there was no indication from the report why he was incarcerated.
According to a Channel 10 News report on Wednesday, Azeri police claimed they had discovered photos and blueprints of the Israeli embassy in Faraji’s apartment.
Drifting from US, Liberman calls to diversify foreign policy
“For many years, Israel’s foreign policy has been one-directional toward Washington,” he said, speaking at the Sderot Conference for Society. “I support multi-directional foreign policy.”
Israel’s foreign policy “should not focus solely on the United States,” he added, according to Army Radio.
Moroccan parliament moves to outlaw contacts with Israelis
The bill was proposed by five parties in the Moroccan House of Representatives — including that of Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane. Introduced earlier this summer, and largely unnoticed at the time, it was given the heading “Criminalizing Normalization with the Israeli Entity.”
The proposed law seeks to prohibit attendance at or support for any “activity in Morocco in which a natural or legal person holding Israeli citizenship or being resident of the Israeli entity contributes, participates, or attends."
Palestinian official accuses ‘fool’ Bush of colluding in Arafat’s death
A Palestinian Authority official accused former US President George W. Bush of colluding with former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon in the assassination of PA President Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Media Watch revealed Wednesday.
During an interview with official Palestinian Authority television on November 10, Jibril Rajoub, a former security official and Fatah member who currently heads the Palestinian soccer association, said it was “clear” that Israel was not alone in killing the Palestinian leader.
PMW: Song glorifying violence at PA cultural event: "No force can remove the weapon from my hand"



Netanyahu vows: No nukes for Iran’s ‘dark regime’
The Iranian government is reminiscent of “dark regimes of the past” that tried to wipe out the Jews and then conquer the world, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday in Moscow, vowing to deny Iran nuclear weapons.
“The Iranians deny our past and repeat their commitment to wipe the State of Israel off the map. This reminds us of the dark regimes of the past that plotted against us first and then against all of humanity,” Netanyahu said in an address to Russian Jewish community leaders.
Iran has all but become Nazi
There were other troubling features in his rare public appearance, but stripping Jews of their humanity was the lowest point. The world has looked the other way. It is not lending its ears. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton have tried to play dumb, as if the subconscious malice-filled campaign coming out of Tehran has been somehow lost on them. They yearn for a deal, at any price. Despite the draft agreement being taken off the table -- because France had sobered-up in the nick of time -- Iran now wants to discuss it again. But it wants more than that -- it also wants to punish the West; it seeks revenge after the West slammed the brakes and did some thinking.
John Bolton: Obama’s ‘Deal’ Will Let Iran Get the Bomb
Secretary of State John Kerry has spared no effort to avoid another Geneva debacle, almost certainly making more concessions to Iran to secure agreement. The failed deal was certainly wretched from America’s perspective, involving countless problems and deficiencies. This week’s deal will be worse.
It is no answer that Obama is seeking merely an “interim” understanding with Iran. “Interim” concessions have a way of getting locked-in, as seemingly ad hoc trade-offs freeze into permanence. Indeed, Obama’s “step-by-step” approach itself tells Tehran’s mullahs how desperately Obama wants a deal, and how willingly he ignores the reality that Iran’s nuclear program has never been peaceful.
Israel starting to consider 'day after' Iran agreement
Israel’s main problem with the proposed deal is that it freezes Iran’s program but does not dismantle it or significantly roll it back, in exchange for sanctions relief that Jerusalem believes severely weakens the pressure on Tehran. Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz said on Tuesday that in accepting this agreement, the world would be demonstrating that it “is willing to deceive itself.”
Israel Warns US: Iran Building ICBMs for YOU, Not for Us
Tuesday evening, Nov. 19, Israeli government spokesperson Mark Regev told CNN’s Jake Tapper that it isn’t just Israel in Iran’s cross-hairs, but it is the U.S. itself that is an intended target of Iran’s nuclear weapon.
Israel, Gulf in ‘strange alliance’ against Iran
There seems little chance of major diplomatic breakthroughs between Israel and the Gulf’s array of ruling monarchs and sheiks. But their shared worries over Iran’s influence and ambitions already has brought back-channel contacts and “intimate relationships” on defense and other strategic interests through forums such as the UN, said Dan Gillerman, a former Israeli ambassador to the world body.
The stepped-up anxieties on Iran could bring new space for the Gulf-Israel overlap.
Obama’s Israel Spat Boosts Iran’s Leverage
By downgrading the alliance with Israel and Saudi Arabia and trying to delegitimize his critics as warmongers, the president has strengthened Iran’s bargaining position and made it less rather than more likely that there will be a satisfactory conclusion to both the current negotiations and those that will follow. Rather than allowing diplomacy to succeed, what he has done may have ensured that Iran will never be convinced to give up its nukes by any means short of a use of force that no one wants.
Despite critique, Jewish groups continue Iran push
A day after columnist Thomas Friedman blasted Jewish groups for allying with Saudi Arabia in what he described as a push to derail nuclear negotiations with Iran, the Jewish Federations of North America issued a statement calling for strong caps on Iran’s nuclear program. In a resolution passed by the JFNA’s executive committee, the organization aligned itself closely with the policy advocated by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, insisting that any diplomatic solution reached in nuclear talks with Iran must result in the “complete dismantling of Iran’s capability of producing nuclear weapons and ensure mechanisms for ongoing verification of Iranian compliance.”
Iranians will ‘cut your throat,’ ex-US official warns negotiators
“The Iranians are known as great rug merchants, not for nothing,” the 92-year-old former US secretary of state George Shultz told the BBC in an interview. “They’re good at this business of smiling, encouraging you on and then cutting your throat, so you have to be tough-minded, you have to be realistic.”
Al Arabiya Chief: Obama Boosting Iran’s Confidence to Become Nuclear Country
“The ideal solution is to insist on preventing Iran from building nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, however, the involvement of U.S. President Barack Obama’s government in six months of negotiations boosts Iran’s confidence that it can force the international community to accept it as a nuclear country, despite all the offers, guarantees and promises made to stop this from happening,” Al-Rashed said, according to a translation provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute.
Egypt: Two Dead in Clashes at Cairo University
More than 1,500 students had marched earlier from the university campus in Cairo's Nasr City to Al-Azhar’s central administrative building, the state-owned Al-Ahram news website reported.
When the students attempted to storm the building, security forces intervened and forced them to return to the campus, an Al Arabiya correspondent reported.
Kerry: Muslim Brotherhood 'Stole' Egypt's Revolution
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday accused the Muslim Brotherhood of “stealing Egypt's revolution”, AFP reported.
In a speech to a forum on enhancing links between private sector businesses and diplomatic security agencies, Kerry said "the best antidote to extremism is opportunity."
IDF Blog: Hezbollah Indoctrinates Youth with Messages of Hate and Murder

