If Joseph and Mary were trying to reach Bethlehem today.... UPDATED
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.
Here's a great comment in the Washington Post from the Volokh Conspiracy's David Bernstein. What would happen to Joseph and Mary if they were trying to reach Bethlehem today, before Jesus' birth?
How
would that carpenter and his pregnant wife have circumnavigated the
Kafkaesque network of Israeli settlements, roadblocks and closed
military zones in the occupied West Bank? Would Mary have had to
experience labour or childbirth at a checkpoint, as one in ten pregnant
Palestinian women did between 2000 and 2007?
Well,
since Joseph and Mary were Judeans, i.e., Jews, from Nazareth, they
wouldn’t need to be afraid of Israeli roadblocks needed to combat
Palestinian terrorism, but of being murdered by terrorists from Hamas or
Fatah.
Seriously, this sort of historical revisionism, treating
ancient Jewish Judeans as if they were Palestinian Arabs, and then
analogizing modern Israel to the oppressors of Jesus and his family, a
common trope in the UK, would be laughable if it were not so
pernicious. Pernicious not simply because it’s a ridiculous distortion
of history, and not simply because it’s often accompanied by a large
dose of anti-Semitism, with Palestinians playing the role of Jesus and
the Israelis being the foreign oppressors crucifying him. But
pernicious because it goes to the true heart of the Arab-Israeli
conflict–the failure of the Arab side to recognize that the “Zionists”
are not the “European settler-colonialists” of Third Worldist
imagination, but a people with a three thousand year plus tie to the
Land of Israel, whose religion was born there, who ruled two separate
kingdoms there, who have prayed toward Jerusalem for two thousand years
in their ancient Hebrew language, and so on.
First of all, on the approach to Bethlehem, they would encounter a
sign telling them that as Israelis, it's illegal and unsafe for them to
continue to Area A (under full control of the Palestinian Authority, of
which Bethlehem is part according to the 1990s Oslo agreement).
If
they proceeded anyway, whether by foot, bicycle, car or donkey—given
the current state of affairs—they would likely be met with problems from
the get go, including possibly being stoned, firebombed, shot at or
lynched. Recent instances of Israeli Jews going into or near other
Palestinian Arab communities have played this out.
Yes, the town
in which an Orthodox Jewish boy was born a little more than 2,000 years
ago has become hostile and inhospitable—and, in fact, dangerous—to Jews
today. Yet as much as Jew hatred is common in the region here today,
it's not much more hospitable to Christians.
Recently the Pope decried
the situation that Christians face from throughout the Islamic Middle
East as did the Vicar of Baghdad. Bethlehem is no better.
The 2002
siege of the Church of the Nativity by Palestinian Arab terrorists,
desecrating the place and the faith, is a distant memory. However, the
ideology and thugery behind that remains.
As a result, the town
that is not just the birthplace of Jesus but arguably of Christianity,
has seen a decrease in its Christian population from 70 percent just
decades ago to about 30 percent today. This is not because of Israel's
"occupation" or other problems blamed on Israel, but because life in
Bethlehem as a Christian is hostile and inhospitable at best, and even
downright dangerous.
...
So glaring is Jesus' absence from Bethlehem this season, one ministry
paid to put up a "radical" billboard celebrating Jesus. But they also
had to rent a generator and full-time security people because no private
companies would provide electricity to light up the sign, and for fear
that someone would deface it or burn it down.
What's behind all of
this? How is the situation going from bad to worse? I asked a Christian
friend who had spent considerable time in Bethlehem until called in by
police and told he was at risk and they couldn't protect him. He packed
and left, and I drove him to my home where he couldn't be threatened.
Now he doesn't have to find the 'real killers,' he can call it an honor killing
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.
O.J. Simpson can stop looking for the 'real killers' of his wife. He's converting to Islam and that means that all his sins are forgiven (Hat Tip: Jack W).
The disgraced 67-year-old star has become interested in the religion
through his friendship with former world heavyweight boxing champion
Mike Tyson, who was imprisoned in the early 1990s and is a devout
Muslim.
Simpson has been studying the Koran but failed to successfully fast during the holy month of Ramadan.
An inside said: ”O.J. didn’t quite make it through the entire fasting process.
”He cheated during the day, and bought snacks from the prison
canteen. But he’s really serious about converting to Islam. O.J. even
made himself a prayer rug for his prison cell. He really likes the idea
that upon converting to Islam, all of his previous sins are forgiven.
O.J. has a lot to be forgiven for.”
'They can't help it: Lying is part of their nature'
The title of this post is the next excuse that the 'international community' will give for the latest story involving the family of 16-year old 'Palestinian' Mohammed Abu Khadr. It seems that the family lied to police about a younger son being 'kidnapped' the same day. Here's a report from Israel's Channel 2 (in Hebrew but an English language summary will follow).
Let's go to the videotape.
In a little-noticed report on Channel Two Wednesday night, analyst and reporter Moshe Nussbaum presented information which could upend the police inquiry into the murder of Muhammad Abu Khadr, the Beit Hanina youth whose burned body was found in the Jerusalem Forest early Wednesday.
