Video - European-funded Palestinian NGO glorifies plane hijackings, terror, and hatred of Israel and the US.

 
European-funded Palestinian NGO glorifies plane hijackings, terror, and hatred of Israel and the US.(PW).By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik.

Poem read by hosts of youth program on PA TV funded by the EU, the World Bank, Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden.

“Expect us always, expect us where least expected. We’re in every airport, and in every ticket… A small rifle in the hand of a small boy can kill the big one.”

Two teenage hosts on the Palestinian Authority TV program for youth Speak Up, which is co-produced with the Palestinian NGO PYALARA, chose to read aloud a poem that glorified plane hijackings and threatened Israel and the United States:

“People of Israel, don’t get caught up in arrogance, the hands of the clock will surely come round... Expect us always, expect us where least expected. We’re in every airport, and in every ticket. We emerge in Rome and in Zurich from under the rock… Our men arrive without warning, with the fury of thunder and the pounding of rain. They come in the Prophet’s robe and with Omar’s sword (Muslim conqueror). Remember, always remember that America, important as it is, is not Allah the Almighty and Omnipotent, and that America with all its strength will not stop the birds from flying. A small rifle in the hand of a small boy can kill the big one.”

The mention of Rome and Zurich in the poem is a reference to hijackings by PLO/PFLP terrorists. In July 1968, El Al Flight 426 from Rome was hijacked. In February 1969, terrorists attempted to hijack El Al Flight 432 before taking off from Zurich.

After reading the poem, the hosts sent greetings to NDC – the international organization that funds the NGO PYALARA, a co-producer of the TV program: “Today we greet the NGO Development Center - NDC that helps us discuss youth affairs.”

Palestinian Media Watch reported earlier this year that this EU-funded NGO glorified 91 terrorists on the same TV program. During a report on the official PA military funeral for the terrorists, the two young program hosts stated that “these [Martyrs] are more honored than all of us... They are the greatest role models for us.” The terrorist “role models” included over ten suicide bombers.

When PMW reported on this, PYALARA’s website listed several aid organizations as its donors, among them the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office, Save the Children UK and Cordaid.

Following PMW’s disclosure, Save the Children UK said it would “investigate” the matter. A week later, PYALARA removed all the donors’ logos from its website.

Since neither the EU nor PYALARA made an official announcement, it is unclear if the funding was withdrawn or was continued without public acknowledgement.

Currently, PYALARA lists as “special sponsors” NDC - NGO Development Center and the Swedish Olof Palme International Center. NDC is financed by the European Union, a donor consortium of Switzerland, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, the World Bank, the French government’s Agence Française de Développement, the Islamic Development Bank, the United Palestinian Appeal, and the private Palestinian organization the Welfare Association. [NDC website, www.ndc.ps, accessed Dec. 20, 2012]

The youth organization PYALARA also glorified and honored terrorists earlier this year when the organization’s other PA TV program Jerusalem Scenes visited the homes of three Palestinian terrorist prisoners serving multiple life sentences for planning suicide bombings that murdered many Israelis.

In 2010, PMW reported that PYALARA published an ad showing an ax chopping into a Jewish Star of David. At the time, PYALARA was supported by UNICEF, whose logo was also on the hate ad. In response to the ad, UNICEF then promised to “carefully review[ing] any proposed future partnerships with PYALARA.”

PMW has been documenting a recurring pattern. European countries, the UN and other well-intentioned donors fund programs that seem to be positive for Palestinian youth, only to withdraw their funding after PMW reports that these programs glorify terrorists or promote hatred. In this case, the EU may have withdrawn direct funding earlier this year due to PYALARA’s terror glorification, only to find itself funding the program again through NDC.Read the full story here.

Egypt - As NGO trial wraps up, fears for civil society’s future.

Egypt - As NGO trial wraps up, fears for civil society’s future.(EI). Sherif Mansour was safely ensconced in Washington, DC last year when the Egyptian government brought charges against him and 42 others in what has become dubbed “the NGO trial.” Yet he forfeited the comfort of distance and boarded a plane back to Egypt this summer to stand in the defendants’ cage because he felt that the stakes were higher than a possible prison term.

“I wanted to make sure that the trial did not further indict people in the NGO community,” Mansour says through an expanding cigarette smoke haze. “It’s not fair to Egyptian civil society to have to deal with the consequences of the case.”

