Gordon - Gaza’s Terrorist Regime Must Be Destroyed

Evelyn Gordon
Commentary/Contentions
29 August '11

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/08/29/destror-gaza-terrorist-regime/

Today’s (Sunday) terror attack in Tel Aviv was unusual in that it originated in the West Bank, where a continuous, proactive Israel Defense Forces presence has virtually eradicated terror. In contrast, Israel suffers daily terrorism from Gaza, which the IDF left six years ago, and repeated “cease-fires” never actually cease the fire: This weekend, for instance, three rockets hit southern Israel despite the “cease-fire” announced last week by Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Resistance Committees.

During the last six years, Gazan terrorists have fired more than 7,000 rockets and mortars at Israel. That successive Israeli governments have allowed this terror to continue is an abdication of any government’s primary responsibility: ensuring its citizens’ security. But it has also had devastating strategic consequences.

As former U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Kurtzer noted, it acclimated the world to the idea rocket fire on Israel is perfectly acceptable, with the result that when Israel finally did strike back in 2008, it suffered universal condemnation, culminating in the infamous Goldstone Report. As Haaretz Palestinian affairs correspondent Avi Issacharoff noted, it has convinced the terrorists Israel fears them, emboldening them to escalate their terror. As Rabbi Eric Yoffie noted, it undermines the raison d’etre of a Jewish state, which is to protect Jews. And you needn’t be “right-wing” to reach these conclusions; all of the above are outspoken liberal doves.

Now, as I’ve written elsewhere, the terrorist enclave in Gaza also threatens Israel’s peace with Egypt. This month’s terror attacks near Eilat, perpetrated by Gazans who traversed the Sinai to attack across the Egyptian-Israeli border, sparked a major diplomatic crisis with Cairo when several Egyptian soldiers were killed in the cross-fire; this success will surely prompt the terrorists to try to repeat it. And if enough Israelis and Egyptians are killed along their mutual border, an Egyptian-Israeli war could erupt.

For all these reasons, eliminating the Gazan terrorist enclave is imperative. But this can’t be done via a short-term operation like 2008’s; only a long-term IDF presence in Gaza will do.

The claim “there’s no military solution to rocket fire” is patently absurd. During those same years when Gazan terrorists fired more than 7,000 missiles at Israel, not a single rocket was fired from the West Bank. So unless you believe that West Bank terrorists, unlike their Gazan counterparts, never wanted to launch rockets, the obvious conclusion is the IDF’s continuous, proactive presence has thus far prevented West Bank terrorists from acquiring rocket-launching capabilities.

The diplomatic arguments against such a move are far more serious: The international outcry would be enormous. But continued delay will only further embolden the terrorists, further accustom the world to the idea terrorists are entitled to shoot rockets at Israel with impunity, and make war with Egypt more likely. Indeed, the Eilat attacks put the diplomatic consequences of inaction on stark display: Though Israel had precise intelligence about the attacks, its government rejected a Shin Bet security service recommendation to thwart them via a preventive strike on Gaza, fearing Egypt’s anger. In consequence, the attacks went ahead and several Egyptians were killed – outraging Egyptian public opinion far more than a strike on Gaza would have.

Gaza’s terrorist regime must be destroyed. Israel can no longer afford any other outcome.

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Yagoda - 4000 YEARS; 48 hours; 15 SECONDS & P.S.

Victor Yagoda
Director of Projects and Infrastructures
United Israel Appeal of Canada
21 August '11
H/T CiF Watch


http://www.federationcja.org/en/beer+sheva+under+fire/4000-years-48-hours-15-seconds-p.s._80074/

My daughter gave birth on Friday, three weeks earlier than expected. The little baby still does not have a name and she is not even 48 hours old. My wife and I live in the Galil, my daughter with her husband and 2 year old grandchild live near Beersheva.

Last night, Saturday, we were all visiting her when the warning alarm that an incoming Grad Missile from Gaza was targeting the region. The drill is that everybody has to move within not more than 15 seconds from their Maternity room which has windows, to the closest corridor that has fewer windows (15 seconds do not permit to go any further to an underground shelter).

So my wife and I helped my daughter get off the bed, put on her slippers and begin to push the cart where the newborn baby was sleeping and we walked out of the room… Believe it or not, it was not easy due to the traffic in the corridor, all the mothers, almost like dressed in uniform, were pushing their carts in the same direction. Most of them were alone, because it was shortly after Shabbat and after the Ramadan fast period ended, so they were valiantly doing this on their own, a few hours after a very, if not one of the most significant and meaningful moment in their life. Some of the women were Arab, others were Bedouins, Russian Olim, Ethiopian Olim, other people in the corridor were hospital staff, security, doctors and visitors… Oh yes, some were just veteran Israelis like my daughter, who is a 7 generation Israeli, pushing an eight generation baby that was not yet given a name…

My reflection while this was all happening was: Here we are in Beersheva where 4000 years ago, Abraham made a wise and generous truce to avoid rivalry and conflict; yes 4000 years ago… and here we are being given 15 seconds to try and avoid danger caused by rivalry and conflict… I am sure that many books can be written by tapping into the minds of all of us gathered in a crowded corridor in the hospital.

