12/29/16

Ted Cruz: History Will Remember Obama and Kerry as Enemies of Israel

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | Right Wing News

This is a clear example of why I supported and still do, Senator Ted Cruz. He held nothing back and lambasted both Barack Obama and John Kerry as shameful bitter clingers that betrayed Israel and stabbed her in the back, ambushing her at the UN like the cowards they are. Obama’s legacy will be one of treasonous diplomatic terrorism against Israel.

From Obama’s beginning, he has done his level evil best to destroy every underpinning that the principles of America have been set on. He has opened up a monstrous sinkhole of chaos underneath the very foundation of this country and has done a great job at trying to drop us into that abyss. Israel is our oldest and most steadfast ally. We share many things in common and both our countries have been a force for good in this world. Obama wants to destroy both Israel and the US. He is weakening Israel, so the Arab jackal states surrounding her can tear her to shreds. That will never happen and President-elect Donald Trump will stop much of this when he comes into office in just three weeks. Israel said this morning that they have waited 3,000 years… they can wait 30 more days and Trump is telling them to hold on, he’s coming.

From the US Senate/Ted Cruz:

“Like bitter clingers, President Obama and Secretary Kerry are spending every last minute of this administration wreaking havoc domestically and abroad. With their last breath in office, they have struck at Israel, through the United Nations and through today’s disgraceful speech.

“These acts are shameful. They are designed to secure a legacy, and indeed they have: history will record and the world will fully understand Obama and Kerry as relentless enemies of Israel. Their actions were designed to weaken and marginalize Israel, and to embolden its enemies.

“Today’s speech — like Kerry’s 2014 remarks likening Israel to an apartheid state — will enflame rising anti-Semitism in Europe. It will encourage the mullahs who hate Israel and hate America. And it will facilitate ‘law-fare,’ growing legal assaults on Israel through transnational legal fora.

“Kerry’s speech drew a stunning moral equivalence between our great ally Israel and the Palestinian Authority, currently formed in a ‘unity’ government with the vicious terrorists of Hamas. Secretary Kerry declared the Hamas regime in Gaza ‘radical,’ in the same way he declared the duly-elected government of Israel ‘extreme.’ He declared vicious terrorism sponsored by Hamas equal to Israeli settlements in West Bank. And he equated Israel’s celebration of its birth with the Palestinian description of this event as the ‘disaster.’ His speech attempted to lay out an historic and seismic shift towards the delegitimization of our ally, Israel, and the further empowerment of the Palestinian Authority.

“Kerry’s central conclusion, that ‘Israel can either be Jewish or democratic, it cannot be both’ is an inanity that passes as profound only in Ivory Tower faculty lounges. There are roughly 50 majority-Muslim countries in the world. There is one — only one — Jewish state. And yet, for Kerry and Obama, that is too much. The Israeli Knesset has 17 elected Arab members. It has Muslim members and Christian members. In contrast, one searches in vain for Muslim countries that have elected Jewish representatives.

“It is a sign of their radicalism and refusal to defend American interests, that Obama and Kerry choose to attack the only inclusive democracy in the Middle East — a strong, steadfast ally of America — while turning a blind eye to the Islamic terrorism that grows daily.

“America is an unshakable friend of Israel, and we are horrified at what has transpired this week.

“I believe Obama’s and Kerry’s shameful conduct will backfire. That it will be short-lived, and will inspire a bipartisan repudiation of their radical anti-Israel agenda.

“All Americans who understand the value of the U.S.-Israel alliance must immediately and unequivocally reject their false and dangerous narrative, and reassert our fundamental commitment to Israel’s security. Thankfully, Congress and the incoming administration can and I hope will take decisive action to intercept the administration’s final and desperate Hail Mary, and that should begin with eliminating U.S. funding to the U.N., unless and until this disgraceful resolution is reversed.

“I look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle as well as the incoming administration to chart a new path forward based on America’s national security interests and clear-eyed reality, not on the Obama administration’s globalist agenda and wishful thinking.”

Obama, Kerry, Biden and others plotted this betrayal well in advance of the UN convening. Israel has a ton of proof of it and it will come out, I have no doubt of that. Kerry’s speech yesterday was the most shameful display of betrayal of an ally that I have ever witnessed in my lifetime, it was a sheer gift to the Islamists. I agree with Cruz, this will backfire on Obama and will strengthen support of Israel here in the US. I think it will also cause a major reassessment of the UN, with defunding and possibly withdrawal from their ranks altogether.

The “moral equivalence” that Palestine-defenders like John Kerry use to bludgeon Israel with while ignoring the evil pressed against them on all sides by Islamists who want to annihilate them is simply jaw dropping. This brazen (but inevitable) betrayal of Israel is the most shameful act to come from Obama in a long series of shameful acts. For eight long years, Obama has treated Israel like dirt, but that is about to change.

Ted Cruz said this when the resolution was first passed: “Every Obama foreign policy official should be ashamed of today’s U.N. resolution, and any official who disagrees with or hopes to avoid the anti-Israel legacy of this administration should resign on principle today.” That’s exactly right. The US should expel Palestinian diplomats and immediately cut off funding to the UN. We should also scale back ties with foreign nations that voted in favor of the controversial measure. A full investigation should be launched into the actions of Barack Obama, John Kerry and others over this horrific move.

With a Trump administration in place, we need to take a forceful stand against any and all that try to deligitimize Israel. Our response should be swift and forceful and it should be made clear that ANYONE out there that tries to attack the Jewish State will need to answer to the United States.

12/28/16

Obama/Kerry: Diplomatic Terrorism on Israel

By: Denise Simon | FoundersCode.com

Israel was on the edge at least last October, they knew that Obama and Kerry had something in the pipeline against Israel. So it comes down to who wins the debate over Jerusalem? Should there even be a debate and Israel is fighting back on the never-ending use of the words ‘occupy’ and ‘settlement’s and should.

CBS

Bloomberg: When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was re-elected last year, the White House threatened to reconsider long-standing U.S. policy to veto U.N. Security Council resolutions on Israel’s presence in the West Bank. At issue was a last-minute interview in which Netanyahu said there would be no Palestinian state as long as he was prime minister. He took back that statement after the election. Nonetheless, the White House directed policymakers to draw up a set of options for how Obama could “preserve the two-state solution,” according to one U.S. official privy to the process.

So far, nothing has come of Obama’s threat. Indeed last month, Obama signed an agreement with Israel to extend the U.S. subsidy of its military for another ten years. In foreign policy, Obama is focused on the collapse of U.S. policy in Syria, which has become an even greater humanitarian emergency in the last month with the Russian and Iranian-led siege of Aleppo. Politically, the White House is working to elect Hillary Clinton as Obama’s successor.

Yet with a little more than three months left of his presidency, Israeli officials privately say they worry Obama intends to try to level the playing field between the Palestinians and Israelis before he leaves office. The threat of a last-minute speech, executive order, or U.N. action has stirred some of Israel’s friends in Washington. Last month, for example, 88 senators signed a letter to Obama urging him to restate “long-standing U.S. policy” to veto one-sided anti-Israel resolutions at the U.N.

