Sunday, December 29, 2013

Lebanon Shooting Rockets into Northern Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   

Sunday morning, which is a good 10 hours ahead of USA time, was the time when Lebanon terrorists shot 2 rockets almost reaching Kiryat Shimona that landed west of this town housing a department store similar to the USA's Macy's.  When I lived in Safed from 1980-1985, we would drive up there which is quite close to the Lebanon border to shop. This town had been hit many times.  It had been attacked by rockets so many times  that our friend from the Teacher's Program, who had gone there to visit, wound up stuck in a bomb shelter for about a week and was unable to leave during that time.  Many Westerners live in Kiryat Shimona.

Now this morning by Israel time, 5 rockets were shot at Israel from this northern state of Lebanon and one landed in Israel.  Usually all the attacks have been coming from Gaza into southern Israel.  It is a sad thing to see this starting up from Lebanon once again.

Israel retaliated as warned the same day.

Resource: https://www.facebook.com/Middle.East.Insights

Thursday, December 26, 2013

December 25th 2013 in Southern Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                        
Christmas Day was remembered by Gaza's Hamas terrorists who fired a rocket towards southern Israel, but protection from above made sure it would drop within Gaza, which it did, harming no one.

It isn't that the terrorists are tired of terrorizing.  It's well known that their activities of late have been to look for longer range missiles for the next go-around.  They're stockpiling more advanced missiles.  

This means that Israel has to be prepared for ways to protect themselves as well.  Having the Iron Dome ready is one way.  

This latest shot evidently was their way of saying some sort of response to Israel's response to their previous attack of killing an Israeli who was repairing the fence after a storm and was shot by a terrorist sniper.  The Israeli was on Israel's side of the fence.  They knew what he was doing.  He was just an available target.

Resource: Arutz Sheva by Maayana Miskin

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Latest Terrorist Attacks in Israel

Nadene Goldfoot

Israel has warned the Gazans that it will not stand by and allow Israelis to be shot from Gaza without reprisal.  On Tuesday a civilian, a Bedouin Israeli,  was shot and killed near the Gaza border fence by sniper fire.

The IAF retaliated by hitting a base west of Khan Younis.  As Prime Minister Netanyahu stated, "This is an extremely serious incident and we will not stand idly by.  Our policy up until now has been to thwart and retaliate with force.  That's what they are doing.

The Defense Minister in Israel said, "If there is no peace in Israel, there will be no peace in Gaza.

"The Palestinian Authority continues to instigate against the State of Israel and its citizens and is not encouraging a culture of peace, so Israel feels that they are forced to deal with terror attacks."  mentioned Ya'alon.   It's an intolerable situation for Israel who has had to deal with attacks in southern Israel since 2001.  The people in Gaza, the Hamas terrorists,  have not accepted any thoughts of peace and it's high time they did.

Such action from Gaza encourages other acts of violence in Israel.  On Sunday a bus driver near Tel Aviv was alerted by a passenger that a large black knapsack was sitting in the bus unattended.  The passenger opened it to find  a bomb in it whereupon the driver had the passengers disembark from the bus.  A sapper attempted to defuse the bomb then but it blew up.  A policeman was slightly injured in the blast.  This was a terrorist act.

Another 41 year old police officer on the security force was stabbed literally in the back by a long knife wielding Palestinian as a terrorist attack in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Adam.  The attacker fled to a nearby Palestinian neighborhood.  This happened the day after the bus attack.

And so, the state of Israel on this 24th of December must always be aware, at least in this era, of attacks on its population that can come at any time so long as the Arabs are withholding any measure of peace for all men  and no good will towards any Israeli.

Resource:  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4469142,00.html
UPdate 12/25/13 http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-man-severely-wounded-by-sniper-fire-from-gaza/
UPdate 12/25/13http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4469142,00.html
UPdate 12/25/13http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/12/24/israeli-worker-shot-and-killed-by-gaza-sniper-update/

Sunday, December 08, 2013

Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense's One Year Anniversary Against Hamas

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                        

It was just one year ago that Israel had said ENOUGH and after being hit by rockets, mortars and missiles from Gaza since 2001, finally went into Gaza  in an offensive land operation to put an end to the shooting with Operation Pillar of Defense that lasted for 8 days.

It was recalled by both Hamas and other affiliated terrorists in Gaza and in Israel.  Cities like Sderot and Ashkelon were favorite sites hit in Israel.  Where Sderot is very close to the border, Ashkelon is a large major city to the north of Gaza along the sea where a large hospital is that serves both Arab Gazans and Israelis inside a large perimeter.  The strikes have caused the hospital to go to the basement levels in order to take care of their patients.  What seems to be an insane goal to me, the Arabs keep aiming for the city that provides them life when they themselves are injured.

Saturday afternoon during Shabbat, southern Israel was greeted by 3 rockets shot at them from Gaza.  They landed in an open field in Gaza!  The platform they were shot from must have been further back to not make it over the border into Sderot or some other Israeli site.

That was the climax of a week of rockets that were fired.  Last week one rocket again fell short of the border of Ashkelon from Gaza. First the warning siren blared.   The population were driven to take cover in bomb shelters.  The rocket fell just a little way from the border but landed on the Gazan side.

Last Tuesday, a Palestinian Arab managed to get into Israel from Gaza and was caught by the Israeli security forces.  He didn't come over as an immigrant wanting a better life, though.  He had grenades in his pockets.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented that there have been only 35 incidents of rocket fire since then, so this showed a 98% drop of rocket fire since last year's operation.

Will Kerry be successful in bringing about peace between the Palestinians and Israel?  He's dealing with Abbas from Fatah right now.  They have no connection with Gaza, the section that Israel left, lock, stock and barrel in the name of peace that has turned into a launching pad of rockets, mortars and missiles against them.

Hamas's charter shows no sign of ever making peace.   The charter is a 30 page document and as long as it remains their guiding dogma for Hamas or the Palestinian people in mass, the dream of peace remains impossible.  Land is elemental in this problem.  It is religion that is guiding the Palestinian Arabs.  From the Hamas Covenant, we read that "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it."  (said by The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory.)  The name "Hamas" means  strength and bravery according to Al-Mua'jam al-Wasit: c1.  They write, "Our struggle against the Jews is very great and very serious.  It needs all sincere efforts."

