Friday, August 01, 2014
WSJ Republishes Op-Ed From 1968: ‘The Jews Are a Peculiar People: Things Permitted to Other Nations Are Forbidden to the Jews’
The Wall Street Journal on Thursday republished an Op-Ed, originally printed by the LA Times in 1968, by a non-Jewish winner of the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom who spoke of the condition and treatment of the Jewish people and their struggle to defend Israel.'Hamas wants Israel completely destroyed'
Written after Israel’s victory in the 1967 War, what is striking is that the challenges faced by Jews and Israel then are almost the same as today.
"There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Negroes are executed in Rhodesia. But when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one remonstrated with him. The Swedes, who are ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we did in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore and ball bearings, and serviced his troop trains to Norway.
The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources. Yet at this moment Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to American and the West in general.
I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us."
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, one of the world's most prominent fighters against radical Islam, defends Israel's right to fight Hamas, says the West is refusing to recognize the danger of growing Muslim extremism • "Netanyahu should get a Nobel Peace Prize," she says.JPost Editorial False causes
Is there any point in negotiating with Hamas? With any Muslim movement?
"You can negotiate with fellow human beings with whom you have some kind of common ground. The assumption as we negotiate is that there is fair play. The problem with negotiating with Hamas is that they have a vision, a certain kind of utopia. And for that utopia to be realized, the State of Israel must be completely destroyed. Shariah law has to be established, ideally, all over the world. You can never trust a Jew, you can never trust a Christian. That is the utopia. Women have to behave a certain way, they have to be locked up, it is very totalitarian. You can negotiate until you are as blue in the face as the American flag, but it will never yield anything on the other side.
"Everyone was upset with [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu when he said that he would not negotiate before the other side said that they recognize the existence of the State of Israel. That is a basic demand. Without that it is pointless to go to the negotiations table. It is Negotiations 101."
In Gaza recently, Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh said: “We love death like our enemies love life. We love martyrdom, the way in which [Hamas] leaders died.”Times of Israel Live Blog: PM tells Kerry ‘Hamas will pay’ as IDF hunts for soldier seized in Rafah during truce
This is the sort of rhetoric favored by the likes of Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, and Hezbollah in Lebanon. These are not organizations that can be negotiated with – unless of course one is willing to submit to a violently reactionary form of Islam. Perhaps when Hamas is defeated or severely weakened there can be talk of peace. But not before. No change in Israel policy short of the disappearance of the State of Israel will satisfy Hamas. And that is not going to happen.
IDF toll rises to 63, after 2 soldiers killed in same Rafah attack and 5 soldiers killed late Thursday; US-UN plan for 72-hour ceasefire and talks falls apart; Israel cabinet meeting Friday afternoonIDF Blog: Live Updates: IDF Soldier Suspected Kidnapped by Hamas
Following ten days of Hamas attacks against Israel and after repeated rejections of offers to deescalate the situation, the IDF started a new phase of Operation Protective Edge. A large IDF force entered the Gaza Strip. Their mission is to target Hamas’ tunnels that cross under the Israel-Gaza border and enable terrorists to infiltrate Israel and carry out attacks. The IDF intends to impair Hamas’ capability to attack Israel.
Since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge more than 2,968 rockets have been fired from Gaza at Israel.
1:30 PM: This morning, on 9:30 AM, in violation of the latest ceasefire, Hamas terrorists, including a suicide attacker, fired at our forces in southern Gaza. We suspect that Hamas kidnapped 2nd. Lt. Hadar Goldin, an IDF officer, during the exchange of fire and dragged him into a tunnel. The IDF is currently conducting extensive searches in order to locate the missing soldier. During the event, 2 IDF soldiers were killed by Hamas fire.
Why Hamas stores its weapons inside hospitals, mosques and schools
Wall Street Journal reporter Nick Casey tweeted an image of a Hamas spokesman giving an interview at a Gaza hospital. With the shelling, “You have to wonder … how patients at Shifa hospital feel as Hamas uses it as a safe place to see media.” The tweet was later deleted.Melanie Phillips: Iran is the real threat, and the US is on its side
According to longtime Middle East analyst Matthew Levitt, Hamas has long planted weapons in areas inhabited by vulnerable residents. “It happens in schools,” he wrote in Middle East Quarterly. “Hamas has buried caches of arms and explosives under its own kindergarten playgrounds,” referencing a 2001 State Department report that said a Hamas leader was arrested after “additional explosives in a Gaza kindergarten” were discovered.
For years, Hamas has “planned carefully for a major Israeli invasion,” according to a Washington Institute for Near East Policy report. In addition to an elaborate tunnel system, there was the “integral use of civilians and civilian facilities as cover for its military activity; schools, mosques, hospitals, and civilian housing became weapons storage facilities, Hamas headquarters, and fighting positions … IDF imagery and combat intelligence revealed extensive use of civilian facilities.”
Whatever its plan, the outcome of this practice is indisputably devastating — both in Palestinian lives lost and Israel’s standing in the international community. As images of death and tragedy clog news outlets, international condemnation of Israel mounts. Which, according to the Israeli military, is exactly what it predicted would happen.
While war in Gaza rages on and the West dumps on Israel for having the effrontery to defend the lives of its people, attention has strayed from the most important actor in the region, Iran.Alan Dershowitz: Qatar, and other American "allies", are among the villains in Gaza
The Islamic Republic of Iran is actively involved in the Gaza war. Relations with Hamas which had deteriorated over Syria are back on track. Iran armed Hamas and Islamic Jihad with rockets and other weapons and is reportedly now directly instructing Hamas commanders in the Gazan tunnels.
