tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8915670295889770142024-03-06T00:11:25.490+01:00Israeli GrouchContemplating life's joyous miseries...
A young Israeli far from home, pondering about the world's intelligence (or lack thereof).Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.comBlogger120125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-59605410679537823632011-12-13T19:11:00.000+01:002011-12-13T19:11:54.586+01:00CNN learns a new wordWhen the attacks are done by Muslims, it's "activists" or "militants" or even "pacifists" (e.g. the Flotilla).<br />
<br />
But when it's Jews? No problem finally using the word "Terrorist".<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmR5XGskHP4ZckKFyLpdRY5OHoMkozEDCxnhGu5UN48gNP_P1tB-2hIS-gh37CPuN6uIDhNvZ_00-fBFklk-ZVJ1oZZTnX-MrhwrOdH5XOmRBnyy7v12wQ2wHI9TjG9DUmYN1IoMFkZ2Y/s1600/Photo+13-12-11+13+38+46.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmR5XGskHP4ZckKFyLpdRY5OHoMkozEDCxnhGu5UN48gNP_P1tB-2hIS-gh37CPuN6uIDhNvZ_00-fBFklk-ZVJ1oZZTnX-MrhwrOdH5XOmRBnyy7v12wQ2wHI9TjG9DUmYN1IoMFkZ2Y/s400/Photo+13-12-11+13+38+46.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Way to go CNN.<br />
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<i>PS: No, it does not matter that they're quoting Bibi. If they don't bother quoting him when he uses the word "terrorist" on other occasions, they don't get that luxury now.</i>Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-5209315161923739762011-12-05T22:07:00.001+01:002011-12-05T22:20:00.783+01:00Middle East: Theater of the AbsurdTo celebrate my return on the grid (yes I know you've missed me during my well-deserved holiday), a wonderfully absurd headline:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.jpost.com/DiplomacyAndPolitics/Article.aspx?id=248206" target="_blank">Lebanon files UN complaint against Israel</a></span><br />
Officials in Beirut say IDF artillery <b>response to Katyusha rockets</b> was a violation of UNSC Res. 1701 and of international law.</blockquote>
Because Katyusha rockets are the very opposite of a violation of international law, right?<br />
<br />
They don't even deny that Katyusha rockets were launched, they're just getting pedantic with the actual amount of them.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Lebanese report claimed that only one rocket was fired from Lebanon into Israel and that the IDF fired six artillery shells.</blockquote>
Yes, tit for tat, that's what they're trying to get the UN to believe.<br />
<br />
The sad part is really the fact that Lebanon <i>knew</i> it could lodge such a craptastic complaint at the UN without getting laughed at. It really shows that the UN has become completely irrelevant.Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-39529163034563226392011-10-23T12:19:00.000+02:002011-10-23T12:19:04.151+02:00Gaza fashion senseWhether or not people agreed with the the Gilad Shalit deal, last Tuesday I know <b>everyone</b> agreed on one thing while watching the Egyptian Interview.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">That shirt was one freakin' ugly shirt.</span><br />
<br />
So someone explain to me, how is it that <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4137569,00.html">this shirt is now the height of fashion in Gaza</a>?<br />
<blockquote>
But while most focused on his gaunt frame, it appears many Palestinians were more interested in his outfit, which became an immediate trend in Gaza.
