PA Mufti calls for genocide of Jews quoting Islamic Hadith

Wasn't Fatah the "moderate" voice? Weren't they supposed to be our partner for peace?

From Palestinian Media Watch

Last week, the principal Palestinian Authority religious leader, the Mufti Muhammad Hussein, presented the killing of Jews by Muslims as a religious Islamic goal. At an event celebrating the 47th anniversary of the founding of Fatah, he cited the Hadith (Islamic tradition attributed to Muhammad) saying that the Hour of Resurrection will not come until Muslims fight the Jews and kill them:

"The Hour [of Resurrection] will not come until you fight the Jews. The Jew will hide behind stones or trees. Then the stones or trees will call:
'Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.'"

The last time official PA TV broadcast a sermon during which this Hadith calling to kill Jews was quoted was in 2010.

The years of PA promotion of killing Jews and PA religious leaders' citing this Hadith to justify it, may have contributed to the high acceptance of it in PA society. A poll sponsored by the Israel Project last year found that 73% of Palestinians "believe" this Hadith. [July 2011, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner.]

The moderator who introduced the Mufti at the Fatah event last week reiterated another Islamic belief; that the Jews are the descendants of apes and pigs:
"Our war with the descendants of the apes and pigs (i.e., Jews)
is a war of religion and faith."

The Mufti did not distance himself from this hate statement that Islam is in a religious war with the Jews, but added to it that Islam's goal is to kill Jews.

Watch it here:



UPDATE:

Youtube has removed the film. It is still available at the Pal Media Watch site

"Chosen People Have To Be Perfect"

If providing human rights to LGBT Israelis is 'pinkwashing', what is it when they provide excellent prenatal care to expectant mothers? "Blue-and-pinkwashing"? "Babywashing"?

I really cannot add much to this excellent dissection of an article that appeared in a Dutch paper, written by Yochanan Visser, and crossposted to CIFWatch, in which Israel's prenatal health program is cast as a sinister eugenics project:

Last week the Dutch Christian daily ‘Trouw’ reached a new low when it published a vicious article about prenatal care in Israel entitled: “The chosen people have to be perfect”.

The writer, Ilse van Heusden, gave birth to a healthy baby boy while temporarily living in Israel.

She succeeded in portraying the prenatal care in Israel as a government instigated ‘military operation’ aimed at the production of babies as perfect as possible.

Apart from distortions and lies the article contained many accusations and insinuations which are reminiscent of classic anti-Semitic rants.

Read the whole thing. This is a new classic in the subgenre of anti-Israel writing called, "I was in Israel, and nothing much happened, but I could feel it was all icky and fascist in my bones". (If anyone can come up with a shorter name for the genre, that would be much appreciated.) She is asked to do a lot of tests. She doesn't want to, but does anyway. The healthcare system is different from the one in the Netherlands, and she doesn't like the way they do things. She is asked to do the tests, even though she's healthy, and not Ashkenazi. She asserts, with no proof given, that the state 'demands' children. (They do seem to expend a lot of energy on hers, however, who isn't 'chosen', nor will he be an Israeli citizen.) She has a strange (and I think, fictional) encounter with another mommy, who tells her that the 'chosen people' must be physically perfect. (If I read the Dutch correctly.) Finally, her son is born healthy, with an undersized toe which she sees as some sort of personal triumph over Israeli medicine. (Really. He can take off his sock at BDS meetings for the rest of his life, and show how he defeated the Zionazi OB/GYNs.)

The overall effect is of a series of perfectly ordinary events, being dramatized through scary music and horror-movie lighting. Israel (like dozens of other countries), offers a small (smaller than the Netherlands') subsidy to families with children. (SCREAMING!) Israeli doctors are kind of test-happy. (MORE SCREAMING!!!) Israelis like children. (HYSTERICAL NONSTOP SCREAMING!!!)

This article is the perfect fusion of anti-Semitism and navel-gazing. Four stars.

Go & Learn: Seminars on Anti-Semitism in Sonoma county

According to the 2010 FBI annual report on hate crimes

Of the 1,552 victims of an anti-religion hate crime:

■ 67.0 percent were victims of an offender’s anti-Jewish bias.
■ 12.7 percent were victims of an anti-Islamic bias.
■ 4.2 percent were victims of an anti-Catholic bias.
■ 3.0 percent were victims of an anti-Protestant bias.
■ 0.5 percent were victims of an anti-Atheist/Agnostic bias.
■ 9.1 percent were victims of a bias against other religions (anti-other religion).
■ 3.5 percent were victims of a bias against groups of individuals of varying religions (anti-multiple religions, group).


In January and February, Congregation Beth Ami in Santa Rosa will be presenting an exciting series on Modern Anti-Semitism. All events are scheduled in the Sanctuary, followed by an oneg in the Social Hall.

· Sunday, Jan. 15: Modern Anti-Semitism: Rabbi Jerry Danzig “Overview: From California to the World.” Starting at 2:00 pm and followed by oneg in the Social Hall.

· Sunday, Jan. 29: Modern Anti-Semitism: On California Campus. Tammi Rossman-Benjamin & Prof. Leila Beckwith of the Amcha Initiative “How to rid California colleges of their increasing anti-Semitism” Starting at 2:00 pm and followed by oneg in the Social Hall.

· Sunday, Feb. 12: Modern Anti-Semitism: Anti-Defamation League . Nancy J. Appel, Associate Director, Anti-Defamation League, Central Pacific Region:“Responding to US Anti-Semitism.” Starting at 2:00 pm and followed by oneg in the Social Hall.

· Sunday, Feb. 26: JIMENA Speakers' Bureau Member, Rachel Wahba, and JIMENA Director, Sarah Levin. Arab State-Sponsored Anti-Semitism. Starting at 2:00 pm and followed by oneg in the Social Hall.

Persecution of Christians in the World. Sabeel is silent

Sabeel is coming to town March 16-17. Sabeel is a Christian liberation theology organization based in Jerusalem. It was founded by Palestinian Anglican priest, Rev. Naim Ateek, and has been widely denounced for its
one-sided anti-Israel rhetoric.

from the ADL:
Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA): As part of the anti-Israel movement's effort to attract support from the mainstream, Friends of Sabeel—North America (FOSNA), the U.S. affiliate of Sabeel, a Jerusalem-based Palestinian Christian organization, has been particularly effective at forging alliances with a number of mainline Protestant churches. FOSNA-organized events, including multiple U.S. conferences and organized trips to Israel, regularly feature speakers who accuse Israel of racism, oppression and human rights violations. With a presence in two dozen U.S. states, FOSNA has played a central role in bridging the anti-Israel movement with mainstream American Christian groups. Some of these have responded to FOSNA's outreach by integrating anti-Israel efforts into their broader social causes, bolstering the anti-Israel movement's ability to spread its messages to wider and otherwise untapped audiences. In 2009 and 2010, Sabeel conferences from Hawaii to Washington, DC, attracted hundreds of participants, and smaller, local events take place throughout the year.

