Friday, November 20, 2015

11/20 Links Pt1: Pollard released after 30 years behind bars; Why the Palestinians Keep Killing

From Ian:

Pollard released from US prison after thirty years behind bars

Israeli agent Jonathan Pollard was released Friday after 30 years behind bars from the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, after serving a life sentence for passing classified information to an ally.
His wife Esther greeted him at the prison and drove with him to an undisclosed location where they will be spending Shabbat together. The couple released a statement saying that they are grateful to everyone who worked for his release and that Pollard's lawyer would release more details later Friday.
President Reuven Rivlin on Friday welcomed the news of Pollard's release, commenting that it was Israel's responsibility and obligation to secure his release.
"We all welcome the release of Jonathan Pollard from prison after so many long and hard years," Rivlin said.
"Throughout the years, our pain was Pollard's pain... we felt the responsibility and obligation to secure his release," the president added.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement saying that he had been looking forward to this day for many years after repeatedly raising Pollard's fate with multiple American presidents. Netanyahu wished Pollard well and said he hoped he could enjoy the rest of his life with peace of mind.

JPost Editorial: Bring Pollard to Israel

In July, the US Parole Commission, in a unanimous 3-0 decision, decided to grant Jonathan Pollard parole and announced that he would be released on November 20, 2015.
Today, after spending 30 years in prison for a crime that did not deserve such a harsh punishment, the 61-year-old Pollard will leave the federal prison in Butner, North Carolina, and take the first delicate steps toward continuing with his life. He will at last be able to celebrate this coming Shabbat outside prison walls.
Pollard is expected to be welcomed by his wife, Esther, and his attorney, Eliot Lauer. They – and Pollard himself – have said that it is his dream to make aliya.
“I am looking forward to being reunited with my beloved wife Esther,” Pollard has said via his attorneys. “I would like to thank the many thousands of well-wishers in the United States, in Israel, and throughout the world, who provided grassroots support by attending rallies, sending letters, making phone calls to elected officials, and saying prayers for my welfare. I am deeply appreciative of every gesture, large or small.”
Pollard is the only American citizen sentenced to life in prison for passing classified information to a US ally – in this case Israel. He has been behind bars since his arrest in 1985, even though he was convicted two years later. After finally giving him official recognition as an agent, Israel granted him citizenship 20 years ago, on November 22, 1995.

Knesset caucus vows to fight Pollard’s parole restrictions

The Knesset caucus dedicated to Israeli-American spy Jonathan Pollard vowed on Friday that it would continue to work to ease Pollard’s parole restrictions which, among other things, prevent him from moving to Israel.
In a letter to Pollard, who was freed on Friday morning from a North Carolina federal prison after serving a 30-year jail sentence, caucus chairman MK Nahman Shai congratulated him on his release and pledged to combat any “violation” of his rights.
“Jonathan, the Caucus will not cease its activity until we remove the limitations imposed on you upon your release. We continue to demand the removal of any restriction on your freedom of movement, communication or other violation of your rights,” he wrote.
“We will not rest until you are free to depart the United States for any destination of your choosing, first and foremost — Israel.”

Pollard's lawyers say they'll appeal 'unreasonable, unlawful' parole terms

Attorneys for Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard announced on Friday that they are planning to appeal the conditions of his parole just hours after he was released from a federal penitentiary following a 30-year incarceration.
As per the terms of his parole, Pollard has to check in regularly with a parole officer for a year and can be returned to prison for poor behavior. He is not permitted to leave the United States for five years, to give interviews or to go online. He must also wear electronic monitoring devices that enable the government to track his whereabouts.
The official Free Pollard campaign and Pollard’s attorneys have declined to comment on the parole conditions, but they did encourage US congress members to ask the Justice Department to ease them. World renowned criminal lawyer Alan Dershowitz, who represented Pollard in the past, told The Jerusalem Post that although such parole conditions were not unprecedented, they are “totally irrational.”

Micahel Oren: Come Home

In my conversation with Pollard, we discussed the situation in the Middle East, but he also shared with me his physical and mental struggles. I left him with the promise that Israel would continue to work relentlessly for his release. It was the most difficult meeting I held during my period as ambassador.
I completed my term with a sense of disappointment over failing to bring Pollard home.
Now five more years have gone by, and he is finally free. I wish to thank the leaders of Israel who did not abandon the petition to free him, the Pollard supporters, who dedicated many years to lobbying for his release, and President Obama, who did not object to his parole.
On this special day, I am hoping that Jonathan Pollard, like me, will realize his dream of coming home to Israel.

