Intentions of Palestinians

The Palestinians first announced that they would drive the Israelis into the sea. They weren't taken very seriously by the world. After the PLO was created in 1964, their pronouncements became even harsher. Though the Middle East holds 300 million Arabs, with plenty more room to hold the Palestinians, they want to control all of Israel. Here Israel was given, after much work and 2,000 years worth of prayers, its ancient homeland back, and yet these newly created Palestinians can't abide us being back home in our own land.

Yasser Arafat made a speech in Stockholm, Sweden on January 30, 1996 that should wake up both Olmert and anyone seriously interested in Israel's welfare. He made this private speech to Arab leaders, but journalists and politicians were there to hear it, also.

The Impending Total Collapse of Israel

"We Palestinians will take over everything, including all of Jerusalem. .......We of the PLO will...split Israel psychologically into two camps. Within five years we will have six to seven million Arabs living in the West Bank and in Jerusalem...You understand that we plan to eliminate the State of Israel and establish a purely Palestinian State. .....I have no use for Jews...."

Right now Olmert has made the concession to give back the Golan Heights to Syria, if they sign a peace pact. The West Bank, the area we have always called Judea and Samaria, is to be another give-away to become "Palestine" if they can ever get their act together and decide to forego their Hamas ideals and want peace as badly as we do. I've witnessed a Palestinian speaker at Reed College give a power point presentation convincing the cheering audience how bad Israel is treating them, yet the presentation was so bad that I couldn't tell what was going on. Next on the docket is Jerusalem, which is to be divided between the two states. We left Gaza a year ago, yet are still called "occupiers" by Hamas, and our reward for this has been to be shelled constantly day and night till Sderot's citizens are becoming pale from being in bomb shelters so much, and Ashkelon's hospital has to work on helping injured Palestinians who come to them for help and yet hope that a rocket doesn't strike the operating room. In all, our bending over backwards trying to be compliant with the Oslo Accords hasn't gained us an inch of happiness.

What makes the world leaders think that giving away most of the most important places of Israel will create peace? After sixty years, one can see that isn't the Palestinian's intention.

Gaza Wants Fuel But Hits Israel's Fuel Storage Area

Hamas won the election somehow and took over Gaza. Last June Israel sealed off the Gaza Strip to all except for limited humanitarian supplies because this terrorist group showed their strength and hatred for Israel by sending rockets into Sderot and now Ashkelon, which is the distance their rockets can reach. The blockade is to put pressure on Hamas to stop firing the rockets. Even Jimmy Carter asked them to stop firing rockets for a month only, but they replied that they didn't want to stop. The terrorists hit the fuel area. They also have tried to hit the electric supply area that controls the fuel area as well as electricity into Gaza. They are hitting civilians and buildings indiscriminately. In Ashkelon, a rocket hit an area that one of my friends was sitting by only a few days before. Rockets have fallen in the perimeter of Ashkelon's only hospital. Citizens of Sderot have been in the bomb shelters continually, coming out to hurry to the bathroom and not much else.

Terrorists have attacked Israeli civilians, especially at the crossings where fuel, food and other goods go into the Gaza Strip. This Rafah crossing has opened a few times, but terrorists keep attacking. Almost all fuel goes through the Hahal Oz terminal which is on the Israeli border. Terrorists attacked it on April 9th, and killed two Israeli employees.

Aid groups are not happy about this. Now they realize that they are not getting food supplies. They are just realizing that fuel is not only for trucks but is necessary to generate electricity, power the hospitals, cars, pump water and sewage, and other reasons, probably to make rockets.

Instead of getting the terrorists to stop the rocket shooting, which is why there is a blockade, they turn against Israel, and feel no remorse for them. They whine that they had to wait for four days to get food to Gazans because they needed fuel for their trucks. They're even complaining that this is a war crime against the Gazans. Never mind that the terrorists are killing and attacking Israel.

