Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, February 06, 2018

02/06 Links Pt2: Trump Thwarts Irish Effort to Boycott Israel; The Cape Town water crisis — proudly brought to you by BDS; The radical left-wing rejectionist front

From Ian:

‘Arafat got a Nobel so BDS nomination no surprise’ say Israel activists

Pro-Israel activists have expressed contempt of the Nobel Peace Prize after the BDS movement received a nomination, pointing to the fact that late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat received the award in 1994.

The leader of the Red Party in the Norwegian Parliament, Bjornar Moxnes, nominated the International BDS movement on Friday, stating: “As a member of the Norwegian parliament, I proudly use my authority as an elected official to nominate the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights for the Nobel Peace Prize.”

“Awarding a Nobel Peace Prize to the BDS movement would be a powerful sign demonstrating that the international community is committed to supporting a just peace in the Middle East and using peaceful means to end military rule and broader violations of international law," Moxnes wrote in a statement published by Inter Press Service news agency.

Many pro-Israel activists took to social media to express their disdain of the nomination.

"The BDS movement is an anti-peace movement, they made this very clear over and over again," Israeli activist Hen Mazzig told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. "They are 'anti-normalization' of the relationship between Jews and Arabs and actively pushing Palestinians and Israelis to fight each other."

On Monday, Mazzig debated Rebecca Vilkomerson, the Executive Director of the far-left organization Jewish Voice for Peace on i24 News.

Jewish Voice for Peace is reportedly among some 20 organizations on a blacklist Israel is compiling as part of its ban on BDS activists.

The US-organization tweeted that the nomination was “wonderful news.”

The Cape Town water crisis — proudly brought to you by BDS

Cape Town 2018 is what happens when a city is more concerned about politics than people. Cape Town 2018 is what happens when national government wants to demonstrate to local government who is boss. Cape Town 2018 is what happens when local government is not equipped to deal with a real crisis. And Cape Town 2018 is what happens when communication falls apart to the point that the noise is so deafening, that no message can be heard.

Cape Town 2018 is also what happens when relevant lifesaving solutions are discarded because of BDS and anti-Semitism.

Cape Town is set to be the first major city to run out of water. The city is experiencing its worst drought in history. Residents are being asked to utilize less than 50 liters (13 gallons) per day and it is unlikely that it will avoid “Day Zero.” The day the taps run dry. It is unimaginable what contingencies can be put in place to deal with the series of events that will follow this day.

We all have that friend. Mine often sends me a WhatsApp simply saying “ITYS!” At first, I had no idea what he meant, until I realized he was saying “I told you so” (but was too busy to type out the sentence). It’s annoying and frustrating and infuriating. Especially when he is right. And maybe sometimes it’s not bad to hear it.

There is no satisfaction in the fact the residents of Cape Town are on the brink of a humanitarian crisis that could have and should have been avoided. Even if we saw it coming.

Trump Admin Thwarts Irish Effort to Boycott Israel, Criminalize Trade

The Trump administration played a key role in thwarting a recent effort by the Irish government to boycott Israel and make it a crime for Irish citizens to purchase products made in contested areas of the Jewish state, a move that would have severely jeopardized Ireland's trade with the United States, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation.

The Irish Parliament was poised last week to pass a major piece of legislation that would make it crime to engage in trade with Israelis. The bill, which was seen as part of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, or BDS, would have imprisoned Irish citizens who purchased souvenirs in Israel for a maximum of five years and subjected them to a fine of more than $310,000.

Upon learning of the effort, senior Trump administration officials in the State Department are said to have scrambled to open up channels to Irish leaders in a bid to scuttle the bill and avoid a standoff with the Irish government over the measure.

Trump administration officials are said to have made clear to Irish leaders that passage of the bill would put them starkly at odds with the United States and subject them to inclusion on a list of countries supporting boycotts of the Jewish state.

While some Irish lawmakers described the effort as a "crackpot bill," its passage through the Parliament was all but assured until U.S. officials from the Trump administration became involved, multiple sources told the Free Beacon.

This week's dead Hamas terrorists

This morning, the terrorist behind the murder of Rabbi Raziel Shevach was killed by the IDF.

Hamas took credit for the attack in their press release on his "martyrdom."

Luckily, the other Hamas "martyrs" of the week managed to die without hurting anyone.

Qassam Brigades field commander Mohammed Mousa died after a long illness.

Mahmoud Safadi "died while working in a tunnel of the resistance" last Wednesday.

May all members of Hamas get the opportunity to show how much they love death sooner rather than later.

