Israel & Palestijnen Blog: 2010-04-25

vrijdag 30 april 2010

Spitsnieuws: Racistische stoplichten en andere onzin over Israel

Verder commentaar overbodig...

Racistische stoplichten en andere onzin over Israel

IMO Blog, 2010

Ratna Pelle

De nieuwste aantijging tegen Israël luidt dat de stoplichten in Jeruzalem racistisch zijn: ze staan veel langer op rood voor de Palestijnen dan voor de 'kolonisten'. De Arabische TV-zender Al Jazeera nam de proef op de som en klokte hoe lang het stoplicht op groen staat bij een van de drukste kruispunten van de stad, als je vanuit de Arabische wijk Shuafat komt en wanneer je vanuit een van de grotere wegen aan komt rijden, die volgens Al Jazeera slechts door 'kolonisten' wordt bereden. Dat laatste is onzin, want de grote verkeersaders (waarvoor de stoplichten het langst op groen staan) verbinden zowel Arabische als Joodse wijken en worden door beide bevolkingsgroepen gebruikt. Spitsnieuws vond dit bericht echter belangwekkend genoeg om het - met filmpje van Al Jazeera - op te nemen:

Palestijnen boos om rood stoplicht
Israël heeft een nieuwe manier gevonden om Palestijnen te pesten. Althans, dat geloven de Palestijnen zelf. Zij klagen dat zij in Oost-Jeruzalem langer voor het stoplicht moeten staan dan Israëliërs. De Palestijns georiënteerde nieuwszender Al-Jazeera stuurde een verslaggever op pad om de zaak tot op de bodem uit te zoeken.

We boffen maar met zo'n krant, zo blijven we helemaal op de hoogte. En we boffen met Al Jazeera, dat er op toeziet dat geen enkel Israëlisch onrecht onopgemerkt blijft.

De organisatie Missing Peace, met eveneens mensen ter plekke, meldt er in een reactie aan Spits het volgende over:

Het bewuste kruispunt in Jeruzalem heeft de naam Tsomet Givat Tsafartit en ligt naast de wijk met deze naam. Het kruispunt is met dat van Malcha in Jeruzalem West het drukste van de stad. Er komen drie grote verkeersaders samen en twee secundaire wegen waaronder die uit de Arabische wijk Shuafat.
In ieder land en iedere grote stad zijn verkeerslichten afgesteld en vaak op de verkeersstroom. De situatie in Nederland is niet anders.
In dit geval is op de film al te zien wat het verschil is tussen de grote aders en de weg naar Shuafat. De secundaire weg krijgt dus minder tijd op groen licht.
Verder maakt de verslaggeefster melding van zogenaamde aparte wegen. "Settlers" zouden op de grote verkeersaders rijden en Palestijnen slechts op de weg vanuit Shuafat.
Ik maak u er op attent dat een van die grote aders leidt naar A-Tur en andere kleinere Arabische wijken in Jeruzalem Oost. Voorts worden wegen in Jeruzalem door elkaar bereden door Joden en Arabieren, dus ook alle wegen die naar Tsomet Givat HaTsarfatit leiden.

Het publiceren van een dergelijke propaganda film die duidelijk de bedoeling heeft Israel te demoniseren acht ik in strijd met goede journalistieke normen.
Ik verzoek u dan ook om de film te voorzien van de hierboven genoemde feiten om zo het publiek duidelijk te maken hoe er wordt gemarchandeerd in de berichtgeving over Israel.

Lees verder op IMO Blog...

SGP Europarlementariër Belder eist uitsluitsel over project deling Jeruzalem

Het EU beleid om vredesinitiatieven in het Midden-Oosten te steunen lijkt lovenswaardig, maar pakt vaak erg eenzijdig uit. De Europese beleidsmakers hebben hun eigen politieke visie, en die is terug te zien in de vaak erg politiek gekleurde organisaties en campagnes die Europese steun krijgen. Deze zijn meer dan eens tegen het zionisme gekant en leggen het probleem grotendeels bij Israel. Als men dan ook nog rechtstreeks journalisten wil gaan beinvloeden door hen het "Arabische vredesplan" aan te praten, mengt men zich ontoelaatbaar in de Israelische politiek en democratie en de journalistieke onafhankelijkheid.

Wouter

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Belder eist uitsluitsel over project deling Jeruzalem
29-04-2010 11:58| gewijzigd 29-04-2010 12:28 | Buitenlandredactie

http://www.refdag.nl/artikel/1473796/Belder+eist+uitsluitsel+over+project+deling+Jeruzalem.html

BRUSSEL/TEL AVIV – Europarlementariër B. Belder (SGP) eist opheldering van de Europese delegatie in Tel Aviv over een door de EU gefinancierd project dat Israëlische journalisten probeert warm te maken voor een Saudisch vredesinitiatief dat voorziet in deling van Jeruzalem en een terugkeer van Arabische vluchtelingen.

Diverse Israëlische media hebben recent bericht over Europese financiering van een trainingscursus van achttien maanden voor Israëlische journalisten ter promotie van vredesinitiatieven in het Midden-Oosten, met een focus op het Saudische vredesplan dat voor het eerst in 2002 op een Arabische top in Beiroet werd gelanceerd.

De kosten van het project bedragen 6000 euro per persoon. Van de deelnemers wordt een eigen bijdrage van 100 euro gevraagd. In totaal willen de organisatoren zestig verslaggevers trainen. Medeorganisatoren zijn de Neve Shalomschool, gevestigd in het Israëlisch-Arabisch 'vredesdorp' Neve Shalom, en het Palestijns Centrum voor Conflictoplossing en Verzoening.

Belder keurt deze „eenzijdige inmenging in het pluriforme Israëlische medialandschap" volstrekt af. „Dit is strijdig met de ethische codes die in de journalistiek gelden. Dit moet je niet willen."

In de berichtgeving wordt gemeld dat de initiatiefnemers al met diverse Israëlische mediaprominenten in zee zijn gegaan, onder wie Smadar Perry, redactuer van Israëls grootste krant, Yedioth Ahronot. Volgens Perry is zij weliswaar diverse keren benaderd, maar heeft zij deelname geweigerd. „Journalisten dienen geen training te volgen in het propageren van politieke plannen, vooral hier niet, en laat staan met buitenlands geld."

De SGP-Europarlementariër heeft de Europese Delegatie in Tel Aviv om opheldering over het gewraakte initiatief gevraagd. Tot nu toe ontving hij slechts algemene achtergrondinformatie over het project, maar geen antwoord op zijn vragen.

Als Belder op korte termijn geen opheldering krijgt, zal hij de kwestie volgende week bij de Europese Commissie aankaarten. „Dit is een ernstig voorval" aldus Belder vanmorgen telefonisch. „Al geruime tijd heerst het beeld dat Europa zich eenzijdig in het Israëlisch-Palestijns conflict opstelt. De EU moet oppassen dat dit project geen voedsel aan die aanklacht geeft."

Woordvoerder David Kriss van de Europese Delegatie in Tel Aviv betitelde de kwestie vanmorgen als een „gevoelige zaak die nu een onaangename wending dreigt te krijgen."

Na het ter perse gaan liet de delegatie weten dat Belder informatie over het bewuste project heeft ontvangen en dat zij nog bezig is om in contact met Belder te treden om „technische problemen die de ontvangst van het betreffende bericht mogelijk hebben vertraagd op te helderen."

De delegatie acht zich niet verantwoordelijk voor de berichtgeving rond de deelname van journaliste Smadar Perry, omdat de uitvoering volgens hen in handen is van Neve Shalom en het Palestijnse Centrum voor Conflictoplossing en Verzoening.

Op de kritiek van Belder dat het gewraakte project de beroepsregels en ethiek in de journalistiek schendt, antwoordt de delegatie dat het project bedoeld is om „Israëlische en Palestijnse journalisten te informeren over het Arabische vredesinitiatief en debat op gang te brengen. Het staat journalisten uiteraard vrij wel of niet aan het project deel te nemen", aldus de verklaring.

Misleidend Haaretz artikel over deportatie Palestijnen zorgt voor ophef

De gevolgen van foutieve berichtgeving kunnen soms ernstig zijn. De zogenaamde dood van Mohammed Al Dura heeft zelfmoordterroristen geinspireerd en de tweede intifada een extra boost gegeven. De zogemaande aanvallen op burgers met fosfor en andere vermeende Israelische wreedheden tijdens de Gaza oorlog hebben mensen geinspireerd tot antisemitische daden wereldwijd. De continue stroom van halve waarheden en hele leugens over Israel vergroot de haat en polarisatie en bemoeilijkt dialoog en wederzijds begrip, noodzakelijk om ooit tot vrede te komen. De hetze tegen Israel drijft ook veel gematigde Israeli's in het kamp van de nationalisten, en versterkt de Arabieren in hun gelijk en halstarrigheid.

