[Elder of Ziyon] Thursday Links Part 2

From Ian:

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Israel's Ambassador to the U.S: Iron Dome is Important to Peace Process (VIDEO)

Following his public statement criticizing a "60 Minutes" report that asserted Israel's Iron Dome defense system would hinder rather than help along the peace process, Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, appeared Tuesday Morning on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program to tout its capabilities.
"It not only saved Israeli lives but it saved Palestinian lives because we didn't have to operate on the ground," Oren noted, referring to Iron Dome's effectiveness during Israel's November conflict with Gaza terrorists. He believes the program will also be instrumental in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinian Authority because, "It gave us space and time."

Andrew Bolt: If Wilders is wrong, explain this conference
This hypocrisy and fear is exposed best by what is misleadingly called a "Peace Conference and Exhibition" being organised in Melbourne in March.

Al-Azhar Sheikh Abdur-Rahman Al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, is the highest-ranking cleric in the Sunni Muslim world. He has prayed to God to "terminate" the Jews and is a virulent anti-Semite to judge from his sermons:

IDF: Expect Intifada, Not Talks with Palestinian Authority

Israel's military is training for the possibility the Palestinian Authority may soon launch a formal third intifada.
A senior IDF officer warned Thursday morning during an interview on Army Radio that army analysts believe it is likely the PA will choose to launch an intifada over returning to the negotiating table for final status talks with Israel.
The officer, who serves in the regions of Judea and Samaria, said Thursday in an interview on Army Radio that soldiers are currently training to deal with four-week confrontation scenarios.

Fatah mad over reported indirect Israel-Hamas talks By Khaled Abu Toameh

Fatah official says only PLO is authorized to conduct negotiations as the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinians."
Fatah officials expressed outrage on Wednesday over reports that Hamas and Israel are conducting indirect talks in Cairo.
According to the reports, Israeli and Hamas officials who arrived in Cairo recently have been holding indirect talks about consolidating the current cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, which has been in effect since Operation Pillar of Defense ended in November.
Jamal Muheissen, member of the Fatah Central Committee, said the talks Hamas has been conducting with Israel are "unacceptable."

CAMERA: Where's the Coverage? LGBT Community Suffers in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority

Even ten years in prison for homosexuality is not the worst that can happen to a gay man in Gaza. Last year, the Hamas-run regime executed a gay man.
Gay Palestinians regularly seek to escape to Israel. In considering a case where a gay Palestinian man sought asylum, the Israeli High Court of Justice ordered the state to take into consideration the degree to which his life would be at risk due to his sexual orientation, should he be returned to the West Bank.

A Chinese Life Is Worth Less Than a Middle Eastern Life

Imagine the international uproar if 100 young Palestinian Arabs burnt themselves to death while demanding Israel return land to the Arabs? Not 100 at once, but one by one, one could envision the topic dominating world headlines. Coverage of funerals, visuals of their families and undoubtedly we'd see pundit after pundit pontificating on the need to "understand their frustrations."
Meanwhile, in Nepal, 100 Tibetans have burnt themselves to death to protest Chinese rule of Tibet – and it has largely been ignored by the media. No calls for China to give in to Tibet because of the poor oppressed Tibetian people – no U.N. peace force, and little media coverage. In December 2010, a Tunisian fruit-vendor set himself on fire, and media coverage of subsequent Arab riots and the "Arab spring" fueled global headlines for months on end. Despite the fact that China is a world power, the Middle East is more interesting to the media, and for the media seemingly a Chinese life is worth less than a Middle Eastern one.

Honest Reporting: Whose Opinion Matters? A Look at the New York Times

And it's not as if there are regular columnists working at the Times who clarify Israel's perspective to readers. Roger Cohen and Tom Friedman, the columnists who write most frequently about Israel, are both clearly critics of the Netanyahu government and its policies. This comes through in the combined 22 columns the two penned during 2012.
The Times did not completely prevent dissenting viewpoints from appearing on the op-ed pages. Two articles gave views supporting Israeli policy. One argued for the legality of the settlements while a second took issue with those who have said that a military strike on Iran would not be effective. Yet these two articles hardly constitute "balance."
Overall, 68 percent of opinion pieces in the New York Times in 2012 were critical of Israel while just over 2 percent were supportive.

Hollywood's Unknown Rescuer
Before Schindler's List, an L.A. studio boss saved hundreds of Jews from the Holocaust. Why was he alone?

That same year, Harry Warner was also working hard to push American policymakers to save Jewish refugees from Hitler ¬but from the top down, rather than from the bottom up. In October 1938, after hearing that the British were considering restricting Jewish immigration to Palestine, he immediately sent a telegram to his brother Jack in London, instructing him to go see U.S. Ambassador Joseph Kennedy for help. Warner sent a second missive directly to President Roosevelt—addressed "My dear president"—asking him to personally intervene. (The stress of the episode, according to Warner biographer Michael Birdwell, put Harry Warner in the hospital with bleeding ulcers that same month.)

Sarah Honig: Doing well

How many in Israel realize that this country was recently declared the second-best educated in the world (after Canada)? How many know that a recent survey declared Israel the first in the world in hi-tech Research and Development intensity?
Odds are that very few do. In our society, bad news is given resonance and the good is relegated to the margins. When Israeli fifth-graders do badly in international math evaluations, the entire country seethes. This feeds political recriminations that generate more headlines for days to follow. Our successes rarely, if ever, receive notice.

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Posted By Ian to Elder of Ziyon at 2/21/2013 11:00:00 AM