RUTHFULLY YOURS

Stop Demonizing Israel for Defending Herself

Hand it to Hamas. As this week’s events in Gaza showed, the terrorist organization committed to Israel’s destruction can still manipulate the media into demonizing Israel for the legitimate actions it takes to defend itself.

Hamas’s four-step formula for success is by now familiar. First, get a media that is largely hostile toward Israel, simply ignorant or both to ignore Hamas’s genocidal goals and excuse its terrorism. Second, put Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. Third, force Israel, while defending itself, to kill some of those civilians. Fourth, rely on that same hostile and ignorant media to blame Israel for these deaths.

In Gaza, step one began some seven weeks ago. Hamas called for tens of thousands of Palestinians to join a weekly “March of Return” — effectively, the flooding of Israel with millions of the descendants of Palestinian refugees from the War of Independence (which five Arab nations started, promising to throw the Jews into the sea).

The March of Return was to culminate in a mid-May march on “Nakba” day, which Palestinians mark each year to remember the “catastrophe” of Israel’s creation.

Palestinian “marchers” were told to break down the security fence separating Gaza from Israel, a clear and present danger to all those living in Jewish communities only hundreds of yards from that fence.

Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, could not have been clearer about his goals: “We will take down the border and tear out their hearts from their bodies.”

But as thousands of Palestinians showed up to achieve that murderous goal, the media was determined to tell another tale. Press reports insisted that the march was “against the occupation” and “for humanitarian relief” in Gaza. Such nonsense continued even as rioters destroyed the very infrastructure that enables Israel to deliver food, medicine and supplies into Gaza.

This week, the media narrative shifted. Despite all evidence to the contrary, suddenly we were told that the riots in Gaza were against the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem. “Marches over embassy move take on violent edge” read a headline in The Post, one of many similar headlines around the globe.

The prime minister said that if Tehran genuinely wanted to pursue a peaceful nuclear program, it would “not need a single centrifuge.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applauded US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on Monday outlining the 12 steps Iran must take for sanctions relief, saying this is “the right policy.”

The prime minister, speaking at a Foreign Ministry reception in the presence of Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes marking the opening of that country’s embassy in Jerusalem, said that US President Donald Trump has “changed policy in fundamental ways,” not only regarding Jerusalem, but also Iran.
Netanyahu said that Pompeo in his speech echoed Trump’s strong positions regarding Iran: that there should be tough economic sanctions and no Iranian nuclear enrichment, and that the Islamic Republic must leave Syria.

“We believe that is the right policy,” Netanyahu said. “We believe it is the only policy that can ultimately guarantee the security of the Middle East and bring peace in our region, and we call on all countries to follow America’s lead here, because Iran is an aggressive force.”

The prime minister said that if Tehran genuinely wanted to pursue a peaceful nuclear program, it would “not need a single centrifuge.” If the Iranians wanted a peaceful nuclear program, he added, “they would not hide their secret archives for making nuclear weapons.”

Israel stole and revealed the nuclear archives earlier this month, in a stunning intelligence coup. Netanyahu said that the fact that Iran did not destroy the archives – as South Africa and Libya did when they stopped their nuclear programs – was a clear sign of Tehran’s intentions.

“Iran did not destroy the archives,” he said. “Iran hid the archives, lied about it [and] moved it from place to place, because they are seeking nuclear weapons. The American position prevents them from having nuclear weapons and brings [to an end] the cash machine they used to fund their conquest of the Middle East. Thank you America.”

Your instinct may be to dismiss the significance of a small country like Paraguay, with a population of around seven million, moving their embassy to Jerusalem, but that is a bad instinct. The South American country just announced their decision, and it does matter.

Politico writes:

The entrance to Jerusalem was lined with the flags of Paraguay on Wednesday and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at the ceremony that he was there to “salute” a great friend.

In the matter of recognition and support of the nation of Israel and their capital, it is no small thing. Paraguay follows in the footsteps of not only the United States but also Guatemala. Romania, the Czech Republic, and Honduras are all on the brink of moving their embassies as well.

