Iraqi Parliament criminalizes display of Israeli flag

From Voice of America:

Following the display of the Israeli flag in pro-independence Kurdish rallies, the Iraqi parliament, known as the Council of Representatives, voted Tuesday to ban the Israeli flag, describing it as a Zionist symbol.

"A dangerous phenomenon, representing the hoisting of the Zionist entity flag during public rallies in front of the media, has recently appeared that breaks the basic constitutional principles of Iraq," Salim al-Jabouri, Speaker of the Iraqi parliament, said while announcing the law that vows criminal prosecution against those who raise the Israeli flag in the country.

"This is an exercise that damages the reputation of Iraq and its nation and the law punishes it by the maximum penalties," the speaker added.

The law was introduced by the parliamentary bloc of the Shiite Supreme Islamic Council and was unanimously approved by other members of the Iraqi parliament. It ordered law enforcement to pursue criminal charges against "those who promote Zionist symbols in public rallies in any form, including the hoisting of the Zionist flag."

Is there anyone more insecure than these people? The idea that Kurds might be Zionist is such a threat to Iraq (whose parliament Shiite bloc are puppets of Iran)  that they have to criminalize the Israeli flag?

They sound like 7 year olds who are afraid of "cooties."

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10/31 Links Pt2: Calling Out the Tellers of Anti-Israel Lies; When old and new anti-Semitism come together

From Ian:

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Calling Out the Tellers of Anti-Israel Lies

Media coverage of, and academic writings about, Israel routinely betray the intellectual integrity that should govern both. Israel has paid a steep price; the Palestinians perhaps even more so.

It would be difficult to quantify precisely the damage inflicted by the omissions, distortions, and accusations that routinely disfigure portrayals of Israel. Still, the steady flow of malicious propaganda posing as news and scholarship poisons the debate about a complex and tragic clash between two peoples. The frequent characterizations of Israel as a moral and political monster — a state supposedly guilty of colonialism, apartheid, and all manner of war crimes and crimes against humanity including forced population transfer, ethnic cleansing, and genocide — reinforce Palestinian expectations that their demands be met immediately and in full while bolstering Israeli suspicions that they can’t get a fair hearing in the court of public opinion and can’t secure a just deal under the international community’s auspices. Gross untruths about Israel drive the parties further apart, not only defaming Israel but also setting back the legitimate interests of the Palestinians, whose cause they are contrived to advance.

Emphasizing your side’s merits and the other side’s defects is only human, and partisan reporting is an old story. The new story is that in service, for the most part, to progressive political goals, Western journalists and professors have flouted their professional obligations in order to erect an edifice of falsehoods about Israel.

To catalogue the falsehoods, expose their authors, and set the record straight requires prodigious research and painstaking documentation, a grasp of contemporary political realities, and a synoptic, historically informed understanding of the larger Israeli-Arab conflict. With the 2014 publication in Hebrew of “Tasiyat Hashkarim,” which became a bestseller in Israel, journalist Ben-Dror Yemini established that he was the man for the task. His “Industry of Lies: Media, Academia, and the Israeli-Arab Conflict,” just appearing in English translation from Hebrew, will prove indispensable to those politicians and policy makers, journalists and professors, and members of the general public who believe that getting the story right in the Middle East is inseparable from advancing the cause of peace.

Ben-Dror Yemini: When old and new anti-Semitism come together

The Jews in the United States, we are told again and again, are in a wonderful state. Indeed, in most Jewish communities, especially in New York, the number of anti-Semitic incidents is infinitesimal. The Jews are living a good life.

But something is simmering below the surface. During Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, and over the past year as well, the radical right wing has been the main star of incidents anti-Semitic in nature. This Right should not be discounted. It was dangerous in the past, and it could be dangerous again.

Something else is happening, however, and not just below the surface. Within several days, three things happened in the United States that were completely unrelated, apart from the fact they likely won’t be recorded as anti-Semitic incidents, although I doubt anyone thinks otherwise.

Let’s start with Alan Dershowitz, a well-known figure, who has been visiting campuses. It’s worth noting he isn’t right-wing. His worldview, in Israeli terms, would classify him somewhere around the Zionist Union. He is affiliated with the Democratic Party, and he is perhaps the finest speaker against the campaign to demonize Israel.

About two weeks ago, he gave a lecture at Berkeley. A week later, the local student-run newspaper, The Daily Californian, published a cartoon showing Dershowitz addressing an audience as a liberal presenting his case for Israel, but all the audience can only see is his face. In the hidden part, Dershowitz has an IDF soldier on his palm shooting a Palestinian boy, and another Palestinian boy is being crushed under his foot.

One can cry out “freedom of speech” of course, but it’s kind of difficult to hide the image of child-murdering Jews. Old anti-Semitism and new anti-Semitism in a joint performance. And it’s happening in the stronghold of progress, Berkeley.

Iraq bans Israeli flags after Kurds wave them at independence rallies

The Iraqi parliament voted on Tuesday to criminalize the flying of Israeli flags after the banners were held aloft at a number of Kurdish independence rallies ahead of a referendum in September.

The vote to ban the flags from public spaces came at the request of Ammar al-Hakim, the Shiite leader of the Citizen Bloc, the Iraqi news agency AlSumaria reported.

Israel has been among the only countries to openly support an independent Kurdish state, and many Kurds have welcomed the support, drawing accusations from Arab leaders that the referendum was a Zionist plot.

Turkey fiercely opposed the referendum and has threatened sanctions against the region, reflecting its worries about its own sizable Kurdish minority.

Iran and Iraq’s central government in Baghdad also expressed alarm over the referendum and have refused to recognize its validity.

Battle of Beersheba: Netanyahu thanks Anzacs as thousands of Australians gather to mark 100 years

Thousands of Australians, including Prime Minster Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, are attending a ceremony in the southern Israeli desert to mark 100 years since the Battle of Beersheba.

The legendary mounted charge of the 4th Light Horse Brigade in October 1917 to defeat Turkish forces and seize the strategic town of Beersheba is remembered, not just as a great military victory, but for the incredible bravery of 800 young Anzacs on horseback that changed the course of WWI.

Since first light, thousands of Australians gathered to commemorate what was one of the last great cavalry charges in history and a turning point in the Palestine campaign of WWI.

Veterans' Affairs Minister Dan Tehan spoke of the Sinai Palestine campaign as having taken place in a "land they had only heard of in scripture".

"Here at Beersheba, 100 years ago, Australians and New Zealanders fought to end a war that had begun for them at Anzac Cove," he said.

"For the people of Australia and New Zealand, the war here in the Middle East added an important and enduring chapter to the Anzac story.

"In a land that many had only heard of in scripture, The Light Horsemen, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles and the Cameliers fought through the Holy Land for our values and for our freedom. This was not an easy campaign.

"Throughout this campaign, long hours in the saddle, the scarcity of water, the lack of fresh fodder for horses in the desert, the dust and heat of the Middle Eastern summer, the hazards of battle and the absence of comforts behind the lines tested the Anzacs, sometimes to the limit of their endurance.

Australians gather to commemorate Battle of Beersheba.

Mr Turnbull said the "mad Australians" helped enable the creation of the state of Israel.

"There were more men on horses in this charge than there were in the Charge of the Light Brigade. It was a bigger charge and it was successful," Mr Turnbull said.

"Had the Ottoman rule in Palestine and Syria not been overthrown, the declaration would have been empty words. But this was a step for the creation of Israel.

WWI battle to be re-enacted in Israel on centennial of Anzac defeat of Turks

The battle was a crucial, if largely forgotten, victory in the Mideast campaign that enabled the Allies to break the Turkish line and capture Jerusalem weeks later. The victorious campaign redrew the map of the Middle East.

In the fall of 1917, Allied forces with General Sir Edmund Allenby’s Egyptian Expeditionary Force advanced on Gaza as part of a campaign to knock the Ottoman Empire, Germany’s ally, out of the war. To outflank the Turkish troops entrenched around Gaza, a parched detachment made a desperate maneuver through the Negev Desert to capture the strategic biblical town of Beersheba, known both in antiquity and in modern times for its wells.

On October 31, 1917, Allied troops launched their assault, but by late in the day, the critical water sources remained in Turkish hands. In a desperate gambit, mounted infantrymen with the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps drew their bayonets, charged the Turkish trenches cavalry-style, and stormed into the town.

Had they been turned back, the entire campaign might have been lost.

For the Australians, the Battle of Beersheba is iconic of “the spirit of the Australian people,” said Kelvin Crombie, a historian and one of the organizers of the 100th anniversary commemorations, “Daring, bold and courageous.” It’s remembered as the young nation’s first real victory, after it had suffered crushing defeats at Gallipoli and on the Western Front.

The Light Horse charge also proved decisive for the Zionist dream of a future Jewish state. Two days later, after word of the victory reached London, Britain’s foreign minister Lord Arthur Balfour issued a declaration calling for “the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people.”

