Monday, June 16, 2014
#BringBackOurBoys
Obviously, we know that posting pictures and news updates with the hashtag #BringBackOurBoys ISN’T going to bring back our boys. But it is going to do SOMETHING: In an online environment where so many people condemn Israel, where major international newspapers send out alerts about a freaking golf tournament (seriously) and NOT about these 3 kidnapped boys, where so many people are separated by continents and oceans and are longing for some kind of community as we wait and we wait and we wait, this hashtag helps.#Bringbackourboys goes viral
And apparently, the parents of these boys notice, too, and they receive some measure of comfort from it. And that should be reason enough.
Israel’s digital diplomacy has already had an amazing success. Initiated by graduates of the University of Haifa’s Ambassadors Online program, the “Bring Back Our Boys” online campaign on behalf of the three kidnapped teenagers has attracted global attention.Over 79000 people have :liked” their facebook page.Israeli Celebrities Join BringBackOurBoys Campaign to Free Kidnapped Kids
Popular singer Shai Gabso also joined in, posing with a photo of himself, hold his hand up with each of the words written with a marker on his fingers, adding the word “#peace.”Watch: Israeli Hollywood Star Protests for Teens in Times Square
Legendary studio guitarist Avi Singolda posted a photo of himself with the hashtag written on a piece of paper stuck between the strings of his guitar.
Israeli basketball player, Omri Casspi, of the Houston Rockets, posted an Israeli flag with the hashtag and a sign reading “Am Yisrael Chai!” (“The people of Israel live!”) on his Facebook page. He also added a traditional ancient Hebrew prayer for the release of captives in text below the photo.
Israeli Hollywood actress and internationally renowned model Moran Atias protested in New York's landmark Times Square on Sunday, calling for the return of the three Israeli yeshiva students who were kidnapped by terrorists last Thursday night from Kfar Etzion, Judea.Australian Jewry rallies for kidnapped teens
Atias stood alone in Times Square, holding a sign with "three Israeli teens kidnapped from their homeland" written on it, with their names Eyal (Yifrah), Naftali (Frenkel) and Gilad (Sha'ar) written below.
Jewish community members “felt something needed to be done and were looking for ways to help,” Rafi Lawrence, the head of Sydney’s Bnei Akiva branch, told the Times of Israel. “While it’s hard to bridge the physical gap between us, we can still try and help on a spiritual level.”Watch: Kidnapped Teen Sings at Cousin's Wedding
“All movements, madrichim [leaders] and chanichim [participants], as the active face of Zionism in Australia, are invited to attend and participate. This issue is very close to home — the people kidnapped are the same age as our chanichim,” he wrote in an email. The movements’ plight didn’t fall on deaf ears.
A heart-wrenching YouTube video shows Eyal Yifrah, the 19-year-old yeshiva student who was kidnapped along with two other students last Thursday by terrorists, in happier times.
Yifrah can be seen in the video playing the guitar and singing at the April 10 wedding of a cousin of his. The video was posted to YouTube two days after the wedding as a present to them, and shared on Facebook on Monday by David Ha'ivri, a local activist and resident of Kfar Tapuach in Samaria.
Sherri Mandel: Don’t blame the victim!
I remember well the night my 13-year-old son Koby Mandell and his friend Yosef Ishran went missing.'Stop Blaming the Victims for Abduction,' Demands Youth
We were up all night hoping and praying and waiting to hear from the people searching for our son.
I remember well the hollow, painful feeling of not knowing what happened to my son. The fear and stress of fighting off despair.
I remember well the support of my friends who came to sit in our living room to wait with us.
In Israel today, three other sets of parents are suffering the unimaginable pain of not knowing if their sons are alive or dead. Three boys kidnapped by terrorists. Three innocent boys: Eyal Yifrach, Gilad Shaar and Naphtali Fraenkel. Say their names. Pray for them. Keep their names close to your heart.
Avia Weiss, 18, of Samaria, is tired of hearing this, and he lashed out at the critics in a personal opinion spot on Walla News: "Aren't you guys ashamed to blame the victim? Are you guys crazy? Youths are to blame for the abduction because they hitched a ride at night? How did such discourse become legitimate again?IDF Blog: 150 Arrested in Connection with Hamas Kidnapping
"If someone said that a woman who was raped was to blame because she dressed in an immodest way, you'd all be screaming that such discourse has no legitimacy. And you'd be right! Since when is the victim to blame?"