Osama Hamdan, who runs Hamas’s foreign relations, says it is continuing to coordinate its positions with Iran and its proxy army in Lebanon, Hezbollah.
Hamas’s deputy political head Mousa Abu Marzouk says he hopes “the Lebanese front will open and together we will fight” against Israel. The Hezbollah chieftain Hassan Nasrallah has pledged “all means of support” to the Palestinian “resistance.”
Israel cannot dismiss this as saber rattling.
The time has come for the United States and the international community to reassess the status of Qatar and Turkey. These two countries have become part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. A nation that hosts Hamas leaders and finances their terrorism should not also host the World Cup. Nor should American universities send their faculty and students to a nation complicit in terrorism that has taken the lives of many Americans as well as Israelis.Andrew Bolt: How many Jews must die before Israel may defend itself?
Turkey's role in NATO must also be reevaluated. Membership in this organization entails certain responsibilities, and Turkey has failed in these responsibilities. They have become untrustworthy partners in the quest for peace.
It is a truism that we, as a nation, must deal with devils, because men and women are not angels. I do not fault Secretary of State Kerry for trying to use Qatar and Turkey to pressure Hamas into accepting a deal, although the deal they ultimately came up with was a bad one. My point is that Qatar's wealth and Turkey's size should not preclude us from telling it as it is: Qatar and Turkey are among the worst villains in the Gaza tragedy. Nor should we reward such villains, and such complicit in war crimes, by international gifts, such as the World Cup. Both Qatar and Turkey should be treated as pariahs unless and until they stop becoming state sponsors, supporters and facilitators of terrorism.
Let’s get down to tin tacks. Exactly how many Jews do these people want to die for every 100 Palestinians? One for two, or an eye for an eye?Andrew Bolt: Hamas to the children: shoot Jews. UPDATE: Sydney protest: “jihad is the answer”
And how should Israel manage this, given its technological superiority - a vital edge granted to an open society? By handing over volunteers to Hamas for execution? By letting a few more Hamas rockets actually land in Tel Aviv?
Muslim March: Lakemba Oz July 25 2014
Filmed on the streets of Lakemba, this protest, with young men chanting
Philistine philistine (Arabic for Palestine),
Allah hedik Israel (God destroy you Israel)
Palestine is Muslim land
With the Umma we will stand
Palestine is Muslim land
The solution is Jihad
Palestine is Muslim land
Your oppression will not stand
You can never stop Islam
From Australia to al Sham (Syria)
One umma hand in hand
From Lakemba to Gaza
5 soldiers killed on the Gaza border
The names five soldiers killed by mortar fire on Thursday were released on Friday by the IDF Spokesman's Unit.Officer Entered Tunnel, Prevented Body Snatching
The soldiers are Sergeant First Class (res.) Daniel Marash, 22, of Rishon Lezion, Capt. Omri Tal, 22, from Yehud, St.-Sgt. Shay Kushnir, 20, of Kiryat Motzkin, St.-Sgt. Noam Rosenthal, 20, from Meitar, and Capt. (res.) Liran Adir (Edry), 31, of Ezuz.
They were combat soldiers serving in the Armored Corps. The soldiers were operating on the Israeli side of the border in the Eshkol region when they were hit by Hamas mortar shells fired from the Gaza Strip.
The commander of the 101st Paratrooper Battalion heroically prevented a Hamas terrorist from snatching the body of an IDF soldier and disappearing with it into a tunnel on Monday, it has been revealed.Nahal Brigade Detonates A Hamas Tunnel
The commander noticed a terrorist dragging the body into a tunnel and took action. He requested assistance from a nearby tank, and entered the tunnel, while deploying massive firepower. He shot the terrorist and succeeded in bringing the soldier's body to the IDF's staging ground, where it was safe from abduction.
Armored Corps Locates & Destroys Hamas Tunnel
Hamas Uses Holy Places in Gaza as Terrorist Facilities
Hamas routinely treats the civilian buildings of Gaza as its private terrorist compounds. It fires rockets at Israel from schools and hospitals, and uses mosques as command centers and to store weapons and hide infiltration tunnels.
Throughout Operation Protective Edge, IDF forces have discovered Hamas terrorists using mosques as terrorist facilities. Hamas exploits the IDF’s sensitivity towards protecting civilian structures, particularly holy sites, by hiding command centers, weapons caches and tunnel entrances in mosques.
On July 29, IDF special forces engaged and eliminated an armed terror cell guarding a mosque being used as a Hamas military compound. When searching the basement of the mosque after the battle, the soldiers uncovered a stockpile of weapons including sniper rifles, RPGs and machine guns. They also found two concealed tunnel entrances, one of which ran 14 meters deep underground.
Israel prepares legal defense against UN investigation
Officials in Israel have grown increasingly concerned that the scope of damage and high casualty figures in Gaza will lead to a harsh report from a U.N. commission of inquiry appointed by the organization's Human Rights Council, and which could potentially result in indictments for war crimes against senior Israelis at the International Criminal Court at The Hague.IDF Attacks 120 Terror Targets Overnight
The expected legal campaign after the fighting ends has greatly occupied the diplomatic-defense echelon in recent days and has been discussed in detail in the cabinet and other meetings. The concern is that once the fighting stops and news outlets have better access in Gaza to cover the scope of the devastation to property and lives, the criticism over Israel's use of force will significantly increase throughout the world and create a dangerous tidal wave of world opinion that will influence political leaders, primarily in Western Europe.
