Doc's Talk: "Words without End"

Thursday, December 25, 2008

"Words without End"

Arlene Kushner

To all of my Christian readers I extend wishes for a joyous Christmas celebration.

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Isn't Tzipi Livni ashamed? How could she hold her head up and offer these words today:

"I advise Hamas – don't delude yourselves. Our desire for peace and quiet does not soften our will to act in the face of kidnappings and threats. The desire for peace does not quell the desire to act when necessary, and it is necessary now." If you are serious about hitting an enemy, you DO it, you don't talk about it.

After all the threats, all the declarations, still, she offers more words. The world knows already about "our desire for peace and quiet." She would best stop trying to convince people. This is like an apology: Gee, we might have to take serious action, but that's not really what we want.

Well, some of us really do want that. We are very weary of words.

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Today the barrage of rockets from Gaza was back to where it had been last week. Since Tuesday night, some 36 Kassams and 18 mortar shells have been launched; one house took a direct hit. In addition, a number of Grad Katyushas -- a more serious weapon -- were fired towards Ashkelon.

In response to this situation the Security Cabinet called an emergency meeting. A media blackout was placed on much of what was discussed. What has made news is that there will be responses to rocket attacks at the time and scale of Israel's choosing, which isn't telling us a whole lot.

According to Channel 1, the decision was made not to retake Gaza. I am assuming, until there is evidence to the contrary, that this means no ground operation at all now. According to one "senior official" cited, the goal of responses would be to do maximum damage to Hamas in the quickest possible amount of time. A ground operation is not quick. But how much damage can be done to Hamas from the air is debatable. And what happens when a bomb misses its mark and hits civilians and the world screams?

One wonders what time frame is being utilized here, if the goal is an operation within a minimal amount of time: Obama's inauguration? Our elections? Finishing before the world has a chance to scream?

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Following the Cabinet meeting, the Air Force targeted a rocket launching cell that was preparing to fire. One person was killed and three wounded. But it's got to get bigger than this. This hardly represents "maximum" damage.

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Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz is supposed to be the hawk of Kadima. These were his words today:

"We cannot accept the reality of a regime of terror imposing horror and fear on the children of Israel. Israel will not accept Hamas' regime in the long run."

"In the long run"? That means for now we can accept the regime of terror imposing fear on our children?

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I am ashamed, my friends. And while Livni has plenty of words to offer about this situation, I begin to feel close to the point of being speechless. Because -- unless something big is planned that we're not supposed to know about -- this is all incredible.

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Avigdor Lieberman, head of Yisrael Beitenu, has this right:

"Hamas is setting the agenda and taking the initiative; Israel is only responding.

"The government has failed in its job to safeguard the people of Israel; we mustn't wait until after the elections to make the necessary decisions, and if Barak is undermining these decisions he should be dismissed immediately."

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Professor Morty Kedar of Bar Ilan University (Arabic speaking and an Islamist specialist) says that if we let the leaders of Hamas know that we "want to severe the connection between their shoulders and their heads" they will pull back, because they want to live. Kedar is my kind of man.

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Have no illusions in terms of whom we're dealing with. This is from Palestinian Media Watch:

"Hamas members of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza have approved a new bill 'to implement Koranic punishments,' including hand amputation, crucifixion, corporal punishment and execution."

This is next door to us.

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One positive step the Security Cabinet did take today was in declaring 35 different groups -- operating primarily in Pakistan, Afghanistan and north Africa -- to be terrorist groups. These are groups that operate against the West and not necessarily against Israel.

The declaration puts us in line with Western countries, and most notably the US, in terms of dealing with terrorists via blocking of their financial support. Banks and financial institutions will now be required to report any financial activity suspected of being related to these organizations to the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority.

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Yesterday I mentioned that Kadima was gaining in the polls and Likud dropping; I had seen two different polls indicating this. Then my attention was called (thanks Jeff!) to a poll run by Geocartography showing Likud with 37 mandates and Kadima with 26, which is more like it. But today a Maagar Mohot Survey shows Likud with 31 and Kadima with 25.

I'm not sure what all of these polls are worth.

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Syrian president Bashar Assad has give an interview in which he says that Syria has no responsibility for Hezbollah. No, Syria only made it possible for Hezbollah to re-arm.

He also says ties with Iran help protect Syrian interests. No the words of someone thinking of breaking those ties.

How does Olmert remotely imagine that anything positive can come from negotiating with this man?

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Amr Mousa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, has suggested for the first time that Arabs and Iran should sit together and "resolve disputes." Tensions are high between Shi'ite Iran and the Sunni Arab nations, with considerable unease in nations such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt regarding Iranian nuclear intentions and Iranian meddling via sponsorship of groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. This represents a shift that seems aimed at taking the lead away from non-Arab nations. Mousa is Egyptian.

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Dear friends, I apologize for the somber nature of this posting. It is the holiday season, after all. And so let me end here, up-beat, with a holiday season story about the Jerusalem Post Office's dead letter office.

Every year at this time, letters come from around the world to Jerusalem, addressed to G-d or to Heaven or to Jesus. Manager Avi Yaniv and his staff open the letters and destroy the envelopes. Then they carry the letters to the Kotel (Western Wall).

Yaniv believes that all of these prayers and petitions can be answered by G-d.

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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.

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