Hardly a week goes by without some barb or insult traded between Turkey and Israel. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan publicly slights Israel on an almost daily basis to drum up domestic political support, for example asserting that Israel’s treatment of Gaza surpasses the brutality of the Nazi regime. Things weren’t always this way. The 1990s and most of the 2000s saw warm diplomatic and political ties between Israel and Turkey. But these days there seems to be a diplomatic standstill.
Even so, despite harsh rhetoric and a suspension of top-level diplomatic engagement, Israeli-Turkish trade has grown by 19 percent since 2009, while Turkey’s overall foreign trade for the same period grew by 11 percent. Since few nations with strong trade ties escalate conflicts to the point of going to war with each other, Israeli-Turkish economic ties may signal the prospects of improved bilateral relations. With the economic and political outlook remaining bleak throughout the Middle East, the two nations have more reasons than ever to resolve their political differences—or to at least separate them from economic relations.
Better ties with Israel are especially appealing to Turkey now that it has burned its bridges with the Arab world. Ankara’s failed “zero problems with neighbors” policy has resulted in Turkey having no ambassadors in Cairo, Damascus, or Tripoli. It only appointed an ambassador in Baghdad after former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was replaced by Haider al-Abadi in September 2014. Syria suspended its free trade agreement with Turkey in December 2011, when Bashar al-Assad became Ankara’s main enemy. Since then, trade between Syria and Turkey has dropped to half a billion USD in 2014, from almost two billion USD in 2011.
In Egypt, Turkey’s refusal to recognize Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as the President of Egypt has hurt Ankara’s economic interests as well. For instance, Turkish exports to Egypt have shrunk by 10 percent between 2012 and 2014. Furthermore, Egypt did not renew the roll-on/roll-off ferryboat agreement, a trade route that circumvents expensive passage through the Suez Canal, after it expired this April, hampering the transportation of goods between the Turkish ports and Alexandria. This move cuts off Turkish goods from arriving at lucrative markets in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. This agreement also allowed Turkish companies to circumvent Syrian territory controlled by the Islamic State (also called ISIS) while also bypassing the Suez Canal and therefore reducing transportation costs.
Turkish relations in Libya, too, are in a dire state. Libyan Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani has accused Turkey of arming the ISIS auxiliaries in Libya, driving Turkish companies and expats out of the country. On top of this, Ankara’s recognition of the Islamist-controlled National General Congress over the democratically elected al-Thani government has cast a shadow over Turkish business interests in large parts of the nation.
From YNet:
The news agency Maan reported that the signing of the Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement in Cairo is being delayed because of a seating arrangement issue.
According to the report, an argument has broken out over the spot where Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal will sit. According to another report, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has refused to sit next to Mashaal, and demanded to be presented as the Palestinian president instead of the head of his political party.
From other Arabic news sources, it seems to me that Hamas is not accepting Abbas as president of the PA even under this agreement (this has long been their official position, since his official term in office ended.)
Which is just one more indication that this agreement is a sham. Hamas will retain its own security in Gaza and it will be part of the government as much as Hezbollah is part of Lebanon's - enough to veto whatever they don't like but not subservient to it or subject to the PA's laws.
(h/t Richie)
Palestinian Arabic media associated with Fatah is reporting:
The official spokesman for the Fatah movement, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, announced that President Mahmoud Abbas has issued instructions to stop all media campaigns against Hamas.
The spokesman added that the reason for this instruction was 'to create a positive atmosphere for the success of the initiative launched by the leadership to end the division and achieve unity, and strengthening efforts for the success of this goal...."
See how democratic the Palestinian Arabs are? Their president can tell the media what to do, and they follow his instructions without any complaint! No chaos, no doubt, no criticism! Not one newspaper pointing out that this is exactly how Mubarak acted.
Sounds like a Palestinian Arab state would be a veritable utopia for freedom.
From Ma'an:
A Salafist group based in the Gaza Strip has accused Hamas of torturing its supporters in prison and closely watching other supporters in cities and refugee camps across the coastal enclave.
A statement issued on Saturday by the group, which identified itself as the Salafist Trend, warned Hamas of consequences if the group's supporters were not set free.
"Once again we ask the wise people of Gaza to stop the ongoing Hamas criminality and abusive detention of our brothers before it's too late," the statement said.
It added that the Salafist Trend "has details about what is going on inside the detention cells of the interior security service, including names of the criminal interrogators who torture and insult our people."
The statement went on to allege that security officers and undercover agents tasked with watching supporters and ransacking their homes are also known to the group by name.
"Those also won't escape punishment, sooner or later."
Firas Press reports that the reason that Jimmy Carter decided not to go to Gaza was because of threats on his life from extremist Salafist groups.
From Ian:
The UNRWA farce: Nothing more than a blatant travesty of human integrity based on a political agenda
Why is it that the Palestinian method of inciting hatred and killing people over what they term as the “Naqba’ that occurred 67 years ago, is still considered a valid cause? Why is it that we never hear about the millions of other people around the world who were displaced from the lands of their forefathers owing to war or political unrest? The list of people who were forcibly exiled or who fled their war ravaged homelands for safety zones in recent history is so long that it makes the mind boggle, it represents far greater numbers of refugees than the Arabs of Palestine, whose status of ‘refugee’ has been maintained by a special United Nations Agency (UNRWA) that functions with a different set of criteria than any other UN refugee agency. Hence the facts that nearly all of Europe’s forty million refugees were settled in under two years following the end of WW11, whilst nearly seven decades later the Palestinians have been left to stagnate as ‘pawns’ to be used in their immoral struggle against Israel. It is flabbergasting that according to the ‘special criteria’ set out by UNRWA, the Palestinian refugee count stands at around 6.5 million worldwide…one in three refugees worldwide being Palestinian! Currently 3.8 million of those ‘Palestinian refugees’ and their descendants are registered with UNRWA; a staggeringly big number considering that there remains only a mere 30,000 to 50,000 of the originally displaced people created by the Arab Israeli war in 1948.
All other refugees have learned to cope and move on. But the United Nations is maintaining and prolonging this farce of millions of people known as ‘Palestinian refugees’ which is nothing more than a blatant travesty of human integrity based on a political agenda.
There has never been much interest or horn-blowing shown to any of the world’s far worse refugee problems.
Abbas to Syria's Palestinian Refugees: Go to Israel or 'Die in Syria'
Faced with the suffering of their own people, the Palestinians' leadership recently decided not to help. Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas rejected a deal with Israel brokered by the United Nations that would allow Palestinian refugees living in Syria to resettle in the West Bank and Gaza. Abbas stated unequivocally that "we rejected that and said it's better they die in Syria than give up their right of return." The Palestine Liberation Organization has also ruled out any military action to help the 18,000 or more refugees who are trapped in the Yarmouk camp near Damascus.
Abbas's cold-blooded response reveals something fundamental about Palestinian society and identity. Far more than territory, the key Israeli-Palestinian issue is the idea of a Palestinian "right of return"—the belief in a legal and moral right of Palestinian refugees, and more importantly their descendants from around the world, to return to ancestral homes in [Israel's part of] what was once Mandatory Palestine. This belief is so vital to Palestinian national identity that their leaders would rather they die than give it up and have a chance to live.
United Nations General Assembly Resolution 194 (III) of December 1948 supposedly codifies this "right." However, a closer look reveals it to be conditional: "refugees wishing to return to their homes and live at peace with their neighbors should be permitted to do so at the earliest practicable date, and … compensation should be paid for the property of those choosing not to return." The resolution also calls for the United Nations "to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation."
Interestingly, all the Arab States in the UN at the time (Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen) voted against the resolution, since it implicitly accepted the partition of Mandatory Palestine that recognized the Jewish right to a state. But the actual text of the resolution has been irrelevant since the beginning; Palestinian identity has crystallized around the dream of an unconditional "right of return," as has Palestinian propaganda to the world.
IDF official: If our war crimes probes no good, all of the West's are no good
With a veiled threat to the International Criminal Court, a top IDF legal division official said on Monday that “if others say that our investigations” into war crimes allegations are insufficient, then “the entire Western world” must realize that their investigations will be declared insufficient.
IDF Deputy Magistrate Advocate General Col. Eli Baron’s statement, at the Israel Bar Association Conference in Eilat, was the first major statement by a high ranking IDF official since ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda last week issued what was interpreted as a warning to Israel to cooperate with her office more quickly on her preliminary examination of war crimes allegations in the 2014 Gaza War.
Bensouda implied she might be stuck deciding whether to open a full criminal investigation against Israeli soldiers solely based on evidence from Israel’s human rights critics, if Israel did not provide her with its own evidence on the Gaza war soon.
Israel’s response was to attack the ICC Prosecutor’s move and her preliminary probe in which she recognized a State of Palestine.
