The Green Army

by Amit Cohen
Ma'ariv (Saturday supplement),
March 16, 2007


The shooting begins as soon as darkness falls on Gaza. Long rounds of automatic fire followed by silence. One after the other. Every night, until the wee hours. Even on the rare days of truce between Hamas and Fatah, or throughout the ceasefire with Israel. The incessant shooting means that Hamas is training new recruits. When the big confrontation arrives, the Al-Aqsa brigades - a.k.a. "the Hamas military wing"- hope to confront the enemy with a well trained and ready army - as well trained and ready can be.

"We have the right to upgrade our capabilities, it a religious mission as well as a national duty", says Abu-Oubeida, Hamas military wing spokesman. "We have the right to send our instructors abroad to train and specialize, as well as to upgrade our weapons arsenal. We are not going to disclose any details on our operations and intentions here, because this is classified military information. This is where we draw the red line."
During the past year, Hamas confronted IDF forces within the framework of two campaigns - "Summer Rains" and "Autumn Clouds". Hamas and the other (terrorist) organizations did not manage to exact the bitter blood toll they had intended. IDF's technological superiority, but mainly military skills, proved overwhelming. That is why Hamas decided to revise its military tactics vis-a-vis the IDF and draw the necessary conclusions. Thus, Hamas military chiefs have decided to reorganize the divisions geographically. Also this year, Hamas has established its operational force - the police forces subordinated to the Ministry of the Interior, acting as an additional militia of the organization: 6,000 gunmen, assigned to regional headquarters.

Hamas draws inspiration from the Second Lebanon War and from Hezbollah's achievements. "We have learned our lesson from previous confrontations with the IDF, but also from what we have seen in Lebanon", admits Abu-Oubeida, "yet there is a great difference between South Lebanon and Gaza. Combat itself is different because of the topography, camouflage techniques, combat zone size, etc. Gaza is a tiny strip of flatland. The enemy has the upper hand because of its superior technology when everything is out in the open for all to see. Moreover, Lebanon is a sovereign state, whereas we are under siege. We hope to equal Lebanon's achievements one day."
(I like that. You realize, of course, that if you want Gaza redesigned to look like Southern Lebanon or the Shiite strongholds in Beirut, IAF and IDF combined can oblige you in just one night, I figure).
Should a conflict break out, Hamas, unlike Hezbollah, plans to drag the IDF forces deep inside refugee camps and crowded urban areas, where they can stop them in their tracks. In previous confrontations, Hamas gunmen tried to approach IDF troops and engage them in close combat. However, they didn't quite succeed in inflicting serious damage from close range, so they switched to sniper and mortar fire combined with roadside bombs and anti-tank missiles.

"If war breaks out in Gaza, it will not be dictated by topography, as was the case in Lebanon", predict Israeli military sources. "It will be dictated by the demographics of one of the most densely populated areas on earth." Hamas is getting ready to operate from within crowded refugee camps, using narrow alleys combined with tunnels and bunkers. They know full well that Israel will avoid sending in troops that might inflict civilian casualties and losses. Therefore even videotaped images and stills will serve as useful ammunition for Hamas. (Palliwood and Hezbollywood, right?)
In anticipation of a possible conflict, Hamas has prepared a "defense system" around cities, by digging bunkers and tunnels as close as possible to the populated neighborhoods. In order to allow gunmen free movement around the strip, a cob web of tunnels is connecting between different houses and buildings. Hamas leaders hope that their gunmen will be able to open fire at Israeli troops, retreat quickly inside the houses and relocate via the tunnels. This is their solution for dealing with the IAF attack helicopters and drones, and in so doing they hope to keep their own movement above ground to a minimum.

In addition, arms caches have been scattered in underground bunkers for protection against aerial attacks. Israeli security forces are by now aware that Hamas has dug a number of tunnels towards Israel, which could be either booby trapped or used to smuggle terrorists into Israel.

Remembering the Hamas Chief-of-Staff
The turning point for Hamas was Israel's implementation of the Gaza disengagement program. As soon as Hamas realized that Israel was going to pull out of Gaza, the leaders decided to grant official status to the Al-Aqsa brigades and transform them from an underground terror organization into a military corps. To this end, Hamas established the "Shaheed Saleh Shahade Military Academy", in memory of the Hamas Chief-of-Staff successfully targeted by Israel in 2002. The academy is headed by Abu-Ibrahim, a senior member of the military wing.
The carefully code-named training camps are scattered all over the Gaza strip, mostly on the ruins of evacuated Israeli settlements. Bissan 1 and Bissan 2, e.g., are located in the Gush Katiff area, not far from Khan-Younes. Other camps are occupying the remains of Netzarim and Rafiah-Yam. Hamas recruits are being trained in infantry and anti-tank warfare, rocket launching, as well as in gathering and analyzing intelligence. The graduates are issued I.D. cards, with personal numbers, ranks and recruitment dates.

According to Israeli estimates, the current Hamas instructors are tens, perhaps hundreds of foreign-trained activists (terrorists) that returned to Gaza to spread their knowledge. The recruits undergo intensive training for several months, perhaps longer. Palestinian sources concur. "We have knowledge of 500 Hamas activists currently operating in Gaza; they received military training in Syria and Iran", admits a senior Palestinian officer: "This training is actually being directed against us, because they drill raiding and securing all sorts of buildings. Do you really think they are going to overtake IDF compounds in the Negev? Their targets are the strongholds of the Palestinian National Security forces or other organizations. Hamas activists plant explosive devices and booby trap tunnels, but they don't always target the IDF. Some of their tunnels lead to our headquarters or buildings."

(Really? Then you have adopted the Israeli flag? Or are you just lying through your teeth?, Mr. senior Palestinian officer speaking on condition of anonymity, because I take it, you are not authorized to speak to the press? Or you didn't think we'd know our own flag?)

Besides their central role in improving Hamas military skills, the foreign-trained instructors are instrumental in upgrading the organization's weapons arsenal. "The spreading of this kind of knowledge is extremely dangerous, more dangerous than the huge amount of arms currently smuggled into Gaza, it is critical", says a high-ranking Israeli officer. The danger is amplified by the knowledge that Iran is behind the increasing strength of Hamas.
The upgrade is already visible. Up until three-four years ago Hamas used old solar water heaters to improvise large explosive devices, but now they have reached a different level. Take the "Shawaz" for instance - a projectile with highly-piercing properties based on Iranian know how. Four of these devices have been used against IDF troops during recent operations in Gaza. They are manufactured locally, according to precise measurements and specifications. Hamas is sparing no time and effort in developing and improving Qassam rockets and claim to be transforming them in their weapon of choice, in lieu of the suicide bombings. The Second
Lebanon War only helped to emphasize the importance of this kind of warfare. "The last rocket we launched had a 12 km range", boasts Abu-Oubeida, "but the Al-Aqsa manufacturers promised to improve that."

