Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Let's cynically pretend to care about Palestinian children to attack Israel

Two days ago, Mahmoud Abbas attended a conference in Kuwait:

KUWAIT: An international conference on the continued plight of Palestinian children amid the ongoing Israeli transgression opened in Kuwait yesterday. sponsored and attended by HH the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. along with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Addressing a packed audience comprising local. Arab and Islamic dignitaries. the Palestinian leader said that this special event. held under the auspices of HH the Amir. shines a light on the plight of Palestinian children. Abbas lamented that Palestinian children have been on the receiving end of some of the most horrific crimes in the history of humanity, which illustrates the significance of this conference.

The conference is aimed at highlighting the suffering of the Palestinian children in view of Israel's violations of the international conventions of the rights of the child.

The cynicism of pretending to care about Palestinian children in order to provide a photo op to bash Israel is obvious.

Anyone who truly cares about Palestinian children would insist that they not be taught to throw rocks at Jews. They should not be told on TV shows that murderers are heroes. They should not be taught in schools that martyrdom is their ultimate aspiration for them. They would complain about Hamas' use of children as human shields, about their building tunnels under schools, about their shooting rockets from playgrounds

Arabs saying that they care about Palestinian children is as convincing as...Arabs saying they care about Palestinians.

Certainly no one in the West would be this stupid to believe this transparent ploy of politicizing "children" as a means to attack Israel.

Oh, wait:

Congresswoman Betty McCollum (DFL-Minn.) today introduced legislation— the Promoting Human Rights by Ending Israeli Military Detention of Palestinian Children Act — to prevent United States tax dollars from supporting the Israeli military’s ongoing detention and mistreatment of Palestinian children.

“This legislation highlights Israel’s system of military detention of Palestinian children and ensures that no American assistance to Israel supports human rights violations,” Congresswoman McCollum said. “Peace can only be achieved by respecting human rights, especially the rights of children. Congress must not turn a blind eye the unjust and ongoing mistreatment of Palestinian children living under Israeli occupation.”

The legislation has been endorsed by the American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International USA, Center for Constitutional Rights, Churches for Middle East Peace, Defense for Children International - Palestine, Friends Committee on National Legislation, Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ, Jewish Voice for Peace, Mennonite Central Committee, Presbyterian Church (USA), the U.S. Campaign for Palestinian Rights, United Methodists for Kairos Response (UMKR), and United Methodist General Board of Church and Society.

Yep. A member of US Congress is acting just like Mahmoud Abbas - not caring about Palestinian children except for how they can be used to hurt Israel.

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11/14 Links Pt2: Saudi mufti's fatwa against Hamas; Benny Morris: UN Partition Vote in 1947 Was Important, but Not Crucial

From Ian:

Israeli min welcomes Saudi mufti's anti-Hamas remarks

An Israeli minister on Monday welcomed remarks by a mufti of Saudi Arabia that Palestinian resistance group Hamas is a terror organization.

"We congratulate Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, the grand mufti of Saudi Arabia, as well as the head of Ulema (Islamic scholars) for his fatwa forbidding the fight against the Jews and forbidding to kill them," Israeli Communications Minister Ayoub Kara wrote on his official Twitter account.

The minister also welcomed the mufti's remarks in which he considered Hamas a terror organization, adding "I invite the mufti to visit Israel; he will be welcomed with a high level of respect."

Earlier, the mufti said while answering a question on a television program that fighting against Israel was inappropriate and said Hamas was a "terror organization" in reply to a question regarding last July's anger across the Israeli-occupied West Bank when Israel shut Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is venerated by Muslims and Jews, following a deadly shootout. (h/t Zvi)

Benny Morris: The UN Partition Vote in November 1947 Was Important, but Not Crucial

In “Who Saved Israel in 1947?” Martin Kramer has usefully complicated the Truman-to-the rescue narrative that is favored in many circles by reintroducing both the key role played by the Soviet Union in supporting the yishuv’s aspirations for statehood and, not least, the behind-the-scenes lobbying of the great powers that was conducted by resourceful Zionist diplomats. But has he complicated it enough?

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181 of November 29, 1947, recommending the partition of Palestine into two states, one Jewish, the other Arab, won the support of more than half of the UN’s then-56 member states (33 for, 13 against, 10 abstaining), thus expressing the will of the bulk of the international community. All of the world’s democracies voted “aye,” save for India and Greece, which voted “nay,” and Britain, which abstained.

