Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Friday, November 28, 2014

Gustav Bauernfeind's painting of the Temple Mount entrance, 1886

In one of the rooms of the Jordanian royal palace in Amman hangs a famous painting from 128 years ago by the artist Gustav Bauernfeind. This breathtaking piece of art depicts a group of Jews standing at the Cotton Merchant's Gate, one of the entrances to the Temple Mount.

The artist wrote of the painting: "A group of Jews stand at the gate, their heads thrust slightly forward as they peer into the paradisiacal sun-drenched precinct within, with its gleaming domes and coloured tiles and marbled walls, which once had formed their most sacred national shrine; whereas now, seated before that very portal, sword in hand, the gatekeeper (I nearly called him the Temple watchman) bars their way. Within, Mohammedans dressed in vivid costumes stroll, sit, loll about, and the like. A fine contrast, don't you think?"

King Hussein, the late father of the current monarch, Abdullah, noticed the painting during a visit to Germany more than two decades ago. He fell in love with it immediately. His emissaries paid a fortune to buy it. Through his deft use of the paintbrush, Bauernfeind unwittingly provided the snapshot image that reflects the manner in which the Hashemite kingdom views itself -- the guardian at the gate and legal custodian of the Muslim holy places in Jerusalem.

The piece sold for $533,755 in 1999*.

The rest of the article is very good as well, but this painting encapsulates how Muslims want the Temple Mount to look today: smilingly holding spears to prevent the hated, wretched Jews from visiting while Muslims use the holy place as a park.

(h/t YMedad)

*UPDATE: There was a similar painting by Bauernfiend that is the one that was sold in 1999, but the description Christie's quotes gave doesn't quite match it, I cannot find a Muslim guard with a sword. (h/t Irene)

Arabs (and Mondoweiss) lie as usual, say bus accident was deliberate murder

From Gulf News:

A speeding Israeli bus loaded with colonists ran over a group of Palestinians, killing one and hurting two others near the Israeli checkpoint of Al Jalamah between Nablus and Jenin.

The speeding bus ran over Noor Hassan Salem, 22, his cousin Alaa Kayed Salem and a third villager from a village near Nablus.

Sources in Nablus told Gulf News that Noor suffered serious injuries in the incident and also claimed that the bus driver intentionally sped up before hitting the three men. The sources stressed that as the site was not a place to speed up and because the Palestinian workers were on the pavement and had not reached the street when the bus hit them, it is clear that the accident was intentional. In addition, it indicates that the bus driver clearly meant to hit the Palestinians in front of the Israeli soldiers on the checkpoint.

Nablus sources said that the incident was revenge and maintained that the accident was intentional.

The sources stressed that it was strange that all Palestinians who carried out actions against Israelis had been arrested, indicted and even punished but so far not even a single Israeli attacker had been arrested and questioned.

Lying anti-Israel propaganda site Mondoweisspublished a photo of the victim, labeling the incident a "bus attack."

Social media of course was filled with similar accusations:

The Arab American News helpfully implied that this was a "racially motivated attacks by Jewish settlers against Palestinians."

What they didn't mention is that the bus driver was arrested on the scene for investigation (which Ma'an did report) and that he is an Israeli Arab!

Panet (an Israeli Arab newspaper) mentions it. Palestine News Network mentions it. Israeli police say they see no indication of it being intentional.

In the face of this fact, Noor's family- clearly wanting to get paid for their son being a martyr - claimed at the funeral that all these sources are lying, and that the bus driver really was a Jewish settler wearing a kipah, and that he tried to run away, and that Israeli police deliberately barred ambulances from the scene for 45 minutes (even the lying Gulf News report admitted that Israeli and Palestinian ambulances were on the scene quickly.)

Fatah turned the funeral into a political event to incite and stoke more anger against Jews.

This is par for the course: politically motivated liars and financially motivated family members do not hesitate to make up facts - because there are no repercussions when they are caught lying.

And sometimes they hit the jackpot and their lies can start a deadly riot against Jews.

(h/t/ Bob Knot)

11/27 Links Pt2: Chloe Valdary: Who Are the Real Racists in Israel?; Al-Dura Long Range Ballistic Myth

From Ian:

Chloe Valdary: Who Are the Real Racists in Israel?

