Hamas gebruikt kinderen voor terrorisme

Oké, de bron is niet 100% objectief, maar er is hier wel een probleem waar nauwelijks aandacht voor is in de media.
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[From Israel MFA]

Behind the Headlines: Hamas exploits children for terrorism
In a special episode on Hamas TV marking the beginning of the school year, a two-year old toddler named "Ahmad" was praised for his expertise in the area of "Holy War" (Jihad).

View video of Ahmad - "Jihad expert"

 

Palestinian children in Hamas-controlled Gaza are being taught to take an active role in terrorist operations against Israel and are thus placed in mortal danger by those who should be responsible for their safety and well-being. The children, too young to fully understand even the meaning of death, are taught to aspire to such "martyrdom" in children's television shows produced by the Hamas.

Every Monday afternoon Al-Aqsa TV, the Hamas' main television station, broadcasts a children's program called "The Gifted". In a special episode marking the beginning of the school year, a two-year old toddler named "Ahmad" was featured. Ahmad was praised for his expertise in the area of "holy war" (jihad).

In addition, instead of being told to keep away from Kassam rocket launchers, Palestinian children's lives are deliberately endangered by the Hamas-supported rocket teams which have been known to send young children to retrieve launchers after the rockets are fired. The terror organizations make cynical use of children, knowing well that Israeli counter-terrorist strikes will target these specific locations in order to prevent further rocket fire.

Even worse, the terrorist groups operating in the Hamas-controlled Gaza have recruited children to become armed participants, and even human bombs, in their terrorist operations against Israelis.

The following recent events serve as illustration:

On the night between August 28 and August 29, following warnings of plans to carry out a terror attack against them, IDF soldiers engaged in anti-terror activity in the northern Gaza Strip spotted a Palestinian youth approaching them. The soldiers confronted the 15-year-old and discovered that he was carrying two explosive devices, which he apparently intended to detonate in a suicide bombing attack against the forces.

On the afternoon of August 28, the IDF targeted several Kassam launchers in the Beit Hanun industrial area in the Gaza Strip aimed at Israel. During the attack a number of figures, later identified as Palestinian teenagers, approached the rocket launchers and were killed.

Exactly one week earlier (August 21), two Palestinian children (aged 10 and 12) were killed under similar circumstances by Israeli tank fire. The IDF targeted the location from which Kassam rockets had been launched at Israel that day, one hitting a nursery school in Sderot, which was empty during the August summer holiday.

 

Golfstaten: Midden-Oosten conferentie niet om de VS in Irak te helpen

Het is een populaire theorie dat het Israëlisch-Palestijnse conflict de kern van de problemen in het Midden-Oosten is, en de oplossing ervan noodzakelijk voor vooruitgang op andere vlakken, zoals in Irak, Libanon, tegengaan van extremisme en islamisme, bevorderen van democratie etc. De Irak Studie Groep legde de link tussen Irak en het Israëlisch-Palestijns conflict nadrukkelijk, en beschuldigde Israël zo indirect van medeverantwoordelijkheid voor Amerika's problemen in Irak.

Maar nu blijkt dat de golfstaten niet blij zijn met de link tussen Irak en het Midden-Oosten conflict: 

Gulf Cooperation Council member states "welcome any attempt to reach a just and comprehensive solution of the Palestinian issue and settle the Arab-Israeli conflict," Abdulrahman al-Attiyah said in remarks released at GCC headquarters in Riyadh.

He said he hoped the proposed conference will address core issues and will "not be aimed at linking movement in the Middle East peace process to developments in Iraq in a bid to attract Arab states to a conference whose real goal is to help (the US) get out of the Iraqi impasse."

Attiyah did not elaborate on his suggestion that Gulf monarchies, which have close ties with the United States, fear Washington might use the conference to ease its difficulties in war-torn Iraq, where the continuing insurgency is fueling mounting domestic criticism.


Wat is zo problematisch aan het idee dat vooruitgang tussen Israël en de Palestijnen Amerika ook kan helpen in Irak? Ik geloof niet dat het zo werkt, en ik vind het een kwalijke zaak als Amerika oplossing van het Midden-Oosten conflict ondergeschikt maakt aan oplossing van de problemen in Irak. Beide zaken verdienen serieuze toewijding en moeten op zichzelf te worden bekeken, en er dient geen uitruil van concessies plaats te vinden. Maar vanwaar de nadruk dat de VS vooral geen voordeel van deze conferentie mag hebben? De golfstaten zijn bondgenoten van de VS, de VS investeert vele miljarden dollars in hun veiligheid, en zij danken hun rijkdom grotendeels aan de olie-export naar de VS en Europa. Misschien dat de idee dat de 'Israël lobby' de schuld is van de problemen van de VS in het Midden-Oosten, nu eindelijk kan worden afgeschreven.

 

 

Ratna

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Mideast conference should not aim to help US in Iraq: GCC
Agence France-Presse - 19 September, 2007
www.gulfinthemedia.com/index.php?id=343671&news_type=Top&lang=en

Pro-Western Gulf Arab states do not want the Middle East peace conference called by Washington to be aimed at helping get it out of "the Iraqi impasse," the oil-rich bloc's chief said on Tuesday.

Gulf Cooperation Council member states "welcome any attempt to reach a just and comprehensive solution of the Palestinian issue and settle the Arab-Israeli conflict," Abdulrahman al-Attiyah said in remarks released at GCC headquarters in Riyadh.

He said he hoped the proposed conference will address core issues and will "not be aimed at linking movement in the Middle East peace process to developments in Iraq in a bid to attract Arab states to a conference whose real goal is to help (the US) get out of the Iraqi impasse."

Attiyah did not elaborate on his suggestion that Gulf monarchies, which have close ties with the United States, fear Washington might use the conference to ease its difficulties in war-torn Iraq, where the continuing insurgency is fueling mounting domestic criticism.

His remarks came barely a week after GCC heavyweight Saudi Arabia said it might skip the international conference if the meeting is not comprehensive and does not tackle core issues of the conflict with Israel.

The GCC also groups Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

US President George W. Bush has called for the international conference, expected to be held in November, to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice heads to Jerusalem on Wednesday to prepare for it.

Attiyah also reiterated that Gulf Arab states favour a negotiated settlement to the standoff between Iran and the West over its nuclear programme.

"GCC states don't want to see any brotherly or friendly country subjected to sanctions," he said in a reference to Iran.

They also support "opting for the language of peaceful dialogue to resolve all the problems liable to affect international security and stability," Attiyah added.

Al-Jazeera: VS media ontwikkelen Goebbel's propaganda methoden

"If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."

Dit was een van Joseph Goebbels motto's. In een Syrische krant die onder regerings controle staat wordt betoogd dat de VS nog een stap verder gaat dan Goebbels en daarmee nog effectiever en destructiever is. Het zou gaan om een verzoek van Cheney aan verschillende Amerikaanse kranten om de bevolking warm te maken voor een aanval op Iran.

"Lest anyone think that comparing the U.S. media, which is the most respected media in the world, to Goebbels's propaganda is a distortion of [reality] and grave injustice, here is a big, fresh headline [that appeared] in a American paper on Tuesday, September 4, 2007: 'Cheney Orders Media To Sell Attack On Iran: Fox News, Wall Street Journal instructed to launch PR blitz for upcoming military strike.'

Een krant die over Goebbels propaganda strategie uit de school klapte was geen lang bestaan meer beschoren, en de hoofdredacteur geen lang leven. Een kranteartikel dat Cheney van dergelijke praktijken beschuldigt, is wellicht het beste bewijs van de beperkte invloed van de Amerikaanse regering. Onlang stond er een artikel in de Britse Telegraph met de titel: "Bush setting America up for war with Iran". Anonieme bronnen vertellen over concrete plannen voor een aanval op Iran. Het artikel zegt:

In a chilling scenario of how war might come, a senior intelligence officer warned that public denunciation of Iranian meddling in Iraq - arming and training militants - would lead to cross border raids on Iranian training camps and bomb factories.

 

Dit suggereert dat alle kritiek op Iran vanwege haar rol in Irak is bedoeld om de geesten rijp te maken voor een invasie. Alles wat de VS zou doen om Irans bemoeienis in Irak tegen te gaan is zo bij voorbaat in discrediet gebracht (zou slechts dienen als aanleiding voor een oorlog tegen Iran...).
Hoe is een dergelijk artikel te rijmen met propaganda a la Goebbels?? Zou de weledelgeleerde Syrische schrijver van dit artikel werkelijk niet weten dat in de VS de regering gewoon geen controle heeft over wat de media schrijven?

 

Ratna

 

Zie ook Ami Isseroff's commentaar: A US attack on Iran?

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Special Dispatch-Syria/U.S. and the Middle East
September 21, 2007
No. 1718

Senior Al-Jazeera Talk Show Host: U.S. Media Has Further Developed Goebbel's Propaganda Methods

To view this Special Dispatch in HTML, visit:
http://www.memri.org/bin/opener_latest.cgi?ID=SD171807.

In an article in the Syrian government daily Al-Thawra, the host of the Al-Jazeera TV talk show "Opposite Direction," Dr. Faisal Al-Qassim, stated that the U.S. media propaganda machine is employing the methods of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

The following are the excerpts from the article(1):

"If Joseph Goebbels, Hitler's famous propaganda minister, were alive today, he would be demanding extensive compensation from the American media. Indeed, why not? These media are using his propaganda methods of premeditated and systematic lies, implementing them in toto without mentioning the inventor.

"In other words, we have here a clear case of the violation of copyright laws in respect to Goebbels' intellectual property. And since the Americans assign great importance to the intellectual property issue, they should acknowledge to the Nazi propaganda minister that they are copying his propaganda methods, and should pay him royalties. However, since the American media has extensively advanced Goebbels's propaganda methods, rendering them more destructive and effective – they have in fact registered a new patent, [which is why] they refrained from mentioning the source.

