Despite the lack of any real proof showing the involvement of neighboring Jews (and evidence of lying on the part of so-called witnesses) , PA officials have condemned them for destroying the burnt mosque in Al-Lubban Ash-Sharqiya.
At the same time, the media is suggesting efforts to revive the “peace process” have taken a blow.
Updates (Israel time; most recent at top)?
11:12PM: We already knew Richard Goldstone, of the Goldstone report accusing Israel of war crimes during Operation Cast Lead, was not such a nice fellow.
But this takes it to another level.
Jurist Richard Goldstone was responsible for sending at least 28 black South Africans to death when they appeared before him during the apartheid regime, Yediot Aharonot reported Wednesday.
According to the report, Goldstone, who headed the UN committee which investigated alleged war crimes perpetrated by the IDF during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza, handed down the sentences while serving as a judge in the South African Court of Appeals.
Goldstone presided during the 1980s and 1990s, and wrote in one of his rulings that the gallows are the only deterrent for killers.
However, he responded to the report by saying that he was a part of the system and had to respect the laws of the state, occasionally having to enforce laws he was opposed to.
The former judge was also responsible for sending four men accused of violent acts to receive lashes alongside the upholding of other racist laws, Yediot Aharonot said.
10:42PM: I’m willing to bet you’ll never see this from a palestinian cleric.
Rabbi Menachem Froman of the Tekoa settlement paid his respects Wednesday to a mosque in Lubban al-Sharqiya village in the West Bank, along with envoys from around the world, despite a police announcement that it had not been torched.
“The torching of a mosque, according to Jewish halacha, is equal to the torching of a synagogue. I will bring dozens of settlers to repair the burnt mosque,” he said.
Despite the police’s conclusions, many Palestinians still blame settlers for the mosque’s demise. A number of Palestinians stated this claim at a meeting there Wednesday.
Froman, who was invited to attend the meeting by Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, spoke for almost an hour. He told all those present that he believes in coexistence and the two-state solution.
“In the Palestinian state Jewish settlers and Arab residents will live side by side. Just as there 20% of the population of Israel is Arab, there will be a 20% population of Jews in Palestine and this will be a bridge for peace,” he said.
“Damaging a mosque is tantamount to damaging a synagogue. This is what I learned from a rabbi at a young age. Judaism rejects damaging any holy place, no matter what religion.”
Later the rabbi told Ynet, “I was surprised to be invited, because the Palestinian Authority is currently conducting a campaign against the settlers, their products, and now even the Palestinian workers who work at the settlements, not to mention the international front, in which they are unwilling to proceed.”
Froman reasoned that he had probably been invited to speak as message of hope for a Palestinian state. “They understand that the negotiations are stuck and that the Americans aren’t getting them anywhere, and maybe they really want to pave a new path,” he said.
The rabbi also offered his hosts help repairing the mosque. “I told them I’m no smarter than the police and that I don’t know who did it. They are of course convinced it was arson. But I clarified that in any case Judaism opposes such acts and that once the investigation ended I would bring by a few dozen settlers in work clothes to help rebuild the mosque,” he said.
10:25PM: Sorry, but busy day + latest episode of Lost = not many updates.
1:24PM: PA leader Mahmoud Abbas has threatened to quit the upcoming proximity peace talks if Israel embarks on construction activity in Judea and Samaria.
In an interview with CNN earlier this week, the Palestinian leader said the Israeli side was being represented by a “radical and stubborn” government. He added that it would be difficult to convince Israel to pull out of Palestinian lands and deal with the status of Jerusalem and the future of refugees.
8:20AM: G-d knows what point the AP photographer was trying to make with this photo:
That Netanyahu brings about darkness?
That he has a small head?
5:50AM: On May 2nd – Herzl’s birthday – Beverly Hills (the sister-city of Herzliya, Israel) held a dedication ceremony for the naming of “Herzl Way.”
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