“More and more Australians are beginning to understand it wasn’t just a daring military charge, it really was something that had an effect on world history,” Crombie said.

JPost Editorial: Century-old bonds

The military investment of the Australians together with the British and New Zealand in defeating Ottoman forces in Palestine was instrumental in ensuring the creation of a British Mandate over Palestine at the end of the First World War.

The reasoning was simple: The British and the Anzacs did all of the fighting and dying to liberate Palestine from the Turks. Why should Britain share it with the French and international forces, as the original version of the Sykes-Picot Agreement had originally stipulated? If the Battle of Beersheba was pivotal from a military standpoint, the Balfour Declaration provided the vision and diplomatic backing for the creation of a Jewish state in the historical homeland of the Jews.

Taken together, the Battle of Beersheba and the Balfour Declaration set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the creation of the State of Israel.

The fact that Britain and Australia were so instrumental in bringing about the world’s only Jewish state, and to this day remain proud of their role, continues to shape Israel’s relations with these two countries.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has praised Israel as “a remarkable country” and “a beacon of tolerance.” Turnbull, meanwhile, referred to the Jewish state as a “miraculous nation” and has rejected UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which in December harshly criticized Israel’s settlements. Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has stated that Israel’s building of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria is not illegal according to international law.

In coming days, as leaders from Israel, Australia and Britain commemorate the Battle of Beersheba and the Balfour Declaration, they will not just be celebrating events that took place a century ago; they will also be reaffirming the bonds that tie these countries together to this day.

New Zealand's role in World War One Israel campaign remembered 100 years on

New Zealand mounted soldiers took part in the battle of Beersheba, now part of Israel, as the allies advanced on the Turkish-held fortress town of Gaza.

Students at Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate School in Mangere have planted 246 trees, one for each New Zealand soldier killed in what was then called Palestine during World War One.

They included 23-year-old trooper Robert Miller from Mangere who rode his horse into battle at Beersheba.

"He was injured and his hand was injured. And he went to the military hospital and that was heeled obviously and then he went back out and died 100 years ago today," said Sarah Simpson, Robert's great grand-niece.

Eight Kiwis died that day.

The students at Sir Douglas Bader Intermediate are learning about Robert's story and wanted to plant a special magnolia tree for him.

"Robert mounted his horse and bravely fell into formation with his fellow Anzacs. As they courageously galloped towards the town of Beersheva they were met with enemy fire," said Sam Sau, one of the school students at the planting ceremony.

Australia, Israel to Tighten Military and Intelligence Ties

Australia is seeking closer defense and military intelligence ties to Israel on the back of Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s visit to the Jewish State.

Mr. Turnbull arrives in Israel late Sunday night for the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Beersheba and is expected to announce Australia and Israel will conduct annual defence talks and boost defence industry co-operation.

The first Australian prime minister to visit Israel since fellow conservative John Howard in 2000, Mr. Turnbull told the Australian newspaper the visit would focus mainly on military ties but also address the broader issues of trade, investment, and technology.

Israel’s defence industry exports are worth about $US7 billion a year, with the US, India, South Korea and Australia key destinations.

“Our defence ties have become a vital part of the relationship between Australia and Israel. As a result of this visit, we aim to upgrade the co-operation on defence, national security, and the protection of crowded places,” he said. “Our nations can learn a great deal from each other in order to strengthen security and keep our citizens safe.”

Australia and Israel will also forge closer links on cyber-­security, with Veterans Affairs Minister and the Minister Assisting the PM on Cyber Security, Dan Tehan, also on the visit, according to the newspaper.

Mr. Turnbull will pay his respects at the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem before attending the centenary anniversary of the famous charge of the Light Horse Brigade at the Battle of Beersheba.

European Diplomats Attend Knesset Meeting on Rising Antisemitism, Including on US Campuses

European diplomats attended a discussion at the Israeli parliament on Monday addressing concerns about rising antisemitism worldwide — including on American college campuses.

Envoys from Germany, Austria, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the European Union heard testimony from a diverse set of speakers, ranging from Israeli government representatives to former American college students, who urged them to protect Jews in their countries from bigoted attacks.

Becky Sebo, a 2015 graduate of Ohio University (OU) who served as president of Bobcats for Israel during her senior year, said she was profoundly affected by her own encounter with the “antisemitic” boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign on campus.

Sebo — who now works with StandWithUs, a pro-Israel US-based education organization that helped arrange Monday’s meeting — was arrested after speaking out against boycotts of Israel at a 2014 OU student senate meeting. The student senate president, Meghan Marzec, drew controversy earlier in the year after pouring a bucket of fake blood on herself and encouraging peers to support boycotts of Israel.

“After experiencing firsthand how BDS and anti-Israel movements can divide a campus, I can confidingly tell you it’s an issue that needs to be addressed,” Sebo told diplomats and Israeli parliamentarians, led by Likud MK Avraham Neguise, head of the Knesset’s Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee.

“Anti-Israel activists hide behind human rights while spreading lies and propaganda about Israel,” she added. “They ignore serious humanitarian issues around the world, but make time to single out Jewish students over and over again.”

Stand With Us: Michael Dickson gives testimony to Knesset Committee on Antisemitism


Stand With Us: Israeli MK to pro-Israel student who defied antisemitic haters: "You are our hero!"

A powerful testimony of the antisemitism and extremism Jewish students are facing on many college campuses before the Israeli Knesset (parliament) from Becky Sebo. When Becky, now a StandWithUs employee, shared her testimony of standing up to hate even in the face of legal persecution, MK Avraham Neguise responded, "You are our hero."

Israel’s judo warriors take the ‘gentle way’ in pursuit of athletic glory

Israel’s national judo team put on a tutorial in sportsmanship last week in Abu Dhabi.

Despite being snubbed by opponents and officials alike, the athletes won five medals and treated the tournament and their opponents with respect. Moshe Ponte, the president of the Israel Judo Association, said the team was guided by the Japanese meaning of the word “judo” itself — the “gentle way,” or using the strength of one’s opponents against them.

But if you don’t think that sounds like the Israeli way, you’re not alone.

“The medals are a finger in Abu Dhabi’s eye,” Israel’s Culture and Sport Minister Miri Regev said Thursday, picking a decidedly un-judo-like metaphor after the first day of the three-day Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. Israel won, she said, even though their opponents tried to hide the Israelis “in the dark.”

Regev was referring to Abu Dhabi’s ban of Israeli symbols at the tournament. The Israeli flag did not appear during medal ceremonies, and the national anthem was not played for Israel’s gold medalist. Israel and the United Arab Emirates do not have diplomatic relations.

The news of Israelis racking up medals at the tournament — and videos either of their opponents scurrying away during the handshakes or of one Israeli winner plaintively singing the words of Israeli national anthem despite the ban — set off torrents of Israeli pride and indignation.

And in Israel, it set off a debate — should its athletes stay away from tournaments in regions where they are sure to be snubbed, or take part and try to shame (or even charm) their hosts into recognizing them?

Pro-boycott Arab-American activist denied entry into Israel

Arab-American activist Raed Jarrar was denied entry into Israel on Monday under guidelines issued by Strategic Affairs Minister Gilad Erdan, meant to prevent the entry of foreign activists seeking to harm Israel.

Jarrar arrived in Israel along with a delegation from Interfaith Peace Builders, an organization known to promote boycotts against Israel. According to the organization, one of the aims of the trip was to "explore how Palestinian access to land and water is limited through illegal Israeli settlement infrastructure and Israeli military policy."

Jarrar currently serves as the Middle East and North Africa advocacy director at Amnesty International USA. He recently worked as a policy coordinator at the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group that works to delegitimize the State of Israel.

Erdan said that "whoever acts against the State of Israel must understand that the reality has changed. No sane country would allow entry to boycott activists who wish to harm and isolate it."

Duke University Press Under Fire Over Book Claiming Israel Has Policy of Maiming Palestinians to Dominate Them

The review process at Duke University Press has come under question after the announcement of the forthcoming publication of a book that claims Israel has a policy of shooting Palestinians to maim them, as part of a program to dominate them.

In an interview with the Washington Free Beacon, Asaf Romirowsky—a Middle East historian, and executive director of the anti-academic boycott organization, Scholars for Peace in the Middle East—asked how a respected academic press came to publish Jasbir Puar's The Right to Maim: Debility, Capacity, Disability.

Puar, a Rutgers University professor of women's and gender studies, argues in the book that the Israel Defense Force has "shown a demonstrable pattern over decades of sparing life, of shooting to maim rather than to kill," an "ostensibly humanitarian" policy that is actually part of Israel's project of "creating injury and maintaining Palestinian populations as perpetually debilitated, and yet alive, in order to control them."

"This is pseudo-scholarship, with no data to back up the fallacious theories," said Romirowsky. "On the other side, there is so much data to counter Puar's claims about Israeli policies. It's a compliment to call the book academic garbage—and now it gets the imprimatur of a university press, making it a legitimate secondary source that will be taught and cited."