One aspect of Christian life in the Middle east that you'll never hear mentioned by Sabeel is the persecution of Christians under Palestinian rule.

From an interview with Justus Reid Weiner Palestinian Crimes against Christian Arabs:

•Under the Palestinian regime Christian Arabs have been victims of frequent human rights abuses by Muslims. There are many examples of intimidation, beatings, land theft, firebombing of churches and other Christian institutions, denial of employment, economic boycotts, torture, kidnapping, forced marriage, sexual harassment, and extortion. Palestinian Authority (PA) officials are directly responsible for many of the human rights violations. Muslims who have converted to Christianity are in the greatest danger. They are often left defenseless against cruelty by Muslim fundamentalists. Some have been murdered.
•Christian Arabs also fall victim to the chaos and anarchy typical of PA rule. This situation is fostered by societal rigidity, criminal gangs, lack of education, absence of due process, incitement, unreliable courts, and the denial of these problems-all running counter to Israel's desire for a prosperous and stable neighbor.
•Muslim attitudes toward Christians and Jews are influenced by the concepts and prejudices about their inferiority that the practice of dhimmitude has spawned in Islamic society. As dhimmis, Christians living in Palestinian-controlled territories are not treated as equals of Muslims and are subjected to debilitating legal, political, cultural, and religious restrictions.
•The human rights violations against the Christian Arabs in the disputed territories are committed by Muslims. Yet for political and economic reasons many Palestinian Christian leaders blame Israel for these crimes rather than the actual perpetrators. This motif of the transference of blame has been adopted by several Christian leaders in the Western world. Others there who are aware of the PA's human rights abuses choose to remain silent.

From the World Watch List (WWL)

WWL is a ranking of 50 countries where persecution of Christians for religious reasons is worst. The list covers persecution of Christians of all denominations


1.North Korea
2.Afghanistan
3.Saudi Arabia
4.Somalia
5.Iran
6.Maldives
7.Uzbekistan
8.Yemen
9.Iraq
10.Pakistan
11.Eritrea
12.Laos
13.Northern Nigeria
14.Mauritania
15.Egypt
16.Sudan
17.Bhutan
18.Turkmenistan
19.Vietnam
20.Chechnya
21.China
22.Qatar
23.Algeria
24.Comoros
25.Azerbaijan
26.Libya
27.Oman
28.Brunei
29.Morocco
30.Kuwait
31.Turkey
32.India
33.Burma (Myanmar)
34.Tajikistan
35.Tunisia
36.Syria
37.United Arab Emirates
38.Ethiopia
39.Djibouti
40.Jordan
41.Cuba
42.Belarus
43.Indonesia
44.Palestinian Territories
45.Kazakhstan
46.Bahrain
47.Colombia
48.Kyrgyzstan
49.Bangladesh
50.Malaysia

The Palestinian territories make the list- Israel does not. Yet we can take it as a given that there will be no mention at the Sacramento Sabeel conference of the suffering of the Christians in the disputed territories.

This photo appeared in the blog Silk Roads and Siamese Smiles: This is what welcomes Christian tourists into the Israeli town of Nazereth. It is near the Church of the Annunciation.



From Dexter Van Zile "Primer on Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center"

Sabeel ...broadcasts a dishonest narrative about the Arab/Israeli conflict that:

Promotes an obsession with Jewish sin;
Promotes ambivalence over Jewish power
Encourages listeners to ignore problems in Palestinian society that undermine the prospects for Israeli and Palestinian safety and freedom;
Ignores the role Muslim extremists have played in the decline of the Christian population in the disputed territories and the Middle East;
Blames Israel, and only Israel, for the suffering of the Palestinian people; and Promotes an indifference to Israeli suffering as a result of Palestinian terror attacks.

Indifference is not a Christian trait. We remind our Christian friends to reject Sabeel when it comes to Sacramento March 16-17

Tel Aviv Named Best Gay City

Now, this is what pinkwashing is all about.

Israel's malicious campaign of pinkwashing--giving LGBT Israelis full civil rights, recognition of foreign marriages, health care for domestic partners, and all that other dreadful imperialist stuff they do...has paid off.

Tel Aviv has been named Best Gay City for 2011.

JERUSALEM (JTA) -- Tel Aviv has been named the best gay city for 2011 in a poll sponsored by American Airlines and Gaycities.com.

The city was selected as the "Best City of 2011" in the "Best of Gay Cities 2011" poll. Tel Aviv garnered 43 percent of the votes, followed by New York City with 14 percent and Toronto with 7 percent.

"Winning this competition constitutes an additional strengthening of the fact that Tel Aviv-Jaffa is a city that respects all people and allows everyone to live according to his/her own principles," Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said. "Ours is a city in which everyone can be proud of who they are."

New York won in the Best Night Life category, San Francisco took the Best Pride city category, and Buffalo, N.Y., was the Most Up-and-Coming city.

More than 5,000 gay tourists visited Tel Aviv in June for its annual pride parade, according to the Tel Aviv-Jaffa municipality.


If you go to Gaycities.com, and look at their map of great gay cities, you're going to notice something, and that's that Tel Aviv stands alone in the Middle East. I mean, entirely alone. That little pin in the map marks the lone gay party town of the region.


Kol ha-kavod, Tel Aviv!

You Can't Say That!

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{Cross-posted at Israel Thrives}

I always find it interesting when I am told that something that I have said is not false, but simply offensive and therefore beyond the bounds of reasonable political discussion.

I have been told this a number of times about various things and have even created a list of That Which Cannot Be Spoken which is currently sitting on the right side of the page of my home blog.

Barry Rubin, one of my favorite analysts, just wrote this:

Someone had written an article in the left-wing British magazine New Statesman, which always bashes Israel sometimes in the nastiest terms, defending Israel’s 2008-2009 Gaza operation called “Cast Lead.” In the article, the writer had gone into great detail to set forth the facts of what happened and to rebut the wild allegations of war crimes and the many outright lies told about these events.

But here’s the relevant part for all of us: my colleague explained that there had been about 300 comments to that article, some positive and most negative. And, he recounted, not a single one of the negative responses cited a single fact. They did not say, for example: “Oh, you’ve gotten the numbers wrong,” or “Here’s a critical point you missed.”

No, the theme of every attack was that “only a fascist would say this” or “you cannot say such a thing.”

