Huffington Post Monitor

International Holocaust Cynicism Day (On the HuffPo)

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Today is International Holocaust Remembrance Day, and the Huffington Post observed it accordingly with many blog posts on the subject (and one article). You know what that means! Let the parade of Holocaust cynicism and minimization begin! Original links are included so that you may read them in context.

The original link.

Opinions the HP Doesn't Publish: Ray Hanania

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Ray Hanania is a Palestinian American who is also a Huffington Post blogger. Like Bradley Burston, he writes what he thinks, not what the "side" he's subscribed to wants him to write. But the Huffington Post picks and chooses which of his essays they publish, so it's no surprise they didn't publish this latest one, titled Palestinians' Worst Enemies Are Themselves.

If the Israelis wanted to defeat the Palestinians, Israel would immediately recognize a Palestinian State in Gaza, the West Bank and even east Jerusalem rather than embrace policies that push Palestinians to unite. If they did that, all the Israelis would have to do is sit back and watch as the Palestinians tear themselves apart.

Yes, the tragedy of the Palestinians isn’t that they are victims of injustice at the hands of the Israelis. It is their own tendency to destroy themselves from within.

The most powerful factor keeping Palestinians together as a people is the anger they share in response to injustices by Israel. But that’s a pathetic reason for unity. Worse, anger easily turns into hatred and hatred easily turns into violence, terrorism and killings. And violence undermines even the most just of causes.

Palestinians hate Israelis but they hate themselves even more.

Palestinian activists spend as much time bashing their own people as they do bashing Israel. The truth is that for the Palestinians, bashing Israel results in nothing but more defeats and losses. Bashing other Palestinians makes them feel better, and serves to distract their community from their inherent leadership failures.

Yes, it’s true. The Palestinian leadership is a failure, and the activists who lead the hatred, for example against Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate Palestinian like myself, and against anyone who dares to challenge their fanaticism, are the primary cause.

Let’s define failure. In nearly 100 years of battling Jewish immigrants and then the Israeli people, the Palestinians have failed to establish sovereignty over one inch of historic Palestine.

THE DIFFERENCES between Israelis and Jews on one side and the Palestinians and the Arab World on the other is striking.

For example, Israelis and Jews recognize that the American public is the single most important public constituency in the world. The Arab World marginalizes the American public, brushing them off as “ignorant” and “uneducated.”

That may be. But there’s a reason the most powerful lobbying group in the world, AIPAC, operates out of Washington, DC, not London, Paris or the Hague.

And recognizing the importance of the American public means recognition of the significance of American politics. Some of the wealthiest people funding the presidential candidates in the United States are not Arabs who have billions at their disposal, but Jews.

Newt Gingrich this week pulled to the front of the Republican field of candidates seeking to unseat Democrat President Barack Obama in November’s presidential election.

Gingrich did that with the backing of one of the wealthiest people in the world, Sheldon Adelson.

Adelson is the publisher of an Israeli newspaper, Israel Hayom, and the owner of lucrative casinos in Las Vegas. He put up more than $5 million to fund a “Super Pac” that has been bashing Mitt Romney and that is helping Gingrich.

Although Arabs hate Gingrich because he called the Palestinians an “invented people,” the fact is that Gingrich has very moderate views on Israel and Palestine. In interviews with my journalist colleague Ali Younes, who covered the South Carolina Republican primaries, Gingrich explained that he would recognize and support a Palestinian state if Hamas and the Palestinians recognized Israel and renounced violence.

Forget about the politics of Gingrich’s words. Mainstream Palestinians renounced violence years ago and continue to live in the limbo of occupation, while Hamas goes back and forth, one day pretending to be moderate and the next vowing retaliation for brutal Israeli air strikes.

But as a veteran journalist and now columnist, I know presidential candidates will say anything to win elections. In other words, that Gingrich called Palestinians an “invented people” is meaningless in terms of what he might do to bring about compromise if elected president.

The bigger question, though, is where is the Palestinian or Arab version of Sheldon Adelson who is willing to put up much of his wealth to support the interests of his people? Arabs do not own newspapers, television stations or put any real money into the Palestinian lobbying. Pro-Israel groups have donated more than $51 million to candidates, according to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. In contrast, Arabs have only donated $61,000.

The Arabs, though some may be talented, have a lot of loud-mouthed activists who scream and spew hatred. There’s the great jazz musician whose hatred of Israel borders on anti-Semitism. There’s the talented writer at the Electronic Intifada whose words are driven by hatred of Jews.

These hate-driven activists have compromised mainstream Arabs, putting them in a headlock of oppression. Moderate Arabs are discouraged from expressing their views or espousing moderation in the face of the bullying and threats from the fanatics who spend more time and energy beating up their own people than turning legal claims against Israel into meaningful reality.

I was sitting with a group of Arab journalist friends recently at al-Manar restaurant outside of Chicago in Bridgeview, which is the hub of the local Palestinian Muslim community.

What struck me as odd was the restaurant was empty, save for our group. It was lunchtime on a Sunday. Down the street, Arabs were standing in line at two American restaurants owned by Greek Americans.

The real secret is that the Israelis don’t have to work hard at defeating the Palestinians. All they have to do is let Palestinians undermine themselves.

Menachem Rosensaft Remembers the Holocaust, HPers Upset

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:30:00 +0000

HP blogger Menachem Rosensaft has written an article about remembering the Holocaust and railing against the lethargy of countries today towards stopping modern genocides such as the ones in Rwanda and Darfur. Naturally, because Jews were part of the article, the HP published some of the following comments.

And there were a couple that I didn't get to in time:

But I'll leave them to your imagination about how bad they must have been if the ones above were allowed to remain.

But remember, everyone, Jews and the Holocaust have nothing to do with Israel or criticism of Israel's policies.

When in Doubt, Spin Spin Spin

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

It's becoming clear to me that the Huffington Post has a mission to criticize the Palestinians as little as possible in favor of blaming everything on Israel. Fortunately, or perhaps not so fortunately, we have a perfect example of that today. There was a new article in the "World" section and here is the basic gist:

"RAMALLAH/JERUSALEM, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Israel has presented Palestinians with its ideas for the borders and security arrangements of a future Palestinian state, in a bid to keep exploratory talks alive, Palestinian and Israeli sources said on Friday.

However, Palestinian officials said the verbal presentation by Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho at a meeting on Wednesday was a non-starter, envisaging a fenced-off territory of cantons that would preserve most Jewish settlements."

