A casualty in the Hamas/Fatah civil war

Posted on 04/17/2008 by Soccerdad

The Washington Post today also features an article about the Fatah Hamas war focusing on the death of Majd Barghouti, a Hamas sympathizer. Missing from the account are the stories of how Hamas killed members of Fatah last year – by throwing them off roofs – or their “kneecapping” of their victims.

When the preacher’s body arrived at the hospital, his back was scarlet where he had been whipped with pipes. His legs were black with bruises. His wrists were sliced open and bloodied.The Palestinian Authority, which had been holding Majd Barghouti in an intelligence-service prison for the previous week, soon declared that the popular Hamas imam, or prayer leader, had died of a heart attack.

But eyewitness accounts, photographs, video and an independent Palestinian investigation released this month suggested that he was tortured to death during his February detention.

 

Later Griff Witte reports:

Historically, Hamas has been stronger in Gaza while Fatah has dominated the West Bank. But the trend lines of Palestinian public opinion in recent months have defied geography: Hamas’s popularity is surging across the board and Fatah’s is waning. Hamas’s appeal relies in part on a militant response to what it sees as Israeli aggression, such as the makeshift rockets that Gazans fire into southern Israel, while Fatah engages in peace talks with Israel that have yielded scant progress.

 

I was pleasantly surprised to see a qualification here. “[W]hat it sees,” is correct. Israel, usually is defending its land not launching offensives.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Posted in Israel | 4 Comments

The double standard: Israeli and Palestinian casualties

Posted on 04/17/2008 by Meryl Yourish

It’s astonishing—or perhaps not—how often the words “youths” and “children” are used when describing Palestinian casualties, civilian or otherwise. A 19-year-old Palestinian injured in battle with the IDF is often called a “youth,” even if the 19-year-old was actually working with the terrorists. Or was one.

Palestinian teenagers are always at least identified as teenagers, and often as “children.” Like in the headline and lede to the latest AP story about the IDF battles in Gaza yesterday:

Gaza fighting kills 20 Palestinians, including 5 children
Israel struck hard against targets in Gaza on Wednesday, killing at least 20 Palestinians in a day of heavy fighting that also saw three Israeli soldiers killed in a Hamas ambush.

Several civilians were among the dead – including five children and a Reuters cameraman killed while covering the conflict, according to Palestinian officials.

And how old are the children?

In the day’s deadliest incident, an Israeli helicopter fired four missiles at targets near the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, witnesses said. At least 12 Palestinians, including five children ages 12-15, were killed, said Dr. Moaiya Hassanain of the Palestinian Health Ministry.

Let’s compare this to the massacre of Israeli children at Mercaz Harav, the yeshiva that a Palestinian terrorist walked into and deliberately gunned down 7 teenagers and one young man. How did AP report their ages?

Gunman Kills 8 At Jerusalem Seminary
A gunman entered the library of a rabbinical seminary and opened fire on a crowded nighttime study session Thursday, killing eight people and wounding nine before he was slain, police and rescue workers said.

They didn’t. AP doesn’t bother with the ages of the victims in the early stories. You don’t get the age until the funeral stories the next day:

Thousands of Israelis gathered outside a bullet-scarred Jerusalem rabbinical seminary on Friday to mourn eight students killed by a suspected Palestinian gunman, while an Israeli official said the country would not suspend peace talks.

A bearded rabbi recited Hebrew psalms line by line, the crowd repeating after him, in memory of the dead, one of whom was 26 and the rest between ages 15 and 19. People packed nearby balconies to observe the ceremony, after which the bodies were to be taken for burial.

So, a 15-year-old Palestinian is a child. But a 15-year-old Israeli? No. Not a child. A “student” at best.

Almost no non-Israeli media outlet ever names the victims of Palestinian terror. They rarely mention the age of the victims, even when they’re children. There is a constant dehumanization of the Israeli victims of Arab terror, and it has been so for decades.

What time is it, folks? That’s right. It’s Israeli Double Standard Time. Palestinian “youths” morph into “children,” while Israeli “children” morph into—something else. Something less sympathetic. Because that simply doesn’t fit the media narrative anymore.

Posted in AP Media Bias, Gaza, Israeli Double Standard Time, Media Bias | Comments Off on The double standard: Israeli and Palestinian casualties

Zahar, with a difference

Posted on 04/17/2008 by Soccerdad

The Washington Post has once again given op-ed space to the member of a terrorist organization. In it Mahmoud al-Zahar gets to criticize Israel and praise Jimmy Carter. Zahar of course starts off with an outright falsehood:

President Jimmy Carter’s sensible plan to visit the Hamas leadership this week brings honesty and pragmatism to the Middle East while underscoring the fact that American policy has reached its dead end. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acts as if a few alterations here and there would make the hideous straitjacket of apartheid fit better. While Rice persuades Israeli occupation forces to cut a few dozen meaningless roadblocks from among the more than 500 West Bank control points, these forces simultaneously choke off fuel supplies to Gaza; blockade its 1.5 million people; approve illegal housing projects on West Bank land; and attack Gaza City with F-16s, killing men, women and children. Sadly, this is “business as usual” for the Palestinians.

Israel isn’t choking off fuel supplies to Gaza. The fuel company owners are refusing shipments from Israel.

Yet this Hamas op-ed is different from previous ones. For one thing the tone is much more hostile to Israel, suggesting that Zahar wrote this himself. For another, the Post ran its own editorial countering Zahar.

