Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Yasir's Girls

I found a Facebook group called "Yasir Girls Forum."

It is essentially a group to promote Fatah propaganda to Palestinian girls.

That propaganda includes imagery of rifles and guns.

Here they praise terrorist Dalal Nughrabi for killing 37 Israelis.

And here's another photo they highlight.

Yes, Fatah brainwashes kids to support terror, today.

Here's a terrible slide-show video they made.

The way we know that Fatah is behind it is the many photos of Mahmoud Abbas intertwined with Arafat. Fatah always tries to associate Abbas, who has no charisma whatsoever, with Arafat, to increase his popularity.

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Fatah continues to orchestrate anger over proposed embassy move

Architectural drawings for "US Consulate Annex" in Jerusalem, 2003

After weeks of shouting in the wind, the PLO finally managed to get some Arab threats going against a possible move of the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

On Tuesday, Azzam al-Ahmad of Fatah's Central Committee said that the PLO has a 21-point plan on how to respond to such a move. He didn't elaborate, but part of it is clearly to recruit whatever Arabs they can to justify the threat that Muslims worldwide will want to go to war over this.

In other words, since no one has made a big deal over this so far, the Palestinians must resort to ever-increasing incitement among Arab masses who are, frankly, too stupid to know the difference between moving an embassy into an area that the the entire world recognizes as Israeli and a "declaration of war against Islam."

After all, the entire issue is symbolic, and the Palestinians want a monopoly on symbolism. Losing this would be a severe blow to their own sense of honor.

Jibril Rajoub last week ranted:

This is a confrontation with the whole world and a declaration of war against it - against the Palestinians, against the Arabs, against the Muslims, against the Christians, and against UN resolutions....I hope we build a strategy to muster all these forces. In Jerusalem there are places that are sacred to 2.5 billion Muslims and Christians. What gives him the right to hand it over to the 13 million Jews in the world half here and half abroad?! Why does he think that he has the right to give them the keys to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher?!

Fatah Central Committee member Nabil Shaath said also on Tuesday, "We will not allow Trump to achieve peace through his support of Israel and the settlement process."

Hamas happily jumped on the threat train, saying Tuesday that Palestinians do not accept Israeli rule over a single inch of "Palestine," and that an embassy move would inaugurate a new phase of the conflict with Israel that the US administration would be responsible for.

And the Palestinians received a boost from Iraqi militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who said, "Transferring the US embassy to Jerusalem would be a public and more explicit than ever declaration of war against Islam."

That's funny - those were almost the exact same words that Mahmoud Abbas' aide Mahmoud Habash used earlier this month.

As I mentioned, the entire issue is symbolic. The best description of why Palestinians are risking everything on this can be seen from an interview with an Egyptian General Mahmoud Abdel-Latif , who explained the symbolism: "He who owns Jerusalem owns Palestine."

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01/24 Links Pt2: The Holocaust’s unlearned lessons; The Western Wall is an Illegal Settlement

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: The Holocaust’s unlearned lessons

Europeans have been schooled to view the Nazi period as a unique phenomenon unrelated to anything that happened either before 1933 or after 1945.
But the opposite is true.
Adolf Hitler and his Nazis and their collaborators throughout Europe didn’t spring from nothing. They were the natural outcome of centuries of European antisemitism. Their genocidal obsession with the Jewish people was a natural progression of a hatred that predated Christianity, and was an integral part of Europe’s development through the ages.
The way to block the Nazis from rising on the Right is to correct both Merkel’s mistake and the larger mistake of the leaders of Europe since 1945.
Merkel empowers Nazi forces by preventing liberal democracy, predicated on limited government, individual freedom and equal protection under the law, from developing in Germany. By demonizing and criminalizing her critics, she forces lawful citizens into the open arms of the political fringe, which resonates their concerns.
More generally, Europe itself facilitates the rise of antisemitism as a political force on the Right and Left by conflating European rejection of Jews with a more general, and less meaningful, problem of racism. You do not fight hatred of Jews by pretending away its significance and its roots that go back as far as European civilization itself. You do not block the resurgence of Nazism by pretending that European antisemitism was born the day Adolf Hitler came to power.
There is a tendency to believe that all nationalist movements are alike. But this is not true. Each nationalist movement is a reflection of the specific nation it represents. For European nationalists and globalists alike to avoid the fascism that captivated their grandparents, they need to embrace liberal values and meaningfully reject Jew hatred in all its forms.

