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and Shabbat Shalom
Peace in Lebanon? Soldier killed by Hezbollah
If you thought that the election (after 19 attempts) of the President in Lebanon and ending of the circle of violence ignited by Iranian puppet terrorist gang Hezballah will finally bring some kind of long-term stability to this country, the Middle East gives you another reality check:
BEIRUT - A Lebanese soldier was killed in clashes late Tuesday between pro-government and opposition supporters, the latest incident to flare up despite a deal aimed at ending a long-running political feud.
The army said in a statement on Wednesday that the soldier was killed after a verbal altercation between rival clans degenerated into armed clashes in Dohet Aramoun, a small town southeast of Beirut.
Several people were arrested and being questioned, the army said.
News reports said the altercation between members of the Progressive Socialist Party of MP Walid Jumblatt and Hezbollah supporters began over a parking space and escalated into violence.
The incident is one of several such clashes between rival clans in the last two days despite a deal last week to end a long-running political crisis between the Western-backed ruling coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition.
In a bid to defuse the tension, the interior ministry on Tuesday imposed an indefinite ban on motorbikes, provocative convoys, slogans or flag waving in Beirut.
It is common practice in Beirut for supporters of rival political factions to drive around the city waving party flags, blaring slogans on loudspeakers and shooting in the air.
A security official said that 450 motorbikes were seized late Tuesday as a result of the ban.
After the Lebanese ruling coalition, in a pathetic display of cowardice, surrendered to the demands of Iran and Hezbollah at the negotiations table in Doha, Qatar, it seems like this is far from being enough to cool down the violence.
“Ya-Libnan” gives the account of the events that followed the “surrender accord” stroke in Doha.
The defiant speech which Nasrallah delivered today on video tape excited his
followers and Amal supporters1- When he started his speech his supporters used fire arms to shoot in the air but in doing so they injured 2 people who were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment
2- After his speech ended his followers again used fire arms to shoot in the air but in doing so they injured this time 16 people who were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment
3- In the Beqaa valley Valley village of Taalabaya Hezbollah-led opposition clashed with the ruling majority supporters
4- More violence was reported in Beirut , which was blamed on Nasrallah’s speech. Amal and Hezbollah gunmen opened fire and hurled rocks in the direction of Tarik al-Jedideh and Corniche al-Mazraa . RPGs were also fired at the Abed an- Nasser mosque. The Lebanese army has been deployed and has cut off the roads between Corniche al-Mazraa, Barbour and Tarik al-Jedideh. The wounded have been transferred to nearby hospitals.
If this is what Nasrallah calls an accord , then Lebanon is heading for more trouble as Hezbollah more and more points its arms against the Lebanese people and the Lebanese institutions.
The pressure will now be on the newly elected president to immediately start the dialogue on disarming Hezbollah, to spare Lebanon another civil war
There is one thing certain about the Middle East - there will always be another round of violence.
Peace in Lebanon? Start counting the days to the next clashes.
Iran jails another feminist
Iran - the greatest and most powerful country, where women enjoy freedom like nowhere else and no gays are lurking around (all according to the president of this country) - Iran cracks down on another feminist, sentencing him to 1 year in prison
Tehran: A male Iranian feminist has been given a one year jail term, Iran’s Kargozan newspaper said on Monday.
Amir Yaqoubali was allegedly arrested while collecting signatures for a petition called “One Million Signatures,” launched in June 2006.
The campaign advocates change in Iran’s marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody laws.
Iran frequently arrests feminists, many of whom are still in jail.
Recently, Tehran Revolutionary Court sentenced four feminists, Rezvan Moghadam, Nahid Jafari, Nasrin Afzali and Marzieh Mortazi Langueroudi, to six months in prison and 10 lashes each.
They were arrested in March 2007 for protesting the arrest of five feminists earlier.
The recent history of Iran, arresting feminists, gays, other human rights activists, imaginary foreign agents, tells a tale of who and what exactly this mightiest fluffiest (@)#$&(iest country is afraid of, and judging by this record, it appears that Iran is afraid of a hell of a lot of issues. Maybe it’s not so “-iest” after all?
45% growth in exports from Israel to Arab countries
Politics aside, business is business, and apart from assisting the “Palestinian brothers” in their “struggle for independence”, some Arab countries realize that it is their own interest they ought to look after
According to Israeli Export Institute, the first quarter of 2008 showed 45% increase in direct exports from Israel to Arab countries, reaching $145 Million. In 2007 the exports topped approximately $410 Million, which is 48% more than the previous year.
Jordan is a main trade partner of Israel in the Arab world, and in the last year exports from Israel to Jordan are up by 85%. The first quarter of 2008 shows growth of 40% of total exports in 2007, reaching $102 Million, which is 62% more than the same quarter last year.