Not only the range is improved, but also the extent of damage they can cause. A regular Qassam warhead can carry five-seven kg of explosives. During the past few months Hamas "engineers" have focused on enlarging the Qassam payload to at least 20 kg. At the same time, the "life-span" of the rockets has been extended, due to the superior quality of the explosives being used. What it means is that Hamas will have the option of storing the long range rockets for longer periods of time, and practically intensify the barrages.

30 tons of explosives

In 2006 Hamas proved that its rocket launching abilities are better than those of all the other terrorist organizations combined. An average of some 50 rockets a month had been launched into Israel, until Hamas joined in - such as during IDF operations in the strip - and the number of launches increased significantly: during "Summer Rains" we counted 191 rockets, and during "Autumn Clouds" - 157.
During the past year Hamas has stepped-up its efforts to smuggle weapons and ammunition into Gaza, working both on quantity and quality. "We know that they seek to purchase sophisticated RPG's, much like the Hezbollah, and are also looking for Laus", says the Palestinian officer. "The Bedouins are smuggling missiles from the Red Sea into the Sinai, and from there it's a short way to Gaza, via the Rafiah tunnels." According to Israeli intelligence, about 30 tons of explosives have made their way into Gaza during the past year alone - a six fold increase compared to 2005.

Based on lessons learnt from the Second Lebanon War, Hamas is improving its anti-tank capabilities: they bought advanced rockets, such as Konkurs and 122 mm Grads, that have a 20 km range. Still, they do not even come close to the quantities amassed by the Hezbollah. Despite all these threatening figures, Abu-Oubeida is trying to keep things in perspective: "It would be wrong to assume that both sides are preparing for war. This would imply two armies, and that is a misconception. We do not have one army yet. We are in a state of alert, perhaps more so than in the past, but our means are limited. In the past we managed to delay the enemy, to slow them down, but we are aware of the fact that we cannot stop them altogether. We will not stand with our hands behind our backs though. Resistance is the choice of the Palestinian people".
To conclude, Abu-Oubeida warns Israel not to invade Gaza to free Gilead Shalit. "I am convinced that there is no connection between Gilead Shalit and other issues. We make no connection between the case of the captive serviceman and other matters, such as an Israeli invasion or the unity government. These are totally different matters".

(more pictures and confusion here and here)

From the Johnson-Vanick Amendment to the Murder of Ilan Halimi

by Natan (Anatoli) Sharansky
Ma'ariv (oops, lost the date)

Ilan Halimi was murdered in Paris one year ago. The reports of a 45% rise in antisemitic incidents in France are reflecting a dire trend. Three years ago the Israeli government hosted the first international forum on antisemitism in order to redefine and establish ways to combat new forms of antisemitism. We have come a long way in distinguishing between legitimate criticism and delegitimizing Israel. Except now we are facing a new and more thorny challenge: incitement to murder Jews and calls for the destruction of the Jewish State.
The Iranian regime is denying Holocaust and calls for Israel to be "wiped off" the face of the earth. To this end they are seeking to develop nuclear weapons. The international community keeps mostly silent, because it is entertaining the idea that the establishment of the State of Israel was a mistake, an anachronism, or a provocation. The idea of a world without Israel is reflecting much more than just the ideas promulgated by Hitler in 1939.
The Jewish world must address this unprecedented campaign. In 1987, on the eve of a large rally in support for Jews in the former Soviet Union, Jewish leaders warned that Jews might be presented as détente-undermining "warmongers" and warned that attendance would be low. The fact that 250,000 Jews turned up played a significant role in opening the gates for a million Jews. This is the strength of mobilization in full.
Prof. Shlomo Avineri has recently called on the entire world to shun Iranian officials and to push for trade sanctions on Iran. He called on the American pension plans to detach themselves from firms trading with or investing in Iran. He called for all signatories of the Anti-Genocide Declaration to denounce the Iranian president's calls for genocide, according to article III.
Different agencies, such as Amnesty International, that draws largely not only upon Jewish principles and values, but also enthusiasm and funding, must intensify their efforts to enforce the decisions of the Anti-Genocide Declaration. They must not resign to the distorted anti-Israeli interpretation of human rights as professed by the Iranian president and its proteges (e.g. Hezbollah), and to dissociate themselves from labelling justified self-defense by the State of Israel as "war crimes".
This struggle requires two steps: firstly, we should boycott universities where professors oppose the existence of the State of Israel, same as universities that condone Holocaust denial. Secondly, organize large rallies in support of Israel and stopping Iran's destructive intentions.
Over three decades ago, the movement to free Jews from the former Soviet Union declared that the right to self-determination is not limited to Jews alone, but should apply to all human beings, as per the Jackson-Vanick amendment (that limited US trade with countries limiting freedom of emigration) and Helsinki agreements, that eventually brought about the collapse of the Soviet Union. Even nowadays this issue is not solely ours. Iran is pushing for our annihilation, and to this end is fomenting conflicts and endangering world peace.
Just as the Jews back in the old days of the Soviet Union, we are surrounded by potential allies. When we fought for the rights of Soviet Jewry we we fighting for humanity at large. Now we must act in a similar fashion in order to prevent a second genocide. And save the world.

(the author is a former member of Knesset and minister. A famous Soviet dissident and human rights activist, he is now head of the strategic studies institute of the Shalem Center).

