The homemade rockets of the Atallah family (Hasbara failure #1)

The Los Angeles Times mentioned last week:

The Israeli military says it does not target civilian sites, but attacks by warplanes and tanks in the crowded strip make such casualties almost inevitable.

At least 10 people from three generations were in the Atallah household when the missile struck Saturday just before sunset.

Medhat Abdullah, a relative of the family, was at work nearby when he heard the news. He arrived to find the home almost flattened, the walls collapsed and the ceiling caved.

"It's a massacre. When you kill a whole family, what else do you call it?" he asked. "What am I supposed to do? Forgive [the Israelis]?"

Among the dead in the Atallah family were patriarch Abdel Rahman Atallah, 65, his wife, Suad, two sons and two daughters. One of Atallah's grandchildren, a 23-month-old baby, was pulled from the rubble alive but suffering from oxygen deprivation. The child remains in the intensive care unit of a Gaza City hospital on an artificial respirator.

The dead must be buried promptly according to Islamic custom, but relatives still hadn't recovered all the bodies in time for the funeral Sunday afternoon.

The final two bodies, almost unrecognizable, were pulled from the rubble after the funeral procession had already left, Abdullah said. They were wrapped in blankets and rushed to the cemetery.

Abdullah said there were no militant strongholds in the area, and no factories for making Kassam rockets.

One of Abdel Rahman Atallah's sons was a member of the Executive Force, a Hamas-led police unit, and may have been involved in launching rockets into Israel, Abdullah said. But that, he said, did not justify the missile strike.

It would appear that the Atallah family was either the target of an indiscriminate policy of punishing civilians, as the Palestinian Arabs would spin it, or at the very least they were the accidental victims from an Israeli airstrike gone awry. And, after all, a relative said that there was no rocket factory nearby, and why wouldn't you believe him?

The airstrike occurred on February 27. The LA Times article came out on March 3. Israel didn't come out with an explanation until March 6, and even then it was difficult to know exactly what event they were referring to:

The deliberate use of civilian homes to shield Hamas arms and explosives manufacturing facilities

Hamas frequently uses civilian homes in the Gaza Strip for the manufacture of rockets, explosives, antitank missiles and other arms being used against Israel. Rockets, explosives and other arms were also found in the mosque in Jabalya.

Weapons found in a mosque in Jabalya, including RPG
rockets and hand grenades
(IDF Spokesman)

For example, a factory manufacturing dozens of Kassam rockets a day was located in the basement and first floor of a two-storey building. The terrorist responsible for the factory was housed with his family on that second floor. When Israel targeted the factory, destroying scores of rockets as well as the factory’s capability to continue producing those rockets, civilians in the house were unfortunately hit as well.

A Hamas explosives lab in the ground floor of a residential
building in Jabalya

A Hamas Kassam rocket manufacturing shop in the Darj
neighborhood of Gaza

The Israeli statement didn't explicitly say that the Atallah family is being referred to, but apparently it was them, as a line buried in a Ha'aretz (March 7) op-ed made clear:

Israel's explanation that civilian members of the Atallah family were killed in an Israel Air Force bombing because they chose to build an assembly line for Qassam rockets in their home did not penetrate the public mind.

Indeed it did not penetrate the public mind, because Israel itself didn't address it until nearly a week after the event and even then it only referenced it obliquely.

Israel is probably justified in destroying a rocket manufacturing plant in the middle of Gaza City where a family lives. Fair-minded people can debate this. But no one even had the chance of debate, because Israel never publicized the circumstances of this airstrike. By the time Israel mentioned it, the story about the poor martyred Atallah family was out.

By the time we find out the real circumstances - that this family had at least one Hamas member who built rockets in a factory in the basement, deliberately placed there in order to make his family into human shields - it is old news, the LA Times has already finished its sob-story piece. And we cannot blame the LAT because they literally had no Israeli response about the story four days after it occurred.

The IDF and Ministry for Foreign Affairs have dropped the ball time and time again on getting Israel's viewpoint out to the world - and to reporters - in a reasonable and consistent manner.

More examples follow.

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Hamas admits hundreds of terrorists train in Iran

From the Times (UK):

...Israel has long insisted that Iran is behind this training. Last week Yuval Diskin, the head of the Israeli internal security service Shin Bet, said as much when he claimed that Hamas had “started to dispatch people to Iran, tens and a promise of hundreds”. He provided no evidence.

The Hamas commander, however, confirmed for the first time that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been training its men in Tehran for more than two years and is currently honing the skills of 150 fighters.

The details he gave suggested that, if anything, Shin Bet has underestimated the extent of Iran’s influence on Hamas’s increasingly sophisticated tactics and weaponry.

Speaking on the record but withholding his identity as a target of Israeli forces, the commander, who has a sparse moustache and oiled black hair, said Hamas had been sending fighters to Iran for training in both field tactics and weapons technology since Israeli troops pulled out of the Gaza strip of Palestinian territory in 2005. Others go to Syria for more basic training.