Mass will create momentum. The United States has not merely set an example or even simply set the ball rolling; our move is an impetus, both to those who would gain our favor and those partners and supporters of Israel that needed a big shield.

In each case, Palestinian Arabs living in PA-controlled areas were suspected of collaborating with Israel — a “crime” that can include anything from warning authorities of impending acts of terrorism to selling land to Jews.

All told, 13 of 15 “human rights organizations” proved that they are, in fact, dedicated to defaming the State of Israel, and have no real interest in defending human rights.

Only two organizations — The Committee for Prevention of Torture and Physicians for Human Rights — offered assistance of any kind.

Ironically, help also came from two unexpected sources: Honenu, a legal aid society most often associated with right wing causes, and Regavim, a think-tank and lobbying group that regularly finds itself in court as a means of protecting Israeli sovereignty.

During the past 14 years, dozens of lawsuits have been filed in the Israeli judicial system by Arabs who have fled the Palestinian Authority (PA) and were given refuge in Israel. The sheer volume of cases and their remarkable similarity led the Israeli justice system to combine them and hear them as a unified case, heard in Jerusalem District Court, Justice Moshe Drori presiding, in 2017.

In each case, the victims, Palestinian Arabs living in PA-controlled areas, were suspected of collaborating with Israel — a “crime” that can include anything from warning authorities of impending acts of terrorism to selling land to Jews.

These suspected “collaborators,” after their abduction by the Palestinian Police, were imprisoned in the PA’s dungeons and subjected to unspeakable torture. In their testimony before the court, the victims described brutal beatings, broken teeth, sexual assault, exposure to extreme heat and cold, being forced to sit on broken glass bottles, being hung repeatedly in various positions, and “medical treatment” by the Palestinian Authority’s prison doctors that included injections of urine directly into their veins. In many cases, suspected collaborators were executed outright; other times, they were tortured to death and their family members raped and tortured. Even infants were not spared. These methods remain in force; this is how the Palestinian Authority deals with anyone suspected of cooperating with Jews: Death or torture.

It is quite the puzzle for Islamic apologists: how to cast Hamas’ eagerness to march a lemming-like army of its own people, even small children, into border fences and Israeli guns? The solution: overlook Islamic scriptures’ exhortations to grievance and barbarism.

Tyranny is our foe. Whatever trapping or disguise it wears [read the religion of peace], whatever language it speaks, be it external or internal [read the religion of peace], we must for ever be on our guard, ever mobilized, ever vigilant, always ready to spring at its throat. – Winston Churchill

Tens of thousands of Gazans are attempting to storm into Israel. If they were to succeed many among them would rape and slaughter Israelis living in nearby towns. They are being urged on by Hamas leaders. The mobs (called “protestors” to torture the English language) are using petrol bombs and slingshots and burning tyres to provide cover. It’s all on the tele to be seen with those who have eyes to see.

Apparently, the British government has expressed concern about the violence and loss of Gazan life. Macron blamed Israel for the deaths of those storming the border. Julie Bishop called on Israel “to be proportionate in its response and refrain from excessive force.” It is in fact a miracle that so few Gazan lives have been lost. Imagine the carnage with the same mobs, with the same malign intent, coming up against a less disciplined and restrained army. Some young children have been killed. What the heck are their parents thinking bringing them to the front lines? Well, hold that thought pending Indonesia.

Meanwhile in the world of truth, outside of sanctimony and delusion, the White House blamed Hamas for the violence. Niki Haley walked out of the UN as the Palestinian representative got up to propagandise, having vetoed yet another of those anti-Israel resolutions. If you still don’t know why the world needs Trump you should. Unless, of course, you can’t get beyond his hairstyle.

Does anyone with even half a brain not understand that blood would be flowing in the streets if Hamas terrorists managed to get into Israeli towns. I visited Sderot in November, 2014. It is the closest Israeli town to the Gaza border. Twenty-eight thousand rockets had been fired at Sderot since 2000. I saw the piles of shrapnel kept at a local police station. I was told that the town is so close to the border that once you hear a “red alert” you have just fifteen seconds to find cover. All playgrounds have adjoining bomb shelters.

