Compass points

Posted on January 15, 2013 by David Guy

15 January 2013

Locating the inner voter

I have been called a fascist, a bigot and a racist (and that’s only by family). Also extremely rude. OK I’ll own up to that one. But look at the chart based on my opinions. I am represented by the red dot. I’m just about as centrist as possible to be! Where do YOU fit on the Israeli Political Compass?

Israel political compass

Click this text link to do the test yourself
Glick graphic for a larger view?

Domestic or imported (politics), Sir?

When Five Minutes for Israelwas created it was decided to avoid Israeli and domestic politics elsewhere. That was an acknowledgment that Israel advocates come from all over the political spectrum. It was not our intention to alienate any potential supporter. That surprises many outsiders convinced that supporting Israel transforms one into a right-winger.

As Nicky Larkin noted in a piece coincidentally titled My political compass:

So therefore in “coming out” as a Zionist, I have automatically been labeled as a raving right-wing nut job. This confuses me greatly. Do the people holding those political compasses not realize that Israel’s very foundation was as a socialist state? Interestingly, the only place I’ve found it generally acceptable to have the words “leftwing” and “Zionist” in the same sentence is in Israel itself. Everywhere else, being a Zionist is automatically equivalent to being a right-wing lunatic and a Fox News fan. 

One doesn’t have to visit the Emerald Isle to experience this. I have met many olim who have told me that back in America/Britain/Australia they were active supporters of the Democrats/Labour Party/Australian Labor Party. Then without moving their opinions as much as one centimetre rightward they land at Ben Gurion to discover they are now not only right-wingers but extreme right wingers! This is one reason I try to avoid labeling any position on the Israel-Palestine-Arab-Muslim conflict as left, right or even the most abused term of all – centrist. (Please read Israel vs. everybody, the Pyramid model: A multidimensional model for locating the elephants in the room† for more about graphically positioning this conflict on an international rather than domestic scale). This is also my reason for supporting the Political Compass’s attempt to provide descriptive analysis that steps beyond the totally misleading left/right labels. If the Israeli model corresponds to the general political compassset-up the further you are to the top of the chart the more authoritarian you are. Conversely the closer to the bottom the more libertarian. Left and Right remain the same.

Mao Zedung - Dalai Lama composite

Two left-wing faces of the same coin?
I don’t think so.

Left right out of the picture

I like to explain the concept like this. By general consensus Mao Zedong (Mao Tse-tung) and the 14th Dalai Lama are both left-wingers. Does that tell us anything we can use to predict behaviour? I don’t think so. But when you realise that Mao is very high (off the chart?) on the Authoritarian scale while the Lama is strongly on the Libertarian scale that a truer picture emerges. Just think about that when someone tells you that Prime Minister Netanyahu is an extreme right-winger but doesn’t think Mahmud Abbas has any wings, all.Or when some self described left-winger fails, heaven forbid, to describe Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh as a Fascist.

Action items:

Do the test yourself. The 2013 Election Compass, The Israel Democracy Institute

Further reading:

† Originally titled Always look for the elephant. For some strange WordPress reason I can’t save that title and it always comes out as Auto Draft. Search engines do locate it under the original title. Help?
Posted in 5MFI Blog | Tagged , , | Comments Off

A course in map reading III

Posted on January 12, 2013 by David Guy

 

BBC Gaza Map

12 January 2013

Jabaliya on the map

When you read BBC Gaza reports you can’t help wondering whether any of its reporters have ever visited. Or perhaps we should wonder if any of the subeditors ever thought to fact-check a story using simple, free, online sources? One thing is clear. The BBC can’t read maps — not even their own. (Not the first time. Take a look at A course in map reading I from the operation Pillar of Defence, in November).

The first thing that struck me when I read Gaza: Palestinian farmer ‘killed by Israeli gunfire was the following paragraph:

The Hamas-run health ministry said the 22-year-old man was hit by Israeli army fire near Jabaliya refugee camp.

