Australië waarschuwde Israel tegen vervalsen paspoorten

Waarom besteedt de politie van Dubai niet wat tijd aan het uitzoeken van wat Mabhouh in Dubai te zoeken had? Hij was een leidende figuur in de wapensmokkel van Hamas, en zou van daaruit wapens via Soedan naar Gaza hebben gesmokkeld. Ook tijdens de Gaza Oorlog was hij voor grootschalige wapensmokkel verantwoordelijk, en verkeerde naar ik aanneem in diverse Arabische staten van waaruit dit werd geregeld.

 

En waarom stellen Australië en al die andere boze Westerse landen geen kritische vragen aan Dubai over de aanwezigheid van Hamas leiders, dat op de lijst van terroristische organisaties staat, op hun grondgebied? Waarom gaat alle aandacht uit naar Israels vermeende moord van Mabhouh, en helemaal geen naar de misdaden van de beste man? Is dat niet een beeetje omgekeerde wereld?

 

RP

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Last update - 22:19 25/02/2010 
Report: Australia already warned Israel against faking its passports
By Haaretz Staff and News Agencies
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152161.html


Australian authorities had already warned Israeli intelligence against using doctored passports in its clandestine activities around the world, the newspaper The Australian reported on Thursday.

The Australian report came as Canberra warned Israel earlier Thursday that if it was involved in the alleged use of three forged Australian passports in the assassination of a Hamas leader in Dubai, it would not be considered the act of a friend.

The Canberra government called in Israel's ambassador after three people holding Australian passports were listed on Wednesday among 15 new suspects in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Dubai authorities are investigating the use of at least 26 possibly fake passports in connection with the killing.

According to sources quoted in the article, Australian authorities approached Israel in the 1990s to seek assurances that Australian passports would not be used in Mossad activities after it was feared Israeli agents had doctored New Zealand passports.

During that meeting, the article claims, the Israelis said they condoned such identity theft, with Australian participants describing their response as "enraged self-righteousness."

The Australian foreign minister at the time, Alexander Downer, confirmed to The Australian that the then Canberra government warned Israel in at least one occasion not to issue fake Australian passports to its intelligence operatives.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure that I didn't myself raise it with the Israelis," Mr Downer told The Australian.

Downer added that the warning was issued in the context of a series of botched operations involving Mossad agents travelling on fake passports. "My recollection is that over time we have raised this issue with the Israelis," he said.

"We have raised the issue of Israeli intelligence officers using foreign passports and that they should not consider using Australian passports."

Dubai police have said they were almost certain that members of Israel's Mossad spy agency killed Mabhouh in his hotel room in January. The emirate Wednesday identified 15 new suspects in the assassination; Haaretz has learned that 10 of them share the names of Israelis who hold dual citizenship.

A list of 11 people suspected in the assassination released last week by Dubai also included the names of six British-born Israelis, whose names appeared on forged British passports thought to have been used by the killers.

Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said investigations were still under way, but the three Australians were also apparently innocent victims of identity theft.

"I made it crystal clear to the ambassador that if the results of that investigation cause us to come to the conclusion that the abuse of Australian passports was in any way sponsored or condoned by Israeli officials, then Australia would not regard that as an act of a friend," Smith said.

In an interview with Australian radio, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also emphasized the severity of the situation. "We will not be silent on this matter. It is a matter of deep concern. It really goes to the integrity and fabric of the use of state documents, which passports are, for other purposes," Rudd told Australian radio.

"Any state that has been complicit in use or abuse of the Australian passport system, let alone for the conduct of an assassination, is treating Australia with contempt and there will therefore be action by the Australian government in response," said Rudd.

VN vertegenwoordiger Serry: 'Er is geen humanitair probleems in Gaza'

Zou Robert Serry dit werkelijk hebben gezegd? Israel National News is niet het meest objectieve medium in Israel, maar serieus genoeg om niet zomaar dingen verkeerd weer te geven.

Peres then went out on a limb by saying, "There exists a consensus in Israel in favor of two states for two people… You cannot decide final positions at the start of negotiations. You cannot start a movie with a happy ending. Therefore, the sooner we sit down and talk the better."

Dat klopt, maar over de voorwaarden waaronder, verschillen de meningen aanzienlijk. De Hamas coup in Gaza, de ontvoering van Shalit en de duizenden raketten op Israel, dat alles nadat Israel zich er geheel had teruggetrokken, heeft niet echt aan een klimaat van vertrouwen in Israel bijgedragen. Dat je niet met het einde van de film kunt beginnen vind ik een mooie beeldspraak.

RP
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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/136180
UN Envoy to Peres: No Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza
by Hillel Fendel


(IsraelNN.com) United Nations Middle East envoy Robert Serry, who met with President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem on Wednesday, said, "There is no humanitarian problem in Gaza."

Serry acknowledged, however, that there is a need for certain goods in Gaza, such as materials for the rehabilitation of several buildings. This puts the lie to claims by international groups of a "humanitarian crisis" in Gaza caused by Israel's partial blockade. In fact, Israel has allowed tens of thousands of tons of humanitarian and basic goods to be brought into Gaza via its crossings.

Peres, in his remarks, dismissed the violent and vocal Arab opposition to Israel's new list of National Heritage Sites. Following two days of Arab rioting in Hevron and threatening statements by Palestinian Authority leaders, Peres told Serry that there is no need "to produce artificial conflicts. Israel will continue to grant freedom of worship to every religion in every holy place."

Serry informed the President that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon plans to visit Israel and the Palestinian Authority soon to discuss several issues, including how Israel can facilitate the movement of goods into Gaza. In this context he said that there is no humanitarian problem in Gaza, although building materials are in short supply.

The President explained why Israel restricts such materials: "Hamas is a murderous body, a terrorist organization, and an Iranian agent that spends all its efforts in expanding its weapons arsenal through tunnel smuggling. Hamas uses building materials to construct these tunnels and strengthen its terrorist network. Israel will not compromise the security of its citizens by allowing such tunnels. The minute Hamas abandons the use of terror, the entire situation in Gaza will immediately change for the better."

President Peres asked that the UN Special Coordinator deliver a message to the U.N. Secretary-General regarding the dangers of Hamas incitement: "Israel plans to invest significant amounts in infrastructure that will increase the accessibility of holy sites to all worshipers. By doing so, it aims to honor and allow freedom of worship to all, irrespective of their faith, and protect the holy sites. There is no violation of Muslim or Christian religious rights in any holy place."

PA Refuses to Talk
Serry thanked the President for clarifying the issue, and added that the most serious obstacle to peace remains the lack of trust between both sides. With the proper steps, he said, "there exists an opportunity to resume [direct] talks." Peres agreed that this is the only alternative, and that "every delay by the Palestinian leadership" will only weaken the chances for peace.

Peres then went out on a limb by saying, "There exists a consensus in Israel in favor of two states for two people… You cannot decide final positions at the start of negotiations. You cannot start a movie with a happy ending. Therefore, the sooner we sit down and talk the better."

In conclusion, Serry thanked Israel for its enormous contribution to the rescue efforts in Haiti: "Israel's actions in Haiti have strengthened the positive relationship between the United Nations and Israel. We thank you for your efforts."

Israel en de Frisia vergelijking

 

"Stel, in de Verenigde Staten wordt een gek de baas die alle mensen met een Friese grootouder laat oppakken en afmaken. Het wordt een moordpartij van ongekende omvang, en als het anti-Friese bewind eindelijk ten val komt, is duidelijk dat de Friese overlevenden niet meer in Amerika willen wonen. Dus komt er een plan: de Friezen krijgen een eigen staat, en wat is een logischer plek dan het land dat volgens oude teksten Fries is? Ondanks Nederlands verzet stemmen de Verenigde Naties met het plan in en uit de hele wereld trekken mensen met een Friese grootouder richting de nieuwe Friese staat, royaal gesubsidieerd door Amerika"

Aldus Joris Luyendijk in 'Het zijn net mensen'. Vervolgens komt er oorlog, de Friezen pikken eerst driekwart en daarna heel Nederland in, miljoenen niet-Friese vluchtelingen overstromen de Nederlandse steden, België en Duitsland. Het Friese leger regeert met harde hand over de bezette Nederlandse provincies, pikt het mooiste land in voor eigen nederzettingen en wurgt de economie. Dan komt er een vredesproces en krijgt Nederland Limburg, Brabant en een Zeeuws eiland aangeboden. Die brokjes mogen geen Nederland heten, Nederland mag geen leger hebben en alle grenzen worden bewaakt door Friese troepen, zo vervolgt Luyendijk zijn vergelijking, naar eigen zeggen bedoeld om de - volgens hem zoveel moeilijker uit te leggen - Palestijnse kant van het verhaal toe te lichten. Die kenden we inderdaad nog niet.

