Dexter Van Zile of CAMERA speaks about how Christian media and institutions relate to Israel.
The interview begins at about 9:50 into the video.
Here is the interview:
Showing posts with label CAMERA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CAMERA. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Friday, November 24, 2006
"Peace Now" Makes A Land Grab Of It's Own
"Peace Now," the internationally funded foreign agent in Israel see (see 'Peace Now' Could Teach Hamas A Thing Or Two), has made its latest move on behalf of its paymasters to disrupt and discredit Israel.
Of course, that delay gives Peace Now the time they need for the results of their report to sink in.
According to the Jerusalem Post:
Peace Now admits that they are unfamiliar with the data that was leaked to them that was “updated to the best of our knowledge through 2004.”Likewise, they do not know for sure neither the authenticity nor accuracy of the information. A fact that did not stop them for using and publishing the data.
Peace Now brags that the data they received "served as a reference for attorney Talia Sasson when she prepared her government-mandated report on the outposts – a report which has been widely publicized and discussed"-- these were apparently unauthorized outposts, built without the necessary permissions from the proper authorities. However, contrary to Peace Now’s claim, in reality Ms. Sasson found that that the use of these private Palestinian land for outposts was not due to the theft of land, but instead to errors in the maps.
The errors in the Peace Now report are the result of mistakes in the crucial definition of terms.
According to the report:
A third error made in that same paragraph is that land which is cultivated for 10 years does not become private Palestinian land as Peace Now mistakenly claims. Instead, land acquired through cultivation is considered according to the Ottoman Code as at best miri land--land in which a person acquires a limited right of use. Contrary to Peace Now, such land remains the property of the state, and its reversion to the state is not limited to a failure to cultivate. Miri land is by definition state land.
A fourth error is the Peace Now claim that while prior to 1968 the land registration was open to Palestinians but not since. CAMERA quotes from a court case that proves that is not true
A fifth factual problem is a category of land which the Peace Now report neglected to mention altogether. Under the Ottoman Code, there is a category of land known as mewat ('dead land') which is applicable to the West Bank--unallocated or waste areas outside of inhabited areas which can be cultivated by special effort. Such development requires prior permission from the State. CAMERA quotes from a British Mandate source that clarifies:
CAMERA concludes based on the Ottoman Code in effect and other documentation that:
Peace Now on Tuesday submitted a complaint to Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz accusing the government of conducting a "systematic and institutional land grab" in the West Bank by building most of the settlements on land owned in part by individual Palestinians.Despite the obvious biases of Peace Now, the government is looking into the accusation. Meanwhile, the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and Gaza is getting ready to respond and Council head Benzi Lieberman said they will produce a report of their own to debunk the Peace Now allegations. Lieberman said they plan to hold a press conference in the coming weeks to expose the inaccuracies in the Peace Now report.
The complaint followed publication of a report by Peace Now entitled "Breaking the Law in the West Bank," in which the organization charged that about 40 percent of the land occupied de facto by the settlements was privately-owned Palestinian land.
Of course, that delay gives Peace Now the time they need for the results of their report to sink in.
According to the Jerusalem Post:
According to the report, Palestinians own almost 40% of all the land on which the settlements were built. This includes 86.4% of Ma'aleh Adumim, 44.3% of Givat Ze'ev, 47.7% of Kedumim and 35.1% of Ariel.
There are four types of land ownership in the West Bank - state-owned land, "survey" land, whose ownership is in dispute between the state and Palestinians, land owned privately by Palestinians and land owned privately by Jews.
Until now, the common understanding has been that since 1979, when the High Court of Justice overruled a military order to seize land for military purposes in order to establish the civilian settlement of Alon Moreh, all subsequent settlements were to be built on state-owned land.
Etkes told reporters, "for the first time, we can prove this isn't true.
Responding to Peace Now's claims, Yisrael Medad, a volunteer spokesman for the Council of Jewish Communities in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip, disputes the methodology of the report.
- While the report claims that only 1.47% of the land at Karnei Shomron is Jewish-owned, in actuality almost all the area of the community is Jewish-owned as is the land at Etz Efraim community--indicating that Peace Now is discounting land purchases made by Jews.
- There are Arabs who have sold land but then claim otherwise because they don't want to be murdered for selling land to Jews.
- The pictures on the Peace Now website of the land supposedly owned by communities on the West Bank are misleading: "There is a vast difference between the area displayed and the actual area zoned at various government ministries and civilian administration offices. The boundaries are arbitrary, usually delineated by patrol roads which do not reflect on the actual property definitions."
- The State of Israel appropriated private land until 1979. Karmiel was built this way and even the Ein Kerem neighborhood of Jerusalem benefited from such classifications. But Since, then, however, no Arab private land has been used for the Jewish communities.
- The Arabs have claimed for 50 years that they own 93 percent of the land which became the State of Israel--of which 43% was privately owned. The remainder of the land was identified then as the Sultan's Land. According to this claim, Jews owned but 7%. Peace Now has resurrected this claim.
- According to Article 6 of the League of Nations Mandate:
the Administration of Palestine... shall encourage, in cooperation with the Jewish Agency... close settlement by Jews on the land, including state lands and waste lands not acquired for public purposes.
As a result, the vast majority of the area in Judea and Samaria are lands under the direct control of the State--this is an issue expanded upon later in this post.
Peace Now admits that they are unfamiliar with the data that was leaked to them that was “updated to the best of our knowledge through 2004.”Likewise, they do not know for sure neither the authenticity nor accuracy of the information. A fact that did not stop them for using and publishing the data.
Peace Now brags that the data they received "served as a reference for attorney Talia Sasson when she prepared her government-mandated report on the outposts – a report which has been widely publicized and discussed"-- these were apparently unauthorized outposts, built without the necessary permissions from the proper authorities. However, contrary to Peace Now’s claim, in reality Ms. Sasson found that that the use of these private Palestinian land for outposts was not due to the theft of land, but instead to errors in the maps.
The errors in the Peace Now report are the result of mistakes in the crucial definition of terms.
According to the report:
Since 1967, Israel has made use of Ottoman legislation dating back to the middle of the 19th century in order to declare land to be “State land.” According to that law, all lands are considered "State Land" unless proven otherwise. To formally register land as private property, one must cultivate it for at least ten years. If the land is not registered, one would be considered the owner as long as he cultivates it and pays taxes on it. If the land is not cultivated for three successive years, it may become the property of the Ottoman State, i.e. "State Land".While the phrase "has made use of" implies underhanded exploitation, the fact is
Israel was and is obligated under international law, in particular the Hague Regulations of 1907, to maintain the legal system in the territories, and to respect, "unless absolutely prevented, the laws in force in the country." Thus it was not, as Peace Now clearly implies, an Israeli subterfuge ("Israel has made use of Ottoman legislation") to apply the pre-existing Ottoman – as well as British and Jordanian – laws in the West Bank.A second error Peace Now makes in the very same paragraph is in their mistaken claim that land must be cultivated for 10 years. According to the Ottoman land law that is used there is a category of land known as mulk--private land, where ownership is not related to cultivation and would revert to state ownership only if the owner died intestate.
A third error made in that same paragraph is that land which is cultivated for 10 years does not become private Palestinian land as Peace Now mistakenly claims. Instead, land acquired through cultivation is considered according to the Ottoman Code as at best miri land--land in which a person acquires a limited right of use. Contrary to Peace Now, such land remains the property of the state, and its reversion to the state is not limited to a failure to cultivate. Miri land is by definition state land.
A fourth error is the Peace Now claim that while prior to 1968 the land registration was open to Palestinians but not since. CAMERA quotes from a court case that proves that is not true
A fifth factual problem is a category of land which the Peace Now report neglected to mention altogether. Under the Ottoman Code, there is a category of land known as mewat ('dead land') which is applicable to the West Bank--unallocated or waste areas outside of inhabited areas which can be cultivated by special effort. Such development requires prior permission from the State. CAMERA quotes from a British Mandate source that clarifies:
Practically all the unoccupied land of Palestine is mewat and cannot be occupied without the permission of the Government.CAMERA finds that:
much of what Peace Now is terming “private Palestinian land” is in fact state land because it is mewat, and has been considered so for generations. The land on which Ma’ale Adumim was built, for example, was more than a mile and a half from the built up area of the closest Arab village, Al ‘Ayzariyah; the land was also rocky and on a ridge, and had therefore never been inhabited or cultivated. It was therefore clearly mewat land which belonged to the state and not to any private owners. [emphasis added]Thus, land which was once in the category of miri but later was abandoned or fell into disuse would lose even its limited rights--but Peace Now considers this land to still be private Palestinian land.
CAMERA concludes based on the Ottoman Code in effect and other documentation that:
There can be no doubt, however, that the majority of land that Peace Now calls “private Palestinian land” is in fact mewat, or waste land, and therefore permanently in the public domain, with not even rights to cultivate.Peace Now's report is riddled with factual error and omission of key law. One can only hope that as the facts come out they will be given the same exposure as the Peace Now report.
