THE PALESTINIAN REFUGEE ISSUE: RHETORIC VS. REALITY
by Sidney Zabludoff

  Curious, isn't it, that according to received wisdom, the attack of the Arab States in 1967 resulted in hundreds of thousands of Arab refugees and not a single Jewish refugee. In reality, as Sidney Zabludoff writes, there were many more Jewish refugees -- they fled for their lives from the Arab countries, many of them to Israel. Despite the Arab countries crying crocodile tears for their Palestinian brethren, the Arab refugees are still with us. And there really are no Jewish refugees -- they have become full-fledged citizens of Israel and the western countries to which they fled.
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THE CAROB TREE IS WAITING FOR US
by Nadav Shragai

  We know that the Jews who were expelled from their homes and farms and orchards in Gush Katif, Gaza in August 2005 by their own government are still in refugee status. We know they live in paper trailers and temporary shacks. We know that they are demoralized and many are unemployed. We know they don't have the resources to recreate the innovative agricultural techniques that made their vegetables and flowers world-renowned. We know that the government has probably spent more money pretending that all is A-Ok than in resettling these people. Nadav Shragai writes of their emotional response -- of their longing for their old homes and the sense of community they once had.
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OF CONCERTS AND CRIMINALS
by Rachel Saperstein

  Rachel Saperstein writes of the irony that the Gush Katif orchestra gave a concert at towns that were indifferent when the Gush Katifers were kicked out of Gaza. Now that these towns are being constantly struck by missiles from Gaza, they sing another tune. And she writes of a wonderful man, a rabbi who founded AMISHAV (My People Return) to help returnees to Judaism. His grandchild was murdered in the Yeshivat Merkaz Harav massacre "because he was a Jew.".
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GLOOM, DOOM –– AND YET...
by Moshe Saperstein

  Moshe Saperstein writes - a frighteningly honest account of his bitterness at all the phonies who contributed to the people of Gush Katif becoming dispirited refugees in their own country. And he's none too pleased with the gullibility of the general public, who are so easily duped by the anti-Jewish Israeli government.. And yet, there are the everyday chores to do, there's family, there're the cats to worry about, and there's the dream of returning to his personal paradise -- Gush Katif, to make it as it was before the Arabs uglified it
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TO BE OR NOT TO BE –– THIS YEARS PASSOVER QUESTION?!
by Anita Tucker

  Anita Tucker was a successful farmer in Gush Katif, Gaza. She was one of the many Jews that made that desert bloom. Now she is a refugee, made homeless by her own government. It is the Passover. And she asks: why? why? why did this happen? It is the Passover. She vows, with the help of caring Jews, to rebuild, and to preserve "the community and the values we have held onto for dear life for the sake of the People of Israel, the Land of Israel, the Torah –– for us." What a remarkable woman!
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BUSH-RICE BIRTHDAY PRESENT TO THE JEWISH NATION
by Emanuel A. Winston

  The reasons given for Bush's sudden rush to establish a Palestinian state are (1) to establish a legacy for Bush and (2) to sacrifice Israel for Arab cooperation in extricating the U.S.A. from Iraq. Neither makes sense -- in that it is unlikely the Palestinian Arabs will maintain a facade of civility long enough for either to happen. Realistically, you can't make a viable and peacable state from a bunch of hate-filled savages eager to kill and loot, savages led by a bunch of thugs who make a profit from promising peace while collecting the weaponry for another try at eliminating Israel. Emanuel A. Winston speculates on how the Bush administration proposes to start dismantling Israel.
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YOUR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AT WORK ... FOR PALESTINIANS
by Anne Lieberman

  The Arab population in Gaza, Judea and Samaria is reportedly going hungry, with only a trickle of electricity and no clean water. Yet, when it comes to getting foreign funding, the PLO -- and its more recent incarnation as the P.A. and Hamas -- has been outstandingly successful. It is funded by Arab countries, the European Union, the United Nations, Non-Governmental Organizations, church groups and private "charities." And -- as Anne Lieberman shows us -- the United States government.
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ISRAEL'S ELECTORAL COMPLEX
by Amotz Asa-El

  In this important article, Amotz Asa-El discusses the structure of the Israeli electoral system. He argues that because there is no direct accountability of legislators to voters, the Israeli system cultivates irresponsibility among lawmakers and alienates voters.
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CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE SUICIDAL KIND: CRIMES AGAINST JEWISH HUMANITY
by Boris Celser

  Boris Celser writes about the Israeli media and academics who protect Israel's wrong-way politicians. As a case in point, he writes of the Israeli newspapers that protect Israel's recycled politicians, thus helping to perpetuate government by the incompetent and to encourage Israel's policy of appeasement. He points out that "the game ends when one side runs out of land" -- a real possibility given official Israel's suicidal policy of giving up real land for paper peace. The tone of the article is cynical but the words are sober and wise. As Celser write, "can anyone deny that since Oslo the politics of yesterday and today have not worked, are getting worse by the day, and are not going to work tomorrow?" And in acceding to dememberment, Israel harms not only herself but all of Jewish humanity.
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HOW I DEFEATED ISRAEL'S DUAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
by Steven Plaut

  Steven Plaut has the distinction of being slapped with a frivolous libel lawsuit in an Israeli court, having the presiding Arab judge rule against him -- she based her opinion on her own prejudices -- and finally winning out, thus striking a blow for democratic free speech. A harrowing experience but a blow for fairness that will benefit all who are tried by a judiciary system that creates rules on the fly. This is his fascinating account.
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MURDEROUS MOTHERS: THE HIDDEN FEMALE FACE OF HONOR KILLING
by Phyllis Chesler

  This is the story about an honor killing. It isn't really novel that it happened in America. It isn't even unique that it happened in the U.S.A. and the mother helped slaughter her own daughters. But it is an absorbing story that Phyllis Chesler tells us. As she concludes, the victims "... were American citizens. America was their culture. Their desire to live as Americans, and not as Arab Muslims in Egypt is precisely what doomed them."
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"SHARIA CREEP" AROUND THE WORLD
by Kathy Shaidle

  Kathy Shaidle writes about some small nibbles Sharia-activists are taking out of our democratic structures. They're small, they push the envelop, they encourage our universities and workplaces to be "sensitive" to what are claimed to be Islamic requirements -- even if every one else is discomforted. More to the point, they soften us up -- each concession we make makes us more compliant, more likely to agree with the next demand request.
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A TALE OF TWO ARCHBISHOPS
by Daniel Mandel

  In Great Britain, the Sharia banking system is courted by the banking community and "sensitivity" to Muslim needs is a top priority in the educational system. Too often, Christian national and religious symbols are banned while Muslim "requests" are respected. Giving legal status to sharia courts means allowing Muslim women to be treated as chattel -- not exactly a feature of democracy. Daniel Mandel contrasts the statements of the past and current archbishops of Canterbury to illustrate how high the tide of sharia compliance has reached. "[The previous Archbishop] Carey sees democracy as tender and in need of consolidation; [the current Archbishop] Williams sees it as something rigid and in need of modification." As Mandel points out, "the prevalent reaction, as the events of recent years show, has been to opt for the Williams model of modifying democracy, rather than the Carey model of consolidating democracy, to flee the Islamist challenge rather than confront it."
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REFLECTIONS ON HAMAS JIHADI DEPRAVITY –– THE BRUTAL TRUTH
by Tom Carew

  Tom Carew reflects on depravity –– as manifested, for example, in the massacre of the eight young Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva students –– and provides us with a useful list of the features that characterize depravity. Unlike TV shows of depraved criminals, it isn't just the individual Arab murderer who is depraved but his entire culture, which finds joy in depriving others of life. An obscene death lust has permeated all of Palestinian Arab culture. "All those who celebrate such Depraved Crime are also morally corrupting and gravely abusing their own children, and as such not fit to have or retain or influence or teach any children." As front-line people "in the struggle for humanity," Israel has an obligation to stop the depraved behavior of their depraved neighbors –– for all our sakes.
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SHAYKH YUSUF AL-QARADAWI: PORTRAIT OF A LEADING ISLAMIST CLERIC
by Ana Belén Soage