 

Deze vergelijking van Joris Luyendijk is onlangs grafisch uitgewerkt door een student, en NRC Handelsblad en Next besteedden daar uitvoerig aandacht aan. Op het eerste gezicht is het een grappige vergelijking, maar hij versimpelt de werkelijkheid zozeer en geeft vooral zo'n eenzijdig beeld dat hij weinig meer met het Midden-Oosten conflict te maken heeft. Op mijn IMO blog leg ik uit wat er allemaal niet klopt aan deze vergelijking:

 

Geheel onterecht wordt ook gesuggereerd dat Israël puur en alleen vanwege de Holocaust is gesticht, en het hoofdprobleem zou zijn dat de Joden niet meer in Duitsland wilden wonen. De Holocaust was bovendien geen geïsoleerde gebeurtenis van een verdwaalde gek die toevallig aan de macht kwam, maar een gevolg van eeuwenlange discriminatie en vervolging van Joden door de kerk en andere groeperingen. Ook was er zoals gezegd geen Palestijnse staat die door de stichting van Israël werd vernietigd; Palestina was tot 1919 slechts een geografische aanduiding en onderdeel van het immense Ottomaanse rijk, geen staatkundige eenheid en zelfs geen provincie waarmee de inwoners zich identificeerden. Een Arabier uit Palestina identificeerde zich met de stad waar hij woonde of de clan waartoe hij behoorde. Israël scheidde zich overigens niet af (zoals Janssen in zijn grafieken van 'Frisia' suggereert), maar riep de onafhankelijkheid uit nadat de VN daartoe een plan hadden aangenomen, een plan dat mede het gevolg was van decennia van Arabische opstanden en strijd tegen de Joodse gemeenschap in Palestina. Diverse Joodse steden werden belaagd en de inwoners van Hebron en Oost-Jeruzalem werden (gedeeltelijk) verdreven.

Bovendien speelt het buitenland in deze vergelijking nauwelijks een rol, er wordt alleen even kort gesproken van Nederlandse vluchtelingen die naar België en Duitsland stromen. Dit buitenland had verder niks tegen de Friezen, steunde de gek die hun wilde afslachten niet, vervolgde haar eigen Friese minderheid niet en steunde de Nederlandse opstand tegen de Friezen niet. Het voerde bovendien geen vijf oorlogen tegen Frisia en probeerde deze staat niet al voor zij goed en wel gesticht was de das om te doen, een daad die regelrecht tegen de VN delingsresolutie ingaat, die deze buren bovendien afwezen.

 

Lees verder op IMO: Israel en de Frisia vergelijking

 

RP

 

 

Dubbele standaarden: burgerslachtoffers tellen alleen wanneer Israël betrokken partij is

Brabosh schrijft:

 

Maandag 15 februari deelde de NATO mee dat twee verdwaalde raketten – afgevuurd door de Amerikaanse strijdkrachten de dag voordien – 12 Afghaanse burgers had gedood, waaronder zes kinderen, in een huis in een bolwerk van de Taliban in Marjeh. De Amerikaanse generaal Stanley McChrystal, de hoogste commandant van de Nato in Afghanistan, heeft zich voor deze 'collateral damage' onder burgers, onmiddellijk verontschuldigd bij de Afghaanse president Hamid Karzai. De Afghaanse president Karzaï heeft zijn droefheid om het gebeuren uitgedrukt en om een onderzoek bevolen. De NATO maakt zich ernstig zorgen omtrent het impact van deze misser op het winnen van de sympathie bij de locale bevolking voor hun acties.

Tot zover dit laconieke oorlogsbericht van wat omgekomen burgers in de marge van de oorlog in Afghanistan.

Geen nieuws dus of… toch weer wel?

Burgers die per ongeluk werden gedood [collateral damage] tijdens een antiterrorisme operatie, krijgen alleen maar internationale aandacht wanneer ze gedood werden door Israël. Amerikanen en Britten hoeven zich helemaal geen zorgen te maken dat de Verenigde Naties ooit een Resolutie zouden stemmen of een commissie zouden samen stellen (o.l.v. Richard Goldstone of Desmond Tutu) om op zoek te gaan naar vermeende oorlogsmisdaden, in dit geval in Afghanistan (maar kan ook in een ander Arabisch land zijn, Irak of Pakistan bijvoorbeeld). De reden waarom is eenvoudig: zolang Israël nergens in het verhaal wordt genoemd, is het niet interessant voor de wereldopinie en mogen Arabische burgers, vrouwen en kinderen sneuvelen bij bosjes, honderden of duizenden, zèlfs als dat Palestijnen zijn [sic]. Geen haan die daar om kraait. Zo zit dat in elkaar.

Dat klinkt ongenuanceerd, maar als je bovenstaand bericht vergelijkt met een Israelische aanval een paar jaar geleden tegen het afvuren van Qassams vanuit Gaza, wordt het verschil pijnlijk duidelijk. Op 8 november 2006 kwamen drie verdwaalde Israelische granaten per ongeluk terecht op de stad Beit Hanoun, waarbij 19 burgers omkwamen. De granaten werden afgevuurd om een raketaanval op Ashkelon te verhinderen. Brabosh somt de internationale reacties op dat incident op:

Echter, omgekomen Palestijnse vrouwen en kinderen worden internationaal anders gewogen dan dode Afghaanse vrouwen en kinderen, vooral wanneer Israël betrokken partij is. De internationale reactie liet dan ook niet lang op zich wachten. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, het toenmalige hoofd voor Buitenlandse Betrekkingen van de Europese Unie, zei: "Het doden van vanmorgen van zovele burgers in de Gazastrook, waaronder vele kinderen, is een gebeurtenis die ons diep heeft geschokt. Israël heeft het recht zichzelf te verdedigen, maar niet tegen de prijs van het leven van onschuldigen."

De toenmalige Italiaanse minister van Buitenlandse Zaken, Massimo D'Alema, drukte zich nog scherper uit: "Deze morgen werden 18 mensen, vrouwen en kinderen, afgeslacht … [tijdens] een escalatie van het geweld Ik vind dit onaanvaardbaar." Het Turkse ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken deed er nog een schep bovenop met het volgende communiqué: "De Israëlische aanval is een klap voor de regionale inspanningen voor de vrede en zal leiden tot een cyclus van geweld."

De toenmalige VN-secretaris-generaal Kofi Annan noemde het incident "schokkend" en president Mahmoud Abbas van de Palestijnse Autoriteit – tot op vandaag de gedoodverfde partner in de vrede met Israël – noemde het een "afschuwelijk bloedbad op onze kinderen, onze vrouwen en onze ouderlingen, gepleegd door de bezetter." Op 15 november 2006 kwam de Mensenrechtenraad van de Verenigde Naties bijeen in Genève en besloot met VN-Resolutie S-3/1 om een speciale onderzoekscommissie [fact finding commission] voor Beit Hanoun aan te stellen bestaande uit de aartsbisschop Desmond Tutu en de Britse academicus Christine Chinkin te sturen.

Die VN-Resolutie werd aangenomen met 32 tegen 8 stemmen en 6 onthoudingen. Onder meer Nederland, Duitsland en Polen stemden tegen. Professor Christine Chinkin zal later één van de vier leden zijn van de Goldstone commissie [!] en mede het fel omstreden Goldstone Rapport opstellen. [De Britse professor Christine Chinkin liet in haar bevooroordeelde kaarten jegens Israël kijken, toen zij in een interview met de Sunday Times vooraf verklaarde dat Israël oorlogsmisdaden heeft gepleegd, nog vooraleer de Goldstone commissie haar onderzoek moest aanvatten.]

