Katy Perry is a pop singer/songwriter who churns out annoying Billboard hits (“Firework,” “Teenage Dream,” “Hot N Cold”) that your tween-age kids love and you love to hate (yes, I speak from experience). She made news this week after tying Michael Jackson’s record of scoring 5 #1 Billboard hits off a single album.

She also made some little-noticed waves on Twitter that should be newsworthy.

In a response to a fan of hers on Monday, she tweeted:

Over the past 24 hours, all hell has broken loose — with Palestinian, Muslim, and progressive Twitter followers lashing out at Perry for her innocuous tweet asking others to pray for Israel. Here’s a small sample:

Many of her fans in Israel praised her for taking a stand. But alas, their praise was premature.

Late on Monday night, you see, Perry backed off. Pray for Israel? Neeevvver mind:

Not that she’ll be able to appease the unappeasable.

More from the peaceniks:

Baby, you’re a Dhimmi Work…

And this is the thanks Obama gets for campaigning for him? That might be exactly what Harry Reid hears from Obama just as soon as the president hops in his DeLorean and returns from 2008.

Politico:

The most powerful Democrat in Congress, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), on Monday night publicly rejected President Barack Obama’s decision to use a recent speech to lay out aspects of a potential peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians.

“The place where negotiating will happen must be at the negotiating table – and nowhere else,” Reid declared in a speech to an annual gathering in Washington of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). “Those negotiations … will not happen – and their terms will not be set – through speeches, or in the streets, or in the media.”

Hamas has joined Harry Reid and Israel in rejecting Obama’s suggestion that the 1967 borders be used as a starting point for negotiations. We’ll now wait for Chris Matthews to point out that all sides agreeing to disagree with Obama is part of the president’s ingenious way of baiting opposing parties into finding common ground.

As worked up as Reid got over this, you’d think that Netanyahu had just told him the Palestinians support de-funding cowboy poetry:

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

Watch live here.

Comment below!

Bibi: “Israel has no better friend than America, and America has no better friend than Israel…You got bin Laden. Good riddance.”

“You don’t need to do nation-building in Israel. We’re already built. You don’t need to build democracy in Israel. We got it. And you don’t need to send troops to Israel. We defend ourselves.”

11:30am – Bibi briefly interrupted by hecklers, handles them beautifully. “I take it at a badge of honor that we have these protests. You can’t have this in Tehran & Tripoli. This is REAL democracy.” Crowd erupts in applause, stands.

“In a region where women are stoned, gays hanged, and Christians persecuted, Israel stands out…free press, open courts, rambunctious Parliamentary debates.”

Jokes: “You think things are tough here in Congress. Come spend a day in the Knesset! Be my guest!”

Emphasizes true freedoms of Arab Israeli citizens. “Israel is not what is wrong about the Middle East. Israel is what is RIGHT about the Middle East.”

Standing ovation.

“15 years ago, I stood here and said that democracy must start to take root in the Arab world. It has started…holds promise of brilliant future of peace and prosperity. A Middle East that is GENUINELY democratic will be truly of peace. But while we work/hope for the best, we must recognize that powerful forces opposes this future, oppose modernity, oppose peace. Foremost is Iran.”

Attacks troops, subjugates people, sponsors terror worldwide, nuclear threat. Militant Islam could exact a horrific price from all of us before its own demise…The threat to my country cannot be overstated. Those who dismiss it are sticking their heads in the sand.”

Lack of outrage about the calls for Israel’s destruction are “met with utter silence.” Israel condemned for defending itself against Tehran’s terror proxies. Not you, not America.

Bibi recounts the only time sanctions intimidated Iran — “Only time Iran stopped weapons program in 2003 was when it feared military intervention.”

On Israeli resolve: “When we say never again, we mean never again. Israel always reserves the right to defend itself.”

Clarity: The debate over a Palestinian state is not really about the existence of a Palestinian state. It’s about opponents undermining the existence of a Jewish state.

Bibi calls for end to Palestinian brainwashing of children and engendering hate. Bibi says he is ready to compromise, accept a Palestinian state. Will give up land even though it is the historic home of Jewish people.

