Thursday, August 21, 2014
Alan Dershowitz: Why Does President Obama Condemn ISIS But Ask Israel to Accept Hamas in Unity Government?
At the same time that President Obama has called for an all-out war against the “cancer” of ISIS, he has regarded Hamas as having an easily curable disease, urging Israel to accept that terrorist group, whose charter calls for Israel’s destruction, as part of a Palestinian unity government. I cannot imagine him urging Iraq, or any other Arab country, to accept ISIS as part of a unity government.
Former President Jimmy Carter and Bishop Desmond Tutu have gone even further, urging the international community to recognize the legitimacy of Hamas as a political party and to grant it diplomatic recognition. It is hard to imagine them demanding that the same legitimate status be accorded ISIS.
Why then the double standard regarding ISIS and Hamas? Is it because Hamas is less brutal and violent than ISIS? It’s hard to make that case. Hamas has probably killed more civilians—through its suicide bombs, its murder of Palestinian Authority members, its rocket attacks and its terror tunnels—than ISIS has done. If not for Israel’s Iron Dome and the Israeli Defense Forces, Hamas would have killed even more innocent civilians. Indeed its charter calls for the killing of all Jews anywhere in the world, regardless of where they live or which “rock” they are hiding behind. If Hamas had its way, it would kill as least as many people as ISIS would.
Michael Lumish: Eliminate Hamas
The western liberal-left has been consistently wrong about almost everything when it comes to foreign policy under the Obama administration, particularly the Arab-Israel conflict, yet they never admit a mistake and excoriate those who point them out.Khaled Abu Toameh: Bringing Abbas Back to Gaza Not a Good Idea
We need a new paradigm to discuss the long Arab war against the Jews, because relying upon the terms of Oslo is to rely upon the enemy’s terms. It is not merely that we yield the home field advantage, but that we concede the debate before it begins.
What I suggest, as a preliminary to even thinking about the question, is to remember to expand the context historically. It is exceedingly important to include thirteen hundred years of dhimmitude in the conversation if Jews wish to have any hope of appealing to rational liberals… which, in itself, does not seem very likely.
It is also exceedingly important, and for the same reason, to get them to understand the conflict is not some Jewish “Goliath” against a thumb-sucking and helpless Arab “David.” Arabs outnumber Jews 60 or 70 to 1 in that part of the world and are more than willing to use their cousins in Gaza, and in Judaea and Samaria, as a club against the hated Jewish prophet-killers.
We can never win the argument so long as we fight on progressive-left anti-Israel rhetorical turf and, yet, with few exceptions, we almost never seem to fight anywhere else.
A third reason Abbas still does not trust Hamas is the revelation this week that that the Islamist movement had planned to overthrow his regime in the West Bank. Even if the Palestinian Authority were to return to the Gaza Strip, Hamas, Islamic Jihad and other terrorist groups would not disappear.
This is precisely what Hamas wants, a weak Palestinian authority that would manage the day-to-day affairs of the Palestinians and pay salaries to tens of thousands of employees, while the Islamist movement and its allies continue to smuggle weapons and prepare for the next war with Israel.
Such a scenario would only strengthen Hamas: it would absolve it of it responsibilities toward the residents of Gaza Strip by laying the burden on the Palestinian Authority.
IDF mobilizing 10,000 reservists after Israel targets senior Hamas commanders
The IDF has called up 10,000 reservists, who will replace other reserve forces that are being sent home for rest.PM: Instead of attrition, Hamas will be crushed
The cabinet approved the measure after the air force carried out an overnight targeted assassination of two senior Hamas terrorists and a lower ranking terrorist in the Gaza Strip.
A total of 86,000 reserves have been called up since the beginning of the conflict this summer, and many of them replaced conscripted ground forces in the West Bank, who were rotated to the Gaza border. Some reserve units have also taken up positions around Gaza.
Meanwhile, the IAF bombed 40 terrorist targets since midnight on Thursday. Half of the targets were struck after being detected in real time by a range of electronic sensors and intelligence gathering capabilities.
