“I can’t go back to my home in Israel; I can’t enter the village. The only option left for me is to hide out in a settlement, in a home that accepts me in a humane way,” said T. on Tuesday.

I think the gay community that is so stridently against Israel is working for the wrong side.

Granted, it seems like the defense forces are screwing this poor guy, and yes, things like that really do suck for the Palestinians. But the reasons for the checkpoints and the suspicion have been borne out by the many terror attacks, and even more attempted terror attacks. Just the other day, a Palestinian woman stabbed an Israeli soldier manning a checkpoint.

But—reverse the situation, and the gay guy dies. Gee, I wonder if Sullivan will bother to cover this story. Probably not without much hand-wringing about how evil Israel is preventing the Palestinian from getting back in.

The horrific torture of hundreds of people by Palestinian security forces in the West Bank is being funded by British taxpayers.

An investigation by The Mail on Sunday has found that the forces responsible get £20million a year from the UK.

The victims – some left maimed – are rounded up for alleged involvement with the militant Islamic group Hamas, yet many have nothing to do with it.

I will be waiting for the UN to denounce this. But first, the Daily Mail, being the British press, must blame Israel for it somehow.

Not only are PA forces carrying out torture, the authority ignores judges’ orders to release political detainees. Last month at least 30 journalists, teachers and students were arrested – as the crackdown on Hamas was praised by a senior Israeli defence official as a necessary ‘iron fist policy’.

Say, do you think the Brits are aware that the Palestinians are using their money to pay torturers?

A British diplomat in Jerusalem said: ‘Obviously we are very aware of problems with the Palestinian security forces. We are working hard to improve their standards across the board – including human rights standards.’

This is some of what the Brits’ £20 million pounds per year is paying for:

The commonest ‘mini’ method, known as ‘shabah’, involves hanging up shackled victims by their arms. The teacher told how he was held in a cellar at Jenaid prison last month.

‘First they shackled my hands behind my back, tied a rope round the shackles and looped it over a beam. They pulled until I was standing on tiptoes, just still able to take some weight on my legs. Then they jerked the rope so it all came on to my arms and held me there until I was on the point of passing out. They were laughing, saying it would dislocate my shoulders. They did it over and over for five or six days.’

Sometimes sharp-edged sardine cans were placed under his heels, so that when weight came back on his legs, they inflicted deep cuts. Two other victims independently described this, too.

The Brits are now going to send intelligence officers into the West Bank to teach the PA torturers to stop torturing. Their initial budget? £100,000.

Interestingly, none of the wire services have managed to find this story worth picking up and spreading. Apparently, only Israel can be guilty of human rights abuses. Just imagine the number of headlines around the world media if it were the Israeli police forces that were abusing prisoners like this.

What time is it, kids? That’s right. It’s Israeli Double Standard Time.

“Simply put, it is past time to talk about starting negotiations. It is time to move forward,” Obama told reporters before a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Um. I do believe that it has been the Palestinians who have refused to sit down and talk with the Israelis, but let’s move on.

Obama told Abbas and Netanyahu that, “The only reason to hold public office is to get things done,” and that everyone “must take risks for peace,” Mitchell said.

Everyone must take risks for peace? What risks, pray tell, will the Palestinians be taking? What risks will America be taking? The only risk for the Obama administration is that once again, peace will not break out in the Middle East, and The Anointed One will not win his coveted Nobel Prize. (I think perhaps he wants to be the first sitting President to win one. Maybe that’s his hurry.)

The risks for the Palestinians? Hm, let’s think. Wait, give me a minute. Um.

Nope. I can’t think of any.

The risks for Israel? Let’s see. Terror attacks, rockets in every town and city in Israel, chemical weapons dropped on her citizens, sniping from the Palestinian side of the border—Israelis will risk life and limb if the peace process does work, but the Palestinians refuse to stop fighting. So you see, it isn’t “everyone” that must take risks for peace. It’s only Israel that will be taking the risks. Funny how it always works out that way.

And there have been pretty much no moves by the Palestinians to hold up their end of the Road Map, although that doesn’t stop the president from pretending the Palestinians are actually doing something.

“Palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security, but they need to do more to stop incitement and to move forward with negotiations,” Mr. Obama said on Tuesday. “Israelis have facilitated greater freedom of movement for the Palestinians and have discussed important steps to restrain settlement activity. But they need to translate these discussions into real action on this and other issues.”

End incitement? You mean like amending the Fatah Charter, or not accusing the Israelis of poisoning Yasser Arafat? Or maybe even not calling for the “return” of third- and fourth-generation “refugees” to their ancestral homes?

Obama needs to do more in order to move forward with negotiations. He needs to actually read what the Palestinians are saying. But that would totally screw up the narrative. And the potential Nobel Peace Prize.

Abbas to Obama: Stick it in your very big ears. Wow, look at what all those preconditions Obama demanded did for the peace process. It worked! The Palestinians now think they don’t have to do anything and Israel will be handed to them by the U.S. Great job, Obama! (Is it racist to say that he has big ears?)