Technorati Tag: Israel and Peace Now and West Bank and Gaza and Yisrael Medad and CAMERA.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
What College Students Need To Know about Israel
University campuses are an important battleground--the threat there is more than just to our children's Jewishness.
What College Students Need To Know about IsraelRebutting those who distort history. -- Dr. Alex Grobman
A key element in raising a Jewish children is to encourage them to develop their informed opinion about the situation in Israel. This begins with building and maintaining a historical and current knowledge base of Israel issues. They need to learn to separate the facts from the misinformation, the good sources of information from the biased. Remember that you as parents are a key source for children. Once their information base is solid, encourage your children to build on this base by developing their interpretation of the situation, what should be done and what the implications will be of a certain action and then, encourage him to take action. You have heard the expression "Two Jews, two opinions." This is one of my favorite aspects of Judaism --- debate and questioning. It is very healthy. To feed your family discussions on Israel, we are privileged to have the following parenting op/ed from Dr. Alex Grobman, a historian with an M.A. and Ph.D. in contemporary Jewish history with a major in the Shoah from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He is president of the Brenn Institute, a think tank dealing with historical and contemporary issues affecting the Jewish community."
-- Flaura Koplin Winston, M.D. Ph.D.
Sending our children to college marks a major milestone for both parents and their children. Through no fault of their own, or ours, some of them will find themselves ill-prepared to deal with the anti-Israel propaganda disseminated throughout their campuses. Below are a number of suggestions that parents and teachers can use to help their children understand and effectively respond to the issues surrounding the Israel-Arab conflict.
Israel is engaged in a war for its survival. There is nothing in the Arab media or statements by Arab political or religious figures that indicates they have ever accepted Israel's right to exist. The Palestinians and their supporters have manufactured specious arguments that have fooled some in the West into thinking that Israel does not want peace and that the Arabs are the victims of Israeli aggression. Today, they say the obstacles to peace are the settlements; tomorrow there will be other excuses to justify murderous attacks against the Jewish State.
Students need to know the basics of modern Middle Eastern history and the Israeli/Arab conflict. Approaching the Middle East from the historians' point of view engages students intellectually and emotionally. With perspective, they can be confident when confronting those who distort history.
Knowing FactsStudents should be very careful about the information they do use. For example, a well-known and oft-used full-page quote from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. equating anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism is a fake. The alleged source is the August 1967 issue of Saturday Review, but this article does not exist in that or any other issue of the Saturday Review.
A week and a half before he was assassinated, at the annual convention of the Conservative Judaism's Rabbinical Assembly on March 28, 1968, Dr. King did say: "Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect its right to exist, its territorial integrity. I see Israel as one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how the desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security and that security must be a reality."
Arabs have raised a number of questions about the context in which these remarks were made, insisting that Dr. King knew little about the Middle East and that this was said before Israel's "occupation" of the West Bank (even though the Six-Day War took place in June 1967).
Learning To AnalyzeStudents also need to learn how to analyze news. The media uses language and pictures to slant a story in order to make it "sell," and that determines how the story influences listeners and readers.
Sometimes the biases are a result of bad reporting and simple ignorance. At other times, the slant is deliberately anti-Israel and often anti-Semitic. Students should check HonestReporting.com, which dissects news reports daily, to see which reports are straightforward, which are not, and how the two approaches differ.
A Moral Imperative Beyond the Jewish IssueResponding to Arab propaganda is a moral imperative that goes beyond the "Jewish issue." Universities have the responsibility to seek the truth. Failure to react to lies allows people to think there are no answers and to rely upon fabrications as truth.
Becoming involved in the campus newspaper and other campus organizations are important ways for students to develop strategic alliances and counter misconceptions. For example, when the Jewish National Fund (JNF) wanted to come to Harvard, members of the Sierra Club balked. As president of the Sierra Club, Josh Suskewicz, my student, researcher, and ultimately president of Harvard Students for Israel, convinced them that the JNF is not racist.
Informal discussions in the dorms also offer important opportunities to defuse anti-Israel feelings. Providing a balanced view that tells the truth can influence people.
Preemptive ActionStudents should learn to counter Arab propaganda by seizing the initiative, publicizing Israel's positive actions, and explaining her specific policies. Before someone decides to build a "Wall" in front of the dining hall, preempt them by holding a teach-in about why the Israeli security fence was built and how many lives it has saved on both sides. The same should be done before "check-points" are erected on campus.
ExhibitsTo inhibit use of the "Zionism is Racism" canard, mount an exhibit about Zionism and Israel's accomplishments. For example, a few years ago, students at Harvard produced an effective display of posters highlighting Israel's contributions to the world.
Recent examples of such stories include Israelis who: won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering a cell process that leads the way to DNA repair and may control newly produced proteins and immune systems; created human monoclonal antibodies that neutralize the smallpox virus without inducing dangerous side effects; devised a simple blood test that diagnoses mild and more severe cases of Multiple Sclerosis; developed of a non-invasive treatment of intrauterine fibroid tumors.
Most of Microsoft's Windows operating systems were developed in Israel. The complete design, development, and production of Pentium NMX Chip technology, the Pentium 4 microprocessor, and the Centrium processor-were all carried out in Israel.
Cell Phones and Gay RightsIsraeli techies developed voicemail, and cell phones can't work without Israeli technology. The Israelis developed ICQ, now mostly known as Instant Messenger. Microsoft's and Cisco's only research and development facilities outside the US are in Israel.
Another Harvard exhibit explored democracy, gay rights, women's rights, ethnic diversity, and technology in Israel. An Israeli rock concert attracted students indifferent or hostile to the politics.
According to my student Josh, "When we demonstrate that we can co-exist and get along, it enormously improves our standing as advocates. Highlighting Israel's unique culture allows people to feel closer to Israel and brings the connection to life, resulting in more dedicated and focused advocates."
The Write StuffLetters to local college newspapers and media are another way to counter distortions from Arab propagandists and to gain support from non-Jews. Correspondence should stick to the facts and not become personal attacks.
Qualified students should try to become regular contributors to the campus paper. When truth is distorted, it should be corrected in print via a letter to the editor or in an op-ed piece.
During his first two years in school, Josh published several articles in the Harvard Crimson. As his mentor, I reassured him, checked his facts, and made sure the arguments were cogent.
An English major, Josh did his "homework" by engaging in extensive reading and felt confident enough to question his professors when they intended to invite Tom Paulin - who said that Israeli settlers should be shot - to lecture.
ConfidenceRachel, a student at Yale University, worked with me via e-mail and telephone to learn about the Middle East conflict. She was frustrated by her inability to respond effectively first to Arab lies on campus and then to Jews participating in a Jewish Federation program which sympathized with Arabs and Arab propaganda.
As a result of our correspondence, she successfully confronted an anti-Israeli professor from the university about his attacks on the Jewish state.
Sometimes pressure from alumni and the fear of losing funds are the most effective means of protest. Verbal abuse of Jewish students at Columbia University became so serious that students, working with a Boston-based organization called the David Project, documented the harassment.
It took a massive letter-writing campaign to Columbia's president by concerned alumni, students, parents, and faculty as well as coverage of the incidents on campus by the mainstream national media before the Columbia administration agreed to take steps to address the problem.
Primary SourcesDavid Ben-Gurion once observed, "Nothing is more dangerous for Zionism than the fatalistic belief in the eternity of Israel."
The fight for the Jewish State will continue for years to come. We must educate the next generation to defend Israel-and we need to do it now.
I suggest students begin by reading the following material: Primary books: Alan Dershowitz, The Case For Israel, (Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons, 2003); and Mitchell Bard's Myths and Facts: A Guide to the Arab-Israeli Conflict, (Chevy Chase, Maryland: American Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, 2001), Reply Myths and Facts; and Alex Grobman, Nations United: How the UN is Undermining Israel and the West (Green Forest, Arkansas: Balfour Books, 2006).
One of the most important ways students can demonstrate their concern for Israel is to vote for candidates who strongly support the Jewish state and Jewish causes. For many undergraduates, their first election may occur during their first semester of college. Voting is a very tangible way for them to help Israel, the Jewish people, and the U.S. in their fight against those who wish to destroy our democratic way of life.
Primary websites to check regularlyAdditional Internet and Hard Copy Sources
The following should be read on a regular basis:
- Commentary
- Midstream,
- Azure,
- The Jerusalem Post,
- The Forward,
- The Jerusalem Report,
- Ha'aretz,
- Maariv (in Hebrew),
- Jewish Telegraphic Agency Daily News Bulletin,
- DEBKA,
- CAMERA,
- Jewish World Review,
- Daniel Pipes,
- Israel 21c .
Personal search engine keywords such as Israel, Jews, Jewish, Middle East will put news articles with those words into your own mailbox, daily or as set.