I thought to myself, Jabaliya isn’t on the border with Israel. (We have discussed Jabaliya in the context of the oft-repeated but no less false claim that the refugee camp is one of the most densely populated places on the planet in Population games). Checking out the scale on the Google Map below shows the closest boundary to be around five kilometres (~ three miles) away. That’s a very broad definition of close. My, those Israeli snipers are good! If you check the map the BBC provides (top right) it’s clear that even they know this.

Use the scale to work out how far Jabaliya is from the border fence

Click for larger image
Use the scale to estimate differences

Perhaps that shouldn’t have been my first thought. What’s with this Palestinian farmer bit? Is this a way of suggesting he was innocently farming? (HT Hadar from BBC Watch). Not according to the Times of Israel:

The IDF Spokesperson said that the soldiers discerned a group of dozens of Palestinians approaching the border fence and attempting to damage it. The area immediately adjacent to the Israeli border fence is off-limits for Palestinians.

“IDF soldiers at the scene acted in accordance with the rules of engagement,” a military source said. It added that the soldiers fired warning shots in the air, and after the rioters did not distance themselves from the proscribed area, fired shots at the legs of the men and confirmed a hit.

The Times of Israel offers further information, identifying the Gaza health ministry official as Ashraf al-Qidra and the deceased as Muhammad al-Mamlouk. The official describes the incident as east of the Jabalya refugee camp. That’s probably correct although why not say east of Sheikh Za’id or Bayt Hanun, locations between the camp and the border? For that matter why not east of the city of Jabaliya? Perhaps refugee camp is more emotive?

Maybe it’s just a typo but isn’t odd how often BBC innocent mistakes seem to work against Israel? We should expect better from the world’s largest news organisation but we don’t. Given the Palestinian Health Ministry‘s reputation for being free and easy with the truth everything they say should be checked.

Further reading:

 Late addition: 

Accuracy issues in BBC report on death of Gaza ‘farmer’, BBC Watch, 4 January 2013

Posted in 5MFI Blog | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Population games

Posted on January 5, 2013 by David Guy

6 January 2013

Who wins the density prize?

The myth that Gaza is (one of the) the most densely populated places in the world refuses to die†. Perhaps its their refusal to come to terms with Israel that provides the evidence that they are dense?

Moving the goalposts

We were once told, and still frequently are told, that Gaza is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Sometimes, we are told that it IS the most densely populated place in the world. A laughable claim‡. That honour goes to the pressure cooker we call Macau (19,610 people per km2) with world trouble spot Monaco (17,676 people per km2) taking second place. Gaza with 4,750 people per km2 is an also-ran. Put another way, the population in Macau is four times denser than Gaza. It appears higher on the list because of a very flexible definition of what is a place. Including only sovereign states and dependent territories excludes literally hundreds of cities with higher population density. As frequently pointed out Gaza has approximately the same area and population and therefore density as urban battleground Montreal.

The more savvy Israel Haters are prepared to move the goalposts on the most dense claim. It’s not the Gaza Strip , they say. It’s Gaza City that is the most densely populated place in the world. A population of 449,221 is crammed into an area of 45 km2 giving a density of 9,983 persons per km2. How does this measure up?

Not all that well, it seems. It’s high but doesn’t come close to Manila in the Philippines with 43,079 persons per km2. It doesn’t even make it into the top fifty. FYI According to Wikipedia’s List of cities proper by population density Malé in the Maldives with 17,884 persons per km2 takes the 49th place. Do you see a pattern appearing? How low can a place be on the list and still claim to be one of the leaders?

This leaves the final goalpost migration. It is Jabaliya* refugee camp, they say, that takes the record of most dense place. My inclination was to say: so what? There’s an 1.4 km² area in Gaza that is really, really dense – big deal. It’s really difficult to find a list of dense places that are part of a city. Then I came across these lists.