"These are lies built on anti-Semitic tropes. The peer review process is set up so that a work with this many problems is not published," said Romirowsky, who has not published with Duke. "How does Duke University Press endorse this? I can't figure out what their end goal is here."

The Duke University Press review process is "single-blind," according to the online guidelines, meaning the readers know the identity of the author, but the author does not know the identity of the chosen peer reviewers.

Brooklyn College SJP President Lists "Jews", "White People" as Top 10 Hates

Students for Justice in Palestine has often been accused of being a racist hate group. Its usual defense is that it's not anti-Semitic, it's just anti-Zionist. Except that its leaders have a history of spouting hate.

Brooklyn College has had major issues with anti-Semitism due to the activity of hate groups such as SJP. The David Horowitz Freedom Center listed Brooklyn College at the top of its list of pro-terror schools. In response, Brooklyn College claimed to stand against hate.

But as Canary Mission points out, hate heads the SJP.

Ayah Aly is the 2017 president of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). And she has top 10 things she hates.
“#top10thingsIhate school, socializing, white people, homework, ratchet bitches, history, liars, being fat, compliments, Jews.”

Also there are a lot of rants about white people. But Aly also mentions "ratchet b___s". Ratchet pretty much means 'ghetto'. Good odds are that she's referring to black women.
On July 24, 2014, Aly tweeted “Anyone supporting Israel is living in a constant state of delusion. Exterminate yourselves.”

Aly claimed, fraudulently, that the United States was behind al Qaeda’s deadly 9/11 suicide attack on Manhattan’s Twin Towers (9/11), tweeting: “hun, it was your beloved American government that was behind 9/11…”

IsraellyCool: Gaza Boat Convoy Twitter Account Makes Weinstein-Gate About The Jews

A few months ago, I posted about Gaza Boat Convoy, a Twitter account whose name suggests anti-Zionists, but who tweet out some of the most vile antisemitism imaginable. At the time, they were calling for my arrest – because I expose vile antisemites like them.

You won’t be surprised to hear that I have not been arrested, nor have they stopped with the antisemitism. But now, in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, they have more material.

Less about solidarity with Gazans and more about disseminating hatred against Jews.

Incidentally, they have also retweeted someone we are familiar with, but who really does make it about the “Zionists” and not the “Jews”

Artists call on Nick Cave to cancel Tel Aviv concerts

A slew of artists have signed a letter protesting an upcoming concert in Tel Aviv by Australian singer songwriter Nick Cave.

Cave is slated to appear on November 19 and 20 at Heichal Hamenora with his band The Bad Seeds.
On Monday, a list of artists, activists and academics, including Roger Waters, Thurston Moore and Ken Loach, signed a letter urging Cave to cancel the show because of Israel's "apartheid regime."

"Please don't go," they wrote in a letter posted on the Artists for Palestine website. "When international artists of your stature, despite the appeals of Palestinians, continue to turn up on Israeli stages, the government which promotes these crimes takes heart: whatever it does, it seems there will be no penalty."

Representatives for Cave declined to respond to a request for comment.

Cave has received online comments and tweets for months calling on him to cancel the show. But Monday's letter is the first such public declaration.

Waters, the former Pink Floyd frontman, has long been one of the most prominent voices calling for a cultural boycott of Israel. He and Loach, a British director, were those making the loudest calls for Radiohead to cancel its July concert in Tel Aviv. Needless to say, Radiohead did not cancel, and close to 50,000 people showed up to Hayarkon Park.

Gilad Atzmon reportedly blamed Grenfell Tower tragedy on “Jerusalemites” following “mitzvot” at event hosted by Lottery-funded charity

Notorious antisemite Gilad Atzmon, has reportedly claimed that the Grenfell Tower tragedy was the responsibility of “Jerusalemites” who were “following mitzvot” and blamed the Jews for the collapse of traditional left-wing politics. Mitzvot means commandments, and is a word normally used to describe the biblical rules that Jews obey.

The alleged comments were made at a launch for his new book, Being in Time — A Post-Political Manifesto. Organised by Reading Friends of Palestine, the event was part of the Reading International Festival and took place on 22nd October at the Reading International Solidarity Centre.

Campaign Against Antisemitism wrote to the Reading International Solidarity Centre before the event to alert them that Gilad Atzmon is a notorious antisemite. We also lodged a formal complaint with the Charity Commission following the event.

According to a report in the JC, during the 90-minute speech, Mr Atzmon attempted to blame the Grenfell Tower tragedy “on people who could be characterised as those who followed ‘commandments’”. He reportedly discussed what he described as a difference between critical thinkers whom he labelled “Athenites” and the “Jerusalemites” who followed “mitzvot.”

He explained how it was related to the Grenfell Tower tragedy: “Very simple. People who think things through, who understand about responsibility and morality and ethics don’t clad buildings all over the country with flammable materials. But when it happens, it is ‘We were following regulations, we were following mitzvot.’” He reportedly continued: “Athens and Jerusalem is not Jews versus goyim [non-Jews] or Jews versus gentiles. Athens and Jerusalem is thinking things through as opposed to following regulations, mitzvot, commandments, laws. The Ten Commandments is Jerusalem. I don’t need you to tell me I should not kill. Athens is ethics, Jerusalem is anti-ethics.”

CAA demands that Nigel Farage apologise for his deplorable claim that a “Jewish lobby” in hock to Israel is subverting American politics

Nigel Farage has told LBC listeners that he believes that American Jews exert disproportionate political power and even appeared to agree with a claim that they have financial control over American politics.

During his regular primetime slot on popular talk radio station LBC, Mr Farage, who is the former leader of the UK Independence Party, discussed with callers whether Russian influence had really aided the election of President Donald Trump. When a caller named only as Ahmed told Mr Farage that he thought that the pro-Israeli lobby in the United States was no less dangerous than alleged Russian hacking, Mr Farage appeared to agree, and started talking about Jews: “Well the Israeli lobby, you know, that’s a reasonable point Ahmed, because there are about six million Jewish people living in America, so as a percentage it’s quite small, but in terms of influence it’s quite big.”

When Ahmed said that Israel has both the Republicans and Democrats “in their pockets”, Mr Farage responded: “Well in terms of money and influence, yep, they are a very powerful lobby”.

Summarising the call, Mr Farage once again made clear that he believes that a “Jewish lobby” is at work on behalf of a foreign Government, repeating Ahmed’s claim: “Ahmed, new caller from Leyton, I thank you. He makes the point that there are other very powerful foreign lobbies in the United States of America, and the Jewish lobby, with its links with the Israeli Government is one of those strong voices.”

BBC News report on Gaza tunnel equivocal about its purpose

Does the BBC really believe that there is room for doubt about the purpose of a tunnel infiltrating Israeli territory constructed by an Iranian backed terrorist organisation? Apparently it does because the article went on to unquestioningly amplify that terror group’s propaganda.

“An Islamic Jihad statement said the tunnels were “part of the policy of deterrence to defend the Palestinian people” and accused Israel of a “dangerous escalation”, according to AFP news agency.”

In addition, this report included a recycled paragraph on the topic of casualty figures during the summer 2014 conflict which the BBC attributes to “the UN”.

“The conflict left at least 2,251 Palestinians dead – including more than 1,462 civilians, according to the UN – and 11,231 injured. On the Israeli side, 67 soldiers and six civilians were killed, and up to 1,600 injured.”

In fact – as has been shown here before – the casualty figures and debatable civilian/combatant casualty ratios that the BBC elects to repeatedly amplify were supplied by Hamas and NGOs involved in ‘lawfare’ campaigning against Israel, funnelled through a partisan UN agency and subsequently promoted in a controversial and biased UNHRC report.

Since the end of the 2014 conflict the BBC has consistently under-reported the story of cross-border attack tunnels constructed by Gaza based terror groups. Audiences have heard very little about the diversion of construction materials and funds for that purpose and nothing at all about the Israeli civilians living adjacent to the border with the Gaza Strip who are under threat from such tunnels. This latest report obviously contributes little to rectifying that.

Teen indicted for anti-Semitic vandalism of NY Jewish cemetery

A teen was indicted for the anti-Semitic vandalism of a Jewish cemetery in New York state’s Orange County.

The wall of the Beth Shalom Cemetery in the Town of Warwick, was spray-painted with anti-Semitic graffiti including swastikas, “Heil Hitler,” and Nazi SS symbols more than a year ago on October 9, 2016. Warwick is located about 90 minutes north of Manhattan.

On Monday, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office indicted Eric Carbonaro, 18, of Warwick, on charges of fifth-degree conspiracy as a hate crime and two counts of tampering with physical evidence, both felonies.

A conspiracy count in the indictment charges that Carbonaro conspired with others to commit third-degree criminal mischief as a hate crime, and also includes the evidence tampering charge.

