Irony That Famous Jewish General's Last Stand Now a PalestinianArab Village

Nadene Goldfoot                                                            

  
There  is an Arab village named Battir in what is now called Palestine-what used to be only last week, Judea and Samaria.  The name of the place is a Hebrew name; Beitar/Betar.  Here is where Bar Kochba, our general in 132 CE made his last stand against the Romans that lasted for 3 years until 135 when he was killed by them.  As Simcha said, it was comparable to the Alamo in Texas.  The Romans took 50 fortresses and 985 villages.  There were 580,000 Jewish casualties.  Many died of hunger and disease.

Back then Judaea had been occupied by the Romans.  The Jews kept on revolting, like Judah the Gallilean and Jesus of Nazareth ended up on a Roman cross along with tens of thousands more Jews.  Josephus, Jewish historian and writer, said they killed a million Jews on the crosses.  In 70 CE Jerusalem was destroyed.
                                                                         

Then in 73 CE the Masada fell to the Romans.  The Masada was  a refuge for Herod's family in 40 BCE when Antigonus Mattathias tried to besiege them there.  Later, Herod built his palace on this high rock of a mountain.  It is located only a mile from the Dead Sea.  It had become a Zealot fortress until 73 when the garrison of 960 under Eleazar  committed suicide after holding out against the Romans for 3 years.  They refused to be taken as slaves.The Romans then exiled the native Judeans they could catch and took their children for slaves and their women for prostitution.  They had left only the weak and the vulnerable, probably the old people.

Even so, some must have been in hiding because 62 years later after Jerusalem fell, they rose once again to join a final revolt with Bar Kokhba (Son of the Star) as leader.  His real name was Bar/Ben Kosiba Simeon and he was the nephew of Rabbi Eleazar of Modiin and of Davidic descent.  This general was fighting the Roman Hadrian who had an army of 35,000.  .  There are many thoughts as to why he revolted at this time.  It could be attributed to the Roman building going on of Jerusalem or the prohibition of circumcision.  They captured Jerusalem but probably didn't take a whole Roman legion.   .In the Torah is the prediction in Numbers 224:17 that a "star will come out of Jacob".  Most people interpret that as meaning the Messiah.  Basically, this was a title for a Messiah.  He held out against the Romans who were the greatest military power on earth  at this time.  He made them very angry, so angry that they renamed Judaea as Palaestina, the name of their enemies, the Philistines.  "The Jerusalem Talmud relates that the number of slain was so enormous, that the Romans "went on killing until their horses were submerged in blood to their nostrils." Hadrian had prohibited their burial, and it wasn't until his successor, Antoninus (Pius), that the dead were afforded a decent burial.

He and his warriors left a labyrinth of tunnels.  They hid below ground and came up for air and to fight.  The tunnels are "monuments to the longest liberation struggle in history, the Jewish struggle for the land of Israel.  Items have been found there of their presence; letters, the lulav leaves and citron for the Feast of the Tabernacles and such.   Coins have been found that were minted with the names Simeon and Eleazar the Priest.

His fall meant the end of Jewish independence for the next 2000 years.  Judea fell into desolation; its population was annihilated, and Jerusalem was turned into a heathen city, barred to Jews.  Today there is a Beitar soccer club in Israel.  UNESCO has dubbed it as a Historical Heritage Site for the Arabs who requested this.  They're not interested in Israel's history, however.  They just want to keep Israel's security barrier from running through the village lands.

The barrier is to keep out Palestinian terrorists out of populated Israeli areas.  It's there to stop suicide bombers from blowing up buses and restaurants as well as themselves, and to keep kidnappers from taking Jewish children.  The Palestinians see it as an infringement on their rights and want it all unfenced.

This just doesn't work, because when something awful happens, it's never condemned by the UN.  "It's the Israeli reaction to the terror that gets that Jew-hating institution going."  So Israel need this security as long as the situation hasn't changed.  

Resource: http://www.simchajtv.com/history-as-parody/  Excellent article
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betar_(fortress)
The New Standard Jewish encyclopedia

Palestine Brings On the Third Intifada Against Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   

Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas Prime Minister from March 29, 2006 to June 2, 2014, declared on Monday, June 23rd that the 3rd Intifada against Israel has now begun.  Sounds like a declaration of war to me.

