LATMA: Flock Builder on how to conduct a National Referendum and simulation of the peace talks
Sarah Honig: Another Tack: Who’s the sucker?
We’d therefore do better to go back to basics, proclaim loud and clear that we are in our historical homeland by right; that we were attacked; that the Arabs only conjured Palestinian nationality in order to stake rival claims; that a Palestinian state never existed (i.e. we certainly didn’t conquer and subjugate it); that we didn’t drive out hapless refugees (who themselves launched the war); that they caused their own downfall by plotting genocide and ethnic cleansing against us; that our only sin is surviving. We can even remind the world of the Nazi legacy of “Palestinian hero” Haj Amin al-Husseini.Only if Israel gives a bit more...
Admittedly, we may not convince anyone. The cards are stacked against us. But we’ve nothing to lose by rediscovering our defiant spirit and lost Zionist ideals. Excessive pragmatism – the sacrifice of national honor for temporary gain – will lose us everything, from our own sense of justice to the souls of our youngsters.
Two decades ago they told us that only if Israel agrees to talk directly to the PLO could peace become a possibility, despite that organization’s monstrous terrorist record. Then we were informed that only if we allow the creation of the first self-governing authority in Palestinian history, in Gaza and Jericho, could peace ensue.Israel – Palestinian Authority Negotiations ‘Dangerous,’ Palestinian NGOs Say
And we said fine – we’ve had enough of the conflict; we will live with this, for the sake of peace.
But the Palestinian Authority could sustain itself, we were then told, only if Yasser Arafat got himself a police force with tens of thousands of rifles and other military equipment. Even when this “police” force and other PA security forces mushroomed far beyond the numbers permitted by accords with Israel, and even when these “police” fired on IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians, we said fine – somehow we will live with this. Peace requires us to look the other way.
A group of 133 Palestinian NGOs based in the Gaza Strip, Judea and Samaria, and Jerusalem said in a statement Wednesday that renewing Israeli-Palestinian conflict talks would be “dangerous” after a three-year hiatus.Irish Times fawns over mother of an Arab who murdered a Holocaust survivor
The Palestinian NGO Network believes renewed negotiations are unwise because Israel has refused to return to its pre-1967 lines, freeze construction in Judea and Samaria, and release Palestinian terrorists incarcerated in Israel jails. The Israeli cabinet, however, agreed on Sunday to free 104 Palestinian terrorists imprisoned before the 1993 Oslo Accords as a goodwill gesture for the start of negotiations.
Ateya Abu Moussa, as we noted in our post, was convicted of murdering Isaac Rotenberg with an axe in 1994. The terrorist attack on Rotenberg was carried out by Abu Moussa and an accomplice as a precondition (an initiations of sorts) of their entry into a terrorist organization – information evidently not deemed interesting by Indy editors.Karl Vick Emphasizes Palestinian Narrative of Imprisoned Terrorists as National Icons
As we noted, Rotenberg was a Polish Jew, born in 1925 (alternately listed as 1927), who survived the Sobibor Nazi extermination camp during the Holocaust. (With the exception of Isaac, who miraculously was able to escape during a revolt, the entire Rotenberg family perished in the camp.)
Rotenberg reached the Land of Israel in 1947, joined the IDF a year later and fought in the War of Independence.
The sad thing about Karl Vick's Time piece on Israel's release of 104 Palestinian Arab criminals as a gesture to restart peace talks is that the article is probably not intended to be a partisan pro-Palestinian piece. Rather Vick evidences a journalist so immersed in Palestinian victimization that he has adopted its corrupt moral universe as the central narrative of the conflict.Fund Chaired by Indyk Promoting Arab Rioting?
Social Television, a web channel sponsored by the New Israel Fund, has been encouraging its viewers to take part in protests against the Praver plan for legalizing Bedouin communities in the Negev. The pre-planned riots took place Thursday and had an extremely violent nature. They were led by radical Arab MKs Hanin Zouabi and Jamal Zahalka (Balad) at Wadi Ara in Israels north-central region, and also took place at Lehavim Junction in the Negev.'US leaks on alleged Syria strikes could be attempt to harm Israeli interests'
In Wadi Ara, 18 rioters were arrested because of violence. In the Negev, two Arabs were arrested after rocks were thrown.
“The mere fact that such leaks happen often indicates that the Pentagon leadership does not have Israel’s interests at heart,” Prof. Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, told The Jerusalem Post. “It is difficult to assess the motivation of such leaks.”Lawyers: EU Has No Right to Determine Israel’s Borders (VIDEO)
Inbar listed several possible motives, including the wish to prevent future Israeli action.
