UN Watch to Rights Council: Durban II Draft ‘Breaches Red Lines’

Muslims continue to dictate public policy by throwing temper tantrums about the so-called “defamation of Islam" while ignoring its own 100 year long villification of Jews and Israel. Via UN Watch:

A "non-paper" published by the planners of next year's UN conference on racism already singles out Israel and breaches Europe's red lines, UN Watch told the UN Human Rights Council this week.

The Durban Review Conference, set for next April in Geneva, will be a highly visible, amply funded, well-advertised and well-attended gathering that will focus the world’s attention on the West’s defamation of Islam and racial discrimination against its adherents, as well as on Israel’s racist persecution of Palestinians. At least that was the demand of Islamic states and their allies expressed at the Council's debate on Tuesday.

Pakistan for the Islamic group and Egypt for the African group called for addressing “new and emerging manifestations of racism” — i.e., the so-called “defamation of Islam” — in what would amount to reopening, instead of reviewing, the 2001 Durban Declaration. They demanded the UN give the conference more funding, more media exposure, more staff, and more NGO delegates. More Durban.

Pakistan further called for alterations in international human rights law to curb freedom of speech deemed offensive to Islamic sensitivities. It complained of “boycotts and the threat of disengagement” from the conference. Egypt, meanwhile, slammed the “glaring institutional weakness” of the UN bureaucrats charged with servicing the conference.

Algeria and Azerbaijan urged the conference to address the victims of “foreign occupation” — i.e., the alleged victims of Israeli racism.

For full UN summary, click here.

Click for video of UN Watch speech.

9/11 Conspiracy Theorist Begins Post as UN Expert on "Palestine"

Today the UN Human Rights Council welcomed Richard Falk as the new expert to oversee its standing investigation into "Israel's violations of the principles and bases of international law."

When UN Watch took the floor to ask Falk to explain his support for 9/11 conspiracy theories, as documented by the Times of London, Egypt made a failed bid to delete the question from the record.

See full video and text below.

Click for video

UN Human Rights Council, 8th Session

Agenda Item 7: "Human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories"

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, Richard Falk

UN Watch Statement
Delivered by Hillel Neuer, June 16, 2008

Thank you, Mr. President.

Professor Falk, we appreciate this opportunity to ask you questions.

As we gather to address the Middle East, let us all commit to a future where every child, Palestinian and Israeli alike, will see the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights become reality.

With this goal in mind, Professor Falk, let us turn to the report that you presented today, HRC 7/17.

One of the report’s exceptional features is its sharp criticism of the United Nations itself. Leading UN institutions and officials are accused of being insufficiently supportive of the Palestinians, of failing to acknowledge international law, which, according to paragraph 54, “brings the very commitment of the United Nations to human rights into question.”

The report criticizes the United Nations role in the Quartet and the Road Map for Peace. It criticizes the United Nations Security Council and one of its permanent members in particular. It criticizes the United Nations Secretary-General, suggesting, in paragraph 53, that he may be refusing to fulfill legal obligations out of political reasons.

Professor Falk, my first question to you is by what methodology does one challenge some UN decisions, while accepting others uncritically?

Why are there no questions about today’s Agenda Item targeting Israel, as expressed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon on 20 June 2007, and I quote: “The Secretary-General is disappointed at the Council’s decision to single out only one specific regional item given the range and scope of allegations of Human Rights violations throughout the world.”

Finally, in light of the concerns expressed by the President of this Council -- in the newspaper Le Temps and elsewhere -- about the credibility of this council on the Middle East, could you tell us what credibility you expect your reports to have, when leading newspapers such as The Times of London are commenting on your support for the 9/11 conspiracy theories of David Ray Griffin, who argues, and I quote from the Times article of April 15th, “that no plane hit the Pentagon,” and that “the World Trade Center was brought down by a controlled demolition”?

Thank you, Mr. President.

Human Rights Council President Doru Costea quietly declined to grant Egypt’s request to censor UN Watch's question from the record.For more on Richard Falk, see this.

Egyptian's Bid for UN Post in Doubt After Call to Burn Israeli Books

The United Nations' continues to guarantee that it remains a cesspool of Muslim ethnocentrism and Jew hatred. Via NY Sun:

UN diplomats said Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni's candidacy to become director-general of UNESCO may now be doomed, after he told the Egyptian parliament that if any Israeli books were found in Egyptian libraries, he would burn them.

Such a statement is "couched in the language and actions of Nazi 'Minister of Culture' Josef Goebbels," the director for international relations of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Shimon Samuels, said in a letter.