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You can learn a lot about @HRW's Ken Roth from a single tweet

From Ken Roth:

The Shah was wrong to ban the hijab. Iran's current government is equally wrong to require it, as Iranian women are now saying. https://t.co/EEn29HDbCf pic.twitter.com/M3zA55IAvm
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) February 4, 2018

Where to begin?

Roth feels that he can only publicly support Iranian women fighting compulsory hijab after saying that the Shah was just as wrong to ban it. The issue cannot stand on its own; it has to be contextualized to say that, hey, secular people can be just as bad as Islamists.

As other tweeters pointed out, the Shah didn't ban the hijab - Reza Shah did in 1936 and the last Shah of Iran (who is the person that "the Shah" invariably refers to) dropped that ban.

Roth hasn't said a word about compulsory hijab since the Ayatollah Khomeini mandated it in 1979. Only now, after Iranian women are bravely walking bareheaded, does Roth feel comfortable enough to take a position that he otherwise would fear would sound too "Islamophobic."

And suddenly Roth seems to care about religious freedom to wear the hijab if one wants. But ask him if Jews should have the religious freedom to visit their holiest sites unmolested and ...crickets.

This is Ken Roth in a nutshell - hypocritical, not interested in facts, and not leading the fight for human rights but pretending to support them only after the real brave women of Iran make the issue safe for him.

Because the main rule of HRW isn't human rights - it is to avoid upsetting the Muslims, and only then to tentatively ask for human rights from the Islamists once he can make sure that his message is watered down to their standards.

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02/06 Links Pt1: Fatah honors murderer of father of 6 as “young lion”; Raziel Shevach’s Killer shot dead by security forces in raid; Phillips: Nunes memo, Obama/Farrakhan, Poland

From Ian:

PMW: Fatah honors last month’s murderer of father of 6 as “young lion”

Abbas' Fatah Movement was quick to honor as a "Martyr" Ahmed Nasr Jarrar who led the group of terrorists who shot and murdered Rabbi Raziel Shevach, father of 6, in a drive-by shooting last month. The terrorist was killed by Israeli soldiers yesterday while resisting arrest. Fatah posted the picture of Jarrar with his father, calling him the "young lion":

Texts below faces: "Martyr Nasr Jarrar ... Martyr Ahmed Nasr Jarrar" [Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 6, 2018]

The image shows terrorist Ahmed Nasr Jarrar (left) and his father, terrorist Nasr Jarrar, who is holding an assault rifle. The father was a Hamas terrorist who planned two attacks in central Israel - a double suicide bombing in the Sheba Hospital and a truck bombing in a multi-story building - attacks that were thwarted when he was killed and other members of his terror cell were caught by Israeli soldiers in 2002.

After the attack, Palestinian Media Watch documented that Fatah celebrated that "a settler was killed." Fatah also uploaded a graphic image (see below) of the body of the dead terrorist Jarrar with weapons beside him, honoring him for "facing" the Israeli soldiers rather than running away:

Posted text: "'He faced forward and did not turn his back' Martyr (Shahid) Ahmed Nasr Jarrar"
[Official Fatah Facebook page, Feb. 6, 2018]

Fatah also posted the video footage of the Israeli Arab terrorist Abd Al-Hakim Adel murdering Rabbi Itamar Ben-Gal, the 29 year old father of 4, yesterday, calling the terror attack an "operation."

Khaled Abu Toameh: Palestinians: The Atrocities No One Talks About

Why the need to keep reminding the world of the plight of the Palestinians in Syria? It is because the international community and pro-Palestinian groups around the world do not seem to care about the atrocities that are being committed against Palestinians in Syria or any Arab country because they were not committed by Israel.

The 82-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, has made clear where his priorities stand. Instead of searching for ways to help his people in Syria and the Gaza Strip, where hospitals are facing a deathly shortage of fuel and medicine, Abbas has just spent $50 million to purchase a "presidential plane."

Abbas, however, could not care less. In his view, the needs of his people are the responsibility of the world. He wants everyone but himself to continue funneling financial aid to the Palestinians. For him, delivering a speech before the EU Parliament or the UN General Assembly easily takes precedence over the Palestinians who are dying due to lack of medicine and food.

Melanie Phillips: Nunes memo, Obama/Farrakhan, Poland

Please join me here as I discuss with Avi Abelow of Israel Video Network the Nunes memo, shock at the Obama/Farrakhan picture and the new Polish law against claiming Poland was involved in the Holocaust.

What the Israeli-Palestinian conflict needs most is an "honest broker."

