Opuscula Perspective

This is keyed in Yavne, Israel.

Yavne is fairly close to an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) air base.

Consequently, the noise of IDF aircraft — and occasionally a single-engine civilian high wing — is common and, for this scrivener, of no concern.

Besides, I grew up with aircraft noise of all types.

 

BUT, I WONDERED TO myself: “What must the noises I find familiar sound like to Israel’s enemies, particularly those stuck in Gaza.”

Gaza’s despotic leadership — Hamas and Islamic Jihad, both Iranian proxies — stupidly make and break cease fire agreements with Israel, fire unguided missiles at Israeli civilian centers, knowing Israel will retaliate.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad use the locals as propaganda tools, hiding war materiel under UN schools, mosques, and other public facilities.

When Israel strikes back, some public facilities are targeted; rarely, civilians — that is, people who neither are aligned with Hamas or Islamic Jihad (IJ) — sometimes are injured or killed. All this makes for great anti-Israel pr in the world’s media. (Never mind that usually only one side of the story is promulgated.)

 

Two points that need to be abundantly clear.

1. Israeli civilians include not only Jews, but Muslims, Christians, Druze, and “others.” The missiles are indiscriminate.

2. A number of Hamas/IJ missiles fall short of the Gaza-Israel border, killing Gaza citizens, children, young adults, seniors: again, indiscriminately.

 

Hamas/IJ sympathizers whine that

a. Gaza lacks Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system

b. A “disproportionate” number of Gazans are injured or killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes. Do they want Israel to kill its own citizens for “proportional” numbers?

It is a waste of effort reminding these sympathizers that if Hamas/IJ ceased firing missiles at Israelis, Israel would not be retaliating.

The leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad — a few ruling from distant countries — should be glad Israel has a relatively solid missile defense. If not for Iron Dome, it is possible Israeli casualties would be far higher, prompting a massive invasion of Gaza, with all the associated “collateral damage.”

 

If there was peace

Granted, peace with Gaza’s rulers is a pipe dream, but imagine if Hamas and Islamic Jihad actually wanted to benefit the people rather than kill or enslave Jews.

Gaza could have

* A deep water seaport

* A restored airfield (https://tinyurl.com/2j4767c7)

* Fresh water

* Fuel for electricity generating plants

* Increased exports to the region and the world

* Relatively unrestricted travel to Israel (employment, medical care) and Egypt (access to Europe)

However, peace won’t happen with Hamas/IJ in control of Gaza.

Gazans who want peace and a better life need to cast off the despots, admittedly a difficult task and one requiring outside help. Unfortunately, that does not mean the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (a/k/a UNRWA). UNRWA would be out of business if Gazans made and sustained a peace agreement with Israel.

The mindset “From the river (Jordan) to the Sea (Mediterranean)” espoused by Hamas and Islamic Jihad must be replaced by one of coexistence with Israel.

Such coexistence has proven beneficial to Egypt and Jordan as well as Israel, and indications are that this also will be true for the nations of the Abraham Accord; nations brought together by former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Could Gaza survive sans the PLO. Would an independent (from Iran and its proxies) survive as part of a “Palestinian” state or even as an independent entity?

When Israel controlled Gaza — Anwar Sadat refused Menachem Begin’s plea to take back Gaza as part of the Egypt-Israel peace agreement — Gaza had a thriving export business.

With a peace agreement with Israel, Gazans would have access to Israeli technology, technology freely shared with other Muslim (and non-Muslim) states.

But peace will not, cannot, happen while Hamas/IJ are in control and in turn are under the control of Iran.

But imagine.

No more missiles flying in either direction.

No more Israelis or Gazans injured or killed in conflict.

An economy that supports a livable income.

Fresh water and reliable electricity for the Strip.

And that is just the beginning.

 

Meanwhile, the planes keep flying about my abode. I’m used to the noise.

But I feel for the ordinary folks in Gaza.

 

 

 

 

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Perspective

Opuscula Freedom of speech Vs. blatantly false Op-Ed statements

 

WHERE SHOULD A PUBLICATION draw the line on op-ed (reader commentary) even if the commentary is false and the lies documented as lies by numerous independent sources?

Is there ever a time when a publication, of any type, can ignore falsehoods and inflammatory statements and publish the canards sans comment?

 

 

APPARENTLY, THE WASHINGTON (D.C.) POST has no line over which a commentary writer can cross with impunity; it has no restriction about printing flagrant lies and half-truths.

Case in point

According to Honest Reporting¹, The Washington Post (WashPost), ran an opinion piece by Tarek Loubani that claimed, among other things, that Gaza is an open-air prison. As covid-19 spreads, it's time to lift the siege.²

Loubani isn’t some naive humanitarian guided by inaccurate information. He is actually a political activist previously deported from Israel in 2003 for his activities as part of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM).

The ISM, while claiming to be “non-violent,” supports Palestinian “armed resistance” and has a long history of anti-Israel activities, including violence, support for terrorism and the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement (BDS).

Time for truth

One: Israel has been supplying both Hamas and the PLO with materials to combat the Chinese virus.

There is NO restriction on humanitarian aid entering either anti-Israel stronghold.

Some residents of Gaza and the PLO areas still are allowed entry into Israel for work and medical care.

Two: Egypt’s border with Gaza is closed. Nothing goes in or comes out legally. Loubani’s rant fails to mention that.

The author’s greatest lies are by omission.

He fails to mention that Hamas has failed to invest in medical facilities and infrastructure such as hospitals and equipment.

Honest Reporting asks Could it be that huge amounts of money have been spent on rockets, weapons, attack tunnels and terror infrastructure at the expense of ordinary Gazans? Could it be that a terrorist organization is capable of gross mismanagement?

Indeed, Loubani apparently believes Hamas is innocent of all blame for its captives’ condition, and the WashPost either agrees or ignores the truth.

In his WashPost rant he never places any blame for any problem on Hamas. It is if Israel, not Hamas , is responsible for electrical problems (despite Israel providing thousands of gallons of Diesel fuel) or its water woes that Hamas allows to happen.

Responsible journalism

If the WashPost and other publications had honest management and had the WashPost and other publications had responsible management, Loubani’s screed could have been printed with the caveat that the information he puts forth is challenged by others on the ground.

Loubani, a Canadian, found another outlet for his rants on the magazine Logic that, interestingly never states its credentials or even its location. (Who vets the articles, anyone with the ability to challenge a writer a la a professional journal such as the Journal of the American Medical Association, JAMA?) Loubani, writing for Logic, claims to have been taking regular trips since 2011 and where the Israeli and Egyptian blockade ensures that he rarely has access to basic medical equipment like gauze and plastic gloves when he’s there. Reliable access to more expensive equipment is out of the question. ³

Never mind that foreign investors tried to build a new hospital in Gaza; there was no interference from either Israel or Egypt. Never mind that Israeli doctors — both Muslim and Jewish — provide training to Gaza and PLO practitioners.

And most certainly never mind that the majority of Hamas’ income goes to build tunnels to attack Israeli civilians, and to produce rockets to fall on Israeli civilians.

These are facts, unlike Loubani’s claims on any media that is sufficiently gullible to assume Loubani’s facts are indeed “facts” and not fiction.

Yes, Israel DOES block access of goods to Gaza on a temporary basis after being attacked by Hamas

Yes, Israel DOES block delivery of materials known to be used against it by Hamas.

Question: Why is it none of Loubani’s ilk ever seem to mention that Egypt also prevents Gazans free passage to and from Egypt. They are, after all, fellow Muslims.

