March 2012

UN Rights Council to Praise Qaddafi Rights Record

Old habits die hard:
UN human rights council to praise
Qaddafi rights record
UN Watch urges EU, US, UN rights chief to oppose "fraudulent review" of Qaddafi abuses
GENEVA, February 27, 2012 -- The independent UN Watch monitoring group, which initiated last year's successful Campaign to Remove Libya from the UN Human Rights Council, today called on the US, the EU and UN rights chief Navi Pillay to urge council president Laura Dupuy Lasserre to cancel a planned resolution praising the Qaddafi regime's human rights record.

Palestine Authority TV SONG LONGS FOR A WORLD WITHOUT ISRAEL / ITAMAR MARCUS ET AL

Feb. 14, 2012
PA TV song
longs for a world without Israel:
"We will return to Jerusalem, to Gaza, to Acre, to Haifa...
I wish I could enter my country with no borders"

Twice in the last two weeks, Palestinian Authority TV broadcast a song which expressed longing for a world without Israel. The lyrics of the song express a desire for the Israeli cities of Haifa, Jaffa, Acre, Ramle and Nazareth to be part of "my country," which is Palestine, where all cities would be accessible "with no borders":

"Even if our path has grown long, one day we will return:

The "Apartheid State" That Minorities Keep Strugling To Get Into / Ramzi Abu Hadid

March 1, 2012
Has Ashrawi, the self-declared human rights advocate, never heard of the thousands of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza Strip who try to infiltrate into Israel every morning in search of work and a better life?

Prominent PLO spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi is demanding that the international community declare Israel an "Apartheid State." Her demand was included in a statement she published in Ramallah this week: she accused Israel of incitement against Arabs and of violating international laws.

Tunisia: From One Dictatorship To Another / Anna Mahjar - Barducci

March 1, 2012
The Ennahda Party, elected to rule for one year, looks as if it is planning to stay a while.

Voices of concern have been growing louder in Tunisia as the Islamist party, Ennahda, which won a relative majority and is presently leading the interim government coalition, is acting as though it is planning to stay a while longer than its allotted one year. Several Tunisian commentators have therefore begun wondering aloud whether the country has just switched from one dictatorship to another.

Laundering Anti - Semitic at Harvard / Dan Diker

01 March 2012
Perhaps the single most important lesson I took from a Harvard education in the early 1980s came at the end of a course entitled, “A Literature of Social Observation and Moral Reflection” taught by renowned child psychiatrist and Pulitzer Prize winner Dr Robert Coles, beloved by students and admired by faculty for almost half a century.

The City of Peace is the Subject of a Conference of Hate in Doha / Sharyn Mittelman

Mar 1 2012
Over the weekend a conference was held in Doha, Qatar called the "International Conference for the Defense of Jerusalem" - the conference was a one sided Israel bashing affair, that focused on what speakers claimed was the ‘Judaisation' of Al-Quds (Jerusalem), while ignoring the Jewish historical and religious connection to Jerusalem.

The New Middle East / Prof.B.Rubin

The New Middle East: Arab versus non-Arab Muslims; Sunni versus Shia
01 Mar 2012
The new Middle East strategic battle is heating up and this is only the start. It has nothing to do with Israel and everything to do with two more serious lines of battle: Arabs versus Persians and Sunni versus Shia Muslims.

The Hate Business / Khaled Abu Toameh

March 2, 2012 at 5:00 am
Fatah activists in Ramallah denounced the visit by Israeli physicians as a form of "normalization" with Israel.

The fact that thousands of Palestinian patients receive medical treatment in Israeli hospitals each year did not stop Palestinians from voicing opposition to a visit by Israeli physicians to Ramallah last week.

The Israeli physicians arrived in Ramallah as part of a tour that was organized by the Palestinian Authority.