At least that what Federica Mogherini says. When Trump announced the US was going to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, she claimed that he had forfeited a degree of leadership in leading the negotiation of peace:

Federica Mogherini, EU foreign policy chief, says Trump's Jerusalem decision "has discredited a bit the United States as an honest broker."
— David Wright (@DavidWright_CNN) December 7, 2017

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini.
Source: Union Europea En Perù

What's so great about being an honest broker anyway?

The phrase "honest broker" goes back to the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, who applied the term to himself in 1878. At the time he was trying to mediate between Russia and Austria-Hungary.

Bismarck claimed he could be an honest broker, be impartial, because his main interest was not the dispute itself, but rather to see the two sides settle their dispute amicably. In addition, Germany was allied with both Russia and Austria and wanted to maintain the diplomatic relations with both countries.

Bismarck was neither indifferent nor disinterested -- but he did claim he could be impartial.

Otto von Bismarck. From German Federal Archive. Public Domain

Compare that with Trump and his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital -- not exactly an impartial move on his part. For that matter, neither is his decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem (though it is the next logical step), cut back on the funds the US provides to UNRWA or the rumored possibility that Trump will refuse to recognize UNRWA's extension of the definition of "Palestinian refugee" to future generations.

Trump is not acting as an honest broker, nor is his claiming to be. But that was not always the case.

During the presidential campaign, Trump made a point of claiming to be neutral and said that he would not take sides during any peace negotiations.

In response, Rubio claimed that being neutral made you anti-Israel:

"The position you've taken is an anti-Israel position," Rubio said. "And here's why. Because you cannot be an honest broker in a dispute between two sides in which one of the sides is constantly acting in bad faith." Rubio said the Palestinian Authority has "walked away from multiple efforts to make peace" and cited Palestinian terrorist activity.

Once elected, Trump seemed to be taking a neutral approach. According to the Times of Israel, while visiting the Middle East last year in March, "Greenblatt worked exceedingly hard to be perceived by the players he met in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan as an honest broker." [emphasis added]

While some may have questioned Trump's ability to remain neutral, based on some of his associations - especially his Jewish son-in-law, Trump did not take any flagrant action that could be construed as favoring Israel. And then came the announcement.

But just as Rubio claimed that being neutral was the equivalent of being anti-Israel, it could be that being openly pro-Israel could be the only way to be that "honest broker" for peace. At least that was the stand Pence had taken back in 2014.

Herb Keinon quoted Pence in an article reacting to Trump's recognition of Jerusalem:

Those who say that Trump’s decision removes the United States as an honest broker in the Middle East peace process and who see the removal of this “honest broker” tag from the Americans as something that is a negative, should consider what Pence said three years ago in Jerusalem.

At a town hall event put together by Republicans Abroad Israel, Pence – then the governor of Indiana and a possible 2016 presidential candidate – said that America should not aspire to be an “honest broker” in the Middle East, but rather communicate to the world that while it wants an honest and fair solution to the conflict, “we are on the side of Israel.”

Pence said the US can “deal honestly with people on all sides of the equation,” while making clear what “side of the table” it is on.

Trump

Being an honest broker may not be all it is cracked up to be.

Take the EU for example - they have not been neutral on the issue of Jerusalem at all.

For example, in 2016 the European Union described its East Jerusalem Programme:

The overall objective of the EU's East Jerusalem Programme is based on the European Council Conclusions on the Middle East Peace Process to maintain the viability of the two-state solution with Jerusalem as the future capital of two states. The specific objective of the Programme is to strengthen the resilience of Palestinian East Jerusalem residents and to preserve the Palestinian character of the city. The East Jerusalem Programme is a multi-sectoral investment that has grown to approximately 10 million Euros annually

If Trump was "discredited a bit" as an honest broker by his Jerusalem announcement, one can ask whether the European Union was ever an honest broker -- a question all the more relevant with the EU claiming a right to be part of the search of a peaceful solution.

This goes hand in hand with the EU construction of illegal buildings, knowing that Israel would take structures down. As Elder of Ziyon notes, the illegality of the buildings is exceeded only by the propaganda value the EU is squeezing out the issue.

But creating negative PR against Israel appears to be a specialty of the EU, and they go out of their way to create it.

Last week, Algemeiner reported on a report that the EU deliberately leaked to The Guardian:

A European Union report leaked to The Guardian newspaper expressed ire over Israeli tourism in and around Jerusalem’s Old City, calling the ongoing development of Jewish infrastructure a form of “touristic settlement.”

The EU Heads of Mission in Jerusalem issued a report warning that the development of Jewish tourism in the ancient City of David, currently located within a heavily populated Palestinian neighborhood, and a planned cable car that would transport tourists from the Western sections of the city to the Western Wall plaza within the Old City, were “a political tool to modify the historical narrative and to support, legitimize, and expand settlements.” The report asserts that the projects promote the “historic continuity of the Jewish presence in the area at the expense of other religions and cultures.”

