ZOA Urges State Dept: Stop Referring to Eastern J'lem As "Palestinian Territories"

The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has written to the State Department urging them to stop referring to eastern Jerusalem as “Palestinian Territories.” Eastern Jerusalem is actually the eastern half of the city of Jerusalem, including the ancient Jewish section populated by over 200,000 Jews, the Temple Mount and the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest sites. The ZOA has described this usage as factually and legally inaccurate, politically biased and prejudicial to the prospect of genuine peace negotiations.

New EU directive about Israeli settlements raises serious questions

Missing Peace

On Tuesday Israeli media reported that the European Union is about to issue a new directive which conditions all future cooperation agreements with Israel on the directive that they not include Israeli settlements on the Golan Heights and the West Bank.
The directive to all member countries forbids the financing, giving of scholarships, cooperation, research stipends and prizes to anyone residing in Judea and Samaria and east Jerusalem, Haaretz reported on Tuesday.
According to the directive, any future agreement signed with Israel must include a clause stipulating that the settlements are not part of the sovereign state and are not included in the agreement.

"Tisha B'Av"

Today is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar.  A day of mourning and fasting.  It is the day on which the Temples were destroyed, and, traditionally, is seen as the time at which a number of other calamities have fallen the Jewish people.

 

We are taught that the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 CE because of sinat hinam -- causeless hatred between Jews. 

 

Credit: bleon

 

And it is this that I want to address here before going on to other matters.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

It is difficult for me to write this, but I must. For healing cannot proceed without acknowledgement of what is happening.

Individual Rights vs. the Barrel of a Gun

Ali Salim

When, as Arabs, we see how Western society agonizes over everything concerning the legal system and the rights of the individual, we can only conclude that democracy is a recipe for self-destruction, and that the last thing we should do is adopt it. It seems obvious that we should use the West's lack of commitment to its own existence to finalize Islam's global mission.

How Dare Israel Put Its Interests Ahead of US Foreign Policy!

Kevin Jon Heller Ah, hypocrisy — thy name is the United States. First up, US anger at Israel for not supporting a lawsuit concerning allegations that the Bank of China laundered money for Hamas and Islamic Jihad: Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Oren was called back to Israel to take part in an emergency meeting convened this weekend by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu so that Oren could pass on  messages sent by the US administration and Congress in the wake of tensions between the two countries. The tensions and lightening visit stem from the US’s outrage at Israel’s decision to back out of their commitment to a terror prosecution involving the allegedly laundering monies for Hamas so that Netanyahu and his family could embark on their State visit to the country last May. This weekend Nahum Barnea and Shimon Shiffer from Yedioth Ahronoth broke the story and revealed that the Chinese government threatened to cancel Netanyahu’s visit if Israel refused to promise that senior Israeli defense officials would refrain from testifying against the Bank of China in a federal court trial currently underway in New York.

Pakistan: Violations against Christians Soar

by Mohshin Habib

She is on death row for a comment that Jesus Christ is not dead but that the Prophet Mohammed is dead. Pakistan is now one of the most dangerous places for Christians to live.

Rimsha Masih, a young Pakistani Christian girl, who was arrested in August 2012 by Pakistan's police for alleged blasphemy, has escaped the country with the direct help of Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and AVAAZ, a civic organization. Local media and her parents said she was as young as 11 at the time of her arrest; medical reports classified her as an "uneducated" 14-year-old with a mental age younger than her years. Accused of burning pages of the holy book for Muslims, the Quran, Masih, under Pakistan's "blasphemy laws," faced the death penalty.

Terror Group Gaza rocket fired at Israel Photo: AP Gaza rocket fired at Israel Photo: AP Get Breaking News Alerts to Your Desktop Red email - send us news tips Hamas manufacturing rockets that can reach Tel Aviv

Terror group testing medium to long range M75 rockets that can reach Tel Aviv metropolitan area
Yoav Zitun

 Hamas is testing medium to long range missiles that are designed to reach Tel Aviv, Ynet has learned. The group manufactures its own 8-inch M75 rockets and stores them in special caches in the Gaza Strip.

IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz said Monday that while there is calm in Gaza, Hamas continues to enhance its capabilities "less through tunnels and more through self-production."

The American Deep State

Sultan Knish

-->

Few myths are as beloved among liberals as the idea that wars could be put down to a conspiracy of defense contractors. Throw together Haliburton, Northrop Grumman and GE along with some retired generals and you have the makings of your next war.

The fabled military-industrial complex was a dimwitted descendant of the WW1 era Socialist notion

that wars were the product of industrialists and without them, the working peoples of every country would naturally get along.  Then came WW2, which was fought between a Communist empire, a National Socialist oligarchy, a Socialist American government and a Britain that would kick out Churchill as soon as the war was over and swap him out for Labour and the Socialist dream.

None of these Socialist or aspiring Socialist systems could get along. The Nazis and Commies had started out by looting their own citizens, the Nazis based on religion and ethnicity, and the Commies, based on these things and a thousand others, and the mere existence of wealth, and when all that money was gone, and the paintings were sold and the only hope lay in sending tanks across the border, went to war.

PA Arab Women Infiltrators Disguised as Observant Jews

Two PA Arab women disguised as observant Jews caught attempting to bypass security checks

By Chana Ya'ar 

Arab women

Two Palestinian Authority Arab women disguised as observant Jews tried to infiltrate pre-1967 Israel through the Hizme checkpoint in Samaria (Shomron) recently – but an alert security officer caught them.

