Shaul Rosenfeld
May 15, 2007
Ynet Opinion
How did the Zionists, who had the gall not to put their heads through the meat grinder, turn into an "occupying entity", who forcibly expelled the original inhabitants of the land?
“This will be a war of extermination, and a momentous massacre that will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacre and Crusades” boasted Arab League Secretary General Abed-el-Rahman Azzam on the eve of the Arab armies invasion of Israel, May 14th, 1948. Except the secretary wasn't so lucky and instead of seeing the entire Zionist entity butchered and robbed of all possessions, he and his flock earned themselves Nakba day, marked by the Palestinians lamenting their misfortune on May 15th, one day after Israel's Independence Day, the same day that Azzam's false prophecy slapped them in the face.
Over the years, Azzam's rantings turned into false propaganda, fuelled by the works of several Jewish historians and fertilized by vivid oriental imagination, and finally begot the proliferating Palestinian Arab narrative. At the core of the narrative lay the atrocities committed by the Zionist forces in 1948 and ever since. Sorely missing from the narrative is their own responsibility for their fate. They forget to mention their rejection of even modest and restricted Jewish settlement of the meager areas promised either by the Balfour Declaration or by the Peel Report in 1937. They never recognized the UN-endorsed 1947 partition. So they decided to wage war in order to terrify the "foreign entity".
When their dreams and plans of annihilating the Zionists failed miserably despite repeated attempts to butcher and massacre the Jewish population, when their own deeds failed to help their wishes materialize, they found themselves even not even remotely close to their aspirations (some even found themselves far away from their homes) and came up with the role-reversal plot: the aggressor who failed to implement his program, became a pure and innocent victim overnight. He never did anybody any harm. The Zionists who had the nerve to resist the meat grinder became the "evil occupier that drove them out of their homes". According to this logic, Palestinians and Israeli Arabs rally on May 15 to denounce the "atrocities perpetrated against them and their forefathers ", and even more than that - to promote the necessity of letting the refugees back and the restoration of their rights. (Funny, though, this Nakba day isn't even ten years old, as it was first invented and marked in 1998, at Arafat's behest, said Arafat being in fact an Egyptian).
The gatherings, processions and rallies attract many a good Jew, whose tormented soul bleeds due to the inability to contain the "shame". The Nakba day is an example of how Palestinians in Israel and abroad have become experts of mending the "Zionist evil", in real life as well as in history and school books.
But "there's the rub", because the cheapest price demanded by the Nakba implies in fact the destruction of the Jewish state. Even the minutest reparation of the evil from the perspective of one side cannot but severely hurt the interests of the other side. The Palestinians demand the implementation of UN 194 resolution to solve the Palestinian problem, and this is more than Israel can afford.
And if that didn't suffice, there is many a good Jew advocating the idea that two states for two peoples would bring the long desired reconciliation and peace in the Middle East. Except Israeli Arabs do not share in this idyllic vision. Several organizations, such as Adala (Arabic for "justice") - have drawn up documents that put forward an entirely different concept for their future:
- the annulment of theJewish right of return; the return of all the refugees to their homes and immediate granting of Israeli citizenship; citizenship rights for other Arab refugees; automatic Israeli citizenship for all offspring born to a citizen within or without Israel and for anyone marrying an Israeli citizen; changing the definition of Israel from the "Jewish state" to a "multi-cultural state" (multi-crappy-culti); the annulment of all laws contradictory to the Palestinian constitution (Israel isn't mentioned even once in this spuhlendid document, Jerusalem is their capital, and all legislation is to be based on Sharia). All of the above plus the restitution of all lands "stolen" from the Palestinians since 1967 represent just the tip of the iceberg. This is what the moderate Israeli Arabs demand, starting with Azmi Bishara and his supporters including several Jews.
Few Israeli Spring of the Nations believers, and even fewer Arabs, bother to stop for a second and enlighten us ignorants, i.e. those of us who do not share their views, that these demands are not meant only as a challenge, they are meant to put an end to the State of Israel. Those people are not bothered by the implications of such a program, but those of us who are not in favor of a Jewish Nakba, should apply the old Jewish principle "honor and suspect them, but above all - reject them".
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Saturday night and Sunday morning
Thirty-six-year old computer technician Oshri Oz died Sunday, May 27, 2007. His car was hit by a Qassam rocket while he was driving to work. His two-year-old daughter is now an orphan and his pregnant wife a widow.
Saturday, May 26, 2007, two Israelis, Border Police officer Issam Abu-Rish (obviously not a Jew) and a security guard (as I gathered from the TV coverage of the incident) not Jewish either (and here I have to commend once again these heroes for their valor and to acknowledge them once again as our blood brothers). Although shot in the back (please once again notice how brave the terrorists are), Issam turned around and shot his assailants.
Now for the two terrorists: 23-year-old Arabs from Jabel Mukaber, both carrying Israeli ID's (Israeli citizens). Both were shouting Allahu Akbar (Allahu Fuckbar for me). A Hizbullah-affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades cell claimed responsibility for the attack. Except that this terrorist group is also affiliated with the PLO (Abu-Mazen). Shouldn't the little Holocaust denier be condemning the attack? No, because it suits his purpose - the annihilation of the Jewish State.
The criteria for granting Israeli citizenship should be revised asap. Perhaps Israel should aslo consider stripping some hostile Arabs of theirs. No need to nurture serpents around our necks.
Saturday, May 26, 2007, two Israelis, Border Police officer Issam Abu-Rish (obviously not a Jew) and a security guard (as I gathered from the TV coverage of the incident) not Jewish either (and here I have to commend once again these heroes for their valor and to acknowledge them once again as our blood brothers). Although shot in the back (please once again notice how brave the terrorists are), Issam turned around and shot his assailants.
Now for the two terrorists: 23-year-old Arabs from Jabel Mukaber, both carrying Israeli ID's (Israeli citizens). Both were shouting Allahu Akbar (Allahu Fuckbar for me). A Hizbullah-affiliated al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades cell claimed responsibility for the attack. Except that this terrorist group is also affiliated with the PLO (Abu-Mazen). Shouldn't the little Holocaust denier be condemning the attack? No, because it suits his purpose - the annihilation of the Jewish State.
The criteria for granting Israeli citizenship should be revised asap. Perhaps Israel should aslo consider stripping some hostile Arabs of theirs. No need to nurture serpents around our necks.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Pogrom in the Holy Land
There are nights when I just can't sleep. So I read, watch tv (in search of a good movie) or just wander about the net. Every now and then I strike gold. Take this account for instance. Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire. Jews and Arabs living side by side. No love lost between them.
Alexander William Kinglake
Eothen (1898)
CHAPTER XXVI - THE PROPHET DAMOOR
For some hours I passed along the shores of the fair lake of Galilee; then turning a little to the westward, I struck into a mountainous tract, and as I advanced thenceforward, the lie of the country kept growing more and more bold. At length I drew near to the city of Safed. It sits as proud as a fortress upon the summit of a craggy height; yet because of its minarets and stately trees, the place looks happy and beautiful. It is one of the holy cities of the Talmud, and according to this authority, the Messiah will reign there for forty years before He takes possession of Sion. The sanctity and historical importance thus attributed to the city by anticipation render it a favourite place of retirement for Israelites, of whom it contains, they say, about four thousand, a number nearly balancing that of the Mahometan inhabitants. I knew by my experience of Tabarieh that a “holy city” was sure to have a population of vermin somewhat proportionate to the number of its Israelites, and I therefore caused my tent to be pitched upon a green spot of ground at a respectful distance from the walls of the town.
When it had become quite dark (for there was no moon that night) I was informed that several Jews had secretly come from the city in the hope of obtaining some assistance from me in circumstances of imminent danger; I was also informed that they claimed my aid upon the ground that some of their number were British subjects. It was arranged that the two principal men of the party should speak for the rest, and these were accordingly admitted into my tent. One of the two called himself the British vice-consul, and he had with him his consular cap, but he frankly said that he could not have dared to assume this emblem of his dignity in the daytime, and that nothing but the extreme darkness of the night rendered it safe for him to put it on upon this occasion. The other of the spokesmen was a Jew of Gibraltar, a tolerably well-bred person, who spoke English very fluently.
These men informed me that the Jews of the place, who were exceedingly wealthy, had lived peaceably in their retirement until the insurrection which took place in 1834, but about the beginning of that year a highly religious Mussulman called Mohammed Damoor went forth into the market-place, crying with a loud voice, and prophesying that on the fifteenth of the following June the true Believers would rise up in just wrath against the Jews, and despoil them of their gold and their silver and their jewels. The earnestness of the prophet produced some impression at the time, but all went on as usual, until at last the fifteenth of June arrived. When that day dawned the whole Mussulman population of the place assembled in the streets that they might see the result of the prophecy. Suddenly Mohammed Damoor rushed furious into the crowd, and the fierce shout of the prophet soon ensured the fulfilment of his prophecy. Some of the Jews fled and some remained, but they who fled and they who remained, alike, and unresistingly, left their property to the hands of the spoilers. The most odious of all outrages, that of searching the women for the base purpose of discovering such things as gold and silver concealed about their persons, was perpetrated without shame. The poor Jews were so stricken with terror, that they submitted to their fate even where resistance would have been easy. In several instances a young Mussulman boy, not more than ten or twelve years of age, walked straight into the house of a Jew and stripped him of his property before his face, and in the presence of his whole family. 43 When the insurrection was put down some of the Mussulmans (most probably those who had got no spoil wherewith they might buy immunity) were punished, but the greater part of them escaped. None of the booty was restored, and the pecuniary redress which the Pasha had undertaken to enforce for them had been hitherto so carefully delayed, that the hope of ever obtaining it had grown very faint. A new Governor had been appointed to the command of the place, with stringent orders to ascertain the real extent of the losses, and to discover the spoilers, with a view of compelling them to make restitution. It was found that, notwithstanding the urgency of the instructions which the Governor had received, he did not push on the affair with the vigour that had been expected. The Jews complained, and either by the protection of the British consul at Damascus, or by some other means, had influence enough to induce the appointment of a special commissioner - they called him “the Modeer” - whose duty it was to watch for and prevent anything like connivance on the part of the Governor, and to push on the investigation with vigour and impartiality.
