Times of Israel Live Blog: IDF toll rises to 18 with deaths of 13 Golani soldiers in Gaza
News of Golani Brigade fatalities was delayed while families were informed; heavy fighting since Saturday has focused on Hamas stronghold of Shejaiya, where Palestinians report 80 killed; battles raging in other Gaza areasIDF Blog: Fallen Soldiers of Operation Protective Edge
Throughout Israel’s history, IDF soldiers have fallen in defense of their country and families. This reality continues as the IDF operates in Gaza to defend Israel from Hamas rocket fire and the threat of terrorist infiltration by tunnels.Douglas Murray: London’s pro-Palestine rally was a disgusting anti-Semitic spectacle
The following brave soldiers fell in the fight to protect Israeli civilians. May their memory be blessed.
Thousands of anti-Semites have today succeeded in bringing central London to an almost total standstill.MEMRI: Why Did Hamas Launch Its Current Rocket Offensive Against Israel?
They marched though the centre of the city before congregating to scream outside the Israeli Embassy in Kensington. It was interesting to watch this rather non-diverse crowd pass. Most of the women seem to be wearing headscarves or the burka, while their men-folk were naturally more appropriately dressed for a sweltering summer day.
But what a picture. These are the people who stayed at home throughout the Syrian civil war, stayed at home when ISIS rampaged across Iraq, stayed at home when Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab carried out their atrocities across central Africa and showed no concern whatsoever when the Muslim Brotherhood was running Egypt into the ground. Yet they pretend to care about Muslims.
And here they all are, coming out to scream because Israel is carrying out the most specific and targeted campaign in the history of warfare in order to stop Hamas – a group dedicated to the annihilation of all Jews – from firing thousands of rockets into the Jewish homeland.
Apparently, Hamas' decision to launch a rocket offensive against Israel was made on the local level by Hamas' military arm, the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades, perhaps without consulting with the movement's political wing either within or outside the Gaza Strip – and this for local and immediate reasons to be detailed below, alongside additional motives linked to the deteriorating status of the movement in the internal Palestinian arena as well as in the inter-Arab arena.
1. The Immediate Motive For Hamas' Rocket Offensive: Israel's Discovery And Targeting Of A Strategic Hamas Project
On July 5, two days before Hamas fired its first heavy barrage of rockets into Israel, Israel struck one of Hamas' dozens of long tunnels leading out of the Gaza Strip into Israel. The tunnel was one of several that were built in recent years as a strategic project to surprise Israel in future conflicts, enabling Hamas to move armed activists[?] deep into Israel to carry out terror attacks in densely populated areas.
Audience on Bill Maher Show Applauds Defense of Israel
This is remarkable if you know anything about Bill Maher and his audience. You would have to switch channels to MSNBC or the Daily Show to find a more progressive crowd.Rare: TV Talk Show Host Rips Into Hamas for Attacking Israel
I’ve never been a fan of Bill Maher but to his credit, he did anger many progressives on Twitter this week by standing up for Israel.
Jamie Weinstein is a senior editor at the Daily Caller. I met him at CPAC in March and he’s a very smart guy. Last night he was a member of the panel on Maher’s show and his defense of Israel drew applause from the audience. (h/t fizziks)
Panel L-R, Jamie Weinstein Dailly Caller, Nate Silver (statistician, says nothing), Congresswoman Jane Harman (D)
Seventh Lesson of the Gaza War: We Must Demilitarize Gaza
A simple cease-fire in Gaza would give Hamas time to re-arm and renew its terrorist activities.The Doctrine of Proportionality
The demilitarization of Gaza would put an end to Hamas’s terrorist activities.
Which goal makes more sense?
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry have been working hard to achieve a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This effort is shortsighted – and worse. A simple cease-fire would be a de-facto victory for Hamas. It would give Hamas the time and breathing space it needs to smuggle in more weapons, repair its terror tunnels, and launch new terror attacks on Israel. It would live to fight another day.