Merchants in the Strip are now offering "The Shalit shirt" in a wide range of colors, for NIS 60 ($16.5). The demand, it seems, is very high.</blockquote>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihj60jL6Gog04iw7Hwa14r3DYpGEx5nEVifpsgUl059W7IeZ7DizDrExZUlV3aq7EPdF5AR8LxCxsSCSFllxe5w7t8J7IgWVmaEHX_j4RlNLaRstjGlR-UEjMvM-dtgVK-rQry1gabox0/s1600/gaza+fashion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihj60jL6Gog04iw7Hwa14r3DYpGEx5nEVifpsgUl059W7IeZ7DizDrExZUlV3aq7EPdF5AR8LxCxsSCSFllxe5w7t8J7IgWVmaEHX_j4RlNLaRstjGlR-UEjMvM-dtgVK-rQry1gabox0/s320/gaza+fashion.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Facebook group member uploads photo comparing himself to Shalit</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div>
I guess there really is a <strike>humanitarian</strike> fashion crisis in Gaza.</div>Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-40678647702864112972011-10-19T10:39:00.000+02:002011-10-19T10:40:53.020+02:00The day after the release - random Gilad Shalit thoughtsI feel emotionally spent after spending the day yesterday following every minor event related to the release of Gilad. There's a jungle of thoughts running around my head, it's impossible to get them organized.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufJ3nFMV-ZKTIEQw0WHK2FXmQe2Crhi-RTek1lL4qDDJnWnzBgwAHvwMo6jbByeAXYgWvou93DZsgQ776P6o1wHRwkuXmL30qrU7tVFEk6wYn8ZB-T6qlvRtqvYn8cFmpK20I8xE5rCc/s1600/gilad_sukkot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgufJ3nFMV-ZKTIEQw0WHK2FXmQe2Crhi-RTek1lL4qDDJnWnzBgwAHvwMo6jbByeAXYgWvou93DZsgQ776P6o1wHRwkuXmL30qrU7tVFEk6wYn8ZB-T6qlvRtqvYn8cFmpK20I8xE5rCc/s320/gilad_sukkot.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Today is a better day than yesterday. Today, Gilad wakes up in his own bed, and will meet only people he knows and trusts.</li>
<li>So many little things he'll need to catch up on. In five years he's missed out on (among others) Facebook, iPhones, <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/search/label/Harry%20Potter">last Harry Potter book</a>, Lady Gaga, Chemistry Nobel prize... </li>
<li>We all saw the <b>forced</b> Egyptian TV Interview. It was cruel and sadistic. And yet, it highlighted the <b>stark contrast between Gilad's sweet character and the brutality of his captors</b>.<br />I almost retched when I heard the question "<i>You’ve known what it’s like to be in captivity. There are more than 4,000 Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails, will you now join the campaign for their release?</i>"<br />Gilad answered "<i>I’ll be very happy if they are released, but they shouldn't go back to fighting Israel</i>"<br />This answer is nothing short of amazing, considering his captors were right behind him with a gun, and he couldn't be sure that his answers wouldn't prevent him from going home.</li>
<li>Side note: this was not how it was translated in Arabic or by the BBC. People not listening to the original Hebrew received "<i>I'll be very happy if they are released and go back to their families</i>". Why bother interviewing him if you're going to lie about his answers?</li>
<li>Speaking of cruel and sadistic, the interviewer Dragon Lady said she didn't know he was being forced to do the interview.<br />Really? Masked Hamas men with guns behind him, and you think it's his free will?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmm_KlG_oOjQRuCsPVGGLNaXfITUWhvr9SmXI9sUzenxFCB8Ql9apnN-jT_XPQZUeUku4TMGlD9bgS4A6oTkWzMbcoXkZt7MMRg4b1VJV462X2EzKFgWiJx6qih0z50N9VIEB7zHJd2w/s1600/forced_interview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmm_KlG_oOjQRuCsPVGGLNaXfITUWhvr9SmXI9sUzenxFCB8Ql9apnN-jT_XPQZUeUku4TMGlD9bgS4A6oTkWzMbcoXkZt7MMRg4b1VJV462X2EzKFgWiJx6qih0z50N9VIEB7zHJd2w/s200/forced_interview.jpg" width="148" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This looks like it's exactly how Gilad would like to spend his time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
<li>To all the people who criticize Israel for "<b>disproportionate</b> use of force", where are you now? Why are you not criticizing this deal for its disproportionality?</li>
