Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

33 reportedly killed in Lebanon; media yawns

At least 32 Nusra Front gunmen were killed in east Lebanon in a weekend ambush sprung by Hezbollah fighters, a senior security source said Monday, adding that a member of the Lebanese group was also killed in ensuing fighting.

The ambush took place early Saturday in Wadi al-Jamala, on the outskirts of Nahle, a rugged mountainous area along the porous border between Lebanon and Syria, the source said.

The gunmen were making their way into Lebanon through an illegal border crossing, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

The bodies of the slain Nusra Front fighters are in Hezbollah’s possession, the source added.

The clash was reported in other Lebanese media but not the casualty count.

But why should the mainstream media mention the spillover of Syria's civil war onto Lebanese territory? Can't be that important.

(h/t Eric L)

I always knew the UN had an aroma

UN vehicles can be seen all over Israel. Here are two in front of an Aroma coffee house.

12/23 Links Part 2: HR's 2013 Dishonest Reporting Awards, The Guardian mourns Pal anti-Semite

From Ian:

The 2013 Dishonest Reporting Awards

With the world watching Syria, Egypt, and Iran so closely in 2013, Israel was relatively less of a lightning rod for the international media.
Still, Israeli-Palestinian negotiators were nudged back to the peace table, and Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against the shortcomings of Iranian nuclear diplomacy. US-Israel relations were strained by differences on both issues. Everything else was either just a detail, or simply paled in comparison to those bigger issues.
We thank our readers for sharing their thoughts on the year that was. Here are the 2013 Dishonest Reporting runners-up.

Douglas Murray: Anti-Fascists Caught Looking the Wrong Way?

UAF [Unite Against Fascism] are not alone in this. The group Hope not Hate appears to have set people up for targeting in exactly the way they claim "fascists" do.
Now that Adebolajo has been sentenced, perhaps UAF -- and other groups like it -- might give serious thought to how this situation came about. As should those politicians, including Prime Minister David Cameron, who are publicly associated with UAF as founding signatories.
The wider question, of course, is the more important: How is it that when violent fascism returned to Europe, the "anti-fascist" groups were all caught looking the other way?

Khaled Abu Toameh: Has Kerry Heard of the Palestinians' "Hitler"?

Abbas, it seems, has lost control not only over the Gaza Strip, but also his Fatah faction. The widespread support for "Hitler" [Jamal Abu al Rub] reflects the state of dissatisfaction with Abbas and his top aides. Some Palestinians see the recent events as the beginning of a mutiny against Abbas. The mounting tensions are an indicator of what awaits Abbas if and when he signs a deal with Israel.
What the U.S. seems not to understand is that a weak, divided and discredited Fatah will never be able to sign any agreement with Israel.
Even worse, Fatah's internal problems are good news for Hamas and the enemies of peace.

Listen to the Words of the Palestinians

The biggest failure in the American diplomatic quest to midwife the State of Palestine has been a failure to listen to the Palestinians, who don’t hide much. (One wag said that generally parties to a negotiation lie on the outside and tell the truth in private; the Palestinians, however, lie in private and tell the truth in public.) This is a failing not only of the present administration, but it is reaching a fever pitch as Secretary of State Kerry alternately cajoles and threatens the parties to accept his view of what the disposition of their conflict should entail.

Erekat: No direct talks with Israel in weeks

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Monday that there have been no direct peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians in several weeks and that the two sides were meeting separately with the Americans in efforts to advance negotiations.
“There have not been direct meetings for some time,” Erekat was quoted by Maariv as saying. “The meetings taking place now are between us [the Palestinians] and the Americans on the one hand, and the Israelis and the Americans on the other.”
Erekat also rejected a report Sunday that a framework agreement put forth by US Secretary of State John Kerry has been agreed to, stressing that the details were still under negotiation. (h/t Bob Knot)

Report: U.S. Will Present Framework Israel-PA Peace Agreement by End of Month

The United States intends to unveil a formal framework peace agreement to Israel and the Palestinian Authority by the end of the month, senior Arab League sources revealed to the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. According to these sources, cited by Israeli daily Ma’ariv on Sunday, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said during a meeting of the League held over the weekend in Cairo that the Americans are trying to salvage the talks between the parties through the framework agreement.

US offers to guard Jordan Valley, Palestinians say

The London-based pan-Arab daily A-Sharq al-Awsat on Monday quoted Palestinian sources to the effect that the Americans had changed their position, moving closer to Palestinian demands in the face of stiff Palestinian resistance to the idea of a continued IDF presence on the border.

NGO Monitor: ´Tis the Season 2013: How Anti-Israel NGOs Manipulate Christmas

These organizations often use offensive and inflammatory rhetoric in Christmas carols, holiday messages and cards, nativity scenes, and other items. This year, verses and prayers that promote anti-Israel themes are prominent, polarizing Jewish-Christian relations and exacerbating an already complex and violent conflict.
The abuse of Christmas messages is part of a broad international campaign to introduce political warfare against Israel into churches. As seen in NGO Monitor’s “BDS in the Pews” project, Palestinian Christian NGOs, such as Sabeel and Kairos Palestine, provide the theological and ideological frameworks for these attacks.

Abbas, PLO lash Israel in Christmas messages

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas released a Christmas greeting Monday, calling Jesus a “Palestinian messenger” and implying that Israel persecutes Christians.
“As we Palestinians strive for our freedom two millennia later,” he wrote in a statement, “we do our best to follow his example. We work with hope, seeking justice, in order to achieve a lasting peace.”