Unfortunately, in Stewart and Erbs’s world, inversion is in vogue. Protection from racists becomes racism and a person’s right to defend himself is eroded, turning victims into victimizers.
To make matters worse, Stewart and Erb represent an organization that has no qualms about preventing Jewish communities from being established in the West Bank. According to J Street’s website, the very presence of Jewish communities, “undermines the prospects for peace by making Palestinians doubt Israeli motives and commitment.” Erb specifically writes in The Jewish Week that Jewish communities, “fuel inter-group tensions.” To wit, according to Erb, the presence of Jews in certain areas is itself a provocation; it is Jews who are responsible for the incitement against them.
That Stewart and Erb arrogate to themselves the authority to give commentary on the issue of “segregation” when they actively advocate for the establishment of a state which, according to them, must segregate Jews before it comes into fruition, illustrates the absurdity of their own hypocrisy.
And this is what their appraisal of Israeli policy ultimately boils down to: an excess of hyper-idealistic solipsism whereby members of a mutual admiration society think that referencing the name of a prominent civil rights leader means they are just like them. Yet, Dr. King understood fundamentally that a persecuted people will grow tired; they will grow tired of being pelted with stones; they will grow tired of having their children run over with cars; they will grow tired of having their soldiers stabbed to death while they sleep. “So in the midst of their tiredness, these people … rise up and protest against injustice.”
Security officials says that this policy seeks to address that injustice. Perhaps it isn’t the right one; perhaps it is. But one thing is certain: Stewart and Erb’s faux righteous indignation are categorically not.

Book Review for Al-Dura: Long Range Ballistic Myth

This event, which came to be known as the al-Dura affair, is the starting point for Nidra Poller’s 288 page intellectual journey, Al-Dura: Long Range Ballistic Myth.
Poller, an American writer based in Paris, traces the repeated attempts by the state-owned French television station to intimidate via legal measures anyone who publicly questioned the authenticity of the event. The French courtroom thus becomes the stage where an obvious fabrication, masquerading as earnest journalism, is transformed into an indisputable fact.
Although the repeated stifling of objectively sound criticism helped to reveal the true nature of French journalism, especially in its biased depiction of Israel, the damage caused by the original incident in Netzarim was already done and the results were deadly.

A Decade Later, "The New Anti-Semitism" Comes of Age

When I began reading Professor Phyllis Chesler's updated book "The New Anti-Semitism", I seemed to hear a collective sigh saying "this hasn't come a minute too soon." And thanks to the excellent research and prophetic analysis of the acclaimed author, lecturer and activist, the reader is afforded the necessary context and perspective with which to understand the invidious phenomenon of contemporary Jew hatred.
Originally written over a decade ago, Chesler's premise was and still is that classical anti-Semitism as espoused by such nihilists and evil madmen as Hitler and the scores that preceded him has now been deemed to be "politically correct" by the trendy denizens of Western academia and the "intellectual" crowd.
Chesler was among the first to have seen and denounced the suicidal alliance between Western intelligentsia and fundamental Islam. The anti-Semite needed a new and more acceptable veneer and the tiny place on the globe known as Israel could serve as the perfect cover. So Zionism does not equal racism, but anti-Zionism does. In fact, it is part of what makes the new anti-Semitism "new."

Stop the presses: UN org DOESN'T blame Israel for a Palestinian problem

The only thing really newsworthy about this is that UN Women, who wrote this, manages to discuss serious problems that Palestinian Arab women have - without blaming Israel at all.

When Zahara* divorced her second husband her family locked her in an abandoned house for more than four years before police, acting on anonymous information, found and freed her.

“The [Palestinian Civil Police Family Protection Unit] advised me to press charges against my family, but I did not want to increase shame. My brother signed a pledge not to harm me. I trusted them and thought the situation would change. It did not.”

Zahara’s story is not unique. A 2011 survey of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics revealed that one-third of women experiencing violence remain silent or seek help from family. Few turn to specialized institutions, and even less to security and justice services.

“All the people of the village blamed me for putting shame on my family after the police intervened. They never questioned my treatment by the family,” remembered Zahara.

A societal culture of shame, the patriarchal nature of Palestinian society, and pressure from family and the community in cases of gender-based violence, make it difficult for women to reveal their plight. Inadequate laws, lack of protection services, and low confidence in justice and security institutions further hamper opportunities for women to seek redress. As a result, most violence cases are not reported and never enter the justice system.

“Professional knowledge and expertise in dealing specifically with cases of women and girls victims of violence is needed,” says Dareen Salheyeh, Chief Prosecutor. “Dealing with these cases requires sensitivity to the issue, including awareness and willingness.”