The Obama administration has not made such a statement. This week, however, White House spokesman Joshua Earnest “strongly condemned” Israel’s approval of 98 new housing units in the West Bank settlement of Shilo. A CBS correspondent noted that this phrasing is “usually reserved” for terrorist attacks.  More here.

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So Israel put some assets into the system and worked to determine who, what and when such actions would happen. Since the UN vote, Israel says it has iron clad evidence of the United States complicity in the text for the vote.

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Haaretz: he Egyptians distributed a Security Council resolution on the settlements last week, and demanded a vote within 24 hours, only to withdraw it after pressure from the prime minister’s bureau in Jerusalem and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump.

Israel’s UN ambassador, Ron Dermer, said Monday that Israel had evidence that the Obama administration was behind the wording of the resolution and had cooperated with the Palestinians behind Israel’s back. The document published on the Egyptian new site might be the evidence Israel has. On December 22, the day the original Security Council vote was to have taken place, the Israeli news site Walla published a report almost identical to the one on the Egyptian news site. Walla quoted a senior Israeli official as stating that in a meeting between Kerry and a Palestinian delegation to Washington headed by Palestinian Liberation Organization Secretary General Saeb Erekat, agreement was reached on the matter of a resolution against the settlements, and that Kerry said the United States would not veto it. More here.

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What else was Israel watching?

On December 23, 2016, the UN General Assembly approved spending $138,700 to create a “database” of all companies that conduct business – directly or indirectly – relating to Israeli “settlements” in Arab-claimed territories. The idea of a boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) blacklist came from a March 2016 resolution of the UN Human Rights Council. According to UN documentation, the $138,700 will be used “to pay for one staff member to create the database over a period of 8 months and present a report” to the Human Rights Council in March 2017. In other words, the December authorization backdated approval of an expenditure for an operation already underway.

When the General Assembly’s Budget Committee met to approve the UN budget, Israel proposed to delete approval specifically for funding the blacklist.The Committee rejected the Israeli amendment 6 in favor (Australia, Canada, Guatemala Israel, Palau and the United States), 151 against, with 6 abstentions (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Georgia, Honduras and Ghana).

After Israel lost the vote on funding the BDS item, it declared it was “disassociating” from the General Assembly’s subsequent approval of the UN budget as a whole. Despite the U.S. voting against funding the blacklist initially, it voted in favor of the UN budget, and made no mention of any problem funding BDS.

Date
December 23, 2016
Title
Fifth Committee Vote on Israeli Proposed Oral Amendment to Resolution on Programme Budget Appropriations for 2016-2017 Biennium, UN Meeting Coverage
Note
Israel’s oral amendment was rejected by a vote of 6 in favor (Australia, Canada, Guatemala Israel, Palau and the United States), 151 against, with 6 abstentions (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Georgia, Honduras and Ghana)

So, here is Kerry on 12/28/2016 speaking while Obama is on vacation in Hawaii:

AP: Secretary of State John Kerry says that if Israel rejects a two-state solution for peace with the Palestinian people, “it can be Jewish or it can be democratic.”

Kerry was responding to withering Israeli criticism of the United States’ abstention from a vote condemning Israeli settlement construction. He reiterated the American position that a two-state solution giving both Israelis and Palestinians a home state is the best roadmap to peace. He also made it clear that despite recent differences in policy, the United States continues to be Israel’s closest ally.

Israel has been furious at the United States since the UN vote late last week. But Kerry said in a farewell speech at the State Department on Wednesday that the vote was “in keeping with” American values for democracy.

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The full text of his speech is here, but while he ways that Israel has to be either Jewish or a democracy and not both, Kerry also suggests that Israel pay restitution to the Palestinians. In 2009, the United States gave Gaza $900 million, which is under the control of Abu Mazen.

12/28/16

Leaked Transcript Shows Obama Worked with Palestinians on Anti-Israel Resolution

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton | Right Wing News

Last week, Obama and his jackals stabbed Israel in the back at the UN over the two-state solution. Bibi Netanyahu and other Israelis have come straight out and accused the Obama administration of being behind the UN resolution that took direct aim at Israel. And the proof of that duplicity is now coming out. John Kerry was actively striking a deal with the Palestinians according to transcripts coming out of Egypt. Obama, Kerry and Biden have all been caught red handed lying over this.

Congress started to move today to cut off funding to the UN until this resolution is reversed thanks to Ted Cruz. What the ruling tries to force is Israel handing over Christianity’s most holy sites to the Palestinians. They would have to forfeit Western Jerusalem to Islamists. Not going to happen. Meanwhile, Obama and others are calling the transcripts fabrications. I very much doubt that.

From the Jerusalem Post:

Prior to the UN Security Council vote on anti-Israeli settlement resolution 2334, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with a Palestinian delegation in early December in Washington to discuss the draft, agreeing to cooperate, according to transcripts released by Egyptian daily Al-Youm Al-Saba’a.

According to the report, Kerry along with US National Security Adviser Susan Rice, met with Secretary General of the PLO Executive Committee Saeb Erkat and Majed Faraj, head of the Palestinian Authority’s General Intelligence Service.

The reported transcripts reflect statements by numerous Israeli officials claiming that the resolution was orchestrated by the Obama administration. The source of the leaked transcripts was not named.

The United States on Friday broke with a longstanding approach of diplomatically shielding Israel and abstained on the United Nations Security Council resolution that passed with 14 countries in favor and none against.

“We have ironclad information that emanates from sources in the Arab world and that shows the Obama administration helped craft this resolution and pushed hard for its eventual passage,” said David Keyes, a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The US State Department has denied claims that the US was involved in perpetuating the resolution.

Meanwhile, Erekat has denied the claims written in the documents.

A defiant Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday defended the US decision allowing the United Nations to condemn Israeli settlements, while lashing out at the so-called “settler agenda” which he claimed is hurting prospects for peace – in a wide-ranging speech that inflamed tensions with Israel and drew a swift rebuke from the Bibi Netanyahu. Bibi was pissed and I don’t blame him. Kerry doubled down on the betrayal and justified it. Just reprehensible and treasonous. What do you expect from these people who brought the Muslim Brotherhood into the White House and crawled between the sheets with Jihadists?

In a written statement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ripped Kerry’s speech as “skewed.” That’s putting it mildly. “Like the Security Council resolution that Secretary Kerry advanced in the UN, his speech tonight was skewed against Israel,” he said. “For over an hour, Kerry obsessively dealt with settlements and barely touched upon the root of the conflict — Palestinian opposition to a Jewish state in any boundaries.” Bibi then slammed Kerry and Obama: “Israelis do not need to be lectured about the importance of peace by foreign leaders.” Indeed, they don’t.

Trump is urging Israel to hold on for three more weeks until he comes into power. Netanyahu said he looks forward to working with the incoming Trump administration to “mitigate” the damage from the resolution and ultimately “repeal” it. Paul Ryan also had something to say about this monstrous move: “After allowing this anti-Israel resolution to pass the UN, Secretary Kerry has no credibility to speak on Israeli-Palestinian peace.”

