In my last post I had talked about how the weather had changed and it looked like the rainy season had started. But it never did. And then we proceeded to have the hotest, dryest October that anyone, that I spoke to in Israel, could remember.
Didn't we all pray for rain? And keep praying for rain? And remind our friends and family to pray for rain? HaShem we need rain! I read a posting last night by someone in Efrat that a storm was coming in - a big one. Two barrels, rain over Shabbat, and then lots more into next week. And I thought, oh boy, I hope so! And then, this morning the weather changed. It really did. It clouded over and the temperature dropped 10 degrees. And I realized that I needed to bring in my clothes rack so my laundry wouldn't get wet. And I realized that we still needed to get the Succah down. And I realized that I needed to move the bikes off the front mirpeset into the grotto under the house. And I realized the wood from our lift was on the front mirpeset and exposed to the weather. And I realized that all this time I had been asking for rain, but I hadn't prepared for it.
So I brought in the clothes, put the bikes in the grotto, and took down the lights, decorations and fabric from the succah. All by myself. I couldn't get the skach and the frame, because they're too heavy for me. It was very cathartic. And while I was working hard and struggling (HaShem requires the struggle you know) I was thinking about the coming storms.
Not the rain storms, the real storms. The ones we see brewing politically all over the world.
And I thought about how it seems that the storm clouds are getting bigger and darker with each new bit of news I read. Obama backing the muslims, disregarding past relations with Israel. Antisemitism growing world wide. The economic climate around the world, and how everytime the world economy tanks it's another good excuse to blame the Jews.
I read about the Goldstone report; http://www.ungoldstonereport.com/
and watched a utube of Lord Monkton's discussion about Obama signing the Global Climate Treaty and feasibly signing away America's soverignity;
http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&rlz=1T4RNWI_en&q=obama+to+sign+global+warming+treaty&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=BEbpSob1IIuCmgPYseWGDw&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQqwQwAA#
I read Geert Wilder's presentation at the Horowitz Freedom Center;
http://www.israelunitycoalition.org/news/article.php?id=4697
And more news about Iran's nuclear program;
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iran/nuclear_program/index.html
Do you feel the thunder rumbling in the distance? Do you feel the electricity in the air? I sure do. And I realized that, even though I've known for a long time, that the signs have been there. I've been talking about it, worrying over it. But I've never really prepared for it? How do we prepare for it? Wouldn't it be great if it was a simple set of tasks that we can do, like I did this morning preparing for the rain, and once they're all done, Hey - I'm ready! (Ooooh thunder in the distance, it's almost here!). But I think not. I think, for the big storm that HaShem is gathering, the preparation is all about the mindset, the heart, the struggle. The willinginess to enter everyday into that struggle between what we want and what is easy and what we think will fulfill us, and what is real.
What is real is that we are at war, both nationally and spiritually.
HaShem made us promises. At Gerizim and Ebal He promised that if we would come and live in the land, and keep his commandments that our lives would be blessed. I quote the Stone Tanach Devarim 28 (Deuteronomy) "It shall be on that day if you hearken to the voice of HaShem, your God, to observe all of His commandments that I commanded you this day, then Hashem, your God, will make you supreme over all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you hearken to the voice of HaShem, your God."
He promised that His blessings, all of His blessings, would come upon us and overtake us.
IF
So I beleive that is the struggle. What is right, and real, and part of a plan not of our making, but that we still find oursleves in. An integral part of the plan, each and every one of us. And those who will be blessed? I suppose are the ones who recognize that we are part of the plan and prepare; enter into the struggle over what "IF" really means in our everyday lives.
And I see it like the coming storm, huge and loud and overwhelming. Nothing I can do to avoid it, it's going to come and overtake me. So I cling to the struggle, and the promise, and the belief that I am not insane, and there really is a higher power who will come and wash the dry and thirsty landscape of not only this land, but also my soul.
Blessed be He who waters the earth.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The passing of the year....
It is Rosh Hashanah again. Another year has come and gone & I have grown older (my hair greyer), and hopefully wiser with it. We now are starting our second year in Israel. I hardly ever post a new blog, and for that I am sorry. It's not that I'm less inspired, certainly I am more busy.
At this time of year we are to take an accounting of ourselves. Makes ammends to all we injured. make repairs to ourselves, recheck our footing, are we headed in the right direction?
To all of you, my dear friends and family, I heartily and sincerly offer my deepest regrets for any wounds I may have inflicted. Please call me or write me and tell me if I erred towards you in some way so that I can make true ammends, not this generic splatter of words across the page.
And how is myself? Where am I headed?
Our lives have changed dramtically in the last few months - seems only yesterday that we were facing the changes of living in a new land, now we are again living in a new home, a new community and JDC has new jobs (yes plural!). Ari has a new school and new friends, Tzachi has a new commute and a new mandate for study and personal application. So the land is requiring more of all of us these days. But I know that with hard work and perserverance we will find our peace here in this new place again.
I've been feeling a bit lost, not having purposed this move ahead of time, we just needed to find a place & this place found us. It was unexpected and unplanned this coming to a new community. But the people are very warm, they have welcomed us with open arms, the house is very comfortable and hugs us every night. And now for the first time we are really living in the land like we are supposed to - struggling to make ends meet, and meeting the ends themselves sometimes!
We are still in-between a bit. Half of our stuff in storage hither and yon in Modiin, but with JDC working so many hours we haven't had time or energy to get it all moved. Now we have to though, Sukkot will be upon us before we know it & my psyche needs to be settled all in one place by then. It will help with the lost-ness in my mind.
The weather has changed already - suddenly on Rosh Hashanah evening the clouds and the winds came up & blew summer away. So it still gets hot during the day, but not as hot, and the air has a bit of sparkle in it. Mornings tend to be cool and there's often a hint of leftover rain in the air as I go out on the 3rd floor mirpeset on my way to wake Tzachi up every morning. And sometimes in the evening you need a sweater. It reminds me I need to say goodbye to last year. Thank it for all the goodness it brought me, take to heart the lessons it shared. Be grateful for the time it gave me and all my loved ones. Of course all those gifts are really from HaShem, and all my gratitude belongs to him.
