Av 18, 5770, 29 July 10 02:48, by Eli Stutz
(Israelnationalnews.com) If you heard about an attack on a Palestinian refugee camp in which hundreds of civilians were killed, would you assume that the attack had been perpetrated by Israel? According to Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, you very likely would - and you'd be wrong.
In an op-ed that appears today in the Wall Street Journal, Deputy Minister Ayalon had harsh words for an international community which berates Israel for its actions, while ignoring similar actions by other countries in a multitude of conflicts.
Vividly describing a brutal attack on a Palestinian refugee camp where 500 people were killed, Ayalon writes, "While most will assume that the events described above took place in the West Bank or Gaza, they actually took place in Lebanon in the summer of 2007, when Palestinian terrorists attacked the Lebanese Army, which struck back with deadly force."
Ayalon highlights the fact that when Israel is not involved, the world is silent. "At the time, there was little international outcry," he writes. "No world leader decried the 'prison camps' in Lebanon. No demonstrations took place around the world; no U.N. investigation panels were created and little media attention was attracted. In fact, the plight of the Palestinians in Lebanon garners very little attention internationally."
According to Ayalon, there are more than 400,000 Palestinians in Lebanon, lacking basic resources and deprived of their rights. And therefore, he writes, "It is the height of irony that a Lebanese flotilla is organizing to leave the port of Tripoli in the next few days to bring aid to Palestinians in Gaza."
Ayalon goes on to expose the truth about Gaza, that instead of being a poverty-stricken region with a major humanitarian crisis, its markets are actually brimming with food. "This is the same Gaza that just opened a sparkling new shopping mall that would not look out of place in any capital in Europe. Gaza, where a new Olympic-sized swimming pool was recently inaugurated and five-star hotels and restaurants offer luxurious fare."
All this comes to expose the hypocrisy of the flotilla missions, says Ayalon. "Whether it is from Turkey, Ireland or Cyprus, those that participate in these flotillas reek of hypocrisy."
Ayalon's senior advisor, Ashley Perry, explained Ayalon's motivation for the article to Israel National News. "The purpose was to expose the hypocrisy of many of the so-called human rights activists who try single out our conflict and Israel from the many conflicts around the world," said Perry.
"The flottila exposes something we aways knew, but just makes it more obvious. The Lebanese perpetrated injustices against its own Palestinians, and have left them in second class status. It really exposes the hypocrisy of the whole flotilla exercise."
Ayalon and Foreign Minister Avigdor Leiberman have stated in recent months that now is the time for Israel to stop being defensive and to go on the offensive when it comes to international PR. Ayalon's piece in the Wall Street Journal appears to be a step in that direction.
www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Italian MPs Call to Ban IHH in Europe
Av 18, 5770, 29 July 10 09:32, by Maayana Miskin
(Israelnationalnews.com) Six Italian Members of Parliament have called to consider banning the IHH, the Turkish pro-terrorist group whose activists clashed with IDF soldiers aboard a Gaza-bound flotilla in late May. Germany has already banned the group, and 87 United States Senators have signed a call to classify it as a terrorist organization in their country.
"The Islamic fundamentalist nature of IHH has been documented by numerous declarations praising martyrdom and Israel's destruction,” said MPs Fiamma Nirenstein, Enrico Pianetta, Guglielmo Picchi, Antonio Martino, Gennaro Malgieri, and Massimo Polledri in an official parliamentary question.
Several such declarations were made shortly before the ship Mavi Marmara, part of a larger Gaza-bound flotilla, set sail, they continued. IHH members aboard the Marmara “told reporters before departing that their purpose was 'religious martyrdom,'” they noted.
The MPs pointed out that IHH is a member of the “Union of Good,” a Saudi Arabia-based umbrella group for Islamic organizations that is affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood. The Union of Good funnels money to Hamas; it has been banned by Israel and designated as supporting terrorism by the United States.
The Turkish government itself was formerly concerned over IHH, they said, and investigated the group in the late 1990s over its links with Al-Qaeda. The group was investigated in the U.S. for alleged involvement in an attempted terrorist attack in Los Angeles, and in France for funding Islamic terrorist groups.