Such were the instructions with which some few weeks since the Modeer came charged. The result was that the investigation had made no practical advance, and that the Modeer as well as the Governor was living upon terms of affectionate friendship with Mohammed Damoor and the rest of the principal spoilers.
Thus stood the chance of redress for the past, but the cause of the agonising excitement under which the Jews of the place now laboured was recent and justly alarming. Mohammed Damoor had again gone forth into the market-place, and lifted up his voice and prophesied a second spoliation of the Israelites. This was grave matter; the words of such a practical man as Mohammed Damoor were not to be despised. I fear I must have smiled visibly, for I was greatly amused and even, I think, gratified at the account of this second prophecy. Nevertheless, my heart warmed towards the poor oppressed Israelites, and I was flattered, too, in the point of my national vanity at the notion of the far-reaching link by which a Jew in Syria, who had been born on the rock of Gibraltar, was able to claim me as his fellow-countryman. If I hesitated at all between the “impropriety” of interfering in a matter which was no business of mine and the “infernal shame” of refusing my aid at such a conjecture, I soon came to a very ungentlemanly decision, namely, that I would be guilty of the “impropriety,” and not of the “infernal shame.” It seemed to me that the immediate arrest of Mohammed Damoor was the one thing needful to the safety of the Jews, and I felt confident (for reasons which I have already mentioned in speaking of the Nablus affair) that I should be able to obtain this result by making a formal application to the Governor. I told my applicants that I would take this step on the following morning. They were very grateful, and were, for a moment, much pleased at the prospect of safety which might thus be opened to them, but the deliberation of a minute entirely altered their views, and filled them with new terror. They declared that any attempt, or pretended attempt, on the part of the Governor to arrest Mohammed Damoor would certainly produce an immediate movement of the whole Mussulman population, and a consequent massacre and robbery of the Israelites. My visitors went out, and remained I know not how long consulting with their brethren, but all at last agreed that their present perilous and painful position was better than a certain and immediate attack, and that if Mohammed Damoor was seized, their second estate would be worse than their first. I myself did not think that this would be the case, but I could not of course force my aid upon the people against their will; and, moreover, the day fixed for the fulfilment of this second prophecy was not very close at hand. A little delay, therefore, in providing against the impending danger would not necessarily be fatal. The men now confessed that although they had come with so much mystery and, as they thought, at so great a risk to ask my assistance, they were unable to suggest any mode in which I could aid them, except indeed by mentioning their grievances to the consul-general at Damascus. This I promised to do, and this I did.
My visitors were very thankful to me for the readiness which I had shown to intermeddle in their affairs, and the grateful wives of the principal Jews sent to me many compliments, with choice wines and elaborate sweetmeats.
The course of my travels soon drew me so far from Safed, that I never heard how the dreadful day passed off which had been fixed for the accomplishment of the second prophecy. If the predicted spoliation was prevented, poor Mohammed Damoor must have been forced, I suppose, to say that he had prophesied in a metaphorical sense. This would be a sad falling off from the brilliant and substantial success of the first experiment.
43 It was after the interview which I am talking of, and not from the Jews themselves, that I learnt this fact.
Alexander William Kinglake
Eothen (1898)
CHAPTER XXVI - THE PROPHET DAMOOR
For some hours I passed along the shores of the fair lake of Galilee; then turning a little to the westward, I struck into a mountainous tract, and as I advanced thenceforward, the lie of the country kept growing more and more bold. At length I drew near to the city of Safed. It sits as proud as a fortress upon the summit of a craggy height; yet because of its minarets and stately trees, the place looks happy and beautiful. It is one of the holy cities of the Talmud, and according to this authority, the Messiah will reign there for forty years before He takes possession of Sion. The sanctity and historical importance thus attributed to the city by anticipation render it a favourite place of retirement for Israelites, of whom it contains, they say, about four thousand, a number nearly balancing that of the Mahometan inhabitants. I knew by my experience of Tabarieh that a “holy city” was sure to have a population of vermin somewhat proportionate to the number of its Israelites, and I therefore caused my tent to be pitched upon a green spot of ground at a respectful distance from the walls of the town.
When it had become quite dark (for there was no moon that night) I was informed that several Jews had secretly come from the city in the hope of obtaining some assistance from me in circumstances of imminent danger; I was also informed that they claimed my aid upon the ground that some of their number were British subjects. It was arranged that the two principal men of the party should speak for the rest, and these were accordingly admitted into my tent. One of the two called himself the British vice-consul, and he had with him his consular cap, but he frankly said that he could not have dared to assume this emblem of his dignity in the daytime, and that nothing but the extreme darkness of the night rendered it safe for him to put it on upon this occasion. The other of the spokesmen was a Jew of Gibraltar, a tolerably well-bred person, who spoke English very fluently.
These men informed me that the Jews of the place, who were exceedingly wealthy, had lived peaceably in their retirement until the insurrection which took place in 1834, but about the beginning of that year a highly religious Mussulman called Mohammed Damoor went forth into the market-place, crying with a loud voice, and prophesying that on the fifteenth of the following June the true Believers would rise up in just wrath against the Jews, and despoil them of their gold and their silver and their jewels. The earnestness of the prophet produced some impression at the time, but all went on as usual, until at last the fifteenth of June arrived. When that day dawned the whole Mussulman population of the place assembled in the streets that they might see the result of the prophecy. Suddenly Mohammed Damoor rushed furious into the crowd, and the fierce shout of the prophet soon ensured the fulfilment of his prophecy. Some of the Jews fled and some remained, but they who fled and they who remained, alike, and unresistingly, left their property to the hands of the spoilers. The most odious of all outrages, that of searching the women for the base purpose of discovering such things as gold and silver concealed about their persons, was perpetrated without shame. The poor Jews were so stricken with terror, that they submitted to their fate even where resistance would have been easy. In several instances a young Mussulman boy, not more than ten or twelve years of age, walked straight into the house of a Jew and stripped him of his property before his face, and in the presence of his whole family. 43 When the insurrection was put down some of the Mussulmans (most probably those who had got no spoil wherewith they might buy immunity) were punished, but the greater part of them escaped. None of the booty was restored, and the pecuniary redress which the Pasha had undertaken to enforce for them had been hitherto so carefully delayed, that the hope of ever obtaining it had grown very faint. A new Governor had been appointed to the command of the place, with stringent orders to ascertain the real extent of the losses, and to discover the spoilers, with a view of compelling them to make restitution. It was found that, notwithstanding the urgency of the instructions which the Governor had received, he did not push on the affair with the vigour that had been expected. The Jews complained, and either by the protection of the British consul at Damascus, or by some other means, had influence enough to induce the appointment of a special commissioner - they called him “the Modeer” - whose duty it was to watch for and prevent anything like connivance on the part of the Governor, and to push on the investigation with vigour and impartiality.
Such were the instructions with which some few weeks since the Modeer came charged. The result was that the investigation had made no practical advance, and that the Modeer as well as the Governor was living upon terms of affectionate friendship with Mohammed Damoor and the rest of the principal spoilers.
Thus stood the chance of redress for the past, but the cause of the agonising excitement under which the Jews of the place now laboured was recent and justly alarming. Mohammed Damoor had again gone forth into the market-place, and lifted up his voice and prophesied a second spoliation of the Israelites. This was grave matter; the words of such a practical man as Mohammed Damoor were not to be despised. I fear I must have smiled visibly, for I was greatly amused and even, I think, gratified at the account of this second prophecy. Nevertheless, my heart warmed towards the poor oppressed Israelites, and I was flattered, too, in the point of my national vanity at the notion of the far-reaching link by which a Jew in Syria, who had been born on the rock of Gibraltar, was able to claim me as his fellow-countryman. If I hesitated at all between the “impropriety” of interfering in a matter which was no business of mine and the “infernal shame” of refusing my aid at such a conjecture, I soon came to a very ungentlemanly decision, namely, that I would be guilty of the “impropriety,” and not of the “infernal shame.” It seemed to me that the immediate arrest of Mohammed Damoor was the one thing needful to the safety of the Jews, and I felt confident (for reasons which I have already mentioned in speaking of the Nablus affair) that I should be able to obtain this result by making a formal application to the Governor. I told my applicants that I would take this step on the following morning. They were very grateful, and were, for a moment, much pleased at the prospect of safety which might thus be opened to them, but the deliberation of a minute entirely altered their views, and filled them with new terror. They declared that any attempt, or pretended attempt, on the part of the Governor to arrest Mohammed Damoor would certainly produce an immediate movement of the whole Mussulman population, and a consequent massacre and robbery of the Israelites. My visitors went out, and remained I know not how long consulting with their brethren, but all at last agreed that their present perilous and painful position was better than a certain and immediate attack, and that if Mohammed Damoor was seized, their second estate would be worse than their first. I myself did not think that this would be the case, but I could not of course force my aid upon the people against their will; and, moreover, the day fixed for the fulfilment of this second prophecy was not very close at hand. A little delay, therefore, in providing against the impending danger would not necessarily be fatal. The men now confessed that although they had come with so much mystery and, as they thought, at so great a risk to ask my assistance, they were unable to suggest any mode in which I could aid them, except indeed by mentioning their grievances to the consul-general at Damascus. This I promised to do, and this I did.
My visitors were very thankful to me for the readiness which I had shown to intermeddle in their affairs, and the grateful wives of the principal Jews sent to me many compliments, with choice wines and elaborate sweetmeats.