From January to March 2014, Dareen was one of 20 prosecutors who attended UN Women workshops for public prosecutors on handling cases of gender-based violence. The workshops focused specifically on the use and application of laws, including international women’s rights conventions, for the benefit of women and girl survivors of violence. It is one of several activities targeted for justice and security professionals under a three-year UN Women-executed project funded by the UK Department for International Development. The project aims to train and establish specialized core groups of justice and security professionals for equitable access to justice for women survivors of violence.

*Name changed to protect her identity

The article goes on to show that UN Women are actually working to fix things instead of pretending that everything is Israel's fault, as most other UN groups do. There is none of the politics that usually suffuse everything the UN does in the Middle East.

It is sad that this is so unusual.

(h/t Emmanuel)

The word Jew comes, of course, from the tribe of Judah.

And Judah means "thanksgiving."

Happy Thanksgiving!

While we are at it, here is a stunning photo of a rainbow taken at the Nevatim Air Force base in the Negev on Tuesday morning.

11/27 Links Pt1: Hamas terror attack plot at Jerusalem soccer stadium thwarted

From Ian:

Shin Bet: Hamas terror attack plot at Jerusalem soccer stadium thwarted

The Shin Bet and IDF thwarted a large-scale, transnational Hamas terrorism network that was preparing to carry out an array of deadly attacks against Israelis.
It was cleared for publication on Thursday that the network planned to target the landmark Teddy soccer stadium in Jerusalem, the capital's light rail system, car bombings, and kidnappings of Israelis in the West Bank and overseas.
The nerve center of the network was situated in Hamas's headquarters in Turkey, the Shin Bet added. Additional intended targets included infiltrations into Israeli communities, shooting and bombing attacks against Israeli traffic and military targets in the West Bank, and setting up terrorist cells in Jordan in order to carry out cross-border attacks into Israel.
The plot, uncovered in September, involved the assembly of multiple terror cells in the West Bank, as well as the training of Hamas members overseas.
More than 30 Hamas members are under arrest, and the Shin Bet has seized two M-16 firearms, ammunition, and bomb-making equipment.

Netanyahu after foiled terror plot: Hamas challenges existence of Jews, Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday praised the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) and IDF after it was announced that security forces had thwarted a large-scale Hamas cell in the West Bank that "could have claimed the lives of many victims in our country."
While the premier noted that despite the announcement of the deterred plot in September, many others remain unrevealed.
The premier lauded those involved in counter-terrorism work and operations "against Hamas that seeks to challenge the existence of a Jewish national state and essentially challenges the existence of Jews in general."
He vowed that Israel was working "day in day out to ensure the safety of Israeli citizens."

Sarah Honig: Transcending All Other Considerations

On Israel’s first day, Arab League Secretary-General Abdul-Rahman Azzam Pasha, confirmed Arab priorities. Sending forth seven Arab armies to wipe out the “Zionist entity,” he declared: “This will be a war of extermination and a momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades.”
The Arab agenda and intentions were unambiguous. The creation of a Palestinian state wasn’t even considered. Syria, Jordan and Egypt had even devised their own plan for the partition of Palestine – among themselves.
The unvarnished truth is that even now the last thing Palestinians desire is an Arab Palestinian state dwelling in idyllic coexistence alongside a secure, accepted and recognized Jewish state. Honchos in both Ramallah and Gaza may cynically exploit the two-state catchphrase, but they never genuinely espoused the cause of two-state harmony.
But what do Lofven and Wallström care that the Arabs brazenly spawned and successfully market a lie?
Forgetting Resolution 181 is exceedingly expedient for the brainwashed Mideast and voluntarily gullible moral relativists in capitals like Stockholm. It’s too useful – even in snow-white Sweden – not to remember that the Arabs were never interested in a Palestinian state. All they ever wanted and still want is to destroy the Jewish state.

Syrian Jihadi: "Jews are the kings of sex"

From MEMRI:

In a recent TV interview, Syrian Islamist scholar Muaz Al-Safouk said that the world is shaped by the Jews, "the kings of gold, sex, and the media, who spread immorality, atheism, apostasy, and discord," and that only the Islamist Jihadi movements can break their backs.

If we're the kings of sex in this world, then that might explain why the jihadis are so keen on sex in the next world.

