Friday 22 January 2010

Israel Matzav: Sabbath music video

Sabbath music video

Here's L'cha Dodie, the highlight of the Sabbath welcoming service. The prayer is sung in the vast majority of synagogues, although there are many different tunes. This is one of the more common ones here in Israel.

Let's go to the videotape.



Shabbat Shalom everyone!


Israel Matzav: Sabbath music video

RubinReports: The Point of No Return: Clearly the Obama Administration Won't Ever Do Anything Serious Against Iran's Nuclear Program

The Point of No Return: Clearly the Obama Administration Won't Ever Do Anything Serious Against Iran's Nuclear Program

By Barry Rubin

We must now face an extremely unpleasant truth: even giving the Obama Administration every possible break regarding its Iran policy it is now clear that the U.S. government isn’t going to take strong action on the nuclear weapons’ issue.

Note that I didn’t even say “effective” action, that is, measures which would force Iran to back down. I'm neither advocating nor do I think there was ever any possibility that the United States, even under Obama's predecessor, might take military action.

I’m saying that they aren’t even going to make a good show of trying seriously to do anything at all.

Some say that the administration has secretly or implicitly accepted the idea that Iran will get nuclear weapons and is now seeking some longer-term containment policy. I doubt that has happened. They are just not even this close to reality.

From their behavior they still seem to expect, incredibly, that some kind of deal is possible with Tehran despite everything that has happened. Then, too, they may hope that the opposition—unaided by America--will overthrow the Iranian government and thus solve the problem for them. And they are too fixated on short-term games about seeking consensus among other powers two of them—China and Russia—are clearly not going to agree to anything serious. This fact was clear many months ago but the administration still doesn’t recognize it.

Not only is the Obama administration failing the test but it is doing so in a way that seems to maximize the loss of U.S. credibility in the region and the world. A lot of this comes from the administration’s philosophy, almost unprecedented concepts of guilt, apology, defeatism, and refusal to take leadership never seen before among past liberal Democratic governments from Franklin Roosevelt through Bill Clinton.

Yet the British, French, and Germans are ready to get tough on Iran, yearning for leadership, and not getting it.

All of this is watered down in media coverage, focused on day-to-day developments; swallowing many of the administration’s excuses plus its endlessly repeated rhetoric that action is on the way. When the history of this absurdly failed effort is written the story will be a shocking one, the absurdity of policy obvious.

It was totally predictable that the Iranian government would not make a deal. It was totally predictable that Russia and China weren’t going to go along with higher sanctions. It was totally predictable that a failure by the United States to take leadership and instead depend on consensus would lead to paralysis. And it is totally predictable that a bungled diplomatic effort will produce an even more aggressive Iranian policy along with crisis and violence.

First, the administration set a September deadline for instituting higher sanctions and then, instead of following a two-track strategy of engagement plus pressure, postponed doing anything while engaged in talks with Iran.

Second, it refused to take advantage of the regime’s international unpopularity and growing opposition demonstrations due to the stolen election. On the contrary, it assured the Iranian regime it would not do so.

Third, the administration set a December deadline if engagement failed, then refused to recognize it had failed and did nothing. It is the failure even to try to meet this time limit by implementing some credible action that has crossed the line, triggered the point of no return.

Fourth, the U.S. government kept pretending that it was somehow convincing the Chinese and Russians to participate while there was never any chance of this happening. Indeed, this was clear from statements repeatedly made by leaders of both countries. Now, this duo has sabotaged the process without any cost inflicted by the United States while making clear they will continue doing so.

.Fifth, high-ranking U.S. officials continually speak of their continued eagerness to engage Iran and speak of at least six months more discussion before anything is done about sanctions.

Sixth, the administration now defines sanctions as overwhelmingly focused on the Revolutionary Guards, who it cannot hurt economically, thus signaling the Iranian regime it will do nothing effective to hurt the country’s economy. This means that even if and when sanctions are increased they will be toothless. The White House ignored the face-saving way out given it by Congress, where the vast majority of Democrats supported an embargo on refined fuel supplies and other doable measures.

All of these steps tell Iran’s regime: full speed ahead on building nuclear weapons; repress your opponents brutally and the United States will do nothing.

After these six failures, the United States is now—in effect—resting. And that is the seventh failure. There are no signs that anything is changing in Washington. To believe that the administration has learned anything from experience, we would have to see the following:

An angry U.S. government which feels that Iran’s regime made it seem a sucker. A calculating administration that believes the American people wants it to get tough and thus it would gain politically from being seen as decisive. A great power strategy that it will make an example of Iran to show what happens to a bunch of repressive dictators who defy the United States and spit on its friends and interests. And a diplomatically astute government which understands the uses of threats and pressure to force its opponent into a compromise deal.

There is not the slightest indication that the Obama administration holds any of these views. On the contrary, without any apparent realization of the absurdity of the situation, high-ranking officials keep repeating in January 2010 as in January 2009 that some day the United States might do something to put pressure on Iran. Perhaps those in the administration who do understand what’s wrong don’t have the influence to have any effect on the policy being set in the White House.

This is going to be a case study of how failing to deal with a problem sooner, even if that requires some diplomatic confrontations, will lead to a much bigger and costlier conflict later involving military confrontations.


RubinReports: The Point of No Return: Clearly the Obama Administration Won't Ever Do Anything Serious Against Iran's Nuclear Program

Israel Matzav: Israelis take over Afghan skies

Israelis take over Afghan skies

Israelis have taken over Afghan skies. Israeli drones that is.

While Israeli soldiers can't fight in the war in Afghanistan, Israeli drones can. Starting next week, five NATO member countries will be operating unmanned aerial vehicles produced in the Jewish state in anti-Taliban operations in the Central Asian country.

Next week, officials from the German military will arrive to take delivery of an undisclosed number of Heron UAVs [pictured. CiJ], made by Israel Aerospace Industries.

The Heron is a medium altitude long endurance UAV that can remain airborne for more than 30 hours with a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet, and can carry a payload of 250 kg. It has a wingspan of 16.6 meters, a takeoff weight of 1,200 kg. and an operational range of several hundred kilometers. It can carry a variety of sensors used for surveillance and target identification.

Germany is the fifth country to operate Israel Aerospace Industries UAVs in Afghanistan. In December, the Royal Australian Air Force took delivery of several Heron systems, joining Spain, France and Canada that already operate the platform.

Hmmm.