The chutzpa of the terrorists is that they are accusing Israel of jeapardising the health of their civilian population! Is it healthy for Israel to dodge rockets? I believe the whole world has turned into the town of Chelm, the town of idiots. They did finally think to ask the terorrists, who are now being called "armed groups", not to shoot at civilians or border crossings that are used to transport fuel, food and other supplies into their Hamas territory. I don't think they are listening. They still call Israel the occupying power in Gaza, knowing full well that we have moved out a long time ago and are not "occupiers", but it sounds terrible to the uneducated public who care not to keep up with the situation. If these groups put pressure on the terrorists to stop firing and come to peaceful terms with Israel, I wonder if they would stop. It's much easier to pressure Israel.

Mahmud Zahar, senior Hamas terrorist, warned Israel that his terrorists would use "every means" against Israel if Israel did not accept a proposed truce around the Gaza Strip. By "truce", he stressed that this means opening all border crossings into Gaza including the Rafah crossing with Egypt, which bypasses Israel. This has been opened only a few times since they took over in June after they routed Fatah terrorists out of the area. Before then Abbas, head of Fatah, and Israel had an agreement which included European Union observers stationed at the terminal with surveillance cameras so that Israel could monitor the comings and goings. Of course Zohar will not tolerate any observers this time. No, they want to have full control so that they can infiltrate and attack Israel easier.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said that he didn't think there would be a truce in the Gaza Strip. He feels Israel is locked in a showdown with Hamas. What the terrorists want is a "Arab hudna", which is a time to rest so that they can commence attacking again. This is a confrontation.
Monday, Israel had an operation in northern Gaza and a missile struck near the home of a family and killed the mother and her four children. Israel pinpoints where groups of terrorists are, and again, they hid near homes of people. It's very hard not to hit civilians under these circumstances. This doesn't make Israel happy.

Reference:Yahoo News: AFP News Report

Israel's Rights to Build Settlements

The Palestinians just aren't getting it. The Arabs were offered a chance to have their own state before May 14, 1948 and they turned it down as they opted to have the whole of Palestine and not share a drop of land with the Jews.

For 60 years they have not taken their option though they have been offered the chance many many times. Now, Israel has a perfect right to build settlements, though it is irking them very much. After the attack on Israel of 1967, Israel gained Jerusalem. Israel has stayed away from building in certain areas, but as the rockets keep falling in the south on Ashdod and Askelon, they have decided to build in parts that are under their control.

The sooner the rockets stop and Israel is recognized as a state by the Arabs, the better. Building sites can be discussed. Otherwise, I feel Israel has every right to do so. The Arabs are not compliant to Israel's wishes of not being killed, so Israel will just keep on building. When will they catch on that death is not the road to happiness?

Ex-President Carter Lied on TV

I was listening to NBC's Meredith interviewing Carter this morning about Hamas and about his new book. She was questioning his meeting with the Hamas leader which was against USA's policy. First he denied that he had been asked not to go to talk with them as they are a terrorist organization. Condoleeza Rice had said that she had asked him not to go.

The big lie came when he said that after asking Hamas to stop firing rockets at Israel for a month to show good faith, it was Israel's fault that they didn't comply. According to the Oregonian of Wednesday, April 22, 2008, Hamas had a phone conversation with him telling him no, they would not stop firing on Israel. Also, Hamas refused to recognize Israel.

If you read my blog of April 22, you will see what I wrote about it on that day. I also have another article about Carter speaking with Hamas in http://www.jewishfactsfromportland.blogspot.com/.

It is not unlike Carter to lie about Israel. He certainly did just that in his previous book where he knocked AIPAC. To lie like that on TV was amazing. Is he going to say that our Oregonian had it all wrong?

Deir Yassin: What Happened

 

Nadene Goldfoot
Deir Yassin was a village inhabited by Arabs near Jerusalem. Israel was born through the United Nations vote on May 14, 1948, but an Arab blockade of Jerusalem lasted five months and only surrendered on May 29, 1948. The UN had decided that Jerusalem would be an international city. 2,500 Jews were living in the Old City and were starving. Jewish convoys tried to reach them with food as the situation was critical by April. Arabs had been ambushing convoys since December.

