Love of the Land: October 2017

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The Palestinians - an invented people and 'the criminal Balfour Declaration' by Dr. Reuven Berko

...The declaration, issued on behalf of Prime Minister David Lloyd George's government and with the consent of the allies fighting alongside the U.K. against the Ottomans, made no mention of the Palestinians because at the time there were no Palestinians.

Dr. Reuven Berko..
Israel Hayom..
31 October '17..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/the-criminal-balfour-declaration/

The Balfour Declaration, issued on Nov. 2, 1917, is usually referred to as the "criminal Balfour promise." Such language looks at this historical document through an operational prism, as a promise that is to be fulfilled – not just a declaration.

Almost 100 years have passed, but the Palestinians are still fighting to eradicate the Jews from the land. They are preparing massive demonstrations, with Israeli Arabs, demanding that that United Kingdom apologize and retract the "criminal promise" and to compensate the Palestinians "just like the Israelis get reparations from Germany." As every objective historian would tell you, the notion that there exists a "historical Palestine" is nothing but a myth.

The land never had a Palestinian government, a Palestinian coin or a Palestinian establishment prior to Israel's existence. The land never had a national Palestinian history with a flag and an anthem, borders, a capital or ancient artifacts that could connect them to the soil.

The Arabs that had been living here prior to the declaration were migrant workers, urban dwellers, farmers, tribesmen and invaders. They were part of Ottoman Syria. As subjects of the empire, like all other subjects, they lacked a national narrative or any special civilian status.

Terror tunnels are a violation of international law too, just sayin'? - by Elder of Ziyon

...Not a word against the idea of terrorists building tunnels into Israel to perform kidnapping and massacres.No chiding Islamic Jihad for provoking Israel to defend itself. Israel's actions, across the board, are portrayed as aggressive and unwarranted. The media reports Palestinian claims. It never reports the tacit Palestinian support, across the board, for terror, by the absence of even mild criticism for terror in cases like this.

Elder of Ziyon..
31 October '17..

Once again, the most striking unreported story about Palestinians isn't what some of them are saying, but what none of the are not.

The only purpose of a tunnel reaching under the Gaza border into Israel is to perform war crimes. Whether the crimes are to kidnap civilians, kidnap soldiers, or to pop out of the tunnel and shoot everyone on sight, there is no justification from a human rights or international law perspective to these tunnels.

Looking through Palestinian media this morning, however, and you cannot find a single person who is against such tunnels.

Palestinian leaders rail about "international law" and "justice" at the UN and international forums all the time. They say that they want Israel to be treated as pariahs because of an alleged lack of "justice."

While there is no shortage of Israeli and Western leftists who happily adopt this narrative, there is an absolute (or near-absolute) dearth of Palestinians who are writing op-eds or Facebook posts or tweets who say, you know what? Tunnels are a violation of international law too, just sayin'?

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I wonder if Abbas salutes it on his way to work - by Stephen M. Flatow

...Nearly 300 American soldiers died fighting Saddam in the Gulf War in 1990. Another 4,497 gave their lives fighting Saddam in the Iraq War of 2003 and its aftermath. The creation of statues and public squares in PA territory honoring Saddam is a direct slap in the face to the U.S. and its fallen soldiers.

Stephen M. Flatow..
JNS.org..
30 October '17..

While Americans have been tearing down statues that honor people who don’t deserve to be honored, Palestinian Arabs are doing exactly the opposite. A statue honoring Saddam Hussein, the notorious dictator, terror sponsor and mass murderer, was unveiled last week in the Palestinian Authority (PA) city of Qalqilya.

Technically, the statue was sponsored by the Arab Liberation Front (ALF), not the municipality of Qalqilya or the PA itself. But the PA’s district governor for the Qalqilya District, Rafi Rawajba, attended the unveiling ceremony. Rawajba is a representative of the Fatah movement, which PA President Mahmoud Abbas chairs.

You can see from the photos distributed by The Associated Press that the statue is 20 feet tall, with lights so everyone can see it at night, too. And it’s situated smack in the middle of a major street. If the mayor or Abbas didn’t want there, it would be gone in five minutes.

In fact, the ALF has erected statues of Saddam in several other PA-controlled cities, too, and Abbas has not ordered them taken down, either. That’s because he was always one of Saddam’s biggest fans. Abbas could have written the Arabic inscription on the statue himself: “Allah is great, long live the nation, Palestine and Iraq, the Lord of the era’s martyrs Saddam Hussein.”

Just two weeks ago, the official Facebook page of Abbas’s Fatah included Saddam alongside photos of other Arab heroes in a college with the slogan, “From the sea of the blood of the Martyrs, we will create the State of Palestine.” On the 10th anniversary of Saddam’s death, last December, the Fatah Facebook page featured a memorial poster hailing Saddam as a “martyr” (shahid).