Today is another day and I am writing my reflections after experiencing three more “Tzeva Adom” “Color Red” alarms, while holding my grandchild in my arms and he is only two years old, but old enough to ask: Ma zeh? What is this?

P.S. Oh yes, I forgot to share with you one more thing: Last night after the above description, visiting hours ended and we left the hospital with Ziv our grandchild home. While we were walking out of the Hospital building, Ziv began to play in the parking lot with a little Bedouin 1.5 years old, when suddenly again the siren went off and again we had 15 seconds to be ushered to the safe area. This time we were all ushered into a corridor of the Delivery Ward of the Hospital. There were no babies in little carts. This time we found ourselves in between dozens of women who were about to give birth, one of them was sitting in a wheel chair experiencing very strong contractions… This time we heard the explosions very close to us, people were just counting 1,2,3… 7. Yes 7 grad missiles were targeted to Beersheva, four of them fell in an open area, two of them were hit by our anti grad missile system “Iron Dome” and one hit a building injuring 7 people and killing one man, Yossi Shushan, (38) who happened to be there to pick up his 9 month pregnant wife… He will not be in the delivery ward where I happened to be in, at the very same moment he was killed…

I can only commend the behavior and bravery of every single person (who will most likely meet again), with whom we shared a few minutes that will remain with us for a life time…

Beersheva, Israel, August 2011

Victor

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Elder - Derfner fired from JPost, and pretends to be a martyr

Elder of Ziyon
29 August '11





And he remains clueless as to what he said that was wrong, instead lashing out at his seeming oppressors:

I got fired by The Jerusalem Post today. The paper got hundreds of notices of cancellations of subscription after my blog post (“The awful, necessary truth about Palestinian terror”) of Sunday last week; the reason being given for my firing, though, is the substance of the essay, despite the apology I published later. A page-one notice to this effect will be published in the Post tomorrow.

My apology was to have run in the Post yesterday, but a logistical mix-up prevented it. Today the paper ran a column by Isi Liebler titled “Justifying murder – an abomination,” which, like nearly all of the right-wing websites attacking my original essay (I took it down from my blog upon publishing the apology), it gives extremely short shrift to all the things I wrote that show my intent was not to encourage terror, but the opposite.

As I noted when he apologized, no one is saying that he supports or encourages terror. What he was doing, explicitly, was justifying it. And from what he has written, it seems that he truly believes that attacking civilians is a "right" even if he personally believes it is wrong.

That is what is offensive. His inability to realize that would be comical if it wasn't so sad.

Instead, he goes into martyr mode:

(Read full "Derfner fired from JPost...")

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Daphne Anson - The Absent Phrase That Speaks Volumes About BBC Bias

Daphne Anson
29 August '11

http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/08/absent-phrasethat-speaks-volumes-about.html


Spot the difference between these two reports regarding today's terrorist attack in Tel Aviv. There's the BBC's blatant refusal to use the T-word, of course. But can you spot another difference? Clue: it concerns something the attacker said. The BBC's censorship of the phrase in question typifies the way in which Al Beeb downplays the jihadist threat against the only democracy in the Middle East and the world's only Jewish State. The BBC is deliberately withholding information that sheds light on the true situation confronting Israel. This is as unethical as it is propagandistic. It is also typical of the BBC.

Is it any wonder that so many viewers and listeners who rely upon the BBC for news are prejudiced against Israel? Is it any wonder that so many people who realise the tricks that the BBC plays despise and deride the Corporation for being the Great Whore of Leftism and Islamofascism that it has become?

Jerusalem Post:

Eight people were injured in south Tel Aviv early Monday morning, when a terrorist from the West Bank carjacked a taxi and rammed it into a police road block protecting a Tel Aviv nightclub, before going on a stabbing spree.

Police said the terrorist, a 20-year-old Nablus resident, entered a taxi near the beginning of Salameh Street, and hijacked the vehicle, stabbing the driver in the hand. He then drove for approximately a kilometer down Salameh Street towards the Haoman 17 nightclub, which was filled with high school children at an end-of-summer party. At the time of the attack, almost all of the teenagers were inside the club.

Border Police had set up a precautionary road block ahead of time at the entrance to the club on Abarbanel Street, in Tel Aviv's Florentine neighborhood. The terrorist rammed the road block, and struck a number of civilians and a border policeman.