Calls on Abbas to say: “I will accept a Jewish state….these six words will change history….will convince Israel that they have a true partner for peace.” will a

In any real peace agreement, some settlements will end up beyond Israel’s borders. Precise delineation must be negotiated.

But “Israel will not return to indefensible boundaries of 1967.” Generous on size of Palestinian state, but firm on where borders lie.

“Palestinian refugee problem will be resolved OUTSIDE the borders of Israel.”

“Jerusalem must never again be divided, must remain united capital of Israel.”

“The only peace that will hold is a peace that can be defended. Peace must be anchored in security.”

“Peace cannot be imposed. It must be negotiated” — by those truly committed to peace. Hamas is not committed to peace. It is committed to Israel’s destruction. We will not negotiate with al Qaeda’s Palestinian arm.

Challenges Abbas: Tear up Hamas charter and “Make peace with the Jewish state.”

Bibi thanks America for unwavering support for Israel, and ensuring that flame of freedom burns brightly around the world.

***

..And now back to the Beltway’s regularly scheduled moral muddle and lack of clarity about global jihadi threat…

Notice how Netanyahu did not have to repeatedly invoke “Let me be clear” Obama-isms in his oratory?

That’s because clarity is the product of profound individual moral understanding. It can’t be conjured up by committee & fed through a teleprompter. There’s no faking it.

***

Related: An Anti-Israel President

Related: Dear Senior: Bibi In High School

***

Netanyahu has posted the full text of the speech. Read here.

Full video at The Right Scoop. Watch here.

President Obama met with the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu yesterday. The body language during the awkward photo op said it all.

If you missed it, below are Benjamin Netanyahu’s remarks following President Obama’s call to return to 1967 borders in a speech that could at least partly be described as Cialis for Jimmy Carter. Netanyahu’s response is best summed up with one sentence: “Peace based on illusions will crash upon rocks of reality”…

According to polls on Election Day 2008, around 77% (give or take) of Jewish voters pulled the lever for Obama. Will that drop in 2012? If not somebody should have more explaining to do than Arnold Schwarzenegger on Father’s Day, but I won’t hold my breath.

Dan Friedman at Big Peace turns it around to put Obama’s call to return to 1967 borders into perspective for many Americans with this: Netanyahu Urges U.S. Return To 1845 Borders. I wrote “many” Americans instead of “all” because there are some who would love the idea.

And what discussion of world politics wouldn’t be complete without finding out what a rock star thinks about it all? This one’s pretty good though. Gene Simmons, who was born in Israel, doesn’t like the concept of “1967 borders”… to say the least:

(h/t HAP and Right Scoop)

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

Last month, a California Congressman distributed talking points among the ranks stressing Obama and the Democrats “unprecedented” support for Israel:

The July 22 memo from Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Foreign Affairs, declared that the backing from Obama and the House Democrats have been unprecedented.

“I think you will find [this document] useful to make the case that House Democrats and the President are as good if not better than any Congress or Administration that has come before,” Berman, who is Jewish, said in an e-mail to Democrats in Congress.

Meanwhile, across the ocean:

Washington is funding an ad campaign in Israel featuring billboards of Palestinian officials asking: “We are partners — what about you?”

The campaign launched Sunday includes the faces of senior Palestinian Authority officials Saeb Erekat, Jibril Rajoub and Yasser Abed Rabo, and Riad Malki, Palestinian foreign affairs minister, Yedioth Aharonoth said.

The aim of the campaign is to persuade Israelis that peace partners on the Palestinian side truly exist, and calls for support of a two-state solution, the Tel Aviv newspaper said.
[...]
The campaign has raised a few eyebrows in Israel.

“We are talking about a Palestinian Authority campaign funded by the American government,” an Israeli Foreign Ministry official was quoted saying.

The UPI reports that about $250,000 US dollars have been spent on the billboard campaign in Israel (I’d ask how much is being spent to send the same “we’re your peace partner” message to the Palestinians, but I’m guessing I know the answer).

(h/t Israel Matzav)

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

Michigan State University seems to have a problem. It has failed to teach its student agitators how to engage in civil discourse with opponents.

