Palestinians: We Are the New Nazis - Bassam Tawil

by Bassam Tawil

• These are people behaving in a way that does not deserve being rewarded with anything, let alone a state. They far more resemble all tyrannical thugs throughout history who spend their lives telling other people how to live, and using violence, or threats of violence, to coerce anyone who does not agree. Sadly, we already have too much of that kind of muscling in our Arab and Muslim world, as Egypt's forward-looking President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, as well as many others, regularly point out.
• We have now reached the same stage as Germany's Nazis -- the same thing, ironically, we falsely accuse the Jews of being -- where the appearance of a Jew on a Palestinian television show is considered as an act of "treason" and a "crime." In reality, it is we who are the New Nazis.

A Palestinian TV talk show host is facing strong condemnations and threats for hosting an Israeli Jewish singer who is extremely popular among Palestinian youths.

The condemnations expose the ugly face of the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS), whose followers are vehemently opposed to any form of "normalization" between Palestinians and Israelis.

The BDS activists are demanding that those who brought the singer, Zvi Yehezkel, to the TV show in Ramallah be punished. The activists do not even seem to care that the singer supports peace between Israel and the Palestinians.

They are more bothered by the fact that a Palestinian TV station in Ramallah dared to invite a Jew to an interview. The BDS activists are also not ashamed to expose their anti-Semitism by expressing their outrage over the fact that Yehezkel is an observant Jew wearing a skullcap.

Judging from the angry reactions to the Yehezkel interview, one can only deduce that members of the BDS movement are a deeply antisemitic racists who hate Jews just because of their faith and appearance.

Dozens of Palestinians took to social media to hurl abuse at the Palestinian TV show and its presenters, calling them "traitors," "spies," "dogs" and "pigs."

Palestinian artist Faten Kabha wrote that she decided to cancel an interview with the TV show "after it hosted a Jewish Zionist in the heart of Ramallah."

The Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate, a body dominated by Fatah activists in the West Bank, and several political groups also joined the bandwagon of denunciations over the Jewish singer's appearance on a Palestinian TV show; and the "anti-normalization" activists are also targeting the five-star Grand Park Hotel in Ramallah for hosting the Jewish singer.

One of the leaders of the "anti-normalization" campaign, Fadi Arouri, demanded that the hotel distance itself from the TV show, which was recorded in one of its halls, or face being labeled advocates of "normalization" with Israel. It would seem he has more to worry about by being labeled a racist.

Arouri, on his Facebook page, lashed out at the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation and the hotel for bringing the Jewish singer to Ramallah. He threatened to add the hotel to the list of advocates of "normalization" with Israel, saying: "You will be fought against the same way we fight the occupation and its institutions."

Arouri and his friends are also angry with the TV show for using Hebrew names of Israeli cities during the interview with Yehezkel, who lives in Ashkelon, and argued that the presenter should have used the Arabic name of Majdal instead of Ashkelon.

The Jewish singer is fortunate that Arouri and his friends did not know about his presence in Ramallah in real time, otherwise they would have attacked the TV studio and forced him to flee Ramallah, as these BDS activists have been doing for the past few years: violently breaking up meetings between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, and intimidating the participants like jackbooted thugs. These are people behaving in a way that does not deserve being rewarded with anything, let alone a state. They far more resemble all tyrannical thugs throughout history who spend their lives telling other people how to live, and using violence, or threats of violence, to coerce anyone who does not agree. Sadly, there already seems to be too much of that kind of muscling in our Arab and Muslim world, as Egypt's forward-looking President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, as well as many others, regularly point out.

Palestinian "anti-normalization" activists disrupt an unofficial Israeli-Palestinian peace conference last year, in Jerusalem's Ambassador Hotel.

The public outcry over a Jewish singer's appearance on a Palestinian TV talk show is yet another reminder of how we Palestinians have made ourselves intolerable to Israelis, even to those who are sympathetic to our cause and believe in peace and coexistence.

The campaign on social media against the singer and the TV show also provides proof of increasingly racist sentiments among our people. We automatically dismiss anyone wearing a kippa because we assume he is a "settler" who hates Arabs and Muslims. It is embarrassing to read many of the comments posted by Palestinian activists concerning the singer's religion and kippa.

With such attitudes, how can we ever make peace with Israel? If hosting a Jewish singer on a Palestinian TV talk show has drawn such fierce opposition and denunciations, what will happen the day any Palestinian leader signs a peace treaty with our Jewish neighbors?

How many times have Palestinians appeared in the Israeli media during the past few decades? Has anyone ever heard of such protests by Israeli Jews? Israeli media outlets have even been conducting interviews with some of Israel's worst enemies, including Palestinians who mercilessly killed innocent Jews. Still, we never saw disgusting and racist reactions like the ones posted on social media after the interview with the Jewish singer.

Over the years, we have taught our people to hate not only Israel, but Jews as well -- as is already cemented in the Hamas charter. We have done this through incitement in mosques, media outlets and public rhetoric. We have now reached the same stage as Germany's Nazis -- the same thing, ironically, we falsely accuse the Jews of being -- where our people consider the appearance of a Jew on a Palestinian TV show an act of "treason" and a "crime." In reality, it is we who are the New Nazis.

The case of the Jewish singer shows that the BDS and "anti-normalization" folks are nothing but a group of racist brown-shirts working to destroy any chance of peace and coexistence between Palestinians and Israel. Their hysterical reaction to the TV interview with Yehezkel proves that our people are continuing to march backward, toward more extremism, racism and Nazism.
 

 

Bassam Tawil is a scholar based in the Middle East.

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6574/palestinians-yehezkel-interview

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Egyptian Blogger Praises Israel - Arutz Sheva staff

by Arutz Sheva staff

Sherif Gaber, in hiding from Egyptian police, creates a paean to Israel that puts Israeli hasbarah to shame.

Sherif Gaber, a blogger in hiding from Egyptian police, has created a paean to Israel that is so good, it puts most of Israeli hasbarah (public relations) to shame.

The video, embedded above, makes a mockery of Arab states that seek to destroy Israel, compares the Jewish state's achievements with those of its Muslim neighbors and advocates for the Jews' right to the land of Israel, even if not through Biblical reasoning.

Gaber was sentenced in February to one-year in prison for “insulting Islam and promoting atheism,” by a criminal court in the northeastern city of Ismailiya, where Gaber studies literature at university.

According to Middle East Eye, Gaber was studying at Suez Canal University in 2013 when teachers and fellow students reported him for supporting atheism online, supposedly by running a Facebook page called “The Atheists.”