List of city districts by population density

Wikipedia to the rescue – again

This is a list of the most densely populated country subdivisions (30,000+ inhabitants per km²) in the world. Most are districts of large cities and may vary significantly in regional importance. It may not be the most up to date list but it does put Jabaliya’s one of the most densely populated claims firmly in its place. In 21st place! Mathare North in Nairobi, Kenya has almost twice the population density of  Jabalya.

Subdivision City Country Inhabitants per km² Population Area (km²)
1. Mathare North Nairobi Kenya 119,055 55,158 0.46
2. Marine Lines Mumbai India 114,001 202,922 1.8
3. St. Anthony Parish Macau China 111,636 122,800 1.1
4. Anjana Surat India 110,875 4,435 0.04
5. Karanj Surat India 107,288 198,482 1.85
6. Dhaka Kotwali Thana Dhaka Bangladesh 101,693 210,504 2.07
7. Mlango Kubwa Nairobi Kenya 93,005 38,374 0.41
8. Gopipura Surat India 87,773 19,310 0.22
9. Mathare 4A Nairobi Kenya 87,209 18,776 0.22
10. Gatwikira Nairobi Kenya 85,323 24,991 0.29

— and in the middle of the pack —

Subdivision City Country Inhabitants per km² Population Area (km²)
21. Jabaliya Camp Gaza Strip Palestinian Territory 66,754 93,455 1.4

The top 10 most ‘crowded’ suburbs across Australia

Didn’t someone say Australia has the worlds least population density?

Suburb Local Govt Area Persons per km2
1. Elizabeth Bay Sydney 20,165
2. Rushcutters Bay Sydney 15,221
3. Wentworth Point Auburn 12,869
4. Ultimo Sydney 12,734
5. Pyrmont Sydney 12,458
6. Darlinghurst Sydney 11,651
7. Milsons Point North Sydney 11,701
8. Surry Hills Sydney 11,651
9. Bondi Waverly 11,162
10. Potts Point Sydney 11,128

In case you have forgotten:

  • Gaza Population Density 4,750 people per km2
  • Gaza City Population Density  9,983 persons per km2

Jewish Trivia

Any Aussies reading this? Six out of the ten (6/10) places on the greatest population density list have a Jewish connection. Either like Bondi, they have a significant Jewish population or like Darlinghurst, house the offices of Jewish organisations. And the moral is …?

Consider reading

The Million Person Gap: The Arab Population in the West Bank and Gaza, Bennett Zimmerman, Roberta Seid and Michael L. Wise, THE BEGIN-SADAT CENTER FOR STRATEGIC STUDIES, BAR-ILAN UNIVERSITY, Mideast Security and Policy Studies No. 65, February 2006. The authors believe that Palestinian population figures have been exaggerated by as many as a million. Inclusion of non-residents in the count; inclusion of Jerusalem Arabs in West Bank figures and an unexplained increase over ICBS†† records all contribute to the suspicion that any population statistics need to be taken with a kilo of salt.

† For previous attempts to explode the myth read Just dense and All wet in Gaza
‡  Wherever possible we use official figures. There is a great deal of guesstimate in this for many places. We don’t take into account the distinct possibility that Gaza population figures are absurdly  exaggerated, which, of course, pushes Gaza further down the list if correct.
* AKA Jabalia
†† Israel Central Bureau of Statistics

Posted in 5MFI Blog | Tagged , | Comments Off

The best of 2012

Posted on December 30, 2012 by David Guy

31 December 2012

Highlights of a productive year

Happy New Year from Five Minutes for IsraelA special thank you to those who have stuck with Five Minutes for Israel over the last year, especially those who shared and provided feedback. It can be lonely on the Blog.

Over the last year Five Minutes for Israel has produced full articles, many action items for immediate attention and some graphics. As the year draws to a close I thought that selecting what IMHO were the highlights was in order. Unfortunately many of the issues repeat themselves. So they are still a valuable resource against the Israel Haters. Most are full articles and one graphic. If you didn’t read them when they were published perhaps you might like to read them now.