Making Jerusalem safe and open for Muslims and Christians as well as Jews is apparently not enough. Defending Jewish ties to Jerusalem, and the Old City, at a time when UNESCO is playing havoc with Jewish history, goes against EU principles.

Some principles. The EU regularly leaks these reports to the press each year. NGO Monitor reports these yearly leaks are in violation of internal EU processes and diplomatic norms:

As in the past, this EU report was leaked to the media where its conclusions were covered extensively in Israel and internationally. Yet, despite the leak, the report is still considered an internal document. Thus, the content of the report can affect policy makers and public opinion, but it remains shielded from public scrutiny and bypasses recognized diplomatic norms.

Clearly, EU is no honest broker -- so what is it whining about?
Is EU jealous of Trump doing what they do?

Or is it because Trump appears to be in the process of dismantling, to some degree, the accepted framework for dealing with the issue of the Palestinian Arabs, and in the process reminding people of just how ineffective the status quo has been.

Trump has shed the role of being an honest broker, but at least he is clear about what he is doing and why, as opposed to the EU's machinations.

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From a GoFundMe page:

My name is Emtiaz Zourob (36 years old). I am a writer from Gaza, Palestine. I have granted an asylum in 2015 and my family had an approval to come to USA in 2016. They left Gaza to Egypt and now they are in Cairo for more one year. My family's visa interview was in April 19, 2017. After the interview , they put our case under the administrative processing.

Now we are waiting the US embassy to finish what they called "administrative processing". My husband and I sent a lot of emails to the embassy telling them about our difficult situation and asked them to expedite the administrative processing but we don't get any good response from them until now. They keep saying " Your visa case is currently undergoing necessary administrative processing ".I can't understand why this administrative processing is taking a long time.

I didn't see my husband Ramzi Zourob and my two kids, Rama (9 years old) and Ahmed (5 years old) for 3 years!
...
I am trying to work hard to pay my bills and fix my old car or buy a new one but I am still so sick, I can't do it. I need money to establish a new life here for me and for my family, and to continue my study to get master's degree.

In Oct 2, 2017. I got my green card and now it is allowed to me to go to Egypt to see my family for a while then comeback. I feel so excited but the problem is I have to wait until I am done with my procedure and I don’t have enough money to pay my bills and to buy the ticket and gifts to my kids. I will spend one month there, I know it will be very difficult to leave them again, but I have to.

So please help a mom with a broken heart to be reunited with her family again.

Lancaster Online wrote last year:

Three years ago, Palestinian writer Emtiaz Zourob said goodbye to her husband and two children and fled Gaza after being warned her life was in danger because of her views.
U.S. authorities granted her asylum and led her to believe her family would be able to join her in Lancaster, where she was resettled.
Then, with election of Donald Trump as president, Zourob’s hopes for family reunification crashed.

This seems to be the same Emtiaz Zourob who wrote a book extolling female suicide bombers. (Her blog talks about her books and her moving to America, so I'm 99% sure it is the same person.)

Two students at the Islamic University of Gaza had a project to translate "Palestinian Women Through History," by Emitiaz Zoroub, into English. The book praises female suicide bombers and other female terrorists in no uncertain terms.

Female Human BombThe "Female martyers" [sic] is not an incidental phenomena in the Palestinian community. The phenomenon, which began during the second Intifada, was used against the enemy. It caused much damage to the enemy as it forced it to panically search for "human bombs" who were ready to detonate themselves anytime.

Those women, who sacrificed their lives for the cause of their country, were highly educated and satisfied in their personal lives. However, they suffered from the effects of the 1948 Nakbah, (the Palestinian Catastrophe), as well as from the continuing effects of the Israeli apartheid regime. This suffering turned them to 'movable human bombs', in order to stop all barbaric attacks against their people. So they chose to leave their families, friends, ambitions and joined the path of resistance in order to secure a bright future for their people.

Specific female terrorists are described in romantic ways:

On Sunday morning January 27, [2002] Wafa [Idris] woke up greeting her mother as usual and telling her ' the situation is so difficult that makes everyone expect death anytime" Then she left to her voluntary work in the "Red crescent". When she arrived, she greeted everyone for the last time, trying to copy everyone's face and to take with her the memories that will not die. Then she left to the Yafa street in Jerusalem city. On her way she started to remember men, women and children who were wounded or died from Israeli forces attacks; those faces that provoked her to revenge and give other peace. Idris, a volunteer medic who raised doves and adored children, blew herself to pieces in less than a minute, in a downtown shopping district, killing an Israeli man and wounding many other people.