In the report, Nussbaum cites contradictory statements by the youth's
parents, who both told police different stories about another attempted
kidnapping – that of Muhammad's nine year old brother – that may or may
not have taken place.
Speaking on Israel Radio Thursday, Mohammed's father said he had
called police at about 4 a.m. Wednesday to tell them that his son was
being kidnapped, and said that they could trace his cellphone, which was still active. Police have not commented on the content of the call Mohammed's father said he made.
However, Nussbaum said, police were quite definitive that another
call the family made to police on Tuesday turned out not to be the
emergency the Abu Khadrs claimed it was. On Tuesday, police said, the
mother called police to say that “settlers” had tried to kidnap her
younger son. She said that individuals had stopped a car in front of her
house where she was sitting with her son, and that they tried to grab
him. She managed to hold onto him, she said, and they left, at which
point she called police.
Officers arrived a few minutes later to take her statement, in which
she said “settlers” had tried to kidnap her son, but could give no
details. However, a few minutes later the father arrived, and he
disputed his wife, saying that it was Arabs who tried to kidnap the son.
Police asked the father if he was positive regarding the identity of
the would-be kidnappers, and he said he was. When they asked him to file
a police complaint, he said he would, but that he would come down to
the police station later on to do so in order to be able to comfort his
son. He never showed up, police said, who contacted him several times
asking him to file the complaint – but to no avail.
When asked on Israel Radio as to the identity of the kidnappers,
Mohammed's father said he did not know – but that it should be an easy
matter for police to figure it out, because their images were captured on video by one of the many security cameras in the area.
“All they have to do is put the pictures on TV and I am sure someone will identify them,” he said.
But of course, the 'international community' will forgive this, because the 'Palestinians' cannot help but lie. Morally obtuse.
#SecKerry on murder of #Palestinian teen: "There are no words to convey adequately our condolences to the Palestinian people."
— Matt Lee (@APDiploWriter) July 2, 2014
I hope the Secretary realizes that this kid was mostly likely murdered by other 'Palestinians' - probably family members.
Oh wait - that wouldn't make a good story, would it? Time to change the narrative.
'Honor killing': Arab teen in Jerusalem murdered by family because he was gay?
I can't confirm this yet, but we've already seen stories in the mainstream media that claim that the Arab teen who was killed in the Jerusalem Forest overnight may have been murdered by family members. What the mainstream media is not telling you (as those who read Hebrew can see from the story above), is that the teen may have been the victim of an honor killing because he was gay.
There's also another version of the story, which is only slightly different.
In any event, this murder was not carried out by a Jew. But why let that ruin a good excuse for a riot?
A 29-year old Turkish man has invented a new excuse for an honor killing. He murdered his wife for... wait for it.... having a girl.
The 29-year-old from southeastern Diyarbakir province does not deny
murdering his wife by placing a live electric cable under her chin as
she slept, a day after their second baby girl was born in January, the
report said.
The Turkish Vatan newspaper published on its front page a
transcript of a telephone call the man placed to police in which he
announced his murderous intent, in real time.
“I killed someone,” the man told the police operator, according to the transcript.
“Who did you kill?” asked the officer on the other end.
“I am killing my wife right now,” said the man.
“Did you kill her or are you killing her?” the officer asked.
“Well, she isn't dead yet. But I am killing her if the murder is halal (permissible in Islam),” the man replied.
The officer then asked if the suspect had a problem with his wife.
“I am telling you that I killed my wife but you are asking what the problem was,” the man replied.
“I closed her mouth as she is in the throes of death,” he then said.
At that point the police operator snapped into action, “OK, wait. I am sending a unit”.
A defense lawyer told the court at a hearing Wednesday that his
client killed his wife because she gave birth to “a girl once again”.
The suspect, a waiter at a local restaurant in the Kurdish-majority region, also has a four-year-old daughter.
And they call it the 'religion of peace'.... Think of that when you hear them wailing Allahu Akhbar at 3:30 am tomorrow.
A reminder as the Sabbath starts in Israel that I am in the New York City area where the Sabbath doesn't start for several more hours, so I am still posting.
For those of you who think Turks and Muslims are just like us, I'd like you to meet Sefer Çalınak, a 62-year old who appeared on the Turkish equivalent of the Dating Game this week to seek a third wife (Hat Tip: Gary P).
Sefer Çalınak shocked the host of Flash TV’s “Ne Çıkarsa Bahtına” (The
Luck of the Draw) and the audience when he casually admitted killing his
two previous wives, stressing that he was now an “honest person looking
for a new wife.”
Çalınak was reportedly twice released from prison thanks to a government amnesty without completing his sentences.
His
first spouse was his cousin, Fadime, with whom he eloped when they were
both aged 17, after the girl’s family tried to force her to marry a
widower. The two lived together with Çalınak’s family for five months,
but then things started to change, he said.
“Her behavior
changed. The nephew of the man who wanted to marry her started to come
to our village. I was jealous and I killed her, in a way,” Çalınak said.
