Russia sanctions Turkey over downed jet, will buy from Israel instead
Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced sanctions against Turkey over the Russian jet that was downed by Turkish forces this past week.
The decree published
on the Kremlin's website Saturday came hours after Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan had voiced regret over the incident, saying his
country was "truly saddened" by the event and wished it hadn't occurred.
It
includes a ban on some goods and forbids extensions of labor contracts
for Turks working in Russia as of Jan. 1. It doesn't specify what goods
are to be banned or give other details, but it also calls for ending
chartered flights from Russia to Turkey and for Russian tourism
companies to stop selling vacation packages that would include a stay in
Turkey.
Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev earlier in the week had ordered his cabinet to develop a list of goods to be sanctioned.
Putin's
decree also calls for ending visa-free travel between Russia and Turkey
and orders the tightening of control over Turkish air carriers in
Russia "for security reasons." The decree was issued "to protect Russian
citizens from crimes," a Kremlin statement said.
In terms of filling the void, Israeli tourism providers have already
begun selling the Jewish state as an alternative attraction for Russians
seeking a break in the sun, and say deals are in the works.
Israel's tourism ministry has stepped up its game as well, investing $2.6 million in efforts to woo the Russian market.
As for food imports, Russia's Minister of Agriculture Alexander
Tkachev said his country would be replacing Turkish produce with goods
from Iran, Israel and Morocco.
The minister officially sites healthy and safety concerns, but the
timing of the announcement indicates it is politically-motivated.
...
Over the past 10 months Turkey imported agricultural produce and food
worth just over $1 billion (one billion euros) to Russia, down 21.2
percent compared to the same period last year.
"Turkish vegetables account for 20 percent of the total Russian
imports of vegetables. Import of vegetables, tomatoes in the first
place, will be substituted with those from Iran, Morocco, Israel,
Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan," he told Russian media.
Turkey also accounts for a quarter of Russian citrus fruit imports,
he said, adding that the country would similarly be switching to
alternative providers.
"Turkey imports about 250,000 tons of citrus fruits, a quarter of the
total citrus imported into Russia. We can replace citrus imports by
supplies from South Africa, Morocco, China, Argentina, Israel, Abkhazia,
Georgia," Tkachev stated.
Russia also said it could redirect its Turkish exports including wheat and oil to countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Over the past 10 months, Russian exports to Turkey amounted to $1.3 billion.
As long as that doesn't mean a price rise in Israel, that's fine with me, except that there are Jewish law issues with exporting the citrus crop this winter because it is considered produce of the Shmittah (Sabbatical) year.
In the meantime, the 'Palestinians' can cry me a river!
Hassan Nasrallah pays a shiva call... to a 'Palestinian' terrorist's father
Shavua Tov and a good week to everyone from New York City (okay, one of the boroughs).
Hezbullah chieftain Hassan Nasrallah paid a shiva (condolence) call by phone on Saturday to the family of Asharqat Katani. Katani was a 16-year old 'Palestinian' terrorist who was neutralized after attempting to stab Israelis at a hitchhiking post in Samaria this past week.
According to the Hezbollah-affiliated satellite television station
Al-Meyadeen, Nasrallah told the woman's father that his daughter
reminded the Lebanese Shi'ite leader of his son, Hadi, who was killed in
battle with IDF soldiers in Lebanon in 1997.
A portion of the
conversation between Nasrallah and the Palestinian father was aired on
Al-Meyadeen. At the end of their phone call, Nasrallah asked if there
was anything he could do for the family.
The father responded
that he would be pleased if Nasrallah mentioned his daughter's name
during his next speech. The Hezbollah leader agreed to do so.
Too bad Nasrallah did not offer to resettle the family in Lebanon.
The 11-year old has told police that he wanted to die a 'martyr.'
The 11-year-old, a sixth grader from Shuafat,
is the youngest assailant arrested to date in the current upsurge of
Palestinian terrorism. He is too young to face charges under current
Israeli law; the 14-year-old is facing charges of attempted murder.
In their interrogation, the two children said
they carried out the attack as an act of revenge, without planning in
advance and with no encouragement from any adults.
“I met my cousin at the entrance to school,”
said the 11-year-old, who was not named.
“The headmistress refused to let us in because our parents had not paid
tuition. My cousin told me that on the way to school he wanted to carry
out a stabbing attack but did not succeed because all the travelers were
senior citizens,” said the boy.
The 14-year-old allegedly convinced his
younger cousin to carry out an attack. The two first boarded a bus and
looked for the opportune moment and target.
“We travelled from Shuafat to Damascus Gate in
order to stab a soldier but did not do it because the soldiers were in
groups and we didn’t find one standing alone,” recalled the 11-year-old.
“Then he told me ‘let’s do an attack together to revenge the death of
Muhammad Ali.’ He opened his bag and showed me the knife. At Damascus
Gate I bought a pair of scissors and then we boarded the light rail and
looked for Jews to stab.”
Two light rail security guards boarded the
train, but the boys decided “not to stab them because there were two of
them. Later on one of them got off and we immediately attacked the one
that remained.”
“I stabbed him in his head, my cousin stabbed
him in his chest and stomach until the guard pushed me and fired three
bullets in my stomach,” said the 11-year-old.
The two cousins had decided they were ready to
die as shahids, or martyrs, he said. The younger one said in the
interrogation that none of their family members knew about their
intentions.
My youngest son (son #5, child number 8) is an 11-year old 6th grader. He was raised differently....
This type of behavior is the result of incitement in the official 'Palestinian' media. It's being paid for by you, me, and anyone else who pays taxes to a country that supports the 'Palestinian Authority.' It is long past high time that the 'Palestinian Authority' and its leader, Abu Bluff, pay a price for their support of terrorism by incitement in the media.
Two weeks ago, a man and his son were murdered in a terror attack while on their way to their future son-in-law's/brother-in-law's aufruf (the celebration of an Ashkenazic Jewish man on the Sabbath before his wedding).
Because the murder took place before the wedding and the daughter/sister knew about it, she could not be married until after the shiva.
