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What the Palestinians Buy With American Aid Money

by Mojambo ( 106 Comments › )
Filed under Fatah, Hamas, Israel at November 17th, 2010 - 11:35 am

The answer is not much that is good. The P.A. is run by a bunch of cruel, miserable, hateful, corrupt fascists. If the Palestinians do not want any economic contact with Israel, then good! No Palestinians need to go to Israel for health care services, and Israel should not be supplying its enemies with fuel, electricity, water, and jobs. I also see no reason why Israelis need to hire Palestinians – what there are no unemployed in Israel? Jews are too proud to pick up garbage. The nihilistic Palestinians need to be kept away from Israel until one day if by some miracle they become civilized. Also arming their so called security forces is a recipe for disaster.

by Caroline Glick

Two weeks ago, a Palestinian from Bethlehem was arrested by the US-financed and trained Palestinian Authority security forces. He was charged with “carrying out commercial transactions with residents of a hostile state.”

No, he was not buying uranium from Iran. His purported crime was purchasing wood products from an Israeli community located beyond the 1949 armistice lines.

Denied bail by the US-funded PA magistrate’s court in Bethlehem, he has been remanded to custody pending the conclusion of his trial.

This man’s arrest is part of what the unelected, US-supported Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has touted as his “National Honor Fund.” The goal of this project is to ban all economic contact between Palestinians and Jews who live and work beyond the 1949 armistice lines. As far as the supposedly moderate Fayyad is concerned, those Jews and Israel generally comprise the “hostile state,” that the Palestinians under Fayyad’s leadership are being compelled to boycott.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Palestinian Labor Minister Ahmed Majdalani said the PA hopes that by the end of the year all the thousands of Palestinians who are employed in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria will quit their jobs. What he didn’t mention is that if they don’t quit, they will be arrested.

According to PA Economics Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh, since the start of Fayyad’s campaign, the PA has confiscated $1 million worth of Israeli products including foods, cosmetics and hardware from Palestinian stores.

Fayyad’s measures come on top of previously enacted PA measures like imposing the death penalty on Palestinians who sell land to Jews. Less than two months ago, the PA reaffirmed that it will continue to execute any Palestinian who commits this “crime.”

There is no way to credibly claim that these actions advance either the cause of peaceful coexistence or Palestinian economic prosperity. Yet it is precisely in the hope of advancing these goals that the US government funds the PA.

DESPITE HIS campaign to boycott Israel and punish Palestinians with economic ties to the Jewish state, Fayyad is the US’s favorite Palestinian. Since PA President Mahmoud Abbas appointed Fayyad to lead the rump Fatah government in Judea and Samaria after Hamas took over the Gaza Strip, US aid to the PA has increased by more than 700 percent. Most of this aid has gone to propping up Fayyad.

The US directly finances his budget. It funds and trains a Palestinian military. And it subsidizes his programs to build governmental institutions that loyally carry out his anti-Israel policies.

[…]

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, who is expected to become the chairwoman of the House Foreign Relations Committee in the next Congress, responded negatively to Clinton’s announced expansion of US aid to the PA. In a statement released by her office last Thursday, Ros-Lehtinen derided the assistance as a “bailout.”

She further commented, “It is deeply disturbing that the administration is continuing to bail out the Palestinian leadership when they continue to fail to meet their commitments, under international agreements and requirements outlined in US law, including dismantling the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure, combating corruption, stopping anti-Israel and anti-Semitic incitement and recognizing Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state.”

Ros-Lehtinen authored the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006, which conditioned US assistance to the PA on, among other things, “publicly acknowledge[ing] the Jewish state of Israel’s right to exist.”

[…]

First, it is far from clear that the PA needs this assistance. According to the International Monetary Fund and the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in 2009 real GDP in Judea and Samaria and the Gaza Strip grew by 6.8 percent, (8.5% in Judea and Samaria). The report also claimed that unemployment declined. So if things are going so well, why is it necessary for foreign donor countries to increase their direct assistance to Fayyad’s budget?