The IDF attacked over 120 terror targets overnight Thursday/Friday, ahead of an expected three-day "humanitarian ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas slated for 8:00 am Friday.With Kidnap of Israeli Soldier, John Kerry’s Ceasefire Has Made Matters Much, Much Worse
The targets eliminated included Hamas rocket launchers directed at IDF naval forces along Gaza's coast; two Hamas terrorists apprehended by the Paratroopers Brigade; an Islamic Jihad operations room with two senior terrorists, one of whom was reportedly hit during the IAF airstrike; and two terror tunnels uncovered by the Givati Brigade.
Three previously-discovered terror tunnels were also detonated overnight.
The Israeli government believed the word of the Secretary of State of the United States that, via his Turkish and Qatari friends, he had obtained acceptable terms for a ceasefire with Hamas. Mr. Kerry’s flunkies even bragged about the success of his Turko-Qatari connections, chiding those who looked askance at his bromance with friends and sponsors of Hamas.Hamas Fires Rockets Following Ceasefire Announcement
That Kerry was deceived will give no comfort to the Israeli government, which knows now that there is no credible channel for dialog with Hamas via Kerry. Moreover, whatever room for diplomatic maneuver there was before the current debacle, has disappeared now altogether. Even beforehand, the Israeli public was already dragging the Prime Minister and the Cabinet in tow, demanding much harsher steps in the war with much more radical aims – the elimination of Hamas both as a fighting force and a political structure. The infamy of today’s incidents will end any possibility for compromise or for additional ceasefire experiments.
John Kerry, again, has made matters much, much worse.
Moments after U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced that Israel and Hamas have agreed to a 72-hour ceasefire in Gaza, terrorists from the coastal enclave fired a salvo of rockets towards Israel’s Shfela region.Booby-Trapped Explosives Built into Walls of UNRWA Clinic
Sirens were heard shortly after 1:00 a.m. Thursday night in Rehovot, Ness Ziona, Lod and other localities.
The Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted at least one rocket near Ramla. Two additional rockets exploded in open areas. There were no reports of damage or physical injuries.
New details have emerged about the booby-trapped clinic explosion that killed three IDF Maglan unit soldiers in Gaza earlier this week - Sergeant First Class Matan Gottlieb, 21, from Rishon LeZion; Sergeant First Class Omar Chai, 21, from Savion; and Sergeant First Class Guy Algranati, 20, of Tel Aviv, hy"d.What if Rockets were Fired from 'The West Bank'?
Over eighty kilograms of explosives were built into the UN-funded hospital's walls themselves, it was cleared for publication Thursday - revealing that the clinic itself was built to mask, and perform, potential acts of terror on the IDF.
Moreover, the clinic was built over tens of terror tunnels, according to the report.
Last week's 36-hour order by the Federal Aviation Administration preventing American carriers from flying to Ben Gurion Airport inspired the “Samaria Foreign Ministry” to show European parliamentarians what the situation at the airport would be if terrorists were just a few kilometers from Israel's borders in Judea and Samaria, instead of 60 some kilometers away in Gaza. In series of photos and videos, the group expressed clearly the dangers planes would be subjected to, to the extent that operating the airport would be impossible.Life before the blockade
The photos were taken by Dr. Martin Sherman, Founder and Executive Director of the Israeli Institute For Strategic Studies. The photos do not contain any secret security data and are not based on esoteric intelligence; Sherman simply went to a hilltop in Samaria near the 1948 armistice lines – which, if the “two state solution” were implemented, would be in “Palestine” - and took photos of planes landing and taking off. The photos show how close the airport is, and how vulnerable planes are.
Hamas’s key demand – without which they will not agree to a ceasefire – is the lifting of the blockade of Gaza. The term ‘blockade’ is used glibly, including by the media, and it is never really spelled out what it means. It means essentially that Israel open her borders with Gaza allowing free movement in and out of the strip. I would suggest to those here in the west supporting such a call – throwing around rhetoric about ‘the largest prison camp in the world’ – that the UK and the US open its borders with Gaza, but I’m concerned that many would be stupid enough to think it was a good idea!MKs Urge Netanyahu to Stop Cease-Fire Agreements'.
So much is in the media today outlining the awful effects of the blockade on the people of Gaza that no one remembers – or at least they don’t appear to care – what life was like before the imposition of economic sanctions and the blockade of Gaza in 2006/7. Not for Palestinians, but for Israelis.
MK Miri Regev made a strong statement against further cease-fire attempts Friday, after Israel and Hamas allegedly accepted a US-brokered ceasefire - and terrorists began firing rockets on Israel hours later.MK Feiglin: Take Gaza, Pay People to Leave
"We call on the Prime Minister to return Israel her sovereignty," MK Miri Regev (Likud) stated Friday. "We must stop these cease-fires - they give over a message of hesitancy."
"We must not accept a single condition in a cease-fire," she continued. "We must either demilitarize or retake Gaza; there is no middle ground. Now is the time."