The indictment states that Carbonaro deleted photos and other information about the vandal attack from the phones of two other people, according to the Times Herald-Record. This includes a meme that read “secretly spray paints Jewish cemetery and gets away with it,” according to the report, citing the indictment.

German soccer fans create photo of Anne Frank in rival team’s jersey

Stickers showing a doctored photo of Anne Frank wearing a German soccer team’s jersey appeared in Dusseldorf, Germany, a week after a similar incident in Rome.

The stickers show the teenage Holocaust diarist in a Schalke team jersey.

It is believed that the stickers were created by fans of the Borussia Dortmund soccer team, which reportedly has a number of neo-Nazis as part of their hardcore fan base.

Photos of the stickers were first posted on the German blog Ruhr Barone.de.

German police are investigating the incident, according to reports. Anti-Semitism is a crime in German, as is Holocaust denial.

Last week a passage from “The Diary of Anne Frank” was read out prior to all soccer games – youth games, amateur and professional – throughout Italy after fans of the Lazio club posted the stickers around Rome’s Olympic Stadium showing Anne Frank wearing the shirt of the Roma team. The teams share the stadium. Roma is often associated with being left wing and Jewish.

German Railway Company Names Train After Anne Frank

Earlier this year, the German railway giant Deutsche Bahn announced a contest to name its new trains after famous people worthy of commemoration. Proposals streamed in, and a jury of experts selected 25 names. These include Ludwig van Beethoven, Marlene Dietrich, and Thomas Mann. They also include Anne Frank.

The state-owned company is a successor of the Deutsche Reichsbahn, which transported millions of Jews to their deaths, so naming a train after a victim of the Nazis struck some as a very bad idea.

“Now DB is naming trains after victims of deportation by train,” tweeted Bild journalist Julian Reichelt, “starting with Anne Frank.”

Conservative lawmaker Iris Eberl called the decision “tasteless,” and many other on German social media channels agreed.

But the company defended its decision. Anne Frank, said a spokesperson, Antje Neubauer, was a symbol of “peaceful co-existence of different cultures, which is more important than ever in times such as this.”

New Zealand to receive Iron Dome software

Instead of shooting down Hamas rockets from Gaza, the Israeli software developer behind the Iron Dome missile defense system, mPrest, is teaming up with New Zealand’s largest power utility to prevent summertime blackouts and cut down on carbon emissions.

By connecting multiple smart devices in an “Internet of Energy” platform, mPrest’s partnership with New Zealand’s Vector LTD indicates how many Israeli hi-tech firms are branching out and adapting defense-contracted technology to civilian use.

“It’s the most significant collaboration between Israel and New Zealand in years,” mPrest CEO Natan Barak said.

“The Iron Dome defense system has saved many lives. And now the renewable energy and smart energy management led by Vector will be life-saving.”

New Zealand’s Vector Ltd is also investing some $10 million in the Israeli start-up, in return for a minority stake in the firm, the two companies announced at a news conference at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Jerusalem on Monday.

Founded in 2000, the Israeli start-up is increasingly applying the Iron Dome’s software, such as its command-control system, to international settings. The company touts the system’s flexibility and ability – it is vendor agnostic – to incorporate new inputs and commands and the software is already used across platforms in Israel, India, Brazil and the United States.

The new folding car that shrinks to fit motorbike parking

A new vision for urban transportation will be unveiled at the fifth annual International Fuel Choices and Smart Mobility Summit, October 31 to November 1 in Tel Aviv.

The made-in-Israel City Transformer is an electric smart car whose wheelbase folds in at the push of a button to fit into a motorcycle parking space. City Transformer is touted as the world’s first vehicle of its kind.

CEO Asaf Formoza and Chief Innovation Officer Udi Meridor spoke to ISRAEL21c as the City Transformer concept car was being assembled in Petah Tikva earlier this month.

“We have collaborations and partnerships with huge companies, including Yamaha Motor Ventures; Altair, which makes simulation software for Ferrari, Fiat and other manufacturers to assure stable handling; and Rassini, a tier-one suspension company in Mexico that works with Mercedes, Maserati and other luxury brands,” said Formoza, who has a PhD in mechanical engineering from Ben-Gurion University.

After the wheelbase is folded in, the basic two-seat City Transformer shrinks from about 1.48 meters (under 5 feet) to just one meter (3.2 feet) in width. Its 2.35-meter (7.7-foot) length matches the size of a motorcycle parking spot.

Volkswagen, Hyundai to set up hubs in Israel to tap into smart car tech

Automotive giants Volkswagen (VW) and Hyundai Motor Company are planning to set up hubs in Israel to tap into the wealth of mobility and smart-car technologies the so-called Startup Nation is churning out.

“We are very serious about creating a campus in Tel Aviv,” said Peter Harris, chief customer officer of Volkswagen Group, at a conference in Tel Aviv on Tuesday. “There is no doubt we need to be here.”

The VW center will be similar to the Future Centers the German car manufacturer has already set up in Berlin, California and Beijing to help the firm grow from a hardware company into a software and services firm, he said.

The Volkswagen Group has 39 Centers of Competence and IT labs located in Europe, North America and Asia.

Similarly, Youngcho Chi, chief innovation officer of Strategy and Technology at Hyundai Motors Group, said that the South Korean car manufacturer, among the five largest globally, is in the process of “setting up an innovation hub that is expected to be launched in the early part of next year.”

10 disruptive Israeli companies that can wean the world off fossil fuels

Everyone knows that fossil fuels are an unsustainable source of energy, dirtied by pollution and politics. But global attempts to find alternatives on a mass scale have had limited success.

Could Israel be the country that finally puts fossil fuels to rest with the dinosaurs?

“When we talk about killing fossil fuels, Israel is not yet seen as tops in the world, as we are in water or cyber technologies. But in each related niche — solar energy, battery technologies and electric car components – there is tremendous respect for Israeli companies,” says clean-energy activist Yosef Abramowitz, aka “Kaptain Sunshine,” whose Energiya Global social development company is bringing solar power to Africa.

Two early solar-energy pioneers founded in Israel, BrightSource Energy and Ormat Technologies, are now headquartered in the United States with myriad international projects to their credit.

BrightSource built the world’s largest solar electricity generation installation, in California, using nanoparticle coatings developed at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Ormat built one of the world’s first solar-power fields, near the Dead Sea, and is a leading geothermal and recovered-energy generation producer.

‘I’m Okay!’…Roger Waters reassures fans after Gaza Tunnel collapse (satire)

Khan Yunis: Fans of (Rula Jebreal’s ex-boyfriend/the creepy weirdo stalking Bar Refaeli/that guy who used to play with Syd Barrett) famed singer-songwriter Roger Waters breathed a sigh of relief today after he released a tweet confirming that he is safe and sound following yesterday’s tragic tunnel collapse in Gaza. While the IDF’s destruction of the attack tunnel facilitated a speed-dating-event-with-72-virgins for several unfortunate terrorists, Mr. Waters wanted to let all of his fans know that he was OK, and “hadn’t been in that tunnel for weeks“. Mr. Waters, who has previously utilized the tunnels for their unique acoustics, spoke out forcefully in order to clear the air.

“I think it’s typical of the media, which is actually controlled by you-know-who, that they would put out unfounded rumors.” Mr. Waters explained. “The fact is, I am currently on tour and have not been in Gaza since I finished recording my latest album of oud, drums, and spoken word in late September.”

While Roger was safe and sound, yesterday’s events hit very close to home for him, as counted among the wounded was his friend and colleague The Hamas Bumblebee. Nachool the Bumblebee is a favorite on Gaza’s children’s shows, as he playfully sings songs and says some not-so-nice things about the Zionist Entity. With Nachool’s hospitalization for smoke inhalation and shock, Mr. Waters sadly announced a delay to their planned collaboration on a Hamas TV Television Special entitled “Hey Kids! Let’s brush our teeth every day, respect our teachers, and tell the Balfour Declaration that it can Go to Hell!“.

While Mr. Waters is now present and accounted for, the Daily Freier has still not received word from former President Jimmy Carter as to his current whereabouts.

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Say that "peace" means "destroy Israel" enough times, soon people will believe it

An apparel company called "Wear the Peace" just came out with their newest collection: a line of clothing with a map of "Palestine" as a folded keffiyeh  - and no Israel.

But they want peace! They say it right in their very name!  Why should anyone think that a peace organization that calls for ethnically cleansing Jews from Israel is anything but peaceful?

(h/t Mitchell)

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1915 encyclopedia describes the characteristics of Jews

From the New International Encyclopedia, 1915 edition, published by Dodd, Mead, Volume 12, under "Jews:"

Besides the obvious antisemitic stereotypes - all the more striking because this was written to be the 1915 equivalent of "politically correct" - there is one other striking part of this description.

In may ways, it describes the exact opposite of the Zionists who were starting to rebuild Israel.

They reveled in physical labor to build their homeland. They were soldiers and pioneers rather than martyrs. They didn't care about social position. (And the Zionists of the time were not religious.)

