Monday, December 17, 2007

United Nations Day's Attitude Towards Israel
On the 29th of November 2007 Ronnie Kasrils, MP of South Africa, in honor of United Nations International Day, tore apart Israel unmercifully and wrongly with lies that were astonishing to me. He certainly must need oil to butter up the Palestinians so much.
He stated that " there can be no balanced even-handed approach by the South African government between the power of the Israeli state, supported by the US, and the Palestinians who are under siege and fire, with no state, where it is amazing that they survive at all, where they ...rely on nothing more than their "samud", perseverance and courage. ...a thief cannot present demands-neither preconditions nor any other terms-to the owner of the property he has robbed."
This statement alone reeks of completely inaccurate knowledge. It is the Palestinians who are doing the firing on Israel. I guess there's not a South African at all who would defend themselves if they were fired upon. Israel has been the one who has been attacked since they were reborn in May of 1948. May I remind South Africa that it was the United Nations who voted for the creation of Israel, but did nothing to protect it from the seven Arab countries who attacked it immediately. Israel had only very tired World War II survivors and a few other Jews to fight for their rights to survive. We even hoped that G-d was on our side as the shock of winning that bout surprised everyone.
The Palestinians did not own the land, or Gaza, or anything. They were of very few in number compared to today, who had wandered in to find work in the growing land of Israel. A few had lived in the area, but fled when they heard their leaders promise that if they did so, they could come back and occupy the Jews' deserted quarters, which of course didn't happen. From there on it was the leadership of the Arabs who kept the "Palestinians" in camps and refused to take them into their own spacious countries. They really were used as pawns to fight against the Israelis. Now they have become a group of hateful people, if you look at Hamas's goals. This is exactly what the Arab nations have hoped for, it appears.
The premise of Kasrils's speech is completely wrong. How can a man of such a position
get up and lie like that to his country? How can people believe such propaganda? All this lying for a United Nation's Day about a country that was created by the United Nations is simply outlandish. Somebody, please send this man a history book.
Research: Speaking Notes by Ronnie Kasrils, MP, on the occasion of the United Nations International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, 29 November 2007, UNISA
Israel-Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Caroline Glick explains in her article, "Who's being rational? about the rockets landing in southern Israel from the Gaza terrorists, Hamas. Every day many rockets are landing in places like Sderot. Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, chief of the General Staff of Israel said that they should go into Gaza if Israel wants to make its citizens safe.
Against the idea is Israel's foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who warned that if they did so, Israel would destroy the peace process. She's afraid that Bush and the Arabs would be "mad" and that Abbas, the Palestinian leader of Fatah who they think is a moderate, would reunite with the Iranian-trained Hamas. She says that they must choose either having security or the peace process.
I ask what good a peace process is if it does not include security, but Livni got the vote. Israel is afraid to go against Condoleeza Rice and Bush, and it's citizens are in jeopardy because of it. Yesterday a 2 year old child was injured when a rocket went through his house in Sderot.
In the meantime, in Gaza 200,000 people rallied on their 20th anniversary of Hamas's founding. Six months ago they took over Gaza. This was a show of "samoud" which is steadfastness. Israel declared the area a "hostile entity", which indeed it is. Their speeches were against Israel and the USA, unity with Abbas in the "West Bank." Gaza is under an embargo from Israel which is affecting the 1.5 million people who live in Gaza. If you wonder why, look at the danger they have put on Israel. They do not want to live in peace, but they want all of Israel. Israel has to do something besides take the shelling.
The people of southern Israel are living under constant deadly attacks. There is no other place for them to go. They cannot sell their homes, and would not be able to find other jobs. They are gritting their teeth and praying that they will live to the next day. If they leave Sderot, the terrorists would probably take it over and move closer to the other towns of Israel. Israel feels it's hands are tied in their desire to stop the shelling. And who cares? The defense will come for the "poor" bloodthirsty Palestinians who are the aggressors and do not want peace. The world's leadership is gathering billions of dollars to give to the Palestinians at this moment. Israel is between a rock and a hard place. Logic in the world has died.
Reference: Oregonian Dec 16th page A17
Caroline Glick, reporter for jewishworldreview.com

