Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 80 million. They complain frequently of discrimination, though they generally live in peace with the Muslim majority despite occasional flare-ups of violence, especially over limits on church building.

They generally live in peace, except when Muslims kill them over rumors that a Christian woman, who supposedly converted to Islam, was “forcibly” converted back to Christianity. Or build churches. Or have the entire Coptic community blamed for one man’s crime (see previous reason for Muslim riot against Christians).

The irony is so thick you can cut it with a sword: Libya gives out human rights awards. Yes, Libya. Yes, Libya! And who is getting the award this year? Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the man who is moving Turkey into the Islamist orbit, who is making up charges against the military so he can jail his foes and further his Islamist aims. But don’t be too shocked: Previous winners include Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.

Um… what’s the point of this article? I read this NY Times piece and tried to figure out exactly what its point was. Isabel Kirshner calls the Palestinian “study” that says the Western Wall was never Jewish a “feud” over the Wall. A “feud.” As if the Palestinians had any legitimacy with their lies. Oh, wait. I think I’ve found the point. It’s yet another case of advancing the Palestinian side as if it contains any truth, kind of like the Jenin fable. Now I get it.

Oh, Canada! Liking the Canadians more and more on their Israel policy. They’re boycotting Durban III. Betcha Obama won’t have the balls to do it.

Part I of the Executive Summary discusses overall conditions during the reporting period in countries where “violations of religious freedom have been noteworthy.” Israel is listed among 30 nations selected for this category — including Afghanistan, China, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen — due to the emphasis of the Jewish State on maintaining the status quo with regard to respect for Jewish legal standards.

Really? The Jewish state wants to adhere to Jewish law, and so that puts it on the same level as Muslim states adhering to a version of sharia that allows women to be buried up to their necks and have large stones thrown at them until dead?

The report complained, for instance, that three Messianic Jews were denied the right to immigrate to Israel during the reporting period.

“Messianic Jews” are not Jews. They are Christians. Worse, they are generally Christians who are trying like hell to convert Jews to their cause. (Although they mostly fail miserably–something like over 90% of all Jews who get caught under their spell go back to Judaism a short while later.) We’ve been up and down that road on my blog a dozen times. I’d really like to see where it is interfering with religious freedom by not allowing faux Jews to emigrate to the Jewish state.

Other issues of contention included Israel’s unwillingness to recognize conversions performed in the country which do not meet criteria under Torah law, identification cards (Teudot Zehut) that differentiate between Jews and non-Jews, and the authority over marriages and burials exercised by the Chief Rabbinate, which is Orthodox.

Wow, that’s quite a list of things that restrict religious freedom. Oh, wait. In fact, that is actually a list of Jews expressing their religious freedom. (Okay, I do agree on the civil marriages thing, but let’s not get sidetracked.)

So what’s the article have to say about this?

All religions have freedom of worship in Israel — unlike the other countries mentioned above.

Yes, let’s count the number of churches in Israel. Now count the number of churches in Iran and Saudi Arabia. Also, please show me worshippers in Israel being persecuted for their beliefs. Now look at the Bahai in Iran and Christians in Saudi Arabia, as well as Sunni Muslims in Iran and Shia in Saudi Arabia. Also, Zoroastrians.

That’s right, it’s PC gone wild at the U.S. State Department. But Foggy Bottom hates Israel, so we are not really surprised by this report.

First they came for the Jews: Greek Orthodox Christians assault Muslims celebrating Eid. We are the canaries in the coal mines. Ignore anti-Semitism at your peril, because this is a result of turning your back on Jew-hatred.

Gee, no way this can go wrong: Lebanon is going to be supplied arms by Russia. Say, anyone up for a rerun of the U.S.-Russia Middle East arms race?

Think the AP will change the boilerplate on Muslim-Christian relations over this? Egyptian Muslims torched more Christian homes. Why? Because of a rumor that a Muslim girl had an affair with a Christian. And here’s the AP on the attacks:

Clashes between Christians and Muslims occasionally occur in southern Egypt, mostly over land or disputes over church construction. But sectarian tensions have also been on the rise recently in the capital.

Last year in Qena, a Coptic man was accused of kidnapping and raping a 12-year-old Muslim girl. The alleged assault led to widespread protests by the Muslim community and increased tensions between the two religious groups, which culminated in the murder of six Copts and one Muslim security guard at a church on January 6.

