By Fred Branfman* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

Greatly expanded U.S. military Special Ops teams, U.S. drone strikes and private espionage networks run by former CIA assassins create a threat to our security.

"[General McChrystal says that] for every innocent person you kill, you create 10 new enemies." --"The Runaway General," Rolling Stone, 6/22/10

The truth that many Americans find hard to take is that that mass U.S. assassination on a scale unequaled in world history lies at the heart of America's military strategy in the Muslim world, a policy both illegal and never seriously debated by Congress or the American people. Conducting assassination operations throughout the 1.3 billon-strong Muslim world will inevitably increase the murder of civilians and thus create exponentially more "enemies," as Gen. McChrystal suggests--posing a major long-term threat to U.S. national security. This mass assassination program, sold as defending Americans, is actually endangering us all. Those responsible for it, primarily General Petraeus, are recklessly seeking short-term tactical advantage while making an enormous long-term strategic error that could lead to countless American deaths in the years and decades to come. General Petraeus must be replaced, and the U.S. military's policy of direct and mass assassination of Muslims ended.

The U.S. has conducted assassination programs in the Third World for decades, but the actual killing--though directed and financed by the C.I.A.--has been largely left to local paramilitary and police forces. This has now has changed dramatically.

What is unprecedented today is the vast number of Americans directly assassinating Muslims--through greatly expanded U.S. military Special Operations teams, U.S. drone strikes and private espionage networks run by former CIA assassins and torturers. Most significant is the expanding geographic scope of their killing. While CENTCOM Commander from October 2008 until July 2010, General Petraeus received secret and unprecedented permission to unilaterally engage in operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, former Russian Republics, Yemen, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, the Horn of Africa, and wherever else he deems necessary.

Never before has a nation unleashed so many assassins in so many foreign nations around the world (9,000 Special Operations soldiers are based in Iraq and Afghanistan alone) as well as implemented a policy that can be best described as unprecedented, remote-control, large-scale "mechanized assassination." As the N.Y. Times noted in December 2009: "For the first time in history, a civilian intelligence agency is using robots to carry out a military mission, selecting people for killing in a country where the United States is not officially at war."

This combination of human and technological murder amounts to a worldwide “Assassination Inc.” that is unique in human affairs.

The increasing shift to direct U.S. assassination began on Petraeus's watch in Iraq,where targeted assassination was considered by many within the military to be more important than the "surge." The killing of Al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was considered a major triumph that significantly reduced the level of violence. As Bob Woodward reported in The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008:

"Beginning in about May 2006, the U.S. military and the U.S. intelligence agencies launched a series of top secret operations that enabled them to locate, target and kill key individuals in extremist groups. A number of authoritative sources say these covert activities had a far-reaching effect on the violence and were very possibly the biggest factor in reducing it. Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal, the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) responsible for hunting al Qaeda in Iraq, (conducted) lightning-quick and sometimes concurrent operations When I later asked the president (Bush) about this, he offered a simple answer: 'JSOC is awesome.'" [Emphasis added.]

Woodward's finding that many "authoritative sources" believed assassination more important than the surge is buttressed by Petraeus' appointment of McChrystal to lead U.S. forces in Afghanistan. McChrystal's major qualification for the post was clearly his perceived expertise in assassination while heading JSOC from 2003-'08 (where he also conducted extensive torture at "Camp Nama" at Baghdad International Airport, successfully excluding even the Red Cross).

Another key reason for the increased reliance on assassination is that Petraeus' announced counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan obviously cannot work. It is absurd to believe that the corrupt warlords and cronies who make up the "Afghan government" can be transformed into the viable entity upon which his strategy publicly claims to depend--particularly within the next year which President Obama has set as a deadline before beginning to withdraw U.S. troops. Petraeus is instead largely relying on mass assassination to try and eliminate the Taliban, both within Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The centrality of assassination to U.S. war plans is revealed by the fact that it was at the heart of the Obama review of Afghan policy last fall. The dovish Biden position called for relying primarily on assassination, while the hawkish McChrystal stance embraced both assassination and more troops. No other options were seriously considered.

A third factor behind the shift to mass assassination is that Petraeus and the U.S. military are also determined to attack jihadi forces in nations where the U.S. is not at war, and which are not prepared to openly invite in U.S. forces. As theN.Y. Times reported on May 24, "General Petraeus (has argued) that troops need to operate beyond Iraq and Afghanistan to better fight militant groups."

The most significant aspect of this new and expanded assassination policy is President Obama's authorizing clandestine U.S. military personnel to conduct it. TheN.Y. Times has also reported:

In roughly a dozen countries--from the deserts of North Africa, to the mountains of Pakistan, to former Soviet republics crippled by ethnic and religious strife--the United States has significantly increased military and intelligence operations, pursuing the enemy using robotic drones and commando teams, paying contractors to spy and training local operatives to chase terrorists. (Military) Special Operations troops under secret "Execute Orders" have conducted spying missions that were once the preserve of civilian intelligence agencies.

Particularly extraordinary is the fact that these vastly expanded military assassination teams are not subject to serious civilian control. As the N.Y. Timeshas also reported, Petraeus in September 2009 secretly expanded a worldwide force of assassins answerable only to the military, without oversight by not only Congress but the president himself:

The top American commander in the Middle East has ordered a broad expansion of clandestine military activity in an effort to disrupt militant groups or counter threats in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and other countries in the region, according to defense officials and military documents. The secret directive, signed in September by Gen. David H. Petraeus, authorizes the sending of American Special Operations troops to both friendly and hostile nations in the Middle East, Central Asia and the Horn of Africa. Unlike covert actions undertaken by the C.I.A., such clandestine activity does not require the president's approval or regular reports to Congress. [Emphasis added]

Although sold to the American public and Congress as targeted, selective assassination aimed only at a handful of "high value" insurgent leaders, the program has in fact already expanded far beyond that. As personnel and aircraft devoted to assassination exponentially increase, so too do the numbers of people they murder, both "insurgents" and civilians.

While it is reasonable to assume that expanding the number of Special Operations commandos to its present worldwide level of 13,000 will result in increasing assassinations, the secrecy of their operations makes it impossible to know how many they have murdered, how many of those are civilians, and the effectiveness of their operations. It is not known, for example, how many people U.S. military assassins murder directly, and how many they kill indirectly by identifying them for drone strikes. Much of their activity is conducted, for example, in North Waziristan in northwest Pakistan which, as the N.Y. Times reported on April 4 "is virtually sealed from the outside world."

More information, however, has emerged about the parallel and unprecedented mass mechanized assassinations being carried out by the C.I.A. drone programs. It is clear that they have already expanded far beyond the official cover story of targeting only "high-level insurgent leaders," and are killing increasing numbers of people.

The CIA, of course, is no novice at assassination. Future CIA Director William Colby's Operation Phoenix program in South Vietnam gave South Vietnamese police quotas of the number of civilians to be murdered on a weekly and monthly basis, eventually killing 20-50,000 people. CIA operatives such as Latin American Station Chef Duane "Dewey" Clarridge also established, trained and operated local paramilitary and death squads throughout Central and Latin America that brutally tortured and murdered tens of thousands of civilians, most notably in El Salvador where CIA-trained and -directed killers murdered Archbishop Romero and countless other Salvadorans.

But the present CIA assassination program in Pakistan and elsewhere is different not only because it is Americans who are themselves the assassins, but because of the unprecedented act of conducting mechanized mass assassination from the air. The CIA, as Nick Turse has reported for TomDispatch.com, is exponentially increasing its drone assassination program:

"(Drone) Reapers flew 25,391 hours (in 2009). This year, the air force projects that the combined flight hours of all its drones will exceed 250,000 hours. More flight time will, undoubtedly, mean more killing."

There were already signs in 2009, when drone strikes were a fraction of what they are now, that they were striking large numbers of civilians and proving militarily and politically counterproductive. Most Pakistanis believe it is largely civilians who are being killed, and anti-American hatred is growing accordingly. A Gallup poll conducted in July 2009, based on 2,500 face-to-face interviews, found that "only 9 percent of Pakistanis supported the drone strikes." A Global Research study documented the drone murder of 123 civilians in January 2010 alone.

A particularly significant indication of the drone strikes' military ineffectiveness has come from Colonel David Kilcullen, a key Petraeus advisor in Iraq, who testified to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on May 23, 2009, that, "Since 2006, we've killed 14 senior Al Qaeda leaders using drone strikes; in the same time period, we've killed 700 Pakistani civilians in the same area. We need to call off the drones."

Kilcullen's testimony was ignored, however, and as drone strikes have not only been continued but exponentially increased, there are increasing signs that they have vastly increased the scope of the killing far beyond the claimed "high-level insurgent leaders." The N.Y. Times reported onAug. 14:

[The CIA has] broadened its drone campaign beyond selective strikes against Qaeda leaders and now regularly obliterates suspected enemy compounds and logistics convoys, just as the military would grind down an enemy force.

Reuters reported on May 5 that:

The CIA received approval to target a wider range of targets in Pakistan's tribal areas, including low-level fighters whose identities may not be known, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Former intelligence officials acknowledged that in many, if not most cases, the CIA had little information about the foot soldiers killed in the strikes.

What this means is clear: the CIA is assassinating an expanding number of "low-level" people, labeling them as "fighters," but has little if any idea of who they really are. The history of such mechanized campaigns from the air, such as Laos where I have studied the U.S. 1964-'73 air war intensively, is that increased warfare from the air inevitably becomes increasingly indiscriminate, destroying civilian and military targets alike. As the drone program continues to expand, it will inevitably wind up killing more civilians--and, if McChrystal is right, exponentially create more people committed to killing Americans.

Numerous moral, legal and ethical objections have been raised to this program of mass assassination. Philip Alston, the United Nations special representative on extrajudicial executions, has stated that "this strongly asserted but ill-defined license to kill without accountability is not an entitlement which the United States or other states can have without doing grave damage to the rules designed to protect the right to life and prevent extrajudicial executions."

The notion that a handful of U.S. military and CIA officials have the right to unilaterally and secretly murder anyone they choose in any nation on earth, without even outside knowledge let alone oversight, is deeply troubling to anyone with a conscience, belief in democracy, or respect for international law. It was precisely such behavior that made the Gestapo and Soviet secret police symbols of evil. Since the U.S. Congress has never reined in an Executive Branch that has routinely ignored international law since 1945, however, it is likely that the question of whether this program will be continued will be determined by its perceived effectiveness, not its morality.

The evidence is mounting that U.S. assassinations are so ineffective they are actually strengthening anti-American forces in Pakistan. Bruce Reidel, a counterinsurgency expert who coordinated the Afghan review for President Obama, said: "The pressure we've put on (jihadist forces) in the past year has also drawn them together, meaning that the network of alliances is growing stronger not weaker."

