Displaying posts categorized under

ISRAEL

Donkeys, and Falcons, and Qassams, Oh My! by Gerald A. Honigman

www.geraldahonigman.com

So, the Arabs of Gaza have come up with a new method to attack Israel.

At least one dead falcon was found tied to incendiary materials to set the Jewish State ablaze–along with fire kites, balloons, and other such materials already being used. Not to mention mortars, missiles, and Qassam rockets. The latter, along with Hamas’s Qassam Brigade, are named for that late, great “native Palestinian” throat-slitter-of-Jews hero, Sheikh Izz ad-Din al-Qassam.

Like many, if not most, other alleged Arab “aboriginals,” Izzy came into the early post-World War I Mandate of Palestine from elsewhere, outside the Mandate. In his case–along with scores of thousands of other Arabs–from Latakia and other parts of Syria. Primary sources from the period such as the Minutes of the Permanent Mandates Commission of The League of Nations, are filled with such accounts. Scores of thousands of their Syrian Jewish neighbors would flee Syria as refugees a while later. They had lived in Syria since biblical times, long before Arabs conquered the land many centuries later.

Moving on to current news…

Regarding the deceased bird of prey drafted for the Arab cause (i.e., the latest Arab use of live creatures, Homo sapiens included, as ILEDs–Improvised Living Explosive Devices), one of the most vocal animal rights groups offered:

“As an animal-protection organization, PETA notes that animals claim allegiance to no nation, don’t choose sides, and can only rely on human beings to show them mercy, and it is unacceptable to use them as weapons of war.”

PETA, of course, is correct–but there’s more to this callous disregard for life than what one dead bird might suggest. So, please bear with me…

Let me begin by stating that there is a tradition in both Judaism and, much later, Islam to treat animals in a humane way. And, in the modern age of factory farming and such–with all the inhumane practices which accompany them–none but the vegetarian comes out really looking good regarding this matter. Having stated this, there are still, nevertheless, some vey real differences in general practice between adherents of those two faiths.

Palestinian Authority Silences Students by Bassam Tawil

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12753/palestinian-authority-silences-students

By targeting Palestinian journalists and university students, the Palestinian Authority shows that it has turned the territories under its control into a dictatorship that systematically grinds public freedoms into the ground.

Palestinians are permitted to badmouth Israel and the US — but that is where their “freedom of speech” ends. Let a Palestinian utter a bad word about his leaders — he will find himself (or herself) behind bars. This bodes rather poorly for the future of democracy and free speech in a Palestinian state. In fact, it discloses exactly what a Palestinian state would look like, if and when it is ever established.

Failing to hold the PA leadership accountable for its actions against journalists and university students drives Palestinians into the open arms of Hamas. Yet the international media remains mute in the face of the PA’s flouting of the right to freedom of expression. Why? Because, for the foreign media, a story that does not serve to bash Israel is not “news that’s fit to print.”

A Palestinian electric engineer from the West Bank is facing up to one year in prison and a heavy fine. Ibrahim Al-Masri, who was arrested by the Palestinian Authority (PA) security forces on June 19, is the latest victim of the PA’s continued crackdown on its political opponents and dissenters.

Al-Masri’s lawyer said that his client was taken into custody under the PA’s new controversial Cyber Crime Law, which targets Palestinian social media users. His family said they learned about his detention more than 24 hours after he was taken into custody. They pointed out that Al-Masri was arrested for posting comments on Facebook criticizing the PA security forces for beating him during a demonstration in Ramallah last month. The demonstration was organized by Palestinian activists to protest the economic sanctions imposed by the PA government on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

The Cyber Crime Law, which has drawn sharp criticism from Palestinian human rights and media organizations, states that, “Anyone who creates or manages or an information technology platform that aims to publish news that would endanger the integrity of the Palestinian state, the public order or the internal or external security of the State, shall be punished by imprisonment for a period of at least one year and no more than 5,000 Jordanian dinars (approximately $7,000) or by a combination of both punishments.”

The law effectively authorizes the PA security forces to arrest Palestinians for their activities on social media, especially if their postings are deemed “offensive” to senior Palestinian officials or harmful to the “integrity of the Palestinian state” which, one might note, remains to be established.