The IDF and Border Police invest massive efforts into protecting the barriers that separate the Palestinian Authority from areas of pre-1967 Israel, and PA officials are intent on transforming those lines into permanent borders – if not pushing them back even farther.

Nevertheless, PA Arabs work hard to infiltrate into the other side of the barrier, where much of Israel’s Jewish population resides.

In this instance, an officer of the Gal Battalion waved the #143 public bus over to the side of the road for a routine security check before allowing it through the Hizme checkpoint in Samaria.

While heading towards the back of the bus, he notice two women wearing the hair covering that is common to observant Jewish women. At least one was holding a siddur, a Jewish prayer book.

Irresponsible Narratives and the Lives they Impact

-->

GS Don Morris, Ph.D.

I find it interesting how people determine narratives around issues, people, situations and circumstances. Everyone does it; many create their positions driven by highly motivated agendas. Others create their narratives based upon minimal information and still others assume the publicly shared position shared by a psychologically important person in their lives. Many people simply adopt the most convenient and non-threatening narrative available-you see even this allows one to believe he/she is being socially responsible.

Ah, but there are flaws with each of these approaches and what goes wanting is the truth, authentic justice and courage of one’s own convictions. Multiply this by a population and one can better understand why a society and/or a culture collapse over time.

Let us examine the concept of narrative development. Common to all of the preceding descriptions are that words alone are used to create narratives. Furthermore, the selected words are derived from a person’s personal choice of the words available to each one of us-it is a conscious and deliberate choice, well at least for those who are “paying attention” and not simply “going along with the crowd”.

Cabinet approves Negev civilian development plan

By HERB KEINON

Plan includes move of 10,000 soldiers from Tzrifin training bases to mega-base being built south of Beersheba.

Entrance to IDF base Photo: REUTERS/Eliana Aponte

 

The cabinet on Sunday approved a half billion shekel, five-year civilian development plan for the Negev, which will complement the multi-billion shekel plan to move much of the country’s military infrastructure from the center of the country to the south.

Under the plan, industrial zones will be subsidized, three new industrial parks will be developed, and subsidies for hi-tech workers will be used as incentives for companies to move to the Negev.

Some 10,000 soldiers are scheduled to move from instruction bases in Tzrifin to a huge mega-base being built 20 kilometers south of Beersheba.

ADL Blasts ‘Vehemently Anti-Semitic’ TV Show ‘Khaybar’ Currently Airing in Middle East

  http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/07/12/adl-blasts-vehemently-anti-semitic-tv-show-khaybar-currently-airing-in-middle-east/

Scene during filming of upcoming Khaybar series.

The Anti Defamation League (ADL) Thursday condemned as “vehemently anti-Semitic” the TV miniseries “Khaybar” currently being aired in the Middle East and across the Arab World.

“With Syria, Egypt and other countries in the Middle East going through historical upheavals, it is absurd and outrageous that the entertainment of the Ramadan season promotes the Muslim subjugation of caricatured Jews,” said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director.

Peaceful, Huh?

Aussie Dave

Kafr Qaddum is a palestinian village in the “West Bank” and the site of weekly protests, which pro-palestinian websites characterize as “peaceful”, but at which the IDF regularly finds itself taking action.
According to Israeli website 0404, the following video was taken there last week.
Click here to view video

Translation: This is what they are taught in schools in the West Bank: to harm IDF soldiers. Yesterday was “Festival” in Kafr Qaddum. Many of the villagers came to listen to lectures inciting against Israel, the people of Israel and of course IDF soldiers. Highlight of the evening came in the form of a show with the participation of children. They demonstrated how to attack IDF soldiers using stones and slingshots. Harm the soldiers until the soldiers fall to the ground, take their weapons, and the rest is obvious.

I think we can understand better from this how truly “peaceful” their protests – and intentions – are.

"Give Me a Break!"

Yesterday I wrote about the fact that Netanyahu is making one last effort to secure a toughening of the US stance on Iran, thus: 

 

"Israel desperately wants to see the Obama Administration harden its position on Iran immediately — to convey to Iran that if it does not halt its nuclear program, its regime will not survive....'increased pressure on Iran,' led by the US, notably including the revival of 'a real military threat'"

 

Today we see a response from US officials, ostensibly designed to reassure our government:  Don't worry, they are saying, we're not going to ease the sanctions on Iran, even if we do want to "test" Rohani with direct talks that will take his measure.

 

“'We are open to direct talks, and we want to reinforce this in any way [we can],' a senior US official said, adding that the administration sees 'words that indicate Iran might be going in a different direction.'"

 

http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-to-step-up-pressure-on-iran-seek-direct-talks/

 

Educating Daniel Pipes On Islamic Antisemitism

by Andrew Bostom

It is common knowledge to every schoolboy and even every Bachelor of Arts,
That all sin is divided into two parts.One kind of sin is called a sin of commission, and that is very important,
And it is what you are doing when you are doing something you ortant,
And the other kind of sin is just the opposite and is called a sin of omission
and is equally bad in the eyes of all right-thinking people, from
Billy Sunday to Buddha,
And it consists of not having done something you shuddha
—Ogden Nash

Writing in the Toronto Sun (published 5/16/13) Farzana Hassan claimed Daniel Pipes’ most recent pronouncement on the subject, ostensibly, of “Islamic Antisemitism,” was as follows:
He said the religion of Islam itself is not inherently hostile to Jews, and Muslim Antisemitism scarcely existed before the establishment of the state of Israel.
Pipes, however, subsequently claimed Hassan’s account of his talk to the “Muslim Committee Against Antisemitism,” was “sympathetic, but inaccurate.”