Obama is deliberately sabotaging Israel and making Trump’s transition as difficult as possible. The White House hotly denied the report in the Egyptian media claiming Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice discussed the UN resolution with a top Palestinian official nearly two weeks before Friday’s Security Council vote. Ned Price, spokesman for the US National Security Council, called the report a “fabrication” and said the “meeting never occurred.” Netanyahu reiterated that his government has “absolutely incontestable evidence” that the US organized and advanced the resolution. And he referred to the details reported in Egyptian media as the “tip of the iceberg.” The State Department’s own website reflects that Kerry was scheduled for a meeting with the Palestinian official at the State Department on Dec. 12th, around the time of the reported discussions. The official website, however, offers no details on what was discussed. Sucks to be caught with your hands in the Middle East cookie jar.

John Kerry stated Wednesday that if Israel chooses to remain a singular state with Palestine, “it cannot be both” Jewish and democratic. That’s simple then… they remain Jewish and tell the US to stuff it. In reality, it’s a false choice; a straw man argument. It’s a lie and the last wicked gasp of a failed legacy and presidency.

07/6/16

Cutting Through the Pain

Arlene from Israel

Here I am, again, skipping over the good news.  My apologies for this, as I know my readers enjoy those good reports (as do I).  But once again, I feel compelled to focus on the not-good news:

Some painful circumstances – disease, for example – may be unavoidable.  Others should never, ever happen.  What I have in mind right now is the terrorist murder of 13 year old Hallel Yafa Ariel last week, who met her death at the hands of a knife-wielding 17 year old Palestinian Arab.

Credit: onlysimchas

Monday I paid a shiva (condolence) call to her family.  I was blown away by their determination to persevere, their strength in the face of horror.

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And just for one moment it is the horror I need to focus on.  For she wasn’t “just” killed via a knifing.  Her body endured a pummeling by knife.  It is so perversely sick that thinking about it becomes unbearable.  (It brought to my mind the 2011 beheading of the two-month old Fogel baby by Palestinian Arabs terrorists who later declared themselves “proud” of what they had done.)

There is a part of me that wants to be circumspect and discrete, passing over these gruesome facts.  But I have come to realize I have an obligation to speak out. Because the world does not know. People – embracing some sanitized version of the situation – do not begin to comprehend what we deal with here.  And so I must tell it out, and ask you to wrap your heads around this, and tell it out as well.

Please, do not imagine that the way this young terrorist behaved is a response to the “occupation” – an occupation which, in point of fact, does not even exist.  (More below on this issue.)  Or that he is an anomaly, an aberration in an otherwise normal social.  For this is not the case!

What we are facing is a society that in some substantial measure –encouraged by its leadership – embraces, indeed venerates, violence.

Consider Palestinian Arab practices such as “honor killings” and the shooting of guns to celebrate weddings (which practice on occasion causes the accidental death of a celebrant).  Mark their hysterical and violent funerals for their terrorists, as compared with the subdued, “let’s make the world a better place” tone of the funerals for the victims of those terrorists.

Hey, even more significantly: Mark the fact that the terrorists are their national heroes, celebrated in a way that the Palestinian Arabs never, ever remotely celebrate scientists or musicians or educators.  And that children are taught at a young age to embrace violence.  This is a form of child abuse.

See this chilling video:http://www.palwatch.org/site/modules/videos/popup/video.aspx?doc_id=16531   and be sure to read the full comment below about social media.

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And so, we come to the great injustice visited upon us by the world: We are told to make concessions to the Palestinian Arabs for “peace.”  Concessions to people who venerate violence and celebrate death.

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The traditional way of Muslim mourning requires erecting a tent, where mourners receive their visitors.  The Taraiyre family – family of the terrorist who murdered Hallel Ariel – has such a tent.

The governor of Hebron (center), visiting the mourning tent  for the terrorist killed after slaughtering 13-year-old Hallel Ariel. Photo: Facebook.

Credit: Facebook

It was paid for by the Palestinian Authority.

http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/07/04/palestinian-authority-funds-mourning-tent-for-terrorist-who-stabbed-13-year-old-israeli-girl-to-death-fatah-official-arrives-to-pay-tribute-to-family/

Reportedly, a high official of Fatah, the major party of the PA, was among those who paid a condolence call.

And there is still more.  As the Palestinian Media Watch has noted:

“…in accordance with PA law, Taraiyre’s family will now begin receiving a monthly stipend — something that is paid to all families of “martyrs” [shahids].

http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=18302

Please, dear friends, wrap your heads around this, as well.  The Palestinian Authority condones and rewards what this young terrorist did.  Its leaders have no red lines that conform with decency and humanity.  They do not speak out against such acts, but the contrary.

How dare the world suggest that we sit with the PA and negotiate a “state” for them!

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Before I move on to further points I wish to make, it is important for me to note that certainly not every Palestinian Arab embraces violence and is filled with hatred; some show that decency and humanity I refer to above.

Please see an article here about the Palestinians Arabs who saw the overturned car of the Mark family, and came to help:

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4824391,00.html

(The fact that this was newsworthy indicates that this behavior is out of the norm.)

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As to the much touted suggestion that the “occupation” is the cause of this deep-seated and virulent hatred we are witnessing:

[] I have spoken many times about the fact that in legal and historical terms Israel is not an “occupier” in Judea and Samaria, and I will return to this many more times. But even if there were an “occupation,” it would not justify what is going on now. No way, no how.  To use it as justification is to obfuscate: to rationalize, to mask the total immorality of the current violence.

[]  While they are reluctant to say so publicly for obvious reasons, it has been clear for years that many Palestinian Arabs would prefer governance by Israel to governance by the PA, which is totally corrupt, provides no human rights, offers scant economic opportunities, has no social services, etc.  They are not chaffing under Israeli governance, where it exists, so much as furious about the way the PA conducts itself.  But sometimes it is easier (and safer) to vent against Israel.  And the PA – in speaking about such things as the alleged danger Jews represent to the Al-Aqsa Mosque – provides a convenient rationale for channeling this fury.

See this, written just a year ago:

http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/half-of-jerusalems-palestinians-would-prefer-israeli-to-palestinian-citizen

It is nonsense to suggest that those Palestinian Arabs under the jurisdiction of Israel are so greatly enraged by this fact that they are reduced to extreme and uncontrollable violence, or that those under the jurisdiction of the PA are livid because they believe the PA has not been given the latitude to establish a full state.

Palestinian Arab culture is hamula-based.  The loyalty is to the clan. There is not a huge yearning for a state.  Not intrinsically.  Whatever the PR hype on the matter.

[] Lastly, I would like to share something just written by the eminent scholar Efraim Karsh, “Occupation is not the problem.”

When professor Karsh speaks about “occupation,” he is not referring to legalities of ownership of the land, but of governance of the Palestinian Arabs by Israel.

