Tipsheet

True Story: Saudi Arabia "Arrests" Vulture on Suspicion of Being An Israeli Spy

After the deeply insane accusations we've seen from various precincts of the Muslim world in recent weeks, I'm afraid to say this story doesn't even surprise me:

A vulture tagged by scientists at Tel Aviv University has strayed into Saudi Arabian territory, where it was promptly arrested on suspicion of being a Mossad spy, Israeli and Saudi media reported Tuesday.

The bird was found in a rural area of the country wearing a transmitter and a leg bracelet bearing the words 'Tel Aviv University', according to the reports, which surfaced first in the Israeli daily Ma'ariv.

Although these tags indicate that the bird was part of a long-term research project into migration patters, residents and local reporters told Saudi Arabia's Al-Weeam newspaper that the matter seemed to be a 'Zionist plot.'

The accusations went viral, with hundreds of posts on Arabic-language websites and forums claiming that the 'Zionists' had trained these birds for espionage.

Lions Sharks and tigers vultures and bears Zionists, oh my!  How does such paranoid antisemitism still exist?  As the Washington Times' Eli Lake likes to darkly quip, I blame the settlements.