Brussels airport bombers targeted Jews, Americans, investigators say

The Islamic State suicide bombers who attacked Brussels airport last year targeted Jewish people and passengers travelling to the United States, several sources told AFP.
The Belgian-led investigation believes a check-in counter for an American carrier was one of the targets in the March 22, 2016 attacks, the sources said on condition of anonymity.
They also suspect that travelers to Israel may have been in the crosshairs. Airport security camera footage shows one bomber apparently pursuing Hasidic Jews seconds before one of the blasts.
Islamic State (IS) bombers Najim Laachraoui and Ibrahim El Bakraoui killed 16 people at Zaventem airport. Around an hour later Bakraoui’s brother Khalid attacked a metro station near EU headquarters, killing another 16.
One source close to the investigation told AFP, which contacted investigators in several countries, that one of the airport bombers “attacked the Delta Airlines check-in”.
“We know they wanted to target Americans,” said the source, who asked not to be named. “It’s clear they had quite specific targets.”

BESA: Jerusalem is the Center of Gravity

Making strategic choices requires distinguishing which issues are urgent and which are important. Right now, the securing of Jewish control over Jerusalem is both urgent and important. Jerusalem carries great symbolic and strategic value for Israel, and Israeli control of the city must be protected.
Israel’s control of a united Jerusalem is challenged now more than ever. UN Security Council Resolution 2334, adopted on December 23, 2016, declared the Jewish Quarter, the Western Wall, and the Temple Mount occupied territory and any Jewish presence there illegal if it is without Palestinian consent. This followed the October 2016 UNESCO resolution ignoring Jewish links to the Temple Mount. Moreover, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced on December 28, 2016 that for the first time, the US supports the idea that Jerusalem should be the capital of two peoples.
Many Israelis console themselves that President Donald Trump will move the US embassy to Jerusalem, signaling a new era. Even if the move takes place, and even if it goes smoothly with few repercussions, it is not at all clear that the rest of the world will fall in step.
In all probability, most of the world will refuse to come along, despite the fact that West Jerusalem is not disputed territory. It will not help that there should be no legal or political problem moving an embassy to the Western part of the city. There was great reluctance to move embassies to pre-1967 Jerusalem long before the Palestinians issued any demands for parts of the city. No particular sensitivity to the Palestinian issue was displayed during the 1948-67 period.

The Western Wall is an Illegal Settlement

United Nations Security Council Resolution #2334 is worded in a way that creates some very odd results. Yes, the Western Wall is now an "illegal settlement," and any Israeli activity there is a "flagrant violation of international law."

On Sunday, the Jerusalem municipality issued this announcement (via UK Media Watch):

Today (Sunday), the Local Building and Planning Committee in Jerusalem approved the construction of 671 housing units in various neighborhoods whose approval had been delayed for several weeks: 324 units in Ramot, 174 units in Ramat Shlomo, 68 units in Pisgat Ze’ev, 49 units in Beit Hanina, 14 units in Wadi Joz, 24 units in Umm Lison and Umm Tuba, 7 units Jabel Mukaber, 4 units in Beit Safafa, 3 units in Sur Baher and 4 units in A-Tur. Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said: “The past eight years have been difficult with pressure from the Obama administration to freeze construction. While the Jerusalem Municipality did not freeze construction, pressure from the American government meant that national approval was often not granted, and sometimes the publication of new plans was delayed. I believe that we are entering a new era, in which we will be able to continue to build and develop the city for the benefit of all residents, Jews and Arabs alike, This will enable us to the right thing – to strengthen our sovereignty, to provide housing solutions for young people, and to develop Jerusalem – Israel’s indivisible capital.”

667 units were approved, 566 in existing Jewish neighborhoods and 101 in Arab neighborhoods.

The mainstream media has a meme that Israel only approves "Jewish" settlement construction and withholds any approvals for Arab homes in Jerusalem. We've seen before how the media and diplomats ignore the approvals in Arab neighborhoods, or even count them as "illegal settlements." How did they report on this story?

UK Media Watch reported on British media. How about everyone else?

