The Birthright Was Sold for a Pot of BeansPalestinians Launch a “Birthright Palestine” Project

I recently met a Jordanian named Esau in Petra. Interesting name, I thought. No Jew would name his son Esau, the twin and arch-rival of the Jewish forefather Jacob, aka Israel.

The Bible says that Esau demanded red bean stew from Jacob and in return surrendered his birthright as the first-born son.

That birthright has been fought over for millennia, and the battle has intensified in the last century. As of today, even the word “birthright” is contested.

“Birthright Palestine” (BP) was launched this week by the Palestine Center for National Strategic Studies (PCNSS), located, according to its website, in the Deheisha refugee camp in Bethlehem. A program “created by Native Palestinians for Diaspora Palestinians,” Birthright Palestine is designed to “make foreign-born Palestinians feel at home in their homeland” and to rekindle a sense of kinship between Palestinians.

That’s cool, but take a look at the BP goals which embody the spirit of the Biblical Esau:

• The organization claims that it intends to “counter the effects of Birthright Israel, which over the years has brought thousands of Jewish people from around the world to ‘Israel’ in order to encourage their adoption of Zionist ideals and learn about their ‘promised land.’"
  
  “Coming back to visit the land that your parents or grandparents were forced to flee from, is a form of active non‐violent resistance against the illegal Israeli occupation. This is because this simple act opposes everything that the ‘State of Israel’ was founded on (the idea to ethnically cleanse the Holy Land/Palestine of all Arabs, so as to create a purely Jewish State).”
  
  Why the quotes around the word Israel and the phrase State of Israel? Because BP does not and cannot recognize the Jewish state. Will the BPs also visit their cousins, the million Arab citizens of Israel? If they were “ethnically cleansed,” what are they doing serving in the Knesset, caring for patients in Israeli hospitals and studying in Israeli universities?
  
  Will Christian Palestinian Arabs who fled Muslim discrimination and oppression also have a share in Birthright Palestine?



• BP promises its participants that they “will become ambassadors for the Palestinian Cause – your cause, and convince other Diaspora Palestinians to return to their homeland so that our nation can continue to survive in exile until the day that we are able all return (sic) home permanently.”
  
  “All” Palestinians will return home? So much for the advocates of the Palestinian “right of return” who argue that only a small fraction of Palestinians would return.



• BP participants are offered tours of their “ancestral homeland,” including Bethlehem, Hebron, Jerusalem, Jericho, etc. But a couple of locations stand out in the list: Yaffa, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Akka, Nazareth and Bir Al‐Saba’ [Be’er Sheva].
  



• The BP website shows a picture of the Mosque of Omar in the old city of Jerusalem. OK, that’s very legitimate; no one denies the Muslim tie to their mosques. But the panoramic view of Jerusalem has the title “Birthright Palestine” right above the distinctive Plaza Hotel and the Clal building in the western side of Jerusalem. A mistake? Doubtful.
  
  


• The following is BP’s most interesting appeal to young Palestinians: “Palestinian Citizenship: When you arrive, you may apply for ‘Lem Shaml’ (Government Term for National Reunion in Arabic) – or – Palestinian Citizenship (in addition to your foreign citizenship – not in place of) at the Interior Ministry of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA); thus, formally requesting your right to return (Haq Al‐Awda).”
  
  BP comes right out and says it’s a vehicle for the right of return.
  
  Imitation may be the highest form of flattery. But from its own name and description, Birthright Palestine reveals itself as another form of competition with Israel and a challenge to the concept of a Jewish state. Granted, the BP application requires interns to pledge they “will remain non-violent, both in speech and in actions, throughout my journey and visit.” But every aspect of the organization, including PCNSS’ logo, suggests that they don’t want to share that pot of beans.
  
  PS. I’m reluctant to add to the hits on BP’s webpage, but I guess I have to share their website: http://www.birthrightpalestine.com/

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Update on Detroit's Hizbullah Sisters: Wife of Hizbullah Fundraiser Sentenced for Citizenship Fraud

Elfat El Aouar, the wife of Michigan restaurateur and Hizbullah fundraiser Talal Chahine, was sentenced this week to 90 days in prison and stripped of her U.S. citizenship for citizenship fraud, the Freep reported today. She will serve the sentence simultaneously with an 18-month term she received last May for helping Chahine in his tax evasion and Hizbullah fundraising scheme.