"Lest anyone think that comparing the U.S. media, which is the most respected media in the world, to Goebbels's propaganda is a distortion of [reality] and grave injustice, here is a big, fresh headline [that appeared] in a American paper on Tuesday, September 4, 2007: 'Cheney Orders Media To Sell Attack On Iran: Fox News, Wall Street Journal instructed to launch PR blitz for upcoming military strike.' This headline is not taken from an Arab newspaper or any [other] communications channel that wishes to denigrate the American media; it comes from an article written by prominent American journalist Paul Joseph Watson for the Prison Planet (a paper which gets most of its information from important U.S. papers and magazines such as the famous New Yorker).

"The American journalist quotes Brent Rubin, an expert on Afghanistan at the University of New York, who claims to have had long talks with the head of one of the institutes affiliated with the U.S. neo-cons – a senior official who told him that it was the vice president's office that issued instructions to launch an extensive and focused propaganda campaign [in order to] sell to the American people the idea of an attack on Iran one week after Labor Day(2) [According to the report,] to this end the Enterprise Institute will coordinate with the newspapers The Wall Street Journal and The Weekly Standard [sic],  the magazine Commentary, the Fox channel, and other papers, periodicals, and TV and radio channels. The vice president's office requested that the media step up its propaganda campaign and coordinate it carefully so as to persuade the Americans to accept the impending attack on Iran, whether it is just or not.

"Attention! The U.S. media – and everyone's already got a headache from all the talk about their 'reliability', 'independence' and 'freedom' – is required to spread a bunch of lies and fabrications so that the plans to attack Iran might come to fruition. U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney... requested that the media accuse Iran of any incident that might occur, even it be the work of the 'blue devil' [itself]. Cheney thus instructed [the U.S. media]: 'It is important that you sell [the message] that Iran and no one else is responsible for everything that may happen to us.' What a wonderful media this is!

"Is this logic different from the rationale behind the Nazi propaganda led by Joseph Goebbels, with its motto, 'Lie and lie again, and keep lying, until something sticks to the minds of the masses or until you, yourself, come to believe it!?'(3)  Are the U.S. media not portraying white as black and black as white, to comply with Vice President's Cheney's orders? Are we not facing here the exact Nazi propaganda formula – a leader issuing orders and the media making sure they are fulfilled, and falsifying [the truth] blindly and automatically?!!...

"Who said that the Americans are not reliable? A report published [in a neo-con paper] admitted that the [U.S.] media is required to accuse Iran of any action the U.S. may be subjected to – and this must be done immediately, without doubt or hesitation. The media is also required to hide any evidence that might implicate other elements involved in such action. Note the professionalism, reliability, neutrality and freedom of the press [enjoyed by the American media].

"What is the difference between this 'utterly free' U.S. media and the contemptible official Arab media used by the Arab governments as a propaganda mouthpiece to mislead, conceal, and promote ignorance among the masses for their disgraceful recruitment?

"Oh, Goebbels, how you have been wronged! They demonize you, scoff at your methods, make you into a symbol of lies, hypocrisy and communications failure – only to imitate your methods in minute detail. There is only one small difference: your [i.e. Goebbels's] media communications were primitive; they failed over fifty years ago – while they [the U.S.] have an unprecedented state-of-the-art communications empire..."

Endnotes:
(1) Al-Thawra (Syria), September 17, 2007.
(2) Labor Day is designated in the U.S. on the second Monday of each September.
(3) The quote appears at http://en.thinkexist.com/quotation/-if_you_tell_a_lie_big_enough_and_keep_repeating/345877.html as: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it."


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The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes the media of the Middle East. Copies of articles and documents cited, as well as background information, are available on request.

MEMRI holds copyrights on all translations. Materials may only be used with proper attribution.

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P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
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Hypocrisie over de Gazastrook en Qassam beschietingen

Gaat Israël alle stroom en watertoevoer naar de Gazastrook stoppen? Zijn de Israëlische plannen inderdaad een vorm van collectief straffen? Het eerste is uiteraard niet het geval, en over het tweede kun je twisten. Zijn zelfmoordaanslagen dan niet ook een vorm van collectief straffen? Of de kassam raketten? En leidt oorlog in het algemeen niet tot collectief straffen? In al deze gevallen lijdt de burgerbevolking onder acties van terroristen of legers.

Het verschil is dat collectief straffen inhoudt dat de burgerbevolking bewust wordt gestraft, om ze zo tegen hun eigen daders te doen keren. Of dit de Israëlische intentie is, valt te bezien. De intentie is vooral het zo moeilijk te maken raketten te bouwen en af te vuren.

Zie ook op mijn IMO blog: Collectief straffen van de Palestijnen in Gaza? 

 

Carlos houdt een vurig pleidooi waarom Israël het recht heeft om deze maatregelen te nemen. Over het volgende heb ik mijn twijfels:

 

The great obstacle to peace today, greater even than the Israeli settlements, is the determined Palestinian effort to make life in Israel unlivable. This is no secret. The Palestinians have made their intentions clear: "We have decided to make Sderot a ghost town. We are not going to stop launching our rockets until they leave." The term for this is ethnic cleansing. 

 

 

Laten we oppassen met het gebruik van dergelijke zeer beladen woorden. Etnische zuivering is het systematisch zuiveren van een gebied van een bepaalde etnische bevolkingsgroep. Dit mag de intentie van sommige Palestijnen zijn (in het Hamas handvest wordt opgeroepen de Joden te vermoorden, en Hamas leiders schilderen de Joden geregeld af als de vijanden van de islam die verslagen en vernederd moeten worden), het is niet wat zij op dit moment doen. Of zij dit zouden doen als zij sterk genoeg zouden zijn is een discussie op zichzelf die ik hier niet wil aanroeren.

 

 

Ratna

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Collective Hypocrisy: Justifying Gaza's Rocket War

http://www.peacewithrealism.org/headline/electric.htm

by Carlos

Members of the Hamas Executive Force standing at their headquarters in Gaza. (Reuters)

September 20, 2007 - There has been much hysteria over talk about Israel cutting off electricity to the Gaza Strip. It is time to defuse the hysteria - and also the hypocrisy.

First, it hasn't happened yet. What is actually happening:

For many months now Palestinians in Gaza have been launching rockets against Sderot and Israel's other southern cities, resulting in loss of life and much additional damage. The potential for further damage is very great, with schools and fuel centers within rocket range.

Israel has found itself in a deep dilemma. What is the best response? One response might be an Israeli incursion into Gaza - something Israel's leaders want to avoid if at all possible. As Israeli Prime Minister Olmert stated, "the price of a military operation in Gaza is known to all, and in any case conditions are not ripe for this."

Trying to find a measured response, the IsraelI government has declared Gaza a "hostile territory." This could allow Israel to impose sanctions such as limiting supplies of fuel and electricity, restricting the transfer of certain goods (especially anything that might be used in the manufacture of rockets), stopping visits to prisoners, and increasing the monitoring of funds.

The Israeli government rejected an option that would have totally cut off all fuel and electricity to Gaza. Instead, in the words of a senior Israeli government official: "We will reduce the amount of megawattage we provide to the Strip, and Hamas will have to decide whether to provide electricity to hospitals or weapons lathes." There would be exceptions for humanitarian reasons: the flow of power to hospitals for running their generators would not be decreased. Food and medical supplies would be allowed, but other goods restricted, such as pipes that can be used for making rockets. The object is not to make the Palestinian people suffer, but to make it harder for them to continue firing rockets at Israeli civilians.

The official Palestinian response is astonishing. Hamas said of the Israeli plan: "It is a declaration of war and continues the criminal, terrorist Zionist actions against our people." Firing rockets at cities is not an act of war? Gaza has been at war with Israel ever since Israel vacated all of its settlements there.

The response from Fatah was no more coherent. A minister in the government of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas stated: "It is collective punishment against the people of Gaza, and discourages serious political discussion." Firing rockets at cities is not "collective punishment"? Are those rockets meant to "encourage serious political discussion"?

The sanctions that Israel is contemplating are a way of trying to stop the flow of rockets without a violent response that would endanger Palestinian lives. Right now Israel is supplying Palestinians with the power they are using to run the metal workshops where they make their rockets. The Palestinians would now be given a choice: Here is your electricity, just enough for your people's needs or for killing Israelis. Which will you choose?

Examine the Palestinians' response very closely. If they simply stopped firing the rockets, there would be no need for Israeli sanctions. The Palestinians, who call themselves powerless, are actually in control. They can put a full stop to the sanctions by halting their aggression and returning to the peace process. Therefore all this moaning about "collective punishment" amounts to insistence on the right to keep firing the rockets. What else could it mean? The Palestinians are saying: "We have the right to make war on you, but don't you dare try to stop us or we will complain about human rights violations and war crimes." It's really simple: if the Palestinians don't want these sanctions, then stop firing the rockets.

It may be a simple solution, but you won't hear it on the BBC, and you won't hear it at the UN. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that Israeli sanctions would violate international law. "Such a step would be contrary to Israel's obligations towards the civilian population under international humanitarian and human rights law," Ban stated. Do rockets aimed at civilian targets violate international law? Would it be more acceptable to the UN if Israel fired rockets back into Palestinian villages, one Israeli equivalent for each qassam?

But, some demand, Israel should go after only those individuals who are firing rockets, and not take any measures that might affect others as well. Unfortunately this is very difficult when rocket-launching terrorists hide among the general population, using them as human shields. The hypocrisy of the demand is exposed on considering that when Israel does go after specific perpetrators of terrorist acts, it is accused of "targeted assassinations." What country would allow its citizens to be shelled without taking any measures to stop it? Not one. Yet that is expected of Israel.

Suppose you had an electrical generator on your property that was supplying power to your neighbor's house. Suppose your neighbor was using that power to make an electrical bomb to blow up your house. Would you continue supplying that power?

