EDITOR: To understand what is in store for Palestinians, read below. This monster is the creature created by ALL Israeli governments, without exception.
Sheikh Jarrah Jews praise Baruch Goldstein on Purim: Ynet
(Video) Residents of east Jerusalem neighborhood celebrate holiday with songs of praise for Cave of Patriarchs massacre. Left-wing activists plan protest. To see the video use link above.
VIDEO – A video obtained by Ynet depicts Jewish residents of east Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood during their Purim celebrations singing songs of praise for Baruch Goldstein, a Jewish terrorist who murdered 29 Palestinians 16 years ago at the Cave of the Patriarchs.
Tensions in east Jerusalem have peaked recently over the building plans in Silwan.
The recent documented Purim festivities were reminiscent of scenes from Hebron. The residents adopted well-known childhood songs in order to praise the massacre at the Cave of the Patriarchs carried out by Goldstein.
The video was filmed this past Monday, and shows residents singing and dancing next to their Arab neighbors: “Dr. Goldstein, there is none other like you in the world. Dr. Goldstein, we all love you… he aimed at terrorists’ heads, squeezed the trigger hard, and shot bullets, and shot, and shot.”
One of the leaders of the leftist campaign in the neighborhood, Assaf Sharon, described to Ynet: “The settlers are allowed to hold political activities and aggravating and offensive as could possibly be, and the neighborhood’s original residents, who are still a majority there, are not allowed to do a thing. We saw them enter a house, have a party, and play very loud music.”
Ynet asked the Jewish residents themselves for a response to the songs of praise for Goldstein, but they preferred not to respond.
Left-wing activists plan on holding a demonstration this upcoming Saturday night in protest of the events. “Such an event, which takes place under the watchful eye of the police, needs to make every citizen of Israel lose sleep. Such displays of violence on the part of the settlers are becoming more abundant.
“Therefore, it is important that people come and demand from the government and the Jerusalem municipality to stop the settlement enterprise in the east of the city, which is destroying the delicate fabric of life and is thwarting all possibility for a future peace accord,” said Sharon.
EDITOR: It takes one to know one…
While it is difficult to argue with the statement about Israel, for a Saudi politician to say this carries its humourous weight!
Saudi FM: Israel a religiously oriented culture: Ynet
Prince Saud al-Faisal tells New York Times about enlightened ‘liberal’ trends in his country, compared to ‘extreme’ conservative religious movement in Jewish state
WASHINGTON – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, whose country is considered one of the most conservative Muslim states, believes his Saudi Arabia is “moving in the direction of a liberal society, while Israel is moving into a more religiously oriented culture.”
Faisal told the New York Times that while Saudi Arabia was moving forward, “what is happening in Israel is the opposite.”
Nationwide crackdown launched on stores selling items that are red or in any other way allude to banned celebrations of Western holiday
The interview was conducted by columnist Muareen Dowd, who arrived in Saudi Arabia for a 10-day visit to examine the improvement in the woman’s status.
Dowd noted in her column that Saudi Arabia was an absolute Muslim monarchy ruling over one of the most religiously and socially intolerant places on earth, and that the country Faisail deemed too “religiously determined” and regressive was the democracy of Israel.
“We are breaking away from the shackles of the past,” the prince said. “We are moving in the direction of a liberal society. What is happening in Israel is the opposite; you are moving into a more religiously oriented culture and into a more religiously determined politics and to a very extreme sense of nationhood,” which was coming “to a boiling point.”
Faisal linked the alleged religious radicalization in Israel with the difficulty to strike a peace agreement with the Palestinians and Arab countries, saying that “the religious institutions in Israel are stymieing every effort at peace.”
Asked about the situation of women in his country and extreme statements made by Muslim clerics, the prince said, “I think the trend for reform is set, and there is no looking back. Clerics who every now and then come with statements in the opposite direction are releasing frustration rather than believing that they can stop the trend and turn back the clock.”
EDITOR: The Show must go on!
For the 359th time (I didn’t really count…) the ‘peace negotiations’ are to start. This is good news for the media, politicians, and T Shirt manufacturers. For the rest of us, especially for the Palestinians, this is really bad news; Israel always used ‘peace talk’ to further its settlements at high speed. Not a single US President could resist the Photo Call round, but there again, Obama already has his Nobel Peace Prize, so what does he care?
Mideast peace talks could begin as early as Sunday: Haaretz
Indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority may begin as early as Sunday, Haaretz had learned. U.S. Middle East envoy George Mitchell will land in Israel on Saturday night, and the American administration is hoping the sides will declare the beginning of indirect talks the following morning, ahead of the arrival of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden on Monday.
The foreign ministers of the Arab League announced in Cairo Wednesday they were supporting the American initiative for indirect negotiations, qualifying their support with a four-month deadline. They said no progress will be possible without a complete settlement freeze.
The announcement came after heavy American, Egyptian, Jordanian and Saudi pressure was put on the Palestinians and on other members of the League. The pressure also resulted in the Palestinians’ withdrawing a much tougher and reserved statement about the negotiations than the one eventually released. The Arab League decision was not unanimous and was strongly contested by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, who went as far as to interrupt when Amr Moussa, the secretary general of the Arab League, was reading out the statement, to say the decision on entering negotiations rested ultimately with the PA.
The foreign ministers set a four-month deadline for the first phase of indirect negotiations after which the Arab League will assess the progress of the talks and decide whether to offer further support.
The foreign ministers said their decision was a last effort to promote peace through negotiations and was meant to allow the American administration an opportunity to facilitate the process. “Despite the lack of conviction in the seriousness of the Israeli side, the committee sees that it would give the indirect talks the chance as a last attempt and to facilitate the U.S. role,” the statement read.
Moussa stressed that even indirect negotiations are doomed to failure if Israeli measures such as settlement construction continue. He warned that if indirect talks fail to yield results, the Arabs will call for an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting to address the Arab-Israeli conflict and would ask Washington not to use its veto.
The Americans proposed the indirect talks as a way to allow the process to move forward without PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ losing face by being seen as giving up on his demand for a complete settlement freeze. Abbas had also sought the Arab League’s support to preempt Palestinian criticism of the move.
Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Wednesday in Gaza that he calls on the Arab League to review its decision.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented Wednesday in a Knesset speech that “it seems the conditions for proximity talks are ripening.” He said: “All said and done, the world understands that this government is striving for negotiations. It has made some difficult steps to further these negotiations. It said things and did things,” he said.
The prime minister also slammed the Palestinians for refusing “without justification and no reason whatsoever to reenter negotiations.”
Netanyahu said: “I’ve said before that although you normally need two to tango, in this case you might need three. These negotiations may require some going back and forth, but Israel is not and never was an obstacle to negotiations.”
American Vice President Joe Biden is expected to arrive here on Monday, and the American administration is keen to have the announcement of indirect negotiations before he lands, so he can congratulate the sides and present the talks as an American achievement.
Special envoy Mitchell will mediate the talks, which will be the first formal negotiations after a 15-month hiatus, since before Netanyahu took office. These will also be the first Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to take place under the Obama administration.
Negotiations have been at a standstill as Abbas refused to enter talks so long as any construction takes place in any settlement, including East Jerusalem.
At this stage, negotiations will focus on border issues, with the hope that if these can be resolved, the issue of settlement construction will be next on the agenda, followed by the core issues of the status of Jerusalem and the Palestinian refugees.