UNWRA, Hamas and the plight of refugees
September 11, 2012 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
Israel came under some criticism lately when Israeli authorities were refusing to allow entry to a group of Eritrean asylum seekers stuck at the Egyptian border. The Israelis eventually relented after one week and permitted some of the asylum seekers to cross the border.
One of the most prominent critics of this incident was William Tall, the local representative from the UN High Commission for Refugees (‘UNHCR’), one of the two UN bodies tasked with catering to the world’s refugee populations.
The other body is, of course, the UN Relief and Works Agency For Palestine Refugees — which regularly goes by the acronym ‘UNRWA’.
The omission of the ‘FPR’ from the acronym makes it sound as though UNRWA were simply another arm of the UN, rather than an organisation established soleley to cater to one population. Unfortunately, the ‘FPR’ is a part of UNRWA’s name and mandate, which must be glaringly apparent for the unfortunate Africans who attempt to find refuge in Israel…
Canada severs diplomatic ties with Iran, calling Teheran “the most significant threat to global peace”
September 11, 2012 | Or Avi Guy
Canada announced on Friday (7/9/2012) that it is closing down its embassy in Iran, and has also expelled all Iranian diplomats from the country. “Canada has closed it’s embassy in Iran, effective immediately, and declared persona non grata all remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada,” states Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird in a press release, which later further explains that “Diplomatic relations between Canada and Iran have been suspended. All Canadian diplomatic staff have left Iran, and Iranian diplomats in Ottawa have been instructed to leave within five days.”
Hanan Ashrawi and the attempt to write Jewish refugees out of history
September 7, 2012 | Sharyn Mittelman
Hanan Ashrawi has caused controversy by recently writing in an article intended for an Arabic-speaking audience that there were no Jewish refugees from Arab countries. She wrote, “the emigration of Jews was a voluntary act that was influenced by factors of pressure and temptation by Zionist movements and the Jewish Agency.” Ashrawi explained that: “If Israel is their homeland, then they are not ‘refugees;’ they are emigrants who returned either voluntarily or due to a political decision.”
However, Ashwrawi is clearly ignoring history for political reasons. In 1945, there were more than 870,000 Jews living in the various Arab states, some communities dated back 2,500 years. From the 1940s onwards many of these Jews were persecuted, their property and belongings confiscated and in some countries they were expelled – including Egypt, Libya and Algeria.
Palestinian NGO muddies the waters with Dead Sea claims
September 7, 2012 | Ahron Shapiro
Mud-slinging allegations by the Palestinian NGO Al-Haq that Israel had committed “war crimes” by purportedly allowing the Israeli Dead Sea cosmetics company Ahava to “plunder” Dead Sea resources inside the West Bank became the focus of a controversial article by Fairfax’s Middle East correspondent Ruth Pollard this week.
In the September 4 article “Cosmetics firm accused of plundering Dead Sea“, Pollard regurgitated uncritically allegations from the Palestinian group that Ahava has been using materials in its products supposedly excavated from an undisclosed mining site in the jurisdiction of the Megilot Regional Council, where Ahava maintains a factory and outlet store.
PA unable to afford electricity but still pay terrorists six times the average Palestinian wage
September 6, 2012 | Daniel Meyerowitz-Katz
With the cost of living skyrocketing as falling revenues forces the Palestinian Authority (‘PA’) to stop paying salaries to its employees, the PA is struggling to hold onto what legitimacy it has left amongst its people. In spite of this, the PA is reportedly increasing the money it pays in support of terrorists who have murdered innocent Israelis.
This blog has been following the PA’s escalating financial crisis as foreign aid donations have dwindled over the past few years. We have also been following the repeated attacks on the pipeline through the Sinai that used to supply Israel with natural gas from Egypt and the Egyptians’ eventual decision to unilaterally call-off the trade agreement.
It seems that these two issues are now coming to a head…
Media Week – “Foreign Interests” fail; Human cannon fodder
September 6, 2012 | Allon Lee
A series of articles in Fairfax newspapers focusing on the gifts and trips received by Australian Federal MPs offered sweeping and problematic generalisations on trips parliamentarians have made to Israel.
The latest IAEA report and Iran as a “threshold” state
September 6, 2012
This Update looks at the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran’s nuclear program, as well as other important aspects of the debate about what to do about Iran’s nuclear program.
First up, noted American strategic analyst Anthony Cordesman summarises the key elements of the IAEA report, quoting from the report extensively to do so. He notes that Iran has refused to cooperate with the IAEA on the Parchin site suspected of being used for explosives testing for the nuclear program, has strongly increased its stockpile of both low enriched uranium and uranium enriched to 20% (well on the way to weapons grade) plus the UN has seen signs of even higher levels of enrichment…
Media Week – Newton’s gravity-free zone; Village idiots; Exceptionally bad
September 5, 2012 | Allon Lee
Australian Palestine Advocacy Network vice-president Robert Newton offered up a series of red herrings in the Canberra Times (21/8) to justify why “Unless Israel stops the illegal construction of settlements in the West Bank there will be no resumption of negotiations which have been stalled since December 2010”.
Between 1993 and 2009 the Palestinian Authority (PA) did not insist on a settlements building freeze as a precondition to peace talks.
Israel and the “other Olympics”
August 31, 2012 | Sharyn Mittelman
Israel may not have picked up a medal at the London Olympic games, but it is a little known truth that when it comes to the Paralympic games – Israel is a superstar.
Since the Paralympic games began, Israel has won 334 medals, including 113 gold, and those numbers are expected to grow at the London 2012 Paralympic games. The national medal total ranks Israel 13th overall in the history of the Games.
The State of the Syrian Civil War/ The Plight of Mideast Christians
August 31, 2012
This Update contains two pieces on the state of the civil war in Syria, where rebel efforts over recent weeks to gain footholds in Damascus and Aleppo, the two largest cities, appear to be being pushed back by the regime.
First up is a report from Aleppo courtesy of the Economist, which makes it clear that many, both inside and outside Syria, are now arguing that the rebel move into Aleppo was an over-reach by rebel forces – and was not well-received by residents of the city. The story also discusses at length the problems of lack of unity in rebel forces, with no overall command even of the brigade attacking Aleppo…