1. This is the Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, beginning in 1987.  Ismail is  actually saying that they will just continue fighting against Israel and have no intentions of being peaceful neighbors.  Israel hasn't "occupied" Gaza since they pulled out in 2005.  Judea and Samaria the original Jewish names for what Jordan renamed as "The West Bank" in their act to eliminate our history in the area, is also populated by Jews.  They have a right to be there as it all had been zoned off between Palestinian and Israel sites.  

Kerry neglected to say that when Gaza stopped shelling Israel, then recognition would be possible of a Palestine.  

1.                                                                        
   

   

 This 51 year old father of 12 children  has been replaced in the new formation of Palestine by Rami Hamdallah. He is Palestine's new Prime Minister and a Fatah member, selected by Abbas.   He's been actively encouraging Palestinians to kidnap IDF soldiers.  Then he is sitting back and declaring that Israel's frantic searching is only increasing their willingness to resist.  To resist what?  Peace, evidently.  They're certainly not helping to search.  In fact, they are throwing stones at searchers and trying to prevent it from happening.
                                                                           

It actually started with the USA and the EU recognizing their state of Palestine and the unification of Fatah and Hamas as its people. The only clause given by the USA was that Obama would be watching their activities.   Evidently as soon as they were recognized, Hamas infiltrated into Judea and Samaria.  By doing this, they were set up to cause havoc against Israel which they have done.  While rockets have been raining on southern Israel from Gaza Hamas terrorists, others in Fatah-held Judea-Samaria kidnapped  only a few days later, 3 teen-aged boys on their way home from Yeshiva, a religious school.

To mess with Israel's children is a huge crime.  Israel knows all about kidnapping, having gone through this before with Gilad Shalit, a young  IDF soldier held over 5 years by terrorists.  Israel had to act quickly and hoped that Glad Shaar, 19, Eyal Yifrach, 16, and Naftali Frankel, 16 were still alive.  Their school was in Gush Etzion, south of Bethlehem.  They were hitchhiking home.  Within minutes of the kidnapping, one boy was able to send a text message that they had been kidnapped.  They evidently accepted a ride with terrorists unknowingly.

IDF and police went through towns and open areas in Judea and Samaria in what they called "Operation Brother's Keeper. They have searched around Hebron.   They found many Hamas members that were not there before the recognition of Palestine.
                                                                   

The Palestinians are enjoying the theater and are using it to their advantage.  They are actually celebrating the kidnapping.   They're handing out sweets.  Even Fatah students at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah handed out sweets in the act of celebrating.  Palestinian Arabs also celebrated wildly when they heard about the Twin Towers of 9/11.

  On the other hand, the PA Prime Minister Hahmoud Abbas sees this as a problem to his formation of Palestine and has been extolling the wrongness of the act to Netanyahu and the Israelis.  Netanyahu praised him for his remarks made in Saudi Arabia for saying that "There can be no alliance with the kidnappers of children."   Yet Abbas is the one who encourages such acts by his Fatah celebrations and TV programs.  He aids and abets such activity a lot, so really is to blame.  He does nothing to bring peace between the two peoples. By uniting with Hamas, he has signed onto their destructive and deplorable charter calling for the destruction of Israel.  Netanyahu asked him to abrogate the recent unity pact between  Fatah and Hamas. Dollars to donuts, he won't.  He's being very 2-faced, if you ask me.
                                                                         

Khaled Mashaal, Hamas political bureau chairman since 1996, seems to be in the dark about this kidnapping.  He probably wasn't the organizer and has been left out of the loop, because he said, "If it turns out that the kidnapping really happened, I welcome it."  Netanyahu commented that "Mashaal once again made it clear that Hamas remains committed to its war against Israel and its war against every Israeli citizen, and coincidentally, against every Jew around the world."  They did not discriminate the fact that one of the boys kidnapped has USA citizenship.

Resource: http://www.tlvfaces.com/hamas-chief-haniyeh-third-intifada-begun/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ismail_Haniyeh
http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Hamas-leader-Ismail-Haniyeh-encourages-abduction-of-Israeli-soldiers-348596
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014/06/15/this-is-how-some-palestinians-are-celebrating-a-kidnapping/
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.600275
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rami_Hamdallah

Gazan Rocket Attacks Result in Israel Retaliation, Search Hebron for Kidnapped Teens

Nadene Goldfoot                                              

Last week on Saturday "Shabbat", June 14, 2014,  2 rockets were fired from Gaza at Israel  early in the evening and landed in the southern section of Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, where the main hospital is that services everyone including Gazans.  Like the old adage, they bite the hand that feeds them, in this situation, they bite the hand that can save their lives. That very morning another rocket had been fired which brought about the IDF hitting another armory and other targets in the southern Strip.  Again, another direct hit.

