Friday, December 01, 2017

From Ian:

Man stabbed to death in apparent terror attack named as IDF soldier
The 19-year-old Israeli stabbed to death at a bus station in an apparent terror attack in the southern city of Arad on Thursday night was an IDF soldier, the Israeli army said late Thursday.

The soldier, whose name was not initially cleared for publication, was later identified as Ron Yitzhak Kokia, of Tel Aviv. He was posthumously promoted to sergeant.

Kokia served in the Nahal Brigade, an infantry unit whose home base is located just outside Arad.

On Thursday night, police said officers were searching the area for two assailants who fled the scene and set up roadblocks and “heightened security measures” in the area. Helicopters were also taking part in the searches.

The fact that the victim of the soldier and eyewitness testimony, along with other evidence, led police to suspect that the stabbing was a terror attack.

“Following an initial investigation by police forces at the scene it appears that the motivation for the stabbing … was nationalistic,” police said in a statement.

According to the Ynet news website, the soldier was waiting for a ride when he was attacked.

Police were investigating the possibility the soldier’s weapon was stolen by the assailants.
Leaders vow to catch attacker who killed soldier amid large manhunt
Israel’s leaders vowed that the attacker who killed an IDF soldier at a bus station in the southern city of Arad on Thursday night would be caught, as police continued a large-scale manhunt for the assailant Friday morning.

Nahal Brigade Sergeant Ron Yitzhak Kokia, 19, was stabbed to death Thursday night in an apparent terror attack while waiting for a bus near a shopping mall.

Police said forces in large numbers were carrying out searches overnight and into Friday morning in the Arad area to locate the assailant or assailants, publishing pictures of searches in agricultural fields and animal sheds.

They also said extra police had been deployed in Arad following the attack.

“This morning police were deployed at key locations and classrooms through the city to ensure that normal life continues,” a statement from the police read.

Police earlier said officers were searching the area for two assailants who fled the scene and set up roadblocks and “heightened security measures” in the area. Helicopters were also taking part in the search.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said security forces were working to capture the attackers.

“They will be brought to justice and we will continue to fight terror with all our strength,” he wrote on Facebook, offering condolences to Kokia’s family.

  • Friday, December 01, 2017
  • Elder of Ziyon
I couldn't find the original tweet in English that started this, but this photo has been boomeranging around Arabic social media:


Bir Zeit University put it on Facebook:

The Jewish rabbi announced on his Twitter page that Kuwaiti student Saeed bin Abdul Aziz, in the middle of the picture, a student at Temple University in Pennsylvania, converted to Judaism.
Media described his wearing tefillin as a "Talmudic ritual."

Responses included assertions that Judaism doesn't accept converts so this is a sham, that this is only Jewish propaganda, that Jews hate anyone who isn't white, that Jews smell...lots of fun.




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  • Friday, December 01, 2017
  • Elder of Ziyon
The primary goal of every true refugee organization is to repatriate the refugees to their homes. If that is not possible, the refugees should go where they are most likely to thrive, preferably a place with a similar culture that welcomes them.

But when Israel announced a plan to pay illegal African migrants to voluntarily go to Rwanda, to alleviate the very serious problems that plague certain sections of Tel Aviv that are overrun with them, self-righteous American Jews object.

As always, the fake concern for anyone that can be considered victims of Israeli policy came from Haaretz:

Israel will pay the Rwandan government $5,000 for every African asylum seeker it accepts from Israel, Channel 10 reported Sunday. A senior government official confirmed the report to Haaretz.

The Israeli government will additionally continue to pay asylum seekers who voluntarily leave the country a grant of $3,500, as well as the cost of their airlines tickets out of the country. The agreement with Rwanda had not been made public, and it had not been known what Israel was providing in exchange for Rwanda's agreement to accept the asylum seekers.

Rwandan Foreign Affairs Minister Louise Mushikiwabo said [last] Thursday that Rwanda is ready to accept around 10,000 asylum seekers, or "a bit more," who are currently living in Israel.

"We have had discussions with Israel on receiving some of the immigrants and asylum seekers from this part of Africa who would be willing to come to Rwanda," the minister said in an interview with Rwandan English newspaper the New Times. "If they are comfortable to come here, we would be willing to accommodate them. How it’s done and their livelihoods once they are here are details that have not been concluded yet,” the minister said.

