Fillipino Peacekeepers Kidnapped By al-Qaida Backed Rebels

Nadene Goldfoot
For the 2nd time this year, Syrian rebels have kidnapped UN peacekeepers  on the ceasefire line between Syria and Israel along the Golan Heights.  21 peace keepers were kidnapped in March and now they have taken 4 Filipino peacekeepers right opposite Jamlah, a Syrian village yesterday.  The kidnappers are communicating to the outside world by tweeting.

Their excuse is to keep them safe.  Safe from what?  Pictures released show the 4 peacekeepers sitting with bare feet.  That's either to keep them from running away or-the rebels need new boots.  Kidnappers kidnap people for some reason, usually money.  What are they plotting to receive in exchange of  the lives of these young men?  It's the same kidnappers as in March, the Yarmouk Martyrs Brigade.  They are a branch of Al Qaida.  We have al Qaida in the act here along with Hezbollah in Lebanon.  What an area.

The UN has had peacekeepers in the Golan Heights since 1974.

Resource:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/four-un-peacekeepers-detained-in-golan-heights/2013/05/07/566473f0-b727-11e2-b94c-b684dda07add_story.html
http://www.widgetserver.com/syndication/l/?p=1&instId=dc5f8575-3893-4ba7-9964-bab847d80024&token=b9e1ac263caf8ec6051d2d5a77bf79d4881adef60000013e857eb73d&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.timesofisrael.com%2Fsyrian-rebels-release-video-of-captive-peacekeepers%2F.
http://www.worldtribune.com/2013/05/08/syrian-rebels-with-al-qaida-ties-capture-un-peacekeepers/

The Aftermath in Syria After Military Complex With Missiles Hit

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                 

                                                                       
                                       Syria's Civil War of Two Years, Supporters of Hezbollah

While Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel kept his appointment in China, who was hosting both Netanyahu and the "Palestinian President" Mahmoud Abbas Monday,  the USA Secretary of State, John Kerry, was in Russia to talk with them because they are Syria's most powerful ally.   The visit in China centered on their interest in playing a more active role in diplomacy because they are looking for more "markets, resources and diplomatic influence".

The  window of circumstance had opened, meanwhile, back in Israel where they had discovered that there existed extensive missiles at a site meant for Hezbollah terrorists to use against Israel.  This complex must also hold the chemical weapons they have already started to use.  Because of that alone, Israel was forced to issue gas masks to their entire population.  We know that they had two choices;  wait to be hit by thousands of missiles that could reach and wipe out Tel Aviv and hit as far as southern Israel from inside Lebanese territory or conduct a preemptive strike, which they have had to defer to before.  These missiles are bad enough as they are, but could also be tipped with chemical warfare.   Unlike the USA, information is accurate from their sources and the danger  is so close that one can just about see the target with binoculars from Israel.

The decision was made, unofficially.    It wasn't like not having warned Bashar Assad before about this problem.  Israel pin pointed the target and reports are that the sky was lit up.  The arms that were hit were causing a boom and a very frightful force felt by many.  In the end, we find that that this airstrike on Syria's military complex near Damascus killed about 42 Syrian soldiers.

The USA could not make such a decision and also its existence was not threatened like Israel is.  It's been aiding the rebels in other more humanitarian ways with such things as food.  Now Moscow realizes, and should have known anyway, that Israel wasn't waiting around for approval from the international community to deter this threat to their lives.  When Israel says, "This is the red line,"  they mean it.  Russia and China, giants of countries, have blocked USA's efforts 3 times already to even pressure Assad into stepping down.  Iran doesn't want him to, either, as he's their puppet and also on their take.

What this can cause now is a switch over of sympathy and it gives the Arabs cause to go over to Assad's side instead of the rebels.  The main picture in the Oregonian is that of Iranian and Syrian students chanting slogans during an anti-Israel demonstration Monday in front of the UN office in Tehran, Iran.  This will cause many to join them in their assessment against Israel, who are against them anyway.  Now they can really yell.

Assad has managed to kill off over 70,000 of his own people in his zeal to hold onto his kingship in the past 2 years alone.  Evidently life in such a police state was hard to deal with, causing such an Arab Spring in the first place.  It's been hard to rule people in Syria and Iraq as it is which has brought on such hard-nosed rulers in the first place who deal with an extremely volatile people.  These are hot countries that have hot-headed people.  Assad is holding onto what he thinks is his for dear life.  He's not about to step down.

Crippled Syria is nevertheless calling out that this strike that they figure came from Israel is a declaration of war.  I have news for Syria.  They never signed a peace agreement with Israel, either, and has been one of the prime leaders in all the wars against Israel.  It's known in this world that if one country has threatening moves on another, whether it be thousands of soldiers lined up ready to strike or missiles known to be destined to hit that country, one is allowed a pre-emptive strike for self defense.

By conducting this important airstrike, of which CNN TV news has had non-stop videos and comments yesterday, Israel inadvertently aided the rebels a great deal by destroying the military complex completely.  One cannot find but pieces of it remaining.  The blast permeating from it shows the level of the contents inside; huge.

The rebel were not asleep .  They shot down a military helicopter which killed 8 government troops in the east, while another group of rebels were inside a sprawling military air base in the north fighting on their 2nd day Sunday and Monday.  Assad's warplanes were pounding rebel positions inside the Mannagh air base in the north and the army had regained control of 6 villages that link the northern city of Aleppo with its airport.

The report from Syria's "OMRAN AL-ZOUBI, Syrian Information Minister: The Israeli invaders committed a blatant act of aggression against Syria. The Syrian military has the right and responsibility to protect its country and people from any form of infringement either at home or abroad."  Yes sir, if anyone has the right to kill off Syrians, it is the Syrian government.  How can this man keep a straight face when he says this?

Resource: Oregonian newspaper, 5/7/13 page A5, Israeli airstrikes complicate US efforts to aid Syria rebels.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/world/jan-june13/syria1_05-06.html

Weapons Research Building in Syria Taken Out By Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                            

The distance from Jerusalem, Israel  to Damascus, Syria  is only 135 miles.  About 10 miles from the Lebanese border shared with Israel is the city of Jamraya's  weapons research facility. It is a suburb of   the capital, Damascus, situated northwest of it with coordinates of 33°33'43"N   36°13'9"E.  Inside this facility, sophisticated weapons are being made to arm the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.  This group not only is an ally of Syria's President Bashar Assad but is also the "heavily armed foe" of Israel. The weapons would also be used by Hezbollah against Israel. The facility was hit Friday by Israeli missiles in an air strike.

The Syrian state news agency, SANA, was the first to cite the reports of the bombing by Israel.  Israel told Syria before that it will not allow sophisticated weapons to flow from Syria to these terrorists. Syria had a population of 22,505,000 of which 90% are Sunni/Shi'a Muslims with military power of 296,000 before their raging civil war.  The Syrians have managed to kill many of their civilians who are rebelling against the dictator who has now used chemical warfare against them in one location.  The death count is 70,000 or more, rising daily.  4,000 Syrians from Banias are fleeing with hearing reports that pro-government Syrian gunmen might commit a massacre there.  Friday's report alone is that from 62 people to 102, including 14 children were killed in the civil war.

A weapon facility and its trucks were hit in January and again Friday by Israel in Syria. Both targeted weapons shipments were for Hezbollah.  The January hit was to trucks that carried SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles.  On Friday, the weapons shipment was also targeted, striking the warehouse as well.

Israel has the right to defend itself.  USA President Obama reiterated this fact to Costa Ricans on Saturday during his visit there.  He went on to explain that Israel is very close to Syria and Lebanon and that the USA coordinates closely with the Israelis.

The USA is holding out in intervention in Syria's ongoing civil war.  He doesn't see the USA putting "boots on the ground."  Chemical weapons use in Syria is still under investigation.  He wants solid facts and considers what move is in the interest of the American people and national security.  Best evident and consultation with others will determine his decision.  He's not a leap before you look person that overlooks unintended consequences on the ground.