A reporter mentions that Hezbollah censors all media reports from southern Lebanon

A very interesting article from Channel 4 reporter Lindsey Hilsum says that the reason the Paris attacks get more coverage than similar attacks in Beirut is because the audience doesn't care:

It’s not that we don’t cover bomb attacks in Beirut and elsewhere, but sometimes the viewer shows less interest. Many are more interested in show business, celebrity and news closer to home.

I have spent my whole career reporting atrocities in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. That’s what I do. Some people watch and care. But many people, if I’m honest, switch off.

At Channel 4 News we continue to report the war in Syria (I was just there – did you watch my reports?), the resulting refugee crisis (ditto) and events like the Al Shabaab attack in Garissa, in northern Kenya in April.

But sometimes I feel we’re howling in the dark because so few of you respond.

She has a point, but only to an extent. The media editors are the ones who decide what prominence to give stories, and they are the ones who choose entertainment over news in Africa or Arab countries. The huge coverage over Boko Haram kidnapping of schoolgirls in Nigeria the exception that proves the rule: the media can drive the agenda when it wants to.

But there is an important point that Hilsum makes that is all too rarely mentioned, and even she downplays it:

There are also practical issues – South Beirut, where last Thursday’s bombing occurred, is controlled by Hizbollah, who rarely let journalists film and never freely. There’s no way the hundreds of journalists who descended on Paris would have been permitted to flood a Hizbollah area for days on end. But that’s just a logistical issue, not your problem.

Which means that atrocities in Arab countries that censor the media cannot have the same coverage as incidents in countries with a free press.

Reporters are partially at fault here. Only rarely do they mention, when they are filing their reports, that they cannot say the full story. And the readers and viewers not only have a right but an obligation to know that they are not seeing the whole picture. If journalists cared about getting the truth out there, they would publicly push back on Hezbollah and Hamas and other terror groups that control territory rather than roll over and report what the despots want them to report. Reporters have the ability to shame the terrorists, but given a choice of telling the truth or quietly acquiescing to file the half-story, they almost invariably choose the latter. (An enterprising reporter can do far more - give their bureau chiefs anonymous quotes that support the full picture and have them co-write the story from the main offices out of reach of the terrorists, for example, and to publicly report the threats that they receive.)

(h/t Louis)

This blog may be a labor of love for me, but it takes a lot of effort, time and money. For over 11 years and over 22,000 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.

.@Amnesty is against incitement to violence - unless it is incitement to murder Jews

This week, Israel banned the Islamic Movement Northern Branch because of its history of incitement:

The Prime Minister’s Office said that outlawing the northern branch of the Islamic Movement is an essential step in maintaining public security. The decision, the Prime Minister’s Office added, is directed toward those who motivate and support incitement and racist activities, destabilize the area and cause loss of life. “This move is not directed against the Arab and Muslim public in Israel, the great majority of which upholds the laws of the state and disavows incitement and terrorism,” the Prime Minister’s Office emphasized.

“The northern branch of the Islamic Movement has for years lead a deceitful campaign of incitement under the title ‘Al-Aqsa is in danger,’ falsely accusing Israel of intending to harm the mosque and deviate from the status quo,” read documents disturbed by the Prime Minister’s Office. The document added that “the northern branch established a salaried group of activists (called the Morabitat) aimed at initiating provocations on the Temple Mount. This action significantly raised tensions on the Temple Mount. A large portion of the recent attacks were carried out against the backdrop of this incitement and propaganda.”

The document adds: “The northern branch, led by Sheik Ra’ad Salah, is a sister-movement of the terrorist organization Hamas. The movements maintain close, secret ties. The northern branch of the Islamic Movement is a separatist, racist group that does not recognize the institutions of the State of Israel, denies its right to exist, and calls for replacing it with an Islamic Caliphate in its place.” Salah was sentenced in October to 11 months in jail after being convicted in 2013 of incitement to violence over remarks he made in 2007. He has not begun serving his term.

Amnesty, as always, takes the side of those who incite to kill Jews:

The human rights organization Amnesty International said the decision to outlaw the Islamic Movement raises concerns over freedom of speech and association in Israel, noting in particular the raids, preventative arrests and property confiscations as causes for concern. “Especially worrying is the fact the decision was made by the Israeli cabinet, without a fair process which gives the movement the chance to defend itself in legal proceedings,” said a statement released by Amnesty.