The negotiations include how to secure the welfare of around 10,000 refugees, including livelihood, accommodations, and general wellbeing, she said.
Part of the negotiation is to ensure that these illegal immigrants are treated well, and will have housing.

The plan does not include people whose applications for asylum have not yet been processed. It does not include women, children and victims of human trafficking.

In other words, Israel is aiming to do the most humane thing it can with thousands of people who entered illegally, most of whom did not come as true asylum seekers fleeing from oppression but for economic reasons.

But that's not good enough for Jeremy Ben Ami and a host of other liberal Jewish "leaders."

In an open letter and petition to Binyamin Netanyahu, they write "We are concerned that if you move forward with these plans, the lives of thousands of individuals will be put in jeopardy, and the name of the Jewish State and the Jewish People will be irreparably stained."

Oh, how altruistic of them to worry about Israel's reputation so they won't be branded as racists!

Even from the Haaretz article it is clear that Israel is trying to ensure that the Africans are treated well when they return, which admittedly didn't always happen in the past. But that's not good enough for these do-gooders:

Please do not deport these individuals who have sought refuge among the Jewish People, but rather let us work together in addressing the burdens and challenges of our moral obligations.
What does that mean? It implies that the thousands of hours that Israel has put into solving this problem are simply a cover for treating human beings like garbage, and these moral paragons can work with Israel on the issue and come up with some undefined solution that would make them happy.

The problem isn't exactly new. Tell me, Jeremy and the others, what have you done to work with these immigrants? What ideas have you floated that would make everyone happy? Let's hear your specific plans, not your lecturing.

The Twitter responses to Ben-Ami's tweet say more than I ever could:









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  • Friday, December 01, 2017
  • Elder of Ziyon

This rumor appears every few years.

Arab media were reporting that Jews going through European or Israeli Arab intermediaries, were buying land in an area being developed in Jordan called "New Amman."

The government announced "New Amman" on November 5. It is simply a new suburb of Amman, which is overcrowded.

A Jordanian official refuted the rumor, saying that there are no outside investors at all in "New Amman," let alone Jews. And Jordanian law does not allow selling land to Israelis.

Last year, in response to more unfounded rumors, the Jordanian Parliament passed a law banning sale of land in Petra to "Israelis," although the debate made it clear that they meant "Jews."

In 2009, an Israeli organization did float the idea of repurchasing buildings that belonged to Jews in Jordan before 1948, but I don't think anything ever happened. It certainly was enough to frighten Jordanians, thoug.





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Thursday, November 30, 2017

  • Thursday, November 30, 2017
  • Elder of Ziyon
This is a real headline at Newsweek:



You have to read the article to find out  who these "investigators" are:

The head of Russia’s Orthodox Church is launching an investigation into whether the last Czar of Russia, Nicholas II, and his family were victims of a ritual murder carried out by angry Jews in 1918, Church leaders revealed in a statement Tuesday.

"A large share of the church commission members have no doubts that the murder was ritual,” Father Tikhon Shevkunov, the Orthodox bishop heading the panel, told The Associated Press.

So a bunch of antisemites decided that a well-known murder was a "ritual Jewish murder" - whatever that means. And Newsweek calls these Jew-haters "investigators" as if they had the slightest interest in the truth.

Even the Moscow Times had a more reasonable headline:



Newsweek should be ashamed.




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From Ian:

International Court prosecutor reaffirms she won’t open Gaza flotilla probe
The International Criminal Court prosecutor said Thursday she is standing by her previous decision not to open a full-scale investigation into the storming by Israeli forces of a blockade-busting flotilla heading to the Gaza Strip in 2010.

Fatou Bensouda in November 2014 declined a request by the Indian Ocean island nation of Comoros to investigate the May 31, 2010, storming of a vessel in the flotilla, which was sailing under a Comoros flag.

She said war crimes may have been committed on the Mavi Marmara ship, where eight Turks and one Turkish-American were killed and several other pro-Palestinian activists were wounded in a melee after they attacked Israeli commandos who boarded the ship, but the case wasn’t serious enough to merit an ICC probe. A ninth Turkish man who was seriously injured died four years later.