The MPs concluded by asking, “We would like to know the following: What is the position of the Italian government regarding the possibility of including the NGO known as the IHH (Insani Yardim Vakfi) in the EU list of terrorist organizations and whether or not it intends to push an action to discuss it.”
www.IsraelNationalNews.com
Egyptian Journalist Describes 'Absolute Prosperity' in Gaza
Av 19, 5770, 30 July 10 12:02, by Maayana Miskin
(Israelnationalnews.com) With Hamas telling tales of deprivation and suffering in Gaza, Egyptian journalist Ashraf Abu al-Houl has added his report to others who were surprised to discover a “prosperous” Gaza in which prices are low and luxury businesses are booming. Al-Houl's story of his trip to Gaza and his realization that “in actual terms, Gaza is not under siege” was written up in the Egyptian daily Al-Ahram and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
"A sense of absolute prosperity prevails, as manifested by the grand resorts along and near Gaza's coast. Further, the site of the merchandise and luxuries filling the Gaza shops amazed me,” he reported.
Concerned that his initial impression of prosperity may have been misleading, “I toured the new resorts, most of which are quite grand, as well as the commercial markets, to verify my hypothesis. The resorts and markets have come to symbolize prosperity, and to prove that the siege is formal or political, not economic,” Al-Houl said.
Gaza's markets are filled with a “plethora of goods,” he wrote. Prices on many items, particularly food, are much lower than they are in Egypt, he said. With goods entering Gaza from both smuggling tunnels to Egypt and humanitarian aid shipments coming in via Israeli crossings, “supply is much greater than demand,” he stated.
The evident prosperity is not enjoyed by all, or even most, of Gaza's residents, according to Al-Houl. The problem is the vast differences in the distribution of wealth. The luxury resorts and wide range of consumer goods are enjoyed by “only a few groups,” he said, primarily those who own smuggling tunnels to Egypt and those who work for international organizations such as the United Nations' UNRWA and who do not include or aid the rest of the population.
Most of the new resorts “are owned by members, or associates, of Hamas,” he reported. “In addition, the Hamas municipalities charge high fees, in Gaza terms, for the use of public beaches,” he added.
Al-Houl quoted political activist Mustafa Ibrahim as saying that while Gaza's rich invest in the leisure industry, 80% of residents rely on UNRWA, and unemployment is approximately 45%. “This creates a distorted picture,” Ibrahim explained.
Anti-Government Cartoons in the Turkish Press
Since the rise of the AKP party in 2002, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has filed lawsuits against various journalists, politicians, writers, and private citizens who have criticized his actions and the policies of his government. Erdogan's lawyers have argued in court that these critics insulted him by using "defamatory language," violated his rights, and caused him mental anguish.
Turkish cartoonists who bashed Erdogan got their share of court action as well. On May 9, 2004, Musa Kart, cartoonist for the Cumhuriyet daily, criticized Erdogan's stand on the religious vocational schools known as Imam Hatip schools. After coming into power, Erdogan, himself a graduate of one of these schools, promised to upgrade their academic status. His government fulfilled this promise by putting them on an equal footing with other high schools in terms of the calculation of university entrance scores, but the decision was rejected by Turkey's highest administrative court. Kart responded to this affair by drawing the prime minister as a cat entangled in a ball of yarn symbolizing the Imam Hatip schools. As a result, he was sued and convicted of "publicly humiliating" Erdogan, and ordered to pay damages of 5,000 Turkish lira for mental anguish, though the verdict was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
Peres Calls Britain ‘Pro-Arab, Anti-Israel'
Av 21, 5770, 01 August 10 01:38, by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
(Israelnationalnews.com) Britain is in an uproar over comments in a Jewish newspaper by President Shimon Peres, who called British policies “pro-Arab” and “anti-Israel.” His remarks were contained in an interview conducted by Ben Gurion University Professor Benny Morris for Tablet, a year-old New York-based Jewish news website.
President Peres let down his diplomatic guard, perhaps not realizing that the British media would notice the interview, and stated that the growing Muslim population in Britain has contributed to the country’s being Israel’s ”next big problem.”
"There are several million Muslim voters, and for many Members of Parliament, that's the difference between getting elected and not getting elected," he said. "And in England there has always been something deeply pro-Arab—of course, not among all Englishmen—and anti-Israeli, in the establishment.