Reuters ignores the Arab homes, but it clearly read the announcement because it quoted Barkat:

Jerusalem's City Hall approved the building permits for more than 560 units in the urban settlements of Pisgat Zeev, Ramat Shlomo and Ramot, areas annexed to Jerusalem in a move unrecognised internationally.
Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat said in a statement that the eight years of the Obama administration had been "difficult with pressure ... to freeze construction" but that Israel is now entering a new era.

Germany's DW.com said "Israel approves 566 new homes in east Jerusalem settlements," ignoring the Arab homes.

Vox ignored the Arab homes.

Russia's RT.com said "Israel approves 560 new illegal homes in E. Jerusalem as Trump takes office."

Haaretz' headline said,"After Trump's Swearing-in, Jerusalem Approves 566 Homes Beyond Green Line." No, it approved 667 homes. In the article it mentioned the Arab homes.

Most outrageously, the Jerusalem Post had the worst headline: "JERUSALEM MUNICIPALITY APPROVES 560 ISRAELI HOMES OVER GREEN LINE." No, it approved 667 Israeli homes. It did report on the Arab homes in the article.

Israeli newspapers have given license for world media to distinguish between homes built for Muslim and Christian residents of Jerusalem and homes built for Jewish residents. Not that world media and leaders need the excuse.

The same government approves both kinds of homes. The only difference is that homes built for Jews are "illegal" and homes built for Arabs, including Israeli Arabs, are considered both legal and not worth reporting.

Because reporting the truth would upset the overarching narrative of Israeli evil and subjugation of Arabs. And in this era of fake news and "alternative facts," some facts are simply too inconvenient to bother reporting.

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Jerusalem, above all joys (Forest Rain)

The debate about moving the American embassy to Jerusalem emphasizes, once again, the lack of comprehension of the importance of Jerusalem to the Nation of Israel.

The destruction of the Jewish Temple meant the destruction of the most holy, pivotal location to the Jewish religion, culture and people. Destruction of the Temple was an attempt to destroy the Jewish nation – take out the cultural linchpin, the one element that ties everyone together and everything will fall apart.

It is written:
As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
so is the land of Israel the navel of the world…
situated in the centre of the world,
and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
and the Foundation Stone before the holy place,
because from it the world was founded.
(Roman-Era Midrash Tanchuma)

It is believed that the Foundation Stone is the foundation God used to create the world. Around this stone the Temple was built and within the Temple, on the Foundation Stone, the Ark of the Covenant was placed. This is the source of the holiness of the Temple and its importance to Judaism.

The image people around the world today have of the Temple Mount is that of the golden domed mosque which was built on the ruins of the Temple in 691 C.E. Since that time the Dome of the Rock has been a holy place for the Moslem people – although not central to their religion. Considered the third holiest location in Islam, it is not mentioned a single time in the Koran.

It was once common practice for a conquering people to build holy sites on top of existing holy places. Historically this was a successful way to both show domination of the location as well as a way to incorporate the local population in the new religion.

The Temple has been central to the Jewish people since the construction of the first Temple (957 B.C.E.). To this day, Jews around the world pray facing the direction of the site of the Temple Mount.

The Kotel is the Western Wall of the Temple which remains standing (an external supporting wall). The wall is so important that it has become in Jewish consciousness THE Wall. It needs no other name. Millions of Jews come to the Kotel every year, it is always open and people can be found there, every day, 24/7, around the clock. The Kotel is never empty and it is in fact one of the most frequented locations in the world, seeing approximately 11 million guests each year.

Jews in exile in Babylon are described in Psalm 137 as stubbornly remembering the full glory of Jerusalem, explaining to their captors that they would always look towards the holy city: “May my tongue cleave to my mouth, if I ever think not of thee, if I ever prize not Jerusalem above all joys!”

To this day, in Jewish weddings, before the couple is formally married, the groom proclaims this statement before the guests and breaks a cup with his foot to symbolize sorrow for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

On what is supposed to be the happiest day in the life of the couple, they stop, putting sorrow and longing for the Temple first. This is a powerful statement.

The 9th day of the month of Av (Jewish calendar) is the day when both the first and second Temples were destroyed, the first by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.; the second by the Romans in 70 C.E. It is a day of fasting and mourning for religious Jews around the world.

Thinking about the meaning of Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning, I am beginning to see, (or maybe feel is a better word) that this is symbolic of all our problems – Israel’s and those of the world.