"He then got out of the car, screamed Allah Akbar [God is Great], and went on a knife attack," a police spokeswoman said.

The suspect was tackled to the ground by Border Police officers and taken into custody. He was taken to the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon after being lightly injured. He was later released and was taken in for questioning under heavy security.

Leibler - Justifying murder – an abomination

Isi Leibler
Candidly Speaking from Jerusalem
29 August '11

http://wordfromjerusalem.com/?p=3079


(Breaking News! Larry Derfner has now been fired from the Jerusalem Post. A big Yasher Koach to each and everyone who took the time to make their voice heard. Yosef)

Even before the Middle Ages, we encountered marginal Jews who turned against their own people. Among apostates to Christianity, there were those who wrote inflammatory libels against the Jews, paving the way for pogroms; socialists like Karl Marx whose vile anti-Semitic tirades speak for themselves; and more recently, Jewish communists purportedly supporting a new world order who applauded Stalin while he was murdering and imprisoning their fellow Jews.

Today in Israel and abroad, there are Jews who retain the wretched tradition of their renegade antecedents. They are few in number, but their influence extends beyond their Jewish fringe status because many occupy prominent roles in universities, the media and the arts. Of late, much of the Western liberal media has been idolizing them.

A few days ago, I was alerted to an unprecedentedly obscene extension of such behavior emanating, to my profound regret, from Larry Derfner, a senior staff writer for The Jerusalem Post. Only days after Israeli infants and families had been brutally murdered by terrorists, Derfner publicly stated that the murder of Israeli citizens was a justifiable weapon for Palestinians in order to overcome the “occupation.”

It was not published as a Jerusalem Post column, but was posted on his public website, to which readers of his regular articles are occasionally referred. It also appeared on Facebook.

The essence of a good paper is to open its columns to opposing views. The Jerusalem Post and Israel’s most widely circulated Hebrew daily, Israel Hayom, irrespective of editorial positions, always provide readers with a wide spectrum of opinions. I take pride in the fact that I contribute regular columns to both papers, and my column is frequently accompanied by diametrically opposing views.

That of course does not imply that a selfrespecting Israeli paper would accept contributions from a neo-Nazi, an anti-Semitic jihadist or a person justifying the murder of Israelis.

Whereas Derfner is regarded an an in-house leftist opinion writer for The Jerusalem Post, his chilling outburst extends far beyond traditional far-Left efforts aimed at applying moral equivalence to Israelis and terrorists. In fact, Derfner actually scolds those on the Left who condemn Palestinian terrorism.

To avoid any misunderstanding, let me be specific about what Derfner actually said. He asserted that in fighting for their “independence,” Palestinian terrorists are “justified” in deliberately murdering innocent Israeli women and children. He even explicitly said that “whoever the Palestinians were who killed the eight Israelis near Eilat last week, however vile the ideology was, they were justified to attack,” and it is the Israeli government that “is to blame for those eight Israeli deaths.” He opined that it was high time for Israelis to appreciate “that terrorism in the face of a rejectionist Israeli government is justified… even to kill Israelis.”

He stated that while he endorsed the right of Palestinians “to use terrorism against us,” he did not wish to see Israelis killed and, like Abbas, felt that terrorism (while justifiable) can be counterproductive to the Palestinian cause. However, Israeli “blindness” was “compelling the Palestinians to engage in terrorism,” and exposing the “unjust” Israeli government as being “to blame for these Israeli deaths,” would contribute toward “ending the occupation.”

Derfner conceded that such remarks would encourage Hamas, but was not unduly concerned because Hamas is already committed to Israel’s destruction. It was more important for him to ensure that Israelis recognize that by their behavior, “they are compelling Palestinians to engage in terrorism” than to worry about whether his remarks would be quoted approvingly on Hamas websites. In fact, the Arab media have already widely reproduced his remarks, highlighting the fact that he is a prominent Jerusalem Post contributor.

Derfner concluded his shocking remarks with the extraordinary statement that “writing this is not treason. It is patriotism.” That he justifies the murder of innocent women and children while describing himself as a “patriot” makes one question his sanity.

In a twisted sense, Derfner is probably justified in claiming that his remarks are not treasonable. Although there may well be grounds for the Attorney General to charge him with incitement to murder, his remarks are so vile that they go beyond treason. They display an utter lack of sensitivity, humanity and compassion for the tens of thousands of Israeli families who since the creation of Israel have lost loved ones, murdered by the barbarians whose actions Derfner justifies due to “harsh” Israeli government policies.

If an anti-Israeli Western politician or media outlet published such remarks, it would raise a storm. For a purportedly respectable Israeli journalist to do so is simply incomprehensible.