“We have sent seven ‘courses’ of our fighters to Iran,” he said. “During each course, the group receives training that he will use to increase our capacity to fight.”

The most promising members of each group stay longer for an advanced course and return as trainers themselves, he said.

So far, 150 members of Qassam have passed through training in Tehran, where they study for between 45 days and six months at a closed military base under the command of the elite Revolutionary Guard force.

Of the additional 150 who are in Tehran now, some will go into Hamas’s research unit if they are not deemed strong enough for fighting.

Conditions at the base are strict, the commander said. The Palestinians are allowed out only one day a week. Even then, they may leave the base only in a group and with Iranian security. They shop and “always come back with really good boots”.

According to the commander, a further 650 Hamas fighters have trained in Syria under instructors who learnt their techniques in Iran. Sixty-two are in Syria now.

But what Hamas values most is the knowledge that comes directly from Iran. Some of it was used to devastating effect by the militant group Hezbollah against Israeli forces in Lebanon in 2006.

“They come home with more abilities that we need,” said the Hamas commander, “such as high-tech capabilities, knowledge about land mines and rockets, sniping, and fighting tactics like the ones used by Hezbollah, when they were able to come out of tunnels from behind the Israelis and attack them successfully.

“Those who go to Iran have to swear on the Koran not to reveal details, even to their mothers.”

He said the Hamas military, which numbers about 15,000 fighters, was modelling itself on Hezbollah. “We don’t have tanks. We don’t have planes. We are street fighters and we will use our own ways,” he said.

Nodding in agreement was his companion, another senior Qassam fighter, from Hamas’s manufacturing wing. Dressed in a new, olive-green uniform, he said his job entailed “cooking” – putting together the explosive mixture that Hamas inserts into Qassam rockets.

Everyone was working overtime, he added. He too had been out all night. He said he had launched five mortars and faced heavy machinegun fire in return from Israeli lines.

The commander was particularly impressed with advances made using Iranian technology. “One of the things that has been helpful is that they have taught us how to use the most ordinary things we have here and make them into explosives,” he said.

Such technology had been most useful of all in developing the Qassam rocket and mines deployed against Israeli tanks.

Hamas had just developed the Shawas 4, a new generation of mine, with Iranian expertise, he added.

“We send our best brains to Tehran. It would be a waste of money to send them and then have them come back with nothing.”

They travelled to Egypt, flew to Syria and, on arrival and departure from Tehran, were allowed through without a stamp for security reasons.

“Anything they think will be useful, our guys there e-mail it to us right away,” the military technician said.

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This is what Al-Jazeera apologizes for

Too funny:

Al Jazeera has apologised for "offensive" remarks made by a guest during a live debate about the reprinting of cartoons in Denmark said to insult Prophet Muhammad.

In a statement on Wednesday, Al Jazeera expressed its "deepest apologies" for comments made by Wafa Sultan, a Syrian-born US-based academic, which "offended Islam".

The comments were made during the Tuesday evening debate on the talk show "The Opposite Direction".

The statement did not say what offensive remarks had been made in the programme, which was moderated by Al Jazeera's Faisal al-Qassem.

Support for terror and praising 9/11 is fine, but putting a woman on the air who tells Muslim terror-supporters and apologists for Islamism that they are full of crap evinces great regret.

(h/t Suzanne)

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Wafa Sultan rocks!

The Arab-American psychologist who caused a huge stir with her comments about Islam on Al Jazeera two years ago has done it again. She, quite simply, rocks.

The following are excerpts from a debate between Arab-American psychiatrist Wafa Sultan and Egytian Islamist Tal'at Rmeih, which aired on Al-Jazeera on March 4, 2008.

Egyptian Islamist Tal'at Rmeih: "The West only understands the language of force. Contacts with the West which are not based on real force are futile. One day, America declared that the North Korean nuclear dossier would be referred to the U.N. Security Council. North Korea issued a one-line declaration: 'Korea will consider this to be a hostile act of war.' The Americans bit their tongues, and that was it. The West understands nothing but the language of force, and attacks nobody but the weak. Therefore, our nation – with all its people, and organizations, institutions, rulers, and subjects – is required to adopt a resolute stand of resistance and confrontation in the face of these criminal and hostile acts. The West, in this confrontation, which is not divorced from the massacres that are taking place in Palestine and Iraq…The embassies of Denmark, Holland, France, and the U.S. are not more precious to us than Iraq, which has been destroyed, or than Palestine, which is experiencing a real – not fabricated – holocaust. These countries are subject to a holocaust and a massacre. How can we confront this? By Allah, if we issued a communiqué, signed by all the Arab and Islamic organizations and institutions, the West would bite its tongue and stop all this. By Allah, if the Arab summit decided to boycott Denmark, they would all be disgraced. By Allah, if the masses of the nation would gather for one hour only around the embassies of Denmark, those despicable lowlifes would be in a position of retreat, not attack."