Enkele jaren geleden formuleerde Natan Sharansky, de voormalige Sovjet-dissident en Israëlisch politicus en schrijver, de zogeheten "3-D test" om het onderscheid te kunnen maken tussen enerzijds legitieme kritiek op Israël en anderzijds antisemitisme: demonisering, delegitimizering en het meten met dubbele standaarden. Ongeacht hun subjectieve motivaties, passen al de reacties op de toevallige dodingen in Beit Hanoun objectief genomen bij alle drie criteria. Zij demoniseren en delegitimizeren Israël als een land dat buitensporig geweld bedrijft als het al niet opzettelijk slachtingen uitvoert. En zij passen [op Israël] een norm toe die zij niet toepassen op andere democratieën in de strijd tegen terreur in het Midden-Oosten – vanaf de Slag van Fallujah in 2004 in Irak, waar Amerikaanse en Britse troepen moesten vechten in de bebouwde gebieden en vele burgerslachtoffers maakten tot aan het meeste recente incident in Marjeh, Afghanistan.

 

Waarom werd de misser van de NAVO door niemand veroordeeld? Of beter gezegd, waarom wordt bij een Israelische misser, hoe tragisch ook, zo buitenproportioneel gereageerd? En waarom valt dat zo weinig mensen op? Missers in Afghanistan komen vaak op het nieuws, worden altijd ten zeerste betreurd door NAVO en andere betrokkenen, en Nederland neemt missers waarbij zij betrokken was zeker serieus en onderzoekt de zaak. Maar er zijn geen woedende demonstraties, geen tientallen blogs vol met bloederige foto's en boze brieven in de kranten, geen oproepen Nederland te vernietigen, geen oproepen minister Middelkoop voor het oorlogstribunaal te dagen of de zaak in de Veiligheidsraad te bespreken. Iemand mag mij eens uitleggen waar dat verschil vandaan komt en waarom Nathan Sharansky hierboven geen gelijk heeft, voordat hij/zij Israel en haar sympathisanten weer van slachtofferisme en het goedkoop trekken van de antisemitisme kaart beschuldigt.

 

RP

 

 

Palestijnse moeder viert martelarendood van zoon op PA televisie

 

Dit is de grote olifant in de kamer die men in het Westen niet wil zien. Alleen rechtse groeperingen en organisaties stellen dit aan de kaak, terwijl iedereen die voor vrede en verzoening in het Midden-Oosten is, dit toch zou moeten verafschuwen. In iedere oorlog worden de doden natuurlijk met eerbied bejegend en is enig nationalisme niet onbekend, ook in Israel, maar dit gaat verder. Het is een doodscultuur, waarin kinderen de dood als ideaal wordt voorgeschoteld, als zoet en de hoogste wens van Allah. Dat is misselijk en onmenselijk.

 

RP

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Palestinian Media Watch

Bulletin - Feb. 21, 2010

Click here to view PMW's new web site

 

PA TV news report:

Mother upon news of son's death in an Israeli air strike: "We had always hoped for his [my son's] Martyrdom (Shahada), knowing he wanted to die as a Martyr (Shahid). Every time he went out, we would say to him, 'May Allah be with you.' We knew that he wanted to die as a Martyr. Praise to Allah, he sought Martyrdom, and he achieved it. My message to every mother is to sacrifice her child for Palestine."
Second woman: "By Allah, we welcome every Martyr as if he were a groom among us."

[PA TV (Fatah), Feb. 11, 2010]

Palestinian Media Watch has documented that these two ideas -- that death is a higher value than life and that Martyrdom death leads to a wedding between the Martyr and the virgins of Paradise -- have been promoted actively by both the Palestinian Authority and Hamas for years.

Palestinian schoolbooks teach children that aspiring to death is better than life:

"O heroes, Allah has promised you victory ... Do not talk yourselves into flight...
Your enemies seek life while you seek death."
"They seek spoils to fill their empty stomachs while you seek a Garden [Paradise] as wide as are the heavens and the earth...  
Death is not bitter in the mouth of the believers. These drops of blood that gush from your bodies will be transformed tomorrow into blazing red meteors that will fall down upon the heads of your enemies."
[Reading and Texts Part II, Grade 8, p. 16. Schoolbook currently in use in PA schools.]

A music video broadcast on PA TV from the year 2000 until as recently as Feb. 7, 2010, depicts a Martyr being greeted in Paradise by the Virgins all dressed in white. Click here to view.

The two mothers' statements in the PA TV news broadcast reiterate how successfully these messages have been transmitted to the Palestinian public. Palestinian Media Watch has documented many examples of parents celebrating their children's Martyrdom deaths.

On Jan. 1, 2010, as reported by PMW, a Hamas TV cleric described the six rewards in Paradise granted the Martyr upon dying. 

1- The Shahid's sins are forgiven
2- He sees his place in Paradise and lives a full life of joy with Allah
3- He is protected from "the Great Shock" on Judgment Day
4- He is crowned with a crown of honor
5- He marries 72 dark-eyed wives
6- He will be able to intervene on behalf of 70 of his family members on Judgment Day, thereby ensuring them the reward of Afterlife

The cleric added: "One description of the Dark-Eyed: 'If one of the women of Paradise would look towards the earth, she would light up everything between heaven and earth.'" Click here to view.

To see more examples from PMW's archives of Palestinian Shahada promotion, click here.
To see more examples from PMW's archives of the success of Shahada promotion, click here.
To see more examples from PMW's archives about the 72 virgins awaiting the Martyr in Paradise, click here.

 

PMW | King George 59 | Jerusalem | Israel

 

Om het zionisme te redden moet Netanjahoe de bezetting beëindigen

 

Ari Shavit schrijft:

Something bad has happened to us over the last generation. The struggle against the war in Algeria did not lead the French left to turn against the French Republic. The struggle against the wars in Vietnam and Iraq did not lead the American peace movement to abandon belief in the United States. But in Israel, the drawn out and justified struggle against the occupation has led to us turning our back on Zionism.

 

Netanyahu is doing something important in trying to revive Zionism, but without confronting the occupation his effort will fail. If Israel is to be a global technological leader, grounded in its values and moving toward peace from a position of power, it must gradually leave the territories. The prime minister deserves a good word this week, but he must know that only if he removes Israel from Yitzhar and Itamar will he have the strength to restore it to what was promised at Ruhama, Kinneret, Hulda and Rosh Pina.

 

Dat is helemaal waar, en daarom juist is het niet erg handig dat hij notabene twee heilige plaatsen op de Westoever heeft toegevoegd aan de lijst van nationaal erfgoed. Door steeds aan de kolonisten en de rechtse partijen in zijn kabinet toe te geven, ondermijnt Netanjahoe zijn geloofwaardigheid, ook bij sympathisanten van Israel. Daarom klopt dit dan ook niet:

 

The unbridled assault on the plan, therefore, is not an attack on the right and the occupation. It is an attack on the values that have shaped and defined us. An attack on Israel's core identity.

 

In Nederland is het plan door onder andere het CIDI aangevallen, en die zijn toch echt niet antizionistisch. Het is waar dat antizionisten de bezetting en andere Israelische misstanden misbruiken om Israel te delegitimeren, maar in dit geval hebben ze wel een punt.

 

RP

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Last update - 04:04 25/02/2010    
To preserve Zionism, Netanyahu must end the occupation
By Ari Shavit
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1152257.html
 

 

Finally there is a vision. Speaking to Haaretz earlier this week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defined for the first time his vision of the future: Israel as a global technology leader, grounded in its values and moving toward peace from a position of power. You can like the vision or hate it, accept it or reject it, but now it is clear what Netanyahu is proposing against Peace Now of the left, and how he is dividing those in the center. His overall goal is now apparent.

 

Two elements in this vision are not new. Netanyahu has always believed that Israel must be an economic power, based on high technology and the free market; he has also always believed that Israel can achieve peace, but only from a position of political, military and economic power. The third part of the vision, however, is new. Unlike in the past, Netanyahu is now positing a national goal related to identity: the need to anchor Israel to national values that will remain valid and appealing through the 21st century.

 

The prime minister tried to define this third goal during the Herzliya Conference, but it was received with ridicule and contempt. His attempt to address issues that are not political or strategic and to confront questions of identity was perceived as bizarre. But Netanyahu is not giving up. He sees an urgent need to find a balance between economic and technological globalization and the deepening of the Judeo-Israeli identity. For him, the issue of values remains central, serving as the basis for national strength and security. Netanyahu understands that without renewing the Zionist narrative there will be no Zionist future.
 
