FresnoZionism.org — ציונות פרסנו

Arab Knesset member Azmi Bishara, about whom I’ve written before (also here) has been accused of spying for Hezbollah during the war:

In one of the most grievous cases of espionage in Israeli history, the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) revealed Wednesday that former Balad chairman Azmi Bishara was under investigation for allegedly spying on behalf of Hizbullah during the Second Lebanon War by providing the guerrilla group with targets for their rockets as well as classified military information.

According to the allegations against Bishara, the former MK transferred to Hizbullah information, predictions, assessments and recommendations about the political echelon, the IDF and the Israeli public during the Second Lebanon War. — Jerusalem Post

In addition, Bishara is accused of “being in contact with intelligence operatives of other countries”, and of having “received detailed missions from Hizbullah which he carried out”. He is alleged to have received hundreds of thousands of dollars for his activities; security sources decline to release the name of the country in which the money originated.

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Although exact numbers are impossible to come by, there were something like 600,000 Palestinian Arabs that became refugees in 1948. We all know how the Arab nations have done their best to prevent the implementation of any solution for these people and their descendants, who now number as many as 5 million, except for the impossible ‘right of return’ to Israel.

In all of the discussion about refugees, little is said about the Jewish refugees who fled Arab countries, starting in 1948. This is primarily because Israel and world Jewry — in contrast to the Arab world — facilitated their resettlement, mostly in Israel but also in other places.

In 1948, there were about 856,000 Jews living in various Arab countries. Today there are only a few thousand. Many of these became refugees as they fled to escape pogroms, torture and murder, and many lost all of their possessions in the process.

It seems to me that any compensation provided to the Arab refugees — who after all fled during a war that was started by the Arab nations — needs to be balanced by compensation of these refugees as well.

In order to document what happened to these Jewish refugees, both for the sake of history and so they can be compensated, an International Rights and Redress Campaign has been established.

It’s imperative, before eyewitnesses are gone and memories fade, that those Jews who fled Arab countries document their experiences and their losses. They can do this at the site linked above, where there are forms available in multiple languages.

The Arab nations, who like to talk about Palestinian human rights, are the worst rights violators of all. It’s time to pursue justice for Jewish refugees.

Technorati Tags: refugees, Jews, Jewish refugees

The case of Alan Johnston, the BBC journalist kidnapped in Gaza on March 12 this year has several mysterious aspects.

Other kidnapped reporters have been freed on payment of ransom in a number of days. As a friendly journalist, it is in the interests of the Palestinians — both Hamas and Fatah — to get him freed. Yet the BBC claims that no demands have been made. Palestinian sources have said that they know who is holding him, and they are ‘working’ toward his release.

There was a rumor that an extremist (aren’t they all) Palestinian group had taken credit for killing him. Later reports say that he is in good health, but no pictures or other evidence of this has been provided.

I can see only two possibilities. One is that he has indeed been killed, either accidentally or on purpose. Perhaps he attempted to escape. And the other is that negotiations are in progress, but the amount of money demanded by the kidnappers is so enormous that even the BBC is balking at paying it.

Many former hostages have described their horrifying ordeals. Hostage-taking has come to be emblematic of Muslim ‘freedom-fighters’ as much as suicide bombing; and although this particular kidnapping is apparently not political, the culture that has given rise to it is the same.

We hope Johnston will be freed soon. The cruelty that seems to characterize the Palestinians quite reduces the impact of the ‘human rights’ arguments that they and their supporters like to apply to the Israeli security fence, etc.

Technorati Tags: Johnston, BBC, Gaza

Here’s some vibrant imagery from Veronique de Keyser, a Belgian member of the European Parliament:

Addressing a European Left Group hearing on the situation of Palestinian political prisoners last week, De Keyser deplored the “passivity” of the European Parliament on the Palestinian issue, and hailed the “moderation and maturity” of the Palestinians.

“I wonder how they are able to limit violence in the territories given the background,” the Socialist politician said. “If the Israeli ambassador comes in the future to speak of Israel’s security, I feel like I want to strangle him.” [my emphasis]

She seems to have a ‘thing’ for this particular metaphor, because she also said:

One must wring the neck of the European and German culpability on the Shoah.

No, I do not understand why she appears to have rubbed charcoal on her cheeks in the photo.

Technorati Tags: Israel, de Keyser, EU