Monday, May 19 2008

Do you believe Mohammed al-Dura is still alive?

I'm not into speculating, but if al-Dura's alive, I hope Charles Enderlin gets the scoop.

What will be the significance of Thursday's verdict?

The verdict is now largely irrelevant. Judge Trebucq's ruling won't effect Arabs who have elevated al-Dura to icon status. Nor do I expect her to sway those of us who watched the raw footage and know it's a joke. The most noteworthy development from all the legal action is that the rushes (at least 18/27ths of them) were released and then immediately discredited.

If the verdict is harsh against France 2, who will take the fall?

Hard to say, but cameraman Talal Abu Rama and Palestinian stringers like him will face greater, uncomfortable scrutiny.

Posted at 05:38 AM
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Sunday, May 18 2008

The word: "intrafada," picked up in a few web sites, finally hits the MSM.

The context: Palestinian Victims of Hamas Swear Revenge

Posted at 12:09 PM
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Friday, May 16 2008

No casualties in pre-dawn bombing. AP adds:

The bombing was the latest in a string of attacks on Christian institutions in the overwhelmingly Muslim territory. In the most serious attack, a local Christian activist was murdered in October. His killers have not been found.

Posted at 10:47 AM
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Rupert Murdoch links anti-Semitism to media hostility towards Israel.

A "pretty strong degree of anti-Semitism" in Europe is at the root of the hostile coverage Israel receives in parts of the European media, Rupert Murdoch, the News Corporation global media chief, charged on Thursday.

In an interview with The Jerusalem Post following his appearance at Jerusalem's "Facing Tomorrow" presidential conference, Murdoch (pictured) said it was hard for Israel to obtain fair media coverage in Europe because it was forced to "start off behind."

Elaborating, Murdoch said: "If you go to the BBC, the French press, places like that - they start as hostile, and it's very difficult to overcome. But you've just got to press on and do what you can."

I've never been comfortable linking the two. Calling a journalist anti-Semitic is a loaded charge that's too easy to make and too difficult to prove. Yet Murdoch is a media heavyweight. What do you think?

Posted at 06:25 AM
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Thursday, May 15 2008

Eve Malcha, who has survived five rocket attacks, says yesterday's in Ashkelon was the worst.

She's only 11.

Posted at 07:01 AM
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Wednesday, May 14 2008

Looks like our Wikipedia expose got the attention of their administrator's noticeboard.

The NY Jewish Week picked up on the controversy. See also Andre Oboler's commentary in the Jerusalem Post.

Posted at 10:25 PM
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A Grad rocket scored a direct hit on Ashkelon's Hutzot Shopping Center this evening, injuring 14. Footage of the aftermath already online.

Posted at 10:06 PM
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This image (not online) accompanying Jonathan Steele's latest column appeared in The Guardian's print edition. Stephen Pollard's reaction doesn't mince words:

The inference - not so much as inference as a statement screamed at high volume - is that Israel runs the US. The image is about as classic an anti-semitic trope as exists . . . .

The Guardian needs to take a careful look at its editorial policy, given the provenance and meaning of this sort of image. Unless, that is, it is intending to take its inspiration from Der Sturmer.

Related reading: The Independent's Stars and Stripes

Posted at 09:33 PM
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HonestReporting exposes anti-Israel activists manipulating the online encyclopedia. Read more at HonestReporting's latest Special Report: Exposed - Anti-Israeli Subversion on Wikipedia

Posted at 12:58 PM
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Newspapers get hundreds of letters to the editor each day, and I'm seeing plenty of CCs. Here's how to boost your chances of getting published.

• Read the article you're responding to.
You'll fool nobody and somehow reveal your ignorance to the very people most intimately involved with writing and editing the article you're critiquing. If you don't take the time to read their article, why should editors extend the same courtesy to you?

• Keep your letter short, respectful and to the point.
This includes no improper language, personal attacks or going off on tangents. Calling a journalist anti-Semitic is counterproductive.

• Don't copy and paste writing from elsewhere into your letter.
It's so tempting to copy and paste witty one-liners, expressive phrases, well crafted sentences, informative paragraphs or brilliant rhetorical questions from blogs, group emails, web sites etc. Plagiarism aside, how do you think I react when I see the same word-for-word material in 20 other CCs? Just delete your missive and save us all the trouble.

