[Politics_CurrentEvents_Group] Study Shows UN Refugee Agency Aids Terror, Not Peace/other news

Study Shows UN Refugee Agency Aids Terror, Not Peace | War & Peace...

7 hours ago ... Study Shows UN Refugee Agency Aids Terror, Not Peace BY MICHAEL WIDLANSKI for IMRA 31 July 2011 [This article can be reproduced]. The UN ...
http://warandpeaceinthemiddleeast.com/2011/07/study-shows-un-refugee-agency-aids-terror-not-peace/

Abbas' advisor: PA should honor "Martyrs"

and not worry about donors' grants

http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=5347

By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

Palestinian Authority Chairman Abbas' advisor, Sabri Saidam, recently defended the PA's honoring of Palestinian "Martyrs" by naming streets after them and marking their birthdays. Palestinian Media Watch has reported on the PA policy of turningterrorists into role models by naming events and places after them. Abbas' advisor said Palestinians should continue this practice and not be concerned about the condemnation from foreign countries or the possibility that countries who support the PA financially will cut funding:

"Blessings to the souls of our Shahids (Martyrs), whom we will not forget - not for the sake of a grant, not for the sake of a deal..."

Earlier this year, Saidam expressed strong support for naming a square after the terrorist Dalal Mughrabi whose bus hijacking killed 37 Israeli civilians in 1978. The official PA daily reported that he "emphasized that the anniversary of Dalal's Martyrdom-seeking (i.e., her terror attack) should be made greater by inaugurating a [city] square in her name." Following a popular inauguration of the "Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Square," Saidam told Agence France-Presse:

"Every one of us has tried in his own way to express his pride in this Shahida[Martyr Dalal Mughrabi]."

In the recent article he wrote in the official PA daily, he also expressed sorrow over the fact that some Palestinians view the Martyrs "as a burden" and do not wish to commemorate them out of fear of evoking international condemnation:

"How it pains me to see people who view our Shahids (Martyrs) as a burden because the donors will be angry and some countries will complain, or because economic and everyday interests will be harmed... Blessings to the souls of ourShahids, whom we will not forget - not for the sake of a grant, not for the sake of a deal, and not for the sake of a position."

Saidam lamented that Palestinian youth don't know the names of past leaders, and mentioned three Fatah leaders from the 1960s: Abu Ali Iyad, Abd Al-Fatah Hamoud, Ahmad Al-Shuqeiri. Abu Ali Iyad was appointed head of Fatah military operations in 1966, and was responsible for several terror attacks. Abd Al-Fatah Hamoud was one of the founding members of Fatah and Ahmad Al-Shuqeiri was the first chairman of the PLO.

When Palestinian Media Watch publicized the PA's plans to inaugurate a square named after Mughrabi in 2010, international disapproval and criticism forced the PA to cancel the inauguration. However, Fatah went ahead and held informal inaugurations in 2010 and 2011.

As documented by Palestinian Media Watch, the PA has named numerous places and events after Dalal Mughrabi.

The following is the article by Saidam, Abbas' advisor:

By Sabri Saidam, Advisor to Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and under-secretary of the Fatah Revolutionary Council:

Headline: "Are we loyal to the path of our fighters?"

"We have named streets after leaders who are not of our people, and have marked the birthdays of other heroes who are not from our society, as a sign of honor and esteem for them. This in itself is good and admirable, but there must be equal or even greater zeal for the heritage of our own struggle. How many of our young children and school pupils know of Abu Ali Iyad, Abd Al-Fatah Hamoud, Ahmad Al-Shuqeiri, and others like them? What is their position on our study curriculum? How it pains me to see people who view our Shahids(Martyrs) as a burden because the donors will be angry and some countries will complain, or because economic and everyday interests will be harmed... Blessings to the souls of our Shahids, whom we will not forget - not for the sake of a grant, not for the sake of a deal, and not for the sake of a position."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, July 19, 2011]

The following are articles documenting Abbas' advisor's support for naming a square after the terrorist Dalal Mughrabi:

"Advisor to President Mahmoud Abbas and under-secretary of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Sabri Saidam, delivered a speech in which he criticized [the fact] that many leaders don't participate in the [events marking] the anniversary of Martyrs... He emphasized that the weapons must be turned towards the main enemy [Israel] and that internal differences of opinion must be set aside. Saidam noted the awful living conditions of the families of Shahids (Martyrs), in the country and outside of it, and as proof he said that the allowance to the family of Shahida (Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi (i.e., leader of the bus hijacking in 1978 in which 37 civilians were murdered) is a mere $123. He... emphasized that the anniversary of Dalal's Martyrdom-seeking (i.e., her terror attack) should be made greater by inaugurating a square in her name in the city of El-Bireh."