“I served my sentence. I was released after 4 years and 6
months with an amnesty, despite being given a 13 year, 9 month jail term
in the first place,” he added.
After being released from prison, Çalınak married another woman, with whom he had two children, but they eventually separated.
He
then had an affair with a woman who was already married and who had
promised to divorce her husband for him, but Çalınak said she went back
on her word.
“I killed her after she attempted to kill me. She was accidently killed when I swung the axe,” he said.
After the second murder, Çalınak was sent to prison again, but later he was released in another amnesty.
The host of the TV program asked Çalınak to leave after hearing the story, but he kept saying he was a victim of “destiny.”
...
Gözde Kurt, the show’s producer, told daily Milliyet that before the
program Çalınak had said he murdered one person, and they allowed him to
attend as he had served his legal sentence.
Anyone want to date this 'gentleman'? I didn't think so....
But I'm sure that if we give them a 'state,' they'll stop behaving this way....
A 'Palestinian' woman from the village of Yata, near Hebron, has turned herself in to the 'Palestinian police' and admitted that she beat and hung her 21-year old mentally disabled daughter, who was pregnant. And you thought it was up to the 'courageous' 'men' to preserve family honor, didn't you?
It is alleged that the daughter was mentally challenged and was murdered after her mother found out that she was pregnant.
This family honour crime occurred in the town of Yata, near Hebron, and
the daughter has become the twentieth Palestinian woman murdered on the
grounds of family honour since the beginning of the year.
Sources in Hebron said the body of the 21-year-old woman was taken to
Abu Al Hassan Al Qassem Hospital in Yata. The woman’s remains were
referred to Abu Dees Forensic Centre for autopsy.
The Palestinian Police and Public Prosecution claim that an
investigation has been launched and that its outcome will be announced
shortly.
Sources in Yata and Hebron told Gulf News that the victim’s
father and brother have disappeared since the crime was committed and
that the Palestinian Police has been searching for them though the
mother has turned herself in.
You don't think she's covering for those 'courageous' 'men,' do you?
Meanwhile, groups that fight for women's rights in 'Palestinian' society (is there such a thing?) condemned the murder.
The groups denounced the crime as “a disgrace” for every
Palestinian who does not speak out or act to put an end to crimes against women
that normally go unpunished.
They said that even though dozens of cases of “honor killing”
have been reported in the Palestinian society, yet no attempt has been made to
change the laws in a way to make such crimes punishable to the maximum.
“How many more women have to be murdered before you act,”
said a group that fights violence against women addressing decision-makers. “Why
does our Palestinian society stands helpless and unable to stop crimes of
killing women.”
'Palestinian society' also stands helpless in the face of terrorism, selling land to Joooz... oh wait. Those aren't crimes. Those are good deeds in 'Palestinian society.' The people who do those things are heroes to the 'Palestinians.'
And the honor killers may as well be heroes too.
The current law treats honor killing with great leniency and
normally the murderer goes away with a maximum of six-month prison term.
Of course, they might actually have to serve that six months rather than being released in exchange for kidnapped Jooz.
Hamas police spokesman Ayyub Abu Shaar confirmed that body of
23-year-old Ghazi Jamal Abu Nasser was received at Al-Aqsa Martyrs
Hospital in Deir al-Balah.
Police are investigating the incident, he added.
Relatives
told Ma'an Abu Nasser recently moved from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza
following a dispute with his family and another in the town.
Abu Bluff: Enforcing minimum sentences for honor killings would not benefit women
Of course. Enforcing minimum sentences for honor killings would not benefit 'Palestinian' women. No 'Palestinian' would be deterred from honor killings by a law that imposes minimum sentences. And death sentences are only for 'collaborators' with Israel (Hat Tip: Jack W via Blazing Cat Fur).
In May 2011, the president pledged to amend the law to guarantee maximum
penalties for "honor killing" in response to protests over the killing
of university student Aya Baradiya in Hebron.
The decision was announced in a phone call to a primetime show on state
TV, drawing tears among crowds of mourners shown in a live link-up from
the Ramallah studio to Baradiya’s hometown.
Abbas suspended
Article 340, which offers a pardon for murder if the perpetrator
committed the crime on finding his wife in bed with another man.
The reform was cosmetic: Article 340 had never been used in Palestinian courts since it was legislated in 1960.
"So why did we change the law? To garner public opinion," [Abu Mazen's legal adviser Hassan] al-Ouri said in an interview in the presidential compound in Ramallah.
"I,
personally, was against the amendment because the crimes that happen in
the street have no relevance to Article 340," the legal adviser added.
Al-Ouri
says the president will not change the go-to clauses for lawyers
seeking leniency for clients who claim they committed murder to defend
family "honor."
Articles 97 to 100 of the Jordanian Penal Code,
in force in the West Bank, still offer reduced sentences for any act of
battery or murder committed in a "state of rage."
"The (law) only addresses 1 percent of the problem. What we need is a new culture," al-Ouri said.