According to the Freep, "two of al Aouar’s sisters — including Nada Nadim Prouty, the former FBI agent and CIA operative who pleaded guilty late last year — were targeted in the investigation. A former roommate , a decorated Marine Corps captain [and ‘sister-in-law’ in the marriage scams], also pleaded guilty in the case.”

All the women involved are Lebanese.

Prouty, the Freep continued, “pleaded guilty to accessing an FBI computer system she wasn’t authorized to use to find out whether she, her sister or Chahine were being investigated and to read details about a Detroit-based investigation of Hizbullah. It’s unclear what Prouty, 37 (pictured), of Vienna, Va., did with the information. Authorities suspect she shared it with Chahine. A sentencing date hasn’t been set in her case.”

This blog reported on the case extensively in November 2007, including speculation that the women were Hizbullah moles and the fact that Chahine’s son, Khalil Talal Chahine, is serving a 20-30 year sentence for murder.

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No Invasion, But Not a Case of Crying "Wolf"

The IDF showed it was ready, and it projected the message that it would respond with all necessary force. 'Nuf said.

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Stopping a Mass Invasion of Israel from Gaza

Ha’aretz reports today, “The Israel Defense Forces beefed up troops along the border with Gaza, fearing thousands of Palestinians may march on the border in protest of Israel's economic sanctions. Israel fears that crowds of Palestinians might rush the border, and that large numbers of casualties will result from the army's attempts to stop them. Israel believes” the report continued, “that Hamas is now planning a new action, directed at Israel, to break the siege on the Gaza Strip and draw global attention to the plight of Gaza's impoverished residents.”

LATE BREAKING NEWS: Hamas announced it will hold a 40,000 “human-chain rally” on Monday that will span 31 miles from Rafah in the south to the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun. This is dangerous. Will masses break through the fences? Will terrorists use the event as a diversion to sail boats from Gaza to the Israeli coast or emerge from tunnels under the border?

Speaking at the Jerusalem Conference last week, Maj. Gen.(res) Doron Almog, a former commander of Israel’s southern front, related that his troops planned for such a contingency a decade ago.

Israel was faced with a similar threat exactly 20 years ago when the PLO started to outfit a ship, Sol Phryne, and renamed it the al Awda (the Return). Some 200 Palestinian refugees and international “dignitaries” were slated to board the ship and provocatively sail into Haifa, in a voyage reminiscent of the voyage of the Exodus bearing Jewish refugees in 1947. Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir called the voyage ''a declaration of war.'' The voyage had been scheduled to sail on Feb. 9, 1988 from the port of Athens.

The ship never made it. On Feb. 16, 1988 The ship was damaged by a mine attached below the waterline at Limassol, Cyprus, which ripped a huge hole in the ferry's hull. No one was injured.

The timing of the blast was critical. The first Intifada had erupted and Yasser Arafat was attempting to gain control of the violence from afar. “By sabotaging the ship before it ever weighed anchor,” wrote analyst Ehud Ya’ari at the time, “Israel turned what was meant to be a dazzling media extravaganza into a public relations fiasco for the PLO. What's more, Arafat had planned to use the ship both to regain full command of events [the Intifada] and to pull in the 700,000 Arab citizens of Israel, who had clearly expressed their solidarity with the residents of the territories but had stopped short of actively joining in the uprising.”

Will Israel’s leadership have the foresight, the smarts, and the cojones to thwart another Palestinian public relations show?

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The Threats to Israel and Israel's Deterrence

I just attended the exciting Jerusalem Conference on Mt. Scopus. The presentations were excellent, the atmosphere was electric, and what more needs to be said other than Prof. Bernard Lewis delivered a fascinating tour d'horizon of the Middle East.

At the conference I served as a last-minute substitute as chairman for a panel, "Israel’s Strategic and Tactical Defense: Defining IDF Doctrine, Goals and Deterrence Capabilities." Below are my remarks:

I want to raise several questions about deterrence when applied to Israel and its neighbors.

Deterrence is defined as “being prepared to inflict unacceptable damage on an aggressor, and making sure the potential aggressor is aware of the risk so that he refrains from aggression.” In the words of President Theodore Roosevelt, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.” Policymakers in Israel need to know that it does not mean “speak too much and carry a twig.”

There are several threats facing Israel for which Israel requires deterrence capabilities, and those threats and the corresponding deterrence are not the same.

The first threat is the terrorist threat represented by the suicide bomber, the car bomb, and the Kassam rocket.