Reidel's striking conclusion that jihadi forces in Pakistan are stronger after six years of drone airstrikes the CIA claims are weakening them, is echoed by numerous other reports indicating that General Petraeus' strategy of using military force against Al Qaeda, Afghan and local insurgent forces in Pakistan has pushed them further east from isolated northwest areas into major cities like Karachi, where they operate freely and work together far more closely than before. The general's miscalculations regarding Pakistan are reason enough for him to be replaced.

In the long run, General Petraeus' strategy of expanding both ground and mechanized assassination throughout the 1.3 billion-strong Muslim world is likely to do the greatest disservice to his country's interests. It is true that U.S. leaders have used local forces to assassinate tens of thousands since 1945 and that while these programs were largely ineffectual, they did not lead to attacks on American soil.

But 9/11 has changed the calculus. It is clear that in today's wired and globalized world, marked by large-scale immigration, cheap telecommunications and airline travel, where crude technologies like car bombs or IEDs can be as easily detonated in New York as in Kandahar, and where America's enemies are growing increasingly technologically sophisticated even as nuclear weapons proliferate and become miniaturized, it is the height of folly to foment geometrically growing anti-American hatred in the volatile Muslim world.

A growing number of military and counterinsurgency experts support Colonel Kilcullen's belief that these assassination programs abroad are not protecting Americans at home. Both the "Underwear" and the "Times Square" bombers attributed their attempts to blow up Americans to their anger at the drone strikes. While Americans were saved by their incompetence, the U.S. may not be so lucky the next time, and the time after that. One thing is crystal clear: inflaming anti-American hatred throughout the Muslim world can only exponentially increase the numbers of those committed to killing Americans.

Such fears are increasing in Washington, as the N.Y. Times reported in the wake of the Times Square bombing:

A new, and disturbing, question is being raised in Washington: Have the stepped-up attacks in Pakistan--notably the Predator drone strikes--actually made Americans less safe? Are they inspiring more attacks on America than they prevent? As one American intelligence official said, "Those attacks (on two Pakistani Taliban leaders) have made it personal for the Pakistani Taliban--so it's no wonder they are beginning to think about how they can strike back at targets here."

As General Petraeus and the U.S. military "make it personal" to increasing number of people throughout the Muslim world, they are recklessly sowing a whirlwind for which many of us, our children and grandchildren may well pay with our lives for decades to come.

It is difficult for most Americans to grasp the fact that their leaders' incompetence--Republican and Democrat, civilian and military--poses one of the single greatest threats to their own safety. But only when Americans do so will there be any hope of making America more secure in the dangerous years to come.

A clear place to begin protecting America is to abandon the assassination approach to war, ditch General Petraeus, end the military and CIA's focus on worldwide and mechanized mass assassination, and halt its reckless expansion of U.S. war-making into nuclear-armed Pakistan and so much more of the Muslim world.

Final Note: Duane 'Dewey' Clarridge: The True Face of U.S. Policy Toward the Muslim World

We'll intervene whenever we decide it's in our national security interest. And if you don't like it, lump it. Get used to it, world!"--Duane Clarridge,interviewed by John Pilger in "The War on Democracy"

As theN.Y. Times reported, Clarridge is presently advising CIA assassination efforts in Pakistan. ("Duane R. Clarridge,a profane former C.I.A. officer who ran operations in Central America and was indicted in the Iran-contra scandal, turned up this year helping run a Pentagon-financed private spying operation in Pakistan.") Watch an extraordinary three-minute video interview with Clarridge that reveals the true face of U.S. policy in the Muslim world.

* Fred Branfman, the editor of “Voices From the Plain of Jars: Life Under an Air War” (Harper & Row, 1972), exposed the U.S. secret air war while living in Laos from 1967 to 1971.

Source: Alternet

Why conceal the fact that the Shin Bet has a "hit list" and gives license to its commando units to carry out field executions? Anat Kam is finding out the price of speaking truth to power.

By Gila Svirsky* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

This story is a testament to the Internet. And to Anat Kam, the whistleblower, who is widely regarded in Israeli security circles as a traitor and will probably soon be charged with treason.

Anat (I'll use her first name, though I don't know her) is a 23-year old journalist who wrote for the popular Israeli portal Walla. Some months ago, Anat did the unthinkable: she passed on information that was decidedly newsworthy, but that the Shin Bet – Israel's security services – did not want outsiders to have. It was a"hit list" – the names of Palestinians living in the West Bank who were on the Shin Bet's "wanted" list. And it was a copy of the Shin Bet protocol stating that if these "wanted" figures are identified during the course of a military action, permission is granted to carry out "an interception". Nice language for execution without trial.

Reports are that Anat photocopied this classified information while serving in the IDF. She allegedly passed on this classified information to Uri Blau, a journalist, who published it months ago as a major scoop in Ha'aretz. Now Ha'aretz has whisked Uri away to London to protect him from the Israeli authorities, who would love to interrogate him about his informant. Meanwhile, Anat has been under house arrest and held incommunicado for at least three months.

This is a big story, but until today no Israeli newspapers could publish it because a judge issued a gag order at the Shin Bet's request. But go ask Henry Miller about banned books. Thanks to the ban and Israel's inability to control cyberspace, the story has taken on vastly greater proportions. Every news outlet in Israel – newspapers, radio, TV, news portals – has front-paged the story now that the gag order was lifted. It would never have received such widespread attention had the authorities not tried to hide it in the first place. And had the Internet not cloned the story through every webpage eager to expose state secrets.

This is not the first time the Israeli authorities have arrested suspects and held them incommunicado for extended periods. It happens to Palestinians all the time. The best known case of an Israeli is Mordechai Vanunu, who blew the whistle on Israel's nuclear warfare capabilities 24 years ago and was tried behind closed doors. More recently, Brig. Gen. Yitzhak Yaakov, an Israeli citizen now living in the U.S., was arrested on a visit to Israel in 2002, and a gag order placed on news of his month-long detention and interrogation. Yaakov, a key scientist in the development of Israel's nuclear weapons program, was suspected of divulging some of Israel's secrets, but eventually was released without charge.

So Israel has managed to draw widespread international attention to a story it wanted to hush up. But why conceal the fact that the Shin Bet has a "hit list" and gives license to its commando units to carry out field executions? After all, doesn't the U.S. do the same thing in its own so-called war against terror?

Israel, in my view, wanted to hide this information to avoid the legal and diplomatic ramifications of disclosures that its soldiers were once again breaking international law. Israel has been playing defense ever since the Gaza Campaign, trying to keep its senior politicians and officers out of European courts on charges of war crimes. Most recently (December 2009), opposition leader Zipi Livni cancelled a trip to London out of fear she would be arrested, thanks to universal jurisdiction of human rights violations. Similar arrest orders were deflected by other senior Israelis (Barak, Mofaz, and Almog). Publicity about a hit list and hit squads could only add fuel to the growing criticism of Israel and the fear among its leaders of being arrested on a visit to Europe. Not to mention the fact that Israel's own Supreme Court outlawed such unprovoked assassinations just months ago.

But really, isn't Israel still the "only democracy in the Middle East"? Concealing someone's arrest and the charges against her are clearly pages from the annals of dark regimes. And the broader context is the growing McCarthyite culture inside Israel – the silencing of its critics, the squirreling away of its whistleblowers. We see this in the hate campaign against Israeli human rights organizations, which has now reached a new peak – a bill before the Knesset that would severely hamper these organizations from receiving funds from foreign states, one of their only sources of support as the Israeli government is not about to fund human rights activity.

What's not to love about secrecy, lies, and human rights violations? Praise the whistleblowers and all those who turned on the Internet lights, making it impossible for the authorities to turn them off again.

* Gila Svirsky is a writer and an Israeli Jew peace and human rights activist.

The rabbi creates a golem

By Anait Brutian* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

Yitzhak Shapira, the fanatical Zionist rabbi, who heads the Old Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the illegal settlement of Yitzhar, near Nablus and rabbi Yossi Elitzur have penned a new book: Torah HaMelech (The King's Torah) that has become the subject of the news in Eretz Yisrael (Hebrew for Land of Israel) ⁽¹⁾. According to Roee Sharon, the book contains no less than "230 pages on the laws concerning the killing of non-Jews, a kind of guide for anyone who ponders the question of if and when it is permissible to take the life of a non-Jew" (see the original Hebrew article by Roee Sharon in Maariv, November 9, 2009 ⁽²⁾. A translation of the Maariv article can be read at Coteret News) ⁽³⁾.

The book follows the halachic laws (the collective body of Jewish religious law, including the 613 biblical laws) for the killing of the goyim (Hebrew for nations), who threaten Eretz Yisrael ⁽⁴⁾. "Jews have the right to kill non-Jews in just about any circumstance." "If we kill a gentile who has sinned or has violated one of the seven commandments ... there is nothing wrong with the murder" ⁽⁵⁾. The permission to kill is given on the basis of the Sheva mitzvot B'nei Noach (the seven Noachian Laws), which, according to the Talmud, should be followed by all mankind ⁽⁶⁾; (see The Noachian Laws in Jewish Encyclopedia ⁽⁷⁾. "When we approach a non-Jew who has violated the seven Noachian laws and kill him out of concern for upholding these seven laws, no prohibition has been violated" ⁽⁸⁾. The Yeshiva World News official website justifies the book's permission to kill with the following statement: "The sefer [Hebrew for book] adds that killing a non-Jew who has violated the Seven Mitzvos [Hebrew for commandments] given to non-Jews because we care about torah and mitzvos, then this is acceptable. It stresses the importance of Eretz Yisrael, the halachic requirements of the land, and living within a torah framework" ⁽⁹⁾. Similarly, the book justifies the killing of "non-Jews who demand the land for themselves" ⁽¹⁰⁾.

Civilians are not immune from Shapira's and Elitzur's attacks: "Any case in which the life of the civilian endangers Israel – it is allowed to kill a gentile." This authorization applies to direct and indirect "endangering" of Israel. Thus civilians who aid fighters, support the war, or sympathise with the resistance should be killed ⁽¹¹⁾. The Rabbis also encourage the killing of non-Jews that bear Israeli citizenship but are suspected of assisting organizations that are considered a "threat to national security" by the present regime ⁽¹²⁾. According to Shapira and Elitzur babies and children can be killed too because they are "hindrances." "Hindrances – babies are found many times in this situation. They block the way to rescue by their presence and do so completely by force. Nevertheless, they may be killed because their presence aids murder. There is justification for killing babies if it is clear that they will grow up to harm us, and in such a situation they may be harmed deliberately, and not only during combat with adults." "The children of the leader may be harmed in order to apply pressure to him. If attacking the children of a wicked ruler will influence him not to behave wickedly, they may be harmed" ⁽¹³⁾.

