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1. Well-Bred Muslim Urges More Fort Hood-Style Murders
by Hillel Fendel
A U.S.-born Muslim cleric urges Muslims in the United States Army to kill their comrades in arms before they take part in military actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Anwar al-Awlaki, wanted in Yemen “dead or alive” by the U.S., released a videotape of an interview with him on Sunday, including the incendiary comments. He is a leader in the Yemeni wing of Al-Qaeda, and is wanted by both Yemeni and U.S. authorities.
Awlaki, born in New Mexico in 1971, praised the actions of Nidal Malik Hasan, a U.S. Army psychiatrist who murdered 13 people at the Fort Hood army base in Texas six months ago. "What Nidal Hassan did was heroic... and I call on all Muslims serving in the US army to follow his path," Awlaqi said in Al Qaeda-released footage carried by the US monitoring group SITE.
"Nidal was my student,” Awlaki said. “I'm proud of Nidal Hasan and this was a heroic act… Who can object to what he did? He killed soldiers on their way to Iraq and Afghanistan… If the situation remains, we will see new Nidal Hasans appearing.”
“These American soldiers on their way to Afghanistan and Iraq, we will kill them,” Awlaki exhorted.
When the interviewer asked if killing American soldiers might negatively affect Muslims in the United States, Awlaki responded abruptly: "Is protecting the reputation of Muslims in America more important than bombs dropping on millions of Muslims elsewhere?”
Awlaki is suspected of having been in email contact with Hasan, as well as involvement in the December attempt to blow up an American jetliner bound for Detroit.Ignorance and Poverty? Not Here
Contrary to the school that says terrorism is born of poverty and ignorance, Awlaki’s father Nasser earned a master's degree in agricultural economics at New Mexico State University in 1971, received a doctorate at the University of Nebraska, and worked at the University of Minnesota from 1975 to 1977. The family returned to Yemen in 1978, where Nasser served as Agriculture Minister and as president of Sanaa University.
2. Obama Advisor: Warm Words for Saudi Arabia, Hizbullah, Al-Quds
by Hillel Fendel
John Brennan, Deputy National Security Adviser for Homeland Security, called Jerusalem “Al-Quds,” praised Saudi Arabian religious tolerance, and is encouraging of Hizbullah.
The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has drawn attention to the above three instances of recent remarks by one of U.S. President Barack Obama’s top terrorism-issues advisors, calling them “outrageous” and “disgraceful.”
Speaking to an apparently Muslim audience at New York University in February, at a forum co-hosted by the White House and the Islamic Center at New York University." Brennan first told a story in Arabic, evoking laughter and concluding with, “Don’t tell the folks who don’t speak Arabic what I said.” He then said that his favorite city in the Middle East is “Al Quds, Jerusalem.”
In the same speech, Brennan also spoke of his time at the American University in Cairo in the 1970s, referring to the common aspirations of his former Egyptian, Jordanian and Palestinian classmates, including the freedom “to practice our faith freely … In Saudi Arabia, I saw how our Saudi partners fulfilled their duty as custodians of the two holy mosques at Mecca and Medina.”
In another speech before Lebanese leaders who visited Washington recently, Brennan told them, “Hizbullah is a very interesting organization,” and said that it had evolved from “purely a terrorist organization” to a militia and now to an organization that has members within the parliament and the cabinet. “There is certainly the elements of Hizbullah that are truly a concern to us, what they’re doing,” Brennan said. “And what we need to do is to find ways to diminish their influence within the organization and to try to build up the more moderate elements.”
The ZOA noted that Hizbullah is actually a Lebanese-Iranian proxy terrorist group that has called continually for the elimination of Israel.
“These comments by John Brennan are as outrageous as they are deeply troubling,” ZOA National President Morton A. Klein said, “No one refers to Jerusalem in the English language as Al-Quds, unless they have a specific political, anti-Israel agenda - in this case, pandering to Israel’s enemies, who will draw comfort from the use of the term Al-Quds by a senior U.S. government official.”
Klein termed “disgraceful” the fact that “Mr. Brennan’s pandering is taken so far that he speaks of some supposed shared goal of freedom of religious practice, and then immediately refers in complimentary words to Saudi Arabia - a country that is notorious for its harsh denial of freedom of religion, in which even non-Wahhabi Muslim mosques are prohibited, let alone churches and synagogues.”
Regarding Brennan’s comments about Hizbullah, Klein said, “Worse, Brennan give unwarranted legitimacy to the recognized terrorist group Hizbullah, thereby undercutting past U.S. efforts to isolate this murderous outfit.”