Bashar Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad,  was Syria's previous ruler.  He held the reins for 30 years.  Bashar has been king since 2000, entering the time of the Arab Spring, which his father didn't deal with.  That's 43 years of one family who have held an iron grip on this nation.  Some of the rebels are from the Muslim Brotherhood, so it's hard to tell the motives of each and if they're an improvement over Assad or not.  It's been a police state.  Iraq was in the same position with their dictator, Saddam Hussein.

Hezbollah  or Party of Allah is a Shi'a Muslim militant group based in Lebanon, also supplied by Iran, a Shi'a country.  They are a terrorist organization.  "Hezbollah was conceived by Muslim clerics and funded by Iran following the Israeli invasion of Lebanon and was primarily formed to offer resistance to the Israeli occupation. They consider Jews creating Israel as an occupation of the land."  This is why recognition of Israel as the Jewish state is so vital.  It involves security from all the neighboring states.  "Ending Israel's occupation of Southern Lebanon, which lasted for 18 years, was the primary focus of Hezbollah's early activities.   Israel had become militarily involved in Lebanon in combat with the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1982 which had been invited into Lebanon after Black September in Jordan."  

Resource:Oregonian newspaper 5/5/13, page A9; Israeli strike hits research center, Syria says
  http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=9065
http://www.prokerala.com/travel/distance/from-damascus-syria/to-jerusalem/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/03/syria-opposition-50-killed-massacre
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad
http://www.biography.com/people/saddam-hussein-9347918
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah
update: 5/5/13 http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/israel-attacks-again-explosions-shake-damascus-video/2013/05/05/

Israeli Air Force Rebuts Terrorists' Rocket Fire

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

Right in the midst of celebrating Lag Ba'Omer outside with picnics and general fun, the Hamas terrorists from Gaza had to fire their 4th rocket  in the past 9 days  into southern Israel on Saturday (Sunday in Israel).  First they had fired 2 rockets on Thursday the 18th, then 1 on Saturday the 21st and now this one on the 27th.

Not only did thousands of families have to pick up their picnic baskets and games for the children to get home to seek shelter, but they left quite miffed, anxious for the government to keep their promise and not let terrorism get out of control.

This year alone Israel has had 22 bombings into southern Israel. Israel had to take a stand in November 2012, and December was a time of cease fire.   January was a month without any strikes.
February had one strike in Ashkelon, Portland, Oregon and Baltimore, Maryland's sister city.  March came in wildly with 4 strikes in one attack directed at Sderot, a city very close to the border.  On April 2nd there were 2 strikes of mortar shells.  April 3rd was a day when 2 hit Sderot again.  April 4th started off with 1 rocket and 3 mortar shell attacks.  April 7th, Holocaust Day, felt 3 rocket attacks.  On April 17th, Eilat and Aqaba were hit with 2 Grad rockets.  On April 18th there were 2 rocket attacks and on the 21st, 1 rocket attack and then yesterday's rocket attack on the joyous holiday of Lag Ba'Omer.

The IDF had enough as well.  Their planes hit a terrorist stronghold and armory with weapons in southern Gaza.  Enough said.  Hamas had been warned months ago.  Israel is not about to put up with their citizens' lives being  threatened.  They also closed one of the crossings, the Kerem Shalom Crossing with Gaza as a result of this shelling into Israel.

Notice that Israel does not just fly over Gaza and bomb.  They only do it in defense of an already administered attack on their people and their land. It is a last resort action to thwart this war-like action.   Israel is not a country that wants to take other's land or hurt people.  They are not about to stand silently when others do just this to their people, though.

 These rockets firings into Israel have been going on since 2001. This caused Israel to withdraw all its citizens that were living in Gaza in August 2005.  Then the shelling increased with the result of 4,800 rockets, missiles and mortars hitting southern Israel.  Israelis pick up the rocket pieces and have turned them into sculptures of peaceful objects such as candlestick holders.   Hamas terrorists and others following them are people who do not learn from their past mistakes like most people do. They have been doing it to kill innocent people as well as to cause psychological trauma and disrupt the daily life of Israelis.   They're only making Israel stronger in their resolve that Palestinians are no people to welcome as a neighboring state.

Israel did not take another's land.  This land of Israel was originally Israel's in the first place, but Jews had to go through the legal steps of gaining it back to their name. They did it by consultations, meetings, decisions, agreements and finally as legally as can be by buying  land from landowners.  Then the final say-so was through the League of Nations and years later, through the United Nations on May 14, 1948.  Let no man say we ever stole their land.  This whole attack has been from one principal power telling their people, the Palestinians, a completely false history of events that led to Israel.  It's time they woke up to truth.

Resource:  Arutz Sheva
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Palestinian_rocket_attacks_on_Israel,_2013
http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/apr/27/israel-responds-to-gaza-rocket-fire-with-airstrike/

Israel Downs Drone From Lebanon

                                                                 

                           IAF F16 knocks out possible Hizboula drone. They're there for Israelis 24/7.
Nadene Goldfoot
Israel was able to shoot down a drone on Thursday as it came in from the north, Lebanon, which is on the northern border of Israel.

It is thought that the Hezbollah militant groups was behind this attempt to infiltrate.  Of course Hezbollah denies this.  Hezbollah is a Shiite militant group trying to take advantage of the civil war going on in neighboring Syria.

A spokesman from Israel's  IDF  said that an F-16 warplane shot down the drone.  The drone was smashed into the sea about 5 miles from Haifa, Israel's northern port.  Israeli naval forces have been searching for the wreckage.

Lebanon has been made up of a mixed population of which 60% had been Muslims of Sunnis and Shi'a following Hanafi and Jafari fiqhs.  Christians had been the ruling party even though they were a minority until the end of the 20th century, but not today.  It is a small country with only about 4,196,453 population in all.

Major Hadad of Lebanon was a good friend of Israel.  His troops used to patrol the border between Lebanon and Syria in order to prevent terrorism.  He would come into our army hospital in Haifa for his R and R.  His men attacked a PLO group of terrorists in 1982 in retribution and got themselves and Israel in trouble for it, as our general had allowed them to enter the area.  Now the terrorism out of Lebanon isn't even necessarily Lebanese home grown but a neighboring faction and comes from the sky as well. Syria is under the umbrella of Shiite Iran who hates Israel.   Thank goodness for F-16's for defense.

Reference: Oregonian newspaper, 4/26/13, page A6, Israel downs drone, suspects Hezbollah

French Courts Find That Israeli Occupation Is Not Illegal

Nadene Goldfoot
France is full of Muslim immigrants today.  It also holds the largest population of Jews other than Israel and the USA.  The court of Appeal of Versailles concluded that Israeli occupation is not illegal.  This judgement comes out of a country that is not a neutral one, so this judgment of the Court is very important.

The PLO charges that Israeli illegally occupies Palestinian territory and that their settlements are illegal.  Israel is building a tram and the Arabs think that this is illegal.  The companies of Veolia and Alstom built the Jerusalem tramway through the city to the east into the territories of Judea and Samaria claimed by the PLO and the Palestinian Authority to be the "Palestine" belonging and settled only by them without any Jews; Judenrein.  Since 1967, the Palestinian Arabs have refused to recognize or make peace with Israel.  Without this, there will continue to be no Palestine.

Some of the facts that the court concluded was that PLO  propaganda does not replace the law.  They also concluded that an irritated anything can't be based solely on the discretion of a political or social situation as the PLO is trying to use as reason.  Israel has not violated any humanitarian law, either.

The Court of Appeal sentenced the Association of France-Palestine Solidarity (AFPS) and the PLO to pay 30,000 euros to Alstom, 30,000 euros from Alstom Transport, and 30,000  to Veolia Transport.  These are firms involved in building the Jerusalem tram line.  Court costs added up to 90,000 euros.

Resource:  http://translate.google.co.il/translate?hl=iw&sl=fr&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fdocstalk.blogspot.co.il%2F2013%2F04%2Fla-cour-dappel-de-versailles-olp-c.html

Eilat Pelted by Two Grad Rockets

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   

Eilat was hit by 2 grad rockets this morning by a Salafi Muslim jihadist group with probable ties to al-Qaeda, "The lions of the Mujahedeen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem."  .   One landed in an open area while the other exploded in a back yard.    This is a resort town on the Red Sea that vacationing Scandinavians love.  In the past rockets are usually from the Sinai Peninsula.  This area has become a center for terrorists since Mubarak took over in the fall of 2011.