[Al-Ayyam, March 10, 2011]

Headline: "Residents insist on naming square in Ramallah after the Shahida(Martyr) Dalal Mughrabi"

"Popular Palestinian activists announced yesterday that they were insisting on naming a square in Ramallah after the Shahida Dalal Mughrabi. This follows the PA postponement of an official inauguration of the junction, owing to Israeli protest. March 13th will be the 33rd anniversary of Dalal Mughrabi's death as a Martyr in a military operation that she led inside Israel in 1978. About a hundred residents, representing universities and the Palestinian Writers' Union, gathered yesterday and put up a huge poster, inscribed with the name Dalal Mughrabi, and a picture of the boat in which she entered Israel. Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Revolutionary Council [and advisor to Abbas], Sabri Saidam, told Agence France-Presse: 'Today a popular inauguration of the junction is being held. There has been insistence on naming this junction after the Shahida Dalal Mughrabi. Every one of us has tried in his own way to express his pride in this Shahida'... Senior Fatah members said that they had decided to inaugurate the 'Shahida Dalal Mughrabi Square' in the town of El-Bireh, close to Ramallah, despite Israel's threats in the past to destroy it. Secretary of the Palestinian Writers' Union, Murad Al-Sudani, told Reuters: 'The [Fatah] student Shabiba movement and the Palestinian Writers' Union decided today to inaugurate the Shahida Dalal Mughrabi square in the town of El-Bireh out of support for the path of struggle, and to express honor to the Shahids (Martyrs) of the Palestinian people.' A granite slab has been placed at the center of the square, featuring an engraved image of Dalal Mughrabi inside a map of historical Palestine, in the shape of a sail. A photograph of Dalal has been placed in a different spot on the square; she is draped in a Palestinian keffiyeh and holds an AK-47 machine gun."

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 14, 2011]

Headline: "Al-Quds Open University marks anniversary of the Martyrdom of Dalal Mughrabi with a call to approve the Families of Shahids (Martyrs) Law"

"Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, Sabri Saidam, emphasized that the Shahids (Martyrs) are the ones who should ascend the highest dais, because they proved to the world that they are entrusted with the sacred mission, since they sacrificed themselves for the sake of the homeland. He said this yesterday, as the Al-Quds Open University marked the 33rd anniversary of the Martyrdom of Dalal Mughrabi, in cooperation with the Palestinian Writers' Union and the National Union of Families of Shahids, in the presence of Sabri Saidam; member of the Revolutionary Council, Naif Sweitat; Secretary General of the Palestinian Writers' Union, Murad Al-Sudani; Secretary General of the National Association of Shahids' Families, Muhammad Sbeihat; Dean of Student Affairs at the university, Muhammad Shahin; sister of the Shahida (Martyr), Rashida Mughrabi; and several writers, family members of Shahids, and students.Saidam emphasized that the Shahida Mughrabi remains in [our] minds and in our dreams... Al-Sudani said that commemoration of the anniversary of [the death of] Shahida Dalal by the union [of Palestinian Writers] arises out of a cultural statement which lays the foundations for the homeland and announces the transition to the sacred obligation, which the elevated and dear Shahid masters set forth. He condemned the fact that there are some who are ashamed to mark Dalal's anniversary [of Martyrdom], and said that whoever is ashamed of hisShahids, is ashamed of [his] history. He emphasized that the ShahidaMughrabi square should be inaugurated...

Sbeihat, for his part, stated that this ceremony of honor was not just for Dalal Mughrabi, but for all the Shahids... Naif Sweitat of the National Guidance [Directorate] delivered a speech on behalf of the family of ShahidaDalal Mughrabi, in which he spoke of the political significance of the Dalal Mughrabi operation... Muhammad Shahin said in a speech on behalf of the university's president, Younes Amr: 'There is nothing that expresses greater loyalty to Dalal than our providing for her illustrious sisters that which will contribute to their resolve.'"

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, March 10, 2011]

http://youtu.be/6SKrt-Z6zWg
IsraAID celebrates Israeli humanitarian work in Africa

The organization's vital lifesaving work has attracted praise from the professionals and interest in future projects

Live Aid concert organizer Bob Geldof was in Israel recently to laud Israeli humanitarian projects in Africa. The Irish rock musician spoke at a conference presented byIsraAID in Herzliya.

People from Israel's business, arts, media and civil society sectors met at the conference to applaud past achievements and inspire future ones.

Geldof's 1985 concert raised almost $250 million to fight hunger in Africa.