Sounds like the same new culture they need to get with respect to Jews. Maybe if they get a state.... Nah. Don't bet on it.
There's no internet access where I am staying, so posting will be spotty today and tomorrow.
Here's Soccer Dad's Middle East Media Sampler.
1) "political and cultural progressivism ... virtually bleeds through the fabric of The Times"
Arthur Brisbane's term as public editor of the New York Times is ending. My view of the public editors and ombudsmen who have become ubiquitous as newspapers in recent years that they're useless ornaments. They accept all the premises of how the newsroom operates with the editors of the newspaper, so they rarely disagree with coverage of the news. They're job is less one of oversight but of describing to unsophisticated non-journalists the true wisdom of journalistic professionals. The dissents of public editors are so rare, that they make news. Brisbane, in his final column as public editor of the New York Times, Success and Risk as the Times transforms, therefore made news when he wrote (h/t Instapundit):
When The Times covers a national presidential campaign, I have found that the lead editors and reporters are disciplined about enforcing fairness and balance, and usually succeed in doing so. Across the paper’s many departments, though, so many share a kind of political and cultural progressivism — for lack of a better term — that this worldview virtually bleeds through the fabric of The Times. As a result, developments like the Occupy movement and gay marriage seem almost to erupt in The Times, overloved and undermanaged, more like causes than news subjects.
I disagree strongly his assessment of the presidential campaign. However, the executive editor, Jill Abramson took exception to Brisbane's "progressivism ... bleeds" comment. She told Dylan Byers of Politico:
But Times executive editor Jill Abramson says she disagrees with Brisbane's "sweeping conclusions." "In our newsroom we are always conscious that the way we view an issue in New York is not necessarily the way it is viewed in the rest of the country or world. I disagree with Mr. Brisbane's sweeping conclusions," Abramson told POLITICO Saturday night. "I agree with another past public editor, Dan Okrent, and my predecessor as executive editor, Bill Keller, that in covering some social and cultural issues, the Times sometimes reflects its urban and cosmopolitan base," she continued. "But I also often quote, including in talks with Mr. Brisbane, another executive editor, Abe Rosenthal, who wanted to be remembered for keeping 'the paper straight.' That's essential."
"[S]ometimes?" For the record, here's what Okrent wrote:
I'll get to the politics-and-policy issues this fall (I want to watch the campaign coverage before I conclude anything), but for now my concern is the flammable stuff that ignites the right. These are the social issues: gay rights, gun control, abortion and environmental regulation, among others. And if you think The Times plays it down the middle on any of them, you've been reading the paper with your eyes closed. But if you're examining the paper's coverage of these subjects from a perspective that is neither urban nor Northeastern nor culturally seen-it-all; if you are among the groups The Times treats as strange objects to be examined on a laboratory slide (devout Catholics, gun owners, Orthodox Jews, Texans); if your value system wouldn't wear well on a composite New York Times journalist, then a walk through this paper can make you feel you're traveling in a strange and forbidding world. Start with the editorial page, so thoroughly saturated in liberal theology that when it occasionally strays from that point of view the shocked yelps from the left overwhelm even the ceaseless rumble of disapproval from the right.
That sounds like a confirmation, not a contradiction, of Brisbane's characterization. It's a shame that Byers didn't call Abramson on it.
What does this have to do with the Middle East. Let's go back to last year when Brisbane wrote, Where Words Can Never Do Justice:
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, in short, is the third rail of New York Times journalism. Touch it and burn. Ms. Chira defends The Times’s journalism strenuously but is reconciled to the fact that the subject will be a constant source of protest from readers. “I have just come to the conclusion that we are always going to have really, really angry people,” she said. In her view, some readers who take sides in the conflict view the other side not just as wrong, but as monstrously wrong on a historical scale. The usual journalistic practice of assuming a neutral posture simply won’t suffice for these readers, she believes. “To not call Side A or Side B wrong is like not calling Hitler wrong,” she said, drawing a parallel that appears often in the reader e-mail I get on this topic.
The "third rail" claim is a cop out. It's a way of saying we'll never make everyone happy. But the paper's job isn't to make everyone happy, it's to be accurate. If Brisbane admits now to "progressivism" isn't it possible if not likely that "progressivism" also affect the New York Times's Middle East coverage? A fair reading of the opinion pages shows that the New York Times is rather adversarial towards Israel. Last year as the Palestinians attempted to get UN recognition for a state, the news reporting of the paper was undisguisedly supportive.
Brisbane's admission is welcome. Still it is late and insufficient.
