Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Egyptian court to decide whether to shut down Jewish pilgrimage site

CNN Arabic reports that an Egyptian court set November 24 as the date for a hearing on the issue of the annual pilgrimage by Jews to to the burial place of Rabbi Yaakov Abuhatzeira, a prominent Jewish leader in the 19th century.

The administrative court in Alexandria will pass judgment in the lawsuit demanding an end to the Jewish celebration of Rabbi Abuhatzeira.

The lawsuit demands the removal of the shrine from the official list of Egyptian antiquities, and the transfer of his remains to Israel.

Lawyer Ahmed Attia said that "the Jews make this a new Wailing Wall for them in Egypt," charging that the celebration "includes acts contrary to the ethics of the Egyptian countryside and the Arab."

The Alexandria Court had ruled in 2001 to stop the celebration when villagers from around Damanhour complained. However, the Egyptian government overrode the court order and the celebrations continued up until the fall of the Mubarak government.

I'm sure that there isn't a grain of antisemitism behind this lawsuit.

More in this 2010 Al Arabiya article about the protests at the time.

10/28 Links Pt2: Why liberals downplay terrorism; In BDS, B is For Blacklist, Not Boycott

From Ian:

Amb. Alan Baker: Parliamentary Recognition of Palestine – Legally, Historically and Politically Questionable

Official political bodies in the UK, Ireland and Sweden have called for the recognition of Palestine, claiming that such recognition would “contribute to securing a two-state solution.”
These actions, whether by votes in the UK parliament and in the Irish Upper House, or in a parliamentary speech by the prime minister of Sweden, are based on questionable legal, historic and political premises since no Palestinian state exists, and the issue of the status of the territories is subject to negotiation.
These actions actually hinder progress to a negotiated agreement since they attempt to prejudge the outcome of the very negotiation they purport to support.
It would be legally and politically prudent were the UK House of Commons and the Irish Upper House, as well as the prime minister of Sweden, to reconsider their ill-advised resolutions or statements.

Why liberals downplay terrorism

After any terrorist attack, why is the first instinct of liberals to downplay it?
Their first reflex is to deny that it’s terrorism at all. Nidal Hasan, a Muslim U.S. soldier, shot 13 fellow soldiers to death at Fort Hood while shouting, “Allahu Akbar.” Yet the Pentagon declared the attack “workplace violence,” not terrorism.
The next liberal reflex is to deny that an attacker is Muslim. Last month there was a terrorist-style beheading in Oklahoma City. Media reports called the suspect “Alton Nolen.” Which was the name his mother gave him. As opposed to the name he took for himself after he converted to Islam: Jah'Keem Yisrael. Media showed old pictures of him dressed as a factory worker, rather than his own Facebook pictures showing him in flowing Muslim robes and head-coverings.
The third liberal reflex is to say a terrorist attack was just the act of a madman. That was the early spin in Canada for last week’s terrorist murders. Clearly Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was insane, they said.
The fourth liberal line of defence is to say the attacker is a lone wolf. And indeed, the terrorists listed above committed their murders by themselves. But Nidal was in e-mail contact with al-Qaida; the Canadian terrorists communicated with other extremists, including by Twitter. This weekend the RCMP announced Zehaf-Bibeau had “numerous” other interactions that they are investigating.
The attacking terrorist may have been a lone wolf. But each was part of a larger wolf pack.

In BDS, B is For Blacklist, Not Boycott

The BDS movement’s boycott against Israel is, for all practical purposes, a blacklist designed to remove Israel from the world stage.
It’s well documented that the movement is primarily a tool for spreading anti-Israel propaganda. It’s time to use language about the movement that reflects its true nature.
The calls for boycott of Israel economically, culturally, and academically have virtually no effect in those areas other than to blacken Israel’s name. But the use of the term “boycott” grants the movement an aura of righteousness it does not deserve.
As one student group said when it was discovered using Israeli web technology to promote a boycott of Israel, “BDS is a tactic, not a principle.” It is a tactic for spreading hate, not for promoting peace and reconciliation.
Indeed, if it were a principle, standing for human rights or for justice, its supporters would fight for those values everywhere. But only Israel is subject to BDS campaigns, demonstrating that it is, in fact, a blacklist, not a boycott in the name of justice.

