I am composing an essay that I believe will shed more light on the direct relationship between hatred of Israel and historical Jew-hatred. Here is the introduction:
In this essay I will present political, social, and psychological evidence to show that hatred of Israel in it’s many forms, here termed anti-Zionism, is a modern form of historical Jew-hatred, anti-Semitism. Israel is the most obvious image and symbol of Judaism in modern times. Therefore it is no surprise that it is now the foremost target of historic anti-Semitism.
The topic of this essay has been addressed by many others, with some notable articles recently written by Alan Dershowitz, Benjamin Weinthal, Brendan O’Neill, the ADL, the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Wikipedia and others (see links at the end of this section). However, with the exception of the Wikipedia article and some examples by O’Neill, these articles focus narrowly on anti-Israel political events and hate-speech, disregarding a wide range of double standards, distortions, and lies. Moreover, virtually no one has looked into the psychological evidence that reveals the active agencies of unconscious hatreds, and that exposes the resistance to honest self-critique when people breach moral standards. I will present some revealing research in this area, and outline a few templates of how people express their often unconscious hatreds and self-hatreds.
The most common critique of the ‘anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism’ equation is that it is simply an attempt to stifle genuine criticism of Israel or to vilify pro-Palestinian sympathies. I believe this is a crude and often mendacious attempt by people to hide their own anti-Semitism, and to avoid self-critique. Israel is not above criticism any more than any other country. Indeed, criticism is a necessary response to every nation’s policies and initiatives. But criticism of Israel is a different thing than anti-Zionism, the hatred of Israel and the denial of Israel’s right to exist. I will spend a fair amount of time in this essay exposing the distinction between reasonable criticism of Israel and criticism that is shaped by lies, distortions, and double standards, which are the tools of hatred.
Hiding behind doctrine and ideology, including Christianity, Islam, nationalism, communism, and Marxism, Jew-hatred has been and continues to be the foundation of much of what passes as “honest” criticism of Jews and Israel. Now the Gaza war during the summer of 2014 has unleashed a huge surge of anti-Semitic rage that cannot be ignored or dismissed any longer. What follows are seven distinct categories of hypocrisies and double standards that are used to frame those discussions of Israel that are really intended to be lynchings of Israel.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Easily accessible articles that expose important components of the 'anti-Zionism equals anti-Semitism' equation:
3 Dershowitz articles:
Is singling out Israel for boycotts anti-Semitic?
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Is-singling-out-Israel-for-boycotts-anti-Semitic-335596
Europe's Alarming Push to Isolate Israel
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Alan-Dershowitz-Nazis-Europe-Israel/2014/03/11/id/558976/
The occupation of Gaza canard
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/The-occupation-of-Gaza-canard-369370
Weinthal
Why Anti-Zionism Is Modern Anti-Semitism
http://www.nationalreview.com/node/384039/print
O’Neill
Is the Left anti-Semitic? Sadly, it is heading that way
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/brendanoneill2/100281417/is-the-left-anti-semitic-sadly-it-is-heading-that-way/
Wikipedia:
New antisemitism
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_antisemitism
The Anti-Defamation League:
http://www.adl.org/anti-semitism/
http://www.adl.org/sp/israel-under-attack/protest-video.html
The Simon Wiesenthal Center website, news and events section:
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=lsKWLbPJLnF&b=4441467#.U-OSamPLd8E
email
(and links to articles) with subject: Calls from Berlin to annihilate
Jews; "Dirty Jews from the sewers to be killed"; 100 Spanish celebrities
accuse Israel of genocide
JNS:
While global anti-Semitism surges, don’t forget U.S. campuses
http://www.jns.org/latest-articles/2014/7/28/while-global-anti-semitism-surges-dont-forget-us-campuses#.U-OKP2PLd8E=
Showing posts with label defense of Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label defense of Israel. Show all posts
Thursday, August 07, 2014
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Response to article in Middle East Star
The Middle East Star, on 11/21 published an article entitled:
Hamas should be engaged by Israel – by Ed Husain
I genuinely believe the author does not consider himself an enemy of Israel, but rather an Arab voice, probably a lonely Arab voice, seeking peace. But like a fish that is unaware of the water in which it swims, the author, in reality, remains a voice of Arab hatred and oppression of Israel and Jews.
The whole article can be found at:
http://www.middleeaststar.com/index.php/postc/210875107/scat/940f2bfd509e743b
Here are some critical excerpts that are revealing of the omnipresent hate driving the Arab (and Muslim) world. After these excerpts (in italics), you can find my response.
... I can name tens of Muslim clerics, important formulators of public opinion in a region dominated by religion, that will readily condemn acts of terrorism against the West, but will fall silent when it comes to condemning Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Put simply, support for violent resistance against Israel among Arab and Muslim-majority countries -- including allies of the United States such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia -- remains popular.
... From radical Iran to moderate Tunisia, Hamas' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyyeh was welcomed by vast cheering crowds during visits this year.
... Israel needs to change. ... A tiny nation of seven million [Israel; 5.25 million Jews] cannot be allowed to damage ties between 360 million Americans and 300 million Arabs.
Here is my critical response:
As ever, the author, although I don’t doubt that he is well-meaning, has it all backwards. 300 million Arabs and 5 million Jews, but our author says the Jews are the problem, not the Arabs! Why are the Jews a problem? Because they are a minority in a region that only knows oppression of minorities. Ask any Copt, any Kurd, any Assyrian Christian. Indeed, ask any Sunni in a Shia country, or Shiite in a Sunni country!
And of course, it is not Israel that "damages ties between 360 million Americans and 300 million Arabs," as the author would have us believe. It is the hatred, violence, and intolerance of the Arab people, institutionalized by governments, mosques, media, and schools that has damaged ties.
Mr. Husain, YOU are the problem, and you are its clearest symbol. You expose with complete clarity the absolute refusal of the Arab world to look at itself and realize how sick, how immoral, and how dysfunctional it is. Until THAT changes, Israel will be just one more excuse for Arab dysfunction.
Hamas should be engaged by Israel – by Ed Husain
I genuinely believe the author does not consider himself an enemy of Israel, but rather an Arab voice, probably a lonely Arab voice, seeking peace. But like a fish that is unaware of the water in which it swims, the author, in reality, remains a voice of Arab hatred and oppression of Israel and Jews.
The whole article can be found at:
http://www.middleeaststar.com/index.php/postc/210875107/scat/940f2bfd509e743b
Here are some critical excerpts that are revealing of the omnipresent hate driving the Arab (and Muslim) world. After these excerpts (in italics), you can find my response.
... I can name tens of Muslim clerics, important formulators of public opinion in a region dominated by religion, that will readily condemn acts of terrorism against the West, but will fall silent when it comes to condemning Hamas or Islamic Jihad. Put simply, support for violent resistance against Israel among Arab and Muslim-majority countries -- including allies of the United States such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Tunisia -- remains popular.
... From radical Iran to moderate Tunisia, Hamas' Prime Minister Ismail Haniyyeh was welcomed by vast cheering crowds during visits this year.
... Israel needs to change. ... A tiny nation of seven million [Israel; 5.25 million Jews] cannot be allowed to damage ties between 360 million Americans and 300 million Arabs.
Here is my critical response:
As ever, the author, although I don’t doubt that he is well-meaning, has it all backwards. 300 million Arabs and 5 million Jews, but our author says the Jews are the problem, not the Arabs! Why are the Jews a problem? Because they are a minority in a region that only knows oppression of minorities. Ask any Copt, any Kurd, any Assyrian Christian. Indeed, ask any Sunni in a Shia country, or Shiite in a Sunni country!
And of course, it is not Israel that "damages ties between 360 million Americans and 300 million Arabs," as the author would have us believe. It is the hatred, violence, and intolerance of the Arab people, institutionalized by governments, mosques, media, and schools that has damaged ties.
Mr. Husain, YOU are the problem, and you are its clearest symbol. You expose with complete clarity the absolute refusal of the Arab world to look at itself and realize how sick, how immoral, and how dysfunctional it is. Until THAT changes, Israel will be just one more excuse for Arab dysfunction.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Is it possible? Turkey is moving towards war with Israel.
Yes, it is possible!! The gears are already in motion, and the Turkish government has made statements (especially concerning warships to Gaza) that will make Erdogan and his party look cowardly or foolish if they back down.
I sent the following letter to my former senator and representative (since we, of DC, are unrepresented in Congress):
I am writing to you, hoping you are already taking serious and comprehensive action to counter the rogue behavior that Turkey is pursuing vis a vis Israel. Some of the obvious markers of that behavior are:
1. Erdogan has aligned his nation with a terrorist organization, Hamas.
2. He has broken full relations with Israel.
3. He has publicly declared that he will send Turkish warships to confront the Israeli blockade of Gaza, in the guise of accompanying "aid" ships.
4. He is meeting with Egyptian officials, as Egypt itself is driven by public and internal government pressure towards conflict with Israel. The likely intent of Erdogan's meeting is for the sake of creating an axis of aggression against Israel from north and south, and likely, with full Iranian and Syrian support.
We must not look on in disbelief or dismay as Erdogan actively moves towards war with Israel. He must be countered by forceful and unambiguous American and NATO pressure. Steps need to be taken immediately, and not merely cautionary pronouncements. We must begin plans to strip Turkey of its place in NATO and replace it with viable alternatives; solicit the help of the Turkish military, whose authority will be greatly diminished by downgrading Turkey in NATO; begin publicly arranging sanctions on trade against Turkey; move Europe forward on closing the door to Turkey's membership in the European Union; and expose the Turkish public to the severe and irresponsible consequences of their government's policies, urging them to exert public pressure to turn those policies around. Naturally, as a Congressperson you are aware of other, and likely better steps the US can and must take to turn Turkey from a path that, if not countered forcefully, may well lead to war with Israel.