The conclusion of the book contains the following statement: "In religious law, we have found that non-Jews are generally suspected of shedding Jewish blood, and in war, this suspicion becomes a great deal stronger. One must consider killing even babies, who have not violated the seven Noachian laws, because of the future danger that will be caused if they are allowed to grow up to be as wicked as their parents" ⁽¹⁴⁾. Encouraging retaliation, Rabbis Shapira and Elitzur support violence and give credence to the notion that "In order to defeat the enemy ... [they] must behave toward ... [the enemy] in a spirit of retaliation and measure for measure." "Retaliation is absolutely necessary in order to render such wickedness not worthwhile. Therefore, sometimes we do cruel deeds in order to create the proper balance of terror" ⁽¹⁵⁾.

The idea of using terror fits with Israel Koenig's recommendation in "The Koenig Memorandum" – "We must use terror, assassination, intimidation, land confiscation, and the cutting of all social services to rid the Galilee of its Arab population" ⁽¹⁶⁾. It also fits with Rafael Eitan's prescription for the removal of Palestinians from Palestine: "We declare openly that the Arabs have no right to settle on even one centimetre of Eretz Israel [the land of Israel] ... Force is all they do or ever will understand. We shall use the ultimate force until the Palestinians come crawling to us on all fours" ⁽¹⁷⁾. A similar sentiment was expressed by the co-signer of the document called The Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ⁽¹⁸⁾ and future Prime Minister of Israel David Ben Gurion: "We must expel Arabs and take their places" ⁽¹⁹⁾. Yoram Bar Porath supported these views: "It is the duty of Israeli leaders to explain to public opinion, clearly and courageously a certain number of facts that are forgotten with time. The first of these is that there is no Zionism, colonisation or Jewish State without the eviction of the Arabs and the expropriation of their lands" ⁽²⁰⁾. Vladimir Jabotinsky, the founder of Revisionist Zionism, had expressed similar views long before the establishment of the State of Israel: "If you wish to colonize a land in which people are already living, you must provide a garrison for the land ... or else, give up your colonization, for without an armed force which will render physically impossible any attempt to destroy or prevent this colonization, colonization is impossible, not difficult, not dangerous, but IMPOSSIBLE! ... Zionism is a colonization adventure and therefore it stands or falls by the question of armed force[s]" ⁽²¹⁾.

The statements by Israel Koenig, Rafael Eitan, David Ben Gurion, Yoram Bar Porath and Vladimir Jabotinsky bear all the trappings of a jihad against the Palestinians. Commonly translated as Holy War, the Arabic word literally means "striving," "struggling," "endeavouring" ⁽²²⁾. Webster's Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines it as 1) "a holy war undertaken as a sacred duty by Muslims" and 2) "any vigorous, often bitter crusade for an idea or principle" ⁽²³⁾. The online version of the same dictionary identifies it as a noun, provides a variant (Jehad), the etymology (Arabic jihād) but maintains the same definitions ⁽²⁴⁾. T. P. Hughes explains that there are two kinds of jihads – "the greater" against one's own lusts and "the lesser" against infidels ⁽²⁵⁾. According to Hughes, the description of the "lesser jihad" occurs in al-Madinah Surahs (an Islamic term denoting a chapter in the Qur'an), written after Muhammad established his supreme rule and was able to dictate his terms and conditions to his enemies ⁽²⁶⁾. Historically, this type of jihad can be viewed as a way of advancing Islam among the conquered unbelievers offering them three choices (1) "the reception of Islam, in which case the conquered became enfranchised citizens of the Muslim state; (2) "the payment of a poll-tax (Jizyah), by which unbelievers in Islam obtain protection, and become Zimmis ..." and (3) "death by sword, to those who will not pay the poll-tax" ⁽²⁷⁾.

Unlike its Islamic counterpart, the Zionist jihad does not differentiate between "greater" and "lesser" types and terror is not used as a last resort, as was the case with the last option in the al-Madinah Surahs of the Qur'an. Terror is part and parcel of all Zionist undertakings. The notion not only justifies the senseless killing of civilians, including women, children and the elderly, but also promotes it. Israel's former chief rabbi, Mordechai Elyahu encouraged the Israeli army to mass murder Palestinians in 2007: "If they don't stop after we kill 100, then we must kill 1,000. And if they don't stop after 1,000, then we must kill 10,000. If they still don't stop we must kill 100,000. Even a million." A similar feeling is expressed in June 2009, by US Hasidic Rabbi Manis Friedman, who encouraged Israelis to kill Palestinian "men, women and children." "I don't believe in Western morality, i.e., don't kill civilians or children, don't destroy holy sites, don't fight during the holiday seasons, don't bomb cemeteries, and don't shoot until they shoot first because it is immoral. The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle)" ⁽²⁸⁾.

According to Maariv, Shapira's and Elitzur's Torah HaMelech does not mention Palestinians or Arabs; the "killing of gentiles" is a "theoretical concept," supposedly unrelated to the politics of the region – "he [Shapira] was 'careful not to explicitly encourage private individuals to take the law into their own hands" ^{(29). The Yeshiva World News official website stresses the fact that while "the media is having a field day with the sefer, it is written that the sefer discusses theoretic halachic principles, and in no way calls for the murder of goyim, 'Arabs' or 'Palestinians' as the media seeks to imply" (30)}. This may be so, but Torah HaMelech, the new halachic guide for the Zionist jihad is popular among several prominent rabbis, who recommended it to their followers and students. The Yeshiva World News official website enlists approbation from Rabbi Dov Lior, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, and Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh ⁽³¹⁾.

In 2003, under pressure from left-wing groups, Attorney-General Elyakim Rubinstein charged Rabbi Yitzchak Ginzburgh, the former head of the Old Yosef Chai Yeshiva in Shechem, with incitement to racism. Rabbi Ginsburgh's June 19, 1989 statement clearly declares: "Jewish blood and a goy's (gentile's) blood are not the same." Thus, killing isn't murder if the victim is Gentile. ⁽³²⁾. According to Rabbi Ginsburgh "... every single cell in a Jewish body entails divinity, and is thus part of God." If this is so, "then every strand of DNA is a part of God. Therefore, something is special about Jewish DNA." Using similar logic, Rabbi Ginsburg declared that "the Arabs ... don't have the right to live in ... [Israel] and that "they want to take land that doesn't belong to them and therefore they are also robbers." "The concept of the third world, which is the most primitive on the scale of nations, refers to the Arabs who are on the lowest rung in the scale ... According to Kabbalah, the Jewish people are the most advanced people in mind and spirit, but Yishmael is a nation of slaves and the character of a slave is licentious and undisciplined" ⁽³³⁾. Approbation from a brilliant "haematologist" and "DNA specialist" Rabbi Ginsburgh speaks volumes, especially when considering the fact that Ginsburgh's own sentiments concerning the killing of non-Jews do not differ from those of Shapira and Elitzur – Ginsburgh justified the US-born Baruch Goldstein's 1994 killing of the Palestinian worshippers in the Machpela Cave mosque in Hebron during Ramadan on halachic grounds ⁽³⁴⁾.

Another religious leader, Rabbi Dov Lior, the chairman of the Yesha rabbinical council, chief rabbi of Kiryat Arba ⁽³⁵⁾ that has endorsed Shapira's and Elitzur's new halachic guide for the Zionist jihad is an "expert" on military matters: "There is no such thing as enemy civilians in war time. The law of our Torah is to have mercy on our soldiers and to save them ... A thousand non-Jewish lives are not worth a Jew's fingernail" ⁽³⁶⁾. A student of Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, the founder of the extremist Gush Emunim with the slogan "The Land of Israel, for the people of Israel, according to the Torah of Israel," Rabbi Dov Lior continues to sponsor the teachings of his mentor Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook and the latter's father, fundamentalist Rabbi Abraham Kook , the founder of the first Zionist Yeshiva in Jerusalem in 1924, during the British Mandate, who said: "The difference between a Jewish soul and souls of non-Jews – all of them in all different levels – is greater and deeper than the difference between a human soul and the souls of cattle" ⁽³⁷⁾. In late 1980s, following a public protest over his suggestions to use captured Arab terrorists "to conduct medical experiments," Rabbi Lior was barred from the election to the Supreme Rabbinical Council ⁽³⁸⁾. More recently, Rabbi Dov Lior issued a halachic decree, which states that "it is forbidden by Jewish law to employ Arabs or rent homes to them" ⁽³⁹⁾. In an interview published by "Eretz Israel Shelanu" (Our Land of Israel), Rabbi Lior said: "since this is a matter of endangering souls, it is clear that it is completely forbidden to employ them and rent houses to them in Israel. Their employment is forbidden not only at yeshivas, but at factories, hotels and everywhere" ⁽⁴⁰⁾.

Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, the head of the Hazon Yaakov Yeshiva in Jerusalem and the son of Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef ⁽⁴¹⁾ is another supporter of Yitzhak Shapira's and Yossi Elitzur's new halachic guide for the Zionist jihad. He is a member of the national-religious community and has served as a Shas MK in the past ⁽⁴²⁾. The fact that Shapira and Elitzur began selling Torah HaMelech at the memorial for Rabbi Meir Kahane, the Israeli Knesset member who advocated "mass expulsion of Palestinians from Israel and the territories" ⁽⁴³⁾ is significant. It implies that even though it is not distributed by the leading book-sellers ⁽⁴⁴⁾, Shapira's and Elitzur's sefer is known among past and present members of the Israeli Knesset, suggesting that the halachic guide for the Zionist jihad is tacitly promoted at the highest level of the government.

The statement that Rabbi Shapira's and Rabbi Elitzur's halachic guide for the Zionist jihad does not target Palestinians or Arabs and approaches the "killing of gentiles" from a "theoretical" perspective is more worrisome than one might suspect. It can be interpreted as a license to kill all gentiles that fit into the authors' category of the "goyim who threaten Eretz Yisrael." But the category can be broadened to include all who oppose Israel's Zionist agenda in the occupied territories, conveniently branded as anti-Semites by the Zionist-controlled media (see What is Anti-Semitism? by the same author ⁽⁴⁵⁾. And finally, the category can be broadened to include all opposition to the Zionist programme of world domination: "We will have a world government whether you like it or not. The only question is whether that government will be achieved by conquest or consent." (Jewish Banker Paul Warburg's testimony before the U.S. Senate, February 17, 1950 ⁽⁴⁶⁾; Paul Warburg, the founder of the US Federal Reserve, was the brother of Max Warburg, the chief of German Intelligence and an associate of Adolf Hitler – both were executives of I.G. Farben).

