Freedom to Criticize

Samuel Westrop

Hate preachers are allowed to address audiences with no complaint, but critics of these hate preachers are silenced.

Last month, a scholar and critic of Islam, Robert Spencer, was barred entry to the UK, while one of the objects of Spencer's disapproval, Muhamed Al-Arifi, was admitted to Britain with no objection at all from the British government.
Spencer's comments about Islamic extremism were apparently considered too incendiary; Arifi, however, describes the killing of "infidels" as a "great honour" and advocates the murder of Jews. On IQRA TV, he states that:

What was taken by force will be restored only by force, as conveyed by the Prophet Muhammad, who said: "You will fight the Jews." He did not say: You will conduct negotiations, they will make concessions, and then you will make concessions, and then we will reach a compromise and divide Jerusalem... By God, Jerusalem will not be divided. He said in the hadith: "You will fight the Jews and kill them." It was the Prophet Muhammad who said this, not me.

Spencer has never advocated killing anybody; and, incidentally, in British law, supporting the murder of others is a crime.
It seems that increasingly, especially when it comes to Islamism, there are those in the West who work to silence the critic rather than the criminal, and often more attention is paid to the critics of extremists than to the extremists themselves. It is true that our enemy's enemy is not necessarily our friend, but we need not apply such double standards in our response.

Israeli drone strikes Sinai, say Egypt

 http://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-fires-drone-into-sinai-say-egypt-officials/

Missile kills five suspected terrorists, destroys rocket launcher near border; strike reportedly the result of unprecedented cooperation with Egyptian authorities; Israel remains silent

EL-ARISH, Egypt (AP) — An Israeli drone strike inside Egypt killed five suspected Islamic militants and destroyed a rocket launcher Friday, two senior Egyptian security officials said, marking an incredibly rare Israeli operation carried out in its Arab neighbor’s territory.

The strike, coming after a warning from Egypt caused Israel to briefly close an airport Thursday, potentially signals a significant new level of cooperation between the two former foes over security matters in the largely lawless Sinai Peninsula after a military coup ousted Egypt’s president. Egypt long has maintained that it wouldn’t allow other countries to use its territories as hotbed to launch attacks against other countries.

Israeli victim of a pre-Oslo prisoner: “If he is released, I will no longer be able to live”

Cifwatch
Below is an op-ed that was published recently in Yediot Ahronot by Adi Moses, who was injured when she was 8 years old in a Palestinian terrorist attack in which her pregnant mother and 5-year-old brother were burned alive. (It was translated into English by Daniel Seaman, and originally posted by Tom Gross, who granted us permission to repost it here.) 

“You know the story of my family. In 1987 a terrorist threw a firebomb at the car my family was travelling in. He murdered my mother and my brother Tal, and injured my father, my brother, his friend and myself. It is a story you know. But… Me, you do not really know. I was 8 years old when this happened.

(From left to right: Tal, Nir and Adi Moses  several years before the attack.)

While my father was rolling me in the sand to extinguish my burning body, I looked in the direction of our car and watched as my mother burned in front of my eyes.
This story did not end that day in 1987. This story is the difficult life I have led since then. I am still 8 years old, hospitalized in critical condition. Screaming from pain. Bandaged from head to toe. And my head is not the same. No longer full of golden long hair. The head is burnt. The face, back, the legs and arms, burnt. I am surrounded by family members, but my mother is not with me. Not hugging and caressing. She is not the one changing my bandages. In the room next door, my brother Tal in lying. Screaming in pain. I call out to him to count sheep with me so he can fall asleep. Three months later, little Tal dies of his wounds. I am seated, all bandaged up, on a chair in the cemetery and I watch as my little brother is buried.

Kerry Briefs Jewish ‘Leaders’ (Cheerleaders?) on MidEast Talks

Lori Lowenthal Marcus
The Jewish Press
Published: August 9th, 2013
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Jewish "leaders" to promote talks between Israel and Arab Palestinians

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry meets with Jewish "leaders" to promote talks between Israel and Arab Palestinians
Photo Credit: Lori Lowenthal Marcus

Secretary of State John Kerry met with what the Jewish Telegraph Agency described as “Jewish leaders” to “brief” them on the resumption of Israeli-Arab Palestinian talks on Thursday evening, August 8.

Although the briefing was off the record, the JTA quoted unnamed attendants who said several things.

First, that the meeting was dominated by Kerry’s “enthusiam for the resumed talks, and the serious commitment he said [sic] saw from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.”