Feiglin does not believe in going after rocket launchers or tunnels. Gaza should be retaken in whole, he said, by directly attacking the Hamas leadership and striving for victory, and doing so according to Jewish law, without sacrificing soldiers in order to save members of the local population, which voted Hamas into power.Cairo denies Hamas an audience without Fatah umbrella
Once this is accomplished, the terrorists who fight Israel must be destroyed, he said, and the remaining population should be encouraged to leave through monetary compensation. Surveys show that 80% of Gazans would like to leave the Mediterranean coastal strip and move elsewhere in the world. The minority that decides to stay will be allowed to stay and gradually receive a status similar to the Arabs of eastern Jerusalem.
The Egyptian authorities have refused to receive any Hamas representative unless part of a Fatah-led delegation entrusted with conducting discussions on ways of ending the fighting in the Gaza Strip.Melbourne woman caught in Gaza crisis
Earlier this week, the Egyptians agreed to receive a delegation formed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for talks on Cairo’s ceasefire proposal, which Hamas and Islamic Jihad rejected.
Mary Blazevki was holidaying in Israel when a rocket struck very close to her.Melbourne woman caught in Gaza crisis [link has a better video than this YT clip]
UN Condemns Israel's Latest War Crime: Not Sharing Iron Dome with Hamas
Navi Pillay told reporters following yet another "emergency" meeting of the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council that Israel was not doing enough to protect civilians. "There is a strong possibility,” said the known Israel critic, “that international law has been violated, in a manner that could amount to war crimes.”Fallen IDF soldiers in Operation Protective Edge
Among the UN’s long bill of particulars against the beleaguered Jewish state comes the almost unbelievable accusation that Israel’s refusal to share its Iron Dome ballistic missile defense shield with the "governing authority" of Gaza – i.e. Hamas, the terror group created to pursue the extermination of the Jewish state and now waging a terrorist war against it – constitutes a war crime against the civilians of Gaza.
The UN chairwoman criticized the U.S. for helping fund Israel's Iron Dome system which has saved countless Israeli and Palestinian lives. "No such protection has been provided to Gazans against the shelling," she said.
To date, 63 soldiers have been killed in action during Operation Protective Edge. 2nd.-Lt. Hadar Goldin, 23, is missing in action, feared kidnapped.Widow of soldier killed by Hamas gives birth to a girl
The operation, which began on July 8, is ongoing at time of writing.
What follows is a list, with a short bio, of the soldiers who have lost their lives in what the prime minister called “the most just war of all… for our home.” If necessary, the article will be updated. We hope not.
The widow, Galaitu Kshaun, was interviewed by Channel 2 at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, where many injured IDF soldiers are being treated for wounds sustained in the Gaza conflict. Holding her fourth child — whom she named Tal-Or, or “Light,” a harbinger of happier days of “light for us, light in the house, even though he’s gone” — in her arms, a visibly forlorn Galaitu spoke of her pride in her husband and of the difficulty of carrying on without him.I am a mother
“Another day goes by, another day that we didn’t hear his voice. It’s not easy,” Galaitu said. “It becomes more difficult with each day that passes.”
I am a mother. And on November 20, I sent my son into the army. I sent him to defend the ideals he came to believe, I sent him to fulfill his responsibility, I sent him as a mother sends her son, with a great deal of pride and with a broken heart. My son is still my child. He now bends down to plant that long-awaited kiss on my cheek when he comes home. His hands have grown and engulf mine, but he still holds on when we walk together. But my son caresses a rifle instead of a girl. He eats combat rations instead of home cooked meals. He spends his nights on patrol instead of watching TV or studying for an exam.Sderot Yeshiva Reaches Out to Support Soldiers
I am proud of my son, but I know that life could be different. Like all mothers in Israel I want to see the children of my son. I want him to live to be an old man and enjoy the love of a woman. I want him to hold his son in his arms and have hopes and aspirations for his offspring. I would never send my son to commit suicide or to kill other innocent children like him.
When you see pictures of these soldiers, you are seeing my son. Look for the fear in his eyes, look for the shy smile beneath the helmet, and watch the long, lean fingers meant to embrace a young girl. Know that this is my son, a boy who wants to grow old in the only home he knows; the only home that he can be free in; the only country that does not discriminate against him. Understand that he would lay down his gun and pick up the plowshare if only the other side had sons with mothers who want them to live.
Exactly nine years since the Expulsion from Gush Katif, the Sderot Hesder Yeshiva (Torah academy) has been turned into a center for soldiers to recover and raise their spirits after battle in Gaza.Ministry: Always-on cellphone service rules to save Israeli lives
“There is a great love here for the IDF,” said Rabbi David Fendel, dean of the Afikei Da'at Hesder Yeshiva.
During the last weeks, the Afikei Da’at Hesder Yeshiva has been turned into a center that has been serving as a gathering place – both military and spiritual – for the IDF forces who are lodged there along with the dozens of yeshiva students who have come there to provide physical, moral and spiritual support.
The order is dependent on a hearing that will be held next month. Companies have until August 31 to file their objections to the rules. The regulations apply to 2G and 3G phone connections. The new 4G networks that are now being installed in Israel’s large cities are exempt for now.Organization to Plant 9,000 Trees for Murdered Teens, Soldiers
The order requires that all five companies – Pelephone, Cellcom, Orange (Partner) Israel, Golan Telecom, and HOT Mobile – provide full service in 95% of Israel and the West Bank; the municipal boundaries of towns and cities must be 99% covered. All intercity roads and highways, as well as the train system, must have 100% coverage; that includes tunnels that highways and trains pass through. In addition, companies must ensure that 99% of calls are able to go through, even in the case of heavy network use.