Israel Matzav: Israelis take over Afghan skies

Israel Matzav: How to undermine the Iranian regime

How to undermine the Iranian regime

Writing in the Wall Street Journal, James K. Glassman and Michael Doran explain how the United States government can support the 'green revolution' and undermine the Iranian regime.

Such a policy would have four separate tasks:

• Provide moral and educational support for the Green Revolution. Here third parties, rather than the U.S. government, should play the main role. Dissidents should be reminded that others have succeeded on the same path they are travelling.

We should, for instance, publicize reports on what worked in Ukraine or Georgia, spread testimony by leaders like the Czech Republic's Vaclav Havel, and distribute, in Farsi, guides to nonviolent change like Gene Sharp's "From Dictatorship to Democracy" and Peter Ackerman's "A Force More Powerful." It's time to dub into Farsi documentaries on the fall of Ceausescu, Milosevic and Pinochet; the transitions in South Africa and Poland; and the achievements of the U.S. civil-rights movement.

• Tighten sanctions on the Iranian economy and publicize the connection between regime belligerence and economic malaise. Despite Iran's oil wealth, the economy has for years been in miserable shape thanks to bad management, corruption and the squandering of funds on Arab terrorist groups and the nuclear program. The slogans of the protestors demonstrate that they are connecting the dots between the regime's foreign policy and economic privation.

• Do all we can to increase communications within Iran, as well as between Iran and the outside world. Opposition movements succeed through sharing and disseminating information. Broadcasting by the taxpayer-funded Radio Farda and Voice of America satellite TV should be ramped up, and we should encourage the U.K. to do the same with the BBC. We also should vigorously protest attempts by Iran to jam broadcast signals in defiance of international law, back private media—from satellite TV pitched at young people to cell-phone messaging to social networking—and help Iranians get the technology to overcome regime attempts to block and censor.

• Finally, we should refute, in campaign style, the four key propositions of Iranian propaganda. These are that the reformers are unrepresentative and unpatriotic; that the U.S. is in decline and wants to cut a deal with Iran and extricate itself from the Middle East; that Iran's nuclear program will advance the country technologically; and that international opposition to the program is a Western plot to keep Iran, as a Muslim nation, poor and backward.

Of course, to do this, the Obama administration would first have to decide that it wishes to get rid of the Ahmadinejad regime. So far, it has been more interested in propping up that regime through 'engagement.'


Israel Matzav: How to undermine the Iranian regime

Israel Matzav: NGO Monitor sues the European Union

NGO Monitor sues the European Union

NGO Monitor has sued the European Union for violating its own transparency rules regarding funding of 'Palestinian' NGO's.
NGO Monitor, a Jerusalem-based watchdog organization, announced on Wednesday it has filed suit against the European Commission of the European Union, demanding that it meet its own transparency requirements and disclose internal documents revealing the decision-making process and criteria for funding Israeli and Palestinian nongovernment organizations.

Gerald Steinberg, the president of NGO Monitor, said at a press conference in Jerusalem that the EU has contributed at least NIS 177 million since June 2005 to about 150 Israeli and Palestinian NGOs, most of which he said demonized and delegitimized Israel.

The application to the EU Court of Justice was filed by the Asserson Law Office, an international law firm providing English legal services from Jerusalem.

Steinberg, who is a British citizen, said he was applying to the court on the basis of a European Commission regulation which states that "in the event of a total or partial refusal to grant access to documents, the applicant may institute court proceedings against the institution."
Read the whole thing. The extent of anti-Israel bias among NGO's is not to be believed.


Israel Matzav: NGO Monitor sues the European Union

Israel Matzav: Obama to pressure Abu Bluff?

Obama to pressure Abu Bluff?

Could it be that the Obama administration is finally going to let up on Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and start pressuring 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen? Consider this from al-Reuters:

U.S.-Israeli relations had once been marked by unwonted coolness under Netanyahu's premiership and the Obama presidency. But Western diplomats said Wednesday they detected signs that Washington was increasingly frustrated with Abbas.

One Western diplomat in the region, speaking privately, said that Abbas "as the weaker partner" was now the focus of U.S. efforts to stir the peace process back to life. "It's a dramatic shift from the way it started with Obama year ago," he said.

Mitchell raised Israeli hackles last week with remarks about curbing U.S. financial help for the Jewish state if peace efforts got bogged down. But the diplomat spoke of an "implicit threat" of cuts in U.S. aid to the West Bank if Abbas held out.

Signs of a shifting balance of power were clear in September when Obama softened his opposition to Israeli settlement policy and persuaded Abbas to meet him, with Netanyahu, in New York.

Heh.

Israel Matzav: Obama to pressure Abu Bluff?

Israel Matzav: Jerusalem municipality slams al-Beeb report

Jerusalem municipality slams al-Beeb report

The Jerusalem municipality has slammed a report that appeared on al-Beeb earlier this week, which claimed that the municipality increased the pace of demolitions of illegal Arab-owned buildings toward the end of 2009 in order to use up the demolition budget.

"The amount of demolitions carried out by the Jerusalem Municipality every year is determined solely by the number of illegally constructed buildings erected by those residents who flouted the law," the Jerusalem Municipality said Thursday afternoon in response to a show aired on the BBC news network which claimed the municipality allocates a special budget for house demolitions.

...

The municipality said in a statement the number of demolitions conducted in eastern Jerusalem actually decreased in 2009 - from 86 in 2008 to 65 in 2009, a 25% decrease.

It said also that there was simply no connection between the annual budget of the municipality and the number of demolitions conducted.

The municipality called Corbin's report "completely and utterly false" and a "distasteful distortion of reality."

The municipality also expressed doubt whether the reporter really had in her possession a list of planned house demolitions, saying "it would be prudent to ask Ms. Corbin what happened to her alleged list of 40 planned demolitions since her filming in late 2009. You'll easily find yet another one of her distasteful distortions."

There are no outrageous falsehoods about Israel that are beneath the British media. They are beneath contempt.


Israel Matzav: Jerusalem municipality slams al-Beeb report

Israel Matzav: Outrageous: Kids taken off US Air flight at gunpoint, laid spread-eagled and sniffed by bomb-detecting dogs

Israel Matzav: Outrageous: Kids taken off US Air flight at gunpoint, laid spread-eagled and sniffed by bomb-detecting dogs

Israel Matzav: Obama's flying pigs moment?

Obama's flying pigs moment?

In an interview published on Thursday, President Obumbler admitted to Time Magazine's Joe Klein that his administration was overconfident about being able to bring peace between Israelis and 'Palestinians.'

