August 2012

Nevoraya, a Jewish village that existed until the Arab-Muslim Period / DR.Rivka Shpak Lissak

(Translated to English by Dafna O'neill)
The village Nevoraya was located in the Upper Galilee, approximately 4 kilometres North-East of Safed. It stood by a spring that flowed from a cave, in which were carved troughs for washing clothes and watering sheep. The remains of Nevoraya were discovered in the Birya forest. The site was excavated in 1905 and 1981/82.

THE FIRST TEMPLE PERIOD (10th century BCE – 586 BCE)
The excavations uncovered remains from the Iron Age, indicating that the village was established during the First Temple Period.

THE SECOND TEMPLE PERIOD (538 BCE – 70 CE)

Germany Tackles Islamic Radicalization by Soeren Kern

July 30, 2012
"The long-term strategic objective of these Islamist organizations is to destabilize and democratically and liberally elected states and to influence political decision-making." — Report, German State of Lower Saxony

The German state of Lower Saxony has published a practical guide to extremist Islam to help citizens identify tell-tale signs of Muslims who are becoming radicalized.

The Last Word: Dangerous Ideas /Jeremy Jones

Jul 30 2012
UN Special Rapporteur Richard Falk
It would be comforting to imagine that individuals who seek to cause harm to other individuals would be regarded as "dangerous."

It would be comforting to imagine that responsible, ethical people would do what they could to protect the intended victims of such "dangerous" people.

It would be comforting if the media and organised groups within civil society would respectively cast a spotlight on dangerous individuals and create a social environment which was unfriendly to those who intimidate, bully and constitute threats to others.

British Allow Anti-Semitic Iranian Propaganda in the UK by Lee Kaplan

August 1, 2012
Despite these convictions for "hate crimes" against Islam, the British government is apparently perfectly willing to overlook the converse: anti-Semitic attacks by Iranian front groups against Jews. The deeper question for the British government is this: If British citizens can be fined or incarcerated or fined for expressing unsavory opinions about Islam, how come Lady Renouf and Philip Bree are not being charged with "hate crimes" as well for doing exactly the same thing against the Jewish people?

If Assad falls../Michael J. Totten

Jul 30 2012
Syria's tyrant Bashar al-Assad is in the middle of a life-or-death struggle. He might be overthrown. He should be.

Why Abbas Wants to Go Back to the UN in September by Khaled Abu Toameh

August 2, 2012
Abbas's decision to return to the UN is not only a ploy to avoid internal problems at home, it is also a way of trying to extort the Americans and Europeans into channeling more funds into his coffers. Abbas's threat: Give me more money or I will misbehave and file another request with the UN.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is now saying that he will resume his efforts in September to achieve, unilaterally, UN recognition of a Palestinian state.

The Spring of Islamic Fundamentalism by Georgy Gounev

August 2, 2012
To what extent should an Islamic leader be trusted when he proclaims his intention to act in keeping with all the requirements of a democratic political system and to respect the principles of religious and political freedom?

The ability of the American media to ignore a "politically incorrect" event, regardless of its importance, is familiar. One of the best examples is the invitation issued by President Obama to the President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, to pay an official visit to the United States during the September session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

An Intifada in Fatah's Future by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi

August 2, 2012
Could we soon begin to see the end of Fatah and the Palestinian Authority (PA) as a coherent Palestinian national movement? There is much evidence that appears to point in that direction.

To begin with, it is apparent that there is a deep contradiction in the stance of Fatah and the PA. As Avi Issacharoff notes, they feel a need to glorify terrorists such as Dalal Mughrabi, who was one of the perpetrators of a massacre in 1978 that killed 37 Israelis.

Incitement watch: Hamas denies Holocaust and Israeli-Arab Parliamentarian supports Burgas bombing / Daniel Meyerowitz - Katz

Aug 2 2012
When Hamas is criticised for its antisemitic and genocidal rhetoric, the common trend is to refer to its 1988 charter, which repeats traditional antisemitic conspiracy theories, specifically cites notorious antisemitic propaganda document 'The Protocols of the Elders of Zion', and contains some explicit calls to murder Jews. In return, apologists for Hamas have alleged that the charter is no longer a relevant document and accused Hamas detractors of using the document deceptively to demonise an innocent organisation.

