[Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News] 12/31 Link Pt2: A round up of 2013 Top 10's, Greatest IDF Moments of 2013.

From Ian:

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Caroline Glick: Empowering Palestinians who reject Israel's right to exist

That's right. The same America that until a few years ago led the free world in the global war against terror, now conditions its support for Israel, its chief regional ally in that war, on the Jewish state's willingness to release unrepentant, mass murdering terrorists back into Palestinian society.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but it ought to go without saying that this policy hinders, rather than advances the cause of peace. It is impossible to rationally claim that by coercing Israel into releasing people like Juma Ibrahim Juma Adam and Mahmoud Salam Saliman Abu Karbish that the US is advancing the cause of peace.

Quote of Note: PLO Leader Zahir Muhsein

According to Mr. Muhsein, "the Palestinian people does not exist."
Who are we to argue?
Nonetheless, if the very point of "Palestinian" people-hood was something other than trying to rob the Jewish people of our homeland after persecuting us for 13 centuries, I would be more than happy to welcome them into the greater family of nations. However, since the "Palestinians" only emerged as a group for the purpose of doing the Jewish people terrible harm, within living memory of the Holocaust, I see no reason whatsoever in acknowledging them as a distinct ethnicity or nation, particularly given the fact that they are not a distinct ethnicity or nation. Nations do not come into existence for the sole purpose of destroying other nations and even if they sometimes did, those whom they seek to destroy are under no moral or ethical obligation to assist them by recognizing them.
Israel should cease undermining its own well-being by dealing with these people. Mahmoud Abbas should be entirely persona non grata, as should the PLO, Fatah, and the Palestinian Authority.

Is anti-Zionism the same as antisemitism?

The standard defence against any accusation of antisemitism nowadays is to claim that you are an anti-Zionist (generally considered by the main stream media to be a good, liberal, enlightened position) and not an antisemite (generally considered by the main stream media to be a very bad thing). That is certainly the 'defence' that Nicolas Anelka, for example, will be using since even his openly antisemitic hero whom he claims his salute was dedicated to, has already used it himself.
So, following on from my previous posts (the difference between the Nazi boycott of Jews and the Israel boycott movement, and what leftists really believe) I have produced a chart below which obviously confirms that anti-Zionism and antisemitism have absolutely nothing in common.

Analysis: Can Israel annex the Jordan Valley under international law?

Essentially, all of the above arguments, both for and against, can be made regarding the Jordan Valley, with two wrinkles.
Those supporting annexation might try to argue that at worst, Jordan, like Syria, attacked Israel first in 1967, but at best, the Jordan Valley was part of the Israeli-Palestinian disputed areas in which, unlike the Golan which had been under Syrian sovereignty, there really was no prior sovereign Palestinian country in control of the territory, to which it would now have to be returned.
Unlike the Golan, the Jordan Valley can be said to be part of the Oslo process (in which it was categorized as Area C, remaining under Israeli control at least until later negotiation stages) and its successor talks.

Eugene Kontorovich: Murders or Houses: Kerry's V.A.T. on Peace

Moreover, if the occupation were so terrible (or real) one would think Abbas would be in a hurry to get to the bargaining table without any preliminaries. This suggests Abbas is not in such a hurry to get an "end of the occupation" so much as particular tactical wins. Moreover, the fact that a top priority for Abbas is the release of mass murders so they can be feted and remunerated shows that "peace" is not vaguely on the horizon, regardless of whether a Kerry diplomatic achievement is. If Bibi partied down with Jewish terrorist Baruch Goldstein, it would be the end of his career.
But aren't houses less important than justice for the murdered? Of course. However, unlike the release of terrorists, a construction freeze is fundamentally related to the substance of the negotiations themselves. That is, of all the proposed "gestures," the freeze would not only be problematic in itself, but would have Israel start negotiations on its back foot.

PM: Murderers are not heroes

Peace will only come when Israel's "security and settlement interests" are ensured, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Tuesday, adding "settlement interests" for the first time into his usual formula about Israel's security needs.
Netanyahu, speaking in Tiberias at a conference on Galilee development, also took the Palestinian Authority to task for the reception it gave the released Palestinian security prisoners overnight.
"Peace will come only when our security and settlement interests will be ensured," he said, placing "settlement interests" together with "security ones," a new formulation and slight change of nuance that could have significance as US Secretary of State John Kerry arrives Thursday to push forward the talks with the Palestinians.

Misled by Bimkom, Reuters Must Correct on Shuafat Building

We noted, in part, Browning's factual error, in which he claims:

Palestinians in and around Shuafat have lacked officially approved residential plans for over 45 years, according to the Israeli building rights group Bimkom – meaning any construction since then is illegal and subject to possible demolition.

After the publication of our analysis, we received a detailed response from Ariela Smilensky-Deri, the spokeswoman for the municipality's engineering department, regarding building plans for Shuafat in which have enabled the construction of hundreds of residential units in Shuafat in recent years.

Chief Palestinian Authority Negotiator: Peace Talks With Israel Have Failed, Pointless to Continue

Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for the Palestinian Authority, said on Monday that since peace talks with Israel have failed, it is pointless to continue negotiating for the duration of the nine- month agreed upon period, Israeli daily Ma'ariv reported.