In other words, Israel presented a peace plan (just like always) and the Palestinians rejected it (just like always). Now how do you think the Huffington Post would have spun it were the Israelis rejecting and the Palestinians proposing? Perhaps "Israel rejects Palestinian border plan?" But since they didn't, we are left with this:

Maybe I am being unreasonable since they just copied and pasted the headline from the Reuters article, along with the text. But let's not forget the clearly biased picture of Netanyahu looking angry. In the end, it's the typical Huffington Post bias: Palestinians "stand firm," while Israel "rejects peace."

Comment of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

Back to the usual drivel:

The original link.

Hamas: Wishful Thinking No Basis for Policy Making

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

[Your token pro-Israel article from the Huffington Post by Lorna Fitzsimons.]

"If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth only soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair." C.S. Lewis

Is the Palestinian Islamist organisation Hamas about to give up its strategy of armed resistance? Hopes were raised when Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal told Al Jazeera on 26 December 2011 that "all forms of resistance, especially armed resistance [i.e. the path of terrorism], are our right, but now, during the Arab Spring, we prefer the popular resistance and to focus instead on a unified strategy of popular resistance."

I would be the first to dance a jig if there was a genuine rethink on the part of Hamas. A 'new Hamas' would indeed bring comfort. It would open the way to Palestinian unity and the extension of the West Bank nation-building strategy to Gaza. And it would boost the search for a two state solution, as well as encouraging other Islamist movements to give up violence. These are all glittering prizes, to be sure.

But it's all 'a bit previous'. And in the Middle East, as in life, it's all about the timing. If European politicians get the timing wrong and drop the 'no-contact' policy too soon they could put back the clock on progress, inflict tremendous damage on the peace process and the undermine moderate politics throughout the region.

For four reasons, now is not to time bringing Hamas in from the cold.

First, Hamas is more likely responding tactically to short-term pressures not rethinking its basic strategy

The Arab Spring has created both threats and opportunities for Hamas. The uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's regime has undermined a key patron of Hamas which hosts its political bureau in Damascus.

Hamas is caught between its loyalty to Assad and its affiliation with the Muslim Brotherhood, whose spiritual leader, Sheikh Yussuf Al Qaradawi, has openly backed the uprising against Assad. Hamas chose its spiritual leader (which casts an interesting sidelight in itself) and lost its patron and its headquarters. It seeks a new home in places - Cairo, Amman, Qatar - that do not want to hear talk of armed resistance.

The conflict in Syria is widely seen in the Arab world as a sectarian confrontation - a majority Sunni population being suppressed by a non-Sunni, Alawite minority. Hamas's failure to identify with Assad has led Iran - which has a strategic alliance with the Assad regime - to reportedly cut back its financial support to Hamas. This has contributed to financial strain on Hamas, which was already suffering from a decline in revenue from smuggling after Israel relaxed many of its restrictions on imports to Gaza.

The Arab Spring has also re-energised Palestinian society to demand political unity between the Hamas regime in Gaza and the Fatah-dominated PA in the West Bank. This has prompted Hamas to sound more conciliatory on the issue of Palestinian unity, to be more ready to accept Egyptian intervention in Palestinian affairs and to seek ways to improve its standing in Palestinian public opinion. These factors partly explain the sudden conclusion of the deal to free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit last October. It may also explain Meshaal's talk of a new non-violent Hamas.

Second, Hamas is not speaking with one voice

Not all the Hamas leadership in Gaza is in agreement with the Damascus-based Meshaal. Addressing a crowd in Gaza on 14 December, Gaza prime minister Ismail Haniyeh said, "Today, we say, in a clear and unambiguous fashion: the armed resistance and armed struggle are our strategic choice and our path to liberate the Palestinian land, from the [Mediterranean] Sea to the [Jordan] River, and to drive the usurping invaders out of the blessed land of Palestine." He added, "The fact that Hamas, at one stage or another, accepts the goal of gradual liberation - of Gaza, of the West Bank, or of Jerusalem - is not at the expense of our strategic vision with regard to the land of Palestine."

Hamas's internal leadership was angered at Meshaal's December 26 pronouncement. Senior Gazan Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar has been scornful of the attempts at reconciliation with Fatah and objected in principle to the call for popular resistance, which he said was not relevant in Gaza as it is no longer under occupation. Ahmed Jaabri, leader of the Hamas military wing in Gaza, is also believed to be increasingly independent from Hamas's external leadership, and was a key figure determining the outcome of the Shalit deal.

Perhaps significantly, Meshaal has now announced that he does not wish to stand again for the leadership of Hamas's political bureau.

Third, Hamas-in-Gaza is exploring a reconciliation with Palestinian Islamic Jihad

While the much-hyped 'reconciliation' between the Hamas leadership in the Gaza Strip and the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank is advancing at a snail's pace, there have been merger talks between Hamas's Gaza-based leadership and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

PIJ is a terrorist organisation even more extreme than Hamas, which has avoided participation in PA elections and is closely tied, financially and ideologically, to Iran. It has been growing in military strength over the last year and poses an increasing challenge to Hamas's authority in Gaza.

Fourth, if the West dropped its non-contact policy now that would fatally undermine the moderates

In the Middle East, as in life, timing is all. And for Europe to drop its non-contact policy with Hamas at this time would undermine President Abbas and the regional moderates.

There is no reason for us to fall into despair. Hamas may yet reconcile its Islamist ideology with a permanent renunciation of violence and acceptance of Israel. But there is no place for C.S Lewis' "soft soap and wishful thinking." However much we may wish it to be true, there is currently no evidence that the underlying position of Hamas has changed. It remains focused on securing its ability to rule in Gaza, reversing the clampdown on its activities at the hands of the PA in the West Bank, assuming leadership of the Palestinian national movement and gaining international legitimacy, without giving up on its core ideological principles.

We should monitor Hamas and encourage those who seek to push the organisation in a new direction. As regards to engagement it is not a case of if, but when. But right now there are just too many contradictory messages coming out of this turbulent and hitherto violent organisation to allow any western politician to take any risks. All policy makers should remember that the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

News the HP Buries: Abbas Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Matt) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:30:00 +0000

In an unprecedented move for the Huffington Post, it actually covered the news that the Palestinian Authority pulled out of talks with Israel. But of course, it had to put its special spin on the topic:

First, note the headline. "Abbas Says Talks Are Over," not, "Palestinians Pull Out of Negotiations" or "Abbas Walks Away." I'm sure if Israel had been the one to say the talks are over, we could have expected a headline of that caliber.

Second, the tags. This article was only in Israel, not the front page or World section. If you read the World section of the Huffington Post, you'll have to scroll down pretty far to find it. Because the HP doesn't really want you to see it, even though it did cover it.