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Israel is NOT deporting tens of thousands of PalArabs

http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2010/04/israel-is-not-deporting-tens-of.html

There has been a flurry of outrage in the Arabic press over the past couple of days because of a very misleading Ha'aretz article and the misinterpretation of an IDF order.

Ha'aretz wrote:

A new military order aimed at preventing infiltration will come into force this week, enabling the deportation of tens of thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank, or their indictment on charges carrying prison terms of up to seven years.

When the order comes into effect, tens of thousands of Palestinians will automatically become criminal offenders liable to be severely punished.

The Palestinian Arabic press has been having a field day with this report, quoting various officials that it is a "new naqba."

One article today quoted a press release from the Mezan Center for Human Rights as saying that this order is proof that Zionism is racist and calling on the UN to resurrect its resolution to that effect.

Of course, the IDF's response is nearly impossible to find among all the hysterics, but here is it (received via email from the IDF paraphrasing a senior official):

1. The new military order was signed 6 months ago.

2. There are no changes to the repatriation system or the authority/means to repatriate illegal residents in Judea and Samaria. The only difference is that now the process includes a judiciary review.

3. The decision to establish a judiciary committee to review the administrative process of repatriation was taken in response to the Israeli High Court of Justice (בג"ץ) decision that there should be judicial oversight.

4. Any illegal resident who stands to be repatriated will be brought before the judicial committee within 8 days of receiving the order, they will have the right to legal council, and will be able to appeal the judicial decision to the high court.

5. When making decisions about whether or not to repatriate an individual, the administrative and the judicial committees consider family ties.

6. Currently there are very few illegal Palestinian residents in Judea and Samaria - over the past several years, as a goodwill gesture to the Palestinian Authority, the Israeli government has approved an amnesty for nearly all of the 32,000 illegal residents whose names were submitted to the population registry by the Palestinian authorities.

7. Since the beginning of 2010, there have only been 5 Gazans who have been repatriated to Gaza.

8. The current system allows Israeli authorities to arrest, detain and deport illegal residents (specifically those who came in on a tourist visa and decided to stay) - these are the same powers that every sovereign nation in the world possess. The establishment of the Judicial Committee to oversee the process is the only change.

In other words, here is yet another case where reporters and Israeli leftists irresponsibly publicize stories without getting their facts straight (as Ha'aretz did with the supposed Vilna Gaon prophecy that Israel was going to build the Third Temple last month, causing days of violent riots). The Arabic press and Arab leaders seize on these stories and uses them as levers to incite violence and hate.

One cannot understate how much this story has already permeated the Arab world. For example, a group in Tunisia just demanded that no one with Israeli citizenship be allowed to come to Djerba on Lag B'Omer to visit the site of a 1900-year old synagogue and a 1500-year old Torah. The reason is to "protest at Israel's decision to deport thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank," which the article helpfully tells us began yesterday.

No one was deported yesterday and no Temple was built last month. The lies that are started by overzealous reporters or malicious "human rights" workers have real consequences that they never anticipate.

This also brings to mind the time when Israel's deputy defense minister Matan Vilnai was misquoted by Reuters as theatening a new "holocaust" on Gaza in 2008. That one wrong "scoop" was fodder for incitement throughout the Arab world and used as an excuse for terror attacks for months afterwards.

Real people's lives are put into jeopardy with such reckless reporting.

woensdag 28 april 2010

Bereid Iran een aanval op Israel voor via Hezbollah?

Bejjani betoogt dat Iran het voor het zeggen heeft en zowel Hezbollah als Syrië haar bevelen opvolgen. Hij haalt daarbij de Libanese oud-kolonel Arakat aan.

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Iran, not Israel, will start the war

Iran, not Israel, will start the war
By: Elias Bejjani*

http://www.10452lccc.com/elias%20english09/elias.charbel27.4.10.htm

April 27, 2010

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday: "There is no truth to insinuations that Israel is allegedly planning a move against Syria. I estimate that this is an attempt made by Iran and Hezbollah to distract the international community from the sanctions planned against Iran."

Mr. Netanyahu's short but decisive statement actually unveils the ongoing vicious Iranian scheme that is in the works. The mullahs in Iran are cunningly working day and night on the last details of a devastating war that they are planning to ignite against Israel from Lebanon through their militant terrorist proxy, Hezbollah, when the time is appropriate for them, exactly as was the case in 2006.

Meanwhile, Iran's intentions to annihilate the Jewish state are becoming bolder and more aggressive. On 18/04/2010, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Israel was on its way to collapse, as Iran's military displayed a range of home-built drones and missiles at the annual Army Day parade. In a speech marking the event, Ahmadinejad also reiterated his view that the presence of foreign forces is causing conflict in the region. "The Zionist regime is on its way to collapse. This regime is the main instigator of sedition and conflict in the region," the Iranian president added. "This is the will of the regional nations that after 60 odd years, the root of this corrupt microbe and the main reason for insecurity in the region be pulled out... Its supporters and creators ought to stop backing it and allow the regional nations and the Palestinians to settle things with them," he said.

In 2006 Iran was under tremendous pressure from Western countries to halt its nuclear program or face very tough sanctions. To distract the entire world away from their program they gave orders to their Hezbollah army in Lebanon to engage the Jewish State in a war that they did without any hesitation. The war lasted for 33 days and shifted all the heat away from Iran and its suspicious nuclear activities.

In fact, Syria under President Bashar Al Assad has become an Iranian puppet and has no say in what Hezbollah in Lebanon does or does not do. Meanwhile, the current relationship between Syria's president Bashar Al Assad and Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is a replicate of the master-slave one that existed during World War II between Hitler and Mussolini where the first was in full control of the decision making process and the second just a puppet who carried out his orders with no say whatsoever.

Retired Lebanese army officer, and renowned worldwide expert on Hezbollah and terrorism, Colonel Charbel Barakat, wrote yesterday for our site, the LCCC, an analysis with the title, "Who is beating the war drums this time?" In this article he addresses the Scud missile crisis that has led to a war of rhetoric between Iran, Syria and Hezbollah on one side, and Israel and the USA on the other.

Barakat, based on his extensive first hand military and anti-terrorism expertise, strongly believes that Iran, and not Syria, is in full control all the Middle East Axis of Evil and Islamic fundamentalist terror groups' (Syria, Hamas, Hezbollah, Jihad, etc.) activities, finances, plans, leadership, cadres and decision making processes, while Hezbollah is a mere militant Iranian brigade.

In contrast to many Western analysts who have claimed that Hezbollah does not strategically need the Scud missiles due to its self defense military resistance status, Barakat said: "these claims would have been true if Hezbollah was actually Lebanese and in an actual self defense status, but it is not, and it is totally affiliated to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)".

Barakat concluded that Iran desperately wants Hezbollah to pile these Scud missiles in its arsenal because their longest range is 700 km and thus they are a must for its scheme that aims to reach Israel's nuclear plant in Demona, the Israeli Nagave airports and other vital military and civil institutions.

He added that "The Iranian improved M 600 missiles that are currently in Hezbollah's possession have a range that does not go beyond Tel Aviv, and here comes the importance of the Scud missiles that can reach locations all over Israel. The M 600 missile and the Scud both can carry a load of up to 500 kg".

Were the Scud missiles actually transferred from Syria to Hezbollah's military bases in Lebanon or not yet? Barakat played down the importance of such futile, time wasting and camouflaging rhetoric because he believes that Syria's rulers have merely become Iranian puppets and accordingly they will without a shred of a doubt transfer these missiles or any other weapons in their arsenal to Hezbollah whenever the Iranian leadership orders them to do so.

What is actually very striking and scary in Barakat's in depth analysis is his strong conviction that Iran is the one which will soon launch through its militant proxy, Hezbollah, a preemptive war against Israel's nuclear plants, before the Israelis or the US attack Iran's nuclear facilities.

Barakat stressed the pivotal role of the Scud missiles in such an Iranian war scenario and urged the Free World to take such an impending possibility into consideration and act swiftly in a bid to abort it.