"An aspirant book-burner, who threatens to wield culture as a weapon, cannot head the intellectual arm of the United Nations."

The Golan Heights and the Syrian-Israeli Negotiations

By Dore Gold

1) Israeli negotiators will quickly discover three core areas in their discussions with the Syrians that they will not resolve easily: delineation of an agreed boundary, security arrangements, and the Syrian-Iranian alliance.
2) Just prior to the outbreak of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, Syria deployed 1,400 tanks along the border against a total Israeli force of 177 tanks (a force ratio of 8 to 1 in favor of Syria). Should Syria's considerable missile forces be used to delay Israel's reserve mobilization, then the importance of the Golan terrain will increase as Israel's small standing army will have to fight for longer without reserve reinforcement.

3) When Israel reached its Treaty of Peace with Egypt in 1979, it agreed to fully withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula to the international border. Syria illegally occupied Israeli territories during the 1950s that were within Israel's international borders: the southern demilitarized zone at al-Hamma, the Banias area, and the strip of coastal territory along the northeast shoreline of the Sea of Galilee.

4) If Israel were to agree to the June 4, 1967, line, as Syria demands, it would be rewarding Syrian aggression. Moreover, it could compromise Israel's control of its largest fresh water reservoir. Israel should not have to be arguing with the Syrians over the question of whether a future Israeli-Syrian boundary should correspond to the June 4, 1967, line or to the older international border, for neither of these lines is defensible.

5) The U.S. has given Israel repeated diplomatic assurances in the past that Israel will not have to come down from the Golan Heights, beginning with a September 1, 1975, letter from President Gerald Ford to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. It was renewed prior to the 1991 Madrid Peace Conference by Secretary of State James Baker. During the Clinton administration, Secretary of State Warren Christopher renewed the Ford commitment in a letter dated September 19, 1996.

6) Even if, by prior agreement with Tehran, the Syrians took steps that appeared to be downgrading relations, Israel's concession of the Golan Heights would be irreversible, while the political orientation of states in the Middle East is notoriously changeable. It would be a cardinal error for Israel to put into jeopardy its own security by agreeing to come down from the Golan Heights.

Go to http://tinyurl.com/6qxgmz to read the full article.

Egyptian Parliament Okays Female Genital Mutilation

"Conservatives in the Egyptian parliament have made female genital mutilation (circumcision) legal again in Egypt."

Conservatives? What unevolved retarded neanderthal uses the term "conservative" to describe these barbarians? Conservative? These are misogynist sadists. What a cruel misrepresentation to describe the barbaric act of slicing off the clitoris of a child as "conservative". That one would use such terminology to describe such a cruel painful hateful anti-female primitive act is like calling Hitler "ethnically challenged". Leave it to the left to soften the west in order to dilute the horrors inherent in Islam's sharia law. From INN:

Conservatives in the Egyptian parliament have made female genital mutilation (circumcision) legal again in Egypt. The conservatives succeeded in striking several laws that had been passed by the parliament's religious Shura Council in the past. The laws canceled also include a law limiting marriage age to 18 and up, a law permitting a mother to register a child on her name and a law allowing neighbors of a family that beats its children to report the beatings to the police.

One of the parliament's members said that the law permitting a mother to register a child on her name "encourages adultery."

A Cairo appellate judge who is also the legal advisor to the Council for the Mother and Child said that the decision to strike the laws contravened international agreements signed by Egypt.

UAC Founder Jesse Petrilla writes about his trip to Egypt

Just like United American Committee founder Jesse Petrilla promised, his full action report of his trip to Egypt to document what life is like for non-Muslims who live under Islam is now online. He wanted to learn what life would be like if our enemies and their allies got their way. Jesse writes,

what I saw was an example of the harsh life in store for future American generations in Islamic-dominated regions of the U.S. if we do not work to bring attention to the issue of Islamic oppression now at this critical time in American history."

Jesse reports that non-Muslims are second-class citizens who are brutally victimized on a daily basis. The Egyptian constitution states in article II that Sharia (Islamic) law shall be “the principal source of legislation”. This clause goes for everyone in the nation regardless of faith.

In spite of the fact that Egypt has been the recipient of American aid in excess of $28 billion in the last three decades, Jesse writes of a visit to a local hotel where he turned on the television to see the Statue of Liberty in flames; Disgusted, he changed the channel only to see a video clip of a small child crying with her arms in the air, spliced in with images of U.S. soldiers. The video cut to a bleeding boy lying on the ground in obvious anti-American propaganda, yet to the right of the boy you could see a U.S. medic helping the injured child, no doubt hurt by Jihadist terrorists, but you certainly wouldn’t know that from the tone of the video.