Turkey's trade deficit reveals an economy in deep trouble by David P. Goldman

Aug 3, 2012
I've been hammering away at Turkey's credit bubble problem for the past eight months: consumer lending is still growing at a nearly 30% annual rate, after dipping into the teens earlier this year (I am annualizing the 3-month growth rate). But the trade data just released for June show a slowing domestic economy.

With the economy clearly slowing, where are all the loans going? The answer is indicated by the extremely high interest rates charged by Turkish banks:

HOW IRAN IS SUPPORTING THE TALIBAN

Aug.3 2012
Afghan and Western officials have offered disturbing details about Iran's recent support for the Taliban. This support, which has principally come in the form of an office along the Afghan border in eastern Iran, also reportedly includes discussions regarding the transfer of surface to air missiles. The intention of the office is to coordinate efforts against American and European forces in Afghanistan according to the officials cited.

Read more about this story in the Wall Street Journal

IRAN FOUND LIABLE IN 9/11 CIVIL SUIT

The French Railroad and the Holocaust Is a Public Company Private? by Michael Curtis

August 3, 2012
In all these legal encounters, the SNCF has used contradictory, but successful, arguments. In the French case, it argues that the court has no jurisdiction over it because it was a private company. In the U.S., it argues that courts have no jurisdiction over it because it was not a private company but an arm of the French government.

How the U.S. Government Should Deal With the Jerusalem As Israel’s Capital Issue / Prof.B.Rubin

August 3, 2012
Recently there has been a controversy when State Department spokespeople refused to say what they thought to be Israel’s capital. To understand this issue we need to understand that there are two different issues involved: that of 1947 and that of 1967.

I’m not going to discuss ancient history, religious factors, and the merits of varying claims here but will merely point out some simple facts of practical diplomacy.

Egypt's Trade Deficit is Now $35 billion a Year by David P Goldman

Jul 31, 2012
Egypt's trade deficit nearly doubled in the year through April as demand for its exports fell 14% but import costs rose:

Egypt's trade deficit soared to LE17.5billion ($2.9 billion) in April, 79.6 per cent higher than the same month the previous year, the state statistics agency CAPMAS said on Monday. The total value of Egyptian exports shed an annual 14 per cent, down to LE15.1 billion from LE17.6 billion in April 2011. CAPMAS attributed the drop to the decrease in international demand for Egypt's petroleum products, garments, fertilisers, fruit and dairy products.

Ben Gurion review offers up some home truths / Or Avi Guy

Aug 3 2012
David Ben Gurion
The latest edition of Quadrant magazine featured a book review by Daryl McCann of Ben-Gurion: A Political Life (Schocken Books, 2011), which is highly recommended not only for what it says about the book, but because it explains clearly some truths and some long-forgotten facts about the origins of the Arab-Israel conflict that everyone should understand.

Ben Gurion review offers up some home truths / Or Avi Guy

Aug 3 2012
David Ben Gurion
The latest edition of Quadrant magazine featured a book review by Daryl McCann of Ben-Gurion: A Political Life (Schocken Books, 2011), which is highly recommended not only for what it says about the book, but because it explains clearly some truths and some long-forgotten facts about the origins of the Arab-Israel conflict that everyone should understand.

C of E ignores violence against Christians whilst slating Israel by Ray Cook

04 Aug 2012
Stuart Palmer (haifadiarist.blogspot.co.uk) has recently responded to a letter on the Church of England Newspaper to a letter writer who blames the ills of the Palestinians completely on Israel.

Stuart has been kind enough to allow me to reproduce his letter.

I thought this letter makes a number of points the C of E and, indeed, all Christians who are so quick to blame Israel for everything bad about the Middle East East conflict.

Sirs,

The Future of Fatah / Preventing military conflict with Iran

Aug 3 2012
This Update features two pieces of analysis which discuss worrying signs for the secular nationalist Fatah movement that dominates the Palestinian Authority - emanating from both current Middle East trends, as well as developments in the West Bank itself.

Letter from a Forgotten Jew / David Harris

I am a forgotten Jew.

My roots are nearly 2,600 years old, my ancestors made landmark contributions to world civilization, and my presence was felt from North Africa to the Fertile Crescent -- but I barely exist today. You see, I am a Jew from the Arab world. No, that's not entirely accurate. I've fallen into a semantic trap. I predated the Arab conquest in just about every country in which I lived. When Arab invaders conquered North Africa, for example, I had already been present there for more than six centuries.