And the future? So much is going on in the world these days, I look at the economy in the U.S. and then worldwide, and so many people I know are struggling as much as we are. But my hopes and dreams are just as big as they ever were - maybe bigger because I know that somehow, someway, HaShem's plan will play itself out in all this craziness we humanity have built.
We made some new friends recently and they asked us why we came - I remember recanting a story that I have come to love because it tells so much truth of what is in my heart, things we don't necessarily talk about everyday, but it's still there. So I will tell this story again here and then leave this blog for more serious pursuits... And I promise not to stay away so long next time.
In February of 2008 we and the boys took a pilot trip here to Israel to scope out the land and choose a community to move to. When we finally headed back to the states after an extended trip (we stayed a month) I felt so lost on the plane going back to the U.S. I knew it was only for a short time & that we would be returning permanently very soon, still my heart burned. On the flight back we all got divided up on the plane and I found myself sitting next to a young Israeli man, heading home to New York. He asked me if we had been on holiday to Israel. I told him we had come on our pilot trip and that we had chosen a city to live in and a shul to attend & schools for our sons. He was amazed. "You are Americans, you live in the U.S? " Yes, I said. "But why would you move to Israel?! Life there is so hard!" I told him, it's my home. It's the only place my heart is happy. I told him that he and his family have had their turn. That they had been standing in the gap & watching on the walls for all these years and the hope in their hearts had withered and dried out. He nodded agreement. I told him it was now our turn, our hearts are filled with hope and purpose. And we will now take our turn standing in the gap and watching at the walls. We will take our turn to try to live holy in the land and fulfill the purposes of G-d. We will dance and sing and daven on the holidays. We will say a shekeanu when the figs on the tree in our back yard are ripe. We will wonder at that glorious sunset over the Medditerranean. We will dance in the first heavy rain of the season. We will laugh at the scurry of the white gekko on the white stone wall beside our garden. We will stand on the Palmachim Beach and gaze at the millions of sea shells on the shoreline. We will go to Beit Guvrin and listen to the melodic echos as we sing in the bell caves. We will climb the mountains of Ein Geidi and thrill at the cold water in the pools when we jump in. We will listen and then join in with the chanting and singing of morning prayers at the Yeshiva where Tzachi goes to shcool. We will stand in awe at the central bus station in Jerusalem when we realize that everyone in the massive crowd is Jewish like us. We will wonder why the traffic into Tel Aviv is so horrible on a Sunday morning. We will honk at the guy in front of us before the light turns green. We will say to ourselves what in the world was I thinking coming to shop at Rami Levi on a Thursday night!
We, yes even we will be Israelis.
At this time of year we are to take an accounting of ourselves. Makes ammends to all we injured. make repairs to ourselves, recheck our footing, are we headed in the right direction?
To all of you, my dear friends and family, I heartily and sincerly offer my deepest regrets for any wounds I may have inflicted. Please call me or write me and tell me if I erred towards you in some way so that I can make true ammends, not this generic splatter of words across the page.
And how is myself? Where am I headed?
Our lives have changed dramtically in the last few months - seems only yesterday that we were facing the changes of living in a new land, now we are again living in a new home, a new community and JDC has new jobs (yes plural!). Ari has a new school and new friends, Tzachi has a new commute and a new mandate for study and personal application. So the land is requiring more of all of us these days. But I know that with hard work and perserverance we will find our peace here in this new place again.
I've been feeling a bit lost, not having purposed this move ahead of time, we just needed to find a place & this place found us. It was unexpected and unplanned this coming to a new community. But the people are very warm, they have welcomed us with open arms, the house is very comfortable and hugs us every night. And now for the first time we are really living in the land like we are supposed to - struggling to make ends meet, and meeting the ends themselves sometimes!
We are still in-between a bit. Half of our stuff in storage hither and yon in Modiin, but with JDC working so many hours we haven't had time or energy to get it all moved. Now we have to though, Sukkot will be upon us before we know it & my psyche needs to be settled all in one place by then. It will help with the lost-ness in my mind.
The weather has changed already - suddenly on Rosh Hashanah evening the clouds and the winds came up & blew summer away. So it still gets hot during the day, but not as hot, and the air has a bit of sparkle in it. Mornings tend to be cool and there's often a hint of leftover rain in the air as I go out on the 3rd floor mirpeset on my way to wake Tzachi up every morning. And sometimes in the evening you need a sweater. It reminds me I need to say goodbye to last year. Thank it for all the goodness it brought me, take to heart the lessons it shared. Be grateful for the time it gave me and all my loved ones. Of course all those gifts are really from HaShem, and all my gratitude belongs to him.
And the future? So much is going on in the world these days, I look at the economy in the U.S. and then worldwide, and so many people I know are struggling as much as we are. But my hopes and dreams are just as big as they ever were - maybe bigger because I know that somehow, someway, HaShem's plan will play itself out in all this craziness we humanity have built.
We made some new friends recently and they asked us why we came - I remember recanting a story that I have come to love because it tells so much truth of what is in my heart, things we don't necessarily talk about everyday, but it's still there. So I will tell this story again here and then leave this blog for more serious pursuits... And I promise not to stay away so long next time.