Honest Reporting: PLO Claims Jesus Was Palestinian

And what would happen today if a Jewish boy like Jesus decided to enter Palestinian-controlled areas? Most likely he’d have to lead his donkey through a hail of stones being thrown at him on the road.
The video itself is the usual Palestinian narrative of victim-hood and Israeli oppression. But when it comes to co-opting Jesus Christ, claiming him to be a Palestinian for their own propaganda, it’s clear just how far the Palestinians are prepared to go to distort history and religion for their cause.

Irish4Israel – A Year in Review newsletter

2013 has been a hugely busy year for Irish4Israel. As a group we started 2013 with less than 2,000 ‘Likes’ on Facebook.
On the 17th of January the Cork Poetry week hosted Lyor Shternberg, in keeping with our belief in supporting Israeli cultural events, we promoted the event and saw a large crowd turn out to hear Lyor’s lovely poetry.
January 20th saw Trocaire cancel their anti-Israel school literature and this was thanks to the very many of you who contacted Trocaire to raise your objection to their one sided propaganda for schools.

Sussex Friends of Israel counter the BDS

This chance meeting was to be the start of a gutsy, determined, non-denominational pro-Israel group, ‘Sussex Friends of Israel’, whose members counter the BDS actions of the Brighton and Hove PSC – Palestinian Solidarity Campaign in all weathers. Snow, sleet, hail and rain. Disgusted by the boycott, the two men decided they would go back to their communities to form a plan of action.
The group (which later became Sussex Friends of Israel) grew rapidly. People of all denominations in Brighton were made aware of the EcoStream boycott and many started to turn out every week to counter the BDS.

Crude stereotyping of ‘expansionist’ Israelis in BBC 3 comedy show

A BBC Three comedy show called ‘The Revolution Will Be Televised’ (made by Hat Trick Productions) is described on the BBC website as a:
Apparently having run out of “politicians, multinationals and tax-shy corporations”, episode 6 of season two of the programme (available here in the UK only on BBC iPlayer), which was broadcast on December 15th and 19th, turned to other subject matter.
The segment billed in the programme blurb as “The Israeli Embassy is expanding, no planning permission required” opens with an animated sequence which suggests bringing up “the Israeli-Palestinian conflict” at dinner parties,

Guardian mourns Eyad Sarraj, a Palestinian who once asked: Are Jews evil by nature?

What exactly does it take to disqualify a Palestinian from being canonized as a liberal human rights activist by the Guardian Left? This question came to mind when reading a Guardian obituary for Eyad Sarraj, who died recently at Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem where he was being treated for cancer.
The obit was written by the Guardian’s former associate foreign editor Victoria Brittain, a Palestine Solidarity Campaign patron who recently penned a spirited defense at ‘Comment is Free’ of radical Islamist preacher (and suspected al-Qaeda operative) Abu Qatada.

Hamas-Repping, ‘Certified Self-Loathing’ Jewish Lawyer Indicted Over $3M in Income

Stanley L. Cohen, a Manhattan based Jewish lawyer who made a name for himself representing members of terror groups, has been charged in a Manhattan court for wire fraud and for failing to report more than $3 million in income, the New York Post reported.
Cohen, whose clients have included Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzook and Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, faces up to 20 years jail-time. He also currently faces similar charges made last year in a Syracuse court.
On his Twitter account Cohen refers to himself as a “Certified Selfloathing’ Jew” and an “AntiZionist.”

Vandals desecrate Russian synagogue with pig’s head

Representatives of the Jewish community of the city, which is located 600 miles west of Baku, Azerbaijan, found the pig’s head at the entrance to their synagogue on December 20. They believe the perpetrators are also responsible for English-language graffiti on the building’s external wall, which read: “Happy Tu B’Shevat, Jewish Pigs.”

Syria’s ‘destroyed’ ancient synagogue is still intact

Contrary to a flurry of reports, the 2,000-year-old Jobar Synagogue in Damascus has not been destroyed during the Syrian civil war, and is now being guarded by locals, The Times of Israel was told on Sunday. A photograph was provided that appeared to confirm that the synagogue interior is largely intact.
Despite reports that valuable artifacts from the synagogue, including its Torah scrolls, were being held hostage by an Islamist extremist rebel group, the objects are actually being held in safekeeping after being removed from the building, The Times of Israel was also told, although there was no way to independently verify this.

David Mamet Developing a Miniseries for Fox

David Mamet is working on a miniseries for Fox, Variety reports. He's signed a deal to develop a seven-part limited series based on the seven deadly sins, and he would write at least three episodes, including writing and directing the first installment. There are no firm plot details yet, but apparently "the themes invoked by the seven deadly sins will serve as a backdrop of a series of interconnected stories [that] reflect on the human condition," which is both encouraging (sounds cool!) and confusing (but not at all like something that would air on Fox!).

Cyprus likely partner as Israel mulls gas exports, but Turkey beckons

Israel is studying its options for exporting its natural gas riches in the eastern Mediterranean, but instability in neighboring Egypt and friction with former ally Turkey are blocking possible undersea pipeline links with them to take the gas to Europe.
That leaves a joint export operation with neighboring Cyprus, which will be the next big offshore gas producer in the region, looking like the frontrunner -- for now, at least, because war-divided Cyprus lies at the center of a long and seemingly intractable dispute with Turkey.