Brig. Gen. Manelis is the spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces.

Sami Abu Zuhri is the spokesman for the extremist group Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization funded by Iran. Hamas controls Gaza and has killed innocent Israeli, American, Brazilian, Kenyan, British, French and Chinese civilians. As chief intelligence officer of the Israel Defense Forces’ Gaza division from 2012-14, I came to know Mr. Abu Zuhri and other Hamas spokesmen from a distance. Their modus operandi is simple: Lie. Their lies support the stated goal of Hamas: the delegitimization and destruction of Israel.

For weeks the international media has reported on violence on the border between Gaza and Israel. Hamas has continued to lie to the world, which is why their rare acknowledgments of truth are especially revealing. Hamas spokesmen raced to the press last week to lament the death of innocent civilians. But a senior Hamas leader, Salah Bardawil, said in a May 16 interview with a Palestinian TV station: “In the last round of confrontations, if 62 people were martyred, 50 of them were Hamas.”

Hamas itself has confirmed that 80% of those killed in their violent riots last Monday were members of a terrorist group, not innocent civilians. Several more of the fatalities were claimed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad. On May 13, Mahmoud Al-Zahar, a co-founder of Hamas, said in an interview with Al Jazeera: “When we talk about ‘peaceful resistance,’ we are deceiving the public.” You can trust Hamas only when they admit to their lies.

Reprogramming cancer cells. I reported previously (9th July) that Ben Gurion University Professor Varda Shoshan-Barmatz had discovered that suppressing the protein VDAC1 inhibits tumor growth. Her team’s latest research shows that small interfering ribonucleic acids (siRNAs) can reprogram the cancer cells back to normal-like cells. Ointment for pre-skin cancer is in Phase 2 trials. http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/bgn/pages/news/cancer.aspx
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-researchers-say-they-have-found-way-to-curb-growth-of-cancer-cells/
http://www.vidacpharma.com/index.php/news/78-vidac-pharma-reports-positive-results-from-phase-2a-proof-of-concept-trial-of-vda-1102-ointment-in-actinic-keratosis

Improved fertility treatment. Researchers at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University are developing a new, single-dose fertility treatment based on a new telomerase-activating compound, which can improve both male and female fertility. It can also help protect the fertility of cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/tBLUUJapIoc?re;=0 http://in.bgu.ac.il/en/bgn/pages/news/Fertility%20.aspx

US Government funds Israeli flu vaccine trial. The US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is sponsoring a US-wide Phase 2 trial of the M-001 Universal Flu vaccine from Israel’s BiondVax. A 9,630-person, EU-financed Phase 3 trial is already scheduled.
http://nocamels.com/2018/05/us-turn-to-israeli-flu-vaccine-maker-outbreak/

Reducing overuse of antibiotics. I reported previously (see here) on Israel’s MeMed which has developed ImmunoXpert – a fast test to determine whether an infection is bacterial or virus. ImmunoXpert is now EU approved and a recent study shows it can reduce unnecessary antibiotic use by nearly 90%.
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3738353,00.html
http://www.me-med.com/html5/sbs.py?_id=11282&did=2466&G=11049&SM=11282

Treatments for rare diseases. Five Israeli bio-techs at Israel’s MIXiii-Biomed 2018 are developing new therapies for “orphan” (rare) genetic diseases. They include ART Bioscience (Duchenne’s), Eloxx (cystinosis), SpliSense (Cystic Fibrosis), NewStem (Fragile X Syndrome) and Minovia (mitochondrial diseases).
https://www.israel21c.org/5-israeli-startups-seeking-cures-for-rare-genetic-diseases/
https://www.artbioscience.com/ http://www.eloxxpharma.com/
http://www.integra-holdings.com/portfolio-items/splisense/http://www.iati.co.il/company/3793/newstem
http://www.iati.co.il/company/3522/minovia-therapeutics http://kenes-exhibitions.com/biomed/program/#day1