Were the same vote held today, the 193 General Assembly members would likely vote, perhaps overwhelmingly, against Jewish statehood. The Arab and Muslim states would vote “nay”—as they did uniformly in 1947—for reasons of ideology. But many others would follow suit out of self-interest and a desire not to annoy the world’s Arabs and Muslims—because the Arab and Muslim worlds offer giant actual and potential markets for goods and services, because much of the world’s oil is in their grip, because they sit astride international air, land, and sea routes, because of Arab-Muslim clout in international forums, and because of the presence of Arab and/or Muslim minorities in the midst of majority non-Arab and non-Muslim countries.

But the truth is that back in 1947, too, most of the world’s states had good, concrete reasons to vote with the Arabs. Then, too, there were potential markets, communications routes, oil wells, Muslim minorities—and there were big powers like France, Britain, and the U.S. that had or hoped to establish military bases in Muslim lands. Given the cold-war background, the powers, including the U.S. and the USSR, had good reason to rally or keep the Arabs and Muslims onside. As the Indian prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, wrote to Albert Einstein on July 11, 1947, explaining by implication why India with its large Muslim minority was going to vote “nay”: “national policies are unfortunately essentially selfish policies. Each country thinks of its own interest first.”
.....
One final question is raised by Kramer’s piece. He seems to imply that the partition vote was crucial to Israel’s emergence. I’m not so sure. It was certainly important to Israel’s swift acceptance among the comity of nations during the ensuing decade, and to its future diplomatic well-being and foreign relations. But its birth and existence? The simple answer is probably “no.”

In all likelihood, the state would have arisen, in 1948 or a year or two later, whatever the UN had decided or failed to decide in November 1947. It arose because the yishuv had, for decades, prepared itself, psychologically and institutionally, for that day, because it had achieved a critical developmental and demographic mass that was—and proved to be—sufficient to establish a Jewish state, and because its armed forces (yes, with the important help of the Moscow-approved Czech arms shipments in the crucial months of April through June 1948) were able to beat the disorganized Palestinian Arab militias and then the Arab armies that invaded Palestine.

To all of this, the Holocaust had provided the immediate and necessary impetus and energy.

Shiite clerics rail against Baha'i and other Islamic sects as Western/Zionist plot

From Rabwah Times:

Pakistan’s Shia leader has warned the public and the government of the dangers posed by Bahais and Ahmadis. Allama Iqbal Bahishti urged the public and authorities to be watchful of the ‘heretic’ Baha’is & Ahmadis.

Allam Iqbal Bahishti is the provincial secretary-general of Majlis Wahdat-e-Muslimeen (MWM), which is Pakistan’s largest Shiite political organization. He made the comments while speaking to members of the press on November 11.

The Islamic world was split into two groups, Sunnis, and Shiites but the colonial powers very cleverly planned the foundation of four fraudulent religions, for two of which they chose the Arab world and for the other two they chose the non-Arab [Persian] world. Then from these regions, prominent personalities were selected to lead those faiths.

Bahishti claimed that the Wahabi, Bah’ai and Ahmadiyya faith were the product of colonial conspiracy against the Islamic world. He claimed:

These superpowers conspired against Islam in the 18th century and laid the foundation of fraudulent and heretic faiths.From these four faiths, Wahabism quickly gained popularity and so did Qadianiat [Ahmadiyya]. However, the heretic faiths failed to gain any ground in the Shia world and the reason for this was the countermeasures by the Shia community.

He described Bahai and other faiths as heretics and said the colonial powers are scared of Islam and hence use these individuals to gain their objectives and the biggest obstacle that they face is Islam.

He further added that even though the public was aware of the dangers posed by Ahmadis, the Shia Muslims need to do more to raise awareness about the dangers posed by Baha’is in the country.

In Pakistan, there is a great deal of awareness of against Qadiyaniyat [Ahmadis]. After defeat in Iran, the Bahais directed their focus towards South Asia and Europe. The ideological center of the Bahais is in the city of Haifa which is located in the Zionist state of Israel. Bahais are more dangerous than the last three heretic faiths.