Israel gives Intel’s two-in-one’s a big boost

Intel is feeling pressure from the changes in the market – especially from the iPad, which doesn’t use Intel components. In response, Intel has created a line of products that function as both tablets and laptops – with a lot of help from the company’s Jerusalem engineering team.
While “Intel Inside” is a term that applies to most of the desktop computers, servers, and laptops sold, it doesn’t apply to what has emerged as the most important market segment of computing today – the tablet market, in which Apple’s iPad reigns supreme. The iPad and many other tablets use processors made by ARM Holdings – and considering that tablets, and especially iPads, are outselling laptops, Intel has been feeling some pain from the current market situation.

Israel Daily Picture: If the Library of Congress Archives Was Our "Mother Lode," the University of California Museum of Photography Is the "Father Lode"

Today, we introduce you to the incredible collection of glass plates and film negatives in the University of California - Riverside Museum of Photography where many of their 250,000 stereoscopic plates and 100,000 negatives are now online. This posting is Part 1 of several future features.
Since the Library of Congress' American Colony collection served as our "mother lode" of photos, we refer to the UCR's immense collection as the "father lode." Indeed, many of the photographs found in other collections are but copies, often in poor condition, of the vintage pictures at UCR.

Mohammed Sabih, deputy secretary general for Palestinian affairs in the Arab League, went on an anti-Israel rant, stating that Israel is aggressively attacking Palestinian Arabs, it is digging tunnels under Muslim holy places in Jerusalem, it wants to divide the Al Aqsa Mosque into Jewish and Muslim parts as was done in Hebron with the Cave of the Patriarchs, it is committing aggression against the "Wailing Wall," it is "Judaizing" Jerusalem and falsifying history, and it is engaged in ethnic cleansing of Arabs, that it tortures Arab prisoners, and its actions prove that Israel does not want peace.

Pretty much what you would expect from the "moderates."

Sabih also stressed that the issue of Palestinian refugees is one of the core Palestinian principles and that the resolution of this issue will be only through UNGA Resolution 194, and that any attempt to avoid solving the problem by having millions of Arabs moving into Israel is rejected.

He said that the international community and Israel must realize that the solution to the refugee issue is an important basis for establishing peace in the region.

In other words, there can be no peace as long as a Jewish state exists.

Again, it is a shame that Western diplomats refuse to believe what these people say in Arabic.

12/23 Links Part 1: Israel Bomb Attack Thwarted by Vigilant Bus Driver, Turkey is Hamas's new Sponsor

From Ian:

Mainstreaming anti-Israelism

The New York Times, the mainstream voice of the American Left, published two articles this week on a boycott resolution passed by a little-known academic group -- the American Studies Association. The second of the two articles appeared on the front page of the paper, meaning that a resolution adopted by the votes of just over 800 members of the association was viewed as one of the top stories in the world that day.
Had the association refused to endorse such a boycott, the story would never have made the front page, and the results of the vote by the association's members would likely not even have been reported in The New York Times. The Times' breathless coverage, and eagerness to report on the symbolic blow to the Jewish state reflects a dismaying sign of the times in the United States -- hostility to Israel has become a signature issue for the Left.

The Answer to BDS is Jewish Power

I don’t point those facts to make the case that we shouldn’t be worried—we should be. There is no room for complacency in the face of a movement whose worldview is rooted in the struggle against Jewish sovereignty in much the same way that the Nazis saw the Jews, or the communists saw the bourgeoisie, as the ultimate enemy. But in fighting the academic boycott and BDS more generally, we should not lose awareness of the power we 21st-century Jews have, nor our ability to wield it.
Hence, let’s by all means ridicule the pretensions of the BDS movement to be a latter-day incarnation of the movement against apartheid in South Africa. Let’s not hesitate in pointing out its failures. At the same time, let’s not permit it to mushroom because we don’t think it’s a threat. Both Brandeis University and Penn State Harrisburg have pulled out of ASA since the boycott was announced, and we should push for a similar outcome in the case of similar initiatives. Much as some Jews are uncomfortable with acknowledging this reality, we have the power to harass, frustrate, and crush the BDS movement wherever it appears. Let us do so without mercy.

Top US academic association decries Israel boycott

The executive committee of the Association of American Universities, which consists of 60 leading US and Canadian universities including Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, released a statement Friday saying that boycotts violate “the academic freedom of Israeli scholars but also of American scholars who might be pressured to comply with it.”
The AAU said in its statement Friday that academic freedom should not be “abridged by political considerations.”
“Academic freedom is the freedom of university faculty responsibly to produce and disseminate knowledge through research, teaching, and service, without undue constraint,” the statement read. “American colleges and universities, as well as like institutions elsewhere, must stand as the first line of defense against attacks on academic freedom.”

List of Universities rejecting academic boycott of Israel

The universities and colleges below are confirmed to reject the academic boycott of Israel passed by the American Studies Association.
This list is based on positions expressed by the Presidents of such Universities or others in a position to state a university’s position (e.g., communications staff). We are aware of no university in the U.S. endorsing the boycott.

Indiana, Wash U. St. Louis, GWU, Northwestern, Cornell reject academic boycott of Israel

The list of Universities condemning the academic boycott of Israel passed by the American Studies Association and two smaller academic groups is growing.
New announcements are being made daily, although I expect a lull in new announcements as most universities are closed until after New Year’s Day.

Israel Bomb Attack Thwarted by Vigilant Bus Driver

The driver, Michael Yuger, was told by one of his passengers about a large suspicious black knapsack in the back of the number 240 bus he was driving. He immediately had all 15 passengers get off and alerted Israeli security forces.
The bomb exploded as a police sapper attempted to diffuse the device. A police officer was lightly injured and was taken to a nearby hospital.
The bus driver however, claims he is not a hero.
“One passenger saw wires and a big pot after he opened the bag to check it. We all got off. About ten minutes after discovering the knapsack the bomb went off,” he said.