  In his article on the Muslim Brotherhood's infiltration of the West (January-February 2008 Issue), Fjordman described Yusuf al-Qaradawi, spiritual leader of the Brotherhood, as one who "exploits democracy as a Trojan horse." In this article Ana Belén Soage rounds out the picture of Qaradawi as a prolific writer who can find Koranic justification for whatever innovative position he wants to take. He is a persuasive ideolog respected by Islamic theologists; yet he is a man of action -- he is credited for creating the riots over the Danish cartoons of Muhammed (See Danish Cartoons.) All he wants from the West is for it to convert to a higher truth -- Islam -- and he has the financial, theological and people resources to put his ideas into action.
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PATHWAYS TO JIHADI TERRORISM
by Dr. Babu Suseelan

  Over the years, Dr. Babu Suseelan has explored various components of the Jihardi Muslim value system and how Muslims conceptualize the world. In this article he rejects the comforting but wrong notion that jihadi terrorism is the result of "unjust social forces" -- that terror acts are the "frustrated responses to political injustices". Instead, he identifies the roots of Muslim terrorism: "religious, psychological, educational, and historical factors", which evolve into terrorism because of the faulty thinking Islam encourages. This thinking is hard to correct because, as he points out, "Islam is a closed dogma and Muslims are forbidden to test its validity or utility..."
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WHY A TERRORIST STRATEGY?
by Barry Rubin

  It's almost seven years after the Islamists declared war on us -- the 911 unprovoked attack by Muslims on American government and financial centers -- yet most of the media are still too finicky to call people who commit acts of terror terrorists. They describe terrorists as militants or freedom fights and immediately find excuses for their vile behavior. The problem with this tactic, Barry Rubin points out, is that "[while] honest grievances can be resolved by mutual concessions. With determined, ideologically clear, mass-based revolutionary movements you can only defeated them or surrender." Maybe we should start calling a terrorist a terrorist.
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MERCAZ HARAV AND THE G-WORD
by Richard Landes

  This is a brilliant essay -- it is as if we are allowed to examine the essayist's thoughts as he thinks them while he engages in mental conversation with people who objected to SPME (Scholars for Peace in the Middle East) characterizing the murder of the young students at the Mercaz Harav as genocidal. Richard Landes cogitates on the massacre and makes us understand why others who object to this characterization as too strong have missed the mark -- they don't yet understand that the attack wasn't a random act of violence but was part of the concerted genocidal assault by Jihadist Islam on Judaism.
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MAYBE IT'S TIME TO FESS UP
by Jeff Dunetz

  Jeff Dunetz takes hold of a lively canard -- Jews own/run/control the WORLD and -- metaphorically speaking -- beats it to a well-deserved death. Admittedly, he has his work cut out for him, given that tenured academics and even an ex-president have pickled, smoked, salted and marinated this duck, preserving it in fancy lies. Next time some stupido sounds off that the Israel Lobby sent us to make war against Iraq or that the anti-Semitic New York Times is Israel-friendly because its founders were Joowish, remember this essay.
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BLOOD LIBEL -- PART I
by Patricia Berlyn

  We look forward to Passover but it brings with it some baggage we'd like to think was left behind in the Dark Ages -- the Blood Libel, the accusation that the Jews killed Christian children for blood for their matzohs. The Jews. Of all people! A people whose religion forbids ingesting blood! As Patricia Berlyn writes, the Libel hasn't died; it lives on in Muslim mythology -- the Arabs have taken it up and, as authentic modern-day medievalists, they need no evidence to propagate the lie as literal truth. Abetted by a friendly media, they have concocted other libels centered around the conviction that Jews target children for killing. It seems that the more the Jews attempt to minimize loss of Arab lives, the more grotesque the lies the Arabs invent.
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A PASSOVER STORY FOR ISRAEL TODAY
by Steven Plaut

  Using as parable a tale about a Pesach guest too impatient to wait past the symbolic seder food for the later feast, Steven Plaut makes an important point: Israel had just about defeated the first Arab intifada and there was little sympathy for PLO barbarism, when, in the early 1990s, the Israeli leadership was foolish enough to step onto the slippery slope of the Oslo "Peace" Accords. This commitment has not led to peace or even to an increase of tranquillity. Can we "The Oslo era was accompanied by a massive assault upon Israel's pride, morale and confidence by its own leaders and intellectual elites." Is it too late to bring back "an understanding of Jewish heritage" and the pre-Oslo achievements?
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Israel's 60th

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WHO DID WHAT FOR ISRAEL IN 1948?
by Norman Berdichevsky

  It is appropriate as we celebrate Israel's 60th to examine some of the received wisdom about those days. Norman Berdichevsky demolishes the myth that the USA was Israel's only friend and made Jewish statehood possible, supplying "money, manpower and arms". While the U.S.A voted for partition, it was primarily Czech arms, East European and Soviet manpower and East Bloc political support that enabled Israel to decisively win the military and diplomatic battles. If you think this reads like the novel 1984 -- with flip flopping alliances -- you may be right.
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THE 60-YEAR WAR FOR ISRAEL'S HISTORY
by Efraim Karsh

  One sometimes wonders if Israel needs her Arab enemies -- her internal haters do such a good job denegrating Israel's accomplishments, rewriting her history and denying her right to exist as a Jewish state. Efraim Karsh writes of the "new historians ... who systematically rewrote the history of Zionism, warping the saga for Israel's survival." They didn't just reevaluate the facts; in many cases, they invented them or distorted their meaning by omitting key information. Unfortunately, though their tactics have been exposed, the new historians are not yet history.
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LIES BEGGING TO BE EXPOSED
by Evelyn Gordon

  Evelyn Gordon identifies one element in Israel's poor public relations -- "Israel's persistent failure to refute Palestinian lies." As example, a recent poll was misinterpreted as proof that the Palestinian arabs shows increased support for violence because of the Israeli offensive in Gaza. "Far from being unprecedented, however, that figure is almost identical to what it was 18 months ago..." But the Arab lies are not refuted and so they stand, unchallenged. As Gordon points out, "It would be nice if journalists, world leaders and international human rights organizations consistently noticed such lies on their own, but the reality is that they rarely have the time, energy or interest to do the necessary research. For Israel, however, exposing Palestinian lies is a vital interest." But, thanks to her defeatist Government, Israel doesn't.
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HOW ISRAEL GOT TRASHED
by Isi Leibler

  Isi Leibler notes that the change from passionately repudiating Arab falsehoods to diffidence and appeasement came with the Oslo Accords. Diplomats were directed to plead the Arab case, not their own. Many of Israel's newspapers followed suit. One reader pointed out that "[c]oncepts like eternal refugees, blatant revisionism and even the concept of 'Palestine' are symptoms of the denial of reality." Yet these became constant staples in the diet Israeli newspapers such as Haaretz have fed their readers. "Haaretz effectively provided the mainstream Western media with a kosher certification to incorporate the most extreme anti-Israeli content. 'If Israeli papers can publish this, why should we be less inhibited?' became the standard response of numerous editors when accused of anti-Israeli bias and double standards."
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FORGING A MODERN VIABLE ECONOMIC UNION IN THE MIDDLE EAST
by Jaff Sassani

  This is an unusual offering -- Jaff Sassanian is the nom de plume of a spokesman for the Sassanians who live in Iran. His essay is a reminder that it isn't just Jews that dislike the notion of living as second-class citizens under Islam. The Sassanians are an ancient people who were conquered by the Arabs. Like the Jews they have held onto their culture and traditions. Read what Jaff Sassanian has to say. If he's right, perhaps the debate about going into Iran or not isn't the issue. Perhaps we should be giving more support to Iranian dissidents. If -- of course -- if there's enough time and the Iranian leaders haven't jumped ahead in developing their nuclear power while our "intelligence" services lulled us into complacency.
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THE GOLAN HEIGHTS PEACE PLAN
by Moshe Feiglin

  Moshe Feiglin takes what happened in the Golan in the Yom Kippur War as a model for how to acheive peace in the Territories -- Gaza, Samaria and Judea. There are five essential elements: 1. Encourage Arab emigration; 2. Conquest; 3. Israeli sovereignty; 4. Settlement; and 5. No peace accords! He writes, "Israel declared sovereignty over the entire Golan, settled it and most important of all -- never signed a peace treaty with Syria. This is how we have prevented the war under the guise of peace that we suffer on our border with Egypt from repeating itself on our border with Syria." It's hard to argue with success, particularly when every concession for negotiated "peace" with the Arabs has led to a weakened Israel and a more hostile Arab response.
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READERS' BLOG-EDS

  This is where our readers get a chance to write opinions and editorials and share articles they find informative. The Blog-Eds page for the month is updated every few days.

