Thursday, July 31, 2014
Richard Kemp: Double standards, moral cowardice
Protecting his people, U.S. President Barack Obama sends drones to kill Islamist terrorists in Pakistan, causing civilian casualties, while castigating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for defending his own people. The failure of EU nations to reject last week's UN Human Rights Council resolution condemning Israel for war crimes was shameful.Col. Richard Kemp: Israeli Pilot Aborted Gaza Strike 17 Times to Protect Civilians; Jewish People Should be Proud of the State of Israel (INTERVIEW)
Such double standards and moral cowardice validate Hamas' use of human shields, encourage other terrorist groups to follow suit and incite anti-Israel violence and the sort of vile anti-Semitic protests we see in European capitals.
If Western leaders will not support Israel's fight against terror, how will they fight the same terrorists when they reach their own shores?
DD: Finally, do you have a message to the Jewish People?Andrew Bolt: Trapped in Gaza How Hamas punishes reporters for the truth
RK: I would say that the Jewish people should be extremely proud of the state of Israel, they should try their best to disregard the terrible anti-Israeli propaganda that is designed solely to contribute to the conspiracy to exterminate the state of Israel – I myself, am personally outraged by the shocking anti-Semitic violence and verbal attacks that have been triggered by this conflict against Jews, especially in Paris and Germany, but also in Britain and other countries – it’s absolutely despicable and should be fought by authorities as vigorously as possible.
Israel is the one country in the western world today that is standing up for its morality and for its values against the onslaught of international jihad.
HAMAS is not just targeting Israeli civilians, threatening Gazans and using them as humans shields.Melanie Phillips: What our leaders would say if they really cared about defending Britain's Jews
It has another terror tactic: intimidating foreign journalists…
Reporter Peter Stefanovic, of the Nine Network’s news, stationed in Gaza, received a surge of abuse and threats when he tweeted that he had seen rockets fired into Israel from near his hotel, in a civilian area…
John Reed, a reporter for Britain’s Financial Times, tweeted about seeing “two rockets fired toward Israel from near al-Shifa hospital (the largest in Gaza), even as more bombing victims were brought in”. He was also subject to threats and abuse.
The Wall Street Journal’s reporter Nick Casey fell foul of Hamas by reporting that Shifa hospital was Hamas’s control centre. On July 21, Casey posted a photo on Twitter of a chief Hamas spokesman being interviewed from a room in Shifa hospital in front of a makeshift backdrop of a photo of a destroyed house… Almost immediately, Casey received a flood of online threats. Two days later, the tweet was deleted…
Even more appalling is the silence in the face of all this of the political class.Douglas Murray - Anti-Semitism and Israel
Sure, the occasional Lib Dem is slapped down for blurting out some ripe anti-Jewish canard. But no politician has addressed this for what it is: a fundamental crisis of decency, which is a knife through the moral heart of Britain.
Anti-Semitism singles out Jews for treatment applied to no other people: the application of double standards, false claims they are committing crimes of which they are instead the victims, and demonic conspiratorial powers. This is precisely the treatment applied to Israel.
Anti-Semitism can never be eradicated. Yet much could be done to push it back under its stone if both the Prime Minister and leader of the opposition were to display moral leadership and state a number of home truths. This is what David Cameron should say: ‘I am utterly appalled by the attacks on the Jewish people on the streets of Britain and in our public discourse. This hatred and bigotry is being fuelled by warped and distorted reporting about the Gaza war.
In this week’s Spectator, Melanie Phillips suggests that anti-Semitism is on the rise, fueled by the events in the Middle East. Douglas Murray and Ben Soffa, Secretary of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, discuss whether this is the case...
Joan Rivers Defends Israel Again: Hamas Should Get Nose Jobs; Rihanna and Selena Should Shut Up and Get Off the Drugs
In an interview with Israel’s Channel 10 on Wednesday, comedian Joan Rivers, as she is wont to do, lambasted a whole host of fellow celebrities. Except this time it wasn’t the Fashion Police that Rivers was summoning, it was the Public Relations Police. She began by critiquing Israel for its hasbara efforts and claimed that Hamas are beating Israel in the PR stakes.Joan Rivers Epic Interview for Channel 10 Israel
“We are doing something very wrong in Israel and we are not doing public relations work,” said Rivers. “Hamas is so smart, they are using old pictures of dead children every time we hit a spot that happens to be – yes, a school, but underneath it there are weapons and they say ‘school!’ and it’s killing me because the wrong people, the dumb people are buying into it.”
Khaled Abu Toameh: Kerry Trying To Save Hamas, Restore Muslim Brotherhood
There is growing concern in Ramallah, Cairo, Riyadh and Dubai that the U.S. Administration is working to prevent the collapse of Hamas.NYT: So many Arab states are ‘effectively’ allied with Israel that Kerry had to turn to the lunatics of Turkey and Qatar for mediators
"The Americans mistakenly think that moderate political Islam, which is represented by the Muslim Brotherhood, will be able to combat radical Islam. The Americans are trying to bring the Muslim Brotherhood back to the region." — Palestinian official, Ramallah.
The Iranians, with whom the U.S. is now negotiating on nuclear weapons -- amid fears in the Middle East that the U.S. will capitulate to Tehran's demands if it has not effectively capitulated to them already -- have now joined Qatar and Turkey in opposing any attempt to confiscate Hamas's weapons.