That religion is the driving force, from article 6 in their charter, says, "The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees.  The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.  Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).

I have asked several Muslims about this section often quoted by Westerners who have studied the Koran and it has been explained to me in a very confusing way that either it's not there or its meaning is different and must be studied from another one of Islam's writings.  I get the feeling that it is not interpreted correctly but is often used by less educated Muslims to be the banner for their land fight against Jews in the Middle East.  However, when Muslims of little education read it, it is a very blatant statement and sounds like a dictum to be very aggressive against Jews and to do them harm.

Therefore I see in article 13  that there is no solution in Palestinian thinking  about the  Palestinian question  of a 2 state solution except through Jihad.  Initiative, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.  Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences  are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement.

Article 32 threatens Muslims that today Jews are taking Palestine and tomorrow it will be one country or another and that the Zionist plan is limitless.  They warn that the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates, and then want to take more land.

I find this laughable because our problem is keeping Israel with a majority of Jews to keep it a Jewish state.  The last thing we need is again to live among the world as we have been, a minority without any rights of our own as has already happened in the past.  It is the Muslims who have been expansionists, forcing everyone to convert to Islam and taking their land and holy sites.  So what they really are fearing is that Jews will suddenly act like they have with the same kinds of goals.  Once they realize we are not about to ape their behaviors, perhaps they will accept us.  Hamas must be educated with some of these more enlightening and realistic ideas to solve this world problem.

 Has John Kerry, Secretary of State of the USA, found out if Hamas has changed its charter yet?  How about Fatah?  Why should Israel make peace with one who is under the spell of the other and will cooperate with fighting against Israel?  Shouldn't that twosome be worked on by the USA first before even thinking of creating another state?  Could they be thinking that this will give Fatah power over Hamas?

Resource:  http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinians-fire-three-rockets-at-israel/
Excerpts from the Hamas Charter, produced by StandWithUs.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/police-find-third-body-on-ashkelon-beach/

Wednesday, December 04, 2013

What? Me Worry About the Iranian Deal? Yes, Worry and Also Worry About North Korea!

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                          

People all over the world are suffering from anxiety about the nuclear agreement between the major large countries and Iran and wonder why it should be supported.  They are also worried about the start of a never-ending world war because of it.  It doesn't help that biblical prophesy has pointed out the end of the world at this time.  Atomic weapons only encourage this type of thinking.

So far, nothing has been signed.  There's just been a lot of talk.  When will it take effect?  Right now Iran isn't stopping anything.  The machinery is still doing its job.  Sanctions are being lifted anyway. Iran is receiving its bonus money of $7 billion dollars in sanction relief.   Countries are chomping at the bit to do business with Iran.  The deal was to be for this 6 month period only, and then final matters would be settled upon.

The final deal is a "huge concession and it says that it will involve a mutually defined enrichment program with mutually agreed parameters."  Enrichment only means to have the capability of making a bomb.  It is centered on the fuel cycle.  Iran has made no promise to stop working on ballistic missiles or weapons.  The nuclear program has 3 parts:  the fuel is one of them.  Then there is the warhead and the delivery system.  During these next 6 months they can do whatever it wants to work on like these last 2 items.

They are very close to reaching the nuclear threshold now.  Remember the line Netanyahu showed at the UN Conference that was televised?  They are only about 1 or 2 months away from this goal.  Mohamamad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister said that when sanctions started Iran had less than 200 centrifuges.  Today they have 18,800 that have been added, so sanctions did not stop them.

The only thing sanctions seemed to do was to bring Iran to the negotiation table in Geneva and get some publicity.  Obama thought they were "crippling sanctions:, but that turns out to be a lie.  This is why Netanyahu has made the Iran situation his number one priority.  Amos Yadlin, Israeli expert said that Iran is on the verge of producing a bomb.   So the window of opportunity of stopping them is now closed.  The country most likely to be hit by Iran is Israel.  The statement of Obama's about having Israel's back seems to fade into the sunset.   Second in line would be USA targets nearby.  What is left to do other than worry?

The USA has also allowed North Korea to gain atomic capabilities and that is also a country with an evil empire.  The USA entered into the Korean War from 1950-1953.  Previously in August 1945, it had used the new atomic discovery, THE A BOMB on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan to bring the war to an end  The USA had nuclear weapons stored in South Korea, and now they have their own.  North Korea, the enemy in this war, just celebrated on July 27, 2013 the Armistice Day of this war between their North and South.  They continue to be an unstable government now ruled by the spoiled son, Kim Jong-un b: 1983, whose father was Kim Jong-il  who is following in his father's footsteps but is even more cruel and hard to figure out.   Kim just ousted his own uncle from his government position.  "Tensions between North and South Korea soared this year as Pyongyang reacted angrily to tightened United Nations sanctions imposed in response to its latest nuclear test.   The two sides are still technically at war after the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in a mere truce, not a treaty.  North Korea has been helping Iran with their atomic goals for the past 10 years.  

This Iranian Deal  does not give us any indication that it will impede Iran's capabilities to manufacture the A bomb.  Instead, Israel may have to decide on military action in order to prevent being hit by an A bomb since Iran has been so obvious about their intentions to destroy this tiny country.  The possibility that the deal could lead to de-nuclearization is extremely remote, especially now that sanctions have been lifted.  It was the sanctions that drove them to the table in the first place and sanctions might have ended their desire to kill off a whole country as not being worth the trouble.  But now, it's probably full steam ahead for the next 6 months, and then the haggling, of which Iran is a master of, will begin.  June will be another worrisome month.                                                                    
                                                                      
Maybe Iran and North Korea are singing this song, now, from St. Vincent Lyrics
"C'est la vie
What me worry?  I never do
Life is one charming ruse for us lucky few."