• Send your letter to just one newspaper.
No matter how articulate you are, a letter sent to two, 20 or 200 papers isn't exclusive. It's a non-starter. This doesn't necessarily exclude the possibility of sending a CC to the President, Congress, the UN, uncle Morris, and me, but I'm not a fan of all that.

• Sign your real name and include your phone number.
Stand behind your words. Don't sign a fictitious name or expect to be published anonymously. To bring order to the massive volume of correspondence and prevent fraudulent letters from hitting print, papers understandably have guidelines. Follow them.

If there's enough interest, I'll follow up with more tips.

Posted at 07:00 AM
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Rumors of Muhammad al-Harrani's death were greatly exaggerated. His family, along with Physicians for Human Rights, had claimed he died waiting to get cancer treatment in Israel.

In fact, he's very much alive. Harrani's family sought to thwart a routine Israeli security interview with the patient.

Related reading: Shin Bet: Gazans Pay Doctors to Declare Them Ill

Posted at 06:11 AM
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Tuesday, May 13 2008

As we learned a few weeks ago with the Washington Post, there's a dubious legality to paying members of terror groups for op-eds.

I don't know what UK law says, but it's worth asking The Guardian what compensation Bassem Naeem received, if anything, for this commentary strangely extolling Hamas' condemnation of the Holocaust.

UPDATE May 13: Naeem is disingenuous, says Oliver Kamm .

Posted at 11:19 AM
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Problem: The Palestinian media can't portray Shuli Katz, yesterday's 70-year-old Qassam fatality, as someone who deserved what she got.

Solution: Portray Katz as a settler or an American, or ignore the story altogether.

See Elder of Ziyon's survey of Palestinian coverage.

Posted at 08:33 AM
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Johann Hari and Melanie Phillips are duking it out.

Posted at 06:00 AM
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Monday, May 12 2008

A Qassam killed a 70-year-old woman this evening in Moshav Yesha. According to YNet News, Islamic Jihad claims credit for the attack. The woman's name has not yet been released.

Developing . . . .

UPDATE May 13: The victim has been identified as Shuli Katz of Kibbutz Gvaram. Haaretz notes a sad, ironic twist to the tragedy:

A neighbor said that Katz's sister-in-law, who is visiting from the United States, was afraid to visit Katz at her home, on Kibbutz Gvaram near Ashkelon, because of the two rockets that struck Ashkelon earlier yesterday.

Instead, she asked Katz to visit her at Moshav Yesha.

Posted at 10:20 PM
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The Jewish State at 60
William Kristol looks at the idealism, persistence and self-confidence of Israel's early founders, with historical context and relevance to the threats of today.

The Myth of Occupied Gaza
Gaza isn't legally "occupied." Moreover, conceding the point plays into Hamas propaganda.

Why Israel is the World's Happiest Country
"You don't have to be crazy to be a Zionist -- but it helps." A fascinating look behind the attitude. (via Lenny Ben-David)

Life in Sderot
A very moving blog post about daily life under the rain of rockets. (Via Solomonia)

Catastrophic, But Not Apartheid
South African journalist Benjamin Pogrund debunks the latest charges of so-called "Israeli apartheid."

Posted at 03:58 PM
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Does The Guardian's series on life in Gaza tell the whole story? See HonestReporting UK's latest communique: The Guardian's Week in Gaza

Posted at 03:10 PM
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A dark day for user-generated content. Wikipedia faces legal action for a post that slandered a literary agent. And Facebook's in court over the fake profile of a high school dean.

How responsible are sites like Wiki and Facebook for problematic content posted by users? Post your comments below.

Posted at 01:45 PM
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The Guardian 's Rory McCarthy spent a gritty day with Gaza fishermen trying to make a living. A big part of his story is the Israeli navy's restrictions on the fishing boats, but McCarthy doesn't shed any light on the reasons behind the restrictions.

Just a few weeks ago, Hamas official Ahmed Yousef bragged that Iranian-made Grad rockets were being smuggled into Gaza by sea.