Whether these categories were delineated or not is secondary to the fact that Shapira's and Elitzur's sefer was sold at Mercaz Harav Yeshiva, the flagship of Orthodox Zionism. According to Mathew Wagner of The Jerusalem Post, there was a small sign at the entrance advertising the sale of Torah HaMelech at NIS 30 and "those interested in buying the book were asked to place money in a small cup and take ... [a copy]" ⁽⁴⁷⁾. A young man called Lior, whose name and phone number had appeared on the advertisement, was surprised to realize how fast the copies were sold. The authors and promoters of the halachic guide for the Zionist jihad could not have chosen a better location for the sale – Torah HaMelech is especially useful for the students of the yeshiva "who have served, are presently serving or plan on serving in the IDF" ⁽⁴⁸⁾. Mathew Wagner further explains that since "a large portion of Torat Hamelech is dedicated to exploring Jewish "rules of engagement" according to the authors' interpretation of Jewish law," the book is relevant "for many young men at Mercaz Harav or other Orthodox Zionist yeshivot where IDF service is combined with intense Torah learning" ⁽⁴⁹⁾. The fact that "the book could have practical implications for how religious soldiers do battle" ⁽⁵⁰⁾ is of no consequence to Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, who is "a highly respected halachic authority in both haredi and religious Zionist circles" – his endorsement appeared in the book.

As Rabbi Shapira's and Rabbi Elitzur's halachic guide will undeniably incite more violence against non-Jews, it will also contribute to the rift between Jews and Gentiles. The Zionist intellectual Maurice Samuel, in his You Gentiles of 1924 polarized the gentile and the Jewish worlds: "There are two life-forces in the world I know: Jewish and gentile, ours and yours ... Your outlook on life, your dominant reactions, are the same to-day as they were two thousand years ago. All that has changed is the instrument of expression. You live the same life under different faiths, but something clings to you here and there resembling the original form of the faith we gave you " ⁽⁵¹⁾. Samuel admits that the "surface credo of a Jewish faith" imposed on a gentile way of life did not make a fundamental difference: "But in the end your true nature works itself into the pattern of the borrowed faith, and expresses itself undeniably" ⁽⁵²⁾. Samuel suggests that there is a "clear and fateful division of life – Jewish and gentile," with an "unsounded abyss between" them. Gentiles have a "way of living and thinking" that is distinctly different from Jews: "I do not believe that this primal difference between gentile and Jew is reconcilable. You and we may come to an understanding, never to a reconciliation. There will be irritation between us as long as we are in intimate contact. For nature and constitution and vision divide us from all of you forever..." ⁽⁵³⁾. Similar to other Zionists, Samuel's "solution" is based on the destruction of the existing world order: "A century of partial tolerance gave us Jews access to your world. In that period the great attempt was made, by advance guards of reconciliation, to bring our two worlds together. It was a century of failure. ... We Jews, we, the destroyers, will remain the destroyers forever. Nothing that you will do will meet our needs and demands. We will forever destroy because we need a world of our own, a God-world, which it is not in your nature to build" ⁽⁵⁴⁾.

The separation between Jews and non-Jews lies at the heart of the teachings of Zionist intellectuals and religious leaders. This teaching is encouraged even outside of Israel. Elliot Abrams, a neo-conservative in charge of President Bush's "global democracy strategy," wrote in 1997 that "[Jewish law] does indeed separate Jews from their fellow citizens" and that "Jews are in a permanent covenant with God and with the land of Israel and its people" ⁽⁵⁵⁾. The sentiment of irreconcilable differences is enforced in the following statement, this time with overt shades of racial superiority: "We Jews regard our race as superior to all humanity, and look forward not to its ultimate union with other races, but to its triumph over them." Rabbi Saadya Grama's 2003 book Romemut Yisrael Ufarashat Hagalut (The Majesty of Israel and the Question of the Diaspora) provides a race-based theory of Jewish supremacy arguing that non-Jews are "completely evil," while Jews are genetically superior: "The difference between the people of Israel and the nations of the world is an essential one. The Jew by his source and in his very essence is entirely good. The goy, by his source and in his very essence is completely evil. This is not simply a matter of religious distinction, but rather of two completely different species" ⁽⁵⁶⁾. This attitude towards the goyim is reinforced by the statement of Golda Maier on March 8, 1969. Her declaration: "How can we return the occupied territories? There is nobody to return them to" ⁽⁵⁷⁾ is a clever pun suggesting that the original inhabitants of Palestine are "nobody" i.e., not people. Apart from its inherent falsehood (see the statements by Israel Koenig, Rafael Eitan, David Ben Gurion, Yoram Bar Porath, Vladimir Jabotinsky above), Golda Maier's derogatory remark downplays the danger posed to Israel by the original inhabitants: a "nobody" surely does not threaten the security of Eretz Yisrael. If there is no real danger to threaten Eretz Yisrael, then Rabbi Shapira's and Rabbi Elitzur's halachic guide for the killing of the goyim is founded on the principle of HATRED – a sentiment shared by Israel Koenig, Rafael Eitan, David Ben Gurion, Yoram Bar Porath, Vladimir Jabotinsky, Maurice Samuel, Paul Warburg , Rabbi Abraham Kook, Rabbi Tzvi Yehuda Kook, Rabbi Meir Kahane, Rabbi Saadya Grama, Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh, Rabbi Dov Lior, Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, Rabbi Mordechai Elyahu, Rabbi Manis Friedman, Rabbi Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, whose statements demonstrate similar hatred for the goyim.

According to Roee Sharon, Shapira's and Elitzur's halachic guide for the Zionist jihad
includes "hundreds of sources from the Bible and religious law" ⁽⁵⁸⁾. Indeed, the Bible demands separation, segregation and discrimination. After restating his "abhorrence" (Lev 20:23) towards the previous inhabitants of the land and his reasons for driving them out, God promises their land "flowing with milk and honey" – a clear reference to Exodus 33:3 – to his people declaring: "I am the Lord your God; I have separated you from the peoples" (Lev 20:24). Ezra marks this separation with his famous term "the holy seed" (Ezra 9:2), "zera hakodesh" in Hebrew ⁽⁵⁹⁾, which compels the entire community to dissolve all inter-marriages, getting rid of foreign wives and their children (Ezra 10:3). The ideology of separation, segregation and discrimination combined with the toxic rhetoric of the fundamentalists yields a dangerous brew made up of insanity and criminality. Mathew Wagner discusses the critical response of a "leading religious Zionist media figure" ⁽⁶⁰⁾. One may take a sigh of relief in thinking that the criticism is based on a sound evaluation of the dangers associated with endorsing radical jihadist ideology. Alas, this is not the case – the anonymous "leading religious Zionist media figure" is NOT concerned with the moral imperative of such indoctrination, in fact he agrees with the conclusions of Shapira's and Elitzur's halachic guide: "I do not doubt the halachic conclusions of the book" ⁽⁶¹⁾. He is concerned with the negative publicity the book generated: "I grabbed my head when I saw the headline in Ma'ariv ... I said to myself we have just managed to contain the media damage done to us by Teitel, by showing he is an isolated element, and now this happens" ⁽⁶²⁾. Thus, while the civilized world is screaming about Shapira's and Elitzur's sefer Torah HaMelech, the reaction towards the new Halachic Guide is positive in Israel. No one seems to worry about the fact that it will definitely lead to more violence. The "leading religious Zionist media figure" epitomizes the Zionist mentality: the life of the goyim is less important than the media damage caused by the publication of Shapira's and Elitzur's halachic guide for the Zionist jihad.

References:
(1), (30), (31) Rav Yitzchak Shapira's Sefer Makes Headlines in Eretz Yisrael
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=41807
(2), (4), (9) ספר שמופץ בימין מסביר מתי מותר להרוג "גויים"
http://www.nrg.co.il/online/1/ART1/964/186.html?hp=1&loc=1&tmp=3416
(3), (6), (8), (13), (14), (15), (44), (58) Settler Rabbi publishes "The complete guide to killing non-Jews"
http://coteret.com/2009/11/09/settler-rabbi-publishes-the-complete-guide-to-killing-non-jews/
(5), (10), (11), (29), (43) Settler rabbi authors guidelines on killing gentiles
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=238444
(7) The Noachian Laws
http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=582&letter=J&search=jubilees#1948
(12) Zionist Rabbi Calls for Killing of Even Non-Jewish Children and Infants if They Pose a 'Threat' to Israel
http://www.aljazeerah.info/News/2009/November/9%20n/Zionist%20Rabbi%20Calls%20for%20Killing%20of%20Even%20Non-Jewish%20Children%20and%20Infants%20if%20They%20Pose%20a%20'Threat'%20to%20Israel.htm
(16) Israel Koenig, the Koenig Memorandum
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/
(17) Rafael Eitan, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Defence Forces, 1983
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/
(18) Declaration of Establishment of State of Israel
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Guide+to+the+Peace+Process/Declaration+of+Establishment+of+State+of+Israel.htm
(19), (21), (32), (57) Al- Awda PRRC
http://www.al-awda.org/quotes.html
(20) Yoram Bar Porath, Yediot Aharonot, July 14, 1972,
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/
(22) Massive Online Encyclopedia of Islam Hyper-linked to the Qur'an, Hadiths, Taurat, Injil and other sources
http://www.bible.ca/islam/dictionary/index.html
(23) Webster's Encyclopaedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, p. 767.
(24) Merriam-Webster's Online dictionary
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jihad
(25), (26), (27) A Dictionary of Islam by Thomas Patrick Hughes, London, 1895, pp. 243-248
http://www.bible.ca/islam/dictionary/Hughes/jihad.htm
(28), (36), (37), (56) Religious fundamentalism in Israel
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2009/961/focus.htm
(33) Jewish Forum and Discussions – Chabad Talk
http://www.chabadtalk.com/forum/showthread.php3?t=2402
(34) 1994: Jewish settler kills 30 at holy site
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/25/newsid_4167000/4167929.stm
(35), (39), (40) Top Yesha rabbi says Jewish law forbids renting houses to Arabs
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/966208.html
(38) Dov Lior
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dov_Lior#cite_note-0
(41) Rabbi: Older bachelors must leave Jerusalem
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3709700,00.html
(42) Shas rabbi's son: No afterlife for Federman farm destroyers
http://www.ynetnews.com/Ext/Comp/ArticleLayout/CdaArticlePrintPreview/1,2506,L-3617393,00.html
(45) What is Anti-Semitism?
http://palestinethinktank.com/2010/01/11/what-is-anti-semitism-part-of-the-first-word-war/
(46) Jewish Banker Paul Warburg's testimony before the U.S. Senate, February 17, 1950
http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/
(47), (48), (49), (50), (60), (61), (62) Book advocating killing gentiles who endanger Jews is hard to come by
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1257770034282&pagename=JPArticle/ShowFull
(51) Maurice Samuel, You Gentiles, pp. 19-20
http://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/yougentiles.pdf
(52) Samuel, p. 22
http://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/yougentiles.pdf
(53) Samuel, pp. 22, 23
http://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/yougentiles.pdf
(54) Samuel, p. 155
http://www.jrbooksonline.com/PDF_Books/yougentiles.pdf
(55) Jeff Gates, Guilt by Association: How Deception and Self-Deceit Took America to War. Santa Barbara: State Street Publications, 2008, p. 139.
(59) Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, ed. A. Schenker. Stuttgart: C. H. Beck, Nördingen, 1997 p. 1426.