If it’s Quds Day, this must be Holocaust Denial: And not just Holocaust denial from Ahmadinejad—his thugs attacked ex-president Khatami. Hey, if they kill Khatami, will Iranians rise up and not stop this time? Here’s what they chanted:

“Death to the dictators,” and “Not Gaza, Not Lebanon, We are ready to die for Iran,” chanted protesters.

The normal chant, if you have forgotten, is “Death to Israel” or “Death to America.”

If this is a holiday, it must be high terror alert in Israel: But gee, Obama told me that the Palestinians want peace. So did the Saudis. So do the Egyptians. Huh. Go figure. And 75,000 Muslims attended Ramadan prayers, unmolested, in Jerusalem—in their mosque deliberately built on the Temple grounds—that was not destroyed when Israel took control of Jerusalem. Exactly which of us is the Religion of Peace, do you think?

The freeze construction meme continues: And once again, the Arabs say that Israel must freeze all construction—of course, that includes in towns that will never be a part of the Palestinian state, such as Ma’ale Adumim—before any move will be made from the Arab side. Because so many moves have been made since 1967.

Elliott Abrams bitchslaps Jimmy Carter: I know Soccer Dad posted on it, but I can’t resist adding it to Snark News Briefs. Now this is a put-down.

The Obama speech: Get over it, people. So Obama’s going to give a speech to schoolchildren. Um. Have you forgotten how bored you were by long speeches? Please. This is not indoctrination. This is the president doing his job, which is to inspire children to work harder. Tempest in a teapot. He’s the president. He should be allowed to make speeches to students, and this sets a terrible precedent for all future presidents.

International pressure rises, but not on Iran: Funny, isn’t it, how the world can’t seem to find a way to pressure Iran into stopping work on its nuclear weapons program, but everyone is jumping on the STOP ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS!1!!1 bandwagon? France. Germany. And, of course, The One. Because it’s far more important to stop Israelis from moving into the eastern side of Jerusalem—the city that Jews built—than it is to stop Iran from getting the bomb.

He was for the settlements before he was against them: Netanyahu is going to approve building additions to the suburbs of Jerusalem (which is another name for “West Bank settlements”) before freezing settlement building. Countdown to outraged Palestinian reaction in one.

The fabled Arab love for their Palestinian brethren: Get out. The UAE is expelling all Palestinians from within their borders, regardless of whether they’ve lived their all of their lives. The Palestinian population of the UAE is about 140,000. And oh yeah—no reason was given. But hey, that Muslim umma? It’s really working for them, isn’t it?

“Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is the sovereign capital of the State of Israel. We have been building in Jerusalem for 3,000 years.”

British protesters were out in droves tonight, forcing Bibi to use the back entrance to 10 Downing Street. But I’d have to say that he got the last word.

The AP story didn’t seem to get the same quote as Ynet. In fact, the AP story doesn’t mention Jerusalem at all. I wonder how that happened? Because they’re both quoting the same press conference. The Reuters reporter and editor felt it was worth quoting.

“We accept no limitations on our sovereignty … Jerusalem is not a settlement,” Netanyahu said in response to a question.

Of course, they then called it “Arab east Jerusalem,” the lable which totally ignores the fact that the Jewish Quarter is in the eastern section of the city.

I’m shocked that this got into the AP report:

Netanyahu discussed at length his visit Tuesday to the London museum of the Palestine Exploration Fund, an organization that sent explorers on expeditions to the Holy Land in the 1800s to examine the physical traces of the Bible and Jewish history. He talked about the Arab invasion of the newly declared state of Israel in 1948 and the Arab “stranglehold” on Israel before the 1967 Mideast War, in which Israel captured territories that included the West Bank and Gaza. He touched on the construction of the first Jewish neighborhood outside the Old City of Jerusalem in the 19th century.

Of course, it was buried deep near the end. But Netanyahu is an excellent speaker. He’s getting his message across, in spite of the media barrage against him.

Soldiers won’t eat in front of Palestinians: That headline does not mean what you think it means. No, it’s not another damning report from another European-funded, Palestinian-staffed NGO about how IDF soldiers are humiliating Palestinians. It’s the fact that the IDF have been instructed not to eat, drink, or smoke in public while working in Palestinian areas on Ramadan. Once again, brought to you by the Better Than Them report, because many Israeli Arabs have no such compunctions respecting Jewish holidays like Yom Kippur.

David Miliband finds terrorism that he disapproves of: Looks like the Foreign Minister of Britain only condemns terrorism that doesn’t take place on his home turf. I’m shocked, shocked, to discover that he’s appalled by the hero’s welcome the Lockerbie bomber received in Libya. Those terrorists are simply going to have to learn to distinguish the good terrorism from the bad! (Footnote: What the hell did they expect? When has an Arab nation ever showed dismay at one of its own murdering hundreds of infidels?)