The other area which I think is worth noting is that the Middle East peace process has not moved forward. And I think it's fair to say that for all our efforts at early engagement, it is not where I want it to be.

Why is that? My sense of it is that [U.S. special envoy to the Middle East George] Mitchell spent a number of months negotiating a settlement deal and saw some progress from the Israelis and kind of got blinded by that, because he didn't see that it wasn't sufficient progress for the Palestinians.

I'll be honest with you. A) This is just really hard. Even for a guy like George Mitchell, who helped bring about the peace in Northern Ireland. This is as intractable a problem as you get. B) Both sides — the Israelis and the Palestinians — have found that the political environment, the nature of their coalitions or the divisions within their societies, were such that it was very hard for them to start engaging in a meaningful conversation. And I think that we overestimated our ability to persuade them to do so when their politics ran contrary to that. From [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas' perspective, he's got Hamas looking over his shoulder and, I think, an environment generally within the Arab world that feels impatient with any process.

And on the Israeli front — although the Israelis, I think, after a lot of time showed a willingness to make some modifications in their policies, they still found it very hard to move with any bold gestures. And so what we're going to have to do — I think it is absolutely true that what we did this year didn't produce the kind of breakthrough that we wanted, and if we had anticipated some of these political problems on both sides earlier, we might not have raised expectations as high. Moving forward, though, we are going to continue to work with both parties to recognize what I think is ultimately their deep-seated interest in a two-state solution in which Israel is secure and the Palestinians have sovereignty and can start focusing on developing their economy and improving the lives of their children and grandchildren.

Well, no kidding. JPost's Herb Keinon notes:

While the Prime Minister's Office had no official response to the president's remarks, Channel 2 quoted an unnamed senior Israeli official as saying that Israel had warned the Americans that their Middle East strategy would not bear fruit.

Another senior official tried to lower any expectations that Mitchell's current regional trip - the US envoy arrived in Israel Wednesday night from Lebanon and Syria - would lead to any dramatic progress, saying that it was not clear whether the Palestinian Authority had made the strategic decision to re-enter the talks.

The official said Netanyahu had no intention of giving Mitchell any more gestures to take to the Palestinians, saying that the Palestinians have climbed up a "eucalyptus tree," and every time a gesture is given as a ladder, they climb even higher.

Let's hope Netanyahu sticks to that intention. We've given more than enough 'gestures' to the 'Palestinians.'

But let's go back to that interview. First, note that Obama still apparently doesn't qualify Netanyahu's 'settlement freeze' as a 'bold gesture.' That shows how little Obama understands both of this region and of the coalition on which Netanyahu depends. What Netanyahu did was so bold as to be foolhardy both in terms of it being a far greater 'concession' than the 'Palestinians' deserve and in terms of endangering his coalition.

Second, Israel only has a 'deep-seated interest' in a 'two-state solution' if it will be allowed to live in genuine peace and security (and maybe not even then). Thus far, there has been no indication that will ever happen. The 'Palestinians' only have a 'deep-seated interest' in a 'two-state solution' if they have genuinely given up on their desire to destroy the Jewish state. So far, there is no indication that has happened or that it ever will.

Obama needs to do more than slow down. He needs to rethink his most basic assumptions, unles what he really wants is to replace Israel with a 'Palestinian state.' Don't hold your breath waiting for Obama to do any rethinking.

The only reason the pigs flew yesterday was the sudden flash of modesty. There still has been no change in the basic policy. Nor do I expect one.
Israel Matzav: Obama's flying pigs moment?

Israel Matzav: Re-branding 'Brand Israel'

Re-branding 'Brand Israel'

Remember the 'Brand Israel' nonsense that the foreign ministry wanted us to push at the bloggers' conference a year and a half ago? The idea was that instead of promoting the country the way it has traditionally been promoted, the foreign ministry wanted to promote bikini-clad women on beaches in Tel Aviv and anything that was disconnected from the fact that this is a Jewish state.

Well, Brand Israel was a huge flop. But David Hazony points out three other events over the past several weeks that have done much more to promote Israel's image abroad than Brand Israel could ever have done.

In the past few weeks, however, three major events have propelled Israel to the forefront of the public debate in a much more positive light. Following the unsuccessful undie-bomber attack on a Detroit-bound airliner, Americans effluviated about the need for improved airport security, and suddenly everyone was aware that Ben-Gurion airport has not had a security breach in a generation, despite the fact that its passengers never have to part with their favorite nail clippers or the 6-oz. bottles of perfume they picked up in Tel Aviv. The difference, it seems, is not that Israelis indulge in racial profiling, but that their security personnel are intensely trained to recognize the fact that people who know they are about to die behave differently than ordinary airline passengers (who knew!). Although that’s oversimplifying things, the fact is that Israeli airline security really does put a far greater emphasis on the human components of terror prevention: recognizing behaviors, building a network of informants, and so on.

The second event was the earthquake in Haiti. Within hours, Israel had dispatched more than 200 personnel, including rescue teams and high-level medical staff. They set up a full-fledged field hospital, the only one of its kind, complete with digital imaging, an ICU, and more. For the past couple of days, both this CNN report and this MSNBC one have been passed around the Internet, highlighting Israel’s hospital. In addition, today we learn that the Israelis also set up a global communications center, enabling journalists to use the Internet and phones via Israel’s Amos satellite. One American observer has described this as a “home run” for Israeli PR.

The third was the publication of Saul Singer and Dan Senor’s Start-Up Nation, which hit the New York Times bestseller list. Of all the pro-Israel books to come out in the past year, this one probably made the biggest splash: by highlighting what Israel is indisputably good at (business innovation), Singer and Senor succeeded in changing the subject and constructing a positive image of Israel that is not all war.

How come these recent events have been so successful at helping Israel’s image, while the “rebranding” stunt didn’t?

Read the whole thing to find out why.

Israel Matzav: Re-branding 'Brand Israel'

Israel Matzav: Chavez claims US caused Haiti earthquake with weapons test

Chavez claims US caused Haiti earthquake with weapons test

The Arab Muslims are the best liars in the World but Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez is certainly trying to give them a run for their money.

Let's go to the videotape.



Israel Matzav: Chavez claims US caused Haiti earthquake with weapons test

Love of the Land: BBC slams “racist” Jewish settlers on West Bank while continuing to censor Arab and Palestinian anti-Semitism

BBC slams “racist” Jewish settlers on West Bank while continuing to censor Arab and Palestinian anti-Semitism


Robin Shepherd
Robin Shepherd Online
22 January '10
Posted before Shabbat

Coming hard on the heels of this week’s appalling Panorama documentary on Jerusalem (see last post but one), the BBC is now giving major prominence to a story about the alleged desecration of a Palestinian cemetery in the West Bank by a group of racist Jewish pilgrims.