The Palestinians use "occupation" as a justification for everything, including war crimes. I would love finally to see an end to the dilemma of settlements and occupation. I would love to see two states, Jewish and Palestinian, with clearly defined and mutually recognized borders. But how can this happen, given the Palestinian response to any concrete gesture of peace? Israel has withdrawn from Gaza, and the result has been rockets falling on the Israeli south. Israel withdrew from Lebanon, and the result was rockets falling on the Israeli north. What will happen when Israel withdraws from the West Bank?

The great obstacle to peace today, greater even than the Israeli settlements, is the determined Palestinian effort to make life in Israel unlivable. This is no secret. The Palestinians have made their intentions clear: "We have decided to make Sderot a ghost town. We are not going to stop launching our rockets until they leave." The term for this is ethnic cleansing. That is what Israel is resisting. If the Palestinians do not like Israeli resistance, they should remove the provocation. Israel is not invading. It is not bombing. It is not shooting rockets back. Instead, for now, Israel is contemplating selective and limited sanctions. It is trying to find a way to stop those lethal rockets with minimum impact on Palestinian civilians. To cry "collective punishment" instead of stopping the rockets and coming to the peace table, to use a transparently phony morality to excuse continuing attacks on Israel's population centers, is not just hypocrisy. It is war.

Source:

Ravid, Barak. "IDF Formulates Plan to Limit Services to Civilians in Gaza." Ha'aretz, September 20, 2007.

Vonnis vrijgeven filmbanden Mohammed Al-Dura

Het Franse TV station dat in 2000 filmde hoe een Palestijns jongetje, Mohammed Al Dura, in de armen van zijn vader stierf, moet de volledige filmbeelden vrijgeven. Dat heeft het Hof in Parijs gisteren bepaald. Daarmee komt er hopelijk meer duidelijkheid over de vraag of het jongetje door Israelische of Palestijnse kogels om het leven kwam.

Daar wordt de jongen niet levend van, en er zijn sindsdien duizenden doden aan beide kanten gevallen, dus wat doet het er eigenlijk allemaal toe, zou je je kunnen afvragen. Het doet er toe omdat Al Dura symbool is geworden van Palestijnse onschuld en Israëlische wreedheid, en daarmee de sympathie voor de Palestijnen en hun 'strijd tegen de bezetting' heeft vergroot.

Het is overigens idioot en zeer verdacht dat deze beelden nooit eerder zijn vrijgegeven. Waarom is dat geen reden geweest voor de media voor een gezonde scepsis wat betreft de toedracht van Al Dura's dood? Of gaat men er vanuit dat alleen aan Israëlische kant propaganda wordt bedreven? Misschien dat vrijgave van de volledige filmbeelden ook aan die mythe een einde kan maken.     

Ratna
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CIDI persbericht over vonnis Mohammed Al-Dura

Frans tv-station moet waarheid over Mohammed Al-Dura vrijgeven

Het CIDI heeft Media-Ratings gefeliciteerd met de uitspraak van het Hof in Parijs van woensdag 19 september. Het Hof stelt dat het Franse tv-station 'TV2' het onbewerkte beeldmateriaal moet vrijgeven van de schietpartij waarbij de 12-jarige Palestijnse jongen Mohammed Al-Dura om het leven kwam.

Eerder noemde de directeur van het Franse media-rating bureau Media-Ratings, Karsenty, de wereldwijd vertoonde opnamen van TV2 van de schietpartij een 'hoax'. Hij werd toen schuldig bevonden aan laster en ging in beroep met bovengenoemde uitspraak tot gevolg. De uitspraak kan leiden tot duidelijkheid over de doodsoorzaak van de jongen en de rol van de media in wereldwijde berichtgeving.

De dood van het Palestijnse jongetje Mohammed Al-Dura schokte op 30 september 2000 de wereld. De 12-jarige jongen zou bij de in de Gaza strook om het leven zijn gekomen door Israelische kogels toen hij tijdens de Tweede Intifada samen met zijn vader vast kwam te zitten tussen Palestijnen die het Israelische leger beschoten en het Israelische leger dat terugschoot. Mohammed werd een symbool van de Palestijnse opstand en van Israelische agressie.

Er is echter groeiende twijfel of TV2 wel de waarheid laat zien. Het Franse tv-station TV2 legde ongeveer 27 minuten van de kogelwisseling vast, maar gebruikte slechts 59 seconden voor de uitzending; de daadwerkelijke dood van het jongetje was daarin niet te zien. TV2 concludeerde dat Mohammed door Israelische kogels om het leven kwam en dit werd door media in de gehele wereld overgenomen. Uit onderzoek van het Israelische leger zou echter zijn gebleken dat Mohammed door Palestijnse kogels om het leven kwam. Direct na de schietpartij nam het leger de verantwoordelijkheid voor de dood van de jongen wel op zich.

In de brief van het CIDI wordt de hoop uitgesproken "dat het vrijgeven van de beelden eindelijk zal leiden tot duidelijkheid in deze tragische affaire. Niemand is gebaat bij geschiedvervalsing, noch bij valselijke aantijgingen daarvan".

Den Haag, 20 september 2007

Moslim Broederschap in Egypte: heroverweeg vrede met Israël

Als het aan de Moslim Broederschap - de grootste oppositiepartij in Egypte - ligt, verbreekt Egypte alle diplomatieke contacten met Israël en zegt het het vredesverdrag uit 1979 op.

 

Sommige cynici zullen zich wellicht afvragen of het veel verschil zou maken: Egypte doet weinig tegen de wapensmokkel van de Sinai naar de Gazastrook, en van de afgesproken toeristische, culturele en economische samenwerking en uitwisseling is niks terechtgekomen. Egypte geeft nauwelijks visa aan de eigen burgers om Israël te bezoeken, terwijl vele Israëli's jaarlijks in Egypte met vakantie gaan.

Ministers, artiesten, schrijvers en anderen die wel naar Israël gaan worden hiervoor hard gekritiseerd. Onlangs moest een acteur zich voor een officiële commissie verantwoorden voor het spelen in een film waarin ook een Israëlische acteur optreedt. In Egyptische kranten staan geregeld de meest walgelijke artikelen over de 'Palestijnse Holocaust', over de Zionistische plannen het hele Midden-Oosten en daarna de rest van de wereld te beheersen, over het vermeende racistische karakter van het jodendom en het Zionisme.

 

Dus wat stelt die vrede nou helemaal voor? Die vrede heeft tot gevolg dat de grens tussen Israël en Egypte al 30 jaar rustig is, dat Egypte geen terroristische organisaties steunt, en heeft het isolement van Israël in de Arabische wereld doorbroken. De voordelen voor Egypte zijn waarschijnlijk groter: jaarlijks $2 miljard steun van de VS, massa's Israëlische toeristen, teruggave van de gehele Sinai, en geen peperdure oorlogen en vernederende nederlagen meer. Als de Moslimbroederschap ooit aan de macht komt, zien zij dit wellicht ook in, maar helemaal zeker weet je dat bij religieuze fanaten nooit.

 

Ratna

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THE IKHWAN'S NEW PLAN
Eurasia Security Watch No. 159, September 19, 2007

American Foreign Policy Council, Washington, DC
Editor: Ilan Berman
Associate Editor: Jeff Smith

Egypt's most powerful Islamist party, the Muslim Brotherhood or Ikhwan Muslimoon, has finally unveiled its long-awaited party program. The new political plan, drafted by the movement's intellectual leaders over the past few months as part of an effort to position the group more firmly in the country's political discourse, is intended to define the group's yet-to-be-established party. Copies of the platform were distributed by the Brotherhood's General Guide, Mohamed Mahdi Akef, to key Egyptian writers and intellectuals.

In keeping with the organization's bid to project a more moderate image, the platform stresses the importance of principles of civil participation and legislative authority. More troubling, however, are the organization's positions on a number of pressing national and international issues. These include a reassessment of the country's diplomatic relations with Israel, a "reevaluation" of the Camp-David Accords and all other international conventions, and the imposition of sharia on all tourists to Egypt.

 

(Cairo Al-Masry al-Youm, September 13, 2007)

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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il

Wapens ontdekt in huis te Nablus

O.K., niet iedere operatie van het Israëlische leger zal er zo netjes aan toe gaan als hier wordt gesuggereerd, maar het gaat er ook niet altijd zo aan toe als Palestijnse bronnen en vredesactivisten beweren.

Zie dit soort berichten op onze blog dus vooral als een aanvulling op het nieuws en de vele documentaires op TV, waarin de Israëlische kant vaak nauwelijks aan bod komt, en een beeld wordt geschetst van nodeloze wreedheid en machtvertoon, en soms zelfs willekeur, met als doel om extremistische kolonisten te beschermen en meer land in te pikken.

Dit is de derde keer in korte tijd dat een terroristische aanslag is verijdeld.

Ratna
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September 19th, 2007

IDF SPOKESPERSON UPDATE

Weaponry uncovered in civilian home today in Nablus operation

IDF and Border Police forces are operating against terrorist infrastructure in the Ein Bet Ilmeh R.C. in Nablus. The aim of the operation is to prevent the execution of a terrorist attack jointly planned by operatives of the Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organizations.

During this operation, the IDF and the District Coordination and Liaison Office are doing the utmost to assist the Palestinian population which is not involved in terrorist activity.

The humanitarian assistance coordinated during the day included the following:

Evacuation of Palestinians in need of medical treatment. Amongst them, an 8 month old baby who was suffocating and was spotted by an IDF force in the area. The soldiers treated the baby and called a Red Cross ambulance which evacuated the baby, along with his parents, to hospital.

Access of crews of the Nablus Municipality to fix a water-system failure.

Delivery of food products into the R.C. by Red Cross teams.

IDF forces uncovered today the following arms in a civilian Palestinian home in the refugee camp: bomb-making materials, ammunition and a combat vest which is used to carry bombs and ammunition.

This is in addition to a concealed storage space which was uncovered yesterday. The storage space contained two M-16 assault rifles, several improvised hand-grenades and additional ammunition.