The ICC was set up as a court of last resort intended to prosecute senior leaders allegedly responsible for grave crimes including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity when national courts prove unable or unwilling to take on such cases.

ICC judges told her to reconsider, but Bensouda said Thursday that after carefully reviewing more than 5,000 pages of documents and statements from more than 300 passengers on the Mavi Marmara she has reaffirmed her decision to close her preliminary investigation.

Bensouda said in a statement that her decision was a purely legal one, applying standards laid down in the court’s founding treaty, the Rome Statute.
Intersectional Zionism - Why "Progressive Zionist" is not a contradiction
Zionism is not a monolith. It doesn’t mean you have to support a particular political party. It doesn’t mean you have to agree with everything the Israeli government does. It doesn’t mean you have to hate Muslims or convert to Judaism. It doesn’t mean you cannot support a two-state solution, or the Palestinian right to self-determination. It just means that you support an indigenous people’s right to self-determination in their historical homeland. And that is an inherently progressive belief.

Progressivism has a rich history of Zionism. Many civil rights and gay rights activists of the past have been Zionists. A few you may recognize are Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and black, gay advocate Bayard Rustin. None of them were Jewish, but they recognized the importance of standing with other people in support of their liberation. The NAACP and the Zionist Organization of America used to have representatives sit on each other’s boards. And contrary to recent claims, feminism and Zionism are not mutually exclusive; feminist giants like Betty Friedan, author of “The Feminine Mystique,” and Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who won Roe v. Wade, were ardent Zionists.

At the heart of progressivism is the concept of intersectionality, that our many identities intersect and affect our treatment by society. Increasingly, the progressive movement can exclude Jews from that conversation in the name of anti-Zionism. For example, my friend Laurie was kicked out of the Chicago Dyke March this summer for carrying a rainbow flag bearing the Star of David. According to what she was told, the flag was considered “a symbol of oppression.” Zionist feminists were deliberately obstructed when they tried to march in SlutWalk this year. It seems that Jews are only welcome in progressive circles if they disavow their homeland. In the words of Friedan, “All human rights are indivisible,” and therefore, applying a double standard “solely to the self-determination of the Jewish people” is wrong.

Zionism is not a dirty word. Supporting the liberation of one group does not mean supporting the oppression of others. Progressivism is not a zero-sum game. It is about raising up all peoples and creating a world that respects diversity and human rights. Zionism is and always has been essential to that goal.

  • Thursday, November 30, 2017
  • Elder of Ziyon
Iran's Al Alam has another of the the regime's daily conspiracy-theory antisemitic articles, entitled "The axis of resistance is a major blow to 'Greater Israel.'"

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, there was a question: What is the Zionist role in this invasion?

In that period, it began on the banks of the Euphrates River a program called "beast of the lake", where Jewish merchants were buying land between the areas of Tal Afar and Mosul, and thus the Zionist entity imposed itself on an important passage in northern Iraq, representing a historic road running from Mosul to the Syrian border Via Tal Afar, which lies 80 kilometers from the border with Turkey, and 100 kilometers from the border with Syria.

With the US invasion of Iraq, the US military was exerting enormous pressure on the poor Iraqi families to sell their land, under the pretext of building large factories and establishing agricultural projects, to find that the ownership of these lands was ultimately vested in the Jews from the Zionist entity. The Iraqis soon noticed the arrival of Israeli Jewish families, initially numbered 150 families, including Jews of Iraqi origin, to find out later that there was a plan to reach the number of 150 thousand Jews settled in that vast area, and also revealed by the CIA a scheme to transfer the Kurds from Palestine to the Jews of Mosul and Nineveh province in northern Iraq, under the pretext of religious visits to the ancient Jewish shrines, especially the tombs of the prophets Nahum and Yunus, Daniel and Ezekiel and others.

After ten years of these facts, officially approved the opening of the "Ofakwe" crossing between Iraq and Turkey, which means that the shortest trade routes between Turkey and Baghdad are going for with a distance of 50 kilometers is on land controlled by the Jews, that is, one of the Iraqi commercial arteries at the mercy of the "The Israeli" enemy, although undeclared, and it was later found that these lands purchased by Jews are the boundaries of the map demanded by the Kurds to establish a "state of Kurdistan," .....