Or perhaps the big 5 and Kerry will be singing this stanza in 6 months, 
Have I fooled you, dear? 
The time is coming near when I'll give you my hand and I'll say, 
"It's been grand, but...I'm out of here
I'm out of here." 

Resource: Blomberg's 6 Reasons to Worry about the Iranian Nuclear Dear by Jeffrey Goldberg, Dec 3, 2013
http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-threat-of-nuclear-war-north-korea-or-the-united-states/5343793
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/04/12/world/asia/north-korea-questions.html?_r=0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-il
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Jong-un
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/03/world/north-korea-upheaval/
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-11-24/iran-to-reap-7-billion-in-sanctions-relief-under-accord.html
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/stvincent/whatmeworry.html

Monday, December 02, 2013

Golan Heights Hit by Mortar Shell


Nadene Goldfoot                                              
The Druze village of Majdal Shams, lying in the southern foothills of Mt Hermon  in the northern Golan Heights,  was hit by a mortar shell.  It seems to have come from the fighting in Syria and was launched from the Syrian side of Mount Hermon.  It's under Israeli civil law and has been a part of Israel since 1967.  It had been a part of Syria before this and was the place of attacks on Israel.  Druze had settled here in the early 1700's.

The Golan Heights' altitude is 9,232' on Mt. Hermon in the north and goes down to 1,300' along the plateau of the Heights.  The reason it is so important to Israel is that the enemy was above them and could easily pick them off.  Now they have had it since 1967 and are much safer for it.  Mt. Hermon is so high that people ski there in the wintertime.  By comparison to Mt. Hood in Portland , Oregon's area, that mountain is 11,235' high and is a popular ski resort.

No one was injured nor was there any damage from this mortar.

Resource:  http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/syrian-mortar-hits-majdal-shams/2013/12/02/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golan_Heights
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hood#Elevation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majdal_Shams

Read more at: http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/syrian-mortar-hits-majdal-shams/2013/12/02/

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Granddaughter of Hamas Leader in Israeli Hospital

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

"If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he be thirsty, give him water to drink; (Proverbs 25:21)"

This is just how Jews are, that's all.  We live by a very moral code handed down to us by Moses, and we're still reading and studying it.  We haven't stopped since Moses gave us the lecture from about 1310 to 1290 BCE.  There's so much to understand in his 5 books of what we call Genesis (Bereishis), Exodus (Shemos), Leviticus (Vayikra), Numbers (Bamidbar) and Deuteronomy (Devarim).  It gives us the moral code to follow and a reason for our living.  It is easy reading as well as very heavy things to think about

The oddest thing happened in Israel.  The very head of Hamas, the Palestinian Prime Minister himself, Ismail Haniyeh's little 1 year old granddaughter from his oldest son, Abdel Salam, had an acute infection in her digestive tract.  First she was taken to Al-Nasr Hospital in Gaza.  Then she was taken to Israel's Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva for treatment.  Now she is back in Gaza in their hospital.  

This was not the first time that Haniyeh made use of the medical facilities in Petah Tikva.  His brother in law went there 1 1/2 years ago in a cardiac episode.  

So here we are, supposedly in a state of cease fire and  Gaza was not to bomb southern Israel but has been regularly.  Hamas is in charge with the job of keeping terrorists from doing this.  Somebody is giving the go-ahead, as they are not being stopped.  And Israel can turn around and treat their loved ones without batting an eye.  Too bad the feeling is never reciprocated.  

Proverbs come from King Solomon.  RASHI, the great commentator on the 5 Books, said that Solomon's words are allusions and parables.  When he speaks of a good woman, he is alluding to the Torah.  When he speaks of a promiscuous woman,  he is alluding to idolatry.  Solomon said that wisdom itself loses its meaning without fear of G-d.  Even reading Proverbs superficially gives countless nuggets of wisdom.  He tells us that though money brings us popularity, ill-gotten gains have no value.  It is the quality of a bank account that matters, not its size.  With money comes responsibility to the poor and the obligation to heed their cries.  It's a collection of lessons for life with formulas that give life the only meaning that truly matters.  

Remember, Solomon was born a good 3,404 years ago.  Moses cannot be replaced with better lessons for us.  He got his information  from the master himself.  King Solomon was raised on the Torah, the 5 books of Moses.  To see intellectuals sitting around in a Yeshiva and discussing and debating each point is something in itself, an educational marvel.  That's an exercise that our Rabbis engage in.  It's also what makes such great doctors and sharp minds!  

Reference:  http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/israeli-hospital-treating-hamas-heads-granddaughter/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=cf3f3f00fc-BIN+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-cf3f3f00fc-83518689
Tanakh, the Stone Edition

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Brinkmanship of Fatah Has Palestinian Negotiators Walking Away

Nadene Goldfoot                                                             

        Saeb  Erekat, born in 1955 in East Jerusalem when it was under Jordanian Control

John Kerry is determined to reach a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal.  However, we just found out Wednesday that the 2 man Palestinian team, Saeb Erekat and Muhammad Shtayyeh,  had resigned 10 days ago in protest because Israel has continued construction in Judea/Samaria and east Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Israel seems to feel that the peace talks, which are given 9 months, are just keeping progress from moving along and intended to build. "Only two days earlier, Israel had announced plans to construct 1,700 new homes for Jewish settlers in the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) . Palestinians angrily accused the Israelis of not negotiating in good faith."   The plans were in the works long ago and are much needed.   They had stopped for a year as agreed with Abbas and it was wasted time, as Abbas didn't come to any peace negotiations that time, either.  Israel has offered the olive branch ever since 1948 and has been very patient after being attack time and time again in wars by  the Arab countries.  That's 65 years without peace.  Now Kerry expects Israel to give away their baby with the bath water.  Give up everything, and what has Israel been offered?  Bubkas, as far as we know, since it is all very secret.

Abbas hasn't said if he would accept or reject the resignations.  He couldn't say if there has been any progress and will wait 9 months and afterwards they will feel free to do what they want.  Erekat thinks that because Israel is building this means it was the end of the peace process.  He's already told the US, Russia, the UN and the Arab League that these building plans mean that the negotiations ended.