The Foundation Stone of the world, the site of the Temple mount, is dominated by a mosque. It is known that active destruction of antiquities has been occurring since the Waqf was given control of the Temple Mount. Dr. Mordechai Kedar, (Department of Arabic, Bar-Ilan University) explains: “These actions are being carried out in the context of a practice known in Arabic as Tams al-ma’alem, an expression that means ‘erasing the signs’ in the sense of destroying the relics of all cultures that preceded Islam.”

Jews are allowed to enter the site of the Temple but ironically are not allowed to pray there. In fear of Moslem rioting, to avoid violence, Jews who enter the Temple Mount must not be heard praying or show any signs of prayer. If they bow to the Holy of Holies, they are escorted out of the site.

Imagine having other people in your home who, because they had been there for so long, you do not attempt to evict, but only request to share the space with them. Imagine being told that you are allowed to stand outside the back door, outside the cellar, that you can watch while others enter and leave, doing as they please in your home…

Secular Jews do not fast on Tisha B’Av and though most Israelis have visited the Kotel, only a minority has actually ascended to the Temple Mount. The drifting away from putting Jerusalem above all other joys has significance that surpasses religion, encompasses history and has direct influence on our future.

The spiritual explanation says that ramifications of being disconnected or even barred from the source of the holiness of the world deeply impacts not only on the Jewish people but the entire planet as well.

History says that the cultural significance of Jerusalem and yearning for the Temple was a key factor in keeping the Jewish people intact over the centuries. When other nations rose and fell, the Nation of Israel remained, stubborn in their focus, insisting on returning to Israel and to Jerusalem – no matter how long it took or how much suffering was experienced along the way.

The Temple is what ties us to Jerusalem and Jerusalem is what ties us to Israel. Without either of these, we risk losing all.

This is an issue of priorities, of belonging, respect and freedom. These are magnified to extreme intensity here, at the navel of the world, but they have direct impact on the lives of all people, everywhere.

America under Obama, with the support of the UN and their latest anti-Israel resolution has done much to damage Israel’s connection to Jerusalem. America under Trump can help amend this. Moving the US embassy to Jerusalem is a good start.

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

01/24 Links Pt1: Obama sent $221 million to PA before leaving office; Yazidi Girls Sold as Sex Slaves while Women March against Trump

From Ian:

Report: Obama sent $221 million to PA before leaving office

The Obama administration in its waning hours defied Republican opposition and quietly released $221 million to the Palestinian Authority, Washington officials said Monday.
The funds were being held up by Republican members of Congress.
An unnamed State Department official and several congressional aides said U.S. President Barack Obama's outgoing administration formally notified Congress it would spend the money Friday morning, just before Donald Trump became president.
More than $227 million in foreign affairs funding were released at the time, including $4 million for climate change programs and $1.25 million for U.N. organizations.
At least two GOP lawmakers had placed holds on the Palestinian funds. Congressional holds are generally respected by the executive branch but are not legally binding. (h/t Yenta Press)

Obama Uses Last Hours As President To Funnel Money To Palestinian Authority, Which Incites Murdering Jews

Beyond the corruption of the PA, its involvement in inciting Palestinians to murder Jews has been widely documented, from publications as leftist as Newsweek to the Gatestone Institute to Christians United for Israel.
In September, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Senator Dan Coats of Indiana introduced the “Taylor Force Act,” named after the graduate of West Point who was stabbed to death on the Tel Aviv beach promenade by a Palestinian terrorist in March The bill would cut off US funding to the Palestinian Authority if it continued to pay monetary rewards to terrorists and their families.
Graham said bluntly:
We’ve got to go ahead and put sunlight on this problem. The PA incentivizes young Palestinians to commit acts of terror…I hope Congress will understand that this is inconsistent with the two-state solution and that we’ll build support [for the legislation] over time . . . there has to come a point of awakening here within Palestinian society. I want the Palestinians to make a decision as to what kind of people they are going to be. I know they’ve got problems, I’ve met [PA President Mahmoud] Abbas many times. I know Hamas is an out and out terrorist organization and the PA has a fairly good working relationship with the Israelis when it comes to security, but we’ve got to cross this bridge…American dollars are going to a government that literally rewards people for killing their neighbors. And until we get that addressed, I don’t think the peace process will ever move forward.
But Obama, ever desirous of mortally wounding the Jewish state, used his last hours to try to come closer to his goal one last time.