His executive summary (emphasis in the original):

The proposition that ‘occupation’ is to blame for Palestinian terrorism defies history, reality, and logic. Israel’s control of the Palestinian population of the West Bank and Gaza has been virtually nonexistent for twenty years, ever since the 1995 interim agreement and the 1997 Hebron redeployment. Palestinian terrorism has increased not in response to the ‘occupation,’ but in response to its ending.”

Professor Karch writes (emphasis added):

“If occupation is indeed the cause of terrorism, why was terrorism so sparse during the years of actual occupation? Why did it increase dramatically with the prospect of the end of the occupation, and why did it escalate into open war following Israel’s most far-reaching concessions ever?

One might argue far more plausibly that it was the absence of occupation – that is, the withdrawal of close Israeli surveillance – that facilitated the launching of the terrorist war in the first place, just as it was the partial restoration of security measures in the West Bank during the 2002 Operation Defensive Shield and its aftermath (albeit without assuming control of over the daily lives of the Palestinian population there) that brought the Palestinian war of terror to a (temporary) halt.

http://besacenter.org/perspectives-papers/occupation-not-problem/

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Unfortunately – and it grieves me greatly to say this – some portion of Israeli society is also sick.  But in a way that is the inverse of the Palestinian Arab society.

We have had our own Jewish nation in modern times for 68 years now. But before this, we were in galut – in exile – for some 2,000 years. During those years, the survival of Jews often depended upon being able to please the host society.  And we have not, as a nation, yet lost the habit of trying to please others.

As the Western world promotes a disproportionate concern for the Palestinian Arabs to the detriment of Israeli rights and well being, our leadership – or some portion thereof – struggles to show what “good guys” we are in dealing with those Palestinian Arabs.

In a nutshell: We are not as tough on them, and specifically on the leadership of the Palestinian Authority, as we need to be.  We take little steps, and while they move in the right direction – quicker demolition of houses of terrorists, refusal to return bodies, etc. – they remain insufficient.

Our government needs to be less concerned about what the Western world will say, and more concerned about making certain that no more Israelis meet the fate endured by Hallel Yafa Ariel and Rabbi Micki Mark last week.

There are a number of suggestions on the table as to how to be more stringent. They include such actions as shutting down PA broadcasts, because of the incitement; refusing to turn over any tax monies collected as long as the PA continues to pay the families of terrorists and “salaries” to terrorists in prison; and blocking use of the Internet, which is a major vehicle for terrorists’ communication (although how, is beyond my expertise).

Taking aim directly at PA actions is a critical component of what needs to be done.  And it is precisely in this regard that our government tends to tip-toe.

I cannot possibly deal here with all the suggestions for greater stringency that have been proposed, although I will mention one below and return to others later.

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There is a feeling in several quarters in Israel that the government is about talk – about “seeming” tough for the moment – rather than about real action.

There is solid reason for this feeling.  There have been stringent actions announced in the face of a specific terrorist act that are quietly reversed when the moment is past.  And announcements about actions that seem to be stringent but in point of fact are not what they appear to be.

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Here I mention a couple of examples of the latter:

The prime minister announced that in response to the terror attack in Kiryat Arba, 42 new housing units would be built.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/pm-approves-additional-units-in-kiryat-arba-in-response-to-attacks/

Subsequently it became apparent that the tenders for this building had gone out well before the attack.  That is, it was not a plan for new, additional building being announced at all.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/214518#.V3v9QZDr3IU

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It was also announced that there was going to be “full closure” of the village of Bani Na’im, home of the murderer of Hallel Ariel.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/363300#.V3wBVZDr3IU

Subsequently, it was discovered that the “full closure” consisted of “nothing more than a pile of dirt that the Arab residents easily drive around.”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/214423#.V3wAUZDr3IV

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What I ask here is that you send a message to Prime Minister Netanyahu.

I cannot emphasize this enough: Do NOT preach to him. Do NOT write in anger.  Do NOT suggest that you have superior expertise in the matter and can advise him on what to do.  Do NOT engage in polemics or provide history lessons. All of these approaches are severely counterproductive.  They will turn him off.  If you want to be helpful, you will write with great restraint and avoid these pitfalls.

Be respectful.  And write no more than three sentences.  Be positive: Urge strength, encourage him to stand tall in the face of enemies, let him know you are with him during this horrendous time. It is the number of messages that matters, not your specific message.

I provide three different addresses below.  Send your message to all three.  The prime minister will not be reading these messages directly, his aides will. In your subject line, put “Please share this with the prime minister,” “Please pass this message to PM Netanyahu,” or something similar

[email protected]    [email protected] (underscore after pm)    [email protected]

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As to responses that are being called for, I want to allude here to one approach that I see as good news: annexation of Ma’aleh Adumim and of Gush Etzion.  It is time for a new message, say those advancing these proposals.  And I heartily agree.  Whether they meet with success now or not, we must hope that they mark the beginning of a brighter future.

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When last I wrote, I noted that neither the White House nor the State Department had expressed condolences for the terrorist murder of Hallel Ariel, who was an American citizen.  It was pointed out to me by a couple of readers that indeed there had been a statement by the State Department.  This is the case, and so my comment had not been fully correct. But the State Department expression of condolences – which ignored the fact that Hallel was an American – was insufficient.

Not for a second do I believe this was an inadvertent oversight on the part of the State Department.  To acknowledge Hallel’s citizenship is to acknowledge responsibility for responding to what happened to her.  The State Department would rather avoid this.

A ZOA press release on this issue makes the further point that the condolence statement neglects to mention that the terrorist was a Palestinian Arab. Hmmm… It also compares the State Department condolence here to similar condolences regarding events in other parts of the world.
http://zoa.org/2016/07/10328355-zoa-u-s-state-departments-condolence-statements-on-terrorist-attacks-biased-against-israel-jews/

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I will do my best to focus on some measure of good news when next I post.

10/19/15

A Huge Problem Confronts Us

Arlene from Israel

It was eerie how precisely I called it.  Yesterday, in describing the terror situation, I said: “I might write about the most recent attack and then, within hours, there might be another one.”  As it turned out, it wasn’t even hours.  I had just sent out my posting when word came in of another attack.  But this wasn’t a relatively simple matter of an attempted knifing. This was an horrendous affair:

It happened in the Central Bus station in Be’ersheva, in the Negev:

Credit: barefootholy
A major attack.  A terrorist carrying a pistol and a knife stormed into the bus station, killed a soldier, grabbed his rifle and began shooting.

The soldier was Omri Levi, 19, of the Golani Brigade. He was on his way to his base.

Omri Levy

Courtesy

Before he was shot dead by security, the terrorist wounded ten people, including four security personnel – some critically, some less seriously.

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It is deeply regrettable that one other person died in the course of this attack: An Eritrean, standing nearby, was thought by security to be an accomplice to the terrorist, and so was shot.  The crowd in the station, assuming he was complicit in the attack, then set upon him, beating him.  He ultimately died of his wounds.

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The terrorist has been identified as an Israeli citizen – a Bedouin, Muhand Al-Okabi, 21,

Credit: radiojai

News reports that identify him as having come from the Bedouin town of Hura, near Be’ersheva, are incorrect: he lived in an illegal Bedouin village outside of Hura.  (They like to call these villages “unrecognized,” as if the government has failed to give them their due, but “illegal” is the proper term.)