Jerusalem still vehemently rejects the idea of a State of Palestine, especially regarding any issues relating to the ICC.
PA says it’s awaiting Hague okay to push war crimes allegations
The Palestinian Authority on Monday urged the International Criminal Court in The Hague to set a date for the submission of documents regarding what it says are crimes committed by Israel in the West Bank and during the last summer’s 50-day-war in the Gaza Strip.
According to PA Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki, the authority is still awaiting the court’s authorization in order to submit the documents, which it may do by the middle of June, Israel Radio reported.
ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in an interview with The Associated Press last week that she hadn’t received any information from either side regarding last summer’s Gaza war and urged Israel and the Palestinians to provide such information.
The Palestinians accepted the court’s jurisdiction in mid-January and officially joined the ICC on April 1 in hopes of prosecuting Israel for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity during the Gaza conflict.
German Foreign Minister, Jordanian King Push for PA-Israel 2-State ‘Solution’
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier spent Saturday in Jordan meeting with King Abdullah II discussing how to restart final status talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
The two also talked about bilateral ties, the Middle East, and how to combat terrorism.
But in a joint news conference held by Jordanian Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh and his German counterpart, the two told reporters the whole world is “unanimous” in its agreement that Israel and the PA must negotiate the establishment of a new Arab country for Palestinians.
Last Wednesday, the Jordanian monarch had met in Berlin on the same topic with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Abdullah called the issue of talks between Israel and the PA “the most persistent problem in our region” while in Germany. Merkel also noted that she had told Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin during their visit together that Germany was “concentrating on a two-state solution” as well.
Abu Mazen is not an “Angel of peace”
I do not know how Pope Francis got the idea to call Abu Mazen “Angel of Peace”. It was an odd choice. Abu Mazen never gave the impression to be so firmly committed to peace. On the contrary, he put insurmountable obstacles to it, especially if you consider the ceaseless incitement to hatred against the Israeli people. Some of the statements from the speech he delivered before the UN are adequately clarifying on the matter.
Once again, we had to listen to words like “genocide”, and hear references to the International criminal court. He sees all Israelis as criminals. Abu Mazen is the man who agreed to name a square after Dalal al Mughrabi, the female terrorist who led the slaughter of 35 Israeli civilians on a bus, including 12 children.
The terrorists responsible for the death of thousands of innocent people, including women and children, are regularly glorified in the public discussion. They are the heroes of Abu Mazen’s masses , while the Government pays monthly salaries to the imprisoned terrorists’ families. The official daily newspaper of the Palestinian Authority published a cartoon celebrating the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers in June 2014.
Sorry, Your Holiness, But Abbas is No Angel
As I noted last week, the decisions being taken by the Vatican and other European states won’t advance peace. To the contrary, such moves only encourage Abbas to continue to refuse to negotiate with Israel. The only path forward for a two state solution to the conflict is for the Palestinians to be given statehood only after they have made peace with Israel and not before. Abbas and his predecessor Yasir Arafat have repeatedly refused Israeli offers of peace and statehood. To this day, he refuses to sign any deal that recognizes the legitimacy of a Jewish state no matter where its borders are drawn.
That alone should be enough to deny Abbas the title of “angel of peace.” But that isn’t the only reason. Abbas was a longtime deputy to arch-terrorist Arafat and played a role in organizing and financing many acts of brutal terrorism. But unlike other world leaders who might have employed violence in his youth and then became a statesman, Abbas has never really changed. He is the same man who wrote a doctoral thesis that centered on Holocaust denial at Moscow’s Patrice Lumumba University that was published in 1984. He continues to embrace and honor terrorists, such as the murderers with the blood of innocent civilians on their hands that were released by Israel in order to ransom Gilad Shalit from his Hamas captors. Just as important, though he occasionally makes statements about wanting peace when speaking to Western audiences or the international media, his official PA media incites hatred against Jews and Israel on a regular basis.
Shmuley Boteach: Did Pope Francis Whitewash a Terrorist?
Mahmoud Abbas an angel of peace? Really? Could Pope Francis really have called him that.
I respect the Pope. Gosh, everyone respects the Pope. But I’m not Catholic and I’m not bound by any doctrine of papal infallibility.
So let’s look at the record of this “angel of peace.”
Abbas’s career as a merchant of death rather than an angel of peace stretches all the way back to the early 1970s. According to Abu Daoud, the Mastermind of the 1972 Munich Olympic Massacre that left 11 Israeli athletes murdered, Abbas funded the operation. And when Abu Daoud died in 2010, Abbas wrote a letter of condolence to the infamous terrorist’s family saying “He is missed. He was one of the leading figures of Fatah and spent his life in resistance and sincere work as well as physical sacrifice for his people’s just causes.”
He also spent his life murdering Jews.
Honest Reporting: Media, Not Pope, Dub Abbas an “Angel of Peace”
In other words, the Pope did not call Abbas an “angel of peace” at all. Quite the opposite. He was urging him to become an angel of peace in the future.
The National Review version was backed by the Washington Post, which also based its coverage on the official Vatican statement:
During a meeting Sunday at the Vatican, Francis presented Abbas with a bronze medal representing an angel of peace and encouraged him to commit to peace, a statement from the Holy See said.
So what accounts for the rapid spread of erroneous information? According to the National Review:
This reveals the eagerness of some in the media to paint His Holiness as some valiant advocate for the progressive cause, and thus, an ally of Palestine over Israel. If the Pope indeed called Abbas an angel, it would, in their eyes, be yet another example of his putting conservative Catholics, many of whom are likely to be pro-Israel, in their place.
Indeed, the media has long held the position that Abbas is the last, best hope for peace in the region, despite the failure of years of Abbas-led peace negotiations. But if Abbas is a man of peace, acknowledged by an authority such as the Pope, then the failure of talks must be the fault of Israel.
British media get it wrong on Pope “angel of peace” comments
The Telegraph published a version of the same AFP report used by the Guardian, informing readers that “Pope calls Palestinian leader Abbas ‘angel of peace’ at Vatican meeting”.
The headline in a Daily Mail report by Lucy Crossly on May 17th read: “Pope reaches out to the Middle East: Francis hails Palestinian leader as ‘angel of peace’ as two nuns are made the first Arabic-speaking saints in church’s history”.
A headline at The Independent, accompanying a March 16th article, claimed that “Pope Francis calls Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a ‘angel of peace“.
And, Channel 4 News also reported that the pope called “an angel of peace”.
Multiple reports in the American media included the same purported quote.
To those even minimally aware of Mahmoud Abbas’s record of praising terror attacks against Israelis, lionizing terrorists and even encouraging Palestinian violence at Jerusalem holy sites, news that the pontiff praised the Palestinian leader as ‘a man of peace’ came as quite a surprise.
In fact, it turns out that the pope’s comments to Abbas were almost certainly mistranslated by AP, AFP and other news sites, from the original Italian.
BBC lost in news agency translation of Pope’s words to Mahmoud Abbas?
The Zenit agency reported the story in Spanish using the headline “Francisco recibe al presidente palestino y le exhorta: ‘Sea usted un ángel de paz’” – “Francisco receives Palestinian President and urges : ‘ Be you an angel of peace ‘”.
So it would appear that there is a distinct possibility that rather than describing Mahmoud Abbas as an ‘angel of peace’, the Pope in fact urged or wished him to become one by taking steps to bring about a peaceful solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. That, of course, would leave readers with a markedly different impression than the version of the story promoted by the BBC.
The source of this possible misunderstanding of the Pope’s words appears to be various news agency reports. As we have seen before, it is not unheard of for the BBC to fail to fact check information provided by news agencies before reproducing their content. Clearly this story too needs urgent review in order to ensure its compliance with BBC editorial guidelines on accuracy.
Netanyahu says not too late to stop Iran nuclear deal
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday there was still time to stop an Iranian agreement with world powers that, he said, would give Tehran nuclear arms.
“It is still not too late to retract the plan” being negotiated between Iran and the world powers over Tehran’s nuclear program, he stated at a ceremony marking Israel’s capture of East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War.
The United States as well as Britain, China, France, Russia and Germany are in the midst of negotiations with Tehran to finalize a deal by June 30 that they say would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, in exchange for an easing of crippling economic sanctions.
Iran cannot be trusted to honor the nascent deal, Netanyahu has argued.
Kerry: Iran nuke deal could be lesson for N. Korea
US Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday he is hopeful that the successful conclusion of a nuclear deal with Iran will send a positive message to North Korea to restart negotiations on its own atomic program.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, Kerry said he believed an Iran agreement could have “a positive influence” on North Korea, because it would show that giving up nuclear weapons improves domestic economies and ends isolation. He stressed, though, that there was no way to tell if North Korea’s reclusive leadership would be able to “internalize” such a message.