Day in and day out, Israelis are bombarded by gossip in the guise of reporting. Today we’re being told that the decision has been made, tomorrow – that it will wait until September when Netanyahu might meet with Obama at the UN. Mysterious “sources” report that the security establishment is against the attack – a day later you’ll learn from the same “sources” that the generals – naturally – prefer an American-led operation. The febrile atmosphere caused the usual Left-wing nuts to erupt – while the increasingly unhinged Yoram Kaniuk called on the “true Beitarim” to rise on Netanyahu and “stop” him, the assorted “progressives” started a Web petition calling on the Israeli pilots to refuse an order to bomb Iran. One of those, law school professor Menahem Mautner, cheerfully proclaimed in a radio interview that a huge difference exists between the Left and the Right with regard to the (blatantly illegal) refusal to obey lawful military orders given by an elected government. Turns out, that the Right refuses, because it wishes to turn Israel into a racist theocracy, and therefore it must be crushed, while the Left wants to preserve Israeli democracy and therefore its refusal is legitimate and must be respected. There’s of course nothing “democratic” in the idea that in a crisis, an opinion of the military bureaucrats and “intelligence professionals” must prevail over this of the civilian leaders elected by a clear majority of the people. This, in fact, is what the Israeli hard Left has been dreaming about all along – since it can no longer persuade the people to follow its suicidal course, it must utilize tools outside of representative democracy to make the will of the people irrelevant. This anti-democratic mood is fully shared by the ideological elder twins of the Israeli “liberals” in America – that’s why the “progressive” Peter Beinart’s Open Zion is willing to entertain the possibility of a military coup “to save Israel from itself”.
3) We oppose honor killings ... nice scarf you have there!
I was rather appalled by the following exchange with Victoria Nuland at the State Department last week:
QUESTION: And finally – I know you guys issued a statement regarding the money on Friday; you responded to the question that was asked by Mr. Matt Lee the day before. I wanted to ask whether you also made conditional on the judicial process in the West Bank. Because as it seems, honor killing is on the rise, and there is a loophole in the law that basically allows the killers to go free. Do you ever make – like, reforming the law to tackle this issue that is becoming a real problem? MS. NULAND: You mean linking money to this particular -- QUESTION: Yeah. I mean, you linked it to other aspects, to other good behaviors by the Palestinians, but do you ever link it to such things? MS. NULAND: I don’t have anything particular on that. If we have something – I mean, in general, as you know, this money is designed to support strong institutions of the Palestinian Authority, democratic institutions increasing their services to the Palestinian people. So the degree to which we have issues there and the way governance is handled, we obviously are clear with the Palestinian Authority. QUESTION: Is this an issue that the State Department would raise – the rise of honor killing? MS. NULAND: Obviously, it sounds like the kind of issue we would generally raise in the context of our human rights discussion, yeah. Please, Jill. QUESTION: Iraq. MS. NULAND: Yeah. The scarf is the color of your eyes, my dear.
How did Nuland comfortably switch from honor killings to the scarf of the next questioner? It appears that honor killings remain a problem in the Palestinian Authority.
Last year Mahmoud Abbas passed a law to criminalize honor killings. However Phylis Chesler noted a loophole in the law:
In typical Arab style, President Abbas has said he has done something but he has really done nothing. He has not yet signed his vow into law or published it. Abbas has used the unexpected outcry against the (non-honor) murder of a young woman who is being called a "martyr," and whose reputation was above reproach, to stage a symbolic but actually toothless response to the very real epidemic of honor killings among Arabs. According to experts, judges do not rely upon the "mitigating factor" provision when they hand down lenient sentences for honor murderers. According to Haaretz, a newspaper with which I generally do not agree, here are the facts about what Abbas did (and didn't) do:
[A] review of the draft of the presidential decree indicates that judges in Palestinian courts, who showed leniency toward murderers – handing down sentences ranging from six months to three or four years in prison in such cases – did not necessarily rely on the two problematic clauses mentioned above, but rather, on other articles not even mentioned in the presidential decree.
In addition, there is this: Aya is being presented as a "chaste" and "noble" girl who did nothing wrong according to Arab standards. What about those Arab girls and women who refuse to veil or to accept arranged marriages? Or who are seen as too "Western?" Do Abbas and Arab society still believe that such women deserve to be honor murdered? In what way are their civil and personal rights protected under the rule of the Palestinian Authority or under Hamas's rule in Gaza?
Abbas has recently appointed a commission to amend laws to protect women. How much of an effect the commission will have is an open question.
However as Palestinian Media Watch documents, there is growing popular opposition to honor killings.
Palestinian press reports about murders of Palestinian women by male family members, in so-called family "honor" killings, have been increasing. According to an op-ed in the official Palestinian Authority daily:
"The frequency with which crimes against women are committed is rising constantly, and every day more than one crime is committed against more than one woman..." [Al-Ayyam, Aug. 7, 2012]
Palestinian Media Watch notes that the murders have been widely condemned by Palestinian officials and human rights activists, some of whom have called for new legislation and longer prison terms. Others have argued that the killings won't stop until there is a change in Arab - Muslim culture.
Interestingly even an official publication of the PA has taken this issue up. (Interesting, too, that honor killings are blamed on Arab - Muslim "culture," isn't it?) Unless the latest commission develops effective legislation, not much will come from this. (Is this incident, though in Gaza, a sign that public sentiment is changing?)
If the official Palestinian media has taken up the cause of preventing honor killings, though, what's to prevent it from stopping the incitement against Israel and Jews?
4) Live in Palestine - work and vacation in Israel!