Israel answered the attacks by striking 6 targets later on Saturday evening with the 2nd attack on the coastal territory within the same 24 hours.  They hit 4 terrorist headquarters of which 3 were in the southern Strip and 1 was in the center.  They also hit 2 weapons storehouses (armories)  in the south. It was a  direct hit.
                                                                       

Mohammed Awar, an officer in the Hamas police,  was the terrorist responsible for the past rocket attacks against Israel over the last few years and in the last month. He was a Salafist, the most extreme of the Muslim religion and an extreme terrorist. They "deem unnecessary and un-Islamic other ideologies such as liberalism or humanism.  The group of Salafists,  Takfir wal-Hijra, who kidnapped and murdered an Egyptian ex-government minister in 1978, inspired some of "the tactics and methods" used by Al Qaeda.   It was Awar's  group that was behind the April 21 rocket strikes on Sderot and other towns within reach of the Hamas terrorists.    Israel targeted him while he was riding his motorcycle in the northern Strip and he died soon afterwards. Hamda Nasser, in his 20's, was injured.   Killed also accidentally along with him was a 7 year old boy, Ali Abed al-Latif Alawar.  This is the problem.  Usually the killers surround themselves with the innocent women and children.
                                                                         

This week should bring some news about the 3 teen agers who were kidnapped by Hamas living in the PA territory of Judea-Samaria.  Abbas is not happy about the act but can only blame himself for having all their energies go to hatred of Israelis and continued encouragement of this sort of thing.  Israel is furious and rounded up about 355 men hoping to find a lead.  It's important to give the terrorists a reason to not do this again to anyone, so are making life pretty miserable for them.  Israel has to find these children.  50 of those were arrested;  and  were some of the 1,027 prisoners freed by Israel in 2011 in the exchange deal to free Gilad Shalit, an IDF soldier who had been kidnapped.

Seconds after they were kidnapped, one had used his cell phone to report to the police that they had been kidnapped, but the police thought it was a prank.  Eyal Yifra 19, Gilad Shaar 16 and Naftali Fraenkel 16 were kidnapped late Thursday, June 12th.  Nothing has been heard since.

The kidnappers, Hamas terrorists,  are finding it might not have been worth the trouble, since now a Palestinian 16 year old who was participating in a riot in Judea in the village of Dura early Friday was shot by the IDF for throwing rocks.  An Israeli soldier was wounded by stone-throwing in Qalandiyah in Judah overnight on Thursday.   A 22 year old rioter was  injured by gunfire in a clash near Qalandiyah checkpoint against the IDF and later died in hospital.  The violence came with the search for the kidnapped children.  Searching was not made easy for those worried soldiers.

This is what happens from recognizing a Palestine made up of united Fatah and Hamas terrorists.  Hamas is stirring up Fatah and this has happened from it.  It has allowed Hamas to move into Judea and Samaria.  Instead of having peace in mind, they have war instead.

Resource: http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.598772, by Jack Khoury, June 15, 2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salafist_jihadism
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.600059

Israeli Jews Fighting Western Anti-Semitism Along With The Muslim World

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                    

Before WWI was over, the West knew they would be ready to rule Palestine.  "In 1916, Britain and France concluded the Sykes–Picot Agreement, which proposed to divide the Middle East between them into spheres of influence, with "Palestine" as an international enclave."

On November 2, 1917 the Balfour Declaration in essence created the right of the Jews to regain Palestine as the Jewish Homeland because the allies had won WWI and the Ottoman Empire was beaten.  They had sided with the Germans.  It took 31 years for the Jews to be able to announce that Israel was accepted in the United Nations.

