* Fury among French Jews as al-Dura myth journalist awarded Legion d’honneur
* Two leading Palestinian scholars: No Jews ever lived in Jerusalem
* DJ beaten up for playing The Pet Shop Boys
* New Dow Jones Sharia-compliant indexes will exclude companies involved in alcohol, tobacco, pork-related products, and entertainment
Today’s dispatch is split in two for space reasons. The other part (titled: Gadhafi celebrates 40 years in power by blaming Israel for “all of Africa’s conflicts”) can be read here.
CONTENTS
1. Palestinian professor: No Jewish connection to Western Wall
2. And were there never any Romans in Rome either?
3. Amazement as Sarkozy gives propagator of al-Dura myth an award
4. Arab DJ beaten for playing Pet Shop Boys
5. West Bank Palestinian kills Israeli in west Jerusalem
6. PA allocates 1 million NIS for prisoners during Ramadan
7. Jordan jails two in plot to kill Israeli
8. Dow Jones launches new Sharia compliant index
9. Swine Flu leads to rise in Saudi private jet rental
10. Gaza minister’s son caught smuggling hashish
[All notes below by Tom Gross]
PALESTINIAN PROFESSOR: NO JEWISH CONNECTION TO THE WESTERN WALL
A Palestinian Authority university lecturer is the latest PA academic to rewrite history and deny the role of Jerusalem in the history of the Jews, claiming in particular that the Jewish people’s connection to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) of the Jewish Temple was invented.
Shamekh Alawneh, a lecturer in modern history at Al-Quds Open University (which receives grants from Western governments), says the Jews invented the connection to the Wall for political purposes. “The Jews have no historical roots in Jerusalem,” he added.
AND WERE THERE NEVER ANY ROMANS IN ROME EITHER?
A few days later, the Palestinian Authority’s chief Islamic judge, Sheikh Tayseer Rajab Tamimi, also asserted that there was no evidence that Jews had ever lived in Jerusalem. Tamimi said Israeli archeologists had “admitted” that Jerusalem was never inhabited by Jews.
Tamimi, one of the most influential Palestinian Islamic leaders, made his pronouncement in response to statements made last week by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the British press during a visit to London. Netanyahu had said: “Jerusalem is not a settlement, it is the sovereign capital of the State of Israel, and the Jews have been building in Jerusalem for 3,000 years.”
“Netanyahu’s claims are baseless and untrue,” said Tamimi, the highest religious authority in the Palestinian territories. “Jerusalem is an Islamic city and it always has been so,” he said, referring to the religion which was founded some 1,800 years after Judaism.
***
Tom Gross adds: One would laugh this off were it not for the fact that many Palestinians, including those in the leadership, actually believe this nonsense, just as they believe the Holocaust never happened and that Israel blew up the World Trade Center in New York.
The denial of Jewish history is a central tenet of PA political ideology. It was started and encouraged by Yasser Arafat and is regularly repeated today by academics, politicians and religious leaders. Western governments continue to fund the dissemination of such fantasies, which can hardly be helpful in preparing for future peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis.
Of course, the Western press can’t be bothered to report on it, even though Western tax-payers are helping to fund such dishonesty.
AMAZEMENT AS SARKOZY GIVES PROPAGATOR OF AL-DURA MYTH AN AWARD
Charles Enderlin, the French journalist at the center of the al-Dura affair, who is accused of manipulating the truth to portray Israel in a negative light in one of the most infamous examples of media deception of modern times, has been awarded the Legion d’honneur, one of France’s highest accolades. The French consul general in Jerusalem presented the award to Enderlin on behalf of President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The news has caused outrage among Jews in France who say Enderlin has helped stir up the new wave of anti-Semitism which has led to a number of brutal assaults and murders of French Jews in recent years. Enderlin is the longtime correspondent in Israel for the state-controlled France 2 TV. It was in recognition of this that he was given the award.
Curiously, the award was presented under the auspices of the Foreign Affairs Ministry and not, as would be more appropriate for a journalist, the Ministry of Culture.