A Blog-Ed page has a quick list of the articles from which you can access any of the articles immediately. To go to the list, click the "Blog-Eds List" box in the Blue Strip on the top of the Blog-Ed page.

March 2008 BLOG-EDS    READ MORE
April 2008 BLOG-EDS    READ MORE

The Peace Process –– briefly resurrected in Annapolis –– is dead. Well, at least it's back on the respirators, even if Condaleezza Rice is chalking up enough fly miles to last her the rest of her life. All that survives of it in Israel is a government that still wants to give away the store to the Arabs to win favor with "the world", while harassing some of its very loyal citizens –– could Olmert's timing be worse? In many ways, things are grim for Israel. She looks weak. She acts weak. Her enemies are enboldened. But thats not the whole story. We may actually be in a time of transition –– when people drop the Land For Peace mantra and more realistically assess what's going on in the world. Initially, the predation of violent Islam on a western world was met with little resistence –– our opinion makers had benevolently adopted moral relativity and multiculturalism as their equivalent of the Ten Commandments and it was –– and is –– important to them to defend this image. But more and more people in Israel and Europe and America are recognizing that their tolerance has allowed in a large number of Muslims intent on making shari'a law substitute for the laws of the host country; and if this continues, it will lead to the death of the native culture. Moreover, there is a –– still minimal –– awareness that without oil, the implementation of the war Islam is waging will dry up, so we need to find alternative sources of energy. So backlash has started, both in the growing anti-Islamist media and in technological advances. The real question is: can we of the West fight back soon enough and strong enough before the monomaniac Islamists overwhelm us with their usual tactics: suing and harassment of officials; terrorism; high birth rate, overwhelming the social services of the host country; an uncompromising certainty that they know best, which usually makes diplomats urge the less fanatical other side to do all the compromising; murder of targetted Jews and Christians and anti-Islamic Muslims; bribery and intimidation of news media people; bribery and intimidation of politicians and diplomats; rioting; blackmail that they will riot if their demands aren't met; bribery and intimidation of academics, etc, etc, etc.

MEMO FROM GULFISTAN
by Martin Kramer

  Martin Kramer provides us with a realistic assessment of where the Peace Process stands. Bottom Line: it's out of steam. Posturing maybe, but no real pressure. And even among themselves, the Arabs are not doing kissy-kiss and make-up. Saudi Arabia may from time to time support both Sunni and Shiites, but there's no united front against Iran. What is puzzling then: what –– or who –– is fueling Olmert's monomania to destroy the Jewish communities of Samaria and Judea?
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WINOGKATIF
by David Wilder

  David Wilder puts the current appeasement of the Arabs in historic context, pointing out that Israel's first crumbling was after the 1967 Six Day War, when in their hunger for peace with their Arab neighbors, Israel acted as if it were the defeated side and destroyed Jewish settlements that had been started in the Sinai. The attitude that Israel must make all the concessions for peace plus a Marxist educational system that teaches the lie that Israel really doesn't belong to the Jews plus an IDF that is taught it isn't nice to win have all contributed to the parlous state in which Israel now finds itself. It is an excellent summary not only of what is going on in Israel but it points out: "the aim of Islam is not only the end of Israel; rather it is the Islamization of the entire western world and culture, including a takeover of Europe and North America."
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ON THE PRESENT DANGER FACING ISRAEL AND ALL JEWS
by Rachel Neuwirth

  Rachel Neuwirth does a masterful job summerizing the dangers Jews face around the world. Terorism, particularly in Israel, has not abated since the 1993 Oslo Accords; instead it has increased and the terrorists are stronger than ever. Terrorism against Jews in the diaspora is still minimal –– which means this is the time to stop it –– but the FBI refuses to connect the dots. The diplomats find it more rewarding to pressure Israel, which has been willing to make concessions, that to deal with the Arabs, who won't budge from their position. The propaganda attacks against the Jews continue. And what really drains our strength is that "[t]housands of Jewish journalists, academics, filmmakers, artists and 'intellectuals' in the United States, Canada, Europe, and within Israel itself have actively participated in the campaign of vilification and lies against Israel. Neuwirth's essay is not happiness-making. But it is impossible to improve a situation until you understand it.
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INTERNATIONAL LAW AND GAZA: THE ASSAULT ON ISRAEL'S RIGHT TO SELF-DEFENSE
by Abraham Bell

  One of the Dr. Seuss books chronicles the ever more disasterous results of trying to correct what started as a single stupid mistake. As analog, we have Israel's withdrawal from Gaza in the mistaken belief that Israel could thus separate itself from the nasties who live in the Territories. The Government has been generally indifferent to its own displaced Gazan Jews, a demoralized group of once proud and productive citizens. But their plight has received little attention. On the other hand Israel is held responsible for the welfare of the Gazan Arabs, and there is much media indignation if she cuts back on services. The new owners of Gaza are too busy to worry about their own infrastructure –– they are occupied making bombs and distributing them for free to as many Israeli cities as they can reach. They've also mucked up the water supply and –– now that they've broken the barrier with Egypt –– are bringing diseased animals in from Egypt. As Israel tries to deal with the worsening situation in Gaza, the pro-Arab press has taken up a new version of an old mantra: it's all Israel's fault. Abraham Bell explains the legality of what Israel is doing. I wonder if it will have any impact on those who want Israel dead.
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PALESTINIAN CONDITIONAL NON-VIOLENCE –– DENYING THE FUNDAMENTAL BASIS OF THE GAME
by Dr. Aaron Lerner, with translation from the Arabic by Itamar Marcus and Barbara Cook

  America trains Arab terrorists to fight; Israel gives them guns and Abbas smiles –– all of them, it is claimed, are determined to defeat Hamas and establish a peaceful Palestinian state inside Israel. The reality: Abbas turns over the weaponry to Hamas, sometimes willingly; Israel releases prisoners who return to killing Jews; and Abbas announces that peace with Israel is not really what he is after. Extermination is a closer fit to his plans. Dr. Aaron Lerner succinctly summarizes Abbas' actual plans, not the misty nonsense American and Israeli politicians spout. The article includes some direct quotes from Abbas' latest interview from the PMW website. The reality is: (1) we help Abbas and he gets strong, then joins Hamas to fight Israel openly; or (2) we don't help Abbas and in high dudgeon he joins Hamas to fight Israel openly. Why is Israel waiting while its enemies gather strength?
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FATAH AS MODERATE. A HARD LOOK POST-ANNAPOLIS
by Arlene Kushner

  Arlene Kushner asks whether Mahmoud Abbas and his party are moderate and whether they are legitimate peace negotiation partners. This divides into several subquestions, starting with: (1) are they able to control Samaria and Judea? The answer is NO. Is Abbas corrupt? The answer is YES. Is he a strong leader. The answer is NO. (2) Does Abbas intend to be a Peace Partner? All the signs say NO. This is a fact-filled logically-presented discussion on whether the Palestinian state Olmert is so intent on creating has any chance of being a viable structure and a peaceful neighbor.
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THE WILL TO SURVIVE; SURVIVING WITH HOPE
by Rachel Saperstein

