Elder Of Ziyon - Israel News

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Hamas distributes candy to celebrate heroic murder of pregnant woman (updated)

The New York Times briefly mentions:

In the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza, hundreds of Hamas supporters took to the streets after the evening prayer to celebrate the news of the attack, urged on by the calls of an imam over the loudspeaker even before Hamas had officially said it was behind the killings.

This is a gross understatement of the ecstasy that has accompanied the news that Hamas managed to kill four unarmed civilians, two of them women.

The Hamas-affiliated Palestine Times goes into detail.

Thousands of supporters of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas on Tuesday night participated in a massive march called for by the movement to celebrate the heroic operation carried out by the Mujahideen of al-Qassam Brigades in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron, which killed four Zionist settlers.

The rally began after Taraweeh prayers, directly in front of the mosque in the camp in the northern Gaza Strip, with people chanting slogans in support of the resistance and the Qassam Brigades and slogans demanding more quality operations and to respond to the continued Zionist escalation against the holy sites and the Palestinian people.

The participants in the rally prostrated to thank God for the success of the Qassam Brigades and distributed sweets in celebration of the guerrilla operation.

Lawmaker Mushir al-Masri said in the speech during the march: "The heroic Hebron operation came as a natural reaction on the launch of direct negotiations, and the operation was a response to the continued coordination Israeli-Palestinian security and that this was the Qassam Brigades' and Hamas' response to stop the negotiations through this process, a message to both Benjamin Netanyahu and Ehud Barak. "

Al-Masri added, "At a time when Abbas and Barak were sitting in Jordan, the al-Qassam Brigades wee sitting down with the settlers, but on their own [terms]."

Hamas consistently jeered Abbas' and Fayyad's pseudo-condemnations of the terror attack.

Another article describes how the writer went to multiple rallies to celebrate this attack, which Hamas entitled "torrent of fire," and described how proud he was and how candy was being distributed.

Yet another article takes the form of a prayer of thanks that such an operation, appropriately timed in Ramadan, was successful and that God should save Muslims from any counterattack.

(Update: Reuters photo added, hotlinked from Boker Tov Boulder)

Yitzchak and Talya Imas were the parents of six children, the eldest one being 24 years old and the youngest one being a year and a half old. Talya Imas was nine months' pregnant when she was killed by the terrorists.

They will be buried in the ancient Mt. of Olives cemetery opposite the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Their home was a heart-breaking sight last night and this morning, where six orphans aged 2 to 24 were gathered: Daniel (married with a six-month-old son), Ruth, Ariel, Hodaya, Ruhama and Oz-David. Talia was in her ninth month of pregnancy.

A friend and neighbor of the family, Yehuda Glick, related last night with tears in his eyes: “I have known them for over 20 years, even when they were still in Moscow, having discovered Judaism and working for Aliyah. They came to Israel, to Gush Etzion, 19 years ago, with a sense of national mission for the Jewish People… They were gentle, regal people… He was a man of letters, who published a book last year on the Shiltei Giborim – though he also worked with his hands, gardening and the like; Talia was an accountant, and together they educated their family, six children..."

Kokhava Even-Chaim, 37, who taught in Efrat, is survived by her husband Maimon – a Zaka volunteer who discovered that his wife was one of the victims when he arrived on the scene to offer help – and an 8-year-old daughter. She will be buried in Ashdod.

Avishai Shindler, 24, newly-married and a recent arrival to Beit Haggai, will be buried in the Segulah cemetery in Petah Tikva.

Or, as the New York Times calls them, "settlers." The exact same word that Hamas used to describe them when they took credit for the vicious, cowardly attack in English.

My review of the Emmys

Well, not really.

But I did see that there were many awards given to the HBO movie, "Temple Grandin," about an autistic woman who is a world-class expert on animal behavior and humane slaughtering methods.

I had heard of Grandin before. She has worked tirelessly to improve Jewish ritual slaughter (shechita,) and she is in fact an expert on the halachot (Jewish laws) of shechita. (It is said that she read the entire Talmudic tractate of Chullin in English translation to learn all of the halachot.)

She had found that kosher slaughterhouses were doing a horrendous job, abusing and scaring the animals. She spoke to rabbis worldwide and designed far more effective systems. As she writes,

When shechitah was performed on each steer, I was amazed that the animal did not move. To find out if shechitah was really painless, I started holding the head of each animal with less and less pressure to see if it would move during shechitah. Even big bulls stayed still when the head holder was so loose they could have easily pulled their heads out.

I also observed that some shochets were better than others in their ability to cause rapid unconsciousness. All of the cuts were correct from a religious standpoint, but some shochets were more biologically effective. A swift cut was more effective than a slower one. In the hands of the best shochets, the animal does not make a sound or flinch, and drops unconscious in eight to 10 seconds.