Closing arguments in the NGO trial are scheduled for Saturday, and a verdict is expected sometime in December. But the December 2011 raid against foreign NGOs and the subsequent trial have already created an atmosphere in which large parts of civil society are more wary, even as Egypt needs them to be bold. “When legitimate international groups are subject to an armed raid, a travel ban and felony charges for teaching democracy, it makes this country a bad investment for foreign funding to finance civil society operations,” says Becker. “You have civil society ... walking on eggshells in this country right now. Despite the change in government, you still have NGOs that are being harassed,” he adds, citing examples from earlier this year in which organizations working on seemingly innocuous causes, such as helping orphans, had funds blocked by the government.
Zaree agrees that the trial is making donors reluctant to fund civil society activities, and further asserts that the new NGO law being considered by Morsy’s government could seal the lid over civil society, claiming that provisions in the draft bill circulating within the Cabinet allow the government to control the funding, internal management and board composition of NGOs.
“They want to convert NGOs from being independent entities to arms of the government,” he says. Despite this, however, many NGOS have continued to access funding from donors abroad, and most foreign NGOs continue to operate, albeit warily in some cases. Mansour, for his part, takes a broader view and considers how a guilty verdict would diminish Egypt’s democratic transition and human rights protections, particular for women and religious minorities, in light of an increasingly symbiotic relationship between the Muslim Brotherhood and the military. “It’s going to mean that civil society is not going to be engaged in our society for a very long time, and it’s going to threaten a lot of key elements in a society that’s being run by a religious authority and a military government,” he says.
His expression darkens. “Without [civil society] groups, we are putting our transition on the Iranian track.”
In an interview on November 1, U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson rightly said that “the American NGOs functioning in Egypt were carrying out their work in complete transparency and goodwill in an effort to support and develop Egyptian civil society.” If the government of Egypt criminalizes such activity, Americans will have learned a good deal about its intentions.Read the full story here.

Anger surrounds Obama's Administration's payout of NGO bail money in Egypt.

Anger surrounds Obama's Administration's payout of NGO bail money in Egypt.(BM).Cairo: Frustration and anger has surrounded the United States government’s decision to pay the bail for 19 American NGO workers in Egypt, which enabled them to leave the country late this week.
Activists and American citizens have voiced their surprise that US taxpayer money was used to release the workers from their court case in Egypt, which had sparked tension between Washington and Cairo in recent months.
The US State Department confirmed on Friday that they had indeed paid the $330,000 bail for each of the American citizens to be tried in the case.
“I find it simply unwarranted. As an American living in Cairo, I know that if I were tried, because I don’t have political connections, it would be different. This is a lot of money and wrong to use on a court case,” said one American English-language teacher in the Egyptian capital. He told Bikyamasr.com that “the Egyptian anger over the use of money to deal with a trial, however, wrong, shows that corruption and bribes are still part of Egypt’s daily life. No wonder they are angry.”
The travel ban on the workers was lifted this week and the State Department on Friday said 13 foreign workers – 6 of them US citizens – had left Egypt on a private plane.
Egyptian activists condemned the use of money to free the workers from the trial. Although they voiced anger at the proceedings in the first place, they argued that by using financial power to remove the foreigners from the country, was not the right move.“We struggle daily to fight against the system. What about the Egyptians on trial? Are they not as important?” activist and anti-military junta protester Yussif Ahmed told Bikyamasr.com on Saturday. The human rights worker called for justice “instead of hiding.”He argued that “by using money to release the foreigners from the trial, the case will not be of as much international significance and the Egyptian workers are now to face major difficulties as the trial continues.”
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that the money to pay the bail ultimately came from the US government, saying that the Obama administration had agreed to treat the legal expenses stemming from the incident “as part of the activities that the US government funds.”
“The NGOs paid the bail out of money that they received from the US government,” she said. “We agreed to this because the situation arose in the context of the democracy promotion work that they were doing that we had funded and supported.”Nuland said that it was up to the US citizens who had left to decide whether to return to Egypt to face the charges.It is unlikely they will return, leaving many Egyptians and Americans living in Egypt angry over what they have said was a move of corruption.
“This is unacceptable. Stealing away in the night shows the US is willing to accept the military control and forget about democracy and transparency,” added Ahmed.Hmmmmm........Under Islamic law, jizya is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria. The tax is/was to be levied on able bodied adult males of military age and affording power,(but with specific exemptions), From the point of view of the Muslim rulers, jizya was a material proof of the non-Muslims' acceptance of subjection to the state and its laws, "
Read the full story here.

Update - Egypt lifts travel ban on pro-democracy workers.