A widespread IDF operation aims to find the Hamas terrorists who kidnapped three Israeli teenagers last Thursday. Israeli forces have arrested 150 Palestinian suspects in connection with the abduction.Hassan Yousef Promised Hamas Terror in Judea and Samaria
IDF soldiers arrested 40 terrorist suspects late Sunday night, including several Hamas operatives connected to the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers last week. So far, IDF forces have detained 150 suspects linked to the abduction.
The IDF arrested the suspects in the Judea and Samaria region, where Hamas terrorists abducted the three teens last Thursday. IDF and Israeli security forces have been conducting a relentless search for the teenagers and their kidnappers for more than three days.
Israeli forces also arrested 80 Palestinian suspects late Saturday night. Hours later, on Sunday morning, the IDF confirmed that Hamas terrorists were responsible for the abduction.
Last week at Birzeit University near Ramallah, Hassan Yousef, one of the founders of Hamas, spoke to students and promised them that Hamas will soon and surprisingly bring the violence and terror of Gaza to Judea and Samaria.
In the background, the Ramallah students can be heard chanting “Ya Kassam”, the name of Hamas’s military wing.
Yousef was arrested last night by the IDF as part of the search to find Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Sha’ar and Naftali Frenkel, who were kidnapped in Gush Etzion by Hamas.
IDF Chief of Staff on Search for Hamas Kidnappers
IDF Presses Forward in Search for Kidnapped Teens
Abbas calls Netanyahu, condemns kidnapping
The conversation, which broke more than a year of silence between the two leaders, was initiated by Abbas and came two days after Netanyahu held Abbas responsible for the kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers.In bid for Palestinian street, Hamas gambles all
Abbas, for his part, issued an official condemnation of the kidnapping, as well as of the Israeli arrest operation in the West Bank.
“I expect you to help in returning the youths and capturing the kidnappers,” Netanyahu told Abbas. “The Hamas kidnappers left territory under PA control and [after abducting their victims] returned to area under PA control.”
Over the preceding 48 hours, it seems, something has shifted in the upper echelons of the PA and Abbas’s Fatah party. Essentially, Abbas has come to realize that the recently inked unity pact with Hamas ended at the moment of the abduction.IDF: Palestinian rioter killed while throwing large blocks from rooftop at soldiers
In off-the-record conversations, confidants of Abbas’s say that Hamas will pay a steep price for the kidnapping — beyond the massive Israeli operation to recover the abductees, Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel — in the form of punitive steps with which the PA plans to target Hamas in Gaza.
The IDF Spokesman's Office said that during an arrest operation against members of Hamas and other terrorist groups in the Palestinian village of Jilzun, northeast of Ramallah, a violent disturbance broke out, in which rioters hurled concrete blocks and rocks at soldiers from rooftops and alleys.Israel could kill Hamas leaders, defense minister hints
A soldier spotted one rioter throwing large blocks and bricks at soldiers in a way that endangered their lives. As the rioter was about to hurl down another block, the soldier shot and killed him, the IDF said.
Three IDF soldiers were lightly wounded in the clash, and received medical treatment on the spot.
Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, while accusing Hamas of perpetrating the abduction of three Israeli teens, hinted Sunday that Israel, either in retribution or in order to thwart future attacks, may reestablish its campaign of targeted killings against the organization’s leadership.'We will chase down anyone involved, if one hair on boys' heads is damaged,' Bennett says
“We will know how to exact a very heavy price from the leaders of Hamas wherever and whenever we find it appropriate and from whomever ponders the notion of harming the citizens of Israel or disrupting their lives,” Ya’alon said at the Israel Defense Prize ceremony at the President’s Residence on Sunday evening.
Economy Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday warned the terrorists involved in the kidnapping of the three Israeli teens in the West Bank last week, that if they harm the teens, Israel will chase them down.PA condemns Israel for wide-scale arrest of Hamas and Islamic Jihad members
"Our aim is to bring the boys home," Bennett said.