His father is an Israeli Bedouin from the area, his mother had been brought by his father from Gaza, and acquired citizenship when she married him.  I’ll come back to this.

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What has been determined is that security was lax at the bus terminal – someone with a gun and a pistol should not have been able to enter.

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From all sides, Palestinian Arabs celebrated this attack.

On the Hamas website, spokesman Husam Badran blessed “the quality operation.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/hamas-praises-quality-terror-attack-in-beersheba/

While Jibil Rajoub, Fatah strongman and former head of PA preventative security, in an interview with official PA media, referred to the attack as “an act of heroism.”

http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Veteran-Fatah-strongman-Rajoub-praises-Beersheba-attack-as-act-of-heroism-427366

And a Lebanese Internet site reported “heavy celebratory gunfire” at Palestinian refugee camps al-Beddawi and Ain el-Hilweh in Lebanon.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/celebrations-reported-in-lebanon-after-beersheba-attack/

I doubt that many expected anything else.

~~~~~~~~~~

The big question being asked is how an Israeli citizen could have done this – this is not a Palestinian Arab from some village in Samaria.

Bedouin leaders in the Negev, including the mayor of Hura, have expressed horror at what happened.  One insisted, “His family is known and not as a family that encourages terrorism.” The family was lauded, in fact, as having helped to found the State of Israel.

Another leader protested: “This is not our way. Our way is the way of peace and reconciliation, love and brotherhood, of intermeshing and loyalty.” (Quite a mouthful.  Does he not protest too much?)

~~~~~~~~~~

Well, my friends, I am here to tell you that the situation is much more complicated and much uglier than what the Bedouin leaders would have us believe.  We tend to think of the Bedouin of the Negev as loyal Israeli citizens and undoubtedly some still are. Undoubtedly some are genuinely horrified by what has taken place and are proud to serve in the army (though fewer do these days).  What we need to face, however, is that for several reasons there has been a radicalization of the Negev Bedouins.

This is in part because the Islamist – Hamas affiliated – Islamic Movement in Israel, Northern Branch, comes down into the Negev to incite them.  They are heavily invested in the Bedouin community there, including in the schools. There is a recent history of the Bedouins – incited and guided by the Islamic Movement – who make radicalized demands of the State with regard to illegally constructed villages, which they misrepresent as having a legitimacy that does not exist.  Those of you who have been reading my posts for any length of time know I have reported.  This is not a benign phenomenon, but rather one intended to marginalize Jewish settlement.

~~~~~~~~~~

Then there is the matter of his mother, who is from Gaza.  This is another part of the story of the Israeli Bedouin, who adhere to the Muslim practice of polygamy.  Since this is against Israeli law, they do it serially, nominally divorcing one wife before marrying another.  When there is a “wife shortage,” they seek women from places such as Gaza. But these women are not pro-Israel.

Al-Okabi’s mother is not his father’s first wife.  What ideology did she bring with her from Gaza, as she raised her son (and, presumably, other children)?  Perhaps Muhand Al-Okabi’s family was a good family in the past, as is being claimed.  But in his generation?

~~~~~~~~~~

This is a phenomenon, in all its aspects, that has not been addressed sufficiently by Israeli officials.  More than once, I have been horrified by what I learned. For example:  Bedouin in those illegal villages frequently extort. They come out and tell the company paving a road in the area that if a road is not also laid down in their illegal village, the road that is being put down will be torn up over night.

Because the rule of law has not been enforced on relatively small matters, the chickens are now coming home to roost – as we confront major issues.

~~~~~~~~~~

There is one other very major aspect to the problem of the Negev Bedouin that must be addressed.

Reports have surfaced that the terrorist was a supporter of ISIS.  So says a man who worked with him (although I have not been able to discover what sort of “work” we are talking about).

“Channel 2 television reported that the worker said, ‘He talked about it all the time.’”   (Emphasis added)

http://www.jewishpress.com/news/bedouin-terrorist-who-attacked-beer-sheva-had-isis-ideology/2015/10/19/

If this is so, how surprised could his family have been?  But let’s carry it further: How startled could the Bedouins of Hura been, their elaborate protests not withstanding?

This past June, the Shin Bet arrested six residents of Hura, “after it was discovered they were actively spreading the ISIS ideology, and attended secret meetings for the movement. Four of the suspects are school teachers. The official statement said that the suspects used their position as educators to spread the ISIS ideology.” (Emphasis added)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4676824,00.html

~~~~~~~~~~

The best analysis I’ve seen with regard to what we are dealing with now is by Ari Soffer in Arutz Sheva, “Israel Must Tackle Its Own Extremism Problem” (emphasis added):

“…This is no ‘war’ against a foreign country or entity, but a struggle to wrest a portion of Israel’s own citizens from the claws of a poisonous ideology that is incinerating country after country in our immediate neighborhood…

“Yet far from countering it, in the absence of any real strategy Israel authorities are achieving the very opposite, with an approach which is in practice completely, absurdly, illogically backwards.

“As any counter-extremism expert will tell you, one of the most basic elements of such a strategy must be empowering moderates and marginalizing extremists as much as possible.  Yet here in Israel, we do the very opposite.

Extremist Arab MKS who openly support terrorist groups like Hamas, who actively engage in racist harassment against Jews (and police) on the Temple Mount, who have attacked soldiers in the past (remember the Mavi Marmari?), and who are even now calling for an ‘intifada,’ are free to serve in the Knesset and receive a government-funded salary.

“And while our politicians vow to crush Hamas and attack the Palestinian Authority for not doing more, we allow Hamas’s little brother, the Islamic Movement – particularly its jihadist northern branch – to operate openly and legally in Israel, alongside other fascist Islamic groups…Why are these organizations still legal in Israel?

“At the same time, those Israeli Muslims, Christians and Druze who are loyal citizens, who do serve in the army and contribute as much as any Israeli Jew to Israeli society are sidelined…drowned out by the extremists we ourselves allow to flourish here…

Much of this is due to the rampant political-correctness of the Supreme Court and some politicians, who are afraid of ‘discriminating’ against Arabs by taking action against extremists.  But the result is a perverse one: if discrimination and distrust towards Israeli Arabs still persists, it is in great part because the liberal elite has fed it by effectively legitimizing the most rabid extremists as their ‘legitimate representatives’ – whether their ‘constituents’ actually like it or not…And…it is Israel’s Arab population that ultimately suffers the most…

So instead of battling the extremists who encourage and facilitate terrorism, while empowering moderates who encourage and facilitate integration and participation in Israel society (some of whom, like Father Gabriel Nadaf, are doing incredible work even with the limited resources they have) we are getting the worst of both worlds: sidelining the moderates while allowing the extremists to run riot.