Netanyahu did not rule out the possibility of making the toppling of the Hamas regime in Gaza a goal of Operation Protective Edge. The prime minister said that during the operation so far, Israel has delivered "the harshest blow that Hamas has taken since it was founded."Netanyahu: ISIL and Hamas Are Branches of Same Tree
"Operation Protective Edge has not ended, not even for a moment, because this is a continuing campaign and I am not speaking only about recent weeks," Netanyahu said. "Our struggle against the terrorist organizations is long and has continued for many years -- against Hezbollah, al-Qaida, Islamic Jihad and Hamas in Gaza, which is part of an Islamic terrorist network the newest member of which is a murderous gang, another terrorist organization, ISIS [the Islamic State] in Iraq and Syria, and it has also attacked Lebanon."
Netanyahu said Israel's policy toward Hamas was "simple."
"If they fire, they will be hit, and not just hit but hit very hard," Netanyahu said. "And if Hamas does not understand this today, it will understand it tomorrow. And if not tomorrow then the day after tomorrow because in the Middle East, one needs not just military power, but also stamina and patience.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likened Hamas to terror group Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), calling them “branches of the same tree.”Gaza rocket fire hits new heights: 168 launched in one day
“Hamas is ISIS, ISIS is Hamas,” said Netanyahu. “They’re the enemies of peace, they’re the enemies of Israel, they’re the enemies of all civilized countries. And I believe they’re the enemies of the Palestinians themselves. And I’m not the only one who believes that.”
Netanyahu reacted to the beheading of American journalist James Foley at the hands of ISIL terrorists, saying it “shows you the barbarism, the savagery of these people.”
“Well, we face the same savagery,” the prime minister continued, referring to Hamas. “People who wantonly rocket our cities and conduct mass killings, and when they can they murder children, teenagers, shoot them in the head. Throw people from the sixth floor, their own people, and use their people as human shields.”
Gaza militants resumed their rocket fire campaign against Israel on Wednesday, with at least 168 rockets launched at Israel since last midnight. Rockets were fired at central Israel Wednesday evening, and over 35 missiles exploded in Eshkol Regional Council in the south, which was the central target for Gaza militants throughout the day. Some 23 rockets were intercepted by Iron Dome.IDF Blog: New Declassified Report Exposes Hamas Human Shield Policy
The IDF has published a new declassified report that exposes the extent to which Hamas Illegally used public infrastructure during Operation Protective Edge.The IDF’s first fully digital war
A new report released by the IDF utilizes intelligence maps, photographic and video evidence to mount a serious case against Hamas’ illegal use of public infrastructure during Operation Protective Edge.
The report shows Hamas’ use of UN facilities, schools, graveyards, mosques and power plants, among other civilian areas. According to the report, Hamas has launched above 1,600 rockets from civilian sites.
The fact that the ground troops and the air force were able to communicate, accurately locate one another, and destroy the enemy is not entirely new. The technology has existed in theory for several years. But Operation Protective Edge, the first large scale operation in which the IDF’s Digital Army Program was widely used, saw a greater interconnectivity of forces than ever before – a fact that helped thwart an array of infiltration attempts, streamlined offensive missions, and, presumably, reduced the likelihood of friendly fire.Airlines Say They’ll Defy Hamas Threat to Rocket Israel’s Main Airport
Two officers from the IDF’s computers directorate, known as C4I (Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence), discussed the army’s digital trial by fire during the past month or so of warfare.
“The command and control systems were used to unprecedented effect,” said Maj. Moran Mayorchik, the commander of the tactical connectivity department in the IDF’s C4I Directorate.
Several Israeli and international air carriers said Wednesday night that they weren’t planning to change or cancel their Israeli flights on Thursday, despite a Hamas threat to bomb Ben-Gurion Airport, near Tel Aviv, according to Israel’s Haaretz daily.Father of Hadar Goldin: 'I Knew the IDF Would Get the Job Done'
“We are warning international airlines and press them to stop flying into Ben Gurion airport from 6 am (0300 GMT) Thursday,” an Izzadin al-Qassam spokesman in Gaza said Wednesday night.