Nicolas Anelka, sex, and the triumph of hatred

The lesson, though — and there is a chilling lesson here — relates to hatred's capacity to brand its bitter mark on the souls of those who are prone to carrying chips on their shoulders, those who feel grudges and slights, those who believe that they are not being given their due — be they the German masses in the years approaching World War II, whipped up by Nazi incitement, or multi-millionaire soccer players who have nonetheless managed to convince themselves that the world is against them, stirred up by cynical politician-comedians.
Anelka hadn't scored a goal in England in more than two years. Now he had broken that dry spell, to the ecstatic relief of his teammates, his management, tens of thousands of adoring fans in the stadium, and untold numbers watching across the globe. What a moment, so long yearned-for. What a release. But in those first glorious seconds of triumph, influenced by his cynical, anti-Semitic friend, he was able to suppress the instinctive sense of delight and joy almost all of us would have felt and would have exhibited. To easily suppress those instincts.

French 'quenelle' comedian faces trial for gas chamber slur

Paris prosecutors on Monday ordered the opening of a criminal investigation against the comedian Dieudonné M'bala M'bala on suspicion of incitement to racial hatred, according to the news site 20minutes.fr. They were reacting to the airing of a television show about Dieudonné earlier this month on France 2, in which Dieudonné said: "When I hear about Patrick Cohen, I say to myself: You see, the gas chambers… It's a shame."
Cohen, a veteran journalist for France Inter, earlier this year criticized France 2 for giving airtime to people with what he termed "sick minds." He named Dieudonné along with Tariq Ramadan, a Swiss professor who is banned from entering the United States for his support for Palestinian terrorist groups; Holocaust denier Alain Soral; and Marc-Edouard Nabe, an anti-Zionist writer who has been accused of anti-Semitism.

Wiesenthal Center Accepts Tony Parker Apology, Calls for Statement in French

Jewish human rights group, the Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), has accepted an apology issued by NBA star Tony Parker, after strongly criticizing his past use of the "quenelle" gesture which is widely considered to be anti-Semitic, and has been described as "the Nazi salute in reverse." However, the group said that it is crucial that Parker also issues the statement in French.

BBC Sport amplifies Anelka excuses, downplays antisemitism

Given that the target audience of this report is for the most part unlikely to be well versed on the subject of antisemitic trends in some of the darker corners of French social media and considering that this offensive trend appears to be spreading in the sporting world, it is especially regrettable that BBC Sport has wasted the opportunity to adequately clarify the background to the controversy surrounding Anelka's action to BBC audiences, instead opting to amplify assorted excuses and downplay the antisemitism of Anelka's racist friend.

UN Watch: Top 10 worst U.N. decisions of 2013

1. The UN Human Rights Council elected Hezbollah supporter Jean Ziegler, founder and recipient of the Muammar Qaddafi Human Rights Prize, as a top advisor.

BBC corrections and complaints – 2013 round-up

With the end of the year approaching fast, it is time to take a look at some of the corrections the BBC has made over the past year – and some it has not.
On the BBC News website, corrections can be divided into those made clear to audiences in a footnote and those which are 'stealth' corrections with no public acknowledgement of changes made to reports.

Top Ten MidEast Media Mangles for 2013

This year, the media have blundered all too many times in reporting on the Middle East. There were, unfortunately, countless potential "winners," but CAMERA has identified our...

Jordanian wins prestigious Israeli research scholarship

A 26-year-old Jordanian master's student in Israel, Zainab Taya, will be the first Jordanian ever to receive the Yair Guron Memorial Scholarship, for her work using desert plant extracts to halt the spread of cancer cells. Taya studies and performs her research at the excavation extension of the Dead Sea and Arava Science Center, which operates under the auspices of Ben University.
Her scholarship, meanwhile, will be awarded in January at the Yair Research Station, part of the Central and Northern Arava Research and Development center. (h/t Bob Knot)

Justin Timberlake to perform in Tel Aviv in May

Open your calendars and mark the date: Barring any last-minute changes, American pop star Justin Timberlake is set to perform in Israel on May 28th in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, Israel Hayom has learned.

7 people who stood with Israel in 2013

Let's be real: 2013 was a tough year for Israel in the public eye.
From biased headlines in the international press, to the BDS movement, to the rising tide of anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism sweeping across the world, we got the memo: There are a lot of people who really don't like Israel.
But you know what? These shmucks get enough air time as it is, so we're going to take the focus off of them for a change, and instead talk about the wonderful people who have stood with Israel in 2013.

ISRAEL21c's top 10 most-read stories of 2013

ISRAEL21c takes a look back at a busy year of stories to bring you our 10 most popular stories.

Top 10 most popular ISRAEL21c videos of 2013

A new medical device for the blind, mouthwatering goodies, and a new 'Postcard From Israel' travel series won over YouTube viewers in 2013.

Israeli high-tech soared in 2013

Waze acquisition leads year of impressive exits and rise in mobile and web investments.

WATCH: Greatest IDF Moments of 2013

2013 was a momentous year for the IDF. Through all of the challenges and celebrations, we remained focused on our supreme goal: to defend the people of Israel.
This year, as every year, terrorism struck Israeli civilians and soldiers. Whether it was gunfire on troops, rockets fired at civilians, explosives placed near soldiers, or attempted kidnappings, terrorist organizations did their utmost to carry out attacks against the State of Israel – but the enemy's determination only strengthened our resolve to defend Israel and its citizens.

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Posted By Ian to Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News at 12/31/2013 06:00:00 PM