On 27 October 2013, Gaber was arrested. At 3 a.m., a security convoy turned up on his street.

“[I couldn’t believe] the strength of the security … three armored cars and an army vehicle surrounded my house. I said there must be another Osama bin Laden living in the same [apartment block],” he joked. “I didn’t know I was that dangerous.”

Middle East Eye quoted Gaber as saying he was tortured in custody. “I don’t want to go into the details … but you can say that the basic stuff happened to me,” he said, remembering the moment a hood was shoved over his eyes. “They shocked me with electricity, punished every part of me. They wanted to know who was giving me money to be an atheist and criticize Islam.”

After being handed a suspended sentence, Gaber was released on bail pending a retrial. But instead of paying a 1,000-Egyptian-pound ($131) bail fee that would set a date for retrial, he went into hiding.

He has kept in touch with Middle East Eye since then. The website reported that Gaber, “who became estranged from his family after the news hit the community, doesn’t know whether to run or remain in hiding. He has explored the possibility of applying for political asylum outside Egypt, where his beliefs can put him not only at risk of persecution from the government, but also from a society increasingly intolerant of suspected non-believers.”


Arutz Sheva staff

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201048#.VgVgxZezdds

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Beware the external forces pulling Syria's strings - Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror

by Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror

Syrian President Bashar Assad relies heavily on foreign support for his survival • Russia, Iran and Hezbollah's growing involvement and vested interests in Syria are a cause for concern for Israel, especially since the U.S. remains hesitant.

 

Syrian President Bashar Assad | Photo credit: Reuters

Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has all but ceased to exist, even if he still seems to have a tight grip on most of Damascus and the coastal city of Latakia, a known Alawite stronghold. What is left of Assad's rule, however, relies heavily on the foreign support lent to his regime. 

One of the fundamental elements that affords Assad's battered regime a semblance of legitimacy is the slivers of loyalty still demonstrated by small portions of the Syrian people and army, alongside the various militias Assad has been able to rally to his side from among the minorities that fear the rise of the Sunni majority.

Another element allowing Assad some breathing room is Iran. Tehran has a vested interest in the Syrian president's survival, as he is a key component in the "Shiite spectrum" it is trying to establish from Iran, through Iraq and Syria, to Lebanon. Without Syria, the Shiite spectrum will crumble, especially if the Sunni jihadi elements overrun Iraq and aid the radical forces trying to topple Assad. This may translate into a direct threat to Iran, which is why Assad's survival is critical to it. 

 

The third element propping up Assad is Hezbollah. The Shiite terrorist group has so far lost over 1,000 operatives fighting the rebel groups seeking to overthrow the Syrian president -- a sizeable number for an organization believed to comprise some 20,000 operatives.

For Hezbollah, Syria represents a dual objective: Firstly, it is part of the Iranian-Shiite interest, and Hezbollah is, after all, Iran's proxy in the region; and secondly Hezbollah has its own reasons for hoping Assad weathers the storm, as it knows that without his sympathetic ear in Damascus it would encounter significant difficulties maintaining its own interests in Lebanon.

The fourth element is Russia. After cementing its grip in Crimea, and observing the U.S.'s conduct during the nuclear negotiations with Iran, Russia has realized that no one would try to stop its gambit in Syria, even if it is believed to exceed the acceptable parameters of aid to Assad.

Moscow is using Damascus as a means by which to showcase its military might, as seen from the scope, deployment, and advanced nature of the weapons introduced to the war-torn country. Russia may have always been Syria's partner in intelligence gathering and armament, but now it is its partner in fighting. 

The Russian interests are complex. Moscow is wary of the rise of Sunni Islam, knowing it would eventually bolster is [its] reach within Russia. It would also like to preserve its small naval base in Latakia, and perhaps even expand it. 

The Kremlin also seeks to prove that unlike the White House, Russia's allies can count on it in times of trouble; that it does not abandon its friends. If Russia has any say in the matter, Assad's fate will starkly contrast that of deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and it will clearly illustrate the difference between Moscow and Washington, even it if ruffles some U.S. feathers along the way.

The rebels do not have formidable forces such as Russia, Iran and Hezbollah by their side, which is why the three are likely to save Assad's regime. However, those supporting Assad would most likely have to increase their involvement in Syria to sustain him further, or the rebels will be able to consistently regain the upper hand. 

The embattled Syrian president has exhausted his resources and from now on, every crisis that befalls Syria will have to be dealt with by external forces. As a result, the Russians and the Iranians would have to coordinate their moves on the ground, and while this may prove challenging, it is not impossible.

The question Assad's allies will face in the future will be how far they wish to become involved in Syria, especially as its regime fails, over and over again, to fight the various Sunni groups. Given the Sunnis' absolute quantitative advantage in the region, this may prove a bottomless pit, especially since there is no doubt that the adversary Sunni coalition will spare no effort to undercut Assad's supporters. 

Even if the anti-Assad elements in Syria prove unable to defeat those standing beside him, they could still generate continued, unyielding resistance. This pro-Sunni coalition will be funded by the Saudis and the Persian Gulf states, and Turkey -- concerned by the growing Russian presence on their southern border and driven by its leadership's animosity toward Assad -- will undoubtedly provide it with the logistic support it needs.

The U.S. will soon have to decide where it stands in the Middle East, meaning if it will sit idly by or take an active part in the efforts to topple Assad, thereby undermining the Russian-Iranian effort to preserve the Alawite regime. 

Washington is hesitant at this time, because on the one hand it has decided to distance itself from the Middle East, while on the other hand, it is very involved in the war against the Islamic State group. 

This will all come down to whether the U.S. allows its adversaries in the Middle East and worldwide to take advantage of what is being perceived as weak American policies, or will it decide to act in a way that would reinstate its regional influence. The Russians and the Iranians will do their best to capitalize on what they believe is the U.S.'s hesitance, and while Washington will never admit it, this is the price it is paying for the weakness it demonstrated during the nuclear negotiations with Tehran. 

Assad's deterioration created a need, and the U.S.'s reluctance to get involved created a vacuum that enabled Russia and Iran to step in. Any American-Russian coordination on Syria will be interpreted as Washington's acceptance of the new reality, which will only undermine its position in the Middle East further. 

Israel has no clear interest in the results of the Syrian civil war, as nearly all the parties involved seek its annihilation. In my opinion, Israel would be better off dealing with enemies that do not enjoy the backing of any state, even if they happen to be offshoots of al-Qaida or Islamic State, than with an enemy that has the backing of a nation as powerful as Iran. For this reason, Israel must remain adamant in its efforts to prevent Hezbollah's rearmament, even if it may indirectly help the Syrian rebels. 