Flashback: December 1, 2006 – Mob rule at Michigan State University

Flashback: January 26, 2009 – 3 students arrested in Gaza protest

Two of those students, who were charged with trespassing during an anti-Israel protest at Michigan Democrat Sen. Carl Levin’s office in the incident last year, have now been implicated in an appalling assault on Levin today, via the Detroit Free Press:

U.S. Sen. Carl Levin got an apple pie – no whipped cream or ice cream on top either – in the face this morning during a question-and-answer session for the Mecosta County Democrats at a Big Rapids deli after being criticized by a young man for his stance on foreign policy and defense of Israel.

Witnesses at Pepper’s Café and Deli said as the Detroit Democrat who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee asked the audience to let the man have his say, a young woman circled behind him and squashed a pie into the 76-year-old Levin’s face.

…Big Rapids police said the woman, 22-year-old Ahlam Mohsen of Coldwater was arrested not far from the deli and charged with assault and disorderly conduct. It was not immediately clear this afternoon if she was still being held.

Nico Rubello, a reporter for the Big Rapids Pioneer, said Levin stuck around and answered more questions after the incident. His newspaper reported that the man who asked the question was Max Kantar, 23, of Big Rapids. It also quoted Mohsen as saying, “We wanted to target Levin today to send a message that liberals and Democrats are just as implicated in the violence (of war) as the Republicans.”

Pathetic. Levin issued a statement noting that these punks only hurt themselves — a point I’ve made for years after repeated physical assaults by the Left on conservative speakers and public figures.

But don’t look for any hysterical columns from Krugman or Rich on the “insane rage” of campus Israel-haters any time soon.

***

Flashback: Tomato Man: Another addition to the Unhinged mugshot collection

In light of the fact that all problems are solved in the United States and our debt and spending are under control, President Obama yesterday pledged $400 million in U.S. aid to the Palestinian territories. The money was pledged during a meeting between Obama and Mahmoud Abbas.

Obama said he would not meet with the CEO of BP because “he’s going to say all the right things to me, I’m not interested in words, I’m interested in actions,” so it’s nice to see him have such confidence in Abbas to be honest and forthright in his ultimately successful attempt to get his hands on hundreds of millions of American taxpayer dollars.

Cassy Fiano calls it a “terrorist stimulus package,” and if it is, the only reason for optimism is the hope that a terrorist stimulus will work as well as the stimulus package. If Sheriff Biden is in charge of making sure the aid works as intended, Abbas is screwed.

But remember, the $400 million is just a “down payment”:

The Obama administration’s promise of aid includes money to increase access to clean drinking water, create jobs and build schools and affordable housing. State Department officials called the projects “a down payment” on the U.S. commitment to improving life in Gaza.

Last year, U.S. officials pledged a total of $900 million for Gaza and the West Bank, but acknowledged the difficulty of distributing the funds, especially because Hamas controls Gaza and is considered a terrorist organization. The aid announced Wednesday may be distributed through organizations performing relief work, State Department officials said.

Sure. This aid will be different… it won’t be handed to the guys in the “Hamas” shirts, but rather to the nice folks wearing the “samaH” shirts (inability to recognize a t-shirt turned inside-out is a time-honored skill that’s been handed down through generations of United Nations aid distributors).

Rep. Mike Pence of Indiana isn’t happy with any of this, and asks Obama what I’d consider the rhetorical question of the week: “Whose side are you on?” (h/t Cubachi):

Here are some things the media doesn’t report about Gaza. It ain’t all misery and Israeli-induced dispair.

According to exit polling on election day 2008, 78% of Jewish voters went for the US presidential candidate with a background that suggested he would empathize with the Muslim point of view (and I’m putting that so mildly that it borders on beyond sarcasm). I’m not Jewish, so if three-quarters of American Jewish folks don’t mind, maybe I shouldn’t be as concerned as I am. We’ll see what the numbers look like after the 2012 election.

**Written by guest-blogger Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

When Israeli commandos boarded the first “freedom flotilla” boat, the Mavi Marmara, they were attacked with pipes, metal rods and chairs (the WWF wants their stuff back guys), and the result was nine dead boaters who were amazingly well armed for “peace activists.” It was also subsequently discovered that the majority of those on board who attacked the IDF had links to terror organizations.