Zo Artzeinu, an organization which plants fruit trees in Israel, has vowed to plant a special orchard on Friday - both in the memory of murdered teens Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha'ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19), and for the lives of Israel's fallen soldiers.Supreme Court Postpones Memorial Homes' Demolitions
The organization has vowed to plant 3,000 trees in memory of the murdered teens, as well as 100 trees per fallen soldier. Sixty-one soldiers have been killed so far since Operation Protective Edge began 25 days ago; the total number of trees to be planted tops 9,000.
"Hamas wants to uproot us from the land, and destroy livelihoods - including that of southern Israeli farmers," the organization stated, in a press release. "We respond by planting new roots in the ground and thriving."
"They murder, terrorize and take away life; we will show the world that we remember our soldiers and boys," it continued. "Their names and heroism will last forever and bear fruit."
"We will not just use the ground to bury our dead, we will use the ground to create new life," it added.
The Supreme Court postponed the eviction of five families from caravans dedicated to the memories of murdered teens Naftali Frenkel (16), Gilad Sha'ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) on Thursday, allowing the families, Defense Ministry, and the Gush Etzion Regional Cuncil two weeks to authorize the residences.Families refuse to flee homes: We won't give Hamas the satisfaction
The five caravans were established in Tekoa Heh, in Judea, shortly after the teens' murders were revealed in international media.
Military and police forces arrived during the pre-dawn hours to carry out the eviction but were stopped by an emergency court order ahead of the afternoon session which produced the two-week delay.
Avi and Limor Cohen and their three children, Shai, 16, Amit, 9, and Omer, 3, say they have no intention of leaving their hometown.Jerusalem: Arabs Attack Woman for Attempting to Remove PLO Flag
"We have every right to live here, despite the rocket terror that has been going on for 14 years," Limor said. "I grew up in Sderot. I'm proud to be raising my family here and I'm proud to say that I will never the city.
"We will not be driven out of Sderot by terrorist Qassam or Grad [rocket] fire. Israelis are a strong, determined people. Sderot is an amazing place to live in," she said.
"When I returned at eleven at night and saw that the flag was still there, I decided to do something," she continued. "It's just shameful that this flag hangs five minutes from the Kotel [Western Wall]."An iconic singer comes to a kibbutz on the border
She and a neighbor went to go take the flag down the next day, but were attacked by Arab teenagers guarding the flag.
"Two Arab youths guarded it," she said. She had come with a four meter-long stick and tools to cut the flag down. "As soon as I started cutting it, a whistle sounded, and thirty Arab youths surrounded me and began throwing rocks at me."
"I was injured, but not seriously - but we left anyway," she said.
Later that day, the police forces came to finally remove the flag; it was later brought to the victim of the attack.
He looked exhausted, dressed in a rumpled linen shirt, his bloodshot eyes underlined with dark circles. For more than a week, Caspi and his wife have been traveling around the communities down south, near the border with Gaza, performing a litany of old favorites and crowd requests in front of each audience.Living Under Siege: One Mile from the Gaza Border
“I’m also the driver,” he said.
Caspi didn’t arrange the impromptu tour with his manager — he didn’t want to deal with the bureaucracy — but instead packed up his car with his equipment and set off down south with his wife. On the way, they called a friend in Beersheba, of whom they requested to set up a performance for a group of local kids stuck in a sealed room.
“I had been sitting in front of the television for two days, until I felt like a caged animal,” said Caspi, who lives in Kfar Saba. “I had to do something.”
One Mile From the Gaza Border, ISRAEL-- Shai Hermesh lives on a Kubutz in Israel a mile away from the Gaza border. He has lived on the Kubutz for over 50 years, the Kubutz was founded in 1956. Sitting in the dining room, he spoke about the fear that the residents live in on a daily basis: "We didn't know about the underground tunnels, we are scared of the tunnels. They are here in the Kubutz."Video: Kubutz Residents Describe Life Under the Threat of Hamas
The dining room at the Kubutz can feed close to 500 people. The IDF discovered one entry point of a tunnel that went directly into a dining room of a Kubutz. In some of the tunnels the IDF have neutralized where Hamas members attempted an attack, anti-tank missiles, grenades, handcuffs, tranquilizers, and machine guns have been found. In some of the tunnels, the IDF found jail cells where Hamas members were planning on holding hostages underground.
Over 700 people have left the Kubutz since the conflict started three weeks ago. The people living there are under constant siege. Almost every home now has a safety shelter where the residents have 15 seconds or less to find shelter before rockets hit.
The situation has become so dire that some neighborhoods closer to Gaza have evacuated their children. Shai Hermesh, currently the head of Sapir College in Ashkelon, Israel, has lived on a Kubutz near the Gaza border for more than 50 years. He shows Dahl the remains of mortar fire targeting a children's playground in the area, clearly noting that there are no military targets in the area for Hamas to claim they are attacking: "There is no army here, there is no army base here, it's all civilians."150 Taglit participants land in Israel despite Gaza war
The playground is empty. "Children are not here because they have evacuated all of them," he explains. The damage from mortar shells, he notes, "just shows what could be the result if, God forbid, what could happen in a situation where we are not prepared by any formal alert."
Despite the ongoing Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip, some 150 youngsters from the U.S. and Argentina arrived in Israel for the 10-day Taglit-Birthright program, joining 6,000 others who have taken part in the program since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge.Security Forces Mobilized in Jerusalem as Unrest Builds
Andrea Goldman, 20, from California, said it was important for her to visit now so that she could see the "real Israel" and let Israelis know that Americans like her "stand with Israel," no matter the circumstances.