The Fwench wanted wevenge

by Arik Bachar (with a little editing by yours truly)

La Wépublique Fwançaise has just leaked information about an innocent invitation extended last summer for Israel to engage in "military celebrations" in Syria - but between the Winograd commission's final report and the investigation awaiting Monsieur Jacques in a few months for alleged bribe taking - whom can one believe - Jerusalem or Paris? However, a closer look at Pwésident Chiwac's meddling in Middle East affairs during his long tenure as Fwench Pwésident reveals that anything is possible. There is no love lost between la Fwance and the Levant: the only question is - whom does Fwance hate less? Young Bashar Assad ruined Chirac's dream of reviving his Middle East bébé – the Lebanon. The assassination two-years ago of former Lebanese Prime-Minister, Rafik El-Hariri, always a welcomed guest at the Elysée Palace in Paris, caused deep anti-Damascus sentiments chez Pwésident Chiwac. Hariri was the great architect of the reconstruction of Lebanon, the only state in the region where France can claim to have substantial influence. During his lifetime, he offered the best proof that France is capable of the kind of foreign policy that can get things going in a region where America gets stuck in the mud. His death, inspired if not downright ordered by Syria, compels Paris to seek revenge.
…
Due to Israel's sour experience with France's support in the international arena, Israel was right to dispose of the French proposal in the dust bin.

France urges Israel: Go to war with Syria
by Uri Yablonka

While publicly condemning Israel's campaign in Lebanon last summer in the loudest possible voice, different messages were making their way via secret channels: Pres. Jacques Chirac urged Israel to topple Bashar Assad's Hezbollah backing regime. If that should come to pass, the French promised unlimited, continuous and constant support in the UN Security Council and the EU institutions.
France is famous for its pro-Arab stand and for being one of the harshest anti-Israeli critics in general and among the Europeans in particular. However, during the second Lebanon war, Israel received an unprecedented French proposal: invade Syria, topple Bashar Assad's regime and we shall fully support your military operations.
This proposal was made to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs by none other than the French President, Jacques Chirac, famous for his deep hatred of Assad and for his displeasure with Syria's meddling in Lebanese affairs. The French suggested that Israel should declare Syria responsible for the hostilities on Israel's Northern border in its capacity as Hezbollah's main supporter and supplier, followed by IDF's invasion of Syria with the declared aim to oust young Assad from power. The French also urged Israel to restrict its military operations in Lebanon to
Hezbollah targets alone and to refrain from air strikes in Beirut, where a great number of
French nationals reside.


(It is still my strongest belief that when enemy aircraft are bombing the hell out of a city, there should be some kind of blackout, even a voluntary one. Could it be that the vast majority of Beirut reidents were confident that the IAF was really targetting the Hezbollah ? Could it be that they actually left their lights on as if to make it easier for the pilots to find their way ?)
French support, however, would not be public, but would be mainly expressed in effective support in decisions and declarations meant to allow Israel absolute maneuvering span in its anti-Syrian campaign. France pledged not to make any statements or be involved in such actions that would interfere with IDF operations in Syria.

Who will do the dirty work?
Senior Israeli officials told Ma'ariv reporters that Chirac's proposal was motivated by his known opposition to Assad's regime, partly due to the apparent Syrian involvement in the assassination of Rafik El-Hariri, a close friend and business associate of Pres. Chirac. This proposal revealed Chirac's misunderstanding of the true nature of last summer's Middle East conflict. Senior officials remarked that Chirac was acting against all acceptable principles in the world arena, according to which Ehud Olmert was interested aiming a limited military operation in Lebanon, and had no intention of engaging Syria in an all out war: "The French asked us – What do you want from Lebanon? Go for Syria, they are the ones who started all this trouble. The French actually wanted us to do their dirty work for them." Another official said: "Chirac didn't understand Israel's interests at all. Israel was not looking for a pretext to attack Syria. Thus, as soon as Chirac understood that we were looking for ways to end the war rather than expand it, their messages stopped and the French resumed their usual attitude." Says the same official: "According to our estimates, even the US would not have objected too much had we decided to invade Syria at the beginning of the war."

The French condemnation
Just to recap, the second Lebanon war broke out Wednesday morning, July 12th, 2007, when Hezbollah terrorists snatched two IDF troops: Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. The same evening the government voted in favor of a military operation of an unprecedented scale, which started as a series on intensive air strikes and developed into a full-fledged war with incursions of large contingents of ground forces into Lebanese territory. During the first two days of the conflict Israel's response was met with unconditional US support – in fact the US extended their full support for the duration of the hostilities – along with the support of some other Western states, among them the UK. France, on the other hand, who still thinks of herself as Lebanon's guardian, immediately condemned Israel's attacks on South Lebanon as being "totally disproportionate. One may wonder, however, is there some wish or desire to destroy the entire Lebanon?" On several different occasions Chirac declared that the Israeli reaction to the kidnapping of the two reserve soldiers and the killing of several other troops was totally out of proportion. On Friday, two days into the war, Chirac also condemned Hezbollah for kidnapping the two Israeli soldiers. Only now it turns out that alongside his declarations, Chirac was exchanging messages with the officials in Jerusalem on perhaps changing the scope of the operation – launching a war against Syria instead of attacking Lebanon. Chirac's proposal was considered by the higher diplomatic levels of the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but was not debated on the political level, possibly due to the fact that there was no plan or intention to go to war against Syria. The response issued by Office of the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General: "We have no recollection of such message exchange".
Ma'ariv, March 18th, 2007