For the Third Time, the Huffington Post Singles Out Jews

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:30:00 +0000

For the third time in as many days, the Huffington Post editorial staff saw an opportunity to generate some quick traffic with singling out the Jews, and they have done it again. When you clicked on the "Religion" section of the Huffington Post yesterday, what did you find? This:

Yes. You're reading that correctly. In the 21st century world, 90% of Yemeni women are being harassed on the streets despite their wearing burkas, rape in Sweden is skyrocketing, human trafficking affects millions of women ever year, and not to mention all the common oppression and harassment women suffer throughout the Muslim world. But despite all of that, it is the Jews that the Huffington Post focuses on for criticism.

Okay, maybe that's not entirely a fair assessment. After all, the Huffington Post is an American-based paper so maybe it is criticizing Jews in America. That's normal, right? It is very typical for newspapers to criticize Americans and not foreigners because we hold our fellow Americans to higher standards.

Oh wait, no. It's about Jews in Israel too. And what does Jane Eisner have to say? Here is the gist of the article:

"Too often, women absent themselves from the discussion. At a recent breakfast hosted by the Israel Policy Forum (with a woman moderator and an all-male panel of experts) not a single woman in the audience asked a question. A brief survey conducted at the Forward in the fall of 2010 found that men sent in unsolicited opinion pieces at a rate seven times higher than women."

It is mostly examples like that. Women not being on panels. Women not being honored at brunches. This is somehow more of a problem than honor killings. And in Israel, despite the fact that women are better represented on the Supreme Court and Knesset than in America, an anecdote is all Ms. Eisner requires to condemn them. To hear it from the article, Jewish women are completely marginalized and have no voice. Don't believe me? Read Ms. Eisner for yourself:

"Clearly, the Jewish community is not having the discussion it needs and deserves. It can't, when half the population is silenced or silencing itself. "

Really? Really? I haven't been involved with the Jewish community for a long time but most of the prominent people that I knew there were women. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I approve of any inequality within the Jewish community along gender lines. What I am less impressed with is the slavering of the Huffington Post to air that dirty laundry and give it a 20 point headline. If the Huffington Post is going to do that, one would think it would do so to all religions equally. But apparently not.

And in case you were wondering, this article did indeed bring out the "mere anti-Zionists."

If the Huffington Post editors were looking to stir up hatred, they succeeded admirably. If not, I'd like to hear their thought process behind it.

Henry Siegman Makes No Sense (Part 2)

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

Returning to the article by Henry Siegman that I was talking about yesterday, in which he declares that America isn't good enough to make peace and we should instead trust some other amorphous "community" to take care of it instead. He has been making rather...dubious claims for the entire article so I hope you are ready for some more. Here is the first:

"Such an effort must focus primarily on the requirement that negotiations over territory and borders begin at the June 1967 line, for the erosion of that line has been critical to Israel's politicide."

Here we have this "ridiculous" charge of "politicide." How does the removal of the Green Line lead to the destruction of the Palestinian national identity? After all, it's not like identity is tied to 100% of the West Bank, with the loss of any of it necessarily equaling the loss of all of it. Maybe Mr. Siegman would like to explain his statement to us? No? He's just going to move on instead? How typical. He'll keep talking about the settlements but not about how it translates to "politicide."

"For the elimination of the 1967 line is crucial to Netanyahu and his government's campaign to gain support from at least some countries for his government's outrageous claim that the West Bank is not occupied territory but contested territory, the pretext they invoke to justify Israel's "vandalism" in the West Bank."

So if I am understanding what Mr. Siegman is saying, he's complaining that Netanyahu wants to eliminate the '67 line because that will justify Israeli settlements. Um...okay? This returns to the same question of settlements that we have been over a million times already. Namely, are the Palestinians and their supporters like Mr. Siegman going to let them be an obstacle to peace or not? Do the Palestinians value 100.00% of the West Bank over peace? Mr. Siegman is trying to make the settlements seem like a colossal wrong in their own right on par with the rest of the conflict. They're allowed to be, in his opinion, but he's in for a wake up call if he expects the rest of the "international community" to agree with him about that.

For the sake of space I'm going to skip past some more attacks on Netanyahu and Mr. Siegman's "final peace plan," because they were all pretty uncontroversial. But then he makes kind of a strong claim here:

"The second goal is obtaining an unambiguous UN affirmation of the Palestinian right to national self-determination. That right is considered a "peremptory norm" in international law, which means that it takes precedence over conflicting obligations, treaties and bilateral agreements. If challenged by Israel or the U.S., it is a challenge that European and other countries should join Palestinians in bringing to the International Court of Justice."

This comes off as just more Arabist bluster. The UN recognized the Palestinian people a long time ago, and has been acting on that for decades now. Therefore, the "Palestinian right to national self-determination" has been fulfilled already. You'll notice that in this paragraph Mr. Siegman doesn't spell out exactly what an expression of this "right" exactly means. After all, a state is not required for the right of self-determination to be fulfilled. Just ask the Tibetans and the Kurds.

In classic Palsbara style, Mr. Siegman is insisting that the Palestinians have their cake and eat it too. The "international community" that he values so highly has said to the Palestinians: "You want a state and an end to the occupation? Fine. Make peace with Israel first." But rather than take the not-PC position of holding the Palestinians responsible for their own future, Mr. Siegman prefers to make even more demands. This time that the Palestinians have a right to a state and that right supersedes every law, demand and agreement in the history of humanity. Which adds another level of irony to the column, seeing as how he began the article by insisting that the international community join the peace making process. Apparently the international community is only useful to him as long as they tell him what he wants to hear. What classically Palestinian behavior. He concludes by reiterating what he said before:

"Bottom line, any effort to reconfigure peace strategies without first delinking the search for a peace agreement from the Palestinian right to statehood is doomed. Obama's assertion in his speech at the UN that Palestinians can obtain their state only as a consequence of a peace accord with Israel reached in bilateral negotiations in effect assigned to Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman the exclusive right to grant or deny Palestinians their independence."

Oh isn't that a pity? I guess maybe the Palestinians shouldn't have rejected all those peace treaties and peace plans for the past 60 years. Mr. Siegman can continue to blame Israel all he likes, but the rest of the world isn't going to be as blind to Palestinian behavior as he has been. As the Palestinians themselves have admitted, a recognition of a Palestinian state at the UN would only be symbolic. Peace is only going to come when the Palestinians actually man up and do something besides whine in the pages of the Huffington Post. No matter who is sitting at the peace table. So the whole business is just a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. That's the bottom line.