[…]

Arab-American Psychiatrist Wafa Sultan: "All religions and faiths, throughout the history of humanity, have been subject to criticism and affronts. With time, this has helped in their reform and development. Any belief that chops off the heads of its critics is doomed to turn into terrorism and tyranny. This has been the condition of Islam, from its inception to this day. Islam has sentenced [its critics] to prison, and whoever crosses the threshold of that prison meets his death. The Danish cartoons have managed to break down the first brick in the wall of that prison, and to open up a window, through which the sunrays enter, after a lengthy darkness. The Danish newspaper exercised its freedom of speech. Liberties are the holiest thing in the West, and nothing is more important. But if Islam were not the way it is, those cartoons would never have appeared. They did not appear out of the blue, and the cartoonist did not dig them out of his imagination. Rather, they are a reflection of his knowledge. Westerners who read the words of the Prophet Muhammad 'Allah has given me sustenance under the shadow of my sword' cannot imagine Muhammad's turban in the shape of a dove of peace rather than in the shape of a bomb. The Muslims must learn how to listen to the criticism of others, and maybe then they will reexamine their terrorist teachings. When they manage to do so, the world will view them in a better light, and consequently, it will draw them in a better light. The reactions of the Muslims, which were characterized by savageness, barbarism, and backwardness, only increased the value of these cartoons, and gave them more importance than they merited, simply because they proved that these cartoons were true, and that the message they were conveying was true. The Muslim is an irrational creature ruled by instincts. Those teachings have deprived him of his mind, incited his emotions, and reduced him to the level of an inferior creature that cannot control himself or react to events rationally."

[…]

Tal'at Rmeih: "God help me. First, Islam is too great to be harmed by the publisher of the cartoon, or by that woman who is talking over there. The truth is that everything she said is 100% false, I'm sad to say. It seems to me that the American and Zionist intelligence agencies have begun to produce people who are hostile to their own nation."

[…]

Dr. Faysal Al-Qassem, Moderator: "How come freedom of expression in the West is sacred only when it comes to degrading the Muslims? Are they allowed to talk about the Holocaust? Are they allowed to talk about Christianity? That is the question. Cinemas were burned down in the West when they talked about Christ."

Wafa Sultan: "I live in America, and I never heard of a single cinema that was burned down here. Where do you get your information from? It sounds as if you are living in America, not me."

Moderator: "In France."

Wafa Sultan: "This is completely baseless. You should criticize your own beliefs just as Christians criticize their beliefs."

[…]

Moderator: "Don’t you think that you are treating the viewers like fools? You present some trivial reactions as barbaric. Have you forgotten that the country in which you live destroyed Iraq in its entirety, killing 1.5 million Iraqis and driving five million out of their homes? Didn't you see the dozens of children annihilated in Gaza, in a holocaust, as Israel itself admits? When a man blows himself up, he becomes a terrorist, but when you annihilate an entire people, whole countries, it is considered a humanitarian act?! Who are you kidding?"

[…]

Wafa Sultan: "Why are they upset about what is going on in Gaza, while the Koran says to them: 'They shall kill and be killed.' So here they are – killing and being killed. What's wrong with that?"

Tal'at Rmeih: "Leave the Koran out of it. If you want to talk politics, go ahead."

Moderator: "I beg you to stick to politics. He talked only about politics."

Wafa Sultan: "Dr. Faysal, you know that you cannot separate Islam from politics. Islam is not a religion, but politics. You must let me express my views the way I want. When you called me, you didn't say I was not allowed to discuss Islam or the Koran. Islam says to them that they will 'kill or be killed', and here they are—killing and being killed. So what's wrong with that? They want to be martyred and to meet their black-eyed virgins, and Israel is merely helping them get what they want. What's wrong with that? If you want to change the course of events, you must reexamine your terrorist teachings, you must recognize and respect the right of the other to live, you must teach your children love, peace, coexistence, and productive work. When you do that, the world will respect you, will consider you in a better light, and will draw you in a better light."

Moderator: "Can you denounce the Zionist massacres in Gaza? That's a simple question. Do you have the courage to do so?"

Wafa Sultan: "I can denounce the Palestinians and the Israelis alike. Hamas chose this path, and you have to pay the price for your choices. When you decide you want peace – I am sure that Israel wants peace, but as long as you keep reciting those teachings, which are full of hatred, rancor, and terrorism, you will be unable to make peace with others. You must recognize and respect Israel's right to live. You must teach your children love, peace, and coexistence. Only then will there be peace."

[…]

Moderator: "Do you dare to say that the number of people who died in the Jewish Holocaust is even one less [than what they claim]? Do you dare to say that? Why don't you dare to even touch on Jewish history – let alone on Jewish religion and sanctities? Why do you flex your muscles only against the oppressed Muslims?"

Wafa Sultan: "Why do you want me to deny historical documents that confirm that the Holocaust took place? If there was no proof, I would deny it. But I cannot deny history, knowledge, and documents confirming that the Holocaust indeed took place. Why do you want me to deny the facts?"

Moderator: "From what she says, it is clear that she has no problem denying the holy books, but she is adamant about not denying historical documents."

Wafa Sultan: "Can you as a Muslim deny the massacre of the Jews of the Bani Qureyza tribe, by Muhammad and his followers?"