$28 billion dollars used to infuse and infect Egyptians with hatred for Americans and Jews.

Christians are second class citizens. Their ID cards show a #2. Muslims carry ID cards with a #1. After visiting a prayer service at the Church of St. George, the site of a brutal attack in 2005 where a Muslim killed a church parishioner, Jesse writes that every 15 seconds over loudspeakers aimed at the church from the mosque next door, the Muslims were yelling at the Christians. “Allah akbar! Allah akbar!” they would yell among other things in an attempt to disrupt the prayer. This was entirely outside of the five daily calls to prayer which come over the same loudspeaker. It was intimidation designed entirely to disrupt Christian prayer, and stopped as soon as everyone left after the service was over.

Click here to see a short video of the incident, on YouTube.

To read the full report from an American patriot, click here.

Just returned from Egypt

A message from United American Committee founder Jesse Petrilla:

I have just returned from Egypt on a fact finding mission to learn what life is like for non-Muslims under Islam. We also grabbed some great footage to eventually use in the film the UAC is producing under the working title "An Inconvenient Religion". I will write a full after action report of my trip to publish in the next few days, but in the meantime you can view a short clip of one of my experiences in Alexandria of Islamic intimidation of Christians. I have posted the clip on YouTube.

Today in Jewish History - Adar 10

Sponsored by Aish:

In 1980, Israel and Egypt exchanged ambassadors, marking a new era of cordial, if cold, diplomacy. In 1973, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat had orchestrated an attack on Israel in the Yom Kippur War, but after suffering defeat he became resigned to Israel's existence. In 1977, Sadat and Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Peace Agreement, for which they received the Nobel Peace Prize. Much of the Arab world was outraged by Sadat's overtures toward Israel, and he was assassinated by a Muslim extremist in 1981.

Fitzgerald: How can Egypt explain?

The excellent Hugh Fitzgerald dissects Egypt's mask and reveals the wolf in sheep's clothing. From Fitzgerald: How can Egypt explain?

'Unclear how, if at all, Egypt can explain this' -- from this article

How, since the Camp David Accords were signed, can Egypt explain the following:

Despite its solemn commitment to end all hostile propaganda and to encourage friendly relations with Israel, how can Egypt explain the following acts, of commission, and omission, by the Egyptian government?

1) The preventing of Israeli participation in international book and film festivals in Cairo.

2) The discouragement, including repeated monitoring, and hounding directed at a few brave Egyptians, of Egyptian tourists visiting Israel.

3) The refusal to invite the Israeli ambassador to any events, and indeed the years of virtual solitary confinement of successive Israeli ambassadors, at a time when the Egyptian ambassador was lionized by Israelis, so touchingly and naively eager to make much of their "peace with Egypt."

4) The continued enthusiastic support by Egypt at the U.N., and at all of the sub-organizations of the U.N. and meetings (i.e., at Durban), for every conceivable anti-Israel resolution, of every conceivable viciousness.

5) The refusal of the Egyptian government to prevent an anti-Israel and antisemitic campaign in the Egyptian media, that at times reaches Der Stuermer-like proportions, and when repeatedly asked why it does nothing, primly replies that "it can do nothing because we have a free press" -- which "free press," however, is immediately shut down should a single word be uttered about anything that annoys Egypt's rulers, above all any discussion of Gamal Mubarak, the slick outwardly westernized son of the thick-necked and clumsy father.

6) The past efforts of Egypt, ostensibly at "peace" with Israel, and certainly not threatened by the "might" of the Sudan or of Libya, to acquire major weaponry, including secret collaboration between Egyptian and Iraqi scientists -- which collaboration ended only because of the American invasion of Iraq.

7) The continued efforts of Egypt to acquire such weaponry, and to receive tens of billions in military aid from the United States, with no explanation as to why such aid is needed, in a country that has an impoverished and ill-ruled populace.

8) The general atmosphere of a revived Islam, that might have been dampened had Egypt done what it had promised to do to encourage a different attitude toward Israel, and had a sustained campaign of "encouraging friendly relations" -- publicizing the real behavior of the Israelis (say, about that free medical care, at the highest Western level, unstintingly offered Arabs at Israeli hospitals, and so much else that is carefully suppressed by the Arab media, as they paint Israel in the darkest colors) -- which will have long-term consequences for the possibility of avoiding open warfare with Israel.