When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed on July 15 to the proposed cease-fire, he explained his decision in these terms: “We agreed to the Egyptian proposal in order to give an opportunity for the demilitarization of the (Gaza) Strip – from missiles, from rockets and from tunnels – through diplomatic means.” Likewise Netanyahu said at a televised news conference on July 16: “The most important thing vis-a-vis Gaza is to ensure that Gaza is demilitarized.”
Proportionality in international law is not about equality of death or civilian suffering, or even about [equality of] firepower. Proportionality weighs the necessity of a military action against suffering that the action might cause to enemy civilians in the vicinity.David Singer: Gaza - Israel Takes off the Gloves
"Under international humanitarian law and the Rome Statute, the death of civilians during an armed conflict, no matter how grave and regrettable does not constitute a war crime.... even when it is known that some civilian deaths or injuries will occur. A crime occurs if there is an intentional attack directed against civilians (principle of distinction) or an attack is launched on a military objective in the knowledge that the incidental civilian injuries would be clearly excessive in relation to the anticipated military advantage (principle of proportionality)." — Luis Moreno-Ocampo, Chief Prosecutor, International Criminal Court.
"The greater the military advantage anticipated, the larger the amount of collateral damage -- often civilian casualties -- which will be "justified" and "necessary." — Dr. Françoise Hampton, University of Essex, UK.
Sharon never expressly articulated whether Israel still maintained its claim to sovereignty in those areas from which it was withdrawing Jewish communities.Israeli Nurse Discovers Own Son Among Wounded IDF Troops in Her Care (VIDEO)
Based on the use of the words "evacuation" and “Disengagement Plan” - it would appear that Sharon was not ceding Israel’s claims to sovereignty in international law under the Mandate for Palestine and article 80 of the United Nations Charter.
As I wrote in August 2005:
“One can envisage an Israeli return to Gaza and northern Samaria, should the Palestinians carry out their threats to continue the armed struggle all the way to Jerusalem. Israel's response could be disastrous for the Palestinians and wipe out whatever political or territorial gains they may make as a result of Israel's initial withdrawal…
By continuing to use the word "evacuation" to describe its actions, Israel seems to be making it very clear that if the Palestinians don't embark on the Road Map, and instead continue to use violence and incitement to achieve their goal of an independent state, the removal of the Jewish communities will be only temporary. Israel will return in force and claim sovereignty of such parts of the areas vacated as it deems in its national interest.”
Unconfirmed reports are filtering into the Israeli media of several dozen IDF soldiers wounded in brutal ground-level firefights with Hamas in Gaza.IDF Blog: Shuja’iya: Hamas’ Terror Fortress in Gaza
Malka Davidovitch, a nurse at Ashkelon’s Barzilai Hospital which is treating some 50 soldiers wounded in fighting was summoned to the ER to treat incoming wounded, and, to her shock and dismay, discovered that one of the wounded was her own son, Israel’s Channel 2 reported on Sunday.
“My son was lightly wounded,” she told a reporter, but immediately added that “my prayer is that those who sustained more severe wounds heal and be released as soon as possible.”
Hamas uses Shuja’iya as a fortress for its weapons, rockets, tunnels and command centers. Hamas uses the neighborhood’s residents as human shields.Analysis Of Gazans Killed So Far In Operation Protective Edge
This civilian neighborhood in Gaza is home to extensive Hamas infrastructure. In only 13 days, Hamas has fired over 140 rockets from this neighborhood into Israel.
IDF soldiers have found 10 openings to terror tunnels in Shuja’iya. These tunnels are used for infiltrating Israel, smuggling weapons, and launching rockets at Israeli civilians.
As you can see, over 80% of Gazans killed so far have been male, with almost half of these males being in the 18-28 age group. One can imagine many of these being “combatants.” A further 20% of these males are between 29 and 48, an age group one could envisage may also contain many Hamas members.About those Gaza Health Ministry casualty figures cited by the BBC…
In other words, these figures bring into question how many of those killed were really innocent civilians.