He reminded all those concerned in the Middle East, US, and Europe of a possible repeat by Iran of the surprise tactics that Israel used in 1976 in which its air force attacked all of Egypt's military airports and won the war before it started. He therefore thinks the issue of the Scud missiles should be taken seriously and dealt with accordingly.

Barakat considered that all the Lebanese officials' statements with regard to the Scud smuggling crisis to be baseless and have no credibility because of Hezbollah's hegemony over the whole country including its military institutions.

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*Elias Bejjani
Canadian-Lebanese Human Rights activist, journalist and political commentator
Email phoenicia@hotmail.com
Web sites http://www.10452lccc.com & http://www.clhrf.com

Israelische grenspolitie stelt team in om kolonistengeweld tegen te gaan op Westoever

Goed dat Israel dit kolonistengeweld serieus neemt en ertegen optreedt. De vaak komen vandalen en relschoppers ongestraft weg voor het vernielen van andermans eigendom en het gooien met stenen e.d. (dat over en weer gebeurt).

Wouter

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Special Border Police task force formed to protect Palestinians
IDF Spokesperson
26 April 2010 , 09:48
http://dover.idf.il/IDF/English/News/today/10/04/2602.htm

A special task force from the Border Police to be positioned in Samaria region to prevent harm to Palestinian property and ensure public order. The decision was made due to violent confrontations during Independence Day.

A special task force from the Border Police will be stationed in the northern Samaria region in order to prevent retributional violence from settlers against Palestinians, to prevent damage to property, and to ensure public order. The force is expected to deal with complex challenges while strengthening regional security.

Army radio reports that the Border Police intends to send experienced veterans to the field that can handle complex situations as part of the task force.
The decision came in part due to violent confrontations during Independence Day, where a settler lightly injured an IDF soldier by through [throwing] a bottle at him. Moreover, another suspect was arrested for puncturing the wheels of military vehicles in the area. The suspect was arrested and taken for questioning.

Was bezoek van Arabische Knessetleden aan Libië illegaal?

"I want to congratulate the Libyan leader on the historic visit," said a-Sanaa. "There is nothing more natural than that we, the Arabs, would visit in Libya when we share the same nationality, the same culture, the same history and the same language."

Aldus een Arabisch Knessetlid, als verklaring van het bezoek van zes Arabische Knessetleden aan Libië. Dus Arabieren zijn een nationaliteit. Dit roept de vraag op wat Palestijnen dan zijn en hoe zij zich van die nationaliteit, cultuur etc. onderscheiden? Het is bepaald triest dat Arabieren die hun hele leven in Israel hebben gewoond zich blijkbaar meer verwant voelen met het duizenden kilometers verderop gelegen Libië dan met hun eigen land.

A-Sanaa added that Israel's greatest enemy was "the state of Israel itself."

Dat is wel de staat waar hij ook deel van uitmaakt, en die hem meer rechten, vrijheden en mogelijkheden geeft dan Libië of welke andere Arabische staat ook hem te bieden heeft.

During the visit, Gaddafi emphasized that they do not have any problem with the Jews but with Zionism, he said.

Oh, dan is er niks aan de hand. Men is er alleen maar voor alle zionisten de zee in te drijven, niet alle Joden. Get real. Israel is per definitie zionistisch, anders zou het niet meer Israel zijn. Zionisme staat voor Joodse zelfbeschikking en onafhankelijkheid, en dat kun je niet los zien van de staat die dat waarmaakt.

"Maybe you will learn once and for all that you are not the smartest people in the world," added a-Sanaa.

Komt hij er nou pas achter? Misschien dat hij zelf de Joden het goede voorbeeld kan geven, maar daar ziet het vooralsnog niet naar uit. De Joden beledigen in de Knesset vind ik geen bijzonder slimme daad voor een Arabisch Knessetlid dat daar neem ik aan graag een beetje serieus wordt genomen.

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The Jerusalem Post
'MKs' Libya trip violates ethics'
By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
28/04/2010 05:31
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=174140

Rivlin: Flying on Gaddafi's private jet is accepting outside funding.

While it remains unclear whether Arab MKs violated the so-called Bishara Law in their visit to Libya earlier this week, Knesset officials confirmed Tuesday evening that the six MKs did not secure the necessary Knesset approval required before their trip.

The six MKs – Ahmed Tibi (UAL) Mohammed Barakeh (Hadash), Jamal Zehalke (Balad), Afo Agbariyah (Hadash), Taleb a-Sanaa (UAL) and Hanin Zuabi (Balad) – returned to their Knesset duties Tuesday after the two-day visit. During the course of the visit the MKs met with Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Right-wing MKs and organizations blasted the MKs for the visit, arguing that they had violated Israeli law in visiting an enemy state without the approval of the interior minister. But after a legal check, Knesset Legal Advisor's office said that their official opinion is that Libya is not an enemy state, although MK Zvulun Orlev, who drafted the Bishara Law, argued earlier this week that it is.

The Bishara Law bars from running for Knesset any candidate who illegally visited an enemy state in recent years.

Despite the questionable legality of the visit, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin confirmed Tuesday that the trip was clearly in violation of Knesset ethical guidelines. Whenever any MK leaves the country using outside funding, that MK must first secure the approval of the Ethics Committee. Rivlin's office added that the fact that the MKs flew on Gaddafi's private jet to Libya indicated that the visit was at least partially funded by the Libyan leader or the state of Libya, both of which constitute an external source.

Any MK or extra-parliamentary body is eligible to submit a complaint against the six to the Ethics Committee.

Meanwhile Tuesday, a-Sanaa took the podium in the Knesset plenum to offer his analysis of the visit in a 60-second long speech.

"I want to congratulate the Libyan leader on the historic visit," said a-Sanaa. "There is nothing more natural than that we, the Arabs, would visit in Libya when we share the same nationality, the same culture, the same history and the same language."

A-Sanaa added that Israel's greatest enemy was "the state of Israel itself."

During the visit, Gaddafi emphasized that they do not have any problem with the Jews but with Zionism, he said.

"Maybe you will learn once and for all that you are not the smartest people in the world," added a-Sanaa.

Een neutrale kijk op Israel en het zionisme?

Iedereen beweert maar van alles over Israel en het zionisme, er vaak rotsvast van overtuigd zijnd dat men de ultieme waarheid predikt en ook geheel neutraal is.

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Een neutrale kijk op Israel en het zionisme

IMO Blog, 2010

'Een neutrale kijk op Israël'. Als iemand dat belooft, moet je op je hoede zijn. De aap komt dan ook al snel uit de mouw op deze Volkskrantblog. De anonieme blogger 'DeKoeleAnalyticus' begint nog veelbelovend:

De meningen over Israël zijn sterk verdeeld. Sommige mensen steunen het onvoorwaardelijk. Anderen zijn altijd kritisch. Controverse is er bijna altijd. Hoe komt men tot een neutrale kijk op Israël en het zionisme?

Maar het woord 'zionisme' gooit roet in het eten:

Zionisten zelf hebben een éénzijdige kijk op het zionisme. Hun uitgangspunt is dat het zionisme moreel wil handelen, en dit ook doet. Als dat zo was waren er echter nooit (met flinke staatssteun) zoveel nederzettingen in de bezette gebieden gebouwd. Sommige tegenstanders van het zionisme hebben een net zo éénzijdige kijk. Ze gaan er van uit dat het zionisme altijd handelt vanuit het nationalistische motief het bijbelse "Land van Israël" Joods te willen maken. Als dat zo was had Israël de westelijke Jordaanoever echter allang leeg gejaagd. Een neutrale kijk moet beide motieven meenemen. In werkelijkheid heeft het zionisme twee idealen, namelijk moreel handelen, en het bijbelse "Land van Israël" Joods maken.