What these people were saying is that they don’t have to argue with you or pay attention to what you are saying. They can just close their eyes, put their hands over their ears, and scream: “Liar! Evil person! You have no right to disagree with us or else we will destroy you.”

You can see why this reminded me of the incident with Batatu. And George Orwell, too...

It is the lowest form of political discourse to merely label someone something negative in order to dismiss whatever point they may be endeavoring to make.

If, for example, I say that Palestinian national identity is the world's newest national identity and that most "Palestinians" did not consider themselves to be any such thing until the second half of the twentieth century, it is not sufficient to call me a "racist."

The truth doesn't care about whatever label you may assign to someone in order to dismiss them.

The truth is the truth and in this case it may be an inconvenient truth for pro-Palestinian activists who wish to see Israel dissolved as a Jewish state, but why should inconveniencing anti-Zionists bother me?

It doesn't.

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Why Progressives are Clueless on I-P

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Karam

There are reasons why the progressive-left likes to smack around the Jewish state and one of the foremost of such reasons is their near total misapprehension of the source of the conflict. Progressives tend to think that the reason for the never-ending, and increasingly annoying, I-P conflict, is that the Jews of the Middle East are mean.

In the plainest terms possible, that is it. Progressives, as a rule, think that Israel is mean. The mean Jewish Israelis are oppressing the innocent "indigenous" Palestinians and they need to stop it. This represents the essential mental process of most progressives when they bother considering the Arab war against the Jews of the Middle East. It's all about underdogs. Whoever holds underdog status is considered to be the righteous "good guy" among the vapid progressive activist types.

In the summer of 1967 the Jews of the Middle East successfully defended themselves from Arab aggression and, in doing so, acquired the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt and the "West Bank" from Jordan. After both those countries refused to take back that land in return for peace, as they told us with the three famous "no's" at Khartoum, the Soviets, the Arabs, and their western progressive allies have successfully turned the Jewish David into the Israeli Goliath.

Of course, they get a little cognitive help among people who are paid to encourage them to think this way. NGOs, the United Nations, and various journalists and academics who specialize in spreading hatred toward the Jewish state... and G-d only knows how many anti-Semitic anti-Zionist bloggers who do it not for pay but out shear self-serving righteous indignation combined with willful ignorance of the subject... continually paint Israel as a racist, apartheid, imperialist, colonialist, rogue state.

So what is your average American liberal to think?

Day after day after day Israel gets clobbered by people either emotionally or financially invested (oftentimes both) in doing everything that they possibly can to demean and defame that country for its alleged crimes against the Palestinians and they are almost always on the left.  This is, in fact, the product of untold billions of dollars in Arab oil revenue over the recent decades as a source of funding for non-stop anti-Zionist propaganda directed at gullible, usually well-meaning, western liberals.

If this were not true, surely Israel's defamers would not be defamers, but instead would be honest critics. For if they were honest critics they might note the 1,300 years of Jewish persecution in Muslim and Arab lands that directly preceded the long Arab war against the Jews of the Middle East from the 1920s until today.

But they don't.

The only way to make the acidic progressive case against the Jewish state, and thus against the Jewish people, is to ignore centuries of Jewish history in that part of the world. Unless you ignore the long centuries of Jewish second and third class citizenship under Muslim rule, it is impossible to portray the Jews merely as the callous oppressors of the innocent Palestinian-Arabs.

In truth, you have to ignore all sorts of things to maintain the typically progressive stance that the Jews are guilty and that the Palestinians should be free to react in any violent manner possible because they are the righteous victims.

Not only do you have to ignore 13 centuries of dhimmitude to paint the Jews in roguish colors, you also have to ignore all the various times that the Palestinian-Arabs have refused to accept a state for themselves in peace next to Israel. If you admit, as the historical record shows, that the Palestinians have never accepted a peaceful resolution to the conflict despite ridiculously good offers for statehood, such as the Peel Commission proposal of 1937, then you must conclude that the reason for the ongoing problem is not the Jews, but persistent Arab intransigence to this very day.

Yet the Jewish state is the only country on the planet that suffers daily attack in the progressive press and they do so under the guise of "social justice" and "human rights." 5.5 million people are dead in the Congo over the last 15 years, but the progressive-left does not care. Tibet remains under the brutal Chinese occupation, decade after decade, but the progressive-left does not care. In Darfur Muslims slaughter black Africans and use rape as a weapon of war, resulting in the dislocation of millions of people, but the progressive-left does not care.

Yet I am supposed to take progressive anti-Zionist hatred toward the Jewish state as something other than anti-Jewish racism?

Oh, please.

Drop By Israel Thrives.

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Women Now Majority in Israel Justice System

In a week when there's been a lot of bleak talk about women in Israel, a reminder of how egalitarian Israeli society really is:

More than half of serving judges in Israel are women
Women account for almost half of lawyers in country

 Jerusalem, Jan. 8 – The appointment over the weekend of new judges to Israel’s Supreme Court included Daphne Barak-Erez, a rising legal star who will be the youngest jurist on the top bench.

Barak-Erez, the dean of Tel Aviv University’s law faculty, was among the four nominees. Her background includes military service in the armed forces Military Prosecutors office, and a reputation for a strong stance against corruption.

More than half of the 646 judges serving on the benches of Israeli courts are women, and Israel’s Labor Court is also presided over by a woman, Nili Arad, with women comprising just over 60 percent of the labor court judges. Israeli female judges vastly outnumber their American counterparts, where in the U.S. roughly one fifth of federal judges are women, while at the state level that number goes up to only 26 percent.

Israel’s Supreme Court matches the United States in that one third of the judges are women, including the top judge, Dorit Benisch. Israel first appointed a woman, Miriam Ben Porat, to its top legal body in 1977, four years before Sandra Day O'Connor became America’s first female member of the Supreme Court.

On the other side of the bench, women comprise almost half the 49,000 lawyers in Israel, with women holding the posts of legal advisors in the Ministry of Defense, the Police force, the Histadrut National Trade Union and the Civil Service Commission.

The Israel Bar Association says it “supports and promotes the integration of women working in the profession,” and is happy with the current situation where there is an almost total balance between the numbers of male and female attorneys.

For reference: today, in the United States, women comprise 26.3% of the judgeships on state courts of last resort, 19.2% of federal district court judgeships, 20.1% of federal appellate judgeships, and 33.3% of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Aaron David Miller Tells Us Why Obama Doesn't Much Like the Jewish State

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{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives}

He writes:

Barack Obama has an Israel problem. Almost three years in, the US president still can’t decide whether he wants to pander to the Israeli prime minister or pressure him.

