Thursday, November 28, 2013

STATEMENT ON THE IRANIAN NUCLEAR DEAL

The ZF today expresses its gravest reservations about the Iranian nuclear deal recently struck in Geneva . The deal, brokered on behalf of the P5+1 countries, has been widely hailed as a major breakthrough in the long-running standoff over Iran ’s nuclear programme. However, by offering to reduce the level of sanctions without gaining corresponding cast-iron guarantees that the nuclear programme is only intended for civilian usage, the international community has let Iran off the hook. Apparently desperate to believe in the moderation of Hassan Rouhani, Western negotiators have now eased the pressure on a regime that has a track record of duplicity and misdirection, is currently knee-deep in Syrian blood, and might well soon trigger a nuclear arms race in the most volatile region on the planet.
Failure to dismantle the infrastructure for war
The main problem of the negotiations is the failure to address Iranian facilities that are clearly designed for the development of nuclear weapons. Under the Geneva deal, Tehran will be allowed to keep both its heavy water reactor in Arak and thousands of centrifuges – key elements for military, not civilian, nuclear production.
The threat of duplicity
The Iranian regime has a track record of duplicity over its nuclear programme, and there is a very real threat that the easing of sanctions will provide it with the cover it needs to complete a nuclear weapon. Iran could easily follow in the footsteps of North Korea , surreptitiously continuing its programme until it had reached the point of no return.
The reality of the Ayatollah’s regime
Despite the charm offensive of Hassan Rouhani, Iran is still the same state it has been since 1979– a reactionary, messianic theocracy under the total control of the Ayatollahs. This Islamist regime shares the ideology of the radical extremists who commit terrorist atrocities across the globe, and has no regard for democracy or human rights. Those seeking proof of the reality of Tehran ’s ambitions and ruthlessness should look no further than Syria , where Iranian expertise, weapons and soldiers have played a central role in the brutal massacring of the civilian population.
The catastrophic implications of a nuclear bomb

There must be no misunderstanding the seriousness of Iran procuring a nuclear weapon. Should this worst-case scenario occur, it would most likely trigger an arms race in the Middle East . The nuclear brinksmanship between the US and the Soviet Union was arguably the most dangerous period in humanity’s history; for it to be repeated in this volatile and unstable part of the world would be a global catastrophe. Additionally, a nuclear Tehran represents a unique threat to Israel , given the frequent and shameless calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state made by the Iranian leadership.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

LATEST BDS FAIL: PRO-PALESTINIAN WEBSITES RELY ON ISRAELI TECH

The ZF today highlighted the latest example of a BDS fail, in which extreme pro-Palestinian activists who claim to support Boycotts, Sanctions and Divestment against Israel fail to practice what they preach. The most recent stumbling block for those committed to singling out the Jewish state is how to make an anti-Israel website without using Israeli technology.
 
For example, the website of the Cornell University branch of ‘Students for Justice in Palestine’ explains that the group’s campaigns include boycotting skincare products, soft drink manufacturers, and even hummus. Or the ‘Palestinian Holocaust Museum’ website, which presumably is opposed to any recognition of Israel since it promotes the baseless assertion that Zionists have committed genocide against the Palestinians.
 
What do these two websites have in common? They were both constructed using Wix: an Israeli website-building programme, based in (where else?) Tel Aviv.
 
Paul Charney, ZF chairman said:
 

“The misguided BDS campaign to ostracise Israel has hit another snag, as yet again rabid pro-Palestinians find that living without the benefits of the Start-Up Nation might not be as easy as they’d hoped. Supporters of peace should be pleased, since boycotting Israel does nothing to help the two sides reconcile.”

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

AL JAZEERA FOCUSES ON FAMILY OF HAMAS MASS-MURDERER

  • News report critical of visitation rights for families of Palestinian prisoners
  • Story focuses on family of Abdullah Barghouti, Hamas bomb-maker
  • No information provided about Barghouti’s involvement in terrorism

The ZF today condemned an Al Jazeera story as a ‘failure of basic journalistic integrity.’ “Children visit jailed Palestinian relatives” focuses on the experience of the family of one Abdullah Barghouti, serving time in an Israeli jail. The audience is encouraged to sympathise with the young girls who make the hours-long journey from Ramallah to visit their father, with the programme noting how exhausting these ‘special occasions’ are. The news story uses the girls as an example of Palestinian families whose children have to travel alone because their adult relatives are denied access into Israel. Faeda al Barghouti, the wife of Abdullah, complains that she herself is banned from visiting her husband, and has only seen him twice in the last decade. She describes how she has been ‘refused security clearance’, but that no reason has been given for this. Since the only information the audience receives about Abdullah Barghouti is that he is serving 67 life sentences, the inference from the report is that Israel deliberately and arbitrarily denies family visits, feeding into the standard narrative of unjust treatment of Palestinians.

Abdullah Barghouti is in fact one of the most senior Hamas figures held by Israel. He was sentenced due to his role in constructing the bombs used in multiple suicide attacks on civilian targets, responsible for the deaths of 66 Israelis and the wounding of over 500. The victims of these attacks, such as the Sbarro massacre at a Jerusalem restaurant, included children and pregnant women; nonetheless, Barghouti remains unrepentant to this day, and has stated that if released he would continue to be actively involved in such acts of terrorism. None of this is mentioned in the report.
Paul Charney, ZF chairman, commented:



“Al Jazeera’s story on the family of Abdullah Barghouti represents a failure of basic journalistic integrity. Surely any discussion of the security concerns surrounding a prisoner must explain what they have been imprisoned for? Instead, Al Jazeera deliberately omitted any information about Barghouti except for his prison sentence – perhaps in order to imply that Israel simply hands out lengthy imprisonments for no good reason to Palestinians.  This omission suggests two points. Firstly, that Al Jazeera recognised that to mention Barghouti’s history would undermine the entire point of their piece – indeed, many viewers might be surprised by how many rights even an unrepentant murderer of civilians gets. And secondly, this means that Al Jazeera were more interested in producing a cheap smear of Israel than actually reporting on the situation.”