Ex-Israeli Official Reveals Never Before Told Story Highlighting Fraught Obama-Netanyahu Relationship

A former top Israeli diplomatic official revealed a never-before told story that shed further light on the fraught personal relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former US President Barack Obama, in an interview published Friday.
Dore Gold — who was until recently the director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry — told the Hebrew newspaper Makor Rishon that after the September funeral of the late Israeli statesman Shimon Peres, someone from Air Force One — on which Obama, then-Secretary of State John Kerry and former President Bill Clinton were aboard — called Netanyahu’s chief of staff Yoav Horowitz and told him, “Tell your boss if he wants a funeral like Peres’, he should begin to move, to go forward,” the implication being that Netanyahu should be more flexible when it comes to the peace process with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu, according to Gold, told Horowitz to respond, “Tell him that I give up the honor because I have no intention of participating in the funeral of my country.”
Later in the Makor Rishon interview, Gold accused the Obama administration of having demonstrated a “kind of arrogance” when it came to its Middle East policies.
“They developed a vision, according to which no matter what the Arabs say or what the Israelis say, they know better the needs of both sides,” Gold said. (h/t Elder of Lobby)

Can Trump Get Israel and the Palestinian Arabs To Talk? A Last Look At Obama and Bush (Daled Amos)

Welcome to EoZ's latest columnist, Daled Amos.

Daled Amos has been blogging since 2003. He has always been insightful and does great research. (And he's a really nice guy!)

Welcome!

As of Friday, 12pm we have a new president -- President Donald Trump.

Comparisons have been made between Trump and Obama, and we can expect many more comparisons to be made over the next four years. One of those comparisons is in connection with Israel.

Obama allowed passage of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2334, calling the settlements illegal and putting renewed pressure on Israel. Now along comes Trump, who has promised -- and has reiterated his intention to keep that promise -- to move the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Yet both claim to be friends of Israel.

We know Obama is a friend of Israel -- after all, he's told us so.

There are some indications that Trump is a friend of Israel as well:

Trump won an Israeli poll about which presidential candidate would best represent Israel’s interests
He has won awards from the American Jewish community for his contributions to Israel and American Judaism
He was the grand marshal of a Salute To Israel Parade

This seems to point to a basic problem that Obama had from the beginning - not just how to prove that he was a friend of Israel, but that he was the bestest friend that Israel has ever had.

Let's take one last look at Obama's relationship with Israel.

During a daily press briefing on November 17, 2009, the following exchange took place between the State Department Spokesperson Ian Kelly and Matt Lee, reporter for the Associated Press on what the Obama administration had accomplished till then in advancing peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs

MR. KELLY: Well, I would say that we’ve gotten both sides to commit to this goal. They have – we have – we’ve had a intensive round or rounds of negotiations, the President brought the two leaders together in New York. Look --

QUESTION: But wait, hold on. You haven’t had any intense --

MR. KELLY: Obviously --

QUESTION: There haven’t been any negotiations.

MR. KELLY: Obviously, we’re not even in the red zone yet, okay.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. KELLY: I mean, we’re not – but it’s – we are less than a year into this Administration, and I think we’ve accomplished more over the last year than the previous administration did in eight years. [emphasis added]

QUESTION: Well, I – really, because the previous administration actually had them sitting down talking to each other. You guys can’t even get that far.

MR. KELLY: All right.

QUESTION: I’ll drop it.

One could argue that this press briefing in 2009 became the template for the drama that would play out during the next 7 years of the Obama Administration: attempts to bring peace between the two sides, resulting in failure, followed by excuses, claims of accomplishments -- and claims of friendship.

That certainly is what we recently saw in the remaining days of the Obama Administration.

During the last week of the Obama Administration, we read about how Kerry defends Obama administration’s record on Israel. During an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour last Monday, John Kerry bristled at Amanpour's observation that the Obama administration was the last in a long line of American administrations that had failed to bring peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs. This of course was true, but instead of admitting to the obvious, Kerry placed the blame elsewhere, dividing it evenly between Israel and Palestinians:

“No, the leaders of the countries involved — one country and one entity — have failed to come to the table and reach an agreement.”