If the Egyptians, a people to whom many Gazans are related (not to real or imagined “Palestinians”) won’t allow Gazans free access, there must be something wrong with Gaza. There is: Hamas, Islamic Brotherhood by name.

Let them rant

The WashPost, like the New York Times and other leftist publications, allow, if not encourage, op-ed commentaries similar to Loubani’s. This is the U.S. and we zealously guard our right to speak freely.

However, — and I write this as a former newspaper reporter and editor — publications have, at least in this scrivener’s opinion, an obligation to vet all copy for truth. In the case of op-eds, the publication is obligated to check the writer’s “facts” and when they are at variance to the truth, to publish an appropriate caveat.

Sources

1. Honest Reporting: https://tinyurl.com/y83eekp9

2. WashPost: https://tinyurl.com/ybl25t6j

3. Logic: https://tinyurl.com/y2gcn5fg

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comments on WashPost lies

Opuscula London bombed; Dresden bombed Lesson for Hamas?

 

HAMAS AND Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) send missiles, fire balloons, and other weapons into Israel, mostly southern Israel where few Knesset members live.

Israel wastes thousands of shekels in jet fuel and more thousands in munitions to surgically target places where Hamas and PIJ were but are not now, having run away leaving the target populated by civilians.

Hamas and PIJ tell Israel and the world they want a cease fire which Israel gives and then Hamas and PIJ almost immediately violate the cease fire, proving, once again, that Israel’s politicians are either stupid or two faced — or both.

 

DURING WORLD WAR 2, the nazi air force bombed London, the Luftwaffe attacked ports in Liverpool and Hull as well the cities of Bristol, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Southampton, Cardiff, and Swansea. The industrial powerhouses of Birmingham, Belfast, Coventry, Glasgow, Manchester and Sheffield were also heavily bombed. (https://tinyurl.com/tlpxtqc)

While these bomber attacks should have been expected — the nazis had bombed and shelled cities on the continent, killing hundreds, the Brits apparently thought their cities were safe.

After the bombers came the V-1 flying bombs, the predecessors of today’s missiles.

The raids caused enormous destruction and heavy civilian casualties—some 43,000 British civilians were killed and another 139,000 were wounded. (https://tinyurl.com/y4ncbqhc)

When the nazis focused their attention on Russia in 1941, the bombing ceased (too few aircraft for a two-front war) and bomber attacks were replaced with rocket attacks from June 1944 through March 1945. During that time, 6,725 rockets were launched at Britain. Of these, 2,340 hit London, causing 5,475 deaths, with 16,000 injured. (https://tinyurl.com/ws7pb7x)

 

Revenge

The most extreme examples of Allied bombing of German cities included Hamburg in Operation Gomorrah (45,000 dead), and the bombings of Kassel (10,000 dead), Darmstadt (12,500 dead), Pforzheim (21,200 dead), Swinemuende (23,000 dead), and Dresden (25,000 dead). (https://tinyurl.com/btzvqng)

It can be argued that the first civilians killed by bombing — by either side — were in areas with military objectives; initially civilians in areas of no military value were relatively safe.

While Hamburg had the highest number of fatalities, Dresden is famous for the cruelty of the attack.

Unlike other targets, e.g., Hamburg, Dresden was, according to some, of little military significance. (https://tinyurl.com/y6pukj8d) Others however, contend that the city did have military value to the nazis, but admit the bombing of Dresden also was “for effect.” (https://tinyurl.com/redc8w4)

The bottom line was that Dresden was fire bombed day and night by U.S. and English bombers at least in part to make civilians suffer for the nazis’ war.

 

Israeli option

There are, from time to time, reports of dissatisfaction with Hamas and PIJ by the residents of Gaza.

Reports also claim that voices pressing for change are suppressed violently.

The left-leaning New York Times’ writer,  David M. Halbfinger, posits that Hamas, the militant group that runs the Gaza Strip, has been trying for over a year to keep a lid on its conflict with Israel, to improve the abysmal quality of life for the two million Palestinians under its control, and to keep millions of dollars in cash coming in each month from its generous allies in Qatar.

But a nettlesome, unruly and heavily armed little group called Palestinian Islamic Jihad has repeatedly sabotaged those plans by firing rockets at Israel, which more often than not has responded by raining down destruction on Hamas’s own installations and men. (Never mind the Times’ {Times’s?} use of “’s”. [https://tinyurl.com/yxbmoees, https://tinyurl.com/y36vj9zr])

Admittedly, if Israel did to Gaza what the allies did to Dresden — or any other mixed value target — the world would loudly object. Israel’s responses always must be “proportional.”

Some fool fails to understand that Hamas et al have sworn to drive the Jews — and presumably all non Muslims — into the sea; Hamas has declared war on Israel.

 

Government in exile?

The primary problem with Israel indiscriminately bombing Gaza, is that, as the nazis in Germany, Hamas et al won’t get the message and the people will remain under Hamas’ (or Hamas’s if you are a NY Times’s reader) thumb.

Someone — Egypt is probably the best option — should help Gazans who are tired of fighting Hamas, PIJ and Israel set up a government in exile. Even Israel could — and should — support this government in exile so that when — and this is a certainty — the war mongers of Hamas., PIJ, and any other interlopers are dispatched to their 70 virgins, Gaza will not be left in a vacuum.

Gazans already are escaping the strip. They are heading to Europe. Will they support a Hamas-free government?

The overthrow MUST only be with the assistance of fellow Muslims. The U.S. should not provide any direct military aid — none. Israeli Muslims, even if they want to help overthrow the despots, need to “sit on their hands” so “The World” won’t have grounds to blame Israel. (It WILL, in the end, blame Israel; that’s the knee-jerk reaction to everything.)

What Gaza does not need are Blue Bonnets patrolling the streets. UN “forces” have generally proven of little or no value.

 

Avoiding Dresden in Gaza

The people of Gaza, with help from their Muslim kin, need to overthrow the despots of Hamas, PIJ, and any other organization that puts itself before the people.

Hamas et al will not go quietly into the night and there will be casualties.

That, sadly, usually is the price of freedom from tyranny. Americans learned that lesson in 1775.

Still, Gazans who want a democratic-style government must act to prevent an Israeli politician such as the late Ariel Sharon, from invading Gaza and laying waste to the strip as Union Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman laid waste to Atlanta GA. (https://tinyurl.com/y8c3v4jq ) Atlanta recovered after the war and now is one of America’s major cities.

Continued attacks from Gaza on Israeli communities eventually will force Israel’s government to act, even if belatedly. Israel will not allow another “Lebanon” defeat.

The preventative is to establish a government in exile and to cast out Hamas, et al.

It won’t be easy. It will cost lives.

In the end, fewer lives will be lost than if an Israel, tired of attacks on its citizens, decides to depose the despots and invades Gaza.

 

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

 

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Gaza & Dresden

Opuscula Gaza: How PLO, Hamas destroyed People’s prosperity

WHEN ARIEL SHARON FORCED ISRAELIS OUT OF GAZA, the Muslims — then under PLO control — destroyed the greenhouses the Israelis left behind.

The facilities were dismantled and, with that, Gaza’s opportunity to become a force in the export of flowers and vegetables to Europe and Israel.

AN ARTICLE ON SEVERAL ISRAELI news sites tells Israelis that what is left of the greenhouses is being used against them today.

World Israel News (WIN), headlines: Hamas Leader: ‘We Make Rockets from Leftover Israeli Irrigation Pipes’ (https://tinyurl.com/yx6zseqp).

According to WIN, “Yahya Sinwar recalled how a farmer took him to Gush Katif and showed him the abandoned irrigation lines left by Israeli farmers during the 2005 Gaza withdrawal.