Also appearing at the conference were Israeli musician Idan Raichel, the goodwill ambassador of the Israeli organization Save a Child's Heart, which provides life-saving heart surgery to children in developing countries; and Itai Anghel, a journalist and filmmaker who has interviewed rape victims in the Congo.

jihadwatch.org

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Jul 31, 2011 03:12 am | Marisol

They're playing by the book: "When you meet the unbelievers in battle, strike at their necks..." -- Qur'an 47:4 "Islamic militants beheaded Philippine troops: navy," from Agence France-Presse, July 29: MANILA - Islamist militants in the southern Philippines beheaded two marines in a brutal knife attack during a major clash...

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Jul 31, 2011 03:02 am | Marisol

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This guy was actively calling upon Muslims to commit violence against members of Parliament. Once again, Pamela Geller said it best: "I anxiously await the same intense and extensive mainstream media coverage and obsession that we witnessed immediately after and in the ensuing days of the Norway massacre to determine...

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Jul 30, 2011 12:27 pm | Marisol

Wow. Most guys just save the henna for the beard.... The "Sharia zones" continue to advance, more or less unchallenged. The lack of a response rewards the Islamic supremacists' behavior, encouraging and guaranteeing much more of it. An update on this story. "'No porn or prostitution': Islamic extremists set...

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Daily Mail incites violence against Spencer?

Jul 30, 2011 12:07 pm | Robert

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Jul 30, 2011 10:00 am | Robert

"President Hamid Karzai condemned the bombings as brutal and inhumane and said they 'cannot be justified by any religious faith.'" Yet the Taliban, which Karzai has threatened to join, constantly invoke Islam to justify their actions. This recalls the fact that last year, U.S. Muslim soldier Naser Abdo condemned the...

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Jul 30, 2011 09:36 am | Robert

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Jul 30, 2011 05:58 am | The Anti-Jihadist

In Malaysia, antisemitism is not just the characteristic of former prime ministers. Nor does it characterize solely the government, or the (unholy) Leftist-Islamist political opposition. No, Jew hatred is a defining feature of Islam as a whole, and hence is characteristic of many if not most Malaysians in general. This...

Kill The Jews! - Muslim Children Recite Antisemitic Messages on Egyptian TV http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7cdIarwh0U

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4093729,00.html#.TjSWyBfQBVU.facebook

Iraqi officials want archive back Photo: AP
       
 

 
US, Iraq clash over Jewish trove  
Ranging from medieval religious book to children's Hebrew primers, from photos to Torah cases, collection rescued from Baghdad basement during 2003 invasion is testimony to once vibrant Jewish community

A trove of Jewish books and other materials, rescued from a sewage-filled Baghdad basement during the 2003 invasion, is now caught up in a tug-of-war between the US and Iraq.

     
     Ranging from a medieval religious book to children's Hebrew primers, from photos to Torah cases, the collection is testimony to a once vibrant Jewish community in Baghdad. Their present-day context is the relationship, fraught with distrust, between postwar Iraq and its Jewish diaspora.
 
Jewish Heritage
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Full story
Discovered in a basement used by Saddam Hussein's secret police, the collection was sent to the US for safekeeping and restoration, and sat at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in Maryland until last year, when Iraqi officials started a campaign to get it back.
 
Initially contacts went well, but now Deputy Culture Minister Taher Naser al-Hmood says "The Americans are not serious" about setting a deadline for getting back the archive.
 
US officials deny that they are delaying its return. They say they only recently got the roughly $3 million needed to clean up the materials – the whole point of bringing them to the US – and they question the rush to return the collection now, when the goal is so close.
 
"It is not US government material, and we have every intention of returning it," said Phil Frayne, a spokesman for the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.
 
"We understand the frustration over the delay but we're happy that this is going to finally move forward," he said.
 
But al-Hmood was skeptical, saying he had not been told about the money. "Let the American side prove its goodwill," he said. "We cannot trust the Americans. They have not fulfilled their previous promises."

Claims of Jewish pressure to stop return of collection (Photo: AP)
 
The case is complicated by the knee-jerk suspicions that cloud everything related to Jewish history in the Arab world, Iraq's attempts to assert its sovereignty after years of US domination, and a diaspora trying to recover its history.
 
There are claims of Jewish pressure to prevent the return of the collection, and questions about why the US didn't prevent the looting of Arab and Islamic treasures during the invasion but was able to bring the Jewish collection to safety in America. Among those voicing indignation about the transfer of the archive to America is Liwa Smaysim, the minister of archaeology, who belongs to a fiercely anti-American party in the government coalition.
 