The Paris conference was actually a spit in the face to the anti-Hamas forces in the Arab world. By failing to invite the Palestinian Authority to the conference, Kerry indicated that he does not see any role for Abbas and his loyalists in a post-Hamas Gaza Strip.
Battling Palestinian militants in Gaza two years ago, Israel found itself pressed from all sides by unfriendly Arab neighbors to end the fighting.Times of Israel Live Blog: Netanyahu says tunnels will be destroyed with or without ceasefire
Not this time.
After the military ouster of the Islamist government in Cairo last year, Egypt has led a new coalition of Arab states — including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan — that has effectively lined up with Israel in its fight against Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza Strip. That, in turn, may have contributed to the failure of the antagonists to reach a negotiated cease-fire even after more than three weeks of bloodshed.
“The Arab states’ loathing and fear of political Islam is so strong that it outweighs their allergy to Benjamin Netanyahu,” the prime minister of Israel, said Aaron David Miller, a scholar at the Wilson Center in Washington and a former Middle East negotiator under several presidents. “I have never seen a situation like it, where you have so many Arab states acquiescing in the death and destruction in Gaza and the pummeling of Hamas. The silence is deafening.”
Rockets cause damage in Sderot; security cabinet resolves to intensify strikes on Hamas; Israeli delegation in brief trip to Cairo for truce talks; Gaza officials say death toll is 1,364; IDF fatalities at 56How Gaza perverts the army’s rules of engagement
Rosen seemed genuinely awestruck by the extent of the military infrastructure embedded in civilian and humanitarian complexes in Gaza. He used the words “unfathomable” and “insane” on several occasions. He described Al Wafa Hospital, which Israel bombed after it had been finally emptied, as the central command post from which Hamas directed the bloody battle in Shejaiya. “It was a hospital held hostage by Hamas,” he said.Hamas Launches Rockets on Civilians in Gaza
The realities of Gaza, when looking at it from above, are clear, he said. The complexity, proximity, and density of population are all evident.
But the pilots operate amid largely impenetrable skies. Their lives are rarely at risk. On the ground, amid the density he described, and even with the close support of the air force, the risks for the infantry and armored corps are ever-present and, crucially, quite haunting.
Hamas’ indiscriminate firing of rockets endangers millions of Israeli and Palestinian lives. While the IDF strikes terrorist targets in Gaza with precision, Hamas launches rockets with one aim: hitting civilians.Watch: 12 Examples of Hamas Firing Rockets from Civilian Areas
On the afternoon of July 28, a squad of Gaza terrorists fired a barrage of four rockets from a densely populated area, aiming to kill Israelis. Instead, one hit al-Shifa hospital and another the Shati refugee camp, both inside Gaza. A third was intercepted by the Iron Dome missile defense system above Ashdod. While Israel invests in keeping its citizens safe, Hamas invests in terrorist infrastructure. And the people of Gaza suffer.
The IDF Spokesperson's Office has released video footage illustrating how Hamas fires rockets from populated areas, in twelve distinct aerial examples.12 Examples of Hamas Firing Rockets from Civilian Areas
Hamas has stored and fired rockets from within densely-populated civilian areas, making Israeli attempts to stop them without causing collateral damage virtually impossible.
IDF Soldier Helps Chained & Starving Palestinian Man In Gaza
Well, if you thought the stories about the Hamas were not true regarding the forcing of Palestinian civilians to stay in the locations where the IDF will strike, think again…actually in this case you don’t need to think, just look.IDF Footage Shows Special Forces Storming Booby-Trapped House in Gaza (VIDEO)
This is a Palestinian civilian of Gaza who apparently has a mental disorder and who was found by an IDF soldier, bound, gagged and staved. This is a tactic of the Hamas. He would have eventually died from either starvation or an IDF strike on this location if it contained terrorists or weapons, which is what the Hamas wanted to happen.
Luckily there was no strike and this humane IDF soldier found him and freed him, then gave him water
The Israeli Army on Wednesday released a video clip of a what they said was a “special forces” unit “storming a terrorist building in Shuja’iya,” in northern Gaza.POV Footage of Special Forces Storming Building in Gaza
The troops uncovered an opening to a tunnel, and seized what the army said was “a stockpile of weapons.”
WATCH: IDF infantry forces come face to face with Hamas terrorist - and kill him
Soldiers from the Givati Brigade are operating in the Gaza Strip in a bid to root out terror tunnels.
Soldiers from the Givati Brigade engaged a Hamas terrorist in close combat in the Gaza Strip on Thursday before killing him, a new video reveals.
The army is currently in the second week of its ground incursion in the Gaza Strip.
IDF Forces Find & Destroy Terror Tunnel In Gaza Mosque
WATCH: IDF soldiers uncover tunnel shaft in mosque
The IDF released video footage Thursday of a tunnel shaft in the basement of a mosque in the Gaza Strip. The tunnel, which is situated next to the mosque’s prayer room, extends in various directions and is connected to a larger tunnel network.IDF Soldiers Find Mosque with Weapons and Tunnel Openings
Weapons were also found at the site, according to the IDF.
