Foreign Office Minister condemns Grand Mufti’s inflammatory words.

Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt has condemned the inflammatory words of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem saying that the UK is against any comments that could stir up hatred and prejudice.

Speaking today the Foreign Office Minister said:

“I condemn the inflammatory words used by the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and others at a recent event marking the 47th anniversary of the Fatah movement.  To refer to the Jewish people in such a way and to talk of killing Jews is anti-semitism, pure and simple.  The UK is against any comments that could stir up hatred and prejudice in a region that needs a culture of peace and mutual respect.  Jerusalem is a city sacred to three religions and all religious leaders should be working for dignity and justice for people of all faiths.”

This follows Palestine Media Watch’s stunning work which has now been picked up by the Prime Minister of Israel:

Mufti denies applying Hadith about Muslims killing Jews to today’s conflict

PMW report shows that Mufti did apply call to kill Jews to current conflict

Following PMW report, PM Netanyahu calls for criminal investigation of PA Mufti

Amazing work by PMW: Kol ha kavod!

to my Christian readers. Wishing all of my Christian readers a Merry Christmas! And thank you for your support over the years.

Like I did last year, I’ll leave the last word to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for meeting freed Palestinian terrorist Amna Muna during a visit to Turkey on Wednesday.

Muna, who was freed to Turkey during the first stage of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange swap with Hamas, was serving a life sentence for her part in the murder of Ofir Rahum, an Israeli teen from Ashkelon.

Muna was supposed to go to the Gaza Strip, but she refused to enter the territory – apparently because she is a secular Muslim.

On Wednesday Israel Radio reported that Abbas had met Muna in private during his visit to Turkey after holding a group meeting with the rest of the Palestinians deported to Turkey in the Shalit deal.

In response to Abbas’ meeting, the Prime Minister’s Office released a statement later Wednesday, saying that it was “shocking to see the man who claims to the whole world that he aims for peace with Israel, going as far as Turkey to meet a despicable murderer.”

Fatah strongman Jibril Rajub addressed the PA president’s meeting with Muna, saying the freed prisoner wasn’t in seclusion, telling Israel Radio: “If she doesn’t deserve to live, why did you let her go?”

By the way, I don’t buy the baloney about Muna refusing to go to the Gaza Strip “because she is a secular Muslim.” She refused because she’s afraid what families of inmates she abused while in prison may do to her.

Current: One last question: what’s your favorite Woody Allen movie?

AD: Well, I met Woody Allen while he was filming Manhattan. He was given to me as a 40th-birthday present by friends. He agreed to have lunch with me, and we became, I wouldn’t say friends, but we became acquaintances from that time on. Since I was there while he was filming Manhattan, I think Manhattan has always been my favorite. And if you want to ask me what my favorite Larry David episode is…it’s “Palestinian Chicken.” And let me tell you this: I recently sent a copy of “Palestinian Chicken,” that Larry David gave me, to Prime Minister Netanyahu—with the suggestion that he invite Abbas over to watch it together. And maybe if they both get a good laugh, they can begin a negotiating process.

Current: Do you know if that happened?

AD: I don’t know, but I know that Netanyahu has received the DVD, and he was looking forward to watching it. So it may be that Larry David will not only win Emmys, but he may even qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize, if his episode could bring together Netanyahu and Abbas, and bring Abbas to the negotiating table.

While I seriously doubt Netanyahu would like it, I suspect Abbas would.

[Strong language and inappropriateness warning]

Yeah, right.

Here are some previous Sarkozy excuses.

[source]

In Israel, no-one really seems to be making a big deal out of this.

The controversial Benetton Unhate Foundation campaign picture of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu kissing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu-Mazen) has been greeted with a mixture of amusement and indifference in Israel.

This is in contrast to the vociferous Vatican protests over the picture of Pope Benedict XVI kissing Egypt’s Grand Sheikh of the Al-Azhar Mosque Mohammad Ahmed Al Tayeb, which resulted in the ad being pulled.

Other images include President Barack Obama kissing Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, and French President Nicholas Sarkozi kissing German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

My reaction? They could have saved a lot of money on Photoshop had they just accessed the Shimon Peres photo collection.

THE White House has tried to stifle any diplomatic fallout from an open microphone incident in which President Barack Obama appeared to show frustration with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.

A top official insisted Obama had a good relationship with the Israeli prime minister, despite being party to a conversation at the G20 summit in which French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Netanyahu a “liar.”

The incident, first reported by a French blog, turned into an embarrassment for the White House and ammunition for political critics who see Obama as too tough on Israel and in danger of losing the US Jewish vote.

Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security advisor, told reporters, that Obama had a “very close working relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu. They speak very regularly.

Yes we know. Every day.

As for “close working relationship”, translate that as “He can’t stand the guy on a personal level.”

The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, described the Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, as a “liar” in a private exchange with Barack Obama at last week’s G20 summit in Cannes that was inadvertently broadcast to journalists.

“I cannot stand him. He’s a liar,” Sarkozy told Obama. The US president responded by saying: “You’re fed up with him? I have to deal with him every day.”

Neither leader apparently realised that microphones that had been attached for a press conference had already been switched on, allowing journalists waiting for a press conference to hear the conversation.

The exchange was first reported on the French website Arrêt Sur Images, and was later confirmed by a Reuters reporter who also heard the remarks.

The gaffe came before a press conference while the two presidents were in a private room.

Arrêt Sur Images reported that while the two presidents were in private discussions in a closed room before their press conference, Élysée staff handed out translation sets to waiting journalists.

A staff member reportedly explained that the headphones to go with the translation sets were not yet being handed out because this would have allowed journalists to listen in on the private conversation still going on. Half a dozen journalists immediately plugged in their own headphones and caught three minutes of the private exchange.

The conversation apparently began with Obama criticising Sarkozy for not warning the US that France would vote in favour of the Palestinians’ application to join Unesco, the United Nations agency for culture and education.

One French journalist told Arrêt Sur Images that the conversation was broadcast for around three minutes before officials realised the mistake. Another told the website that the reporters agreed not to publicise the remarks because of their sensitive nature.

The exchange was mentioned on a blog by Le Monde’s political correspondent Arnaud Leparmentier, who said the two presidents had discussed their “difficult” relationship with Netanyahu behind closed doors.

Spokesmen for the Élysée and Netanyahu declined to comment.

 My thoughts:

• Did this really happen? Surely the audio would be available if it did, notwithstanding the alleged agreement by journalists to keep mum (surely someone there would find it too irresistible to leak?)
• Assuming it did happen, isn’t witholding the information unethical journalistic behavior?
• It can’t be long before someone Bibi-bombs a photo of Sarkozy and Obama

And of course..

• Who do Sarkozy and Obama think they are – Frank Drebin?

It all started with this photo in the wake of Gilad Shalit’s return from captivity.

Many Israelis felt Bibi’s presence in the photograph was misplaced, especially considering the emotional moment of the Shalit family reunion (his grin does not help). Soon enough, people began placing his photograph into historically significant moments à la Forest Gump.

While there are many examples, here are my favorites:

More here, here and here.