Coptic Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 80 million. Copts and Muslims generally live in peace, though tension and violence occasionally flares.

Note the text in bold. See how the AP downplays the violence against Christians, just as it downplays the violence against Jews in Israel stories. Riots are called “protests”. Murder is called “increased tension”. And the boilerplate—the paragraph directly above this one—remains unchanged.

Whoa… Stealth fighters? The Obama administration really, really, REALLY wants this freeze. They’re offering Israel 20 Stealth fighters as a gift if Israel signs onto the freeze for three more months? Yeesh… sign on the dotted line, Bibi. It’s worth 100 times the number of “the Zionists control the U.S.” stories this deal will bring.

Most biased anti-Israel headline of the week: Time magazine wins the award with “Why Israel Doesn’t Care About Peace.” The headline sucks. But the article is interesting, as it actually gives some Israeli viewpoints. I doubt its conclusion, however. I think Israelis care very much about peace. They just don’t believe the Palestinians want it.

Liberal blogger anti-Semitism: We’ve seen this over the years, but now there’s an actual study on anti-Semitic cartoons on progressive blogs. Apparently, the study perused Indymedia sites. Um. I no longer even bother pointing out the anti-Semitism of Indymedia sites. It’s like saying the sun rises in the east.

Hey, stop reminding us about our part in the extermination of six million Jews: A Jewish French teacher has been fired for teaching about the Holocaust. Yes, really.

A copy of the report, seen by AFP, accuses Pederzoli of “lacking distance, neutrality and secularism” in teaching the Holocaust and of manipulating her charges through a process of “brain-washing”.

Hm. Talking about religion during a course that teaches about people being killed for their religion—yeah, I can totally see how you’d want to teach about the Holocaust in a neutral fashion. Because it was such a cut-and-dried issue, the attempted murder of all of Europe’s Jews. Ah, France. You never fail to disappoint.

What, I wondered, was the significance of the city of Cordoba?

The Caliphate of Córdoba (Arabic: خلافة قرطبة Khilāfat Qurṭuba) ruled the Iberian peninsula (Al-Andalus) and North Africa from the city of Córdoba, from 929 to 1031.

Oh.

So an organization that bills itself as a moderate Islamic society that wants to build bridges between Islam and the West chooses to name the center after—the capital of the Islamic Caliphate.

Because that simply screams “moderate” to me.

Sirin Middya, who described herself as a devout Muslim, said she was appointed in March but has not been allowed to teach her classes since she refused to wear the garment, which covers the entire body and face. A mesh net covers the eyes.

“The students have threatened us and have put up banners saying those who oppose the burqa rule can go back home,” Middya said.

But here’s the scary part of the situation:

“I don’t have a problem wearing the burqa, but when I wear it, it will be of my own free will,” Middya said.

She should have a problem with wearing a sack, even of her own free will. Because there is no free will to be had in “choosing” to wear a garment that turns a woman into an anonymous bundle of clothing.

Attackers in a car raked a crowd of shoppers in a south Egypt town with gunfire, killing a policemen and six Coptic Christians on the eve of their Christmas celebrations, a security official said on Thursday.

Then they rioted, excuse me, “protested”, in AFP-speak:

In November, hundreds of Muslim protesters torched Christian-owned shops in the town of Farshut, near Nagaa Hammadi, and attacked a police station where they believed the suspected rapist was being held.

Here in America, we call people who burn shops “rioters.” At least the AP used the right term:

He said Muslim residents of Nag Hamadi and neighboring villages rioted for five days in November and torched and damaged Christian properties in the area after the rape.

But that was long after the AP, in the fourth paragraph, explained how there is generally peace between Muslims (who riot, murder, forcibly convert Copts, and burn Christian shops) and the Copts, the oldest Christian sect in Egypt:

Christians, mostly Coptics, account for about 10 percent of Egypt’s predominantly Muslim population. They generally live in peace with the Muslim majority although clashes and tensions in the south do occur, mostly over land or church construction disputes. In recent years, the clashes have begun seeping into the capital.

That’s the fourth paragraph. Your local paper’s world news section generally prints only the first three to five paragraphs of wire stories, and of course, the wire services know this. Here are paragraphs nine, ten, and eleven:

As Islamic conservatism gains ground, Christians have increasingly complained about discrimination by the Muslim majority.