HPW User Profile: Alpi57

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Alpi57 is an anti-Zionist of the old school kind: Insults people with practically every comment that he makes, pretends to be a "critic of Israel's policies" when he isn't declaring it to be an illegal state that should be "irradiated," pretends to not hate Jews when he isn't engaging in active Jew baiting, and is a fan of all sorts of conspiracy theories including those about 9/11. He came to our attention in the Andrew Adler thread when he attempted to use faux patriotism to accuse everyone he disagreed with of treason. With more than 2,000 comments we didn't look at all of them but the ones that we found should tell you where he stands. He has been active since July of 2010 and has around 280 fans.

Link: ““American Jews......I am tired of these dual citizens who think that they can walk all over their president and this countries' interest as long as it protects Israel. For them and anyone in this country, cheering for a foreign head of state addressing our congress, against our interest, is an absolute disgrace. That is why I don't consider these people Americans.

As you can see in the video there is no doubt where their allegiance lies. Time to choose a country and remain loyal to it because we simply cannot afford to have these people and their ideals in our mix. Not anymore.”

Link: “We all who the real threat is in the ME and this threat needs to be irradiated.” [Responses: “Thank You” and “Applause.”]

Link: “They are the chosen people, don't you know.”

Link: “Is that what assassinate means in yiddish.....to cuddle?”

Link: ““If there was any doubt about who runs the media, this should put it to rest.”

Link: “It is time to pay attention to the Jewish threat, amply demonstrated by this article. You have a problem with that, concerned American?”

Link: ““If the newspapers devoted themselves to such a thing, we might know the truth.
But we surely can't have that, can we now?”

Link: “Only when this group tries to excuse it away and treat it as something mundane and unimportant.
The group has a chance to show that they are Americans first and anything else second, and furthermore, that another country's interest will never supersede this one.
So, how about it?”

Link: “Since most of you don't seem to have those loyalties other than using this country to ensure survival of another, then I say your loyalties are very much in question.”

Link: “Your President's life has been threatened. What are you doing about it other than trying to protect your religion?”

Link: “Interesting stuff
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/01/22/killing-obama-united-states-vs-andrew-r-adler/”

Link: ““Nothing at all. It would just place them [Jews] in a box so we know who we are dealing with, and for people to understand that zionism and preservation of Israel is more important to these "citizens" than protecting their own president.”

Link: ““Thanks Larry for your frank assessment. It is appreciated. But I don't think anybody is deliberately targeting Jews in their comments. I for one have tried very hard to make a distinction between Jews and Israel in my comments.”

Link: ““Like I said. ADL Canines are on the loose again.
Leash?”

Link: ““I can see that the ADL dogs are trying to poison the well here. Too late. Your time is up.”

Link: ““I am beyond over the top. It is time to get outraged and filter out this insidious element from our society and our political scene.”

Link: “Read and weep....this is what happens when these so-called citizen exercise a political bigamy. The term that Dr. Sabrosky has coined, describes these "citizens" perfectly. It is unbelievable that we have such evil minds among us.
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/01/21/orders-from-tel-aviv-murder-obama/”

Link: ““Your bullets painted with anti-S, holocaust and Neo-Nazi are no match for our Lie-proof vests. They will not penetrate.
People are on to you guys and your lies.”

Link: ““I am not holding my breath. Yet another Jew Getting away with yet another crime.”

Link: ““Great. A Zionist Jew is saying that bad behavior is ok, as long as it is against the Muslims. Then she wonders why the jews are so loathed in the Muslim world.” [Context might help]

Link: ““This is what happens when a so-called liberating army loses its moral compass and becomes a rogue terror group.” [The US military is a “rogue terror group.”]

Link: “Pure and unadulterated terrorism. These people have no shame. They think terrorism only applies to others but when it comes to them it is covered under the cowardly banner of victimhood and "never again".
Shame on Israel. A rogue state at best.”

Link: “Better yet, her handlers in Mossad. A Jew, Moldovan......ring a bell?”

Link: “Israel is a rogue country and it's time is up. Enjoy it while it lasts.”

Link: “The fact that you are Pro-Israel despite their pathetic policies toward humanity and extorting countries and people around the world with their anti-semitism victimhood weapon, speaks volumes about how much weight your opinion really carries.
You are being presumptuous that I speak for you or am remotely addressing you, in particular. Rather narcissistic. You give yourself way too much credit.
Israel IS a cancer in our political scene. Why is it that we don't have to satisfy the Chinese lobby, who hold 25% of our debt, or the Arab lobby who supply us with oil, or we don't kiss up to British who still rule from behind the curtain?”

Link: “He was "Occupying Jerusalem" and look what he got.” [Context]

Link: “Free Palestine from Neo-Nazi thugs.”

Link: “Your bigotry disguised under patriotism is simply astounding. You are part of the problem. Wake up and see what Iran looks like. Just go to utube. Your comments are embarrassing.”

Link: “Israel is a rogue and terrorist state that has become a thorn in the world's tokhus. It is time to get this thorn out.”

Link: “The whole country is a myth. A mirage than will soon be washed away with the wind.”

Link: “Implosion is the only answer to this illegal activity. Civil war would be even better.”

Link: “"911 victims of Arab terror". The book is not closed on that one. You may say the Israeli babies were the victim of Israeli IDF.”

Link: “The only difference between the Palestinians and the Zionists in 1947 was that the Jews had a Rothschild in their corner. But that does not legitimize a country. It only means that with money anything can be bought, even a faux country, albeit a terrorist state.
Get out of Palestine.”

Link: “You are so original. No one will ever accuse you of plagiarism. Israel is a terrorist nation and will get what it deserves very soon.”

Link: “Israel is a rogue state and is in its last breaths. So enjoy the "good shootings". They will be reversed very soon.”

Link: ““Ileana Ros Trader. This Israel stooge nees to be voted of office. It will solve both the Cuban problem and take away Israel lobby.”

Link: “What's ignorant is using Holocaust at every turn to advance sionist agenda.”

Link: “Bravo. In fact, in these forums, anti-semitism is a badge of honor. It only means you are not afraid of calling them on their tyrannical government and agenda. Wear it with pride.”

Link: “What I hate is Cubans coming here and pretending to be Americans when in reality they have no allegiance to this country. In fact, you people are the one hating America, otherwise you would work hard to normalize relationships as oppose to perpetuating a self-defeating policy that has no hope of getting your lands and homes back.”

I think that’s that.