Daniel Pipes doth protest Ms. Hassan’scharacterization far too much.

Never denying that he spoke the actual words Hassan claimed, Pipes instead provided this purely casuistic response that avoids the logical implication of his alleged words—and in fact reinforces Hassan’s interpretation of their meaning!

Israel Vindicated: 1948 as told by those who lived it

 by Phillipe Assouline

Robert F. Kennedy, martyred liberal icon, was a reporter for the Boston Post in 1948. He was sent in the spring of that year to Mandatory Palestine to cover the lead up to the British withdrawal. His dispatches are a fascinating glimpse back in time and invaluable historical records.  And yet they are also a testament to the ideological stagnation of the Arab world vis a vis Israel.

Then, as now, Israelis saw themselves as fighting for survival against irrational enmity. Then as now, the Arab world abounded in hostility to the very idea of a Jewish presence in its midst which it justified by casting itself as the victim of Western conspiracies.  R.F.K.’s accounts and other primary sources would appear to vindicate Israel’s version of events.

At the heart of Arab grievances against Zionism lay the claim that an indigenous people (the Palestinian Arabs) were ethnically cleansed by Zionist colonialists aided by the West. Zionists have long held that, though the Holy Land was not empty at the dawn of political Zionism, the Turkish backwater was in no way inhabited by a distinct people, nor did the Zionists ever adopt a policy of ethnic cleansing.

Kennedy in his first dispatch, puts the Arab claim (which was perhaps more controversial then) to rest almost as an afterthought:

Egypt crisis brings Fatah, Hamas tensions to new high

By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
  
PA official: Hamas meddling in Cairo’s internal affairs; Egypt crisis dashes hopes of reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas; on Temple Mount in Jerusalem, hundreds of Muslims demonstrate against ousted Morsi during prayers.

Palestinian Fatah members carry their weapons as they take part in a parade. Photo: REUTERS

The crisis in Egypt has aggravated tensions between Fatah and Hamas, dashing hopes of reconciliation between the rival Palestinian parties.
While Fatah supports the military coup that toppled the Muslim Brotherhood regime, Hamas has come out in favor of deposed president Mohamed Morsi.

Related:

• Fatah calls on Palestinians to overthrow Hamas in wake of Morsi's fall
• Palestinian official: Egypt turmoil leaves Hamas high and dry

During Friday’s prayers at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, hundreds of Muslims staged a demonstration in support of Morsi.

Widows of Burgas victims mark 1st anniversary of tragedy

Year after Burgas terror attack, survivors Natalie, Gilat, who lost their husbands in bombing, tell Ynet of difficulties to overcome trauma, will to move on
Noam (Dabul) Dvir


Coworkers and friends Gilat, 29, and Natalie, 27, both lost their husbands in the fatal bombing on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in the Bulgarian resort town of Burgas in July 2012. A year later, the two friends struggle with their losses as they raise children who will never get to meet their fathers.

This week, Gilat and Natalie mark the first anniversary of their husbands' deaths. Their bodies healed, but the pain persists. The trauma still haunts them, but with it the will to move on.

Related stories:

• As far away from Burgas as possible
• Burgas victim walks for first time since bombing
• Burgas attack: Israel mounts rescue mission

Amir and Natalie Menashe left their baby boy Rom at home in the summer of 2012 to take a vacation with their friends, Itzik and Gilat Kolengi, who had also left a baby, Noya, at home. The vacation ended with the tragic death of Itzik and Amir, as well as of three other Israelis and the Bulgarian bus driver. Some 30 people were injured in the blast.

Natalie, Rom, Gilat, Noya (Photo: Yaron Brener)

Ever since the terror attack, Gilat and Natalie have grown closer than ever. They told Ynet that their bond is based on their shared experiences both in the past and in the present.

IPT EXCLUSIVE: Pro-Morsi Rally in D.C. A Grand Deception

Frank Spano
IPT News

http://www.investigativeproject.org/4079/ipt-exclusive-pro-morsi-rally-in-dc-a-grand

A rally outside the White House Friday offered a clear example of the Muslim Brotherhood's "Grand Deception" in action in America. To a casual observer, it appeared that a few dozen people came out to support ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Protesters shouted his name and spoke passionately about democracy and how they think it was violated in Cairo.

Just what they need: With Egypt running out of wheat, US sending F-16's

Egypt is down to a less-than-two-month supply of wheat, but that doesn't disturb the Hussein Obama administration. They're sending F-16's to Egypt instead.

The US officials say Washington will deliver four F-16 fighter jets in the next few weeks.

They are part of an already agreed bigger order of 20 planes - eight of which were sent to Egypt in January. The final eight are expected to be shipped later this year.

White House spokesman Jay Carney on Wednesday reiterated that it would not be "in the best interests of the United States to make immediate changes to our assistance programmes". He added that the administration would take its time to consider the implications of removing Mr Morsi from power.

Israel readies for end of decades-long calm on Golan border

Israel worried Hezbollah is making initial preparations for future confrontation on new front and gathering intelligence on Israel's deployment on the Golan • "It is not at an alarming level now but we understand their intentions," says IDF official.

Reuters and Israel Hayom Staff

"We know they are busy now but once it ends they will turn their guns on us," said an IDF source [Illustrative] | Photo credit: AP

Israel is bolstering its forces along the Syrian border, where it believes Hezbollah is preparing for the day when it could fight Israel.