"At the Peace Conference in 1919, Emir Faisal, speaking on behalf of King Hussein, asked for Arab independence, or at minimum the right to pick the mandatory.  In the end, he recommended an Arab state under a British mandate. The World Zionist Organization also asked for a British mandate, and asserted the 'historic title of the Jewish people to Palestine'"

Why did it take so long?  England was given the mandate to rule Palestine for 25 years. It was confirmed on England on July 24, 1922.   It started on September 29,  1923 and ended May 14, 1948 at midnight.  That's when the Jews were able to announce the birth of the Jewish state on May 14, 1948.

During the 25 years of waiting to have their own state once again and  being homeless for the past 1,847 years, WWII emerged.  The main victims of this war were the Jews.  Jews are followers of Moses, the people of the "Old Testament."  Since the New  Testament for Gentiles replaced the "Old", the Jews became those repulsed despicable people.  Religion certainly is strange.

Six million Jews were slaughtered in Germany's plan to exterminate them all in the whole world before the allies again won the war.  What they did to deserve being slaughtered was that they were different.  They were not of everyone else's religion. They wouldn't convert.   In Germany they had been residents there since 70 CE or even before when Jerusalem was attacked by the Romans.  They had a long history of being good patriotic citizens even though  they had been  attacked by the Gentile Germans on occasion.  Many had reacted from these attacks by moving into other countries.  They worked their way into the Pale of Settlement held by Russia.  The Nazis of WWII were able to reach all the Jews of Europe and tried to get the ones in Africa before they were stopped.  In 6 years, 6 million civilian  Jews were slaughtered.

WWII ended on May 5, 1945.  Three (3) years separated the end of the war and the birth of Israel.  A whole generation had gone by since it was decided that a Jewish Homeland should be created.  The generation that lived during  the Holocaust must have realized that the waiting period  caused the death of 6 million innocent people.  They could have been saved if they had been allowed to enter Palestine, but the British stopped them from entering.  They even turned back shiploads of Jews who were so close to freedom.  Not the Arabs, though.  They aided and abetted their entrance.  Could be their strong anti-Semitism  of a few thousand years was guiding their decisions?

England's history with Jews is shameful. Jews lived in England since Roman times, and were noticed as Jews in 1070.   Jews lived in Jerusalem after its attack in 70 CE, but along came the Crusaders led by England in 1099 and massacred their Jewish community.  By 1290 King Edward of  England expelled any Jews from   living there. Jews couldn't return until Oliver Cromwell in 1656 changed that, though there were a few Sephardic Jews there in 1655. Cromwell died 2 years later after the Jewish admission.     In their defense, there isn't a country that didn't treat Jews in the same manner.  England was just earlier than most in being so anti-Semitic.  Cyprus, the Byzantine Empire and  Germany preceded England in their anti-Semitic acts.  France and Spain were close behind, following England.  England was without Jews for 366 years, from the Middle Ages to the Age of Enlightenment.    300,000 Jews were living in England  about 10 years ago, but the 2011 census counted 263,346.

During those 25 years of holding the Palestine mandate, England turned their heads when Arabs were entering Palestine illegally.  The whole world had been suffering from anti-Semitism since the time the Jews lost Jerusalem, anyway because of their own religious reasons.  It wasn't until 1967 when Israel was attacked unmercifully by all their neighbors in a take-over and the massive combined armies lost the battle.  Suddenly the Jews were heroes being they were then the underdogs.  Like a soccer game upset, the little state of Israel overcame all the odds and were the winners.  Their popularity didn't last long and anti-Semitism settled back into the hearts of the world again.  Oh-they are the Jews!

We all know what the Muslim world is doing to drive out Jews from Israel.  Does the western world see how they are in cahoots with such a goal?  Take Amnesty International, supposedly a group promoting universal human-rights principals- evidently for all except for Jews.  Being the most influential NGO in the world,  they're silent when it comes to Jews' rights.  Jewish civilians, young children included, have been severely injured from stone-throwing Palestinians, stabbing attacks, and have been killed in shootings.  Israelis are consistently dehumanized and demonized by Muslims.  

They're first to enter the political scene against Israel.  April 2002, an Amnesty official on BBC confirmed IDF massacre in Jenin, which never took place.  It was a blood libel that continues to be propagated.  In 2009, they were participating in the Goldstone Report which was filled with many false indictments against Israel after Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.  They are obsessed against Israel.  Israel of late has been peppered by petrol bombs but Amnesty International says they pose little or no threat to the lives of the IDF.