In 2007 ten explosives labs for the manufacture of bombs were discovered in Nablus, as well as numerous other weapons.

In 2006, 117 of the 187 suicide bombers arrested in Judea and Samaria came from Nablus.

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IMRA - Independent Media Review and Analysis
Website: www.imra.org.il

Saoedische columnisten bekritiseren Iran, Syrië en Hezbollah

Niet alleen zionisten en neo-conservatieven in de VS beweren dat Iran terroristen in Irak steunt, en Hezbollah Syrische en Iraanse belangen dient.

 

Terwijl zogenaamde Midden-Oosten deskundigen als de propagandist Robert Soeterick volhouden dat Hezbollah een autonome Libanese beweging is en we ons over Iran vooral geen zorgen moeten maken, weten deze Saoedische columnisten wel beter.

Ratna
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Inquiry & Analysis-Saudi Arabia, Iran, Syria, Lebanon
September 18, 2007
No. 390

Saudi Columnists Criticize Iran, Syria, Hizbullah

By H.Varulkar*

Introduction

In recent weeks, Saudi columnists have published numerous columns harshly critical of Iran, Syria, and Hizbullah. The columns warned of the demographic change that Iran is promoting in Lebanon and condemned Hizbullah for its willingness to sacrifice Lebanon for the sake of Syrian and Iranian interests. Syria was criticized for submitting blindly to Iranian directives, and was accused of being behind the assassination of Lebanese leaders in the past three decades, including that of former prime minister Rafiq Al-Hariri.

In addition, the Saudi daily Al-Watan reported that documents recently discovered by Iraqi sources reveal the extent to which Iranian elements have infiltrated Iraq's government institutions, parliament, and security apparatuses. The documents show that 108 activists from Iran's Al-Quds Forces, which belong to the Revolutionary Guards, have managed to attain key positions in Iraq's defense and interior ministries.(1)

The following are excerpts from the columns:


Iran is Leading Geographic and Demographic Change in Lebanon

In an article in the London daily Al-Hayat, Saudi columnist Hussein Shubakshi wrote:(2) "Exorbitant sums of money are being transferred from Iran to Hizbullah, at an unprecedented rate, for purchasing land and real estate. This has become the talk of the day among leaders and among everyone involved in real estate.

"Most of the lands and real estate are passing into the hands [of the Shi'ites], giving them control over southern Lebanon and the Beqa' Valley, so that Hizbullah will eventually control the majority of the lands adjoining the Syrian border. [However], this new finding was not the last surprise [in store for us]. It was recently published, in a series of reports, that the Lebanese government has discovered a secret network of 3G mobile phones owned exclusively by Hizbullah(3) and unsupervised by the state or by the relevant government office.

"This increase in precisely [targeted] strategic land acquisition is motivated by Iran's aspirations to create a continuous stretch of regions under its influence, which spans southern Lebanon, the Beqa' Valley, Syria, and Iraq, reaching as far as Iran... As for [Hizbullah's private] telephone network, it proves once again that the idea of a state within a state, which Hizbullah has been entertaining of late, is very much alive. It goes without saying that [Hizbullah's] objective is to weaken the central government and then come out against it...

"New borders are being charted in the area... The world is watching the creation of new borders on Lebanese soil, circumscribing southern Lebanon and the Beqa' Valley, and spilling over to the rest of the country.  What sparks worry and suspicion – to say the least – is that, while numerous changes are being made in southern Lebanon and the Beqa' Valley, people are being deceived that [the aim of these developments] is to liberate the Shaba' Farms. With [the increased] geographic and demographic changes in southern Lebanon and the Beqa' Valley, the Iranian presence in the cultural arena and in communications has intensified – and the future looks much more ominous..."(4)


Nasrallah to Syria and Iran: I Am at Your Service!

In the London daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, editor Tareq Al-Humaid criticized Hizbullah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, saying: "A report published in this paper a couple of days ago stated that Nasrallah had returned the house he had been renting to its owners and moved to an unknown location, as part of the plan to rebuild Dhahiya [the Hizbullah neighborhood in southern Beirut], which had been destroyed in the Israeli attack on Lebanon during the war... If only Mr. Nasrallah would be consistent and give Lebanon back to its people - in other words, [if only] Lebanon were subject to the Lebanese agenda, and not to that of Iran and Syria...

"Hizbullah relied on the high standing of the resistance in Lebanon, and on Lebanon's liberation, but it wasted this potential and found itself face to face with Lebanese civilians. [It is quite understandable, then,] that the casualties of the last war numbered 1,200 Lebanese civilians, not to mention the damage to the property. Today Hizbullah wants to bury Lebanon under its 'abaya [traditional Muslim cloak], disregarding Lebanon's [ethnic] diversity.

"...Lebanon wants Syria to leave its territory, and to return via diplomatic relations by [exchanging] ambassadors... Lebanon wants Iran to obey the geographic [constraints] and remain within its natural borders, instead of treating Beirut as a card to be used in its political conflicts and [to fulfill] its aspirations of spreading the Islamic revolution... [At such a time,] Nasrallah acts like a genie which has escaped from its bottle [as in the story of Aladdin], and which keeps assuring Syria and Iran, 'I am at your service! I am at your service!'"...(5)


Syria Has Become a Dagger Thrust by Iran into the Heart of the Arab Nation

An August 18, 2007 article in the Saudi daily 'Okaz criticized the Syria-Iran alliance, stating: "The Saudi kingdom is voicing concern on behalf of all the Arabs at Syria's new role in the region, and at the change of its historical role from being an Arab [country] in the heart of its Arab homeland to [being part of] a bizarre alliance with a regional element [i.e. Iran] which does not conceal its aspirations [to promote] its [own] interests at the expense of the Arabs – so much so that Syria has practically become a dagger thrust by this regional element into [the heart of] the Arab nation!

"The entire Arab world is concerned at the paralysis that has afflicted Syria, [a country] which used to lead Arab unity and the defense of Arab national interests. Even more worrying to the Arab world is [the possibility] that this paralysis might be exported to Syria's neighboring [countries]! The Saudi kingdom has always been able to overcome the hurts in its political relations with other [elements], and it is not asking for policy advice from someone who is under regional and international isolation [i.e. Syria]. Saudi Arabia will remain the throbbing heart of the Arab homeland, pumping blood into all Arab arteries, including the beloved Syria – even if there are some who want to change the layout of these arteries..."(6)


Syria-Iran Relations – From Alliance to Blind Obedience

Saudi columnist for Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Mashari Al-Dhaidi wrote: "The Syria-Saudi dispute has now come into the open. Something that used to be whispered is now spoken about out loud, since the disagreement between Damascus and Riyadh is over policy and viewpoint. Indeed, the Syrian regime of the Bashar Al-Assad era has, strategically, tied [itself] irrevocably to Tehran's fundamentalist regime – so much so that it has become a link between Iran's island in Lebanon, i.e. Hizbullah, and the source of weapons, funding, and guidance located in Iran...

"Is Damascus still 'the throbbing heart of the Arab entity'?! Or has this heart become entrapped in a crisis?... One should remember Syria's central role in the birth, fostering, and support of the idea of pan-Arabism... The banners of pan-Arabism and the discourse of Arab unity were characteristic features of Syrian political scene for years on end. The battles between the sides in the political game were fought over the question of 'who is more faithful to the Arab and pan-Arab national identity?!' Many years elapsed, until the current president, Bashar Al-Assad, the son of Hafez, came to power, and the situation changed. [The problem] is not Bashar's close relations with Iran... Indeed, his father, Hafez Al-Assad, was also on good terms with Iran, even at the peak of the Iran-Iraq war... [Rather, the problem is that] Assad senior, while flying the banner of pan-Arabism with one hand, was always upholding the interests of his regime...

"During the era of Assad junior... Damascus-Tehran relations have changed from alliance to blind obedience...  The Iranians have found their way into Syria, which is obvious from the size of Iran's diplomatic mission in Damascus, numbering hundreds of officials! There has been perpetual talk of political campaigns aimed at persuading [the Syrians] to become Shi'ites... There has also been widespread talk of another strange phenomenon in Syrian society - namely, more and more women are joining the Qubaisiat order... that is, a Shafi'ite Sunni order of Sufi leanings, popular among women inside and outside Syria. The movement's headquarters, which are located in Damascus, instruct Syrian women in extremist ways that reject the legacy of openness and enlightenment in which Syrian women are brought up...

"So, to which identity will the Syrian regime adhere in the future? While its foreign policy is definitely Shi'ite, on the domestic arena – in its very viscera – there is a turbulent Sunni fundamentalist movement, sowing terror [all around]... In addition, we are witnessing a proliferation of Shi'ites in Al-Raqqa and other Syrian provinces, to such an extent that it troubles the Sunni sheikhs in Syria, who have announced their protest.

"What, then, remains of the Syrian belief in the national Arab and pan-Arab [ideology]: Is Syria's heart still beating?!... And last but not least, [Farouq Al-Shar'] emerges to preach and lecture to us on pan-Arabism?!..."(7)


Syria – The Regime of Assassinations and Massacres

A special investigative article, published August 22, 2007 on the Saudi daily 'Okaz, accused the Syrian regime of being behind the assassination of Lebanese leaders in the last 30 years, and called it a "regime of assassinations and massacres":

"What is preferable for Lebanon: to be independent of Syria and, [as a result], have its security and the lives [of its citizens] imperiled, or to submit to Syria and enjoy some peace and quiet? [This is the choice] that the Syrian Ba'th regime has forced on all the Lebanese, both in the coalition and in the opposition, ever since the passing of [U.N.] Resolution 1559 of 2004, which demanded the Syrian army's immediate withdrawal from Lebanon. The first [move] by the Syrian regime [following the resolution] was to extend the term of office of [Lebanese] President Emile Lahoud. Then came the attempted assassination of Minister Marwan Hamada, intended to [prevent] Rafiq Al-Hariri from heading the new government, and after that came the assassination of Rafiq Al-Hariri himself, on February 14, 2005...