“I am sure Foreign Minister Wang would join me in expressing the hope that if we can get an agreement with Iran, … that agreement would indeed have some impact or have a positive influence” on North Korea, Kerry said.
Although Wang did not appear to respond, Kerry explained that an Iran deal could help in showing North Korea how “your economy can do better, your country can do better, and you can enter into good standing with the rest of the global community by recognizing that there is a verifiable, irreversible, denuclearization for weaponization, even as you can have a peaceful nuclear power program.”
Report: Saudis may purchase Pakistani atomic bomb
Saudi Arabia has reached out to its ally Pakistan to acquire “off-the-shelf” atomic weapons as a nuclear arms race begins to shape up with Shiite rival Iran, US sources said.
“For the Saudis the moment has come,” a former US defense official told the UK’s Sunday Times. “There has been a longstanding agreement in place with the Pakistanis and the House of Saud has now made the strategic decision to move forward.”
The anonymous former official said the US did not believe that “any actual weaponry has been transferred yet,” but declared that “the Saudis mean what they say and they will do what they say.”
Tensions between Tehran and the kingdom have grown in the past few months as Saudi Arabia stepped up its air campaign against Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. King Salman of Saudi Arabia refused an invitation to attend a landmark summit hosted by US President Barack Obama last week, amid ongoing angst over US-led nuclear talks with Iran.
Former Saudi intelligence head Prince Turki bin Faisal expressed the kingdom’s desire for a nuclear weapon last month at the Asan Plenum, a conference held by the South Korean-based Asan Institute for Policy Studies. “Whatever the Iranians have, we will have, too,” he said, according to The New York Times.
Singapore bashes Iran for firing at commercial ship
Singapore on Monday condemned Iranian forces for firing warning shots in the Gulf at a commercial ship registered in the Asian city-state, calling it a “serious violation of international law.”
The Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) also urged Tehran to investigate Thursday’s incident involving the Singapore-flagged Alpine Eternity which it said was in international waters.
“With regard to the reported shooting incident on May 14, 2015, involving a Singapore-registered tanker ‘Alpine Eternity’ that took place in international waters, Singapore is deeply concerned with such actions,” the MPA said in a statement.
“Such interference with navigational rights is a serious violation of international law,” it said.
“The freedom of navigation and free flow of commerce are of critical importance to Singapore and other maritime and trading nations,” it added.
PM: Jerusalem is exclusive capital of the Jewish people
"Jerusalem is the secret to our existence," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Sunday during an event marking the 48th anniversary of the city's reunification in the Six-Day War. "We will not divide it and we will not hand it over to foreigners."
Earlier, at a state ceremony at Jerusalem's Ammunition Hill (the site of a key battle in the Six-Day War), Netanyahu said, "Jerusalem has always been the exclusive capital of the Jewish people, and not of any other people. This is where our path as a nation began. This is our home and here we will stay. Jerusalem is currently enjoying one of its golden eras. We are continuing to build and develop it and to expand its neighborhoods. We have a lot more to do to improve all parts of the city, for the benefit of its inhabitants."
"The future belongs to a unified Jerusalem. It will never be divided again," Netanyahu vowed.
Memorial Hall unveiled at Ammunition Hill on Jerusalem Day
Display includes photographs, stories of all 182 IDF soldiers who fell in the capital during 1967 Six Day War.
After 30 years of neglect, the Ammunition Hill Memorial Site revealed a new Memorial Hall, the first part of its multi-million dollar makeover on Sunday, Jerusalem Day, the celebration over the reunification of the city in the 1967 Six Day War.
Ammunition Hill was the site of a battle waged by the Paratroopers’ Brigade during the war. The outpost’s bunkers and trenches, which made the battle so difficult to win, still criss-cross the hill and have long served as a destination for school children and tourists, learning about the battle over Jerusalem.
The site, viewed by many as symbolic of the city’s reunification, remained in need of renovation for more than 30 years and was almost closed down due to lack of funds.
It was then classified as a “national heritage site,” which paved the way for plans to preserve and renovate the site.
On Jerusalem Day two years ago, the Knesset held a meeting at Ammunition Hill, approving the plans to open the hall, amphitheater and museum, and to restore the trenches.
Without Jerusalem, There is No Tel Aviv
Across the entire Hebrew calendar, Yom Yerushalayim exists as an important litmus test of the moral fiber of Israeli society. Within the day is the elemental question as to whether the entire Zionist Project rests on an ethical foundation, or whether Zionism is a colonial imperialistic project.
David Ben Gurion was not in any doubt to this question, understanding that Jerusalem was the icon of Zionism, and despite heavy international pressure, sought to make a speech there straight after the War of Independence, where he unilaterally declared in opposition to the UN, that he was moving all governmental institutions to Jerusalem, and declaring forthwith that Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish State.
“We shall not give up any part of Jerusalem willingly,” Ben Gurion said, “Just as our faith has not wavered through millennia. It holds all our national significance and hopes… to the site to which we will ultimately return…The nation that has kept faith for over 2,500 years to the covenant that was made to those who were first exiled by the rivers of Babylon – not to forget Jerusalem. The nation shall never accept being separated from Jerusalem. Jerusalem shall never accept a foreign ruler, especially after its sons and daughters have been afforded the opportunity to redeem Jerusalem from destruction and annihilation.”
Jerusalem Day: exercise sovereignty or lose it
Yesterday was Jerusalem Day. One of the events was a march through the city to the Western Wall, including the Muslim quarter of the Old City. Most of the participants are teenagers from nationalist-religious schools. There have been complaints from Arab residents that some of the marchers shout anti-Arab slogans, and that they have to close their shops and stay inside; and of course some of the Arabs throw stones and other objects at the marchers. There are also (how could there not be) left-wing Israelis demonstrating against the march.
This year there were several violent incidents. Several policemen were lightly injured. Left-wing organizations had filed a petition to the High Court of Justice to stop the march, but the court decided that there was not enough evidence that there would be ‘racist incitement’ to justify stopping the march.
Clearly it is an inconvenience to the Arab residents, and it requires the presence of several thousand policemen to prevent violence (to be honest, to keep the Arabs from killing the participants). And there will always be at least one idiot who yells “death to Arabs,” which is embarrassing. So why do it?
Because we can’t afford not to.
Poll: 92 Percent of Israeli Jews Say Jerusalem is Israel’s Eternal Capital
A new poll released in time for Jerusalem Day on Sunday revealed that a full 92% of Israeli Jews believe Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, and should remain that way permanently, Israeli daily Maariv reported.
Meanwhile, a small minority of Israeli Jews, 8% according to the same poll, disagreed with the notion that Jerusalem should be Israel’s capital, saying that the government should consider declaring Tel Aviv as the capital instead.
The survey, which was conducted by the Herzog Academic College, also explored the academic curricula in schools which relate to Jerusalem and the capital’s history.
The survey’s data showed that 48% of Israelis want the subject of Jerusalem to be taught during specially designated hours as part of the school curriculum. 24% said the subject only needs reinforcement when it comes to studying about Jerusalem Day, and 28% said the current education curriculum adequately addresses Jerusalem and its history.
Arab Rioters Attack Jerusalem March; Policemen Injured
Two policemen were lightly hurt by rocks and bottles hurled by dozens of Arabs Sunday, during a riot at Jerusalem's Shechem Gate, aka the Damascus Gate.
Police dispersed the riot and arrested two Arabs on suspicion that they threw the rocks that struck the policemen.
Meanwhile, Haaretz reported that there were some clashes between Jews on the Rikudegalim Flag Dance Parade, and local Arabs. Police “stopped a brawl between Jews and Palestinians and arrested one Palestinian,” the left wing paper said.
The Flag Dance Parade, which is held annually on Jerusalem Day, will pas through the Shechem Gate on its way to the Western Wall (The Kotel), where a mass thanksgiving service will be held to celebrate 48 years since the reunification of Jerusalem.
The organizers of the parade called on the tens of thousands of people expected to take part in it not to provoke the Arabs of the Old City. High Court judges approved the parade's path, which passes through the Old City, but stipulated that whoever calls out “racist” slogans during the march will be arrested and charged.
Arabs Attack Jewish Hikers on Jerusalem Day
The club, Amitim L’tiyulim, one of the largest hiking clubs in Israel, with over 10,000 members, began their hike at Jerusalem’s Ammunition Hill, going through Mount Scopus and ending at Sultan’s Pool.
The club hikes all over the country.
Every week they pick a new trail, in which to discover and investigate the land of Israel.
But as the 240 hikers in this particular trek crossed through the Shiloach neighborhood, in the old Yemenite village, they were attacked by Arab stone throwers, and one hiker, Yaakov Lubeton (32) suffered a head injury.
The group called for a paramedic, who treated the injured man, and Border Police also arrived to secure the area.