No one in 1915 could have imagined the Jews, of all people, would build a vibrant nation only 42 years later.

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10/31 Links Pt1: Israeli deterrence in a new Middle East; Year Zero: The Palestinians and the Balfour Declaration

From Ian:

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Melanie Phillips: Our crazy world this week

Please join me here as I discuss with Avi Abelow of Israel Video Network the Democrats’ Russian boomerang (which of course has been generally ignored or scorned), VP Mike Pence’s initiative to support the persecuted Christians of the Middle East, and the Catalan crisis that has erupted in Spain.

Year Zero: The Palestinians and the Balfour Declaration

For the Palestinians, the year zero is not 1948, when the State of Israel came into being, but 1917, when Great Britain issued, in the November of that year, the Balfour Declaration — expressing support for the establishment of a “Jewish national home” in Palestine.

So central is the Balfour Declaration to Palestinian political identity that the “Zionist invasion” is officially deemed to have begun in 1917 — not in 1882, when the first trickle of Jewish pioneers from Russia began arriving, nor in 1897, when the Zionist movement held its first congress in Basel, nor in the late 1920s, when thousands of German Jews fleeing the rise of Nazism chose to go to Palestine.

The year 1917 is the critical date because that is when, as an anti-Zionist might say, the Zionist hand slipped effortlessly into the British imperial glove. It is a neat, simple historical proposition upon which the entire Palestinian version of events rests: an empire came to our land and gave it to foreigners, we were dispossessed, and for five generations now, we have continued to resist.

Moreover, it is given official sanction in the Palestine National Covenant of 1968, in which article 6 defines Jews who “were living permanently in Palestine until the beginning of the Zionist invasion” as “Palestinians” — an invasion that is dated as 1917 in the covenants’ notes.

As the Balfour Declaration’s centenary approaches on November 2, tes theme is much in evidence. There is now a dedicated Balfour Apology Campaign in the UK, seeking both British government contrition and British taxpayer-funded reparations for the supposed handing of Palestine, in the words of one British Mandate-era Arab organization, into “the claws of the Jews.”

'The criminal Balfour Declaration'

The Palestinians - an invented people - have not only tried to deny the rights of Jews to the land they were promised, they have also tried to trace their roots to the Canaanites; they claim Jesus was Palestinian; the Jewish Temple was built in Sinai, not in Jerusalem; the ancient Israelite kings were actually Muslims, and the Jews are just a melee of people that will forever endure God's wrath; they are actually of Khazar origin, they are not entitled to a homeland, but perhaps they can live as second-class citizens under Islam.

British Prime Minister Theresa May has stood fast in the face of the annoying Palestinian efforts to extract an apology. Instead, she has voiced pride in the declaration and said there were no grounds to walk it back.

The Balfour Declaration is not the basis for Israel. The state was founded based on the historical and religious rights of the people of Israel on this holy soil.

Because the promise of a Jewish national home is anchored in the three monotheistic religions, the Palestinians who are fighting the facts must also sue the biblical prophets, Jesus, and especially Allah and the Prophet Muhammad, who promised this land to the people of Israel and never mentioned the Palestinians.

No apologies for Balfour

When it became clear during WWI that Britain and its allies could roll back Ottoman rule in the Middle East, the government of David Lloyd George recognized it had an historic opportunity to help the Jewish Zionists finally regain their homeland. The majority of his war cabinet were avowed Christians with Zionist sympathies. This was especially true of Lloyd George himself, as well as his foreign secretary Arthur James Balfour and Jan Smuts, who together pressed the full cabinet to commit to restoring the Jews to Eretz Israel. The resulting Balfour Declaration would later give the League of Nations the basis to grant Britain a mandate to help build a Jewish state in the liberated province of Palestine.

Up until then, the victorious European powers normally would have just claimed the vacated Ottoman territories as part of their own empires. However, American president Woodrow Wilson was pushing for the right of “self-determination” among the native peoples of such liberated lands, in order to spread democracy and secure the peace in the post-war era. At the same time, key British Christian statesmen like Jan Smuts and Mark Sykes developed the mandate strategy, arguing that the Western powers had a moral duty to assist these native peoples on their way to independence and self-rule. They viewed the mandate system as a “sacred trust” meant to free foreign lands and peoples from imperial rule.

These Christian architects of the mandate system supported both Zionism and Arab nationalism as equally valid and mutually reinforcing causes. Sykes even designed the four-colored flag of the Arab revolt – which served as the model for the flags flown by numerous Arab states today. Most importantly, they viewed the Jewish people as indigenous to the Middle East, just as much as the Arabs, and thus entitled to reconstitute their historic nation back in their former homeland.

The League of Nations would duly adopt their concept of trusteeships in the Middle East and elsewhere as a way of nation-building and granting self-determination to the native peoples of liberated lands. Britain was granted a temporary mandate in Palestine and Iraq, while France was to oversee nation-building in Lebanon and Syria. In fact, every Arab nation in the Middle East today traces its legal claim to independence back to the same series of decisions and decision-makers that created modern Israel. This all begins with the Balfour Declaration, when British Christian statesmen began to close the door on the age of colonialism, a self-imposed end by the Western nations themselves.

So to assail the Balfour Declaration as an act of colonialism is not only historically inaccurate, it would also call into question the claims to sovereignty of a number Arab nations.

That is not something the Palestinians should really be pursuing.

Why they protest Balfour

This is cause for alarm. An array of NGOs, campus groups and obsessive foreign governments have equipped legions of young anti-Israel activists with the tools and “talking points” to dissect even the most obscure elements of Israeli history.

And while the president of the local Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) can wax lyrical on the colonial evils of the Balfour Declaration, it’s embarrassing that the average Jewish millennial might not have even heard of Balfour, or know why his declaration is such a towering moment in Jewish history. It is in this context that the Brandeis report commented that some Jewish leaders “lacked some of the foundational knowledge that would equip them to engage in Israel-related activity.”

Amid this dire situation, anyone invested in the future welfare of Diaspora Jewry – and the future diplomatic standing of the State of Israel – must prioritize Israel education, and develop its curricula beyond the communal infrastructure which already exists.

Some organizations have certainly recognized this.

Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi), the international Jewish fraternity, has launched a worldwide campaign – led by students – which seeks to applaud the British government for the Balfour Declaration. In doing so, AEPi brothers are educating their peers across the world about a crucial moment in Jewish history. It’s educational initiatives like this which should be admired, emulated and repeated.

When the political adversaries of the State of Israel will never forgive the country for existing, the Jewish community cannot be allowed to forget its history. Only if young Jews are aware of their history, thoroughly educated in the facts and determined to educate others do we stand a chance of fighting back against the anti-Zionist narrative.

UK's Johnson: Balfour Declaration terms 'not fully realized'

British Foreign secretary Boris Johnson said on Monday that a key proviso of the 100-year-old Balfour Declaration, which laid the foundations for Israel's independence, had not been fully met, striking a sympathetic tone toward the Palestinians.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to travel to Britain on Thursday to meet his British counterpart Theresa May and Johnson for the anniversary of the declaration, which said Britain viewed with favor "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."

Palestinians have long condemned the declaration – named after Arthur Balfour, then the British foreign secretary – as a promise by Britain to hand over land that it did not own.

In an article written for the Daily Telegraph newspaper ahead of Netanyahu's visit, Johnson described himself as a "friend of Israel," but also said he was "deeply moved by the suffering of those affected and dislodged by its birth."

"The vital caveat in the Balfour Declaration – intended to safeguard other communities – has not been fully realized," he said referring to the clause in the document which said nothing should prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities.

Boris has misread the Balfour Declaration

The Balfour Declaration of 1917 demanded that a Jewish homeland in Palestine should not prejudice the rights and status of non-Jewish communities in Palestine. The British government, notably the foreign secretary Boris Johnson in a Daily Telegraph op-ed this week, has latched on to this proviso, claiming that it refers to the unfulfilled political rights of the Palestinians, although only civil and religious rights are mentioned in the Declaration itself.

What Johnson and others have ignored, however, is the tail-end of Lord Balfour’s letter to Lord Rothschild: ‘… or of Jews in any other country’. As we all know, the Jewish communities of Europe were decimated by the Nazis, but the rights of Jews in Arab countries were also thoroughly trampled upon, resulting in the ‘ethnic cleansing’ of 850,000 Jews and the destruction of their ancient, pre-Islamic communities.

Clearly nothing was demanded of Arab states that were created out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire: they violated any constitutional obligation they may have had towards their own Jewish citizens. A year or two before the declaration of the state of Israel, and before a single Arab Palestinian refugee had fled Israel, the Arab League agreed a Nazi-style draft plan to deprive the Jews of citizenship, threaten them with imprisonment and expel them, having first dispossessed them.

Labor’s Arab MK draws leader’s opprobrium for saying Israeli Arabs aren’t free

The leader of the Labor party on Tuesday said that a statement by an Arab lawmaker from his party claiming that Arab Israelis are not free was “extremist” and untrue.