The wedding took place in Jerusalem tonight, and the entire country (literally) was invited. At 11:00 pm, there will still people waiting to get in.
Let's go to the videotape.
You can find many more videos of the wedding here (you'll have to change the filter if you're viewing this post after 24 hours are up).
Mi k'amcha Yisrael (who is like your people Israel)?
What you may not know about the Patriots honoring terror victim Ezra Schwartz
I realize that many of you thought I might have disappeared from the face of the earth. When I last left you - nearly a week ago - I was in Chicago where my only internet connections were the public library and the Kosher Dunkin' Donuts. Last Sunday I flew to New York. I stayed in New Jersey Sunday and Monday nights, and had meetings in New York on Monday and Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon I drove to Boston. This afternoon I drove to New York City. I am here for the weekend. Had no time to post until now.
As I am sure you all know, Ezra Schwartz HY"D (May God Avenge his blood) was murdered in a terror attack in Israel a week ago tonight. On Monday night, at the Patriots-Bills game on national television, the Patriots had a moment of silence in memory of Ezra, who lived in the nearby town of Sharon (the stadium is in Foxboro - they are very close to each other).
Let's go to the videotape.
So here's what you didn't know. Four friends of Ezra's were on the El Al flight from Israel on Saturday night. No, El Al didn't fly them for free. Patriots owner Bob Kraft paid for their tickets. Kraft also paid a condolence call on the family. And he apparently embarrassed President Obama enough that he called the Schwartz's as well (he had not said a word about the terror attack before).
I'd be much happier with Bob Kraft as the next President of the United States than with Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton. Unfortunately, Kraft isn't running.
Sharon, Massachusetts teenager murdered in terror attack in Israel
Greetings from Chicago where I have VERY limited internet access.
An 18-year old on his 'gap year' in Israel was murdered today in a terror attack near Gush Etzion. Below is the email sent out by my alma mater, Maimonides School in Brookline, Mass. from which Ezra Schwartz HY"D (May God Avenge his blood) graduated just a few months ago (Hat Tip: Lance K).
Dear friends,
It is with a broken heart that I must share with you the very sad news that Ezra Schwartz, z"l, a graduate of the Class of 2015, was murdered in a terrorist attack in Israel earlier today. Ezra was spending his gap year studying at Yeshivat Ashreinu in Beit Shemesh.
While here at school we are focused on supporting our 550 students and our alumni in the Class of 2015, I am writing you this brief note because we are all part of the Maimonides School family and today we suffered an unbearable loss.
We offer our deepest condolences to Ezra's parents Ari and Ruth Schwartz of Sharon and siblings Mollie '14, and current Maimonides students Avi, Elon, and Hillel.
May the Schwartz family and the Maimonides School family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Very sincerely,
Naty Katz
Head of School
No, he was not in the IDF - he was in the Ashreinu Yeshiva in Beit Shemesh. Here's Arutz Sheva.
[Ezra Schwartz] and the other students who were hurt in the attack had come to
help build the Oz Vegaon site, which was established in memory of the
three yeshiva students who were abducted and murdered last summer.
His funeral will be held in Boston on Sunday.
ZAKA emergency services have contacted his family in the US, as well as a relative in Israel who is to identify his body.
The Beit Shemesh Municipality announced that it is "shocked and
grief-stricken by the murder of the yeshiva student, in the shooting
attack at Guush Etzion."
Schwartz had come, together with five other students from abroad, to hand out food to soldiers in Gush Etzion.
The five other students were lightly wounded and are being treated at Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem.
The students are in Israel as part of a program in which youths
volunteer for 9.5 months, studying at yeshiva during the day and
volunteering in the evenings.
The adult who was killed in the attack was Yaakov Don, an alumnus of Yeshivat Har Etzion, where I also studied.
Full story of the Alon Shvut terror attack here. There was also a terror attack at a Tel Aviv synagogue today. That story is here. 'Peace' is not at hand.
Inevitable: Sweden's Foreign Minister blames Israel for Paris attacks
Carl Bildt may not be the foreign minister of Sweden anymore, but his replacement is no better. Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom has told a Swedish television station that the Paris attacks happened because - you guessed it - Israel has refused to give a 'state' to the 'Palestinians.'
“Here again, you come back to situations like that in the Middle East
where not least the Palestinians see that there isn’t any future [for
them]. [The Palestinians] either have to accept a desperate situation or
resort to violence,” Margot Wallstrom said in an interview with Sweden’s SVT television station about the Nov. 13 killing of 132 people in a series of attacks in the French capital.
French President Francois Hollande said the attack was “an act of war” by the Islamic State terrorist group.
Queried by the Times of Israel over the statement by Wallstrom,whose
government last year was first in the European Union to recognize the
Palestinian Authority as a country that Sweden calls Palestine, a
spokesman for the Israeli foreign minister said her words reflected
“blindness.”
“It would seem that the Swedish foreign minister is afflicted with
total political blindness,” said the spokesman, Emmanuel Nahshon. “This
blindness may lead to tragedy.”
The Swedish Embassy in Israel later said in a tweet: “FM has not said
that Israeli Palestinian conflict is linked to tragic events in Paris.
Sweden condemns all acts of terrorism.”
Later on Monday, Israel’s Foreign Ministry summoned Sweden’s ambassador in Israel for a meeting with Director-General Dore Gold.
What can you say about a country that has someone like this as their chief diplomat? /Spit.
CNN's Jim Acosta: 'Why can't we take out these b**t*rds?
At the G-20 conference in Antalya on Monday, CNN"s Jim Acosta asked President Obama a question that many people around the world have on their minds: 'Why can't we take out these b**t*rds?' President Obama's answer left much to be desired.
“Jim, I just spent the last three questions answering that very
question, so I don’t know what more you want me to add. I think I’ve
described very specifically what our strategy is, and I’ve described
very specifically why we do not pursue some of the other strategies that
have been suggested.”