In February of 2008 we and the boys took a pilot trip here to Israel to scope out the land and choose a community to move to. When we finally headed back to the states after an extended trip (we stayed a month) I felt so lost on the plane going back to the U.S. I knew it was only for a short time & that we would be returning permanently very soon, still my heart burned. On the flight back we all got divided up on the plane and I found myself sitting next to a young Israeli man, heading home to New York. He asked me if we had been on holiday to Israel. I told him we had come on our pilot trip and that we had chosen a city to live in and a shul to attend & schools for our sons. He was amazed. "You are Americans, you live in the U.S? " Yes, I said. "But why would you move to Israel?! Life there is so hard!" I told him, it's my home. It's the only place my heart is happy. I told him that he and his family have had their turn. That they had been standing in the gap & watching on the walls for all these years and the hope in their hearts had withered and dried out. He nodded agreement. I told him it was now our turn, our hearts are filled with hope and purpose. And we will now take our turn standing in the gap and watching at the walls. We will take our turn to try to live holy in the land and fulfill the purposes of G-d. We will dance and sing and daven on the holidays. We will say a shekeanu when the figs on the tree in our back yard are ripe. We will wonder at that glorious sunset over the Medditerranean. We will dance in the first heavy rain of the season. We will laugh at the scurry of the white gekko on the white stone wall beside our garden. We will stand on the Palmachim Beach and gaze at the millions of sea shells on the shoreline. We will go to Beit Guvrin and listen to the melodic echos as we sing in the bell caves. We will climb the mountains of Ein Geidi and thrill at the cold water in the pools when we jump in. We will listen and then join in with the chanting and singing of morning prayers at the Yeshiva where Tzachi goes to shcool. We will stand in awe at the central bus station in Jerusalem when we realize that everyone in the massive crowd is Jewish like us. We will wonder why the traffic into Tel Aviv is so horrible on a Sunday morning. We will honk at the guy in front of us before the light turns green. We will say to ourselves what in the world was I thinking coming to shop at Rami Levi on a Thursday night!
We, yes even we will be Israelis.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Blame it on Ignorance, not the Jews!
I have been contemplating the world lately. Looking at different countries and listening to their leaders, their news, current events, and searching for the "little items" on the back pages of the media outlets that really tell the truth.
Following are a few of the items I have found that I feel are worth sharing.
One news item from JTA reports that 7,000 French Jews signed a petition and sent it to the US Congress requesting political asylum in the US due to fear of religious persecution in France following the racial murder of a young Jew.
http://jta.org/news/article/2007/03/20/100725/Frenchpetition
Spain currently reports that 46% of it's population hold negative opinions of Jews. That figure more than doubles the 21% reported in 2005. Focus that 46% against the 37% who think favorably of Jews and it explains why the 12,000 Jews living in Spain are very quiet about their faith and heritage. It also explains why you have to contact someone in the community before they will tell you where the synagogue is, a building with no address listed and no outward markings to show what it is.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/spains-jewish-problem/
Of course, anyone who listens to the BBC can have no doubt of the political mood towards Israel from that front. Perhaps I think, many people confuse the idea that anti-Israel bias may not be the same as anti-semitism. But if the two are unrelated then it makes it difficult to explain the report that anti-Semitism is on the rise as of 2009, averaging 7 events per day in England.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.2546/pub_detail.asp
In Germany, there are two recognized neo-Nazi poltitical parties. The NPD and the HDJ. Although the HDJ was recently "banned" many in the country feel that the move was only a bandaid on a flooding dike. Germany plans to attend the Durban II conference, which many nations (including the US and Israel) have rejected for it's anti-semetic stance. The Muslim community in Germany is growing, while not all German Muslims are radical, there are certainly centers that preach that "the Jews are the Enemy of Allah" deserving of death. Germany's Catholics have had their struggles recently with anti-semitism also. I've attached several links supporting all of this.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Germany39s-Jews-claim-fight-against.5163090.jp
http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=3774
http://www.faithfreedom.org/2009/02/05/the-radical-muslims-of-germany/
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605542,00.html
Similar accounts can be found all over Europe, of course Africa, and even Asia.
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/03/anti-semitism-in-east-asias-jewish.html
And in the America's
Well Mr. Madoff didn't help us any:
http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/financialcrisis.asp
Did we think that Louis Farrakhan would just go away?
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/5493_81.htm
How about those college campus forums?
http://www.hudsonny.org/2009/03/on-campus-the-pro-palestinians-real-agenda.php
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/muslim-student-union-at-uc-irvine-rolls-out-its-carnival-of-haters/
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/we_are_all_antisemites_now.html
I'm sorry for all the links, I hope you can sit down and take some time to read through them all. They are important windows into the mindset of the world.
So what does all this mean? Things seem to be getting really crazy! Many have said that anti-Semitism is the barometer for the world's political climate. When things seem to be getting out of control blame the Jews. It certainly takes the focus off the mistakes of our current and past political leaders (in every nation).
http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-26.htm
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=6071.0.114.0
But how does this insanity spread?! Simple, ignorance. It's not because there is a lack of accurate information. It is is because too few people access that information. We are in a war, but not one that includes bombs and bullets (though we in Israel are surely familiar with those!) It is a war of words. And the media is the battle front. Any Media, every media. So where we can mount an offensive, present the truth, cause people to read & think, we have an obligation to do so.
Please I ask that each of you search and study and read and share with everyone you know. Find the truth, don't just settle for opinion. There are historical records that support the Jewish past of Israel. There are historical records that support the establishment of the modern day state of Israel, Mediterrean to Jordan. There are historical records that prove the existence of the Holocaust. There are historical records that prove when a society is ignorant genocide is the result.
Israel is so tiny, and yet so bright. All the world is fighting about Israel. It is a remarkably beautiful place. There is something elusively different about it. I haven't met anyone who can accurately describe that difference, but everyone who comes here feels it. Could it be that we really have been touched by the hand of that higher power? I certainly ascribe to that belief. Frankly, there appears to be no other reasonable explanation for why all the world is in a dither over what happens on these 8,522 square miles, when compared to the other 196,991,478 square miles of the planet.
Think about it!
Following are a few of the items I have found that I feel are worth sharing.
One news item from JTA reports that 7,000 French Jews signed a petition and sent it to the US Congress requesting political asylum in the US due to fear of religious persecution in France following the racial murder of a young Jew.
http://jta.org/news/article/2007/03/20/100725/Frenchpetition
Spain currently reports that 46% of it's population hold negative opinions of Jews. That figure more than doubles the 21% reported in 2005. Focus that 46% against the 37% who think favorably of Jews and it explains why the 12,000 Jews living in Spain are very quiet about their faith and heritage. It also explains why you have to contact someone in the community before they will tell you where the synagogue is, a building with no address listed and no outward markings to show what it is.