ON THE OPPOSITE page today we publish an article by the “foreign minister” of Hamas, Mahmoud al-Zahar, that drips with hatred for Israel, and with praise for former president Jimmy Carter. We believe Mr. Zahar’s words are worth publishing because they provide some clarity about the group he helps to lead, a group that Mr. Carter contends is worthy of being included in the Middle East peace process. Mr. Carter himself is holding what appears to be a series of meetings with Hamas leaders during a tour of the Middle East. He met one militant in the West Bank town of Ramallah on Tuesday and was reportedly planning to meet Mr. Zahar in Cairo today before traveling to Damascus for an appointment with Khaled Meshal, Hamas’s top leader.Mr. Zahar lauds Mr. Carter for the “welcome tonic” of saying that no peace process can succeed “unless we are sitting at the negotiating table and without any preconditions.” Yet Mr. Zahar has his own preconditions: Before any peace process can “take even its first tiny step,” he says, Israel must withdraw to the 1967 borders and evacuate Jerusalem while preparing for the “return of millions of refugees.” In fact, as Mr. Zahar makes clear, Hamas is not at all interested in a negotiated peace with the Jewish state, whose existence it refuses to accept: “Our fight to redress the material crimes of 1948 is scarcely begun,” he concludes.

I’m glad that the Post did these two things. It’s more defensible. However, I still don’t believe it should have run the op-ed. The editorial refuting Zahar is strong and points out the extremism of Zahar’s positions. Finally the editorial concludes:

Mr. Carter justifies his meetings with familiar arguments about the value of dialogue with enemies. But he misses the point. Contacts between enemies can be useful: Israel is legendary for such negotiations, and even now it is engaged in back-channel bargaining with Hamas through Egypt. But it is one thing to communicate pragmatically, and quite another to publicly and unconditionally grant recognition and political sanction to a leader or a group that advocates terrorism, mass murder or the extinction of another state. That is what Mr. Carter is doing by lending what is left of his prestige to an avowed terrorist such as Khaled Meshal — or Mahmoud al-Zahar.

It’s good that the Post didn’t let either Carter or Zahar off the hook. I think it would have been better not to publish the op-ed in the first place, but at least like this, readers don’t have to go to far to read a necessary rebuttal.

UPDATE: Elder of Ziyon accentuates the negative.

UPDATE II: Picked up by Buzztracker.

UPDATE III: I must be mellowing. LGF, Meryl, and NRO’s Media Blog all hit the Post hard. And Boker Tov Boulder points out a distinction without a difference in the editorial.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Posted in Israel | Comments Off on Zahar, with a difference

Shame on WaPo for publishing Hamas propaganda

Posted on 04/17/2008 by Meryl Yourish

I have no proof—just a feeling—but I’d love to know whether Jimmy Carter had any input into this WaPo op-ed ostensibly written by Mahmoud al-Zahar, one of the chief terrorists of Hamas. And shame on the WaPo for posting this. Their editorial labeling him a terrorist does not excuse them for publishing this execrable Hamas propaganda. And of course, this isn’t the first time the WaPo gave room to terrorists on its op-ed page, and I suspect it won’t be the last.

This is simply disgusting. Disgusting. The language of Hamas is used on the pages of the WaPo as if it has legitimacy.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice acts as if a few alterations here and there would make the hideous straitjacket of apartheid fit better. While Rice persuades Israeli occupation forces to cut a few dozen meaningless roadblocks from among the more than 500 West Bank control points, these forces simultaneously choke off fuel supplies to Gaza; blockade its 1.5 million people; approve illegal housing projects on West Bank land; and attack Gaza City with F-16s, killing men, women and children. Sadly, this is “business as usual” for the Palestinians.

Why, exactly, are those F-16s attacking Gaza?

Ten rockets were fired from Gaza at southern Israel since Wednesday night, landing in open fields in the western Negev.

And this is “business as usual” for the Palestinians. Listen to this disgusting defense of the terrorist attack on Nahal Oz. Remember that Gaza terrorists fired mortars to keep the IDF distracted while their gunmen then fired on defenseless civilians whose only crime was that they were working at the fuel depot so Gazans could have enough diesel fuel to run their hospitals. Remember that the attack was an attempt to kidnap more Israelis to use as bargaining chips during Hamas “negotiations” for a cease-fire.

Last week’s attack on the Nahal Oz fuel depot should not surprise critics in the West. Palestinians are fighting (1) a total war waged on us by a nation that mobilizes against our people with every means at its disposal — from its high-tech military to its economic stranglehold, from (2) its falsified history to its judiciary that “legalizes” the (3) infrastructure of apartheid. (4) Resistance remains (5) our only option.

Five lies in two sentences. 1: Israel is not waging a “total war,” but Hamas is doing so. If Hamas were to stop attacking Israel, there would be no attacks on Gaza. 2: Holocaust denial in the WaPo op-ed section, as well as the denial of Israel’s origins and history. 3. The apartheid lie, easily disproven by the fact that Arabs vote, hold office, etc., etc. If he means Gaza and the West Bank, you cannot have apartheid with a people that are not a part of your nation. Gaza and the West Bank citizens are effectively enemies. 4. The lie of “resistance,” the terrorist’s pseudonym for “terror attacks.” 5. Peace is an option. Living with Israel is an option. Not firing rockets and mortars on a daily basis is an option.

And here is the worst, the absolutely most disgusting comparison ever, and shame on the WaPo for letting this stand:

Sixty-five years ago, the courageous Jews of the Warsaw ghetto rose in defense of their people. We Gazans, living in the world’s largest open-air prison, can do no less.

Sixty-five years ago, the Germans were trying to eradicate the Jews from the face of the earth. Today, Hamas seeks to eradicate Jews from the Middle East, while denying that the Holocaust ever happened. This is the most perfect example of the simultaneous Holocaust denial and attempt to co-opt its imagery that the Palestinians have been using for years. I am amazed that God did not strike down dead the man that wrote the sentences above.

And oh, here we go again—the open-air prison lie. Talk to Egypt about your other border. You tore it down. They built it back up. Why is that, again? What is it that keeps your neighbors building walls to keep the Palestinians out of their territory? Could it be all the terror attacks Hamas is responsible for?

