The Gospel of Azmi

(Azmi Bizbullah, courtesy of Ma'ariv).

About the South Lebanon Army – It is inconceivable that traitors and mercenaries be allowed to live amongst us. (October 5, 1999)
About Hezbollah – Hezbollah is a brave national movement that will teach Israel a lesson. It has become a pilot force in the Arab world and it is willing to sacrifice itself for the cause. (February 19, 1999 and June 27, 2000).
About the State of Israel - I am not against the entire Israel becoming Palestine. The Israelis immigrated to us, we did not emigrate to them. (October 14, 2000, interview with Austrian weekly).
About the democratic state – Israel is the greatest robber of the century … Give us back Palestine and take back your democracy. We, the Arabs, are not interested. (December 2005).
According to Ma'ariv, April 10, 2007 (Itamar Enbari), there are several Jewish Israelis in Bishara's constituency among them: translator Yael Lerer, former assistant to Azmi, attorney Leah Tsemel and her husband, Michael Warshawski. I am not surprised that some "people" even consider him their brother. I find this relieving, I now know who my enemies are, thanks to Yisrael Medad.
While crying foul and oppression/suppression he has amassed a substantial fortune (now we know he has been receiving thousands of dollars from Hezbollah and from an undisclosed country), and has managed to close several real estate transactions in the form of houses/mansions in Haifa and Jerusalem, along with securing ownership of his parental house in Nazareth – which is perfectly alright with me: everybody should be entitled to inherit their parents and buy property. According to eye witness reports, he made quite an entrance when he attended his party's (Balad) first post-election gathering in 1996 – in a Benz!!! Which is quite alright with me again – everybody should have access to luxury cars. How many Israeli Arabs can afford several mansions and one luxury automobile? How many Israeli Jews?
I suppose that he is not troubled by any qualms at the thought of several of his Arab brethren (Christian, Muslim and Druze) having been killed in vicious rocket attacks. The cries of the dead and wounded were probably drowned by the sweet sound of counting hundreds of thousands of dollars. There's Judas Iscariot for you! (Azmi is a proud Christian).
By the way, Carl in Jerusalem has a comprehensive analysis of Azmi's secret agent activities.
In any case, some Arab commentators hold Azmi in great admiration, such as Nawaf Atamna who posted on his internet site Machsom (Checkpoint): "Never has the Israeli parliament seen a man of such intellectual prowess, such high moral standards, such sharp insight as MK Azmi Bishara."
I say aye. Alongside the "oldies but goldies" above, here is one more unforgettable example of Azmi's power of expression. Please note the depth of analysis, the ancient wisdom and higher intelligence quality that left his opponent speechless:
On May 12, 2005, during a heated debate in the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice committee over an intended bill to sack such MK's who just can't stay away from terror organizations, Likud MK Gilad Erdan (in favor of the legislation) turned to Azmi (fervent opponent by nature and definition) and said: "Go find a good job in Syria." Azmi, with his quick grasp of the words and unique talent of volleying lethal retorts, not to mention aristocratic manners and elegance, shouted at the top of his lungs: "You go fuck yourself, ya piece of garbage!" See? Go find, go fuck…

Ben Caspit (Ma'ariv, dang, those dates again, but I guess last Friday's edition):

Most people agree that Azmi Bishara won't return to Israel. And why should he? Several years ago he started "living la dolce vita". The great, articulate "ideologist" enjoyed life à la Saudi prince: business class flights around the world, VIP lounge receptions, house guest in Arab world leaders palaces, popular rally speaker. Lots of money must have gone into funding all that.

Were he to return to Israel, he would have to enjoy the good life of a prison cell, his name highly

unlikely to appear on the next prisoner exchange list, nor the one after that. That's why Azmi Bishara will not return to Israel, or so his friends will have us know. This is how a brave man runs for his life. The parliamentary career of this great revolutionary comes to an end under suspicion of bribery. The great warrior became a fugitive criminal overnight. The Shabak was aware of his intention to flee the country, yet did not stand in his way. Although weeks ago some suggested that his passport be revoked, Azmi was allowed to travel unhindered.

The first police investigation gave him a hint into what would follow, therefore he packed his bags and boarded the first plane out of Israel only to resurface on Al-Jazeera, as expected. He will keep on bothering us for some time courtesy of Arab TV stations. On the other hand, his image as a freedom fighter (fucker, go find, go fuck, go fight, go fuck), social justice advocate, great socio-political and ideological reformer would have been greatly amplified by the wall-to-wall media coverage of the circus act of his trial (had there ever been one). Now, it appears that Azmi was none of the above (except perhaps fucker).