The story stands in sharp and striking contrast with the policy of de facto censorship operated by the BBC on almost all instances of the deep-seated anti-Semitism that is a central feature of the political culture in the Palestinian territories, in Arab countries and in the wider Muslim world.

The incident in question is said to have taken place in the northern West Bank village of Awarta after a group of Jewish pilgrims were taken to nearby Jewish tombs by a settler group. Opening the piece on its website, the BBC, which is the world’s most powerful English language media outlet, said:

“Damaged graves and racist graffiti have been found in the Palestinian village of Awarta in the northern West Bank after a Jewish group visited the area.”


Now, from a journalistic point of view this is certainly a reasonable story to cover since it follows the arrest of 10 Israeli settlers earlier this week in connection with the arson attack on a mosque in the village of Yasuf in December, and the threats by some maverick settlers to respond to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s settlement freeze with attacks on Palestinians.

(Read full post)

Love of the Land: BBC slams “racist” Jewish settlers on West Bank while continuing to censor Arab and Palestinian anti-Semitism

Love of the Land: HRW’s Annual Report Continues Anti-Israel Bias, Ignores Internal Scandals

HRW’s Annual Report Continues Anti-Israel Bias, Ignores Internal Scandals


NGO Monitor
21 January '10

Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor charged today that Human Rights Watch’s 2009 World Report reflects a continuing and pervasive anti-Israel bias, repeating many of the unjustified allegations that the organization made in 2009.

As NGO Monitor’s annual review of HRW demonstrates, nearly 30% of HRW’s 2009 output on the Middle East condemned Israel for measures taken to defend its civilian population. HRW issued more publications critical of Israel than of Syria, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Libya combined.

Continuing this obsessive pattern, HRW’s 2009 World Report allots more pages to Israel than to any country other than China. The report includes:

HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth’s comparison of “abusive” Israel “war crimes” to “atrocities in Guinea, Kenya, or Darfur.”

A repetition of baseless HRW allegations regarding white phosphorus, drone attacks, and “white flag deaths” in the Gaza war.

Continuing promotion of Richard Goldstone’s tendentious report condemning Israel’s actions in the Gaza war, and failing to mention that Goldstone is a former HRW board member. In 2009, HRW released 34 statements in support of the UN Human Rights Council/Arab League Goldstone “fact-finding” mission.

(Read full release)

Love of the Land: HRW’s Annual Report Continues Anti-Israel Bias, Ignores Internal Scandals

Love of the Land: Qualitative Military Edge, Part I: What it is and Where it Went

Qualitative Military Edge, Part I: What it is and Where it Went


JINSA
Report #: 956
21 January '10

The Forward started it in December. Ha'aretz picked up the theme this month, writing, "The Bush administration violated security related agreements with Israel in which the U.S. promised to preserve the IDF's qualitative military edge (QME) over Arab armies, according to senior officials in the Obama administration and Israel," and suggesting that National Security Adviser Jim Jones's trip to Israel in mid-January was to discuss the QME. (Actually it was to push Israel into more pointless talks with Palestinians, who declined to cooperate.)

The objective appears to be PR for the Obama Administration, the standing of which is very, very low among Israelis. Trashing the previous administration is a favored tactic - but the truth is both less and more than it appears.

The concept of a QME is "iffy" to begin with;

The Bush Administration did several things that reduced Israel's capabilities against certain of its enemies, while strengthening Israel in other ways;

The Obama administration is repeating the mistakes, doubling down on them and adding its own new ones;

Israel, in very important ways, isn't protesting where it might.

The QME began as a Johnson Administration promise (not a treaty) to maintain Israel's ability to prevail over any reasonable combination of Arab forces in a non-nuclear war. The promise has been repeated by successive administrations-unquantified and unquantifiable. Weapons themselves can be counted, but Israel's edge over Arab armies was always more than that. It was-and remains-a combination of:

(Read full report)

Love of the Land: Qualitative Military Edge, Part I: What it is and Where it Went

Love of the Land: Thinking About The One State Solution

Thinking About The One State Solution


Dr. Aaron Lerner
IMRA
Weekly Commentary
21 January '10

A growing number of Jewish residents in Judea and Samaria have been
advocating a “one state solution” in which their Palestinian neighbors
become voting Israeli citizens with Gaza’s final disposition unclear.

While the proposition certainly highlights the fact that the so-called
“demographic problem” is a red herring – and ever more so if we are only
counting the Palestinians residing in the West Bank, those promoting the
move need to walk through how such a plan might actually play out.

The efficacy of the proposal hinges on retaining the asymmetric application
of “right of return” that is the very hallmark of Israel being a “Jewish
State”: Jews from the Diaspora can continue to immigrate to Israel and
become citizens while Arabs with ancestral ties to Israel (we are now at the
stage that most “Palestinian refugees” are actually the progeny of refugees
born overseas) cannot exercise the “right of return of refugees”.

To what extent would not “resolving” the “refugee problem” destabilize the
region or is the Palestinian assessment, as expressed in most polls, that
the Arab world really doesn’t care that much about them, correct?

What happens with the security arrangements within the Arab areas? Do the
local PA cops simply trade badges or what?

We have a generation of Palestinians brainwashed by their schools and media
to hate Israel. Does granting them citizenship simply click this off? If
it doesn’t then how will this hatred impact the outcome?

Are all travel and other security-related restrictions simply dropped
overnight and if not, how does this work given that we are talking about
Israeli citizens? Granted, during the early years of Israel there were
restrictions on Israeli Arabs, but it is hardly clear that such arrangements
would pass the muster in the 21st century.

(Read full post)

Love of the Land: Thinking About The One State Solution

Love of the Land: ISM's Understanding of "Non-Violence" Includes Murder?

ISM's Understanding of "Non-Violence" Includes Murder?


(ISM volunteers from Sweden (lives in Ireland) and
Scotland. TY to MarkHumphrys.com for photo)

GI
CAMERA/Snapshots
21 January '10

The International Solidarity Movement's repeated references to "nonviolent" resistance — on their About Us page alone the word is used eight times — has always been suspect.