"Ever since, the [Syrian] 'death squads' have been pursuing the enemies of the Syrian regime in Lebanon and murdering them one by one, at critical [junctures] and with obvious goals. The common denominator shared by all [the victims] is the small tactical benefit [that the Syrian regime gained from each assassination] – for instance, from silencing the courageous journalist Samir Qasir, the [murder] of the well-known Communist [leader] George Hawi, the assassination of Minister Elias Al-Murr, the attempt to intimidate the leading [Lebanese] TV [channel] LBC by targeting one of its journalists, May Chidiac, and  the assassination of [Lebanese] MP Jubran Tweini, director-general of Lebanon's first daily Al-Nahar. Then came the murder of Pierre Gemayel, in a special operation aimed at toppling the Al-Siniora government, and finally the murder of [Lebanese] MP Walid 'Ido, in an attempt to demonstrate that the [international] tribunal cannot protect Lebanon.

"Syria was forced to withdraw its armed forces from Lebanon in April 2005... but since then, it has been [trying to] show Lebanon and others that it [still] has significant influence over this country, and that [Lebanon] can find salvation only with Syria's [help], and not without it. The Syrian regime – which for the past 30 years has made a habit of systematically – and with impunity – murdering Lebanese leaders, beginning with Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt, has not yet grasped the [full implications] of the terrible shock caused by the murder of [former Lebanese prime minister] Rafiq Al-Hariri. Since its aim is to control Lebanon, the sectarian affiliation [of the victims] was never an important consideration in the assassinations, and leaders from all the ethnic groups in Lebanon were killed..."(8)


Al-Manar TV is [Morally] Bankrupt

In another column, Saudi columnist Hussein Al-Shoubakshi condemned Hizbullah's TV channel Al-Manar for reporting, on August 15, 2007, that the Saudi Embassy in Lebanon had known that Israel was planning to attack Lebanon in July 2006 and had evacuated its citizens from the country.(9) Al-Shoubakshi wrote: "In some third-world countries, the role of the media is to preserve a certain myth – sometimes even by lying in every possible way and regardless of the cost... Today, it seems that the Lebanese channel Al-Manar, which is part of the Hizbullah's propaganda network... has completely lost its bearings and is now operating as one of the Hizbullah's propaganda [tools]. The resistance [movement, i.e. Hizbullah] seems to have changed direction, [relinquishing] the confrontation with Israel, which was its well-known and self-proclaimed [goal], and turning against the Arab countries that are supporting and assisting Lebanon, upholding its independence, and protecting it from the infiltration of non-Lebanese elements.

"Al-Manar's report about the Saudi Embassy... is perhaps part of a science fiction story, and can be classed with the famous tales of Harry Potter. This [allegation] does not merit further comment, nor does [Saudi Arabia] have to explain or defend itself – for accusations of this sort constitute [nothing more than] an official and regrettable announcement of the profound [moral] bankruptcy of Hizbullah and its propaganda apparatus. Does this kind of style befit the 'honor of the resistance [movement]' – a slogan that the channel likes to flaunt day and night?...

"Hizbullah desperately needs someone to rescue it from its own [blunders], since it is inconceivable that its 'divine' victory should lead [only] to fitna [i.e. internal strife], to the fabrication of lies, and to the deepening of the schism [in Lebanon]. Surveys and rating statistics do not lie. The figures show a sharp drop in Al-Manar's ratings... – for Arab viewers are not fools who cannot tell the difference between a real report and poison intended to sow strife. Media [channels] greater [than Al-Manar] have fallen into this trap..."(10)


*H. Varulkar is a research fellow at MEMRI.

Endnotes:
(1) Iraqi sources stated that Iraqi MPsmembers affiliated with the Al-Quds Forces belong to the United Iraqi Coalition led by the Al-Maliki government. These MPs are: Ahmad Jassim Muhammad Al-Moussawi, Iqbal Muhammad Khalil Al-Ghanemi, Mustapha Muhammad Baqi, 'Abd Al-Karim 'Abd Al-Sahib Muhammad Hasan Al-Naqib, 'Abbas Hasan Moussa Al-Amirli Al-Bayati, Riyadh 'Abd Al-Hamza Gharib (minister for municipalities), Hamid Rasheed Mu'aalah Al-Sa'edi, Hassan Jassim Nu'mah Al-Zamili, Muhammad Rajih 'Ulwan Al-Marzouk, and Basima 'Aziz Nasser Al-Ghezzi. Al-Watan (Saudi Arabia), September 2, 2007.
(2) Recently, the issue of Iran-assisted land sales in southern Lebanon to the Shi'ite ethnic community has been the talk of the day, mainly following statements by Druze leader Walid Jumblatt. In an interview with the Lebanese weekly Nahar Al-Shabab, Jumblatt contended that Iran was helping Hizbullah purchase lands in southern Lebanon through Jihad Al-Bina', an organization belonging to Hizbullah and Shi'ite Lebanese businessman 'Ali Taj Al-Din. Jumblatt intimated that Hizbullah's aim was to attain political, military, and economic control over Lebanon. Nahar Al-Shabab (Lebanon), August 23, 2007.
(3) This sentence can also be understood to mean "a third network of mobile phones owned by Hizbullah."
(4) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), August 27, 2007.
(5) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), August 26, 2007.
(6) 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), August 18, 2007.
(7) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), August 21, 2007. Concerning criticism of Saudi Arabia by Farouq A-Shar' see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 1687, "Syrian Vice-President in Speech Marking Syria's 'Journalist Day,'" August 17, 2007, http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sd&ID=SP168707.
(8) 'Okaz (Saudi Arabia), August 22, 2007.
(9) On August 16, 2007, the Saudi embassy in Lebanon responded to Al-Manar's allegations, stating that they "contained not even a grain of truth." Al-Mustaqbal (Lebanon), August 17, 2007.
(10) Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (London), August 21, 2007.

 

To view this Inquiry and Analysis in HTML, visit:
http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA39007.

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Rechtszaak over documentaire 'Jenin, Jenin'

De documentaire-maker van 'Jenin, Jenin', een film die Israël beschuldigt van oorlogsmisdaden tijdens de herbezetting van Jenin in 2002, staat binnenkort terecht. Vijf soldaten die er vochten hebben een aanklacht wegens smaad ingediend, omdat de documentaire hun van een reeks aan gruwelijkheden beschuldigt:

Basing itself mainly on interviews with Palestinians in the refugee camp after the fighting ended, but also on film clips, Bakri portrayed Israeli troops as committing a series of war crimes. Although he described the film as a documentary, he did not interview Israeli officials or give them an opportunity to refute the allegations contained in the film.
The lawsuit, which was filed of behalf of the plaintiffs by attorney Amir Tytunovich, provides a long list of alleged examples of these allegations, including:
• An old man claimed that soldiers shot him in the arm and leg in cold blood without cause.
• A film segment was edited to indicate that a bulldozer drove over a group of Palestinians lined up on the ground.
• Soldiers used children as human shields and ordered them to make holes in the walls of houses so they could progress from one to the next without exposing themselves. They warned they would shoot the children if they did not obey.
• Soldiers executed a disabled and retarded man by running him over with a bulldozer.
• A doctor at a Jenin hospital accused the IDF of removing the bodies of Palestinians killed in the fighting.
• Soldiers tied up a Palestinian and shot him.

"Jenin, Jenin" is een bekende film buiten Israël en heeft bijgedragen aan de negatieve beeldvorming over Israël sinds de tweede intifada. Alleen daarom al is het belangrijk dat de aantijgingen van oorlogsmisdaden worden weersproken.

During the fighting in Jenin, Palestinian spokesmen, human rights organizations and foreign journalists accused Israel of conducting a civilian massacre. In the end, it emerged, according to Israeli figures, that 52 Palestinians were killed in the refugee camp, including 38 armed fighters and 14 civilians. Twenty-three IDF soldiers died in the fighting.

Dit waren niet alleen Israëlische cijfers, maar is bevestigd door Human Rights Watch en de VN. De wildste verhalen deden toendertijd de ronde, zoals dat Israël duizenden burgers had vermoord en in massagraven gedumpt. Deze verhalen zijn nooit duidelijk ontkracht en teruggenomen, en voor velen heeft Israël toen zijn laatste stukje sympathie verloren. Wat wel vergeten is, is dat in de maand voorafgaand aan de herbezetting van Jenin er in Israël meer dan 100 doden vielen door zelfmoordaanslagen, en dat dit aantal daarna drastisch was gedaald.

Net als in het geval van het Palestijnse jongetje Mohammed Al Dura, is de schade al gedaan ongeacht de uitkomst van een rechtszaak of onderzoek, maar het is belangrijk dat onjuiste beschuldigingen worden weerlegd. Overigens lijkt ook de documentaire maker (Bakri) al rekening te houden met het feit dat dit zal gebeuren. Zijn advocaat:

Bakri doesn't say anything in this film. The people who talk are those he filmed. So the residents of the refugee camp say things which sometimes are true and sometimes not. It's a movie. It reflects the subjective understanding of the speakers. Sometimes they say things that are harsher [than they actually were] because that is how he experienced it. Sometimes the talk is based on rumors. It is known that in situations of tension, things are exaggerated. So sometimes it is not the truth."

Zo werkt propaganda. De film suggereert uiteraard dat alles wat de mensen zeggen waar is, en niet dat zij in hun woede de zaken weleens wat willen overdrijven. Het heeft de vorm van een documentaire, die het ware verhaal over Jenin vertelt, niet een fictief verhaal over een fictieve strijd met fictieve slachtoffers. Het feit dat de advocaat zegt dat het een film is die met een korrel zout moet worden genomen, is onthullend. Dit zou in filmrecenties niet mogen ontbreken.

