Following steep rise in "honor killings," Abbas orders review of "laws that discriminate against women" and preparation of "the necessary amendments"

http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=11362 

  by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Following a steep rise in the number of "honor killings" of Palestinian women, Mahmoud Abbas has announced plans to improve protection of women's rights. The official PA daily stated that Abbas "ordered the government to establish a legal committee to comprehensively review all sections of the various laws that discriminate against women, and to prepare the necessary amendments." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 7, 2014]

Palestinian Media Watch reported recently that the Palestinian society has seen a 100% rise in the so-called "honor killings" during the last year.

This is not the first time, however, that Abbas has promised to change the laws that endanger and discriminate against women. For years, voices in the Palestinian Authority have complained about the leniency granted to murderers who claim their crimes were committed for "family honor," and in 2012, Abbas appointed a similar committee "to examine the law of personal status and others... [and] improve the laws and amend them, so Palestinian women's rights will be protected and defend them from oppression, violence, and discrimination." [Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Aug. 10, 2012]

Netanyahu: Learning the lessons of the past; J Street: The Pro-War Group

Elder of Ziyon

From Ian:

---

Binyamin Netanyahu: Learning the lessons of the past

Today, we are unafraid to speak the truth to world leaders. As is written in the Bible: "I will speak of your testimonies before kings, and I will not be ashamed… listen, for I will speak the truth." Unlike the Holocaust, when the Jewish people were like a wind-tossed leaf and utterly defenseless, we now have great power to defend ourselves, and it is ready for any mission.
This power rests on the courage and ingenuity of the soldiers of the IDF and the men and women of our security forces. It is this power that enabled us, against all odds, to build the State of Israel. Look at the remarkable achievements we have made in the 66 years of our independence.
All of us – scientists, writers, teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs, employees, artists, farmers – the entire people of Israel, each one in their own field – together we have built a glorious state. The spirit of the people of Israel is sublime, our accomplishments tremendous. Seven decades after the destruction of the Holocaust, the State of Israel is a wonder of the world.

Benghazi, Lies and Videotape

Nonie Darwish

Shocking White House emails released to the public Tuesday by government watchdog group Judicial Watch shed new light on the Obama administration’s brazen dishonesty with the public about the deadly Sept. 11, 2012 terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. Statements from top Obama adviser Ben Rhodes confirm what critics have long alleged: that the Obama administration’s to priority in the wake of the attack was not to seek justice for the fallen or confront the threat to our nation, but to lie to the public about the nature of the attack in order to improve President Obama’s image in an election year.

It is the tragedy of our times that that the US government advocated the video excuse as a justification for the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi — or even the attack on the US embassy in Cairo on 9/11/12. It should be common knowledge to Western governments by now that Islamic leadership habitually justifies Islamic terrorism as a reaction to some kind of injustice or offense perpetrated against Muslims. This happens all the time in the commission of terrorist attacks or after they have been perpetrated. But instead of exposing the Islamic lie as usual, America facilitated the terrorists’ excuses. This is not a bad deal for jihadists who are only too happy to see nations victimized by terror defend jihad on behalf of Muslims.

Meet the Israeli Christians who actually want to be drafted

Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade take part in a military training exercise in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria.

 
JERUSALEM (Global Post) — For the first time in its history, Israel's army is getting ready to send voluntary military enlistment notices to Christian Arab citizens when they turn eighteen.

The unlikely impetus behind the move is none other than the Arab Spring, the popular rebellion revolutionizing the Arab world and in the process recalibrating the relationship between Christian citizens and the State of Israel. Shocked by a new climate featuring violence against Christians in Egypt and Libya, among other countries, and displacement in Syria, some of Israel’s Christian Arabs are pushing for greater participation in their home state.

Sterling, Media and the Race Card -- a Confederacy of Dunces

Larry Elder

5/1/2014  - Larry Elder

A secretly taped conversation between long-time L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling and his then-girlfriend was released. The NBA has now banned Sterling from the league. The commissioner recommends that Sterling sell his team.
Goodness, what happened?
The old guy had a quarrel with his girlfriend, which she apparently -- surreptitiously -- recorded. The most eye-raising parts have to do with Sterling, 80, telling his less-than-half-his-age girlfriend that he doesn't want her attending games with black people, specifically with Magic Johnson. She can "f--k" anybody, he said, just don't bring "them" to the games.
His reasons appear to be that his girlfriend, who describes herself as black and Mexican, would look -- to others -- more white if she sat next to white people. I guess. I really don't know. He probably doesn't.
Despite his obvious anger, Sterling never says the "n" word, let alone calls her a "c" word. He expresses admiration for Johnson. He says to the girlfriend, almost in disbelief, "You think I'm a racist!" The now ex-girlfriend is currently being sued by the Sterling family for allegedly embezzling almost $2 million.