There’s even an entire “Martyr Saddam Hussein Square,” in Ramallah, the PA’s capital city. I wonder if Abbas salutes it on his way to work.

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Stephen M. Flatow, a vice president of the Religious Zionists of America, is an attorney in New Jersey. He is the father of Alisa Flatow, who was murdered in an Iranian-sponsored Palestinian terrorist attack in 1995.

How the Balfour Declaration Has Emerged at the Crux Of the War Against Israel - by Rick Richman

...One hundred years after the Balfour Declaration, and 95 years after the international community endorsed it, the Palestinians are still fighting the recognition of any Jewish sovereignty. They want a Palestinian state, but not at the cost of recognizing a Jewish one.

Rick Richman..
nysun.com..
28 October '17..

One hundred years ago — on November 2, 1917 — the British Foreign Secretary, Arthur Balfour, issued a letter to the British Jewish leader, Lord Walter Rothschild, pledging British support for “a national home for the Jewish people” in Palestine. The Balfour Declaration was a milestone in the Zionist effort to re-create the Jewish home in the land where, nearly two millennia earlier, it had existed for centuries.

By 1922, the Balfour Declaration had become an established part of international law: endorsed after World War I by the Allies at their San Remo Conference; included in the 1920 peace treaty signed by Turkey’s Sultan Mehmet VI; and incorporated in the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine in 1922, which expressly recognized “the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine” and their basis “for reconstituting their national home.”

After receiving the League of Nations Mandate, Britain split off the eastern portion of Palestine — known as “Transjordan” — and recognized the Arab emir, Abdullah, as its ruler. Strife between the Arab and Jewish communities in western Palestine led Britain in 1937 to propose a two-state solution: most of western Palestine would also become an Arab state, with a minuscule Jewish state in the remainder.

The Arabs rejected the 1937 partition proposal and also the 1947 United Nations two-state resolution, in favor of a war against the Jews.

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Monday, October 30, 2017

Treating Syrians at Ziv Hospital - Honest Reporting

...All patients are given a summary of their medical treatment when they return to Syria. The summary is written in Arabic, on plain paper, with nothing on it to indicate they received the treatment in Israel. I suspect the Syrian doctors know where patients were treated. Injured people could not have found the sophisticated treatment in their home country’s collapsed medical system. And they could not have afforded care in Lebanon or Jordan.

Honest Reporting..
29 Ocotber '17..

The following guest post was written by Yehudit Reishtein, who took part in a special HonestReporting field trip in October 2017 to hear about and meet with Syrian patients being treated in Israel’s Ziv Medical Center.

Healthcare in Syria is almost non-existent after six years of civil war. Fares, an Arabic-speaking social worker at Ziv Medical Center in Tsfat (Safed), cited a few illustrative statistics: “Their medical system is 70% destroyed. About a million people live in the border areas, but there are only seven doctors.” One doctor for every 143,000 people? The number was shocking.

We were on an HonestReporting field trip to learn more about how Syrian casualties were receiving care in Israel. Ziv’s program has evolved in response to a need.

When the civil war started in March 2011, the IDF had a policy of watchful waiting. On Saturday, February 16, 2013, seven badly wounded Syrians crossed the border into Israel. IDF medics evaluated them and then transported them to the nearest hospital. Ziv doctors were called to come in for an emergency. They had no idea who the patients were or what the problem was until they reported for duty and met the wounded Syrians.

Syria has been at war with Israel since May 1948. These wounded men were our enemies. But the doctors did not hesitate—an injured person is a person in need of care. The men were treated. When they recovered, the IDF took them back to the border and sent them home. Since then Ziv Hospital has treated more than 800 patients who have made their way over the border.

We were instructed not to take any photos. Photos could endanger the men and their families. We never learned any patient’s name. All newspaper and TV stories about treatment of Syrians in Israel change patients’ names and either blur their faces or photograph them from an angle that does not reveal their identity.

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United Nations to spend $32M to strengthen Palestinian "national identity," $18M to demonize Israel - by Elder of Ziyon

...The UN wants to ensure that Israel has no rights over the sacred parts of Jerusalem. By declaring that Jerusalem is in fact the "future Palestinian capital" the UN is declaring a kind of war on Israel and Jews worldwide who have regarded Jerusalem as their capital since King David. This is what the UN is spending its money on. Any reasonable person should be outraged.

Elder of Ziyon..
29 October '17..

The United Nations Development Assistance Framework and the Palestinian Authority have signed a “strategic programming framework” for 2018-2022. with a budget of over $1.2 billion to support the PA with a wide variety of political and social service programs.

For example, the 73-page document mentions "climate change" no less than 9 times as a topic that must be tackled - far more than "gender-based violence" (3 mentions.).

There is a lot to analyze in this document, but what seems most interesting is where the UN plans to spend the money.

Under the Strategic Priority 1: Supporting Palestine’s path to independence category, we have: Outcome 1.1: Human rights mechanisms are increasingly engaged to hold Israel accountable for its obligations under international law.