<li>Reading users' comments on any other news site which allows them is an experience equivalent to reading a Kafka novel. On more than one occasion I've read comments talking about "<i>the arrogance of the Israelis, thinking that they're the chosen people, that one Israeli is worth over a thousand Palestinians</i>".<br />Really? You guys think that <b>we </b>set <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2011/10/israeli-palestinian-exchange-rate.html">the exchange rate</a>? How <b>clueless </b>can you get?</li>
<li>To all the people who scream "<a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2007/07/israel-and-apartheid.html">Apartheid</a>" at Israel, will you continue doing that? You do realize that here we have killers going free just because they're Muslim and their targets were Jews? </li>
<li><a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2011/10/so-who-are-these-monsters-we-have-to.html">Amna Muna</a>, the She-Devil who lured Ofir Rahum to his death, was not nice to other inmates while in prison. In fact, she harassed and terrorized them. So much in fact, that she refused to enter Gaza because she feared retaliation from her victims' families. Instead, she delayed the whole thing and finally <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4136803,00.html">got sent to Turkey</a>. May she choke on a Turkish delight. Amen.</li>
<li>There were some delays in getting Shalit back due, among other things, to the Egyptian interview. We waited patiently, holding our breath.<br />There were some delays in getting the freed prisoners to Beitunia, and finally the transfer route was changed. Of course the Palestinians rioted and threw stones. No one is even surprised because it's so typical.</li>
<li>Notice how relieved we all were that Gilad, while extremely pale, traumatized and underfed, is more or less in good condition?<br />How come nobody even doubted that the Palestinian terrorists would be?<br />Oh right, Israeli Double Standard time.</li>
<li>I started crying when I heard the Yas'ur pilot say over his speaker "מביאים את גלעד הביתה" (We are bringing Gilad home).</li>
<li>What a dissonance. Gilad, after 5 years in captivity, can still muster enough optimism in him to say that he hopes this will advance peace. The terrorists, after barely a few minutes of freedom, already cried for "the next Gilad Shalit" to be kidnapped. </li>
<li>It's so nice to see Noam and Aviva genuinely smiling. </li>
<li>I can hardly believe the strength of character that Gilad has shown. What a sweet, brave young man.</li>
</ul>
<div>
I'd like to end this post with an apology to Gilad. </div>
<div>
For years we've glimpsed into your life, into your family. We feel like we know you, and now that you're back we act almost like we deserve a piece of you and your life. We don't. Please forgive our curiosity, it all comes from a good place in our hearts, and we want confirmation that now, everything will be all right and you'll be happy. I hope everyone respects your privacy.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdXFiK3F0rXK71MdmWvovziZ0vS_kTUalnvp0yDuOY01sWdSJUL3WG3LJtuEzK3iLbfDHbbT3spe6ENXVq1RsMi_ZjI0Yt5CUZxTbxvTL-ZytVxcz9RsYpP2dF2whxV5PVT8k1eK53y0/s1600/gilad_walking_home.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="313" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJdXFiK3F0rXK71MdmWvovziZ0vS_kTUalnvp0yDuOY01sWdSJUL3WG3LJtuEzK3iLbfDHbbT3spe6ENXVq1RsMi_ZjI0Yt5CUZxTbxvTL-ZytVxcz9RsYpP2dF2whxV5PVT8k1eK53y0/s320/gilad_walking_home.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ברוך שובך</span></td></tr>
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<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-10883885564764631232011-10-18T02:30:00.000+02:002011-10-18T02:30:01.187+02:00Israeli-Palestinian exchange rateThe next time you hear someone use the faded old rhetoric of comparing number of Israelis killed vs. number of Palestinians killed in order to bash Israel, just remind them of the exchange rate which Palestinians have imposed on the region.<br />
<br />
As of today, 1 Israeli life is worth 1027 Palestinian lives.<br />
<br />