Second, given Fayyad’s rejection of free trade principles, particularly as they relate to Israel, the PA’s largest trading partner, it is hard to see how his economic leadership is credible. As the failed stimulus packages in the US have shown clearly, government bureaucracies do not create jobs. That is the work of the private sector. And yet, Fayyad is barring Palestinians from having trade ties with their most important business partners and commercial market. This is not the behavior of a leader who is interested in facilitating sustainable economic growth.

[…]

PROVIDING DIRECT budgetary assistance to Fayyad isn’t the only way the US finances Hamas. It also contributes to Hamas by funding UNRWA. US assistance to UNRWA has doubled in the last four years, largely as a way of avoiding providing direct aid to Hamas. Yet the CRS report notes, “In Gaza, most observers acknowledge that the role of UNRWA in providing basic services (i.e., food, health care, education) takes much of the governing burden off Hamas.”

In defending its assistance to UNRWA, the State Department told Congress that the aid “directly contributes to the US strategic interest of meeting the humanitarian needs of the Palestinians, while promoting their self-sufficiency. UNRWA plays a stabilizing role in the Middle East through its assistance programs, serving as an important counterweight to extremists.”

[…]

But the fact of the matter is that UNRWA employees are Hamas members and sympathizers.

The incoming Congress might want to consider these basic truths before it approves further aid to Fayyad and his moderate government.

Read the rest here: What the PA buys with American money

Tags: Caroline Glick, Palestinian aid
Posted in Fatah, Hamas, Israel | 106 Comments »

A bleak present and no future for South Africa’s Jews

by Mojambo ( 188 Comments › )
Filed under Anti-semitism, Israel at November 9th, 2010 - 8:30 am

The South Africa of today is what the Palestinians have in mind for the Jews of Israel. The Jews would be marginalized, disenfranchised, terrorized, persecuted, eventually exterminated or forced to convert to Islam or emigrate. Miss Glick reminds us that the Durban Conference of 2001 (a few weeks before 9/11), set the tone for the present de-legitimization of Israel. I have posted previously about the soaring crime rate of South Africa and how there are so many no-go areas for tourists in its cities. Jews were prominent in the ant-apartheid movement yet there has been little or no gratitude shown to them by the ANC – proving again that the old Oscar Wilde adage “No good deed deed goes unpunished” still holds.

by Caroline Glick

Last month I was invited to South Africa by the South African Zionist Federation. The visit, my first to the country, opened my eyes to the daunting challenges facing the country and its dwindling Jewish community of 70,000 16 years after the end of the apartheid regime.

South Africa is a country of paradoxes. On the one hand, it is exhilarating to see the blacks now in charge after their long struggle. On the other, the ruling African National Congress’ record of governance is at best a mixed bag.

On the positive side, in 2008 it peacefully and democratically replaced the failed former president Thabo Mbeki with his opponent, President Jacob Zuma.

[…]

Auguring particularly ill for the future is the fact that ANC’s Youth League is one of the most illiberal bodies in the party. Aside from being among the most enthusiastic supporters of the move to end press freedom, the Youth League is also one of the primary forces driving foreign investors away from the country. Its leader Julius Malema’s signature policy is his demand to nationalize the country’s mines.

[…]

This has been a great year for South Africa. Throngs of tourists visited during the World Cup soccer championship, and the international press coverage was fantastic. Unfortunately, the relative safety enjoyed by World Cup tourists was a striking deviation from the norm. The ANC has failed to provide personal security for South Africans. According to the UN, South Africa has the second highest per capita murder rate in the world. South African sources place the annual murder rate at 23,000.

[…]

On a per capita basis, South Africa’s Jewish community was more active in the struggle against apartheid than any other nonblack group. This fact has not won the community any gratitude or friendship from the government, however. In part due to the ANC’s close ties to the PLO, the post-apartheid government has favored the country’s large Muslim community and distanced itself from the Jews. Muslims hold most of the senior positions in the civil service.