Update on Previous Post - Egypt lifts travel ban on pro-democracy workers.(BM).Egypt on Wednesday lifted a travel ban preventing 19 American and two German pro-democracy activists currently on trial in Cairo from leaving the country, judicial sources told dpa.
“Egypt’s general prosecutor ordered the cancelling of the travel ban on all activists,” the source said.A total of 43 activists are facing charges of receiving illegal foreign funding, meddling in politics and operating in Egypt without licenses. The non-governmental organizations involved include Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation and the Washington-based International Republican Institute (IRI).Only seven of the US nationals were still in Egypt, where they have sought refuge at the American embassy in Cairo.It was not immediately clear when any of the activists involved in the case would leave the country.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told lawmakers in Washington that the US had not yet received confirmation that the travel ban had been lifted, but was working with Egyptian authorities on the matter.The move came just hours after the panel of judges hearing the trial resigned from the case.
Presiding Judge Mohamed Shukri did not give a reason for his decision to request the appointment of a new panel, according to local television reports.However, experts noted that in Egypt judges can resign while hearing a case if they conclude that prevailing circumstances are not conducive to a fair trial.Shukri’s decision was made after Egyptian authorities reportedly asked him to drop the travel ban on the 43 defendants, according to local media reports, citing unnamed sources.
The case has caused a rift between Egypt and Western powers, with the United States threatening to withhold 1.3 billion dollars in annual military aid to Egypt, its key Arab ally, if the activists were put on trial.On Tuesday, Clinton appeared to anticipate events by saying Washington and Cairo were moving toward a resolution “very soon.”
The trial opened in a Cairo criminal court on Sunday and was adjourned to April 26 after the defence asked for more time to prepare.Read the full story here.

Egypt Demands Prisoner Swap: Terrorist Detainees for NGO Civilians

Egypt Demands Prisoner Swap: Terrorist Detainees for NGO Civilians.(BP).
Are the bitter fruits of Senator John McCain’s “diligent diplomacy” a humiliating prisoner “exchange”—innocent US NGO workers, for hardened jihadists, including the notorious “Blind Sheikh” Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman, who orchestrated the murderous 1993 World Trade Center bombing?
My colleague at Translating Jihad has fully translated an Arabic Al-Arabiya story entitled (pathognomonically), “ ‘Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman at Forefront of Egyptian-American Prisoner Exchange Deal.”

The Egyptian government began taking steps to respond with the American offer to release 50 Egyptians being held in American prisons–including Shaykh ‘Umar ‘Abd-al-Rahman—in exchange for the release of 19 Americans accused in the case of foreign funding of civil society organizations. This is according to what was confirmed by Major General Muhammad Hani Zahir, an expert in military studies and international counterterrorism.Zahir in comments to the newspaper ‘al-Masriyun’ said it was necessary for Egypt to exploit America’s weak position, especially after condemning its citizens in cases affecting Egyptian sovereignty over its territory. He added that Egypt should not permit this exchange to take place unless the American administration agrees to release more than 500 Egyptians being held in American prisons, of whom the Egyptian foreign ministry knows nothing.

If the crux of this story is accurate, it will represent a modern variant of capitulation to the anti-modern dictates of jihad warfare. Jihad, this ancient, but vibrant Islamic institution grounded upon hatred of the non-Muslim infidel, has long used captured infidels—including, prominently, non-combatants seized as “booty” during endless, unprovoked incursions into the lands of the infidel—to ransom in exchange for captured murderous jihadists.Read the full story here.