Let's save time and put aside the fact that contrary to Kerry's protestations, Netanyahu has consistently offered to sit down and negotiate directly while Abbas has refused.

So just what was Kerry arguing here? By objecting to Amanpour's comment, was he saying that Israel and the Arabs are to blame for the failure -- and therefore the Obama administration attempts at peace have been a success? Make all the excuses you want, and clearly many attempts were made by the White House over the years, but at the end of the day Amanpour was right: “yet another administration has not brought peace.”

The same John Kerry who is blaming Israel for that failure is the same John Kerry who goes on to claim that he speaks "as a good, solid best friend of Israel and we have done more for this government, more for Israel than any other administration.”

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to CNN on January 16, 2017.
(Screenshot/CNN). Credit: Times of Israel

Some friend.

Kerry bases his claim of friendship on the $38 billion military aid package that the Obama Administration signed with Israel and on the assistance the US has given Israel in developing Iron Dome.

For both of these, Israel is of course very grateful.

After all, $38 billion is an awful lot of money.

So is $30 billion.

On June 4, 2008, candidate Obama promised the following at an AIPAC convention (the same AIPAC convention where Obama famously declared Jerusalem "must remain undivided"):

I will ensure that Israel can defend itself from any threat - from Gaza to Tehran. Defense cooperation between the United States and Israel is a model of success, and must be deepened. As President, I will implement a Memorandum of Understanding that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade - investments to Israel’s security that will not be tied to any other nation.

Not only did Obama make this promise -- he also kept it.

Except that it wasn't exactly his promise to keep. Though he failed to give credit where credit was due, Obama was actually promising to implement not a Memorandum of Understanding, but the Memorandum of Understanding -- the one that George Bush signed in 2007. And yes, Obama allowed the understanding to be fulfilled, unimpeded.

So here's my question.

If we say that George Bush was a good friend because he gave Israel $30 billion -- does that make Obama, who signed off on giving Israel $38 billion, a better friend, a best friend?

That does seem to be the gist of Kerry's argument.

Giving money and weapons to Israel makes the US friends of Israel.

Allowing passage of a UN resolution calling Israeli settlements illegal and strengthening the hand of those who want to boycott Israel is apparently tough-love, and according to Kerry, was intended to "make a statement and frankly ignite a debate" -- a novel idea since the debate over settlements has long been raging in Europe, the UN and in Israel.

And yet Obama's predecessor, George Bush, was able to go beyond funding and weapons and get Israel and the Palestinian Arabs talking.

True, by the end of his administration, Bush also had not brought peace between Israel and the Palestinian Arabs.

But not for lack of trying or lack of some successes.

The Secretaries of State of both administrations made many, many visits to the Middle East. Kerry notes he logged 300 hours discussing peace with Netanyahu -- during 13 trips to Israel and 6 meetings with Israeli officials outside of Israel, while Condoleezza Rice made 25 trips to Israel and met Israeli officials outside of Israel on 2 occasions.

But more than that, in 2003, a speech President Bush gave the previous year was developed into the Road Map for peace, and it was approved not only by the Quartet of the US, UN, the EU and Russia -- but approved also by Israel and the Palestinian Authority as well.

President Bush, center, meets with Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, left, and

Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas to finalize the road map to peace

at Beit al Bahar Palace in the Jordanian Red Sea resort of Aqaba, June 4, 2003. AP

In 2007, he convened a worldwide conference in Annapolis to begin a year-long period of final status negotiations

Olmert, Abbas and Bush at the opening of the Annapolis talks

(U.S. Navy photo by Gin Kai)

Obama did get Abbas to meet directly with Netanyahu in 2010. After Netanyahu sweetened the deal with a 10 month settlement freeze, Abbas finally agreed to meet during the 10th month, following pressure from Hillary Clinton and persuasion from Jordan and Egypt. Abbas then insisted on another freeze before continuing, and when a frustrated Netanyahu refused, the talks broke down.

Obama with Prime Minister Netanyahu and Abbas at the White House on

September 1, 2010. Reuters.

The bottom line, though, is that both administrations failed.

Bush, though, had the two sides talking to each other -- which was all he could really be expected to do.

Obama never got that far, and was reduced to spending his 8 years in office bragging about being Israel's friend, while giving it arms and money in a Middle East that became increasingly volatile during his term, and then stabbing Israel in the back during his last weeks in office.