Israel must also retain the right to retaliate over attacks on its interests in the Golan Heights, even at the risk of undermining Iranian interests. Under no circumstances can Iran be allowed to establish yet another bridgehead from which it could wage war on Israel, this time from Syria. 

Israel should make its intentions clear to all, and it should state that it plans to follow its strategic principles, despite the Russian deployment in Syria. 

While the Russians have become neighbors parked on potential flashpoints between Israel and one of its most bitter adversaries, the Russian deployment cannot interfere in imperative IDF operations. This piece was written prior to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to Moscow, and it is likely this was one of the issues he raised during his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yaakov Amidror

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=28493

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Ben Carson Exposes Islamic Taqiyya - Raymond Ibrahim

by Raymond Ibrahim

And gets attacked for it by leftist media.

Originally published by PJ Media.

Of all the points presidential candidate Ben Carson made in defense of his position that he “would not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation,” most poignant is his reference to taqiyya, one of Islam’s doctrines of deception. 

According to Carson, whoever becomes president should be “sworn in on a stack of Bibles, not a Koran”:

“I do not believe Sharia is consistent with the Constitution of this country,” Carson said, referencing the Islamic law derived from the Koran and traditions of Islam. “Muslims feel that their religion is very much a part of your public life and what you do as a public official, and that’s inconsistent with our principles and our Constitution.”

Carson said that the only exception he’d make would be if the Muslim running for office “publicly rejected all the tenants of Sharia and lived a life consistent with that.”

“Then I wouldn’t have any problem,” he said.

However, on several occasions Carson mentioned “Taqiyya,” a practice in the Shia Islam denomination in which a Muslim can mislead nonbelievers about the nature of their faith to avoid religious persecution.

“Taqiyya is a component of Shia that allows, and even encourages you to lie to achieve your goals,” Carson said.

There’s much to be said here.  First, considering that the current U.S. president has expunged all reference to Islam in security documents and would have Americans believe that Islamic doctrine is more or less like Christianity, it is certainly refreshing to see a presidential candidate referencing a little known but critically important Muslim doctrine.  

As for the widely cited notion that taqiyya is a Shia doctrine, this needs to be corrected, as it lets the world’s vast majority of Muslims, the Sunnis, off the hook.  According to Sami Mukaram, one of the world’s foremost authorities on taqiyya, 

Taqiyya is of fundamental importance in Islam. Practically every Islamic sect agrees to it and practices it … We can go so far as to say that the practice of taqiyya is mainstream in Islam, and that those few sects not practicing it diverge from the mainstream … Taqiyya is very prevalent in Islamic politics, especially in the modern era. ​

Taqiyya is often associated with the Shias because, as a persecuted minority group interspersed among their Sunni rivals, they have historically had more reason to dissemble. Today, however, Sunnis living in the West find themselves in the place of the Shia. Now they are the minority surrounded by their historic enemies—Western “infidels”—and so they too have plenty of occasion to employ taqiyya.

Nor would making Muslims swear on Bibles be very effective. As long as their allegiance to Islam is secure in their hearts, Muslims can behave like non-Muslims—including by praying before Christian icons, wearing crosses, and making the sign of the cross—anything short of actually killing a Muslim, which is when the taqiyya goes too far (hence why Muslims in the U.S. military often expose their true loyalties when they finally reach the point of having to fight fellow Muslims in foreign nations). 

For those with a discerning eye, taqiyya is all around us.  Whether Muslim refugees pretending to convert to Christianity (past and present), or whether an Islamic gunman gaining entrance inside a church by feigning interest in Christian prayers—examples abound on a daily basis.  

Consider the following anecdote from Turkey.  In order to get close enough to a Christian pastor to assassinate him, a group of Muslims, including three women, feigned interest in Christianity, attended his church, and even participated in baptism ceremonies. 

“These people had infiltrated our church and collected information about me, my family and the church and were preparing an attack against us,” said the pastor in question, Emre Karaali: “Two of them attended our church for over a year and they were like family.” 

If some Muslims are willing to go to such lengths to eliminate the already downtrodden Christian minorities in their midst—attending churches and baptisms and becoming “like family” to those “infidels” they intend to kill—does anyone doubt that a taqiyya-practicing Muslim presidential candidate might have no reservations about swearing on a stack of Bibles?

Precedents for such treachery litter the whole of Islamic history—and begin with the Muslim prophet himself: During the Battle of the Trench (627 AD), which pitted Muhammad and his followers against several non-Muslim tribes collectively known as “the Confederates,” a Confederate called Naim bin Masud went to the Muslim camp and converted to Islam. When Muhammad discovered the Confederates were unaware of Masud’s deflection to Islam, he counseled him to return and try somehow to get his tribesmen to abandon the siege. “For war is deceit,” Muhammad assured him.

Masud returned to the Confederates without their knowledge that he had switched sides and began giving his former kin and allies bad advice. He also intentionally instigated quarrels between the various tribes until, thoroughly distrusting each other, they disbanded and lifted the siege, allowing an embryonic Islam to grow.  (One Muslim website extols this incident for being illustrative of how Muslims can subvert non-Muslims.) 

In short, if a Muslim were running for president of the U.S. in the hopes of ultimately subverting America to Islam, he could, in Carson’s words, easily be “sworn in on a stack of Bibles, not a Koran” and “publicly reject all the tenants of Sharia.”  Indeed, he could claim to be a Christian and attend church every week.

It speaks very well about Carson that he is aware of—and not hesitant to mention—taqiyya.  But that doctrine’s full ramifications—how much deceiving it truly allows and for all Muslim denominations, not just the Shia—needs to be more widely embraced.  

The chances of that happening are dim.  Already “mainstream media” like the Washington Post are taking Carson to task for “misunderstanding” taqiyya—that is, for daring to be critical of anything Islamic.  These outlets could benefit from learning more about Islam and deception per the below links:

• My expert testimony used in a court case to refute “taqiyya about taqiyya.”
• The even more elastic doctrine of tawriya, which allows Muslims to deceive fellow Muslims by lying “creatively.”
• My 2008 essay, “Islam’s Doctrines of Deception,” commissioned and published by Jane’s Islamic Affairs Analyst.
• Recent examples of how onetime good Muslim neighbors turn violent once they grow in strength and numbers.

Raymond Ibrahim is a Shillman Fellow at the David Horowitz freedom Center.

Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/260234/ben-carson-exposes-islamic-taqiyya-raymond-ibrahim

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

The Israeli example - Lilach Shoval

by Lilach Shoval

Israel's fence on the Egyptian border has been a resounding success in curbing infiltrators and terrorist activity, which is why some European states are now taking an interest • The defense establishment's next concern pertains to the Jordanian border.

 

The Israeli barrier fence along the Egyptian border | Photo credit: Moshe Milner / GPO

Thousands of refugees are flooding into Europe. They are arriving from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, crossing Turkey and Greece on land, or dangerous waters on dilapidated boats. To the chagrin of many European citizens, several European countries have decided to take in these refugees. Other countries, among them Hungary and Croatia, have decided independently to close their borders with barbed wire and guards.

Several years ago Israel coped with a similar problem. Tens of thousands of refugees from Sudan and Eritrea arrived at the open border with Egypt and streamed into Israel, mainly to Tel Aviv. In contrast to Europe, the problem in Israel developed over a period of years. According to figures from the Population and Immigration Authority, until 2006 some 2,700 people entered Israel via its southern border. Beyond those who infiltrated, the border had become a breeding ground for illegal activities like smuggling drugs, prostitutes, cigarettes and sometimes terrorist elements. Prior to the Israel Defense Forces' withdrawal from Gaza in the summer of 2005, senior defense establishment officials believed the border between Israel and Egypt would become a primary weak point in relation to terrorist activity. The concern was that terrorist elements from Gaza would make their way into Egypt, and from there to Israel, through the breaches in the border.

The tale of a barrier

To cope with the problem the defense establishment came up with the so-called Hourglass plan, based primarily on the construction of an electronic fence along the southern border, along with dispersing other obstacles in the area. However, due to the high cost of the endeavor, estimated at a few billion shekels, the decision to begin the construction plan was repeatedly shelved.

Delaying the construction of the fence emerged as a mistake, as the defense establishment's early assessments proved accurate. After the IDF's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip the problem on the southern border worsened, and criminal activity along the border expanded in scope. 

Simultaneously, a stream of thousands of Sudanese and Eritrean refugees had begun making its way into Israel. In 2008, according to the Population and Immigration Authority, 8,799 infiltrators entered the country, while the number stood at 5,235 in 2009 (the drop due to Operation Cast Lead).

The directives issued to IDF soldiers were simple. The moment it became apparent the threat was not terrorist in nature, soldiers were to gather the infiltrators onto military vans. The soldiers were even given orders not to send them back to Egypt. Once the stream of infiltrators became unacceptable, and in light of the fact that the border was also being exploited for terrorist activity, in July of 2010 the government instructed the Defense Ministry to erect a border fence between Israel and Egypt. The Defense Ministry established a special administration, headed by Brig. Gen. Eran Ofir, who brought together the ministry's construction, operational and engineering departments for the project.

With the decision to begin construction of the fence, the number of infiltrators jumped significantly. In 2010 no less than 14,702 people entered the country illegally, while in 2011, when construction work was already well under way, the number reached 17,312.

The unyielding flow of infiltrators led the Defense Ministry to expedite the fence's construction, and in August of 2011 it announced the fence would be built at a pace of 700 yards per day. A year later, in 2012, with sections of the fence already built, 10,441 people infiltrated the country.

According to the Defense Ministry, over 100 contractors in charge of 600 construction crews took part in the complex project, using hundreds of machines and employing more than 1,000 workers. To shorten the timetable, the work took place at dozens of points along the designated fence line, every day of the week and often at nights. A little over two years after the work had begun, in December 2012, the Defense Ministry announced the completion of the 230-kilometer (143-mile) fence, not including several unfinished kilometers near Eilat.

It must be noted that the fence itself is not uniform, as it runs through completely different topographical areas. For instance, it covers a sandy plain on one area, and a mountain range in another.

Building the fence in the Eilat environs was the toughest challenge. The complex topography, including high and steep cliffs and wadis, required no less than a year and a half of work. 

According to the Defense Ministry, the barrier along the Eilat area was "the most complicated engineering project in the ministry's history, and one of the most complex projects since the establishment of the state." This was because the barrier was built in a rocky mountainous area previously inaccessible to vehicles. In spite of the difficulties, the defense establishment considered the fence's construction to be of the utmost importance, in this area in particular, because a great number of infiltrators crossed the border in that area.

Following the completion of the Eilat portion, the fence today stretches across 242 kilometers (150 miles). The effects were almost instantaneous: In 2013, a mere 74 infiltrators entered Israel; 43 of them were caught at the border. In 2014 only 43 infiltrators were recorded.

Beyond the fence's positive effects in preventing infiltrators to Israel, it is impossible to ignore the inherent security advantages it provides. Defense establishment officials always made it clear that criminal activity along the border can serve as a foundation for hostile and terrorist activity against IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians.

The next problematic border

Indeed, it is no secret that in recent years the Sinai Peninsula has become a terrorist breeding ground. At this stage, terrorist groups are primarily focusing their rage at Egyptian security forces, although we can recall attacks against Israeli targets, such as the 2011 attack at Ein Netafim and the "burning wheels" attack in 2012.

The main terrorist group active there today is the Wilayat Sinai, formerly known as Ansar Beit al-Maqdis. In October 2014, mostly due to ideological and economic considerations, the group swore allegiance to Islamic State, and today its operational capabilities in the region can no longer be ignored. Israeli officials assume it is just a matter of time until the group turns its weapons on Israel. We will only note that its members have already fired rockets at the southern Negev, and that the group also cooperates with Hamas in Gaza.

Therefore defense establishment officials stress that without the barrier fence, sections of which are currently being made into a "smart fence," Israel would be in an entirely different position today on its southern border. Try imagining for a moment, defense officials say, what terrorist organizations could do if the border with Egypt was fenceless.

With that, and despite the encouraging trend, it is important to note that it is still possible to breach the fence with heavy machinery. Indeed, there is no such thing as a complete seal, even when it comes to infiltrators. In recent months, specifically since the High Court of Justice decision to limit the amount of time a person can be held at the Holot detention center in the country's south, there has been a slight rise in the number of infiltrators from Sinai. Officials at the IDF's GOC Southern Command say that in the past few months several dozen foreigners have successfully bypassed the barrier by climbing it, often aided by tall ladders. As in the past, the present directives issued to soldiers is not to open fire at infiltrators if it is clear they are not involved in terrorist or criminal activity, rather to transfer them to the Holot detention center.