I am not an antisemite Where have all the Jew Haters gone?
How many times have you heard this mantra  from one of the Destroy Israel Lobby –  ”Criticism of Israel is not antisemitism”? Apart from those Islamists/Muslims/Arabs who have no problem with Kill the Jews! are there any Jew Haters left? Continue reading →
Posted in 5MFI Blog | Tagged , , | Comments Off

Biased-BBC is back!

Posted on December 26, 2012 by David Guy

BBC Left and Islamic

26 November 2012

Biased BBC has found a new home

The new URL for Biased BBC is http://biasedbbc.org/ surely that should be biasedbbc.disorganised?

Really guys forgetting to renew your domain was beyond forgetful but we’re glad you are back.

Action Item:

Share the new Internet address everywhere. While bias on Israel is not the only bias of that organisation it is a major one.

Biased BBC http://biasedbbc.org/

Click graphic to access Biased BBC at its new address http://biasedbbc.org/

 

Posted in Action Items | Comments Off

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Posted on December 23, 2012 by David Guy
23 November 2012

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Five Minutes for Israel wishes its readers and all friends of Israel who celebrate these festivals a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Posted in 5MFI Blog, Trad Graphics | Comments Off

Top Conspiracy Theory 2012

Posted on December 20, 2012 by David Guy
Red Nose Mike Harris

Michael (Mike) Harris

20 December 2012

Even by Press TV standards …

Even by Press TV‘s nonexistent standards the accusation that Israel was responsible for the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut was far-fetched. But it is getting some play on the Internet so it’s important to have some background on the authors and sources. As way of disclaimer, Five Minutes for Israel has no information on the actual details of this terrible tragedy and only the deepest sympathy for its victims. We are attacking the messenger.

Who is Michael Harris?

More importantly. Who isn’t he? Michael Harris is not, as he and others claim, a former G.O.P. candidate for Governor of Arizona. It’s a claim that seems to be the basis of his credibility. In 2006 he ran in the primaries coming a distant third with 6.08% of the vote1.

The ‘big business’ claims he makes in his biography appear at the very least shaky. When I check on a company the first thing to inspect is the company website. None of the many companies he claims to have established and managed seems to have one. Not even a free, amateur-looking site. This is very suspicious.

Multi million dollar companies or even as he claims multi billion dollar companies tend to have prestigious addresses. Apartments in suburban Phoenix, Arizona tend to be the address of much less ambitious enterprises. So his candidate details that his company made a $10 Billion all cash offer to purchase all of Motorola Semiconductor Products Sector seems, at the very least unlikely2. Ditto his claim to have became Motorola’s vendor of choice, placing over $1.2 billion of capital equipment worldwide.3 Or to have made improvements in logistics decreased Motorola downtime by 60% and decreased mean time between failures by 90%3 You can guess what I think of drove an additional $300 million of value to Motorola shareholders3

Five Minutes for Israel has emailed the Media Centers of Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions for their comments. While I can’t depend on an answer I think we can guess what it will be if one arrives. I guess Motorola’s close connections with Israel must have skipped his attention.

All companies, no matter their size, are listed in the telephone book for the city they are located in. This doesn’t seem to be the case for any of the Harris enterprises. Mobile numbers from Motorola?

Harris put $100,000 of his own money into his campaign for governor just months after convincing a judge he was too poor to make full support payments for his only child. He was quoted as saying “said $1,000 a month “for one kid for a four-year marriage is pretty darn generous.”

His relationship with the consulting firm representing him also ended acrimoniously over unpaid bills.

I suppose that qualifies him for his day job as Financial Editor of Veterans Today.

Worth reading:

Is there any doubt he is nothing but a fantasist, at best or worse, a small time Frank Abagnale or Ferdinand Demara?

Gordon Duff

Gordon Duff

Who is Gordon Duff?