Let us be clear on this point: investigating ex-MK Bishara is not aiming to investigate the entire Israeli Arab sector. Not even Balad (shame, Zahalka advocates kidnapping IDF troops, plus the Balad trio - Bishara, Zahalka and Wassil travelled to Beirut after the second Lebanon war to express their support for Hezbollah). The police are investigating the doings of one person alone. And rightly so, because the large majority of Israeli Arabs (except the rapists and those who crash their vehicles into ours with the sole purpose of killing us or at least maiming us for life) are not suspected of espionage or money-laundering. The Arab minority in Israel is a lot better than its leaders combined (I largely agree).

...

On the rare occasions when he graced the Knesset with his presence, Bishara's eyes were full of contempt for everything this institution stands for, contempt for the state that generously covered his expenses contempt for his Zionist colleagues, contempt for most of the issues on the agenda. He kept on spitting into the very well he himself was drinking from. And nothing stopped him from fighting like a cornered panther for a seat in the "Zionist parliament". He craved the honors, the attention, the spotlight and mostly the immunity. He never intended to relinquish any of those. Except that now that his monkey business has been discovered, it suddenly dawns on him that perhaps this might be a good time to retire. To do what? Since we know that he has already taken very good care of his own house, he will probably concentrate on ruining our own. Quite adroitly.

There were more sides to his activities. Such as performing discreet missions for the Israeli government, such as carrying Ehud Barak's messages to president Assad, e.g., while the napkin carrying Danny Yatom's proposed borders for Israel retreat from the Golan Heights earned him the "collaborationist" status.

He loathed the media covering that. Balad's internet site did what was expected in such situation: blamed the press. But we loved it. So Azmi traveled to Damascus, met with Assad and presented Barak's plan and how the depth of the redeployment. But as far as he himself was concerned, the world should have remained ignorant. That was worse than spying for the enemy during war: that was colluding with the enemy during peace. Bishara was very careful in picking his enemies, according to his ideology or financial needs at any given time.

All of this is over now. In any normal country this man would not have been allowed a parliamentary seat. Except that six years ago the Supreme Court Justices ruled - seven to four - that he should not be demoted , in other words they came up with a new and original formula on how to turn shit into gold - the risk of Bishara's ideas materializing was so low that he should be allowed to maintain his Knesset seat whence he would be allowed to go on "preaching". This was the lame rationale behind their decision, despite the fact the both Talia Sasson (State Attorney) and Elyakim Rubinstein (Attorney General) recommended outlawing Balad. Translated into English - imagine that the Americans would allow Al-Qaeda supporters Congress seats on the assumption that "the risk of Al-Qaeda's aspirations of destroying the USA is not high enough". In the meantime we have discovered that Bishara's aspirations had a higher chance of materializing than the Supreme court had initially assessed. And we have to pay the price.

And now for a bit of Hebrew:

Az mi boged? (? אז מי בוגד) - so who is a traitor?

Azmi boged (עזמי בוגד) - Azmi is a traitor.

Roni's Victory

Five years ago, Border Police Roni Gozlan was badly wounded in the terrorist bombing at the French Hill Junction in Jerusalem. He became a national hero, much like Natan Sandaka (and here). Unfortunately, so many other brave young men, such as Tomer Mordechai were not so lucky.
The terrorist blew himself up killing six people and injuring 45. Gozlan lost both his legs in the attack, but managed to overcome his physical and mental trauma. He has now decided to make a fresh start: he has just asked his young girlfriend Mali to marry him. He will "break the glass" on June 19th, exactly five years after the deadly attack that would have been a lot deadlier had Roni not blocked the terrorist with his own body. "There was no doubt in my mind that this happiest event in my life had to be celebrated on my second birthday, the day the gift of life was given to me a second time."