Today, you cannot find a trace of me in most of this vast region.

Anti-Palestinian Discrimination in Jordan Now It's Official by Khaled Abu Toameh

August 6, 2012
But all indications are that King Abdullah still has not realized the approaching tornado. Instead of embarking on real and meaningful reforms and combating rampant rampant financial and administrative corruption, he has directed his energies against Jordanians of Palestinian origin. The king is already being threatened by the powerful and popular Muslim Brotherhood; he may soon have to face an even bigger threat.

Olympic Silence: The Anti-Semitic Past of the IOC by Peter Martino

August 6, 2012
The official OIC biography does not make a reference to Count Baillet-Latour as an organizer of the Nazi games. The OIC honors him as one of the great figures of the Olympic Movement. In 1936, after the games, the Count became an honorary member of "Freude und Arbeit," the Nazi sports organization of propaganda minister Goebbels. The Count's wife congratulated Hitler when he annexed the Sudetenland, and in 1940, when Germany invaded her home country, thanked him "for bringing Nazi ideology to Belgium".

Kurdistan: The Next Flashpoint Between Turkey, Iraq, and the Syrian Revolt /Col. (ret.) Dr. Jacques Neriah

August 5, 2012
Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, right, holds joint news conference with Massoud Barzani, left, leader of Iraq’s Kurdish region, on Oct. 21, 2007

WJC welcomes Congressional initiative on Jewish refugees from Arab countries

06 August 2012
The World Jewish Congress has applauded the introduction of bipartisan legislation in the United States by six US Congress members to ensure recognition of the plight of 850,000 Jewish refugees displaced from Arab countries since Israel's War of Independence in 1948.

Is the war in Syria undermining the Palestinian claim to the right of return /By Pinhas Inbari

30 July 2012
The fate of the Assad regime in Syria has been the main focus of media attention in recent months. Yet, another crisis has quietly developed on the sidelines of the Syrian calamity which may greatly affect the Palestinian refugees and the coveted “right of return”.

Who’s Really Isolated? He Who Misunderstands Middle East Realities by Barry Rubin

August 6, 2012
One of the mantras from Israel’s supposed foreign well-wishers is that the country is now “isolated.” You can tell the hostile ones because they quickly add that this alleged isolation is Israel’s own fault.

Will Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood Orient to Saudi Arabia or Iran? by David P. Goldman

Aug 5, 2012
Depending on whom you believe, Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood will ally with Saudi Arabia (according to Fouad Ajami) or Iran (according to former Indian diplomat M.K. Bhadrakumar. These are mutually exclusive scenarios given the extreme enmity between Riyadh and Tehran, intensified by Syria's civil war. I don't believe either scenario, but both of them are worth reading as gauges of the complexity of the Middle East's descent into chaos. >First, Ajami, the tireless cheerleader of the Arab Spring and true believer in Arab democracy (in Tablet last week):

More on:misuse of classrooms to promote anti-Semitic propaganda. / Tammi Benjamin

6/8/2012
Dear Friends,
I am forwarding below a lengthy email that Leila and I sent this morning to UC President Yudof and the Regents in response to Yudof's letter to us, in which he and the Regents completely evaded their responsibility for ensuring that UC professors do not misuse their classrooms to promote anti-Semitic propaganda.
Tammi

Begin forwarded message:

From: Tammi Benjamin
Date: August 6, 2012 11:39:50 AM PDT
To: [email protected], [email protected]

How Liberal Democrats who Support Israel Might Think about the Election by Alan M. Dershowitz

August 5, 2012
Let me begin by categorically stating that no president has ever completely satisfied me with regard to his policies toward Israel. Every single president, Republican and Democrat alike, has refused to do the right thing when it comes to recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Genetic study offers clues to history of North Africa's Jews By Sharon Begley

07 August 2012
A new genetic analysis has reconstructed the history of North Africa's Jews, showing that these populations date to biblical-era Israel and are not largely the descendants of natives who converted to Judaism, scientists reported on Monday. The study also shows that these Jews form two distinct groups, one of which is more closely related than the other to their European counterparts, reflecting historical migrations.