The second threat is the conventional armies of Israel's neighbors – the tanks, the planes, the infantry divisions of the Syrian or Egyptian armies.

An offshoot of this threat which has now grown into a third distinct threat is the asymmetrical warfare employed by Hizbullah in the second Lebanon war. The terrorist Hamas is attempting to carry out such warfare. A switch from Kassam rockets to Katyushas would represent such a transformation. The training and force restructure being undertaken by Hamas with Iranian and Hizbullah help is another part of the attempted transformation.

The forth threat is the over-the-horizon threat of missiles and non-conventional warheads such as the Iraqi Scuds or the missile arsenal being built in Iran.

What deterrence capabilities does Israel possess to meet these threats?

The over-the-horizon threat of missiles and non-conventional weapons are deterred by Israel’s long-arm ability, and it was strengthened by the alleged recent air raid on a mysterious facility in Syria, a new advanced spy satellite, and a recent missile test. Presumably, the Iranians recognize Israel’s long-range air and naval capabilities, and presumably (admittedly a large presumption) the Iranians are, in the end, rational players not seeking mutually-assured destruction. Nevertheless, during the first Gulf War, when Scuds rained down on Israel, Israel’s deterrence ability was proven to be worthless. Saddam Hussein was not deterred, and if Israel was planning to respond, the American government tied Israel’s hands. The message was conveyed that missiles can be fired at Israel’s cities with impunity and no cost. I should add that the threat of international sanctions has seemingly had little impact on Iran’s nonconventional military planning.

The threat of the conventional war along the lines of the 1973 Yom Kippur War or parts of the 1982 Peace for Galilee campaign is a battle of planes versus planes, tanks versus tanks. It is quite possible a thing of the past, and Israel’s clear supremacy serves as a deterrent. Nevertheless, Anwar Sadat’s threat to sacrifice a million men to recapture the Sinai should never be forgotten. Deterrence theory relies on a rational player on the other side.

The asymmetrical threats were addressed in the Winograd report investigating the summer 2006 war in Lebanon. How does an army with its heavy equipment, heavy command structure and heavy logistics requirements fight a small, indigenous, well-trained, and well-equipped guerrilla force? How does an army respond to batteries of missiles hidden amidst large civilian populations? The Israeli Air Force did destroy large long-range Hizbullah rockets, but again, missiles were fired at Israel’s cities with impunity. Since then the Hizbullah missile arsenal has been replaced. Can Hizbullah be deterred by the targeting of its leaders such as Imad Mughniyah? Some argue that Israel’s ability to punish the host country – in this case Lebanon – serves as a deterrent, but Israel has pounded Lebanon’s infrastructure on numerous occasions over the last 30 years, and the threat remains.

Lastly, what deterrence is there against the terrorists? Not much, if the terrorist believes that he – or she – will be rewarded with a better life. Intelligence can work to thwart the terrorist. Threats to harm a terrorist's home or family could stop a terrorist if intelligence services can issue a targeted warning in time. Does the physical targeting of terrorist leaders, as Israel did with Hamas leaders Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz Rantisi, deter terrorist attacks? Are sanctions or economic blockades a deterrent? Israel’s attempts to close down Gaza were met with an international outcry and Hamas’ destruction of the Gaza-Egyptian border.

I close with a question: Is Israel destined to remain, as coined by Prime Minister Levi Eshkol, “Shimshon der nebuchdicker” – the powerful, yet powerless, Samson?

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Mughniyeh's Angels

The world is learning just how dangerous arch-terrorist Imad Mughniyeh was. His victims numbered in the thousands. His terrorist crimes were conducted on several continents with the extensive collaboration of Iranian embassies, logistical support, intelligence and operatives around the world. He may have had ties to al Qaeda. Mughniyeh reportedly attended meetings between Iranian President Ahmadinejad and Syrian President Assad, and he wasn’t there because they needed another poker hand. The Iranian Foreign Minister attended Mughniyeh’s funeral today.

It’s time to recall a November 2007 column on this blog suggesting that Mughniyeh and his operatives placed moles in the FBI, CIA and American armed forces. We now know that he was hunting Western targets for 25 years. Mughniyeh made use of Hizbullah and Iranian “assets” in various place around the world, and they were used to attack Israeli and Jewish targets in Argentina in the 90’s. Presumably, Iran and Hizbullah’s reach and resources have grown since then, particularly in Latin America. The insertion of moles, agents and sleeper cells in “countries of interest” makes perfect sense.