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/spains-jewish-problem/
Of course, anyone who listens to the BBC can have no doubt of the political mood towards Israel from that front. Perhaps I think, many people confuse the idea that anti-Israel bias may not be the same as anti-semitism. But if the two are unrelated then it makes it difficult to explain the report that anti-Semitism is on the rise as of 2009, averaging 7 events per day in England.
http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/id.2546/pub_detail.asp
In Germany, there are two recognized neo-Nazi poltitical parties. The NPD and the HDJ. Although the HDJ was recently "banned" many in the country feel that the move was only a bandaid on a flooding dike. Germany plans to attend the Durban II conference, which many nations (including the US and Israel) have rejected for it's anti-semetic stance. The Muslim community in Germany is growing, while not all German Muslims are radical, there are certainly centers that preach that "the Jews are the Enemy of Allah" deserving of death. Germany's Catholics have had their struggles recently with anti-semitism also. I've attached several links supporting all of this.
http://news.scotsman.com/world/Germany39s-Jews-claim-fight-against.5163090.jp
http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=3774
http://www.faithfreedom.org/2009/02/05/the-radical-muslims-of-germany/
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,605542,00.html
Similar accounts can be found all over Europe, of course Africa, and even Asia.
http://zionism-israel.com/israel_news/2009/03/anti-semitism-in-east-asias-jewish.html
And in the America's
Well Mr. Madoff didn't help us any:
http://www.adl.org/Anti_semitism/financialcrisis.asp
Did we think that Louis Farrakhan would just go away?
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASUS_12/5493_81.htm
How about those college campus forums?
http://www.hudsonny.org/2009/03/on-campus-the-pro-palestinians-real-agenda.php
http://octaskforce.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/muslim-student-union-at-uc-irvine-rolls-out-its-carnival-of-haters/
http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/04/we_are_all_antisemites_now.html
I'm sorry for all the links, I hope you can sit down and take some time to read through them all. They are important windows into the mindset of the world.
So what does all this mean? Things seem to be getting really crazy! Many have said that anti-Semitism is the barometer for the world's political climate. When things seem to be getting out of control blame the Jews. It certainly takes the focus off the mistakes of our current and past political leaders (in every nation).
http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-26.htm
http://www.thetrumpet.com/index.php?q=6071.0.114.0
But how does this insanity spread?! Simple, ignorance. It's not because there is a lack of accurate information. It is is because too few people access that information. We are in a war, but not one that includes bombs and bullets (though we in Israel are surely familiar with those!) It is a war of words. And the media is the battle front. Any Media, every media. So where we can mount an offensive, present the truth, cause people to read & think, we have an obligation to do so.
Please I ask that each of you search and study and read and share with everyone you know. Find the truth, don't just settle for opinion. There are historical records that support the Jewish past of Israel. There are historical records that support the establishment of the modern day state of Israel, Mediterrean to Jordan. There are historical records that prove the existence of the Holocaust. There are historical records that prove when a society is ignorant genocide is the result.
Israel is so tiny, and yet so bright. All the world is fighting about Israel. It is a remarkably beautiful place. There is something elusively different about it. I haven't met anyone who can accurately describe that difference, but everyone who comes here feels it. Could it be that we really have been touched by the hand of that higher power? I certainly ascribe to that belief. Frankly, there appears to be no other reasonable explanation for why all the world is in a dither over what happens on these 8,522 square miles, when compared to the other 196,991,478 square miles of the planet.
Think about it!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Where are we now???
Supposedly the war is over. Hamas has declared a ceasefire, but rockets continue to fall in Southern Israel from Gaza, and there has been continued sniper fire that have hurt our dear soldiers.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486345,00.html
Earlier in the conflict a word coming out of Gaza from Abu Obeida, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, has reported the Islamists would kill Jewish children anywhere in the world in revenge for their own young who have died in the devastating assault.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5454204.ece
Originally we heard outrageous reports regarding the number of Gazans killed in the conflict.
The reports included more than 1,000 killed including 355 children.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/17/content_10673025.htm
But new word is creeping out of Gaza.
An Tal al-Hawa resident told the newspaper's reporter, "Armed Hamas men sought out a good position for provoking the Israelis. There were mostly teenagers, aged 16 or 17, and armed. They couldn't do a thing against a tank or a jet. They knew they are much weaker, but they fired at our houses so that they could blame Israel for war crimes."
"The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter," according to the newspaper article....
http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Gaza_Doctor_Says_Death_Toll_Inflated.asp
And then we have former President Jimmy Carter making inflamitory statements regarding the conflict in an interview on the Today show just last week. He advised that Hamas was justified in it's conflict because Israel was refusing aid to the Gazans. That Hamas is only considered a terrorist group by some, [obviously not himself]. He claims that we should trust Hamas & in his newest book advocates for the release of Marwan Barghouti as a possible partner for peace.
Currently Barghouti is serving 5 consecutive life sentences for the murder of Israeli citizens, and was named as a suspect in the murder of 33 others - though the charges had to be dropped for lack of specific evidence against him. Marwan Barghouti was serving as senior Fatah leader in the West Bank at the time of the murders.
And anyone who is really wanting the facts of the matters regarding the supply of aid to Gaza from Israel, can find that Israel has continually supplied medical aid, food, water and other supplies in spite of the constant rockets coming across the border.
http://outtamymindwithworry.blogspot.com/2009/01/humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-fact-vs.html
Many thanks to the blogger above for her marvelous post and great references!
One wonders why Egypt does not provide aid to their brothers... since they have such a porous border with Gaza.. if arms can flow so freely why cannot aid? In fact - why doesn't the entire Muslim world band together to provide aid that is shuttled thru the Egyptian border. Where is the humanitarian response from that side of the conflict? Doesn't anyone recognize the absurdity that Israel has to provide her enemy with food and aid???!!!!
On the political front here in Israel we are gearing up for national elections. Bibi Netanyahu (Likud) has publicly delared if elected he will do everything in his power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ml_israel_politics/2009/01/31/177143.html
Olmert and Livni (Kadima) who are currently in power have both declared that Israel will continue to retaliate to any new rocket attacks from Gaza - but there has been no response to the continued attacks since the "ceasefire".