Posted at 12:06 PM
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The BBC's Jeremy Bowen came under fire in southern Lebanon. Click below to watch the footage.

Posted at 10:53 AM
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An Ashkelon school zone was hit by a Qassam rocket this morning minutes before the area would have been full of children. One eyewitness told YNet News:

"My mother, who looked out the window, noticed something flying right in front of her and falling near the building. A great miracle occurred here, although had the rocket landed several minutes later, children would have already arrived in the area and many people would have been walking around here."

Posted at 09:43 AM
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The most annoying thing about this guest commentary in the San Diego Union-Tribune is the way the paper identifies the authors:

. . . Darwish, a San Diego County resident, is a Kuwaiti-born Palestinian-American. She lived in occupied Palestine while teaching at Birzeit University.

Technically, these identifications are an expression of the paper itself. In reality, the vast majority of IDs are innocuously written by the authors and simply reprinted in the paper. Were Union-Trib editors asleep on the job, or did someone deliberately let this in?

Comments to readers.rep@uniontrib.com

Posted at 06:29 AM
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Sunday, May 11 2008

Will Israel's Supreme Court ultimately uphold demands that press credentials for France 2 TV and Charles Enderlin be revoked?

Proceedings initiated by Shurat HaDin begin tomorrow morning.

Posted at 09:08 PM
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Rather than addressing the issues, Johann Hari rails against HonestReporting. See HonestReporting's response to the British columnist: Hari Seeks to Smear HonestReporting.

Posted at 03:09 PM
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A Palestinian mortar claimed the life of another Israeli. Jimmy Kdoshim (pictured) was killed when his house on Kibbutz Kfar Aza took a direct hit.

According to YNet News, Kdoshim, 48, left behind three children. The NY Times adds that he is the first Israeli killed by a mortar shell, rather than by a rocket.

Posted at 10:44 AM
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Thursday, May 8 2008

Johann Hari responds to our critique of last week's column.

Are the likes of Dershowitz and Phillips and Honest Reporting becoming more shrill because they can sense they are losing the argument?

He should read The Spectator.

Posted at 09:23 AM
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Wednesday, May 7 2008

Jeremy Bowen's documentary is full of omissions and historical revisionism. See HonestReporting's latest communique: The BBC's Birthday Present to Israel

Posted at 07:19 PM
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Biblical Era

Jewish ties to the land of Israel date back to the Biblical era of the Patriarchs. This photo of Rachel's Tomb, located between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, was taken in 1945. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their wives are buried in the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron; Joseph's Tomb is near Nablus.

First Temple Era

This seal bearing the inscription "Shema servant of Jeroboam" was discovered in Megiddo in 1904. Now at the Rockefeller Archaeological Museum in Jerusalem.

Second Temple Era

Mosaic floor from the ancient Jericho synagogue, depicting a menorah, lulav and shofar. According to AP (via Second Temple Synagogues) the synagogue dates back to 50-70 BCE, making it oldest known in the world.

Byzantine Rule 313-636 CE

Mosaic floor from Byzantine era synagogue in Hammath Tiberias featuring zodiac motif. The church had a powerful influence on the ruling Byzantines, frequently to the detriment of the Jews.

Early Islamic Rule 636-1099 CE

Power passed from the caliphate to the Umayyads, to the Abbasids to the Fatmids who ruled the land from Egypt or Syria. During this time, Jews had the status of dhimmis. The Dome of the Rock was built in the seventh century by the Ummayad caliph Abd el-Malik.

Crusader Era 1099-1291

Crusader rule over the land of Israel was relatively brief, but the sea walls they built to protect Acre played a crucial role in history centuries later. In 1799, Napolean's efforts to gain a foothold in the Holy Land -- which included a declaration of autonomy for the Jews -- failed miserably when the same walls protected Ottoman forces from a French siege.

Later Islamic Rule 1291-1516

The story of Jerusalem's Ramban Synagogue typifies how Muslims treated the Jews they ruled. Originally built by Nachmanides (a.k.a. the Ramban), the synagogue was below ground level because by law, no synagogue could be taller than a Muslim place of worship. In 1589, the city's governor, Abu Sufrin turned the building into a warehouse but the Jewish community eventually persevered. In 1948, the Jordanians captured the Old City and destroyed the building, but after the Six-Day War, the synagogue was partially refurbished. The synagogue is now being rebuilt to its original size.