Taglit-Birthright CEO Gidi Mark said graduates of the program were still looking for ways to offer their support.
"We get many phone calls every day from Taglit graduates asking to contribute to Israel's public diplomacy efforts. Their strong connection to the country and to the Jewish people has endured the test of time, as well as times of war," he said.
Police forces throughout Jerusalem's Old City and Arab neighborhoods have been mobilized Friday morning, ahead of a 72-hour "humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza and the first Friday after Ramadan.Israeli tourists evacuated from Maldives
In addition, Hamas has called on Arabs in the Palestinian Authority (PA), Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem to "show solidarity for Gaza and the Resistance" by facilitating a "Day of Rage" against Israel, Israelis, and Jews.
The tourists were evacuated earlier this week from Kaafu Thulusdhoo Island by security services after protesters on the island called for their removal and protesters from other places began converging on the island, according to minivannews.com.Stop a Rocket IndieGoGo donation page
The sign, outside a guesthouse owned by Mohamed Hashim, featured a swastika next to an Israeli flag. The tourist ripped it in half, according to the report. Hashim told the news service that about 60 percent of the bookings in his guesthouse are Israelis.
Following the evacuation of the tourists, a protest was held in the Maldives capital of Male, during which an Israeli flag was burned. The protest follows a pro-Palestinian protest held earlier this month in Male, attended by about 13,000 people.
Opposition head rallies behind war: ‘It’s a battle for our home’
Despite the near-universal report for Operation Protective Edge, the Israeli peace camp still exists – “it’s absolutely there, waiting for the day after,” he said.Peston interviews Israeli Opposition leader Isaac Herzog on BBC Newsnight
“Had I been prime minister I would have given a big blow to Hamas, and I would drive to Ramallah, knock on the door of the Muqata, enter the office of Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas] and start negotiating peace with him. This is my line, this is what I think should be done.”
While the current situation does not look promising for talks about a two-state solution, Herzog said he believes in peace and believes that Israel has a partner in Abbas. “But when you get ready for peace you also should be ready for war in order to protect your people, and in this region especially.”
IsraellyCool: Gazan Mother Treated In Israeli Hospital: IDF Soldier “Like a Son To Me”
According to a friend of mine who is definitely on the Left, Israel’s Channel 2 interviewed a Gazan mother in Ashkelon’s Barzilai hospital (which has ironically been in danger of rocket fire), who says Israeli troops brought her family out of Gaza to safety.Tzohar Calls on Diaspora Communities to Fly Israeli Flag
She called the soldier who oversaw the move “like a son to me,” and said she hopes Israeli troops in Gaza will come home safely.
When she was asked if she’s concerned about the consequences to her and her family upon their eventual return to Gaza after making such statements, she says she simply has to tell the truth.
With Operation Protective Edge ongoing and IDF soldiers and the citizens of Israel facing repeated Hamas attacks, Rabbi David Stav of the Tzohar Rabbinical Organization issued a call to synagogues and Jewish organizations around the world to proudly fly the Israeli flag.Is Israel’s war with Hamas a watershed moment for Diaspora Jews? Readers respond
“Our hearts and minds are with the brave soldiers of the IDF who are defending Israel against an onslaught of Hamas rockets and tunnel-terror," Rabbi Stav said. "These soldiers are not only protecting the citizens of Israel, they are risking their lives in defense of the entire Jewish People. Maimonides teaches us that it is our obligation to display national solidarity and strengthen the moral of our troops on the front lines."
"At this time it is appropriate to display our support and proudly fly the flag of Israel," he added.
Last week The Times of Israel put up a general call on our English and French websites asking our readers, “Is this a watershed moment for your community?” Concurrently, we disseminated a brief questionnaire targeted at European Jews via social media.Six Canadian MPs join Jerusalem solidarity rally
More than 400 individuals commented on Facebook within a day of our initial call and many others took the time to complete the survey or write a blog post.
The findings? Well, clearly the ongoing Israeli war against Hamas affects different communities differently. Unsurprisingly, location and demography are important factors in readers’ responses.
Several hundred Canadians: Some living and some visiting in Israel; some who boarded a plane at a moment’s notice to “Stand with Israel” (in the words of the evening’s title); and some parliamentarians already in Israel on a fact-finding mission; came together on Wednesday in a fervent display of dual-nationalism.Pro-Israel Muslims Seek Alternative to Radical Islam as a Means for Peace
Lest there be any doubt about that fervor and the sympathies of the Ottawa government, Canadian Ambassador Vivian Bercovici admonished the crowd declaring, “Canadians have certainly demonstrated where they stand: Canada stands with Israel.”
Indeed, the administration certainly does. The loudest cheer of the evening came at the mention of Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Six Canadian MPs who were in Israel on a 48-hour solidarity mission organized by the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) provided bipartisan representation from Parliament. (h/t Canadian Otter)
Jews around the world were inspired last month when Arab-Israeli teenager Mohammad Zoabi cloaked himself in an Israeli flag and spoke into a bedroom video camera, “I am an Israeli and will remain an Israeli. Israel will remain a Jewish and a democratic country.”Senator Booker on Israel
What few realized is that within days after the video went viral, Israeli police arrested three men in his own family for plotting to cause him harm in retaliation for the piece. His cousin, Arab Knesset member Hanin Zoabi, called her young cousin “a sleazy, mixed-up kid who has identity issues.”