  • Thursday, November 21, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon
Juan Pedro Schaerer, "head of delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Israel and occupied territories," writes in the Jerusalem Post:

It is not the ICRC, but rather the facts on the ground that determine whether a territory is under occupation. The facts are such that the Israel Defense Forces established their presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in June 1967, and exerted their authority there in place of the Jordanian authorities who were no longer able to exert their own authority.

The West Bank and east Jerusalem were “actually placed under the authority” of the IDF in the sense of Article 42 of the Hague Regulations of 1907. In other words, the facts on the ground were such that they fell squarely into the definition of occupied territory, which is codified in Article 42, a provision that also reflects international customary law.

This has not changed in the 45 years that have past since the occupation of the West Bank, including east Jerusalem, was first established. Israel continues to effectively control this territory.

In addition, international humanitarian law does not require that the territory occupied by a foreign army must belong to a sovereign state. The purely factual criterion used is that a territory is considered occupied when it is actually placed under the authority of a hostile army – which is the case in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
Since at this point Schaerer is only quoting the Hague Regulations, perhaps he should look at the title of the section that Article 42 falls under on the ICRC website:
SECTION III
MILITARY AUTHORITY OVER THE TERRITORY OF THE HOSTILE STATE
While this isn't proof positive that the Hague Regulations do not apply to non-state entities, it is also proof that Schaerer's blanket statement is not as clear cut as he pretends. He gives no source for his assertion, and based on primary sources, his statement is only that - an assertion.

The Geneva Conventions shed no additional light on this question, so as far as actual texts of international humanitarian law are concerned, Schaerer's statement is not supported at all.

