| HOME | Featured Stories | February 2010 Blog-Eds List | Background Information | News On the Web |
Opinions And Editorials By Our Readers
NOTE: Links to Videos are at the bottom
of this page.
|
ISRAEL THE BEAUTIFUL: A STREAM IN THE GALILEE
Posted by Yehoshua Halevi, February 28, 2010. |
|
This is one of Yehoshua Halevi's Golden Light Images. HOW I GOT THE SHOT: Before I moved to Israel, I don't believe I once imagined taking a hike on a trail made of water. In our desert climate, where it is hot and dry most of the year, water walks are very popular and a refreshing way to get close to places we don't frequently experience. I admit that toting $5,000 worth of equipment over slippery rocks while taking uncertain steps to unknown depths sets my heart racing, but I've done stupider things in pursuit of my art. This shot was taken in the Snir Stream, a tributary of the Jordan River flowing through the Galilee near Kiryat Shemona. I cannot think of another photograph I've taken of moving water in which the water flows away from the camera. Waterfalls, rivers, rushing tides and gushing rain: the water always moves down and towards the camera. So I like this shot just because it's different and because the colors, especially anything in the sage family, are among my favorites. I stopped down to f22 and exposed for 1/2 second to capture both the movement of the water and turn it white, which creates a nice contrast to the surrounding brown and black rocks and tree stumps. Because many people are afraid or unable to hike through the stream, there are ample opportunities for quiet contemplation. You just may have to get your feet wet first. Technical Data: Nikon D-300, 28-105 zoom @ 28mm, ISO 100, 1/2 second at f22.
Contact Yehoshua Halevi by email at
smile@goldenlightimages.com and visit his website: Newly available: The Koren Birchon: Praise for the Land of
Israel, featuring 75 full color photographs of Israel.
|
|
LATMA SATIRE IN H
Posted by Bernice Lipkin, February 28, 2010. |
|
Latma Satire in H is brilliant satire. You will understand all about the ersatz status of that newly-hatched people, the Palestinians, from watching the bit on the Youths in the History Section. See it here. It's in Hebrew with English subtitles. We have clustered reader-suggested videos at the bottom of this page. |
|
|
|
DON'T ATTACK JEWS
Posted by Moshe Dann, February 23, 2010. |
|
Moshe Dann urges Netanyahu to refrain from mistakes made by anti-settler predecessors |
|
On December 18, 2009, Aluf Benn and Amos Harel, writing in Haaretz, offered one of the most important insights into Israeli policy regarding the Iranian nuclear threat. "When Netanyahu was finance minister in Ariel Sharon's cabinet, he urged Sharon to focus on the struggle against Iran. When Netanyahu resigned over the disengagement plan, and Sharon left Likud and established Kadima, Netanyahu told Sharon that if he acted against Iran before the election, Netanyahu would support him. Sharon did not act. "It is possible that years ago, the problem of Iran's nuclear project could have been solved by one tough blow and with relatively minimal risk... If it had been bombed, Iran would have lost large quantities of raw material for uranium enrichment, and its nuclear program would have been set back years. But nothing happened." Why not? Benn and Harel do not answer this crucial question, nor did the media pick up their observation. Was the Air Force incapable? Did Israel lack essential information? Was America, bogged down in Iraq, reluctant to agree? In hindsight, the decision not to bomb the Iranian facility was a gigantic mistake that changed the course of history. There may have been, however, another reason for Sharon's inattention: his preoccupation with unilateral withdrawal from Gaza and northern Samaria. The Gaza disengagement, which took place in August, 2005, took a year to prepare, mobilized massive resources and cost billions of shekels. Focused on expelling Jews from their homes and destroying 25 communities, did Sharon ignore existential threats to Israel's existence? Similarly, in 2006, PM Ehud Olmert, in the midst of the war in Lebanon, announced his intention to evacuate more settlements. What would have happened had the IDF been prepared for war with Hezbollah instead of attacking the tiny hilltop community of Amona earlier that year, to destroy a few Jewish homes? Another catastrophic failure of leadership is upon us again. Midnight attacks on innocent Jews by the IDF and police in order to destroy a few Jewish homes might seem justified in order to fulfill obligations PM Netanyahu undertook to "freeze settlement building." But is this necessary? Are these homes more important than hundreds of thousands of illegal Arab buildings? What purpose does it serve? Distraction from the real issues? Inspiring agenda needed PM Netanyahu speaks eloquently about Zionist heritage, but are not the Jews whom his government attacks part of that heritage? Does his definition of Zionist heritage depend on what the UN allows, President Obama dictates, or Peace Now's hysterics? Sharon's failure to bomb Iran when it was possible is now re-enacted on the backs of Jews who live in Judea and Samaria. Netanyahu's silence about Iran in 2004 — which led to Hamas' catastrophic takeover of Gaza — echoes in 2010 as he and his "inner cabinet" created an intolerable situation, not only to please Obama, but to satisfy the rabidly anti-Jewish and anti-Zionist policies of his Defense Minister, Ehud Barak. Netanyahu's efforts to appeal to Zionist heritage, improve transportation and laud Israeli technical achievements are safe positions; but that is hardly an agenda that will inspire a nation under attack, or offer a way out of Israel's growing demonization and threats to its legitimacy and very existence. PM Netanyahu was not elected in order to appeal to American or European policies, or to destroy Jewish homes. Been there; done that. He was elected to strengthen Israel's security, to stamp out corruption, to insure an impartial and fair judicial system, and to enhance our educational system so that it includes basic elements of Jewish and Zionist values and heritage. As a national leader, Netanyahu failed in 2004; he could have opposed Sharon and exposed Sharon's obsessions. He could have made Iran the issue. He didn't, and now we all must pay for that. But what has he learned from 2004? I would offer a simple principle: When you attack Jews, you will lose — always. And one more: Zionist heritage did not begin or end with Tel Hai and the site where the State of Israel was proclaimed. Zionism is an ongoing, evolving process that includes every Jew and those who support the right of the Jewish people to statehood in the Land of Israel. Heritage programs must not only be historical, but guides to the future. They can also provide parameters for meaningful leadership. Netanyahu's primary obligation is to protect Israel, spiritually and physically — by any means necessary. He fumbled in 2004; let's hope that he won't repeat that mistake. The author is a writer and journalist living in Jerusalem. This
|
|
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FIRST YEAR: THE WRITING WAS ON THE WALL
Posted by Yoram Ettinger, February 28, 2010. |
|
I am not surprised by President Obama's performance – since January 2009 — in face of unprecedented and simultaneous economic, social, national security challenges, domestically and internationally. I am not surprised by President Obama, who was elected to the most difficult and complicated post — during a most unstable period internally and externally — in spite of his obvious lack of experience and superficial world view. I am not surprised by President Obama's policy toward the Jewish State and toward the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is a derivative of his world view that was fully displayed during the 2008 campaign. I am not surprised by President Obama's performance — the writing was on the wall for those who were ready to read it! Obama was elected at the peak of an economic meltdown, the extent of which has not been determined. Millions of Americans have lost their homes, unemployment is around a 26 year record 10%, under-employment is 17%, the budget deficit is the worst since the end of WW2, hundreds of banks have collapsed, the real estate bubble burst, private consumption and investment have dipped beyond expectation, the social security and the medical insurance systems are severely threatened, taxes are rising and government's involvement in the economy is expanding. Obama is increasingly identified and burdened with the economic crisis – which was not caused by him — and the steps taken to solve the crisis. Obama prefers to be preoccupied with domestic challenges, which will determine the future of the USA and of his presidency. However, as expected, he is sucked into the lava of Islamic terrorism and religious, territorial, tribal, ideological and power struggles throughout the globe. While Obama extends his hand to rogue regimes, Islamic terrorism stretches its hand into the US mainland, exacerbating a sense of insecurity and reawakening the question: "When – and not if – will the second shoe fall?!" Islamic terrorism has intensified its operational, political, financial, ideological and logistical involvement in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, the USA, Latin America and Australia. Pakistan persists in its double-role of the most critical base of Islamic terrorism on one hand and counter-terrorism on the other hand. In fact, Islamabad could be taken over by terrorists along with its nuclear arsenal. India's restraint in the face of Islamic terrorism may be suspended, reigniting the endemic conflict with Pakistan. The US war in Afghanistan could be Vietnamized and the war in Iraq is far from a conclusion. The possible evacuation of US troops from these two arenas could add fuel, not water, to the fire, further destabilizing the region and the globe. Syria has provided safe haven for anti-US Iraqi terrorists. Iran supports and incites Persian Gulf and global terrorism, while upgrading its ballistic and nuclear capabilities, which would agitate the Gulf, the Middle East, the US, Europe and the entire world. Nuclear North Korea has been a source of unexpected threats. Russia and China have never hidden their imperial aspirations, which have gravely concerned their neighbors in East Europe and Asia. Mexico is facing a lethal challenge from drug cartels, which have expanded their internal wars into Texas, Arizona and California. Venezuela and Cuba collaborate with enemies and rivals of the USA, who may thus gain access to Washington's backyard. And, that's an incomplete list of external challenges preoccupying Obama. President Obama is facing these challenges with a world view, which was enunciated during the 2008 campaign and in three major speeches at Cairo University (June 4, 2009), the UN General Assembly (September 23, 2009) and West Point Military Academy (December 1, 2009). In contrast with the US ethos, Obama does not believe in the moral, economic and military exceptionalism of the US or in the destiny of the US to lead the battle of Western democracies against rogue regimes. He views the US as a power-in-retreat, which abused its dominance. Therefore, he systematically apologizes to Muslims, in particular, and Third World societies in general, investigates the conduct of CIA agents in their war against terrorists and is closing down the Gitmo detention camp. He does not define the world as an arena of confrontation between free societies and terror organizations and states, but as a platform of engagement between rivals who must comprehend that covenants and accords are preferable to wars and that their common ground exceeds that which separates them. Obama is convinced that military force does not solve conflicts and that the era of military balance is over. Therefore, he cuts the budget of military R&D and missile defense, does not replenish military inventories consumed in Iraq and Afghanistan, does not expand US armed forces despite expanding threats and initiates agreements to reduce the arms race, even when this advances Russian interests. Obama's Administration refrains from using the terms "international terrorism," "Islamic terrorism," (because "Islam is part of America...") or "Jihadist terrorism" (because "Jihad means to purify oneself or to wage a holy struggle for a moral goal..."). According to Obama, there are no terrorists, only "extremists," "man-made disasters" and "isolated cases" such as Al-Qaeda and Taliban. Terrorism is considered a challenge for law-enforcement officials rather than for military personnel. Moreover, terrorism constitutes, to an extent, a Third World reaction to abuse and lack of respect by the Western World. Therefore, terrorists benefit from the rights of civil law offenders. And, when there is no moral clarity, there is hardly battle field clarity. Obama considers the UN as the quarterback of international relations and the bureaucracy of Foggy Bottom as the luminaries of foreign policy. He aspires to move closer to the European state of mind and world view, while the world is in a dire need of a US Marshall and not for a European cop. Hence, Obama aims at minimizing unilateral initiatives and maximizing military, legal, political and environmental multilateralism. He has joined the vehemently anti-US and anti-Israel UN Council on Human Rights, which was boycotted by Bush. Furthermore, he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mary Robinson, who headed the Council on Human Rights and led the racist anti-US and anti-Israel UN "Durban Conference." Obama's attitude toward the Jewish State has been a by-product of his aforementioned world view, of his non Judeo-Christian background and of his inner circle associates and friends at Harvard University and in Chicago, who have been critical and hostile toward Israel. The principles of "moral equivalence" and "evenhandedness" have underlined his policy toward the Arab-Israeli conflict. He does not regard Israel as a strategic, let alone unique, ally and is hardly a supporter of US joint defense and commercial projects with Israel. He does not rush to defend Israel at the UN and views the Jewish State as part of the exploiting Western World and the Arabs as part of the exploited Third World. Obama has adopted the sophisticated line of Arab propaganda, claiming that the moral foundation of Israel is the Holocaust, which resulted in ushering Jews to a newly acquired home, while uprooting Palestinians from their own home. He perceives the Palestinian issue as the crux of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the root cause of anti-US Islamic terrorism and the chief trigger of Middle East turbulence. His prescription for the resolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict is an Israeli withdrawal to the 1949/67 Lines, the uprooting of Jewish communities in the Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria, the repartitioning of Jerusalem, the negotiation of the return of the 1948 Arab refugees to the pre-1967 Israel and the exchange of land. President Obama is intent on clipping the wings of the Jewish State morally, strategically and territorially. However, that is not a top priority for him. He would not confront Israel's friends on Capitol Hill and in the public if they are mobilized against his prescription. Does Obama have the power to overcome such a pro-Israel alliance and impose a solution on Israel? Voters in the US elected Obama to office, in spite of his lack of experience domestically and globally. Instead of reading the writing on the wall, US voters entertained the delusion that an "attractive cover" meant an "instructive book." However, Obama's conduct since January 2009 has led to the collapse of his attractive image. For example, a majority of Americans oppose higher taxes, an expanded budget deficit and bigger government, which have become Obama's trade mark. 60% of the US public believes that the US is moving in the wrong direction. Support for Obama has declined from 65% in January 2009, to less than 50% in January 2010 — the steepest presidential decline since 1975. From a consensus-builder candidate in 2008 he has emerged as a controversy-promoting president in 2009. >From a moderate candidate he has transformed into a liberal president, while only 20% of the American public consider themselves to be Liberals. From a coattail candidate, who received the Independent vote and swept Democrats to a major victory in both congressional chambers, he has become an anchor-chained president, who has distanced Independents from the Democratic Party, has energized the Angry White Vote and could drag Democrats to defeat in November 2010. The Democratic failure in November 2009 and public opinion polls for the spring primaries and for the November 2010 election, suggest a major Republican tailwind. As a result, a number of prominent Democratic legislators have announced retirement. Therefore, as we approach the November 2010 election, and as legislators are growing more attentive to their constituents, moderate and conservative Democratic legislators are distancing themselves from President Obama. While Obama is perceived as a President who strays away from the American consensus, Israel benefits from a consensus support. "Joe Six Pack" and "Lunch Pail Mabel," conservative and liberal America, Jews and Christians, Republicans and Democrats do not view Israel as a classic foreign policy issue, but as an internal Judeo-Christian American issue, which is bonded with the USA through shared values, mutual threats and joint interests. Israel is largely regarded as a peace-seeking democratic militarily-able ally, surrounded by enemies who reject American values. US public opinion polls position Israel as the fourth or fifth most favorite ally with 66%-70% support, compared with the Palestinian Authority, which is at the bottom of the list along with Iran and North Korea. The key factor of support for the idea of a Jewish State — since the 17th century — has been the US public and its representatives on Capitol Hill. Most initiatives enhancing the US-Israel relationship originated in Congress, many times following a struggle against an opposing Administration. President Obama's world view suggests that such struggles could be intensified during the next few years. The writing is on the wall! Ambassador Yoram Ettinger is a consultant on US-Israel relations as well as the Chairman of Special Projects at the Ariel Center for Policy Research. Formerly the Minister for Congressional Affairs to Israel's Embassy in Washington, DC, Ettinger also served as Consul General of Israel to the Southwestern US. He is a former editor of Contemporary Mideast Backgrounder, and is the author of the Jerusalem Cloakroom series of reports. Contact him at yoramtex@netvision.net.il This article appeared first in Makor Rishon weekly, January 15, 2010. |
|
ISLAMIC INTOLERANCE
Posted by CPocerl, February 28, 2010. |
|
This comes from Strategy Page
|
|
In the last few months, Moslems have attacked Buddhists in Thailand, Jews everywhere, Baha'is in Iran and Christians in Egypt, Iraq, the Philippines, Pakistan, Malaysia and elsewhere. This is not a sudden and unexpected outburst of Moslem violence against non-Moslems. It is normal, and at the root of Islamic terrorism. While this violent behavior represents only a small number of Moslems, it is a large minority (from a few percent of a population, to over half, according to opinion polls). Moreover, the majority of Moslems has not been willing, or able, to confront and suppress the Islamic radicals that not only spread death and destruction, but also besmirch all Moslems. This reveals a fundamental problem in the Islamic world, the belief that combining righteousness with murderous tactics, is often the road to power and spiritual salvation. Throughout history, when these tactics were applied to non-Moslems, they often failed. The non-Moslems were unfazed by the religious angle, and, especially in the last five hundred years, were better able to defeat Islamic violence with even greater violence. Thus, until quite recently, the Moslems fought among themselves, and left the infidels (non-Moslems) out. But after World War II, that began to change. During the Lebanese civil war of 1975-1990, Christian and Moslem Arabs fought bitterly over political, cultural and, ultimately, religious differences. The capital, Beirut, was divided into Christian and Moslem sections by the Green Line. The name came from the fact that in this rubble filled no man's land, only grass and weeds survived. And that the line on a ceasefire map was drawn in green. There have been a lot more Green Lines since then. Few realized it at the time, but this war was but the first of many between Christians and Moslems in the 20th and 21st centuries. Many of the earliest Moslem converts were Christians. And many of the peoples Moslem armies unsuccessfully sought to conquer were Christian. The original Crusades, which modern Moslems portray as Western aggression, were actually a Western attempt to rescue Middle Eastern Christians from increasing Islamic terrorism and violence. But Islam as a political force was in decline for several centuries until the 1970s. Then things changed, and they continue to change. Fueled by oil wealth and access to Western weapons and technology, Islamic radicals saw new opportunities. Islam was again on the march, and few have noticed the many places it was turning into religious war with Christians and other non-Moslems. In Asia, we have a Green Line between India and Pakistan. Inside India, many Moslem communities remain, and feelings aren't always neighborly. Indonesia and the Philippines suffer growing strife between Moslems and non-Moslems. Malaysia has fanatical Moslems persecuting more laid-back ones, and non-Moslems in general. China has a large Moslem community that generates an increasing amount of violence. Russia and America have formed a curious partnership to deal with Islamic-based terrorism coming out of Afghanistan and Pakistan. And in Chechnya, Russia faced Islamic-inspired violence all alone in the 1990s. Africa has a rather dusty Green Line south of the semi-arid Sahel region. Many African nations are split by increasingly sensitive religious differences. The Moslems are in the north, Christians and animists in the south. Nigeria, Chad and Sudan are among the more violent hot spots at the moment. When the Moslem Somalis stop fighting each other they will return to raiding their Christian and animist neighbors to the south. The Middle East still contains many non-Moslems. None have their own country, except for Israel. But Egypt contains five million Copts, native Christians who did not convert to Islam. Similar small Christian communities exist throughout the Middle East, and growing hostility from Moslem neighbors causes many to migrate, or get killed. Moslems also have turned their righteous wrath on dissident Moslem sects. The Druze and Alawites are considered by many Moslems as pagans pretending to be Moslems. Similarly, the Shias of Iran and neighboring areas are considered less orthodox, not just for their admitted differences, but because many adherents openly practice customs of the pre-Islamic Zoroastrian religion. These differences are less frequently overlooked today. To survive, the many Druze have allied themselves with Israel, and most of the current Syrian leadership are Alawites who pretend to be more Shia than they really are. Even Europe has a Green Line. The Moslems in the Balkans (Albanians and Bosnians) have been a constant source of strife for the last decade. Moslem migrants in Europe face even more persecution because of all those Green Lines, and this makes it easier for radical groups to recruit and carry out their crusade against Christians. In many European cities with Moslem minorities, there are neighborhoods where non-Moslems are advised to stay out of. But the Green Lines are about more than religion. A lot of it is politics. One of the reasons Islam ran out of steam centuries ago was that the Moslem areas never embraced democracy, and intellectual progress. Until the 20th century, most Moslems lived as part of some foreign empire, under local totalitarian monarchs. The foreign empires are gone, but democracy has had a hard time taking hold. The dictatorships are still there. And the people are restless. Radical Islam arose as an alternative to all the other forms of government that never seemed to work. In theory, establishing "Islamic Republics" would solve all problems. People could vote, but only Moslems in good standing could be candidates for office. A committee of Moslem holy men would have veto power over political decisions. Islamic law would be used. It was simple, and it makes sense to a lot of Moslems in nations ruled by thugs and thieves. Especially if the people are largely uneducated and illiterate. Islamic Republics don't work. The only one that has been established (not counting others that say they are but aren't) is in Iran. The major problems were twofold. First, the radicals had too much power. Radical religious types are no fun, and you can't argue with them because they are on a mission from God. Most people tire of this in short order. To speed this disillusionment, many of the once-poor and now-powerful religious leaders became corrupt. This eventually sends your popularity ratings straight to hell. It will take a generation or so for everyone in the Moslem world to figure out where all this is going. This is already happening in Iran, where moderates are getting stronger every day, but everyone is trying to avoid a civil war. While the radicals are a minority, they are a determined bunch. The constant flow of Islamic radical propaganda does more than generate recruits and contributions in Moslem countries, it also energizes Moslem minorities (both migrants and converts) in Western countries to acts of terrorism. In the United States, you find such Moslems getting arrested several times a year for attempting to carry out religious violence. Radicals throughout the Moslem world continue to take advantage of dissatisfaction among the people and recruit terrorists and supporters. To help this process along they invoke the ancient grudges popular among many Moslems. Most of these legends involve Christians beating on Moslems. To most radicals it makes sense to get people agitated over faraway foreigners rather than some strongman nearby. Most radicals lack the skills, money or ability to carry their struggle to far-off places. So most of the agitation takes place among Moslem populations. Any violent attitudes generated are easily directed at available non-Moslems. Thus we have all those Green Lines. But the more violence you have along those Green Lines, the more really fanatical fighters are developed. These are the people who are willing to travel to foreign lands and deal with non-believers, and kill them for the cause. We call it terrorism; the fanatics call it doing what has to be done. Defending Islam with jihad. Not surprisingly, Moslems get motivated to do something about Islamic radicalism when the violence comes to their neighborhoods. That's why terror attacks in the West are so popular. The infidels are being attacked, without any risk to those living in Moslem countries. Iraq changed all that, and during the course of that war (2004-7) the popularity of Islamic terrorism, in Moslem countries, declined sharply because the terrorists were killing so many Moslems. That, in the end, is what has killed, for a while, most Islamic terrorism in Iraq. But this time around, it would be nice if the Moslem world got their act together and expunged this malevolent tendency once and for all. Contact CPocerl at Cpocerl@aol.com |
|
EXPERIENCING ROCKET BOMBARDMENT; ARAB KIDS TAUGHT HATRED AND MARTYRDOM;
EU POLICY AND DUBAI ASSASSINATION
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 28, 2010. |
|
HOW ISRAELIS EXPERIENCE ROCKET BOMBARDMENT: PART 1: ATTACKS 
I interviewed a recently emigrated American whom I knew and who now arranges for local residents to show visitors launching sites on the grounds of former Jewish communities in Gaza, more or less adjacent to Israel. That is how close the danger is! He provided first-hand reports in more depth than the New York newspapers had, for what is a continuing situation. A couple of farmers were killed by snipers in Gaza, alongside their farms. [That is what happens with side-by-side living. I never heard of Israelis firing rifles into Gaza at non-terrorists just going about their business. Anti-Zionists who constantly condemn Israel as picking on the Arabs miss Arab aggression.] All the rocket news focused on Sderot, near Gaza, until Ashkelon, a bigger city, came within range of the technically improved rockets. [I was on my way to visit people in Ashkelon when the rockets first began striking there.] Actually, thousands of rockets also struck other towns and kibbutzim. Kibbutz Near'am received 750 mortars and Kassam rockets, not gift-wrapped. When the IDF does report bombardment, it often states that they fell on an "open field." That may be a military deception. The IDF won't serve as an enemy artillery spotter who informs the gun crews where the shells land so they can adjust their aim. The "open field" may be between a house and a kindergarten, where a rocket struck without injuring anyone. But there were people in the house and kindergarten. They were shaken psychologically by the blasts. Many Israeli children are taking tranquilizers. So are some pets. People worry that they will not hear the alarm. Some are afraid to take a shower, lest that be when the attack comes. People in the more dangerous zone drive with seat belts unbuckled and car windows open, so they will be surer to hear the alarm. Parents have to strategize which child to take out of the car, first. When the rocket alarm sounds, Israelis have only 15 seconds to find shelter. Hurry or die! Mothers grab their young children. Usually, they make sure to know where they are. However, one time, a mother couldn't find hers! Her 15 seconds were up. Frantic, she ran into the center of the house, and there was her child! In the shelter, children count off the seconds. More cautious mothers do not let them out immediately after the first explosion, lest there be a second one A mother in Kibbutz Nir Am, which lies between Gaza and Sderot, could not locate her young child when the alert went off, signaling the launching of a Kassam rocket by Palestinian Arab terrorists. A few seconds later she heard a thump, and when she raced to her backyard she found her son there, mere meters from an unexploded Kassam. The Kassam had failed to detonate, because it had landed where earlier downpours turned the ground into mud that absorbed the landing. Since this near-tragedy occurred on the second day of Chanukah, the boy's mother called it her family's personal miracle of Chanukah.
HOW ISRAELIS EXPERIENCE ROCKET BOMBARDMENT: PART 2: WHAT TO MAKE OF IT. A leftist kibbutz had favored the expulsion of all the Jews from Gaza. The leftists did not realize that they would be attacked, once the IDF was no longer patrolling Gaza. They had thought that the IDF was just guarding Jewish communities in Gaza. They did not understand that the Jewish communities in the Territories served as a breakwater absorbing the storm from jihad. It is a human tendency to rely upon one's present safety, and to close one's eyes to the approaching menace. [Same thing happened throughout history. In ancient Greece, a few people tried to warn of the approaching danger from Phillip of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. People paid no attention. The Macedonians picked off city after city, until Athens was alone.] Under bombardment, many leftists finally are realizing that their policies of appeasement failed [as is usual with determined or fanatical enemies.] Most rocket and mortar firing is ignored by the major media, but an Israeli incursion undergoes intense journalistic scrutiny. Hence, most foreigners get no sense of the constant attacks Israelis experience and of the justification for their attempts to silence the attackers. Under both military assault and assault by foreign diplomatic, media, and academia, Israelis feel isolated. They welcome expression of concern for them. My source finds that Israelis there do not feel like victims. They endure. But the bombardment does take a toll. This explains the Gaza war, which anti-Zionists profess not to understand. Members of Knesset, some of whom live in bombarded towns, often do not respond to local issues such as the rocket rain. Americans assume that Israelis in targeted towns simply need approach their Members of Knesset. But they do not have Members of Knesset. Israel is not divided into constituencies, as is the U.S.. Israelis elect parties, which pick the Members of Knesset. Parties may have other interests. It therefore is difficult to hold Israeli politicians accountable. Parties there, at least since the time of PM Rabin, do not keep campaign promises to an extent that would surprise Americans. Lacking representative government, Israelis find it difficult to marshal legislative support and its public relations strength. The Palestinian Arabs are far more talented than Israelis on public relations. They pose old people in front of rubble, to elicit sympathy (Jeff Daube, representative of Zionist Organization of America in Israel, 12/10). To see a 6-minute video of the rocket situation, enter WWW.UTube.com and search on "Sderot ordeal." The major media are more likely to pick up stories about that, than about Israelis. Israelis' houses get blown up, but usually the residents were not in the way at the time. I recall the complaint by one old Arab woman of being tired of her job, which was to sit in front of a destroyed house as if it were hers, but which had not been occupied; it was photogenic. The camera may not lie, but the Palestinian Arab photographer often makes false propaganda for jihad. I have reported that they often stage phony Israeli attacks, including the one on the Al-Dura boy, which attack was widely publicized by credulous media, gravely impaired Israel's reputation, and eventually was proved a fraud.
PALESTINIAN ARAB KIDS TAUGHT HATRED AND MARTYRDOM Today, Al-Quds TV station in Lebanon broadcast the message that Zionist gangs raided Palestinian Arab villages, to shoot children and the elderly. Based on that, all Palestinian Arabs are gun-wise and war-ready. The greatest joy for a child is to die a martyr, killing Jews. The narrative specifies "Jew" (www.imra.org.il, 2/27 from www.memri.org). By self-description, practically the whole Palestinian Arab population wants war. Contrast that with U.S. efforts to call the non-Hamas Palestinian Authority leaders moderate and the people as a whole wanting peace. When whole generations are brought up on a series of such war propaganda programs, how can peace be possible until generations have passed? Arab rulers, who disseminate such propaganda, should be suspected of aggression, not Israeli rulers, whose curriculum stresses peace. One hears the claim that anti-Zionism is not anti-Jewish. That broadcast and religious quotations from the Palestinian Authority disprove the claim. The propaganda does not differentiate Israeli Zionists from other Zionists and from other Jews, nor soldiers from civilians. Hence the Arab-Israel conflict is a religious jihad, and not a mere territorial conflict. Armed Israelis do not single out children and the elderly to shoot but to spare. Thus the P.A. case is based on blood libel. P.A. children are being raised on false grounds of hatred. And, hypocritically, they are taught to kill all Jews regardless of age, the very same condition they complain about when they pretend it happened to them. Another false contention is that Zionism intended to dispossess Arabs. It asked them to stay in independent Israel, but the Arabs made war and then fled. Now the Arabs blame Israel for loss of their villages that Israel urged them to stay in. Since they started the war, their loss is their own fault. A Muslim writer recently commented about my piece on Libya that Ghadafi is crazy and misrepresents Islam with his call for jihad on Switzerland. Does the same misrepresentation of Islam apply to Palestinian Arab leaders who urge children to kill all Jews? If so, let moderate Muslims correct the extremism in people who mistakenly claim to speak for their faith. That is the eventual path to peace.
EU POLICY AND DUBAI ASSASSINATION European foreign policy does not reflect the national interests of the EU. "Take the EU's initial response to the killing of Hamas terror-master Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on January 19. A senior terrorist engaging in the illegal purchase of illicit arms from Iran for Hamas-controlled Gaza is killed in his hotel room. The same Dubai authorities who had no problem with hosting a wanted international terrorist worked themselves into a frenzy condemning his killing. And of course, despite the fact that any number of governments, (Egypt and Jordan come to mind), and rival terrorist organizations, (Fatah, anyone?) had ample reason to wish to see Mabhouh dead, Dubai's police chief Lt.-Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim blamed Israel. "Not only did he blame Israel, to substantiate his claims, Tamim released what he said was video footage of alleged Mossad operatives who entered Dubai with European and Australian passports." "Relying only on Tamim's allegations, EU leaders went into high dudgeon. Ignoring the nature of the operation, the basic lack of credibility of the source of information, and the interests of Europe in defeating jihadist terrorism in the Middle East and worldwide, the chanceries of Europe squawked indignantly..." British Foreign Office sources told the Daily Telegraph, "If the Israelis were responsible for the assassination in Dubai, they are seriously jeopardizing the important intelligence-sharing arrangement that currently exists between Britain and Israel." "It reportedly took the intervention of the highest echelons of Europe's intelligence agencies to get their hysterical politicians and diplomats to stop blaming and threatening Israel. After being dressed down, on Monday, the chastened EU foreign ministers abstained from mentioning Israel by name in their joint condemnation of the alleged use of European passports by the alleged operatives who allegedly killed the terrorist Mabhouh." "And lucky they held their tongues. Because on Tuesday, Tamim claimed that after the hit, at least two of the alleged members of the alleged assassination team departed Dubai for Iran. It's hard to imagine Mossad officers feeling safer in Iran than in Dubai at any time and certainly it is hard to see why they would flee to Iran after killing an Iranian-sponsored terrorist." "What the initial European reaction to Tamim's allegations shows is that blaming Israel has become Europe's default foreign policy. It apparently never occurred to the Europeans that Israel might not be responsible for the hit. And it certainly never occurred to them that cutting off intelligence ties with Israel will harm them more than Israel." "They didn't think of the latter, of course, because Europe has no idea of what its interests are. All it knows is how to sound off authoritatively." Even if individual countries wanted to act in their own interests, the new EU treaty subordinates national foreign policy "to the whims of bureaucrats in Brussels. "As for its rhetoric, as the EU's rush to threaten Israel for allegedly killing a terrorist shows, it is cowardly, ineffectual and self-defeating." "Obviously Europe should favor Israel over a Hamas terrorist. But in its current state of strategic imbecility, no European leader can acknowledge this basic fact. Consequently, Europe may well be doomed." (Caroline Glick in www.imra.org.il, 2/27). MY COMMENT: When an ideology is blind everything else, those who hold that ideology blind themselves. They lack introspection. No longer think for themselves. Ruin the lives of millions and perhaps billions. In this and the next article on what Dubai illustrates, Caroline Glick demonstrates that governments often do not act in self-interest, but in their enemies' interest. The shibboleth that governments always act in their own interest misleads people to suppose that the governments of the U.S. deals with Israel out of self-interest when it makes demands of Israel. The same myth leads Members of Congress who sympathize with Israel not to oppose Israeli policies that they think harmful to Israel and therefore to international defense against jihad; they cannot imagine that Israel regimes pursue anti-Zionist policies.
ISRAELI POLICY AND DUBAI ASSASSINATION "If the Mossad did in fact kill Mabhouh, then the operation was an instance in which Israel distinguished itself from its European detractors by acting, rather than preening." Unfortunately, such instances are increasingly the exception rather than the rule. Over the past 16 years or so, Israel largely descended into the European statecraft abyss. Rather than use rhetoric to explain policies adopted to advance its national interests, successive Israeli governments have adopted policies geared toward strengthening their rhetoric that itself stands in opposition to Israel's national interests." For example, "Israel's national interest is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Today, the only way to secure this interest is to use force to destroy Iran's nuclear installations." "Given Iran's leaders' absolute commitment to developing nuclear weapons, no sanctions — regardless of how "crippling" they are supposed to be — will convince them to curtail their efforts to build and deploy their nuclear arsenal." "Beyond that, and far less important, the Russians and the Chinese will refuse to implement 'crippling sanctions,' against Iran." "IN LIGHT of these facts, it is distressing that Israel's leaders have made building an international coalition in support of 'crippling' sanctions against Iran their chief aim. And this is not merely a rhetorical flourish. Over the past several weeks and months, Israel's top leaders have devoted themselves to lobbying foreign governments to support sanctions against Iran." "Last week PM Binyamin Netanyahu went to Moscow to gin up support for sanctions from the Russian government. This week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak traveled to the UN and the State Department and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon flew off to Beijing just to lobby senior officials to support sanctions." "It isn't simply that this behavior doesn't contribute anything to Israel's ability to destroy Iran's nuclear installations. It harms Israel's ability to do so, if only by diverting our leaders' focus from where it should be: preparing the IDF to strike and preparing the country to withstand whatever the aftereffects of such a strike would be. Moreover, by calling for sanctions, Israel contributes to the delusion that sanctions are sufficient to block Iran's race to the nuclear finish line." "As for the Palestinian issue, it is fairly clear that at a minimum, Israel's interest is to secure its control over the areas of Judea and Samaria that it requires to protect its Jewish heritage and its national security. But it is hard to think of anything the government has done in its year in office to advance that basic interest." "It is argued that Israel's interest in maintaining good relations with the US administration trumps its interest in strengthening its control over areas in Judea and Samaria that it deems vital. The problem with this argument is that it takes for granted that Israel can determine the status of its relations with the US administration. In the case of the Obama administration, it is abundantly clear that this is not the case." "President Barack Obama and his senior advisers have demonstrated repeatedly that they are interested in weakening — not strengthening — the US alliance with Israel. This week the administration condemned Israel for defining the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem as national heritage sites. The fact that they are national heritage sites is so obvious that even President Shimon Peres defended the move." [Peres was one of the first Israeli leaders to act contrary to Israel's interest.] "Moreover, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated for the millionth time this week that he opposes military strikes against Iran's nuclear installations. That is, for the millionth time, the top US military officer effectively said that he prefers a nuclear armed Iran to an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear installations." "In the interest of strengthening Israel's ties with a hostile administration, the Netanyahu government has adopted rhetoric on the Palestinian issue that is harmful to Israel's national interests. It declared its support for a Palestinian state, despite the fact that such a state will define itself through its devotion to Israel's destruction." "It has outlawed Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria, despite the fact that the move simply legitimizes the Palestinians' bigoted demand that Jews be barred from living in Judea and Samaria." "And it has advocated on behalf of Palestinian leaders like Mahmoud Abbas and Salam Fayyad who refuse to accept Israel's right to exist." "Indeed, if Israel were to reject the current European model and craft a foreign policy that advanced its national interests, one of its first acts would be to point out that the unelected Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad is not a man of peace." "Just this week, Fayyad threatened to respond with a religious war to Israel's classification of the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb as national heritage sites. Last Friday he joined rioters at Bil'in to attack Israel's security fence. Fayyad has taken a lead role in the campaign to implement an international boycott of Israeli products. Over the past couple of years he has sought to take control over the PA's security forces not to fight terror, but to prevent Israel from fighting terror. Finally, since the Hamas victory in the PA legislative elections in 2006, he has overseen the transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to Hamas." "In short, Fayyad, a former World Bank employee, is not a 'moderate,' as his supporters in the US and Europe claim. He is a fiscally sound terror financier and sponsor, actively waging war against Israel." [That makes him all the more dangerous to the free world.] "As for the Palestinians, the situation will not be remedied simply by firing a few incompetent office holders. For 16 years, in the interest of enhancing the country's ties with Europe, and to a lesser degree with the US, successive Israeli governments have ignored Israel's vital national interest in maintaining its control over Judea and Samaria. Indeed, they have preferred Euro-friendly, and Israel-unfriendly rhetoric to the sober-minded pursuit of Israel's national interest." "To avoid Europe's encroaching fate [at the hands of Radical Islam], Israel must abandon its current course. The purpose of rhetoric is to support policies adopted in the pursuit of a nation's interests. And Israel has interests in need of urgent advancement MY COMMENT: If Israel did assassinate the Hamas terrorist leader, it should get a medal. The question should not be why Israel did it, but why didn't others try to do it? Continued devotion to the failed sanctions campaign against Iran may be a way of pretending to do something rather than having to do something with unforeseen and unpleasant consequences. In a world of difficult choices, many politicians do not choose. But not choosing alternatives is choosing the present, disastrous course. U.S. foreign policy makers blundered in not attempting Iran regime change, when there still was time to work on it. They thought that was bad. Now what do they think? In the case of President Obama, who pulls his punches even with sanctions, the sanctions campaign was a way of diverting attention from military action. That inexperienced radical's deceptive ways and his conceit about his own knowledge and capabilities, narrow our choices on critical issues. What that president and his predecessor did to us was dither away alternatives until we are left with military attack by us, which Obama rejects, and nuclear attack by Iran, against an anti-missile defense that Obama rejects. Compounding our quandary is the lack of scrutiny by media and academia. They are too poor, dependent upon government, or ideologically rigid, themselves. They do not explore the issues sufficiently. They do not enlighten the public. The same dissenters who correctly warned of one disaster after another, such as the disasters of Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and Lebanon and reliance upon the UN, are ignored when they warn again. Our policy makers haven't the character or intelligence to realize that people who foresaw outcomes before might have insight again.
ISRAEL'S HAMAS AGENT Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of a Hamas leader, has just come out with an autobiography of his many escapades as an agent for Israel's secret service. It must be an exciting and revealing book. Mr. Yousef says he was mistreated when the Israelis captured him. After a while, he realized that the captors respected his religious rights, did not again mistreat him, and the Hamas representatives tortured their own people in prison. He began to see who and what really was evil. He decided he must do what he can to stop terrorism, but spared a number of terrorists by arranging for their capture rather than their assassination. Some of them do not realize they owe their lives to him. But he advises Israel not to release terrorists still in captivity, in exchange for one Israeli. Too many innocent lives would perish. Yousef became Israel's most valuable agent in Hamas, not just by having inside information, but by ingenuity and instinct. It was he who discovered a secret echelon really running Hamas. He also turned Christian. When the risk of being discovered by Hamas became too great, he was pulled out and went to the U.S. and a new life (Haaretz in www.imra.org.il, 2/27). There is a greatness to that person. All the more regretful that Israelis started by mistreating him.
Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several
web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on
Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target
overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him
at richardshulman5@aol.com and visit his website:
|
|
DUBAI, IRAN AND THE ASSASSINATION; TIME FOR A JEWISH TEA PARTY?
Posted by Susana K-M, February 28, 2010. |
|
This was written by Daniel Greenfield and is from his website:
|
|
Over in Dubai, the assassination has now become a fullblown circus, with the Emirati police acting with the expected professionalism and attention to detail so typical of police forces in the region. That is to say they're basically unrolling the largest conspiracy of all time, which long ago stopped making sense, but is likely to involve every nation in the world and about a thousand Mossad agents before it's done. Dubai police on Wednesday afternoon revealed that fifteen more suspects have been connected to the mysterious assassination of Hamas terror chief Mahmoud al-Mabhouh at a hotel in the emirate last month, and that three of the suspects later fled Dubai through Iran. According to new intelligence cited by the Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya news networks, the suspects — among them five women — came to Dubai from six European countries and from Hong Kong. Three of them were found to possess Australian passports, while the remaining twelve possessed passports from the UK, Ireland and France. "The extensive investigation has led to a total of 26 suspects so far involved in the crime," read a Dubai government statement quoted by Al Arabiya It's safe to say that this is A. Sheer lunacy While the idea of Israeli agents fleeing to Iran rings as senseless to most people, Arab countries have a way of trying to blame each other for conspiring with Israel. Even when those claims make no sense at all. Especially when they make no sense at all. The Dubai police authorities are demanding an international investigation, though it's doubtful that there's much international interest in investigating the whole mess. They're also shrieking that they have DNA and fingerprints, which is impressive only when you consider that for them to be any use they have to be matched against existing suspects. Of course this is a helpful distraction from Dubai's own collapsing economy, its ballyhooed tallest building in in the world that had to be shut down and its mall shark tank that sprang a leak. But someone might want to have a word with the developers of the mall, Emaar Properties. That's the same company that constructed the record-shattering Burj Khalifa skyscraper, which was shut down earlier this month after an elevator malfunctioned, trapping 15 passengers for nearly an hour before help came. Emaar, with strong ties to the Dubai's ruling family, was struck hard by the global financial meltdown. And it's also rather clear, that Dubai's ruling family did a lot of their construction on the cheap. They didn't spare the slave labor, but clearly they didn't spare the quality either. Islam researcher Matthias Küntzel meanwhile has a fascinating Journal article on Dubai, which again reinforces the fact that much of Dubai's wealth is attributable to companies using it to do business with Iran. Dubai is in fact already the "gateway to the Iranian market" — and not only for German companies. The tiny emirate is considered to be the hub for much of the world's illegal trade with Iran. Virtually nothing is produced in Dubai and yet, its activities have somehow catapulted the UAE to the top of the list of countries exporting to Iran in 2009. An astounding 80% of all Emirati imports are re-exported, one-quarter of which goes to Iran via Dubai. Some 8,000 Iranian firms and 1,200 Iranian trading companies are registered in the emirate. Every week, about 300 flights shuttle between Dubai and Iran. Dubai has one of the world's largest artificial harbors, Jebel Ali, a mere 100 miles away from the Iranian container port of Bandar Abbas. Between 2005 and 2009, the value of goods exported from Dubai to Iran tripled, reaching $12 billion. In 2008, total German exports to the UAE reached $11 billion, an increase of 40% over the previous year. In the vehicle construction and mechanical engineering sectors, exports rose by more than 60%. The desire of the German-Emirati Joint Council to open the "gateway to Iran" even wider is therefore rather worrisome. That's just part of the picture behind the fraud that is Dubai. At the Jerusalem Post meanwhile, Caroline Glick has a compelling piece that argues that Europe and America have forgotten what it means to defend their own interests. They didn't think of the latter, of course, because Europe has no idea of what its interests are. All it knows is how to sound off authoritatively. THIS HAS not always been the case. It was after all Europe that brought the world the art of rational statecraft. Once upon a time, Europe's leaders understood that a nation's foreign policy was supposed to be based on its national interests. To advance their nation's interests, governments would adopt certain policies. And to facilitate the success of those policies they developed rhetorical arguments to explain and defend them. Contemporary European statecraft stands this traditional foreign policy model on its head. Today, rhetoric rules the roost. If actions are taken at all, they are adopted in the service of rhetoric. As for national interests, well, the Lisbon Treaty that effectively bars EU member states from adopting independent foreign policies took care of those. With national interests subordinated to the whims of bureaucrats in Brussels, Europe does little of value in the international arena. As for its rhetoric, as the EU's rush to threaten Israel for allegedly killing a terrorist shows, it is cowardly, ineffectual and self-defeating. If the Mossad did in fact kill Mabhouh, then the operation was an instance in which Israel distinguished itself from its European detractors by acting, rather than preening. Unfortunately, such instances are increasingly the exception rather than the rule. Over the past 16 years or so, Israel largely descended into the European statecraft abyss. Rather than use rhetoric to explain policies adopted to advance its national interests, successive Israeli governments have adopted policies geared toward strengthening their rhetoric that itself stands in opposition to Israel's national interests. Take Israel's positions on Iran and the Palestinians, for instance. Regarding the Iranians, Israel's national interest is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Today, the only way to secure this interest is to use force to destroy Iran's nuclear installations. Given Iran's leaders' absolute commitment to developing nuclear weapons, no sanctions — regardless of how "crippling" they are supposed to be — will convince them to curtail their efforts to build and deploy their nuclear arsenal. Beyond that, and far less important, the Russians and the Chinese will refuse to implement "crippling sanctions," against Iran.
