Eugenio García Gascón on Israel's nuclear capabilities.

Público has published an article by Eugenio García Gascón on Friday, October 15, 2010, under the title Israel y la bomba (Israel and the bomb). Excerpt from the article below (translated as accurate as possible, between quotation marks):

"Of course, to allow Iran to build the bomb must be avoided (although to obtain nuclear energy for commercial purposes should be allowed). And the same should be told about Israel. There are trigger-happy politicians in the Israeli cabinet, like the Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman. Lieberman has expressed himself recently in an aggresive and bellicose manner, even regarding those Arab countries which signed peace with Israel. It would be right to take the bomb away from him and the West shoud be working to achieve it."

What I think is that there are trigger-happy Arabs and muslims who prompted Israel to arm itself. Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated publicly that Israel must be destroyed, and Arab countries attacked Israel in the past with the purpose of achieving such a mission. Iran and Syria also supply Hezbollah and Hamas with rockets. Egypt tried to achieve nuclear capabilities during Nasser's regime, employing nuclear scientists who had worked for the nazi regime before.

The question here is: would Israel have armed itself with nuclear weapons if its enemies hadn't attacked and threatened Israel before?

An example of an unbiased report on Israel.

Incredibly, it has happened. It's the first time since weeks or even months that I have watched a Spanish TV report on Israel which can't be considered biased. And the most extraordinary fact is that the report was broadcasted by laSexta Noticias and that it was made by Sal Emergui. In spite of this fact, Israel is neither criticized nor denounced in the report.

The report focuses on a rabbinical ruling regarding female Mossad agents engaging in sexual intercourse when necessary to achieve a mission. According to the ruling, such activity doesn't constitute a sin according to the Jewish religious laws.

More information in English about the issue, here.

Was Spanish activist Manuel Tapial shot?

According to an article published in ideal.es: El cooperante tiroteado Manuel Tapia[l] presentará la película 'Vals con Bashir' (The shot activist Manuel Tapia[l] will present the film 'Waltz with Bashir'). The truth is that Manuel Tapial was not shot when the Mavi Marmara was raided by the Tzahal.

Again, the Gaza flotilla has been defined as a "humanitarian aid flotilla for the Palestinians", in spite of the proofs against the activists and the lack of evidence against the Israeli soldiers who assaulted the vessels.

Casa Sefarad-Israel on anti-Semitism in Spain.

The Pew Research Center published a report about anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Spain, Poland, Russia, Germany, France, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. The report dates from 2008 and showed that 46% of the Spaniards had unfavourable views towards the Jews.

Worried about the results of the report, the Spanish Government made the Casa Sefarad-Israel (an institution centred on the study of Jews and dedicated to foment Spanish-Israeli relations) to take on the issue. Finally, a new report was published, which found the following results:

1.- 58.4% of the Spaniards think that the "Jews have much power because they control the economy and the media". Among university students this attitude encompasses the 62.2%, and among people "interested in politics" this attitude encompasses the 70.5%. All of this means that anti-Semitism in Spain is highly worrying and intolerable, due to its level and to the fact that it's higher among educated and informed people.

2.- 34.6% of the Spaniards have unfavourable or totally unfavourable opinions about the Jews. This attitude encompasses 34% of the far-rightists (who rate the Jews with 4.9 points in a scale from 1 to 10) and 37.7% of centre-left-wingers (who rate the Jews with 4.6 points in a scale from 1 to 10). This case is unique in Europe because far-rightists show less unpleasantness towards the Jews than centre-left-wingers.

3.- Among those who admit to be "unpleasant towards the Jews", 17% of them attribute this attitude to the "Middle East conflict"; 29.6% of them attribute this attitude to "their religion", "their customs", "the way they are", etc.; others among them attribute this attitude to "general unpleasantness", "the power" and "the money"; 17% of them attribute this attitude to reasons they don't know. This means that only a small percentage of the Spaniards show unpleasantness towards the Jews due to "the State of Israel and its policies".

Jewish religious traditions and history left out by laSexta Noticias.

On Thursday, September 9, 2010, laSexta Noticias broadcasted twice a news report on one of the most important Jerusalem's Holy Places: the one known as Har haBayit or Temple Mount by the Jews, and as al-Haram ash-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary by the muslims.