Here we have the call for sympathy. Al-Zahar wants you to feel sorry for his family of terrorists.

Only three months ago I buried my son Hussam, who studied finance at college and wanted to be an accountant; he was killed by an Israeli airstrike. In 2003, I buried Khaled — my first-born — after an Israeli F-16 targeting me wounded my daughter and my wife and flattened the apartment building where we lived, injuring and killing many of our neighbors. Last year, my son-in-law was killed.

Last month, Israel buried seven teenagers and a 26-year-old man, all of whom were studying Torah. They died because of the Palestinian insistence on “resistance”—that we know as terrorism. Al-Zahar’s sons were terrorists. His son-in-law was a terrorist. You make choices and you live by them—or die by them, if you happen to be fighting a war of terrorism against Israel.

Hussam was only 21, but like most young men in Gaza he had grown up fast out of necessity. When I was his age, I wanted to be a surgeon; in the 1960s, we were already refugees, but there was no humiliating blockade then.

Yes, they blow up so fast these days. In the 1960s, Egypt was the occupying nation, and yet, there was no world outcry for independence for the Palestinians under Egyptian control.

Next, we have the new language that Carter is pushing among his terrorist buddies—the language that makes me wonder how much input he had into writing this op-ed, and getting it published by the WaPo.

But now, after decades of imprisonment, killing, statelessness and impoverishment, we ask: What peace can there be if there is no dignity first? And where does dignity come from if not from justice?

It won’t be long before you have protests in the Gaza Strip with Palestinians holding signs and chanting “No justice, no peace!” Watch for it.

And now, the statement of pride in terrorism:

I am eternally proud of my sons and miss them every day. I think of them as fathers everywhere, even in Israel, think of their sons — as innocent boys, as curious students, as young men with limitless potential — not as “gunmen” or “militants.” But better that they were defenders of their people than parties to their ultimate dispossession; better that they were active in the Palestinian struggle for survival than passive witnesses to our subjugation.

And yet, they were “gunmen” and “militants.” They were involved in attacks on Israeli civilians. They would, had they lived, gone on to murder Israelis for the rest of their lives. And al-Zahar is proud of this.

Lastly, there is the demand for Israel’s total and complete surrender to Hamas: Return all the territories won in 1967, including the Temple Mount, allow the “refugees” to return, etc., etc.—the end of Israel as a nation, in other words.

A “peace process” with Palestinians cannot take even its first tiny step until Israel first withdraws to the borders of 1967; dismantles all settlements; removes all soldiers from Gaza and the West Bank; repudiates its illegal annexation of Jerusalem; releases all prisoners; and ends its blockade of our international borders, our coastline and our airspace permanently. This would provide the starting point for just negotiations and would lay the groundwork for the return of millions of refugees. Given what we have lost, it is the only basis by which we can start to be whole again.

Al-Zahar uses air quotes throughout whenever referring to the peace process. Throughout. It’s a small thing, but deeply meaningful. It implies that Hamas does not believe there is a peace process which, we already know, is true. Hamas is using Jimmy Carter, and the Washington Post, to spread its propaganda and to distract the world from the real issues. Those issues are written in their charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel and its replacement with an Islamic caliphate, which quotes the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and which even says that Jews control the Rotary clubs of America.

I don’t buy the WaPo editors’ reasoning behind publishing the op-ed.

ON THE OPPOSITE page today we publish an article by the “foreign minister” of Hamas, Mahmoud al-Zahar, that drips with hatred for Israel, and with praise for former president Jimmy Carter. We believe Mr. Zahar’s words are worth publishing because they provide some clarity about the group he helps to lead, a group that Mr. Carter contends is worthy of being included in the Middle East peace process.

[…] These facts would hardly need restating were it not for actors such as Mr. Carter, who portray Hamas as rational and reasonable.

Funny, but in 2006, these words went utterly unanswered by the WaPo editorial staff:

The “kidnapped” Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit is only a pretext for a job scheduled months ago.

[…] We present this clear message: If Israel will not allow Palestinians to live in peace, dignity and national integrity, Israelis themselves will not be able to enjoy those same rights. Meanwhile, our right to defend ourselves from occupying soldiers and aggression is a matter of law, as settled in the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Note Haniyeh’s lies are almost exactly what Al-Zahar wrote today, but couched in gentler tones. Perhaps it wasn’t nasty enough to get the WaPo’s editorial board’s dander up. I fail to see the distinction between Haniyeh’s lies and al-Zahar’s, but then, I’m not a professional journalist. They must teach that in J-School or something. The editors conclude:

But it is one thing to communicate pragmatically, and quite another to publicly and unconditionally grant recognition and political sanction to a leader or a group that advocates terrorism, mass murder or the extinction of another state. That is what Mr. Carter is doing by lending what is left of his prestige to an avowed terrorist such as Khaled Meshal — or Mahmoud al-Zahar.

Or publishing op-eds by Ismail Haniyeh without the same caveats given about al-Zahar’s op-ed.

Shame on the Washington Post. Shame on Jimmy Carter.

Posted in Hamas, Israel, Media Bias | 2 Comments

Defining deviancy down

Posted on 04/17/2008 by Meryl Yourish

Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously coined the phrase “defining deviancy down” to accept more and more violent behavior.

The news media seem to have that concept down perfectly when it comes to Israel. Always, when Israel launches offensives against terrorists—and always, the offensives are launched after terrorists have attacked and murdered Israelis—the media insist that Israel’s actions are “threatening” to “derail” or “unravel” or simply “threatening a fragile” and here we have our choice of “lull,” “cease-fire,” “quiet,” or even “peace negotiations.” It’s like the AP/Reuters/NYTimes version of Mad Libs. And now, in the latest AP version of defining deviancy down, Israel is responsible for threatening “to unravel an Egyptian effort to mediate a cease-fire.”