Let's have a look at the region's skewed concept of "Fair Market Value", shall we?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuj1rc4t9kII2Le2E_jAbC_BAPMe1v3V8JzEY_9SR5Eu9W1oznmgWCGrYv23qasNNMpCYei6tFcLehjeLSEMKFISLXuu4CToBsginx4eQm2Sy9HHys88i_3MovKdv7oUeVkvApzE3D2w/s1600/fair+market+value.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="131" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixuj1rc4t9kII2Le2E_jAbC_BAPMe1v3V8JzEY_9SR5Eu9W1oznmgWCGrYv23qasNNMpCYei6tFcLehjeLSEMKFISLXuu4CToBsginx4eQm2Sy9HHys88i_3MovKdv7oUeVkvApzE3D2w/s200/fair+market+value.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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Over the past 30 years, Israel has released around 7000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 19 Israelis and the bodies of 8 Israelis. Here is an overview of some of the most notable exchanges:</div>
<ul>
<li><b>Jibril Agreement in 1985</b>: 1150 prisoners released in exchange for 3 Israeli prisoners. Among the released: Ahmed Yassin</li>
<li><b>July 1996:</b> A deal with Hezbollah to return the remains of 123 Lebanese soldiers in exchange for the remains of 2 Israelis.</li>
<li><b>June 1998:</b> Another deal with Hezbollah, to return the remains of 40 Hezbollah soldiers (including Nasrallah's son's remains) in exchange for the remains of one Israeli.</li>
<li><b>January 2004:</b> Yet another Hezbollah deal, 435 prisoners in exchange for the bodies of 3 Israeli soldiers kidnapped at the very beginning of the 2nd Intifada (Benny Avraham, Adi Avitan and Omar Sawaid), and "businessman" Elchanan Tennenbaum.<br />Among the released: Mustafa Dirani and Abdel Karim Obeid, two "jokers" originally intended as bargaining chips for Ron Arad.</li>
<li><b><a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2008/07/it-is-sad-sad-day.html">July</a> 2008:</b> 5 terrorists, among which <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2007/12/what-kind-of-terrorists-are-being-held.html">Samir Kuntar</a>, and the bodies of 204 other terrorists, were exchanged for the coffins containing the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev. </li>
<li><b>September 2009:</b> Israel released 20 female prisoners for a proof-of-life tape of Gilad Shalit.</li>
</ul>
<div>
No, Israel is no stranger to this history of lopsided prisoner exchanges.</div>Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-53091481044220479002011-10-17T22:42:00.000+02:002011-10-17T22:42:53.196+02:00A Double-Edged SwordWhile all the news of the world are pointed at the Shalit family, I'd like to take a step back and look at Benjamin Netanyahu, who ultimately bears the responsibility for the decision of the prisoner release.<br />
<br />
Think of all that must be going through his head, and has been for years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0pnoMykqminH-nKgnB-0U7NJV7B1hqoZKakP0PtYfdBh8998ESWglsz3U0rnoUhtKFSQ9gvirPybiPLw6qkfd4ryoZqusVvKK3bRWCmvnm5XuwXqaPrZXqidPNz3rnSLKJy1-VmqjNs/s1600/shalitfamilywithnetanyahu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0pnoMykqminH-nKgnB-0U7NJV7B1hqoZKakP0PtYfdBh8998ESWglsz3U0rnoUhtKFSQ9gvirPybiPLw6qkfd4ryoZqusVvKK3bRWCmvnm5XuwXqaPrZXqidPNz3rnSLKJy1-VmqjNs/s320/shalitfamilywithnetanyahu.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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On one hand, there's a boy who hasn't begun to live his life yet because he was obliged, as every young Israeli man, to first serve his country as a soldier.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>This man did nothing wrong in regards to this country, how can this same country neglect him? Bibi knows what it means to be a soldier, and knows also what it means to give yourself fully, knowing that no matter what happens your country will go back for you.<br />
How can he ever ask a soldier to put his life on the line for his country if they feel that the country will abandon them?<br />
Bibi's Jewish fundamentals teach him that there is no greater <i>mitzvah</i> than that of <i>Pidyon Shvuyim,</i> the redemption of prisoner, as captivity is even worse than starvation or death.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, Bibi answers to all of the state of Israel. He always knew that any deal would include terrorists, many of them with blood on their hands.<br />