Nahal Brigade Detonates A Hamas Tunnel
IDF: ‘Cowardly’ tunnel attack shows why Gaza op must go on
A video showing Hamas gunmen emerging from a tunnel, infiltrating an Israeli army base and killing five soldiers, demonstrates that Israel is faced with a cruel and unforgiving enemy and must continue Operation Protective Edge until all remaining tunnels are destroyed, Israeli officials said Wednesday.Israel Debuts Tunnel Robot, Tactical Radar System to Fight Hamas in Gaza
The video, filmed by one of the Hamas gunmen who participated in Monday evening’s attack on an army post south of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, was widely broadcast by Arab and Palestinian media outlets.
“These are the people we’re dealing with on a daily basis – cowardly terrorists who don’t care about human lives. They’re on an ongoing mission to kill and maim, and to abduct Israeli soldiers and civilians,” Maj. Arye Shalicar, a spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces, told The Times of Israel. “We have to be prepared for this to recur again and again around the Gaza Strip. Until we find and destroy each and every tunnel they have dug over the last few years, such attacks can happen anytime, anywhere.”
The Israeli Defense Forces have introduced new robot technology to help aid in excavating Hamas’s vast tunnel network and a mobile radar system designed to warn against short-range mortar shelling.Calls Grow to Upgrade Operation Protective Edge to 'War' Status
Defense News featured the Micro Tactical Ground Robot, developed by Roboteam, a Tel Aviv-based start-up that beat more established U.S. and Israeli companies in a rush tender for up to 110 shoulder-carried robots, according to its defense and industry sources.
“Several systems are already operating with combat engineering units and specialized infantry against the dozens of tunnels and multiple access points concealed in homes and civilian structures throughout the Gaza Strip,” its sources said.
MK Nachman Shai on Thursday urged the Prime Minister to officially “upgrade” the status Operation Protective Edge from an IDF operation to a “war.” The government has been under pressure to do so, political and economic experts say, but has been reluctant to do so, because it will require greater outlays in compensation for those damaged by the war - precisely the reason why many are calling for the change in status.8 Wounded in Hamas Shelling Attack on Eshkol Region
With the fighting moving into its third week, an additional 16,000 soldiers are being called up for reserve duty, bringing the total of active reservists to over 85,000. The reservists, mostly of working age, are having their salaries covered by the National Insurance Institute, while individuals and businesses suffering from property damage due to rocket attacks are being compensated by the Mas Rechush (Property Tax) division of the Finance Ministry.
Eight Israelis were wounded at midday Thursday when Hamas terrorists shelled the Eshkol Regional Council district.Amid the tunnels and the traps of Hamas’s militarized Gaza
The area is also a staging area for thousands of IDF troops who are on standby waiting for their orders prior to entering Gaza.
Most of those injured are listed in good condition, according to the report, which was broadcast on Army Radio. It is not clear whether they were civilians or soldiers.
The APC came to a halt, and its ramp deployed. In front of us we saw a one-story house, with a paratrooper unit surrounding it. Just a few hours earlier, we were told, the soldiers had uncovered an attack tunnel here, stretching into Israel. The brigade commander, Col. Eliezer Toledano, stood among his soldiers, looking calm, almost indifferent, despite the sounds of clashes — constant explosions and bullet fire — between his troops and Hamas gunmen just a few hundred meters away. Several battalion commanders stood nearby, slightly amused by our presence.Israel: Diplomacy Wins As Turkey Halts 'Freedom Flotilla' To Gaza
Toledano, 40, explained that the tunnel was about 2 kilometers long (slightly more than a mile). Presumably acting on intelligence information of some kind, his brigade had begun moving into the area 12 hours ago to find and destroy it. He pointed to the building, which was punched all over with bullet holes. The tunnel shaft was discovered in the backyard, Toledano said.
In the yard, a giant D9 bulldozer had exposed one of the tunnel entrances. It only took a glimpse into the shaft to recognize that Hamas had spent a considerable amount of time, effort and money on its construction. The walls were lined with concrete, and the shaft went down far into the depths of the earth.
The house belonged to a Hamas member, and a large amount of weaponry, including an RPG launcher and ammunition, as well as various propaganda booklets, were found here, we were told.
Turkey has agreed to cancel a second "freedom flotilla" which was set to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. In exchange for Ankara’s cancellation, Jerusalem allowed for the Turks to send planes of humanitarian aid to Gaza.Turkish 'Humanitarian Aid' to Gaza: Ball-Bearings, Cement Mixers
Earlier this week, Turkey’s “humanitarian relief” organization known as IHH announced it was going to attempt a “rerun” of the 2010 incident that resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish nationals. Israel considers IHH to be a terrorist group.
While both items have civilian uses, both have played a central role building Hamas's rocket arsenal and its vast network of "terror tunnels" into Israel.Netanyahu: Israel won't agree to a truce that doesn't allow IDF to destroy all Gaza tunnels
Terrorists in Gaza regularly use ball-bearings to maximize the lethality of locally-made, short-range Qassam rockets. Unlike other, more powerful long-range rockets and military-grade mortar shells smuggled into Gaza from state-sponsors such as Iran, Qassam rockets have a relatively small warhead. But while the explosion itself may be relatively "small", the rockets are also packed with shrapnel - including nails, razors and, most commonly, ball-bearings - which are scattered throughout a relatively wide radius upon impact, maiming or killing anyone in the vicinity.