The vast majority of South African Jewry resides in crime-ridden Johannesburg. The physical insecurity of the community is palpable at all times. The Jews live behind walls and electric fences. It seems that everyone has either been the victim of a violent crime or knows someone who has. Even inside of Jewish neighborhoods, it is too dangerous for children to play in the streets.

Partly because the state schools are horrible, partly because of community cohesion and religious commitment, 80 percent of Jewish children in South Africa study in Jewish schools. With the children in Jewish schools, community involvement is higher than in most Diaspora communities.

But the schools are at risk. Some years ago Jewish school buses were stoned. The community responded by unmarking the buses. Everyone entering or leaving Jewish campuses must pass through security posts.

Community security is handled by the Community Trust. The day I arrived in Johannesburg, the community’s radio station received a bomb threat and the group’s representatives arrived on the scene within moments. Guards from the organization are present at all community events.

The future of the Community Trust is an open question. The government just passed a strict gun control law that will make it difficult for its guards to bear arms. Without guns, it is hard to see how the Community Trust will be able to provide protection.

Crime levels are much lower in Cape Town, and it is safe to wander around the city. But Cape Town’s Jews faces other challenges, not the least of which is that whereas there are some 15,000 Jews in Cape Town, the city is home to 750,000 Muslims.

Ignoring the Jewish community’s deep involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle, the ANC berates it for Israel’s economic and military ties to the apartheid regime. The fact that the Arabs – and particularly Saudi Arabia – had much stronger and longer economic and military ties to the apartheid regime than Israel is never mentioned.

[…]

Read the rest: Out of South Africa

Tags: Caroline Glick, South Africa
Posted in Anti-semitism, Israel | 188 Comments »

The Scott Brown election precedent and its lessons for Israel

by Mojambo ( 235 Comments › )
Filed under Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Elections 2010, Hamas, Israel, Palestinians, Republican Party, United Nations at October 29th, 2010 - 2:00 pm

As a follow up to my “controversial” thread yesterday about the foolishness of Jews voting for people who essentially despise them, Miss Glick points out that Israel is not powerless in the face of unrelenting Obama administration hostility. Israel has powerful allies (and will have more after Tuesday) on Capital Hill and the vast majority come from the Republican Party as well as the support of the American public in particularly with people of faith. Obama in his reaction to Scott Brown’s victory – did not moderate his policies but on the contrary ‘double downed’ on them. The continuing popular support and good will that the Jews of Israel have in America is their ace card. I see where Glick thinks that Eric Cantor will be the next Speaker of the House – I hope she is right.

On Miss Glick’s website she has this to say about herself: “I grew up in Chicago’s ultra-liberal, anti-American and anti-Israel stronghold of Hyde Park. Hyde Park’s newest famous resident is Barack Obama. He fits right into a neighborhood I couldn’t wait to leave.”

by Caroline Glick

On Tuesday, US voters are set to repudiate President Barak Obama’s agenda for their country. Unfortunately, based on his behavior in the face of a similar repudiation last January, it is safe to assume that Obama will not abandon his course.

Last year, in an attempt to block Obama’s plan to nationalize healthcare, Massachusetts voters elected Republican Scott Brown to the Senate. Brown was elected because he pledged to block Obamacare in the US Senate.

Rather than heed the voters’ message and abandon his plans, Obama abandoned the voters.

Instead of accepting his defeat, Obama changed the rules of the game and bypassed the Senate.

So it is safe to assume that for the next two years, Obama will do everything he can to bypass Congress and govern by executive orders and regulations. Although much can be done in this fashion, Congress’s control of the purse strings will check his domestic agenda.

In matters of foreign policy, however, Obama will be less burdened by – but not immune – to congressional oversight. We can therefore expect him to devote far more energy to foreign affairs in the next two years than he devoted in the last two years.