Israel feels this is "brinkmanship", something that keeps on happening with the Palestinians and is a pattern that has happened many times.  It's their standard way of negotiating.

Netanyahu has told the housing minister to "reconsider" plans for the 24,000 units beyond the Green Line as a result.  "I'm concerned about their progress, because I see the Palestinians continuing with incitements, continuing to create artificial crises, continuing to avoid and run away from the historic decisions that are needed to make a genuine peace."   Abbas had to cut his visit to Saudi Arabia and return to Ramallah to talk with PLO and Fatah leaders about what is going on.  Since when are there any PLO people?  Supposedly PLO became Fatah.  Yasser Arafat had been the PLO leader.

The Palestinians are trying to take Jerusalem as their capital, among other factors that they have been demanding.  Jerusalem is a united city once again and the capital of Israel.  Another sticky point is allowing all the refugees who have multiplied since 1948 into this tiny area as the Palestinians demand.  Being they will not accept Israel in the first place in their midst, there are just too many idiotic concessions that they are demanding that will completely tear Israel apart, as little as it is and surrounded by hateful terrorists.   Personally, I think John Kerry is asking the impossible of Israel.  Also, he was aiming on having this all completed by May 2014, which is 6 months from now.

One important matter to Israel has been Iran.  Watching how the USA has capitulated to Iran shakes up Netanyahu's trust in the USA's negotiating, and this is a failure.  The way the peace talks with the PLO/Fatah is going looks like it's on the same path; both being against Israel's needs to survive.


Resource:  http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Abbas-Palestinian-peace-negotiators-resign-over-lack-of-progress-331604
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saeb_Erekat
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec13/mideast1_11-13.html
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/july-dec13/mideast2_11-13.html

Friday, November 01, 2013

Hamas Ignores the Cease Fire Agreement Continues Attacking Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   

      
Five IDF soldiers were injured last night due to a mortar bomb exploding in a tunnel dug in Khan Younnis in southern Gaza.  One was seriously injured of the 5.  

In due process, 3 Palestinian terrorists were killed.  " Their activities breached the understanding with Hamas since Operation Pillar of Defense and they implemented activities against Israel by building the tunnels.  Hamas is in control in Gaza and it is their responsibility to prevent terrorism of any kind. "  

Rockets have been fired lately from Gaza after several months of quiet.  It could be a relatiation to the peace talks that Fatah's Abbas is involved with and the releasing of murderers by Israel in compliance to Abbas's demands.  What Hamas has been doing is stockpiling mortars, rockets and missiles and building tunnels.  

A tunnel used by terrorists had been found and is now blown up.
 

Resource:  http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/politics-and-military/military/five-idf-soldiers-wounded-near-khan-younnis-2178

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Hamas Rocket Launchers Got A Direct Hit by Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
Israel IAF hit 2 concealed rocket launchers in northern Gaza late Monday morning.  They were direct hits.  This was in response to the 2 missiles Hamas had fired from Gaza that morning; one coming into Ashkelon that the Iron Dome stopped.

"“This targeted strike, based on IDF intelligence and advanced air force capabilities, is an immediate response to the terrorist aggression and its infrastructure in Gaza," Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said. 

This is what must happen every time Israel is attacked.  There must be an immediate response and snuff out the origin of the attacks.  

Resource:  http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12891

Monday, October 28, 2013

Last Week, This Week, Israel Faces Attacks

Nadene Goldfoot                                                               

Last week there was a shootout, not at the OK corral, but in Judea-Samaria.  The IDF had the shootout with Mohammed Aazi who they wanted to arrest for the Tel Aviv bus bombing that caused injury to 20 people aboard the bus.  Instead of coming along quietly, he risked shooting and lost.

Also during that time, the IDF found a bomb placed in the security fence meant to go off when IDF military vehicles drove past.  They dismantled it.

Israel announced early Monday morning the names of the 26 prisoners they were letting out of prison in order for the peace initiative to go forward as demanded by the Palestinian Arabs.  They are all convicted murderers.  5 are from Gaza.  This was enough reason for Hamas in Gaza to fire off 2 rockets into Israel to show their unwillingness to go along with any Fatah-produced peace with Israel.  One of the rockets was aimed toward Ashkelon which the Iron Dome stopped  The 2nd fell nearby in an empty lot.

Israelis were quick to see the connection.  I wonder if Kerry and his contingent will understand the meaning of  the rockets.  Is this peace talk around the table now in a stalemate?

Resource:  http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/rockets-rain-israel-eve-prisoner-release/?utm_source=Breaking+Israel+News&utm_campaign=1771a1b26e-BIN+Email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_b6d3627f72-1771a1b26e-83518689
http://virtualjerusalem.com/news.php?Itemid=11131

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Terrorist Tunnels in Gaza Discovered

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                           

                    Underground  Tunnel discovered dug from Gaza to Israel

In September of this year of 2013, Israel shipped in 1,244 truckloads of construction materials to Gaza so that they could build things they would like to have more of such as  homes, schools, hospitals, roads, and parks.  Instead, they have used the materials to build tunnels.  These tunnels are used to bring in weaponry to use against Israel.  Israel had been wary of allowing such shipments to go in, but from outside pressure, bent their decision and allowed it, and this is how they are repaid.

It was the Egyptian army who discovered the latest tunnel. It is used for smuggling weapons and attacking Israelis.  It went from the Gaza Strip to the Sinai Peninsula.  In another description it extends from the southern Gaza Strip to the Egyptian border.

 Egyptian Al-Ahram newspaper reported that they arrested 72 people in Sinai for involvement in a bomb attack tat killed 2 and wounded 5.

Egypt and Israeli delegates are getting together to discuss this problem.  The Egyptian army has been working to destroy Islamist terrorist cells that have formed in the Sinai since the fall of Hosni Mubarak in 2011.  Militants from Gaza have been attacking Egyptian civilians and soldiers in the Sinai.