IN LIGHT of these facts, it is distressing that Israel's leaders have made building an international coalition in support of "crippling" sanctions against Iran their chief aim. And this is not merely a rhetorical flourish. Over the past several weeks and months, Israel's top leaders have devoted themselves to lobbying foreign governments to support sanctions against Iran. Last week Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu went to Moscow to gin up support for sanctions from the Russian government. This week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak traveled to the UN and the State Department and Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Ya'alon flew off to Beijing just to lobby senior officials to support sanctions. It isn't simply that this behavior doesn't contribute anything to Israel's ability to destroy Iran's nuclear installations. It harms Israel's ability to do so, if only by diverting our leaders' focus from where it should be: preparing the IDF to strike and preparing the country to withstand whatever the aftereffects of such a strike would be. Moreover, by calling for sanctions, Israel contributes to the delusion that sanctions are sufficient to block Iran's race to the nuclear finish line. As for the Palestinian issue, it is fairly clear that at a minimum, Israel's interest is to secure its control over the areas of Judea and Samaria that it requires to protect its Jewish heritage and its national security. But it is hard to think of anything the government has done in its year in office to advance that basic interest. It is argued that Israel's interest in maintaining good relations with the US administration trumps its interest in strengthening its control over areas in Judea and Samaria that it deems vital. The problem with this argument is that it takes for granted that Israel can determine the status of its relations with the US administration. In the case of the Obama administration, it is abundantly clear that this is not the case. President Barack Obama and his senior advisers have demonstrated repeatedly that they are interested in weakening — not strengthening — the US alliance with Israel. This week the administration condemned Israel for defining the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem as national heritage sites. The fact that they are national heritage sites is so obvious that even President Shimon Peres defended the move. Moreover, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, reiterated for the millionth time this week that he opposes military strikes against Iran's nuclear installations. That is, for the millionth time, the top US military officer effectively said that he prefers a nuclear armed Iran to an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear installations. In the interest of strengthening Israel's ties with a hostile administration, the Netanyahu government has adopted rhetoric on the Palestinian issue that is harmful to Israel's national interests. It declared its support for a Palestinian state, despite the fact that such a state will define itself through its devotion to Israel's destruction. There's much more here, but it's an essentially compelling summation of the disease that has taken hold of the policies of the First World. In the blog roundup, while the left was busy being outraged over the assassination of a Hamas terrorist, The New Centrist has the story of a Cuban dissident who died in prison of a hunger strike. Doubtlessly Cuba's "excellent health care system" did all it could. Zapata's case sparked several street protests by government critics earlier this month, including one during which police in Camagüey detained some 35 people for several hours. The detainees later complained that some of them were beaten during the roundups. But of course the media isn't particularly interested in reporting on this. However every gang of terrorist supporters who throws rocks at Israeli soldiers protesting the fact that Israel still exists... now that gets unlimited media coverage. Elder of Ziyon tackles the "Israel has the right to defend itself but..." argument. The Onward James blog questions just how formidable a foe, the Taliban, really are. United States Central Command General David H. Petraeus said on Meet The Press that the Taliban is a formidable force. I am a bit non-plussed. Nonetheless, I suppose it depends on whose rules they fight. NATO allies fight under the Geneva Convention rules; they do not. No question it's difficult to fight a nation, a culture, an ideology, when the declaration of war is ambiguous such as — War on Terrorism — or that NATO is there only to protect, and should be policemen hunting for criminals. I understand that collateral damage is, sadly, also the price of war. Innocent citizens, or those who are not fighting, are killed. Of course the less the better. But the jihadists do not think that at all. The mujahideen defeated the Russians, because the Russians forgot why they were there and gave up. AT ISRAPUNDIT, CHARLES JACOBS ASKS WHETHER IT ISN'T TIME FOR A JEWISH TEA PARTY This campus phenomenon — the growth of the Muslim factor, the Jewish establishment's reluctance to respond forcefully to threats and the failure of public officials to protect Jews against Muslim threats — now mirrors the situation developing for Jews off campus: As mosques, funded by Saudi Arabia, and controlled by radical Muslim organizations, expand across America — unopposed — Jewish leaders fail to respond. Here too, "making nice" — through "dialogues" and outreach programs such as "twinning" synagogues and Islamic centers — is the Jewish establishment's primary response. And even when, as in Boston and Buffalo, such naïveté backfires, and Jews find instead of sincere and peaceful partners to shake hands with that they have been hoodwinked by Islamist anti-Semites, Jewish leaders remain silent. Meanwhile, in contrast to the Jewish community, a significant portion of America is in rebellion against — and is in the process of challenging — its political establishment. Grass-roots frustration expressed first in raucous "town hall" meetings and now in the Tea Party movement defeated incumbent Democrats and influenced elected officials not to run for re-election. Americans are angry with both parties. Why? Former CIA official Herbert Meyer notes that Americans were shocked by "two catastrophes we hadn't imagined our political establishment would allow to happen." First there was 9-11, "when we discovered that for years, Al Qaeda and its allies had been waging holy war against us," and our leaders — who knew — did not tell us. The second was "the 2008 financial crash, which revealed that our economy is a house of cards built on a pile of debt so high we cannot possibly repay it." Changing America's Jewish leadership is more difficult: Jewish political leaders are not democratically elected — or replaced. As with royalty, we may get lucky from time to time with an outstanding leader. But our "leaders" are mostly selected and controlled by well-intentioned philanthropists. Many of these donors are politically liberal, and even those who are not are inherently conflict-averse and comfortable with the status quo. Meanwhile, as we wait and pray for more effective leadership, we need to introduce the concept of "accountability" for our sclerotic Jewish leaders — perhaps by lighting grass-roots fires under them. What about a town hall meeting? The problem with that though can be summed up by pointing out how many of these groups are basically undemocratic, and are funded by grants from Democratic politicians. This is part of a typical pattern in liberal politics, in which liberal activists run organization that claim to represent a demographic, get grants to dole out to that demographic, and encourage that demographic to support those same politicians. This is machine politics at its ugliest and there's no way to really change that culture.
OTHER MATTERS Lemon Lime Moon has the equation for ending conflict Noah David Simon takes on the Obama Administration over Rachel's Tomb. The Obama administration criticized Israel Wednesday for designating two Jewish holy sites supposedly on Palestinian territory as Israel national heritage sites but the dumb bastards in the Obama administration seem to forget that Rachel's Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs are indigenous to the Jewish people and were there thousands of years before the fabricated "Palestinians" fraudulently claimed the territory to be theirs. For Spanish speaking readers, the REFLEXIONES SOBRE MEDIO ORIENTE Y EL MUNDO blog continues to translate some of my articles into Spanish, including my recent piece on Dubai, MAHMOUD AL-MABHOUH: MATAR A UN TERRORISTA — ANAÁLISIS EXCLUSIVO and ISRAEL, EL HOLOCAUSTO Y LA LECCIÓN DE SUPERVIVENCIA Via Religion of Peace, England's legacy comes down to this. NO suprise that we have another sickening blatant example of the British judiciary system going soft on muslim thugs. Iraqi, Serwan Abdullah, 23, another muslim-sorry-excuse-for-a-man spat on a World War II hero's medals, worn by his proud grandson, on Remembrance Day. After committing the abhorrent and unprovoked act — the cowardly Abdullah quickly ran away. The smirking Serwan Abdullah consistently voiced no remorse or sorrow for his despicable act: "Abdullah showed no remorse and told officers he had done 'nothing wrong' adding: 'I am proud of what I have done. I have no respect for him. F*** him and f*** his medals.'" One is reminded of Philip Larkin's Homage to a Government Next year we are to bring the soldiers home
...and not even the money anymore Dear readers, enjoy the weekend. To those who celebrate Purim this sunday, Happy Purim. Contact Susana K-M by email at suanema@gmail.com |
|
THE NORTHERN TINDER BOX
Posted by Jonathan Spyer, February 28, 2010. |
|
The war of words is continuing. The latest salvoes were fired last week by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, and his Lebanese ally and client Hassan Nasrallah. Ahmedinejad reportedly told Nasrallah that if Israel attacks Hizballah, the response should be sufficient to lead to the closure, once and for all, of the Israeli 'case.' In the same week, Nasrallah promised attendees at a 'Resistance Martyrs Day' celebration that his movement would target Israel's infrastructure in the event of further hostilities. The Hizballah leader mentioned airports, factories and refineries as possible targets. Hizballah second in command Naim Qassem joined in this week, describing Israel as 'worse than Nazism,' and the 'leader of international crime under the sponsorship of the U.S. and major world powers.' Qassem reiterated his movement's rejection of any diplomatic option vis a vis Israel, saying that "What was taken by the force of occupation can only be regained by the force of the resistance." The self-confident, warlike tones of these leaders are by now familiar. But what, if anything, is revealed by these most recent statements? Some analysis has suggested that the heightened rhetoric may presage an attempt by Iran to heat up the northern front in response to the hardening international stance to Iran's nuclear program. While nothing should be ruled out, a number of factors should be borne in mind in this regard. Hizballah and its backers are well aware of the broad contours of Israel's likely response in the event of further aggression by the movement on the northern border. The message has been adequately transferred that a future conflict would not remain within the parameters of a localized Israel-Hizballah clash in southern Lebanon. Rather, with Hizballah present in the Lebanese government, and its decisions regarding war not subject to supervision or appeal by any other element in Lebanon, a future war is likely to take on the characteristics of a state to state conflict. The results of such a conflict would be damaging to northern Israel, without a doubt. But to Lebanon and to Hizballah, they are likely to be devastating. This means that from the Iranian point of view, the Hizballah card is one of the most valuable that Teheran holds — but it can probably be played only once. So there is reason to suppose that the Iranians have good reason to hold back on committing their Hizballah clients until a possible later stage — most likely, in response to a future western or Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. Of course, past wars in the region have often erupted not from a decision by one or other of the sides, but rather from a situation of ongoing, rising tensions, which was then ignited by a single, ill-judged action — such as the attempted murder of Ambassador Shlomo Argov, which led to Operation Peace for Galilee in 1982, or the Hizballah kidnapping attempt which precipitated the war of 2006. Hizballah's failure to avenge the death of senior movement official Imad Mughniyeh remains a major issue for the movement. In his speech to the rally last week, Nasrallah referred to this issue, saying "What we want is a retaliation that is up to the level of Imad Mugniyeh." But here the movement faces a dilemma. Any major strike on an Israeli target is likely to provoke precisely the conflagration that Hizballah and its supporters fear. Hizballah, in addition to being a client and proxy of Iran, is also a Lebanese Shia movement, requiring the support of the Shia of southern Lebanon for its longer term goal of dominating the country. And for all their pride in the 'divine victory' of 2006, the stream of residents of south Lebanon seeking to flee the area whenever security tensions have risen over the last three years has surely not escaped the Hizballah leadership's attention. So can we conclude that deterrence has been achieved, and the situation of latent tension in the north is likely to remain at its current level for the foreseeable future, short of an Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities? To do so would be to assume that the thinking of the Hizballah leadership and its allies in Iran is ultimately pragmatic, rational, and non-ideological. This would be a mistaken assumption. The writings of Hizballah's leaders, and its actions — particularly since 2000 — offer clear evidence that its commitment to jihad against Israel is a genuine one. Recent visitors to Beirut speak of an atmosphere of high, even delusional morale, among Hizballah's cadres. It is sincerely believed that the next war will initiate Israel's demise. And there is in the public domain clear evidence of at least one abortive operation which could have sparked renewed conflict — namely, the foiled IRGC/Hizballah plan to kidnap the Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan, for which two movement members are on trial. Ultimately, there are ample pragmatic reasons as to why the Iran/Hizballah side might want to avoid escalation at the present time. But there are also irrational elements within the thinking of these forces — which incline them toward underestimation of their enemy. There is also a clear motivation for actions intended to reap a cost to Israel, but one not sufficiently high that Jerusalem will launch a full scale response. The possibility here for error and mis-calculation is obviously immense. The recent deployment by Hizballah of sophisticated M-600 surface to surface missiles adds further fuel to the mix. The situation in the north is complex, multi-faceted, and requiring of only a single wrong move to end the fragile quiet of the last three and a half years.
Dr. Jonathan Spyer is a senior research fellow at the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center, Herzliya, Israel
This article is archived at
|
|
"SHALOM INTERNATIONAL'S LAST 25 MONTHS AND WHERE WE NEED TO GO WITH THIS MOVEMENT!"
Posted by Bob Kunst, February 28, 2010. |
|
Dear "Chosen" Activists: Our impressive activism, needs to be reviewed, as we are now putting 'structure' to what has already been accomplished,with our agenda and what makes us unique and how we can do so much more with this 'structure' that will put us on a major new and positive level, across the nation and across the planet. There is no question that we are a missing link in resistance, while a role-model of the alternatives to those who should be doing what we are doing and aren't and why we do what we do and are not competing with anyone on these successes. Imagine if this impact were duplicated in every community? Imagine how much more could be accomplished, since there is strength in numbers. Imagine if those loaded with excuses instead focused on making it all happen? G-d's hand is on all of these efforts, and we are blessed with the many thousands who have participated with us in the last 25 months. It's one thing to complain about the horrors out there and then actually doing something about it, which is our highly visible and constant expertise we urge everyone to be a part of and embrace as part of your own activism. The attacks upon Israel and Jews is escalating. Iran and its nukes and Obama with EU and UN pressures for Israel to commit suicide and with the anti-semites in the Jewish organizations also participating in this tragedy, we have a great deal at stake at this critical moment in history. "Never Again is happening again". We are back in the 1930s by our 'so-called leaders', who haven't learned a thing from the past,but are repeating the same dangerous mistakes, showing 'weakness' our enemies are taking advantage of and leaving us all more vulnerable as a result. So while our history for the last 25 months may be long, please read and understand how much we've been able to accomplish, with G-d's help and all of you who did get it. We have legs. We have terrific ideas. We know how much more can happen if you also do your part. Shabbat Shalom,
|
|
A BRIEF HISTORY OF SHALOM INTERNATIONAL/ WWW.DEFENDJERUSALEM.NET FROM OCT. 2007 TO FEB. 24, 2010. We've now done 215 rallies/events and 1,128 news interviews that has reached very many millions across this planet. We 'broke' the silence within the global Jewish community to stop the Olmert government in Israel, when it said it would divide Jerusalem and Israel. This goes for any Israeli government or those pushing Israel to do this suicide that would finish off the Jewish state and give the Nazi their final victory. We established that the best defense is a good offense and have been pro-active and manipulating the situation, not just reacting to the Muslims menace and threats, locally and globally, which they love to manipulate. We have been mobilizing people of conscience within the Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Bhuddist, 'infidel' communities, all threatened by the Muslim Nazis. We have been functioning not on Israel being 62-63 yrs. old, but being 5000 yrs. old and our need to defend the faith and all historical places in the Holyland establishing our roots and rights to be there. We have been the most visible of all Jewish organizations, though most groups have sided with Obama to divide Jerusalem and Israel which would finish off the Jewish state and further endanger world Jewry. Obama met with 14 of these Jewish groups to divide Jerusalem and Israel from "AIPAC" to "J St." and sell this to the Jewish grassroots. We have opposed Obama and Hillary and anyone who would divide Israel, Jerusalem and America, while our whole effort has been to support, protect and defend Israel, Jerusalem and America. We have taken on the Jewish and Israeli establishments,CAIR and the Muslim Jihadists, the UN, EU, The Vatican, Obama/Hillary, Gov. Crist of Fla., Target Stores, Jimmy Carter and politicians in both political parties, 'G-20' and other Summits of world leaders among so many of our efforts. We have developed and are furthering developing a global effort with all of these successes. We have shown that we aren't afraid, aren't going to be misrepresented or intimidated, are going to tell the truth and alter this stupid direction of 'land for peace' and '2 states for 2 peoples' as phony, dangerous and a pereceived weakness that is only leading to more war. We are the real 'peace' movement. We have been doing right vs wrong, not left vs. right. Our Covenant with G-d is our foundation. Our faith, identity, history, all of it must be stated to the world, which tragically Israel hasn't a clue on public relations and the propaganda war that is critical and necessary and we have been filling that gap on a major level. Our 1128 news interviews have reached millions nationally and internationally. We have proven that every time we show up and state our case, the grassroots is always with us, everywhere we have been. WHERE WE HAVE BEEN; WHAT WE HAVE DONE 1. We took this campaign to the White House and led the movement on these issues, starting on Nov. 25, 2007 with 80 people and 15 key media. We have rallied at the White House on 14 occassions, the last time on July 5, 2009, when Obama was Pres. We have also rallied there when Olmert was there, as well as Fatah's Abbas as no different than Hamas. People from all over the world joined with us each and every time we rallied and only a few negative comments from people. 2. We rallied then to the Holocaust Museum in Wash., D.C. after marching from the White House. 3. We led the efforts against this "Annapolis Summit" in Annapolis, Md., where we spent two days and did 150 news interviews. We have exposed both Olmert and Livni, urged by Pres. Bush and Condoleeza Rice, to come in through a side door at this Summit, as the cowards they all are in rewarding the very enemies of Israel and America. Olmert/Livni having no self-respect or respect for Israeli sovereignty are the very forces we exposed as the frauds and embarassments they were/are. There is no one to negotiate peace with. You can't make peace with someone who wants to kill you. Fatah, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. are an extension of the Mufti of Jerusalem, alligned with Hitler to exterminate all Jews. This insane 'peace' effort only brings those committed to Israel's and America's destruction closer to the major Israeli cities and Ben Gurion airport, while inviting more terror attacks upon the U.S. and the West. Propping up Abbas in West Bank, who barely has any support amongst his own people let alone can't stop Hamas, is plain stupidity and dangerous. While the Arabs cowardly deny the Holocaust, they want to finish the job Hitler started, want to grab everything Jewish in G-d's 'holy' land and everything else, with the grand theft in the Holocaust and also the throwing out of 900,000 Jews from Muslim lands in 1948. We are the only Jewish organizaion using these issues as part of our 'truth' campaign. The Israelis completely ignore the Mufti of Jerusalem and Hitler. Another major mistake. At the same time we rallied in Annapolis, we were with Knesset Israel Synogague, where Rabbi Weisblum fed us for 2 days. We also rallied at the Israeli Consulate in NYC with Assemblyman Dov Hindkind and at the Holocaust Memorial in Philly on the same day. We also rallied at the U.S. State Department in Wash., D.C. 4. We stated during the Presidential election: "Obama is Bad For Israel and America". We took this campaign to The Boca Raton Synogague; a fundraiser for Obama at the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Fla., a national mayors conference in Miami, where Obama was at. We also took this to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado for 4 days and another 250 media interviews (Aug., 2008). We also took this to the Republic National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. (Sept. 2008) and another 250 media interviews. We also took this to the first Presidential debate in Oxford, Miss. and much more media. We also took this to the national AIPAC Convention in Wash.,D.C. in 2007,plus will be protesting at AIPAC in D.C. from March 21-23, 2010. We also took this to a McCain rally in Orlando and also at an Obama/Hillary Rally in Orlando in 2008. Also at a debate at Bet Breira Shul in S. Dade and at a table we had shared with S. Fla. Friends of Israel at Federation event. We also rallied against Obama at a rally for him in Tampa. 5. We took our "Keep Jerusalem and Israel United " campaigns to the "General Assembly" of 3000 Jewish leaders in Nashville, Tenn. in Nov. 2007 and Nov. 2009 in Wash., D.C.; the National Religious Broadcasters Convention, Proclaiming Justice to All Nations Dinner, in Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 2008; the National Jewish Democratic Coalition, Wash., D.C. in Nov. 2009, and opposed "J St." at their national convention in D.C., Nov. 2009. 6. We opposed Muslims wanting Sharia law, in Tall. in March of 2009 and also this March 11, 2010 in Tall. for Round II on this level. We opposed CAIR twice at the Ft. Laud. Convention Center, 2008,2009 with Americans Against Hate and once we opposed CAIR with Jesse Jackson in Arlington, Va. in Nov. 2009. We led opposition with 75 people and help from Joyce Kaufman Radio Show and Tom Trento of Fla. Security Council, when 300 Muslims screamed: "Jews Into The Ovens", when Israel finally attacked Hamas in Gaza on Dec. 30, 2008. At our one-yr. anniversary,12/30/09, our 300+ were there with lots of media and the Muslim cowards did a no-show. We rallied with Americans Against Hate in Ft. Laud. against CAIR's getting a street sign by Nova Univ.in Broward County, with CAIR supporting Hamas in 2010. We also rallied against a mosque in Pompano Beach,Fla. with Rev. Dozier in 2010. Since Dec. 30, 2008, the Muslims at the Ft. Laud. Fed. Bldg. would come back the next week but this time with 250 and we having 250. The following week they had 150 and we had 300. Our rally for Israel at the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach on 1/4/09, had 2000 and then we had 300 at the Israeli Consulate in Miami facing the 300 Muslims and 12 of them got arrested. Shalom International has done weekly rallies at the Ft. Laud. Fed. Bldg. every Tuesday since 12/30/09 through to 2/23/10. We have also begun rallying at FAU, Boca Raton, (3-5P.M.) every Monday, with 3 major rallies during the war and weekly for the last two months, to great reaction from those at FAU, with a large Muslim population, and only a few blocks from both a Mosque and Muslim Center. We have rallied for 6 times in Boynton Beach, at Jog Rd. and Gateway at Noon every Monday in Boynton Beach. For the last 6 weeks we also rally every Wed., at Pines Blvd. and entry to Century Village, 5-6P.M in Pembroke Pines. We are the ONLY Jewish group in the world with Christian friends who help us to rally 4 times weekly (weather permitting) on behalf of Israel and America. The results of our activism and opposition to the pro-Hamas gang was that this effort caught on globally with many rallying for Israel against Hamas from S. America to the Ukraine and across America. Tom Trento's You Tube on those Muslims screaming "Jews Into the Ovens" got over 500,000 hits and helped push this entire scenario of counter-protest in support of Israel going after Hamas. We also rallied with 50 against 1500 pro-Hamas in Orlando in 2009. We also rallied twice in Melbourne, Fla. with 300 and again with 75, both in 2009. 7. We rallied against Jimmy Carter at Carter Center in Atlanta, May 7, 2008 with local and national media attention, for his support for Hamas, his collaboration with the Arabs for his Carter Center and his anti-semitism. When Jimmy Carter recently offered his apology to the Jews, we rejected it as a 'political stunt' and 'sorry, doesn't cut it', and with two Associated Press stories got over 300 media worldwide, plus opened the door to many attacks upon Carter from everywhere. We aren't finished with him yet and plan more events in Atlanta, plus one meeting we already had there. 8. We were part of the Jewish Heritage Festival in Daytona Beach in 2008 and will again on March 14, 2010 have a table at this event for 5000+. 9. We rallied against Obama and Rahm Emanuel in Chicago, Ill., Aug. 9, 2009, with Caroline Glick of Jerusalem Post, our feature speaker and we had 9 media nd 300 attend in the first rally in Obama's back yard, also with much support from the Russian Jewish community in Chicago. On this same day, Abbas and Fatah were demanding in Bethlehem, not just East Jerusalem but all of Jerusalem. This effort to rally in Chicago began with a meeting in Philly, that came from a couple who rallied with us in Boca Raton. 10. We rallied to "Keep Jerusalem United" in NYC again at the Israeli Consulate; at a rally for thousands at an Armory rally in 2008; at Central Park on "Israel Day" in 2008; 3 times at the UN against Iran's Little Hitler-2008,2009; Against the Left/Pro-Hamas march of 5000 and us with 50. In Times Square in 2008. We were also part of a coalition rally at the UN with other anti-Muslim Jihadists. Also, we rallied in front of the State Capital in Albany, NY. 11. We had 3 more rallies at the Torch of Friendship in Miami in 2008, including with the Hispanic Coalition and also against the Muslims Jihadists. Our first rally in this effort took place at the Torch of Friedship Oct. 2007 and our first media was the Jewish Journal, that's given us 8 stories since. 12. We addressed Hadassah in Coral Springs,Fla. plus did one rally there. We addressed an Israeli-American Club in Kings Point Condo in 2009, plus also rallied against Obama at Kings Point in 2008. 13. We were the principle speakers at a rally for Israel at Century Village in Feb. of 2009 (6 rallies outside there since). 14. We've had 2 meetings and 3 rallies at Chabad in Boca Raton, one rally at a park in downtown Boca Raton with 150 and meetings in Chabad in N. Miami Beach, while attending a large gathering for the Rebbe's anniversay since his passing, in Philly where Sen. Lieberman was the feature speaker. 15. We rallied for Israel at a presidential candidate debate at FAU in 2008, met at Rabbi Goldman's shul in Pompano Beach,(also there when Laurie Cardoza Moore of Proclaiming Justice to All Nations spoke there) and rallied with Rudy Guiliani campaign in Ormand Beach, with our efforts and spoke to him to address these issues of our campaign. We also spoke at an event for Christians and Jews United for Israel in Boca Raton in 2009. 16. We rallied outside the Shul of Bal Harbour when Sen. Lieberman came to speak in 2008. We rallied when Liberman was speaking in Ft. Laud. and also at a Stadium Rally for Sen. McCain in Bwd. County. 17. We've had organizational meetings in Detroit, Philly, Atlanta, Ft. Laud., Silver Springs, Md., Sunny Isles, Fla., North Miami Beach, Boca Raton. 18. We rallied at a McCain rally at F.I.U. in 2008, with 5000 there to see him. 19. We also rallied at the Super Bowl on 2/7/10 in Miami and Art Deco visibility on Miami Beach a week earlier with our tee-shirts, with many thousands giving us support. 20. We also addressed Rotary Club in Palm Beach in 2008; rallied against Chavez of Venezuela and his anti-semitic politics in Shul in North Miami Beach and Consulate in Miami in 2009. We participated in church luncheon in Palm Beach. 21. We participated in "Tea Party" rallies in Ft. Laud. (5); Weston, Fla. and also in Wash., D.C. and will be part of one this April 15 in Ft. Laud.. Have collected over 1000 names from these events. A rally for Israel in Orlando Shul on 2/14/10, was leafleted by a couple who join with us every Tues. at Fed. Bldg. in Ft. Laud. We support Israel and America and have been well received at these events. We do not get involved with 'tea party' inside politics or who they are endorsing. 22. We protested Jewish sell-out members of Congress in S. Fla. in 2009 in going after Rep. Wexler in Delray Beach and Rep. Klein in S. Palm Beach and Rep. Wasserman-Schultz(Schmutz) in Weston. We also rallied for U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan in Ft. Laud. in 2009. 23. We rallied in the rain against Rev. Wright — Obama attended this racist's Church — at the National Press Bldg. in Wash., D.C. in 2008 and got lots of media there as well. 24. We rallied with JDLCanada in Toronto in Aug. of 2009 at the U.S. Consulate against Obama's sellout politics against Israel. We also addressed this organization a few days earlier and we also got local media as a result of this effort. 25. We were part of a meeting at Beth Israel Synogague on Miami Beach about building in East Jerusalem and met with Nof Zion. com folks who then agreed to help us to go to Jerusalem, to organize our rally: "Hands Off of Jerusalem", when the Pope was there in May of 2009. We would do 60 media interviews with 200 at our rally. This was preceded by our efforts in Geneva, Switzerland as part of this effort. Nof Zion has a project with the most spectacular view of Jerusalem and is building 400+ units. Please check them out as one of the key investments and preservation efforts for a United Jerusalem. 26. We also stood in front of the Vatican in Rome with our sign, 4/25/09,: "Keep Jerusalem United" and this photo made world news including the Orthodox Union publication in the U.S.. 26. We rallied in Geneva, Switzerland against the anti-semitic and anti-Israel "Durbin II" UNazis conference that also gave Iran's Little Hitler a forum to again blast Israel with. We participated and had a table at a major conference on these issues, a Remember the Holocaust event with 3000, a rally against Darfur genocide with 100, and another pro-Israel rally and got a dozen media interviews for these efforts as well as a mailing list from many of the dozen Jewish groups and many Jews attending these events from 4-20-24/09. We also had a rally at the UN in NYC at the same time as we were in Geneva. 27. We had two ads in the Jerusalem Post in Oct. 2009, that one key local rabbi helped us to get. The focus was on all the bad things that happened to Israeli leaders who sold out to the enemies of Israel and the Jewish nation. 28. We met with some Jewish leaders,but Christian Zionist leaders in Portland, Oregon, put 200 of our stickers there in circulation with their support. 29. We confronted 60 anti-Israel political groups such as "J St." at a conference at the Wilson Center, in Wash., D.C. in Nov. of 2009. Only two of us were for Israel, but we made international news at this event as well. We confronted one Jew and one Arab, both sides of the same coin, in their give up everything politics, at a forum at the U. of Miami in 2009. 30. We were interviewed on WIOD Radio several times including to comment on officer murdered by Nazi at Holocaust Museum in 2009. We were also interviewed by Jewish radio shows in Philly, Phoenix, AZ., and Jewish Activist Radio out of NYC and Joe Orlow. We've also been interviewed by Jewish papers in Atlanta, NYC, Wash., D.C., S. Fla. and the JTA. Also, Ch. 2 and 10 from Israel and Haaretz and JPost several times. We were also interviewed on "Wiley Drake" Christian Radio 6 times. 31. We opposed Rev. Phelps Nazis, from Topeka, Kansas, both at the General Assembly in Wash., D.C., Nov., 2009 and again when they came down to Boca Raton Federation, when we organized 100 against them and much media attention as well for our efforts in 2010. 32. We were the only Jewish group visible at the "G-20" World leader Summit in Pittsburgh,Aug., 2009 and got 20 media interviews there as well. 33. We got over 300 media worldwide in demanding that Fla. Gov. Crist change a special election date that would fall on the last day of Passover to another date, and that this insensitivity was an act of 'anti-semitism'. Gov. Crist changed the date and we then called him a 'mensch' and got media on that one as well. This was in Dec. 2009, for an election now taking place on April 13, 2010. Another victory for our side. 34. We initiated a national exposure upon Target Stores selling a "Palestine" Globe that eliminated "Israel". This product from China, was exposed via media on Joyce Kaufman's Radio Show in S.Fla. and by letter, we wrote to the CEO on 1/24/10. On 1/25/10, we got a call from Target customer relations that they would remove the globes, but we could buy them continually for another week. On 1/28/10, at a rally we did in NYC at "Ground Zero", 9 media were there for us as well to focus on our opposition to '9/11' trial in NYC, our opposition to Muslim Jihadists responsible for '9/11' and the Globe from Target. The NYTimes Blog, and subsuquent major story from the NYPost, plus Fox and NBC tvs in NYC and over 100 media worldwide picked up on this story, which is still on-going with Target refusing to explain itself on how this happened in the first place or what they did with the globes themselves, we don't know were destroyed or given away which only adds to the same problem. We expect to confront Target at it stockholders meeting in May. With a global campaign against Israel claiming Israel doesn't exist, or the Holocaust didn't happen or that '9/11' was an inside job, and those who say Israel shouldn't exist, or those who say Israel should not be able to defend itself (Goldstone Report) by UN, EU, etc. or are boycotting Israel, this 'globe' is the key example and model of what their goals are in marginalizing Israel on every level and delegitimizing Israel and therefore an additional attack upon the Jewish people worldwide as part of this assault. These dangers we face with synogagues and churches under attack and the need to defend ourselves everywhere is part of a meeting with Rabbi Moskowitz we attended in Chabad Shul in Kew Gardens, Queens,NY, on all of these issues, on 1/31/10. We are working on a National Jewish Security Council, relationship with Rabbi Moskowitz. 35. When the tragedy of the Haitian Earthquake took place, we participated with a group at the City of Miami Beach to help organize relief. We also took the tremendous Israeli success of being first and foremost in saving Haitian lives with their medical team and took this info to a S. Fla. Radio station, that previously had ignored Israel while promoting Saudi Arabia as being involved when it wasn't. We reversed this for the Caribbean community with the DJ reversing himself from a week earlier and promoting Israel and stating how the Muslims and Arabs were AWOL. This is also an on-going campaign for us to reach out to the radio community media to change this anti-Israel image and to correct what really happened is going on there. 36. As you can see we have been the most successful grassroots effort in the nation and planet and also the most underfunded and still $15,000 in debt. We take no salary as yet for our successes. We have also gotten a headquarters at 2040 N.E. 163rd St., in North Miami Beach, near Aventura since April 2009. 37. We put out 10,000 bumper stickers that say with both the U.S. and Israeli flags on them: "Keep Jerusalem United" and "Protect and Defend" and they are all over the world as one of our visible fundraisers. We have also produced thousands of "Keep Jerusalem United" buttons; 5000 posters donated to us as well as 19 large banners; and hundreds of pins also donated to us for fundraising. We also have paintings from Holocaust survivor, Eva Costabel of NYC on magnificent scenes from Jerusalem that are for sale on our web site,www.defendjerusalem.net which is managed by Barnett.Your donations are vital either through paypal on the web or by check to: "Defend Jerusalem", P.O.Box 402263, Miami Beach, Fla. 33140. 38. We've also had donated art work from Carole Flato, Marlene Arribas and Jeannene Ross, and Beena, to advertise our rallies with. 39. From Israelpundit to Voices of Unity Coalition, and very many blogs and emails putting out our messages and efforts to mobilize resistance to the madness out there so that we have had access to very many thousands of people all over the world besides our own 5000 e-mail list. We have put out 300+ e-mails and announcements, and hundreds of tee-shirts and many thousands of flyers. With all of our visible attempts to tell our side of the story, we are sort of a mini Al Jazeera, taking advantage of being at the right place at the right moment and stating our case for the world to understand another point of view they aren't getting otherwise.We've actually been interviewed by Al Jazeera on 3 occassions too. When we were in Israel we pleaded with the locals to take advantage of 1000 media covering the Pope they could take advantage of to tell their story to the world eager to hear from them and most, tragically didn't get it. But we did, with the help of NofZion.com and got coverage all over Europe and the world that Jerusalem belongs to every Jew and every Jew murdered for being a Jew and that Israel is strictly caretaker for what belongs to G-d and his gifts to us, his 'chosen' people who are the world's scapegoats and also the world's conscience and why we are the missing link in telling the truth and moving beyond those foolish politics that are allowing the next Holocaust, G-d forbid. We stood firm that the Pope shouldn't give sainthood to Hitler's Pope Pius XII, and to open papal documents on WWII and to return $millions in Jewish holy items and articfacts stolen in the Holocaust and in the Vatican needing to be returned to the Jewish people. We have also advocated that the death camps be taken over by Israel and these holy sights and the world's largest Jewish cemeteries, need to have the truth told about all victims and also to prevent commercialism, trivialization and Vaticanization of those camps. 40. We are the biggest bang for the buck and the most successful and underfunded Jewish group with Christian supporters as well, helping us to make this difference in the last 25 months. Imagine if every Jew understood both the threats and the opportunities and also experienced the support we are getting, that one has to experience, beyond the biased anti-Israel media and the politics supporting the terrorists from the EU, UN, Obama, and the Jew-haters around the world, including in our own community doing so much harm to us all. We will rally opposite the Looney-Left and Pro-Hamas gang in Wash., D.C. when they march on March 20, 2010, and we are peacefully resisting at the corner of Conn. Ave., M St. and 18th St., starting at 9 AM.. On June 6, 2010, our "Gathering of Mensches" at the Holocaust Museum in Wash. D.C. at 8 AM to Remember "D-Day" anniversary and the Holocaust and this anniversary of the "Sixth Day War" when Israel and Jerusalem were reunited...and then our march to the WWII Memorial for wreath laying and taps, and then march past the White House (Muslim House) on our way to the U.S. Capitol for a 2 P.M. Rally on protecting and defending America and Israel and to finally make a huge statement of thanks for everyone confronting the Muslim extremists in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Israel on the forefront in the Middle East and everyone standing tall against these threats across the planet. Shalom International/www.defendjerusalem.net is a constant reminder of defending our Covenant with G-d, our religion, our 5000 yr. history, our identity as Jews and with help from our Christian supporters and others who believe as we do that time is running out and the dangers are great and our collective need to respond to this danger and emergency with another war on the horizon, let alone terrorist attacks in the U.S. from domestic Muslim Jihadists. ACT NOW, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE. PUT YOUR FINANCES, RESOURCES, TIME AND EFFORTS BEHIND WHAT IS WORKING AND WOULD WORK EVEN BETTER WITH YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT. Bob Kunst is President, Shalom International. Contact the group by email at shalominternational@mindspring.com. Visit the website at www.defendjerusalem.net |
|
FATAH LEADERS PRAISE MASS MURDERER
Posted by Maayana Miskin, February 28, 2010. |
|
A Fatah conference held this week in Ramallah included a speech in praise of terrorists. A member of Fatah's central committee, Mahmoud el-Aloul, said Fatah would continue to honor Arabs who died fighting Israel and commemorate their attacks. El-Aloul, formerly the governor of Shechem, said Fatah would endeavor to pass the "tradition of struggle" to the next generation of PA Arabs. Among his listeners were representatives from various PA institutions. The PA is currently run by Fatah, and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is a long-time member of the group. Aloul gave particular honor to female terrorist Dalal Mughrabi. Mughrabi led a squad of eleven terrorists who infiltrated Israel by boat from Lebanon in 1978 and murdered dozens of civilians, including 13 children and American photographer Gail Rubin, in what became known as the Coastal Road Massacre. A spokesman for MK Michael Ben-Ari of the National Union slammed the government for failing to act in the face of Fatah's praise for terrorism. "The government needs to figure out why it insists on conducting negotiations with a gang of terrorists. In any normal country, the government would declare war on Fatah over statements like these. "Only Israel allows itself to capitulate to its enemies." Maayana Miskin writes for Arutz-7, where these articles were published today. |
|
DR. ANAT MATAR: "BOYCOTT ISRAEL BUT PLEASE DON'T BOYCOTT ME."
Posted by Israel Academia Monitor, February 28, 2010. |
|
I went to a recent talk given by Dr. Anat Matar on her recent visit to London. Dr Matar is a senior lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at Tel Aviv University. She is also an Israeli citizen who wants the world to boycott Israel. She is a member of Who Profits? Exposing the Israeli Occupation Industry. Dr. Matar feels that the only way to end Israel's occupation of the West Bank is for there to be an economic, cultural and academic boycott of her own country. Imagine boycotting yourself! Would any Brit or American call for a boycott of their respective countries over Afghanistan or Iraq? Only a courageous, caring and unselfish person would even contemplate this, surely? Her son, Hagai, spent two years in an Israeli prison for refusing to enlist. At her talk at SOAS Dr. Matar outlined the three main objections that her friends on the radical anti-Zionist left have to a boycott:
Poor Anat. Her own supporters attacking their boycott heroine. She tried to put across her ethical argument and explained how hard it is to be an artist in Israel: "You can't make a film or be a dancer without taking money from the Israeli government. If you are rich you are alright but if you are poor and an artist and support the occupation what do you do? They can't give up their lives. If they support the boycott it will finish their careers". I then realised how wrong I was. I had honestly respected Dr Matar. However misguided, she actually seemed to be willing to sacrifice herself for what she perceived to be the greater good of Israel and the Palestinian people; an academic boycott in which even she would suffer. But in effect she was calling for an academic and cultural boycott just so long as those who are against the occupation are not affected which, conveniently, includes herself. So in a nutshell her message to the world is: "Boycott Israel, boycott all Israeli academics but please don't boycott me." Dr. Matar isn't as courageous as she would like people to think she is. Meanwhile, you can make your way down to the Tate Modern this weekend and see what Israeli artists have to say about Israel through their art.
Contact Israel Academia Monitor. by email at
e-mail@israel-academia-monitor.com. Visit the website at
|
|
MUSLIM BEAUTY CONTEST
Posted by CPocerl, February 27, 2010. |
|
This was written by Richard Moriarty and is from The Sun
|
|
NICE humps, full lips and a shiny body — these are just some of the qualities required for females entering a bizarre camel pageant being held in the United Arab Emirates. The hard-working animals have been groomed and beautified for days to ensure that all contestants look their best. And with millions of pounds in prize money at stake, competition at the third annual Al Dhafra Festival in the remote desert of Western United Arab Emirates is fierce. Gulf Arabs from across the region gather in a large sandy plot in Ajman to sit in for a four-hour competition, which will see the selection of the best out of 150 camels every day. The three-day spectacle ends with the top two finalists bagging luxury cars, while eight others win cash. The body is divided into five sections, with 20 points each, to mark beauty and elegance. After the prettiest camels are selected, their owners must then vouch for purity of lineage. Following the pageant some camels are auctioned off, with the best going for as much as 16million dirhams (&lb;2.85m). The festival is a celebration of not only all-things-camel, but also serves to remind participants of the country's traditional way of life. Saeed al-Aameri, who owns a large camel farm and is a participant in the pageant, said: "The UAE's heritage is linked to camels and this festival emphasises this. Traditions and customs lie in maintaining our history."
