Ehsan fell in love with his wife A’isha, a girl from the neighborhood, when he was 14 and she 13.
Eight years later they are still together, with Ehsan is about to graduate with a degree in pharmacology from Gaza’s Al Azhar University and A’isha studying journalism at the same school.
But after being together for years, the couple is still no closer to being able to expose their marriage.
“I am a religious person and well mannered, and so is A’isha,” Ehsan told The Media Line. “We know right from wrong. Whenever we sneak our the back door of the university so that we can walk in the street for five minutes, we feel guilty and ashamed.”
“Then I remind myself that it’s not wrong, even though our parents don’t know,” said the black-haired young man with cautious honey eyes. “I have never even touched her hand, or degraded her in any way, be it hurting her feelings or her dignity. How can I hurt a person I love more than myself? Love is not wrong even though it’s considered ‘scandalous’ and unacceptable here in Gaza.”
A’isha and Ehsan’s status is what is known in Gaza as a ‘conventional marriage’, a union recognized by law, but often without the approval of the religious authorities or the couple’s families - an anomaly in a society in which religion, law and cultural legitimacy are so intricately weaved together.
“Conventional marriage, in its real meaning, is just like the real legitimate marriage but lacks the court papers, appearance and approval,” Dr Hassan Al Juju, Head of the Supreme Council of Sharia Law in Gaza told The Media Line. “Instead of the sheikh, a lawyer does his usual work in the presence of the man and woman. The bride’s father or legal guardian has to be present even if she is over 18.”
‘Conventional marriages’ occupy an uncertain space in Gazan society and are frequently known to stir controversy. The debate on whether they can be considered legal and culturally legitimate often appears irresolvable and the boundary between ‘conventional marriages’ and ‘secret marriages’ is often blurred.
In a society in which women’s ‘honor’ can impinge upon a family’s reputation, secret marriages and love affairs are a dangerous business, and often end in ‘honor killings’ – the murder by a family member of a female seen to have shamed the family name.
Men began knocking on A’isha’s door to ask for her hand in marriage when she was 16. Although she would always find a reason to refuse, she knows it won’t be long before her parents would start asking questions and force her to get married.
“I hope it never happens,” A’isha said through tears. “I am trying my best to buy him time and I don’t know how my destiny will end once my family knows I am married.”
“I am sure my family will either kill me or lock me up forever,” she said. “I want to live my life and be happy. Is that too much to ask?”
Many say they got into a conventional marriage by chance.
Nur, 31, holds a prestigious position in a Gazan civil society organization. With a degree in social science from the Islamic University, she has a tall fit frame, grey eyes, looks younger than her age and is smartly dressed.
“Every one who meets me thinks I am very happy and that I am lucky to have such an open minded father that lets me work and not get married,” she told The Media Line. “But the truth is much more complicated and painful.”
“My father has been refusing every man that knocks on our door for over nine years,” Nur said. “I am tired of him taking my salary and preventing me from marriage. Now I see education, work and independence as a burden, not a privilege.”
“Eight months ago a man came to ask my father for my hand,” she said. “After two months my father said he wasn’t fit and that I should forget about him but it was too late, we are in love.”
“I know it might sound too bold or maybe wrong but what could I do?” she said. “I had to turn to Dr. Hassan and tell him to give my father his last ultimatum or I will use conventional marriage to marry this man. I just want to be happy and be a mother. Isn’t that my right?”
Though the consequences for those who chose traditional marriage can be very severe, the desire to find love and happiness is often too big a draw.
“You know what would happen if we revealed our marriage right now?” Ehsan said. “She would be killed and I would be either locked up or have to go into hiding to keep myself alive. But I can never let them separate us and I will do everything to fight them if they try. I am willing to take her and live somewhere else or hide or even get out of Gaza.”
Monday, February 01, 2010
Monday, February 01, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Monday, February 01, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Asharq Alawsat reports:
In practical terms this means that they are threatening to attack Jews worldwide, like the terror attack against the Argentina Jewish center in 1994 or the 2002 Ghriba synagogue bombing.[Hamas official Yahya] Moussa told Asharq Al-Awsat that Hamas was examining the changes in the rules of the game, saying "Hamas was careful not to carry out operations abroad in order not to put the security of any country at risk, and it respects the sovereignty of countries, but now institutions of the movement will study the possibility of reversing this decision."
In a press conference held yesterday, Hamas senior figure Mahmoud al-Zahar said "We kept the arena of confrontation between us and the Israeli enemy within the occupied territories, and if Israeli wants – as it wants now to change the rules of the game –to open the international arena to attacks, then in this case Israel will be responsible for the repercussions of this."
He added "Israel has experienced this, and was burned by this in its conflict with the PLO, and it knows that Hamas is no less able to reach its targets in any place." He also said "we are capable of hurting the Zionist enemy, and this is something that is known by the occupation forces, whether on this arena or elsewhere."