Thursday, December 13, 2007

90 Minutes of Failing Peace Talks
Israel and the Palestinians had a trying time of 90 minutes of peace talks which turned quickly into trading barbs at each other. It was more like a scene from the 1989 movie, "The War of the Roses" with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner which was about a failed marriage where neither party was willing to move out of the home they once shared. There was no love lost between these two.
This peace talk had turned into a mud-slinging event because there probably was no moderator there to prevent the tragedy. Israel had hoped to establish a framework of discussions to conclude with a peace deal by the end of 2008. This war between the Israelis and the Arab world has been going on for six decades now, and will need more than a few meetings to co-exist.
The tension in the air is said to have come from the announcement that Israel will build 307 homes in Jerusalem in an area that the Palestinians want for their future capital. No one has said that Israel has conceded to give up any part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians. It has been talked about and debated about, but nothing conclusive has been said. Jerusalem belongs in total to Israel. Israel has the right to build in their own country. Jerusalem came into Israel's hands in 1967 after being terribly treated by the Jordanians. No one was a winner in those days. Jews couldn't enter Jerusalem and neither could Christians. Palestinians are assuming more than they should if they think that Israel will give up Jerusalem.
We haven't seen the Palestinians do one thing that would show their interest in the peace process like giving back the prisoners they took in Gaza, or in stopping the shelling from Gaza into Sderot.
The end result was that both sides will continue talking in the coming weeks.

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

Why "Palestine" is Important to Israel
What are the goals and needs of Israel? Peace. Peace has always been at the center of Israel's creation. That's why Israel has decided that the two-state solution is the most desirable goal.
Israel realizes it is again paying a heavy price for the much wanted peace by giving up more of our precious little land for peace, though they have done so in the past and have only received bombing in return.
Israel does not want to control Palestinians or dictate their lives. Israel does not want to have its family members stand at checkpoints and screen civilians. Israel does not enjoy causing distress for other people. Israelis are a people forced to become soldiers and serve every month until age 55. This was never their goal in creating Israel.
Israel wants to live. It does not yearn for death. We have done more than our share to bring about a peace with our neighbors. We left other parts of Israel to have peace with Egypt. We left Gaza completely by leaving settlements and homes and business. This includes our citizens and our army personnel. And what happened?
What have the Palestinians done? They haven't even changed the demands of Yasser Arafat. Everyone wants us to withdraw but does not give us any guarantees of protection. We cannot give up the Golan Heights. We cannot leave the Shebaa Farms regions. Israel is so small that we need a certain amount of space to keep rockets out. We're not a stupid people. We're logical.
The Saudis made Israelis use a back door to enter their rooms and showed no friendliness towards our representatives. Their demands are unreasonable. We cannot allow millions of newly-born refugees to return to Israel and create an Arab state. Their representatives would not even shake hands with us. The Peace Talks of the Middle East were in a very chilly atmosphere.
The Arab feelings about Israel do not seem to have changed. Yet we keep compromising. I'd like to see a change and wait for the Palestinians to show compromise and eagerness to be friendly neighbors. There are plenty of olive trees around. Let them extend the olive branch for a change. If they really want the creation of a Palestine, they would.
Reference: Mitchell Bard Myth #283.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Impossible Gaza Situation
The Hamas terrorists that have taken over Gaza have one goal in mind: to drive Israel out of existence. They have shelled Israel daily in defiance of their ex-partners in crime, the Fatah terrorists, who control the "West Bank". Over this weekend they shelled 4 rockets and 14 mortars into Israel. This has all happened since Israel withdrew all Israelis out of Gaza. This means all residents and all soldiers. Israelis were living there and had to give up their homes for peace. It's not like America, where we have learned to live in diverse neighborhoods and enjoy the differences.
How would any town in the USA like to be shelled daily? What would you think of the USA Federal government if it was allowed to continue without trying to stop it? Would you stay there? Would you allow your children to leave your house and go to school? Of course not. We wouldn't stand for it in a minute.
Israel has been held down in any defensive tactics by Condoleezza Rice but has had to retaliate regularly by targeting militants launching rockets into Israel. Since the Annapolis conference, they have killed 17 Gaza terrorists. They struck from the air and killed 5 terrorists in the latest strike.
The Hamas terrorists have been shelling Israel daily. Now they are angry and have threatened to strike Israel with rockets that can reach half way to Tel Aviv, which is only 38 miles from Gaza. They think it's okay to continue shelling Israel but when we hit 5 of their people, they're hopping mad and retaliating more than ever. I can hit you but don't you dare hit me back.
These terrorists are against any peace process and say that Abbas doesn't speak for them. However, if we invade Gaza to put a stop to their terrorism, Fatah have said they will join Hamas in fighting us. Some peaceful partners, they are. It's obvious what the two factions of terrorists want to do. You have to be a dufus not to see it. In fact, Fatah already has three units of terrorists that have been fighting against Israel without stopping. Abbas isn't controlling all of Fatah!
As if that isn't enough to worry about, Israel is now on alert for dirty bombs. Their reports are that there are radiological bombs (with uranium) to be used against Israel brought in from Eastern Europe. Security will be very high. This is at a time when Israel is releasing 429 terrorist prisoners as a show of good will. In the meantime, the soul of Israel's land is responding with three earthquakes in the past two weeks. The intensity was 4.0.
References: Oregonian A24, 12/2/07
AFT News from Yahoo
My opinions