Arab MK’s Privilege
The Times of Israel readers read this last November
Police chief won’t let any more MKs on Temple Mount
His reasoning, as he explained, was that “…behavior [going to the Temple Mount] — even by MKs — can endanger public safety and security” and cannot be allowed.
The head of the national police “singled out MKs whose visits to the site have been accompanied by posts on social media…these lawmakers’ intentions were to “provoke and make remarks about changing the law on the Temple Mount [that allows Jewish visitors but bars them from praying there], which is exploited by [Muslim] extremists as a sign of a changing status quo.”
Well, we can see MK Ahmed Tibi on the Mount via social media:
PreOccupied Territory: Since When Does A Democratically Elected Government Get To Make Policy? by Aluf Benn, Editor-in-Chief, Haaretz (satire)
If Binyamin Netanyahu thinks he gets to take the lead in determining this country’s future just because his got the most votes in a free and fair election, he’s got another think coming. Since when does any democratically elected government get to make policy? That’s only for left-leaning governments. Everyone should understand that by now.
We at Haaretz applaud Opposition leader Isaac Herzog’s heroic efforts to undermine and stymie the new government’s activities. What Mr. Herzog has finally realized – and what we on the political Left have been arguing since Bibi took office for the second time back in 2009 – is that the Israeli electorate will not vote for the Left in sufficient numbers. They lean to the right. That simple arithmetic means only one thing for Israeli democracy: it only counts when it empowers the Left, and must be subverted or circumvented when it empowers the Right.
That is why having Ayelet Shaked of the Jewish Home Party exert influence over the appointment of new High Court judges is so dangerous. The Left’s only hope to bypass the democratically elected legislature is to head them off at the judicial pass. A Court that does not share Haaretz’s sensibilities, and the sensibilities of the Israeli Left at large, opens the door to the fulfillment of the will of the people as expressed in democratic elections, which would constitute a dangerous precedent. The slippery slope of listening to the people when they choose leaders who do not follow the enlightened ethos of Tel Aviv leads directly to the Left not getting what it wants. I need not tell you the tragedy that represents. The risk of a democratically elected government getting to implement its policies is far greater than the prospect of another bitter, expensive election campaign that will likely produce results similar to the last one. That way lies madness.
PA Media Accuse Settlers of ‘Mission Impossible’
Jews from the Hebron area “destroyed and uprooted hundreds of olive saplings” northeast of Hebron on Sunday, according to the Ma’an News Agency, based n Bethlehem.
This is the same Ma’an that constantly reports of IDF “attacks” that never happened. It also reports of Jewish visits to the Temple Mount as “invasions” or “storming” of the holy site.
Eighty acres?
That is 880 yards by 440 yards. The average olive orchard consists of approximately 120 trees per acre, which means the settlers roamed through 9,600 trees, and no Arab called the IDF to stop them?
The village where the alleged vandalism took place is the same place where settlers supposedly 1,000 trees last month.
Turkish top cleric in Gaza: Israel must be prosecuted for rights violations
Mehmet Görmez, president of Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs was in the Gaza Stip on Sunday where he said that Israel has used internationally banned weapons and violated religious and human rights against the Palestinians, Al Sabah newspaper reported.
Gormez was in Gaza at the invitation of Palestinian Minister of Religious Affairs Yusuf Ismail al-Sheikh.
The cleric said Israel must be prosecuted for its violations.
Görmez also met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, according to the report.
Haniyeh praised Turkey's assistance to the Palestinians, saying was an indication of the "reliable and sacred" bond with Turkey, Al Sabah reported.
Turkey to Help Hamas Rebuild 19 Destroyed ‘Missile Mosques’
Turkey has offered money to Hamas to re-build 19 mosques that were used to store or launch missiles on Israel before the IDF destroyed them in last summer’s Operation Protective Edge, Reshet Bet (Voice of Israel) radio reported Monday morning.
Mehmet Gormez, president of Turkey’s Presidency of Religious Affairs, is visiting Gaza for the first time in what may be a warm-up for a long-promised visit by Turkish President Recep Erdoğan
Gormez said everything Hamas and condemned Israel for “violating human rights” in Gaza by attacking missile-launching sites, many of which were located in mosques, schools, cemeteries and U.N.-financed buildings.
Palestinian-Jordanian Professor: Hamas Should Not Implement Islamic Law and Chop Off Hands and Heads
Dr. Ahmad Nofal, a Palestinian-Jordanian professor of Islamic law, said that Hamas should not implement Islamic law. "You are being ensnared by [ISIS]," he said. "They stone women and chop off hands and heads." Nofal's address aired on Yarmouk TV on December 19, 2014.
Damning videos of Samaha sting emerge
Lebanese watched with shock and horror Thursday night as local TV channels broadcast videos showing former Minister Michel Samaha and police informant Milad Kfoury discussing plans to carry out bombings targeting Lebanese religious figures and politicians.
The footage was taken by a hidden camera that Kfoury carried during several meetings with Samaha.
In one of the videos, taken at Samaha’s house in the Beirut neighborhood of Ashrafieh, the former minister says that preachers in north Lebanon, whom he describes as “thugs,” should be targeted with bombs.
He also hands Kfoury money in return for carrying out the attacks, and assures him that he will be protected after the plan is implemented.
In a second video, Samaha was more precise regarding the targets of the operation, stating that Akkar MP Khaled Daher should be killed.
“You can kill MPs, Khaled Daher, his brother,” Samaha said.
A third video shows Samaha moving explosives from his car into Kfoury’s in the parking lot of the former minister’s house in Ashrafieh.
Nasrallah dismisses rumored ill-health as ‘psychological warfare’
Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Saturday dismissed rumors he suffered a heart attack, saying he isn’t suffering from any health problems.
Earlier this week, rumors circulated on Arabic Internet sites that Nasrallah was admitted to a hospital in southern Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, after suffering from a stroke or heart attack.
“All reports in the media about my health are incorrect,” Nasrallah said in an address aired on Hezbollah’s al-Manar TV. He also called on people to “ignore those rumors because they’re part of psychological warfare” against Hezbollah.
“Life is in Allah’s hands, but I am not suffering from any health problems,” Nasrallah said.
Egyptian Cleric: ISIS Is Better than the Shiites
In video addresses posted on an Internet channel on April 29 and 30, 2015, Egyptian cleric Sheik Dr. Ahmad Al-Naqib criticized ISIS, but said: "there is no doubt that they are much better than the criminal Rafidites [i.e., Shiites], who kill the Sunnis because of their Sunni identity." AL-Naqib is a lecturer on education at Mansoura University.
Iraqi Poet: Democracy Is a Bad Word, Terror One of the Most Beautiful Words in the Quran
In a recent TV interview, Iraqi poet As'ad Al-Ghurairy said: "The greatest conspiracy of all is embodied in the word 'democracy'," which, he said, he considered a "bad word." The word "terror," on the other hand, was derived “from one of the most beautiful words in the Quran," according to Al-Ghurairy, who cited the Quranic verse "Strike terror in the hearts of the enemies of Allah and of your own" to support his claim. The interview aired on Al-Ghad Al-Arabi TV on May 6.
Turkish gov’t ignores 2014 court request to seek Interpol Red Notice for Israeli officers
The Turkish government has failed to seek the issuance of an Interpol Red Notice for the Israeli commanders involved in the 2010 fatal raid on the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara, despite almost a year having passed since a Turkish court issued arrest warrants for the officers.
An Istanbul court last year issued an arrest warrant for four top Israeli commanders for their role in the deadly raid of the Mavi Marmara in 2010 that left eight Turks and a Turkish-American dead and dealt a devastating blow to Turkish-Israeli relations.
An Interpol Red Notice is, as the highest-graded international police alert used to communicate information about crimes, criminals and threats to their counterparts around the world, the closest instrument to an international arrest warrant in use today.
In May 2014, the Istanbul 7th High Criminal Court ordered the arrest of retired Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of General Staff Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, retired Israeli Navy commander Vice Adm. Eliezer Marom, retired IDF Chief of Defense Intelligence Maj. Gen. Amos Yadlin and retired Israeli Air Force intelligence head Brig. Gen. Avishai Levi.
Erdogan's Dream: The Sultan Rules
Therefore, the key to understanding the aftermath of the June 7 election is to watch the HDP's performance. If it fails to win 10% of the national vote, it will get no seats in parliament, and most of the seats it would have won will be AKP's – courtesy of the Turkish electoral system.
With the same percentage of votes, the AKP can win 280 or 330 seats depending on whether the Kurdish party makes it into parliament or not, and thus fail or succeed in amending the constitution for an "a la Turca" presidency. Unfair? Not in a country where justice is mere triviality.