Security forces search for suspects in Bat Yam bus bombing

The US government strongly condemned the bombing, saying “violent acts targeting civilians are deplorable.”
“We reaffirm our unshakable bond with Israel and our solidarity with the Israeli people,” read a State Department statement issued late Sunday.
President Shimon Peres phoned and thanked the bus driver and the passenger who discovered the explosive, saying their actions saved lives.
“The nation owes you a debt of gratitude and I would like to personally congratulate you for this act of bravery,” Peres told bus driver Michael Yoger.
Palestinian terror groups, meanwhile, praised Sunday’s attempted attack, but failed to take responsibility for the blast.

Rocket from Gaza falls near children’s bus stop

Police sappers early Monday morning collected the shards of a Kassam rocket that Palestinians earlier fired from the Gaza Strip at the Hof Ashkelon area.
The rocket was found several hours after it fell near a bus stop used by schoolchildren. There were no injuries in the attack, but the bus stop sustained light damage.

Syrian Mortar Shell Strikes Golan

A mortar shell fired from Syria exploded Monday morning in the Israeli Golan Heights, near Tel Fares. The shell blew up in empty territory, causing no casualties or damage.
An initial check indicates that the shell was not fired at Israel intentionally, but is part of the unintended “spillover” from the Syrian civil war.

Senior IDF Officer: ‘Egyptians Have Made a Strategic Decision to Paralyze Hamas’

Israeli military officials surmise that that the deteriorating economic situation in Gaza, along with a chill setting in between Egypt and Hamas, has increased the deep sense of frustration and despair among Palestinians living in the area.
“The Egyptians have made a strategic decision to paralyze Hamas,” an IDF Southern Command officer said. “This tactic is what is causing the frustration [in Gaza].”

Turkey 'has Replaced Iran as Hamas's Sponsor'

Israel’s intelligence community has determined that Turkey has replaced Iran as the leading financial backer of Hamas since 2012, reports the World Tribune, citing unspecified “Israeli sources.”
The sources said the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has overseen the transfer of up to $250 million a year to Hamas, and particularly to its governing apparatus in Gaza.

Analysis: Why has Netanyahu been silent over NSA spying on Israel?

In the aftermath of revelations of the US National Security Agency (NSA) spying on Israeli prime ministers, why aren’t Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his predecessors Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak calling for heads to roll and a complete overhaul in US-Israel relations?
That was how German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto and many other heads of state reacted when they learned that the NSA had spied on them.

US spying gives momentum to free Pollard effort

Politicians from across the political spectrum renewed their call for the United States to release Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard Sunday, following revelations that the US National Security Agency (NSA) had spied on Israeli leaders.
The revelations gave momentum to the effort to encourage US President Barack Obama to commute Pollard’s life sentence to the 28 years he has served. But Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu made a point of saying that Israel did not need an excuse to deal with Pollard’s release.

Palestinian sources: Gulf officials met Netanyahu in Israel

A delegation from a Persian Gulf country recently visited Israel to meet with Israeli officials, the Palestinian weekly al-Manar reported on Sunday. “Two-high rankings officials” were in Israel on December 10, the report said, citing Palestinian sources.
The report could not be independently verified by The Times of Israel.
The Gulf country that sent the delegation was not identified, although al-Manar speculated that it was Saudi Arabia, based on a report that Saudis and Israelis had met in Monaco the previous week. The sources alleged that, in Israel, the Saudi officials met with officials from the foreign and defense ministries, even meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu himself.

Experts: Rouhani Has Isolated Israel In Months

The cover story of Forbes Magazine's latest edition, summarizing the year 2013, focuses on the far-reaching influence of Rouhani's "charm offensive" on Israel in a mere matter of months.
Rouhani's historic nuclear deal is the highlight of his achievements presented in the article. In addition to cancelling Iranian isolation, the deal has led to a crisis in relations between the Islamic regime's greatest enemy, Israel, and Israel's main ally, the US.
The Israeli security and academic experts quoted in the article note that Iran's control of the international sphere comes at Israel's expense, which is taking Iran's place as an isolated country.

Nuclear talks suspended until after Christmas

Talks between Iran and six world powers over implementation of a recent nuclear deal will take a break until after Christmas, the Iranian negotiating team said Sunday night, after four days of negotiations.
The announcement came several hours after Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that nuclear negotiations may require a “pause in the talks” due to a conflict of agreement on the technical terms of the deal.

Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God (REVIEW)

Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon’s Party of God, by Matthew Levitt The threat that Hezbollah poses, Levitt warns, is very real—and it is growing. “As tensions continue to mount over Iran’s nuclear program, Hezbollah’s strategic relationship with Iran—the role it has already played in Tehran’s shadow war with the West—gives officials worldwide ample cause of alarm.” Therein lies what is perhaps Hezbollah‘s most trenchant message; with the danger of a nuclear Iran looming ever larger on the horizon, Levitt’s book is a timely reminder of how dangerous and widespread the genie of Hezbollah truly is, and why there needs to be a concerted global effort to get it back into the bottle.

Concern grows in Lebanon over refugee camp linked to al Qaida

That means that in addition to wanting Syria to be ruled by radical Sunni interpretations of Islam, the camp is a breeding ground for those who believe that Shiites “are apostates that need to be destroyed,” Rahman said.
The Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah agrees, and its officials and security personnel have been quietly making the case that al Qaida-linked groups are using the long-standing tradition that Lebanese soldiers and police officers can’t enter the Palestinian refugee camps to make arrests in order to build a haven to conduct operations against Hezbollah in revenge for its open participation in fighting for the Syrian regime.