Well, maybe he did, but I sure didn't see it. Go watch the video here. Does Obama make you feel confident? I think he's trying to avoid doing anything about it, just like he's done every other time he's been called upon to oppose a Muslim group in the last seven years (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
The woman hanging out the window on the left of the building when everyone was escaping is pregnant. I have no idea how she got down from the window. You'll see her again briefly in the second video below.
Greetings from the Big Easy, New Orleans, where I will be spending the next three days in business meetings. It's been 34 years since I was last here, and that trip lasted for less than 24 hours, so I'm looking forward to this.
Here in New Orleans, Republican Gubernatorial candidate David Vitter has said that Syrian refugees are not welcome.
“President Obama’s plan to bring 10,000 Syrian refugees to the U.S. –
just like his statement made a day before the Paris attacks that ISIS
was ‘contained’ — is outrageous and irresponsible,” Vitter said in a
statement today. “That’s exactly how at least one, maybe more of the
Paris terrorists got there. These Syrians have already started arriving
in Louisiana. That needs to stop immediately, and I will continue to
lead that fight and protect the people of Louisiana.”
Vitter, who has been staunchly fighting illegal immigration and
sanctuary cities in the state like New Orleans and Lafayette Parish,
took to Facebook yesterday to say that as governor he will shut down
sanctuary cities.
So how many Syrians are there in New Orleans? According to this blog post, 13.
Despite blog posts and social media rumors indicating that thousands
of Syrian refugees had already arrived in the New Orleans area, the U.S. State Department reported only 14 Syrian nationals have resettled in Louisiana since Jan. 1.
The State Department's Refugee Processing Center handled three cases,
settling seven refugees in Kenner, six in New Orleans and one in Baton
Rouge, a spokesperson said.
Seven Syrian refugees arrived in Louisiana in April, and another
resettled in June. Six more refugees arrived in November, according to
processing center data.
I get the locals. Why should they have responsibility for refugees from the other side of the world, many of whom may not be Syrians and might be ISIS plants.
And I have to tell you that two different people have warned me not to walk the streets alone at night. Hmmm.
UPDATE 7:55 PM NEW ORLEANS TIME
Breitbart.com reports that Republican Presidential candidate and governor Bobby Jindal has gotten into the act.
The 2016 GOP presidential contender framed his demands in the context of the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday. He wrote:
Last week, the city of New Orleans began receiving its
first wave of Syrian refugees. As with former immigration crises and
federal relocation policy, Louisiana has been kept in the dark about
those seeking refuge in the state. It is irresponsible and severely
disconcerting to place individuals, who may have ties to ISIS, in a
state without the state’s knowledge or involvement.
As Governor of Louisiana, I demand information about the Syrian
refugees being placed in Louisiana in hopes that the night of horror in
Paris is not duplicated here.
Jindal demanded information about whether “additional protections and
screenings will be put in place,” particularly following the Paris
attacks and the discovery “that some of those responsible…held Syrian
passports.”
Additionally, Jindal demands to know the level of background screening conducted on the Syrian refugees, and whether “all Syrian refugees seeking relocation in the United States will now be cleared by the Terrorist Screening Center?”
Finally, Jindal expects to receive information about the level of
monitoring of the refugees that will be conducted once they are placed
in Louisiana.
“As Americans, we embolden freedom and opportunity to the rest of the
world, but by opening up our borders and refusing to collaborate or
share information with states, you are threatening that reality,” Jindal
writes, telling the president “it would be prudent to pause the process
of refugees coming to the United States. Authorities need to
investigate what happened in Europe before this problem comes to the
United States.”
This post has been corrected - I thought Vitter was the Governor already when I wrote the original post.
The last time Islamic terrorists came to the Bataclan: 'Next time we not come to talk'
The Islamic terrorists had been to the Bataclan Club in Paris to talk to its Jewish owners before. They warned 'Next time we not come to talk.'
In 2006-2009 at leat, Le Bataclan hosted the annual fundraising gala
of the French Jewish Migdal nonprofit group for the Israeli Border
Police. Last month, it hosted a gathering of some 500 Zionist Christians
who came there in support of the Jewish state.
In one case involving threats against Le Bataclan, a group of
approximately 10 men wearing Arab keffiyehs over their faces arrived in
December 2008 at the theater, demanding to speak to management.
“This is something we cannot continue to accept,” one of the men from
the group was filmed telling the security guards outside Le Bataclan.
“You will pay the consequences of your actions,” the same person, his
voice electronically distorted, told the camera after the confrontation,
which ended peacefully. “We came here to pass along a small message. Be
warned. Next time we won’t be coming here to talk.”
The massacre at Le Bataclan Friday, during a rock concert by The
Eagles of Death Metal band from the United States, was by far the
deadliest of the six simultaneous attacks which French security forces
said were perpetrated by at least eight terrorists. According to a tally
released by French authorities on Saturday, 127 people died [that's now been raised to 132. CiJ] and some
180 were wounded.
...
At
Le Bataclan, two terrorists fired at patrons at random but in a calm
and deliberate manner, survivors said. Police stormed the building
approximately 40 minutes after the killing began. The terrorists were
killed in the takeover.
Whereas the men who showed up at Le Bataclan in 2008 presented
themselves as “residents of the area,” threats of attack against the
concert hall as payback for Israel’s actions also included foreign
players, according to a 2011 report by Le Figaro.
According to that report, a French woman named Dodi Hoxha told French
counterterrorism officers in 2010 of a plot by Jaish Islam, Al Qaeda’s
branch in Gaza whose name means “the Army of Islam”, to organize an
attack at Le Bataclan, which Hoxha said had been selected because “the
owners are Jewish.”
Hoxha was arrested that year in connection with an attack against
French students in Cairo in 2009, in which one student died. DGSE, the
French external security agency, believed the attack on the students in
Cairo was to punish France for its perceived role in Israel’s blockade
of the Gaza Strip.
According to the website of Le Bataclan, the venue is being run by
Jules Frutos and Olivier Poubelle, who owned most or all of the place
until the media group of the billionaire Arnaud Lagardère bought 70
percent of the asset in September.