According to the report, a Palestinian construction laborer will often earn more than a senior ministry official in the Palestinian Authority or the Hamas administration. (If only Abbas knew this, maybe he wouldn't be insisting on staying in power nearly 4 years after his term in office has ended!)
In related news NPR reports If Only Briefly, Palestinians Flood Into Israel. (The accompanying photograph is disgraceful. Why no photograph of Palestinians freely shopping in an Israeli store?):
Israel loosened entry restrictions for Ramadan and the three-day Eid el-Fitr holiday that followed. Israel gave permits to 100,000 Palestinians, double the number from last year. One morning this past week, hundreds of Palestinians lined up at the Qalandia checkpoint on the edge of Jerusalem, clutching their permission slips. ... One Israeli mall manager reported Palestinian shoppers this week gave his stores a 10 to 50 percent spike in sales. At an outdoor mall in Jerusalem, Israelis were browsing alongside Palestinians.
Naturally not everyone viewed the increase in permits to visit Israel as a good thing. Ma'an reports:
National Economy Ministry undersecretary Nasser Tahboub said the permits issue was being given more attention than it deserved. "I think we are mistakenly accusing Israel of being too genius." The permits issue, he said, is a purely a political move. According to Tahboub, Israel is trying to improve its image by showing the world that the Israeli authorities do allow the Palestinians to move freely and do not deny them their right to pray in al-Aqsa Mosque.
Khaled Abu Toameh, though, argues that the detractors have their own agenda:
For years, the Palestinian Authority has been demanding that Israel lift travel restrictions imposed on West Bank Palestinians. But now that Israel has permitted tens of thousands of Muslims to visit its beaches and malls, Israel is being denounced for trying to damage the Palestinian economy. What is clear is that neither the Palestinian Authority nor Hamas wants to see Palestinians living a good life. Improving the living standards of Palestinians is something that these two parties are not interested in. They would rather see Palestinians direct all their anger and frustration only toward Israel. Otherwise, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority fear, Palestinians may vent their anger against their own leaders.
An 18-year old girl was stabbed to death by her father in Tulkarem in what smells like an honor killing, even though Maan would never call it that.
An 18-year-old girl was stabbed to death by her father in Tulkarem on Sunday evening, a Ma'an correspondent said.
The girl was pronounced dead at Tulkarem hospital, with multiple stab wounds all over her body, police said.
Witnesses told Ma'an that the attack took place after a heated argument.
The girl had just successfully passed her Tawjihi exams.
Tawjihi exams - for those who are wondering - are matriculation exams when one finishes high school, or what the Israelis call bagruyot. The 'Palestinians' in Judea and Samaria take the Jordanian exams.
Judge Roger Hughes on March 8 granted the couple another hearing by an Immigration and Refugee Board based on new information that shows one of Mugrabi’s cousin confessed to the “honour killing” of his sister 12-years ago.
The couple in an emotional letter that was presented to court claimed they would be killed if turfed to Israel for being a same-sex Muslim couple.
“We have a same sex relationship, which is forbidden back home,” the couple wrote. “We have dishonoured our families by running away to try and start a life with each other.”
...
“Same sex relationships are not permitted or accepted in all Arabic countries,” they said. “There are many stories about honor killing and we are victims of this.”
They said same-sex relationships is banned by most Muslims worldwide.
“Musa’s brother has threatened to kill her if she does not leave her lesbian relationship and marry a male,” the women alleged. “There are several police complaints regarding the threats of her brother.”
Kingwell said the women will be killed if deported to Israel.
“The situation is not the greatest for gays or lesbians in some Arab countries,” Kingwell said on Saturday, adding many “honour killings” occur from family members who slay their same-sex or gay relatives.
“This couple face a real threat from Muslims in a Conservative country,”
Kingwell said. “It is not often the court will overturn a decision as this.”
I'm sure that once there is a 'state of Palestine' gays and lesbians will be able to live in safety. Right....
I wonder if the people at the top of this post are supporting them.
How to discuss an honor killing without mentioning the "M" word
In Canada last week, a father, his wife and their son were convicted of the 'honor killing' of three teenage sisters and a 'co-wife.' The killers are adherents of the religion that cannot be criticized. But I'm sure it's all just a coincidence.
First the AP report on the MSNBC site which does mention a religion but not the one you think:
KINGSTON, Ontario — A jury on Sunday found an Afghan father, his wife and their son guilty of killing three teenage sisters and a co-wife in what the judge described as "cold-blooded, shameful murders" resulting from a "twisted concept of honor."
The jury took 15 hours to find Mohammad Shafia, 58; his wife Tooba Yahya, 42; and their son Hamed, 21, each guilty of four counts of first-degree murder in a case that shocked and riveted Canadians from coast to coast. First-degree murder carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.
A religion is finally mentioned in the report but only the one in which is politically correct to do so:
The prosecution said her parents found condoms in Sahar's room as well as photos of her wearing short skirts and hugging her Christian boyfriend, a relationship she had kept secret....
NBC didn't do any better with it. Let's go to the videotape.