The supply route was a highway from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Arabs tried to cut it off and controlled several important points; the villages of Kastel and Deir Yassin. These villages overlooked the highway and allowed the Arabs to fire on the convoys of food.

The Jewish leaders of Lehi and the Irgun planned on attacking Deir Yassin. Haganah commander David Shaltiel told them that was fine with him as long as they can hold the village. He told them not to blow up the village because then the population would leave and it would be occupied by foreign forces. The Irgun attacked it on April 9 when the Haganah was battling for Kastel, the first major Irgun attack against the Arabs. Before this time, Irgun and Lehi were fighting against the British.

Irgun leader was Menachem Begin, later to become Prime Minister of Israel. The assault was done by 100 members of Irgun, but others recall it amounted to 132 men from both Irgun and the Stern Group. They were told by Mordechai Raanan, Irgun commander, not to loot or kill unarmed civilians. He said, "If a dog bites you, you as a man shouldn’t act like a dog. I would not expect you to bite a dog."

Begin stated that they warned the village with a loudspeaker at the entrance from a small open truck. The civilians were told to evacuate, and many took heed. Many writers of this incident say the warning wasn’t given as the truck rolled into a ditch before it could broadcast. With the Irgun attacking from the east and the south, the Sternists came in from the north. The leaders all thought the village would fall without a shot being fired. This was their first attempt to attack the Arabs.

Residents opened fire on the attackers. The battle was "ferocious" and took several hours. The Irgun lost 4 men and had 41 injured. They then escorted a representative of the Red Cross through the town and held a press conference. The New York Times agreed with Begin’s description. More than 200 Arabs were killed, 40 captured and 70 women and children were released. The report mentioned No massacre.

Dan Kurzman wrote in "Genesis 1948" that the Jewish report was that 250 out of 400 village inhabitants were killed and Arabs say only 110 out of 1,000 were killed. Bir Zeit, a West Bank university, recently did a study based on discussions with each family from the village and came to the conclusion that 107 Arab casualies occurred.
The Jews opened an escape corridor from the village so that more than 200 residents left unharmed. The remaining Arabs pretended to surrender and then fired on the Jewish troops. Some Jews then killed Arab soldiers and civilians indiscriminately. They found Arab men disguised as women among the bodies.

When the Jewish Agency learned of the attack, they immediately expressed its "horror and disgust." It also sent a letter expressing the Agency’s shock and disapproval to Transjordan’s King Abdullah. However, Deir Yassin has been used by Arabs as a place where Jews massacred them. In fact, the Arab Higher Committee hoped that the exaggerated report about a massacre at Deir Yassin would cause the surrounding Arab countries to put pressure on their governments to intervene in Palestine. Instead, it caused an exodus of Palestinians from the region out of fear.

Four days after the reports, an Arab force ambushed a Jewish convoy on the way to Hadassah Hospital and killed 34 Jews which included doctors, nurses, patients, and the director of the hospital. 23 others were injured. This indeed was a massacre, but attracted little attention and is never mentioned by the Arabs that bring up Deir Yassin.  Just because it has lower number than what happened in Deir Yassin doesn't make it less of a massacre in that the medical personnel were not fighting the Arabs.  They were not attacking them.  They were civilians bringing medical aid.

500 Jews were killed in the first four months following Israel’s declared birth on May 14th, 1948. Jews did not run away from their reborn state.

Arabs knew that Jews were not trying to annihilate them. They were allowed to leave Tiberias, Haifa or any other towns captured by the Jews. They were able to go to nearby Arab states. Jews had no place to run to if they wanted. They stayed and fought to the death. They knew that the Arabs wanted to destroy them all. They knew because Secretary-General of the Arab League Azzam Pasha made it clear on the eve of the war; "The Arabs intend to conduct a war of extermination and momentous massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades."