The lowest growth of Israeli exports was to Egypt – the country that maintains more of a state of non-war than peace with Israel. The increase was only 10% - $140 Million in 2007, and the first quarter shows the increase of 25% - $40 Million – compared to the same quarter last year.
Interesting figures come from Morocco– the North African nation Israel does not have a full diplomatic relations with – who maintains trade ties (just like Qatar and Tunisia do) with the Jewish state (bilateral visitations are also allowed).
Although he actual numbers still remain small - $16.4 Million in 2007, 43% increase compared to 2006 - since 2003 (the midst of Palestinian intifada) there’s been a growth of 150% in exports from Israel to Morocco.
Israeli exports to Tunisia reached only $1.8 Million.
What must be noted when it comes to Israeli trade with Morocco and Tunisia is that these countries often cooperate through the third parties – mainly French and Spanish companies co-owned by the Israeli and North African entrepreneurs – the results of this cooperation are not indicated in the official numbers released by Israeli Export Institute, which presented only the direct exports.
The stats don’t show is the trade between Israel and Gulf states, and it is due to the fact that this trade exists through the third parties, just like in case of Israel’s trade relations with Morocco and Tunisia.
The main exports were agricultural equipment, plastics, chemicals, wood products, computer chips, print circuits and jewelry
The overall potential of exports to the Muslim countries Israel doesn’t not have a diplomatic relations with is estimated $1 Billion per annum. Obviously, the ability to tap this potential very much depends on the political trends in the region; however, this does not prevent Israel from having low-level trade relations with some of these countries, the relations that are probably the most well-known secret in the Middle East.
Israeli Shekel is now eligible convertable currency
While the enemies of Israel speak of its soon end and threaten to “wipe it off the map”, the Jewish State notes another achievement of its modern and successfully developed (and developing) economy.
The New Israeli Shekel became was added on Monday to the list of eligible currencies by currency settlement network CLS Bank, along with the Mexican peso.
The New York-based firm, which ensures that each side of foreign exchange trades gets paid, will offer settlement in these currencies immediately, taking the total number of currencies that it handles to 17.
As of today, 1 Shekel equals to 0.305 U.S. dollars
UNESCO Chief Candidate, “I’d burn Israeli books”
Yesterday we posted an article about the “fruits of peace” Israel “enjoys” when it comes to its relations with neighboring Egypt, and here comes another evidence of how useless and empty the papers signed in the Middle East are, and what eventually prevails is a deep-rooted hatred, fear and stupidity, which is common for a simple folk, as well as top political leaders.
This time, the “voice of peace” belongs to none other but the Minister of Culture of Egypt who is the leading candidate for the job of UNESCO Chief:
CAIRO - Egypt’s Culture Minister Faruq Hosni, a candidate to head UNESCO, has drawn fire from Israel and the Wiesenthal Centre for saying he was prepared to burn Israeli books.
“I’d burn Israeli books myself if I found any in libraries in Egypt,” Hosni said in parliament on May 10 in reply to questioning from an opposition MP.
The comment, which Hosni admits making but which he says must be put into perspective, sparked an official protest from Israel’s ambassador in Cairo Shalom Cohen to the foreign ministry.
And this week the international Simon Wiesenthal Centre wrote to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation director general Koichiro Matsuura, saying that Hosni had now ruled himself out as a possible successor to head the Paris-based body.
The letter to UNESCO from the Wiesenthal Centre’s director for international relations Shimon Samuels charged that Hosni’s comment was “couched in the language and actions of Nazi “Minister of Culture’ Josef Goebbels.”
The letter said that “the sting in this tail is that literary pyromaniac Faruq Hosni is considered a serious candidate to replace (Koichiro Matsuura) as Director-General of UNESCO.”
After realizing that it might cost him his future job, he tried to retract in the most pathetic and non-creative way
In his defence, Hosni told AFP that he had only used “a popular expression to prove something does not exist” — to be specific, Israeli books in Egyptian libraries.
Fruits of peace, since 1979, ladies and gentlemen. And that’s coming from the candidate for Director General of UNESCO…And here is the flip-flop
“A minister of culture cannot demand that a book be burnt, and that includes an Israeli book,” he added, and pointed out he had spoken in favour of Israeli books being translated into Arabic during during a televised debate on the subject.
Here is more about the fruits of peace Israel rips from its “good neighbor” relations with Egypt
Embracing the position of Egyptian intellectuals, who oppose any “cultural normalisation” with Israel, Hosni said such links could only take place after a “just and global peace” in the Middle East.
“We cannot dance with them, sing together or watch a piece of theatre when there are bloody attacks every day against the Palestinian people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip,” he said.
Thirty years ago in 1978 Egypt broke ranks with the rest of the Arab world and concluded the Camp David accord with Israel, leading to a historic peace treaty being signed the following year.
President Hosni Mubarak’s regime has political, security and economic links with Israel, but does nothing to promote cultural cooperation between the two former foes.