At the celebratory cabinet meeting in Tel Hai this week, his government adopted a program for restoring and reinforcing national heritage. Once again, the decision was derided and ridiculed. Secular France invests greatly in commemorating its cultural and national heritage, while democratic United States glorifies its past and speaks incessantly about its uniqueness and greatness, and yet this is forbidden for Israel.

 

It is forbidden to preserve David Ben-Gurion's home in Sde Boker, or the Herzl House in Hulda, or Kinneret Farm, or the Ben Shemen Youth Village. It is forbidden to preserve the water tower at Negba, or the homes of the first settlers at Kfar Giladi. It is forbidden to preserve the treasures of Hebrew song, Hebrew dance and Hebrew theater. It is forbidden to preserve the manuscripts, photographs and films documenting the beginning of the Zionist enterprise. It is forbidden because any attempt by Israel to preserve the assets of its past is an anachronism, unenlightened and tainted by flawed nationalism. It is forbidden because any attempt on the part of the Jewish people to tell its story deserves to be condemned and silenced.

 

The absolute misunderstanding of the Herzliya speech and the mad assault on the effort to preserve national heritage sites suggests that Netanyahu touched a sensitive nerve. The original plan prepared by the cabinet secretary, Zvi Hauser, did not include the Tomb of the Patriarchs or Rachel's Tomb. This proves unequivocally that the values the government sought to renew are not the values of the settlers in Yitzhar or Itamar; these are the values of the settlers of Ruhama and Revivim, the founders of Gedera and Rosh Pina, and those who established Tel Aviv. These are the values of Bezalel, Habima, the National Library and Neve Tzedek.

 

The unbridled assault on the plan, therefore, is not an attack on the right and the occupation. It is an attack on the values that have shaped and defined us. An attack on Israel's core identity.

 

Something bad has happened to us over the last generation. The struggle against the war in Algeria did not lead the French left to turn against the French Republic. The struggle against the wars in Vietnam and Iraq did not lead the American peace movement to abandon belief in the United States. But in Israel, the drawn out and justified struggle against the occupation has led to us turning our back on Zionism.

 

Netanyahu is doing something important in trying to revive Zionism, but without confronting the occupation his effort will fail. If Israel is to be a global technological leader, grounded in its values and moving toward peace from a position of power, it must gradually leave the territories. The prime minister deserves a good word this week, but he must know that only if he removes Israel from Yitzhar and Itamar will he have the strength to restore it to what was promised at Ruhama, Kinneret, Hulda and Rosh Pina.

President Achmadinejad van Iran roept weer om vernietiging Israel

Dat is mij ook opgevallen, en ik vraag me af waarom. Irans standpunt over Israel is bekend, al geloven steeds meer mensen dat hij Israel niet echt wil vernietigen en een en ander vooral voor interne consumptie is bedoeld.

 

MEMRI is er overigens nog eentje vergeten, of is dit van dezelfde speech? Ze lijken ook allemaal zo op elkaar. Uit Haaretz van 25 februari:

 

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday that Arab nations will usher in a new Middle East without Zionists and without colonialists.

Ahmadinejad made the comments during his visit in Syria, where he met with President Bashar Assad, opening a two-day visit that follows U.S. efforts to break up Syria's 30-year alliance with Tehran.

The Iranian president also said that if the Zionist regime wants to repeat its past mistakes, this will constitute its demise and annihilation.
Ahmadinejad said Iran, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon will all stand against Israel.

Ahmadinejad is also scheduled to meet senior officials from the militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah, Syria's state-run news agency said.

Before leaving Tehran, Ahmadinejad told reporters that 'the Zionist regime and its sponsors' are rapidly approaching a dead-end, according to the Iranian Students News Agency. Ahmadinejad also said that Iran and Syria have common viewpoints and stances and Syria is on the frontline against Israel.

 

Is het grootspraak en juist een teken van interne problemen? Of is Iran wat van plan? Is het een teken dat hij het gevoel heeft zich steeds meer te kunnen permitteren, nu Israel internationaal steeds feller wordt bekritiseerd? Het is in ieder geval verontrustend en het Westen zou er scherp op moeten reageren. Het is ongepast dat wij en bijvoorbeeld Duitsland volop handel drijven met Iran.

RP

----------

MEMRI Special Dispatch | No. 2826 | February 25, 2010
Iran

In Past Two Weeks, Iranian President Ahmadinejad Repeatedly Calls for Eliminating Israel

In the past two weeks, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has several times reiterated his call for eliminating Israel. In a number of conversations with the leaders of countries in the region and with Iran's allies, Ahmadinejad stressed that Iran would stand alongside Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinian organizations if they were to be attacked by Israel, and stated that this time there must be joint action to bring about Israel's end.

The following are several recent statements by Ahmadinejad on eliminating Israel:

At a press conference with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Damascus on February 25, 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "A Middle East without Zionism is a divine promise... Time is on the side of the peoples of the region. The Zionist entity is nearing the threshold of nonexistence. Its raison d'être is finished, and its path is a dead end. If Israel wants to repeat the mistakes of the past, the death of the Zionist entity is certain... This time, all the nations of the region will stand fast in the face of the [Zionist regime], and will uproot it."

Ahmadinejad promised further that "the Palestinian and Lebanese resistance and the Syrian people are standing alongside each other."[1]
In a February 23, 2010 speech in Birjand in eastern Iran, Ahmadinejad said: "I have told Israel's neighbors to be prepared. I told them that if Israel makes one more mistake, this is the end of this regime."[2]

In a February 18, 2010 phone conversation with Hizbullah secretary-general Hassan Nasrallah, Ahmadinejad assessed that Israel wants war in the region as compensation for its defeats in Gaza and in Lebanon - but that it "fears the ramifications of such a move." He called on Hizbullah to prepare for a possible Israeli attack, and said: "We must be ready at such a level that if they [Israel] repeat their mistake from the past [that is, attack Lebanon], an end will be put [to the Zionist regime], and the region will be delivered from its evil." He promised that "on this issue, the Iranian nation stands alongside the nations of the region, and alongside Lebanon."[3]

In another February 18 conversation, this time with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, Ahmadinejad reiterated his statements to Nasrallah and called for planning "for every kind of possible attack by the Zionist regime, so that if it repeats its mistakes of the past, the matter [of Israel] will be ended. This is possible," he continued, "because they [i.e. the Israelis] are in a position of weakness... Without a doubt, Israel will take heavy blows due to the solidarity among Lebanon, Syria, and the other friendly countries."[4]

In a February 10, 2010 phone conversation with Syrian President Assad, Ahmadinejad promised that "Iran will always stand alongside Syria and Lebanon, the Palestinian resistance [organizations,] and the rest of the Muslim nations." He called on Syria to act together with Iran against Israel: "If the Zionist regime again repeats its mistakes from the past, and launches a military operation, all forces must be brought into action, and an end must be put [to the Zionist regime], by means of steadfastness and resistance."

He added that Israel was "on the slope of downfall" and that "all its moves are being made from a position of weakness."[5]

 

 

NOTES:

[1] www.nowlebanon.com, Mehr, Iran, February 25, 2010.
[2] Fars (Iran), February 23, 2010.
[3] ILNA (Iran), February 18, 2010.
[4] Website of the institution of the Iranian presidency, Iran, February 18, 2010.
[5] Website of the institution of the Iranian presidency, Iran, February 10, 2010.

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

 

For assistance, please contact MEMRI at memri@memri.org.
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.

 

MEMRI
P.O. Box 27837, Washington, DC 20038-7837
Phone: (202) 955-9070
Fax: (202) 955-9077
www.memri.org

Israel zet hulp aan Haiti voort

Israel bashers schamperden dat Israel maar voor korte tijd in Haiti was om haar imago op te poetsen en tegelijk met de camera's binnen twee weken vertrok. Niets is minder waar. Ik weet zelf niet wat Nederland en andere landen nog doen, maar Israel is op verschillende manieren actief in Haiti. Niet vanwege de PR, want dat wordt toch altijd tegen haar gebruikt, maar om te helpen bij een ramp van ongekende omvang. In plaats van al hun tijd en energie te besteden aan Israel bashen zouden mensen als Meulenbelt beter zelf wat voor Haiti kunnen doen.

RP

----------

25 February 2010
MFA Website

MASHAV will coordinate ongoing Israeli humanitarian aid to Haiti

MASHAV is working on plans to establish an Israeli Children's Village in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti.