““Then, a simple farmer approached one of the men from the Brigades. He said: ‘I heard that you’re having a problem with pipes for missile production.’ The young man told him this was true. The [farmer] said: ‘I will give you the solution for this.’ [The young man said:] ‘What is it?’ He answered: ‘Come with me,” Sinwar said.

He recalled how the farmer took him to Gush Katif and showed him the abandoned irrigation lines left by Israeli farmers during the 2005 Gaza withdrawal.”

Cutting off nose

Had the PLO encouraged Gaza’s residents to take over the hothouses when Sharon forced the Israelis out, Gaza could have assumed Israel’s export trade and, overtime expanded it.

Had the PLO, later Hamas, been wise, the Strip’s economy would be far better than it is today.

Had the PLO, later Hamas, not put attacks on Israel ahead of all else, it could have received Israeli support to expand and improve the hothouse businesses; Israelis are offering technical expertise to Arabs within Israel and, in some cases, to Arabs in occupied Israel (e.g., the so-called "West Bank”).

Had the PLO, later Hamas, not put murder of Jews as their first priority, Gaza’s Arafat International Airport could still be functional and a sea port could have been established.

Had the PLO and, later, Hamas, refrained from attacking Israeli civilians, Gaza residents could more freely access Israeli medical care — and have Israeli medical personnel help modernize Gaza medical facilities — but the PLO and Hamas and now Islamic Jihad put killing Israeli civilians ahead of advancing the people they “govern.”

Had the PLO and, later, Hamas and now Islamic Jihad, foregone attacks on Israeli civilians the border crossings would be open longer. Had Islamic Jihad foregone attacks on Egyptians, that border also would be open more often.

Sodom & Gomorrah, Dresden & Nagasaki Genesis (18 24-33) includes a discussion between God and Abraham where the latter pleads with the former to spare the town if there are 50, 40, 20, 10 decent people there. In the end, Sodom (and Gemorrah) were destroyed — there is physical evidence of this historical event.

During World War 2, the nazis bombed London and some other civilian sites. In return, English and U.S. air forces fire bombed the German city of Dresden and killed hundreds of civilians while destroying the city. (Why not Berlin?)

Ending Japan’s war on the world, President Harry Truman approved dropping two atomic bombs on two Japanese towns with minimal military value: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Both towns and the Japanese government were warned of the impending doom. (Did the Japanese government allow people to flee from the cities?)

While those who believe in the Bible and its stories understand that in all of Sodom there were not even 10 worthy people, surely Dresden, Hiroshima and Nagasaki had at least 10 people who did not support their government’s war on the world (from the U.S., all across the Pacific Ocean, and into Indo-China and Korea).

It is reported that there are people captive in Gaza who want Hamas and Islamic Jihad — and maybe the PLO, too — out of power. (Likewise there are “civil disturbances” in Lebanon and Iran; there is civil war in Syria.)

Because there ARE people who would, given the opportunity, “choose life,” it becomes a morally difficult position to “level Gaza” (or Lebanon or Iran, or even Syria and the PLO jihadists in occupied Israel).

Mutual destruction

When the U.S. and the then Soviet Union were the only nuclear powers, we lived in a time of “cold war.” Neither country was willing to attack the other knowing that if it did, the retaliation would be swift and complete.

Now the “nuclear club” has expanded to include many nations, some less stable than others, Worse, some of these nations don’t share “western” respect for life.

China has so many people, losing a few million to a nuclear attack might be beneficial.

Iran and its proxies WANT to die so they can go to Allah and get 70 virgins. Mothers WANT their sons and daughters to grow up to be shahids (martyrs); they are taught this is their purpose in life from kindergarten on.

"When a man comes to kill you, kill him first."

But do ALL Iranians etc. WANT be to shahids?

Did ALL of the people in Dresden actively support the nazis? Did all of the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki actively support the emperor?

As an aside, when I was a kid in school, we had air raid drills; “The Russians are coming.” When I lived in Israel, my best friend was from the Ukraine and his story was the same as mine, only for him, “the Americans are coming.”

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Gaza

Opuscula Israel government: Caught between Hammer & anvil

Hamas & Friends have put Israel between the hammer and the anvil, or if you prefer, a rock and a hard place.

UNLESS ISRAEL “PUTS DOWN” Hamas & Friends — other Islamist crazies — the northern Islamist crazies in Lebanon will think that Israel is weak; that it cannot defeat both Iran proxies.

Militarily it CAN defeat Hamas et al in Gaza and Hezbollah in the north.

The problem for Israel is “collateral damage.”

The UN will rage about nasty Israel which never should defend itself from the kind Muslims who want to destroy it. Gandhi lives on at the UN.

Leftists the world over also will tear their hair, beat their chests, and chastise Israel for responding to enemy attacks in a “non-proportional” manner.

Here’s a thought. If Israel’s population is, say, 9 million¹ and worldwide population of Muslim-controlled nations is in excess of 1 BILLION² that would mean for every Israeli — Christian, Jew, Muslim, and “other” — killed, maybe 70,000 Muslims should die to keep things within the UN’s “proportional” stupidity. (I lost my slide rule so my 1-for-70,000 may be conservative.)

 

CEASE FIRE

When Hamas et al has used nearly all of it’s Iranian-funded missiles, it will cry to Egypt to arrange a cease fire with Israel.

Just as it did before this latest spate of missiles fell on Israel.

And just as it did before.

Israel’s politicians and generals accept the cease fire and, once again, put the population in danger.

This is NOT the Likud of Began and (David) Levy. Indeed, it is about as forceful as the former Labor governments — and Israel’s enemies know it.

Israel CAN, and HAS, made lasting peace agreements with Egypt (first) and Jordan. Began was Prime Minister when Anwar El Sadat came to Jerusalem to sign the treaty with Began and Israel. (For his effort, Islamists in Egypt assassinated Sadat.)

 

Above: Began and Sadat in Jerusalem

 

Interestingly, Began tried to give Gaza back to Egypt. Sadat was a better bargainer than Began and refused Gaza. Sinai, yes; Gaza, no. Brilliant man, Sadat.

Unless Israel wants to continue harassment from the Hamas & Friends and Hezbollah, and possibly Syria’s Bashar al-Assad who butchers his own countrymen, it MUST put down Hamas forcefully, so forcefully that it no longer is a threat, even with Iranian aid.

Unfortunately, with several Islamists groups vying for power in Gaza, the civilian “collateral damage” count will likely be far higher than Israel would like. (Despite UN and leftists “news” reports, Israel DOES try to avoid true civilian causalities. It has been proven again and again to the embarrassment of the provocateurs.)

Israel does not want to control Gaza; it would prefer Egypt to rule the strip, at least until a government that wants good for the governed — peace, a decent economy, plans to restore infrastructure, and to restore dignity to its people.

The U.S. did it in Japan after World War 2; Egypt, with Israeli cooperation, might be able to succeed in 2020.

But first, Israel must — there no longer is an option — destroy Hamas and its jihadist cohorts.

If “the world” wants to help the civilians of Gaza, it should figure out a way to keep Iranian money and influence out of the strip.

Failing that, Israel can expect its northern communities to once again come under missile fire.

Again.

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/yynwb8jj

2. http://tinyurl.com/kgwmcoo

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

עינים להם ולא יראו * אזנים להם ולא יאזנו

Comments on hammer & anvil

Opuscula Politicians Never learn Basic lesson

HAMAS WINS AGAIN! After sending nearly 500 rockets and mortars into Israel, killing at least one and injuring many, Hamas agrees to a cease fire.

“We’ve taken our toll on you, now we have a cease fire so you can’t fight back.”

What’s wrong with this picture?