Erdogan has won nine elections since 2002 – three parliamentary, three municipal, two referenda and one presidential. But he is not happy with the powers the Turkish constitution grants him. He wants more. He wants to be Turkey's elected Sultan. He does not want to be a "poor Obama." He wants, as he says, "to get decisions done." Once he has given orders, there should not be judicial, constitutional or parliamentary checks and balances. His decisions should get done -- just like a Sultan's.
Ottoman sultans did not get elected. If Erdogan wins, Turkey will be even more polarized and increasingly less manageable: he will be the president not of the whole country, but less than half of the Turks, with the other half hating him more than ever. If he fails, an in-house fight within AKP will probably break out, with many unhappy but so far silent AKP political figures starting to fire in every direction.
June 7 is all or nothing for Erdogan. He will either be the solitary man living in an isolated presidential palace in Ankara, hands tied by constitutional restrictions, still dreaming of a ballot-box sultanate, or he will become the first ballot-box Sultan of the Turkish Empire of his dreams.
Erdogan Reads Nationalist-Islamist Poem for Centennial of Gallipoli Battles
On the centennial marking the Gallipoli battles, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recited a nationalist-Islamist poem titled “Du’a.” Against the backdrop of footage of people paying homage to those killed in the war, Erdogan’s voice is heard saying: “Give us strength! Do not leave these fields of Jihad without fighters, my Allah.” The video was posted on the Internet on April 20, 2015.
An important document analyzes the Palestine Papers and shows, once again, that the Palestinian Authority has never had any serious interest in peace.
Here's the executive summary:
Earlier this year Al Jazeera released the “Palestine Papers” -- nearly 1,700 files of documents authored by Palestinian negotiators and advisors, memorializing a decade of Israeli/Palestinian peace talks. Christians for Fair Witness on the Middle East has carefully reviewed the Palestine Papers,including those documents concerning the comprehensive peace offer Israeli Prime Minister (“PM”)Ehud Olmert made in 2008.
There has been a good deal of “hype” and sensationalism surrounding the media coverage of the Palestine Papers. Therefore, it is important for the public to read the documents for themselves when making any assessment of the course of the actual negotiations.
Some news reports and articles about the Palestine Papers have “fail[ed] to differentiate between official positions and explorations or polemical rhetoric during the course of negotiations . . .” as former chief Palestinian negotiator Dr. Saeb Erekat wrote in a recent article. In the words of Dr. Erekat, the “‘Palestine papers’ have not revealed a single official agreement or document that offers concessions.” (Id.) We agree.
In spite of claims by some commentators that there were “far reaching proposals” on each side, the Palestine Papers indicate that Palestinian Authority (“P.A.”) President Mahmoud Abbas did not make a counter-offer to Olmert’s “package offer” and so ultimately the possibility of a final status agreement in 2008 was allowed to die.
(h/t Noah)
Hamas' al Qassam website reports that Hamas "prime minister" Ismail Haniyeh is calling on the PLO to withdraw its recognition of "the Zionist entity" and to emphasize terrorism ("resistance.")
Again I quote Jimmy Carter from last Friday:
The Carter Center commends the representatives of Fatah and Hamas for having the vision to begin the process of reunifying the Palestinian people. Mediated by the Government of Egypt, the agreement provides a framework for resolving long-standing issues regarding reform of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Palestinian governance, elections, human rights abuses, and the security sector. ...
President Carter said, "This agreement, and the promise of elections in the next twelve months, has the potential to arrest the spiral of intra-Palestinian human rights violations and preserve Palestinian democracy. It can also lead to a leadership representing all Palestinians capable of negotiating peace with Israel. Based on my years of contacts with Fatah and Hamas, I am confident that, if handled creatively and flexibly by the international community, Hamas' return to unified Palestinian governance can increase the likelihood of a two-state solution and a peaceful outcome. I encourage the international community to respect this decision by the Palestinian leadership and to view it as part of the larger democratic trend sweeping the region."
From JTA:
Four Danish buses that had recently removed pro-Palestinian ads were destroyed in a suspected arson attack.
The buses were found burning early Friday morning at a Copenhagen bus station, BBC News reported. Danish police say a fifth bus was found with anti-Israel graffiti.
Police are investigating a possible link to the city’s transit department decision last week to remove from the buses ads that called for a boycott of Israeli goods. The ads were paid for by the Danish Palestinian Friendship Association, which according to BBC News works “to influence the Danish public and the Danish authorities to do more for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination.”
Based on the graffiti, which said "Boycott Israel - Free Gaza," it sounds like the anti-Israel community in Denmark reacted a bit strongly to their messages being removed.
From Ian:
Isi Leibler: Curbing the self-loathing Jewish defamers of Israel
The demonization and delegitimization of Israel by Jews funded by anti-Israeli groups abroad is neither an academic exercise nor an exchange of views. It is an act of sabotage, endangering the state and as pernicious as sabotaging IDF weapons depots. It would not be tolerated in any other democratic country, particularly one surrounded by neighbors fanatically committed to its destruction.
It is indisputable that the objective of Breaking the Silence is not merely criticism of Israeli policies.
After all, self-criticism, sometimes even extending to masochism, is a central feature of Israel’s robust democratic ethos. However, Breaking the Silence, a small group of disgruntled delusionary Israeli leftists backed by massive overseas funding, is unashamedly demonizing Israel throughout the world and undermining its government. It sends out emissaries to vilify Israel among Jewish and non-Jewish groups, particularly at universities. It is shameful that, purporting to uphold freedom of expression and maintain dialogue, some Hillel bodies even provide platforms for their representatives to defame the IDF.
To besmirch a nation by falsely portraying its soldiers as craven murderers undermines national morale. It is in this context that the proposal mooted by Ayelet Shaked, now justice minister, to require government approval for overseas NGOs to sponsor Israeli political bodies has considerable merit, despite the shrieks that democracy would be undermined.
Just as individuals can resort to legal means to remedy defamation, the state must also defend itself from demented citizens engaged in defamation of their country. This applies especially to Israel, the sole democratic oasis in a region in which barbarism is rampant and whose right to exist continues to be challenged by its neighbors.
One man goes against the flow and challenges the majority view of Israel’s role in the Middle East
One man goes against the flow and challenges the majority view of Israel’s role in the Middle East.
IT’S ALWAYS easier in life to go with the flow. Follow the crowd and keep your head down well beneath the parapet. That’s what most people do, regardless of whether or not they agree with the direction the flow is taking them.
One man who most certainly goes against the flow and challenges the majority view of Israel’s role in the Middle East, however, is Colonel Richard Kemp. The 55-year- old former commander of British forces in Afghanistan is possibly the highest profile non-Jewish advocate of Israel when it comes to defense matters and the manner in which the country’s various security services and intelligence agencies go about their work of protecting a nation surrounded by enemies.
Kemp first made headlines around the world in October 2009 when giving evidence to the UN Human Rights Council examining the controversial Goldstone Report. South African Judge Richard Goldstone had accused Israel of “war crimes and possible crimes against humanity” during the war in Gaza earlier that year.
“Of course innocent civilians were killed. War is chaos and full of mistakes,” Kemp stated. “There have been mistakes by the British, American and other forces in Afghanistan and in Iraq, many of which can be put down to human error. But mistakes are not war crimes… Based on my knowledge and experience, I can say this: During Operation Cast Lead, the Israeli Defense Forces did more to safeguard the rights of civilians in the combat zones than any other army in the history of warfare.”
Eugene Kontorovich: Illinois passes historic anti-BDS bill, as Congress mulls similar moves
The Illinois House just joined the state’s senate in unanimously passing a bill that would prevent the state’s pension fund from investing in companies that boycott Israel. Gov. Bruce Rauner has pledged to sign the historic “anti-BDS” bill.
The significance of the bill cannot be underestimated. European countries have in recent years been whispering dark threats in corporate ears about the “legal and economic risks” of doing business with Israeli companies. The vagueness of these warnings is a testament to their legal groundlessness. But such scare tactics could not help but affect, at the margin, corporate decision-making. Now, the EU will – if it is honest – have to warn businesses of the legal and economic risks of consciously refusing to do business with such Israeli companies.
More generally, the Illinois bill is part of a broad political revulsion over the long-simmering BDS movement (“Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions” – the strategy of economic warfare and delegitimization against Israel). While BDS has gotten most of its successes with low-hanging fruit like British academic unions and pop singers, the anti-boycott efforts are getting an enthusiastic reception in real governments, on the state and federal level. And that is because the message of the BDS movement – Israel as a uniquely villainous state – is fundamentally rejected by the vast majority of Americans.
Indeed, a wave of anti-BDS legislation is sweeping the U.S. The most high-profile so far are the bipartisan amendments to congressional bills for Trade Promotion Authority. They establish the “discourage[ing]” of boycotts as one of the U.S.’s many goals in trade negotiations with European countries.
Illinois state house passes anti-BDS legislation
Illinois lawmakers unanimously passed a bill that bars state pension funds from companies that participate in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.