Ratna

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Jerusalem Post
Sep 17, 2007 23:51 | Updated Sep 18, 2007 9:44
'Jenin, Jenin', now in court
By DAN IZENBERG
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411423305&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Petah Tikva District Court is due on Tuesday to begin hearings on a NIS 2.5 million lawsuit filed more than four years ago by five soldiers who fought in the Jenin refugee camp during Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.

Ofer Ben-Natan, Doron Keidar, Nir Oshri, Adam Arbiv and Yonatan Van-Kaspel sued Israeli Arab actor and director Muhammad Bakri for producing the film Jenin, Jenin, and the cinamatheques in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem for screening them, even though the film had been banned at the time by the state censor.

The film became a cause celebre when Bakri petitioned the High Court of Justice against the censor for prohibiting the screening of the film on the grounds that it distorted the truth. After a long fight, the court rejected the censor's decision and allowed the film to be shown in Israel.

The movie touched a raw nerve among Israelis. It was released in the middle of the intifada, when Palestinian suicide bombers were murdering many Israelis. Furthermore, the army's incursion into the Jenin refugee camp came in response to a spate of suicide attacks in March 2002, culminating in the attack on the Park Hotel in Netanya on the night of the Pessah Seder on March 27, in which 29 Israelis were killed.

During the fighting in Jenin, Palestinian spokesmen, human rights organizations and foreign journalists accused Israel of conducting a civilian massacre. In the end, it emerged, according to Israeli figures, that 52 Palestinians were killed in the refugee camp, including 38 armed fighters and 14 civilians. Twenty-three IDF soldiers died in the fighting.

Basing itself mainly on interviews with Palestinians in the refugee camp after the fighting ended, but also on film clips, Bakri portrayed Israeli troops as committing a series of war crimes. Although he described the film as a documentary, he did not interview Israeli officials or give them an opportunity to refute the allegations contained in the film.

The lawsuit, which was filed of behalf of the plaintiffs by attorney Amir Tytunovich, provides a long list of alleged examples of these allegations, including:

• An old man claimed that soldiers shot him in the arm and leg in cold blood without cause.

• A film segment was edited to indicate that a bulldozer drove over a group of Palestinians lined up on the ground.

• Soldiers used children as human shields and ordered them to make holes in the walls of houses so they could progress from one to the next without exposing themselves. They warned they would shoot the children if they did not obey.

• Soldiers executed a disabled and retarded man by running him over with a bulldozer.

• A doctor at a Jenin hospital accused the IDF of removing the bodies of Palestinians killed in the fighting.

• Soldiers tied up a Palestinian and shot him.

The lawsuit includes 13 incidents it describes as libel. "All of the terrible things listed above did not happen and are not true," Tytunovich wrote. He also wrote that in its advertisements for the film, the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem cinamatheques displayed a photograph of two of the plaintiffs, Ben-Natan and Keidar.

Bakri is being represented by attorney Avigdor Feldman.

Feldman was unavailable to talk to The Jerusalem Post.

But in an interview he gave during the High Court battle over the censorship of the film, he said the allegations in the film might have been true.

"I say that I can't say they're not true," he told Haaretz. "Had someone asked me two years ago whether it was conceivable that the IDF would drop a one-ton bomb in the heart of Gaza city, I would have said no. Today, I believe anything is possible. Bakri doesn't say anything in this film. The people who talk are those he filmed. So the residents of the refugee camp say things which sometimes are true and sometimes not. It's a movie. It reflects the subjective understanding of the speakers. Sometimes they say things that are harsher [than they actually were] because that is how he experienced it. Sometimes the talk is based on rumors. It is known that in situations of tension, things are exaggerated. So sometimes it is not the truth."

Franse minister Kouchner zwakt uitspraken over oorlog tegen Iran af

"We have to prepare for the worst, and the worst, sir, is war," zei de Franse minister van buitenlandse zaken een paar dagen geleden. Het kwam hem niet alleen op de verwachte woede van Iran te staan, maar ook Mohammed El Baradei, voorzitter van het IAEA, had er geen goed woord voor over:

"I would not talk about any use of force," he said, speaking outside an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna. Any use of force would have to be authorized by the UN Security Council, he said. "There are rules on how to use force, and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons," he said, in a reference to the US's argument that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was necessary because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
"I do not believe at this stage that we are facing a clear and present danger that requires we go beyond diplomacy," ElBaradei said. "We need not to hype the issue."

Het probleem is, dat als je alles behalve vriendelijke diplomatie uitsluit, er voor Iran geen enkele aanleiding is om haar atoomprogramma te stoppen en geen nucleaire wapens te ontwikkelen.

De vergelijking met Irak gaat op meerdere punten niet op: van Iran is bekend dat het kernenergie aan het ontwikkelen is, en het is ook veel beter bewapend dan Irak. Bovendien gaat het bij Iran om een luchtaanval, en zelfs de grootste haviken in de VS zien een aanval met grondtroepen niet zitten. Een luchtaanval zal hoogstwaarschijnlijk tot een tegenaanval leiden, met mogelijk vele doden aan beide kanten, maar het zal niet vergelijkbaar zijn met de chaos en onveiligheid in Irak en het moeras waarin de VS soldaten nu zitten. Het cijfer van 700.000 doden (in 4,5 jaar) is overigens een grove schatting; dat zou betekenen dat er 155.000 doden per jaar zijn gevallen, ofwel zo'n 12.900 per maand ofwel 425 per dag. Dat is zeer onwaarschijnlijk; een aanslag waarbij meer dan 100 doden vallen, wordt als uitzonderlijk veel gezien. Dat er gemiddeld 425 mensen omkomen betekent dat naast de aanslagen die we via het nieuws vernemen nog eens honderden mensen per dag op andere wijze omkomen. Daarmee is de oorlog in Irak niet gerechtvaardigd, maar ik vind het een slecht teken dat El Baradei zo'n cijfer zo makkelijk noemt.

Ik zou graag vernemen wanneer hij meent dat de tijd voor meer druk op Iran is aangebroken. Waarschijnlijk zal dit zo rond de tijd zijn dat de VN Mensenrechtenraad Soedan, Iran en Zimbabwe vaker veroordeelt dan Israël, en in resoluties van de Algemene Vergadering naast de bezetting ook Palestijns terrorisme hard wordt veroordeeld. Dat kan dus nog wel even duren.

Ondertussen ben ik erg blij met de ferme Franse uitspraken, en hoop dat men zich ook in VN verband daadwerkelijk harder zal opstellen. Een Iran uitgerust met kernwapens zal de kans op oorlog niet perse verkleinen, en zal de gevolgen van een dergelijke oorlog onnoemelijk veel erger maken.

Ratna
____________

NOT A WARMONGER
Kouchner Plays Down Iran 'War' Remarks
SPIEGEL ONLINE - September 18, 2007, 12:21 PM
www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,506361,00.html

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has sought to play down his remarks that the world should prepare for war against Iran. He did not want to appear to be a "warmonger," he said Tuesday as he headed to Moscow for talks.

"I do not want it to be said that I am a warmonger!" he told the newspaper Le Monde Tuesday as he flew to Moscow for talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. "My message was a message of peace, of seriousness and of determination. ... The worst situation would be war. To avoid that, the French attitude is to negotiate, negotiate, negotiate, without fear of being rebuffed, and to work with our European friends on credible sanction."

However, in an interview with a Russian newspaper he called again for harder sanctions against Iran. "We demand an answer as to why the Iranians want to engage in enriching uranium," he said in an interview published Tuesday in the Russian daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta. He called the proliferation of nuclear weapons "one of the greatest dangers at the beginning of the 21st century."

Speaking on RTL radio Sunday, Kouchner warned that the world should prepare for war if Iran succeeds in obtaining nuclear weapons. "We must prepare for the worst," he said, adding, "The worst ... is war." However he said that he did not believe that war was imminent. He also said that Paris and Berlin were preparing possible European Union economic sanctions against Tehran, which would be separate from UN sanctions.

Iran insists its atomic activities are entirely peaceful and are aimed only at producing energy, but many Western countries suspect that the Iranian government is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

The United States has refused to rule out the possibility of force against Iran if it continues with its nuclear program. However, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Sunday the US administration is currently committed to using diplomatic and economic means to counter the potential nuclear threat from Iran. The five permanent Security Council members -- the United Kingdom, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany are due to meet in Washington on Sept. 21 to discuss a new draft UN resolution on sanctions against Iran.

'Learn the Lesson' of Iraq

Kouchner's remarks elicited a forceful reaction from the United Nations' chief nuclear inspector, Mohamed ElBaradei, on Monday. "I would not talk about any use of force," he said, speaking outside an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting in Vienna. Any use of force would have to be authorized by the UN Security Council, he said. "There are rules on how to use force, and I would hope that everybody would have gotten the lesson after the Iraq situation, where 700,000 innocent civilians have lost their lives on the suspicion that a country has nuclear weapons," he said, in a reference to the US's argument that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was necessary because Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.

"I do not believe at this stage that we are facing a clear and present danger that requires we go beyond diplomacy," ElBaradei said. "We need not to hype the issue." In a recent SPIEGEL interview, ElBaradei warned that the next few months would be crucial for deciding if the Iran dispute moves "in the direction of escalation or in the direction of a peaceful solution."

On Monday, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon downplayed Kouchner's remarks, saying "everything must be done to avoid war." France's role "is to lead the way to a peaceful solution," he said. However, he also called for "the most severe sanctions possible" if the Iranian government continues with its nuclear program.

Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema also attempted Monday to downplay talk of the use of force. "Before talking about war, we have to give political and diplomatic initiatives necessary time," D'Alema said.

The Iranian reaction to Kouchner's hawkish remarks was predictably disparaging. Iranian Vice President Reza Aghazadeh accused certain unspecified countries of forcing the international community on to the "unjustified, illegal, deceptive and misleading path ... by imposing restrictions and sanctions." He said Iran would "never give up its inalienable and legal right in benefiting from peaceful nuclear technology."