What these figures also indicate is if Israel was indiscriminately killing Gazans, the representation in terms of gender and age would be broader (with relatively more children killed than the approx 18%, considering nearly 50% of Gazans are under the age of 14). (h/t Bob Knot)
Despite the plethora of BBC reporters currently on the ground in the Gaza Strip, BBC audiences have not been informed that at least four summary executions of ‘collaborators’ by Hamas have apparently taken place since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge and at least thirteen other people have been arrested.Netanyahu: Hamas wants ‘telegenically dead Palestinians’
Likewise, BBC audiences have not been informed of reports of Hamas militiamen attacking and injuring Fatah supporters.
Seeing as almost every item of BBC content cites casualty figures provided directly or indirectly by the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza, perhaps next time Yolande Knell, Lyse Doucet or Paul Adams gives them a call to ask for updates, they could ask whether or not those statistics include people killed and injured by the terror organization whose figures they unquestioningly quote and promote.
In an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Netanyahu accused Hamas of a cynical disregard for human life.Day 13: More than 130 terrorists killed in ground operation
“These people are the worst terrorists — genocidal terrorists,” he said. “They call for the destruction of Israel and they call for the killing of every Jew, wherever they can find them.”
“They want to pile up as many civilian dead as they can,” the prime minister continued. “They use telegenically dead Palestinians for their cause. They want the more dead, the better.”
The IDF's ground incursion into Gaza has led to a rapid rise in the number of terrorists killed. Since the beginning of the ground operation, IDF soldiers have eliminated more than 130 terrorists, including more than 60 Saturday overnight.'Terrorists on the ground increasing gun and missile attacks on IDF'
During the overnight firefights, the Golani Brigade commander, Colonel Rassan Alian, sustained light-to-moderate injuries.
Large infantry forces entered Gaza overnight, as the IDF expanded Operation Protective Edge on Sunday. The IDF Spokesperson's Unit announced that the ground forces joined the ongoing operations to destroy terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, which began with the ground incursion.
The IDF has struck 2,600 Hamas and Islamic Jihad targets since the start of Operation Protective Edge, and some 500 targets since the start of the ground offensive.Special Forces Strike First, Avert Imminent Threat
Air strikes are expected to intensify in northern Gaza, where a concentration of rocket launchers is located, a senior military source said.
The IDF has uncovered 36 tunnel shafts and 14 tunnels, some of which are underground cross-border attack structures.
Inside the tunnels, soldiers have found RPGs, bombs, sedatives, booby traps, and communication devices. Some of the tunnels featured mini bunkers, the source added. "We are blowing them up. A large tunnel was found and destroyed. We'll destroy more in the future," he said.
Hamas: We Will Give Hand Grenades to Our Youth
Exclusive Interview With IAF Pilots: How They Limit Casualties
While the IDF goes to extraordinary lengths to avoid civilian casualties, Hamas deliberately puts civilians in the line of fire. The terrorist organization bases command centers, weapons storage facilities and concealed rocket launchers inside civilian neighborhoods, sometimes even inside houses. Lt. Or and Lt. Omer are two pilots in the Israel Air Force whose work reduces harm to civilians in Gaza.Targeting the Enemy: The IDF's Anti-Terror Strategy in Gaza
Lt. Or is a 25-year-old soldier with an enormous responsibility. He decides whether to call off an airstrike in Gaza for the sake of preserving human life.
IDF Redirects Attack to Avoid Civilian Casualties
Israel extends Gaza humanitarian truce after rocky start
Israel agreed Sunday to extend a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza City until 5:30 pm, after Hamas fighters endangered the calm it requested by firing on IDF troops shortly after it began.WATCH: Ground troops use drones throughout Gaza to locate tunnels, enemy fire
The IDF said its troops came under fire in the neighborhood of Saja'iyya less than an hour after the 1:30 pm start of the truce, which was facilitated by the Red Cross, and that it had resumed combat operations. Hamas had no immediate comment on Israeli claims it had breached the ceasefire.
The IDF agreed to the ceasefire in the neighborhood of eastern Gaza City after Hamas asked Israel for the lull in hostilities at around noon Sunday to rescue the wounded and retrieve the dead.