The bill passed the state’s House of Representatives on Monday by a vote of 102-0. The state Senate had passed the measure unanimously as well, 49-0.
With the expected signature of Gov. Bruce Rauner, Illinois would be the first state to legislate against BDS.
In a tweet Monday shortly after the bill passed the House, Rauner wrote, “Looking forward to signing #SB1761 making IL first in the nation to fight BDS against Israel.”
The bill requires the state’s pension system to remove companies that boycott Israel from their portfolios. The measure is an amendment to existing legislation now enforced by the Illinois Investment Policy Board mandating that state pension funds be divested from foreign firms doing business in Iran, Sudan or other countries with known human rights violations.
The not-so-new anti-Semitism in Europe
Last week, I joined over 1,000 activists, Jewish leaders and experts from around the world, together with European lawmakers, Knesset members and Israeli officials, to participate in the fifth Global Forum on Combating Anti-Semitism, held in Jerusalem under the auspices of Israel's Diaspora Affairs and Foreign ministries.
This forum was convened 70 years after the Holocaust. Yet just last year saw the highest number of recorded anti-Semitic incidents since the end of the darkest chapter in Europe's history. Brussels, Paris, Copenhagen, London, Berlin ... virtually no part of Europe is free from this indomitable evil.
The only difference today is that it is not only attacks on Jews as individuals, but also attacks and vilification against Zionism and the State of Israel. It is perhaps just a more "socially acceptable" way, especially in some European circles, to express one's hatred and dislike of Jews, and by extension, the State of Israel.
The forum was divided into 12 separate working groups, each representing a different strand of anti-Semitism. I participated, on behalf of the Israeli-Jewish Congress, in the "Anti-Semitism in the Guise of Delegitimization and Anti-Zionism" working group.
Let there be no ifs, buts or maybes about this -- the assault on Israel's legitimacy as the nation-state of the Jewish people, including by the use of false claims and malicious distortions of truth disguised as acceptable criticism of Zionism and Israel, is the modern-day manifestation of anti-Semitism.
The facade has well and truly been lifted.
NGO Monitor: Analysis of the EU’s Report: “Implementation of the European Neighborhood Policy in Israel Progress in 2014 and Recommendations for Actions”
In our submission to the EU in advance of the 2014 ENP Report on Israel, NGO Monitor emphasized the negative impact of uncritical reliance on claims and allegations proffered by marginal political Israeli, Palestinian, and international NGOs. Many of the NGOs that influence EU policymaking falsely portray Israel’s self-defense measures, and make unverifiable claims, distorting international law, and fueling international delegitimization campaigns against Israel. The narratives of these NGOs and their unverified allegations should not be repeated without independent confirmation nor substituted in place of data provided by official sources.
In addition, the 2014 ENP Progress report continues past years’ repetition of NGOs rhetoric and assertions, for example, citing to the Israeli NGO Gisha. Despite the problematic nature of this organization’s agenda and claims, the allegations were repeated without independent corroboration. Specifically, the ENP document repeats Gisha’s unverified allegations of “reports” and “unofficial announcements” regarding the reduction of the buffer zone around Gaza, and statistics on “the transfer of agricultural and fishery products from Gaza to the West Bank” (page 10).
Beyond relying on NGO claims, the EU also cites the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and its “Protection Cluster” of marginal NGOs. OCHA and its NGO partners do not constitute an independent nor reliable source of information or analysis.
UNRWA and HaAretz Condemn Film “Children’s Army of Hamas” WITHOUT Seeing the Film!
In May 2014, David Bedein published a book, “ROADBLOCK TO PEACE- How the UN Perpetuates the Arab-Israeli Conflict: UNRWA Policies Reconsidered” where chapter six documented Hamas military indoctrination inside the UNRWA schools.
Ahimeir read out the response of UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness to the film : “The accusations that UNRWA has been taken over by Hamas and is complicit in the recruitment of children, made in the commentary of this film are presented as fact without any evidence. This is because there is no evidence. I am surprised that an award winning editor can broadcast such a biased report containing these unsubstantiated allegations. What a shame he chose not to give his audience a fair and balanced portrait of UNRWA’s education work with a quarter a million children in Gaza. Why does he never show our human rights classes that inculcate a sense of universal values; our summer fun weeks with recreational activities that attempt to give a sense of normalcy despite three wars in six years; our psychiatric counseling with tens of thousands of children injured, maimed, blinded and traumatized during the conflict last summer and our efforts to rebuild the destroyed homes of countless children? That would be balanced and responsible journalism.”
An editorial comment on the Hebrew website of the newspaper Haaretz echoed Gunness asking how it was that a “nine minute propaganda news item” could possibly be featured on a prestigious news show such as ” Roiem Olam”, and called Ahimeir’s credentials into question.
In response, Ahimeir asked why Gunness did not notice the statement in the film, on camera, of Ismal Radwan, Hamas Minister of Religion, who praised cooperation of UNRWA with Hamas, saying that “Hamas and UNRWA are directly connected”.
Gunness & HaAretz never watched “Children’s Army of Hamas” before responding.
NIPPLES to stand for Breaking the Silence (satire)
After the controversy that followed their report about the conduct of the IDF during its last operation in Gaza, Breaking the Silence (BTS) will be honored with a standing ovation.
This Thursday evening will mark the inaugural gala dinner of the New Israel Palestine Progressive Liberal Egalitarian Society (NIPPLES). It is here that Breaking the Silence will be honored with a standing ovation.
NIPPLES, a newly-formed non-partisan, progressive, liberal NGO, hopes the dinner will help kick-start the organisation and establish them as an important player on the Israeli left.
“The organisation was borne out of a frustration that there wasn’t a sufficiently liberal organisation out there. We established NIPPLES to accommodate a growing number of outspoken and disenfranchised Israeli academics. We wanted to create a space for truly liberal and enlightened people” NIPPLES founder, Gideon Pappe-Hass said.
“Let’s just call a spade a spade, we’re better than people with opposite views” another member candidly explained. “We believe in progressive values, non-divisive rhetoric, freedom of speech, democracy. We straight-out refuse to engage with people that aren’t as open-minded as ourselves” he added. At the very least it’s important to bring intellectual elites together”, Pappe-Hass explained.
Who Funds the “Academic Scholarship” that Delegitimizes Israel?
Manfred Gerstenfeld interviews Ofira Seliktar
“The issue of who finances the so-called ‘academic scholarship’ that delegitimizes the State of Israel, and of who supports the various campus activities against it, is extremely complex and multifaceted. The partial initiatives to study this subject are far from adequate.
“Yet we know certain facts concerning this topic. Various foundations, mainly with Arab and Muslim donors, play a leading role in funding Middle East and Israel scholarship throughout the world. Many donations are dispersed through foundations set up by royal families.”
Ofira Seliktar is professor of political science (emerita) at Gratz College, Pennsylvania, and a former scholar in residence at the Middle East Research Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the author of nine books and scores of articles on American intelligence.
Seliktar gives a number of examples. “The Saudi Prince Waleed Al Talal Foundation stands out with regard to the size of its donations in the United States. It has funded, for instance, Middle East centers in elite universities, including Harvard, Yale, Georgetown, and Berkeley.
“The Sultan bin Abdul Aziz ibn Saud Foundation is another prominent Saudi foundation. It has donated large sums of money to the Middle East center at Berkeley as well as to a number at other American universities. The Saudi Khalid Bin Abdullah, Bin Abdul Rahman al Saud Foundation has endowed a chair at Harvard University.
California Senate Resolution condemning antisemitism passes unanimously
Finally, some good news for beleaguered Jewish students in California. Its a symbolic gesture, but its a start.
State Senator Jeff Stone’s (Califonia's 28th district: Temecula) resolution SCR condemning anti-Semitism and racism has passed unanimously. The bi-partisan resolution was coauthored by Senators Joel Anderson, Patricia Bates, Tom Berryhill, Marty Block, Ted Gaines, Holly Mitchell, Richard Roth, Andy Vidak, and Lois Wolk.
Anti-Israel boycotters want US State Dept definition of anti-Semitism changed
That’s right, rather than address the anti-Semitism polluting the movement, JVP wants to change the definition.
JVP issued an action alert today and already has gathered 16,000 signatures (as of this writing) on a Petition asking John Kerry to change the defintion:
Dear Secretary John Kerry-
As Jews and non-Jewish allies, we stand with the hundreds of academics across the U.S. calling on you to change the State Department’s definition of anti-Semitism. Hatred needs to be stamped out, but we won’t achieve that by demonizing those who raise their voices to oppose Israel’s human rights abuses.
This proposal is superfluous in content, as the State Department definition already makes clear that mere criticism of Israel, even the type of harsh criticism directed at other states, is not anti-Semitic.