However, Lufthansa, Delta Airlines, British Airways, EasyJet, El Al, Arkia and several other carriers said, that in the case of rocket fire, they’d, at most, only temporarily freeze their schedules, according to the report.
The airlines’ statements indicated that they may not have been willing to repeat the uproar over an abrupt change of flight schedules prompted by a rocket strike near the airport in July.
Simcha Goldin, father of fallen soldier Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin, has responded to news that one of the senior Hamas terrorists eliminated in an early-morning airstrike in Gaza was responsible for the attack which killed his son.Israeli wounded in rocket attack while protecting children
Raed al-Attar was killed along with Mohammed Abu Shamalah and Mohammed Barhum in the pre-dawn IAF strike, representing a serious blow to Hamas's military command in southern Gaza.
Attar is believed to have coordinated an attack against IDF forces in Fatah on August 1, breaching a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire, in which two soldiers were killed and Hadar was abducted
Goldin was declared dead two days later, but Hamas are still holding his body, along with that of another soldier, Oren Shaul, as bargaining chips.
Simcha said while the death of the man responsible for his son's death brought him no comfort, he had always had confidence that the IDF "would get the job done."
A 33-year-old Israeli man sustained serious shrapnel wounds on Thursday when a rocket exploded at a daycare center in the Eshkol region. Extensive property damage was also reported.With rockets falling on South, education minister says school will start on time
The man, who was reportedly at the daycare center to celebrate his son's birthday, managed to push the childminder out of harm's way and tried to protect the children with his body. He sustained chest injuries, and, after receiving initial care at the scene, was taken to Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba. He was fully conscious.
The Eshkol Regional Council on Wednesday marked the 1,000th rocket to hit the area during Operation Protective Edge, and at least 50 additional rockets have been reported since.
Education Minister Shai Piron vowed that the new school year will begin on September 1, as planned, despite Operation Protective Edge.JPost Editorial: Reflexive warrior
"We are prepared for every security scenario," Piron said at a conference of managers in local government education departments in Ramat Gan, ahead of the new school year.
Ramat Hanegev Local Council chairman Shmulik Rifman supported Piron's plan, speaking at the same event.
"There are those who call not to open the school year until all classrooms in the South are fortified [against missiles]. It won't happen in the next 10 days, that's clear," he stated.
Gordon, a 21-year-old lone soldier from Detroit, served in the Givati Brigade and fought in Gaza last month during Operation Protective Edge.Babies Moved to Secure Areas of Ashkelon Hospital Following Hamas Rocket Attacks
He was reported missing from the Tzrifin base near Rishon Lezion on Sunday, and his body was found on Tuesday not far from the base. With his rifle at his side, he was wearing his uniform and purple beret of which he had been so proud.
The IDF has opened an investigation into the circumstances of his tragic death, and his family has flown in from the US to bury him with full military honors at Jerusalem’s Mount Herzl Military Cemetery on Thursday.
Gordon was a gifted writer, and maintained a blog called Sparks of David where he wrote extensively in English about his experiences in Israel and in the IDF.
In his writing and on Facebook, he comes across as an intelligent, upbeat young man who loved Israel and his military service.
Since Tuesday night, Hamas has fired more than 80 rockets into Israel. The rockets struck throughout southern Israel, with one directly hitting a home in Ashkelon and a shopping mall.Hamas rockets fired overhead neo-natal care unit at hospital in Southern Israel as we visit.
The armed Abdul Qader Husseini Brigades of the Fatah movement (headed by Mahmoud Abbas), claimed responsibility for two rocket attacks on Ashkelon on Wednesday morning.
Following the rocket salvo, Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center had its premature babies and newborns transferred to sheltered areas both underground, as well as into a special delivery room located in a concrete bomb shelter for the babies’ protection.
Farmers in south to get 120 new shelters
Farmers in the Gaza area communities will receive some 120 portable shelters to protect the manual laborers who work the land, officials said on Wednesday.Why Hamas leaders are blind to Israel’s real strength
The decision comes amid renewed hostilities between Israel and Hamas. With fields close to the Gaza Strip border fence, agricultural workers in the south have frequently been the target of close-range rocket and mortar fire.