The IDF Sky Rider is a special forces unit operating from within the Artillery Corps which has been at the forefront of the IDF operations in the West Bank and now in Gaza where it has discovered tunnels and located enemy fire for targeting by troops. The outfit's "Skylark" drones are carried into the field then subsequently set up and launched by its operators.'Miracle' After Rocket Shrapnel Narrowly Misses Kindergarten
The unit most recently garnering attention for its work in Operation Brother's Keeper to search for the three yeshiva students kidnapped and murdered by terrorists in the West Bank. As troops operated around the clock, Sky Rider drones provided troops in that operation real time intel regarding approaching riots, escaping suspects and troop positioning.
Rocket fragments fell throughout Rishon LeTzion on Sunday, after the Iron Dome intercepted a large volley fired on the heavily-populated Gush Dan region.Rockets don’t scare Israel’s Indian population
But as shrapnel rained on the unsuspecting populace, one kindergarten was narrowly missed by a large fragment - an open miracle, as Channel 2 reports.
Some 20 children and staff headed into a protected area just moments before the rockets were intercepted, according to the daily. No staff or children were injured and no damage was reported.
The 80,000 Indian Jews in southern Israel are bearing the brunt of Hamas attacks. Though faithful to the drill — head to the 'strong room' when sirens sound — they refuse to let fear govern their livesHumanitarian Aid Transferred to Gaza
The ongoing battle between Israeli defence forces and Hamas may seem like a distant battle in a distant land to which India has no connection. In fact, most of those projectiles are landing in what is effectively Israel's mini-India.
There are more Indian Jews — Bene Israel, Baghdadi and Cochini — in Israel than in India today. According to one estimate there are around 80,000 Jews of Indian origin there, compared to the around 3,000 left in India. And most of them live in the southern Israeli towns of Ashdod, Ashkelon, Dimona and Bersheva, cities that have borne the brunt of the rocket attacks of the Hamas.
Egypt blocks aid convoy from reaching crossing with Gaza
Egyptian soldiers in north Sinai prevented an aid convoy of activists from reaching the Rafah border crossing and entering the Gaza Strip Saturday, an AFP correspondent reported.Israel sets up field hospital for wounded Gazans
An army officer at the Balloza checkpoint, one of many along the desert highway to Rafah said that the security situation in the restive peninsula was too unstable to allow the convoy of 11 buses and 500 activists to pass.
There was a brief scuffle between some activists and soldiers but no arrests were made.
Israel Defense Forces Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz confirmed reports Sunday afternoon that the IDF is going to set up a field hospital near the Erez Crossing at 8 p.m. Sunday evening to treat wounded Palestinians.
Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Major Yoav Mordechai said that the field hospital will treat mainly women, children and the elderly hurt during the current war in Gaza. In addition, he said in a statement, those whose injuries require additional care can be transferred to Israeli hospitals.
The announcement coincided with Israel’s allowing the entry into Gaza of a truckload of medical supplies which, according to Palestinian Authority Health Minister Jawad Awwad, had been delayed for two days. It preceded a request from Hamas for a two-hour “humanitarian ceasefire” – a request Israel has granted.
Israeli surgeons treat Palestinian girl while under fire from Gaza
As sirens blared at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, warning of incoming rockets on Thursday, a group of Israeli surgeons continued to operate on a Palestinian baby, alongside an Israeli child, in the intensive care ward, which is not adequately protected from rocket strikes.Haniyeh's Sisters Full Israeli Citizens, in Hiding in Negev
The Palestinian infant was suffering from multiple birth defects and arrived at the hospital attached to a respirator.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh may be a persona non grata for the Israeli government - but three of his sisters are living as full Israeli citizens.Arab Terrorists Cut Power Lines to Binyamin Communities
The Telegraph reports Sunday that Haniyeh's sisters, Kholidia, Laila and Sabah, married Bedouin and became full citizens 30 years ago.
The three now hide in the anonymity of the Israeli desert, according to the daily. While two are widows, and live alone, none are apparently willing to move back to Gaza and relinquish their Israeli citizenship.
"Our life is normal here and we want it to continue,'' said Salameh Abu Rukayek, 53, who married Kholida.