After all the hard work that went into capturing them, how can they be let go?<br />
After mourning side by side with the terror victims' families, how can he release the very murderers who were responsible?<br />
How can he ensure Israelis feel safe and in fact <i>are</i> safe with a thousand more savages on the loose?<br />
The same Jewish fundamentals teach him that prisoners shouldn't be ransomed for more than their value.<br />
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But who has the right to decide the value of the life of Gilad Shalit?<br />
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With such a burden on Bibi's shoulders, I wonder how this man sleeps at night.<br />
Torn between the obligation of a state to its soldiers of never leaving them behind enemy lines, and the responsibility of keeping the citizens of Israel safe.<br />
<br />
Most of the article I've read speak of him "not wanting to go down in history as the man who didn't bring Gilad Shalit home." I don't think that's fair. Now he can go down in history as "the man who released over a thousand blood-thirsty barbarians". This was never going to be a win-win situation once it unraveled, we've always known that.<br />
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That seems to be the destiny of the nation of Israel. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. So Netanyahu chose for the scenario with the calculated risk where, if all goes well tomorrow, Gilad Shalit comes back home.<br />
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I know it's unbearable for many of the victims' families, that I am in no position to understand them, and I genuinely hope I never have the need to.<br />
<br />
Yet, I honestly believe that if a family had one child who was killed by terrorists and the other abducted, they would agree to freeing the killers of the first child if it meant that they could bring the second back home.<br />
Israel is all one family. It hurts us beyond any description that we have to release these murderers who killed our children, but we grudgingly agree to pay this price because Gilad is also our child, and he can still be saved.<br />
<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-36608638345331202432011-10-16T19:22:00.000+02:002011-10-16T22:32:04.498+02:00So who are these monsters we have to release?Make no mistake about my feelings in regard to the Gilad Shalit prisoner swap. <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2011/10/torment-of-freeing-gilad-shalit.html">I am very happy</a> that he will come home and while the price to pay for his release is very high, I applaud my government for being able to make this very difficult choice, and support this decision.<br />
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But it is<b> an incredibly high price to pay</b> and one can only wonder about the society which welcomes <b>monsters</b> such as the terrorists we are forced to release.<br />
<br />
Here's a little glimpse of a handful of the <strike>people</strike> beasts the peace-loving and state-deserving Palestinians wish to see free:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Walid Abd al-Aziz Abd al-Hadi Anajas, born in 1980, currently serving 36 life sentences for his role in the <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/3/Suicide%20bombing%20at%20Cafe%20Moment%20in%20Jerusalem%20-%209-Ma">terror attack at Moment Caffé</a> in Jerusalem on March 9, 2002, where 11 civilians were immediately killed and 54 more were injured.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRhQ8Cl4uwo47LEM04TradoMQEXWW3-UnNZCddOE3i2GkFGLH3i4y_WC0FUFD2oM23mX_UAcU0wBI4wTmIA6bqSBMljDKiiSwZqw5Yg71D5RD9pq9W0caMe3DIgmHWj2Elkd1KHISZuM/s1600/moment+caffe.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRRhQ8Cl4uwo47LEM04TradoMQEXWW3-UnNZCddOE3i2GkFGLH3i4y_WC0FUFD2oM23mX_UAcU0wBI4wTmIA6bqSBMljDKiiSwZqw5Yg71D5RD9pq9W0caMe3DIgmHWj2Elkd1KHISZuM/s320/moment+caffe.PNG" width="320" /></a></li>