She is also an expert on Halal slaughter, and notes that Muslims use shorter knives that are generally much more painful for the animals.

Grandin's research and inventions have revolutionized the entire kosher slaughter industry, something that everyone can agree is a great accomplishment. She took what had become an inhumane method of slaughter and improved it so that it is orders of magnitude better for everyone involved.

That, by itself, is no small accomplishment. And she has done much, much more. She deserves lots of congratulations and thanks for her work.

Audio of the Herzog/Toynbee Debates

Last week, I posted an article from the Canadian Jewish Chronicle summarizing the 1961 debate on the morality of Israel between Arnold Toynbee and Dr. Yaacov Herzog.

An email correspondent managed to get a hold of the original audio of the debate. Now I am making it available on the Internet, in four parts.

Such a historic event should be available for everyone to hear.

(I've never used this audio service before, so I hope it works OK for everyone.)

(h/t Yair)

At least this way, he's a little more relevant, if harder to make out. (DoZ is too busy for me to get her to use her mad Photoshop skills and make this look better...)

"Rabbis for Human Rights" show where their loyalties lie

Here is the statement from "Rabbis for Human Rights:"

May God comfort the families of those murdered tonight, and also protect Palestinian families from attempts at revenge. There was already one attempt this evening, and security forces are protecting the family. In another location there is currently an attempt to uproot trees. If we hear of other such attempts we will try to send security forces to do their job. However, we also need volunteers who are willing to travel at anytime tonight if needed.

That's right - "Rabbis" for Human Rights spent a half of a sentence on four innocent murder victims, and 90% of their press release is concerned with potential reprisals against trees.

This, after Hamas announced that they are planning more attacks against Jews. Not a word about protecting those potential victims, or even acknowledging the possibility that the people that they are protecting might very well be themselves protecting current or potential murderers.

Apparently, they have forgotten the meaning of "human rights." Either that or they only think that some humans deserve rights.

These so called rabbis have forgotten a very basic concept in Judaism known by all fourth graders: אם אין אני לי, מי לי. If I am not for myself, who is for me?

Sickening.

Al Arabiya reader reaction to the murders

Al Arabiya's coverage of the terror attack immediately drew many comments - over 150 so far.

The initial responses from Al Arabiya readers in Arabic to the murders were ecstatic. The first reaction said "Mubarak (blessed) to you," and many more said simply "God is great."

The vast majority were very approving of the murders. There were, however, a few exceptions.

Commenter 5, from the West Bank, threw in a cautionary note, saying that now Israel will make life for people in the West Bank harder. Commenter 19 and others took him to task for being against such a wonderful operation.

#22 is disappointed, saying at the rate of killing only 4 Israelis in four years, it would take thousands of years to "liberate Palestine."

#24 says that the Palestinian Arabs who are negotiating are wimps - "God bless Hamas and Islamic Jihad."

The next few were happy, saying Allahu Akbar.

#33 was actually critical, calling Hamas terrorists. #34 says that the murders only help Israel.

#50 was an Israeli Arab who pointed out that one of the victims was pregnant and that the terrorists do not deserve to live. #84 insulted her, saying that for her to speak like that she is no Arab, but a Jew.

#80 was against the murders - but it was signed "cute Jewish boy."

#92 chastised the commenters for celebrating the murder of innocent people. #148 insulted him, calling him a Zionist and a spokesman for the Armies of Zion, saying ti is impossible for any Arab to even think that way.

#102 was an Egyptian who said that the operation was stupid and counterproductive.

#104, named Ali (is that our Ali?) said to the other commenters "Shame on you for rejoicing over the murder of a pregnant woman....just like you rejoiced over Samir Kuntar murdering a 4 year old girl."

#108 also sarcastically said "Congratulations - you kill women." #113 asks in killing pregnant women is OK "according to our religion."

But most of them were very, very happy.

And Al Arabiya is one of the more moderate Arab newspapers.

Fayyad's fake condemnation

Salam Fayyad, that darling of the West who is the most moderate quasi-leader that Palestinian Arabs are ever likely to have, is following in the footsteps of Mahmoud Abbas and Yasir Arafat.

His condemnation of the terror attack is the same as those given by Abbas and Arafat over the years. Not a word about how the attack is evil, or immoral, or wrong. Instead:

"What happened tonight in Hebron was timed to coincide with the PLO's decision to engage in negotiations to end the occupation and achieve freedom and independence for our people," Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said.

"We condemn this operation, which runs counter to Palestinian interests and against efforts of Palestinian leadership to mobilize international support for the rights of our people as well as with previously signed agreements," Fayyad told Ma'an shortly after the attack.