“We’re worried by the selective enforcement, that while those who encourage the atmosphere of incitement against the Palestinian minority in Israel, like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and cabinet ministers and other high officials enjoy immunity, the northern branch of the Islamic Movement has been outlawed due to remarks made by individual members,” said Yonatan Gher, CEO of the Israel branch of Amnesty International.

Amnesty's lies are particularly disgusting here. No one in the Israeli cabinet incites against the entire Arab population, only against terrorists and their supporters, and Amnesty is libeling Netanyahu by claiming that he does it personally.

But the Amnesty official is also ignoring the ties of the movement to Hamas, its direct incitement over supposed Israeli schemes to demolish Al Aqsa, leader Raed Salah's antisemitism, his absurd lies meant to inflame Arabs, and his explicit support of terror.

One only needs to glance at Raed Salah's Facebook page:

He celebrated the murder of Jews praying a year ago with the Koranic quote "'How terrible will be the mourning of those who were warned'" - The heroic operation of Jerusalem 2014/11/18"

He added a smiling face for good measure. The caption says that these pictures "gives you an appetite" for more.

He's a big fan of running over Jews in cars as well:

This is the free speech Amnesty supports - the ability to inflame thousands of followers to murder.

Salah also explicitly supports Hamas:

He has more recent posts inciting stabbing Jews for Al Aqsa as well:

And shooting them as well:

There are also many posters glorifying those who stabbed Jews to death recently.

The Islamic Movement is not a West Bank organization. Its audience isn't Arabs in Gaza or Hebron - it is trying to convince Israeli Arabs to kill Jews.

Amnesty is not an absolutist for freedom of speech. Here is what Amnesty says about incitement in other contexts:

International human rights law also obliges states to prohibit advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence.

Amnesty was more adamantly against incitement in Moscow in 2004:

It has been reported that an extremist organization has been calling upon people to attend a public meeting, under the slogan “Cleanse Moscow of Chechen bandits!” Amnesty International is concerned that this may amount to incitement of hatred on grounds of nationality and incitement to racially-motivated violence. Prominent Russian human rights groups have also expressed their concern regarding the demonstration.
"In the current climate, we are concerned that the meeting could lead to incidents of racially-motivated violence. The authorities must take all necessary steps to protect potential victims in line with their international obligations, and uphold constitutional guarantees in relation to equality of citizens. Such inflammatory slogans appear to be aimed at inciting racial hatred and should therefore be immediately removed from all public places in the capital", Amnesty International said.

But there apparently is an exception clause in Amnesty's opinion: when the incitement is merely to murder random Jews shopping and praying, then it is a "freedom of expression" issue, not a human rights issue.

Because, to the bigots at Amnesty, Israeli Jews just don't count as human.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

Palestinians claim Arab victim of Gush Etzion shooting as "martyred by Israel"

Shadi Arafeh

The attack as described by the Jerusalem Post:

Ezra Schwartz, an 18-year old American on a gap year in Israel was among three victims of a terror attack late Thursday afternoon at the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank. Seven others were lightly wounded in the attack.

He was in a van with five others friends from the Beit Shemesh yeshiva where he studied. They had been in the area to distribute food to soldiers stationed in the region.

A Palestinian who drove from the direction of the Kfar Etzion junction, machined gunned the cars, with an automatic rifle, before hitting a vehicle. Security forces surrounded the terrorist and arrested him.

Magen David Adom paramedics pronounced Schwartz dead at the scene. His five friends were evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, three were treated for light injuries and two for shock. They were all released.

A second victim from the attack, Palestinian Shadi Arafeh, 24, of Hebron, was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Yaakov Don, 51, a teacher and father of four who lived in the nearby Alon Shvut settlement was evacuated to Hadassah Medical Center in serious condition and was pronounced dead upon his arrival at the hospital.

The official Palestinian Wafa "news" agency writes:

The [Health] Ministry said in a press release that the occupation forces have killed Shadi Zuhdi Arafa, 26, from Hebron, near the settlement of Gush Etzion built south of Bethlehem, while the young martyr Mahmoud Said Alian, 22, died from injuries sustained about 10 days ago, during clashes with Israeli occupation forces in the city of al-Bireh.