The defense establishment's next concern pertains to the Israel-Jordan border. Israeli officials point out that after the closing of the Egyptian border, it stands to reason that the open border with Jordan, which is also Israel's longest, will be exploited as an entrance point for infiltrators and hostile terrorist activity.

Israeli defense officials have a plan to build a fence along the Jordanian border as well, but due to budgetary considerations it has been decided at this point not to construct it. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently decided on the construction of a 30-kilometer (19-mile) section between Eilat and the Samar sand dunes in the Arava region. The decision primarily stemmed from the establishment of the new airport near Timna Park, slated to replace the airport in Eilat. The cost of building that section of the fence is around 300 million shekels ($76 million), and Defense Ministry officials said the planned barrier will be predicated on the model developed on the northern Golan Heights and Egyptian borders, in accordance with the Arava's unique topography.

It is doubtful these 30 kilometers will suffice, especially in light of the fact that Jordan has been flooded in recent months by thousands of Syrian refugees. We can only hope that this time Israel will have provided the cure before the malady spreads.

Lilach Shoval

Source: http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=28485

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Israel’s Democratic Crisis - Caroline Glick

by Caroline Glick

Internal political struggles imperil Israel's ability to deal with external threats.

On Wednesday night Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu touched on the most critical threat to Israeli democracy. Following Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan’s announcement that he was canceling Brig.-Gen. (res.) Gal Hirsch’s appointment as inspector-general of the police due to Attorney-General Yehuda Weinstein’s refusal to approve it in a timely manner, Netanyahu said, “Our appointments process is harsh, prolonged, harmful, and without a doubt worthy of review.”
The power to appoint is the power to govern.
Without the power to appoint public servants, governments cannot develop patronage networks.
Although patronage has developed a bad reputation, all it really amounts to is the ability to ensure that officials appointed by a government are loyal to the government and as a result can be depended on to faithfully execute the policies of the government.
When appointments are controlled by unelected forces, elected officials cannot trust that public servants will implement their policies. Indeed, it is almost a given that they won’t.
In recent weeks various unelected forces have conspired to scuttle two senior governmental appointments.
In the first case, retired far-left Foreign Ministry officials sabotaged the government’s appointment of Dani Dayan to serve as ambassador to Brazil.
Alon Liel, a former director-general of the Foreign Ministry, and former ambassadors Ilan Baruch and Eli Bar Navi met with the Brazilian ambassadors to Israel and the Palestinian Authority and petitioned the Brazilian government to reject Dayan’s appointment.
Like the government that appointed him, Dayan does not support these former officials’ goal of surrendering full control over eastern, southern and northern Jerusalem, and Judea and Samaria. His position made him a target for Liel and his colleagues.
In an interview with Army Radio on Monday, Liel bragged that he’s been working for years to undermine the government’s ability to determine Israel’s foreign policy. Liel explained that as he and his friends see things, since the public doesn’t agree with them, Israeli democracy is illegitimate, and it is therefore legitimate for them to subvert it.
In his words, “I don’t expect my camp to control the government. If I thought my camp could win an election I would work within the Israeli system. My ideology won’t be able to win an election for the foreseeable future.”
So far their initiative has been a raving success.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff informed Netanyahu that she opposes Dayan’s appointment. If Netanyahu and the government insist on sending him to Brazil, they risk harming Israel’s bilateral relations with that key South American country.
And if Dayan is sent to Brazil now, he will likely be treated as persona non grata from the moment he lands in Brasilia.
For all their destructive power, Liel and his associates are small potatoes when compared to the legal fraternity.
With Hirsch’s scalp hanging from his wall, Attorney- General Yehuda Weinstein can take pride in the fact that he has blocked the government’s appointments to Israel’s two most powerful national security posts. In 2011 he forced the government to cancel Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant’s appointment to serve as IDF chief of General Staff.
Back then, Weinstein forced the government to cancel Galant’s appointment by refusing to defend it before the High Court of Justice when it was challenged by an environmental group. At the time, Weinstein acknowledged that there was no legal basis for his position, but he held it all the same, due to his (legally irrelevant) “ethical” concerns.
By forcing the government to abandon Galant – and now Hirsch – Weinstein has done more than simply undermine government authority.
He has sent the clear message to Israel’s security brass that they needn’t be beholden to the lawful orders they receive from the government. His is the only opinion that matters. He is their lord and master.
Not only is this a perversion of democratic norms, it is corrupt.
Currently, the government is seeking a replacement for Weinstein, who is due to retire at the end of the year. The process of searching for a new attorney-general itself shows the pathological nature of the system.
First there is the issue of the senior appointments’ committee.
Eighteen years ago, under an avalanche of condemnation from the media for appointing an ally to serve as attorney-general, Netanyahu, then in his first tenure as prime minister, agreed to empower a committee chaired by a retired Supreme Court justice to approve senior civil service appointments.
Ever since, the committee, now chaired by retired justice Jacob Turkel, has arrogated more and more power to dictate appointments to the government. As a result today, the government won’t even bother submitting the names of jurists who publicly oppose the legal fraternity’s seizure of government power. There’s no point.
Turkel and his colleagues can be expected to find an excuse to reject any such candidate. And they have no compunctions about forcing their will down the throats of Israel’s elected leaders.
In 2010, then-speaker of the Knesset Ruby Rivlin said that he wasn’t interested in hiring any of the three candidates for the position of Knesset legal adviser that the Turkel Commission approved.
Turkel shrugged his shoulders.
Rivlin was forced to accept a legal adviser he didn’t want.
As for Weinstein’s successor, it is an open secret that Netanyahu wishes to appoint cabinet secretary and former IDF military advocate-general Maj.-Gen. (res.) Avi Mandelblit to the post. It is also an open secret that Weinstein opposes his appointment.
As a result, the same attorney-general who bent every rule in the book to scuttle the criminal investigation – and later blocked the indictment – of former IDF chief of general staff Lt.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi over allegations regarding felonious abuses of power, bent every in the book to open a criminal investigation against Mandleblit for his handling, as the IDF’s chief lawyer, of Ashkenazi’s alleged misconduct.
Mandleblit played a bit role in the Ashkenazi saga. One of Ashkenazi’s loyalists, Lt.-Col. (res.) Boaz Harpaz, forged a document which he leaked to the media with the intent of destroying Galant’s reputation. After the document was leaked to Channel 2, Ashkenazi gave Mandleblit a copy of the forged document. Mandleblit waited a few days before handing a copy of the document to the police and to Weinstein.
It can be argued that Mandleblit betrayed the principle of attorney-client privilege by sharing the document with investigative authorities. After all, he was Ashkenazi’s attorney.
But that was not the basis of Weinstein’s investigation.
Based on no clear statute, Weinstein argued that Mandleblit may have acted in a criminal manner by waiting a few days to give Weinstein the document which he may have been barred from sharing in the first place.
In the end, after months of stringing Mandleblit (and Netanyahu) along, Weinstein finally closed his investigation. But by acting as he did, Weinstein paved the way for a foreign-financed NGO to petition the High Court to reject Mandleblit’s appointment if and when the government appoints him. Moreover, he cleared a path for himself to refuse to defend the appointment on “ethical” grounds, just as he did in the case of Galant’s appointment.
Weinstein’s serial torpedoing of the government’s appointments is part and parcel of a larger agenda that involves preventing the government from determining national policy. Just as he acts without legal foundation to prevent the government from appointing senior officials, so he acts to prevent the government from adopting policies that he doesn’t like.
Take the government’s recent attempts to dictate minimum prison terms for rock-throwers.
Over the past few weeks, Weinstein has repeatedly blocked the government from implementing sentencing guidelines.
Now it is possible to oppose with the government’s position on policy grounds. But there is nothing illegal about its proposed course of action. Many governments enact sentencing guidelines for a variety of crimes. And there is no binding international statute barring the government from dictating minimum sentences for rock-throwers.
But Weinstein opposes them. So the government is unable to deal with a security issue that endangers public security and imperils Israel’s sovereignty over its capital city. True, it can ignore Weinstein.
But Weinstein’s opposition has paved the way for an EU-financed NGO to petition the High Court. And since he opposes the policy, he will refuse to defend it.
The legal fraternity’s tyrannical behavior has engendered a deeply destructive organizational culture at the Justice Ministry. Why work hard to defend the country when your career advancement is dictated solely by your willingness to toe the company line? Consider for example the ministry’s non-response to the EU’s rapidly escalating economic war against Israel.
This week two esteemed international law experts published a position paper for the Kohelet Policy Forum setting out Israel’s options for handling the EU’s policy of sanctioning Israeli products and entities beyond the 1949 armistice lines. Profs. Avi Bell and Eugene Kontorovich explained that the EU’s policy constitutes a material breach of the World Trade Organization’s treaties.
Israel has the right to open legal proceedings against the EU before the WTO tribunal to force it to abandon its unlawful trade boycott of Israeli products and entities.
Bell and Kontorovich argue that unlike the World Court and other politicized international bodies that are inherently anti-Israel, the WTO’s judicial body is comprised of technical experts who tend to rule on the merits of cases. As a result, Israel has a good chance of prevailing before this body.
Bell and Kontorovich’s position is not new.
They first recommended turning to the WTO two years ago. Ever since, the EU has escalated its unlawful economic war against Israel and the Justice Ministry has taken no action to defend the county.
And this makes sense. Justice Ministry lawyers have nothing to gain by doing so. This is true first of all because international trade is an area in which Justice Ministry lawyers have no expertise.
To handle the issue they would need to hire an outside expert. Hiring an outside expert means admitting that the legal fraternity isn’t all-knowing. And that just can’t be done.
Moreover, no one wins points at the Justice Ministry by noticing that Israel has every legal right to operate economically, militarily and politically beyond the 1949 armistice lines. Who would be dumb enough to risk his career by sticking his neck out? Indeed, if Bell and Kontorovich hadn’t spoken up, we’d never know that we have a way of defeating the European boycott movement. And even now, we have no reason to believe the government will be able to act on their recommendation.
Who will implement it? Weinstein? Israel faces a daunting threat environment. The good news is that we have the tools to handle the threats we face. The bad news is that so long as unelected officials in and out of government are able to subvert governing authority, these tools will never be used.