Have you got that? It’s Israel’s fault that the Egyptian effort is going to fail. There has been no concrete cease-fire. There has been no peace. There are only efforts, and Hamas basically tells Egypt that no, they’re not going to have any kind of cease-fire that doesn’t include the West Bank as well as Gaza, and yet, the AP manages to spin this as Israel’s fault. Because Israel’s response to the murder of three of her soldiers is the threat to the effort to try to maybe get Hamas to think about really, really, really ceasing their terrorism against Israel.

It wasn’t the action of terrorists planting a bomb on the Gaza border that threatened to unravel the effort to mediate the cease-fire. It wasn’t the firing of mortars that threatened to unravel the effort to mediate the cease-fire. It wasn’t yesterday’s and today’s firing of kassam rockets that threatened to unravel the effort to mediate the cease-fire. No. None of these things caused the AP to discuss the unraveling of the effort to mediate the cease-fire.

But Israel’s response to all of these things? Now that’s a reason to threaten to unravel the effort to mediate the cease-fire.

And the AP continues to define deviancy down. Nothing that the terrorists do affects the phantom lulls, cease-fires, truces, and efforts to mediate a cease-fire. Nothing. Anything that Israel does? Well. That’s what violates the truce. Or the calm. Or the lull. Or the effort to mediate a cease-fire.

And they wonder why journalists are among the least-respected professions in the world. Here’s a clue: People can read. Really they can. And they can especially read between the lines.

Posted in AP Media Bias, Gaza, Israel | 1 Comment

Iranian tactics killing Israeli soldiers

Posted on 04/16/2008 by Meryl Yourish

The Iranian training that Hamas is getting is making their terrorists more deadly and effective.

Three Givati Brigade soldiers were killed Wednesday morning during intense clashes with a Palestinian terror cell near the security fence in central Gaza. Three other soldiers sustained light to moderate injuries in exchanges of fire that erupted in the area.

[…] At around 6 am soldiers manning an IDF observation post identified a terorr cell which reportedly consisted of six Palestinian gunmen approaching the security fence near Kibbutz Be’eri in an apparent attempt to infiltrate Israel. A force from Givati’s Tzabar Battalion that was called to the scene entered 500 meters deep into Palestinian territory.

The terror cell managed to flee to a nearby vantage point, and two gunmen were sent to set off explosives near the Israeli troops. Two of the soldiers who were hit died of their wounds a short time later, and another was pronounced dead some two hours later at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center. Two of the wounded soldiers were being treated at Soroka, while another soldier was evacuated to the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.

[…] According to Abu Obeida, spokesman for Hamas’ military wing, eight members of the organization split into two cells ambushed the Israeli soldiers.

“When the force advanced it ran into our cell, which launched mortars and opened fire at the soldiers,” he said. “The IDF force began retreating but was then attacked by the second Hamas cell, which opened fire with automatic weapons.”

Obeida said the operation was part of a defense tactic the group refers to as “Field of Death”, adding that the incident was a mere prelude to the violence that will erupt in Gaza “if the siege continues”.

Putting aside all the Glorious Soldiers For Allah bullshit, this is a shift in tactics that drew the IDF soldiers into an ambush.

Dr Gadi Shaked, head of the trauma ward at Soroka, said that three of the injured soldiers arrived at the hospital via helicopter at approximately 8 am. According to him, one of them arrived in serious condition with bullet wounds to his limbs and died on the way to the operating room.

Dr Shaked said another soldier was evacuated with moderate gun wounds to his stomach, and a third arrived at the medical center with light injuries to his arm.

It was a good ambush. And this is not good news:

An initial investigation into the incident found that the soldiers acted in accordance with IDF procedures.

Then IDF procedures are going to have to be changed. The terrorists have trained in Iran and are no longer semi-trained terrorists with guns. They are now terrorists with guns who know how to shoot, set an ambush, and kill the soldiers who respond to their trap. The kill ratio in this operation was four Hamas terrorists for three IDF soldiers—ambush or not, that’s extremely unusual.

As for the AP, they don’t mention the wounded Israeli soldiers in the lede, but they mention Hamas wounded. And there’s a new boilerplate about the kassam rockets fired into Israel on a near-daily basis:

Israel’s army frequently raids the Gaza Strip or launches air strikes to target militant squads that launch rockets at Israel almost daily. The inaccurate rockets wreak panic on southern Israel and occasionally cause casualties.

Because gee, there’s nothing inherently wrong with firing rockets into a civilian population on a regular basis. Hey, what’s a little panic and an occasional casualty? Walk it off, Israel. Walk it off.

Completely unreported by the AP was this mortar attack, and subsequent hit on an Israeli house:

On Tuesday, Givati Brigade and Armored Corps troops operating in the Kissufim area fired at a Kassam launching cell, and confirmed hitting it, the IDF said. The soldiers came under heavy mortar and anti-tank fire. No troops were wounded.

[…] In addition, an Israeli home was hit as Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha, near the Gaza border, came under heavy mortar fire. No one was wounded, but the roof sustained mild damage.

Yep, those occasional panic attacks and casualties? Nothing to write home about, eh, AP?

Posted in Gaza, Hamas, Israel | 6 Comments

Jimmy’s antidemocratic tendencies

Posted on 04/16/2008 by Soccerdad

Bret Stephens nails Jimmy Carter:

That’s not quite what Mr. Carter said, however. He said the dictator “speaks” for “all” the people, just as the people in a democracy speak for themselves. Taken at face value, this is a reflection of every dictator’s conceit: that his will is also the general will, whether the people agree with him or not. This is what Fidel Castro meant when he praised Cuba’s elections, in which only the Communist Party is on the ballot, as “the most democratic in the world.” Perhaps Mr. Carter has harbored similar views about the relative merits of his opinion versus the people’s since he was turned out of high office by 44 states.