Meanwhile, this Kuwaiti cleric was careful to only refer to Jews as "sons of Zion," as in "All the wars throughout history, from the time of our Prophet Mohammed until this day, were started by the sons of Zion. All of them!"

See? he's only anti-Zionist!

Full text of "Jewish State" draft law shows no discrimination against non-Jews

The world is freaking out over the draft law declaring Israel to be the Jewish State.

Of course, at least 99.9% of the reporters and politicians decrying it haven't actually read the law.

If you can find anything here (Netanyahu's version) that would result in discrimination against Israel's non-Jewish citizens, please enlighten us

I. Objective

Defining the State of Israel as the national state of the Jewish People, and anchoring the values of the State of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the spirit of the principles of the Declaration of Independence.

II. Basic principles

The Land of Israel is the historic homeland of the Jewish People and the place of the establishment of the State of Israel.

The State of Israel is the national home of the Jewish People in which the Jewish People realizes its right to self-determination in accordance with its cultural and historic heritage.

The right to realize national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish People.

The State of Israel is democratic, based on the foundations of freedom, justice and peace in light of the visions of the prophets of Israel, and upholds the individual rights of all its citizens according to law.

III. Symbols of the State

The national anthem is Hatikvah.

The national flag is white with two sky-blue stripes close to the margins and a sky-blue Star of David in the center.

The national emblem is a seven-branched menorah with two olive branches at its sides and the word 'Israel' below.

IV. Return

All Jews are eligible to immigrate to the country and receive citizenship of the state according to law.

V. Ingathering of the Exiles and Strengthening Links with the Jewish People in the Diaspora

The State will act to gather the exiles of the Jewish People and strengthen links between Israel and Jewish communities in the Diaspora.

VI. Assistance to Jews in Distress

The State will act to assist Jews in distress and in captivity due to their being Jews.

VII. Heritage

The State will act to preserve the historical and cultural heritage and tradition of the Jewish People and to enshrine and cultivate it in the country and in the Diaspora.

All educational institutions that serve the Jewish public in the country will teach the history, heritage and tradition of the Jewish People.

The State will act to enable all residents of Israel, regardless of religion, race or nationality, to preserve their culture, heritage, language and identity.

VIII. Official Calendar

The Hebrew calendar is the official calendar of the State.

IX. Independence Day and Remembrance Day

Independence Day is the national holiday of the State.

Remembrance Day for the Fallen of Israel's Wars and Holocaust Heroes and Martyrs Remembrance Day are the official remembrance days of the State.

X. Public holidays

The regular public holidays of the State of Israel are the Sabbath and the Jewish holidays on which no worker shall be employed except under conditions to be defined by law; members of recognized faiths shall be entitled to rest on their Sabbaths and holidays.

XI. Jewish Law

Jewish law shall serve as a source of inspiration for the Knesset

If a court shall consider a legal question that requires a decision and not find an answer in legislation, precedent or clear inference, it shall render a decision in light of the principles of freedom, justice, fairness and peace of the heritage of Israel.

XII. Maintaining the Holy Places

The Holy Places shall be guarded against desecration, any other damage and against anything that is liable to infringe on freedom of access by worshippers to the places that are holy to them or on their feelings toward those places.

XIII. Infringement of rights

There shall be no infringement of rights according to the basic laws except by law that befits the values of the State of Israel, that is designed for a worthy purpose and which does not exceed that which is required.

XIV. Amendment

The basic law shall not be amended except by a basic law that is approved by a majority of MKs.

(From Matthew Kalman's site)

On January 16, the UN launched the "International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People." Because clearly the annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, plus the many UN committees and groups and organizations dedicated exclusively to "Palestine," were not enough to bring peace.

Here is how the UN described their hopes for this year:

“The coming year will be crucial to achieving the two-State solution,” Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson said in his remarks to the UN General Assembly’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People.

“The Secretary-General and I urge all in the international community to work together to translate the solidarity and desire for peace expressed on this occasion into positive action for security and for justice.”

Last November, the General Assembly adopted a resolution proclaiming 2014 as the International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and requested the Committee to organize activities around the observance.

General Assembly President John Ashe told today’s meeting that he hoped the Year leads to “robust” support for the people of Palestine. “I am sure I speak for many when I say that I hope the Year helps foster an atmosphere of dialogue and mutual understanding between the two sides of this decades-long conflict,” he said.

“We live in an international context that requires cooperation among all parties, entities and beings to find solutions to the challenges facing the human family. There are no exceptions; Israel and Palestine must find agreement on the conditions in which they can live side by side in peace and security.”