Obama is now president of the United States. His repeated rhetoric claims that the reason attempts to reign in Iran's nuclear arms ambitions have failed was because of President Bush's unwillingness to talk directly with Iran. He has proclaimed his desire to sit down at the negotiating table and talk to the terrorist Ahmadinejad. Of course, Ahmadinejad's response has been to call for an official U.S. apology for past U.S. crimes against Iran. I'm not suprised. Obama's policy is seen as a sign of weakness by the Muslim world. How is it he is not savy enough to understand that & I, a lowly Israeli citizen, am???
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ahmadinejad-calls-for-obama-apology-20090129-7s6d.html
So where are we now? In the same place we were before the recent activities in Gaza. We still need to spend our time in prayer.. seeking our G-d and His direction for our lives. We still need to struggle to find the right way between the angry armed response (which I advocate!), and the need for mercy to that Arab family that literally is our next door neighbor, not involved in the conflight & embarrased by the lies their brothers tell. We still need to look & listen for the bias in the media, write the authors and editors providing references that prove their error (thank you HonestReporting.com and CAMERA for your continued work!)
http://www.honestreporting.com/
http://www.camera.org/
We still need to live with emunah and kavana here in the Land, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Galut to join us.
Some would say that I live my life with rose colored glasses on. I hope by reading this post they will see that I have a very clear view of what is going on in the world. I love my life in Israel. Each and every morning I look out at my beautiful view and thank HaShem that I am here. I am working and living in the land, raising my sons with the understanding that they too will serve in the army. I love Israel and I have put my life where my words are. Life is serious here, life is full here, life has real meaning here. Life is precious here.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,486345,00.html
Earlier in the conflict a word coming out of Gaza from Abu Obeida, the leader of Hamas’ military wing, has reported the Islamists would kill Jewish children anywhere in the world in revenge for their own young who have died in the devastating assault.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5454204.ece
Originally we heard outrageous reports regarding the number of Gazans killed in the conflict.
The reports included more than 1,000 killed including 355 children.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-01/17/content_10673025.htm
But new word is creeping out of Gaza.
An Tal al-Hawa resident told the newspaper's reporter, "Armed Hamas men sought out a good position for provoking the Israelis. There were mostly teenagers, aged 16 or 17, and armed. They couldn't do a thing against a tank or a jet. They knew they are much weaker, but they fired at our houses so that they could blame Israel for war crimes."
"The number of deceased stands at no more than 500 to 600. Most of them are youths between the ages of 17 to 23 who were recruited to the ranks of Hamas, who sent them to the slaughter," according to the newspaper article....
http://www.honestreporting.com/articles/45884734/critiques/new/Gaza_Doctor_Says_Death_Toll_Inflated.asp
And then we have former President Jimmy Carter making inflamitory statements regarding the conflict in an interview on the Today show just last week. He advised that Hamas was justified in it's conflict because Israel was refusing aid to the Gazans. That Hamas is only considered a terrorist group by some, [obviously not himself]. He claims that we should trust Hamas & in his newest book advocates for the release of Marwan Barghouti as a possible partner for peace.
Currently Barghouti is serving 5 consecutive life sentences for the murder of Israeli citizens, and was named as a suspect in the murder of 33 others - though the charges had to be dropped for lack of specific evidence against him. Marwan Barghouti was serving as senior Fatah leader in the West Bank at the time of the murders.
And anyone who is really wanting the facts of the matters regarding the supply of aid to Gaza from Israel, can find that Israel has continually supplied medical aid, food, water and other supplies in spite of the constant rockets coming across the border.
http://outtamymindwithworry.blogspot.com/2009/01/humanitarian-aid-to-gaza-fact-vs.html
Many thanks to the blogger above for her marvelous post and great references!
One wonders why Egypt does not provide aid to their brothers... since they have such a porous border with Gaza.. if arms can flow so freely why cannot aid? In fact - why doesn't the entire Muslim world band together to provide aid that is shuttled thru the Egyptian border. Where is the humanitarian response from that side of the conflict? Doesn't anyone recognize the absurdity that Israel has to provide her enemy with food and aid???!!!!
On the political front here in Israel we are gearing up for national elections. Bibi Netanyahu (Likud) has publicly delared if elected he will do everything in his power to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/ml_israel_politics/2009/01/31/177143.html
Olmert and Livni (Kadima) who are currently in power have both declared that Israel will continue to retaliate to any new rocket attacks from Gaza - but there has been no response to the continued attacks since the "ceasefire".
Obama is now president of the United States. His repeated rhetoric claims that the reason attempts to reign in Iran's nuclear arms ambitions have failed was because of President Bush's unwillingness to talk directly with Iran. He has proclaimed his desire to sit down at the negotiating table and talk to the terrorist Ahmadinejad. Of course, Ahmadinejad's response has been to call for an official U.S. apology for past U.S. crimes against Iran. I'm not suprised. Obama's policy is seen as a sign of weakness by the Muslim world. How is it he is not savy enough to understand that & I, a lowly Israeli citizen, am???
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-world/ahmadinejad-calls-for-obama-apology-20090129-7s6d.html
So where are we now? In the same place we were before the recent activities in Gaza. We still need to spend our time in prayer.. seeking our G-d and His direction for our lives. We still need to struggle to find the right way between the angry armed response (which I advocate!), and the need for mercy to that Arab family that literally is our next door neighbor, not involved in the conflight & embarrased by the lies their brothers tell. We still need to look & listen for the bias in the media, write the authors and editors providing references that prove their error (thank you HonestReporting.com and CAMERA for your continued work!)
http://www.honestreporting.com/
http://www.camera.org/
We still need to live with emunah and kavana here in the Land, and encourage our brothers and sisters in Galut to join us.
Some would say that I live my life with rose colored glasses on. I hope by reading this post they will see that I have a very clear view of what is going on in the world. I love my life in Israel. Each and every morning I look out at my beautiful view and thank HaShem that I am here. I am working and living in the land, raising my sons with the understanding that they too will serve in the army. I love Israel and I have put my life where my words are. Life is serious here, life is full here, life has real meaning here. Life is precious here.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
They've been Casting lots of Lead at us!
I am always amazed and frustrated by the amount of MISinformation regarding the war in the Middle East. The basic truth is readily available, but the propaganda engine of participating terrorist regimes is incredibly successful, and readily accepted by the fearful and politically correct Left.
