 1. EU Legislator: Money for PA Obstacle to Peaceby Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Increased European Union (EU) aid to Hamas workers for the Palestinian Authority (PA) is illegal and is an obstacle to peace, EU Member of Parliament Daniel Hannan wrote in the London Telegraph. The EU has approved giving the PA another $80 million in addition to $500 million it already has received from the EU this year. Hannan stated that "a welfare state is…the perfect terrorist habitat." "The EU's generosity with our money…creates two problems," he wrote. "First, the PA is run by Hamas, which is on the EU's list of designated terrorist operations. Under Brussels rules, funding such an organization is a criminal offence. Euro-lawyers have sought to circumvent the letter of the law by funneling aid money through NGOs, but this is sheer sophistry. Many of the PA's officials are Hamas militants, whose salaries are being paid while they serve their sentences in Israeli jails." "Second, it is becoming increasingly clear that overseas aid is arresting a political settlement in the region. Palestinians receive more assistance, per capita, than any other people on Earth, and live in one of its most violent spaces. The two facts are connected. Hannan, a journalist from London, wrote that the idea "aggression can be buried under a landslide" of money is based on an illusion that poverty causes violence. "People who are worried about food and shelter have little time to go on demos," he asserted. "It is when they have time to sit and brood that their thoughts turn to bloodshed." Hannan proposed that a PA society based on capitalism would be more stable than today's reality and would increase civil order. However, "None of this will happen as long as Palestinians remain trapped in the squalor of dependency. The EU, in its well-intentioned but doltish way, is fuelling the conflict," he concluded.  2. Republicans Say Palin's Israeli Flag Says It Allby Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu  Republican vice presidential candidate Governor Sarah Palin displays an Israel flag in her office window despite the tiny Jewish population in her state. Republicans say "that says it all" concerning what they charge is Democratic propaganda that she once backed Pat Buchanan, whose name is anathema to most Jews. Florida Democratic Congressman Robert Wexler of Florida came out swinging at Republican presidential candidate Senator John McCain immediately after he named Gov. Palin as her running mate. He accused her of backing 'Nazi sympathizer" Pat Buchanan in a previous election and said that Sen. McCain's choice was a "direct affront to all Jewish Americans." "It's propaganda invented by the Democrats, and it is unfortunate they were trying to make these accusations without any factual basis," retorted Florida Congressman Adam Hasner, who represents the heavily Jewish area of Boca Raton in the Florida state legislature. The Republican Jewish Coalition has pointed out that an Israeli flag is a fixture on the drapes in her office. "I think it speaks volumes that she keeps an Israeli flag on the wall of her office," the group's executive director, Matt Brooks, explained in an e-mail to Politico.com. "It clearly shows what's in her heart." Politico's analyst Ben Smith said "he has a point, surely; a Palestinian flag would have told a different story." More telling is a close look at her collar in a video of an interview. Israel National Radio show host Tamar Yonah wrote on her blog that she noticed what appears to be a small Israeli flag pinned to her blouse. Gov. Palin has little reason to wear it because of the Jewish population in the state, which is the largest in terms of area in the United States but whose estimated 6,000 Jews leave Alaska with one of the country's smallest Jewish communities. accounting for only 0.5 percent of the state's citizens. Surprisingly, 70 percent of Alaskan Jews light candles on eve of the Sabbath, compared with 32 percent of all American Jews, according to Dr. Gerhard Falk, a New York State sociology professor. Gov. Palin is a likely Israeli backer because she is "a very religious person, and the religious Christians are the greatest supporters of Israel," according to the Hawaii's Jewish governor, Linda Lingle, also a Republican.  