Even stones can break

by Chen Kotess-Bar
Ma'ariv, March 2, 2007

All those who knew Raphael know that he died on February 28, 1998. Raphael and Erez Gerstein, father and son, died together. The same roadside bomb killed them in Lebanon. Eight years and one day apart.
At 3:00 a.m. Wednesday night, Raphael Gerstein died. Eight years and one day after the death of his son, IDF Brigadier General Erez Gerstein, Commander of the Liaison Unit in Lebanon. Away from the lawns of Kibbutz Reshafim, where Erez grew up, away from the battle field where he became a living legend. Raphael Gerstein died in hospital.
I first met Erez when he was commander of the Golani commando unit. At the time I was a reporter with an army magazine. Oh, those days of innocence... Nothing was more important that the Golani commando. God only knows how much we disliked the paratroopers. We nurtured great dreams. Young people's dreams, oblivious of how quickly time flies. Future became present, then past. The living became the dead. Erez and I became close friends.
Eight years after he was killed, I am still trying to figure out what happened. And I am not the only one. This year we spoke of Erez more than ever. Events came full circle only to break loose again: during the second Lebanon war, while on a helicopter, flanked by Chief-of-Staff Dan Halutz and the Commander of the Ground Forces, Benny Gantz; later in the Golani Division Command Room; in the name shuffle trying to guess the next Chief-of-Staff's identity; during my own private breakdown. Erez was omnipresent with his huge presence, wrinkled brow, ample gestures, half-swallowed words…
Erez was killed on a Sunday. On the same evening we drove to his house to meet the love of his life - his wife Hertel. And Omer, his only son. Raphael was asleep in his living-room armchair. Just like Erez, half-reclining, his body slightly turned. Their body language was so similar. "I never knew", he retorted when he was told about his son's valor and bravery that had earned him mythical status.
For eight years Raphael collected every single detail about his son's death. He kept clinging to his grandson, Omer, in his need to preserve his own son's presence. He wanted to write a book, to tell the whole world about Erez. "Due to Erez I became acquainted with IDF's highest ranking officers", boasted the man who came from Argentina to make his home in a kibbutz. Amiram Levin, Gabi Ashkenazi, Kaplan, Moshe (Chico) Tamir, Mofaz – all were familiar faces in Shula and Raphael Gerstein's home. Erez' death became an open wound for all of them. But Raphael's wound was different. In the words of Erez' friends from the Golani Corps – Raphael was mortally wounded. He let go of life. Israeli poetess Dalia Rabikowicz once wrote – Even stones can break. Raphael Gerstein was once as hard as stone. But then his son died and all that changed.
Raphael's heart grew weaker and weaker. He took almost no interest in the second Lebanon war. He was only interested in the past, in Erez and what he used to be. For the first time he didn't attend Erez' memorial service in the kibbutz. Minister Shaul Mofaz wished him speedy recovery in his speech after the service. But everyone knew he would not recover. He would not return to the kibbutz or ride his bicycle to visit Erez' grave. Raphael was dying and would take his great grief to heaven. Erez would not be there at his graveside to say Kaddish (the prayer for the dead).
A few years ago I quoted from Prof. Assa Kasher's eulogy for his own son who had died in an accident: "The division between life and death is quite clear. But there is a no man's land in between, a twilight zone. I think of my son as of someone who is still alive. As for me, I am living among the dead." Raphael, who was no stranger to this twilight zone, agreed with every word.
On Wednesday, a few hours after the memorial service for Erez, Raphael lost consciousness. "Father of late Brigadier General Erez Gerstein died of a serious condition" said the news bulletins. Just like that. Modern medicine does not recognize dying of sorrow.
For eight years Raphael kept saying that Erez was waiting for him. Erez, as Raphael knew all too well, was never too patient. This week was no exception.

From Persia to Iran

by Arieh Eldad
Ma'ariv, March 2nd, 2007

And Haman said to King Ahasuerus: There is a certain people scattered and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of your kingdom; their laws are different from all other peoples, and they do not keep the king's laws. Therefore, it does the king no profit to suffer them. If it pleases the king, let a decree be written that they be destroyed, and I will pay ten thousand talents of silver into the hands of those who do the work, to bring it into the king's treasuries.
This short quote from the Book of Esther embodies the history of anti-Semitism and illustrates the threat to the very existence of the Jewish people. It has it all: Israel is hated because Israel is different and there is incitement against the people of Israel because they are different. This hatred is reflected in the ancient forms of anti-Semitism, Greek or Christian, directed at the very faith of Israel, as well as its modern translations, Russian or German, and also Muslim: the Germans incited against the Jews because of they controlled the international media, and because they pulled the strings and instigated other countries against Germany; communist Russia was spreading rumors that the Jews were imperialistic agents, acting all over the world to spread capitalism and cosmopolitanism, the archenemies of revolution. These two elements, the old and the new, converge under the umbrella of Muslim judeophobia: Jews are the enemies of the prophet and the allies of the American Satan.
And there is also profit to be made: genocide will be followed by plunder; power will come to whomever manages to cause a whole nation to join the hatred bandwagon. And another thing: the paradigm of pathological hatred, embedded herein is also to be found at work in any line of anti-Semitism: Jews are different, they are useless, they have no right to exist, and therefore it is alright to exterminate them.
The Jews in the Book of Esther tried to escape their destiny. They tried to become Persians. Mordechai bore a Persian name, even though his father name was Yair, a Jewish name. Esther bore a Persian name, even though her father's name was Avichail, a Jewish name. She lives in the king's palace and shares his bed, while Mordechai waits at the king's gates. Even though they changed their names and managed to approach the ruler, there comes Haman and moves to destroy them. This is how the emancipation of Persian Jewry went down the drain, just as the emancipation of European Jewry went down the drain generations later. Despite the "equal rights" for Jews promoted by the French revolution, the opening of the ghetto doors and their integration into society, Haman was out in the streets of Paris shouting "Death to Jews" after the Dreyfuss trial; Herzl could hear the trains rolling on their way to Auschwitz. He was sure that diaspora was a disease and that anti-Semitism was its symptom. He was sure that once the Jews were no longer an exiled nation, the plight of the Jews would be over. This is how we came back to our ancestral home, God willing, and thanks to the strong Zionist spirit, spurred on by the oppression that chased us out of every country: "Jews, go to Palestine!" read the graffiti in Poland and Russia. So now, when we are a free people in our own country, those who hate have taken to shouting: "Jews, get out of Palestine!" The European neo-fascists and the Islamofascists hate us because we are no longer dispersed and we have managed to come back to the land of our forefathers.

The claim that Jews have no right to an independent state in the Land of Israel because it belong to the Arabs only serves the ancient logic that we have no right to exist at all – it is alright to exterminate us. Delegitimizing the Jewish people as sought by Haman, and sealed with the king's ring, is the logical echo heard in Iran, modern day Persia, who is denying the rightful claim of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel, and should therefore be allowed to pursue the nuclear arms race in order to exterminate the Jews. All those who join the anti-Israeli chorus under the pretense of the justified right to self-defense of the "Palestinian people", all those who accuse us of apartheid and the IDF troops of being Judeo-Nazis, all those who falsely accuse us of genocide in Jenin, Beirut or Gaza, are denying the moral right of the Jewish State to exist in the Land of Israel, and empower the hardened hearts of the old and new anti-Semites who seek our extermination.
These Jew haters do not really care if we are dispersed or concentrated in one place. When we were dispersed, the world produced Torquemada and Chmelnitsky, Hitler and Stalin; when we have gathered in our land the world produced Sadam Hussein, Arafat, Haled Mashal and Nasrallah. Haman alias Saddam Hussein swings at the end of his rope, only to be reborn as Ahmadinijad, still threatening to destroy Israel. The annihilation of Israel is the one objective perpetrated by the Hamans of every generation.
When we were scattered in the Diaspora, we depended on the favors of Ahasuerus for salvation. Not to mention that salvation was never guaranteed, that is why Purim is a miracle for us. During the Holocaust we had no Ahasuerus. With our return to our land we became masters of our own fate, and we are also responsible for it, that is why we must not rely on other nations to do our work for us. As befits the conclusion of the Book of Esther, the Jews must rise to exact revenge on those who hate them.