Yes, they are claiming that Israelis, and not one of their heroes, killed Arafeh. (And the murderer is regarded as a hero.)

Martyr inflation. Arabs kill Arabs and both the killer and victim are heroes.

What about this other poor innocent person who succumbed to his wounds, Mahmoud Alian?

Here's a collage of photos of this peaceful young man, who was also a member of Fatah:

He was probably picking flowers when he was shot.

11/19 Links Pt2: Student Warned to Abstain From Pro-BDS Vote Due to His ‘Jewish Agenda’

From Ian:

UC Santa Cruz Student Warned to Abstain From Pro-BDS Vote Due to His ‘Jewish Agenda’

A Jewish member of the student government at University of California, Santa Cruz was warned to “abstain” from voting on a pro-BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement) resolution because he is the president of the schools’ Jewish Student Union and was “elected with a Jewish agenda.”
The incident occurred prior to a vote by the UCSC student council to annul a veto an earlier Israel divestment bill. On Nov. 17, the UCSC voted 28 in favor and five against, with seven abstaining, to reinstate a divestment resolution that was vetoed in 2014.
In a text message sent to UC Santa Cruz Jewish Student Union (JSU) President Daniel Bernstein, the sender wrote, “You will be abstaining, as the president of JSU that is the right thing.”
“There was also a comment tonight that you were elected by a..hmm Idk if these are the right words but let’s say…a Jewish agenda,” the text message added.
In response, Bernstein posted on Facebook, “The implication that I, as a Jewish student and leader in the Jewish community, should not be allowed to vote on an issue that so deeply impacts the Jewish community, and that I should abstain because I cannot be trusted due to an alleged, ‘Jewish agenda,’ echoes the racism Jews have faced all over the world throughout our history.”

Sanders Accuses Israel of ‘Overreacting’ to Hamas Missile Attacks [video]

Bernie Sanders has accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of being responsible for what he said was Israel’s “overreacting” to Hamas missile attacks last year and causing civilian damage.
The man who wants to be the first Jewish President, although he says he has no use for organized religion, told Rolling Stone:
War is terrible unto itself. But I think that Israel overreacted and caused more civilian damage than was necessary.
They have very sophisticated weapons systems. They make the case, and I respect that, that they do try to make sure that civilians are not damaged. But the end result was that a lot of civilians were killed and a lot of housing was destroyed. There was terrible, terrible damage done.
He obviously is not running after Tea Party voters.
Sanders left out of his comments what he said at a Town Hall meeting earlier this year, as reported here:
After saying that Israel overreacted, he added, as seen as seen and heard in the video below:
On the other hand, you have a situation where Hamas is sending missiles to Israel, and you know where some of these missiles are coming from? They are coming from population areas.

Source: Palestinian President Canceling Meetings Due To 'Deteriorating Health'

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ health has significantly deteriorated in recent days, according to a source in the office of the Palestinian leader.
The PA insider, who spoke to Breitbart Jerusalem on condition of anonymity, said a meeting between Abbas and Chinese Vice Prime Minister Wang Yang was delayed for two hours last Friday because of what the source described as Abbas’ “weak” physical condition.
The insider further revealed that numerous other meetings were cancelled over the past few days, though Abbas did sit down with some foreign delegations.
The source in Abbas’ bureau said the Palestinian leader has been visiting his medical team in Amman, Jordan with increased frequency over the past few weeks.
The office of PA Spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh released the following statement in response to a Breitbart Jerusalem query on the matter of Abbas’ health:
“No meetings were cancelled or delayed, including the meeting with the Chinese guest. President Abbas is in good health.”

Palestinian media calls all murdered Israelis "settlers"

Palestine Today (Islamic Jihad) says "Four settlers were killed and 11 others wounded in two operations; one occurred in the city of Tel Aviv in a stabbing operation, and the other occurred near two settlements in the occupied city of Hebron."

Palestine Press Agency (Fatah) says "Two Israeli settlers were killed and two others were seriously injured on Thursday afternoon in a stabbing operation in 'Tel Aviv' territory."

Fatah's Facebook page shows a photo of the murderer in Tel Aviv and refers to the dead as "settlers."

How can these media outlets tell their millions of readers that Israelis who are well within the Green Line are settlers?

Firas Press (Fatah- Dahlan faction) supplies the answer. It reported the incident as "The killing of two settlers and wounded two others in the stabbing operation in the "Tel Aviv" territories occupied in 1948."