The Bahais have dozens of small centers from the Northern areas to Karachi in the south. It is very important that the public, as well as authorities including the interior ministry and the religious department, should be made aware of the danger of these beliefs.

The MWM follows Ayatollah, the supreme leader of Shias based in Iran. The Shia regime of Iran has long persecuted its Baha’i citizens, the Iranian Baha’is have long faced systematic persecution and suffered widespread discrimination in the country since the 1979 revolution, solely for believing in a faith that is not officially recognized by the Iranian Constitution.

Similarly, the Ahmadiyya Muslims have also faced severe persecution at the hands of Pakistani authorities. In 1974 Pakistan amended its constitution to declare the Ahmadi ‘non-Muslim’. Majority of Sunnis and Shiites consider the Ahmadis apostates due to which they are a target of sectarian attacks. Many Ahmadis continue to serve prison terms of the blasphemy including the crime of keeping copies of the Quran.

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11/14 Links Pt1: Without Victory, There Can Be No Peace; The day Palestine gave up

From Ian:

Without Victory, There Can Be No Peace

Ninety-four years ago, on November 4 1923, Ze’ev Jabotinsky published an essay that would shape the worldview of the nationalist Israeli Right. Known as the “Iron Wall” doctrine, it stated that, so long as the Arabs have even a sliver of hope regarding the outcome of the Israeli-Arab conflict, the conflict will not end.

Peace would only be achievable, Jabotinsky argued, once the “Iron Wall” of Israeli military superiority was completely solid. Even so, in the years following the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the foundational ideas of the Iron Wall doctrine have steadily faded from Israeli political discourse.

The first “crack” in the Iron Wall occurred the moment that the Oslo Accords were signed. The Israeli government imported a group of certified terrorists, in the hope that they would become converted to our way of thinking — that they would combat terror “without Bagatz or B’Tselem” (without the Supreme Court or far-left NGOs).

To some Arabs, the Oslo Accords represented a bright new hope; the first stage in the multi-step plan to achieve their dream of driving us out of the country, as first devised in the 1974 PLO Phased Plan. Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas, continues on the same path — securing whatever concessions possible from Israel through negotiation, while using violence to achieve the rest of his goals.

In 2014, Abbas explained as much in Cairo at an Arab League meeting, stating that he would never recognize Israel as a Jewish State: Meaning that he would continue to work towards a Palestinian State encompassing as much territory as possible, while at the same time working towards turning Israel into a second Palestinian state.

PMW: Fatah's narrative: Israel is a "monster" killing Palestinian "rebels"

While honoring terrorist Hussein Abayat who murdered one Israeli and was also involved in numerous attacks against Israelis during the PA's terror campaign (2000-2005), Fatah's Bethlehem Branch stated that his blood will not have been spilled "in vain," and neither will that of "all the [other] Martyrs."

Fatah promised continued violence and many more terrorists, stating that for every "rebel" killed by "the monster" Israel a thousand more will appear:

Posted text: "The 17th anniversary of the death as a Martyr (Shahid) of commander Hussein Abayat (i.e., terrorist, involved in numerous attacks including murder of 1) When the men cried over the passing of the one who fired the first bullet of the Al-Aqsa Intifada (i.e., PA terror campaign 2000-2005) in the first assassination operation that was carried out by the Israeli planes of hatred...
Martyr Hussein's blood and the blood of all the Martyrs who today are writing the lines of the future history will not be in vain When the monster kills one rebel, the ground sprouts a thousand others
O pride of the wound, if we die, the graves will fight" [Facebook page of the Fatah Movement - Bethlehem Branch, Nov. 9, 2017]

Palestinian Media Watch reported recently that Fatah's Bethlehem Branch glorified the PA terror campaign - the second Intifada - and posted "a souvenir picture" from it, showing rows of masked men apparently belonging to Fatah's Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades carrying rifles.

Over 1,000 Israelis, the vast majority of whom were civilians, were murdered during the PA terror campaign, mostly in suicide bombings by Hamas and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades is considered a terror organization by the US and the EU.

John Bolton: Lebanon's Fall Would Be Iran's Gain

Apparently, neither the Pentagon, nor the State Department, nor the National Security Council advised the new Trump administration of the implications of facilitating Iran's Middle East grand strategy. Obama's approach is, ironically, easier to understand, given his determination to secure his "legacy" by conceding vital U.S. national interests to nail down the Iran nuclear deal. Seeing Iran enhance its hegemonic aspirations throughout the region was, in his view, just another small price to pay to grease the way for the nuclear deal. Trump's advisers have no such excuse.