"I say to the terrorists, if one hair on the heads of the three children is damaged, we will chase any person who was involved in the planning, aiding, or execution of this kidnapping, whether he was involved directly or indirectly."
The Palestinian unity government on Sunday condemned Israel for arresting more than 100 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members in the West Bank in response to the Thursday kidnapping of three Israeli youths.PLO Accuses Netanyahu of 'Terrorism'
The government also condemned Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip in response to the firing of rockets at Israel in the past few days.
Palestinian government spokesman Ehab Bessaiso told reporters in Ramallah that the latest escalation in security measures was in the context of Israel’s “collective punishment” against the Palestinians.
He called on the international community to intervene and demand that Israel halt its latest measures, including the siege on Hebron and its refusal to allow families of prisoners held in Israel to visit their sons.
The executive committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) convened for a meeting on Sunday, following which it accused Israel of terrorism and rejected Israel’s placing the blame on the Palestinian Authority (PA) for the kidnapping of the three yeshiva students in Gush Etzion.Abbas, at the depths of weakness
The committee, headed by PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, condemned Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu for what it termed his "racist attack" on the PA and its leader using the kidnapping of “three settlers” as an excuse.
In light of the international support for the PA, Israel has demanded that Abbas, who pretends to represent a peaceful Palestinian government, demonstrate that his words equal action. But because he fears the collapse of his brand new, on-paper government, whether through Hamas propaganda or his declining value among the Palestinian public, Abbas has avoided publicly condemning the kidnapping and conceals his administration's collaboration with Israel.Bring back our boys
Instead of showing statesmanship, Abbas has feigned ignorance out of weakness at the first signs of crisis, because expectations of his position at the helm of the central Palestinian leadership are so high. He shirked responsibility under the ridiculous pretension that Israel was responsible for the recent security flub because the territory where the kidnapping occurred is under Israeli control. Tomorrow, we could expect Abbas to argue that each Qassam fired out of Gaza is Israel's fault because it exploded on Israeli soil. If Abbas had only scuttled the terror attack and released the hostages, he would have been elevated to unprecedented heights both internationally and in Israel.
Gideon Levy is saying that not only do these children have themselves to blame for their horrific fate, but also that abductions, violence and murder are understandable and effective methods for the Palestinians to use in their righteous mission against us.Open Hillel Leader Accuses Israel of 'Propaganda War' after Terrorist Kidnappings
Shame on you. Shame on Haaretz for allowing hateful PA-puppetry to fill the columns of their paper. Shame on those of you blaming the parents of Gil-Ad, Naphtali and Eyal for allowing them to hitch a ride in their own neighborhood. Shame on everyone making comparisons between the IDF temporarily and legally apprehending violent Palestinian minors and Palestinian terrorists abducting our children. Shame on you.
Shame on you.
Shame on you.
When, Be'ezrat Hashem, these young boys are returned home safely, we will remember this as an international roll call. We will remember the names of those who failed these children, as well as the brave men and women risking their lives to bring them home.
Holly Bicerano, the founder of the Boston University chapter of J Street, accused Israel of staging a "propaganda war" in the media following the kidnapping of three Israeli children last Thursday evening. Bicerano currently serves as a Campus Outreach Co-Coordinator for the "Open Hillel" movement.Opposition Chairman Herzog Says 'Don't Blame Abbas'
First, Bicerano puts quotes around the word “enemy” as if it doesn’t actually exist, but is rather the figment of the Israeli government’s imagination.
According to Israel Radio, Netanyahu has blamed Abbas and the new Palestinian technocratic government for the recent West Bank kidnapping incident. The statements by the Israeli government and much of the Israeli media have focused on indicting “the enemy” and, with few exceptions, failed to address multiple issues that are at the heart of the current problem.”
Speaking after the meeting, he criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's statements holding Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas responsible for the kidnapping, given that it originated from PA-controlled territories and given the recent Fatah-Hamas unity deal; Netanyahu accused Hamas of conducting the abduction.Anti-Israel Activists Thrilled by Abduction of Israeli Teens
"This is a process (carried out by) criminal and despicable terrorists. It's not right to put the blame on Mahmoud Abbas, instead we have to work with him," Herzog told Yedioth Aharonoth.