 

The Israeli government has decided to continue its official assistance to Haiti as part of the global effort of reconstruction of the country. This will be coordinated through MASHAV - Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Israeli ambassador in Santo Domingo, Amos Radian, is in contact with the authorities in Haiti to find an appropriate site for building an Israeli Children's Village and to obtain the necessary approval. The project plans include an elementary school that will operate in two shifts; a playground/sports field; and a medical center. The site could also be utilized for conducting evening adult education classes. A planned community center will work with youngsters on post trauma treatment and counseling, psychological rehabilitation and afternoon activities.

In coordination with the mayor of Port au Prince, a local principal and teaching staff will be recruited for the school, which will be comprised of 6-8 classrooms (between 30-50 students per class). They will be joined by professionals from Israel and, possibly, volunteer teachers from Jewish communities around the world. Meals will be provided to the school through an arrangement with various NGOs.

Other current Israeli aid efforts in Haiti:

. On 18 February, a school serving 400 pupils was opened in the IDF tent compound that was left in place after the initial emergency relief efforts in January. The school, the third temporary school to be opened, was organized by Natan - the Israeli Coalition for International Humanitarian Aid. Approximately 1500 pupils are attending the schools that have been opened so far. Teachers have also been trained in how to treat the children for trauma.

. Latet (lit. "To Give"), another Israeli organization for international aid, is active in establishing schools and providing medical care in the stricken areas.

. Tevel b'Tzedek, under the auspices of IsraAID, is also involved in the ongoing humanitarian aid efforts in Haiti, especially post-trauma treatment in the refugee camps, together with the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma of Herzog Hospital.

. Five-year-old girl gets "back on her feet" with help from Israeli team:

When the earthquake struck Haiti a month ago, five-year-old Simmorville Keture was buried underneath her home. Simmorville survived, but her right leg had to be amputated. For a month, she lay helpless in bed among the many wounded, until therapists from ALYN Hospital came with the IsraAID relief team. Within minutes after being provided with crutches, treated and taught to stand, Simmorville began to walk, astonishing the local hospital staff

The medical professionals from ALYN, an Israeli rehabilitation center for physically disabled children and adolescents, arrived in Haiti on Wednesday, February 17, to examine and evaluate the type and number of injuries and amputations, as well as to assess the abilities of the local medical staff in Haiti to carry out the necessary rehabilitation of its people. ALYN Hospital has considerable expertise in treating orthopedic injuries, spinal cord injuries and head traumas - and particularly in rehabilitating children with prosthetics.


About IsraAID
IsraAID is a coordinating body of Israeli and Jewish NGOs who are concerned about global issues and active in development and relief work. IsraAID was founded in 2001 and consists of 16 Israeli and Jewish organizations from around the world. IsraAID's members believe in providing humanitarian aid worldwide to people in need, regardless of religion, race, gender, nationality, age and type of disability.
See also IsraAID on Facebook

About ALYN Hospital
ALYN Hospital is Israel's premiere comprehensive rehabilitation center for physically disabled children, adolescents and young adults.   ALYN Hospital is unique in both what it offers and how it offers rehabilitation.  All of the necessary rehabilitation services (medical, para-medical and educational) are under one roof and the staff combines expertise with love to help each child reach his or her highest possible levels of mobility and independence.

About Tevel b'Tzedek
Tevel b'Tzedek is a pioneering Israeli NGO working on issues of social and environmental justice. It is the first Israeli NGO to bring Israeli and Diaspora Jews together to study and work in developing countries and at home in order to eliminate poverty and develop a Jewish approach to justice in a global world. Tevel b'Tzedek's projects integrate education, youth and women's empowerment, health, agriculture and income generation in order to revive marginalized communities in Nepal, Israel and now Haiti.


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

Dubai aanslag en Israels recht op zelfverdediging

 

Het is officieel nog steeds niet duidelijk of Israel achter de moord op Mabhough zit, maar het begint er wel op te lijken. Ik kan mij voor een groot deel in Steinbergs argumentatie vinden dat de legale middelen voor Israel om terroristen die haar bedreigen aan te pakken tekort schieten en zij daarom genoodzaakt is zelf te handelen, maar we moeten die legale middelen niet afschrijven. Het is van de zotte dat Livni wel internationaal aangeklaagd en gearresteerd kan worden en Hamas leiders niet. Israel moet blijven streven naar eerlijker toepassing van de internationale juridische middelen die er zijn en eisen van Westerse landen dat die haar daarbij steunen. Ook zij kunnen hier immers last van krijgen. Dat Israel ondertussen actie onderneemt tegen haar vijanden is inderdaad gerechtvaardigd.

 

RP

---------------

Israel's Right To Self-Defense

Of course, no official source in Israel admitted Israeli involvement in the elimination of Mabhouh, but no decent person can be sorry for his demise. "De mortuis nihil nisi bonum" (nothing but good of the dead) does not apply to characters like Mabhouh.

 

Ami Isseroff

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

 

Israel's Right To Self-Defense
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704188104575082963861523260.htm

 

The Dubai hit exposes the failure of international law to fight jihadi terror, forcing the Jewish state to act independently.

By GERALD M. STEINBERG
Jerusalem

 

 

The headlines and video images allegedly showing Israeli spies in Dubai are titillating, but they mask the serious issues involved in the death of Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Along with predictable European hand-wringing over forged passports, this case is the latest example of the failure of the international legal system and the United Nations to provide a remedy to mass terror.

Al-Mabhouh was a cold-blooded murderer—in an interview just last year on Al Jazeera he boasted about

kidnapping and then killing two Israeli soldiers. He was also a major figure in arranging arms shipments from Iran to Gaza. Al-Mabhouh shared responsibility for the thousands of rocket attacks fired at civilians in Sderot and other Israeli towns, which resulted in last year's war in Gaza. In his travels, the Hamas terrorist was probably making arrangements for the next round of attacks.

But international law provides no means for stopping terrorists like Al-Mabhouh, or for his Hezbollah counterpart, Imad Moughniyeh, whose life ended with an explosion in Damascus in 2008. (In addition to numerous attacks against Israelis, Moughniyeh has been blamed for the 1983 Beirut bombings that killed hundreds of American and French peacekeepers and the murder of Lebanese President Rafik Hariri.) Cases involving Muslim terrorists, supported by Iran, would never be pursued by the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, or raised in the framework of the United Nations. Al-Mabhouh violated the human rights of untold Israeli civilians, but the U.N.'s Human Rights Council—which is dominated by such moral stalwarts as Libya, Algeria, and Iran—has no interest in Israeli complaints.

It is equally hard to imagine Interpol issuing arrest warrants in response to Israeli requests. And if warrants were issued, history shows that German, French, Belgian, and other European governments would not risk the consequences of acting on them. Little effort was ever made to apprehend the perpetrators of the Munich Olympic massacre, or of the deadly bombing attacks against synagogues in Istanbul and Athens. It's a widely known secret that European governments had ungentlemanly agreements with the PLO that allowed the Palestinians to operate from their territories, provided the terror attacks occurred elsewhere. Not until 2003 did the EU even put Hamas on its terror list. Hezbollah is currently free to operate in Europe.
The bitter reality is that for Israel, international legal frameworks provide no protection and no hope of justice. Instead, these frameworks are used to exploit the rhetoric of human rights and morality to attack Israel. In European courts, universal jurisdiction statutes, initially created to apprehend and try dictators and genocidal leaders, are now exploited as weapons in the service of the Palestinian cause. In this way, Israeli defense officials are branded as "war criminals."

Similarly, Richard Goldstone's predetermined "fact finding inquiry" into the Gaza war makes no mention of Al-Mabhouh or Iran, which supplied Hamas with over 10,000 rockets for attacks against Israelis. Mr. Goldstone and his team have remained silent about what would be the "legal" way to bring jihadi murderers to justice. In their efforts to demonize Israel, Palestinian terror actually doesn't really exist. The Goldstone team simply refused to accept conclusive Israeli video evidence of Hamas war crimes.
The same legal distortions are found among the organizations that claim to be the world's moral guardians, such as Human Rights Watch. HRW's systematic bias is reflected in a Middle East division that sees no problem in holding fund-raising dinners in Saudi Arabia—one of the world's worst human rights violators and a country officially still at war with Israel—to help finance their campaigns against the Jewish state.
In the absence of any legal remedies or Western solidarity, Israel's only option to protect its citizens from terror has always been to act independently and with force. When in 1976 a group of Palestinian and German terrorists hijacked an Israel-bound Air France plane to Uganda and separated the Jewish passengers, Israel decided to act. In a daring mission, it rescued all but three passengers while killing all terrorists and several Ugandan soldiers who had been protecting the terrorists. Back then, Israel's detractors also fretted about the "violation of Ugandan sovereignty" even though dictator Idi Amin was in cahoots with the terrorists. Entebbe, though, quickly became the gold standard for successful counter-terror operations. Only a year later, Israeli-trained German special forces freed in Mogadishu, Somalia a Lufthansa plane hijacked by Palestinian terrorists. Similarly, when after years of horrific suicide bombings Israel pioneered the targeted killings of Hamas terrorists—often with the help of unmanned drones—Israel's Western adversaries complained about "extrajudicial assassinations." Today, though, U.S. forces have copied Israel's technique with their own drone killings of jihadi terrorists in the Afghan-Pakistan border region.