The Basic Library-must-reads-should include:
- Alan Dershowitz, Why Terrorism Works: Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge;
- Arthur Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea;
- The Palestinian Liberation Organization Covenant;
- Kenneth Levin, The Oslo Syndrome: Delusions of a People Under Siege;
- Yaacov Lozowick, Right To Exist: A Moral Defense of Israel's Wars; Martin Gilbert, Atlas of the Arab-Israeli Conflict and any of his works on Israel;
- Efraim Karsh, Arafat's War: The Man and His Battle for Israeli Conquest and Fabricating History;
- Yoram Hazony, The Jewish State: The Struggle for Israel's Soul;
- Kenneth W. Stein. The Land Question In Palestine, 1917-1939; and
- Barry Rubin and Walter Laqueur, The Israel-Arab Reader.
An historian, Dr. Grobman's most recent book is Battling for Souls: The Vaad Hatzala Rescue Committee in Post War Europe. He is also co-author of Denying History: Who Says The Holocaust Never Happened? His most recent book is Nations United: How the UN is Undermining Israel and the West.
Crossposted at Israpundit
Technorati Tag: Israel and Hasbarah and University Campuses.
Friday, October 13, 2006
October 15, 2006: 3rd Anniversary of the Murder of 3 Americans by Palestinian Terrorists
Three years later, and nothing has been done about it.
Jeff Jacoby reported at the time:
On December 17, 2002, Hamas and Palestinian Islamist Jihad joined together in declaring that "Americans are the enemies of the Palestinian people . . . [and] a target for future attacks." The very next day Hamas declared that "Americans [are] now considered legitimate targets as well as Israelis." In June 2002, there was a chat-room discussion on an official Hamas website considering various options for killing Americans either in Israel or Gaza.
Arutz Sheva reported on April 14, 2006:
Bush will probably sign the waiver again--and it will be the closest thing we have to an American response to the Palestinian murder of Americans.
Crossposted at Israpundit
Jeff Jacoby reported at the time:
THREE AMERICANS -- John Branchizio, Mark Parson, and John Martin Linde -- were murdered last Wednesday when terrorists in Gaza bombed the diplomatic convoy they were riding in. News accounts immediately described the attack as a first -- "an unprecedented deadly attack on a US target in the Palestinian territories," to quote the Associated Press. But Branchizio, Parson, and Linde were not the first Americans to be murdered by Palestinian terrorists. They were the 49th, 50th, and 51st in the past 10 years alone.But instead, the murders were downplayed:
According to CAMERA, these are not the first American officials to be murdered by Palestinian Arabs:USA Today's Arieh O'Sullivan claimed that “the killings reflected a potentially dangerous new escalation in a conflict that for the past half-century has largely treated U.S. officials as bystanders. Terrorist Palestinian groups have generally avoided attacks on U.S. officials.”
The New York Times’ John F. Burns reported that “the bombing was the first fatal attack on an official American target since the current Palestinian uprising began three years ago .... In decades of conflict, attacks on American officials in Israel and the Palestinian territories have been almost unknown, notwithstanding Palestinian militants’anger at American support for Israel.”
Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, and Washington Times’ coverage was similar.
On March 3, 1973, “Black September Organization” gunmen acting for Yasir Arafat's Fatah faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization kidnapped and later murdered U.S. Ambassador to Sudan Cleo A. Noel Jr., U.S. diplomat George C. Moore, and a Belgian colleague. Some reports state that National Security Administration communication intercepts show that Arafat approved the kidnapping and the murders (Inside the PLO by Livingstone and Halevy, p. 280; Wall Street Journal, Ion Mihai Pacepa, Jan. 10, 2002)The Republican Study Committee on December 10, 2003 published a detailed list of American Citizens Killed or Injured by Palestinian Terrorists, stating:
On Jan. 1, 1977, gunmen reportedly part of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, another P.L.O. faction, kidnapped and murdered U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Frances E. Meloy and U.S. diplomat Robert O. Waring in Beirut.
In addition to U.S. officials, approximately 103 American citizens have been killed, 119 wounded, by Palestinian terrorists in Israel and the disputed territories since 1968. At least 39 have been murdered since the Palestinians rejected the U.S.-Israeli offer of a West Bank and Gaza Strip state and launched the current terror war three years ago. Although many of these victims were not targeted for being Americans, reports stating that the three security guards murdered on October 15 are the first Americans killed by Palestinian terrorists, either following September 29, 2000, or before, are simply wrong.
Since Yasser Arafat “renounced” violence in the Oslo Peace Accords on September 13, 1993, at least 52 American citizens, including women and children, have been murdered by Palestinian terrorists, and at least another 83 Americans have been injured.Matthew Levitt, a senior fellow in terrorism studies at The Washington Institute, wrote on the same day as the murders that other Western diplomats have been targeted by Palestinian terrorists:
there is precedent for Palestinian groups attacking convoys of Western diplomats traveling in Gaza and the West Bank. On December 21, 2002, a Palestinian gunman fired on a German diplomatic vehicle at close range as it drove through Jenin. Similar incidents occurred in February 2001 and November 2002, when Palestinian gunmen fired on Canadian and Danish diplomatic vehicles, respectively.Levitt specifies cases of anti-American rhetoric and attacks by various Palestinian terrorist groups--
On December 17, 2002, Hamas and Palestinian Islamist Jihad joined together in declaring that "Americans are the enemies of the Palestinian people . . . [and] a target for future attacks." The very next day Hamas declared that "Americans [are] now considered legitimate targets as well as Israelis." In June 2002, there was a chat-room discussion on an official Hamas website considering various options for killing Americans either in Israel or Gaza.
On March 26, 2002, members of Palestinian Islamist Jihad (PIJ) attacked the members of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH). They murdered two observers--Jinjis Twintuk of Turkey and Catherine Broyikes of Switzerland--and injured Hussein Asraslan of Turkey. Two members of PIJ were formally charged with executing the attack, and according to the indictment the terrorists fired at the observers' car even though they identified themselves as TIPH representatives.
When members of al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades swore to avenge the arrest of Fatah and al-Aqsa leader Marwan Barghouti, a senior leader of al-Aqsa declared in late April 2002, "Now, American targets are the same as Israeli targets." A month later, on May 1, 2002, members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) took credit for detonating a bomb in the garden of the British Council in Gaza City. They claimed it was in retaliantion for the transfer of five PFLP terrorists and a PA official to a Jericho jail where U.S. and British civilian observers were stationed to verify their confinement.
A recent sermon on official PA TV described the US as "the foremost enemy of the Muslim nation" and compared it to Pharaoh of the Bible saying: "There is no God besides me." [PA TV February 21, 2003]
This past Friday, the PA sermon broadcast on official PA TV included the following threats and warnings to the US: "We hear statements by the little American President, oppressive statements. He says Israel has the right to defend itself... These statements carry destruction for America itself... This president sees himself like one who has ascended to the mountaintop and like one expecting someone to push him so that he falls into the abyss, he and his people with him. We warn the American people that this president is dragging them to the abyss... [Allah] take vengeance on Your enemies, our enemies, enemies of religion." [PA TV Sheikh Ibrahim Madiras, Oct. 10, 2003]
A recent sermon on official PA TV told Muslim believers to anticipate the destruction of the US:
"If we go back 1400 years in time, we find that history is repeating itself, worshippers of Allah. The Prophet Mohammed was besieged by two powers, Persia in the east and Rome in the west. These represent the Soviet Union and America of today. Persia represents Russia in the east, and America stands for Rome in the west. Persia fell first in the east, just as Russia fell first in the east, and America will fall, may it be Allah's will, just as Rome fell..." [Official Sermon PA TV, September 5,2003,Sheikh Ibrahim Madiras.]Clearly, the American diplomats were murdered today by Palestinians fulfilling their role in their war against Americans, as they have been taught by their leaders, through years of hate-mongering and calls for violence against Americans.
In response, the US has done nothing substansive or even symbolic.
Arutz Sheva reported on April 14, 2006:
That Thursday was April 13. That means the 6-month waiver should be expiring any day now.The United States has enabled the PLO office in Washington to stay open despite the Hamas terrorist group’s rise to power. The US Ambassador to the UN, however, blocked an anti-Israel proposal.
A six-month waiver was enacted by the Bush administration Thursday allowing the PLO’s Washington office to stay open despite the fact that the movement’s Fatah group is responsible for dozens of terrorist attacks and attempts a week in Israel.
Bush will probably sign the waiver again--and it will be the closest thing we have to an American response to the Palestinian murder of Americans.
Crossposted at Israpundit
Technorati Tag: US and Terrorists and Palestinians.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
'Peace Now' Could Teach Hamas A Thing Or Two
Arutz Sheva reports that Peace Now, in order to achieve their goal to get Israel to withdraw to pre-1967 borders is largely funded by foreign governments.
This is not really earth-shattering news.
Back in 2002, CAMERA reported that:
One year before that, in 2001, the Jerusalem Post reported on the justification given by the EU for the funding they provide to left-wing organizations in Israel:
But apparently the EU feels that the PA qualifies as one of those "non-governmental organizations that work for peace, democracy, and human rights in the civil societies around the Mediterranean" since it provided financial support to Yasir Arafat's Palestinian Authority. According to Glick in her article, the EU was the single largest contributor to Arafat's PA since its inception, despite the evidence that the PA is a terrorist entity.
