My Right Word

Archaeology - And here Comes David & Solomon as Kings

2012-02-28T12:31:00.000+02:00

Been informed:-

On Monday, March 5, 2012 at the California Museum of Ancient Art, Professor Thomas Levy from the University of California, San Diego will share his new discoveries and research in an illustrated lecture, "Quest for King Solomon's Mines: Cyber-Archaeology in Jordan's Desert." Recent excavations in Jordan's Faynan copper ore district document an industrial revolution dating to the 10th century BC - coinciding with the time of the early Hebrew kings and Egyptian pharaohs.

Were David and Solomon Rulers of an Ancient Kingdom or mere Tribal Chieftains?

The lecture will focus on discoveries at the largest copper production site in the eastern Mediterranean, Khirbat en-Nahas and provides data in support of the historicity of David and Solomon. Khirbat en-Nahas had a massive copper-smelting operation dating to the time of the early Hebrew kings, the Egyptian Pharaoh Shoshenq I, and the Edomite kingdom. High precision radiocarbon dating and new digital archaeology technologies were used to achieve as objective an approach as possible.

Faynan (perhaps Biblical Punon)

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Congresswomen Visit Shiloh and Think Apartheid

2012-02-28T01:23:00.001+02:00

I had posted here the impressions of Ruchie Avital who, together with two other women, had met at Shiloh with a Women's delegation brought to Israel by J Street.

JTA has now included details from the other side, among them, the visit to Shiloh:

...The J Street trip also included visits with Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

From Ramallah, the group drove to Shiloh, a Jewish town in the heart of the West Bank halfway between Ramallah and Nablus that because of its location likely would not be incorporated into Israel in any two-state settlement.

A group of Jewish women from several area settlements met with the congresswomen and told them they have no intention of leaving their homes.

“I’m holding the Bible; Shiloh was our first capital before Jerusalem and it has layers and layers of history,” Tzofiah Dorot, the director of Ancient Shiloh, told the women. “This is the heart of Israel and I don’t see a future for the state if you take the heart out.”

All of the women said they were sure that their settlements would remain part of Israel.

“This is our homeland, the homeland of the Jewish nation -- period,” Tamar Aslaf told the delegation. “A Palestinian who lives here is welcome to stay. It’s his home but it’s our homeland.”

Several of the settlers described a scenario in which Palestinians could stay in their homes but not receive national or voting rights. That drew a sharp reply from the congresswomen, five of whom are African Americans. [This isn't true. Tamar presented Naftali Bennet’s plan, that C would be annexed with its 50,000 Arab population becoming full Israeli citizens if they so wished^.]

“Some people would call that apartheid,” * said Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), the only white congresswomen on the trip.

“It’s easy to sit in your comfortable house and decide what is good for the Jews,” Dorot responded. “I’m begging you to see that we’re not pieces of Lego you can move around. This is life and death. We all need to think out of the box. I’m asking you to forget about the two-state solution.”

Several members of the delegation said the trip gave them a more sophisticated understanding of the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...

____________

^

Naftali Bennett, the co-founder of the right-wing NGO My Israel, has circulated a plan to annex Judea and Samaria...Bennett said he would annex all of Area C. He would offer Israeli citizenship to the 48,000 Palestinians who live in Area C...Granting citizenship to these Palestinians would eliminate all talk of Israel as an apartheid state, he said. But he added that Palestinian refugees who live outside of Area C would not be able to move there. Under his plan, he said, the Palestinian Authority would remain in control of Areas A and B, where there are no Jewish communities.

*

Apartheid?

Consider this:

Citizens of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., are no longer permitted to vote for US Congressional elections, nor State Elections...DC citizens had voting rights removed in 1801 by Congres...In 1978, Congress proposed a constitutional amendment that would have restored the District a full seat for representation in the Congress as well. This amendment failed to receive ratification by sufficient number of states within the seven years required.

Since then, Congress has consistently refused to offer for ratification a constitutional amendment that would restore District of Columbia residents either representation in both the Senate and the House...

...Puerto Rico is an insular area — a United States territory that is neither a part of one of the fifty states nor a part of the District of Columbia, the nation's federal district. Insular areas, such as Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, are not allowed to choose electors in U.S. presidential elections or elect voting members of the U.S. Congress...the U.S. national-electoral process is not fully democratic due to U.S. Government disenfranchisement of U.S. citizens residing in Puerto Rico...

The Israeli Media Criticism Award Ceremony

2012-02-27T18:49:00.000+02:00

The Abramowitz Israeli prize for Media Criticism is awarded by Israel’s Media Watch once a year.

The prize of $5,000 is awarded to two winners for an especially valiant, significant and qualitative contribution to media criticism. It is awarded for journalism criticizing the media, for providing and forming appropriate forums for media criticism, and for increasing pluralism and reducing monopolistic practices in the Israeli media. The aim of the prize is to encourage the Israeli media to open itself to criticism, whether from the journalists themselves or external sources such as intellectuals, academics and public figures.

Pictures from this year's ceremony at Bet Sokolow in Tel Aviv Sunday night:

Last year's ceremony.

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Abbas Lies

2012-02-27T18:11:00.001+02:00

To Whom the Political Rights

2012-02-27T17:55:00.000+02:00

Eli Hertz reminds us:

The mandate implicitly denies Arab claims to national political rights in the area in favor of the Jews; the mandated territory was in effect reserved to the Jewish people for their self-determination and political development, in acknowledgment of the historic connection of the Jewish people to the land. Lord Curzon, who was then the British Foreign Minister, made this reading of the mandate explicit. There remains simply the theory that the Arab inhabitants of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have an inherent 'natural law' claim to the area."

And as I have repeated here many times:

The Mandate for Palestine, a legally binding document under international law, clearly differentiates between political rights - referring to Jewish self-determination as an emerging polity - and civil and religious rights, referring to guarantees of equal personal freedoms to non-Jewish residents as individuals and within select communities. Not once are Arabs as a people mentioned in the Mandate for Palestine. At no point in the entire document is there any granting of political rights to non-Jewish entities (i.e., Arabs).

_________
See Eugene V. Rostow, The Future of Palestine, Institute for National Strategic Studies, November 1993. Professor Rostow was Sterling Professor of Law and Public Affairs Emeritus at Yale University and served as the Dean of Yale Law School (1955-66); Distinguished Research Professor of Law and Diplomacy, National Defense University; Adjunct Fellow, American Enterprise Institute. In 1967, as U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Political Affairs, he became a key draftee of UN Resolution 242. See also his article: "Are Israel's Settlements Legal?" The New Republic, October 21, 1991.

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At Menachem Begin's Graveside Memorial

2012-02-27T17:49:00.000+02:00

Today, the 4th of Adar, is the yahrtzeit anniversary of the passing of Menachem Begin 20 years ago.

I was at the graveside memorial service with the family, the Prime Minister Benjamin Netahyahu, Speaker of the Knesset Reuven Rivlin, Ministers, MKs and other guests, distinguished and ordinary.

Pictures:

a) (l-r) Minister Limor Livnat, Minister Michael Eitan, Former Minister Yehoshua Matza, Leah Begin, Minister Benny Begin, Yechiel Kadishai, Chassia Begin.

b) Leah, Benny, Yechiel, Chassia

c) the graves of Aliza and Menachem Begin

d) Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

e) Yechiel Kadishai reciting the Kel Malei Rachamim prayer

Afterwards, Minister Yaako Neeman amd Prime Minister Netanyahu asceded to another gravesite but I am not aware of the purpose:

Jerusalem Lions 54; Tel Aviv Pioneers 28

2012-02-27T13:23:00.001+02:00

We (my son's team) won, 54-28, against the Tel Aviv Pioneers.

My son is #31, in white.

The clip:

And pictures:

and that's me in the stands:

the team:

Does Israel Poison Arabs?

2012-02-27T13:14:00.000+02:00

It has been claimed that Israel poisons water, or chewing-gum. It's false.

But actually, the Taliban now engages in poisoning:

The Taliban also claimed Monday to be behind the poisoning of food at a dining facility at Forward Operating Base Torkham, near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. It too was a retaliatory attack, the group said.

ISAF confirmed that food at the base appeared to have been contaminated over the weekend, though it was unclear if it was deliberate.

"Nobody got sick. An Afghan dining facility worker came to his leaders at the FOB and said that something had been poisoned," Maj. David Eastburn, an ISAF spokesman, said.

"The dining facility was shut down and we brought in environmental health, who found traces of chlorine bleach in the coffee and fruit. Soldiers are now eating pre-prepared rations and no one was affected. There is a full investigation that is narrowing down who was responsible."

I'm Ranked

2012-02-27T12:22:00.000+02:00

Grandfathers/Grandmothers Against 'Apartheid' Attacks on Israel

2012-02-27T12:11:00.000+02:00

Video here:

Note that these intellectually-oriented students have to read from notes to get their message out.

Story here:

A group of young leftist University of New Mexico students crashed a talk by pro-Israel Nonie Darwish on their campus Thursday night, but were surprised when older audience members got up out of their seats and pushed them out posthaste.

"Nonie Darwish speaks for Israeli apartheid! And genocide at the hands of the IDF," the leftists yelled. However, older audience members with a no-nonsense approach walked up to the students and began pushing them out. The leftist disturbance had barely lasted a minute by the time the rioters had all been pushed out the door.

The title of the talk was "Why the Arab Spring Is Failing."...

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The Violent Goal of the "Non-violent Activists"

2012-02-27T08:35:00.000+02:00

After debating and exchanging frustrating comments here, I finally managed to elicit this about the so-called non-violent advocate Fadi Quran:

Jacob Chase-Lubitz
14 minutes ago...
Fadi is struggling, according to his sister, for all of historic palestine to be a single democracy under which all peoples are recognized as equal under the law, irrespective of gender, ethnicity, or religion.

That, of course, is the euphemism for the denial of Zionism, non-acceptance of Jewish nationalism and the elimination of the state of Israel.

That, whether a goal of the terrorists of Fatah, Hamas or Islamic Jihad or of so-called non-violent activists like Mubarak Awad, Jonathan Kuttab or now Fadi Quran, is a violent one and must be rejected and dealt with appropriately.

Yesterday, his brother left this:

Semma Qura'an

1 day ago@Yisrael Medad my brother does not help halt the rock throwing. He opts for another type of resistance aimed at the ISRAELI OCCUPATION. Get your facts straight. stones are not the equivalent of the tear gas, skunk, sound bombs, rubber and live bullets and illegally used pepper spray the IOF use

Quiet: Temple Mount Being Lost

2012-02-26T08:46:00.001+02:00

From a write-up by Amir Shoan at Ynet:

Is Israel losing Temple Mount war?

Why is Israeli government covering up Muslim effort to erase any trace of Jewish history on Temple Mount? || Archeology expert: Excavations barbaric, a crime

...The tractor's huge blade was lifted high up and then brought down with great force, shattering the ancient floors on Temple Mount. The large clods of earth exposed by the work were cast aside by the mustachioed driver. Yet even an amateur archeologist
could spot the priceless remnants of Jewish, Christian and Muslim history being cast away...According to specific Antiquities Authority instructions, any digging at the site was not allowed to exceed 60 centimeters (roughly two feet) and was not to be undertaken using mechanical equipment...workers largely ignored the instructions.

...Archeology expert Dr. Gabai Barkai, a world-renowned expert on Temple era excavations, was shocked by the reported work: "How could one dig up such sensitive area at night? How could one dig using mechanical equipment? Every such move is a crime. This is first-rate barbarity."

...Information elicited by the newspaper showed that the Waqf is consistently erasing any trace of Jewish history at the site.

Mideastern affairs expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar says these acts are undertaken in the framework of an Arab practice known as "erasing the signs," aimed at eliminating the remnants of any civilization that preceded Islam.

Members of the State Comptroller's Office launched an investigation into the affair four years ago and drafted a report about it. However, the Knesset's State Control Committee decided to impose a gag order on the report for "security reasons."

...Conversations and interviews held with dozens of officials involved in drafting the State Comptroller's secret report indicate that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is among the senior officials interested in shelving the document. Attorney Yisrael Caspi, who represents a group fighting the destruction on Temple Mount, says the PM is unequivocally responsible for the ongoing failure.

..."These days too, three tractors are being used on Temple Mount," [Israel] Caspi says. "Construction materials are also continuing to be brought into Temple Mount in violation of police pledges…Temple Mount looks today like a construction materials' warehouse…materials being brought in today will be used for illegal works tomorrow."..."You can't believe these things are happening. We are playing into our enemies' hands and shooting ourselves in the foot, because these generators can provide enough electricity for half the city. Why are they needed?"

After the opening of the Western Wall Tunnels in 1996 and the subsequent riots at the site, then-PM Netanyahu agreed to unilateral Waqf steps in the area...the Islamic body inaugurated the largest mosque in Israel at the large space associated with Solomon's stables, thereby banning Jews from entering the site. Two years later, the Waqf inaugurated another mosque, this time below the al-Aqsa Mosque nearby...Waqf members painted over rare Jewish works at the site. All this work was undertaken without Israeli supervision, and one can only imagine the kinds of cultural, historical and religious treasures lost in the process.

In 1999, the Waqf went a step further and dug a hole in the Temple Mount plaza, arguing that it needed to build an emergency exit for the mosque. The work was done by tractors, with some 250 trucks removing about 12,000 tons of soil replete with archeological findings from the site. The soil was dumped at a city garbage dump and also near the Kidron River.

Archeologists Gabi Barkai and Zachi Zweig are now sifting through [the dump]...[and] found decorated utensils from the King Solomon era, as well as coins and clay dating back to the second Temple. [Dr. Eilat Mazar said] "The Waqf's objective is to not only turn Temple Mount into a holy compound, but to turn it into a 'built up Aqsa' for Muslims only," she says. "One need not be an archeologist to understand there's destruction here."

The Prime Minister's Office issued the following response to the story: "As opposed to the claims, the body that imposed a gag order on the (State Comptroller's) report was not the government, but rather, the sub-committee of the Knesset's Defense and Foreign Affair's Committee…any argument alleging that the report is not being published as result of irrelevant reasons is baseless and disconnected from reality."

What the article lacks is a report on the activities of the Islamic Movement - Northern Branch, the activities of Sheikh Raad Salah, the recent riots and the incitement of the PA Mufti which I have dealt with recently.

For example, from when is this headline:

Islamic leader tells Haaretz: Temple Mount clashes won't end until occupation of Jerusalem does

Riots in Jerusalem continue as heads of Hamas and the Islamic Movement call protesters to the site.

October 2009.

When was this announced?

"We remind, for the 1,000th time, that the entire Al-Aqsa mosque, including all of its area and alleys above the ground and under it, is exclusive and absolute Moslem property, and no one else has any rights to even one grain of earth in it."

"We remind the Israeli establishment, which stands behind these plans, that the problem of Al-Aqsa and Jerusalem is not just a Palestinian problem, but a Palestinian, Arab and Islamic problem. The day the Al-Aqsa Mosque is harmed, Heaven forbid, all the Arab and Islamic nations will call to prevent this damage. Watch out! Beware of merely the thought of hurting or desecrating the mosque."

November 2006.

Nothing new under the ... crescent.

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Pro-Mechitza Reason #13

2012-02-26T00:41:00.000+02:00

A mechitza, for those not knowledgeable, separates the women's section of the synagogue from the men's area.

Here's one reason for them:

Nirvana Jennette, a mom of four from Camden County, Georgia says she was forced out of church for breastfeeding her baby. Church leaders asked her to breastfeed in the bathroom and implied they could have arrested her for “lewd behavior.” The most egregious statement? She told news station WSAV that her pastor compared her breastfeeding to a stripper performing.

According to Fox 30 WAWS, although Georgia state law allows a mother to nurse her child anywhere, Jennette could face public indecency charges. She wants her message to be heard loud and clear -- breastfeeding is natural and moms who want to feed their children in public should be protected. To that end, she's decided to stage a nurse-in and is seeking to establish legislative change for the State of Georgia.

Kooky Ken the Antisemite

2012-02-25T22:25:00.000+02:00

...if Israel is inherently a racist state, if it is inherently an apartheid state, then I want no part of Israel, it has no place in this world. And it does in its current form, if you want me to use some inflammatory language, in its current form should be destroyed.

Ken O'Keefe

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Adele - Jews Lack Citizenship Identity

2012-02-25T19:36:00.000+02:00

Adele, the big-voiced British singer-songwriter-guitarist, spoke a highly insensitive ethnic slur while trying to joke with the crowd during her show at Massey Hall in Toronto in 2009.

