[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] 11/19 Links Pt2: LATMA returns?, Bennett schools Amanpour, Fisk turns on Arafat, Gasoline from water!

From Ian:

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At Last? Channel 1 to Sign Contract with 'Latma' Satire

The Chairman and the Director of the Israel Broadcasting Authority (IBA) promised the Knesset's Education Committee Monday that the IBA will sign a contract with nationalistic satire Latma in two months' time, for production of a weekly program.
The satire ran successfully on an internet platform for three years but negotiations with IBA's TV Channel 1 dragged out and came to nothing, until Latma's production was halted in July due to budget limitations. The program is the brainchild of Caroline Glick, who is also Deputy Editor of the Jerusalem Post.

Busted: Former Chair of Major UK Israel Boycott Group Caught Buying Crack, Crystal Meth

The former chairman of a British consumer cooperative known for its aggressive boycotts of the Jewish state is at the center of a major controversy after being caught on camera buying illicit drugs.
In a video acquired by the Mail on Sunday, Paul Flowers was recorded discussing the cocaine and crystal meth he wants from a dealer. He then counts out £300 in £20 notes and sends a friend to make the deal.

French Government Funding of Politicized NGOs Active in the Arab-Israeli Conflict: BDS and Demonization

Organizations receiving French funding engage in political activities and lead campaigns that are inconsistent with French foreign policy in the Middle East, which calls for a "two state" framework, and with French jurisprudence that considers anti-Israel boycotts to constitute incitement and discrimination based on nationality.

The Guardian AGAIN falsely suggests that Tel Aviv is Israel's capital

So, while reading the following opening passage, in a Nov. 8 article by the Guardian's Middle East Editor Ian Black (Hawks squawk even before Iran nuclear deal is sealed), keep in mind that the paper has at least officially 'acknowledged' that Tel Aviv is NOT the capital of Israel and that the seat of government is located in Jerusalem.

Hardliners in Tehran, hawks in Tel Aviv and Washington, nervous Saudis and their Gulf allies are all alarmed at the prospect of a nuclear deal between Iran, the US and the international community.

Fisk says Yasser Arafat's real problem was that he was too trusting of Israel and America

The trouble with Fisk, like all such characters, is that once you've tried everything to discredit the Jewish state, where do you go next? In his latest article, Fisk gives us an answer: the real reason for the failure of a peace was that Yasser Arafat, the Godfather of modern terrorism, was just too generous and trusting:
"He made so many concessions to Israel – because he was growing old and wanted to go to "Palestine" before he died – that his political descendants are still paying for them. Arafat had never seen a Jewish colony on occupied land when he accepted the Oslo agreement. He trusted the Americans. He trusted the Israelis. He trusted anyone who appeared to say the right things."

Fisk Revives Uranium Charge?

Back in October 2006, Fisk was given the front page of the UK's Independent to spread the libel that Israel had used uranium-based weapons in southern Lebanon. The charge was swiftly debunked yet Fisk and the Independent have never, to this day, retracted this libel.
Fisk still seems to be stringing along the story, despite the evidence, that Israel has used depleted uranium weaponry. Even after it is confirmed to him that no such weaponry is in IDF usage, Fisk still implies that these figments of his imagination have been deployed somewhere.
When will Robert Fisk give up his Israeli uranium charge?

Israel critics can't handle "Brutal Honesty" about Lydda and refugees

In other words, Israel is a "do no right colonial monster." Clearly, what Friedman means about the importance of Shavit's book is that Netanyahu should be more forthcoming and give the Palestinians everything that they demand to make peace, because, in truth, Israel is truly responsible for the Palestinians' suffering.
However, the story of Lydda (now called Lod) is not so simple. The residents of Lydda were not summarily expelled. The expulsion was a response to a massacre of Israeli soldiers, after the town had agreed to terms of surrender.