The refusal of Egypt to meet its commitment to encourage friendly relations between the people of Egypt and Israel, and the apparent unwillingness of Israel and of the United States, (that under Carter had constantly pressured Israel into accepting every one of the demands -- some of them suggested by the Americans -- of Egypt, or rather of Saint Sadat) to take note of the continued violations.

9) Despite Egypt being obligated to end all hostilities, and to encourage friendly relations with Israel, and despite the eagerness of Israel to invite and host Egypt's ruler, Mubarak has been steadfast in one thing: he has steadfastly refused even to step on the soil of Israel, save once (for the funeral of Rabin), so intent is he on making this "peace" a cold peace, a mere formality, the absence of open warfare only because Egypt, for now, like the other Arab states, has more to lose from such a war, and not because there has been any undertaking, as there was to have been, by the Egyptian government to slowly change Egyptian hearts, Egyptian minds.

10) Just as Egypt is the sly supporter, behind the coulisses, of the vicious regime in the Sudan (pretending to play the good-faith interlocutor, or even to be putting pressure on that regime, when in fact Egypt, working on behalf of the Arab League, has prevented or delayed any effective, i.e., Western, intervention in either Darfur or the southern Sudan), so Egypt is a tireless supporter of the "Palestinians" who are the shock troops in the Lesser Jihad against Israel. It has allowed thousands of tons of weapons, and of material for bomb-making, to be smuggled all the way through the Sinai, into Gaza. For some reason the Egyptian army and police, despite being given repeated evidence of such smuggling, simply can do nothing. In fact, they have no intention of doing anything more than the intermittent minimum, designed to placate not so much the Israelis, as the Americans who supply all that aid that the Egyptian government can't quite believe it can hold onto, no matter what it does. Indeed, only once in the last decades has there even been a threat to withhold a tiny amount -- some $30 million -- of that aid, and for a reason having nothing to do with Israel, but with the attempt by an Egyptian kangaroo court to railroad Said Eddin Ibrahim. And the threat, by the way, worked -- the sentence was undone.

But there has never been a threat to cut aid because Egypt's television, for example, ran a series that was based on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which clearly was a violation of Egypt's commitments. Does anyone in the American government, or for that matter in the Israeli government, actually remember that Egypt had some commitments under the Camp David Accords? Can anyone, can Rice, can Bush, spell them out? No? It's easy to recall that Israel had foolishly obligated itself to hand over something tangible, which is to say the entire Sinai, with its oilfields, and its Israeli-built infrastructure, including roads, and tourist accommodations, but what about Egypt?

Oh, yes, "Peace." I almost forgot. Egypt made "peace." But did it? The Egyptian army has not attacked Israel. But the armies of Syria, of Jordan, of Saudi Arabia, of Libya and Algeria and Iraq and all the other members of the Arab League, jointly or separately, have not attacked Israel either. What does the failure of Egypt's army to make direct and open warfare on Israel tell us? It does not tell us that "the Camp David Accords are being scrupulously observed by Egypt." Not at all. It tells us only that Egypt, like every other Arab state, isn't yet ready to take on Israel directly, and as a charter member of the Slow Jihadist Group, will do what it can to keep up efforts to isolate Israel diplomatically, to weaken it economically through boycotts, and to do whatever it can to undermine the Israelis so that, little by little, the country can, over time, be undone. But meanwhile, they have pocketed $60 billion so far in American Jizyah-aid. (It is "Jizyah" because the Americans give it with a cringing attitude, as if they must, as if they are fearful of the consequences if such aid were to cease, and "Jizyah" because the Egyptians are not one whit grateful for it, but take it as by right, under Mubarak as under any conceivable successor.)

Let us remember that Israel scrupulously complied with what it undertook to do. It gave to Egypt the entire Sinai. Under customary international law, under even Resolution 242, it had no obligation to give up the entire Sinai. Under that customary international law, the successful defender of a war brought by an aggressor is not required to give up the territory that was used as the launching pad for such aggression. In May 1967 Nasser noisily declared that he would go to war against Israel. He demanded, and got, the removal of the U.N. troops in the Sinai. He blockaded the Straits of Tiran, throttling Israeli trade with Asia. He put the Egyptian army and navy and air force on a war footing, and moved troops up into the Sinai. He repeatedly and publicly described the coming war with Israel, sometimes to hysterical Cairene crowds of hundreds of thousands. Israel, by all the rules that have been observed in the aftermath to other wars -- to World War I and World War II, for example -- was perfectly entitled to hold onto some, or even all of the Sinai. And even under the "secure and defensible borders" requirement of Resolution 242, it might have made a good case for holding onto much of the Sinai (which, one needs to be reminded, only became part of Egypt in the 1920s -- it was always, before that, regarded as a corpus separatum, and the very titles of the books written by European travellers, with such titles as "Palestine and Sinai" or "Egypt and the Sinai" demonstrated this).