Palestinians are now wondering whether the Ramallah-based PA leadership has created a “Facebook Police” to monitor their activities on the giant social media portal.

Who’s Afraid of a Jewish State? The scariest thing for a fake Jewish organization is a Jewish State. Daniel Greenfield

https://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/270837/whos-afraid-jewish-state-daniel-greenfield

“Israel, the “Palestinians”, the two-state solution and all the rest of it was never the issue. Jewishness is. The only people who are afraid of a Jewish State either hate Jews or hate being Jewish.”

The Palestinian Authority’s basic law and draft constitution states that “Palestine” is an “Arab” entity, that “Islam is the official religion”, that “Islamic Sharia” is the basis for its law and Arabic is its official language. Unlike Israel’s nation-state bill which defines the Jewish State as Jewish, there’s been no criticism of this PLO document. And the media has not labeled it as divisive or controversial.

The constitution of neighboring Jordan states, “Islam is the religion of the State and Arabic is its official language.” “The people of Syria are part of the Arab nation,” Syria’s constitution declares. “The religion of the President of the Republic is Islam; Islamic jurisprudence shall be a major source of legislation”. That means Syria may only be ruled by a Muslim. “The official language of the state is Arabic.”

Egypt’s constitution declares it to be an “Arab Republic” and “part of the Muslim world”. You will not be surprised to learn that, “Islam is the religion of the state and Arabic is its official language. The principles of Islamic Sharia are the principle source of legislation.” These same statements, with minor variations, hold true for most of the Muslim countries in the region, and excluding Arabic, throughout the world.

All of Israel’s Arab Muslim neighbors very clearly define their countries as Arab and Muslim. Their religion is Islam, their identity Arabic, variations of the same document declare, their language is Arabic.

These assertions of Arab and Muslim national identity are not criticized by the same gaggle of organizations, governments and reporters tearing their hair out over Israel’s nation-state bill.

The nation-state bill defines Israel as the “the historical homeland of the Jewish people” and “the nation-state of the Jewish people”. Hebrew is its official language with Arabic enjoying a special status. (No Arab constitution bothers offering Hebrew a similar status.)

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the bill as “racist”. The state sponsor of Islamic terror complained that, “human civilization tends to celebrate diversity”. Qatar’s own constitution declares that it is an Arab country whose “religion is Islam” and “Sharia law” is the basis for its laws.

Haley rips Arab, Islamic states for UN posturing on Palestinian question

https://worldisraelnews.com/haley-rips-arab-islamic-states-for-un-posturing-on-palestinian-question/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, delivered a hard hitting speech to Tuesday’s meeting of the Security Council on the Middle East, questioning the fundamental commitment of Arab states to securing progress for the Palestinians.

Haley argued that if solidarity with the Palestinians was to be judged by the volume of words expended on the issue in the halls of the UN, “one would come away with an extremely distorted picture.”

“No group of countries is more generous with their words than the Palestinians’ Arab neighbors, and other OIC (Organization of Islamic Cooperation) member states,” Haley told the Security Council. “But all of the words spoken here in New York do not feed, clothe, or educate a single Palestinian child. All they do is get the international community riled up.”

“Last year, while Algeria was providing nothing to UNRWA, and Turkey was providing $6.7 million, the United States gave $364 million,” Haley continued. “That’s ten times the combined amounts from every country I just named.”

She added: “And that’s on top of what the American people give annually to the Palestinians in bilateral assistance. That was another $300 million last year, and it averages to more than a quarter of a billion dollars every year since 1993.”
Speeches over action

The alleged preference among Arab states for solidarity speeches rather than practical action on behalf of the Palestinians was not limited to the funding issue, Haley said.

“Where are the Arab countries when it comes to encouraging reconciliation between Palestinian factions, which is essential to peace?” she asked. “Where are the Arab countries when it comes to denouncing Hamas terrorism? Where are the Arab countries when it comes to supporting compromises that are necessary for peace?”

Ireland’s Anti-Israel Bill and the Muslim Brotherhood by Lawrence A. Franklin

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12733/ireland-israel-boycott

The Irish bill could have a negative impact on American companies with subsidiaries in Ireland: it is illegal under US anti-boycott laws to cooperate with a ban on commerce with Israeli settlements.