Speaking prior to a security cabinet meeting, the prime minister stated that IDF soldiers are currently finishing off the job of destroying tunnels.Regev: Ceasefires Apply to Hamas As Well
"We have destroyed dozens of tunnels and we will finish the rest with or without a cease-fire," Netanyahu vowed.
Netanyahu stated that thousands of terror sites had been destroyed and hundreds of terrorists had been killed.
"Hamas has taken hard hits," Netanyahu said. He continued and stressed that the operation has a planned course of action and the completion of the mission is on track.
Israeli spokesman Mark Regev explained to CNN that the reason fighting had resumed in Gaza Wednesday was Hamas had openly rejected a humanitarian ceasefire request and resumed firing at Israel.Regev: Ceasefires apply to Hamas too
“The truth is we announced earlier today a humanitarian ceasefire,” Regev said. “We did that in coordination with the United Nations at their request. The trouble is Hamas rejected it and then continued to shoot. A ceasefire means not just [an] Israel ceasefire. A ceasefire means that Hamas must cease fire too, and if rockets continue to be shot at our cities and so forth, of course, that means the ceasefire has become null and void and so we have restarted operations.”
Israelis to file human rights violation complaints against Hamas
Israelis can send complaints to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that Hamas is violating their human rights, and NGO Im Tirzu encouraged them to do so at a conference in the Knesset Wednesday evening.Jewish Group Calls on UN Human Rights Council to Investigate Hamas Responsibility for 160 Gazan Children Who Died Building Terror Tunnels
The NGO that describes itself as working "to strengthen and advance the values of Zionism in Israel" disseminated complaint forms at an emergency meeting of the Knesset Caucus Against Delegitimization of Israel, which can also be found on the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights' website.
Bar Ilan University Law Professor Avi Bell, an expert on international law, said Israelis can complain that their most basic human right, the right to live, is being violated.
Jewish human rights group The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Wednesday called for the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate the deaths of the 160 Gazan children who died building Hamas’s terror tunnels into Israel. The call comes a week after the same UNHRC condemned Israel, with a majority of its members voting to open an investigation into “human rights abuses” by the Israel Defense Forces as it struck back at Hamas, whose installations are hidden among civilian infrastructure, including its de-facto headquarters, inside of the Al Shifa Hospital.IAI refutes claim that Iron Dome makers were hacked
Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, said, ”Hamas officials openly admitted that children were used to help build their terror tunnels and that at least 160 Palestinian kids died during so-called work accidents.” (h/t Canadian Otter)
Israel Aerospace Industries disproved reports by a US-based computer forensics expert that said three Israeli defense contractors behind the Iron Dome rocket-defense system and related systems were robbed of hundreds of documents by hackers linked to the Chinese government starting in 2011.In Memoriam: The 56 IDF soldiers who gave their lives to protect Israel
“The information reported regarding the leakage of sensitive information is incorrect. The publications refer to an attempt to penetrate the company’s civilian non-classified Internet network, which allegedly occurred several years ago. IAI’s cyber security systems operate in accordance with the most rigorous requirements and also, in this case, they were proven to be effective,” the aerospace and aviation manufacturer said Tuesday.
Israel mourns the deaths of the 56 soldiers and officers killed in action in Operation Protective EdgeWounded Soldier Becomes Iconic Symbol of Israel’s War With Gaza
A candid image of a wounded soldier covering his face with the Israeli flag has quickly turned into a symbol for the current conflict between Israel and Gaza based terror group Hamas, Israel’s Channel 2 reported.Outpouring of Love Too Much for Wounded Soldiers
On Monday evening, Omri Michaeli, a reserve soldier in an elite unit, was evacuated to hospital by helicopter after being shot in the leg. Monday evening was among the deadliest so far for Israel, with ten soldiers killed, 9 of whom lost their lives either in a mortar attack that day in Eshkol or in a Hamas infiltration into Nachal Oz.
Spokespeople for the Shaarei Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem said Wednesday that the four wounded IDF soldiers who are hospitalized have been overwhelmed with visitors. According to a statement released by the hospital, doctors and family members have asked well-meaning Israelis to refrain from visiting wounded soldiers without coordinating those visits with the families.Military dog killed in Gaza blast saved handler's life
More than 150 IDF soldiers are hospitalized around Israel as a result of Operation Protective Edge.
A dog from the IDF's Oketz K9 unit who was killed last week when a booby-trapped house in Gaza exploded saved her handler's life.Wounded Israeli Soldier, Israeli Pop Star in Live Hospital Ward Duet
Last Wednesday, Tamara and her handler, Staff Sgt. T. of the Oketz Unit, went into action in Gaza. The pair were inside an explosives-rigged house when it blew up. Tamara was killed on the spot, and T. was hit by shrapnel. He is currently hospitalized in the Rehabilitation Hospital at Sheba Medical Center.
An IDF soldier wounded in Israel’s three-week-old Operation Protective Edge in Gaza joined one of the country’s biggest pop stars in a live radio gig on Wednesday.Photo Of The Day: Proud Israeli Muslim Mom & 2 IDF Sons
Idan Raichel, best known for his crossover Middle East, pop and electronic fusion “Idan Raichel Project” visited troops at Beersheba’s Soroka Medical Center, located some 45 kilometers east of the coastal enclave.
