Israellycool

In training : Palestinian militants from the Nasser Salah al-Din Brigades military wing of the Popular Resistance Committees take part in a training exercise in Beit Hanun in the Northern Gaza Strip. (AFP/Mahmud Hams)

We’ve seen Mahmoud Hams’ propaganda before, specifically only taking photos that make terrorists look heroic and never taking pictures that make them look like terrorists. He has stated in the past that his purpose in working for AFP is to act as an unapologetic advocate of Palestinian Arabs, and AFP is happy to employ someone like that.

Do you think that AFP would ever frame a picture of US or Israeli soldiers in such a flattering light?

(Aussie Dave has also noted Hams’ bias here.)

In an unbelievable move, the Arab American News - a leading newspaper that rails against perceived American prejudice against Arabs - has printed an article by the vile anti-semite “Israel Shamir” called “In Defense of Prejudice.”

“Shamir” has been denounced as a fraud by even far left anti-Zionists and goes by many other names including Jöran Jermas and Adam Ermash and probably was never Jewish (he now happily says he is Christian and he advocates all Jews converting to Christianity.)

The article is typical “Shamir”, where he says things like:

Stereotypes and prejudice are a legitimate part of our life. They are here to make our life easier. If you walk the dark streets of an urban ghetto and notice a gang of male teenagers without a single woman among them, your prejudice tells you to make a prudent detour. If a tramp in rags proposes to sell you a gold watch, your prejudice advises you to avoid the deal. If a charming stranger is eager to get bedded, your prejudice calls you to use a condom - or run away. ADL correctly states that there is a stereotype of a “malicious cabal of Jews” who are “pushing for war,” as well as that of “Jewish media-lords” that “clinch the party line.” A stereotype, or prejudice, usually is a result of many unpleasant experiences by persons who did not heed them….

A person unhappy with a stereotype or with prejudice may fight it. There is a good, hard way to fight a stereotype you dislike: act contrary to the stereotype….The Jews fought against prejudice a few times and won every time….They can do it now again. They may engage in work conducive to the general benefit, shy away from stock markets and banks, give Christmas presents, demand “troops out of Iraq, no aid to apartheid Israel.” be friendly to their non-Jewish neighbors. Do not demonize nor threaten with legal action everybody who does not agree with you. Do not turn the media into your private reserve. Try this, and an old stereotype will wither and vanish.

The stereotyping of Jews is quite justifiable, and only their behavior change will change it.

“Shamir” of course can write whatever bigoted tripe he wants, but it is telling that the Arab-American News would choose to publish this pure hate - because that newspaper seems more interested in maintaining anti-Jewish stereotypes than in fighting against anti-Arab stereotypes.

All of “Shamir”’s arguments can be used against Arabs to stereotype them as terror supporters or as anti-semitic. This obvious point is lost to the editors of this periodical, whose apparent hatred of Jews overcomes their own sense of self-preservation.

There is as of yet not a single comment on the article decrying its premise nor the flip-side that it implies against Arabs.

Palestinian youth ready to lob stones at the Israeli army during clashes at the entrance to the West Bank village of Nilin close to the city of Ramallah on August 14 2008. Over the past four years, Nilin has been the scene of near daily demonstrations against Israel’s barrier of concrete and steel that cuts through parts of the West Bank. Israel says that the barrier is needed for its security, critics describe it as a land grab. Earlier in the week a young Palestinian boy was fatally shot in the back of the head at one such demonstration in the village.

Yeah, I’m sure the man in the foreground is just drinking. Kind of like Popsicle Man, only with a hankering for treats of the liquid variety.

Alternatively, he’s going to lob it at the troops, which is dangerous enough because it’s glass, and could be even deadlier if he decides to get creative in the Molotov sense.

Not that stones don’t do a lot of damage themselves. But the point is AFP are once again being dishonest.

The ridiculous IMEMC “reports:”

The Israeli army dispersed the weekly nonviolent protest located in Bil’in village north of the West Bank city of Ramallah on Friday midday with gas, guns and grenades local sources reported.

A number of civilians reported suffering from gas inhalation and for the first time Israeli troops threw smelly manure at the protestors.

I couldn’t find any wire service photos from today’s Bil’in protest, but yesterday’s Naalin protest which the IMEMC also described as “non-violent” was captured by this AP photographer, showing a non-violent protester punching an aggressively violent IDF soldier in the face. (Also a picture of some non-violent rock hurling with slingshots.)

