Celebrating #Brexit: Why the EU doesn't deserve to exist
It's the morning after the #Brexit vote, and President Obama is giving (worthless) assurances that the US will maintain its 'special relationship' with Britain, even if Britain just slapped him and his internationalism in the face. If nothing else, #Brexit is proof positive that nationalism is alive and well in the 21st century. Two of the three guys in this picture are happy this morning. The other is President of the United States.
Like many Americans who have had it with Obama's immigration policies (and celebrated Thursday's Supreme Court decision upholding the State of Texas' defiance of Obama's open borders edict), many Brits have had it with Angela Merkel's allowing unfettered access to Europe for Muslim terrorists by way of Germany and the Schengen visa.
But if you want a reason for the wrath of God to be brought down on Europe, watch the European Parliament's reaction to 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen claiming that unnamed 'rabbis' had called for poisoning 'Palestinian' water. Yes, that's a blood libel worthy of the Middle Ages, but it brought the anti-Semitic Euroweenies lots of cheer on the day of the #Brexit vote.
Let's go to the videotape.
Here's the 30-second standing ovation the EU parliament gave to Palestinian President Abbas's anti-Semitic speech: pic.twitter.com/rYMHRG5Tld
— (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) June 24, 2016
If the EU ceases to exist, there will be one less anti-Semitic body in the world and that's a good thing.
It has also been suggested the move by US authorities could be due to Mr Mahmood's brother having been refused entry to Israel eight years ago, but no official explanation has been given by the US Embassy.
...
Mr Mahmood later said his brother was refused entry to Tel Aviv when he flew there eight years ago, but the family were unsure whether that was linked to their refusal to fly last week.
Speaking at his Walthamstow home, he said: 'They are bringing out this thing that my brother was stopped at Tel Aviv.
'But if that was the case it should have been flagged up when we filled out our ESTAs - which was seven or eight weeks ago.
'He was touring a few countries nine or 10 years ago and decided to visit the Grand Mosque. Then he was stopped because he has a big beard, and that. It was not like he was prosecuted or convicted of anything afterwards.
'Maybe the authorities were being awkward. In the end he just came back home.'
...
Mr Mahmood's sister-in-law Sadaf Mahmood later told LBC radio that her husband was detained overnight in Israel before being put on a plane back to Britain, but the reason was never explained to them.
Just your typical normal family, right?
And then there's the Facebook page (pictured above)....
However, it has since emerged that a Facebook page claiming links to radical Islamist groups was set up by someone who has lived at the family's postal address, according to ITV News.
The account, which includes information suggesting it may have been published as a joke, was in the name of Hamza Hussain - a first name shared by Mr Mahmood's 18-year-old son. It reportedly lists the job titles 'supervisor at Taliban and leader at al-Qaeda'.
When asked about the account, Mr Mahmood believed hackers may have been to blame, adding: 'That could be anything, maybe a mistake.'
'The page is also linked to our home address and that could be coincidence. I don't know why it is linked there. The name is not even the same. The authorities must have linked it simply because of the name Hamza.'
Maybe Anonymous did it. Maybe Donald Trump (who is also being blamed) set it up.
Where there's smoke, there's usually fire. Stay tuned. Bottom line: No one has the right to enter a country of which they are not a citizen or resident.
Like every terrorist family you ever heard about - UPDATED
Greetings from somewhere off the coast of Scotland, where my seat is as cramped as I said it would be. The white zone is for loading and unloading of passengers only. I won't say more.
The big news back in London is that a British Muslim family was denied entry to the United States for a trip to Disneyland. No one is really saying why, but the British government says it will investigate. Britain is part of the visa waiver program (see the list above). You know, the one that Israel cannot get into because we deny entry to too many 'Palestinians.' This is from the first link in this paragraph.
Tariq Mahmood, 41, was due to fly from Gatwick on December 15 with
his brother, Zahid, and nine of their children and nieces, for a
holiday.
But the family were told they could not board their Norwegian flight
as they had been refused entry by the American authorities.
David Cameron today said he would look into the case after it was highlighted by the family’s local MP Stella Creasy.
Mr Mahmood, a gym owner from Walthamstow, told how the youngest
children — aged eight — were in tears as they had to go home without
any explanation for the decision.