Unlike those Predator strikes, though, which hardly raise an eyebrow in the West these days, there was no "collateral damage" in the mysterious Dubai hit. No innocent civilians were hurt, no buildings were damaged. Justice was done, and al-Mabhouh's preparations for the next war ended quietly.
All this is lost on those diplomats, "legal experts," and pundits who blame Israel for Dubai, and angrily denounce the passport infractions. In the absence of viable alternatives, and a refusal to share any of the risks, they are in no position to condemn actions aimed at preventing more terror.

Mr. Steinberg teaches political science at Bar Ilan University and heads NGO Monitor.

 

 

Oude stadsmuur uit 10de eeuw v.Chr. ontdekt - de tijd van koning Salomon?

Jerusalem city wall from 10th century B.C.E. uncovered Dr. Eilat Mazar next to an 8 meter section of the corner tower that was excavated

 

Een stokoude muur is uitgegraven in Jeruzalem, niet in de huidige 'oude stad' maar iets ten zuiden daarvan, waar de nog véél oudere stad heeft gelegen. De stadsmuren zijn namelijk wat opgeschoven naar het noorden in de loop van enkele millenia. Duizend jaar voor Christus zaten er nog zeker geen Arabieren in Jeruzalem, maar wel al Joden. De muur is mogelijk gebouwd in opdracht van ("gebouwd door" zou ik hem niet willen toeschrijven) de legendarische koning Salomon. Hoe zou het Salomonsoordeel luiden over de verdeling van Jeruzalem zoals het steeds weer in vredesonderhandelingen wordt voorgesteld???

 

Wouter

_______________

 

 

Tenth Century BC Jerusalem wall uncovered - possibly built by Solomon

http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2010/02/tenth-century-bc-jerusalem-wall.html

 

 

This discovery is the fruit of the controversial archeological work in Silwan. TIME magazine and others complain that Jerusalem Municipality and "right-wing" archeologists are conspiring to displace the Arab squatters in the area. However the real motive for Palestinian objections to the digs may be that every such discovery helps to cement the Jewish claim on ancient Jerusalem, which is denied by the Palestinians. The findings are of course open to interpretation. Other archeologists may not be as certain as Mazar is that the wall was built by King Solomon, but the findings are certainly of great interest to archeologists and to the world.

Ami Isseroff

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

10th century BCE Jerusalem Wall Uncovered

Hebrew Unviersity excavations have revealed a section of an ancient city wall of Jerusalem from the tenth century B.C.E. - possibly built by King Solomon.

A section of an ancient city wall of Jerusalem from the tenth century B.C.E. - possibly built by King Solomon - has been revealed in archaeological excavations directed by Dr. Eilat Mazar and conducted under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The section of the city wall revealed, 70 meters long and six meters high, is located in the area known as the Ophel, between the City of David and the southern wall of the Temple Mount.

Uncovered in the city wall complex are: an inner gatehouse for access into the royal quarter of the city, a royal structure adjacent to the gatehouse, and a corner tower that overlooks a substantial section of the adjacent Kidron valley. 

The excavations in the Ophel area were carried out over a three-month period with funding provided by Daniel Mintz and Meredith Berkman, a New York couple interested in Biblical Archeology. The funding supports both completion of the archaeological excavations and processing and analysis of the finds as well as conservation work and preparation of the site for viewing by the public within the Ophel Archaeological Park and the national park around the walls of Jerusalem.

The excavations were carried out in cooperation with the Israel Antiquities Authority, the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, and the East Jerusalem Development Company. Archaeology students from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem as well as volunteer students from the Herbert W. Armstrong College in Edmond, Oklahoma, and hired workers all participated in the excavation work.

"The city wall that has been uncovered testifies to a ruling presence. Its strength and form of construction indicate a high level of engineering," Mazar said. The city wall is at the eastern end of the Ophel area in a high, strategic location atop the western slop of the Kidron valley. "A comparison of this latest finding with city walls and gates from the period of the First Temple, as well as pottery found at the site, enable us to postulate with a great degree of assurance that the wall that has been revealed is that which was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem in the latter part of the tenth century B.C.E.," said Mazar.

"This is the first time that a structure from that time has been found that may correlate with written descriptions of Solomon's building in Jerusalem," she added. "The Bible tells us that Solomon built - with the assistance of the Phoenicians, who were outstanding builders - the Temple and his new palace and surrounded them with a city, most probably connected to the more ancient wall of the City of David." Mazar specifically cites the third chapter of the First Books of Kings where it refers to "until he (Solomon) had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the Lord, and the wall of Jerusalem round about." 

The six-meter-high gatehouse of the uncovered city wall complex is built in a style typical of those from the period of the First Temple like Megiddo, Beersheva and Ashdod. It has symmetrical plan of four identical small rooms, two on each side of the main passageway.  Also there was a large, adjacent tower, covering an area of 24 by 18 meters, which was intended to serve as a watchtower to protect entry to the city. The tower is located today under the nearby road and still needs to be excavated.  Nineteenth century British surveyor Charles Warren, who conducted an underground survey in the area, first described the outline of the large tower in 1867 but without attributing it to the era of Solomon.

"Part of the city wall complex served as commercial space and part as security stations," explained Mazar. Within the courtyard of the large tower there were widespread public activities, she said. It served as a public meeting ground, as a place for conducting commercial activities and cult activities, and as a location for economic and legal activities.

Pottery shards discovered within the fill of the lowest floor of the royal building near the gatehouse also testify to the dating of the complex to the 10th century B.C.E. Found on the floor were remnants of large storage jars, 1.15 meters in height, that survived destruction by fire and that were found in rooms that apparently served as storage areas on the ground floor of the building. On one of the jars there is a partial inscription in ancient Hebrew indicating it belonged to a high-level government official.

"The jars that were found are the largest ever found in Jerusalem," said Mazar, adding that "the inscription that was found on one of them shows that it belonged to a government official, apparently the person responsible for overseeing the provision of baked goods to the royal court."

In addition to the pottery shards, cult figurines were also found in the area, as were seal impressions on jar handles with the word "to the king," testifying to their usage within the monarchy. Also found were seal impressions (bullae) with Hebrew names, also indicating the royal nature of the structure. Most of the tiny fragments uncovered came from intricate wet sifting done with the help of the salvaging Temple Mount Sifting Project, directed by Dr. Gabriel Barkai and Zachi Zweig, under the auspice of the Nature and Parks Authority and the Ir David Foundation.

Between the large tower at the city gate and the royal building the archaeologists uncovered a section of the corner tower that is eight meters in length and six meters high. The tower was built of carved stones of unusual beauty.
  
East of the royal building, another section of the city wall that extends for some 35 meters also was revealed. This section is five meters high, and is part of the wall that continues to the northeast and once enclosed the Ophel area.

 

De onbekende Europese lobby in Israel

 

The EU, realizing it could not get Israel to change its laws through diplomatic means, has resorted to creating an internal lobby within Israel to get Israel to bend to the will of Europe.

 

Iedereen die hier de mond vol heeft over de zo machtige Israellobby, zou eens stil moeten staan bij de miljoenen, zo niet miljarden, die de EU jaarlijks uitgeeft aan organisaties in Israel en de bezette gebieden met een heel specifieke agenda. Via de European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) worden talloze projecten in Israel gesubsidieerd die alleen de Palestijnen en de Arabische gemeenschap ten goede komen. Er gaat nauwelijks geld naar projecten die gericht zijn op Joden. Voor een groot deel zijn dit bovendien organisaties die (radikaal) links zijn en soms ronduit anti-Israelische posities innemen, en de overheid veelvuldig aanklagen.