[…]

Tal'at Rmeih: "There is a gang that controls [the West], and you are not allowed to criticize Israel or the Holocaust. Anyone who criticized the Holocaust was placed on trial. Noam Chomsky wrote one line about the Holocaust in a book, and the book was recalled from the market. Bernard Lewis – that great philosopher – said something about the Holocaust and was placed on trial. What did the American president say to the U.S. forces sent to the Philippines? He gave them two orders: 'Kill all people above the age of ten, and convert [the rest] to Christianity.'"

[…]

Wafa Sultan: "Did you invite me to the show to hear hollow speeches, which have been around for 1,400 years?"

Tal'at Rmeih: "Allah be praised, we have an identity and a culture."

Wafa Sultan: "How can someone who believes in killing people who do not pray possibly criticize liberties in the West? This is a farce. What past is he defending? Is he defending the invasions and lootings?"

Tal'at Rmeih: "I am defending the past of the Islamic nation, which was the beacon of knowledge for the entire world…"

Wafa Sultan: "…polygamy, beheadings, chopping of heads and feet on alternate sides, accusing people of heresy, and drinking camel urine, as a cure for all ailments – is this the past he is defending?"

Tal'at Rmeih: "No, I am defending a magnificent past of a magnificent nation, which was the cradle of knowledge and civilization, at a time when the most that people in the West could do was to catch a rabbit and scurry back to their caves. This nation has made the greatest contribution to civilization and humanity. Our religion is not complete without recognition of other religions. We are the ones who have called for tolerance and respect for religions."

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What the attack was not

It was not a response to "Operation Warm Winter." These sorts of attacks take weeks and often months to plan; according to Ma'an the group that took responsibility claimed that they prepared the attack in "only" 10 days.

It is not only simplistic to assume that each attack is a response to whatever the most recent Israeli attack was, it is wrong. The Arab terrorists have never hurt for excuses to attack the Jews who want to live in what used to be called Palestine; the Danish cartoons would have been just as much of an excuse. The hate always comes first, the reasons come much later.

It was not a sign that a "calm" is over. There never was a calm.

Even though this was the worst terror attack in two years, this is not for lack of trying. Israel catches terrorists and disrupts attacks all the time. There is always an element of luck (or, if you prefer, hashgacha protis) in what attacks are foiled and which get through, and how many victims there would be. Yesterday's eight could have easily become 40 or they could have been zero; the severity of the outcome does not reflect the desire of the terrorists - to mass-murder as many Jews as possible.

It was not an attack on a symbol of the settler movement. This was an act of opportunity, Palestinian Arabs have been frustrated so many times in so many ways in trying to re-create the daily attack environment that existed in Israel in 2001-2003 (as well as 1929, 1936-9 and 1947-8) that they are not spending time thinking about "symbolism." An ice cream party or old age home are equally desirable targets for these depraved excuses of human beings and the equally disgusting animals who cheer them on.

It was not a victory for Arabs. Forgetting what the government may or may not do in response, the immediate and inevitable short-term result is going to be Jewish businesses re-evaluating their employment of Israeli Arabs. Just like the 2001 intifada resulted in tens of thousands of West Bank Arabs losing their jobs and the Gaza withdrawal resulted in thousands more, this will result in many Israeli Arabs losing theirs. This has its own dangers for Israel but it is catastrophic for Israeli Arabs.

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The martyrs הי"ד

Yohai Lifshitz, 18, of Jerusalem

Yehonatan Yitzhak Alder, 16, of Shilo

Yehonadav Haim Hirshfeld, 19, of Kochav Hashahar

Neria Cohen, 15, of Jerusalem

Roy Rot, 18, of Elkana

Segev Peniel Avihail, 15, of Neveh Daniel

Avraham David Mozes, 16, of Efrat

Doron Mahareta, 26, of Ashdod

הי"ד

These boys really are martyrs, a term that has been twisted into a sick parody in recent years to refer to monsters. They were murdered because they were Jews wanting to live in their own land and the land of their forefathers. Just like the victims of the 1929 pogroms, these kadosh k'doshim were horrifically murdered while learning Torah.

Arutz-7 quotes part of the hesped, where the principal of the high school made emotional puns on their names:

Rabbi Yerachmiel Weiss, head of the Merkaz high school, spoke next, in a voice breaking with emotion and tears: "G-d is just, and His ways are just... We have questions; but the questions are so difficult, so difficult... How is it possible to eulogize one Torah scholar on Rosh Chodesh Adar? But two? and three, and four, and five...?? Your ways are so hidden, Master of the Universe! ... In Adar, we increase joy - look how much joy You gathered to Heaven! They were in the midst of studying Torah, such joy, such purity... We have been left with such a hole... I just want to tell You, Master of the Universe, what great people You took: Yehonadav - he gave [nadav, in Hebrew] so much; what purity and simplicity... You took Yochai from us - he lives [chai] in G-d, what Torah study he did; even while they were setting up for the Purim party, he came to learn Torah... You took Segev Pniel of the Avichayil family - what a family, and what valour [chayil] in Torah! ... You took Yehonatan [meaning "G-d gave"] - what prayer, what Torah, what beauty... You took our dear Avraham David - just two days ago I had a long talk with him in his room - what knowledge he had, what integrity, what music he gave us with his Torah reading... and the youngest, Neriah - the candle of G-d, his light will be missing from us..."