APPARENTLY SOMETHING IS sufficiently “wrong with this picture” to cause Israel’s Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to resign his post.

Liberman announced his resignation in a press conference Wednesday afternoon (11/14/18) expressing dissatisfaction with Israel’s ceasefire with Hamas. He says he will call for immediate elections.¹

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defends ceasefire, cites secret information² that, apparently, is too secret to share with the country’s defense minister.

Meanwhile, opposition party members celebrated Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s announcement Wednesday that he was resigning his post.

Leader of the opposition and member of the Zionist Union Tzipi Livni said, “Liberman is right that the government revealed weakness against terror. Everyone errs who thinks the solution is with Liberman, Bennett or the rest of the slogan throwers. We’re the solution.”³

---

It seems the more Hamas gets from, or via, Israel, the more it indiscriminately attacks Israeli civilians.

There WAS a brief cease fire, but Hamas broke it.

Does anyone believe Hamas will honor ANYTHING that is not to its advantage (and to Israel’s disadvantage)?

Didn’t Israel’s politicians learn ANYTHING from Oslo?

Netanyahu, “Bibi,” can’t seem to stick to a decision from one day to the next.

Allow settlements.

Bulldoze the same settlements.

Close the border to Gaza in retaliation for rockets, mortars, and fire bombs.

Open the border when Hamas offers a cease fire.

Close the border’s again when Hamas violates the cease fire.

Allow millions of dollars into Gaza for humanitarian use.

Let Israelis be shelled by Hamas again.

I don’t blame Liberman for resigning. The way Bibi is flip-flopping, it seems the inmates are running he asylum.

Unlike the opposition parties, I doubt they (the opposition) could do better.

One thing is beyond question: Likud 2018 is NOT the Likud of Menachem Begin, the man who forged, with Anwar Sadat, a long-lasting peace agreement.

Likud 2018 can’t seem to create a program and stick to it.

Is Likud — read Netanyahu — afraid of the Left?

Has Likud 2018 lost confidence in its military and its diplomatic corps.

Netanyahu is guiding Israel along a path that seems to be influenced by the former U.S. president, a man who diligently worked against Israel’s interests.

Or is Netanyahu simply a politician in mold of the Roman god, Janus.

What Israel needs today is another Jabotinsky or Begin or even Trumpeldor.

Sources

1. Liberman: http://tinyurl.com/yd98ytgf

2. Netanyahu: http://tinyurl.com/y7ycdd94
3. Livni: http://tinyurl.com/ydhosn2g

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Pols never learn

Opuscula Removing Hamas Leaves a vacuum

THE QUESTION BEING ASKED BY MANY in Israel and in the United States – and perhaps elsewhere – is:

If the IDF can eliminate Hamas, why doesn’t it do it?

Good question.

Simple answer: Who has an organization that can rush in and fill the role of government?

Image above shows map of Gaza Strip and surrounding areas

UNLIKE IRAN and some other nations with despotic rulers, Gaza lacks a shadow government, a government of people prepared to assume the duties of an overthrown government.

There may be a movement in Gaza able to take over the deposed Hamas role, but apparently it is a deep secret.

Egypt could step in on an interim basis, but so far it has declined to consider the possibility.

Menachem Begin tried to give Gaza to Egypt, but Anwar Sadat was too smart and refused Begin’s “gift.”

Israel ruled Gaza for a number of years. Israeli farmers set up greenhouses and an infrastructure to make the strip self-supporting. When Ariel Sharon forced the Jews out, the indigenous Muslim population quickly destroyed the greenhouses and infrastructure.

Israel, understandably, does not want anything to do with a Gaza government, even on a temporary basis.

When the nazis were defeated (and many escaped to Latin America and the U.S. or were “invited” to the then Soviet Union), the Allies set up governments in their sections.

After the bombs fell on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Japanese sued for peace, the Americans established an interim government.

Both Germany and Japan today have viable, stable, independent governments.

When the U.S. and its allies overthrew Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government, neither the U.S. nor its allies had the foresight – or perhaps hindsight – to establish an interim government to rule until the Iraqis could develop a cadre of politicians who would be sufficiently popular to run the country after the U.S. and its allies went home.

Iran was a different model.

When the shah was overthrown, a shadow government headed by the Ayatollah Khomeini filled the vacuum. Khomeini returned from exile in England and took control of the government.

When the nazis were chased out of France, the arrogant Gen. Charles de Gaulle managed to assume political power.

There are no De Gaulles in Gaza.

There are no leaders in Egypt or Israel willing to help Gazans set up an independent government.

The PA in Ramallah can’t govern its own areas, and although Abu Mazen would like to claim he is the president of Gaza as well as the PA, Hamas and the local population chased the PA government’s personnel out of Gaza. Mazen and the Ramallah government would not be welcome in Gaza.

Bottom line: Israel is “stuck” trying – and failing – to protect Israelis near the Gaza border.

If it eliminates Hamas, which it surely could do, what would replace it? The Islamic Brotherhood is the prime candidate, and it is no better – possibly worse for Israel and the Gaza population – than Hamas.

It is suggested that not all Gazans are happy with Hamas, but apparently few Gazans are prepared to make peace with Israel.

For Israel, the bottom line is to suffer Hamas until the Gazans develop a shadow government – even if that government is formed and waiting in exile – Egypt or Jordan, perhaps – ready to return and assume control of the strip with a little help from foreign sponsors – again, Egypt, Jordan, and possibly Israel.

The “fly in the ointment” is Iran, Hamas’ sponsor. Iran will not willingly give up its puppet on Israel’s southern border anymore than it will allow Lebanese to rule their country without its proxy, Hezbollah.

Unlike Gaza, the Lebanese could have a Hezbollah-free government in place in short order; the Lebanese have a great deal of experience in self-rule.

For all the aggravation and danger Hamas presents to Israel, there is nothing to replace it except anarchy.

Until Gazans decide they want a better government, if the choice is Hamas or anarchy, Hamas seems to be the lesser of two evils.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Keeping Hamas

Opuscula CHUTZPAH ! PA terrorists expect Israeli hospitals’ To save their lives

THEN THEY INCITE THEIR PEOPLE TO KILL ISRAELIS.

It boggles the mind the absolute gall, the chutzpah; in other words,
arrogance
brass
brazenness
cheek
conceit
effrontery
guts
haughtiness
impertinence
impudence
insolence
presumption.

The PA’s chief spokesperson against Israel has checked into an Israeli hospital in hopes of getting a life-saving lung transplant.

The Ministry of Health and the National Transplant Center made clear on Tuesday that senior Palestinian Authority (PA) official Saeb Erekat will only be permitted to undergo a lung transplant in Israel under very rare circumstances, according to the Arutz 7 site.

Why don’t these people who demonize Jews want to eliminate Israel go to a Muslim country for treatment? Surely there are good Muslim doctors in the more “enlightened” Muslim countries such as Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Emirates, and Dubai; what about Turkey?

Russia is trying to make its presence felt in the mid-east again; won’t the Russians foot the bill to transport PA executives and their families to Russian hospitals?

Aren’t they worried that the Israeli medical personnel — Arab and Jew — will send them to their graves?

Erekat is not the only one who wants to kill all Jews and eliminate any hint that Israel exists.

The hospitalization of the sister of Hamas’ Abu Marzouk is the latest case of a relative of a member of the terror group being treated in Israel despite a toxic relationship with the Jewish state.

The incident marks the latest in a series of medical treatments Israel has offered to the families of Hamas leaders.

Even at times of open hostilities, Hamas and PA officials do not hesitate to seek treatment in Israeli hospitals for themselves and their loved ones. And Israel accommodates them, allowing them to cross the borders for humanitarian purposes.