Fatah depicts unity with Hamas as unity between two terror organizations

"Men's shoulders were created only to carry rifles.

Either we will be mighty above the earth,

or we will be bones in it"

"We will not surrender;

we will win or die"

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=11344  

by Itamar Marcus Nan Jacques Zilberdik

On Facebook, Fatah welcomes the unity with terror organization Hamas, depicting it as a unity between two military organizations. On Fatah's "Main Page" a picture shows two masked men carrying machine guns. One wears the yellow headband of Fatah's military wing, the Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, while the other wears the green headband of Hamas' military wing, the Izz A-Din Al-Qassam Brigades. Both organizations are listed as terror organizations in the US, the EU and in other countries. The administrator of the page wrote, "Yes to unity and to ending the rift," while the text on the photo proclaims:

"Men's shoulders were created only to carry rifles. Either we will be mighty above the earth, or we will be bones in it." 

[Facebook, "Fatah - The Main Page" April 24 and 30, 2014]

Obama: Passover Wrap Up, "Next Year In Jerusalem ," Deemed "Provocative"

Shana Habbab (AP White House Correspondent)

(AP) — An unidentified Israeli official has confirmed that private discussions between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included an urgent request from the President that the traditional closing refrain “next year in Jerusalem” be deleted during the upcoming Passover holiday, calling the ancient passage provocative and unhelpful for the future of peace talks. Calling it “an easy fix,” Obama strongly urged the Jewish People to replace it with “next year in peace” or “next year in Tel Aviv,” leaving the exact wording to final status talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Netanyahu is said to have balked at the request, indicating that the refrain dates back well before the UN Partition of 1947 and well before the U.S. Declaration of Independence, for that matter. The Prime Minister reportedly attempted to diffuse the situation by offering to remove it from the conclusion of the lesser-known Yom Kippur service, and suggesting the phrase was defunct anyway since Jews have controlled all of Jerusalem since 1967. However, a visibly irritated President Obama flatly rejected the compromise, adding it was another indication the “stiff-necked” Prime Minister did not appear “serious about peace.”

Blueprint's Discovery Fuels UK "Trojan Horse" Concerns‏

IPT News 

http://www.investigativeproject.org/4367/blueprint-discovery-fuels-uk-trojan-horse-concerns

While British officials investigate an alleged "Trojan Horse" plot to replace state school leaders with people sympathetic to Islamist ideology, the Telegraph reports that a 2007 blueprint "closely resembles what appears to be happening in Birmingham."

The 72-page document was published online by the Muslim Council of Britain, reports Telegraph London Editor Andrew Gilligan.

It was co-authored by Tahir Alam, chairman of governors at Birmingham's Park View school. The document called for "girls [to] be covered except for their hands and faces." Alam has also promoted gender segregation in some school activities and slammed a "multicultural approach" to collective worship.

Secular UK schools must "take account of Muslim sensitivities and sensibilities with respect to sexual morality," the document says, with "girlfriend/boyfriend as well as homosexual relationships" considered "not acceptable practices according to Islamic teachings."

Libya Urgently in Need of Military Intervention

Anna Mahjar-Barducci

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4289/libya-military-intervention

The West is leaving Libya on its own -- but another Afghanistan is on the way.
The Libyan security forces are struggling to contain the violence, but they are not large enough or strong enough.

In Libya, a descent into chaos, leading to the "disintegration of the state and its power," seems to be reaching a critical point.
"The current situation in Libya is a standing invitation for the intervention of foreign powers," according to Saudi-owned Asharq Al-Awsat's deputy editor-in-chief, Ali Ibrahim. Ibrahim writes that armed militias, who often enjoy the support of sectors of local populations, are committing abuses and violations of human rights, while radical Islamist groups are taking advantage of Libya's chaos to transform the country into a home for training camps for militants. "In other words, Libya has become a security threat, with the effects extending even beyond its borders," Ibrahim states.

Libyan rebel fighters in 2011. (Image source: VOA/Wikimedia Commons)

Former Libyan Prime minister Ali Zeidan recently warned that Libya is in danger of becoming an Al-Qaeda terror base for attacks targeting European countries, in particular Britain, France, Italy and Spain.

Play video Dr. Guy Bechor discusses the actual demographic balance between Israel and the Palestinians on Israel TV Channel 2's morning show. His data are aligned with those set out in Caroline Glick's book: The… 00:08:04 Added on 4/18/14 6,949 views

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra879tN9pAA

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Secretary Kerry, please get the Jewish-Arab demographic record straight

Dr. Guy Bechor, a leading Israeli Mideast scientist

Israel TV Ch#2, http://youtu.be/Ra879tN9pAA, April 18, 2014 

The following TV interview, by Dr. Guy Bechor from the Herzliya Interdisciplinarian Center (IDC), one of Israel's leading Middle East scientists, sets the record straight on the Jewish-Arab demographic balance west of the Jordan River.