But now, according to Arutz Sheva, David Bedein is claiming that he has documents showing that in 2005, Peace Now bypassed the EU and has gone directly to individual countries, receiving payments directly from Britain, Norway, and Finland, totaling nearly a half million dollars. He also claims that for its 2006 budget, Peace Now has approached Britain, Norway, Canada, Germany, Holland, and Finland, with commitments from Britain, Norway, and Finland.
Considering how Israel has learned that one is beholden to the one you accept money from, the question arises how these foreign countries may have impact
This issue of accepting foreign money goes further than the fact that Peace Now is engaging in an activity that would require it in the US to register as a foreign agent. Peace Now is out to challenge the status of Jewish communitees in the West Bank and see to it that the Israeli government dismantles them. The article makes it clear that:
It's not surprizing that over the years Peace Now has become more emboldened--and successful--in looking for financial aid from abroad. No doubt they could teach Hamas a thing or two.
Once again, the Israeli government has taken a passive role and allowed these things to happen. It is not enough for the Israeli government to periodically authorize the IDF to make daring strikes against terrorist leaders. It is in the basic day-to-day running of the country that Israel's future will be assured.
Crossposted at Israpundit
This is not really earth-shattering news.
Back in 2002, CAMERA reported that:
The EU reportedly provides much of Beilin's personal funding. According to an investigative report by Yoav Yitzchaki published in the Feb. 8, 2002 edition of the Israeli daily Ma'ariv, Beilin's salary is largely provided by the European Union (EU), as are his travel expenses. Beilin draws an annual salary of 350,000-400,000 NIS ( $80,000-$90,000) from the EU-funded Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF) which he established.Caroline Glick wrote, also in 2002, that the EU funded organizations like Rabbis for Human Rights, which organized delegations of foreign activists to stand in front of IDF tanks and try to force their way through IDF roadblocks.
One year before that, in 2001, the Jerusalem Post reported on the justification given by the EU for the funding they provide to left-wing organizations in Israel:
"The European Union has always held a policy of supporting non-governmental organizations that work for peace, democracy, and human rights in the civil societies around the Mediterranean," an EU official told The Jerusalem Post. "The Israeli government is fully aware of this funding and has never complained about it. The EU has never provided financial support for political parties," he stressed.That the Israeli government has stood by and let this happen is just one more indication of their paralysis and inability to take even the most basic stands in the interests of the country. On the other hand, for the EU to brag that they do not look at the "political complexion" of whom they give financial support to--in a region that is drowning in politics--is irresponsible.
..."We don't look at the political complexion of the people who apply to us," the official said. "We look at the project and if it meets our criteria, it is a candidate for our support."
But apparently the EU feels that the PA qualifies as one of those "non-governmental organizations that work for peace, democracy, and human rights in the civil societies around the Mediterranean" since it provided financial support to Yasir Arafat's Palestinian Authority. According to Glick in her article, the EU was the single largest contributor to Arafat's PA since its inception, despite the evidence that the PA is a terrorist entity.
But now, according to Arutz Sheva, David Bedein is claiming that he has documents showing that in 2005, Peace Now bypassed the EU and has gone directly to individual countries, receiving payments directly from Britain, Norway, and Finland, totaling nearly a half million dollars. He also claims that for its 2006 budget, Peace Now has approached Britain, Norway, Canada, Germany, Holland, and Finland, with commitments from Britain, Norway, and Finland.
Considering how Israel has learned that one is beholden to the one you accept money from, the question arises how these foreign countries may have impact
This issue of accepting foreign money goes further than the fact that Peace Now is engaging in an activity that would require it in the US to register as a foreign agent. Peace Now is out to challenge the status of Jewish communitees in the West Bank and see to it that the Israeli government dismantles them. The article makes it clear that:
Such challenges often have direct impact on government policy and on the country's fragile social and political fabric. The government's decision to dismantle nine homes in the town of Amona, for example, followed a Supreme Court petition filed by Peace Now, claiming the homes were built illegally. The homes were destroyed inAll of this: funded by countries that are foreign--both geographically and in terms of their friendship--to Israel. That makes it all the more unsettling that Bedein claims Finland's contribution to Peace Now was forwarded to Finland by the U.S. government, according to what a member of the Finnish Parliament told him.
a violent police action, in which hundreds were injured.
The violence and sharp polarization of Israeli society ensuing from the Amona tragedy may be playing into the hands of the same foreign governments which fund Peace Now. This is so to the extent that divisions within Israel's political communitiy weaken the government's ability to maintain Israeli control of Judea and Samaria in the face of world criticism.
It's not surprizing that over the years Peace Now has become more emboldened--and successful--in looking for financial aid from abroad. No doubt they could teach Hamas a thing or two.
Once again, the Israeli government has taken a passive role and allowed these things to happen. It is not enough for the Israeli government to periodically authorize the IDF to make daring strikes against terrorist leaders. It is in the basic day-to-day running of the country that Israel's future will be assured.
Crossposted at Israpundit
Technorati Tag: Israel and Peace Now and EU.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
When The AP Writes About Hamas--Look Out!
From The Associated Press we get this opening paragraph of the article Hamas Working to End Rise in Gaza Violence:
2. Hamas wants to make sure that when civilian Israelis are killed, it is solely on Hamas' say-so.
And there is more:
AP does mention that Israelis have been killed by Hamas:
Pity that AP is as shy about the details of Israelis murdered as they are about the truth.
The new Hamas-led Palestinian government is quietly working to end a surge in violence, urging rival militant groups in the Gaza Strip to refrain from launching rockets at Israel without official permission.1. Hamas is not working towards ending the firing of missles at civilian populations--just to decrease their frequency.
2. Hamas wants to make sure that when civilian Israelis are killed, it is solely on Hamas' say-so.
And there is more:
Although the rocket attacks have not stopped and Hamas says it still supports violent resistance against Israel, its subtle efforts at persuasion look like an attempt to stabilize a chaotic situation so that it can focus on governing the West BankOh. So Hamas--a terrorist group--is using "subtle efforts at persuasion" on rival terrorist groups that want to take power away from Hamas? As subtle as the the shootouts that we've been reading about so far?
AP does mention that Israelis have been killed by Hamas:
Hamas, which has killed hundreds of Israelis in suicide bombings, is under intense pressure from Israel and the international community to renounce violence and recognize Israel, demands it has so far rejected.This matches what CAMERA says:
hundreds of Israelis have been killed by Hamas, and far more have been wounded.except that CAMERA said this back in November 2000--before the outbreak of the 2nd Intifada (in response to CNN who put the number of Israelis murdered by Hamas at "scores"). So when AP generalizes about the "hundreds" of Israeli citizens blown apart and murdered, are we talking a couple hundred--or closer to a thousand?
Pity that AP is as shy about the details of Israelis murdered as they are about the truth.
Technorati Tag: Israel and Hamas and Terrorism and Media Bias and AP.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
The Israel Lobby: An Antechamber To Debate
On October 18, 2004, Honest Reporting had a piece entitled Israel-bashing in Medical Journals, which noted:
o In The British Medical Journal, Dr. Derrick Summerfield wrote
Now John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard have written a paper The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy:
This is not surprising. For every Juan Cole who writes:
More disconcerting is the apparent response of an pro-Israel group to the paper:
The American Thinker warned back in February 2005 of this growing trend:
o In The British Medical Journal, Dr. Derrick Summerfield wrote
The Israeli army, with utter impunity, has killed more unarmed Palestinian civilians since September 2000 than the number of people who died on September 11, 2001.and
Clearly, soldiers are routinely authorised to shoot to kill children in situations of minimal or no threat.o In June 2004 the Diabetes Voice, a quarterly publication of the International Diabetes Federation, had a report on the Gaza Strip, with the following abstract:
Fast forward to June 17, 2005, when Dana Milbank wrote Democrats Play House To Rally Against the War in the Washington Post, describing how some Democrats conducted a mock-Judiciary Committee hearing about the Iraqi war:The year 2003 marked the 55th anniversary of the Nakba (cataclysm) of the Palestinian people. In 1948, according to the United Nations Conciliation Commission, 760,000 Palestinians were evicted from their cities and villages, hundreds of which were razed to the ground. What remains of the Palestinian people's land is now split between the West Bank of the river Jordan and Qita Ghazzah (Gaza Strip), and remains occupied by Israeli military forces and settlers. In 2003, the second uprising, or Al-Aqsa Intifada against this occupation entered its third year. Panagiotis Tsapogas, Medical Co-ordinator of the Greek section of Mdecins Sans Frontires (Doctors Without Borders) in Gaza, 2002-2003, reports on the difficulties faced by Palestinian people with diabetes in Gaza, and makes a call for the provision of improved diabetes care in the region.
...The session took an awkward turn when witness Ray McGovern, a former intelligence analyst, declared that the United States went to war in Iraq for oil, Israel and military bases craved by administration "neocons" so "the United States and Israel could dominate that part of the world." He said that Israel should not be considered an ally and that Bush was doing the bidding of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.Howard Dean later condemned the Anti-Semitic literature handed out and the anti-Israel accusations.