Gee - what religion are they? I know, I know, that religion doesn't teach those things. It's sheer coincidence that nearly every incident you hear like this one happens to involve its adherents.
And to my reader who always objects to posts like this one: Does your male guardian know that you read this blog and write comments on it?
And for the rest of you, please think about the implications of the fact that the media is so politically correct that they won't even name the religion that inspires this sort of thing. What do you think that says about how you get your news?
Interview with woman who escaped 'honor killing' in 'Palestinian territories'
Another myth we often hear about Islam is that there are no honor killings. Here is testimony from a woman who was set on fire because she was pregnant and somehow survived. It's from French television and the woman was from the 'Palestinian territories.' I would love to have heard the entire interview because in addition to the (all-too-typical) story, she also mentions being taught to hate Jews.
Let's go to the videotape (Hat Tip: Tundra Tabloids via Will)
Video: You can take Islam out of the Levant but....
I can think of at least one reader who is not going to be happy with this post.
As Mohammad Shafia said prophetically — this as he and his son were discussing for the zillionth time what evidence the police might or might not have against them — "Everything will be clear at court."
Shafia, his second wife Tooba Mohammad Yahya and their oldest son Hamed may not have been the sharpest knives in the drawer — even after their arrests on July 22, 2009, as they sat in a police car waiting to be driven from Montreal to Kingston, they couldn't keep their lips zipped — but they surely rank among the cruelest.
Once, for instance, Yahya appeared to be minimally ruing the deaths of her two youngest daughters, Sahar, 17, and Geeti, 13.
"I know Zainab was already done," she said flatly of the 19-year-old who had run away two months before her death, "but I wish two others weren't."
That mild hint of regret or self-doubt launched Shafia into one of his most vicious screeds.
"No, Tooba, they were treacherous," he snapped.
"They were treacherous. They betrayed both themselves and us. Like this woman standing on the side of the road and if you stop the car, she would go with you anywhere."
To his wife's complaint that it was hard, he said, "It isn't harder than watching them every hour with lunda (a Dari expression for lover). For that reason whenever I see those pictures (cellphone shots the dead girls took of themselves in underwear or with their boyfriends), I am consoled. I say to myself, 'You did well.' Would they come back to life a hundred times, for you to do the same again."
The trio are now on trial in the drowning deaths of four of their own: Shafia's first wife Rona Mohammad Amir, 52 — who lived in a polygamous marriage with the couple and who was barely mentioned by the family, as befitting the collateral baggage it appears she was — and the three teenage girls.
Monday, Ontario Superior Court Robert Maranger and a jury listened to police wiretaps of the trio's conversations in the days leading up to and including the day of their arrests.
Only relevant intercepts, as they are formally called, were played, apparently from many hours of wiretaps.
They were played and entered as exhibits with the consent of defence counsel.
This is rich: Tamimi's father wants her to quit terrorism
This is rich. The father of mass murderer Ahlam Tamimi, who is scheduled to be released from an Israeli prison on Tuesday and deported to Jordan as part of the terrorists for Gilad trade, wants his daughter to quit terrorism.
Ahlam’s brother Fakher is delighted that the Schalit deal guarantees the rights of both Palestinian and Israeli people.
“It’s our right to be happy for Ahlam the same degree the Israeli community has the right to be happy for Schalit,” the 53-year-old judge who lives in Amman told the Post.
Ahlam’s nephew, Faraj, 29, thinks Ahlam is already a hero.
Her brother Fakher agrees, saying, “She’s a freedom fighter just like the Israelis have heroes.”
Faraj does not expect Ahlam to go back to militant activities.
“After 11 years in prison, it’s time for Ahlam to have a life of her own,” her nephew told the Post.
Her father Aref told the Post he will not allow Ahlam to continue working in the political scene.
“I won’t encourage her; she’s 31 years old now, and engaged. She should look after her life,” he said.
He thinks she will not be allowed to go back to the West Bank, and it would be difficult to be politically active from Jordan. Other family members disagreed with him, saying this is Ahlam’s decision, and they expect her to become a political leader.
Ahlam is engaged to her second cousin Nizar Tamimi, 39, who is expected to be released in the first stage of the swap in the upcoming days. Nizar spent 19 years of his life sentence in Israeli prisons.
The family does not know how the marriage will happen, since they are unaware if Ahlam can go back to the Palestinian territories or if Nizar will be allowed to go out of it.
Her brother Muhammad, 36, will travel to Jordan tomorrow to welcome his sister. He told the Post that Ahlam will keep struggling to live with Nizar.
Their father, who lives in Jordan now, described Ahlam as a stubborn and courageous child, and said the family heard of her involvement in the Sbarro attack from the news.
“We thought she was going to her university; we never knew what she was up to,” said her father, who is in his mid- 70s.
So what happens if Ahlam doesn't listen to her father? Do Muslims do honor killings for refusing to quit terrorism?
If you have any doubt where Tamimi came from, the apple does not fall far from the tree.