Anti-Israel Speaker Uses Racial Slur to Describe Palestinians

SJP is widely known for leading hostile anti-Israel campaigns on college campuses. It has compared the Jewish state to Nazi Germany and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
The keynote speaker on Friday evening, the Reverend Osagyefo Uhuru Sekou, received applause from the audience when he drew an elaborate comparison between Palestinians and African Americans.
“One of the fundamental things that was revealed to me when I was in Palestine in 2012 was a simple truth,” said Sekou, a self-described author and public intellectual. “I was there for about 15 minutes and I got it: Y’all are n—. That’s part of what it means to be a Palestinian in the context of Israeli apartheid.”
Sekou went on to explain how, in his view, Palestinians and black Americans share a cultural status as refugees. (h/t Alexi)

Palestinians trust putting their money in Jordanian banks

Another vote of confidence for the Palestinian economy:

Data released on Sunday by the Association of Palestinian Banks show that Jordanian banks operating in Palestine have acquired, during the past year, about half of the Palestinian banking sector's deposits, facilities and profits, Anadolu news agency reported.

According to the agency, the data reveal that customer deposits at Jordanian banks operating in the occupied Palestinian territories at the end of last year amounted to about $4.84 billion out of a total of $9.05 billion, a ratio of 53.6 per cent.

These figures are considered the latest data that compare the performance of Jordanian banks operating in Palestine to the Palestinian banking sector in general.

The data show that Jordanian banks operating in Palestine earned a profit estimated at $84 million last year, an increase of 16.6 per cent compared to 2012. This profit represents 58 per cent of the total profit of banks operating in Palestine, about $143 million.

There are 17 local and foreign banks operating in Palestine, including both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, of which seven are local banks, including two Islamic banks and five commercial banks, in addition to 10 foreign banks, eight of which are Jordanian, in addition to one British and one Egyptian.

You just know the Islamic banks' main customer is Hamas.

UNRWA teaches first graders to call for Israel's destruction

Due to an apparent glitch, one of the UNRWA school sites that was taken down after I exposed that it had two posts saying Jews were dirty has apparently been partially restored. Its home page is gone but the rest of the content is there.

So while it is up I did some more research into what UNRWA teaches its students with our tax dollars.

One webpage (cached here) has the transcript and photos of a presentation by first grade girls describing various Israeli towns that they say the Zionists usurped from them,. Each girl represented one village or town.

At the end of the presentation, a group of girls say together:

Despite the occupation and despite the siege, heroes will come from among you and they will liberate us and other countries so Palestine remains Arab and free, Arab and free, Arab and free!

In context, it is pretty obvious that when they say "Palestine" they are not referring to the "1967 lines."
The "heroes" they are anticipating are the men in the audience. They are telling Gazans to go to war to destroy Israel.

Interesting how UNRWA advocates the violent destruction of a UN-member state - something the UN Charter frowns upon.

Just more fun activities that the world is funding when they answer UNRWA's many "emergency appeals."

(h/t Ibn Boutros)

10/28 Links Pt1: Glick: Kerry, Qatar and the poisonous tree; It’s a Disgrace to Call Abbas ‘a Man of Peace'

From Ian:

Caroline Glick: Kerry, Qatar and the poisonous tree

By insinuating that Israel is to blame for IS’s rise to power, Kerry was not simply blaming the victim. He was empowering the aggressor.
For the West to defeat IS, it first needs to recognize that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was right when he said at the UN last month that IS and Hamas – and increasingly Qatari-financed Fatah – are “branches of the same poisonous tree.”
With his announcement Monday that the government had approved the construction of 1,250 new housing units in Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem, Netanyahu showed that Israel prefers freedom and security to good relations with Washington and Brussels.
Washington and Brussels need understand that by forcing Israel to make that choice, they are hurting themselves and the cause of their own freedom and security far more than they are harming Israel.