USD 100 millions vanish from PA bank account

A few weeks ago Israel transferred USD 100 million dollars to Abu-Mazen (PA). Despite the latter's specific assurances, a few days after the transfer, the money was gone from the bank account only to be channeled to other recipients.

Ben Caspit with Felix Frish,
Ma'ariv, March 8, 2007

Israeli officials are accusing the Palestinian Authority of "deceit and breach of trust" as it was discovered that the PA, in defiant violation of initial agreements, were not using the money for the declared purposes and did in fact divert it to other ends. The US Congress also decided to halt the USD 86 million aid intended to strengthen Pres. Abbas' special presidential security forces. In fact, the US administration had decided to freeze the money transfer after the Mecca agreement and the Palestinian unity government formation, but the decision was influenced by the Israeli reports that the hefty sums received by the Palestinians were being funneled towards undesired purposes.

Olmert is fuming
The Israeli PM office produced a letter signed by Salem Fiyad, Abu-Mazen's money man, detailing how the USD 100 million transferred a few weeks previously were to be used. According to this letter, USD 86 million were meant to strengthen Abu-Mazen's security forces, and the remainder was to be spent on humanitarian purposes, also agreed upon prior to the transfer, and some to be transferred to the Presidential Office. As per this agreement, Israel deposited the money in a previously-designated bank account whence the different sums were to be transferred further to their subsequent destinations. Except that a few days later, the money was "gone" from the designated account, and it later transpired that it had actually been channeled to different destinations, among them Palestinian government salaries and other expenditures, in flagrant violation of the financial embargo imposed on the Hamas-led government.
PM Olmert could not hide his anger, and is expected to confront Abu-Mazen on the issue in a future meeting. Olmert hopes, however, to be able to strengthen the connection with Abu-Mazen and also to revive the peace talks with the PA, while shunning the Hamas government. During private talks, Olmert has reiterated his determination to boycott Hamas ministers even when the unity government is formed, and even if it includes Fatah representatives such as Salem Fiyad and Muhammad Dahlan, who are accepted by the Israeli administration. "We shall not recognize them as members of the Palestinian government, and we shall not deal with them in that capacity", said Olmert.

dumb and dumber?

This is funny. While the Arabs will stop at nothing in their bid to remove Israel from the map and the Jewish people from this planet, our own Australian diaspora is still hiding under their beds, even though the Australian government is not the one to mince words when it comes to denouncing the islamization of the civilized world in general, and of Australia in particular.

Facts on the Ground: Archeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society.” To see that her analysis of “archaeological practice” has nothing to do with anthropological or archaeological analysis, and is just your run-of-the-mill anti-Israel rhetoric, masquerading as junk research.
Her analysis of Israeli society determines that it is a "settler-colonial community", and has “invented” an ancient history in the region by the use of archeology.
She attempts to demonstrate how "(social) science generates facts or phenomena, which refigure what counts as true or real,” and concludes that the "existence of the ancient Israelite and Hebrew kingdoms should be considered “a pure political fabrication.”
Historians are appalled by her junk research.
“El-Haj is not a practicing archaeologist. She hardly knows the Hebrew in which many Israeli archaeological debates are conducted. She has taken part in very few actual digs. Yet she confidently condemns Israeli archaeology as a tool of the Zionists. With only gossip to go on, she accuses one archaeologist of bulldozing non-Jewish strata to get to the levels that might offer details about ancient Israel. Bizarrely, she then concludes her book by reversing herself on such desecration, asking us to "understand" sympathetically the Palestinian mob that destroyed Joseph’s Tomb on October 8, 2000. I guess it all depends on whose narrative is being bulldozed.” Jonathan Burack, The Family Security Foundation, December 28, 2006

Archaeologists have criticized her book harshly:
The dean of Middle Eastern archeology, William Dever of the University of Arizona, “who has authored more than 20 books on Middle East History, said Ms. Abu El-Haj seems intent on writing Jews out of ancient Middle East history, and demonizing a generation of apolitical Israeli archaeologists in the process. Barnard should deny Ms. Abu El-Haj tenure, he said, ‘not because she's Palestinian or pro-Palestinian or a leftist, but because her scholarship is faulty, misleading and dangerous.’ ” Campus Watch

"At the heart of her critique is an undisguised political agenda that regards modern and ancient Israel, and perhaps Jews as a whole, as fictions… "Abu El Haj's anthropology is undone by her... ill-informed narrative, intrusive counter-politics, and by her unwillingness to either enter or observe Israeli society... "The effect is a representation of Israeli archaeology that is simply bizarre... Filling in what is missing from her text becomes fatiguing. In the end there is no reason to take her picture of Israeli archaeology seriously, since her selection bias is so glaring… "Abu El Haj has written a flimsy and supercilious book, which does no justice to either her putative subject or the political agenda she wishes to advance. It should be avoided." Alexander H. Joffe, Lecturer in Archaeology, Purchase College, SUNY Journal of Near Eastern Studies. Chicago: Oct 2005. Vol. 64, Iss. 4; p. 297

"Perhaps the most astonishing part of the book is a discussion on the last page of the text (p. 281). Abu el-Haj describes and condones the attack, and subsequent ransacking, by a Palestinian mob on what is known as "Jacob's Tomb" in Nablus in 2001. Several people were killed as a result of this attack; the gleeful tone in which she describes this act of vandalism exemplifies how her political agenda completely overcame her duties as a social scientist… "This book is the result of faulty and ideologically motivated research. One can but wonder how the 1995 dissertation on which it is based was authorized at Duke University and how a respected publisher like the University of Chicago Press could have published such unsubstantiated work.”
Maeir, Aren, Professor of Archaeology, Bar Ilan University, Isis, volume 95 (2004), pages 523–524, Solomonia Blog