Ah, but that’s not the half of it. The Arabic media is reporting that the nefarious IDF did much, much worse things in Bil’in, calling this “field testing” new weapons (autotranslated):

The march started from the village centre and headed towards the wall, where participants tried to cross into their confiscated land , but the occupying soldiers fought them with fire hoses (using) contaminated wastewater cow dung and chicken (dung) with some chemicals, thus leading to the injury of dozens of cases Altakiu , Where demonstrators surprised color green and fragrant water stinking, and that became his clothes for several hours.

Just imagine the infrastructure necessary to weaponize cow dung and wastewater. You gave to fill out the necessary paperwork, requisitioning the manure for the purposes of stopping non violent protests; you have to establish a relationship with the manure bendor, you have to test the manure to make sure that it has the correct consistency for flinging at the optimum distances (you don’t want blowback!) which means having farms dedicated to creating consistent diets for cows and chickens in order to ensure quality dung; you need a good mechanism for dung delivery which means that weapons need to be created for each type and size of manure bullets or cannons (as the case might be), you have to have a way of loading the weapons without getting dirty or smelly, meaning special gloves and clothing….and that’s just the dung. For the wastewater you need to transport it in special trucks just for the purpose of putting down protesters….

Wow, my respect for the IDF’s logistics personnel just went up a hundredfold!

Yesterday’s award for over-acting has to go to this palestinian protester, for this Linda Blair Exorcist impersonation.

An injured Palestinian is helped by foreign activists after clashes between demonstrators and Israeli border police officers erupted during a protest against Israel’s separation barrier in the West Bank village Naalin, near Modin, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008. Israel says the barrier is necessary for security while Palestinians call it a land grab. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)

In case you are indignant that I would accuse this man of over-acting (or even acting for that matter), consider that there is not even one news story - not from the palestinian sources nor “human rights” organizations terror enablers such as the ISM - mentioning anyone injured at Naalin yesterday (see update below). And trust me, when a protester suffers as much as a scratch, they’re sure to mention it.

This is reinforced by the captions accompanying the other photos taken of this man.

Take this one from AFP/Getty Images:

Activists hold a comrade who was hurt during a scuffle with Israeli soldiers at a protest against the construction of Israel’s controversial separation barrier in the West Bank village of Nilin near Ramallah on August 7, 2008. Over the last four years the village of Nilin has been the scene of near daily demonstrations against Israel’s barrier of concrete and steel that cuts through parts of the West Bank. Israel says that the barrier is needed for its security, critics describe it as a land grab. Earlier in the week a young Palestinian boy was fatally shot in the back of the head at one such demonstration in the village.

A scuffle is a minor fight or altercation. You would not expect someone from a scuffle to emerge looking like Jim Morrison after a bad trip.

Now consider this next picture and caption from Reuters, in which the caption writer does not even make mention of any injury.

A Palestinian reacts during a protest against the construction of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of Nilin near Ramallah August 7, 2008. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri (WEST BANK)

Yep, that’s some reaction.

Once again, proof that for the palestinians and the mainstream media, the whole world really is a stage.

Update: I have subsequently found a palestinian report claiming demonstrators were injured after being “showered with rubber-coated metal bullets and sound bombs.” However, I still smell a rat, especially considering Ma’an’s track record in unreliability, as well as the captions mentioned above.

Update: Commenter Ms Missive writes:

It looks more like an epileptic seizure which, in all seriousness, can be triggered by stressful situations.

Again, I am sure the palestinian media, as well as the likes of the ISM, would have reported such an occurrence had it occurred. And the caption writers from Reuters and AFP would not have written of a man merely “hurt during a scuffle” or “reacting.”

If I am proven wrong, I’ll retract my contention that this seems like an act. But until then, I stand by it.

Update: Soccer Dad raises a good point:

I thought something looked off about the picture. But notice something else. There’s a guy off to the left with a kerchief over his mouth standing around nonchalantly holding a water bottle. If there was a real emergency, I don’t think that’s the pose he’d likely have. Even if he weren’t among the throng attending to the eye-rolling guy, he’d be looking at them - not looking away.

This little piggy went to market.

This little piggy stayed at home.

This little piggy had roast beef,

This little piggy had none.

And this little piggy said “Why the hell am I flying?”