UN officials, including Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, have noted that 2014 could be a an important year in the Middle East peace process, if both sides are willing to take bold steps and refrain from actions that undermine progress in the peace talks that resumed last year.

Well, by these criteria, the year has been an utter failure. And, as sure as night follows day, the UN had a session blaming Israel.

No one at the UN seems to have realized that the UN's a priori declaring that one side is right and the other side is wrong, as the International Year implies, is a major factor working against peace.

Notice how in January the UN officials were saying they wanted both sides to work together and to make compromises for peace. But when the most important international organization puts so many resources behind supporting the PLO terror group and demonizing Israel, their actions belie their words. The PLO has no incentive to make any sort of compromise with Israel when they are spending all their time attending the numerous meetings and gala dinners celebrating how much the world supports them during this year.

The PLO did make one compromise this year - with Hamas, by inviting the terror group to join their own Fatah terror group into an ill-fated "unity" government. That is the major accomplishment of the "International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian People": the Palestinians refused to talk peace with Israel and instead swore solidarity with an internationally recognized terror group.

As recently as this week, official Palestinian media supported terror attacks against Jewish civilians while worshipping, another result of the international community's refusal to hold them accountable for anything, ever.

The PLO knows quite well that the UN will not say a word against them no matter what they do. They are basking in being the object of adoration for an entire year. The calculus is clear: they would rather wait for the world to force Israel to give in to their threats and terror rather than make a single compromise for peace.

And we can thank the UN for this result.

"Jews Control Everything"

A couple of years ago I saw some guy during the Occupy Wall Street protests holding this sign in downtown Manhattan:

Earlier this month, I saw him (or someone very like him) outside Madison Square Garden with a new yet very similar sign, saying Jews Control Everything and inviting people to Google it:

Well, we cannot disappoint the gentleman.

Google's algorithm happens to really like me, because, well, I'm the freaking Elder of Ziyon and of course I control Google (which is, of course, dominated by my good Jewish billionaire friends.).

Anyway, I'm hoping that within a few minutes of me posting this, when people Google "Jews Control Everything" this post will be on the first page; if I'm lucky it will be the first hit.

The current leader is of course a nutty conspiracy theorist with pretty boring arguments about Jews and the media, banking and so forth in America. He doesn't even mention the Talmud! Slacker.

So my goal is to be #1, which should make this person with huge amounts of free time very happy. After all, the only thing better than proving that the Jews control everything is to find out that a single Jew controls everything!

I just have to write "Jews control everything" a couple more times to help my SEO.

UPDATE: With the quotes around the phrase "Jews Control Everything,", on Google US, my searches have me coming up 3rd less than 15 minutes after I posted. Without the quotes I'm not yet on the front page.

UPDATE 2: After 75 minutes, with quotes this post is #1 on Google and without it is #5. And no one is surprised - because Jews control everything. And I'm not ashamed to say it out loud: Yes, we Jews control everything! Jews control America! Jews control the banks! Jews control the media! And behind all the Jews controlling everything, is ...me!

I must add a "bwa-ha-ha-ha!"

UPDATE 3: Damn - back down to #2. Must have violated an SEO manipulation rule.

11/26 Links Pt2: SJP plans illegal activity against Jewish students and Israel

From Ian:

Leaked: SJP plans illegal activity against Jewish students and Israel

A recently uncovered internal document of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at Binghamton University SUNY sheds new light on the anti-Semitic bigotry of SJP groups across the country, as well as SJP’s ties to international campaigns to harm the Jewish state and the Jewish people.
Entitled “Declaration of Principles and Strategies,” the document specifically outlines strategies for targeting, ostracizing, harassing, and silencing students on campus who oppose the boycott of Israel or who simply attend a pro-Israel event. In a lengthy section on “Tactics and Strategies Used to Counter Zionist Normalization,” the document gives detailed instructions for when and how to disrupt “Zionist” events and activities on campus. Disrupting an event is a direct violation of others’ right to freedom of expression and assembly, and a blatant violation of New York law.
The internal Binghamton-SJP Declaration is a window into “anti-Zionist normalization” campaigns being waged by SJP groups across the country, whose explicit purpose is to delegitimize all pro-Israel perspectives and actively suppress their expression on college campuses. These campaigns have resulted in dozens of Jewish and pro-Israel students’ events being disrupted, and Jewish and pro-Israel students feeling harassed, intimidated, and stripped of their constitutionally-protected freedom of expression and association.