Syria's civil war has brought an end to decades of calm on the Golan Heights and battles between rebels fighting against Bashar Assad's forces in Syrian villages adjacent to Israel's border are being watched intensely by the Israel Defense Forces.

"Elusive Facts"

Well, I did write in my last posting was that "there are often conflicting reports on any given situation, so that nailing down the facts is a challenge."

 

But did I have to make the case myself?

 

My correction today has to do with the identity of Egypt's newly appointed interim prime minister. I wrote on the 9th that it was Samir Radwan.

 

But it isn't. 

 

I didn't pull this name out of the air.  I read on reputable English language Egyptian sites, first that he was the front runner, approved by the Islamist Nour party, and then that he had been offered the position.  Silly me.  I assumed that was it. 

Honor and Compromise in Middle East Leadership

Harold Rhode

Why the U.S. administration believes it can persuade Mahmoud Abbas to sign an agreement guaranteeing Israel's right to exist is astonishing. It is pointless for Western leaders to provide Middle Eastern leaders with incentives to reach compromises where, in Western eyes, all sides win, but in Middle Eastern eyes, their side loses. There, the winner takes all and the loser loses all.

Why couldn't Egypt's deposed President Morsi admit mistakes? Why couldn't he "compromise" with the military and stay in power? And what can one learn from Morsi's behavior about the concept of leadership in the Middle East?

Beyond Tikkun Olam: An Agenda For Tisha B'Av

Gerald Steinberg

 

Tisha B’av – the day of mourning for the loss of both Temples in Jerusalem and for the end of Jewish sovereignty until 1948 --  is often marked by turning inwards, by examining the senseless hatred and other societal failures that the Talmud blames for the destruction and exile. For some, this is a day to focus on tikkun olam (repairing the world) and to heed the words of the Prophets by protesting against corrupt leaders and injustice.

Tariq Ramadan Blames US and Zionists For Brotherhood Woes

IPT News  
http://www.investigativeproject.org/4078/tariq-ramadan-blames-us-and-zionists-for

According to Tariq Ramadan, all roads lead not to Rome but to America. A long-winded piece by Ramadan, the grandson of Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna, (first noted by the Global Muslim Brotherhood Watch) uses circuitous logic and conspiracy theories ("It was as though people had been deprived of the basic necessities in order to drive them into the streets") to blame last week's ouster of Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on an ongoing US-Zionist conspiracy (in cahoots with Salafi co-conspirators no less).

For those in LA Area: Exclusive: VIP hour with Israel’s Deputy Minister of Defense

Please join us for an exclusive VIP private reception with Danny Danon, Israel's Deputy Minister of Defense, who is making a significant mark in Israeli politics. You will have the extraordinary opportunity to communicate directly and personally with a bright, young policy maker with a tremendous career ahead of himself. You will also enjoy delicious hors d'oeuvres and preferred seating at the general presentation following the reception.

Thursday, August 1, 2013
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Luxe Sunset Boulevard Hotel
11461 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90049
$100 per person - advance payment required

It takes a strong moral fiber to not submit to the enemies of Israel, particularly with regard to misguided peace aspirations which yield no peace but instead give up strategic land. Israel’s Deputy Minister Danny Danon, a rising leader both within the Likud Party and in Israeli society, has set himself apart. Danon was recently elected as the Chairman of the 3,600 member Likud Central Committee, which is responsible for setting Likud policy.

Deputy Minister Danon is well known for his vigorous advocacy and activism for a strong Israel that will not sacrifice any of its land to appease Arab terror. He supports Israeli sovereignty over Judea, Samaria and a united Jerusalem. He will discuss the overall strategic situation that Israel is confronting in the midst of the turmoil in the Muslim world as well the dangers facing the Jews in Jerusalem and the importance of protecting Jewish rights in the Jewish capital.

Where is Benjamin Netanyahu taking us?

The prime minister may believe his offer of Palestinian sovereignty in the West Bank is a 'win-win' for Israel, but he is gravely mistaken.

By Moshe Arens, Haaretz.com

We may not know at the moment the exact status of the indirect negotiations between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, taking place by courtesy of John Kerry, but listening to Netanyahu's rhetoric we can discern where he is trying to take us. Nobody can object to his readiness to enter into negotiations with Abbas without preconditions, even though it is clear to all that Abbas does not speak for and cannot make commitments for all of the Palestinians. That is, after all, a traditional and reasonable Israeli position - let's sit down and talk, and maybe we'll find that we can reach an agreement. But behind this simple, almost simple-minded position there now hide implicit Israeli concessions which are becoming more explicit by the day.

Report: PA TV Teaching Kids to Hate Jews

John Rossomando  
http://www.investigativeproject.org/4077/report-pa-tv-teaching-kids-to-hate-jews


A report by Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) shows a recent pattern of anti-Semitic messages aimed at children on the Palestinian Authority's official TV station as recently as last week.
On July 3, the Palestinian Authority's official TV station broadcast an interview with a little girl who invoked Quranic language to describe Jews as "barbaric monkeys" and "wretched pigs," the Palestinian Media Watch report shows. She told the interviewer that she "did not fear the rifle," implying her willingness to die fighting Israel.