She was telling a story about how she had bought two guitars from “a rude Toronto pawn-shop owner” earlier in the day. “He wasn’t Canadian — he was Jewish,” she said, before realizing that statement was incredibly offensive to Jews in the audience, including my daughter, her friend and the friend’s father.

In a statement later released by Columbia Records, the singer said: “I sincerely apologize for being so naive and disrespectful! It was not my intention to be hurtful and I’m very sorry.”...

...This was a disgraceful comment, and it’s a clear reflection of Adele’s true feelings about Jewish people. A half-baked apology doesn’t change that.

Ironic, isn’t it, that Karl Lagerfeld’s foolish and offensive comment that Adele is “a little too fat” has received so much attention, when Adele’s own racist slur did not.

Ronna Rubin, Toronto.

(k/t=BPO)

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Sacha Baron Cohen Plays With Anti-Semitism

2012-02-24T16:25:00.001+02:00

A Jew goes overboard.

Reported:

This afternoon on The Dictator movie’s spoof website for the fictional Middle Eastern country of ‘The Republic Of Wadiya’, an explosive notice was posted. (Obviously by Sacha Baron Cohen as his title character in The Dictator.):

“Admiral General Aladeen will deliver a formal response tomorrow morning [Friday] to being banned from The Oscars by the Academy Of Motion Pictures Arts And Zionists.”

The Dictator is a spoof about the “heroic story of a Middle Eastern dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy never comes to the country he so lovingly oppressed”. Whether the fact that the 84th Academy Awards will be beamed into 200 countries had anything to do with Baron Cohen being banned from the Oscars was unclear. But it now looks like the Jewish comedian is taking on the normally verboten subject of Hollywood and Jews and Muslims. Oy vey!

The clip is here.

Too clever by half - and for his and our own good.

Problem with Jewish comedians - they have a propensity for making too much fun of their own. Not everyone is Jewish in the entertainment world (and therefore get the inside joke) and not everything is kosher for money and publicity.

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Article on Shiloh and Construction

2012-02-24T16:11:00.003+02:00

By P. David Hornik.

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Is Silverstein Provoking Arabs to Violence?

2012-02-24T16:00:00.004+02:00

[see UPDATE below]

Following Silverstein's posting about Jews being provocative [if you do not wish to click on his site and also, if you want to leave comments, go here] and thereby causing the Arabs to throw rocks, two things happened today:

First,

Dozens of riot police were deployed to quell a Muslim riot on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City on Friday.

Israel Police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said more than 100 Muslims began throwing rocks at a police location following Friday prayers, prompting the police to enter the compound.

Note: Jews do not ascend the Temple Mount on Fridays.

Second,

2 US Congressmen Elliot Engel and Jerald Nadler, along with Malcolm Hoenlein and other VIPs were touring the Mount of Olives with the JewishPress.com this morning when they came under a barrage of stones from Arabs exiting a nearby mosque.

Since the Mount of Olives cemetery has nothing to do with being a Moslem holy site vying for primacy over any Jewish site - like the excuse given for the Temple Mount contretemps - maybe these Arabs read Silverstein and figured they have 'cover' from a Jew to keep up the violent activity.

Is that possible?

See this response of his in his comments:

Richard Silverstein says:

February 23, 2012 at 12:14 PM

I see police breaking into the mosque. I have no idea what preceded this. I don’t care the reason for police violating the sanctity of the mosque, it’s an egregious breach of its sacred status.

So, is Silverstein provoking Arabs to violence?

P.S. (Post-Shabbat Update)

hundreds of Muslim worshippers clashed with police at Jerusalem's Temple Mount earlier on Friday.

Following Friday prayers, worshippers began hurling rocks at the Mughrabi Bridge at the entrance to the Temple Mount, which prompted Israeli police forces to enter the plaza and attempt to scatter the protest.

Israeli police said that dozens of protesters gathered inside the Al-Aqsa mosque after hurling rocks at security forces, who, in a rare move, came to the entrance of the mosque and used stun grenades to scatter the protesters.

Eleven policemen and 15 Palestinians were wounded as a result of the clashes. Four Palestinians were arrested.

UPDATE

A rock throwing Arab mob attacked on Friday, in front of a mosque in the Ras Al-Amud neighborhood, a group that included Congressmen Elliot Engel and Jerald Nadler. The two legislators from New York State were on tour of the Mount of Olives Cemetery, along with Executive Vice Chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Malcolm Hoenlein, and Rabbis Abraham and Menachem Lubinsky, founders of the International Committee for the Preservation of Har HaZeitim. Their tour, which included some 40 Jewish American leaders, was guided by JewishPress.com Managing Editor Yishai Fleisher

Jerusalem Post, too.

PPS The incident in Haifa.
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Jews To Be Forbidden?

2012-02-24T07:45:00.001+02:00

There's a report at Arutz 7 that the Islamic Waqf authorities are planning to alter the status of the Temple Mount so that they will be able to forbid the entrance of Jews in to the compound.

But I want to make it clear after 41 years of activity on behalf of Jewish rights to the Temple Mount and within, they have always claimed that the entire area is a mosque and that is why the minarets are on the walls and not on any one building.

From the report:

Expert Warns of Waqf's Dangerous Plans for Temple Mount

Archaeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar warns: The Waqf is planning to unite all the mosques on the Temple Mount into one.

Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Mazar said that for the past 12 years, the Waqf has constantly built on the Temple Mount in an attempt to implement its final plan: the establishment of a huge mosque on the Mount.

“There is no order there and no one to uphold the law,” she said. “No one can enforce the law there. Not the Israel Antiquities Authority, not the Nature and Parks Authority and not the city of Jerusalem. The police are there but they are precluded from enforcing.”

...the State Comptroller wrote a report which exposed serious findings about Israeli authorities’ inability to enforce the law on the Temple Mount, but noted that the report has remained confidential to this day.

“The Comptroller produced a thorough report and questioned all the right people. He came to important conclusions which so far have not been published. Our group has demanded and continues to demand that the contents of the report be published.”

She warned that the excavations of antiquities being performed on the Temple Mount by the Waqf may lead to disaster..."There is a danger that the ground will collapse under thousands of Muslims. It endangers the safety of the people...”

Mazar added, “I do not accept the argument that this could lead to a world war. The Temple Mount is at the center of Jerusalem. We’re not harming the Muslim rituals. We only want to enforce the law and order so that a disaster can be prevented. The Waqf cannot be trusted...

...“We know that the Waqf’s goal is to unite all one the mosques, and unfortunately today it is far from being just an illusion,” she said. “We will definitely weep over this plan in the future.”

Will we weep?

Well, we can weep over Silverstein's diatribe, claiming that: 'Messianic Settlers Provoke Violence And Seek Final Day Of Reckoning'.

Jews - and Christians - have a right to enter the Mount and Muslims attack but that doesn't bother Silverstein (who I doubt couldn't have writtn his op-ed without massive help from Israelis who spoonfed him material).

"Messianic settlers have banded together to orchestrate a crisis on the Temple Mount" is his buzz as if archaeological artifacts have not been destroyed or covered up or thrown away by Muslims, as if the police are afraid, as if stones are not thrown from inside over the Western Wall on worshippers below who aren't even in the compound.

He falsely asserts that in making an ascent:-

one must first evict or destroy the Muslim holy sites there as was done by Hindu nationalists to a mosque in Ayodiyah, India.

What a maligner. A mendacious idiot.

And again here, that "a call for Jews to have the same access to the Temple Mount that Muslims enjoy" is a

...problem...Muslims for generations have controlled the area. Until the type of agitation initiated by Sharon, access was relatively open. In fact, I can remember visiting both holy mosques during my stays in Israel in 1972-73 and 1979-1980. It was only after Muslims became afraid that Jews wanted to take control from them that relations went bad.

Soi, status quo wins? Well, let's make a new status quo. The Mulsims conquered the Temple and Jews can't enter so if Jews conquered, is it not logial - a la Silverstein - that Muslims be excluded?

But they are not.

That probably bothers Silverstein more - that we Jews still are more moral than the Waqf.

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Comment on Mormons Baptizing Dead Jews

2012-02-23T23:17:00.002+02:00

My cousin-in-law Chaim commented to me on the story:

I find it amusing that I may have a grandmother who is Mormon.

Can my grandfather become a polygamist?

Another friend wrote me:

Well, should Jewish leaders dig up dead Mormons and give them circumcisions?

J Street Visited Tel Shiloh

2012-02-23T22:58:00.003+02:00

On Wednesday, the J Street Women's Delegation came to Shiloh, before the construction authorization story broke. I wasn't there but Jeremy Ben-Ami was.

I asked Ruchie Avital to write up her impressions and she consented:

As a longtime spokesperson of Ofra, I have had the opportunity to meet with many individuals and groups visiting Ofra. In most cases, the visitors to the area – both Jews and non-Jews, as well as journalists who have been sent from abroad to cover Israel – are sadly ignorant about the history of the State of Israel and the conflict with the Arab/Palestinians. The group I met with yesterday was different.

I was invited by Tamar Asraf, the dynamic and articulate spokesperson of the Benjamin Regional Council, and Tzofia Dorot, the warm and knowledgeable director of the Ancient Site of Shilo, to join them at a meeting with a J Street delegation, led by Jeremy Ben-Ami, the founder and director of the far-left organization. The visit itself was coordinated by Dar Nadler of a movement called Blue and White Future, which favors keeping only the large settlement blocks and evacuating all the other Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, comprising about 90,000 Jews. Dar’s moderation of the discussion was admirably fair and balanced.

The group was made up of about 20 or so women and two men, besides Jeremy Ben-Ami, including a number of Congresswomen, from J Street and another organization called Women’s Donors Network. Many were visiting for the first time, but appeared to be familiar with many of the issues, but of course from J Street’s point of view. However, they had come to listen. They asked tough questions, but listened to what we had to say and commented intelligently.

When thanking us, they noted that they had never heard some of the arguments we put forward before. I have no illusions about changing their minds. But I believe it’s important to talk and listen to one another. You never know.

Some 20 years ago, I was asked by a left-wing group to accompany a group of visiting women. We drove up through Ramallah with Zehava Galon commenting on the scene and we eventually arrived at Rechalim, then still a camp site. It was a women's project, with children nall around, a play area and the other elements of a Gush Emunim effort.

Orit Rappaport explained why they were there (Rachela Druck had been murdered there on the eve of the Madrid Conference and I was in Madrid at that time). The ladies were som impressed at the dedication, commitment and outright sacrifice of the women there that they opened up theior pocketbooks right then and there, handing over dollar bills.

Shocked, Zehava tried to stope them b ut their response was that this was above all a feminist issue, beyoind politics and that the women of Rechalim deserved their support and solidarity.

You just never know with a liberal. I presume.

=============

UPDATE

African-American congresswomen tour Israel with J Street

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- A group of African-American congresswomen toured Israel under J Street's auspices.

Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Donna Edwards (D-Md.), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) and Gwen Moore (D-Wisc.) met with top officials in the opposition and the ruling coalition, a statement issued Feb. 24 from the dovish pro-Israel group said. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who is not African American, also was part of the delegation.

Joining them were 14 female philanthropists; they were not named in the release. The statement was released after the delegation returned from the weeklong visit.

They do not admit to being in Shiloh in this item.

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How to Eulogize a War Correspondent

2012-02-23T22:23:00.001+02:00

They call this prose:

We all have to die sometime. Marie died doing what she loved, what made her feel most alive, what turns journalism from a job into something bigger and more noble: a mission. It’s perhaps not much of a consolation to her many friends and her family, but it’s what happened.

Heck, let her own words speak for her:

I have been a war correspondent for most of my professional life. It has always been a hard calling. But the need for frontline, objective reporting has never been more compelling.

Covering a war means going to places torn by chaos, destruction, and death, and trying to bear witness. It means trying to find the truth in a sandstorm of propaganda when armies, tribes or terrorists clash. And yes, it means taking risks, not just for yourself but often for the people who work closely with you.

...Our mission is to report these horrors of war with accuracy and without prejudice. We always have to ask ourselves whether the level of risk is worth the story. What is bravery, and what is bravado?

The entire text is here.

^

A Poem for Daniel Pearl

2012-02-23T22:18:00.000+02:00

Some lines from a poem his father penned:-

...Never stood a son of Abel

so fiercely to the face of Cain

...A listener—to the deafening shrieks of zeal.

Alone!

Never beamed a ray of light

so deeply to the core of darkness

...Mankind, to Attila, the Hun

Never was this saga chanted

in so powerful a rhyme:

“My name is Daniel Pearl,”

Softly spoken from the den,

Softly, from Karachi, Pakistan

•

And when Daniel was lifted from the den,

So the Bible tells us,

No wound was found on him,

Because he stood his ground

Because he stood our ground

So the Bible tells us.

(Daniel 6:28)

^

^

Bar Rafaeli - What She Didn't Do in Israel

2012-02-23T21:13:00.000+02:00

Bar Rafaeli did not fulfill her military service obligations in Israel.

But she still has fun with a gun:-

It's the Jews and the Christians vs the Muslims

2012-02-23T20:41:00.000+02:00

Christian Today reports:-

A mob of 50 Muslims reportedly attacked a group of Christian tourist's atop Jerusalem's Temple Mount, according to Israel Today Magazine. Israeli police intervened to protect the Christian group and three officers were wounded.

Many of the attackers were minors and 11 of them were caught and arrested.

Investigators believe the attack was sparked by the former Muslim mufti (scholar) of Jerusalem, Ekrama Sabri...Muslim religious figures claim that Israel is plotting to destroy the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa Mosque to rebuild a new Jewish Temple. Muslims claim that a Jewish Temple never existed.

The al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock were constructed at Temple Mount after the Muslim conquest of Jerusalem, according to The Muslim Conquest of Syria.

Temple Mount is the most holy place on earth for Jews and many Christians, according to Israel Today. However, Israel must comply with strict Muslim demands for restrictions of non-Muslims who visit the site. Christians and Jews are forbidden from carrying Bibles at Temple Mount and even uttering silent prayers

Is this echoed in Isaiah 2?

it shall come to pass in the end of days, that the mountain of the LORD'S house shall be established as the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many peoples shall go and say: 'Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths.' For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem

When will we know?

^

Maybe We Should Reverse Ashton's Appointment?

2012-02-23T19:59:00.000+02:00

The lady hath spoken:

EU Demands Reversal Of Israeli Settlement Approvals

European Union Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton has called upon the Israeli government to reverse its decision granting approval for new constructions in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

"The High Representative is deeply concerned by the approval on 22 February by the Israeli Civil Administration of new construction in the settlements of Shvut Rachel and Shilo as well as the retrospective approval granted for housing units already built," Ashton's spokesperson said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Settlements are illegal under international law. In addition the Quartet Roadmap states that Israel should not only freeze all settlement activity, but also dismantle those settlements erected since March 2001," the statement added.

Silly cow.

^

My Daughter on the Tal Law Annulment

2012-02-23T15:56:00.001+02:00

Here:

Opponents of the Service Deferral Law, on the other hand, could not hide their glee.

"An historic decision," said [Tzruya] Medad-Luzon, of the Movement for Quality Government in Israel. She told DPA that she hoped parliament would now "really invest effort and thought" into a more balanced law.

The Night and Sexual Relations

2012-02-23T15:47:00.000+02:00

I found this extract in a BBC story on the myth of the consecutive 8-hour sleep need:-

A doctor's manual from 16th Century France even advised couples that the best time to conceive was not at the end of a long day's labour but "after the first sleep", when "they have more enjoyment" and "do it better".

Well, we knew that in Judaism.

Tractate Berachot 3

For it has been taught: R. Eliezer says: The night has three watches...In the first watch, the ass brays; in the second, the dogs bark; in the third, the child sucks from the breast of his mother, and the woman talks with her husband.

Moreover, in this doctorate of Anat Kutner, The Night in the Late Middle Ages in Ashkenaz (in Hebrew), the 7th chapter describes in great detail sexual customs. From page 234 on there are discussions based on Halachic sources.

On page 250, Rav Aaron of Navorna is quoted in his Orchot Chayyim, p. 75, that the middle of the third watches of the night is conducive to sexual relations. This follows the Rambam, Deot 5:4

Although a man's wife is permitted to him at all times, it is fitting that a wise man behave with holiness. He should not frequent his wife like a rooster. Rather, [he should limit his relations to once a week] from Sabbath evening to Sabbath evening, if he has the physical stamina.