That Barack Obama has an "Israel problem" can hardly be in doubt, but it is mainly a problem of his own creation because, indeed, Obama does want to keep the pressure on Israel, but pressure to do precisely what is anyone's guess? After all, the Israelis long ago agreed to two states for two peoples while the Palestinian-Arabs have year after year, and decade after decade, absolutely refused to end their war against the Jews in the Middle East.

This, apparently, is what the Obama administration fails to understand.

Buckle your seat belts. Unless Obama and Binyamin Netanyahu find a way to cooperate on a big venture that makes both of them look good, and in a way that allows each to invest in the other, the US-Israel relationship may be in for a bumpy ride.

It is going to continue to be a bumpy ride because Barack Obama does not understand Israel, doesn't care to understand Israel, and most certainly does not understand the conflict in the Middle East. Obama, like most progressives, thinks that the Jews are mean and that if they would stop being mean then there would be peace between the vicious Israeli colonialist state and the peace loving indigenous population who want not nothing more on this earth than to tend their Sacred Palestinian Olive Groves and raise their children to be accountants and pastry chefs.

Unlike his two predecessors, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, Obama isn’t in love with the idea of Israel.

I would say that this is a considerable understatement. President Obama, through his contempt for Prime Minister Netanyahu has demonstrated a distinct dislike for Israel and no amount of pandering to the American Jewish population before the coming election is going to change that. The truth of the matter is that Obama does not much like the Jewish state and I predict that if he gets reelected he will show that dislike, that contempt, in a much more open manner because he will have nothing to lose. It is then that we will really see the ways in which Obama has swallowed the fabled "Palestinian narrative" lock, stock, and barrel.

Intellectually he understands and supports the pro-Israeli trope – small democratic nation with dark past confronts huge existential threats – but it’s really a head thing.

Does he understand that, even intellectually? I tend to doubt it. From his behavior toward Israel it seems far more likely that he views Israel in much the same way that progressives in general view Israel, i.e., as a racist, imperialist, colonialist, apartheid state that needs to be pressured heavily in order to make it accept a Palestinian state in Gaza, and Judea and Samaria. Of course, just because Israel long ago agreed to such a state, and the Palestinians have never so agreed, does not faze the anti-Israel Obama one little bit.

He still seems hell-bent on pressuring Israel to accept what it already accepts and won't pressure the Palestinian-Arabs to accept what they have never accepted. Israel favors two states for two peoples and the Arabs do not, yet Obama thinks that the United States must pressure Israel. It's rather odd, actually. Or, perhaps, just simply ridiculous, but there it is.

It’s also a conflict that is vital to American interests. And those interests are being threatened by the divide between those who want a solution and are serious about moving toward one, and those who aren’t serious about finding a solution and throw out obstacles. After three years, the president has clearly placed the Israelis in the latter category and the Palestinians in the former.

Precisely. All evidence to the contrary, Obama blames the Jews of the Middle East for the ongoing conflict, despite the fact that it has been the Arabs, century upon century, that has persecuted its Jewish minority and now will not allow the Jews to live in peace and in sovereignty on Jewish land.

As for Bibi Netanyahu:

Obama doesn't like him, doesn’t trust him and views him as a con man. The Israeli prime minister has frustrated and embarrassed Obama and gotten in the way of the president’s wildly exaggerated hopes for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which he’s been pursuing with more enthusiasm than viable strategy since his inauguration.

Quite right. Obama has an irrational disdain for the Israeli leader that matches his irrational disdain for the Jewish state. Furthermore, he has been pursuing an end to the conflict with far more enthusiasm than viable strategy. In fact, he has been pursuing an end to the conflict with no strategy whatsoever beyond trying to force Israel to accept what it has already accepted and through a racist policy of seeking to prevent a Jewish presence on ancient Jewish land.

To make matters worse, when the president went after a settlements freeze, Netanyahu called his bluff and Obama backed down – a terrible humiliation.

Is Obama humiliated? I tend to doubt that. He certainly should be humiliated because the demand that Jews should be allowed to live here, but not over there, is racist to the core. Any president of the United States should be thoroughly embarrassed if he honestly thinks that he has the right to tell an entire ethnicity where we may be allowed to live. Heck, I am embarrassed for him.

In the end, the Barack-Bibi relationship is likely headed south because the trust and capacity to give each other the benefit of the doubt has long ago evaporated.

The blame for this falls squarely on the shoulders of Barack Obama who, through his ingestion of the "Palestinian narrative" at the feet of Rashid Khalidi, believes that because Israel is almost entirely at fault for the conflict, only Israel can fix the situation, which is the exact opposite of the truth. This is also why Obama is entirely incapable of fixing the problem. He doesn't understand it, so how can he possibly fix it?

Without some common enterprise to bind them together and with a great many issues to drive them apart (settlements, the peace process), relations will get worse, taking their toll on the US-Israel relationship, Israel’s security, American interests and, for certain, any remaining hope for a two-state solution.

Yup.

And look for "progressives," including "progressive Zionists," to kick around the Israeli Prime Minister because of this, rather than understand that it is the American President, himself, who has entirely screwed up the potential for a negotiated settlement.

It is Obama who has failed, but they will give Netanyahu the blame.

Watch.

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Apartheid Poster Contest. Can we have some fun with this?

The Hate cru, consisting of Badil, Code Pink, Palestine Solidarity Committee of South Africa, Friends of Sabeel North America, American Muslims for Palestine, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Committee, Artists Against Apartheid International Alliance, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN), Students Against Israeli Apartheid (Canada), Queers Against Israeli Apartheid , Palestine freedom Project, Australians for Palestine. Palestinian Network for Children’s Rights, Pontifical Mission, the Papal Agency for Middle East Relief and Development, The Alternative Information Center, Birzeit University, Defense for Children International, Palestine Section, Alhaq Organization, Defending Human Rights In Palestine, NGO Development Center, Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid Faculty 4 Palestine
is sponsoring a poster contest.

The announcement follows:

“THIS IS APARTHEID” POSTER CONTEST

Art has always been an important part of liberation struggles. It can inspire and convey concepts beyond words. www.itisapartheid.org and its primary partner, Lajee Center, are sponsoring a competition for artists and graphic designers who are invited to submit posters on the theme of “Israeli Apartheid.” These posters should reflect the nature, realities, and/or consequences of apartheid policies in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Posters will be judged by a panel of distinguished activists and artists. The winning entries will be featured in an online poster gallery and disseminated widely on the internet and various other venues. Youth from refugee camps in Gaza and the West Bank will participate in the contest.