Coptic Christians are limited in where they can build churches and must obtain government approval before expanding existing facilities. The government insists Christians enjoy the same rights as Muslims.

Vendetta killing is also common among southern Egyptians, and is usually over land or family disputes.

Every time the AP writer discusses anti-Christian actions by Egyptian Muslims, he feels compelled to explain that it may not just be religious bigotry. And yet, Muslims keep on killing Christians in Egypt. And even the AP acknowledges that Egypt refuses to let Copts build churches freely at the same time it insists that Christians are not discriminated against.

It’s funny how this topic never seems to come up when Obama talks about Muslims. Go figure.

I send greetings to those around the world celebrating Rosh Hashanah.

The sound of the Shofar heralds the beginning of a new year and a time of remembrance and renewal for the Jewish people. During these holy days, men and women are called to reflect on their faith and to honor the blessings of creation.

The enduring traditions of Rosh Hashanah remind us of the deep values of faith and family that strengthen our Nation and help guide us each day. As Jewish people around the world come together to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, it is a chance to look to the new year with hope and faith.

Laura and I send our best wishes for a blessed Rosh Hashanah and shanah tovah.

That’s all of it. Now, to look at the professor-president’s take on the Jewish New Year, a time when we get together in celebration, ten days before we observe Yom Kippur, where we will repent for our sins, pray for the chance to do better (and be better) next year, and celebrate our faith and our G-d. But no holiday is too holy for the Commander-in-Chief not to put on his hat as the Lecturer-in-Chief.

As members of the Jewish faith here in America and around the world gather to celebrate the High Holidays, I want to extend my warmest wishes for this New Year. L’Shanah Tovah Tikatevu – may you have a good year, and may you be inscribed for blessing in the Book of Life.

If he had stopped here, it would have been perfect. Instead, I’m pretty sure this is a stealth message to Israel about the Palestinians.

Rosh Hashanah marks the start of a new year – a time of humble prayer, joyful celebration, and hope for a new beginning. Ten days later, Yom Kippur stands as a day of reflection and repentance. And this sacred time provides not just an opportunity for individual renewal and reconciliation, but for families, communities and even nations to heal old divisions, seek new understandings, and come together to build a better world for our children and grandchildren.

At the dawn of this New Year, let us rededicate ourselves to that work. Let us reject the impulse to harden ourselves to others’ suffering, and instead make a habit of empathy – of recognizing ourselves in each other and extending our compassion to those in need.

It’s extremely insulting. He is telling Jews the world over, but I think specifically in Israel, to “reject the impulse to harden ourselves to others’ suffering”? It sounds like he’s listening to the Palestinian narrative here from his friends like Rashid Khalidi. That’s not a Jewish narrative at all, unless he’s still reading from the same damned book he read for the Cairo speech.

And is it just me, or is it that every single time Obama mentions the Jewish religion, he sounds like he’s stealing lines from the Cecil B. DeMille Exodus film? “Scourge”?

Let us resist prejudice, intolerance, and indifference in whatever forms they may take — let us stand up strongly to the scourge of anti-Semitism, which is still prevalent in far too many corners of our world.

This is an excellent suggestion. Except for one thing: Jews have absolutely no power over anti-Semitism. It is other peoples’ unhinged hatred of us. It isn’t we who should be standing up strongly against this scourge. It is the rest of the world that needs to stand up. Perhaps if the president stopped picking viciously anti-Israel advisers like Van Jones, or attending churches led by an anti-Israel pastor for twenty years, it would send the right example. Or perhaps he could have used his Cairo speech as a “teachable moment” and mentioned the scourge of anti-Semitism in the Arab world, instead of sticking to the Arab party line that the Holocaust is the reason that Israel was created.

Let us work to extend the rights and freedoms so many of us enjoy to all the world’s citizens – to speak and worship freely; to live free from violence and oppression; to make of our lives what we will.

More stealth “treat the Palestinians right” messaging, if you ask me—or perhaps just his usual boring, annoying, lecturing. And of course, it would not be an Obama speech if it wasn’t all about The One:

And let us work to achieve lasting peace and security for the state of Israel, so that the Jewish state is fully accepted by its neighbors, and its children can live their dreams free from fear. That is why my Administration is actively pursuing the lasting peace that has eluded Israel and its Arab neighbors for so long.