The report was first broadcasted at lunchtime. Helena Resano, the anchorwoman, made an explanatory introduction before the actual report by Sal Emergui was broadcasted. During the introduction, Helena Resano commented on the fact that this Holy Place is the Noble Sanctuary, sacred to muslims, but ommitted the fact that it also is the Temple Mount, sacred to Jews. She also reported on Ariel Sharon's visit to the site on September 28, 2000, as the main cause of the Second Intifada.

The actual report by Sal Emergui was then broadcasted. Only at the end was mentioned the fact that the site is also a Jewish Holy Place. But once this was explained, an interview with Muhammad Ahmad Hussein, current Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, was shown, in which he clearly denied the Jewish historical and religious ties with the site. Any single spokesperson of the rabbinical authorities has been interviewed by Sal Emergui.

The report was broadcasted again at dinnertime. Again, an explanatory introduction was made, in this case by Mamen Mendizábal, the anchorwoman. Again it was told that the site is the Noble Sanctuary, excluding the fact that it also is the Temple Mount.

Then was broadcasted the actual report by Sal Emergui. This time other words were used and the Jewish historical and religious ties with the site were excluded, while the aforementioned interview with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem was shown again. And again, any single spokesperson of the rabbinical authorities was interviewed.

This is the way laSexta Noticias has left Jewish religious traditions and history out.

Manuel Tapial's activities on Facebook (I).

Manuel Tapial, one of the three Spanish activists who were on board the Mavi Marmara, runs his own Facebook account. There we can find multiple examples about his political ideology. Now I'll provide nine of those examples through images collected during the past days. Click on the images below to watch them in high resolution. Translations are available, made as accurate as possible and between quotation marks.

1.- Manuel Tapial suspects his cell phone has been hacked by Israel, which he calls "Israhell". The text marked as #1 reads as follows:

"Erase my cell phone number from your datebooks, they've hacked it (Israhell?), and it doesn't work. I ask myself whether Movistar [a Spanish mobile phone operator] hasn't passed my [personal] data unlawfully."

Comments concerning such a suspicion support Manuel Tapial's hypothesis.

2.- Manuel Tapial's friend Ali Ebubekir Tockan tagged Manuel Tapial in a photo uploaded to Tapial's account. The photo consists of a meal. The text in English marked as #2 reads:

"As of February 2010 became the world's population 6.805.000.000. But, only 560 people made the journey aboard the Mavi marmara and able to eat at Gaza Cafe's famous meatball :)".

This is curious, isn't it? I mean, the so-called Gaza flotilla was officially intended to provide Gazans with food (among other help), but were in fact the activists providing themselves with tasty banquets instead of keeping as much food as possible in order to deliver it throughout the Gaza Strip?

3.- Manuel Tapial has been showing concern publicly regarding the humanitaran situation in the Gaza Strip, but a friend of his own who signs as Fdlp Palestina (a clear reference to the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine) uploaded a photo which shows Cuban dictator Fidel Castro meeting D.F.L.P.'s founder and leader Nayef Hawatmeh. Manuel Tapial himself was tagged in the photo, and his name (marked as #3) appears when you put the cursor above the photo. What about Tapial's concerns regarding the Cuban people, which is ruled by Fidel Castro? What about Tapial's concerns regarding the 22 Israeli high school students murdered by the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine during the 1974 Ma'alot massacre? Oh, wait a minute; Manuel Tapial supports Palestinian terrorism against innocent Israelis, as he himself declared once.

4.- Manuel Tapial relies on Gara's official website to spread his political ideology (the link is marked as #4). Please note that Gara is a Basque newspaper which has been showing support for the terrorist organization E.T.A. since it was first published in 1999 succeeding Egin, another Basque newspaper supportive to E.T.A. which was banned in 1998.

5.- In a photomontage marked as #5 and uploaded to Manuel Tapial's account by Osama Qashoo, one of Tapial's friends, Paul the Octopus can be seen predicting Hezbollah's victory over Israel. It's a clear message of support towards Hezbollah. What about Tapial's concerns regarding the suffering the Lebanese people had to endure during the 2006 Lebanon War, which was unnecesarily prompted by Hezbollah through the Zar'it-Shtula incident?

6.- A Manuel Tapial's friend who signs as Palestina Libre (which means Free Palestine) uploaded an image (marked as #6) to Tapial's account which explicitly minimizes the adverse effects derived from the rocket attacks on Israel by Hamas and other terrorist organizations. What about Tapial's humanitarian concerns about Sderot's 45% of children under the age of six, 41% of mothers and 33% of fathers who were diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? Does Manuel Tapial remember the drawings by African children about war? Please notice, Manuel, that according to a 2007 account by a seven-year old girl from Sderot, Someone has been wounded.