(via memeorandum)As I’ve noted before Jimmy Carter has used his prestige to legitimize the likes of Hugo Chavez and Yasser Arafat. Maybe it’s because he was turned out of office so ignominiously that he has contempt for the will of the people.

John Podhoretz adds:

Those who believe this kind of relationship is the most and the best Americans can expect from a difficult world usually think of themselves as hardened by experience — serious, appropriately cynical, tough, and without illusion.

Incredibly Ha’aretz, with no sense of irony, claims that Israel owes Carter a debt of gratitude.

Whether Carter’s approach to conflict resolution is considered by the Israeli government as appropriate or defeatist, no one can take away from the former U.S. president his international standing, nor the fact that he brought Israel and Egypt to a signed peace that has since held. Carter’s method, which says that it is necessary to talk with every one, has still not proven to be any less successful than the method that calls for boycotts and air strikes. In terms of results, at the end of the day, Carter beats out any of those who ostracize him. For the peace agreement with Egypt, he deserves the respect reserved for royalty for the rest of his life.

Peace with Egypt was largely the result of Sadat’s running from Carter’s efforts to re-engage the Soviets in the Middle East. Here success was the residue of ineptitude. It’s important not to give Carter too much credit here. As president Carter reached bottom; as ex-president – despite some successes – he continues to dig.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Politics | 3 Comments

The damned lies of J-Street

Posted on 04/16/2008 by Soccerdad

J-Street is a new group that calls itself “…political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement.”Matt Stoller of Open Left writes:

It’s a significant moment for progressive Jews who have previously not had our voices represented in the foreign policy realm, drowned out by right-wingers intent on the most hawkish policies out there.

This is not a lie.

It is not a statistic.

It is a damned lie.

Remember after Israel forced thousands of Israelis from their homes and made Gaza Judenrein? This was supposed to be the first test of Palestinian self government.

Israel reasonably wanted to keep control over the Rafah border, but Secretary of State Rice prevailed upon Israel to leave its security in the hands of European observers.

And who voiced their support of this policy? Why it was the very progressive forces who claim that they’ve been silenced all these years.

Don’t take my word for it. Let’s roll the way-back machine.

Here’s an APN action alert from November 2005:

The arrangements you helped broker in the November 15th accord are enabling Palestinians, for the first time, to control entry and exit from Gaza, via Rafah. They will also lead to the upgrading and expansion of other crossing points between Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank, and the expediting of the export of this season’s agricultural goods from Gaza. In addition, the accord paves the way for the passage of people and goods between Gaza and the West Bank, and should lead to a reduction in the obstacles to movement within the West Bank. The agreement will permit the Palestinians to begin, for the first time, to construct a seaport, and recognizes the importance of continued discussion regarding the re-opening of a Palestinian airport. The components of this breakthrough will dramatically increase investment in Gaza by the private sector as well as financial assistance from donor countries.All of these developments will take place in the context of providing for Israeli security. This includes, among other things, the presence of the European Union as third-party monitors at Rafah, the provision of high-tech security equipment and appropriate training for personnel working at border crossings, coordination between Israel and the Palestinians with respect to travel of certain individuals, and explicit recognition in the agreement that “security is a prime and continuing concern for Israel and that appropriate arrangements to ensure security will be adopted.” The agreement also stipulates that security services from Israel, the PA, the U.S., and Egypt will continue to coordinate on security issues and will participate in the security working group.

I’ve highlighted some of the more egregious examples of failed expectations, but the short story is that Israel’s ceding of control of Rafah has brought neither prosperity to the Palestinians nor security to the Israelis. It has strengthened Hamas. Hamas now has 20000 men under arms and is regularly increasing the quantity and lethality of the materiel it possesses. (Now like minded folk are advocating talking to Hamas!) The prescription Americans for Peace Now – represented on J-Street by its CEO, Hillary super delegate, Debra Delee – advocated has failed miserably. Is APN expressing its regrets? Or condemning Hamas?

No, it’s still claiming that the main obstacle to peace is Israel’s failure to cede enough territory and the Administration’s failure to press Israel to cede more. (This applies not only to APN but to the other constituent groups and individual who populate J-Street.)

Does it matter that when the administration did press Israel and Israel acceded to the pressure that it led to more violence and less security for Israel? No. They still advocate more of the same. So not only do they advocate policies that failed in 1996 (when Israel withdrew from cities in 1995, it led to an increase in terror in 1996), in 2000 (when Israel withdrew from southern Lebanon it strengthened Hezbollah) and in 2005 (Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza strengthened Hamas), these progressive organization advocate policies that increase violence and hurt Israel. Yet they have the chutzpah to claim that they are pro-peace and pro-Israel. They are neither.

These same people couldn’t wait to get rid of PM Netanyahu, yet when Netanyahu was Prime Minister, Israel saw a lessening of terrorism and Palestinians were more prosperous.

The morally bankrupt groups claim that it is skeptics of the peace process who threaten Israel and who are ideological rather than realistic. But the progress (if you can call it that) of the past 15 years has shown a much different story. I’m not the only one who sees that J-Street is anti-Israel. (via memeorandum)

I should also point out that these progressive groups get plenty of attention. They are regularly featured in the Forward. James D. Besser who reports on politics for nearly every single American Jewish weekly, is sympathetic and give them plenty of coverage. What’s remarkable is how much attention they get despite the fact that their views are a distinct minority, not just among Jews but among Americans generally.

J-Street is full of crap. And it’s time that someone called them on it.

I wrote previously about J-Street.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Politics | 8 Comments

Shire Network News

Posted on 04/15/2008 by Meryl Yourish

Did I forget to tell you about this week’s SNN?

You should listen to it. I talk about Jimmy Carter for my segment.