                                                              http://youtu.be/Ra879tN9pAA

Aggression - The Illegal Use of Force

29 April 2014 | Eli E. Hertz

UN Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338 have never branded Israel as an occupier or aggressor. As a matter of fact, the UN rejected every draft resolution that attempted to brand Israel as aggressor and those calling on Israel to withdraw from all the territories.

The wording of UN Resolutions 242 and 338 clearly reflect the contention that none of the territories were occupied territories taken by force in an unjust war.

Because the Arabs were clearly the aggressors, nowhere in UN Security Council Resolutions 242 or 338 – the cornerstones of a peace settlement – is Israel branded as an invader or occupier of the Territories.

It is imperative to view Resolution 242, as finally approved, in distinction to draft resolutions that were more adamant of Israel and which none received the needed votes to become effective:

The Palestinian ‘Unity’ Deal: The Charade Is Up!

Sarah N. Stern


“Our aim is the liberation of all of historic Palestine from the (Jordan) river to the (Mediterranean) sea, even if the conflict continues for a thousand years or many more generations.” - Faisal Husseini, considered a great Palestinian moderate, in his last interview, shortly before his death in 2001.

A Rubicon has just been crossed. Wednesday’s announcement by Abu Mazen of the Palestinian Authority that he has joined a national unity government with Hamas has unmasked the nature of the Fatah beast, once and for all, and revealed the naked intentions of the P.A. The fig leaf has fallen, and it does not reveal an attractive picture.

Since September 13, 1993, the Palestinian Authority has been playing a double, duplicitous, and highly dangerous game of “Good Cop/Bad Cop”.  On September 13th, when the Oslo Accords were signed, the Palestinians pledged to refrain from acts of violence or from incitement to violence, against Israel. All subsequent agreements have been predicated along that same pledge.

Palestinian Arab Buildings On IDF Firing Range Demolished

Orly Harari

Security forces destroyed nine illegal Palestinian Arab structures east of Shechem, which were built directly in the line of fire on an IDF shooting range. 

Three of the buildings had been occupied - an active mosque, a public toilet, and a building being used as a warehouse. Two goat pens were also erected on the site. 

The Civil Administration indicated that the buildings were demolished after the owners filed a motion to the High Court of Justice, but that the petition was dismissed "in favor of upholding the law." The petitioners were given time to submit applications for official building permits or to evacuate, and this time had passed.

Kerry slams critics after 'apartheid' remark

MICHAEL WILNER

US Secretary of State: I have never said Israel is an apartheid state; despite Kerry's virtually flawless record in support of Israel, a tape released on Sunday night led to widespread outrage in Jewish community.

John Kerry Photo: REUTERS

 

WASHINGTON -- US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a forceful statement on Monday night responding to fallout from his use of the term 'apartheid' to characterize a potential future Israeli political reality, should a two-state solution with the Palestinians fail to come to pass.
"I will not allow my commitment to Israel to be questioned by anyone, particularly for partisan, political purposes," Kerry said in the statement, issued by the State Department. "I do not believe, nor have I ever stated, publicly or privately, that Israel is an apartheid state or that it intends to become one."

"I have been around long enough to also know the power of words to create a misimpression, even when unintentional, and if I could rewind the tape, I would have chosen a different word," Kerry added.

UK: Sharia-Compliant Student Loans?

Soeren Kern
April 28, 2014 

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4287/sharia-compliant-student-loans

The documentary, filmed by the BBC, proved what had long been suspected: that Sharia courts... routinely issue rulings according to Sharia law that are at odds with British law.
Paragraph 2.3 of the guidelines of the Law Society of Britain suggests that Sharia law could overrule British law in inheritance disputes.
Critics say the controversy is just the latest example of how the British legal and financial systems are being steadily transformed to comply with Sharia law.

The British government has launched a public consultation on whether or not to introduce student loans that are compliant with Islamic Sharia law, which forbids loans that involve the payment of interest.
The move to seek input from the general public comes amid rising complaints from Muslim students, who argue that the existing interest-based student loan system is unfairly forcing them to choose between getting a university degree and staying true to their religious beliefs.
The government says the establishment of a scheme that would enable Muslim students to finance their degrees in a way that complies with Islamic principles would "ensure that anyone with the ability and desire can go to university."

"I want London to stand alongside Dubai and Kuala Lumpur as one of the great capitals of Islamic finance anywhere in the world." — UK Prime Minister David Cameron addressing the World Islamic Economic Forum in London on October 29, 2013. (Image source: 10 Downing St. Facebook page)

Critics counter that the dispute over interest-bearing student loans follows stepped-up demands for Sharia-compliant banking and insurance as well as credit cards, mortgages and pension funds, which—taken together—are contributing to the establishment of parallel Islamic financial and legal systems in Britain.