Early Ottoman Era 1516-1881

Safed flourished during these years as a center of scholarship and mysticism. It was in this Galilee town that Rabbi Yosef Caro codified Jewish law and taught Kabbala as well. This synagogue, named after Rabbi Caro, was built in the 16th century.

Late Ottoman Era, Birth of Modern Zionism 1881-1917

Following an intensification of pogroms in 1881, approximately 30,000 Jews fled Czarist Russia. Most were socialists affiliated with Bilu; they founded the very first Jewish agricultural settlements of Petah Tikva, Rosh Pina, Rishon LeZion, Zichron Yaakov and Gedera. This wave of immigration was known as the "First Aliyah." Two later waves of aliyah from 1904-1914 and 1919-1923 combined to bring 75,000 more Jews, mostly from Russia and Poland.

British Mandate 1917-1948

A period of nation-building. Many of today's prominent institutions and national assets were launched or experienced crucial growth including the port of Haifa, Hadassah Hospital, the Jewish Agency, the Histadrut trade union, Hebrew University, and the first licensed Jewish radio stations. Tel Aviv gained municipal status in 1934, and its White City -- which now has UNESCO World Heritage status -- also emerged during the Mandate. Pictured is Lydda Airport (now called Ben Gurion Airport) under construction in 1935.

1948-Present

In addition to its association with important religious sites and archeology, Israel is also associated with the technology of the future. The Jewish state has established its expertise in areas like water management, desalination, security, high tech R&D, medical technology, recycling, alternative energy, cellular phones, Wi-Fi, and affordable health care. An Israeli company, Solel, is building the world's largest solar park in California's Mojave desert.

Posted at 06:08 PM
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Gunmen loyal to the Lebanese government and Hezbollah are trading gunfire and grenades in Beirut. AP notes that some rock thrower has apparently drawn first blood with Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV:

A cameraman for Hezbollah's Al-Manar television station was hit by a stone in the forehead, the state-run National News Agency reported.

No sympathy for the cameraman from me; Al-Manar produces propaganda, not journalism, a distinction the Washington Timesmade crystal clear. I wonder if the Foreign Press Association will go out on a limb for Al-Manar again.

Posted at 03:00 PM
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Do the following descriptions of Jerusalem betray a whiff of bias towards Palestinian claims on the city?

AFP writes:

The Western Wall, where Peres gave his speech, lies in Arab east Jerusalem, which Israel occupied in 1967 but which the Palestinians want to make the capital of their promised state.

Even worse is Reuters, which capitalizes the word "east," improperly elevating "Arab East Jerusalem" to the status of a proper noun:

Abbas wants Arab East Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state. Israel regards all of Jerusalem as its capital, but this is not recognised internationally.

Arabs and Jews always lived in a unified city that made no distinctions between “East” and “West.” No area was viewed as inherently "Jewish" or "Arab." until 1948, when the Jordanian army captured the city's eastern neighborhoods and the Old City. With the exception of a Jewish enclave on Mount Scopus, Jordan occupied eastern Jerusalem, expelling Jewish residents, destroying numerous synagogues and other Jewish institutions.

Posted at 02:21 PM
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Tuesday, May 6 2008

69 Percentage of Israelis killed during the second intifada who were civilian.

1,634 Israeli civilians killed in terror attacks since the founding of the state.

14,000 Approximate number of Israeli civilians injured in terror attacks since the state's founding.

22,437 Number of servicemen and soldiers killed in defense of Israel since 1860, when Jews first began settling outside the walls of Jerusalem.

350 million Shekels paid by the National Insurance Institute to Israeli victims of terror and their families in 2007 alone.

Sources: Jerusalem Post, Haaretz, Jerusalem Post, National Post

Posted at 02:44 PM
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America's Ally In the Middle East
Israel, like Mothers Against Drunk Driving, has public opinion on its side.

Israel's 60-Year Test

Palestinian Arab Newspaper Site Hacked
Is a Hamas sympathizer responsible for hacking the Palestine Press Agency site?