Obama Admin: Palestinians Who Throw Molotov Cocktails at Israelis Are Not Terrorists

The Obama administration insisted Monday that a Palestinian killed by an IDF while attempting to throw a Molotov cocktail at Israeli civilians is not a terrorist.
The Palestinian, a teenager with U.S. citizenship, was shot Friday and buried wearing a green Hamas headband. The Obama administration said in a statement on Friday that it “expresses its deepest condolences to the family.”
At a State Department briefing today, Associated Press reporter Matt Lee asked spokesperson Jen Psaki whether it is appropriate to offer “deepest condolences” to the family of someone killed while attempting to carry out an attack on civilians.
“There are reports … that [the Palestinian teenager] was throwing Molotov cocktails at cars on a highway, and I’m wondering, if that is the case, would you still have been so speedy in putting out a statement and offering your condolences to the family?” asked Lee. “The argument that is being made by some in Israel is that this kid was essentially a terrorist, and you don’t agree with that, I assume,” Lee continued.
“Correct, we don’t,” Psaki said. Lee then asked whether the fact that the teenager was buried wearing a Hamas headband was “of concern at all.” Psaki replied, “I just don’t have any more on this particular case.”

Israel’s Ambassador Dermer: ‘It’s a Disgrace to Call Abbas ‘a Man of Peace” (VIDEO)

Israel’s ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, on Sunday launched an unprecedented attack on Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, saying he “educates Palestinian children to hate Jews, and wants a Palestinian state free of Jews”, according to a transcript.
“The Palestinian President wrote a dissertation denying the Holocaust,” he said, and added that it is a “disgrace” that “anyone in the world embraces this man as a peacemaker,” said Dermer, speaking before some 5,000 participants at “A Night to Honor Israel,” held in Washington under the auspices of pro-Israel evangelist pastor, John Hagee.
The ambassador, referring to Abbas’ recent speech at the United Nations General Assembly, in which the Palestinian leader claimed that Israel is inflicting a “genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza, said, “…since 1967, the population of the Palestinians in Judea, Samaria and Gaza has increased fourfold to between 3 to 4 million people today. And yet President Abbas stands before the world at the United Nations and accuses Israel of genocide? What a disgrace! What an embarrassment that anyone in the world embraces this man as a peacemaker,” Dermer charged.

Ma'an reports:

Search crews in Gaza on Monday found the remains of a Palestinian who was killed during the recent Israeli assault on the Strip, a Ma'an reporter said.

The body of Zuhdi Abd al-Hamid Abu al-Rus, 22, was found under the rubble of a destroyed mosque in al-Nuserat.

Israeli forces targeted the mosque on Aug. 9.

More interesting is what Ma'an does not say.

The mosque that al-Rus was found in is the Al Qassam Mosque, the same one where three senior Hamas members were meeting at 3:30 AM that day - and it wasn't to pray. They were cynically using the mosque as a terrorist command center.

And, no surprise, in Arabic al-Rus is referred to as a "mujahid martyr,"

His body was draped in a Hamas flag at his funeral, which was quite large.

Even now, Arab media are trying to make it appear that the primary victims in Gaza were civilians. It just isn't so.

(Of course, so did Western journalists like Donald Macintyre reporting on the same mosque attack, forgoing the least amount of fact checking.)

Arabic News sites over the weekend published alleged internal documents from Mahmoud Abbas, marked "top secret," where he demanded to monitor the phone calls of many prominent Fatah and PLO leaders.

They included Fatah Central Committee members such as Major General Tawfiq Tirawi, Major General Jibril Rajoub , and prominent leaders of the Palestinian Authority, such as former Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad and Secretary of the Executive Committee of the PLO and Yasser Abed Rabbo.