I am counting on you to act with prescience and authority to respond to this rogue direction Turkish policy has taken. In my eyes, this is the most serious foreign policy issue the US and Israel face.
Sunday, June 05, 2011
NGO’s, the EU, and anti-Zionism
Israel is arguably the most vilified country in the world. This is no coincidence. Before the establishment of Israel, Jews were the most vilified people in the world! Anti-Zionism is simply a modern continuation of this long-standing form of bigotry. Jew hatred is much more than a religious issue. It is equally political, social, economic, and cultural. Anti-Zionism may have religious threads woven into it, but it is primarily a political cloak to Jew-hatred. Israel is vilified because it is a Jewish nation, not because of its policies and behaviors. This does NOT mean that Israel is above criticism. Far from it. Israel, like every nation, and every person, is deserving of plenty of criticism. But the hatred and vilification of Israel is of a different order.
To support that statement, consider the following:
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has historically attracted extraordinary, and largely disproportionate, international attention. Not because of its ferocity: The number of Palestinians killed by Israelis (and vice versa) over the past six decades is probably smaller than the 9,000 Muslim Bosnians massacred in Srebrenica in July 1995 by their Serb and Croatian compatriots and decidedly smaller than the death toll from other conflicts throughout the globe that range in the hundreds of thousands if not millions.
Nor has this obsession been driven by humanitarian considerations. Not only is the Gaza Strip not in the throes of a deep crisis, but the humanitarian situation there is better than in some of the countries whose ships have been sent on occasion to break "the siege" of Gaza. Infant mortality in the Gaza Strip, for example, is 17.71 per thousand births compared to Turkey's 24.84 or the global average of 44; life expectancy in Turkey is 72.23 years whereas in Gaza it is 73.68, much higher than the global average of 66.12, not to mention such Arab or Islamic countries as Yemen (63.36), Sudan (52.52), or Somalia (50). Even by more advanced indicators, such as personal computer use or Internet access, Gazans are in a much better position than many of the world's inhabitants. In the words of the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, no Israel-lover by any stretch of imagination, "an average Congolese citizen would probably have sold his mother into slavery to be able to move to the West Bank."
Those two paragraphs are the opening (but for 1 prior paragraph) of an insightful and well-researched article, NGOs vs. Israel, by Ben-Dror Yemini, the opinion-editor of the Israeli daily Maariv. The full article can be found at Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2011, pp. 67-71,
http://www.meforum.org/2919/ngos-vs-israel
This article is worthy of your careful attention, whether you have a general interest to be well informed about this conflict, or you want to deepen your understanding of the subtle but pervasive reach of Jew-hatred.
To support that statement, consider the following:
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has historically attracted extraordinary, and largely disproportionate, international attention. Not because of its ferocity: The number of Palestinians killed by Israelis (and vice versa) over the past six decades is probably smaller than the 9,000 Muslim Bosnians massacred in Srebrenica in July 1995 by their Serb and Croatian compatriots and decidedly smaller than the death toll from other conflicts throughout the globe that range in the hundreds of thousands if not millions.
Nor has this obsession been driven by humanitarian considerations. Not only is the Gaza Strip not in the throes of a deep crisis, but the humanitarian situation there is better than in some of the countries whose ships have been sent on occasion to break "the siege" of Gaza. Infant mortality in the Gaza Strip, for example, is 17.71 per thousand births compared to Turkey's 24.84 or the global average of 44; life expectancy in Turkey is 72.23 years whereas in Gaza it is 73.68, much higher than the global average of 66.12, not to mention such Arab or Islamic countries as Yemen (63.36), Sudan (52.52), or Somalia (50). Even by more advanced indicators, such as personal computer use or Internet access, Gazans are in a much better position than many of the world's inhabitants. In the words of the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek, no Israel-lover by any stretch of imagination, "an average Congolese citizen would probably have sold his mother into slavery to be able to move to the West Bank."
Those two paragraphs are the opening (but for 1 prior paragraph) of an insightful and well-researched article, NGOs vs. Israel, by Ben-Dror Yemini, the opinion-editor of the Israeli daily Maariv. The full article can be found at Middle East Quarterly, Spring 2011, pp. 67-71,
http://www.meforum.org/2919/ngos-vs-israel
This article is worthy of your careful attention, whether you have a general interest to be well informed about this conflict, or you want to deepen your understanding of the subtle but pervasive reach of Jew-hatred.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Anti-Zionist flotilla, and Israel's dilemma
My son and I had this exchange on facebook:
Josh Berer
hey, I'm sick of all these people dissing Israel! Israel has the right to defend its borders... from unarmed international aid workers.... in international waters... wait.
Stephen Berer
... oh wait again... unarmed?
Josh Berer
and you would kill everyone who didnt share your viewpoint. tell me, when people brand israel a pariah state do you scratch your head and wonder why? or does this look like the actions of a government that cares about a meaningful peace with her neighbors? or one that aspires to be a light unto the nations? when Israel talks about how much she wants peace but the palestinians just won't have it, do actions like these just disappear from your memory?
24 minutes ago
Stephen Berer
easy to talk and criticize from the comfort of the US. This event has made me sick, but Israel has to impress more people than liberals. It has to impress the Jew-hating, Israel-hating politicos from Europe, that they play hardball with Israel at their peril. It has to let Iran know that public opinion will not shape Israel's policies, and it will not be intimidated by ANYONE. It has to let Hezbollah and Hamas know that it will defend it's positions aggressively, ruthlessly, if necessary. Honestly Josh, Israel doesn't need to give a good goddam about your opinion or mine. It has more important fish to fry. Sorry bud.
Josh Berer
hey, I'm sick of all these people dissing Israel! Israel has the right to defend its borders... from unarmed international aid workers.... in international waters... wait.
Stephen Berer
... oh wait again... unarmed?
Josh Berer
and you would kill everyone who didnt share your viewpoint. tell me, when people brand israel a pariah state do you scratch your head and wonder why? or does this look like the actions of a government that cares about a meaningful peace with her neighbors? or one that aspires to be a light unto the nations? when Israel talks about how much she wants peace but the palestinians just won't have it, do actions like these just disappear from your memory?
24 minutes ago
Stephen Berer
easy to talk and criticize from the comfort of the US. This event has made me sick, but Israel has to impress more people than liberals. It has to impress the Jew-hating, Israel-hating politicos from Europe, that they play hardball with Israel at their peril. It has to let Iran know that public opinion will not shape Israel's policies, and it will not be intimidated by ANYONE. It has to let Hezbollah and Hamas know that it will defend it's positions aggressively, ruthlessly, if necessary. Honestly Josh, Israel doesn't need to give a good goddam about your opinion or mine. It has more important fish to fry. Sorry bud.
Monday, June 08, 2009
Concerning Israeli settlements
I just sent the President of the United States the following email:
Dear Mr. President,
Let me first say, may God guide you in all your endeavors to bring prosperity and peace to our country and to the world.
I am writing this email to explain to you why your demands for Israel to end its settlement activity is unjust. It is a position that is lacking historical substantiation. Rather, it serves the ends of the clearly stated and widely desired Arab commitment to destroy Israel. Let me explain why.
Since Israel's creation on Nov. 29, 1947 by a 2/3 vote in the UN, partitioning the land into Jewish and Arab regions, the Arabs have unconditionally denied Israel's right to exist. And even before 1947, Arab riots and terrorism, notably in 1919, 1929, 1936-1939, and then throughout the years preceding Israel's establishment, showed Arab bigotry towards Jews and Arab intransigence towards the Biblical, historical, and societal necessity for Jews to have a nation. That nation is meant to be a safe haven against the very hatred that is embodied by a majority of Arabs in the world today.
Before we can postulate an appropriate policy towards settlements, we must understand why Palestinians do not have a nation today. There are 3 primary reasons:
1. They rejected nationhood and chose war. This persistent choice since the UN partition plan has consistently denied them any possibility of national aspirations. It has also undermined any trust in the goodwill that some of their people have generated over the years. There must be a cost for promoting hatred and choosing war.
2. Arab nations have no interest in creating a Palestinian nation. When Egypt controlled Gaza and Jordan controlled the West Bank (from 1948-1967), they aggressively rejected turning that territory into an independent Palestinian state. After 1967 Arab nations continued to vilify Israel, but made no effort to facilitate a Palestinian nation. Instead of investing in a Palestinian infrastructure, they fomented war, both in the halls of their governments and in the classrooms of their schools. There must be a cost to the cynical use of Palestinians as an excuse by Arab nations to justify their denial of Israel's unconditional right to exist.
3. Palestinians themselves have failed to invest in their own national identity and national unity. The Hamas-Fatah chasm is only the most obvious of the self-destructive fractures in Palestinian society. Palestinians have not, in any way, invested in their future, but rather have devoted themselves unrestrainedly to building only one kind of infrastructure: an infrastructure of hatred. They curse Israel for existing and in the same breath demand Israel support them. There must be a cost to the dysfunctional investment in hatred.
Israel's settlements are the cost of Arab hatred and Arab violence for over 60 years. This is the true, and ONLY viable meaning of "land for peace."