Reference: Myths and Facts: a concise record of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Mitchell G. Bard, Phd.
Genesis 1948 by Dan Kurzman

Hezbollah to Strike Israel Soon

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

Hezbollah To Strike Israel Soon

Hezbollah which is in Lebanon, Syria and Iran, are preparing for a major attack on Israel. They say it's a "foregone conclusion and all that remains is training for it". When Sayed Hasan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief that commands of all Hezbollah terrorists gives the word, they will attack. They prepare at various training camps in the Middle East. A fighter that remains unnamed said that Hezbollah is a mix of religion, honor, dignity and discipline that is his life.

This comes at a time when Olmert made an offer to Syria of trading the Golan Heights for a peace pact. It doesn't look like that will see fruition. That would just put these terrorists in closer range.

The Observer Newspaper in Britain commented that their intelligence services noticed a major increase in fighters and a concern regarding this military buildup.

Reference: United Press International (Lebanon) "Hezbollah fighter vows attack on Israel"

Giving Up Golan Heights For Peace ?

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                      

Giving Up Golan Heights For Peace

Let it not be said that Israel hasn't given up land for peace. It has in the past and is willing to do it again. Surprisingly, Israel's Olmert has offered Syria the Golan Heights in exchange for peace. He has asked that Syria cuts it ties with terrorist groups of Palestinians in Damascus. Israel had received the Golan Heights after the 1967 Six Day War where Syria was one of many Arab countries attacking Israel.

The problem is that the Golan Heights is now home to 20,000 Israelis. It is a beautiful area. Even the rabbis are against the offer and say it goes against Halacha. Army officials are saying that the topography is less important now than it was in 1967. Fighting has changed. What they might be worried about is guerilla warfare.

Reference: Jerusalem Post

Carter's Help With Hamas

Nadene Goldfoot

Jimmy Carter was still trying to make the name for himself that he missed doing many years ago. He went against USA's philosophy of not speaking with Hamas. Jimmy's book shows to me how disgusted he had been after seeing himself as the messiah that could bring peace between the Arabs and Israel, and wrote a terrible book all against APAIC, the Jewish organization that speaks for Israel in the USA. I guess he was angry because we just didn't hand over all of Israel to the terrorists then.
                                                                               

After going to see Hamas's Mashaal in Damascus and much kissing, of course the terrorists still are not going to abide by his wishes. They were thrilled to speak with Carter as they feel that gives them legitimacy and they have been accepted. Now they have something to brag about. They will not recognize Israel. A very small article spoke of this on page A6 in the Oregonian this morning. It said Hamas was asked to halt rocket fire for a month to make a good impression on the world, and they refused. Yesterday it was reported that Hamas was willing to accept Israel as a "neighbor next door" one day. Later, Carter said they would accept a state in the 1967 borders but would never recognize the Jewish state. That certainly is a mixed message.

At least 5 Arab countries attacked Israel in 1967 and by doing so, lost claim to the 1967 borders. They lost. Now they want it and they were the losers. Aren't we lucky that Mexico has not fired on Texas every day with the goal of winning back all of their holdings, like California, Arizona and New Mexico? Well, the difference here is that Israel did not start the War of 1967. The Arab countries did and they lost.
                                                                           

We're not happy about being shelled every day in Sderot and even Ashkelon where the main hospital is, but it would be terrible to have a state next door who didn't recognize your rights and who wants you driven into the sea at any cost. That would only give them a closer range to shoot rockets. It would be moving the enemy in closer range. I was wondering what Olmert would say if Hamas accepted Carter's suggestion. Olmert might have accepted just to stop the rocket firing. In the long run, it would have been a bigger disaster for Israel. One thing we can count on is that Hamas doesn't want peace. They don't want to live side by side in a normal situation with Israel. That's not their goal.

Israeli Olympic Massacre Mastermind

Abbas Zaki, who was the mastermind of the 1972 Olympic massacre of 11 Israeli athletes is plotting again. This time he is encouraging the Palestinian masses to take over Jerusalem and then they'll be able to take all of Israel. Right now he is the Palestinian ambassador to Lebanon.