* Anait Brutian (B. Mus. with Honours in Theory, McGill University; M. A. in Music Theory, McGill University) is a student in the Faculty of Religious Studies at McGill. Her previous research includes a self-published book entitled: Reconciling Geometry, Rhetoric and Harmony: A Fresh Look at C. P. E. Bach. She is currently working on another book on mathematical paradigms in literature (Old and New Testaments), art, architecture, and music.

By Michael Gillespie* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

An ongoing investigation by the Dubai Police force into the assassination of a high-level Hamas official in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in January has drawn back the curtains of secrecy and deception to reveal yet again the contours of Israel's massive and ever-expanding espionage operations in the United States.

The murder of Mahmoud Al Mabhouh in his room at the Al Bustan Rotana, a 275-room five-star luxury hotel, in Dubai on January 19 has been widely perceived to be a Mossad operation involving, by the most recent count, 27 suspects traveling on fraudulently obtained and falsified European or Australian passports. In late February and early March, the plot thickened suddenly and significantly when major US media outlet reports connected the crime and many of those involved in it to the USA and to corporations based in the USA and Israel and revealed that some of the suspected assassins, apparently members of a Mossad kidon team, had entered the USA after leaving Dubai.

ABC News reported on February 24 that Dubai police had identified 15 new suspects as part of a ring that killed Al Mabhouh.

"Fourteen of the suspects purportedly used credit cards from META Bank, a regional American bank, to pay for hotel rooms and travel arrangements. ... Dubai police linked META Bank to a New York-based company called Payoneer, which provided prepaid MasterCard credit cards issued by META Bank. According to its Web site, Payoneer has a research and development center in Tel Aviv," reported ABC.

The TV network report noted that some of the additional suspects played a central role in the crime while others were accused of "'providing prior logistical support and preparations to facilitate,' making a series of trips to Dubai in advance" of the assassination.

The New York Times reported on March 1 that, "At least two suspects in the killing of a Hamas official in a hotel here in January traveled to the United States afterward, according to a person familiar with the investigation."

"One suspect traveling on a British passport arrived in the United States on Feb. 14; the other used an Irish passport and arrived on Jan. 21, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case. He did not say where the men entered the country, and added that there was no known record of their leaving," wrote Robert F. Worth in a story filed from Dubai.

Worth's report noted that if the suspected assassins who entered the U.S. presented foreign passports, they would have been photographed and finger printed upon arrival.

The Wall Street Journal's Chip Cummins filed a similar report from Dubai on the same day attributing the information to "people familiar with the situation" and "records shared between international investigators." In many previous news reports from Dubai information about the investigation had been attributed to Dubai's Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim.

Neither report explored the rather remarkable news that the suspect carrying a British passport in the name Roy Allan Cannon was confident enough to travel on the falsified document more than three weeks after the assassination and to present it upon arrival in the USA, where passport controls are generally assumed to be most stringent.

"At one time it was possible to produce false identity documents with little or no regard for what is referred to as backstopping as data bases at national points of entry were unsophisticated and were generally unlinked to any central sources of information. That has all changed in the past eight years. European and American passports in particular can all be verified from central data bases that include information that is also drawn from other public record sources," wrote former CIA officer Philip Giraldi in a February 25 column for Antiwar.com.

On March 3, Al Jazeera TV reported that Tamim, "said he would ask the Dubai prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and the head of Mossad [Meir Degan]."

Tamim's investigation, which has been described by Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble as "thorough," has seriously inconvenienced and embarrassed the Israeli government and its espionage organization.

The Money Trail

The Independent Monitor contacted MetaBank's corporate headquarters in Storm Lake, IA to ask why an Iowa bank would provide credit cards to 14 suspected members of a death squad.

MetaBank's Lisa Binder, Vice President for Investor Relations and Corporate Communications responded via telephone and e-mail with a statement saying, in part, "The Meta cards in question were issued in conjunction with a Meta Payment Systems program, not at a retail bank location. Meta Payment Systems, which has issued more than 150 million prepaid cards, markets its payroll cards through various Program Managers─in this case, Payoneer─to offer reputable US companies network branded payroll cards with which American companies can pay expatriates, employees and contractors of their company who live in the US and in foreign countries. The cards in question were 'loaded' by the companies using direct deposit for payroll, disbursements, and other compensation."

The Independent Monitor attempted to contact Payoneer offices at 410 Park Avenue in New York City but found that the only phone answered at Payoneer headquarters was a customer support line for Payoneer's Birthright Israel customers.

Birthright Israel provides first time educational trips to Israel for Jewish young adults ages 18 to 26. The program sends "thousands of young Jewish adults from all over the world to Israel as a gift in order to diminish the growing division between Israel and Jewish communities around the world; to strengthen the sense of solidarity among world Jewry; and to strengthen participants' personal Jewish identity and connection to the Jewish people," according to the organization's website.

Funding for Birthright Israel is "provided by our partners: private philanthropists through The Birthright Israel Foundation; the people of Israel through the Government of Israel; and Jewish communities around the world (North American Jewish Federations, Keren Hayesod and the Jewish Agency for Israel). ...

"Taglit-Birthright Israel requires that all participants pay their deposit through Payoneer. ... If you lose your Payoneer card while in Israel, it can be immediately blocked and will be replaced with a new card within 24 hours. ... You will not need to contact your bank back home or worry about making many calls. One call to our Customer Support center and you are all set," says the www.birthright.payoneer.com website.

Payoneer's Birthright customer support center declined to provide the Independent Monitor with contact information for Payoneer founder and CEO Yuval Tal or for Payoneer corporate communications/media relations personnel.

"Since the assassination, Tal has been shielded by a wall of public relations representatives and does not respond to media requests for comments. ... Tal's public relations representatives in New York have refused to comment on his past and relations with Israel's intelligence agency Mossad," wrote Abbas Al Lawati, a staff reporter for Gulf News.com on March 3.

"Tal is referred to by his associates in Israel as 'an outspoken Israeli patriot' despite having lived in New York for over ten years. In a 2006 Fox News interview about Israel's summer war on Lebanon, Tal was presented as a 'special ops commando' on Fox and Friends, and stated that 'this is a war Israel cannot (afford to) lose,'" wrote Al Lawati.

Payoneer's website proclaims that the company is "a registered MasterCard Merchant Service Provider (MSP), and partner with MetaBank or Choice Bank Limited to deliver our services. Privately held, our funding partners include Greylock Partners, Carmel Ventures, and Crossbar Capital."

The Independent Monitor found that all three of Payoneer's funding partners are venture capital firms that have offices in or strong connections to Israel.

Charlie Federman, Managing Partner of Crossbar Capital, previously co-founded BRM Capital in 1999, headed its New York office, and served as a Managing Director of the Israel and New York based fund until 2007. BRM Group, headquartered in Herzliya was founded by Nir Barkat, mayor of occupied Jerusalem.

Carmel Ventures is also headquartered Herzliya. Greylock Partners, founded in 1965, "operates in a number of global centers of innovation, including Boston, China (Beijing), India (Bangalore), Israel (Herzliya) and Silicon Valley. ... Current Greylock portfolio companies include Data Robotics, Digg, Facebook, Imperva, LinkedIn, Palo Alto Networks, Pandora, Picarro, Redfin, Workday and ZipCar," according to the firm's website. Greylock's investment activities in Israel were launched in 2002 by partner Moshe Mor, who "served six years in the Israeli Army as a Captain in the Military Intelligence branch."

Tal almost certainly possess information that could be of value to U.S. law enforcement and counter-intelligence investigators, but whether their political masters, many of whom have been effectively co-opted by Israel, will allow U.S. investigators to pursue any sort of meaningful investigation is an open question. Thus far there has been little to indicate that U.S. officials are seriously interested in investigating the funding of travel expenses and hotel accommodations of suspected Israeli assassins through U.S. corporations, despite the reported entry of at least two of the suspects into the U.S. on fraudulent, falsified passports.

When the Independent Monitor contacted the Department of State (DoS) for comment about the news reports, a DoS press officer declined to comment and referred questions to the Department of Justice (DoJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) press offices. A DoJ press officer also declined to comment and referred questions to a DHS press officer who has not responded to an e-mail message sent on March 5.

The Sayanim Network

Any substantive U.S. investigation of the suspected Dubai killers' connections to the USA would likely focus on members of the Mossad's worldwide network of sayanim, diaspora Jews who provide a wide variety of services to the Israeli intelligence and special operations agency. In his books, By Way of Deception (1990) and The Other Side of Deception (1994), former Mossad field officer or katsa Victor Ostrovsky described the sayanim network.

"Sayanim─assistants─must be 100 percent Jewish," wrote Ostrovsky in 1990.

The Mossad's helpers, chosen because they are well placed, willing, and able to provide valuable assistance to Israeli agents, are businessmen, doctors, lawyers, judges, prosecutors, police officers, intelligence officers, politicians, government bureaucrats, university professors and administrators, media professionals, information technology specialists, any occupation, profession, or position in which a sayan might prove useful in support of Israeli espionage operations.

Though they do not live in Israel, their first loyalty is to Israel. They do whatever Mossad officials, field officers, or assassins ask of them in behalf of Israel against the enemies of Israel or those who are seen as opposed to Israeli policies.

"Often the loyalty of sayanim is abused by katsas who take advantage of the available help for their own personal use. There is no way for the sayan to check this," wrote Ostrovsky.

"The one problem with the [sayanim] system is that the Mossad does not seem to care how devastating it could be to the status of the Jewish people in the diaspora if it was known. The answer you get if you ask is: 'So what's the worst that could happen to those Jews? They'd all come to Israel? Great,'" wrote Ostrovsky.

"A sayan will rent a car or pass money to a kidon with no questions asked," said Gordon Thomas, author of Gideon's Spies: The Secret History of the Mossad (1999) in a report by Alun Palmer of the Mirror (UK) on February 18. Thomas, who has estimated that there are at least 20,000 sayanim in the US and Great Britain, writes that all Mossad assassinations are authorized by the office of the prime minister of Israel.

The illegal use of U.S. banks and credit card companies to fund the movements and other expenses of a Mossad death squad in the Middle East indicates an alarming expansion of Israeli espionage operations on US soil and reveals to an unprecedented extent the foreign intelligence agency's penetration of major U.S. financial institutions, developments that limn the breadth, depth, and success of the Mossad's desperate efforts to expand and consolidate Israel's malignant influence over the Washington foreign policy establishment and sway within a broad range of U.S. institutions, despite growing popular opposition to Israel's the brutal and patently illegal occupation of Palestine and the punishing siege of Gaza.

The Myth, Cult, and Culture of Redemptive Violence

The supposed clash of civilizations, the conflict between the putatively modern Western Judeo-Christian tradition and radical Islam, the Bush administration's Global War on Terrorism later rebranded by the Obama administration as Overseas Contingency Operations, and the suppurating wound that is Israel's long-running illegal occupation and systematic ethnic cleansing of Palestine are evidence of a retrograde social and political dynamic that now threatens the continued progress and future of human civilization. That dynamic is epitomized by the myth, cult, and culture of redemptive violence.