He told the Standard: “I still don’t know why. I told them we had our
ESTA [US travel visa] approved six weeks ago. We’re just a normal,
law-abiding family trying to go on our holidays. None of us have ever
been involved in crime or mixed up in anything.
“We even said if there’s a problem with an individual can the rest of
us not fly? How can the eight and nine-year-olds have done anything
wrong? But the answer was the same.”
Mr Mahmood, a Pakistani-born British citizen, was meant to be taking
his daughter Hafsa, 14, and son Hamza, 18, to meet relatives in southern
California before the family visited Disneyland and Universal Studios.
The Mahmoods spent £9,000 on plane tickets and have been told they are not entitled to a refund.
But my friend Rusty Shackelford makes a good point:
https://t.co/IvopUeVWJp UK Muslims barred from flight to Disneyland were law abiding family ... said every neighbor of every terrorist ever
“USA has the right to issue and revoke visa — I fully understand that,”
Masroor wrote. “However not forwarding any reasons infuriates ordinary
people. It does not win the hearts and minds of people, it turns them
off. I am amazed how irrational these processes are but does USA care
about what you and I think? I don't think so! It is the emperor and it
does what it damn wills.”
He later wrote that he was invited to a meeting with the U.S. Embassy
to clear up the matter — and hoped to set up a website that focuses on
the issue.
Maybe someone in the US is starting to take the terror threat seriously... no worries. Obama will put a stop to it.
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.
Why Syrians are fleeing to Europe (and not to Arab countries)
A reminder to one and all that I am in Boston, and that's why I am posting after the Sabbath started in Israel.
I'm sure all of you were touched by the picture of a Syrian boy being carried out of the water having drowned off the coast of Turkey (reproduced above).
But many of you may be wondering why the Syrians are trying to flee by sea to Europe, rather than fleeing south via Jordan to Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf, where they would at least speak the language.
The answer to that lies in the 'Palestinians.'
The Syrians can see how the 'Palestinians' have been treated by their Arab brethren for the last 67 years. They are confined to 'refugee camps.' In most Arab countries, they do not hold citizenship, cannot travel, cannot hold any job that requires any kind of license and do not live in permanent housing. Instead, they are left to languish to await the (God Forbid) demise of the State of Israel.
Many of the Syrian refugees are likely 'Palestinians.'
As to the reason that you hear of the Syrians fleeing to many different European countries and not just to one (e.g. Germany which seems more willing than others to take them), that is because once you get to any European country, you can get a Schengen visa.
The Schengen Visa is the representative of the collective of 26 European
countries that have mutually decided to eliminate passport and
immigration controls at their joint borders. Within the Schengen area,
concurrently, the citizens of these 26 European countries are free to
travel in and out of this zone as one single country sharing equal
international travel rights. The citizens of the Schengen zone countries
cherish the right to migrate internationally without any limitations,
the basis of free movement, one of the basic human rights.
And that's without even taking into account the general 'pleasure' of living in a Muslim country. It's no wonder the Syrians want to go to Europe and not to Arab countries.
Turkey, where that picture was taken, is not a Schengen country. The family was trying to reach Greece after escaping by land to Turkey. Turkey is a Muslim country for all intents and purposes.
The European Union would like to ban Jewish (only) residents of Judea, Samaraia and 'east' Jerusalem from entering their Islamifying palace in an effort to pressure Israel to accept their national suicide plan for us. For now, they will settle for banning Jews with 'criminal' records. There's one small problem: Some of those Jews also carry European passports.
While the diplomats say they are only at an early point in planning
their diplomatic "warfare," one move they are threatening to take is
imposing a travel ban on Jewish residents of Judea, Samaria and eastern
Jerusalem who have any criminal history.
"The paperwork has been done but it is frozen for now," one
official said. "It is basically a blacklist of violent settlers who have
been accused of or convicted of crimes. It would prevent them from
traveling to Europe."
Such a move would likely prevent roughly 100 to 200 people from
entering the EU, but may have legal complications given that some of
those affected hold European passports.
They're also talking about cutting relations with Israel's banks.
Such a step would involve strictly applying regulations in the Association Agreement signed between the EU and Israel in 1995.
In Article 83 of the
agreement, it is stipulated that the agreement applies to the territory
of the state of Israel, which one official said may mean banks operating
in Judea and Samaria that the EU does not consider part of Israel could
be targeted."
