Doc's Talk: Honesty, Like a Pin in a Haystack

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Honesty, Like a Pin in a Haystack

Nurit Greenger
A snow storm struck Israel and its neighbors this past week and it covered Temple Mount with a thick and fluffy white power.

The Middle East is not Michigan or Canada; it is not geared to handle snow storm and so life was disrupted.

Nature has no borders. Gaza Strip was plagued by floods during the storm and the storm caused major damage there. At least 4,000 families had to be rescued from flooded buildings.

In Gaza the infrastructure is substandard. Because building materials are used to build tunnels for terrorists to smuggle weapons and crawl in them to attack and hijack Israelis, rather than improve life for the residents of the Strip.

Hamas, that rules Gaza is Israel's sworn enemy and its charter calls for the annihilation of the Jewish state. Despite, Israel is a merciful country. And so, Israel sent gas for heating and water pumps to deal with the rampant flooding in the Gaza Strip and stressed that it would do everything necessary to help the Gaza Strip populations, with an emphasis on transferring electricity to the power plants in the Gaza Strip. The thanks Israel got for her help: Hamas blames Israel for the outcome of the floods, despite of receiving emergency aid from the Jewish state. This type of news hardly makes the headlines of the major media. However, when Israel defends herself from rockets flying from Gaza toward Israeli civilian population the headlines offer nonstop coverage of the incident.

Today another blood libel and other horrific lies surfaced in a video,
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GwApvroWkE#t=210), accusations made by no other than Richard Falk, UN human rights rapporteur, an UN appointee on the Arab-Palestinians "territories." Falk uses his imprimatur as a UN official to make the grievously false accusation that Israel is acting with “genocidal intent” and perpetrating a “Holocaust” ignoring the fact that since 1967 the Arab-Palestinian population has increased by approximately 250% from approximately 1 million in 1967 to approximately 2.5 million today, 2013. (http://www.biu.ac.il/Besa/MSPS65.pdf)
If we do not debunk these LIES with context to back and prove that the genocide charge is a blood libel it will never go away! No one listens to the facts about Israel because Israel has been silent for way too long! That the land belongs to the Jews, that Israel does not occupy any landת that Israel is not an apartheid state and that the Arabs living in Israel are the least disenfranchised by comparison to Arabs living in Arab countries where they have been locked in "refugee camps" AND, that it is not Israel's fault that the people living in Gaza have an unbearable life. It is Hamas, for whom they have voted into power that has made their life so miserable.
Remedy is required and soonest.
And that brings me to the topic of honest reporting and fair media coverage.
Zohreh Mizrahi, a member of the Iranian American Jewish Federation in Los Angeles, the voice of the Iranian Jewish community, got tired of the lies about Israel, the skew media coverage Israel so often receives and the deception used when reporting about Israel. She decided that she needed to help change the tide. She joined the Honest Reporting mission to Israel where she learned the first steps in defending Israel in the media and fighting back the lies with honesty, integrity and truth. In Israel Zohreh met Joe Hyams, a Britain born Jew who has lived in Israel since 2005. Joe is the CEO of Honest Reporting, a USA not for profit organization since 2001 and in Israel since 2005. (http://honestreporting.com/).
Upon returning to the United States, what Zohreh learned in Israel did not leave her mind. That brought her to invite Joe Hyams to arrive first time to Southern California and give an educational lecture to people who want to learn how to be a media soldier for Israel.

This past week, at a breakfast event, at the Iranian American Jewish Federation hall, in Los Angeles, the hospitable Mizrahi sisters – Zohreh and Neptune – and Shahla Zargarian Javdan the Federation president and their friends hosted Joe Hyams who taught the audience – lacking young adults representation - the first steps in media warfare. How to defend Israel from media bias and turn a lie the media propagates into a positive outcome.

From L-Ari Bussel, Zohreh Mizrahi, Joe Hyams-Phto Neptune Mizrahi.jpeg

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For many years I have been saying that words can kill. A word can be potent – for good or bad- and words can certainly do much harm as well as much good.
Today's media is full with bad journalism. It wears a halo that needs to be tackled. People need to question them. Tweeter and Facebook can be lethal; journalists Peter Beinart and Thomas Friedman pen is lethal as far as Israel is concerned and so is Ha'aretz newspaper in Israel and the truth is hiding behind them.
Israel is stuck in a cerebral pain of the conflict with the Arabs while the world is feeling it. Many people are scared to speak up for Israel; that has to change, Hyams says, and his organization is doing just that, fighting back.
Honest Reporting believes that when it comes to Israel the war is in the media more than on the battlefields; it is more lethal than nuclear. Sadly, Israel has let years pass while keeping silent. Israel's enemies could not win the conventional war so they waged a political diplomatic and media war and they are winning it thus far. They use the media to get into the minds of their kids and poison them against Israel and all of a sudden a young generation of terrorists is facing Israel leading the chart against Israel.

From their offices on the roof of the Great synagogue in Jerusalem, Honest Reporting 14 personnel track, day and night, the bias and bad information about Israel and take on the task to make the wrong go away or correct it and turn it into positive and good. They are putting fires all year round. The organization's motto is, as a united community, using the media, we can call and shame or praise. Even the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) needs to defend itself from media bias and Honest Reporting acts as the Iron Dome to defend Jews and Israel.

Chen Avrahami and Joe Hyams.jpg

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There is the truthfulness side to every story but one cannot present the truth without context. If one does, the truth is lost, says Hyams. If we leave a story in the hands of the diplomats we get a slap in the face. Best, that we, as a community, make our voice heard loud and clear. We need to see ourselves as a transformer, converting power – information - from 110 volt to 220 and back while making sure that no explosion occurs when the transforming of information takes place.
Propaganda is a chief weapon. Admitting that certain propaganda was a mistake and sending an apology after the fact is useless. The arsenal was used, the minds were poisoned and the damage was done.
We have all heard that Israel's public diplomacy-Hasbara is inadequate. The question is why are they complacent? Is it because the IDF is there to defend? In fact Israel is four decades behind its enemy and its detractors in regards to its PR and public diplomacy. In fact, Israel has been sleeping for tomorrow's media defense needs.
Honest Reporting believes in being nice; it achieves its goals and is putting out fires in a smart and cunning way. Most journalists are naïve, underpaid and under pressure and all they need is to be guided and properly informed. It does not matter if we win, or lose, as long as we win, Hyams states.
The American Jews community lives in a bubble of apathy and much disinterest in what is going on in Israel and what she faces on daily basis. This goes well with the saying: Out of sight out of mind.
The American Jewry have not taught its new generation the meaning of and the reason for defending Israel. But not all is lost. To prove the point, Chen Avrahami, a UC Irvine student told the audience that she spent two years in Israel as a lone soldier serving in the Israeli air force. Those two years have made her understand the full meaning of Israel, which she now shares with other Jewish and non-Jewish students. Chen claims that the army gave her more than she gave the army so she is now helping to build broken bridges. Maybe other Jewish youths will follow in her footsteps and serve to defend the Jewish nation's future.
In Israel 11^th graders travel to Poland to visit the remnants of Auschwitz, the Nazi concentration camp in which over one million Jews were murdered. No person remains the same after visiting Auschwitz.
Many people who visit Israel claim that the visit was a life changer for them.
The team work of people, the willingness and the actions taken make things happen and Honest Reporting is the proof.
If we follow the three components, a visit to Auschwitz, a visit to Israel and a lesson we took from Honest Reporting, we can become a huge army in defense of Israel.
So how about we start today?

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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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