Jordan’s Prime Minister Reads ‘Rubin Reports’ — And Doesn’t Like It by Barry Rubin

August 6, 2012
During a recent dinner in Amman, Prime Minister Fayez Tarawneh of Jordan talked about me at some length, citing my PJ Media article on Israel being in a good strategic situation. Apart from the name-calling, insults, and snorting, he could not refute one point I made. In fact, I think he knows that everything I wrote is true. And that’s what scares him and makes him angry.

Terrorist attack on Sinai border tests Israeli-Egyptian relations / Sharyn Mittelman

Aug 7 2012
Wreckage from the Sinai attack
The latest terrorist attack on the Israel-Egypt border that killed 16 Egyptian soldiers is shaping up to be the first real test of Israel-Egypt relations under the leadership of newly elected Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.

On Sunday night 35 masked gunmen stormed an Egyptian military base killing 16 soldiers, and then seized two vehicles and crossed into Israeli territory.

Iran Courts Latin America by Ilan Berman

Aug.7 2012
In October 2011, U.S. attorney general Eric Holder and FBI director Robert Mueller revealed the thwarting of an elaborate plot by elements in Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to Washington at a posh D.C. eatery, utilizing members of the Los Zetas Mexican drug cartel.[1]

Scribblings: Goodbye Gaza by Tzvi Fleischer

Jul 30 2012
There is little doubt that the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt's presidential and parliamentary elections has been a major setback for Israel's foreign and security policy.

The Meaning of the Egypt-Israel Cross-Border Attack By Barry Rubin

07 Aug 2012
A 35-man seemingly bedouin terrorist team invaded an Egyptian army base in eastern Sinai, stole a truck and armored personnel carrier, and tried to crash the Israel border gate. They killed about 16 Egyptian soldiers but those who tried to cross the border--at least five--were quickly wiped out by Israeli forces.
You will be reading a lot of accounts of this event mostly saying the same things. But what’s really important?

Is a Palestinian State Today Economically Viable? by Michael Curtis

August 8, 2012
The Report of the World Bank is a bitter commentary on the Palestinian economy, currently in a self-inflicted decline induced by the violence it brought on itself by launching the Second Intifada in 2000. Above all, the fundamental requisite for economic and political progress is to end the violence.

70 YEARS AGO: Riegner Telegram alerts world of Nazi Holocaust

08 August 2012
Seventy years ago, on 8 August 1942, the World Jewish Congress representative in Geneva, Gerhart M. Riegner, sent a telegram to British and American diplomats providing them with reliable information about Hitler’s plans to annihilate millions of European Jews. The telegram was the first authoritative word that the Nazis actually had a coordinated extermination plan.

Slouching Towards Greater Kurdistan? by Pepe Escobar

Aug 7, 2012
Of course I'm just scratching the (Martian) surface. In fact this is much more complex than Curiosity landing in Mars. And we have no CalTech geniuses to guide us.

In this article I'm trying to make sense of Syria from the Pipelineistan angle.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2012/08/201285133440424621.html...

The cast of characters is worthy of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy - from Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, the US and Europe to Alawites, Wahhabis, Syrian Kurds, Iraqi Kurds and Turkish Kurds.

Here are some excerpts.

On Syria's energy strategy:

Myth and facts; and Lesson of Iranian terror / Allon Lee

Aug 7 2012
Mind the gap
The media's unwillingness or failure to probe glaring contradictions in pro-Palestinian propaganda was apparent in a Deutsche Presse-Agentour story in the Canberra Times and Sydney Morning Herald (28/7). The story stated that Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi met Hamas' Gaza PM Ismail Haniya "to discuss measures to ease Israel's blockade on Gaza... Egypt announced the opening of its border with Gaza after the downfall of President Hosni Mubarak in February last year, but severe restrictions have remained."