Israel must continue to build and expand settlements until the Arabs unconditionally commit themselves to non-violence and peace with Israel. And that must include the teaching of peace and acceptance of Israel in their schools. There will NEVER be peace when children are taught hatred.
I voted for you Mr. President, with the hope that you would re-establish the moral leadership of this nation. So far you have not let me down. You began that process from your first day in office, and you extended it last week with your speech in Cairo. However, moral leadership also demands the bold and honest exposure of hatred, and the condemnation of the double standards and lies that inform the vast majority of Arabs. Placating the Arabs by confronting Israel concerning its settlements is empty of realpolitik value, and empty of moral leadership. You are equivocating, perhaps with the hope of cajoling change in the Arab world. Enough equivocating, Mr. President. There is no future in it. You have read, and know well, the Hebrew Prophets. I ask you, judge your words and your policies by THEIR standards, not by the standards of the kings and dictators of the Arab world.
Proper policy cannot be derived when one includes hatred and ruthless vilification as a valid part of the political spectrum. Arab demands for a "just" solution are founded on their hatred and vilification of Israel and Jews. Take your hand and sweep these immoral demands from the table like so many marked and false cards. Then look at what remains. You will see that Israeli settlements are not the problem. They are merely one more excuse for refusing to welcome a Jewish nation into the community of nations.
I urge you to rethink your policy. And I wish you every blessing and all the good will that a man of your greatness and your clarity of vision deserves.
Your loyal supporter,
Stephen M. Berer
Dear Mr. President,
Let me first say, may God guide you in all your endeavors to bring prosperity and peace to our country and to the world.
I am writing this email to explain to you why your demands for Israel to end its settlement activity is unjust. It is a position that is lacking historical substantiation. Rather, it serves the ends of the clearly stated and widely desired Arab commitment to destroy Israel. Let me explain why.
Since Israel's creation on Nov. 29, 1947 by a 2/3 vote in the UN, partitioning the land into Jewish and Arab regions, the Arabs have unconditionally denied Israel's right to exist. And even before 1947, Arab riots and terrorism, notably in 1919, 1929, 1936-1939, and then throughout the years preceding Israel's establishment, showed Arab bigotry towards Jews and Arab intransigence towards the Biblical, historical, and societal necessity for Jews to have a nation. That nation is meant to be a safe haven against the very hatred that is embodied by a majority of Arabs in the world today.
Before we can postulate an appropriate policy towards settlements, we must understand why Palestinians do not have a nation today. There are 3 primary reasons:
1. They rejected nationhood and chose war. This persistent choice since the UN partition plan has consistently denied them any possibility of national aspirations. It has also undermined any trust in the goodwill that some of their people have generated over the years. There must be a cost for promoting hatred and choosing war.
2. Arab nations have no interest in creating a Palestinian nation. When Egypt controlled Gaza and Jordan controlled the West Bank (from 1948-1967), they aggressively rejected turning that territory into an independent Palestinian state. After 1967 Arab nations continued to vilify Israel, but made no effort to facilitate a Palestinian nation. Instead of investing in a Palestinian infrastructure, they fomented war, both in the halls of their governments and in the classrooms of their schools. There must be a cost to the cynical use of Palestinians as an excuse by Arab nations to justify their denial of Israel's unconditional right to exist.
3. Palestinians themselves have failed to invest in their own national identity and national unity. The Hamas-Fatah chasm is only the most obvious of the self-destructive fractures in Palestinian society. Palestinians have not, in any way, invested in their future, but rather have devoted themselves unrestrainedly to building only one kind of infrastructure: an infrastructure of hatred. They curse Israel for existing and in the same breath demand Israel support them. There must be a cost to the dysfunctional investment in hatred.
Israel's settlements are the cost of Arab hatred and Arab violence for over 60 years. This is the true, and ONLY viable meaning of "land for peace."
Israel must continue to build and expand settlements until the Arabs unconditionally commit themselves to non-violence and peace with Israel. And that must include the teaching of peace and acceptance of Israel in their schools. There will NEVER be peace when children are taught hatred.
I voted for you Mr. President, with the hope that you would re-establish the moral leadership of this nation. So far you have not let me down. You began that process from your first day in office, and you extended it last week with your speech in Cairo. However, moral leadership also demands the bold and honest exposure of hatred, and the condemnation of the double standards and lies that inform the vast majority of Arabs. Placating the Arabs by confronting Israel concerning its settlements is empty of realpolitik value, and empty of moral leadership. You are equivocating, perhaps with the hope of cajoling change in the Arab world. Enough equivocating, Mr. President. There is no future in it. You have read, and know well, the Hebrew Prophets. I ask you, judge your words and your policies by THEIR standards, not by the standards of the kings and dictators of the Arab world.
Proper policy cannot be derived when one includes hatred and ruthless vilification as a valid part of the political spectrum. Arab demands for a "just" solution are founded on their hatred and vilification of Israel and Jews. Take your hand and sweep these immoral demands from the table like so many marked and false cards. Then look at what remains. You will see that Israeli settlements are not the problem. They are merely one more excuse for refusing to welcome a Jewish nation into the community of nations.
I urge you to rethink your policy. And I wish you every blessing and all the good will that a man of your greatness and your clarity of vision deserves.
Your loyal supporter,
Stephen M. Berer
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Gaza war, at ceasefire
Christopher Godfree-Morrell wrote this email to me, 1/11/09:
I've written, re-written and deleted several comments to your recent posts. In the end I've decided to send you this email. This too has been edited repeatedly, so it might lose some coherence.
I understand that as a Jew your defense of Israel is more than just politics, just as a Muslim's view on Hamas would be similarly clouded, but I would urge you to see past these prejudices to what is actually happening.
This might be a position that will make no sense to you, I feel like I'm trying to covince people to not react with violence to the people that raped and killed their mother. Because this seems to be the level of emotion attached to the situation by all sides. I'm sure that you would normally see the futility of war, that peace can never be achieve by killing. But this isn't about reason is it?
In the end all I want to say to you is that, although I can understand your position can't you see it's madness?
Christopher Godfree-Morrell
god-free morals
And I responded, 1/18/09:
Thanks for all the editing you must have done, to write such a sensitive email that was not caught up in the withering tension and, as you said, madness that possessed so many people, including me. Yes it is madness and it causes me great sorrow, bitterness, exhaustion.
May I say only this: you cannot imagine what it feels like to be so profoundly hated and vilified and demonized, so falsely and hypocritically, by so many people. We are begrudged the most piss-assed little piece of largely useless property in the world. A not insubstantial percentage of Muslims deny our very right to exist, and a not insubstantial percentage of Christians would not be upset if Israel were wiped off the map. What then are we to do, to make our neighbors understand that there is no future in war? Where do you begin a conversation with someone who denies your right to exist?
This world is a nasty place, and I fear it will not get any better in the near future. My guts have been twisted up inside, and for many days I felt like my head and body were literally going to explode, as I struggled with all my might against this onslaught of world hatred that is trying to break the spirit of the Jewish people. That's how I see it and experience it.
Chris, the world is not turning its hatred towards you, demanding with cynical and ulterior motives that you turn the other cheek to those who would murder you if they could. Therefore you can't imagine our sense of precariousness in the world, that there is almost no one that we can rely on. Therefore you will not understand or accurately assess our strength, our faith, our assertion of a right, nay a necessity to exist. A future generation will look back on this period and see an appalling picture of Europe and of the Muslim world, a picture not much more attractive than what you might see looking back on the nazi era.
If the Arab world did to Israel what Israel did to the Gazans, you would see vast, Dionysian-like celebration. I urge you to watch Israel closely, and see if you see any celebration at all. Let us watch together, you and me. This I already know: we are profoundly thankful that so few of our soldiers died, but beyond that, I predict: there will be no candy thrown, no vast parades glorifying our military might, no feasts and parties all night long in the streets. We will reflect on what we've done, its cruelty and its necessity. We will debate our tactics and our use of force. We will argue about what our goals were, and whether we achieved them. And we will be profoundly disheartened by a world that appears to value neither truth nor compassion. We too lacked compassion, and we will grieve long over that. Let us see if I'm wrong.
With great thanks to you for your kindness, for your concern, for your tactfulness. With your permission, I will post your email, and my response on my blog.
smb
He responded, 1/20/09:
I'd just say that I am not ALL of Britain and its history. If you feel such a direct connection to the lives and politics of Israel then it is this I cannot understand, not how one would fight to survive (as you see it). This I can understand.
(real) Peace
I've written, re-written and deleted several comments to your recent posts. In the end I've decided to send you this email. This too has been edited repeatedly, so it might lose some coherence.
I understand that as a Jew your defense of Israel is more than just politics, just as a Muslim's view on Hamas would be similarly clouded, but I would urge you to see past these prejudices to what is actually happening.
This might be a position that will make no sense to you, I feel like I'm trying to covince people to not react with violence to the people that raped and killed their mother. Because this seems to be the level of emotion attached to the situation by all sides. I'm sure that you would normally see the futility of war, that peace can never be achieve by killing. But this isn't about reason is it?
In the end all I want to say to you is that, although I can understand your position can't you see it's madness?
Christopher Godfree-Morrell
god-free morals
And I responded, 1/18/09:
Thanks for all the editing you must have done, to write such a sensitive email that was not caught up in the withering tension and, as you said, madness that possessed so many people, including me. Yes it is madness and it causes me great sorrow, bitterness, exhaustion.