Its budget is $18 million. Its goal is to delegitimize Israel by demanding standards from Israel that the UN demands from no other state under the fig leaf of "human rights."

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Balfour’s greatest of gifts - by Caroline Glick

...The Balfour Declaration didn’t change the whole world. It changed the Jewish world. It didn’t change the Jewish world by creating a state for us. It changed the Jewish world by helping us to believe that we could fulfill our longing to return to Zion. And once we believed it, we did it.

Caroline Glick..
Carolineglick.com..
29 October '17..
Link: http://carolineglick.com/balfours-greatest-of-gifts/

This week Israel’s judo team was harassed and discriminated against by UAE officials when they tried to board a flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul, en route to Abu Dhabi to participate in the Judo Grand Slam competition.

Apropos of nothing, UAE told the Israelis they would only be permitted to enter the UAE from Amman. And once they finally arrived at the competition, they were prohibited from competing under their national flag. Lowlights of the UAE’s shameful bigotry included the forcing Tal Flicker to receive his gold medal under the international Judo association’s flag with the association’s theme song, rather than Israel’s national anthem playing in the background and the sight of a Moroccan female judoka literally running away from her Israeli opponent rather than shake hands with her.

The discrimination that Israel’s judokas suffered is newsworthy because it’s appalling, not because it is rare. It isn’t rare. Israeli athletes and performers, professors, students and tourists in countries throughout the world are regularly discriminated against for being Israeli Jews. Concerts are picketed or canceled. Israelis are denied educational opportunities and teaching positions.

Israeli brands are boycotted and Israeli shops are picketed from Montreal to Brooklyn to Johannesburg.

The simple act of purchasing Israeli cucumbers has become a political statement in countries around the world.

And of course, there is the world of diplomacy, where the nations of the world seem to have flushed the news of Israel’s establishment 70 years ago down the memory hole. The near-consensus view of UN institutions and to a growing degree, of EU institutions, not to mention the Arab League and the Organization of the Islamic Conference, is that the Jewish exile should never have ended. The Jews should have remained scattered and at the mercy of the nations of the world, forever.

In the face of the growing discrimination Israelis suffer and rejection Israel endures, how are we to look at the centennial of the Balfour Declaration, which we will mark next Thursday? One hundred years ago, on November 2, 1917, Arthur Balfour, foreign secretary of Great Britain, detonated a bomb whose aftershocks are still being felt in Britain and worldwide.

That day, Balfour issued a letter to Lord Walter Rothschild, the leader of the British Jewish community.

The letter, which quickly became known as the Balfour Declaration, effectively announced the British Empire supported an end of the Jewish people’s 1,800-year exile and its return to history, as a free nation in its homeland – the Land of Israel.

In Balfour’s immortal words, “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's Time for Some Honesty. What Raqqa Says about Gaza’s Death Toll - by Evelyn Gordon

...And it’s also time for them to admit what a group of high-ranking Western military experts concluded in a comprehensive report on the Gaza war: faced with these difficulties, Israel’s success in minimizing civilian harm equaled or exceeded that of any other Western country. If more proof were needed, that 100-to-one difference in casualty ratios between Raqqa and Gaza certainly provides it.

Evelyn Gordon..
Commentary Magazine..
27 October '17..
Link: https://www.commentarymagazine.com/foreign-policy/middle-east/raqqa-says-gazas-death-toll/

Now that the battle to drive the Islamic State (ISIS) from its Syrian capital of Raqqa has ended, reporters are beginning to explore the devastation the fighting left behind. The information that has emerged so far sheds some interesting light on the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza in summer 2014. In particular, it utterly refutes the accusation by the UN and much of the Western world that Israel caused “appalling” and “excessive” Palestinian casualties.

Admittedly, that isn’t obvious at first glance. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, over 3,000 people were killed in Raqqa, including about 1,130 civilians, during the course of a four-month battle. In Gaza, according to UN figures, 2,251 Palestinians, including 1,462 civilians, were killed in the course of just 50 days. And while there’s good reason to think the UN’s civilian casualty count is wildly inflated (the actual ratio of civilian-to-military casualties is probably around 1:1 or even lower), even Israel puts the total death toll at 2,125 people, comprising 936 combatants, 761 civilians, and 428 unidentified. That isn’t nearly as far below Raqqa’s figures as the conflicts’ relative duration might lead one to expect.

But that simplistic conclusion ignores two crucial factors. The first is that a comparison of raw numbers is meaningless; the relevant comparison is casualties as a proportion of the population. And by that measure, Raqqa’s casualty rate exceeded Gaza’s by as much as 100 to one. Here’s the math:

"No peace without Palestinian control of ALL E. Jerusalem" (BTW including Western Wall, Jewish Quarter) - by Elder of Ziyon

...The primary goal is to disconnect any important Jewish sites from Israel, to destroy Israel's very soul. And it is a shame that so many Jews are so disconnected from their own roots that they are not sensitive to what is obvious to both the Arabs and to Jews who feel that 3000 year connection to the Holy Land.

Elder of Ziyon..
29 October '17..

The Holy Land Ecynemical Foundation held a symposium on Jerusalem on Saturday.

Even its description downplays Jerusalem's central role in Judaism as it pretends to be "even-handed:"

Jerusalem is the Holy City, sacred to the three monotheistic faiths of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. Muslims connect her with the Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey on al-Buraq, his celebrated steed, from Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca to Al-Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and his ascension to Heaven. For Christians, Jerusalem animates their consciousness as she marks the location of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Retaining a strong presence and influence there are essential for safeguarding the Christian holy places and interests. For Jews, Jerusalem is tied to their religion and culture, symbolizing both connectedness and independence. Over the years, Jerusalem’s religious and spiritual importance has become enmeshed in national and political concerns as we witness today in Palestinian-Israeli relations.

For Muslims and Christians, the description mentions specific myths and events that supposedly happened in Jerusalem. For Jews, it is merely a "symbol" that is somehow "tied" toJudaism - not the location of the Temples, not the central point of holiness for all Jews, not the place rhapsodized about by King David, but merely somehow connected to Judaism.

The goal of the conference was, of course, to wrest control of Jerusalem away from the Jewish state - the only political entity in history that gave equal access to the city for all religions:

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BBC amplified anti-Israel campaign rejected by FIFA. Any BBC follow-up? - by Hadar Sela

...To date BBC audiences have not seen any reporting on the failure of this latest attempt to delegitimise Israel at international bodies – despite the corporation’s previously animated interest in the story.

Hadar Sela..
BBC Warch..
29 October '17..

For over a year the BBC has been lending its voice to amplification of an anti-Israel campaign at the international governing body of football – FIFA.

BBC WS news bulletins amplify HRW delegitimisation campaign

BBC’s Knell relegates impartiality to the bench in campaigning football report

PA’s anti-Israel campaign at FIFA gets BBC WS amplification again

BBC World Service tells sports fans tall tales of ‘stolen Palestinian land’

Instigated by the Palestinian Football Association, the latest campaign led by Jibril Rajoub was supported by so-called ‘human rights groups’, BDS campaigners and political NGOs, some of which (e.g. Human Rights Watch) are frequently quoted and promoted in BBC content.

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Saturday, October 28, 2017

One police force and one authority in the Gaza Strip? Nothing more than a pipe-dream. - by Khaled Abu Toameh

...The "reconciliation" agreement has yet to be implemented on the ground, yet the issue of the militias in the Gaza Strip is already emerging as a major obstacle and a severe blow to Abbas. He will now have to decide: either to proceed with the "reconciliation" agreement and accept playing the role of president of a Gaza Strip filled with armed groups and militias -- most of which are no friend of his, or to backtrack and realize that his wish to have one law, one police force and one authority in the Gaza Strip is nothing more than a pipe-dream.

Khaled Abu Toameh..
Gatestone Institute..
27 October '17..

Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas says he does not want to see "militias" in the Gaza Strip if and when the "reconciliation" agreement he reached with Hamas is implemented. "The Palestinian leadership will not accept the model of militias in the Gaza Strip because it isn't a successful one," Abbas told the Chinese news agency Xinhua. "There should be one authority, one law and one weapon, with no militias."

Hamas, for its part, has already rejected Abbas's demand. Hamas has said it has no intention of disarming despite the "reconciliation" agreement recently signed in Cairo. "We can't give up our weapons and because the Palestinian people are still in the phase of national liberation," said Yehya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in the Gaza Strip. "We also can't and won't recognize Israel."

Hamas's refusal to disarm should come as no surprise. Since Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip ten years ago, it has built a huge security apparatus that consists of thousands of militiamen, most of them members of Ezaddin Al-Qassam, the movement's military wing. Hamas has also smuggled large amounts of weapons into the Gaza Strip and dug dozens of tunnels along the borders with Israel and Egypt.

The notion that Hamas would ever dismantle its security apparatus and deliver the Gaza Strip to Mahmoud Abbas's forces is a fantasy.

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Friday, October 27, 2017

Balfour: The ideal that moves me - by Dror Eydar

The handful of lines that make up the Balfour Declaration ushered the Jewish people into a new age • Between a home and a state, between a dream and reality: eight comments on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration.

Lord Edmund Allenby, Lord Arthur Balfour
and Sir Herbert Samuel in Jerusalem in 1925

Dror Eydar..
Israel Hayom..
27 October '17..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/2017/10/27/the-ideal-that-moves-me/

The handful of lines that have come to be known as the Balfour Declaration ushered the Jewish people into a new age. For the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. and the failed Bar Kokhba revolt 65 years later, an international body with some authority officially recognized the practical possibility of the Jews' return to Zion. The declaration was vague, but it contained the hope that ultimately, at the end of a long process, a Jewish state would be established.

The Jews were so impressed with the declaration that people started marking the declaration's date, Nov. 2, 1917, like a birthday. The comparison to the Cyrus Cylinder was almost immediate, and the expression "Atchalta de'geulah" (Aramaic for "The beginning of the redemption") was omnipresent. Children born around that time were given names having to do with the redemption.

To this day, historians still debate the reasons – diplomatic, military, political, religious - that led Britain to issue the declaration. It is hard to say specifically what prompted it, because it is still shrouded in mystery and has not been fully understood. In many respects, the declaration was unprecedented, because it promised the Jewish people a state in a geographical location where the vast majority of them did not live.

2.

It is worthwhile to take a close look at the wording of the declaration. The introduction clarifies that it is not a balanced diplomatic document, but rather expresses the "sympathy" of the British government for "Jewish Zionist aspirations." The conclusion of the document also asks Lord Walter Rothschild, to whom the document is addressed, to "bring this declaration to the knowledge of the Zionist Federation." The reference is to the federation of British Jews, but still, it amounts to the recognition of the Zionist movement as a diplomatic body, capable of engaging in negotiations.

The body of the declaration is the long sentence between the introductory and concluding paragraphs: "His Majesty's Government view with favour …" – the initial wording proposed by the representatives of the Zionist movement was "adopts the principle," but the British, as they tend to do, took a less committed approach – "... the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people ... ." It did not say "the" national home, although everyone knew it would be the only national home. The word "state" was deemed too provocative. But what exactly is a "national home"?

Professor Aviva Halamish says that as early as the First Zionist Congress, in 1897, it was declared that "Zionism seeks to establish a home for the Jewish people in Palestine secured under public law." The architects of the Basel program did not use the word "state" mainly to avoid the wrath of the Ottoman rulers, although they clearly meant it. But did the British government also mean that the Jews' national home would eventually become a state?

In 1937, the Peel Commission investigated the topic. It pored over secret documents and heard testimonies, including from British Prime Minister Lloyd George. Its conclusion was that the British government meant (or at least did not rule out the possibility) that a Jewish state would ultimately be established in the historic land of Israel. The condition for the establishment of a state was a Jewish majority, and the declaration states that Britain would "use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object."

No surprise as BBC News and BBC Sport ignore Judo tournament anti-Israel bigotry - by Hadar Sela

...The BBC Sport website (which usually displays an interest in reporting bigotry and discrimination in sport) has no coverage of that story either on its home page or on its Judo page. The BBC News website’s Middle East page similarly did not find this story of blatant discrimination in sport newsworthy.

Hadar Sela..
BBC Watch..
27 October '17..

A major Judo tournament organised by the International Judo Federation is taking place in Abu Dhabi between October 26th and 28th.

However – and not for the first time – members of the Israeli team taking part in that tournament have been barred from displaying the Israeli flag.

“The blue-and-white delegation to the final Grand Slam competition of the year is set to include 12 athletes, but Israel Judo Association chairman Moshe Ponte was informed by the organizers that they won’t be able to have the Israel flag on their judo uniform, as they do in every other event across the world. Instead of having ISR (Israel) by their names on the scoreboard and on their backs, they will have to take part in the contest as representatives of the IJF (International Judo Federation). The national anthem will also not be played, should an Israeli win a gold medal.”

And on the competition’s first day that is exactly what happened.

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Liberal Jews, their institutions and that inconvenient Israeli consensus - by Jonathan Tobin

...There are some voices on the left saying Lapid and Gabbay are just posturing to gain support from centrist voters and would, in fact, pursue very different policies involving withdrawal from the territories if they were elected. They may be right about that. But if so, that merely shows both men understand how most Israelis still see more withdrawals unaccompanied by genuine change among Palestinians as not so much misguided as insane.

Jonathan S. Tobin..
JNS.org..
20 October '17..

Jewish institutions are under siege these days, and their principal critics aren’t neo-Nazis. Despite the clear leftward tilt of most organized Jewish life, liberal critics are constantly telling us that mainstream groups like AIPAC and federations are toadies of an Israeli government that is pursuing policies that American Jews abhor. The ferment on the left runs from tame—and largely irrelevant—liberal Zionist groups like J Street to more extreme opponents like IfNotNow and the virulently anti-Zionist Jewish Voice for Peace, which also dabbles in anti-Semitic libels as well as support for boycotts of Israel.

The critics and the naysayers have the ear of many Jews. The reason for this has more to do with the demographic collapse and decline of a sense of Jewish peoplehood among the non-Orthodox denominations that make up about 90 percent of American Jews, than it does with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s shortcomings. But it’s also true that the majority of the non-Orthodox Jewish community has little sympathy with the Israeli government’s positions on the peace process.

The notion promoted by President Barack Obama that Israel needs to be saved from itself still resonates among the majority of Jews who voted for him. This view holds that Israel’s continued presence in the West Bank is the prime obstacle to peace as well as the future of the Jewish state. But while this liberal consensus deems Netanyahu a problem, its proponents rarely stop to ask why he was elected prime minister four times, including winning the last three elections in a row.

The answer is simple. There exists a broad consensus within Israeli society that contradicts the assumptions held by most American Jews. The majority of Netanyahu’s compatriots see his policies as the only possible response to a Palestinian political culture that still refuses to accept the legitimacy of a Jewish state, no matter where its borders might be drawn. Moreover, that Israeli consensus isn’t merely upheld by Netanyahu and his allies; his rivals on the center and the left also embrace it.

The latest example of this fact came this week from new Zionist Union party leader Avi Gabbay.

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Thursday, October 26, 2017

One More Chapter in Yusef Daher’s One-Man Propaganda War - by Dexter Van Zile

...Given his tendency to attack Israel, Daher would probably be one of the loudest critics of the Jewish State should a catastrophe take at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. One can only hope that Israel continues to do its job and protect pilgrims from stampedes at the Holy Sepulcher. And maybe, just maybe, Daher can abandon his vitriolic attacks on Israel and thank Israeli officials for their efforts to keep Christians safe.

Dexter Van Zile..
CAMERA Snapshots..
23 October '17..

Yusef Daher really ought to be ashamed of himself.

For at least a decade, he has used his status as executive secretary of the Jerusalem Interchurch Center — currently located in St. Anne’s Monastery near the Lion’s Gate of the Old City — to de-legitimize the Jewish state.

It’s bad enough that Daher, a Christian, has posted images on social media that valorize Palestinian violence against Israeli civilians, but to make matters worse, he has used his status as a “Christian peacemaker” to portray legitimate Israeli security measures as a violation of religious freedom in Jerusalem. The problem is that if Israeli officials did not impose some sort of crowd control on Christian celebrations in Jerusalem, people might get killed in stampedes. It's happened in the past.

Here are the details.

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Surprise? BBC News continues to mislead on Gaza medical services - by Hadar Sela

...The BBC knows that full well and yet, rather than telling this straightforward story clearly and accurately, through omission and implication it continues to steer its audiences towards the inaccurate assumption that the dire state of medical services and electricity supply in Gaza is connected to Israel, using ‘reports’ produced by a partisan body as back-up.

Hadar Sela..
BBC Watch..
26 October '17..

For years the BBC has been steering its audiences towards an inaccurate understanding of the reasons for the chronic shortage of medical supplies in the Gaza Strip by promoting the false notion that Israeli counter-terrorism measures pertaining to the movement of goods and people adversely affect medical services in the territory.

For years too, the BBC has unquestioningly promoted maps, information and allegations – often inaccurate – put out by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – UN OCHA – despite the less than neutral and impartial stance taken by that organisation.

It therefore did not come as much of a surprise to find quotes from and links to UN OCHA material promoted in an article published on the BBC News website on October 23rd under the headline “Gaza conjoined twins ‘need life-saving treatment abroad’“.

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Conan O'Brien, shakshuka and the barbarians - by Gilead Ini

...Here’s some better advice about shakshuka, not only for Conan but also for students on anti-Israel campuses and the rest of us who, in today’s polarized political atmosphere, might be tempted to jettison critical thinking for the sake of alliances or approval: if the eggs are rotten, send the dish back. It doesn’t matter if it’s decorated with alluring garnish. It doesn’t matter if it’s served by a waiter cloaked in North African garb. Don’t worry about coming across as rude. Turn the dish away. It’s not something you want in your body.

Gilead Ini..
Times of Israel..
25 October '17..

The anti-Israel activists who confronted Conan O’Brien as he walked along the West Bank’s security barrier were not pleased. The leader of the group, marching toward Conan and unable to contain herself, lobbed her first challenge while still 20 feet away. “Didn’t you say shakshuka was Israeli a couple of days ago?”

He replied as most of us might: “Shakshuker?”

Now close enough for Conan to hear, she repeated her cross-examination on behalf of the tomato and egg dish. “Didn’t you say it was Israeli?”

CONAN: “Oh, I don’t know what it is. I know that –”

ACTIVIST (shaking her head): “So why would you say that?”

CONAN: “Say what?”

ACTIVIST: “That shakshuka is Israeli.”

CONAN: “Well, they served it to me on El Al, so… I… but…”

The ringleader switched to a gentler tone, that of an elementary school teacher eager to show she was disappointed, not angry. “I mean,” she said softly, “it’s a Palestinian dish.”

“Okay, well I apologize. Alright.” What else could he say? He’s a television show host, not a culinary geographer.

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Wednesday, October 25, 2017

While Fatah admits Its true goals the media can’t be troubled to report on it - by Sean Durns

...Through their comments and actions, prominent Palestinian officials are violating Oslo on a daily basis — and blatantly calling for the destruction of Israel. And the media can’t be troubled to report on it.

Sean Durns..
Algemeiner.com..
24 October '17..

Palestinian officials and groups that are often deemed to be “moderates,” have once again been very clear about their desire to destroy Israel and forswear peace. But many in the media won’t report on it.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) — an umbrella organization for Palestinian groups headed by Palestinian Authority (PA) President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas — recently tweeted: “Our goal is the end of Israel. … We don’t want peace. We want war and victory.”

The tweet, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointed out, was inspired by a quote from Yasser Arafat, Abbas’ predecessor.

The tweet was posted — and then quickly deleted — by the PLO’s mission in Columbia. As of this writing, not a single major US news outlet has reported on the tweet.

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Seething over Saudi writer's pro-Jewish and anti-Pal stance - by Elder of Ziyon

...The cracks in the antisemitic, anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian stances in the Arab world are getting wider every day.

Elder of Ziyon..
25 October '17..

Palestinian Arabs and other anti-Israel and antisemitic Arabs are seething over two tweets by Saudi writer Saud al-Fawzan, a columnist for the Saudi Al Asharq newspaper.

Al-Fawzan's first tweet said:

I rented furniture from a Jewish store, and when my flat burned down, I met the owner of the store, who said (to his workers): “Furnish the flat on my account”. I regretted each time that I “paid a Riyal to save an Arab”

“Pay a Riyal, save an Arab” was the name of a campaign of donations for the Palestinians, conducted in Saudi schools, organized by the Saudi government 30 years ago.

That tweet was met with a torrent of antisemitic replies, but not a small amount of support for al-Fawzan as well.

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"My brother's keeper": Standing up to agricultural terrorism - by Boaz Haetzni

...The incident at Moshav Shekef reflects what happens when there is no security, not to mention that an incursion for the purpose of theft could wind up leading to murder. On the other hand, dozens of farms that have been assigned security by the Hashomer Hachadash volunteers are already breathing more easily. Anyone who thinks that mutual aid, volunteerism and contributing to society without expecting anything in return are old-fashioned values that have vanished, is wrong. The old, good Israel is alive and kicking, right now.

Boaz Haetzni..
Israel Hayom..
25 October '17..
Link: http://www.israelhayom.com/opinions/stand-up-to-agricultural-terrorism/

The first time I met Yoel Zilberman was in 2008 in Mitzpe Sando in the Galilee. My wife and I had come to the farm, a little place on a hilltop, and we saw the silo that was black as coal, two days after it was deliberately set on fire, along with the hay bales and tractor. It was a sight typical of the 1930s, the lawless days that predated the founding of the state.

Zilberman, an officer in the Shayetet 13 naval commando unit, had taken unpaid leave from the army to save his father's Galilee farm, which was vulnerable to theft and destruction perpetrated by the local Arabs. Zionism's fight for its life in the Galilee and the Negev doesn't play out in murders, but rather in "minor," daily acts of economic and agricultural terrorism. Fences are destroyed, herds and crops are subject to constant theft, irrigation systems are wrecked, and protection money is demanded – a combination of crimes that ultimately serve nationalist goals of keeping Israeli farmers down, making the profession unprofitable, and in the end ousting them from the land so it can be taken over.

Zilberman's success in saving his family's farm through presence and guard duty led him to found the group Hashomer Hachadash, out of the understanding that agricultural crime is a widespread national problem rather than a localized spat between neighbors. The group attracted civilians from all sectors and of all political orientations who were ready to donate their time and spend days and nights guarding fields and herds. My wife and I volunteer for guard duty and are pleased with the thanks from the farmers and the smile of relief on their faces at the knowledge that they'll be able to get a night's sleep, for a change.

"We're finally able to sleep at night"; "the farm has finally stopped losing money"; "I was about to get rid of the herd and then Hashomer Hachadash showed up" – these are some of the reactions I heard from the farmers whose livelihood was saved by the volunteers whose shirts read, "My brother's keeper," a kind of reference to Cain, who killed his brother Abel and played innocent, asking, "Am I my brother's keeper?"

Scare quotes around Hamas' aim to "liberate Palestine"? Not at the NYT - by Elder of Ziyon

...By using the term "liberating Palestine" as a matter of fact phrase and not a quote by Israel's enemies, the NYT is telling the world that a nation that never existed is in need of being "liberated" from Israel, meaning the destruction of Israel. That is about as anti-Israel as it gets.

Elder of Ziyon..
22 October '17..

From The New York Times:

This time around, Hamas has so far refused to consider disarming its fighters and has insisted that it remains dedicated to liberating Palestine, not embracing Mr. Abbas’s project of a two-state solution — despite a new document of principles it released in the spring that accepted the idea of a provisional Palestinian state, without renouncing future claims to the land that is now Israel.