“I was walking through the wards here at he hospital, and came across this soldier…” Reichel told the afternoon program host.
Together with a soldier, called “Y” to protect his identity, the two informally collaborated on a live radio performance of pop hit “If you Go.”
What a wonderful site to see…a proud Israeli Muslim Arab mom and her 2 IDF soldier sons, protecting the beautiful democratic country we all live in.'Let IDF complete Gaza mission, 14 years of terror are enough'
The mayors of Israel's southern communities, which have come under heavy terrorist fire over the past three weeks, expressed a growing sense of frustration Wednesday over what they called the government's indecisiveness on the future of Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip.Residents of Nahal Oz Respond to Video of Hamas Attack – ‘How Can Children Continue to Live Here?’ (VIDEO)
The mayors are demanding that the Israel Defense Forces be allowed to continue the Gaza campaign until the threats posed by both rocket fire and terror tunnels are fully eliminated.
The government "can't continue with this zigzag policy. It hurts us and it undermines the soldiers, who need to know that actual decisions are being made," said one council head, who asked to remain anonymous.
"The military should be allowed to see the operation in Gaza through, for as long as it takes. We don't want to have to deal with rocket fire anymore, and we don't want to have to deal the judgment day weapon of the tunnels. Fourteen years of terror are enough," he said.
Kibbutz Nahal Oz irrigation specialist Danny Rahamim was supposed to have harvested his sunflower crop alongside Gaza, in another two weeks.Lessons From the South: The Bravery of Jewish Women
But Wednesday morning, he watched the Hamas-made video showing terrorists pouring out of a tunnel opening in his fields, headed for soldiers manning a watchtower.
“I really can’t understand why no lookout spotted them earlier; that area is really closely watched,” Danny questioned, in an interview with Israel’s Channel 2 News.
“I know that tower and am often in the vicinity – it’s a f*** up – there’s no other word,” he said.
Last week, the Gush Katif Committee decided NOT to postpone the Kissufim Institute's long-planned and eagerly awaited annual Torah Seminar (Yom Iyun at Kissufim Midrasha). It took place as planned, and I can tell you, it was quite an event.At Galilee resort, southerners seek escape from life under rockets
Granted, the location was changed. It couldn't take place in Nitzan (originally meant to be a temporary housing solution in flimsy "caravillas" for hundreds of expelled Katif Bloc families), which is within the 40 km zone from Gaza and has frequent red-alerts, so that the Civil Defense does not allow large gatherings.
This was especially necessary, since the building in Nitzan where the seminar is usually held doesn't have a protected room. Instead, the day took place at the Yad Benyamin Cultural Center which has a protected room and is a bit farther north.
The first time was in 2006, when Dadya, a mother of two from Sderot, watched a Kassam rocket impact next to her car. A year later, another rocket hit while she was walking outside. Her shoulders, left leg and back were injured, said Dadya, who still lives in Sderot with her family.'Big Bang Theory' Actress Donates Bulletproof Vests to the IDF
“Since the rocket barrage hasn’t stopped over last month, I haven’t left the safe room in my house,” she said. “We even eat there. It’s been very hard.”
Dadya sat with her 5-year-old daughter in the lobby of the Bali Hotel in Tiberias near the Sea of Galilee, gluing tiny sequins on a hand-shaped piece of cardboard called a hamsa. They were in the northern city for a three-day retreat organized by OneFamily Together, a nonprofit organization that helps rehabilitate and reintegrate Israel’s victims of terror.
The outspoken actress, Mayim Bialik has not been afraid to voice her opinions in regards to the war raging in Israel. Now she has not only voiced her support but has also put her money where her mouth is by sending bulletproof vests to the Israeli Defense Forces.Eldad to Israeli Students: Boycott Leftist Professors
Bialik posted her three reasons in “Why I Donated Money to Send Bulletproof Vests to the IDF" on Kveller, a site devoted to “A Jewish Twist On Parenting”:
1. I need to feel like I’m doing something.
2. No matter what your politics are, soldiers sent into war zones deserve to be protected from enemy fire.
3. Every soldier is someone’s son or daughter. Every single one.
Former MK Professor Aryeh Eldad, head of the Professors for a Strong Israel organization, called on Israeli students to “vote with their feet” and reject leftist professors who have come out against the IDF's mission in Gaza. In an interview with Arutz Sheva, Eldad suggested that students check the names of professors before signing up for courses, and boycott the courses taught by leftist professors.Israeli-Arab Christians Protest Against Hamas
“They must be rejected and ejected from the family of academia,” Eldad said. “If I could, I would paper the land with posters and take out ads listing the names of the professors and teachers who advocate for Hamas.”
A group of Israeli-Arab Christians marched in Haifa last night against the persecution of Christian Arabs in the world, against radical Islamic organizations such as Hamas, and in favor of Israel’s military operation. TLV1′s Lissy Kaufmann was there.Peres Calls to End Gaza Campaign, Evokes OutrageI
MK Miri Regev (Likud) brushed aside the comments, telling Channel 1 News, “In light of the sayings of former President Peres that the Gaza campaign has run its course, I say that Peres has run his course. With all due respect to Peres, Israel must strive to a military victory against Hamas.”'Big Brother Israel' Continues To Film Despite Falling Rockets
She added, "Only a ceasefire after a military victory will at last give quiet to the communities in the south and stop the rocket fire into Israel. These humanitarian ceasefires only give Hamas time to regroup, attack IDF soldiers and continue to fire rockets at Israel."
Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Jewish Home) also attacked Peres’s comments and told Army Radio that they are “very serious”.
“The man did not understand this back when he signed the Oslo Accords and coined the term 'New Middle East' - and he does not understand this today. Peres's comments are unacceptable and could harm the morale of the fighters,” added Ariel.
The show must go on…despite rockets falling.Harper: Hamas is Responsible for Loss of Life in Gaza
“Big Brother Israel” has continued filming its latest season despite bombs falling. TMZ reports that the “house guests” who have “MUCH more to worry about than eviction” have had to run into a bomb shelter twice:
The show has not stopped production since fighting escalated earlier this month, and has actually installed alarms in the house that alert house guests to seek shelter. They sounded twice during the first week of use.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday blamed Hamas for the heavy loss of civilian life in Gaza, according to AFP.Senate Passes Resolution Supporting Israel
"Obviously, no one likes to see the suffering and loss of life that has occurred," Harper said in televised remarks.
"That said, we hold the terrorist organization Hamas responsible for this. They have initiated and continue this conflict, and continue to seek the destruction of the state of Israel," he added.
Canada's conservative government has long supported the Jewish state and stressed its recognition of Israel's right to defend itself.
The resolution, passed Tuesday, was passed through a unanimous consent agreement. It also condemns a United Nations Human Rights Council report that stated Israel had committed human rights violations against Palestinian Arabs.AP/WAPO Poll: Americans Unhappy With Obama's Handling Of Gaza War
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said that UN report was “disgusting” and failed to recognize that Israel is defending itself from attacks started by Hamas, a terrorist organization.
“I’ve always been a supporter of the UN but what I saw last week disgusted me,” Reid was quoted as having said of the report. “It was so one-sided.”
Americans are not happy with the way President Obama is handling the Gaza War. In an ABC/Washington Post poll released today, 52% disapprove of his handing of the crisis; only 39% approve.CUFI to Kerry: Stop Bolstering Hamas and Support Israel
Obama has the support of his own party but less than the usual 75%+ numbers most polls show for Democratic support for the president on any topic. As would be expected, Republican disapproval is strong. The surprise is the strength of the Independent voter's disapproval: 59%.
Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a nearly two million member strong movement, has bought full page ads in the New York Times and other top publications calling on the White House to “stand with Israel” and not “hand Hamas a victory,” according to both the ad and letter to Kerry.Christians and Jews in Alabama Stand with Israel
The substantial media buy comes as the Obama administration is facing criticism in Israel and stateside for efforts to push the Jewish state into accepting a ceasefire deal that has been described as giving in to Hamas’ demands.
Marking the fifth rally supporting Israel in the Southeast according to WVTM Birmingham, Christians and Jews gathered Tuesday in Alabama at the Levite Jewish Community Center for Rally for Israel.How “shameful” were the fatalities at the UN school in Gaza?
Putting their money where their mouth is, the Birmingham area raised almost $400,000 for the Jewish Federation's "Israel Emergency Fund," a national fundraising effort offering aide to Israel.
CBN.com reports that among the hundreds gathered, a brother of an Israeli soldier was in attendance. He said, "They're in Northern Gaza. They're out securing the border area, ensuring that terrorist don't infiltrate Israel and kill civilians... It's hard. It's hard. It's very emotional."
From what I’ve seen in this war thus far, Israel has investigated each situation involving multiple deaths and has sought to reduce civilian casualties. I’m sure it’s far from perfect, but, it seems, well within what we would expect from a liberal democracy fighting in self-defense. Unfortunately, even when Israeli soldiers take the utmost precautions, fighting a terrorist group in an urban environment bent on killing Israelis and martyring its own people is going to cause loss of civilian life.UN Secretary General Accuses Israel of 'Attacking Sleeping Children'
The horror we feel when people die in war must not arrest our moral reasoning. We can—we must—both feel and think. Did the Secretary General think, as well as feel, when he leveled those hard-hitting allegations against Israel?
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon spoke Wednesday at a summit in Costa Rica where he placed blame on Israel for an attack at a UN school in Gaza.Head of Human Rights Watch Endorses Terror Attacks on Israel
Not once mentioning Hamas in his speech, Ban said:
"This morning, yet another United Nations school sheltering thousands of Palestinian families suffered a reprehensible attack. All available evidence points to Israeli artillery as the cause."
Roth appears ignorant of one of the basic tenets of the Geneva Conventions, the distinction between lawful and unlawful combatants. Terrorists are unlawful combatants under the Geneva Conventions because they do not wear uniforms and are not fighting on behalf of a sovereign state.UN Official admits Hamas firing rockets “from the vicinity of UN facilities”
Roth also appears ignorant of the Fourth Geneva Convention’s explicit prohibition on the taking of hostages. Article 34 reads, in its entirety: “The taking of hostages is prohibited.” Hamas uses tunnels to attempt to take Israelis hostage.