Perhaps JVP would do better to look in the mirror and see the horror show that lurks within its ranks and the BDS movement, rather than trying to play word games with definitions.
UT–Austin community rallies to ‘UnifyTexas’ against BDS
Last week, I witnessed the Student Government Legislative Assembly at The University of Texas at Austin reject a bill calling for the university to boycott, divest and sanction Israel, as a part of the global BDS movement. This hot-button issue is trending on college campuses and specifically targets Israel, the only democracy in the region and closest ally of the United States. Members of the assembly who also are part of the Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC) — a campus group promoting the global BDS Movement through campaigns, events, protests and online mobilization — introduced the bill.
BDS has no place on UT’s campus, because it unjustly defames Israel by questioning the legitimacy of the Jewish state. In fact, many on campus were not informed about the ramifications of BDS until it was brought to Student Government, never mind how it would impact key programs at UT and the student body. We have seen our brothers and sisters at schools like UC Davis, Emory, Northwestern, NYU, and more struggle with anti-Semitism. And when anti-Israel activity comes to a campus, anti-Semitic behavior tends to follow. Whether from fake eviction notices or swastikas painted on Jewish buildings, these issues are intertwined.
The UT–Austin Jewish community has deep ties to Israel. I worry that if this legislation had passed, many Jewish students would not feel safe on campus. As students and as humans, we have a responsibility to stand up against the injustice in our world, but not by causing more pain. At a time when we should be coming together for the betterment of our world, the divestment legislation divides campuses by making people choose sides of an issue they do not know much about.
Jewish Student Who Displayed Israeli Flag Targeted For Vandalism
Drexel University can now be added to the long list of campuses marred by anti-Semitic vandalism this academic year.
A Jewish student at the University who chose to display an Israeli flag on his dorm room door found this display of support for Israel vandalized with a swastika and the word “Jew” spelled out with pieces of duct tape.
“I was deeply distressed to learn of an incident that occurred in one of our residence halls, in which a student was targeted on the basis of religion with the posting of a hate symbol,” wrote Drexel president John Fry in a statement to the University community. “Whether this malicious act was a hate crime or just blatant ignorance, it is unacceptable and incompatible with the ethos of our University.”
The name of the Jewish victim of this vandalism has not been released, but according to Rabbi Howard Alpert, the CEO of Hillel of Greater Philadelphia, he “was heavily involved in Jewish life on campus” and “is someone who is quite open both in the pride in which he takes in being part of a Jewish community and in his support for Israel.”
CNN and the Dubious Journalism of Assertion
In the face of criticism, Don Melvin, the CNN reporter who wrote a poorly-sourced story alleging that Israeli settlers chopped down 800 olive trees, doubled–down on Twitter.
But absent any independent verification on Melvin’s part, his report is yet another example of what media wonks refer to as the “journalism of assertion.” That’s the idea that in an age of faster and faster news cycles, reporters can ease up on verification if they merely attribute their sources.
For Melvin, that would be the Wafa News Agency, which is the official news service of the Palestinian Authority, whose activities are directly regulated by Mahmoud Abbas. To give you an idea of Wafa’s journalistic standards, it labeled last year’s Jerusalem synagogue terrorists as “Islamic martyrs.”
Although Wafa didn’t identify any sources or eyewitnesses by name, as long as Melvin can “attribute facts” to Wafa, he’s on safe journalistic ground, right?
Joshua Mitnick's Hit Piece on Ayelet Shaked
Joshua Mitnick’s piece in the Wall Street Journal on May 11, 2015 on the appointment of Ayelet Shaked as Justice Minister in the newly formed Israeli government fails to live up to the journalistic standards espoused by the Journal. Mitnick clearly disapproves of Shaked's politics and is unable to keep his political antipathies separate from his reporting. Shaked is not a familiar figure to most readers of the Wall Street Journal. In that context, the information Mitnick provides about her should be introductory and relevant to her new role. Instead, Mitnick immediately dredges up the controversy over a Facebook posting in order to discredit Shaked.
Who does Mitnick turn to? Saeb Erekat, a Palestinian official and serial fabricator of vicious lies accusing Israel of committing atrocities.
Mitnick writes,
Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat accused Ms. Shaked of "openly calling for genocide and the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people."
Erekat's statement refers to a posting on Shaked's Facebook page last year written by Uri Elitzur that contained statements worded in an aggressive and extreme manner. Shaked later disavowed the posting and removed it.
But what of Erekat, who Mitnick chose as the purveyor of this character assault of Shaked?
BBC WS radio’s partisan portrayal of ‘The Church of the Nativity siege’
Not surprisingly, the play has received rave reviews from the ISM (International Solidarity Movement) which at the time had members acting as voluntary human shields for the wanted terrorists inside the church. The ISM also provides some insight into the aims behind both the production itself and its British tour.
Despite the lack of important background information and context and regardless of the absence of any input on this story from the Israeli side, the BBC chose to present this clearly partisan anecdotal version of events as ‘history’. That would be bad enough at any time, but in a month in which BBC audiences in the UK will likely be hearing a lot about the Jenin Freedom Theatre’s agitprop, it is all the more striking that the organisation tasked with building “a global understanding of international issues” has elected to put politics before the provision of accurate and impartial information.
Robert Fisk misrepresents Stephen Harper’s views on antisemitism (Part 1)
Robert Fisk, The Independent’s “award-winning” Middle East correspondent, provides the latest example of this rhetorical dishonesty in his latest column (May 17th), which takes Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to task for his fierce opposition to anti-Israel boycotts.
Fisk makes the following claim:
Harper, who would surely be elected to the Knesset if he were an Israeli, went so far as to suggest on a recent visit to Jerusalem that merely to criticise Israel can be a form of anti-Semitism.
Fisk is almost certainly referring to Harper’s speech in front of the Knesset in January. However, a transcript of Harper’s address contradicts Fisk’s claim that he suggested mere criticism of Israel can be a form of antisemitism. Indeed, Harper was quite clear in this respect.
Harper said the following:
“No state is beyond legitimate questioning or criticism.
…
“Of course, criticism of Israeli government policy is not in and of itself necessarily anti-semitic.
Haaretz Errs on Arabic-Speaking Saints
In an article about the recent canonization of two Arab nuns from the Holy Land, Mariam Baouardy and Marie Alphonsine Danil Ghattas, Haaretz errs ("Pope to canonize two Palestinian nuns"): "They will be the first Arabic-speaking saints . . . "
As The Washington Post has made clear in a prominently placed correction, there are at least three other Arabic-speaking saints.
One of them St. Charbel Makhlouf, a Maronite Catholic priest, born Yussef Antoun Makhlouf in Lebanon in 1828. "He was canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI, who had earlier hailed the Lebanese Maronite saint as an 'admirable flower of sanctity blooming on the stem of the ancient monastic traditions of the East,'" Catholic News Agency reported.
On a related matter, stay tuned for a detailed CAMERA post on how the media identifies the two nuns as Palestinian, though they likely did not identify as such.
Canadian editor: Some of the nicest people I ever met are Nazis
Queried if he is running a neo-Nazi magazine, Sears wrote the Star that “neither I nor the publication are ‘neo-Nazi’... NOT THAT THERE’S ANYTHING WRONG WITH THAT! Some of the nicest people I have ever met are Nazis, but we are not.”
In an open letter to Canadian postal workers published in Your Ward News, Sears stated that the New Constitution Party of Canada, a group connected to and promoted in the magazine, “also love the Jewish people” but not the “illegitimate Zionist apartheid State of Israel that holocausts the Palestinians whose land they stole.”
The postal worker who expressed objections to distributing the magazine “obviously has personal demons that he should exorcise with his rabbi,” he added, volunteering to “sit down with him to provide counseling in the form of ZioMarxist deprogramming.”
The party and the magazine, he added, are engaged in a battle with “the parasite” for the future of Canada.
The letter was published under a cartoon of Jesus with an assault rifle slung behind his back standing next to a grenade.
Holiday Inn, Hilton hotels allegedly caught selling anti-Semitic items in Moscow
Legal action is being urged after a number of Moscow hotels, namely Holiday Inn and Hilton, were allegedly caught selling anti-Semitic and Nazi-themed items in its gift shop.
In a letter to Russian Prosecutor-General Yuri Yakovlev Chaika, the Simon Wiesenthal Center urged legal action to be taken against the items' producers and distributors.
Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a federal law banning Nazi imagery.
The Simon Wiesenthal Center's Director for International Relations, Dr. Shimon Samuels, was the one who spotted the shocking items while in Moscow for a conference celebrating the end of the Second World War, called 'The Lessons of Victory in the Second World War/The Great Patriotic War - Seventy Years Later.' The letter notes that the items are targeted to tourists and some even cost 27,000 rubles ($590 or NIS 2,317).