Being 'Pro - Israel' Isn't Enough ( incl.Tammi Rossman - Benjamin) / Charles Jacobs & Avi Goldwasser

David Project Counters Broad Anti-Semitic Campus Agenda
March 2, 2012
The David Project recently issued an important "white paper" that identifies the campus as the "primary path by which anti-Israelism enters the American public debate." The report does a good job of describing the institutional and intellectual factors that are contributing to demonization of Israel on campus and that result — at some universities — in significant hostility toward Jewish students and faculty who support Israel.

The Historical Reality of the Muslim Conquests / Raymond Ibrahim

March 1, 2012
Because it is now almost axiomatic for American school textbooks to whitewash all things Islamic (see here for example), it may be useful to examine one of those aspects that are regularly distorted: the Muslim conquests.

Few events of history are so well documented and attested to as are these conquests, which commenced soon after the death of the Muslim prophet Muhammad (632) and tapered off circa 750. Large swathes of the Old World—from the India in the east, to Spain in the west—were conquered and consolidated by the sword of Islam during this time.

Antisemitism and Sexism Still Rife in Arab Media / Daniel Meyerowitz - Katz

Feb 29 2012
The Middle East Media Research Institute or MEMRI is an organisation that combs the media in the Middle East and translates interesting items into English. Unfortunately, MEMRI's research consistently exposes the extreme hatred that is fed to peoples throughout the Middle East through their state-controlled media outlets.

For example, MEMRI released a translation of an article responding to Western reports on Saudi textbooks late last year. An example of these reports comes from the UK's Daily Mail:

Uncovering Saddam's Secrets / Joseph Sasson

January 26, 2012
Joseph Sassoon, a native of Baghdad and a seasoned commentator on Arab affairs, is an adjunct professor of Middle East studies at Georgetown University and a former public scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

There Is No Free Media in the West Bank and Gaza / Hani Abbas

March 5, 2012
Why Should Reporters Without Borders Care If There is No Free Media In The West Bank Or Gaza So Long As They Can Find An Anti-Israeli Angle To Their Work?

It would have been better if Reporters Without Borders expressed similar attitudes about the continued assault on free speech and journalism not only in the Palestinian territories, but also the entire Arab world.

The Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders says it is "deeply shocked" by the Israeli army's recent closure of two Palestinian TV stations in Ramallah.

The Middle East Real Apartheid / Prof.Efraim Karsh

March 5, 2012
In light of Israel Apartheid Week, which hit cities and campuses throughout the world recently, supporters of the Jewish state find it difficult to agree on the best response to this hate fest. Some suggest emphasizing Israel's peacemaking efforts, others propose rebranding the country by highlighting its numerous achievements and success stories. Still others advocate reminding the world of "what Zionism is – a movement of Jewish national liberation – and what it isn't – racist." Each of these approaches has its merits yet none will do the trick.

Historical Roots of Contemporary Anti - Semitism / Peter Martino

March 5, 2012 at 4:00 am
The Jewish homeland guarantees Jews their security -- which is why every attempt to rob them of this homeland, or endanger its existence, is an anti-Semitic act endangering the entire Jewish community.

Arabs Are Beginning to Miss the Dictators / Khaled Abu Toameh

March 7, 2012
Freedom of speech, instead of growing, has died. "We are not with this Spring of violence, war, destruction and killing." — Patriarch Beshara al-Rai, head of Lebanon's Maronite Church.

On the first anniversary of the "Arab Spring," many Arabs are beginning to wonder whether they would soon start missing the corrupt dictators who ruled them for the past few decades.

The "Arab Spring" was supposed to bring democracy, transparency and reform to the Arab world. It was supposed to end human rights violations and see the birth of a free and independent media.

Will the Palestinians Launch A Third "Intifadah" War on Israel / Prof.B.Rubin

07 Mar 2012
Is there going to be a “third intifada?” I have no idea. That is a question most likely to be determined by those who set Palestinian strategy and they will surely differ among themselves. What interests me is the question of on what basis would such a choice be made.