People suffered shock and anxiety but no one was injured.  The airport was closed as a precaution.  Schools remained open.

Aqaba, Jordan is across the bay from Eilat. could have also been hit but information isn't forthcoming to Israel.  Last year Eilat was hit several time by the group, Ansar Jerusalem.

The Red Sea forms Israel's southern outlet to the Indian Ocean by way of Eilat.  The sea itself is a branch of the Indian Ocean that goes from the Strait of Aden to Suez and Eilat.  It had been thought of as the "Reed Sea" that the Israelites crossed during the Exodus from Egypt.  It's long and narrow, giving one a sandy beach with protected water that's warm and lovely to visit in the middle of winter.  It has a coral reef and night life, making it very attractive with a dry desert climate as it's on the southern Negev desert.  46,600 people live here.

Yesterday a terrorist or more likely terrorists set off 2 bombs in the Boston Marathon which killed 3 and injured close to 150 people, some extremely serious with lost limbs.  This has set off a series of threats of all kinds all over the USA, and here in Israel, a grad rocket attack.  Since Hamas terrorists in Gaza are the ruling political party, they are responsible for this attack. The Salafi party in Egypt is even more unreasonable that the Muslim Brotherhood, so must be out to show their strength.

Resource:  http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/167221#.UW7FUaKOTqE
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e6ec7a72-a731-11e2-bfcd-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2QjoNPEyl (cookies here)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eilat
http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Rockets-slam-into-Eilat-following-Code-Red-siren-310043

Why Salaam Fayyad of PA, Prime Minister and Economist, Calls It Quits, Maybe?

Nadene Goldfoot
The Palestinian Prime Minister, Salaam Fayyad, a moderate according to the West, has resigned.  Most likely he wasn't being listened to by the more powerful henchmen of Hamas, who maintain their actions of terrorism and strong -arming Gaza.   Jonathan Tobin, writing in commentary, feels this is a "pivotal moment in the history of the conflict".  That's because Fayyad has been the Western hope for a technocratic Palestinian state.  We're left with a weaker Abbas now, who has also threatened to resign and Hamas.  The idea of a 2 state solution isn't looking so good for many reasons.

The Oslo Accords of September 13, 1993 never promised a Palestinian state.  Agreements have never been reached.  Everyone saw the Judea-Samaria and Gaza as one unit or one state-to-be.  However, the heads of these two places never could come to any agreements that lasted more than a few weeks.  One issue for Netanyahu and Rabin has been not to be set back to the 67 borders.  A month before Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, he had said, " "Israel will not return to the lines of 4 June 1967″ and then stated that "the security border for defending the State of Israel will be in the Jordan Valley, in the widest sense of that concept."

Dr. Fayyad was born in Deir al-Ghusun in the northern part of Judea-Samaria.  He has a PhD in economics from the U. of Texas in Austin.  He taught economics at Yarmouk U. in Jordan before joining the International Monetary Fund in 1987 where he was a rep for the PA from 1996 to 2001.  Then he was the regional manager of the Arab Bank in Judea-Samaria and Gaza until he became Yasser Arafat's finance minister.  I wonder if he knows how much money Arafat kept for himself?

He resigned as finance minister to run as founder and leader of the new Third War party in 2006.  Again on March 17, 2007, he became finance minister with the Fatah-Hamas coalition government.  By June 14, 2007, Hamas took over the Gaza Strip and he was appointed Prime Minister of the new "Independent" government which was supported by Fatah, Israel and the West.  He won his seat along with Hanan Ashrawi.    When he was offered the position of Prime Minister, he had a few conditions that he wanted.  One was that Hamas would recognize Israel, which they wouldn't do.  One of his comments which must been seen as an antidote to Hamas terrorism was,  "its the responsibility of men of religion to...present religion as a way of tolerance,...not as a cover for bloodshed.  "  Yet it has to be religion that is the cause of the Arabs not accepting Israel, causing much bloodshed on both sides.  

Fayyad was credited for the US Congress' deposit of $200 million to the PA in 2009.  Even with all that money, Fatah hasn't been able to pay their utility bills to Israel.  They have been suffering economically.  In October 2011 the USA withdrew funding to UNESCO after the Palestinian Authority (PA) was accepted into the United Nations as a full member.  The USA's contribution to this organization is 22% of their needs. The PAof Judea-Samaria  ran up a debt of  $165 million dollars to Israel's electric corporation.  Israel collects money for the Palestinians, so finally froze their money and used it to pay off their bill.

"For 30 years, Israel permitted thousands of Palestinians to enter the country each day to work in construction, agriculture and other blue-collar jobs. Until the mid-1990s, up to 150,000 people—about a fifth of the Palestinian labor force—entered Israel each day. After Palestinians unleashed a wave of suicide bombings, the idea of separation from the Palestinians took root in Israel. Israel found itself starved for labor, and gradually replaced most of the Palestinians with migrants from Thailand, Romania and elsewhere."  What they did was to bite the hand that employed them.

Gaza has bombed southern Israel with missiles, mortars and rockets since 2001.  This is not the way to induce friendships.  In Judea-Samaria and Gaza, not many are working at anything except how to destroy Israel.  Their unemployment is above 50%.  No wonder Fayyad quit.  They are depending on handouts which they are getting from Iran, Qatar and others as well as the UN.  However, a country cannot be run this way.  Fayyad knows this and is disembarking from  a sinking ship.

Resource: http://www.blog.standforisrael.org/articles/fayyads-exit-signals-oslos-bankruptcy
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salam_Fayyad
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/31/unesco-backs-palestinian-membership
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2012-08/16/c_131787926.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_the_Palestinian_territories

Our Memorial to Those That Fought and Died For Israel: Yom ha-Zikkaron

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

War Memorial in Israel 

On Monday, April 15th, Israelis will be observing  Yom ha-Zikkaron, or Memorial Day.  Like the United States, it is a day to remember all the soldiers that have fallen in protection of Israel.

Israel has had 7 major wars.  where 9,745 soldiers and security forces personnel have been killed in protecting the civilians of the tiny state just  in miscellaneous engagements and terrorist attacks ever since May 14, 1948.

1. War of Independence:  November 29, 1947-1949                    4,000 soldiers killed
2. Sinai War: October 29, 1956-November 5, 1956                        231
3. Six Day War: June 5 to June 11, 1967                                         776
4. War of Attrition: 1968-August 8, 1970                                     1,424
5. Yom Kippur War: October 6-25,1973                                     2,656
6. First Lebanon War: Sunday, June 6, 1982 -1990                         675
7. Second Lebanon War: July 12-August 14, 2006                         121

One shudders in thinking that the population of Israel in 1948 was only 650,000.  By 1956 we had 1,872,400.  In 1968 we had 2,841,100.  The 1972 census showed we had 3,164,000.  Today we have 6 million Jews and 1.6 million Arab citizens.  We lost 6 million Jews to the Holocaust and have finally regained that many in Israel.  We remember that Moses came with 600,000 to our land in the Exodus.

Israel has paid the price of being our one and only Jewish state.  From 1948 to 1997 there have been 20,093 soldiers killed in combat with 75,000 wounded. With a population of 7.6 million today, this is a high percent. There are 100,000 disabled army vets.

From 2000 to 2005 there have been 1,074 soldiers killed and 7,520 wounded by Palestinians.  By going on to 2010, the total killed jumps to 1,194.

Israel came under attack verbally and by report from Goldstone of South Africa who later rescinded what he had written.  Goldstone shamefully is one of our own, a Jewish man believing all the hateful propaganda said about Israel from people who would like to see her driven into the sea.  He hurt Israel immensely by doing this, as he was truly negligent in getting the facts and instead relied on  hearsay.    He above all people should also have realized that Israel, of all the nations, is not an apartheid state as he had  lived in one himself and should understand the meaning of the world.  The true outcome was that Israeli soldiers have put themselves in harms way in order to protect citizens when in combat.  They have been highly praised by the military allies of the USA for their caution and care.