  The latest from the journal of that remarkable couple, the Sapersteins, previously part of the proud, productive and patriotic community of Neve Dekalim, Gush Katif, Gaza and now part of a demoralized, underemployed community living in paper caravans, a community struggling to survive the afflictions inflicted on them by an uncaring government. This reads like a HOW-TO survive as menchen.
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GUSH KATIF REFUGEES CONFRONT RAIN, RATS AND A RIDICULOUS BUREAUCRACY
articles by Gil Ronen, Hillel Fendel and Michael G. Bard

  This is a compilation of recent items on the plight of the people of Gush Katif, Gaza that were converted from a productive and thriving community into a bunch of unemployed refugees. And this by their own government, which had spent time training the army and police to oust the people but had not bothered to plan how and where to relocate them and provide them adequate housing, jobs and schools. As we've read over the years from the Sapersteins (google "saperstein" Think-Israel, top of home page), the temporary paper caravans that serve as their new homes were badly set into position. The latest rains have helped the rats; but they haven't pushed the do-nothing bureaucracy into doing anything except maybe moving their jaws a bit more vigorously.
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DAN BAR-ON'S DEFAMATORY PSYCHOBABBLE
by Joel Amitai

  Usually the Israel Academia Monitor lets leftist ideologues expose themselves and the ideas they inculcate in Israeli youth simply by presenting us with articles they have written. In this essay, Joel Amitai draws us a character sketch of Dan Bar-On of Ben-Gurion University (BGU), one of the most egregious of Israel's "psycho babblers." I wonder if BGU will award him a research prize as did Hebrew U, in acclaiming a study that claimed that the IDF was racist because the soldiers didn't rape Arab women (see here.)
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A GLIMPSE INTO THE MINDSET OF A JUDICIAL OLIGARCH
by Rabbi Steven Pruzansky

  What is practicised by Israel's leftist judiciary is described politely as "judicial activism" and, more accurately, as "judicial tyranny". It has become one of Israel's major problems, severely crippling her ability to defend herself against Arab terrorists. As Rabbi Steven Pruzansky puts it, "The dangers of subjectivity in law –– by a self-perpetuating judicial oligarchy answerable to no one, composed exclusively of like-minded liberals who are charged with appointing their successors –– became apparent. It was now easy to understand how Jewish teenagers who had blocked a highway to protest the Gaza expulsion could be sentenced to two years in prison." And why terrorists are afforded more protection than Israel's Jewish citizenry.
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LIP THE LIAR AND HARDLY HA HA
by Boris Celser

  Boris Celser presents us with a bitter satire on Bush and Olmert, puppeteer and totally compliant puppet, who together preside over a sick Israeli administration –– an administration that kowtows to the Arab and disdains the Jew. It is a country that has deviated so far from its moral core that Jews are not allowed to pray openly on the Temple Mount. When they are permitted access, they may pray to their God but they mustn't move their lips. And the Arabs keep a sharp watch. Back in 1967, the local Arabs were –– casually and with no public discussion –– given control of Judaism's holy site. And the people has allowed this distorted state of affairs to continue for some 40 years. It's time this stopped.
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THE LATEST DAMAGE TO ANTIQUITIES ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT
by Nadav Shragai

  When Israel conquered the eastern part of Jerusalem in 1968, the Arabs came, hoping they'd be allowed to worship quietly on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Moshe Dayan made the grand gesture of giving effective control of the Temple Mount to the Waqf. Over the years, the Arabs have become bolder and have shown how little respect they have for Jewish worship. They have increasingly violated the laws governing new construction and preserving antiquities. Nadav Shragai tells us about the most recent Arab violations: endangering the structure by illegal construction and destroying artefacts that point to an ancient Jewish presence. What is appalling is that the Israeli government, initially fearful of calling attention to Arab non-compliance with the Oslo Accords, never called a halt to this flagrant destruction. The government doesn't act because it fears the Arabs will riot; they are not ashamed of allowing the desecration of Judaism's most sacred site. Nor are they swayed by polite protest.
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NO PLACE FOR A SON OF ZIONISM
by Michelle Nevada

  Israel is proud of doing its upmost not to injure Arabs that are not obviously terrorists, even though the Arabs take advantage by hiding among civilians and using their children as couriers, even sending them in to collect the guns from dead terrorists, secure in the knowledge that the IDF will not shoot. But Israel's foolish protection of the lives of "innocent" Arabs to the point of jeopardizing the lives of her own children and soldiers has consequences. Israel's using her soldiers to throw Jews out of their homes as in Gaza and Amona also has consequences. Michelle Nevada spells out one of them –– it has soured diaspora Jews who are strongly Zionistic from encouraging their sons to join the IDF. As Nevada puts it, "It is a place where those who are religious are held back from the best positions in the service, a place where they are interrogated about whether their loyalty is to the IDF or to the Torah, and a place where they must be forced to chose between the two. If you choose to keep your religious ideals, you go to jail." The consequences may be unintended but they are real.
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INDEPENDENT EXPERT: IDF BULLETS DIDN'T KILL MOHAMMED AL-DURA
by Adi Schwartz

  At the beginning of the second intifada in 2000, a photograph of a man and his son unsuccessfully trying to avoid Israeli gunfire won the sympathy of the world. Among the Palestinians, the child, Mohammed al-Dura, was commemorated as a martyr and became a role model for the Arab youth. France 2 claimed his death had been caught on tape, but it later became clear the shooting was a hoax. Positioned where they were, the IDF could not have shot him. What still isn't clear is whether the hoax was perpetrated independently by the Arab camera man, or by him and his boss, Charles Enderlin, with collusion by France 2, the TV station that broadcast the scene. In fact, it isn't clear that Al-Dura is dead. Adi Schwartz writes that an independent investigator has cleared the IDF of responsibility. And in time, the hoax will unravel –– but the damage it has done is not as easily undone.
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HOW RACHEL CORRIE REALLY DIED (HINT: NOT PROTECTING A HOUSE)
by Carl of Jerusalem

  Rachel Corrie, a member of the Marxist International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and a strong supporter of the Palestinians was killed in March 2003. The world was told she was run over –– twice –– by an Israeli tractor. Rachel Corrie won fame as did Mohammad al-Dura. Both served the Arab cause against Israel. Both had deaths that shocked and sorrowed the world. In both cases, eye witnesses confirmed that their deaths were caused by the IDF. Both were treated as martyrs and memorialized in various ways. After the initial shock, both deaths were seen as puzzling and suspicion increased that they were staged. Years later, we learn that the IDF was not responsible in either death. In fact, there is strong evidence in al-Dura's case and circumstantial evidence in Corrie's that they were done in by the Palestinians.
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THE BLACKOUT – A HAMAS-ALJAZEERA CO-PRODUCTION/STAGED GAZA BLACKOUT PICTURES
by Martin Solomon

  These pictures of the Gaza blackout are instructive. There is no way that the pathos-filled pictures could have made their way to print without the collusion of Arab photographers, who took them at angles that hid the light and the truth. The news editors are equally culpable. They presumably knew that the Gazans were not in an electricity blackout. They knew that creating hoaxes is an often-used tool in Arab propaganda. Why did they print the Israel-demonizing pictures without verification?
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LIGHTS [OFF]. CAMERA. ACTION
by Amir Mizroch

  Israel has often needlessly taken the blame for Arab death –– e.g., Mohammed al-Dura and the family that set off an explosive while having a Gaza beach picnic. It was later –– much later –– discovered Israel wasn't responsible. Even when they do respond to Arab hoaxes and ordinary mistatements, exaggerations and just plain lies, Israeli counter information most often comes too little and too late –– long after the damage has been done.. Amir Mizroch writes about the Gaza blackout story, focusing on the mistakes made by the Israelis. As is often the case in Israeli botch-ups, the culprit was poor communication within a bureaucracy that may fear bad press but hasn't mastered how to produce timely counter responses.
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ARAB BELLIGERENCE, ISRAELI SELF-ABASEMENT
by Kenneth Levin