On the other hand, once returned to Baghdad, the archive would likely be beyond the reach of Jewish scholars, especially Israeli ones, given the absence of diplomatic ties with Israel, and the anti-Semitism that exists here. Iraqi officials have vowed to restore the materials and digitize them so they're available outside of Iraq as well.
 
Besides parchments and photos accumulated over the years, the collection includes books printed in Baghdad, Warsaw and Venice, one of them a Jewish religious book published in 1568, and 50 copies of a children's primer in Hebrew and Arabic.
 
They are the lost heritage of what was once one of the largest Jewish communities in the Middle East, which dated to the 6th century B.C. and ended with an exodus after the creation of Israel in 1948. Today fewer than 10 Jews are believed to be left here.
 
Jewish groups' role in dispute unknownAfter the collection was found by a US military team searching for weapons of mass destruction, the US-headed agency temporarily governing Iraq signed an agreement with the Maryland archive to take its contents to the US.
 
It stipulated that the US would restore and display the materials before returning them to Iraq, but that the Iraqi government could have them back any time it asked, regardless of whether the work was complete.
 
Iraqi Culture Ministry officials say they appreciate the US efforts to save the materials, but are frustrated about getting them back.
 
They say that in meetings and conversations last year with the State Department and NARA, a decision was reached to return half the materials by the end of 2010, and the rest to be restored and displayed before also coming back to Iraq.
 
A NARA report, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by The Associated Press, says Saad Eskander, the head of the Iraqi National Library and Archives, met with US representatives on June 23, 2010 and they decided upon a plan, including the immediate return of half the archive. But for reasons no one can entirely agree upon, things began to fall apart.
 
Al-Hmood said that when the December deadline passed, the Iraqis decided to officially ask for the archive back, and repeated the request six months later. In response, he said, the US sent messages discussing what he says are "technical issues" and which he considers procrastination.
 
However, the Iraqi government seems in two minds about the matter. Deputy Foreign Minister Labid Abawi, whose ministry is Kurdish-run and has close ties to the U.S. government, said it prefers the US do the restoration, on the grounds that Iraq lacks the capability.
 
But Eskander and al-Hmood say the Iraqi Cabinet tasked their offices – not the Foreign Ministry – with recovering missing documents, and they're trying to do their job. A letter from the Coalition Provisional Authority, the US agency that ran Iraq after the invasion, and obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, confirms the Ministry of Culture is charged with making decisions about the Jewish archive.
 
Eskander shepherded his library through the violence that followed the invasion and is getting a new five-story expansion project now being built. The rattle of gunfire has been replaced by the boom of construction, while staff repair other, similarly mold-infested documents – proof, Eskander says, that Iraq can and will do the needed restoration on the Jewish materials.
 
He himself is a Faihly, a member of a small Shiite-Kurdish minority persecuted under Saddam. He says it is vital that Iraqis know their history and that they be made aware that Jews were once part of this country.
 
He and al-Hmood also are pushing for the return of millions of sensitive security-related documents believed to be in CIA and Pentagon hands. These would be much more significant for the Iraqi people, but for now the Jewish archive has been the focus of activity.
 
Al-Hmood said "There are Jewish organizations that exert great pressure to prevent the return of the archive, claiming that there are no Jewish people in Iraq any longer."
 
The State Department says it has not succumbed to any pressure and is simply fulfilling its part of the agreement to restore the materials before returning them to Iraq.
 
Frayne said he understands the frustration over the delay but adds that with nearly $3 million in US taxpayer money allocated, restoration can move ahead.
 
NARA will hire about 10 people to do the work, and part of the money will go toward bringing Iraqi archivists to the US and training them in restoration, said Doris Hamburg, NARA's director of preservation programs.
 
Frayne said the US has reached out repeatedly to the Iraqi side to appoint an archival team to help draft an addendum to the 2003 agreement, but has received no response.
 
Although Al-Hmood and Eskander said they had not been told about the $3 million, Al-Hmood said talks could resume if a firm timeline was set for the archive's return.
 
The role, if any, of outside Jewish groups in the dispute is unknown, but Andrew Baker of the American Jewish Committee questioned why Iraqi officials were in such a rush and wondered who in the Jewish community would be able to make use of the collection once it is taken to Iraq.
 
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A member of the Iraqi Jewish diaspora who follows the talks closely said it initially was hoped the archive would serve as a line of communication with the Iraqi government on other issues such as protecting Jewish cemeteries and shrines in Iraq.
 
But the perceived involvement of American Jewish organizations led to suspicions they were trying to block the archive's return, and the archive became an impediment to further talks, he said. He requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of the archive issue.