According to the Zionist slogan known as "Israel's borders from the Euphrates to the Nile," the impact on the commercial route will not be based on the Kurdish border. 
The idiocy goes on and on, proving how antisemitic and conspiracy-minded Iran is.

But to illustrate an article about how Iran is stopping the mythical Greater Israel project, they use a map showing Iran's sphere of influence reaching the Mediterranean - Iran's own colonialist ambitions.


This one picture shows who the real danger is in the Middle East - and it sure isn't Israel.



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This week the conflict between liberal and progressive elements in American Jewry and the government of Israel was escalated.

On November 16, Rabbi Rick Jacobs, President of the American Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), and others tried to push their way (see video here) into the Western Wall area carrying Torah scrolls in defiance of rules established by the Orthodox authorities that manage the site, intending to pass them to members of the Women of the Wall group, also in violation of the rules. They ultimately succeeded after a shoving match with security guards and ultra-Orthodox protesters.

It should be noted that none of them were arrested, nor did the reaction of the guards rise above the level of shoving (Jacobs was threatened with pepper spray, but not sprayed). It seems clear that the guards made the decision not to use greater force in order not to injure anyone. The behavior of the Haredi protesters was abominable, of course. I don’t know if any of them were arrested, but those guilty of assault should have been.

The New Israel Fund (NIF), an organization that has been criticized for funding groups active in the delegitimization of the Jewish state as well as BDS and lawfare against it, almost immediately organized a joint letter from non-Orthodox rabbis to PM Netanyahu, expressing “outrage.” Would that the NIF might express outrage over the lies, libels and distortions told around the world by their grantee, Breaking the Silence

The hand of the NIF is seen throughout this conflict. Jacobs himself has a long-time connection to the NIF. Before he was elected to the presidency of the URJ in 2011, he served on its Board of Directors as chair of its committee on religious pluralism. The NIF is a big donor to the Israel Religious Action Center, the NGO arm of the American Reform movement in Israel, which is the main sponsor of the demonstrations at the Western Wall, and which has recently inaugurated a campaign to bring American political correctness and hysteria over race to Israel.

On November 24, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely was criticized by the PM and forced to apologize for remarks that she had made earlier, in which she tried to express the (very true) fact that American Jews are disconnected from the realities of life in Israel, and their criticisms of Israeli policy are often misconceived. Unfortunately she appeared to suggest that American Jews do not participate proportionally in the US military, something which is almost certainly not true. The response was vicious and instantaneous. Despite her clarification, Rick Jacobs of URJ was not satisfied, and called for her to be fired. So far, Netanyahu has resisted the pressure.

On November 27, the Masorti Movement in Israel – associated with the American United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism – released a video attack aimed directly at the PM, accusing him of presenting an “alternative truth” about the Western Wall controversy, and concluding “shame on you, Mr. Prime Minister.” They could have attacked the Haredi parties, which had initially agreed to a compromise, but reneged when their constituents complained. But they chose to blame Netanyahu.

The leaders of non-Orthodox Judaism are spoiling for a fight. The main objective seems to be to create anger among American Jews by telling them over and over how Israel disrespects them. The Western Wall argument is presented as a rejection of Reform and Conservative (i.e., American) customs of mixed-gender prayer, although aside from the provocative actions of Jacobs and his crew, few if any Reform or Conservative Jews have wanted to pray in a mixed group at the Wall (if they had, one would think that at least a few of them would have done so at the location that is set aside for this, despite their objections to the arrangements for access to the site). But the point is not the facts but the “insult” inherent in it.

The same is true for the various crises over attempts to permit or forbid conversions to Judaism in Israel outside the official rabbinate. Israel is accused of treating non-Orthodox Jews as “second-class citizens,” or “delegitimizing” the non-Orthodox Diaspora. Again, the emphasis  is not on what the practical effects of legislation might be in Israel or outside of it, but on how it can be construed as insulting to non-Orthodox Jews. 

The tactic is simple, and always works. Provoke a confrontation by making demands that anger the Haredim, who then threaten the PM that they will leave the coalition. The PM will look for a compromise – after all, he has a country to run – which can be construed as “submission to the ultra-Orthodox” and insulting to the Diaspora. The Haredim can always be counted on to play their role, including calling the non-Orthodox Jews names and thus increasing the degree of insult.