Wiesenthal Center condemns "Khaybar"; chides HRW, Amnesty

Elder of Ziyon

From The Algemeiner:

Actors from an anti-Semitic miniseries set to air this month in the Arab world have further confirmed their show’s hateful message in a series of interviews compiled by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

MEMRI released video Tuesday of the stars of “Khaybar,” set to air in Egypt this month, that captures them making inflammatory and anti-Semitic remarks. One actor says that all Jews think about “is making money.” Another says that Jews “have no moral values,” while another explains that the purpose of the show is to portray Jews as the enemy of Islam.

Israel’s Effective New Advocate

Jonathan S. Tobin | @tobincommentary

The official announcement that Ron Dermer is to be appointed Israel’s new ambassador to the United States is only a few hours old but the brickbatsbeing prepared by the Jewish state’s critics are already starting to fly in his direction. Dermer, a close aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had long been rumored to be the successor to Michael Oren when thatCOMMENTARY contributor left his office this summer after four years in Washington. But while Oren largely escaped much negative scrutiny during his time as Israel’s most important foreign envoy, Dermer should expect to find himself in the cross hairs of left-wing attacks even before he arrives in his new office. As Haaretz’s story on the appointment put it, Dermer is seen by the left as the worst of all possible creatures: a “right-wing neo-con with close ties to the Bush family.”

"Look for the Good"

If there is good "stuff" happening in the Middle East, it is almost certainly happening in Israel.  In recent days, every time I post I want to end with some of that good stuff, but lose momentum after writing about all the bad.  And so today I will reverse procedure.

 

Abdu Razek, an Ethiopian boy of about nine who was severely mauled by rampaging hyenas in his small village, and disfigured as a result of his injury, has been brought to Israel for treatment. Hospitals in Ethiopia did not have the sophisticated equipment necessary for addressing his situation: he requires surgery on his head and major skin grafting on his face. 

 

Credit: Jpost

 

While funds are still being raised for his treatment, he was brought on Monday to the Western Galilee Hospital in Nahariya.  The hospital's director-general, Dr. Masad Barhoum, said:

Settlements Legitimized

Eli E. Hertz | July 9, 2013

Even before the Mandate for Palestine was published in July 1922, the British Government found Jewish settlement to be legal and legitimate. In an Interim Report on the Civil Administration of Palestine during the period of 1920-1921, Herbert Samuel, [the] High Commissioner and Commander-in-Chief of the British Government had this to say:

“There are at the present time 64 of these settlements, large and small, with a population of some 15,000. Every traveller in Palestine who visits them [the Jewish settlement], is impressed by the contrast between these pleasant [Jewish] villages, with the beautiful stretches of prosperous cultivation about them and the primitive conditions of life and work by which they are surrounded.

“Large sums of money were collected in Europe and America, and spent in Palestine, for forwarding the [Zionist] movement. Many looked forward to a steady process of Jewish immigration, of Jewish land colonization and industrial development, until at last the Jews throughout the world would be able to see one country in which their race had a political and a spiritual home, in which, perhaps, the Jewish genius might repeat the services it had rendered to mankind from the same soil long ago.

“The British Government was impressed by the reality, the strength and the idealism of this [Zionist] movement. It recognised its value in ensuring the future development of Palestine, which now appears likely to come within the British sphere of influence. It decided to give to the Zionist idea, within certain limits, its approval and support. By the hand of Mr. Balfour, then Foreign Secretary, it made, in November, 1917, the following Declaration:

His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a National Home for the Jewish People, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish Communities in Palestine or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other Country.”

Egypt foils infiltration of 10 Hamas militants into Sinai

(Beijing Time) Xinhua English

NORTH SINAI, Egypt, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian border guards foiled on early Sunday morning an infiltration attempt of ten Jihadists -- presumably Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip into North Sinai, a security source told Xinhua.
"The militants were coming out of a smuggling tunnel in Rafah border city and ran back when the Egyptian guards approached, leaving behind seven boxes of bombs, ammunition and live bullets," the source said, noting that they are believed to be members of the Palestinian Islamic Hamas movement.

The Problem at the Heart of Egypt's Revolutions

 Nonie Darwish

This is the central problem in most Muslim countries: the difficult choice between a man-made, civilian, military, "infidel" government, and a totalitarian Islamic theocracy.