Now, in 2008, having ignored for nearly thirty years the long history of Egypt's systematic violation of its obligations toward Israel under the Camp David Accords, and having ignored, or not brought to the attention of Washington, Egypt's ever-compliant sugar-daddy and defender, suddenly now the questioning is not about all those other systematic violations, but about why Egypt would allow Hamas members to enter Gaza, without subjecting them to searches for either money (reputedly some were carrying vast sums) or weapons, if indeed Egypt is so interested in promoting, at least, the Slow Jihadists of Fatah rather than the Fast Jihadists of Hamas.

Perhaps it is Israel's government, or rather this one, and the one before this, and the one before that and the one before that, that should ask itself how and why they continually overlooked or failed to communicate, to its own people, to Washington, the real nature of Egypt, of its regime, and of what prompts it -- beginning with, and virtually ending with, the immutable texts of Islam.

Dimona Bombing Highlights Israeli Security Problem Along Egyptian Border

From Dimona Bombing Highlights Israeli Security Problem Along Egyptian Border:

Monday's suicide bombing in Dimona means the southern Negev has become the target for attacks and Israel is faced with a serious security problem along its 300-kilometer border with Egypt. In light of Egyptian difficulties in shutting off Gaza, a wave of additional terror attempts is expected in the coming weeks. In addition, the agreement with the Palestinian Authority whereby Israel allows previously wanted men to give up their weapons and remain free, which was considered a great success at the time, is starting to fall apart. There are now armed Fatah activists who are openly violating their agreements with the security forces.

Hamas Began Cutting Border Wall Four Months Ago to Ambush Israeli Forces

Hamass admits their culpability in creating their own "humanitarian" crisis. From Hamas Began Cutting Border Wall Four Months Ago to Ambush Israeli Forces:

Abu Uday, 23, of Hamas, said the systematic effort to weaken the base of the border wall began four months ago in order to ambush Israeli forces. "We did these things so that if Israel entered the Philadelphi Corridor [a narrow stretch of no-man's land between Gaza and Egypt] it would be easy to enter and attack them," he said. Hamas spokesman Ghazi Hamad said, "We don't need Israel. If the border is open, we can bring anything in from Egypt."

35 Hurt in Gaza-Egypt Border Riot, Border Fence Down

It's amazing what a sh'aria sh*thole Gaza has become. From 35 Hurt in Gaza-Egypt Border Riot, Border Fence Down:

Masked gunmen used explosives to blow holes in Gaza's border fence early Wednesday, enabling thousands of Palestinians to pour into Egypt to buy food, fuel and other supplies. Egyptian and Palestinian border guards did not resist the mass crossing at the Rafah terminal. Hundreds of Gaza women had crashed a gate at the same border Tuesday to protest Egypt's cooperation with Israeli sanctions. They were turned back during a riot that injured 35 people. During a protest organized by Hamas, the women chanted accusations calling Egyptian President Mubarak a coward for sticking to an agreement with the U.S. and Israel to keep the border closed and Gaza's Hamas-led government isolated. The crowd broke through a metal gate and hurled rocks at Egyptian police, who drove them back with clubs, tear gas and water cannon. Hamas border guards fired warning shots, prompting Egyptian police to start shooting too.

Mubarak accuses Israel of faking tunnel smuggling evidence

You'll notice that the Egyptians accuse, but offer no evidence other than their perennial hatred as a starting place for their accusation. This should come as no surprise; this is what Arab nations do when they won't take responsibility for curing their own country of its pernicious infiltration of Muslim terrorists. From Egypt's Mubarak Says Israel Faked Smuggling Evidence:

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has accused Israel of fabricating evidence it says implicates Egyptian security forces in helping Hamas militants smuggle arms into Gaza, Egypt's state news agency MENA reported on Thursday. Israel had sent a videotape to Washington showing this.

"Our officials (saw the pictures)...and I'm informing you that they're fabricated pictures and computer work.... Anybody can make pictures of arms smugglers....I can organize pictures of an Israeli man and an Israeli woman smuggling arms and plotting a terrorist operation," Mubarak said.

"Anyone who tries to accuse Egypt of cooperating with arms smugglers, I tell him he's a big liar....If the way we deal with the arms smuggling is not good enough for you, please, do the work yourselves."

Good. If Egypt won't cleanse themselves of their infection, it will be just fine to watch the IDF purge the tunnels themselves.