May I say only this: you cannot imagine what it feels like to be so profoundly hated and vilified and demonized, so falsely and hypocritically, by so many people. We are begrudged the most piss-assed little piece of largely useless property in the world. A not insubstantial percentage of Muslims deny our very right to exist, and a not insubstantial percentage of Christians would not be upset if Israel were wiped off the map. What then are we to do, to make our neighbors understand that there is no future in war? Where do you begin a conversation with someone who denies your right to exist?
This world is a nasty place, and I fear it will not get any better in the near future. My guts have been twisted up inside, and for many days I felt like my head and body were literally going to explode, as I struggled with all my might against this onslaught of world hatred that is trying to break the spirit of the Jewish people. That's how I see it and experience it.
Chris, the world is not turning its hatred towards you, demanding with cynical and ulterior motives that you turn the other cheek to those who would murder you if they could. Therefore you can't imagine our sense of precariousness in the world, that there is almost no one that we can rely on. Therefore you will not understand or accurately assess our strength, our faith, our assertion of a right, nay a necessity to exist. A future generation will look back on this period and see an appalling picture of Europe and of the Muslim world, a picture not much more attractive than what you might see looking back on the nazi era.
If the Arab world did to Israel what Israel did to the Gazans, you would see vast, Dionysian-like celebration. I urge you to watch Israel closely, and see if you see any celebration at all. Let us watch together, you and me. This I already know: we are profoundly thankful that so few of our soldiers died, but beyond that, I predict: there will be no candy thrown, no vast parades glorifying our military might, no feasts and parties all night long in the streets. We will reflect on what we've done, its cruelty and its necessity. We will debate our tactics and our use of force. We will argue about what our goals were, and whether we achieved them. And we will be profoundly disheartened by a world that appears to value neither truth nor compassion. We too lacked compassion, and we will grieve long over that. Let us see if I'm wrong.
With great thanks to you for your kindness, for your concern, for your tactfulness. With your permission, I will post your email, and my response on my blog.
smb
He responded, 1/20/09:
I'd just say that I am not ALL of Britain and its history. If you feel such a direct connection to the lives and politics of Israel then it is this I cannot understand, not how one would fight to survive (as you see it). This I can understand.
(real) Peace
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Gaza war, 3
The following post begins with the full text of an article entitled “Ceasefire in Gaza” by Dr. Denis MacEoin. The letter includes Hamas’ politics, in its own words, with transliterated and translated Arabic. It is followed by excerpts from 2 articles, giving a Palestinian and an Egyptian analysis of Hamas and the war.
Ceasefire in Gaza by Dr. Denis MacEoin
The author has lectured in Arabic and Islamic Studies and is the incoming editor of Middle East Quarterly. He apparently has been having trouble getting this article published in the “fair and honest” British press.
There are things going on here that half the world just doesn't get. All those clamouring for a ceasefire think all other parties understand the word just like they do. They'd be wrong. The secular Arabic press, such as the international newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, uses the standard Arabic term for a cessation of fire: waqf al-nar or waqf itlaq al-nar. That is a literal translation, and it means exactly what ceasefire means in English and other languages. But Hamas don't talk about a cessation of fire, because that would be to introduce a term from the Western political vocabulary into their discourse, and they can't do that.
Why not? Because Hamas is a deeply-grounded Islamist movement that follows the principle that Muslims must never do anything that resembles what the non-believers do. That's why many Muslims here will only wear Muslim clothes and refuse to join in Christmas, birthday or other celebrations with their Christian neighbours.
Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, the Islamic Resistance Movement, and, unlike Fatah, it prioritizes religious values and aims. A Hamas council has just introduced the implementation of severe punishments, such as amputations and crucifixions for breaches of Islamic law in matters like theft or adultery. Read their 1988 Covenant (al-Mithaq) and you will grasp the fact that their struggle against Israel has nothing to do with land in the sense that is understood in international law. Their gripe is that the whole of what they anachronistically term 'Palestine' (the old Southern Syria) was conquered by Islam in the 7th century and not an inch of it must pass out of Muslim hands forever.
As their Covenant makes clear, they are fighting a jihad, and the rules they observe are jihad rules, based on centuries of legislation about the waging of war against unbelievers. The problems with jihad rules is that they simply don't recognize all the elements of international law that modern states base their treaties and international conventions on. Jihad law includes rules on how and when to deceive the foe, and envisages no outcome other than the death or submission of non-Muslims. [If you want to verify that, see my link on 1/9/09: From the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement at USC: A comprehensive listing of hadith (authoritative legal rulings) on Jihad. -- smb]
When Hamas announces a temporary cease-fire (a hudna or, recently, a tahdiyya or lull), it does so, not to have an opportunity to talk peace, but to regroup and re-arm. 'Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.' The only solution to the Middle East problem is war: 'There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.'
Numerous times in the past, Israel has shown itself willing to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, on conditions similar to those propounded by the Quartet, first and foremost recognition of Israel's right to exist, followed by a guarantee that there will be no further resort to violence, including terrorist attacks on civilians (and that includes firing rockets at them). As time has passed, especially since the death of Yasser Arafat, a degree of pragmatism has entered the Palestinian mind, but not the thinking of Hamas. Not only will Hamas not make peace with Israel in order to create a viable Palestinian state, they are as ready to kill Palestinian Muslims in order to gain total control of Gaza and the West Bank.
A recent Hamas pronouncement boasted that the Palestinians (for which read Hamas) have made an industry of death and that everyone plays a part: '...the women exceed at this, and so too do the mujahideen [fighters in jihad] and the children. That's why they have formed human shields of the women the children the elderly and the mujahideen in order to challenge the Zionist bombing machine.
This is the only fighting force in history to boast that they have made human shields of their own people. There are films of 'brave' Hamas gunmen dragging screaming children along to serve as shields, and of civilians sent onto the roofs of rocket launching sites, where, ironically, they know the Israelis will not fire on them. It is a mockery of military ethics, yet it goes barely noticed in the Western media.
Israel is not alone in fighting terrorism. Even now, this country fights al-Qa'eda and its affiliates in Iraq or the Taleban in Afghanistan. If we ever gave up the fight against Islamist terror in Britain, we would reap the whirlwind in bombings on land and in the air. Why then do so many of us scorn what Israel does. A combination of Hamas, Hizbullah, and Iran could one day bring Israel down and result in the deaths of millions of Jews. Is there any good reason why Israel should acquiesce in this? Is our grass roots anti-Semitism still so ferocious that we cannot bear the thought of a Jewish state in the Middle East, even if that state was brought into being by a [two-thirds] majority vote of the UN?
This war is not a pretty war, but, truth be told, no wars are pretty. If Hamas cannot be fought to a standstill or until it is a spent force, lulls in the fighting will be of absolutely no use. Beaten to a ceasefire, Hamas will return. They will return and they will fight to a standstill again, then they will regroup and attack once more. More deaths, of Israelis and Palestinians both. Ever-postponed statehood for the Palestinians, unending vituperation of Israel, which is only a democracy trying to defend its civilians from crimes this country would not bear for a week.
It's not a time for a ceasefire. When it comes, let the Palestinian Authority make it and keep to it, and let the PA police its own territories and rein in the madmen who cannot accept anything but their own right to rule everybody else, and their self-proclaimed right to kill Jews wherever they may be found. For Hamas has now announced that they will do exactly that: kill Jews, not just Israeli Jews, but Jews in any country where they may be found. And these are the people the UN and others would have Israel make a ceasefire with today.
A Fatah response to the war, 1/12:
A Fatah official in Ramallah on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Hamas and described its leaders as "criminals." Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on condition of anonymity, the Fatah official denounced Hamas as a "black and bloody militia" that was responsible for the "catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip.
The official expressed hope that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip would revolt against Hamas when the IDF operation ended. He also expressed hope that Hamas leaders Mahmoud Zahar and Ismail Haniyeh would be tried before a Palestinian court as "war criminals." The Hamas leaders, he charged, were responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent Palestinians. "Ever since they came to power, they brought death and destruction to our people."
An Egyptian response to the war:
Egyptian political analyst Magdi Khalil said he shared the view of the Palestinian Authority and Egypt that Hamas was responsible for the war in the Gaza Strip. "Ever since Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip in 2007, they turned the area into hell," he said. "They imposed restrictions on the people there and even prevented them from performing the pilgrimage to Mecca." The analyst said that the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service was right when he recently described Hamas as a group of gangsters. "Hamas and its masters in Damascus and Teheran want to spread chaos in Egypt," he said. "They want to solve the problem of the Gaza Strip by handing the area over to Egypt. They want to create a homeland for the Palestinians in Sinai." He said that Hamas was not only jeopardizing Egypt's national security, but had also destroyed the Palestinians' dream of statehood. "By endorsing the Iranian agenda, Hamas has brought the Iranians to Egypt's eastern border," he said. "Hamas has also copied Hizbullah's policy of entering into pointless adventures."
Ceasefire in Gaza by Dr. Denis MacEoin
The author has lectured in Arabic and Islamic Studies and is the incoming editor of Middle East Quarterly. He apparently has been having trouble getting this article published in the “fair and honest” British press.
There are things going on here that half the world just doesn't get. All those clamouring for a ceasefire think all other parties understand the word just like they do. They'd be wrong. The secular Arabic press, such as the international newspaper al-Sharq al-Awsat, uses the standard Arabic term for a cessation of fire: waqf al-nar or waqf itlaq al-nar. That is a literal translation, and it means exactly what ceasefire means in English and other languages. But Hamas don't talk about a cessation of fire, because that would be to introduce a term from the Western political vocabulary into their discourse, and they can't do that.