Despite Herzog's defense of Abbas, the official PA daily on Sunday printed a cartoon sickeningly distorting the World Cup 2014 logo so as to celebrate the kidnapping. The cartoon shows three hands holding three people with their hands up in surrender, over the word "Khalil," Arabic for Hevron where the boys are believed to be held.
Supposedly, the content offered by EI reflects “the commitment of its cofounders and editors to universal principles of human rights, international law, anti-racism and equal justice.” However, the EI does not hide that when it comes to Israel and its Jewish citizens as well as supporters of the Jewish state, these laudable principles are replaced by a truly Orwellian definition of antisemitism that reflects Abunimah’s preposterous view that “Zionism is one of the worst forms of anti-Semitism in existence today” and that support for Zionism “is not atonement for the Holocaust, but its continuation in spirit.”NGO Monitor: Why HRW’s Ken Roth won’t condemn kidnapping of Israeli teens
Given these views, it is hardly surprising that Abunimah sometimes finds it difficult to conceal his enthusiasm for the kind of murderous “resistance” practiced by terrorist groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad. It is equally unsurprising that Abunimah would now refer to the three recently kidnapped Jewish teenagers as “settlers” and to the security forces searching for them as “occupation gangs” – which, in the context of Abunimah’s ideology, implies that the three yeshiva students were legitimate targets of the “resistance” that Abunimah supports.
In contrast to the UN secretary-general and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the head of Human Rights Watch is refusing to unequivocally condemn Thursday’s kidnapping of Israeli teenagers, emphasizing instead that they attended school in an “illegal settlement,” and demanding that his critics first condemn an unrelated event from a month ago, the alleged IDF killing of masked rock-throwers.Human Rights Watch Appoints Crickets To Address Kidnapping Of Israelis (satire)
After repeated appeals from Twitter users for HRW Executive Director Kenneth Roth to end his silence on the abductions, Roth finally responded with this carefully-constructed tweet: “Attending school at illegal settlement doesn’t legitimize apparent kidnapping of Israel teens. They should be freed.”
But why would Roth even bother to mention that the youths — two of them aged 16 — studied in an “illegal settlement”?
In all of history, was there ever a case where the head of a human rights group issued a statement concerning innocent hostages — while they were still in the hands of kidnappers — which deliberately connected them to an “illegal” act, let alone devoting half the text to it?
To ensure the proper response to the kidnapping by Palestinians of three Israeli teenagers last week, Human Rights Watch has hired a team of crickets, which will chirp at regular intervals to highlight the lack of condemnation emanating from the organization.NY Times: Israeli Rescue Attempts Destabilize Relations With Palestinians
HRW is among the quickest to denounce alleged Israeli violations of Palestinian rights, often parroting Palestinian activists’ accusations without thorough investigation. To avoid the impression that the organization’s one-sidedness stems from incompetence or negligence, HRW specifically engaged a troupe of the musical insects to stress that its had a consistent approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that the anti-Israel bias is not haphazard.
Israel’s attempts to rescue three kidnapped teens are endangering Palestinian-Israeli relations, reports The New York Times today. “The growing search for them and their captors further destabilized Israeli-Palestinian relations, and challenged the new Palestinian government’s ability to hold together disparate political factions and reunite the West Bank and Gaza after a seven-years split,” intones the Jerusalem bureau chief Jodi Rudoren.Young relative of Arab MK makes waves slamming teens' abductors
Once again, the Gray Lady conforms to its well-worn narrative in which, regardless of the reality on the ground, Israel stars as the wrecking ball of peace. According to The Times, it is not Hamas’ kidnapping of Gil-Ad Shaar and Naftali Frankel, two eleventh-graders on their way home from school, together with Eyal Yifrach, an unarmed, 19-year-old civilian, that is responsible for eroding Israeli-Palestinian relations. Rather, The Times singles out Israeli efforts to bring the boys home as the key cause of friction.
The video sparked thousands of angry responses from the Arab sector, including accusations that Mohammad was "mentally ill" and "the boy doesn't know what he is talking about". Some comments even threatened violence: "I feel like strangling you," write one person, while another "I wish that next time it would be you".B’Tselem’s Pathetic Press Release
MK Zoabi also hit back at the video, calling her young relative stupid and delusional.