This is not the place to refute Derfner’s ridiculous remarks about the “occupation.” Nor to relate to the offers of 95% of the territories extended to the Palestinians by prime ministers Barak in 2000 and Olmert in 2008, which were summarily rejected by Arafat and Abbas. Nor that the principal objective of all Palestinian factions is ending Jewish sovereignty in the region rather than attaining independence. And that, since Netanyahu assumed office, the Palestinians no less than Hamas have refused to partake in negotiations, even after Netanyahu’s unprecedented 10- month settlement freeze.

For an Israeli Jew professionally employed by the only Israeli English language newspaper to justify the barbaric murder of his own brothers and sisters in a public website is unforgivable.

Presumably in response to massive protests directed against him, Derfner “apologized” a week after his article appeared, and deleted it from his website. However, he has the chutzpa to reiterate the justification for terrorism, and merely states that he does not endorse the murder of fellow Israelis.

This is neither a retraction nor an apology.

His obscene and callously insensitive remarks are likely to haunt him for the rest of his life.

ileibler@netvision.net.il

This column was originally published in the Jerusalem Post and Israel Hayom

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Roth - Mostly ignored, jihadist viciousness is channeled at Israeli civilians, the younger the better

Frimet/Arnold Roth
This Ongoing War!
29 August '11

http://thisongoingwar.blogspot.com/2011/08/29-aug-11-mostly-ignored-jihadist.html

About a thousand mostly-teenage Israelis attending a party at one of the best-known clubs in Tel-Aviv were the target of a single-minded Palestinian Arab with Jewish blood on his mind in the early hours of this morning.

Screaming the jihadist war-cry Allah hu Akbar, ramming his car-jacked taxi into Border Police at a nearby roadblock and then leaping onto the revellers in a stabbing frenzy, he managed to injure eight. Two are now in critical condition including one stabbed in the head and stomach, and two are moderately injured [source].

The club is Ha'oman 17, located on the southern edge of Tel Aviv, and one of several operating under the same name around the country.

"I saw the terrorist with a large knife. He wouldn't stop stabbing. He was gripped by insanity, he thrust his knife over and over without stopping or talking. I immediately jumped on him and tried to take the knife out of his hand. I punched him hard to stun him, but he managed to stab me as well... He had murder in his eyes. It took us a few minutes to subdue him. The club was full of kids. If he would have reached them, it could have ended in a bloodbath."
                                   Ynet quoting one of the security guards

In its brief mention of the attack, Al Jazeera's English news channel, taking the traditional role of querying whether this is really about jihadism, writes: "Criminal incidents are frequent in Tel Aviv." In reality, the scale of the injuries was minimized because of Israeli security vigilance and a realization that the end of the Islamic religious period of Ramadan this week is predictably a time when Islamists execute just this kind of vicious attack. Yohanan Danino, the head of Israel Police, was quoted this morning saying that his forces were on alert ahead of the end of Ramadan which is why the checkpoint was set up near the nightclub.

The attacker, a man of 20 from Nablus, is in the custody of Israeli police after having his injuries treated in a Tel-Aviv hospital.

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CAMERA - Abbas Rejects Recognizing Israel as the Jewish State

JP
CAMERA/Snapshots
28 August '11

http://blog.camera.org/archives/2011/08/abbas_rejects_recognizing_isra.html

In an August 28, 2011, article, YNET reports, "the Palestinian Authority will not be recognizing Israel as a Jewish state, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas said Saturday, adopting a belligerent tone ahead of his planned statehood bid in September."

Highlighting this ongoing rejection of the Jewish State, the YNET article goes on to report,

The Palestinian leader also criticized demands made by the International Quartet of his Authority, urging the international community to back off. "Don't order us to recognize a Jewish state," Abbas said. "We won't accept it."

Abbas, as well as, the Fatah group which he leads, are often presented as moderates. Yet, they, like Hamas, their counterpart in the unity govenment, continue to reject the basic principle of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.

The international Quartet (US, Europe, Russia and the UN) set three conditions for any Palestinian government to attain international legitimacy. These basic conditions are recognizing Israel's right to exist, renouncing terrorism and violence, and accepting previous agreements and obligations. Violating all three conditions this past week, Abbas rejected the Jewish State, failed to condemn the recent terrorist attack against Israel, and continued to move forward on the bid for statehood through a UN vote, in clear violation of previous agreements.

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Stern - A Mother's Pride...Fear....Relief...Anger

Paula R. Stern
A Soldier's Mother
29 August '11


http://israelisoldiersmother.blogspot.com/2011/08/mothers-pridefearreliefanger.html

Five hours ago, my youngest son left our home with his friend to go to the large Jerusalem mall to buy himself some shirts for the coming year. He knows his taste and he isn't going to wear shirts that I pick out. So, he went with his friend - a good kid from the neighborhood. They've been good friends for years.