 How about the BDS Movement?   .  It was started by Palestinians on July 9, 2005 and is still continuing.  It's a Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel that is trying to attack Israel's economic growth and development which a state needs to exist.  Almost all American universities as well as European ones are on the bandwagon against Israel on this.

I have news for you all.  Israel's Jews aren't going anywhere.  They've been there, done that in being homeless, something that lasted 2,000 years.  They know what you all are like.  They have faith in their religious belief in that it promotes goodness, something they really have seen very little of in the rest of the world.  They know they're onto a good thing.  Their ancestors told them so, and they see that they were right.  Somebody has to be the light of the world even though the world is throwing a lot of water on their light in trying to put it out.  Like the Burning Bush that radiated without fire, the Jews continue to radiate their goodness in an evil world.  If anti-Semites would only take their blinders off, they might see it.

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Mandate_for_Palestine_(legal_instrument)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration
Facts About Israel 1973, Division of information, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Jerusalem.
Book: "From Time Immemorial"  by Joan Peters
Magazine:  The Jerusalem Report, April 7, 2014, Political theater of the absurd by Prof. Gerald M. Steinberg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boycott,_Divestment_and_Sanctions
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Jews_in_England
http://www.olivercromwell.org/jews.htm
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/15/jews-new-sense-of-identity

Happenings In Our Crazy World This Week (June 17, 2014)

 Nadene Goldfoot                                                                        

                    The kidnapping of 3 Jewish school boys by Hamas Terrorists

The biggest disappointment happened last week in Athens when a proclamatiion was adopted by EU foreign ministers and their Arab colleagues.  It was one-sided and said that "it hails the Fatah-Hamas union and praised the Palestinians committed to DEMOCRACY and HUMAN RIGHTS.   Yet Hamas continued to shell Israel more than usual.  The declaration included harsh criticism of Israel.  Seems they can practice terrorism such as shooting  and terrorist acts of kidnapping, and that's okay.                                    
                                                                             

         Judea-Samaria and Gaza  in red, Israel in yellow.  One can see the katusha rocket range from "Palestine."  This week it's still hitting southern Israel from Gaza.  

ISIS, IRAQ  and  IRAN

The USA had  meetings with Iran about Iraq, the state they had a war with in 1980 that lasted for 8 years. Iraq and Iran  had fought so long and hard that the war was down to children fighting.   They met on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland about the ongoing nuclear negotiations and discussed the crisis in Iraq.  They discussed how ISIS threatens many countries in the region, including Iran.   (TIME).
                                                                         

                          ISIS now 35 miles from Baghdad, Iraq

Israel is against such an unparallelled meeting.  Yuval Steinitz, the Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister, said Iran should not be helped to extend it's sway in Iraq.  Tehran would then have more control in Syria, where the Iranians back President Assad.  They'd get their foot in the door in Lebanan, where they have their Hizbullah allies.  This would wind up softening the American positions on the issue of the Iranian nuclear issue more than they already are, just what Iran would love.  It would be that the USA and Iran would be on the same side of supporting the government of Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki.

It may be that both are rooting for Maliki, but each has their own different reasons.  ISIS, the branch of al-Qaeda, is the enemy in this case, and is the worst Shi'a group in history.  For a group that started with little finances, they fixed that by robbing a big bank in Iraq, so that now they are loaded.  Right now ISIS is about 35 miles away from Damascus, supposedly a well-fortified city.

                                               KIDNAPPING OF 3 ISRAELI TEENAGERS
Two (2) months ago, PA's Abbas asked that Palestine be included in 15 international conventions.  One was the 1989 UN convention on the Rights of the Child...and Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in Armed Conflict.  At the same time they are responsible for the kidnapping of 3 Jewish teenagers by Hamas.

Israel holds the PA responsible for this act.  Hamas terrorists took the boys, of who one holds dual citizenship- USA and Israel.  The terrorists were staying in Judah which is under PA control.  Israel is holding many people in the act of searching for them.  Israel said that the 3 boys' lives are in danger and they will have to move in anyway possible to get information as to where they are to rescue them.  The clock is ticking.  Netanyahu promised that those who try to attack Israeli citizens like this will be hit for doing so.

He asks that the international community condemn this abduction and support Israel's legitimate acts of self-defense.  All the while Israel has been attacked by rockets from Gaza during this period from Hamas.  When a state is under attack by a terrorist group, it is a far more serious situation than if some gang of thieves kidnaps someone for financial gain.