Attempts to verify claims of a Jewish link relevant to Frutos, Poubelle or Lagardère were not immediately successful.
But
for France’s far-right Jewish Defense League, LDJ, the threats against
Le Bataclan are proof that it was targeted as punishment for hosting
pro-Israel events.
“Pro-Palestinian groups designated it openly as a
‘Zionist’ concert hall, and now we see the result,” LDJ wrote in a
statement shortly after the attacks. “France woke up to a taste of
‘Palestine’.”
Yet Nicolas Shashani, a prominent French pro-Palestinian activist,
said that despite some incidents, Le Bataclan is not generally
associated with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
“Le Bataclan may have had a Zionist link in the past, but if the
perpetrators wanted to select a site tied to Israel to send a message,
it doesn’t strike me as a very effective target,” he said. “To the
general population, Le Bataclan is just a concert hall and nothing
more,” he said.
Shashani noted that “unsubstantiated rumors” also linked the attack
to the Eagles of Death Metal band, because it performed in Israel in
July. During the concert in Tel Aviv, lead singer Jesse Hughes recalled
how Roger Waters, a former member of the Pink Floyd band and a promoter
of a boycott against Israel, asked the band to stay away. “I answered
with two words: F**ck you!” he told the cheering audience, adding: “I
would never boycott a place like this.”
The band escaped the attack unscathed.
Shashani said it was “far-fetched” to suppose the band was the reason for Le Bataclan’s targeting.
“In previous attacks, there were clear targets,” Shashani said.
“Soldiers, cops, a kosher supermarket. This time, the attacks were
against cafes, restaurants, a soccer stadium – attacks against the
Frenchman on the street.”
In a statement issued Saturday night about the Paris terrorism of the previous day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said
that he had “instructed Israel’s security and intelligence forces to
assist their French counterparts and their counterparts from other
European countries in any way possible.”
Israel’s minister of intelligence, Yisrael Katz, later clarified
Netanyahu’s statement, telling reporters that intelligence cooperation
among Israel, France and other European countries is “ongoing,” but that
“intelligence material relevant to what happened has been relayed, and
we will also deepen the cooperation.”
Katz added that the information would help the French and
other countries deal with the aftermath of the attack and future
attacks, Reuters reported.
...
Israel’s Army Radio reported
Sunday that some intelligence may have come from Israel’s surveillance
of Syria and Iraq, two strongholds of the Islamic State terrorist group
that claimed responsibility for the Paris attacks.
Were it not for the fact that it's an Israeli interest to have these people neutralized, I would be inclined to tell the Europeans, 'you made your mess, now go lie in it.' (As my mother a"h would have said).
Lesson from the Paris terror attacks: Europe needs to join forces with Israel
Greetings from somewhere over eastern Kentucky - my next stop (which is not my final stop today) is Dallas, Texas.
David Harris of the AJC (not necessarily a source from which I would expect it) has some very wise advice for Europe.
And finally, when will Europe finally wake up and realize that democratic Israel is part of the solution, not the problem?
At the end of the day, the terrorism faced by France - or Belgium,
Denmark, Germany, Spain, the U.K., etc. - is a kissing cousin of that
confronted by Israel. Some European leaders go to great lengths to deny
that obvious truth, seeking instead to draw distinctions that are, in
fact, largely non-existent, or suggesting that Israel somehow "deserves"
what it gets, while implying that Europe does not.
Let's get real.
The authors of 9/11 detested who and what America is. They didn't give a
darn what political party was in power, because they attacked the Twin
Towers when Clinton was president and again when Bush was in the Oval
Office.
The same with Europe. The target is Europe's value system - its democracy, openness, freedom, and secularism.
And, yes, the same with Israel. The terrorists of Hamas (with which the
Palestinian Authority made a pact), Iranian-backed Hezbollah, Islamic
Jihad, and ISIS don't want Israel to exist, period. They're not
interested in who's in power in Jerusalem or how to get to a two-state
accord, but rather establishing their rule over the entire land.
One would hope that this would at least awaken Europe enough to get them to cancel the 'settlement product' labeling. Don't hold your breath. It won't. Anti-Semitism trumps all.
A good morning to all of you from Boston Logan Airport where today is a travel day for me. I won't tell you yet where I'm going, but I'm going to be spending much of today over 'flyover country' and I am not heading to the West Coast. Hmmm. PS I should have WiFi.
I thought you'd all want to see the tweet above. First, because it shows just how out of control the situation with 'refugees' is in Europe. My fear now is that trying to stop it may be closing the barn door after the cow has escaped.
And second, the comment (which may have been inserted by Honest Reporting) is spot-on. What happened in Paris on Friday night is no different than what we're wary of 24/7 in Israel... except that in Israel the victims are (God Forbid) Jews, so CNN and the rest of the liberal media fall all over themselves to avoid calling it terrorism.
A reminder that I am in Boston where the Sabbath does not start for several more hours and therefor I am able to still be online.
Just before the Sabbath started in Israel, Kiryat Arba (a Jewish suburb of Hebron) resident Yaakov Litman and his 18-year old son Netanel were murdered by 'Palestinian' terrorists.
TERROR VICTIMS: 2 Israelis shot dead by Arab terrorist identified as Yakov Litman from Kiryat Arba & his son Natanel pic.twitter.com/MzC5GX4Oe0
It seems that Yaakov and Netanel were on their way to their future son-in-law and brother-in-law's aufruf (the calling to the Torah that takes place the Sabbath before the wedding) in Meitar, which is just outside Be'er Sheva. Yaakov's daughter, Netanel's sister is scheduled to be married on Tuesday night (Hat Tip: Leah P via Yeshiva World News).
In case you're wondering, under Jewish law, I believe that the wedding is postponed until after the shiva (one week) mourning period (the rule is different if the bride does not know of her father's death before the wedding).
Double suicide bombing in Hezbullah's Beirut stronghold (with video)
41 people were killed and over 200 wounded in a double suicide bombing in Beirut on Thursday afternoon. A third suicide bomber blew himself up before he could join the others.
