Doc's Talk: Will Hamas Be Next?

Monday, July 08, 2013

Will Hamas Be Next?

Robert Ellis

Turkey's AKP government is looking for a scapegoat for the anti-government demonstrations. The protesters, the foreign media, the Jews -- anyone will do, so long as it is not the government.

When it comes to explaining the widespread protests against the Turkish prime minister and his authoritarian rule, Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party [AKP] has apparently decided. It is everyone else's fault.
The first target for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's wrath was naturally the demonstrators, who were called looters and vandals, terrorists and marginal. When opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu from the Republican People's Party [CHP] declared his support for the demonstrators, Erdoğan accused him of behaving like a militant from a terrorist organization.

Erdoğan also repeatedly alleged that the protesters had shown disrespect for Islam by entering the Dolmabahçe mosque in Istanbul with their shoes on and carrying beer bottles. Video clips, however, circulating in Turkey show that the mosque had been turned into a first-aid station to treat some of the 7,000 injured in the clashes with the police.
Erdoğan has said he would show a 20-minute video to prove that protesters had been disrespectful to Islam, but this video has not yet materialized. Instead, the muezzin has insisted that he did not see anyone consume alcohol within the mosque or hold a bottle containing alcohol. As a man of faith, he explained, he could not lie.
On his return from North Africa at the beginning of June, Erdoğan widened his scope and launched an attack on an "interest rate lobby," which he claimed was threatening Turkey with speculation in the markets. Early last year he had lashed out at the same "lobby" for trying to stifle Turkish growth, but this time he threatened to "choke" stock market speculators. At neither time was the Prime Minister specific as to who this lobby consists of; but according to Turkish daily, Sabah, owned by Çalık Holding, where Erdoğan's son-in-law is CEO, Bloomberg News is the main culprit. In another speech, Erdoğan also criticized three Turkish conglomerates -- Koç, Doğuş and Sabancı -- which own three major Turkish banks.
The AKP government's reactions, in a search of scapegoats, have become increasingly paranoid. In an address to his parliamentary group, Erdoğan has said that the anti-government demonstrations were part of a deliberate attempt by internal and external lobby groups to damage Turkey's image and economy; consequently, he called on activists to "see the big picture" and "understand the plot."
Mass rallies were held in Istanbul and Ankara, as well as AKP strongholds in Kayseri, Samsun and Erzurum, under the theme: "Let's spoil the big game and make history." Eleven foreign nationals, accused of helping to provoke the Gezi Park protests, had earlier been detained, an action that caused Erdoğan to ask the rally in Istanbul, "What are the foreigners, coming from various places of the world, doing in Taksim?"
Furthermore, he claimed the demonstrators were responsible for attacking the AKP building in Ankara, and even for the car bombs in Reyhanlı near the Syrian border. In Kayseri, in Central Anatolia, he said that the demonstrations aimed at sabotaging the Kurdish peace process and that the demonstrators were being played like puppets.
In Samsun on the Black Sea coast, Erdoğan alleged the same game was being played over Brazil with the same symbols, the same posters, the same Twitter and Facebook, and the same international media. Moreover, he said, the protests were being led from the same center. Three days later in Parliament, he repeated his accusations against the foreign media, in particular the BBC.
At a meeting with the chairman of the Confederation of Turkish Tradesmen and Craftsmen [TESK], Prime Minister Erdoğan went one step further: "Those against whom we said 'one minute' are now delighted," referring to his confrontation with Israel's president, Shimon Peres, at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2009.
Erdoğan claimed to have received intelligence reports about a series of conspiracies three months earlier, and, in a television interview, his cup-bearer, EU Minister Egemen Bağış, said that the Gezi Park protests were planned six months ago in an effort to trigger regime change in Turkey.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay has also blamed those who envy Turkey's growth, together with the Jewish diaspora, for the Gezi Park unrest, but his press office has since issued a denial: "In his speech [Deputy PM Atalay] has never intended, uttered or indicated anything to offend Jewish citizens of Turkey or Jewish communities around the world."
In addition, the Islamist daily Yeni Şafak has reported that the protests are an anti-Erdoğan plot concocted in February by the American Enterprise Institute and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
AKP deputies have submitted a resolution to Parliament, calling for an investigation into the Gezi Park protests. The Ankara Police Department has also submitted a summary of the proceedings of the events to the public prosecutors, in which it claimed that anti-government media networks, journalists, NGOs, supporter groups, artists and marginal groups have incited and guided the demonstrations, and for which it held foreign media outlets -- such as CNN, BBC and The Economist -- responsible.
Moreover, the Ministry of Education has reportedly requested from provincial education directorates lists of the names of school administrators and teachers who participated in the protests.
Between May 20 and June 19, the Istanbul stock market, two-thirds of which is foreign-owned, fell by nearly 20%; accordingly, Turkey's Capital Markets Board [SPK] has opened a detailed investigation into financial transactions in this period. Brokers have been requested to provide telephone records, written instructions, orders sent over the Internet and all chat-logs related to instructions from foreign clients.
The Union of Turkish Bar Associations [TBB] has warned against a witch-hunt, but no matter: someone must be held responsible.

Robert Ellis is a regular commentator on Turkish affairs in the Danish and international press.

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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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