Read Israellycool all day for details.

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Injured boys' Hebrew names

It appears that the injured boys' Hebrew names (for prayer purposes) are:

Naftali ben Gila
Yonatan ben Avital
Shimon ben Tirza
Nadav ben Hadas
Reuven ben Naomi
Elchanan ben Zehava

Yonatan ben Avital is undergoing surgery.

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Arab reactions to terror attack on 15-16 year olds

All of the victims of the massacre were 15 or 16 years old. (UPDATE: This was a mistake - but four of them were.)

Arab reaction is predictable.

The IMEMC "news" called the victims "settlers" and said that the attack occurred in "East Jerusalem" (it happened to be in the western part of the town.)

Ramattan News (Arabic) calls the students "soldiers."

Mahmoud Abbas, of course, refused to condemn the attack. Instead he said "We condemn all attacks against civilians, be they Palestinian or Israeli," which is not a condemnation at all. After all, Arabs famously redefine words for their convenience so for all we know Abbas doesn't consider this an "attack" or he doesn't consider the victims "civilians" and any way you look at it he is saying that he believes that Israeli attacks on terrorists where civilians die is equivalent to attacks directed at civilians - a most immoral equivalence. (Saeb Erekat then claimed that Abbas did condemn the attack, but he seems to lie more than he tells the truth.)

Hamas "mainstream":

"This heroic attack in Jerusalem is a normal response to the crimes of the occupier and its murder of civilians," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

Hamas "military wing":

In a statement sent to Ma'an they said "the operation is a natural reaction to the immensity of the barbaric Zionist Nazi crimes which have targeted women, children, mosques and houses. It's also a reaction to the Zionist enemy's holocaust in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank."

"The blessed attack will not be the last response to the massacres by the occupation," the statement added.

Islamic Jihad:

"It's the responsibility of those who killed 130 Palestinians in Gaza," said Abu Ahmad, an Islamic Jihad spokesman. "We congratulate those responsible for this heroic operation."

Fatah's Al Aqsa Brigades:

A spokesman for the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades in Palestine to the Aqsa Martyrs Brigades Blessed martyrdom operation in occupied Jerusalem, which was a natural response to the Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people.

He said in a press statement sent to Ma'an (Arabic): "The operation came in the context of the natural response of the resistance to this occupation barbaric aggression and the unjust siege, in response to the Arab and international silence toward the suspicious usurper and occupier, in response to the crimes of the Zionist barbaric bombardment against our towns and villages and our response to the isolation and assassination operations against our people .. also comes in response to the Jews' desecration of the holy, stressing that continued resistance until full liberation of the soil of Palestine and defeat the occupiers irreversibly. "

But I'm sure that they really want to live in peace, and this is only rhetoric, and only a tiny minority of Gazans think this way, as the EU and "human rights" groups like to pretend.

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Images of horror

The library/beit medrash at Mercaz HaRav


Bullet hole in a victim's talit katan (usually worn under the shirt)


A bloodstained sefer

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Mass celebrations in Gaza. Just what you would expect.

In reaction to the massacre in Jerusalem today:Palestine Today (Arabic):

Following the hearing the news of the martyrdom operation in West Jerusalem, which killed ten Israelis and injuring dozens, left thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the streets in spontaneous demonstrations to express their happiness process.

A correspondent for Palestine today, that left thousands of Palestinians from various parts of the Gaza Strip and shouting binoculars, after the martyrdom operation, with heavy gunfire was heard in the skies sector.

Our correspondent added that Palestinians in the streets of Gaza were seen distributing sweets.

Are they happy because their lives are better? Because they are more secure? Because they had a great military victory?

No. They are celebrating because Jews were murdered.

Amnesty International and other "human rights" organizations, and the EU and UN and State Department can pretend all they want that everyone is the same, that everyone is equally guilty of crimes or that everyone is suffering and it is a "cycle of violence" and that it is a numbers game where motive is worthless when determining who is right and who is wrong.

But there were never any Israeli or Jewish parties celebrating the deaths of Arabs. Celebrating victories, yes; celebrating death, no. The distinction is easy to make for normal people but too many people are way too "nuanced" to notice the difference.

There is a right and a wrong, there is a morality and an immorality here. Israel's failure to be 100% perfect in every minute detail does not take away from the fact that it is light-years ahead of its celebrating Gaza neighbors in morality. A culture that strives for peace, for co-existence, for personal and collective achievement is simply not comparable to the animals who celebrate the deaths of innocents.