Contact CPocerl at Cpocerl@aol.com
|
|
MUSLIM SEX SLAVES: BACHA BAZI
Posted by CPocerl, February 27, 2010. |
|
This is from the Bare Naked Islam website
MUSLIM SEX SLAVES: 'BACHA BAZI' aka Boy Play where very young boys are the 'entertainment' for grown men |
|
Popular in Afghanistan, these "dancing boys" are actually sex slaves, lured off the streets by pimps, taught to dance and sing, to wear make-up and to dress like girls. Then they are made to perform before large groups of men. ALL of them are sexually abused. So let me get this straight. We know paedophilia is condoned in Islam but I thought homosexuality was against the law? 
"Dancing boys" are a lucrative business. Powerful former warlords and businessmen love to watch them and will pay a lot of money to have their own boy for Bacha Bazi. Some of the boys are traded like swap cards amongst the rich and powerful and if they disobey their "owners" they are killed or brutalised. The trade in boys is well known to the United Nations. According to Nazir Alimy, who compiled a report on the issue for the UN, there is no doubt who is funding this practice and why the police refuse to stop it. "According to our research these dancing boys are used by powerful men for sex," Mr Alimy said. Paedophiles and pimps search for young boys so they can sell them or groom them to be trained as "dancing boys". In one case a journalist goes in the car with a paedophile named Dastager. As they drive, Dastager explains the type of boy he is looking for. Then in broad daylight the "dancing boy master" stops the car, goes to a shopfront and brings a boy back to his the waiting car According to a report prepared for the United Nations there is evidence that the practice of bacha bazi and the sexual abuse of boys is common throughout the north of the country. It confirms that young boys, some of them only 10 years old, are lured into life as a sex slave. There is also evidence that this type of abuse is spreading throughout Afghanistan."It's true they make the boys wear girls' clothes and make them dance in front of many men," he said. The powerful customers are often former warlords who helped drive the Taliban out of the north. Others who involve themselves in the trade of boys are wealthy businessmen. Under the Taliban, Bacha Bazi was outlawed. Today it is still a crime but clearly there is no concerted effort being made to stop the practice and the criminal activity that surrounds it. See an excellent 6-part documentary about BACHA BAZI here: bacha-bazi-documentary
Contact CPocerl at Cpocerl@aol.com
|
|
ARAB BID FOR DISCRIMINATION IN JAFFA; AMNESTY INT'L AND TALIBAN; GADHAFI URGES ARMED JIHAD AGAINST SWITZERLAND
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 27, 2010. |
|
ONTARIO CONDEMNS ISRAEL APARTHEID WEEK The legislature of Ontario passed a resolution condemning Israel Apartheid Week and its false terminology. B'nai B'rith Canada described the Week as an outpouring of hatred that defames Israel on campus and leads to antisemitic violence (www.imra.org.il, 2/25). It seems to be organized Israel-bashing that does run over into
antisemitism, rather than teaching anything.
ISRAELI COURT THWARTS ARAB BID FOR DISCRIMINATION IN JAFFA 
The Israel Land Authority auctioned some land in Jaffa, a part of Tel Aviv. Jews had lived in Jaffa for thousands of years. [Persecuted by Arabs before statehood, Jaffa Jews founded Tel Aviv.] The high bidder was a group of Jews who wanted to build an apartment house for themselves there. The losing bid was by Arabs. Some Israeli Arabs and politically motivated NGOs sued over it. They contended that the Arabs are losing a majority in Jaffa [which no longer is a separate city], that Arabs have a housing shortage in Jaffa, and that the purchase somehow discriminates against Arabs and therefore Jews should not be allowed to buy more land there unless they allot apartments to Arabs. The judge rejected the petition as in bad faith, merely being self-serving in the name of equality. Counsel for defense said that the Arab premise is that all of Israel belongs to the Arabs and that Jewish building anywhere is a settlement to be barred. The defense had argued that the Jews won the bid fairly, that they have human rights to buy public land offer and to enjoy land they own [i.e., not have to turn around and offer it to someone else], and the right to live wherever they want to in their own country. Having lost in court, Arab activists turned to mass protest and threats of violence. Indeed, the construction site was vandalized. "In recent weeks the world Jewish community has been told that Jews are forbidden to live in parts of Jerusalem and the territories. Now Jews are being informed by Arab-Israelis and so called human rights groups that they are also prohibited from live in Jaffa, a suburb of Tel-Aviv that has had a Jewish presence for thousands of years, as well. The battle over Jewish rights inside the State of Israel is truly heating up." (www.imra.org.il, 2/25.) As I have put it, the Arabs are trying to turn the clock back and renew their fight to take over the country. Their loyalty is questionable. Their immediate goal is ethnic separation or apartheid, with special privileges for themselves. I sense that the courts no longer are ruling almost automatically in behalf of the Arabs, because the Arabs are going too far. When I visited Jaffa on a couple of early trips to Israel, the majority was Jewish. Following the principle of the Arabs' case, should Israel have barred further Arab property acquisition in Jaffa, lest it change the demographic balance? What about Holon and other cities whose balance changed in favor of the Arabs? Should there be neighborhood-by-neighborhood ethnic restrictions, a la apartheid?
WHAT DO IRAN'S THREATS AGAINST ISRAEL MEAN? 
In the past two weeks, Iran's President Ahmadinejad repeatedly has threatened to destroy Israel. What does he mean? On February 25, he said that the eradication of Israel is a "divine promise." He said that Iran would stand with Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinian Arab organizations if they were attacked by Israel. He accused Israel of wanting war. Together they would end the Zionist state. Ahmadinejad asserted that Israel makes its moves from a position of weakness (www.imra.org.il, 2/25). Referring to "divine promise," Ahmadinejad is confirming that to Muslims, this is holy war, not a territorial dispute. The West does not pay heed. It prefers to perceive the conflict as a territorial dispute, rather than as part of a global effort to conquer the world. By perceiving the conflict as territorial, the West, which is more or less hostile to Israel based on obsolete conflicts, can chip away at the territorial integrity of Israel as if solving a problem and appeasing the Muslims. This policy weakens the Israeli bastion of Western civilization. No matter what threats emanate from the Mideast, and no matter how much those threats are acted upon, Westerners do not take them seriously, especially when directed against Israel. What Ahmadinejad intends is to destroy Jewish sovereignty and the Jewish people. The UN Charter prohibits one member from trying to destroy another. But who pays attention to the UN when doing so might benefit Israel? All is posturing, all is pretense of ethics. Ahmadinejad covers himself technically by conditioning his threat upon Israel attacking Iran or an ally of it. Self-defense is the false cry of aggressive dictators. Dictators commit aggression in the name of self-defense. But the Muslim notion of self-defense is offense against Israel on the grounds that Israel's very existence as a non-Muslim state on land Islam once had conquered is an act of aggression. Ahmadinejad can manufacture incidents by his proxies and then declare the war he, not Israel, obviously wants. In effect, Iran has declared war on Israel. In actuality, Iran has been making war on Israel by proxy and on Iraq by proxy and by some of its own troops. Having threatened to destroy Israel, Israel may not let Iran proceed to develop nuclear weapons with which to do so. Ahmadinejad would call that the aggression that releases any restraint upon Syrian and Hizbullah missiles. Israel does not start wars. It either defends itself from aggression or pursues terrorism. It sometimes suffers terrorist abuse for years before reacting. Its whole outlook is for peace whereas the Muslim outlook there is for conquest and domination, actually relishing violence. Arafat was offered a lot, by Israeli negotiators, but preferred Intifada. Arafat's and Abbas' schools teach bigotry and violence, whereas Israeli schools teach tolerance and peace. Having spared Hizbullah, Hamas, and Fatah, and having tried to be nice to the Arabs only gets Israel a reputation for weakness among Mideastern aggressors. It is the wrong way to deal with them. It also is the wrong way to appear to the West, which also loses respect for Israel and gives Israel no credit for decency. This is the way of the world.
ARE ANTI-ZIONISTS ANTISEMITIC? Here is a long, satirical essay by Prof. Steven Plaut (2/26, verbatim) on anti-Zionists who deny they are antisemitic. I have a few qualifications to offer. When I was a boy, some fellow Jews were not Zionists or were anti-Zionists. (1) Still existing are ultra-Orthodox Jews who believe that the secular Zionism of the State of Israel is not adequate. I think they have a good point. (2) Some Socialists believed that Jews should help bring about socialism and integrate into their non-Israeli societies. They were unaware of the depth of antisemitism. Their dream failed both as to socialism and to integration. They did not deny the Jewish people's right to re-constitute their state, but thought it unnecessary. Therefore, most of them were not antisemitic about it, but Karl Marx was, the Communists were, and the Far Left still is. Once Israel formed, the bulk of the Socialists upheld its rights. (3) Reform Jews opposed a Jewish state out of fear that their loyalty to their Diaspora countries would be questioned. By distancing themselves from their Jewish heritage, which they toned down, they demonstrated a form of antisemitism. Most of them now accept Israel, but the lingering Reform anti-Zionism that pervaded the New York Times has solidified in it even under its present ownership by converted descendants of Jews. Say What? Anti-Semites? Who, us anti-Zionists? US? We have nothing against Jews as such. We just hate Zionism and Zionists. We think Israel does not have a right to exist. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Heavens to Mergatroyd. Marx Forbid. We are humanists. Progressives. Peace lovers. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jews. Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism and Israeli policies. The two have nothing to do with one another. Venus and Mars. Night and Day. Trust us. Sure, we think the only country on the earth that must be annihilated is Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Sure, we think that the only children on earth whose being blown up is ok if it serves a good cause are Jewish children. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Sure we think that if Palestinians have legitimate grievances this entitles them to mass murder Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Naturally, we think that the only people on earth who should never be allowed to exercise the right of self-defense are the Jews. Jews should only resolve the aggression against them through capitulation, never through self-defense. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We only denounce racist apartheid in the one country in the Middle East that is NOT a racist apartheid country. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We refuse to acknowledge the Jews as a people, and think they are only a religion. We do not have an answer to how people who do NOT practice the Jewish religion can still be regarded as Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We think that all peoples have the right to self-determination, except Jews, and including even the make-pretend Palestinian "people". But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We hate it when people blame the victims, except of course when people blame the Jews for the jihads and terrorist campaigns against them. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We think the only country in the Middle East that is a fascist anti-democratic one is the one that has free elections. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We demand that the only country in the Middle East with free speech, free press, or free courts be destroyed. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We oppose military aggression, except when it is directed at Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We really understand suicide bombers who murder bus loads of Jewish children and we insist that their demands be met in full. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We think the only conflict on earth that must be solved through dismembering one of the parties to that conflict is the one involving Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We do not think that Jews have any human rights that need to be respected and especially not the right to ride a bus without being murdered. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. There are Jewish leftist anti-Zionists and we consider this proof that anti-Zionists could not possibly be anti-Semitic. Not even the ones who cheer when Jews are mass murdered. These are the only Jews we think need be acknowledged or respected. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We do not think murder proves how righteous and just the cause of the murderer is, except when it comes to murderers of Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We do not think the Jews are entitled to their own state and must submit to being a minority in a Rwanda-style "bi-national state", although no other state on earth, including the 22 Arab countries, should be similarly expected to be deprived of its sovereignty. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We think that Israel's having a Jewish majority and a star on its flag makes it a racist apartheid state. We do not think any other country having an ethnic-religious majority or having crosses or crescents or "Allah Akbar" on its flag is racist or needs dismemberment. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We condemn the "mistreatment" of women in the only country of the Middle East in which they are not mistreated. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We condemn the "mistreatment" of minorities in the only country in the Middle East in which minorities are NOT brutally suppressed and mass murdered. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We demand equal citizen rights, which is why the only country in the Middle East in need of extermination is the only one in which they exist. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We have no trouble with the fact that there is no freedom of religion in any Arab countries. But we are mad at hell at Israel for violating religious freedom, and never mind that we are never quite sure where or when it does so. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. So how can you possibly say we are anti-Semites? We are simply anti-Zionists. We seek peace and justice, that's all. And surely that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.
ANOTHER ARAB-JEWISH HOUSING TUSSLE IN JERUSALEM 
The Mayor of Jerusalem plans to turn part of the Silwan neighborhood, near the Old City, into a showcase of shops, restaurants, day care center, boutique hotels, and a large park, attracting tourists. He has offered 120 Arab families a switch to the new apartments. They prefer to keep their houses. They call the sub-neighborhood al-Bustan; he calls it Gan HaMelech or Kings Garden, because it looks out upon the place where King David was thought to have been. Mayor Birkat thinks his plan would benefit the Arabs. They call him a liar. They say they lived there for decades, and own the land. A Palestinian Authority (P.A.) official accuses him of ethnic cleansing. He calls them liars. He said that all their houses were built within the past 20 years, and without permits. (About 20,000 illegally built houses are in Jerusalem.) Those houses' illegality and location is why he chose this area for urban renewal. The Arab residents "and the rest of the world — do not recognize Israel's sovereignty over East Jerusalem." They say, "For us, the occupiers cannot tell us what is legal and illegal." As background, the New York Times explains that the area historically was a greenbelt. In the 1990s, people started erecting those houses, without the municipality paying heed. In mentioning other parts of Silwan, the newspaper refers to Jewish residents as "settlers." The world professes concern about expelling Arabs and replacing them with Jews. Barkat says that Jews are leaving Jerusalem for areas of higher income opportunities and Arabs are leaving the Palestinian Authority and entering Jerusalem for higher income. [Jerusalem pays welfare benefits.] Taking a business-like approach to solving municipal problems, Barkat denies any hidden political agenda. The Arabs say they fear being squeezed from both directions. One resident accuses the Mayor of wanting to isolate the al-Aksa Mosque to build a Jewish temple (Ethan Bronner, 2/26, A1). The New York Times reports people's arguments and sometimes counter-arguments, but rarely identifies facts. It also uses slanted terminology. Let's make some sense of this article. Having studied city planning, I can see the sincerity of the Mayor's attempt at municipal beautification and upgrading. Can that approach win Arab approval? No. The Arabs have gotten away with lawlessness by threatening violence too long to be reined in easily now. What may appear a matter of law enforcement and city planning is a religiously motivated struggle to wrest Israel from the Jewish people, aided by foreign countries that don't realize that the same jihadists hate them, too. The reporter did not judge whether residents have legal title to the houses and land, but one can figure out who is telling the truth by the background of the area having been a greenbelt until about 20 years ago and the widespread illegality of Arab housing. Did the reporters check aerial photos of 20 years ago? NY Times articles are replete with Arab assertions that sound impressive but are specious. For example, the statement that occupiers cannot judge what is legal. First, the Arab who said it implies a right (only by Arabs) to steal and build upon public land. Do foreign anti-Zionists favor that land theft? They accuse "settlers" of land theft, but what about the 20,000 houses in Jerusalem, alone? Second, even if Israel were an occupier, it took control over the area in self-defense, and therefore administers it legally. Should Israel allow chaos? Third, there was no sovereign owner of the area, there was just the Mandate when Jordan invaded, seized it, then attacked Israel again and lost it in the process. Israel is chief heir to the Mandate. It had a right to annex it. Fourth, the wartime separation of the Old City from the New City had no legal status, so reuniting the two parts of Jerusalem was natural. Fifth, so it does not matter what a hostile, unfair world wants and rationalizes, Israel has legal sovereignty there. Sixth, why don't people ask what is the basis for Palestinian Arab claims to the Old City, since they never had sovereignty over it, they never had a government there, they did not conquer it last, and only recently did they even claim to be a separate nationality, though the PLO Covenant admitted they are not but just Arabs? Do they refer to the UN General Assembly recommendation that Jerusalem not belong to an independent state? By its logic, the Palestinian Authority cannot claim it, if it is supposed to be independent. In any case, that recommendation by the General Assembly, impractical because it makes new states not viable, has no legal force. Incidentally, first the Arabs rejected the recommendation, preferring double or nothing. They got nothing. Now they want to recognize the recommendation, as a first step in conquering Israel. Hypocritical. Do not be deceived by legalistic arguments for what is motivated religiously. Ethan Bronner should not have given unchallenged credence to an Arab's claim that the Mayor wants to replace al-Aksa Mosque by a renewed Jewish temple. There is no evidence for that. It is absurd, because only a powerless religious minority favors that, the government does not. Arabs who talk like that either are venting paranoia or propaganda in behalf of jihad. They who rouse people to riot over such spurious accusations are the fanatical ones, not this hardly religious Mayor. What about ethnic cleansing? I have consulted with the Jerusalem Buildings Dept. on their statistics and with others. The Arab population of Jerusalem has doubled. Arabs and their supporters fabricate hysterical claims of ethnic cleansing there, as they do of genocide in Gaza, where casualties were just a few hundreds out of a million and-a-half. They made similar claims about a battle in Jenin, where their figures were found to have been exaggerated many-fold. They are at war. They make false propaganda. The West should not be deceived. Ethnic cleansing? I recently reported that the Mayor offered to retain many Arabs' illegal houses and one Jews' illegal house in another neighborhood. That is not the act of someone who wishes to oust Arabs. How is it that thousands of Arabs are moving from the P.A. into Jerusalem? The Temple Mount was built by Hebrews, as was much of the Old City. They absorbed the Canaanites, and are the aborigines. Jews built the New City, too. To suggest that Jews who move into a different neighborhood of their city are "settlers" is to use hostile terminology. The same newspapers keep making the same errors of presentation leaving readers with the same misunderstandings. No wonder little progress is made!
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL AND THE TALIBAN Moazzam Begg of Britain, a leading supporter there of the Taliban, was captured in 2001 as an enemy combatant. In 2005, he was released from Guantanamo without indictment. He formed an organization, Cageprisoners, ostensibly a human rights organization. However, he and another senior member speak in behalf of Radical Islamic rule. So what interest has he really in human rights? Nevertheless, Amnesty International (A.I.) has taken him on tours of Europe, where they urge Europe to demand that more prisoners be released and that Europe give them haven. A.I. hired Gita Sahgal to head its gender affairs unit on her condition that she clean up A.I.s sordid alliance with that terrorist in the name of human rights. As soon as she addressed the matter, they suspended her. She thinks A.I. is too ideological, to the point of not understanding what really is going on. Salmon Rushdie put it, "It looks very much as if Amnesty's leadership is suffering from a kind of moral bankruptcy and has lost the ability to distinguish right from wrong." (Michael Weiss, Wall St. Journal, 2/26, A13.) The same thing was said about Human Rights Watch. I think the problem is that these organizations absorb a philosophy of indiscriminate Third World advocacy. They fail to realize that they are fostering the most oppressive, reactionary movements. In this case, a Radical Muslim is exploiting A.I. to appear moderate while promoting his agenda, which is far from moderate. I believe that people arrested by mistake should get an early hearing to correct the error, and terrorists should not be released. Why should Europe, beset by Radical Islam, should welcome more such people?
LIBYA'S GADHAFI URGES ARMED JIHAD AGAISNT SWITZERLAND 
Libyan dictator Gadhafi urges armed jihad against Switzerland. He called Switzerland an infidel state that destroys mosques. He asks Muslims to block the entry of Swiss people and goods. He declared any Muslim who works with Switzerland an apostate. So far, few have accommodated him. The latest contretemps may have begun in 2008, when Geneva police arrested his son on the charge of beating two servants. Libya then detained two Swiss businessmen. Libya convicted the pair of violating residency laws. In November 2009, Switzerland passed by a large margin a referendum to ban the construction of minarets on mosques. Gadhafi may have been reacting to that vote, when Libya refused to release the two men. This week, A Libyan court voided one man's conviction, and the other started serving a four-month sentence. Switzerland now restricts visas to Libyan citizens. Libya reacted by barring some European citizens from entering, and stopped issuing visas to much of Europe, not just to Switzerland. Italy thinks that Libya will renege on a deal to prevent illegal immigrants from departing from Libya for the EU (Wall St. Journal, 2/26, A9). Tit-for-tat diplomatic retaliation seems childish to me. Innocent people get punished that way. Switzerland neither destroys mosques nor bans their construction. Its referendum, to which I see little sense, refers only to new minarets. Gadhafi, like many Arab Muslim radicals, has a mixed-up idea of what happened, but readily calls for violence.
Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several
web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on
Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target
overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him
at richardshulman5@aol.com and visit his website:
|
|
SOMETHING'S SERIOUSLY WRONG AT YORK UNIVERSITY
Posted by Boris Celser, February 27, 2010. |
|
This article was written by David Frum (dfrum@aei.org.) of the National Post.
This is archived at
|
|
Next week, York University will once again open its halls and classrooms to "Israel Apartheid Week," so-called. This year as every year, militants and activists will use the taxpayer-funded facilities of York to vilify the Jewish state. Well, that's free speech, isn't? Everybody gets to express his or her point of view, no matter how obnoxious, right? No, not right. Not at York. At York, speech is free — better than free, subsidized — for anti-Israel haters. But for those who would defend Israel, York sets very different rules. In advance of York's annual hate-Israel week, the campus group Christians United for Israel applied to use university space to host a program of pro-Israel speakers. The university replied that this program could only proceed on certain conditions. It insisted on heavy security, including both campus and Toronto police — all of those costs to be paid by the program organizers. The organizers would also have to provide an advance list of all program attendees and advance summaries of all the speeches. No advertising for the program would be permitted — not on the York campus, not on any of the other campuses participating by remote video. These are radically different and much harsher terms than anything required from the hate-Israel program. The hate-Israel program is not required to pay for its own security. It is free to advertise. Its speakers are not pre-screened by the university. The pro-Israel event, scheduled for this past Monday, Feb. 22, was cancelled when the organizers declined to comply with the terms. A university spokesman told the Jewish Tribune that it insisted on the more stringent requirements on pro-Israel groups "due to the participation of individuals who they claim invite the animus of anti-Israel campus agitators." The logic is impressively brazen: Since the anti-Israel people might use violence, the speech of the pro-Israel people must be limited. On the other hand, since the pro-Israel people do not use violence, the speech of the anti-Israel people can proceed without restraint. Over the past days, however, the university appears to have realized that this "We brake for bullies" policy on speech might present some PR problems. So now it seems they have reverted to a bolder policy: flat-out denial. I called York on Thursday for comment on the incident. York's smooth chief communications officer was out for the day. So apparently was his deputy. I got instead an audibly nervous substitute. I asked: Is it York's policy to allow thugs to decide what may be said on campus, and what can't? He insisted that, no York had the same rules for all. "Are you telling me," I asked, "that York imposes precisely the same requirements on all student groups?" "All student groups that request university space, yes." I said: "I'm going to print that answer in the newspaper. It's going to be kind of embarrassing if you are quoted as saying something blatantly untrue. Do you want to modify your statement in any way?" The spokesman said he would stick with his "precisely same requirements" quote. I offered one more chance to amend the answer. Pause. And then burst forth a flood of amazing flack-speech reprising Chevy Chase's legendarily incoherent performance in Spies Like Us. What he meant, he said, was that it was the "process" and the "protocols" that were the same, leading to a "needs-based assessment" of each particular case. Hemina, hemina, hemina. The truth is this: York students are treated "the same" only in the sense that every student is equally exposed to the utterly arbitrary ad hoc decision-making of a fathomlessly cowardly university administration. It was not always this way. One of the speakers invited to the pro-Israel event, Daniel Pipes, spoke at York in 2003. Violence was threatened then too. Local militants distributed leaflets urging the disruption of Pipes' talk. But York's then-president Lorna Marsden refused to allow thugs to veto academic speech. She provided the police presence to ensure that Pipes' talk could proceed unmolested, although admittedly in a tense atmosphere that might have daunted someone less personally courageous than Pipes. But the current York administration lacks Marsden's commitment to freedom. Even when public speech is not an issue, Jewish students at York experience ethnically and religiously based intimidation and even violence. On the rare occasions when the university disciplines anyone for such incidents, it takes care always to penalize both the Jewish targets of harassment and the anti-Jewish culprits. The motive again is not fairness, but fear. Something has gone seriously wrong at Canada's third-largest university. You can find a list of York's board of governors at yorku.ca/univsec/board/members.htm.If so minded, maybe you should contact them and ask them what they will do to correct York's betrayal of the values of a free society.
Boris Celser is a Canadian. Contact him at celser@telusplanet.net |
|
MARCH IS BUYCOTT ISRAEL MONTH
Posted by Midenise, February 27, 2010. |
|
This comes from Dusty. It is archived at
|
|
From our Friends at Buycott Israel! There seems to be no stopping the momentum BUYcott is gaining around the world. In addition to the new BuyIsraeliProductsNow campaign we told you about last week, a new project is starting this week: BUYcott Month (www.buycottmonth.com), a month-long campaign for buying from, investing in and celebrating the state of Israel. Going Downhill 
I managed to buy the only bottle of Israeli wine within 500 miles while ski vacationing in Big Sky Montana!
BUYcott Month is a little offbeat, but promises to be a lot of fun. Supporters of Israel from around the world are being asked to send in photos of themselves or friends buying and enjoying Israeli products, taking part in Israel-related cultural events, "breaking" a boycott, or doing anything that celebrates Israel or fights anti-Israel activity during the month of March. Never too young to buycott halva 
I am doing a display about Israel for my homeschool group's
International Dinner. Here I am buying Israeli halva for dessert.
Are you buying Israeli products during Buycott Month? Having a couscous party? An Israeli wine tasting? An Ahava mud-wrestling match? We want your photos and your story. We're ready to share pictures of you:
Or how about a dose of "Extreme Boycott" like sharing Israeli chocolates at the top of a mountain or at the bottom of the sea? Don't be frightened
It's just me in my Dead Sea Premier Mask Miracle Noir!
Don't forget — its your support that led to a 33% increase in Israeli exports in the last quarter of 2009. Lets kept the monentum going. Support democracy and buycott Israel!
Contact Milton Franks-Lhermann at midenise@zahav. net.il
|
|
PALESTINIANS THREATEN UPRISING OVER ISRAEL'S INCLUSION OF 2 WEST BANK HOLY SITES IN PRESERVATION PLAN
Posted by Paul Lademain, February 26, 2010. |
|
On Feb 25, 2010, at 3:04 AM, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi (The Israel Project) wrote in reply to our expression of concern over the feeble tactics used to put down arab aggression in the Jewish Homeland. Ms. Mizrahi shucked us off, again with this reply: "Interesting thoughts but Israel respects very much the 20 percent of their country that is not Jewish. They also have rights as citizens." The SC4Z responded as follows and we think you should know about our support for Israel: |
|
Dear Ms. Mizrahi: We value your reply to our thoughts about putting down Arab riots but we have to ask whether you are arguing that the rights of the non-Jews — e.g. stone-hurling arabs whose citizenship might in fact be Sudanese or Yemeni (and why do you assume every Arab present in Jewish Palestine is a "palestinian"?) — are paramount to the rights of Jewish Israelis? The fact that non-Jews have rights as "Israeli citizens" does not legitimize the Arabs unlawful claims to lands recognized in 1920 as an integral part of the Jewish Homeland pursuant to established international law. We must also and again ask why Jews seemingly tremble at the prospect of having to defy the US State Department, and the relics of the Carter Administration embedded therein, who ignore or violate international law? Why does Israel itself ignore the body of international law which recognizes that the regions called Judea and Samaria are an unseverable part of Israel? Why do American Jews and particularly their many skilled and highly-paid lawyers fall silent before the sham and meaningless Oslo Accords? Is their silence due to language barriers? Or are they merely turning a determinedly deaf ear to the insults and disrespect the Arab World really shows them behind their backs? And what about all the Jewish Palestinians whose ancestors civilized the very same region some Jews are so eager to trade away for naught more than mere promises of "peace". Why do Jews ignore their rights to their land? Why, for instance, aren't Jews demanding a land-for-land exchange? Why not demand a portion of the Arabian Peninsula? What kind of peace are American Jews really advocating for Jewish Israelis? One turning solely about the demands of the Arabs whose rights and demands strategically change at the whim of external powers? By the same principle seemingly advanced by some prominent American Jews for application only to Jewish Israelis, ought we not therefore demand on behalf of the Arabs that American Baptists chase after bin Laden and offer to trade away Texas in exchange for "peace" with al Qaida? What about us? We are the secular Christians. What about OUR rights? What about our demands? We are the majority. We see Israel as the boulder on the path of Islamic imperialism. We say that the Free World needs a larger boulder. Our pockets have been picked for the past three decades to fund the accounts of all the corrupt leaders of every warring state throughout the middle east to the disadvantage of our ally, Israel. Apparently American Jews don't think about our needs and demands. We hope American Jews will awake to the fact that if they continue to accede to insults and the violence directed against Jewish citizens of Israel, and worse still in lands that have long been recognized and respected as the Jewish Homeland (most of which was wrongly handed away by the Britz for the sake of gaining an advantage with the relatively new state of Saudi Arabia) that they themselves, as American Jews, will be ridiculed, singled out for insults, diminished, and ultimately and again ordered to paste on their symbols of inferiority. Again, we thank you for your reply. But we continue to hope that you will invest in Prof. Howard Grief's seminal analysis of international law. On Feb 25, 2010, at 3:04 AM, Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi wrote: Interesting thoughts but Israel respects very much the 20 percent of their country that is not Jewish. They also have rights as citizens ____________________________________________ From: lademain@verizon.net [mailto:lademain@verizon.net]
Subject: Re: Palestinians Threaten Uprising over Israel's Inclusion of 2 West Bank Holy Sites in Preservation Plan On Feb 24, 2010, at 1:08 PM, The Israel Project wrote: Palestinians Threaten Uprising over Israel's Inclusion of 2 West Bank Holy Sites in Preservation Plan Our comment to Ms. Mizrahi: "We are the Secular Christians for Zion (SC4Z) and we implore you to purchase, study, ingest, incorporate in your thinking all the facts laid out by Prof. Howard Grief in his seminal analysis of international law which delineated the boundaries of the Jewish Homeland. (Citation, below) We hope it will adjust your thinking and your attitude toward the Jewish Homeland. Inasmuch as the boundaries recognized (and irrevocably reaffirmed by the Treaty of Ghent ca. 1920) encapsulate most of the Golan Heights, almost all of the lands that later became the new state of Jordan (to become the homeland for the arabs who later sought to be known as "palestinians") and the region now known as Gaza and all of the lands between the ocean and the sea including the West Bank ... etc. etc. etc." The Legal Foundation and Borders of Israel under International Law (Hardcover) Howard Grief. www.amazon.com
Contact Paul Lademain by email at lademain@verizon.net. He describes himself as a Secular Christian for Zionism (SC4Z). |
|
SECRET ADAR GATHERING IN SA-NUR; GRAVES VANDALIZED ON MOUNT OF OLIVES
Posted by Maayana Miskin, February 26, 2010. |
|
(IsraelNN.com) Dozens of people traveled to northern Samaria this week, avoiding police along the way, in order to attend a festive gathering with Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsberg. The gathering was held in Sa-Nur, one of the cities demolished in the 2005 Disengagement. 
Those who reached Sa-Nur were not only veteran Land of Israel activists, but also citizens from across the country. The group met with Rabbi Ginsberg in an ancient structure that, prior to the destruction of Sa-Nur, served as an artisans' gallery. 
The meeting was originally scheduled to take place in Homesh, another community that was torn down in 2005. However, as would-be celebrants approached Homesh, they saw that Border Police had gathered there in hopes of preventing Israelis from congregating at the site. Instead of clashing with the police officers, the group simply changed its destination and continued to Sa-Nur. Participants reported that the gathering was emotionally charged, with feelings of joy mingling with sadness over the destruction of the once thriving community and hope that it would soon be rebuilt. 2. GRAVES VANDALIZED ON MOUNT OF OLIVES
Lalov chassidim were dismayed Thursday to discover that the tomb of the Rebbe of Lalov had been desecrated. The grave site on Jerusalem's Mount of Olives (Har Hazeitim) was vandalized, and the vandals even set fire to a space inside the tomb. The incident was not the first of its kind. Approximately three months earlier, Lalov chassidim who came to visit the rebbe's grave found that the tombstone had been smashed with sledgehammers. Other graves in the ancient cemetery have been vandalized as well. In November, relatives of the deceased were horrified to find that dozens of graves were methodically broken and stray dogs had taken up residence in the ruins. At a November Knesset meeting, representatives of various government offices agreed to work together to restore security to the site. Chaim Miller of the Movement for the Citizens of Jerusalem informed Jerusalem police chief Ilan Franko of the incident and asked him to take immediate action. "The Jerusalem Police must find the criminals who did this and ensure that Jews can visit the Mount of Olives safely," they said. The working assumption is that Arabs from the neighborhood were
responsible for the vandalism, Miller said. The Lalov Rebbe's tomb has
apparently been targeted due to the large number of visitors, he said.
Arab attackers see that the tomb belongs to that of a great Jewish
leader and choose it as their target in order to demoralize as many
people as possible, he said.
Maayana Miskin writes for Arutz-7, where these articles were published today.
|
|
PAKISTAN, TALIBAN, ISI, US ACCESS SITPREP
Posted by CPocerl, February 26, 2010. |
|
The Winter Of Our Discontent February 26, 2010: In the last few weeks, Pakistani and American intelligence forces have arrested at least fourteen Taliban leaders in Pakistan. These arrests were carried out with some reluctance by Pakistani intelligence personnel, but were apparently ordered by the commander of the army, who was backed by the civilian government, which had recently purged the intelligence agencies of many Islamic radicals. Pakistan has turned away from its' creation. Pakistan has destroyed much of the Pakistani Taliban in the last six months, and is now arresting the leadership of the Afghan Taliban. Pakistani intelligence officials have good reason to be unhappy with this roundup. Even though Pakistan won't allow the Taliban leaders to be interrogated alone by the Americans, much less taken out of the country, U.S. officials have been able to sit in. That quickly revealed that the Taliban leadership had long been in touch with Pakistani intelligence, and some of the captives were quite indignant at how this long (nearly two decades) relationship had been so unceremoniously ended. The ISI (Inter Service Intelligence agency, sort of a Pakistani CIA, run by the military) has long insisted that staying in touch with the Taliban, and other Islamic radical outfits, helped protect Pakistan, and contribute to Pakistani foreign policy efforts. It hasn't worked out that way, especially after September 11, 2001. Back then, Pakistan was forced to make a choice; either join the United States in a war against Islamic terrorism, or go to war with the United States. That was a no brainer, but ISI tried to maintain its relationships with Islamic radical groups. That didn't work out too well. This was all part of a trend. For several years now, the United States, Afghanistan, India and many Pakistanis, have been pressuring the Pakistani government to reform the ISI. This organization has long been a power unto itself, with its own agenda and many members who support Islamic radicalism. Two years ago, the government sought to disband the political wing of the ISI. This section was believed be largely responsible for Pakistani support of Islamic, or simply Pakistani, terrorist operations in Afghanistan and India, as well as support for Taliban and al Qaeda in Pakistan itself. The political wing has also served as a domestic spying operation whenever the military was running the country (which is more than half the time.) Pakistan is currently run by a civilian government that came to power in the Summer of 2008. ISI has long supported Islamic terrorists, but now Pakistan is determined to root out "Taliban spies" in the ISI. The problem is that these Islamic radicals have been operating openly in the ISI for three decades, and were put there by the government in the late 1970s, when it was decided that Islamic conservatism was the solution for Pakistan's problems (corruption and religious/ethnic conflicts.) These guys are not just "Taliban spies," but Pakistani intelligence professionals that believed, and encouraged (they invented the Taliban) Islamic radicalism. The ISI itself was created in 1948 as a reaction to the inability of the IB (Intelligence Bureau, which collected intelligence on foreign countries in general) and MI (Military Intelligence, which collected intel on military matters) to work together and provide useful information for the government. The ISI was supposed to take intel from IB and MI, analyze it and present it to senior government officials. But in the 1950s, the government began to use the ISI to collect intel on Pakistanis, especially those suspected of opposing whatever government was in power. This backfired eventually, and in the 1970s, the ISI was much reduced by a civilian government. But when another coup took place in 1977, and the new military government decided that religion was the cure for what ailed the country. Typically, the Pakistani generals seized control of the government every decade or so, when the corruption and incompetence of elected officials became too much for the military men to tolerate. The generals never did much better, and eventually there were elections, and the cycle continued. The latest iteration began in 1999, when the army took over, and was only forced, by public pressure, to relinquish power two years ago. Civilian governments tend to be hostile to the ISI, and apparently this produced a serious effort to clear out many of the Islamic radicals. The ISI grew particularly strong during the 1980s, when billions of dollars, most of it in the form of military and economic aid, arrived from the oil-rich Arab governments of the Persian Gulf. All this was to support the Afghans, who were resisting a Russian invasion (in support of Afghan communists who had taken control of the government, and triggered a revolt of the tribes). The Afghan communists were atheists, and this greatly offended Saudi Arabia, and other Arab countries, who feared that Russia would encourage Arab communists to rebel elsewhere. So the resistance to the Russians in Afghanistan was declared a holy war which, after a fashion, it was. After about nine years of fighting the tribes, the Russians got tired of their slow progress (and had more pressing problems back home, like the collapse of their economy from decades of communist mismanagement), and left. The Russians were gone by 1989 (and the Soviet Union collapsed two years later), but the Afghans promptly fell upon each other and the civil war seemed never-ending. This upset Pakistan, which wanted to send millions of Afghan refugees back home. Few of the refugees were interested as long as Afghans were still fighting each other. So the ISI created its own faction, the Taliban, by recruiting teachers and students from a network of religious schools that had been established (with the help of Saudi Arabian religious charities) in the 1980s. The most eager recruits were young Afghans from the refugee camps. The Taliban were fanatical, and most Afghans were willing to support them because they brought peace and justice. But the Taliban never conquered all of Afghanistan, especially in the north, where there were few Pushtun tribes (most Taliban were Pushtuns, from tribes in southern Afghanistan). The Pushtuns were about 40 percent of the population, and had always been the most prominent faction in Afghanistan (the king of Afghanistan was traditionally a Pushtun.) Although a military junta was again running Pakistan when September 11, 2001 came along, the president of the country, an army general (Pervez Musharraf), sided with the United States, and turned against the Taliban. But many in the ISI continued to support the Taliban, and the army was too dependent on the ISI (for domestic intelligence, and to control Islamic militants that were attacking India, especially in Kashmir) to crack down on this ISI treachery. Al Qaeda took this betrayal badly, and declared war on the Pakistani government. The ISI was used to seek out and kill or capture most of the hostile al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan. But the ISI told Islamic terrorists who remained neutral that they would be left alone. The ISI thwarted government efforts to have the army clear al Qaeda out of the border areas (populated largely by Pushtun tribes, there being more Pushtuns in Pakistan than in Afghanistan). But now, in one sense, it's September 11, 2001 all over again. The U.S. has told Pakistan that it is fed up with getting screwed around by the ISI, and if Pakistan doesn't clean out the ISI, and shut down Islamic terrorists along the Afghan border, NATO, U.S. and Afghan troops will cross the border and do it. Pakistan wants continued U.S. military aid to bolster its defenses against India. But if it suddenly has a hostile U.S. in Afghanistan, and less (or no) military aid, its general military situation will be, well, not good. While Afghanistan, and the foreign troops there, are dependent on Pakistani ports and trucking companies for supplies, Pakistan is also dependent on the U.S. Navy for access to the sea. Pakistan does not want to go to war with the United States in order to defend Islamic terrorists it openly says it is at war with. Pakistan is being forced to destroy the Islamic radical movement it has nurtured over the last three decades, although it's still questionable if there's enough political will in Pakistan to actually do the deed. ISI critics also call for more police, and more professional and better equipped ones at that. The U.S. is threatening to restrict aid if the Pakistanis do not reform the police and ISI. This is from Strategy Page
Contact CPocerl at Cpocerl@aol.com |
|
MUSLIMS WORKING AT CAVE OF THE PATRIARCHS; ISRAEL APARTHEID WEEK; REPORTING OF EVICTION OF ARABS FROM JERUSALEM HOUSES
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 26, 2010. |
|
ISRAEL CITES WORK FOR MUSLIMS AT CAVE OF THE PATRIARCHS 
PM Netanyahu declared that Israel stands for freedom of worship, explaining that the State's refurbishing of designated national sites facilitates rather than hampers their use. He cited the reconstruction being finished at the entrance plaza and path leading to the Muslim prayer room at the Cave of the Patriarchs. Netanyahu said that claims to the contrary are fabricated to arouse antagonism (www.imra.org.il, 2/25). By contrast to Israeli rule, when the IDF liberated the Old City of Jerusalem, they found the entrance plaza to the Temple Mount a trash heap. Holy to the Muslim Arabs? Arousing antagonism there, both by general indoctrination and by false accusation is common Arab practice. Many times Arab leaders incited and attempted to incite their people to riot and violence at the Temple Mount and throughout the Mandate on the basis of false rumor. Some such rumors were deliberately spread by those same leaders who feigned indignation against non-existent Jewish plots to harm a mosque, etc. Abbas, like Arafat, tried to get foreign Arab states to attack Israel to "defend" that mosque. The mosque still stands in that country whose air force knocked out nuclear factories in Iraq and Syria, but can't seem to destroy the mosque it is accused of trying to destroy. How absurd the accusation! Sometimes Arab riots and agitation to riot require security measures such as barring younger Muslim Arabs from entering Jerusalem and the mosque area. That security situation becomes a pretext for claiming Israeli oppression and hindrance of Arab freedom of religion. Incidentally, the Muslim Arabs do not extend freedom of religion to others. Indeed, some of the riots are to keep Jews from worshiping on the Temple Mount. Israeli police tend to bar civilly behaving Jews rather than have to face rampaging Muslim Arabs. In that case, who is oppressing whom? Ask yourselves how often does one hear U.S. officials lament that those Arab acts of aggression do not help a peace process, and compare that with the many times U.S. officials lament that any Israeli self-defense does not help a peace process. Then ask yourselves how valid is the anti-Zionist complaint that the U.S. neglects deserving Arabs in order to give "unstinting support" to Israel? One question leads to another, the next one being to question the inconsistency of those who suggest ending U.S. aid to Israel as an economy measure, but who do not suggest as an economy measure ending the equal amount of U.S. aid to the Arabs, mostly for their military. From basic facts, one can tease out many conclusions at odds with publicized concepts.