Note that there is another transposition of responsibility here: Israel must work to be accepted by its neighbors. It isn’t that Israel must be accepted by her neighbors by virtue of the UN resolution that established the modern state of Israel, or by the fact that Israel exists, and will not be leaving this planet anytime soon. It is Israel that must do the work, once Obama has managed to achieve lasting peace for her.

Here’s the rest of the message that would have worked for me, even with its tinge of pomposity, because tikkun olam (repairing the world) is a theme of Rosh Hashanah:

Throughout history, the Jewish people have been, in the words of the Prophet Isaiah, “a light unto the nations.” Through an abiding commitment to faith, family, and justice, Jews have overcome extraordinary adversity, holding fast to the hope of a better tomorrow.

In this season of renewal, we celebrate that spirit; we honor a great and ancient faith; and we rededicate ourselves to the work of repairing this world.

Michelle and I wish all who celebrate Rosh Hashanah a healthy, peaceful and sweet New Year.

He had a good first graph. And a good last three. The rest of this speech is arrogant, overreaching, preachy, wrongheaded, and, well, annoying. And there’s the problem he has with the transposition of responsibility.

But other than that, hey, the hectorer-in-chief did a great job.

“Part of being a good friend is being honest,” Mr. Obama said in an interview with NPR News. “And I think there have been times where we are not as honest as we should be about the fact that the current direction, the current trajectory, in the region is profoundly negative, not only for Israeli interests but also U.S. interests.

So let’s hear Obama get honest with the Saudis, with the Egyptians, with the Palestinians, with the rest of the Arab Muslims. Then let’s hear him get honest with the Pakistani Muslims, with the Muslims in the Phillipines, with the Muslims in China, Russia, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Let’s hear him honestly tell Muslims that:

• Non-Muslims get to worship whom and what they please. Suck it up.
• You do not get to dictate to non-Muslims that you will kill them if they “offend” your infantile sensibilities about your religion
• In that spirit, rational people do not riot over perceived slights to their holy books and figures
• Non-Muslims are not lesser beings who deserve fewer rights than Muslims
• Non-Muslims have the right to worship in peace in Muslim nations, (and in non-Muslim nations where there are significant Muslim populations)
• Jews lived in Israel thousands of years before Mohammed showed his face in the Saudi desert, and Israel is the ancestral home of the Jews.
• Likewise, Jerusalem is the ancient heart of Judaism. Suck it up.
• Israel is a Jewish state. Suck that up, too.
• Women are, and should be treated as, the equal of men. Welcome to the 21st century.
• Binding United Nations resolutions are binding on all nations, not just on Israel and the West.
• Really, those of us who are non-Muslim are not the least bit interested in your fictional Caliphate. Plans for world domination are so 20th century. Lose the yearning for the good old days; they’re gone forever. Learn a skill. You’ll achieve more.
• To the OIC on the UN Human Rights Council: Try looking at your own backyards first before constantly slamming Israel. I sincerely doubt your nations would pass muster even on animal cruelty issues, let alone human rights.
• To the Arab and Muslim dictators, kings, princes, emirs, autocrats, and kleptocrats: Goose. Gander. If Palestinians should have self-rule, and free elections, so should Saudis, Yemenis, Egyptians, Syrians, Iranians (without the interference of the Mad Mullahs in choosing whom is allowed to run, there is no free election), etc., etc., etc. Otherwise, feel free to STFU about the centrality of the Palestinians and Israel.
• Last, but not least: Colonialism has been over for many, many years, and yet, you’re still blaming it for your societal ills. Get over it, and learn how to put your oil money to good use instead of paying for palaces, planes, and parties. Get a real, job, you lazy bastards.

That’s all for now. But I doubt you’ll find much of what I wrote up there in Obama’s speech tomorrow. Count the Israel references, though. There should be a ton of them. Because when it comes to being “honest” with friends, apparently, the honesty only counts when it’s directed towards Israel. Once again, the Exception Clause is in play. That’s where you add “Except for Israel” (or “Jews”) to the end of whatever is being said, or when what is being said applies solely to Israel (or Jews), and to no one else.