So here is yet another attempt to educate the world, to document accurately the facts from history.
First I will start with the Arab world’s insistence that Jews did not live in Ancient Israel, that they have no historic right to be here. This absurd idea is widely taught and believed in the Arab world. It is found in their textbooks, taught in their mosques. However, there is a massive amount of archeological evidence of Jewish existence in ancient Israel. Here for your perusal is a link to a most recent article regarding the identification of a city supporting the biblical account of King David: http://www.elahfortress.com/page26/page26.html
Found at that dig is the oldest known Hebrew text to date, estimated to be 3,000 years old:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/30/news/ML-Israel-Ancient-Inscription.php
More links :
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/hebrewalphabet.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/kfarkana.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/templemountgarbage.html
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Beit%20Alpha%20-%20An%20Ancient%20Synagogue%20with%20a%20Splendid
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Gamala-%20Jewish%20Ci
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Jerusalem-%20Burial
These are just a few websites documenting Jewish habitation in Ancient Israel, hundreds more are easy to find. I challenge anyone to produce even one documentable proof that Jews did not live in this land since the time of Abraham!
The Palestinians also claim that they have been in Israel since ancient times, but what is their proof? Rather than taking their word for it, let’s examine the facts.
There has never been a nation called Palestine. The name Palaestina was a name given to the region by the Roman emperor Hadrian following the crushing of Bar Kochba's revolt in 132-135 in an attempt to suppress Jewish national feelings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine
(please take the time to read & study the timeline and documentation in the above link!)
So do modern day “Palestinians” have a link to the land? They claim to be descendants of the Philistines of the bible:
http://www.bga.nl/en/articles/filist1.html
But are they?
http://www.imninalu.net/myths-Arabs.htm
Since there is documentation that the original Philistines were not Arabs & the modern day Palestinians are, how can they be the same people? If you read the timeline in the above wikipedia link you will see that there never has been any Philistinian/Palestinian government in the land of Israel. The Islamics who ruled under the Ottoman Empire (the former Arab nation in the land) were only one of several conquering nations to reside in Israel for a time. At no time did these Islamics claim to be Philistinian or Palestinian. The Ottoman empire ruled over the land from 1517 to around 1917 when the British Empire took occupation during WWI. (Interestingly enough, modern day Palestinians do not claim to be Ottoman descendants – which would give them an actual historical link to the land.) http://archaeology.about.com/od/oterms/g/ottoman.htm.
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 divided the land between Jew and Arab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration_of_1917
The original plan looked like this:
http://focusonjerusalem.com/maproom.html
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/history2.html
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1225199622058
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_maps.php
Note there are two maps, the second being published in 1926. Originally all of the British Mandate (1917) was intended to be a Jewish Homeland. But due to Arab pressure 75% of the land was ceded to the Arab people under the name of Transjordan, which is today’s modern state of Jordan.
With the exception of King Faisal in 1919 the British Mandate was rejected by the Arab world community. Tensions were high in the area between the occupying English, Jews and Arabs in the years between 1922 and the end of WWII. Jewish immigration into the land was limited by the English despite the overwhelming need due to the Holocaust. Finally in 1948, England withdrew completely from the land. The UN voted to support Israel as a modern state, and the modern war began.
Before we discuss the war, let’s take a look at the basic geography. Modern day Israel (2008) has a land mass of 8,522 square miles (about the size of the state of New Jersey at 8,729 square miles) with a population of 7,282,000 – that’s a population density ratio of 854.5.
Here’s a map of the Middle East, Asia and Africa highlighting Islam:
http://www.islam101.com/dawah/muslim_world_map.html
The influence of Islam is growing.
Israel is the ONLY Jewish state in the world. Israel has 21 Islamic recognized neighbors, but the reality is that there are many neighbors where Islam is the controlling religion. I have listed 23 nations below (with their square miles, population and population density):
Israel's Islamic Neighbors Sq Miles Population Density Year Est
Algeria 919,595 33,769,669 36.722 1962
Saudi Arabia 829,996 27,601,038 33.254 1932
Libya 679,359 6,173,579 9.087 1951
Iran 636,372 70,472,846 110.742 1979
Mauritania 397,954 3,069,000 7.712 1960
Egypt 387,048 75,500,662 195.068 1953
Pakistan 340,403 172,800,000 507.634 1956
Afghanistan 251,772 32,728,376 129.992 1919
Yemen 203,849 23,013,376 112.894 1990
Morocco 172,414 1,541,130 8.939 1956
Iraq 169,234 29,267,000 172.938 1932
Malaysia 127,355 27,730,000 217.738 1965
Oman 119,498 2,577,000 21.565 1651
Syria 71,479 19,405,000 271.478 1946
Tunisia 63,170 10,102,000 159.918 1956
Bangladesh 55,559 150,448,340 2707.902 1971
Jordan 45,495 6,198,677 136.250 1946
United Arab Emerites 32,278 4,621,399 43.175 1971
Kuwait 6,880 3,399,637 494.133 1961
Qatar 4,416 1,541,130 348.988 1971
Lebannon 4,035 4,196,453 1040.013 1943
Bahrain 253 1,046,814 4137.605 1971
Maldives 115 350,000 3043.478 1965
TOTAL 5,518,529 707,553,126 128.214
On May 15th 1948, the day after Israel declared itself an Independent Nation State, 5 countries attacked. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.
1948 Agressors Sq Miles Population Density Year Est
Egypt 387,048 75,500,662 195.068 1922
Iraq 169,234 29,267,000 172.938 1932
Syria 71,479 19,405,000 271.478 1946
Jordan 45,495 6,198,677 136.250 1946
Lebannon 4,035 4,196,453 1040.013 1943
TOTAL 677,291 134,567,792 198.685
(The facts from these tables are easy to verify - just type the country name into your web browser).
It’s quite clear, when you look at the population density figures from the above tables that the “Land for Peace” premise makes absolutely no sense. If you also review the years these modern states were established – with the exception of Oman, every single one of these Islamic states has a 20th Century inception making them no different from Israel regarding appearance on the international stage as a modern entity.