Shaking Sinai By Pinhas Inbari

08 August 2012
On Sunday night, a terror squad attacked an Egyptian border guard unit whose soldiers were breaking for iftar - the Ramadan fast-breaking dinner. Sixteen soldiers were killed and many more injured. After the slaughter, the terrorists captured two armored vehicles and attempted to drive them into Israel in order to initiate a large scale terrorist attack. Their plan was foiled by the IDF, which received some previous intelligence on the operation.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly About the Syrian Civil War / Prof.B.Rubin

Aug.5 2012
An interview with Ammar Abdulhamid, one of the most knowledgeable analysts about the Syrian civil war in the world.
Ammar Abdulhamid may know more about Syria’s civil war than anyone else in the world. That’s no exaggeration. An pro-democratic oppositionist living abroad, Abdulhamid has functioned on a virtual 24/7 basis as the source of news and analysis about events within Syria, always trying to be honest and accurate in his assessments regardless of his own preferences. Barry Rubin, PJMedia Middle East editor, interviewed Abdulhamid on the latest developments and trends.

Saudis to Muslim Brotherhood: Drop Dead by David P. Goldman

Aug 8, 2012
"The uneasy modus vivendi between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military most likely will fail, and probably sooner than later," I argued July 9, and the aftermath of the terrorist execution of sixteen Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai peninsula supports this conclusion. The funeral service for the dead soldiers erupted in rage against the Brotherhood, Al Ahram reports today from Cairo:

Is the Syrian Civil War Hindering a Strike on Iran? by Yaakov Lappin

August 8, 2012
The loss of its major regional ally, Syria, could be a blow to Iran that might even induce it to speed up its nuclear program.

Is an Israeli or American strike on Iran's nuclear weapons program being held up by the raging Syrian war, and the unstable status of Syria's chemical weapons?

Syria possesses the Middle East's largest stockpiles of chemical weapons, which include deadly VX nerve gas, sarin, and mustard gas. It has also developed an advanced Scud missile program to serve as a delivery mechanism.

Shut Down Iran's Embassy in Canada by Christine Williams

August 9, 2012
The most influential Muslim immigrants are then hand-picked to infiltrate and influence the Canadian government's image of the Islamic regime, thereby affecting the political decision-making process and affecting policies.

As a tight network of Iranian terrorists expands as a "fifth column" In Canada, there have been calls to shut down the Iranian embassy there.

What we can learn from Ahmadinejad's "400 years of Zionism"/ Or Avi Guy

Aug 10 2012
Al-Quds Day rallies- the goal is hatred, not peace.The Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA, 2.8.2012), published some statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made last Wednesday night in a meeting in Teheran with ambassadors and diplomats from Muslim countries .

Erdogan's Growing Economic Woes by David P. Goldman

Aug 9, 2012
Some would call this a bubble:
Since late 2009, Turkey has lost $20 billion of foreign bank assets and taken on $50 billion of foreign bank debt

Why Is Israel More Prosperous than the Palestinians / Prof.B.Rubin

Editor's note:Israel is more prosperous than Arab states.
August 9, 2012
In almost 40 years of studying these issues, I’ve never seen a better case study of mass media bias and knee-jerk narrowness than an aspect of the current flap about what presidential candidate Mitt Romney said during his trip to Israel. I’m going to focus on a single point because it brings this problem into sharp focus.

Attacks on Christians Sharpen with Government Collusion by Khaled Abu Toameh

August 10, 2012
If Muslim fanatics cannot tolerate moderate and secular Muslims, why should they be expected to accept those who belong to other faiths?

As all eyes were turned this week toward Sinai, where Muslim fundamentalists killed 16 Egyptian border guards while they were having the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, Christian families were being forced out of their homes in the village of Dahshur, 40 kilometers south of Giza.

Indian Shia and Sunni Unite in Hating Israel by Mohshin Habib

August 10, 2012
Although Shia and Sunnis do not pray together, as both sects have the same goal – hostility to Israel – the Shia cleric, to set a precedent, recently asked the Sunni Imam to lead a prayer service attended by both congregations.

FROM IRAN180.ORG: THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT, IRAN, AND THE UNITED NATIONS

Aug.10 2012
The Non Aligned Movement (NAM) is hosting its annual conference at the end of the month in Tehran, and as usual it is shaping up to be a controversial summit. For those of you unfamiliar with the NAM, it is an organization that was founded in 1961 for and by countries that ostensibly did not want to align with either the major western powers, or the Soviet bloc.

Caution on Evaluating Egyptian Government Statements on Terrorist Incidents by Amos Harel

Aug 10, 2012
I think we should be very careful about the Egyptian accusations against Hamas. Note that Israeli intelligence sources refused to confirm this information.