Palestinian Arabs deliberately cut electricity lines in the Dolev-Talmonim Bloc in Binyamin on Saturday, causing power outages throughout several communities over Shabbat.Palestinians from Ramallah Cut Off Power to Israeli Settlements
Power was finally restored since the early evening hours in Dolev, Talmon, Harsha, Neria, Horesh, Yaron, and Nahaliel.
The terrorists uploaded footage of the attack on social media, confirming suspicions that the power cut was a deliberate assault on the Jewish communities in the region. (h/t Bob Knot)
Amid Israeli Arab protests, minister wants MK Zoabi stripped of immunity
Liberman said he would appeal to the Central Elections Committee to disqualify Zoabi and Balad from running in the next Knesset elections, and Aharonovitch said he would seek to have Zoabi’s parliamentary immunity from prosecution lifted, along with that of a party colleague Jamal Zahalka.Hamas Praises Zoabi For Mocking Ground Offensive
Thousands of Israeli Arabs were reported to be protesting in Kafr Kanna on Saturday evening. Officials from the Islamic Movement spoke out not just against Israel, but also Egypt, which has taken a tough stance against Hamas in mediating ceasefire negotiations. “If [former Egyptian president] Morsi was still in power and dictating the rules to Hamas, we wouldn’t have gotten to this stage of the conflict,” an official from the Islamic Movement told Channel 2.
Israeli Arab MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad) continued to openly encourage Hamas in the battle against Israel's self-defense operation, giving another inflammatory interview to Al-Jazeera Saturday " " .Huckabee Blasts Hamas for Attacking Israel, White House for Response
"The Israeli Home Front Command is afraid of casualties rising following a ground operation," Zoabi said. "The Israeli public cannot stand [the idea that] confrontation will injure more and more IDF soldiers."
The Hamas spokesman abroad, Husam Badran, saluted Zoabi on her support.
"Hanin Zoabi is a Palestinian woman full of patriotism," Badran boasted. "She deserves the respect and admiration of all our people."
In the opening monologue of Huckabee, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee blasted the "vicious mad dogs" of Hamas for attacking Israel -- and the White House for its response to the escalation.Kerry Caught Mocking Israel on Hot Mic: ‘It’s a Hell of a Pinpoint Operation
"This week Israel had enough of the terrorist strikes against the civilian population and they launched a ground campaign in Gaza -- the hellhole of Hamas. Twice Hamas violated a cease-fire agreement and launched rockets over 80 percent of the Israeli population," he explained. "The best we got from the White House is a ridiculous admonition for both sides to restrain themselves."
Secretary of State John Kerry was caught on a hot mic on Fox News Sunday apparently disparaging Israel’s claim to be conducting a “pinpoint” operation in Gaza.John Kerry Caught on Fox News Hot Mic Criticizing Israeli Strike - 7-20-14
Host Chris Wallace explained that while Kerry spoke with an aide between his interviews with multiple Sunday shows, a microphone picked up his rather candid remarks in what Wallace called an “extraordinary moment of diplomacy” about the violence there.
“It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation,” Kerry said. “It’s a hell of a pinpoint operation … We’ve got to get over there. Thank you, John. I think, John, we ought to go tonight. I think it’s crazy to be sitting around.” (h/t Bob Knot)
Washington’s Mixed Messages and Israeli Realities
Back in April when the administration declined to oppose the Palestinian Authority’s decision to strike an agreement with Hamas rather than Israel, it pretended that the Islamist terror movement could be rendered irrelevant by the peace process. But now we see that so long as Hamas retains the power to plunge the country into a new war every time it wants to better its position, stability, let alone peace, is impossible. Nothing short of actions that will force Hamas’s disarmament will enable Kerry to realize his dream of brokering peace. Yet the U.S. continues to act as if limiting Israeli actions to superficial pinpricks against the terrorists’ strongholds and arsenal will enhance the cause of peace. Perhaps Kerry and President Obama believe their clinging to an equivocal stance about Gaza will enable the U.S. to be an “even-handed” broker in the future. But if there is anything that we have learned in the last month, it is that so long as Hamas’s power remains intact, America’s pretensions about peace are exposed as pipe dreams.Does Obama Realize the Stakes in Gaza?