Why not? Because Hamas is a deeply-grounded Islamist movement that follows the principle that Muslims must never do anything that resembles what the non-believers do. That's why many Muslims here will only wear Muslim clothes and refuse to join in Christmas, birthday or other celebrations with their Christian neighbours.
Hamas is an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiyya, the Islamic Resistance Movement, and, unlike Fatah, it prioritizes religious values and aims. A Hamas council has just introduced the implementation of severe punishments, such as amputations and crucifixions for breaches of Islamic law in matters like theft or adultery. Read their 1988 Covenant (al-Mithaq) and you will grasp the fact that their struggle against Israel has nothing to do with land in the sense that is understood in international law. Their gripe is that the whole of what they anachronistically term 'Palestine' (the old Southern Syria) was conquered by Islam in the 7th century and not an inch of it must pass out of Muslim hands forever.
As their Covenant makes clear, they are fighting a jihad, and the rules they observe are jihad rules, based on centuries of legislation about the waging of war against unbelievers. The problems with jihad rules is that they simply don't recognize all the elements of international law that modern states base their treaties and international conventions on. Jihad law includes rules on how and when to deceive the foe, and envisages no outcome other than the death or submission of non-Muslims. [If you want to verify that, see my link on 1/9/09: From the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement at USC: A comprehensive listing of hadith (authoritative legal rulings) on Jihad. -- smb]
When Hamas announces a temporary cease-fire (a hudna or, recently, a tahdiyya or lull), it does so, not to have an opportunity to talk peace, but to regroup and re-arm. 'Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.' The only solution to the Middle East problem is war: 'There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.'
Numerous times in the past, Israel has shown itself willing to reach an agreement with the Palestinians, on conditions similar to those propounded by the Quartet, first and foremost recognition of Israel's right to exist, followed by a guarantee that there will be no further resort to violence, including terrorist attacks on civilians (and that includes firing rockets at them). As time has passed, especially since the death of Yasser Arafat, a degree of pragmatism has entered the Palestinian mind, but not the thinking of Hamas. Not only will Hamas not make peace with Israel in order to create a viable Palestinian state, they are as ready to kill Palestinian Muslims in order to gain total control of Gaza and the West Bank.
A recent Hamas pronouncement boasted that the Palestinians (for which read Hamas) have made an industry of death and that everyone plays a part: '...the women exceed at this, and so too do the mujahideen [fighters in jihad] and the children. That's why they have formed human shields of the women the children the elderly and the mujahideen in order to challenge the Zionist bombing machine.
This is the only fighting force in history to boast that they have made human shields of their own people. There are films of 'brave' Hamas gunmen dragging screaming children along to serve as shields, and of civilians sent onto the roofs of rocket launching sites, where, ironically, they know the Israelis will not fire on them. It is a mockery of military ethics, yet it goes barely noticed in the Western media.
Israel is not alone in fighting terrorism. Even now, this country fights al-Qa'eda and its affiliates in Iraq or the Taleban in Afghanistan. If we ever gave up the fight against Islamist terror in Britain, we would reap the whirlwind in bombings on land and in the air. Why then do so many of us scorn what Israel does. A combination of Hamas, Hizbullah, and Iran could one day bring Israel down and result in the deaths of millions of Jews. Is there any good reason why Israel should acquiesce in this? Is our grass roots anti-Semitism still so ferocious that we cannot bear the thought of a Jewish state in the Middle East, even if that state was brought into being by a [two-thirds] majority vote of the UN?
This war is not a pretty war, but, truth be told, no wars are pretty. If Hamas cannot be fought to a standstill or until it is a spent force, lulls in the fighting will be of absolutely no use. Beaten to a ceasefire, Hamas will return. They will return and they will fight to a standstill again, then they will regroup and attack once more. More deaths, of Israelis and Palestinians both. Ever-postponed statehood for the Palestinians, unending vituperation of Israel, which is only a democracy trying to defend its civilians from crimes this country would not bear for a week.
It's not a time for a ceasefire. When it comes, let the Palestinian Authority make it and keep to it, and let the PA police its own territories and rein in the madmen who cannot accept anything but their own right to rule everybody else, and their self-proclaimed right to kill Jews wherever they may be found. For Hamas has now announced that they will do exactly that: kill Jews, not just Israeli Jews, but Jews in any country where they may be found. And these are the people the UN and others would have Israel make a ceasefire with today.
A Fatah response to the war, 1/12:
A Fatah official in Ramallah on Sunday launched a scathing attack on Hamas and described its leaders as "criminals." Speaking to The Jerusalem Post on condition of anonymity, the Fatah official denounced Hamas as a "black and bloody militia" that was responsible for the "catastrophe" in the Gaza Strip.
The official expressed hope that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip would revolt against Hamas when the IDF operation ended. He also expressed hope that Hamas leaders Mahmoud Zahar and Ismail Haniyeh would be tried before a Palestinian court as "war criminals." The Hamas leaders, he charged, were responsible for the death of hundreds of innocent Palestinians. "Ever since they came to power, they brought death and destruction to our people."
An Egyptian response to the war:
Egyptian political analyst Magdi Khalil said he shared the view of the Palestinian Authority and Egypt that Hamas was responsible for the war in the Gaza Strip. "Ever since Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip in 2007, they turned the area into hell," he said. "They imposed restrictions on the people there and even prevented them from performing the pilgrimage to Mecca." The analyst said that the head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service was right when he recently described Hamas as a group of gangsters. "Hamas and its masters in Damascus and Teheran want to spread chaos in Egypt," he said. "They want to solve the problem of the Gaza Strip by handing the area over to Egypt. They want to create a homeland for the Palestinians in Sinai." He said that Hamas was not only jeopardizing Egypt's national security, but had also destroyed the Palestinians' dream of statehood. "By endorsing the Iranian agenda, Hamas has brought the Iranians to Egypt's eastern border," he said. "Hamas has also copied Hizbullah's policy of entering into pointless adventures."
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Political hypocrisy and moral depravity
Here is a link to the article, The Jews Face a Double Standard by Marvin Hier:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123137495711862883.html
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123137495711862883.html
Deja Vu on “proportional response”
What would be a proportional response to an armed robbery? What would be a proportional response to rape? A proportional response to an armed robbery might be scaring the hell out of the robber for a few minutes and taking some of his money. For rape: rape him back so he knows what it feels like and so he suffers some roughly equivalent amount of mental anguish. Hello, people! The justice system is not about proportional response, not in ANY society. It is about punishments that are deemed appropriate to stop or deter criminal behavior. In the case of armed robbery, a quick review of US state codes shows that more serious punishments (up to life in prison) are applied for more dangerous weapons, and/or if the criminal is masked, and/or if it is a repeat offense. As for rape, some states and some countries have the option of applying the death penalty. If the victim is a child or it is a repeat offense, the sentence will be more severe.
Israel has been dealing with terrorism, not just since the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, nor for the last 8 years of rocket attacks from Gaza. Terrorism has not stemmed from the Six Day War of 1967 when Jordan lost control of the West Bank and Egypt lost control of Gaza (remembering that Jordan had NO intention of allowing the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, but rather had annexed it, and Egypt had NO intention of creating a Palestinian state in Gaza; indeed, Gaza under Egypt was reckoned by the UN to be the poorest and most unhealthy place on earth). Anti-Jewish, anti-Israel terrorism did not even begin with the UN vote in 1947 partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab countries (a plan the Jews accepted but the Arabs rejected). There were major outbreaks of Arab rioting and terrorism from 1936-39, 1929, and 1919. And before that, Ottoman and Arab empires in the Middle East regularly subjected its Jewish residents to oppression and predatory governmental discrimination.
Arab and Palestinian terrorism is a product of deeply embedded bigotry. Numerous groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and as we can see from all the news reports, Europe too, are outspokenly committed to destroying Israel, that is, committed to ethnic cleansing and genocide. What is the proportional response to the intention to commit genocide? THAT is the response that Hamas deserves! What Israel is doing today is far less than a proportional response to Hamas. Israel is administering an appropriate punishment to a criminal government that must be taught the consequences of its hatred and persistent violence.
Israel has been dealing with terrorism, not just since the 2005 disengagement from Gaza, nor for the last 8 years of rocket attacks from Gaza. Terrorism has not stemmed from the Six Day War of 1967 when Jordan lost control of the West Bank and Egypt lost control of Gaza (remembering that Jordan had NO intention of allowing the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank, but rather had annexed it, and Egypt had NO intention of creating a Palestinian state in Gaza; indeed, Gaza under Egypt was reckoned by the UN to be the poorest and most unhealthy place on earth). Anti-Jewish, anti-Israel terrorism did not even begin with the UN vote in 1947 partitioning Palestine into Jewish and Arab countries (a plan the Jews accepted but the Arabs rejected). There were major outbreaks of Arab rioting and terrorism from 1936-39, 1929, and 1919. And before that, Ottoman and Arab empires in the Middle East regularly subjected its Jewish residents to oppression and predatory governmental discrimination.