Laura Rozen Accuses Jewish Expert of Speaking at Instruction of Israeli Government

Foreign policy reporter Laura Rozen tweeted, and then deleted, a claim that a Jewish official at a prominent Washington think tank took positions on Iran at the instruction of the Israeli government.
Rozen, a reporter for the Middle East news site Al Monitor, tweeted the accusation on Friday as Foundation for Defense of Democracies' (FDD) executive director Mark Dubowitz was giving a radio interview about Iran's contested nuclear program.

Netanyahu invites Abbas to Knesset 'for sake of peace'

Netanyahu, speaking at a special session in honor of visiting French President Francois Hollande, said he would return the favor and speak in Ramallah in service of a two-state solution.
"Most of the Knesset members are unified: In order for the peace to be real, it must go in both directions. One cannot demand that we recognize a Palestinian national state without demanding of them to recognize a Jewish state," the prime minister said.
"Mr. President, hours ago you met Mahmoud Abbas," Netanyahu noted, addressing Hollande. "And I call on him today: Let's break the stalemate. Come to the Knesset. I will come to Ramallah. Come onto this stage and recognize the historical truth."

Ben-Gurion's Legacy: Resisting U.S. Pressure

McDonald further wrote: "Two U.N. Security Council resolutions passed [with U.S. support] have implicitly threatened sanctions if Israeli troops were not withdrawn [from the 'occupied Negev']." Ben-Gurion reacted defiantly: "Israel has been attacked by six Arab States. As a small country, Israel must reserve the right of self-defense even if it goes down fighting. … As Ben-Gurion once put it to me, 'What Israel has won on the battlefield, it is determined not to yield at the [U.N. Security] Council table.'"
As a result of Ben-Gurion's determined stance, "there was apparently indecision and much heart-searching in Washington…. Our [responding] note abandoned completely the stern tone of its predecessor. … Fists and knuckles were unclenched. … The crisis was past. The next few months marked a steady retreat from the intransigence of the United States' May note. … Washington ceased to lay down the law to Tel Aviv."

Minister Bennett: Now is Most Fateful Time for Israel Since Yom Kippur War

On a mission in the U.S. to represent Israel's position on the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, the Jewish state's Economy Minister Naftali Bennett was blunt and to the point, speaking before a crowd at Manhattan's 92nd Street Y Sunday.
"It is the most fateful days since the Yom Kippur War in Israel," he said, referring to the time since the founding of modern Israel that the country was most in peril.

Bennett: One Cannot 'Occupy' His Own Homeland

When Amanpour, however, used the term "occupied West Bank" in her question, Bennett held up a coin which, he pointed out, was "used by Jews 2,000 years ago in the state of Israel."
Amanpour tried to interrupt Bennett by saying that "occupied West Bank" was "an international term" but Bennett continued, "I don't accept it. This coin, which says in Hebrew 'freedom of Zion' was used by Jews 2,000 years ago in the state of Israel, in what you call 'occupied'".
"One cannot occupy his own home," stressed Bennett. (7:30)

PA: No Peace Without Full 'Right of Return'

In a law approved by the PA parliament in 2008, and signed into law by Abbas, the "right of return of Palestinian refugees to their homes and property, along with compensation for their suffering, is a holy cornerstone of their rights that cannot be negotiated away. There will be no consideration of negotiation on this issue, nor will there be a referendum on it," the law says.
A separate PA law states that "it is forbidden for Palestinian refugees to leave their current domicile as a solution for the 'right of return.' Anyone who acts against this law will be seen as a traitor, and will be subject to the penalties that this crime entails." The law of the language is similar to that of the law against selling land to Jews. PA Arabs who do so are considered "traitors," and their penalty is death.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon visits Auschwitz

Ban said "nothing can truly prepare one for this epicenter of evil, where systematic murder unique in human history reached its atrocious climax."
During his visit, Ban also saw exhibitions documenting the lives of the inmates and the conditions they suffered.
"The world must never forget, deny or downplay the Holocaust. We must remain ever on our guard," Ban said during his visit.