“My tears choose the side of peace,” she wrote. “We are tired to hear about more killings. We are tired to run every time we the sirens. … Don’t judge, pray. Pray for this to be over.”
But as the operation wages on and the rockets continue to plummet on the state of Israel, these young voices are lost. But there is another voice, a growing one, that is bubbling above the surface. That voice has little to do with Israel and everything to do with fighting Hamas. It is the voice of Arabs—Muslims, really—calling on their peers to fight the inexorable advance of political Islamism over Islam.
“Unacceptable?” Israel Must Press On
Today the White House raised the pressure on Israel to stop fighting in Gaza by terming the shooting at a United Nations school yesterday as “totally unacceptable.” White House spokesman Josh Earnest’s joining the international media pile-on is another demonstration of the administration’s determination to box in the Israeli government.Pentagon: Israel must do more to live up to its high standards of protecting civilians
The criticism may have played a role in Israel’s decision to accept a 72-hour humanitarian cease-fire scheduled to begin tomorrow. But it’s not clear whether Hamas will hold its fire. Nor is there any assurance they won’t resume shooting rockets or using the tunnels that remain in their control when it suits their purpose. When they do, Prime Minister Netanyahu should not be deterred from continuing the campaign.
The Pentagon called on Israel on Thursday to do more to protect civilian life during its military operations in Gaza, saying the conflict was taking too high a toll on civilians.Senior U.N. Official Admits Hamas Using Their Gaza Facilites To Launch Rockets
"The civilian casualties in Gaza have been too high. And it's become clear that the Israelis need to do more to live up to their very high standards - their very high and very public standards - for protecting civilian life," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said at a news briefing.
Interviewed on CBC, Canadian National Radio John Ging Director of the United Nation Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Hamas terrorists "are firing their rockets into Israel from the vicinity of UN facilities and residential areas." This statement by a senior UN official confirms what the Israel has said repeatedly since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge, that Hamas uses Gaza's civilian population as a human shield.
Ging began the interview by saying the U.N. had forensic evidence that Israel was responsible for the Sept. 30 attack on the U.N. School in Gaza, something Israel has not denied but asserted that they are fired at by Hamas forces near the school. He followed by talking about the human shields.
US partisan squabbling delays Iron Dome funding
In an ironic legislative twist, the broad-based bipartisan support in Congress for the Iron Dome project turned an urgent request for additional funds into a political hot potato, trapping efforts in Washington gridlock Thursday. Israel requested an additional $225 million for the partially US-funded project, which is credited with saving dozens, possibly hundreds, of lives, but partisan ploys prevented Congress from approving the funding before it adjourns for a month-long recess.Irish Parliament to Debate Israel-Hamas Conflict, Calls for Expulsion of Israeli Envoy Grow
Although pro-Israel legislation tends to be greeted with broad bipartisan consensus, in recent days emergency funds for Israel have become a political weapon wielded rhetorically by both parties in their attempts to tar each other. As a result, the effort — supported by both Democrats and Republicans — to approve the supplemental funding is likely to prove fruitless before Congress reconvenes in September.
The upper house of the Irish parliament, known as the Seanad or Senate, is set to be recalled from summer recess to debate the Israel-Hamas conflict amid growing calls to expel the Israeli ambassador to the country.Christian Zionist Ad Blitz Tells Kerry: Now is the Time to Destroy Hamas’s Terror Tunnels, Demilitarize Gaza
A number of politicians from the minority left-wing Irish Labor party have called for the government to consider expelling the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Boaz Mondai, over the growing number of Palestinian civilian casualties, the Irish Examiner reported.
But the Irish government, controlled by the center-right Fine Gael party, also recently decided to abstain from a U.N. Human Rights Council whose eventual outcome was to approve the launching of an investigation into purported Israeli human rights violations in Gaza.
CUFI said the campaign seeks to accomplish two goals: “The first is to eliminate the moral confusion in the American media when it comes to the true nature and goals of Hamas,” it said. ”The second goal is to remind Secretary of State Kerry of the true nature and goals of Hamas.”Archbishop of Canterbury: Israel Has Right to Self-Defence, Rise in Anti-Semitism 'Unacceptable'
The group produced a full-page ad that begins, “Israel’s enemies our are enemies; Israel’s fight is our fight; We stand with Israel!”
The ads ran in Thursday’s print editions of The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. On Friday, full page ads will run in USA Today, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Denver Post, the Chicago Sun Times, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
CUFI is also running ads online on major news and Christian websites including Fox News, the Christian Post, and Beliefnet, and launched an email campaign to mobilize its 1.8 million members in a letter writing drive aimed at Kerry.
In a statement on his website, Justin Welby says that he "fully accepts that Israel has the same legitimate rights to peace and security as any other state and to self-defence within humanitarian law when faced with an external threat".DCCC Chairman 'Concerned' With Kerry's Statements On Israel
He goes on, however, to condemn the bombing of civilian areas, making clear reference to Israeli attacks on schools and UN buildings, although he also condemns Hamas for turning such areas into targets in the first place:
"The bombing of civilian areas, and their use to shelter rocket launches, are both breaches of age old customs for the conduct of war."
The archbishop also condemns the "spike in violence and abuse" against Jewish communities in the UK that has followed recent protests against Israeli action in Gaza.