It’s ironic that while supposedly advocating archeology, Abu el-Haj indelibly aligns herself with the Palestinians, who have absolutely no regard or respect for Biblical archeology whatsoever. Doing everything in their power to destroy the archaeological remnants from the Temple Mount, Palestinians dug out a huge underground Mosque in the “Solomon's Stables” area of the Temple Mount, and proceeded to destroy and dump everything they could find of historic significance, while repeating the mantra, “There were never any Jewish Temples in Jerusalem.”
As Arab mobs riot these days over Israel's attempts to rebuild a bridge to the Temple Mount and the to excavate outside the Mugrabi Gate (and therefore, outside the Temple Mount complex and Mosques), one has to wonder why Barnard College is demeaning itself by offering tenure to junk academics, bent on the denying the legitimacy of the Jewish State.
Are you an alum of Barnard or Columbia?
Why not drop an email to Barnard College President, Judith Shapiro, (jshapiro@Barnard.Edu) or Columbia College President Lee Bollingermailto:Bollinger@columbia.edu) and let them know that tenure for Nadia Abu El Haj degrades your alma mater.
Know someone who studied at Barnard or Columbia who values academic research integrity? Send them a link to this posting.
Universities are research institutions, and politics can and should play a role in formulating opinion. Yet when academic research is corrupted to that point that anti-Israel junk-academia peddlers are eligible for tenure at Ivy League schools, I think we need to take a step back and ensure that research at our universities remains free of the likes of Nadia Abu El Haj.
Pass it on.
Jameel.
PS...
Marilyn Chin '74
Director of Barnard Alumnae Affairs
(212) 854-2005
mchin@barnard.edu
Derek Wittner '65
Dean of Alumni Affairs and Development
(212) 870-2741
daw8@columbia.edu
Office of the President, Judith Shapiro
109 Milbank Hall,Tel: (212) 854-2021

NATIONAL (February 16, 2007)
AIJAC 'dumps' scholar over Muslim remarks
JASON FRENKEL with MELISSA SINGER
THE Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) has withdrawn its support for a visiting Israeli expert on Islam who earlier this week urged Australia to cap its intake of Muslim immigrants. (but then so did your PM)
AIJAC executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein issued a statement on Friday distancing the organisation, which has partly sponsored Hebrew University Professor Raphael Israeli's six-week Australian visit, from the academic's claims that “life will become untenable” unless the Muslim population is kept in check. (Cowards!)
Professor Israeli said Australia was in danger of being swamped by Muslims – especially from Indonesia – and called for a “preventative policy” to protect national security and ensure Muslims remained a “marginal minority”.
But Dr Rubenstein rejected Professor Israeli's "implication that the Muslim community as a whole is a threat or danger". (Right, they are a blessing in disguise).
"Islamist extremism is a genuine and serious global problem, but it is completely wrong to single out all Muslims for suspicion or negatively stereotype the Muslim community as a whole in this way." (Of course not, it's just almost every single individual, not the ENTIRE comunity).
Dr Rubenstein said AIJAC had censured Professor Israeli over the "unacceptable and unhelpful" remarks, and "will not be co-hosting any of his further appearances in Australia". (Your loss, not his, see below - if anyone knows anything about islam, he's the one).
Professor Israeli had just begun a stint as a scholar-in-residence at the Shalom Institute in Sydney, where he is teaching a course on “Understanding Islam”.
Shalom Institute CEO Hilton Immerman said that while Professor Israeli's views do not necessarily represent those of the Shalom Institute, which "rejects any form of racial stereotyping or ethnic quotas", the course would proceed. (Freedom of speech).
An author of 20 books on the Muslim, Arab and Chinese worlds, he was also scheduled to give talks in Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and New Zealand. However, Dr Rubenstein told the AJN that he was unsure whether the talks would go ahead given that AIJAC had withdrawn its support. (Perhaps they should invite and endorse a muslim cleric to explain to them how they are apes, dogs, donkeys, etc.)
In an interview with the AJN, Professor Israeli said radical Islam would not be defeated by a war of words. (Of course not, remember what it took to drive them out of Spain, or what it cost the Balkans to rid themselves of the Ottoman Empire).
“You have to infiltrate all those circles where the Muslim radicals operate, to arrest them, and to limit immigration into western countries where these Muslims, who are bent on destroying western civilisation ... to limit immigration, even students who apply to come from Islamic countries to the West,” he said.
“It serves no purpose when you have this home-grown terrorist, who has been preparing for years to blow up undergrounds in London, and all you do is lead a war of words. The war of words doesn’t help. There is a whole gamut of actions that are possible in order to check this threat of Islam.”
Citing France, where Muslims comprise about nine per cent of the population, as an example, Professor Israeli warned growing Muslim communities could change the political, economic, and cultural fabric of a country. (And how is this not true? Have you not heard of Ilan Halimi? and how his vile murderers appear to have been connected to the Hamas?)
“You have to adopt some kind of preventative policy. In order not to get there, limit the immigration and therefore you keep them a marginal minority, which will be a nuisance, but cannot pose a threat to the demographic and security aspects of a country.”
But Islamic Council of Victoria director Waleed Aly branded the comments “ill-advised and foolish” and said Professor Israeli didn’t understand Australia. (Perhaps, I dare say he understands a thing or two about islam).
“It is clearly possible in the current environment to say things about Muslims that you simply cannot say about anyone else,” Aly said. (Really? when muslims take to the streets and threaten to behead everybody who offends them, their prophet, their god, their quran, their religion, their this and that and the other thing? When they riot and burn flags?)
“The fundamental problem at the heart of this is that he seems to be suggesting that increased marginalisation of Muslim populations will somehow produce something other than mutual resentment. It should be obvious to anyone really that it’s doomed to failure.”
Officially, there are fewer than 300,000 Muslims in Australia according to the 2001 Census, but Islamic community officials estimate the actual number to be at least 500,000 – about 2.5 per cent of the population.
“Even though it’s so low, they are so vocal, and they make so much noise,” Professor Israeli said. “And therefore the situation has to be checked before they increase their numbers, because don’t forget in your immediate proximity dwells the largest or most populous Islamic country in the world [Indonesia], and by necessity, there is demographic pressure from there to channel the surplus of populations to wherever it’s possible.“
And one of the big possibilities is Australia, so they will continue to come legally, or illegally, and settle here, and when they get to the rate of the 10 per cent like in France, then you will see life will become untenable.”He said France might already be at the “point of no return”. (Unfortunately, France is not the only one).
“Then they control whole sections of the economy, there are areas in France where you cannot be elected to Parliament without the support of the Muslims and so on. And therefore, by increasing their numbers they start to have an impact on the social, economic, political and cultural nature of the country.” (There are areas in France where the police are afraid to go in).
He warned that radical Muslims would find it easier to “melt” into the community and plan terrorist acts without scrutiny from authorities if the growth of Australia’s Muslim population was allowed to continue.
“You will have then large concentrations of Muslims, so it’s not thousands, it will be millions, and when they become millions it’s a big mass where individual Muslims, including terrorists, can melt, and then go look for them. (Especially when they wear a burqa).
“In England they already have that problem, they cannot locate them, they cannot sort them out from the general population, and sometimes you have to impose a curfew on a whole area to catch one or two or three terrorists, and by doing that you do an injustice to an entire population, and then they start complaining that they are discriminated against.”
Immigrant Muslims had a reputation for manipulating the values of their adopted countries to suit their own ends, he said.
“And that’s why Islam has become feared in western countries, which are open, democratic, and tolerant of others. And Muslim populations, which are very often minorities, very often abuse that hospitality and use democracy, openness and tolerance to their benefit, to spread their faith and to intimidate their hosts, and very often, to impose their standards and values upon them.”