The course of my travels soon drew me so far from Safed, that I never heard how the dreadful day passed off which had been fixed for the accomplishment of the second prophecy. If the predicted spoliation was prevented, poor Mohammed Damoor must have been forced, I suppose, to say that he had prophesied in a metaphorical sense. This would be a sad falling off from the brilliant and substantial success of the first experiment.
43 It was after the interview which I am talking of, and not from the Jews themselves, that I learnt this fact.
Friday, May 25, 2007
East Jerusalem in no hurry to join PA
Tzipi Malkoff
May 18, 2007, Jerusalem supplement
The community administration leaders in East Jerusalem agree: despite the poor quality of life, neglect and education system hardships, we shall remain part of the Jerusalem Municipality, not the Palestinian Authority. "The Municipality does not lift a finger for us, but at the same time no-one has the right to tell us where to live" declared Zoheir Hamdan, Jabel Mukaber mukhtar.
"Everything is in ruins in my village, there are no roads, no sidewalks, no sewage system. Yet I do not agree, and neither do most of the village residents, that we should become part of the PA. I think a referendum is in order before our fate is decided".
The head of the community administration of Beit Hanina, Muhammad Masri: "I can't understand why people are so happy celebrating the reunification. As soon as you cross into East Jerusalem there is filth and neglect." Yet despite the frustration, the division of Jerusalem is a no-no for him: "The Palestinian Authority is in total anarchy".
The Jaffa gate shopkeepers' union head, Kahk Mazen, representing 40 shopkeepers, prefers to remain under Israeli rule: "Although the Municipality invests in East Jerusalem only half of what it invests in West Jerusalem, I still believe that Arabs live a relatively good life under Israeli rule. Jerusalem cannot be divided again. We don't even want to hear about the Palestinian Authority."
But not everyone agrees. Fouad Abu-Hamed, member of the Sur-Baher community administration complains about 19th century living conditions: "Our village wants to join the Palestinian Authority, rather than sitting around and being jealous of the Jews."
The Jerusalem Municipality is aware of the differences between East and West and about the severe situation of the Arab villages, which require heavy investments and governmental intervention. However, we were told that "the welfare department of the municipality offers financial assistance to needy families. The Municipality has been making efforts to assign suitable locations for schools, such as have been built in Umm-Touba and Sur-Baher since 2006. New similar projects are under way. As to the infrastructure, the Municipality is currently renovating existing roads and institutions and planning new ones."
May 18, 2007, Jerusalem supplement
The community administration leaders in East Jerusalem agree: despite the poor quality of life, neglect and education system hardships, we shall remain part of the Jerusalem Municipality, not the Palestinian Authority. "The Municipality does not lift a finger for us, but at the same time no-one has the right to tell us where to live" declared Zoheir Hamdan, Jabel Mukaber mukhtar.
"Everything is in ruins in my village, there are no roads, no sidewalks, no sewage system. Yet I do not agree, and neither do most of the village residents, that we should become part of the PA. I think a referendum is in order before our fate is decided".
The head of the community administration of Beit Hanina, Muhammad Masri: "I can't understand why people are so happy celebrating the reunification. As soon as you cross into East Jerusalem there is filth and neglect." Yet despite the frustration, the division of Jerusalem is a no-no for him: "The Palestinian Authority is in total anarchy".
The Jaffa gate shopkeepers' union head, Kahk Mazen, representing 40 shopkeepers, prefers to remain under Israeli rule: "Although the Municipality invests in East Jerusalem only half of what it invests in West Jerusalem, I still believe that Arabs live a relatively good life under Israeli rule. Jerusalem cannot be divided again. We don't even want to hear about the Palestinian Authority."
But not everyone agrees. Fouad Abu-Hamed, member of the Sur-Baher community administration complains about 19th century living conditions: "Our village wants to join the Palestinian Authority, rather than sitting around and being jealous of the Jews."
The Jerusalem Municipality is aware of the differences between East and West and about the severe situation of the Arab villages, which require heavy investments and governmental intervention. However, we were told that "the welfare department of the municipality offers financial assistance to needy families. The Municipality has been making efforts to assign suitable locations for schools, such as have been built in Umm-Touba and Sur-Baher since 2006. New similar projects are under way. As to the infrastructure, the Municipality is currently renovating existing roads and institutions and planning new ones."
Iraqi baby receives medical treatment in Haifa
Moran Katz
Ma'ariv, May 21, 2007
Three week-old Sam Mahmoud had life-saving surgery at Rambam Hospital in Haifa. The Iraqi baby-boy was born with a heart malformation that required a five-hour long surgical intervention. "Shevet Achim", the Christian organization operating in Northern Iraq assisted in transferring the baby to the Meir Paediatric Cardiology Department of the Rambam Medical Center in Haifa. Dr. Avraham Lorber, senior paediatric cardiologist, said that the child would have died of his condition had the surgery been postponed any longer. "I did not hesitate for a moment when I heard I had to travel to Israel", says Shilat, the child's mother. "We received a heartfelt welcome here and I am very happy that my son is recovering."
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Enemy of the Israeli Arabs
Ben-Dror Yemini,
Ma'ariv, April 13, 2007
Scrutiny of the Azmi affair shows that more is concealed than revealed, partly because activists among Israeli Arabs are exercising their right to remain silent: they are agonizing. They have provided significant information on Azmi. If we thought that the Arab sector is homogeneous, well, we were wrong: there are currents and under-currents, and a many members of the Arab community have just had enough. They understand that Bishara's actions have cast a dark shadow upon them and have sent the level of animosity between Arabs and Jews sky-rocketing. Riad Ali published a very explicit commentary on the damage caused by Bishara's going astray.
...
Bishara has become a persona non grata. Senior members of the Arab community claim that he was ordered out of Jordan. They don't need a focus of dissension over there either, a crossbreed between Nasser's pan-Arabism and the Assad-Nasrallah axis. Bishara left Jordan a short time after he met with the Jordanian foreign minister, who probably instructed him to leave the Hashemite Kingdom. A saboteur over here is a saboteur over there as well. If and when the entire puzzle is revealed, sabotage might well look like an euphemism.
Love-sponsored terror
The terrorist driving around a few nights ago in a car loaded with explosives is another product of a love story between a man residing on the other side of the Green line and a woman from this side of the line, in Taibe. In legal terms, this falls under the definition of "family reunification". As a consequence of this reunification based solely on love, the terrorist was issued a valid Israeli ID.
Thus, the issue of "family reunification" has become a thorn in our side. Because of one terrorist, oh, and another one, and perhaps tens of potential terrorists, taking advantage of the "family reunification" option, are we allowed to make tens of thousands of others suffer? The Citizenship Act forbids family reunification and granting of citizenship on such basis, except for special cases. The Supreme Court ruled to abolish this act, but Justice Edmond Levi allowed the government an additional hearing. Who knows what will happen then. The judge panel seems to be leaning far left.
We are probably going to be treated with beautiful front page pictures of loving couples from the two sides of the Green Line, and the caption will reveal how the cruel Jewish State stands in the way of love and abuses its citizens' romantic aspirations. Tears will flow, no doubt.Except the truth is slightly different. No country tolerates family reunification with individuals from hostile areas. No country grants citizenship to people whose only aim is to destroy their adoptive country. No country except Israel, whose democracy is bordering on anarchy. This procedure is not only "made in Israel", it is also ratified by the Supreme Court.
On April 10, 2007, Ma'ariv (Amir Rapaport) reported that 19 members of a Hamas terror cell in Qalqilyah (West Bank) were arrested, one holding an Israeli ID, who were planning to carry out a terrorist attack during Passover, despite the ceasefire agreement. Qalqilyah has a long track of producing terrorists, such as the one who carried out the Tel-Aviv Dolphinarium disco massacre on June 1, 2001. During the past three years, thanks to extensive arrests and the barrier fence (yes, wall in several locations) managed to curb the wave of terrorist attacks originating from this town that lies so close to the Green Line. However, during the last months Israeli security received relevant information and began to suspect that Hamas is operating in Qalqilyah and planning terrorist attacks against Israeli targets. In March a car loaded with explosives exploded in Qalqilyah - a "work accident", according to the Shin Bet. 19 Hamas-affiliated terrorists have been arrested recently in the town, one of whom became an Israeli citizen after he married a resident of Taibe. Thanks to his Israeli ID he was free to enter Israel. The car that exploded belonged to him, and had Israeli license plates.
Ma'ariv, April 13, 2007
Scrutiny of the Azmi affair shows that more is concealed than revealed, partly because activists among Israeli Arabs are exercising their right to remain silent: they are agonizing. They have provided significant information on Azmi. If we thought that the Arab sector is homogeneous, well, we were wrong: there are currents and under-currents, and a many members of the Arab community have just had enough. They understand that Bishara's actions have cast a dark shadow upon them and have sent the level of animosity between Arabs and Jews sky-rocketing. Riad Ali published a very explicit commentary on the damage caused by Bishara's going astray.
...
Bishara has become a persona non grata. Senior members of the Arab community claim that he was ordered out of Jordan. They don't need a focus of dissension over there either, a crossbreed between Nasser's pan-Arabism and the Assad-Nasrallah axis. Bishara left Jordan a short time after he met with the Jordanian foreign minister, who probably instructed him to leave the Hashemite Kingdom. A saboteur over here is a saboteur over there as well. If and when the entire puzzle is revealed, sabotage might well look like an euphemism.
Love-sponsored terror
The terrorist driving around a few nights ago in a car loaded with explosives is another product of a love story between a man residing on the other side of the Green line and a woman from this side of the line, in Taibe. In legal terms, this falls under the definition of "family reunification". As a consequence of this reunification based solely on love, the terrorist was issued a valid Israeli ID.
Thus, the issue of "family reunification" has become a thorn in our side. Because of one terrorist, oh, and another one, and perhaps tens of potential terrorists, taking advantage of the "family reunification" option, are we allowed to make tens of thousands of others suffer? The Citizenship Act forbids family reunification and granting of citizenship on such basis, except for special cases. The Supreme Court ruled to abolish this act, but Justice Edmond Levi allowed the government an additional hearing. Who knows what will happen then. The judge panel seems to be leaning far left.