One Arab columnist interprets Hamas' threat, and other things that Zahar said, as a threat to the sovereignty of Arab nations who have ties with Israel.
Hamas is also trying to be a part of the investigation of the assassination of Mahmoud al Mabhouh, the the Dubai police are telling them to get lost.
According to Palestine Press Agency, Dubai police chief Dahi Khalfan refused to allow Hamas anywhere near the investigations, saying that they only deal with the Palestinian Authority and does not deal with private individuals or other entities during investigations.
Khalfan also denied that there were any previous attempts on Mabhouh's life in Dubai, as his brother claimed, saying that if there were any, why weren't the police involved?
He also wondered why Hamas would let Mabhouh go to Dubai alone and without bodyguards if he was so important. (Hamas had already said that they couldn't get air tickets for the bodyguards so they were due later that day.)
Meanwhile, the Dubai police announced that Mabhouh was killed within five hours of arrival in the emirates.
Monday, February 01, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Two men who thought they could double Dh250,000 (US$68,000) in a black magic scheme ended up with a bag full of counterfeit money, the Federal Supreme Court heard today.
An Emirati and an Omani man first heard late last year of two Africans who would supposedly double an investment using black magic, the court heard. They invited the men into the home of the Emirati and handed them a briefcase with Dh250,000, officials said.
The two Africans went into a bathroom and switched the money with counterfeit bills. They poured powder on the fake money and told them not to open the transparent bag until six hours had passed, officials said. They immediately left and switched off their phones.
Six hours later, the men opened the bag and discovered the currency was clearly counterfeit. They reported the incident to the police. Because black magic is illegal, the "investors" were also charged.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
She already had a history of outrageous actions -
participating in rallies where the demonstrators sang "Hamas, Hamas, send Jews to the gas!", where she herself sang "Intifada! Intifada!," hanging a PLO flag from her balcony during the height of the suicide bombings, meeting with (and holding hands with) Arafat who she said "hates killing," and similar actions.This interview does not disappoint. To her adoring Islamic audience, she says everything they want to hear, with a litany of lies that it is difficult to consider any intelligent person would admit to believing in:
I have seen these films on YouTube showing how Palestinians put the dead bodies on donkeys, because there are no ambulances.This prominent socialite, good friends with the Queen, gets her "facts" from YouTube videos and Jew-hating conspiracy sites in the Internet!While the Palestinian people are using these little wagons, Israelis shoot the donkeys from their watching towers.
Therefore, Palestinians have to carry all the goods themselves.
Have you heard about the human organs that Israelis are taking from the Palestinians?
It is true; I saw the pictures. The Israeli soldiers are taking away young men and five days later, they brought them back cut open.
Israel has admitted committing such a crime.The Jewish lobby in Holland, like in the United States, is very strong and powerful, and it is still playing on our guilt feelings, although it is 63 years since the Holocaust.
In addition, whenever you have something against the Jewish people in Holland, they call you an anti-Semite.
My opinion is that Hamas was chosen by people, not Fatah, so Hamas should be the leader, not Abbas.
Hamas — Israelis, Europeans, and Americans say — is a terrorist organization, which I believe it is not.
Hamas is now being collectively punished by the whole world, more or less, and Gaza borders are closed.
The Zionist idea is to create a big Israel only for Zionists. Israelis want to annex the whole of Palestine, and all Palestinians have to go out.
Israel wants Palestinians to be servants for Jews. Many Israeli leaders have said that Palestinians are like cockroaches and that Israelis will crush them.
I have all those quotes at home with the date and where they were said.
When anti-semites want to believe something, they don't let mere facts get in their way. Mrs. Duisenberg is proof of this.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
The implication seems to be that Iran will act out this threat even if it is threatened by the US, as he was speaking in reaction to the news that the US was deploying missile defenses around the Persian Gulf.
In other news, the Organization of the Islamic Conference has made yet another special holiday in support of Palestinian Arabs, taking an Iranian idea to make January 18th into an annual "Day of Gaza and Resistance."The illustration to that story in the print edition of the Tehran Times couldn't possible be construed as anti-semitic, could it?
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
To meet Ban Ki Moon's deadline for responses, the PA instead submitted a report describing how it will create a commission of inquiry to investigate the very few claims that Goldstone had against "armed groups." Hamas, in turn, is saying that they will not cooperate with any PA investigation, saying that the PA is not qualified to write such a report - and besides, Hamas already released their own investigation that found that everything they did was perfectly legal.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Bassam Abu Sharif, a former adviser to Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, says that the toxic material that killed the late president is called 'Iim', a substance which is colorless, has no smell and was placed in food or drink that has given to 'Abu Ammar.'Iim? (The word in quotes transliterates to "althalim.")
The investigation continues. They know who killed Arafat, they know why, they know how; all they need is the tiniest bit of ....evidence.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Once again, Mahmoud Abbas has rejected the idea of Israel being a Jewish state. The evidence he brings is the fact that the letter that Harry Truman wrote recognizing Israel had the words "Jewish state" crossed out and replaced with "State of Israel."This is not the first time the PA brought out this argument; Saeb Erekat floated the same idea last April.