This was apparently in response to reports of internal criticism of his leadership.

At first I discounted these reports because they originated at a Hamas website and I've seen Hamas forge "confidential" documents before. But now there is news on pro-Fatah sites themselves that Abbas ordered an investigation into who leaked these documents!

Abbas' choice not to deny these rumors and instead to find out who is behind the leak makes a strong case that the published documents are legitimate and Abbas is acting like just another banana republic dictator.

Arabs know very well that their leadership is criminally corrupt. Too bad the Western media chooses to ignore stories like these in order to keep their own precious memes of upstanding, moderate Palestinian leadership alive.

The New York Times published yet another overwrought, emotional anti-Israel op-ed. This one is by Rula Jebreal, an award-winning journalist. And as is so often the case, it is filled with things that just ain't true - which calls into question all of her journalistic credentials.

Here are a few examples:

According to Nurit Peled-Elhanan, a Hebrew University professor of sociology who has produced the most comprehensive survey of Israeli public school curriculums, not one positive reference to Palestinians exists in Israeli high school textbooks. Palestinians are described as either “Arab farmers with no nationality” or fearsome “terrorists,” as Professor Peled-Elhanan documented in her book “Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education.”

As I reported in 2011, Peled-Elchanan is simply a liar. Textbooks that she claimed didn't show a single Arab showed plenty of Arabs with no prejudice. Her claims that Arabs were never shown sympathetically were shown to be out and out lies.

Avigdor Lieberman, has championed a call to boycott the businesses of Palestinian citizens of Israel and, ominously, has even sought to make the “transfer” of Palestinians legal.

Another lie. Lieberman called to boycott businesses taking part in a general strike condemning Operation Protective Edge, not all Arab businesses.

And the Lieberman Plan did not call for "transfer," meaning moving Palestinian Arabs out of their homes. He called to redraw the borders to include more Arabs in a Palestinian state.

Israel is increasingly becoming a project of ethno-religious purity and exclusion. Religious Zionist and ultra-Orthodox parties occupy 30 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.

There is not a single ultra-Orthodox party in Israel's governing coalition (the NYT since corrected that.)

[M]ore than 50 discriminatory Israeli laws documented by Adalah, the Haifa-based Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel...

Not true.

Historically, ultra-Orthodox Jews did not serve in the armed forces. Today, they do — and serve in every capacity, including in the most important elite Israeli army units, such as the Sayeret Matkal special forces and Unit 8200, whose responsibilities include gathering intelligence on any Palestinian they deem a “security threat.”

Unit 8200 has recently added some haredim, but as far as I can tell Sayeret Matkal does not have any "ultra-Orthodox" Jews.

There is, regrettably, still some discrimination in Israel against minorities (including Jewish minorities.) There is also discrimination in every other nation on the planet against their minorities. But if Jerbreal wants to fix the nation that she is a citizen of, lying in the New York Times to incite clueless Americans against Israel is not the way to do it. On the contrary - her methods seem to indicate that she wants to damage Israel, not improve it.

And the New York Times is eager to help her do so.

Additionally, for someone who pretends to be against bigotry, Ms. Jebreal sure seems biased against religious Jews:

Unlike every former head of Shin Bet, Israel’s equivalent of the F.B.I., Yoram Cohen, who today heads the agency, is a religious Jew. That change is typical of Israeli society. The greater integration of ultra-Orthodox Jews clearly offers benefits to Jewish Israelis, but for Palestinian Israeli citizens, it has meant a new, religiously inspired racism, on top of the old secular discrimination.

Jebreal does not bring a shred of evidence that Yoram Cohen is bigoted against Arabs - except that he is religious (he is not ultra-Orthodox.)

Who's the bigot?

(h/t Ibn Boutros, Yair Rosenberg)

New Egyptian pop song warns against dealing with Jews

Egyptian pop band Malaleem just came out with a catchy tune and music video called "Love Monkeys."

The theme of the song? To warn Arabs against the consequences of dealing with Jews.