They do not distinguish between either side of the Green Line in what they want for their state. Because their desire for a state was never about independence - it was always about destroying Israel.

Their "state" is not meant to be a state, but a stage.

Vic Rosenthal's weekly column

Lately there is a controversy in the US about demands by students for “safe spaces,” which apparently are places where like-minded folks can vent their prejudices without having to worry about hearing dissenting opinions. It made me think about a different kind of safe space, a place where a Jew doesn’t have to constantly look over his or her shoulder.

In California, where the Muslim population is less than 1%, the thought that my pro-Israel activities might endanger me or my family was never far from the surface. I was comforted by the thought that I was so ineffective in combating the anti-Israel propaganda flowing from multiple directions that they wouldn’t bother to beat me up, but I still always looked around carefully after pulling into my driveway. I don’t think I could have imagined what it is like for Jews today in France.

In France, Jew hatred is at unprecedented levels. Apart from the major terror attacks, many Jews have personal stories about harassment and beatings in the street, in schools, and elsewhere, which have increased “exponentially” since the attack on the Hyper Cacher supermarket in January. Although last week’s attacks didn’t specifically target Jews like the Ozar Hatorah or Hyper Cacher shootings, it would be natural for someone to think “if they can’t even protect themselves, how will they protect us?”

In Israel, despite the terrorism and constant threat of war, a Jew has a sense of security that exists nowhere else, even in the Jewish paradise of America.

It’s paradoxical. Here we are surrounded by Palestinian Arabs, presently in the middle of what has been called the 3^rd intifada, and there are daily incidents of terrorism against Jews. From October 1 to November 13, 14 Israeli Jews have been murdered by Arab terrorists and 167 wounded.

Hezbollah has more than 100,000 rockets aimed at the country, and Hamas has tens of thousands. I have heard the booms of rockets blown up in the air over my head by Iron Dome, and when I go to Jerusalem or even Tel Aviv, I am very careful crossing the street or waiting at bus stops (probably a good idea in any event). And yet I’m less tense than I was in California.

One obvious reason is that Israel is much better prepared to deal with war and terrorism than the rest of the world. It has one of the world’s best air forces, and a nuclear deterrent with second strike capability. Security checks at the airports and bus and train stations are better. Even shopping malls have guards; every car trunk is looked into at the entrance to the parking lot. But it still doesn’t fully justify the feeling of safety.

Having done reserve duty, I know that the army is not always what it is cracked up to be. The police are like police anywhere, some competent, some not. Security guards, well, let’s just say that they tend not to be highly paid former commandos.

But there are psychological factors. Israel’s Jews mostly see themselves as in it together. They are each as much targets as the next one, and they look out for one another. It’s their state, their imperfect state with its imperfect army and imperfect police that is charged with protecting them. This is comforting in a way that similar institutions in the Diaspora cannot be.

When I lived in the US, the strenuous efforts of the Obama Administration to define Islamic terrorism as anything other than what it is created feelings of helplessness and frustration in those who saw themselves as possible targets of it. In France, there is the simple fact that, although they appear to be trying, the authorities are unable to get ahead of the rising tide of Jew hatred.

Here in Israel the government is taking strong action (see Naftali Bennett’s Facebook post) against incitement and terrorism, including destroying the houses of terrorist murderers, outlawing the Northern Branch of the Islamic movement (which has been responsible for promulgating the very dangerous lie that Israel intends to destroy the al-Aqsa mosque), and other steps. Perhaps a little late, but moving in the right direction. The latest wave of terrorism isn’t over, but it seems to have crested.

It’s possible for an Israeli to appear very cynical about the motivations of politicians and other officials. There is a small subset of the population that despises the whole enterprise, many of whom are media personalities, academics and journalists, that makes an outsize impression to observers outside of the country. But this segment is taken much less seriously by the people that live here. Most Israeli Jews do identify with the state and its institutions, especially the army. And that makes them feel secure.

On the other hand, news reports suggest that French Jews are made to feel more anxious rather than less by the armed police posted outside synagogues, because they are reminded that at any moment they could be under terrorist attack.

By far the greatest number of Western Europeans emigrating to Israel in recent years have come from France. In 2014, some 7,000 French Jews made aliyah to Israel, while 3-5,000 went to other places, like Canada. One of the reasons is that the immigration process to Canada is slower and more complicated. It’s not a simple decision, because professionals face difficulties getting comparable jobs in Israel, and housing is expensive here also.