"I am happy to see that the Israeli hasbara (propaganda) is in such a dire state it needs a stupid boy with a twisted identity, who feels a continuous need to apologize to his strong masters," she told Ynet. "The Israeli desire to highlight this delusional case shows the state's need for legitimacy, even if it comes from a questionable direction." (h/t Bob Knot)
“Human rights” organization B’Tselem have published a call for the release of the three Israeli teenagers.CiF Watch prompts correction to Guardian characterization of abducted boys as ‘teen settlers’
But (predictably) they could not bring themselves to leave it at that. Half the statement deals with what Israel needs to do to uphold human rights.
Along with the efforts by the Israeli security forces to exhaust all possible avenues of investigation in order to locate the abducted youths and bring them safely home, the authorities must adopt every possible measure at their disposal to uphold human rights. Israeli authorities must also refrain from meting out collective punishment to the local population. Likewise, the security forces must take whatever steps necessary to prevent any violence directed at Palestinians.
And, about an hour ago, the Guardian responded to our complaint about an article by Peter Beaumont - that we posted about yesterday – claiming that the Jewish victims were “teenage settlers”, and agreed to revise the passage (and headline) in question.ADL Solidarity Statement Slams Hamas-Fatah Unity Pact
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the three young men kidnapped with the involvement of Hamas, as the efforts by Israeli authorities continue to attempt to ensure their safe return," Barry Curtiss-Lusher, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, stated Monday."We echo [US] Secretary [of State John] Kerry’s statement that the Palestinian Authority must fully cooperate with Israeli authorities to assist in locating the Israeli teens."Germany calls for release of three kidnapped Israeli teens
The ADL also slammed the current unity pact between Hamas and Fatah, noting that worldwide legitimization of Hamas's role in the new government has a direct connection to the kidnapping.
"[The teens'] horrifying abduction and the resumption of rocket fire from Gaza into Southern Israel lay bare the dangers of legitimizing Hamas' role in governing the Palestinians and present a stark choice for the Palestinian Authority leadership," the ADL stated. "Will they choose to continue on the path of aligning with forces promoting terror, violence and conflict? Or will they reject this hatred and return to the steps necessary for reconciliation and peace?"
Germany has called for the release of three Israeli teenagers believed to have been abducted in the West Bank, warning that the kidnapping of the youngsters could escalate tensions in the region.European MPs Condemn Kidnapping in Joint Declaration
"We are concerned about the whereabouts of three youngsters who disappeared... There are some indications that the three have been kidnapped. If this is the case, we condemned this action and urge those responsible to release them, free of harm, immediately," a German foreign ministry spokesman said.
Over 20 European members of parliaments (MPs), hailing from 15 different European countries, signed a joint declaration condemning the kidnapping of Gilad Sha'ar, 16, Naftali Frenkel, 16, and Eyal Yifrah, 19 last Thursday night by terrorists.Egypt Calls on Israel to Show 'Maximum Self-Restraint'
"We support Israel's right to defend its citizens from acts of war and terror, as is the duty of every sovereign nation. We condemn in the strongest terms the recent kidnapping of three Israeli teenagers and demand that the Palestinian Authority actively assist in securing their safe return," read the joint statement.
Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Badr Abdellaty said Israel must show "maximum self-restraint," in response to what he called reports of "Israel's intention to expand its security operations in the West Bank... in response to the kidnapping of three Israeli citizens."Red Cross Calls for Release of Kidnapped Youths
Abdellaty pressed Israel to avoid "escalating the situation...between the Palestinian and Israeli sides...and prevent it from deteriorating in a way that would make it difficult to control later," reports AFP.
The Egyptian statement did not include a condemnation of the abduction by Hamas terrorists of three students - two 16-year-olds and a 19-year-old.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Sunday called for the immediate and unconditional release of the three Israeli teenagers who were kidnapped by terrorists last week.
“We are very concerned by the fate of the teenagers. International humanitarian law prohibits abduction as well as the taking of hostages,” Robert Mardini, head of ICRC operations in the Middle East, said in a statement.
“They must be treated humanely, and their lives and dignity protected and respected,” he added.