                                                    RANDOM ACTS OF HOSTILITY
Three (3) Palestinians tried to break through the security perimeter of Kochav Yaakov in Judea-Samaria late Monday night and IDF soldiers shot at them, injuring one.  The others got away.

Two (2) firebombs were thrown at the Beit Orot Yeshiva on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem which set off a  fire , but it was small.          

Resource:  www.dailyalert.org
Time
Reuters
BBC News
Prime Minister's Office-Israel
Times of Israel
Wall Street Journal

                                          

60+ Rockets Hit Southern Israel From Gaza

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                

Southern Israel was just hit by 60 rockets from Gaza.  No doubt Hamas terrorists, but Islamic Jihad terrorists say they are responsible, and really Hamas is responsible for what they do.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu threatened a strong response against those responsible.  Tanks are now clashing with terrorists and have destroyed 2 targets of destruction.

Remember that Israel left Gaza completely in 2005.  They withdrew the IDF and left their Jewish communities and forced 9,000 Jews living there to leave-unwillingly.  They did this in the name of peace.

At the time, Israel's right wing warned that this would leave Israel vulnerable, and they were right.  Since 2001, southern Israel has been hit with more frequency from Gaza's people of which Hamas had kicked out Abbas and had taken over as full time terrorists.  

Such timing.  Right now it's early Thursday morning.  Sunday is Purim, the celebration of Jews remembering how they were saved from death planned by Haman in Persia by the Queen Esther, who was a Jew unknown to the royal house.  She was in the right place at the right time to save all the lives of her own people.  

Hopefully, we have the same thing going on today, with the right people in the right place to save Israel.  Such is what they have been doing since 1948.  

Resource: Ari Soffer; Foreign Minister Says Israel Needs to "Retake Gaza." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/178424#.UyDw4z9dU8o
facebook alert.  

Israel Raids Iranian Ship Near Sudan

Nadene Goldfoot                                                              

Israel had to do what Israel has to do; raid another ship with weapons headed for Gaza's terrorists.  The fact that the ship, Klos C,  is Iranian didn't stop them at all.  It had an international crew of 17, now being interrogated.   Thirteen IDF commandos raided it off of Sudan early Wednesday morning.  This ship was disguised with a Panamanian flag and was carrying dozens of B-302 missiles with a range of up to 200 kilometers or 124.274 miles.

Last time Israel raided a ship was during the fleet of ships of May 2010, the Gaza Flotilla, which was  trying to break into the waters off of Gaza with heavens knows what as their cargo.  The ship, MV Mari Marmara,  was from Turkey, and this caused quite a roar with the end result of Israel having to pay Turkey a bundle for the death of a few of their 40 some crew  who attacked the 13 Israelis as they boarded to search the ship.  That's a tip-off right there that they weren't carrying dolls for the children or else why wouldn't they let the commandos search their ship like other ships in the fleet did?  .
                                                                 

Here's a case where the Iranian ship had a shipment originated from Syria.  The Syrian missiles, probably sent to Syria from Iran in the first place, were now taken on planes back to Iran, and then were repacked  on the ship to Sudan and were hidden with sacks of cement which is why Israel likes to search ships for weapons.  The captain of this ship first navigated toward Iraq and then finally toward Sudan in an effort to fool the IDF.                                                    

Evidently the Mossad was in on this as the IDF knew for sure that Iran was behind the shipment.  Our IDF are safe and guiding the ship to Eilat's port.  Israel knew that they were for Hamas, the terror group in Gaza. They were to be unloaded in Sudan and smuggled to Gaza through the Sinai.  There is a regional arms race with Iran in the lead.  The IDF will continue to act against such smugglers to secure the safety of the people of Israel.

Reference:  Arutz Sheva, Gil Ronen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_flotilla_raid
https://www.google.com/#q=Iranian+ship%2C+Klos+C%2C+pictures&tbm=nws
http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=678910
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_flotilla_raid
Update:  3/6/14 http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news/politics-and-military/military/us-aided-in-klos.c-take-over-according-to-white-house-4097?utm_source=contactology&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Middaynewsletter USA in on it.

Messages From A Syrian Jew Trapped In Egypt

Nadene Goldfoot
Jack Huffman, Storyteller                                                                  

Title:  Messages From a Syrian Jew Trapped in Egypt, by Nadene Goldfoot and Jack Huffman, Storyteller.