Saudi Intelligence Chief Meets US, Israeli Officials for Terrorist Operations in Syria, Lebanon

FARS News Agency

TEHRAN (FNA)- US, Saudi and Israeli top security officials have agreed in their secret meetings to strike several targets in Lebanon and Syria, media reports disclosed on Wednesday.

Prince Bandar Bin Sultan, the Saudi National Security Council Secretary and Head of the Saudi Intelligence who is Riyadh’s man for forming, arming and orchestrating terrorist groups in the region, had a meeting with top US security officials in Washington a few weeks ago, Palestinian weekly al-Manar quoted informed sources as saying.
The sources told al-Manar that Bandar Bin Sultan held talks with US vice-presidents during his visit to Washington asking them to let Saudi Arabia supervise operations in Syria and Lebanon.

BDS absurdity in South Africa

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.540261

Coming in from the cold: Can Israel and South Africa restore warm ties? - Diplomacy & Defense - Israel News | Haaretz

The absurdity that sometimes occurs when politics clash with pragmatism was on display in Johannesburg recently, when hatred for Israel clashed with saving lives and fighting AIDS. South Africa’s Department of Health, which is battling the HIV/AIDS scourge and trying to prevent young black men who undergo ritual circumcision from dying when their wound turns septic, recently began using a non-surgical Israeli circumcision device called PrePex. It is approved by the World Health Organization and ranked among the best such devices available.
But that didn’t matter to Patrick Craven, a spokesperson for the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) – one of the three partners in the country’s governing coalition. "The point is not whether this device is the best or not,” he said. “There should be a wholesale boycott of all products from Israel, including this one."

NY Times “correction” on Israeli settlements gets the facts wrong

Ali A is upset!!

The Electronic Intifada

 

Ali Abunimah on Wed

The New York Times today issued this correction to its 4 August article “Israeli Decree on West Bank Settlements Will Harm Peace Talks, Palestinians Say” by Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren:

An earlier version of this article misstated the United States’ view of the West Bank settlements seized by Israel in the 1967 war. While much of the rest of the world considers them illegal, for several decades the United States has not taken a position on the settlements’ legality; In a statement on Tuesday, the State Department said, “We do not accept the legitimacy of continued settlement activity.”

But the “correction” is wrong. Even if the United States does not now dare to say that Israeli settlements are illegal, it has done so clearly in the past, including in binding UN resolutions.
UN Security Council Resolution 465 of 1980, for instance, states:

"Will We Ever Learn?"

There are times when it must be doubted.

 

The Israeli government agreed last week to release 104 Palestinian Arabs in Israeli prisons since before Oslo; many are vicious killers of innocent Jews.  Let's leave aside for the moment whether this was a good idea or an abysmally bad one.  The stated goal was to bring the PA to the table, for this was Abbas' bottom line demand.  (See Minister Silvan Shalom on this: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/170584 )

 

Without question, the decision by our government was made in response to considerable arm-twisting by the Obama administration; Kerry, in particular, was so eager for the "victory" of bringing the parties to the table.       

 

Got it? To bring the PA to the table. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Dempsey's Bombshell: No US Attack on Iran, Ever

A letter about Syria is really a smokescreen for a message to Israel about attacking Iran.

Mark Langfan

The writer, who often writes on security issues, has created an original educational 3d Topographic Map System of Israel to facilitate clear understanding of the dangers facing Israel and its water supply. It has been studied by US lawmakers and can be seen at www.marklangfan.com.

On 19 July 2013, Martin E. Dempsey, the Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivered an unclassified letter to Senator Carl Levin concerning the risks of US military  intervention in Syria.  http://www.levin.senate.gov/download/?id=f3dce1d1-a4ba-4ad1-a8d2-c47d943b1db6.  While the letter is was ostensibly delivered to the Senate, it actually delivered the equivalent to ten American thermonuclear bombs hitting Tel Aviv and Jerusalem simultaneously.
While the letter was supposedly written by Dempsey, it was surely approved and intensely vetted by President Obama himself.  So while the letter had Dempsey's signature, it was Obama's policy.  The Dempsey/Obama letter outlined all the catastrophic effects which would occur if the US militarily intervened in Syria to defeat Assad.

However, Obama's real addressee was not Sen. Levin, but Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. Obama's real message: Bibi, forget about an American attack on Iran.

Op-Ed: The Whys and Wherefores of Israel Boycotters, Part II

Part 2 of a three-part analysis: A Faith gone Bad.

Steve Apfel

The writer is director of the School of Management Accounting, in Johannesburg and is the author of, 'Hadrian's Echo: The whys and wherefores of Israel's critics.' SBPRA 2012, and a contributor to a new book: "War by other means: Israel and its detractors." Israel Affairs, 2012

For part I, click here.