Arab and Palestinian terrorism is a product of deeply embedded bigotry. Numerous groups in Gaza, Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and as we can see from all the news reports, Europe too, are outspokenly committed to destroying Israel, that is, committed to ethnic cleansing and genocide. What is the proportional response to the intention to commit genocide? THAT is the response that Hamas deserves! What Israel is doing today is far less than a proportional response to Hamas. Israel is administering an appropriate punishment to a criminal government that must be taught the consequences of its hatred and persistent violence.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Gaza war, 2
The New York Times, which in my general view holds Israel to a double standard, and is insensitive to the hate-filled and violent environment Israel must survive in, published an article today that was remarkable. Remarkable not because it supported Israel, but simply in its chilling and detailed description of the war as experienced by combatants on both sides.
Here are 2 quotes (indicated by italics), followed by a link to the whole article:
Hamas militants are fighting in civilian clothes; even the police have been ordered to take off their uniforms. The militants emerge from tunnels to shoot automatic weapons or antitank missiles, then disappear back inside, hoping to lure the Israeli soldiers with their fire. In one apartment building in Zeitoun, in northern Gaza, Hamas set an inventive, deadly trap. According to an Israeli journalist embedded with Israeli troops, the militants placed a mannequin in a hallway off the building’s main entrance. They hoped to draw fire from Israeli soldiers who might, through the blur of night vision goggles and split-second decisions, mistake the figure for a fighter. The mannequin was rigged to explode and bring down the building.
A new Israeli weapon, meanwhile, is tailored to the Hamas tactic of asking civilians to stand on the roofs of buildings so Israeli pilots will not bomb. The Israelis are countering with a missile designed, paradoxically, not to explode. They aim the missiles at empty areas of the roofs to frighten residents into leaving the buildings, a tactic called “a knock on the roof.”
Article: A Gaza War Full of Traps and Trickery, 1/10/09
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/world/middleeast/11hamas.html
Here are 2 quotes (indicated by italics), followed by a link to the whole article:
Hamas militants are fighting in civilian clothes; even the police have been ordered to take off their uniforms. The militants emerge from tunnels to shoot automatic weapons or antitank missiles, then disappear back inside, hoping to lure the Israeli soldiers with their fire. In one apartment building in Zeitoun, in northern Gaza, Hamas set an inventive, deadly trap. According to an Israeli journalist embedded with Israeli troops, the militants placed a mannequin in a hallway off the building’s main entrance. They hoped to draw fire from Israeli soldiers who might, through the blur of night vision goggles and split-second decisions, mistake the figure for a fighter. The mannequin was rigged to explode and bring down the building.
A new Israeli weapon, meanwhile, is tailored to the Hamas tactic of asking civilians to stand on the roofs of buildings so Israeli pilots will not bomb. The Israelis are countering with a missile designed, paradoxically, not to explode. They aim the missiles at empty areas of the roofs to frighten residents into leaving the buildings, a tactic called “a knock on the roof.”
Article: A Gaza War Full of Traps and Trickery, 1/10/09
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/11/world/middleeast/11hamas.html
Friday, January 09, 2009
Gaza war links and commentary
Here are some websites with information you need to know to evaluate what’s happening in Gaza:
Video shows Palestinian gunmen using ambulances as troop carriers.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=116_1231063776
A Caterpillar and An Anthem by Daniel Gordis, 1/4/09
http://www.danielgordis.org/Site/Site_ViewFriendlyDipatches.asp?id=22
From AP, 1/6/09: Analysis: In Gaza fight, Iran lurks in background
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090106/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_gaza_stakes_analysis
Background: war with Gaza 1/6/09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j61ktUeDDuo&feature=channel_page
From the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement at USC:
A comprehensive listing of hadith (authoritative legal rulings) on Jihad, showing the core value of war and conquest in Islam:
http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/052.sbt.html
6 Common Fabrications about Israel and Gaza:
http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672631/apps/s/content.asp?ct=6479525
Hamas Terrorists in UN School - Capt. Benjamin Rutland - 6 Jan. 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvBf-Vh4pNg&feature=channel
Weapons in Gaza Mosque Struck by Israel Air Force 1 Jan. 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwP_LusgPAw&feature=related
IDF message to Gazans, in Arabic with English subtitles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sznMP3dnCg&feature=PlayList&p=24B346594DCE3F37&index=5
And this article, reproduced here:
Assaf Wohl presents Gaza operation speech he wrote for United Nations
12/29/08:
Members of the United Nations, Democracies, dictatorships, republics, and the honorable secretary-general:
Within a few hours, media outlets in your countries shall present horrific photos of blood, fire, and rubble from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians will be screaming, in front of the cameras, about the massacre undertaken by the State of Israel. Initially, you may show understanding for our operations in the Strip, yet once the photos of wounded civilians reach you, you shall press us, as is your custom, to stop defending ourselves.
The first signs of this phenomenon can already be seen. Calls to “end the violence” from across the world are being heard loud and clear yet they are only being heard now, after years of violence, and after Israel finally decided to respond. The European Union already rushed to declare that it condemns Israel’s “disproportional use of force.” Several news networks have brought together panels whose members are scrutinizing the law books at this very moment in order to ascertain whether the Jewish State violated some international law.
I do not intend to deal with the question of where were these condemners and critics for the past seven years, when Hamas’ murderers set the timers of their rockets to coincidence with the end of the school day in Israel, because of a declared aim to kill as many children as possible. The question we should be discussing at this time is as follows: Why do the countries of the world and global media outlets obsessively engage in strict criticism that is only directed at Israel? After all, there is not even one country out there that is required to adhere to the moral criteria which the world demands of us of us of all people, the ones who as opposed to the rest of the world face threats of extermination.
Our Arab neighbors are well familiar with this double standard vulnerability. On their part, they are not bound by any kind of moral code. And so, they learned to exploit the international strictness towards Israel. A long time ago, they already understood that they cannot face the State of Israel on the battlefield. Indeed, when it comes to photographs and videos, they boast uniforms and weapons, yet once the fighting gets underway, they are quick to take off their uniforms and assimilate among women and children used as human shields.
They also make sure to place their arms depots in hospital basements and to fire rockets at population centers out of schoolyards. Their great hope is to elicit an Israeli response that would unintentionally hurt a few children. Once that happens, they will wave their bodies before the cameras and cry out to the world for help. This was the case in Lebanon, and this may happen tomorrow in the Gaza Strip.
Easing Europe’s conscience
The states demanding that Israel adhere to certain moral standards do not even dream of asking the same of her enemies. After all, we are dealing with theocracies and dictatorships, where homosexuals are publicly hanged, where women are regularly stoned for undermining their “family’s honor,” and where children suspected of theft have their arms severed. What do these states have to do with the value of human life? We should therefore ask representatives of global opinion: Be honest with yourselves - Do the lives of humans being butchered daily in Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur arouse you into similar action? Reality indicates this is not the case.
My answer to the question regarding the obsessive preoccupation with the actions of the Jews is purely sociological. Many of you, the shapers of public opinion, and mostly the Europeans amongst you, are interested in easing your conscience: If only can only show that the Israelis-Jews are not so moral or innocent, perhaps they deserve everything you did to them before they were able to establish their state? After all, here they are, occupying and butchering the poor Palestinians; they are certainly no better than us!
To that end, you are willing to help out the lowliest terrorists. Therefore, you bought into their slanderous Mohammed al-Dura tale, and therefore you will rush to buy into various blood libels in the coming days. Those who launch missiles and mortar shells into kindergartens know that they will always enjoy a protective umbrella from you. They draw their self-confidence from the intolerable ease with which they enlist your public opinion in their favor.
Therefore, you would do well to think twice before you move to stop the punishment they lawfully deserve. After all, you are the only lifesaver that can spare this radical terror group the measure of justice hovering above it.
Video shows Palestinian gunmen using ambulances as troop carriers.
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=116_1231063776
A Caterpillar and An Anthem by Daniel Gordis, 1/4/09
http://www.danielgordis.org/Site/Site_ViewFriendlyDipatches.asp?id=22
From AP, 1/6/09: Analysis: In Gaza fight, Iran lurks in background
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090106/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_mideast_gaza_stakes_analysis
Background: war with Gaza 1/6/09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j61ktUeDDuo&feature=channel_page
From the Center for Muslim-Jewish Engagement at USC:
A comprehensive listing of hadith (authoritative legal rulings) on Jihad, showing the core value of war and conquest in Islam:
http://www.usc.edu/schools/college/crcc/engagement/resources/texts/muslim/hadith/bukhari/052.sbt.html
6 Common Fabrications about Israel and Gaza:
http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/c.hsJPK0PIJpH/b.672631/apps/s/content.asp?ct=6479525
Hamas Terrorists in UN School - Capt. Benjamin Rutland - 6 Jan. 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvBf-Vh4pNg&feature=channel
Weapons in Gaza Mosque Struck by Israel Air Force 1 Jan. 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwP_LusgPAw&feature=related
IDF message to Gazans, in Arabic with English subtitles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sznMP3dnCg&feature=PlayList&p=24B346594DCE3F37&index=5
And this article, reproduced here:
Assaf Wohl presents Gaza operation speech he wrote for United Nations
12/29/08:
Members of the United Nations, Democracies, dictatorships, republics, and the honorable secretary-general:
Within a few hours, media outlets in your countries shall present horrific photos of blood, fire, and rubble from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinians will be screaming, in front of the cameras, about the massacre undertaken by the State of Israel. Initially, you may show understanding for our operations in the Strip, yet once the photos of wounded civilians reach you, you shall press us, as is your custom, to stop defending ourselves.