After all, the extremist group's co-founders Huwaida Arraf and Adam Shapiro clearly support and encourage violence, having written that suicide bombings are "noble" and that Palestinians "must" engage in violence alongside nonviolence:

Nonviolent resistance is no less noble than carrying out a suicide operation. ... The Palestinian resistance must take on a variety of characteristics — both nonviolent and violent. But most importantly it must develop a strategy involving both aspects. No other successful nonviolent movement was able to achieve what it did without a concurrent violent movement ...


As if that weren't disturbing enough, it seems clear now that, to many in the group, the "nonviolent" part of that combination includes arson, beatings, stoning, and murder.

A statement today by ISM London, published as a comment on the Guardian website, asserts that "the Palestinians' own long tradition of non-violent resistance has a lot to teach us all, from the protests and strikes against the British occupation in the 1930s onwards."

(Read full post)


Love of the Land: ISM's Understanding of "Non-Violence" Includes Murder?

Elder of Ziyon: Islamic Jihad celebrates Beit Lid massacre anniversary

Elder of Ziyon: Islamic Jihad celebrates Beit Lid massacre anniversary

DoubleTapper: IDF Field Hospital in Haiti Treats Children Rescued by USA SAR Team

IDF Field Hospital in Haiti Treats Children Rescued by USA SAR Team

January 21, 2010...17:01

Pictures from the Children’s Tent in the IDF Field Hospital in Haiti, 21 January 2010

A Medic at the IDF Field Hospital in Port-au-Prince Checks Up on an Injured Child
A Young Girl Sits in the Pediatric Department Tent of the IDF Field Hospital in Haiti
Children's Ward in the IDF Field Hospital in Haiti

The IDF field hospital in Haiti has a fully equipped childrens department with 9 pediatrics doctors, where the young victims of the earthquake which devastated Haiti over a week ago, are being treated. Dozens of children have been treated at the hospital, including two young siblings who were rescued from the rubble after seven days by an American search and rescue team. The brother and sister were in good condition, and were released from the Israeli field hospital later the same day.


From IDF Spox



DoubleTapper: IDF Field Hospital in Haiti Treats Children Rescued by USA SAR Team

Jewish Defence League Parsha and Weekly Update

Jewish Defence League Parsha and Weekly Update

The Torah Parsha this week is Parshat "Bo". Exodus 12:1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: 2 'This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household be too little for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbour next unto his house take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating ye shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats; 6 and ye shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. Our Sages explained that the lamb was a very important diety in Egypt and the Jewish People where commanded to take that diety and to tie it up to their homes in public and to slaughter it four days later. And the reason they waited four days was because all Jewish males where to be circumcised and required three days to heal. The Jewish People were also commanded, "And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel". The Sages also explained that the blood from the Jewish males that were circumcised was mixed with the blood from the lamb and was put on the two side posts. This commandment was called the Korban Pesach. For more information on this commandment click here, The Torah Parsha this week is Parshat "Bo". 1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying: 2 'This month shall be unto you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying: In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; 4 and if the household be too little for a lamb, then shall he and his neighbour next unto his house take one according to the number of the souls; according to every man's eating ye shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it from the sheep, or from the goats; 6 and ye shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of the same month; and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at dusk. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel, upon the houses wherein they shall eat it. Our Sages explained that the lamb was a very important diety in Egypt and the Jewish People where commanded to take that diety and to tie it up to their homes in public and to slaughter it four days later. And the reason they waited four days was because all Jewish males where to be circumcised and required three days to heal. The Jewish People were also commanded, "And they shall take of the blood, and put it on the two side-posts and on the lintel". The Sages also explained that the blood from the Jewish males that were circumcised was mixed with the blood from the lamb and was put on the two side posts. This commandment was called the Korban Pesach. For more information on this commandment click here KorbanPesach.org It is vital that we grasp the incredible self sacrifice of the Jewish People then in standing up to the evil enemy which was Egypt. And these are lesons that are as important today. On Wednesday January 20, the Jewish Defence League of Canada had a very successful rally to support the right of Geert Wilders to speak the truth. He is a true friend of the Jewish People and he needs our help. We were able to unite many different groups to take a stand for truth. The forces of Political Islam must be confronted and exposed and the Jewish Defence League of Canada will united all concerned people. Click here for more information on the successful standing room only rally for Geert Wilders, *Geert Wilders* Solidarity Rally – Summary « Jewish Defence League ... The Jewish Defence League of Canada has asked the Government of Canada to review funding for Palestine House. It should be understood that Palestine House has given its full support to the Hamilton Declaration which stated, "We further specifically caution you against any recognition of Israel as a “Jewish” state." Hamilton Declaration - canpalnet.ca The Jewish Defence League of Canada urges all readers to write to the Government of Canada and to ask for a review of all government funding for Palestine House. We are proud to that the Government of Canada has stopped funding UNRWA. Canada Withdraws Funds From UNRWA As we continue to grow, we also require funds in order to do more. Join us in our march for truth and our mission to reintroduce the concept of courage. With Love of Israel, Meir Weinstein National Director Jewish Defence League of Canada
Originally posted by B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

Mitchell Pitches a New 5-Point Plan for Middle East Negotiations - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

Mitchell Pitches a New 5-Point Plan for Middle East Negotiations - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

Obama Administration Lifts US Ban on Muslim Brotherhood Leader - Politics & Gov't - Israel News - Israel National News

Obama Administration Lifts US Ban on Muslim Brotherhood Leader - Politics & Gov't - Israel News - Israel National News

Portrait of a Jewish Patriot - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News

Portrait of a Jewish Patriot - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News

Anti-Semitic Blood Libel Aimed at IDF in Haiti - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

Anti-Semitic Blood Libel Aimed at IDF in Haiti - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

Tefillin Misunderstanding Causes Philly Emergency Landing - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

Tefillin Misunderstanding Causes Philly Emergency Landing - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News

Israel's 'Green Machine' Gears Up for 2010 - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News

Israel's 'Green Machine' Gears Up for 2010 - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News

A Woman's Life in Muslim Sudan: 40 Lashes for Wearing Trousers - A7 Exclusive Features - Israel News - Israel National News

A Woman's Life in Muslim Sudan: 40 Lashes for Wearing Trousers - A7 Exclusive Features - Israel News - Israel National News

Elder of Ziyon: Fatah calls Hamas kettle black

Elder of Ziyon: Fatah calls Hamas kettle black

Elder of Ziyon: More Gaza "civilians" and more PCHR lies

Elder of Ziyon: More Gaza "civilians" and more PCHR lies

Elder of Ziyon: Erdogan accuses Israel of using WMD in Gaza

Elder of Ziyon: Erdogan accuses Israel of using WMD in Gaza

Elder of Ziyon: US State Dept. encourages trade with Gaza

Elder of Ziyon: US State Dept. encourages trade with Gaza

The Torah Revolution: Re: #2, #7 [On xtians and Jews and on the p*pe's visit in the synagogue of Rome]

The Torah Revolution: Re: #2, #7 [On xtians and Jews and on the p*pe's visit in the synagogue of Rome]

Israel Matzav: Good news: 'Palestinian Authority' erasing all memory of Iranian opposition

Good news: 'Palestinian Authority' erasing all memory of Iranian opposition

It sounds like the next 'world leader' to be welcomed to Tehran may well be 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen. Look what his 'Palestinian Authority' is up to now.