When he speaks with her, he should not do so at the beginning of the night, when he is sated and his belly [is] full, nor at the end of the night, when he is hungry; rather, in the middle of the night, when his food has been digested.

He should not be excessively lightheaded, nor should he talk obscene nonsense even in intimate conversation with his wife. Behold, the prophet has stated (Amos 4:13): "And He repeats to a man what he has spoken." [On this verse,] our Sages commented: A person will have to account for even the light conversation that he has with his wife.

[At the time of relations,] they should not be drunk, nor lackadaisical, nor tense - [neither both of them,] or [even] one of them. She should not be asleep, nor should the man take her by force, against her will. Rather, [the relations should take place] amidst their mutual consent and joy. He should converse and dally with her somewhat, so that she be relaxed. He should be intimate [with her] modestly and not boldly, and withdraw [from her] immediately.

This is repeated, curtly, at Issurei Bi'ah 21:10

It is the course of holy conduct to engage in relations in the middle of the night (In Hilchot Deot 5:4, the Rambam gives a rationale that at this time a person's food will have been digested and yet, he will not be overly hungry. The commentaries to Nedarim 20b explain that in this manner, the man and his wife will have forgotten all their daytime concerns and will be able to focus their attention on each other and the holiness of the experience).

The Shulchan Aruch Orach Hayyim 240:8 adds that it is best in the middle of the night so that he should not hear any other voice and come to impure thoughts.

So, hundreds of years before the 16th century, we knew what's best.

^

Does Peace Now Deserve a Medal?

2012-02-23T14:13:00.003+02:00

Further to the new constuction authorizations at Shiloh news, there is this from Dror Eydar:-

Praise Peace Now

...Peace Now, by force of habit, petitioned the court against the construction in Shiloh and in Shvut Rachel. As we know, Shiloh is mentioned in the Quran as an Arab community that has existed since creation. Who would believe the stories in the Bible indicating that Shiloh was the capital of the Tribes of Israel for hundreds of years?

Peace Now's argument was that these communities lacked the necessary zoning authorizations – as is the case in countless cities, even within the Green Line – making construction there illegal.

In response to the petition, the state provided the zoning permits, legalizing the existing construction and even authorizing future construction of hundreds of additional housing units. At this rate, Peace Now Secretary-General Yariv Oppenheimer will get a Zionism medal for instigating the construction of entire cities...

__________

UPDATE

...a spokesperson for the EU's High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Ashton said the FM was "deeply concerned by the approval on 22 February by the Israeli Civil Administration of new construction in the settlements of Shvut Rachel and Shiloh as well as the retrospective approval granted for housing units already built."

"Settlements are illegal under international law. In addition the Quartet Roadmap states that Israel should not only freeze all settlement activity, but also dismantle those settlements erected since March 2001," the statement said.

..."The High Representative calls on Israel to respect its obligations under the Roadmap and reverse this decision," the statement concluded.

And the State Dep't:-

QUESTION: Can I ask you about --

MR. TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: -- settlement activity in Israel? There was news of a preliminary decision regarding, I think, 600 units in Shiloh, which is quite far inside West Bank territory. Do you have a reaction to this that’s different than previous reactions for the same --

MR. TONER: I really don’t. I don’t have a – frankly, I haven’t seen those press reports. I mean, you know where we stand on settlement activity. We don’t believe it’s in any way constructive to getting both sides back to the negotiating table and we want to see, clearly, a comprehensive settlement that delineates borders and resolves many of these issues.

But read here.

^

Our New Media Column at the JPost

2012-02-23T11:35:00.002+02:00

Here.

^

Blocks and Stones and Rocks

2012-02-23T11:18:00.003+02:00

If you read this story from yesterday, about a stoning incident, here's the full first-person testimony:-

What Happened to Me on Tuesday Last

This past Tuesday, 28 Shvat - February 21, I was returning home to Karmei Tzur from Efrat where I work.

At the Gush Etzion Junction I collected a female hitchhiker who got into a back seat since the front passenger seat was where our infant seat was affixed. What luck. While traveling between El-Aroub and Bet-Omar on the ascent I noticed a car approaching from the opposite direction with a damaged front window from a rock that must have previously landed. I naively presumed that that was the result of an old incident that hadn't yet been fixed.

When I came close to the gas station at Bet-Omar (a location that usually requires a driver's attention due to wrongly parked taxis, bypassing and pulling out into the highway in a careless manner), I observed a man running across the road from right to left. I first thought that this was a soldier with a rifle and I slowed down to grasp what was happening. I then noticed dozens of people, old, young and teenagers, congregating on my right. It then became apparent that the "soldier with a rifle" was actually a photographer with a camera. He was seeking a better picture angle to snap away at what was about to happen. On my left were at least two other photographers, waiting for the action. I should emphasize that I was not the first victim and other cars had already been stoned and so these press photographers were well aware what was happening and was about to happen to me. None of them, it seems, thought to call for assistance from the police or IDF none of whom were present.

Knowing I had no choice but to continue and surely not stop for otherwise, if I had slowed down, I would have been trapped and blocked off, the only thing in my mind was to proceed home and not get caught at that crossing. It was difficult to pass through as the rocks came from a distance of just a few feet from the car, 'zero-range' as we say. The rioters clearly could see that the car contained two young females, defenceless. We were struck by many rocks, my view was blocked by the cracked glass and I simply concentrated on getting out of there as quickly as I could. At the time, as well as at this moment of writing, I did not fully grasp the danger of our situation.

It was only when I arrived home that I realized the entire front of the car was covered with shattered glass particles including me, the infant seat, the back seat, everything. There was also damage caused to the sides of the car. At least eight large rocks and blocks had hit my car. I learned the rock-throwing continued for a good few minutes afterwards with the resulting damage to other vehicles as well as psychological damage to the drivers and passengers.

Then I had to tell my children what happened in a normal, non-hysterical fashion so as to prepare them for further conversations that they would hear from grownups talking about the incident.

This is the first time I experienced such a serious and difficult incident as this and pray it is the last. And we have been living in Karmei Tzur for the past eight years. But now I know from first-hand experience with surety that rockthrowings occur all the time, especially on Highway 60 between the Gush Etzion junction and Halhoul. My first-grade son's transportation has also been stoned.

Another point: these terrorists had no qualms about not covering their faces during their attempt at murder.

We try to overcome the fear and to live our everyday life. We are believing people, with faith. After an incident like this we will pronounce the benediction "Blessed is He who Who bestows good things on those unworthy, and has bestowed on me every goodness". We believe in goodness, and that it will overcome evil. We only pray and hope that people in Israel and around the world will finally recognize the truth, that our enemies, the Arabs who fight us wish for evil, they want destruction, while we wish for good and want peace, even with our neighbors. We wish for life.

Zehava Weiss, Karmei Tzur

Posted at JewishPress, ,too.

^

NYTimes Facilitates Misleading Historical Narrative

2012-02-23T09:43:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, the New York Times carried an op-ed by an Arab activist seeking to dislodge Jews from their homes and weaken the security of the state of Israel.

I had sent in a letter but it wasn't published. As usual.

Here it is:-

In his op-ed ("Peaceful protest can free Palestine", Feb. 22), Mustafa Barghouthi opens with a statement that "over the past 64 years, Palestinians have tried armed struggle". That is incorrect.

Following several months of protests in late 1919 and early 1920, including one on February 27 which involved lifting the United States Consul-General Otis Allan Glazebrook up on to the shoulders of the demonstrators, and incited by a religious preacher, Haj Amin El-Husseini, the soon-to-be "Grand Mufti of Palestine", Arabs fell upon their Jewish neighbors between April 4 -7, 1920, killing 5 and injuring 200 - all civilians casualties. Indeed, the entire history of the past 92 years has been marked by Arab terror, pogroms, riots and murder directed almost exclusively at Jewish civilians by Arabs, in Hebron, Safed, Jaffa and many other locations where Jews resided. Ethnic cleansing from some cities resulted, all prior to the 1948 war.

If there is a "struggle", it is one for the truth and the genuine historical narrative.

And here are the ones that did get published:-

Hurdles That Block an Israeli-Palestinian Peace

To the Editor:

Re “Peaceful Protest Can Free Palestine” (Op-Ed, Feb. 22):

Mustafa Barghouthi, a member of the Palestinian Parliament, writes that “over the past 64 years, Palestinians have tried armed struggle; we have tried negotiations; and we have tried peace conferences.”

Mr. Barghouthi conveniently doesn’t mention one option: accepting Israeli offers to evacuate the West Bank and make peace.

In 2000, Ehud Barak, the Israeli prime minister, offered to return 96 percent of the territories and to divide Jerusalem. In 2008, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert offered to leave lands equivalent to 100 percent of the West Bank and again to divide Jerusalem.

On both occasions, Palestinian leaders not only refused to accept those offers, but also refused to make counterproposals and initiated violence (the second intifada, increased Hamas rocket fire from Gaza) that poisoned the atmosphere for continued negotiations.

A narrative of relentless Palestinian victimization may be emotionally satisfying, but ignores certain well-known events.

VICTOR LIEBERMAN
Ann Arbor, Mich.

*

To the Editor:

Over the last 64 years, Mustafa Barghouthi writes, Palestinians have been engaged in struggle with nothing to show for it. Do the math. Sixty-four years ago was not 1967, when Israel won control of the West Bank and Gaza from Jordan and Egypt; 64 years ago was 1948, when Israel became an independent state.

So while Mr. Barghouthi rails against post-1967 occupation and settlements, he cannot free himself from the view that Israel itself, from the day of its foundation, should never have been. This is the mind-set that makes an Israeli-Palestinian peace so elusive.

BERNARD JOSHUA KABAK, New York,

*

To the Editor:

Thank you for publishing Mustafa Barghouthi’s eloquent article addressing the hunger strike of Khader Adnan and summarizing clearly the plight of Palestinians. Mr. Adnan, as well as countless other Palestinians, is indeed a hero, and the hope for justice and peace in Palestine-Israel.

JUDY NEUNUEBEL, Santa Fe, N.M.,

Mrs. Neunuebel, an involved Christian, seems to be active in pro-Pal causes via Creativity for Peace and even wrote glowingly of Chas Freeman, that notorious anti-Semite. Mindless, is what comes to my mind.

_______________

UPDATE

And the following day, this letter appeared:

To the Editor:

In “Peaceful Protest Can Free Palestine” (Op-Ed, Feb. 22), Mustafa Barghouthi does not mention that Israel has been trying for a long time to bring the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

It is quite disappointing to see that the Palestinians continue to seek ways to confront Israel through boycotts and protests, rather than choose a path of collaboration to find a true and lasting peace between neighbors.

Only if we use the language of peace and dialogue will we be able to create an atmosphere of trust. While the Palestinians have tried terrorism, and subsequently attended peace conferences, they have not uttered the single most important word: yes.

The Palestinian Authority has yet to say yes to Israel, yes to peace and yes to living side by side with the Jewish state. Israel’s outstretched arms extend until the day the Palestinians say, Yes, we are ready to join our neighbor Israel in taking the difficult step toward peace.

Organizing people to protest is much easier than organizing people to make compromises for peace, a compromise that both sides must make.

SHAHAR AZANI
Spokesman Consulate General of Israel, New York

P.S. Typical that independent activists responded quicker than the Foreign Ministry folk.

^

Today Marie Colvin Died in Syria

2012-02-22T23:48:00.000+02:00

And last month she published this in The Sunday Times on January 16, 2012 and in syndicated outlets

Inside Mossad's war on Tehran

BY: MARIE COLVIN AND UZI MAHNAIMI  

EARLY in Tehran's grey wintry morning last Wednesday, Mustafa Ahmadi Roshan, a young scientist in Iran's controversial nuclear program, got dressed at his home in the northern suburbs. The events of this last hour of his life could have come out of a spy film. Small groups of Israeli agents were watching key points in the Iranian capital. Their target was Roshan. They would be dead themselves if they were caught.

For Israel it was a classic assassination mission. "What is seen in espionage films as a simple operation is a result of hard work, many months of intelligence gathering and a well trained team," said a source who released details, impossible to verify, to The Sunday Times.

...Since its foundation in 1948, Israel has used assassination as a national weapon, striking targets abroad ranging from Palestinians who killed Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, to enemies on the streets of Amman and a Hamas leader in a Dubai hotel room in 2010...The murder of civilians divides Iran's critics -- and Israel's. Some find it repugnant, others see them as casualties in an undeclared war that is greatly preferable to the alternative

And DaledAmos point this out:

Israel planning 'ethnic' bomb as Saddam caves in

by Uzi Mahnaimi and Marie Colvin

ISRAEL is working on a biological weapon that would harm Arabs but not Jews, according to Israeli military and western intelligence sources. The weapon, targeting victims by ethnic origin, is seen as Israel's response to Iraq's threat of chemical and biological attacks.

That's a journalist?

Or an anti-Israel ideologist?

^

Sorry, Serry

2012-02-22T23:23:00.001+02:00

Where is the UN when you need it - in Syria, in Sri Lanka, in a dozen locations around the world?

It's busy condemning Jewish residency rights in the territory ofj the Jewish National Home as decided by its forerunner, the League of Nations, a decision Article 80 of the UN Charter upholds as still valid today*.

Read on:

UN slams plan to authorize outpost, Shiloh homes

The United Nations on Wednesday condemned Israeli plans to authorize both the Shvuet Rachel outpost and 180 already existing homes in the Shiloh settlement, located in the Binyamin region of the West Bank.

These actions are “deplorable and move us further away from the goal of a two-state solution,” said UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry.

“The Secretary-General reiterated the UN’s well known position that settlement activity is illegal, contrary to Israel’s obligations under the Road Map and will not be recognized by the international community.”

...Final approval of a zoning plan for both for the settlement and the outpost, would retroactively legalize all existing homes in Shiloh and Shvuet Rachel.

...The Defense Ministry’s settlement adviser Eitan Broshi said that the Higher Planning Council’s actions on Wednesday were a piece of that process. He clarified that the Council’s actions on Wednesday moved the plans to the next level in the bureaucratic process, but that it could still take a number of months before the plans were finally approved.

He took issues with Peace Now’s designation of the construction as “illegal” and with the description of Shvuet Rachel as an outpost, even though it was classified as such in the 2005 report which attorney Talia Sasson presented to the government.

“Shvuet Rachel is a neighborhood of the Shiloh settlement,” he said.

The new zoning plan, he said, adjusts a technical problem for homes in Shiloh, including in the neighborhood of Shvuet Rachel, that lack all the proper paperwork.

All the homes in question, Broshi said, were constructed on state land and should be authorized.

...If these homes are authorized, it would more than double the size of both communities, Ofran said. "The government is giving a prize to building offenders and continuing the system by which every time the settlers build without permits, the government approves the construction and allows them even more construction,” Peace Now said.

Mr. Serry, please read the material following the asterisk.

You won't be sorry.

*
As here:

The view often expressed in the UN that Jewish settlements in the West Bank are illegal in international law ignores the fact that close settlement by Jews on West Bank land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes was to be encouraged and is legally sanctioned by the Treaty of Sevres, article 6 of the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the UN Charter. Denying this vested legal right by unilaterally passing a resolution that seeks to negate the exercise of that right breaches article 80 of the UN Charter and is a denial of natural justice.

Article 80:

1.Except as may be agreed upon in individual trusteeship agreements, made under Articles 77, 79, and 81, placing each territory under the trusteeship system, and until such agreements have been concluded, nothing in this Chapter shall be construed in or of itself to alter in any manner the rights whatsoever of any states or any peoples or the terms of existing international instruments to which Members of the United Nations may respectively be parties.
2.Paragraph 1 of this Article shall not be interpreted as giving grounds for delay or postponement of the negotiation and conclusion of agreements for placing mandated and other territories under the trusteeship system as provided for in Article 77.

And as elucidated by Eli Hertz:

The “Mandate for Palestine” is Valid to This Day

The Mandate survived the demise of the League of Nations. Article 80 of the UN Charter implicitly recognizes the “Mandate for Palestine” of the League of Nations.

This Mandate granted Jews the irrevocable right to settle anywhere in Palestine, the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, a right unaltered in international law and valid to this day. Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria (i.e. the West Bank), Gaza and the whole of Jerusalem are legal.

The International Court of Justice reaffirmed the meaning and validity of Article 80 in three separate cases:

ICJ Advisory Opinion of July 11, 1950: in the “question concerning the International States of South West Africa.”33

ICJ Advisory Opinion of June 21, 1971: “When the League of Nations was dissolved, the raison d’etre [French: “reason for being”] and original object of these obligations remained. Since their fulfillment did not depend on the existence of the League, they could not be brought to an end merely because the supervisory organ had ceased to exist. ... The International Court of Justice has consistently recognized that the Mandate survived the demise of the League [of Nations].”