Fast forward the tape to early this morning. Another flotilla ship, the Rachel Corrie — named after the left-wing “peace activist” who once burned an American flag and was later run over and killed by an Israeli tank while acting as a “human shield” — was chugging toward the blockade. This time though, the ship was boarded without incident. Early reports are that people on the ship were in contact with the Israelis and permitted the ship to be boarded.

I’m only guessing that this time the “activists” saw to it that the Rachel Corrie was loaded with priests, nuns, boy scouts and cute puppies:

The boarding of the Rachel Corrie containing activists and aid for Gaza was described by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Saturday as a quiet operation. Netanyahu was quick to distinguish between the boat of Irish and Malaysian activists and the Turkish-sponsored Mavi Marmara which was boarded May 31 in an incident that left nine dead and scores wounded.

“The different outcome we saw today underscores the difference between peace activists who we disagree with but respect their right to express their different opinion and flotilla participants [on the Mavi Marmara] who were violent extremist supporters of terrorists,” said Netanyahu.

Below is a video of this morning’s boarding — thankfully, this was quite a difference from the previous one — non-violence begets non-violence:

Meanwhile, here’s a real surprise — a mosque will be built in New York near Ground Zero where a different freedom flotilla took down the World Trade Centers and murdered thousands, and guess what else at least one of the people who getting the Ground Zero “in your face, America” mosque done is involved in?

The imam behind a proposed mosque near Ground Zero is a prominent member of a group that helped sponsor the pro-Palestinian activists who clashed violently with Israeli commandos at sea this week.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is a key figure in Malaysian-based Perdana Global Peace Organization, according to its Website.

Perdana is the single biggest donor ($366,000) so far to the Free Gaza Movement, a key organizer of the six-ship flotilla that tried to break Israel’s blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip Monday.

**Written by guest-blogger Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe

***

Scroll down for updates…at least three more Jew-bashing martyrdom ships on the way…U.N. condemns Israeli actions, calls for release of ships…

From the IDF YouTube channel, a video counter-narrative of the weekend “Freedom Flotilla” furor you won’t see in the Israel-bashing press:

Video taken by IDF naval boat shows the passengers of the Mavi Marmara, one of the ships in the ‘Free Gaza’ Flotilla, violently attacking IDF soldiers who were trying to board the ship after having sent repeated requests for the boat to change course.

The ‘Free Gaza’ Flotilla had publicly insisted on their non-violent intentions, however their violent attack on the IDF soldiers was clearly premeditated. They had knives, metal rods, firebombs and other items ready to use.

Many of the IDF soldiers were armed with…paintball guns.

Jonathan Schanzer reports on the terror financiers behind the peace thug flotilla:

The Turkish organizers of the Gaza Strip-bound flotilla that was boarded this morning by Israeli commandos knew well in advance that their vessels would never reach Israeli waters. That’s because the organizers belong to a nonprofit that was banned by the Israeli government in July 2008 for its ties to terrorism finance.

The Turkish IHH (Islan Haklary Ve Hurriyetleri Vakfi in Turkish) was founded in 1992, and reportedly popped up on the CIA’s radar in 1996 for its radical Islamist leanings. Like many other Islamist charities, the IHH has a record of providing relief to areas where disaster has struck in the Muslim world.

However, the organization is not a force for good. The Turkish nonprofit belongs to a Saudi-based umbrella organization known to finance terrorism called the Union of Good (Ittilaf al-Kheir in Arabic). Notably, the Union is chaired by Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi, who is known best for his religious ruling that encourages suicide attacks against Israeli civilians. According to one report, Qardawi personally transferred millions of dollars to the Union in an effort to provide financial support to Hamas.

In 2008, the Israelis banned IHH, along with 35 other Islamist charities worldwide, for its ties to the Union of Good. This was a follow-on designation; Israelis first blocked the Union of Good from operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2002.

Interestingly, the Union of Good may not only be tied to Hamas. Included in the Israeli list of 36 designees was the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO). In 2006, both the U.S. government and the United Nations designated the IIRO branch offices in Indonesia and the Philippines for financing al Qaeda.