The first signs of this phenomenon can already be seen. Calls to “end the violence” from across the world are being heard loud and clear yet they are only being heard now, after years of violence, and after Israel finally decided to respond. The European Union already rushed to declare that it condemns Israel’s “disproportional use of force.” Several news networks have brought together panels whose members are scrutinizing the law books at this very moment in order to ascertain whether the Jewish State violated some international law.
I do not intend to deal with the question of where were these condemners and critics for the past seven years, when Hamas’ murderers set the timers of their rockets to coincidence with the end of the school day in Israel, because of a declared aim to kill as many children as possible. The question we should be discussing at this time is as follows: Why do the countries of the world and global media outlets obsessively engage in strict criticism that is only directed at Israel? After all, there is not even one country out there that is required to adhere to the moral criteria which the world demands of us of us of all people, the ones who as opposed to the rest of the world face threats of extermination.
Our Arab neighbors are well familiar with this double standard vulnerability. On their part, they are not bound by any kind of moral code. And so, they learned to exploit the international strictness towards Israel. A long time ago, they already understood that they cannot face the State of Israel on the battlefield. Indeed, when it comes to photographs and videos, they boast uniforms and weapons, yet once the fighting gets underway, they are quick to take off their uniforms and assimilate among women and children used as human shields.
They also make sure to place their arms depots in hospital basements and to fire rockets at population centers out of schoolyards. Their great hope is to elicit an Israeli response that would unintentionally hurt a few children. Once that happens, they will wave their bodies before the cameras and cry out to the world for help. This was the case in Lebanon, and this may happen tomorrow in the Gaza Strip.
Easing Europe’s conscience
The states demanding that Israel adhere to certain moral standards do not even dream of asking the same of her enemies. After all, we are dealing with theocracies and dictatorships, where homosexuals are publicly hanged, where women are regularly stoned for undermining their “family’s honor,” and where children suspected of theft have their arms severed. What do these states have to do with the value of human life? We should therefore ask representatives of global opinion: Be honest with yourselves - Do the lives of humans being butchered daily in Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur arouse you into similar action? Reality indicates this is not the case.
My answer to the question regarding the obsessive preoccupation with the actions of the Jews is purely sociological. Many of you, the shapers of public opinion, and mostly the Europeans amongst you, are interested in easing your conscience: If only can only show that the Israelis-Jews are not so moral or innocent, perhaps they deserve everything you did to them before they were able to establish their state? After all, here they are, occupying and butchering the poor Palestinians; they are certainly no better than us!
To that end, you are willing to help out the lowliest terrorists. Therefore, you bought into their slanderous Mohammed al-Dura tale, and therefore you will rush to buy into various blood libels in the coming days. Those who launch missiles and mortar shells into kindergartens know that they will always enjoy a protective umbrella from you. They draw their self-confidence from the intolerable ease with which they enlist your public opinion in their favor.
Therefore, you would do well to think twice before you move to stop the punishment they lawfully deserve. After all, you are the only lifesaver that can spare this radical terror group the measure of justice hovering above it.
Monday, August 07, 2006
To Hamas and Hezbollah
Keeperz ov the Vinyerd
Lord ov Hevvenz and all ov Erthaz hevenz,
Huze kort extenz frum the holeez tu the heethenz
My hart feelz it,
My miendz perseev it,
My Seel envizhenz it,
And my Spere knoez
A pepel iz arrizzen frum the baren woddee,
So bitter in its root,
So thornee in its bark,
A frute all seed and poizen.
It iz a kers uppon the land ov Yisroyel.
Wy iz this pepel and wut iz thaer kers
That haetred and venj iz thaer oenlee praer,
That hewman sakraffise iz thaer faverd rite?
Thay ar set themsellz entiyer aggenst Yisroyel
And thare by aggenst the God ov Yisroyel.
Thay hav set themsellz aggenst the God ov Yisroyel
And thare by aggenst thaer oen exxisten.
God ov Hevvenz and all ov Erthaz hevenz:
Thaer oen teechenz refuzen tu tern them.
How will thay tern? How kan thay servive?
Shorlee Yisroyel will be drivven by Yur tiedz,
And drivven by Yur windz tu destroy this ill vine.
Yisroyel will be driven in the chareyots ov Uddoniy
Tu dig owt this weed entiyer frum the land.
Lord, I kall frum the hart ov Yisroyel.
Must we take on this tarabbel werk?
Must we plow this poluten feeld?
Lord ov Yisroyel and Lord ov Islom,
Hu will tern this pepel, if not themsell?
Hu will tern them, if we kan not tern them?
Hu will tern them, o mersefful Juj,
God ov Hevvenz and all ov Erthaz hevenz.
God, redeemen ov Erthaz wide extremen.
Lord ov Hevvenz and all ov Erthaz hevenz,
Huze kort extenz frum the holeez tu the heethenz
My hart feelz it,
My miendz perseev it,
My Seel envizhenz it,
And my Spere knoez
A pepel iz arrizzen frum the baren woddee,
So bitter in its root,
So thornee in its bark,
A frute all seed and poizen.
It iz a kers uppon the land ov Yisroyel.
Wy iz this pepel and wut iz thaer kers
That haetred and venj iz thaer oenlee praer,
That hewman sakraffise iz thaer faverd rite?
Thay ar set themsellz entiyer aggenst Yisroyel
And thare by aggenst the God ov Yisroyel.
Thay hav set themsellz aggenst the God ov Yisroyel
And thare by aggenst thaer oen exxisten.
God ov Hevvenz and all ov Erthaz hevenz:
Thaer oen teechenz refuzen tu tern them.
How will thay tern? How kan thay servive?
Shorlee Yisroyel will be drivven by Yur tiedz,
And drivven by Yur windz tu destroy this ill vine.
Yisroyel will be driven in the chareyots ov Uddoniy
Tu dig owt this weed entiyer frum the land.
Lord, I kall frum the hart ov Yisroyel.
Must we take on this tarabbel werk?
Must we plow this poluten feeld?
Lord ov Yisroyel and Lord ov Islom,
Hu will tern this pepel, if not themsell?
Hu will tern them, if we kan not tern them?
Hu will tern them, o mersefful Juj,
God ov Hevvenz and all ov Erthaz hevenz.
God, redeemen ov Erthaz wide extremen.
Disproportion and illegitimacy in the Middle East, part 3
Hezbollah operates an independent militia from within Lebanon, a militia that is entirely outside the control of the Lebanese government and army. Many nations classify it as a terrorist organization. The UN has demanded Hezbollah's militia be disarmed and disbanded, to which Hezbollah has thumbed its nose. Thus, Hezbollah violates both Lebanese and international law.
Israel, by contrast, is a sovereign nation. Indeed, it is the only nation in the Middle East created by the UN. Every other nation in that region was created after WWI by France and England as they carved up the Ottoman empire for their own economic and political uses. This "carving" (which may be described more accurately as the tearing apart of a carcass by a pack of wolves) was done without regard to history, ethnicity, religion, and culture (as is so obvious now in Iraq). And yet we hear across the Arab world about the “illegitimacy” of Israel. This is a classic example of seeing in one’s enemy what is most true about oneself.
Hezbollah is the definition of illegitimacy. So, if proportion is demanded in this conflict, how does one set a proportion to Hezbollah's illegitimacy and flagrant violation of Lebanon’s sovereign territory, as compared to Israel's unconditional legitimacy? In truth, the demand for “proportion” laid on Israel is really just another hypocritical example double standards, to allow free rein for anti-Israel, anti-Jewish agents. Hezbollah is a proxy for Arab and Muslim hatred of Israel, and is a cloak for resurgent anti-Semitism across Europe and Canada, and to a much lesser degree, the US.
Israel, by contrast, is a sovereign nation. Indeed, it is the only nation in the Middle East created by the UN. Every other nation in that region was created after WWI by France and England as they carved up the Ottoman empire for their own economic and political uses. This "carving" (which may be described more accurately as the tearing apart of a carcass by a pack of wolves) was done without regard to history, ethnicity, religion, and culture (as is so obvious now in Iraq). And yet we hear across the Arab world about the “illegitimacy” of Israel. This is a classic example of seeing in one’s enemy what is most true about oneself.
Hezbollah is the definition of illegitimacy. So, if proportion is demanded in this conflict, how does one set a proportion to Hezbollah's illegitimacy and flagrant violation of Lebanon’s sovereign territory, as compared to Israel's unconditional legitimacy? In truth, the demand for “proportion” laid on Israel is really just another hypocritical example double standards, to allow free rein for anti-Israel, anti-Jewish agents. Hezbollah is a proxy for Arab and Muslim hatred of Israel, and is a cloak for resurgent anti-Semitism across Europe and Canada, and to a much lesser degree, the US.
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Hezbollah: an ideology of hatred
Hezbollah openly and aggressively preaches hatred towards all Jews, and it is publicly committed to the destruction of Israel and all Jews in Israel. Parallel to this hatred, most Middle Eastern countries promote hatred towards Jews and Israel in their schools, media, and from their mosques, while suppressing positive images of Jews and Israel.
By contrast, Israel has been hailed, even by the UN, for its educational system that promotes respect and equality for all people. The same is true of its legal and political systems. For any moral country, open incitement of hate and incitement of acts of racial/religious violence must be deemed criminal. The disproportions between Israel and the rest of the Middle East in this regard are so extreme that there is simply no scale to measure it.