But I suggest that European Jews who chose to leave Europe take into account not only their physical security – although it is likely to be as well-protected in Israel as anywhere else in the world – but the psychological security that comes from living in the Jewish state.

Israel will emphatically never be the kind of “safe space” that the American students are looking for, a place in which they will not have to listen to anyone that disagrees with them. The opposite is true; in Israel disagreements are ubiquitous and eloquent. But maybe it is the kind of safe space that European Jews need today.

11/19 Links Pt1: 5 Israelis murdered in shooting and stabbing attacks; Fatah: All Israelis are Nazis

From Ian:

3 killed, including American tourist, in terrorist shooting near Gush Etzion in the West Bank

Three people were killed late Thursday afternoon when a Palestinian terrorist shot at cars stuck in a traffic jam near the Gush Etzion junction in the West Bank.
Initial reports suggest that the terrorist fired at the cars and then sped in the direction of the Alon Shvut settlement and slammed into a car.
The terrorist exited the vehicle and attempted to fire off further shots. Security forces shot at the terrorist and then arrested him.
MDA paramedics pronounced an approximately 18-year old man dead on the scene after efforts to resuscitate him failed. The youth was an American tourist. An approximately 50-year old man was critically wounded and taken to Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem where he was pronounced dead.
The third victim was a Palestinian passenger who was sitting in one of the vehicle's that the terrorist shot at.
In addition, four others were lightly wounded and were evacuated to the Shaare Zedek Medical Center, which is also located in the capital.

Two killed in stabbing attack at Tel Aviv office building

Two Israelis were killed and at least two others wounded in a stabbing attack in southern Tel Aviv Thursday afternoon.
The incident took place in the Panorama office building at an entrance to a room used for prayer services next to the parking lot as afternoon prayers were taking place, according to reports from the scene.
One victim was declared dead at the scene and a second died after being rushed to a hospital with serious injuries.
Two more people suffered light and moderate injuries, according to officials. The identity of the victims was not immediately released.
The Palestinian attacker was caught by passersby and arrested by police at the scene. He was taken to a hospital with light injuries.
Police identified him as Raid Halil bin Mahmoud, a 36-year-old father of five from the West Bank village of Dura, near Hebron, and said he did not have a criminal record.

PreOccupiedTerritory: Obama Says Palestinian Stabbings Also ‘Contained’ (satire)

The official noted the lack of fatalities or serious injuries among Israelis resulting from Palestinian attacks in the last two weeks, evidently under the erroneous presumption that if anything had happened, he’d be aware of it. “None of the major news networks have said anything about new attacks,” explained the official, unaware that numerous attacks have in fact taken place, and the only reason they have not been widely reported in Western media is that the latter tend to focus on fatal incidents, or non-fatal incidents in which Israel can be made to look brutal.
Experts say the contrast between Obama’s pronouncements and the actual, physical reality has often become apparent. “If you look at the way the president keeps backtracking on what he said he aimed to do to ISIS, this should come as little surprise,” said commentator Mitch N. Accompliszt. “There’s a constant negotiation of the gap – a chasm, really – between what he says and what actually happens. Sometimes he is able to anticipate the emerging reality, and walk back his rhetoric: ‘degrade and destroy ISIL’ becomes just ‘degrade,’ for example. But almost as often, events give the lie to the president’s assertions in what amounts to real time, and these moments are what results.”
Obama of course is not the first leader to have his pronouncements trumped by reality. A similar episode occurred before the Second World War when British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain agreed to let Nazi Germany annex parts of Czechoslovakia, accepting Hitler’s assurances that Germany sought no more territory than that, and even proclaiming upon his return to Britain that he had brought “peace for our time.”

The World Council of Churches just had a meeting in Switzerland where they issued a statement of their position on Israel and the Palestinians.

The WCC executive committee, meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on 13-18 November 2015, accordingly expresses its grave concern at recent developments in Israel and Palestine, involving renewed violent attacks against people of both communities and measures entailing long-term time division of access to Al-Aqsa mosque and affecting access to other holy sites. Such measures further diminish hope in the realization of this vision.

"Renewed violent attacks against people of both communities" - so Arabs stabbing and running their cars over Jews has exactly the same moral weight as Israelis defending themselves from those attacks? Has the IDF been attacking any random Arabs they come across?