It was getting late and he should have been home. We called him, "where are you?" my husband asked.

Davidi and his friend had taken advantage of one of the most amazing aspects of living so close to Jerusalem. Instead of coming right home, they went to the Kotel, the Western Wall, to say the evening prayers. It is a most amazing place. I can't even complain. Years ago, a friend and I went shopping. I don't remember which one of us asked the other, but the next thing I remember was that we were driving and parking in the Old City, walking down the steps...to the large plaza that opens to the most glorious site we currently have available to us. The large towering wall of ancient stones, the last remaining wall from our Holy Temple. Actually, the truth is, it isn't from the Temple - it's "only" a retaining wall, but it is, in many ways, all we have left.

I felt such joy and pride that he'd gone there on his own initiative.

And then, I saw the news, Arabs were rioting not far away - had stoned an Israeli bus - Bus #2 - easily could be the bus he was riding on - four were injured - a mother and her three children. They have been taken to the hospital...and so came the fear.


Where is Davidi? It isn't like having Elie or Shmulik in danger - it is, in some ways, more frightening because he is younger. Perhaps that isn't even true but what I am feeling now. I was fighting myself and finally surrendered.

"Davidi, where are you?" this time it was me calling.

"At the Central Bus Station," he reported back. I didn't tell him about the rock attacks. All I could think of is that he's clear, he's safe. Relief.

And now that I know he is on his way home, there is this twinge of anger that they could have turned pride into relief, could have caused fear by attacking a bus full of people that had simply wanted to pray.

Rockets hit Israel again a few hours ago - another violation of the ceasefire, another inhumanity.

Rocks hit a bus in Jerusalem - another violation of decency.

Pride....fear...relief...anger...relief.

And one last thought - my son is, thank God, safe. He will, God willing, be home soon. It's just after midnight here in Israel. Gilad Shalit turned 25 years old today in Gaza. He won't be home tonight. His mother and father live only with the fear and the anger.

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Fresnozionism - Goodbye to ‘land for peace’

Fresnozionism.org
28 August '11

http://fresnozionism.org/2011/08/goodbye-to-land-for-peace/


The Land for Peace theory (LFP) has always been something like this:

Israel and the Arab states are in conflict. The conflict can be ended if Israel gives up the lands it occupied in 1967.

This proposition was suspicious even in 1967, since the Jewish state — or even the Jews in pre-state Palestine — had never had peace until then, even without the territories. But the world in general — certainly the US and the European Union — at least pretends that it is true, and has worked hard to get Israel to divest itself of the land. So far Israel has evacuated the Sinai peninsula and the Gaza strip, surrendering them to complete Arab control. This represents by far the greater part of the lands conquered in 1967.

The Oslo accords included a great concession by Israel: the PLO — which had been responsible for numerous murderous terrorist attacks against Israelis inside and outside of Israel — was allowed to return to the territories and constitute itself as a government, the Palestinian Authority. As a result of the Oslo accords, about 95% of the Arab population of Judea and Samaria now live in areas under Palestinian civil control.

One would think that if LFP were true, then there would have been movement toward peace as a result of Israel’s concessions. But this has not proven to be the case:

With regard to the Sinai, although the Egyptian regime refrained from overt conflict (in return for billions in US aid), it did not reign in incitement, nor did it take steps to improve relations with Israel. The ‘peace treaty’ was treated as an extended cease-fire, and now as the regime changes we are seeing a retreat from the idea of peace.

With regard to Gaza, in effect a continuous state of war with Israel exists, and only fear of massive military intervention keeps a lid — loosely — on terrorism.

With regard to Judea and Samaria, the PLO never accepted the ‘peace’ part of the LFP formula, insisting on receiving land without granting recognition (Mahmoud Abbas recently reiterated his refusal to accept a Jewish state as a neighbor to ‘Palestine’). The PLO does not accept the idea of ‘two states for two peoples’ and understands the ‘two-state solution’ as an Arab ‘Palestine’ free of Jews, and an Israel which — by virtue of ‘right of return’ — will have an Arab majority.

Shragai - Israel works to stop monthly payments to jailed terrorists

Nadav Shragai
Israel Hayom
26 August '11

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=846


73 prisoners who are serving life sentences for terrorism receive salaries from the Palestinian Authority as public sector employees, pocketing up to NIS 10,000 ($2,700) per month, while their families get tax breaks and free education • Israel: The wages serve as incentive to carry out terror attacks.

The branches emerging from the “tree of freedom” honoring Palestinian prisoners from the Bethlehem district in the West Bank are running out of room.