Speaking with Bloomberg.tv, Chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), expressed today his concerns with Secretary of State John Kerry's statements regarding the conflict in Gaza and how Israel should be handling it.Bill Clinton The Day Before 9/11 I Could Have Killed Bin Laden
"I get concerned when - I support Secretary Kerry when he talks about Israel's fundamental right to, to survive and protect its citizens. I do get concerned with statements from Secretary Kerry, as I was concerned with statements in the Bush administration, about the need to, for Israel to show sensitivity or demonstrate greater attempts, with respect to civilians in Gaza, when Israel in fact goes further than most any other country I know to do that."
Kerry has already faced a great deal of skepticism, both from Republicans in the U.S. and from the press in Israel. The administration's overall handling, in fact, has been the subject of a great deal of concern on the part of citizens and press in Israel.
On the July 30th Paul Murray Live program on Sky News, guest Michael Kroger revealed an audio tape that he didn't remember he had until the week prior to the program. Speaking at a luncheon in front of 30 business people, the former president was asked a question about international terrorism and answered:Hamas Issues ‘Terrorism 101 Handbook’
"I’m just saying, you know, if I were Osama bin Laden — he’s a very smart guy, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about him — and I nearly got him once. I nearly got him. And I could have killed him, but I would have to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children, and then I would have been no better than him. And so I didn’t do it."
Almost 3,000 people died the next day on 9/11/01. (h/t MtTB)
Hamas has been disseminating to its followers in the Gaza Strip a detailed terrorism training manual that teaches would-be bombers how to make explosives and conceal them in household items such as televisions, according to documents seized by the Israeli military during recent raids.MB Cleric Qaradawi Still Loving Hamas and Hating Jews
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers discovered the handbook on the ground in the Gaza Strip as they conducted raids of homes and other facilities used by Hamas to plan its terror activities.
Egyptian cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi, a prominent Muslim Brotherhood spiritual guide and popular Al-Jazeera program host, appeared on the network earlier this month to defend Hamas as "nothing but a group that is defending itself, defending its country, defending its brethren, defending its honor, defending its (Muslim) Ummah." It is not, he added, a terrorist group.Scores of Hamas Rockets Fall Short in Gaza, Killing Innocents
The Investigative Project on Terrorism translated Qaradawi's remarks. He also said Hamas "did not fire at anyone. It's only defending itself. Doesn't Gaza have the right of self defense? People want Hamas exposed. [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu said Hamas received building blocks and used it to build the tunnels. No, they built many things that they ought to, and built-among many things, the tunnels. They don't want [Hamas] to have the tunnels to protect them; they want Hamas to remain exposed to their cannons, bombs and jets, from the land, and from the sea and from the air. They want it to be bombarded while exposed so they can kill whomever they want. Is this logical?"
During the day Wednesday, 140 rockets were fired from Gaza, indiscriminately destined for Israel. According to Israel Defense Forces, 81 hit Israel, 9 were intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system, and 50 fell short within the Gaza Strip. Thirty-six percent of the rockets intended for Israel fell short in Gaza.Hamas Rocket Fire Prevents Aid from Reaching Gaza
According to Algemeiner editor Dovid Efune, as many as twenty-five percent of Hamas rockets in Gaza fall short and kill innocents.
Some notable Hamas misfires:
July 28: Hamas terrorists fired a rocket salvo at Israel from a highly populated area. Instead of hitting Israel, two of the rockets struck a hospital and refugee camp inside Gaza, resulting in the deaths of over a dozen Palestinians.
158 trucks carrying humanitarian aid and relief supplies were scheduled to enter into Gaza from southern Israel on Tuesday. However, due to Hamas rocket fire and the deteriorating security situation in Israel, just 43 trucks made it through Kerem Shalom Crossing on the Israel-Gaza border.Hamas’ Road to Victory, in 10 Easy Steps
According to a daily report on civilian assistance to Gaza prepared by the Israeli Ministry of Defense, 621 tons of food, 80 tons of cultural supplies, 44 tons of medicine and medical supplies, and 25 tons of humanitarian supplies were trucked to Gaza on Tuesday as sirens warning of Hamas rocket barrages blared from Tel Aviv to Sderot.
Additionally, the IDF facilitated eight ambulance transfers from Gaza to an Israeli field hospital just across the border through the Erez Crossing, including the evacuation of a 75-year-old woman from North Gaza who was taken to the field hospital and later transferred to a different facility in Israel for medical treatment. A total of 74 such ambulance transfers had been completed through July 29.
STEP 8. Media blames Israel, inflames world against Israel.Hamas Calls for Day of Rage [video]
STEP 9. World forces cease-fire before Israel can root out terror.
STEP 10: Declare victory
At the end of Operation Pillar of Defense Der Spiegel reported:
In the Gaza Strip, thousands took to the streets on Wednesday evening to celebrate what they see as a victory over Israel. Foreign journalists reported chaotic scenes of joy involving Hamas fighters firing machine guns into the air. Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, currently in Egypt, has also claimed victory. The government in Jerusalem, he said, had failed with its military “adventure.”
Hamas has called for a Day of Rage for Friday, by Arabs living in Judea and Samaria.UN Address by Palestinan Minister of Uncontrollable Rage & "Somebody to Hate"
The rage is presumably because the cease fire prevents Hamas from shooting rockets at Israel.
Not to worry, they’ll probably breach the cease fire as soon as they’ve managed to reposition their terrorists and rockets.
Here’s two Latma (satire) videos for your entertainment pleasure during the cease fire and Day of Rage
