28 February 2013
The death of Arafat Jaradat in an Israeli jail has raised the fear of a “third intifada.” But if a new intifada were indeed to erupt, it would not be the third. It would be the sixth.

Friday, March 1, 2013
In recent weeks we have seen an escalation in public disturbances, demonstrations, Molotov cocktails and militant declarations of activists in the field. And the question that naturally arises is "What are the causes and reasons for these developments, and are we about to experience a third intifada?"

The Arab spokesmen give three main reasons for the increase in events: the Palestinians who are prisoners in Israeli jails, the economy and the lack of progress toward independence.

The Issue of the Prisoners

March 1, 2013

Good news: Although they stayed until UN Watch exposed, and called on the world to denounce, Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s repugnant speech calling Zionism a “crime against humanity” -- at a UN forum supposedly dedicated to tolerance -- today both the United Nations and the United States strongly condemned him:

• UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Erdogan’s “hurtful and divisive comments” were “not only wrong" but “contradict the very principles on which the Alliance of Civilizations is based.”

Mar 1 2013
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan on March 1 offensively equated Zionism to racism and fascism at the "Fifth Alliance of Civilizations Forum" in Vienna. During the forum, Erdoğan reportedly stated:

"Just like Zionism, anti-Semitism and fascism, it becomes unavoidable that Islamophobia must be regarded as a crime against humanity."

February 6, 2013
Lee Smith, senior editor with the Weekly Standard, Fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, and author of the 2010 critically-acclaimed book, The Strong Horse: Power, Politics, and the Clash of Arab Civilizations, briefed the Middle East Forum via conference call on February 6, 2013.

Mr. Smith characterized the Obama administration's Middle East policy as one of "extrication" from the region. The major problem with this policy, he argued, is that "vacuums are filled by other people, and not always filled by friendly powers."

04 March 2013
Geopolitical forces in the Middle East demand the return of cooperation and amicable relations between Turkey and Israel. The two former allies face similar challenges like the growing threat of terrorist Iran, with its dangerous nuclear ambitions, and the possibility that Syria becomes a launching pad for Sunni al-Qaeda affiliated terror groups in the Middle East and Europe.

March 3, 2013
Argentina has just approved a memorandum of understanding with Iran to jointly investigate the 1994 terrorist bombing of the AMIA, or Jewish federation, building in Buenos Aires. The blast killed 85 people and wounded 300.

There's only one problem with the agreement -- it's alleged that the current Iranian regime, plus its proxy, Hezbollah, was responsible for the attack. That's not speculation, but the conclusion, reached years ago, by the Argentine government!

05 March 2013
The UN aid agency UNRWA has canceled a planned marathon in the Gaza strip following a ban on women runners imposed by the territory’s Hamas rulers. UNRWA, which assists Palestinian refugees and also sponsors and organizes the event, announced on Tuesday that plans for the April race have been scrapped. A statement from agency says that “this disappointing decision follows discussions with the authorities in Gaza who have insisted that no women should participate” in the marathon.

March 4, 2013
The survey, conducted by Professor Mark Elchardus also showed that Islamic anti-Jewish feelings are widespread among all socio-economic and ethic groups, regardless of whether the pupils are from richer or poorer families, or whether the parents consider themselves moderate or traditionalist. This leads to the conclusion that the anti-Jewish sentiments are caused by Islam, and not by socio-economic factors.

March 4 2013
Students and faculty members packed Finney Chapel at Oberlin College on Monday for a discussion about a recent flurry of hate-related incidents.
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA and TRIP GABRIEL
OBERLIN, Ohio — Oberlin College, known as much for ardent liberalism as for academic excellence, canceled classes on Monday and convened a “day of solidarity” after the latest in a monthlong string of what it called hate-related incidents and vandalism.
Related

A campus rally on Monday included members of Dance Diaspora, a West African dance group at Oberlin, 30 miles outside Cleveland.

Mar 6 2013
Who are Samer Issawi and Ayman Sharawneh, the hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners that have become the latest "cause célèbre" for pro-Palestinian activists?

(See our update on how the prisoner issue appears to be a deliberate pretext for creating unrest in an effort to push the Palestinian agenda prior to US President Barack Obama's visit to the region later this month).

March 1, 2013
Last week's news of four Christian missionaries in Libya placed under arrest, possibly facing the death penalty for "proselytizing," is apparently the tip of the iceberg. Yesterday, Arabic media reported that over 100 Christian Copts from Egypt, who appear to have been living and working in Libya, were recently arrested in Ben Ghazi—also on the accusation, or pretext, of being "Christian missionaries."