The time has come to flip that irrational approach on its head. The government must act decisively to not only follow through with Netanyahu’s latest pledge to ban the Islamic Movement, but toshow a true zero-tolerance policy towards all purveyors of Arab and Muslim supremacy.  Extremist MKs such as Hanin Zoabi, Ahmed Tibi, Basel Ghattas, and Jamal Zahalka should not be free to abuse their positions and act as an effective fifth-column operating within Israel’s own legislature. And rabid anti-Semitic preachers should not be allowed to spread their hate on the Temple Mount, Judaism’s holiest site.”?

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/202111#.ViTib5uhfIU

~~~~~~~~~~

I have grown exceedingly weary in recent weeks of reading apologetics, including in mainstream Israeli media, about how we must be more sensitive to our treatment of Arabs in our midst – for we see that our treatment has fostered the current terrorism.  Or about how it’s all about “occupation,” and how even the Israeli Arabs witness this and are radicalized by it.

The issues I’ve raised here are painful to confront, but it is very necessary to do so.  The time has come to grapple with the situation with seriousness.

What our government requires most of all now is introspective honesty and a very determined strength in working to correct the problem.  Everyone who truly cares about Israel must be behind our government on this.  For we are going to face a firestorm of criticism from the politically correct, left-leaning international community – as well as from those same politically correct and left-learning elements inside our society. (Already there are pro-Palestinian Arab NGOs here registering distress about the “injustice” of depriving terrorists of their citizenship or residency rights.)

~~~~~~~~~~

What I’ve been doing, during this time of renewed terrorism, has been to track the government’s strength in taking sane steps to adjust the situation.  I’ve been encouraged in several respects – as if the light had suddenly dawned, and major parties within the government had had enough. But we are not where we need to be yet, not by a long shot.

I will go back to doing this tracking, and discussing related issues, in my next post.

Here I simply want to report on what is happening with Hamas and Fatah.  Yesterday, Hamas declared itself dissatisfied with the results of the ‘knife intifada,” which wasn’t killing many.  Put down your knives, they advised and go back to killing with vehicles.

And now Hamas has ordered its followers to conduct suicide bombings.

“Mahmoud al-Zahar, a senior Hamas official, said Sunday that the ‘intifada’ needs to be turned from a ‘popular’ terror war into a fully-militarized terror war, making an open call for the use of guns and explosives”.

While Fatah brags that is can “blow up buses in Tel Aviv,” Jibil Rajoub isn’t sure it’s a good idea at this time:

“The world doesn’t accept exploding buses in Tel Aviv…
“However…the international community seems to allow the murder of IDF soldiers and Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria.

“The world doesn’t ask about a settler or soldier who is on occupied territories at the wrong place and the wrong time, no one asks about that.”

Got that?

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/202109#.ViUZspuhfIV

~~~~~~~~~~

And then, as with every post now, I close with good news. This is a beautiful video, that let’s people see who we are (with thanks to Deena M):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzfIuJkYl_Y&feature=youtu.be

10/18/15

Telling Truth to a Reluctant World

Arlene from Israel

h of you, my readers, is to run with the information that I am providing. This is information that is often not shared by media outside of Israel.  I think the tide is beginning to turn: Abbas has gone too far.  Please!  as always, put this information out in every way you can, share it as broadly as possible. Additionally, if you encounter news sources that slant the information or neglect to report on the situation, challenge them directly.

~~~~~~~~~~

I wrote yesterday about Ahmed Ansara, the Palestinian Arab boy who lay in good condition in Hadassah hospital at the very moment that Abbas and his cohorts were claiming that Israel had “executed him in cold blood.”  Ahmed had been run over by a car when fleeing Israelis who went after him because he had stabbed two people.  This was NOT an innocent child.

Now there is follow-up on this, as police have questioned him. “I went there to kill Jews,” he told them.

Ahmad Manasra, one of two cousins who went on a stabbing frenzy in Jerusalem on October 12, 2015 is seen at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem on October 15, 2015. Manasra was hit by a car while fleeing from the scene of the attack. (Courtesy)

Courtesy

As Times of Israel reports:

Manasra said he was motivated to carry out the attack by the Palestinian claim that Israel has been trying to change the status quo on the volatile Temple Mount in Jerusalem.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/terrorist-teen-executed-by-israel-confesses-to-attack/

Please, mark this very well.

He explained that “I came with my cousin Hassan. He brought the knives and I agreed to join him.”

Both Ahmed’s family and the PA have denied that he had anything to do with it, but security camera videos of the boys proving otherwise exist.

Here’s a still from a police video, showing the boys carrying knives.

A still image from footage of knife-wielding Palestinian teens who stabbed and wounded two Israelis in Jerusalem on Monday, October 12, 2015. (screen capture: Israel Police)

Screen capture: Israel Police

Footage in the video shows them chasing a man, and then attacking a boy on a bike.

~~~~~~~~~~

I want to take a moment here to mention the boy who was attacked (whose name is apparently not on record, and wisely so).  About the same age as Ahmed, he was scheduled to have his bar mitzvah next month.  Thank Heaven he is still alive, but he was taken to the hospital in critical condition and put on a respirator because of stabbing to his throat.  I am without words for this.

~~~~~~~~~~

The incredible thing is that the PA does not let up, as foolish as they begin to look.  Netanyahu held a press conference yesterday (about which more below) at which he discussed the incitement by the PA and the outrageous charges it makes.

Following this press conference, PLO chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, who lies with the best of them, said, “Mr. Netanyahu’s attack on President (sic) Abbas is a failed attempt to distract from the fact that Palestinian civilians, including children, are being systematically targeted for extra-judicial executions by Israel.”  (Notice that Abbas is “president” while Netanyahu, is not “prime minister” but “Mr.”)

~~~~~~~~~~

At his press conference, held partly in English and partly in Hebrew, Netanyahu, filled with his own fury about what is going on, minced no words (emphasis added):

Abbas is inciting murder.

Make him accountable and stop trying to justify him in any way – not with settlements, not with the peace process, not with anything.  The first order of the day in fighting terrorism is moral clarity. Nothing justifies terrorism, nothing exonerates it. Stop trying to explain it away

“We expect our friends…to see the truth and not draw false symmetry between Israeli citizens and those who would stab them and knife them to death.”

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/WATCH-LIVE-Prime-Minister-Benjamin-Netanyahu-speaks-to-foreign-press-amid-wave-of-terror-426087

~~~~~~~~~~

Netanyahu also took strong issue with State Department spokesmen John Kirby. On Wednesday, during the daily briefing, the air-headed, bumbling Kirby said (emphasis added):

Israel has a “right and responsibility to protect its citizens.”

However, he declared, “We’ve certainly seen some reports of what many would consider excessive use of force. Obviously we don’t like to see that. We’re concerned about that.”

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/US-State-Department-has-been-traditionally-hostile-to-Israel-Erdan-says-424998

At the time, Security Minister Gilad Erdan, retorted that (emphasis added):

The comments by the US State Department spokesman are so crazy, deceitful and baseless, that I expect President [Barack] Obama and US Secretary of State [John] Kerry to distance themselves from them, and to clarify the US position.