When this issue is discussed publicly it is attributed almost entirely to the idea that frustration will motivate revolt. This is certainly the point made by Palestinian Authority (PA) leaders. The argument is that unless they get their way diplomatically violence will be the logical outcome.

Free Markets Can Transform the Middle East / Daniel Doron

March 7 2012
As the high hopes for a brave new Middle East fade rapidly, Western policymakers must recognize that promoting market economics and its inevitable cultural changes are far more critical to the region's well-being than encouraging free elections or resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict.

True Peace is Hard to Find / David Harris

March 8 2012
Neither the late Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat nor Abbas was willing to shatter the Palestinian people’s dream of Israel's destruction, which has been nurtured for more than 60 years. Nor were they prepared to abandon the "right of return" and thus affirm Israel's legitimacy, whatever its final borders, as the Jewish homeland.

After reading the compelling case made by Yosef Kuperwasser and Shalom Lipner in “The Problem Is Palestinian Rejectionism” (November/December 2011), it was quite jarring to read the companion piece, “Israel’s Bunker Mentality,” by Ronald Krebs.

Bequeathers of Absolute Truth Crush Free Speech in Europe / Guy Milliere

March 8, 2012
Many of the elites seem to think of themselves as The Bequeathers of Absolute Truth -- proud, self-righteous, totalitarian antagonists to any contrarian thought or speech -- and they have seized power in universities, in the media and in nearly all political parties. A ban takes hold, then another and another and another. And nobody notices until it's too late.

The "Mother of All Letters" Abbas 's Latest Gimmick / Khaled Abu Toameh

March 8, 2012
They are worried that Iran has stolen the limelight. Instead of wasting his time writing letters, Abbas should return to the negotiating table with Israel immediately and unconditionally. Gimmicks and tricks will not help advance the cause or interests of the Palestinian people.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas deserves an award for being the best master of gimmicks in the Middle East.

Today's Yafa was An Israeli/Jewish Town for About 2,000 Years / Dr.Rivka Shpak Lissak

Note:the article was translated to English by Dafna O'Neil.
Yaffa, formerly the Jewish Yafia, is today an Arabic village in the lower Glilee, south-west of Nazareth, with a population of about 16,600. Nowadays the village is included in the municipality of Nazareth. Two-thirds of its population are Muslim, the rest Christian.
The Hebrew name Yafia means a place of magnificence. This was also the name of the king of Lakhish in Joshua’s time (the Book of Joshua, chapter 10, verse 3).
THE MIDDLE AND LATE BRONZE AGE (2000 – 1200 BCE)

Today's Yafa was An Israeli/Jewish Town for About 2,000 Years / Dr.Rivka Shpak Lissak

Note:the article was translated to English by Dafna O'Neill
Yaffa, formerly the Jewish Yafia, is today an Arabic village in the lower Glilee, south-west of Nazareth, with a population of about 16,600. Nowadays the village is included in the municipality of Nazareth. Two-thirds of its population are Muslim, the rest Christian.
The Hebrew name Yafia means a place of magnificence. This was also the name of the king of Lakhish in Joshua’s time (the Book of Joshua, chapter 10, verse 3).
THE MIDDLE AND LATE BRONZE AGE (2000 – 1200 BCE)

University of California Condemns Anti- Israel Acts on Campus / Terance Chea

03/09/2012
SAN FRANCISCO -- The head of the University of California on Thursday condemned recent anti-Israel incidents on UC campuses and called for greater tolerance and civility.

In an open letter, UC President Mark Yudof denounced hecklers who disrupted an event called "Israeli Soldiers Speak Out" at UC Davis last week, saying it was reprehensible that one protester linked the speakers to rapists and murderers.