Mar. 3, 2013
MPs challenge Norway's funding of the PA
and criticize Norway's failure
to stop PA Antisemitism and hate promotion

A debate at the highest political level is underway in Norway following NRK TV's 11-minute report on Palestinian Media Watch's findings about PA hate promotion, as documented in PMW's book Deception. The report by investigative journalist Tormod Strand showed explicit examples of ongoing hate incitement, Antisemitism and terror glorification by the PA.

Mar 5 2013
The Age and Sydney Morning Herald on Saturday dedicated their front pages to a profile of Hamas leader Khaled Meshal - interviewed in Qatar by Fairfax senior journalist Paul McGeough. There were also a number of subsequent articles on Meshal by McGeough over the weekend in those papers.

March 6, 2013. UN Watch led the campaign against Venezuela's election to the UNHRC, brought Chavez victims to testify in the council, and organized the draft UN resolution condemning his abuses.

Mar 7 2013
The numerous obituaries and eulogies being written for the recently deceased Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez all seem to agree on one thing: the man was polarising.

March 6, 2013
The United Nations seems ceaselessly determined to discredit itself.
What better evidence could you find than its choice last week for rapporteur of the UN’s Special Committee on Decolonization?

The committee’s job is to monitor human rights in the world’s 16 “non-self-governing territories” such as the Falklands, Guam, and the Western Sahara. And its choice for reappointment as rapporteur: Syria, that bastion of human rights.

March 4, 2013
The ruling denotes a step forward in the continuing efforts to establish Islam as a mainstream religious and political system in Spain.

The Spanish Supreme Court has ruled that a municipal ordinance banning the wearing of Islamic burqas in public spaces is unconstitutional.

In its 56-page ruling, made public on February 28, the Madrid-based Supreme Court (Tribunal Supremo) said the Catalan city of Lérida exceeded its authority when, in December 2010, it imposed a burqa ban.

MARCH 8 2013
In the past week, thanks to UN Watch action, two wrongdoers at the U.N. suffered a reversal of fortune: World leaders denounced Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan's U.N. speech calling Zionism a "crime against humanity"; and the genocidal regime of Sudan's Omar al-Bashir was removed from a U.N. humanitarian post.

Sudan Removed from U.N. Humanitarian Post

March 8, 2013
The horrors of today's Syria – repression, civil war, barbarity – resulted from many developments; one of the most important occurred 50 years ago today. That's when the pedantically named "Military Committee of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party," whose leadership included Hafez al-Assad, took power in Damascus in what has come to be known, again pedantically, as the "8 March Revolution." The Ba'th (or Baath) party has ruled the country ever since, first under Hafez (1970-2000) and then under his son Bashar (since 2000).

07 Mar 2013
On the basis of easily obtainable evidence, it is possible to ask the following questions:
Why has there never been any government investigation that yielded changed policies into Pakistani complicity in protecting Usama bin Ladin and the Taliban at a time that these forces were killing hundreds of Americans in Afghanistan and elsewhere?

How has large-scale U.S. aid to Pakistan continued without change and without this question being answered?

March 10, 2013
The funding of a significant pro-Iran lobby that funnels money to American universities was disclosed to the wider public for the first time during the U.S. Senate's recent confirmation battle over Chuck Hagel's successful nomination as secretary of defense. By far the largest grantor is the Alavi Foundation, now under federal investigation, which has given Harvard University $345,000 over nine years ending in 2011. Other institutions in the U.S. and Canada have also benefited from Iranian largesse.

March 11, 2013
With Israel, every death is investigated, every movement protested against. Yet when it comes to the wholesale slaughter in Syria, there is just a single global shrug. People cannot be wholly surprised if some of us choose to observe that many of those who comment with fury about Israel have revealed themselves to be neither humanitarians nor journalists but pure and simple anti-Israel political activists.

March 10 2013
UN clears Israel of charge it killed baby in Gaza. Jerusalem had been blamed for death of BBC correspondent’s son during mini-war, but otherwise critical report finds shrapnel from Hamas misfire responsible
Jihad Mishrawi speaks to the media, while carrying the body of his son Omar, on November 15, 2012. (photo credit: screenshot BBC)
Jihad Mishrawi speaks to the media, while carrying the body of his son Omar, on November 15, 2012. (photo credit: screenshot BBC)