It was on October 10th that a large, very high and deep tunnel was discovered going from Gaza right into Israel.  Hamas claims they are responsible, and of course they are.  They are the leaders of Gaza.  "The Hamas spokesman said the tunnel had been dug in an effort to force Israel to release some of the thousands of Palestinians in Israeli jails. Former Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was captured and brought into Gaza through such a tunnel in 2006."

We have already started releasing prisoners who are murders from jail as requested to meet the conditions of  the peace table with Abbas.  Finding this and with the way the Palestinians glorify their killers is a huge turn-off in continuing such a practice.  It was to be used to kidnap Jews and also  to allow terrorists into Israel to kill Israelis, for that's what they have done in the past.  

Resource:  http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12815
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152779163027316&set=a.279044817315.179332.73528002315&type=3&theater
http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/69956/hamas-claims-responsibility-for-large-terror-tunnel/

Rumor From Kuwait About Missile Attack

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                      

Rumor has it that Israeli jets hit Hezbollah's shipment of advanced missiles that were in a convoy.  The occurrence supposedly happened along the Syrian-Lebanese border.  This was reported about yesterday by Al Jareeda Newspaper from Kuwait.

The story is that on Monday the 21st (here on the West Coast of the USA) the jets attacked the missiles' shipment.  Lebanon evidently had reported that Israeli jets were in its airspace.  Nothing has been confirmed.

Israel should be watching, nevertheless.  Having such a shipment by people who want to destroy Israel and its people just cannot happen.  Israel is doing its best to protect the lives of its citizens.  It's on the job 24 hours a day in detecting such movements.

The best offense is defense, and this is what  Israel is doing;  defending itself.  She's in a very tough neighborhood.

Resource:  http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=12795
http://www.israpundit.com/archives/63591085

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

Lebanese Rockets: A Threat From Hezbollah For Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                             

From Lebanon comes the threat by Hezbollah that they have 200,000 long-range rockets pointed at Israel that can hit any spot in the tiny country.  I believe Israel has known about this for some time, now and is ready in case any are shot into their country.

Evidently this is all Lebanon's elite are concerned about doing, killing Jews.  Do they care about what their people need and would like to have improved?   Have the people of Lebanon forgotten what it was like to live in a free society?  A citizen there is not really living.  They are existing in some kind of police state where the police are not in control anymore.

This small state of only 4,196,453 north of Israel has been overrun and occupied by Muslim invaders, not the Jews.    Once a state with 60% Muslims, the Christians have been beaten down by a combination of Sunni and Shi'a Muslims.

Resource:  http://www.timesofisrael.com/minister-hezbollah-has-over-200000-rockets/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/172667

Sunday, October 06, 2013

Has a 3rd Intifada Started?

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                      

The Islamic Jihad and Hamas have called for the 3rd intifada to begin against Israel.  Riots have broken out in some parts of Judea and Samaria even though the Palestinian Authority there has said that they don't want it to happen.  Six Israelis were injured.  This happened on the 13th anniversary of the 2nd Palestinian Intifada.  The 2nd one, or Al-Aqsa Intifada started in September 2000 and ended in 2005 with 3,000 Palestinians dead and 1,000 Israelis as well as 64 foreigners.  During peace negotiations, this tells us something.  Abbas does not have control over his people.  This is not demonstrating the value of their neighborliness.  It's showing why Netanyahu is so adamant about security.

Riots started up in Hebron, an ancient city of  Judah, on  September 27th. This is the city where Abraham bought a plot of land called the Cave of Machpelah in which to bury his wife, Sarah.  Jews had lived here since then, but in 1929, Arabs massacred almost all the 700 Jews in Hebron , causing survivors to flee.  Some returned in 19331 only to have faced more riots in 1936.  Today a mosque stands on this site.  After the Six Day War of 1967, a number of Jews again settled in Hebron, establishing the Kiryat Arba quarter east of the city.  They had a population of 3,700 in 1988.  Rioting has happened in east Jerusalem

Friday, which is the Muslim holy day and when Shabbat starts for Jews at sundown, an IDF soldier was wounded by a stone that was thrown at him just north of Hebron in the village of Beit Ummar.  He was treated right there by a medical team.  Dozens, meaning more than 24 Palestinians of Hebron were throwing stones and lighting their garbage cans on fire.  The IDF in return shot rubber bullets at the protesters, injuring about 4 Arabs.
                                                                           
                                                                    Ramallah
Other outbursts came from the old Christian village of Ni'lin outside Ramallah, now almost all Muslim, which is 6 miles north of Jerusalem,  where an Israeli was injured and taken to Tel  Hashomer Hospital and treated for minor wounds.  Ramallah is in Judea/Samaria.   Near Ramallah is the Ofer prison where a a demonstration outside was taking place.  Rock throwing and tire burning were part of the demonstration.  Several Palestinian Arabs received some slight injuries during this riot.  Evidently the peace talks have stalled as well. Ramallah is where they meet.  The problem is that paramount in importance to Israel is the settlement about borders and Israel's security which Abbas is avoiding.  This peace initiative started in July.  Now the USA has sent Martin Indyk to lead the meetings and he hopes to get more accomplished.  He should be there now to see why security is so important and see how friendly our neighbors are behaving with this uprising called an intifada.

Two Palestinians were caught carrying fire bombs near Bethlehem, which is almost  all Muslim  today.  They also threw rocks and burned tires, causing the IDF to respond with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets.

In northern Gaza, there was a demonstration of Hamas governed Palestinians who were marching toward the Israeli border fence, meaning to tear it apart, no doubt.  The IDF managed to disperse them.

The actions of the 1st intifada started on December 6, 1987 with the stabbing of an Israeli in Gaza while shopping.  Rioting then was instigated on December 9, 1987 in the Jabalia refugee camp. A 17 year old threw a molotov cocktail at an IDF soldier and he was shot in return.  This brought on the intifada to Gaza, Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria.    It didn't really stop until the 1993 Oslo Accords.  The Madrid Conference of 1991 slowed things down a little.  About 1,000 Palestinians lost their lives during this 6 year demonstration.