Posted at 01:52 PM
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The MSM is starting to take note. Reuters picks up on Awad al-Qiq, a UNRWA school headmaster whose personal extracurricular curricular included constructing rockets for Islamic Jihad. To say there's tension between Israel and UNRWA is an understatment:

The Israeli air strike that killed the 33-year-old last week also laid bare his apparent double life and embarrassed a U.N. agency which has long had to rebuff Israeli accusations that it has aided and abetted guerrillas fighting the Jewish state . . . .

Qiq's body was wrapped in an Islamic Jihad flag at his funeral, pictorial posters in his honour still bedeck his family home this week, and a handwritten notice posted on the metal gate at the entrance to the school declared that Qiq, "the chief leader of the engineering unit", would now find "paradise".

That poster was removed soon after Reuters visited the Rafah Prep Boys School, run by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees. Staff there said on Monday that UNRWA officials had told them not to discuss Qiq's activities.

No one from the United Nations attended the funeral or has paid their respects to the family, relatives said, adding that Qiq's widow and five children had heard nothing about a pension . . . .

Israel has long alleged that militants use UNRWA vehicles and facilities. The United Nations has denied those charges, although some UNRWA employees have had prominent political roles in groups like Hamas -- such as teacher Saeed Seyam, who was interior minister in the Hamas-led government elected in 2006.

The Independent also took note of al-Qiq's double life. And a blunt NY Post staff-ed says the UNRWA has some 'splaining to do.

Posted at 10:11 AM
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Monday, May 5 2008

Daily Mail:

Because of its proximity to the border and the concentration of Hamas-led amateur bomb-makers on the other side, Sderot has a unique civic claim: on a rocket-per-head-of-population basis, it is the most targeted town in Israel, indeed the world.

Read the whole article.

Posted at 08:33 AM
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I want to know: What do you think is Israel's greatest accomplishment in the last 60 years? Post your comments below.

Posted at 06:57 AM
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Sunday, May 4 2008

Confederate Yankee has questions for AP.

Posted at 02:35 PM
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Hezbollah's media relations people have their work cut out for them this weekend.

First, the LA Times updates the terror group's rearming efforts. But two more damning accusations are surfacing: Lebanon's communications minister has accused Iran of setting up a nation-wide wire-tapping system for Hezbollah. And Hezbollah figures were filming aircraft at Beirut airport.

Will these developments make it clearer to the organization's apologists that Hezbollah can't be treatead as a normal "political party?"

Consider the following: Political parties with "armed wings" follow in the footsteps of the Nazi Brownshirts. For scale, Hezbollah's wiretapping makes Watergate pale in comparison. As for the airport camera, Ya Libnon suggests an assassination may be in the works. Just politics, right?

Posted at 01:01 PM
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Saturday, May 3 2008

IDF footage of last week's fighting in Beit Hanoun shows secondary blast that killed a mother and four children. YNet News has the best explanation of the video.

(Hat tip: Solomonia)

Posted at 10:00 PM
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Thursday, May 1 2008

CNN reported that an Israeli airstrike killed an Islamic Jihad commander who was also headed a UNRWA school in Gaza.

The person killed was the deputy commander of the Islamic Jihad military wing, according to the Palestinian sources, who said he also served as a school headmaster at a United Nations Relief and Works Agency school.

Bottom line: If other UNRWA school officials are leading double lives, it would explain this video of mortars being launched from a UNRWA school last year (see background info)

UPDATE: Thanks to Aussie Dave and Elder of Ziyon for pointing out an error in this original posting.

Posted at 03:48 PM
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The Independent reports that Durban won't host the UN's 2009 racism conference better known as Durban II.

Posted at 02:51 PM
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Peter Hoskin of The Spectator visited Sderot yesterday. He reports this startling revelation:

Hamas are tearing Gazan infrastructure apart to ensure the rockets keep falling on Israeli heads. Why are there no traffic lights in Gaza? Because the pipes which support them are being cut up and made into Qassams. Why is the Gazan drainage and sewage system so substandard? Same reason.

I've heard the allegation before, but this the first time I've seen a reporter note this on the record. Are you reading this, Johann Hari?

Posted at 01:54 PM
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