Surrounded herself by an explosive belt Dareen [Abu Aisheh] ran to her target on 27/2/2002. She walked proudly and with confident steps as if she were walking toward the gates of Heavens, and within minutes she blew herself up near the Bit Sira military checkpoint, killing scores of Israelis and injuring others.

Why was a woman who openly praises the most heinous kinds of terrorists allowed to gain asylum, and a green card, in the US?

(h/t Michelle G)

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"Apartheid?" poster - Israel's Muslim Sharia courts

From Israel's MFA in February, 2016:

President of Israel Reuven Rivlin (9 February 2016) addressed a ceremony at the President's Residence marking the appointment of seven new Qadis - judges in the Muslim religious (Shariah) courts in Israel. The event was attended by Justice Minsiter Ayelet Shaked MK, as well as the President of the Shariah Court of Appeal Qadi Daoud Zini, and saw the appointment of two Shariah Court of Appeal judges, and five who will serve in the regional Shariah Courts.

The President began by congratulating all the newly appointed judges and said, "Your appointment today serves directly and tangibly the entire Muslim community of Israel. The ceremony today is especially poignant and special, as the last such appointment ceremony for Qadis held at the President's Residence was more than six years ago. Your swearing in today is a tribute to the important work of the appointment committee, whom I wish to personally thank. The new forces joining the Shariah judiciary today refresh and bring new strength and spirit to one of the oldest and most important judicial systems in the State of Israel."

The President stressed, "The existence of the state-supported Shariah courts in Israel, reflects the recognition of the unparalleled importance of the vitality of communities, cultures and traditions to the fabric of the life in the modern state. The authority of the Shariah courts - as assured by Israeli law - to me reflects the fundamental principle that an attachment to faith, to tradition, to a culture and community, is not solely the issue of the individual. Such affiliations are a basic right of a citizen in a democracy, and accordingly it is the obligation of the state to support and nurture them."

Since then, Israel has appointed the first female Qadi judge:

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02/05 Links Pt2: Irish anti-Semites and the Israeli Left; 'Israel must fight BDS as it would any other war'; Snowflakes? They're today's fascists! There's nothing funny about the march of the PC brigade

From Ian:

Irish anti-Semites and the Israeli Left

The attempt by anti-Israel elements in Ireland to promote legislation that would define economic relations with Jews beyond the pre-1967 armistice line as a criminal offense was unfortunately nothing new. What separated the Irish attempt at a boycott of Israel was a remark by one of the country's officials who promoted the legislation, Senator David Norris. Norris, who for some reason considers himself an Israel "expert," accused Russian immigrants to Israel of ruining the country by making it lean to the political Right.

The similarities between Norris' statement and the beliefs of many on the Israeli Left regarding Israeli Jews from the former Soviet Union are astonishing. Norris, a one-time leading presidential candidate in Ireland, has been riding the wave of anti-Israel propaganda in recent years and prides himself on being anti-Zionist. Israel's haters can at times correctly identify historic milestones. After all, even a broken clock is right twice a day. And so, I am happy to confirm the assessment of Norris, the "expert," that aliyah from the former Soviet Union has, in fact, changed the face of the only democratic country in the Middle East. This huge wave of immigration was the end of the dream of the Irish senator and his ilk of witnessing the dissolution of Zionist Israel.

Before the mass arrival of Soviet Jews, many believed the future of Zionism was in question, if only for demographic reasons. While the Israelis saw this as a threat and the Arabs and their supporters saw this as a blessing, both sides were correct in their assessments. Late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's boast that the womb of the Arab woman was his strongest weapon against the Jews was not disconnected from reality. But immigration from the former Soviet Union served to remove the demographic issue from the agenda. The Jewish majority achieved as a result of this mass immigration allows us to now smile at the bleak predictions in the 1980s of our demise. It was God's gift of immigration that allowed Israel's population to instantaneously increase by 20%, solving numerous problems affecting every aspect of life, from guaranteeing there would be enough recruits for the Israel Defense Forces to providing a solution to the lack of medical, education and elite technology experts.

In Responding to the New Anti-Semitism, Jews Must Refuse to Apologize for Themselves

In his reflections on Holocaust Remembrance Day, the British novelist and essayist Howard Jacobson urges Jews not to internalize the messages of today’s anti-Semitism, which so often come in the form of anti-Zionism:

The modern anti-Semite is more subtle than his great-grandparents. He doesn’t smash our windows or our bones. He insinuates himself into consciences that are already troubled and works on spirits that are already half-broken. And we are too responsive to his serpent insinuations. When the history of Jew-hating in our time comes to be written, Jewish collusion in it will feature heavily. . . .