Jihadi Cleric Omar Bakri Defends Anti-Hizbullah, anti-Iran Suicide Bombings

Omar Bakri: Using the method of blowing oneself up for the sake of Allah is acceptable, so long as the target is legitimate. This is not about blowing oneself up. All groups, even non-Sunni ones, use [suicide] bombings.
With regard to the two young men [who committed the Beirut suicide attacks], I pray that Allah will accept them as martyrs and absolve their sins, and that He will also accept as martyrs those who were killed there by mistake.
People who want to ban martyrdom operations are trying to alter the religion of Allah.

While the world dithers, Syrians die

For Syrians, 2013 has brought death, destruction and devastation on an unprecedented scale. Indeed, Assad’s most recent aerial barrel-bomb assaults in Aleppo have even been described by activists themselves as being unprecedented. The indiscriminate air strikes this past week – which occurred amidst yet another upsurge in violence – were reported by Al-Jazeera to have caused more than 125 deaths, including many women and children.
At year’s end, Assad’s killing machine – and increasingly that of Jihadist rebels – will have resulted in at least 130 000 dead – with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimating that the real figure is actually much higher. As well, the number of internally displaced people now stands at 6.5 million and growing, while there are more than 2 million refugees – at least half of whom are children.

Red Cross: 500,000 Wounded in Syria

"At least half a million people have been wounded across the country and millions remain displaced and tens of thousands detained," ICRC chief Magne Barth said in a statement.
"The wounded are often not cared for properly and the chronically ill often do not receive the treatment they need," Barth added.

Deterioration In Turkey-Egypt Relations Due To Turkish PM Erdogan's Opposition To Egyptian President Mursi's Ouster

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, founder of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP), has consistently opposed Egyptian President Muhammad Mursi's July 3, 2013 ouster by Defense Minister 'Abd Al-Fattah Al-Sisi, branding it a military coup. Erdogan identifies with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) movement and, in contrast to many leaders of Arab countries who backed Mursi's removal, supports the MB's call to restore Mursi to the presidency, and its argument that his removal came as part of a military coup against a democratically and legitimately elected government.

Arabic media are reporting that a rocket from Gaza landed in the sea off of Rafah's Egyptian coast on Sunday afternoon.

The rocket exploded some 300 meters from the coast.

Egyptian sources said that Hamas informed Egyptian intelligence that the rocket was being used for training exercises from the area of Tal al-Sultan and that it was mistakenly launched towards Egypt.

Hamas and other terror groups sometimes shoot test rockets towards the Mediterranean.

The annual Israel-bashing Christmas articles are here

From AFP:

After a decade of unrest, Bethlehem has seen a surge in visits to Christ's traditional birthplace, raising hopes of a tourism bonanza in the West Bank town despite Israel's separation barrier.

The Palestinian territories' top tourist destination is a victim of the barrier which cuts off the town from nearby Jerusalem, just 10 kilometres (six miles) away.

Israel began work on its sprawling barrier -- dubbed the "apartheid wall" by Palestinians -- in 2002 at the height of the second intifada, or uprising.

It defends the construction as a crucial protective measure, pointing to a drop in attacks inside Israel as proof of its success.

Palestinian tourism minister Rola Maayah sees the barrier as a key obstacle to encouraging visitors to the town.

"Bethlehem, one of our main tourist attractions is circled by 27 settlements. As a result, we are surrounded by high walls, fences and menacing checkpoints which put tourists off," Maayah said.

"We could develop tourism, attract people from all over the world, but it's not possible because of the Israeli occupation," she added.

Does anyone notice a complete disconnect between the first paragraph and the other ones quoted here?

Between 2011 and 2012, more than two million people visited the town. The record crowds brought much-needed revenues after a tough decade for tourism during the second intifada.

"There was a significant jump in tourism in Palestine in 2012 with an 18 percent rise in the number of visitors," Maayah said. A little over half of these were foreigners.

So tourism to Bethlehem has reached record numbers - but the key parts of the article are about how Bethlehem cannot attract tourists.

The Washington Post has a similar article:

Tourist visits are up this year, to about 1.6 million visitors, Palestinians officials say. Most visitors come by charter bus, however, and linger just long enough to peer into the grotto at the Church of the Nativity where Jesus is said to have been born. Few stop to buy a string of rosary beads, or enjoy a plate of hummus. Almost all spend the night at hotels inside Israel, which competes with Bethlehem for tourism dollars.

“We don’t benefit from the buying power of these tourists,” said Fayrouz Khoury, deputy director of the Chamber of Commerce.

Yesterday COGAT spokesperson Guy Inbar told me that Bethlehem hotels are booked solid this week - you cannot find a room in Bethlehem if you tried.

Obviously tourists can reach Bethlehem any time they want, separation barrier or not. Articles like these routinely uncritically quote anti-Israel officials without pointing out the obvious - the facts belie the accusations and Israel is not doing anything to stop religious tourists from visiting and staying in Bethlehem.

(h/t Anne, Joel B)

Abbas - the "leader" who cannot make a decision

Ma'an reports:

US Secretary of state John Kerry will present Palestinian and Israeli leaders with a framework peace agreement by the end of the month, an Arab League official said.