This bodes ill for Israel. Since entering office, Obama has shown that his primary foreign policy goal is to remake the US’s relationship with the Muslim world. He has also repeatedly demonstrated that compelling Israel to make concessions to the Palestinians and empowering international institutions that seek to delegitimize Israel are his preferred means of advancing this goal.

[…]

But two can play this game.

ISRAEL IS not without options. These options are rooted in its military control on the ground, Netanyahu’s political strength at home, and popular support for Israel in the US.

Israel should prepare its own unilateral actions aimed at shaping the post-Oslo international agenda. It should implement these actions the moment the Palestinians carry through on their threats. For instance, the day the UN Security Council votes on a resolution to declare Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and Israeli neighborhoods in Jerusalem illegal, Israel should announce it is applying Israeli law to either all of Judea and Samaria, or to the large Israeli population centers and to the Jordan Valley.

[…]

During his first tenure as prime minister, Netanyahu faced a similar predicament with the Clinton administration. In October 1998, then president Bill Clinton was about to be impeached. The Republicans stood poised to expand their control over the House of Representatives. Paralyzed domestically, Clinton turned to Israel. He placed enormous pressure on Netanyahu to agree to further land concessions to Yasser Arafat in Judea and Samaria. In what became the Wye Memorandum, Clinton forced Netanyahu to agree to massive concessions in exchange for which Clinton agreed to free Jonathan Pollard from prison.

At the time, Israel’s allies in Washington enjoined Netanyahu not to succumb to Clinton’s pressure. They argued that in his weakened state, Clinton had limited capacity to harm Netanyahu. Moreover, they warned that by caving to his pressure, Netanyahu would strengthen Clinton and guarantee that he would double down on Israel.

In the event, Netanyahu spurned Israel’s allies and bent to Clinton’s will. For his part, Clinton reneged on his pledge to release Pollard.

[…]

The post-election Obama administration will make the lives of Israel’s leaders unpleasant. But Netanyahu and his ministers are not powerless in the grip of circumstances. They have powerful allies and supporters in Washington and the confidence of the Israeli people. These are formidable asset

Read the rest here: The Scott Brown precedent and Israel

Rodan Breaking News Update: There are reports that various Cargo planes have been grounded and that Philly’s airport has been closed.

DEVELOPING: Authorities are investigating suspicious packages found on UPS planes at Philadelphia International Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport and another on a UPS truck in Queens, NY.

Another UPS flight from Yemen to Chicago reportedly also was stopped in London and found to contain an ink toner cartridge converted to a bomb. Though other reports contradict that account.

A crew member arriving to Philadelphia on a UPS flight from Paris notified authorities of a suspicious package on board describing a potential radiological component, a local CBS affiliate reported.

Read the rest: Authorities Investigating Suspicious UPS Packages in Philadelphia Airport, NYC Truck

Tags: Bill Clinton, Caroline Glick
Posted in Barack Obama, Democratic Party, Elections 2010, Hamas, Israel, Palestinians, Republican Party, United Nations | 235 Comments »

Suicide Protests Rising

by Mojambo ( 68 Comments › )
Filed under Israel, Leftist-Islamic Alliance, Media at October 13th, 2010 - 8:30 am

The suicide protesters in many ways count on Israeli humanitarian instincts to prevail in a game of chicken. The Mavi Marmara incident and the Rachel Corrie death are prime examples. Corrie was killed accidentally because a tractor driver could not see her and the Turkish terrorists thought that the Israelis would retreat. Of course the suicide protesters can always count on the sympathy of CNN, The New York Times, Reuters, al Jazeera and the BBC. Miss Glick correctly points out that suicide protests (such as the Gaza flotillas) are another weapon in the war to embarrass, delegitimize and ultimately set the stage for the extermination of Israel.

by Caroline Glick

David Be’eri is either much admired or much hated, depending on how you feel about Israel and Jewish heritage. Be’eri is the founder and head of the Ir David Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to excavating, preserving and developing biblical Jerusalem, the City of David.