Each “branch” of this symbolic tree holds up pictures of prisoners who were sentenced to a life term in Israel for terrorism. The images of no fewer than 73 Palestinians who are responsible for killing and maiming hundreds of Israelis hang on the “tree.” For years, Bethlehem was a significant headache for the Israel Defense Forces, which conducted frequent raids there in search of suspects. When the IDF maintained a presence in the city, the volume of attacks decreased. When the IDF left, the attacks resumed with a vengeance. Last April, the “tree” was placed in a glass case in the middle of the city where Christians believe Jesus was born. The inauguration ceremony was attended by Palestinian Prisoner Affairs Minister Issa Karake and Bethlehem district Governor Abdel Fatah Hamail.

However, it appears that the Palestinian Authority, which currently controls Bethlehem, is not satisfied with only symbolic gestures for its heroes. It is also paying their monthly wages. Seventy-three prisoners who are serving life sentences and their “junior” colleagues who were convicted of lesser crimes regularly receive a salary from the authority. All the prisoners even enjoy the perks of public sector employees.

The monthly salary that the authority pays out to jailed terrorists -- a sum that far exceeds the average salary in the West Bank -- is distributed directly to their families. The more grave the crime and the more severe the prison sentence, the higher the monthly payment. Now, as Israel marks five years since Gilad Shalit was taken captive in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, the authority has increased the prisoners’ salaries for the third time. Karake has stated that the salary rise, which is earmarked for “civilian public sector workers as well as military veterans,” will be handed out retroactively. Just one week after their terrorist brethren murdered Israeli civilians in the south, there is a greater interest in examining this issue.

AP - Israel approves expansion of historic structure in Jewish settlement of Hebron

Beit Hadassah neighborhood,
just west of Beit Romano

Love of the Land
28 August '11

The Washington Post carried this brief AP news item on August 26th, with a somewhat promising title. But as has become the norm, what follows is a straight descent to the non-factual and agenda defined nonsense, that defies the most basic journalistic standards. A few of my observations are in italics.

Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Israel is allowing Jewish settlers to expand a building in Hebron, one of the West Bank’s most volatile cities.

Both the title and this sentence wish to emphasize expansion/expand but below states "gave the building permit to house a kindergarten in Beit Romano a structure built in the late 1800s by a Jewish merchant." A bit of a dramatic stretch of "to house". As this is one of the most volatile cities, to build a kindergarten is an obvious incitement to further volatility.

Palestinians object to Jewish construction in areas they envision for their future state.

"Beit Romano, a structure built in the late 1800s by a Jewish merchant" was in the heart of Ashkenazi Jewish Hebron,a neighborhood populated from the latter 19th century until the mass murder and wounding of it's residents at the hands of Arab rioters in 1929. The same treatment was meted out to the Avraham Avinu neighborhood, center of Jewish life from the early 17th century. That the "Palestinians" envision a return to the 38 year period that Hebron was free of Jews is an ideal?

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s office said Friday he gave the building permit to house a kindergarten in Beit Romano, a structure built in the late 1800s by a Jewish merchant. Today it houses a religious seminary.


Hagit Ofran of settlement watchdog Peace Now says Barak has become a “tool of the most radical settlers.”

Hagit lives in an interesting world, where the authorization to build a kindergarten, in an acknowledged historic structure of the Jewish community, makes one a “tool of the most radical settlers.”

Hebron is holy to Muslims and Jews. Today, more than 600 Jews live there in fortified enclaves amid 170,000 Palestinians.

The actual Jewish population of the area , corresponding to the Palestinian number, is close to 8,000. If one wishes to talkabout the area known as H2, then the current Arab population would need to be counted at 10% of the above number. The "enclaves" are hard to describe as fortified, as they lack both walls and fences, although there are soldiers and security in the area.

Other than that, great title!

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Tobin - Abbas Still Looking for Pre-UN Bribe

Jonathan S. Tobin
Commentary/Contentions
28 August '11

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2011/08/28/abbas-un-borders-settlements/

[Yosef: While there are any number of excellent points here, the crux of the matter is "Since he knows that no matter what concessions that Israel makes on borders or settlements, he cannot survive the aftermath of signing a peace deal" and with that, all discussion should come to an end. That it doesn't, has been the question for quite some time, but doesn't preclude our finally saying this show has run it's full course.]

Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has reiterated his determination to go ahead with his attempt to try and get the United Nations to recognize an independent Palestinian state without asking it to make peace with Israel. But, as the Jerusalem Post reports, he is not averse to being bribed to back away from an effort that he knows is doomed to failure with more Israeli concessions. Abbas said yesterday that he would give up on the UN effort in exchange for Israel halting all settlement building and agreeing on the 1967 lines as the basis for future negotiations. But he also added that he would never agree to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

What exactly Israel would then negotiate is unclear since it would have effectively given up all its cards prior to the talks. Nor is there any reason for Israel to make unilateral concessions if in the end the Palestinians are still unwilling to end the conflict, as would be the case if they recognized the legitimacy of a Jewish state. But, as has been apparent since 2008, Abbas’s goal is not negotiations but the avoidance of them.