ICJ Advisory Opinion of July 9, 2004: regarding the “legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.”35

In other words, neither the ICJ nor the UN General Assembly can arbitrarily change the status of Jewish settlement as set forth in the “Mandate for Palestine,” an international accord that has never been amended.

All of western Palestine, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, including the West Bank and Gaza, remains open to Jewish settlement under international law.

Professor Eugene Rostow concurred with the ICJ’s opinion as to the “sacredness” of trusts such as the “Mandate for Palestine”:

“‘A trust’ – as in Article 80 of the UN Charter – does not end because the trustee dies ... the Jewish right of settlement in the whole of western Palestine – the area west of the Jordan – survived the British withdrawal in 1948. ... They are parts of the mandate territory, now legally occupied by Israel with the consent of the Security Council.”36

The British Mandate left intact the Jewish right to settle in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza Strip. Explains Professor Rostow:

“This right is protected by Article 80 of the United Nations Charter, which provides that unless a trusteeship agreement is agreed upon (which was not done for the Palestine Mandate), nothing in the chapter shall be construed in and of itself to alter in any manner the rights whatsoever of any states or any peoples or the terms of existing international instruments to which members of the United Nations may respectively be parties.

“The Mandates of the League of Nations have a special status in international law. They are considered to be trusts, indeed ‘sacred trusts.’

“Under international law, neither Jordan nor the Palestinian Arab ‘people’ of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have a substantial claim to the sovereign possession of the occupied territories.”

When will the UN and its employees free themselves from anti-Israel and anti-Zionist prejudices as well as, it would assume, simple ignorance?

UPDATE

AP reports about Israel's preliminary approval to build new homes in the West Bank: the timing of the move may further hinder already troubled Mideast peace efforts. It casts a shadow over a trip by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Washington in March...Speaking to reporters, State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to comment about the announcement, but said the U.S. policy on settlement activity is clear. "We don't believe it's in any way constructive to getting both sides back to the negotiating table. And we want to see clearly a comprehensive settlement that delineates borders and resolves many of these issues."

And they had a pictureby Abir Sultan:

Proof of "Palestine" as an Apartheid State

2012-02-22T21:48:00.001+02:00

The new community of Rawabi is going up, north of Ramallah.

On the official site it is described thus:

Live in Rawabi

Rawabi will provide opportunities for home ownership, employment, education and leisure. Best of all, Rawabi will offer a high quality-of-life well within the financial reach of many young Palestinian families.

The city will encompass more than 5,000 housing units and a central commercial area with banks, retail shops, restaurants, cafes, medical facilities, offices, a hotel, a movie theater and 3 cinemas. The city will also offer 8 schools, green spaces, playgrounds, civic services, church and mosques.

What, no synagogues?

Sure.

Look:

If there will be no Jews, why would they need to build any synagogues?

Think about that.

It's apartheid. Ethnic cleansing.

P.S. Arafat has done it before:

"The Palestinian state is within our grasp. Soon the Palestinian flag will fly on the walls, the minarets and the cathedrals of Jerusalem."

Yasser Arafat (The New York Times, 3 September 1993)

In 1967, The Mosque Loudspeakers Cried....

2012-02-22T21:33:00.000+02:00

At 11:15 a.m. on June 5, 1967, Jordanian artillery launched a 6,000-shell barrage against Jewish Jerusalem, hitting the Knesset and the prime minister’s house as well as the Hadassah Hospital and the Church of Dormition on Mount Zion. Following Defense Minister Moshe Dayan’s orders, the Israelis responded only with small arms. At 11:30, Dayan ordered a strike against the Jordanian air force. Watching from the roof of his palace with his eldest son, the future King Abdullah II, Hussein saw his planes destroyed.

In Jerusalem, Israel offered a ceasefire but the Jordanians were not interested. The muezzin loudspeakers on the Dome of the Rock cried, “Take up your weapons and take back your country stolen by the Jews.”

Excerpted from Simon Sebag Montefiore's new book, the chapter: ‘The Temple Mount is in our hands’

^

Employment Practices at CNN: You Jewish?

2012-02-22T20:58:00.001+02:00

Remember the story of CNN firing its Jewish employees?

HonestReporting came out defending CNN:-

CNN was victim of an internet smear after downsizing its Jerusalem bureau. HonestReporting clears the air. Faced with the evidence that we have seen and our own conversations with media professionals based in Jerusalem, we have concluded that the charges laid at CNN’s door are speculative at best.

I wasn't fully convinced and thought that without knowing exactly what positions were being filled by the remaining Israelis, I wouldn't give CNN a pass.

Well, now we have this version:

CNN’s decision to fire four Jewish Israeli journalists from the cable network’s Jerusalem bureau earlier this month was due in part to their religion and nationality, and to their perceived inability to operate freely throughout the Middle East, the Algemeiner has learned. “The fact is, just Jewish Israelis were fired from CNN,” said a source who was directly involved in the layoffs and who requested anonymity. While reports said CNN had fired all its Jewish workers from the bureau, the source told the Algemeiner that “they left 2 Jewish Israeli journalists but here’s the catch, they’re each working one shift a week for 8 hours.”

Bureau head Kevin Flower was quoted

....as telling staffers that “we need journalists but we will need journalists that are able to go to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and to all the Middle East.”

Oh, do you want to work for CNN? There's an opening:

On February 15th, Turner Broadcasting, the parent company of CNN, posted a job listing, with the following description: The Jerusalem photojournalist is responsible for recording images and sound to illustrate CNN news events and stories as well as editing and feeding video.

The location for the position is posted as “United Arab Emirates – Abu Dhabi.”.

_____________

UPDATE

There is a new comment on the post "CNN Falls Victim to Internet Smear".

Author: J brown
February 27, 2012
8:05 pm

The issue was made By the French journalist grumberg

Which was what the journalist staffing numbers remaining in the Israel bureau may mean to reporting. THAT
1) CNN evaded the question and did Not answer questions that would illuminate
2) that it appears despite the 7 staff there are not journalists among the remaining Jewish Israelis working there.

If grumbergs report is an accurate representation of his conversation with CNN

Then 4)” honest reporting “- no offence to their hopefull sincere moniker of intent; has only further obfuscated and confused what Grumberg’s account makes obvious CNN feels it is a proxy for the news that should be obeyed, without questioning. There are no Jewish reporters likely representing the CNN Israel Bureau Yes it is apparent a literal employee number error was made. It. Was/ is not the point.
Excerpted below
To the question: “How many Jewish journalists and how many arab journalists are left in the bureau now? Are you going to replace the four israelis that were fired by four arabs, or by no one? An Arab and an Israeli used to work with each other on subjects, is this still going to be the case? How will you achieve that without Jewish journalists?”

CNN’s response was: “There are 4 Jewish employees out of 7. One bureau chief. This information should be reflected in your piece. And we repeat that there is no basis for your question below about “no Jewish journalists”. Please amend your piece accordingly.”

I restated my question -again-: “Again, out of the 4 Jewish employes now, how many are journalists?”

That was three days ago, and guess what: she never got back to me. And if I did not get an answer, it is because the answer would have unmasked CNN manipulative narrative, and confirm my first article.

Now here is the new scoop. I found the answers that CNN hid, and I give them to you as an exclusive.

True, there still are four Jewish employees at CNN after they expelled four prominent Jewish journalists.

There is one Field producer, full-time.

The second person is an engineer, he deals with computers, satellites, and live broadcasts transmission.

The other two are eight hours per week desk employes, ie answering the phone, and typing cables.

The outcome of this story is that CNN PR, and CNN Spokesperson lied to me, playing with words to make me believe that Jerusalem bureau has four Jewish journalists, and they tried to apply pressure with this deception so that I would censor my article.

CNN: In which closet are you hiding Israeli journalists to ensure honest reporting on the Arab-Palestinian conflict? Who is delivering the propaganda packaged now?

Reproduction is authorized,

Breaking News: Arrests of Jews

2012-02-22T16:37:00.000+02:00

As received:

Nadia Matar and Yehudit Katzover have just been arrested in Netzer (outside of Efrat).

They are in the police van, on their way to the police station being accused of trespassing, while they were attending a shiur (Torah class) in honor of Rosh Chodesh Adar, in Netzer.

Arabs who saw the Jews in Netzeralerted the police, who arrived within minutes.

Sadly, the pressure of Left, the UN and the article by Amira Hess in HaArertz work, and the authorities cave into their pressure just as they did with the hunger strike of the jihadist.

I'd Love to Ask Mrs. Strauss-Kahan A Question

2012-02-22T14:19:00.000+02:00

Okay, her husband sleeps around.

Orgies:

One of Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers has said that the former French presidential hopeful never knew that the women at orgies he attended were prostitutes nor did he have any way of knowing they were. “He could easily not have known, because as you can imagine, at these kinds of parties you’re not always dressed, and I challenge you to distinguish a naked prostitute from any other naked woman,” Henri Leclerc told French radio Europe 1 in December.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, has been married for two decades to journalist Anne Sinclair, recently named editor of the upcoming French version of the Huffington Post.

But what does she, the former Anne-Élise Schwartz, do?

She was quoted as saying last month:

“I do not mix private and professional life,” she said.

and

“’I am neither a saint nor a victim,” adding, “I am a free woman.”

Well, what does she mix?

Does she participate? Just watch?

Heck, what does he mix?

^

Come Protest Arab 'Price Tag' Violence

2012-02-22T13:52:00.000+02:00

On February 25 there'll be an EMERGENCY PUBLIC FORUM to protest what they call the "Arab Version of 'Price Tag' Violence on Mt. of Olives"

Details;

The International Committee for the Preservation of Har Hazeitim is calling to turn back the newest round of violence on the Mt. of Olives Cemetery.

The oldest and largest Jewish cemetery in the world, this site is subjected to non-stop violence against visitors, grave desecrations, an unlawful mosque expansion, illegal building – all part of a concerted Arab effort to assert control over the burial site used by Jews for 3,000 years.

Keynote speakers Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Daniel Ayalon and Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations Exec. Vice Chair Malcolm Hoenlein, with Knesset Members Tzipi Hotovely (Likud), Yoel Hasson (Kadima) & Isaac Herzog (Labor), will explore today's urgent concerns & review progress made in recent months.

When: The English-language program will begin at 8:30 pm sharp, Saturday, February 25, 2012
Where: Jerusalem Great Synagogue (56 King George St / Jerusalem)

^

Peace Now Gets Dirty

2012-02-22T12:45:00.000+02:00

Being very upset with Gidon Saar, Education Minister, for the Gush Katif Learning Kit ("Education Ministry school program presents Gush Katif as the epitome of Zionism | 'Gush Katif Day' took place in schools across Israel in an attempt to strengthen what Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar believes is the 'legacy' of the settlements"), Peace Now has upped a poster:

Translation:

They Are Brainwashing Your Children

(crossed out column)        (replacement column)

Democracy                       Gush Katif
Evolution                         Im Tirzu
Human Rights                   Hevron
Peace                              Ronen Shoval

Gideon Saar is turning the education system into an arm of the Yesha Council's information unit

That's widely disengenuous, untrue and downright nasty.

But, who cares? We know what Zionism is. We know we aren't the devil as we are portrayed. We take pity on these 'liberals', these 'humanists', these 'nice Jews'.

And we continue.

^

And the News of Shiloh Comes From...Lebanon

2012-02-22T12:28:00.000+02:00

Of all the places from where to get updated, The Daily Star of Lebanon:

Israel to approve 500 new West Bank homes: spokesman

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM: An Israeli committee was on Wednesday to approve construction of 500 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Shiloh and retroactively legalise more than 200 built without permits, a spokesman said.

The committee "will meet today to approve construction of 500 units," civil administration spokesman Guy Inbar told AFP, confirming that more than 200 homes, some in a nearby settler outpost, would be legalised "for humanitarian reasons."

Another version:

JERUSALEM: An Israeli committee was on Wednesday to approve construction of 500 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Shilo and retroactively legalise more than 200 built without permits, a spokesman said.

The committee "will meet today to approve construction of 500 units," civil administration spokesman Guy Inbar told AFP. Asked about reports that more than 200 homes built without a permit, some in the nearby settler outpost of Shvut Rachel, would be legalised, he said: "Yes it's true -- they will be legalised for humanitarian reasons.

...Shiloh is a ~~settlement~~ community village with more than 2,000 residents which lies some 30 kilometres (18 miles) south of the northern city of ~~Nablus~~ Shchem. And Shvut Rahel is a nearby unauthorised [nope. legal]~~settler~~ outpost which is home to 400 people, and which the government has pledged to retroactively legalise [?]. Press reports said some of the homes which would be granted legal status were in Shiloh while others were in Shvut Rachel.

Yariv Oppenheimer, head of the settlement watchdog Peace Now, described the move as "one of the biggest projects in the territories." It proved that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was "doing everything he could to prevent the creation of two states for two peoples, and is heading towards a bi-national state," he said.

Well, good news is good news from wherever it is reported.

^

The Dulling of Israel's Sense of Justness

2012-02-22T09:08:00.000+02:00

The former director of the Yesha Council, Naftali Bennet, was invited to a panel discussion at the Presidents' Conference Convention here in Israel.

He sent me a clip of his presentation remarks (I don't have the discussion portion) and here it is:

The poem that Naftali quoted from is written by Natan Alterman and here is one translation:

Satan then said:
How do I overcome
This besieged one?
He has courage
And talent,
And implements of war
And resourcefulness.
…only this shall I do,
I’ll dull his mind
And cause him to forget
The justness of his cause.

Another version:

“Then said Satan: This besieged one, how shall I overcome him? / He has courage and ability, he has weapons and imagination. / So he said: I shall not take his strength, nor muzzle nor bridle him. / Nor soften nor weaken his hands, only one thing I shall do; / I shall dull his brain and he will forget that he is in the right.”

And here is another.

By the way, there is an earlier, unedited version in Hebrew that was found by his daughter among his papers following his death:

כה אמר השטן

" …אז אמר השטן: הנצור הזה

איך אוכל לו.

איתו האומץ וכשרון המעשה

וכלי מלחמה ותושיה עצה לו.

ואמר: לא אטול את כוחו

ולא רסן אשים ומתג

ולא מורך אביא בתוכו

ולא ידיו ארפה כמקדם,

רק זאת אעשה: אכהה מוחו

ושכח שאיתו הצדק.

כה דיבר השטן וכמו

חוורו שמים מאימה

בראותם את השטן בקומו

לבצע המזימה" .

In any case, if you want more information on those NGOs and on the New Israel Fund, start here.

A Hike Through Shiloh Valley

2012-02-21T22:56:00.000+02:00

This Friday, February 24 sponsored by Midreshet Harei Gofna and led by Elimelech Ron-Tal.

Starts at Adei-Ad to Kultzon with remains from Second Temple and Bar Kochba periods. From there to Hirbet Istoona, across the valley to Rafid and then through Nahal Shiloh (Wadi Mussa) to Eli.

About 12 kilometers. Meeting place at 7:30 at Eli junction or Adei-Ad at 7:45 (there'll be lifts to Adei-Ad). Finishing at Eli at 13:30. 60 NIS and pre-registration untill Thursday noon at 02-6568894 or with Elimelch at 052-3388943 or midreshet.gofna@gmail.com

^

Who Will Set A Boundary to Yesh Gvul?

2012-02-21T21:59:00.000+02:00

This ad of Yesh Gvul, calling on soldiers and reserve active-duty soldiers to refuse to serve "in Hebron and the Occupied Territories" ('and'? Hebron is somehow not "occupied" a la Yesh Gvul???), was published in your favorite Israeli daily - Ha-Ha-Haaretz his past Friday (page 2, bottom left):-

Some of the text:

The government of Israel, by means of the army, the GSS and violent settlers administers a reign of violent apartheid in Hebron. Under the cover of empty slogans about holy places, the GOI downtrods 100,000 people...

...the Hebron apartheid is what sprouted Goldstein, the Jewish Underground and more...

It then artfully notes that those who decided to refuse to serve this "terror regime" did so on their own but merited to receive support from Yesh Gvul.

^

Postscript to the Feiglin/Temple Mount Episode

2012-02-21T19:56:00.001+02:00

Here:

Fearing riots, police closed the compound to Jewish visitors. "The visit by Feiglin sympathizers to the Temple Mount is nothing new and takes place once a month," a senior police official explained. "What is different this time is the distribution of ads in the media calling for the site to be 'cleansed of Israel's enemies.'"