Top gun, but without the bad eighties hair and music: The IAF staged a competition over the Negev recently. And while one squadron won the competition, the real winner, of course, is Israel, especially in light of reports that Russia could sell fighter jets to Iran. Hey, I’m all for that. Better jets than missiles, because the IAF will do to the Iranian air force what it did to Syria—shooting down 80 Syrian fighters without a single loss of their own.

Must-read: The UNHRC Goldstone Commission will be presenting its biased report to the UN soon. Irwin Cotler has a must-read, in-depth series of articles at the JPost about how the report was rigged from the get-go. Part one. Part two. How biased was the assignment? So biased that even Mary Robinson said it was anti-Israel. Read in full recommendation.

Brilliant new Obama peace plan: Playground politics. Remember when you were kids, and you dared each other to do something? “You go first.” “No, you.” “I know! Let’s do it together!” That is the essence of Obama’s new peace plan. That’s right. Let’s make simultaneous actions. That will solve everything. So, will it work? Of course not. Not while the Palestinians keep getting support for their insistence that it is Israeli settlements that are preventing peace—not Palestinian intransigence and the unwillingness to recognize the rights to Jews to have a state in their ancestral homeland.

A Swedish newspaper publishes a blood libel, accusing Israelis of taking (and selling) organs from Palestinians. Israelis are outraged. They file paperwork.

Deputy Foreign Minister Daniel Ayalon filed a formal grievance with the Swedish government Wednesday following a Stockholm newspaper’s report accusing Israel of trading in the stolen organs of Palestinians.

They ask the Swedish government to condemn the hateful lies.

“I demand the Swedish government condemn this groundless article,” said Ayalon.

They threaten to summon the Swedish ambassador.

The Foreign Ministry is reportedly considering summoning the Swedish ambassador and reproving him for his government policies, “Which allow such a hateful publication to go without censure.”

Ouch. Plus, there’s a very angry comment in my previous post (although I seriously doubt any prosecution could occur, as I’m unclear as to what Israeli laws were broken by the publication of this article).

Now, let’s think of another instance where a Nordic nation published something in a newspaper that stirred up controversy. Like, the publishing of a dozen Mohammed cartoons.

Danish Muslim organizations, who objected to the depictions, responded by holding public protests attempting to raise awareness of Jyllands-Posten’s publication. Further examples of the cartoons were soon reprinted in newspapers in more than fifty other countries, further deepening the controversy.

This led to protests across the Muslim world, some of which escalated into violence with police firing on the crowds (resulting in more than 100 deaths, altogether),[1] including setting fire to the Danish Embassies in Syria, Lebanon and Iran, storming European buildings, and desecrating the Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and German flags in Gaza City. While a number of Muslim leaders called for protesters to remain peaceful, other Muslim leaders across the globe, including Mahmoud al-Zahar of Hamas, issued death threats.[2][3] Various groups, primarily in the Western world, responded by endorsing the Danish policies, including “Buy Danish” campaigns and other displays of support. Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen described the controversy as Denmark’s worst international crisis since World War II.[4]

Funny how the most horrific things get published about Jews, in so many different publications, in so many different nations, so often, and yet, Jews don’t set fire to cars or riot or murder people in protest. And of course, there are the usual suspects who will also say that Jews are “overreacting” when they get upset about lies like this one.

It’s telling that the author was interviewed on Israeli radio, and even said that he had no clue whether the allegations were true. But that didn’t stop him from publishing them.

Interviewed on Israel Radio on Wednesday, Bostrom said he was worried by the allegations he reported but could not vouch for their accuracy.

“It concerns me, to the extent that I want it to be investigated, that’s true. But whether it’s true or not – I have no idea, I have no clue,” he told the station.

That’s how it works these days. Prove you didn’t kidnap Palestinians and steal their organs, Israel. Bostrom is shocked, shocked I say, at being called an anti-Semite. He’s not anti-Semitic. Just ask him.

I mentioned Der Stürmer in my last post. Here’s an image that Bostrom would probably approve (after stating that he’d want it to be investigated whether or not Jews drain Christian children’s blood and drink it):

Photo of anti-Semitic Nazi propaganda rag Der Stürmer blood libel

Then and now. There’s not much difference. This is why people like Bibi Netanyahu warn that it’s 1939 all over again. The constant demonization and dehumanization of Israelis is sounding a drum that we’ve heard before. The difference, of course, is that this time, we Jews are armed and able to protect ourselves.

Oh, and we’ll write really nasty posts about you when you lie about us. Fear us.

Under UNRWA’s operational definition, Palestine refugees are persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine between June 1946 and May 1948, who lost both their homes and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict. UNRWA’s services are available to all those living in its area of operations who meet this definition, who are registered with the Agency and who need assistance. The descendants of the original Palestine Refugees are also eligible for registration. When the agency became operational in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees. Today, 4.6 million Palestine refugees are eligible for UNRWA services.

Of course, for me, the real irony is that the guy who critiqued—and slammed—the Joker poster is the guy who created the poster of Bush as a vampire.