<li>Nasir Sami Abd al-Razzaq Ali al-Nasser - Yataima, born in 1977, currently serving 29 life sentences for his role in helping <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2002/3/Passover%20suicide%20bombing%20at%20Park%20Hotel%20in%20Netanya">bomb the Park Hotel in Netanya when it was full of guests for the Passover Seder</a> on March 22, 2002, where 30 civilians were killed and 140 injured.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hZa2_Mtlkia7FOJRXDNtd9aVisPtZ7cgmkBpLD0QXH2k07b2QpJiEb5MOb1Ki1M1O9Y4lUTTVYtN4C-eJNEJywqjA3Pry8uMr718wHv_kDWNZE4Xh4Ms3Va79914Y1ukTo0hpRCMTbw/s1600/park+hotel+netanya.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7hZa2_Mtlkia7FOJRXDNtd9aVisPtZ7cgmkBpLD0QXH2k07b2QpJiEb5MOb1Ki1M1O9Y4lUTTVYtN4C-eJNEJywqjA3Pry8uMr718wHv_kDWNZE4Xh4Ms3Va79914Y1ukTo0hpRCMTbw/s320/park+hotel+netanya.PNG" width="300" /></a><br />
</li>
<li>Maedh Waal Taleb Abu Sharakh, born in 1980, currently serving 19 life sentences for his role in the <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2004/1/Suicide%20bombing%20of%20Egged%20bus%20No%2037%20in%20Haifa%20-%205-Ma">bombing of bus 37 in Haifa</a> on March 5, 2003, in which there were 17 fatalities and 53 wounded.</li>
<li>Fadi Muhammad Ibrahim al-Jaaba, born in 1982, currently serving 18 life sentences, also for his role in the bombing of bus 37 in Haifa.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxRhelI_pGLsvS2NAKPLU6s_THmdTdzBBPC9d8SkivoRMY702GgP3RFXjGa98Msj9wh8V-Wr79nPew0dfB7nVmRyBPWPMm95DQ8J5ld7vVYppWzUJYveYEATLk5ajltlEKaLt7bLGm2w/s1600/bus+37+haifa.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnxRhelI_pGLsvS2NAKPLU6s_THmdTdzBBPC9d8SkivoRMY702GgP3RFXjGa98Msj9wh8V-Wr79nPew0dfB7nVmRyBPWPMm95DQ8J5ld7vVYppWzUJYveYEATLk5ajltlEKaLt7bLGm2w/s320/bus+37+haifa.PNG" width="208" /></a></li>
<li>Mus’ab Ismail aI-Hashlimun, born 1982, currently serving 17 life sentences for dispatching the two suicide bombers<a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2004/8/Double+bombing+in+Beersheba+31-Aug-2004.htm"> who realized the twin bus bombing in Beer Sheva</a> on August 31, 2004, where 16 civilians were killed and 100 wounded.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggs300LHbZRDfO0axhplqZXXCCV80bqn0YUFoMkVTah_pqyVlh13pZdpQiTSBqjlnDFydkyHnEsfL91Ng8DfNG6MxnSSUqOaAOJze8KMWuEHtmrHTRHWVHqkhN4dQj9d909ZD3xRlQFwA/s1600/twin+bus+beer+sheva.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggs300LHbZRDfO0axhplqZXXCCV80bqn0YUFoMkVTah_pqyVlh13pZdpQiTSBqjlnDFydkyHnEsfL91Ng8DfNG6MxnSSUqOaAOJze8KMWuEHtmrHTRHWVHqkhN4dQj9d909ZD3xRlQFwA/s320/twin+bus+beer+sheva.PNG" width="245" /></a></li>
<li>Tamimi Aref Ahmad Ahlam, born in 1980, the female terrorist currently serving 16 life sentences for driving the suicide bomber to his destination, <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/MFAArchive/2000_2009/2000/10/Suicide%20bombing%20at%20the%20Sbarro%20pizzeria%20in%20Jerusale">the Sbarro pizza restaurant terror attack</a> on August 9, 2001, where 15 people (including 5 members of the same family) were killed, and 130 people wounded.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBHjULE3VRN7IowGYj1_Qc3A94jlmdvvRwNMwdCFVQwZy53l78eQcVTWF7OEW3A6kh6kO1eV1usF9zkazHnYztu22b5wdkrjNQ3i7LJro6pRz74G7f2qqKNrZHl6HGkAz-memKjSe9O4/s1600/sbarro+pizza.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBHjULE3VRN7IowGYj1_Qc3A94jlmdvvRwNMwdCFVQwZy53l78eQcVTWF7OEW3A6kh6kO1eV1usF9zkazHnYztu22b5wdkrjNQ3i7LJro6pRz74G7f2qqKNrZHl6HGkAz-memKjSe9O4/s320/sbarro+pizza.PNG" width="296" /></a></li>
<li>Abd al-Aziz Yussuf Mustafa Salehi, born in 1981, the man who proudly waved his blood stained hands to a cheering crowd <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2004-11-23/palestinian-man-gets-life-sentence-for-killing/590320">after the brutal lynch of two Israeli non-combatant reservists</a>, before their bodies were thrown from the window and trampled on, on October 12, 2000.