According to a Lebanese security official, the first suicide attacker
detonated his explosives' vest outside a Shiite Mosque, while the
second blew himself up inside a nearby bakery.
An apparent third suicide attacker was found dead, his legs blown off
while he still wore an intact explosives' belt, said the official,
speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations. The
official speculated the third may have been killed from the explosion of
the second suicide attacker, as he was reportedly close to that blast.
The Al-Mayadeen TV also reported there was a third would-be suicide
attacker, describing him as a bearded young man who wore an explosives'
belt. The report said he was killed before he was able to detonate the
explosives.
Hospitals in southern Beirut were calling on people to donate blood
and appealed on residents not to gather at the hospital gates so that
ambulanced and emergency staff could work unhindered.
Shortly after the explosions, ambulances rushed to the area and
started evacuating the wounded and the dead as Lebanese troops and
Hezbollah gunmen cordoned the area, preventing anyone from getting
close.
"There is a massacre inside and we will not let you take photos," a
Hezbollah member screamed at an Associated Press photographer at the
scene.
That may explain why I could not find images of the attacks.
An hour later, ambulance sirens could still be heard in Beirut streets.
Hezbollah also called on people to leave all coffee shops in the
area, which are usually packed with people, and urged residents to
inform the group about any suspicious moves.
ISIS? Could be. As long as the Muslims are only killing each other, the world will not care, so pass the popcorn.
Must see video: With Open Gates: The forced collective suicide of European nations
I planned to post this yesterday, but was too busy with work. The Middle East is taking over Europe. Unfortunately for the Europeans, that isn't a reference to Israel and the Jews. It's a reference to Muslims coming from Middle Eastern, South Asian and African countries who are turning native Europeans into a minority with the cooperation and encouragement of Europe's chattering classes.
Let's go to the videotape. It's kind of long but worth watching.
With all this going on, the only thing that seems to concern the Europeans is barring products of 'Israeli settlements' - an act that is proven anti-Semitic by the fact that it is the only 'occupation' among some 200 worldwide that the Europeans have decided to address.
The European countries themselves are starting to reconsider the Schengen laws that allow persons to pass from one country to another, and it is time for other countries in the West - the United States, Canada (very little chance that will happen now that Trudeau has replaced Harper), Australia and yes, Israel, need to reconsider the admission of citizens of European countries without visas.
The world is changing in dangerous ways. Vigilance is necessary.
UNIFIL assisting Lebanese government investigation into alleged 'spying' by Israel
And you thought that UNIFIL's function was to keep the peace.
UNFIL has turned over to the Lebanes government a long-time employee who is accused of 'spying' for Israel, and has said that it will assist the Hezbullah-dominated Lebanese government's 'investigation.'
The Lebanese man who had worked in the UNIFIL
administration for over 20 years is among three people accused by
authorities of spying for Israel.
On Sunday, Lebanese authorities said they had arrested
the three suspects, a Syrian man and his Lebanese wife and a Lebanese
man.
But the Lebanese man "was in the UNIFIL compound when authorities requested him," UNIFIL spokesman Andrea Tenenti told AFP.
"We asked U.N. headquarters in New York to determine
whether immunity would be applied in his case, and the U.N. determined
that since the allegations were not related to his official functions,
immunity from legal proceedings would not apply," he added.
The man was taken into custody on Wednesday.
In an official statement, UNIFIL said Wednesday that it
“will continue to provide the assistance required to facilitate the
Government's investigations into the allegations.”
“UNIFIL considers it of the utmost importance that the
investigative and judicial process is conducted in accordance with the
international standards of justice, fairness and due process of law and
fully supports the Lebanese authorities in the effort,” it said.
“To this end, UNIFIL will continue to act in full
transparency, in coordination with the Lebanese authorities, and in
accordance with the long-established procedures and agreements,” it
added.
On Sunday, Lebanon's General Security service announced it had arrested a "spy network."
It accused the three suspects of gathering information on individuals and security and military targets.
It said the three also allegedly filmed "sensitive"
roads and other areas in south Lebanon "and sent the footage to their
employers to be used in later attacks."
Because the Lebanese 'justice' system is right up to UN standards of due process. And to think that the United States under Obama continues to contribute millions of dollars every year to this travesty.
'Palestinian' terrorists getting younger every day
Good evening from Boston, where my new computer is up and running, but has some kinks to be worked out. For starters, the mouse apparently thinks I'm a lefty but of course I'm a righty. Anyone who can help me fix that will be greatly appreciated.
There were three terror attacks in Israel today, highlighted by this one on the Jerusalem trolley system in Pisgat Zev. As in the attack a couple of weeks ago, this one was perpetrated by two children - this time ages 11 and 12.
Let's go to the videotape.
SHOCKING VIDEO: Moments of 2 Arab terrorist children stabbing attack, on Jerusalem light rail, wounding Israeli man. pic.twitter.com/TPvl0WiOhx
2. These kids were caught. Why have they not been removed from their parents' custody as juvenile delinquents as would happen in any other civilized country in the world?
3. Since this is the second terror attack in the last month carried out by 'youths' in Pisgat Zev, maybe it's time to look at which Arabs are living in this Jewish neighborhood and consider sending some of them back over the fence.
I am traveling to the US today. What's unusual is that I am traveling without a computer (a new one awaits me there), and for most of the day I will not have WiFi access either.
To the extent that I can post anything, it will likely be to my Twitter account, which you can follow here.
When I arrive in the US (in the evening US Eastern time), I will have access to the Twitter account on my phone, and will try to post more. But I will not have a computer before Monday morning.
PLO slams Ted Cruz for calling it a terror organization
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.
The 'Palestine' Liberation Organization (PLO) has slammed Republican Presidential candidate and Senator Ted Cruz (R-Tx) for calling it a terror organization (Hat Tip: Jack W via Director Blue).