Iranian state media Monday accused the French government of copying the US's hardline approach. "The occupants of the Élysée have become translators of the White House policies in Europe and have adopted a tone that is even harder, even more inflammatory and more illogical than that of Washington," Iran's state-run IRNA news agency wrote in an online editorial Monday.

Mein Kampf 'legaliseren'? Een verkeerd signaal op een verkeerd tijdstip

Ronny Naftaniel legt hier helder uit hoe het nu precies zit met het verbod op Mein Kampf. Het boek is niet expliciet verboden, maar valt onder hetzelfde wetsartikel tegen haatzaaien waaronder ook Holocaustontkenning valt.

 

 

Wouter
_________________________

Brabants Dagblad, 14 september 2007
Een verkeerd signaal op een verkeerd tijdstip

door Ronny Naftaniel

Met open ogen is minister Plasterk in de provocatie van PVV-voorman Geert Wilders getrapt. Wilders stelde onlangs voor de Koran te verbieden, omdat dit voor moslims heilige boek net zoveel aanzet tot haat als Mein Kampf van Adolf Hitler. In het blad Hollands Diep ging Plasterk vervolgens op Wilders in door ervoor te pleiten Mein Kampf niet langer te verbieden.

Daarmee gaf de bewindsman op het verkeerde tijdstip het verkeerde signaal af en liet hij blijken weinig van deze gevoelige materie te snappen.

Allereerst moet vastgesteld worden dat er in Nederland geen enkel verbod bestaat op het lezen van Mein Kampf. Nergens ligt dat in de wet vast. Dat kan ook niet omdat we in een digitale wereld leven. Binnen enkele minuten kan elke Nederlander via het internet bij Amerikaanse extreem-rechtse sites de honderden pagina's van het in 1924 geschreven boekwerk downloaden. Men kan er dus vrij kennis van nemen, als men dat zo nodig wil.

Wat in het kader van de algemeen geldende racismewetgeving in ons land wel verboden is, wordt geregeld in de artikelen 137 c-f van het Wetboek van Stafrecht. Daarbij gaat het in het bijzonder om artikel 137 e, lid 1:

'Hij die, anders dan ten behoeve van zakelijke berichtgeving een uitlating openbaar maakt die, naar hij weet of redelijkerwijs moet vermoeden, voor een groep mensen wegens hun ras, hun godsdienst of levensovertuiging of hun hetero- of homoseksuele gerichtheid beledigend is of aanzet tot haat tegen of discriminatie van mensen (?.) wordt gestraft met gevangenisstraf van ten hoogste zes maanden of geldboete van de derde categorie.'

Dit artikel maakt niet alleen het verspreiden van Mein Kampf, maar ook het drukken van hakenkruisen en SS-tekens of het in pamfletten en boeken beledigen van homo's en moslims een potentieel te vervolgen handeling. De praktijk daarbij is dat gekwetste burgers of maatschappelijke organisaties aangifte tegen de verspreider doen, waarna de officier van justitie de zaak voor de rechter kan brengen. Het is vervolgens aan de rechter om na weging van alle omstandigheden te beslissen of de verspreiding van een dergelijk geschrift geoorloofd is.

Tot dusver hebben de rechters in Nederland steeds geoordeeld dat het verspreiden van Mein Kampf strafbaar is, maar hiervoor bestaat geen expliciete verbodsbepaling.

De minister van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap heeft geen enkele taak bij deze rechtsgang. Integendeel, hij mag als lid van de regering niet op de stoel van de rechter gaan zitten. Zijn mening dat

Hitlers schotschrift tegen de democratie en de Joden vrij verkrijgbaar moet zijn, heeft slechts de waarde van een, in mijn ogen ongelukkige, privémening.

Als over deze materie iemand wat te zeggen heeft, is het de minister van Justitie, die de betreffende an- tiracismewetgeving na goedkeuring van het parlement zou kunnen intrekken. Daarmee zouden echter extreemrechts en andere Hitler-adepten plotseling een fikse steun in de rug krijgen.

Juist op het moment dat leden van de extreemrechtse beweging Voorpost zware straffen opgelegd hebben gekregen voor hun pogingen in Almere een synagoge en een moskee in brand te steken én op het moment dat het rechtsradicalisme in ons land groeit, is dit het verkeerde signaal. Het is ondenkbaar dat minister Hirsch Ballin van Justitie zo ver zou willen gaan.

De Europese Kaderovereenkomst van begin van dit jaar, die racisme juist harder wil aanpakken, maakt dit ook praktisch onmogelijk.

Minister Plasterk had zich beter kunnen afvragen wat de relevantie van zijn opmerking is voor zijn eigen vakgebied: onderwijs en wetenschappen. De uitdaging is immers hoe je de perfide visie van Mein Kampf kunt gebruiken als waarschuwing voor het heden en met name in het onderwijs. Daarbij valt te denken aan het ter beschikking stellen van geld voor het maken van een wetenschappelijke versie van dit boek - voorzien van notities en commentaren - en wel op een zodanige wijze dat het de catastrofale gevolgen van Hitlers denkbeelden scherp weergeeft. Eric Jurgens, oud-senator van de PvdA, en voormalig D66-leider Boris Dittrich hebben in het verleden al iets dergelijks voorgesteld.

De 'waarde' van het boek is immers dat Hitler zo'n tien jaar voordat hij aan de macht kwam op duivelse wijze beschreef wat er volgens hem met de Joden moest gebeuren. Indertijd geloofden velen dat het zo'n vaart niet zou lopen. Ook de Duitse Joden niet, totdat het te laat was.

We zijn nu drie generaties van de Tweede Wereldoorlog verwijderd. De meeste jongeren weten nauwelijks wat Hitler op zijn kerfstok had en hoe hij aan de macht kwam. Mein Kampf, mits voorzien van een voorwoord dat verklaart hoe Hitler zijn verwerpelijke ideeën in de praktijk bracht en hoe weinig de wereld ertegen deed en voorts uitgerust met een illustratief notenapparaat, kan een impuls geven aan de strijd tegen het hedendaagse racisme en antisemitisme.

Laten we niet vergeten dat er momenteel in Europa groepen jongeren zijn die weer schreeuwen dat 'Joden dood moeten'. De kreet 'Hamas, Hamas, Joden aan het gas' is in sommige straten in Amsterdam tot de hoogste wijsheid verheven. Anderen vertikken het lessen te volgen over de Shoa en terroriseren leraren die toch een poging hiertoe doen.

In de Arabische landen en ook in Europa komt de eeuwenoude complottheorie weer op. Joden zouden aan de touwtjes in Washington trekken en de wereldpolitiek naar hun hand zetten. En voor de Iraanse president Ahmadineyad is de Holocaust een leugen, die de Joden gebruiken om de wereld te chanteren. Deze imaginaire rol van de Joden kun je zo terugvinden in Mein Kampf.

Het is de taak van een minister van Onderwijs en Wetenschappen dit soort zorgwekkende verschijnselen te bestrijden langs de wegen die hem ter beschikking staan. Dat betekent effectieve voorlichting over racisme in het onderwijs en zeker niet het uiten van losse flodders die alleen maar extreem rechts in de kaart spelen.

 

Ronny Naftaniel is directeur van het Centrum voor Informatie en Documentatie over Israël (CIDI)

IDF eist originele Mohammed al-Dura filmbanden

De dood van het Palestijnse jongetje Mohammed Al Dura in de armen van zijn vader leidde 7 jaar geleden tot een storm van verontwaardiging en was voor sommige Palestijnen een 'inspriratiebron' voor zelfmoordaanslagen in Israël. De beelden, oorspronkelijk uitgezonden door France 2, waarin hij in koelen bloede door het Israëlische leger zou zijn doodgeschoten, gingen de wereld over.

Het Israëlische leger heeft zich nooit publiekelijk over de zaak uitgesproken, maar volgens veel Israëli's was de hele zaak in scene gezet, en was hij niet door Israëlisch maar door Palestijns vuur gedood. Herhaaldelijke verzoeken door het leger en anderen om het volledige materiaal van 27 minuten te zien (waarvan slechts 55 seconden waren uitgezonden) zijn tot nu toe afgewezen, waardoor een serieus onderzoek werd bemoeilijkt, zo niet onmogelijk gemaakt. Dit feit alleen al is verdacht. Als de andere 26 minuten van dezelfde strekking zijn, waarom wil men deze dan niet vrijgeven? Blijkbaar heeft men wat te verbergen.

Hoewel de dood van één jongetje in het niet valt in verhouding tot de duizenden doden en gewonden en alle ellende aan beide kanten sinds de tweede intifada, is hij zozeer een symbool geworden van Israëlische wreedheid en onmenselijkheid, dat het belangrijk is dat deze zaak goed wordt uitgezocht en alle feiten aan het licht komen.

Ratna
_________________________

IDF demands uncut al-Dura tape
Caroline Glick , THE JERUSALEM POST Sep. 17, 2007
www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1189411415051&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The IDF has abandoned its official silence in a seven-year-old case that has been characterized as a "blood libel" against the IDF and the State of Israel.

On September 10, the deputy commander of the IDF's Spokesman's Office, Col. Shlomi Am-Shalom, submitted a letter to the France 2 television network's permanent correspondent in Israel, Charles Enderlin, regarding Enderlin's story from September 30, 2000, in which he televised 55 seconds of edited footage from the Netzarim junction in the central Gaza Strip purporting to show IDF forces shooting and killing 12-year-old Muhammad al-Dura.

After its exclusive broadcast that day, France 2 offered the edited film free of charge to all media outlets. The footage, and the story of the purported IDF killing of al-Dura, was quickly rebroadcast around the world.

Within days, al-Dura became a symbol of the Palestinian war against Israel. His name has been repeatedly invoked by terrorists and their supporters as a justification for killing Israelis, Jews and their Western supporters.

In his letter, Am-Shalom asked for the entire unedited 27-minute film that was shot by France 2's Palestinian cameraman Talal Abu-Rahma that day, as well as the footage filmed by Abu-Rahma on October 1, 2000. Am-Shalom requested that the broadcast-quality films be sent to his office no later than September 15. France 2 has yet to hand over the requested film.