"Israel is not allowed to be brought up in polite conversation," McGovern said. "The last time I did this, the previous director of Central Intelligence called me anti-Semitic."
Rep. James P. Moran Jr. (D-Va.), who prompted the question by wondering whether the true war motive was Iraq's threat to Israel, thanked McGovern for his "candid answer."
At Democratic headquarters, where an overflow crowd watched the hearing on television, activists handed out documents repeating two accusations -- that an Israeli company had warning of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and that there was an "insider trading scam" on 9/11 -- that previously has been used to suggest Israel was behind the attacks.
Now John Mearsheimer, Professor of Political Science at Chicago, and Stephen Walt, Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard have written a paper The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy:
For the past several decades, and especially since the Six-Day War in 1967, the centrepiece of US Middle Eastern policy has been its relationship with Israel. The combination of unwavering support for Israel and the related effort to spread 'democracy' throughout the region has inflamed Arab and Islamic opinion and jeopardised not only US security but that of much of the rest of the world. This situation has no equal in American political history. Why has the US been willing to set aside its own security and that of many of its allies in order to advance the interests of another state? One might assume that the bond between the two countries was based on shared strategic interests or compelling moral imperatives, but neither explanation can account for the remarkable level of material and diplomatic support that the US provides.A number of blogs have addressed a number of the points that the paper attempts to make. The Elder of Ziyon pinpoints another of issues in the paper, noting parallels with Denmark, the problem of the danger of automatically assigning intellectual honesty to intellectuals, and some sloppiness with the truth. Meanwhile, The American Thinker, James Taranto, Powerline, and CAMERA--among many others take the arguments offered and rebut, critque, and reveal the many flaws in the paper.
This is not surprising. For every Juan Cole who writes:
According to the September 11 Commission report, al-Qaeda conceived 9/11 in some large part as a punishment on the US for supporting Ariel Sharon's iron fist policies toward the Palestinians. Bin Laden had wanted to move the operation up in response to Sharon's threatening visit to the Temple Mount, and again in response to the Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp, which left 4,000 persons homeless. Khalid Shaikh Muhammad argued in each case that the operation just was not ready.there is a Martin Kramer who will answer:
Did Cole read the same 9/11 report as the rest of us? There's not a single passage in the 9/11 report mentioning Sharon's (or Israel's) policies, and I challenge him to produce one. Cole just made it up. And in point of fact, the report's narrative definitively contradicts him. The report makes it clear that 9/11 was conceived well before Sharon became prime minister of Israel in March 2001. Chapter 5, section 2 (p. 153) says the following, based on the interrogation of Khalid Shaikh Muhammad (KSM), the 9/11 mastermind:But the articles, comments, and accusations come from increasingly respectable places--from medical journals, mainstream political parties, and academia. We're not even talking about Columbia University, where such material is expected.According to KSM, he started to think about attacking the United States after [Ramzi] Yousef returned to Pakistan following the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.... He maintains that he and Yousef...speculated about striking the World Trade Center and CIA headquarters as early as 1995.The idea was fully hatched by early 1999 (p. 154):KSM acknowledges formally joining al Qaeda in late 1998 or 1999, and states that soon afterward Bin Ladin also made the decision to support his proposal to attack the United States using commercial airplanes as weapons.... Bin Ladin summoned KSM to Kandahar in March or April 1999 to tell him that al Qaeda would support his proposal. The plot was now referred to within al Qaeda as the "planes operation."The selection of Ehud Barak as Israeli prime minister in May 1999 didn't put a crimp in the planning. To the contrary: preparations proceeded apace, and Bin Laden pushed even harder for the operation, which wasn't quite ready. Bin Laden did so again after Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount. But that visit took place on September 28, 2000, when Sharon was leader of the opposition. He only became prime minister five months later.
In short, the 9/11 operation could hardly have been "conceived" as a response to U.S. support for Sharon's "iron fist policies." It was conceived, its operatives were selected, and it was put in motion, long before Sharon took the helm. "
The report makes it clear that 9/11 was conceived well before Sharon became prime minister of Israel in March 2001.
...And what of Cole's claim that Bin Laden wanted to launch the attacks "in response to the Israeli attack on the Jenin refugee camp, which left 4,000 persons homeless"? The Jenin operation took place in April 2002, seven months after 9/11. Apparently, in the bizarre universe of the Colesque, Sharon's horrid deeds are always at fault for 9/11, even if he committed them after the event.
More disconcerting is the apparent response of an pro-Israel group to the paper:
An official with a pro-Israel organization in Washington said that the authors' disagreement "is not with America's pro-Israel lobby, but with the American people, who overwhelmingly support our relationship with Israel, and with Democrats and Republicans in successive administrations and Congress, who so strongly and consistently support the special relationship between the United States and Israel.This official misses the point that what is under attack in the paper is not merely American policy, the pro-Israel lobby, or the pro-Israel opinion of the average American. Mearsheimer and Walt attempt to rewrite the events of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, reinterpret the nature of Israel's democracy and attacks Israel's moral standing.
The American Thinker warned back in February 2005 of this growing trend:
Let's recognize the paper for what it is and what it does--and where it fits in a growing list of similar writing.Frank Luntz, a pollster, says there is great danger ahead, because American elite opinion is not sympathetic to Israel, and it is getting worse. Elites view Israel as aggressive and warlike and Palestinians as victims. Academia is the community that is the least sympathetic to Israel, since lefty radicals from the 60s run the faculty at most schools. Columbia University is one of the worst offenders, particularly its Middle Eastern Studies Department, now chaired by former University of Chicago Professor Rashid Khalidi. This has happened despite the fact that Columbia gets 50% of its contributions from Jewish alumni, and more than a quarter of its students are Jewish. Jewish intellectuals, such as Tony Judt writing in the New York Review of Books, have given up on Israel. It has just become too difficult for the spineless and witless to defend Israel at cocktail parties.
Elites are very angry – at President Bush, at Republicans, at evangelicals. A lot of it revolves around the Iraq war. They blame “neocons,” shorthand for the Jews, for promoting the Iraq war, and for controlling Bush. This is just one more justification for their anti-Israel venom.
Technorati Tag: Israel and Israel Lobby.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
I'm OK, Euro-K
It really did look impressive for a while there when Haaretz reported that the EU was going to suspend payments to the Palestinian Arabs:
But it might be that the EU hasn't learned a thing and still has money to burn. The Financial Times reports:
Glick notes that besides Beilin
The European Union has suspended 35 million euros ($42 million) in aid to the Palestinians, citing their lack of budgetary discipline, the EU's commissioner for external relations said on Tuesday.It seemed like a move the likes of which we haven't seen since Bolton got the UN Security Council to condemn Hizbullah.
The rare sanction underscored intensified foreign donor scrutiny on the Palestinian Authority since Israel quit the Gaza Strip last year after 38 years of occupation. The impoverished territory is widely seen as a testing ground for statehood.
"We have a long-term commitment with the Palestinian people that we would like to improve their living conditions (but) we are not only pumping money into the Palestinians without asking for very clear benchmarks," she [EU commissioner, Benita Ferrero-Waldner] said.
But it might be that the EU hasn't learned a thing and still has money to burn. The Financial Times reports:
The European Union is preparing itself for the possibility of doing business with Hamas after this month’s Palestinian elections, even though the group is on the EU’s list of banned terrorist organisations.How does that translate into concrete terms? The EU has provided hundreds of millions of dolllars to the PA during both Abbas' and Arafat's tenure--money that at best was wasted. Caroline Glick provides a typical example from Arafat's time:On a visit to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank this week, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, commissioner for external relations, emphasised the EU would not take sides in the January 25 vote, in which Hamas is mounting a strong challenge to President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah party.
The EU is unlikely to cut funding automatically if Hamas emerges as part of the Palestinian government after the elections, an outcome many observers consider possible. “We have been a consistent, and reliable partner for both sides [in the Israel-Palestinian conflict],” she said. “We will continue to offer our support to all those who seek peace by peaceful means.”[Emphasis added]
The Palestinian Mortgage Housing Corporation was involved in scandal in 1998, when the EU discovered that $20 million it had donated for the construction of low-cost housing in Gaza had been used instead to build luxury apartmentsBut Arafat could always count on the EU. Glick continues (writing in 2002):
for wealthy supporters of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat.
The single largest contributor to Arafat's PA since its inception is the EU. Still today, as the evidence has become overwhelming that the PA is a terrorist entity from headWhile shoveling in money for the Palestinian infrastructure, what does the EU do for Israel? CAMERA reported during 2002 that
to toe, the EU insists on continuing its financial support. Just last month the EU announced it was donating another 340 million euros to the PA. This week, the Ad-Hoc Liaison Committee, the body responsible for coordinating aid to the PA is meeting in Oslo to put together a new financing package.
The EU reportedly provides much of Beilin's personal funding. According to an investigative report by Yoav Yitzchaki published in the Feb. 8, 2002 edition of the Israeli daily Ma'ariv, Beilin's salary is largely provided by the European Union (EU), as are his travel expenses. Beilin draws an annual salary of 350,000-400,000 NIS ( $80,000-$90,000) from the EU-funded Economic Cooperation Foundation (ECF) which he established.Currently, we hear all about the money the EU provides to the Palestinian Arabs. How often do we hear about the wonderful work the EU is doing with the money it provides Israel? Is it because the money does not go towards Israel itself and infrastructure but to individuals?