  Dr. Kenneth Levin points out that despite the many opportunities Israel has had to "to unmask the murderous hypocrisy of Palestinian leaders talking 'two-state solution' and 'mutual recognition' in speeches to Western audiences while militating for a single, Arab, state in all the land when talking in Arabic...," Israeli leaders do not. Nor do they object publicly to how its peace partner Egypt continues to demonize the Jews, producing vile propaganda that inculcates hate through the Arab world. They ignore both Arab words and Arab hostile deeds. But this will not bring peace. Israel longs to be a normal nation. Then it should explain to the world the "true challenges posed by its enemies –– challenges that preclude for the present any possibility of genuine peace." That is what a normal nation would do.
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ISRAEL'S SELVES AND HER USE OF HASBARA (ADVOCACY)
by Babs Barron

  Barbara Barron utilizes Jungian concepts to sketch out an analysis of what is wrong with Israeli hasbara. She suggests that Israel's "...persona of hardiness and resilience has become more and more rigid and inflexible, perhaps as a reaction to her realisation of the shadow, in the shape of her growing sense of unease about how she is perceived and often, it seems, willfully misunderstood, by the rest of the world ...[which] is in turn exacerbated by the way in which her government spokespeople fail to represent her fully in the international arena, and, worse, often seem publicly to undermine their country's ethos." The result is she shows all the signs of the "emotionally bullied" individual. A remedy is to be found if Israel would repeat what she knows is the truth to counter Arab lies, no matter how often it takes "for the message to be got across." Perhaps in doing the obviously necessary, she will heal herself.
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PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A DHIMMIFIED MAN
by David J. Rusin

  Many news media, book publishers, museums, art galleries, movie houses and culture centers in Europe fear that Muslims will react with violence to any article or work of art that might be considered insulting to their religion. After all, documented reaction has included everything from rioting to murder. So they have taken to self-censorship, refusing to publish or produce items in a pre-appeasement ritual to potential Muslim disapproval. Or they remove a long-established item because it might offend Muslims. A feature of this self-censorship is that it often takes place with no threatening input from Muslims, whereas the same culture gatekeepers loftily dismiss Jewish and Christian protests against their religions as an affront to free speech.
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NOT EVEN PRETENDING TO BE FAIR: THE NEW YORK TIMES ON GAZA
by Barry Rubin

  Barry Rubin dissects a recent article on Gaza from the New York Times and demonstrates how the Times carelessly ignores facts and how they insert sly suggestions that Israel is responsible for the distress of the Gaza Arabs. Perhaps the Paper of Record is after a Guinness Book record on how much slander and distortion can be written about Israel in the smallest amount of space. If so, they have competition from several other main stream papers that claim to be more truthful than the National Inquirer.
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THE MIDDLE EAST'S TRIBAL AFFLICTION
by Daniel Pipes

  Daniel Pipes reviews a new book by Philip Carl Salzman, which discusses the importance of the tribal social structure to the understanding of Arab society. The family-clan-tribal structure, common to many Islamic societies, coupled with "tyrannical centralism", would account for key aspects of "Middle Eastern family life", including cousin marriage –– which increases the number of children with genetic abnormalities –– polygyny and honor killings. Pipes also makes the point that Arab tribal structure, by its very nature, is highly resistant to a quick fix.
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ISLAM AND THE JEWS: THE STATUS OF JEWS AND CHRISTIANS IN MUSLIM LANDS, 1772ce
by Jacob Marcus

  "In 1772," Jacob Marcus wrote, "a Muslim scholar in Cairo was asked how Jews and Christians should be treated." This text is his reply. It is in keeping with earlier Muslim practices (see, e.g., Andrew G. Bostom (ed.), The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History) and indicates a continuity in discrimination against Christians and Jews throughout Islamic history. It certainly calls into question modern spins on Muslim intolerance –– that it is due to their unhappiness with what Israel and America are doing; that it is due to a few irrational fanatics on the fringe of the religion; that it is due to Muslim shame at being left behind by western technology and science; and that it is due to modern dictatorships and would disappear if democracy –– usually defined as the right to vote, which many Muslim dictatorships already have –– was adopted in Muslim countries.
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THWARTING SCIENCE AND MEDICINE: WHAT PART DOES FOREIGN FUND-UNDERWRITING PLAY?
by Marion D.S. Dreyfus

  If any field is immune to sharia takeover, you'd think long-term investigation in medicine would be. Marion D.S. Dreyfus describes what a sharia invasion would do to such research –– it would dry it up. Israel would go from being a major contributor to scientific and medical journals to the current level of research from the Arab countries, which is close to zero. More generally, this essay asks: what happens when politics and ideology invade science?
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THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD'S INFILTRATION OF THE WEST
by Fjordman

  The Muslim Brotherhood spawned the terrorist group, Hamas, but it also spreads its influence in ways that are less violent but just as dangerous. It controls mosques and it has paid for and successfully infiltrated political, social, academic and banking institutions and organizations in the Middle East, Europe and increasingly in America. Since its beginning in the 1920s, it has planned big and well in advance and it has sufficient oil money to implement its plans. It has been remarkably successful. Frightenly so. Fjordman gives us a picture of the Brotherhood's reach and reviews some of the pertinent articles about it. In America, judging from puff pieces written about them, they have coopted a goodly number of academics and media people. And their spiritual leader, Yusif al-Qaradawi, has been directly implicated in the Danish cartoon riots.
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SLEEPING WITH DEADLY JIHADI TERRORISTS
by Babu Suseelan

  Babu Suseelan provides us with a terrifying but accurate picture of what Muslim terrorists are doing in India against Hindus: "... homicide bombing, killing of innocent Hindus, destruction of temples, research institutions, burning passenger trains, hijacking airplanes and assassination..." Sound familiar? I'm surprised Condoleeza Rice hasn't yet blamed it all on Israeli intransigence.
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THE CLASH OF IDEOLOGIES IN AFRICA: KENYA
by David J. Jonsson

  Kenya has become a news-worthy place, thanks to its association with the Democratic presidential candidate, Barack Obama, who was raised there as a Muslim and now declares himself a Christian. Kenya is also, as David J. Jonsson writes, a place where Islam and Christianity have been in ideological conflict, and where Islam is projected the winner. As Jonsson reminds us, Islam brings with it its violence, its all-encompassing shari'a law and its triumphalist ambition to spread its ideology globally.
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KOSOVO: ISLAMISM'S NEW BEACHHEAD?
by Julia Gorin

 Julia Gorin raises concerns about America's sanctioning Kosovo's breakaway from Serbia to become another Muslim state. She points out that post-9/11, is it "... the free world's business to spread Shari'a law, as is always the upshot of any Islamicizing region?" It will more than likely serve as an al-Qaida base, because of the al-Qaida links to the KLA. Moreover, approving Kosovo's breakaway sets a bad precedence for how to handle belligerent minorities around the globe, Muslim and non-Muslim.
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THE KOSOVO PRECEDENT
by Arieh Eldad

  This article by Arieh Eldad focuses on what the implications of a Kosovo breakaway are to Israel. If Israel accepts the Kosovo separation, then it has cut itself off at the knees, having no reason to reject, say, the Arabs in the Galilee demanding the area become theirs. For that matter, taking it a step further, what will America do as the Azlatans –– a group advocating the return of the American southwest to Mexico –– grow more vociferous and begin to "liberate" California on the grounds that the whites are an unwelcome minority?
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CHURCH ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVISM AND ANTISEMITISM
by Will Spotts

  This is a remarkable examination of anti-semitism in the Presbyterian Church by an Elder of the Church, who has divested himself of slogans and superficial explanations for the phenomenon of the current and growing hostility to Jews by mainline churches. He looks at the problem from several viewpoints, and trashes many of the usual reasons to justify the Church's hostility.
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THE METHODIST CHILD INDOCTRINATION LEAGUE
by Mark Tooley