Saturday, December 01, 2007

What's the Big Deal About Jerusalem? Stanley Goldfoot's Letter to the World Tells All

Nadene Goldfdoot                                                                  
So what if Israel has to give up parts of Jerusalem for peace? What's the big deal? Why is Jerusalem important to Jews, anyway?    Many people are probably saying this right now, even some Jews.

To us it's not like saying, let's give up Arizona, California, New Mexico and a few other states to Mexico. After all, lots of Mexicans are living in these states.

 There's an even deeper relationship of Jerusalem to Jews and to the state of Israel. It's connected to our very religion, which is quite complex. In our prayers we say, "If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, may I lose my right hand". .... Our history and connection with Jerusalem goes back farther than our King David. We've been a part of Jerusalem forever, and it is a part of us. The atmosphere there is special for us. Our deepest thoughts and deeds have come from there. It gives us our mental and emotional food. We've been deprived for 2,000 years and have yearned for it.

We've waited all this time to return. It didn't just happen out of the blue. A lot of planning preceded the move, years and years of planning.   We were immersed in the 1948 War minutes after the declaration that the UN created Israel.   2,000 years of wandering and suffering preceded it where no UNRA helped us out.

This connection is not the same for Arabs. They have one claim; that Mohammed of the 6th Century AD (born 570 CE) rose from Jerusalem and went to heaven on his horse. Their holy places are in Saudi Arabia. They lay claim to Jerusalem because it is our eternal city, and they want what we have in order to get rid of us. It's all a chess game.

My distant cousin, Stanley Goldfoot, a resident of Jerusalem, had this to say about his city. It is the most profound statement I've ever read.


A Letter to the World from Jerusalem
by Eliezer ben Yisrael (Stanley Goldfoot)

This was originally an editorial published in the Jerusalem Times in 1969. It is still highly relevant considering the current political situation and the upcoming celebration of Yom Yerushalayim. The letter was reprinted by the Israel Center of the Orthodox Union in Torah Tidbits #211)

I am not a creature from another planet, as you seem to believe. I am a Jerusalemite-like yourselves, a man of flesh and blood. I am a citizen of my city, an integral part of my people.

I have a few things to get off my chest. Because I am not a diplomat, I do not have to mince words. I do not have to please you or even persuade you. I owe you nothing. You did not build this city, you did not live in it, you did not defend it when they came to destroy it. And we will be damned if we will let you take it away.