IDF ON ISRAELI ARMY ETHICS AND UN GOLDSTONE REPORT At Israel's armored corps training graduation, corps commander Agai Yehezkel said he and his colleagues are not embarrassed by the UN Goldstone report, which questions IDF ethics. The Report does not confuse them. He said that the graduates and their families can "testify more than anything to the education on ethics, the sense of volunteering and morality." The Chief-of-Staff stated that Israel strives for normality while still, after more than 60 years of sovereignty, has to struggle for existence against enemies still striving to end its existence (www.imra.org.il, 2/25). The IDF strives more than any other army to restrict warfare to the rules of war. It comes up against enemies who strive more than many other armies to expand warfare well beyond the rules of war. Aside from wanting to be ethical, the IDF behaves beyond reproach in order to gain foreign public approval. Such approval eludes it. Worse than not having their decency recognized is the distortions of their behavior. The Goldstone report, for example, is a hodgepodge of selected incidents, disproved accusations, lack of objective investigation, and a biased mission and procedure. Popular bias, whether religious or commercial, and based on biased reporting in Europe, has its psychological defense mechanisms that refuse to recognize reality. Israel has its own defense mechanism in refusing to recognize the futility of those public relations efforts. I usually emphasize the hypocrisy of Israel's critics. They usually accuse Israel of crimes it does not commit, and they usually do not accuse the Arabs of the crimes the Arabs do commit. Thus Israel's critics said little during and after Hamas bombardment of Israeli cities, and little about Hamas fighting from among civilians, thereby criminally risking their lives. This leads me to question the sincerity of their indignation against Israel for defending itself from gunmen firing upon it near civilians. What kind of critics expect Israel to act suicidal-pure against such villainy, and ignore the villainy? Unethical behavior towards adversaries is not a problem with the IDF but with the UN.
ANTICIPATING ISRAEL APARTHEID WEEK 
For four years, anti-Zionists held an "Israel Apartheid Week" early in March, in dozes of cities throughout the world, including on U.S. campuses, virtually unchallenged. Appalled by the ensuing Israel-bashing, people are organizing an opposition this year that at a minimum would debunk the notion that Israel is apartheid (A new booklet, "Apartheid: Fact Vs. Fiction" has recently been published on line and in print and covers the key issues.) Thousands of Jews and non-Jews are signing up for training in activist roles. They will act as truth squads, dogging the speakers with questions that bring out a factual contrast to their "bias and hypocrisy." One of the organizations involved in the training is The David Project, which has an office in Manhattan. Its "Israel Peace Week" project, alone, has enrolled thousands of participants in a program tailored to each of 30 campuses. The challengers intend to disable the anti-Zionists' "smug righteousness" and show that "Israel is a force for peace in the Middle East." This approach does not just react to opponents' agenda, but takes a positive initiative. For example, at the University of Cincinnati, David Project is co-hosting a day-long program on U.S.-Israel relations with UCDemocrats and UCRepublicans. Another spreading initiative related to Apartheid Week is the BUYcott movement, which sets up chapters to buy Israeli products (www.buyIsraeliProductsNOW.org)
The pro-Zionists plan to debate issues, as contrasted with the anti-Zionists at University of California Irvine, who shouted down and who call names. Another contrast it seems to me is that the leftist and Muslim students who denounce Israel do so from negative motives and with malice, whereas the pro-Israel students has a positive motivation. Democracies are slow to react, but there seems to be a reaction setting in to the common enemies of Israel, the U.S., and of democracy in general. The intellectual ferment involved is good for the students' characters, minds, and civic responsibility.
TERRORIST FINANCING: CORRECTION A misunderstanding led to the erroneous conclusion that the U.S. dropped its boycott of the Hamas leadership except for the head of that terrorist organization. The misunderstanding was in comprehending the U.S. notification, reproduced here to show you the U.S. government in action: "Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) list — (This list is NOT part of the Specially Designated Nationals [SDN] List) Section (b) of General License 4 issued pursuant to the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 594), the Terrorism Sanctions Regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 595), and the Foreign Terrorist Organizations Sanctions Regulations (31 C.F.R. Part 597) authorizes U.S. financial institutions to reject transactions with members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) who were elected to the PLC on the party slate of Hamas, or any other Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), Specially Designated Terrorist (SDT), or Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), provided that any such individuals are not named on OFAC's list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN List). The individuals in the following list are PLC members who were elected on the party slate of an FTO, SDT, or SDGT. They do not, however, appear on the SDN List. As indicated above, transactions involving these individuals must be rejected. In order to uniquely identify these names, OFAC has created the program code [NS-PLC]. The prefix "NS" stands for "non-SDN"." Get it? It is difficult to boycott well-connected individuals. They can find proxies to do their banking. The government's boycott list is huge, unwieldy, and lumps together all sort of causes, some not so dangerous. "There is even some logic in lumping together drug-smuggling barons, terror groups, dangerous states such as Iran, and the political leaders of odious regimes (whether or not they have also carried out war crimes), because to a considerable extent, they all cooperate, through finance, intelligence, weapons and operational support, in trying to subvert or conquer the free world." Banks will waste time complying, and, in turn, will waste government investigators' time on mistaken identification reports by banks. The EU has been doing some excellent work against terrorism. Problem is, the EU is so bureaucratic, that it has various divisions working at cross-purposes (http://www.terrorfinance.org/). The U.S. trains some terrorists. Let it teach them how to be equally bureaucratic! Let them teach us how to be more flexible!
UNRWA DENIES SPONSORING EVENT P.A. NAMED AFTER TERRORIST 
The Palestinian Authority (P.A.) named a tournament after a terrorist, and claimed the event was sponsored by UNRWA. UNRWA protested. The P.A. retracted its claim (http://www.palwatch.org/, the new website of Palestinian Media Watch).
REPORTING OF EVICTION OF ARABS FROM JERUSALEM HOUSES
For the Boston Globe, James Carroll wrote about the eviction of some Arabs from housing in the Shimon HaTzadik part of the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of eastern Jerusalem. Mr. Carroll is the author of "Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews, a history of Christian hostility toward Jews. The book displays awareness of the baleful effect of European indoctrination in hatred of Jews, but Carroll's columns on Jerusalem ignores the Muslim Arab indoctrination in hatred of Jews as stimulant for Arab attacks on Jews in Israel. His columns have as their theme that Israel has been squeezing the Arabs out of Jerusalem and increasing the predominance of its Jewish population. Actually, since Israel took control of city, the Arab population increased sharply, along with it its percentage of the city's population. How mistaken can a reporter be? His article relies primarily upon the word of Arab property claimants. He also quoted an Israeli medical student's assertion that those Arabs were being expelled for the second time. He does not know whether they had been expelled before or had fled. Such assertions require verification. The Arabs involved had houses built in the 1950s on land that Carroll misleadingly called "vacant." Actually, Jewish organizations had bought the land toward the end of the 1800s. Jews still lived there when Jordan seized their land in the 1948 war. Jordan brought those Arab families onto that land. The Arabs did not have title to the land, but Carroll misleadingly puts it that they failed to get title only because of the intervention of the 1967 war that put the Jordanian invaders out. If Jordan had given the families title, it would have been as beneficiaries of stolen property. When the Arab invaders had been expelled, the Jewish families initiated legal proceedings to restore their property. The process took about 40 years! The courts ruled early on that the Arab residents were "protected tenants." This means they could keep using those houses so long as they paid rent. But they stopped paying rent. It was only because they stopped paying rent that the courts found that the owners may have the tenants evicted. Carroll does not mention that legitimate reason, instead denigrating the Jews' property rights and Israel's legal process as unfair to the Arabs and irrelevant to the issue. His bias is obvious from his wording. "He refers to the barrier Israel erected to stop terrorists from infiltrating and murdering Israelis as the 'so-called security barrier.'" This implies that there was no need for some security measure. He called Israel's Foreign Minister "far-right," but did not call the protesters against Jewish recovery of their property, "far-left." Jews who moved in he called "extremists," and not protesters handing out Communist leaflets and epithets such as "apartheid." To get an idea who is extremist, look at accompanying photograph. Apparently to leftists, Jews who move in near Arabs want apartheid. That contrasts with former S. African whites, who wanted blacks to move away from them. Validity is not the Left's strong point in its name-calling.
Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several
web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on
Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target
overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him
at richardshulman5@aol.com and visit his website:
|
|
DESPITE THE VIOLENCE, HEBRON'S CHILDREN BEGIN PURIM
Posted by Hebron Jewish Community, February 26, 2010. |
|
To see the video click here. To obtain this set of photos, write to David Wilder at hebron@hebron.com |
|
You can contribute directly in Israel to The Jewish Community of Hebron, POB105, Kiryat Arba-Hebron 90100, email: hebron@hebron.org.il or phone: 972-52-431-7055. In USA, write to The Hebron Fund, 1760 Ocean Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11230, email: hebronfund@aol.com or phone: 718 677 6886. |
|
ISRAEL RAIDED 'ARAB ROCKET FACTORY' IN OWN CAPITAL
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 25, 2010. |
|
This was written by Aaron Klein and it appeared in today's World Net Daily. Move indicates dangerous escalation of Palestinian terrorism |
|
JERUSALEM — Israeli border police earlier this month secretly raided an Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem to search for a suspected Qassam rocket factory, according to a senior Palestinian security official with knowledge of the incident. Officially, Israel told media the raid, which took place in the Shoafat neighborhood on Feb. 8, was to arrest tax evaders and enforce municipal laws. But the security official told WND that border police also searched Shoafat's metal and steel workshops and factories for a suspected Qassam manufacturing site. Upon further questioning today, Moshe Finsi, spokesman for the border police here, told WND part of the Shoafat raid indeed focused on anti-terror activities and not just municipal matters. "Yes, part focused on anti-terror action to prevent organized terror, search for bombs, drugs, weapons," he said. Finsi denied the raid searched for any Qassam factory. Shoafat is located in the northeast section of Jerusalem. The village is entirely inhabited by Arabs and Palestinians, although many of the Arab homes there are built illegally on Jewish-owned property. Although Shoafat is technically in Jerusalem, Arab roads there lead directly into the West Bank. On Wednesday, Israel announced to the public that the Palestinian Authority two weeks ago — just before Israel's raid on Shoafat — arrested five members of Hamas and discovered a Qassam rocket in Beit Likya, a village about four miles from Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport. If a rocket factory production site was found inside a Jerusalem neighborhood, it would be a major escalation of the Palestinian terrorist infrastructure. PA security sources speaking to WND did not rule out the possibility Hamas was intending to fire the rocket as part of its revenge for the assassination in Dubai last month of Hamas member Mahmud al-Mabhouh. The Israel Defense Forces released an official statement saying the Qassam rocket was ready to be launched toward the center of the country. "Information about the existence of the rocket was received from the Palestinian security apparatus," stated the IDF. PA sources, meanwhile, said there is larger evidence Hamas is attempting to set up a military infrastructure in the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem and is within rocket range of Tel Aviv and the airport. The PA sources said Hamas is trying to compensate for major pressure against its militant efforts in the Gaza Strip by boosting its armed presence in the West Bank. The sources said that in the last few weeks alone nearly $2 million in cash was confiscated from Hamas members. They said interrogations of recently arrested Hamas leaders revealed the Islamist group was using the money to help establish a West Bank military wing. Israeli media reports today quoted Palestinian sources saying the PA smashed the Hamas cell in Beit Likya. But sources inside the PA told WND that at least three senior Hamas militants escaped a raid and are still seeking to establish a military wing in the city, which is about one mile from the major Israeli town of Modiin. The Obama administration has backed a PA-led state in the West Bank. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in November announced a 10-month freeze on Jewish construction in the territory in an attempt to jumpstart talks aimed at creating a West Bank PA state, a move that would first see an Israeli retreat from the area. Following Israel's evacuation of the Gaza Strip in 2005, Hamas seized the coastal territory, forcibly expelling the U.S.-trained security forces of PA President Mahmoud Abbas. Now, Jordanian intelligence officials say, Hamas is attempting to set the stage for an eventual West Bank takeover. PA security officials previously told WND that a recent Fatah investigation discovered Hamas had attempted with some success to establish a military wing in the northern West Bank city of Jenin, a longtime Fatah stronghold although the Iranian-backed Islamic Jihad terror group also has a presence there. Hamas gunmen in Jenin were thought to be numbered in the dozens, but the PA found out Hamas purchased more than 600 high-powered assault rifles and distributed them to fighters in the city, the security officials said. The officials said Fatah raids confiscated about 100 rifles, but they believe 500 more were handed out by Hamas in Jenin. Fatah's investigation also found that some members of its declared military wing, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, were recruited by Hamas in Jenin with higher paychecks, security officials said. Earlier this month, the PA arrested one of its own top police chiefs, accusing him of working for Hamas. The arrest highlighted the issue of Hamas infiltration of Fatah forces. That issue is significant since Hamas' infiltration of Fatah forces in the Gaza Strip was thought to have been the Achilles heel that led to the terror group's takeover in 2007 of the entire Gaza Strip. Since the late 1990s, the U.S. has run training bases for PA militias. The U.S. also has provided hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid and weapons to build up the PA militias. The past two years, the U.S. stepped up its efforts at training the PA, running more advanced courses guided by Keith Dayton, the U.S. security coordinator to the Palestinian territories, who in 2007 initiated an advanced program for Palestinian police that trains 500 to 600 cadets at a time at the American bases. The U.S. currently operates training bases for the PA police and other militias, such as Force 17 and the Preventative Security Services, in the West Bank city of Jericho and also at U.S.-operated bases in the Jordanian village of Giftlik. Still, Israeli security officials here say they are concerned Abbas' Fatah organization in the West Bank is infiltrated by Hamas just as it was in Gaza in 2007. Hamas' infiltration of Fatah in Gaza was so extensive, according to top Palestinian intelligence sources, it included the chiefs of several prominent Fatah security forces, including Yussef Issa, director of the Preventative Security Services, the main Fatah police force. Issa regularly coordinated security with the U.S. and Israel. Israeli security officials said despite recent U.S. training they were also concerned Abbas is not strong enough in the West Bank to impose law and order without the help of the Israeli army. According to the officials, Fatah's intelligence apparatus routinely hands the Israel Defense Forces lists of Hamas militants that threaten Fatah rule, requesting that Israel make arrests. Hamas leaders previously warned they would take over the West Bank if Israel pulls out of that territory. At a Gaza rally in 2007, Hamas' leader in Gaza, Mahmoud al-Zahar, said, "Israel thinks Fatah in the West Bank is there to serve it, but we will take over the West Bank the way we took over Gaza." Nizar Rayyan, a senior Hamas leader in Gaza, stated Hamas will soon control Abbas' office in the West Bank. "In the autumn, Hamas supporters will be praying in the Muqata compound in Ramallah (the site of Abbas' presidential office)," he said. "We are now praying at the presidential compound in Gaza, just as we said we would. Abbas' regime will fall like a leaf come autumn." Military strategists long have estimated Israel must maintain the West Bank to defend itself from any ground invasion. Terrorist groups have warned if Israel withdraws, they will launch rockets from the West Bank into Israeli cities. Many villages in the West Bank, which Israelis commonly refer to as the "biblical heartland," are mentioned throughout the Torah: The book of Genesis says Abraham entered Israel at Shechem (Nablus) and received God's promise of land for his offspring. He later was buried in Hebron. The nearby town of Beit El, anciently called Bethel, meaning "house of God," is where Scripture says the patriarch Jacob slept on a stone pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven. In the dream, God spoke directly to Jacob and reaffirmed the promise of territory. And in Exodus, the tabernacle rested in Shiloh, believed to be the first area the ancient Israelites settled after fleeing Egypt. Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. |
|
ISLAMIC APARTHEID MONTH
Posted by Phyllis Chesler, February 26, 2010. | |
|
Guess who's coming to California State University at Sacramento? None other than CAIR — only this time they're pairing Japanese American students with Muslim American students for a three hour workshop: "Voices Unite in Solidarity; Japanese American Students and Muslim American Experiences Post-9/11." Makes sense, given all the recent and multiple Japanese-American underwear, shoe, and body-cavity bombers. Gotta stop those Japanese jihadists. On March 2, 2010 (smack-dab in the middle of the by-now infamous Israeli Apartheid week), California students will be helped to understand that the racist views that led to the 20th century internment of Japanese American citizens during Word War II is, come to think of it, happening all over again — but this time it's happening to Muslim American students who are being persecuted; treated as badly as Israel allegedly mistreats the Palestinians; as badly as America once treated the native Indians, the African slaves, immigrants, the impoverished, the way Americans and Israelis have always treated all the innocent, noble underdogs. God bless the internet, God bless Pajamas Media. Why? Because of our most excellent readers. A reader, one Ibn Rawandi, wrote to me about this very workshop in Sacramento. With his permission, allow me to share his letter with you.
Dr. Chesler is an Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women's
Studies at City University of New York. She is an author and lecturer
and co-founder of the still ongoing Association for Women in
Psychology (1969).
|
|
PURIM COMPENDIUM
Posted by Steven Plaut, February 26, 2010. |
|
1. Memo: To the Mossad
You guys can use my passport any time you want. Just let me know when you want to come by and pick it up.
2. The Purim Clown
Shani Rosen-Winter is a baby girl, six months old. For Purim she was dressed as a clown by her mother, Anat Rosen-Winter, an attorney. For Purim Mrs. Rosen-Winter took her baby daughter to the Apropos cafe in the fashionable cafe district of Tel Aviv a block away from Dizengoff Street. The Palestinians engaged in terror, suicide bombings and violence. Rabin pursued Oslo anyway. Baby Shani then became the living epitome of the Oslo peace process and the new Middle East. When the bomb went off, her mother was mortally wounded and died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. Anat Rosen-Winter, together with two other women, Dr. Michal Meidan Avrahami, a medical doctor, and Yael Gilad, a social worker, were killed. Dr. Michal Meidan Avrahami was 16 weeks pregnant. They will be added to Beilingrad, that cemetery of victims of peace named after Yossi Beilin, godfather of Oslo. For you see, once upon a time there was a foolish idea. Yossi Beilin, head of the far-left fringe of the Labor Party advocated it secretly. But he assured the Party and everyone else that if the Palestinians engaged in terror, launched suicide bombings and violence, then the idea would be abandoned and discarded. The Palestinians engaged in terror, launched suicide bombings, and violence. Beilin promoted his idea and opened secret negotiations in Oslo anyway. When the late Prime Minister Rabin was brought aboard the Oslo bandwagon, he reassured Israel. He was a hawk and general, after all. If the Palestinians engage in terror and suicide bombings and violence, they will lose the great historical opportunity presented by Oslo, he will call off the negotiations at once and take back everything offered by Israel. The Palestinians engaged in terror, suicide bombings and violence. Rabin pursued Oslo anyway. After Rabin was killed, Prime Minister Shimon Peres accelerated the Oslo process. As he considered turning over the cities in Judea and Samaria to the Palestinians, he assured everyone that if the Palestinian terror, suicide bombings and violence did not stop at once, Oslo would be halted and the Palestinians would lose their great historic opportunity forever. The terror, bombings and violence continued. Peres continued to make concessions and pulled Israel out of the West Bank cities. Peres got trounced in the elections for his hypocrisy. Netanyahu got elected. He promised to continue Oslo, but only if the Palestinians behave themselves with a complete absence of terror, bombings and violence. He threatened ominously, any resumption of terror and bombings would end Oslo forever, the PLO would be stripped of everything it had received. Israel would return to its pre-Oslo policies. On March 21, 1997, the same day the press carried reports that Netanyahu would agree to accept a Palestinian state as long as the PLO agreed to allow Israel to keep Jerusalem, the day after Arafat urged Palestinians to renew the violence and intifada and warfare until Israel had fully relinquished Jerusalem, the Palestinian campaign of suicide bombings was renewed. As a result in one moment, Baby Shani became the epitome of the Oslo peace process. She was seriously, though not mortally, wounded in the bomb blast. She was grabbed by 18-year old Shabtai Labanda, who handed her off to a police woman, while he rushed to apply a tourniquet to another bomb victim whose arm had been blown off. The TV image that will be most remembered, not only of the bombing on March 21st, but of Oslo in general, will be that of this police woman running back and forth frantically with Baby Shani in her arms trying in desperation to find the baby's mother. The mother was dead. Israel cemented up the house of the suicide bomber, who will NOT be buried in a pigskin, in contrast with the technique used by Britain to suppress Islamic terror in Malaysia and the Philippines after World War II. Israel used to blow up houses of terrorists, but the Israeli Left complained this was cruel and unusual, so now the doors of their homes just get cemented up. Then three hours after the cameras are gone, the family of the dead terrorist can move back in. The suicide bomber who murdered Baby Shani's mother, Yael Gilad, Dr. Michal Meidan Avrahami and her unborn child had been arrested three weeks earlier for illegal sojourn within Israel. Before that he had got himself fired from his job at a cafe in a suburb of Tel Aviv for sexually harassing a Jewish waitress. But in post-Oslo Israel, the government has a policy of seeking to release as many Palestinian criminals as possible to keep the PLO happy. So the terrorist in question was released. Why seek to put terrorists on the street? For the same reason the Israeli government has a policy of sanctioning the theft by Palestinians and the PLO of 34,000 cars a year from Israel, a third of the number purchased each year by Israelis, as "reparations" to the Palestinians, while Israeli police have been ordered not to stop the theft. Since the victims of the bombing are three women, with most of the wounded also women,one might expect the far-Left Israel Women's Network, the main feminist militant group led by Prof. Alice Shalvi, to speak up. The only thing they have to say about all this is that Israel must not build any housing in Jerusalem and must return to its 1949 borders. You know, those borders once described by Labor Lemming Abba Eban as "Auschwitz Borders." Members of the PLO leadership praised the bombing as a great act for peace. The PLO says the Jews are to blame for building housing in Jerusalem. The Foreign Minister of Egypt says that Baby Shani is motherless because "Israeli policies necessitate responses that are dangerous to the peace process." (Ha'aretz March 23, 1997) The Israeli Labor Party continues its role as chief apologist and PR agent for Palestinian terror. When Arafat ordered a pogrom last fall in which 15 Israelis were murdered, the Labor Party said it was all the Likud's fault, because the Likud had agreed to allow Jews to walk through a 2200-year old Hasomonean water tunnel blocks away from the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Now the Labor Party is again saying that the Likud is to blame for Shani's Mom getting murdered, since the government has decided to let Jews build houses in Jerusalem on land they purchased and own. U.S. President Bill Clinton is continuing his election campaign on behalf of Shimon Peres even though Peres lost the election. Before the election, Clinton flew all the way to Sharm Al-Sheikh to help Peres get elected. Now he is pressuring the Israeli government (Ha'aretz March 23, 1997) to bring Peres and the Labor Party in to a national unity government, presumably to make it more likely that Israel redeploy out of Jerusalem and back to its Auschwitz Borders. Israeli response to Clinton's naked meddling in internal Israeli affairs? Well, it was not — as I suggested — to cable, "Sure as soon as you confess and compensate Gennifer Flowers." Ha'aretz also reports that the US State Department flippantly dismissed Israeli reports to it that Arafat had given a "green light" to renewed terror and bombings. It does not fit in with Madge Albrights all-bright view of the peace process. And what of Baby Shani? Who will grow up without a mother? Fear not, she will be growing up into a Brave New Middle East, a post — Oslo post-Zionist world of "peace" and Beilingrad.
3. The Unworldly Neturei Karta
In one of the most remarkable scientific discoveries of all time, a CD-Rom containing the protocols of a high-level secret meeting of NASA, the American space agency, has just been leaked to the media. The content of that meeting is so dramatic that it is likely to change the entire course of human history. We bring you the highlights of that meeting as a special service to our readers: Commander Nishtikeit, chief of NASA control: I would like to thank all of you senior military officers and scientists for attending this meeting today on such short notice. NASA control center has decided to release to the nation and world information on what may be the most astounding discovery in all of human history. It seems that ironclad evidence has now been uncovered of the presence on earth of humanoid cyborgs, that is, cybernetic robots that look vaguely human but were constructed in a different galaxy and transported here. Dr. Trombenick, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: But there have been urban legends about such things for years. There were numerous internet reports that the Governor of California and Reverend Al Sharpton are really cyborgs, but these proved baseless. Commander Nishtikeit: Yes, we know all about that. But this time we have absolute proof. It seems a bizarre looking space travel vehicle has carried cyborgs into our galaxy and has deposited two or three hundred of them right here on earth. General Lemeshkeh, US Air Force: What form do these alien contraptions take? Commander Nishtikeit: That is the most bizarre part of the story. It seems the space ship, which looks amazingly like a large flying bagel, had earlier been beaming up earth images in order to design its cyborgs to look like earthlings. Its tele-imaging processor was focused on several neighborhoods on earth, just east of the East River. Yes, all those people looking for signs of aliens in Roswell, New Mexico, had things wrong. The aliens just wanted their cyborgs to look just like earthlings and to be able to pass as humans, so they designed them to look exactly like ultra-Orthodox Jews from Brooklyn. Colonel Muttelmessig, US Navy: Are you serious? This is not something out of an old Woody Allen movie? Commander Nishtikeit: Absolutely serious! The aliens planted these cyborgs on earth dressed like Chareidi ultra-Orthodox Jews, in black coats, with beards and side curls and hats, and called them the Neturei Karta. It seems they picked that name up from listening to broadcast of an earthling in Brooklyn referring to someone as a Notorious Karger, but they botched up the words. Professor Shikker, Caltech: You mean those Neturei Karta people who have been protesting in favor of destroying Israel and who even attended the Holocaust Denial conference in Iran are in reality humanoid cyborgs placed on earth as part of a devious plan of planetary infiltration? Commander Nishtikeit: You have put your finger right on it! In a sense, we all should have realized this much sooner. After all, only a group of space aliens could have thought that Nazis with Payot, dressed outwardly as religious Jews, could pull the wool over the eyes of actual humans. Virtually no Jews on earth even recognize the Neturei Karta as Jews, and until our discovery the Jews regarded them as some sort of pagan cult in religious garb. The Neturei Karta members seem to know virtually nothing about Judaism, other than two or three sentences from the Gemara, which they cite obsessively out of context to prove that Israel must be destroyed. A number of terrestrial Rabbis, including Israel's Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, have initiated efforts to excommunicate members of this pro-terror anti-Semitic Neturei Karta sect. Israeli Rabbis of the "Save the Nation and Land" group have made a similar call. Former Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, a child Holocaust survivor who is currently the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv declared, "It is something completely insane. Is it conceivable that any Jew, for whatever reason, would support a Holocaust denier in a generation when people with numbers tattooed on their arms are still among us? It is an insanity that has no justification and no explanation." Even the Eida Hareidit, an anti-Zionist Jerusalem-based council of Hassidic courts and other religious groups which includes the Neturei Karta, was dramatically harsh in its condemnation of the cyborgs who went to Iran to sit beneath the swastikas. Dr. Trombenick: Is that how you caught on to the alien scheme in the first place? Commander Nishtikeit: Well, that was part of it. Now that we know the truth, we are kicking ourselves for not seeing all the indicators earlier, showing that the Neturei Karta are really cyborgs from another galaxy. The Jews on earth quickly realized these were not real Jews, but very few figured out that they are not even mammals. Captain Shvindeldik: But something here is puzzling. If these space aliens are so technically advanced, how could they have made such a foolish error as constructing robots for placement on earth that look outwardly like religious Jews yet behave like Nazis? Professor Shtiklech, Princeton University: Maybe, in spite of their ability to undertake inter-galactic travel, they are really not that bright after all? After all, why would creatures having an electronic GPS or Galactic Positioning System need to construct all those crop circles in order to navigate around the Midwest? Commander Nishtikeit: Well, that is one possibility. Another may be that their instruments were damaged when the Flying Bagel entered earth's atmosphere. We have some evidence that the original design for the cyborgs was for creatures with 6 arms, but their spaceship commander realized that these would be quickly recognized as frauds because they would not know on which arms to put tefillin. Major Shlumperdik, his deputy: They seem to have made other strategic errors as well. They placed these cyborgs on earth with no visible means of support. So once earthbound, the cyborgs ran to terrorist organizations, neo-nazi groups, and Holocaust Denial conferences in order to raise money to support themselves. One would think that beings from a superior civilization would have figured out a better cover for their robots. Dr. Trombenick: But if they look so much like actual Orthodox Jews, how can they be distinguished from the real thing? Commander Nishtikeit: Well, there are several ways. First, when struck upon the head with a large rolling pin, nothing seems to happen to them. The pin just bounces off. Their heads seem to be constructed from some special space alloy into which nothing can permeate. Second, when looking closely at their scalps, one can see that they used to have three antennae there, which were somehow surgically removed before the machines were deposited on earth. In addition, their mid-sections seem to be built with another special alien alloy. That is why they seem to be the only ones on earth whose digestive systems are unaffected by eating large portions of chulent. General Lemeshkeh: So how should we earthlings communicate or interact with them and try to make friends? Major Shlumperdik: Well, there is always that rolling pin idea I mentioned earlier. But other than that, the best strategy seems to be to make little tinfoil antennae and glue them on to one's head or hat when approaching these aliens. You know, to show them that we have no hostile intentions and want to welcome them on our planet. But then we need to make clicking space static sounds, demand to be taken to their leader, and ask them to take us for a tour of their spaceship. Commander Nishtikeit: I wonder if I can get one of them to teach me how to program my DVD machine. (assembly dismissed) Happy Purim, everyone!
4. SAY WHAT? ANTI-SEMITES? WHO, US ANTI-ZIONISTS?
Say What? Anti-Semites? Who, us anti-Zionists? US? We have nothing against Jews as such. We just hate Zionism and Zionists. We think Israel does not have a right to exist. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Heavens to Mergatroyd. Marx Forbid. We are humanists. Progressives. Peace lovers. Anti-Semitism is the hatred of Jews. Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism and Israeli policies. The two have nothing to do with one another. Venus and Mars. Night and Day. Trust us. Sure, we think the only country on the earth that must be annihilated is Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Sure, we think that the only children on earth whose being blown up is ok if it serves a good cause are Jewish children. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Sure we think that if Palestinians have legitimate grievances this entitles them to mass murder Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. Naturally, we think that the only people on earth who should never be allowed to exercise the right of self-defense are the Jews. Jews should only resolve the aggression against them through capitulation, never through self-defense. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We only denounce racist apartheid in the one country in the Middle East that is NOT a racist apartheid country. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We refuse to acknowledge the Jews as a people, and think they are only a religion. We do not have an answer to how people who do NOT practice the Jewish religion can still be regarded as Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We think that all peoples have the right to self-determination, except Jews, and including even the make-pretend Palestinian "people". But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We hate it when people blame the victims, except of course when people blame the Jews for the jihads and terrorist campaigns against them. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We think the only country in the Middle East that is a fascist anti-democratic one is the one that has free elections. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We demand that the only country in the Middle East with free speech, free press, or free courts be destroyed. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We oppose military aggression, except when it is directed at Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We really understand suicide bombers who murder bus loads of Jewish children and we insist that their demands be met in full. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We think the only conflict on earth that must be solved through dismembering one of the parties to that conflict is the one involving Israel. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We do not think that Jews have any human rights that need to be respected and especially not the right to ride a bus without being murdered. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. There are Jewish leftist anti-Zionists and we consider this proof that anti-Zionists could not possibly be anti-Semitic. Not even the ones who cheer when Jews are mass murdered. These are the only Jews we think need be acknowledged or respected. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We do not think murder proves how righteous and just the cause of the murderer is, except when it comes to murderers of Jews. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We do not think the Jews are entitled to their own state and must submit to being a minority in a Rwanda-style "bi-national state", although no other state on earth, including the 22 Arab countries, should be similarly expected to be deprived of its sovereignty. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We think that Israel's having a Jewish majority and a star on its flag makes it a racist apartheid state. We do not think any other country having an ethnic-religious majority or having crosses or crescents or "Allah Akbar" on its flag is racist or needs dismemberment. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We condemn the "mistreatment" of women in the only country of the Middle East in which they are not mistreated. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We condemn the "mistreatment" of minorities in the only country in the Middle East in which minorities are NOT brutally suppressed and mass murdered. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We demand equal citizen rights, which is why the only country in the Middle East in need of extermination is the only one in which they exist. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. We have no trouble with the fact that there is no freedom of religion in any Arab countries. But we are mad at hell at Israel for violating religious freedom, and never mind that we are never quite sure where or when it does so. But that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such. So how can you possibly say we are anti-Semites? We are simply anti-Zionists. We seek peace and justice, that's all. And surely that does not mean we have anything against Jews as such.
5. The Boojoos-Political Satire
It has been quite a while since we devoted an incitement to the subject of the Boojoos. Boojoo is shorthand for Buddhist Jew. The BOOJOOS are people who take vedic forms of paganism and dress them up as an "alternative" form of Judaism. The Reconstructionist Deconstructionists are among the better-known examples of the movement. But of course the most important Boojoos are the Woodstockischer Hassidim, a small cult group that reads Tikkun Magazine and follows the teachings of people like Michael Lerner and Arthur Waskow, the Rabbi Cheech and Rabbi Chong of this great movement. I assume you are all familiar with that towering achievement of the intellect, Tikkun Magazine. Tikkun is the magazine for Jewish fossilized 60's radicals and new-wave pseudo-religious mystics, the main vehicle of expression for "PC Judaism", that is, the school of thought that holds that Judaism is nothing more and nothing less than the PC Leftist political agenda. It is edited by 60's Radical Michael Lerner, and hosts Israeli far-Left journalists (mostly from Haaretz), Hippy-Rabbis ("Mitzvahs for McGovern"), people like Arthur Waskow (who is founder of the tree-hugging branch of Judaism), etc. Its logo should probably read, "Like heavy, Dude, this Judaism is really great dope!" Anyway, Tikkun editor Michael Lerner was in the news back in 1992 after Clinton won that Presidential election. The reason is that Lerner was apparently Hillary Clinton's favorite Jew. After the election, Hillary made Lerner her official guru, and together they rambled about the nation promoting Lerner's religion of "The Politics of Meaning". This, you will recall, is basically the promoting of PC politics clothed in pseudo-religious symbols and imagery. Lately Hillary distanced herself from Michael of Meaning, apparently because even the hillbillies in Arkansas were starting to make fun of him around their stills. So what became of Lerner? Well, a team of analysts has just completed an exhaustive study and has reached the incredible and serendipitous conclusion that Michael Lerner has been the person inside the children's TV character Barney the Dinosaur. The first clues were that Barney and Lerner seem to have somewhat similar bodily dimensions and both have that big overbite. But what gave it away was the fact that Barney has been preaching the Politics of Meaning from PBS television stations to masses of unsuspecting children. Indeed, the entire essence of the Politics of Meaning is expressed in the theme song: "I wuv you, You wuv me, We're a Happy Famil-wee." When confronted with this and asked whether that song was the elaboration of the Politics of Meaning for Children, Lerner hesitated and said, "Yes, well, er, no. Actually it is the full elaboration of Politics of Meaning for adults as well." Meanwhile, as your faithful correspondent on the spot, we have gotten hold of advance galleys for the forthcoming issue of the Hippy-Jewish far-Left Tikkun magazine and it promises to be a lollapalooza. I thought you might enjoy hearing about what our Boojoo brethren have in mind for their next work of progressive loving-and-caring politics of meaning. The cover article will be entitled, "Shatnez for the 21st Century", written by Rabbi Michael Moonbeam. In it, he argues that just like vegetarianism is the ultimate form of kashrut and the truly highest spiritual fulfillment of Biblical kashrut laws, so nudist davening is the ultimate and highest fulfillment of Biblical laws against shatnez, the mixing of fibers in garments from certain sources. He argues that progressive Jews should adopt the habit of congregating in minyans in the nude, other than wearing the requisite tallis and yarmulka. In the second article, Rabbi Arthur Woodstock devotes a full 16-page article to the question of Cannabis Smoking on the Sabbath. He points out that while in the past it was believed that Torah rules prohibit all lighting of fire, including for smoking, on the Sabbath, Rav Woodstock has concluded that smoking of marijuana is not only permitted for the Sabbath, but downright mandated. Oh, I have discovered a song that is the Tikkun official ballad, taken from the important textbook, "Customs and Ceremonies of the Woodstockischer Hassidim", authored by the famous Woodstockischer Admor Shlita of Philadelphia. It goes to the same melody as Puff the Magic Dragon.
And now from Sioux City, Iowa, Pants Productions brings you live from the Ed Sullivan Theater: The Late Show, with Dave Letterman. Tonight's Top Ten List. Tonight, Dave brings you the ten recent feature articles appearing in Tikkun magazine: 10. Why the Yom Kippur services should be conducted only in Black English.
Finally, It has occurred to me that many of the members of the editorial board of Tikkun magazine, not to mention most of their readership, must be pushing 65 years old. Think about that. Well I have, and I think that there are a number of fine business opportunities, selling products to the geriatric hippies and menopausal Marxists of this fine magazine. I am now looking for some partners to go in with me in these ventures, developing products to sell to the Tikkun readership, advertising in the magazine. Anyone with some idle capital, give me a buzz. Here are the projects I have thought of so far: 1. A book of recipes for preparing hashish brownies laced with Metamucil, just the thing to keep you a regular revolutionary. They will also be sold at the new progressive bistro we will open, to be called Chez Che.
Steven Plaut is an American-trained economist,
a professor of business administration at Haifa University and author
of "The Scout." He frequently comments — both seriously and
satirically — on Israeli politics and the left wing academic
community. Write him at splaut@econ.haifa.ac.il His website address is
|
|
PURIM GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED
Posted by Yoram Ettinger, February 25, 2010. |
|
Assembled from various Jewish Sages |
|
1. Purim is the holiday of contradictions and tenacity-driven-optimism: Grief replaced by joy, Esther's concealment replaced by the disclosure of her national/religious identity, Haman's intended genocide of Jews replaced by redemption, Haman replaced by Mordechai, national and personal pessimism replaced by optimism. One of Purim's lessons: Life is complex, full of contradictions, ups & downs and difficult dilemmas and worthy of principled-determination. 2. The timing — The Jewish month of Adar. Adar is the root of the Hebrew adjective "Adir" (glorious, awesome, exalted, magnificent). It is, also, a derivative of the Akkadian word Adura (heroism). Jewish tradition (Babylonian Talmud) highlights Adar as a month of happiness, singing and dancing, prohibiting eulogies and fast on Purim. The zodiac of Adar is Pisces (fish), which is a symbol of demographic multiplication. Hence, Adar is the only Jewish month, which doubles itself during the 7 leap years during each 19 years cycle. Purim is celebrated on the 14th (in non-walled towns) and (in Jerusalem) on the 15th day of Adar (February 28 and March 1, 2010), commemorating the national liberation of the Jewish People in Persia and the (161 BCE) victory of Judah the Maccabee over Nikanor, the Assyrian commander. Moses — whose burial site is unknown — was born, and died (1273 BCE), on the 7th day of Adar, which is Israel's Memorial Day for soldiers, whose burial site is unknown. The events of Purim occurred following the destruction of the 1st Temple by Nebuchadnezzar (586 BCE) and the exile from Zion, during the leadership of Ezra who returned to Jerusalem, and the inauguration of the Second Temple (3rd of Adar, 515 BCE) by Ezra and Nehemiah. Nebuchadnezzar died in Adar 561 BCE (Jeremiah 52:31). Einstein published the theory of General Relativity in Adar 1916. 3. Purim's Hebrew root is fate/destiny ("Pur"), as well as lottery (to commemorate Haman's lottery which determined the designated day for the planned Jewish genocide) "to frustrate", "to annul" ("Le'Ha'fer), "to crumble" and "to shutter" (Le'Phorer), reflecting the demise of Haman. 4. Purim — A (522 BCE) War of Civilizations between Mordechai the Jew and Haman the Iranian-Amalekite — constitutes an early edition of the war between Right VS Wrong, Liberty VS Tyranny, Just VS Evil, Truth VS Lies, as were/are the precedents of Adam/Eve VS Snake, Abel VS Cain, Abraham VS Sodom & Gomorrah, Jacob VS Esau (grandparent of Amalek), Maccabees VS Assyrians, Allies VS Nazis, Western democracies VS Communist Bloc and Western democracies VS Islamic terrorism. 5. Mordechai, the hero of Purim and one of Ezra's deputies, was a role model of principle-driven optimism in defiance of colossal odds, in face of a global power and in spite of Jewish establishment. According to Judaism, deliverance is ushered by the bravery of faith-driven individuals, such as Nachshon — who was the first to walk into the Red Sea before it was parted — and Mordechai. He was a politically-INcorrect statesman and a retired military leader, who practiced "disproportionate pre-emption" instead of defense, deterrence or retaliation. The first three Hebrew letters of "Mordechai" spell the Hebrew word "Rebellion" ("Mered"), which is consistent with the motto/legacy of the American Founding Fathers: "Rebellion against Tyrants is Obedience to G-D"). Mordechai did not bow to Haman, the second most powerful person in the Persian Empire. Mordechai was a member of the tribe of Benjamin, the only son of Jacob who did not bow to Esau. The name Mordechai is also a derivative of Mordouch — the chief Babylonian god. Mordechai was a descendant of King Saul, who defied a clear commandment (to eradicate the Amalekites) and spared the life of Agag, the Amalekite king, thus causing further calamities upon the Jewish People. Consequently, Saul lost his royal position and life. Mordechai learnt from Saul's error. He destroyed Haman, a descendant of Agag the Amalekite, and Haman's entire power base, thus sparing the Jewish People a major disaster. In Gimatriya, "Cursed Haman" equals "Blessed Mordechai" — 502. 6. Queen Esther, the heroine of Purim's Esther Scroll (the 24th and concluding book in the Old Testament) was Mordechai's cousin. One cannot comprehend Purim without studying the Esther Scroll. Esther demonstrates the centrality of women in Judaism, shaping the future of the Jewish People, as did Sarah, Rebecca, Miriam, Batyah, Deborah, Hannah, etc. Sarah was the first Jewish woman, and Esther was the last Jewish woman, mentioned in the Bible. Sarah lived 127 years and Esther ruled over 127 countries. The name Esther is a derivative of the Hebrew word "Hester" — "clandestine", "hidden", "subtle", which was reflective of her (initially) unknown Jewish identity and subtle-style at the royal court. The name Esther is also a derivative of Ishtar — a Mesopotamian goddess, Astarte — a Phoenician goddess. In fact, the one day pre-Purim Fast of Esther (commemorating the three day fast declared by Esther in order to expedite deliverance), was cherished by the Marano in Spain, who performed Judaism in a clandestine manner. The Scroll of Esther is the only book in the Old Testament, where the name of G-D is hidden/absent. It has been suggested that the explicit name of G-D is absent because the Scroll of Esther is the only Old Testament book, which deals exclusively with the Diaspora and not with the Land of Israel. According to Michael Bernstein, the noun "King" appears 182 times in Esther Scroll, which is the total sum of 26 (numerical value of G-D) times 7 (days of creation). Esther's second name was Hadassah, whose root is Hadass — myrtle tree in Hebrew — which constitutes a metaphor for eyesight 20:20. The name Esther is identified with the planet Venus (hence, Esther's other Hebrew name — Noga — a glaring divine light, which is Venus in Hebrew). In Gimatriya, Esther and Noga equal 661 and 58 respectively, and the sum of 6+6+1 and 5+8 is 13 (the number of G-D's virtues). In "small Gimatriya" both Esther (1+6+4+2) and Noga (5+3+5) equal 13, which is also the total sum of one in Hebrew — which represents monotheism, as well as the total sum of love in Hebrew. 7. The Persian King appointed Mordechai to be his top advisor, overruling Haman's intent to prevent the resettling of Jews in Zion, the reconstruction of the Temple and the restoration of the wall around Jerusalem. He foiled Haman's plan to exterminate the Jews. The king prospered as a result of his change of heart and escaped assassination. That was the case with Pharaoh, who escaped national collapse and starvation and rose in global prominence, once he appointed Joseph to be his deputy. 8. Purim's four commandments: *Reading/studying the "Esther Scroll" within the family, highlighting the centrality of family, education, memory and youth as the foundation for a solid future. *Gifts to relatives and friends emphasize the importance of family and community. *Charity (at least the value of a meal) indicates the value of compassion and responsibility. *Celebration and Happiness sustains the element of optimism and faith as the backbone of an individual and a nation. 9. Lethal enemy destroyed and commemorated. The pre-Purim Sabbath is called "Memorial Sabbath" ("Shabbat Zakhor"), commemorating the war of extermination launched by the Amalekites against the Jewish Nation, since the Exodus from Egypt. One of Purim's lessons: Be wary of enemies, employing false-tenuous accommodation, in order to conceal a strategic goal of extermination. Ambassador Yoram Ettinger is a consultant on US-Israel relations as well as the Chairman of Special Projects at the Ariel Center for Policy Research. Formerly the Minister for Congressional Affairs to Israel's Embassy in Washington, DC, Ettinger also served as Consul General of Israel to the Southwestern US. He is a former editor of Contemporary Mideast Backgrounder, and is the author of the Jerusalem Cloakroom series of reports. Contact him at yoramtex@netvision.net.il |
|
FROM ISRAEL: BEFORE PURIM
Posted by Arlene Kushner, February 25, 2010. |
|
Only a brief posting before Purim — there will not be another until after, on Monday. I begin by sending wishes for a Hag Sameach. A joyous Purim. Let us be mindful of G-d's hand in our lives, even when it is hidden, and of our responsibility to act along with the Almighty to secure our redemption. The lessons of this holiday. Haman did not get us, and we will not be defeated now, either. ~~~~~~~~~~ The US State Department has chastised us for having the audacity to recognize sites that are part of our ancient heritage because they happen to be in areas that the Palestinian Arabs seek. We've been told that the administration views it as "provocative" — that we've included in our list of Heritage sites the Machpelah, the burial cave of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, purchased by Avraham, as documented in the Torah, and the burial site of our Matriarch Rachel, also documented in the Torah. My friends in the US, let the Secretary of State and the President know what you think of this, please. Remind them that these sites — some 3,500 years old — were part of the Jewish heritage long before Islam even existed and that it is not within the jurisdiction of the US to ask Jews to relinquish them. Remind them that there is free access to holy sites here only when Israel is in control, that when the Arabs are in control they ban Jews — this is solidly documented by precedent. President Barack Obama
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
~~~~~~~~~~ I end with additional, and fascinating, commentary with regard to the Dubai assassination of al-Mabhouh. Claudia Rosett, in her piece, "Video Killer Thriller in Dubai," informs us that Dubai is Iran's top trading partner and plays "a critical role as Iran's offshore banker and exporter." In 2001, "more than half the September 11 hijackers passed through Dubai en route to attack the U.S...and the 9/11 Commission reported that roughly half the $250,000 the hijackers spent preparing for the attacks was wired to them via Dubai banks. " A nice place, Dubai. Rosett points out that "Dubai's security apparatus has just given an impressive display of its surveillance abilities. Closed circuit cameras followed members of the alleged hit team arriving and departing the airport, and tracked them at a shopping mall and at various hotels, including that of top Hamas terrorist Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. All of which points toward a big question. If Dubai surveillance is this adept, where's the rest of the Dubai video collection? "Dubai's authorities are putting on a curious display of priorities, appearing far more incensed over the murder of one Hamas terrorist than over the use of their turf for terrorists such as al-Mabhouh to plot and facilitate the murders — albeit elsewhere — of many others. If this is all about enforcing civilized norms, Dubai's authorities are clearly in a position to help, if they so choose. May we see the rest of the video collection?"