Caroline Glick

Source: http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/260247/israels-democratic-crisis-caroline-glick

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.

Swedes' Homes May Be Confiscated to Accommodate Asylum Seekers - Ingrid Carlqvist

by Ingrid Carlqvist

One month of Islam and Multiculturalism in Sweden: August 2015

• In 1992, the "Threat and Risk Assessment Commission" established that the government should have the option to seize property, especially summer homes, from the Swedish people in a time of crisis.
• Despite Sayadi's commission of three rapes and his sexual molestation of young girls, as well as his systematic criminal activity, he received only a four-year prison sentence, and will not have to face deportation.
• Husein wants a Swedish passport so he can go back to Somalia, the country he claims to have escaped from -- to "visit his mom and establish business contacts."
• "The situation affects everyone who lives and stays in our little county. The climate has grown tougher, many people feel scared and unsafe and with that comes the risk of increased xenophobia, antagonism and exclusion." — From a letter to the government from Örkelljunga County leaders. The county swiftly received criticism from the mainstream media, and the Immigration Service let it be known that they have no intention of helping Örkelljunga.

August 3: Ahmad El-Moghrabi, 21, who has no driver's license, was indicted for driving like a madman through the city of Malmö in February, and nearly killing a mother and baby. On February 11, he drove a luxury Mercedes at high speed, with some other Arab men as passengers, one of whom is a well-known extremist, when the police tried to pull the car over. Instead of stopping, El-Moghrabi sped away at about 150 km/h on the busy inner city street of Amiralsgatan, where the speed limit is 40 km/h.

The police chase ended when El-Moghrabi hit some parked cars. Three people were injured, and the mother and baby sustained life-threatening injuries after being crushed between the cars.

El-Moghrabi fled the scene, but was apprehended later. He has been charged with gross negligence, grievous bodily harm, fleeing the scene of an accident, and driving without a license. His own explanation to the rampage was that he did not want to be caught by the police, as his license had been revoked.

August 3: It was reported that 2000 third-world immigrants are seeking asylum in Sweden -- each week. The largest groups were Syrians, then Afghans, stateless people, Eritreans and Somalis. The Immigration Service now reports that there are close to 50,000 asylum seekers living in various housing and rental facilities, and more are on their way to a country that already suffers from a major housing shortage.

The question is: Where will they live? More and more people are now worrying that the government will confiscate the homes of Swedes and give them to asylum seekers. In 1992, the "Threat and Risk Assessment Commission" (Hot- och riskutredningen) established that the government should have the option to seize property, especially summer homes, from the Swedish people in a time of crisis. In early September, editorial columnist Anna Dahlberg of Expressen, one of Sweden's largest dailies, urged Swedes to "make way" and "hand over the keys to their apartments to those in greater need."