Earlier today I posted an article by an Iraqi who does not strike me as the type to celebrate Jewish deaths. The question is why someone like that seems to be such a tiny minority in the Middle East? We know what will happen - we will see some perfunctory condemnations by Abbas and Erekat, always with the big BUT at the end saying that we need to understand the context and the suffering and in the end it is really Israel's fault for existing and for wanting a place for Jews to live in peace and security. There are no shortage of Jews who empathize with Arabs, suffering or not, but the number of Arabs who dare speak out loud about the suffering of Jews is vanishingly small. This massacre is somewhat comparable to Boruch Goldstein's massacre in Hebron, but the visceral Israeli and Jewish disgust that followed Hebron simply will not happen in the Arab world after Kiryat Moshe.

That is the difference between the two sides. To say that they are both right, or both wrong, or both the same is a perversion of morality. No, they are not. One side - en masse, instinctively - celebrates its many mass murderers while the other side is angered and embarrassed by theirs.

Any right-thinking person would want to identify with and support the side that values life and abhors death. The people who don't - whether they are on the Left or the Right, Jewish, Muslim or Christian, New, Old or Third World - have another agenda that has nothing to do with "justice" or morality or truth.

In Gaza City, residents went out into the streets and fired rifles in celebration in the air after hearing news of the attack on the seminary. "This is God's vengeance," blared a loudspeaker in a Gaza City mosque.

Gaza's streets filled with joyous crowds of thousands on Thursday evening following the terror attack at a Jerusalem rabbinical seminary in which eight people were killed.

In mosques in Gaza City and northern Gaza, many residents went to perform the prayers of thanksgiving.

Armed men fired in the air in celebration and others passed out sweets to passersby.

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The Merkaz HaRav massacre

Two terrorists managed to get into a Jewish school in Jerusalem and start shooting at the students there. So far, it appears that 8 were murdered, 40 injured, although Arab media is reporting 10 students murdered.

The targets weren't soldiers. The school is not in territory that Israel gained in 1967. All of the sickening justifications that we always hear to help us "understand" rockets and suicide bombs and other attacks, that try to distinguish between "settlers" and other Israelis, between Jews and Zionists, between the left and right side of the Green line - all of those arguments forget a single, more important fact: that the terrorists themselves and their supporters do not make such fine distinctions.

It is all bullshit.

Today, they attacked Jewish boys studying. Given the opportunity, they would do this every day - in any part of Israel or the world.

And killing them first is not only moral - it is an obligation.

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Look who's building a wall!

From AFP:

Egypt has started building a concrete wall along its border with Gaza, a security official said Thursday, even as it speaks to Hamas about improving the dire situation in the increasingly isolated enclave.

"Egypt has started work on a three-metre (ten foot)-high wall along the border with Gaza," the official said, adding that a three-kilometre (two mile) section of the wall had already been built.

"It is a preventative measure. There is no threat of another border breach at the moment," the official said.

No word yet on whether it is considered an "apartheid wall" when a nation besides Israel builds it.

But it does indicate how secure Egypt feels with peaceful Palestinian Arabs right next door.

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Sanity in Al-Arabiya

It is rare indeed to see an article like this in the Arab media.

What if we choose to?

Ali Shakir

Once upon a summer vacation in Europe , when I was a little boy, I still remember that the counter of the Iraqi Airways was located right next to the Israeli Elal at the airport, and how my mother was intimidated by the thought of an Israeli passenger crouching to hurt or even kidnap one of her children! Years later, when I was twenty or so, at a reception desk, in a Thai resort, as I exchanged a few compliments with another guest, I found out he was an Israeli … the impact of defining his nationality was jaw dropping on me, I said: so we are two enemies only a few feet apart. The man smiled and said: we are not enemies, only our governments are … I thought he would next attempt to recruit me for the Mossad, but he never did!

London, in the late seventies of the last century; we were told to be extremely cautious, while shopping in Marks & Spencer of Oxford Street . Communication in Arabic was not recommended, except for whispering a few words, especially when a salesgirl wore a David star pendant! Looking back at that time, I still don’t understand, if the risk was as high, why hadn’t my parents shopped elsewhere? I can only think that the prices and fabrics quality were tempting!

It has become a ritual upon our seasons, to hear visiting guests discussing political issues, and blaming all our misfortunes, from sectarian feud, to natural disasters on hideous Zionist strategies. I am neither qualified, nor willing here to confirm or ridicule any of the globally spread conspiracy theories on Jewish dominance over our world, but I can simply and wholeheartedly tell, that grudge holding, malice, and fear are self-destructive in the first place, and passing this legacy of hatred from one generation to another could very well bring our fears to reality, with our bare hands!

I could easily proceed listing dozens of similar incidents, we thought of Israelis as obnoxious creatures, hiding subtle plans to invade our country, devoted to demolish our culture, and annihilate our race, though … genetically speaking; Jews and Arabs are both Semites! No conflict should last forever, there must come a time for reconciliation, which might never convert hostility into passion; yet it would pave the way for a certain extent of mutual acceptance.