Melanie Phillips has more on the Islamic terror ambush and the jihadis’ media sympathizers:

The notion – uncritically swallowed by the lazy, ignorant and bigoted BBC and other western media – that the flotilla organisers are ‘peace activists’ is simply ludicrous. This research by the Danish Institute for International Studies details the part played by the IHH in Islamist terror in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Chechnya. According to the French magistrate Jean-Louis Bruguiere testifying at the Seattle trial of would-be al Qaeda Millenium bomber Ahmed Ressamin, the IHH had played ‘[a]n important role’ in the al Qaeda Millenium bomb plot targeting Los Angeles airport. It was also involved in weapons trafficking, and played in addition a key role in galvanizing anti-Western sentiment among Turkish Muslims in the lead-up to the 2003 war in Iraq. ‘Peace activists’ these people most certainly are not.

And this flotilla was but the latest jihadi attack, deploying the Islamists’ signature strategy of violence and media manipulation. Here from MEMRI (via Just Journalism) is a clip showing the hysteria against Israel being whipped up on board before the ships set sail, with the chanting of intifada songs about ‘Khaybar’ – the iconic slaughter of Jews by Muslims in the 7th century which is used as a rallying cry to kill the Jews today — and threats of ‘martyrdom’. This was not merely a propaganda stunt, but a terrorist attack.

Indeed, here’s the Jew-killing warm-up chant alluding to Khaibar and the return of the “army of Mohammed:”

It’s a chant sung by jihadists here in the U.S., too. Know your history, know your enemy:

Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews.
The Army of Muhammad will return
Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews.
The Army of Muhammad will return
Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews.
The Army of Muhammad will return
Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews.
The Army of Muhammad will return
Hey hey hey, hey hey hey.
Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews.
The Army of Muhammad will return
Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews.
The Army of Muhammad will return
Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews.
The Army of Muhammad will return
Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews.
The Army of Muhammad will return
We will crawl and fight.

With our blood, we will fight.
We will crawl and fight.
With our blood we will fight.
Ah, Ah.
You will not cross over my blood, over my blood.
You will not live in my homeland, in my homeland.
You will not cross over my blood, over my blood.
You will not live in my homeland, in my homeland.
Death to you…under the ground,
and glory to us above the ground.
Death to you under the ground,
and glory to us above the ground.

***

Right on cue, here comes the U.N. Security Council to condemn Israel.

And right on cue, here come the worldwide protests, via John Hinderaker at Power Line.

Speaking of useful idiots, William Jacobson has a round-up of the left-o-sphere’s usual Israel-hating suspects.

Doug Ross has more on the “humanitarian” cover for this martyrdom operation.

***

Update: There’s another jihadi ship on the way. Israel says it’s ready:

Israel’s Navy is ready to stop another aid ship headed to Gaza, a commander said on Tuesday, playing down the prospect of his men shying from confrontation after their bloody seizure of a Turkish vessel a day earlier.

Israel’s Army Radio reported that the MV Rachel Corrie, a converted merchant ship, would reach Gazan waters by Wednesday.

A Marine lieutenant who was not named told Army Radio that he expected an easy takeover of the ship.

Yes, it’s named after that Rachel Corrie.

This report says there are a total of at least three more vessels on the way.

The U.N. Security Council wants Israel to release the ships and passengers it has in custody:

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned acts which resulted in the loss of civilian lives on ships carrying pro-Palestinian campaigners and aid to Gaza, and called for an impartial investigation into Israel’s deadly raid.

In a statement, the Security Council also called for the immediate release of 400 international activists and the six ships being held by Israel.

…Netanyahu voiced regret at the deaths but vowed to maintain the three-year-old embargo to stop Iranian-backed Hamas from bringing arms to Gaza.

That pledge could soon be tested. Israel’s Army Radio said the aid ship MV Rachel Corrie, named after an American activist killed by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip in 2003, would approach the port of Gaza imminently. A marines commander told the station his men were “ready” to intercept the ship.

***

And nope, as Allahpundit at Hot Air notes, no U.N. condemnation of North Korea yet.