Ismail Haniyeh’s daughter was hospitalized at Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital for “a number of days,” according to a hospital spokesman. The hospital did not disclose her medical condition, but Reuters reported the treatment followed complications during a standard medical procedure the woman had undergone in Gaza.

In June, Haniyeh’s 68-year-old mother-in-law was treated in Augusta Victoria Hospital, near Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.

The brother-in-law of PA President Abu Mazen (a/k/a Mahmoud Abbas) underwent life-saving heart surgery at a private hospital in Tel Aviv.

Doctors in Israel performed surgery on Abu Mazen's' wife, Amina Abbas, at a private clinic near Tel Aviv over the weekend, coinciding with the search for the three murdered teens, Eyal Yifrah, Naftali Frenkel, and Gilad Sha’ar by Palestinian terrorists.

Despite Israel treating PA and Hamas' officials near kin, the Middle east Monitor contends that The former head of the World Health Organisation’s cancer programme, Professor Karol Sikora, predicted that advances in genetics means doctors will soon be able to prescribe medicines targeting each individual’s cancer.

This is wonderful news for all cancer patients; all, that is, except those who live in the Gaza Strip, especially women with breast cancer. This is now the biggest killer of Palestinian women in the besieged territory, not least because the heartless Israeli authorities refuse to let them pass through checkpoints for life-saving treatment.

It’s not just PA and Hamas’ leaders kin that find care in Israeli hospitals. Hundreds of Syrians injured in the Muslim-vs.-Muslim war make their way to the Israel border where they initially are treated by IDF medical personnel. Those that need additional care are transferred — by Israel at Israelis’ expense — to appropriate hospitals where they are treated — at Israelis’ expense.

PA doctors train at Jewish hospitals, notably Hadassah in Jerusalem, continuing a tradition that preceded statehood. Once trained, these doctors are expected to return to PA territory.

The Arab leadership can only be described as schizophrenic.

On the one hand, they want Israel desroyed and all Jews — and a few Israeli Arabs as well — killed … driven into the sea.

On the other hand, the “leadership” of the PA terroritories and Gaza travel to Israel (Erekat) and send their near kin to Israel for medical treatment.

Palestinians travel to Europe and other Muslim states daily via Israel’s main international airport (Lod). Gazans can travel to Egypt, and from there travel to any country that will have them.

THEY DO NOT NEED TO SEEK TREATMENT IN ISRAEL and Israel never should be expected — or feel the need — to treat the leadership of peope sworn to destroy Israel.

It is obvious to even the most anti-Israel bigot that treating PA and Hamas’ leadership only increases hatred for the only country in the middle east that offers freedom to all its citizens.

---

If the links fail to work, see http://tinyurl.com/y82lye4d to learn how to find/access them. It's a Google problem.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Comments on Chutzpah

Opuscula Member of Knesset Victim of "apartheid" Does not compute

 

IF ISRAEL IS AN "APARTHEID' STATE, how it is that it has non-Jews in its government?

One of the "victims of Israeli apartheid" - Member of Knesset (MK) Hanin Zoabi - is to speak at a Columbia University panel on: "Israel, Racism and Apartheid."

The fact that she is a member of the country's governing body - despite promoting anarchy - makes a lie of any claims that Israel is an "apartheid" state.

Not by race, not by religion, not even by politics.

What about the fence?

If the fence separating terrorists in the Palestine Authority areas makes Israel an "apartheid" state, then the U.S., with its fence to try to keep out Mexicans - those with weapons and drugs and those who simply want more money in their jeans - is an "apartheid" state.

What about jobs?

My daughter's apartment building in Yavne - distant from any PA-controlled area, was built largely by workers from the PA-controlled areas who legally enter Israel each day to earn wages far above those they can earn at home. (Israel no longer is the "Zionist state" envisioned by the pioneers of the first and second aliyot where Jews did all the jobs; now low paying, hard labor jobs go to imported workers - some from the PA-controlled areas, others from Pacific rim countries. I think that is bad for Israel, but the Israeli Jew of today simply won't do the work.)

What about the military?

In order to "get ahead" in a job, a male must have served in the Israel Defense Force (IDF). If he was an officer, so much the better. There ARE a few Arabs - Muslims and Christians - in the IDF; there are many Druze in the IDF, a few making general grade. Unfortunately, most Muslim Arab men avoid the IDF - unlike a Jewish Israeli, they are not drafted into the IDF. These same Muslim Arab men also refuse national service (in lieu of military service) EVEN IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES!

What about education?

Look at MK Zoabi's CV: She studied philosophy and psychology at the University of Haifa, earning a Bachelors of Arts, and received a Masters of Arts in communications from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She was the first Arab citizen of Israel to graduate in media studies, and established the first media classes in Arab schools. She also worked as a mathematics teacher and worked as a school inspector for the Israeli Ministry of Education. (Source: Haneen Zoabi biography also Knesset overview)

Muslim students dominate Haifa University and are represented in ALL Israeli universities and scientific institutions.

What about trade?

When Hamas in Gaza stops firing missiles at Israeli civilian targets, the border is opened and goods flow IN BOTH DIRECTIONS - Gaza farmers ship produce to Israel and the PA.

What about travel?

Israeli Arabs are limited in their international travels only by the countries that accept Israeli travel documents. Arabs from PA-controlled areas routinely get permission to enter Israel to travel internationally via Israel's main airport or to Jordan via the Allenby/King Hussein Bridge. Israeli Arabs DO visit countries that are sworn to Israel's destruction, but they pay a price on their return (interrogation by Israeli security forces). (Consider the reception an American citizen gets when returning to the States from North Korea or Iran. No difference.)

What about medical care?

There is NO distinction made between an Israeli Jew and an Israeli Arab in Israeli public hospitals. (First hand experience.) Muslims from the PA-controlled territory and Hamas-controlled Gaza are treated in Israeli hospitals and allowed to return home unmolested. The PA's dictator's mother was recently treated in an Israeli hospital. Citizens of neighboring countries - notably Lebanon and Syria - are routinely treated at Israeli hospitals DESPITE their countries being in a state of war with Israel.

UNLIKE THE PA-CONTROLLED AREAS there are NO restrictions on where anyone can live in Israel. Muslims do tend to congregate in their own communities, just as almost all groups of people with common interests; but they are NOT restricted to any area. Jews are not welcome in PA-controlled areas and the PA's leadership has repeatedly vowed that a Palestinian state would be free of Jews.

 

DON'T TELL ME
ISRAEL IS AN
"APARTHEID" STATE.

 

Apartheid

Apartheid (Afrikaans pronunciation: [ɐˈpartɦɛit]; an Afrikaans word meaning "the state of being apart", literally "apart-hood") was a system of racial segregation in South Africa enforced through legislation by the National Party (NP), the governing party from 1948 to 1994. Under apartheid, the rights, associations, and movements of the majority black inhabitants and other ethnic groups were curtailed and Afrikaner minority rule was maintained. Apartheid was developed after World War II by the Afrikaner-dominated National Party and Broederbond organizations. The ideology was also enforced in South West Africa, which was administered by South Africa under a League of Nations mandate (revoked in 1966 via United Nations Resolution 2145),until it gained independence as Namibia in 1990. By extension, the term is currently used for forms of systematic segregation, established by the state authority in a country, against the social and civil rights of a certain group of citizens, due to ethnic prejudices.

Opuscula Israel rearming Hamas in Gaza

 

According to Arutz Sheva (Channel 7), Israel Ships Over 600 Tons of Construction Materials to Gaza. Never mind the incorrect use of "over" rather than "more than."