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_casualties_of_war
Book: Letters From Israel by Nadene Goldfoot

JAFFA: Fought Over By Egyptians and Canaanites and Origin of the Israelites?

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                      

Jaffa, originated about 1800 BCE,  is a port city in Israel on the Mediterranean that is 60 km ( 37 miles) NW of Jerusalem. Today it is joined with Tel Aviv.   In excavations in 2008 by the Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project many items had been found that told more about its history. Biblical texts were used as the primary historical referent.  It had converted from a Canaanite town to an Egyptian stronghold.  

Canaanites are said to be the descendants of Canaan, son of Ham who was one of Noah's 3 sons and occupied land between the Nile and Euphrates Rivers.  The people of Syria also called themselves Canaanites.  They seem to have been a mixture of Horites, Hittites and Hebrews from the Hyksos period of the 17th century BCE.  By the 13th century they were almost entirely obliterated or assimilated by the Israelites, Philistines on the coast in the 12th century and the Arameans in the north in the 11th century.  The remainder were ruled by Kings David and Solomon  of Israel and absorbed into the community.  

 This was found by new archaeological data with the well-known historical texts.  The Egyptians even built on top of the city's earlier remains.  It tells a story of violence and peaceful social interactions over a period of more than 300 years, from 1460 to 1130 BCE.  This includes intermarriage of peoples.  

Jaffa was mentioned in Egyptian documents from the time of the 19th Egyptian dynasty (16th century BCE) and also in Assyrian documents.  It's a natural place for anchorage as it has a slight promontory jutting out from the straight coastline.  

The Hyksos, foreign rulers in Egypt who were Semitic Asiatics, were expulsed from Egypt in the mid-16th century BCE.  Our biblical history of Joseph going into Egypt and becoming an assistant to the Pharaoh could have been one of them, as well as his family and the rest of the Israelites.  It is said that they overran Egypt after the destruction of the Middle Kingdom.  That's when the prevailing pharaoh decided to make Joseph's family slaves for this very reason.  They were too plentiful and might take over.  Excavations in Egypt have revealed royal Hyksos scarabs bearing names similar to Hebrew.  Hyksos remains have also been uncovered in Israel.  They ruled in Egypt from 1720-1580 BCE.  According to other sources, the time the Children of Israel entered the country was at this same time.  Hyksos is said to be an Egyptian name meaning "rulers of the foreign lands."  

After that, the pharaohs of the early 18th dynasty held regular military campaigns against the communities in Canaan.  They succeeded in limiting more Asiatic incursions into Egypt so that the Egyptian New Kingdom could expand.  The Canaanite rulers had to ask for support from their allies to the north to stop Egypt.  This led to the famous Battle of Megiddo in 1456 BCE  where pharaoh Thutmose III fell upon the Asiatic coalition which was led by the king of Kadesh on the Orontes.  Jaffa was one of the towns that was subjugated.  Their troops were in the defeated coalition.  

Rameses II ruled from 1262 to 1196 BCE.  It's thought he may have been the Pharaoh in Moses's history.  It's also the name of an ancient Eygptian city on the Nile Delta where Jacob and his family settled (Gen.47:11,27).  Their descendants were forced to build storehouses for the Egyptian pharaoh.  It was also the site where the Israelites left from to start their exodus (Exod. 12:37)

Moses led the Israelites into Canaan when he was 80 years old and they traveled for 40 years to get there.  He lived from what is accepted as 1391 to 1271 BCE.  In Biblical times Jaffa marked the boundary of the Philistines even though it did lay within the rightful area for the tribe of Judah.  When King Solomon reigned (961-920 BCE)  and even after the Jews returned to their home after their Babylonian captivity, the cedars of Lebanon were floated to the sea of Jaffa on their way to Jerusalem for the Temple.  Johah of Jonah and the whale sailed from Jaffa.  

In the Persian period, Jaffa belonged to the Phoenicians.  During the Hellenistic period it was an independent city.  Judah the Maccabee avenged the massacre of the Jewish community there.  His brothers, Jonathan and Simon, took Jaffa back and replaced the foreign population with Jews.  Then it served as the principal Jewish port until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.  

In the 19th century CE, Jewish colonies surrounded the city.  During WWI the Turks of the Ottoman Empire expelled Jews from Jaffa and Tel Aviv.  By 1921-1922 there were Arab riots that forced the Jews to go to Tel Aviv that was founded as a suburb of Jaffa.    Haifa's harbor was developed which undermined the economic position of Jaffa, but it did continue with its share of orange exports.  By 1946 the population was 101,000 of which 30% were Jews.   During the War of Independence the Arab sections of Jaffa capitulated on May 14, 1948 and almost all the Arabs left town.  New immigrants moved there.  Then Jaffa and Tel Aviv became one city (Tel-Aviv-Jaffa).  Its port was closed in 1965.  An artist's colony has been created out of a quarter, just like in Safed.  

Today Jaffa is fighting a lot of Arab-Jewish hostility with Arab hip-hoppers and their complaints about Jews, but life is going on with a population of 55,000; 35,000 Jewish and 20,000 Muslims or Christians.  . The 2 cultures have an Arab-Hebrew Theater Group and an Arab-Hebrew Community Center.  Jaffa ihas become  tourist destination because of its beautifully restored old quarter filled with galleries, shops and restaurants.   One of the few religious sites is the house of Simon the Tanner, where, according to the New Testament, Peter first realized the gospel message had to be extended beyond Judaism. You can walk for about 40 minutes to Tel Aviv.  As cultures had to blend in the ancient days between Egyptians and Canaanites, so it is happening in Jaffa between the Muslims and the Jews.  Since it took them 300 years to co-exist, perhaps we should also figure that it might take that long for the Muslims to accept Israel in their midst.

Resource: http://www.jidaily.com/11d51?utm_source=Jewish+Ideas+Daily+Insider&utm_campaign=defb6a369a-Insider&utm_medium=email
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Telaviv.html
https://www.facebook.com/AJCCJaffa
http://www.arab-hebrew-theatre.org.il/eng/index.asp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM1wDeaY6yU  Be sure to watch this.  It's the best community center I've ever seen!  

Eight Years Peace Broken in Judea-Samaria

Nadene Goldfoot
On April 4th, in Israel a Wednesday, just after midnight a 17 year old and an 18 year old attacked an IDF post in Einav just inside the Judea-Samaria lines east of Netanya with Molotov cocktails, gunfire and fire bombs.  The IDF on duty fired back, killing the 2 in the firefight.  Another person was shot.  This was the first attack in 8 years.  "The two men are Amar Nasar, 17, and Najo Bilbisi, 18, from the village of Anbata.   Bilbisi's body was found Thursday morning.   Palestinian sources reported that a wounded man was admitted to a hospital in Tulkarem with injuries to his hand.

What was Abbas's reaction with Kerry coming in May to talk peace?  Why, he is holding Israel to be criminally responsible for these 2 deaths.

According to the rules of engagement, a shoot-to-kill order can only be issued if the attackers were identified beyond a doubt.
 
The IDF will check out how the Palestinians managed to get so close to the post and whether the soldiers could have controlled the incident without opening fire.   The attack must have been instigated by the death of prisoner Abu Hamdiyeh, 64, who died of throat cancer.  Rioting resulted all around  Judea-Samaria.

Resource: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4363770,00.html
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4363611,00.html
Debka File

More On The 3 Days of Gaza Rockets Into Israel This Week

Nadene Goldfoot
Israel had warned that anymore firing of rockets, etc into Israel would mean a retaliation of Israeli planes into Gaza to stop the source of such firing. This latest attack from Gaza  has  lasted for the past  4 days.  11 rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel.   Hamas terrorists who were doing the shooting say they  were showing solidarity with Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh.  He is the 63 year old prisoner that had a life sentence.  He just died Tuesday of throat cancer in a hospital in Beersheva, Israel at Soroka Hospital after serving 10 years of his sentence.  A late cancer diagnosis found him to be terminal.