"They abstained in the 1947 United Nations partition resolution ... They maintained an arms embargo against us in the 1950s ... They always worked against us. They think the Arabs are the underdogs." He added that Germany and France have relatively good relations with Israel.
Britain’s new Conservative party Prime Minister, David Cameron, got off on the wrong foot with Israel last week when he stated that Gaza was a ”prison camp.” President Peres did not refer to his remark.
James Clappison, Conservative Member of Parliament and vice chairman of Conservative Friends of Israel, criticized the President’s statements, saying that "Peres has got this wrong.” While admitting that Israel often is understandably frustrated by some British media, Clappison added, “I don't recognize what he is saying about England."
Criticism also came from the Jewish community in Britain. Rabbi Dr. Jonathan Romain, who also is a writer and broadcaster, said, “I am surprised at Peres. It is a sweeping statement that is far too one-sided. Britain has supported both Israel and Arab causes at different periods over the last 50 years. There are elements of anti-Semitism but it is not endemic to British society.”
Support for President Peres came from the Christian Friends of Israel, whose director Jacob Vince told the London Telegraph that it was "difficult to see how many MPs would not be influenced by the number of Muslim voters in their constituencies. The question is how well they [MPs] understand those with whom they are seeking conciliation." %ad%
President Peres has long been on the left side of Israeli politics, but he has been increasingly skeptical of Arab peace proposals since the expulsion of Jews from Gaza communities in 2005. "For eight years they fired and we refrained from retaliating. When they fired at us, the British didn't say a word,” he told Prof. Morris.
Peres receptive at Indian delegation
By GREER FAY CASHMAN, 20/07/2010
An Indian parliamentary delegation was gratified on Monday to hear President Shimon Peres compare legendary political activist Mahatma Gandhi, known in India as ‘the Father of the Nation,’ to a Biblical prophet.
It was especially gratifying to Naveen Jindal, the leader of the delegation, who is a member of the National Congress Party, the party of which Gandhi was the leader.
The multi-party delegation, whose members were all first time visitors to Israel, included Naresh Gujral of the Shiromani Akali Dal party and Jayant Chaudhary of the Rashtriya Lok Dal Party, each of who is the son of a former prime minister of India.
Peres spoke of how much he reveres Indian culture, and how highly he regards the wisdom of India “which never ages but remains fresh.” He also demonstrated that he was au fait with the personal life of the Indian leadership and inquired about the latest grandchild of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
On the subject of bi-national relations, Peres expressed satisfaction at the degree of cooperation between Israel and India and noted that both are equally challenged by terrorism. He was pleased to see India’s progress in areas of modern science and technology, and said that Israel was following these developments and finds them fascinating.
Sharing an anecdote about one of his meetings with US President Barack Obama, Peres told the delegation, including Indian ambassador Navtej Singh Sarna, that he had told Obama that there was no truth to the adage that the future belongs to the young. “The present belongs to the young,” he said. “The future belongs to me because I have time.”
Jindal said that all the members of the delegation were very keen to come to Israel, and expressed the delegation’s joint admiration for Israel and the way it is handling terrorism. He declared that there was plenty of room for bilateral cooperation in the realms of information technology, homeland security, defense and agriculture.
“There are ways for Israel and India to work together not only for their mutual benefit but for the benefit of the whole world,” he said.
Regarding prospects for peace between Israel and the Palestinians, Peres, as usual, was optimistic, noting as he always does that the gaps between Israel and the Palestinians were narrower than ever before, while simultaneously warning that time was running out on opportunities in which to bridge those gaps.
Much of the conversation was philosophical, prompted to a large extent by the deep-seated respect that Peres has for Indian philosophy. He also spoke of the ever changing world and how social concepts will inevitably have to change in tandem with the way in which the world is being transformed by science.
Prakash Javadekar of the Bharatiya Janata Party came away from meeting profoundly impressed. “He’s a great president and can guide generations,” he said of Peres, noting in particular one of the president’s credos that every generation should chart its own course.
Jindal was delighted to find Peres “so upbeat about India” and that notwithstanding his age he was not bogged down with history, “but is more concerned with the future than with the past.”
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