The shelters are to be placed in open areas where there are large concentrations of workers. These include greenhouses, as well as produce handling and processing facilities.
One key reason is that Hamas’s leaders have grossly underestimated the resilience of the Jewish state, assuming Israeli morale would collapse under prolonged rocket fire on our cities and mounting casualties in Gaza. Hamas’s leaders did not expect Israel to react to the kidnapping of three teenage boys by arresting hundreds of terrorists throughout the West Bank, nor did they anticipate such a strong military response to the indiscriminate rocket and mortar fire they unleashed following those arrests.Summer of war delays summer of love fest, again
Hamas made its contempt for Israelis evident in a music video produced early in the war, “Strike, Carry Out Terror Attacks,” in which listeners were told they should “annihilate all the Zionists” because Israelis “cannot endure war” and “are like spider webs when they encounter knights.” The song, written in Hebrew and meant as psychological warfare, secured the opposite effect as it became the anthem of Israeli soldiers, for whom it symbolized the bloodthirstiness against which they were fighting. Today’s attacks continue the pattern of assuming incorrectly that further violence and threats will break Israelis’ spirit and lead to capitulation.
Israeli hippies have already had to put away their bellbottoms once this summer, with Operation Protective Edge delaying the 6th Annual Woodstock Revival concert in Jerusalem, and now, with the conflict dragging on through August, it’s been postponed again.French President Demands Disarming of Hamas
But don’t fret, peace and love adherents: event organizers say the festival will happen August 28, and all tickets for the original July 10 date will be honored. That means the opportunity to loll on Kraft Stadium’s fake grass, dressed in tie-dye and jeans, listening to Israeli artists cover classics from Jefferson Airplane, Jimi Hendrix, Cream and Eric Clapton, is just a week away.
French President Francois Hollande today called on Hamas to be disarmed, after the terror group yesterday violated its ceasefire with Israel.Arab League Blames Israel for Hamas Breaking Ceasefire
“We are at a critical point. France supports the Egyptian mediation,” Hollande told Le Monde in an interview. “Gaza can no longer remain like it is. The objective must be a demilitarization and a lifting of the blockade.”
Accusing Hamas of breaking the truce with rocket fire eight hours before it was to have expired, Israel recalled its negotiators from truce talks in Cairo on Tuesday.
Arab League chief Nabil El-Araby accused Israel on Wednesday of "blocking" all attempts to end the Gaza conflict, a day after Hamas breached the six-day ceasefire and fired tens of rockets on Israeli civilians.Sen. Bernie Sanders (D, Vermont) meets with some of his Jew-hating constituents.
"Israel is blocking any kind of agreement leading to calm" in the Gaza Strip, Arabi told journalists. "The Arab League wants to reach a permanent truce as soon as possible," he said before flying off to Geneva for a meeting with the International Committee of the Red Cross to demand protection of Palestinian civilians.
The ceasefire in Gaza was set to end at midnight Tuesday, but Hamas violated it hours before that time, firing three rockets towards Be’er Sheva in the afternoon.
This is from a recent town hall in Cabot, VT: basically, Sen. Bernie Sanders (Commie*, Vermont) had to stand at a podium and listen to a heck of a lot of angry Vermonter anti-Semites scream about Israel, to the point where he started screaming back about halfway through. Amazingly, from the aforementioned anti-Semites’ right. Heck of a thing when that guy’s the least vile person talking.‘K-I-L-L-I-N-G’
As you might guess from that, I have no sympathy for Bernie Sanders, mind you – these are his people, after all; he wants their votes, terrifyingly – but I have even less sympathy for people who scream ‘F*ck Israel,’ and who claim that Hamas is a service organization. And when I say I have no sympathy for either Sanders or his critics, I mean it: it is highly irresponsible for the Senator to pretend that Israel is somehow magically required to ignore their own security needs when it comes to foreign affairs. And If the Palestinians want peace, then they should start by shooting the people using them as human shields.