"I'm not saying we
should stop dealing with Israeli banks, but it's an issue that has been
raised and some would say we need to look at it in more detail," said
the unnamed ambassador to Israel.
The ambassador also stated "no one is talking about imposing
trade sanctions on Israel. But there is a very high level of frustration
and there are many instruments at our disposal to make that frustration
clear."
Another senior diplomat threatened that Europe's patience is "wearing thin."
And you thought that John Kerry was obsessed with Israel....
Greece announced on Monday that it will soon begin building a 6-mile-long (10-kilometer-long) fence topped with razor wire on its border with Turkey to deter illegal immigrants.
Thousands of illegal immigrants cross from Turkey into Greece at this point each year, often traveling from there to other parts of Europe.
Greek Public Order Minister Christos Papoutsis went to the border village of Kantanies on Monday to announce that work on the 13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) fence will start next month and is expected to be finished by September at a cost of more than ?3 million ($4 million). It will stretch from Kastanies to the Greek village of Nea Vyssa, near the northeastern town of Orestiada.
...
Greece is one of the 26 European nations in the Schengen Area, which has external border controls but not ones within the zone. Since Greece is on the southeastern edge of the area, and Turkey has not signed the Schengen Agreement, Greece is required to maintain its border controls.
During Papoutsis' visit to Kastanies, about 40 people protested nearby, saying the fence is a violation of human rights and should not be built at a time when Greece is suffering a deep financial crisis that has led to punishing austerity measures and high unemployment. About 200 riot police stood by, but no violence occurred during the demonstration.
Papoutsis said the fence will be coupled with a network of fixed night-vision cameras providing real-time footage to the new command center.
Most of Greece's 125-mile (200 kilometer) border with Turkey runs along a river known as Evros in Greece and Meric in Turkey. The new fence, which Turkey's government has not opposed, will block a short stretch of dry land between the two countries. Greece already is receiving emergency assistance at the Evros border from the EU border protection agency, Frontex.
On Monday, three men seen entering Greece at the point where the fence will be built told The Associated Press they are illegal immigrants who fled Syria's violence.
Someone today sent me a list on Hebrew about how various countries handle their borders. There are only two countries where illegal immigrants are not either sent back, jailed or shot. Guess who.
The Fatah terror organization is urging the European Union to ban 'settlers' in response to Israel's deportation of pro-'Palestinian' 'activists.'
The appeal was issued by Jamal Nazzal, Fatah’s spokesman in Europe, who said that EU countries should consider the possibility of banning settlers who had been involved in violence from entering their territories.
Nazzal said that banning settlers from entering EU countries would be an appropriate response to the Israeli authorities’ recent decision to deport pro-Palestinian European activists.
The Fatah spokesman also called on EU government officials to stop holding meetings with their Israeli counterparts in “occupied Jerusalem.” He said that EU countries should abide by the 2010 recommendations of the EU Representative Office, which envisage east Jerusalem as the future capital of a Palestinian state.
Nazzal said that EU officials who visit east Jerusalem should avoid having Israeli security and protocol accompanying them and refrain from staying at Israeli hotels and using Israeli transportation.
Fatah also demanded that EU officials refrain from visiting Israeli “settler” excavation sites in east Jerusalem and to impose a ban on products of settlements.
An Israeli official said in response that rather than listening to advice from the Palestinians, the international community should be sending a crystal clear message to the Palestinians that it is time to restart the negotiations.
Somehow, I can't see the Europeans giving up that Israeli security. Even they realize that without it, their safety cannot be guaranteed.
But talk about the pot calling the kettle black. 'Violent settlers'? Good grief....
Doesn't anyone in this country think before they answer a survey?
Sixty-four percent of Israelis would support a NATO deployment of peacekeeping troops to the West Bank and Gaza, according to a survey published by the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on Monday.
The survey, compiled by Sharon Pardo, Jean Monnet Chair in European Studies in the Department of Politics and Government at BGU, found that the level of support for such a move was the same for both Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel.
Pardo’s survey also found 81% of Israelis would support European Union membership for Israel, and that in general, 43% of Israelis want stronger relations with the EU.
Why don't we want NATO troops in Judea, Samaria and Gaza? For starters, consider what happened the last time 'international' troops were deployed in Gaza. Those troops, European troops under an entity called EUBAM, may still be sitting in Ashkelon to which they fled when Hamas took over Gaza. For seconds, consider how UNIFIL and UNDOF performed on the Lebanese and Syrian borders in May. The short answer is that they did nothing to prevent the breach of Israel's borders. Finally, consider the likelihood that any 'peacekeeping' troops become human shields for 'Palestinian' terrorists.