This latest revolution in Egypt, the second in the last two years, is a symptom of a deep-rooted problem at the heart of Islam itself: Egypt is on the verge of a civil war to bring a resolution to the never-ending tension between what Islam demands versus what the people really want.
This is the central problem in most Muslim countries: the difficult choice between a civilian, military "infidel" government, and a totalitarian Islamic theocracy. The problem is compounded when most Egyptians consider themselves both Muslim and lovers of democracy, but refuse to see that Islam and freedom cannot co-exist. How can Islam anywhere produce a democracy when freedom of speech and religion are outlawed, where there is no free and independent judiciary, and equal rights for women, minorities and non-Muslims are legally suppressed?
Islam also cannot let go of government control: since its inception, Islam has lacked the confidence in its own survival without government enforcement. As Muslim Brotherhood leader Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi stated this winter on Egyptian television, "without the 'Death for Apostasy' laws, apostasy laws, Islam would have failed with the death of Mohamed, as people would never stay in this religion otherwise." It is no coincidence therefore that Islamic law dictates that all Muslims must be ruled by Sharia, and declares that all secular governments, made by man, not by Allah, are heresy and an abomination.
While mosques are busy teaching Muslims how to carry out jihad, hate Jews and mistreat Christians, their imams allocate no time to preach the values of peace and trust as a foundation for an orderly society or civilization. As a result of such an Islamic education, Muslims who know they want freedom are unable to build the value system on which to achieve it.
Egypt's dilemma is nothing new, but the good news today is that finally there is an awakening in Egypt regarding the tyranny that Sharia law brings, especially if it is made the basis of a constitution. Despite this awakening, however, not one rebel in Tahrir Square was able openly to carry a sign saying, "Sharia must become null and void." The majority of Egyptians still believe that to say that would be an act of apostasy, punishable by death.
All current surveys still show that the overwhelming majority of Egyptians still support Sharia law, or at least say they do. This is where the problem lies: the laws of a society are the mirror of its morality. Egyptians cannot make believe that they can have both Sharia and freedom, or that their laws do not have to match their style of government and what they can feel comfortable with. According to Sharia, a Muslim head of state must rule by Islamic law, and must preserve Islam in its original form, or he must be removed from office. Islamic law leaves no choice for any Muslim leader but to accept, at least officially, that Sharia is the law of the land, or else be ousted from office. Sharia also commands Muslims to remove any leader who is not a Muslim. Because of that command, Muslim leaders must play a game of appearing Islamic and anti-West while trying to get along with the rest of the world. It is a game with life and death consequences for them.
That stricture is the reason many Egyptians today agree to keep Sharia in the constitution, even if only symbolically. But how can Egyptians be so naïve to believe they can ignore the laws of their constitution? As long as Sharia is on the books, even if it is ignored, the country can never have true stability and freedom. Even with revolutions, Egyptians can only achieve cosmetic changes with no substance; changes such as, the name of the country, its flag, national anthem, or even putting on or taking off women's hijabs.
Although Egyptians were always exuberant about the removal of a regime or a dictator, they never were about a change in the religious, cultural and moral foundations of the country. Whether it is the Egyptian revolution of 1919, 1952 or 2011, the change achieved has always been superficial, or for the worse. Somehow whenever the Muslim mind comes to the underlying religious ideology that is the foundation upon which its systems are erected, it freezes.
The result is a majority of confused citizens whose trust is shattered; moral standards in conflict, and laws and the concept of reality distorted. But how long can this warped existence last undetected? So far it has succeeded for 1,400 years without collapsing, but can this latest revolution be the crack in the stranglehold of Sharia?
Egyptian secularists have achieved a great step against the Muslim Brotherhood, but will they be able to sustain it? The Muslim Brotherhood has powerful roots in the Egyptian psyche, and the Brotherhood has vowed a bloodbath against any secular government.
For any secular government to remain in power, it needs to turn tyrannical and put in jail members of the Muslim Brotherhood. This has already begun; arrest warrants against leaders and 300 members of the Brotherhood were issued within hours of the removal of Morsi.
Egypt is now back to square one; a military dictatorship is, for the moment at least, the only solution that can preserve and sustain a certain level of secularism in the face of the constant Islamic assault that human rights, freedom of religion and democracy. The assault has also been on the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which, on August 5, 1990, was repudiated and superseded by the Organization of Islamic Conference [OIC] in favor of the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam, which, in article 24, in its entirety, concludes that "All the rights and freedoms stipulated in this Declaration are subject to the Islamic Shari'ah." Article 19(d) also posits that, "There shall be no crime or punishment except as provided for in the Shari'ah."
One can only hope that this military dictatorship will not be like others, which promise elections and freedom, but remain as autocracies for decades.

Nonie Darwish is the author of "The Devil We Don't Know".

Masked demonstrators call for 3rd intifada in Ramallah

Maan

RAMALLAH (Ma'an) -- Masked demonstrators affiliated to a new group calling itself "Tamarod" marched through Ramallah on Monday calling for a third intifada.

Male and female protesters rallied through Ramallah's streets, chanting that a third intifada, or uprising, would restore the dignity of the Palestinian cause.

Brotherhood Incitement Increases After Deadly Clashes

Frank Spano  
http://www.investigativeproject.org/4073/brotherhood-incitement-increases-after-deadly


Tensions in Egypt continue to escalate as Muslim Brotherhood members fight back against last week's ouster of President Mohamed Morsi.
More than 50 people were reported killed and hundreds wounded Monday in clashes between Egyptian military and Morsi supporters. Army officials say troops opened fire only after they were attacked by protesters, but protesters claim some of the killings took place during prayer. Muslim Brotherhood officials are increasing the intensity of the rhetoric, as its political wing, the Freedom and Justice Party, called for the great Egyptian people to rise up against those who want to steal their revolution with tanks and armored vehicles, even over the dead bodies of the people."

"Ugly"

There's a lot of "ugly" here in the Middle East. And while I intend to move on to matters other than Egypt, I begin with the latest in that place of violence and turmoil.  The Brotherhood -- calling for an uprising across the country -- is determined that matters will be as difficult as possible.  There great reason to worry about Egypt:

 

This morning, Brotherhood people stormed the Republican Guard headquarters where Morsi is being held.  The military, saying that terrorists had tried to storm the building, fired upon the crowd.  Reports are that some 43 have been killed and hundreds wounded.

 

Credit: AFP

 

Credit: Reuters

 

The casualties are likely to further inflame Brotherhood anger.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Meanwhile, turmoil grows in the Sinai, which is rife with radicals and terrorists.

 

The crossing between the Sinai and Gaza at Rafah is being kept closed and some 40 tunnels have been destroyed in the last couple of days; this to preclude Hamas involvement in what is taking place. 