A 9 year old girl was shot point blank in the chest on Shabbat by a rifle from  a black masked rioting shooter in Psagot, a Jewish town in Judea/Samaria with a population of 1,623 back in 2008.  No one can be safe in such rioting.  Psagot lies outside Ramallah and seems  cuts off the expansion of the larger city. When Israel won land by the Arab attack in 1967 when resulted in the Arab loss, Israel gave the people of Ramallah Israel identity cards which meant they could travel into Israel and Gaza.  Yet they were the first to rebel in the 1st intifada.

One wonders if this anniversary Intifada was called in reaction to the Muslim Brotherhood being dismantled in Egypt.  They held the same type of doctrine as Hamas.

Abbas had agreed in July to 9 months of discussions about a resolution between Israel and the Arabs' desire to create their own state of Palestine out of part of Israel,  but Hamas threw him out of Gaza and now seems to be trying to take over Abbas's territory.   Even during a peace talk, there is no peace.

Resource:  http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/palestinians-hurl-stones-israelis-mark-intifada-anniversary/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=palestinians-hurl-stones-israelis-mark-intifada-anniversary
Jerusalem Post
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramallah
http://www.jpost.com/Diplomacy-and-Politics/Abbas-US-envoy-Indyk-discuss-Israeli-Palestinian-peace-talks-in-Ramallah-327909
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/History/intifada.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Intifada
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.550672
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psagot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramallah
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Intifada

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Not a Peaceful Weekend: Met with Missiles and Stones

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                            


Ashkelon; 31 miles south of Tel Aviv and 8.1 miles west of Gaza's border on the Mediterranean Coast

Shabbat, September 28, is not coming in with a lot of peace.  There was a  rocket that hit Ashkelon.  A few hours after the terrorist groups, Hamas and Islamic Jihad,  called for a 3rd Intifada uprising,   Palestinians from Abbas's camp started throwing stones at Jews and injured 6 in Jerusalem and Judea-Samaria.

On Saturday IAF fighter jets scrambled 2 times, usually an event that happens if there is a foreign aircraft invading Israel's airspace.

Did someone say that Abbas was at a peace table?

Resource:  http://www.timesofisrael.com/palestinians-mark-intifada-anniversary-with-stones/
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/172269#.Ukc5pNKOQ8o
http://www.timesofisrael.com/rocket-fired-from-gaza-lands-near-ashkelon-port/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ashkelon


Sunday, August 25, 2013

Sunday:Israel's Neighbors in Devastation: Sunni-Shi'a Battle Involving Hezbollah in Lebanon-Assad of Syria

Nadene Goldfoot                                                              

The neighbors of Israel are having a power war involving the two divisions of Islam, Sunni and Shi'a.  Hezbollah terrorists have openly said that they are fighting with President Assad's forces against his own Syrians who have rebelled against his regime.  President Bashar Assad belongs to the Alawite sect of Islam which is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.  The Syrian rebels are Sunnis. Hezbollah terrorism is Shi'ia.  Iran backs Shi'a and Russia backs them as well.  Syria is the 17th largest Muslim majority country in the world with over 22 million Sunni and Shi'a mixed Muslim population following the Hanafa or Alevi fiqhs.
                                                                             
Assad, after much precious time has been wasted, has finally said he is allowing UN investigators into Syria to investigate allegations of chemical warfare, at least 4 days after the fact.  All that the inspectors really should do is talk to the "Doctors Without Borders" who have treated within 3 hours about 3,600 patients since the onset on Wednesday morning in their 3 clinics  of which 54 children, 82 women-322 in all have died.  This includes rebel fighters as well.  The doctors had treated these people for breathing problems, dilated pupils, convulsions, foaming at the mouth and blurred vision.  Even some of the medics had the symptoms of which 1 has died.  What was the cause?  The doctors say it is a neurotoxic agent.  The 3 centers who reported these findings were medical centers near the site of the suspected chemical weapons attack near Damascus.
                                                                       
Syria's government is in denial about using these chemicals, but TV news over NBC has statements saying that Assad has reacted violently because of an attempted attack on him.  He is saying that his soldiers had found chemical supplies in places that had been taken by rebel forces.  Russia, Syria's backer,  thinks the rebels used chemicals and others think that Assad's enemies have the supplies or the ability to get them. Even some US officials  feel that Assad's forces had used chemical weapons on a small scale many times already in this past year.  It's said that the US is still trying to gather information to find out just what had happened.

This power war has spread into Lebanon where in Tripoli, a Sunni city, 2 mosques, Taqwa and Salam,  were attacked on Friday at noon.  This is looked at as a revenge attack between Sunni and Shi'a..  The results are that more than 500 were injured of which 300 are still in hospital, 65 in critical care. 47 or more have died from the double bombing.

The scene was devastating with bodies scattered beside burning cars, smoking vehicles with charred people trapped inside, bloodied injured coming out of thick black smoke and people all shouting and screaming while rushing the victims away towards waiting help.

The effect on the Lebanese on Israel's northern border, a small state of about 4,196,453 with 60% Muslim population made up of Sunni and Shi'a, who used to have a Christian government that was ousted,  has caused civilians to arm themselves and set up checkpoints by Saturday near the mosques hit while their security forces patrolled the streets.  Recently, there have also been small-scale clashes like Iraq-style car bombings.  One occurred over a week ago in the Shiite district south of Beirut which is controlled by Hezbollah and killed 27 people.

The USA said Saturday that US intelligence agencies are trying to gather facts to decide what happened in Syria.  Their navy is prepared to act with destroyers carrying long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles the likes of which were also used in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya.

In the meantime, Tunisians demonstrated on Saturday calling for the resignation of their Islamist-led government.  They called out,"We tried you, you failed, now leave,"  This is a first in their "week of departure" for the government.  Tunisia, with a population of about 10,383,577 of which 98% are Sunni Muslims, has an educated middle-class population and is thought to have the best chance of becoming a working democracy-especially since Egypt has turned the tables on their Muslim Brotherhood president.