Henry Siegman Makes No Sense

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

The so-called "peace process" is under way again, sort of, and with we find the never ending finger pointing on the part of the Huffington Post bloggers stable. To start us off this time around is Henry Siegman, who you may remember as the author of a one-sided "deceptions" article, and this time around is not any different. As we will demonstrate, Mr. Siegman uses sophistry to try and justify decidedly anti-peace actions on the part of the Palestinians. The whole thing is a hit piece on Israel and America for not being anti-Israel enough to suit Mr. Siegman. After using the well worn talking point that "this whole thing is just a cover for more settlements," he really sticks his neck out:

"From its outset the goal of this project has been to subvert Palestinian statehood, a goal from which Israel is but a hair's breadth away. By insisting that Palestinians return to this empty exercise, and by continuing to block attempted interventions by other parties, including the UN and its various agencies, the U.S. has in effect been collaborating with Prime Minister Netanyahu's goal of "politicide"--the violent termination of Palestinian national political existence."

Um, okay. That's quite the claim. See, "this project" has been going back at least 20 years, so does Mr. Siegman expect us to believe that everything Israel has done in that time has been against Palestinian statehood? They created the PA, withdrew from Area C and Gaza and granted the PLO legitimacy all for the cause of keeping the Palestinians disenfranchised and occupied? Perhaps if Mr. Siegman would like to back this up with some kind of evidence, but even the "hard right" Netanyahu has endorsed "two states for two peoples." His peace loving Palestinians have yet to do so.

I'm not sure where this charge of "politicide" came from, but it's a bad sign for one's argument when you have to make up a word to support it. Would Mr. Siegman like to explain what Israel would have to gain by the destruction of Palestinian political existence? After all, the Palestinians would remain there and so they would be right back where they started in 1988. How exactly could Israel do that even if they wanted to? And what has Israel done to earn this charge that they are doing it "violently?" Finally, have the Palestinians anything to brag about in terms of moving the process along? Oh yeah, no they don't.

This is becoming a very common tactic, at least among the Huffington Post blogosphere. Make an incredibly charged claim and then fail to back it up. In this case, by moving on to something else. Now like the true "America firster" that all critics of Israel are, Mr. Siegman demands that American power be marginalized. Huzzah!

"The only remaining hope for the achievement of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict now depends entirely on the international community's readiness to sweep aside America's claim to a monopoly over Middle East peace making...and to intervene vigorously in order to seek to alter the peace process' disastrous trajectory."

A good idea in theory but unfortunately for Arabists like Mr. Siegman, that's not going to mean a major change in policies. The Quartet powers (of which we are one) don't care so much about settlements, but they do care about radical groups like Hamas and aren't willing to ignore them like Mr. Siegman does in this article. As Aaron David Miller pointed out in his book, there simply aren't any organizations with both the power and the desire to hammer out a Middle East peace. Mr. Siegman and his Arab friends can either deal with that (not likely) or continue to whine about it and never get anywhere. I'm predicting the latter.

Mr. Siegman then quotes a couple of European leaders criticizing Israel over settlements and other issues, as if to say that should this mythical "international community" get more involved the settlements would magically disappear and all Palestinian demands would be met with a click of the fingers. At this point he pulls out the mind reading powers:

"[Major] European, Latin American and Asian countries to defer any longer to the U.S. on this issue, and their readiness to expose what they long knew but were reluctant to express: that Netanyahu's declared commitment to a two-state solution has been a lie."

Really. Is that so. I'm not sure at what point Mr. Siegman was elected spokesperson for two thirds of the world, so that he might speak in their name, but congratulations for him are in order. Of course, it could be that the people he cited criticized settlements for their own political reasons. But he certainly can't imagine that they might be critical of settlements but supportive of Israel in general. You know, how all of our friendly anti-Zionists pretend to be?

Don't get me wrong. It is perfectly possible that all of these countries not only think that Netanyahu is not committed to a two-state solution and that for some reason they aren't willing to express that in public. After all, we did see Sarkozy refer to Netanyahu as a liar. But for me to believe a claim this big, you need to have proof. Something. Anything. It's too big for me to take it at simply face value, and it's not even that I don't want to hear it. I don't particularly care about how the international community perceives Netanyahu, seeing as how he can always be voted out of office. But given Mr. Siegman's history of wishful thinking passed off as facts, he needs something better than that.

As before, his article is incredibly long so I'm going to break it into another section. Stay tuned for it to come in tomorrow.

Anti-Jewish Comments of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Having blown their dog whistle on the Andrew Adler threat, blatantly anti-Jewish comments are popping up all over the Huffington Post. Clearly it is the moderator's day off as most of these have been up for hours at a time. Comments that would not look out of place on websites like Stormfront and Veteran's Today:

The original link.

The original link. Be sure to check out the responses to it as well.

Finally, note the first sentence and the number of favorites.

The original link.

Just when I think anti-Semitism on the Huffington Post can't become more blatant, someone always turns around and surprises me.

Palestinians, Bathrooms, and the Huffington Post

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

We have long known that the Huffington Post is the Internet equivalent of a tabloid magazine. Its behavior has always been to publish whatever they feel will get the most clicks, which is exactly why anti-Israel propaganda has become a self-perpetuating cycle. What we don't often comment upon is their tendency to publish anything if they can get SHOCK or HORROR in the title. Generally this comes up in stories about celebrities (one of the HuffPo's top earners) or strange crimes somewhere in America. But this time around this story crossed our path, of a Palestinian woman imprisoned by her father:

Now it goes without question that this is a terrible story that deserves attention. However, out of all the stories about Palestinians, especially Palestinian women, this is what the Huffington Post chooses to focus on? They ignore the Palestinian woman who encouraged children to die as martyrs days after being released from jail, or this woman who bragged about killing Jews, or any number of other abuses toward women perpetrated by Hamas in Gaza. The only way that they will cover a story about a woman Palestinian being abused is if they can blame it on Israel (of course) or if they can blame it on a Palestinian individual and not their government or society.

Now for the comments. Unfortunately, there was some examples of Muslim baiting in the first couple of pages. However, when looking at the top favorited comments they were all criticizing other posters for attacking Muslims, Arabs, or Palestinians in general for the actions of this one individual. And of course expressions of rage toward her father, which we would expect, and declarations that "this happens in America too!" No one, as far as I could see, was demanding that Muslims around the world condemn this man for his actions either. It's encouraging to see so many Huffington Posters quick to fight against any expressions of racism...I just wish they had been doing the same on the Andrew Adler thread.

Finally, here are your requisite "blame Israel" comments:

This is still the Huffington Post, after all.