Onze koele analyticus maakt hier een rare gedachtekronkel. Het klopt wel dat zionisten moreel willen handelen, maar zij verstaan daar zelf heel verschillende dingen onder. Er is geen 'het zionisme' met een eenduidige visie op moraal en wat moreel handelen is. Er zijn vele stromingen en substromingen en afscheidingen etc. Wat zionisten bindt, is het ideaal van een Joodse staat die veilig en sterk is en in vrede leeft. Wat hen scheidt, is wat precies de grenzen van die staat moeten zijn en of het immoreel is om nederzettingen te bouwen op de Westelijke Jordaanoever, en hoeveel concessies men moet doen voor vrede en of die concessies de vrede überhaupt bevorderen, om maar een paar dingen te noemen. Slechts een minderheid van de zionisten wil het oude Bijbelse Israël herstellen, en is daarom tegen een compromis met de Palestijnen. De zin 'het bijbelse "land van Israël" Joods willen maken' is vreemd. Wat bedoelt hij met 'Joods maken'? Hij lijkt daaronder te verstaan dat alle Arabieren eruit moeten worden gezet, maar dat is natuurlijk onzin. Het was beter en duidelijker geweest als hij 'onder Joods bestuur brengen' had geschreven, maar dan klopte de volgende zin niet meer en is zijn mooie tegenstelling naar de Filistijnen. Het zionisme wil in het gebied dat onder het Mandaatgebied Palestina viel een Joodse staat stichten (oorspronkelijk: een Joods nationaal thuis), die wordt erkend in het internationale recht (secured in international law). Dat is het uitgangspunt zoals het indertijd door de zionistische beweging werd geformuleerd. Later gaf men aan dat dat eventueel ook in een gedeelte van Palestina kon zijn. Er is nooit gesproken over het bijbelse Israël en over Joods maken. Zie ook: "zionism defined".

Lees verder: Een neutrale kijk op Israel en het zionisme

Het Zionistische debat: Judea en Samaria of Israel?

Ami Isseroff heeft natuurlijk gelijk met onderstaande kritiek, al is het geen prettige conclusie.

Most important, however, is that Taub ignores the really big problem that is driving a lot of Israelis away from the "peace process:" The peace process has not worked, and many of its most ardent supporters, including myself, have had to admit that giving up "land for peace" has not led us closer to peace and there is no sign that it will. Aaron David Miller, a leading American protagonist in the "Peace Process" now has admitted that it is not going anywhere - it is a "false religion." He has not taken the next step, which is to understand that in the current situation, Israeli concessions are not likely to result in peace, but rather in a Hamas- controlled Islamist terror state.

It is not as if we have a choice between keeping the settlements or having peace. We have a choice only between keeping the settlements and gaining some probably temporary American and European approval. The history of disengagement from Gaza shows how ephemeral even this approval will probably be. Israel was lauded for withdrawing from Gaza, but when it turned sour, the EU, the Americans and the UN were quick to condemn Israel.

Het zou heel erg helpen als de internationale gemeenschap niet alleen eisen aan Israel stelt, maar het ook steunt als het aan onze eisen tegemoet komt en een en ander dan toch wat anders uitpakt. Het feit dat veel Israeli's hun vertrouwen en hoop in het vredesproces en in concessies aan de Palestijnen om tot vrede te komen hebben verloren valt ook de EU, de VN en de VS aan te rekenen. Misschien moeten we daarom de hand eens in eigen boezem gaan steken.

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The Zionist debate: Judea and Samaria or Israel?

http://news.zionism-israel.com/2010/04/zionist-debate-judea-and-samaria-or.html

I have to agree with Gadi Taub (The Zionist debate) that we should not be jeopardizing the state of Israel or sullying the Zionist idea for real estate. He also does well to remind the world that the "faithful of the Temple Mount" and similar groups are not the only Zionists, and certainly do not represent all of Zionism.

Some of the advocates of Greater Israel and "no compromise" are avowedly not Zionists at all. They have a religious motivation, rather than the secular political goal of reconstituting the Jewish people as a free nation in our own land. And retaining the settlements in the West Bank, AKA Judea and Samaria, wll produce an enormous demographic headache for israel. The Arabs who live there are not going anywhere, and anyone who thinks otherwise is engaged in wishful thinking.

On the other hand, there is always another hand. We should not sacrifice Zionism for Judea and Samaria, but what about Jerusalem? If we give up the old city of Jerusalem, the "real" historic Zion, will we still have achieved our goal? Will the Arab states and the world finally recognize that the 2000 year-old exile of the Jewish people is over? Will the Jewish people who live in the Diaspora realize that as well? Or will Israel go back to its pre-1967 status, when it was viewed at best as a shelter for refugees and poor relatives, and at worst as a temporary aberration like the Crusader kingdom?

Most important, however, is that Taub ignores the really big problem that is driving a lot of Israelis away from the "peace process:" The peace process has not worked, and many of its most ardent supporters, including myself, have had to admit that giving up "land for peace" has not led us closer to peace and there is no sign that it will. Aaron David Miller, a leading American protagonist in the "Peace Process" now has admitted that it is not going anywhere - it is a "false religion." He has not taken the next step, which is to understand that in the current situation, Israeli concessions are not likely to result in peace, but rather in a Hamas- controlled Islamist terror state.

No matter what the borders or the rights of a new Palestinian state, it will never satisfy the Iranians or the Libyans or Al Qaeda or Hamas or others who insist on wiping out Israel. It is certain that they will try to use that state as a base for destroying Israel, and if the lessons of Gaza and Lebanon are a guide, it is nearly certain that they will succeed. The Goldstone report demonstrates vividly that in the almost certain eventuality that the "peace process" goes sour, Israel will not be allowed to fight the terror state that would be created by it.

Ami Isseroff

In Palestijnse Autoriteit zijn 'Protocollen van de Wijzen van Zion' legitiem document

Het is eigenlijk geen nieuws, maar de media negeren dit soort onwelgevallige zaken liever. De Palestijnse samenleving is, net als die in andere Arabische landen, doordrenkt met antisemitisme. Dat gelt niet alleen voor Hamas, dat volgens een groeiende groep mensen zo redelijk en pragmatisch zou zijn geworden, maar ook voor de 'gematigde' Palestijnse Autoriteit van president Abbas, de grote vredesduif. Jammer dat de werkelijkheid zo weerbarstig is en zich niet voegt naar de Westerse cliches en ideaalbeelden.

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PMW Bulletin
April 25, 2010

Click here to view PMW's new website

Palestinian Media Watch

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
in Jordan and the Palestinian Authority
http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=2067

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

During a recent PA TV news report on public opinion in Jordan, a Jordanian street was filmed as background to the feature. Unrelated to the news story, the camera zoomed in on books for sale at a book stand. One of the books was The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. [PA TV (Fatah), April 16, 2010]

The appearance of The Protocols in a Jordanian bookstore is not unusual. Although it has been 100 years since the Russian police's forgery was exposed, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion is still presented in much of the Arab world as an authentic document, guiding Israel in a sinister Jewish plot to subjugate the world under Jewish rule.

In the Palestinian Authority as well, in the years since the signing of the Oslo Accords, political, religious and educational leaders have presented The Protocols as a true Jewish conspiracy.

For example, the PA Ministry of Education chose to teach in its schoolbooks in 2004 that The Protocols is authentic:

"There is a group of confidential resolutions adopted by the [First Zionist] Congress and known by the name The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, the goal of which was world domination. They were brought to light by Sergey Nilos and translated into Arabic by Muhammad Khalifah Al-Tunisi." [History of the Modern and Contemporary World, Grade 10 (2004) p. 60-61]

During a lecture in European Parliament in 2005, PMW showed this text to MEP's, among them members from countries that had funded the writing of PA schoolbooks. In subsequent editions of the book this text was removed.

The fact that The Protocols were chosen by senior PA educators to be included in the school curriculum, and that it was necessary for Europeans to pressure the PA to remove it, indicates how rooted is the portrayal of The Protocols as genuine truth in PA ideology.

The following are more examples of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion being presented by the Palestinian Authority as an authentic document describing Jewish plans to rule the world:

Najat Abu-Bakr, member of PA Parliament:

"[Al-Jazeera] is the only channel in the Arab world that behaves in a conflict-seeking manner. Second, the occupation [Israel] created this channel and has directed all its moves, all its details, all its programs, and all of its objectives - The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. If you read The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, you'll find that it is this channel [Al-Jazeera] that transmits The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The most important thing that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion want is to create news headlines according to criteria that suit the occupation."

[PA TV, Oct. 19, 2009]

Dr. Ahmed Bahar, Deputy Speaker of Palestinian Parliament:

"The killing of children, women and men is promoted by their false Talmud, and by their false Bible, and The Protocols of the Elders of Zion."

[PA TV, Aug. 4, 2006]

Dr. Riad Al-Astal, history lecturer, Al-Azhar University in Gaza:

"The idea of the Zionist Renaissance developed, and the seeds of what is called The Protocols of the Elders of Zion appeared at the end of the 18th century. These are the Protocols that were presented at the Basel Congress in Switzerland [the First Zionist Congress in 1897]."

[PA TV, Dec. 28, 2003]

Article on Protocols in The Martyr magazine

"The 65th issue of The Shahids (Martyrs) was recently published by the Political Guidance of the Border Patrol. The issue includes many important political, economic and military matters... In addition, there is a chapter about a research paper, entitled, 'The Jewish Danger: The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.'"