3. Egypt Cuts off Flow of Gas Into Israelby Ze'ev Ben-Yechiel  The supply of gas to Israel from its Egyptian neighbor was stopped on Friday, and as of Wednesday morning it had not yet been resumed, prompting some in Israel to fear that its main supplier of natural gas is running low on the resource. Egypt supplies natural gas to a number of countries, and sources in Jerusalem are increasingly concerned that the Egyptian-Israeli gas consortium EMG is rationing supplies to its clients, signaling a possible dwindling of gas reserves. As Egypt’s largest consumer of natural gas, Israel pays a reduced price for the commodity, and the recent cutoff has forced the Israel Electric Corporation to increase purchases at much higher market prices from another supplier, the Tethys Sea group. As a result, Israelis may soon be paying significantly higher electricity bills, since the Israel Electric Company (IEC) is not expected to absorb the cost difference. After signing a contract with the IEC offering favorable prices to Israel, EMG began construction in 2006 of a 100-kilometer pipeline from the Sinai to Ashkelon, but since gas began to flow in May of 2008 there have been repeated problems with delivery, including interruptions due to quality problems with the gas. All in all, only a fraction of the expected amount of gas has come through the pipeline. In Egypt the constant presence of anti-Israel sentiment has led to increased political opposition against supplying Israel with the gas, particularly in light of the low price that the current deal guarantees. In attempts to safeguard the continued flow of gas, a series of urgent meetings have been held behind closed doors, in which both the Egyptian and Israeli sides are attempting to renegotiate the terms of the original EMG-IEC contract. Success of a new gas deal is contingent on several factors that have apparently complicated negotiations, including Israel’s role among a growing list of customers, the reliability and availability of Egyptian reserves, and Egypt’s recent refusal to sell gas to Israeli consumers in addition to IEC. In the meantime, Israel’s Ministry of Infrastructure says it has faith in the success of Egyptian-Israeli energy negotiations, but at the same time it says that is working to secure arrangements with alternative suppliers, such as Russia and Azerbaijan. 4. MK Eldad to Screen 'Fitna' in Jerusalemby Nissan Ratzlav-Katz  Knesset Member Arieh Eldad (NU-NRP) will screen a section of the controversial short film Fitna, as part of a press conference announcing the formation of a new coalition of European lawmakers on Wednesday. In the conference, Eldad will also Watch Fitna on Arutz Sheva's IsraelNationalNews.com. The new coalition, Eldad explained, is geared towards those European Parliament members who recognize that the expansion of Islam poses a severe threat to Western civilization. He plans to host a summit of like-minded European legislators in Jerusalem towards the end of 2008. "The jihad must be stopped," Eldad said. "If Jerusalem capitulates, Europe is next." By way of introduction to the theme of his proposed coalition, MK Eldad will screen scenes from the 15-minute March 2008 film Fitna, produced by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders. The film portrays the Koranic verses and teachings that inspire jihadist terrorism and Muslim triumphalism today. Release of the video on the Internet was accompanied by threats and boycotts from Muslims aimed at the Netherlands and Dutch assets abroad. Wilders called his mini-film "a call to shake off the creeping tyranny of Islamization." Fitna: The Movie One frenzied Muslim cleric is seen calling for the murder of Jews; he unsheathes a sword and cries out, "By Allah, we shall cut off the Jew's head! Allah is great! Allah is great! Jihad for the sake of Allah!" The audience, in a similar frenzy, cheers him on. One of the Koranic verses quoted in the movie reads, "Those who have disbelieved our signs, we shall roast them in fire. Whenever their skins are cooked to a turn, we shall substitute new skins for them, that they may feel the punishment. Verily, Allah is sublime and wise." This is followed by scenes of enemies of Islam being dragged through the streets, a bombed-out bus in London, an imam (Muslim preacher) calling for death to all Jews, and signs at Muslim rallies reading, "Be prepared for the real Holocaust," "God bless Hitler," and "Islam will dominate the world." Yet another verse quoted in the film said, "Therefore, when ye meet the unbelievers, smite at their necks, and when ye have caused a bloodbath among them, bind a bond firmly on them." Another Muslim preacher is then seen saying calmly, "Throats must be slit and skulls must be shattered - this is the path to victory." Imams and Moslem leaders are shown preaching, "Islam is a religion that wants to rule the world. It has done so before, and eventually will rule it again.... By Allah, the day will come when we will rule the entire world again! The day will come when we will rule America! The day will come when we will rule Britain! ...You will take over the USA! You will defeat them all! You will get victory!" Fitna ends with a call by Wilders for Europe to defeat Islamist ideology, just as it defeated the threats of Nazism and Communism in the past.