One last point, to the Jew-hating progressive who was apparently shocked to hear the statement that Hamas calls for the death of Israel: it’s their damned theme song, you fool. And, yes, I mean that in the theological sense.
A Georgetown University professor whose father pled guilty to terrorism charges is facing criticism for comparing Israel to the terror group Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL or ISIS) on Twitter.PA leader: Slaughter Jews in "settlements"
Georgetown University History Professor Abdullah Al-Arian, the son of Sami Al-Arian, a controversial Israel critic who pled guilty to conspiring with a terror group, tweeted out his take on a common nursery rhyme by comparing Israel to the terror group ISIL, which recently beheaded an American journalist on film.
Al-Arian quickly deleted the tweet, but not before a screenshot was taken and retweeted by the Washington Free Beacon. Critics immediately deemed the tweet offensive, inaccurate, and over the line for a professor at Georgetown, which itself has come under fire for hosting a 9/11 Truther and a member of Egypt’s Nazi Party.
Deputy Secretary of the Fatah Central Committee Jibril Rajoub: “I’m telling everyone: Fatah has decided that our relations with the Israelis are relations between enemies. There is no kind of coordination between the Israelis and us. Everyone can be certain that any form of mutual coordination ended a day after they declared war on the National Unity Government... OK, brother, here is the occupation, am I stopping you from slaughtering a settlement? No one is stopping anyone. Don’t lie and tell me: ‘the [PA] Security Forces and Mahmoud Abbas,’ and so on [stop you]. Drop it, OK? No one is stopping anyone. Our political decision is resistance in the occupied territories in order to bring an end to the occupation [using] all forms of resistance.”PA leader: "Am I stopping you from slaughtering a settlement?"
[Awdah independent Palestinian TV channel, Aug. 13, 2014]
Hamas's Mashaal says Israel replicating Hitler, carrying out holocaust in Gaza
Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Thursday accused Israel of perpetrating a Holocaust in Gaza and vowed to keep up fighting against Israel until the siege of Gaza is lifted.Hamas executes three for 'collaboration' with Israel
Speaking in an interview with Turkey's Anadolu Agency, Mashaal said, "What Israel has done in the Gaza Strip over the last 45 days is a genuine holocaust...They are killing children, destroying residential areas, mosques, hospitals and UNRWA-run schools."
He said that Israel was "replicating what Hitler did years ago."
Hamas executed on Thursday three suspects for collaborating with Israel according to Palestinian media reports. Four more people were detained by Hamas security sources.ISIS and Hamas: The Double Standard
Hamas and ISIS are two sides of the same Islamic terror coin, yet while the West has rightfully united in condemnation and action against ISIS, it has applied a different standard towards Israel, who has been faced with the incessant terror of Hamas.Hamas’ love letter to ISIS (with ten tips)
A chorus of world leaders, from President Obama, the UN Secretary General and Pope Francis -- have all been rightfully outraged by the barbaric carnage we are witnessing from ISIS in Iraq.
Even other arch-terrorists, like Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, have called ISIS "a monster", while Osama Bin Laden, before he was killed, called for al-Qaeda to sever all ties with ISIS due to the group's "extreme brutality," saying that it could "harm al-Qaeda's reputation."
They have sought to annihilate entire communities of minorities in Iraq, including the ancient Yazidis and Christians. Their tactics and methods have shocked all people with a shred of decency to the very core, including now their gruesome murder and public beheading of American journalist James Foley.
Today, ISIS makes Hezbollah and al Qaeda look like Mother Theresa.
Dear Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS),Ezra Levant - If Hamas were caught building an Auschwitz . . .
Our leadership felt bad about all of the tough press you’ve been getting lately and – given our talent for ruining Gaza while enjoying endless love from the media – we thought we’d share some pointers with you.
We’ve been at this Islamist terrorism thing for decades now, so we can offer some helpful tips for your war to establish a Caliphate – a goal we LOVE. After all, if you overrun Jordan, we could even become allied forces in the West Bank, from which we can jointly conquer Israel.