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, Dec. 1, 2003]

Click here to see the complete section on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion on PMW's website.

Minister BuZa Egypte noemt Israel 'vijand'

Zou het per ongeluk zijn geweest? Of is dit het teken dat er een en ander aan het veranderen is in Egypte, nou Moebaraks einde er toch langzaam aan begint te komen.

Following talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister 'Ali Al-Shami, Aboul Gheit was asked whether he was visiting Beirut in order to convey a warning from Israel.

The Egyptian minister said in response that the purpose of his trip was not to relay messages "from the enemy to a sister Arab state."

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Egyptian FM calls Israel 'enemy'

Speaking to reporters in Beirut, Aboul Gheit says did not come to Lebanon to relay warning from 'the enemy to a sister Arab country'; adds that Cairo would stand by Lebanon, Syria in case of attack

Roee Nahmias

Published: 04.25.10, 22:24

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3880673,00.html

Slip of the tongue? Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit referred to Israel as an "enemy" during a press conference in Beirut on Saturday.

Aboul Gheit said concerns expressed by Israel and the United States on the alleged transfer of Scud missiles from Syria to Hezbollah were "ridiculous".

"Anyone who is familiar with the (Scud) missile knows that it cannot be smuggled or concealed," he said.

The Egyptian minister said in response that the purpose of his trip was not to relay messages "from the enemy to a sister Arab state."

Aboul Gheit also said Cairo would stand by Lebanon and Syria in case they were attacked.

His statement made the headlines of a number of Arab newspapers, including the London-based Al Hayat and Asharq Al-Awsat, Saudi daily Al-Madina and Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai.

The Egyptian press chose to play down the minister's comment.

An official in Jerusalem told Ynet that Israel deems the remark "very harsh."

Meanwhile, in his first speech since returning to Egypt from Germany, where he underwent successful surgery for an inflamed gall bladder, President Hosni Mubarak said on the occasion of the 28th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from Sinai that his country will remain committed to peace if Israel does the same.

AFP contributed to the report

Wilders ligt gevoelig in de joodse gemeenschap

"De PVV-aanhang lijkt in de joodse gemeenschap niet groter dan gemiddeld."

"Opiniepeiler Maurice de Hond, ook van joodse komaf, heeft er geen onderzoek naar gedaan, maar zijn indruk is „dat de aanhang in joodse kring niet boven de landelijke 15 procent ligt. Mogelijk ligt het percentage iets hoger onder jongeren.""

"Joden voor wie Israël zwaar weegt, zouden wel eens kunnen gaan stemmen op de VVD of het CDA, voorspelt rabbijn Menno ten Brink van de Liberaal Joodse Gemeente in Amsterdam."

Dus wat is precies het nieuws?? Dat er ook in de Joodse gemeenschap over Wilders wordt gediscussieerd?

Wat ik zelf eerder opmerkelijk vindt, is dat ondanks het onvoorwaardelijke pro-Israel standpunt van Wilders, en zijn herhaalde warme woorden voor Joden, de steun voor Wilders onder Joden niet groter lijkt dan gemiddeld. Blijkbaar staan zijn intolerante houding en extreme ideeën over andere onderwerpen hen zeer tegen. Maar zo brengt de NRC het natuurlijk niet, zij suggereren liever dat Wilders en Joden wel wat met elkaar hebben.

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Wilders ligt gevoelig in de joodse gemeenschap

http://www.nrc.nl/binnenland/article2533293.ece/Wilders_ligt_gevoelig_in_de_joodse_gemeenschap

Gepubliceerd: 27 april 2010 12:06 | Gewijzigd: 27 april 2010 17:37

Door onze redacteuren Karel Berkhout en Danielle Pinedo

Amsterdam, 27 april. Onder de ongeveer 40.000 Nederlandse joden spelen veel discussies over PVV-leider Geert Wilders. De kandidatuur van de joodse ondernemer Gidi Markuszower voor de PVV leidde tot zo veel commotie dat hij afgelopen weekeinde afzag van een plek op de lijst voor de Tweede Kamerverkiezingen, maar het debat smeult al veel langer – in de synagoge, bij de viering van de Israëlische onafhankelijkheidsdag vorige week, in het Nieuw Israelietisch Weekblad, bij de slager.

„Er wordt over gepraat", erkent rabbijn Rafael Evers van de traditioneel- joodse gemeente in Amsterdam.

PVV-aanhang

De PVV-aanhang lijkt in de joodse gemeenschap niet groter dan gemiddeld. „In onze sjoel vind je mensen met verschillende politieke voorkeuren – van verstokte PvdA'ers tot PVV-sympathisanten", zegt rabbijn Shmuel Katzman van de orthodox-joodse gemeente in Den Haag, een stad waar de PVV groot is. Opiniepeiler Maurice de Hond, ook van joodse komaf, heeft er geen onderzoek naar gedaan, maar zijn indruk is „dat de aanhang in joodse kring niet boven de landelijke 15 procent ligt. Mogelijk ligt het percentage iets hoger onder jongeren."

De PVV plaatst de joodse kiezers voor een „dilemma", vindt Katzman. „Zowel als het gaat om onderwerpen die de joodse gemeenschap direct raken, alsook om zaken die weinig tolerantie tonen naar de niet-joodse medemens."

Joden voor wie Israël zwaar weegt, zouden wel eens kunnen gaan stemmen op de VVD of het CDA, voorspelt rabbijn Menno ten Brink van de Liberaal Joodse Gemeente in Amsterdam. „Hans van Baalen van de VVD wordt door velen als een vriend van Israël gezien. En Maxime Verhagen (CDA) hield onlangs met Jom Ha'atsmaoet [de Israëlische onafhankelijkheidsdag] een mooi verhaal bij ons. Na afloop hoorde ik meerdere mensen zeggen: misschien dat ik toch maar CDA ga stemmen."

Nieuws - Weer een kandidaat van PVV-lijst af
Archief - Markuszower trekt zich terug als kandidaat voor PVV
Archief - PVV-kandidaat uit Raad Joodse Gemeente Amsterdam
Archief - Twee nieuwkomers hoog op PVV-lijst

Hamas politici niet blij met Shalit video

De politieke tak van Hamas lijkt zich te distantiëren van de Shalit-video die eergisteren was uitgebracht door de militaire vleugel. Die voldeed niet aan de hoogstaande morele normen en waarden van de terreurgroep. Burgers opblazen in een discotheek, bus of kantine, is een mooie ambitie voor toekomstige martelaren, maar met het doden van een gevangen soldaat kom je natuurlijk niet in het Paradijs.

Wouter

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The Jerusalem Post
'We'd never kill captured soldier'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
27/04/2010 06:31
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=174039

Zahar: Animation of Schalit in coffin doesn't reflect our position.

Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar on Monday night criticized an animated video released by the group's military wing which depicted Gilad Schalit returning to Israel in a coffin, saying Hamas "would never kill a captured Israeli soldier."

The clip "does not reflect the official position of Hamas," Zahar said from the Gaza Strip.

The three-minute video shows Noam Schalit, the captured soldier's father, wandering the streets with a photo of his son in his hand. Gilad's voice, as heard in two tapes previously released by Hamas, can be heard in the background. As Noam Schalit is walking, he passes photographs of former prime minister Ehud Olmert and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, symbolizing the passage of time.

When Noam Schalit is shown as elderly and walking with a cane, the following text appears on the screen: "Finally, the Israeli government's efforts succeed. After exchanging prisoners, Noam Schalit finally meets his son Gilad."

The elderly Noam Schalit is shown sitting at the Erez border crossing and waiting as a coffin with an Israeli flag draped over it is taken out of a military car. "No!" he screams, and wakes up in the protest tent in Jerusalem; it was all a dream.

The video ends with the text "there is still hope," and the Izzadin A-Qassam Brigades symbol.

Noam Schalit has called the video "regrettable" psychological warfare.

Zes Arabisch-Israelische Knessetleden bezoeken Libië

Wat hebben Israelische Arabieren in Libië te zoeken, een land dat tegen het bestaansrecht van het hunne is? Een land ook dat de mensenrechten met voeten treedt. Als men toenadering tot de Arabische wereld zoekt waarom dan niet via Jordanië en Egypte, die veel dichterbij liggen, waar (veel) Palestijnen wonen en die vrede hebben gesloten met hun land? Libië boycot ongeveer alles wat met Israel te maken heeft:

While Gaddafi was ready to welcome the delegation to his country, he only did so on condition that the delegation, whose members are passport-holding Israelis, enter Libya without getting their passports stamped or receiving Libyan visas.