Unlike the usual jihadist videos, this is meant to be a mainstream pop song that just happens to teach Jew-hatred.

I haven't been able to find the lyrics yet, but the theme of Jews as evil monkeys can be seen in the music video.

From what I can tell, the Egyptian monkey becomes enamoured with a female Jewish monkey, who is clearly just stringing him along in order to crush him.

At one point, the band leader becomes part of the cartoon, first becoming a Pharaoh-type figure but then turning into an evil Jew.

I found one Facebook commenter who was a bit upset that the song conflated Jews and Israelis.

I'm sure that the lyrics and translations will become available very soon now!

10/27 Links Pt2: Israel and the West's Submission to Islam; Chloe Valdary: I ask FIRST for Zionism

From Ian:

Bastardization of black feminist theory propels Israel-bashing on campus

During both early October’s Open Hillel conference at Harvard University, and the just-concluded Students for Justice in Palestine gathering at Tufts University, Israel was condemned for imposing an “interlocking matrix of oppression” onto Arabs, Muslims, Christians, Jews, women, children, gays, the disabled, and others.
Coined in 1989, the feminist sociological theory of intersectionality has often been applied to studies of black women, who – so goes the theory – derive their most potent sense of identity from the intersection of being female and black, as opposed to one characteristic over the other.
More recently, anti-Israel groups have adopted intersectionality to denounce Zionism’s alleged subjugation and silencing of its many critics, including Jews.
“Our very bodies disrupt Zionist narratives,” said Sa’ed Atshan, a Tufts lecturer in peace and justice studies, who also advises the campus SJP chapter.
Identifying himself to conference participants as a gay Palestinian, Atshan demanded Israel be “decolonized” for its racist policies. He also condemned Israel for creating a Palestinian society rife with honor killings and the persecution of gays – all caused by the intersection of Zionism with misogyny and homophobia, he said.

Sorry, brothers in Africa, the “Palaestinaïsm” virus stole all the money for Ebola!

Dear brothers in Africa, who are abused, killed, exterminated, who we let agonize, hoping that you will not come to western countries, Israel, we grieve for you. We have already sent dozens of doctors in your countries to help you. Even in countries that don’t have diplomatic relations with us, but we did it out of Zionism. In 1905, the father of this too often distorted movement, Theodor Herzl, wrote: “After feeding the children of Israel, the land of Israel will have to feed his African brothers”. That’s what we’re doing. We’re helping you. We treat you as much as we can, considering a country like ours, a country without petrodollars. And if we had these petrodollars, we would invest in your futur rather than in football clubs!
Brothers in Africa, Palaestinaïsm stole your future. Your children’s. Your brothers’, parents’ and cousins’. Palaestinaïsm destroys not only the lives of Palestinian cells that are sane, but also of Israel’s, and now yours. Yet you are not complicated! Bread, water and health. Work too. It would be so easy to please you. To treat you.
And when you do not have tears to cry at the funeral of your neighbor, despite the hope, never forget that the fate of your entire continent is based on the selfishness of 4 or 5 million Palestinians who seized money from the rich countries, countries in crisis but rich, who do not have enough to give you the small amounts you need!

Israel and the West's Submission to Islam

What the Europeans ignore about the Arab-Israeli conflict and the long war is the precedent of 1948. When the Arabs attacked, and the West militarily embargoed Israel, the Zionists yet won a compelling victory in their ancient homeland; and a half a million Arabs became refugees, never to return. In 1967, the Arabs again declared their goal to be the annihilation of Israel; but Israel won, and another quarter of a million Arabs fled the country.
In 2014 the same scenario is unfolding. Pushed to the wall by Europeans who overlook and justify escalating domestic Arab violence and provocations, Israel will sooner or later need to unleash a severe response against the Muslims in the country who deny the right of Israel to exist, at all, and certainly as a Jewish and Zionist state. Newton’s political physics teach us that an action produces a reaction, and Hegel’s dialectics charted how a thesis leads to an antithesis, culminating in a new, rarely anticipated, synthesis. All this fondling of the Palestinians and coddling of Islam is putting in place a horrific threat to Israel, which may however evoke a welcome opportunity for deliverance and triumph.
Are we not passing through a very momentous period of history: with signs of the political decline and social decadence of Europe and the West, the clash between Israel and Islam, between Islam and Christianity, and with attendant results that could change the political -- and religious -- map of the world? The cutting edge of history is the crossroads we now face.