Arabic news channel Al Jazeera has apologised to Israel for its “unethical” coverage of the release of a convicted Hizbullah terrorist from Israeli prison last month.

Samir Kuntar, who spent 29 years in prison for killing four persons, including a four-year-old girl, was released by Israel last month following a swap deal with the Lebanese guerilla faction.

In an official letter, Al Jazeera’s General Director, Khanfar Wadah, has written that “elements of the programme” broadcast in Kuntar’s honour on the night of Saturday, July 19, “violated (the station’s) Code of Ethics,” and he “regards these violations as very serious,” daily Ha’aretz reported.

Given that whole programme was a birthday party for Kuntar, which elements did not violate (the station’s) Code of Ethics?

Israeli border police help a Palestinian prisoner on crutches at the Erez crossing between northern Gaza and Israel last year. Israeli security agents have been pressuring Gazans seeking medical treatment abroad to work as informers in violation of international law, an Israeli rights group has said. (AFP/File/David Buimovitch)

This is the point AFP has decided to highlight with this picture? That Israel is pressuring palestinians seeking medical treatment to work as informers?

How about the fact that Israel is providing medical treatment and humanitarian aid to palestinians at all, all the time while palestinian terrorists are targeting Israelis for death? And, in some cases, at risk to our soldiers.

Oh, I remember now. We are dealing with the mainstream media here. And they have a particular narrative in mind.

I kid you not.

For the second time this year, Israel has decided to act against Al-Jazeera, after the influential TV station held a party for released Lebanese child-killer Samir Kuntar, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

The party, held in Beirut, was organized by the Al-Jazeera bureau there to honor Kuntar on the occasion of his release from Israeli prison. He was hailed as a hero who carried out a brave military operation against the Jewish state.

The Government Press Office said it would impose sanctions on Al-Jazeera and demand an explanation from the station.

Al-Jazeera’s bureau chief in Beirut, Ghassan bin Jeddo, has long been known for his close ties to Hizbullah.

Kuntar, for his part, thanked Jeddo and Al-Jazeera for supporting him and other prisoners in Israeli jails and for waging a campaign to bring about their release.

Daniel Seaman, director of the GPO, expressed outrage over the event.

On Tuesday, Seaman phoned Walid Omari, the Al-Jazeera bureau chief in Israel, and summoned him to an urgent meeting to inform him of the GPO’s decision to suspend ties with the station.

Omari, who is currently abroad, is scheduled to report to the GPO on his return, a source at Al-Jazeera said, adding that the station had still not been informed of the new measures against it.

Seaman said he also planned to write to the Foreign Press Association in Israel to explain his decision.

“We will suspend all handling of Al-Jazeera requests,” Seaman told the Post. “For now, we won’t provide them with any of our services, which include issuing press credentials and assistance with bureaucracy and applications for visas.”

Seaman said he would demand an explanation from Al-Jazeera’s headquarters in Doha, Qatar, about the event.

“I want to know what they are going to do about this case,” he said. “I want to know how they intend to handle this case. What they did was not professional.”

Earlier this year, Israel decided to boycott Al-Jazeera after accusing the station of supporting Hamas.

The boycott, initiated by the Foreign Ministry, included a ban on interviews by government officials and refusal to issue visas for the station’s employees.

The move had come after Al-Jazeera correspondents allegedly staged a candlelight protest following a government decision to reduce electric and fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip in response to continued rocket attacks on Israeli towns.

The ban was lifted after Al-Jazeera editors in Doha agreed to discuss its coverage of the Israeli-Arab conflict with Israeli government officials.

Hopefully this time, the Foreign Ministry will ban the Jizz for good.

As I posted yesterday, the foreign press photographers are portraying child-murderer Samir Kuntar as anything but the monster he is, taking photo after photo of small children holding up his picture.

Today, we have this stark example of the lengths they will go to.

A Palestinian boy (L) holds a picture depicting Lebanese prisoner Samir Qantar during a protest in Gaza City calling for the release of prisoners held in Israeli jails July 7, 2008. REUTERS/Ismail Zaydah

Despite the fact the picture contains many people holding up pictures of different prisoners terrorists, somehow the caption refers only to the palestinian boy who is holding up the picture of Kuntar. The absurdity of this is amplified by the fact the caption writer has to note the child’s location, given he is but one of a crowd of people.