Israeli works are rarely translated, and no Israeli-made film — even pacifist — is shown in Egypt where a total boycott is imposed on all artists and intellectuals from the Jewish state.
Apparently his candidacy is supported by Arab and European states, including France. Well, France, what else can be said? With friends like this…you know the rest.
So, how low UN with all its organizations is prepared to go? First there is council on “human rights”, which is basically an “I hate Israel” club, now UNESCO Chief Candidate who’s prepared to burn Israeli books…What’s next - Iranian Revolutionary Guard for the UN Secretary General?
Peace with Syria? Look what “peace” we have with Egypt
With the latest news of negotiations between Israel and Syria, many pinkdreamers started to fantasize about the Israelis eating humus in Damascus and Syrians throwing parties in famous Tel Aviv night clubs.
Based on our experience of “peace” with Egypt, I can safely say that these entire negotiations do not worth a bother. Syrians have already declared that they will not cut their support of Hezbollah and Hamas – the terrorist organizations who seek the destruction of Israel - and will not downgrade its relations with Iran (I don’t know who can naively think they’d ever do so).
A few months ago Syrian president Asad declared that although the peace agreement might be signed between the two nations, it will take generations to strike a good neighbor relations between the people of Syria and Israel. And I must say: he’s spot on!
Here is the latest example of Israeli “warm” relations with Egypt – a country we have peace with for since 1979.
A group of Israelis and non-Israeli Jews of Egyptian origins planned a roots trip to Egypt, to visit the places they and their ancestors used to live in, before they were forced to flee amidst the danger of hate-attacks by their Egyptian Muslim neighbors, when Egyptian broadcaster declared that they are coming to claim their property back and to celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary in Egypt. After that declaration, the trip was canceled by the Egyptian authorities
A roots trip to Cairo and Alexandria planned by dozens of Israelis and Jews of Egyptian descent was called off Thursday upon order of Egypt’s security services.
“We are sorry, but the situation is sensitive, and under the current circumstances we cannot accommodate you,” an Egyptian official told Levana Zamir of Tel Aviv, head of the Israel- Egypt Friendship Association, who initiated the trip.
The dozens of participants, who planned to travel along with their children and grandchildren, were shocked by the cancellation.
The Marriott Hotel in Cairo was the first to announce that “we cannot accommodate the Israeli and Jewish delegation, and we are cancelling the reservations.”
Two hours later, the Egyptian travel agent stated that “in spite of our urgent appeals, we were unsuccessful in finding any hotel in Cairo which would agree to host the delegation from Israel, and we recommend that you postpone your plans to visit Egypt.”
The affair began three months ago, when Zamir came up with the idea to hold a roots trip for people of Egyptian descent. She prepared an itinerary and asked Israeli Ambassador to Cairo Shalom Cohen and Prof. Gabi Rosenbaum, director of the Israeli Academic Center in Cairo, to speak before the delegation members.
According to Egyptian procedures, internal security officials were given the itinerary, the lectures and the names of the lecturers, which also included a number of Jewish academicians who planned to join the roots trip.
‘A cover-up for their plans’
The trip’s participants purchased plane tickets from El Al, paid for a hotel and planned to leave Israel on the coming Sunday. On Wednesday night, however, they were hit with a surprise: A well-known Egyptian television presenter, Amr Adib, dedicated an extensive report to the planned trip, accusing the delegation members of “coming to celebrate Israel’s 60th anniversary in Egypt of all places.”
He added that “the roots trip is only a cover-up for their plans to demand that their property in Cairo and Alexandria be returned to them.”
According to Adib, the trip’s participants planned to file dozens of legal claims for the return of the houses, factories and stores which they had owned in the past and were nationalized.
“Why should we bring in Jews born in Egypt who preferred to flee to Israel, which has fought us in blood-soaked wars,” the broadcaster asked, accusing the Israeli Embassy in Cairo and the Israeli Academic Center of “sponsoring a conspiracy against Egypt.”
Moreover, Adib took advantage of the report in order to reveal the name of the hotel which was to accommodate the Israeli delegation. He also claimed that the delegation members planned to hold a press conference in Cairo and called on the Egyptian Foreign Ministry “to take the necessary steps.”
“I was shocked by these expressions of hatred and what followed, despite the fact that I have been active for so many years in distributing the Egyptian culture and advancing the friendship between the countries,” Levana Zamir said Thursday.
“Our plan was perfectly innocent: To take tours of Cairo and Alexandria and show our childhood places to our children and grandchildren,” she added.
The travel agency in Cairo made it clear to Zamir that “the trip is being cancelled for security reasons following the reports on Egyptian media” and promised to return the payments already made.
Is it really worth it, giving up the prosperous piece of land with modern agriculture and tourism - Golan heights - in return for the continuation of hatred? With “good neighbors” and “peace partners” like that, who needs enemies?
Let them continue hate us (they’ll do so anyway), and let us keep the land with all the successful business and social ventures we have built on it.