How the other side pumps it:

Israeli Right Provokes Confrontation in Jerusalem

but

Despite warnings, quiet at the Temple Mount

^

What Israel Has to "Eat" from Khader Adnan

2012-02-21T19:40:00.002+02:00

Here or Here (seems Pal. pressure got it removed):

And here.

^

Water Balloons 1965; Water Balloons 2012

2012-02-21T19:03:00.000+02:00

During Chanukkah week, December 1965, in New York, members of Betar (with support from one member of Dror as lookout) attacked Arab students and some pro-Arab Jews, notably the infamous Benjamin Freedman, who were demonstrating outside Madison Square Garden where the annual Israel Bonds festival was taking place over a 3-day period. Their signs read "Don't buy Israel War Bonds".

Everyone but me had eggs. I had water balloons. Do you have any idea how hard it is to carry filled water balloons in your pockets on the NY subway from Yeshiva University uptown to Manhattan-midtown and then throw them?

But I did, with great success.

Why this reminisce?

In London yesterday, water balloons were thrown at Arabs and their supporters at LSE in London.

Details:

A violent clash has erupted at LSE after a protest by the LSESU Palestine Society on Houghton Street was attacked by “a small group of organised individuals” who threw water bombs and knocked over property. The confrontation took place as the Palestine Society were re-enacting an Israeli check-point as part of their activities for ‘Israeli Apartheid Week’.

An official statement by the LSE Students’ Union said: “Whilst peacefully re-enacting an Israeli checkpoint and talking to students about the issue, a small group of organised individuals ran towards members of the LSESU Palestine Society and threw water bombs which hit several students and knocked over property of the Palestine Society.”

In the melee that ensued, eye-witnesses have said that one individual [a Jewish student]was punched in the face...

The short video clip.

EoZ has great commentary.

Oh, various suggestions and comments I collected:

a. build a bombed out pizzeria behind the checkpoint

b. water balloons are nothing compared to the bombs of suicide bombers

c. applaud the resistance of Jews at LSE

d. A much better response would have been to act out a suicide bombing with fake body pieces strewn all over and being picked up by students dressed in zaka uniforms. Same message - no physical altercation

e. of course the great and the good of the Jewish community are tutt-tutting that 'violence' (ie water balloons) was used...

f. for the British Jewish community: no pro-Israel action too modest to condemn, to anti-Israel provocation too severe to ignore

g. "but there are less provocative ways to do this, one student suggesting t-shirts reading 'If I were a suicide bomber, you’d be dead by now' instead." Yeah right, it's so easy to print up 20 T-shirts at such short notice

^

Two States for Two Populations

2012-02-21T18:23:00.001+02:00

From this academic paper, entitled "The Unexplored Option: Jewish Settlements in a Palestinian State" by David M. Phillips, Professor at Northeastern University School of Law: -

...Israeli settlements, first and foremost, need not be an obstacle to peace for the reason that their location may influence the eventual borders between Israel and a Palestinian state, but need not determine such borders. Just as Palestinians can and do live within the predominantly Jewish state of Israel, Israeli Jews can live within a predominantly Palestinian nation...

...The approximately 20 percent of Israel’s present population that is Arab does not so threaten Israel’s Jewish character. Similarly, if the raison d’etre of a future Palestinian state is to provide a political sovereignty for Arabs who identify themselves as Palestinians, whether or not they reside in that state, Palestine’s Arab identity should not be threatened by a Jewish minority that would become a majority. Two conclusions flow from this construct. The first of these is that, indeed, some Jewish settlements like Maale Adumim that are contiguous or substantially contiguous to the 1967 borders of Israel will surely remain part of Israel in any final settlement, with land swaps...even some of the most pro-Palestinian Israeli politicians, like former Foreign Minister Yossi Beilen...acknowledge the need for border adjustments that would integrate into Israel settlements that border on the old armistice lines of Israel...

The second conclusion is that the remainder of the settlements and the Jewish settlers there, including those in the Hebron area, need not be the obstacle to a peace settlement that is commonly portrayed. Even if close to 100,000 settlers remain (a rather high estimate, if major settlement blocs contiguous to the Green Line are incorporated into Israel in exchange for other Israeli land), that number would probably constitute no more than 2 percent of the population of such a Palestinian state and probably less. The land area of those settlements would constitute considerably less than 2 percent of the land under Palestinian sovereignty.

Let us return to the African-American analogy tendered at the beginning of this article. Most Americans, especially liberal Americans, would never think that the solution to conflict within a predominantly white ethnic neighborhood, whether Irish, Italian or other, if an African-American family moved into it would be to remove the African-American family. Rather, substantial resources would be devoted to insuring that the neighbors respect the new inhabitants. Instead of reiterations of the assumption that the settlements are an obstacle to peace, thought and resources should be devoted to a serious discussion of the context and conditions under which Jews might continue to live on the West Bank. While both reason and justice support the creation and co-existence of two states west of the Jordan River, neither justice nor other reason is served by requiring that one of these states be free of Jews.

Isn't that a reasonable review of the situation?

^

Jericho's Jews

2012-02-21T08:37:00.000+02:00

Were you aware of the Jewish presence in Jericho? Yes, contemporary Jericho.

Upcoming activities includes lectures, music and a Shabbat hosting:

New Fabrication from Dror Etkes via Haaretz

2012-02-21T08:15:00.000+02:00

As reported by Dror Etkes' buddy in Haaretz, Akiva Eldar:

Etkes says an aerial photo shows that Israel has violated the agreement signed in Washington in September 1995. One clause states: “All civil powers and responsibilities, including planning and zoning, in Areas A and B set out in Annex III, will be transferred to and assumed by the Council [the Palestinian government] during the first phase of redeployment.”

Well, in the first instance, let's not lose sight of the exact context of that clause is here:

ARTICLE XI - Land

1. The two sides view the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a single territorial unit, the integrity and status of which will be preserved during the interim period.

2. The two sides agree that West Bank and Gaza Strip territory, except for issues that will be negotiated in the permanent status negotiations, will come under the jurisdiction of the Palestinian Council in a phased manner, to be completed within 18 months from the date of the inauguration of the Council, as specified below:

a. Land in populated areas (Areas A and B), including government and Al Waqf land, will come under the jurisdiction of the Council during the first phase of redeployment.

b. All civil powers and responsibilities, including planning and zoning, in Areas A and B, set out in Annex III, will be transferred to and assumed by the Council during the first phase of redeployment

As the matter of "settlements" is a final-status issue, Etkes' supposition doesn't apply.

Moreover, I have been informed that:

The paragraph refers to the assumption of powers by the PA in areas A and B upon Israeli redeployment in 1995. This already happened. The PA did assume those powers including planning and zoning. Clause fulfilled.

Individual residents of Amona — and other Israeli individuals — were not parties to the agreement, and cannot be held to have violated it. Even if they could, they never had any authority over planning and zoning to transfer or fail to transfer. Israel was a party to the agreement, but nothing in that or any part of the agreement committed Israel to preventing Jews from construction in area B. Israel maintained security control in areas A and B and therefore maintained authority to, among other things, restrict movements of Palestinians in the area.

Article 10.4 of the agreement specified that “Israel shall continue to carry the responsibility for external security, as well as the responsibility for overall security of Israelis for the purpose of safeguarding their internal security and public order.” Article 12.2 stated that “Israel shall continue to carry … the responsibility for overall security of Israelis and Settlements, for the purpose of safeguarding their internal security and public order, and will have all the powers to take the steps necessary to meet this responsibility.” Article 13.1.a stated that “Israel shall have the overriding responsibility for security for the purpose of protecting Israelis and confronting the threat of terrorism.”

And, by the way, how exactly is it possible for aerial photographs to establish whether Israel did or not transfer the authority to regulate building and planning to the Palestinians in 1995?

Etkes from extreme Left to Eldar of far Left into Haaretz of progressive Left - all leave you out of knowledge.

^

Another 'East of Eden'?

2012-02-21T08:05:00.000+02:00

Reported:

...Excavations at the site of Kharaneh IV [65 km east of Amman] are providing archaeologists with a new perspective on how humans lived 20,000 years ago. Although the area is starkly dry and barren today, during the last Ice Age the deserts of Jordan were in bloom, with rivers, streams, and seasonal lakes and ponds providing a rich environment for hunter-gatherers to
settle in.

“What we witness at the site of Kharaneh IV in the Jordanian desert is an enormous concentration of people in one place,” explained Dr Jay Stock from the Department of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge...

Information on Khader Adnan

2012-02-21T07:52:00.000+02:00

From PIJ's own newspaper which calls him a "leader": here and here.

JCPA

Reuters: "senior figure in the Islamic Jihad"

Gulf Daily News: "West Bank spokesman of the militant Islamic Jihad group"

ME Online: "Islamic Jihad spokesman"

IMEMC: "Islamic Jihad spokesperson"

AP: "top Islamic Jihad leader".

^

Jobs, Education True Goals of Arab Youth Resident in Judea & Samaria

2012-02-21T07:38:00.001+02:00

IMRA has alerted me to the results, ver-r-r-r-y ionteresting results, from a new poll of opinion amongst Arabs resident in Judea and Samaria, which include these among them:-

To you personally, which of the following issues is causing the most concern in your life?
Please rank from 1 (being most concerning) to 8 (being least concerning)

Finding a job 35.2%
Covering the expenses of my education 20.6%
Corruption in public life 12.9%
My personal freedoms 11.1%
The expenses of marriage including housing 6.8%
Occupation 5.8%
Unstable social/psychological situation 3.7%
Dealing with boredom there is nothing fun to do 2.6%
The consequences of the Wall 1.5%

In your opinion, which one of the following is the best means to reach an independent Palestinian state?

to reach an agreement between the two parties 19.6%
int'l conference that imposes a settlement 16.1%
A non-violent popular uprising 13.4%
Armed/militant confrontations 19.0%
A mix of non-violent and militant means 30.5%
Other 0.7%
Don't know 0.7%

The source details:

Results of an Opinion Poll among Palestinian Youth
Publication Date: 1 February 2012
Fieldwork: 15-17 January 2012

Sample Size: 1200 Palestinian Youth in the West Bank & Gaza (18-30 years old) | Margin of error: + 3 %

Arab World for Research & Development
Ramallah – Gaza, Palestine
Tele-fax: 00970-2-2950957/8
E-mail: awrad@awrad.org
Website: http://www.awrad.org/

^

A New York Times Kaddish

2012-02-20T23:00:00.000+02:00

Recalled:

There are times, however, when the Hebrew-school memories creep back, and in poignant ways. On a bitingly cold night in December 1993, a gaggle of reporters huddled in the courtyard of Jerusalem's Great Synagogue, waiting for the funeral cortege of Mordechai Lapid, a settler murdered in a drive-by attack, to leave for Hebron. (Lapid died in the arms of Baruch Goldstein, a physician who months later would massacre of 29 Muslim worshippers at the Hebron mosque.)

As the mourner's Kaddish broke over the loudspeakers, I heard a thin voice muttering along with it. I looked to my side; it was a visibly moved Clyde Haberman, then the Times correspondent.

Second Khader Adnan Poster

2012-02-20T22:24:00.000+02:00

The New Khader Adnan Poster

2012-02-20T21:35:00.001+02:00

My artwork:

She Might Have It All

2012-02-20T19:20:00.000+02:00

Israel has a talent show, The Voice, and a recent arrival, Cathlin Reiter, gave an outstanding audition, covering Adele's hit, You Could Have Had It All.

Worth a watch

^

Continuing the Tel Shiloh Allocations Story

2012-02-20T16:00:00.000+02:00

From Haaretz today:-

The ministerial committee that deals with national heritage sites, under the auspices of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, decided last week to embrace a new West Bank project: Thanks to a government allocation of NIS 5 million, archaeological excavations and other preservation work will take place at Tel Shiloh, a biblical site in the West Bank. A large tourist center is also planned as part of the project; visitors there will learn about life in the biblical era in Shiloh, where the Ark of the Covenant was said to have been held for 369 years.

This is a precedent-setting decision, since Israeli governments up to now have not allocated funds for renovation and preservation of the site, located within the area of the Binyamin Regional Council. The committee’s decision to embark on the project states that “Tel Shiloh is a unique heritage asset” for the Jewish people, and mention was made of the fact that work at the site will be backed by supplementary funds totaling some NIS 10 million, to be provided by private sources.

In the months ahead, wide-ranging excavation work is to be undertaken at Tel Shiloh, with the assistance of the Department of Antiquities and the chairman of the head of the national heritage development department in the Prime Minister’s Office, Reuven Pinsky. Education Minister Gideon Sa’ar visited the site a few weeks ago, and declared that Tel Shiloh will become part of the tour circuit organized for schools by his ministry. Indeed, an examination by Haaretz shows that Tel Shiloh was added to the Education Ministry tour list just a few months ago.

It bears repeating.

^

Ocarina Wha?

2012-02-20T10:33:00.000+02:00

I did not not know this word - ocarina.

Ocarina is:

an ancient flute-like wind instrument; an enclosed space with four to twelve finger holes and a mouthpiece that projects from the body...The ocarina, unlike other vessel flutes, has the unusual quality of not relying on the pipe length to produce a particular tone. Instead the tone is dependent on the ratio of the total surface area of opened holes to the total cubic volume enclosed by the instrument. This means that, unlike a flute or recorder, sound is created by resonance of the entire cavity and the placement of the holes on an ocarina is largely irrelevant – their size is the most important factor.

And what has this to do with anything?

Well, next time you are visiting Tel Shiloh, you can purchase one, made locally and of wood. Joe Bazer is the craftsman -

and there's another item

Take advantage of the selections at the Visitors' Center at Tel Shiloh.

^

Is That Anti-Semitism Just "All Stoned"?

2012-02-20T09:31:00.000+02:00

I've read that Oliver Stone's son, Sean, is upset. The young man, engaged in researching a documentary, decided to conver to Islam. In Isfahan. In Iran.

And now, he claims, he has been "experiencing a Hollywood backlash". Which, perhaps, is another conspiracy theme. You know, 'all those Jews there'.

His current name is Sean Christopher Ali Stone.

But is he "all stoned"?

According to the NYPost:

“I’ve already experienced the reverse of anti-Semitism, having people within the film industry express a reluctance to work with me now [that I've converted]...I am sure I have (bleeped) off some powerful people...Having read the Koran and having been around the Islamic culture, especially in Iran, I do believe that Mohammed is a prophet of the same god worshipped by other religions...".

Claiming a Jewish 'bloodline' (his grandfather' Louis, was Jewish and profligate), he went on:

There is such Islamophobia in the West. Islam is not a religion of violence any more than Judaism or Christianity is....I am trying to bridge certain gaps and bring about peace...I didn’t realize I would be so vilified. It is almost like I am a criminal for having accepted Islam. I didn’t realize Islamophobia was that deep.

OMG.

Wait until he finds out the anti-semitism in the Koran.

And his famous last words:

If I can open up a debate about religion and create some understanding, then it is worth it.

Lots of State Land

2012-02-20T07:26:00.000+02:00

From a dirt road story:-

Most West Bank settlements are surrounded by fencing, but lying beyond the fences there is often considerable state-owned land,* and the shift in policy would enable the Civil Administration to keep Palestinians off this land by giving access to security vehicles from the settlements, in an effort to keep the West Bank’s Arab residents from encroaching on the land.

So, there is a lot of land area that is not privately-owned.

Thank you, Haaretz.

*

Article 6.

The Administration of Palestine, while ensuring that the rights and position of other sections of the population are not prejudiced, shall facilitate Jewish immigration under suitable conditions and shall encourage, in co-operation with the Jewish agency. referred to in Article 4, close settlement by Jews, on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes.

^

Upset About International Law Clubbing Israel?

2012-02-19T22:34:00.001+02:00

Many are upset that international law has been hijacked to club Israel.

Fear not. Just remember:-

1) occupation in and of itself is not illegal, and does not mean the occupier could not perfect sovereign rights.