Glick notes that besides Beilin
In addition, it [the EU] funds organizations like Rabbis for Human Rights, which recently participated in organizing delegations of foreign activists who were brought here to stand in front of IDF tanks and attempt to force their way through IDF roadblocks.The Jerusalem Post reported in 2001, when the destination of EU donations to Israel came to light:
European Union officials have defended the support they provide to Israeli leftist organizations, including Peace Now, the Four Mothers, and MK Roman Bronfman's Impact project.MKs on the right have criticized Europe's intervention in Israeli politics following an investigation by Ma'ariv journalist Yoav Yitzhak that revealed that the European Union provides hundreds of thousands of euros a year to Israeli non-profit organizations affiliated with the Left.
"The European Union has always held a policy of supporting non-governmental organizations that work for peace, democracy, and human rights in the civil societies around the Mediterranean," an EU official told The Jerusalem Post. "The Israeli government is fully aware of this funding and has never complained about it. The EU has never provided financial support for political parties," he stressed.
..."We don't look at the political complexion of the people who apply to us," the official said. "We look at the project and if it meets our criteria, it is a candidate for our support." However, he said, "We don't support projects under the EU People to People program that do not support the peace process." [emphasis added]
Flash back to the present. If the EU does not support programs "that do not support the peace process," how does it justify doing business with Hamas? No problem, according to the Financial Times article:
However, some EU officials talked to Hamas members through informal and hence deniable channels in the past and were always unhappy about the decision to put the group on the terrorist list, a move championed by Israel and the US. EU foreign ministers have consistently refused to take a similar step for Hizbollah, the Islamist Shia organisation that forms part of the Lebanese government.
Their worry is that heavy handed actions by the EU could prove counterproductive, pushing Hamas further from the political mainstream – a conclusion endorsed on Wednesday by the International Crisis Group, a think-tank in Brussels.
“With the prospect as remote as ever of a renewed peace process or a weakened Palestinian Authority cracking down on a strengthened Hamas, the international community’s best remaining option is to maximise the Islamist movement’s incentives to move in a political direction through a policy of gradual, conditional engagement,” the report says. [Emphasis added]
Not a "peaceful direction" mind you, but a political one. And once Hamas becomes a major political partner, the whitewash will begin. Soon the EU will be able to brag that they fund programs by both Peace Now and Hamas.
Nothing seems to have changed after all these years. The EU apparently still has money to burn and doesn't care who gets hurt in the conflagration.
Crossposted at Israpundit
Sunday, December 25, 2005
How Do You Say "As You Sow, So Shall You Reap" In Arabic?
In a report on NPR last year, on October 14, 2004, NPR's Julie McCarthy reported on how Palestinian Arabs in Gaza saw the Intifada. Her report starts off with a description of the disproportionate number of casualties between the Palestinian Arabs and the Israelis--a skewed presentation rebutted by CAMERA. McCarthy later gets to the issue of the suicide bombers:
What is not mentioned--not by McCarthy nor anyone she interviewed, is the indoctrination that goes into encouraging Palestinian Arabs to become murderers. See, for instance, Honest Reporting on The Roots of Terrorism, giving specific actions this year alone to glorify 'martyrdom'.
But the problem is more than just posters, articles, and paying the families of the suicide bombers. According to a report by Justus Reid Weiner and Michael Sussman, "Will the Next Generation of Palestinians Make Peace with Israel?":
But the idea that the specific encouraging of the emotion of anger can help breed suicide bombers is backed by scientific research done last year. The American Psychological Society last year came out with a report--Prejudice From Thin Air:
Clarity and Resolve ("Defining the Jihad Mental Disease") points out an article that appeared originally in The Star Ledger entitled The Militant Mind which reports on:
Another thought: to the degree that Israel is cut off from the Palestinian Arabs, whether by checkpoints, security barriers, or disengagement--and the Palestinians are left more and more to themselves, just what are they going to do with their pent-up anger and the neurological results? Would that help to explain in any way why this year more Palestinians have been killed by their fellow Palestinians than by Israelis?
Just how do you say "As you sow, so shall you reap" in Arabic?
McCARTHY: ...Glorifying death, according to psychiatrist Iyad Sarraj, has been one of the most damaging effects of the intifada. The doctor and human rights advocate says that the psychology of the people has changed with many younger Palestinians instinctively prepared to sacrifice their lives.
Dr. IYAD SARRAJ (Psychiatrist): The suicide bombing in one word is defying defeat. And the principle behind it is that it is better to die in dignity rather than to live in humiliation and shame.
...Mr. MAHMOUD AJRAMI (Palestinian Diplomat): If a settlement were offered to the Palestinians, we will isolate that tendency. Give us a settlement, a real just compromise, you know, and all these radicals will be isolated in the corner and they will diminish.
McCARTHY: PLO executive committee member Zakaria Al-Agha agrees, but says Israel has done nothing to improve prospects for peace and a Palestinian state. He says Palestinians don't desire to continue fighting, but says the circumstances compel them to.
Mr. ZAKARIA AL-AGHA (PLO Executive Committee Member): We are obliged. Our people is not willing to surrender, but we are willing to stop if the Israelis stopped. This is something just. [emphasis added]
What is not mentioned--not by McCarthy nor anyone she interviewed, is the indoctrination that goes into encouraging Palestinian Arabs to become murderers. See, for instance, Honest Reporting on The Roots of Terrorism, giving specific actions this year alone to glorify 'martyrdom'.
But the problem is more than just posters, articles, and paying the families of the suicide bombers. According to a report by Justus Reid Weiner and Michael Sussman, "Will the Next Generation of Palestinians Make Peace with Israel?":
According to Palestinian psychiatrist Dr. Shafiq Massalha, the next generation of Palestinians will be a very murderous population full of anger and hatred. He reached this conclusion after his study found that over half the Palestinian population aged 6 to 11 dream of becoming suicide bombers. Those familiar with the social, cultural, and educational Palestinian milieu would not be surprised. Since the beginning of the first intifada in 1987, Palestinian children have been mobilized by their leaders to throw stones, create diversions, fire guns, hurl Molotov cocktails, and, most recently, commit suicide attacks targeting Israeli civilians.This drive towards terrorism is not the result of suffering but of a planned and cynical system of education and propaganda. To say that it leads to Narcissistic Personality Disorder only captures a small part of the self-imposed tragedy. There are also the statistics:
...The idea of the shahid (martyr) has become so ingrained in Palestinian culture that it is a major theme in formal education, family values, religious practices, television broadcasting, posters, pre-suicide eulogies, trading cards, family celebrations, movies, music, games, and summer camps. A study done by psychiatrist and Middle Eastern expert Dr. Daphne Burdman has correlated this dysfunctional form of childrearing with a personality disorder known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder - considered to be an antecedent to terrorist behavior. According to Dr. Burdman, as a result of these "strongly-held cultural belief systems and variety of deep-seated psychological mechanisms…there will be considerable difficulty reversing it [their propensity towards terrorism]."
The power of this campaign of incitement can be measured by the upsurge in the number of child deaths. PA television reported that during a 25-day period in the beginning of the second intifada, 46 percent of the total Palestinian deaths in the conflict were under the age of 18.11 Concomitantly, Dr. Fouad Moughrabi found that during the year 2000 (including the first three months of the second intifada), 105 children were killed. Of these, approximately 62 percent died in "active participation." Astonishingly, nearly a quarter of the Palestinian children wounded in 2000 were under the age of twelve.The report goes on to describe further encouragement to terrorism in the public schools and religious sermons.
But the idea that the specific encouraging of the emotion of anger can help breed suicide bombers is backed by scientific research done last year. The American Psychological Society last year came out with a report--Prejudice From Thin Air:
Study participants included New York City residents and college undergraduates who were assigned to novel groups either as individuals who tend to "over estimate" or "under estimate" numerical judgments based on a bogus personality test they believed to be valid. They were then led to experience one of three emotional states -- anger, sadness, or neutrality. Once the emotions had been induced, participants completed rapid categorizations of faces of people in their in-groups or out-groups -- people who were both like them and unlike them with respect to the created estimator groups -- that were preceded by quickly displayed words that were either positive or negative in tone. These rapid response tasks provide a window into the spontaneous and non-conscious evaluations that individuals attached to the social groups.Again, anger was the key emotion.
As expected, among sad and neutral participants, no automatic bias against out-group members emerged. However, the presence of anger caused the mind to shift its perceptions and evaluate out-group members negatively, event though they had never encountered this group before. This finding provides, for the first time, compelling evidence showing that specific emotional states influence basic, automatic processes in the brain that are tied to one of the central challenges of social living: inter-group interaction.