What is behind the proposed bill? One possible explanation is the prominent role played by Islamic institutions and organizations in Ireland, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood. There is evidence to suggest that the Muslim Brotherhood has established its European headquarters in the Emerald Isle.

Leaked US Embassy cables indicated that even some Irish Muslims refer to a certain mosque in Dublin as “Tora Bora,” a cave complex on Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan. One of the mosques imams, Yayah al-Hussein, originally from Sudan, is a member of Hamas, and many of its congregants are Bosnian and Afghan jihadists.

On July 11, the Irish Senate approved a bill criminalizing local companies that engage in commerce with Israeli firms based in Judea and Samaria (the West Bank). Introduced in the body’s Upper Chamber by independent member Senator Frances Black, the bill passed initial muster, in a 25-20 vote with 14 abstentions. The Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill, 2018 would prohibit any import of goods or services from “occupied territories,” with financial penalties of a quarter million euros in fines and up to five years imprisonment for violators.

The Great British Foreign Office Fantasy by Douglas Murray

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12755/golan-israel-white-helmets

The armies of ISIS came right up to the villages on the Syrian side along the borders of the Golan. There, they were able to bring that form of peace-through-barbarism which the world has come to know well. If ISIS had triumphed in the Syrian conflict rather than suffering repeated set-backs, would the UK Foreign Office have handed them the territory by way of reparational justice, or victor’s prize?
The painful irony of this situation should be clear to all observers. If the Israelis did not lay claim to the Golan, there would have been no means to have got the White Helmets and their families out of Syria. Had Israel not made the Golan the peaceful and thriving area it is, it would simply be another part of Syria in which different sectarian groups were slaughtering other sectarian groups.
The British Foreign Office will have to back out of its self-imposed corner regarding the Golan at some point and accept the reality on the ground. How much better it would be if it did so now in a spirit of goodwill and reciprocity, rather than later on in a spirit of inevitable and grudging defeat.

According to the British Foreign Office, the Golan Heights are ‘occupied’. They have been ‘occupied’ — according to the logic of the UK Foreign Office — since 1967, when Israel took the land from the invading forces of Syria. Ever since then, the Israelis have had the benefit of this strategic position and the Syrian regime has not. This fact, half a century on, still strikes the British Foreign Office as regrettable, and a wrong to be righted in due course.

Of course, since the onset of the Syrian civil war in 2011, the official position of the UK government has become ever-harder to justify. For example, if the Israeli government were at some point over the last seven years suddenly to have listened to the wisdom of the Foreign Office in London and handed over the strategic prize of the Golan, to whom should it have handed it? Should Israel be persuaded to hand over the territory to the Assad regime in Damascus? It is true that, throughout the course of the Syrian civil war, the one bit of territory to which the Syrian regime has laid claim and which it has not been able to barrel-bomb and otherwise immiserate the people there has been the Golan Heights. Only in the Golan has anybody in this ‘Greater Syria’ been able to live free from the constant threat of massacre and ethnic, religious or political cleansing.

One photo from Israel the liberal media don’t want you to see By Ed Straker

https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/07/one_photo_from_israel_the_liberal_media_dont_want_you_to_see.html

Israel is under attack, as always, this time for passing a law saying Israel is a Jewish state. As if it hadn’t been already. Liberals (among them, shamefully, some Jews) worry for the Arab population of Israel, as if their lives in Israel weren’t 1,000% better than the lives of Arabs in any other Arab nations, who are slaughtering each other by the hundreds of thousands.

Now Israel, which has been providing Syrian civilians with medical care for years during the civil war there, has helped several hundred civil defense workers escape from the Assad regime in an act of pure goodwill to its Arab neighbors.

In a predawn operation on Sunday, the Israeli military’s 210th Bashan Division oversaw the transfer of 422 Syrians from the “White Helmets” rescue organization and their families from the Syrian Golan Heights through Israel to Jordan.