***

Charles Krauthammer on Monday night’s Special Report on FNC:

CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: The fundamental deception here is the use of the word “humanitarian.” As we saw, humanitarians don’t wield iron clubs and would have killed the Israelis had the Israelis not drawn their pistols in self-defense. But there’s a larger issue here. What exactly is the humanitarian crisis that the flotilla was actually addressing? There is none. There’s no one starving in Gaza. The Gazans have been supplied with food and social services, education, by the U.N., by UNRWA, for 60 years in part with American tax money. Second, when there are humanitarian needs, the Israelis allow every day food and medicine overland into Gaza.

The reason that it did not want to allow this flotilla is because, as the spokesman for the flotilla said herself, this was not about humanitarian relief, it was about breaking the blockade. And the reason the Israelis have a blockade is because they only want to allow humanitarian supplies and not weaponry. Look, the proof of that is the fact that if you look at a map of Gaza, you’ll see that Israelis only control three sides of this rectangle. There’s a fourth side on the Egyptian side. So it is an Egyptian-Israeli blockade. The Egyptians have the same problem with Gaza. People accuse Israelis of having a blockade because they’re racist, they’re anti-Muslim, anti-Arab. The Egyptians are Muslim and Arab, and they’ve gone to war three times on behalf of the Palestinians.

So why do they have exactly the same blockade? Because Gaza is run by Hamas, a terror entity that wants to import weaponry and resume the war against Israel. The man who made the announcement that we saw earlier, explaining the commando raid, is the defense minister of Israel. He’s not right winger. He’s Ehud Barak, who’s the leader of Labor, the party of Yitzhak Rabin, Golda Meir, the party of the left, the man who 10 years ago this summer offered the Palestinians a peace agreement that would provide a Palestinian state, division of Jerusalem and an end of the conflict. The Palestinians said no, and Gaza two years ago declared war on Israel. That’s why you’ve got a blockade, and the flotilla was not about humanitarian needs. It was about smashing the blockade.

More at Newsbusters.

The more Jeremiah Wright opens his mouth, the more he sounds like…well, James Von Brunn. Or vice versa.

Sammy Benoit points to the new “clarification” of Rev. Wright’s “Them Jews” jibe:

Yesterday President Obama’s former religious mentor the Rev. Jeremiah Wright said “Them Jews Aren’t Going to Let Him [Obama] Talk To Me” Today he corrected himself. When Interviewed on “Make it Plain” with Mark Thompson, he said I didn’t mean ALL Jews just Zionists.

Ohhhhhhh. Well, that clears things up!

More from Political Punch:

Wright then criticized Israel, saying, “I quote Jews when I say this,” and referencing books by Jewish authors such as “Judaism Does Not Equal Israel: The Rebirth of the Jewish Prophetic” by Marc Ellis and “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Ilan Pappe.

“I’m talking about facts, historical facts,” Wright said. “I’m not talking about emotionally charged words or the fact that like Jimmy Carter’s book, that because he used the word that Jews use, ‘apartheid,’ he gets labeled anti-Semitic.”

“They can jump on that one phrase if they want to,” Wright said, “but they can’t, they can’t undo history. They can’t undo the facts of Jewish historians and Jewish theologians who write about what’s going on, who write about the enormous influence that AIPAC has on our government and on United States policy and the United Nations.”

(Wright did not identify who “they” was.)

***

Background: See Allahpundit’s on-target post, “Guy who attended Jeremiah “Them Jews” Wright’s church for 20 years: We must be vigilant about anti-semitism”

But if it’s Hamas sympathizers burning Obama flags to protest Israel, well, they deserve our “empathy.”

So much for restoring America’s good name in the world, eh, Barry? (Hat tip: Cory)

(More Reuters photos of protesters running over Obama flags with their cars here.)

On a related note, UNICEF decries Palestinian civilian casualties while ignoring Hamas human shield tactics and theater of jihad with Palestinian children in the lead role.

UNICEF, you should be warned, recently signed a partnership agreement with a jihadi-sympathizing charity tied to al Qaeda and the Taliban:

An Islamic charity with ties to Al Qaeda and the Taliban is now collaborating with an unlikely new partner: UNICEF, the United Nations’ Children’s Fund.