7.- A boycott against Israeli products is demanded by showing this image (marked as #7), in which a bar code corresponding to an Israeli product (denoted by indicating the number 729) is combined with a revolver. It's of course a manner of associating every single Israeli product to the alleged Israeli oppression of the Palestinians.

Now let's see: Manuel Tapial was recently worried about his cell phone, as indicated before. Well, Manuel Tapial's cell phone, like every single cell phone on Earth, has been built using many materials, including one known as coltan. Maybe Manuel Tapial should read a report which shows that there is much more blood on his cell phone than on any Israeli product.

8.- Manuel Tapial's friend John Erik Hanson uploaded this drawing (marked as #8) to Tapial's account. It shows the way in which happened the boarding of the Mavi Marmara by the Tzahal from the activists' perspective, in spite of the proofs against the activists and the lack of evidence against Israeli soldiers.

9.- Manuel Tapial linked a videoconference by David Duke. Duke's videoconference is intended to criticize Israel, Zionism and the Jews as a whole heavily. Please note that David Duke, an American citizen, is a white supremacist, a fomer Ku Klux Klan's member and an anti-Semite. And to have linked the video can't be considered the result of Tapial's ignorance, because he himself indicates this fact. The first comment under the link, written by Tapial, reads as follows:

"Be careful because this guy is a nazi, although what he says makes sense, it's necessary to know who he is."

Here is Amin Shiranai's answer to Manuel Tapial, being Amin one of Tapial's friend (it's the second comment under the link):

"I don't care about him being a nazi, this guy tells the truth, the fucking truth, the Zionists have trippled nazis' crimes, so I really don't care about what he thinks.."

Please notice Aupa Towanda's and Mukkader Bauer's answers to Tapial and Shiranai, rejecting David Duke in Spanish and English, respectively (third and fifth comments under the link, respectively). Both Aupa and Mukkader are Tapial's friends.

Tapial's explanation of the linked videoconference, which is marked as #9, reads as follows:

"Recommendable the visualization and spreading of this video ..."

Manuel Tapial and terrorism (I).

Manuel Tapial is one of the three Spanish activists who were on board the Mavi Marmara. On Monday, July 5, 2010, Spanish daily AHORA Leganés published an interview with him about the P.P.'s (People's Party, a right-wing, conservative party) branch for the municipality of Leganés (a city near Madrid, Spain's capital), which refused to condemn the raid conducted by the Tzahal against the so-called Gaza flotilla. During the voting process, Leganés' councillor Dolores Montoro (a member of the People's Party) wore two Stars of David. This is the interview (translated as accurate as possible, between quotation marks):

"Q. Leganés' P.P. has refused to condemn the Israeli assault on the Flotilla during the Voting Process.

A. I think that to affirm we attacked the Israelis comes from a supine ignorance. These statements discredit the P.P. by themselves. P.P.'s spokesman puts himself out of the Law through his words. It sounds like if defense of State terrorism had been made, defending a State which has committed a violation of the Human Rights and which has committed murders.

Q. What do you think about the P.P.'s councillor wearing two Stars of David during this Voting Process?

A. Leganés' citizens must know these facts. We could compare it with a member of E.T.A. showing the photographs of those killed by him during a Voting Process. That's the same indignation our families have been able to feel while seeing it. It's outrageous that somebody can defend a State which has committed a terrorist act, which has put our lives in danger and which has provoked nine deaths. It's outrageous.

Q. What would you tell this councillor?

A. [I'd tell her] to go to live in Israel."

E.T.A. (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, which in Basque means Basque Homeland and Freedom) is a far-left, armed organization which aims to achieve the independence for Euskadi or Basque Country (which would include two Spanish Autonomous Communities, Euskadi or Basque Country and Navarre, as well as the western part of the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques) through the use of force and intimidation; id est, it's a terrorist organization, delegitimized by most of the Basques, which has demonstrated many times it's able to kill, harm and kidnap members of the security forces, politicians, businesspeople, journalists and innocent civilians as a whole, through both selective and indiscriminate actions committed by the use of firearms and explosives.

Since E.T.A. was founded in 1959, it killed more than 800 people.