So, during one of our tunnel-side chats, our most seasoned jihadists compiled this list of best practices, in the hope that these suggestions can improve your performance:
1) If the U.S. ever insists that you participate in elections when there are no democratic traditions or institutions in place, say YES (we won over half of the legislature in Gaza’s 2006 election).
Temple Univ. Jewish Student Punched In Face And Called ‘Kike’ In Anti-Semitic Attack
A Jewish student on the campus of Temple University was assaulted on Wednesday afternoon and called “kike” and “baby killer” by alleged members of the anti-Semitic student group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). Daniel Vessal, a Camera on Campus fellow and a member of the Jewish fraternity AEPi, was punched in the face by a violent alleged member of the anti-Israel organization SJP at “Templefest” which is organized for students on campus to gain new information about campus clubs a week before the start of classes. Vessal is a managing information systems major at the Fox School of Business at the university.Jews abetting Hamas are no voice for peace
“I’m walking down Polett Walk, one of the main walkways through Temple University and I see the SJP table,” Vessal told TruthRevolt from a local area hospital. “I go up to them and I really just wanted to see what angle they were coming from. I went up to the table and started talking to them. I said, ‘listen, you shouldn’t be protesting Israel- if anything protest the terrorists.’”
“At that point I walked away and after a little back and forth,” Vessal explained. “I came back to the table after a little while and explained that the Palestinians have a right to a state just like anyone else but that SJP should come at the right people. I said, ‘when Hamas stops sending the rockets, that’s when there can be peace. That’s when we can start.'”
“This one girl sitting at the end of the table was just laughing and laughing at me,” he explained “As she was laughing at me, people at the table were calling me a ‘baby killer,’ I said when she stops then maybe we could have a genuinely peaceful conversation.”
“And then this kid just rocks me in the face as hard as he can. My glasses flew off. After a two-second blur I had no clue what had happened. I couldn’t believe the kid actually hit me,” said Vessal who added that he needs to obtain a new pair of glasses due to the extensive damage. (h/t Alexi)
Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), the group that invaded and “occupied” the Philadelphia Jewish Community Services Building and on Aug. 20 simulated and protested the (legal) blockade of Gaza outside of the UJA-Federation of New York, has declared in northern California, “Zionism isn’t welcome in our town.” There, JVP joined with a radical Bay Area coalition on Aug. 16 seeking to prevent the unloading of Israeli goods in Oakland. The action’s announcement, proclaiming “Stand Against Zionism Everywhere,” extols the “resistance in Gaza [that] is still alive and thriving, despite Israel’s ongoing attempts to destroy it.” This “resistance,” the announcement continues, has “been going on since 1948, since Israel came into existence. And it will not cease until Israeli apartheid falls.”Anti-Israel Group JVP Targets Jewish Federations Over Gaza
These are euphemisms. Bringing down “Israeli apartheid” is a call for Israel’s destruction. The “resistance in Gaza” is the radical jihadist group Hamas, responsible for the murder and maiming of thousands of Israelis and causing three wars. The Hamas Charter says “the Jews” caused the French and Communist Revolutions, initiated both world wars, and that the entire world is controlled by Jewish money, in addition to promoting the anti-Semitic “Protocols of the Elders of Zion” and calling for Israel’s “obliteration.”
Who, then, is this self-proclaimed Jewish “voice for peace” whose actions in effect support Hamas terrorism?
Thirty members of the anti-Israel group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) on Wednesday demanded that Jewish federations take an open stance against the blockade of the Gaza Strip and Israel’s Operation Protective Edge in a visit to the UJA-Federation of New York offices.Israeli ship unloads cargo despite US protest
In 2013, JVP was listed as one of the top 10 anti-Israel groups in America by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). On Wednesday, JVP delivered a petition signed by 30,000 of its members and supporters to federation staff, asking Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) President Jerry Silverman to speak out publicly against the “siege” of Gaza.
International Longshore and Warehouse Union spokeswoman Jennifer Sargent said about 30 workers unloaded cargo from the Zim line’s Piraeus at the Port of Oakland starting Tuesday night despite the presence of a small number of protesters.Block the Boat Fail: Unleashing the scourge of red lentils upon the world
According to Sargent, workers had refused to unload the ship after it arrived on Saturday because of safety concerns raised by the presence of protesters and police.