Abu was a very dangerous prisoner. He was the organizer of the terror attack at Cafe Cafit in Jerusalem 2002.  He had talked a suicide bomber into doing the action.  This terrorist was considered a general in the Palestinian Security Force.  He was in charge of a counterespionage unit.  He trained Fatah's armed wing, al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade in the 2nd Intifada.  Abu had also delivered weapons and explosives to Hamas cells.

Not so strange is that both Fatah and Hamas claim him, so that shows how connected the two groups really are.  Rioting went on in Hebron against Israel for not taking care of him with the proper treatment.   Israel says that care was provided.   (My 1st cousin died of throat cancer in 1999, and died at home in Oregon.  There were no more treatments that could be done for her. It had spread to the brain.  On the other hand, my son had throat cancer and recovered.  Of all the cancers, this is supposed to have the best % of beating it.  So much depends on the awareness of the patient that there is an unusual problem.)        

Ambassador Proser has gone before the UN to condemn these recent attacks on Israel which break the several months of peace.

Thousands of Palestinians in Judea-Samaria  went out into the streets to demonstrate and joined funeral processions and demonstrations after 2 protesters were killed by Israeli troops. They were killed after throwing fire bombs towards the Israeli troops at a guard post.  These demonstrations were the largest in months and became violent.

US Secretary of State John Kerry is coming to restart peace talks. More retaliation has been threatened by the Hamas-Fatah groups, the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Hebron .  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said "the deaths jeopardised "US and international efforts to restart negotiations". He will get out of sitting down and coming to terms this way.  "He also criticised Israel for continuing to use force to suppress what he described at peaceful protests."  I have never heard of a demonstration of thousands of angry people worked up to remain or even start off as "peaceful."  This can be compared to the Watts Riots in California. That lasted for 6 days in Los Angeles, California from August 11 to 17, 1965.  They had 34 deaths out of it with 1,032 injured.  An even larger one happened again in 1992.  

A word about throat cancer.  "Throat cancer symptoms may also come and go. Persistent doesn't always mean constant. For example, you may have a sore throat for a week, then it goes away for a few days, and then returns. Whether your symptoms are constant or erratic, making an appointment to see your doctor is essential to rule out diseases, such as cancer."  Hamdiyeh obviously didn't see his doctor before he was captured or didn't bring it to prison officials soon enough.  Symptoms are the following:

•  persistent cough
• difficulty swallowing
• persistent hoarseness of the voice or having to clear the throat frequently
• sore throat
• lump in the throat
• change in the sound of your voice
• abnormal breathing sounds

  Throat cancer is a type of cancer that develops in the pharynx, larynx, and other structures of the throat. The symptoms of throat cancer vary based on tumor location. Tumors that develop in the pharynx are referred to as pharyngeal cancer and tumors in the larynx are referenced as laryngeal cancer. The term "throat cancer" encompasses several different types of cancer that can affect the throat.

Cancer treatment can involve one or several different treatments. Surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy are standard methods of treatment in many types of cancer.  

Resource: http://www.jpost.com/National-News/Hamas-and-Fatah-both-lay-claim-to-Abu-Hamdiyeh-308599
Oregonian Newspaper 4/5/13, page A5, Palestinians  fill streets, protest against Israelis, AP
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582415
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-22025599
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watts_Riots
http://cancer.about.com/od/typesofcancernz/a/Throat-Cancer-Symptoms.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/02/maisara-abu-hamdiyeh-dead_n_2997532.html
http://blogs.cbn.com/jerusalemdateline/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-envoy-calls-on-un-to-condemn-gaza-rocket-fire/
http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-envoy-calls-on-un-to-condemn-gaza-rocket-fire/

3 Rockets Falling into Sderot Again: Truce Broken

Nadene Goldfoot
A mortar was shot into southern Israel's  Sderot Tuesday .
Qassam rockets were then shot into the same area Wednesday morning as children were going to school, making 2 attacks in 24 hours.

These attacks were the first since rockets were fired during President Obama's visit to Israel 2 weeks ago.

Air strikes from Israel followed these attacks up.  The Israeli air raids came after the 3rd rocket attack on Israel.  These were the first airstrikes since an informal cease-fire in November.  An Israeli military statement said its planes targeted accurately  2 extensive terror sites.

Defense Minister Ya'alon warned that Israel will take a tough response toward any shelling.

Palestinians  reported that no one was hurt and no damage was reported in Northern Gaza.

A mortar  from Syria was shot into Ramat Hagolan in the North.   The IDF destroyed the source of fire.  Israel will not ignore any rockets coming from Syria, either, whether accidental or not.

During November 2012, 1,500 rockets were fired at Israel in 8 days from Gaza.   Israel's military holds Gaza's Hamas rulers responsible for any attack against Israel.  Though Sderot takes most of the hits and depending on the ammunition used, Netanyahu said that shelling southern Israel puts 1 million Israeli citizens in harm's way.  That's 1/8th of the population.

I note that the elections of the Palestinians were just over, and Hamas terrorists put in the same people again who are all for attacking Israel.

Though on Tuesday the UN overwhelmingly ok'd a worldwide arms trade pact, Iran, North Korea and Syria, all facing arms embargoes, cast the only no votes.  They complained that it favors the big arms suppliers like the USA over importers that need weapons for self defense.The Palestinian terrorists get many of their rockets from Syria who gets them from Iran.  Moon explained that the Arms Trade Treaty will make it more difficult for deadly weapons to be diverted into the illicit market.  It will take 90 days to be in effect.  50 states need to ratify it.  The USA's National Rifle Association has opposed it.  It needs 2/3 approval to win ratification.   So were the hits on Tuesday  and today in response to "getting their licks in before they can't get their weapons for self -defense"?   It certainly is coincidental.

Hopefully this will mean that eventually it will become harder and harder for these terrorists to receive their weapons to use against the Israeli population.  The cease fire lasted from November 21st to  about March 20th when Obama visited.

Resource:  Oregonian newspaper 4/3/13 page A4, Israel responds to rocket fire with airstrikes and page A5 UN overwhelmingly OK's worldwide arms trade pact.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/166720#.UVxYj6KOTqE
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/12/us-palestinians-israel-violence-idUSBRE8AB07Y20121112
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/2-rockets-pound-Sderot-area-as-tensions-rise-on-Gaza-front-308509

Jews Stoned By Muslims at Temple Site in Jerusalem

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                          

King Solomon (961 BCE- 920 BCE) built our first Temple.  It was built as a shrine for the Ark of the Covenant, the sacred vessels and offerings, with a court for worshipers which was destroyed.   It had consisted of a hall, shrine and the inner sanctum, which was the "holy of holies."  The holy of holies is not mentioned in the Koran but is mentioned many times in the Torah.  For that matter, this very mosque is not mentioned  in the Koran either; only the "farthest mosque".

The holy of holies, called "devir" in Hebrew was where the ark was kept.  It had a raised floor and was windowless.  The ark  was a chest in which the 2 Tablets of the Law were kept, made of acacia wood inlaid and covered with gold.  It was held as being so sacred that even the high priest could see it only once a year on Yom Kipper, the holy day of atonement.  "When the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, he prayed for the peace of the People of Israel and the entire world." .  From the time of Moses to the Temple, the ark was taken out from the Holy of Holies also  in case of national need to lead the people on their journey and help them in battle.   Legend is that Josiah hid it when the Israelites were attacked by Babylon.   The Temple was destroyed completely by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylon king  in 586 BCE.  