August 3: Another shooting took place in the violence-stricken city of Malmö. No one was hurt this time, but the police found empty shell casings on Rasmusgatan Street in the Seved area, one of Malmö's "no go-zones," where a majority of the inhabitants are of foreign descent. The area is known for its open drug trade, and over the last few years, a large number of shootings and grenade attacks have occurred there. (On June 12, a hand grenade was thrown, and four people were wounded.) In an attempt to bring down the crime rate, local authorities gave the police permission on August 12 to place four cameras in the area to film events around the clock.

August 5: The Stockholm police department caused an uproar with a shocking story about everyday life in immigrant-heavy suburbs such as Tensta-Rinkeby, Hjulsta, Kista and Husby. Youth gangs regularly attack police by using lasers to blind them, and throwing rocks and firebombs. Criminal gangs resolve conflicts by shooting at each other in public places, risking the lives of innocent people who may be in their way. Police officer Nikolina Bucht wrote in a column in the daily Svenska Dagbladet that it is time to "take back the area from the criminals and protect all the respectable people who have their neighborhoods destroyed, their cars set on fire and feel unsafe." She wrote:

"Last week my colleagues got a call about a sudden cardiac arrest in Rinkeby. ... When they arrive at the scene, they are met by about ten young people who are provoked by their mere presence, turn aggressive and mask their faces. The police are forced to focus on the rock throwing instead of going up to the apartment and starting CPR. He had to wait for several minutes extra before he got help, time that could have saved his life. This was not an isolated event."

August 7: A Somali refugee, Mohamed Husein, complained he has not yet received a Swedish citizenship. Somalis must wait three years longer than others for citizenship, as they cannot prove their identity. Husein wants a Swedish passport so he can go back to the country he claims to have escaped from -- to "visit his mom and establish business contacts."

August 10: It was reported that a 15-year-old pregnant girl, who six weeks prior traveled with her boyfriend to Syria, had been captured by the Islamic State (ISIS). How the girl managed to travel without a passport or identification papers remains a mystery. Swedish media made no effort to sort out why she would object to living with ISIS. Her boyfriend is reported to have joined an al-Qaeda-affiliated group.

August 11: The law journal Dagens Juridik reported that a 19-year-old girl was taken into custody, in accordance with the LVU law ("Care of Young Persons Special Provisions Act"), after her family threatened to subject her to honor violence. Social service workers on the island of Gotland applied for "administered care" after the girl, in spite of threats, had escaped from the shelter where she was living and moved back with her family. The court stated that the investigation showed that the girl's desire to return is rooted in her upbringing, which has taught her that the honor of the family is more important than her individual rights. She may also feel guilt, because she thinks she is dishonoring the family by not being with them. According to the court, the girl's behavior should be considered socially disruptive under the definition of the LVU law, and therefore, she needs to be protected.
August 14: Two men, 21 and 26 years of age, were remanded, suspected of two of the many recent hand grenade attacks in Malmö. At the same time, another 26-year-old was remanded for attempted murder and possession of an illegal weapon, both of which occurred in Rasmusgatan, in Malmö's "no-go" Seved neighborhood.

Early that morning, police also discovered two hand grenades in Adelgatan, in central Malmö. One had exploded, and the other one failed to work. A large area was barricaded and several buildings had to be evacuated. The police suspected the incident could be linked to a car bomb that had detonated in Malmö two days earlier. Malmö has experienced the most bomb attacks of all Scandinavian cities: this year alone, 20 bombings have taken place.

August 12: A 43-year-old Iranian citizen, Ramin Sayadi, was sentenced to four years in prison for three rapes and two counts of sexual molestation of young girls. Sayadi also sold the girls large quantities of prescription narcotics such as Tramadol, Ritalin and Subutex. The police investigation showed that he had close to 1,000 customers. When the girls became addicted to the drugs, he took advantage of them sexually. The police believe there are many more victims who have not come forward. Detective inspector Jan-Åke Stendahl told daily Göteborgs-Posten that the man had over 200 contacts listed in his mobile phone, and a majority of the numbers belonged to young girls. Sayadi was caught in May of last year, walking around Gothenburg's central station trawling for customers.

Despite his systematic criminal activity, he received only a four-year prison sentence, and will not have to face deportation.

August 14: A so-called unaccompanied refugee child was prosecuted on rape charges. The act took place on the night of January 10, in a youth home in Västerbotten in northern Sweden. The suspect is a native of Afghanistan and claims to be 17 years old. The police believe he raped the woman when she was in a drunken stupor, and therefore in what the law calls a "particularly vulnerable situation."

August 17: The police issued an international arrest warrant for a Congolese citizen, Loran Guy Mogi, 23, wanted for the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Therese Eriksson, 23, of Vårgårda. Eriksson had been found dead four days earlier in Mogi's apartment, but he had fled the scene. She was killed by blows to the head and body. After a week on the run, Loran Guy Mogi was apprehended at a refugee facility in the German city of Hannover. He has since been remanded pending trial. According to the prosecutor, Robert Beckard, Mogi has pled not guilty to the murder charge, but admits that he beat Eriksson and may thus have caused her death.

August 18: The media website Avpixlat wrote that an Algerian man, who has not lived in Sweden for six years, is entitled to financial aid to cover doctor's visits and the cost of his medicine. The man came to Sweden in the 1990s, but never worked or paid taxes there. Six years ago, he returned to Algeria, but in April of this year, he suddenly appeared in Sweden again to seek emergency health care. He underwent two surgeries at taxpayer expense, and considered himself entitled to financial aid for the cost of his medicine and several doctor's visits. The municipality of Gothenburg had ruled against the request, but an administrative court now ruled that since the man has no income or assets, he is entitled to aid.

August 18: Five representatives of the Church of Sweden wrote, in an op-ed in the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, that the church should also be open to Muslims. The article astonished and angered Christians. Stefan Gustavsson, secretary general of the Swedish Evangelical Alliance, pointed out that Islam, Judaism and Christianity promote three radically different versions of what happened to Jesus:

• Islam: Jesus did not die.
• Judaism: Jesus died but was not resurrected.
• Christianity: Jesus died and was resurrected.

These different versions cannot all be true, Gustavsson points out, and urges the Church of Sweden to awake from their Sleeping Beauty-slumber and start taking big questions seriously:

"The religion relativism that is now widespread throughout the Church of Sweden is not just an intellectual dead end, it is an insult to the Christians of Iraq and Syria who face forced conversion and who are willing to give their lives for their faith in Jesus Christ."