Now we can draw back in time to discuss the authenticity of founding the state of Israel, when the British Empire betrayed its Arab allies, allowed Jewish migrants into Palestine, over the declaration of Balfour in 1917, but I question the validity of such a case, in a unipolar world, led by a culture that evolved upon the ashes of an ancient civilization! And after long decades with three gigantic wars and lots of side-battles, there are whole generations of Israelis who had been born there, they do not know an alternative homeland … and on the other side, generations of Palestinians born in exiles, each adapted to survive within new environments.

My parents still hold memories of the pre 1948 years, when Jews were an active component inside the Iraqi community, they lived in harmony with their Muslim or Christian neighbors, greeted one another on religious holidays, and most importantly … they stood by one another. I sometimes wonder whether such sentiments are still applicable in Israel today, and on a larger scale … throughout the Arab world, just the way they had been almost half a century ago!

When I was eight; I was impressed by the sight of the late president of Egypt on television, as he stepped out of his plane, which landed in Tel Aviv … the live transmission brought my mother and some of her friends to burst in tears. Today, after almost thirty years from that moment, she admits that the man was exceptionally wise to have taken the brave decision, for which, he had paid his life … Egypt and Jordan nowadays play the most influential role in pushing the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to a solution, with merely the power of wisdom and hands spread for peace!

What if we choose, as Arabs, to live in peace with Israel ? Would not that consolidate the Palestinian case, putting extra pressures upon the Israeli government to recognize the Palestinians' rights to live decently upon their lands? Would it not deprive Israel of legitimacy for massive armament, including nuclear weapons? Furthermore; it would eventually strip down all the regional dictatorships that have been fortifying over allegations on the necessity to abort democracy whilst preparations for the sacred struggle to liberate Palestine .

As an Iraqi, I have been living the atrocities in my country for the past three decades, and I came to the convinction that time has come to break the ongoing Israeli-Arab chain reaction. A conviction that is yet fragile, and is easily shaken, whenever I see bleeding Palestinians on television, their farms and houses shoveled, or hear their widows and orphans wailing over their beloved. Nevertheless, there are several aspects of each story … suicide bombers that blow themselves amongst Israeli civilians, rockets and mortar shelling of Israeli cities … obviously; revenge can be easily ignited, it puts no distinction between criminals and victims, and the snow ball of violence keeps rolling down bigger and bigger.

I have had the opportunity during the past few years, to set correspondence with some Israelis via the internet, and it was amazing to find out that we have much more in common than in difference … I talked to simple people, who lived simple lives, full of stress and frustrations, they have dreams for their children to grow up and live in peace … just like we do! I cannot realize what makes the Arab and Muslim conscience capable of absorbing and tolerating traumas like the invasion of Kuwait , the genocide in Darfur , Chechnya , Kosovo, and the Iranian intervention in Iraq , Lebanon , and Palestine itself; and yet reject the concept of living with Israel , a status quo that has been going on for sixty years!

I am pleading hereby, for the sake of our nations, for the inhumane suffering of the desperate Palestinians, for the future of democracy, economy, and human rights in our region, to stop the mainstream of violence, a multi billion dollar business that should have been invested instead in providing Palestinians with decent education, modern infrastructures, healthcare, and appropriate dwellings. All the enlightened Arabs are committed to make a statement for peace … we can obviously continue ignoring the conflict for it doesn’t directly affect our lives, as we can go on repeating the passionate anthems of war we grew up chanting over and over again, we can remain being ostriches … but can our consciences do too?

* Ali Shakir is an Iraqi architect and artist living in Jordan.

While I of course don't agree with everything Mr. Shakir wrote, it is a breath of fresh air to read something in an Arab website that was written by someone who doesn't appear to want to kill all Zionists given the chance. And his opening paragraphs are instructive in understanding how decades of incitement create the majority of Arabs who look at Israelis and Jews as being pure evil.

The only problem is that I couldn't find the same article in the Arabic version of the website. And that's where it needs to be read. The commenters, mostly supportive, seemed to be all Western.

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Fisking the "human rights" organizations' report on Gaza

Der Spiegel reports:

A report sponsored by eight British-based aid agencies and human rights groups has described the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip as the worst in 40 years.

Isn't it interesting that they mention 40 years? Either they are claiming that things were probably worse under Egyptian administration, or they are far more likely to want to blame Israel than any Arabs for the Gaza situation.

Here are some interesting parts of the report, called "The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion" The bias against Israel is clear:

In the months prior to the tightening of the blockade around 250 trucks a day entered Gaza with supplies 2, now the Sufa crossing is only able to deal with a maximum of 45 trucks a day 3.

Did you spot the logical fallacy? Yup - there is more than one crossing into Gaza. On Tuesday, while still under rocket attack, Israel worked to send some 160 trucks of aid through three crossings, and the reasons that many supplies of aid were curtailed is because of Palestinian Arab attacks on the crossings themselves! Nowhere do these "human rights" organizations mention those facts, twisting facts to make it appear that Israel is hell-bent on refusing humanitarian aid to Gaza.

The blockade is destroying public service infrastructure in Gaza. The Israeli government prevents the repair and maintenance of the electricity and
water service infrastructure in Gaza by prohibiting the import of spare parts.