We'll have to wait and see what happens with Trump as president.

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Palestine Press Agency reports (and has documentary proof) that an early Palestinian leader, Rafik Natsheh, had paid himself hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal bonuses while he was responsible for a charity for orphans.

Natsheh was born in Hebron in 1934. He is considered one of the founders of the PLO. He had been a
member of the Palestinian National Council in 1964, the PLO representative in Riyadh, member of the Revolutionary Council of Fatah, Palestinian minister of labor and agriculture minister. He is also a former chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council.

As chairman of the Board of Directors of the Orphans Foundation Natsheh withdrew bonuses worth $239,428 over the past several years, according to the documents discovered.

Oh yes, Natsheh also had another important position.

He is the president of the Palestinian anti-corruption commission.

I wonder how much of the $211 million that Obama gave the Palestinians on the morning of President Trump's inauguration ended up going towards people like Natsheh?

We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.

Iran is transferring its people (and other Shias) to Syria. You know...settlers.

From The Guardian, January 13:

In the valleys between Damascus and Lebanon, where whole communities had abandoned their lives to war, a change is taking place. For the first time since the conflict broke out, people are starting to return.

But the people settling in are not the same as those who fled during the past six years.

The new arrivals have a different allegiance and faith to the predominantly Sunni Muslim families who once lived there. They are, according to those who have sent them, the vanguard of a move to repopulate the area with Shia Muslims not just from elsewhere in Syria, but also from Lebanon and Iraq.

The population swaps are central to a plan to make demographic changes to parts of Syria, realigning the country into zones of influence that backers of Bashar al-Assad, led by Iran, can directly control and use to advance broader interests.

“Iran and the regime don’t want any Sunnis between Damascus and Homs and the Lebanese border,” said one senior Lebanese leader. “This represents a historic shift in populations.”

Senior officials in neighbouring Lebanon have been monitoring what they believe has been a systematic torching of Land Registry offices in areas of Syria recaptured on behalf of the regime. A lack of records make it difficult for residents to prove home ownership. Offices are confirmed to have been burned in Zabadani, Darayya, Syria’s fourth city, Homs, and Qusayr on the Lebanese border, which was seized by Hezbollah in early 2013.

Darkoush said whole neighbourhoods had been cleansed of their original inhabitants in Homs, and that many residents had been denied permission to return to their homes, with officials citing lack of proof that they had indeed lived there.

“The first step in the plan has been achieved,” he said. “It involved expelling the inhabitants of these areas and burning up anything which connects them to their land and homes. The second step will be replacing the original inhabitants with newcomers from Iraq and Lebanon.”

The world is fixated on a very strained (and quite false) interpretation of the Geneva Conventions to damn Israel for allowing Jews to voluntarily move to their ancestral lands.

But Iran is directly violating the same article 49 of the Fourth Geneva Convention - and not just the part about transferring one's own population but about expelling entire populations from their homes.

And no one is saying a word.

This isn't surprising. The people who have been manipulating international law for decades to make Israel appear guilty of war crimes have no interest in applying their new laws to any other circumstance. The horrible crime of "settling" is only horrible when Israel can be claimed to be guilty, and Iran's far more egregious violations where existing residents are stripped of their rights and effectively deported to make room for the Shiite replacements are simply ignored.

All the proof you need is to realize that this Guardian article is a week and a half old and there has been no outcry by the supposed defenders of international law that attack Israel about this. Moreover, even the Guardian - which has claimed scores of times that Israel violates the Geneva Conventions by allowing Jews to live across the Green Line - doesn't mention Geneva once in this article, even though it is critical of Iran.

It is almost like international laws apply to Israel differently than to everyone else.

(h/t David G, Yoel)

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Egypt riled up over "black magic" being used against Sisi

Egypt's Al Ahram mentions a video that supposedly shows opponents of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi using witchcraft and black magic to harm him.

The video shows strange incantations over smoke and a picture of al-Sisi - seemingly drawn as a woman but with his military cap - along with snakes, a lizard and an owl being used in the ceremony.

Koranic verses are sprinkled throughout the target image of Sisi.

Former Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa responded: "We warn against the these people to stop interfering in the affairs of the lower worlds....Forewarned is forearmed."

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