  If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the Methodists are now actively imitating the earlier drive by the Presbyterians to divest themselves of stock in companies doing business with Israel. But they have gone well beyond their mentors. Mark Tooley writes how The United Methodist Women's Division is even targetting the Methodist young with hate-Israel messages gussied up as instructional stories on how to empathize with the Po' Palestinians. Oh those evil Jews Israelis!
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THE FRAUDULENT SCHOLARSHIP OF PROFESSORS WALT AND MEARSHEIMER
by Alex Safian

  Professor's Walt and Mearsheimer's book has become a foundation text for many a nutter's article on anti-Jewish websites. Now that Jimmy Carter has been discredited –– partially by his own statements –– the anti-Jew lobby has little but sleezoid writings to give them accreditation except for the study by real professors from fancy schools –– Walt and Mearsheimer, from U of Chicago and Harvard yet. Alex Safian takes a look at how academically sound their work is. He focuses specifically on some of the book's factually incorrect statements, significant omissions and unsubstantiated conclusions. If their universities reflected the level of their scholarship, they'd be teaching at "Get-yr-phd-in-2-mos University.
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IGNORANCE CANNOT BE REALISTIC: A CRITIQUE OF THE MEARSHEIMER-WALT THESIS
by Ofira Seliktar

  Ofira Seliktar examines Walt and Mearsheimer's book, which is written from the point of view of realist theory applied to international relations, and provides us with an excellent understanding of why the book fails so badly as an informed analysis: the authors have little real knowledge of the Middle East. They assume the Arabs have Western-rational goals. Casting Israel as Middle Eastern bogeyman of the Western world is actually their bizarre attempt to salvage their school of thought, which had totally failed to explain 9/11 and does not comprehend the mindset of the Arab leaders. As Seliktar writes of their invalid conclusions: "They were trying to solve an imaginary problem, since their puzzlement arose from their mistake of recasting the region into a tight realist mold that did not fit its realities." The paper also provides an excellent summary of why the Peace Process hasn't worked and can not work – it runs counter to the Arab goal of destroying Israel; they have no intention of living with Israel in neighborly peace.
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WHEN JIHAD CAME TO AMERICA
by Andrew C. McCarthy

  Want to know how our grandchildren will date when Islam brought its jihad against the U.S.A directly to America? Not on 9/11. No. It was earlier. It was in 1990, when they assassinated Rabbi Meir Kahane, a Jew who couldn't be intimidated and who promulgated the then radical idea that the Arabs be transferred out of Biblical Israel. Against all the evidence to the contrary, the killing was declared a lone act of violence by the FBI, which –– just like these days –– took its time translating much of the Arabic handwritten notes found in the assassin's apartment. Three years later, other members of his cell made the first attempt to destroy the World Trade Center. It was only partially successful, but it was a morale-booster and gave the jihadists valuable information for a more dramatic future attack. Andrew C. McCarthy provides us with a vivid account of the killing of Rabbi Kahane by an Arab from Egypt who was part of a jihadist cell training for various acts of terror under the guidance of the "Blind Sheik," Omar Abdel Rahman.
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RAV MEIR KAHANE'S 2007 YAHRZEIT
by Meir Jolowitz

  This is a companion piece to McCarthy's article (see above). In his time Rabbi Kahane was reviled as a racist for baldly saying it's them or us vis a vis the Arabs and the Jews. He frightened people by telling them the obvious: there really are some binary events with no in-between. The sun shining in the middle of the night is impossible. If the sun is shining, it isn't night. He was one of the first victims of the newest Arab war against the West, the first certainly on American soil. Now the secular Jews advocate what he preached –– separation between Arabs and Jews. They want it so much, they are willing to give up Biblical Israel and much more. This is the speech Meir Jolowitz gave at the Rememberance Service 17 years after Rabbi Kahane was –– do we call it murder or assassination?.
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GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY'S WAHHABI FRONT
by Patrick Poole

  I don't know what the going rate is for full control of a American university but as Patrick Poole demonstrates, the Saudis are getting their money's worth from a paltry 20 meg donation to Georgetown University that endowed a Center dedicated to Muslim-Christian understanding. "The Center's director, John Esposito, has been known for his vigorous apologetics for Islamic extremism, ... and the Center has affiliated with institutions and people that front for and speak for Hamas and Hamas' parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood. And they have hired staff such as Susan Douglass, who once taught at the Islamic Saudi Academy, which graduated several students who went on to commit acts of terrorism; she now turns out propagandizing textbooks on the K-12 level. In short, the Center has become an effective conduit for promoting the acceptance of wahhabi-style Islam and infiltrating it into the larger community.
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ISRAEL'S FOLLY
by Hugh Fitzgerald

  This is an impassioned yet sensible essay by Hugh Fitzgerald summarizing how far the world has progressed in comprehending that Muslim aggressiveness can not be appeased but must be repelled. Unfortunately, the politicians and the diplomats and the so-called leadership in Israel and this country seem the least enlightened, still believing they can sway Islam to civilized neighborliness. "But," Fitzgerald writes, "[t]he logic of events, the inevitability of Muslim aggressive demands and Muslim violence within the countries of Western Europe, and nothing else, will make that reassessment [of what Islam is really after] happen. All Israel has to do is to hold on, not give in, do nothing to whet, by further surrenders to the sly Slow Jihadists of Fatah." The problem reduces then to: how to keep Israel from foolishly divesting itself of its land until the tide of global public opinion turns against the Muslims.
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THE ZIONIST REVOLUTION
by Yehuda HaKohen

  Most people have only a vague idea about what the Zionist revolution entails. Nevertheless, it is fashionable –– especially for those who do their meditation sitting on Tel-Aviv bar stools –– to insist that Zionism is dead. Yehuda HaCohen makes the point that, on the contrary, the Revolution is still in its infancy and is just beginning –– as Israel's achievements in science and technology indicate –– to blossom for the benefit of mankind. As the Jews slough off the European-Marxist ideologies of the first generation kibbutzim and go back to their own roots, that's when the Zionist revolution will really begin in earnest.
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THE FALLACY OF GRIEVANCE-BASED TERRORISM
by Melvin E. Lee

  Melvin E. Lee's thesis is that we labor under "[t]he fundamental premise .. that grievances with U.S. policies in the Middle East motivate Islamist terrorism." He makes clear that "[s]uch assumptions ... misunderstand the enemy and its nature. In reality, the conflict is sparked not by grievance but rather by incompatibility between Islamist ideology and the natural rights ... incorporated into U.S. political culture." Accepting that Islam has genuine grievances against us –– they blame their economic, technological and social stagnation on the West –– leads us to a policy of appeasement, which only encourages the Jihadists to increased hostility. To understand the roots of Islamic terrorism, we need to look not at their long list of grievances but at their culture and religion. This will take a major overhaul of our attitude of moral relativity, whereby we accept most groups at their own evaluation. It's a big part of our multicultural view of the world, but it won't help us develop useful ways to deal with adherents of a religion that blames us and never themselves for their misery. Lee suggests some major changes in our tactics.
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HOW DO I KNOW? (ABOUT ISLAM)
by Dr. Babu Suseelan

  Dr. Babu Suseelan counters the pernicious and paralyzing argument that only a Muslim can understand the Muslim religious experience –– and by implication –– interfere with or condemn the actions of a Muslim. Dr. Suseelan replies that experience can be a starting point but not a terminator of outside examination. "One can gain knowledge and insight about Islamic theocracy without believing in Koranic concepts...most people acquire the view that Jihadi terrorism and suicide bombing are wrong on no experience of terrorism or bombing..." Consistency and coherence "with other common views and historical facts" serve us as guides to what we accept. It is important that we be able to question the Islamic belief system, especially when their adherents are attempting to inflict their values on the rest of us.
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THE ROOTS OF THE MUSLIM VICTIM MENTALITY AND HOW TO FIGHT ISLAM
by Amil Imani

  Iranians are Muslim, but not Arabic. Amil Imani views himself as a descendent of ancient Persia and shrugs off the Islam superimposed on the populace when the Arabs conquered Persia –– now Iran –– in the mid 7th Century. In this essay he describes the Muslim character as shaped by Muhammed's personality and notions. He then suggests general principles to fight the threat that Islam has become to the West.
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PAY NOW, GET NOTHING LATER
by Barry Rubin