Posted in Podcasts | 1 Comment

UN proof of Hamas crimes against its own people

Posted on 04/15/2008 by Meryl Yourish

An anonymous UN spokesman is letting the truth come out with the usual anti-Israel lies.

Gaza’s main fuel distributor is holding back one million litres of fuel, UN figures showed on Monday a day after Israel claimed Hamas was stage-managing a crisis in the Palestinian territory.

But of course, this is both the AFP and the UN. Negative spin is required.

However, a UN official who requested anonymity said that the current stocks of fuel and industrial gasoline stored in Gaza are sufficient for only several days.

Followed by another factual statement.

“The general petroleum association refuses to distribute in protest of the lack of supply of fuel by Israel,” he said.

The Palestinian General Petroleum Corporation is responsible for the distribution of fuel across the Hamas-run territory, where the union of petrol station owners went on strike several days ago in protest at the fuel cuts.

So let’s try to understand this. Hamas is stealing fuel. The fuel distributor is refusing to distribute fuel, because they’re protesting—the lack of fuel.

So how long before the UN issues a statement demanding that Israel supply more fuel to the terrortories [sic]?

Palestinian officials have warned that the acute fuel shortages could close Gaza’s main power plant and reduce the impoverished territory to a standstill.

Gaza’s petrol stations have been closed for several days in protest at the insufficient supply of fuel by Israel, which has placed Gaza under a punishing lockdown since Hamas seized control of the territory last June.

The UN official said that one million litres of fuel are being held on the Palestinian side of the terminal — enough to supply Gaza with just over two days’ worth of fuel for cars and electricity generators.

“Israel cannot pump more fuel because there is no place to store it, since the general petroleum association is looking for guarantees from Israel to supply more fuel. This is a logjam,” the official said.

If you are starting to feel like Gaza is really a fictional place called Wonderland, you may be right. Except that the terrorists aren’t a pack of cards, and Israel won’t be waking up anytime soon.

The UN official also said that there was “a clear increase” in the number of trucks crossing from Israel into Gaza carrying humanitarian aid and basic supplies in March compared with the previous month.

More than 2,800 trucks filled with basic supplies — mainly food, drugs, cleaning products and construction material — entered Gaza through the four crossings with Israel in March.

Another 430 trucks carrying humanitarian aid also reached Gaza last month, he said.

He warned, however, that “there is an insufficient number of products entering Gaza.”

Got it? An increase in supplies, plenty of fuel, and more goods entering Gaza in March than February—but it’s still not enough. Because after all, Gaza is Israel’s responsibility, even though terrorists are shooting and firing rockets and mortars at any Israeli within (or out of) sight.

If Israel had any politicians with brass, they’d simply tell Egypt that Gaza was Egypt’s problem before 1967, and it’s all Egypt’s once more. But of course, Egypt never wanted Gaza back once they’d gotten rid of it.

Can’t imagine why not. One-point-whatever million jihadis and terrorists—what’s not to love?

Posted in Gaza | 2 Comments

Jimmy Carter: Senile or just plain stupid?

Posted on 04/15/2008 by Meryl Yourish

Jimmy Carter was interviewed by Ha’aretz on Sunday, Carter uttered what may be the stupidest thing I have ever seen from a world leader:

In a democracy, I realize that you don’t need to talk to the top leader to know how the country feels. When I go to a dictatorship, I only have to talk to one person and that’s the dictator, because he speaks for all the people. But in a democracy like Israel, there is a wide range of opinions and that counterbalances the disappointment that I have in not meeting with the people shaping Israeli power now in the government.

Did he really just say that he doesn’t have to talk to people in a dictatorship because their opinions don’t count?

That explains completely how he can hobnob with dictators and think so highly of them. That explains a whole lot, actually. Either that, or the man is going senile.

Posted in Politics | 11 Comments

New anti-israel group has trouble raising funds

Posted on 04/15/2008 by Soccerdad

Ynet reports (via memeorandum):

A new survey conducted by a Washington DC-based evangelical organization among American Christians has found that 82% of them believe they have a moral obligation to support the Jews and Israel. The poll, conducted among Catholics and Protestants alike, tested their stance on Jerusalem’s future and ways to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat.

The poll reveals a number of other common sense findings. By 32 to 24 percent those surveyed figure that a Palestinian state will be a terrorist state. 65 percent of those surveyed believe that Iran is developing nuclear weapons with which to attack Israel. And by 45 to 9 percent those surveyed said that they wouldn’t support a President who pressured Israel to concede issues that endangered its security.

Meryl’s celebrating:

And how refreshing it is to have Jews and Christians on the same side of an issue for a change. Here. Have a virtual handshake, folks.

Israel Matzav is fretting:

I wonder if 82% of American Jews believe that they have a moral obligation to support Israel. Given the number of moonbats among American Jews, I doubt it.

(And yes, historically, Americans, not just Jewish Americans, favor Israel by a wide margin. Support for Israel is not just a Jewish issue, it’s an American issue.)

A report in the Washington Post confirms Israel Matzav’s fears, Jewish Liberals to Launch A Counterpoint to AIPAC

Some of the country’s most prominent Jewish liberals are forming a political action committee and lobbying group aimed at dislodging what they consider the excessive hold of neoconservatives and evangelical Christians on U.S. policy toward Israel.The group is planning to channel political contributions to favored candidates in perhaps a half-dozen campaigns this fall, the first time an organization focused on Israel has tried to play such a direct role in the political process, according to its organizers.

Organizers said they hope those efforts, coupled with a separate lobbying group that will focus on promoting an Arab-Israeli peace settlement, will fill a void left by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and other Jewish groups that they contend have tilted to the right in recent years.

The obliviousness of these people is amazing. No American President was more invested in the kind of peacemaking they want than Bill Clinton. He shunned Binyamin Netanyahu while welcoming Yasser Arafat. And did he get a peace treaty at the end of his term?