Clarity and Resolve ("Defining the Jihad Mental Disease") points out an article that appeared originally in The Star Ledger entitled The Militant Mind which reports on:
What makes a terrorist a terrorist? Neuroscientists are finding answers inside the brain, while mathematicians explore complex systems to stay a step ahead of extremist networks.Among some of the findings:
"The prefrontal cortex helps modulate aggressive tendencies. It controls activities and brain structures that ordinarily would be quite active to provocation," said Grafman. "There's no doubt that even if you just fantasize a lot about violent activity, your brain gets better at shutting down the part that holds onto social rules and empathy."...Katherine Taylor, a physiologist at Oxford University, has studied how repetition and reinforcement of extreme ideas shape the brain. She calls the neural pathways or cognitive networks created by thoughts "cogwebs."
"The idea behind the cogweb," said Taylor, also the author of a book on brainwashing, "is the more something is repeated, and the stronger the emotions associated with it, the stronger that cogweb becomes. And as those connections get stronger, the more likely it is that there will be a quick step through to the action phase. ... And that, of course, is what an ideologue is aiming for."
If scientists can show that terrorism is a sickness, would it be too much to ask that the media drop the pretense and "moral relativism" of calling terrorists 'freedom fighters'?
Another thought: to the degree that Israel is cut off from the Palestinian Arabs, whether by checkpoints, security barriers, or disengagement--and the Palestinians are left more and more to themselves, just what are they going to do with their pent-up anger and the neurological results? Would that help to explain in any way why this year more Palestinians have been killed by their fellow Palestinians than by Israelis?
Just how do you say "As you sow, so shall you reap" in Arabic?
Technorati Tag: Palestinians.
Sunday, December 18, 2005
Palestinian Playtime
Under the headline Double Standard U.S. Policy on Hamas, Arutz Sheva reports:
On the other hand, there is an odd quality to the idea of a incompetent, corrupt political entity--unwilling to keep its agreements, refusing to disarm terrorists, incapable of keeping its own people from killing each other, completely dependent on billions of dollars in foreign aid (which are lost and wasted)--saying that no one should intervene in their internal affairs.
Here you have a child's playtime version of Iraq, where they think that by putting little pieces of paper into a box you magically create a democratic state. They insist that they are perfectly capable of doing what the big boys do and petulantly stamp their feet at the thought that they have no clue what they are doing.
Of course there are those who agree that the Palestinian Arabs are on a par with the Iraqis when it comes to nation-building. Austin Bay writes:
Furthermore, it's unclear how Bethlehem is a prime tourist attraction, considering the changing demographics:
Christians Fleeing Palestinian Controlled Areas (Near East Report, 1/28/02)
The Beleaguered Christians of The Palestinian-Controlled Area (JCPA, 1/15/03)
New York Times Omits Major Reason Christians are Leaving Bethlehem (CAMERA, 12/24/04)
As the Palestinians continue to make a mess of things, the overindulgent West just continues to spoil them, in the hope--I suppose--that somehow everything will turn out all right and the Palestinian Arabs will stop their tantrum and just quiet down and behave. (not that Arab oil has anything to do with it...).
The fact remains that the Palestinian Arabs are way out of their league. It's a pity that neither the US nor anyone else seems to be willing to put in the time and effort that has been put into achieving what has been done so far--and remains to be done--in Iraq.
The U.S. is funding a Hamas-controlled town in Gaza despite a ban against financing terrorist organizations. Congressmen warned that funds to the PA might be cut if Hamas wins elections.The New York Sun reported back in October that Bush seemed to be taking the latter approach:
President Bush yesterday privately told his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas, that while it was up to him as to whether terrorist groups could participate in upcoming municipal and parliamentary elections, America would have no contact with terrorists in his future government.Meanwhile, the US is not the only one who is expressing second thoughts in their support:
The European Union, the biggest donor to the Palestinian Authority, also says it might curb aid to the PA - if Hamas wins the election next month. EU Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana told reporters in Tel Aviv, "It is very difficult that parties that do not condemn violence ... without changing those positions can be partners for the future,'' Solana said.As to how to take the EU's sudden concern with Hamas--I don't know whether this is something that can be taken with more than a grain of salt. Meryl Yourish see's the EU's reaction as nothing more than a 'soft threat'
PA officials responded by saying that neither the EU nor the U.S. should intervene in internal Palestinian Authority affairs. [emphasis added]
Yes, the EU has shown us in the past that they don’t particularly care if the PA is rife with terrorists. Yes, they’ve ignored evidence from Israel proving that Arafat was sponsoring terrorism.Like her, we'll have to wait and see.But I don’t recall them every stating out front like this that they won’t deal with a terrorist group if it refuses to renounce terror.
On the other hand, there is an odd quality to the idea of a incompetent, corrupt political entity--unwilling to keep its agreements, refusing to disarm terrorists, incapable of keeping its own people from killing each other, completely dependent on billions of dollars in foreign aid (which are lost and wasted)--saying that no one should intervene in their internal affairs.
Here you have a child's playtime version of Iraq, where they think that by putting little pieces of paper into a box you magically create a democratic state. They insist that they are perfectly capable of doing what the big boys do and petulantly stamp their feet at the thought that they have no clue what they are doing.
Of course there are those who agree that the Palestinian Arabs are on a par with the Iraqis when it comes to nation-building. Austin Bay writes:
Despite the violence, Iraqis and Palestinians are creating democratic alternatives. The world's free people need to encourage the Iraqis and Palestinians, not disparage them with defeatist rhetoric and myopic pessimism.
Iraq's and Palestine's victories, now matter how incremental, must be recognized and rewarded.
That's because the democratic revolt's biggest payoffs are at least 10 to 15 years away.
A long haul? Indeed, 15 years is a large chunk of an individual's lifetime. However, in terms of fundamental political and economic reformation, it's no eon.
Peace, the rule of law and steady, honest leadership will make Iraq one of the wealthiest countries in the region. It has water, agriculture, a source of capital (oil) and a population willing to work. Palestine lacks Iraq's natural resources, but Palestinians are aggressive entrepreneurs. Babylon and Bethlehem make Iraq and Palestine prime tourist destinations.
Peace, the rule of law and steady, honest leadership--are there any hints of any of these in the PA? While in Iraq, the insurgents are either in opposition to the Iraqi government or from outside of Iraq altogether, when it comes to the PA, the terrorists are either associated with the Fateh and Abbas or are in the process of being brought in by Abbas--along with their guns.
Furthermore, it's unclear how Bethlehem is a prime tourist attraction, considering the changing demographics:
In Bethlehem alone, the ratio of Christians to Muslims has undergone a complete reversal in the past 50 years—from a 70 percent majority of Christians at the end of World War II to a 30 percent minority today.And that's from an article in 1997. These days you have articles describing the situation in Bethlehem with headlines like
Christians Fleeing Palestinian Controlled Areas (Near East Report, 1/28/02)
The Beleaguered Christians of The Palestinian-Controlled Area (JCPA, 1/15/03)
New York Times Omits Major Reason Christians are Leaving Bethlehem (CAMERA, 12/24/04)
As the Palestinians continue to make a mess of things, the overindulgent West just continues to spoil them, in the hope--I suppose--that somehow everything will turn out all right and the Palestinian Arabs will stop their tantrum and just quiet down and behave. (not that Arab oil has anything to do with it...).
The fact remains that the Palestinian Arabs are way out of their league. It's a pity that neither the US nor anyone else seems to be willing to put in the time and effort that has been put into achieving what has been done so far--and remains to be done--in Iraq.
Technorati Tag: Israel and Palestinians.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Fried Rice
Today NetWMD had a post about a piece on Jewish Current Issues regarding the near-infamous comment by Secretary of State Rice--"It cannot be Gaza Only"--as reported in the New York Times.
The point being made, and verified by the actual transcript is that the quote is out of context. Rice was not saying this as her own opinion, but rather speaking of what others are saying:
The other thing is, just to close off this question, the question has been put repeatedly to the Israelis and to us that it cannot be Gaza only and everybody says no, it cannot be Gaza only.
So far, so good. Jewish Current Issues nailed the Times on this point.
But even granted that the Times messed up the quote, the fact remains that right afterwards, Rice says:
There is, after all, even a link to the West Bank and the four settlements that are going to be dismantled in the West Bank. Everybody, I believe, understands that what we're trying to do is to create momentum toward reenergizing the roadmap and through that momentum toward the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state.
And right before the 'Gaza only' comment, Rice said:
Let's see, you know, what's required. We will have a Quartet in New York because the world comes here for the UNGA. And we'll certainly have a Quartet meeting at that time. There's a Quartet envoys meeting that's scheduled for this week and part of their job is to kind of prepare the meeting of the Quartet and I think we'll look at where we are. But by no means do I think that this is the end.
Daniel Pipes calls the 'Gaza only' quote, " a massive distortion of her words and meaning." He quotes Alex Safian of CAMERA, who admits that
Yes, she expresses the US position in favor of the Roadmap and the "the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state," but that's a far cry from immediate pressure on Israel to go beyond the Gaza withdrawal, which is what "It cannot be Gaza only" clearly means in this context.