Een rechts Knessetlid (zie tweede bericht) wil dat deze Libië-gangers niet meer aan de volgende verkiezingen kunnen meedoen, en haalt daarvoor de basiswet voor de Knesset aan, maar die schijnt ambigu te zijn wat betreft wat precies vijandelijke landen zijn.

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The Jerusalem Post
Six Arab MKs visit Libya
By REBECCA ANNA STOIL
25/04/2010 04:25
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=173837

Gaddafi to host group, discuss position of Israeli Arabs in world.

For the first time, a delegation of Israeli lawmakers is visiting Libya, after arriving from Jordan on Saturday on Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi's personal jet.

Almost four dozen Israeli Arab officials, including six MKs, are expected to meet with Gaddafi in Tripoli on Sunday, where they will discuss the position of Israeli Arabs as part of the Arab world.

The 40-strong delegation includes current and former lawmakers, local politicians, religious leaders and journalists.

MKs Ahmed Tibi (Ta'al) Muhammad Barakei (Hadash), Jamal Zahalka (Balad), Afo Agbaria (Hadash), Taleb a-Sanaa (UAL) and Haneen Zoabi (Balad) are all participating in the visit. Muhammad Zeidan, the head of the Higher Arab Monitoring Committee, the umbrella organization representing the Israeli Arab community, and Sheikh Karmel Rian, chairman of the Al-Aksa Fund, are also participating.

Tibi said the delegation would help open the doors of the entire Arab world to Israel's Arab minority and seek to emphasize that Arab Israelis are part of the Arab community.

While Gaddafi was ready to welcome the delegation to his country, he only did so on condition that the delegation, whose members are passport-holding Israelis, enter Libya without getting their passports stamped or receiving Libyan visas.

Before their departure, Zahalka said the Arab League had "ignored" Israeli Arabs for decades, and that Gaddafi had reached out to them.

Tibi, Barakei and Sanaa spent months in dialogue with the Libyan ambassador to Jordan to arrange such a meeting, as part of their attempts to reach out to the Arab world.

The visit was first publicized two weeks ago, when the Israeli-Arab Web site Al-Arabiya announced that Gaddafi had invited the Israeli-Arab leaders to Tripoli. It was the Libyan ambassador to Jordan, Muhammad Hassan al-Barghouti, who passed the invitation along to the Israelis. They met with Barghouti over the weekend in Amman before boarding Gaddafi's airplane.

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The Jerusalem Post
Is Libya an enemy country? The law isn't so clear
By DAN IZENBERG
27/04/2010 09:46
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=174054

Orlev calls to bar visiting MKs from reelection.

According to MK Zevulun Orlev (Habayit Hayehudi), the six Israeli Arab leaders who are currently visiting Libya should be barred from running for election to the next Knesset.

However, the Knesset laws don't, in effect, mention Libya by name when delineating which countries are officially enemies of Israel.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Orlev referred to an amendment to the Basic Law: The Knesset, which he and former MK Esterina Tartman (Israel Beiteinu) initiated in the previous Knesset.

Article 7a of the law presents a list of criteria for banning political parties or individuals from running for parliament. According to the criteria established by the amendment, "a candidate who stayed over in an enemy country over the seven years preceding the presentation of the list of candidates will be regarded as someone who, by his actions, supports the terrorist struggle against Israel unless he proves otherwise."

The amendment does not define what an enemy country is. A footnote to it, however, cites two laws in which a number of Arab countries are mentioned, though even in this case they are not defined as enemy countries.

The first is the 1954 Law against Infiltration, which, in its definition of an infiltrator, includes citizens or residents of Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen. Two other countries, Egypt and Jordan, were removed from the list after they signed peace treaties with Israel.

The other law referred to in the footnote is the Citizenship Law, which states that "the Administrative Court may, at the request of the minister of interior, cancel the Israeli citizenship of a person who… perpetrated an act which involves breach of faith to the State of Israel."

One of the acts classified as a breach of faith is "obtaining citizenship or the right to settle permanently in… Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Libya, Sudan, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and the area of the Gaza Strip." This provision is included in an amendment to the 1952 Citizenship Law passed in 2008, and therefore constitutes a more up-to-date list of countries that Israel considers hostile.

Here, too, the countries are not defined as "enemy countries," yet their clear link to Orlev's amendment is obvious.

Still, the issue remains confusing. According to the current provisional amendment to the Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law, first approved in 2006 and still in force, a ban on initiating procedures for family reunification for Palestinian men under the age of 35 and Palestinian women under the age of 25 was extended to include citizens and residents of four Arab countries – Iran, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq. In this case, too, the countries were not specifically classified as "enemy states."

Orlev himself is not particularly concerned with legal acrobatics.

"How do I know Libya is an enemy country?" he responded to a question from the Post. "Because [Libyan leader] Muammar Gaddafi wants to destroy Israel. He has declared war on Israel more than once. He wants to eliminate it. The same with Iran, Iraq and Syria. They are conducting war against Israel, they support terrorism, and they want Israel to disappear."

Orlev was unable to cite a specific law that supported his position, but said, "I've been told that there are several mentions of Libya in the statute books. I don't know exactly where. I tried to speak to the legal adviser of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee about the matter, but he was unavailable."

According to constitutional law expert Yaffa Zilbershatz, the law is clear on this point: It is illegal to travel to Libya.

In an interview with the Post, she cited the Order to Extend the Emergency Defense Regulations (Going Abroad) 1948. The law specifically states that "no one may go to any of the countries listed in the Prevention of Infiltration Law unless he receives a permit from the minister of interior, nor will an Israel citizen or resident enter any one of these countries in any way without a permit."

As said earlier, the countries mentioned in the Prevention of Infiltration Law include Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Yemen. However, Zilbershatz said there was an annex to the law which lists other countries, including Libya.

If the government decides to arrest the six MKs in accordance with the Basic Law: The Knesset, there is no doubt that the matter will reach the High Court for a definitive interpretation of the existing hodge-podge of legislation.

Amerikaanse graffiti artiesten solidair met Sderot en Israel

Amerikaanse graffiti kunstenaars doen een solidariteitsaktie voor Israel; in Nederland ondenkbaar de laatste decennia. Israel is vreselijk on-hip tegenwoordig. Hier krijg je alleen nog incidenteel wat Joden en conservatieve christenen op de been. Palestijnen daarentegen zijn erg in, om onduidelijke redenen...

Wouter

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Graffiti group to bring solidarity message to Sderot
http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=170909

By E.B. SOLOMONT, JPOST CORRESPONDENT
14/03/2010 03:21

"Artists 4 Israel" to paint bomb shelters, work with PTSD children, paint a women's shelter and create a mural with the help of local kids.

NEW YORK – Sometime during Operation Cast Lead, Craig Dershowitz's graffiti magazine, BOMBIN', became something of a forum for pro-Israel views.

However unlikely, the graffiti community, touched by 9/11 and smarting from increased police cameras that stopped them from freely painting, sympathized with Israel. In the face of widespread public criticism of Israel's military operation, the graffiti artists – rebels to the core – sided with the Jewish state.

"It was this weird mishmash, this group of issues that made the graffiti community care about Israel," said Dershowitz, a 32-year-old tattooed Taglit-birthright Israel alumnus, who quickly mobilized artists to form Artists 4 Israel.

Largely non-Jewish, the group has had gallery shows and produced off-Broadway plays in the past year. Next month, 12 artists plan to travel to Israel; with actress Meital Dohan acting as their liaison, they will bring their art to Sderot from April 24 to May 2.

"This is a huge untapped resource," said Dershowitz, referring to his effort to get artists to promote a positive message about Israel.

According to Dershowitz, the group got its start during the Gaza war, when he and a few friends attended a pro-Israel rally at the United Nations. Like protesters do, they made signs; but as artists, theirs were "prettier" than most and were emblazoned on the back with "Artists 4 Israel."

A week later, Dershowitz organized a gallery show in New York City on the night of the winter's first blizzard. Some hip-hop artists showed up and jumped on the turntables. Two women took off their clothes. "I was like, 'OK, it's a party now,'" Dershowitz recalled. By night's end, 500 people had showed up, the place was packed and people inside could barely move.

"That was the point when we realized that unlike every other advocacy group... we had the capacity to reach a young, non-Jewish audience that had maybe never heard about or discussed the Middle East," he said. "And we were going to be the first ones in their ears and their hearts and minds discussing this important topic."