On June 19th 2002, Cpl. Roni (Aharon) Gozlan of the Jerusalem Border Police became a national hero. It was 7 p.m. Roni and his fellow policemen were returning from a well-deserved vacation in Eilat. As he got off the bus at the French Hill bus-stop, another young man got out of a white Mercedes that continued on its way to Ramallah. The young man walked along the concrete wall to escape the watchful eyes of the Israeli soldiers, but started running like crazy as he approached the bus-stop (also a hitchhike post) packed with commuters. Roni spotted him. Without a second thought he ran towards the attacker to intercept him. The terrorist detonated the bomb as Roni came close to him. Seven people died in the explosion, 45 were injured. Roni, whose heroism saved the lives of many, lost both legs in the attack, along with his normal life. "I stood 1.84 m tall and had no problem climbing and jumping on Old City rooftops".
Roni remembers every single detail of the event that turned his life around forever. "My fellow officers and I were on our way back from a short vacation in Eilat, where we were supposed to get away from the routine of deadly suicide bombings that had shaken Jerusalem during the second intifadah. But you can never get away for real, so news of the deadly attack on bus no.32 reached us even in Eilat. As a policeman, I was there at the scene of almost every attack, and as soon as I heard the news I felt that my vacation was over and that I had to get back to Jerusalem without delay, but our CO decided that we should stay one more day. As we approached Jerusalem, I phoned my brother to come pick me up at the French Hill bus-stop. When I got off the bus I spotted this very suspicious looking young man – I remember him to this very day: dark oriental type, with a very large bag on his back, dressed in a red shirt and blue-grey jeans. I was puzzled by the fact that he was holding his cell-phone upside down – the antenna was pointing downwards. He was only pretending to be talking on the phone."
Roni's well-trained policeman's instincts took over and he switched to anti-terror mode: "In moments like these you stop thinking about your own life. I had trained and drilled for this situation so I was able to act on instinct. I grabbed for my pouch to get my gun. But there was no time for that. I had to act quickly. I forget if I managed to shout "terrorist" – there was no time to think or organize some kind of defense. I stormed him, pinned him to the wall, and kicked him hard in the back."
At that very moment the terrorist detonated the charge and blew himself to pieces. The blast was so powerful that Roni was sent flying through the air and landed hard on the sidewalk. "The quiet – whoever was involved in a terrorist bombing knows what kind of quiet I am talking about – is practically impossible to describe. Even in the quietest room one cannot hear that kind of absolute silence. I looked down and saw my left leg was badly mangled. My right leg was hanging on a piece of tissue. I looked to the left and saw an elderly lady with blood gushing out of her neck arteries. Instinctively I stretched out my hand and stopped the bleeding. With the other hand I improvised some kind of tourniquet for my leg."
Rescue teams rushed to the scene, as did Roni's two brothers – Motti, his twin, who serves with the Jerusalem police force, and Avi, a firefighter from a nearby station. Next Roni remembers the ambulance ride to the hospital: "I was arguing with the ambulance doctor whether I needed a catheter or not." As a trained combat medic, Roni knew by then that his legs were lost. For a week and a half he lay unconscious, swinging between life and death. When he regained consciousness, he was gazing at an entirely different world.
Last week he decided to write a new chapter in his life – he proposed to Mali, his girlfriend for the past five years: "When I proposed to Mali I already knew that this happiest day of my life would have to be celebrated on June 19th, my second birthday. Five years to the day I conquered death and the gift of life was bestowed on me for the second time. It's like coming full circle for me."
Roni went through a very long, tedious and frustrating rehab period. He had to take huge amounts of painkillers and other medication. In the beginning his doctors were certain that they could save his legs. After one year and eight months of hospitalization, however, his doctors advised him to consider amputation because he had developed RSD (a neurological complication) and because he was confined to a wheelchair anyway.
"From the scene of the terrorist attack I was taken straight to Hadassah Mount Scopus hospital, and then I was transferred to Tel-Hashomer, where I am still being treated. The rehab process throughout all this time has been long and difficult. I have been through a physical and mental earthquake. Nothing in my life is what it used to be. I am sure I would not have made it without Mali, my parents and my friends to support me."
Roni is a 34-year-old divorced father of four. Still a combat soldier at heart, he decided not to give in or up. Before consenting to the surgery that would take away his legs, he consulted specialists in Israel and abroad: "I didn't want to leave any stone unturned. I even traveled to the US. Of the 12 specialists I consulted, 11 recommended amputation. The only doctor who was against amputation told me that I would have to be on painkillers for the rest of my life. I did not want to become addicted."
Even before his return to Israel, Roni notified the Hadassah Ein-Karem hospital that he had decided to go ahead with the surgery – a complex 14-hour long procedure. "People don’t really know what it's like to live without one's legs. I slipped deep into depression and lost the will to live. I began crying and mourning and feeling sorry for myself."
Mali, the driving force behind Roni's rehabilitation, was only 18 years old at the time of the attack. She has stood by him since the very first day, pushing and urging him to fight hard for his recovery. She pulled him out of his depression and practically forced him to enroll in the amputee rehabilitation program. The riding lessons have become an enjoyable part of Roni's life. He is less happy with his behind-the-desk-job he is doing for the police. He is even less happy when bureaucracy raises its ugly head between him and his rights for which he paid a terrible price (this is one of the cruelest faults of Israeli law, and the sooner it is solved, the better. Take for instance a very dear friend of mine, whose husband sustained a severe penetrating head injury in the 32 bus bombing, that's right, the day before Roni lost his legs. The National Insurance Institute insensitive clerk was reluctant to return his taxi fares - "What's his problem? Why can't he take the bus? - until my friend retorted - Well, you see, his problem is that he was blown up in a bloody bus and there's still a piece of shrapnel stuck in his brain, that's why he can't take the bus!" By the way, my friend's husband is doing not so bad, considering, he has returned to his former job - part time - and several months ago this beautiful couple and their sons were blessed with their first little girl.)
Bittersweet victory - we choose life!