A piano recital at a campus hall in Johannesburg was invaded for no better reason than the artist was born in Israel. A boycott mob burst onto the stage and blew football hooligan horns, forcing Yossie Reshef to flee and patrons to go home shocked. At a theme park outside Johannesburg, a jamboree to mark Israel Independence Day turned chaotic when boycotters threw stink bombs, clashed with security and contrived a bomb scare.

Clearly, not merely the events were violated but freedoms and principles. And, lest we forget, Jews fell on both sides of the evil; they were the victims and also among the perpetrators.

The human rights violated are simple – security, gathering, equality and so forth. But they open no window into the mind and soul of a boycotter, except for one.  Rights allow another peep at the perfidy tucked into the depths of that kabbalistic mission (Part 1 of series) The boycott campaign, we were told, “is a global movement which works in peaceful ways..”

Navy undergoing ‘unprecedented’ upgrade in capabilities

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

 Force to receive 2 more advanced German Dolphin-class submarines in 2014, and a long range air defense system.

Dolphin-class submarine Photo: Baz Ratner/Reuters

“We will upgrade the weapons of these new submarines,” a source in the Israel Navy stated, as the military prepares to receive two more advanced submarines In 2014, the INS Tanin – Israel’s fourth German-made Dolphin-class submarine – will enter the navy’s service.

A few months later, the INS Rahav will join the fleet. The sixth new generation Dolphin is still being manufactured at a German shipyard.

The navy has been working with Israeli defense companies to develop a range of sea and underwater combat technologies, from radars to electronic warfare capabilities.

Despite budget cuts, the IDF is in the midst of a multi-year force buildup process, and the navy is going through an unprecedented phase marked by weapons upgrades, the source said.

Canada: Muslim speaker at Al-Quds Day protest calls for murder of Israelis: "We say get out or you are dead"

Jihad Watch

Yet still they always assume the moral high ground. "Statement on Call for Murder of Israelis at Al-Quds Day Protest," from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, August 5 (thanks to Kenneth):

OTTAWA, Aug. 5, 2013 /CNW/ - On Saturday, the annual Al-Quds Day protest in downtown Toronto included a speaker, reportedly identified as Elias Hazineh - former President of Palestine House, who called for the murder of Israelis. Video footage appears to show Hazineh declaring: "We have to give them an ultimatum. You have to leave Jerusalem. You have to leave Palestine...When somebody tries to rob a bank the police get in, they don't negotiate and we have been negotiating with them for 65 years. We say get out or you are dead. We give them two minutes and then we start shooting and that's the only way they'll understand."

PA leaders to discuss second round of peace talks set for August 14

KHALED ABU TOAMEH

08/06/2013 

Palestinian officials condemn Israel’s intention to pursue construction in settlements despite resumption of negotiations; Fatah official Muhaissen blames the US for failing to exert pressure on the Israeli government.

PA President Mahmoud Abbas at PLO meeting in West Bank, January 29, 2013. Photo: REUTERS/Mohamad Torokma

 

Palestinian Authority leaders are expected to meet in Ramallah Tuesday to discuss the second round of talks with Israel, scheduled for August 14 in Jerusalem.

Jamal Muhaissen, member of the Fatah Central Committee, said that the leaders would assess the outcome of the first session of the talks, which took place in Washington last week.

He said that the PLO and Fatah leaders would also discuss “preparations” for the second round of talks.

Muhaissen added that the Palestinians continue to stick to their demand that the negotiations with Israel be conducted on the basis of the pre-1967 lines.
He also reiterated the Palestinians’ opposition to the establishment of a Palestinian state with provisional borders, adding that the talks should be concluded within nine months.

Op-Ed: I Don't Dress My Sons With Suicide Belts

Arabs do - and that is the symbol of the unbridgeable gap between us.

Giulio Meotti

The writer, an Italian journalist with Il Foglio, writes a twice-weekly column for Arutz Sheva. He is the author of the book "A New Shoah", that researched the personal stories of Israel's terror victims, published by Encounter. His writing has appeared in publications, such as the Wall Street Journal, Frontpage and Commentary. He is at work on a book about the Vatican and Israel.

"If you want to destroy everything, do not save their legs", professes Bazarov, the nihilist character of Turgenev. It seems a perfect description of the Palestinian Arab society, which sanctifies death and self immolation.
Palestinian children are not innocent. Their parents are not. Their political leaders are not. Their school teachers are not. Their religious imams are not. Their street friends are not. Their doctors are not.
Of the approximately 4,000 Palestinians currently in Israeli custody, 193 are children. According to a Shabak report, about 292 Palestinian children have been involved in terrorism.