“…every reasonable person knows very well how the police in the United States would act if terrorists armed with axes and knives would come to kill citizens in New York and Washington.”
His point here is a crucial one: The world seems to feel free to judge Israel by a standard that is applied to no other nation.

Netanyahu also addressed this yesterday:

“What would happen in New York if they saw people rushing into crowds trying to murder people?  What would happen in London, in Paris, Rome, Moscow, or anywhere?”

~~~~~~~~~~
I asked rhetorically yesterday if we are daft sometimes, regarding how nice we are to Arabs within our midst and how we cut them slack. This is certainly the case with some of the Arab members of the Knesset, who pump for the other side, and incite, and yet still sit in the Knesset. Many is the time that I have asked myself, “What the hell is wrong with us?” after hearing one of them mouth off.

Well, as I have indicated before, the very worst of these inciteful offenders is Hanin Zoabi, who has been consistently sympathetic to Hamas and other jihadists.  She has been cut altogether too much slack over time – especially after her involvement with the Mavi Marmara flotilla.  But I think her days as a free-wheeling traitor sitting in the Knesset are numbered. The proper place for her to sit is in a prison cell.

Yesterday, she repeated Abbas’s charges about “execution” of innocent Arabs.

Then she called again for the end of “lone wolf attacks” and said she wanted to see a “true popular intifada.” This is major incitement.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201965#.ViDfH5uhfIV

~~~~~~~~~~

Hamas has declared today to be a “Day of Rage,” which means security has to be particularly vigilant.  Here I wish to note several incidents, one critical:

Kever Yosef, Joseph’s Tomb, a Jewish religious site, is located inside PA territory in Shechem (Nablus). According to the Oslo Accords, Jews are to have regular access to this site, which is to be protected.  I will return to this broader issue as appropriate and as time allows in coming days.

Last night, an Arab mob set fire to the Tomb and caused considerable damage:

joseph's tomb

Credit: Facebook

The fire was brought under control by PA police and the IDF – which announced that it views the incident with “utmost severity” – said it will do necessary repairs so worship can take place there.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Josefs-Tomb-set-ablaze-by-Palestinian-rioters-426143

~~~~~~~~~~

There are now calls here for Israel to retake the Tomb, because religious sites are only safe when under Israeli control – which is absolutely the case!

What is more, it is understood that the incitement of Abbas was almost certainly a strong motivating factor of what was done.  Wrote Uri Ariel (Habayit Hayehudi) on Facebook (emphasis added):

Torching one of the places holy to the Jewish people is a new low, and a result of Palestinian incitement. While the Palestinians brazenly lie about us harming the status quo on the Temple Mount, they go out and burn and desecrate the sacred places of Israel, and that won’t be forgiven.”

http://www.timesofisrael.com/rightists-call-to-retake-josephs-tomb-after-torching/

~~~~~~~~~~

A Palestinian Arab disguised himself as a journalist in Kiryat Arba, next to Hevron today, approached an IDF soldier and then stabbed him.  The terrorist was shot dead.  The soldier is in the hospital in moderate condition.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Initial-report-One-hurt-in-stabbing-attack-near-Kiryat-Arba-426170

~~~~~~~~~~

Because of that “Day of Rage,” border police were monitoring the area near Mt. Scopus in Jerusalem, as many areas, with special care.  In the course of a sweep of the area, a bomb-sniffing dog and his handler located a pipe bomb, which was then neutralized, saving lives.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Police-thwart-attempted-attack-after-finding-pipe-bomb-in-Jerusalem-426163

Credit: Police

I never mention the hard working police and military dogs, but they do a great job and I say hurray! for them here.

~~~~~~~~~~

I’m going to close with this article, although the report is still tentative.  It has the potential to be a very significant story.

This has to do with the suspicion, being investigated by Minister of Health Ya’akov Litzman, that when Jews were critically injured in an attack in the Old City, Arab doctors from an adjacent clinic did not come out to help them.  If this turns out to be true, it is huge, in light of the fact that Jewish doctors consider themselves ethics-bound to treat Muslim terrorists.  Here we’re not talking about terrorists, but innocent Jewish victims. They died, and there is the thought they might have been saved.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201984#.ViDoLJuhfIW

The blood pressure shoots up at the mere thought that this might have been so.  It would change the equation.

Will stay on top of this.  And I thank reader Ya’akov G. for alerting me.

~~~~~~~~~~

Shabbat is on the way.  We must keep Shabbat, as Shabbat keeps us.  I carry hope in my heart always, and want to convey this to readers.

Here a video of songs about Shabbat peace and the peace of Jerusalem that is so very appropriate.  Shabbat Shalom to all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCMBkxr2WSc

10/15/15

A Tough Struggle

Arlene from Israel

There are a great many measures against the terrorism that the Security Cabinet has passed or is considering at this point.

It seems to me that among the most powerful are those that affect the families of terrorists. Potential terrorists anticipate becoming “shahids” – martyrs – and having their names praised, never mind being rewarded with 70 virgins in heaven. It’s all a great honor.

But they are not keen on leaving their families – parents, wives, children – in a severe bind.  Thus has it been decided that homes of terrorists will be demolished and it will be forbidden for new homes to be built on the same site.  Property of the terrorists will be seized.

~~~~~~~~~~

In addition, Jerusalem residency will be revoked.  A great many of the terrorists are from east Jerusalem and – by choice – have Jerusalem residency papers, which provide certain perks, but not full citizenship.  Interior Minister Silvan Shalom has announced this status will be revoked at present for 19 terrorists.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/minister-says-residency-of-19-east-jerusalem-terrorists-to-be-revoked/

Now, please, pay careful attention here:

If the terrorists lose their status as residents, they lose rights to National Insurance. This has two implications.  If the terrorist died, the family cannot collect welfare benefits from National Insurance.  And if the terrorist was wounded, but is still alive, there will be no disability insurance.

My friends, I read this, and I said, STOP THE PRESSES!

What does this mean?? That until now terrorists who had Jerusalem residency status DID receive insurance benefits via the State.

And I rhetorically asked myself the obvious: Are we daft? Completely and totally daft – at least until now?

~~~~~~~~~~

I think perhaps this entire horrendous situation that the nation is grappling with may have a positive effect in that it clarifies national thinking in certain significant ways.  We might just start to get smart for ourselves (if this isn’t wishing for too much).  I will come back to this below.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Security Cabinet has adopted Gilad Erdan’s suggestion that the bodies of terrorists not be returned to their families, but be buried without fanfare.  The goal here is to prevent the displays at funerals that turn them into a very public celebration of terrorism.  “Honor” accrues to the terrorist and to his surviving family, and the ceremony serves as a form of incitement, as well.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201878#.Vh-e4JuhfIU

Palestinian mourners wave the green flag of the Islamist movement Hamas at a funeral on April 30, 2014, in the West Bank city of Ramallah. (photo credit: Issam Rimawi/Flash90)

Credit: Issam Rimawi/Flash 90

Recently, the body of terrorist Muhammad Halabi – who killed two people in Jerusalem’s Old City before he was shot dead – was returned to his family for burial.  Fatah then brought bags of soil from near the Al Aksa mosque, so that his dead body “can hug the soil for which he died a martyr.”

http://palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=157&doc_id=15893

Hopefully this sort of thing will no longer be possible.