Other possibilities include an attempt by Pentagon sources to embarrass US President Barack Obama, by pointing out the “ease” with which Israel allegedly operates in Syria at a time that the White House says US intervention is too complex and risky.
Over 1,000 international lawyers, ambassadors, and professors from 30 different countries signed a petition protesting the European Union’s recent funding ban on Israel’s settlements.
Israel’s former ambassador to Canada and legal advisor, Alan Baker, who heads the Legal Forum for Israel’s International Action Division, initiated the petition and an accompanying letter, which drew widespread support across the world.
Dismantle the EU's "Political Wing"
While Egypt's Muslim Brothers are told that they can count on Europe's support and friendship, Jewish sportsmen, artists and scientists no longer get any EU support if they are Jewish and live beyond the 1949 armistice lines. The EU wants "every significant group" included in the Middle East peace process -- except Jews who happen to live beyond the 1949 Green Line. The Muslim Brotherhood is embraced as a friend and partner of Europe, but Jewish sportsmen, artists and scientists are considered a dangerous threat to peace in the Middle East.Ron Prosor: Hezbollah’s partial isolation
Will Baroness Ashton visit Jewish settlers when she happens to be in Judea and Samaria? Obviously not, since the EU advocates their discrimination and impoverishment. But in Egypt, she rushes to the Muslim Brotherhood and Mohamed Morsi to wish them well.
The EU's double standards are also apparent from its decision to cut all financial and commercial links to the Jews beyond the Green Line, while at the same time it refuses to include Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations by making a hypocritical distinction between the so-called "military wing" of the organization and its "political wing." This way, it remains possible to raise funds for Hezbollah -- both its "wings" -- in the 28 EU member states.
It is for good reason that the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands long-ago labeled Hezbollah a terrorist group — and did so without distinguishing between the political and military wings.Time to discuss controlling Hezbollah arms: Sleiman
Until Sept. 11, 2001, Hezbollah held the distinction of being responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist organization. In 1983, Hezbollah orchestrated the truck bombing of the Marine barracks in Lebanon, which resulted in the death of 241 U.S. servicemen, mostly Marines. They were also responsible for an attack a few months earlier on the U.S. Embassy in Beirut that killed 60 people.
Controlling Hezbollah weapons needs to be discussed because of the party’s military intervention in Syria, President Michel Sleiman said Thursday during celebrations to mark Lebanon Army Day.A Glimpse of Things to Come: Arab Press Protesting Hamas Repression
“It has become urgent that we review and approve the National Defense Strategy in light of developments in the region,” Sleiman said.
Head of the journalists syndicate Abdul-Nasser Najjar addressed the protesters and expressed astonishment over the ongoing assaults against journalists in Gaza.Syrian Rebels Strike Back with Massive Homs Bombing
“We were surprised as Hamas continued with assaults against Palestinian media organizations, shutting down offices of Ma’an News Network and some other media offices. This is part of an ongoing practice,” Najjar said. He highlighted that “since Hamas staged its coup in Gaza, the main three Palestinian daily newspapers were banned in the Gaza Strip.”
But, you know, only a year ago, in July 2012, Abdel Nasser Najjar called for boycotting a meeting between Israeli President Shimon Peres and Arab journalists. Najjar, an old PLO hand, warned that punitive measures would be taken against journalists who attended the meeting in Jerusalem.
It must be embarrassing, if not outright infuriating, for a journalist who spends half his day working like a serious professional in a Western democracy, vilifying Jews and whatnot, and then, at night, crossing over to the Heart of Darkness that is the Palestinian-run areas.
Syrian rebels carried out a large-scale attack in the al-Nuzha district of the hotly-contested city of Homs on Thursday, hitting a weapons depot in the government-held city. At least 40 people were killed in the subsequent explosion, human rights groups reported.Rockets Explode Near Lebanon's Presidential Palace
It was not immediately clear who fired the rockets or from where. Eyewitnesses said one rocket fell only a few meters from an entrance to the presidential palace, according to the Associated Press.Jordan stops large arms transfer from Syria
The spokesman says the group arrested late Thursday included Jordanians and other Arab nationalities.Syrian Rebel Leader Urges Attacks on Russia
The official said the arms included mainly machine guns. He said an investigation had begun.
The Islamist rebel groups fighting Syrian President Bashar Assad have been helped by thousands of foreign terrorists, from elsewhere in the Middle East and from as far as the United States. A significant portion have come from the Caucasus, even forming their own rebel battalion.
Now the leader of one Islamist group is telling them to stay home – and attack there.