Hate speech for kids by the PA

Little girls on PA TV reciting that Jews
are the "most evil among creations,
barbaric monkeys, wretched pigs,"
is part of a pattern of demonization by the PA

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=9319

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

When then Sen. Hillary Clinton joined Palestinian Media Watch for a press conference in the Senate in 2007, she warned that Palestinian schoolbooks and official media "profoundly poison the minds of these children."

Since then, the PA's poisoning its children with hatred has continued unabated. The video from PA TV that Palestinian Media Watch released yesterday is just one example: PA TV asked two little girls to read a poem, which was based on Islamic traditions and described Jews as the "most evil among creations, barbaric monkeys, wretched pigs," condemned to "humiliation and hardship."

Click to view

Livni's Lapses Legitimize The Delegitimizers

Gil Troy 

Israel’s Justice Minister and chief Palestinian negotiator, Tzipi Livni, just won what I am going to call the “Legitimizing the Delegitimizers Award” with a foolish, self-destructive speech in Eilat on Monday.  Livni legitimized Israel’s delegitimizers by echoing their unreasonable prejudices against the Jewish state to try encouraging Israeli peacemaking. Using inaccurate, harmful words like “colonialist” and “apartheid,” she echoed the rhetorical sloppiness of Ehud Olmert and Ehud Barak who have also used our enemies’ language, warning Israel about becoming an “apartheid state” – when in Israel there never has been the benighted South African regime’s institutionalized, biological, state-sponsored racism. Appalled by seeing our leaders internalizing our adversaries’ language,  I will grant this “Legitimizing the Delegitimizers Award” annually in these pages to condemn acts of outrageous rhetorical negligence – by smart leaders who should know better.

Because this award believes that words matter – here are Livni’s musings. “Europe is boycotting goods,” she said. “True, it starts with settlement [goods], but their problem is with Israel, which is seen as a colonialist country. Therefore, it won’t stop at the settlements, but [will spread] to all of Israel,” she warned.  Then, praising young Israelis for protesting her own government’s decision to export natural gas, she insisted: “the time has come for the same youth to ask, to what kind of state do they want to leave the gas reserves? To a Jewish democratic Israel? Or to a binational Arab state? Or to an apartheid state?”
Peace is only achievable if Israelis negotiate for the right reasons. Israel should not compromise in an unrealistic attempt to woo Europeans, many of whose prejudices transcend what Israel does or does not do. Israel should compromise as part of a reality-based attempt at a just, necessary peace that preserves state security, maximizes individual satisfaction regionally, and respects Israeli and Palestinian national dignity.

“Europe” – which has a hard enough time cooperating about anything these days – is not “boycotting goods.” The European Commission website calls Israel “an important trading partner for the EU in the Mediterranean area, and the EU is the first trading partner for Israel with total trade amounting to approximately €29.4 billion in 2011” – some boycott.

Calling Israel “colonialist” is historically inaccurate and morally offensive.  “Colonialism” means imposing foreigners into lands to which they do not belong.  Calling Israel’s West Bank presence “colonial,” like using the words “settlements” to describe restored Jewish communities in Gush Etzion and elsewhere, ignores Jews’ historic, ideological, and legal ties to “Eretz Yisrael,” the land of Israel.  If the Jews have no valid national claim to Hebron, Jews have no valid claim anywhere.

Since the British Mandate, Jews have had the right to settle anywhere between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean, despite the attempt to make the hastily improvised 1949 armistice “green line” sacred.  Of course, national greatness sometimes comes from refusing to assert all your claims, no matter how valid. 2013 is not 1913 or 13 B.C.E. Peace will emerge when most Israelis and Palestinians recognize that borders shifted, populations moved, so no one has exclusive claims, making compromise necessary.

Jews should no longer live in places like Hebron, where Palestinians outnumber Jews by more than 300 to 1.  But those of us who acknowledge Jewish rights to Hebron and other parts of Jordan’s West Bank, yet would sacrifice them for peace, show far more commitment to peace – along with more historical authenticity and self-respect – than those who view Israelis there as colonialist brigands who should flee in shame.

Apartheid is an inflammatory word that should be banned from Middle East discourse. Apartheid imposed a biologically-based racist system of distinction between whites, blacks, colored. The Palestinian-Israeli clash is national not racial. Apartness is not apartheid, especially because more initiatives for true separation and purging of populations come from Palestinians, whereas most assume that Israeli Arabs will remain Israeli citizens even if Palestine becomes independent.

In the 1970s, egged on by Soviet manipulators seeking to woo the Third World and South Africanize Israel, Palestinian and Arab propagandists injected words like “colonialism,” “imperialism,” “racism” and “apartheid” into the Arab-Israeli conflict. Manipulators like the Columbia University Professor Edward Said and the perpetual terrorist Yasir Arafat understood that if the conflict remained a local Arab-Jewish clash, the world would sympathize with Israel; but if the conflict could be globalized and linked to the broader – noble – fight against European crimes like racism, the Palestinians might win.

How ironic that the Jews, having been kicked out of Europe in the 1940s, were now being Europeanized in the 1970s – and that in 2013, some Europeans exorcise their collective guilt by self-righteously accusing Israel of European-style crimes.  How pathetic that some Israeli leaders – egged on by a worldwide propaganda campaign and inured to the truth by Ha’aretz’s constant use of words like “apartheid” – echo and implicitly validate this rhetorical assault on Israel’s legitimacy.