 

The question is whether the EU funding of these organizations constitutes the creation of a shadow lobby. The EIDHR doesn't directly sue Israel on behalf of the freedom of movement of Palestinians. Instead it funds local NGOs that do. Furthermore the EIDHR sends $8.4m. in funding directly to NGOs in the Palestinian territories on top of the money it gives to Israeli NGOs whose projects only benefit Palestinians.

In every other country in the world, the EIDHR directs its funding towards large-scale projects supporting "democracy" and "civil society." In Egypt it gave $10m. (2003-2008), none of which went specifically towards projects for the minority Coptic Christians.

It is time for those, especially in Europe, who speak about a "Jewish/Israel" lobby to recognize that for eight years Europe has directed a concerted effort towards establishing a European lobby in Israel that discriminates against its Jewish population and supports some radical NGOs.

RP

-------------

 

The Jerusalem Post
Terra Incognita: The European lobby in Israel
By SETH J. FRANTZMAN
23/02/2010 21:58
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=169478

The EU, realizing it cannot get Israel to change its laws through diplomatic means, has resorted to creating an internal lobby - through lavish funding of NGOs - to get Israel to bend.


Ever since the publication of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's The Israel Lobby there has been much talk of the "lobby." In England mainstream and respectable Channel 4 aired an entire program entitled Inside Britain's Israel Lobby which claimed the "lobby" "owns" the Conservative Party. Amidst all the talk of an Israel lobby in the West, people have ignored the growth of a lobby located in the Holy Land itself, the European lobby in Israel.

The European Parliament adopted the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) in 1994. This was part of the European Union's broader belief that "democracy and human rights are universal values that should be vigorously promoted around the world." The initiative was supposed to promote democratization through the promotion of "fair and free" elections and mainstreaming "democratic values" through "accountability, transparency and equality."

In 2007, a subtle change in the name of the EIDHR was made. The word "initiative" was changed to "instrument." This seemingly banal change may be a result of semantic arguments among EU staffers but it puts in words the increasingly meddlesome way the EU has chosen to work within Israel.

The EU may have realized during the second intifada that its concerns were not being listened to. Perhaps they heeded the increasingly alarmist statements of Israelis themselves, such as former Haaretz editor David Landau who in 2007 told US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice that the US needed to "rape" Israel into a settlement with the Palestinians. Regardless of the exact cause, in 2002 the European Union began lavishly funding non-governmental organizations in Israel. It claimed that it was doing this because of "the vital contribution made by NGOs to the promotion and protection of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law."

Between 2002 and 2008, a total of $14 million was granted to various Israeli NGOs through the EIDHR. My investigation of the NGOs that received funding revealed that the lion's share of the money benefited two groups: Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. $5.5 million was directed specifically to causes for Palestinians such as the Association for Civil Rights in Israel's project "Building a Better Future: Empowering the Palestinian Residents of East Jerusalem to access their planning and house [sic] rights" which received $135,000. A further $7m. went specifically to programs that benefit only Israeli Arabs such as the al-Awna fund's "Master Plan for the Unrecognized Beduin Villages: Securing minority rights for housing and social services" which received $263,000. Even when the EIDHR funded programs for women it did so only for programs for Beduin or Israeli Arab women, except for a token $100,000 it gave to an organization called Isha le Isha (Woman to Woman) which helps fight women trafficking.

There was not one cent directed specifically towards any of the numerous and diverse Jewish communities in Israel: Ethiopians, Russians, Yemenites, Persians or Jews from the Caucasus. The only mention of Jewish citizens as potential recipients was in a grant to the Mossawa Center, the advocacy center for Arab citizens in Israel. It received $402,000 for a project that "aims to combat racism and transform inter-communal relations between target groups who include the Jewish majority, Arab minority and ethnic groups including the Russian, Ethiopian, Mizrahi and Reform Jewish communities."

Around $73,000 was directed towards former IDF soldiers. It wasn't to help them with trauma or reward them for a "shared citizenship." It was to get them to "break the silence" about what they witnessed while in the army, to provide testimony that might lead to a process whereby European courts might put the soldiers or their officers on trial for war crimes. Of course that is not what Breaking the Silence stated for the public. They described their project as "personal encounters with former Israeli combat soldiers."

THE EIDHR's "instrument" to affect Israeli policy is merely the tip of the iceberg. In its November 2009 report "Trojan Horse: The impact of European government funding for Israeli NGOs" NGO Monitor illustrated that individual European embassies in Israel and other EU projects give lavishly to Israeli NGOs, sometimes even making up the majority of their budgets. In fact "foreign-funded local NGOs are responsible for a significant portion of the petitions brought before the Israeli High Court of Justice," says the report.

The EU, realizing it could not get Israel to change its laws through diplomatic means, has resorted to creating an internal lobby within Israel to get Israel to bend to the will of Europe.

Israel's human rights organizations would counter that it is not important where their money comes from, their cause is just. It is also true that some Israeli human rights organizations view everything through the lens of the conflict, meaning they apply only for projects involving Palestinians or "Palestinian citizens of Israel" and don't have an interest in the rights of the Jewish population of the country.

Shatil, which claims to help Ethiopian Jews, applied for $1m. for Beduin and $1m. "to educate and raise awareness among the Arab residents of Israel's five Jewish/Arab mixed cities" and nothing for the Ethiopians.

The question is whether the EU funding of these organizations constitutes the creation of a shadow lobby. The EIDHR doesn't directly sue Israel on behalf of the freedom of movement of Palestinians. Instead it funds local NGOs that do. Furthermore the EIDHR sends $8.4m. in funding directly to NGOs in the Palestinian territories on top of the money it gives to Israeli NGOs whose projects only benefit Palestinians.

In every other country in the world, the EIDHR directs its funding towards large-scale projects supporting "democracy" and "civil society." In Egypt it gave $10m. (2003-2008), none of which went specifically towards projects for the minority Coptic Christians.

It is time for those, especially in Europe, who speak about a "Jewish/Israel" lobby to recognize that for eight years Europe has directed a concerted effort towards establishing a European lobby in Israel that discriminates against its Jewish population and supports some radical NGOs.

The writer is a PhD researcher at the Hebrew University.

Rapport over religieuze spanningen in Israel

 

Dit artikel schetst een zeer somber beeld van de groeiende invloed van de ultraorthodoxen op de Israelische samenleving en de beperking van burgerlijke vrijheden die daarmee gepaard gaan. Het hier besproken rapport van Hiddush over religieuze vrijheid en gelijkheid in Israel legt de oorzaak hiervoor geheel bij de Israelische politiek, die zijn oren teveel zou laten hangen naar de religieuze partijen.

 

Hiddush CEO Rabbi Uri Regev said "the coalition government is selling off our children's future. The report clearly shows that the coalition parties do not hesitate to cynically trade away the civil liberties of the Israeli public in exchange for votes from ultra-Orthodox parties.

"Our research shows a huge gap between government policy and public opinion. The overwhelming majority of the public seek greater religious freedom and more equitable distribution of the economic and military burden," said Regev.

 

De grote vraag is dan natuurlijk waarom ze niet anders stemmen, of waarom de leden van Likoed en Labor niet meer druk op die partijen uitoefenen om minder toegeeflijk te zijn tegenover de religieuze partijen. De religieuze partijen hebben samen bij lange na geen meerderheid, maar zijn in bijna iedere coalitie nodig en hebben daarom onevenredig veel invloed. Er zijn al vaker voorstellen gedaan om het Israelische kiesstelsel te veranderen, een kiesdrempel in te voeren, of andere zaken aan te passen zodat het makkelijker wordt om coalities te vormen en die ook stabieler zijn.

Een van de onderliggende problemen lijkt mij echter dat Israeli's het gewoon verschrikkelijk met elkaar oneens zijn over de inrichting van hun land, het vredesproces, de positie van religie en tal van andere zaken. En op het moment ontbreekt het aan visionaire leiders die de verschillen kunnen overbruggen en door een grote groep worden vertrouwd. De grotere invloed van de religieuzen is overigens ook een gevolg van het feit dat er steeds meer ultraorthodoxen komen, dit vooral omdat zij veel meer kinderen krijgen dan seculiere Israeli's.

