Doc's Talk: "The Ludicrous and the Good"

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

"The Ludicrous and the Good"

Arlene Kushner

We'll start with several examples of the ludicrous, as a laugh now and then helps us retain balance.

There is a photo I've seen -- but for some reason have been unable to reproduce -- showing a group of poor suffering Palestinians in Gaza managing by candlelight because the evil Israelis shut down their electric power. There's only one catch: When you look closely, you see that curtains are drawn and at the edges of those curtains there is light seeping in. The picture was taken during daylight hours in a room artificially darkened.From a blog entry by Martin Kramer:

"The Boston Globe ran an op-ed on Jan. 26 under the headline 'Ending the Stranglehold on Gaza' by Eyad al-Sarraj of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program and Sara Roy, a senior research scholar at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. The op-ed included the sentence: 'Although Gaza daily requires 680,000 tons of flour to feed its population, Israel had cut this to 90 tons per day by November 2007, a reduction of 99%.' If Gaza has a population of 1.5 million, as the authors also note, then 680,000 tons of flour a day come out to almost half a ton of flour per Gazan, per day. A typographical error? Hardly. The authors copied it from an article in the Al-Ahram Weekly from last November.

"Note how an absurd and impossible 'statistic' has made its way up the media feeding chain. It begins in an Egyptian newspaper, is cycled through a Palestinian activist, is submitted under the shared byline of a Harvard 'research scholar,' and finally appears in the Boston Globe, whose editors apparently can't do basic math."

http://sandbox.blog-city.com:80/gaza_buried_in_flour.htm

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From Maariv, reported in IMRA, yesterday: The Palestinians paid Egyptians with "funny money." During the pullout from Gaza, fake 100 and 200 shekel notes were printed in Gaza. Children played with these notes. Apparently some of them are still around. And some Palestinians who had moved into Egypt used this "money" to pay for supplies; by the third day, the Egyptian merchants had figured it out. But wait! The Egyptians managed for their part. The report says they sold the Palestinians foodstuffs that were past their expiration dates.

Wonderful reading about such kindhearted brotherhood.

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You want real kindhearted brotherhood, read this, which is the good news. From Josh Mitnick, writing in the Christian Science Monitor:

"It's been more than two years since Amir Efrat last saw the Gazan who helped him maintain the water systems in Kibbutz Kfar Azza [before the expulsion from Gush Katif].

"But he has talked to him by phone, and about a month ago he wired 500 shekels to an account in Gaza to help his friend support a family of nine children.

"Gaza has grown more isolated since Hamas took charge last June. But that hasn't choked off personal ties between Israelis and Gazans who once worked together daily.

"Transcending the politics that divide them, they reach out as best they can as individuals."

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The flow of Palestinians into the Sinai has just about stopped as the Egyptians have now repaired most of the gaps in the fence in Rafah with barbed wire.

In order to encourage the return to Gaza of Palestinians, who had just about bought out the stores in Rafah, Egyptian officials refused to allow replenishment of stocks from Cairo. There were complaints that it was now more expensive to buy in the Sinai than in Gaza. Needless to say, this did not make local Egyptians very happy, and most disgruntled were Egyptian Bedouins in the area.

Egyptian security also did a search of Cairo and other cities -- checking hotels and similar sites -- for Palestinians who might have made it across the Sinai. Reportedly 3,000 Palestinians were turned back.

But 1,500 Palestinians remain stranded in Al Arish, where they are threatening a hunger strike unless Egyptian authorities allow them to leave for other countries where they have study or business commitments. They are currently staying in two mosques, in dire conditions.

~~~~~~~~~~

According to Asharq Alawsat, London, an Israeli defense delegation -- reportedly headed by Defense Ministry Diplomatic-Military Bureau head Maj.-Gen. (res.) Amos Gilad -- secretly met with officials in Cairo regarding the border situation.

Israeli Intelligence indicates that there may be as many as 20 terrorists cells that made their way from Gaza into the Sinai and are intending to cross the border into Israel (much easier than across the border from Gaza) to launch terror attacks.

Egypt, for its part, has serious concerns about the fact that terrorists who have crossed into the Sinai from Gaza may strengthen Al Qaida cells there.

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Anti-Semitic incitement against Jews never disappears. Now, as once again it rears its obscene head, the fight against it is exceedingly important.

Attorney General Mazuz has just filed an indictment against Sheikh Raed Salah, head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement (an Israeli-registered organization peopled by Arabs who are Israeli citizens). The charge is incitement to violence and racism in a speech he made last year protesting the dig by Israel near the Mughrabi Gate.

At that time, he called for a third intifada to "save al-Aksa Mosque, free Jerusalem and end the occupation." Going further, he declared, "They want to build their temple at a time when our blood is on their clothes, on their doorsteps, in their food and in their drinks...We are not those who ate bread dipped in children's blood."

His lawyer's defense? This is political and has no basis in law.

I don't believe there is, but there should be, a law to strip such a person of Israeli citizenship. As it is, he should just see the inside of an Israeli prison.

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The UN Human Rights High Commissioner, Louise Arbour, is being asked by UN Watch (which is associated with the American Jewish Committee) to clarify her endorsement of the Arab Charter of Human Rights, which "contains several provisions that promote classically anti-Semitic themes." The Charter was drafted in 1994, but was not officially ratified until this month. Arbour then embraced the ratification, saying that it was "an important step forward" in strengthening the enjoyment of human rights in the Arab world.

Wrote UN Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer, in a letter to Arbour:

"Zionism is the movement for Jewish self-determination and asserts the inherent and internationally-acknowledged right of Israel to exist. A text that equates Zionism with racism, describes it as a threat to world peace, as an enemy of human rights and human dignity, and then urges its elimination, is blatantly anti-Semitic."

"Even if the Arab Charter may contain other, constructive provisions, nothing can justify any endorsement of a text with such hateful language."

We are dealing here with two different phenomenon. First is the inherent and on-going anti-Semitism of the Arab world. And then, the bias of a UN organization that endorses text that contains such anti-Semitic language. Neuer is demanding accountability. Knowing what I do of Arbour's reputation, I tend to doubt he'll get it.

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Dalia Itzik, Speaker of the Knesset, has rejected Orlev's request to discuss the Winograd Report in special session on Thursday. Regrettable.

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Yesterday I mentioned the funeral of arch-terrorist George Habash. Voices are being raised demanding that Olmert seek an apology from Abbas, who has declared three days of official mourning for Habash and referred to him as "an historic leader."

I trust you will not hold your breath waiting for this to happen. The "moderate" Abbas exposes his true intentions in this way again and again, while Olmert turns a blind eye.

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see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

Doc's Talk