 Our 2nd Temple was rebuilt on Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem in 538-515 BCE and destroyed in 70 CE by the Romans .  Surrounding the Temple was the Western Wall, also called the Wailing Wall.  Today, part of the wall still stands in Jerusalem and it is a site where Jews go to pray.  The custom is to put slips of papers with one's prayer in between the stones of the wall.
                                                                            

The Mosque of Omar (3rd holy Muslim site) stands over the site of the Temple Mount, built after 70 CE in the Moslem Period.  It is also called the Dome of the Rock.  It was built in the center of the Temple area (al-Harim ash-Sherif_ in Jerusalem by Caliph Abd al-Malik in about 738 CE to replace the temporary structure set up by Caliph Omar a century earlier.  It is situated on the traditional site of Mt. Moriah.
                                                         
Moshe Dayan was very careful to allow Muslims the rights to the Mosque. Today the Waqf-the Islamic Religious Authority, with the agreement and cooperation of the Israeli government administer this site.   Extremist Muslims have been stopping Jews from accessing this holiest of Jewish sites in Israel.  Jews are met with attacks who try to get close to the former Temple. Jews are not the only ones wanting to visit.  Most all Christians also expect to visit this site as well.

The site was open from 11am and would reopen from 1:00pm to 2:30pm in the afternoon.  However, 30 teen-aged Arab rioters gathered around 10:30 am Sunday morning and started throwing rocks at the groups of  Jews who were touring the Temple Mount.  This day happened to be the end of the holiday of Passover.

 The Jewish group was escorted by the police as called for.  6 rioters were arrested.  There are many Jewish laws connected with how one goes up to and walks the grounds of the Temple Mount.  Because the exact location of the "holy of holies" is not known today, great care must be taken by educated, observant Jews who visit the area.

This was a serious attack during such an important religious holiday.  But this isn't the first, just one of many attacks.  On March 8th, 100 masked extremists attacked security forces by throwing rocks.  This was a Friday and it happened right after the end of Muslim prayers in the mosque.  They then threw petrol bombs at the police who had to fire back with stun guns.  Muslim women blocked the Jews.  Those injured by rocks had to be taken to the hospital.

This is Jerusalem, the capital of Israel.  Why is it that the Muslims cannot tolerate Jews who have legal rights to walk near the mosque at certain designated times as agreed with their waqf?  After all, it was the most sacred Jewish site, The Temple, in the first place.  Understanding, sensitivity that Moshe Dayan displayed is not to be given in return to the Jews?  This is deplorable for any religion.  With such a chip on their shoulder now, what would life be like with a Palestine next door as a neighbor?

Resource:  Arutz Sheva news@israelnationalnews.com, Eve of Holiday, Muslims Hurl Rocks at Jews on Temple Mount by Hana Levi Julian
http://www.jewishindy.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=19423
http://www.templemountfaithful.org/Articles/golden-bell-and-a-temple-seal-found-near-temple-mount.htm
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia

Gaza's Reminder to Obama of Their Presence: Two Qassam Rockets on Sderot

Nadene Goldfoot
On Obama's 2nd day of visiting Israel, at 7:15 am in Sderot, Quassam rockets were fired from Gaza.  What a surprise for a Thursday morning to have a rocket hit your backyard.  Another fell into an open area and about 3 others must have fallen into their own Palestinian territory.  First off, the air raid sirens went off 5 times.  .

This is certainly a break in the quiet enjoyed by the Israelis in southern Israel lately.   It's not a very nice thing to happen just before Passover.

Obama is talking to Assad who isn't all that popular in Gaza.  Could it be a message for Obama as well?

Resource:  http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4359306,00.html

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem

Nadene Goldfoot                                    
                                                                        King Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem                                                      
Another title for The Dome of the Rock is “The Mosque of Omar.  It is today a Moslem mosque built in the center of the  Jewish Temple area (al-Harim ash-Sherif) in Jerusalem by Caliph Abd al-Malik in about 738 CE to replace the temporary structure set up by Caliph Omar 100 years earlier.  It is situated on the traditional site of Mt. Moriah.

This is the site said to be the place where Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac but was stopped by G-d.  It turned out to be a test to see how far he would go to obey G-d.  It also turned out to be a lesson that he and his followers were not to sacrifice children anymore.  For that is what the Canaanites were used to doing along with the Phoenicians.  The Muslims have another story in that it was Ishmael and not Isaac that was placed on the altar.  They have a big holiday to commemorate this event.

Omar was a 2nd caliph who ruled from 634-644 CE.  He conquered Palestine, Syria and Mesopotamia.  On his orders, most Jews were expelled from N. Arabia.  He is the one who made Jews into dhimmis or 2nd class citizens by having certain restrictions places on Jews.  They were excluded from public office, had to wear distinctive clothing marking them Jewish, could not built any new synagogues and other unpleasantries.  .

The Jewish Temple was first built by King Solomon of Israel who lived from 961 to 920 BCE and was the shrine to house the Ark, the sacred vessels and offerings and had a court for worshippers.  It consisted of a hall, shrine and inner sanctum (holy of holies).  It was completely destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon  in 586 BCE and rebuilt from 538-515 BCE.  This 2nd Temple was done in the periods of Simon the Just, Judah the Maccaabee, Simon the Hasmonean and Herod.  This was done when Cyrus  permitted Jews to return to Eretz Yisrael.

In the siege of Jerusalem during the Roman war in 70 CE, the Temple served as a center of military activity and was destroyed by the Romans then.  A Roman temple was later built on the site.  Since the Moslem Period the Mosque of Omar has stood there.

The only time Jerusalem is thought of is in chapter 17 of the Koran that tells about the white animal like a horse, Baraq, who carried Mohammad to the Masjid al Aqsa, the farthest Mosque.  It does not say this mosque was in Jerusalem.  Mohammad was born in 570 CE and died in 632 CE.   The soonest the temporary mosque  built by Omar would have been built was in 638 CE when Mohammad was already deceased.  Later, Anas ib Malik wrote a similar story in the Hadith calling the mosque Bait Maqdis and mentioned Jerusalem as to where the mosque was.  Anas would have been a little boy at the time of this flight, so was going by hearsay for this writing at a time that a mosque had been built over the Temple.

Notice the use of Jerusalem, a Jewish capital and the word Beit, Hebrew for house of.  He could have been a Jew who was converted to Islam.  Mohammad had married Safia, who was Jewish at birth.  The influence of Judaism was pretty strong for Mohammad, as he copied much of our history and then altered it to capture the interest of his own people.  He would have heard Jewish stories in the towns of Mecca and Medina as there were several Jewish tribes there that dealt with the Arabs.

                                                               Dome of the Rock        

Jews are not allowed to enter the Mosque.  They can give thanks to Moshe Dayan who was trying to be very Jewish and fair to the Muslims.  Jordan had to sanction anything out of the Mosque and Moshe didn't want to be like that. At the end of the 1967 War, Moshe "handed over the keys of the Temple Mount to the Waqf, the Muslim religious trust ..." The same went for the Cave of the Patriarchs.  He just hoped they wouldn't take advantage of Israel.
             
"Threatened by Arab countries, on January 5, 2012, Israeli authorities closed the Mughabri Bridge, preventing Jews and Christians from entering Temple Mount. Historically it should be noted that only under Israeli rule was the site open for everyone, Muslims, Christians and Jews. The Waqf is now attempting to deliberately destroy all archaeological evidence of Jewish claims to this site, while using terror and intimidation to impose its exclusive claim to Temple Mount."  The Temple Mount is the holiest site on earth according to Jewish tradition."  The Temple Mount means the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall.  It is the wall that had surrounded the Temple.

Resource: The Standard Jewish Encyclopedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isra_and_Mi'raj
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/geo/Mount.html
http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=4154
http://www.thejerusalemconnection.us/blog/2012/01/05/moshe-dayans-colossal-blunder.html
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/163158
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount

SAMARIA; PAST AND PRESENT FOR JEWS; Dealing with Rock Throwing Arabs

                            A view of the Kana Nature Reserve, Karnei Shomron. In Biblical times, 
               the Kana Stream (center) divided the tribal portions of Ephraim and Manasseh.                                    
Nadene Goldfoot
Samaria,founded way after King Solomon had died in 920 BCE,  also called Shomron, Capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, founded in 880 BCE by King Omri (887-876 BCE) on a hill bought from Shemer.  It's cited in I Kings 16:24)  It fell in 721 BCE to Sargon II of Assyria.  He brought in another population while taking ours away.  It is where the ancient Jewish tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and part of Menasseh lived, Judah being the largest of the 12 tribes.  It is the very heartland of our ancient Eretz Yisrael (Israel).  Leave it to the British who held the mandate after WWI.  They did not know enough to include this territory into the National Jewish Homeland possibly because our friend, Emir Feisal, wanted to create Transjordan at the same time.  He was friendly with us as long as he got his fair share of land for having fought with the British against the Ottoman Empire.  But what a piece!  Our heartland!