Palestinians are not exactly chained to their kassam rockets

The international global community which buys into the canard that Israel is the aggressor and palestinians are victims keep forgetting that palestinians are not exactly chained to their homicide belts and kassam rockets. Furthermore, if the Egyptians had kept their side of the Philadelphi deal, Islamic Jihad would have run out of explosives long ago. Then again, because Islam is in a permanent state of war with all non-Muslims and deception is a legitimate tactic, it is foolishness to have faith in Arabs when they are party to an agreement. From Nine Palestinian Rockets Hit Israel on Tuesday:

Three Qassam rockets landed south of Ashkelon and in an open field near the security fence along the border between Israel and Gaza on Tuesday. Also on Tuesday evening, the IAF struck at a Qassam launch site in the northern Gaza Strip. The first rocket landed in an open field south of Ashkelon. Later in the evening, two additional Qassams landed in an open field near the security fence. Tuesday morning, six Qassam rockets were fired from the northern Gaza strip into the western Negev. The al-Quds Brigades, the Islamic Jihad's military wing, claimed responsibility for these attacks.

Egyptian Schools Ignore Israel Peace Accords

From Egyptian Schools Ignore Israel Peace Accords:

Shalom Cohen, Israel's ambassador to Cairo, says that 30 years after Sadat's visit to Jerusalem: "Peace with Israel is not a central tenet of the [Egyptian] school curriculum." Cohen attends many cultural events surrounded by bodyguards that separate him from the general public. He is not invited to all the events the rest of the city's diplomatic corps attends. The media never interviews him.

Relations with Egypt don't worry him; he says there have been ups and downs over the years, but a minimum connection has always remained. "Menachem Begin said the troubles of peace are better than the agonies of war....This is not a cold peace. There are matters on which the dialogue is very good."

With Annapolis Approaching, Jewish Refugees Speak Up

I haven't been able to bring myself to write about how Annapolis is going to be a disaster for Jews, for the Jewish Holy city of Jerusalem, and for the entire legitimate and sovereign nation of Israel, who will be cut, carved up, and savagely drawn and quartered by all the nations in the world. I can only bring myself to quote and paraphrase what has happened - and what will happen; it is just too painful to witness. From With Annapolis Approaching, Jewish Refugees Speak Up:

Jews originally from Arab countries demand a say at Annapolis, particularly in light of UN archives papers proving Arab plots against Jews in 1947.

Two organizations representing Jews originally from Arab countries demand to be heard at Annapolis - particularly in light of documents from the UN archives revealing official Arab collusion and laws against Jews back in 1947. Violence, arrests and confiscation of property were part of official policy towards Jews in several Arab countries, the papers show.

In addition, it is estimated that the 850,000 Jews who fled Arab countries after Israel's founding in 1948 left behind assets currently worth more than $300 billion.

Heskel M. Haddad, president of the World Organization of Jews from Arab Countries, said last week that when the Palestinian Authority negotiators at Annapolis raise the issue of Arab refugees, the Israelis must remind them of the hundreds of thousands of Jews who left their homes and property in Arab countries.

In addition, Stanley Urman, executive director of Justice for Jews from Arab Countries (JJAC), says that justice cannot be served unless the forced exodus of Jewish refugees, and the conditions under which they left, are included on the agenda at the upcoming conference.

The information on the Arab League's official persecution of Jews has been long-known, even if not well-publicized. On May 16, 1948, the New York Times reported, "Already in some Moslem states such as Syria and Lebanon there is a tendency to regard all Jews as Zionist agents and 'fifth columnists.' There have been violent incidents with feeling running high. There are indications that the stage is being set for a tragedy of incalculable proportions. In Syria a policy of economic discrimination is in effect against Jews. 'Virtually all' Jewish civil servants in the employ of the Syrian Government have been discharged. Freedom of movement has been 'practically abolished.' Special frontier posts have been established to control movements of Jews. In Iraq no Jew is permitted to leave the country unless he deposits £5,000 ($20,000) with the Government to guarantee his return. No foreign Jew is allowed to enter Iraq even in transit. In Lebanon Jews have been forced to contribute financially to the fight against the United Nations partition resolution on Palestine. Acts of violence against Jews are openly admitted by the press, which accuses Jews of 'poisoning wells,' etc. Conditions... are worst in Yemen and Afghanistan, whence many Jews have fled in terror to India. Conditions in most of the countries have deteriorated in recent months, this being particularly true of Lebanon, Iran and Egypt."

Please read the entire article here.