(excerpts from Ma'ariv, February 23, 2007, Yif'at Reuven)

I love you, Chas Newkey Burden, simply love you!

Not in my name
British journalists' union boycott motion reflects deep animosity towards Israel
Chas Newkey Burden
Published: 04.19.07, 09:41 / Israel Opinion

The British public’s perception of journalists has sunk so low that when I am asked in social situations what my job is, I am sometimes tempted to pretend I am part of a more respected profession – like drug trafficking. I exaggerate, of course, but only a little. Most people view journalists as immoral liars who would sell our own grandmothers for a front-page scoop. I am an altogether softer writer, so when members of my profession publish sensationalist or intrusive stories, I don’t sit and flog myself on their behalf.
However, when the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) passed a motion at its annual meeting to boycott Israel, I hung my head in utter shame and despair - despite the fact that I am no longer an NUJ member. Those emotions of shame and despair were not joined by shock, though, because the British media has long been absorbed by a blind hatred of Israel. Newspapers like The Independent and The Guardian print editorials that are so biased and distorted that Osama Bin Laden would probably blush at them. The BBC refuses to describe suicide bombers who blow up buses full of schoolchildren as "terrorists" and one of its correspondents told a Hamas rally that he and his colleagues were “waging the campaign shoulder-to-shoulder with the Palestinian people”.
I visited Israel for the first time last year to research some articles about tourism there. Within hours of my return I received a call from a journalist acquaintance who asked me with genuine shock: “What’s all this about you going to Israel?” He said that a mutual journalist acquaintance of ours was “absolutely disgusted” with me for going there and that he hoped I was “going to put the boot in” when I wrote my articles.
These were not close acquaintances, I hadn’t even spoken to one of them for nearly nine years and it must have taken them some digging around to find my telephone number. They obviously thought it was worth the trouble to have a dig at a writer who was friendly to Israel. Apparently the “absolutely disgusted” man – a weekly columnist on a high-profile magazine - has since tried to get an article published that claims that Tony Blair murdered Yasser Arafat.

'Those suicide bombers have got guts'
The evening after my return from Israel, I met up with some journalists for some drinks in the West End of London. I was again abused for my trip. Their hatred of Israel was matched only by their adoration of the Palestinians. One of them gushed: “Boy, those suicide bombers have got guts. I wish more people in the world had their courage.” Another of them erupted when I told him that most people in Israel wanted a peaceful settlement to the conflict. “So why,” he asked, “did they murder their most peaceful Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?”
Well, I guess if you’re going to get your facts wrong you might as well get them spectacularly wrong – I wonder if anyone else has ever got Netanyahu confused with Yitzhak Rabin?
I was also warned not to get any ideas about trying to get a positive account of my trip published. In the end I did manage just that but only after an unprecedented, almost sentence-by-sentence dissection of my article by the commissioning editor during the course of which I had to repeatedly remind him that there is such a thing as an Israeli Arab and that not everyone in Israel is an Orthodox Jew. Both facts seemed to come as huge shocks to him. I’ve no doubt that if I had written on "The Hidden Wonders of Tehran" or "The Joy Of Jeddah," I’d have had a much easier ride.
The editor of another magazine once told me I was not allowed to write that Yasser Arafat turned down Ehud Barak’s offer at Camp David in 2000. I asked why and he replied “because of a need for balance.” I pointed out that nobody, including Arafat, has ever disputed that he rejected Barak’s offer and the editor replied: “Well, I don’t know about that but you still can’t write it.” The article in question was an "opinion" piece, so taking sides was exactly the brief – as long as it was not Israel’s side, apparently.
The same magazine had happily published articles accusing Israel of “war crimes” and carried advertising accusing Israel of apartheid policies. The need for balance is relative, it seems.
There was certainly nothing balanced about the NUJ boycott motion. The factual errors in the motion’s wording are clear: For instance they seem not to have noticed that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. It’s a contemptible motion. There’s a phrase that became popular in Britain before the run-up to the war in Iraq. I’ve never liked this phrase because to me it reflects the selfishness of the anti-war lobby. However, in the aftermath of the NUJ motion it sums up perfectly how I feel about the boycott: Not in my name.

