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

Why Iran Sneers at the Whole World

Nadene Goldfoot
Iran has made it plain that they are out to get Israel.  The only people drastically worried about their ability are the Israelis who feel that they will soon have the capabilities if not stopped in time. Continued meetings have not shaken Iran at all.

Iran already has enough uranium for 4 bombs with their 3% while the world is only worrying about them reaching the level of 20%.  Iran has plans to go beyond that level as they don't think anyone is really determined to stop them.  This came from a speech by Netanyahu to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee today.

Sanctions that started yesterday  are only cramping their style and not severe sanctions.

Iran has stockpiles of weapons in Gaza that can reach Tel Aviv.  The situation in Sinai is deteriorating in that since the elections "it has become an "arms depot and firing range for Hamas missiles."  This is why Israel is working on building a border fence in that region.

Netanyahu feels  that to be concerned about Iran's goals to "wipe Israel off the map" is not being obsessive, but  healthy as it is a great threat to the people of Israel.  His responsibility is to keep everyone there safe.

The picture is even grimmer coming from the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency back in May 25, 2012.  They scientifically predict that Iran will have enough uranium up to speed to make 6 nuclear weapons by the end of the year and already have enough for 4 of them.  Between the Fordow and the Natanz plants, they have enriched uranium up to 3.5% or 5 times what was foreseen in 2009.

This is why Netanyahu has often spoken of a time period of the open window that doesn't stay open for long.

Resource:  http://jewishbubba.blogspot.com
http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=276013 by Lahav Harkov, Gil Hoffman
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2012/05/31/irans_growing_stockpile

Has Egypt Had Human Rights?

Nadene Goldfoot
The 1992 report from the USA State Department for Human rights said Egypt did not grant basic human rights to their citizens.  When my friend Marilyn from our Ulpan in Haifa visited the country as a tourist in 1980, she found it an unorganized country, unable to even have decent telephone service.  All the time the world governments have been shining a spotlight on Egypt's neighbor, Israel, while it should have given attention to Egypt in looking for violations.  But then, who cares if Egypt does anything wrong.  It's not newsworthy.

People in Egypt have not had any way to change the government.  Detention without due process is widespread and arbitrary.  Christians and women are discriminated against and Jews would be too, only there are few left.  Books and art pieces may be confiscated or banned by the various ministries.

Torture is said to be illegal, but evidence is that it is still practiced by the police and security officers.  Those doing the torturing are never punished.  They have used whipping and solitary confinement, restricting food, water and medical treatments.  Rape and sexual abuse happens to men and women.  They don't discriminate here.

In 1948 75,000 Jews lived in Egypt.  Between June and November 1948 there were bombs set off in the Jewish quarter killing more than 70 and wounding nearly 200.  In 1956 Egypt used the Sinai campaign as a pretext for expelling almost 25,000 Egyptian Jews and stealing their property.  About 1,000 Jews were then sent to prisons and detention camps.  November 23, 1956 was the signing of a proclamation declaring that "all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state," and promised they would soon be expelled.  They could only take one suitcase and a small amount of worthless Egyptian money and forced to sign declarations "donating" their property to the government.

 Members of Jewish families were taken hostage to insure that those leaving would not say anything bad about the government.  War broke out in 1967 and Egyptians treated the remaining Jews like Nazis did, who also lived in Egypt.  In fact, the head of the Polish Gestapo, Nazi Leopold Gleim, once sentenced to death, was actually controlling the Egyptian secret police.  By 1979, the little remaining Jewish community established official contact with Israel.  By 1991, less than 200 Jews remained. I taught with a young Egyptian girl in 1980 in Safed who told me that only a few older people had remained there.  She was also teaching English.

Today the word is out that Egypt has lost control of the Sinai.  The Deputy chief of Egypt's largest party, the Muslim Brotherhood, has said that they will not recognize Israel's right to exist, the treaty is non-binding, and  will be put to a referendum.  A peace treaty had been signed between Egypt and Israel March 26, 1979 by Sadat and Begin, but on 2011 with the Arab Spring that brought a very cold atmosphere, the army had taken over Egypt and said the peace was not sacred.