The ICRC can interpret all it wants, but its interpretation is only that. To characterize it as definitive is deceptive, and that is what is happening here.

Regarding settlements, it is long established in international law that settlement activities by an occupying power in an occupied territory are unlawful.

Population transfers for the purpose of establishing settlements are forbidden under international humanitarian law, regardless of whether people are being directly transferred or indirectly transferred through incentives, encouragements or other measures facilitating their settlement in the occupied territory.

This is explicitly addressed in the Fourth Geneva Convention, for good reason. Such transfers are prohibited because they lead precisely to the demographic and other changes in the territory which occupation law was designed to prevent.
This is a flat-out lie.

I have many times dissected the text of Article 49 of the Geneva Conventions, and I have even dug up the travaux préparatoires that show that when the article was drafted not a word is said about transfer that is voluntary or even encouraged.

Indeed, international law writings, when discussing transfer of populations, are very careful to distinguish between voluntary and involuntary transfer.

Some transfers are said to be voluntary but are in fact involuntary. An example Egypt's expulsion of British subjects in November 1956. Egypt force them to sign an Arabic document where they stated that they were leaving of their own free will and relinquish any claims against Egypt. That is a case of involuntary transfer because the transferees were not given a choice.

The definition of voluntary transfer is very simple: "For the transfer to comply with human rights standards as developed, prospective transferees must have an option to remain in their homes if they prefer."

Nothing in any international law source insists that a nation forcibly stop its citizens from voluntarily moving, but that is apparently how Schaerer is purposefully misinterpreting Geneva.

Moreover, Schaerer characterizes the primary purpose of Article 49 as to "demographic and other changes in the territory which occupation law was designed to prevent." This is also a lie. All of the discussions recorded in the travaux préparatoires center on forced population transfer because of the obvious human rights issues that deportation and forced transfer entails, of forcibly uprooting people from their homes. Nobody said a word about demographic changes being an issue at least in that paragraph.

Thus, when the international community regards the Israeli settlements in the West Bank as unlawful, it does so simply because of that very prohibition, and not because of an opinion of the ICRC.
As I have shown, the source texts do not support Schaerer's interpretation. The ICRC might have some support for its position, but some legal scholars have proof for the opposite. That is why it is clearly, by definition, the ICRC's opinion.

This article proves the opposite of Schaerer's intention. By simply looking up the sources, we see that the ICRC is creating its own interpretation of international humanitarian law specifically to target Israel.

UPDATE: A lengthy comment at the JPost site is worth reading in full: (h/t Ian)

Mr. Schaerer's OpEd raises more questions than it provides answers. For starters, the most obvious one is why is the ICRC so inconsistent in applying the same rules to so many similar situations? To wit, if "It is not the ICRC, but rather the facts on the ground that determine whether a territory is under occupation." as he claims, how come the ICRC didn't apply the same criteria when Jordan illegally occupied and annexed the West Bank and Egypt did the same with Gaza in 1948? Similarly, how come the ICRC has never said a word regarding the (exceedingly brutal) invasion, occupation and annexation of Tibet by China in 1950 (which is still ongoing)? And what about Northern Cyprus, still illegally occupied by Turkey since 1974, and Morocco still illegally occupying the Western Sahara since 1975? Oh, I also forgot two provinces of Georgia still illegally occupied by Russia since 2008? In all these cases, the facts on the ground certainly proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that the territories in question are under occupation. Additionally, all these territories were acquired through wars of aggression, making them illegal, whereas Israel's occupation of the West Bank was the result of a defensive war, which makes it lawful. And yet it is on Israel that the ICRC keeps picking mercilessly, the only case of lawful occupation, while ignoring all the illegal ones! Could it be that the ICRC is scared to offend the culprits in all these other cases, whereas it knows it has nothing to fear from Israel in terms of retaliation? If not, how come the ICRC doesn't have extensive delegations of expatriates and local employees (as it does in Israel where they criss-cross the country taking care of every need of the Palestinians) in Tibet, Northern Cyprus and the Western Sahara? This is the core of the problem the ICRC faces when it keeps accusing Israel of something it is not guilty of while ignoring the countries who are really guilty of the offenses it accuses Israel of: by accepting to apply a double standard against Israel alone, the ICRC has shed much of its credibility as a so-called neutral agency. International law applies equally to all nations, or it applies to none, but it can't be applied to just a few and ignored by the rest.