Scandal: UNESCO Vote Keeps Assad Regime on Human Rights Committee

March 8 2012
Despite US-led bid to expel Syria, UNESCO voted 35-8 for watered-down resolution, allowing Syria to stay on human rights panel
GENEVA, March 8 – The UN’s education, science and culture organization has just voted 35 to 8 for a resolution that condemns Assad for abuses, yet -- despite vigorous efforts led by the U.S. -- keeps the regime on its human rights committee. Click here for resolution; here for U.S. statement.

IS THE WIND TURNING IN FAVOR OF ASSAD / JACQUES NERIAH

March 6, 2012
The Baba Amro district of Homs may now become the turning point in the year-long bloody battle between opposition forces and Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime.

The district became the symbol of resistance after government troops surrounded it with tanks and artillery and shelled it intensively for weeks, killing and wounding civilians and destroying most of its buildings. The withdrawal of the rebels under pressure from government troops on March 1 marked the turning point.

Spain Facing Creeping Islamization / Soeren Kern

March 9, 2012
Laaroussi was questioned by police but refused to answer questions because he does not recognize the legitimacy of the Spanish state. According to one estimate, 75% of all babies born in Spain on January 1, 2012, were born to immigrant parents, primarily from Morocco.

A radical Islamic preacher in Spain has been arrested for calling on Muslims to use physical and psychological violence to "discipline" errant wives who refuse to submit to Islamic Sharia law or obey their husbands.

Liberty VS. Those Caliming A Monopoly On Ttruth / Prof.B.Rubin

The Middle East and the West Have the Same Problem: Liberty vs. Those Claiming a Monopoly on Truth
March 8, 2012
A liberal member of Tunisia’s parliament, discussing the writing of that country’s new constitution, brilliantly defines the entire issue of Islam and politics in one sentence. But before telling you the sentence, here’s the background.

Why Does the U.N. Human Rights Council Turn A Blind Eye to Terrorism?

March 8 2012
UN SPEAKERS ATTACKED AMERICA AND ISRAEL: The president of the UN General Assembly, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of Qatar, appeared in Geneva to open the current session of the Human Rights Council. He misused his speech, ostensibly delivered on behalf of all 193 member states, to attack Israel, hailing the council's permament agenda item against the Jewish state at every meeting.

BBC, Gaza and Continued Illegitimate Reporting / Ray Cook

11 Mar 2012
The blatant misreporting and misrepresentation of Israel’s self-defensive action against rocket fire from Gaza continues to be a national disgrace.

There’s something very rotten in the State of the BBC’s Middle East desk on its news website.

Only today did the continuing murderous barrage of southern Israel which puts a million lives at risk, not to mention property and treasure, actually make it to the website’s home page. Although even that small mention now seems to have disappeared.

The Pro - Palestinian Bias of Europe's Foreign Policy Elite / Pere Martino

March 12, 2012 at 5:00 am
"We gave the Palestinians money to help the poor, but they spend it on hate education." — Andrew Percy, M.P.

How to Make the 'Bad Guys' into 'Good Guys' by Pretending they are Moderate Guys / Prof.B.Rubin

March 12 2012
There are two types of revolutionary Islamists in the Middle East today: the Muslim Brotherhood and the “Salafists.” Of course, the Muslim Brotherhood is in fact a salafist group, in the sense that it wants to use Islam as it can be most strictly and repressively interpreted and create a dictatorship based on a radical interpretation of Sharia law.

The Big Lie:"Israel Apartheid" / Christine Williams

March 12, 2012
Apartheid in Israel does not exist, however gender apartheid, apartheid against gays, as well as slavery and racism against blacks, Palestinians and non-Muslims are all commonplace in the Muslim world.

Obama at AIPAC:The Implications for the Israeli - Palestinian Conflict / Pinhas Inbari

12 March 2012
In sharp contrast to previous summits between President Barak Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, last week’s meeting did not focus on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Instead, Iran was at the center of the leaders’ discussions. Nevertheless, in his speech to the AIPAC Policy Conference, President Obama allocated considerable time to the Palestinian problem. Furthermore, upon Prime Minister Netanyahu’s return from Washington, tension returned to Gaza.