And this is not the only article signed by Mr. Burden (sweet Burden, light Burden). He has a very poignant piece about British intellectuals, that I found a bit unsettling, I must confess. I was not surprised, just unsettled by the sheer scale of the phenomenon, which I would not call stupidity or blindness, but rather antisemitism in disguise - the cause of the Palestinians is a worthy cause because Israel can be blamed in the process.


'My Name is Rachel Corrie'
Last uploaded : Friday 5th May 2006 at 19:52
Contributed by : Chas Newkey-Burden
They say a picture is worth a thousand words but sometimes a picture can be worth far more than that. There are more than a thousand words in the play My Name Is Rachel Corrie, about the US activist who accidentally died during an anti-Israel protest in Gaza in 2003. But none of them shed light on the now canonised Corrie as much as a photograph taken of her by the Associated Press a month before her death.
Corrie was snapped burning an American flag and whipping up the crowd at a pro-Hamas rally. This photograph – of which there is no mention in the play – doesn’t just contradict the image of Corrie being saintly and peace-loving, it also raises the question of why an educated, western girl would want to fall in line with an organisation that opposes every core value – freedom, fairness, women’s rights - she claims to hold dear?
Corrie is far from alone. The audience at a recent performance of the play in London’s West End was littered with white, English men and women wearing keffiyeh scarves. Moving and working as I do in liberal, literary circles, I know all about these keffiyeh-wearing types. They consider themselves left-wing or liberal minded. They hold impeccable views on social fairness, the environment and women’s rights. They believe in democracy. They wear Make Poverty History wristbands. They nod sagely at Guardian editorials about poverty in Africa while sipping fair trade lattes.
But raise, if you dare, the Middle East question in front of them and stand back in shock as their spiteful, hateful side comes rushing to the surface. These people who say they back the underdog, believe in democracy, multiculturalism and fairness will spit blood against Israel – the only country in the region that represents those values. They are what I call Palestinian groupies.
I believe these groupies, like the little boys who play army in playgrounds across England, don’t look the other way on the topic of Palestinian terrorism, they seem – sorry to say – almost turned on by it. You surely can’t, after all, overlook something as big as the blowing up of buses or pizza parlours. There is no ‘bigger picture’ regarding people who do that. And why would you appropriate the uniform of the man who backed all that terrorism unless you actively had a thing for him?
Even when the bloodshed is on their doorstep, they remain as blindly loyal as a battered wife who won’t give up on the man who hurts her. These groupies were the ones who on the day London’s transport system was bombed by Islamic terrorists stomped around shouting “I hate Tony Blair” and insisting “We brought it on ourselves”. They also believe, as they sit in their comfortable Western homes, that the whole conflict is about them. My name is Rachel Corrie. Not in my name. Thousands of people are dying but it’s all about me.
Of course, the love is unrequited. When Corrie died, Hamas openly welcomed her death. These poisonous people opposed every core value she held dear in life, then danced on her grave when she died. It is too late for Corrie to see the light, but we would do well to stop idolising her. And all the other Palestinian groupies really should stop lining up to get into bed with these men that hate them.
Chas Newkey-Burden writes for a range of magazines and newspapers including The Big Issue, Attitude and The Mail On Sunday. His book, 'The Reduced History Of Britain,' was published in September 2006.

Now take a look at these figures and tell me that there is something else behind the support for the Palestinian cause, not just hypocrisy hiding behind hatred against the Jews and the Jewish state:

Ranking of 68 Most Lethal Conflicts (10.000 victims or more) after 1950
(and by the way, on the eve of our 59th Independence Day we mourned the 22,305 soldiers dead since 1860).