Prizes

Expert Jury Prize made up of distinguished artists and activists: $400
Global Jury Prize from global internet voting: $400
Palestinian Prize (winner must be Palestinian): $3006
Honorable Mention prizes: $50 each
* As we raise more funds we will raise monetary amount of prizes.

Deadline for submission of all posters is June 1, 2012

Work must be original for this contest. Submissions should not exceed 2MB. If your work is selected, you will be asked to provide a high resolution (minimum 300 dpi), print-ready digital file to a maximum size of 38” x25”. All posters should include the phrase EndIsraeliApartheid.com in a prominent location.

Email submissions to info@itisapartheid.org

Can we take inspiration form our friend at Elder of Ziyon and submit some of our own entries?

Why Israel still needs Checkpoints

From the Jerusalem Post

Border Police thwart major terror attack near Jenin

Border Police officers captured close to a dozen pipe bombs at the Salem Crossing near Jenin in the northern West Bank on Sunday, thwarting what appears to have been a major terrorist attack, possibly against a nearby military court.

Four Palestinians were arrested at the crossing and were found to be in possession of 11 pipe bombs, a homemade pistol and a commando knife. They were transferred to the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) for interrogation.

The four were last in line to enter the Samaria Military Court when one of the soldiers stationed at the crossing, from the Military Police, spotted wires protruding from under his jacket.


The officers shut down the crossing and ordered the Palestinian to undress and discovered three pipe bombs. Another eight were discovered in his bag together with a homemade pistol, several bullets and a commando knife.

“I don’t remember such a large cache of bombs caught on one person,” Lt.-Col. Erez, commander of the Haruv Battalion said.

Three other Palestinians who were in line with the man carrying the weapons were also detained. The IDF suspects that the attack was planned against the Samaria Military Court, since the line the Palestinians were standing in only goes into the court and back out.

The thwarted attack came a week after the IDF captured a number of weapons in a home in Kfar Salem, near Nablus, including an M-16 and an Uzi and after the Shin Bet recorded an increase in the number of attacks in December in the West Bank.

PennBDS-Oy!

PennBDS-Oy!
Our story so far:

The University of Pennsylvania is hosting a BDS conference. Well, 15 students out of 21,000 have formed a club, and they are hosting the conference. The University has already formally distanced itself from the event and issued a statement

"This is not an event sponsored by the University. The event is being sponsored by a registered student group, as is permitted of any student group on campus.

The University of Pennsylvania has clearly stated on numerous occasions that it does not support sanctions or boycotts against Israel. Indeed, Penn has important and successful scholarly collaborations with Israeli institutions that touch on many areas of our academic enterprise."

The Campus Hillel applauded President Gutmann's statement, declaring

"...we welcome the university’s statement distancing itself from the conference and affirming its strong rejection of boycott, divestment or sanction of Israel.
Penn Hillel is working assertively with the university to assure that the conference does not create a hostile or unsafe environment for the free exchange of ideas and for students to be openly pro-Israel.
Penn Hillel staff and student leaders are using this situation as an opportunity to educate students about Israel, inform them about the reality of the BDS campaign, and expand the coalition of Israel’s friends at Penn among both Jews and non-Jews."

The purpose of the conference? To "build momentum" . The conference seeks to beat the proverbial dead BDS horse, and to revive and energize a tactic that has been failing for over ten years.

Our friend Jon has set up a very special website PennBds-oy to address the UPenn agenda. Check out PennBDS-oy to learn more about:

PennBDS Back to the Basics in Palestine: Time for Unity, Synergy and Mobilization

PennBDS Successes, Challenges, and Options for 2012

PennBDS and the LGBT Community: Pinkwashing Apartheid

PennBDS: BDS Mind, Beginner’s Mind

PennBDS: BDS and Community

PennBDS – The Zionist Response

PennBDS – Hillel and Questions of JVP

And of course, the perennial favorite PennBDS: Hamsphire Conference Planning Transcript

New articles are added regularly

The BDS'ers regard this attention as a sign of their impending victory. Its all about the buzz after all. My prediction: When all is said and done ,the final press release/op eds and tweets will invariably state "UPenn students endorse divestment"

Go and Learn: Local Opportunities to learn about Israel, Zionism and the Middle east

Professor Eli Pollak on A Zionist response to the delegitimization of Israel
Sunday, January 8 at 7:30PM @ CBI, 1630 Bancroft Way Berkeley

Professor Eli Pollak is Chairman of the Department of Chemical Physics at the Weizmann Institute. He is the founder and Chairman of Israel’s Media Watch and a member of the board of Professors for a Strong Israel. He has a weekly column (on Thursdays) in the Jerusalem Post, appears frequently in the Israeli media, is active in media related legislation, and has appeared frequently in the Knesseth as an expert on media related issues.

StandWithUs presents Dr. Mitchell Bard Discussing His Book The Arab Lobby
Monday, January 9 7:30 p.m.
San Francisco JCC, 3200 California Street San Francisco

Dr. Mitchell Bard, a scholar and foreign policy analyst, lectures frequently on U.S.-Middle East policy. Recently, he has appeared on Fox News, MSNBC, NBC, CBC, Al Jazeera and other local and national television and radio outlets. As a recognized authority on Mideast regional issues, Dr. Bard is the Executive Director of the nonprofit American- Israeli Cooperative Enterprise (AICE) and Director of the Jewish Virtual Library, the world’s most comprehensive online encyclopedia of Jewish history and culture. Dr. Bard’s book, The Arab Lobby, investigates the scope and activities of the Arab Lobby, exposing 70 years of coercion by Saudi Arabia and the impact on American education and policies—both domestic and foreign.
Dr. Bard will also be appearing January 8th at 9:30am at Kol Emeth in Palo Alto 4175 Manuela Avenue

Palo Alto, Start-Up Nation: Is the Party Over or Just Beginning?
When: Tuesday, January 10th, 6:30pm
Where: Fenwick & West, 801 California Ave., Mt. View
Cost: Members Free (join @ http://jhtc.org/memberships)
$15 Guests before 1/8/12; $25 @ Door
$10 Full-Time Students/Seniors (65+)

StartUp Nation is fast becoming Israel’s brand as its fame and success in creating startups spreads through the world of innovation. Yet is this success destined to be short-lived as Israel weathers the world’s economic crisis, faces increasing competition from other countries, a growing social protest movement and economic inequality internally, and political isolation potentially leading to boycotts and slowed economic growth. Jon Medved, a 30 year veteran of Israel’s Startup scene (both as a VC and entrepreneur ) will analyze this situation and tell you if the StartUp Nation party is about to abruptly end, or is it just gearing up for the next and bigger wave of accomplishments.