“Occupation”. Where did this term come from in relation to the War in Israel? In 1967 Israel defended itself against 3 aggressors: Egypt, Jordan and Syria. During the war, Israel as the defender, not the aggressor, took the Sinai Desert, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. In 1979 Israel returned the Sinai Desert to Egypt. In 2005 Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip. In history, there has been no other country required to return land taken in defensive actions. Defensible borders against it’s aggressing neighbors has required that Israel maintain a presence in the so called “occupied” areas. But please note, that the countries these areas were “taken” from (Golan Heights from Syria, West Bank from Jordan, East Jerusalem from Jordan) technically had no more right to the land than Israel did & lost those areas as a result of their unwarranted aggression. Again, there was no “Palestinian Nation” against which Israel aggressed to occupy these areas. Also note that Jordan is not demanding the return of the West Bank or East Jerusalem. The Gaza strip technically never belonged to any country post the British Mandate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
Since the Gaza disengagement in 2005 there has been a constant barage of rockets into Israel, targeting innocent civilians:
http://www.sderotmedia.com/
"Peace Partners"? The PLO is not a country. It is a terrorist organization. Hamas is not a county. It is a terrorist organization. Gaza is not a country. Where else in the world is any other country expected to negotiate peace in exchange for land with a terrorist organization?
Aid to the Palestinians. What is rarely reported in the media is that any Arab who applies for Israeli citizenship is awarded the same rights and freedoms of any other Israeli citizen. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, representative government, socialist support in the form of medicine, aid with food, living expenses, and education among other benefits are available. Before the 1st intifada in 1987 180,000 Palestinians held jobs in Israel. As aggression increased against innocent Israeli civilians that number has been greatly reduced. So what is the basis for the claim of Israeli “oppression” against the Palestinians?
There has been an uneasy but steady peace with Jordan and Egypt 1977 and 1994 respectively. Although it should be noted that Hamas manages to access arms through hidden tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
So what is this war all about? Keeping in mind all the information above, there is not really a clear answer.
Here are some links to review:
PLO charter – note especially points 15, 19, 21 and 22. In light of the fact that it has been established there has never been a nation of “Palestine” what is this based on?!
http://www.iris.org.il/plochart.htm
Hamas Charter – of course the “people of the Scriptures” are Jews and Christians.
http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/documents/charter.html
Iran / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad
Of Course there is always the ADL’s watch on antisemetic political commentary & satire:
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/Financial_Crisis.htm
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASaw_14/5245_14.htm
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASaw_14/default.htm
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/asam_jul_dec_qatar_2006.htm
The world loves an underdog. And I suppose those who scream the loudest get the most attention. Media the world wide tends to lean in support of this supposed underdog. Unfortunately it appears to be "politically incorrect" to double check the facts. Militant Islam has no problem acknowledging they are embroiled in a religious war with Jewish Israel. When will the rest of the world acknowledge it?
So here is yet another attempt to educate the world, to document accurately the facts from history.
First I will start with the Arab world’s insistence that Jews did not live in Ancient Israel, that they have no historic right to be here. This absurd idea is widely taught and believed in the Arab world. It is found in their textbooks, taught in their mosques. However, there is a massive amount of archeological evidence of Jewish existence in ancient Israel. Here for your perusal is a link to a most recent article regarding the identification of a city supporting the biblical account of King David: http://www.elahfortress.com/page26/page26.html
Found at that dig is the oldest known Hebrew text to date, estimated to be 3,000 years old:
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/10/30/news/ML-Israel-Ancient-Inscription.php
More links :
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/hebrewalphabet.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/kfarkana.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/templemountgarbage.html
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Beit%20Alpha%20-%20An%20Ancient%20Synagogue%20with%20a%20Splendid
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Gamala-%20Jewish%20Ci
http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/History/Early%20History%20-%20Archaeology/Archaeological%20Sites%20in%20Israel%20-%20Jerusalem-%20Burial
These are just a few websites documenting Jewish habitation in Ancient Israel, hundreds more are easy to find. I challenge anyone to produce even one documentable proof that Jews did not live in this land since the time of Abraham!
The Palestinians also claim that they have been in Israel since ancient times, but what is their proof? Rather than taking their word for it, let’s examine the facts.
There has never been a nation called Palestine. The name Palaestina was a name given to the region by the Roman emperor Hadrian following the crushing of Bar Kochba's revolt in 132-135 in an attempt to suppress Jewish national feelings.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palestine
(please take the time to read & study the timeline and documentation in the above link!)
So do modern day “Palestinians” have a link to the land? They claim to be descendants of the Philistines of the bible:
http://www.bga.nl/en/articles/filist1.html
But are they?
http://www.imninalu.net/myths-Arabs.htm
Since there is documentation that the original Philistines were not Arabs & the modern day Palestinians are, how can they be the same people? If you read the timeline in the above wikipedia link you will see that there never has been any Philistinian/Palestinian government in the land of Israel. The Islamics who ruled under the Ottoman Empire (the former Arab nation in the land) were only one of several conquering nations to reside in Israel for a time. At no time did these Islamics claim to be Philistinian or Palestinian. The Ottoman empire ruled over the land from 1517 to around 1917 when the British Empire took occupation during WWI. (Interestingly enough, modern day Palestinians do not claim to be Ottoman descendants – which would give them an actual historical link to the land.) http://archaeology.about.com/od/oterms/g/ottoman.htm.
The Balfour Declaration of 1917 divided the land between Jew and Arab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration_of_1917
The original plan looked like this:
http://focusonjerusalem.com/maproom.html
http://www.npr.org/news/specials/mideast/history/history2.html
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1225199622058
http://www.palestinefacts.org/pf_maps.php
Note there are two maps, the second being published in 1926. Originally all of the British Mandate (1917) was intended to be a Jewish Homeland. But due to Arab pressure 75% of the land was ceded to the Arab people under the name of Transjordan, which is today’s modern state of Jordan.
With the exception of King Faisal in 1919 the British Mandate was rejected by the Arab world community. Tensions were high in the area between the occupying English, Jews and Arabs in the years between 1922 and the end of WWII. Jewish immigration into the land was limited by the English despite the overwhelming need due to the Holocaust. Finally in 1948, England withdrew completely from the land. The UN voted to support Israel as a modern state, and the modern war began.