Klein sums up: “John Brennan is yet another hand-picked Obama adviser who shows a distinct animus against Israel and partiality for its enemies. It is unsurprising that, when Barack Obama is advised by people like these, quite apart from the President’s own troubling history of friendships with vicious critics of Israel and having belonged for two decades to an anti-Israel, anti-American black supremacist church, the Obama Administration has ignited major tensions in its relations with Israel while not holding accountable and penalizing the Palestinian Authority for continuing terrorism and incitement to hatred and murder.”
3. Israel-PA Proximity Talks in Shadow of PA Aggression
by Hillel Fendel
The proximity talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, via U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell, continue to limp along. Mitchell wound up the talks’ second round on Thursday with no apparent progress. The meetings are scheduled to continue for four months, while the PA continues diplomatic aggression and incitement against supposedly "illegal" settlements (see below).
Despite this, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office spoke of a "possibility" of more goodwill gestures towards the PA. His meeting with Mitchell on Thursday reportedly concentrated partially on water issues. Abbas and Mitchell met on Wednesday in Ramallah and discussed what PA officials called "the numerous Israeli provocative statements of the last few days" regarding Israeli plans to continue building in Jerusalem.
PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas said over the weekend that the two sides had agreed “in principle” on a land swap, but without details. Such a swap would involve the “trading” of pre-1967 Israeli land, most likely in the northwestern Negev but possibly also just north of Samaria, for parts of Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu's office denied that any offer had been made.
PA, Media Claim Settlements are Illegal
The PA has made the Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria a lynchpin of their campaign against Israel – despite the fact that its original opposition to Israel began in 1964 [when it was still only the PLO] when Judea and Samaria was still under Jordanian control.
Foreign media often state as fact, even in news articles, that the Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria, and parts of Jerusalem, is illegal. A BBC article from May 21 concluded with the blanket statement, “The settlements are illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this,” while on May 22, the Houston Chronicle wrote, “The settlements — which are illegal under international law…”
Settlements are Not Illegal
In fact, however, the settlements are not illegal and do not violate the Fourth Geneva Convention, despite what the Arabs have charged of late. Adopted in 1949 in response to Nazi atrocities, the Convention governs the treatment of civilians during wartime, outlawing torture, collective punishment and the forced transfer of civilians to territory under its military control – but does not apply to territory gained as a result of a defensive war, as when Israel liberated Judea and Samaria in the Six-Day War of 1967. Neither do the Oslo Accords nor UN resolutions 242 and 338 outlaw the Israeli towns in Judea and Samaria.
PA Aggression Continues
The PA has not halted rock throwing and other violent acts. PA non-military aggression against Israel continues on several other fronts as well. Leading Fatah official Nabil Shaath said last week that the PA must work towards isolating Israel internationally and preventing it from strengthening its ties with the European Union. Shaath even said the PA must try to have Israel expelled from the United Nations – just a few days after PA efforts to block Israel from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
In addition, the PA’s boycott against Israeli-made products from Judea and Samaria gains steam, despite this being a flagrant violation of the Oslo Accords. PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas announced a new sign on his door, reading, “My home is free of settlement-made produce.” He called publicly over the weekend “on all Palestinian citizens to do the same and to boycott these goods... There’s nothing illegal about what we are doing, and this should not be seen as incitement.”
The PA has not changed the incitement in its educational system and media, refuses to recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people or relinquish the demand for the Right of Return.
4. Hizbullah Charges Massive Israeli Defense Drill a Plan for War
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
Israel’s fourth annual massive self-defense drill against an attack from the north this week is a camouflage for war plans and an obstacle to peace with the PA, Hizbullah and Lebanon charge.
The National Home Front and the National Emergency Authority's “Turning Point 4” exercise begins Sunday and includes search and rescue forces, local Israeli authorities, government offices, security organizations and the education system. The exercise is aimed at improving national preparedness and responses of the home front to emergencies, and tests cooperation between the various organizations and institutions in the event of an attack on the country’s electronic, communications and Internet infrastructure.
A 90-second siren will be heard throughout the country Wednesday morning, and the public will practice entering designated secured areas and staying there for approximately 10 minutes. The exercise will also examine warning systems on cellular phones and civilians in certain areas may therefore receive text messages that read "Have a nice day" signed by the Home Front Command.
During the exercise, all essential services, including hospitals, public transportation, conventions and public events will continue to work as usual.