The text notes that

Israel began transporting construction materials into Gaza on Tuesday, in a "humanitarian gesture" to the Hamas-controlled territory which may be already rebuilding terror tunnels into the Jewish state.

The "aid" includes 600 tons of cement, 50 truckloads of aggregate and 10 truckloads of steel.

The office of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) stated that the transfer is being conducted under the supervision of the UN and PA, as agreed with COGAT, General Yoav Mordechai.

"This method [of transfer] is designed to ensure that the construction materials will be used to renovate homes and public buildings for the benefit of the people of Gaza, while maintaining Israel's security," the IDF stated, noting it would "carried out under UN supervision."

In another story from the same source on the same day, Arutz 7 reports, in a story headlined ADL Decries UN Chief's 'Stunning' Bias in which UN chief Ban Ki-moon blames Hamas' attacks on Israel for Israel's "occupation" of Gaza. Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu fired back at Ban Monday by noting that the entire concept of an "occupation" in Gaza has been made moot after the 2005 Disengagement.

"The root cause of the violence that burst from Gaza is not Israel’s occupation in Gaza, for a simple reason: Israel doesn’t occupy Gaza," Netanyahu explained. "Israel left Gaza to the very last centimeter, to the very last inch. We uprooted all the settlements and vacated all the settlers. So there is no Israeli occupation of Gaza."

Netanyahu then pointed out that Ban justified Hamas's rocket barrage despite the fact that it used the UN's own facilities to break international law.

IN A RELATED ARTICLE heded UNRWA Asks for Record $1.6 Billion to 'Rebuild Gaza', Arutz reminds that

Three United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) schools were found during the course of Operation Protective Edge to have stored rocket caches for Hamas and Islamic Jihad. After the first find, UNRWA workers called Hamas to come remove them to use in their terror war on Israeli civilians, instead of destroying the weaponry.

In another incident, three IDF soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in a booby-trapped UN clinic that was situated on top of terror tunnel entrances, showing the complicity of the UN in Gaza-based terror against Israel,

And then editorializes, correctly in this scrivener's opinion, that

Ample evidence has proven that Hamas uses UN and other aid money, as well as materials, to build terror tunnels into Israeli territory with the aim of attacking Israeli citizens - instead of providing buildings to its own citizens.

To illustrate this, the IDF revealed during the course of Operation Protective Edge that 4,680 trucks carrying 181 thousand tons of gravel, iron, cement, wood and other supplies have passed through the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza since January 2014 - much of it directly from Israel to fund civilian projects.

Instead, however, a network of over 30 tunnels was found during the ground offensive, with each tunnel costing roughly $3 million to build. For every Hamas terror tunnel, the IDF stated, there was enough building materials to build 86 homes; seven mosques; six schools; or nineteen medical clinics.

Meanwhile, Hamas has begun to rebuild terror tunnels on foreign aid money - but despite this, the UN already joined the PA in making a call for $550 million to rebuild Gaza.

Meanwhile, Arutz 7 continues,

The UN Palestinian aid agency which made headlines for harboring Hamas's rockets is to make its largest ever financial plea to donors, it said on Thursday, asking for $1.6 billion to "rehabilitate Gaza" after Hamas's most recent terror war.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) unity government has already asked for more than $4 billion to rebuild the coastal territory, which is home to some 1.7 million people.

And while an international conference in March saw $200 million donated to the terror-run territory - and donations from the US and France reached a combined $61.8 million - the money is apparently still not enough for Hamas, nor for UNRWA, leaving many asking why.

Color me confused Israel's Gaza "win" Lets Hamas rearm

 

Hamas and Israel agree to an Egyptian-arranged cease fire.

Cease fire.

That is NOT a peace deal.

There are no promises that the conflict - Netanyahu won't call Operation Protective Edge a "war" since Israel would have to pay more for damages to people and property caused by Hamas attacks - won't soon resume.

A "cease fire" is a temporary cessation of combat.

According to an Israel HaYom article headed Gaza cease-fire: 'Israel's goals met, Hamas achieved nothing', "The operation's objectives -- a long-term calm and inflicting substantial damage to terrorist infrastructure -- have been met," an Israeli government official said on Tuesday. "The cease-fire is open-ended, and Hamas' tunnel network and rocket-launching capabilities have been damaged," the official added.

"Damaged" not "destroyed." Think about the meaaning of those two words.

If "inflicting substantial damage to terrorist infrastructure " is the military goal, then the military should stay home. That should not even be a political goal.

What a cease fire does, in this case, is to allow Hamas to rearm and to check the tunnels Israel failed to find to assure future incursions into Israel to murder civilians.

Admittedly, Gaza - not Hamas, but Gaza - suffered heavy damage. According to Palestinian Health spokesman Dr Ashraf Alqedra, as reported by Amira Al Hussaini on Global Voices Online on July 31, "the overall number of Palestinians killed to date is 1,437 and those injured exceed 8,300 in this round of the conflict, dubbed by Israel as Operation Protective Edge."

It is true that some of Hamas' tunnels were discovered - at the cost of too many Israeli lives - but the question remains: Were the tunnels DESTROYED or simply temporarily put out of commission?. (Never mind considering how many homes could have been built with the materials detoured in Hamas' war effort.)

Israel did NOT win. Hamas won.

Hamas won because it still controls Gaza.

Hamas won because it now will - not can, but will - rearm and once again rain down rockets and mortars on Israel's civilian population.

Hamas won because Israel's politicians lacked the "intestinal fortitude" to allow the military to do its job, following in the path of Bush I who ordered a cessation of conflict in Iraq before the enemy was destroyed.

Israel lost because the world of Muslim terrorists - Hamas, Hezbollah, IS(IS), al Qaida, et al - now know of a certainty that Israeli politicians will tie the hands of the IDF to guarantee that no matter how much damage they inflict on Israeli civilians and no matter how much damage the IDF will inflict on them in return, they will be allowed to regroup and resume their attacks after a convenient cease fire.

Israel needs a (Harry S) Truman as prime minister; an honest man who did what was necessary to end the WW 2 in the Pacific, a war that commenced with an attack on Hawaii on December 7, 1941, the now almost forgotten "day that will live in infamy." (It's worth remembering that Truman also fired a general who was insubordinate; again, he did what was necessary.)

Americans should know that a foreign power (e.g., the U.S.) cannot impose its form of government on other countries that don't want it. The U.S. has tried - and failed - numerous times in Latin America. Likewise, Israel cannot impose its political will on Gaza and the so-called PA. But it should be able to lend support to governments - such as Egypt and Jordan - that forego belligerency toward Israel.

If Gaza was controlled by a progressive government, one that wanted to enhance the lives of its citizens, it could once again (albeit after a trust period) have open borders with Egypt and Israel, it could repair its airport, it could develop a seaport, and it could become a nation in which its citizens no longer need to fear the government or the results of its government's actions.

Of course, all the above is easy for me to write; I sit in the safety of the U.S. - but my daughter and grand-daughter (and her husband, of course) and many members of my family are in Israel.

Opuscula Israel to pay salaries Of Hamas terrorists? Say it isn't so

 

From Israel National News, a/k/a Arutz Sheva (Channel 7) we read that Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) strongly opposes the push for Israel to agree to Hamas's economic demands, which would include paying the salaries of Hamas officials working against Israel politically and militarily in Gaza.

"Over the last day, reports have surfaced that Israel has agreed to finance Hamas's officials in Gaza," Bennett fired. "This is a dangerous euphemism. This is political protection money: you pay us, then we'll shoot you later; you don't pay us, then we'll shoot you right now."

The money will inevitably go toward rebuilding terror tunnels, and manufacturing or importing missiles, Bennett said.