Avi Gabbay spoke to Israel Radio the day after Labor MK Zouheir Bahloul announced that he would not attend an official Knesset ceremony to mark the centenary of the Balfour Declaration in 1917, the British government’s landmark expression of approval for the establishment of a Jewish state in the land of Israel. Referring to his Palestinian identity, Bahloul said he felt it would not be appropriate to participate “when I myself am not free.”

“Labor is a party for all Israelis, Arabs, Jews, secular, religious, but I am against extremist statements,” said Gabbay. “It is not a party of extremists, or those who engage in negative discourse,” Gabbay continued. “There is no doubt that they (Arab Israelis) are free.”

A person who is elected to the Knesset “but still says he is not a free person, that is someone with whom I have a huge dispute,” he added.

Speaking to Israel Radio after listening to Gabbay’s comments, Bahloul refused to walk back his comments about the Balfour event.

Foreign press boycotts PM event after photographer asked to strip

Photographers for foreign media walked out of a press conference between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull on Monday in protest after security guards demanded the chief photographer of the European Press Agency take his pants off for inspection.

It was the latest in a series of incidents where guards ordered journalists strip for searches at media events with Netanyahu.

The Foreign Press Association, which represents journalists covering Israel and the Palestinian territories for international news organizations, condemned the incident.

In a statement, the FPA slammed the “needless and humiliating body searches and urges the PMO [Prime Minister’s Office] to train its personnel to treat fully accredited journalists in a respectful and professional manner.”

The FPA said the photographer has Israeli media credentials from the Government Press Office.

Israeli deterrence in a new Middle East

WITH THE beginning of a new Jewish year, Israel’s strategic position has improved dramatically, an indication that Israeli deterrence is working on all fronts and is disrupting its enemies’ war doctrines. This is the bottom line presented in recent weeks by military intelligence’s top echelon to the cabinet.

Israel faces security challenges of various levels on six fronts: Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza and Egypt.

The two borders with Egypt and Jordan that benefit from the long-standing peace agreements are quiet with the security, military and intelligence cooperation between Israel and Jordan and Israel and Egypt at its peak.

The situation in the West Bank is fragile but manageable. For 50 years, some 2.5 million Palestinians have lived under Israeli occupation in the shadow of the construction of more Jewish settlements. Their daily life is controlled by the bureaucratic whims of the Israeli army with roadblocks everywhere.

And yet, they are largely submissive and accept this reality with the occasional burst of violence and terrorism.

Haley condemns UN official who urged economic sanctions against Israel

US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley excoriated a UN official on Friday who urged economic sanctions against Israel and who released a report calling on increased international pressure to end Israel’s “illegal occupation” of the Palestinian territories.

Canadian law professor Michael Lynk, who is the UN Human Rights Council’s special rapporteur on the situation in the West Bank and Gaza, cited in a press briefing on Thursday South Africa’s occupation of Namibia as a precedent for calling for the international community to step up pressure on Israel, including through boycott tactics. Those remarks coincided with a report he released the same day making the same argument.

“The United States is deeply disturbed by recent comments from UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk calling for academic and economic boycotts against Israel, and by his report to the ‎UN General Assembly,” Haley said in a statement released Friday afternoon. “Unsurprisingly, the mandate for this report comes from the Human Rights Council’s Agenda Item 7, the only Human Rights Council agenda item that targets a single country: Israel.”

Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, also criticized Lynk, who he said was exploiting his position to spread hateful ideas and energize activists of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction’s (BDS) campaign against Israel.

Report: Saudi Arabia Pushed US to Stop Israel From Expanding Jerusalem Municipality

Saudi Arabia applied diplomatic pressure on Israel via the US to delay a vote on a controversial bill that aims to expand the Jerusalem municipality to include a number of West Bank settlements, the Hebrew news site Ynet reported Tuesday.

A senior White House source said that Saudi Arabia raised the so-called Jerusalem expansion bill during talks with the US that also touched on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the website reported, citing the Saudi-based Al-Watan newspaper.

The diplomatic efforts, along with US opposition to the bill, led to a delay of a ministerial vote on the legislation that was planned for the beginning of the week.

There are also domestic reasons for the delay of the bill. It still lacks a majority in the Knesset, according to coalition sources, and has also fallen prey to a two-week-old coalition kerfuffle between the ruling Likud party and its coalition partner Jewish Home that led to a freezing of multiple bills in the cabinet and Knesset.

On Monday, the Palestinian Al-Ayyam newspaper reported that a senior US official told the daily that the Trump administration is continuing to work with Israel and the Palestinians toward reaching a peace agreement, but will not impose a deal on the two sides.

Palestinian Authority Denies Report of Abbas Demand That Hamas Recognize Israel

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has refuted a report citing an alleged demand by PA President Mahmoud Abbas that members of the Gaza-ruling Palestinian terror group Hamas must recognize Israel if they want to be included in the cabinet of a unity government.

Haaretz had reported Monday that Abbas made the statement during a meeting with 12 former Israeli lawmakers at the PA headquarters in Ramallah.

In response to the report, Abbas’s office said, “The presidency denies the remarks attributed to the president by Haaretz.”

Both the US and Israel stated in October that they would not negotiate with any Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas as long as the terror group refuses to recognize Israel, among other conditions.

Yet Yahya Sinwar, the political chief of Hamas in Gaza, said on Oct. 19, “Gone is the time in which Hamas discussed recognition of Israel. The discussion now is about when we will wipe out Israel.”

Life term sought for brother of jihadist who killed French Jews in school attack

Prosecutors in the trial of the brother of the Islamist radical who shot dead seven people including three Jewish children in southwest France in 2012 called Monday for him to be jailed for life.

Abdelkader Merah, 35, should be ineligible for parole for 22 years, prosecutor Naima Rudloff told the court as the trial that began on October 2 reached its final phase.

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He was accused of knowingly facilitating his brother Mohamed Merah’s attack on a Jewish school in Toulouse in which a rabbi, two of the rabbi’s children aged three and five and an eight-year-old girl were killed.

The attack, which Merah carried out in the name of Al-Qaeda, was the deadliest on Jews in France in three decades and the first of a wave of violence by homegrown jihadists that has killed more than 200 people.

Over the course of his nine-day killing spree, Merah also shot dead three soldiers based in the nearby garrison town of Montauban before police killed him after a 32-hour siege of his home.

After Gaza blast, Israel says prepared for any scenario, doesn't seek escalation

The IDF on Monday blew up a Hamas attack tunnel still under construction that had entered Israeli territory.

The “controlled explosion,” as the IDF called it, destroyed the tunnel, which began in Khan Yunis in Gaza and continued into Israel, ending only 2 kilometers from the border community of Kissufim.

Palestinian sources said nine terrorists were killed in the tunnel, including a senior commander of al-Quds Brigades, Islamic Jihad’s military arm. They reportedly weren’t inside the tunnel during the explosion, but were on the Palestinian side of the tunnel and were killed when they came to rescue others who were trapped.

The attack on the tunnel, conducted by the Southern Command, was achieved through several air strikes.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman touted the blast as a show of Israel’s technological advancement.

“I told you many times that we are developing groundbreaking technology to deal with the tunnel threat,” Netanyahu said at a Likud faction meeting. “Today, we detected a tunnel and destroyed it, and we will continue doing so... We will continue to protect Israel’s borders.”

Liberman called the achievement “a result of high operational capabilities and a significant technological breakthrough that allows us to better deal with the tunnel threat.”

“I think the message is clear to all,” Liberman said, “we will not tolerate breaches of Israeli sovereignty... This proves that, despite Palestinian unity, the Gaza Strip remains a terrorist kingdom and, for us, there is no doubt Hamas, which controls Gaza, is responsible.”

The defense minister added, however, that Israel is not interested in an escalation.

The new technology that led to the tunnel blast

After more than a decade of attempts to find innovative ways of neutralizing the threat of terror tunnels dug by Hamas and other terror groups from Gaza into Israeli territory, after a series of clandestine experiments, all at the cost of billions of shekels, Israel may have finally found a solution that will enable its southern residents to sleep better at night.

The tunnel dug by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) that on Monday was exploded by the IDF had no exit point in Israel, even though it penetrated the border into its territory.

Just one kilometer of digging is all it took for the militants to infiltrate tens of meters into Israeli territory near the border over the last few months, hoping they would not be detected.

Palestinian tunnel workers using giant jackhammers, masses of cement and dozens of trucks operated near the border fence with Gaza, near the South Gaza city of Khan Yunis—where the Gaza obstacle project has yet to reach, as parts of the underground anti-tunnel smart barrier have been built mainly in more threatened areas in the northern Gaza Strip.

IDF engineering forces worked from time to time in direct line of the tunnel diggers who were killed Monday, but on a small scale and at a much lower frequency and narrower breadth than them. It is doubtful that those terrorists who were digging could ever have known their fate.