You might think that when quoting Michael Harris, former Republican candidate for governor of Arizona and GOP campaign finance chairman4 Duff might include a relevant BTW. By the way, Michael Harris is a fellow member of the Veterans Today and sits with me on the board of an allegedly Swiss company Adamus Group. Like the Harris companies the trail of this group is to say the least vague. Somehow this group has avoided the need for a website and avoided any publicity other than through Duff and those quoting his claims. Very James Bond!

According to Veterans Today:

Adamus, among other things, manages a series of organizations that oversee high security databases for national intelligence agencies, law enforcement groups and financial institutions.

Several Adamus group companies work in the area we broadly refer to as “disclosure,” managing the integration of “after next-gen” technologies.  Among those are energy sectors including a variety of fusion systems, advanced energy weapons and unconventional flight systems.

Adamus is privately held, quasi-governmental and operates under the authorities of several treaties and conventions.

In a moment of candour Duff has admitted that 40% of the information he publishes is knowingly false. Check out the video from about 44 seconds in.

If should surprise no one that Duff is a 9/11 Truther.The ADL has outed Duff as a major redistributor of 9/11 myths, in particular the one of the Mossad ordering 4,000 Israelis (or was it Jews?) to stay home that day.

I’ve always imagined the conversation:
Mossad: Mr Levy, don’t go to work today.
Levy: Who are you?
Mossad: You don’t know me but I’m from the Mossad.
‘CLICK’ Levy hangs up. Now repeat this 4,000 times.
Would you buy a conspiracy theory from these men?

I wouldn’t buy a used car from Duff and Harris. I wouldn’t even buy lemonade.

1,2 Source: Our Campaigns, Harris, Mike, Candidate Details
3 Source: Veterans Today Mike Harris Profile Bio
4 I couldn’t find any confirmation about his campaign financial chairman status in the Republican Party, either. Hopefully the Republican Party will confirm or deny this.

Posted in 5MFI Blog | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Don’t let al Salaymeh become al Dura

Posted on December 13, 2012 by David Guy
5-in-a-star Al Dura13 December 2012Borderguard policewoman shoots youth with replica gun.

Don’t give the narrative away

“I realized within seconds that if I didn’t act my colleagues would die,” she told Israel Radio. “There was no time to verify if it was a real gun.”

In any other context a policewoman who shot someone sticking a gun into the face of a fellow officer would be saluted as a hero. In any other context a person who pointed a replica pistol at soldiers/police armed with real firearms would be a prime candidate for the Darwin Awards†.

As I write riots have broken out over Hebron for several hours.

Salient

  • The youth’s name  is variously spelled Mohammed Ziad Sulaima, Mohammad Zaid Awwad Salayam and Muhammad al-Salaymeh
    • It has been reported that his brother was released from prison in the Gilad Shalit deal
  • He was shot three (3X) not six or more as has been variously reported
  • Nothing could be less relevant than that he was shot on his birthday
  • The story that he was out to buy a birthday cake is dubious
    1. He had a birthday party that morning
    2. The Tomb of the Patriarchs is hardly the place for a cake shop
    3. Who buys his own birthday cake, anyway?
  • He is described as teenager and youth
    1. At age 16/17  most Israelis are preparing for their compulsory military service. He was not a child
    2. The female Border Guard, herself, was only 20 years old
  • His weapon was not a clearly ‘toy’ gun.
    1. It was a close enough replica to fool people who are used to firearms. Judge for yourself‡
    2. In many jurisdictions close replicas of weapons are banned
  • The Border Guard acted in accordance with sensible regulations

Action items:

  • Use these resources to counter innocent child was murdered allegations
  • For her protection:
    • Only use pixellated identifying photographs e.g. top right (click for higher resolution)
    • Do not use Border Guard’s name

Toy pistol Hebron

Looks real enough, doesn’t it?

al Salyameh wioth birthday cake

Not this birthday cake – another one

Read on:

† Darwin Awards recognize individuals who have contributed to human evolution by self-selecting themselves out of the gene pool via death or sterilization due to their own (unnecessarily foolish) actions.
‡ I have not personally verified the source for this photograph. It will be properly labelled (or removed) when fresh information arises.