Hariri's resignation shows the inevitable consequences of blindly following Obama's approach. Very little now stands in the way of Hezbollah's total domination of the Lebanese government, thereby posing an immediate threat to Israel. In recent years, Tehran continued supplying the Assad regime and Hezbollah with weapons systems dangerous to Israel. Even more Israeli self-defense strikes are now likely, as Iran's conventional threat on Israel's borders grows.

Nearby Arab states also see the potential dangers of an unbroken Shia military arc of control on their northern periphery. The Middle East thus faces an advancing Syria, backed by Iran's imminent nuclear-weapons capability, deliverable throughout the region — and likely able to reach America in short order.

The Trump administration cannot continue idly watching Iran advance without opposition. Washington and its regional allies need a comprehensive strategy to deal with Iran, not a series of ad hoc responses to regional developments. Time is fast running out.

You can learn a lot from Arab satire

Recently, Tzipi Livni, head of the opposition Zionist Union party, met with Saudi prince Turki al-Faisal at a conference, and tweeted this photo:

A Lebanese satirical newspaper named Ad-Dabbour made a joke article about this, which shows how the Arab world looks at current events. Essentially, the article says Saudi Arabia is sucking up to Israel and to Jews.

[Livni:] “Don’t shake my hand too hard, you will be even more disgraced than [PLO negotiator] Abu Qurei”

[Faisal to photographer:] "Take our picture from above, so that it doesn’t show that I am holding her hand, so that the picture comes out looking innocent, may Allah make your life long, shalom"

After His Picture with Livni Went Viral, Turki Al-Faisal: “By Allah, This is an Innocent Picture, Don’t Let Your Imagination Run Wild, Get Over It, We Grew Old

After the picture of Turki Al-Faisal with Livni – who was described as the “Lover of Politicians”, and who is proud to provide “physical services” for Israel – went viral, he (i.e. Turki) spoke, after a long silence.

In an exclusive interview to Ad-Dabbour, Turki Al-Faisal said: “The picture is completely innocent, nothing happened between us, she grew old and she is worn out, and I am gone as well, I ask you not to make a big issue out of it, don’t let your imagination run wild.”

Al-Faisal added: “She (i.e. Livni) disgraced us, may Allah disgrace her, I thought that it is a private picture, only for her, but she published it without my knowledge. Anyway, Livni uses her body to bring down the most prominent politicians who are working with her in secret, whereas I am working with her overtly...., and this is strong proof that there was nothing between us.”

When Ad-Dabbour’s reporter asked Turki Al-Faisal about the nature of that “innocent meeting”, Turki Al-Faisal said: “I spoke with her about the will of my master King Muhammad Bin Salman, er, I mean the current Crown Prince [Note: this is a dig at Saudi Arabia, saying that it is really the Crown Prince running the show, not his father, the King.] to open an Israeli embassy in Riyadh soon.” He also said: “I said to her: ‘We are very close to open an Israeli embassy in Riyadh, we hope that this is realized soon.’”

Livni said: “We don’t want to hurry up with normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia right now, we want a total normalization with all Arab countries at once.
[Another dig at Saudi Arabia, i.e. that they are trying to normalize relations with the Jews, and it is the Jews saying “no”]

The Saudi prince (i.e. Turki Al-Faisal) proclaimed his gratefulness for his being in a Jewish synagogue for the first time, and he said that he hoped that it won’t be the last. He also defended his recurring appearance with former Israeli officials.

Ad-Dabbour’s reporter asked: “Why don’t you open a Jewish synagogue in Mecca, so that this joy is not denied to you?” (i.e. the joy of being in a synagogue) Al-Faisal: “There are ongoing negotiations to return the Jews of Khaibar to Mecca. As you know, they were here before us, and they have a right to the Ka’aba more than the Muslims. We hope that this happens soon, so that there will be peace in the entire world, and those who have rights regain their rights.”
[Once again, a dig at Saudi Arabia, saying that they are willing to give up the most sacred rights of the Muslims…]

We are still looking for Ad-Dabbour’s reporter at the time of the writing of this report.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

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As @UNRWA teaches hate, EU gives more money to UNRWA

The new Palestinian Authority curriculum, which is used by UNRWA, has been reviewed by IMPACT-SE. The group finds that the books being used by the PA and UNWRA include encouraging kids to become "martyrs:"

Palestinian children learn that they are part of a long history of martyrs.
And the thousands of righteous and martyrs who have beautified her pure soil with their
innocent blood and who have given her their pure souls. And they defend her from
passing invaders and oppressive tyrants . . .