Egypt Says It Caught Palestinian Suicide Bomber Headed for Israel

From Egypt Says It Caught Palestinian Suicide Bomber Headed for Israel:

Three Palestinians caught entering Egypt through a tunnel from Gaza this month are members of an al-Qaeda-inspired group who planned to enter Israel to carry out suicide attacks, Egyptian police sources said on Tuesday. One of the men was wearing explosives around his waist and the group also had other explosives and hand grenades. The men said they were from the Army of Islam, which kidnapped BBC journalist Alan Johnston in Gaza in March and took part in the abduction of an Israeli soldier last year. Police had advance warning of their plan and detained them on Oct. 16 as they were coming out of a tunnel on the Egyptian side of the Gaza border. A fourth man crawled back through the 950-meter tunnel. Egyptian authorities publicize their activities against smuggling and illegal crossings following repeated Israeli complaints that they are not doing enough to prevent arms and explosives reaching the Palestinians.

Koran Commentary for Children Published in Egypt Features Incitement to Fight Christians and Jews

In an investigative article in the Egyptian weekly Roz Al-Yousef, journalist Asma Nassar revealed that a popular Koran commentary for children published in Egypt contains virulent incitement against Christians and Jews, and calls on both children and adults to fight them. Nassar's critical article presents excerpts from the book and comments from Muslim scholars who participated in its writing and from senior Al-Azhar figures.

The following are excerpts from the article:(1)

How Could Al-Azhar Approve This Book for Publication?

The article stated: "This Koran commentary, intended for children, includes erroneous ideas which incite against the followers of the [other] monotheistic religions. For instance, the interpretation of the Al-Fatiha Sura [the first Sura of the Koran], states that [the expression] 'those who earn Thine [i.e., Allah's] anger' refers to the Jews, and [the expression] 'those who go astray' refers to the Christians.(2) This [rendering] contradicts the tenets and the tolerant character of the Islamic faith.

"We wished to find out who was behind these inciting interpretations, especially since they are intended for children and teach them notions of hatred and extremism. It should be noted that the Muslim scholar Gamal Al-Bana was the first to call attention to this book, in his critical article about various Koran commentaries which contradict the principles of shari'a...(3)

"We discovered that the book was first published 10 years ago by Dar Al-Sahaba Lil-Turat in Tanta, and was edited by Sheikh Magdi Fathi Al-Sayyed. Since then, there have been five more editions, and the book has been translated into several languages, including Indonesian, Malaysian, and Turkish. The question arises: How could the [Al-Azhar] Academy of Islamic Research allow the publication of such ideas? After all, [one of its] duties is to monitor [publications] that misrepresent Islam and disparage the [other]monotheistic religions. Considering [the Academy's] involvement in cultural conflicts, and its persecution of anyone who has innovative ideas in areas of thought, culture and philosophy, its [scholars] ought to revert to their original role.

"The hidden poison [of extremism] has seeped into the pages of this book, which was approved [for publication] by the Al-Azhar Academy of Islamic Research... [after being] examined by four of its scholars. [One of the authors] of the introduction is the president of Egypt's Koranic schools, and a hadith expert at Al-Azhar University, Dr. Ahmad 'Issa Al-Ma'sarawi..."

Deliberate Inculcation of Extremist Ideas

The article continued: "Overall, the book is characterized by incitement to extremism and by extremist interpretations that do not reflect the true meaning of the verses... [For example,] the book divests Islam of its most fundamental principle - [the principle of] peace - and even incites against this [notion] in its interpretation of the [following] verses: 'Forgive them, and overlook [their misdeeds], for Allah loveth those who are kind [5:13]'; 'And if the enemy inclines towards peace, then incline towards it and trust in Allah, for He is all-hearing and all-knowing [8:61].' [The book states that] these verses are abrogated by the 'Verse of the Sword,' which descended later, and which says: 'Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the Latter Day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Messenger have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, out of those who have been given the Book [i.e. among the Christians and Jews], until they pay the jizya [the Islamic poll tax on non-Muslims] and they are in a state of subjection [9:29].' [According to the book], peace and reconciliation agreements [with Christians and Jews] have been forbidden since this verse was revealed.

"In its interpretation of this verse, [the book] says: 'Allah commands the believers to fight all the infidels who do not believe in Allah and in the Latter Day [i.e. in the Day of Judgment], who do not follow His instructions regarding what is allowed and prohibited, and who do not believe in the true faith, which is Islam - i.e. the Jews and the Christians'...