The official Fatah movement website, Voice of Palestine announced yesterday that they are removing all material from their website from Iranian sources opposing the Iranian regime.

The following is a translation of excerpts from the Arabic item:

Voice of Palestine deletes all news concerning the OMPI of its website and announced not to deal with their news
20-01-2010 - 12:01 AM
www.palvoice.com/popup.php?id=22201

Eshtewi general supervisor for Center for Media and Information - The Voice of Palestine - Fatah announced that the New Department of the web page was deleting all news concerning OMPI [AL: People’s Mujahedeen of Iran] from the servers and that the Center would not deal with any news of the MEK[AL: Mujahedin-e Khalq - another name for OMPI] from now on. The Technical Center team is working to delete all the links present to these items in global search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and the Director of the Center hopes that the process of deleting the links from the web site will be completed in the next 24 hours, so that the servers will be completely free from any news for the MEK.

The move is to resolve the impact of news published by the Editor web page entitled "Commander of the Iranian Resistance message on the occasion of the uprising of the Iranian people" which was carrying with it the words insulting to the Iranian regime, in Persian...
.

Eshtewi said that the relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Palestinian Authority and Fatah is the fraternal relationship and the Iranian regime would not be offended from the pages of electronic media and that the Palestinian Fatah will not allow news of any form to be distributed which affect the fraternal relations between the two countries.

Well, at least now we know which side they're on.

What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: Good news: 'Palestinian Authority' erasing all memory of Iranian opposition

Love of the Land: How my email to Goldstone was twisted by his report

How my email to Goldstone was twisted by his report


Hillel Neuer
U.N. Watch
21 January '10

Israeli public figures who say their country would have benefited by cooperating with the UN Human Rights Council’s “fact-finding” mission on the Gaza conflict are mistaken.

The raw malice that the Goldstone Report evinces toward Israel, the one party about which the panelists can say nothing good (as opposed to their exuberant, repeated praise for the “resilient” people of Gaza), demonstrates convincingly that the source of the imbalance lay in the UN committee’s mental structure. More information would have meant nothing. In the commissioners’ jaundiced view of the conflict, the Israeli leadership’s guilt for premeditated murder on a mass scale was taken as a philosophical given, a first premise not open to logical challenge.

Indeed it bears note that in July 2009, during the time that Goldstone, Chinkin, Jilani and Travers were conducting their UN inquiry, Israel did publish a voluminous document offering its side of the story, entitled “Factual and Legal Aspects of the Operation in Gaza, 27 Dec 2008 - 18 Jan 2009.”

When I saw this report on the internet, I emailed the link to Judge Goldstone, in the hope that it might provide some balance to the Hamas-influenced testimony on which the UN Human Rights Council appointees were basing their inquiry.

(Read full article)


Love of the Land: How my email to Goldstone was twisted by his report

Israel Matzav: IDF communications and Saudi indifference in Haiti

IDF communications and Saudi indifference in Haiti

In an earlier post, I mentioned that the IDF has set up communications capabilities in Haiti, including wireless internet and video conferencing. Here are some more details.

While the world has already heard about the remarkable work at the IDF field hospital in Port-au-Prince, not much has been written about the communications room set up on the island by reservists from the military's C4I (command, control, communications, computers and intelligence) branch.

"This is an unprecedented operation in its scale and size," explained Lt.-Col. (res.) Yaakov Magal. "We did not even have something like this during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip last January."

According to Magal, before the rescue teams were sent to Haiti, the IDF ensured that the delegation would have around-the-clock access to one of Israel's Amos communications satellites. It also sent millions of dollars of equipment to Haiti.

"This operation is called 'End of the World,' but with our communications systems we gave soldiers and delegation members the ability to call home at the price of a domestic call in Israel," he said.

The wireless Internet has attracted, he said, journalists from around the world who come to send their materials back to their editorial offices.

Magal and his team also set up video conference systems in surgery theaters to give field surgeons the ability to consult with experts back in Israeli hospitals. "They can turn on the camera and even watch the surgeries in Israel as they occur in Haiti," he said.

Anyone still think we can't take out Iran's nukes?

Heh.

Meanwhile, Rachel Abrams marvels at the missing contribution from 'our friends the Saudis.'

So where, beyond an expression of condolence from the “king,” are the offers of help and money from the House of Saud? It seems it was God’s little joke to hand the greatest supplies of oil and natural gas to a people who part with their riches for their own ends only. Not only have the rulers of sand and oil donated not a single penny so far to the Haiti relief effort, but a scouring of the English-language Saudi press turns up not even a mention of the word Haiti. Perhaps they will be shamed into reaching into the very, very full pockets of their thwabs to pull out a contribution. If they’re shamable.

Just wondering: If his country were to suffer a terrible natural disaster, and the Israelis were willing to deploy their miraculous field hospitals and search teams to this most Jew-hating of states, would the Saudi “king” allow them to land on his oil-drenched soil to search for survivors and save the lives of his “subjects?” Would he first demand that any mention of the Jewish state be scrubbed from their passports?

Israel undoubtedly would try to send rescuers to Saudi Arabia - we sent them to Indonesia after the tsunami and I know we have offered to send them to Iran.

I have no idea how the Saudis would respond.

Here's an update on the Israeli field hospital's activities. Let's go to the videotape.



By the way, they're up to nine babies delivered as of this writing.



Israel Matzav: IDF communications and Saudi indifference in Haiti

Israel Matzav: US airline security

US airline security

This video from Latma TV is pretty funny. I should probably explain that when you say Morris Terry (the name of the security chief) in Hebrew, it comes out Mar Hystery (Mr. Hysteria).

Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Atlas Shrugs).



Feel secure now?


Israel Matzav: US airline security

Israel Matzav: Overnight music video

Overnight music video

Well, since Tefillin are in the news....