The protesters were demonstrating in response to recent Israeli military action in the Gaza Strip.
Its all about the "occupation", they’ll tell you.Ignorance at Princeton - Gaza Rally August 17
And that’s why dock workers and longshoremen at the Port of Oakland were harassed for four days.
All to prevent crates of sparkling wine, olives and ceramic tiles from Spain, cheese and rice from Italy and organic red lentils from Turkey from being unloaded from the Zim Piraeus. Or perhaps the fanatics were targeting the irrigation equipment and solar heaters that happened to be manufactured in Israel.
More likely the protesters simply didn’t care.
They didn't care that the Piraeus ZIM Piraeus wasn’t Israeli-owned or flagged. They didn’t care that ZIM America contracts with a Greek company Costamare to manage and operate ZIM Piraeus. Slightly more than 30% of Zim is owned by Israeli interests and that was good enough for them.
Protesters unfurl massive Palestinian flag from Manhattan Bridge
Hundreds New Yorkers staged a pro-Palestinian protest, march across Manhattan Bridge towards NYPD headquarters in downtown Manhattan on Tuesday and unfurled a massive Palestinian flag from the historic bridge.Paris: 300 Rally Against Israel's Airstrikes in Gaza
Last month, at the height of Israel's Gaza offensive, thousands of people took to the streets of New York to demand an end to the violence.
Waving Palestinian flags and signs condemning Israel for the offensive, many called for an end to US aid to the country.
Leftist and pro-Palestinian Arab activists rallied in Paris on Wednesday to urge Israel to end its airstrikes in Gaza, The Associated Press (AP) reported.Anti-Semitic Incidents in U.K. Increase 500% During Gaza Conflict
About 300 protesters gathered near Napoleon's tomb in central Paris, waving Palestinian flags and photos of people killed in airstrikes.
Some banners read "No to the massacre in Gaza," according to the report.
Police watched carefully and the protest wound down peacefully, AP noted, unlike several demonstrations last month in France that unleashed the worst tensions between France's Muslim and Jewish communities in years.
The Community Security Trust (CST), an organization providing security, training, and advice to the Jewish community in the United Kingdom, is reporting that anti-Semitic incidents in the country have risen by nearly 500 percent since the start of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.Hamas: Rocket Off Tel Aviv Coast Targeted Sea-Dwelling Jews (satire)
CST received more than 240 calls on anti-Semitism in the month of July alone, the organization said, up from around 50 per month earlier this year.
“The actual data is bad enough but cannot convey the mood of the Jewish community, with many people telling us that they have never felt so bad, have been under such pressure, nor worried so much about what the future may hold,” said Mark Gardner, the communications director for the CST, according to The Independent.
“Some of those anti-Israel and anti-Zionist passions found their physical outlet against Jewish targets, as they always do,” he said.
The targeting of Israelis living off the Mediterranean coast represents a shift in Hamas tactics, but an adherence to a venerable strategy, according to John Glubb, a military historian at the University of Amman, Jordan. “Already in 1948, when Israel was founded, Arab leaders vowed to push the Jews into the sea,” referring to the Mediterranean, he said.Let's Talk Peace
“Hamas might have been aiming at more densely populated areas in Israel until now, but the Iron Dome system makes it a more logical choice to target the more vulnerable Israelis – the ones that the Arabs have managed to actually push into the sea in the intervening sixty-four years.”
That type of psychological warfare has served Hamas well in recent episodes of armed conflict, even extending to claiming that specific shards of shrapnel from their rockets were intended for specific targets. A car destroyed by the falling debris from a missile intercepted by the Iron Dome system was a “Zionist vehicle of oppression.” A call to the Peugeot company went unanswered, leaving unclear whether the entire 307 series should be designated as such, or whether the description referred only to the specific unit that was destroyed.
On many occasions Hamas has vowed to “Open the gates of Hell” in response to various Israeli actions, and indeed the gates of Hell appear to be located in the narrow, crowded, impoverished strip.