1 - 40.000.000 Red China 1949-1976 (outright killing, man made famine, Gulag)
2 - 10.000.000 - Late Stalinism 1950-1953; Post-Stalinism 1953-1987 (mostly Gulag)
3 - 4.000.000 - Ethiopia 1962-1992: Communists, artificial hunger, genocides
4 - 3.800.000 - Zaire (Congo-Kinshasa): 1967/68; 1977/78; 1992-1995; 1998-to date
5 - 2.800.000 - Korean war 1950-153
6 - 1.900.000 - Sudan 1955-1972; 1983-2006 (civil wars, genocides)
7 - 1.870.000 - Cambodia: Khmer Rouge 1975-1979; civil war 1978-1991
8 - 1.800.000 - Vietnam War 1954-1975 (more than 90% Vietnamese, Allies)
9 - 1.800.000 - Afghanistan, Soviet and internecine killings, Taliban 1980-2001
10 - 1.250.000 - West-Pakistan massacres in East Pakistan (Bangla Desh 1971)
11 - 1.100.000 - Nigeria 1966-1979 (Biafra); 1993 – to date
12 - 1.100.000 - Mozambique 1964-70 (30.000) and after retreat of Portugal 1976-1992
13 - 1.000.000 - Iran-Iraq-War 1980-1988
14 - 900.000 - Rwanda genocide 1994
15 - 875.000 - Algeria/France 1954-62 (675.000); Islamists/Government 1991-2006
16 - 850.000 - Uganda 1971-1979; 1981-1985; 1994 - to date
17 - 650.000 - Indonesia/Marxists 1965-1966 (450.000); East Timor, Papua, Aceh etc. 1969 -
to date.
18 - 580.000 - Angola 1961-1972 (80.000); after Portugal’s retreat (1972-2002)
19 - 500.000 - Brazil against its native Indians up to 1999
20 - 430.000 - Vietnam after war end in 1975 (own people; boat refugees)
21 - 400.000 - France/Indochina 1945-1954
22 - 400.000 - Burundi 1959-today (Tutsi/Hutu)
23 - 400.000 - Somalia 1991-2007
24 - 400.000 - North Korea up to 2006 (own people)
25 - 300.000 - Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Turkey 1980s and 1990s
26 - 300.000 - Iraq (Saddam against minorities)
27 - 240.000 - Columbia 1946-1958; 1964-to date
28 - 200.000 - Tito Regime Yugoslavia (1944-1980)
29 - 200.000 - Guatemala 1960-1996
30 - 190.000 - Laos 1975-1990
31 - 175.000 - Serbia-Bosnia-Herzegovina
32 - 150.000 - Communist Romania 1949-1989 (Marxists against own people)
33 - 150.000 - Liberia 1989-1997
34 - 140.000 - Russia against Chechnya 1994 to to date
35 - 150.000 - Lebanon (1975-1990)
36 - 140.000 - Gulf War 1990-1991 (Arabs from Iraq and Kuwait, Allies)
37 - 130.000 - Philippines 1946-1954 (10.000); 1972-today (Islamo-Marxists)
38 - 130.000 - Burma/Myanmar 1948-2006
39 - 100.000 - North Yemen 1962-1970
40 - 100.000 - Sierra Leone 1991-to date
41 - 100.000 - Albania 1945-1991
42 - 80.000 - Iran 1978-1979
43 - 75.000 - 2nd Iraq War 2003-2007 (body count)
44 - 75.000 - El Salvador 1975-1992
45 - 70.000 - Eritrea/Ethiopia 1998-2000
46 - 68.000 - Sri Lanka 1997-to date
47 - 60.000 - Zimbabwe 1966-1979; 1980-to date
48 - 60.000 - Nicaragua 1972-1991 (Marxists/natives etc.)
49 - 53.000 - Arab wars against Israel 1948-2006 without Israel-Palestine-Conflict
50 - 50.000 - Communist North Vietnam against own people 1954-1975
51 - 50.000 - Tajikistan 1992-1996 (secularists against Islamists)
52 - 50.000 - Equatorial Guinea (1969-1979)
53 - 50.000 - Peru (1980-2000)
54 - 50.000 - Guinea 1958-1984
55 - 40.000 - Chad 1982-1990
56 - 30.000 - Bulgaria 1948-1989 (Marxists against own people)
57 - 30.000 - Rhodesia (1972-1979)
58 - 30.000 - Argentina Military Junta 1976-1983
59 - 27.000 - Hungary 1948-1989 (Marxists against own people)
60 - 26.000 - Kashmir 1989-to date (Islamists)
61 - 25.000 - Jordan Arabs against Palestinian Arabs (Black September 1970-1971)
62 - 22.000 - Poland 1948-1989 (Marxists against own people)
63 - 20.000 - Syria 1982 against Islamists in Hama
64 - 20.000 - Chinese-Vietnamese war 1979
65 - 18.000 - Congo (Republic) 1997-1999
66 - 19.000 - Morocco/France (3000, 1953-1956) and against Western Sahara Arabs 1975-to date
67 - 12.000 Israel-Palestine - (4.792 from 1947-1987; 1.759 1st Intifada 1987-1991; 5.300 2nd Intifada 2000 - to date, Arabs (ca 80%, some 500 by other Arabs), Jews (ca. 20%). Supposedly mankind’s most dangerous conflict.
68 - 10.000 South Yemen civil war 1986