Mohammad Sbeih, secretary-general of Palestinian affairs at the Arab League, told Ma'an that Kerry would present a proposed peace agreement by Dec. 31.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas informed the Arab League about the upcoming proposal, saying it would contain US suggestions regarding the borders of the future Palestinian state, Sbeih said.

Why is the Arab League is seemingly aware of this event but there is nothing from the Israeli side? Could it be that only one side understands what the word "secret" means?

Abbas, for his part, has lots of demands:

- Abbas would accept a Palestinian state with the entirety of East Jerusalem as its capital, with limited land swaps as long as the lands being traded were of equal value.

- He would accept an incremental withdrawal of Israeli troops from Palestinian land, allowing them up to three years to leave.

- He would reject the idea of any permanent Israeli military presence in the Jordan Valley, but would welcome an international peacekeeping presence.

- He would refuse to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

- He would reject any interim agreement, calling instead for a final solution.

- He would reject any proposal that required Palestine to be an unarmed state, but said he would not get involved in an "arms race."

Abbas is great at rejection, as we know. But could he accept any agreement?

The answer is no:

Abbas told the League that "once he receives the American proposal he will not respond but will present it to Arab nations to make a joint decision."

He doesn't need Arab League approval for his demands, but he requires it before any compromise?

Abbas, who is effectively a dictator, is unwilling to make any unpopular decisions for his pseudo-nation.

Which means that he is too weak - by his own calculations - to do anything.

Which means he is no leader at all.

Which means that any agreement he signs is worthless.

"Damming" evidence of Hamas and Iranian lies

Both Iran's FARS News and Hamas' Al Qassam Brigades website report:

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has issued a report detailing the winter storm's impacts on the occupied Palestinian territories during the past few days.

The report pointed to the deliberate opening of Israeli dams toward Gaza borders which led to the flooding of several houses and large agricultural areas, deepening the economic losses and crises in the besieged Strip.

"Heavy flooding across the Gaza Strip resulted in the displacement of approximately 6,000 people to temporary shelters and relatives’ homes at the height of the storm. Most of the displaced families have left schools and community centers; however, approximately, 1,000 were still taking shelter in three schools as of 15 December," OCHA’s report said, pointing out that the situation in most flooded areas has improved except for Gaza city.

I debunked the dam story a week ago, but I was surprised that OCHA would have reported it. They are usually more subtle in their lies.

Turns out - they didn't.

The Iranian FARS' version quotes Palestine Info Center for that blurb. PIC is a Hamas-linked British organization but I couldn't find it mentioned there.

The UN OCHA story they quoted is here, and says nothing about any illusory Israeli dam.

Either PIC did report this story and I couldn't find it (or they removed it,) or Iran made up the story, or maybe Hamas made up the story.

Either way, you cannot trust a word from Iran or Hamas.

Arab League announces commission to investigate Arafat's "assassination"

Palestine Press Agency reports that the Arab League, in a special session Saturday night decided to form an "international investigation committee to uncover the truth of the facts relating to the assassination of the late President Yasser Arafat.

This was at the recommendation of Mahmoud Abbas, as a followup to his similar requests to form a UN investigation in 2012. Abbas called for the UN to investigate last month as well and the internal PA investigation committee already employs 100 people who are apparently being paid by Western funds to push papers around in giant circles.

Saeb Erekat, member of the Executive Committee of the PLO, said "At the request of President Abbas, the Council of Arab foreign ministers decided to assign permanent representatives of the Arab countries in the United Nations to work for the formation of an international investigation committee the martyrdom of President Yasser Arafat."

Given all the time and effort that numerous "investigations" have expended so far without any findings, Erekat might as well have said, "We will not stop forming commissions, committees and inquiries until we can definitively blame Arafat's death on Israel."

Keep in mind that Abbas' government has been on record as blaming Israel for Arafat's death since at least 2006.

One of the rock bands that Israel boycotters love to pretend supports their cause is The Pixies.

For example, this recent Mondoweiss article was critical of a Variety article on BDS because it only mentioned pressure from Israel-haters on that group but nothing about their supposedly making an active decision to support the boycott:

Kamin also references The Pixies’ cancelled performance in Tel Aviv, again citing intimidation as the reason. However, she fails to mention that their cancellation happened in June, 2010—just days after Israel’s horrendously violent response to the peaceful Gaza Flotilla. At that time, The Pixies cancelled their performance, stating that, “events beyond our control have conspired against us.” Nor does she recognize the Israeli fans that support the BDS movement, writing to The Pixies urging them ‘not to cross the international picket line’. Kamin’s omission of these key facts does not give her readers the full picture of events contributing to The Pixies’ cancelation and calls into question her journalistic objectivity.

Now we have a much better idea of whether the Pixies canceled because they support BDS - or because of the pressure given to them by the haters:

Iconic rock bands Soundgarden and Pixies will perform in Israel for the first time in their careers this summer.

The Pixies were supposed to perform in Israel in 2010, but were forced to cancel in the political fallout from the Mavi Marmara raid, in which nine Turkish nationals were killed when the IDF boarded a flotilla heading from Turkey to Gaza.

The Pixies were apologetic but resolute when they called off their 2010 Tel Aviv concert.

At the time, the concert's producers received the following message from the band's management: "The decision (to cancel) was not reached easily, and we all know well the Israeli fans have been waiting for this visit for far too long.

"We'd like to extend our deepest apologies to the fans, but events beyond all our control have conspired against us. We can only hope for better days, in which we will finally present the long awaited visit of the Pixies in Israel."

The Pixies and Soundgarden is a pretty impressive double act.