"The myth of redemptive violence defends the belief that violence saves, that war brings peace. It is one of the oldest stories in the world. It misappropriates the language, symbols and scriptures of Christianity. Its God is the tribal God worshipped as an idol. Its offer is not forgiveness but victory. Its good news is not unconditional love of enemies but their elimination. Its salvation is not a new heart but a successful foreign policy. It is blasphemous. It is idolatrous. And it is immensely popular," writes Dr. Walter Wink, Professor Emeritus of Biblical Interpretation at Auburn Theological Seminary in New York City.

Wink might have added that while Christian scripture is tainted by the myth of redemptive violence, the Hebrew Old Testament scriptures, attached at the spine of the Holy Bible to the New Testament, are Christianity's primary source of the pernicious mythology of redemptive violence. Only about 10 percent of the New Testament is devoted to Jesus' teachings about the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God, the kingdom of Heaven, the happiness of peacemakers, and forgiveness and mercy as moral and spiritual imperatives.

True religion opposes violence as a technique of social evolution, but many Christians have been and are today all too willing and ready to embrace Hebrew Old Testament teachings that glorify war and the wholesale slaughter of innocents and ascribe such acts to the commands of a wrathful God that is both vengeful and violent. The popularity of the myth of redemptive violence in the West and the attitudes and policies it engenders in political and economic spheres of activity severely undercuts the supposed moral superiority of Western modernity and culture in relation to other traditions and cultures.

U.S. leaders often attempt to justify their wars with self-serving declarations that they are fighting for peace.

"One day the Iraqi people will understand that we came in peace," averred Secretary of State Colin Powell in March 2003 as U.S. troops advanced on Baghdad after a devastating and enormously destructive "Shock and Awe" air assault on the city.

If the status of a civilization can be accurately gauged by the fairness of its courts and the integrity of its judges, resort by national leaders to extra-judicial killings conducted by intelligence agency death squads is emblematic of the West's glorification of war and ruinous reversion to militarism─autocratic, cruel, and savage. Rigidly ultranationalistic Israel, more an army and an espionage agency with a country than a country with an army and an espionage agency, clearly intends to be the West's model and instructor in this regard.

A feature article by Associated Press reporter Matti Friedman published in the Washington Post on March 4 quoted Jonna Mendez, who worked for the CIA for 27 years and became the agency's chief of disguise. Mendez "believes the Dubai perpetrators took the fallout into account, all of it: the TV footage, the blown aliases and the head shots. The agents, she said, clearly knew they were under surveillance─they had simply decided it was unavoidable and a price worth paying.

"'You can be sure they knew they were being surveilled. Likewise, they would assume that the documents they were using would be made available after the fact,' said Mendez. 'What does this mean? It means it didn't matter. The faces and the documents that were captured by the cameras will probably never be seen again.'

"The fact that the perpetrators had to take the identities of real people rather than simply invent false identities is a symptom of the new world facing modern-day spies, one of databases and traceable passport information, she said.

"The real agents likely don't resemble the faces in the photos, she said ... And if they do, plastic surgery, dental implants and hair grafts can ensure they are unrecognizable afterward.

"'Steal the identity, disguise the participants, be ready on the other side with another set of identities and documents, and embrace and conceal the protagonists on their return,' she said.

"'With that goal in mind this may, in fact, be the operation of the future,'" wrote Friedman.

Thinking Americans have an increasingly clear choice.

They can join the cult of redemptive violence, kneel before a Zionist tribal God of vengeance, and watch their country and its culture revert to the law of nature as militarism runs amok and Israeli spies and assassins, protected by corrupt and co-opted political leaders, roam America at will.

Or they can embrace and actively support not the savagery of assassins but the rule of law. They can cultivate the wisdom, insight, and foresight that are indispensable to the endurance of nations. They can persevere in their efforts to elect honest, wise, and progressive leaders. And they can continue to strive to live up and into the noblest ideals of their religions.

* Michael Gillespie, in addition to his regular freelance work for Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, is also a contributing editor and the Des Moines, IA correspondent for The Independent Monitor, the national newspaper of Arab Americans, published by Sami Mashney in Anaheim, CA.

Source: DV

By James Petras* | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

The principle propaganda mouthpiece of the Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (PMAJO), the Daily Alert (DA), has come out in full support for Israel's practice of extra-judicial, extra-territorial assassination.

In the face of world-wide governmental condemnation (except from the Zionist-occupied White House and US Congress), the PMAJO slavishly backs any brutal murder committed by the Israeli secret police anywhere in the world and at anytime. The recent assassination of Hamas leader, Mahmoud Mabhouh, in Dubai is a case in point. The PMAJO has defended all of Mossad's criminal actions leading up to the murder, including extensive identity theft and the stealing or falsification of passports and official documents from several European countries, presumably allied to the Zionist state. Among the Mossad agents who entered Dubai to kill Mabhouh, twelve agents used stolen or forged British passports, three Australian, three French, one German and six Irish. These agents assumed the identity of European citizens in order to commit murder in a sovereign nation.

Once again the PMAJO demonstrate that its first loyalty is to the Israeli secret police, even when they violate the sovereignty of major US allies. No doubt the PMAJO would readily support the Israeli Mossad, even if it were shown to have used U.S. documents to assassinate Mabhouh. In fact, two of the 26 Israeli assassins, carrying fake Irish and fake British passports, are known to have entered the United States after the killing and may still be here.

The position adopted by the Daily Alert and the PMAJO in defense of Israel's international terrorist act followed several lines of attack, which will be discussed below. These include: (1) blaming the victim, (2) claiming that extra-judicial, extra territorial murders are legal, (3) minimizing the murder of ‘one' individual, (4) deflecting attention from the Zionists by blaming ‘other Arab's, (5) favorably comparing Mossad assassinations to US killings in Afghanistan, (6) trivializing and relativizing world condemnation, (7) citing "self-defense", (8) praising the high tech ‘operational details' of the assassination and (9) discrediting the Dubai police investigators rather than the Israeli perpetrators.

Abridged articles, cited in the Daily Alert, have appeared in the op-ed pages of several US, UK, Canadian and Israeli newspapers, as well as in rightwing magazines like Forbes and Commentary. The mainline Zionist propaganda technique is to avoid any discussion of Israel's egregious crimes against sovereignty, due process, international law and the personal security of individuals. In doing so, the Daily Alert adopts the propaganda techniques common to all totalitarian regimes practicing state terrorism.

(1) Blaming the Victim

On February 22, the Daily Alert (DA) headlined two articles, which were entitled: "Killed Hamas Official betrayed by Associates says Dubai Police Chief" and "Hamas: Assassinated Operative put Himself at Risk". The DA forgot to mention that Israeli secret police had been tracking their prey for over a month (having failed to assassinate him on six previous attempts) and that the Dubai Police Chief was not blaming Hamas officials but was in the process of accumulating evidence, witness statements, videos and documents proving the Israeli identities of the assassins. Needless to say, if we were to accept the American Zionists' argument that any leading opponent of Israel, who travels without an army of bodyguards, is "putting himself at risk", then we must acknowledge that ours is a lawless world where Israeli hit squads are free to commit murder anywhere, any time.

(2) Extra-Judicial, Extra territorial Murder is "Legal" (At least if the killers are Mossad)

The February 22 and February 24 issues of the DA include two articles arguing that Israel's practice of extra-judicial, extra-territorial murder is legal. One article is entitled, "The Legality of Killing of Hamas Mahmoud al Mabhoud" and the other, "The Proportionate Killing of Mahmoud al Mabhoud". These avoid any reference to international law, which emphatically rejects cross-border, state-sponsored murders. Legality, for the PMAJO, is whatever the Israel's secret police apparatus deems expedient in pursuit of its goal of eliminating leaders who oppose its colonial occupation and expropriation of Palestinian lands. If Israel's extra-judicial, extra-territorial murder of an adversary in Dubai is legal, why not assassinate opponents in the US, Canada, England or any other country where they might travel, live, work or write? What if the critics and opponents of Israel decided that it was now "legal" to murder Israel's supporters wherever they lived citing the Daily Alert's definition of legality? We would then find ourselves in a lawless world of "legal" murder and totalitarian cross-border surveillance.

(3) Minimizing the Murder

The Feb 22, 24, and 25 issues of the Daily Alert deflect attention from the Mossad murder by making comparison to the hundreds of Afghan civilians killed by US drone attacks. The claim is that "targeting individuals" is less a crime than mass killings. The problem with this argument is that for decades Mossad has "targeted" scores of opponents overseas and killed thousands of Palestinians in the occupied territories (where they work with the domestic secret police, Shin Bet, and the military, IDF). Moreover, this argument linking Israel's extra judicial assassinations with US colonial killing of Afghans is hardly a defense of either. By implicating the US in its defense of state terror, Israel is holding up the worst aspects of American imperialism as a standard for its own political behavior. One state's crimes are no justification for another's.

(4) Blaming the Arabs: Deflecting Attention from Israel

The DA Feb. 22 article entitled "The Assassination Heard Around the World" insinuates that the murder was a "result of a Hamas power struggle" or by one of "many Arab groups who loathes the Islamist Hamas".

In other words, all the forged or stolen European passports of Israeli dual citizens, and the Dubai security videos of Mossad operatives in various costumes, not to mention the jubilant affirmation by top Israeli leaders of the killing, was in reality ‘Arab tricks'. This crude propaganda ploy by the most prominent Jewish American organization reveals their own descent into a fantasy land of self-delusion, possible only in the closed world of US Zionist politics.

(5) Technical Proficiency

The DA published several articles praising the technical details of the Mossad assassination in Dubai, an aspect of the operation, with which few Israel security experts would agree. The Feb. 24 DA article entitled, "Assassination Shows Skillful Planning" chastises Israel's critics for not recognizing the high quality of the "operational aspects" of the killings and recommends its "lessons for all intelligence services around the world". Like sociopaths and serial killers, US Zionists openly promote Israeli death squad techniques to all fellow state terrorists. In the DA, professional techniques of assassination are far more important than universal moral repugnance of political murders.

(6) Discrediting the Investigators While Defending the Perpetrators

The DA on Feb. 25 cited a long and tendentious attack on the Dubai police, published in Forbes Magazine, which ridiculed their meticulous investigations uncovering Mossad's roles in the murder. In this article, the Dubai authorities were condemned for uncovering Israeli involvement while not investigating the source of the murder victims' ... Iraqi passport! Instead of encouraging the Dubai police pursuit of justice, the Daily Alert published a long diatribe implicating Dubai in the attacks of 9/11/2001, its continued trade with Iran, its ‘involvement' in international terrorism etc. There was no mention of Dubai's relatively friendly position to Israel and Israelis prior to Mossad's blatant violation of its sovereignty.