Orchestrating a physical confrontation, as with the Western Wall security guards, who clearly don’t want trouble, or the helpful Haredi protesters, who clearly do, is another wonderful tactic. Expect more of it. 

And then don’t be surprised when, in the next election, Israelis will be told by the opposition not to vote for Netanyahu, because he “damaged our essential relationship with the US.”

The proper response to all of this is that as a sovereign state, we get to determine the rules within our borders. Jacobs thinks that the Western Wall – indeed all of the state of Israel – belongs to world Jewry, and therefore the big machers like him should be able to give us orders. I am willing to agree that in some sense the Western Wall “belongs” to all Jews, but decisions about how it operates must be made by the state in which it is located. And it certainly isn’t appropriate for Jews from America to come here and violate our laws in an attempt to change the rules. This isn’t Birmingham in 1963. It’s about religious customs, not civil rights.

We also get to make our own rules about things like marriage, conversion, divorce and burial for Jews in our country. I and many other Israelis don’t like the ones we have very much, but it isn’t up to Jacobs to try to change them for us. That’s why we have a sovereign state, a democratic state in which we elect our leaders, a state that protects us in return for our fulfilling our (sometimes heavy) obligations to it.

The Reform Movement has an ideology that is a result of the replacement of mitzvah-observance with “tikun olam,” which seems to mean a universalist social-justice ethic that is more at home in Berkeley than Jerusalem. Unfortunately, like the Jews for Jesus, the Reform movement is evangelical in nature, and it won’t be satisfied until it converts the rest of the Jewish world – particularly the uppity Jews of Israel – to its vision of a borderless, multicultural, gender-fluid socialistic worldview. Apparently it has gotten the Conservative Movement (which still maintains a commitment to halacha) on board by exploiting the Western Wall and conversion issues.

The New Israel Fund is in effect the military wing of the Reform Movement, using dollars instead of rockets as weapons. It gives millions of dollars each year to groups working to remake the state of Israel in accordance with its vision, and even to some groups whose goal is to destroy it.

Israel seems to have learned how to deal with evangelical Christians. We will accept their support, but they must understand from the start that trying to change us is out of bounds. Those who nevertheless try to proselytize among us are asked to leave.

Perhaps the same should go for politically evangelical Reform Jews like Rick Jacobs?




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From Ian:

Saudis Fed Up: "Palestinians Milking Us for Decades"
Echoing the Palestinian public's sentiment, Palestinian political analyst Majed Abu Diak also voiced concern over the apparent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. He accused the Saudis of bowing to pressure from the Trump administration.

"Saudi Arabia and Israel appear to be in a hurry to normalize their relations," Abu Diak claimed.

"The Saudi regime is preparing for Mohammed bin Salman to succeed his father. That's why the regime is prepared to pay the price [to the Americans], which includes normalizing relations with Israel as a way to improve Saudi relations with the US. For Israel, this is an old-new dream of ridding itself of the status of an alien body in the Middle East."

Most Arabs, in fact, do not seem to care about the Palestinian "cause" any more, as pointed out in a previous article, which showed how the Arab League ministers were focusing on Iran and Hezbollah while ignoring the Palestinians.

Many people in the West are not aware that the Palestinians are trying to torpedo any peace initiative in order to blame others.

The Palestinians are crying Wolf, Wolf! -- but only a few in the Arab world are listening to them. This, in a way, is encouraging and offers hope for them finally to be released from decades of repressive and corrupt governance.

These are just some of the challenges Saudi Crown Prince is facing. It is important to support him in the face of attacks by some Palestinians and other spoilers.

The question now is whether the Saudis and the rest of the Arabs have had enough of the great Palestinian shakedown.
MEMRI: Editor Of Saudi Daily 'Okaz': Hamas Is Ungrateful, Is Exploiting Palestinian Cause To Benefit Iran
The concluding announcement issued by the Arab League foreign ministers following their November 19, 2017 emergency meeting in Cairo declared Hizbullah a terrorist organization and accused it of "supporting terrorism and terrorist organizations in the Arab states by [supplying them with] advanced weapons and ballistic missiles." Hamas, in response, issued an official statement in which it condemned the designation of Hizbullah and other "resistance organizations" as terror organizations, and stressed its "surprise" at the announcement's failure to include "reference to the Zionist terrorism that is implemented daily towards the Palestinian people, their land, and their holy places."