Jon Medved:
- Venture Capitalist
- Vringo CEO
- Founder and GP of Israel Seed Partners
- Israel’s unofficial Tech Business Ambassador

Co-sponsored by:
Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Silicon Valley
Congregation Shir Hadash

Israeli journalist Shmuel Rosner speaks at Congregation Beth Israel on Israel’s Political Landscape and Social Battles
Saturday, January 21, 2012, 6:30—8:30 p.m. @CBI, 1630 Bancroft Way Berkeley

Shmuel Rosner is Senior Political Editor for the Jewish Journal, columnist for Israel’s Maariv Daily and writer of the popular blog “Rosner’s Domain”. He is a frequent contributor to Slate Magazine and the Jewish Forward. His book Shetl, Bagel, Baseball, On the Wonderful Dreadful State of American Jews was published in Israel by Keter (Hebrew, 2011).
Sponsored by: Bridges to Israel-Berkeley, Congregation Beth Israel, East Bay Partnership for Israel, Jewish Community Relations Council, UC Berkeley Law Center for Jewish and Israel Studies and Rohr Chabad Jewish Student Center of UC Berkeley.

Barack Obama is No Friend to the Jewish People or the Jewish State

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{Cross-Posted at Israel Thrives}

It cannot be emphasized enough that the Obama administration is generally hostile to Israel and, perhaps more importantly, has acted in ways that have hurt that country by eliminating any possibility for a peaceful conclusion of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinian-Arabs. As virtually everyone knows by this point, Obama destroyed the potential for a negotiated end of the conflict by placing the unreasonable precondition of "total settlement freeze" on the table, thereby driving Mahmoud Abbas up his tree, where he yet lingers.

That's the first thing that must be kept in mind when considering the various ways that Obama has been bad for Israel and thus bad for the Jewish people. Obama ruined any possibility for a negotiated settlement. This cannot be emphasized enough. Obama took whatever potential there might have been in negotiations and threw them into the garbage entirely. The only question is, why? What was he thinking? Or was he thinking, at all? It's hard to know what would motivate the president of the United States to destroy the potential for peace between Israel and the Palestinian-Arabs, but that he did so is not in doubt.

For this reason, if for no other, Jewish people and friends of Israel must prevent a second, potentially disastrous, Obama presidency. If Obama is this hostile and incompetent now, when he still needs Jewish support for winning a second term, how will he behave when he has nothing to lose?

Of course, ruining the "peace process" is only one reason why Jewish people and friends of Israel should vote against Barack Obama 11 months from now. Another reason to show Obama the door is because his demands that Jews not be allowed to live, and thus build housing for themselves in Judea and Samaria, is a policy that justifies Arab racism against Jews. Mahmoud Abbas has demanded that any future state of Palestine must be Judenrein and Barack Obama apparently agrees. Why else would he insist that Jews should not be allowed to build housing for themselves on what is traditionally Jewish land?

Although it is rather difficult for me to believe that Obama is a racist, his policy on Jewish settlement building is, in fact, racist against the Jewish people. Can you imagine if any high ranking government official suggested that in the United States Italians should be allowed to live east of the Mississippi River, but not west of the river? Any such statement would be met with slack-jawed amazement, if not complete and utter outrage, yet this is essentially what Barack Obama is telling the Jews of the Middle East. They may only be allowed to live where he decides. It's difficult to imagine, but we need not imagine it because it is now part of the historical record. Obama literally thinks that he has the right to tell Jewish people where we may be allowed to live.

Also, of course, it was Barack Obama who told the world that the Radical Jihadi uprisings throughout the Middle East were something akin to the American Revolution and / or the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s, as if Martin Luther King were a genocidal Jihadi Jew Hater. In this way, Barack Obama literally supports a movement that has genocidal intention toward the Jewish people. This is not hyperbole, but quite literally the case. As the Muslim Brotherhood and their fascist affiliates throughout the Arab and Muslim worlds rise to power, they are doing so with the blessings of the President of the United States. It's so outlandish that people have a hard time wrapping their brains around this fact. It just seems so unlikely. Why would the President of the United States support genocidal Islamist intentions toward Jews? Chances are that was not his intention, but if it was not his intention, just why did he do it?

In any case, I have gone over this ground many times in the past and will probably continue to do so in the future because, much to my astonishment, these facts are being whitewashed by Obama supporters. Those of us who care about the Jewish people, and thus the Jewish state, must do whatever we can do to remind Jewish people, and friends, just how rotten the Obama administration has been for Israel and, therefore, how rotten he has been for the Jewish people.

We need to bang this drum as often and as loudly as possible because if Obama gets a second term the potential consequences are absolutely horrendous. We will see Iran go nuclear and the Middle East ruled by the Radical Jihad.

Barack Obama may be comfortable with such an outcome, but we cannot afford to be.

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Beit Shemesh and Israel Advocacy: Some Thoughts

Like the rest of the Judeoblogosphere, I have been fixated for days on the situation in Beit Shemesh, where Israelis from all religious and political backgrounds are finally saying 'enough is enough' to the increasingly aggressive and violent Sikrikim gang, and other anti-Zionist, religiously fanatical groups in the Jerusalem area.

After months of increasing violence and petty harassment, largely against women, and other members of the haredi community, and struggle over gender segregation on the buses going through Mea Shearim and nearby areas, the Sikrikim upped their game by harassing little girls at the local Orthodox Orot Banot school in Beit Shemesh. The parents of one of these girls, Naama Margolese, age eight, who was spit on and called a prostitute, went to the media. And Israel responded.

Naama Margolese, with her mother, Hadassah

The last several days have been filled with demonstrations against the violence and intimidation of the extremist groups, along with voices speaking out against them from every corner of society.

Netanyahu declared: “Israel is a Western liberal democracy, and as such its public space is open and safe for all, men and women. There is no place in [Israel] for discrimination. The police will continue to arrest all those who spit, raise their hands, and harass.”

Chief Military Rabbi, Brigadier-General Rafi Peretz said: “The spirit of Jewish law does not allow discrimination or violation of women in any circumstance and on any grounds.”

Left and right, religious and secular, Israelis have found common ground, as have Jews across the Diaspora. The photographs coming out of Beit Shemesh have been inspiring:

The center sign quotes from 'Hatikva'--
Lihiot am chofshi. To be a free people.

Prominent Israelis spoke out. Netanyahu opened the Knesset, declaring: “Israel is a Western liberal democracy, and as such its public space is open and safe for all, men and women. There is no place in [Israel] for discrimination. The police will continue to arrest all those who spit, raise their hands, and harass.”

Chief Military Rabbi Brigadier-General Rafi Peretz said: “The spirit of Jewish law does not allow discrimination or violation of women in any circumstance and on any grounds.”