UNICEF has signed a “memorandum of understanding” with the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO), a Saudi charity of massive scope that keeps branches in more than 20 countries and has over 100 offices worldwide.

According to UNICEF, it will be teaming with the charity’s domestic Saudi branch to “promote children’s rights, health, equality and education,” in the oil-rich kingdom — but the organization has been doing more than just charity work.

The U.S. Treasury Department has designated the IIRO’s branches in the Philippines and Indonesia as terrorist entities for funding and supporting terrorist groups that have killed hundreds in East Asia. The Philippine branch was founded by Usama bin Laden’s brother-in-law, Muhammad Jamal Khalifah, and has long had ties to Al Qaeda.

The U.N. itself says that both the Indonesian and Philippine branches of IIRO are tied to Al Qaeda and the Taliban, and has singled them out for an asset freeze, arms embargo and travel ban on members of the groups.

But that hasn’t stopped the U.N. from recognizing the Saudi office as a legitimate relief group, nor has it stopped UNICEF — or other U.N. agencies — from working with it in the past.

According to Chris de Bono, UNICEF’s chief of media, “UNICEF does not and will not engage with” the two East Asian branches. Its new partnership is with the main Saudi branch only, and UNICEF will coordinate relief primarily for children living within Saudi Arabia, de Bono said.

The U.S. government also noted the distinction between the head office and the international branches.

“We are monitoring the situation closely, but we also understand the difference between the IIRO main headquarters and its branches,” Carolyn Vadino, deputy spokeswoman for the U.S. mission to the U.N., wrote in an e-mail to FOX News.

“It is the two branches in question that are designated and have ties to terrorists and at this time we have been assured that they are separate entities,” Vadino wrote.

But some critics are not convinced the distinction is so clear.

“We have to look a lot harder at whether or not an organization that’s headquartered in one country is really disconnected from operations which bear the same name in other countries and are referred to as branches,” said Anne Bayefsky, senior editor of Eye on the U.N., a watchdog group.

According to the Treasury Department, the head of the IIRO’s Eastern Province branch has been directly funding the two terror-tied branches — straight from his office in Saudi Arabia.

Joe the Plumber is taking on a new job.

The Ohio man, who became famous during the U.S. presidential campaign after asking Barack Obama about his tax plan, is heading to Israel as a war correspondent for a conservative Web site called pjtv.com.

Dubbed “Joe the Plumber” by McCain’s campaign, Samuel “Joe” Wurzelbacher was held up as an example of an American worker who would be hurt economically by Obama’s election.

Wurzelbacher says he’ll spend 10 days covering the fighting and explaining why Israeli forces are mounting attacks against Hamas.

He tells WNWO-TV in Toledo that he wants “go over there and let their ‘Average Joes’ share their story.”

(link)

Predicting death wishes for Joe from the left side of the blogosphere in 3, 2, 1…

PJTV’s Gaza Update page is here.

For context, watch this video from the UNRWA boys’ school in Gaza in 2007:

Terrorists from the Gaza Strip fire mortars from an UNRWA boys’ school in Gaza on 29 Oct. 2007. Hamas and other terror organizations in Gaza make deliberate use of civilians living in populated areas as human shields.

Here’s another clip.

Fast forward to 2009:

An Israeli official says Palestinian militants fired on Israeli soldiers from the courtyard of a U.N. school where dozens of people died in fiery explosions.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he said the army is still drafting the country’s official response to the incident.

Palestinian medics said 34 people were killed in an Israeli strike outside a U.N. school in the northern Gaza town of Jebaliya. The United Nations confirmed 30 were killed and 55 injured.

The Israeli official said “hostile fire” was directed at the soldiers from within the school. He said soldiers returned fire and multiple explosions went off, presumably emanating from munitions stored there.

Related: “Hamas operatives are in the hospital and have disguised themselves as nurses and doctors,” one official said.

Flashback – more human shield ploys: Ambulances for terror.

***

Lawhawk has more. So does Israellycool.