Before being expelled from the Basque Parliament and municipal councils by law, the members of those political parties supporting E.T.A. were able to defend the organization inside those institutions, showing photographs of E.T.A.'s members, refusing to condemn E.T.A.'s criminal activities and so on.

And for Manuel Tapial, refusing to condemn the Israeli raid on the Gaza flotilla is comparable to show support for terrorism, in spite of all the proofs against many of the activists who were on board the Mavi Marmara and the lack of evidence against Israeli soldiers.

But what really shocks me is that, in his point of view, a Spanish politician wearing a Magen David during a council meeting is comparable to a member of E.T.A. supporting E.T.A.'s terrorism during a council meeting. And he made this statement in a country which has been suffering E.T.A.'s terrorism for decades, as well as anti-Semitism for centuries.

Well, maybe Manuel Tapial should be informed that his own ideas are much more comparable with E.T.A.'s than a person wearing a Star of David, not only because the organization behind the Gaza flotilla, the I.H.H., has been linked with terrorist organizations by the Danish Institute for International Studies and the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, but also because E.T.A. and Manuel Tapial share a common ideology regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Manuel Tapial is a member of the Comité de Solidaridad con la Causa Árabe (Solidarity with the Arab Cause Committee). In its website we can find this article, written by Manuel Tapial himself. He states the following (translated as accurate as possible, between quotation marks):

"As an activist, I refuse to assume the official positions and to justify the massacre of civilians, and I refuse to condemn the legitimate resistance of a people under so brutal attacks. The tools of every people are those which are considered the most useful to defend themselves, and in this case I recognize Hamas' moral authority to defend the Gaza Strip, a zone where through free elections most of the people chose it to represent them in the Palestinian parliament. Poor Palestinians who chose the erroneous option. Don't we the Western countries agree on that kind of electoral system of one person, one vote?"

In the next paragraph he proposes to recognize the legitimacy of the armed operations carried out in Lebanon and Palestine, which he dares to compare with the armed resistance against Francisco Franco during the 1936 to 1939 Spanish Civil War and that against the nazis during the Second World War, and ends suggesting the disruption of Spanish-Israeli relations.

He ends his article with the following words: "Viva the Resistance, Viva the struggle of the Palestinian people!"

This comes from a pro-E.T.A. website. It's an article under the title País Vasco, una cultura de resistencia (Basque Country, a culture of resistance) which uses a language similar to Manuel Tapial's:

"E.T.A. continued with its activities after Franco's death.

During these days E.T.A. has attracted the attention of the media due to its car bombs and its actions against the Spanish government, which continuously derive on the escalation of the repression against the Basques, against revolutionary groups of resistance and even anarchists.

In spite of the fact that nationalism is usually implemented by the State to maintain its people in a situation of ignorance, the Basque nation, like others, is still absorbed by the powers of the capitalist western world (Spain and France).

The struggle for the freedom of the Basque people is important, being one of many battles against the fascist opression."

While Manuel Tapial recognized Hamas as a legitimate organization entitled to represent the Palestinians, sympathizers of E.T.A. (and E.T.A. itself) have been denouncing the banning of political parties (such as Batasuna) which support E.T.A. and try to appear before the public opinion as the legitimate representatives of the Basque people. One example is Segi, a pro-E.T.A. youth organization which protested against the aforementioned banning, as can be read in the same pro-E.T.A. website, in an article under the title Segi denuncia la ilegalización de Batasuna y la estrategia aniquiladora contra Euskal Herria (Segi denounces the banning of Batasuna and the destructive strategy against Euskal Herria, being Euskal Herria the country of the euskera, or Basque language).

Furthermore, E.T.A. and its sympathizers, and Manuel Tapial himself, support Hamas in a similar manner. The same pro-E.T.A. website published an article under this title: Solidaridad con la resistencia del pueblo palestino frente a las atrocidades del ejército israelí (Solidarity with the resistance of the Palestinian people against the atrocities of the Israeli army).

So, who are acting like supporters of terrorism, those who refuse to condemn the Israeli raid on the Gaza flotilla due to the proofs against many of the activists who were on board the Mavi Marmara and the lack of evidence against any single Israeli, or those who ally themselves with organizations linked to terrorist groups, while supporting terrorist activities and criticizing a State like members and supporters of E.T.A. usually do?

To portray the Magen David as a terrorist symbol... And then he pretends not to appear as an anti-Semite before the public opinion.