(Sure, just take a look at this little baby):

Western Values in Danger
The goal of militant and imperialist Islam is absolute grandiose and global. The first step to world supremacy is to turn Europe into a Eurabia. The methods are not by armies, but combinations of oil, emigration, fertility, exploitation of tolerance and democracy, spread of fear, uninhibited terrorism, and millenial patience.
So far, Europe has been asleep. A confused continent, without a gathering purpose, and without sustainable integration policies, is at a loss what to do.
The Euro-Arab “bridge-building measures” are self-deceiving, as long as there is only one-way traffic on the bridge.
The author maintains the United States the only power in the world that may secure the world’s free nations. He is discussing the growing anti-Americanism in Europe, a phenomenon evolving despite America’s role as a guaranteeing force for democracy and freedom. Anti-American sleepwalkers do not see that if the American way goes down the drain, Europe will follow.
Hallgrim Berg attacks international leftism, which is constantly marketing twisted stereotypes of America, and is also criticizing the feebleness of European politicians, particularly France, where hypocrisy is developed into mastery.
Challenged by the most comprising and hard-core totalitarianism the world has seen, the only hope for Western democracy, culture, and our way of living is a more confident cooperation and pooling of resources among European nations and the United States.
About the author: Hallgrim Berg (61); Ph.D. in modern history from the University of Oslo; Member of Norway’s Parliament (1981- 97); Main Spokesman for the Conservative Party in matters of Culture and Media; Chairman of the European Democrat Group at the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly in Strasbourg (1992-98); self-employed businessman in his native Hallingdal Valley; free-lance writer and entertainer in fields of folklore, music and story-telling.)

4,000 rockets or so

You weren't really supposed to see these pictures, although they were published by the MSM, not on the front pages though. As a friend of mine from Europe said - "We only care about what happens to civilians," (English translation - what you war criminal Zionists do to innocent Lebanese or Palestinians, as per case). Well, I guess that makes Israel a huge military compound, devoid of civilians and civilian infrastructures. I never thought trees and forests were part of the military. Lucky me, I get to learn something new every day, grace a la presse and my fully indoctrinated European "friends".

The 5000 rockets that landed in Israel during just 34 days in the summer of 2006 caused terrible damage: they killed and maimed, damaged homes, roads, industries and animal farms, disrupted the life in Northern Israel, displaced several hundred thousand people, while over 1 million civilians had to spend the better part of the summer in bomb shelters. The forests in Northern Israel were not spared. These forests did not occur naturally. They were painstakingly planted, sapling by sapling, and carefully tended by The Jewish National Fund and volunteers. Even when the fires were put out, the soil kept on smouldering. It appears that these once beautiful forests will take 50 years to recover. Due to the daily rocket barrages firefighter brigades from all over Israel concentrated in the North in order to help the local firefighters. New York firefighters volunteered to serve in the Jerusalem area in their place. Heartfelt thanks, guys. We love you.

End the "End Israeli Apartheid" Farce

While the civilized world was busy celebrating Mardi Gras, the Venice Carnival, the Rio de Janeiro Carnaval, the carnival parades in Germany, heart bleeding, brainwashed academics and uneducated but enthusiastic useful idiots (I sometimes wonder why useful? why not just plain idiots?) in such distinguished cosmopolitan locations as Oxford, Toronto and New York, indulged in unrestrained vitriolic antisemitic Israel-bashing hatefests. I will not post any links, they are simply not worth the trouble.
The guest speakers, as one might guess, are our own Arab MK's (fifth columnists!!!) who are invited year after year to "expose Israeli genocidal policies" and "debunk Israeli democracy". They do that with impunity, I mean return and rant year after year. What does this make of their allegations of genocide? I mean genocide reads mass killings in my book. If Israel was indeed genocidal, it would obviously start with those trying to expose these crimes. I mean we are not exactly famous for being the village idiot. Or are we? With all those Nobel prizes under our belts? And where does that leave our non-existent democracy? In a non-democratic state would these fat-assed traitors (I mean take a look at Arafat's ex-advisor, Ahmad Tibi, yes Doctor of Medicine from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the despicable Azmi Bishara who travels to Syria every other week to suck up to Assadboy and to sell, nay, donate military and state secrets he may be privy to as a member of the Israeli parliament) ever make it home from the airport after delivering a bloodthirsty speech accusing his own country of the most abominable crimes? And I mean year after year? I guess this kind of behavior is tolerated only in non-democratic genocidal Israel. And these pathetic excuses for Israeli Arabs (I guess I should include Zahalka here, please note his Ph.D. in Pharmacy from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem - I guess he shares his chemistry skills - read explosive materials expertise - with his friends from the Fatah and Hamas) are Israeli citizens enjoying not only the inflated salaries of our MK's in general, but also generous National Insurance handouts. Why, Mr. Bishara even needed an urgent kidney transplant, or gone to heaven he would have, and guess what. For this noble task he chose the apes, dogs and pigs dressed up as Jewish doctors in an Israeli hospital (obviously built over a previous Arab village that had been bulldozed into oblivion by the IDF). Why, Azmi, baby, Germany not good enough for you? How about Syria? Egypt? Jordan? Why trust war criminal Israeli (Allah forbid) Jewish doctors with your precious earthly body? The thought that they might seize the opportunity to dispatch you to the right of the prophet (ooops, you are a Christian, aren't you?), well then, to the right of your heavenly father, never crossed your lecturing and researching mind? I mean you never thought someone in Israel might wish to pay you back for never missing an opportunity to besmirch your state and country in the vilest possible way and to call for Arab and international support for the Palestinian struggle. Strange genocidal policies, strange non-democratic practices at work in Israel. I believe you are free to relinquish your citizenship and privileges and move to Gaza. Or Ramallah or Jenin. Or Syria, Lebanon, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran, for all I care. But wait, dummkopf, don't you know that under islamic law you are a dhimmie? "Convert to islam, pay that stupid tax, whatever they call it, or die, infidel!" That's why you'd rather stay in Israel and commute to Syria. 'Cause if you moved to Syria and badmouthed the regime or the military (not that there is anything to complain about in that perfect little state) or the local Baby Doc, well, I guess you'd be feeding the fish or the lions or the hyenas. While still alive. That goes for all of these clowns, who forget that their oral orifice is not their anus (at least Tibi should know what that is, being a gynecologist) and should refrain from letting crap passing their lips (at least on its way out).
Talking about biting the hand that feeds.