As far the longing to join the European Union goes, these people are all thinking in terms of increased trade with Europe. That would be nice, but it would come at a price that Israel cannot afford to pay. All European Union countries other than the UK and Ireland have a unified visa policy that requires each country to admit the others' nationals through something called the Schengen area. This is one of the things that is holding up Turkey's admission to the EU - many of the other European countries fear giving all those Turkish Muslims freedom to roam throughout Europe on Schengen visas. Can you imagine if they could all roam Israel due to that policy? What would the outcome of last week's flytilla have been?
Moreover, not all the countries in the European Union have strong economies like Germany. You've undoubtedly heard that Greece is an economic basket case (a friend who is familiar with the situation there told me that you find out how much taxes you owe and then you go negotiate a number that is far lower than that amount), but Israel Radio reports today that Italy is also on the verge of going in the tank. Israel has a strong economy and a strong currency. Why would we want to throw our lot in with the basket cases of Europe?
The taxpayers of Sweden have just funded a visit to their country of 'Palestinian' terrorist Leila Khaled.
In 2002, in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, The European Union through its European Council decided to include the PFLP on its list of terrorist groups.
The people of Israel are all too familiar with the savagery of the PFLP. It took responsibility for the 2001 assassination of Tourism Minister, Rehavam Zeevi. On Friday night, March 11th 2011, two PFLP members butchered the Fogel family in Itamar, including four-and eleven-year-old children and a three-month infant.
Ms. Khaled sits on the PFLP Central Committee and has not expressed regret for her involvement in terrorism. Because of her history of aiding and abetting terrorism, a police complaint was recently issued against her in Sweden for gross violations of international law.
But that came too late. During her tax-payer funded visit to Sweden, Khaled spoke at the May Day demonstrations of the Stalinist Swedish Communist Party and the Anarcho-syndicalist Trade Union Federation. She held publicly funded lectures at an Art Gallery and spoke on developments in the Middle East at the publicly- funded Södertörn University College.
Incredibly, Khaled also participated at a seminar on political activism arranged by the Left Party represented in Sweden’s Parliament.
The organizers of her appearances had nothing but praise for the PFLP leader. Anna Ahlstrand, Project Manager at Konsthall C, which is funded by the government’s Arts Grant Committee, declared “she is an icon for many people”. Jonatan Habib Engqvist, Project Manager at the Governmental Arts Grants Committee that financed her tour described the arch terrorist as “a very established feminist thinker.”
...
Unfortunately, Leila Khaled isn’t the first member of a Palestinian terrorist group to get special treatment from Stockholm. In 2006, the Swedish consulate in Jerusalem, in contravention of EU regulations, granted a Schengen visa to Hamas’ Minister of Refugees, Atef Adwan. Such a visa makes it possible for the bearer to travel across 15 European Countries. That decision provoked protests from Israel, which said it lent legitimacy to Hamas, and from France, which had rejected earlier visa requests by Hamas leaders.
So far Sweden’s decision to grant entry to Khaled – a leading representative of an organization deemed a terrorist group by more than 30 countries, including Sweden, all EU Member States and the United States – hasn’t spurred protest from the US or other European countries.
But the decision to allow her into Sweden could have broader consequences. It comes at a time when many European nations want to take back direct control of their national frontiers. Indeed, the European Commission is currently debating the re-imposition of border controls within the so-called Schengen region.
Leila Khalid’s taxpayer-funded trip comes even as Swedish authorities continue to turn a deaf ear to repeated calls from the Jewish Community and the Simon Wiesenthal Center to fund security for Jewish institutions facing increasing anti-Semitism and global Islamist threats.
The irresponsible behavior of Swedish authorities will likely doom any future role in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. Back in 2000, following a more even-handed Middle East policy under then Swedish PM Goran Persson, Stockholm did help facilitate Israeli Palestinian negotiations.
I doubt that anyone in Israel would accept a mediation - or any other - role for the current Swedish government in Middle East 'peace process.' We already know too well where the Swedes stand. But Khaled's visit is yet another nail in the coffin of Swedish-Israeli relations.
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