The comments were part of an article heded "Bennett Slams 'Calm for Cash' Formula in Talks with Hamas"

The article continued:

On Sunday, the Palestinian news agency Sawa revealed that Hamas was able to funnel millions of dollars into Gaza over the past two months despite the IDF campaign - and that two months' salary was paid in full to its terror "military wing," the Al-Qassam Brigades, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Additional funds will also be paid to Hamas government officials.

Analysts suspect that the funds - which seemingly appeared out of nowhere - may have been procured, at least in part, from Saudi and United Arab Emirates (UAE) donors.

A little history

The U.S. (mostly) pumped money and technology into Germany and Japan (and the rest of non-Communist Europe and Asia as well) after World War 2.

Germany had murdered millions of civilians (Note 1) while Japan is alleged to have murdered at least 300,000 civilians (Note 2).

While leaders of both Germany and Japan dreamed of world domination, once defeated they accepted the new status quo and acquiesced to the victors' demands (disarming, etc.).

In return, and as an act of good faith, the U.S. helped rebuild the former enemies' countries. The fact that this eventually might (and in fact did) cost the U.S. a number of industries and thousands of jobs was ignored in the rush to "buy" the former enemies' good will.

THERE IS A DIFFERENCE between the Germans and Japanese and Hamas.

The difference is that - at least for the moment - the Germans and Japanese abandoned their plans for world domination.

Hamas, despite its losses, still has as its sole goal the destruction of Israel and the elimination of all non-Muslims of their variety from the region. Hamas, like Iran, envisions a world dominated by Muslims if not populated only by Muslims.

To ask Israel to fund ANYTHING in or for Gaza while Hamas is present - for its presence means it is in power; it has the guns and money - is foolish. For Israel to fund anything in Gaza without eliminating Hamas and any lingering anti-Israel feeling is STUPID.

It should be sufficient that Israel provides - at the Israeli taxpayer's expense - medical treatment in Israel for Gazans. It would be enough that Israel provides electricity and water to Gaza, which Gaza is supposed to buy. It should be enough that Israel allows all manner of materials to cross its border with Gaza.

It not only is enough, it's more than an enemy who refuses to give up his demented ways deserves.

The people of Gaza elected Hamas as their leader. The people of Gaza apparently have neither the will nor the capability to replace Hamas, peacefully or otherwise. (Hamas has shown, in its takeover of Gaza from the PA, that removing it from power will not be a peaceful transition.)

Before anyone pressures Israel - from inside or outside or the country - to fund ANYTHING in or for Gaza thinking it will buy peace with Hamas as the U.S. dollar bought peace with Germany and Japan, they should revisit post-war Germany and Japan and see how the idea of world dominion was abandoned while in Gaza today, Islam's scheme to dominate the world is alive, if not well.

There is a difference.

 

Note 1

From ukemnde.com, the Ukrainian Community In Montreal:

Ukrainians    5.5 - 7 million
Jews (of all countries)    6 million +
Russian Civilians    2 million +
Poles    3 million +
Yugoslavians    1.5 million +
Gypsies    200,000 - 500,000
Mentally/Physically Disabled    70,000- 250,000
Homosexuals    Tens of thousands
Spanish Republicans    Tens of thousands
Jehovah's Witnesses    2,500 - 5,000

The list does not include an estimated 3.3. million Russian POWs

 

Note 2

According to a Wikipedia entry titled Japanese war crimes, R. J. Rummel, a professor of political science at the University of Hawaii, estimates that between 1937 and 1945, the Japanese military murdered from nearly 3 to over 10 million people, most likely 6 million Chinese, Indonesians, Koreans, Filipinos and Indochinese, among others, including Western prisoners of war. According to Rummel, "This democide [i.e., death by government] was due to a morally bankrupt political and military strategy, military expediency and custom, and national culture." According to Rummel, in China alone, during 1937–45, approximately 3.9 million Chinese were killed, mostly civilians, as a direct result of the Japanese operations and 10.2 million in the course of the war.[60] The most infamous incident during this period was the Nanking Massacre of 1937–38, when, according to the findings of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, the Japanese Army massacred as many as 300,000 civilians and prisoners of war, although the accepted figure is somewhere in the hundreds of thousands.

 

yohanon dot glenn at gmail dot com

Opuscula If truth be told EMBED

 

Watch the news on the Web? On tv? In one of the few surviving newspapers?
for the most part the news is one sided; as an example, look at the picture the UK's Daily Mail posts at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2702485/Israel-investigated-war-crimes-Gaza-UN-says.html under a hed that screams Israel should be investigated for war crimes in Gaza says UN, as it warns that they have not done enough to protect hundreds of Palestinian civilians (this followed by a pull quote by UN human rights chief Navi Pillay stating Israel must end blockade and respect obligations as an 'Occupying Power' (even though Israel has not occupied Gaza since Sharon's expulsion of Jews from the area in 2005.)
There are, to be fair, the rare report that fails to condemn Israel. Such a report was printed in the Washington Post under the heading While Israel held its fire, the militant group Hamas did not. The WashPost reported that
   * Hamas rejected an Egyptian-brokered cease fire.
   * Hamas uses a hospital as headquarters
   * Hamas calls PA president Abu Mazen a traitor” and “collaborator” for allegedly supporting the cease-fire proposal by Egypt
   * Israel warned non-Hamas residents in Gaza, by telephone and by noon-lethal bombs, that they were in danger of an Israeli attack
The WashPost article includes an embedded AP video showing Hamas rejecting the cease fire.

The Algemeiner, claiming to be The fastest growing Jewish newspaper in America, the NEW Algemeiner serves as a valiant media voice addressing the most compelling issues of our time, with vision, integrity and moral clarity has additional material lifted from the WashPost.
While the WashPost and a few others are reporting both sides of the conflict without an obvious bias for one side over the other - the WashPost's article While Israel held its fire (ibid.) included a photo of smoke rising over an unseen structure followed by the two captions:
Panicked residents flee their homes in the northern Gaza Strip as Israel continues its attack on Hamas. As of July 15, at least 185 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed and nearly 1,400 injured, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
July 17, 2014 - Smoke rises following what witnesses said was an Israeli airstrike that took place before a five-hour humanitarian truce in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters
Note there is no mention of Israeli causalities or the reason behind the Israeli air strikes.
 
Hamas' willingness to negotiate as stated by its leader in Gaza:
 

WashPost

 
When the U.S. went to war in Iraq (both times) and elsewhere, it carefully embeds reporters and photographers. It hopes these people will report truthfully (and farther hopes editors and managers will disseminate the reports fairly).
In a generally pro-Hamas article from Reuter's heded At least 50 dead in Israeli attack on Gaza district – hospital by Nidal Al-Mughrabi and Jeffrey Heller, after three paragraphs of how Israeli attacks are hurting Gazans, Reuters allowed two paragraphs:
The Israeli military said on Sunday Hamas had deployed rockets and built tunnels and command centres in Shejaia.
"Two days ago, residents of Shejaia received recorded messages to evacuate the area in order to protect their lives," an Israeli military spokeswoman said.
After returning to the plight of the Gazans, Reuters did admit basing its article on a (V)ideo given to Reuters by a local showed at least a dozen corpses, including three children, lying in rubble-filled streets, though the footage could not be verified independently.
Later, in the same article, the Reuters reporters noted that Hamas had urged people across the territory not to heed the Israeli warnings and abandon their homes.
Israel, to protect itself, must embed not just Israeli media but both international media and UN representatives with its front line troops. Let the media - especially the likes of the UK's Daily Mail - see why "innocent civilians" are victims (even after Israel has warned them where it plans to attack); let them see if some of these "innocent" victims really are victims of Israeli attacks or are they victims of Hamas' desire for photo ops (as has been proven in the past).
In truth, it is more important to embed hostile media with the front line troops that it is to embed media known to be favorable to Israel. UN "observers" must be included so that the misconceptions (lies?) of UN human rights chief Navi Pillay and others like her can be exposed.