Additionally, Hamas political bureau member Moussa Abu Marzouq tweeted, from his personal account: "Hizbullah is not a terror organization, and if this designation is accepted, we can all expect a similar fate. We must all agree to direct the Arab political focus [at] Palestine and Jerusalem." He also tweeted: "The Arab foreign ministers' decision to characterize Hizbullah as terrorist does not stem from [Hizbullah's] involvement in dear Syria, but is aimed at confronting Iran and the elements connected to it. He added: "This trend is problematic for two reasons. One, diverting the [Arab] focus from Israel and allying with it; [Israel] is certainly not Sunni. Two, next time, the resistance forces – Hamas, [Palestinian Islamic] Jihad, and others – will be the ones [they] set [their] sights on, for the same reason."

Abu Marzouq's tweets prompted a response from Jamil Al-Dhiabi, the editor-in-chief of the Saudi government daily 'Okaz, who wrote a scathing article condemning Abu Marzouq and Hamas and accusing them of ingratitude. Another expression of the tension between Saudi Arabia and Hamas was a headline in 'Okaz, which declared: "Hamas Follows in Hizbullah's Footsteps, [Saying]: 'Our Weapons Are a Red Line.'" The article reported on statements by Hamas official Khalil Al-Hayya expressing the movement's refusal to disarm.
PMW: Song on PA TV promises to attack Jews
Official Palestinian Authority TV broadcast a music video promising to "break the Jews."

The song, which sings the praise of Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Movement, promises to "come at you from the sea like a wave." While these words are sung, photos are shown of terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led the murder of 37 Israelis, 12 of them children, in an attack launched by infiltrating Israel from the sea in 1978.

In addition, the song states that the Fatah flag will be "raised with the rifle," and quotes former PA and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat glorifying death for "Palestine": "For you O homeland, by Allah, death is sweet for me." Footage is included of armed Fatah fighters. The song ends by stating Fatah's goal is to "break the Jews":

"We will raise the Fatah flag with the rifle...
At Al-Karameh [battle] and Eilaboun (i.e., terror attack), for the homeland we will encircle the world
We will come at you from the sea like the wave...
Visual: Photos of terrorist murderer Dalal Mughrabi who attacked from the sea
Yasser [Arafat] said this statement in a loud voice:
For you O homeland, by Allah, death is sweet for me
Jerusalem is ours, and we are marching, and we will bring millions of Martyrs...
The love of Fatah unites us, and may Allah add to it
Whoever speaks about [Fatah's] division - by Allah, we will eliminate him
Our hearts are for [Fatah], and we are soldiers, until we break the Jews"

[Official PA TV, Nov. 10, 2017]

Palestinian Media Watch has documented similar songs on PA TV glorifying terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, and exposed a music video on Fatah's Awdah TV station earlier this year that paid tribute to Mughrabi.


  • Thursday, November 30, 2017
  • Elder of Ziyon

The official PA Wafa news agency reports:
Manal Radwan, Saudi Arabia's delegate at the United Nations, pledged on Thursday during a United Nations General Assembly meeting on the situation in the Near East and on the “question of Palestine” that her country will continue to support the Palestinian people in their cause for self-determination and statehood.

...She condemned Israel, the occupying power, for its violations against the Palestinians people, including the killing of innocent civilians, illegal settlement construction and expansion, the theft of Palestinian land and the demolition of thousands of homes since the Palestinian exodus (Nakba) in 1948.

Radwan blamed Israel for “committing war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Palestine… in full disregard of all the demands of the international community [on Israel] to stop these grave violations and adhere to international resolutions.”

But the reality is more like this Saudi columnist is saying in a column sarcastically entitled "Throw the Palestinians into the sea."

It is now clear that the Arab position on the Palestinian issue is shifting, and Arab feelings towards the Palestinians and also towards the Israelis are shifting.
..
The big difference is that the official position stems from pragmatism dealing with the reality and the Israeli presence. The popular transformation is based on its justification for demonizing the Palestinians and accepting the Israelis as a civilized and harmless people compared to neighboring peoples!

...What is happening now from some Arabs is not only recognition of Israel, but a confession of guilt in boycotting it once upon a time!