If Tzipi Livni and others want to nurture the Israeli peace consensus, weak arguments about making nice with Europe will fail. We need peace for our sake. Those on the Left must be challenged to fight the delegitimizing lies about Israel to detoxify the environment and build an atmosphere conducive to peace. Those on the Right must be challenged to acknowledge the realities of Palestinian demography and preserve Israeli democracy by finding new arrangements. Smart leaders who build consensus by crossing political wires will win; scared politicians who want to be liked in Europe or elsewhere will lose.

The “Legitimizing the Delegitimizers Award”  comes with my free offer of bread crumbs, symbolizing the weak, cowardly, European Jews who used to beg for scraps in currying their oppressors’ favor.  I look forward to a year when there will be no politician careless enough to win this booby prize.

Gil Troy is  a Professor of History at McGill University and a Shalom Hartman Engaging Israel Research Fellow in Jerusalem. He is the author, most recently, of Moynihan's Moment: America's Fight Against Zionism as Racism, just published by Oxford University Press.Watch the new Moynihan's Moment 

Now Obama Using Troops To Prop Up Cairo's Islamofascists

o     IBD

First, we help bring Morsi, a former Muslim Brotherhood leader, to power. Now, we send U.S. troops to protect his Islamofascist regime. AP View Enlarged Image

Foreign Policy: In the latest twist in our upside-down war on terror, President Obama withdraws troops fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and sends others to Egypt to protect a regime that supports terrorists.

According to reports, the commander-in-chief is deploying a riot-control unit from Fort Hood to Egypt to help the Islamofascist regime there repel its own citizens protesting increasing human-rights violations.

Morsi critic goes crazy in TV studio (video) (UPDATE - Translation)

Elder of Ziyon
This video is making the rounds on Arabic websites. It shows lawyer and political activist Ihab al-Kholi commenting during the anti-Morsi demonstrations and becoming more and more agitated as he screams at the top of his lungs about how evil the Egyptian president is, as the hostess of the show tries to calm him down worried that he will have a stroke (Updated - here is now MEMRI's version with translation):

Click here to view-a picture (video) says it all

Some of the stuff he is blaming Morsi for? His closeness to America - and Israel! He railed against Morsi's diplomatic letters to Israel's president that put him in hot water in Egypt.

Hate for Israel and Jews is a given, no matter who is in office in Egypt.

(Apparently, so is sexual assault of women - but the latter, unlike the former, gets attention from HRW.)


Imagine discussing peace with this fellow.

"It's Not Over"

In Egypt, that is.  Nor should we be terribly surprised:  The Brotherhood had threatened that they were going to generate all the unrest they could.  Over the weekend there was considerable violence, with over 30 more dead.

 

An announcement had been made that ElBaradei -- who had been a political rival of Morsi's -- had been appointed interim prime minister. But then several sources carried the story that this appointment had been put on hold because of Islamic outrage over it. 

 

In fact, there have apparently been calls by ElBaradei for the Brotherhood to share in rule.  The Brotherhood is being placated at some level, and this may provide a hint as to where things are going.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski is an Iran-Firster

He is only consistent in his desire to harm Israel.

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.

In a recent TV interview on MSNBC, Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor and the "Father of al Qaeda," stated :
"I think our [Obama's recent anti-Assad] posture is baffling, there no strategic design, we're using slogans.  It's a tragedy and it's a mess in the making.  I do not see what the United States right now is trying to accomplish.  It all seems to me rather sporadic, chaotic, unstructured, and undirected.  I think we need a serious policy review with the top people involved, not just an announcement from the deputy head of the NSC that an important event has taken place and we will be reacted to it.
"We are running the risk of getting into another war in the region which may last for years and I don't see any real strategic guidance to what we are doing. I see a lot of rhetoric, a lot emotion, a lot of propaganda in fact."

Muslim Brotherhood says 'we must raise the stakes' as clerics try to contain violence

Morsi supporters fear return of persecution as dozens die and hundreds are injured in street battles across Egypt

Martin Chulov in Cairo  

• The Observer

A Morsi supporter at Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya mosque yesterday. Islamists promised more protests today. Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

 

Egypt's vanquished Muslim Brotherhood movement is struggling to contain the risk of escalating street violence, with disenfranchised supporters defying demands that they protest against the ousting of Mohamed Morsi only through peaceful vigils.

Running battles in central Cairo and elsewhere in the country on Friday night, which claimed 36 lives and caused about 1,400 injuries, took place despite pleas from Brotherhood clerics for rallies in support of Morsi to remain peaceful. Concerns grew as senior members of the group – those who hadn't been detained by the military – said there was a growing realisation among members that Morsi's political career would not be resurrected and that the Brotherhood's foray into political life has been crushed.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, had been due to be sworn in as interim prime minister on Saturday night, according to the state news agency. But the appointment of the liberal politician, who has spent decades living in the west, was mired in confusion with a spokesman for the presidential office saying consultations were continuing and the appointment had never been certain.

History of the World, Winged Camels, and an Israel-Palestine Peace

John Kerry will soon learn that there are many hurdles to an Israel-Palestine peace.

By Clifford D. May

 

Tel Aviv, Israel — Israel’s military is unusual in many ways, but start with this: A patch on Captain Omri Levy’s sleeve alludes to a Mel Brooks joke. The patch reads: “It’s good to B200 King.”
The B200 King is a Beechcraft used by the Israelis for reconnaissance. “It’s good to be the king” was a laugh line delivered by Mel Brooks in his 1981 film History of the World: Part I. The phrase entered American pop culture, where it has remained ever since. To take just one example: Jeffrey Goldberg used it as the lead for his recent Atlantic profile of Jordan’s King Abdullah II.