We are probably going to be treated with beautiful front page pictures of loving couples from the two sides of the Green Line, and the caption will reveal how the cruel Jewish State stands in the way of love and abuses its citizens' romantic aspirations. Tears will flow, no doubt.Except the truth is slightly different. No country tolerates family reunification with individuals from hostile areas. No country grants citizenship to people whose only aim is to destroy their adoptive country. No country except Israel, whose democracy is bordering on anarchy. This procedure is not only "made in Israel", it is also ratified by the Supreme Court.
On April 10, 2007, Ma'ariv (Amir Rapaport) reported that 19 members of a Hamas terror cell in Qalqilyah (West Bank) were arrested, one holding an Israeli ID, who were planning to carry out a terrorist attack during Passover, despite the ceasefire agreement. Qalqilyah has a long track of producing terrorists, such as the one who carried out the Tel-Aviv Dolphinarium disco massacre on June 1, 2001. During the past three years, thanks to extensive arrests and the barrier fence (yes, wall in several locations) managed to curb the wave of terrorist attacks originating from this town that lies so close to the Green Line. However, during the last months Israeli security received relevant information and began to suspect that Hamas is operating in Qalqilyah and planning terrorist attacks against Israeli targets. In March a car loaded with explosives exploded in Qalqilyah - a "work accident", according to the Shin Bet. 19 Hamas-affiliated terrorists have been arrested recently in the town, one of whom became an Israeli citizen after he married a resident of Taibe. Thanks to his Israeli ID he was free to enter Israel. The car that exploded belonged to him, and had Israeli license plates.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Azmi again
Nadav Eyal
Ma'ariv, April 13, 2007 (before Azmi's defection)
A swamp has been bubbling since Israeli-Arab weekly Al-Senara gloatingly published its exclusive headlines about Azmi Bishara. Our politicians, weary and heavy with the Passover meals, rushed into their roles: the right cried treason, the left warned of generalizations. The Arab MK's were divided: those who had been in Azmi's camp were justified to express their fears about the future. Those who had not been in Azmi's camp couldn't hide their relief. Some of them loathe Azmi to an extent that wouldn't shame the Hilltop Youth. As one of them put it, they were felt "restrained, but unadulterated joy".
Unfortunately, there are things concerning this issue that cannot be said. However, in order to make something of the Azmi affair, one needs to examine Israeli Arab politics, as it combines all the elements and tensions among the Israeli Arabs. Bishara represents the secular nationalists, pan-Arabism if you wish. Opposing him are those who embrace the Islamic movement. Bishara's nationalistic views are not necessarily socialist, such as are expressed by the Hadash party. Moreover, Bishara is Christian, and that is his Achilles heel. His opponents will not readily admit to it, but they don't consider him "one of them".
In fact, Azmi Bishara isn't one of anybody. He was never seen in the Knesset cafe sitting down to a cup of coffee with his political opponents, Zionists or Arabs. He had no friends in the house. How could he have befriended anyone? He was the absentee champion for years. Bishara was a separatist. Ahmad Tibi, Taleb a-Sana, Muhammad Barake are all part of the Knesset machinery. They are no friends of Zion. They are the bitter parliamentary opposition, revoltingly nationalistic to the best of their abilities. But they are part of the Israeli political scene. They propose legislation, they lobby, they engage in fierce disputes but also share friendly luncheons in the Knesset cafe. Self-righteous Bishara was also arrogant, so he stayed away from the Knesset. So the Knesset, including the left, stayed away from him.
However, in this story two opposing political camps are expressing false joy: the right is concentrating on Azmi's public figure, but if certain facts that cannot be named due to the gag order are right, and if Bishara is in fact not returning to Israel (which he didn't, return, that is), that's bad news. "Imagine", said a political personality this week, "imagine that he starts a political movement abroad, plays the conscience dissenter and calls on all Israeli Arabs to revolt. All Arab MK's will be considered traitors, collaborators with the Israeli regime. We have no need for that. It will not benefit the Jews if the Arab sector distances itself from Israeli political life."
The other camp, the Arab MK's, doesn't get it right either. They are relieved by Bishara's disappearing act, probably hoping that the Jewish sector is going to differentiate between Bishara and themselves. Wrong again. The Jewish public sees no difference between the Arab parties, and does not care about their internal bickering. "All Arabs are the same" in the eyes of many a Jew. Bishara will be just one more brick in the wall that is beginning to separate Arabs from Jews. Just one more reason to argue.
Ami ben-David and Felix Frish
Ma'ariv, May 3rd, 2007
Following months of ambiguity, rumors and speculations, the gag order was finally lifted: former MK dr. Azmi Bishara is suspected of assisting the enemy during the second Lebanon war. According to the Israeli police and the Shin Bet, transcriptions of the telephone conversations conducted by Bishara during the past few months prove that he crossed the red lines and acted as an agent on behalf of the Hezbollah.
Details of the investigations reveal that several months before the second Lebanon war broke out Bishara established telephonic contact with several Hezbollah agents. It appears that during the war, Hezbollah advised the Hezbollah what Israeli objectives they should target, and also offered them assessments on how rockets landing South of Haifa might affect the Israeli public resilience.
On one occasion, Bishara complained about the rockets landing in Arab villages: "I can understand attacking Haifa, but I can't understand rockets landing in Arab villages." And also: "Rockets falling beyond Haifa will precipitate the ceasefire". And indeed, when comparing the dates, several days after this conversation, rockets fell beyond Haifa and Hedera.
The investigators also suspect that Bishara passed on to Hezbollah military information, despite his knowledge that such information was classified (perhaps it is high time that the security of Israel be off-limits for Arab MK's. Let them concentrate on the well-being and welfare of their own electorate). He is also suspected of delivering details concerning the assessment of the situation that the was privy to as a member of the Israeli parliament participating in parliamentary debates during the war. According to the investigators, Bishara warned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that Israel might considering targeting when the war was over.
The investigators also reveal that in exchange for information collected and delivered to his operators, Bishara received hundreds of thousands of USD in cash, from several Arab sources, including the Hezbollah. Three money changers with offices in Jordan and East Jerusalem seem to have acted as couriers, delivering each time 50 thousand USD to Bishara's residence in Beit-Hanina (Jerusalem).
The police also claims that the information available to Bishara was not of the highest security level and that he was never exposed to critical security data. This did not stop his Hezbollah operators from seeing in him a reliable source of information, due to his senior political status in Israel: "Bishara's operators considered him a highly reliable source, and they were thirsty for every tidbit of information he could provide."
The covert investigation began in the months prior to the war, with permission from the Attorney General and the State Prosecutor. The Supreme Court authorized the police to tap Bishara's phone lines. On March 22, he was summoned for the first time and was questioned for three hours. The following day he met again with the investigators, but he refused to even consider or even provide a response to the preliminary evidence presented before him. At the end of the meeting, he informed the police that he intended to travel abroad and has since refused to appear before the investigators.
Amichai Shai, head of the police's international crimes unit, was in charge of the investigation, said that it was impossible to stop Bishara from leaving the country before the Knesset Committee lifted his parliamentary immunity. The police feared that action might have disclosed important details of the investigation. In the wake of his flight, Bishara has been declared "wanted for investigation", and should he be found on Israeli soil he will be arrested and brought in for questioning. The police are currently considering an international arrest warrant.
And the rockets did land South of Haifa: Nazareth, Hadera, Afula, Nesher ...
Ma'ariv, April 13, 2007 (before Azmi's defection)
A swamp has been bubbling since Israeli-Arab weekly Al-Senara gloatingly published its exclusive headlines about Azmi Bishara. Our politicians, weary and heavy with the Passover meals, rushed into their roles: the right cried treason, the left warned of generalizations. The Arab MK's were divided: those who had been in Azmi's camp were justified to express their fears about the future. Those who had not been in Azmi's camp couldn't hide their relief. Some of them loathe Azmi to an extent that wouldn't shame the Hilltop Youth. As one of them put it, they were felt "restrained, but unadulterated joy".
Unfortunately, there are things concerning this issue that cannot be said. However, in order to make something of the Azmi affair, one needs to examine Israeli Arab politics, as it combines all the elements and tensions among the Israeli Arabs. Bishara represents the secular nationalists, pan-Arabism if you wish. Opposing him are those who embrace the Islamic movement. Bishara's nationalistic views are not necessarily socialist, such as are expressed by the Hadash party. Moreover, Bishara is Christian, and that is his Achilles heel. His opponents will not readily admit to it, but they don't consider him "one of them".
In fact, Azmi Bishara isn't one of anybody. He was never seen in the Knesset cafe sitting down to a cup of coffee with his political opponents, Zionists or Arabs. He had no friends in the house. How could he have befriended anyone? He was the absentee champion for years. Bishara was a separatist. Ahmad Tibi, Taleb a-Sana, Muhammad Barake are all part of the Knesset machinery. They are no friends of Zion. They are the bitter parliamentary opposition, revoltingly nationalistic to the best of their abilities. But they are part of the Israeli political scene. They propose legislation, they lobby, they engage in fierce disputes but also share friendly luncheons in the Knesset cafe. Self-righteous Bishara was also arrogant, so he stayed away from the Knesset. So the Knesset, including the left, stayed away from him.
However, in this story two opposing political camps are expressing false joy: the right is concentrating on Azmi's public figure, but if certain facts that cannot be named due to the gag order are right, and if Bishara is in fact not returning to Israel (which he didn't, return, that is), that's bad news. "Imagine", said a political personality this week, "imagine that he starts a political movement abroad, plays the conscience dissenter and calls on all Israeli Arabs to revolt. All Arab MK's will be considered traitors, collaborators with the Israeli regime. We have no need for that. It will not benefit the Jews if the Arab sector distances itself from Israeli political life."