Ever since the Palestinian Authority rejected Israel’s offer of an independent state in almost all of the West Bank, Gaza and part of Jerusalem back in 2008, its leader Mahmoud Abbas has been doing all he could to avoid being put in a similar situation. Since he knows that no matter what concessions that Israel makes on borders or settlements, he cannot survive the aftermath of signing a peace deal, Abbas must continue to dodge negotiations despite the desperate efforts of the Obama administration and the European Union to get him to come back to the table. That is the rationale for the PA’s UN adventure.

This UN gambit is doomed to failure since the General Assembly cannot create a state by itself anymore that it can transform Palestinian political life. Under the current circumstances where Gaza is ruled by the Hamas terrorist movement and the West Bank is kept under the thumb of the PA only by virtue of the protection of the Israeli army, a viable independent Palestinian state is more of a theoretical notion than anything else. And despite the predictions of a “diplomatic tsunami” that would swamp Israel, it is Abbas who has more to fear from the fallout of this confrontation since it is he, and not Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, who stands to lose the most if the defeat of his measure results in more Palestinian violence.

Abbas’s notice of his willingness to be tempted to stay away from the UN is, like the entire project, merely a deception. The only purpose of the exercise is to heighten Israel’s isolation and increase pressure on Jerusalem, not to get closer to a resolution of the dispute. More talk of settlements and borders are a distraction from the core issue of whether the Palestinians can live with a Jewish state no matter where its borders are drawn. Abbas says he wants a Jew-free Palestinian state next to an Israel where the “return” of the descendants of Arab refugees would transform a Jewish state to a bi-national or Arab one. That is a prescription for future war not peace.

So long as Abbas isn’t willing to talk about a Jewish state living in peace alongside a Palestinian state we will know that he is merely continuing his bluff and not speaking in good faith. Were he ever to do so, he would find that as they did in 2000, 2001 and 2008, the Israelis are willing to make peace on terms that would give him his state. There is no reason for Israel to give in on borders, territory, Jerusalem or anything else until Abbas or his successors change their tune.

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Ettinger - Israel, flex some muscles

Yoram Ettinger
Israel Hayom
28 August '11

http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_opinion.php?id=399

Israel's battle against Palestinian terrorism and conventional military threats must not be inhibited by its ties with the U.S. and Egypt.

In 1981, Prime Minister Menachem Begin ordered the bombing of Iraq's nuclear reactor. In 1982, he launched a comprehensive war on the Palestinian Liberation Organization's terrorist headquarters in Lebanon. Both operations were executed irrespective of bullying and pressure from the U.S. and notwithstanding the fragile 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. Begin realized that failing to eradicate these threats would imperil Israel's survival, erode its power of deterrence and thus undermine Israel's deterrence-driven peace with Egypt and its strategic cooperation with the U.S.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, the Israel-Egypt peace treaty did not collapse. Once again, Arab leaders did not rush to rescue the PLO, demonstrating that the Palestinian issue was not a crown jewel of Arab policymaking. Moreover, Egypt – just like all other Arab countries – would not sacrifice its own national interests on the altar of the Palestinian issue.

While the U.S. Administration condemned Israel for the large scale military operations, and imposed a brief military embargo, these operations resulted in the 1981 and 1983 strategic Memoranda of Understanding between the U.S. and Israel, which enhanced joint national security projects, upgrading Israel's long-term strategic posture.

From 1983 to 1992, during his two terms as prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir was severely criticized by U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush for crushing Palestinian terrorism during the First Intifada and expanding Jewish communities in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem. At the same time, however, U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation was bolstered at an unprecedented level while he was in power. Washington recognized that U.S.-Israel cooperation never revolved around the Arab-Israeli conflict. Mutually-beneficial U.S.-Israel ties were based upon shared values, common threats such as Islamic terrorism, ballistic missiles and rogue regimes, and joint interests such as research and development and job creation in the high-tech market and in the defense industries.