The demonization of the Palestinians would not have succeeded if it had been done in one go. But we began many years ago to talk about the corruption of elements of  Fatah in the name of the struggle, and then we talked the (excesses) of Hamas, which made the Palestinian unable to get rid of his bad reputation. This is combined with Israeli efforts to improve its reputation in the Arab world, such as Ramadan blessings, Eid recitations and the circulation of Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim songs sung by Israeli voices.

Where will this rapprochement go? What are its conditions, if they have conditions? And who will lead the cart: political pragmatism or popular emotional feelings?

The Arab discourse, which in the 1960s wanted to "throw the Jews into the sea," has changed: some of its voices now seem to want to throw the Palestinians into the sea!
A Saudi TV host caused a ruckus in both the Arab world and Israel by calling on Saudi Arabia to allow Israeli chess players to attend a tournament there.

Just being able to suggest that on TV is already a huge difference from a couple of  years ago.




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  • Thursday, November 30, 2017
  • Elder of Ziyon


Recently, Egyptian historian  Bassam al-Shamma claimed that 70% of the archaeological missions in Egypt are Jewish researchers who "seek to facilitate the smuggling and Judaization of the Egyptian antiquities and to transfer false information about ancient Egypt in their books and research papers published abroad."

Yes, the Egyptians are obsessed with the idea that Jews are stealing their history.

Naturally, the Antiquities Ministry needed to address these concerns. So it responded to the antisemitic claims by saying that it is far too antisemitic to allow such a thing to happen.

Dr. Abd Al-Rahim Rihan, the general manager of archaeological research and study and scientific publications in the Antiquities Ministry, confirmed that there is no connection between the statements of the (Antiquities) Minister regarding the finding of Pharaonic antiquities in Israel and what was said by the historian Bassam Al-Shama’a in his interview with “Al-Youm Al-Sabi’”, namely that 70% of the scholars of the expeditions that are excavating for antiquities in Egypt are Jewish. (Dr. Rihan) described these statements as “unfounded claims”.

In exclusive statements to “Al-Youm Al-Sabi’”, Rihan stressed that there isn’t a single Jewish antiquities scholar in Egypt, and that the (Antiquities) Ministry properly supervises the examination of the background and education and knowledge of every single person who comes in the framework of foreign expeditions to excavate for antiquities in Egypt, and that there are additional security approvals and conditions to the supervision of the (Antiquities) Ministry, and that it is impossible for a scholar to get approval to participate in an excavation expedition without getting those security approvals.
Rihan is reassuring worried Jew-hating Egyptians that his department's extensive background checks ensure that none of the Western archaeology scholars that are allowed into Egypt have Jewish blood.

It really isn't hard to find official Arab antisemitism. But Western media try really, really hard not to notice it.

(h/t Ibn Boutros)




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  • Thursday, November 30, 2017
  • Elder of Ziyon


The Palestinian Authority, which supposedly is now the single official government in both the West Bank and Gaza, has tried to allow employees who were forced to stop work in 2007 when Hamas took over the various government institutions to return to their former jobs.

The employees remained on the PA payroll for the past ten years, paid literally to do nothing, with western aid dollars.

Hamas, however, has maintained its own security forces - and it physically prevented the PA employees from going back to their old jobs.

During this supposed reconciliation, the official PA news agency has tried to avoid criticizing Hamas. But that criticism has resumed:

The government of National Consensus Wednesday expressed regret that [forces] affiliated to Hamas prevented minister of local government Hussein Al-Araj and public employees from resuming work in their former posts in Gaza’s ministries.    
PA spokesperson Yousef al-Mahmoud said the government of National Consensus is deeply saddened by this serious step, which contradicts with all conventions and treaties, the last of which was reached last October, which threatens the success of reconciliation efforts.  

Abbas and other PA officials have said that they want Hamas to be disarmed, but Hamas deputy leader Khalil al-Hayya responded "The weapon of resistance is a red line that can not be discussed. This weapon will move to the West Bank to fight the occupation. It is our right to resist the occupation until it ends."

Hamas also said that it will give up control on "everything that is above ground" (besides the Al Qassam Brigades), indicating that Hamas continues to treat building tunnels into Israel as a high priority.





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