Judges resign in Egypt, NGO trial to continue despite state TV report

Judges resign in Egypt, NGO trial to continue despite state TV report.(BM).CAIRO: An earlier report on Wednesday by Egypt’s state television revealing that the trial of 43 NGO workers was to be abandoned has turned out to be false.
According to new information, the judges on the case have resigned, but the trial itself is expected to continue on April 26 as planned.
Egypt’s state television had reported on Wednesday morning that the trial of 43 NGO workers, including 19 Americans, was being abandoned. The case, over alleged illegal funding of NGOs in the country had sparked tension between Washington and Cairo and angered local activists.
The presiding judge, Mohammed Shukri, made a formal request to renounce the case, without citing a reason, according to the TV report.
Among those who had been on trial were 19 Americans, 5 Serbians, two Germans, three Arabs and the remaining Egyptians. Sam LaHood, the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who had made headlines recently after being barred from leaving Egypt, was among those charged.
The spat over American citizens being barred from leaving Egypt had left a diplomatic row between the military junta here in Egypt and the American government.
A senior State Department official said earlier this month that a “handful of US citizens have opted to stay in the embassy compound in Cairo while awaiting permission to depart Egypt.”The official, who was not allowed to discuss the matter on the record, would not say whether Sam LaHood, the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, was among those at the embassy.LaHood said that he feared he could be jailed for up to five years after being barred from leaving the country in late January.
LaHood and a number of other Americans were banned from leaving Egypt little over a week ago.
The younger LaHood told Fox News via telephone last month that an Egyptian judge claims he, along with the other Americans stopped, worked for an unregistered non-governmental organization and took a salary.“We’re kind of expecting the worst,” LaHood said.For its part, the White House demanded that Egypt “immediately” lift the travel ban on Americans.Hmmm.......In Other News Saudi Arabia Just pledged $ 3,75 Billion to Egypt.......Who needs U.S.Money?Read the full story here.More here.

Egypt refuses to let Dempsey take detained Americans with him, Calling Sam Lahood the 'prime suspect.'

Egypt refuses to let Dempsey take detained Americans with him, Calling Sam Lahood the 'prime suspect.'(IsraelMatzav).During a visit earlier this month, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey attempted to obtain the release of 19 Americans being held in Egypt on charges of promoting democracy. Dempsey even attempted to take them with him on his private plane but to no avail. "It appears that General Dempsey urged Egyptian officials he met to release the accused Americans and allow them to leave the country, so they may be tried in absentia," the Al-Ahram report said."The next day, the American request was even more persistent, with Dempsey saying he wanted to accompany the Americans on his private plane," said the report by a senior editor of the government's flagship newspaper.Al-Ahram reported that the officials who met Dempsey told him the case was a judicial matter and only a court could lift the travel ban on the suspects.
After the meetings, Dempsey's spokesperson had said the general brought up the charges against the 19 Americans, workers with NGOs accused of receiving illicit foreign funding, but refused to elaborate on the discussions.The prime suspect in the case is Sam LaHood, the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. He heads the Egyptian chapter of the International Republican Institute, one of the American NGOs implicated in the case.
Ray LaHood told US broadcaster CBS on Friday that "there are a lot of people in our government, really top officials in our government, working night and day to resolve this issue," according to CBS's website.Hmmmm..........."Prime Suspect" doesn't sound good.Read the full story here.

Egypt education reform back to AD 630?Salafi religious conservatives to lead Egypt education reform

Salafi religious conservatives to lead Egypt education reform.(BM).CAIRO: If religious conservatives have their way, educational reform in Egypt will reflect their strict and literalist interpretation of Islam.This will include separate programs for girls to teach them their “special roles and God-given obligations.”A member of the ultra-conservative Islamist Salafi Al-Nour party, Shabaan Abdel Aleen, will be chairing Parliament’s new education committee.Tasked with instituting much-needed reform to the country’s under-funded and under-performing educational system, the committee’s agenda will be important to the country’s future development.
The Salafi reading of Islam rejects speculative theology, considering the use of discourse and debate a foreign import from Greek philosophy. Salafis strive instead for a purer form of religious devotion that adheres to literal readings and dress and behavior from the time of the prophet, such as the all-enveloping black niqab with eye-slits for women and the short galabaya robe for men.
Beyond recommending that schools emphasize teaching skills most needed by Egypt’s labor market, the group’s al-Nour party website’s education platform recommends eradicating everything in contradiction with Islam. Their ideas include:

1. Curricula that conforms with Egyptian ethics and the moral values.
2. Hiring religious teachers to revise curricula to teach “true Islam” so students enter the world “understanding the importance of religion.”
3. Communicating that: “science, as a means to become closer to God, is not separate from religion.”
4. Developing curricula “distinctly suited to girls, commensurate with the nature of their God-given duty in society.”
5. Understanding that “not all teaching methods appropriate for male students are appropriate for female students.”
6. Teaching girls “their special role in society through specialized teaching methods that cater to their special nature.”.Read the fullstory here.

Hmmm......Better to pull back all foreign NGO's from Egypt and let them go back to 'their roots'.Read the full story here.