The argument is bogus, of course. The UN had declared the partition of Palestine into a Jewish and Arab state, and Truman was recognizing Israel based on the UN's language. He wrote the letter before Israel had named itself. Clark Clifford (not Truman) only changed the letter after Israel declared itself a state. It did not reflect any ambivalence by the US as to what exactly Israel was.
In fact, going through UN archives, one sees the terminology "Jewish State" used thousands of times. One interesting examples is the ICJ opinion against Israel's defensive barrier, which says "On 14 May 1948, the independence of the Jewish State was declared." (Admittedly, most of the more recent examples are usually Arabs who rail against the concept as being racist, at the same time that they reside in states that openly declare themselves Arab and Muslim.)
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
One Israeli media outlet says it was a Mossad hit. Inyan Merkazi says that Mabhouh was negotiating a deal to transfer arms from Iran to Gaza and was killed by four Mossad hitmen who first interrogated him and got lots of good information.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
One is a Ma'ariv article that quotes an analysis of the footnotes in the Goldstone report, done by Im Tirtzu, that are negative against the IDF, and finds that 92% of them come from Israeli NGOs who are funded by the New Israel Fund, which spends huge amounts of money - so far over $140 million - from abroad to fund these far-left, often anti-government NGOs. Examples include Adalah, Breaking the Silence, B'Tselem, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, HaMoked, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Yesh Din, and Physicians for Human Rights-Israel.
The other is a Channel 2 video report about the "religious war" in Gaza, where Christians have been subject to abuse and worse by Hamas since the coup. The video shows where Christian holy books were burned and schools sacked.
Here is an English translation of that story: (h/t "Guest")
Friday, January 29, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Israel is the only country in the world which has more trees now than it did 100 years ago. In 1901, the year in which JNF was founded, Israel contained only 14,000 dunam (roughly 3,500 acres) of forest land altogether.
By 1980 the figure reached 556,000 dunam and currently Israel contains 855,663 dunam of forestry. JNF has planted over 240 million trees in its years of existence.
"Each year JNF plants an average of 15-20,000 dunam. The plating period is between October and the end pf March," Stenzler said.
61 times as much forest in Israel compared to 1901!
Go here or here to plant a tree yourself.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Elder of Ziyon
Rescue without human touch: The Air-Mule UAV which assists in medical evacuation has recently passed its initial flight tests. The new UAV, which weighs a ton, will be able to carry equipment and fly into complicated places, such as in urban areas and crevices. In addition to that, the Air-Mule takes off vertically, similar to a helicopter, and its stability will be guaranteed by a unique flight supervision system.A manned variant of the actual machine, designed by Israelis, can be seen here:Urban Aeronautics, the company producing the UAV, is one of the world's leading companies in the development of propellers which are installed inside the aircraft instead of outside. The advantage of this location of the propeller is that it allows the aircraft to carry out a wider range of operations in narrow places as well – as opposed to conventional airplanes and helicopters which can only operate in open areas.
"The number one cause of aerial accidents is damage caused to the rotor, and we managed to overcome this obstacle," says the CEO of Urban Aeronautics, Dr. Rafi Yoeli.
During the tests, the Air-Mule succeeded in overcoming difficult weather conditions, and the test team was very satisfied with its flight abilities during a storm that occurred at the test area. The Air-Mule is currently undergoing additional tests further examining its stability and its ability to fly between two previously defined locations.
Cool!Medical emergencies arrive without regard to location or time. Unfortunately, emergency medical teams don’t have the same luxury. Both location and time are factors that can hamper their effectiveness and make all the difference between life and death. Medical technology may be miraculous, but it’s not much good unless it can get to you. X-Hawk: Medical Rescue and Evacuation
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Traditional ambulances are subject to the whims of urban traffic patterns. Everyone knows the desperate sound of a wailing siren stuck in a rush-hour bottleneck. Even MEDEVAC helicopters have limitations. We’ve all seen footage of a helicopter, it’s rotor hovering precariously close to a mountainside, struggling to lower a medic to a remote mountain ledge.
X-Hawk, in its air ambulance configuration offers a revolutionary capacity for emergency rescue teams to reach their destination quickly, in spite of practical obstacles or complex landscapes.
What makes X-Hawk so much better?
- ‘Rotorless’ design eliminates the serious safety hazards associated with helicopter rotors and permits secure access to any location.
- Arrival time is guaranteed and predictably speedy with effectively zero vulnerability to contingencies such as traffic or other access obstacles.
- The capability to sustain a safe, stable hover adjacent to a window, wall or slope or to land safely in a congested space allows access and evacuation from virtually any location without the use of ladders or hoists.
- X-Hawk is significantly quieter than any helicopter, an important consideration with regard to urban environments.
UPDATE: Jameel beat me to this story by a few months.