It’s not clear if the current operations will realize Netanyahu’s goal of quiet. But the contrast between Washington’s mixed messages about self-defense and the reality of Israel’s security dilemma illustrates how clueless the administration is about the situation. As much as Netanyahu has tried to avoid open fights with the U.S., there are no illusions here about the country’s need to ignore the State Department’s criticism if there’s a chance that the IDF can substantially reduce Hamas’s ability to terrorize Israelis.
Thus rather than continuing to carp from the sidelines at Israeli efforts or wasting more time in pointless diplomacy that does nothing to shake Hamas’s assumptions about the strength of its position, it is time for the United States to wake up and realize that its interests are also at stake in this battle. President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry must understand that what is truly an “unsustainable status quo” is not the Israeli control of the West Bank but Hamas’s hold on Gaza. If there is ever to be any hope for a two-state solution–and admittedly, that hope is so faint these days as to be barely alive–it must begin with Hamas’s complete defeat and its replacement in Gaza by more moderate forces. Nothing short of that will end the bloodshed or begin the process whereby Israelis might be convinced that a withdrawal from the West Bank would not create another, even more lethal Hamasistan on their borders.NGO Monitor: The Goldstone effect
The best thing the U.S. could do to both stop the fighting and help the Palestinians trapped in Hamas’s deadly game would be to signal to the Islamists and their foreign allies that it is prepared to support an Israeli campaign that will oust them from Gaza and replace them with Fatah. Perhaps if they understood that their survival is at stake, the euphoria among the Hamas leadership about their “victories” will abate and quiet will follow. But unless that happens, it will soon be time for Israel and the U.S. to realize that they must adjust their strategies to account for their new, higher stakes in Gaza.
This strategy of using NGOs that operate under the umbrella of human rights and humanitarian aid to condemn Israel was spelled out at the infamous 2001 UN Durban Conference. The first implementation took place in April 2002, during the IDF Operation Defensive Shield against the center of operations for the mass suicide bombings that had taken hundreds of Israeli lives, and injured many more. The NGO network – particularly Human Rights Watch and Amnesty — along with Palestinian officials, promoted the false allegation of a Jenin “massacre” and “war crimes”, and campaigned for the creation of a highly biased UN investigation. These campaigns were used to launch the academic boycott movement in the UK, and the wider anti-Israel BDS (boycotts, divestment, and sanctions) efforts.US Senate unanimously backs Jerusalem on Gaza op
The height of this process was the 2009 Goldstone Report – a 500 page document, which claimed to provide extensive evidence of Israeli human rights violations and “war crimes” during the Gaza conflict (Operation Cast Lead) that began on December 28 2008. This UN publication extensively referenced B’tselem, Amnesty, HRW, and many other NGOs. Although the entire report was later discredited, and Judge Goldstone acknowledged that the NGO-based allegations were unsupported, the impact, in terms of fueling boycotts and “lawfare” cases against Israeli officials, continues.
Nevertheless, during the current conflict, the same NGOs are again promoting the “war crimes” theme, and this form of the modern anti-Semitic blood libel is repeated in violent protests, particularly in Europe. Nothing seems to have been learned from the mistakes of the past, as these organizations and their funder-enablers continue to erode the very universal principles of human rights that they claim to uphold.
The resolution, which had 78 bipartisan sponsors, passed late Thursday by unanimous consent, a week after it was introduced by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH).Egypt: Hamas Authorities ‘Liars’
A similar resolution, introduced by Reps. Steve Israel (D-NY) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and with over 140 cosponsors, passed unanimously in the US House of Representatives on July 11.
Egyptian sources accused Hamas leaders of “abandoning” innocent Palestinian civilians by spending the current conflict with Israel abroad, including in five-star hotels in Qatar and other locations. The Israel Radio report also quoted Egyptian sources, who said that Khaled Mashal, head of the Hamas politburo, would not be visiting Cairo this to discuss an Egyptian proposal for a Hamas-Israel ceasefire, in contrast to Hamas claims.Egyptian Cleric: Do Not Support Hamas. They Are Shiites and Their Leaders Hide Underground
According to Israel Radio, Egyptian authorities said Mashal’s claim to be headed to Cairo was the latest in a string of Hamas “lies.”