Yelling in the streets for justice.

This gentleman's sign makes me terribly happy.

I immediately became a member of Occupy Bet Shemesh on Facebook, friended the Orot Banot school, and began to send off letters and signing petitions, as is my custom when something in Israel or elsewhere has me riled up.

Other Diaspora bloggers were doing likewise. Vicious Babushka wrote an amazing blog post, from the perspective of a Chabad grandmother of 29, many of whom live in Israel, and appeared on a radio panel.

A young man in payos, and a young woman with her hair uncovered,
stand together, with gentle, thoughtful faces.

Seeing the unifying activist theory rising these past couple of weeks has been a remarkable and heartening experience. At the same time, I could see that people were nervous about the degree to which dirty laundry was being aired, in a world in which even the most positive story coming out of Israel can be quickly appropriated for Israel-bashing purposes. (See, 'pinkwashing'.) "How can Gentiles understand this?" one friend asked me. "I don't understand it myself." And sure enough, I saw people approaching the story understanding only that the 'ultra-Orthodox', a dimly envisioned group who are imagined to be universally fanatical, anti-Arab, anti-woman, and disproportionately politically powerful, were up to something. "How can Israel criticize religious fanaticism anywhere else in the Middle East," the line generally ran, "when they have this happening and home, and the government does nothing to stop it?"

That, of course, is the mistaken part. Actually, two mistaken parts--first, the idea that Israel goes around complaining about other people's religious fanatics, except when those fanatics are directly talking about wiping Israel off the map, (they don't), and secondly, that the government is doing nothing about it, or is somehow supporting these crazies by not doing what, say, many other governments in the Middle East would do if offended by an anti-government group like this, and arresting anyone connected to their movement, torturing them, and keeping them in lockup without charging them. My first instinct, regardless, was to compartmentalize--to speak out about Beit Shemesh, but not to connect it to my Israel advocacy, for fear of making 'a shanda for the haters'.

Ronn Torossian at Algemeiner explores the various ways in which the international media has gotten the wrong end of the stick on this story, in what I consider a very good article. Meanwhile, I'm thinking about a variety of conversations I've had with anti-Israel activists, in which I've told them, bluntly and repeatedly that in contradiction of their assumptions, I do not think that Israel is a perfect fairy-tale land, and that not only am I aware of problems within the society and the government, but I speak out against them, and am an activist against them as much as I am an activist against those who would destroy Israel from without. So I have determined to be as open about my joy at the demonstrations in Beit Shemesh as I am about any other positive event in Israel, as clear about my opposition to religious extremists terrorizing their neighbors, religious and otherwise, as I am about my opposition to the Israel-haters of the world.

The stickers on this boy's face read "Beit Shemesh is a Zionist city".
He is protesting against the religious extremists, who are anti-Zionist.

Denying the validity of a Jewish state.

One point I think we need to make, clearly and loudly, is that while people who are unfamiliar with Israel, and have been ably misinformed by Israel-haters, may think of Toldot Aharon and the Sikrikim as the 'ultra-orthodox' they associate loosely with the settler movement, these people are actually, among other things, rabid anti-Zionists, loosely connected to the Neturai Karta movement, and staunchly opposed to the idea of a secular, democratic, self-determining Jewish state. They are, in fact, the allies of the anti-Israel activists of the West, and closely resemble them in their histrionic sense of theater, willingness to traumatize innocent children, and general ugly behavior.

Secondly, while it may be reasonable to think that something could have been done to rope in the extreme behavior of this fringe group, as I said above, had they tried something similar to this in Egypt under Mubarak they might simply all have vanished off the street one day, and in other places in the world, their spiritual brethren are running the whole show. Israel, a democracy with rule of law, faces a more complicated challenge, similar, perhaps to the one that the American legal system has faced in dealing with groups such as the FLDS. There is a fine line between allowing people to worship and live as they like, and hold their own political beliefs, and preventing them from harming people both in and out of their group, and Israel, like every other democracy worldwide, has to walk this line.

Looking at events unfolding in Beit Shemesh I am proud of us. I am proud of the Israelis and the Diaspora bloggers, I am proud of the people Hadassah Margolese referred to repeatedly in her speech to one of the demonstrations as 'the chareidi, the chiloni and the dati leumi' members of the Beit Shemesh community. I am proud of the Zionists. This is not dirty laundry, this is washing day, and for me it is another reminder of what I love about Israel and the Jewish people worldwide.

How Do You Say "Jewfication" in Turkish?

From Roi Kais at YNet News:

Hamas prime minister in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh on Sunday received a warm welcome from Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during an official meeting in Istanbul.


Palestinian media outlets reported that Haniyeh and Erdogan met in the prime minister's residence along with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and other officials.


Palestinian sources said the meeting lasted two hours, during which the leaders agreed that a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot be reached without involving Hamas in the negotiations.


For some reason, I am not surprised that they came to this conclusion.



According to reports, Haniyeh and Erdogan discussed the "The 'Jewfication' of Jerusalem, and the cruel attacks against its Arab residents."



Erdogan, who expressed support for reconciliationefforts between Hamas and Fatah, spoke about "the necessary steps to preserve the holy sites for Muslims and Christians," and expressed hope that the Palestinians will have "an umbrella organization that will offer significant and democratic representation to all political groups."


Three guesses. Who's missing?


During the meeting, the two also discussed the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip, and the May2010 IDF raid on the flotilla that aimed to break it.

Haniyeh thanked Erdogan for his firm stance on the Palestinian issue, praising him for demonstrating "solidarity with the residents of the Gaza Strip during Operation Cast Lead."

The Hamas prime minister departed on his first official visit outside of Gaza since 2007 last week. He left the Strip through Rafah Crossing and is expected to also visit Egypt, Sudan, Qatar, Tunisia and Bahrain.


I hate to tell them this, but the "Jewfication of Jerusalem" started some three thousand years ago, and shows no signs of letting up any time soon.

White Phosphorus shells fired at Israel.

For the fourth time, shells containing white phosphorus have been fired at Israeli civilians from Gaza.

From YNET

"The two mortar shells fired Sunday morning from the Gaza Strip at the Eshkol Regional Council contained while phosphorous, an examination revealed. The shells landed in an open field and caused no injuries or damage.

The Negev District Police bomb squad unit examined the shells and determined that they contained the substance, which is banned by international law for use inside dense population concentrations. Those exposed to white phosphorous might suffer from severe burns and other injuries....

Eshkol Regional Council Head Haim Yalin said in response: "This is the fourth time they fire mortar shells containing white phosphorous. We will complain to the United Nations, as we have done in the past, after we receive all the details."