The IDF's move came against the backdrop of French media watchdog Philippe Karsenty's legal battle with France 2 regarding the network's coverage of the al-Dura affair.

Last year, France 2 and Enderlin sued Karsenty, who runs the Internet media watchdog Web site Media Ratings, for defamation for a letter he sent out in 2004 accusing France 2 of staging the al-Dura story.

Karsenty also called for the resignations of Enderlin and of France 2's news director, Arlette Chabot, for their roles in promulgating the alleged hoax. In October 2006 a French court decided in favor of France 2 and Enderlin, and against Karsenty.

The court acknowledged that Karsenty had submitted significant evidence indicating that the event had been staged. Still, in ruling in favor of the plaintiffs, the judges said Karsenty's accusations lacked credibility because, it claimed, he had based his accusations on a single source.

The court also stressed that "no Israeli authority, neither the army - which is nonetheless most affected, nor the Justice [Ministry] has ever accorded the slightest credit to [Karsenty's] allegations" regarding the authenticity of the France 2 report.

In his letter to Enderlin, Am-Shalom disputes the judges' assertion. "It is my duty to note," he wrote, "[that their claim] does not correspond to repeated attempts made by the IDF to receive the filmed materials, and with the conclusions of the IDF's committee of inquiry [into the purported shooting] that were widely publicized in the international and French media."

Am-Shalom has discussed at length the findings of the IDF's probe into the incident. That inquiry was ordered by then-OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Yom Tov Samia.

Citing Samia, Am-Shalom wrote, "The general has made clear that from an analysis of all the data from the scene, including the location of the IDF position, the trajectory of the bullets, the location of the father [Jamal al-Dura] and the son behind an obstacle, the cadence of the bullet fire, the angle at which the bullets penetrated the wall behind the father and his son, and the hours of the events, we can rule out with the greatest certainty the possibility that the gunfire that apparently harmed the boy and his father was fired by IDF soldiers, who were at the time located only inside their fixed position [at the junction]."

Am-Shalom further notes that "Gen. Samia emphasized to me that all his attempts to receive the filmed material for the purpose of his inquiry were rejected."
The IDF is in urgent need of the footage, Am-Shalom said, because "it has been asked to comment on the ruling [against Karsenty] from October 19, 2006, on this issue, which is scheduled to be discussed in a French appellate court on September 19."

"Since we are cognizant of the fact that there have been attempts to stage media events, and since doubt has been raised along these lines regarding the story under discussion, we asked to receive the aforementioned materials in order to conclude this episode and to get to the truth," Am-Shalom said.

In the past, the IDF shied away from taking a strong public position on the al-Dura affair. At the time of the incident, then-chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Shaul Mofaz and then-prime minister and defense minister Ehud Barak did not openly support Samia's inquiry or its findings.

As late as June 23, 2006, then-IDF Spokesperson Brig.-Gen. Miri Regev told Haaretz, "I cannot determine whether the IDF is or is not responsible for the killing of al-Dura."

In the aftermath of Karsenty's civil trial last year, the IDF came under considerable criticism both in Israel and from Jewish groups abroad for its silence on the issue.

While the IDF maintained official silence, independent probes by various foreign media organizations and Internet activists over the past several years have called the veracity of the France 2 report into serious question.

Those investigations demonstrated that purported IDF "attacks" against Palestinian civilians were being openly staged by Palestinian cameramen and locals at the Netzarim junction throughout the day of the alleged shooting of al-Dura.

Am-Shalom sent copies of his letter to Samia, incoming IDF Deputy Chief of General Staff Maj.-Gen. Dan Harel, the France 2 representative in Israel, the president of the network in France, and Philippe Karsenty.

Iraanse TV serie over Holocaust sympathiek naar Joden

Nadat Achmadinejad meermaals de Holocaust heeft ontkend, is er nu een mini-serie op de Iraanse TV waarin een Iraanse diplomaat Joden aan visa helpt om aan de Holocaust te ontkomen. Beter laat dan nooit, en wat goed dat hier nu eindelijk aandacht voor is, in een land waarin mensen hierover nagenoeg niets weten en dit niet in schoolboeken voorkomt noch in de media.
Over de motieven kan men speculeren, en onderstaand artikel suggereert dat het een teken is dat de gematigden aan invloed winnen in Iran, maar oppert ook een andere verklaring:

But the series has won support even from hardliners. Some argue that it links the Holocaust with Israel's creation, thus boosting an argument by Ahmadinejad that if the Nazi killing of Jews did take place, the Palestinians who then lived in Palestine should not have had to pay the price for it by the creation of Israel after the war.
"The series differentiates between Jews and Zionism. The ground for forming Israel is prepared when Hitler's army puts pressure on activist Jews. In this sense, it considers Nazism parallel to Zionism," the hard-line newspaper Keyhan said.

 

Uiteraard houdt sympathie voor de Joden tijdens de Holocaust nog geen steun in voor Israël, alhoewel je de conclusie zou kunnen trekken dat juist de Holocaust aantoonde dat ze zonder eigen staat niet veilig zijn. Bovenstaande redenering toont aan hoe de Holocaust juist tegen Israël gebruikt kan worden, door te suggereren dat Israël aan de Joden is gegeven uit schuldgevoel over de Holocaust, waarbij de binding van de Joden met Israël en het recht van de Joden als volk op een staat worden ontkend.

 

 

Ratna  
______________________________
 
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20808260/
Iran TV series sympathetic to Jews
Viewers riveted by show that depicts Holocaust, rarely mentioned in Iran

The Associated Press
Updated: 4:45 p.m. ET Sept. 16, 2007

 

TEHRAN, Iran - It is Iran's version of "Schindler's List," a miniseries that tells the tale of an Iranian diplomat in Paris who helps Jews escape the Holocaust - and viewers across the country are riveted.

That's surprising enough in a country where hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has questioned whether the Holocaust even took place. What's more surprising is that government media produced the series, and is airing it on state-run television.

The Holocaust is rarely mentioned in state media in Iran, school textbooks don't discuss it and Iranians have little information about it.

Yet the series titled "Zero Degree Turn" is clearly sympathetic to the Jews' plight during World War II. It shows men, women and children with yellow stars on their clothes being taken forcibly out of their homes and loaded into trucks by Nazi soldiers.

"Where are they taking them?" the horrified hero, a young Iranian diplomat who works at the Iranian Embassy in Paris, asks someone in a crowd of onlookers.

"The Fascists are taking the Jews to the concentration camps," the man says. The hero, named Habib Parsa, then begins giving Iranian passports to Jews to allow them to flee occupied France to then-Palestine.

 

Based on a true story

Though the Habib character is fictional, it is based on a true story of diplomats in the Iranian Embassy in Paris in the 1940s who gave out about 500 Iranian passports for Jews to use to escape.

The show's appearance now may reflect an attempt by Iran's leadership to moderate its image as anti-Semitic and to underline a distinction that Iranian officials often make - that their conflict is with Israel, not with the Jewish people.

About 25,000 Jews live in Iran, the largest Jewish community in the Middle East after Israel. They have one representative in parliament, which is run mostly by Islamic clerics.

The series could not have aired without being condoned by Iran's clerical leadership. The state broadcaster is under the control of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khomenei, who has final say in all matters inside Iran.

Moderate conservatives have been gaining ground in Iran, where there is increasing discontent with the ruling hardliners over rising tensions with the West, a worsening economy and price hikes in basic commodities.

The government even allowed the series to break another taboo in Iran: For the first time, many actresses appear without the state-mandated Islamic dress code. The producers wanted to realistically portray 1940s Paris, and thus avoided the headscarves and head-to-foot robes that all women must normally wear on Iranian TV.

Ahmadinejad sparked widespread outrage in 2005 when he made comments casting doubt on the Holocaust and saying the state of Israel should be "wiped from the map." His government organized a conference of Holocaust deniers and skeptics from around the world in December.

But the series has won support even from hardliners. Some argue that it links the Holocaust with Israel's creation, thus boosting an argument by Ahmadinejad that if the Nazi killing of Jews did take place, the Palestinians who then lived in Palestine should not have had to pay the price for it by the creation of Israel after the war.

"The series differentiates between Jews and Zionism. The ground for forming Israel is prepared when Hitler's army puts pressure on activist Jews. In this sense, it considers Nazism parallel to Zionism," the hard-line newspaper Keyhan said.

However, if the series does aim to make that point, it has not done so overtly.

Gaining understanding

State media have said the series, which began in April, is popular. It has been a revelation for some Iranians and has pulled them away from more popular satellite channels, which are banned but which many watch anyway on illegal dishes. The fare on state TV is usually dry.

"Once, I wept when I learned through the film what a dreadful destiny the small nation had during the world war in the heart of so-called civilized Europe," said Mahboubeh Rahamati, a Tehran bank teller.

Kazem Gharibi said he watches the series every Monday on a TV in his grocery store.

"Through this film, I understood that Jews had a hard time in the war - helpless and desperate, as we were when Iraq imposed war on us," he said, referring to the eight-year Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

The series began with a love story between Habib, the embassy employee, and a French Jew, Sara Stroke, in the early 1940s. Viewers say the love story pulls them in as much as the history.

After Paris is occupied by the Nazis, Habib decides to forge Iranian passports for many French Jews to save them from the Holocaust - starting with Sara and her family. The German government accepts his embassy's claim that the passport holders are from an Iranian tribe and lets them leave France.

Habib is imprisoned by the Nazis for espionage after his forgeries are discovered. He then is released and returns to Tehran, where he is jailed again for forging passports.

Eight episodes remain in the series, and viewers drawn by the love story are on edge as they await the finish.

"I have watched the series from the beginning," said Sedigheh Karandish, a housewife and mother of two. "It's pulling me in to see what these two people do at the end. Hopefully, it will be a happy ending."

 

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20808260/