 

RP

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The Jerusalem Post
Report highlights religious tensions in Israel
By RON FRIEDMAN
23/02/2010 10:21
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=169435

 

Hiddush describes 2009 as "worst year of decade" in terms of religious freedom, equality.


A new report released by Hiddush, a religious freedom advocacy group, describes 2009 as "the worst year of the decade" in terms of religious freedom and equality. The report, published on Monday, points toward an escalation in religion-state conflict, violence in the name of religion, damage toreligious freedom, attempts at religious coercion, budget allocations to religious institutions and pro-religious legislation – and warns of worse to come.

The report highlights various aspects of Israeli social and political life in 2009, with an emphasis on religious, and particularly haredi-related issues.

For example, the report cited increasingly violent demonstrations by haredim related to the opening of parking lots during Shabbat.

"After years of quiet in terms of religious protests in Jerusalem, there were several particularly violent demonstrations starting in June 2009. At the demonstrations, haredi protesters threw stones and soiled diapers at police officers, wounded police officers and called them Nazis, torched garbage bins and vandalized traffic lights," read the report.

The report also pointed to the demonstrations surrounding the arrest of a haredi woman charged with starving her three-year-old son.

"At the height of the conflict, Toldot Aharon members threatened to boycott the hospital where the child was being treated. It is doubtful that there is a precedent for the use of the tools of religious warfare for the sake of one family's private struggle," read the report.

Another issue addressed by the Hiddush report was the topic of segregated buses.

"The demand by haredi extremists for sex-segregated buses became much more aggressive in 2009. In February, dozens of haredim in theJerusalem neighborhood of Mea Shearim threw stones and blocked bus traffic to protest the fact that police were preventing a private, segregated bus line from operating at the Western Wall."

Hiddush's critique of segregation also continued on the topic of segregated sidewalks.

"For the first time, haredi rabbis this year ordered separate sidewalks for men and women in the haredi Jerusalem neighborhood of Geula. Over Sukkot, extremists in Mea Shearim declared that certain streets would be off-limits to women during the weeklong holiday. A woman who walked down one of the streets designated for men only was subjected to tear gas."

The report also addressed haredi-specific budgeting. According to the report, in 2009 yeshiva funding skyrocketed to an all-time high of NIS 1 billion – up from 770 million – and child allotments were increased by half a billion shekels.

Other issues addressed in the 19-page report were political appointments, kashrut, the judicial system, new religious legislation, conversions and ethnic discrimination in religious schools.

The reason for what Hiddush describes as a deterioration in the status quo, is politics, the organization claims.

"It appears that the results of the November 2008 municipal elections and the February 2009 Knesset elections had a decisive influence on the decline, wrote Hiddush vice president Shahar Ilan. "The flow of increasing government funds to the haredim and the uptick in legislative attempts at religious coercion can be tied directly to the establishment of a coalition government, including Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, the Labor party and haredi parties... The legislative and budgetary demands of Shas and United Torah Judaism are once again on the rise."

Hiddush CEO Rabbi Uri Regev said "the coalition government is selling off our children's future. The report clearly shows that the coalition parties do not hesitate to cynically trade away the civil liberties of the Israeli public in exchange for votes from ultra-Orthodox parties.

"Our research shows a huge gap between government policy and public opinion. The overwhelming majority of the public seek greaterreligious freedom and more equitable distribution of the economic and military burden," said Regev.

Geen overheidsgeld meer voor herdenking Nakba in Israel

 

Dit is vooral een symbolische wet, want de betreffende organisaties krijgen zat geld van de EU en het New Israel Fund en anderen, om de Nakba te herdenken en op te roepen tot boycots van Israel en de terugkeer van alle Palestijnse vluchtelingen, tot ze een ons wegen. Het lijkt mij echter niet vreemd dat de staat zegt dat zij aan dat soort zaken, die tegen haar bestaansrecht en het welzijn van haar burgers zijn gericht, niet mee wil werken. De wet is overigens aanzienlijk afgezwakt, nadat oorspronkelijk zelfs gevangenisstraffen werden geeist voor Nakba herdenkingen.

 

De kritiek op de wet is voorspelbaar: 

 

Haneen Zoabi (Balad) charged that the law forced Israeli Arabs to choose between their history and personal identities, and the state they live in.

The legal adviser of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Dan Yakir, also spoke out against the bill.

"The members of the law committee made a mockery of Israeli democracy when they decided for us what we may and may not talk about and, in essence, supported a bill meant to silence unpopular statements," he said. "The bill inflicts mortal damage on the right of Israeli Arabs to preserve their cultural and national identity."

 

Het is opvallend dat Arabieren hun eigen identiteit bijna letterlijk gelijkstellen met de vernietiging van Israel. Op die manier is vrede en verzoening uiteraard onmogelijk, en zullen ze in een achtergestelde positie blijven. Als Arabische rechten neerkomen op dingen doen en zeggen die Israel ondermijnen, dan zullen ze nooit hun rechten krijgen zolang Israel er is. Het zou mooi zijn als Arabieren hun identiteit in constructievere termen konden zien, en hier, niet in de bezetting, ligt een kernoorzaak van het conflict.

 

RP

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The Jerusalem Post
'Naqba' bill approved for first reading
By DAN IZENBERG
24/02/2010 01:15
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=169505

Bill bans gov't-funded groups from spending money on Independence Day mourning.


Consultations between MK Alex Miller (Israel Beiteinu) and the Justice Ministry have yielded a far more draconian "Naqba" bill than the one which the Knesset plenum approved in preliminary reading, it emerged Tuesday during a Knesset Law Committee meeting.

The committee met to approve the draft of the bill for first reading after Miller, who initiated the legislation, met with Justice Ministry officials to hammer out a mutually acceptable proposal.

But committee chairman, MK David Rotem (Israel Beiteinu), made it clear that the proposal would be moderated after being approved by the Knesset plenum and sent back to the committee to prepare it for its final readings.

The bill forbids government-funded or government-supported organizations from spending money on activities that, among other things, mark Israel's Independence Day as a day of mourning.

Any such organization which is found to have spent money on "Naqba" commemorations or other activities specified in the bill can have as much as 10 times the amount of money that it spent deducted from its budget, according to the draft which is to be presented to the Knesset plenum.

Originally, Miller proposed a much harsher bill which determined that any "Naqba" commemoration declaring that Israel's victory in the1948 War of Independence and the establishment of the state was a catastrophe constituted a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison.

The bill was originally approved by the Ministerial Committee on Legislation. However, a strong public outcry convinced Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman to demand far-reaching changes in the legislation.

Miller proposed a new bill on July 7, 2009 which entirely eliminated the possibility of a prison sentence, did not render it illegal to mark the "Naqba" on Independence Day, but ordered the state to financially penalize organizations that did so using state funding. The new bill did not stipulate how large the penalty should be.

According to the current draft of the bill, any state-financed or state-supported organization will be financially penalized it if conducts an activity that:

• denies the existence of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, or
• commemorates Independence Day or the day of the establishment of the state as a day of mourning, or
• supports armed struggle or an act of terrorism against the state of Israel, or
• incites to racism, violence or terrorism, or
• causes injury to the honor of the flag or the symbol of the state by an act that causes humiliation or physical damage.

The bill authorizes the Finance Minister to deduct from the budget of any organization that commits any of the above acts in consultation with the minister responsible for the organization and upon the recommendation of a committee of civil servants who examine the activity. The minister must grant a hearing to the suspected organization before taking measures.

Haneen Zoabi (Balad) charged that the law forced Israeli Arabs to choose between their history and personal identities, and the state they live in.

"This is a political law," she charged. "It has nothing to do with the budget."

Zoabi also charged that the sponsors of the bill were trying to impose their own political ideology by turning it into a law.

"And don't tell me that if I don't like it here I can leave," she continued. "I have the right to be here and to have a good life here."

The legal adviser of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Dan Yakir, also spoke out against the bill.

"The members of the law committee made a mockery of Israeli democracy when they decided for us what we may and may not talk about and, in essence, supported a bill meant to silence unpopular statements," he said. "The bill inflicts mortal damage on the right of Israeli Arabs to preserve their cultural and national identity."

Bar-Ilan University Professor Ariel Ben-Dor told the committee that the bill should not prohibit the activities that it lists but declare that state funding will be deducted for such an activity in accordance with how much the organization spent. He also said the possibility of deducting 10 times the value of the expenditure was disproportionate.