"The world declares that the Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria are illegal and must be destroyed and the Jews relocated. They base their claim on either the Geneva Convention, UN General Assembly Resolution 181, UN Security Council Resolution 242, or any number of other documents. The facts, however, prove otherwise. The Jewish settlements in Judea and Samaria are, in fact, quite legal, under the provisions set forth in the previously mentioned documents and others, including the Balfour Declaration and the League of Nations Mandate for Palestine."

Are we Jews in Samaria illegally?  We think not.  "According to Eugene Rostow, a former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs in the Johnson Administration, Resolution 242  gives Israel a legal right to be in the West Bank. The resolution “allows Israel to administer the territories” it won in 1967 “until 'a just and lasting peace in the Middle East' is achieved,” Rostow wrote in The New Republic (10/21/91). During the debate on the resolution, he added, “speaker after speaker made it clear that Israel was not to be forced back to the 'fragile' and 'vulnerable' [1949] Armistice Demarcation Lines.”"  Rostow is not alone.  There are many international lawyers who are in agreement with him.

"Perhaps the most significant of these decisions was the San Remo Resolution of 1920, which recognized the exclusive national rights of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel on the strength of their historical connection to the territory then known as Palestine. The outcome of this resolution was the 1922 Mandate for Palestine, an historical League of Nations document that formally established the legal right for Jews to settle anywhere in western Palestine, between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. This includes  all of Judea and Samaria."

Maayana Miskin writes of an attack that happened to a Bitons, a Jewish family driving along in their car in Yakir, Samaria by rock-throwing Arabs. The town was near Ariel. Ariel  is one of 5 large cities in Samaria.  It is only 10.3 miles away from the Green Line established after the 1967 attack on Israel.  Ariel was established in 1978 and now has a population of 18,000. It is 21 miles west of the Jordan River.   "It is composed of veterans and young Israelis, English-speaking immigrants, and immigrants from the former Soviet Union with an additional influx of 10,000 students.  It is the fourth largest Jewish city in the West Bank,  Yakir is a town with 260 families and the population is about 1,300. It was developed in 1981 and is an Orthodox Jewish community about 35 km (21 miles)  east of Tel Aviv.    Their two-year-old girl was critically wounded in a rock attack  on Thursday night and remains in extremely serious condition.

The girl, Adelle Biton, was in a car along with her mother and two older sisters, 6-year-old Naama and 4-year-old Avigail.  Adelle was most seriously hurt. Her mother suffered moderate-to-serious injuries and the two  girls are in moderate condition.All four were wounded when Arab men hurled rocks at a truck traveling the opposite direction, causing it to veer off course and hit their car.

“The two-year-old toddler is in critical condition,” a doctor at Beilinson hospital said. “We aren’t giving up, we’re doing everything we can to save her. We’re optimistic.”

Just minutes before the attack in which the family was injured, terrorists carried out a similar attack targeting a car driven by a man from Eli. That attack wounded a one-year-old baby boy. The child suffered light injuries and is expected to recover.

A former MK’s wife was hurt in a third rock attack Thursday. Aviva Hazan, who lives in Ariel, was hit in the eye by broken glass when terrorists hurled stones at a bus headed for Tel Aviv, breaking its windows.
The attacks Thursday led to renewed calls for the army to take rock attacks seriously and to change the rules of engagement to encourage soldiers to fire on rock-throwers. The IDF has since arrested 10 suspects in one of the attacks.

By 1973 almost a million Arabs lived in the administered area.  640,600 of them lived in both Judea and Samaria which is 5,900 sq km or 2,270 sq miles.  The population of the areas was predominantly Moslem.  It was also called the West Bank of the Jordan, now spoken of as "West Bank" incorrectly.  Between 1948 and 1967 it was ruled by Jordan, which annexed it in 1950.  By 67 it was under Israel's administration.

Israel administered Judea-Samaria and local affairs were administered by the local population.  Open bridges on the Jordan allowed movement in either direction between the areas and the Arab States.  Arabs and Israelis, who until 1967 had lived in mutual separation and estrangement, began after 1967 to enjoy the beginnings of a peaceful and fruitful co-existence.  The hope was that this would contribute towards a transformation of Arab-Israeli relations from conflict into cooperation.

As of February 14, 2013 the Jewish population numbers 360,000 of both Judea and Samaria.  It has had its problems.    Arab leaders, Fatah and Hamas have had other ideas. They want Judea, Samaria, Gaza and East Jerusalem as their Palestine and it is to be Judenrein, free of all Jews.  They want all Jews to move out.  Yet, at the same time, Fatah is broke.  They do not have money on their own but must depend on the other Arab states to give them money.  At the same time they teach their population through schools and TV programs to hate the Israelis.  This rock throwing is a good example of the ethics they are learning.

 The rock throwers show their true goals of not accepting Israelis. However,  " Miri Maoz-Ovadia, spokesperson for the Binyamin Council, the largest council in Judea and Samaria, told Tazpit News Agency that the increase in the Jewish population growth rate is evidence of the prosperity of the region. “This prosperity has been supported by a development of joint industrial areas, shopping centers  open to all populations and an increase of tourism throughout the region. We hope that the development continues for the benefit of all residents living in Judea & Samaria.”"  Today's presence of an Arab population in Samaria should not in any way detract from the time-honored Jewish rights to this land.  

Resource: Arutz Sheva: http://www.israelnationalnews.com article by Maayana Miskin
Facts about Israel

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/settlements.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_(city)

http://emetnews.org/analysis/are_settlements_illegal.php
http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/what-judea-samaria-mean-to-the-jewish-people/2013/01/17/#

http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/02/14/jewish-population-in-judea-and-samaria-on-the-rise/

http://shomroncentral.blogspot.com/p/5-legal-rights-to-samaria.html

Farming in Land of Judea-Samaria (West Bank) and Gaza Strip Use by 1973

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                              

At the end of the Six Day War of June 1967 when all the Arab countries attacked Israel, Israel won, not only the war but was able to take over Judea and Samaria as well as East Jerusalem and Gaza.  

By September 1967 in Judaea and Samaria, over 40% of households-half of the total population-were registered as farmers.  This was an average of 30,000 men and 13,000 women, which was 39% of the region's working total.  Field crops filled 51% of all the tilled land with orchards more than 33%, vegetables about 6% and the rest was fallow.  The land under cultivation was 517,000 acres with only 4% of it irrigated.

In March 1971, Israel's Ministry of Agriculture, with their staff of 28 Israelis and 314 local employees, had a program to enhance yields, improve strains and acclimatize varieties that demanded much labor.  They worked to expand their export crops, especially in the Jordan Valley and to increase mechanization and encourage efficiency planning and instruction.

Yields of irrigated crops improved from 50% to 100%.  In the 1969/70 season, 1,000 tons of vegetables were exported.  Tobacco, babung, sesame and such industrial crops as cotton and sugar beets are now grown as well as new strains of wheat.  There is much more effective prevention of livestock ailments; cattle TB and foot and mouth disease especially.

Farmers can borrow money from the Ministry at low interest.  In 1970/71, 70,000 farmers took part in study days, demonstrations and tours.  The value of agricultural output went up from IL 135.0 million in 1967/68 to IL 227.4 million in 1970/71.  Farming income-output minus purchased input, rose from IL 113.6 million to IL 192.1 million or about 27% of the GNP.