Voting was going to take place but the court just dissolved Egypt's new parliament.  Everything was found to be wrong.  Back to the drawing board once more with the army again in power.    The Muslim Brotherhood is highly against democracy and is the main stumbling block for Egypt's democratic government.  Egypt's population of 79,089,650 as of 2011 is going to have to wait and Morsi, Brotherhood contender, cannot pull out of the race right now even though their parliament is dissolved and a Mubarak official gets to seek presidency.


Resource: http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?ID=273755&R=R1
Myths and Facts:  A concise record of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Mitchell Bard and Joel HImelfarb
http://news.yahoo.com/bedouin-tribesmen-police-clash-egypts-sinai-one-dead-205632882.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egypt%E2%80%93Israel_Peace_Treaty
http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/world/meast/egypt-ruling/index.html
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2012-06-12/egypt-elections-president-runoff/55554884/1
Oregonian Newspaper, 6/15, 2012, page A14:Egypt's move to democracy dealt huge setback by court, by David D. Kirkpatrick, NY Times News service

Last Three Weeks Dodging the Rockets and Mortars and Bombs in Southern Israel

In the last 3 weeks Hamas and other terrorist groups have shot several rockets and mortars into Southern Israel.  They've also tried to plant bombs intended to blow up army jeeps on patrol near the Gaza security fence. 

Last week Israel's air force hit 2 terrorists who were planting bombs  after a mortar attack on the Western Negev and were seen planting a bomb near the security fence. 

Hamas's comment was that the men were only civilians setting traps to catch birds.  With the shuk (open air market) full of food, I doubt very much if anyone is out catching birds.  Out in Eastern Oregon, birds are shot at, not trapped, anyway, and the hunters use dogs to retrieve them.  Yes, they were traps all right, not but to catch birds.  They were to kill our young IDF soldiers. 

Reference:  news@israelnationalnews.com Arutz Sheva by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

A Funny Way to Convince People of Peaceful Intentions: Bomb the dickens Out of Them

Nadene Goldfoot

The Palestinians with Iran's help continue to villify Jews and Israel, yet say to those they need to convince that they want their own state and will live peacefully next to Israel. What have they done to convince Israel of their peaceful intent? They have shot more than 6,700 rockets, mortars and missles into Israel in the past four years. Just since the start of 2009, 685 rockets and mortars fell into Israel. These are not darts of love.

With all this trying my patience completely, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, met with Obama in Washington vowing to move forward with the peace plans. He's already had certain outposts torn down in the West Bank put up by Israelis in order to comply with the Road Map to Peace.

What is Abbas, Fatah's faction, doing to show his peaceful intentions? The 74 year old who was Arafat's right hand man, doesn't really have very good control of the West Bank. He's at odds with Hamas which controls Gaza and is backed by Iran. During their coup, 161 Palestininas were killed and 700 wounded. Abbas's term was actually up in January 09 but he insists on staying until new elections January 2010.

With this division in Palestinian governship, the US, Israel and other Western countries are supportive of Abbas and are thinking about a $900 million aid package to the PA. Only $200 million would go to Abbas's government. The PA is not Israel. Netanyahu's mission is to explore economic projects that will improve the quality of life for West Bank Palestinians, since they haven't come up with any ideas.

There's a limit as to the naivete of people trusting that the Palestinians will be a peaceful neighbor. As long as they are doing things like teaching their people from the cradle up to hate Jews, there will be no peace. They teach horrid things and then actually believe their propaganda themselves. Their culture of hate permeates Palestinian culture in schools, media and government. The Arabs are chomping at the bit just waiting for Jews to have to leave Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Abbas Zaki, Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon, said on ANB TV on May 7th, "With the two state solution, in my opinion, Israel will collapse, because if they get out of Jerusalem, what will become of all the talk about the Promised Land and the Chosen People? What will become of all the sacrifices they made-just to be told to leave? They consider Jerusalem to have a spiritual status. The Jews consider Judea and Samaria to be their historic dream. If the Jews leave those places, the Zionist idea will begin to collapse. It will regress of its own accord. Then we will move forward."

We will not leave Jerusalem, Mr. Zaki. Not again. G-d forbid, if something horrid were to happen, we would not lose our religion, either. We lost our land in 70AD but haven't lost our religion, whereas other groups in the world have come and gone. But you're right. These places are most important to us. The past permeates into our dna, our very soul. Get used to it. We're staying.

Resource: The Israel Project