"belligerent occupation" results from being involved in a war. and if that war was in self-defense, as was 1967 (and was one that had continued since November 30, 1947 on the morrow of the UN Partition recommendation, never having stopped but being pursued by various Arabs groupings, some state-sponsored, in a campaign of terror directed at civilians), and Israel came into control of territories, then that "occupation" is just fine.

and if the territory happens to be portions of the land area originally intended to become the Jewish National Home according to a decision by international law as in the case of the League of Nations Mandate of 1922, following deliberations at the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference, the 1920 San Remo Conference among other arrangements, then that "occupation" cannot be illegal but must be resolved by negotiations. there is nothing a priori wrong with that administration.

and

2) "settlements", the perceived principal rub, are not "transfers" under Geneva Convention 49(6) for a variety of reasons, including their limited scale and, most importantly for some, the fact that they are populated on private initiative, and indeed often in the face of governmental opposition.

and moreover, since Article Six of the League of Nations Mandate decision prescribed a right of "close settlement of Jews" in those areas that now are claimed by Arabs to be off-limits to Jews - and that throughout history Jews had actually resided in those areas - "Jewish settlements" cannot be illegal in any form or manner.

And let's add material from a recent Howard Grief letter, redacted:

the assertion that the Mandate for Palestine was awarded by the League of Nations to Britain reveals that one never read the minutes of the San Remo Peace Conference for April 24 and April 25, 1920, nor the final text of the San Remo Resolution of April 25, 1920, that resulted from that Conference, otherwise he would know that it was the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers that conferred or entrusted the Mandate for Palestine to Great Britain in order to create the political, administrative and economic conditions in the country to secure the establishment of the Jewish National Home and future independent Jewish State, as set out in Article 2 of the Mandate.

The statement that “…the Balfour Declaration ceased to have legal effect when the UK discharged its Mandate” is astounding. Britain never executed the Mandate for Palestine in accordance with the original purpose noted above. In truth, the Balfour Declaration, as a British policy statement in 1917 that Prime Minister David Lloyd George described as a “bargain” or contract between World Jewry and Britain, was converted into a document of binding and irreversible international law by the adoption of the San Remo Resolution by the Supreme Council of the Principal Allied Powers on April 25, 1920, that subsequently became Articles 94 to 97 inclusively plus Article 132 of the Treaty of Sèvres. This Resolution, insofar as Palestine was concerned, was then incorporated into the first three recitals of the Preamble of the Mandate for Palestine, subsequently approved by all 52 members of the League in 1922 and separately by the United States. It continues in legal force today, mutatis mutandis, and no action taken by the United Nations today or by Britain itself can nullify this binding act of international law upon which the State of Israel draws its legal existence. The San Remo Resolution means that all of Palestine is Jewish land, not Arab land, and that any partition of this land is perforce illegal and null and void. Britain did adopt a different direction beginning with the ascension of Winston Churchill to the Colonial Office on February 14, 1921 and the convening of the Cairo Conference in mid-March 1921 which was in opposition to the previous international decisiions, though.

In citing UN Security Council Resolution 242 regarding “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war, one fails to understand is that Israel never acquired title to Judea, Samaria and Gaza by war, and it is therefore under no obligation to withdraw from those regions that the Allied Powers accorded to or recognized as belonging to the Jewish People. As the devolee or assignee of the Jewish People, the State of Israel has inherited all the legal rights derived from the San Remo Resolution and the Mandate for Palestine that were vested in the Jewish People. In the Six-Day War of June 1967, Israel was only recovering territories that were originally designated or intended for the Jewish State by the Principal Allied Powers. As an example, is Alsace-Lorraine “French-occupied Germany” and is was it “inadmissible” for France to re-acquire its former territory by war?

Israel's Supreme Court has never decided on the merits or accepted as a proven argument that Judea and Samaria are “occupied territories” under international law, but merely adopted the position of the Government of Israel, that it adjudicate all cases before it as if Judea and Samaria were governed by the laws of war embodied in the Hague Regulations and Fourth Geneva Convention, without ruling on the actual legal status of these territories. This policy is based on the erroneous legal advice of then Military Advocate-General Meir Shamgar, the Government of Israel violated its own constitutional law and caused foreign states to believe that this indeed was the legal status of those regions, even though, ironically enough, Shamgar himself, later President of the Supreme Court, issued a disclaimer stating that he did not consider these military administered territories to be necessarily “occupied territories”.

To call Judea, Samaria and Gaza the “Occupied Palestinian Territories” is not only an oxymoron but also an abuse of the English language in the service of the imperialistic Arab cause, as well as an outright denial or attempted erasure of the legal, political and diplomatic history of the Palestine Question. For some, history only begins in 1967.

Shiloh 1888

2012-02-19T14:35:00.000+02:00

From Palestine Illustrated by Sir Richard Temple (1826-1902), published by W.H. Allen & Co., London 1888:

That's the Muslim structure, Walli Yeitim, just south of the Tel, and built, as we know now, on top of a Byzantine basilica.

^

Stones Miss Jews, Hit Christians

2012-02-19T11:59:00.001+02:00

Another Temple Mount ruckus.

Incited by a Mufti, stones were thrown this morning at non-Muslims on the Temple Mount.

But they weren't Jews rather they were Christians:-

Stone-throwers attacked a group of Christian tourists that were visiting the site. At least 40 officers entered the Temple Mount to deal with the situation, where Rosenfeld said some 50 Palestinians were participating in the rock throwing.

Police arrested three suspects on the scene who were involved directly in the attacks.

And why did they throw those stones? Were they incited?

Consider this:

Sunday’s violence may have been prompted by a sermon on Saturday by former Jerusalem mufti Ekrema Sabri, who warned that alleged Israeli extremists “might implement their threats to break into the Al-Aqsa mosque tomorrow (Sunday) morning.”

He urged all Arabs and Muslims to save the Al-Aqsa mosque and support the people of Jerusalem in dealing with what he called the “Israeli conspiracy against the city and its holy places.”

Such a rocky relationship we have with these Muslims.

UPFATE

No, not the reworking of the story of James:

...But this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took the high priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition, he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his authority]. Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the road; so he assembled the sanhedrin of judges, and brought before them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name was James, and some others, [or, some of his companions]; and when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the law, he delivered them to be stoned: but as for those who seemed the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most uneasy at the breach of the laws, they disliked what was done; they also sent to the king [Agrippa], desiring him to send to Ananus that he should act so no more, for that what he had already done was not to be justified;...

Nor Stephen (from Acts) -

...4But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. 5And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith...7And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith. 8And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people. 9Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines...disputing with Stephen. 10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake. 11Then they suborned men, which said, We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and against God. 12And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught him, and brought him to the council, 13And set up false witnesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law:...

J Street Congressional Delegation Here

2012-02-19T11:38:00.000+02:00

Spotted at the King David Hotel this morning were members of J Street's "Congressional Delegation and Women’s Leadership Mission - Israel and the Palestinian Territory" (in the UN, that's "Occupied Palestinian Territories").

The delegation details:

The J Street Education Fund, Women Donors Network, and national lay leaders are on a mission to Israel and the Palestinian Territory with Members of Congress in attendance. They'll be traveling

"to the heart of the Middle East to gain an inside view into the urgency of a two-state solution and a more complex understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Meet with women leaders in the region and participate in a delegation to transform the status quo and promote women’s political power and participation in advancing a two-state solution.

HIGHLIGHTS:
•High-level meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials and a range of leaders in civil society.
•Conversations with women leaders in government, human rights, women’s rights, education, and business.
•Overnight stays and sight-seeing in Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv.
•Visits to key political and historic areas of interest, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Jaffa, Gaza-border region, Hebron, and Ramallah.
•In-depth tours focusing on the complexities surrounding the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Day trips to the flashpoint neighborhoods of Sheik Jarrah, Silwan, and the West Bank settlements surrounding Jerusalem.

GOALS:
•Enrich American political discourse by increasing the number of Congresswomen with the knowledge and skills to promote bold U.S. leadership in the region.
•Build a cadre of women leaders who are energized, equipped and well positioned to educate their communities and advocate for an urgent two-state resolution of the conflict.
•Forge relationships with Israeli and Palestinian women working to achieve a resolution of the conflict.
•Increase and deepen the expertise of women in the top ranks of lay and professional leadership in American politics, Jewish communal life, the foreign policy community, and business.
•Understand and impact the discussion on Israel in the American-Jewish community and in US Politics."

By the way, the cost is around $5,500.

Anyone know which Jewish communities they'll be visiting?

^

Touring Binyamin Region

2012-02-19T10:26:00.000+02:00

Today, there is a Tourist Department in the Mateh Binyamin Regional Council with many opportunities to see and enjoy the land and its attractions.

In the 19th century, things were a bit different.

From James Finn's "Byeways in Palestine" published in 1868:-

And on another day's expedition alone, I was riding near 'Anata (Anathoth) eastwards from the village, thinking over the faith of the prophet Jeremiah, in purchasing a family estate, the future occupation of which was contrary to all human probability, and after recounting to myself the cities of Benjamin allotted to the priests, as Anathoth, (to which the treasonable priest Abiathar belonged, 1 Kings ii. 26,) Gibeon, and Geba, wondering what had become of the fourth city Almon, (Josh. xxi. 17, 18,) I came up to a hill on which appeared some remains of an ancient town; there my horse carried me up the steep side, and while passing among the lines of foundations on the summit, a peasant who joined me said the place was called _'Alman_. Some time afterwards, I was riding on the other side of the same hill, in the direction of _Hhizmeh_, (the Az-maveth of Neh. vii. 28, as I suppose,) when a peasant informed me that the place on the hill was named _Almeet_. This corresponds to the other name of the town as given in 1 Chron. vi. 60, and vii. 8, where it is Alemeth. So remarkable a preservation of both names by another people than the Jews, after long or perhaps repeated desolations, appears to me almost miraculous, and is a fresh illustration of the exact verbal inspiration of Holy Scripture.

Bravo!

^

Roger Cohen's Danger and J Street's Sin

2012-02-19T09:01:00.000+02:00

I can only agree with Amy Lipton who has had her letter published at the NYTimes, commenting on Roger Cohen's latest in nhis campaign to undermine Israel:

Mr. Cohen dangerously conflates two issues: Israel’s sincerity in seeking peace with the Palestinians and its fear of being annihilated by its neighbors and other regional aggressors...it is incontrovertible that Hamas and Iran seek Israel’s destruction. Hamas and Iran have admitted as much. Repeatedly. Israel’s taking steps to avert this threat hardly amounts to a “treacherous trope” of “victimhood” that rightfully should be inverted; it is obscene for Mr. Cohen to suggest otherwise.

Oh, there is also this from New York's J Streeter, Talia Benamy (Ben-Ami anglicized?):

As a Zionist, I define being pro-Israel as working toward ensuring that Israel survives as a democratic, Jewish homeland. If there’s no shift in Israeli policy and in American Jewish efforts, I fear that the Israel I know and love will cease to exist. If Israel loses its democratic nature...

That harping on "Israel's democratic nature" is the euphemism the Left uses to imply, in a sinister fashion, its criticism of any political ideology that is not liberal/progressive and has nothing to do with the actual reality of Israel's democratic system, democratic culture, democratic institutions and democratic commitment.

Her approach a priori seeks to sow doubt, to cast aspersion.

That is a cardinal sin and it is a J Street fault line of negativity.

^

Curious?

2012-02-18T23:05:00.000+02:00

Does this picture make you curious?

Interested?

Go here.

^

Prostitutes, Terror and Teheran

2012-02-17T16:35:00.000+02:00

AP reporting -
Thai cops: Iran suspects cavorted with prostitutes

The three Iranian men detained for allegedly plotting bomb attacks in Bangkok on Israeli diplomats had more than terror on their minds in Thailand. Police said Friday that they had also cavorted with prostitutes at a beach resort...

...The Iranians hung out with several female sex workers during their stay there...A cellphone image taken by one of the women, published by the Bangkok Post with an article headlined "Suspects partied in Pattaya," purportedly showed the three Iranians at a Middle Eastern bar or restaurant surrounded by hookah water-pipes, two of them cradling women in their arms. The men posed for the photo around a low, drink-filled table on which there appeared to be at least one bottle of beer.

The woman who took the image said one of the now-detained suspects, Mohammad Kharzei, had asked her to escort him "because he was not good at speaking English," according to the Bangkok Post.

She said she brought two companions for Kharzei's friends, and they had drinks and played snooker together. The woman detected nothing awry, except when one of the Iranians "barred her from approaching a closet" in his hotel room, the newspaper reported.

Boy are they in trouble back in Teheran.

^

Former GSS Head Perry Reveals Ignorance

2012-02-17T15:55:00.000+02:00

In an article on Migron, I found this:-

Jacob Perry, a former director of Israel's Shin Bet internal security service and a member of the opposition Kadima party, said the practice had "led to a big, big problem today."

Perry believes the Migron families should be forcibly removed, just as 8,500 Jews were ejected from Gaza in 2005 in a unilateral disengagement that still stirs furious resentment in the settlement camp.

"It can be dealt with. It will cost a lot of effort, but hopefully not a lot of blood," he said. "The majority of Israelis are against illegal settlements. If our leaders take a decision there will be huge support from the Israeli public."

But I already posted that that claim is wrong from last month's Peace Index:-

a large majority (76%) preferring that Israel remain a country with a Jewish majority, with one-quarter preferring that Israel continue to rule all of the Land of Israel west of the Jordan. Asked how they would respond if they knew that "continued Israeli rule over the West Bank would lead to one state for Jews and Arabs in the entire Land of Israel that would not have a Jewish majority,” the majority (63%) answered that in this case they would oppose continued rule in the territories.

That sounds bad, yes? But consider this

However, the majority (54%) did not agree with the claim that continued rule in the territories will result in a country without a Jewish majority...[they believe] that continued rule in the territories will not prevent Israel from remaining a Jewish and democratic state. In other words, the public indeed prefers that Israel be a Jewish state over continued rule over the whole Land of Israel, but most of it does not believe there is a contradiction between the two objectives.

^

What Tel Shiloh's Task Is

2012-02-17T14:16:00.000+02:00

Dror Eydar on Shiloh and Jewish heritage

The Israelite tribes had just endured a long, hard day of bitter battles. After suffering their first defeat, they decided to bring the Ark of the Covenant from the capital city, Shiloh, to their battlefield encampment at Aphek (present-day Rosh Ha’ayin), 35 kilometers away. Upon the arrival of the ark, the Israelites rejoiced while listening to the loud blast of the shofar...

The very act of bringing the ark was far worse than the corruption and sins committed by Hophni and Phineas, the sons of Eli, the high priest of Shiloh. It was worse than defacing the sanctuary in full view of the pilgrims. This act marked the beginning of the tribes’ spiritual descent...The Israelites entered the battlefield with a sense of complacency, thinking they were protected by divine providence. The results were disastrous...

The bad news had to be delivered to the capital...“There ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh...”

...“How did the matter go, my son?” Eli asked. The young runner broke the news about the defeat, the death of his sons, and the captured ark...The Bible does not tell us what happened to Shiloh afterward, but clues from other books and archaeological findings suggest that in all likelihood the Philistines made good on their threat and stormed the mountaintop...In recent years, I visited the biblical site of Shiloh. The area is in serious need of upkeep and renovation (although it already has a quality website), so the government’s decision to allocate significant funds and designate it a national heritage site comes just in time. The usual naysayers are crying foul and saying: “This is a controversial decision because of the site’s location in the heart of Samaria, between Ramallah and Nablus.” Indeed, much like the state of Israel, which is like a bone lodged in the throat of the Arab world, wedged between Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon.

This is exactly the point. To withstand the blows and face down the threats, including those from Iran and its evil satellites; the deceptive Palestinian propaganda which continues to falsely claim that there is no tie linking the Jewish people with their land, and that they would never recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people; we are presenting our formative story, which leaves no doubt that our roots in this land are planted tenfold more firmly than all the lies spewed by the gang of fabricators from Ramallah and Gaza.

McFarlane: Pollard Was Result of Weinberger's Injustice,Bias, Hatred

2012-02-17T13:45:00.000+02:00

From the Jonathan Pollard committee:

REAGAN'S FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR SLAMS WEINBERGER FOR HIS "EXTREME BIAS AGAINST ISRAEL;" CALLS POLLARD'S LIFE SENTENCE A "GREAT INJUSTICE"

Former National Security Advisor Robert C. "Bud" McFarlane, who served under President Ronald Reagan from 1983-1985, recently wrote to President Obama and asked that he commute Jonathan Pollard's sentence to time served (the full text of the letter appears below and a copy is attached). In his
correspondence to the President, McFarlane calls former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger's affidavit in the Pollard case part of the "manifestation" of Weinberger's "recurrent episodes of strong criticisms and
unbalanced reasoning when decisions involving Israel were being made."

Similar criticism of Weinberger had been made by former Assistant Secretary of Defense Lawrence Korb, who stated that Pollard's life sentence was due to Weinberger's "visceral hatred of Israel."