Conclusion

The American Zionist propaganda campaign in defense of Israeli state terror and, specifically, Mossad's murder of a Hamas leader in Dubai, relies on lies, evasions and specious legal arguments. This "defense" violates all precepts of a civilized society as well as the most recent American federal laws prohibiting all forms of support for international terrorism. The PMAJO can pursue its defense of Mossad's acts of international terrorism with impunity in the US because of its power over the US Congress, the Obama White House and the American mass media. This ensures that only its version of events, its definition of legality and its lies will be heard by legislators, echoed by Zionist activists and embellished by its solemn defenders in academic and journalistic circles. To counter the American Zionist defense of Israel's practice of extra-territorial, extra-judicial executions by the Mossad, we need American writers and academics to step forward. It is time to expose their flimsy arguments, bold-face lies and audacious immorality. It is time to speak out against their impunity, before another Israeli secret police murder takes place, possibly inside the USA itself and with the shameless complicity of Zionist accomplices.

The authorities in Dubai have found clear evidence that the Mossad assassination team received support from European Zionists. The hotels, air tickets and expenses were paid with credit cards issued in the US. Two of the killers may be in the US now. Will a time come when American Zionists, who are unconditional public defenders of Mossad killings, cross the line between propaganda for the deed to become accomplices of the deed? The robust American Zionist defense of Mossad's overseas assassinations does not augur well for the security of Americans in the face of Israel's willing U.S. accomplices.

* James Petras is a retired Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, SUNY, New York, U.S., and adjunct professor at Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is the author of 62 books and over 560 articles. He has published over 2000 articles in nonprofessional journals such as the New York Times, the Guardian, the Nation, Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, New Left Review, Temps Moderne, Le Monde Diplomatique, and his commentary is widely carried on the internet. He is winner of a Life Time Career Award of the American Sociology Association, Marxist Section.

Note: James Petras' latest books, Global Depression and Regional Wars (Atlanta, Clarity Press, 2009) is the third in a series, including Zionism, Militarism and the Decline of US Power (Atlanta, Clarity Press 2008) and The Power of Israel in the United States (Atlanta, Clarity Press 2006), analyzing the influence of militarism and Zionism in American foreign policy.

By Hesham Tillawi Ph.d. | Sabbah Report | www.sabbah.biz

Video link: http://video.yahoo.com/watch/5907813/15378949

Dr. Hesham Tillawi has a Ph.D. in International Relations. He is a Palestinian American writer, Political Analyst and a TV and Radio Talk Show Host. His program Current Issues with Hesham Tillawi can be viewed Live every Thursday evening at 6:30PM Central Standard Time on Cox Cable system Channel 15 in Louisiana, Nationwide on Bridges TV, and Worldwide on Amazonas Satellite, as well as Live on the Internet at http://www.currentissues.tv He can be contacted at tillawi@currentissues.tv

Source: Intifada-Palestine

By Jenifer Dixon *

Daniel Pearl was an American Jewish journalist, who was assassinated by the Afghans in 2002. I looked his name up on the Internet, and after 55 references to him, I quit. What do I bring this up? I do it because at that time, I remember hearing about Daniel Pearl 24/7 on more than one "mainstream" station. There are biographies of Daniel Pearl. There are celebrations of Daniel Pearl. There are endless stories about Daniel Pearl's assassination. There is a Daniel Pearl Foundation. Etc. etc. etc.

Now, here is some information that was never presented on "mainstream" media. According to Palestine Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow by Dr. Tareq M. Suwaidan there were 9 Palestinian journalists killed in the Intifada between 29 September 2000 to 30 December 2003 by the IDF. That is 9 journalists killed by the Israelis and not a word mentioned.

I was listening to an Internet broadcast from Global Research on the question of Palestine. Both the interviewer and interviewee were Jewish. Nonetheless, they expressed a concern about the "Israeli Palestinian conflict." They had on their show an interview with a Palestinian journalist from Gaza, but his accent was so thick as to be incomprehensible. They then decried the tragedy of the cycle of violence, but assured the audience that this too would end. However, I noticed that the woman being interviewed by Mr. Lendeman, a Rachel somebody, a professor at Emory University, was the author of of several blocks on "Islamic terrorism". I also noticed that they did not go into any detail on the situation in Gaza or in Palestine. They also told the audience that the censorship of these stories from the Occupied Territories originated high up in the chain of command in a "mainstream media."

They fail to mention that at the end of July of 2006 Israeli military forces attacked Al Manar TV in Beirut. In January of 2002, the Israeli military forces blew up a Palestinian broadcasting center in Ramallah. In April 2002, Israeli military forces inflicted devastating damage to the offices of the Palestine Monitor. In August of 2009 Israeli troops raided Radio Bethlehem and ordered the staff to stop broadcasting.

I then pulled a report that detailed, some 75 assaults from Israeli security forces on journalists working in the Occupied Territories, both Palestinian and foreign, in the year 2000 alone. Nine were attacked on the 1st day of the Intifada. 9 again? Ready for some numerology?

This obviously indicates an intended desire to squelch the truth on the ground as it happened, and the heavy-handed suppression of Palestinian press, indeed of all press.

Then to beat all, I found this item entitled "Israeli media mogul Haim Saban mulls stake in Al Jazeera." This story dated October 8, 2009 in Ha'aretz states that the Israeli businessman is negotiating for 50% of this "beacon" of the voice of the peoples of the Middle East. Okay. What more needs to be said? Or as Washington Post promotional copy puts it "if you don't got it, you just don't get it"

Remember Daniel Pearl? Of course, you do.

* Jenifer Dixon is a writer and former activist who lives in the Washington, DC area. She has published in the Washington Post, Voices of Women, WomenWise, Rainbow Visions, the Palestine Chronicle and Arab-American News. The website GlobalSpin was her contribution to the Net for three years. She was also a contributing writer to the book Challenge to Genocide: Let Iraq Live. The Holy Land Unveiled is her first book.

By Franklin Lamb, Beirut

Time for transparency at Der Spiegel?

"We don't know where the Der Spiegel magazine did get their information from and we don't know where they brought this story from. No one in the prosecutor's office has spoken to the German magazine about anything. We have a clear policy of not leaking any information about the tribunal through media outlets, and we have been stressing this since the beginning. When Der Spiegel spoke about Bellemar's spokesperson, they meant me. They emailed me and asked a few questions. My answer was that the tribunal does not deal with investigation files through the media and adopts the policy of direct announcement by the part of Mr. Bellemar.If we had something to say, we would have said it directly, not through media outlets."
Radiya Ashouri, Spokeswoman for the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) (5/24/09)

"It is a black fabricated campaign adopted by known groups to harm Hezbollah. It is not the first time such lies are published. Tthe timing of the accusations and the immediate hype of the report by Saudi Arabia's Al-Arabia TV-"which is known for its political affiliation"-- leaves no doubt that it is a campaign aimed at affecting Lebanon's upcoming elections and to deflect attention from the news about the dismantling of spy networks working for Israel on the other."
Hezbollah Media Relations Department statement 5/24/09

The Der Spiegel headline was dramatic. Even provocative. Some Lebanese were surprised but others said they knew it all along. It offered bold "new information" that the strongly pro-Israel German Weekly Der Speigel claimed came from secret sources based on documents reporters and editors may have seen. No documents were published and no blurred or redacted copies shown to its readers. The shocking claims were said to based on "Inside investigative sources who were working on the Rafic Hariri assassination and they had now solved the mystery and the case could soon be wrapped up. Eye catching.

The Der Spiegel breakthrough 'exclusive' with 'new evidence pointing to those who were guilty. It was published on October 24, 2005, nearly four years ago.

The Headline screamed, in arguably poor taste:

"BYE-BYE, HARIRI!"
UN Report Links Syrian Officials to Murder of Former Lebanese Leader"
By Erich Follath et al.

That was then back in 2005. Syria was accused in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri of being the 'real' assassins. A massive international anti-Syria campaign was launched by the Bush Administration and Israel to demonize its government.

But things have changed. This weekend, a new exclusive, secret, investigative report showing the real real assassins was published by the same weekly, Der Speigel. Same author. Same editor. New target.

This time Der Speigel's Erich Follath claimed solo that the international committee investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister martyr Rafik Hariri has reached" surprising new secret conclusions", this time pointing to Hezbollah.

The new Der Spiegel head line (5/24/09)

BREAKTHROUGH IN TRIBUNAL INVESTIGATION
New Evidence Points to Hezbollah in Hariri Murder
By Erich Follath,

According to this weekend's article, which offers information provided by the Der SPIEGEL source, the long investigated case may finally have been "cracked."

The German weekly claims the target is now Hezbollah after the Tribunal pressured the Lebanese government to release four Lebanese Generals last month for lack of evidence- given the growing outcry in the international legal and human rights community. After the generals release, more questions are being raised such as why the four Generals were never charged if there was inadequate evidence, or released years ago or given a bail bond, house arrest, or allowed to face their accusers or even see the supposed evidence against them. The credibility of the Tribunal diminished with each day the four remained jailed.

In many respects the 2009 Der Spiegel article is similar to the 2005 piece:

"There are signs that the investigation has yielded new and explosive results", "Spiegel has learned from sources close to the tribunal and verified by examining internal documents that the Hariri case is about to take a sensational turn", "Intensive investigations in Lebanon are all pointing to a new conclusion, this time that it was not the special forces of Syria, but instead special forces of Hezbollah that planned and carried out Hariri's Feb. 2005 murder, the weekly said.

Similar to 2005, Der Speigel claimed the investigator's "apparently want to hold back the information that they have been aware of for about a month".

Without offering any proof, Der Spiegel asserts that "According to the Lebanese security forces, all of the telephone numbers involved (by the assassins -ed) apparently belong to the 'operational arm' of Hezbollah."

Without an apology for what some thought was a 'hatchet job'' on Syrian President Bashar Assad four years ago, Der Speigel's new article added that President Assad is no longer as suspect. "Hardly anything suggests anymore that he was personally aware of the murder plot or even ordered the killing", Follath writes.

Suspicions are widespread this afternoon in Beirut over the Der Spiegel article suggesting a link between the assassination of Rafic Hariri and Hezbollah.

Ricocheting around Lebanon's capitol and on the Internet ( Syria.comment.org) are comments questioning the timing of the report as if aimed to cause maximum damage to the Hezbollah led opposition, the supposed source of the 'leaks' and why now since the UN investigative office has taken great pains not to leak or politicize its work in contrast to former Investigator Detlev Mehlis, Hasan Nassrallah has never been known to order the killing of rival politicians, the 2005-2006 accusations against Syria where shown to be fallacious and based on a false witness, Der Spiegel has a rumored long history with Israeli intelligence, the "key" eight phones were never in the hands of Hezbollah but rather a Muslim Sunni organization in Trablus as Detlev Mehlis claimed to have documented, where were "the surprising new conclusions" when the Court was set up but claimed no solid case had been put together.