The IDF installed new technology on the Gaza border, which recently alerted the forces in the sector that a tunnel is being dug underground—and crossed the border into Israel.

IDF responds to criticism: We don’t apologize for killing terrorists

After politicians criticized the army on Tuesday for appearing to apologize for killing terrorist leaders in the bombing of a Gaza attack tunnel the day before, the military clarified that its comments were taken out of context and that it does not regret their deaths.

On early Monday afternoon, the Israel Defense Forces blew up an attack tunnel that had entered Israeli territory from the Gaza Strip. At least seven terrorists, including two senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders, were killed in the blast and its aftermath, a dozen more were wounded and, as of Tuesday afternoon, five were still missing in the rubble, according to the coastal enclave’s health ministry.

Several hours after the demolition of the tunnel, IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Ronen Manelis responded to a reporter’s question about the goal of the tunnel blast, saying that the operation was intended only to destroy the underground infrastructure and was “not in any way” meant to assassinate senior terrorist leaders.

Taking to Twitter in response to the comment, Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Tuesday morning accused the military of “apologizing” for the Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders’ deaths.

“It is forbidden to apologize for successfully destroying terrorists,” Bennett wrote. “Let’s be clear – these were terrorists involved in digging an attack tunnel inside Israeli territory with which they intended to kill Israeli women and children.”

Bennett, who is a member of the security cabinet, said that although Monday’s operation was the deadliest incident in the coastal enclave since the 2014 Gaza war, Israel does not want an escalation of violence with Gaza.

Schools near Gaza back to routine despite tensions over destroyed tunnel

Israeli communities bordering the Gaza Strip called off the additional safety precautions that were set to be enforced on Tuesday amid heightened tensions between Israel and Palestinian terrorist groups over the destruction of an attack tunnel by Israeli forces.

On Monday night, the two local councils bordering the Strip — Eshkol and Shaar Hanegev — announced that students were to be kept in protected areas and not allowed outside for recess and that farmers were also to be kept away from the border.

However, on Tuesday morning, both councils canceled those safety measures and were “returning to normal,” officials said.

“Studies will take place, as usual, without special instructions,” a spokesperson for the Eshkol region said.

Kibbutz Kissufim, which is closest to the attack tunnel, was set to remain a “closed military zone” on Tuesday, meaning only residents were allowed to enter, the army said.

The military cordoned off the area on Monday after the attack tunnel was detonated.

Terror Tunnel: The Media’s Selective Omission

The Washington Post, BBC and The Guardian all fail to mention that the tunnel had been destroyed from the Israeli side of the border. Instead, references to the 2014 Gaza conflict, which took place, in the main, within the Gaza Strip itself, do nothing to dispel the impression that that the IDF has once again taken action against Palestinian territory.

The BBC’s headline (note the use of the word “militants”), with the stress on Gaza, also implies that this incident took place there rather than on Israeli territory.

Ultimately, this incident clearly shows that Palestinian terrorists are still working towards carrying out acts of violence and terror against Israelis. It is clear who the aggressors are. The media should also make it clear.

We’ve contacted the media outlets above asking for clarifications.

After tunnel blast, Palestinians warn Israel 'opened gates of hell' (yes that again)

Following the IDF's destruction of an attack tunnel leading into Israel, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza on Monday threatened to retaliate and called for an emergency meeting of the various armed factions.

Islamic Jihad leader Muhammad el-Hindi said the tunnel blast, which left seven Palestinians dead and 12 others wounded, ended the ceasefire with Israel and put the terrorist group on high alert.

"Israel started a war, the gates of hell will open on it," Islamic Jihad said in a statement.

A spokesman for the Palestinian terrorist group called the incident a "clear declaration of war by Israel. We are examining all the options so as not to squander the possibility of responding to this aggression."

Hamas said in a statement that "the Zionist enemy will pay for its crimes. We will not sit idly by."

The group, which controls the Gaza Strip, also called the Israeli measure "a desperate attempt to sabotage efforts to restore Palestinian unity and maintain the state of division."

Hamas promises ‘blood for blood’ after tunnel bombing, but sticks to unity plans

Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh on Tuesday said the terror group intends to respond with violence to the deaths of seven Gaza terrorists Monday after Israel blew up an attack tunnel that stretched into Israeli territory, but suggested the response would be delayed as Palestinian factions work toward reconciliation.

“I assure the leadership of [Palestinian] Islamic Jihad: blood for blood, destruction for destruction,” said Haniyeh, speaking at the funeral for those who died in the tunnel, which was built and controlled by the PIJ terror group. PIJ possesses the second-largest military in Gaza after Hamas.

Five of the dead belonged to PIJ, two of whom were senior leaders, while two members of Hamas’s military wing were also killed during a rescue operation in the exploded tunnel, according to the group.

Iran blasts ‘bloodthirsty’ Israel after terror tunnel destroyed

Iran on Monday condemned Israel as “bloodthirsty” after the Israel Defense Forces blew up an attack tunnel stretching from the Gaza Strip into Israeli territory, killing seven people, including two commanders of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

“The bloodthirsty Zionist regime is trying to bend the will of the oppressed people of the occupied territories to guarantee its security by killing Palestinian youths,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bahram Qassemi said, according to the Iranian Tasnim news agency.

“This is while seven decades of crimes, bloodshed and child-killing could not weaken the determination of this patient and courageous people at all,” he added.

The IDF on Monday said it “neutralized a terror tunnel” that was discovered inside Israeli territory near the Gaza Strip and is believed to have been dug after 2014. The tunnel was being built by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group.

The blast killed at least five members of Islamic Jihad’s military wing, including a senior commander and his deputy, and two members of Hamas’s military wing died in rescue efforts. At least 12 others were injured, Gaza’s health ministry said. Many reports said the terrorists were killed inside the tunnel, though this was not definitively clear.

The statement from Iran came days after a Hamas delegation visited Tehran and officials in the Iranian regime praised the Gaza rulers for not abandoning its armed struggle against Israel.

PreOccupiedTerritory: Halloween Corpse Costumes Of 7 Jihadists So Convincing, They Get Funerals, Burial (satire)

The realism of seven Islamists’ Halloween corpse costumes proved so compelling yesterday that their colleagues, friends, and family ended up holding massive funerals for them and burying them, witnesses are reporting.

A group of militants in a tunnel running from the Gaza Strip into Israel donned their dead-body getup in two stages Monday in celebration of Halloween, in an elaborate design that involved explosions, dust, collapsed concrete, and injured friends. Observers have praised the fighters’ commitment to the role, which they refused to abandon even as they were interred.

“That’s some of the finest cosplay I’ve seen,” gushed Ayama Zambi, 30, who attended the funerals. “They had every details right, and didn’t flinch once, from the moment they went lifeless to the last clod of earth covering their bodies. Kudos.”

“I can’t imagine the preparation that went into those costumes,” agreed Dahka M’tiha. “It looked like a real team effort, too, with so many guys playing their roles in the farce to a T.”

Two Palestinians shot after driving ‘suspiciously’ at soldiers — army

Israeli troops shot two Palestinians, killing one, after they accelerated their car at the soldiers in the West Bank on Tuesday, the army said.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was investigating the incident to determine if the Palestinians were attempting to ram their car into the soldiers or if it was a misunderstanding.

The Palestinian driver, who died of his wounds, was identified as Muhammad Abdallah Ali Musa, 26. His sister, Latifah Musa, 33, was shot in the shoulder, according to Palestinian media.

“A Palestinian vehicle suspiciously approached IDF soldiers near the village of Nabi Saleh,” the army said in a statement.

According to soldiers at the scene, just north of the Halamish settlement, the Palestinian-registered vehicle accelerated toward them.

“The soldiers perceived the vehicle as a threat and consequently fired toward it in order to stop it,” the army statement said.

The soldiers shot the vehicle four times.

With Saddam statue, Abbas thumbs his nose at the US

While Americans have been tearing down statues that honor people who don’t deserve to be honored, Palestinian Arabs are doing exactly the opposite. A statue honoring Saddam Hussein, the notorious dictator, terror sponsor and mass murderer, was unveiled last week in the Palestinian Authority (PA) city of Qalqilya.

Technically, the statue was sponsored by the Arab Liberation Front (ALF), not the municipality of Qalqilya or the PA itself. But the PA’s district governor for the Qalqilya District, Rafi Rawajba, attended the unveiling ceremony. Rawajba is a representative of the Fatah movement, which PA President Mahmoud Abbas chairs.

You can see from the photos distributed by The Associated Press that the statue is 20 feet tall, with lights so everyone can see it at night, too. And it’s situated smack in the middle of a major street. If the mayor or Abbas didn’t want there, it would be gone in five minutes.

In fact, the ALF has erected statues of Saddam in several other PA-controlled cities, too, and Abbas has not ordered them taken down, either. That’s because he was always one of Saddam’s biggest fans. Abbas could have written the Arabic inscription on the statue himself: “Allah is great, long live the nation, Palestine and Iraq, the Lord of the era’s martyrs Saddam Hussein.”