In his letter to President Obama, McFarlane cited Weinberger's inaccurate affidavit as the primary cause for Pollard's disproportionate sentence. McFarlane noted to the President that Weinberger's well-known bias toward Israel undoubtedly led him to file the damaging affidavit that essentially sealed Pollard's fate...

Dumb, Dumber and Dura-Dumb

2012-02-17T13:26:00.000+02:00

Another incisive investigative blog by David Gertsman on how the media and even Israel's elite were bewitched by the images that were lies:

In October 2000, BBC reported:

For 45 minutes, Muhammad's father tried in vain to shield him from gunfire as they crouched against a concrete wall near Netzarim in the Gaza Strip.

The whole scene was caught on camera by a France 2 cameraman, and has been played repeatedly on Palestinian television.

The footage shows the boy's father, Jamal al-Durrah, waving desperately to Israeli troops, shouting: "Don't shoot". But the terrified boy is hit by four bullets, and collapses in his father's arms.

A few weeks later The New York Times reported, Israeli Army Says Palestinians May Have Shot Gaza Boy:

Today the army did not rule out the possibility that one of its soldiers had killed the boy. But General Samia said the army had ''great doubt'' that it was responsible and believed that the evidence indicated ''a very reasonable possibility'' that the boy ''was hit by Palestinian gunfire.''
...
But Palestinians reacted immediately and angrily.
Since the shooting, on Sept. 30, was filmed in excruciating detail by a France 2 television crew, the boy's death has become the dominant image of the conflict throughout the Arab world.

(An image released by the IDF soon after the shooting illustrated how unlikely it was that the IDF had shot al-Dura.)

In 2003, James Fallows wrote the definitive account of the doubts about the story.

Mohammed al-Dura and his father looked as if they were sheltering themselves against fire from the IDF outpost. In this they were successful. The films show that the barrel was between them and the Israeli guns. The line of sight from the IDF position to the pair was blocked by concrete. Conceivably, some other Israeli soldier was present and fired from some other angle, although there is no evidence of this and no one has ever raised it as a possibility; and there were Palestinians in all the other places, who would presumably have noticed the presence of additional IDF troops. From the one location where Israeli soldiers are known to have been, the only way to hit the boy would have been to shoot through the concrete barrel.

This brings us to the nature of the barrel. Its walls were just under two inches thick. On the test range investigators fired M-16 bullets at a similar barrel. Each bullet made an indentation only two fifths to four fifths of an inch deep. Penetrating the barrel would have required multiple hits on both sides of the barrel's wall. The videos of the shooting show fewer than ten indentations on the side of the barrel facing the IDF, indicating that at some point in the day's exchanges of fire the Israelis did shoot at the barrel. But photographs taken after the shooting show no damage of any kind on the side of the barrel facing the al-Duras—that is, no bullets went through.
...
In short, the physical evidence of the shooting was in all ways inconsistent with shots coming from the IDF outpost—and in all ways consistent with shots coming from someplace behind the France 2 cameraman, roughly in the location of the Pita. Making a positive case for who might have shot the boy was not the business of the investigators hired by the IDF. They simply wanted to determine whether the soldiers in the outpost were responsible. Because the investigation was overseen by the IDF and run wholly by Israelis, it stood no chance of being taken seriously in the Arab world. But its fundamental point—that the concrete barrel lay between the outpost and the boy, and no bullets had gone through the barrel—could be confirmed independently from news footage.

Then in 2008, media critic Philippe Karsenty won a dismissal of his conviction for defamation of Charles Enderlin and Channel 2 for their false report on Mohammed al-Dura.

More details to follow. But word from Paris is that the court dismissed charges against Philippe Karsenty today. Now we get to see how the French (and Western) MSM handle this. It’s a stunning victory for Karsenty and loss for Enderlin and France2 who initiated this case when they didn’t have to.

In order for an appeals court to reverse a decision, they must have strong evidence to the contrary.

The fact that they did indicates that their written decision will be very critical of France2. The implications of this decision are immense. We’ll be following up in the days, weeks and months to come.

Now one more deceit has been exposed. (via Daily Alert)

A French appeals court Wednesday overturned the libel conviction of Dr. David Yehuda, an Israeli physician who was sued by the father of Mohammed al-Dura, the boy whose shooting death in September 2000 became a powerful symbol of the second intifada. Jamal al-Dura had displayed to international media outlets scars on his body he claimed were caused by bullets fired by Israel Defense Forces soldiers.

In a 2008 interview with a French Jewish weekly, Dr. Yehuda, an orthopedic surgeon, said the scars were the result of an assault on Dura by Hamas militants who accused him of collaborating with Israel, as well as subsequent surgery performed by Yehuda himself in 1994.

The photos of the Duras, father and son, taking cover behind a barrel during an exchange of gunfire between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in Gaza, remains one of the most enduring images of the second intifada. Israel initially apologized for the boy’s death but issued a retraction when subsequent investigations indicated the boy was most likely killed by Palestinian fire.

So now will media outlets - like the BBC and New York Times - acknowledge that they played a role in fanning the violence of the intifada by credulously spreading a false story instead of acting to debunk it? Will they acknowledge that they slandered Israel's army? Don't the media want us to know the truth?

A Letter on Historic Preservation

2012-02-17T11:32:00.000+02:00

The Jerusalem Post's In Jerusalem magazine isn't all that on-line, so here's my letter from February 10:

A Beard Regrows on Matisyahu

2012-02-17T10:36:00.002+02:00

Story here.

Permanent or just a period of male laziness?

^

Tel Shiloh - Rocks and Flowers

2012-02-17T10:17:00.000+02:00

From a recent album of Miriam-Feyge Bunimovich:

J Street Expresses Pro-Israel Sentiments

2012-02-17T08:26:00.000+02:00

No, they didn't.

From their latest letter:

From: Jeremy Ben-Ami, J Street
Date: Wed, Feb 15, 2012 at 9:08 AM
Subject: Tell Congress: Sign the bipartisan Ellison-Jones letter on Iran

...Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has also noted that Iran could retaliate against the United States, “sinking our ships, striking our military bases… not only involve[ing] many lives, but I think could consume the Middle East in a confrontation and a conflict that we would regret.”

The Republican Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Mike Rogers has talked on CNN of the "real problem" that a military strike could cause for the national security interests of the United States4. The Democratic Chair of the Senate's Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein echoed Ambassadors Pickering and Luers' call for diplomacy just this weekend.

The J Streeters are actually "American Firsters".

^

Did Shadid Die A "Natural Syrian Death"?

2012-02-17T08:02:00.009+02:00

Reported

Mr. Shadid spent most of his professional life covering the region, as a reporter first with The Boston Globe; then with The Washington Post, for which he won Pulitzer Prizes in 2004 and 2010; and afterward with The New York Times. At his death, from what appeared to be an asthma attack, he was on assignment for The Times in Syria.

Maybe the hospitals were overcrowded?

You know, Syrian slaughter disease.

Interesting details:

The Syrian government, which tightly controls foreign journalists' activities in the country, had not been informed of his assignment by The Times. The exact circumstances of Mr. Shadid's death and his precise location inside Syria when it happened were not immediately clear.

P.S. Just informed by BoL that

He survived 6 days in captivity in Libya and being shot in Israel. This is fishy.

UPDATE

Now claiming he was more sensitive to horses.

But if so, why didn't he die going in?

Times photographer Tyler Hicks was with him at the time and said he had suffered another attack a week ago as they entered the country, again on horseback.

The Seven Pillars of National Security - Lacking a Base

2012-02-17T01:59:00.000+02:00

Read this and ask yourself, is he promoting that the Arabs accept a territorial compromise?

...the contours of the final borders will not substantially enhance or severely undermine Israel's national security. The annexation of more lands two or three kilometers deep into the West Bank will make little difference from a security perspective.

Of course not.

That was from Alon Ben-Meir. Israel must quit.

And he thinks that situation

a simple land grab in the guise of national security

Security? He has a theory:-

Israel's ultimate national security requirements rest on seven pillars over which every politically, non-biased Israeli defense and security expert agreed upon...Israel's national security must rest, first and foremost, with peace augmented by other measures to alleviate Israel's long-term security concerns.

First Pillar: Maintaining Credible Deterrence:
Second Pillar: An International Peacekeeping Force:
Third Pillar: A Demilitarized Palestinian State:
Fourth Pillar: Development of Bilateral Relations--People to People:
Fifth Pillar: A Comprehensive Peace:
Sixth Pillar: Maintaining Full Security Cooperation and Collaboration:
Seventh Pillar: A Regional Security Umbrella

That sounds great but I wouldn't yield or surrender portions of the Land of Israel until all of that is not only achieved but implemented for a good few years.

Pillars without a base are useless.

^

Unmasked Screening

2012-02-17T01:13:00.001+02:00

And my week ended off with attending the screening of Unmasked: Judeophobia.

And listening to the panel discussion led by director Gloria Greenfield with Yisrael Newman, Manfred Gerstenfeld, Robert Wistrich, Andrea Levin, Daniel Diker and Ben-Dror Yemini:-

The [panelists were quite critical of the Israel governments (most of its members over the years lacking any Western-style advanced education and background needed in the socio-political fields), the academia (too ignoring of antisemtism), the media (downplaying or ignoring it) and more as regards not only the traditional antisemtism but especially that emanating from the liberal/progressive circles as well as the Islamic variety. Noted, too, was the 'support' antisemites abroad obtained from within Israeli society with Haaretz and Israeli film makers taking the most hits.

^

Will Ethan Bronner Miss Israel?

2012-02-17T01:07:00.000+02:00

“What will I miss?

I will lose my front-row seat in one of the most fascinating and debated conflicts in the modern world. What I will miss least are all the irrational assumptions and accusations made about what is happening here (on both sides) and especially about my work and my motivations as a reporter.”

Why Tel Shiloh Deserves Government Funding

2012-02-16T15:50:00.001+02:00

Story.

P.S. I do wish she'd pronounce Shiloh the Hebrew way (she-low), not as if she's an American Southerner)

^

Rudoren Quotation

2012-02-16T14:43:00.001+02:00

Jodi Rudoren said:-

...I think my fairness is what I have

Famous or, infamous, last words?

^

Busy Week

2012-02-16T14:41:00.001+02:00

Monday night was the showing of the new documentary film on the life of Avraham Stern - Yair, founder of the Lechi undergound which I attended.

Pics:

a) Yair Stern at left, former PM Ehud Olmert, Begin Foundation President and former Lechi member Yehoshua Matza

b) Reuven Ruby Rivlin, Knesset Speaker reviewing his remarks

c) Geula Cohen, Lechi broadcaster and prsion escapee and to the left, Yardena Maller, Deputy Knesset Speaker and daughter of Irgun fighter

Then on Wednesday evening was the book launch of Moshe Arens' English edition of "Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto".

Pics:

a) Minister Benny Begin

b) Muriel and Moshe Arens

and me, making introductory greetings and listening:

And tonight I'll be at the screening of the documentary "Unmasked" on Judeaphobia.

^

I Don't Quite Grasp His Point

2012-02-16T14:03:00.000+02:00

I found this here:

What distinguishes the historical period between (1948-1967) of the Palestinian cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is the total absence of geographical continuity between them; the emerging Israeli occupation had occupied (70%) of historical Palestine; it annexed the West Bank to the Jordanian regime while Gaza Strip was annexed to Egypt. Palestinians lost their central cities and failed to build modern central cities in the two regions; they continued to depend on the main cities in both Egypt and Jordan (Khamaisi, 2006: 2).This stage came to an end following the Israeli occupation of the remaining parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip in (1967). The Israeli occupation authorities have tightened their grip on the Palestinian cities, villages and camps following the year (1967). It founded a new approach which is to have geographical continuity between them but with borders...

Do you?

^

Bravo to BBC

2012-02-16T13:31:00.001+02:00

BBC opened its report thus:

At least eight Palestinian children have been killed in a collision between a school bus and an Israeli truck on a road in the West Bank, police say.

But, even though at the very end (and maybe his editor did that), he did note

The truck driver was also hurt in the crash although the full extent of his condition is unknown. Our correspondent says although the truck had an Israeli licence plate, it did not necessarily mean the driver was Israeli.

I immediately was upset that there was an implication that the driver was Jewish when there is at least a 50-50 chance that he was Arab.

I wonder how the other outlets dealt with this.

_______________

WashPost:

The truck driver was said to be an Arab Israeli citizen who may have lost control in heavy rains and slick roads.

JPost:

The truck driver, an Israeli Arab, is being treated at hospital and is due to be questioned by police.

A Comment on A Constitution for "Palestine"

2012-02-16T12:59:00.000+02:00

There's now an academic take on this-

Drafting a Constitution for a 'Country of Words' : The Palestinian Case

It's by University College London's Sylvie Delacroix from the Faculty of Laws.

From the Abstract:

Can words - rather than a State (or army) - constitute a country? It may be made of land, rivers, forests or deserts - yet without its inhabitants’ words there would be no map to draw, no tale to sing, no country to speak of. Palestinian tales abound. They speak of departed lands, vanished homes, forfeited livelihoods. They lament internal wrangling, squeal occupational anger, seek to whisper away those quotidian checkpoint humiliations. Yet they also speak of hope. If there ever were such a thing as “authoritative hope”, the ongoing Palestinian constitution-drafting process may be it. But hope cannot be formalized, let alone authorized. And there is some danger in pretending otherwise.

As I am not a constitutional lawyer, I looked for items I do know something about and found this

...the early stages of the first intifada. While it may never have managed to be completely non-‐violent (it took a definite, violent turn during the Kuwait Crisis), the seeds of what may properly be termed “embryonic self-‐rule” were there nevertheless.

The Kuwait Crisis was, if I presume this is what she is referring to, Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 (or perhaps the late 1989 talks between Kuwait and Iraq to break the deadlock between the two over Iraq repaying its $14 billion debt). In any case, since the first intifada broke out in December 1987, and since it was violent from the start and even Mubarak Awad she quotes had nil influence over the violent character of the intifada, Delacroix is on shaky legal grounds here for writing what she did.

One source writes on this:

The intifada was violent from the start. During the first four years of the uprising, more than 3,600 Molotov cocktail attacks, 100 hand grenade attacks and 600 assaults with guns or explosives were reported by the Israel Defense Forces. The violence was directed at soldiers and civilians alike. During this period, 16 Israeli civilians and 11 soldiers were killed by Palestinians in the territories; more than 1,400 Israeli civilians and 1,700 Israeli soldiers were injured.

She seems to favor federalism as a solution but approvingly quotes Sari Nusseibeh rather uncritically especially as regards his historical narrative.

Another matter was, as far as I can tell, a complete refusal to compare with Israel's constitutional laws ("Basic Laws") and comment on whether the Arabs had learned something or nothing or even had borrowed language or concepts or not from Israel.

P.S. Her note 73 is interesting but incomplete. I wonder what she meant to write about "Palestine" first being used.

^

Temple Mount Vistors Stats

2012-02-16T11:26:00.001+02:00

How many persons ascended to the Temple Mount in January?

And the answer is:

1,119 Jews for purposes of demonstrating their presence and that includes soldiers in uniform

21,751 tourists

The Western Wall Plaza had 450,000 visitors (in 2010, 10,000,000 in total).

In all of 2011, 9,000 Jews entered the Temple Mount esplanade as well as 370,000 tourists.

Making progress.

Source, Arnon Segel in today's Makor Rishon:

Another Media Comment Column

2012-02-16T11:05:00.000+02:00

It's up at the Jerusalem Post.

Media Comment: Fact or fantasy?

Israel’s Supreme Court decided last week to reverse a two-year old decision against media celebrity Dr. Ilana Dayan.

Wow. Israeli Radical Left Wakes Up

2012-02-16T10:57:00.002+02:00

A second (!) rally for Syrian people.

Anyone heard of the first?

^

Join the Temple Mount Campaign

2012-02-16T10:32:00.000+02:00

I have been informed:

Serious campaign for Jewish Rights on the Temple Mount is underway.

A high level historic meeting was held recently by 30 senior Temple Mount activists from every Temple Mount group and organization [I was present]. The groups and organizations have decided to begin working as a cohesive unit to further the goals of Jewish rights on the Temple Mount.

Several critical decisions were made, however the funds available are inadequate to the goals. A true implementation budget is lacking. Due to the sensitive nature of issues relating to Temple Mount activism, these decisions are for internal consumption at present. It is hoped that the projects will be launched within 2 months time.