There was a Jerusalem before there was a New York. When Berlin, Moscow, London, and Paris were miasmal forest and swamp, there was a thriving Jewish community here. It gave something to the world which you nations have rejected ever since you established yourselves- a humane moral code.

Here the prophets walked, their words flashing like forked lightning. Here a people who wanted nothing more than to be left alone, fought of waves of heathen would-be conquerors, bled and died on the battlements, hurled themselves into the flames of their burning Temple rather than surrender, and when finally overwhelmed by sheer numbers and led away into captivity, swore that before they forgot Jerusalem, they would see their tongues cleave to their palates, their right arms wither.

For two pain-filled millennia, while we were your unwelcome guests, we prayed daily to return to this city. Three times a day we petitioned the Almighty: "Gather us from the four corners of the world, bring us upright to our land, return in mercy to Jerusalem, Thy city, and swell in it as Thou promised." On every Yom Kippur and Passover, we fervently voiced the hope that Next Year would find us in Jerusalem.

Your inquisitions, pogroms, expulsions, the ghettos into which you jammed us, your forced baptisms, your quota systems, your genteel anti-Semitism, and the final unspeakable horror, the Holocaust (and worse, your terrifying disinterest in it)- all these have not broken us. They may have sapped what little moral strength you still possessed, but they forged us into steel. Do you think that you can break us now after all we have been through?   Do you really believe that after Dachau and Auschwitz we are frightened by your threats of blockades and sanctions? We have been to Hell and back- a Hell of your making. What more could you possibly have in your arsenal that could scare us?

I have watched this city bombarded twice by nations calling themselves civilized. In 1948, while you looked on apathetically, I saw women and children blown to smithereens, after we agreed to your request to internationalize the city. It was a deadly combination that did the job- British officers, Arab gunners, and American-made cannon. And then the savage sacking of the Old City-the willful slaughter, the wanton destruction of every synagogue and religious school, the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, the sale by a ghoulish government of tombstones for building materials, for poultry runs, army camps, even latrines.

And you never said a word.

You never breathed the slightest protest when the Jordanians shut off the holiest of our places, the Western Wall, in violation of the pledges they had made after the war- a war they waged, incidentally, against the decision of the UN. Not a murmur came from you whenever the legionnaires in their spiked helmets casually opened fire upon our citizens from behind the walls.

Your hearts bled when Berlin came under siege. You rushed your airlift "to save the gallant Berliners". But you did not send one ounce of food when Jews starved in besieged Jerusalem. You thundered against the wall which the East Germans ran through the middle of the German capital- but not one peep out of you about that other wall, the one that tore through the heart of Jerusalem.

And when that same thing happened 20 years later, and the Arabs unleashed a savage, unprovoked bombardment of the Holy City again, did any of you do anything?

The only time you came to life was when the city was at last reunited. Then you wrung your hands and spoke loftily of "justice" and need for the "Christian" quality of turning the other cheek.

The truth- and you know it deep inside your gut- you would prefer the city to be destroyed rather than have it governed by Jews. No matter how diplomatically you phrase it, the age old prejudices seep out of every word.

If our return to the city has tied your theology in knots, perhaps you had better reexamine your catechisms. After what we have been through, we are not passively going to accommodate ourselves to the twisted idea that we are to suffer eternal homelessness until we accept your savior.

For the first time since the year 70, there is now complete religious freedom for all in Jerusalem. For the first time since the Romans put a torch to the Temple, everyone has equal rights (You prefer to have some more equal than others.) We loathe the sword- but it was you who forced us to take it up. We crave peace, but we are not going back to the peace of 1948 as you would like us to.

We are home. It has a lovely sound for a nation you have willed to wander over the face of the globe. We are not leaving. We are redeeming the pledge made by our forefathers: Jerusalem is being rebuilt. "Next year" and the year after, and after, and after, until the end of time- "in Jerusalem"!

You know what Stanley would say to Olmert and Netanyahu now if he could.