"America-Firster" Comment of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 14:00:00 +0000

In the wake of the Andrew Adler article the anti-Zionists/Semites are doubling down on their attempts to accuse anyone who disagrees with them about anything as being "traitors" or "Israel firsters." However, what rapidly becomes clear as soon as the discussion shifts to anything other than Israel, that patriotism is not actually a value that they hold but just another talking point that they use to push a left-wing agenda.

We see a perfect example of this in a thread about European Union sanctions on Iran. Pay closest attention to the first couple of paragraphs.:

Actually the comment is informative on many different levels, not the least of which is the three favorites and the fact that it is met with approval by the Huffington Posts' moderators. If you go to the original link, you will find no "America firster" anti-Zionists come in to criticize him for this. I guess now we really know where they stand.

Another Lesson In Contrasts

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:00:00 +0000

Want to hear some of today's important news stories from Israel?

The Mufti of Jerusalem is being investigated for incitement to violence.

Netanyahu made a speech in the United Nations accosting Iran (again).

Hamas leader Khalid Meshaal is visiting Jordan.

And top EU diplomat Catherine Ashton is visiting there to try and restart peace talks.

Now guess which story the Huffington Post chose to cover:

The woman is question was attacked by stone throwing ultra-Orthodox. She suffered minor injuries and her car was damaged. Now this is informative on a couple of levels. First of all, despite the whining of the anti-Zionists, if the attackers had been Arab the story never would have made it to the Huffington Posters. Here is the proof. Secondly, this is the story that Huffington Post chooses to focus on? Ah, but of course. It has the magic words "Jewish extremists" in the headline.

Exchanges of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

The Adler thread I mentioned yesterday continues to churn out hate and informative insights into the mind of the radical Left, all approved by the Huffington Post moderators. First we'll have this:

In other words, this fellow wouldn't mind if Israel killed President Obama because that would mean America would destroy them. What would you call someone who thinks like that? Maybe a "Destroy Israel firster?"

Next we'll have this from our old buddy "Nwo2012:"

Hm. Apparently seven people on the Huffington Post do think it is acceptable to blame American Jews in general or Israel as a country for the actions of one person. No doubt those same seven people would also protest rather loudly if someone were to point out that Hamas is the democratically elected representatives of the Palestinian people. Still, it is encouraging that 14 people feel the opposite.

Huffington Post Singles Out Israel (Again)

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:30:00 +0000

I commented earlier about how the Huffington Post singled out Israel for criticizing them for not treating Christians well enough. But shockingly on the heels of that we have had not one but two articles criticizing Israel for not treating racial minorities well enough either!

This is not to say that racism and discrimination are not a problem in Israel. But when you have 10,000 Africans being ethnically cleansed in Libya, the plight of the Sudanese all over the region, and what comes down to modern day slavery all over the Arab world (among others), I can't help but wonder if the Huffington Post has an agenda in play.

This came in the form of not one but two blog posts. One by Anav Silverman and the other by Aaron Freeman, started by a series of protests by Ethiopian Israelis. I don't blame the bloggers, because it is clear from their articles that they do not have an agenda in play. They sincerely want the Beta Israel to succeed in their protests and pursue their goals of equality in Israeli society. I do not believe the same is true of the Huffington Post editors who tactically chose which subjects to deploy their bloggers. I also blame the moderators who then chose to look the other way while the anti-Zionists jumped on the red meat they were thrown and engaged in forms of Jew baiting rare even for the Huffington Post.

At the end of the day the lesson is that if you want to write an article about racism in a foreign country (by which I mean a country that doesn't have its own Huffington Post) that country had better be Israel. Otherwise, it isn't getting published.

On Huffington Post, Israel Singled Out

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:30:00 +0000

One of the most common forms of bias we see among anti-Israel talkbackers and pundits is the "singling out" strategy. For example, criticizing Israel for having checkpoints at major entrances to their country but not criticizing America for having TSA checkpoints. Or criticizing Israel for using drones while not criticizing NATO for using drones. This is all excused because Israelis are "Zionists" and therefore evil.

I would not have expected the Huffington Post to engage in that kind of bias but as usual, they are always willing to sink lower just to stir up their already anti-Israel readership. And we have a perfect example of that today:

Yes, that's right. The one country in the entire Middle East where Christians aren't oppressed for their beliefs, and that is the subject of the latest hit piece by the Huffington Post. Here's the major takeaway:

"Christians have the lowest growth rate among the Israeli population, according to a recent report from the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics."

Wow really? That's not very shocking. Certainly not worth a whole article in the Huffington Posts' "Religion" section. If the article was not intended to try and "prove" that Israeli Jews try to make the lives of Christians harder, it certainly came off that way. Which in turn led to the typical HuffPost reaction:

And so on and so forth. Meanwhile, here's what doesn't get covered by the Huffington Post:

Bethlehem Christians are almost all gone because of Palestinian mistreatment.

Thirty years ago, Lebanon was 60% Christian; today it is barely 25%. This does not merit an article apparently.

Persecution of Christians rising in Iran and Syria.

Or the hundreds of examples from all across the Muslim world.

Nope! Better play it safe and stick to bashing Israel for not being good enough. As usual.

Anti-Semitic Comment of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

The Alder article continues to bring out the scum:

Just in case you thought he was "merely anti-Zionist."

The original link.

More Comments of the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

As I said earlier, you can go to just about any page in the Andrew Adler thread and find blatant anti-Semitism approved and vetted by the Huffington Posts' moderator staff. So to prove this I went to one and what did I find down at the end but a perfect example:

This comment is informative on many levels.

1. We have a moral equivalence between Andrew Adler talking about a potential scenario in which another group might kill President Obama and a hypothetical someone actually killing Andrew Adler. I hate to be combative, but I don't think talking about someone being killed and killing someone is quite the same thing.
2. This expected response of "Jewish groups" to accuse the entire country of America of "anti-Semitism." As someone who actually does study anti-Semitism, I haven't seen that. Maybe someone could show me an example of that but I'm not going to hold my breath for it.
3. Obviously, the declaration that this is "why Jews are always attacked" is obvious anti-Semitism, since it means that all Jews behave like this man or it excuses racists who believe that they do.
4. Not that it matters, but it isn't incitement, imo.
5. And of course notice the 10 favorites.

Next up we have a response:

Now I don't want to sound judgmental, but it seems to me that if all you need is one fringe nutcase down in Georgia to get you to change your opinions about Jews in general, you were prone to it already. And finally we have a "Christian" response to that:

I must admit that I don't know who the "they" are in this comment, but it does sound like he is talking about Jews. I guess when it comes right down to it the Huffington Post takes all kinds.