In 2009, the founder and former chairman of Human Rights Watch, Robert Bernstein, publicly disowned the organization over what he said were its double standards and hostility to the Jewish State.
What we already knew, but some UNRWA officials have pretended doesn’t happen.Former top UNRWA official admits Hamas shoots rockets from near UN facilities
Puts in context how some UN facilities and civilians are hit either by misfired Hamas or Islamic Jihad rockets or Israeli return fire.
Via Hillel Neuer of UN Watch, here’s the description of the video clip:
The UNRWA-Terror Connection
About a year ago, when I started digging into more and more material covering the Arab-Israeli conflict, I’ve been exposed, for the first time, to the term ‘UNRWA’ – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. It has been the first time that I’ve been exposed to the UN’s work in the territories and neighboring Arab countries, which aims, on paper, to assist the Palestinian refugees in their daily hardships and provide them with humanitarian aid. Sounds moral and awesome.Penelope Cruz Backpedals, Admits Not an 'Expert' on Middle East
Yet I very quickly realized that my expectations from the organization were in vain. I’ve watched a 20-minute movie called ‘Camp Jihad’ (produced by The Center For Near East Policy Research), which I add along with this article, that follows one of UNRWA’s summer camps for kids. It shows interviews of teachers and students from the camp and exposes the viewers to the camp’s rather disturbing educational material. I was in shock to see that this governmental organization, which derives from the UN, and funded consistently by the world community with extremely high figures (a budget of 1.003 billion USD, to be exact), most notably by the US and the EU, would actually be funded at all. Why you ask? Because the educational material of the camp includes a systematic brainwashing of kids to the myth of ‘Right of return’, demonization of Jews (Jews are wolves, Jews are terrorists, Jews are infidels etc’) and glorifications of the ways of Jihad. Don’t believe me?
Penelope Cruz is worried her recent comments on the Israeli/Hamas conflict might be "misunderstood."John Legend to John Kerry: Stop Groveling to Israel
So the Oscar winner issued an updated statement, according to Deadline.com, further explaining why she thought the Israeli government was committing "genocide" against the Palestinians.
The actress admits she isn't an expert on Middle Eastern affairs.
Most political observers are giving Secretary of State John Kerry poor marks for his unsuccessful attempt to hammer out a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.Bolivia Declares Israel a 'Terrorist State'
Singer John Legend is criticizing Kerry, too, but not for any political miscalculation. The ardent supporter of President Barack Obama thinks Kerry should stop trying to please Israel.
On Wednesday, Bolivian President Evo Morales declared Israel a "terrorist state" because of the current fighting in Gaza and Israel.Israel Says Latin American Countries Pulling Ambassadors Over Gaza is ‘Encouragement for Hamas, a Recognized Terror Organization Around the World’
Israeli citizens will now be required to obtain a visa before traveling to Bolivia. Previously, under a 1972 agreement, which Morales denounced for being "signed under a dictatorial regime," Israelis could travel freely into Bolivia without having to obtain a visa, according to La Razón.
Visa applications to travel to Bolivia will now require review by the National Migration Administration. Página Siete reported President Morales as saying, "In other words we are declaring (Israel) a terrorist state. Israel does not respect the principles or purposes of the United Nations charter nor the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."
The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the recalling of a group of Latin American ambassadors from their posts in the Jewish State in protest of the Israel Defense Force’s Operation Protective Edge to stop the rocket and tunnel attacks from Gaza ”constitutes encouragement for Hamas, a group recognized as a terror organization by many countries around the world.”Krauthammer: Kerry Acting 'Essentially As The Lawyer For Hamas’
On Wednesday, El Salvador, Peru and Chile announced they would recall their ambassadors for consultations, a diplomatic face-slap that could be interpreted as being one step away from breaking diplomatic ties. The three countries follow similar announcements by Ecuador and Brazil.
In a statement, Israel said the Latin American countries would have been “better advised to promote the international move intended to assist Israel in its efforts to defend innocent civilians and instate a durable ceasefire with the demilitarization of Gaza.”
On Fox News Monday, Charles Krauthammer blasted Secretary of State John Kerry for creating “wreckage” in the Israeli-Gaza operation by intervening against both Israel’s and Egypt’s wishes and accused Kerry of acting “essentially as the lawyer for Hamas.”From tunnels to R-160s, a primer on Hamas and its deadly capabilities
Krauthammer began by addressing Kerry's unwanted and ultimately counterproductive interventions, proving so disruptive that one Israeli paper described him as digging a tunnel under Egypt's peace plan
In the interim period between Operation Pillar of Defense in late 2012 — the previous military operation in Gaza, aimed at eliminating the threat of rockets launched into Israel — and the current Operation Protective Edge, Hamas has focused on its capacity building, procuring and manufacturing long-range missiles and investing millions in the construction of tunnels into Israel to enable the kidnapping of soldiers and civilians.Gaza Heights: High living and low-lifes
Here are answers to some basic questions regarding Hamas’s capabilities, as revealed throughout Operation Protective Edge which began on July 8.
'Moderate' PA Leader: Jews Brought the Holocaust on Themselves
Former Palestinian Authority security chief Jibril Rajoub, often touted as a "Palestinian moderate", has accused Israel of inflicting a "holocaust" on Gaza - while saying that Jews deserved the genocide inflicted on them by the Nazis.