This video is a bit short on detail, but it's apparently Ohad Moskowitz with a group of Black Hebrews from Dimona singing V'Eirasteich Li, the words that Jewish men and boys (13 and up) say every morning when they wind the Tefillin around their middle finger.

Let's go to the videotape.




Israel Matzav: Overnight music video

Israel Matzav: There's a sucker born every minute

There's a sucker born every minute

There's a sucker born every minute and Aziz Dwaik, Hamas's most senior representative in the West Bank, apparently found one in Hebron this week. The sucker's name is David Martin Abrahams, and unfortunately, he's described as a British millionaire with close connections to the British and Israeli governments. Dwaik told Abrahams that Hamas really doesn't want to drive us into the sea. Of course, Dwaik doesn't even speak for Hamas in Gaza, let alone for its real leadership in Syria.

Abrahams is scheduled to brief British Foreign Secretary David Milliband this weekend on the outcome of his meeting with Dwaik and other top Hamas officials in the West Bank.

Abrahams, a major donor to Britain's Labor Party, told The Jerusalem Post he would urge Milliband to "consider the implications of Hamas's positive overtures."

During the meeting in Hebron, Dwaik stressed that other Hamas leaders, including Damascus-based leader Khaled Mashaal and Gaza Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, have voiced support for the idea of establishing an independent Palestinian state within the pre-1967 boundaries.

Of course they have. As the first stage of Israel's destruction. As a temporary solution for a few years until they can regroup enough to drive us out.

Please....

Abrahams said that he would be happy to facilitate a dialogue between Hamas on the one hand, and Israel and the international community on the other. He said he was "very excited" to hear from the most prominent leader of Hamas in the West Bank that the movement would be prepared to nullify its charter and accept Israel.

"The fact that there is a possibility for recognition of Israel is a symbolic gesture," Abrahams added. "We can all look for good in people and we can all look for bad in people. I always look for the good."

Asked whether he might be condemned as naïve for believing Hamas, Abrahams said, "People might say that I'm naïve, so let them. But I'm prepared to give them [Hamas] a chance because I've got faith and confidence in Dwaik and Haniyeh. We can't allow 1.5 million to be festering in the Gaza Strip while the majority of them are good and well-educated."

Abrahams said that his decision to engage Hamas was aimed at "preventing bloodshed on both sides." He said he was encouraged by the massive support he found among the Jewish community in Britain for the idea of talking to Hamas.

"I recently published an article in the Jewish Chronicle to test the temperature of the water within the Jewish community about Hamas," he said. "I found a lot of support among Jews for dealing with Hamas and I was pleasantly surprised."

Denying that he had delivered any message from the British government or the EU leadership to Hamas, Abrahams said he was convinced more than ever that the movement posed no threat to the US. "Hamas is different from al-Qaida," he said. "Hamas is no threat to Western interests."

This guy sounds like the British version of Jimmy Carter.

'Hamas is no threat to Western interests....' Anyone know how to sing Kumbaya in British?

P.S. Dwaik is now denying the quotes attributed to him in the article above (Hat Tip: Elder of Ziyon).

Israel Matzav: There's a sucker born every minute

Israel Matzav: If there is a 'Palestinian state,' how will we preserve our heritage?

If there is a 'Palestinian state,' how will we preserve our heritage?

Nearly three weeks ago, I noted an attempt by the Jordanian government to claim ownership of the Dead Sea Scrolls, some of which are currently on display at an exhibit in Canada. Previously, the 'Palestinians' have also attempted to claim ownership of the scrolls. Writing in the Forward, David Hazony points out the implications that the creation of a 'Palestinian state' would have on preserving the Jewish heritage, which is largely based in Judea and Samaria.
Wherever the borders may be drawn, what is clear is that underneath the Palestinians’ future homeland lie the ruins of ancient Israel — ruins that archaeologists from all over the world have labored hard to begin uncovering over the last 40 years. From Shiloh to Hebron, from the mountains above Nablus to the City of David in eastern Jerusalem, a great many of the most important insights about life in ancient Israel have come from archaeological expeditions carried out in lands captured by Israel in the 1967 war.

Why is this issue serious enough to be considered in peace negotiations? After all, aren’t the safety and security of Israelis, and the rights of Palestinians, much more important?

For Jews, embracing, remembering and preserving our past is an existential need. We can argue about how much land to give up, and whether to dismantle settlements. We can disagree over so many things that define our Judaism — the meaning of Halacha, the role of women in rituals, homosexuality, the authorship of the Bible. But there is one thing on which all movements of Judaism have always agreed: the importance of the past in defining who we are.

For thousands of years, Jews have clung feverishly to their past in facing every trial, and celebrated their history at every opportunity. Every Jewish holiday is a commemoration of our ancient heritage; every prayer a recollection of our patriarchs; every greeting to fellow Jews from around the world spoken in a language redolent with biblical idiom; every social movement an effort to recapture the dreams of the prophets.

It is our past, in other words, that makes us Jews.
Read the whole thing.

Given the way that the 'Palestinians' have treated Jewish holy sites in the past, the prospect of the Jewish heritage being preserved should Judea and Samaria fall under 'Palestinian' rule - God forbid - are not good. David notes the destruction of artifacts on the Temple Mount. To that I can add the destruction of Joseph's tomb in Shchem (Nablus), the destruction of the Shalom al-Yisrael synagogue in Jericho, the destruction of Ezekial's tomb in Iraq (currently ongoing), the destruction of the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives between 1948-67, and numerous other instances in which the 'Palestinians' have treated artifacts of the Jewish heritage with contempt.

What could go wrong?

Israel Matzav: If there is a 'Palestinian state,' how will we preserve our heritage?

Israel Matzav: Here we go again: American Jew indicted for spying for Israel

Here we go again: American Jew indicted for spying for Israel

I hesitate to even run this story because I don't want to contribute to the hysteria surrounding it. As I noted in the past, the FBI and the CIA have a paranoia about the Mossad spying on them dating back to the Jonathan Pollard case. But ignoring it isn't going to make it go away so....

Stewart David Nozette of Chevy Chase Maryland, who was arrested in October and charged with attempting to spy for Israel has now been indicted for what Haaretz is describing as spying for Israel. Note the difference between what was reported in October and what is being reported now - according to Haaretz, the court documents reveal much more about a connection between Nozette and executives at Israel Aircraft Industries than what has previously been revealed.