~~~~~~~~~~ Tom Gross, writing in the National Post of Canada, points out that Mabhouh had five different passports with him in Dubai. He finds it strange, and indeed it is, that the media is not covering this aspect of what occurred, and that there seems no interest in which countries these passports came from. Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info |
|
ABBAS THREATENS HOLY WAR OVER HISTORICAL SITE DESIGNATIONS
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 25, 2010. |
|
ABBAS THREATENS HOLY WAR OVER HISTORICAL SITE DESIGNATIONS Palestinian Authority (P.A.) head Abbas warns of holy war over Israel's designation of Rachel's Tomb as an Israeli national site. It is not an idle threat, considering that the P.A. (said to be planning an uprising anyway) launched an intifada, which sputtered, so the P.A. fanned the flames by pretending that Ariel Sharon's visit to the Temple Mount was some kind of affront to Islam. [For the record, he showed Islam no disrespect in that visit. He did come to affirm Israeli sovereignty on the Mount. The Arabs oppose all Israeli sovereignty. They exploited his presence as a pretext.] PM Netanyahu had added Rachel's Tomb, just outside the southern part of Jerusalem, and the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, to a previously published list of sites to be refurbished. Muslims now claim that Rachel's Tomb is a 1,000 year old mosque, but referred to it as such only 44 years ago. (A prior news brief put it as 14 years.) The Muslim world protests the designation and some called the designation a "provocation." Hamas called the designation "arrogance" and "aggression against Muslim holy sites, and demand a violent response. Arabs have been rioting in Hebron for a couple of days. Iran claimed that Israel "annexed" the two sites and said Israel is engaging in ethnic "cleansing" of all religious sites. [Israel allows Muslim worship at the Cave of the Patriarchs and Christian worship at Christian sites. There has been no annexation of those sites.] Egypt claimed that Israel is acting against international law in seeking to "alter" religious features. [Refurbishing is not altering religious features but preserving them.] The UN expressed "concern." 
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office accused Abbas of a "'deceitful campaign of lies and hypocrisy' by referring to Jewish sites as Moslem mosques. The Arab world's claims follow a campaign the past several years to deny the existence of any Jewish history at the Temple Mount site, including the Western Wall (Kotel) in the Old City of Jerusalem." "'The State of Israel is committed to freedom of religion for worshipers of all faiths at the holy places and thus it acts in practice,' said the office of the Prime Minister. 'Rachel's Tomb and the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the over 3,500-year old resting places of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish People — Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah and Rachel — certainly deserve preservation and rehabilitation.'" Genesis 23 describes Abraham's purchase of the plot in Hebron for the burial of his wife, Sarah. Genesis 35.19 describes the burial of Rachel, near Bethlehem. "Jews had free access to Rachel's Tomb under the rule of the Ottoman Empire since the 19th century, and Muslim references to a mosque at the site began to appear publicly only in 1966. Muslim history refers to Rachel's Tomb as far back as the Quran, which recounts Rachel's death and burial, as stated in the Bible." The Oslo Accords interim agreement in 1995 states that security arrangements must "ensure free, unimpeded and secure access to the relevant Jewish holy sites." The agreement also defined Joseph's Tomb in Shechem and the Shalom Al Israel synagogue in Jericho as "Jewish holy sites (in addition to the recently designated two sites). "The Oslo Agreement also states, "The Palestinian side shall respect academic freedom and rights... [and] shall ensure free access to archaeological sites, open to the public without discrimination." "The Sharon government surrendered daily access to Joseph's Tomb (pictured) following Arab terrorist attacks, and Jews have been barred from the Jericho synagogue since the PA took over full control of Jericho. Knesset Member Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) this week led a group of Jews past blockades and visited the synagogue, until the IDF removed them." (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/24). Although the Muslim Arabs complain that Israel mistreats Muslim religious places, the record shows that they break their agreements to allot Jews access to their religious sites, while Israel keeps its agreements to give Muslims access to their religious sites. That is what Netanyahu must mean in calling Abbas hypocritical. Even worse, P.A. police let their people destroy Joseph's Tomb and attack Rachel's Tomb. If the Palestinian Arabs really thought that Rachel's Tomb were a mosque, would they have thrown firebombs and rocks at it and vandalized it? (Weapons used are cited in 2/24 press release by ZOA.) If Abbas starts a holy war over this non-issue, will he use the troops trained by the U.S.? What does his threat show us about his alleged moderation and U.S. betting on him? We need to turn Gaza into a litigious society like the U.S., as a way of conflict resolution. Lawyers can paralyze industries and impoverish companies but do not kill a lot of people.
NEW YORKERS' OPINIONS ON DUBAI ASSASSINATION 
Most reports are of officials' and experts' views of the Dubai assassination. What do individuals think of it? Here is some of their analysis. I do not claim they are a cross-section — they come from letters to the Editor of the Wall St. Journal. The slain man was a veteran terrorist "dedicated to killing us and destroying Western civilization using methods that flagrantly violated all the laws of war." Eliminating him should be treated as a victory for us, not as a "diplomatic nightmare" [because forged passports were used] nor as a murder mystery. Treating it that way is part of the Administration's denial "that radical Islamists are waging a terrorist, unconventional war against the West." How perverted to transform his slaying into a crime and a setback to the West! The Dubai police do not know who killed him. It could have been done by rival groups assisted by rival governments. Naturally, Dubai blames Mossad, "Who else do they ever blame?" The abuse of passports was called a global threat. Doesn't Dubai's having allowed such a terrorist to enter pose more of a global threat? What did Dubai want of Israel? If Israel asked its government to extradite him would it have cooperated? No. That is another global threat. Sanctions should be considered against the United Arab Emirates. Remember when the Mossad captured the notorious mass-murderer, Adolf Eichmann in Argentina? Should Mossad first have gotten Argentina's approval? Some people oppose assassination, likening it more to capital punishment, even though it is war. But opposing capital punishment is more appropriate for criminals already imprisoned where they cannot do further harm. Al-Mabhouh was free and activist. There is no ethical issue in liquidating al-Mabhouh. The U.S. uses drones to assassinate terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is accepted [so long as it does not strike civilians]. Why a double standard against Israel? (2/24.) International law requires all governments to neutralize common enemies of mankind, a classification that includes terrorists. Of course, they don't relish foreign agents shooting people in their countries. But why are they harboring them, contrary to international law and common decency?
AL-QAEDA ESCORTS ALGERIAN SMUGGLERS Algeria reports that Al-Qaeda men provide security for drug smugglers in the Sahara desert in Algeria. Al-Qaeda earns money it can use for recruiting. Al-Qaeda also may get to use the smugglers' air strips for getting into other countries (www.imra.org.il, 2/23). Will Islamic authorities condemn al-Qaeda assistance to drug smugglers as un-Islamic?
ISRAEL CLEARED A FEW BEDOUIN SQUATTERS 
The Israel Land Authority rents to Bedouin for seasonal planting about 25,000 acres of land in the Negev desert for about $2 per acre. Bedouin have claimed that some of the land belonged to them, but could not prove it in any court. This winter, they illegally squatted and planted crops on some land. They also uprooted hundreds of saplings planted during the Jewish holiday devoted to that. One was caught in the act. "Last week, a Be'er Sheva court accepted a petition by the Regavim land association and ordered the demolition of 30 illegally-built luxurious Bedouin houses in the Negev — within a year." This year, Israel cleared Bedouin squatters from about 1,850 acres. On Tuesday, Israel cleared 350 acres east of Be'er Sheva, near Nevatim, and near Dimona (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/24). The cleared land is just a fraction of Bedouin squatting — theft of land and illegal building — in Israel. They prevent lawful use of the land, as for Army maneuvers. Cumulatively, this is a threat to taking over the country, the way the growing Arab population in the Galilee shouts slogans to that effect. By not cracking down earlier and harder, and indeed by feeling pressured to retroactively legalize much Bedouin land usurpation, Israel encouraged more lawlessness. Some of the Bedouin make the finest Israeli soldiers, but others throw stones at passing Israeli vehicles. These pages contain a torrent of facts, but some people ignore them entirely, and instead assert endlessly, without substantiation and against the historical record, that Zionists squatted extensively on land owned by Arabs and vandalize Arabs' crops. There is a complication here in a clash of eras. Bedouin, like the Mongols, the ancient Hebrew before Moses, like cattlemen on the open U.S. range, and other nomads, did not have permanent land and modern concepts of land title. They or their cattle wandered. That brings them into conflict with people who set up fixed positions of farms and urban centers, and who do divide up land by title.
LONDON IS HAMAS HUB A private Israeli organization, Intelligence Information Center, reports that London is the hub of global Hamas activity. Exploiting certain decency and weaknesses in British democracy, Hamas works behind the scenes to direct anti-Zionist discussion and control public opinion about Israeli treatment of Arabs. Here are how Britain facilitates Hamas activity: A. Britain's excessive freedom of politics and speech lets Hamas, a declared terrorist organization, operate there. "The report says Hamas works hard to conceal their activities and avoid prosecution, rarely attributing to themselves the disinformation and advocacy of violence they publish and distribute. Because they consider children to be a primary target for their messaging, they spend a lot of effort writing anti-Israel and pro-war propaganda for minors." "Hamas also uses British organizations, politicians, and other channels to garner money and supplies for use in Gaza, according to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center." (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/24.) If the Arabs in general were as moderate as reputed, they would reject Hamas propaganda as false and from terrorists. As for Britain, whose forces are embattled abroad as gatekeepers against Radical Islam, at home it acts as the gateway for Radical Islam What good is democracy if it does not defend its own people?
ISRAEL'S PRES. PERES ON DESIGNATED SITES Israeli President Peres told a visiting UN official that Hamas and other extremists were trying to incite an artificial conflict over the naming of Israeli national sites. Peres said that "Israel plans to invest significant amounts in infrastructure that will increase the accessibility of holy sites to all worshipers. By doing so it aims to honor and allow freedom of worship to all, irrespective of their faith, and protect the holy sites. There is no violation of Muslim or Christian religious rights in any holy place." (www.imra.org.il, 2/24.) The two questions one often hears is whether Israel is fair to Muslims and whether Muslims are fair to Jews. I have reported many instances whereby Israel bars Jewish access to holy places or does not protect that access from Arab attack. This is a third outlook, that both sides are unfair to Jews. There often are more than two sides to the story: the conventional side, the radical side, and the accurate side.
U.S. ANTI-TERRORIST LAWS AND THEIR CHALLENGES 
U.S. anti-terrorist law prohibits "material support" of foreign terrorist organizations. What is "material support?" Does it interfere with personal freedom? The clause covers collecting funds, carrying weapons, and training terrorist personnel. What if the training is for disaster relief? U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy pointed out that giving tsunami money to the Tamil Tigers, terrorists of Sri Lanka, might spare them funds they then would spend on terrorism. Solicitor General Elena Kagan backed up that example with another, the Hamas builds both houses and bombs. Justice Sonia Sotomayor stated that such an interpretation would forbid teaching terrorists to play the harmonic (Jess Bravin, Wall St. Journal, 2/24, A3). Terrorist organizations such as Hamas do charitable work to make people beholden or sympathetic to their recruiters. Most help to such organizations or to totalitarian governments that sponsor terrorism facilitates their over-all goals. The notion of separating their political and military wings is specious.
Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several
web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on
Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target
overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him
at richardshulman5@aol.com and visit his website:
|
|
THEY GO AGAIN
Posted by Gerald A. Honigman, February 25, 2010. |
|
...those racist Zionists...always stirring up trouble. This time, they dared to name Rachel's Tomb and the Cave of the Patriarchs as National Heritage Sites. Just Like they dare claim about Jerusalem and such. Ugh! Imagine the gall... Two sites that the world would know absolutely nothing about were it not for their Jewish connections — both over three thousand years old. Certainly not enough time for Jews to proclaim any rights to. I mean, think of the Alamo and America...And yet, look what they just went ahead and did... After all, we all know that those sites are really on "Palestinian" land on the "West Bank," right? Certainly the Obama Administration does...It just took Israel to task over such audacity. Like it also demands that no Jew live in Judea or Samaria (but it's ok for 1/5 of Israel to be made of the freest Arabs anywhere in the world outside of the West) and stop building in parts of Jerusalem as well. But — reply those Jew fascists — the land was not known as the "west bank" (as opposed to the "east bank" of the Jordan River, that part of the original 1920 Mandate of Palestine — about 80% of the total area — that British imperialism formed today's Arab Jordan from) until the very last century and was known as Judea (as in land of the Jews) and Samaria for thousands of years before then. (Quick quiz:...Was Jesus born in Bethlehem of Judea or Bethlehem of the West Bank or Bethlehem of Palestine in the New Testament?) Look, the time for politically correct should have been over long ago. Bluntly, no Arab (with the exception of a few Christians, whose Lord was also Jewish carpenter) would have ever known of the Tomb of the Patriarchs, the Temple Mount (or, as Arabs call it, Buraq's Mount — named after Muhammad's winged horse, with the head of a woman, who supposedly just happened to fly him up to Heaven from the Jews' historic Temple of Solomon), the significance of Jerusalem, Abraham, the Akedah, etc. and so forth if their "Seal of the Prophets," Muhammad, did not flee his enemies in Mecca in the 7th century C.E. and take refuge in the date palm oasis town of Medina — established by Jews fleeing the Roman wars centuries earlier. Indeed, Jewish influence was so important in that region that Yemen, just to the south, had a series of Jewish kings practically right up to the rise of the Prophet of Islam. After the hijrah — Muhammad's flight to Medina — he soon found himself in the midst of a mixed Jewish and pagan Arab population (itself now influenced by the Jews). Before long, he himself was speaking about one G_d, supposedly has an encounter with the Angel Gabriel, speaks of Abraham, Moses, and so forth — all from the Holy Book of his Jewish hosts...and then orders his followers to face towards Jerusalem in prayer...as Jews do. Wow...what a coincidence! I mean, I'll give that Hebrew Angel of G_d, Gabriel, credit, but perhaps — just maybe — Muhammad's long sojourn and study with Jews, at the very least, also had something to do with his, and therefore also the Arabs' who accepted his religio-political leadership — new beliefs? A major Arab commentator, Jalaluddin, came right out about a thousand years ago and said Muhammad's change of the qibla — direction of prayer — away from the Kaaba in Mecca towards Jerusalem was done only to win the support of the important Jewish tribes. While Jerusalem is never mentioned even once in the Qur'an, it is mentioned many hundreds of times in the Hebrew Bible (aka, "Old Testament"). To say that such things as Jerusalem, Abraham, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and so forth are as important to Arabs and other Muslims as they are to Jews is to simply tell a lie. Or, perhaps, Jews should restake a claim to their holdings in Medina? As soon as the Jews refused to accept Muhammad's demand that they accept him as the ultimate human chief honcho, he massacred all the Jewish males and enslaved the women and children...and changed the qibla back towards Mecca again. Jews don't need President Obama or anyone else's approval to declare the truth. Israel is entitled to that territorial compromise promised by the final draft of UNSC Resolution 242 in the wake of the June 1967 War — whether in Judea and Samaria, the Golan Heights, or wherever. And unlike places like American Samoa or President George Bush's Texas ranch, Jews have thousands of years of history linking them to those lands — territory where Arabs continuously launched death and destruction from. That President Obama and the State Department (which rejected Israel's right to exist in the first place) expect Israel to simply cave in to all that the Arabs demand should be no shock to anyone with functioning neurons. If Arabs can stake a claim to Jerusalem based upon the belief of a night journey by Muhammad from the Arabian Peninsula, on a winged horse, to the Temple of Solomon in the land of the Jews, then objections to Jews officially claiming the Tombs of the Matriarchs and Patriarchs as National Heritage Sites in Judea are utterly absurd and laughable. No Arab (with good intentions) will be kept out of those site... But, neither will any Jews. Gerald A. Honigman, a Florida educator, has created and conducted counter-Arab propaganda programs for college youth, has lectured on numerous campuses and other platforms, and has publicly debated Arab spokesmen. His articles and op-eds have been published in both the print media and on websites. His recently published book is called "The Quest for Justice in the Middle East: The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Greater Perspective." Contact him at honigman6@msn.com or go to his website: http://geraldahonigman.com/blog.php |
|
THE FACTS OF WHAT WE KNOW!
Posted by Patrick Dempsey, February 25, 2010. |
| I used to have a card index, to keep all the pertinent facts relating to The Holocaust. Of course, technology took control, and I lost all that information, diligently placed on my old PC. The crash lost me all those facts, snippets of information that I had learned, and apart from what the mind retained, a lot of the information has been lost. I know it is out there and while I was forced to acknowledge what little I retained ,by giving out parts of what was asked of me, there is a gulf between the two poles. For instance, I stated that when Gerstein was at Belzec, 6,000 Jews of Lvov were disposed of, treated, resettled. This was taken that only 6,000 Jews of Lvov were murdered, not the 50,000 murdered during August 1942, and not the total of 123,000 Jews of Lvov murdered that I had clearly assessed for my book on 'der Einsatzgruppe'. But all of this has become a worrying trend for me as I am constantly asked to review my position, by Students, Academics and other interested parties. Luckily, I can look back to some of the research for my work and state the example that was presented at the time. This, however, does not square it with some people. For example, after Tregenza, there was a gradual reassessment of Belzec's place in the murder apparatus? Did we have the right figures, did we actually have the geographical position of this Death Camp? That sin of the 'Wolzec paradox' was still haunting me. So I chose to stick with what I knew, and what was generally accepted as known. The facts, as they are, are stated here, and unless any of you knowing differently, this is what I will state to all those who seek my advice in the future! We have largely accepted that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust, even when German records do not exist to fully endorse or even record this. From the Camps, the 'Aktion Reinhard' Camps included, most personnel managed to destroy whatever documentation that might have existed. Hitler, knowing the ramifications of discovery, ordered the obliteration of the physical evidence and Himmler promptly ordered Blobel and his SK1005 into the field to remove all traces of the evidence that had been buried. Exhumation was the order of the day, and death and killing sites were disgorged of their evidence. Then as each and every Death Camp was being dismantled, the gas chambers and their crematoria were destroyed along with any physical evidence that had been buried prior to the enlargement of any destructive capacity. What then now exists of the evidence? Apart from the physical evidence that has been nearly obliterated completely, a few scientific examinations have proved the remnants of huge burial and cremation pits. I cite the Tregenza work at Belzec to revise our impression of what actually took place within this particular compound. My own assessment of 1,250,000 possible Jewish murders here, while it does appear extravagant, how can we historically know, let alone revise our position? Alongside this assessment we have the deportation train details that systematically record the 'Resettlemnt East', and those timetables which converge here at Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka and particularly Auschwitz. Of the killings themselves, one moving film of actual murder footage survives, barely 4 minutes in which to comprehend this huge undertaking. Then there are just over 190 actual photographs of the killings themselves, taken across the breadth of the 'aktionen', to fully compliment this limited appreciation of the awful detail which catapulted the Jews toward oblivion. That said, we are no nearer the proof of the victims now than we were 65 years ago when say the murders at Liepaja were being photographed? What we have above all else though is the evidence provided by Survivor's, independent Witness's and some Perpetrators, to add to the overall incomprehensibility that has gripped us for so many years. For the legion of Survivor's, there is little evidence of what was dealt out to some of their Families, Friends, Neighbours or their fellow Jewish brethren. Added to this wealth of testimonial we have the various War Crimes Trials; Nuremberg as the Major indictment against the perpetrator's, while Doctor, Einsatzgruppen and Camp Trials are all supplementing the knowledge of that period of history. It is a tragic period we have each sought out to add our own portion of testimony toward. Of course, not all of Hitler's atrocity has been so religiously destroyed, and there is an emergence of evidence from within Germany itself and now, more latterly, from an immense archive retained in Russia that needs to be looked at, assessed and added to our understanding, comprehension and appreciation of what only the victims can know. While elaborate detail does exist, from the Oneg Shabbat, from those like Reder, Wiernik, Vrba, Kaplan, Levi, Wiesel and Korczak, we have a detail that restores only a forgotten page in that history. The details themselves are worked into a fabric of that past which must convince us of what should never be accomplished again, in spite of the failure to fully acknowledge the wrong's done, and the crimes committed against these Jews of The Holocaust. Millions of pages, billions of words have been used to record the passing of an entire Jewish People, a community of Europe destroyed in the midst of a knowing and indifferent European society. We have the embryo of a disaster put together to become what was a very Final Solution, a near total resolve that was so complete and which acknowledges that while not all victims were Jews, all Jews were victims in accordance with how Elie Wiesel articulates this. Patrick Dempsey writes on the Holocaust. Contact him at pd1010@hotmail.com |
|
FROM ISRAEL: LET THEM YELL
Posted by Arlene Kushner, February 25, 2010. |
|
There was a huge reaction on the part of the Palestinian Arabs to the announcement by our prime minister that the Machpelah in Hevron and Kever Rachel outside of Bethlehem would be included in our Heritage sites. What? Jews claiming sites in areas that they are telling the world belong exclusively to them? In Hevron there was rioting both Monday and yesterday, with rioters burning tires and throwing rocks at members of the IDF. Riot control techniques were employed by the IDF. ~~~~~~~~~~ Fayyad relied upon one of the PA default positions: He called on the international community to pressure Israel to change its decision. PA leaders have been led to believe that they are so much the darlings of the Western world, that their every request will be heard. They don't have to act on their own behalf, others will do it for them. Fayyad pointed out that Israel has also named the walls of the Old City as a Heritage site. But these walls, he says, "are inside eastern and occupied Jerusalem, which will be Palestine's eternal capital." ~~~~~~~~~~ Meanwhile, Abbas fell back on the other PA default position: threat of violence. He said that this decision constituted a "severe provocation" that could ignite a "war of religions" and lead to a new intifada. ~~~~~~~~~~ My favorite (so to speak) is this: The Palestinian Center for Human Rights claims that our government's decision "constitutes a violation of Article 1 of the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict of 1954, which calls upon an occupying power to 'safeguard and respect' property that is 'of great importance to the cultural heritage of every people.'"... PCHR called for the international community "to provide protection for Palestinian civilians, their property and their religious sites." THEIR religious sites. This is their modus operand, is it not? We can laugh. We can scoff. But we must make sure that the world doesn't believe them. That is why telling our narrative, speaking clearly about our heritage, is so important. It's impossible to over-emphasize this. To relinquish our claim to our holy sites would ultimately be to relinquish our claim — our right — to this land. ~~~~~~~~~~ And there is something else that has to be emphasized constantly: We share. We are in control at the Machpelah. But the Arabs also are given access to it, and place for their prayers and celebrations within. There are particular holy days when only Jews may enter, and others when only Muslims may enter. President Shimon Peres, in a meeting with Special UN Envoy of the Middle East Process, Robert Serry (about whom more below), made this very point: "[Israel] aims to honor and allow freedom of worship to all, irrespective of their faith, and protect the holy sites. There is no violation of Muslim or Christian religious rights in any holy place." ~~~~~~~~~~ From several quarters there has been an appropriate response from our government. Vice Premier Silvan Shalom called the PA reaction "insolent and outrageous and another attempt to rewrite history." "We are talking about a campaign of lies and hypocrisy," said a statement from the prime minister's office. It was further pointed out that right now renovations are being done by Israel in the hall where Muslim prayers are held. If we lived to be 1,000, we would not see renovation of a Jewish prayer hall done by the Arabs if they were in control. ~~~~~~~~~~ In fact, based on past history and various statements made, we have serious reason to doubt we'd be permitted access to the Machpelah at all if it were (G-d forbid) in Muslim hands. There is the precedent of the Seventh Step: In 1267, the Muslim Mameluks forbade Jews to enter the Machpelah. They were not permitted to climb beyond the seventh step of the stairway leading to the edifice on the eastern side. But pious Jews, although humiliated, stood on that seventh step and prayed there. This prohibition actually was in effect for 700 years, until 1967, when Israel liberated Hevron. It is devotion to the Machpelah that keeps the Jewish residents of Hevron so determined: they are convinced, with solid reason, that Jewish access would be lost if they left. ~~~~~~~~~~ We have, as well, the evidence of how the Arabs have destroyed Kever Yosef (Joseph's Tomb at Shechem) since it was turned over to the PA, in open defiance of their Oslo obligations — they attempted to turn it into a mosque. And see below for a story of how the Muslims have attempted to co-opt Kever Rachel:
~~~~~~~~~~ Returning to UN Envoy Serry: He told Peres that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon would be visiting the region to discuss ways to facilitate movement of goods into Gaza. While there was a need for certain goods such as building materials to go in for the rehabilitation of several buildings, Sperry said that there is no humanitarian problem in Gaza. Allow me to repeat this: A UN envoy says there is no humanitarian problem in Gaza. (Thanks to Yisrael M. on this.) You can see this in a release from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Please, take every opportunity to share this information. This is one more way in which we can reinforce truth in the face of pervasive lies directed at Israel. These lies come from a variety of sources, from UNRWA to Congressman Brian Baird of Washington State, who has been pushing for the US to do a "Berlin airlift" style operation to bring supplies into Gaza. ~~~~~~~~~~ France is flip-flopping with regard to early recognition of a Palestinian state. First, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner came out squarely in favor of such early recognition. But then President Nicolas Sarkozy, in a press conference with Abbas, spoke about a "viable" Palestinian state, but shied away from promoting recognition of one now or soon. Sarkozy said that Kouchner was looking for ways to bring momentum to the peace process but that France's goal remained "a functioning Palestinian state in clearly set borders." From my perspective this dichotomy of thinking reflects something else, as well: If Sarkozy were reasonably certain that "a functioning state in clearly set borders" would evolve after France lent support, I suspect he'd go along. The unease results from (very rational) doubts about the Palestinian Arabs ever getting their act together. To support a state that doesn't happen is to be left looking very foolish indeed. Frankly, that anyone in Europe would entertain the notion of lending early support for a Palestinian state, after what has been revealed regarding the incredible corruption of the PA, is a clear indication of diplomatic dysfunction, in my opinion. We might call it Kouchner chasing fairy tales. ~~~~~~~~~~ There has been backtracking by Europeans on another issue, as well: that of alleged use by the Mossad of forged European passports in the assassination of al-Mabhouh. The simple truth is that there is no direct evidence linking the Mossad to what happened in Dubai, no matter the suspicions. The fact that some of the forged European passports carried the names of people who also have Israeli citizenship proves nothing. And so, the EU issued a statement about the passports that did not mention Israel. Nonetheless, the statement by the EU troubled me: "The killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on 20 January raises issues which are profoundly disturbing to the European Union. This was an action which cannot be conducive to peace and stability in the Middle East..." Hold it for a second! Killing a man whose job it was to import accurate missiles from Iran to Gaza so they could be used against the civilian population of Israel is not conducive to peace and stability? Some very distorted thinking is at work here. The statement then went on to vigorously protest the use of forged European passports, and so on and so forth. ~~~~~~~~~~ See Michael Totten, writing on this subject in Commentary: "Al-Mabhouh was a terrorist commander...He was a combatant. Unlike his victims, he was fair game. He would have been fair game for even an air strike if he were in Gaza. As he was, instead, in Dubai, he was taken out quietly without even alerting, let alone harming, any of the civilians around him. "If only Israel could fight all its battles this way. It would be the cleanest and least-deadly war in the history of warfare. Even some of Israel's harshest critics should understand that... "It's unlikely that Israel can avert the next war by assassinating its enemy's leadership, but it's always better to take out a high-level target in person whenever possible than with a blockbuster bomb from a distance. I can't help but wonder if those griping about the recent hit in Dubai — assuming the Mossad actually did it — care less about the lives of real human beings than the latest excuse to bash Israel." (emphasis added)
~~~~~~~~~~ "The Good News Corner" Purim approaches. In most of Israel, it comes after Shabbat, in Jerusalem (and Sfat, walled cities), it comes on Shushan Purim, which is Monday. But we are into the month of Adar, which is a month for being joyous. Today I had occasion to be at the offices of NDS Technologies, a major international hi-tech corporation with offices in Jerusalem. The receptionist was wearing bunny ears, and in the lobby were make-up people doing "faces" on NDS employees. Only in Israel! I thought. And I was joyous for it. ~~~~~~~~~~ Archeologist Dr. Eilat Mazar has announced the discovery, outside the walls of the Old City in an area referred to as Ophel, of stone fortifications that are believed to date back 3,000 years to the time of King Solomon and the First Temple. The city wall that has been exposed is 70 meters long and six meters high. According to Dr. Mazar, it "testifies to a ruling presence. Its strength and form of construction indicate a high level of engineering." A comparison with other findings and the nature of the pottery uncovered at the site "enable us to postulate with a great degree of assurance that the wall that has been revealed is that which was built by King Solomon in Jerusalem in the latter part of the tenth century BCE." Perhaps most exciting: "This is the first time that a structure from that time has been found that may correspond with written descriptions of Solomon's building in Jerusalem. "The Bible tells us that Solomon built — with the assistance of the Phoenicians, who were outstanding builders — the Temple and his new palace and surrounded them with a city..." Contact Arlene Kushner at akushner@netvision.net.il and visit her website: www.ArlenefromIsrael.info |
|
AHASHVEROSH, ISRAEL AND THE "RULE OF LAW"; THE MOSSAD'S MISTAKE; HOW
SHOULD THE JEWISH STATE DEAL WITH THE IRANIAN THREAT?
Posted by Moshe Feiglin, February 25, 2010. |
|
These below are three essays dealing with perception, the Jewish state and when should the rule of law rule. |
|
AHASHVEROSH, ISRAEL AND THE "RULE OF LAW" 
When Sharon introduced his "Disengagement" idea, it seemed like nothing more than a preposterous dream. Nobody understood what the State of Israel would gain from perpetrating this horrible crime against thousands of Israeli citizens. Nobody deceived themselves into thinking that this folly would bring peace; the Arabs of Gaza left no room for doubt. So how did Sharon manage to get his immoral and illogical decision into Israel's mainstream? On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Bizzetha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven chamberlains that ministered in the presence of Ahashverosh the king to bring Vashti the queen before the king with the crown royal, to show the peoples and the princes her beauty; for she was fair to look on. (The Scroll of Esther 1:10-11) After six straight months of drunken feasts, the foolish king had nothing to boast about — except for his wife's beauty. He commands to bring her before all the merrymakers to show the entire nation her beauty, attired in her crown — and nothing else. Is there a royal decree more foolish than this? True, nobody will be expelled from his home, nobody's life will be shattered and barring Vashti's pride, nothing will be destroyed. Nevertheless, this was a classic case of a patently illegal order, complete with a black flag flying overhead. But the queen Vashti refused to come at the king's commandment by the chamberlains; therefore was the king very wroth, and his anger burned in him. (The Scroll of Esther 1:12) Vashti refuses to obey the immoral order. We would expect that with no further ado, the king would command to behead her. That is how he handled the murder conspiracy of Bigtan and Teresh and that is what Queen Esther feared would happen to her when she dared come before the king without being summoned. But Ahashverosh understood that he had painted himself into an immoral corner. He realized that his decree would not stand the test of reason and that he was essentially endangering the legitimacy of his leadership and reign on power. What is the last resort of a criminal and foolish tyrant? How does he restore his legitimacy? Then the king said to the wise men, who knew the times — for so was the king's manner toward all that knew law and judgment; 'What shall we do unto the queen Vashti according to law, for she has not done the bidding of the king Ahashverosh by the chamberlains?' (Esther 1:13,15) Suddenly, Ahashverosh remembers the "rule of law." He consults with his legal advisors and defers to the Supreme Court. The Midrash relates that at first, Ahashverosh turned to the Jewish wise men. But they quickly understood that he was not looking for justice, but rather for legitimacy for his immoral decree and for his very leadership. The Jewish wise men evaded his overtures. The Persian Supreme Court, though, was happy to take on the case and found the penultimate creative legal solution to the royal predicament. It did not deal with the question of who was right. It dealt with only one issue — the perpetuation of the existing establishment. And so they wrote in their legal decision: 'Vashti the queen has not done wrong to the king only, but also to all the princes, and to all the peoples, who are in all the provinces of the king Ahashverosh. For this deed of the queen will come abroad unto all women, to make their husbands contemptible in their eyes, when it will be said: The king Ahashverosh commanded Vashti the queen to be brought in before him, but she came not. (Esther 1:16-17) In other words, it makes no difference at all if the directive was logical, moral or even legal. Vashti, or Gush Katif, are not part of the equation. All that matters is the perpetuation of Ahashverosh's power. If the queen will not appear before the nation attired in nothing more than her royal crown, the subservience of all the women in the entire kingdom will vanish and the empire will crumble. That makes sense, doesn't it? It is not the dubious honor of the king that is in question here. It is not even the need to be the darling of the media that lies behind the irrational decree to destroy Gush Katif. It is simply a matter of responsibility toward the perpetuation of the leadership. For if we do not carry out our orders and drive women and children from their homes today, tomorrow nobody will carry out their orders and the state will be destroyed. In fact, Ahashverosh's kingdom was indeed destroyed in a relatively short amount of time. But it wasn't because of Vashti's refusal to obey orders. On the contrary, it was because the state had lined up with the immoral conduct of its leader. And Israel? Where are we today after we have collectively hidden our heads in the sand and obeyed the criminal orders of our leaders? In a symposium on insubordination that was held last week in Efrat, Rabbi Yuval Cherlow surprised the audience when he said that if he had known that the residents of Gush Katif would be treated so poorly after the expulsion, he would have instructed his students to refuse to obey their expulsion orders. When I asked him why, Rabbi Cherlow explained that the outrageous treatment suffered by the residents of Gush Katif was a "crime against humanity." Until now, we had been told that it was wrong to disobey orders to drive the Jews from Gush Katif so as not to destroy the state and the army. Today, we are told that it is permissible to destroy the state and the army if the victims of the expulsion are not properly recompensed. The moral acrobatics inherent in this type of rhetoric open the eyes of the public to understand that not everyone who holds the title of Rabbi is necessarily the standard bearer of justice or truth. The moral foundation of a rabbi who will instruct his students to obey orders and destroy, G-d forbid, the home of the widow of Second Lebanon war hero Ro'i Klein, HY"D, is no less rotten than the moral foundation of a rabbi whose personal conduct is perverted. A footnote: I stood with a few friends on the ruins of the home of Livnat Ozeri. Her husband Nati had been murdered by terrorists just a month before. Now, soldiers and policemen had snuck up on her home on a hilltop outside Kiryat Arba in the middle of the freezing Hebron night. They dragged her five sleeping orphans — in their pajamas and with no coats or shoes — from their beds, and destroyed their home and everything in it. They dumped the widow and orphans onto a Jerusalem street — in the middle of the night. There was no great public outcry. Not even from Yesha. Nati Ozeri was a Kachnik — not "one of ours." Not long after that, we got Gush Katif. Shabbat Shalom THE MOSSAD'S MISTAKE Everyone is telling us there is nothing to worry about. The international Mabhouh assassination scandal will eventually evaporate, explain Israel's Intelligence veterans. After all, this is not the first time that undercover security agencies used foreign passports. The main thing is that Mabhouh has been eliminated and that all of our forces — according to foreign reports, of course — are safely back at home. What, then, is the problem?
So why the international brouhaha? Once again we see that the most advanced intelligence organization equipped with the most sophisticated UAVs, state of the art technologies and the most expensive intelligence devices are no match for the preconceptions of the person making the decisions. Intelligence excellence does not help the organization that is fighting yesterday's war. Stalin knew about the imminent German invasion but his preconceptions did not allow him to use the information that streamed to him on the eve of the attack. Golda knew — from Jordan's King Hussein and other sources — about the impending Egyptian/Syrian attack on Israel, but was surprised for the same reason. After 9/11, I wrote an article explaining that America was going to lose the war against Iraq. How did I guess? I wasn't privy to a fraction of the information that the decision makers in Washington had. The answer is simple. If a person is entrenched in a preconception, all the information in the world will not help him. I understood that the Americans are incapable of understanding an enemy that is not a state. When the US was attacked on 9/11, President Bush looked for a guilty state. With remarkable stupidity, Saddam Hussein provided him with the return address he was looking for. The Americans certainly did conquer Iraq for a few days. But they lost the war because their preconceptions do not fit reality. For the very same reason, Israel lost the last two wars that it fought. It looks like the same thing also happened to the Mossad in its Dubai mission. I assume that the people at the Mossad don't understand what we want from them. For decades, they have been using foreign passports and no problems arose. The enlightened Western world is actually pleased that someone did the dirty work for it and rid it of a menacing terrorist. So why the international uproar? All the intelligence agencies in the world use foreign passports. The pundits explain that the Arabs are pressuring the British, so they must let off some steam. Soon, they reassure us, all will return to normal. But it won't. Somebody in the Mossad and the echelon that authorized the Mabhouh mission is still living in the eighties. They didn't notice that the Western world, and particularly the British, no longer sees Israel as the good guy in the story. For them, Mabhouh is a freedom fighter. If you didn't notice, Israel's most senior ministers are wanted in Europe's capitals for war crimes. No need for sophisticated electronics. All that you have to do is open your eyes to reality. If Israel's leaders are wanted for crimes against humanity, what does that say about our country? In the eyes of much of the world, Israel is no more than a pirate ship sailing on borrowed time. The world has changed, ladies and gentlemen. Israel can no longer expect the international community to wink its eye and look the other way. To the esteemed Meir Dagan. Please turn off your computer and your telephones — and think for a moment about Israel's place in the world today. HOW SHOULD THE JEWISH STATE DEAL WITH THE IRANIAN THREAT? 
Just like Mordechai. There is no reason to fight the Iranian nation. All that we need to do is to eliminate its leadership. Modern Western culture allows for the killing of millions of soldiers, but does not abide by the assassination of political leaders. This is a patently immoral approach. The Iranian leader deserves to die. Israel has the technology to carry out his assassination. It should make use of it as soon as possible.
Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) is a group of people inside
the Likud party who want to see Israel adopt a more Jewish character.
Moshe Feiglin, its cofounder, has emphatically said he does not want a
theocracy, but he does want a State based on Jewish values. The
Manhigut Yehudit website address is http://www.manhigut.org.
To learn more about Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) and to read
their plan for Israel's future, visit www.jewishisrael.org.
Or contact Shmuel Sackett, International Director (516) 330-4922
(cell)
|
|
AN OVER-DUE SLAP-BACK TO THE ISLAMIC INVADERS ...
Posted by Paul Lademain, February 24, 2010. |
|
Sarah Honig provided an operational definition of 'Dam butlab dam' — to us, the SC4Z, this was an unfamiliar phrase.