This is the story of Vick,  who finds out his birth mother was Jewish and he's a Syrian in Damascus.  What he must do is flee to Egypt during the Civil War, but while there tries to find out how he can find his mother, who is reportedly in Israel.  Read about the history of Syrian Jews and what they had to endure as well as what's happening to Syrian refugees today.  You'll see what foods are prominent in the Syrian culture and be in on Vick's many amours.  Historic Fiction.  206 pages, 5X8 " pocketbook.
 Available at amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, and publishers-Authorhouse; book and E-Book, Kindle. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Messages+From+a+Syrian+Jew+Trapped+in+Egypt

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/messages-from-a-syrian-jew-trapped-in-egypt-nadene-goldfoot/1118740457?ean=9781491866658  

LETTERS FROM ISRAEL

                                                                   

Letters From Israel by Nadene Goldfoot is a book I wrote using all the letters I wrote to my family from 1980 to the end of 1985.  It was published by 1st Books in 2003, 452 pages, now Authorhouse.  

What happens when two middle-aged American West Coast Jewish teachers decide to make aliyah to Israel with their German shepherd without having first vacationed there?  

When I started to read my letters that my mother had saved, I  cried.  She had saved them because they were so very interesting.   I put the letters back in the bag and stuck them away in my closet.  It was too painful to keep reading.  After a few months, I knew what I had to do:  write a book.

Read and find out what it was like to be in Israel during this period.  I was able to meet my illustrious cousin, Stanley Goldfoot, and hear his account of his life in Israel and what it was like to be the Chief of Intelligence for the Stern Group before Israel was created in 1948.  We were able to meet with my husband's illustrious cousin, also, the rabbi who had started Boys Town.

There was one book written earlier that was given to us to read when we were in the ulpan that told of a different family that had moved to Israel with their children.  Our story is quite different from theirs.

My husband and I and our German shepherd had made aliyah.  We were teachers in Oregon and went through classes in Haifa, where we lived for 10 months, to become certified teachers in Israel.  Danny was an actor from Miami, originally, so we started our own drama group and played in hotels across Israel with our shtick of a Laugh-In style act.   I wrote plays that we put on in Safed.  We were able to take in a lot of tourist attraction visits on weekends.  The most serious time was in being in the 1982 conflict with Lebanon, which was not too far from our home in Safed.

Going from conservative to orthodox in Safed and celebrating holidays like we had never celebrated before was our personal high experience.

The book is available to buy on http://www.amazon.com and other online bookstores.   

Tourist Bus in Egypt Exploded By Terrorists

Nadene Goldfoot
The Taba border crossing is between Egypt and Israel and is near Eilat.  A tourist bus carrying 30 tourists of many nationalities suddenly exploded while on the Egyptian side killing 5 people of which 4 were from Korea and injuring 14 others.  Egypt has had to deal with terrorists from Jihad and al Qaeda more frequently since Morsi is on trial and has stirred up the Muslim Brotherhood to attack.  This happened Sunday, Egypt time.  Egypt is about 12 hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time.  

"The bus was on its way to Israel at the time, after visiting St. Catherine’s monastery in the Sinai."  They believe a bomb exploded in front of the bus.  

Resource:  http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/bus-explodes-near-eilat/2014/02/16/

Explosion at Syrian Air Base with Missiles

Nadene Goldfoot
There has been an explosion Thursday night at a Syrian air defense base near Jableh, on the Mediterranean coastal province of Latakia.  This was reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights who collects reports from oppositional activists.

"Hezbollah already has a reported 100,000 missiles of various ranges pointed at Israel despite the UN peacekeeping force (UNIFIL) having been charged since the end of the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in 2006 with ensuring that arms wouldn’t reach the internationally recognized terrorist organization."  fox news.  Assad has become very tight with Hezbollah, which worries Israel a great deal.  

The media is reporting that it was caused by Israeli jets who were attacking missile launchers at this Syrian base.  Nothing has been confirmed, so it remains as gossip.  Whereas the USA leaked information about Israel purposely last time, there has been no mention of who did this so far.  Perhaps it's a surprise to them as well.

This same air base was also said to be hit by Israel on Halloween of last year because of Russian-made missiles directed towards Israel.