(h/t Kramerica, Ian)

12/22 Links: ASA threaten legal action against Critics, Arab League rejects Kerry's plan

From Ian:

Anti-Israel academic boycotters threaten legal action against opponents

In seeking to make Israel a pariah, the ASA anti-Israel boycotters have made themselves pariahs in American civil society and severely damaged the reputation of the ASA.
The pressure apparently is getting to those at the ASA who were behind the boycott resolution. The ASA Activism Caucus has issued a statement claiming that its members are the subject of harassment and threats.
More important, the ASA Activism Caucus has threatened legal action against critics in academia and university administrators:

We will try to address any academics and administrators who participate in undemocratic, unethical, and illegal behavior, and if necessary we will take legal action with the support of our legal team.
The statement is curious because it is not issued in the name of ASA, but in the name of the ASA Activism Caucus, as if the ASA Activism Caucus considered itself able to take legal and other actions in the name of the entire organization. That tells you something right there.

Native Canadian Stands Up For Israel (Again) (VIDEO)

Native Canadian Ryan Bellerose condemns NAISA’s call for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

Pro-Israel campaigning causes anti-Semitism, claims loony Left student

The Union of Jewish Students (UJS) is a decent organisation which helps to ensure the rights of Jewish students to freely express their cultural and religious identity on campuses across the United Kingdom.
Perhaps illustrating the intimidating environment faced by Jewish students, this year’s conference featured a most bizarre motion which in many ways contradicted the UJS’ mandate.
Saul Gaunt, President of the Brighton and Sussex Jewish Society, was met with ridicule at his insistence that “having JSocs in charge of Israel campaigns creates anti-Semitism.”

Arab League rejects Kerry security plan for West Bank

The Arab League on Saturday rejected a security plan put forth by US Secretary of State John Kerry which would have allowed a limited presence of IDF troops within the borders of a future Palestinian state under a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.
At an emergency meeting on Saturday, called by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, the league’s secretary-general, Nabil al-Araby said that not one Israeli soldier could remain in the West Bank.

PA: Strip Judea, Samaria Residents of Their Israeli Citizenship

The alternative, according to the PLO official, is not through fighting - but through PA citizens garnering international support. Shtayyeh threatened Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria that they would be stripped of their Israeli citizenship and pursued by the governments of the US, Britain, Russia, and the European Union, claiming that they were violating PA territory after the UN allegedly legitimized the body last year.
PA officials have claimed since 2012 that the UN granting the PA non-member status has effectively made them a full-fledged country according to international law.
The remarks also confirm similar statements by Abbas, who has openly declared that a future Palestinian state will have no Jewish presence, military or civilian.

Report: Kerry Seeks Deal Within a Month

Despite ongoing disagreements between Israel and the Palestinian Authority over significant issues, the United States plans to keep Israel-PA talks moving rapidly forward, and even hopes for a basic deal to be hammered out within the month, Reshet Bet reports.
The report was based on a report in the London-based Arabic paper A-Sharq Al-Awsat, which spoke to senior Arab League officials at the Arab League meeting in Cairo.

Former IDF general: Israel must control Jordan Valley

According to Maj. Gen. (res.) Avi Mizrahi, Israeli forces in the Jordan Valley would have two missions: to prevent a missile threat from the West Bank akin to the threat from Gaza, and to prevent the transfer across the Jordanian-West Bank border of explosives, people and equipment used in terror attacks.
“In order to do that you need to control the border and the border crossing-points,” he said. “To make that happen, you need to be there.”
Mizrahi rejected the possibility that these goals could be achieved by a third-party force.

What American Generals Knew About Peace

The minimum territory recommended for Israeli security included all of Judea and the western half of Samaria. The “non-annexed zone” was confined to eastern Samaria, running from the northern tip of the Dead Sea to Israel’s pre-1967 border. And, as Langfan notes, that recommendation preceded the introduction of shoulder-fired anti-air missiles, chemical weapons, and laser guidance and radar detection that might be available to the next generation of Arab attackers.
To be sure, the Joint Chiefs’ report preceded the Oslo Accords, the illusion designed to bring peace now between Israelis and Palestinians that Secretary Kerry works so tirelessly to create. Twenty years later, however, it seems that American military experts may have known something that still eludes their Israeli counterparts.

Bogus Bus Boycott

Even though the sale of the Israeli transportation company was part of the company's global strategy, supporters of BDS hailed it as a "one of the most significant, tangible victories" of the BDS movement.
Clearly, Veoila which for months has not owned a company running bus routes in Israel did not "just announce" that they will no longer operate busses on route 443. Nor did it do so, before the sale. Presspectiva, CAMERA's Hebrew site, contacted Veoila which emphatically denied the claims in the Ha'aretz report. The company's spokesman told Presspectiva: "The public transportation company Connex was sold in its entirety to Afikim. This was solely a business decision. Before the sale no bus line on Route 443 was cancelled."

MPAC Peddles Debunked Gaza Dam Story

MPAC posted the article Friday and also sent it on the group's email list.
The problem is that the dam doesn't seem to exist, and the story, originally pushed by Hamas, was debunked days ago by the Times of Israel.
A spokesman for Israel's Water Authority told the newspaper that the story is "baseless and false" and that Israel has no dams in that area. The flooding is real, but caused by overflowing reservoirs after 10 inches of rain fell in a three-day period. That's 60 percent of the normal annual rainfall in the area.

