Miral Is This the Face of a Terrorist?

The pro-Palestinian Arab movie "Miral" is being released after a gala premiere at the UN. The New York Times has run a couple of stories on it already.

I not been following the controversy about the movie that closely, and I do not know if the movie is as anti-Israel as some claim it is.

But I am offended by the movie's poster.
Elder of Ziyon

Syria Kills 12 People - in a Mosque

From Haaretz:

Syrian forces killed 12 people on Wednesday in an attack on a mosque in the southern city of Daraa, site of unprecedented protests challenging President Bashar Assad's Baathist rule, residents said.

Those killed included Ali Ghassab al-Mahamid, a doctor from a prominent Daraa family who went to the Omari mosque in the city's old quarter to help victims of the attack, which occurred just after midnight, said the residents, declining to be named.

Before the attack, electricity was cut off in the area and telephone services were severed. Cries of "Allahu Akbar [God is the greatest]" erupted across neighborhoods in Daraa when the shooting began.

Can't wait for the UN to condemn this.

Oh, I'm sure that Iran and Hezbollah will be on the condemnation bandwagon as well since they have been so outspoken about Arab government repression lately.

(updated with latest numbers, h/t Challah Hu Akbar)
Elder of Ziyon

UN Condemns Syrian Use Water Cannon

The United Nations and the United States have criticized a crackdown on protesters by Syrian authorities in which at least four people are reported to have been killed.

The violence occurred on March 18 in the southern town of Daraa, when security forces were reported to have opened fire to disperse hundreds of protesters.

It was one of several protests in Syrian cities on March 18 calling for greater political freedoms in one of the Middle East's most repressive states.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the use of lethal force against peaceful demonstrators and the arbitrary arrests of demonstrators was "unacceptable," and urged Syrian authorities to refrain from violence.

The White House National Security Council said the Obama administration "strongly" condemned the violence, and called on the Syrian government to allow demonstrations to take place peacefully.
Carl in Jerusalem