To the question, . . . “How do any of us, as Jews, fulfill the great task imposed on us [by the memory of the Holocaust]?,” here is my part-answer: stop apologizing and resist the sirens who would lure you onto the rocks of guilt and self-dislike, singing of Jewish materialism, Jewish legalism, Jewish exclusivism, Jewish supremacism, Jewish imperialism, Zionism. . . .

[A]lthough we intone the words “never again”—now as a prayer, now as a supplication, now as a commitment—we cannot rid ourselves of the fear that it, or something like it, might indeed happen again. . . . [W]e now accept that it was wild fantasy to hope that after the Holocaust we’d be left alone. . . . But we thought anti-Semitism itself might take a short break. . . . What no one could have expected was the speed with which they found a way round any such compunctions, not least by denying that anything had happened at all. Holocaust—what Holocaust? . . .

But it’s not those obsessive “deniers” who trouble Jacobson the most; rather it’s those who wish to relativize the Holocaust by means of invidious comparisons:

Stephen Pollard: Snowflakes? They're today's fascists! There's nothing funny about the march of the PC brigade

Last weekend I, along with many around the world, commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day. As editor of the country’s leading Jewish newspaper, The Jewish Chronicle, it is a memorial of particular significance.

Through editing the newspaper, I am confronted daily with the legacy of that unique evil, including the suppression of debate, the distortion of truth and even the burning of books at the heart of that terrible chapter in our history.

I know, too, that the Third Reich’s totalitarian impulse – that only one type of question and one type of answer are legitimate, and all else must be extinguished – is far from unique because repressive regimes the world over continue to ban freedom of enquiry and freedom of expression.

We must be on our guard.

If we close our minds to ideas that upset us, the long-term consequence is that our minds will atrophy. We will no longer be able to think for ourselves, writes Stephen Pollard (photograph of Hitler Youth members burning books, dated 1938)

You might wonder, then, what Friday night’s attack on Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg as he attempted to give a talk to students has to do with this. Or last week’s decision – now reversed in the face of near-universal outrage – by Manchester Art Gallery to remove a pre-Raphaelite painting featuring mild nudity, Hylas And The Nymphs.

These are both an attempt to silence a view because it offends some people. It is for good reason that a new word entered the Oxford English Dictionary last month: a snowflake is ‘an overly sensitive or easily offended person’.

"Apartheid?" poster - Israeli pop star Stephane Legar

Stephane Legar is a dancer, model and singer. He was born in Israel but his parents are from Togo. He did the official theme song of the Israeli basketball league and teamed up with Israeli pop stars Static & Ben El Tavori and Noa Kirel and Ivri Lider. He also served in the IDF and performed in the kids show the Festigal.

(h/t Yoel)

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Egypt celebrates its 1934 FIFA World Cup victory over the Jewish Palestine team

This year, Egypt qualified for the World Cup finals for only the third time in its history.

The first time was in 1934.

Egypts' El Watan has a story about how the Egyptian team of 1934 played in Tel Aviv.

The team had two qualification matches against the British Mandate Palestine team in that year. In the first, Egypt drubbed the Palestine team 7-1 in a match in Cairo. The followup game in Tel Aviv was on April 6, where the Egyptian again won, 4-1.

The article notes that there was not one Arab on the Palestine team. It claims that there were 6 Jewish players and the rest were British, although from what I can tell the team was exclusively Jewish.

From Wikipedia:

Football was introduced to Palestine by the British military during its occupation of the territory in World War I. (Actually, there were Zionist teams as early as 1906, h/t Yoel.) After the war, the sport's development was continued by "European Jews who had been exposed to soccer in their native countries".[2] Palestinian Arabs, specifically those of Islamic beliefs, refrained from participating in football's early formation due to their resistance to "Western cultural institutions".[3]
The Eretz Israel Football Association was founded in August 1928 and applied for membership in FIFA. It was accepted to FIFA on 6 June 1929 as the Eretz Israel Football Association.[4][5] It was the first of 14 sports organizations which absorbed hundreds of leading sportsmen who immigrated in the wake of antisemitism in Europe.[6]
Mandatory Palestine end up playing five international games before the end of the British Mandate in 1948 which resulted in Israel independence. During those five games, the national team fielded only Jewish players. Three anthems were played before each match: the British "God Save the Queen", the Jewish (and future Israeli) "Hatikvah" and the opposing team's anthem.[7]
In 1948 the team became, officially, the national team of Israel.