In August 1948, U.S. Ambassador to Israel James McDonald recorded Prime Minister David Ben Gurion's response to the American demand (accompanied by a regional military embargo) to end the "occupation" of Arab land or agree to a land swap, to accept the internationalization of Jerusalem and to allow the return of the Arab refugees: "Speaking with solemn emphasis, [Ben Gurion] added that as much as Israel desired friendship with the U.S. and full cooperation with it and the U.N., there were limits beyond which it could go. Israel cannot yield to anything which, in its judgment, would threaten its independence or its security. The very fact that Israel is a small state makes more necessary the scrupulous defense of its own interests; otherwise it would be lost … Ben Gurion warned President [Harry S.] Truman and the State Department that they would be gravely mistaken if they assumed that the threat or even the use of U.N. sanctions would force Israel to yield on issues considered vital to its independence and security. [He] left no doubt that he was determined to resist, at whatever cost, 'unjust and impossible demands.' On these he could not compromise ["My Mission," 1951, pp. 49-50]."

Ben Gurion's defiance transformed Washington's image of the Jewish state from a strategic liability to a potential strategic asset.

In 1973, Prime Minister Golda Meir put Israel's ties with the U.S. above its own national security concerns, rejecting advice to pre-empt the impending Egyptian-Syrian offensive so that Israel would not be perceived as the aggressor. Irrespective of Israel's military victory during the battle, the trauma of the 3,000 Israeli fatalities and the fact that the nation was very nearly eliminated still haunts Israelis and embolden their enemies.

In 2011, Israel benefits from a robust economy and military, as well as growing Western awareness of the threat of Islamic terrorism and the violence and volatility on the Arab street. Israel, therefore, should not refrain from flexing its decisive military muscles in the face of military threats, lest it reaffirm the image of a restrained and indecisive Israel which could further fan the flames of anti-Israel, anti-Western terrorism.

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(Video) Stern - Happy Birthday for Gilad

Paula S. Stern
A Soldier's Mother
28 August '11

http://israelisoldiersmother.blogspot.com/2011/08/happy-birthday-for-gilad.html

Today, Gilad Shalit is 25 years old. He's a man - by every definition of the word. By age, by experience, by maturity. He was last seen by his family, friends, and fellow soldiers, when he was 19 years old. There is a world of difference between who he was and who he is now.

I measure Gilad by Elie. I can't help it. Elie entered the army when he was 19, a few months ago, he turned 24. He's changed so much. I can't imagine what agonies I would feel if I had not been able to watch his transform, grow, become the man he is now.

Happy birthday, Gilad. We all want you to come home. We have not forgotten you, we will never forget you. May next year's birthday find you home with your family, far from the memories you have gained over the last years.



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Sultan Knish - Jews Say Yes

Daniel Greenfield
Sultan Knish
27 August '11



http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/2011/08/jews-say-yes.html

Some 70 years after high school students, shopkeepers and doctors stood with their backs to the wall of the ghettos and sang, "Never Say You Walk Upon Your Final Way" while reloading their pistols, a rally organized by "Jews Say No" gathered to protest against Israel for defending itself.


The Partisan's song of the ghettos was a courageous affirmation of life by those who went off to fight in Warsaw and in Jerusalem. And today there are the ugly chants of those who deny that affirmation. Who insist that the Jews are better off dead. Their rhetoric cloaks this agenda in the occupation,

Jerusalem Post columnist Larry Derfner wrote on his blog that, "the Palestinians have the right to use terrorism against us." Of the terrorists who killed eight Israelis last week, "however vile their ideology was, they were justified to attack."

Larry Derfner is honest, if equally vile, he doesn't bother justifying the genocidal Islamism of the post-PLO order, instead he settles for justifying the murders without regard to ideology. It doesn't matter what you believe anymore, or what you're fighting for, the left now extends the right to kill Jews without any belief test. You can be on the left, you can even be on the right, you can have beliefs identical to those of the Nazis, but with an Islamic veneer. It's all good.

Derfner dresses up his murderous permissiveness in talk of resistance, but if the fathers of one of the children killed by Fatah terrorist attacks were to kick Abbas in the shin, he would be the first to call for his head. It's resistance when you kill Jews. It's occupation when Jews fight back.

Larry Derfner's comments aren't atypical, they're widely believed on the left, but less often said outside their own circles, and even less often in English by a well known columnist. The reason for that isn't that the Israeli left are any more moral than their American counterparts, but in a country where going off to the army is still a national duty, those are explosive words.

The Israeli left makes a game of harassing soldiers with groups such as Machsom Watch, but it also tries to maintain the fiction that it is advocating on behalf of the soldiers by freeing them of dangerous duty in the territories, rather than openly approving of murdering them. Opinions such as Derfner's can be found among anarchists and the far left which marches openly with red flags, but rarely among a Post columnist

But times are changing. The Israeli left of 2010 is less likely to have sons in the army than 50 years ago. The IDF is more religious and more tanned. Like the United States, service is less of a national duty, and more a matter of choice. There are those who serve, and those who go play on the Riviera or move to Hollywood. Or strap on their guitars and strum their best ripoff of a Lennon song, while taunting those who do serve.