We suggest a few words for these put-upon Jews — but first, before they can say them, they must screw up their courage, straighten their backs, and YELL: We are MAD as hell and we won't take this anymore! (dialogue cribbed from the movie "Network".) Now that Sarah has described how Jews have been made to suffer, it's up to Jews to put a stop to 'Dam butlab dam' ... If they don't, they will continue to be hounded, despised, disrespected, and abused like doormats. So, practice saying this with us: "We are MAD as hell and we won't take this anymore!" If the arabs riot, put them down, down, down. Rock throwing? Shoot them! Smear them with pig turds. March in the streets with placards demeaning the dhimmi-French who abandoned their nation to fire-bombing Muzzies. Insult Greta Duisenberg. Slam Xavier Solana. Ridicule Jimmy Carter — the first US dhimmi. Remember how American blacks gained power? They rioted ... they burned, they put fear in the hearts of the Ku Klux Klan! Now it's time for Jews to put down their pastries, set aside their comfy habits, get some dirt under their fingernails, and give the rioting arabs a taste of their own medicine. You might as well inflict pain, because your concessions and myriad embarrassing appeasements have brought you nothing but disrespect and bullying. If you don't fight back; if you refuse to cease appeasing and apologizing, your children will inherit a very short, cloudy, anxiety-riddled future ... in your own land, no less! We are the politically incorrect Secular Christians for Zion. We urge your best minds to set aside their mournful threnodies and serve the arab invaders a taste of their own sauce. If you find Jews like Dorit Beinish contaminating the sovereign rights of Israeli Jews, then she must be tossed out. No self-respecting Jew should allow anyone to steal their lands. No Jew should invite the nose of the camel into your tent. The Jew who did so and brought this terror into your land is a vain, arrogant, unrepentant fool. You know who we mean. Moreover, Jews who insist on coddling the anti-Israel vipers amongst them should be reminded that these are the very Jews whom the venomous snakes will devour last. The invading arab occupiers have chosen a purpose which for them cannot be altered, and that purpose is your death. There is nothing left to analyze once you fully understand that the choice is between you or them. Are you willing to throw your lives away for the sake of Islamic fascism? For the sake of posturing for peace? Did the Jews who obediently pasted on their gold stars earn the love of the nazis? OK, there's your answer. Now fight, for goodness sakes, and get rid of the very idea of 'dam butlab dam'! Viva to the Patriots of Israel from the Secular Christians for Zion. Contact Paul Lademain by email at lademain@verizon.net. He describes himself as a Secular Christian for Zionism (SC4Z). |
|
PALESTINIANS HAVE FAILED TO PROTECT JEWISH SACRED PLACES
Posted by Susana K-M, February 24, 2010. |
|
This comes from The Israel Project.. |
|
Palestinians Threaten Uprising over Israel's Inclusion of 2 West Bank Holy Sites in Preservation Plan Fact Sheet: Palestinians Fail to Protect Jewish Sacred Places Examples of Palestinian and Jordanian failures to protect holy sites and freedom of worship Experts available for comment on archaeological and holy sites Resources on Temple Mount destruction (courtesy Biblical Archaeology Review) Palestinian leaders reacted this week with promises of violence to the Israeli cabinet's decision to include two holy sites in the West Bank as part of a comprehensive plan to preserve Israel's national heritage and religious sites.[1] Ismail Haniyeh, the leader of Iran-backed Hamas in Gaza, urged Palestinians to unleash a new intifada (uprising) in response to the decision.[2] "Jerusalem is ours, the land is ours, and God is with us," Haniyeh said. "We will not accept these decisions and they will have no ramifications."[3] Meanwhile, Palestinian rioters threw stones at Israeli soldiers and burned tires in Hebron, the location of one of the controversial sites.[4] The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, Judaism's second-holiest site after the Temple Mount and its Western Wall,[5] is also venerated by Muslims and Christians.[6] Likewise, Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem, another of Judaism's holiest sites,[7] is also sacred to Muslims and Christians.[8] The $107 million (NIS 400 million) Israeli plan approved Sunday (Feb. 21) would restore about 150 heritage and holy sites.[9] Netanyahu's spokesman, Nir Hefetz, said on Tuesday that just as maintenance work on the entrance and road to the Muslim prayer room of the Cave of the Patriarchs is underway, its Jewish sections — and Rachel's Tomb — also have a right to be refurbished.[10] In a meeting with UN Special Coordinator for the Peace Process Robert H. Serry on Wednesday (Feb. 24), Israeli President Shimon Peres said, "Israel plans to invest significant amounts in infrastructure that will increase the accessibility of holy sites to all worshipers. By doing so it aims to honor and allow freedom of worship to all, irrespective of their faith, and protect the holy sites. There is no violation of Muslim or Christian religious rights in any holy place."[11] Palestinian and Jordanian Failure to Protect Holy Sites Israel, the West Bank and Gaza contain hundreds of religious monuments and places of worship holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians. Israel long ago put into place comprehensive laws protecting all such sites and ensuring access to people of all religions.[12] The same protections have not been extended by the Palestinian Authority or under Jordanian rule. As a result, since Israel's establishment in 1948, a significant number of Jewish holy sites has been damaged or vandalized. Desecration of holy sites occurred when Jordan controlled East Jerusalem and the West Bank before 1967. That has continued until today in areas under Palestinian control, despite formal agreements: Both Israel and the Palestinians promised to protect all religious sites under their control as part of the framework of the Oslo peace process. The failure to adequately uphold these provisions is seen by Israel as a serious impediment to Israeli-Palestinian relations.[13] In recent years, Palestinian terrorists and rioters also have destroyed and abused Christian holy places.[14] Although neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis have a constitution, the Knesset (Israeli parliament) enacted the Protection of Holy Places Law of 1967 to ensure that anyone who vandalizes a holy site could suffer legal consequences. The law states: "Whoever does anything that is likely to violate the freedom of access of the members of the various religions to the places sacred to them is liable to imprisonment for a term of five years."[15] Additionally, the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (also known as Oslo II), signed in September 1995, explicitly states that "each side undertakes upon itself to respect sites in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip which are regarded as holy, or which hold archaeological value."[16] Instances of Palestinian terrorists exploiting holy sites are violations of the First Additional Protocol (1977) to the Geneva Conventions and may constitute war crimes.[17] Following are examples of Palestinian and Jordanian failures to protect holy sites and freedom of worship:
Experts available for comment on archaeological and holy sites United States: Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, Founder and President, The Israel Project
Dr. Mitchell Bard, Executive Director, American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise
Hershel Shanks, Editor, Biblical Archaeology Review
Israel: Prof. Yedidia Stern, Bar-Ilan University, Faculty of Law
Footnotes: [1] "PM Netanyahu's Remarks at Today's Cabinet Meeting at Tel Hai,"
Israel Prime Minister's Office, Feb. 21, 2010,
[2] "Hamas calls for uprising over West Bank sites," Alalam,
Feb. 24, 2010,
[3] Waked, Ali, "Abbas, Haniyeh: Heritage sites will ignite a war,"
YnetNews, Feb. 23, 2010,
[4] Waked, Ali, "Abbas, Haniyeh: Heritage sites will ignite a war,"
YnetNews, Feb. 23, 2010,
[5] Lazaroff, Tovah; Freund, Michael, "Coming of age at Rachel's
Tomb," JWeekly.com, Nov. 2, 2007,
[6] Prusher, Ilene R., "Does Hebron clash signal new round of settler
revolts?" Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 9, 2008,
[7] Lazaroff, Tovah; Freund, Michael, "Coming of age at Rachel's
Tomb," JWeekly.com, Nov. 2, 2007,
[8] "Bethlehem University research project explores importance of
Rachel's tomb," Bethlehem University, May 4, 2009,
[9] "Israel to include West Bank shrines in heritage plan," Reuters,
Feb. 21, 2010,
[10] Keinon, Herb; Lazaroff, Tovah, "'Abbas campaign is
hypocritical,'" The Jerusalem Post, Feb. 24, 2010,
[11] "President Peres meets with UN Special Coordinator Serry," Israel
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Feb. 24, 2010,
[12] "Protection of Holy Places Law," Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, June 30, 1998,
[13] Shragai, Nadav, "The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy
Sites in the West Bank: Rachel's Tomb as a Test Case," Jerusalem
Center for Public Affairs, Dec. 2, 2007,
[14] Kershner, Isabel, "Palestinian Christians Look Back on a Year of
Troubles," The New York Times, March 11, 2007,
[15] "Protection of Holy Places Law," Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, June 30, 1998,
[16] "Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sept. 28, 1995,
[17] Foreign Ministry Legal Advisor, "Terrorist Penetration and Armed
Combat in Holy Places — Legal Perspectives," Israel Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, April 11, 2002,
[18] Ami-El, Mark, "The Destruction of the Temple Mount
Antiquities," JCPA, Aug. 1, 2002; Lefkovits, Etgar, "Temple Mount
relics saved from garbage," The Jerusalem Post, April 15, 2005,
[19] Ami-El, Mark, "The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities,"
JCPA, Aug. 1, 2002; Lefkovits, Etgar, "Temple Mount relics saved from
garbage," The Jerusalem Post, April 15, 2005,
[20] Ami-El, Mark, "The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities,"
JCPA, Aug. 1, 2002; Lefkovits, Etgar, "Temple Mount relics saved from
garbage," The Jerusalem Post, April 15, 2005,
[21] Ami-El, Mark, "The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities,"
JCPA, Aug. 1, 2002; Lefkovits, Etgar, "Temple Mount relics saved from
garbage," The Jerusalem Post, April 15, 2005,
[22] Ami-El, Mark, "The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities,"
JCPA, Aug. 1, 2002; Lefkovits, Etgar, "Temple Mount relics saved from
garbage," The Jerusalem Post, April 15, 2005,
[23] Ami-El, Mark, "The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities,"
JCPA, Aug. 1, 2002; Lefkovits, Etgar, "Temple Mount relics saved from
garbage," The Jerusalem Post, April 15, 2005,
[24] Shragai, Nadav"The Mount of Olives in Jerusalem," Jerusalem
Viewpoints (JCPA), July-August 2009,
[25] Gilbert, Martin "Jerusalem: A Tale of One City," The New Republic, Nov. 14, 1994, accessed via Nexis.com [26] Shragai, Nadav, "The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy
Sites in the West Bank: Rachel's Tomb as a Test Case," Jerusalem
Center for Public Affairs, Dec. 2, 2007,
[27] Shragai, Nadav, "The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy
Sites in the West Bank: Rachel's Tomb as a Test Case," Jerusalem
Center for Public Affairs, Dec. 2, 2007,
[28] Shragai, Nadav, "The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy
Sites in the West Bank: Rachel's Tomb as a Test Case," Jerusalem
Center for Public Affairs, Dec. 2, 2007,
[29] Waked, Ali, "Shalom slams 'barbaric act'," YnetNews, Sept.
15, 2005,
[30] "YMCA library building in Gaza City blown up," Intelligence and
Terrorism Information Center," Feb. 21, 2008,
[31] Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, "International
Religious Freedom Report 2007: Israel and the Occupied Territories,"
U.S. Department of State, 2007,
[32] Kurshner, Isabel, "Palestinian Christians Look Back on a Year of
Troubles," The New York Times, March 11, 2007,
[33] "Chronology of the Siege," PBS, April 1, 2002,
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/siege/etc/cron.html;
Myre, Greg, "Militants Briefly Take Over Bethlehem Building," The
New York Times, Dec. 20, 2005,
Contact Susana K-M by email at suanema@gmail.com |
|
KNESSET PROPOSAL: ANNEX ALL JEWISH TOWNS IN LAND OF ISRAEL
Posted by Aryeh Zelasko, February 24, 2010. |
|
This is worth pushing. All of those of you that have the organizations skills or an organization should pull out all the stops to press this into law. Be it letters, petitions, editorials or whatever, start screaming that this law be passed. There is definitely a chance to pass this but the pressure must be enormous and unending until it is law. I hope I do not have to explain to any of you why this is so important. But in short, once there is such a law, the idea of a PLO Terror State will be dead. Furthermore it will knock the fence sitters onto our side and bring an end to the Oslo treason. This was written by Hillel Fendel, Senior News Editor of Arutz-7, where this article appeared today. |
|
(Israelnationalnews.com) The Ministerial Committee for Legislation will consider a bill proposed by MK Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh) on the annexation of Jewish towns in Judea and Samaria (Yesha). The bill was supported last year by Prime Minister Netanyahu himself. The legislation committee is charged with deciding whether or not the government will back proposed legislation — often the critical factor in whether a given bill will be passed or defeated. It will vote on Katz's new bill at its next weekly meeting, this coming Tuesday (after the Purim holiday). The bill proposes that the Jewish towns of Judea and Samaria be annexed to Israel, just as eastern Jerusalem and the Golan Heights have been annexed in the past. The bill was proposed in the previous Knesset by former MK Benny Elon, whom Katz succeeded, in many respects, in the Knesset. The bill was co-signed at the time by many MKs, among them Binyamin Netanyahu and other current Likud party Cabinet ministers such as Limor Livnat, Silvan Shalom, Yisrael Katz, Gideon Saar, Michael Eitan, Gilad Erdan, Yuval Steinitz, and more. MKs from other parties also signed at the time. Explaining the proposed law, Katz said, "Following the liberation of parts of our national homeland in the 1967 Six Day War, Israeli law was applied to the areas in which 300,000 Jews live in the liberated neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and to those in which reside 20,000 Jews in the Golan. The time has now come to create a similar situation to the 350,000 Jews of Judea and Samaria. I am sure that the ministers, who co-signed the law last year, will now reaffirm their support and their signatures." Only Jewish towns annexed Some 26 MKs are currently co-signed on the bill. No ministers or deputy ministers are among them, in keeping with the requirement that legislation sponsors not serve in those positions. Among the co-signers are MKs Levine, Hotovely, Elkin, Danon and Shama of the Likud; Rotem, Michaeli and Miller of Israel Our Home; Orbach of the Jewish Home; Ariel, Eldad, and Ben-Ari of the National Union; Moses and Maklev of United Torah Judaism, and Ze'ev, Vaknin, and Amsalem of Shas. The legislation states: "The law, jurisdiction and administration of the State shall apply in the following cities, regional councils, and local councils, and the communities therein," followed by a list of the Jewish cities and councils in Judea and Samaria: "Oranit, Alfei Menashe, Elkanah, Efrat, Ariel, Beit El, Beit Aryeh-Ofarim, Beitar Illit, Mateh Binyamin, Jordan Valley, Givat Ze'ev, Gush Etzion, Har Adar, Mt. Hevron, Dead Sea Scrolls, Modiin Illit, Maaleh Adumim, Maaleh Ephraim, Emanuel, Kedumim, Kiryat Arba, Karnei Shomron, and Shomron." The proposal emphasizes that it does not call for the annexation of all of Judea and Samaria to the State of Israel, but only of the Jewish towns there and their residents. Acknowledging that most or all of the Arabs in Judea and Samaria are now subject to Palestinian Authority law, it states, "The current situation creates an absurdity, in that the only citizens who are discriminated against are the Israelis — who must pay income tax and various fees, but do not receive all the rights of citizens; they are tried [in certain cases] in military courts, not civilian ones." "The Knesset has already passed several measures applying parts of Israeli law to the Jewish towns in Yesha [Judea and Samaria]," the proposal continues, "but not in a uniform, systematic manner. As [former Meretz party MK] Prof. Amnon Rubenstein has written in his book entitled Constitutional Law: 'From a logical standpoint, it would be simpler if the Army administration [that officially governs Judea and Samaria] would apply Israel law in totality on all the Jewish local councils, instead of this patch-up job the government currently utilizes.'" "This legislation is hereby proposed in order to stop the discrimination against the Israeli citizens and in order to create uniformity in the law." Aryeh Zelasko lives in Beitar Illit, south of Jerusalem. He is Director of Sales and Marketing of Israel Visit (www.israelvisit.co.il) which provides information and an internet buying facility for American visitors to Israel. |
|
JORDAN TO PROTECT JERUSALEM CHRISTIANS!; ISRAELI REACTION TO DUBAI
ASSASSINATION ACCUSATIONS; J STREET FABRICATED ANTI-ISRAEL SCANDAL?
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 24, 2010. |
|
A FEW AMERICAN JEWS OPPOSE ISRAEL'S LAW OF RETURN Perhaps a thousand American Jews object to Israel's law of return. The law grants immediate citizenship to would-be immigrants whom it defines as "Jewish." Gentiles may and do apply for citizenship, but for them it is not granted automatically. Some left wing, Jewish protesters call the law racist. Dr. Amy Kaplan, an English professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a co-founder of the 'Breaking the Law of Return' campaign, calls Arabs who had lived in Israel as discriminated against, because the law of return does not apply to them. Bar Ilan University political scientist Dr. Gerald Steinberg and Hebrew University political scientist Dr. Moshe Maor reject the protest as just another angle in a campaign to overthrow Israel, rather than a legitimate subject. Some of the protesters admit they are gunning for Israel for other reasons. Dr. Maor reminds us that it was the United Nations that recommended a separate state for the Jewish people. Dr. Steinberg added, "If there was a French group that denied the right of the French to live in France and demanded that the French language be replaced by a kind of international culture it would get absolutely no publicity," he added. "But because it's Israel it gets attention." (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/23). There is a international movement for denigration, defamation, and disintegration of Israel as a scapegoat on whose innocent back the world loads its self-indulged sins and blames the tarnished goat. (Tarnished with gornisht.) That movement constantly come up with another slander, falsification of history, or peculiar legal slant in order to attack Israel. This is a piling on by bullies that incorporates misguided idealists, people who hate their civilization, Jews who appease the Left in order to be accepted by it, Arabs seeking genocide, and other antisemites. In this movement, the self-declared idealists work with totalitarians who commit real and serious crimes against humanity and with real bigots, but fail to repudiate them. What could be more evil? The movement is phony. Now let's discuss the law of return, so as leave no doubt about its decency. It is one of the most decent endeavors in history. An indicator of ethical belief is consistency in applying it. The anti-Zionist movement lacks such consistency. Consider its human rights and legal concept that the Law of Return is racist. Many countries have a similar law. Do the protesters object to those countries' policies? No. Only to the Jewish state's policy. Then their objection is not on principle about racism, but to what Jews do. Judeophobia! Some European countries have laws of return (and crosses in their flags). Many Arab states bar Jews from becoming citizens (and Muslim symbols in their flags). Some bar most Jews from visiting. Millions of their people hate foreigners. Some Arab regimes won't admit foreign Arab immigrants as citizens, even their children and for generations. They make Islam the official religion and may bar public display of other religions, just as they did in the middle ages. They may oppress other nationalities and religions, such as the Kurds, Berbers, Copts, Assyrians, to the point of genocide. Come to think of it, equal citizenship in such countries is not that great. Nationalism is natural, though under Islam, less so. Muslim regimes worry about rebellion, so they may repress groups less likely to be loyal to them. Leftists try to apply the principle of national self-determination to western Palestinian Arabs, who are not a nationality, but deny self-determination to the Jews. Inconsistent. The re-establishment of the State of Israel was prepared for by the Palestine Mandate, which recognized the Jewish people's historic connection with the Land of Israel (of which it had been deprived by imperialism, not the least of which was Muslim Arab imperialism). The Mandate, endorsed by the UN, encouraged their return. Israel became a place of refuge for millions of persecuted Jews, including from Arab states. It still is needed for that. The law of return merely implements the promise of Zionism, whose purpose of reunification in the holy land and homeland as well as a safe harbor for a world that still persecutes Jews. What could be more humane? Is the prospect of genocide by Palestinian Arabs far-fetched? No, there is precedent for it. They tried before. Although the UN also recommended a separate Arab state, the Zionists did not ask Arabs to leave for it, they said the Arabs may stay. Instead, the Arabs demanded everything and attempted to murder and expel the Jews, lost, and fled. Have the Palestinian Arabs reformed? No. They hate the Jews more. They now claim that their own, voluntary flight after their attempt at genocide was instead a Zionist attempt to dispossess them. Remember the strong hold that vengeance has upon the Arabs! What is the claim of the Palestinian Arabs to the area? Is it that ancient Arabs conquered the area? The Hebrews conquered it both before and after them. The Arabs lost control more than a thousand years ago. Nor was it ever an important center to them, including when Jordan re-conquered old Jerusalem in 1948. When World War I ended the Turkish Empire, which had ruled most of the Arabs, the victors let the Arabs have most of the Mideast and the Jews their corner of it. Fair enough, except to the Kurds and Berbers. Now suppose the law of return were overturned. Millions of Arabs would flood in. They would end Jewish self-determination. Taking their cue from Saddam vis-à-vis the Kurds or Sudan vis-à-vis the black Muslim Sudanese, the new Arab majority probably would expel and murder the millions of Jews there. Jihad would attain a big victory. What could be more inhumane? Is mass-murder what these anti-Zionists want or cannot foresee? Some principles, they have!
JORDAN TO PROTECT JERUSALEM CHRISTIANS? 
King Abdullah Of Jordan (AP/Michel Euler) "Jordan's King Abdullah warned the Archbishop of Canterbury on Sunday that Israel threatens to evict Muslims and Christians from eastern Jerusalem. The king also said Jordan will act to protect non-Jewish holy sites in the Palestinian Authority area," Jordan had signed an armistice agreement in 1949 that pledged to keep religious sites accessible, including the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives. How well did the King's dynasty protect Christians in Jerusalem when it seized the Old City in 1948? Jordan banned Christian purchases of property in Jerusalem, and required Christian schools to teach the Koran and to close on Fridays instead of on Sundays. Jordan restricted Christian access to Christian holy sites in the Old City and Bethlehem to the Easter and Christmas holy days and only to visiting dignitaries. By 1967, the 25,000 Christians in Jerusalem in 1948 had dwindled to 13,000. The Jordanian Army also denied Jews access to their religious holy sites (and expelled all Jews from the Old City). Jordan desecrated the Mount of Olives cemetery. In 1967, Israel liberated the Old City and re-opened holy sites to Christians (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/23). What does the King mean, Israel intends to evict Muslims and Christians from Jerusalem? It implies a program of religious apartheid that Israel does not have but that the Palestinian Authority has for Jews and applies gradually to Christians. What is the situation? Some Arabs fleeing the Palestinian Authority sneak into Jerusalem. There would be nothing wrong with deporting them, and much risk with retaining them. Many Arabs build illegally in Jerusalem as well as in Judea-Samaria and Israel, often on land they do not own. Some Arabs sell land to Jews, at risk of the apartheid Palestinian Authority executing them for it. If word gets out, those Arabs deny the sale. the leftist Israeli prosecutors and judges tend to oust the Jewish purchasers until years of litigation and agitation have passed. Some Jews built on purchased or state land they were allotted, went through most of the stages of permits, but when the Defense Minister arbitrarily and for politics does not not issue the final permit, the Left complains mightily that the illegal houses of Jews should be demolished. The local and municipal governments of Israel issue demolition orders for some of those buildings. If the houses are inhabited by Arabs, the inside Left and the outside world call Israel discriminatory. Actually, it is those critics who are discriminatory, wanting Israel to over-enforce laws against Jews and under-enforce laws against Arabs. Now think of King Abdullah interfering by falsely claiming the building scofflaws need protection and issuing a veiled threat. Isn't that irresponsibly demagogic? Well, that is jihad. Incidentally, much of his armament is purchased by U.S. grants.
ISRAELI ARMY SAVES MONEY, RISKS LIVES Smugglers and terrorists tend to traverse deserts and other areas where security is scant. Near the Judean Desert and outside the security barrier, two Jewish communities, Beit Yatir and Shani-Livnah, have been guarded by the IDF for a quarter-century. This week the Army informed the communities that it would stop guarding them by day's end. This was an economy measure. The reduction in security there may attract terrorists (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/23). Why no notice?
ISRAELI REACTION TO DUBAI ASSASSINATION ACCUSATIONS 
European countries have been questioning Israeli ambassadors about forged European passports used by the Dubai hit squad. Much of the media has condemned Israel. Israel's Foreign Minister Lieberman notes that the media reports cite no evidence. Although, as per usual Israeli policy, he neither confirms nor denies the accusations, he asks why they accuse Israel and whether the accusation isn't part of Mideastern hostility to Israel http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/23). There is sufficient evidence for suspicion but not for condemnation. At least some of the passports were in the name of Israelis from Europe, and Israel once before had used forged British passports, though it later pledged not to. On the other hand, the slain Hamas leader had other enemies, they probably would like to implicate Israel. We'll have to wait and see.
J STREET FABRICATED ANTI-ISRAEL SCANDAL? Israel's Foreign Ministry has called the anti-Israel scandal, that a returning J Street tour for Members of Congress laid at Israel's feet, a fabrication. J Street claimed that the Deputy Foreign Minister boycotted the delegation and blacklisted it with the government. Then, said J Street, Deputy Min. Ayalon hastily apologized to the group. Barukh Binah, Foreign Ministry deputy director-general and head of its North America Division, denied there was any apology, because there was nothing to apologize for. Ayalon had not objected to meeting with the group; neither was he on their schedule; nor had he obstructed their meeting with other officials. A Foreign Ministry officials thinks that J Street exploited the Members of Congress to generate headlines that it could use in fund raising (www.imra.org.il, 2/22). There are plots, but just as often there are misunderstandings. Unfortunately, people tend to see deliberate affront in them, when predisposed to dislike the other party. Too soon for a conclusion about this story.
ISRAEL ARRESTS BEST P.A. REFORMER JUST BEFORE P.A. WOULD Here is a long, verbatim story of what the Palestinian Authority really is like, how the U.S. and Israeli politics operate. It is not a pretty picture that Israel's great journalist, Caroline Glick, paints. It demonstrates that the Palestinian Authority is not worth supporting, that it engages in extra-judicial killing for sordid reasons, that the government of Israel and its politics harms the Jewish cause, and that U.S. foreign aid is another instance of government profligacy. Israel's is the only government that can force the rest of the world to recognize that Abbas is not an ally. Fahmi Shabaneh is an odd candidate for dissident status. Shabaneh is a Jerusalemite who joined the Palestinian Authority's General Intelligence Service in 1994. Working for PA head Mahmoud Abbas and GIS commander Tawfik Tirawi, Shabaneh was tasked with investigating Arab Jerusalemites suspected of selling land to Jews. Such sales are a capital offense in the PA. Since 1994 scores of Arabs have been the victims of extra-judicial executions after having been fingered by the likes of Shabaneh. A few years ago, Abbas and Tirawi gave Shabaneh a new assignment. They put him in charge of a unit responsible for investigating corrupt activities carried out by PA officials. They probably assumed a team player like Shabaneh understood what he was supposed to do. Just as Abbas's predecessor, Yasser Arafat, reportedly had full dossiers on all of his underlings and used damning information to keep them loyal to him, so Abbas probably believed that Shabaneh's information was his to use or ignore as he saw fit. For a while, Abbas's faith was well-placed. Shabaneh collected massive amounts of information on senior PA officials detailing their illegal activities. These activities included the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in international aid; illegal seizure of land and homes; and monetary and sexual extortion of their fellow Palestinians. Over time, Shabaneh became disillusioned with his boss. Abbas appointed him to his job around the time he was elected PA head in 2005. Abbas ran on an anti-corruption platform. Shabaneh's information demonstrated that Abbas presided over a criminal syndicate posing as a government. And yet rather than arrest his corrupt, criminal associates Abbas promoted them. Abbas continued promoting his corrupt colleagues even after Hamas's 2006 electoral victory. That win owed to a significant degree to the widespread public revulsion with Fatah's rampant corruption. With Israel and the US lining up to support him after the Hamas victory, Abbas continued to turn a blind eye to his colleagues' criminality. [With] his new status as the irreplaceable "moderate," he allowed his advisers and colleagues to continue enriching themselves with the international donor funds that skyrocketed after Hamas's victory. Since 2006, despite the billions of dollars in international aid showered on Fatah, Hamas has consistently led Fatah in opinion polls. Rather than clean up their act, Abbas and his Fatah colleagues have sought to ingratiate themselves with their public by ratcheting up their incitement against Israel. And since Abbas has been deemed irreplaceable, the same West that turns a blind eye to his corruption, refuses to criticize his encouragement of terrorism. And this makes sense. How can the West question the only thing standing in the way of a Hamas takeover of Judea and Samaria? Recently, Shabaneh decided he had had enough. The time had come to expose what he knows. But he ran into an unanticipated difficulty. No one wanted to know. As he put it, Arab and Western journalists wouldn't touch his story for fear of being "punished" by the PA. In his words, Western journalists "don't want to hear negative things about Fatah and Abbas." Lacking other options, Shabaneh brought his information to The Jerusalem Post's Khaled Abu Toameh. On January 29, the Post published Abu Toameh's interview with Shabaneh on our front page. Among other impressive scoops, Shabaneh related that Abbas's associates purloined $3.2 million in cash that the US gave Abbas ahead of the 2006 elections. He told Abu Toameh how PA officials who were almost penniless in 1994 now have tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars in their private accounts. He related how he watched in horror as Abbas promoted the very officials he reported on. And he showed Abu Toameh a video of Abbas's chief of staff Rafik Husseini naked in the bedroom of a Christian woman who sought employment with the PA. If Shabaneh's stories were about Israeli or Western officials, there is no doubt that they would have been picked up by every self-respecting news organization in the world. If he had been talking about Israelis, officials from Washington to Brussels to the UN would be loudly calling for official investigations. But since he was talking about the Palestinians, no one cared. The State Department had nothing to say. The EU had nothing to say. The New York Times acted as if his revelations were about nothing more than a sex scandal. As for Abbas and his cronies, they were quick to blame the Jews. They accused Shabaneh — their trusted henchman when it came to land sales to Jews — of being an Israeli agent. And when Channel 10 announced it was broadcasting Husseini's romp in the sack, Abbas demanded that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu bar the broadcast, (apparently forgetting that unlike his PA-controlled media, Israel's media organs are free). SHABANEH'S ODYSSEY from PA regime loyalist to dissident is an interesting tale. But what is more noteworthy than his personal journey is the world's indifference to his revelations. Just as the mountains of evidence that Fatah officials — including Shabaneh's boss Tirawi — have been actively involved in terrorist attacks against Israel have been systematically ignored by successive US administrations, Israeli governments and EU foreign policy chiefs, so no one wants to think about the fact that Fatah is a criminal syndicate. The implications are too devastating. Since at least 1994, successive US administrations goaded by the EU have made supporting Fatah and the PA the centerpiece of their Middle East policy. They want to receive proof that Fatah is a terrorist organization that operates like a criminal organization like they want — in the immortal words of former EU Middle East envoy Christopher Patten — "a hole in [their] head." As for the Western media, their lack of interest in Shabaneh's revelation serves as a reminder of just how mendacious much of the reportage about the Palestinians and Israel is. For 16 years, the American and European media have turned blind eyes to Palestinian misbehavior while expansively reporting every allegation against Israel — no matter how flimsy or obviously false. When the history of the media's coverage of the Middle East is written it will constitute one of the darkest chapters in Western media history. But while the American and European allegiance to the fable of Fatah as the anchor of the two-state solution accounts for the indifference of both to Shabaneh's disclosures, what accounts for the Netanyahu government's behavior in this matter? Shortly after the Post first published Shabaneh's story, the PA issued an arrest warrant against him. He was charged among other things with "harming the national interests" of the Palestinians. But Abbas's henchmen couldn't put their hands on him. Israel had already arrested him. Shabaneh was booked for among other things, illegally working for the PA. It is indeed illegal for Israeli residents to work for the PA. But oddly, although Israeli authorities have known whom Shabaneh worked for since 1994, until his disclosures were made public, they never saw any pressing need to arrest or prosecute him. Official Israel has nothing to say about Shabaneh's information. Rather, in the wake of his disclosures, everyone from Netanyahu to Defense Minister Ehud Barak has continued to proclaim daily their dedication to reaching a peace accord with Abbas. This even as Abbas and his cronies accuse Israel of using the "traitorous" Shabaneh to pressure Abbas into negotiating with Israel. There are two explanations for Israel's behavior. First, there is the fact that the presence of Barak and his Labor Party in the government makes it impossible for Netanyahu and his Likud Party to abandon the failed two-state paradigm of dealing the PA. If Netanyahu and his colleagues were to point out that the PA is a kleptocracy and its senior officials enable terror and escalate incitement to deflect their public's attention away from their criminality, (as well as because they want to destroy Israel), then Labor may bolt the coalition. Beyond that, there is no doubt that an Israeli denunciation of Abbas and his mafia would enrage the US and EU. Apparently, Netanyahu — who to please President Barack Obama accepted the two-state paradigm in spite of the fact that he opposes it, and suspended Jewish construction in Judea and Samaria despite the fact that he knows doing this is wrong — is loathe to pick a fight by pointing out the obvious fact that the PA is a corrupt band of oppressive thieves. Shabaneh argues that due to PA corruption, Hamas remains the preferred alternative for Palestinians in Judea and Samaria. In his view, the only reason Hamas has yet to take over Judea and Samaria is the IDF presence in the areas. The strategic implications of his statement are clear. Far from being a bulwark against Hamas, Abbas empowers the Iranian-backed jihadist force. The only bulwark against Hamas is Israel. WHAT THIS means is that Israel must end its support for Abbas. Every day he remains in power, Abbas perpetuates a myth of Palestinian moderation. As a supposed moderate, he claims that Israel should curtail its counter terror operations and let his own "moderate" forces take over. To strengthen Abbas, the US pressures Israel to curtail its counter terror operations in Judea and Samaria. To please the US, Israel in turn cuts back its operations. Abbas's men fight Hamas, but they also terrorize journalists, merchants and plain civilians who fall in their path, and so strengthen Hamas. To ratchet up public support for Fatah, Abbas escalates PA incitement against Israel. This then encourages his own forces to attack Israelis — as happened last week when one of his security officers murdered IDF St.-Sgt. Maj. Ihab Khatib. And so it goes. It is clear that Barak will threaten to bolt the coalition if Netanyahu decides to cut off Abbas. But if he left, where would he go? Barak has nowhere to go. He will not be reelected to lead his party. And if Labor leaves the coalition, Netanyahu would still be far from losing his majority in Knesset. As for angering the White House, the fact of the matter is that by pointing out that Abbas is not a credible leader, Israel will make it more difficult for Obama and his advisers to coerce Israel into making further concessions that will only further empower Hamas. Shabaneh told the Post that he fully expects the PA to try to kill him. But in a way, the yawns that greeted his story are his best life insurance policy. Until the world stops believing that Fatah is indispensable, no one will listen to the Shabanehs of the world and so the PA has no reason to kill him. Just as the Post was the only media organ that would publish his story, so
the Israeli government is the only government that can force the rest of the
world to recognize that Abbas is not an ally. But to do that, the government
itself must finally break with the fairy tale of Fatah moderation (via www.imra.org.il, 2/22).
Iran's President Ahmadinejad said, today, that capitalism is on the verge of collapse (www.imra.org.il, 2/22) Meanwhile, American analysts report that Iran's economy is failing badly. More companies and countries are disinvesting from it since the last time I reported that. I think that it is not so much that capitalism is collapsing, as that Europe and the U.S. over-restrict it, over-tax it, and over-spend. If they reform, the system would revive.
SYRIA CONDEMNS ISRAELI DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL SITES Syria condemns Israel's inclusion in its list of national sites to preserve the Cave of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb. Syria called the designation "aggression" and a violation of international law (www.imra.org.il, 2/23). An over-reaction. "Aggression" to renovate and preserve the Hebron site that Israel shares with Muslims? "Violation of international law," although the Oslo Accords name Rachel's Tomb as a Jewish site and recognize the status quo of the Hebron site? (IMRA displayed the relevant portions of the Oslo Accords, 2/23.) IMRA also provided evidence that the Palestinian Arabs concocted the story of Rachel's Tomb being a mosque. "The 'Beit-ul-Moqaddas' designation of Rachel's Tomb was first invented in 1996 — that's14 years ago." The Bible, written a millennium before Islam was declared, describes the burial of the Hebrew patriarchs and matriarchs in Hebron. That Muslims want to consider such sites also holy to them should not mean that they then may bar them to the original people who commemorate them. But the Arabs are exclusivist about it. Hence, the hasty designation of other religions' holy sites as mosques. Incidentally, IMRA points out that whatever care Israel takes of the sites does not preclude Israel's ceding them as part of a final status agreement. Therefore, the Arab objection to their listing is propaganda and rabble-rousing, unjustified. If Israel did cede them, the Muslim Arabs undoubtedly would deprive Jews of their rights, as threatened by Muslim religious leaders and as practiced by centuries of Islamic rule and by violations of agreements by Jordan and the PLO.
KING SOLOMON'S WALL FOUND IN JERUSALEM 
Hebrew University archaeologists found an 18-foot high, 210-foot long section of a wall built in the time of King Solomon and probably at his direction. It is in the Ophel area between the City of David and the Temple Mount's southern wall. "Uncovered in the city wall complex are: an inner gatehouse for access into the royal quarter of the city, a royal structure adjacent to the gatehouse, and a corner tower that overlooks a substantial section of the adjacent Kidron valley." Although Palestinian Arabs deny there is evidence for an ancient Hebrew presence there, in order to insinuate their own claims for the area, more and more evidence keeps getting uncovered. I have seen much of it. You will note that, as usual, the writing found is Hebrew and not Arabic. This site's consistency with the Bible is telling.
Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several
web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on
Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target
overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him
at richardshulman5@aol.com and visit his website:
|
|
THE EUROPEAN LOBBY IN ISRAEL
Posted by Seth J. Frantzman, February 24, 2010. |
|
The EU, realizing it cannot get Israel to change its laws through diplomatic means, has resorted to creating an internal lobby — through lavish funding of NGOs — to get Israel to bend.
Ever since the publication of John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt's
The Israel Lobby there has been much talk of the "lobby." In England
mainstream and respectable Channel 4 aired an entire program entitled
Inside Britain's Israel Lobby which claimed the "lobby" "owns" the
Conservative Party. Amidst all the talk of an Israel lobby in the
West, people have ignored the growth of a lobby located in the Holy
Land itself, the European lobby in Israel.
The European Parliament adopted the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) in 1994. This was part of the European Union's broader belief that "democracy and human rights are universal values that should be vigorously promoted around the world." The initiative was supposed to promote democratization through the promotion of "fair and free" elections and mainstreaming "democratic values" through "accountability, transparency and equality."
In 2007, a subtle change in the name of the EIDHR was made. The word "initiative" was changed to "instrument." This seemingly banal change may be a result of semantic arguments among EU staffers but it puts in words the increasingly meddlesome way the EU has chosen to work within Israel.
The EU may have realized during the second intifada that its concerns were not being listened to. Perhaps they heeded the increasingly alarmist statements of Israelis themselves, such as former Haaretz editor David Landau who in 2007 told US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice that the US needed to "rape" Israel into a settlement with the Palestinians. Regardless of the exact cause, in 2002 the European Union began lavishly funding non-governmental organizations in Israel. It claimed that it was doing this because of "the vital contribution made by NGOs to the promotion and protection of the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law."
Between 2002 and 2008, a total of $14 million was granted to various Israeli NGOs through the EIDHR. My investigation of the NGOs that received funding revealed that the lion's share of the money benefited two groups: Palestinians and Israeli Arabs. $5.5 million was directed specifically to causes for Palestinians such as the Association for Civil Rights in Israel's project "Building a Better Future: Empowering the Palestinian Residents of East Jerusalem to access their planning and house [sic] rights" which received $135,000. A further $7m. went specifically to programs that benefit only Israeli Arabs such as the al-Awna fund's "Master Plan for the Unrecognized Beduin Villages: Securing minority rights for housing and social services" which received $263,000. Even when the EIDHR funded programs for women it did so only for programs for Beduin or Israeli Arab women, except for a token $100,000 it gave to an organization called Isha le Isha (Woman to Woman) which helps fight women trafficking.
There was not one cent directed specifically towards any of the numerous and diverse Jewish communities in Israel: Ethiopians, Russians, Yemenites, Persians or Jews from the Caucasus. The only mention of Jewish citizens as potential recipients was in a grant to the Mossawa Center, the advocacy center for Arab citizens in Israel. It received $402,000 for a project that "aims to combat racism and transform inter-communal relations between target groups who include the Jewish majority, Arab minority and ethnic groups including the Russian, Ethiopian, Mizrahi and Reform Jewish communities."
Around $73,000 was directed towards former IDF soldiers. It wasn't to help them with trauma or reward them for a "shared citizenship." It was to get them to "break the silence" about what they witnessed while in the army, to provide testimony that might lead to a process whereby European courts might put the soldiers or their officers on trial for war crimes. Of course that is not what Breaking the Silence stated for the public. They described their project as "personal encounters with former Israeli combat soldiers."
THE EIDHR's "instrument" to affect Israeli policy is merely the tip of the iceberg. In its November 2009 report "Trojan Horse: The impact of European government funding for Israeli NGOs" NGO Monitor illustrated that individual European embassies in Israel and other EU projects give lavishly to Israeli NGOs, sometimes even making up the majority of their budgets. In fact "foreign-funded local NGOs are responsible for a significant portion of the petitions brought before the Israeli High Court of Justice," says the report.
The EU, realizing it could not get Israel to change its laws through diplomatic means, has resorted to creating an internal lobby within Israel to get Israel to bend to the will of Europe.
Israel's human rights organizations would counter that it is not important where their money comes from, their cause is just. It is also true that some Israeli human rights organizations view everything through the lens of the conflict, meaning they apply only for projects involving Palestinians or "Palestinian citizens of Israel" and don't have an interest in the rights of the Jewish population of the country.
Shatil, which claims to help Ethiopian Jews, applied for $1m. for Beduin and $1m. "to educate and raise awareness among the Arab residents of Israel's five Jewish/Arab mixed cities" and nothing for the Ethiopians.
The question is whether the EU funding of these organizations constitutes the creation of a shadow lobby. The EIDHR doesn't directly sue Israel on behalf of the freedom of movement of Palestinians. Instead it funds local NGOs that do. Furthermore the EIDHR sends $8.4m. in funding directly to NGOs in the Palestinian territories on top of the money it gives to Israeli NGOs whose projects only benefit Palestinians.
In every other country in the world, the EIDHR directs its funding towards large-scale projects supporting "democracy" and "civil society." In Egypt it gave $10m. (2003-2008), none of which went specifically towards projects for the minority Coptic Christians.
It is time for those, especially in Europe, who speak about a "Jewish/Israel" lobby to recognize that for eight years Europe has directed a concerted effort towards establishing a European lobby in Israel that discriminates against its Jewish population and supports some radical NGOs.
Seth Frantzman is a PhD researcher at the Hebrew University.