When Be’eri began his project in 1986, the City of David, located just opposite the Old City, was in shambles. Former excavations were hidden beneath heaps of garbage and debris.

Owing to his efforts, today the City of David is one of Israel’s most beloved tourist attractions. Some 500,000 tourists visit the site each year. Seventeen archaeological excavations have been undertaken there or are currently ongoing. Annual archaeological conferences at the site attract leading scholars from all over the world.

One of the keys to Be’eri’s success has been the close relations he has cultivated with the local Arabs. Hundreds of local Arabs have worked in the City of David on the various excavations.

But in the past few months, and particularly since the Obama administration began pressuring Israel to curb its sovereignty in Jerusalem, things have begun to change. Leftist groups including Peace Now, Ir Amim, B’Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Rabbis for Human Rights, and Emek Shaveh have begun organizing frequent protests.

[…]

Two weeks ago, the demonstrations morphed into suicide protests as activists set up a roadblock in the middle of the street, ambushed an Ir David security guard and began violently attacking him. In order to fend off his attackers, the guard shot his pistol and killed one of them. Using faux footage, the protesters accused the guard of murder in cold blood. The police rejected the accusation. Channel 2 initially backed up the protesters’ claim, but later its reporter recognized he had been used.

Last Friday, the violence was ratcheted up several notches when Be’eri was targeted by an ambush. As he drove to his home in Ir David with his 13-year-old son, the car in front of him suddenly hit the breaks.

Be’eri drove around the car and was greeted by an ambush of demonstrators who attacked him with stones.

Blocked from backing away by a car that had suddenly stopped, Be’eri had to decide between opening fire and driving through the protest. He drove through, hitting two of his attackers. Both were minors. Neither sustained serious injuries and were out and about within hours of the event.

The stone throwers were not the only people who participated in the ambush. Six or seven photographers and at least one employee of the Wadi Hilweh Information Center were also on the scene. The photographers hailed from the far Left Hebrew-language Walla web portal and from several European media outlets. They filmed Be’eri running over his attackers from multiple angles. They then quickly sold the story to the world as a tale of a vicious “settler” who ran over two innocent children on their way home from the mosque, just because he is an evil settler.

But as Ragones notes, “We were actually lucky that the media were there. The photos that were supposed to frame Be’eri showed clearly that the whole thing was a setup.”

Not only does the footage show that Be’eri was ambushed, it shows that the photographers were integral members of the ambush team. The children’s role was to provoke Be’eri into killing or injuring them by attacking him with rocks. The photographers’ role was to photograph the children getting killed or hurt.

[…]

Then too, cases should be built against sponsoring organizations. Groups instigating violence should be banned.

Suicide protests, like suicide bombs, use violence to advance political goals. In Israel’s case, they are used to demonize the state and its citizens in a bid to coerce the government into acting in a manner that endangers it.

Bureaucratic and political tools should be employed to scuttle these efforts. For instance, in the aftermath of Friday’s ambush in Ir David, the media watch group Tadmit sent a letter to the Government Press Office requesting that it withdraw the press credentials from the photographers present at the scene. The GPO should act on Tadmit’s request and deny or remove press credentials from any self-proclaimed reporter or photographer that participates in violent, illegal activities aimed against the state.

[…]

The local media initially ran the story of Be’eri’s ambush just as the leftist-Arab coalition wanted them too. Be’eri was portrayed as an aggressive, violent settler who ran over two innocent Palestinian children for no reason. But then the suicide protesters overreached.

On Sunday they ambushed and stoned a Channel 2 camera crew. Sunday night the truth was out.

But next time they will probably be more careful.

Suicide protests are the newest and, so far, most effective weapon in the political war against Israel. It is the task of the government and citizens alike to develop and implement strategies to blunt its effectiveness.