The Palestine Liberation
Organization on Thursday criticized Republican presidential candidate
Ted Cruz over a Senate hearing he oversaw on Palestinian and Iranian
terrorism that it called "biased and inflammatory."
In an unusually harsh statement issued
Thursday, the PLO said the Judiciary subcommittee hearing provided no
Palestinian viewpoint and conflated all Palestinians with terrorists.
The PLO expressed alarm at what it said was a growing trend in the
United States to "dehumanize" Palestinians.
In response, Cruz said, "It is not surprising a
terrorist organization like the PLO is upset with the truths that were
told at our hearing yesterday."
Cruz oversaw the Wednesday hearing titled
"Justice Forsaken: How the Federal Government Fails the American Victims
of Iranian and Palestinian Terrorism," in which several public
witnesses described acts of violence and complained about the Obama
administration, arguing that its Justice Department has failed to
prosecute terrorists who have killed and wounded Americans.
Cruz, the first-term senator from Texas,
opened the hearing with a vivid description of a Palestinian suicide
bomber attack on a Jerusalem street several years ago that killed and
wounded men, women and children.
Cruz spoke of "Americans who have suffered
greatly because of the horrific actions of Iranian and Palestinian
terrorists," and the recent surge of Palestinian terrorist attacks in
Israel.
"As bad as Palestinian terrorism has been, the
Iranian government has more American blood on its hands," said Cruz,
who reiterated his opposition to the recent international deal to curb
Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Among those who testified at the hearing was
Kenneth J. Stethem, whose brother, Robert, was killed by Hezbollah
terrorists during the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847.
"There has been no administration to date that
has supported Iran and the Palestinian terrorist organizations more
than the Obama administration," Stethem said in his prepared testimony.
And the 'Palestinian' response? Blame Israel, of course.
The PLO said the hearing
failed to mention "recent acts of Israeli incitement," including
killings and collective punishment of the Palestinian people.
"If there is a party to be condemned for their actions,
it is Israel, which continues to defy international law with impunity
because of the blind support it receives from people like Senator Cruz
and other senators," the organization said. "It is time for Israel
apologists on the Hill to put U.S. national interests ahead of those of
the current extreme right-wing government in Israel."
Sounds like Obama and Kerry wrote the PLO's statement for it....
Despite several references to 'Allah' in his manifesto UC Merced officials insist Faisal Mohammad wasn't a terrorist
A two-page manifesto was found on the body of Faisal Mohammad, the University of California - Merced Muslim student who tried to bring the 'stabbing intifada' to the United States. Nevertheless, university officials bury their heads in the sand and insist that Mohammad was not a terrorist (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).
Warnke said the document indicated Mohammad was upset after being
kicked out of a study group. His manifesto included a “detailed list” of
targets and plans to tie students to desks in an effort to lure police
into the room. From there, the computer science and engineering student
wanted to take the officer’s gun and shoot people.
The manifesto indicated Mohammad “intended to kill a lot of people,” authorities said, according to the Merced Sun-Star. Investigators had said night vision goggles, duct tape and zip tie had been found in his backpack.
The document also included several references to Allah, the sheriff
said. Warnke, however, stressed that there was “still nothing to
indicate” Mohammad’s Muslim religion had anything to do with his motive.
He compared the references made to Allah to a Christian making
references to Jesus before carrying out a life-changing decision.
University officials have also said that there is no evidence to
believe it was “in any way related to terrorism.” Instead, officials
continue to stress all signs point to a disgruntled student taking
extreme revenge on those he felt betrayed by.
Construction worker Bryon Price, hailed as a hero for preventing others form being injured in the attack, said that Mohammad “had a smile on his face” like he “was having fun” as he swung his 10-inch knife.
Sounds just like your normal, average student who got kicked out of a study group, right? What could go wrong?
As authorities worked to establish a motive for the 18-year-old
college freshman who stabbed four people on a California campus
Wednesday, more disturbing details emerged about the attacker.
Faisal Mohammad, who was killed by University of California Merced
police, was described by at least one witness as smiling as he slashed
at victims, called a loner by a fellow dorm resident and drew praise
Thursday from a Twitter account associated with ISIS, which just last
week released a series of videos calling for lone wolf stabbing attacks.
“May Allah accept him,” read a tweet in Arabic from a Twitter
account that terrorism experts say has carried previous ISIS propaganda,
just minutes after Mohammad’s name was divulged by campus authorities.
Disturbing indeed, especially given the spate of stabbing attacks in
Israel, an emerging signature move of individual jihadists. There’s much
we still don’t know. It’s certainly possible that Mohammad had other
motives for his attack, and that ISIS was merely being opportunistic —
seizing on the attacker’s Muslim name to create the false appearance of
jihadist influence. However, I don’t necessarily trust either the Barack
“workplace violence” Obama administration or painfully
politically-correct California authorities to be entirely forthcoming
with evidence.
Your tax Shekels at work: Hebrew University paying NIS 4,000 per student for Jews and 'Palestinians' to meet in 'warming' sessions
A couple of days ago, I was sent a link to this Facebook page, which invites Jewish and Arab students at Hebrew University to meet socially at the Athens Bar, underneath the Frank Sinatra cafeteria (the site of a 'Palestinian' terror attack in ). The meeting is to take place on November 11 (next Wednesday) and is described as the first in a series of meetings of a group called "As One" which was founded at Tel Aviv University two years ago (the group's full Facebook page is here).
The group was founded to 'break down barriers' between Jews and Arabs, and is described as a forum for Jews and Arabs to meet and discuss their world views. The goal is to create a 'pluralistic, equal and inclusive' student body.
The first meeting will include a 'warming' session in which the group will break off into pairs so that a Jew and an Arab can get to know each other better. The group describes itself as non-political, and is sponsored in cooperation with the Student Union.
But there's more to this than meetings. The notice I pasted above, in Hebrew and Arabic, informs the students that those who attend these 'warming' sessions will each receive a NIS 4,000 (a bit more than $1,000) grant in exchange for attending 84 academic hours' worth of sessions (one three-hour weekly meeting on 28 Tuesdays during the course of the year. The group is limited to 14 students - seven Jews and seven Arabs - and is moderated by a Jewish woman and an Arab woman.