PM Netanyahu at Yad Vashem: do not repeat past mistake of ignoring reality

Translation -IMRA Address by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Yad Vashem
Holocaust Remembrance Day, April 27, 2014


The last time I visited Yad Vashem was with the Prime Minister of Canada
Stephen Harper, a great friend of Israel and the Jewish people. We went
through the exhibition rooms which present heartbreaking documentation of
the destruction of European Jewry.

Today in my office, I met Felah, an 82 year old Holocaust survivor. It was
important to her to tell me on this day of all days how her memories as a
child of seven who was forced to leave her two year old sister behind to
die, how those memories are always with her. She told me, "I don't remember
what happened yesterday or the day before that, but as is the way of
memories from that age, I remember the tearing, sad eyes of my two year old
sister".

I met Shalom, an 89 year old Holocaust survivor, who told me how he left
home at 18. He was 13 and the conditions in the ghetto were deteriorating so
he, a young boy, decided to leave. He said, "Mother objected and wailed and
Father was quiet. He stood and put his hand on my heard and blessed me and
told me to save myself".

Alert-request your assistance...

Dear friends, Rabbi Mirvis, the new Chief Rabbi of G.Britain

and a delegation of Rabbis from G.Britain are apparently coming on an important Israel solidarity trip in a few days time. Please let us know if you know or can find out anything of their itinerary; the concern is that the British Rabbis may boycott Yehuda and Shomron either inadvertently and/or out of fear of purported European sensitivities.

 

 Let us just make absolutely sure that we are worrying unnecessarily since it obviously would be quite an embarrassing state of affairs if Jewish rabbis excommunicate any portion of the Land of Israel or people of Israel. Direct question to Rabbi Mirvis's office has unfortunately not yielded any response so far. Thank you for finding out what you can about where the rabbis do intend to visit! Susie Dym, spokesperson for Mattot Arim, sddym@bezeqint.net

 

Chana Givon

in beloved Jerusalem

 

The Holocaust's foremost unsung hero

Moshe Kraus was behind one of the largest rescue operations of the Holocaust • Using his wits, initiative and unparalleled courage, Kraus saved between 40,000 and 100,000 of Budapest's Jews • So why has no one ever heard of him?

Emily Amrousi

Moshe Kraus | Photo credit: Beit Haedut Museum

<< 1 2 >>

In 1986, a 78-year-old man named Moshe Kraus died in Jerusalem. You probably don't recognize the name. He was never commemorated in any way. He is not mentioned in any Holocaust encyclopedias. But Moshe Kraus is responsible for the largest rescue operation during the Holocaust, on a huge scale. German industrialist Oskar Schindler, with his resourcefulness and courage, managed to save 1,200 Jews; Kraus saved tens of thousands.

Historians are divided on the exact number, but the most conservative estimate talks about at least 40,000 people, and some estimates are even as high as 100,000 Jews who escaped the Nazis in Hungary thanks to this daring man.

Abbas says unity gov't recognizes Israel, Hamas disagrees

Elder of Ziyon

Ma'an reports:

President Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday that the unity government would continue to follow previous PLO policies and that he remains willing to extend peace talks with Israel, which halted the talks in response to a Fatah-Hamas unity deal signed earlier in the week.

"The upcoming government will obey my policy," Abbas told the PLO council. "I recognize Israel and reject violence and terrorism, and recognize international commitments."

What does Hamas have to say? So far, despite days of PLO officials promising that they accept existing agreements with Israel, Hamas has not uttered a peep except for an MP who disagreed vehemently.

In reaction to this speech, however, Hamas tried to distance itself from that part about recognizing Israel emphasized by Abbas:

Ehab Ghussein, spokesman for the Hamas government in Gaza, said that "the speech of President Abu Mazen is mostly positive, except for some things that need to be emphasized. That which was contained in the agreement relates to the government of national consensus, and the only agreements we made [Cairo and Doha] for a government of national consensus have nothing to do in regard to political [policy] and are and non-binding, [such as whether the unity government would] recognize or not recognize Israel."

60 Minutes Source Undermines Credibility of Segment Aired in 2012

CAMERA


The truth had to come out, eventually.

In 2012, CBS aired a notoriously dishonest “60 Minutes” segment about Christians in the Holy Land. In the segment, prominent Palestinian Christians tried to dismiss legitimate concern about the suffering of Christians in Muslim-majority Palestinian society as a “great selling point.”
Now, one of the sources who appeared in the segment, Christy Anastas, has stepped into the spotlight to reveal the truth about the suffering endured by Christians living under the Palestinian Authority, a truth that is completely at odds with the “60 Minutes” story.

Anastas, who appeared in the 60 Minutes segment along with her mother came forward earlier this month in a talk she gave at Uppsala University in Sweden and which is now posted on Youtube.