There it is in black and white. The goal of the Palestinian organization is still to drive the Israelis into the sea, or, in other words, to destroy Israel and not allow a Jewish state to exist in the world.

In order to accomplish their goal, he is screaming for the right of return of Palestinians who fled the area in 1948 and who are now living peacefully in Jordan, Israel or elsewhere. Of course they have multiplied beyond belief. If they are living in Muslim areas, they probably have 4 wives and possibly 40 children to each man. This right of return alone would destroy Israel.

Resource: Arutz-7.

Jordan, Israel's Neighbor

Jordan's population is similar to that of Israel's 7,184,000. They have 5,924,000 people. 95% are Arabs of which 44% are Jordanian and 31% are Palestinian. Being a monarchy, the government is different from democratic Israel. If you're a Palestinian you cannot buy land or be considered a citizen unless you renounce your Palestinian connection and become a Jordanian. This is what immigrants had to do when coming to the USA. My ancestors renounced the government of Russia to file for citizenship in the states.

Jordan was born on May 25, 1946. This is when the British Mandate ended for them. It is a constitutional monarchy with a representative government and a king and queen. It used to be called Transjordan. The Hashemite kingdom took over in 1921 with King Abdullah.

In 1950 they annexed the West Bank but in the 1967 War with Israel, where they joined about 6 other Arab countries to attack, they lost and Israel gained the area that was originally called Judea and Samaria. They not only had 700,00 Palestinians in their country by then who had left Israel in 1948 but gained 300,000 more from the West Bank. By 1970 Jordan was fighting the Palestinians who were trying to take over Jordan and many were expelled.

They signed a treaty with Israel in July of 1994. For a long time, Jordanians have entered Israel every day to work.

Jordan is 89,342 kilometers or 45,494 sq miles in size.

Israel is 20,770 to 22,072 kilometers or 8,019 to 8,522 sq miles in size.

One can see that Jordan has a lot more room than Israel. They also have a smaller population than Israel and have the room to take in more Palestinians. Since the West Bank lies between Israel and Jordan, it would be an easy move to bring in more Palestinians into Jordan. However, since when has logic prevailed in the Middle East? Perhaps the Palestinians just want a democracy only found in Israel.

The Poor Arabs in Israel

The Unfortunate Arabs that remained in Israel instead of running away in 1948 make up about 20% of Israel's population. That's about 1.4 million people. Surrounding Arabs are having a fit because Israel has not been driven into the sea since they have brought the practice of democracy into the Middle East. Now other Arabs will see how these people enjoy rights they have never had before. Don't bother explaining all this to the likes of Richard Polak, though. This US Human Rights official only wants to come and convict Israel of treating the Palestinians unfairly, but refuses to check out the Palestinian's treatment of Israel.

83% of the Israeli Arabs are Muslim, and of those most are Sunni. Bedouins living in the Negev make up 10%, Christian Arabs are 8.5% and are mainly in Haifa, Nazareth and Shfar'am. They are Greek Catholic, Greek Orthodox and Roman Catholics. 8.3% are Druze and most live in northern Israel. Circassians are Sunni Muslims but not Arabs and live in northern Israel also. There are only about 3,000 of them, and I had some in my junior high class in Safed.

There were Arabs living in my government building in Safed. Usually they want to live in their own villages and administer their own city and personal affairs. They run their own schools and teach in Arabic, an official language in Israel along with Hebrew. They are being affected by their close proximity to Israelis, though. They watch Israeli TV along with Arabic stations, read Hebrew newspapers, have Arab companies listed and are active on the stock exchange in Israel, and L-rd help us, many are wearing modern Western-style clothing. In Haifa they not only might own restaurants but dine in restaurants along with Israelis, shop in the malls and attend the movie theaters. The only ones who must serve in the army are the Druze and the Circassian men. The others are excused.