French subscribers to this email list also tell me that it is unheard for the award to be made in the middle of August, when many people are on vacation, and to be presented at a foreign consulate rather than in Paris. They suspect this was done deliberately in an effort to avoid protest. No prior announcement was made that Enderlin was to receive the award, which was also unusual.
Among previous dispatches on the al-Dura affair, please see here.
ARAB DJ BEATEN FOR PLAYING PET SHOP BOYS
A DJ hired to spin tunes at a Bedouin wedding in Israel was beaten up for playing Western music which some guests felt encouraged lewdness in the women present, Ma’ariv reports.
The DJ initially played Arabic music for the hundreds of guests at the wedding in Israel’s Negev desert region.
But when he put on a song by the British group the Pet Shop Boys, causing some women to “dance exuberantly to the foreign music,” several angry young men gave the DJ a “severe beating”.
“The fact that women were dancing at the wedding goes against tradition,” one guest told Ma’ariv, “and the fact that it was to this Western filth is a dishonor to their husbands.”
WEST BANK PALESTINIAN KILLS ISRAELI IN WEST JERUSALEM
Paramedics were unable to save a Jewish man after he was repeatedly stabbed by a West Bank Palestinian at a Jerusalem hostel on Sunday evening.
“We tried to resuscitate the man for 40 minutes, but failed,” medic Guy Gonen told Israeli media. “There was nothing we could do. There was a substantial amount of blood at the scene – on the walls and floor.”
PA ALLOCATES 1 MILLION NIS FOR PRISONERS DURING RAMADAN
The Palestinian Authority will allocate 1 million shekels (more than $250,000) during the Ramadan holiday to Palestinian members of Fatah imprisoned in Israel for terrorism offenses, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency reports. The decision was taken at yesterday’s weekly Palestinian cabinet meeting.
The Palestinian Authority gets much of its money from Western governments.
JORDAN JAILS TWO IN PLOT TO KILL ISRAELI
Jordan’s military court has convicted two terrorists of plotting to kill an Israeli civilian and sentenced them to 12 years in jail.
The court initially sentenced Loay Shehadah, 38, and Mohammed Odatallah, 37, to life in prison but the judge immediately commuted the sentence to give them a chance to repent, a standard practice in Jordan.
If only other Arab countries would apply the rule of law to those who murder and attempt to murder Israelis.
DOW JONES LAUNCHES NEW SHARIA COMPLIANT INDEX
Dow Jones Indexes is to launch four new indexes for the Middle East and North Africa region, giving investors access to both conventional and Sharia compliant indexes.
Dow Jones Indexes, best known for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is launching the Dow Jones GCC Index, covering the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The company is also launching a Dow Jones GCC Islamic Market Index.
In order to be listed on an Islamic Market Index, the company must comply with Islamic law known as Sharia. Companies involved in alcohol, tobacco, pork-related products, financial services, or entertainment will not be included on this index.
SWINE FLU LEADS TO RISE IN SAUDI PRIVATE JET RENTAL
One of the world’s leading private jet operators, International Air Charter, based in the United Arab Emirates, is reporting a 50 percent increase in demand over Ramadan for flights to Saudi Arabia.
The company said it believed that fears about catching the swine flu N1H1 virus were the main reason for increased demand by wealthy pilgrims undertaking the Hajj pilgrimage during Ramadan, which is currently underway.
***
Tom Gross adds: 90,000 Palestinian Muslims traveled to Jerusalem’s al-Aqsa mosque compound to attend Ramadan prayers last Friday – and yet an Associated Press story falsely suggested Israel was not allowing Palestinian access to Muslim shrines for Ramadan.
GAZA MINISTER’S SON CAUGHT SMUGGLING HASHISH
The Palestinian Ma’an news agency reports that Hamza Ahmad Al-Kurd, son of the Hamas government’s minister of social affairs, has been caught smuggling hashish into the southern Gaza Strip.
Ma’an says that Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has given directives that Al-Kurd be tried immediately despite his family connections. If convicted, he could face up to two years in prison.