  Barry Rubin explains how the Arabs easily overwhelm the West and Israel by a simple con game that cleverly plays on the Western feeling of responsibility and desire for fairness and its willingness to negotiate: Oh pity us, we've been victimized by you, so pay attention to our grievances. If you want us to trust you, you must build up our confidence in you by giving us gifts. "But," Rubin points out, "the real problem is the Arabic-speaking world's political structure and prevalent ideology. Nothing outsiders can do will change this very much, or at all." So it's time we stop making concessions and start expecting responsible behavior from the Arabs.
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ISLAMIZATION OF EUROPE AND POLICIES TO PREVENT IT, POLICY AREA 8
by No Sharia

  No Sharia has now finished writing about the 8th Policy Area in his model. It concerns the best policy regarding immigration, visas and citizenship. He starts with defining our most dangerous enemy –– it is not the terrorists but the moderate muslims (moderate in the Muslim meaning of the word). He then formulates the main goals for an immigration policy of an European country, before specifying the rules and principles concerning tourist visas, temporary residence permits, permanent residence permits and citizenships. The intent, as always, is to develop ways of preventing further Islamization of Europe.
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WHO'S ZOOMIN' WHOM?
by Michael Zebulon

  Michael Zebulon has the gift of making it fun to learn some necessary information we should all know about "Palestine" and the "Palestinian people". The Arabs have another kind of gift –– they have been able to invent a people –– the Palestinians –– and a country called Palestine, where this people is said to have dwelt from ancient times. Never mind that there is no P in Arabic, so ironically, having a suspected terrorist say Palestine is an effective shibboleth. But we have the facts of geography and history available and they are an excellent way to counter the Arab fantasy. We simply need to speak up whenever we hear the fantasy.
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BRITAIN'S TREACHERY, FRANCE'S REVENGE
by Meir Zamir

  This is an article by Meir Zamir from Ha'Aretz about British plotting against Israel/Zionism and against France circa 1944-1948, and in favor of Arab nationalism. One reader of the original article commented, "I hope Professor Zamir is frantically writing it up as a book. This will be a major contribution to our understanding of the real dynamics in the Middle East after WWII."
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READERS' BLOG-EDS

  This is where our readers get a chance to write opinions and editorials and share articles they find informative. The Blog-Eds page for the month is updated every few days.

A Blog-Ed page has a quick list of the articles from which you can access any of the articles immediately. To go to the list, click the "Blog-Eds List" box in the Blue Strip on the top of the Blog-Ed page.

January 2008 BLOG-EDS    READ MORE
February 2008 BLOG-EDS    READ MORE

Given the scary consequences in store for Israel at the rigged game about to take place in Annapolis, prior to the Summit we reprinted two articles on peace from the July-August 2007 issue of Think-Israel: Moshe Sharon's cautionary tale of bargaining with Arabs and Michelle Nevada's essay on that often-uttered sound 'peace' –– as well as a prediction by Elyakim Haetzni and some links to articles written by different bloggers.

NO PEACE, NO PEACE PLANS, NO PRICE FOR PEACE –– A SHORT GUIDE TO THOSE OBSESSED WITH PEACE
by Moshe Sharon

  Moshe Sharon has personal experience of how wily and manipulative Arabs can be in what Westerners regard as straight-forward diplomatic negotiations. As he puts it, "...in the bazaar of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the two sides are not discussing the same merchandise." and "...if you are clever enough you can sell nothing at a price." In this essay he provides us with some useful guidelines in bargaining with Arabs. And the Arabs won't be ready to bargain seriously until they "... have lost all hope of annihilating the Jewish state.."
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A NEW DEFINITION OF 'PEACE'
by Michelle Nevada

  Michelle Nevada, the essayist, speaks for many of us in noting that the word peace is content-free. It is all things to diplomats and nothing of any real use to the rest of us. To be of use, peace should bear some relationship to "life, as we know it, ... a potpourri of conflict, struggle, noise and dissonance." As it is for the person, it is for the country. "To exist, people and nations must fight to survive. If we fail, we die –– and only in death do we have 'peace'." Truly, a liberating concept.
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THE SCIENTIFIC PRELUDE TO AN ODE TO ANNAPOLIS
by Elyakim Haetzni

  Elyakim Haetzni makes a habit of predicting the next stupid capitulation of Israel's leaders to Arab and American demands and their next pre-programmed hostile action aimed at Israel's religious and patriotic "settlers". He warned that P.M. Olmert would try to divide Jerusalem and cede Biblical Israel as starters to total abject surrender of national pride and national land. The implementation of these idiotic and dangerous actions seems to have started –– Olmert and Abbas are "negotiating" –– Olmert is ready to give all and Abbas to take all and give nothing.
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BLOGGERS ON THE UPCOMING ANNAPOLIS SUMMIT
collected by Bernice Lipkin

  These are articles from various blogsites before the Annapolis Summit/Conference/Meeting and General Give-Away. They make points downplayed in the mainstream media about the upcoming Annapolis Conference. These are just some of the many sites on the internet that care about Israel's future. They are more representative of the actual feeling of both Americans and Israelis than the mouthings of the American State Department and a few traitor Jews in both countries.
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GANG-RAPE IN ANNAPOLIS,  SAUDI STYLE
by Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.

  Picture this: a large number of Arab countries, their current "friends" –– Russia, Europeans and the anti-Israel NGOs –– and, shame, shame, the U.S.A. ganged up on one side. And Israel all alone on the other. It's a mockup of the U.N. General Assembly (GA), and like the GA, makes a mockery of fairness to Israel. As Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. notes, "The bigger problem is that the government of Ehud Olmert seems disposed to go along with the emerging 'international consensus.'” Bad news for Israel.
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UN MACHINATIONS  AGAINST ISRAEL
by Ed Lasky

  The aftermath to Annapolis: a dash to the U.N. to get a Security Council endorsement of the Annapolis 'we've agreed to talk about thinking about when ...' This would reposition Annapolis –– Israel would now be pitted against the Security Council. This wasn't sanctioned by the White House. The State Dept seems to have tried to do an end-around around Bush and get the U.N. to certify to its version of what was agreed upon –– rather like the Intelligence Community trying to make policy with their Iran N.E.I., which is certainly so much more fun that doing dull assessments. Ed Lasky provides us with a surprising linkage –– namely, the Lebanese anti-semitic USA Ambassador to the UN; a Jew of the Democratic Party persuasion, who has sworn to destroy Bush and, oh yes, make Israel secular and multicultural; and an ex-Annan flunkie, whose job it was to make the UN oil scandal go away.
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CULTURE OF KVETCH
by Sarah Honig

  Sarah Honig writes about an earlier Arab-Israeli peace meeting and the Israeli negotiators who were so intent on making a peace deal with Yassir Arafat –– Abbas' old crony and boss –– they never noticed he had no set of demands that, fulfilled, would get him to agree to a peace treaty with Israel. It took a disgracefully long time for the Israeli negotiating team to realize that they were making so many unrequited concessions for peace that pretty soon there'd be no Israel to enjoy the peace they were hoping for. A pathetic bunch. And Olmert has learned nothing from their stupidity.
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THE LOOMING DANGER OF ANNAPOLIS
by Shmuel Katz

  Shmuel Katz reminds us of the important matter: the Arabs had not and have no intention now to carry out their responsibilities under the previous peace plan –– the Road Map –– and here they were at Annapolis, primed to demand another Palestinian state, with all their unfulfilled contractual promises ignored.  Yet Israel in the person of Ehud Olmert was and is eager to strip itself of land and of self-respect, willing to make concessions that endanger its existence.
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THE CONDOLEEZZA STORY
by Emmanuel Sivan