Before we discuss the war, let’s take a look at the basic geography. Modern day Israel (2008) has a land mass of 8,522 square miles (about the size of the state of New Jersey at 8,729 square miles) with a population of 7,282,000 – that’s a population density ratio of 854.5.
Here’s a map of the Middle East, Asia and Africa highlighting Islam:
http://www.islam101.com/dawah/muslim_world_map.html
The influence of Islam is growing.
Israel is the ONLY Jewish state in the world. Israel has 21 Islamic recognized neighbors, but the reality is that there are many neighbors where Islam is the controlling religion. I have listed 23 nations below (with their square miles, population and population density):
Israel's Islamic Neighbors Sq Miles Population Density Year Est
Algeria 919,595 33,769,669 36.722 1962
Saudi Arabia 829,996 27,601,038 33.254 1932
Libya 679,359 6,173,579 9.087 1951
Iran 636,372 70,472,846 110.742 1979
Mauritania 397,954 3,069,000 7.712 1960
Egypt 387,048 75,500,662 195.068 1953
Pakistan 340,403 172,800,000 507.634 1956
Afghanistan 251,772 32,728,376 129.992 1919
Yemen 203,849 23,013,376 112.894 1990
Morocco 172,414 1,541,130 8.939 1956
Iraq 169,234 29,267,000 172.938 1932
Malaysia 127,355 27,730,000 217.738 1965
Oman 119,498 2,577,000 21.565 1651
Syria 71,479 19,405,000 271.478 1946
Tunisia 63,170 10,102,000 159.918 1956
Bangladesh 55,559 150,448,340 2707.902 1971
Jordan 45,495 6,198,677 136.250 1946
United Arab Emerites 32,278 4,621,399 43.175 1971
Kuwait 6,880 3,399,637 494.133 1961
Qatar 4,416 1,541,130 348.988 1971
Lebannon 4,035 4,196,453 1040.013 1943
Bahrain 253 1,046,814 4137.605 1971
Maldives 115 350,000 3043.478 1965
TOTAL 5,518,529 707,553,126 128.214
On May 15th 1948, the day after Israel declared itself an Independent Nation State, 5 countries attacked. Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq.
1948 Agressors Sq Miles Population Density Year Est
Egypt 387,048 75,500,662 195.068 1922
Iraq 169,234 29,267,000 172.938 1932
Syria 71,479 19,405,000 271.478 1946
Jordan 45,495 6,198,677 136.250 1946
Lebannon 4,035 4,196,453 1040.013 1943
TOTAL 677,291 134,567,792 198.685
(The facts from these tables are easy to verify - just type the country name into your web browser).
It’s quite clear, when you look at the population density figures from the above tables that the “Land for Peace” premise makes absolutely no sense. If you also review the years these modern states were established – with the exception of Oman, every single one of these Islamic states has a 20th Century inception making them no different from Israel regarding appearance on the international stage as a modern entity.
“Occupation”. Where did this term come from in relation to the War in Israel? In 1967 Israel defended itself against 3 aggressors: Egypt, Jordan and Syria. During the war, Israel as the defender, not the aggressor, took the Sinai Desert, the Golan Heights, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem. In 1979 Israel returned the Sinai Desert to Egypt. In 2005 Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip. In history, there has been no other country required to return land taken in defensive actions. Defensible borders against it’s aggressing neighbors has required that Israel maintain a presence in the so called “occupied” areas. But please note, that the countries these areas were “taken” from (Golan Heights from Syria, West Bank from Jordan, East Jerusalem from Jordan) technically had no more right to the land than Israel did & lost those areas as a result of their unwarranted aggression. Again, there was no “Palestinian Nation” against which Israel aggressed to occupy these areas. Also note that Jordan is not demanding the return of the West Bank or East Jerusalem. The Gaza strip technically never belonged to any country post the British Mandate:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
Since the Gaza disengagement in 2005 there has been a constant barage of rockets into Israel, targeting innocent civilians:
http://www.sderotmedia.com/
"Peace Partners"? The PLO is not a country. It is a terrorist organization. Hamas is not a county. It is a terrorist organization. Gaza is not a country. Where else in the world is any other country expected to negotiate peace in exchange for land with a terrorist organization?
Aid to the Palestinians. What is rarely reported in the media is that any Arab who applies for Israeli citizenship is awarded the same rights and freedoms of any other Israeli citizen. Freedom of religion, freedom of speech, representative government, socialist support in the form of medicine, aid with food, living expenses, and education among other benefits are available. Before the 1st intifada in 1987 180,000 Palestinians held jobs in Israel. As aggression increased against innocent Israeli civilians that number has been greatly reduced. So what is the basis for the claim of Israeli “oppression” against the Palestinians?
There has been an uneasy but steady peace with Jordan and Egypt 1977 and 1994 respectively. Although it should be noted that Hamas manages to access arms through hidden tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.
So what is this war all about? Keeping in mind all the information above, there is not really a clear answer.
Here are some links to review:
PLO charter – note especially points 15, 19, 21 and 22. In light of the fact that it has been established there has never been a nation of “Palestine” what is this based on?!
http://www.iris.org.il/plochart.htm
Hamas Charter – of course the “people of the Scriptures” are Jews and Christians.
http://www.palestinecenter.org/cpap/documents/charter.html
Iran / Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mahmoud_Ahmadinejad
Of Course there is always the ADL’s watch on antisemetic political commentary & satire:
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/Financial_Crisis.htm
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASaw_14/5245_14.htm
http://www.adl.org/PresRele/ASaw_14/default.htm
http://www.adl.org/main_Arab_World/asam_jul_dec_qatar_2006.htm
The world loves an underdog. And I suppose those who scream the loudest get the most attention. Media the world wide tends to lean in support of this supposed underdog. Unfortunately it appears to be "politically incorrect" to double check the facts. Militant Islam has no problem acknowledging they are embroiled in a religious war with Jewish Israel. When will the rest of the world acknowledge it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