As for the over 91 million of Egypt, the military government has had to shorten their imposed night-time curfew to bring about stability from all their unrest at reacting to the ousting of the head of the Muslim Brotherhood, Morsi, as their president elected.  Their Arab Spring was short-lived, overcome by the storm brought in by Morsi.  Fridays would maintain the length of the curfew, though.  Having such a curfew is hard on shoppers and hurts Cairo's bustling night life and revenue for the businesses, hotels and restaurants.  Cairo alone has 18 million people.  The military is going after the Brotherhood's top and mid-level opponents and are the ones committing acts of terrorism, shown by the recent attacks on churches and government buildings.  The Muslim Brotherhood had been ousted by Sadat, and only recently came into power by ousting Mubarak in their "Arab Spring." "Arrests and killings appear to have weakened the Brotherhood's ability to mobilize its following." 

And what seems to be the most prevalent problem in the Middle East?  Israel building a few apartment buildings in territory the Palestinians are drooling to take over which also holds Israeli citizens as well; thus the fight over territory; the ancient original  Jewish Israel (Samaria) and Judah and Jerusalem which the Arabs covet.  

Resource:  Oregonian newspaper, 8/25/13 page A7, Signs of chemical attack detailed by Ben Hubbard, NY Times, and Suspect arrested in Lebanon blasts by Ryan Lucas, AP, page A10 Tunisians protest government by Bouazzaa Ben Bouazza, AP, page A10 and Strife, curfew reduced in Egypt by Tony G. Gabriel, AP
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/egypt-courts-hear-cases-against-mubarak-islamists

Friday, August 23, 2013

Al-Qaida Militant Battalion's 4 Katushas From Lebanon Fired Into Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                 

Four Katusha rockets fell into Israel Thursday afternoon fired from southern Lebanon.  This happened in the early hours of Thursday morning to those of us in the USA on the Pacific coast as there is about a 10 hour difference.  Later, The Lebanese branch of the Abdullah Azzaam Brigades, a militant al-Qaida Islamist group said it was them who had attacked Israel.

Israel's Iron Dome downed one, a short-range Katyusha rocket.  A Twitter account, the terrorists' communication media, was seen to say "Praise and thanks be to Allah."  I say thank G-d that one rocket had barely missed. hitting a retirement home near Acre that houses Jewish survivors of the Holocaust.  Thank G-d that that the remaining 3 rockets caused little damage where they did fall.  Thank G-d that the rain of rockets from Gaza have so far fallen without a direct hit on life.  However, they cause enough harm emotionally as it is.  The hatred spewing from Islamic militant groups causes enough of a financial burden on everyone involved that could be better spent improving lives, not trying to take lives, including their own.

This is fairly rare that rockets come in from Lebanon.  Israel has been receiving rocket firing from Gaza even through the cease fire and has responded.  Like Netanyahu warned after this attack, "Anyone who attacks us, or tries to attack us, should know that we will get him."

The response came Friday morning reporting that Israel's planes were successful and hit their target which was south of Beirut.  Israel holds the Lebanese government responsible.  Palestinian military groups are in Lebanon firing at Israel from that point.  As Defense Minister Moshe Ya'aon commented, "The Middle East is hot and turbulent, whether among the extremist Islamic movements or the spread of global jihad."

Resource: Oregonian newspaper 8/23/13 page A5, Militants fire rockets into Israel; none reported hurt, Washington Post.
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.543066

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

IDF Attacked in Jenin

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    
                  
The IDF (Israel Defense Force)  went into Jenin today on a mission jointly with the Israel Border Police to find a wanted terrorist, Bassam Saadi,  and was met with rioting which resulted in them coming under heavy fire shot by the Palestinians from behind cover and from rooftops.

The IDF returned fire and one was killed and 2  were injured who were evacuated by the Red Crescent.

Jenin, in the northern section of ancient Israel, later called Samaria because the city of Samaria had become the capital of Israel.  This also included the land surrounding it.  Today non-Israelis refer to it as the West Bank, the name Jordan gave it.  It  is a Palestinian town today,  It is probably the biblical En Gannim found in Joshua 19:21.  In Roman times it was renamed as Ginaea.  It had a small Jewish community in the 17th century.

In the 1930's it was the center of Arab nationalist fanaticism and became part of Jordan in 1948 till 1967 by Jordan's illegal taking of the land that was part of the Jewish Homeland Agreement through the League of Nations.  The population in 1967 was 8,346 Arabs which was apart from 5,019 Arab refugees in the vicinity.  In 1997 the population had risen to 26,650 of which 50% of that number was of refugees.

I searched for an up to date  population figure and was met with some sites saying 39,004 to 120,004, both for 2007.

Resource: http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/08/20/terrorist-killed-after-idf-fired-upon-in-very-violent-jenin-riot-video/
http://inagist.com/all/369866513571790851/?utm_source=inagist&utm_medium=rss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysVajFhmMQk&feature=youtu.be
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenin
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia : Jenin
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0011_0_10072.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Border_Police
Update: 7:13pm  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/171100#.UhQiBdKOTqF

Monday, August 19, 2013

Temple Mount Arabs Bring Hitler Into Egypt's Fight For Leadership

 Nadene Goldfoot


The Temple Mount, an area off limits to Jews by the design of Israel's own government in an act of fairness and sensitivity to their minority Muslim population, was a scene of aggressive anti-Israel rhetoric and hatefulness by Arab Israelis towards their fellow Jewish citizens today.

The Arabs there were getting in on the act of demonstrating for Morsi, the past leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and ousted President by the Egyptian Military who has taken over in an interim position until new elections.  In the poster They are comparing Hitler with the commander in Chief of Egypt's army, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.  
                                                                       
Do they even realize that it was the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammad Amin al Husayni,  who went to Germany to conspire with Hitler against the Jews?  It was the Grand Mufti who had organized rioting and massacres against the Jews in "Palestine" when the British held the mandate.  The Grand Mufti was probably the Granddaddy of the Muslim Brotherhood.  They've pulled out the wrong evil empire representative to compare with Sisi.
                                                                             
King  Abdullah I of Jordan, a distant relative,  had to remove the Grand Mufti from this position and banned him from Jerusalem.  It was Abdullah who was in agreement in Israel's creation, but he had turned against the idea when he saw that Britain had promised the Jews more land than he was led to believe.  Neither the Jews nor Abdullah saw promises from Britain come to fruition.  In the end it was the Jews who accepted the lot while the Arabs did not.