UPDATE: Here's a nice comment that earned 10 favorites:

Happy now, MJ Rosenberg?

Monday Morning MJ

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 16:00:00 +0000

Well, MJ Rosenberg is back again on the Huffington Post. He's saying mostly the same things as before but unfortunately for him new developments continue to prove him wrong.

This time we are talking about Iranian sanctions/negotiations, and just like always Rosenberg claims that American foreign policy is dictated entirely by ~~Jews~~ AIPAC. We might as well get it over with first.

"AIPAC and its congressional cutouts go wild at the thought of negotiating with Iran."

"The sanctions law in question is a creation of AIPAC and has been at the top of its agenda during this entire Congress. If Obama waives it, Netanyahu would use the media to make sure that his displeasure was known. The lobby, the Republican presidential candidate and even many of AIPAC's Democratic cutouts on Capitol Hill would all scream bloody murder."

Be sure to notice that Netanyahu can control the media, apparently. I mentioned earlier that this was bad timing because although Rosenberg can possibly explain the anti-Iranian nuke stance of America through the presence of ~~Jews~~ AIPAC, he can't say the same for other countries. Like China:

"After a visit to the Gulf in which he met the leaders of the states most threatened by Iran's aggressive foreign policy, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, issued Beijing's clearest condemnation yet .
"China adamantly opposes Iran developing and possessing nuclear weapons," he said."

Oh noes! The Zionists are taking over China now too! This is of course ignoring all the other countries that have been also sanctioning Iran. And the foreign policy conference in Bahrain that we discussed earlier that had Iranian nuclear power as a top item on their agenda. But no. I guess it's easier to just say "AIPAC AIPAC AIPAC" all the time and stop thinking about it. That's how you keep the Huffington Post readership after all.

Anyway the only other section of note was an actually pretty good question from Rosenberg:

"Why is it relatively uncontroversial to negotiate with the Taliban — who harbored the terrorists who killed 3000 Americans on September 11, 2001, and who have terrorized millions of Afghans for decades — but the idea of talking to Iran is considered beyond the pale?"

Naturally his answer is "AIPAC AIPAC AIPAC," but allow me to actually give this a modicum of thought. Could it be that nuclear weapons are just a little more important than who controls Afghanistan? And could it be that after seeing Iran run rings around the IAEA year after year, America and the rest of the world aren't so willing to take them at their word? Sorry if that rains in on Rosenberg's left-wing agenda. But considering how easily he'll blame the Jews for anything and everything, I'm no longer entirely sympathetic towards his point of view.

HPW User Profile: Tarasone

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:30:00 +0000

Tarasone is your very standard issue anti-Zionist. Not smart enough to do anything except spam talking points over and over again. Unlike some others, he comments almost exclusively on Israel related articles. It was this comment that finally convinced us to write a profile of him:

Link: “Wake up America!!! It’s not Italians trying to start the war against Iran. It’s not the Amish who run our media. It’s not Iran or Jordan who have illegal nuclear weapons. It’s not African Americans blackballing Mel Gibson, Helen Thomas and many others, nor is it the Lutherans trying to steal more land in the Middle East. Ethnic cleansing in the Middle East isn’t conducted by the Canadians, nor was it Santa Claus that brought African slaves to the USA and killed 9 million in the process. It’s not Costa Rica that trashed, Lebanon, Egypt, Syria, and the rest of the Middle East. Zionists now occupy Washington DC!!!”

And just in case you think he "just wants peace."

Link: “Vaporize Israel and peace will be born in the Middle east”

At first we thought he was your standard issue left-wing anti-Zionist/Semite, but now I'm starting to believe he's a right wing Christian:

Link: “GZ pray forgiveness for your sin an except Jesus Christ as your saviour .”

Regardless of the reason, his 200 or so comments are pretty ugly. Click below to read some anti-Semitism, conspiracy theories, holocaust denial, and a WTF-worthy comment about why you should try to date as many Chinese women as you can.

Link
“Or it can be called Palestine from the river to the sea.”

Link
“there is no israeli they have never been israel was invented just like the fake israelis”

Link
“This reminds me of a continuous and never ending Crystal Night!!! It just never ends...The Ashkenazi Zionist fake Jews promote these acts of violence and they are extremely bold because they are well protected!!”

Link
“Walsh is a shill for AIPAC Vote for an American -firster Vote for TAMMY”

Link
“Jackson you're way too young to be feigning such arrogance.
I'm afraid the Ashkenazim upbringing you've been exposed to has done you irreparable harm.
Couple that with pending mental illness and you'll be finding God off the top of a high bridge one of these days.”

Link
“TelAviv will be a parking lot very soon!”

Link
“The apartheid welfare state of evil is an encampment of people living in hell. The Zionists are now building a wall to protect their racism from the outside world and continue to keep over one million Palestinian prisoners in a giant prison. Zionist live surrounded by missiles, barricaded roads, and giant military establishments. The brutal occupation of the Palestinian people will live in infamy and Zionism, like Nazism, will fall."”

Link
“JFK was shoot to protect the israeli nukes” [Be sure to click for context. There is none.]

Link
“Cantor an AIPAC lackey BOO!”

Link
“Chinese woman are great in bed be it a prostitute or not you'll never regret it.” [Be sure to click for context. There is none.]

Link
“The U.S. is deranged and dilusional thanks to the israeli lobby. It is actually quite unbelieveable that a country like the U.S. can actually hand over it's sovereignty in that manner.”

Link
“The total number of Jewish/Israeli spies convicted or expelled from the United States of America exceeds the number of spies convicted for all other ethnic groups.”

Link
“Peace will be born when israel is no more...”

Link
“lesson learned :israel is a lil leech of a state”

Link
“Yes Washington DC is occupied israeli territory”

Link
“The world is now fully aware of the racist apartheid regime in Israel and the wars it's little puppets at AIPAC started.”

Link
“Regardless if it is a Democratic president or Republican president they all bow down to the Khazar pagans false jews.”

Link
“Jews transformed the:
Palestinians into refugees in their own country
Americans into slaves in their own country
(sad but true!)”

Link
“If only the Palestinians had kept the illegal immigrant khazars out using mines hey?”

Link
“what a holohoax?”

Link
“Maybe they were harvesting body parts again.”

Link
“[The Norway shooting is] mossad perhaps”

News the HP Doesn't Cover: US General Urges Closer Ties

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:00:00 +0000

An article we won't be seeing on the Huffington Post anytime soon (H/T Daily Alert):

JERUSALEM — Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, called Friday for closer engagement between the United States and Israel during a short visit here at a time of tension over Iran’s nuclear program.