Hezbollah's ideology of hatred is based on the deep-seated hatred embedded in Islam for Judaism (and all other religions, for that matter). Since 2001 I have been compiling news reports from high profile media, primarily AP and Reuters, documenting hatred in the Muslim world. I have over 45 pages of direct quotes from Muslims of all stripes, expressing their unrestrained and unself-conscious bigotry towards Jews, Christians, and America. Consider these few examples:
10/28/05: by Ali Akbar Dareini, AP, “Iran Leader Reiterates Anti-Israel Stance”
Tehran, Iran -Iran's ultraconservative president joined more than a million demonstrators who flooded the streets of the capital and other major cities Friday to back his call for the destruction of the Jewish state. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood fast behind his assertion that Israel should be wiped off the map and repeated the call during the nationwide protests Friday, the Muslim day of prayer.
7/13/04: no author cited, AP, “Ayatollah: U.S. Supports Iraq Insurgency”
Tehran, Iran - Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday accused U.S. and Israeli agents, not Muslims, of responsibility for the wave of beheadings and kidnappings in Iraq, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
11/9/04, Simon Wiesenthal Center, “Holland must Act Now to Stop Extremism”
The brutal killing last week of Dutch film director Theo van Gogh who was stabbed to death in Amsterdam while cycling to work shocked the world. Moreover, a five-page letter pinned to Van Gogh's body with a knife included antisemitic rhetoric reminiscent of Nazi propaganda and threats against Amsterdam's Jewish Mayor Job Cohen and other Jewish personalities.
12/6/02: by Alaa Shahine, AP, “Saudi Minister: Jews Behind 9/11 Attacks”
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - The Saudi police minister has claimed Jews were behind the Sept. 11 attacks because they have benefited from subsequent criticism of Islam and Arabs, according to media reports. Interior Minister Prince Nayef made the remarks in the Arabic-language Kuwaiti daily Assyasah last month.
7/21/06: Reuters, no by-line, “Security men block big Cairo protest against Israel”
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mahdi Akef told Reuters: "Today we are supporting the Palestinian, Lebanese and Iraqi resistance and every resistance against Zionist, American and European arrogance.” “Al-Azhar's message to the world is Death to the Zionist entity" read one of the large banners strung across an archway in the marble courtyard of the mosque. "Nasrallah, our friend, hit and destroy Tel Aviv," the protesters chanted.
5/25/06: By Andrew Hammond, Reuters, “Saudi textbooks still preach hatred: report”
Schoolbooks say that "Christians and Jews are the enemies of the believers" and that students should not "befriend," "respect" or "show loyalty to" non-believers, the report said, citing Arabic passages.
12/22/05: by Salah Nasrawi, AP, “Egypt Opposition Leader Denies Holocaust”
Cairo, Egypt - The leader of Egypt's main Islamic opposition group said Thursday the Holocaust was a "myth," and he slammed Western governments for criticizing disclaimers of the Jewish genocide. The comments by Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohammed Mahdi Akef [were] made on the heels of his group's strong showing in Egyptian parliamentary elections.
5/13/05: Palestinian Authority TV:
“The day will come when we will rule the United States, the day will come when we will rule Britain, we will rule the whole world [and all will live in peace and comfort under our rule] except the Jews. The Jews will not live in peace and comfort under our rule. Treachery will keep being their nature throughout history. The day will come when the whole world will rid itself of the Jews.”
By contrast, Israel has been hailed, even by the UN, for its educational system that promotes respect and equality for all people. The same is true of its legal and political systems. For any moral country, open incitement of hate and incitement of acts of racial/religious violence must be deemed criminal. The disproportions between Israel and the rest of the Middle East in this regard are so extreme that there is simply no scale to measure it.
Hezbollah's ideology of hatred is based on the deep-seated hatred embedded in Islam for Judaism (and all other religions, for that matter). Since 2001 I have been compiling news reports from high profile media, primarily AP and Reuters, documenting hatred in the Muslim world. I have over 45 pages of direct quotes from Muslims of all stripes, expressing their unrestrained and unself-conscious bigotry towards Jews, Christians, and America. Consider these few examples:
10/28/05: by Ali Akbar Dareini, AP, “Iran Leader Reiterates Anti-Israel Stance”
Tehran, Iran -Iran's ultraconservative president joined more than a million demonstrators who flooded the streets of the capital and other major cities Friday to back his call for the destruction of the Jewish state. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stood fast behind his assertion that Israel should be wiped off the map and repeated the call during the nationwide protests Friday, the Muslim day of prayer.
7/13/04: no author cited, AP, “Ayatollah: U.S. Supports Iraq Insurgency”
Tehran, Iran - Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday accused U.S. and Israeli agents, not Muslims, of responsibility for the wave of beheadings and kidnappings in Iraq, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
11/9/04, Simon Wiesenthal Center, “Holland must Act Now to Stop Extremism”
The brutal killing last week of Dutch film director Theo van Gogh who was stabbed to death in Amsterdam while cycling to work shocked the world. Moreover, a five-page letter pinned to Van Gogh's body with a knife included antisemitic rhetoric reminiscent of Nazi propaganda and threats against Amsterdam's Jewish Mayor Job Cohen and other Jewish personalities.
12/6/02: by Alaa Shahine, AP, “Saudi Minister: Jews Behind 9/11 Attacks”
Dubai, United Arab Emirates - The Saudi police minister has claimed Jews were behind the Sept. 11 attacks because they have benefited from subsequent criticism of Islam and Arabs, according to media reports. Interior Minister Prince Nayef made the remarks in the Arabic-language Kuwaiti daily Assyasah last month.
7/21/06: Reuters, no by-line, “Security men block big Cairo protest against Israel”
Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Mahdi Akef told Reuters: "Today we are supporting the Palestinian, Lebanese and Iraqi resistance and every resistance against Zionist, American and European arrogance.” “Al-Azhar's message to the world is Death to the Zionist entity" read one of the large banners strung across an archway in the marble courtyard of the mosque. "Nasrallah, our friend, hit and destroy Tel Aviv," the protesters chanted.
5/25/06: By Andrew Hammond, Reuters, “Saudi textbooks still preach hatred: report”
Schoolbooks say that "Christians and Jews are the enemies of the believers" and that students should not "befriend," "respect" or "show loyalty to" non-believers, the report said, citing Arabic passages.
12/22/05: by Salah Nasrawi, AP, “Egypt Opposition Leader Denies Holocaust”
Cairo, Egypt - The leader of Egypt's main Islamic opposition group said Thursday the Holocaust was a "myth," and he slammed Western governments for criticizing disclaimers of the Jewish genocide. The comments by Muslim Brotherhood chief Mohammed Mahdi Akef [were] made on the heels of his group's strong showing in Egyptian parliamentary elections.
5/13/05: Palestinian Authority TV:
“The day will come when we will rule the United States, the day will come when we will rule Britain, we will rule the whole world [and all will live in peace and comfort under our rule] except the Jews. The Jews will not live in peace and comfort under our rule. Treachery will keep being their nature throughout history. The day will come when the whole world will rid itself of the Jews.”
Saturday, July 29, 2006
Disproportionate Use of Force
Israel is now engaged in a war with Hezbollah, a war that will be known as “the war of the captives.” The Israeli response to the killing of 3 soldiers and kidnaping of 2 others from Israeli soil is criticized for being disproportionate. “Disproportionate” is a term describing a state of unbalance and inequality between two entities or forces. So let us look at the unbalances and inequalities here.
1. The first and primary disproportion is the unrestrained and shameless hatred expressed by Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, Syria and untold numbers of millions of Arabs and Iranians for Israel. Unrestrained and shameless hatred with the expressed desire and the utter lack of conscience necessary to commit genocide against the Jews of Israel.
2. The second disproportion is Hezbollah’s status as an illegal militia that has usurped a place within a country too weak to dismantle it and jail its leaders.
3. The third disproportion is Hezbollah’s unconscionable and illegal use of human shields to protect its terrorists, their leaders, weapons, and equipment.
4. And finally, the fourth disproportion is population: 160+ million Arabs and Iranians confronting 5 million Jewish Israelis.
Those people and governments demanding “proportion” from Israel, don’t want to look at the context of extreme disproportion in the Middle east, a disproportion overwhelmingly balanced against Israel and its right to exist in peace, security, and with equality to all other nations.
In the following days I will expand on each of these points.
Israel is now engaged in a war with Hezbollah, a war that will be known as “the war of the captives.” The Israeli response to the killing of 3 soldiers and kidnaping of 2 others from Israeli soil is criticized for being disproportionate. “Disproportionate” is a term describing a state of unbalance and inequality between two entities or forces. So let us look at the unbalances and inequalities here.
1. The first and primary disproportion is the unrestrained and shameless hatred expressed by Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, Syria and untold numbers of millions of Arabs and Iranians for Israel. Unrestrained and shameless hatred with the expressed desire and the utter lack of conscience necessary to commit genocide against the Jews of Israel.
2. The second disproportion is Hezbollah’s status as an illegal militia that has usurped a place within a country too weak to dismantle it and jail its leaders.
3. The third disproportion is Hezbollah’s unconscionable and illegal use of human shields to protect its terrorists, their leaders, weapons, and equipment.
4. And finally, the fourth disproportion is population: 160+ million Arabs and Iranians confronting 5 million Jewish Israelis.
Those people and governments demanding “proportion” from Israel, don’t want to look at the context of extreme disproportion in the Middle east, a disproportion overwhelmingly balanced against Israel and its right to exist in peace, security, and with equality to all other nations.
In the following days I will expand on each of these points.
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