 

See related blog entry:
Excerpts from Times of Israel Thursday article on this site.

Opuscula Hamas aim: Destroy Israel Or kill innocents?

 

If you think Hamas wants to destroy Israel, you are mistaken.

Hamas wants to slaughter civilians. Period. End of story.

It wants, if the Israeli government has the "intestinal fortitude," to commit political suicide by forcing Israel to take over Gaza. (This time there is no Arial Sharon to give it back until it has been disarmed and a responsible government installed.)

Either that or its leaders are imbeciles, and that is well within the realm of probability.

My logic?

I'm not a career military planner, but if I wanted to get rid of Israel I would NOT go about it by firing rockets at civilians. That's just making the people angry and causing them to demand (at last) that Gaza once more be under Israeli military control (and damn the bleeding heart liberals who will gnash their teeth and wail about "occupation").

Israel is a "revolving door" nation.

It imports raw materials.

Does something with those raw materials.

Exports a finished product.

Add under the import/export category "tourists." Tourists are hardly "raw materials," but they are a major source of income for the country.

All the imports and exports go through ports.

  Ashdod (sea)

  Ashkelon (sea)

  Eilat (air and sea).

  Hadera (sea)

  Haifa (air and sea)

  Lod (air)

  Ovda (air)

Shut down the ports ^{NOTE BOTTOM} and you almost completely isolate Israel from the world. Israel still would have access, albeit inconvenient access, to the world via Egypt and Jordan.

It's pretty clear that the "fearless leaders" behind Hamas - and Hezbollah in the north - are interested in murdering civilians and not, as they and the PA leadership proclaim, in destroying Israel.

Add to that the terrorists Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of installing rocket launchers in residential areas, of using their own civilians as shields against Israeli counter-attacks and it becomes clear that the goal is not Israel's destruction but population reduction.

Hamas doesn't even target military installations - army, navy, and air force bases. No, it saves its missiles for civilian targets.

If Israel "went away" tomorrow - and G-d willing will be it remain until the mashiach arrives - Hamas, the PA, Hezbollah, et al, could have little or no reason to exist, so the reality of it all is that the terrorists need Israel to keep money flowing into the leadership's pockets.

NOTE: When I worked for Tadiran in Holon, customs clerks went on strike. Nothing came into the country; nothing left the country. Tadiran, a huge, multi-division company, would have laid off 20% of its workforce if the strike continued beyond a specific date. Fortunately for me and other Tadiran employees, the strike was settled and we had no strike-related layoffs.

Obungler’s buddy Haniyeh won’t Recognize Israel

 

This is a “peace partner?”

In a Ma’an News Agency article headed Haniyeh: Palestinians will not recognize Israel ( http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=608441) Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday that Palestinians would not recognize Israel, despite the siege on Gaza and two wars.

Is Ma’an trustworthy? Does it report PA news accurately? Ma’an was “Launched in 2005, Ma'an News Agency (MNA) publishes news around the clock in Arabic and English, and is among the most browsed websites in the Palestinian territories, with over 3 million visits per month. Considered the main source of independent news from Palestine, MNA has become the first choice for online information for many Palestinians, and is also attracting a growing international readership and interest from prominent international news organizations and agencies.”

Obungler and his lackey John Kerry each have to be deaf in both ears and blind in both eyes if they fail to see and hear Gaza’s chief terrorist’s words in the PA’s on media.

There is NO ambiguity in Haniyeh’s words. He lacks the guile of Abu Mazin in Ramallah, Fatah’s prime minister. That terrorist plays word games with U.S. agents by setting “preconditions” Israel must meet before talks can move forward, but then before anyone can sit down at a table, Abu Mazin adds yet more “preconditions.”

How is Israel supposed to discuss peace with a divided people – Hamas on one side, Fatah on the other? Haniyeh says what Abu Mazin puts into pictures – a “Palestinian” state that replaces all of Israel – a Jewish-free state at that. (Perhaps the feuding prime ministers will let the good people of Mea Sharim stay; they prefer to be under Muslim rule and never recognized Israel’s governments.)

Obungler and his minions may as well stay in D.C.; there is zero hope for a true peace agreement with the self-created “Palestinians” of Hamas or Fatah. It becomes more and more questionable it Hamas and Fatah actually represent the people they claim to control.

Hamas guards border

While Egypt clears Sinai

When Hosni Mubarak fell and Mohammed Morsi, with his Muslim Brotherhood associates, rose to power, Israelis had to wonder if the quiet along the Egyptian-Israeli border would remain or if the sound of gunfire would once again resound.

It’s hard to believe, but with Morsi at the helm, things actually are getting better for Israelis in Israel. At least for now.

Even attacks from Aza are down.

Morsi did what Mubarak never did: he sent in troops to clear some of the terrorists out of the Sinai after first working with Israel to modify cease fire terms on the number of troops allowed in the desert.

I still think the Sinai should be cleared of terrorists by a joint Egyptian-Israeli force; to my mind it would be a win-win situation for Egypt and Israel; only the terrorists would lose, and that’s a good thing.

The real surprise, though, is Morsi’s action toward Aza.

One of his first acts as president was to start destroying the tunnels from Egypt into Aza. The tunnels were the primary way weapons were smuggled into Aza, weapons used against Israel. The tunnels also were used to smuggle in people and consumer goods, avoiding Hamas’ import duties.

Now Morsi has gone beyond tunnel destruction.

He successfully pressured Hamas to cease attacks on Israel and charged it with preventing attacks by splinter groups such as the Salafists.

IT’S WORKING!

According to a Times of Israel article (http://tinyurl.com/lb8v4vm) :

Hamas established a special force of about 600 men to “safeguard public order;” it operates mostly along the Aza-Israeli border.

There has been a dramatic decline in the number of rockets fired at Israel. According to Israeli figures, since the end of Operation Pillar of Defense in November (2012), some 20 rockets or mortar shells have been fired into Israel, compared to about 150 over the same the previous year.

Egypt still has a long way to go get its own house in order, but from Israel’s perspective, the Morsi regime has to be a welcome surprise, even though Egypt currently is not a recommended tourist destination for Israelis. Currently there are no flights between Lod (TLV) and Cairo (CAI). El Al canceled its flights allegedly due to the high cost of security vs. the number of empty seats. A PalAir flight from Aza to Lod also is no more, probably more because of lack of passengers than the chance a terrorist missile bound for Israel might down a commercial flight. (You can fly from Lod to Cairo via Amman, but it’s pricy.)

No one ever expected two terrorists – Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin – to manage a peace agreement after years of war between their two countries, but they did, and while it cost Sadat his life, after Sadat and Begin inked the agreement, the greatest danger for Israelis visiting Egypt was traffic accidents. Perhaps, with Morsi in control, it will be that way again. (Too bad Israel lacks a man of Begin’s stature.)

 

Planning a long flight? Take heed.
Flying to TLV? Did you make your reservations via an on-line service? Take the following advice to heart. CALL THE AIRLINE AT LEAST 72 HOURS (3 days) BEFORE THE DEPARTURE DAY to assure you have kosher meals and the seat location you ordered online. We have a situation where the airline and the booking service are pointing their fingers at each other saying “It’s not our fault you didn’t get your meal and it’s not our fault that you were stuck in a middle seat instead of the window you arranged online.