The Gaza Strip and Northern Sinai had 50,000 acres cultivated in 1969/70 with 40% irrigated.  14% of all households were working the land, which meant 17,000 men and women or more than 1/3 of all the employed in the area.  Orchards occupied 30,000 acres.  vegetables, field crops and marrow-melon varieties were growing on the rest of the land.  Citrus was the main crop which covered 16,500 acres.  Over 6 million cases were shipped to regular markets or through the Israel Citrus Marketing Board.  3 packing plants were established; of which one was by an Israeli investor and the others by local growers.  They were expected to meet regional needs for a number of years.

The staff for this area was made up 11 Israelis and 171 local employees.  They did all they could to increase and improve crops.  Farmers were taken on tours of Israel, attended study days and visited experimental stations.  Israeli lecturers and instructors were tutored for work in the region.  They were able to see demonstration farms and 400 demonstration plots supplied seedlings and better seeds and gave practical lessons in advanced methods of production and agro-technics.  The Military Government lent many millions of pounds to hundreds of farmers.

Agricultural output went up from IL 53 million in 1967/68 to IL 106.5 million in 1970/71, and farming income rose from IL 36.3 million to IL 72.4 million.

Israel, however, was referred to as "Occupiers" by the outside world.  They must be the first occupiers in the world to try to help benefit people to learn to make a better living and learn a trade.  Israel was helping them, not harming them.  

The response was that Hamas took over Gaza forcing every single Jew out on the promise of peace for all with the result of constant shelling of rockets, missiles and mortars onto Southern Israel.  So much for farming and earning a living and feeling responsible for one's own family.  

Resource:  Facts About Israel 1973:  published by the division of Information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem.

Israeli Talks Centered in Istanbul

                                                                          

Nadene Goldfoot                                                     Omar Sharif in "Lawrence of Arabia": Fighting the Ottoman Empire

Turkey's Prime Minister, Tayyip Erdogan outraged most of the Western world by calling Zionism a "crime against humanity" at the UN.  At that moment Israeli and Palestinian Authority lawmakers were meeting with each other in Istanbul trying to re-start the peace process.  From being a friend to Israel a few years ago, he has moved towards the Muslim Brotherhood ideals.

On Friday John Kerry, the new US Secretary of State, arrived in Turkey to talk with Erdogan which included some of his strong language.  "At a press appearance in Ankara, Kerry condemned Erdogan’s comparison saying, "We not only disagree with it, we found it objectionable."

I've read an essay from a Turkish newscaster who is as loving and sweet as any young women in my own family.  She tries to answer about the antagonistic stance against Israel that her country has been displaying.  She feels there is a strong bond between the Turkish and Israeli public and hopes that the tension of the last few years is only temporary.  Most of the problem lies with the Mavi Marmara episode when this Turkish ship tried to break the blockade with this ship.  I wish she were president, as she stated that "as the Turkish nation, we want nothing more than the continuance of Israel's existence in peace and tranquility."  Perhaps that's why these meetings took place in Ankara.

Also meeting in Istanbul to discuss Obama's visit was labor MK Yitzchak Herzog. Yitzchak is the son of former president Chaim Herzog and is with the Labor party.  Netanyahu is with Likud.   He was there to speak with PA former official,  Yasser Abed Rabbo.  Neither man is a high official, so possibly took their own initiative to meet together.  Herzog was taped on Israel's Channel 10 News saying that he believes "that there is a chance for peace with their neighbors and we must not give up on it, not even for a moment.  Rabbo was a supporter of the Oslo Accords.  Yet he was promoting the false accusation that Israel had dug mass graves for 900 PA Arabs in Jenin.  He has since been removed from his post as a minister when Mahmoud Abbas took over.  Now he's just an adviser without a title.

If he's so for peace, it's crazy that Rabbo  would be so gullible as to even believe in such a terrible lie.   It's frightening how the Arabs can swallow such lies about Jews, even the intelligent ones in the seat of power. It gets back to the fact that what people would do themselves to others, they think that these others would do to them. It's  sort of like the Golden Rule.  It was not inconceivable to do this to Jews, evidently.  Our beliefs and mores are very foreign to Muslims except for the belief in one G-d. The problem lies on what that one G-d teaches the people involved.    For us to act so differently, the lessons are not understood in the same way.  Evidently this is also true with Christians who even interpret the very same doctrine otherwise.

I suggest that our government get busy and read many books on the subject of the Middle East.  I just read where Kerry read his first book about Islam which was from a very positive and flattering viewpoint.  Now he would be interested in studying about religions if he were not Secretary of State.   He should also read one I've started to read, "The Strong Horse" by Lee Smith.  It's full of insights about the Middle Eastern countries and what they admire in a culture and how they see themselves acting in it.  He's lived in the Middle East and even met Omar Sharif, the Egyptian who played the Jewish gambler, Nick Arnstein in Funny Girl, Barbra Streisand's great love. "His decision to work with co-star Barbra Streisand angered Egypt's government at the time due to Streisand's support for the state of Israel.  She happens to be Jewish. . Streisand herself responded with "You think Cairo was upset? You should've seen the letter I got from my Aunt Rose!" Sharif reprised the role in the film’s sequel, Funny Lady in 1975."  

The culture is so different from our Western culture and it's a challenge to understand this great difference.  According to Smith, Israel is not the big problem of the Islamic countries.  I hope all the talks go on well, just like talks between Barbra  and Omar  did when they worked together.  Oh, those love scenes!  .

Resource: Arutz Sheva: Israeli, PA Officials Meet in Istanbul by Chana Ya'ar
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/165798#.UTMTfqI4EaA
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Herzog
The Strong Horse by Lee Smith

Kings Abdullah I and II and Connections with Their Neighbor, Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
King Abdullah II of Jordan has been together about 4 times in the past 5 years with Prime Minister  Netanyahu of Israel with much to discuss.  They met just last week to talk about peace negotiations and the Civil War in Syria.  They were also very concerned about the chemical weapons Syria might be using soon.  This was the 2nd visit they had together in the past two months.

On May 14, 2009 they were together at the Royal Palace at Port City of Aqaba to meet and talk.  They renewed their meeting in 2010.  Netanyahu didn't extend the 10 month constuction freeze they had in the West Bank as nothing helped matters with the Palestinian Arabs.

 Golda Meir had a perilous secret meeting with King Abdullah I of Transjordan, just before the Arab invasion which was a dramatic attempt for last minute conciliation.  It was on May 10, 1948, four days before the official establishment of the state, Meir traveled to Amman disguised as an Arab woman for a secret meeting with King Abdullah  at which she urged him not to join the other Arab countries in attacking the Jews. Abdullah asked her not to hurry to proclaim a state. Meir replied: "We've been waiting for 2,000 years. Is that hurrying?"

In 1970, Israel helped Jordan by stopping the Syrians from making a move on the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at a time when the USA was involved with Vietnam  and couldn't commit troops to protect Jordan, an Arab ally.

Jordan was the 2nd country to sign a peace treaty with Israel on October 26, 1994.  Jordanians had been entering Israel and working, then going back home to Jordan.

King Abdullah II is of the Hashemite Kingdom, a direct descendant of Muhammed through his daughter, Fatima and her husband Ali bin Abi Talib's elder son Hasan.  Ali ibn Abi Talib was also the Prophet's paternal first cousin and the 4th caliph of Islam.  Ali and Fatima had 2 sons:  Al-Hassan and Al-Hussesin.  The direct descendants of their eldest son, Hassan, are known as "Sharifs" (nobles), while the descendants of Hussein are called "Sayyids." (lords.).  The royal family of Jordan, the Hashemites, is descended through the Sharifian branch of lineage.  King Abdullah II is a descendant of Hasan, not Husain.  King Abdullah II is a Sharif."

 There are over 800 million Muslims in the world with about 5,568,565 living in Jordan and about 14 million Jews of which 6 million reside in Israel.

Resource: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-netanyahu-secretly-visited-jordan-to-discuss-peace-with-palestinians-1.506763
http://www.amuseum.org/jahf/virtour/page23.html
http://www.answers.com/topic/golda-meir
http://www.kinghussein.gov.jo/islam_pillars.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashemite
http://www.mepc.org/journal/middle-east-policy-archives/jordanian-israeli-relationship-reality-cooperation
Reference:  Ashir Khan