“The definition of what it means to be pro-Israel has come to diverge from pursuing a peace settlement,” said Alan Solomont, a prominent Democratic Party fundraiser involved in the initiative. In recent years, he said, “We have heard the voices of neocons, and right-of-center Jewish leaders and Christian evangelicals, and the mainstream views of the American Jewish community have not been heard.”Solomont is a top fundraiser for the presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), but the organizers include supporters and fundraisers for both Obama and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.). Many prominent figures in the American Jewish left, former lawmakers and U.S. government officials, and several prominent Israeli figures, as well as activists who have raised money for the Democracy Alliance and MoveOn.org, are also involved.

A peace settlement to be pro-Israel must not endanger Israel. Israel is markedly less secure now than it was in 1993. So promoting the kind of process that Israel’s been involved in over the past 15 years is not pro-Israel. That’s because those who feel that their primary goal is to support peace, means ignoring Palestinians violations of agreements.

“The genesis of this is really the frustration on the part of a very substantial portion of the American Jewish community that despite the fact that there is broad support for a peace-oriented policy in the Middle East, there doesn’t seem to be the political will to actually carry it out,” Ben-Ami said. “We have not been effective at transmitting the message that there is political support for these positions in the American Jewish community and their allies.”

I really don’t think that it’s a substantial part of the American Jewish community. It might be a substantial part of the wealthy, liberal, American Jewish community, but qualifying it like that would make the “J-street” initiative looks rather narrow.

As far as the “political will” is concerned, it’s lacking because any mildly perceptive observer realizes that the Palestinians have used their newfound benefits (land, money, weapons) not to build a functioning society but to build a a terror infrastructure with which to attack Israel. The lack of “political will” that Ben Ami observes is simply an observation that the peace process hasn’t worked.

Take away all of the qualifications and this paragraph pretty much sums up the problem:

Some veteran Middle East experts said the new group faces the political reality that many American Jews have become disillusioned over the years with the peace process and what they consider to be the intransigence, hostility and–in some cases–terrorism of would-be Palestinian partners. While Bush early on in his administration grew skeptical of the peacemaking efforts of President Clinton, he received very little push-back from organized American Jewry.

Well it’s not just what we “consider,” it’s what we’ve observed. And frankly, President Bush was correct. The more American Presidents push for peace, the more Palestinians demand and the less Israel gets credit for its sacrifices.

Martin Indyk, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel and the director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution, said the group “has a very steep hill to climb because peacemaking has acquired a bad reputation over the years in the Jewish community, and there is a widespread fear that U.S. intervention on behalf of peace will lead to pressure on Israel.”

Again it’s not just a “widespread fear,” it’s exactly what we’ve seen from the first Bush administration and, as noted above, from the Clinton administration too.

But here’s the kicker:

The initial efforts will be relatively modest: Ben-Ami said the group aims to try to raise at least $50,000 or more for a handful of campaigns this fall as a “test case.” But the group intends to raise its profile in future campaign cycles, and some major liberal fundraisers have already committed to the venture, including Solomont, high-tech entrepreneur Davidi Gilo and former New York City corporation counsel Victor Kovner, a supporter of Clinton’s presidential bid.

Given the high powered nature of the organizers of this group, $50,000 is pretty small change. I think it reflects that these folks represent pretty much themselves. I also think that it’s telling that no Republicans are publicly associated with this effort yet, reflecting the stronger commitment to Israel in the Republican Party at present.

Crossposted at Soccer Dad.

Posted in Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Jews, Politics | 4 Comments

Carter snubbed, feeling lonely, still thinks he’s right

Posted on 04/15/2008 by Meryl Yourish

Jimmy Carter is being ignored by all high-level Israelis. Even the AP is noting Hamas’ long, bloody history, but Carter still insists that Hamas should be a peace partner for Israel. Uh-huh. Sure.

Isolating Hamas is counterproductive, Carter said. Hamas rules the Gaza Strip but is ostracized by Israel, the U.S. and European Union as a terrorist group.

“I think it is absolutely crucial that in the final and dreamed-about and prayed-for peace agreement for this region that Hamas be involved and Syria will be involved,” he told a business conference outside Tel Aviv.

You know what? I’m thinking that terrorists and terror-supporters don’t get to dictate terms for peace. And let’s face it, even Carter is beginning to admit that Hamas is nothing more than a group of unrepentent murderers.

“I can’t say that they will be amenable to any suggestions, but at least after I meet with them I can go back and relay what they say, as just a communicator, to the leaders of the United States,” he said.

If they’re not going to be “amenable to any suggestions,” then WTF should Israel talk to them? Why should we?

Here’s where the AP points out Hamas’ history:

The U.S., EU and Israel have blacklisted Hamas for its history of killing some 250 Israelis with suicide bomber attacks and its refusal to renounce violence and recognize the Jewish state.

And here’s where Jimmy starts snuffling and feeling sorry for himself. Your ego is showing, Jimmah.

Carter also offered to relay Hamas’ views to Israel. If the U.S. agrees to hear what Hamas says, “I hope then the Israeli government will deign to meet with me – they have so far refused,” he said.

“Deigned” to meet with him… note the way that he’s insulting the Israelis for refusing to meet with him, even though the reason for the lack is because he’s meeting with the murderers of hundreds of Israelis. Carter is so full of forgiveness for all of Israel’s enemies, and yet, he’s full of nothing but vitriol for Israel.

And there’s a new phrase he’s been tossing around. He says he wants to “bring peace to Israel, and peace and justice to Israel’s neighbors.”

What’s with the “peace and justice”? What is that supposed to mean, exactly?

Although I’m sure I don’t want to know.