One of the items he saw for sale was a Russian nesting "matryoshka" doll, painted with anti-Semitic stereotypes of orthodox Jews with big noses and peyot.
Part of Lithuania’s power grid coated in Jewish tombstones
Giedrius Sakalauskas always thought there was something strange about the graffiti-sprayed, bunker-like structure in a leafy area outside the center of Vilnius.
Why build an electrical substation with granite blocks instead of regular bricks?
When he examined the building more carefully this month, he made a chilling discovery: Dozens of stones had inscriptions in Hebrew or Yiddish. “I touched the stones and I realized that they’re really gravestones,” Sakalauskas told The Associated Press.
And he had strong hunch about where they came from: Across the street there used to be a Jewish cemetery that was demolished in the 1960s when Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union. Sakalauskas posted pictures of his discovery on social media, setting off an emotional discussion about a dark chapter in Lithuania’s history that didn’t end when a Nazi occupation was replaced by a Soviet one in 1944.
Nazi hunter urges Croatia to halt pensions to WWII fascists
The Nazi-hunting Simon Wiesenthal Center on Tuesday urged Croatia to stop paying pensions to people who served in the country’s World War II Nazi-allied armed forces, labeling the policy an insult to their victims.
“In view of the horrendous war crimes committed in the so-called Independent State of Croatia (NDH)… such a policy is inherently mistaken,” the center’s chief Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff said in a letter to Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic.
Paying pensions to members of the WWII Ustasha armed forces is a “horrific insult to the victims, their families and all Croatians with a sense of morality and integrity,” Zuroff stressed in a Wiesenthal Center statement quoting from his letter.
The Nazi-allied Ustasha authorities persecuted and killed hundreds of thousands of ethnic Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and anti-fascist Croatians.
Mossad chief: Israel must retrieve Eli Cohen’s body from Syria
Mossad Director Tamir Pardo on Monday said Israel has “an obligation” to bring the body of Mossad spy Eli Cohen to Israel from Syria for burial.
Israel on Monday marked the 50th anniversary of the Damascus hanging of Cohen, in a ceremony attended by the president, prime minister, Cohen’s widow and three children.
“Eli’s legacy, ‘Our Man in Damascus,’ will last forever. It remains our obligation to bring Eli home, to bury him in Israel,” Pardo said at the event, referencing the title of a book about the legendary spy.
Addressing the memorial, Nadia Cohen also appealed to the Israeli government to retrieve her husband’s body from Syrian soil and “bring him home.
Mothers from Muslim country reunite with children in IDF
Every year, lone Israel Defense Forces soldiers are treated to plane tickets to visit their families outside Israel.
But this year, two sergeants did not get to enjoy that perk, because their parents live in a Muslim country in the Middle East. While Israel does have diplomatic relations with that country, concerns over the potential danger to their families' lives if it was revealed that their children were Israeli soldiers made the trip too much of a risk.
The Friends of the IDF organization and the Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers decided that the situation was unfair to the soldiers and their families, and through their joint "Adopt a Fighter" initiative, they flew the mothers of the two sergeants, as well as 18 other mothers of lone soldiers, to Israel as a surprise.
Sgt. D., 21, is a combat soldier in the Nahal Brigade who had not seen his mother in two and a half years, until she surprised him at a ceremony held for the soldiers.
"When I saw my mother at the ceremony, I thought I was dreaming," he said. "It was a complete surprise. I couldn't believe it was happening."
Intel opens "Internet of Things" lab in Haifa
Intel has opened a dedicated lab to focus on the "Internet of Things" (IoT) in Haifa, which will focus on smart cities, smart homes, smart agriculture and smart transportation.
IoT refers to the connectedness in everyday devices, and is largely considered among "the next big things" in the high-tech world (the terms is frequently used alongside other buzzwords such as Big Data Analytics and Cloud Computing). Small, inexpensive, low-power chips in everyday objects can connect them with a central computer or mobile device to monitor and control them. Sensors can gather data to ensure the various objects work efficiently and in unison.
There are already a variety of IoT-oriented products on the market such as Nest, a connected thermostat, as well as door locking mechanisms, blinds, and windows.
"There are hundreds of IoT companies and start-ups in Israel. We believe the growth potential of the IoT market in Israel is huge and untapped and look forward to working with relevant local companies and partners to help make the world a smarter place," said Guy Bar-Ner, Intel's Director of Israel Sales & Marketing.
The Haifa lab will be the fifth "IoT Ignition Lab" Intel has established in Europe, the others being in the UK, Stockholm, Munich and Istanbul.
Current Movie Crush: ‘JeruZalem’
In the interest of full disclosure, and in the name of journalistic integrity, I should say that I know nothing about this movie except for what I’ve seen in a trailer sent to me by a colleague who knows me a little too well. But what a trailer it is! American tourists visiting Jerusalem arrive just as the mouth of hell opens up and spits out agitated zombies, at which point said tourists take refuge in the world’s greatest hideout, the Old City. There’s no better place; the lime-stoned, walled-in labyrinth is so confusing, even the undead are likely to take a wrong turn somewhere en route to eating your brains.
Jerusalem, of course, is no newcomer to the zombie apocalypse, having already served as a central location in Max Brooks’s World War Z. This time around, however, the holy city is no mere backdrop; it’s the leading character, in part because the zombie uprising, the trailer informs us, is due not to some science experiment gone awry but to the wrath of God himself. The rising ghouls, then, are harbingers of the Yom Kippur to end all Yom Kippurs, although anyone who thinks flesh-eating monsters are the worst the Day of Atonement has to offer clearly never stood on line at Zabar’s on the holiday’s eve.
JeruZalem (2015) - Festival Trailer
Two American girls on vacation follow a mysterious and handsome anthropology student on a trip to Jerusalem. The party is cut short when the trio are caught in the middle of a biblical apocalypse. Trapped between the ancient walls of the holy city, the three travelers must survive long enough to find a way out as the fury of hell is unleashed upon them.
IsraelDailyPicture: Ottoman Imperial Archives Releases Important Mystery Photo of Jerusalem
The Ottoman Imperial Archives continues to digitize and post Online its massive collection of documents, photos and illustrations.
Resposible archivists and librarians around the world realize the importance of digitizing its treasures and sharing them with the world.
We will continue to present and analyze the photographs from this archive as we review and identify them, but we wanted to immediatey share this historic photograph of Jerusalem's Old City taken from the Mount of Olives.
We surmise that the photographer or owner of the photo was French from the notes made on the image to identify 16 sites numbered on the photograph. It is difficult to read the notes, but number 3, "Mosque d'Omar," and number 12, "Tombeau de David [David's Tomb]," are legible and in French.
But when was the photograph taken?
Wikipedia founder supports Israel, but keeps site neutral
In 2003, two years after the website was founded, the editors of Wikipedia faced a dilemma: How should they refer to the part-fence, part-wall Israel was building along the West Bank border?
The article’s first iteration — published amid the bloody Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising — called it a “security fence” and focused on Israeli support. Within a half-hour, another editor added a sentence about a United Nations condemnation. Later that day, the phrase “apartheid wall” appeared, using the Palestinians’ preferred term.
Following thousands of edits on the free online, crowdsourced encyclopedia, the article now calls it the “Israeli West Bank barrier” and links to a list of alternative names, from “separation fence” to “wall of apartheid.”
“The right thing to do, if you’re new to the issue, is you should be told what is this debate about,” Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, told JTA on Sunday during an interview here. “That’s a struggle. You have to be taught about those issues. You don’t want to, in an unclear way, use language that carries with it a hidden conclusion.”
Wales was in Israel — he’s been here more than 10 times, he says — to accept the Dan David Prize, an international award of $1 million given yearly at Tel Aviv University. Wales was chosen for spearheading what the prize committee called the “information revolution.”
Gaza Strip patients find help in Israeli hospital
The bedroom of Palestinian siblings Ahmed and Hadeel Hamdan looks like a hospital ward, filled with beeping machines, monitors, solution bags and sterilizing fluids.
This is where the Gaza teenagers spend 12 hours a day connected to dialysis machines. These contraptions — and their hopes for a better life — come from a surprising source: an Israeli hospital.
Hamas is avowedly committed to the destruction of Israel, which in turn considers the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip to be a hostile entity. Along with Egypt, Israel has maintained a blockade over the seaside territory to prevent Hamas importing weapons — and has fought three wars with the Strip’s Islamist gunmen — since the terror group seized power in Gaza in 2007. At the same time, the Jewish state also allows thousands of Gazans to travel each year to hospitals in Israel. This awkward arrangement, which sometimes includes security interrogations, highlights how after years of hostility, the fates of Israel and Gaza are deeply intertwined.
The Hamdan siblings, Ahmed 18, and his sister Hadeel, 15, have been regular guests at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa since July 2012.