NGO workers, including 19 Americans, sent to criminal court in Egypt

NGO workers, including 19 Americans, sent to criminal court in Egypt.(BM).By Joseph Mayton.Cairo: At least 40 NGO workers in Egypt have been referred to a Cairo criminal court and have been charged with “illegal funding of a civil society organization,” judicial sources told Bikyamasr.com on Sunday afternoon.Among those sent are 19 Americans, 5 Serbians, two Germans, three Arabs and the remaining Egyptians. Sam LaHood, the son of US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who has made headlines recently after being barred from leaving Egypt, was among those charged.The spat over American citizens being barred from leaving Egypt has left a diplomatic row between the military junta here in Egypt and the American government.A senior State Department official said Sunday that a “handful of US citizens have opted to stay in the embassy compound in Cairo while awaiting permission to depart Egypt.”The official, who was not allowed to discuss the matter on the record, would not say whether Sam LaHood, the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, was among those at the embassy.LaHood said last week that he fears he could be jailed for up to five years after being barred from leaving the country earlier this month.LaHood and a number of other Americans were banned from leaving Egypt little over a week ago.The younger LaHood told Fox News via telephone last Friday that an Egyptian judge claims he, along with the other Americans stopped, worked for an unregistered non-governmental organization and took a salary.“We’re kind of expecting the worst,” LaHood said.Read the full story here.

U.S. Embassy Refuge in Egypt?

U.S. Embassy Refuge in Egypt?(PressurePoints).By Eliott Abrams.
There is no better summary of how U.S.-Egyptian relations have changed than news stories reporting that “a number of Americans whom Egyptian authorities have been barred from leaving the country have sought refuge at the American Embassy in Cairo.” They need refuge because they may well be arrested without this protection.
Barred from leaving the country? Refuge in a U.S. embassy, behind the Marine guards? Rather odd for a country that receives $1.3 billion a year in military aid. While Hosni Mubarak and his regime hated the American NGOs–principally Freedom House, the International Republican Institute for International Affairs, and the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs–for promoting human rights and democracy, under Mubarak matters never reached this point.
Two comments seem in order. The first is that the authorities, meaning the Foreign Ministry and Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), should have been given a deadline for resolving this problem when it arose on December 29. It has been over a month now, which is too long. Aid to Egypt should be frozen until these Americans can leave the country, and it should not be resumed until the materials taken from their offices are returned.
The second comment is that the person behind all these problems is clearly identifiable–and has been identified in the press. She is Fayza Aboul Naga, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation. She was appointed to this post by President Mubarak and has miraculously managed to hold on to it throughout Egypt’s year of turmoil. She is a one-woman wrecking crew when it comes to U.S.-Egypt relations, and the democracy NGOs have long been a particular obsession of hers.
If Egypt gets away with banning our democracy NGOs and threatening to jail their staff, if officials who lead such actions are later given warm official receptions in Washington, those NGOs may as well close up show: every undemocratic regime will start treating them the same way. We need to stand up for them strongly–and now.Read the full story here.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's son barred from leaving Egypt.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's son barred from leaving Egypt.(Fox).By Judson Berger.The son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is among several Americans who have been barred from leaving Egypt following a raid on advocacy groups last month.
Sam LaHood has been the director of the International Republican Institute's Egypt program since late 2010. The IRI's offices, as well as the offices of nine other nongovernmental organizations, or NGOs, were raided by the Egyptian government last month.
But the IRI found out over the weekend that the Egyptian government has gone on to create a "no-exit list" as part of that investigation. And Sam LaHood is on it.When he tried to fly out of Egypt on Saturday for what was described as a "routine trip out of the country," LaHood was told he could not travel, according to Scott Mastic, director of IRI's Middle East division."He was told by the airport official that they have received instructions not to let him pass through passport control," Mastic said.
Though he said the organization has not been able to see the whole no-exit list, IRI has learned that five of its members, including three Americans, are on it. Other non-Americans are also on the list. The existence of the list was confirmed by the group's legal counsel in Egypt, Mastic said.
The no-exit list is the latest development in the fallout from the raids, which the Obama administration has condemned.Given the existence of the no-exit list, he said the groups are concerned about “further escalation.”"We are very concerned about finding that there is a list preventing Americans from leaving Egypt," Mastic said. "We are actively working to ask that this no-fly list be lifted, be removed."Mastic said his organization has been told the no-exit list would be lifted, but expressed doubt – given that prior assurances that the Egyptian government would return confiscated materials so far have not been honored."Frankly, at this point, we don't have a lot of faith that that will happen in short order, because there's just not been any signs of positive progress since the initial raids," he said.LaHood used to work as a press officer in the State Department.Hmmmm.....Perhaps Obama could give them an extra few $ Billion?Read the full story here.