This appeared in the Jerusalem Postt
|
|
AJAMI IS GOOD FOR THE JEWS
Posted by Ari Bussel, February 24, 2010. |
|
Ask an Israeli Arab, considered a minority with equal rights in the Jewish State, if she or he would prefer to live in Israel or in any Arab state, and the overwhelming answer be a resounding YES. Any non-Israeli Arab would always prefer to be treated IN ISRAEL if ill or injured. Occupation or not, propaganda aside, the truth is quite telling. As bad or as challenging as life may be in Israel, Arabs still prefer to live there. Christians come to escape persecution under Muslim rule and Muslims because they know what is good for them, not what the Arab American "anti-defamation league" or the "Council on American-Islamic Relations" decides from afar. Life in the Middle East is challenging. The area, mostly a desert, still resembles a nomadic society of the seventh century dressed up with multi-billion dollar Dubai-like construction projects. Outwardly modern, yet rotten and medieval inside. Honor killings, murder of those with whom one disagrees, subjugation of women, depravation of liberty and freedom, torture, beheadings, and the list goes on and on. Most of us realize we live in the 21st Century AD and would not want to move backwards to a primitive, nomadic society. We prefer life as it is, with all the faults and ills of modern-day society. A new movie depicts Arab (Muslim) society in Israel. As we review the movie in the context of today's Middle East, let us keep in mind the Israeli Police Commissioner's statement today: "The increasing involvement of Israeli Arabs in violent crimes in proportions and scope which are beyond their representation in society is becoming increasingly more alarming. ... The criminals have no localities or boundaries, little concern to human life, they take over legal markets and national infrastructure, they join forces with and infiltrate into government systems, threaten judges, police officers, lawyers, municipal workers and heads of municipalities ...." Let us visit the system of Israeli Arabs expansion into the criminal world from the viewpoint of Arab society itself. Laemmle, a theater chain in Los Angeles that brings foreign films to a wide, eclectic audience, cosponsored the screening. The invitation was innocent enough. It read in part: Lost in the international debate on the Israeli-Palestinian question is the fact that Israel has become a complex multicultural society. No film makes that more evident than the gritty crime drama Ajami — Israel's strong entry into this season's Oscar race. Shot with mostly non-professional actors by [a Christian] Arab and Jewish co-directors Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, the film is almost entirely in Arabic and is a harsh reality-check on the country's healthcare system, relations between police and the citizenry, inter-Arab gang rivalries, and the rift that separates Jews, Christians and Muslims. Ajami is Israel's entry for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar in the upcoming Academy Awards in Los Angeles. While Israel is yet to win an Oscar in this category, she was previously nominated, including last year for the animated film Waltz with Bashir and a year earlier for Beaufort. Ajami is an eye-opener. It exposes us to the New Israeli Arab and to Arab society where there is little, if any, meaning for human life. A young man enters a café and starts shooting in the air, a normal manner of expression among Palestinians, sometimes used to vent anger, sadness or a cause for celebration. We are told the reason for this particular shooting was to extract protection money from the owner. The owner of the café takes out a gun and shoots the shooter. It was done in self-defense, but ignited a "cycle of violence," a favorite term by terrorists and their cohorts. Apparently it was the perpetrator's "RIGHT" to do as he pleases, to threaten and endanger other people's lives, and now it is his and his family's "RIGHT" to demand justice, the Arab way. The café and adjoining home are set afire and the owner is shot. A 15-year-old boy is shot to death in broad day light, mistaken for the brother of the Café owner. He was just an innocent neighbor, his life wasted in a short moment. The family itself lives in fear for there are still other members that can be executed until the primal urge of revenge is satisfied. Life has no meaning; the animalistic urge to kill rules. We are exposed to a "Sulcha," a gathering in front of an elder (in this instance a clergy person) during which negotiations take place. The loss of ability to bear children, paralysis, loss of future income etc. are taken into account, and when the final tally is taken, a certain discount is extended "in honor of god." I did not quite understand if this is the take of the clergyperson or if indeed it is for Allah. Either way, an utterly and completely convoluted world is depicted. In the movie, multiple interlinked stories are told in chapters. They are intertwined, disjoint parts are repeated from different angles and yet move us forward. There is actual friendship (in which the hatred of the Jews is the greatest uniting factor), constant references to a god (devoid, apparently, from any connection to good and benevolent behavior of the "believers") and a human touch — a son who will do anything to save his dying mother and a family which takes (physical) care of a paralyzed grandfather. But most importantly, we are exposed to a culture we do not know, a culture that exists within Israeli society (Israeli Arabs and Bedouin) and throughout the Muslim countries. There is a Christian minority among them, but recent history has shown that Christianity is not tolerated under Muslim rule, and most Christians fled from Lebanon — where once they constituted a majority — and even from their holiest city — Bethlehem, birthplace of Christ. In the movie, a young Christian Arab woman can never marry the Muslim youth she loves, because her father will beat her to death. The movie itself is powerful, raw and bloody. It depicts segments of Israeli society living in a modern, law-abiding country, yet completely detached. Hebrew words intermingled in their spoken Arabic, yet the predominant culture is that of the slums. It shows elements of terror, criminals and those who have no concern or regard for law and order. A judge unto their own, as the Hebrew saying goes: "every violent person, a man." To an Israeli, the movie was a surprise. It portrays life as it is, highlighting the police struggle against a community that prefers to protect itself rather than vomit from within its midst narcotic dealers; terrorism and its aftermath; kidnapping an Israeli soldier and the devastation to his family; the craving for separation from Israel by creating a Palestinian state on its ruins yet the ongoing, imperative need to be in Israel, to work and earn a living there and to utilize the medical and other services she has to offer. Since the parts are seemingly disjointed, at moments we are left with our imagination running wild, high on adrenaline. In one scene, we are led to believe a brutal police officer shoots an Arab youth at close range, and we are ready to blame police brutality, the Israeli atrocities, the Zionist Occupation and on. In the next chapter, as we look at the scene from a different camera and a wider angle the identity of the true shooter is revealed: an Arab boy, emotionally unstable or easily influenced and frightened. The viewer who build up anger is thus disillusioned, left without Israel to blame. Without an outlet, the active participant's anger is reignited and Israel is once again to blame. Nothing in this movie is anti Israel. On the contrary, she is forced to deal with Arab culture from the Arabs' own perspective, portrayed as the worse of American gangs where drugs are a means of income, violence begets violence, one's honor is paramount and there is a total disrespect of that we call "normal." Modern Western culture clashes with a pseudo barbaric lifestyle brought to a screen near you compliments of an Israeli Oscar contender. It is for this reason the movie will not be shown or have wide release or distribution in Arab states. First, it does not attack Israel (although this can be easily fixed by twisting facts and transposing reality, blaming Israel for all of society's ills). Second, it shows things as they truly are, and the Muslims will do everything possible to prevent the truth from being shown. They live in their make-believe world and speak differently in English and in Arabic. For Western ears they deplore murder, yet clergymen readily justify it in sermons in Arabic, particularly murder against Pigs and Apes (a.k.a. Jews and other non-believers). Ajami will expose viewers to a facet of life we normally try to avoid. Egregious realities like a neighbor that asks you repeatedly to keep quiet. Eventually he warns he will call the authorities. How do you respond? Take a knife and stab him once, twice, three times in the chest and abdomen until he falls dead? His daughter is about your age. You have lived together for years. It is a pity that a film that goes beyond the so-called "Conflict" (existence of the Jewish State) is degraded by many to a propaganda piece it was never meant to be. If the movie were not eye-opener enough, then its usage against Israel reinforces that we live in dangerous times. Times when people skew and manipulate, portray facts to fit their agenda, lie and deceive or do anything necessary to destroy a way of life, the Western way of life, our way of life. In the series "Postcards from Israel," Ari Bussel and Norma Zager invite readers throughout the world to join them as they present reports from Israel as seen by two sets of eyes: Bussel's on the ground, Zager's counter-point from home. Israel and the United States are inter-related — the two countries we hold dearest to our hearts — and so is this "point — counter-point" presentation that has, since 2008, become part of our lives. Contact them by mail at aribussel@gmail.com |
|
THE THREE DS OF ANTI-SEMITISM
Posted by Truth Provider, February 23, 2010. |
|
Demonizing Israel is no longer a Palestinian/Muslim and their followers blood sport in universities and town squares across America, it is moving into main street, poisoning even such organizations as the US Presbyterian Church. First, watch the following video which defines the new kind of anti-Semitism. Then heed the call to action about the US Presbyterian Church renewed intention to do just that, demonize Israel. REMEMBER:
WHEN NATO FORCES KILL CIVILIANS IN AFGHANISTAN IT IS
CALLED A MISTAKE.
THE DIFFERENCE: FOR TINY ISRAEL IT IS ALWAYS A WAR FOR SURVIVAL. Israel is being
Educate yourself and stand up for Israel!
To see: Crossing the Line: The Intifada comes to campus,
click here.
Yuval Zaliouk writes the Truth Provider columns. To subscribe, send
an email to ynz@netvision.net.il
|
|
CHRISTIAN SITES VULNERABLE IN ISRAEL'S DISPUTED TERRITORIES
Posted by Susana K-M, February 23, 2010. |
|
List of religious sites holy to Christians already or potentially under Palestinian control Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Sunday (Feb. 21) that he would include two holy sites in the West Bank as part of a comprehensive plan to preserve Israel's national heritage and religious sites.[1] Shortly before the $5.3 million (NIS 20 million) plan was approved, Netanyahu said, "Today, we are due to approve a comprehensive plan, the largest ever, to strengthen the national heritage infrastructures of the State of Israel..."[2] The two sites are the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem. The Cave of the Patriarchs, Judaism's second-holiest site after the Temple Mount and its Western Wall,[3] is also venerated by Muslims and Christians.[4] Rachel's Tomb, the third-holiest site in Judaism,[5] is also sacred to Muslims and Christians.[6] Many other sites that are religiously significant to Christians because of their association with the life of Jesus as recorded in the New Testament are located in modern-day Israel and the West Bank. Israeli law mandates that all people, regardless of religious affiliation, have the right to visit all holy places within Israel.[7] In 2008, about three million people visited Israel; of those, two million were Christians.[8] However, the future of Christian holy sites located in the disputed territories — currently controlled by Israel — is uncertain. A final-status peace deal likely would involve Israel relinquishing portions of those areas to the Palestinian Authority (PA).[9] Under Palestinian control, the sanctity of Christian religious sites has not always been respected. In 2002 during an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) counterterrorism operation in Bethlehem, dozens of armed Palestinian militants took over the Church of the Nativity, trapping about 60 clergy.[10] Meanwhile, other holy sites already under Palestinian control are increasingly vulnerable as Christian Palestinians continue to emigrate from the area.[11] Israel is one of the only places in the Middle East where the Christian population is growing.[12] Following is a list of religious sites holy to Christians that are either currently under Palestinian control or may be placed under Palestinian control as part of a peace agreement: Bethlehem (PA control) The Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem is a major Christian holy site marking the traditional site of Jesus' birth. According to the New Testament (Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 2:1-9), Jesus was born in a manger on the site while Mary and Joseph were there to register for the Roman census. The church, commissioned by Roman Emperor Constantine, is one of the oldest Christian churches in existence.[13] St. Catherine's is a Roman Catholic church next to the Church of the Nativity and has several chapels of historic and religious significance. The Chapel of St. Jerome is traditionally thought to be where the Bishop of Bethlehem translated the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, and the Chapel of the Innocents commemorates King Herod's slaughter of the babies of Judea. The Chapel of St. Joseph is said to be where an angel appeared to Joseph and commanded him to flee to Egypt.[14] Shepherds' Fields, another Christian pilgrimage site in Bethlehem, is where the New Testament (Luke 2:8-20) says an angel descended to announce the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.[15] Monastery of the Temptation (PA control) The Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Temptation is on Mount Quarantal, just north of Jericho. It is the traditional desert site where Jesus went after his baptism to fast and pray for 40 days.[16] Bethany (PA control) The Tomb of Lazarus is in Bethany, a village on the east slope of the Mount of Olives. The New Testament (John 11:1-44) recounts that Bethany was the home of Lazarus, Mary and Martha, and Jesus frequently visited the village. Christians believe Jesus raised a man named Lazarus from the dead there after he had been in the tomb four days. There is also a Franciscan Church of St. Lazarus that stands on the site of earlier churches. Jerusalem (Israeli control, located in disputed territory) Garden of Gethsemane The Garden of Gethsemane is where the New Testament (Matthew 26:36-56; Mark 14:32-5) says Jesus led his disciples after the Last Supper and asked them to keep watch while he prayed. There they fell asleep and then fled when Judas identified him. The Basilica of the Agony, or the Church of All Nations, marks the place where Jesus prayed alone, and a chapel is built around a piece of exposed bedrock at the place of Jesus' prayer.[18] The Cave of Gethsemane marks the site of where Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.[19] The Tomb of the Virgin Mary is also located in the Grotto of Gethsemane.[20] Ecce Homo Arch Part of a gate dating from the time of Hadrian, the arch was named in the 16th century. It is part of the Via Dolorosa but is not one of the stations of the cross. Ecce Homo Arch is where many believe Pontius Pilate said, "Behold the man!"[21] Via Dolorosa The Via Dolorosa is believed to be the path Jesus took to Calvary, where he was crucified. Stations of the Cross mark various events along the way, some of which are not recorded in the New Testament. The New Testament (John 19:17) says Jesus was made to carry his own cross from the place of his condemnation to Calvary.[22] The Chapel of the Condemnation, built over the site traditionally identified with the trial of Jesus (John 17:19), is on the Via Dolorosa. The Franciscan Monastery of the Flagellation is also on the Via Dolorosa, next to the Chapel of the Condemnation.[23] Church of St. Anne This church was built over the traditional site of the birthplace of Anne (Hannah), the mother of Mary.[24] Church of the Holy Sepulcher One of the holiest sites in all of Christianity is the tomb of Jesus, located within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The church was built around the tomb by Roman Emperor Constantine.[25] The site of Jesus' crucifixion is believed to be the area identified as Calvary within the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.[26] According to the New Testament (Matthew 27:32-55), Jesus was crucified at "a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull)" between two thieves. After about three hours of suffering and mocking, Jesus "gave up his spirit." Garden Tomb The Garden Tomb is believed by many to be the garden and sepulcher of Joseph of Arimathea and therefore a possible site of the resurrection of Jesus.[27] Chapel of the Ascension The Chapel of the Ascension on the Mount of Olives is the traditional site of Jesus' ascension into heaven after his resurrection (Luke 24:50-51; Acts 1:9-11). The Chapel was built over the site traditionally considered to be where Jesus prayed on the night of his betrayal.[28] Church of the Pater Noster This church is built on the traditional site in Jerusalem where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer (Luke 11:1-4) or the "Our Father" (Pater Noster in Latin). The original church, built by Emperor Constantine over a cave in fourth century CE, has been partially reconstructed. The third-century Acts of John also references the cave on the Mount of Olives and Jesus' teaching.[29] City of David Excavations in the City of David as recent as 2005 reveal what is believed to be the Pool of Siloam. The original Pool of Siloam was built by Hezekiah around the year 701 BCE. This is the place referred to in the New Testament in the story of a blind man who was given sight by Jesus. According to the story (John 9), Jesus put mud on the man's eyes, told him to wash in the Pool of Siloam and then the man could see.[30] Dominus Flevit Church This small Franciscan church is on the upper western slope of the Mount of Olives. Dominus Flevit, which means "the Lord cried," is believed to mark the place where the New Testament (Luke 19:41) says Jesus mourned over Jerusalem. Before the construction of the modern church, the foundations of a fifth-century monastery were discovered beneath.[31] Tel a-Shakef (Hamas control) A sixth-century Byzantine church dedicated to John the Baptist was discovered in 1999 at a dig at the northwest edge of the Gaza Strip at an Israel military installation, before Israel's 2005 withdrawal from all of Gaza. An earlier excavation at the site revealed a magnificent bathhouse and fish pond in almost perfect condition next to the church.[32] Footnotes: [1] "PM Netanyahu's Remarks at Today's Cabinet Meeting at Tel Hai,"
Israel Prime Minister's Office, Feb. 21, 2010,
[2] "PM Netanyahu's Remarks at Today's Cabinet Meeting at Tel Hai,"
Israel Prime Minister's Office, Feb. 21, 2010,
[3] Lazaroff, Tovah; Freund, Michael, "Coming of age at Rachel's
Tomb," JWeekly.com, Nov. 2, 2007,
[4] Prusher, Ilene R., "Does Hebron clash signal new round of
settler revolts?" Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 9, 2008, [5] Lazaroff, Tovah; Freund, Michael, "Coming of age at Rachel's
Tomb," JWeekly.com, Nov. 2, 2007,
[6] "Bethlehem University research project explores importance of
Rachel's tomb," Bethlehem University, May 4, 2009,
[7] "General Assembly, Forty-Third Session, Item 77: Report of the
Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human
Rights of the Population of the Occupied Territories," United Nations
— General Assembly Security Council, April 19, 1988,
[8] Israel Ministry of Tourism communiqué, Jan. 21, 2009;
Rosenblum, Irit, "New Israeli tourism initiative calls on Christian
pilgrims to pedal the Nazareth — Jerusalem route," Haaretz,
Jan. 22, 2009
[9] "226 The Clinton Peace Plan — 23 December 2000," Israel Ministry
of Foreign Affairs, Dec. 23, 2000, [10] "Chronology of the Siege," PBS, April 1, 2002, [11] Bronner, Ethan, "Mideast's Christians Losing Numbers and
Sway," The New York Times, May 12, 2009,
[12] "Christians are Leaving the Middle East," Voice of America
News, Jan. 17, 2006,
[13] "Israel-s Archaeological Treasures — The Judean Foothills,"
Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nov. 29, 1999,
[14] "Bethlehem: The Church of St Catherine of Alexandria at the
Basilica of the Nativity," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March
15, 2000,
[15] "Bethlehem," Jewish Virtual Library Virtual Israel Experience,
[16] "Jericho," Jewish Virtual Library Virtual Israel Experience,
[17] Gonen, Rivka (2000), Biblical Holy Places: An Illustrated
Guide, Jerusalem: Paulist Press, pp. 51-52; Kedmi, Dr. Roni, "In the
footsteps of Jesus," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
[18] "Jerusalem: The Basilica of the Agony (Church of All
Nations)," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, March 15, 2000,
[19] Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (1998), The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 131. [20] Eldar, Yishai, "Focus on Israel: Jerusalem — Christian
Architecture through the Ages," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Jan. 1, 2000,
[21] "Archaeological Sites in Israel — Jerusalem — The Northern Gate
of Aelia Capitolina," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, July 29, 1998,
[22] Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (1998), The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, New York: Oxford University Press, p. 34-36. [23] "Jerusalem within the Walls," Israel Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, [24] Eldar, Yishai, "Focus on Israel: Jerusalem — Christian
Architecture through the Ages," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Jan. 1, 2000,
[25] "Archaeological Sites in Israel — The Church of the Holy
Sepulcher," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, July 29, 1998,
[26] "Archaeological Sites in Israel — The Church of the Holy
Sepulcher," Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, July 29, 1998, [27] "The Garden Tomb," Garden Tomb (Jerusalem) Association,
[28] "Jerusalem — Beyond the Old City Walls," Jewish Virtual
Library Virtual Israel Experience,
[29] Murphy-O'Connor, Jerome (1998), The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 125-126. [30] Shanks, Hershel (2005), "The Siloam Pool Where Jesus Cured the Blind Man," Biblical Archaeology Review 31(5), pp. 16-23. [31] "Jerusalem: The Chapel of Dominus Flevit," Israel Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, March 7, 2000,
[32] "Church of John the Baptist Discovered," Israel Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, March 7, 1999,
Contact Susana K-M by email at suanema@gmail.com |
|
THE FIRST EVER ZOHAR CONVENTION IS AIRING LIVE ON KABBALAH TV RIGHT NOW
Posted by Kabbalah Information, February 23, 2010. |
|
Today is the 2nd day of the 1st ever Zohar Convention in history. The Zohar Convention is very unique because it is the first time that so many people are meeting in order to study The Zohar together, for the sake of attracting the influence of the Correcting Light. "Nothing like this has ever occurred in history. The Zohar was only studied by small groups of people, in secret, hiding from everyone so no one would find out, not even their closest relatives. We have to understand what an exceptional gift we have merited to receive. Every person who has a chance to participate in this event is extremely lucky because it holds a tremendous reward." — Dr. Michael Laitman. You are welcome to view the live broadcast of the remaining 2 days of the Zohar Convention on Kabbalah TV. Here are all the resources you need to connect: View the Live Broadcast Schedule of the Zohar Convention on Kabbalah TV. Visit the Zohar Convention 2010 Information Page |
|
NEVER SURRENDER JEWISH LAND; ADMISSION OF THE TRAITOR; SAUDI CONTROL MEDIA AND EDUCATION
Posted by Steven Shamrak, February 23, 2010. |
|
Never Surrender Jewish Land. In recent weeks, the United Nations has expressed its interest in "redoubl" attempts to provoke Israel to withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar, which Israel annexed in 1967. In 2000, the IDF pulled out of northern Ghajar, but re-entered in 2006 as part of the Second Lebanon War. The United Nations aims to place northern Ghajar in the hands of Syria. (Britain and France, in violation of the rules of the Mandate system, illegally ceded 5% of Jewish land to Syria, as well 77% to trans-Jordan, in 1922. No other country in the world gave up a land it had concurred during a defensive war from an enemy. Specially its own land!) Ghajar is inhabited by Alawite Muslims, a minority sect of Shi'ite Muslims who hold an eclectic array of beliefs largely drawing from Islam, but also including some Christian and some secret beliefs. Israel must not create a precedent of surrendering Jewish land to the enemies. At the same time, Villagers, fearing a humanitarian and security disaster if the pullout takes place, have said they want to remain residents of Israel and recently held marathon meetings with the President, Prime Minister, Defense Minister, and various ministers and Knesset members in an effort to garner support and prevent the withdrawal. Hypocrisy of the Headlines. Hamas says killed Israeli civilians by mistake — Systematic bombardment of civilian areas in Israel for many years is just a 'little' mistake! 'The War on Terror' — The Bigots' Style. The international police cooperation organization Interpol added the passport names and pictures of the 11 suspects in the killing of senior Hamas terrorist Mahmud Mabhouh to its wanted list. Admission of the Traitor. Speaking at a conference at Tel Aviv University, former Prime Minster Ehud Olmert said that he was willing to surrender Jerusalem's Holy Places, including the Temple Mount, to international control in order to reach an agreement with the PA. (Thank G-d that the PA is not willing to accept peace with Israel in any way, otherwise the self-hating traitors would give up all Jewish land for the illusion of peace!) When Archaeology becomes Threat to Fake Policy. The United States-based Time Magazine complained last week that the archaeological activities of the "City of David Foundation" are hijacking Israel 's political agenda, implying the organization is forcing Muslims to accept the Jewish truth of Biblical historical statements through archaeological discoveries in the Ir David neighbourhood, south of Jerusalem's Old City. (One can't change archaeological artefacts for political reasons but can hide them or forbid even talk about them. Saudi Arabia and Jordan, to prevent Jewish discoveries, are very restrictive of any archaeological diggings. Egypt disallows scientific debate on the origin of the Pyramids and the Sphinx.) Food for Thought. by Steven Shamrak All spy agencies use fake or stolen identities, as well as foreign passports, in order to protect their agents during covert operations. Only Israeli Mossad, consistently the most successful security organization in the war against Islamic terror, is chastised by the media and some countries for doing its job well using common practice. This is another example of the anti-Semitic double standards of international bigots! Israel Funds Anti-Israel Rhetoric via PA. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that much of the international delegitimization against Israel is carried out by the Palestinian Authority (PA), adding that some of it is paid for by cash that Israel supplies to the PA. Most of the legal motions filed against IDF officers are financed and initiated by the PA. Lieberman said: " We must examine, as a society, whether we consent to accept these rules of the game — that allow them to negotiate with us while turning many of their resources against us." (Appeasement of international bigots and idiotic policies must end!) Political Campaigning in Israel is Empty Rhetoric. An Iranian attack on Israel would be considered an attack on Canada, according to Peter Kent, Canada's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Americas and a legislator from an Ontario community with a large Jewish population. (Politicians such as this, like Barack Obama before him, are campaigning in Israel only to win Jewish votes. Talk is cheap!) Israeli Labor Party Fears Democracy. Labor party Chairman Ehud Barak again expressed his strong opposition to a proposal to give Israeli citizens living abroad the right to vote in Israeli elections. Another Anti-Israel Bigot Angered by Snub. Speaking to reporters in Tel Aviv a visiting U.S. congressman William Delahunt, a Democrat from Massachusetts, lashed out at Israel 's number two diplomat, saying he was snubbed by the Foreign Ministry and demanding an official clarification. The trip is hosted by J Street, a liberal, anti-Zionist Jewish lobbying group. (Not every anti-Israel bigot must be welcomed in Jerusalem. It would be even better not to let them in at all. Anti-Jewish political bigots must not be allowed to use trips to Israel for self-promotion!) UNRWA Promoting Terrorism. An UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees) educational program has honored the terrorist Abu Jihad with a football tournament in his name. The tournament was organized by the Fatah Students' Youth Movement at UNRWA's Women's Training Center in Ramallah. (This is not the first time UNRWA has helped the PA to promote terrorism among so-called Palestinians.) Quote of the Week: "Stabbing proves that there is no strategic difference between Hamas and Fatah, both of which share the goal of the elimination of Israel. Both organizations are wolves but one of them is disguised as a lamb and we must fight them harshly." — Deputy Minister of the Development of the Negev and Galilee. It Pays to be a Terrorist. The Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister has enhanced regular monthly stipends for the families of slain terrorists. Funds are deposited into the bank accounts of the "shahids" (martyrs) families at the same time that salaries are transferred to the accounts of PA government workers. It is believed that at least part of payout is derived from the internationally-donated funds that are transferred to the PA via the Bank of Israel for humanitarian purposes only. No Concessions before Negotiations. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israel will not make major concessions before negotiations. "First, we will conduct negotiations without preconditions. We do not accept the idea that Israel must always make extraordinary concessions..." (He should say: "Israel will not make any concessions"! The enemies of Israel have offered only rocket fire and random terror attacks as concessions.) US is Subsidising Terror. The United States announced on Thursday that it will donate $40 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, UNRWA, for Arabs in the Palestinian Authority-assigned areas, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. (The American funding comes despite a report that Hamas terrorists are employed by the agency. That is why Canada decided last month to stop its UNRWA funding. The US 's huge international debt has also not stopped this stupidity!) What Diplomatic Relation? The Egyptian Journalists' Union has sanctioned two journalists who interviewed Israel's ambassador to Egypt, Shalom Cohen. Hussein Sarang, a veteran reporter, was suspended from his job for three months. Israeli officials said that the sanctions were evidence that Egypt was "trying to erase the presence of Israel from the Egyptian consciousness." (The presence Egypt has never really allowed!) Saudi Control Media and Education. Ever wonder why CNN and Time are so blatantly pro-Islamic? Ever wonder why they are so eager to transmit Islamic propaganda? Rupert Murdoch's efforts to retain control over his News Corp media empire were boosted today when a billionaire Saudi prince Talal, friend of Rupert, upped his stake in the company. Such a role would appear to give the Prince some say over the way the business is run& The Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of the Saudi king — son of the founding King of Saudi Arabia Abdul Aziz Al Saud, is already the second largest stakeholder in the News Corp., with 5.7 percent of the shares of the media company. The stake is held through Kingdom Holding. With surprisingly little media attention, Saudi Arabia has bought a stake in the company that owns what has been, until now, arguably its most visible and influential critic: the Fox News Network... In December 2005 Prince boasted about his ability to change what viewers see: "I picked up the phone and called Murdoch... (and told him) these are not Muslim riots, these are riots out of poverty. Within 30 minutes, the title was changed from Muslim riots to civil riots." ...Bin Talal is a big backer of Islamist organizations in the US, including the Islamic Society of North America, an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial, the largest terrorism financing trial in US history. It should also be noted that ISNA has been revealed to be a front for the Muslim Brotherhood, the original Jihadist organization Harvard University and Georgetown University have received $20 million donations from Prince bin Talal to finance Islamic studies. Yale University selected Muna Abu Sulayman, general secretary of the charitable foundation of Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, as a world fellow for 2009. The Yale World Fellow Program seeks to build a network of global decision makers who have a fundamental, mutual understanding born of common experience and information. Ms. Muna Abu Sulayman is the daughter of Dr. AbdulHamid Abu Sulayman, one of the most important figures in the history of the global Muslim Brotherhood. Prince has also raised his stake in Citigroup to 5 percent in late 2008 from less than 4 percent in a move that came as the company was facing a possible collapse. His Kingdom Holding is the single largest shareholder in Citigroup. PS: 1987 Bill Ayers solicited Khalid Abdullah Tariq al-Mansour (a.k.a. Donald Warden — an orthodox Muslim, a black nationalist, an outspoken enemy of Israel) to raise money for Obama's Harvard Law School education. At the time al-Mansour associate Percy Sutton was raising money for Obama's education, al-Mansour was the top financial advisor to mega-billionaire Prince Alwaleed (Alwalid) bin Talal of the Saudi royal family. 1988-1991 Obama attended Harvard Law School. http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/8144
Steven Shamrak was involved in the Moscow Zionist movement. He worked as a construction engineer at the Moscow Olympic Games project and as a computer consultant in Australia. He has been publishing an Internet editorial letter about the Arab-Israel conflict since August 2001 and has a website www.shamrak.com. He can be reached by email at StevenShamrak@gmail.com |
|
THE PALESTINIAN ARABS INVENT A RELIGIOUS CLAIM
Posted by Paul Rotenberg, February 23, 2010. |
|
Excerpted from: The Palestinian Authority and the Jewish Holy Sites in the West Bank: Rachel's Tomb as a Test Case by Nadav Shragai, No. 559, 22Kislev 5768/2December 2007 Nadav Shragai is the author of At the Crossroads, the Story of the Tomb of Rachel (Jerusalem Studies, 2005); The Mount of Contention, the Struggle for the Temple Mount, Jews and Muslims, Religion and Politics since 1967 (Keter, 1995); and "Jerusalem is Not the Problem, It is the Solution," in Mister Prime Minister: Jerusalem, ed. Moshe Amirav (Carmel and the Florsheimer Institute, 2005). He has been writing for the Israeli daily newspaper Ha'aretz since 1983. The Jerusalem Viewpoints series is published by the Institute for Contemporary Affairs, founded jointly with the Wechsler Family Foundation. See here. |
|
In 2000, after hundreds of years of recognizing the site as Rachel's Tomb, Muslims began calling it the "Bilal ibn Rabah mosque."[20] Members of the Wakf used the name first in 1996, but it has since entered the national Palestinian discourse. Bilal ibn Rabah was an Ethiopian known in Islamic history as a slave who served in the house of the prophet Muhammad as the first muezzin (the individual who calls the faithful to prayer five times a day).[21] When Muhammad died, ibn Rabah went to fight the Muslim wars in Syria, was killed in 642 CE, and buried in either Aleppo or Damascus.[22] The Palestinian Authority claimed that according to Islamic tradition, it was Muslim conquerors who named the mosque erected at Rachel's Tomb after Bilal ibn Rabah. The Palestinian claim ignored the fact that Ottoman firmans (mandates or decrees) gave Jews in the Land of Israel the right of access to the site at the beginning of the nineteenth century.[23] The Palestinian claim even ignored accepted Muslim tradition, which admires Rachel and recognizes the site as her burial place. According to tradition, the name "Rachel" comes from the word "wander," because she died during one of her wanderings and was buried on the Bethlehem road.[24] Her name is referred to in the Koran,[25] and in other Muslim sources, Joseph is said to fall upon his mother Rachel's grave and cry bitterly as the caravan of his captors passes by.[26] For hundreds of years, Muslim holy men (walis) were buried in tombs whose form was the same as Rachel's. Then, out of the blue, the connection between Rachel, admired even by the Muslims, and her tomb is erased and the place becomes "the Bilal ibn Rabah mosque." Well-known Orientalist Professor Yehoshua Porat has called the "tradition" the Muslims referred to as "false." He said the Arabic name of the site was "the Dome of Rachel, a place where the Jews prayed."[27] Only a few years ago, official Palestinian publications contained not a single reference to such a mosque. The same was true for the Palestinian Lexicon issued by the Arab League and the PLO in 1984, and for Al-mawsu'ah al-filastiniyah, the Palestinian encyclopedia published in Italy after 1996. Palestine, the Holy Land, published by the Palestinian Council for Development and Rehabilitation, with an introduction written by Yasser Arafat, simply says that "at the northwest entrance to the city [Bethlehem] lies the tomb of the matriarch Rachel, who died while giving life to Benjamin." The West Bank and Gaza — Palestine also mentions the site as the Tomb of Rachel and not as the Mosque of Bilal ibn Rabah.28 However, the Palestinian deputy minister for endowments and religious affairs has now defined Rachel's Tomb as a Muslim site.[29] On Yom Kippur in 2000, six days after the IDF withdrew from Joseph's Tomb, the Palestinian daily newspaper Al-Hayat al-Jadida published an article marking the next target as Rachel's Tomb. It read in part, "Bethlehem — 'the Tomb of Rachel,' or the Bilal ibn Rabah mosque, is one of the nails the occupation government and the Zionist movement hammered into many Palestinian cities....The tomb is false and was originally a Muslim mosque."[30] * * * Notes 20. Nadav Shragai, At the Crossroads, the Story of the Tomb of Rachel, Jerusalem Studies, 2005,(Al em ha-derekh, sipuro shel kever rachel, shaarim le-heker yerushalaim, 2005 pp. 230-1. 21. Danny Rubinstein, "The Slave and the Mother," Ha'aretz, October 9, 1996, and a private conversation with Orientalist Yoni Dehoah-Halevi. 22. Ibid. 23. Shragai, At the Crossroads, pp. 48-52; Miginzei Kedem, Documents and Sources from the Writings of Pinhas Name, ed. Yitzhak Beck (Yad Yitzhak Ben-Tzvi, 1977), pp. 30-32 (Teudot u-mekorot tokh kitvei Pinhas, Miginzei Kedem, Yad Yitzkah Ben-Tzvi, 1977, pp. 30-32). 24. Eli Schiller, The Tomb of Rachel (Ariel, 1977) (Kever Rachel, 1977), p. 18. 25. Ibid. 26. Ibid. 27. Yehoshua Porat, "Two Graves, Two Worlds," Ma'ariv, around the same time. 28. Islam adopted the same tactic regarding the Western Wall. Further information can be found in Dr. Berkowitz' book. He found that until the eleventh century Muslim scholars disagreed as to where the prophet Muhammad had tied al-Buraq, his winged horse, after his night ride. Some identified the place as the southern wall of the Temple Mount, others as the eastern wall, but none of them suggested any connection to the western wall, sacred to Judaism, called the Wailing Wall in the diaspora and the Western Wall in Hebrew. The claim was only made after the "Wall conflict" broke out between Jews and Muslims before the 1929 riots. During the riots of 1929, violence broke out in Jerusalem and on the Temple Mount. From there it spread to neighboring areas and hampered regular visits to Rachel's Tomb. In 1929 the Wakf demanded control over the tomb, claiming it was part of the neighboring Muslim cemetery. It also demanded to renew the old Muslim custom of purifying corpses in the tomb's antechamber (the structure added by Montefiori in 1841). 29. Shragai, At the Crossroads, p. 233. 30. Al-Hayat al-Jadida, October 8, 2000. 31. Christian sources identified the site as such almost two thousand years ago. For example, see the New Testament, Matthew 2:18. Paul Rotenberg lives in Toronto, Canada. Contact him at pdr@rogers.com |
|
PA DEMANDS CONTROL OVER HIGHWAY; ARABS/LEFTISTS FUMING AT
ISRAELI HERITAGE SITES; STEWARD PUNISHED — HE CALLED THE GULF "ARAB GULF"
Posted by Richard H. Shulman, February 23, 2010. |
|
P.A. DEMANDS JURISDICTION OVER HIGHWAY The Palestinian Authority (P.A.) plans to build a city of 200,000 and a highway in southern Samaria that would cross a highway used by residents of Jewish towns to get to the State of Israel. The highway mostly is in Area A, full P.A. control. The P.A. has asked Israel to give Area A status to the portion of its highway that presently is in Area B, P.A. administrative control and Israeli security control. Jewish residents of that Benjamin area worry that the new highway would become a source of terrorism, that along with the legal building would come, as usual, illegal building, that the new highway could be used to separate eastern Benjamin from western Benjamin, and that the Arabs have contiguity from Ramallah to Birzeit (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/22). The P.A. is waging jihad against Israel and is reviving the old civil war in Israel. In that civil war, the Arabs used to attack Israeli traffic and cut off entry to Israeli cities. They almost starved out the population of the New City of Jerusalem. Arab construction aims at baring the growth of Jewish areas and cutting them off, while complaining that Jewish construction would prevent Arab municipal expansion. Don't expect consistency. These strategic considerations by the Jewish residents of Benjamin are not idle ones.
ISRAEL ADDS TWO MAJOR SITES TO LIST OF ISRAELI NATIONAL HERITAGE SITES "PM gives in to pressure from Shas ministers, right-wing groups, lobbyists. The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem will be included on the list of heritage sites marked for state renovation and preservation, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu declared at Sunday's cabinet meeting." Arabs rioted in Hebron, on hearing the news. They called it illegal under the Oslo accords. They rioted elsewhere, in addition. They commemorated the violent protests going on weekly at Bilin' Dr. Aaron Lerner of IMRA remarks that one should allow for a head of government not knowing of the original, mistaken decision, and should not assume it is permanent. PM Netanyahu did the right think in heading off the mistake (www.imra.org.il, 2/21.) The New York Timess describes the Cave of the Patriarchs as the burial site of Abraham, sacred to the three Abrahamic faiths (2/22). "Patriarchs" is plural. It is the traditional burial site of several other patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people. As usual, the Arabs accuse Israel of violating agreements that the Arabs never honored in any significant way. They did not cite any clause banning the list and renovation. I find that they call something illegal simply as a way of condemning it. Illegality is what the Arabs practice constantly, as by rioting. PM Netanyahu should not have needed pressure to include two of the most important Jewish sites in his list. Interesting that there are few or no Arab historical sites there, just
Jewish and Christian, and the Christian ones refer to when the
majority were Jewish, Christianity originating out of Judaism.
ARAB AND LEFTIST REACTION TO ADDITIONS TO LIST OF ISRAELI HERITAGE SITES 
Here is how Maan News reported Palestinian Arab and leftist Israeli reaction to PM Netanyahu including the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron and Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem in Israeli national sites to be renovated. My reaction to the Arab reaction is in ellipses. 1, Their inclusion is described as unusual, Maan suggests, because neither is within the State of Israel. "'This is another attempt to blur the borders between the State of Israel and the occupied territories,' Meretz party chairman Chaim Oron told the Hebrew-language daily Yedioth Ahronoth." [There is no official border there, just an armistice line where the State of Israel ends and Judea-Samaria, a part of the Mandate never allocated to any state, begins. Never allocated, cannot be considered occupied.] [The distinction is blurred by some Israelis, whose road maps therefore were misleading and could get motorists lynched if they enter Arab-controlled areas unwittingly. The distinction is blurred by the Palestinian Authority (P.A.), which treats the whole area, the State of Israel as well as the territories, which are in the traditional Land of Israel, as "Palestine" and belonging to the Arabs.] [To interpret the inclusion of these two of the most important sites in Jewish history as an attempt to blur borders is paranoid. It reflects Meretz' desire to cede the sites, which is a political matter, whereas historical sites are a cultural one.] 2. "This announcement is an act of aggression against the cultural and religious rights of the Palestinian people," said Dr Hamdan Taha, director of the PA Tourism Ministry's antiquities department, in a telephone interview." [Having the same long-term history and culture as the other Arabs in the region, Palestinian Arabs are not a nationality with national rights. As for their religious traditions, Israel respects them and grants equal access to joint sites. When in power, the Muslims did not respect Jews' religious rights to sites, and out of power, they vow to bar Jews from the Cave of the Patriarchs. The Muslim inconsistency in this puts the sincerity of their objections into doubt. They would rather let the sites decay, as they had let the area around Temple Mount become a trash heap, when they controlled it.] [I think the term "national" confuses people. Westerners think "country" and "nation" are interchangeable, but "country" is a politically defined area whereas "nation" or "nationality" are ethnic. A nationality may be in part of a country and may be in or all of several countries. The Jewish nation has back part of its original country, but the rest of its national homeland is in the disputed Territories and in Jordan. Most Palestinian Arabs are of relatively recent immigrant stock and had little or no concept of nationality until even more recently, when they advanced it for purposes of jihad. They made up a history by denying Jewish history there. At the time of the Mandate, they identified themselves primarily as villagers and Muslims. (Radical Muslims do not believe in nationality). Some began to consider themselves Syrian. When the UN suggested a country be set up for them, they expressed little interest in it and great interest in smothering the Jewish country that the UN also suggested.] 3. "'Instead of making use of heritage to promote peace, it is being used as a means to promote war," Taha said, maintaining that the proposal's timing could not be discounted: 'This is clearly intended to obstruct the peace process.'" [Renovating religious and cultural sites does not obstruct a peace process, if any. Claiming that it does, and riling up the people, as by the Fatah strike mentioned below, does.] 4. "Also noting that the shrines in question are holy to many faiths, Taha insisted that Netanyahu's plan to designate them as Israeli heritage sites 'reflects an artificial history that solely serves Israel's settlement policy.'" [The Muslim Arabs used to recognize the predominant Jewish heritage in Israel and claim to the Temple Mount. Now they deny such history. They make up an artificial history, as by claiming that Jesus was a Palestinian. According to the Christian Testament, the Last Supper he attended was a Jewish seder. The Jewish Testament, which referred to those holy sites, was written more than a millennium before Islam arose. It is absurd to deny the Jewish connection to the whole country, affirmed by the League of Nations. I would not put it past the United Nations to dis-affirm the connection, but the difference is that the League was sincere and the UN largely is run by demagogues.] 5. Fatah declared a general strike for Monday, while Hebron's mayor, Kahled Al-Eseili, called on UNESCO to move quickly "to protect the Ibrahimi Mosque, prevent its desecration, and act against alterations to its features." [Renovation is not desecration. The Muslim Arabs are exclusivist about this. Israel is integrationist.]
STEWARD PUNISHED FOR CALLING THE GULF "ARABIAN GULF" Ancient Greek cartographers used the name, "Persian Gulf." Maps have followed suit, ever since. About half a century ago, Arabs demanded that it be called "Arab Gulf." A Greek steward on an Iranian airline did. Iran expelled him. It explained that the name, "Persian Gulf" is very important to it. The news brief states that such a controversy could inflame national pride to the point of war (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/21).