~~~~~~~~~~

With each of these steps – such as legal action against the Islamic Movement of Israel, Northern Branch – I find myself thinking, it’s a start. Long overdue, but a start. Perhaps a step towards national sanity.

~~~~~~~~~~

Other steps that are being taken, of a security nature, some of which I have already addressed:

Hundreds of IDF troops (six companies, I believe) have come into Jerusalem and will be working with the police.

Illustrative photo of IDF soldiers at a military post  Beit Jala, outside Jerusalem. (Hadas Parush/Flash90)

Credit: Hadas Parush/Flash 90

They are riding buses and trains, and are surrounding the Arab neighborhoods, where they have set up checkpoints.

Israel sets up roadblocks in Palestinian East Jerusalem

Credit: Reuters

They have the go-ahead to totally seal off a particular neighborhood for security purposes if this is deemed necessary.

~~~~~~~~~~

Naturally, these practices have their critics and naysayers. There are those who decry the inconvenience to innocent people in those neighborhoods, to which I reply “Tough.”  Better they be inconvenienced than that innocent Jews be killed.  No contest on this. Emergency situations require stern measures. These measures will not be sustained long term.

Others say that even with the roadblocks and the rest, those who are determined terrorists will find their way out of their neighborhoods. This may be: this approach may be less than perfect. But it does seem to be having a dampening effect on terrorist activity.  (If this turns out to not be successful, there will need to be sterner measures yet.)

Still others say that this is stop-gap, and a long term solution is needed. This may also be. But stop-gap, if it stops terrorists right now, is what is needed first. Once it’s quiet, there will be time to examine long term policy adjustments.  We are dealing with an exceedingly complex situation in an intensely volatile time.  I hope in due course to address some of the issues.

~~~~~~~~~~

I mentioned briefly in an earlier posting what the response from Israeli citizens has been, and I want to reiterate it here.  People are carrying guns (with control regulations loosened), and pepper spray, and various other items that can be used for self-defense.  Repeatedly, they have rallied at a sign of trouble.

Self-defense instructors in Krav Magen technique are providing free lessons across the country.  Typical Israel rallying, folks.

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Amid-terror-attacks-Krav-Magen-instructors-offer-free-classes-in-Jerusalem-other-cities-426081

Senior Israeli Krav Magen instructor Yonatan Graber (right) and his trainer, Maor Hakak, displaying

Courtesy

~~~~~~~~~~

Circling back to my question regarding whether we have been daft in the latitude we have provided terrorists… The answer, of course, is absolutely we have. Part of the reason is because we have a segment of our society that remains bleeding heart delusional, or that tilts pretty far left.  But I see as a greater reason the concern within the government about how the world is seeing us.

We must remind ourselves that no matter how we treat the Arabs in our midst, including the terrorists and troublemakers, we are going to be judged badly by the world. Who cares how we act?  They will say about us what they will say, with malice aforethought.

Who knows, who cares, that terrorists are treated alongside their victims in Israeli hospitals?  This is a matter of medical ethics – which are scrupulously adhered to, not Israeli policy.

http://www.timesofisrael.com/once-inside-israels-hospitals-the-terrorist-becomes-the-patient/

For us to expect the world to judge us fairly is a foolish and losing proposition.  We must hope at this point that we will begin to put our needs first, as well we should

~~~~~~~~~~

Two days ago, at a speech at Harvard, Secretary of State Kerry said, “And there’s been a massive increase in settlements over the course of the last years, and now you have this violence because there’s a frustration that is growing.”

http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Kerry-to-visit-Israel-amid-crisis-423892

And so, he blamed us for the terror directed at us.  Netanyahu, who has it right, was crystal clear in his statement that the terror does not come from frustration, but from a desire to annihilate us.

http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Netanyahu-Terrorism-comes-from-a-desire-to-annihilate-us-not-from-Palestinian-frustration-423728

I will point out here, as I have before, and will again, that we have endured some of our worst terror when we were in negotiations and making concessions.  That terror was not fueled by frustration, but by a perception that we, in making concessions, were weak and could be frightened into even greater concessions.

But how many millions of people learned of Kerry’s remarks, and believed his assessment?  Never mind that the State Department subsequently tried to walk back Kerry’s statement.

~~~~~~~~~~

After speaking about frustration and terrorism, Kerry then announced that he was coming here some time soon, to try to help bring quiet to the region via negotiations.  The Quartet visit was cancelled, but we may get the Secretary of State anyway.  Oh joy.

~~~~~~~~~~

There were, as well, comments by the British Foreign Office.  While condemning terrorism, Minister Tobia Ellwood said:

We are also concerned by the use of force by Israeli security personnel in response to protests and security incidents…”

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/201862#.Vh_8NpuhfIV

How’s that for empty-headed evenhandedness?  Our security forces should maybe hug the terrorists?

~~~~~~~~~~

Abbas has made one outrageous accusation against Israel after another. This has been most notable with regard to the Temple Mount, but also concerning what he has labeled as excessive violence against “innocent” Arabs.

In the last couple of days, however, Abbas’s attempt to paint Israel as the aggressor went too far. Speaking in Ramallah yesterday, he referred to:

“…the policy of occupation and aggression by Israel and its settlers, who commit terror against our people, our homes, our trees, our holy places, and who execute our children in cold blood, as they did to the child Ahmed Mansara.”  (Emphasis added)

http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/.premium-1.680494

The PA even ran a brief video that purported to show Ahmed Mansara lying dead in the street.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ahmed and his cousin Mohammed had wounded two Israelis in a stabbing attack in the Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood of Jerusalem on Monday.  He wasn’t executed, he was hit by a passing car when running from bystanders who were chasing him.

And guess what?  He is alive and doing very well in Hadassah Hospital.

OOPS!

After Abbas made his charges that Israel had “executed” the boy, Minister of Health Yaakov Litzman permitted cameramen to photograph him:

Footage of 13-year-old Jerusalem stabber filmed after Abbas decried his

Screenshot

This infuriated the Mansara family.  According to Minister Litzman, the family was cooperating with Abbas in the fabrication that the boy was dead.

http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/10/15/family-of-teen-terrorist-touted-as-killed-in-cold-blood-tried-to-prevent-israel-from-filming-him-alive-video/#

This is the sort of libel we must contend with.

~~~~~~~~~~

Where are we with regard to the terrorism?  It’s better, but no guarantee, of course, that it’s over.  It will be some time before we can say that.

Yesterday, there was an attempted attack at the Damascus Gate into the Old City; security took out the terrorist.  And then outside the Central Bus Station, a woman was stabbed by an Arab, before he was shot to death.

Today, it has been quiet, please Heaven may it remain so.

~~~~~~~~~~

I close with a video that should bring a smile.  It is not directly connected to this time of violence, but reflects the attitude of Israelis.  A Flashmob on the Jerusalem light rail:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtqAFP5E1b8