“Dozens of (Palestinian citizens) are being killed every day, paying with their lives for Hamas’ diplomatic and military adventures,” Israel Radio said.
U. Illinois Prof: Zionists partly to blame for recent outbursts of anti-Semitism
Steven Salaita is one of the leaders of the anti-Israel academic boycott movement in the United States. He even has authored a guide for other faculty as to how to implement boycotts of Israel at their own universities.Why I Stand With Israel
Salaita currently is an associate professor of English at Virginia Tech and starting in August will join the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign’s American Indian Studies Dept.
Salaita’s Twitter feed is crudely anti-Israel and has been since long before the recent Gaza conflict. Maybe that will be an issue for a later day.
And we see it in this tweet by Salaita, blaming the recent outbursts of anti-Semitism around the world on Zionists who “eagerly conflating Jewishness and Israel” and therefore “are partly responsible when people say antisemitic shit in response to Israeli terror.”
I used to have a great personal interest in the policy detail of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I could lecture at length on the subtleties of Camp David, Taba, the Road Map; on the different kinds of settlements; on the security barrier, its precise shape and contours; on the various UN resolutions; on the history of Fatah and Hamas. By now, like Lord Palmerston and the Schleswig-Holstein Question, I have forgotten most of the details.How Depraved Do We Have To Get? (satire)
What I have not forgotten is the following: the State of Israel is a democracy with the rule of law and respect for human rights (yes, imperfect, unlike the United States and Europe, which, as we all know, are perfect); demonic hatred of Jews is a real and persistent fact of history and when left unchecked it always leads to atrocities; this demonic hatred is absolutely clearly distilled into the enemies of Israel; and most, most importantly this: if tomorrow Hamas, Hizbullah and other enemies of Israel dropped their weapons, peace would break out; if tomorrow Israel dropped its weapons, a genocide would break out.
There is, there can be, no moral equivalency. Sometimes there really are Good Guys and Bad Guys.
We just introduced nuclear terrorism into the world, and you haven’t batted an eyelash. We launched rockets at Dimona, where Israel has a nuclear reactor. You didn’t even notice! What more can we do? Throw our own people off of buildings for fun? Drag their bloodied corpses through the streets? Pffft, been there, done that. All. The. Time. Advocate Nazi-style genocide? Go look at our charter. This should hardly be news to anyone who’s been paying attention.The Onion Palestinians Starting To Have Mixed Feelings About Being Used As Human Shields (satire)
What do you want us to do? Literally eat babies? You’d just say that it was an inevitable result of Israel’s “inhuman siege.” It’s no wonder we have nothing but contempt for the West. You’re all a bunch of cowardly moral relativists. If you do eventually grow a spine, get back to us so we can tear it out and beat you with it. My money says you’ll still blame Israel.
Saying they’ve begun to reevaluate their stance as the latest outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence has escalated, hundreds of residents of the Gaza Strip told reporters Friday they are starting to have mixed feelings about Hamas using them and their loved ones as human shields. “At this point, I have to say I’m pretty much on the fence about having militants strategically store their missile batteries in and around my home, which Israel will almost certainly want to bomb,” said Azzam al-Salhi, explaining that, while he’s always understood Hamas’ reliance on guerilla tactics to perpetuate the decades-long fight against Israel, he has recently soured on the idea of going to bed every night facing the real prospect of being incinerated by an Israeli airstrike intended for a Hamas arms cache. “When I think about it, I guess I’d go so far as to say that I don’t completely enjoy how this is being done entirely without my consent. And I’m not crazy about the fact that Hamas is actually okay with me dying as long as it fuels both resentment toward Israel and support for the party. If I’m being honest, I don’t like that part at all. But then, sometimes I put myself in Hamas’ shoes, and I guess I sort of appreciate where they’re coming from, so it’s tough. Of course, my kids hate it—they’ve actually told me that a couple of times. Oh, well, I guess I’ll give it a couple more weeks and see how I feel about it then.” At press time, sources confirmed an inbound missile was about to solidify thousands of Palestinians’ opinions on the tactic. (h/t Max)