Resource:  http://honestreporting.com/israel-daily-news-stream-01272014/
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/27/evidence-points-to-secret-israeli-strike-on-syrian-missile-launchers/
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Syrian-opposition-Israeli-jets-bomb-missile-launchers-in-Latakia-339465
http://rt.com/news/syria-israel-attack-latakia-049/

4 Rockets Reported

Nadene Goldfoot                                            

Four rockets were fired from Gaza onto Israel.  One is known to land in the Ashkelon area.  One more was counted, making five.  

Security Problems in Israel on Daily Basis

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                         

                                    Collecting rocks from a rock attack on vehicle

Our want-to-be neighbors, the Palestinians, have had a strange way of showing how we can all get along.   This year is starting off with a lot of attacks so that  Israelis are getting the message fast. The  attacks are not only from rockets, mortars and missiles.  Rocks can still be as deadly as they were for David with Goliath and they are used a lot against Israelis on a daily basis.  Below is an example of a day in the life of emergency medical assistants that go out and rescue give medical treatment if necessary in Israel.

January 12, 2014 What's going on near Jerusalem?  In the past few hours of this report,
1.Cars were being attacked between the Tunnel Road (which is the Jerusalem-Hevron Highway and El Hadar Junction.
2.  Rocks were thrown into the Baby Care Center in Bet Hadassah, Hevron.
3.  There were also rock attacks between Gilad Farm and Yitzhar causing damage but no injuries.
4. Rock attacks on IDF Forces were on the way to Har Bracha with no injuries.
5. A bus was attacked by rocks on Gush Etzion-Hevron Highway near Bet Umar which caused damage to the body of the bus and its window but there were no injuries.
6. Rock attacks by Mivtarei Harmeleh near Tekoa in the East Gush Etzion region with no injuries.
7. Road accident between 2 trucks and a private vehicle with only Arabs involved turned into an Arab confrontation near T Junction.  8 people slightly injured.
8. Thrown improvised grenade by Arab terrorists did not explode near Kever Rachel  with bomb squad working to disarm.
9. Rock attack from moving vehicle on T Junction, no injuries.
10. Fire bomb thrown on security fence of Opherit Base reported from Jerusalem Police, no injuries
11. Rock attacks near Na'alin.  One injured in head.  Treated by IDF.  Dr. lightly injured.
12. Rock attacks near Tachsin on Highway 55.  No injuries.

                               January 13, 2014                                            

1.  Fire bomb thrown at vehicle by Arab terrorists.  Victim from Neve Zuf near Meir Spring; no injury
2. Rock attacks on gush Etzion-Hevron Highway near El Arub, no injuries
3. Arabs rioting near Kever Rachel.  IDF used crown dispersion to break up the riot.
4. Rocket attack of 2 rockets north of Sderot from Gaza terrorist, fell in open area, no injuries

. Shift ended at 4:00pm.  More reports coming to complete the day

There have been attempted murders and these continuous attacks.  This incitement by the heads of the Palestinian Authority and the praise that they give the terrorists and turn them into heroes by their leadership only encourages murderous attacks on the Jews of Israel.

Such attacks are never reported by any press or even mentioned and this is a definite part of the Oslo Agenda.  Kerry will visit Israel and make out that the USA is concerned about the security and welfare of Israel but they don't know the half of it.  Are they aware of this nibbling away of constant attacks on civilians?  These on-going terror attacks only mean that the Palestinians will expect more gestures that will actually put the lives of the people of Judea, Samaria, Jordan Valley and Jerusalem in more danger by easing up the protection needed for them.

Resource:  Yehudit Tayar of Hatzalah Yehudah and Shomron, voluntary emergency medical organization with over 500 volunteer doctors, paramedics, medics on call 24/7.  They rescue anyone who needs medical assistance; civilians, military and Arabs within the PA territories.  To them, life is precious and they risk their own lives to rescue anyone in need.

Lebanon Shooting Rockets into Northern Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                   

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

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

Israel retaliated as warned the same day.

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

December 25th 2013 in Southern Israel

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                        

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

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

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

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

Resource: Arutz Sheva by Maayana Miskin

Latest Terrorist Attacks in Israel

Nadene Goldfoot

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                        

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                          

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Golan Heights Hit by Mortar Shell

Nadene Goldfoot                                              

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

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

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

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

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