The other camp, the Arab MK's, doesn't get it right either. They are relieved by Bishara's disappearing act, probably hoping that the Jewish sector is going to differentiate between Bishara and themselves. Wrong again. The Jewish public sees no difference between the Arab parties, and does not care about their internal bickering. "All Arabs are the same" in the eyes of many a Jew. Bishara will be just one more brick in the wall that is beginning to separate Arabs from Jews. Just one more reason to argue.
Ami ben-David and Felix Frish
Ma'ariv, May 3rd, 2007
Following months of ambiguity, rumors and speculations, the gag order was finally lifted: former MK dr. Azmi Bishara is suspected of assisting the enemy during the second Lebanon war. According to the Israeli police and the Shin Bet, transcriptions of the telephone conversations conducted by Bishara during the past few months prove that he crossed the red lines and acted as an agent on behalf of the Hezbollah.
Details of the investigations reveal that several months before the second Lebanon war broke out Bishara established telephonic contact with several Hezbollah agents. It appears that during the war, Hezbollah advised the Hezbollah what Israeli objectives they should target, and also offered them assessments on how rockets landing South of Haifa might affect the Israeli public resilience.
On one occasion, Bishara complained about the rockets landing in Arab villages: "I can understand attacking Haifa, but I can't understand rockets landing in Arab villages." And also: "Rockets falling beyond Haifa will precipitate the ceasefire". And indeed, when comparing the dates, several days after this conversation, rockets fell beyond Haifa and Hedera.
The investigators also suspect that Bishara passed on to Hezbollah military information, despite his knowledge that such information was classified (perhaps it is high time that the security of Israel be off-limits for Arab MK's. Let them concentrate on the well-being and welfare of their own electorate). He is also suspected of delivering details concerning the assessment of the situation that the was privy to as a member of the Israeli parliament participating in parliamentary debates during the war. According to the investigators, Bishara warned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah that Israel might considering targeting when the war was over.
The investigators also reveal that in exchange for information collected and delivered to his operators, Bishara received hundreds of thousands of USD in cash, from several Arab sources, including the Hezbollah. Three money changers with offices in Jordan and East Jerusalem seem to have acted as couriers, delivering each time 50 thousand USD to Bishara's residence in Beit-Hanina (Jerusalem).
The police also claims that the information available to Bishara was not of the highest security level and that he was never exposed to critical security data. This did not stop his Hezbollah operators from seeing in him a reliable source of information, due to his senior political status in Israel: "Bishara's operators considered him a highly reliable source, and they were thirsty for every tidbit of information he could provide."
The covert investigation began in the months prior to the war, with permission from the Attorney General and the State Prosecutor. The Supreme Court authorized the police to tap Bishara's phone lines. On March 22, he was summoned for the first time and was questioned for three hours. The following day he met again with the investigators, but he refused to even consider or even provide a response to the preliminary evidence presented before him. At the end of the meeting, he informed the police that he intended to travel abroad and has since refused to appear before the investigators.
Amichai Shai, head of the police's international crimes unit, was in charge of the investigation, said that it was impossible to stop Bishara from leaving the country before the Knesset Committee lifted his parliamentary immunity. The police feared that action might have disclosed important details of the investigation. In the wake of his flight, Bishara has been declared "wanted for investigation", and should he be found on Israeli soil he will be arrested and brought in for questioning. The police are currently considering an international arrest warrant.
And the rockets did land South of Haifa: Nazareth, Hadera, Afula, Nesher ...
Friday, May 18, 2007
More crap from Lebanon c/o AP
These are fauxlegs. I mean the nuns are real, they have real legs, the bar stools are also real. And naughty. The whole thing is funny, and the nuns are just as amused as anybody else. Fauxtography, on the other hand is neither that innocent nor well-intended.
Below is Hezbollah anti-Israel propaganda and the MSM editors are buying it again, producing more proof of their stupidity, ignorance and lack of professionalism. During the second Lebanon war the general excuse offered by the major news outlets when caught with their pants down was that the editors were too busy okaying the posting of the huge amount of pictures coming in all the time, to spot any kind of monkey business. Okay, I'll give them that. What's there excuse now? They're too busy doing what? Trying to ignore the massacres Hamas and Fatah are inflicting on each other?Hezbollah is back on the border to hoist its bile-stained jaundiced flag:
Hezbollah supporters set a huge Hezbollah flag in front the Israeli settlement of Metulla, in Hamames village at the Lebanese-Israeli border south of Lebanon, Thursday May 17, 2007. Israel released a Lebanese civilian on Thursday, a day after capturing him near the disputed Chebaa Farms area, U.N. and Lebanese security officials said. Israeli troops seized Hisham Daleh, 35, as he was gathering herbs near the village of Chebaa on Wednesday, the security officials said. (AP Photo/Lutfallah Daher)
And not only is this in violation of UN resolution 1701 [Aware of its responsibilities to help secure a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict, the Security Council created a buffer zone free of “any armed personnel” –- both Hizbollah militants and Israeli troops -- between the United Nations-drawn Blue Line in southern Lebanon and the Litani River (12 miles from the Israeli border), and called for both Israel and Lebanon to support a permanent ceasefire and comprehensive solution to the crisis], it is incitement against Israel. Take a look at the caption again: "settlement of Metulla." Except Metulla was founded in 1896 on lands bought from Druze land owners by Baron Nathan Rothschild. At the time Israel/Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, as was Lebanon. By the way, Lebanon gained its independence in the 1940's, a few years before Israel.
In any case, during the war photographs posted by Lutfallah (or Lotfallah?) Daher for AP were also contributed by Karamallah Daher for Reuters (and they claim to be twin brothers). Is it possible that the MSM is actually funding Hezbollah due to negligent standards or are AP and Reuters supporting terrorism in earnest?
Israeli army tanks advance to new positions in the outskirts of the southern town of Marjayoun, Lebanon, Thursday Aug. 10, 2006. Israeli troops, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, took the key south Lebanon town of Marjayoun early Thursday just hours before a senior Israeli official announced that the military would hold off expanding its ground offensive to give diplomacy a chance. (AP Photo/Lotfallah Daher)
Israeli tanks are seen in the field of Marjayoun in south Lebanon, August 10, 2006. (Karamallah Daher/Reuters)
Is Marjayoun such a small place that two different photographers working for two different news agencies should need to stick together and contribute nearly identical pictures?
Two Israeli tanks on fire after a Hezbollah attack while they were advancing to a new position in the town of Marjayoun in South Lebanon early Thursday morning Aug. 10, 2006. There is no immediate information on casualties. Israeli troops, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, took the key south Lebanon town of Marjayoun early Thursday just hours before a senior Israeli official announced that the military would hold off expanding its ground offensive to give diplomacy a chance. (AP Photo/Lotfallah Daher)
An Israeli tank burns during fighting with Hizbollah guerrillas near Marjayoun town in south Lebanon August 10, 2006. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher (LEBANON)
In addition, it appears to me that they are embedded with the Hezbollah, otherwise how could they have gotten these images of burning tanks? Hezbollah has a long standing history of documenting its attacks of Israel. So the MSM is paying Hezbollah to attack Israeli troops...
Smoke billows in the town of Khiam, in southern Lebanon, Friday, July 28, 2006, after an Israeli attack. Israeli warplanes renewed attacks on suspected Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon on Friday, killing at least one person and wounding four others, Lebanese security officials said. (AP Photo/Lotfallah Daher)
Smoke rises from Al-Khiam village after it was targeted by Israeli air strikes in south Lebanon July 28, 2006. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher (LEBANON)
Is it me or are the pictures practically identical? No, its' probably me. I mean could AP and Reuters be this sloppy?
And there's more from Karamallah who couldn't even get his dates right. See, the war didn't start until July 12, 2006. Yet the caption claims the IDF destroyed this bridge on July 7, 2007. Unless of course, he meant August 7, 2006, in order to amplify the Israeli bombardments, a practice which became so common during the war last summer: multiple use buildings, multiple use bodies, multiple use toys, as already revealed by this blog.
<--- Lebanese civilians inspect Litani bridge that was attacked by Israeli warplanes in south Lebanon July 13, 2006. Israel struck Beirut airport and Hizbollah's television station on Thursday and killed 22 civilians in raids on south Lebanon, intensifying its reprisals after Hizbollah captured two Israeli soldiers and killed eight. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher
To say nothing of the fact that the picture on the left seems to be a close-up of the left side of the picture below:
A bridge over the Litani river that was attacked by Israeli warplanes in south Lebanon, July 7, 2006. (Karamallah Daher/Reuters). --->
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Bleez come back, Israil!
Fatah and Hamas are shooting it out in Gaza and the toll is terrible (nearly 50 this week), more than Israel inflicts over, say, several months. The MSM is still grossly biased, so Novosty proudly informs us that the Russian foreign ministry condemns the Israeli air strikes in Gaza. The Russian foreign ministry is foreign, or perhaps alienated enough to barely mention the daily Qassam rocket salvos launched from Gaza into Israel, wounding several people and causing heavy destruction in Sderot during the past few days (24 Qassams launched on Tuesday May 15, 2007 critically injuring mother critically and son moderately; 16 rockets landed on Wednesday, May 16, 2007, seriously injuring a 70-year-old woman plus 18 others. On Tuesday, May 17, 2007, 24 rockets hit Israel and wounded 30 people. Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, Palestinian terrorists have fired more than 1,300 rockets into Israel.)
Why even today, when the Russians kindly issued their condemnation a Qassam landed in a school and destroyed a classroom where several students were taking matriculation exams. Luckily the warning siren went off and the children managed to reach the safety room.
Why even today, when the Russians kindly issued their condemnation a Qassam landed in a school and destroyed a classroom where several students were taking matriculation exams. Luckily the warning siren went off and the children managed to reach the safety room.