We are calling upon all Jews and lovers of Israel and the Mount to donate whatever even small amount they can in order to help us succeed in this important mission. If thousands donate even 5-10 dollars, we will have enough fuel to run a successful campaign. We are looking at a minimum goal of 10,000 US dollars and every penny will be used for the projects.

Whacking Wiki

2012-02-16T10:16:00.000+02:00

A year and I half ago I took a one-day worshop on How to Become a Wikipedia Editor. I will be the first to admit, as my wife knows, that I am not a techie in any real sense of the word. I know things but I do not do things.

And as we all know, Wikipedia is the next best thing to participating in a real war over here in the Middle East between Israelis and Arabs. I have been asked to participate but the editing process is awkward for me. Entries are constantly changed, sometimes several times daily. People have been shut down or suspended or blocked. Entries are heavily supervised or arbitrated.

For example, here's a message I received a while back:

A debate is raging on [the]...editing of Alon Shvut. ...a quote from Yossi Katz’s book [was put in], and then, after [a] threat, replaced that with a reliable source for the fact that the West Bank was historically known by the term Judea and Samaria. I reverted...but the flames are getting higher. There is now a discussion at the West Bank naming convention page – and it is clear Nableezy and gang will continue to decide what language is “allowed” and what is not allowed...the idea that Wikipedia’s anti-Israel gang get to rewrite history sticks in my craw. If Wikipedia consensus says the world is flat, then of course it is...At the moment, the debate is being commandeered by Nableezy and Nishidani, two very wily “wikilawyers” oozing with hostility and hatred for Jews and Israel...Some very critical issues are now at stake.

And now look what happens in another field entirely:

http://chronicle.com/article/The-Undue-Weight-of-Truth-on/130704/

By Timothy Messer-Kruse
For the past 10 years I've immersed myself in the details of one of the most famous events in American labor history, the Haymarket riot and trial of 1886. Along the way I've written two books and a couple of articles about the episode. In some circles that affords me a presumption of expertise on the subject. Not, however, on Wikipedia...Its...entry is detailed and elaborate.

A couple of years ago, on a slow day at the office, I decided to experiment with editing one particularly misleading assertion chiseled into the Wikipedia article. The description of the trial stated, "The prosecution, led by Julius Grinnell, did not offer evidence connecting any of the defendants with the bombing. ... "

...I have not resolved all the mysteries that surround the bombing, but I have dug deeply enough to be sure that the claim that the trial was bereft of evidence is flatly wrong. One hundred and eighteen witnesses were called to testify, many of them unindicted co-conspirators who detailed secret meetings where plans to attack police stations were mapped out, coded messages were placed in radical newspapers, and bombs were assembled in one of the defendants' rooms.

In what was one of the first uses of forensic chemistry in an American courtroom, the city's foremost chemists showed that the metallurgical profile of a bomb found in one of the anarchists' homes was unlike any commercial metal but was similar in composition to a piece of shrapnel cut from the body of a slain police officer...So I removed the line about there being "no evidence" and provided a full explanation in Wikipedia's behind-the-scenes editing log. Within minutes my changes were reversed. The explanation: "You must provide reliable sources for your assertions to make changes along these lines to the article."

That was curious, as I had cited the documents that proved my point, including verbatim testimony from the trial published online by the Library of Congress. I also noted one of my own peer-reviewed articles. One of the people who had assumed the role of keeper of this bit of history for Wikipedia quoted the Web site's "undue weight" policy, which states that "articles should not give minority views as much or as detailed a description as more popular views." He then scolded me. "You should not delete information supported by the majority of sources to replace it with a minority view."

The "undue weight" policy posed a problem. Scholars have been publishing the same ideas about the Haymarket case for more than a century. The last published bibliography of titles on the subject has 1,530 entries.

"Explain to me, then, how a 'minority' source with facts on its side would ever appear against a wrong 'majority' one?" I asked the Wiki-gatekeeper. He responded, "You're more than welcome to discuss reliable sources here, that's what the talk page is for. However, you might want to have a quick look at Wikipedia's civility policy."

I tried to edit the page again. Within 10 seconds I was informed that my citations to the primary documents were insufficient, as Wikipedia requires its contributors to rely on secondary sources, or, as my critic informed me, "published books." Another editor cheerfully tutored me in what this means: "Wikipedia is not 'truth,' Wikipedia is 'verifiability' of reliable sources. Hence, if most secondary sources which are taken as reliable happen to repeat a flawed account or description of something, Wikipedia will echo that."

Tempted to win simply through sheer tenacity, I edited the page again. My triumph was even more fleeting than before. Within seconds the page was changed back. The reason: "reverting possible vandalism." Fearing that I would forever have to wear the scarlet letter of Wikipedia vandal, I relented but noted with some consolation that in the wake of my protest, the editors made a slight gesture of reconciliation—they added the word "credible" so that it now read, "The prosecution, led by Julius Grinnell, did not offer credible evidence connecting any of the defendants with the bombing. ... "

...I waited two years, until my book on the trial was published. "Now, at last, I have a proper Wikipedia leg to stand on," I thought as I opened the page and found at least a dozen statements that were factual errors, including some that contradicted their own cited sources. I found myself hesitant to write, eerily aware that the self-deputized protectors of the page were reading over my shoulder, itching to revert my edits and tutor me in Wiki-decorum. I made a small edit, testing the waters.

My improvement lasted five minutes before a Wiki-cop scolded me, "I hope you will familiarize yourself with some of Wikipedia's policies, such as verifiability and undue weight. If all historians save one say that the sky was green in 1888, our policies require that we write 'Most historians write that the sky was green, but one says the sky was blue.' ... As individual editors, we're not in the business of weighing claims, just reporting what reliable sources write."

I guess this gives me a glimmer of hope that someday, perhaps before another century goes by, enough of my fellow scholars will adopt my views that I can change that Wikipedia entry. Until then I will have to continue to shout that the sky was blue.

By the way, Timothy Messer-Kruse is a professor in the School of Cultural and Critical Studies at Bowling Green State University. He is author of The Trial of the Haymarket Anarchists: Terrorism and Justice in the Gilded Age (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011) and The Haymarket Conspiracy: Transatlantic Anarchist Networks, to be published later this year by the University of Illinois Press.

^

Get to Know Tel Shiloh

2012-02-16T09:12:00.000+02:00

Since Tel Shiloh is in the news, let's get acquainted:

North is to the left.

1. the pinnacle of the Tel where a new educational and tourist center is being built.

2. the Visitors' Center area. A cafe, shop, video presentation room, offices, WC. Nearby, the Second Temple and later burial site.

3. the "Dannish" Basilica.

4. Wali Yeitim and the "New" Church.

5. Excavation area at southern approach to Tel; major Roman, Byzantine and early Muslim finds.

6. Northern plateau area where Tabernacle court is presumed to be. Excavations begin in March.

7. Western slope are with major finds from Israelite period.

^

The Three Faces of Anti-zionism

2012-02-16T00:36:00.000+02:00

Max Blumenthal, Helena Cobban and Philip Weiss leading a BDS workshop titled "Palestine and the Media":-

Oh how happy.

^

The Math of Media Bias

2012-02-15T23:57:00.003+02:00

As noted here, newly-appointed NYTimes Jerusalem Bureau Chief Jodi Rudoren is embroiled in a flap even before she gets here.

In her defense. she spoke with Politico's Dylan Byers and one of her answers (k/t=Challah) got me thinking:

What is your response to the suggestion that you’re showing anti-Zionist bias?

It’s wildly premature to assess my biases. I have written nothing, other than a few tweets. It is certainly possible, as some have suggested, that I was not careful enough in what I wrote in some tweets, and what exactly I tweeted. But I hardly think that the half-a-dozen or dozen tweets that I’ve sent out in the last 24 hours add up to anything. This is a fleeting medium, in which you react to what you see. So some of the retweets that I’ve done happened to be what I was reading at that moment. It was not a comprehensive review.

Her math is fundamentally wrong. Everything always adds up. It depends to how much, or how little. But there's always a sum of things.

Of course, a media spokeperson deals with whomever is sent his or her way. But one of these days, I will have a good feeling in doing so rather than the feeling that no matter what you say and prove, the story just doesn't appear the way you thought you explained things.

P.S. The Goldblog take. (k/t=AH)

UPDATE

Kiss of death?

Peter Beinart @PeterBeinart
This is the Jodi Rudoren (Wilgoren then) I've known since college: tough, smart, honest. Just what NYT needs in Israel. http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/02/an-interview-with-nyts-jodi-rudoren-114603.html#.Tzwb0ZH33FM.twitter

Another Westbank Museum To Receive Gov't Funding

2012-02-15T23:37:00.000+02:00

As reported:

District provides Westbank Museum with additional $15K

But that museum is not in Judea or Samaria.

It's in British Columbia, Canada.

...After postponing an initial decision during the grants-in-aid process, the District of West Kelowna agreed to provide the Westbank Museum with an additional $15,465 to help them fund a full-time staff person with managerial experience.

The grant-in-aid request from the museum will be added to their existing contract with the district of $57,020 for 2012.

Margaret Jackson of the Westbank Musuem explained to district council why the museum needed the district’s help in attaining a qualified full-time manager to help out with the museum’s ambitious goals. “To go forward, the museum needs strong management leadership with diversified skill,” Jackson told council on Tuesday.

The district’s contribution will help the museum to be able to offer a paycheque that is “closer to industry standards,” according to Jackson.

Just saying you know.

^

Marching to Jerusalem

2012-02-15T23:26:00.001+02:00

There's an African Gospel on marching to Jerusalem:

They, too sing about "marching to Jerusalem".

These, though, of whom I've blogged previously, are of a different stripe. Their goal:

The historic day 30th March marks Palestine Land Day* in Palestinian national memory. This year our aim is to mark it as an international event to demonstrate solidarity with Palestinians and to protect Jerusalem. This will be achieved by organizing a Global March to Jerusalem or to the nearest point to it. The march will demand freedom for Jerusalem and its people and to put an end to the Apartheid, ethnic cleansing and Judaisation policies affecting the people, land and sanctity of Jerusalem.

Of course, the sole "Apartheid" existing was that of the Jordanian regime which banned Jews from rights the UN granted them between 1949-1967. And the current ban on Jews respecting their holy site on the Temple Mount by the Waqf, too.

More here at Part I from CiFWatch and their Part II.

P.S. This song is a definite no-no.
^

Bronner Out; Rudoren, In

2012-02-15T16:53:00.002+02:00

Picked this up from David Gertsman:

New NYT Jerusalem Bureau chief

Ethan Bronner in an e-mail to Politico explains why he's leaving his post as the New York Times bureau chief in Israel:

My son, who is 22, not 21, left the Israeli army a year ago. And I have not been reassigned. I asked to return. It has been 4 years, my parents are in their 90s and I originally promised to stay only three years, both my sons are there, my wife wants to return to her psychoanalytic practice. So we are coming home. I told the paper I wanted to keep writing. The national legal beat was suggested. I happily agreed.

The reason Bronner had to write the e-mail is because this is how the reporter, Dylan Byers originally framed the change:

Bronner's 22-year-old son was* a member of the Israeli Defense Forces, a conflict of interest first raised by the website Electronic Intifada. Shortly thereafter, former public editor Clark Hoyt looked into the matter and found that, despite the 'unerring sense of fairness' mentioned above, Bronner's son's assignment put the bureau chief in a problematic position.

"Bronner is a superb reporter... But, stepping back, this is what I see: The Times sent a reporter overseas to provide disinterested coverage of one of the world’s most intense and potentially explosive conflicts, and now his son has taken up arms for one side," he wrote last February. "Even the most sympathetic reader could reasonably wonder how that would affect the father, especially if shooting broke out."

"I have enormous respect for Bronner and his work, and he has done nothing wrong," he continued. "But this is not about punishment; it is simply a difficult reality. I would find a plum assignment for him somewhere else, at least for the duration of his son’s service in the I.D.F."
Despite Hoyt's recommendation, the paper did not reassign Bronner.

Byers strongly implied - with no proof - that Bronner was being re-assigned on account of his son. By doing so he kept alive the calumny that Bronner was biased on account of his son.

Clark Hoyt, then the public editor of the New York Times was fully complicit in taking the charge of an anti-Israel activist and giving it legitimacy. Byers quoted from the column, Too close to home, Hoyt wrote two years ago.

Was there any objective evidence to support Ali Abunimah's charge? No...Rather than defending the reporter (as opposed to then executive editor Bill Keller who, to his credit, defended Bronner ) Hoyt gave credence to the complaint of an anti-Israel activist, with no evidence to back it up. Hoyt's disgraceful performance showed the anti-Israel crowd that they could effectively challenge the credibility of any reporter.

So with this in mind, when Ali Abuminah tweeted:

As new @nytimes bureau chief, Jodi @Rudoren will get to move into this lovely property stolen from Palestinians in 1948 http://electronicintifada.net/content/ny-times-jerusalem-property-makes-it-protagonist-palestine-conflict/8705

Jodi Rudoren (nee Wilgoren), Bronner's soon to be successor, responded with:

@AliAbunimah Hey there. Would love to chat sometime. About things other than the house. My friend Kareem Fahim says good things

While Rudoren pushes back on the subject of the house, the rest of her response seems like she's ingratiating herself to Abunimah. In general Rudoren's tweets so far show a preference for critics of Israel...

We'll see.

Er, see this.

And read this:

The position of Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times is one of the most contentious and highly scrutinized posts in journalism, and Rudoren’s stance on Israel and the Palestinians is already being picked apart in the blogosphere.

On Tuesday evening, Rudoren reached out to Ali Abunimah, the founder of the anti-Israel website Electronic Intifada, writing, “Hey there. Would love to chat sometime. About things other than the house. My friend Kareem Fahim says good things.”

She also retweeted a post from a blogger named Scott Campbell, who had written, “It’s past midnight here in #Palestine, meaning #KhaderAdnan has been on hunger strike for 60 days. #hungry4justice #dying2live.”

In response to several posts on her Twitter account, Rudoren responded “Shukran!” -- the Arabic term for thank you. As of yet, she has not posted anything using the Hebrew equivalent “Todah!”

The Truth from Tel Shiloh

2012-02-15T13:00:00.003+02:00

Yesterday, MK Zehava Galon minimized the value of Tel Shiloh.

Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On attacked the decision to fund Tel Shiloh. Netanyahu's "extreme right wing government is isolating Israel from the international community," she said.

A more neutral observer notes

The motivating force of practical Zionism since 1967 has been the attempt to turn the historical attachment to all parts of the Land of Israel, which nobody disputes, into a political right. To translate the desire to return to Shiloh, Beit El, Anatot and Hebron—the cradle of the nation — into a diplomatic right over which there can be no compromise because it is impossible to compromise on a right granted thousands of years ago. By means of that same right, claim those who hold it sacred, the Zionists came to the Jezreel Valley and Jerusalem, and afterward to Shiloh and Hebron.

And that is correct. We are not isolating ourselves but instructing the world and our immediate neighbors that that sacred right is not a myth. It is not fancifal or fake. It is real. It comes out of the ground we dig, and out of our minds and hearts. It is who we are as Jews. Isolated or not, that is the truth and truth is as sacred as our beliefs.

The Jewish people possess not only a right, but a heritage, a legacy. It is religious, cultural, historical and legal.

Today, some two dozen Tel Shiloh guides underwent an intensive half-day seminar.

Some pictures:

And those were from just the 1st century Roman period until the late Byzantine and early Muslim periods, 5th to 7th centuries. You can see an olive press (one of those weights is Second Temple period), walls, a possible stone-engraved relief, store rooms, plumbing and more.

Soon, we will be seeing more as a new excavation should begin mid-March in the area that may have contained the Tabernacle court.

__________

Follow up from yesterday:

Some government officials suggested that the decision was motivated by fear of worldwide condemnation. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova expressed concern that inclusion of the two sensitive sites would escalate tensions in the region, and U.N. Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry said the sites were “of historical and religious significance not only to Judaism but also to Islam and to Christianity as well.”

Hershkowitz submitted a letter to Hauser, Army Radio reported, demanding that Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs be added back to the list.

“Omitting Rachel’s Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs is like denying our elementary heritage,” he wrote in the letter, according to Army Radio. “They are the burial sites of our three fathers and four mothers. The state of Israel extracts its entire heritage from these sites.”

Army Radio quoted a Prime Minister’s Office statement as saying that “the projects slated for approval today are sites that require immediate and urgent renovation. Rachel’s Tomb is already undergoing extensive renovation anyway and no specific problems were identified at the Cave of the Patriarchs.”