The self-defense drill is viewed as an aggressive act by Lebanon and Hizbullah. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Sa'ad Hariri said in Egypt on Sunday that that the annual drill “runs counter to peace efforts. “How can you launch peace negotiations with the Palestinians while holding military maneuvers?” he asked on the eve of his departure for his first meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama.
Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai tried to assure Israel’s northern enemies that the drills are not related to relations with Lebanon and Syria. However, Hizbullah, an increasingly dominant force in the Lebanese army and government, said it has placed its terrorists on high alert for an Israeli attack. The head of the IDF's Northern Command, Gadi Eisenkot, told northern leaders Sunday, "We are prepared for an all-out war within several hours."
A Hizbullah spokesman said, "The Hizbullah fighters [are] completely ready to confront Israeli maneuvers on Sunday,” . “In the event of any new attack on Lebanon, the Israelis will not find anywhere in Palestine to hide.”
5. Rahm Emanuel Leaves Maze for Protesters
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel has arrived quietly in Israel for a ”private visit” without letting protesters know when and where his son’s Bar Mitzvah will take place. Government spokesmen did not reply to questions from Israel National News concerning whether Emanuel will meet with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres.
Emanuel said several weeks ago he would celebrate his son’s Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall (Kotel), but Israeli activists Baruch Marzel and Itamar Ben-Gvir, calling Emanuel a “traitor,” vowed they would protest his visit. “We will make sure to receive you as you deserve to be received ... with catcalls and disgust," they stated.
According to ABC News, the activists are offering to take 13-year-old Zach Emanuel "on a day of fun without his father" in order to "teach him a few things about the Jewish People's heritage."
If Emanuel does visit the Western Wall, it could complicate matters for President Obama, who also visited the holy site during his presidential campaign. Since taking office, President Obama has accepted virtually all of the Palestinian Authority demands that Israel surrender “settlements” in parts of the capital that were restored to the Jewish State in the Six-Day War in 1967. The Western Wall and the Old City were occupied by Jordan, in violation of the 1948 United Nations Partition Plan, until 1967.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office several months ago denied a report that he termed Emanuel a self-hating Jew. Emanuel, whose father fought for the Underground against Britain when he lived in pre-State Israel, has largely been considered responsible for guiding U.S. President Barack Obama’s hard stance against Israel.
Jews in the United States and Israel welcomed his appointment as President Obama’s Chief of Staff after the 2008 election and considered Emanuel to be ”our man” in the White House. However, it was quickly discovered that he was the person who choreographed the handshake between Yasser Arafat and former Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin on the White House lawn during the Clinton administration and that his views were far from that of Israeli nationalists.
Emanuel also has been highly critical of Israel for promoting a Jewish presence in Judea and Samaria and is known for a tendency to use unprintable expletives when crossed on this and other issues.
6. Canine Legion Protects Jewish Property from Arab Squatters
by Yoni Kempinski
A fierce attack by a large dog on a Jewish property in Jerusalem, as seen in the following video, is just an exercise, but the fact that it was held there is part of a long-time struggle for a Jewish presence on a Jewish-owned property.
The Jewish Canine Legion in Israel has been active in helping Yitzchak Hershkowitz access his property in Jerusalem after years of delays. Now that he finally has secured his legal rights to return to his property and Arab squatters have left, representatives of the organization remain on the land adjacent to his property, controlling the path that leads up to his house.
The activists explain that they come to the house in order to make a Jewish presence felt until the police are willing do whatever is necessary to protect Hershkowitz from the Arab squatters and others who, according to testimonies in the field, are threatening his life and the free access to his home.
The Jewish Canine Legion is considering whether to set up a branch on the property not only to service Hershkowitz's security needs but also to help train others on Jewish communities in southern Jerusalem and in the Gush Etzion Bloc.
The unit reports that its dogs have prevented eight infiltrations this year into Elazar, a nearby community in Gush Etzion, less than 10 minutes from Jerusalem.
7. Jewish Labor to Build the Jewish Land -- Literally
by Yoni Kempinski
National Union Chairman MK Yaakov (Ketzaleh) Katz inaugurated on Sunday the first construction course designed specifically for recently demobilized IDF soldiers.
The course, taking place in Holon, will teach soldiers bricklaying, carpentry, tiling, plumbing and other skills. Ketzaleh campaigned for the course, the first of its kind and the first manual labor course of any kind offered for demobilized soldiers in several years.
The new course begins at the same time that the Palestinian Authority has ordered Arabs to stop working on Jewish construction projects in Judea and Samaria.
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