Will the UN condemn this as a war crime? Will Amnesty International or human rights Watch even notice? Sadly, the answer will likely be "No".

The attack follows an Israeli air strike on Palestinian terrorists attempting to fire rockets into Israel on Friday. Muaman Abu Daf, commander of the al-Qaida-affiliated 'Army of Islam was killed in the air strike

Earlier last week, terrorists fired five Kassam rockets into Israel. Rocket strikes from Gaza have triples in 2011. According to The Israel Project’s count, terrorist fired 653 rockets and mortars at Israel this year as of December 29, compared with 238 in 2010.

Palestinian Intolerance and Racism

from the J Post

"The Palestinian Authority banned a well-know Israeli Druse singer from appearing at a New Year’s Eve party in Ramallah.

The decision to ban Mike Sharif, known as “The Druse Boy,” was taken following strong protests and threats by many Palestinians who oppose “normalization” with Israelis.

Sharif was raised in a village in the North and is one of the popular singers not only among Israeli Arabs but throughout the Arab world. He started his career as a singer at the age of seven.

The Palestinians were angered by the fact that Sharif was presented as an Israeli and that some of his songs were in Hebrew. Some said it was unacceptable that Israelis songs would be sung in Ramallah on the third anniversary of Operation Cast Lead. Others said they didn’t like the fact that a member of the Druse community, whose sons serve in the IDF, would appear at a party in Ramallah.

PA policemen raided the hall where the party was supposed to take place and ordered the owners to cancel Sharif’s appearance, eyewitnesses said.

The organizers of the event were forced to replace the Druse singer with another performer.

Meanwhile, Hamas reiterated that it remained committed to all forms of resistance against Israel, including armed struggle."


So, how's that democratic secular state working out for you Palestinians?

The Virtues of Tel Aviv

Our latest contributor, Mike from the Israel Thrives blog is visiting Israel for the first time. He writes "Tel Aviv is a terrific city, but Godawful ugly". Clearly Mike has not developed an appreciation for Bauhaus architecture- a celebration of function over form. In 2003 Tel Aviv was declared a World Cultural Heritage site, by UNESCO in recognition of the 4,000 Bauhaus buildings in the city. Bauhaus, from the German word meaning "Godawful ugly" architects reject "bourgeois" decorative details by using principles of classical architecture in their most pure form: without ornamentation of any kind.

This is likely not the appropriate forum to debate the virtues of Bauhaus architecture, but indeed, Tel Aviv is a terrific city, and has just been acknowledged by the Canadian Globe and Mail as one of the world's most creative cities

Steve Brearton writes:

The entire population of Israel may only number seven million—smaller than New York City—but this Middle Eastern state spends more of its GDP on research and development than any other nation. And it shows. In April, 2011, Israeli software start-ups PicApp and PicScout sold for a combined $30 million (all currency in U.S. dollars) to Indian and American buyers, respectively. A month later, cellular company Provigent was snapped up by U.S. chip maker Broadcom for $313 million, while Google paid $70 million for app developer Snaptu. In September, eBay bought e-commerce site The Gifts Project for a reported $20 million. All are start-ups. All have offices in or near Tel Aviv. In the first three quarters of 2011 alone, 422 Israeli start-ups raised $1.57 billion in venture capital, and an estimated 250 multinationals maintain R&D operations there. What makes Silicon Wadi—as the coastal region between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is known—so special? Some say that a service requirement in the country’s famously high-tech military has given many young Israelis a technological sophistication that bolsters creativity and inventiveness. What we do know is that while Tel Aviv is small, it’s one giant innovation engine.

Israel. Its full of surprises.

Talking About Dual Messages

What we've been saying for years--that the difference between what Palestinian leaders say in English and what they say in Arabic represents a real and chilling issue for any kind of effective moves toward peace--is now the subject of a New York Times article, Finding Fault in the Palestinian Messages That Aren’t So Public.

JERUSALEM — A new book by an Israeli watchdog group catalogs dozens of examples of messages broadcast by the Palestinian Authority for its domestic audience that would seem at odds with the pursuit of peace and a two-state solution.
Instead, the authors say, their findings show a pattern of non-recognition of Israel’s right to exist, demonization of Israel and promotion of violence.

Of course, this is nothing new. For years, many Israeli and Palestinian analysts have said that what Palestinian leaders tell their own people in their own language — as opposed to English-language statements tailored to opinion in the rest of the world — is the truest reflection of their actual beliefs. This has had the effect of further entrenching the sides to the conflict and undermining confidence that it can ever be resolved.

“There is no doubt in my mind that in the mainstream of the Palestinian national movement, Israel is not considered legitimate,” said Shlomo Avineri, an Israeli professor of political science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, reflecting a widespread sense of disillusionment. “This is the inner truth of the Palestinians,” he said. “They really mean it. It is not what they say on CNN, but it is what they teach their children.”

This is in some ways a very positive article, but there is enough poison slipped in that I feel the need to point some of it out. The next paragraph goes on:

But for many, the subject of incitement and media monitoring has become as contentious as some of the messages, especially since these pronouncements are often used to score propaganda points.

Well, yes, when people are talking peace out of one side of their mouth, and endless war out of the other, it does make an oddly good propaganda point.

I'm also bothered by some of the counterexamples of Israeli bad faith that are provided, particularly the comment about the education minister planning to take schoolchildren to Hebron on field trips. Given Hebron's enormous historical significance to Jews, this does not strike me as an action which should be taken as threatening to the Palestinian position. Another example given is of the arrests made over the endorsements of The King's Torah, something that should in fact be a point in favor of Israel's promotion of peace. Set against the large, public, and officially sanctioned gestures of respect toward terrorists such as Dalal Mughrabi, whose face graces the banner in the photograph accompanying the article, this seems like desperate reaching for equivalency straws.

And, of course, this raised my hackles: Mr. Marcus, who set up Palestinian Media Watch in 1996, says that he wants to foster genuine reconciliation. His critics, however, note that he is a settler who lives in the Gush Etzion bloc south of Jerusalem, a contested area of the West Bank that Israel intends to keep under any agreement with the Palestinians.

Note the logic here. (Actually, first note the anonymity of the critics, and the neutral use of the word 'note'. Itamar Marcus declares that he wants reconciliation and peace. Set again this is the criticism that he is living on disputed territory. Clearly, the 'critics' who 'note' this believe that any Israeli (although no Palestinian) who claims to want peace must prove it by living in undisputed territory. Ironic, given that the whole point of Mr. Marcus' work is to point out that, according what Palestinian leaders say in Arabic, all of Israel is 'disputed'.