Update: The Israeli consulate has issued a statement:

Earlier today, upwards of 35 Palestinian civilians were reportedly killed in two unfortunate accidents in Gaza, one at a school run by UNRWA and the second at an apartment in Gaza City. These deaths are indeed a tragedy, and investigations are underway to ensure that further operations continue to avoid civilian casualties.

These initial investigations indicate that Hamas used the UNRWA school to fire at IDF forces, indicating once again that Hamas is more than willing to sacrifice Gaza citizens to promote terrorism. International law recognizes that the presence of civilians in an area of conflict does not delegitimize a military target. Israel and the IDF will continue to abide by these laws and to make every effort to avoid harming civilians in conducting further operations. We urge the international community to strongly condemn Hamas’s cynical exploitation of its citizens and firing of rockets, which remain the most effective way to ensure peace for Gazans and Israelis alike.

Update: Related video and analysis from Allahpundit here.

And more from Jim Hoft, who writes that IDF says the bodies of two Hamas jihadis were found at the school along with a missile launcher with anti-tank missiles.

Two more senior Hamas terrorists are dead. And this: 35 Palestinians killed by Islamists, 75 shot in legs in the past week “to ensure they don’t help Israel.” Allahpundit’s full coverage is here. The clock is ticking. U.S. tells UN Security Council to stuff it.

*Stuart Smalley is up 225 in the Minnesota Senate race recount.

*Reid + Blago + Cornyn = Juicy Senate fracas!

According to a Chicago Sun-Times report Saturday, Reid called Blagojevich on Dec. 3 and urged him to tap either state Veteran Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth or state Attorney General Lisa Madigan, both Democrats, to fill the seat. Blagojevich was arrested less than a week later on corruption charges that included allegations he was trying to sell the seat to the highest bidder.

The paper also reported that Reid advised the Illinois governor against selecting state Senate President Emil Jones, a mentor of President-elect Barack Obama, or Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Danny Davis —all of whom, Reid reportedly said, would face difficulty holding on to the seat when it is up for election in 2010.

“For the last several weeks, Senator Reid has led the charge to deny the people of Illinois a voice in choosing their next U.S. senator in a special election,” Cornyn said in a Saturday afternoon statement. “Now we learn that Senator Reid also took the extraordinary step to lobby against two sitting U.S. congressmen and the state senate Majority Leader in Illinois, and instead told Governor Blagojevich that he supported an appointment for an individual [Duckworth] who recently lost a U.S. House election.

“The people of Illinois deserve a simple explanation from Senator Reid: Why does he believe these three Illinois officeholders are ‘unelectable’ to the U.S. Senate?” Cornyn added.

This is the second day in a row that Cornyn — still new in his job as NRSC chairman — has come out with strong statements against Senate Democrats. On Friday, Cornyn threatened to filibuster any effort to seat Democrat Al Franken, who holds a tiny lead over Republican incumbent Norm Coleman in the prolonged Senate recount in Minnesota.

Dingy Harry responds here.

*And the latest on how your TARP money is being spent from the DMN:

Thanks to the government, PlainsCapital is getting bigger.

The Dallas-based bank received $87.6 million last month from the U.S. Treasury Department’s $700 billion rescue program, known as TARP. The bank says it intends to put the money to good use – increasing loans for businesses, students and even jumbo mortgages. But it doesn’t rule out using funds for acquisitions.

“As we see this economy shake out, there are going to be some that make it and some that don’t make it,” said Alan B. White, PlainsCapital’s chairman and chief executive. “And there are going to be good opportunities that people are going to be able to take advantage of. I hope I’m one of those.”

Congress and taxpayer groups have objected to using bailout funds for acquisitions and grown impatient with the lack of new lending. But the government didn’t dictate how banks can use TARP funds. And it has no system for monitoring the funds after they are handed over.

While the government can take credit for fulfilling the first part of its mission – stabilizing the financial system – it has failed to stimulate lending. Credit remains tight as banks – even those that received TARP capital – have been wary to take on risk as the economy worsens. And they are free to use the funds for less risky investments.

“Some of the banks that have received the money don’t need it but decided they would go ahead and take it since it was available,” said Robert L. Clarke, a senior partner at Bracewell & Giuliani in Houston who was comptroller of the currency under presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. “But it has not changed their view of the risk of making loans.”