 5. Aryeh Deri Considering Jerusalem Mayoral Bidby Hillel Fendel  Aryeh Deri, the controversial ex-political leader of the Shas Party, says the reports about his candidacy for mayor of Jerusalem are "too early." Among the Shas electorate, however, Deri's popularity has always been sky-high. His door was said to have been perpetually open to people in distress, and many families say he "saved" them. Many cite the Deri case as an example of the "non-religious Ashkenazi establishment against the traditional Sephardic population." What About Porush? Incumbent Mayor Uri Lupoliansky, of the Degel HaTorah faction of United Torah Judaism (UTJ), has already announced that he will not run again, and will instead support Porush, the candidate of the Agudat Yisrael faction of UTJ. This, in accordance with an inter-UTJ rotation agreement made prior to the last elections, five years ago. Nir Barkat, a Jerusalem businessman who ran in the last elections, will run again as the "secular" candidate in the coming Jerusalem mayoral elections. A poll taken two weeks ago shows Barkat leading Porush by a 54-33 % margin. Polls generally under-estimate hareidi-sector voting rates, however. Municipal elections in most Israeli cities are to be held on Nov. 11.
6. Tony Blair's Sister-in-Law Stuck in Gazaby Hana Levi Julian  Lauren Booth is stuck in Gaza. Booth, sister-in-law of former British Prime Minister and current Quartet Middle East envoy Tony Blair, cannot leave Gaza after having sailed to the coast with 'Free Gaza' activists who symbolically broke Israel's sovereignty over Gaza waters. The British activist was one of the most prominent foreign nationals aboard the two boats that sailed from Cyprus last month and enhanced the movement’s publicity stunt aimed at opening Gaza’s seaways to international traffic without Israeli supervision against terrorist activities. Israel’s Navy patrols the coastal waters to ensure that terrorists are unable to smuggle weapons, explosives and operatives in and out of the region. Hamas and other terrorist groups have used dinghies and rubber barrels on the open seas for such purposes, report intelligence officials. Booth and 10 other activists remained in Gaza when Israeli authorities allowed the boats to arrive August 23, including the only Jew in the group. An Israeli citizen, Professor Jeff Halper was briefly detained by Sderot police when he crossed back into pre-1967 Israel after disembarking from the boats, which left the region on Friday. Blair’s sister-in-law, however, was unable to leave because she does not have a visa to enter pre-1967 Israel from the region. According to a release posted by Booth on the “Free Gaza” movement’s website, she and three other foreign nationals from the US, Ireland and Australia attempted to exit Gaza on August 29 via the Erez Crossing without the proper documents. Palestinian Authority Arabs regularly pass through the Erez Crossing each week for medical treatment in pre-1967 Israel, according to Defense Ministry spokesman Peter Lerner, who has repeatedly noted in the past that all have security clearance and proper documentation. However, said Lerner on Tuesday, “there is no possibility to let in those people who entered by sea. They cannot enter Israel.” The group also tried to exit via the Rafiah Crossing. However, no one had a visa to exit Gaza, which is not a sovereign nation, or a visa for entry to Egypt. According to Booth’s posting, “among the internationals currently stranded in Gaza” are Irish activist and former Hawaiian legislator Kenneth O’Keefe and Dr. William Dienst, an American physician. The fourth activist was not named. Booth ended her release with the assertion that “Diplomatic channels are trying to negotiate the exit of the human rights workers who wish, like Palestinians, to exercise their human rights under Article 13 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state and (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.” The problem is that Gaza, which is under the control of the Hamas terrorist organization, is not a country. |
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