“The families crossed [the fence], at first apprehensively, but once they reached the border, their eyes twinkled from happiness with the knowledge that they’d gotten their lives back. I am happy to be an officer in an army and in a country that is carrying out this mission and expressing the values of humaneness and compassion,” [a] lieutenant colonel said.

“This is the nature of our work and this is a significant moment like no other,” he added.

In recent years, Israel has been engaged in a massive multi-faceted humanitarian relief operation to keep thousands of Syrians along the border from starving or falling ill due to the lack of food and basic medical care.

Still Missing: One Arab Altalena… by Gerald A. Honigman

It’s been quite some time since I thought about this tragedy. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s recent comments brought it back onto my brain’s front burner…

YNet News reported on July 8, 2018 that seventy years after theAltalena Affair, Prime Minister Netanyahu stated “not only were the Etzel (Irgun) fallen not traitors, they were patriots of the first degree and acted in the benefit of the State of Israel, with immense effort and great sacrifice.”

The June 1948 confrontation was a nightmare which saw some twenty precious Jewish soldiers lost in patriot-on-patriot fighting for the heart and soul of the newly resurrected Jewish State.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself, so let’s backtrack a bit…

Even though he’s been out of the picture since 2004, polluting the soil from Jerusalem sprinkled onto his coffin in Ramallah, nothing has really changed regarding the two peoples struggling over rights to this land.

The problem has always extended beyond Yasir Arafat himself. He was simply carrying yet another local banner for a wider, age-old Arabism which–as I like to remind readers–rejects the rights of any (i.e., not just Jews) of the scores of millions of non-Arab peoples who were conquered in a region Arabs call purely Arab patrimonyand the Dar ul-Islam… among other things, the Arab-Israeli conflict in a nutshell.

To expand on this important point (especially for those who specialize in singling Israel), Arabs have treated all would-be national competitors similarly–with, admittedly, a bit more disdain for Jews. The latter were subjected to additional vilification in the Qur’an and other religious teachings of Islam for rejecting, from the very beginning, Muhammad’s religio-political claims–despite his overtures to the Jews (like praying towards Jerusalem) in the date palm oasis founded by them in Medina to which he fled from enemies in Mecca (the Hijra)… Geez, now why does that sound somewhat familiar? Ponder that a bit.

Why Iran Supports Palestinian Terror Groups by Khaled Abu Toameh

https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/12729/iran-palestinian-terrorism

The Iranian general did not offer to build the Palestinians a hospital or a school. Nor did he offer to provide financial aid to create projects that would give jobs to unemployed Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. His message to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip: Iran will give you as much money and weapons as you need as long as you are committed to the jihad (holy war) against Israel and the “big Satan,” the US.

The same Hamas that is telling UN representatives that it wants to improve the living conditions of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is the one that is reaching out its hand to Iran to receive funds and weapons.

Now, someone needs to step in and stop Iran from setting foot in the Gaza Strip and using the Palestinians as cannon fodder in Tehran’s campaign against the US and Israel. How might someone do that? It is not so complicated. Any international aid to the Gaza Strip must be conditioned on ending Iran’s destructive effort to recruit Palestinians groups as its soldiers. It is that simple.

While the United Nations, Israel and the US are proposing plans to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, Iran is pledging to continue its financial and military aid to Palestinian terror groups.

Iran’s meddling in the internal affairs of the Palestinians is not new. The Iranians have long been providing Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror groups with money and weapons. Were it not for Iran’s support, the two groups, which do not recognize Israel’s right to exist, would not have been able to remain in power in the coastal enclave.

Iran’s support for the Palestinian terror groups has a twofold goal: first, to undermine the Palestinian Authority, which is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, and which Tehran sees as a pawn in the hands of the US and Israel; and second, to advance Iran’s goal of destroying Israel.

Glazov Gang: Avi Jorisch on “Thou Shalt Innovate”. How Israeli ingenuity repairs the world. VIDEO

http://jamieglazov.com/2018/07/19/glazov-gang-avi-jorisch-on-thou-shalt-innovate/

This new edition of The Glazov Gang features Avi Jorisch, the author of Thou Shalt Innovate.

Avi discusses Thou Shalt Innovate and unveils How Israeli Ingenuity Repairs the World.

Don’t miss it!