Peace Through Falsehood / Allon Lee

Mar 9 2012
Context is king and without it the most outrageous slurs can be given legitimacy.Unfortunately, some pro-Palestinian activists are prone to only offer facts in isolation to give their false allegations the air of authenticity and aid the ongoing campaign to delegitimise Israel.

The most recent example of this appeared on Tuesday in an op-ed hosted on the ABC "Unleashed" website from Professor Stuart Rees called "Palestine matters, not Gillard-Rudd soapies".

Anti - Israel Tweeters Post Fake Photo of Gaza Wounded / Jennifer Lipman

12 March, 2012
Anti-Israel activists have been spreading photographs of a wounded child who they claimed was a victim of Israeli air strikes, but who in fact died in an accident six years ago.

Some of those who shared the image have since acknowledged their mistake, but hundreds have continued to circulate it as proof of Israeli aggression.

The deception continued as rocket fire from Gaza into Israel went into its fourth day.

I Was Raped and Tortured by the Iranian Regime / Ebrahim Mehtari

March 13, 2012
The UN must do much more to stop human rights abuses.For daring to oppose Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s 2009 presidential bid in my native Iran, I was thrown into prison, raped, tortured and left for dead on the side of a road.

My oppression is a sign of the Iranian regime’s weakness, something the international community must exploit as the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva this week holds its first-ever debate on Iran’s record.

Hamas Responsible for Attacks on Israel / Khaled Abu Toameh

March 13, 2012 at 5:00 am
In the past, Hamas has proven that when it wants to, it can prevent attacks on Israel. It would be a mistake to allow these governments to have it both ways -- on one hand claiming they are legitimate and sovereign governments, while on the other hand avoiding responsibility for terror attacks.

Although Hamas has not been directly involved in the current round of violence, the Islamist movement should be held fully responsible for rocket and mortar attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip.

Slandering the Jewish State / Gerald M.Steinberg

12 March 2012
Instead of criticizing ‘Israeli apartheid,’ rights group should focus on Syria, Saudi Arabia

Over the past few weeks "Israeli apartheid week" events have occurred at a number of campuses throughout North America and Europe. This year’s timing is especially unfortunate: while this political warfare, accompanied by BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions) campaign is happening, the Syrian regime is massacring its own people.

No Picnic: What A War With Iran Really Means / Prof.B.Rubin

RubinReports

12 Mar 2012
It is quite right to be worried and hesitant about entering a war with Iran. War, as recent events in Iraq and Afghanistan show, is a dangerous, bloody, often dirty mess in which things go wrong, civilians are killed inadvertently, your own side loses people, and goals are not necessarily achieved.

Sometimes war is necessary. That was clearly true in Afghanistan in 2001 but less clear regarding Iraq in 2003. What are the goals? How are they to be gained? In what way can a war be brought to an end? How is victory defined? These are all serious issues.

Free Speech vs. Islamists: Worldwide, West Is Losing / Adam Turner

Mar 12, 2012
Recently, Salman Rushdie did not attend a literature festival in India after Indian authorities warned him he was a potential target of assassins, and after numerous protests by various Islamist groups.

Muslim Gangs Terrorize Denmark / Soeren Kern

March 14, 2012
"With Islam comes fear, and with fear comes power." More than 140 Muslim gang members were arrested in Denmark after they tried to raid a courthouse where two fellow Muslims are being tried for attempted murder.

The Muslims -- all members of criminal street gangs that have taken over large parts of Danish towns and cities -- were wearing masks and bullet-proof vests and throwing rocks and bottles as they tried to force their way into the district courthouse in Glostrup, a heavily Islamized suburb of Copenhagen, on March 6.