At this point, I think we are just splitting hairs. We are dealing with the context of a press conference, not a prepared statement; you can only go with the gist of statements--and the history of pressure that the US in general and Rice in particular has exerted on Israel. Besides, what difference does it make if the pressure on Israel to give more territory to the Palestinian Arabs is going to be 'eventual' or sooner?
It just seems to me that despite the Times misquote, Rice is basically implying what the quote attributed to her says.
The misquote is fake, but accurate.
UPDATE:
Jewish Current Issues has more on this and the followup here and here
The point being made, and verified by the actual transcript is that the quote is out of context. Rice was not saying this as her own opinion, but rather speaking of what others are saying:
The other thing is, just to close off this question, the question has been put repeatedly to the Israelis and to us that it cannot be Gaza only and everybody says no, it cannot be Gaza only.
So far, so good. Jewish Current Issues nailed the Times on this point.
But even granted that the Times messed up the quote, the fact remains that right afterwards, Rice says:
There is, after all, even a link to the West Bank and the four settlements that are going to be dismantled in the West Bank. Everybody, I believe, understands that what we're trying to do is to create momentum toward reenergizing the roadmap and through that momentum toward the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state.
And right before the 'Gaza only' comment, Rice said:
Let's see, you know, what's required. We will have a Quartet in New York because the world comes here for the UNGA. And we'll certainly have a Quartet meeting at that time. There's a Quartet envoys meeting that's scheduled for this week and part of their job is to kind of prepare the meeting of the Quartet and I think we'll look at where we are. But by no means do I think that this is the end.
Daniel Pipes calls the 'Gaza only' quote, " a massive distortion of her words and meaning." He quotes Alex Safian of CAMERA, who admits that
Yes, she expresses the US position in favor of the Roadmap and the "the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state," but that's a far cry from immediate pressure on Israel to go beyond the Gaza withdrawal, which is what "It cannot be Gaza only" clearly means in this context.
At this point, I think we are just splitting hairs. We are dealing with the context of a press conference, not a prepared statement; you can only go with the gist of statements--and the history of pressure that the US in general and Rice in particular has exerted on Israel. Besides, what difference does it make if the pressure on Israel to give more territory to the Palestinian Arabs is going to be 'eventual' or sooner?
It just seems to me that despite the Times misquote, Rice is basically implying what the quote attributed to her says.
The misquote is fake, but accurate.
UPDATE:
Jewish Current Issues has more on this and the followup here and here
Technorati Tag: Israel.
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Some History on Palestinian Violence Against Americans
The following is an excerpt from Daniel Pipes' weblog. At the end of the
article in information on getting on his list.
Weblog
Don't Rely on the Media: Palestinian Authority violence against Americans.
Is there any subject that the mainstream media treats worse than the
Palestinian Authority (PA)? Case in point: placing the Oct. 15 murder of
three American security personnel in Gaza. Here is USA Today's comment
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031016/5594027s.htm) , representative
of media assessments of the topic: "the killings reflected a potentially
dangerous new escalation in a conflict that for the past half-century has
largely treated U.S. officials as bystanders. Terrorist Palestinian groups
have generally avoided attacks on U.S. officials."
To find out the real situation, one has to go to such sources at the
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA),
Palestinian Media Watch, and The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
CAMERA's Eric Rozenman points to a long history of the PLO targeting
American officials (Ambassador to Sudan Cleo A. Noel Jr. and his colleague
George C. Moore in March 1973; U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Frances E. Meloy
and his colleague Robert O. Waring in January 1977). It notes that
approximately 103 American citizens have been killed by Palestinian
terrorists in Israel and the disputed territories since 1968; and at least
39 Americans have been murdered in the past three years. CAMERA concludes
that "reports stating that the three security guards murdered on October 15
are the first Americans killed by Palestinian terrorists, either following
September 29, 2000, or before, are simply wrong."
Palestinian Media Watch's Itamar Marcus argues
(http://www.pmw.org.il/new/Latest%20bulletin.html#fullusa) that "In its
English statements, the PA presents itself as an American ally, while its
Arabic messages incite its people to hate and kill Americans," then
documents this statement with a list of hair-raising quotes, calling on
Saddam Hussein to kill American soldiers, threats against Americans, and
promises that the United States will be destroyed. PMW concludes that the
American security personnel were murdered "by Palestinians fulfilling their
role in their war against Americans, as they have been taught by their
leaders, through years of hate-mongering and calls for violence against
Americans."
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Matthew Levitt provides
extensive background in his "Terrorist Attacks against Western Officials in
Gaza, The West Bank, and Israel." He quotes Palestinian threats (an al-Aqsa
Brigades leader: "Now, American targets are the same as Israeli targets"),
points to U.S. government expectations of such attacks (George Tenet in
February 2002: if Palestinian groups "feel that U.S. actions are threatening
their existence, they may begin targeting Americans directly"), and recalls
Palestinian attacks on other Western personnel (Canadian and Danish, in
particular). He concludes that the Oct. 15 incident was "neither
unprecedented nor unexpected."
Unfortunately, this means that if you read just the newspaper – never mind
only watching television – you basically don't know the score on an issue as
complex and historical fraught as Palestinian violence against Americans. To
be well informed requires reading the work of think tanks and advocacy
organizations. (October 18, 2003) Permalink
(http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/105)
To see the Daniel Pipes archive, go to http://www.DanielPipes.org
To subscribe to or unsubscribe from this list, go to
http://www.DanielPipes.org/subscribe.php
(Daniel Pipes sends out a mailing of his writings 2-3 times a week.)
Sign up for related (but non-duplicating) e-mail services:
Middle East Forum (media alerts, event reports, MEQ articles):
http://www.meforum.org/subscribe.php
Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (monthly publication):
http://meib.org/maillist_survey.htm
You may freely forward this information, but on condition that you send
the text as an integral whole along with complete information about its
author, date, and source.
article in information on getting on his list.
Weblog
Don't Rely on the Media: Palestinian Authority violence against Americans.
Is there any subject that the mainstream media treats worse than the
Palestinian Authority (PA)? Case in point: placing the Oct. 15 murder of
three American security personnel in Gaza. Here is USA Today's comment
(http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031016/5594027s.htm) , representative
of media assessments of the topic: "the killings reflected a potentially
dangerous new escalation in a conflict that for the past half-century has
largely treated U.S. officials as bystanders. Terrorist Palestinian groups
have generally avoided attacks on U.S. officials."
To find out the real situation, one has to go to such sources at the
Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA),
Palestinian Media Watch, and The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
CAMERA's Eric Rozenman points to a long history of the PLO targeting
American officials (Ambassador to Sudan Cleo A. Noel Jr. and his colleague
George C. Moore in March 1973; U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Frances E. Meloy
and his colleague Robert O. Waring in January 1977). It notes that
approximately 103 American citizens have been killed by Palestinian
terrorists in Israel and the disputed territories since 1968; and at least
39 Americans have been murdered in the past three years. CAMERA concludes
that "reports stating that the three security guards murdered on October 15
are the first Americans killed by Palestinian terrorists, either following
September 29, 2000, or before, are simply wrong."
Palestinian Media Watch's Itamar Marcus argues
(http://www.pmw.org.il/new/Latest%20bulletin.html#fullusa) that "In its
English statements, the PA presents itself as an American ally, while its
Arabic messages incite its people to hate and kill Americans," then
documents this statement with a list of hair-raising quotes, calling on
Saddam Hussein to kill American soldiers, threats against Americans, and
promises that the United States will be destroyed. PMW concludes that the
American security personnel were murdered "by Palestinians fulfilling their
role in their war against Americans, as they have been taught by their
leaders, through years of hate-mongering and calls for violence against
Americans."
The Washington Institute for Near East Policy's Matthew Levitt provides
extensive background in his "Terrorist Attacks against Western Officials in
Gaza, The West Bank, and Israel." He quotes Palestinian threats (an al-Aqsa
Brigades leader: "Now, American targets are the same as Israeli targets"),
points to U.S. government expectations of such attacks (George Tenet in
February 2002: if Palestinian groups "feel that U.S. actions are threatening
their existence, they may begin targeting Americans directly"), and recalls
Palestinian attacks on other Western personnel (Canadian and Danish, in
particular). He concludes that the Oct. 15 incident was "neither
unprecedented nor unexpected."
Unfortunately, this means that if you read just the newspaper – never mind
only watching television – you basically don't know the score on an issue as
complex and historical fraught as Palestinian violence against Americans. To
be well informed requires reading the work of think tanks and advocacy
organizations. (October 18, 2003) Permalink
(http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/105)
To see the Daniel Pipes archive, go to http://www.DanielPipes.org
To subscribe to or unsubscribe from this list, go to
http://www.DanielPipes.org/subscribe.php
(Daniel Pipes sends out a mailing of his writings 2-3 times a week.)
Sign up for related (but non-duplicating) e-mail services:
Middle East Forum (media alerts, event reports, MEQ articles):
http://www.meforum.org/subscribe.php
Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (monthly publication):
http://meib.org/maillist_survey.htm
You may freely forward this information, but on condition that you send
the text as an integral whole along with complete information about its
author, date, and source.
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