Ben-Dror Yemini: Evil spirit taking over Middle Eastern studies

One of the main reasons for imposing a boycott on Israel is the "oppression of higher education" among the Palestinians. That's an interesting reason. In practice, when Israel entered the territories there were zero – zero! – higher education institutions there. This isn't Zionist propaganda. It's what Birzeit University President Gabi Baramki said.
In recent years, following the horrible oppression, the Palestinians have ranked first in the percentage of people with higher education in the Arab world. Again, this is the conclusion of a joint research conducted by two people, an anti-Zionist Jew and a Palestinian researcher. World Bank data reflect the same conclusion.
These are the facts. Of course they won't confuse the big experts on Middle Eastern studies. They will continue to blame Israel for almost every crime in the world. (h/t Elder of Lobby)

Hero’s Welcome for Hater of Israel at MESA

So Steven Salaita isn’t a critic of Israel. Tom Friedman is a critic of Israel. Steven Salaita is a hater of Israel, it’s a title he’s proud to claim, and that hatred runs like a thread through all he writes and says.
Now if you aren’t a hater of Israel, you still might think that Steven Salaita deserves your support—not because of his hatred of Israel, but despite it. Academic life, once famous for its guarantees of job security, isn’t what it used to be, and the way Salaita was “de-hired” by the University of Illinois is the sum of every academic’s fears. If that’s you, and Steven Salaita enters the hall, you might offer up some polite (“civil”) applause, as a gesture of labor solidarity. But if Steven Salaita enters the room, and you rise to your feet in an enthusiastic standing ovation reserved for a true hero, that’s not a gesture of support. It’s an outpouring of adulation, because Salaita has been brash enough to say what you think: what exactly is wrong with hating Israel?
So at this year’s Middle East Studies Association (MESA) conference, on the very first day, I found myself in a standing-room-only audience of Israel-haters wearing MESA badges, who received Steven Salaita with a standing ovation. When I last attended MESA, in 1998, Edward Said got just such an ovation. Said was larger than life. Salaita is smaller than life—an indifferent speaker whose every other sentence ends in “right?”—but he is the anti-Israel, and in the yawning void left by the passing of Said, even a Salaita will do.

All Palestinians Wish To Become Martyrs - Well, Those Not In Office (PreOccupied Territory)

Our weekly column from the humor site PreOccupied Territory.

Check out their Facebook page.

All Palestinians Wish To Become Martyrs - Well, Those Not In Office

By Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President

I have said it before and I shall say it again: all Palestinians desire to become holy martyrs in the struggle for our land. Well, all Palestinians except us, the ones in power. Let's be honest here.

The fight for justice and our dignity is our national goal, and everyone with a Palestinian heart is willing to sacrifice his very life in pursuit of that goal, unless that Palestinian heart beats inside an official or politician, because, you know, power. Somebody has to sit in these comfortable chairs, in luxuriously appointed offices, making big decisions. We do it for your sake, O noble Palestine!

There is nothing more admirable than giving up one's life in dramatic, violent fashion while striking a blow against the Crusader oppressor , which is why I encourage all of our youth to take up arms, or whatever is available, and become a shaheed in the epic war. While you do so, we unfortunate officials with access to tremendous amounts of cash, influence, amenities, and decadence will have to settle for an administrative role in the conflict. Please do not feel sorry for us. We accept this set of responsibilities, and everything that entails, with open eyes.

O, to be a shaheed! The thought of every noble Palestinian turns toward the fulfillment of the national dream! We must each consider how we might transform our lives into vehicles for national liberation, and if it results in our deaths, Palestine is the richer for it! And so am I, considering the funds that those of us in charge divert for our personal interests. But you pay no mind; it is the price we pay for serving the public.

Remember noble Abu Amar, who died a heroic death of old age and infirmity. How many times did he express his deepest desire to become a martyr for Al Aqsa, but for his duties as a wealthy international playboy? And what of our brethren in Qatar, who operate with the very real risk of being wined and dined at Doha's finest hotels? Do it for them! Me, I'm busy with this redecorating project we have going on at the Muqata right now.

Let the blood that courses through your veins also flow into the sacred streets of our land in the struggle to oust the Zionist interloper - that is, if you actually spend time on the streets like some prole. Those of who walk the halls of power have other obligations, and, well, duty calls.