"measures entailing long-term time division of access to Al-Aqsa mosque and affecting access to other holy sites" - While I would welcome a fair division and equal access to the Temple Mount (a phrase that the church group chooses to discard i favor of "Al Aqsa Mosque") I cannot find a single statement by the Israeli government that would allow such access. I'd love to know which hours of the day Jews can visit without fear of being screamed at or attacked.

In other words, this paragraph shows that the WCC doesn't give a damn about facts. They are dhimmis, wanting to accept the wildest Arab accusations without proof, so they can issue a supposedly "even-handed" resolution that diminishes Jewish rights.

The one-sided nature of the resolution continues:

Neither the spate of individual violent attacks against Israelis, nor the violent response and extra-judicial killings that have followed, can be condoned. They further undermine hopes for peace, already seriously diminished by the perpetuation of the illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories, successive restrictions and impositions, growing settlement activity, impunity and the international community’s inadequate response. We are deeply concerned that this heightened sense of hopelessness and frustration risks generating further uncontrolled waves of violence, with tragic consequences for the people of the region.

So the "individual violent attacks" are also Israel's fault, because they come from "hopelessness and frustration." Not a word about how the Palestinian government and its ruling party celebrates the attacks and encourages more. They can find a context for why Arabs stab Jews, but they can find no such context of why Jews might want to do things to avoid being stabbed.

I guess that's because, in the Church's eyes, only Jews have to turn the other cheek.

This is a disgusting resolution, where facts are discarded in favor of the politically correct position that Israel is always to blame. And because of resolutions like these that equate the attackers and the attacked, Arabs feel emboldened to perform further attacks, as we have seen today in Tel Aviv and Gush Etzion.

Of course, this is part of a pattern of lying and anti-Israel incitement from the WCC.

(h/t Arnold)

Last March I reported that the American Library Association was once again partnering with the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF) in the United Arab Emirates, a fair that has a history of featuring antisemitic books.

This year's fair, which just ended, is no exception.

The organizers of the fair deny that they allow such books to be shown as this Gulf News article about the opening of the fair reported:

In his keynote speech, Dr Shaikh Sultan said "the book is the light against ignorance". He added that all books are welcome at SIBF as long as they don't preach hate against anyone.

Here is a photo taken at the Ruslan Publishing House booth at the fair:'

What is that book that has the most copies on the table?

This one:

The ALA's President Sari Feldman gave the opening keynote speech to this fair that features hate - and denies it.

Some members of the ALA have used their status as librarians to vilify Israel and there have been unsuccessful attempts for the ALA to boycott Israel.

The same publishing house that publishes the Protocols also features an "Encyclopedia of Jews, Judaism and Zionism" although I'm not certain it was sold at the fair:

That work has been criticized by other Arabs as to being too pro-Jewish, although the author says that he avoided using the term "Jewish people" because the concept of a Jewish nation is "incompatible with reality."

(h/t Shawarma News)

Headline inversion in The Mirror

From The Mirror (UK):

Yes, Islamophobia is the real issue, while antisemitism is relatively normal. In fact, attacks on Jews create Islamophobia, it appears. Either that or stabbing Jewish teachers is a normal "backlash" after Islamist terror attacks.

The article is not much better:

A Muslim woman was wounded with a box cutter in a race-hate attack following the Paris terrorist atrocities, France's interior minister has said.

Bernard Cazeneuve condemned the assault and another attack on a Jewish teacher as "cowardly" and urged French citizens to remember the "values of the Republic".

I am in no way condoning the attack on the Muslim woman, but the framing here is completely backwards. A backlash against terror attacks is one story; antisemitism that is part of the fabric of a segment of French Muslim society is a much different (and much more important) story. The Mirror is trivializing, and even to a small extent justifying, the antisemitic attack.

(h/t Craig)
.

COGAT says 27,000 Palestinians work in Jewish settlements

COGAT put out its October statistics infographic:

The small print on the bottom is interesting.

In September, the Palestinian Bureau of Statistics said that about 90,000 Palestinian Arabs worked for Israelis within the Green Line and 20,000 worked in settlements. COGAT says far fewer work in Israel - but far more work in settlements, nearly 27,000.

I don't know which is more accurate. But COGAT's figure is awfully specific. It appears that they are counting permits.

It is against PA law to work for Jews in the territories. But if these numbers are accurate, then we can estimate that about 6% of the West Bank economy comes from people who work in the settlements (assuming double the average salary.)