Ted Belman


Mammoth petition delivered to Catherine Ashton states: ’1967 lines’ don’t exist.
By Gil Ronen, INN
A mammoth jurists’ petition delivered to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton states that the EU is wrong in holding that Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria are illegal, and that the term “1967 lines” does not exist in international law.
The letter is signed by over 1,000 jurists worldwide.

Among the signatories are former justice minister Prof. Yaakov Ne’eman; former UN Ambassaor Dr. Meir Rosen; Britain’s Baroness Prof. Ruth Deech, Prof. Eliav Shochetman and Prof. Talia Einhorn. They include legal scholars from the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Chile, Czechoslovakia, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Malta, Holland, Norway, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Taiwan, South Africa, Sweden and, of course, Israel.
The man behind the initiative is Dr. Alan Baker, Israel’s former ambassador to Canada and legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry, who currently heads the International Action Division of the Legal Forum for Israel.

Some Israelis Dread Peace Talks

Israeli parliament employees set up a Palestinian flag (L) next to an Israeli one as they prepare ahead of a meeting between Israeli parliament members and a delegation of Palestinian politicians and businessmen, aimed at encouraging Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, at the Knesset in Jerusalem, July 31, 2013. (photo by REUTERS/Baz Ratner)

By: Einat Wilf for Al-Monitor Israel Pulse

בעברית

I am writing the following as a citizen — not as an analyst of Israeli and regional politics, and not as a politician with a worldview. I am writing the following as an Israeli citizen who sits in cafes with friends, buys pizza for her children and gets stuck in traffic behind buses: The renewal of talks between Israelis and Palestinians fills me with dread.

About This Article

Summary : The renewal of negotiations brings no guarantees, while the status quo of the last few years offered relative security to both Israelis and Palestinians.     Author: Einat Wilf Posted on: August 1 2013 Categories : Originals Israel   Palestine   Security

Analysts of the peace process, pleased by their renewed relevance, speak of the guarded hope, general skepticism and mostly indifference of Israelis and Palestinians, who believe little will come of the renewed talks. What I feel is neither hope, nor skepticism, nor indifference.
For more than 20 years, peace talks meant more terrorism and more death. The more serious the talks got, the greater the number of violent deaths.
The closer the negotiations came to addressing the core issues that have been tearing apart Israelis and Palestinians for decades, the worse the violence became. The more gut-wrenching the decisions that were discussed, the more the crazies on both sides emerged from their holes to kill, maim and send all chances for peace up in flames.
Negotiations for peace have become so associated with terrorism that in the 1990s, its victims were called “victims of peace.” We on the left, myself included, were so obsessed with peace that we insisted that negotiations continue despite the vicious acts of terrorism, as proper tribute to those “victims of peace.”

July: 38 Israelis Wounded in Terrorist Attacks

Babies and children among the injured in summer terror wave. At least 55 firebomb attacks on the roads.

By Maayana Miskin

First Publish: 8/4/2013

Jerusalem riots

The IDF and Shin Bet have released their report on terrorist attacks in the month of July. Over the course of the month, 38 Israelis were wounded in terrorist assaults.
Among the wounded was a young toddler who suffered a head injury when Arabs hurled stones at a Jewish family near the Old City of Jerusalem.
An eight-year-old Jewish boy was also injured in a rock-throwing attack in the Old City, and a baby girl was wounded in a rock attack on a bus heading for the Kotel (Western Wall).
There were additional injuries in rock attacks near the Shechem Gate of the Old City, and on Uzi Narkis Street in Jerusalem. One man was wounded when an Arab attacker hit him in the face during a carjacking north of Jerusalem.

Netanyahu: Do Not Release Jailed Terrorists

Netanyahu: Do Not Release Jailed Terrorists

By: Benjamin Netanyahu

Published: August 3rd, 2013
Latest update: August 4th, 2013

Photo Credit: Book Cover: Fighting Terrorism,, Benjamin Netanyahu

An Excerpt from "Fighting Terrorism", 2001 Edition, by Benjamin Netanyahu, page 144.

Among the most important policies which must be adopted in the face of terrorism is the refusal to release convicted terrorists from prisons. This is a mistake that Israel, once the leader in anti-terror techniques, has made over and over again.

Release of convicted terrorists before they have served their full sentences seems like an easy and tempting way of defusing blackmail situations in which innocent people may lose their lives. But its utility is momentary at best.