Analyzing the genes for better treatments. Israel’s Genoox employs machine learning algorithms to analyze large amounts of genetic data, helping doctors and clinicians to personalize treatment and researchers to develop new therapies. Genoox was selected by Israel’s Ministry of Health for its 100,000 Genome Project.
https://www.globes.co.il/en/article-israeli-genomic-analysis-co-genoox-raises-6m-1001236471
https://www.genoox.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Use-Case-2-MOH.pdf

DIY ultrasound for pregnant mothers. (TY Hazel) Israeli startup PulseNmore.is completing development of a revolutionary handheld ultrasound device that will allow pregnant women to check on the health of their baby using a smartphone. On its website, PulseNmore says it’s in stealth mode, so shhh! this new “baby” is asleep.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-device-would-let-pregnant-women-take-ultrasound-scans-on-phone/
https://www.pulsenmore.com/

AI to treat brain disorders. Israel’s BrainQ is developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies to treat neurological disorders. These identify high resolution spectral patterns in a patient’s Electroencephalogram (EEG) that can be used to treat patients after strokes or spinal injury with tailored electromagnetic therapy.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brainq-technologies-raises-88-million-to-treat-neurodisorders-with-artificial-intelligence-682666821.html http://brainqtech.com/

Stimulating the brain to relieve migraines. I reported previously (Oct 2016)on one Israeli bio-tech that had developed a non-invasive neural stimulation device to reduce the pain from migraines. Here is another – Neurolief’s neuro-modulation stimulates the brain stem, preventing secretion of agents that can trigger pain.
https://www.globes.co.il/en/article-neurolief-develops-non-invasive-neuro-modulation-system-to-treat-migraine-1001235443

Wiping out mosquito-borne viruses. (TY ToI) Israel’s Senecio has invented and implemented innovative technology for the mass releases of sterile mosquitoes to disrupt the breeding of the virus-spreading insects. It is a vital part of the battle to end diseases such as malaria, Zika virus, yellow fever, Chikungunya etc.
http://www.senecios.com/ https://www.youtube.com/embed/stR6CHFyCkc?rel=0
https://www.youtube.com/embed/jyxxFyv4fpA?rel=0

A robot that rehabilitates patients. (TY TIP) Scientists at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University have designed a robotic arm that plays tic-tac-toe. Patients can play against the robot to exercise upper limbs following surgery or strokes. Patients were more motivated to compete against the robot than against computer-controlled lights.
https://www.israel21c.org/playing-tic-tac-toe-with-robot-can-help-rehab-patients/
https://www.youtube.com/embed/FrlR84dbFsc?rel=0

It was all so predictable: Billowing clouds of dense black smoke in Gaza, satisfaction in technicolor at the inauguration of the American embassy in Jerusalem. With varying degrees of sarcasm, on a familiar scale from naïve humanism to virulent Jew hatred, commentators commented on the contrasted images. Forcibly to the detriment of Israel. The Jews dance while Gaza burns and bleeds. Bloodbath in Gaza, broad grins in Jerusalem. Indecent! Provocation! And they deliberately chose this highly sensitive date—confluence of the Nakba and the first day of Ramadan—to dangle the red meat of their triumph in front of starving Gazans.

I don’t waste my time analyzing this discourse detail by detail. I did it in September 2000 [Al Dura: Long Range Ballistic Myth, Troubled Dawn of the 21st Century] and have followed the consequences over the years and to date. And I dare believe that my work, and that of other fearless thinkers, has not been in vain. If the adversaries pursue the same strategy and the unthinking commentators respond with the same half-truths and wholesale lies, the results on the ground are no longer in their favor. And that’s what counts.

There is another way to read those iconic images. The Gazan March of Return appears in all its nullity. Hate-filled individuals choke on their own smoke, blinded by their own stupidity, reveling in their self-imposed immobility. The very image of the slingshot-wielding shabab with his head wrapped in a keffieh is lost in the black smoke of burning tires. In civilized societies tires are made for vehicles that transport people, goods, and livestock. The invention of the wheel stands as a turning point in human history. The retrograde March of Return turns that potential for movement into volcanic self-destruction. And Israel doesn’t have the right to bask in the light of its accomplishments?