As I am posting, Qassams hit a synagogue in Sderot. No word of condemnation or at least concern for the innocent Palestinian civilians caught in the Fatah-Hamas crossfire or executed by each of the belligerent factions. My guess is that the Russian either couldn't care less , or are delighted that there are fewer Muslims in the world, given their "silk glove" war waged against Muslim terror in Chechnya.However, the Palios are at it in earnest: these are victims of the civil war raging in Gaza. I am posting these photos as evidence of internal Gazan violence. I hope the dishonest Gazan reporters will not republish them as victims of Israeli attacks.
A wounded Palestinian boy is rushed to a hospital following factional clashes at Rafah refugee camp, in the southern Gaza Strip. An alleged plot by Hamas militants to assassinate Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas was revealed on Thursday as deadly factional fighting resumed in Gaza and Israeli air strikes targeted the violence-wracked territory.(AFP/Said Khatib)
A wounded Palestinian man is wheeled on a stretcher after being injured by a mortar shell during clashes between rival Fatah and Hamas fighters as he arrives at hospital in Gaza City, Thursday, May 17, 2007. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Local residents fearing lethal reprisals talked on condition of anonymity to the Israeli press: "Hamas gunmen stop passing cars, commandeer them and shoot the drivers and passengers in the legs, even in the knees. As a consequence people are afraid to venture out of their homes. Hamas and Fatah gunmen attack each other's high ranking officials' residences or offices. People are dying in the streets like flies. Hamasniks believe that killing Fatah men is "halal" and will earn them a place in paradise. The dog Abu-Mazen is unable to take proper measures to stop the fighting. People are praying for "Israil" to reoccupy Gaza. The Palestinians do not have the right to live. "
I swear I heard these words several times on Israeli media. But I wouldn't count on IDF retaking Gaza. We just want to stop the rockets.
Then Khalil Hia, a Hamas official spoke to the press and condemned Fatah violence: "Gunmen chased people out of their homes and shot them in cold blood. A girl was forced to remove her hijab (now that may call for an honor killing) and was then shot BETWEEN THE LEGS (more honor killings required). Although she was bleeding she was released after several hours. Men were forced to strip and were then locked in basements."
Both factions are hiding in mosques and shooting at each other from (and therefore also into) their holy places. The media is still concentrating on the Hamas military command building destroyed by the IAF. And rightly so, that is where the aid money is going in lieu of buying food and medicine for the populace. Oh, dear! I can't blame the local journalists: they too have become victims of the civil war, a few are reported dead. They are afraid to go out and cover what is going on in the streets of Gaza (funny how they were always there heroically documenting Israeli aggression). It appears that journalists have been taking sides in the conflict, after all they are locals and allegiance is still very tribal in Gaza. Meaning that they can be liquidated by the rival factions.
So some had to spend the night in the TV building, while others were taking cover in adjoining buildings.
I must confess it was quite thrilling to see the Al-Jazeera correspondent in Gaza ducking under the table when something exploded close to the studio in the middle of her live report. I remember Katyushas landing dangerously close to Israeli and foreign journalists during the second Lebanon war, one nearly killed Israeli channel 1 reporter. No harm done when terrorist sympathizers get a taste of the same medicine.Now let's take a look at the humble abode (à la Saddam Hussein or Ceausecu) of pro-Fatah security chief Rashid Abu Shbak in Gaza City where a Hamas raid killed five people. So this is how top brass lives in poverty-stricken Gaza. Once again, this is where the aid money goes. (Abu-Mazen himself lives in a 1.5 million dollar mansion. Haniyeh skimmed some 2 USD million or more from the 20 million in cash he received from Saudi Arabia).
This is where Mohammad al-Dalo (Hamas) used to live with his family before his encounter with Fatah death squads.
This is the entrance to another house in Gaza.
OCCUPATION!!!
On May 11 2007 we were treated to pictures of a Palestinian demon-strator aka non-violent peace activist (piss activist if you ask me) "viciously" wounded by the "occupation" Zionist army. Ouch! He was reported shot in the leg with a rubber bullet, but it looks to me like they got his jewels and perhaps the production line of little peace activists might have to undergo some measure of repair, as it were.
Anyway, the MSM definition of peace activist is quite in line with its general perversion of the lexicon. Again the similarity to the Nazi propaganda tools is so obvious. They count on the general public's ignorance, which only points to their own, because they are so easy to debunk. See Viktor Klemperer's Lingua Tertii Imperii (The Language of the Third Reich), the diary he kept while trying to survive the Third Reich in Berlin.
In any case, I had seen the "poor victim" exuding much more aplomb, poise and assertivenes. And developing an attitude as he gets closer and closer to the soldiers.
For me, the term occupation is inextricably linked with Nazi Germany. I wonder whether the occupied Poles, Czechs, Greeks, former Yugoslavs, Dutch, Belgians, not to mention the Jews and Gypsies residing among them, would have been granted the democratic right to demonstrate against the occupation, would have been tolerated so close, so hostile and menacing to Nazi troops without paying for it with their lives. Yet, the Israeli "occupation" is worse. Lingua Tertii Imperii. I would also like to know whether children could have been taught that such democratic rights exist without having their heads smashed with a rifle butt or stone. Yet, the Israeli soldier is worse than a Nazi. 
I also wonder whether an elderly Jew would have been taken by the hand and helped through the check point by an Aryan soldier (and notice how amused two idiots can be, probably thinking that if roles were reversed they would have shot the old man, or even beaten him to death with his own walking stick right there and then to spare him further unpleasantries)
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
tinker, tailor...
What does a Jewish mother want her sons to be when they grow up?
What does a Palestinian mother want her sons to be before they grow up?
What does a Palestinian mother want her sons to be before they grow up?
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Jenin Redux
Dorit Gabbay
Ma'ariv, April 25, 2007
Five IDF reserve troops who took part in the "Defensive Wall" operation in Jenin and were depicted as war criminals in Muhammad Bakri's production "Jenin, Jenin" have sued the film director and the Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv Cinematheque respectively. This week the five were deposed in court and claimed that the film that had portrayed them as cold-blooded murders had changed their lives and distanced their friends from them.
Five years have elapsed since the terrible events in Jenin. These five men are part of the company that lost 13 combat troops in battle. They feature as war criminals in "Jenin, Jenin", the controversial movie produced and directed by actor Muhammad Bakri (Israeli Arab). Not only were they publicly humiliated, they also started fearing for their lives. In an attempt to clear their names, the five have filed a libel suit against Bakri and the cinematheques, and demanded 2.53 million NIS in compensation.
Yonathan van Caspel was born a Christian in Holland 37 years ago. He came to Israel, converted to Judaism and served as a paratrooper in the IDF: 'I knew that Jenin was the capital of Palestinian terror capital, but I was determined to fulfill my duty for my country. On the eighth day of fighting in Jenin, my company lost 13 combat soldiers in fierce fighting with the Palestinians. This terrible event was extensively covered both by the Israeli and the international media. We were interviewed and our names and addresses were disclosed. My friends and I appear in a film called "Jenin – a reservist's war diary", shot by a fellow reservist during "Defensive Wall Operation". This footage documented the reactions of IDF troops immediately after 13 of their comrades had been killed by Palestinians in the booby trapped alleys of Jenin.
Sometime later, I was contacted by the bereaved mother of one of the soldiers killed in Jenin, appalled by the fact that we were portrayed as monsters and murderers by the film "Jenin, Jenin"… I can hardly describe how shocked I was when I watched the movie myself…The images and the accusations were terrible. Nothing was like we had seen or experienced on the ground... It was enough to convince everybody who knew I had fought in the Defensive Wall Operation that my comrades and I had committed all those heinous crimes. But the worst blow I received was when my own beloved father, who lives in Holland, called and asked me in a stern voice what I had done in Jenin. He told me that he knew that IDF soldiers murdered and massacred residents of Jenin, and wanted to know whether I had anything to do with it. I told him that those were false accusations, but I felt that did not believe me. My own beloved father was under the influence of the terrible accusations, and was wondering whether I had lost the values I had been brought up on and become a monster. My loving father, who knew me so well, who believed in my moral values, who would never have suspected me of war crimes, felt the need to call and ask me what had happened… This is how damaging "Jenin, Jenin" was.
Everybody I knew started confronting me with probing questions, trying to establish whether there was any truth to the film. I found myself defending myself and my fellow soldiers, explaining that nothing like that had ever happened, and that quite the opposite was true – IDF troops remained sensitive to the civilian population, and had made every possible effort not to harm innocent Palestinians.
The fighting in the Jenin refugee camp (by the way, anyone residing in a house is not a refugee. You got to live in a tent in order to be classified as a refugee. Except, of course, if you are a Palestinian) was fierce. We were trying to capture terrorists, but thousands of booby traps and roadside bombs had been hidden in the camp. They were firing and fighting from houses inhabited by innocent people, hiding behind civilians, including women and children. They were using ambulances for terrorist activities. I personally saw loads of booby trapped dollies and toys, just waiting for a soldier to pick them up or touch them…
My fellow soldiers and I experienced and witnessed shocking scenes. Our friends were wounded and died in front of us, sometimes in our arms. And we were the ones accused of war crimes by this film maker …
My friends and I were there the day the film was screened at the Cinematheque, to voice our protest. Members of the audience shouted "Murderers! Nazis! War criminals!", cursed and abused us. I participated in the Defensive Wall Operation for the sake of this country, I wasn't looking for a hero's death. Still I couldn't believe that I would be showered with insults and abuse, so harsh and humiliating…
I began fearing for my own life. I felt exposed. I felt someone might be prompted to take revenge on me for the "crimes" I allegedly committed in the refugee camp.'