An outline for an advocacy organization took shape with a mission of reaching people through pop culture and the arts.

"We're not a Jewish organization," said Marianne Pane, a mother of five who is the group's director of information. "We are looking to advocate beyond the Jewish and Israeli community," she noted. "There are people beyond that circle who don't know that much about what's going on."

Brought up Roman Catholic, Pane learned about Israel about seven years ago, when she delved deeper into her own faith. The daughter of an Irish father and a Filipina mother, she drew parallels between her heritage, the struggle of her parents' native countries and Israelis struggling today.

"The bottom line is, I'm a pacifist and I'd like to see the descendents of Abraham be able to claim their land as their own," she said.

In December, Artists 4 Israel sent four artists to Art Basel in Miami, a sister art show to Switzerland's Art Basel, where they painted pro-Israel murals. A month later, the group staged an off-Broadway production discussing gay rights in Israel. This month, they hosted an "Indie Rock for Israel" concert.

With no shortage of passion, the group can sometimes seem unfocused. Among the things it is working on is a cookbook, with recipes related to freedom. Another program has its members, calling themselves the fashion police, handing out tickets to women who are dressed in tight or short clothing; the tickets give the history of women dressed immodestly in Iran and Saudi Arabia. The group also holds monthly life drawing classes featuring nude models; there is always an Israel connection, such as a class focusing on Israeli environmentalism, where models came out painted in green body paint.

The trip to Israel, though, carries a message of solidarity. The art is meant to help "the Israeli people to see that they are not alone," said Pane, and to beautify parts of their neighborhoods with a permanent message of unity. "We're looking to unify beyond the Jewish and Israeli communities," she said.

While in Israel, the group plans to paint bomb shelters in Sderot, work with children suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, paint a women's shelter and create a mural with the help of local kids. The artists plan to stay with families during their trip.

"Hopefully, they will come back inspired and willing to become even greater advocates for Israel in the American press and in their arts communities," Dershowitz said.

Notably, none of the artists are Jewish and all are volunteering their time. Among them is C.J. Reilly, a 25-year-old mural artist who met Dershowitz at an art show.

"I'm not a really big political advocate," admitted Reilly. "I support Israel and I support democracy."

To him, mural painting represents a platform for congregation and something people can admire together. "It's not this great thing that solves everything. It becomes a nice facet for people to sit with," he said.

"I'm not really here to talk about politics, but to teach drawing, to teach painting" to children in Sderot, he said.

"With that, I'm very serious and really committed to helping kids that want to participate in this mural work, to help them create a substance that we can leave behind that they can benefit from."

Persbureau Reuters laat zijn kleur zien

Elder of Ziyon meldde gisteren hoe Reuters met een klacht van Hamas omging:

Reuters caves to Hamas

I mentioned yesterday that Hamas was upset at an on-line ad that was seen at the Reuters Arabic service site, offering a $10 million reward for information on the whereabouts of Gilad Shalit.

Reuters' response to the terrorist group is instructive.

Palestine Today reports that Reuters responded to the criticism, saying that it was an automated ad placed there by Google Ads, and not - Allah forbid! - placed by any Reuters staffers. After all, an ad that seeks to free a prisoner illegally held in an unknown location without any access to the Red Cross would be thoroughly offensive to any Reuters employee, right?

Reuters then cravenly added that they immediately acted to remove the ad, and "we are now taking steps to ensure non-recurrence of such things in the future."

Reuters additionally wrote back to the offended terrorist organization that Reuters has a long history of covering the Middle East in a neutral and accurate manner, stressing that they are committed to continuing this approach, they wrote "We are clear and faithful to our principles of integrity, independence and distance from bias."

Helaas reageren ze niet zo attent en constructief op kritiek van pro-Israelische zijde. Wat is er eigenlijk mis met de betreffende advertentie en waarom die haast om hem te verwijderen?

dinsdag 27 april 2010

Kibboets in Jordaanvallei kwaad over gedwongen vernietiging fundamenten nieuwbouw

Aaron Lerner zit aan de rechterkant van het politieke spectrum in Israel.

Schrijft hij expres "DM [Defense Minister] Obama", of haalt hij Barak en Barack per ongeluk door elkaar?

Op de Westoever zijn niet veel kibboetzen, maar in de jaren '70 werden er enkelen gevestigd in de Jordaanvallei. Ook de linkse Arbeidspartij wilde die toen behouden voor Israel om veiligheidsredenen. Het Allon plan voorzag in teruggave van het Palestijnse kerngebied aan Jordanië, maar de onherbergzame Jordaanvallei en de woestijn van Judea waren vrijwel onbevolkt.

Wouter

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Kibbutzim in Jordan Valley Furious – DM Barak destroys foundations to placate Obama
Dr. Aaron Lerner

Date: 25 April 2010

Maariv correspondent Daliya Mazori reports in today's edition that members of Kibbutz Almog and Beit Ha'arava in the Jordan Valley say that they are abandoning the Labor Party in protest of the demolition on Thursday of foundations for homes for the sons of Kibbutz members at the instruction of Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The foundations were almost completed prior to the construction freeze and the kibbutzim promised not to continue construction until the freeze ended – and to date honored their word.

DM Obama ordered that the foundations be demolished because they were not completed before the freeze.

"He insisted that they be demolished. We met with Barak several times. I told him, we honor the law and won't play around, but please leave the foundations alone. He stood his ground. The claim we heard from him was that Obama wanted to see that construction is being demolished everywhere it takes place and not just in the settlements." Mordechai Dahman, the head of the Megilot Dead Sea Regional Council said.

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Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)
(Mail POB 982 Kfar Sava)
Tel 972-9-7604719/Fax 972-3-7255730
INTERNET ADDRESS: imra@netvision.net.il
Website: http://www.imra.org.il

Bouw voor Joden in Oost-Jeruzalem bevroren

Nu ook deze concessie binnen is, mogen we verwachten dat de Palestijnen in ruil Israel erkennen als Joodse staat, Joodse rechten in Jeruzalem erkennen, stoppen met het verheerlijken van geweld en onmiddelijk directe onderhandelingen starten met Israel. Of denk ik nu te positief over de Palestijnen?

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The Jerusalem Post
East Jerusalem construction frozen
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
26/04/2010 15:02
http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Article.aspx?id=173984

De facto freeze proceeds despite Netanyahu's disapproval.

The government has imposed a de facto freeze on new Jewish construction in east Jerusalem despite Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's public insistence it would not be stopped in the face of US pressure, Jerusalem municipal officials said Monday.

The apparent freeze would likely reflect Netanyahu's need to mend a serious rift with the US over Israeli construction on lands the Palestinians claim for a future state, and to bring the Palestinians back to the negotiating table.

However, it remained unclear if the slowdown actually constituted a moratorium or how long it would last.

A government official claimed a weeks-long delay in reviewing plans for new construction was a bureaucratic issue and not evidence of a freeze. But the fact that new plans are not going ahead dovetails with signs that the Palestinians might ease their demand that the contentious construction stop before they resume peace talks.

In Washington, US officials said they were aware of news of the freeze but were seeking clarification from the Israeli government and had no immediate comment.

Jerusalem councilman Meir Margalit of Meretz said top Jerusalem officials intimately involved with construction projects told him Netanyahu's office ordered a freeze after Israel infuriated Washington last month by announcing plans for more housing in east Jerusalem's Ramat Shlomo during a visit by US Vice President Joe Biden.

After word of the project got out, Palestinians called off indirect peace talks that the US was about to start brokering. Palestinian leaders will seek backing this week from the Arab League to participate in those talks.

"The government ordered the Interior Ministry immediately after the Biden incident to not even talk about new construction for Jewish homes in east Jerusalem," Margalit said. "It's not just that building has stopped: The committees that deal with this are not even meeting anymore."

He asked not to identify the officials who informed him of the order because they had not approved the disclosure of their names. A Jerusalem municipal spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking interviews with the officials.

'Planning committee has not met since Biden visit'

Another councilman, Meir Turgeman, who sits on the Interior Ministry committee that approves building plans, said his panel has not met since the Biden visit, after previously meeting once weekly.

"I wrote a letter about three weeks or a month ago asking Interior Minister Eli Yishai why the committee isn't convening," he said. "To this day I haven't received an answer.

Turgeman added that the last time his committee met was to approve the 1,600-apartment Ramat Shlomo project that riled the Americans.