The meetings were closed and their contents were not revealed. But General Dempsey, on his first visit to Israel as military chief, was quoted in brief remarks released by the office of Israel’s defense minister as saying, “We have many interests in common in the region in this very dynamic time, and the more we can continue to engage each other, the better off we’ll all be.”

The Huffington Post did cover General Dempsey's arrival, but stopped after that. The initial article only had speculation about what he was going to say, none of it positive. How typical.

Ridiculous Huffington Post Hatemongering

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:30:00 +0000

Unfortunately, we are a little late to this story, but over the weekend a really stupid guy that no one has ever heard of named Andrew Adler wrote an article about Israel's options facing a nuclear Iran. In one part of the article he said that one of Israel's options would be killing President Obama for...some reason. Elder of Ziyon has covered the story and noted how anti-Israel hate sites everywhere are frothing at the mouth over it. And naturally the Huffington Post wouldn't be left behind, they gave it headline coverage.

So I begin by asking a question: Why is the fact that this newspaper publisher is Jewish matter to the story? Or depending on how you read it, why is the fact that he is the publisher of a Jewish newspaper matter to the story? If the story is that a newspaper publisher said something stupid about assassinating Obama, that's already a non-story.

Secondly we must compare the amount of comments. An article about a man being arrested for shooting at the White House gathers 500 comments. But a Republican college student saying that killing Obama is "tempting" summons more than 11,000.

So then we must ask the question of how much the Jewish angle really factors into it. Obviously, we can't go through all the comments but let's take a look at the most favorited ones in the thread. The top two were not Jewish related but the second two were:

So I guess for more than a few readers of the Huffington Post, the Jewish angle does make a difference. Also, right on the first thread we see obvious Jew-baiting from our local "mere anti-Zionists," approved by the Huffington Post moderators of course.

With more than 7,000 comments it would be a waste of everyone's time to go through all or even most of them. But scan any page from the article and I feel reasonably confident that you will find at least one of the following:

1. Random Israel bashing.
2. Declarations that had he been a Muslim he would be treated differently.
3. Blaming all Jews/Zionists for the actions of one man.
4. What I call "Didn't read the article syndrome," in which many posters think that he threatened President Obama's life, which he didn't.
5. Arguing over whether or not it is free speech.
6. Variations on "what an idiot."
7. Endless accusations of "Israel firstering."
8. Jew baiting like in the examples above.
9. Demands that the Huffington Post give the story even more attention, because 7,000 comments is an indication that no one is reading it.

Any way you want to read it, the Huffington Post got the Jew hatred that they wanted. Peruse the comments for a while and you'll find some.

Beyond the Firewall: Israel Vs the Hackers

noreply@blogger.com (Zach) — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

[An article by Erel Margalit that somehow didn't get the same traffic as other stories about Israel cyberwarring with Arab states. I wonder why that is?]

For those of you losing sleep at night worrying about foreign agents infiltrating your country's territory, I've got bad news for you. They're already here.

That's right. Deep within our domain. Perhaps even inside our most sensitive installations: nuclear power plants, electric grids, air traffic control, and our food supply.

A well-executed attack on any one of these systems, or dozens of others (even the sewage system!) could lead to chaos. Our new cyber-defenses have to be able to deal with the enemy once they are already on the inside -- simply because they already are. This is particularly important in my home country of Israel.

There is no country better positioned than Israel to continue pioneering the field of cyber-security. It has to do with our long history of defending ourselves against cyber-attacks, but also, apparently, of our use of cyber technology in battles against our enemies, as occurred during the second Lebanon War when Israeli cyber experts had Hezbollah in their crosshairs.

As Israel Martinez of the U.S. National Cyber Security Council says, "Cyber-defense effectiveness is based just as much on Cyber-offense. Both are tools in warfare, and there are few as practiced in all forms of warfare as the Israelis."

Good armies know how to both attack and defend. The same is true in cyberspace. That's why Martinez and many other experts rank Israel as one of the top three most important centers of cyber-defense technology in the world.

There are numerous examples of Israeli companies leading the charge. My venture capital firm has invested in several of them.

One is called Cyber-Ark. Cyber-Ark systems sound an alert when they detect suspicious activity already inside a sensitive system. The Firewall philosophy, where we build walls long and tall around our sensitive networks, is no longer the only answer. They've breached the Great Wall of China! The horse is already inside Troy (and your server)!

And there are dozens more Israeli companies on the frontlines of this battle, many using spinoff technologies from the Israeli military to make the world a safer place. Many of the companies, including Cyber-Ark, were started by veterans of elite IDF IT units.

Israel's contribution to worldwide cyber-safety has recently been given a boost with the establishment of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate. Wisely, the national directorate will join the best of Israeli academia, business and the military to establish the country as a leading exporter of cyber-security technologies.

Continued focus on Israeli cyber-security is well-deserved. Consider what happened just these past weeks: Saudi hackers looted credit card and other personal information from thousands of Israelis as a "New Year's Present" to the world. Pro-Palestinian hackers have also shut down the websites of our national airline and stock exchange.

But those were child's play compared to other, more sophisticated cyber-attacks worldwide:

• In Brazil, hackers have shut down electrical grids, darkening entire cities
• In 2007, hackers shut down nearly all Estonian government ministry networks and two major Estonian banks.
• Industrial espionage by Chinese hackers (who many believe are state-sponsored) has gotten so bad that according to the Wall Street Journal, even a thermostat in a US Chamber of Commerce building was discovered to have been communicating with an Internet address in China.
• According to reports, the now infamous Stuxnet virus penetrated Iran's uranium enrichment systems, disabling centrifuges and delaying national efforts to achieve nuclear weapons.

As tremendous opportunities for openness and communication continue to develop in our world in almost every sphere (think both Tahrir Square and JDate), let us not forget the need to protect and safeguard the very things we need to be open about.

But let us not continue defending ourselves against the last war. The next war is already being fought, with keyboards and cursors rather than cannons and cruise missiles.

The US, Israel and other countries must set new standards for protecting ourselves against these kinds threats, and they must do it now.

Many of the tools to mitigate existing cyber-threats already exist -- they're just not implemented. Governments and private sectors throughout the free world need to join together, sharing information and expertise to confront these dangerous attacks. Let's do it now, before it's too late.

It's not about sleeping well at night. It's about making sure we wake up to the same world the next morning.

Israel's on it. Rest assured.

Is your country?