"TERRORISTS FROM BOTH THE FATAH AND HAMAS FACTIONS CONTINUE TO ATTACK ISRAELIS 
"Terrorists from both the Fatah and Hamas factions continue to attack Israelis despite a PA (Palestinian Authority)campaign to prove that its troops can successfully fight terrorism in Judea and Samaria." The P.A. informed the IDF of the location of a rocket launcher near Ben-Gurion Airport, before it could be fired. The P.A. claimed that the launcher belonged to Hamas. In the past two days, Arabs twice tried to run over Israeli soldiers. Near Bethlehem, Arabs were rioting, Israeli troops were called, Arabs opened fire on the troops, an Arab tried to run over the troops. The other incident occurred near Hebron. No injuries. Also near Hebron, Arab and leftist demonstrators attacked two Jewish youths at the Maon farm, on Monday. They required first aid (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/, 2/21).
Richard Shulman is a veteran defender of Israel on several
web-based forums. His comments and analyses appear often on
Think-Israel. He provides cool information and right-on-target
overviews. He distributes his essays by email. To subscribe, write him
at richardshulman5@aol.com and visit his website:
|
|
PARALLELS: KAHNAWAKE MOHAWKS AND JEWISH SETTLERS
Posted by Michael Devolin, February 23, 2010. |
|
Chief Dan George said, "When the white man came, we had the land and they had the bibles. Now they have the land and we have the bibles." One may read this statement and easily miss the sad truth found in the second sentence, which is the fact that we have continually imposed upon the Native peoples of Canada our non-Native culture and Christianity to the extent that they are left with not much more than the white man's culture and Christianity, or to borrow Chief Dan George's symbolism, our bibles. In a recent article in the Globe and Mail, Lysiane Gagnon excoriates the band council of Kahnawake Mohawks for their decree that all non-natives must leave the reserve south of Montreal. Obviously, Lysiane Gagnon is the typical opportunistic, Western journalist: not so concerned with the truth and the sensitivities of others as much as with having her slanderous drivel published in a national newspaper. She joins the usual throng of disconsolate do-gooders who have wilfully cast off the initiative required for preserving their own Canadian identity, and so now, as a cheap counterpoise to their lethargic existence, chooses instead to calumniate the Mohawk nation for protecting theirs. I see many parallels between the Mohawks' self-defence and preservation of their culture and their lands with that of the Jewish "settlers" of Israel and their self-defence and preservation of a culture and land-the habitation of which is a Torah-prescribed segment of their Torah observance. Just as the Mohawk tradition and culture pre-dates the religion of the Christian armies who invaded and wrested ownership of their land from them, so too Jewish culture and tradition pre-dates the religion of those Muslims who invaded Israel during the Islamic Arab invasion in the 7th century. Just as the Muslims of the present day are demanding that Jews faithful to the laws and traditions of their ancestors repudiate those same laws and traditions, so too Canadian non-natives, primarily media types, have recently demanded that Mohawks repudiate the laws and traditions of their ancestors and acquiesce to the dictates of these effete journalists by allowing non-natives to intermarry with Mohawks and thereafter live within the bounds of Mohawk territorial dominion. Mohawks have been forced to relinquish land, as when the Canadian government chose to build the St. Lawrence Seaway canal on Mohawk territory, a major construction project that consequently separated the residents of Kahnawake from the natural river shore. Likewise the Jews of Gaza have been forced from their homes and off their land by the Israeli government (at the behest of foreign governments half a world away) in order to allow Muslim fundamentalists to assume possession of those Jewish homes and Jewish land. Just as Mohawks are presently being told they cannot exist exclusively as Mohawks on Native land, so too Jewish settlers of the West Bank are being denied the right to exist exclusively as Jews on Jewish land. There is no law written (at least not outside those written to accommodate Islam's conquest of Jewish land or the white man's imposition of his culture upon native populations) that prohibits Mohawk or Jew from living on their ancestral lands respectively; nor is there any law written that prohibits Mohawk or Jew from bringing up their children according to their ancient traditions and laws respectively. Of course, the recent Canadian media frenzy about Kahnawake Mohawks commanding a defence of their ancient identity has been propagated by certain journalists, primarily Lysiane Gagnon of the Globe and Mail, as a protest against Mohawk "racism," as though Mohawks endeavouring to enhance a Mohawk consciousness is somehow prejudice. Natan Sharansky writes, "Identity can involve a person's connection with history. It can mean the desire to have children be part of this history, to educate them about a valued past so that it becomes part of their future." Another parallel shared by both Mohawk and Jew is the fact that their respective antagonists, whether Islamist or non-native, effete journalists like Lysiane Gagnon, refuse to publicly acknowledge the deeper history of both Mohawk and Jew. Perhaps these antagonists are avoiding these particular histories and the fact that their remembrance can prove beyond a doubt that neither Christianity nor Islam is in possession of laws and ethics that can equal or surpass those already taught to Mohawk and Jewish children. Michael Devolin is a Noachide; he is Director, Bnai Elim Canada.
Contact him at devolin@reach.net.
Read his columns on
|
|
NAPOLITANO SECRETLY HOSTS TERRORIST GROUPS IN D.C.
Posted by Midenise, February 23, 2010. |
|
This comes from Corruption Chronicles, a Judicial Watch Blog
(http://www.judicialwatch.org). |
|
In the Obama Administration's latest effort to befriend radical Muslims, the cabinet official in charge of protecting the country's safety covertly met with a group of extremist Arab, Muslim and Sikh organizations to discuss national security matters. Briefing radical Islamists who want to murder Americans about homeland security measures may seem like a bizarre tactic to counter terrorism, but it's the center of Obama's famous change rhetoric. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, most concerned about a wave of anti-Muslim backlash after the Ft. Hood massacre, and her senior staff privately met in Washington D.C. with the groups. Among them was the terrorist Muslim Brotherhood, which is a sort of parent organization of Hamas and Al Qaeda. Not surprisingly, the mainstream media ignored the two-day event which was exclusively reported this week by an alternative internet news company that regularly breaks big stories. Napolitano actually spent and hour and a half briefing the Middle Easterners about the U.S. government's new "counter-radicalization" and "anti-terrorist" programs largely aimed at their followers. The top-secret event was part of President Obama's innovative program aimed at creating an information-sharing framework with Muslim organizations, even those with known extremist ties and terrorist connections. The idea, laughable as it may seem, is to win over Muslims and get them to collaborate with the U.S. government. Officially, the Department of Homeland Security billed the event as a low-key meeting with faith and community-based groups to brainstorm about ways to increase engagement, dialogue and information sharing. After all, the groups are key homeland security partners that contribute to American life and exemplify the diversity that is a hallmark of our country, the agency claimed in a press release. Strengthening partnerships with these groups will help the U.S. better prepare, assess and respond to threats, Napolitano assures. This is the same official whose biggest concern was preventing a wave of anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States after an Al Qaeda wannabe Army major went on a murderous rampage at the nation's largest military base. These are just some examples of the administration's push to befriend the enemy. Last month Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a special order — intended as a sign of respect to Muslims around the world — to allow the reentry of two radical Islamic academics whose terrorist ties have for years banned them from the U.S. Just this week Obama ordered the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to focus on Muslim outreach and diplomacy, a rather unusual mission for the space agency. Contact Milton Franks-Lhermann at midenise@zahav. net.il |
|
THE ISRAELI HIGH COURT SHOWS ITS TRUE COLORS — AND THEY ARE NOT PRETTY
Posted by Manhigut Yehudit, February 23, 2010. |
|
It was reported yesterday that Israeli High Court Justice Yoram Danzinger was a Peace Now activist and yet did not recuse himself from participating in the High Court's recent deliberations on whether or not to support a Peace Now petition which would lead to the Israeli government destroying the home of fallen war hero Major Roi Klein among 16 other homes in Judea and Samaria. Justice Danzinger, who was called a "minor Peace Now activist" in a statement released by the High Court, voted last week in favor of Peace Now's petition to order the destruction of the homes. Major Klein, a "religious Zionist", was killed when he jumped on a grenade during the 2nd Lebanon War in 2006 in order to save the lives of the men under his command. He posthumously received Israel's second highest medal, the Medal of Valor. Major Klein's widow and young children live in Samaria in a home targeted by Peace Now's campaign to destroy the Jewish connection to the Land of Israel by destroying Jewish homes in our biblical heartland and handing over the land that these homes sit on to the Arab enemy. Manhigut Yehudit officials declare that not a single Jewish home in Judea and Samaria should be destroyed whether it is of a war hero or not. The leftist, anti-Jewish Israeli High Court choosing to destroy the home of Major Klein shows that it is fighting head-on against who it sees as Israel's main enemy — namely Jews who are attached to the Land of Israel and to G-d, and who participate in the political system of the country. The fact that the ideologically homogeneous leftist High Court, whose members are virtually elected by the sitting justices themselves, allowed a jurist with a clear history of prejudice to participate in deciding a case shows the tremendous bias of this court, and the need for it to be reformed immediately to reflect the will of the "traditional Jewish-leaning" Israeli public. Manhigut Yehudit calls for said immediate reform, focusing on transparency and adherence to the rule of law in Israel where Jewish principles are supposed to take precedence over secular principles in case of a conflict between the two. The selection process must be changed so that the court will be filled with justices who will adhere to this concept. Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) is a group of people inside the Likud party who want to see Israel adopt a more Jewish character. Moshe Feiglin, its cofounder, has emphatically said he does not want a theocracy, but he does want a State based on Jewish values. The Manhigut Yehudit website address is http://www.manhigut.org. To learn more about Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) and to read their plan for Israel's future, visit www.jewishisrael.org. Or contact Shmuel Sackett, International Director (516) 330-4922 (cell) |
|
A DAY DREAM AT THE SEA
Posted by Fred Reifenberg, February 23, 2010. |
|
|
|
Contact Fred Reifenberg by email at freify@netvision.net.il. Go
to |
|
GUARDIAN'S FLAGSHIP BLOG REEKS OF ANTISEMITISM
Posted by Susana K-M, February 22, 2010. |
| This was written by Jonathan Hoffman and was published in JC.com yesterday. Monitoring and exposing antisemitism on the Guardian newspaper's 'Comment is Free' blog. |
|
Exactly why is this website different from all other websites? That was the question posed by a commenter on the Guardian's flagship blog "Comment is Free" (CiF) last week in response to the suggstion by a number of commenters on the thread that the call by Jenny Tonge for the IDF to investigate organ harvesting in Haiti was manufactured by the Jewish media cabal to smear Tonge. That whiff, or perhaps more accurately, stench, of antisemitism is something which is ever present in "Comment is Free" threads that deal with Israel and Jewish-related subjects. In a typical comment thread on the Israel/Palestinian conflict, you'll encounter analogies to Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa, claims that Zionism is a racist ideology, accusations that Israel ethnically cleanses the indigenous inhabitants of Palestine and that the nefarious Israel lobby wields untold control over US and UK foreign policy. Any pro-Israel commenter will tell you that the minute that they espouse a position in support of Israel, they are cyber-mobbed by a group of virulently anti-Israel commenters parroting the familiar tropes of the anti-Israel narrative. And if you decide to stick around long enough you'll discover that comments which don't quite fit what we at CiF Watch call the "Guardian World View", such as those comments that cite excerpts from the Hamas Charter, are summarily deleted. CiFWatch is replete with examples. It is against this backdrop that Professor Geoffrey Alderman has joined a long list of pro-Israel commenters who have been banned from posting. But to really understand what goes on "below the line" in the comment threads, you have to understand what diet of hate commenters are being fed by the "above the line" Guardian-commissioned articles. "Comment is Free" regularly features articles that portray Israel as the equivalent of apartheid South Africa. For example, Ben White, author of "Israeli Apartheid: A Beginners' Guide" and an apologia for Ahmadinejad's Holocaust denial, is a regular columnist. Other regulars include Seth Freedman and Antony Lerman, both part of a vocal minority of anti-Zionist Jews that find a welcome home in the Guardian. The former recently wrote a despicable article using Israel's heroic efforts in Haiti as a stick with which to beat Israel for the travails of Gaza, the latter an article denying that a Pat Oliphant cartoon making analogies between Israel and Nazi Germany was antisemitic. The Guardian has even commissioned articles on more than one occasion from Hamas members including Khalid Mish'al and supporters of the one-state solution, such as Ali Abunimah of the virulently anti-Israel Electronic Intifada, are given a platform. Dig a little deeper and you'll learn that "Comment is Free" allowed Peter Oborne to publicise his infamous documentary prior to its airing on Channel 4 — followed by a ringing endorsement from Antony Lerman — and Victoria Brittain was given a platform to spread unsubstantiated claims that Israel was causing blue baby syndrome among Gazans through poisoning of the water — a modern day blood libel if there was ever one. Sure "Comment is Free" may occasionally publish the odd token pro-Israel article — so that it can trumpet the claim of "balance" — and may even ratchet up the frequency of these articles when there is increased scrutiny — as happened two weeks ago. However one cannot ignore the fact that the overwhelming number of articles are, in varying degrees, anti-Israel in their bias. And what are we to make of the case of Isabella Mackie (aka BellaM) who is a CiF moderator and daughter of none other than Guardian chief editor, Alan Rusbridger, engaging in an ad hominem attack on Melanie Phillips, in contravention of the Guardian's talk policy? Even worse, what about the more recent case of a commenter going by the moniker of "William Bapthorpe" who advocated the slaughter of West Bank Jews down to "every last man, woman and child"? Though this comment was deleted, Matt Seaton, editor of "Comment is Free", brazenly refused to ban "Bapthorpe". It was only after wider publicity of the affair through CiF Watch and a police complaint that some two weeks later Seaton bowed to pressure and banned "Bapthorpe". So when Matt Seaton says "[w]e take all forms of hate speech extremely seriously, especially antisemitism, and we work hard to delete offensive postings rapidly" how can we take what he says seriously? K-M by email at suanema@gmail.com |
|
UN AFGHANISTAN REPORT: UN BLAMES TERRORISTS FOR CIVILIAN CASUALTIES —
UNLIKE STANDARDS USED FOR ISRAEL
Posted by David Bedein, February 22, 2010. |
|
Why are Afghan civilian casualties considered "accidents" while Palestinian civilian casualties are "war crimes"? |
|
A little-noticed "United Nations' Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict", issued in January, which absolved allied coalition forces of culpability for civilian casualties in the almost decade long war against Taliban terror groups in Afghanistan. According to the report issued by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, at least "5,978 civilians were killed and injured in 2009, the highest number of civilian casualties recorded since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001." The United Nations report asserted that the rising death toll there was due to the Taliban terror group's suicide attacks and explosive roadside devices placed by the Taliban. The UN report explained that the Taliban frequently attacked coalition forces in densely populated areas and did not blame the United States army or its allies for deaths of civilians who were non combatants who live near the areas from where Taliban launched its attacks, using the civilian areas as a collective human shield. The UN Afghanistan report stands in stark contrast to a recent report issued by a United Nations' Human Rights Council's investigative team, headed by Judge Richard Goldstone, a South African judge, which conducted an inquiry into Israel's January 2009 three week military incursion into the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. The Goldstone Report discussed "eleven incidents in which Israeli forces launched direct attacks against civilians with lethal outcome... in which the facts indicate no justifiable military objective pursued by the attack." These UN allegations of war crimes by the Israeli Defense Forces have been vociferously protested by Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has gone so far as to call the Goldstone report a "strategic threat," saying that it hampers the ability of democracies to fight terrorism and to engage in asymmetrical warfare. A senior Israeli government official said that Israel is held to a different standard than other countries in international forums. In direct contrast to the Goldstone Report from the same United Nations, the UN holds the Taliban terrorists directly responsible for collateral deaths in Afghanistan, at the same time that the UN alleges that Israel engages in "intentional attacks against the civilian population and civilian objects," even though Hamas terrorists openly use homes, schools, hospitals and mosques as their protective place of operation. Unlike Afghanistan, the UN blames Israel — not Hamas — for collateral deaths, injuries and damage to non combatants. The United Nations even suggests that Israel must award reparations to the population of the Gaza Strip, a territory ruled by an internationally recognized terrorist organization. The United Nations Afghanistan report, on the other hand, noted that coalition forces have been attempting to minimize civilian casualties in Afghanistan, saying that "International military forces did take strategic and specific steps to minimize civilian casualties in 2009," In summarizing its findings, the Afghanistan Annual Report on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict found the "declared strategy of prioritizing the safety and security of civilians is a welcome development." By the same token, the report laid the blame on the Taliban for causing Afghan civilian deaths, drawing the conclusion that "the inability or unwillingness of the armed opposition to take measures that pre-empt and reduce the harm that their tactics entail for civilians translates into a growing death toll and an ever larger proportion of the total number of civilian dead." Significantly, more non-combatants have been injured or killed in Afghanistan by allied troops than by IDF forces in Gaza. A former British commander in Afghanistan, Col. Richard Kemp, told the BBC that he did "not think there has ever been a time in the history of warfare when any army has made more effort to reduce civilian casualties and deaths of innocent people than the [Israel Defense Forces] is doing... in Gaza." However, a career diplomat with years of experience at the United Nations, noted that it is no surprise that the United Nations uses a different standard to judge Israel. The diplomat mentioned that the UN defined the Sri Lankan-Tamil conflict as an "internal matter", and that the UN turned a blind eye to the brutal tactics used by the Sri Lankan army, when it finally crushed the 25 year Tamil terrorist rebellion only last year, causing the deaths of thousands of terrorists and non combatants who were slaughtered by Sri Lankan Government forces in the final stages of the conflict. David Bedein is Bureau Chief, Israel Resource News Agency. (http://Israelbehindthenews.com). He is president of Center for Near East Policy Research. Contact him by email at media@actcom.co.il |
|
WHO IS RASHAD HUSSAIN?
Posted by Emanuel A. Winston, February 22, 2010. |
|
When Cal Thomas makes the following observation through the eyes of an old pro in the fashion of honest journalism, you can make book on it. Cal Thomas comes from the era when accurate journalism was the goal and the norm. Regrettably, many of today's journalists are politically Left Liberal leaning journalists, acting just like a political party to protect President Barack Hussein Obama from his own policies. Clearly, Obama has an agenda which is demonstrably Left Leaning and pro-Islam, no matter how great the threat that radical Islam poses for America, the countries of the Free West and America's allies. The Rashad Hussain matter is only a small peek hole into Obama's, under-the-radar practice, and Obama's plans to assist and stimulate Islamic expansion into America and globally as the radical "Jihadists" aim to create a Global Caliphate for Islam. This was written by Cal Thomas and it appeared in the Jerusalem Connection
|
|
President Obama's appointment of Rashad Hussain, his deputy associate counsel, as special envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the second largest inter-governmental organization after the United Nations, charged with safeguarding and protecting "the interests of the Muslim world," should be of serious concern to Congress and the American public. Especially since Hussain, a devout Muslim, has a history of participating in events connected with the Muslim Brotherhood, according to the Chicago Tribune, "the world's most influential Islamic fundamentalist group" whose goal is to create Muslim states throughout the world. In 1991, a memo written by Mohamed Akram for the Shura Council of the Muslim Brotherhood spelled out the objective of the organization. Akram said the Muslim Brotherhood "must understand that their work in America is a kind of grand Jihad in eliminating and destroying the Western civilization from within and 'sabotaging' its miserable house by their hands and the hands of the believers so that it is eliminated and God's religion is made victorious over all other religions." I am unable to find any "revelation" that has repealed that objective. Quite the contrary. Terrorists seem on track for implementing it. The president proudly announced that Hussain is a Hafiz, someone who has completely memorized the Qur'an, but he did not spell out what qualifies Hussain to meet with foreign leaders at a diplomatic level in a role that approximates that of an ambassador. According to Jihad Watch, a blog directed by American author Robert Spencer, which "aims to bring to public attention the role of jihad theology and ideology in the modern world," Hussain's ties to the Muslim Brotherhood date back to his days at Yale Law School. Ask yourself: If you or your group were interested in damaging or destroying the United States, wouldn't infiltration at every possible level of government and culture be an effective strategy? You would build your schools and mosques, some of which teach and preach Jihad; you would penetrate the government; you would demand special rights because of your religion — such as no body scanners for Muslim travelers at airports and prayer rooms and foot washing facilities at shopping malls; you would seek to change the foreign policy of the United States because you hate Israel and all Jews (and those "cross-worshiping" Christians) and you would dare the U.S. government to monitor your speeches and associations because you want to keep America's guard lower than it would be for, say, a spy from communist China. This was roughly the plot of the creepy movie, "The Manchurian Candidate" in which a crazed woman uses her brainwashed son to help her overthrow the U.S. government so that she might impose her ideology on the country. Unlike the film, this plot is real. As expected, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, described as America's largest Muslim civil liberties organization, is thrilled with Hussain's appointment. In a statement, CAIR said Hussain "will be in a position to strengthen positive outreach to the Islamic world and will be able to provide the president with direct access to the views and concerns of Muslims worldwide." Is there anyone in the dark about those "views and concerns"? Haven't they been pretty obvious for the last, oh, 40 years? Don't they regularly tell us in their newspaper editorials, TV commentaries, sermons and actions? In an age of terrorism when the president's own chief counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, compares released terrorists who return to Jihad with released American criminals who return to crime, it is unsettling to see someone with Hussain's background representing the United States to nations that may harbor or fund terrorists and want to destroy Israel and America. Franklin Roosevelt would not have named Charles Lindbergh, a suspected Nazi sympathizer, personal envoy to Berlin. It is unfortunate that the U.S. Senate is not required to confirm special envoys. Hussain should be asked about his ideology and associations. If he is to represent America, he should represent what America stands for and not a personal ideological or religious agenda that is not just un-American, but anti-American. Emanuel Winston is a commentator and Middle East analyst. His articles appear often on Think-Israel and Gamla. He is a member of the Board of Directors and a research associate of the Freeman Center For Strategic Studies (http://www.freeman.org/online.htm). Contact him at gwinston@gwinstonglobal.org |
|
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA READY TO DECLARE WAR AGAINST ISRAEL
Posted by Gabrielle Goldwater, February 22, 2010. |
|
This is from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, 2009 Simon Wiesenthal Center 1399 South Roxbury, Los Angeles, CA 90035. (310) 553-9036 |
|
A group of activists hostile to Israel, including theologians and others in some prominent Protestant churches have launched a dangerous campaign to use theology to delegitimize the Jewish State and her supporters. They may be only days away from putting the policy of a large Protestant denomination on a collision course with Israel's survival — unless we raise our voices in protest. This comes just as Israel's right to defend her citizens is denounced as 'war crimes and crimes against humanity' by the UN's Goldstone Report; when Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon was verbally attacked at Oxford University with chants of "Slaughter the Jews"; and when screaming Muslim "activists" tried to silence or censor the speech by Israel's Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, at the University of California, Irvine. In 2004, The Presbyterian Church in the US (PCUSA) became the first mainline Protestant denomination to approve a policy of divestment from Israel. Unpopular with church members, it was later rescinded. But in 2008, church leaders supposedly seeking to balance PCUSA'a Middle East policies, instead, created a committee dominated by seven activists holding strong anti-Israel beliefs. The lone member sympathetic to Israel, quit in protest when he saw their radical agenda. Here's what we know about their report from a press release leaked by the committee last month:
Adoption of this poisonous document by the Presbyterian Church will be nothing short of a declaration of war on Israel and her supporters. It will be negatively impact interfaith relations, and could have significant repercussions in the political domain, with 46 Members of the US Congress and Senate who are Presbyterians. And these initiatives, encouraged by the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, will cause a ripple effect on other denominations. Which is why we urgently ask you to do two things:
Gabrielle Goldwater lives in Switzerland. Contact her at III44@aol.com |
|
REPORTING FICTION AS FACT
Posted by Naomi Ragen, February 22, 2010. | |
|
Friends, It's disgusting that the BBC and other British news outlets are making up stories about the participation of Israelis and Jews in the assassination of al- Mabhouh in Dubai. If they were involved, they should get a Nobel Prize for Peace. But no one has proved that. The fact that this venal terrorist had five foreign passports doesn't seem to interest anyone, as Tom Gross points out. My thanks to Tom Gross for this information and for everything he does to make sure the truth has a fighting chance in the quagmire that is British "journalism." This below was written by Tom Gross. Naomi | |
|
We all know that journalists (including some at highly-regarded newspapers) often makes things up, but rarely have we witnessed such a mix of misinformation, disinformation and innuendo passed off as fact, as we have in recent days in the reports dealing with the death of Hamas terrorist Mahmoud Mabhouh. (Some of this admittedly can be attributed to the complete failure of the Israeli government — whether or not Israel had anything to do with the matter — to provide an effective response to the media.) For example, the story in yesterday's (London) Sunday Telegraph that British immigrants to Israel had their passports removed and copied at passport control at Tel Aviv airport, is highly implausible. Passports are not taken from immigrants at Tel Aviv airport. This has never been the practice. I have checked with several recent immigrants and they have confirmed that this is not so. The Telegraph story, written by a London-based correspondent, has all the signs of being planted by anti-Israel elements at the British Foreign Office (of which there are many — witness, for example, the reinstatement last year of Rowan Laxton, a high-ranking diplomat and "Middle East expert" at the British Foreign Office, even after a London court had found him guilty of racially aggravated harassment for saying "F**king Israelis, F**king Jews... they should be wiped off the face of the earth" in a crowded London gym). But other media lapped up the Telegraph story. For example, Sky News ran it all day yesterday on its ticker tape at the foot of the screen, probably doing great damage to future British tourism to Israel by falsely reporting that British passports would be removed and copied at Ben Gurion airport. (Among other nonsense published in The Sunday Telegraph yesterday was the
claim that "Tzipi Livni, the head of the opposition Kadima Party in Israel,
was another Mossad high-flier. She was posted to Paris as a kidon, carrying
out ruthless operations against Arab terrorists." See the second note here:
MAKING THINGS UP? Even worse was the story in yesterday's London Sunday Times by its notoriously unreliable reporter Uzi Mahnaimi, claiming that the paper had evidence that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had personally ordered the hit on Mabhouh, and even providing quotes attributed to Netanyahu when he supposedly gave such orders. The Sunday Times story was then splashed all day as the lead story on the websites of papers like Ha'aretz, which is so full of contempt for the elected government of Israel that it will publish almost anything to paint Netanyahu in a bad light. A comparable motive is true in Britain in the case of The Daily Mail, who were determined to attack Gordon Brown's government and thus on Friday published an anonymous story (without any author's byline, or quoted persons in it) claiming that the British government "knew in advance that Israel was going to use British passports". The Daily Mail claimed in its story that they had been told this by a serving member of the Mossad. Again, this is virtually inconceivable since serving members of the Mossad do not speak to journalists but The Daily Mail's report was treated seriously and rebroadcast around the world as lead item by major TV stations. Even The New York Times and International Herald Tribune got in on the act on Friday, telling readers that Israel has engaged in 40 Dubai-type assassinations in recent years — again claims made without a shred of evidence, and highly unlikely to be true. The French media have also regurgitated the stories of the British media, leading to French Prime Minister François Fillon, who was in Syria this weekend, to declare — in front of President Assad of all people! — "we are against this form of assassination; whoever orders them should be punished. Like the British and the Germans we have asked Israeli authorities to explain themselves." IGNORING THEIR OWN COUNTRIES' "MURDERS" At the same time that they blamed Israel, these very same British and American media made very little of the fact that every day last week their own governments killed terrorists in Afghanistan (and elsewhere). Given the level of censorship they are imposing on their Afghan coverage (censorship that news broadcasters like the BBC fail to tell viewers about), they almost never mention the civilians their armies are killing. (The almost three dozen civilians — mainly women and children — killed by a NATO strike yesterday are being reported in some media, but similar strikes last week were largely ignored by the same media so eager to paint the death of a leading Hamas terrorist as some kind of "master crime". Preliminary reports indicate that Dutch forces were in charge of the area where the civilians died yesterday, but instead EU foreign ministers are preparing today to condemn Israel, not Holland.) (Having milked all it could out of its reports in recent days that British citizens' passports were used, The Times of London's main online world news headline today reads "Dubai hit squad 'used diplomatic passports'" — which is the opposite of what The Times was claiming last week.) Mabhouh had five different passports with him in Dubai: there seems to be no media coverage or interest in which countries' passports he was using. NOTHING KNOWN FOR CERTAIN ABOUT MABHOUH'S DEATH The governments of Jordan and Egypt (where Mabhouh previously spent a year in prison in 2003) had sought Mabhouh for some time. Some Arab media have reported that the operation against Mabhouh may have been carried out by a rival Palestinian group and the photographed individuals have nothing to do with it. Indeed it is not even clear that the nine photographs that the Dubai authorities have released to the media actually portray real people. (Have they been heavily retouched, for example? Is each one a composite of several faces?) The photos have been shown repeatedly in news broadcasts and plastered on the front page of newspapers around the world in the last 48 hours [it is now almost a week], but not a single person has come forward to say they recognize any of them, even from high school days, despite front page headlines such as Israel's Ma'ariv newspaper saying "If you recognize any of these people, call us". (Even if Israel was responsible for Mabhouh's death, it doesn't mean the photos produced by Dubai had anything to do with it. Almost no one is questioning whether this evidence is really evidence at all.) Unlike the anti-Israeli elements of the Western media that have rushed to blame Israel (creating a public furor and thereby forcing the hands of the British, Irish and French governments to summon their respective Israeli ambassadors), the Arab media are suggesting that the truth is far more complicated. For example, the Arab world's leading and arguably its most reliable newspaper, Al Sharq Alawsat, ran these stories:
WAS THIS DOUBLE-BLUFF, TRIPLE-BLUFF, BLIND MAN'S-BLUFF? Nice job, shame about the syrups
When it was reported that Mossad had stolen the identities of British passport holders to carry out a covert operation in Dubai, it didn't add up. Why would Israeli intelligence implicate British Jews living in Israel? And given that Mossad has access to the most sophisticated assassination techniques in the world, why were the alleged assassins wearing the kind of ill-fitting nylon wigs and comedy moustaches last seen being sported by bank robbers in The Sweeney, circa 1975? None of it makes sense outside of the kaleidoscope universe of Middle East espionage. Was this double-bluff, triple-bluff, blind man's-bluff? Even one of the men who had his identity stolen doesn't believe it was Mossad. I shouldn't think we'll ever know, which suits everyone involved. The diplomatic 'row' between Britain and Israel is a dog-and pony show, which will soon blow over. Ultimately, whoever killed him, a notorious terrorist is dead. Works for me. --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BBC "SHOULD EXAMINE THIS DISGRACEFUL TRANSMISSION, APOLOGIZE TO JEWS AND REMOVE FROM ITS ARCHIVE THE SLANDEROUS WORDS" BBC blasted for 'bigoted fear-mongering'
The New York-based American Jewish Committee blasted the BBC on Sunday for airing an accusation that Jews around the world assist in supposed Mossad assassinations. The AJC said in a statement that it was "dismayed that a guest on BBC Radio 4 was allowed to state unchallenged" that the Mossad relies on Jews for assassination plots. "This baseless accusation crosses every red line between legitimate public discussion and bigoted fear-mongering," said AJC executive director David Harris. "In less than a minute, the BBC has cast a shadow on the lives of Jews worldwide." BBC Radio 4's PM program interviewed Gordon Thomas, author of Gideon's Spies, a book about the Mossad, about the January 20 assassination of Hamas military commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai. Local authorities and many international media outlets believe that the killing of Mabhouh, who bought rockets for Hamas forces in the Gaza Strip, was carried out by the Mossad. In explaining the Mossad's operating methods outside Israel, Thomas told PM host Eddie Mair, "They have a whole backup system called 'asylum.' These are people, local residents, Jewish people, who help the Mossad. It is estimated to be in the world about half a million; some people say a million; I tend to say it's about half a million, all of them Mossad people." "Of course, Mr. Thomas is irresponsible in making such unfounded assertions on a radio program heard around the world," said Harris, "but even more shocking is BBC, a premier public broadcaster with a far-reaching global network. How can the interviewer allow such aspersions to be cast on a community without the reporter calling the so-called expert to order?" The comments also drew condemnation from observers of the BBC. "Unfortunately, such ugly and nonsensical statements on the BBC come as no surprise. The BBC often handpicks interviewees who are likely to say such things as part of a wider pattern to demonize the State of Israel," said Tom Gross, a former Middle East correspondent for The Sunday Telegraph and a Middle East analyst who has long been critical of BBC coverage of the region. The AJC called on the BBC "to examine this disgraceful transmission, apologize to Jews around the world and remove from its archive the slanderous words." Reached for comment, the BBC press office in London said, "This interview was part of a wider piece about the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh which involved contributions from a number of people including Gordon Thomas, an author of a book about [the] Mossad. "The sentiments expressed by Gordon Thomas were clearly his own opinions. They came at the end of the interview when it was being wrapped up and there was no time to come back on them." --------------------------------------------------------------- [Tom Gross adds: Last night, in a speech in London, former senior British army officer Col Richard Kemp, who was a commander in Afghanistan, said international media including the BBC are being exploited by "dark forces" who want to harm Israel and were "motivated by anti-Semitism".] --------------------------------------------------------------- "AMID ALL THE EXCITABLE NONSENSE BEING TALKED ABOUT DEAD HAMAS COMMANDER MAHMOUD AL-MABHOUH I THINK THE BBC HAS TOPPED THE LOT" BBC broadcast: 'One million Jews help Mossad'
Amid all the excitable nonsense being talked about dead Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh I think the BBC has topped the lot. In an interview broadcast on Radio 4's PM programme last night broadcast (at 17:35 mins) one interviewee explained that up to one million Jews worldwide might be on hand to assist Mossad in executions. That would mean about one in every dozen Jewish people worldwide is a secret assistant to assassins. Now I must have more than a dozen or so Jewish friends. So which is it? Maybe I know two? It makes you think doesn't it? The next time I am at a friend's child's bar mitzvah the likelihood is that on at least 10 separate occasions during the day I'll be helping myself at the buffet beside, or dancing opposite, someone who secretly helps in assassinations. Which will certainly make me more circumspect about my dance moves, not to mention barging in at the buffet queue. Most people are terrible at keeping secrets, and Jews are no different from anyone else in this regard. So the idea that up to a million of them keep this secret knowledge strikes me as not just one of the most ridiculous, but in the present climate one of the most dangerous, ideas for the BBC to pump into circulation. Yet it typical of the lather nearly all the press have got into with this Dubai business. If anyone is interested in a more balanced and factual view of things, can I
heartily recommend the indispensable Tom Gross here
*** Thank you too to all the other journalist subscribers to this list who also
linked to my previous Dubai dispatch, such as Stephanie Gutmann on The Daily
Telegraph website
--------------------------------------------------------------- "OBVIOUSLY IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO CAPTURE HIM AND SUBJECT HIM TO JUDICIAL JUSTICE. BUT IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO SO, ESPECIALLY IN DUBAI." If Israel killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, did it have the right to?
If Israel killed Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, Did It Have the Right To? I don't know whether Israel did or did not assassinate the leader of the Hamas military wing, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. But assuming for argument's sake that the Mossad made the hit, did it have the right to engage in this "extrajudicial assassination?" Not all extrajudicial killings are unlawful. Every soldier who kills an enemy combatant engages in an extrajudicial killing, as does every policeman who shoots a fleeing felon. There are several complex legal questions involved in assessing these situations. First, was the person who was killed a combatant, in relation to those killed him? If Israel killed Mabhouh, there can be absolutely no doubt that he was a combatant. He was actively participating in an ongoing war by Hamas against Israeli civilians. Indeed, it is likely that he was killed while on a military mission to Iran in order to secure unlawful, anti-personnel rockets that target Israeli civilians. Both the United States and Great Britain routinely killed such combatants during the Second World War, whether they were in uniform or not. Moreover, Hamas combatants deliberately remove their uniforms while engaged in combat. So if the Israeli Air Force had killed Mabhouh while he was in Gaza, there would be absolutely no doubt that their action would be lawful. It does not violate international law to kill a combatant, regardless of where the combatant is found, whether he is awake or asleep and whether or not he is engaged in active combat at the moment of his demise. But Mabhouh was not killed in Gaza. He was killed in Dubai. It is against the law of Dubai for an Israeli agent to kill a combatant against Israel while he is in Dubai. So the people who engaged in the killing presumptively violated the domestic law of Dubai, unless there is a defense to such a killing based on international principles regarding enemy combatants. It is unlikely that any defense would be available to an Israeli or someone working on behalf of Israel, since Dubai does not recognize Israel's right to kill enemy combatants on its territory. If it could be proved that Israel was responsible for the hit — an extremely unlikely situation — then only Dubai could lawfully bring Israelis to trial. They would not be properly subjected to prosecution before an international tribunal. But what if a suspect was arrested in England, the United States or some other western country and Dubai sought his extradition? That would pose an interesting legal, diplomatic, political and moral dilemma. Traditional extradition treaties do not explicitly cover situations of this kind. This was not an ordinary murder. It was carried out as a matter of state policy as part of an ongoing war. A western democracy would certainly have the right and the power to refuse to extradite. But they might decide, for political or diplomatic reasons, to turn the person over to Dubai. Turning now to the moral considerations, which might influence a decision whether to extradite, the situation is even murkier. The Goldstone report suggests that Israel cannot lawfully fight Hamas rockets by wholesale air attacks. Richard Goldstone, in his interviews, has suggested that Israel should protect itself from these unlawful attacks by more proportionate retail measures, such as commando raids and targeted killing of terrorists engaged in the firing of rockets. Well, there could be no better example of a proportionate, retail and focused attack on a combatant who was deeply involved in the rocket attacks on Israel, than the killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. Not only was Mabhouh the commander in charge of Hamas' unlawful military actions at the time of his death, he was also personally responsible for the kidnapping and coldblooded murder of two Israeli soldiers several years earlier. Obviously it would have been better if he could have been captured and subjected to judicial justice. But it was impossible to capture him, especially when he was in Dubai. If Israel was responsible for the killing, it had only two options: to let him go on his way and continue to endanger Israeli civilian lives by transferring unlawful anti-personnel weapons from Iran to Gaza, or to kill him. There was no third alternative. Given those two options, killing seems like the least tragic choice available. I leave to others, more expert in these matters, whether if Israel ordered the killing, it was strategically the right thing, or whether they carried it off in an intelligent manner. But as to the legal and moral right to end the threat posed by this mass murderer, the least bad alternative would seem to be his extrajudicial killing. --------------------------------------------------------------- "IT'S FASCINATING TO WATCH THE WORLD TRY TO TURN THE DUBAI ASSASSINATION INTO A DEBACLE FOR ISRAEL" A Dubai Victory
It's fascinating to watch the world try to turn the Dubai assassination into a debacle for Israel — all because the team members were captured on CCTV and the British and Irish authorities are making a momentary stink about the use of forged British and Irish passports. You, the reader of this post, will be captured on CCTV a dozen times today simply going about your business. The people calling the operation "sloppy" and a "debacle" seem to actually believe that the Mossad is unaware that there are video cameras in airports and hotels today, or that the passport photos of the agents would not be revealed to the public. Really. More important, the fact of the matter is that the team got into Dubai, rubbed out a bad guy, and got out. No drama, nobody was captured, and nobody knows the real identities of the team or where they are now. Given the extraordinary risk and complexity of the operation, that's a win in my book. And now the Iranians, Syrians, and their terrorist clients have been given another reminder that their people aren't safe anywhere — even in the heart of the Arab world. And as for the people who are whining about "passport fraud" misdemeanors while ignoring the felony staring them in the face: what do you say about the fact that the terrorist in charge of illegally smuggling missiles from Iran to Hamas apparently had an open invite to hang out in Dubai? This isn't a problem? The Israelis either deal with high-level terrorists discreetly, or they
leave them alone to go about their work, which means more and better arms in
Gaza and Lebanon, which means a more destructive war down the road for the
Arabs who live in these combat zones. Those who are pretending to be
scandalized by the Dubai assassination tend to be the same people who
pretend to care deeply about Palestinian civilians. I wonder if they're
aware of their own hypocrisy.
Naomi Ragen is an American-born novelist and journalist who lives
in Jerusalem. She can be contacted at www.naomiragen.com, where you
can subscribe to her newsletter.
|
|
PA DEMANDS: GIVE US LAND FOR HIGHWAY
Posted by Hillel Fendel, February 22, 2010. |
|
"We're building a highway, so give us some Israeli-controlled land." This is the latest demand made by the PA of Israel, following the start of construction on a new PA city in the heart of southern Shomron (Samaria). The new city — the first planned city in PA-controlled areas — is to be located between the Jewish communities of Shilo and Ateret, just west of the major Highway 60 leading from Nazareth to Be'er Sheva. The name of the new town is Rawabi, meaning Hills, and is designed to house between 25,000 and 40,000 Arab residents in its first stage — and 200,000 when it is completed. It is a private enterprise, with funding from Qater and businessman Bashar Massar of Shechem (Nablus). The new city is to be located some nine kilometers north of Ramallah, between the Arab villages of Atara and Jiljilya. The closest Jewish community is Ateret, and residents there are duly concerned. "As of now, there is Arab contiguity from Ramallah to Birzeit," a leading resident of Ateret told Israel National News, "and this essentially breaks up the Binyamin Regional Council into eastern and western halves. Building an Arab city, of course, deepens this split." "The four-lane highway that the PA wishes to build in the direction of Ramallah will have to cross our main artery, Road 465, which is the main highway used by residents of Beit El, Ofrah, and other parts of eastern Binyamin to reach central Israel." Ateret is a growing Jewish town, despite the difficulties. It has grown in the past six years from 55 families to 100, and more are scheduled to be moving in this coming summer. The "construction freeze" caught the town as it was about to build a new neighborhood. One of its main attractions is the musical yeshiva high school Kinor David. Israel Had No Say In effect, Israel had no say in the construction of the city, as it is being built in what the Olso Accords denote as Areas A (full PA control) and B (PA administrative control, Israeli security control). The planned highway between Rawabi and Ramallah, too, passes almost exclusively in these areas — except for a short stretch around Highway 465. Israel Not Agreeing to Give Land for Highway — So Far The PA has asked Israel to grant Area A status to that stretch, but Israel's defense establishment is not in favor, in order not to detach western Binyamin from eastern Binyamin. However, the paving of the road will apparently receive Israeli permission — though as of now the PA is refusing to pave the highway, or even to request permission to do so, until Israel agrees to place the planned route in Area A. Whose Land? Another issue is that of land ownership and use. With the permission of the Civil Administration, and the active cooperation of the Jewish National Fund, forestland has been planted practically up to the borders of Ateret. "And we know that where there is legal building, there is also illegal building," an Ateret source said, "and we see that this is beginning already. In addition to taking land that could be used for Jewish growth, this is a security danger as well." A highly-placed source in Ateret said he has heard that the PA highway will pass under Road 465, and not over, "but this is not official... What is needed, though, is at least that our important highway be improved; it needs better lighting, a new paving, and proper signs. We know that the Road Works Department has put us on its schedule, but work has not yet started." "It's important to know that there are some who view our highway as dangerous, and that was true before Operation Defensive Shield in 2002. But since then, there has been only one shooting incident throughout this time. If people are hesitant to drive on this highway, it's only a psychological bloc." Hillel Fendel is Senior News Editor for Arutz-Sheva
|