Officials demand Pollard release in light of US spying

“Now the secret is out: the United States spies systematically on the Israeli political and defense leadership,” said Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz (Likud).
“This is how friends behave?” asked Katz in a Sunday morning statement. “Pollard was arrested for far less” than the alleged espionage acts revealed in recent days, Katz charged. “I intend to recommend that the government demand an American commitment to end the surveillance and immediately release Pollard,” he said.
The linkage of the espionage revelations to the fate of Pollard crossed ideological and political lines.
The revelations of “the years-long active surveillance the US committed against Israel’s leadership clarify at long last one painful point – that the punishment given to Jonathan Pollard crossed the line of reasonability long ago,” opposition leader MK Isaac Herzog (Labor) said in a statement Sunday.

‘US spied on Barak’s home from apartment across the street’

In 2007, Israeli intelligence noted that the US government had rented an apartment across the street from Barak’s high-rise apartment in Tel Aviv, and observed “sizable amounts of electronic equipment” being delivered to the address, Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Sunday. Washington said at the time that the apartment was being used by a member of the US embassy’s security team.
The US Embassy said it was “entirely coincidental” that the apartment in question faced directly into Barak’s home in the Akirov Towers block, Sunday’s report said. “All we did was rent an apartment for a member of the Marines,” the embassy was quoted saying, “who was working as a security guard at the embassy.”

Professor Responds with Sarcasm to Left-Wing Boycott

Speaking to Channel 1’s program Roim Olam, Aumann joked : “I’ve prayed and aspired to getting an honorary doctorate from Haifa University for my whole life.”
“I’m very disappointed,” he added, sarcastically.
“The ‘blow’ to Professor Aumann does not actually exist,” Eldad said. “The only party that could be hurt by this is the university. The idiots sitting there are so dumb that they forgot that universities give honorary degrees in order to honor themselves, not in order to honor the recipient."

Fiddling While Iran Enriches

According to a graphic in the New York Times – based on ISIS’s research – at the time of the Geneva deal Iran had a stockpile of 196 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium. The terms of the agreement moved the breakout time from less than two months to more than two months. The breakout time is the time it would take Iran to produce enough highly enriched uranium – weapons grade – for a nuclear weapon. (Iran also had less enriched uranium, but that’s not my concern here.)
If two months pass before the agreement is implemented and Iran stops enriching to 20%, then Iran will have 226 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium. According to ISIS’s estimates, given the current centrifuges Iran has, a stockpile of 226 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium, could possibly lower the breakout time to less than a month.

US Senate Condemns Iran's Discrimination Against Bahais

The US Senate has urged Iran to free jailed members of the Bahai faith, raising human rights concerns as President Barack Obama pursues diplomacy to curtail Tehran's nuclear program.
In a resolution approved unanimously Friday amid a flurry of activity before a holiday break, the Senate called on Iran to free seven Bahai leaders among other detained members of the religion, including 12 educators.

The Thursday report by yjc.ir said a decision by a governmental monitoring body on communications led to the ban of VChat.
Many users complained on Twitter and in messages that they do not have access to the cell-phone based social networking service.

Erdogan blames 'international groups' for corruption scandal that rocks Turkey

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan denounced "international groups" and "dark alliances" on Saturday for entangling Turkey in a corruption scandal that has exposed deep rifts between him and a US-based Muslim cleric who helped him rise to power.
Sixteen people, including the sons of two ministers and the head of state-owned Halkbank, were formally arrested on Saturday, local media said, in a corruption inquiry that Erdogan has called a "dirty operation" to undermine his rule.
The Turkish leader raised the stakes by accusing unnamed foreign ambassadors of "provocative actions." Some pro-government newspapers had accused the US envoy of encouraging the move against Halkbank - a charge denied by the embassy.

10 Israeli startups you’ll hear more about

Looking for the next new cool technologies? Look no further than the third graduating class of Tel Aviv’s Microsoft Ventures Accelerator.
At the program’s Demo Day, international and local media came to have a peek at the next new cool technologies.
“The accelerator opened the proverbial rolodex of contacts to us. We’re so grateful for it,” says Mandell.
The 10 companies to have concluded the Accelerator’s program are likely to snag headlines in the near future, so in addition to Roojoom, remember these names: Appixia, CellMining, ConferPlace, KitLocate, Navin, MetalCompass, Kytera, Semperis and Vubooo.

Top 10 Israeli medical advances to watch in 2014

In our recent “Top 12 most amazing Israeli medical advances”, we promised a top 10 list of the most exciting Israeli medical-device and pharmaceutical developments just around the corner.
Like the top 12, this list was also very difficult to narrow down, because Israeli breakthroughs in this field are a near-daily occurrence. Our top 10 is just the tip of the iceberg.

Israeli developers partner with African startup entrepreneurs

Among the many participants and startup founders who crowded the Google campus in Tel Aviv the week of Nov. 17, two guests stood out in the crowd. The event — a "hackathon" focused on the development of technologies for the Third World — was especially close to their hearts. At the event, groups of developers had to develop and present, within a specified period of time, a software product that directly dealt with the problems of Africa and the developing countries.
However, the two did not attend as competitors but rather as proven developers who had already done it, having set up their own company in Ghana, in the heart of West Africa.
Gregory Rockson and Emmanuel Foucault, his partner, attended the event, which was jointly organized by the global CleanWeb movement, the TerraLabs technology incubator and IsraelDev, to promote mPharma — a unique medical venture designed to bring progress to Africa. “Many seek to change Africa, but Africa is transforming itself. This is the only way it can happen,” Rockson said, who, after being awarded a scholarship from Princeton University, chose to return to his native country with the aim of solving the numerous problems the African continent was coping with.