Besides all this, Arabs have been in every Knesset since 1948. They make up 10% of the 120 members. There are 3 Arab political parties and 12 Arab politicians including 2 Druze who were voted in. The parties are Hadash-a left-wing party from the Communist Party, Balad, established in 1996, and Ra'am Ta'al, the largest party. Besides having their own parties, there is an Arab member in Kadima and 2 in Labor.

Arabs are found in other Israeli government positions. The Israeli ambassador to Greece is an Arab, Ali Yahya. The deputy consul general is San Francisco is Ismail Khaldi, and Reda Mansour is consul general to the SE USA. A supreme Court Justice is Salim Joubran, appointed in 2004. Majalli Whbee is Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Oscar Abu-Razek is Director General of the Ministry of Interior. The assistant commander of the National Police is Jamal Hakrush, and he is the highest-ranking Israeli-Arab Muslim police officer since 1948.

Arabs are also in Israeli society which includes sports, entertainment and journalism. Rana Raslan was Miss Israel in 1999. She was from Haifa. Walid Abulafia, one of the wealthiest men in Israel, runs his family's 100 year old bakery and is now into real estate and construction. Majd al-Haj, sociology professor at Haifa U, just became dean of research in 2005. Many Arab students attend here where there are other Arabs on the faculty. Asala Shahada won a gold medal in the Maccabiah Soccer Games. He said he was a proud Israeli. Khaled Abu Toameh is one of the best journalists in the country and works for the Jerusalem Post and US News and World Report.

By not attacking Israel with rockets and hatred, these Arabs have integrated into Israeli society very well and are enjoying a good life. Actually, they are a model for other countries. The worry for their fellow Arabs is that they are too contented. This will certainly give ideas to their own people who do not live in a democracy.

People like Richard Polak are so intent on finding fault with a small state that fights back against terrorists and refuses to go under that they refuse to see what is happening to it. They come to the arena with a prejudicial attitude against Israel and refuse to waver.

The surrounding Arab countries are right to get hysterical about a democratic country in their midst. This is going to upset all their future plans. It's going to be much harder to keep their people in the dark now. That must be why they have used religion to get them all excited and demonstrate against Israel.

Reference: The Israel Project

United Nations Bias Against Israel

Nadene Goldfoot

The United Nations has been overwhelmingly topheavy with Arab voters. They have been biased against Israel constantly. The new members have been selected who follow this recipe of hatred and hypocrisy.

Robert Falk was appointed overseeing Israel's conduct in the Palestinian territories. He has a history of comparing Israeli treatment of Palestinians to Nazi atrocities against Jews. There's nothing like starting with someone who is already prejudiced. He is not impartial as you would want from a juror in a trial. He is a Princeton international Law scholar that is against Israel from the start.

He is replacing John Dugard from South Africa. He was almost as bad and had compared Israel with their treatment of Palestinians to apartheid practiced in his own South Africa, which was a policy of the white toward blacks that did discriminate.

Israel's ambassador to the U.N., the Canadian ambassador, and Florida Congresswoman Iliana Ros-Lehtinen said, "This sad occasion reinforces the need for the United States and other responsible nations to demand fundamental reform of the United Nations."

After hearing of the appointment, Israel's foreign Ministry said that it would not allow him to enter the country after hearing his statements. Israel will deny him a visa to enter Israel, Gaza and the West Bank until a September meeting of the council. Then Israel will ask that he investigate Palestinian human rights abuses against Israel. Israel will also protest against his appointment, in that he certainly cannot be a fair man who comes in with a preconceived bias against Israel.

This is so offensive to every Jew and Israeli. Jews lost 6 million of their people in the Holocaust. They of all people in the world know what it is like to be oppressed and destined for slaughter. The Golden Rule of doing to others as you would have done unto you came from the Jewish religion. To attack Israel with the statement of them being like Nazis to Palestinians who are raining rockets on them and trying to kill them is indeed a convoluted mind set. The victims of hatred are being told they are the Nazis.