Arabic Language, Grade 10, Vol. 1, 2017, p. 18.
Children are encouraged to offer their blood, described in Tawfiq Zayyad's poem, "Remaining":
And [our] pure blood, we will not spare, will not spare, will not spare
Here we have a past, a present and a future.

Arabic Language, Grade 10, Vol. 1, 2017, p. 133.
The following is an excerpt from "Don't Tell My Mother!" by Muhammad Barash. The title
suggests that children not obey parents' warnings when called to be martyrs:
And the last scene I saw before I found myself unconscious was that of a child who came
running toward me, carrying a flag, shouting: martyr, martyr [shahid, shahid]!

Arabic Reading, Literature and Criticism, Grade 11, Vol. 1, 2017, p. 19.

I am a Muslim; I sacrifice for the liberation of Al-Aqsa Mosque. Islamic Education, Grade 5, Vol. 1, 2017, p. 56.

The textbooks demonize Israel, refers to Zionists in the 1940s as "occupiers," make child-killer Dalal Mughrabi into a hero. There are dozens of examples of religious indoctrination, flse history, erasing Israel and encouraging students to fight against "Jewish occupiers" who clearly include every Jew in "Palestine" since the textbooks do not distinguish between Israel and the territories.

So it is telling that the EU has just decided that, to encourage the PA to unify with Hamas in Gaza, they will increase their funding to UNRWA by €10.5 million:

Following the agreement signed in Cairo on 12 October and the handover of Gaza crossings to the Palestinian Authority on 1 November, the European Union reaffirms its readiness to mobilise its full support to current efforts to reunite Gaza and the West Bank under one single and legitimate Palestinian Authority. While the agreement and the handover were important and welcome steps in this regard, they need to be followed up by further steps to enable the Palestinian Authority to resume its full responsibilities in Gaza and achieve intra-Palestinian reconciliation.
We are having consultations internally, with key international partners, as well as within the Quartet, on how best to help this process to succeed. How to grant targeted support to Gaza, in particular to the citizens, is part of these consultations. In light of special circumstances and needs, the EU has decided to exceptionally increase its annual contribution to UNRWA by another EUR 10.5 million. A considerable part of this funding is dedicated to Palestine refugees in Gaza, in particular for health and education.

So, yes, the EU is funding hate.

(h/t Irene)

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Antisemites to give talk about "antisemitism" in NYC

In August I noted that "Jewish Voice for Peace" published a book on antisemitism that justifies some kinds of antisemitism.

Now the people who passionately believe that the only people on Earth who do not have the right to self-determination are Jews are holding a conference to claim that the only kind of antisemitism that matters is that neo-Nazi type than can be blamed on the ultra-Right.

Leftist antisemitism, as we've seen in the British Labour party, is not antisemitism as long as the person spouting the hate claims - sometimes way after the fact - that they were only criticizing Israel.

The people who are speaking and claim to care about antisemitism are the exact kind of people who don't give a damn about antisemitism - they are only using Jews as pawns to demonize their political opponents.

Here are the speakers:

Leo Ferguson is the community and communications organizer for Jews for Racial & Economic Justice.
Lina Morales is a member of Jews of Color and Mizrahi/Sephardi Caucus of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Linda Sarsour is the former Executive Director of the Arab-American Association of New York, a co-chair of the National Women's March, and was a co-founder of MPower Change.
Rebecca Vilkomerson is the Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Yes, suddenly Linda Sarsour is an authority on antisemitism. She is, but not for the reasons she claims.

Get ready for lots of talk about how Zionist call all critics of Israel antisemites (no, only the ones who actively seek the destruction of the only Jewish state) and how there is suddenly much more neo-Nazi activity since Trump was elected (there isn't but the media is covering it much more.)

Meanwhile, here is your handy guide again for the differences between anti-Zionism and antisemitism.

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