"One of the most appalling parts of the book is a section quoting several verses from the Al-Maida Sura ['The Table Spread'], which the book labels as 'proof of the heresy of the Christians.' The ideas planted [by this section] in the children's minds are like a time bomb that will lead to civil war, since the children learn by heart [verses that indoctrinate them] to accuse the Copts of heresy. This is totally inexplicable, and also contradicts [the spirit of] the Egyptian constitution...
"In its interpretation of verse [9:41] - 'Go forth light and heavy, and strive hard in Allah's way with your property and your persons; this is better for you, if you know' - the book says: 'Allah the Almighty told the believers - both young and old - to set out and fight for the sake of Allah.

"In explaining verse [9:66] - 'O Prophet! Strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be stern with them. Hell will be their home, a hapless journey's end' - the book says: 'Allah commanded the believers to wage jihad against the infidels by [fighting them] with the sword, and to wage jihad against the hypocrites by imposing upon them the punishments and constraints mandated for those who violate the commands of Islam..."

The article further stated: "The expected consequence of this [book] is that, in future, thousands of young children will be willing to blow themselves up [in terrorist operations] against [non-Muslims]. This is the danger [that this book represents]. [The book's aim] is not to interpret verses, but to deliberately instill children with ideas that incite [to extremism]. This is evident from its deliberate ignoring of other verses... that reflect the true [face of] Islam, which does not discriminate among the followers of the monotheistic religions but [calls for] brotherhood among them..."

Senior Al-Azhar Scholar: This is Ignorance, Taken from Outdated and Erroneous
Commentaries

Nassar's article also elicited various responses to its criticism of the book. Former Al-Azhar vice-president Dr. Mahmoud Zalat Al-Qasbi, who co-authored the book's introduction, said: "I never saw the interpretations [quoted in Nassar's article]. I was asked to write the introduction, and that was my only involvement with the book." Al-Qasbi added that, had he seen these interpretations, he would have requested to have them changed, since he believed that offensive references to other religions were contrary to the principles of Islam. He also said that, in his opinion, the Al-Fatiha Sura had nothing to do with the Christians or Jews, since 'those who go astray' can also refer to many Muslims.

Dr. 'Abd Al-Mu'ti Bayoumi, member of the Al-Azhar Academy for Islamic Research, likewise expressed reservations about the book, saying: "It is ignorance on our part [to rely on] old and erroneous [Koran] commentaries without examining and contemplating [the verses anew]. Islamic thought needs to be reformed..." Bayoumi went on to warn against instilling these poisonous ideas in the younger generation.

Nassar also presented statements by Islamic scholar Gamal Al-Bana, who exposed the book in August 2007. He said: "The interpretations [found in the book] are generally similar to commentaries by [the Muslim Brotherhood theorist] Sayyed Qutub and other [Islamic scholars] of his ilk, who harmed the image of Islam with their erroneous interpretations of the Koran. Islam is pluralistic by nature, and does not aim to judge other religions or accuse others of heresy - that [role] is reserved for Allah on the Day of Judgment..." On the interpretation of the "Verse of the Sword," Al-Bana commented:

"Conciliation, tolerance and peace are principles of the Islamic faith, and whoever rejects them, rejects the postulates of that faith... Children must not be exposed to these commentaries, just as they should in general be left out of arguments they cannot understand, since [religious disputes] concern only the experts."

Endnotes:
(1) Roz Al-Yousef (Egypt), September 21, 2007.
(2) Verses six and seven of the Al-Fatiha Sura say: "Show us the straight path - the path of those whom Thou [i.e. Allah] hast favored, not the [path] of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray."
(3) Al-Bana's article appeared August 1, 2007 in the Egyptian daily Al-Masril-Yawm.

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Today in Jewish History - Tishrei 20

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In 1973, Israeli forces crossed to the western side of the Suez Canal in a decisive battle of the Yom Kippur War. A division led by Ariel Sharon had attacked a weak point in the Egyptian "seam line" between the Egyptian second Army in the north and the Egyptian third Army in the south. In some of the most brutal fighting of the war, the Israelis opened a hole in the Egyptian line and reached the Suez Canal. A small force crossed the canal and created a bridgehead on the other side. A few days later, Israeli troops trapped the Egyptian Third Army, leaving it without any means of resupply, thus effectively ending the Yom Kippur War.

Today in Jewish History - Tishrei 6

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In 1948, Egypt launched a large-scale offensive against the Negev region of Israel. This was part of the War of Independence, an attack by five Arab armies designed to "drive the Jews into the sea." Though the Jews were under-armed, untrained, and few in number, through ingenuity and perseverance they staved off the attacks and secured the borders. Yet the price was high -- Israel lost 6,373 of its people, a full one percent of the Jewish population of Israel at the time.