Two attorneys in the counterespionage unit of the U.S. Department's of Justice National Security division, Deborah Curtis and Heather Schmidt, presented documents found on the scientist's computer. One document, titled "Proposed Operations for 2005-2006," referred to the need to carry out "a penetration of NASA," the U.S. space agency.

Another document, according to the prosecution, shows Nozette attempted to obtain highly confidential material by using his high-level security clearance and infiltrating other people's computers.

Other documents mention the names of Yossi Weiss and Yossi Fishman. Weiss is a former project manager and today the deputy CEO of IAI and head of the company's missile and space division. Fishman was the IAI's representative in the U.S. and is today the CEO of ODF Optronics.

Fishman told Haaretz he knew Nozette the way he knew other Americans employed by the IAI at the time as consultants. "We did not engage in any kind of spying activity or information gathering, perish the thought. The relationship was business as usual."

The IAI is not mentioned specifically by name in the documents. It is referred to as a foreign company or as a space company owned by the Israeli government." Background talks with administration officials indicate the references are indeed to IAI.

So while Nozette was apparently arrested as a result of a 'sting operation' (described elsewhere in the Haaretz article as well as here), the US government is now claiming that in fact he had spied, although I see nothing in this article that actually claims that he passed the information he obtained to IAI or that IAI knowingly accepted that stolen information.

The indictment and the documents indicate that Nozette was employed for nine years as an IAI consultant. Versions vary as to how much he was paid, from $170,000 to $225,000. His direct superior was Israel Aircraft Industries International, a U.S.-registered company.

The FBI searched Nozette's home and computer and found additional proof of his connection to Israel. He visited here several times, but did not report this - as is required by his high security clearance. The FBI confiscated letters he wrote to Israelis, reports he forwarded to the IAI, a map of Israel, photos of assorted places in Israel, a Hebrew-language catalog of archaeological artifacts and other items.

All of which means that he violated his security clearance by visiting Israel and not reporting it, but probably not a whole lot else. There's nothing wrong with being employed as a consultant by a foreign company so long as you don't use your security clearance to pass them information that it is illegal to pass on to them. On the other hand, it was reported in October that Nozette had passed classified information to Israel. This doesn't look good.

Israel Matzav: Here we go again: American Jew indicted for spying for Israel

Israel Matzav: Good grief! Tefillin cause New York - Louisville flight to be diverted

Good grief! Tefillin cause New York - Louisville flight to be diverted

A 17-year old boy took out his Tefillin (phylactories - see picture) to pray on a morning flight from New York to Louisville on Thursday and someone decided they were a bomb. As a result, the plane was diverted to Philadelphia.

City police Lt. Frank Vanore said a 17-year-old boy on the plane was using tefillin.

Tefillin is a set of small black boxes attached to leather straps and containing biblical passages. One box is strapped to the arm; the other box is placed on the head.

Vanore said the crew on US Airways Flight 3079 questioned the teen, who explained the ritual. Still, the pilot decided to land in Philadelphia.

The flight had left La Guardia airport in New York on Thursday morning bound for Louisville, Kentucky. It landed without incident in Philadelphia around 9 a.m.

Vanore said the teen has been very cooperative with law enforcement.

I'll bet he was - the poor kid was probably scared out of his mind.

Why did the boy pray on the plane? Probably because it wasn't light out until he was on the plane or in the airport terminal, and there are limits on how early you can pray the morning service. I pray on planes all the time, and I put on my Tefillin on planes all the time, as do hundreds of Orthodox Jews. I am astounded that on a flight out of New York - LaGuardia there are people who have no clue what Tefillin are.

In an incident similar to this one shortly after 9/11, a plane bound for New York from Atlanta was diverted to Charlotte, North Carolina because two Orthodox Jews with their tzitzith hanging out of their shirts started praying on the plane. At least neither this incident nor Thursday's incident took place on a Friday.

When are people in the US going to wake up to the fact that there are no Orthodox Jewish terrorists? In fact, there are no Jewish terrorists and no Christian terrorists and no atheist terrorists. Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all the terrorists are Muslims. It's time to act accordingly.

UPDATE FRIDAY 12:10 AM

Forgot to add here that one of the most satisfying moments of my life was putting on my Tefillin to pray in the business class section of a 5:30 am Tel Aviv - Frankfurt Lufthansa flight about ten years ago.

UPDATE FRIDAY 1:06 AM

Here's a Philadelphia television news report on the incident - I feel sorry for the kid (and his 16-year old sister who was apparently with him).

Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: NY Nana).



If they'd been Muslims, all US Air flight attendants would have been forced to go to 'sensitivity training,' but since they're only Orthodox Jews, that won't happen. If I sound contemptuous, it's because I am. US Air started flying non-stop to Israel last summer from Philadelphia - remind me to avoid them.

Here's another report from WABC New York. Let's go to the videotape.






I think the whole story is ridiculous. The kid couldn't clearly explain it because he can't interrupt his prayers at certain points. And he probably prayed on the plane because - as I noted earlier - the sun rises late in New York at this time of year (around 7:30 if I recall correctly). It was a 7:30 flight so it probably was too early to pray in the terminal before he got on the plane (and by the way - Louisville is not such a short flight from New York - I've been there - so I'm TOTALLY unimpressed by the 'expert' from Boro Park. Where did they find him?).

Personally, my prayers are timed so that I hit the main part of the prayer at sunrise wherever I am (and yes, I pray sitting down in flight - not standing up). And I'm not going to change that because some moron decides that after my Tefillin have gone through security (and frequently set off the TSA people in the US who run them through again and again) there's a bomb inside them. That's absurd.

Israel Matzav: Good grief! Tefillin cause New York - Louisville flight to be diverted

Israel Matzav: Why the Arabs aren't helping Haiti

Why the Arabs aren't helping Haiti

Elder of Ziyon might be on to something.

Elder reports on an al-Arabiya article that notes that the Organization of Islamic Countries has called on its members to help Haiti (since so far none of them has). He picks up on some of the comments to the article, including this one:

To donate money for an alcoholic is prohibited (haram),so how about the devil's worshipper? Why didn't/don't these so-called "Islamic" organizations urge Muslims,to help Muslims in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Gaza, Yemen, Somalia, Chechneya,.. Anywhere?! How do you call for outside Cleansing while inside is full of $h*t? They and the apostate traitors are Muslims' real turmoil,so..?! Deaf,Blind and Dumb

What nice people these Muslims are....

Meanwhile, in Haiti:

Read the whole thing.

Israel Matzav: Why the Arabs aren't helping Haiti
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