Doron Keidar owns and manages a car parts import company. To this day he avoids calling on his Arab customers:
'I saw "Jenin, Jenin" shortly after it started playing and I can hardly describe the shock I experienced. The film is not the work of an amateur, it seems very professional and convincing, so I started asking myself which troops could have perpetrated the horrors it "documents". I thought that perhaps it was a company of "regulars", young troops who perhaps lost it and started shooting at will. It took me a while to understand that it was all fiction, a fabric of lies that had nothing to do with reality. But then I also wondered what people who hadn't been there thought about the troops who had fought in Jenin. The fact that I wasn't able to tell immediately that the film was a pack of lies made me realize that the public would brand us "war criminals", who murdered innocent civilians out of disregard for Arab lives.
The terrible charges brought against me in the film have completely changed my life. I felt ashamed, humiliated and worthless for taking part in this operation. I was embarrassed by the fact that all my friends knew I was a soldier in Jenin.'
Nir Oshri, combat medic, runs a drug rehabilitation center. Most of the soldiers died in his arms: 'I treat drug-addicts at this center. I need to develop a special bond, very close rapport with the patients, for the treatment to succeed. Sometimes the addicts become dependent on me. Many of my patients are Arabs and their situation is very complex and stressful. After "Jenin, Jenin" was aired, I felt a shift in the way my Arab patients were relating to me. Instead of seeing in me their "elder brother", the one who helps them overcome their difficulties, they began avoiding me. I often heard them whispering "Jenin" between themselves, their eyes filled with hatred. I could no longer approach them freely, uninhibitedly. They were suspicious of me. One day one of them started yelling in front of the staff and patients at the center "murderer, you massacred Arabs, tens of little children in Jenin". I felt great pain, such that words cannot describe.'
Adam Arbiv, businessman.
'My father lives in the Arab part of Yaffo-Tel-Aviv. At one time, my office was also there. After the screening of the film I felt that even my closest friends and relatives were unsure about me. My mother, who lives in Holland, asked me several times about my part in the Defensive Wall Operation, and I felt that she was worried that I might have been one of the Jenin "war criminals". The woman who gave me life, who has always been so close to me, began doubting my integrity because of this film. Perhaps some of the viewers understood that the terrible accusations were blown out of proportion, but I guess they also believed that there was still some truth to it.
Some of my relatives living in the US and Canada also contacted me, to enquire in a very around the bush fashion about the terrible actions presented in the movie. Such horrible things can drive a man insane. Nobody will ever be able to compensate me and my fellow soldiers for our stained reputation. How can I put a price to the pain I felt when my own mother needed to make sure that I was or was not a war criminal as portrayed by the film? Or when my relative living abroad looked at me trying to make sure that I was not one of the perpetrators of the heinous crimes in the film?
Due to the terrible accusations we cannot go on with our lives. I was afraid to go see my father in Yaffo. I was afraid for his life. I was afraid to go to my own office in Yaffo. I am afraid and worried to this very day.'
Ofer Ben-Nathan, lawyer:
'All of my lawyer colleagues and associates started to shun me, or even display obvious hostility due to the terrible allegations of the movie. They accused me of having committed massacres and war crimes in Jenin. They weren't even trying to conceal their disgust. I am sure I have lost numerous potential clients, Arabs who would have sought my services by themselves or based on recommendations from Arab colleagues. There were days when I thought I might be forced out of my profession, and I sometimes feared for my life.'
Muhammad Bakri – No need for balance (because I received funding from rabid anti-Semitic terrorist!)
Avigdor Feldman, Bakri's lawyer, claims that the film never intended to present a balanced image of the fighting in Jenin, but rather to allow the Palestinians to tell their story. The stories certainly reflect the events that took place in Jenin. Bakri's deposition is expected within 60 days.
Jenin, Jenin – document or propaganda?
On March 27th, the eve of Passover 2002, a suicide bombing shook the Park Hotel in Netanya. Two days later Operation Defensive Wall was launched, with the purpose of rooting out the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. During this operation, on April 3rd, IDF forces entered the Jenin refugee camp, practically the suicide bombers' breeding ground and headquarters. The IDF instructed the civilian population to leave, and then proceeded to enter several houses in order to apprehend terrorists hiding inside them. The troops were met with a tremendous amount of fire and explosive charges from the terrorists hiding among the civilian population. On April 9th 13 combat troops were ambushed and killed. They served in the same company as the five plaintiffs. The IDF decided to send in bulldozers in order to demolish the houses where the terrorists were hiding.
Twenty-three IDF combat troops were killed in Jenin, and 60 others were wounded, some very badly. 52 Palestinians were also killed, half of them civilians.
A few weeks later, actor and director Muhammad Bakri (much like Azmi Bishara in Lebanon) and his film crew toured the camp and shot interviews with some locals who claimed to have seen the troops shoot and kill innocent civilians, women, children and old people, prevent medical assistance to the wounded, and even loot. (Ahem... the Palestinians claim to be so pathetically poor, starving to say the least, and yet there still are valuables to be found in their booby-trapped houses? ) The Film Critics Committee stopped the screening of the film, defining it as "one-sided propaganda, … distortion of real events so as to appear as truthful documentation and give the public a wrong impression…, incitement and deligitimizing the very existence of the State of Israel.
When Muhammad Bakri petitioned the Supreme Court, three Supreme Court "justices" allowed the film to be screened in the Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv Cinematheques respectively.
Read more about Jenin here and here. This is the diary of an ultra-Orthodox soldier who was there. Also some extraordinary pics that, most likely from the writer's private albums.
Ma'ariv, April 25, 2007
Five IDF reserve troops who took part in the "Defensive Wall" operation in Jenin and were depicted as war criminals in Muhammad Bakri's production "Jenin, Jenin" have sued the film director and the Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv Cinematheque respectively. This week the five were deposed in court and claimed that the film that had portrayed them as cold-blooded murders had changed their lives and distanced their friends from them.
Five years have elapsed since the terrible events in Jenin. These five men are part of the company that lost 13 combat troops in battle. They feature as war criminals in "Jenin, Jenin", the controversial movie produced and directed by actor Muhammad Bakri (Israeli Arab). Not only were they publicly humiliated, they also started fearing for their lives. In an attempt to clear their names, the five have filed a libel suit against Bakri and the cinematheques, and demanded 2.53 million NIS in compensation.
Yonathan van Caspel was born a Christian in Holland 37 years ago. He came to Israel, converted to Judaism and served as a paratrooper in the IDF: 'I knew that Jenin was the capital of Palestinian terror capital, but I was determined to fulfill my duty for my country. On the eighth day of fighting in Jenin, my company lost 13 combat soldiers in fierce fighting with the Palestinians. This terrible event was extensively covered both by the Israeli and the international media. We were interviewed and our names and addresses were disclosed. My friends and I appear in a film called "Jenin – a reservist's war diary", shot by a fellow reservist during "Defensive Wall Operation". This footage documented the reactions of IDF troops immediately after 13 of their comrades had been killed by Palestinians in the booby trapped alleys of Jenin.
Sometime later, I was contacted by the bereaved mother of one of the soldiers killed in Jenin, appalled by the fact that we were portrayed as monsters and murderers by the film "Jenin, Jenin"… I can hardly describe how shocked I was when I watched the movie myself…The images and the accusations were terrible. Nothing was like we had seen or experienced on the ground... It was enough to convince everybody who knew I had fought in the Defensive Wall Operation that my comrades and I had committed all those heinous crimes. But the worst blow I received was when my own beloved father, who lives in Holland, called and asked me in a stern voice what I had done in Jenin. He told me that he knew that IDF soldiers murdered and massacred residents of Jenin, and wanted to know whether I had anything to do with it. I told him that those were false accusations, but I felt that did not believe me. My own beloved father was under the influence of the terrible accusations, and was wondering whether I had lost the values I had been brought up on and become a monster. My loving father, who knew me so well, who believed in my moral values, who would never have suspected me of war crimes, felt the need to call and ask me what had happened… This is how damaging "Jenin, Jenin" was.
Everybody I knew started confronting me with probing questions, trying to establish whether there was any truth to the film. I found myself defending myself and my fellow soldiers, explaining that nothing like that had ever happened, and that quite the opposite was true – IDF troops remained sensitive to the civilian population, and had made every possible effort not to harm innocent Palestinians.
The fighting in the Jenin refugee camp (by the way, anyone residing in a house is not a refugee. You got to live in a tent in order to be classified as a refugee. Except, of course, if you are a Palestinian) was fierce. We were trying to capture terrorists, but thousands of booby traps and roadside bombs had been hidden in the camp. They were firing and fighting from houses inhabited by innocent people, hiding behind civilians, including women and children. They were using ambulances for terrorist activities. I personally saw loads of booby trapped dollies and toys, just waiting for a soldier to pick them up or touch them…
My fellow soldiers and I experienced and witnessed shocking scenes. Our friends were wounded and died in front of us, sometimes in our arms. And we were the ones accused of war crimes by this film maker …
My friends and I were there the day the film was screened at the Cinematheque, to voice our protest. Members of the audience shouted "Murderers! Nazis! War criminals!", cursed and abused us. I participated in the Defensive Wall Operation for the sake of this country, I wasn't looking for a hero's death. Still I couldn't believe that I would be showered with insults and abuse, so harsh and humiliating…
I began fearing for my own life. I felt exposed. I felt someone might be prompted to take revenge on me for the "crimes" I allegedly committed in the refugee camp.'
Doron Keidar owns and manages a car parts import company. To this day he avoids calling on his Arab customers:
'I saw "Jenin, Jenin" shortly after it started playing and I can hardly describe the shock I experienced. The film is not the work of an amateur, it seems very professional and convincing, so I started asking myself which troops could have perpetrated the horrors it "documents". I thought that perhaps it was a company of "regulars", young troops who perhaps lost it and started shooting at will. It took me a while to understand that it was all fiction, a fabric of lies that had nothing to do with reality. But then I also wondered what people who hadn't been there thought about the troops who had fought in Jenin. The fact that I wasn't able to tell immediately that the film was a pack of lies made me realize that the public would brand us "war criminals", who murdered innocent civilians out of disregard for Arab lives.