[All figures rounded; Brzezinski, Z., Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the Eve of the Twenty-first Century, 1993; Courtois, S., Le Livre Noir du Communism, 1997; Heinsohn, G., Lexikon der Völkermorde, 19992; G. Heinsohn, Söhne und Weltmacht, 20068, Rummel. R., Death by Government, 1994; Small, M., Singer, J.D., Resort to Arms : International and Civil Wars 1816-1980, 1982; White, M., “Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century” (2003), users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat2.htm] . Heinsohn-May-2007.

Saudi woman receives medical treatment in Jerusalem Hospital

by Efrat Zemer
Ma'ariv (this week)

Medicine can step in and bridge gaps before diplomatic ties are established and in fact even in the absence of a state of peace, or so seems to be the case of A., a 42-year-old Saudi woman who had been plagued for years by an ear condition.

She consulted the best doctors money could buy (lots of money, actually) in clinics as far away as Germany and the USA, but to no avail.

A. was diagnosed with tinnitus, a most annoying and continuous pain and ringing in the ears. When she had enough of the unsuccessful treatment she received in Germany and the US, she decided to give google a try, and she found the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem site, where she read about the successes of Dr. Zacharia Shemesh, senior ENT consultant specializing in tinnitus and about his intensive therapeutic approach. Although a possible course of treatment was so close at hand, A. quickly realized that it wouldn't be quite so easy for her to travel from Saudi Arabia to the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, Israel. She would need a great deal of paperwork and special permits.

Hospital sources confirmed yesterday (dang, I should be more careful with the dates) that "A. contacted the Hadassah Hospital Medical Tourism Department, and following tedious and secretive efforts, she was allowed to arrive in Israel via a third country - Jordan. She received the necessary treatment and is feeling much better."

Two days ago A. was discharged from hospital in very good condition and is now on her way home.

Testimony at the UN

UN-believable! UN-thinkable! The UN is really a bunch of Unwanted Nobodies, Undesirable & Nefarious. This is no longer Human Rights, this is Human Wrongs, where principles are up for auction and languages are being distorted to placate the vilest possible creatures alive today, just because they have the 30 pieces of silver to buy off un-officials. Yuck!

Human Rights Nightmare
Speech before UN Human Rights Council 4th Session23 March 2007
Delivered by Hillel Neuer, Executive Director of UN Watch

Mr. President,
Six decades ago, in the aftermath of the Nazi horrors, Eleanor Roosevelt, Réné Cassin and other eminent figures gathered here, on the banks of Lake Geneva, to reaffirm the principle of human dignity. They created the Commission on Human Rights. Today, we ask: What has become of their noble dream?
In this session we see the answer. Faced with compelling reports from around the world of torture, persecution, and violence against women, what has the Council pronounced, and what has it decided?
Nothing. Its response has been silence. Its response has been indifference. Its response has been criminal.
One might say, in Harry Truman’s words, that this has become a Do-Nothing, Good-for-Nothing Council.
But that would be inaccurate. This Council has, after all, done something.
It has enacted one resolution after another condemning one single state: Israel. In eight pronouncements- and there will be three more this session- Hamas and Hezbollah have been granted impunity. The entire rest of the world - millions upon millions of victims, in 191 countries - continue to go ignored.
So yes, this Council is doing something. And the Middle East dictators who orchestrate this campaign will tell you it is a very good thing. That they seek to protect human rights, Palestinian rights.
So too, the racist murderers and rapists of Darfur women tell us they care about the rights of Palestinian women; the occupiers of Tibet care about the occupied; and the butchers of Muslims in Chechnya care about Muslims.
But do these self-proclaimed defenders truly care about Palestinian rights?
Let us consider the past few months. More than 130 Palestinians were killed by Palestinian forces. This is three times the combined total that were the pretext for calling special sessions in July and November. Yet the champions of Palestinian rights - Ahmadinejad, Assad, Khaddafi, John Dugard - they say nothing. Little 3-year-old boy Salam Balousha and his two brothers were murdered in their car by Prime Minister Haniyeh’s troops. Why has this Council chosen silence?
Because Israel could not be blamed. Because, in truth, the dictators who run this Council couldn’t care less about Palestinians, or about any human rights.
They seek to demonize Israeli democracy, to delegitimize the Jewish state, to scapegoat the Jewish people. They also seek something else: to distort and pervert the very language and idea of human rights.
You ask: What has become of the founders’ dream? With terrible lies and moral inversion, it is being turned into a nightmare.
Thank you, Mr. President.