And perhaps this has to do with terrorists using water pipes to build rockets? Israel has had to find non-metal pipes to help keep Gaza's sewage infrastructure running, and Israeli workers risk their lives daily to help Gazans. Again, any facts that might balance the report are ignored.

Israel has the right and duty to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks against its civilian population, but the current policy fails to provide Israel with increased security and has led to increasing polarisation. As the head of UNRWA has pointed out, ‘Hungry, unhealthy, angry communities do not make good partners for peace.’

And the reason that Gaza overwhelmingly supported Hamas and rejected peace before the Israeli sanctions was because....?

The contention by Israeli officials that Israel is no longer bound by the laws of occupation since it redeployed its forces to the perimeter of the Gaza
Strip in 2005 is a fallacy. Israel retains effective control of the Gaza Strip, by virtue of the full control it exercises over the Gaza Strip's land border, its air space and territorial waters, and the movement of people and goods. Hence, the Israeli authorities are bound by their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to ensure the welfare of the Palestinian population in the OPT.

Besides the fact that this legal analysis is wrong, this also contains the small lie that Israel controls the Egyptian border with Gaza. By this logic, Egypt is also an "occupier" of Gaza - yet Egypt is barely mentioned in the report.

The "human rights" organizations go into uncharted bizarre waters when they blame Israel for falling grades in UNRWA-run schools:

In September 2007, an UNRWA survey in the Gaza Strip revealed that there was a nearly 80% failure rate in schools grades four to nine, with up to 90% failure rates in Mathematics. In January 2008, UNICEF reported that schools in Gaza had been cancelling classes that were high on energy consumption, such as IT, science labs and extra curricular activities.

This appears to be the "kitchen sink" philosophy in writing reports condemning Israel.

In January 2008, the British government stated that it did not support Israel’s closure of all crossings into Gaza as it prevented the delivery of vital supplies.

Israel never closed all the crossings into Gaza. The reference given was to “Gaza: Joint FCO and DFID statement”, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, 8 February 2008 - which says no such thing. (It meant to refer to this document.)

In January 2008, up to half of Gaza’s population poured across the border into Egypt in what some commentators described as a “jail break.” Driven by need and diminishing supplies, it was an expression of the desperation felt by 1.5 million Palestinians who have been effectively imprisoned in Gaza over the past eight months.

Does this mean that every nation must let anyone who desires to enter their country? Gaza does have another border with Egypt. This report admits that Israel does let most Gazans in need of medical attention to leave. Israel also allowed Gazans to leave for the Hajj, only to be rewarded with more terrorists being let back in by Egypt. All of these facts are missing as the "even-handed" human rights organizations offer no alternatives to Israel, but blame it for everything it does.

In the absence of a functioning economy in Gaza, international aid is simply a stop-gap measure. Millions of pounds of European money, including that of UK taxpayers, is being spent, not on recovery, development and peace-building initiatives but on sustaining basic survival in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel has one of the best performing economies in the world with steady 5% growth rates per annum for the last four years.

Now, why is that last fact relevant? Is it to imply that Israel is so rich that it should be giving supplies to those who want to see it destroyed? Or is it just to make Israel - alone among any successful nations - appear to be an ungrateful neighbor of the pleasant Gazans?

The Israeli government prevents the repair and maintenance of the electricity and water service infrastructure in Gaza by prohibiting the import of spare parts.

The report conveniently doesn't mention the fact that Israel has gone out of its way to fix Gaza electricity problems, or that Israel has allowed entire generators to enter Gaza.

It also doesn't mention anything about Gaza fuel companies refusing deliveries.

The international policy of isolating Hamas has not reaped any benefits. On the contrary, it has led to increasing polarisation across the Occupied Palestinian Territories and resulted in a political stalemate with Israel....

We ask that once a representative national authority has been created that it is recognized by the UK government, the international community and the Israeli government as a legitimate party.

Forget the fact that Hamas is sworn to destroy Israel and treat them as if they are a respected nation with no repercussions for their actions. Because human rights doesn't apply to Israelis in Sderot and Ashkelon.

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Islamic Jihad distributes candy

An Israeli soldier was killed this morning by an apparent IED:

An IDF soldier was killed Thursday morning and another was seriously injured as Palestinians detonated an explosive device near an IDF Sufa jeep patrolling the area near the Gaza Strip border, not far from the Kissufim crossing.

A Hamas source told Ynet that immediately after the incident, the gunmen fired at the force in a bid to disrupt the rescue efforts. They then escaped and took shelter. According to eyewitnesses, the vehicle went up in flames. Several residents gathered nearby and expressed their joy over the incident.

Palestine Today (Arabic) mentions:

Al-Quds Brigades distributed sweets in the streets of Gaza rifles process Kissufim

And the father of the infant girl who was killed in the crossfire when the IDF killed an Islamic Jihad leader - probably by Palestinian Arab fire, but being blamed on Israel - congratulated Islamic Jihad for the operation.

UPDATE: Picture of the candy here. (I'm now hesitant to post wire service photos that might not fall under "fair use.")

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