But the Church of Sweden persists, and on August 30, it invited imam Mohammad Muslim Eneborg to take part in high mass. Before he converted, the imam was named Åke Daniel Eneborg and he was a left-wing activist.

August 24: Former member of parliament Thoralf Alfsson (Sweden Democrats) wrote on his blog that the Immigration Service had hired no fewer than 1,200 people during the last year. Earlier, in August 2014, the Immigration Service had about 5,000 employees; in August 2015 that figure was 6,200. This means that the wage costs have increased by 50 million kronor (about $5.9 million) a month. In all, the Immigration Service's staff now cost Swedish taxpayers 250 million kronor ($29.6 million USD) a month, or 3 billion kroner ($360 million) a year.

Aside from skyrocketing costs, Alfsson questions why so many people of foreign descent find employment with the Immigration Service. He writes: "I can't but wonder what kind of screening process the Immigration Service have in regard to the people they hire. Could there be employees with residency status in Sweden who use a fake identity? Are there ISIS-sympathizers among the employees?" And there are.

Social commentator and author Merit Wager, who frequently publishes anonymous posts from Immigration Service employees, wrote in an August 21 blog post that authorities now no longer take rejected asylum seekers into custody, due to attacks from left-wing extremists. That is why the IKEA-murderer, who had received a deportation order, was not in custody, a failure that led to the death of two innocent people in the heart of the Swedish idyll. One Immigration Service employee said:

"Years ago, the Immigration Service was often heavily criticized by various left-wing groups who wanted to 'protect' the asylum seekers who had been found lacking in reasons for protection and targeted for deportation. Sometimes there were big demonstrations and now and again Immigration Service buildings were vandalized. Today these actions have ceased almost completely. The reason is very simple – the Immigration Service has hired the activists. They are now officials at the authority! I've met several people who are quite open about their backgrounds in these activist groups. The reason the Immigration Service hires them is that they state on their CVs exactly what the government wants to hear – that they have a 'burning engagement in human rights issues.'"

August 24: A police van was attacked with a hand grenade in the Stockholm suburb of Tumba. Four policemen were in the vehicle at the time. If it had not been for the fact that the vehicle was armored, the incident could have ended in a bloodbath. The attack began when several people threw rocks at police officers, and a fire was set at the local police station. Moments later, the hand grenade was thrown and landed about five feet from the police van. No one was injured, but the vehicle sustained 105 holes from shrapnel. Despite intense police efforts, the perpetrators of this attempted murder have not yet been apprehended.

A police van is riddled with shrapnel (left) from a hand grenade attack in Stockholm on August 24. The four policemen in the vehicle at the time could have been killed if the van had not been armored. At right, the Malmö police bomb squad disarms a hand grenade found in Landskrona, on September 22.

August 25: Local politicians in small southern county of Örkelljunga (population 10,000) wrote a desperate letter to the government; its signatories begged for help in solving the problems brought by the wave of asylum seekers. The Immigration Service has opened housing in Örkelljunga for about 250 asylum seekers in apartments, a former motel, and a number of private family residences -- including housing for unaccompanied refugee children. An additional 100 units may open up in the Åsljungagården Hotel.

The local politicians wrote in their letter that crime rates have risen and that the police have been called on a number of occasions. Rape, assault, battery and shoplifting are mentioned, as is the temporary closing of the Centrumhuset youth center. At the largest housing facility, an old motel, there are 90 adults and children. The mix of various ethnic groups is said to have led to riots, threats and hunger strikes. The letter states:

"The situation affects everyone who lives and stays in our little county. The climate has grown tougher; many people feel scared and unsafe and with that comes the risk of increased xenophobia, antagonism and exclusion."

The county swiftly received criticism from the mainstream media, and August 27 the Immigration Service let it be known that they have no intention of helping Örkelljunga. Immigration Service Press Officer Fredrik Bengtsson, quoted in the daily Helsingborgs Dagblad, was especially angry about the county's criticism concerning different groups being placed together:

"If one thinks along the lines of placing asylum seekers any other way, you're on a slippery slope. Separate housing for Christians and Muslims is not something we have in society. We have freedom of religion, and that applies to housing as well. You have to stop for a moment and think about it, because that's not how we do things in society."

August 26: Swedes heard the news that politicians in the nation's three largest cities want to offer courses in "self-care and sexual matters" to gypsy women beggars. Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö are applying for 8.7 million kronor (just over $1 million USD) from the European Social Fund, for the project, and hope to reach 250 women. Twice a week they will attend class and get food, free health checkups and free hygiene- and sanitary articles and condoms. They will also receive compensation for "loss of work income." Local politicians from opposition parties in Stockholm criticized the project strongly.

August 28: "Afrikas Horn," an immigrants' organization, reports another "Swedish" ISIS-warrior killed in battle. The man was in his thirties and originally from Somalia, but lived in the immigrant-heavy area of Vivalla in Örebro. The man was apparently one of three who have repeatedly traveled to join ISIS, but were twice intercepted in Turkey and sent back to Sweden. The man is the fourth resident of Örebro who has died as an ISIS terrorist. The chairman of Afrikas Horn tells the local paper Nerikes Allehanda that "the family is in mourning."

August 28: Ali Khoddami, once an asylum seeker to Sweden, was sentenced to prison for defrauding an elderly woman. Khoddami worked in home care services and tricked Inga Lill, a 90-year-old woman suffering from dementia, out of millions of kronor. By pretending to be the woman's friend, Khoddami was able to take over her bank accounts and move into her house, along with his family. He used her savings of two million kronor (about $240,000 USD) for luxury items, as well as several cars. Khoddami also managed to persuade Lill to sign over her house -- her childhood home built by her father -- to him. The house is apparently worth five million kronor ($590,000 USD). It was only after Khoddami put Lill, who has no living relatives, in a nursing home that the fraud was uncovered. The District Court sentenced Khoddami to 2.5 years in prison and fined him 7 million kronor ($830,000) plus interest and damages.

August 28: There were reports that people-smugglers have, over a short period of time, dumped 100 asylum seekers in the Gothenburg area. Pernilla Wallin, unit manager of the application unit at the Immigration Service for the Western Region, told Swedish Public Television that she never thought the situation would escalate like this and that the circumstances are "exceptional." The Immigration Service is now desperately looking for "external contractors who want to bid on temporary housing for asylum seekers."

• Follow Ingrid Carlqvist on Twitter

Ingrid Carlqvist, a noted journalist based in Sweden, is a Distinguished Fellow at Gatestone Institute.

Source: http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/6550/sweden-islam-multiculturalism

Copyright - Original materials copyright (c) by the authors.