Hebrew University is a public institution, which means that this program is being paid for by the Israeli government, and by you, the Israeli taxpayer (and overseas donor).
For those of you who wonder why this kind of program is problematic, please consider this article published in the New York Daily News by Dr. Daniel Gordis three weeks ago:
We have a young language instructor at Shalem College in Jerusalem,
where I work. She's a religious Muslim who wears a hijab, lives in one
of the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem and is a graduate student at
Hebrew University. She's fun and warm, and a great teacher — the
students like her a lot.
Late last spring, when things here were quiet, some of the students
mentioned to the department chair that as much as they'd spoken with her
over the past couple of years, they'd never discussed politics. They
were curious what someone like her thought about the conflict in this
region, especially now that she was teaching at an unabashedly Zionist
college, had come to know so many Jewish students and had developed such
warm relationships with them. How does someone like her see things here? How did she think we would one day be able to settle this conflict?
"So ask her," the department chair said. "As long as you speak to her
in Arabic (she's on staff to help our students master the language), you
can talk about anything you want."
They did. They told her that since they'd never discussed the
"situation" (as we metaphorically call it here in Israel), they were
curious how she thought we might someday resolve it.
...
"It's our land," she responded rather matter-of-factly. Stunned, they
weren't sure that they'd heard her correctly. So they waited. But that
was all she had to say. "It's our land. You're just here for now."
What upset those students more than anything was not that a Palestinian
might believe that the Jews are simply the latest wave of Crusaders in
this region, and that we, like the Crusaders of old, will one day be
forced out. We all know that there are many Palestinians who believe
that.
What upset them was that she — an educated woman, getting a graduate
degree (which would never happen in a Muslim country) at a world class
university (only Israel has those — none of Israel's neighbors has a
single highly rated university) and working at a college filled with
Jews who admire her, like her and treat her as they would any other
colleague — still believes that when it's all over, the situation will
get resolved by our being tossed out of here once again.
Even she , who lives a life filled with opportunities that she
would never have in an Arab country, still thinks at the end of the day
the Jews are nothing but colonialists. And colonialists, she believes,
don't last here. The British got rid of the Ottomans, the Jews got rid
of the British — and one day, she believes, the Arabs will get rid of
the Jews.
I have three children who have gone or are going through the Israeli university system. I would not be happy about them having 'warming' sessions with Arab students - certainly not in pairs. Yet my government is paying students to do just that.
Video: Police officer being run over by 'Palestinian' terrorist, now in serious condition
Here is shocking video of a 'Palestinian' running into a group of people who included an Israeli police officer outside of Hebron about three hours ago.
The police officer was seriously wounded in the incident, which was obviously deliberate.
Let's go to the videotape.
SHOCKING FOOTAGE: Israeli Police officer seriously wounded, after being run-over by Arab terrorist on Highway 60. pic.twitter.com/QpVJcMlREE
Malaysian wants to come to Israel to defend Adele Biton's murderers
Many of you may not have seen the picture above. It is the car in which Adele Biton HY"D (May God Avenge her blood), aged 3 at the time, sustained the injuries from which she ultimately died. Perhaps you remember Adele:
The terrorists are being tried in an Israeli military court - they were 16-years old at the time of the incident and that's an age at which in many countries violent criminals are charged as adults. What they were throwing were not the small rocks that come to mind when you say 'stones.' They were cinderblocks. These 'youths' clearly deserve to have the full weight of the law thrown at them if they are guilty.
You might recall that the 'Palestinians' are running a campaign to free the terrorists, referring to the incident as the 'Wadi'a Maswadah Hoax.' Now, that campaign has spread to Malaysia, the world's largest Muslim country, which is hostile enough to Israel that its citizens may not use their Malaysian passports to visit Israel (Hat Tip: Slim S).
Currently, the IWPS* team accompanies the trial and legal proceedings of
five Palestinian boys from Hares, who are being tried before an Israeli
military court for charges of attempted murder for throwing stones.
**
The narrative began on Thursday March 14, 2013, when a car crashed at
around 6.30pm into the back of a truck on Road 5 in Salfit, injuring the
driver and her three daughters.
The driver claimed that the accident was due to Palestinian youths
throwing stones at her car. Aside from the two drivers and the three
daughters, there were no other witnesses to the car accident nor had
anybody witnessed children or youth throwing stones on that day.
By very early morning of Friday, masked Israeli soldiers with attack
dogs had stormed the village of Hares and arrested ten boys, blindfolded
and handcuffed.
In the next few days to the following week, several more adolescents
were arrested, totalling 19 from the villages of Hares and Kife Hares
(neighbouring villages) arrested in relation to the settler car
accident, none of them with a previous history of stone-throwing.
After several violent interrogations, most were released except for
five Hares boys – aged between 16 and 17 – who remain until today in
Megiddo, an Israeli adult prison.
They are charged with 20 counts of attempted murder (one count per
every alleged stone thrown at passing cars), a charge that carries a
maximum punishment of twenty years to life imprisonment.
...
Reading the invitation to join the IWPS team, to have the privilege to
accompany the process and to independently witness the case and judge
for myself how the system of justice is applied in Israel and occupied
Palestine, all these thoughts came to mind.
I do not know if I could accept the invitation (to enter the area would
mean first crossing into the Israeli border – a place into which the
Malaysian passport officially prohibits entry). But at the very least,
for now, I have the power of sharing their narrative. – November 3,
2015.
* The International Women’s Peace Service (IWPS) is a team of human
rights volunteers, based in the village of Deir Istiya, Salfit
district, occupied Palestine, that supports Palestinian and Israeli
anti-occupation groups in their grassroots resistance to end the brutal
and illegal military occupation. IWPS opposes all forms of racism,
including anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
This is how the international Left operates. Note that there is no mention of the fact that Baby Adele (who is in any event nameless in the post) died. If Israel were randomly arresting 'Palestinians' who had no connection to the incident, why were most of them released? The woman accuses the IDF of gathering witnesses through 'wide publicity.' But Highway 5 is a major highway that runs to the coast, and there must have been witnesses who saw what happened, and who would testify without anyone 'gathering' them. On what basis does this woman who has never even seen Israel accuse the IDF of fabricating witnesses?