Enough of hate speech. And it isn't even hate, more like anger and contempt at our laws and judiciary system turning a blind eye to such severe transgressions: colluding with the enemy while at war, inciting violence against your own armed forces (IDF is there to protect all Israelis, even traitors), and generally working to dismantle your own state - I mean you do not want a change of government, you want the end of the "Zionist regime", i.e. you want to be Judenrein. And that is in complete contradiction to the UN resolution recognizing the formation of Israel as a JEWISH STATE. Not a binational state, A JEWISH STATE with an Arab MINORITY. You can have your Fallasteen in Gaza - there, no more Jews in Gaza since the pullout. Plus some hefty West Bank chunks. There is your Arab state, your Palestine. The UN provided there could be a Jewish minority in your Arab state, but take my word for it, we shall spare you the discomfort. Not to mention that by our our mere pig/ape/dog presence/breath we might pollute your pure environment. So why not move to Gaza already and work to make it better? Or at least inhabitable? Free of tribal rivalry and frantic bloodshed?
Alternatively you want the Jews for slaves, dhimmies. Please do hold your breaths, though! Oxygen is becoming a rare commodity what with the global warming and all that.

Back to Apartheid now. Well, this is what I call Apartheid (courtesy of lgf):


And this is the Jordanian older brother (in Hebrew and Arabic), with an explicit warning for Israeli vehicles:
The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
THIS ROAD IS CLOSED.
It is a Jordanian road. Any (Israili) car travelling on this road will be burned (or will be shot at. I can't be sure, the Hebrew here is a bit odd and my Arabic is practically non-existent).
(December 3, 1950, I believe following the 1949 armistice.) How about this for trying to keep your neighbor's car out of harm's way (well, road in this case)?

Another day, another peace offering

Way to go, Israeli security forces! May the Force be with you!

Yeah, peace... or just talks, Condi, Abu-Mazen, Olmert, Abdallah... been there, seen that, done that already. Over and over again. But the terrorists still have their own agenda and time-table. And like President Bush said, the terrorists need to succeed only once, we have to succeed every time.

This is the scene of the bloody attack perpetrated by the Japanese terrorist Kozo Okomoto at the Lod Airport in 1972. Airport security has never been the same since. Other than that, plus ca change, plus ca reste la meme chose...

October 25, 1956 - Fadayoun hordes were trying to infiltrate Israeli borders. Sometimes they succeeded. Not in this case, though. This is the body of terrorist intercepted on the Gaza (of all places!) border. An Israeli patrol spotted him and shot him.

Somehow one can't think of terrorism as sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you. This is one bear one has to get every single time.

Surprise, surprise

KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban fighters used children as human shields to flee heavy fighting this week during an operation by foreign and Afghan forces to clear rebels from around a key hydrolectric dam, NATO said on Wednesday.
The Taliban have used human shields before, but never children, local residents say.
The fighting occurred during Operation Kryptonite on Monday, an offensive to clear insurgents from the Kajaki Dam area in southern Helmand province to allow repairs to its power plants and the installation of extra capacity.
"During this action ... Taliban extremists resorted to the use of human shields. Specifically, using local Afghan children to cover as they escaped out of the area," Colonel Tom Collins, a spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) told reporters in Kabul.
NATO and foreign forces ran into heavy small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire during the clash, but suffered no casualties, Collins said.
The fighting occurred in an area where 700 mainly foreign fighters, including Chechens, Pakistanis and Uzbeks, arrived from Pakistan this week to reinforce Taliban guerrillas targeting the dam, according to local officials.
Earler on Wednesday, NATO said it had killed a Taliban leader in a pre-dawn airstrike between the dam and the nearby town of Musa Qala, to the west, which the rebels have held for 13 days.
NATO said there were no civilian casualties, but local tribal leader Haji Sultan said several villagers were killed.
Helmand Governor Asadullah Wafa would not comment.
The Kajaki dam has seen major fighting in recent weeks between the Taliban and NATO forces, mainly British and Dutch.
NATO-led forces have been conducting operations in the area for several months to allow reconstruction on the dam and the power transmission lines to boost output, after fighting halted repair and development work last year.
The Taliban cannot destroy the dam, which would also flood a large area of the Helmand Valley, but its tactics are aimed at making it too unsafe for work to go ahead.
On Tuesday, two Afghan army officers and a police officer were killed in a joint attack with NATO forces on a bomb-making operation in southern Uruzgan province, just to the north of Musa Qala and Kajaki.
Ten suspected insurgents were captured in the operation, NATO said in a statement.

Well, they could have fooled me. I mean for terror groups in our part of the world (including the hezbollah) using human shields, even children, is not a problem. They even dress up as women emerging from mosques when the IDF hunts them down. Except the world does not believe our troops. But I guess NATO enjoys more credibility around the world. In any case, I would have thought that those who insist that they are not terrorists but freedom fighters would be more honorable about how they fight. I was wrong. They are cowardly scum, and should be dealt with as such. Liars on top of that, as well.