Ex-Spanish PM slams European recognition of 'Palestine'

Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar has spoken out against unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state.
"The Palestinian state does not exist yet and the Gaza Strip is still controlled by Hamas, but many nations are already moving to recognize it," he said. "The Swedish government announced it would recognize Palestine, the British Parliament voted to recognize it, and we should expect similar moves to be made throughout Europe. Regardless of good intentions, recognizing a Palestinian state is not appropriate, not helpful, and wrong. It will not promote peace and will only cause the Palestinians to back away from an agreed upon solution."
The former Spanish leader warned that whatever boost in morale the Palestinians get from European recognition will "not translate to a change in the situation on the ground."
"These initiatives put unfair pressure only on Israel. The State of Israel has been harassed by neighbor states and terrorist groups, and subsequently offered concessions to reach a fair peace agreement and was only met with refusal from the Palestinian Authority."

Fatah webpage calls murderer a "holy martyr"

The official Fatah webpage refers to Abdel Rahman a-Shaludi, the murderer of the baby Chaya Zissel Braun and Karen Yemima Muscara, as a "holy martyr."

Of course, that "non-violent" darling of the West, Mahmoud Abbas, heads Fatah.

Here's a screenshot with the autotranslation.

Pakistanis freak out over Islamabad U exhibit showing Israeli culture (UPDATE)

From the International Islamic University Islamabad's website on Friday:

International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) is going to hold a three-day event titled “Women International Model United Nations 2014”. The event is being organized by the Faculty of Management Sciences (Female) and students’ advisor office of university which would kick off on Friday (today). The event includes social events, discussion sessions and many other activities.

But something went horribly wrong. From The News Tribe:

A stall showing Israeli culture was arranged at International Islamic University Islamabad; the university administration confirmed that the stall was set up and it has formed a three-member committee to probe into the matter.

The stall for promotion of Israeli culture was arranged in a hall situated in the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, the capital of Islamic Republic of Pakistan. A ceremony “UN Debate Contest” was also arranged by the Faculty of “Management Sciences Women Department”.

Some students, a few of those from other countries, set up the stall where items showing Israel’s culture were displayed. Banners in the background also showed the Israeli flag as well as pictures of the Israeli premier.

“WELCOME TO THE LAND OF PEACE AND PROSPERITY,” read a banner.

As the news about this stall came to fore, religious bodies, students and political organisations expressed their anger and threatened protest on Sunday (today).

The legal adviser of the University confirmed the presence of stall. The “UN Debate Contest” was also arranged by the Faculty of Management Sciences Women Department where the students set up their stalls of UN member states but the stall of Israel was arranged without permission of university administration, the adviser said.

The stall was closed immediately as it came into the notice of administration.

The local people said that without university administration’s permission it was impossible to set up such stall.

Various student organisations and religious parties said the act was tantamount to adding salt to the wounds of Palestinians.

Outraged students held a protest today, where they naturally burned Israeli flags:

(h/t Yenta Press)

UPDATE:

The International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) has removed the dean of the Faculty of Management Sciences (FMS) and a student adviser who were responsible for a three-day Model United Nations (MUN) event, which began on Friday.

The move followed reports that the university had organised an “Israeli cultural stall”, which began circulating on the Internet and via social media. This drew the ire of right-wing organisations, including the IIUI chapter of the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), which staged a demonstration outside the National Press Club on Sunday to condemn the stall.

(h/t Dave Bender)