Reuters, could you get any more obvious?

With the imminent release of brutal murderer Samir Kuntar, the foreign press photographers have been having a field day with pictures of small children holding up his picture. I doubt there could be a more obvious ploy to evoke sympathy for this monster.

Yet not even one picture of the only children who really matter in this story.

That’s where I (and you) come in.

Einat and Yael Haran

And here’s a reminder of what Samir Kuntar did to them:

It had been a peaceful Sabbath day. My husband, Danny, and I had picnicked with our little girls, Einat, 4, and Yael, 2, on the beach not far from our home in Nahariya, a city on the northern coast of Israel, about six miles south of the Lebanese border. Around midnight, we were asleep in our apartment when four terrorists, sent by Abu Abbas from Lebanon, landed in a rubber boat on the beach two blocks away. Gunfire and exploding grenades awakened us as the terrorists burst into our building. They had already killed a police officer. As they charged up to the floor above ours, I opened the door to our apartment. In the moment before the hall light went off, they turned and saw me. As they moved on, our neighbor from the upper floor came running down the stairs. I grabbed her and pushed her inside our apartment and slammed the door.

Outside, we could hear the men storming about. Desperately, we sought to hide. Danny helped our neighbor climb into a crawl space above our bedroom; I went in behind her with Yael in my arms. Then Danny grabbed Einat and was dashing out the front door to take refuge in an underground shelter when the terrorists came crashing into our flat. They held Danny and Einat while they searched for me and Yael, knowing there were more people in the apartment. I will never forget the joy and the hatred in their voices as they swaggered about hunting for us, firing their guns and throwing grenades. I knew that if Yael cried out, the terrorists would toss a grenade into the crawl space and we would be killed. So I kept my hand over her mouth, hoping she could breathe. As I lay there, I remembered my mother telling me how she had hidden from the Nazis during the Holocaust. “This is just like what happened to my mother,” I thought.

As police began to arrive, the terrorists took Danny and Einat down to the beach. There, according to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat so that his death would be the last sight she would ever see. Then he smashed my little girl’s skull in against a rock with his rifle butt. That terrorist was Samir Kuntar.

By the time we were rescued from the crawl space, hours later, Yael, too, was dead. In trying to save all our lives, I had smothered her.

Since the so-called ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that was announced six days ago, palestinian terrorists have fired a mortar shell at the Negev (last night), fired four Qassams at Israel today, as well as planned another attack on Israel.

Now the thing about a ceasefire is that it comprises of two parts - “cease” and “fire”. Clearly, the terrorists are focusing on the “fire” part, while ignoring the whole “cease” thing.

And speaking of focus, the AP’s is still on painting Israel as the villain. Here’s their headline for the story on today’s Qassam attacks:

Rockets hit Israel, which says truce broken

As if the firing of rockets into Israel does not really constitute a breaking of the truce; rather, it is merely an Israeli claim.

The report also mentions that today’s Qassam attack was to avenge Israel’s killing of an Islamic Jihad fighter, but does not mention the relevant fact that he was planning an attack on Israel, with ammunition, explosives and rifles being found in his apartment.

Yeah, that’s the AP for you. Biased and now charging money to silence those of us trying to point this out.

A palestinian medical student has reportedly been murdered in the Ukraine.

Ma’an is there…to somehow blame it on Israel.

The body of a Palestinian medical student who was murdered in the Ukraine on June 19 will arrive on Monday by plane to Jordan then to his home village Sourif, sources close to the Palestinian embassy in Russia told Ma’an.

Head of Palestinian students’ union in Russia told Ma’an that 28-year-old student Methfer Anwar Abu Fara died after being hit over the head with a metal bar by two assailants in the early hours of the morning on 19 June.

Cultural attache to the Palestinian embassy in Ukraine Da’oud Jloud confirmed that Russian police have arrested two Ukrainian men in connection with the incident – a 20-year-old and a 30-year-old. One of the suspects was arrested an hour after the crime and the other was arrested the next day.

The embassy confirmed that a number of such attacks on Palestinian students have occurred in the Ukraine.

Abu Fara had been studying optical medicine in Russia since 1998 and he has not returned to the Palestinian territories since then as he was trying to avoid detention by Israeli forces.

No word from Ma’an as to why he might be wanted for detention by Israeli forces. I’m guessing it wasn’t due to his medical activities.