UN Human Rights Council Adops Resolution Praising Qaddafi Rights Record

GENEVA, March 14, 2012 -- A U.N. report ridiculed worldwide for lavishing praise on the Qaddafi regime's human rights record was unanimously adopted today by the 47-nation UN Human Rights Council, with president Laura Dupuy Lasserre overruling the objection made in the plenary by UN Watch. (Click here for video; see text below.)

After it was first exposed by UN Watch last year, the report card giving high marks to Qaddafi was mocked by the New York Times, The Economist and other major media worldwide, causing a red-faced UN to postpone the report's adoption repeatedly -- until today.

Terrorism Against Israeli Civilians from the Gaza Strip

14 March 2012
The facts:On Friday, 9 March 2012, the Israeli Air Force targeted two members of the radical Islamic 'Popular Resistance Committee' (PRC) terror organization in the Gaza Strip – a senior operative and political commander, Zuhir Mussah Ahmed Kaisi, and a collaborator, Mahmud Ahmed Mahmud Hananni.

The squad had been responsible for planning a combined terror attack that was to take place via the Sinai in the coming days. The two previous heads of the PRC were also eliminated by the IDF in 2011 and 2007.

Protecting Western Values from Encroaching Sharia

March 14 2012
Islamist Watch is devoted to unveiling and combating "Lawful Islamists" who exploit our Constitutional freedoms to incrementally and non-violently undermine American and Western values while imposing aspects of Sharia law, creating special rights for Muslims, preventing criticism of Islamists, intimidating moderate Muslims, depriving women and non-Muslims of their civil and Constitutional rights, and creating "no-go" autonomous zones within the United States and other Western countries.

Turkey:Journalists Freed after 375 Days Behind Bars

March 14, 2012
Four Turkish journalists detained on charges of links to an underground anti-government network were released Monday afternoon.

Nedim Şener and Ahmet Şık are among the journalists who were jailed pending trial in the Odatv case. Thirteen suspects are facing charges of involvement in the media wing of Ergenekon, a shadowy network believed to have plotted to topple the government.

Saudi Grand Mufti Calls for "Destruction of All Churches in Region" / Raymond Ibrahim

March 14, 2012
According to several Arabic news sources, last Monday, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, declared that it is "necessary to destroy all the churches of the region."

The Grand Mufti made his assertion in response to a question posed by a delegation from Kuwait: a Kuwaiti parliament member recently called for the "removal" of churches (he later "clarified" by saying he merely meant that no churches should be built in Kuwait), and the delegation wanted to confirm Sharia's position on churches.

How to Get Elected in the Palestinian Territories / Ibrahim Sayyed

March 15, 2012
In our Palestinian culture, it is much more important if one "graduates" from an Israeli prison than from the most prestigious university in the world.

It is not clear at this stage when and if new presidential and parliamentary elections will ever be held in the Palestinian territories: The two major Palestinian parties, Fatah and Hamas, have yet to end their power struggle and agree on the formation of a Palestinian unity government that would pave the way for long overdue elections.

Egypt Is A Volcano, The West Snoozes, But Israel Won't Play The Role of Pompeii /Prof.B.Rubin

March 15, 2012
“Interchangeable ever were the terms of abuse with which the aggressor discredits those about to be ravaged!”
–Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano

Reality: Those who are, or will soon be, governing Egypt view themselves as being at war with Israel for all practical purposes. It matters relatively little that there is still a peace treaty. In Cairo, there are no thoughts of peace.

This is the second biggest disaster of the “Arab Spring.” The same applies to the Egyptian government’s attitude to the United States. That is the biggest disaster.

Hamas VS. Hamas / PINHAS INBARI

19 March 2012
Over the weekend, prominent Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar paid a visit to Tehran, where he repeated his commitment to the principle of armed resistance. At the same time, Hamas Diaspora leader Khaled Mashal, said nothing on the subject during his visit to Ankara, Turkey [pictured below with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan].