Why Palestinian Incitement Against Israel Works--And When It Doesn't

Evelyn Gordon makes the point that Palestinian incitement of hatred against Israel is successful because it is based on psychology--not psychopaths:

Some years ago, at the height of the second intifada, the Shin Bet security service interviewed dozens of failed suicide bombers (people caught before they could blow themselves up, or whose bombs failed to explode) in an effort to find out what made them tick. Its conclusion may at first seem surprising: The number-one motive driving these terrorists was a craving for their own society’s admiration. The knowledge that they would be lionized as heroes – that streets and squares would be named for them, that religious and political leaders would sing their praises, that the media would publish glowing obituaries, that schoolchildren would study them as role models – created a powerful incentive for young Palestinians to blow themselves up.

That being the case, that finding also indicates how to defeat Palestinian society's reward of terrorism:

New Book--"Deception: Betraying The Peace Process"

Marcus and Zilberdik point out how, in the course of one day, a Palestinian child can walk on a street named after the mass murderer Abu Jihad, to a school named after the founder of Hamas, where he will read hate-filled textbooks, work in a computer room named after a suicide bomber, spend the afternoon at a soccer tournament with the teams named after suicide bombers, go in the evening to the Abu Iyad community center, the orchestrator of the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and finally return home to view anti-Semitic cartoons on TV before going to bed.
Isi Leibler, Documenting Palestinian criminality in Israel Hayom

In Documenting Palestinian criminality, Isi Leibler writes about the success of Arab rhetoric in the arena of world opinion--at least till now:

The Middle East Sampler 2/1/12: January Media Scorecard

From DG:

New York Times Mideast Op-Ed Index for January 2012

A) Preventing a Nuclear Iran, Peacefully - Shibley Telhami and Steven Kull - January 15, 2012

Most important, when asked whether it would be better for both Israel and Iran to have the bomb, or for neither to have it, 65 percent of Israeli Jews said neither. And a remarkable 64 percent favored the idea of a nuclear-free zone, even when it was explained that this would mean Israel giving up its nuclear weapons. 

The Israeli public also seems willing to move away from a secretive nuclear policy toward greater openness about Israel’s nuclear facilities. Sixty percent of respondents favored “a system of full international inspections” of all nuclear facilities, including Israel’s and Iran’s, as a step toward regional disarmament. 

If Israel’s nuclear program were to become part of the equation, it would be a game-changer. Iran has until now effectively accused the West of employing a double standard because it does not demand Israeli disarmament, earning it many fans across the Arab world.

Arlene Kushner on Fears About Netanyahu; False Rumors About Obama

From Arlene Kushner:

January 30, 2012

"Fear and Rumor"

I am always reluctant to repeat here speculative, unconfirmed reports that pass as "news."  For once I repeat them, I am  reinforcing the impression that what I am saying is solid news. 

Here, then, I will just allude in the most general terms to unsubstantiated talk about the fact that Prime Minister Netanyahu might be willing to offer the Arabs a good deal of territory in Judea and Samaria.

Barry Rubin: Response to Ron Paul: Did U.S. Policy Make Today's Islamist Iran Hate America?

The following from Barry Rubin is reposted with permission:

Response to Ron Paul: Did U.S. Policy Make Today's Islamist Iran Hate America?

A different version of the following article was published in The Daily Caller.

By Barry Rubin

Presidential candidate Ron Paul has said repeatedly that Iranians hate America because of its role in the 1953 coup overthrowing Prime Minister Muhammad Mossadegh. Like his frequent claims that the September 11 attack was a response to a supposed decade-long U.S. bombing of Iraq.

Yedidya Atlas: The National Jewish Democratic Council Versus Newt Gingrich

The following by Yedidya Atlas is reposted with permission.

The National Jewish Democratic Council
Versus Newt Gingrich

By: Yedidya Atlas

A January 23rd article on the NJDC – National Jewish Democratic Council - website was “SC Winner Newt Gingrich: A Closer Look.” The NJDC declared that the GOP has “yet another candidate whose positions and behavior stand in direct opposition to the values of the vast majority of American Jews...... Gingrich appears to have adopted far-right policies towards Israel that place him at odds with the democratically-elected government of Israel as well.”

The article, by a David Streeter, made clear to me that the “values of the vast majority of American Jews” have little to do with Judaism, reminding me of the pundit who described the Reform movement as “the ultra-liberal wing of the Democratic Party - with holidays.” While assumedly, the NJDC means more than just Reform Jews, still one has to wonder from their list of issues against Newt Gingrich, what is Jewish about them?

The Middle East Sampler 1/31/12: New York Times vs. Moderate Muslims?

From DG:

1) Will Israel be illegal in Iraq?

A new bill before the Iraqi parliament would make travel to Israel illegal (via memeorandum):

The bill was proposed following a number of incidents at the Bagdad airport. A local security officer working there said the passport had caught a number of Iraqi officials carrying passports with Israeli entry visas. The officer, speaking on a condition of anonymity, reported that the passports of some nine high-profile Iraqi politicians were clearly marked with Ben-Gurion Airport stamps as well.

Arlene Kushner on The Israel-Palestinian "Peace Talks"

From Arlene Kushner:

January 30, 2012

"Frenetic Times"

Afraid it's "that time" again: Time for a review of what's going on with our "partners for peace" and their brothers in Hamas.  Hate doing this.  But every so many days...

As was totally predictable, the "talks" supervised by Jordan have gone nowhere and are likely finished.  (Although, as I write there is an unconfirmed report that the low level talks may continue for another month.  We'll see.)

What Export Is Lebanon And Iran Sharing With Syria? Snipers

If you are a leading patron of terrorism like Iran, or like Lebanon--the home of a leading terrorist group like Hezbollah: what kind of exports can you offer the murderous regime of Assad in Syria?

It ain't oranges.

Syrian regime 'importing snipers' for protests

The Middle East Sampler 1/30/2012: Hamas and Jordan

From DG:

1) Khaled in Jordan

The New York Times reports Hamas Leader Takes Rare Trip to Jordan about Khaled Meshal's recent visit to Jordan:

Jordan wants to restore relations with Hamas, the militant Palestinian group that controls Gaza, because the group is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, whose Islamist allies are forming new governments around the Arab world, and because Jordan wants to remain an influential go-between in the region, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But Jordan does not want to damage its relationship with Hamas’s chief rival, President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, nor to anger Jordan’s allies, Israel and the United States, which consider Hamas a terrorist group.