Abu Mazen's success
With the end of the holiday and the Sabbath here in Israel, it's become clear that '
moderate' '
Palestinian' President
Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen's United Nations General Assembly speech was quite a success... but not quite for the reasons he wanted. Abu Mazen has managed to unite Israeli politicians across the board in
blasting him for his hatred.
"Mahmoud Abbas has again proved his only expertise is spreading lies
and incitement against Israel," Communications Minister Gilad Erdan
(Likud) slammed Saturday night. "He has denied the Holocaust in the past and now, in this surreal speech at the UN, he has accused us of 'genocide.'"
"This is not how a 'peace partner' talks, and certainly not anyone
who wants for 'reconciliation between peoples," Erdan continued. "Now it
is clear why he insists on partnering with the Hamas terrorist
organization, with whom he shares the 'struggle against Israel' and will
promote our delegitimization through false propaganda."
"Mahmoud Abbas always finds a soft spot for murderers, rocket
launchers, and our enemies in general," Jewish Home Chairman and
Economics Minister Naftali Bennett added. "We saw missiles launched at
Ben Gurion Airport two months ago, and it's good to know these launchers
are members of Mahmoud Abbas's 'Palestinian state.'"
"Now Israel must find new and creative ways to allow us to just
survive here," Bennett fumed. "A Palestinian state west of the Jordan
River is not one of them."
Even the extreme left took issue with Abbas's speech.
"While Israel has acted harshly in Gaza and made things difficult
[for the Palestinians], you cannot call it 'genocide," Meretz Chairman
Zahava Gal-On stated Saturday. Gal-On - who did not explicitly condemn
Abbas - did add, however, that Abbas's words were "serious and grave." [But see below. CiJ]
"These are false and outrageous statements," MK Eitan Cabel (Labor),
added. "It would have been better if they had not spoken, and these
words are worthy of condemnation from all who truly love peace."
Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon had some more
biting remarks.
"Through his speech at the UN, Mahmoud Abbas proves for the umpteenth
time: this is not a leader who wants peace and the advancement of his
people's lives, but a person who distributes lies, incitement, and hate
speech against Israel," Ya'alon stated Saturday. "Mahmoud Abbas is not a
man of peace, and is not really interested in an agreement with Israel,
which means recognition of the Jewish national homeland."
"Time after time, Mahmoud Abbas goes on to deceive the international
community, to throw at Israel false and racist accusations out of the
hope that threats, pressure, and lies will scare us and make us
acquiesce [to his demands]," Ya'alon continued.
Ya'alon implied that Abbas's speech was particularly grave, and may have jettisoned future plans to renew peace talks.
"He has no partner for a political agreement - which is essential to
end the conflict - and we will therefore not compromise the security of
Israeli citizens," Ya'alon said, referencing plans to make a Palestinian
state in Judea and Samaria. "In every situation, we are responsible for
our own destiny and our own security, and we will be in the future."
Ya'alon concluded by blasting Abbas for "not really coming to terms
with our own existence" and added that the claims "are detached from
reality."
Prime Minister Netanyahu is on his way to the United States to counter Abu Mazen's (and Iranian President Hassan Rohani's) '
slander and lies.'
But despite the quotation above, Meretz leader Zehava Gal-On actually
backed Abu Mazen.
“Meretz supports Abbas’s international efforts to bring the end of the occupation and to get international recognition as a [Palestinian] state and member of the UN before and as a corridor to reaching peace in bilateral negotiations between equals,” the party leader said.
The speech reflected Abbas’s total distrust of Netanyahu as a partner for peace, Gal-On said.
According to Gal-On, “Netanyahu refused to negotiate for five years and the talks under American sponsorship led nowhere and wild construction continued in the settlements. Now Netanyahu wants to continue ‘managing the conflict’ instead of solving it,” she lamented.
Gal-On proves the prophet Isaiah right once again. Isaiah warned that those who would destroy us would spring forth from among us. What could go wrong?
Labels: Abu Mazen, Binyamin Netanyahu, Eitan Cabel, Gilad Erdan, Holocaust denial, Meretz, Moshe Yaalon, Naftali Bennett, United Nations General Assembly, Zehava Gal-On
Knesset bill would put Israel Hayom newspaper out of business
In what is clearly an effort to put the wildly successful Israel Hayom newspaper out of business, a group of six MK's has introduced a bill in the Knesset that would
limit the free distribution of newspapers.
The bill, which was proposed by MKs Eitan Cabel (Labor), Robert
Ilatov (Yisrael Beytenu), Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home), Elazar Stern
(Hatnua), Ariel Atias (Shas) and Yoel Razvozov (Yesh Atid), seeks to
ensure "true and fair competition between newspapers."