UEFA says that the original name of the association was the " Eretz Israel – Palestine Football Association."

The El Watan article notes that the current Palestine Football Association claims to have been founded in 1928, implying but not spelling out that they claim to have have some connection with the Eretz Israel Football Association.

Interestingly, an ESPN article from 2014 about the Egyptian team of 1934 - written by a South African correspondent - falsely claims that the Palestine team had "a majority of British players." Here are the names of all the players of that team:

Coach:

Egon Pollak,

Shimon Ratner

Player	Position
Willy Berger	GK
Avraham Reznik	DF
Pinhas Fiedler	DF
Zalman Friedmann	MF
Gdalyahu Fuchs	MF
Yohanan Sukenik	MF
Amnon Harlap	FW
Perry Kraus	-
Paul Kastenbaum	-
Haim Reich	-
Avraham Nudelman	FW
David Weinberg	-
Yaacov Levi-Meir	-
Yaacov Zelibanski	-

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02/05 Links Pt1: US envoy: Hamas squandering Iran's 'blood money' on terror; Fatah celebrates murder of “126 Zionists”; Israeli Father of Four Killed in West Bank Stabbing Attack

From Ian:

US envoy: Hamas squandering Iran's 'blood money' on terror

American envoy Jason Greenblatt lashed out at Iran and at Hamas on Sunday over their efforts to destabilize the Middle East.

"Hamas should be improving the lives of those it purports to govern, but instead chooses to increase violence and cause misery for the people of Gaza," U.S. President Donald Trump's Special Representative for International Negotiations tweeted Sunday.

The tweet included a link to a Jerusalem Post article about a recently foiled effort by Hamas to smuggle large amounts of explosives disguised as medical supplies into the Gaza Strip.

"Imagine what the people of Gaza could do with the $100 million Iran gives Hamas annually that Hamas uses for weapons and tunnels to attack Israel!" Greenblatt tweeted.

He also demanded that Hamas return the remains of two Israeli soldiers – Lt. Hadar Goldin and Staff Sgt. Oron Shaul – that the organization has been holding in Gaza since Operation Protective Edge in mid-2014. As well as the bodies of the two soldiers, Hamas is believed to be holding three Israeli civilians who crossed into Gaza voluntarily.

"Hamas must also permit the release of Israeli civilians Avraham Abera Mengistu, Hisham al-Sayed and Juma Ibrahim Abu Ghanima," Greenblatt tweeted.

PMW: Fatah celebrates murder of “126 Zionists”

Fatah's Bethlehem branch honored terrorist Raed Al-Karmi who was responsible for the murders of 9 Israelis during the PA's terror campaign, 2000-2005 (the second Intifada). In several posts on Facebook, Fatah posted photos of the terrorist wearing a military uniform and brandishing assault rifles. The photo above was posted with text in which Fatah highlights "the killing of more than 126 Zionists," and refers to the many murders of Israelis during the terror campaign:

Posted text: "Raed Al-Karmi, a commander of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades (i.e., Fatah's military wing) who prevented the settlers from moving around.

When Raed Al-Karmi died as a Martyr (Shahid), the response to his assassination was the killing of more than 126 Zionists and the wounding of many of them by bullets of the Raed Al-Karmi squads of the Fatah Movement Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
Praise to the Martyrs who are more precious than all of us together"
[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement - Bethlehem Branch, Jan. 14, 2018]

Posted text: "Tomorrow, Jan. 14 [2018], is the anniversary of the death as a Martyr of the eagle of the [Al-Aqsa Martyrs'] Brigades, Raed Sa'id Al-Karmi May Allah wrap his soul in thousands of mercies Master of the quick response"
[Facebook page of the Fatah Movement - Bethlehem Branch, Jan. 13, 2018]

In another post glorifying Al-Karmi, Fatah also honored two of the planners of the Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes in Munich in 1972:

The image shows terrorists Salah Khalaf and Fakhri Al-Omari of the Black September terror organization that murdered 11 Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics in 1972, and Raed Al-Karmi, and Hayel Abd Al-Hamid (clockwise from the top). Al-Karmi is carrying an assault rifle.

JPost Editorial: New Egyptian era

It is no secret that new and surprising alliances have been formed between Israel and a number of Arab states in the region.

Iran has been killing Arab Sunnis and taking control of their land in Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. Islamic State and other proponents of political Islam have posed a threat to regimes in Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt, to name a few.

Israel, with its military capabilities, extensive intelligence and advanced technologies, is viewed by many Arab regimes in the region as an important and perhaps even an essential ally in the fight against Islamists, whether they be Sunnis or Shi’ites.