Next Mr. Shaerer states: "Population transfers for the purpose of establishing settlements are
forbidden under international humanitarian law, regardless of whether people are being directly transferred or indirectly transferred through incentives, encouragements or other measures facilitating their settlement in the occupied territory." That is a blatant exaggeration of what the IVth 1949 Geneva Convention actually says. The article in question, Art.49, Para. 6, says "The Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies." Better yet, the ICRC's own commentary on the Geneva Conventions, regarded by most international law scholars as the most reliable interpretation of the GC, specifically says with regard to this provision that "[This clause]... is intended to prevent a practice adopted during the Second World War by certain Powers, which transferred portions of their own population to occupied territory for political and racial reasons or in order, as they claimed, to colonize those territories." This article was meant for the likes of Nazi Germany, and rather than Israeli settlers who moved to the West Bank of their own free will, it applies perfectly to the colonizers and settlers imported en masse by China in Tibet, Turkey in Northern Cyprus and Morocco in the Western Sahara. And yet... the ICRC has never said a word about these cases! Israel should stop being so nice and bend over backwards to please the ICRC when the same ICRC has proven itself incapable and unwilling of applying the same rules it wants to impose on Israel while ignoring more blatant cases of violations of the IVth GC. When it does, and proves to be the neutral agency it claims to be, it would then be welcomed back, although its interpretation of international law leading to the conclusion that the IVth GC is applicable to the West Bank remains faulty to this day anyway.

Finally, Mr. Schaerer promises us that "the ICRC envisages engaging in a series of open forum events in 2014", that is, to discuss "the discrepancies between international humanitarian law and certain policies implemented by Israel in the occupied territories". I trust that the real situations of illegal occupations I have mentioned will be prominently debated - in particular the question as to why the ICRC keeps harping on Israel and says nothing about these cases when in fact they meet far better the definition of belligerent occupation than Israel ever has. If not, this promises to be a completely moot and useless exercice.

Jean-Jacques Surbeck
Former member of the ICRC Legal Division in Geneva, Switzerland from 1974 to 1984 (now living in the US).

  • Thursday, November 21, 2013
  • Elder of Ziyon
This week, in a speech to tens of thousands of volunteer Basij militiamen in Tehran broadcast live on TV, Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei referred to Israel as an "unclean, rabid dog," which in Persian culture is one of the worst insults possible.

He repeats this in a new tweet and Facebook post, together with a graphic:


What was happening in this photo?

The original  photo caption was:
An Israeli army dog attacks a Palestinian woman as soldiers try to stop it during an army raid in the West Bank village of Obadiyah, near Bethlehem, Wednesday, March 21, 2007. The troops were searching for a wanted militant from the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades who managed to escape.

I also saw the photo here with the same caption but different photo credit.

And there is video, which was immediately seized by the Arab world as if the IDF was attacking the woman and not trying to help her:




Another photo (right) of the same dog attack is also popular on anti-Israel sites. Its caption adds that "the woman received medical attention from the troops on the scene." 

While the video was edited to make it look as if the solders are detaining the woman, in fact they were helping her.

Context is everything, and the Israel haters have no compunction about twisting facts.

Printfriendly

EoZTV Podcast

Podcast URL

Subscribe in podnovaSubscribe with FeedlyAdd to netvibes
addtomyyahoo4Subscribe with SubToMe

search eoz

comments

Speaking

Follow by Email

translate

E-Book

For $18 donation








Sample Text

EoZ's Most Popular Posts in recent years

Hasbys!

Elder of Ziyon - حـكـيـم صـهـيـون



This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 14 years and 30,000 articles I have been providing accurate, original news that would have remained unnoticed. I've written hundreds of scoops and sometimes my reporting ends up making a real difference. I appreciate any donations you can give to keep this blog going.

Donate!

Donate to fight for Israel!

Monthly subscription:
Payment options


One time donation:

subscribe via email

Follow EoZ on Twitter!