While the newspaper will often put scare quotes around the word "terrorist," claiming that the definition of that term may be interpreted differently by different parties, it has no problem saying that Hamas' goal is "liberating Palestine."

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The Joint Iran-Hamas Plan to Destroy Israel - by Khaled Abu Toameh

...Contrary to delusional hopes, discussed on the heels of the "reconciliation" agreement in Cairo and based on lies and thin air, Hamas is not headed toward moderation and pragmatism. By openly supporting Hamas, Iran is once again demonstrating that it aims to fan the fire in the Middle East and continue to sabotage any prospects for peace.

Khaled Abu Toameh..
Gatestone Institute..
23 October '17..

In a historic reawakening, Iran is once again meddling in the internal affairs of the Palestinians. This this does not bode well for the future of "reconciliation" between Hamas and Palestinian Authority's Fatah faction run by President Mahmoud Abbas.The re-emergence of Iran, as it pursues its efforts to increase its political and military presence in the region, does not bode well for the future of stability in the Middle East.

The Iranians are urging Hamas to hold on to its weapons in spite of the recent "reconciliation" agreement signed between Hamas and Fatah under the auspices of Egypt. Iran's goal in this move? For Hamas to maintain and enhance its preparation for war against Israel.

A high-level Hamas delegation headed by Saleh Arouri, deputy chairman of Hamas's "political bureau," traveled to Tehran last week to brief Iranian leaders on the "reconciliation" deal with Fatah. During the visit, Iranian leaders praised Hamas for resisting demands (by Fatah) to disarm and relinquish security control over the Gaza Strip.

"We congratulate you on your refusal to abandon your weapons, an issue that you consider as a red line," Ali Velayati, a senior Iranian politician and advisor to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Khamenei, told the visiting Hamas officials. "The Palestinian cause is the most important cause of the Islamic world, and after all this time you remain committed to the principle of resistance against the Zionists despite all the pressure you are facing."

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Khaled Abu Toameh, an award-winning journalist, is based in Jerusalem.

Syrian version of events says Israel worked with terror groups to shoot rockets at - Israel - by Elder of Ziyon

...It is notable that even "moderate" Arab media like London-based Asharq al-Awsat - which is pro-Saudi Arabia - simply believes Syria's version of events over Israel.

Elder of Ziyon..
22 October '17..

From Asharq al Awsat:

Israeli artillery shelled three Syrian regime positions in the Golan Heights amid threats that Tel Aviv would escalate its response to rocket fire from the Syrian side of the Golan.

The Israeli shelling came in retaliation to five rockets being fired from Golan territories that are held by gunmen in Syria. The rockets had veered off their course and landed in the Israeli-occupied section of the region.

Actually, the rockets came from territory controlled by the Syrian army.

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Monday, October 23, 2017

Issa Amro: The “Gandhi” Façade and the Gullible - by Petra Marquardt-Bigman

...Did Amro know of the Qawasmis’ plan and their preparation for a terrorist attack? And was he perhaps disappointed that the “third intifada” he anticipated so eagerly in mid-May 2014 didn’t turn out to be all that “smart” for the Palestinians some four weeks later, when Israel responded to the abduction of the three students with a massive crack-down on Hamas cells in the West Bank? While we can only speculate about the answers to these questions, it is noteworthy that Amro had predicted and even called for another intifada repeatedly before May 2014, but that he apparently gave up on this after the kidnapping didn’t enable Hamas to blackmail Israel.

Petra Marquardt-Bigman..
Legal Insurection..
22 October '17..

For years, the Palestinian activist Issa Amro has told credulous journalists that he is “inspired by Gandhi” and firmly committed to “non-violent resistance.”

One of the most recent examples is a puff piece by the Washington Post’s Ishaan Tharoor, who describes Amro as an admirable “nonviolent dissident” and suggests he might even be considered a “Palestinian Gandhi.”

But as I will show, it would have taken only a quick look at the recent social media activity of Amro and his group Youth Against Settlements (YAS) to realize that the image he presents to journalists may just be a flimsy façade that hides an intense hatred of Israel and a burning ambition to see the world’s only Jewish state replaced by yet another Arab-Muslim majority country.

The “Gandhi” Façade

The journalists who are content with simply passing on whatever Issa Amro tells them can point to Amnesty International, which has also faithfully parroted Amro’s claims. Amnesty has described Amro as “a Palestinian human rights defender who runs the Youth Against Settlements group in Hebron,” asserting that Amro and his group “are committed to non-violent activism against the illegal settlements in Hebron and the discriminatory restrictions placed on Palestinians by the Israeli authorities in the city.”

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Petra Marquardt-Bigman is a German-Israeli free-lance researcher with a Ph.D. in contemporary history whose work focuses on anti-Semitism and efforts to delegitimize Israel.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

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