Egypt does not think of the ousting of Morsi as a coup.  As one government employee, Ahmed Ragab,  in Cairo puts it, "If you have roaches in the kitchen that are eating away at your food,, what do you do?  You spray them,"  he said.  "These are not Islamists.  They are terrorists."

The Muslim Brotherhood's charter has as its goal to destroy Israel, so anyone sticking up for the Military on the Temple Mount was taunted by them to be on the side of Jews.  Yet here they all are, freely demonstrating without being carried off to the police station or hit with a baton, right in Israel.  They are not even free to do that in Egypt, and for many reasons.  There it has turned into a war with the Muslim Brotherhood behaving like terrorists and instigating all the fight against the citizens of Egypt along with the military.  The demonstrations in Egypt have turned into savage death events.

Cairo, a city of over 18 million people, has almost 3 times the population of Israel's 7 million.  Egypt has continued to have a peace pact with Israel since Sadat, who came to Israel in a show of sincere peace  and spoke to the Knesset on November 20, 1977.  Egypt's total population is about 91 million people.

"El-Sisi was the youngest member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt. On 12 August 2012, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi took a decision to replace Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces, by el-Sisi, and promoted him to the rank of General.   El-Sisi also took the post of Minister  and Military Production in the Qandil Cabinet." 

The Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood have gone after the Christians, the churches and nuns.  They have torched a Franciscan school, took 3 nuns like they were prisoners of war and paraded them in the streets while they were sexually harassed.  Christians had been all of 10% of Egypt's population before the Muslim Brotherhood came into power with Morsi last year.  The pastor, Boulos Fahmy,  of a Catholic church was interviewed and told the reporter that he was terrified and unable to focus.  His church was just a short distance away from a Franciscan school in Bani Suef.  "I am expecting an attack on my church anytime now," he commented.

When the new President Barack Hussein Obama of the USA went to the Cairo University with his speech in 2009,  the Muslim Brotherhood was still being outlawed, but there they were, listening to him speak.  Khaled Hamza, editor of the Muslim Brotherhood website, confirmed that 10 of their parliamentary bloc had received official invitations to attend the speech.  Conservatives in the US were upset because these Muslims were not known to be the conservatives to appeal to.  However, the comeback was that they had renounced the use of violence in the 70's.  What the Muslim Brotherhood wanted most was to see changes in the US foreign policy.  This seemed to start the future power and comeback of the group, recognition by the American President.
                                                                         
Resource:  http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2013/08/18/anti-semitic-slurs-by-morsi-protesters-on-the-temple-mount/
Oregonian newspaper 8/19/13 page A5, Egypt, con't from page 1, Venomous feud turns Cairo into battlefield by Aya Batrawy, AP
Oregonian newspaper 8/19/13 page A4,  Christian sites become targets by  Hamza Hendawi, AP
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/sadat_speech.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdel_Fattah_el-Sisi
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/03/muslim-brotherhood-members-attend-obamas-cairo-speech/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Mufti_of_Jerusalem
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdullah_I_of_Jordan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haj_Amin_al-Husseini

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Cairo, Egypt's News Today-Hit al Qaida Hard

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   

Egypt has not slept.  Al-Qaida was surprised today when their Chief, Ayman al-Zawahri found out his brother was arrested today in Cairo.  Mohammed al-Zawahri b: 1953, a Jehadi Salafist, who are even more extreme than the Muslim Brotherhood, if that is possible, was detained in Gaza which is right across the Nile River from Cairo.  He had spent time in prison from 2000 to 17 March 2011 and then was re-arrested soon after.

173 people were killed yesterday.  The Muslim Brotherhood rebels held up in the downtown Cairo Mosque. People had ignored the 7pm curfew and kept battling.

Protesters find themselves in a crossfire.  The Four Seasons Hotel was the scene of a gunfight right at the doorway  with opposing sides who were wielding guns and machetes.  There are plain old criminals roaming the streets.  One cannot tell who is friend or who is foe, depending on what side you are on.

Two days ago the police had moved thousands of protesters from sit ins supporting Morsi and wound up killing about 200 to do so.  Egypt is the 5th most populous Muslim country  in the Middle East with about 91 million people.  That's not counting the Syrian refugees that took refuge there.  The military-government issued a statement saying that they, the police and the people were together in the face of the treacherous terrorist scheme against Egypt.  They had promised to restore order and security but the Brotherhood isn't letting it happen.  Two policemen have been killed.  One of the Muslim Brotherhood members killed was 30 year old Dr. Khaled el-Banna, the grandson of the Brotherhood's founder, Hassan el-Banna who was shot almost in the same locale in 1949.  This was at Ramses Square where much of the rebellion was going on.

There have been marches where one could see guns in the hands of civilians on both sides.  One Morsi supporter held a machine gun near the hotel.  Other civilians threw rocks or held sticks while police fired.  .

A coalition of Morsi supporters say they will continue demonstrating for this coming week. " The coalition says that they won't back down until it topples the government installed by the military."

Looking back in better days, there was a bus from Cairo to Jerusalem that started in 2008.  They had 3 busses going; one that left at 6am, one at 9:30am and the last at 10:15pm.  A person just bought his ticket a day in advance.  The same was repeated from Jerusalem.  I'm sure that isn't happening today, and of course all tourism is hurt with the rebellion going on.   Maybe someday again all will be quiet and it can again be a great tourist spot.  

Resource:  http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/aug/17/egypt-brother-of-al-qaida-chief-arrested/
Oregonian newspaper 8/17/13 front page, and A7 Violence, anarchy raise toll in Egypt by David Kirkpatrick and Kareem Fahim, NY Times
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anwar_Sadat
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/17/mohammed-al-zawahiri-arrested_n_3772315.html