Killing Jewish civilians isn't inherently wrong, this moderate leader is saying. It is merely politically incorrect.

Should, at some other time, murdering pregnant women coincide with "Palestinian interests," it would be perfectly fine to do so.

This is one of the many reasons why a Palestinian Arab state would be a disaster for everyone. Their leaders are immoral to the core.

Spinning SpongeBob

My SpongeBob poll can be used as an object lesson on how the media can make any survey appear to support literally any position.

First, the facts. As of this writing, the poll results are:

Bring him back!	55 (39%)
Nah, we don't need him.	41 (29%)
Don't waste time. Work on a new design already!	27 (19%)
Who?	18 (12%)

The spin for pro-SpongeBob people:

By a commanding 10% margin, EoZ readers support the return of SpongeBob Squarepants to the Elder logo compared to those who oppose his return.

The spin for the anti-SpongeBob people:

In a recent survey carried out on the Elder of Ziyon blog, fully 61% of the respondents who voted refused to support bringing SpongeBob Squarepants back into the Elder logo.

The spin for the new design people:

A great number of EoZ readers support a new design of the site. While neither the pro-SpongeBob nor anti-SpongeBob crowds were able to gain close to a majority of the votes cast, the people who want a complete overhaul garnered some 60% of the non-partisan votes entered in the survey, and literally all of the non-partisan activists voted to redesign the site.

The spin for the don't know/don't care crowd:

In a lackadaisical survey carried out at the EoZ blog, no one managed to get very excited over the question of whether SpongeBob should return. None of the survey choices given managed to gather close to a majority of the votes, and many people were not familiar with the cartoon character in the first place. Most of EoZ's total daily readers didn't even bother to answer the question, making the entire dreary exercise moot.

All of these treatments are 100% true.

This is why, when you see survey results reported as news, you should try to get hold of the actual numbers.

(Right now I am leaning on bringing SpongeBob back, not only because of the votes but also because the pro-SBSP crowd were much more passionate in the comments.)

Terror attack in Kiryat Arba, 4 dead (updated)

From Ha'aretz:

Four Israelis were killed on Tuesday night when gunmen opened fire on their car at the entrance to Kiryat Arba, near Hebron, in the West Bank.

The attack occurred around 7:30 P.M. on Route 60. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Magen David Adom reported that the victims were two men aged 25 and 40 and two women, also aged 25 and 40. Channel 2 news reported that the victims were all members of the same family, and that one of the women was pregnant.

YNet says it was a well-planned ambush:

A Palestinian security official said that a Hamas cell is believed to be behind the lethal attacks. He noted that the last attack in the Hebron region, which left an Israeli police officer killed, was also the work of Hamas.

Ha'aretz Hebrew quotes a Magen Dovid adom paramedica as saying that he saw "a car riddled with dozens of bullets; inside were the four bodies and there was no chance to help them."

Haaretz:

The victims were all residents of the settlement of Beit Hagai in the southern Hebron Hills.

Beit Haggai was named for the initials of three yeshiva students who were killed in a terror attack in Kiryat Arba in 1980.

Hamas is not claiming responsibility at this time, but is saying that this is a "natural response to Israeli crimes."

Here is my essay on "natural responses" from 2008.

UPDATE: Israel Matzav says that it was a couple who left behind 7 children, plus two hitch-hikers.

UPDATE:

"When we arrived on the scene, all four doors of the car were open and four bodies were strewn on the road," Magen David Adom paramedic Guy Ronen told The Jerusalem Post. "We saw that the vital organs had been struck by a very large number of bullets, and that there was no chance of saving their lives," he added.

Backspin looks at the disgraceful way AP illustrates the story.

"Moderate" Arabs praise murders, proud that they are from the West Bank

Firas Press, which is oriented towards Fatah, so far has five comments on its story about the terror attack near Kiryat Arba.

All five are very happy about it.

Two of them are proud that the real resistance still exists in the West Bank (as opposed to those collaborators in Gaza.) It is sort of like rooting for a hometown sports team - which side can kill more Jews?

Others simply say "God is great."

A new one says that this must have been done by Netanyahu, because, in his logic, why have we not seen any terror attacks to defend Al Aqsa? Obviously this was staged by the Israelis.

Hamas praises murder of "four Zionist rapists"

The Al Qassam Brigades of Hams referred to the four civilians, including a pregnant woman, who were murdered near Kiryat Arba as "rapists."

They also praised the attack:

"Hamas praises the attack and regards it as a natural response to the crimes of the occupation," said Sami Abu-Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, adding that the attack was proof "of a failure of security coordination" between Israel and the Palestinians.

UPDATE: I am told that the Arabic word has a double meaning, and can also mean "usurper."