Hamas USA marching in Veterans' Day parade in Oklahoma
In 2004, the Committee for American - Islamic Relations (CAIR), a US-based front for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood, was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation, which was funneling US money to Hamas. Now, the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma (Yipes! I have a cousin there) is honoring CAIR by allowing it to participate in its Veterans' Day parade.
For the first time, Oklahoma Muslims will have a float in the
Veterans Day Parade in downtown Tulsa on Nov. 11, and not all parade
participants are happy about it.
“It’s something we have been wanting to do for years,” said Adam
Soltani, executive director of the Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on
American-Islamic Relations, based in Oklahoma City.
Soltani said the float is sponsored by CAIR-Oklahoma but will
“represent the Oklahoma Muslim community, which is a very diverse
community of people from all walks of life, immigrants, indigenous
people.”
“We support all veterans, and we support our country, so I don’t see
why anyone should have any concerns about CAIR being involved,” he said.
“We are an American Muslim organization, and American Muslims support
their government, support their country and definitely support our
troops who are working to defend our constitutional rights and our
freedoms,” he continued.
Soltani said many U.S. Muslims have served in the armed forces and that two veterans are on the CAIR-Oklahoma board.
Larry Williamson, a member of the Tulsa 912 Project, a conservative
organization, said it is “atrocious” to ask veterans to “march alongside
people who represent our enemies in a current war.”
“I believe all American entrants who the parade is intended to honor
should be made aware as soon as possible that they are being asked to
share their honor with the Muslim Brotherhood, sworn enemy of the United
States and our ally Israel and an enemy in our current war on the
Islamic jihad in which American soldiers are fighting and dying,” he
said in a letter to the Tulsa World.
Williamson said he has been told that his Tulsa 912 Project float is
scheduled to be in line next to the CAIR float in the parade.
“I’m not a spokesman for Tulsa 912, but I won’t march alongside the Muslim Brotherhood,” he said.
Asked why he uses the term Muslim Brotherhood instead of CAIR,
Williamson said the FBI has identified CAIR as an arm of the Muslim
Brotherhood in America. CAIR has consistently stated that it has no
connections with any terrorist groups.
Patsy Varnell, vice president of the Tulsa Veterans Day Parade
Association, confirmed that CAIR-Oklahoma’s application to be in the
parade has been accepted.
It's come to this: Socialist Bernie Sanders compares Holocaust to imaginary phobia
I want to remind you all that I live in a country where 'socialism' is (unfortunately) not a dirty word. But even we know the difference between the Holocaust and the anti-Semitism that gave rise to it, and the imaginary phobia known as 'Islamophobia.'
But in one of the most emotional moments of the night, George Mason
University senior Remaz Abdelgader stood up and demanded to know how
Sanders would address the rising tide of Islamophobia in the U.S. Her
voice breaking, she spoke of how hurt she feels when she hears anti-Muslim rhetoric from other candidates for president — including GOP frontrunners Ben Carson, who has said he doesn’t want a Muslim as president of the U.S.
“Being an American is such a strong part of my identity, but I want
to create a change in this society,” she said. “I’m so tired of
listening to this rhetoric saying I can’t be president one day, that I
should not be in office. It makes me so angry and upset. This is my
country.”
Sanders insisted she join him on stage and gave her a hug as the crowd of a couple hundred stood and cheered.
Then, in response to her question, Sanders does something he rarely
does: he spoke personally about his Jewish faith and family history,
which includes losing relatives in the Holocaust, and said Americans
need to learn from that past. “If we stand for anything we have to stand
together and end all forms of racism in this country,” he said. “I will
lead that effort as president.”
It gets worse from there.
No people have been subject to greater amounts and more severe discrimination than Jews. Incidents of anti-Semitism throughout the West remain totally disproportionate to the number of Jews present in those countries. Comparing Holocaust level anti-Semitism to 'Islamophobia' is cheap populist grandstanding.
Russian plane brought down by 'external force' in Sinai
Russia is saying that a Kogalymavia Airlines passenger jet that crashed in Sinai on Saturday while enroute from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg was brought down by an 'external force.' ISIS has claimed that it shot the plane down presumably as revenge for Russian military activity in Syria. All 224 passengers and crew on the plane were killed.
"We exclude technical problems and reject
human error," Alexander Smirnov, a Kogalymavia airline official, said at
a Moscow news conference as he discussed possible causes of the crash.
He
added that the crew did not issue any warnings or communications during
the final moments, indicating that the flight crew must have been
disabled and not able to radio out.
However,
Smirnov said that while the plane's flight and voice data recorders had
been recovered, they had not been read or decoded.
But no one else wants to believe that ISIS is responsible. No one, that is, except Lufthansa, Air France, Emirates, Air Arabia and Air Dubai, all of which have announced that they will not be flying over Sinai until further notice. This is from the first link.
Officials have played down an apparent
claim by Islamic militants in Sinai that they brought down the Airbus
A321-200, saying technical failure is the most likely reason for the
crash.
But so far, they haven't been
able to give a definitive explanation for what happened, with the
Egyptian President suggesting investigations could take months.
This is not the first flight out of Sharm to crash since Israel returned the resort to Egypt as part of the Camp David treaty. In 2004, a Flash Airlines charter flight from Sharm to Paris crashed into the Red Sea shortly after takeoff. A former work colleague of mine who had subsequently moved to France was aboard that flight.
You might recall that in 2006, El Al announced that all of its planes are equipped with the Flight Guard anti-missile system. In 2008, American Airlines decided that the system was too expensive for its planes. Given that this is the second time in the last 16 months that a commercial passenger jet has been shot down, perhaps the airlines ought to consider installing the Flight Guard system.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