Posted in 5MFI Blog | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off

Happy Hannuka – Interesting times

Posted on December 8, 2012 by David Guy
5-jn-a-star Hannuka6 December 2012

Curses and blessings?

May you live in interesting times
May you come to the attention of important people
May you find what you are looking for†

The weeks before Hannuka have been nothing if not interesting.

  • Israel has suffered rocket barrages in reach and severity as never before but on the other hand has demonstrated how ineffectual they really are.
  • We won/lost a small war in Gaza.
  • Palestine was voted a state  in the United Nations General Assembly. The applications from Neverland, Gondwanaland and Taiwan are still pending. I think it is generally agreed we lost that one.
  • Israel announced building permits in Jerusalem. Win or lose? They are hardly shovel ready but then again neither were the jobs Obama promised.
  • Threats to withdraw ambassadors? Is it a win or lose if the countries deny they threatened?
  • Our ambassadors summoned for what? A spanking; an explanation session to allow Israel to put her case; a cup of tea while the summoners apologise for their support of a mafia-run, terrorist-lead, Jew Hating, Christian Hating statelets that absorbs foreign capital like a sponge but never seems to produce anything but more delays at airports? OK. I guess that isn’t really a question.
  • On the home-front some really good people weren’t invited to the party for the next election. I’m thinking of Benny Begin and Danny Ayalon. Some arguably good people took their toys and went to play in someone else’s sandpit. I’m thinking Amram Mitzne and Amir Peretz. I’m still wondering what the super Ashkenazi (former) Likud princess and the super Sephardi‡, genuine Socialist, former Histradrut leader have in common. Perhaps I’m being harsh here. The new faces may make excellent MKs.

I think you see the pattern here. With these thoughts in mind I set out to design the Five Minutes for Israel Hanukka card. Would it have a political message? If so what would that message be? Perhaps I should just go for a non political dreidel or sweet kids lighting Hannuka candles?

I realised that nothing I could possibly do would be non political. Hannuka is when all is said a festival of victory, of interesting times, of not doing what the other nations wanted of us and ultimately (this is not the place for a history lesson) of gaining what you want and then not knowing what to do with it.

So I decided on a map of Israel. But what should the borders be? Showing the 1948 armistice lines, which is what the 1967 ‘borders’ really are, is that accepting the Palestinian pretensions of grandeur*? Erasing those lines could easily be interpreted as support for a Greater Israel in Judea and Samaria. Do we really want to return to Gaza?

So I decided to erase all borders and labels. Maybe that’s the most political statement of all¹?

I’m waiting to be accused of supporting an Israel including not only the Palestinian Authority and Gaza but Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon!

Happy Hannuka from 5MFI

Five Minutes for Israel
wishes a happy Hannuka
to Israel and the Jewish people

† What would we ever do without Wikipedia? May you live in interesting times
‡ Is that politically correct anymore? I’m seeing Mizrachi more and more in the media.
* For the record. A sovereign state is a political organization with a centralized government that has supreme independent authority over a geographic area. It has a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. You could easily argue that Palestine has none of these things.
¹ What about Hebrew? Am I saying something by designing the card solely in English? Actually that was a design decision K.I.S.S.

Posted in 5MFI Blog | Tagged , , , | Comments Off

Red Card

Posted on December 6, 2012 by David Guy
Soccer MickeyUEFA under 21 Israel 20137 December 2012

Mickey Mouse petition

An online petition which had gained a total of  4,844 signatures† in apparently six months should have been a non-story became a story when the Guardian’s Chris McGreal made it one.  He wrote Footballers condemn plans to hold U21 European championship in Israel. It became a much bigger story when CiF Watch noted that Two footballers cited by Chris McGreal as endorsers of anti-Israel petition flatly deny signing it. Perhaps someone might have the time to email all the footballers and ask if their signatures are authentic but as the list is overwhelmingly Muslim players it is not impossible. Some could quite well say they would have signed had they known.