Interesting Blogs

Categories

#PayForSlay Abbas liar Academic fraud administrivia al-Qaeda algeria Alice Walker American Jews AmericanZionism Amnesty analysis anti-semitism anti-Zionism antisemitism apartheid Arab antisemitism arab refugees Arafat archaeology Ari Fuld art Ashrawi ASHREI B'tselem bahrain Balfour bbc BDS BDSFail Bedouin Beitunia beoz Bernie Sanders Biden history Birthright book review Brant Rosen breaking the silence Campus antisemitism Cardozo cartoon of the day Chakindas Chanukah Christians circumcision Clark Kent coexistence Community Standards conspiracy theories COVID-19 Cyprus Daled Amos Daphne Anson David Applebaum Davis report DCI-P Divest This double standards Egypt Elder gets results ElderToons Electronic Intifada Embassy EoZ Trump symposium eoz-symposium EoZNews eoztv Erekat Erekat lung transplant EU Euro-Mid Observer European antisemitism Facebook Facebook jail Fake Civilians 2014 Fake Civilians 2019 Farrakhan Fatah featured Features fisking flotilla Forest Rain Forward free gaza freedom of press palestinian style future martyr Gary Spedding gaza Gaza Platform George Galloway George Soros German Jewry Ghassan Daghlas gideon levy gilad shalit gisha Goldstone Report Good news Grapel Guardian guest post gunness Haaretz Hadassah hamas Hamas war crimes Hananya Naftali hasbara Hasby 2014 Hasby 2016 Hasby 2018 hate speech Hebron helen thomas hezbollah history Hizballah Holocaust Holocaust denial honor killing HRW Human Rights Humanitarian crisis humor huor Hypocrisy ICRC IDF IfNotNow Ilan Pappe Ilhan Omar impossible peace incitement indigenous Indonesia international law interview intransigence iran Iraq Islamic Judeophobia Islamism Israel Loves America Israeli culture Israeli high-tech J Street jabalya James Zogby jeremy bowen Jerusalem jewish fiction Jewish Voice for Peace jihad jimmy carter Joe Biden John Kerry jokes jonathan cook Jordan Joseph Massad Juan Cole Judaism Judea-Samaria Judean Rose Judith Butler Kairos Karl Vick Keith Ellison ken roth khalid amayreh Khaybar Know How to Answer Lebanon leftists Linda Sarsour Linkdump lumish mahmoud zahar Mairav Zonszein Malaysia Marc Lamont Hill Marjorie Taylor Greene max blumenthal Mazen Adi McGraw-Hill media bias Methodist Michael Lynk Michael Ross Miftah Missionaries moderate Islam Mohammed Assaf Mondoweiss moonbats Morocco Mudar Zahran music Muslim Brotherhood Naftali Bennett Nakba Nan Greer Nation of Islam Natural gas Nazi Netanyahu News nftp NGO Nick Cannon NIF Noah Phillips norpac NSU Matrix NYT Occupation offbeat olive oil Omar Barghouti Only in Israel Opinion Opinon oxfam PA corruption PalArab lies Palestine Papers pallywood pchr PCUSA Peace Now Peter Beinart Petra MB philosophy poetry Poland poll Poster Preoccupied Prisoners propaganda Proud to be Zionist Puar Purim purimshpiel Putin Qaradawi Qassam calendar Quora Rafah Ray Hanania real liberals RealJerusalemStreets reference Reuters Richard Falk Richard Landes Richard Silverstein Right of return Rivkah Lambert Adler Robert Werdine rogel alpher roger cohen roger waters Rutgers Saeb Erekat Sarah Schulman Saudi Arabia saudi vice self-death self-death palestinians Seth Rogen settlements sex crimes SFSU shechita sheikh tamimi Shelly Yachimovich Shujaiyeh Simchat Torah Simona Sharoni SodaStream South Africa Sovereignty Speech stamps Superman Syria Tarabin Temple Mount Terrorism This is Zionism Thomas Friedman TOI Tomer Ilan Trump Trump Lame Duck Test Tunisia Turkey UAE Accord UCI UK UN UNDP unesco unhrc UNICEF United Arab Emirates Unity unrwa UNRWA hate unrwa reports UNRWA-USA unwra Varda Vic Rosenthal Washington wikileaks work accident X-washing Y. Ben-David Yemen YMikarov zahran Ziesel zionist attack zoo Zionophobia Ziophobia Zvi

Blog Archive