Knesset to Speak Up for Rights of Jews Expelled from Arab Lands

As the date for Israel's independence edged closer throughout the 1940s, Jews who had lived for centuries in Arab-majority countries such as Egypt, Iraq, and Libya found themselves increasingly persecuted by their Arab co-nationals.
When Israel was established, approximately one million Jews from Arab countries were forced to leave their homes due to pogroms, state discrimination and persecution. In many cases, such as the former Jewish community of Libya, entire Jewish populations were simply expelled in one go by the government.

Israel in the Philippines

Israel is so ready to extend aid in part precisely because we have grappled with and overcome so many difficulties. Our experiences give us so much to offer others. In dealing with our own unique challenges, Israelis have become experts at dealing with emergency scenarios; have the know-how to develop agriculture in deserts; and have developed water conservation techniques in a region that is desperately short of water.

Philippines ambassador joins Jerusalem youths in effort for typhoon victims

Philippine Ambassador Generoso D.G. Calogne rolled up his sleeves, along with 21 eighth-graders from Boys Town Jerusalem in the capital Monday morning, to pack much-needed relief supplies for Typhoon Haiyan survivors still reeling from the devastating tropical storm.
Working in coordination with the Philippine Embassy, Calogne and the students prepared 25 boxes filled with ready-to-eat food, blankets, pillows and other basic necessities donated by the school, located in the Bayit Vagan neighborhood.

IDF Home Front Command Repairs School in the Philippines



Christian IDF Recruitment Numbers Affirm Israeli Democracy

Over the summer, the Israeli media highlighted a phenomenon that is both intriguing and encouraging: a movement among Israel's Christian Arabs advocating that their community be drafted, along with the country's Jewish and Druze citizens, into the Israel Defense Forces.
Historically, Israel's Arab citizens have been exempted from mandatory conscription. There have been exceptions—many Bedouin, for example, have served in the IDF with distinction—but those who actually volunteer are a tiny minority. At the same time, many Arabs have complained, not without justification, that the exemption marginalizes them from fully participating in Israeli life.

Fill 'er up with a gallon of 'water gasoline'

With a revolutionary system for making gasoline out of hydrogen extracted from water, and from carbon dioxide, two of the most common substances on earth, Herskowitz believes that he and his team at Ben-Gurion (including Prof. Miron Landau, Dr. Roxana Vidruk, and others at BGU's Blechner Center for Industrial Catalysis and Process Development) have come up with the one alternative fuel that can succeed on a wide scale.
Herskowitz's fuel is the realization of generations of inventors as well as environmentalists — a clean-burning fuel that that can replace refined oil in existing engines, saving society the huge cost, not to mention hassle, of changing everything to accommodate new fuel technologies.

TIME names ReWalk among '25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013

Israeli-developed exoskeleton for paraplegics is one of TIME magazine's 25 Best Inventions of the Year 2013. The medical device developed by ARGO Medical Technologies is hailed for the autonomy it gives back to those who need it most.
"Call it an exoskeleton or a bionic suit, but for paraplegics, it's freedom. This innovative device, developed by a quadriplegic Israeli scientist, relies on sensors that anticipate shifts in the user's balance and translates them into movements like walking and standing," writes the magazine about ReWalk.

In Israel, water where there was none

Israel, hoping to build on its home-grown success, is now turning to Massachusetts as an ally in this contest between nature and technology as rising temperatures, spreading deserts, growing populations, and pollution make water an increasingly precious commodity around the world. Attracted by the state's technical know-how, innovative culture, and access to world markets, Israeli companies are investing, relocating, and seeking partnerships in Massachusetts to further advance their technologies and build a US platform from which to launch their global ambitions.
In Massachusetts, state officials and entrepreneurs see collaboration with Israel as an opportunity to build another world-class technology sector, one that will create potable water from the ocean; nurture crops with treated sewage; manage water quality with software; and mine for water in much the same way precious gems are unearthed. (h/t sophie44)

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Posted By Ian to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 11/19/2013 06:00:00 PM