REPLY BY U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL PRESIDENT LUIS ALFONSO DE ALBA:
For the first time in this session I will not express thanks for that statement. I shall point out to the distinguished representative of the organization that just spoke, the distinguished representative of United Nations Watch, if you'd kindly listen to me. I am sorry that I'm not in a position to thank you for your statement. I should mention that I will not tolerate any similar statements in the Council. The way in which members of this Council were referred to, and indeed the way in which the council itself was referred to, all of this is inadmissible. In the memory of the persons that you referred to, founders of the Human Rights Commission, and for the good of human rights, I would urge you in any future statements to observe some minimum proper conduct and language. Otherwise, any statement you make in similar tones to those used today will be taken out of the records.

Watch the videotaped address right here:
http://www.unwatch.org/site/apps/nl/content2.asp?c=bdKKISNqEmG&b=1313923&ct=3698367

Now I wonder, could this Luis Alfonso de Alba be a direct or indirect descendant of the infamous Don (my foot) Fernando Alvarez de Toledo y Pimentel, third duke of Alba, alias the Iron Duke?

In 1567, Philip, who was a zealous persecutor of Protestants, sent Alba into the Netherlands at the head of an army of 12,000 men, with unlimited powers for the extirpation of heretics. When he arrived he soon showed how much he merited the confidence which his master reposed in him, and instantly erected a tribunal which soon became known to its victims as the "Blood Council," to try all persons who had been engaged in the late commotions that the rule of Philip had excited. During the six years of his governorship, thousands of people were executed. Dutch accounts refer to 18,000; while in Spanish history only a few hundred are mentioned. About 6,000 casualties can be considered as the most accurate estimate[1]. He imprisoned Lamoral, Count of Egmont and Philip de Montmorency, Count of Hoorn, the two popular leaders of the dissatisfied Dutch nobles, and had them condemned to death even though they were opposed to the Protestants.
His attempt to raise money by imposing the Spanish alcabala, a tax of 10% on all sales ("tenth penny" tax), aroused the opposition of the Catholic Netherlands themselves. The exiles from the Low Countries, who called themselves Geuzen (French gueux, "beggars"), encouraged by the general resistance to his government, fitted out a fleet of privateers, and after strengthening themselves by successful depredations, seized the town of Den Briel (Brielle). Thus Alba by his cruelty became the unwitting instrument of the future independence of the seven Dutch provinces.
On August 22, Alba, accompanied by a body of select Spanish troops, made his entry into Brussels. He immediately appointed a council to condemn without trial those suspected of heresy and rebellion. On June 1, 1568, Brussels witnessed the simultaneous decapitation of twenty-two noblemen; on 6 June followed the execution of the Counts of Egmond and Hoorne. The "Council of Blood" was the popular designation of Alba's tribunal.
The fleet of the exiles, having met the Spanish fleet, defeated it, and reduced Holland and Mons. The States-General, assembling at Dordrecht, openly declared against Alba's government, and marshalled under the banners of the prince of Orange.
Alba's preparations to oppose the gathering storm were made with his usual vigour, and he succeeded in recovering Mons, Mechelen and Zutphen, under the conduct of his son Don Fadrique. With the exception of Zeeland and Holland, he regained all the provinces; and at last his son stormed Naarden, and massacring its inhabitants, proceeded to invest the city of Haarlem, which, after standing an obstinate siege, was taken and pillaged. Their next attack was upon Alkmaar; but there they were met with such desperate resistance that they were constrained to retire.
(courtesy of wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernando_Alvarez_de_Toledo#Alba_in_the_Netherlands)

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