He said he received no official word of a de facto freeze order, "but based on the situation, those are the facts. We used to meet once a week, and now for several months we haven't met. It's clear there's an order."

A separate municipal planning committee, which answers to the city, has only met once — last week, giving preliminary approval to a synagogue and kindergarten in a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem, he said.

An engineer who oversees residential construction in a Jewish neighborhood in east Jerusalem said requests for proposals to build hundreds of apartments haven't gone out. "I think it's related to the political situation," he said, adding that he knew of no official order to block construction.

The engineer spoke on condition of anonymity because he does business with the city and speaking out on this issue might risk putting that in jeopardy.

Netanyahu has said that he was taken by surprise by the approval of the Ramat Shlomo project while Biden was here, and aides announced that he would make sure he would be kept in the loop in the future before any decisions were taken on controversial construction.

It was not clear how a freeze would affect the Ramat Shlomo project, which has received final approval. However, Netanyahu told Biden during the vice president's visit that the project would take years to build.

Asked about Margalit's claim that a freeze order was in effect, government spokesman Mark Regev replied: "Following the Biden visit and the mishap, the prime minister asked that a mechanism be put in place to prevent a recurrence of this kind of debacle."

He would not elaborate, and stopped short of saying Netanyahu had ordered a freeze.

Efrat Orbach, a spokeswoman for the Interior Ministry, said this mechanism explained why planning committee meetings were being delayed, because now multiple ministries had to be involved in the coordination.

"There is no freeze, there is bureaucracy," Orbach said.

Voorzichtige toenadering Abbas en Netanjahoe na verdere Israelische concessies

Onderstaande verklaringen klinken voor Abbas' doen verzoenend, maar waarom geen directe onderhandelingen starten?

The PA president emphasized that the demand for a halt to Jewish construction in east Jerusalem was not a new one, and that the PA had been calling for such a freeze since the Road Map was compiled.

Maar tijdens het Annapolis vredesproces van een paar jaar geleden onderhandelde Abbas direct met Israel, ondanks dat er toen geen bouwstop in Oost-Jeruzalem was. Die is er daarvoor ook nooit geweest, en toch heeft ook Arafat met Israel gepraat. Dat Abbas zo'n bouwstop wil is duidelijk; Israel wil ook van alles zoals erkenning als Joodse staat, een einde aan de verheerlijking van geweld en terrorisme en het opgeven van het zogenaamde 'recht op terugkeer'. Om die reden weigeren om te praten is echter een andere zaak. Meestal is het de sterkste partij die de voorwaarden stelt, maar de Palestijnen hebben dat heel slim om weten te draaien: ze worden alom als de underdog gezien, maar gedragen zich vaak als overwinnaar, tegelijkertijd weer steeds benadrukkend hoe zwak ze zijn.

He recounted how during talks with the previous Israeli government, the two sides had agreed to negotiate "based on the 1967 borders with land swaps."
"I presented my maps and [former prime minister Ehud Olmert] responded with his maps," he said.

Ook dit is onjuist. Olmert presenteerde kaarten die een verregaand voorstel laten zien, maar dat werd door Abbas afgewezen. Er is niets bekend over kaarten van Abbas en hoe die er dan uit zouden moeten zien.

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The Jerusalem Post
'I want to work with Netanyahu'
By JPOST.COM STAFF
26/04/2010 21:31
http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=174002

Abbas hopes for Arab League approval for proximity talks on May 1.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday declared his willingness to work with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, adding that he hoped to get Arab League approval for indirect proximity talks on May 1.

"Try me," Abbas told Channel 2. "I say on behalf of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, that we are prepared for an agreement."

He said that US Middle East envoy George Mitchell had put forward "various ideas" on his recent trips to the region, and that the PLO would present its proposal to the Arab League on the first day of next month.

"I hope the response will be a positive one," he said.

The PA president emphasized that the demand for a halt to Jewish construction in east Jerusalem was not a new one, and that the PA had been calling for such a freeze since the Road Map was compiled.

Stressing that Netanyahu was the prime minister "chosen by the Israeli people and elected by the Knesset," Abbas said that on that basis, it was his "duty to work with him."

In response, Netanyahu said he "commends any willingness to resume peace talks."

Regarding that 'Law of Return' for Palestinians refugees, the PA leader hinted that he was not asking for an influx of Palestinians into Israel, merely saying, "The Road Map stipulates a 'just solution,' so let's just say, I want a "just solution.'"

He expressed confidence at being able to "explain" the agreed-upon solution to the refugee issue to the Palestinian people.

Concerning recent calls for renewed Palestinian resistance in the West Bank, Abbas said he did "not want demonstrations that deteriorate into violence."

Abbas played down PA Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad's stated intention to declare a Palestinian state in 2011, saying, "There will be no unilateral moves, we want an agreement."

In a message of reassurance about Hamas rule in Gaza, Abbas said he was confident that the Arab world would solve the issue, and stressed that he was in "constant contact" with the group in a bid for a reconciliation agreement.

The PA president went on to say that he had made an offer to Hamas to take captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit off the group's hands and allow Abbas to hammer out a swap deal, but to no avail.

"I have said to Hamas 100 times, 'Give Schalit to me and I'll get a deal that will satisfy everyone,'" he said.

He recounted how during talks with the previous Israeli government, the two sides had agreed to negotiate "based on the 1967 borders with land swaps."

"I presented my maps and [former prime minister Ehud Olmert] responded with his maps," he said.

VS veiligheidsadviseur James Jones vertelt mop over handige Joodse handelaren

Zo'n mop vertel je als je je 'onder ons' voelt, als je er zeker van bent dat je als 'one of the guys' wordt gezien, en bevestigt dit gevoel op zijn beurt ook. Als een buitenlander in Nederlands gezelschap een mop over gierige Nederlanders vertelt zou ik dat zo opvatten, en niet als een belediging. Maar met de Joden ligt het logischerwijze allemaal extra gevoelig, en dat had Jones moeten weten. Daarbij vinden niet alle Joden de huidige VS regering fair naar Israel toe. Het is geen gelopen race, het is zelfs geen thuiswedstrijd, maar een opgave het vertrouwen terug te winnen en te laten zien dat men niet vooral oog heeft voor Arabische belangen, en Israel niet aan goede contacten in de Arabische wereld ondergeschikt heeft gemaakt.

Maar hé, mag er dan helemaal niet meer worden gelachen? Jawel, maar Jones had misschien beter deze variant kunnen vertellen.

Hij heeft inmiddels zijn verontschuldigingen aangeboden.

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Last update - 17:52 25/04/2010
James Jones' Jewish joke - funny or inappropriate?
By Nathan Guttman, The Forward
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1165212.html

National Security Adviser James L. Jones doesn't necessarily come across as the amusing guy at policy events. Rather, the veteran general is known for his measured and careful wording, and his somewhat monotonic delivery.

Maybe that is why some were surprised when Jones decided to open his remarks at the 25-year anniversary gala of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy with a joke. Not just any joke - a Jewish joke that some say was in poor taste.

And here is how it goes:

A Taliban militant gets lost and is wandering around the desert looking for water. He finally arrives at a store run by a Jew and asks for water.

The Jewish vendor tells him he doesn't have any water but can gladly sell him a tie. The Taliban begins to curse and yell at the Jewish storeowner. The Jew, unmoved, offers the rude militant an idea: Beyond the hill, there is a restaurant; they can sell you water.

The Taliban keeps cursing and finally leaves toward the hill. An hour later he's back at the tie store. He walks in and tells the merchant: "Your brother tells me I need a tie to get into the restaurant."

The joke drew a wave of laughs and applause from participants, many of whom are Jewish. The Washington Institute, an independent think tank widely seen as being pro-Israel, was founded by Jewish donors who are now on the institute's board.

After the speech, two participants suggested, in private conversations with the Forward, that Jones' joke might have been inappropriate. After all, making jokes about greedy Jewish merchants can be seen at times as insensitive.

A prominent think-tank source who attended the event said the joke was "wrong in so many levels" and that it "demonstrated a lack of sensitivity." The source also asked: "Can you imagine him telling a black joke at an event of African Americans?"

Was the joke out of place?

That is probably a matter of taste. One thing is for sure: Some people must have felt a little uncomfortable with it. The White House transcript sent to reporters after the event did not include the joke and conveniently began a couple of minutes into the speech. The video of the event posted on the Washington Institute Web site also did not include this portion of the speech.

Luckily, the event was filmed by C-SPAN and several Israeli TV networks, so everything is on record. Just in case anyone feels a need to keep on digging into Jones' sense of humor.