Analysts predict the law is likely to cause a brouhaha in the
government, and that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will act to
prevent it from passing. The law's opponents argue that the bill, if
passed, could drastically change the balance of representative power in
the Israeli press.
Under the bill, every newspaper which is defined as one of the four
daily newspapers most widely circulated in Israel will be sold at a
"nominal value" - about 70% of the price of the cheapest and most
popular newspaper.
In addition, the bill would ban distributing free newspapers for more
than a six-month period - and require the price of each paper to be
printed prominently on the front page.
Media experts are expected to slam the bill for contributing to the
ongoing decline in the newspaper industry, which has made headlines over
the past several years as popular publications begin to disappear.
A report by the International Business Times in 2012 noted
that the newspaper industry has shrunk by 40% worldwide since 2002, and
that it continues to decline at a rate of 6.4% per year. Many attribute
the decline to the ubiquitousness and ease of internet news sources.
Israel Hayom is distributed free at traffic intersections, and makes its money off advertising. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in Israel, displacing Yedioth Aharonoth within a couple of years of its founding. It is owned by Sheldon Adelson, and American Jew with a huge interest in Israel, who also owns casinos in the US. Adelson is also a big supporter of... Binyamin Netanyahu.
Pass the popcorn....
Labels: Ariel Atias, Ayelet Shaked, Binyamin Netanyahu, Eitan Cabel, Elazar Stern, freedom of the press, Sheldon Adelson, Yisrael HaYom
'You can call 'price tag' attacks terror when you stop freeing murderers'
This is well done, but unfortunately, it's only in Hebrew. Jewish lawyer Itamar Ben Gvir goes on the popular Orly and Guy show with Labor MK Eitan Cabel, and gets asked what he thinks of classifying 'price tag' attacks as terror, as proposed by Cabel. He doesn't hesitate for a minute: When the government stops freeing terrorist murderers, says Ben Gvir, we can talk about calling 'price tag' attacks - which consist of painting slogans on political targets - as terror (as advocated by Israel's suicidal left).
Let's go to the videotape.
It's a pity this hasn't been translated into English.
Labels: Eitan Cabel, Itamar Ben Gvir, Palestinian terrorists, price tag attacks, terrorism
While Shalit rots, Hamas prisoners live in a country club
Three Knesset members from the lobby from Gilad Shalit went to visit Hamas terrorists imprisoned in Israel on Sunday and discovered - to their dismay - that the Hamas terrorists are living in a
country club atmosphere. Significantly, two of the three MK's are members of opposition parties.
The Hamas prisoners have "VIP conditions," [Miri] Regev [Likud. CiJ] told the Hebrew-language daily Maariv. “Their life in jail is really good. Their families visit every two weeks. They have a prison canteen, and Hamas gives each of them 350 shekels to spend each month.”
The three [the other two are Shaul Mofaz of Kadima and Eitan Cabel of Labor. CiJ] called to strip Hamas terrorists of their privileges, and treat them the way Hamas treats Shalit – with the exception of those basic rights outlined in international law, which, they said, Israel should continue to grant its prisoners despite Hamas' refusal to do the same.
“If we hit at their soft underbelly, their visits with their families and children, only then might Hamas improve Shalit's conditions,” Regev said.
But we've been talking about that for nearly five years, and thus far nothing has been done. Don't hold your breath waiting for anything to happen now.
Labels: Eitan Cabel, Gilad Shalit, Hamas prisoners, Miri Regev, Shaul Mofaz
But of course: Labor to 'investigate' Barak
You had to know
this was coming.
A week after Defense Minister Ehud Barak's departure from Labor, party officials announced plans over the weekend to probe whether he had committed or was aware of any corruption that took place in the party when he led it.
New Labor faction chairman Eitan Cabel said he would examine charges raised in Yediot Aharonot on Friday about the way Barak's longtime ally Weizmann Shiri handled the party's finances when he was its director-general.
"We will check the veracity of that report and various questions related to the party's financial situation," Cabel said.
Labor spokesman Danny Borowitz told the newspaper's Nahum Barnea that he heard many stories of corruption in the party. The newspaper printed a text message from Shiri to another party official that appeared to be incriminating evidence. Shiri and the party activist he wrote gave the newspaper contradictory explanations.
Borowitz told the newspaper that the incident had persuaded him that he was working for corrupt people. Shiri said he had nothing to hide. He called on Borowitz to fill a complaint with police.
The bad part about this is that since the political parties here are publicly financed, that's taxpayer money that will be wasted on this nonsense.
Labels: Ehud Barak, Eitan Cabel, Labor party, Weizman Shiri