The terrible charges brought against me in the film have completely changed my life. I felt ashamed, humiliated and worthless for taking part in this operation. I was embarrassed by the fact that all my friends knew I was a soldier in Jenin.'
Nir Oshri, combat medic, runs a drug rehabilitation center. Most of the soldiers died in his arms: 'I treat drug-addicts at this center. I need to develop a special bond, very close rapport with the patients, for the treatment to succeed. Sometimes the addicts become dependent on me. Many of my patients are Arabs and their situation is very complex and stressful. After "Jenin, Jenin" was aired, I felt a shift in the way my Arab patients were relating to me. Instead of seeing in me their "elder brother", the one who helps them overcome their difficulties, they began avoiding me. I often heard them whispering "Jenin" between themselves, their eyes filled with hatred. I could no longer approach them freely, uninhibitedly. They were suspicious of me. One day one of them started yelling in front of the staff and patients at the center "murderer, you massacred Arabs, tens of little children in Jenin". I felt great pain, such that words cannot describe.'
Adam Arbiv, businessman.
'My father lives in the Arab part of Yaffo-Tel-Aviv. At one time, my office was also there. After the screening of the film I felt that even my closest friends and relatives were unsure about me. My mother, who lives in Holland, asked me several times about my part in the Defensive Wall Operation, and I felt that she was worried that I might have been one of the Jenin "war criminals". The woman who gave me life, who has always been so close to me, began doubting my integrity because of this film. Perhaps some of the viewers understood that the terrible accusations were blown out of proportion, but I guess they also believed that there was still some truth to it.
Some of my relatives living in the US and Canada also contacted me, to enquire in a very around the bush fashion about the terrible actions presented in the movie. Such horrible things can drive a man insane. Nobody will ever be able to compensate me and my fellow soldiers for our stained reputation. How can I put a price to the pain I felt when my own mother needed to make sure that I was or was not a war criminal as portrayed by the film? Or when my relative living abroad looked at me trying to make sure that I was not one of the perpetrators of the heinous crimes in the film?
Due to the terrible accusations we cannot go on with our lives. I was afraid to go see my father in Yaffo. I was afraid for his life. I was afraid to go to my own office in Yaffo. I am afraid and worried to this very day.'
Ofer Ben-Nathan, lawyer:
'All of my lawyer colleagues and associates started to shun me, or even display obvious hostility due to the terrible allegations of the movie. They accused me of having committed massacres and war crimes in Jenin. They weren't even trying to conceal their disgust. I am sure I have lost numerous potential clients, Arabs who would have sought my services by themselves or based on recommendations from Arab colleagues. There were days when I thought I might be forced out of my profession, and I sometimes feared for my life.'
Muhammad Bakri – No need for balance (because I received funding from rabid anti-Semitic terrorist!)
Avigdor Feldman, Bakri's lawyer, claims that the film never intended to present a balanced image of the fighting in Jenin, but rather to allow the Palestinians to tell their story. The stories certainly reflect the events that took place in Jenin. Bakri's deposition is expected within 60 days.
Jenin, Jenin – document or propaganda?
On March 27th, the eve of Passover 2002, a suicide bombing shook the Park Hotel in Netanya. Two days later Operation Defensive Wall was launched, with the purpose of rooting out the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank. During this operation, on April 3rd, IDF forces entered the Jenin refugee camp, practically the suicide bombers' breeding ground and headquarters. The IDF instructed the civilian population to leave, and then proceeded to enter several houses in order to apprehend terrorists hiding inside them. The troops were met with a tremendous amount of fire and explosive charges from the terrorists hiding among the civilian population. On April 9th 13 combat troops were ambushed and killed. They served in the same company as the five plaintiffs. The IDF decided to send in bulldozers in order to demolish the houses where the terrorists were hiding.
Twenty-three IDF combat troops were killed in Jenin, and 60 others were wounded, some very badly. 52 Palestinians were also killed, half of them civilians.
A few weeks later, actor and director Muhammad Bakri (much like Azmi Bishara in Lebanon) and his film crew toured the camp and shot interviews with some locals who claimed to have seen the troops shoot and kill innocent civilians, women, children and old people, prevent medical assistance to the wounded, and even loot. (Ahem... the Palestinians claim to be so pathetically poor, starving to say the least, and yet there still are valuables to be found in their booby-trapped houses? ) The Film Critics Committee stopped the screening of the film, defining it as "one-sided propaganda, … distortion of real events so as to appear as truthful documentation and give the public a wrong impression…, incitement and deligitimizing the very existence of the State of Israel.
When Muhammad Bakri petitioned the Supreme Court, three Supreme Court "justices" allowed the film to be screened in the Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv Cinematheques respectively.
Read more about Jenin here and here. This is the diary of an ultra-Orthodox soldier who was there. Also some extraordinary pics that, most likely from the writer's private albums.
Palestinian stabs two Border Police
On Sunday April 8, 2007 a 17-year-old Palestinian arrived at the Hebron check point. When a Border Police guard approached him, he pulled out a knife and stabbed the policeman in the chest. A second guard (who could/should have shot/killed the attacker) tried to overpower the assailant and was also wounded slightly. Only then did the Border Police officer shoot the attacker, who got away with an injury.
The two policemen were evacuated to Hadassah Ein-Karem Hospital where they received medical attention. The attacker was awarded first aid by the policemen and was also taken to hospital.
Army officials report that Arabs armed with knives have been trying to pass through the check-point ever since the 1990's.
When Palestinians whine about women and children jailed by cruel Israel, don't forget that women and children can also be terrorists.
The two policemen were evacuated to Hadassah Ein-Karem Hospital where they received medical attention. The attacker was awarded first aid by the policemen and was also taken to hospital.
Army officials report that Arabs armed with knives have been trying to pass through the check-point ever since the 1990's.
When Palestinians whine about women and children jailed by cruel Israel, don't forget that women and children can also be terrorists.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Hall of Shame
In exchange for Gilad Shalit, snatched at the tender age of 19, and whose whereabouts are still a mystery (actually we cannot even be sure that he is still alive) Hamas would like to see the release of such seasoned murderers and terrorists (several hundreds of them, actually), responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent Israeli civilians and troops in non-combat situations. Why Israel is keeping such ruthless criminals alive is beyond my comprehension - imagine that they were dead, would Hamas still be motivated to kidnap troops in order to pressure Israel into disproportionate "prisoner exchanges"? Just a thought...
Marwan Barghouti - General Secretary of Tanzim (and here) Fatah (PLO) division, financed Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terror cell and sent them on terror attacks against Israeli targets. Captured by IDF during Operation Defensive Shield (Homat Magen), he was sentenced by an Israeli Court to five life sentences. Some may hail him as a hero, but he was hiding in Ramallah disguised as an old woman. Moreover, while being interviewed live on Palestinian TV, he was gloating with glee at the news that a suicide bomber had managed to blow himself up among Israeli civilians. No peace maker here!
Ahmad Saadat - Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, ordered the assassination of Israeli Minister Rehavam Ze'evi. He was captured by the IDF during the Jericho Prison raid in 2006.
Ibrahim Hamed - commander of the West Bank Hamas military wing, masterminded such massacres as the Sbarro pizzeria, the Hebrew University cafeteria and the Cafe Moment suicide bombings.
Fuad Shubaki (Fouad al-Shoubaki) - senior financier to Arafat, funded the acquisition of Karin A. No innocent banker here...
Muhammad Duhan - a veteran of the Gaza Hamas military wing. On December 12, 1992, he killed IDF reservist Yuval Toutangi.
Yahia Sinwar - senior member of the Hamas military wing, credited with the founding the Qassam brigades. Arrested in 1988, he was sentenced to 450 years detention.
Hassan Salameh - responsible for some of the deadliest suicide attacks during February-March 1996. He recruited and dispatched the suicide bombers in the two Jerusalem bus 18 massacres and the Ashkelon hitch-hike post (where the bomber was dressed in IDF uniform). He himself was acting on behalf of Muhammad Deff (courtesy of http://www.isill.blogspot.com/), in retaliation for IDF targeting (well, yes, assassinating) Yahia Ayyash.
Marwan Barghouti - General Secretary of Tanzim (and here) Fatah (PLO) division, financed Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade terror cell and sent them on terror attacks against Israeli targets. Captured by IDF during Operation Defensive Shield (Homat Magen), he was sentenced by an Israeli Court to five life sentences. Some may hail him as a hero, but he was hiding in Ramallah disguised as an old woman. Moreover, while being interviewed live on Palestinian TV, he was gloating with glee at the news that a suicide bomber had managed to blow himself up among Israeli civilians. No peace maker here!
Ahmad Saadat - Secretary-General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, ordered the assassination of Israeli Minister Rehavam Ze'evi. He was captured by the IDF during the Jericho Prison raid in 2006.
Ibrahim Hamed - commander of the West Bank Hamas military wing, masterminded such massacres as the Sbarro pizzeria, the Hebrew University cafeteria and the Cafe Moment suicide bombings.
Fuad Shubaki (Fouad al-Shoubaki) - senior financier to Arafat, funded the acquisition of Karin A. No innocent banker here...
Muhammad Duhan - a veteran of the Gaza Hamas military wing. On December 12, 1992, he killed IDF reservist Yuval Toutangi.
Yahia Sinwar - senior member of the Hamas military wing, credited with the founding the Qassam brigades. Arrested in 1988, he was sentenced to 450 years detention.
Hassan Salameh - responsible for some of the deadliest suicide attacks during February-March 1996. He recruited and dispatched the suicide bombers in the two Jerusalem bus 18 massacres and the Ashkelon hitch-hike post (where the bomber was dressed in IDF uniform). He himself was acting on behalf of Muhammad Deff (courtesy of http://www.isill.blogspot.com/), in retaliation for IDF targeting (well, yes, assassinating) Yahia Ayyash.
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