Posted in Hamas, Israel | 5 Comments

Israel-haters take note: U.S. Christians support Israel

Posted on 04/14/2008 by Meryl Yourish

If this poll is accurate, the hand-wringing among the anti-Israel set is going to increase exponentially.

A new survey conducted by a Washington DC-based evangelical organization among American Christians has found that 82% of them believe they have a moral obligation to support the Jews and Israel. The poll, conducted among Catholics and Protestants alike, tested their stance on Jerusalem’s future and ways to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat.

See, it’s not just Evangelicals. And gee, the U.S. majority religion, let me think, what is it, hm…. oh, that’s right! Christianity!

CAIR is going to blow a gasket over this one.

The subjects were asked whether they thought a country created in the West bank and Gaza would be democratic and peaceful, or a terrorist state. Thirty-two percent thought it would become a terrorist state, 24% thought it would be democratic and peaceful, and 44% said they didn’t know. Fifty percent said they believed Jerusalem should remain unified, 17% supported dividing it between two states, and 33% remained undecided.

And the Iranian mullahs are going to have a fit, too.

According to the poll, 65% of American Christians are convinced that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, which its leaders will attempt to use in order to destroy Israel. A similar percentage said that the US presidential candidates’ Middle East stance would constitute a major factor in their vote for president in August, in contrast to 13%, who said that the issue would not affect their vote.

Obama will be worrying too, but hey, he’s already discounted those hicks that “cling to religion” out of bitterness and frustration.

And how refreshing it is to have Jews and Christians on the same side of an issue for a change. Here. Have a virtual handshake, folks.

Posted in Israel, Religion | 2 Comments

Tool rhymes with fool

Posted on 04/14/2008 by Soccerdad

Jimmy Carter can’t even get respect from Shimon Peres these days.A poster at Firedoglake, Ian Welsh, though, considers Jimmy Carter the best friend Israel ever had! After botching history (Carter created the conditions for Camp David by planning to bring the Russians back to the Middle East, after Egypt had expelled the Russians, not due to his diplomatic expertise.)

Of course Welsh has also been asleep for the past 15 years or so when Israel did all it could to enable a Palestinian state and got terror in return. I love this gross understatement:

Now let’s add in the usual caveats—the Palestinians have hardly been angels; in fact they have been thugs. They have often negotiated in bad faith (though certainly no more often and probably less often than the Israelis, in recent years). They do engage in terrorism, though what the difference to the victims between being killed by a suicide bomber or missile is compared to being killed by a tank, helicopter or bomb has always escaped me—except that tanks, helicopters and bombs kill far more people than the weapons of a terrorist or guerilla. They have certainly often been stupid and done things that weren’t in their best interests.

And if the Palestinians wanted a state, they would have had it by now. The writer may delude himself on this point but if the Palestinians were building an economy instead of a terrorist infrastructure they’d have had their state by now.

The bad faith of the Palestinians is evident when its “moderate” leaders claim that there’s no basis for a Jewish state in the Middle East and when those same moderates criticize Israel for protecting its own citizen. Nothing that Israel has done in the past 15 years comes close to rejecting very premise of the peace process, which is exactly what the “moderate” leaders of the Palestinians.

But the bottom line is that Israel is the party that can make or break negotiations. Israel is the party with the full army. Israel is the party with the money. Israel is the party that refuses to actually negotiate with the lawfully elected representative (which is Hamas) of the Palestinians.And Israel needs a peace more than the Palestinians do. That seems counterintuitive, but the Palestinians are on a path that leads to victory and the Israelis are on a path that leads to loss. Yes, the Palestinians will suffer more, much more, than the Israelis getting there, but that’s not relevant to the end-state, except in that they may not be very gracious to the Israelis once they have won. Germans killed far more Russians than vice-versa and lost. America never lost a battle in Vietnam and killed at a 10:1 ratio. It didn’t matter.

Israel doesn’t have the power to “make or break” the negotiations. Because even Fatah has never forsworn terror as a tactic to get what it wants, that means Israel needs to accede to every single demand of the Palestinians or then its efforts at peace are deemed insufficient.

Twenty years ago who would have believed that the Palestinians would be ruling themselves in Gaza and a handful of cities in Judea and Samaria? And yet they are? Who would have believed they would have accomplished all that and still portrayed Israel as an evil occupier?

Israel doesn’t make or break negotiations. The Palestinians, through violence, hold veto power over the peace process. The Palestinians’ friends, like Mr. Welsh, do them no favors by assuring them that they are nearly always right and that they ought to suffer no repercussions for their ongoing bad faith.

A true friend tells you when you’re walking down the path to defeat. A true friend tells you when you’re acting despicably. And that’s why Jimmy Carter is Israel’s best friend in America—the only President to negotiate a lasting peace between Israel and one of its enemies and the only major figure to tell the Israelis that they’re walking a path to their own destruction.Here’s hoping Israel wakes up and listens and acts. If it doesn’t, within the lifetime of many of us here today, there will be no Israel as it exists today; there will be no “Jewish” state.

Again, Camp David was the result of a Carter blunder and Israel does have a treaty with Jordan. But if a true friend tells you hard truths, why is this friend of Israel going to Israel’s enemies? Why is he encouraging Hamas, which is building an arsenal of offensive weapons to use against Israel armed by the Iranian regime that is rhetorically (if not practically) devoted to Israel’s destruction?

That these questions never occur to Welsh shows that what he shares with Jimmy Carter is not friendship with Israel, but enmity.

Fresno Zionsim pegs Carter as a tool of the Saudis. The Heathlander drags out the same busted myth Carter used yesterday that a majority of Israeli support ongoing talks with Hamas. And Carter admits that he’s been meeting with leaders of Hamas for years. Israel Matzav fisks yesterday’s Carter gabfest on ABC. (via memeorandum)

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Posted in Hamas, Israel, Israel Derangement Syndrome, Politics | Comments Off on Tool rhymes with fool