One claim that this observer found odd is the suggestion that a senior Hezbollah member would call his girl friend on a secure line was 'on duty". I know of two cases where female students at AUB became quite angry when their Hezbollah boyfriends up and disappeared from Campus and did not even call them for a whole month. When they returned "from duty" to resume classes both tried to explain that they could not make contact while 'working'. I find Der Spiegel's girlfriend telephone call story a bit awkward and very 'un-Hezbollah'.

Puzzling also is the German weekly's claim that it learned "from sources close to the tribunal" and verified by examining internal documents, that the Hariri case is about to take a sensational turn." Der Speigel does not make it clear if it was the source that examined the internal documents or if it was Der Spiegel that examined these documents. If it is the latter, did the source to take these documents outside the very tight security building in The Hague? Surely, the investigation should be able to track this so-called source.

No evidence is offered by Der Spiegel for any of its "revelations" such as Hezbollah members who supposedly trained in Iran, bought phones, "two men who report only to their superior" (who else would they report to?) etc. How does Der Spiegel know all these secret things and why not offer some proof? How does Der Spiegel know, for example who reports to who in Hezbollah? Far too much left to the imagination by the author. Does some of this highly secret information come to Der Seigel via recently apprehended Israeli spy cells—passed on from the three Israeli intelligence agencies known to be here in Lebanon or sources connected with them?
Too volatile for Lebanon's Campaign?

So far none of Lebanon's political parties are crediting the article. As my neighbor mentioned this morning, in Lebanon there are so many 'Reports' that turn out not to be true that many here are very skeptical without solid proof.

MP Walid Jumblatt, Druze leader of the Progressive Socialist Party currently allied with the pro-US March 14th majority, commenting on the Der Spiegel article, warned in a Sunday speech dedicated to announce his Chouf candidates, that the article is "the game of nations that could, God forbid, derail justice and use it for things that we don't believe in."

The Saad Hariri led Future Movement refused to comment on the article.

Lebanese Foreign Minister Fawsi Salloukh labeled it as "totally false and all lies", Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem challenged Der Spiegel and the author of the report to show evidence. "This article is politicized and reminds us of (former international investigator) Detlev Mehlis's practices," Moallem added. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the report "was nothing but a new attempt to sow sedition among the Lebanese."

"This is a media fabrication that only lacked the stamp: 'Made in Israel'," Berri said.

Hezbollah responds to Der Speigel

Hezbollah candidate Nawaf Moussawi predicted last month that the campaign against Hezbollah would intensify, especially after the release of the four generals who were held, without trial or charge, for nearly four years over the assassination of Hariri. "The Der Spiegel report is not the first baseless report posted by this magazine, "Moussawi said during an interview with NBN TV. He made a comparison between the magazine's report and" previous reports by Lebanese journalists who deluded the public opinion during the investigation into the Hariri murder, and published reports about a similar scenario."

He stressed the campaign launched against Hezbollah and the resistance "paves the way for the assassination scheme Israel is preparing against the party's Secretary General Sayyed Hasan Nasrallah."

Hezbollah Media Relations Office issued a statement on Sunday in which it dismissed allegations published by Der Spiegel and broadcast by Al-Arabiyya Channel saying that it is nothing less than "police fabrications". The statement said, "It's not the first time that a magazine or newspaper aimed at publishing such fabrications and previously Kuwaiti paper "Al-Siyasa" has repeatedly published such reports along with other dailies." However, the statement continued "It is nothing more than police fabrications cooked in the same black room that has been keen on fabricating such stories for over four years regarding the Syrians and the four Lebanese officers and others."

The statement added that "publishing this report by Der Spiegel and promoting for it by Al-Arabiyya is suspicious in its timing and its political and psychological exploitation especially for two reasons: "First it is a pure fabrication aimed at influencing the election campaign in Lebanon on one side, and to deflect attention from the news about the dismantling of spy networks working for Israel on other."

"The report comes just two weeks ahead of a June 7 parliamentary election in Lebanon. One Hezbollah member commented: "We look forward to seeing the purported evidence in this case."

Questions for Der Spiegel

The German Embassy in Beirut claims not to have heard about the article and would have no comment. By press time, neither Mr. Follath nor his editors at Der Spiegel has replied to any of the following questions forwarded by this observer:

Hopefully will answer these inquiries in a follow-up article.

Franklin Lamb works with the Sabra Shatila Foundation in Beirut. He is reachable at: fplamb@sabrashatila.org.

Including 5 year old children... The West close their eyes to this Israeli method of "justice"... No one asks why, if Israel knows where these people are, it cannot ARREST them and put them on trial?? The West accept assassination by Israel as a democratic method, and of course, take its word when it calls the dead "terrorists", apparently even if they are 5 and 8 year old children, and certainly if they are "civilians". And if they are elected politicians, all the better... even Palestinians can't vote for a dead man! WHITE colonialism rules...

Image by: Carlos Latuff

B'Tselem: Does Diskin view kids as terrorists?

Shin Bet chief says 1,000 terrorists killed in Gaza Strip in past two years. Human rights organization says 816 Palestinians killed in that period, including children

The human rights organizations in Israel and the Gaza Strip were angered by data presented Sunday by Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin during Sunday's cabinet meeting, according to which Israel had killed 1,000 terrorists in the past two years.

The B'Tselem organization expressed its surprise over Diskin's remarks, saying that according to its figures, 816 Palestinians were killed by the IDF in that same period, including 150 minors, 48 of them under the age of 14.

Security sources later corrected Diskin's remarks, saying that 810 terrorists were identified among the casualties, which included civilians.

"Does Yuval Diskin include five-year-old Maria Okal, eight-year-old Aya
al-Astal, nine-year-old Yehi Abu Slamia and his five-year-old brother Nasrallah among the list of terrorist?" organization officials asked. "Does the Shin Bet chief refer to the blood of these and other children as the blood of terrorists?"

The Palestinian organizations also refer to 1,000 people killed in two years, but according to them, most of the casualties were civilians. According to Samir Zakkut of the al-Mezan Center for Human Rights in the Gaza Strip, the data presented by Diskin were untrue.

These data, he said, were aimed at serving as excuses "in order to justify the crimes and the killing of civilians.

"All the figures point to the fact that the vast majority of the killed were not armed, but since we are in the 21st century, when no one in the worlds takes the killing of minors and innocent people for granted, the Israeli side needs excuses and lies, even in incidents in which gunmen are killed and innocent civilians are hurt," Zakkut added.

"Why are these people absent from Diskin's data? The Ghalia family from Jabalya, the Atmana family from Beit Hanoun, and the Ghaban family are only a few examples, and therefore it is very easy to contradict Diskin's claims."

According to Zakkut, Diskin's remarks raised the concern that these data were aimed at justifying a future attack, "while we are all waiting for the IDF's talked-about wide-scale operation in Gaza, which will lead to a high number of civilian casualties."

'Resistance improving'

Meanwhile, Abu Mujahad, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, slammed the fact that Diskin took pride in the killing of people fighting for their land and rights.

"If Diskin believes that the Palestinian resistance would suffer from the number of casualties, he is wrong. There were not 1,000 gunmen killed, but even if there were - we promise that 4,000 more have already been recruited to carry on.

"The amount of casualties will not influence the Palestinian resistance. The assassinations are a recruiting factor, rather than a deterring one, and the proof is that the resistance is improving," he said.

And: Shin Bet chief says 1,000 terrorists killed in Gaza since 2005

After 20 years of the assassination of Palestinian political cartoonist Naji Al-Ali; watch this BBC "In pictures: The work of Naji al-Ali"

And this is my collection of Naji's work:

1. Torture, Israeli-Style

According to A., during questioning a police investigator held his legs in the air, and inserted an object into his rectum.

"While the investigator inserted the 'object' into my rectum and removed it, he pulled my genitalia, as if he wanted to rip it out," said A. "He told me that he wanted to cut it off and throw it to the dog - this lasted at least 10 minutes. The whole time I yelled out in pain."

According to A., the investigator told him "I promised you I was about to give it to you from behind, to screw you."

The report states that an examination of A. by an Abu Kabir Forensics Institute doctor revealed signs of sexual abuse on his body.

A different prisoner, Louay Ashkar, said he sat during questioning on a chair with a bent backrest, with both hands tied behind the chair and each leg tied to chair leg.

"The investigator would push my chest backward until my head reached the floor, and then grabbed my bound hands and pull me to him," said Ashkar. "I lost consciousness because of the pain, especially in my back."

According to the report, Ashkar's legs are paralyzed due to the damage his spinal chord suffered.

If you have stomach for more, get it here.

2. Assassination, Israeli Style

An Israeli undercover squad shot dead an off-duty Palestinian security man at point-blank range during a daylight raid on Ramallah in what Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian information minister present at the scene, on Wednesday described as an extrajudicial execution.

A spokeswoman for the Israeli military, which did not circulate its customary written statement on the incident, said in answer to questions that the Israeli squad "identified an armed man who was posing a threat to the force and fired at him". The spokeswoman would not say whether the dead man was a specific Israeli target.

Lieutenant Halim belonged to Force-17, an official security unit loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s Fatah president. A spokesman for the presidency said he was on leave at the time.

A car bomb explosion killed anti-Syrian Member of Parliament and journalist Gebran Tueni in Beirut this morning. Tueni is Publisher, Chairman of the Board, General Manager and Editorialist of AN-NAHAR (Arabic) since 01/01/2000.

Lebanon has been rocked by a series of bombings and assassinations since the killing of the former Prime Minister, Rafik al-Hariri, on 14 February. Latest victim was the Lebanese Journalist, May Shidyak.

Meanwhile, a new United Nations report into Mr. Hariri's killing has been handed over to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan.

The question is; for an anti-Syria blogger, should s/he feel worried? I guess they should. This crime is against all 'freedom of speech' writers and activists, and all kind of human rights.

Very interesting POV. Harini Calamur (TV producer, film maker, writer & teacher) writes:

When Osama asks for Bush and Blair’s head - he is a nasty terrorist.

But, when Pat Robertson, the founder of Christian Coalition and a former Presidential candidate and someone who makes our rabid right wingers seem like flower power children - calls for the assasination of democratically elected Venezualan president Hugo Chavez - I am sure that he would be reflecting the patriotic sentiments. This is what he said

You know, I don’t know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we’re trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it. It’s a whole lot cheaper than starting a war … and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop.”

Incidentally, the Christian Coalition is one of those entities that screams loudest about the sanctity of life !
It would be interesting to see the Bush Administration bring charges of ‘encouraging terrorism’ on Robertson. But, it will probably be shrugged off as free speech.
Which leads us to an interesting verb conjugation

My country has freedom of speech
yours has rabble rousers
and his incites people to commit terrorist acts.