The United Nations and these two officials seem to forget that there has not been a peaceful moment between the Palestinians and Israel since 1948. Palestinians have been constantly plotting and scheming and attacking, trying to drive Israel out. They have not had much time in the past 60 years to learn to live with each other except for the ones who did not leave hoping to gain Jewish property in doing so. Those who remained are citizens and have everything Jewish citizens have except that they don't have to serve in the army. No other state or country in the world would have to accept the treatment Israel has been given by an antagonizer. Yet all the pressure is always on Israel. Hundreds of atrocities are overlooked by the U.N. who only use a magnifying glass on Israel. Any other country would just wipe out their enemies in one blow, or at least try. Israel has lost many young men and women in their attempt at patience and hope that somehow, the Palestinians would want to live in peace.

We Americans complain in the comfort of our homes that the Iraq War has gone on for seven years. Israel has bars on their living room windows or depend on bomb shelters they visit constantly and have even had to wear gas masks. They've been under attack for 60 years. Living like that, they find the organization that is to be fair and impartial and help to settle worldly problems blames them; not only blames them but calls them the most vilest of names; Nazi. Oh United Nations, you're not what you were designed to be. You're a cancer in the body of humanity.

Reference: Fox News on TV 3:50 pm.

Haaretz Newspaper

Nadene Goldfoot

Hamas Attacks Own Gaza Gas Source

Four terrorists from Gaza crossed the Gaza-Israel border Nahal Oz at a fuel terminal and killed two Israeli civilians in their 30's. They had wanted to kidnap Israeli soldiers and have a trade-off for Palestinian terrorist prisoners. The terrorists had also hit a kibbutz. Ten rockets fell on it in thirty minutes.

After this happened, Israel used a plane to hit their car and a house in Gaza where terrorists were hiding. Israel had been warned that there would be an explosion on the border crossing. This was the place where imported fuel went into Gaza. Israel had cut it's supply before because of its use against Israel. Petrol is used in making rockets which they in turn fire against Israel. Not all of the supply was kept from Gazans. This happened right after a new supply of fuel was delivered by the European Union. The terminal may be completely destroyed now, so that their own people may not be able to get any supplies.

The Necessity of Israel

For Jews, Israel is a necessity. David Grossman, Israeli writer, said that reality has made a Jewish state necessary. "Since the world has failed to defend Jewish existence, there is a need for a place for the Jews to implement their culture and their values and their language and their history, a place in which to recover." In the late 30's America refused to admit thousands of Jewish refugees running from Nazis. They could have been saved from the gas chambers and death if there had been an Israel.

The first Zionist Congress was held in 1897 called the Basle program. Herzl asked Max Nordau to write one sentence of what Zionism was to achieve. He wrote that Zionism is meant to create for the Jewish people a homeland in the land of Israel, assured by international legitimacy. That’s what was accepted May 14, 1948.

Like Nazi Germany, Iran sees no necessity of Jews. Hamas terrorists are funded by Iran and follow Iranian dictates. They base parts of their charter on the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which is a hatefilled anti-semitic paper. They are interested only in destroying Israel, not building a state of their own. Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is a Holocaust denier who has called Israel a "filthy bacteria."

Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite terrorist group has as its goal the elimination of Israel and of murdering Jews in the whole world. " Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah has said in a speech, "If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jews. Notice, I do not say the Israeli.". Their attack upon Israel was unprovoked recently.

Many feel that the Annapolis peace process started last year by President Bush is a farce. Olmert is not a popular Israeli Prime Minister and his coalition is unstable. Bush doesn’t seem to have any interest in understanding the dispute between Arabs and Jews. Condoleezza Rice is educated in Russian history, not the Middle East and is said to be ignored in the Middle East, possibly because she is a woman, and Abba’s authority is so weak that he is only listened to by those in the "West Bank."

Thoughout all the turmoil and war in Israel, scientists and doctors have continued to invent things of benefit to all nations. More could be created with less worry about their existence.

Reference: Atlantic Magazine, May, Is Israel Finished? by Jeffrey Goldberg