When asked what message they would send to the families of the victims of the Sbarro attack, Ahlam’s family members said they would like to ask the Israeli people what do they say to the Palestinian families who lost their loved ones.
“We will not tell them sorry,” her nephew Faraj said, while her brother Fakher said he wished that the innocent civilians from both people stood together in the face of injustice.
Please....
And by the way, how many of the Sbarro victims never married and never had children because of Ahlam Tamimi? I'd say most of them.
Ahlam Tamimi should meet her end violently in the very near future. Nothing would be more fitting. I don't care who does it.
The horrific story was one of a number to emerge from Misrata after the group sent in a team of interviewers in June to catalogue human rights abuses just after Libyan forces expelled Gaddafi loyalists.
Researchers from PHR were also told that Gaddafi's men:
forced numerous civilians to act as human shields
perched children on top of tanks to deter Nato attacks
used rape as a weapon of war with deadly consequences
The human rights group, which is based in Boston, concluded that there was widespread evidence of war crimes during the siege.
And for those who habitually excuse this type of behavior as an aberration and complain when I refer to Islam as the 'religion of rape,'
Richard Sollom, who was the lead author on the report, concluded that no one had evidence that rape was widespread - but the fear of sexual assault was endemic.
'One witness reported that (Gaddafi) forces transformed an elementary school into a detention site where they reportedly raped women and girls as young as 14 years old,' the report noted.
It added that it had found no evidence to confirm or deny reports that Gaddafi troops and loyalists were issued Viagra-type drugs to sustain their systematic rapes.
Note those last two words: "systematic rapes." What a sick society.
The picture is Iman Al-Obeidi, a Libyan woman who claimed she had been raped by Gaddafi's men when she rushed into the Rixos hotel in Tripoli. More about her story here.
A group calling itself the Islamic Emirates Project is seeking to turn 12 British cities, including one called Londonistan (presumably with a hat tip to Melanie Phillips, who wrote a book by the same name), into independent Islamic Emirates.
It is envisioned that the 12 territories targeted - Birmingham, Bradford, Derby, Dewsbury, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Sheffield, as well as Waltham Forest in northeast London and Tower Hamlets in East London - will eventually live entirely under Shari'a law.
The project was launched on July 7, the sixth anniversary of the murderous 7/7 London terror attacks, in which 52 people were killed and over 800 wounded.
This is from their founding announcement:
"In the last 50 years, the United Kingdom has transformed beyond recognition. What was once a predominantly Christian country has now been overwhelmed by a rising Muslim population, which seeks to preserve its Islamic identity, and protect itself from the satanic values of the tyrannical British government.
"There are now over 2.8 million Muslims living in the United Kingdom – which is a staggering 5% of the population – but in truth, it is more than just numbers, indeed the entire infrastructure of Britain is changing; Mosques, Islamic Schools, Shari'ah Courts and Muslim owned businesses, have now become an integral part of the British landscape.
"In light of this glaring fact, Muslims Against Crusades have decided to launch "The Islamic Emirates Project," that will see high profile campaigns launch in Muslim enclaves all over Britain, with the objective to gradually transform Muslim communities into Islamic Emirates operating under Shari'ah law.
"With several Islamic emirates already well established across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, including Iraq and Afghanistan, we see this as a radical, but very realistic step in the heart of Western Europe, that will inshaa'allah (God willing), pave the way for the worldwide domination of Islam."
They have issued a strategy document entitled Islamic Prevent 2011: Preventing Secular Fundamentalism and the Occupation of Muslim Land, which includes the following chapter headings:
Chapter 1 states: "The Only Identity for Muslims is Islam … In no shape or form can a Muslim support any form of nationalism such as promoting Britishness." Chapter 4 states: "A Muslim can only abide by Sharia and is not allowed to obey any man-made law." Chapter 5 states: "Muslims must reject secularism and democracy," terms which are "completely alien to Islam and against the basic tenets of Islam." Chapter 10 states: "Every Muslim must call for Sharia to be implemented wherever they are." Chapter 12 states: "It is not allowed for Muslims to integrate with a non-Islamic society." Chapter 13 states: "Muslims should set up Islamic Emirates in the United Kingdom." Chapter 14 states: "Any Muslim who opposed the policies in this pamphlet should be confronted." Chapter 16 states: "Any Muslim who has been affected by the Western way of life need to be rehabilitated."
If you happen to enter one of these areas, you are likely to find signs reading "You are entering a Sharia controlled zone: Islamic rules enforced." The signs might look like the one at Left.
And if you're a lady, being in an Islamic Emirate in Britain will do wonders for your marriage prospects.
Meanwhile, Britain is struggling to combat a cycle of Islamic honor-related kidnappings, sexual assaults, beatings and murder that is spiralling out of control. According to the London-based Association of Chief Police Officers, up to 17,000 women in Britain are victims of honor-based violence – forced marriages, honor killings, kidnappings, sexual assaults, beatings, female genital mutilation and other forms of abuse – every year. This figure is 35 times higher than official figures suggest, and British detectives say it is "merely the tip of the iceberg" of this phenomenon.
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