In an interview with Palestinian Authority TV, translated by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute), Rajoub - who is a senior member of the Fatah party's Central Committee - labeled Israeli society as "a fascist society", adding that "the racism of this fascist society is unparalleled throughout history."
One parallel that Rajoub could find, however, was with Nazi Germany, claiming that Israelis were "the new Nazis", and that "Israel, (especially) the Israeli right wing, constitutes a replica of Hitler, Eichmann and Goebbels."
Hamas leaders: We love death like Israelis love life
Osama Hamdan: Ceasefire Should Include Inte'l Forces on June 4, 1967 Borders
Shin Bet investigation uncovers Hamas paragliding terror plot
Israel's Shin Bet discovered the existence of a Hamas air commando unit. In 2010, ten Hamas commandos were sent to Malaysia to participate in paragliding training, with the end goal being to use it to carry out terror attacks on Israel.Hamas’ Homicidal Chicken Dies in Israeli Air Strike
This information came to light during the investigation of a Hamas fighter arrested by the IDF a few days ago and investigated by the Shin Bet. According to the Shin Bet, overnight on July 20th, the IDF arrested a Hamas military man apparently in charge of a terror cell in the area of Karara in Kahn Yunis in the Gaza Strip.
During the man's investigation, his involvement in the paragliding training came to light as well as the intention of Hamas to use this training to kidnap Israeli soldiers. In addition, the suspect revealed preparatory plans for an anti-tank ambush and revealed a sniper position on the tenth floor of the Palestinian Red Crescent building in Kahn Yunis.
Hamas’s Al Aqsa TV is the sort of thing you expect a serial killer to put on in his basement.Rouhani: ‘This Festering Zionist Tumor Has Opened Once Again’
Including its children’s programming. Especially Tomorrow’s Pioneers which features adults dressed as giant cartoon animals telling little kids to kill people.
Its version of Mickey Mouse teaches kids to kill people. Its version of Bugs Bunny teaches kids to kill Jews… and hate the Danes. And before that there was a giant bumblebee who encouraged little kids to shoot Jews.
Rouhani, who has been championed by Western media as a moderate reformer who could change Iran’s extremist ways, appears to be adopting a violent tone similar to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has advocated for the complete destruction of Israel in recent days.Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Commander: “The Palestinian Resistance Movement Will Make the Sea, the Land, and Skies into Hell for the Zionists”
“Today, this festering Zionist tumor has opened once again and has turned the land of olives into destruction and blood and littered the land with the body parts of Palestinian children,” Rouhani was quoted as saying in a statement that was translated by the Brookings Institution.
Commander of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF), Major General Qassem Suleimani, sent a rare message to the “Palestinian resistance movements’” military wings – Ezzeddin Al-Qassam (Hamas), Saraya Al-Quds (Palestine Islamic Jihad), Abu Ali Mostafa (PFLP), Nasser Salaheddin (Popular Resistance Committees), Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (Fatah), and other forces fighting in Gaza – hailing them for their operations against Israel.The full version of the message was published in alMayadeen, affiliated with Hizbullah and Iran.Iranian 'Qods Force' General Scoffs at Calls to Disarm Hamas
Suleimani masterminded the transfer of rockets and know-how to Hamas and the PIJ during operation “Pillar of Defense” and the ongoing operation, “Protective Edge.” Soleimani is Iran’s top behind-the-scenes strategist and coordinator of special and subversion activities throughout the Middle East and beyond (Africa, South America). He is also the man tasked with Assad’s survival and Iran’s deadly special ops in Iraq.
Major General Qassem Suleimani's message to terrorist factions fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip while firing rockets on Israeli civilians was published late Wednesday by Iran's official IRNA news agency.Hamas TV broadcasts call to "exterminate" all the Jews
Suleimani "underlined that confronting the Zionist enemy is a necessity and the Palestinian resistance movement will turn the land and skies into hell for the Zionists."
"Disarmament of resistance is a daydream that will only come true in the graveyard" for Israel, said the rarely-quoted senior figure.
Hamas's Al-Aqsa TV has issued a broadcast featuring a Hamas cleric openly calling for the genocide of the Jewish people, watchdog group, Palestinian Media Watch reports on Friday.Palestinian Islamic Jihad Video Showcases Subterranean Rocket Launching Capabilities
The broadcast will cause consternation among anti-Israel groups who portray Hamas as a resistance movement, despite the group's long-standing charter which also calls for death to the Jews.
The broadcast, which can be viewed here with English subtitles, said:
"Our belief about fighting you [Jews] is that we will exterminate you, until the last one, and we will not leave of you, even one. For you are the usurpers of the land, foreigners, mercenaries of the present and of all times.
Chicago Imam Encourages Jihad against Israel
Soccer fans go Gaza for Gazza
As the online debate over Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip continues, Twitter users have been tagging their posts with the #freeGaza hashtag in a show of support for Palestinians.
However, some soccer fans, whether in error or humor, have been tweeting messages calling for Gascoigne to be set free from whatever trouble it is that he has gotten into, the Daily Mail reported on Wednesday.
The former England national team midfield player has in the past made headlines as he struggled with alcoholism and drug abuse.
“Shame about Paul Cascoigne being arrested again,” one user posted.
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