For the record F.I.F.A. the international governing body of the sport claims a total of 113,000 professional players worldwide at all levels. So even if the other signatures were real approximately 0.05% of professional soccer players supported the initiative to punish Israel by stopping the 2013 UEFA under 21 championships taking place in Israel.

As much as I object to adding even one signature to even a mickey-mouse petition such as this one it occurred to me to ask, How difficult is it to sign a false name to petitions of this nature? I took the liberty of enlisting the involuntary assistance of two former football players, French great and FIFA president Michel Platini and the ‘real’ Mickey Mouse.
Their ‘signatures’ and ‘comments’ are still up there. Perhaps they can’t be removed.

Unfortunately even mentioning the petition probably gives it a new lease of life. This I thought was a reasonable cost to expose the latest addition to fauxtography and Pallywood, claiming more support than actually exists. My apologies to M. Platini and the Disney organisation for the deception. Copyright to names, likenesses and images remains their’s. The comments are, of course, my own creation.

Michel Platini

Michel Platini

Ignore anything I have said previously and the illogic of petitioning myself.

Any Palestinian who engages in terrorism against Israel should be excused if he has ever played football. Football fields used to fire rockets at Israel or store explosives should have the same protection as mosques, hospitals and schools used for the same purpose.

Mickey Mouse silhouette

Mickey Mouse

Because I am a fictional character I feel I should support fictional Palestinian claims.

The Petition fisked

“For athletes in Palestine, there is no real freedom of movement1 and the risks of being detained or even killed are always looming before their eyes2” (Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Rajoub, June 20123). It took three months of hunger strike and the near death of a Palestinian footballer, Mahmoud Sarsak4, for the Israeli authorities to agree to a release deal in July 2012. This is a sportsman whom Israel held for three years without charge or trial under the ‘Unlawful Combatants Law’5, which is itself illegal under international law. Olympic squad goalkeeper Omar Abu Rois6 and Ramallah player Mohammed Nimr7 are also being held by Israel without charge. We maintain that a state which holds sportsmen as political prisoners8 is unfit to host an international sporting event. We, therefore, call on UEFA to withdraw the honour of hosting the 2013 European Under-21 championship from Israel9.

  1. They are not restricted because they are athletes but because a condition of conflict exists.
  2. The risks are many, many times multiplied when then actively engage in war or terrorism against Israel.
  3. How many other sporting organisations can claim a convicted terrorist as president?
  4. Charges of being an unlawful combatant linked to the Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine. Alleged that he had planted a bomb that injured an Israeli soldier.
  5. Illegal under international law is simply a mantra. There is a great deal of international law about Unlawful combatants.
  6. Omar Abu Rois was arrested for January 20 shooting attacks. The AK-47 rifles used during the attack were supplied by a Palestinian who is responsible for security in the Red Crescent.
  7. Not to be confused with Mohammed Nimr al-Madani, known for his virulent anti-Semitic writings, who was tortured to death by Syrian state security services in October.
  8. They are not political prisoners, although why athletes should be exempted from imprisonment for violent crimes is not clear.
  9. Platini wrote to the Israel Football Association in June to say that the country “earned the right to host this competition through a fair, democratic vote.”
Late news: Add Steve Mandanda, Jordan Ayew and Anthony Le Tallec to Didier Drogba and Yohan Cabaye as players denying ever signing the petition. Euro en Israël : une plainte déposée contre la pétition de Frédéric Kanouté, LYONMAG.com, 6 December 2012

†Correct to 00:30 7th November 2012
Mickey Mouse image in 5-in-a-star from ARTHUR’S Mickey and Minnie CLIPART
Photograph of Michel Platini from his website

Posted in 5MFI Blog | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off