Isn’t it curious that nothing has been heard recently about the two possible moles, FBI/CIA employee Nadia Nadim Prouty (pictured) and her sister-in-law, U.S. Marine Captain Samar Khalil Spinelli? Prouty was caught going through FBI files on Hizbullah fundraising. At some point in her career, according to published accounts, she was working for the CIA in Iraq interrogating “high-ranking al-Qaeda detainees.” Her sister, Samar, rose to the rank of captain in the U.S. Marines and served two tours in Iraq.

Knowing what we know about Mughniyeh and his relationship with Iran, might it be possible – maybe even likely -- that he dispatched these two Lebanese women to infiltrate U.S. intelligence agencies?

And now for speculation in the realm of spy novels: Maybe so little has been heard about the two sisters because some enterprising intelligence service was busy in recent years following Nadia and Samar’s information “up the food chain,” eventually to the headrest of a Mitsubishi Pajero car on a residential street in the upper-class Damascus neighborhood of Kafar Soussa.

Nah, it sounds like fiction.

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A Modest Proposal to Neturei Karta

A Modest Proposal: For Preventing the Neturei Karta from Being Ostracized by Israel and the Jewish People, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public

(With apologies to Jonathan Swift.)

The constellation of these three news stories was just too obvious to miss:

• Israeli Pianist Daniel Barenboim Takes Palestinian Citizenship


• Neturei Karta Ostracized by Jewish Communities Worldwide


• Israel to Ask PA to Repair Joseph's Tomb

Hmmm. Daniel Barenboim has established the principle that an Israeli can secure Palestinian citizenship. Of course, Palestinian law will execute anyone who sells property to him, a Jew, but leave that aside for now. Let him rent. Presumably, Barenboim can conduct Richard Wagner’s music to appreciative Palestinian audiences in Ramallah for years to come.

Consider the poor Neturei Karta. Ostracized in their British, Austrian and New York communities. All because of that little hug they gave Iranan president Ahmadinejad at a conference where he denied the Holocaust. All because of their opposition to a Jewish state called Israel. Was it such a big deal that they prayed for Yasser Arafat’s recovery when he was on his death bed?

Now along comes Defense Minister Ehud Barak and requests that the Palestinian Authority rebuild and restore Joseph’s tomb in Nablus (Shechem). The holy site was razed in October 2000 by Palestinian mobs. Who does Barak think will protect the tomb when it’s rebuilt? The Breslever space cadets who sneak into Shechem to pray at the tomb? IDF soldiers, who will be loath to tread on the sacred ground where Israeli border policeman Madhat Yusuf bled to death in October 2000 while the Israeli government dithered on a rescue mission to Joseph’s tomb? Certainly not the Palestinian security forces from whose ranks came the murderers of Israeli hikers Ahikam Amihai and David Rubin in December.

So here’s the modest proposal: Grant the Neturei Karta Palestinian citizenship and allow them to establish an anti-Zionist, anti-Israel settlement adjacent to Joseph’s tomb. Senior Neturei Karta official, Rabbi Moshe Hirsh, who once served as Yasser Arafat’s advisor for Jewish Affairs, would be a natural candidate for the new neighborhood’s mukhtar. The Neturei Karta would maintain the site and provide a minyan for Jews risking the trip to the holy site. And if Ahmadinejad ever visits the Palestinian Authority, Neturei Karta would be there to host him at the tomb.

The United Nations would never dare to pass resolutions condemning the Neturei Karta’s neighborhood as Zionist expansion.

Joseph’s tomb could be a pilot project for turning over other Jewish sites to the anti-Zionist group. The ancient remains of the Shalom al Yisrael (“Peace on Israel”) Synagogue in Jericho can be renamed, “Death to the Zionist entity,” and turned over to the Neturei Karta. Ancient synagogues dating back 1500 years were found in Gaza. Neturei Karta can assist in their restoration and protection, as well. Religious IDF troops may need a place to pray in Gaza in the months ahead.

Wow. Think about the joint Palestinian-Neturei Karta propaganda, er, I mean PR campaign. Maybe the Neturei Karta will one day even succeed in teaching their Palestinian neighbors to change their mobs’ traditional war chant “Itback el Yehud” (Kill the Jews) to “Kill the Zionists.” Do you think they’ll stay around their neighborhood and wait to find out?

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