The New York Times revealed yet another example of how Israel has proven to be critical to continued regional stability. According a report published over the weekend, for more than two years, unmarked Israeli drones, helicopters and jets have been carrying out clandestine attacks – over 100 of them – against Islamists operating in Sinai, in full coordination with Egypt’s military regime headed by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

The cooperation serves both Egyptian and Israeli interests, according to the Times report. For Egypt, the Israeli military involvement is critical for the successful fight against Ansar Beit al-Maqdis and other Islamist terrorist groups operating in the Sinai.

Before Israel’s reported involvement, it seemed that Egypt was losing the battle. On July 1, 2015, Islamists briefly captured control of the northern Sinai town Sheikh Zuweid. In October of the same year, the terrorists shot down a Russian charter jet, killing all 224 people aboard. The air strikes – which according to the report, Israel launched at the end of 2015 – tipped the tide in favor of the Egyptians, say American sources quoted by the Times.

Israel, meanwhile, has a vested interest in ensuring that Islamists are prevented from taking control of Sinai, which is located on Israel’s southern border.

An intriguing spat opened up a few years ago after Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon posted this video on YouTube which articulated the position that the legal status of territories in the West Bank and Gaza are “disputed,” and not “occupied,” (thus implying that a working out their final status would require a political (i.e., negotiated) rather than a legal solution).

Ayalon’s presentation was simply a YouTube-y animated version of what has been the position of the Israeli government (and many respected legal scholars) for decades. But for those who cannot stomach anything but their own opinion that these areas represent “illegally occupied territories,” Ayalon’s case was too much to bear.

Unsurprisingly, the Palestinian Authority bristled at the notion that another side’s legal and political opinion should be given any legitimacy. And Israel’s detractor’s abroad rushed to defend an enforced “consensus” that Israel is an occupier, and an illegal one at that.

One can understand the importance of this Palestinian interpretation and why they feel that it must be not only defended at all costs, but that all other possible interpretations should be banished from public discourse. After all, if the territories are “disputed” rather than “occupied,” then a resolution to their status (and ultimately peace) requires talk, debate and (possibly) compromise. In short, it requires the same amount of diplomacy and reasonableness that was required to resolve other territorial matters, such as the status of Northern Ireland (which was only solved when everyone put down their guns and began talking).

But if the territories are “illegally occupied,” then there is no need for dialog, for negotiation, for reasonableness (much less compromise), but simply the requirement that the party acting illegally stop doing so. Staking out such a position provides additional propaganda benefits since explaining actual legal statuses requires a fairly detailed analysis of not-always-clear-cut legal issues and history. This allows BDSers and their ilk to simply declare Israel an “illegal occupier” over and over and over, and then watch their audiences eyes glaze over when that interpretation is corrected with proper citation of relevant issues in international law (an analysis the boycotters will, of course, ignore as they continue to use the word “illegal” at every opportunity, facts be damned).

The use of this tactic (declaring everything you disagree with as a violation of the law) has long since spilled over to other political contexts (with everything from the War on Terror to European immigration restrictions being declared “illegal,” based on nothing but the accuser’s desire to put their opponents on the defensive). But it seems to have reached a somewhat hysterical degree in the case of the Arab-Israeli context lately, especially among those who write press releases such as this which would consist of little more than blank pages if shorn of the words “illegal” and “Apartheid.”

I suspect that part of this has to do with the PA’s all-but-official abandonment of the Oslo process and its choice of Hamas vs. Israel as negotiating partners. After all, if you have no intention of every negotiating in good faith or making any acceptable compromises, what better smokescreen than to declare yourself simply trying to force enforcement of (undefined) international law.

But I suspect there is another reason why accusations of illegality have become so ubiquitous and so shrill of late.

As I’ve noted before, the boycotters have a raft of excuses as to why their political rage is applied solely to Israel and not to the many nations (including many BDS allies) whose human rights record make Israel seem angelic in comparison. But now that the “Arab Spring” has generated more Arab corpses than every Israeli action of the last two decades combined (never mind the difference between military actions designed to stop having missiles shot into your territory vs. military action designed to crush political dissent), it’s getting that much harder for the BDS cru to claim “Yes, what’s happening in Syria and Iran and Libya is terrible, BUT our devotion to human rights requires we continue to focus all of our efforts on getting you to stop buying hummus made in New York and Massachusetts” and still be taken seriously as moral voices.

And thus the fog machine must be revved up to 11,000 in hopes that declaring Israel an “illegal occupier” and an “Apartheid state” enough times will make it so (at least in the eyes of a public that BDSers consider to be nothing more than a mob of easily manipulated dunces).

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