EMRI: Is The JCPOA Working?

Introduction

All JCPOA supporters rely on the claim that "the agreement is working" and on the eight confirmations granted by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Iran that it is in compliance with the agreement .

Reality, however, invalidates this claim, on four levels:

a. Violations of the agreement in letter, not just "in spirit," in issues that are critical, not marginal.

b. Developments on the ground that contradict the aim of the agreement.

c. The lack of real inspection, making the IAEA's confirmation misleading.

d. The IAEA's role in this deliberate misrepresentation that real inspection is carried out and that Iran is abiding by the agreement.

This paper will present evidence that the agreement is not working.

Iran debuts nuclear power plant in Bushehr

A new nuclear power station, including two nuclear reactors, was dedicated Tuesday during a festive ceremony in the southern port city of Bushehr in Iran. The inauguration of the reactor took place in the presence of representatives of the Russian nuclear program.

Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, expressed hope that within seven years his country would inaugurate the second unit at the Bushehr nuclear power station. "This is a symbol of the strategic cooperation between Russia and Iran," the Iranian official said at the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the project. "The Shura Council has enabled us to produce 20,000 megawatts of nuclear power, as part of the development plan that will end in 2025," the Fars News Agency quoted the senior official as telling reporters.

Because Iran is a dry country and the construction of a large power plant requires a source of water, explained Salehi, small nuclear power stations should be established. He cited the transfer of electricity from the major plants to the rest of the country is economically inefficient.

In November 2014, Iran's development companies signed two contracts, worth $10 billion, with Russian companies for the construction of power plants to produce electric energy. The capacity of the new plants will be about 2,100 megawatts.

Meanwhile, Iranian National Security Council head Ali Shamkhani said that, "Iran is not prepared to discuss any part of the nuclear agreement and issues related to Iran's defense measures. Our defensive capabilities are built on an internal basis, we will not negotiate our missile program," he said.

Saudi Arabia to Extract Uranium for ‘Self-Sufficient’ Nuclear Program

Saudi Arabia plans to extract uranium domestically as part of its nuclear power program and sees this as a step towards "self-sufficiency" in producing atomic fuel, a senior official said on Monday.

Extracting its own uranium also makes sense from an economic point of view, said Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, head of the Saudi government agency tasked with the nuclear plans, the King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KACARE).

In a speech at an international nuclear power conference in Abu Dhabi, he did not specify whether Saudi Arabia seeks to also enrich and reprocess uranium—steps in the fuel cycle which are especially sensitive as they can open up the possibility of military uses of the material.

The world's top oil exporter says it wants to tap atomic power for peaceful purposes only in order to diversify its energy supply and will award a construction contract for its first two nuclear reactors by the end of 2018.

"Regarding the production of uranium in the kingdom, this is a program which is our first step towards self-sufficiency in producing nuclear fuel," Yamani told a conference organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "We utilize the uranium ore that has been proven to be economically efficient."

Atomic reactors need uranium enriched to around 5 percent purity but the same technology in this process can also be used to enrich the heavy metal to higher, weapons-grade levels.

ISIS Threatens ‘Zionist’ Spanish Soccer Star in Latest World Cup Lead-Up Threat

Ahead of next summer’s World Cup in Russia, ISIS has been issuing threats to a number of top international soccer stars.

One of the latest players to be targeted was Real Madrid midfielder Marco Asensio. In an image published online by a pro-ISIS media group, the 21-year Spaniard — who visited Israel earlier this month with his country’s national team to take part in a World Cup qualifier — is seen kneeling in front of a masked ISIS fighter, with Saint Petersburg’s Krestovsky Stadium in the background.

“Marco Asensio is Zionis [sic],” a statement inscribed on the graphic claimed.

While in Jerusalem several weeks ago, Asensio drew the ire of anti-Israel social media commenters when he used an Israeli flag emoji in tweet of a photo of himself on a balcony overlooking the Western Wall and Dome of the Rock.

Other prominent players who have been the subject of recent ISIS threats have included Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Balfour didn't create the Jewish national home - it was already there and everyone knew it (Daled Amos)

Thursday is the 100th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, yet after 100 years people still argue over it and Abbas is still asking Great Britain for an apology.

What did the Balfour Declaration actually do?
And what did the Balfour Declaration recognize?

The second question is no more settled than the first.

Arthur Balfour. Credit: Wikipedia

We all are familiar with the language of the declaration:

His Majesty's government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country.

But while the declaration seems to be talking about the future, in The Case For Israel, Alan Dershowitz writes that by the time the Balfour Declaration was published in 1917, that national home already existed:

Even before the Balfour Declaration of 1917, there was a de facto Jewish national home in Palestine consisting of several dozens of Jewish moshavim and kibbutzim in western and northeastern Palestine, as well as in Jewish cities such as Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Safad. The Jewish refugees in Palestine had established this homeland on the ground without the assistance of any colonial or imperialist powers. They had relied on their own hard work in building an infrastructure and cultivating land they had legally purchased.

This was an area under Ottoman control until the end of WWI. Even before WWI, there was no sovereign state, just a collection of districts under the control of foreign Ottoman control.

Dershowitz's interpretation is not his own. In the British White Paper of 1922, Winston Churchill wrote about the Jewish National Home that had already been established in Palestine:

During the last two or three generations the Jews have recreated in Palestine a community, now numbering 80,000, of whom about one fourth are farmers or workers upon the land. This community has its own political organs; an elected assembly for the direction of its domestic concerns; elected councils in the towns; and an organization for the control of its schools. It has its elected Chief Rabbinate and Rabbinical Council for the direction of its religious affairs. Its business is conducted in Hebrew as a vernacular language, and a Hebrew Press serves its needs. It has its distinctive intellectual life and displays considerable economic activity. This community, then, with its town and country population, its political, religious, and social organizations, its own language, its own customs, its own life, has in fact "national" characteristics. When it is asked what is meant by the development of the Jewish National Home in Palestine, it may be answered that it is not the imposition of a Jewish nationality upon the inhabitants of Palestine as a whole, but the further development of the existing Jewish community, with the assistance of Jews in other parts of the world, in order that it may become a centre in which the Jewish people as a whole may take, on grounds of religion and race, an interest and a pride. But in order that this community should have the best prospect of free development and provide a full opportunity for the Jewish people to display its capacities, it is essential that it should know that it is in Palestine as of right and not on the sufferance. That is the reason why it is necessary that the existence of a Jewish National Home in Palestine should be internationally guaranteed, and that it should be formally recognized to rest upon ancient historic connection. [emphasis added]

Sir Winston Churchill, by Yousuf Karsh. Source: Wikipedia

The Balfour Declaration was not addressed to a foreign group, giving them permission to enter the land. On the contrary, it was recognition of what Jews -- who have an indigenous connection to the land  -- had already accomplished and would continue to develop.

As Dershowitz puts it:

The political and legal seeds were were thus sown for a two- (or three- ) state solution to the "Palestinian problem." This was a perfect example of self-determination at work.

This is more than an abstract theory.

The 1925 Larousse French dictionary had an entry for "Palestine":

Here is a closeup view of the beginning of the entry:

This translates as:

PALESTINE, the land of Syria, between Phenicia in the North, the Dead Sea in the South, the Mediterranean in the West, and the Syrian Desert in the East, watered by the Jordan. It is a narrow strip of land, narrowed between the sea, Lebanon, and traversed by the Jordan, which throws itself into the Dead Sea. It is also called, in Scripture, Land of Chanaan, Promised Land and Judea . It is today [in 1925] a Jewish state under the mandate of England; 770,000 inhabitants. Jerusalem capital.

Already in 1925, before WWII and before the Israeli War of Independence, there was a recognition of a Jewish state called Palestine, a state of 770,000 inhabitants that included both Jews and Muslims. It's capital was Jerusalem, which did not have that designation under Ottoman rule.

Not everyone may have recognized Palestine as such, certainly the Arabs did not, but the ideas expressed by Churchill were more than abstract and had gained a certain acceptance.

Even US President Woodrow Wilson, who was a champion of self-determination and opposed British-French plans on dividing the Ottoman Empire after WWI, saw a Jewish state in Palestine as self-determination:

I am persuaded that the Allied nations, with the fullest concurrence of our own government and people, are agreed that in Palestine shall be laid the foundations of a Jewish commonwealth.

Woodrow Wilson. Library of Congress.
Source: Wikipedia

The culmination of that self-determination -- with a state for the Arabs -- was prevented by war and a refusal to accept even the presence of Jews on the land.

So, what were the Jews doing in Palestine before the Lord Balfour came out with his famous declaration? They were not waiting around to enter as invited guests. Instead, they worked on a land to which they have a 3,000 year history. Jews with indigenous roots to the land worked to re-establish it as a sovereign state, something it had never been since the time of the Romans.

Jews made a choice.
The Arabs made their own choice too.


Hat tip: EG

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