  A way of viewing the Annapolis sitcom is to see it as a structure designed for and by its initiator, major promoter and arbiter of protocol, Condoleezza Rice. Professor Emmanuel Sivan suggests her performance is rooted in her mediocrity, her "intellectual frailty and character weakness". Fortunately, she'll be history soon –– running some girl's college into the ground, perhaps. But, unfortunately, she can do a lot of damage in the short time left, especially when she is dealing with a compliant Israeli government.
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FARCE.  BURYING THE BUSH DOCTRINE IN ANNAPOLIS
by Andrew C. McCarthy

  In September, 2001, just after 911, speaking to the uncommitted and to jihadists everywhere, George Bush said, "You are either with us or against us." There was a clear differentiation between the problem –– terrorism –– and the solution –– terrorists had made us their enemy and we would fight them. Then we began backtracking. The final shattering of the Bush doctrine came with the Annapolis meeting. As Andrew C. McCarthy puts it, "Seduced by the fantasy of peace-loving Palestinians, the president and his top diplomats have made creation of a sovereign state for these blood-soaked jihadists the bedrock of our Middle East policy –– thus undercutting any credibility the Bush Doctrine may have had."... "This administration is hellbent on granting statehood to savages who worship 'martyrdom,' who have bombed their way to the table, and whose non-negotiable demand –– a 'right of return' to Israel for millions of migrant Palestinians –– would sound the death-knell for a civilized democracy that is our only true friend in the region." What a terrible way to treat a friend; what a foolish way to treat an enemy.
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BUT TO DO AND DIE
by Sarah Honig

  Annapolis may be over but it reeinforced the traditional aftermath of a Arab-Israeli "peace conference" –– Arabs will need to do nothing and Israel is to make land giveaways. If there's a change, it's that the America is giving up its "honest broker" pretense and has appointed a monitor to ensure Israel's compliance to do and die for a Palestinian state. Sarah Honig's excellent essay makes us understand Israel's demoralizing future, thanks to policy (re)set in Annapolis.
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NO LASTING PEACE –– THE ILLUSIONS OF ANNAPOLIS
by Ralph Peters

  Ralph Peters has concluded that "[s]hort of intolerable carnage, there's no durable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian problem. None. " The Arabs don't want peace; it would throw things out of kilter. There'd be a large group of unemployed men, whose only job skill is killing people. Moreover, Arab leaders wouldn't have Israel to blame for their incompetence. No, that would never do. And there is the elephant-sized fact that Israel is tiny. There is simply no room for two states in it.
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AFTER ANNAPOLIS, WHAT?
by Edward Bernard Glick

  What a sensible article this is! Edward Bernard Glick strips away the blarney about how Israel should, all by itself, carry the morality torch for all of the Middle East and talks about the critical issue –– survival. He points out, "In the zero-sum-game Middle East, if you don't win, you lose." For Israel that means she must worry less about inflicting civilian casualties and more about winning big.
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Allowing Israel to go to the Annapolis meeting and suffer humiliation and potential loss of Biblical Israel isn't the only major example of poor judgment by Israeli leaders in the recent past. The Gaza expulsion of 2005 has been a complete failure. Israel's ability to take care of its citizens has diminished. Contrary to what the Israeli government expected from this 'noble' deed, Israel's image worsened after the Disengagement (click here.) Leaving Gaza gave the Arabs an expanded, unsupervised area they have used to create weapons of war and aim them at Israelis. What is most unforgivable is the agony and suffering Israel inflicted on some of its most loyal and productive citizens, turning them from proud contributors to Israel's economy to demoralized, jobless dependents of the state. Residents at the former Gaza Strip settlement of Elei Sinai before the disengagement in 2005. (Limor Edrey/Archives) This quote is from Guysen International News, December 19, 2007: "28 months after the disengagement, 85% of the evacuated families are still living in temporary housing. The delay by the government to find permanent accommodation for the expelled from Gush Katif and northern Samaria has already cost the state 1 billion shekels and will cost another 140 million shekels yearly if it continues. This information was presented in a new study carried out by the Sadan-Lowenthal center led by Professor Ezra Sadan, former head of the Treasury." We wonder where Olmert plans to resettle the up to half-million Jews living in Samaria and Judea and eastern Jerusalem he and the Bush Administration are planning to kick out of their homes, farms, businesses and synagogues. As we pointed out in the September 2007 editorial , "In a bizarre way, Israel will become the homeland of homeless Jews. If the treatment of the Jews of Gush Katif, Gaza is an indication, and it is, the Jews of Samaria, Judea, some of Jerusalem and maybe the Golan will become street wanderers, living in dilapitated hotels and pressed-paper trailers, a drain on the economy, a clump of dispirited citizens and an easy mark for the next wave of Arab terrorism."

GOODBYE TO ALL THAT
by Moshe Saperstein

  Moshe and Rachel Saperstein together with 9000 other Israeli Jews were expelled from their homes in Gush Katif, Gaza in August 2005. They have written essays about their (mis)adventures dealing with a government that was competent only in harassing them and driving them from their homes –– a government that had made almost no preparation for handling this mass evacuation and has still not made amends. In this latest of their essays, Moshe recalls when the expelled Jews were allowed back to their former homes for the day to pack their things.
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THIRTY YEARS IN THIRTY MINUTES
by Anita Tucker

  This is a powerful essay expressing the emotions Anita Tucker has felt since being pointlessly expelled from her home and the farm she and family had created in Gush Katif, Gaza. They have left. The Arabs have it all. And the land has returned to the bleakness, rocks and sand it was when the Jews took back Gaza in 1968. The Jews made it flourish and contributed to Israel's economy. Under Arab control, it is unproductive –– unless you count the weapons of destructions the Arabs have been putting together there and using against Israel.
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JERUSALEM IS A JEWISH ISSUE
by Ted Belman

  One indication that Jerusalem is on the cutting board is P.M. Olmert's clearly expressed annoyance that diaspora Jews believe they have a stake in and a say about Jerusalem. Olmert claims Jerusalem is solely an Israeli issue. Ted Belman summarizes the arguments that acknowledge the legality of world Jewry's claim to Jerusalem. You can read more about Israel's right to all of Jerusalem and Biblical Israel (AKA West Bank) by reading Howard Grief's articles such as this one. For other essays on international law that states that biblical Israel is a trust in perpetuity for the Jewish people and can not be given away, read Part I of Yoram Shifftan's "A Legal Challenge." and his essay on Gifting. Use the Google box at the top of this page to search on Howard Grief, Yoram Shifftan, legal, mandate and population transfer.
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SMASHING THE DEMOGRAPHIC DEMON
by Emanuel Shilo

  The spectre of the Arabs overwhelming the Jewish state by producing more babies (this actually shows signs of happening in several European countries) has been the major argument for Israel's giving up Biblical Israel (known as the West Bank by the ignorati), land that is legally hers. The argument, as Emanuel Shilo puts it, is that Israel must "choose between a state with a solid Jewish majority without Judea and Samaria, and a bi-national state in the entire west-of-Jordan area." The data that supported the supposed overwhelming Arab growth has been discredited. (See this article by Bennett Zimmerman) and Google for Yoram Ettinger's articles. Shilo's essay goes beyond statistical proof. He points out ethical, moral and political questions –– which warrant the extensive consideration now given primarily to the demographic factor
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THE TRIUMPH OF LEGAL DEFEATISM
by Caroline Glick

  The Israeli judiciary is crippling the Israeli Defense Force. It views asserting "dominance over Israel's political and military leadership" as what's important, not winning wars. As Caroline Glick writes, the IDF has begun to restrict their behavior "to conform with perceived legal restrictions" –– to avoid criminal indictments. The left-leaning judiciary is defining the rules of the game. And that is very dangerous for the country.
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TIME TO END THE CHARADE
by Salim Mansur

  Salim Mansur notes that every American president since Nixon has liked the idea of an international conference to end the "conflict between Arabs and Jews."... "But the truth of the matter is that there is nothing to broker when one party, the Palestinians and their Arab-Muslim financiers and supporters, remains committed to the destruction of the other party, the Israelis." Mansur suggests, "It is time for Americans to politely tell the truth and end the charade of demanding Israeli concessions for Arab-Muslim doublespeak where 'peace' means, as Arafat explained to