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIYHbmLMYUBeCdOMp2_gIzkgka6bud8LY-XdoHTajTTno4CKk8x9p4oBApJJw_Mhz4-D0KT5MUVefkSOjuiI74_rA_I9y-B9j8LS173AwpPItgMDTsw-iGlv4zVjoKJOzvzSKOR_7hwA/s1600/250px-Ramallah-lynch01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBIYHbmLMYUBeCdOMp2_gIzkgka6bud8LY-XdoHTajTTno4CKk8x9p4oBApJJw_Mhz4-D0KT5MUVefkSOjuiI74_rA_I9y-B9j8LS173AwpPItgMDTsw-iGlv4zVjoKJOzvzSKOR_7hwA/s1600/250px-Ramallah-lynch01.jpg" /></a>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOgpV6JvnZxCxSZ5wo42rk6P27_3H6RtbkCHNat81Hurwsf0BZT8YWOuWRUxRH_Ufa2HZ8bBJKw9HdHrANatg3hGSGwX3OAsb_70p5-nMevwZMLZIp3SRMHJGqmbpcOqSVoZ7O9AjpVw/s1600/vadim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeOgpV6JvnZxCxSZ5wo42rk6P27_3H6RtbkCHNat81Hurwsf0BZT8YWOuWRUxRH_Ufa2HZ8bBJKw9HdHrANatg3hGSGwX3OAsb_70p5-nMevwZMLZIp3SRMHJGqmbpcOqSVoZ7O9AjpVw/s200/vadim.jpg" width="70" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XiyWREGAJZcWUnFoOlOuaSz3mLeE3Vk2jGsvGEHyNV05u0XNlAE-nAY3CKTuptqtjzhE3iNpscHEAonQfRf41zRpeG7AVdT_vpBK_32TSzAgOBAAPCiTcPILb4TGoAV6OScvMQq9FDI/s1600/yossi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="70" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1XiyWREGAJZcWUnFoOlOuaSz3mLeE3Vk2jGsvGEHyNV05u0XNlAE-nAY3CKTuptqtjzhE3iNpscHEAonQfRf41zRpeG7AVdT_vpBK_32TSzAgOBAAPCiTcPILb4TGoAV6OScvMQq9FDI/s200/yossi.jpg" width="70" /></a>;</li>
<li>Muna Jawad Ali Amna , born in 1976, serving 1 life sentence, was present at the Ramallah lynching and was excited by what she saw, and decided to get active online. She <a href="http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Terrorism-+Obstacle+to+Peace/Memorial/2001/Ofir+Rahum.htm">lured 16-year-old Ofir Rahum to Jerusalem</a> then Ramallah, after telling him on the Internet that she was a new immigrant from Morocco. She drove him to his killers who fired several shots at him.<br />While in prison, she adopted a young baby born there, does not regret what she did and says that people shouldn't look at her only as a murderer, she also has a deep personality.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UqR625T_zVQAs0tvqVTXj71-l7f3vC6LCH971R2XMepXlHn7mzP0XNAxvioRu-BNRNgQwe2LkJ3OdQE3Rw37vUewh2OsL3P1FTOFgTcTAda5PTaqnq8wO50X0CKK6b8U5Agsg92P1hE/s1600/ofirrahum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9UqR625T_zVQAs0tvqVTXj71-l7f3vC6LCH971R2XMepXlHn7mzP0XNAxvioRu-BNRNgQwe2LkJ3OdQE3Rw37vUewh2OsL3P1FTOFgTcTAda5PTaqnq8wO50X0CKK6b8U5Agsg92P1hE/s200/ofirrahum.jpg" width="150" /></a></li>
</ul>
<div>
These are not people who deserve to be free. They deserve to rot in hell for a few eternities, not to be hailed as heroes in their home villages.The only thing I can console myself with is the fact that they had very good living conditions in Israeli prisons, and will now go back to their previous, crummy living standards. In fact, they will all probably have to go into hiding because Israel has made it clear that just because they are being returned does not mean they are no longer targets.<br />
<br />
Remember, it's easier to kill them outside of prison rather than inside.<br />
<br />
<br />
You can see the full list of the terrorists about to be freed <a href="http://go.ynet.co.il/pic/10.16/list.pdf">here</a>.<br />
For detailed accounts of the lives cut short because of these terrorists, <a href="http://www.onefamilyfund.org/article.asp?id=3158">One Family Fund</a> has it all. Read their stories and remember their lives.</div>Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-88718871817778594122011-10-12T00:27:00.000+02:002011-10-12T00:29:31.730+02:00The torment of freeing Gilad ShalitI don't dare get my hopes too high.<br />
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Just yesterday there was the <a href="http://ejpress.org/article/53733">inauguration of the exhibit</a> of "When the Shark and the Fish first met", a story written by 11 year old Gilad Shalit, at the European Parliament in Brussels.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguKQhf0fD1dy8pPW-ORnUWsaaIe5hLyAkzZIFA6TawVt0fj8JaDVf9uY_6ZxVA0nysxXj9OYuJiZ9PKHTWo6jYo53WyhjML22ID8Wr3DeztUGv11i_wnZijBVIHDRhNQJMEzdEGINCV8/s1600/giladshalitsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhguKQhf0fD1dy8pPW-ORnUWsaaIe5hLyAkzZIFA6TawVt0fj8JaDVf9uY_6ZxVA0nysxXj9OYuJiZ9PKHTWo6jYo53WyhjML22ID8Wr3DeztUGv11i_wnZijBVIHDRhNQJMEzdEGINCV8/s200/giladshalitsmall.jpg" width="127" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHRZzYwD1LzX8gm0PdaZxI_YfOvfwF4J_bBwtsJCoDwZeL9Lxmp4i-qGaid10dkSmB9N5eCUz4Df59lIwfhihYFI-zvaVALK_0KpImAoe8kZYrpec-lhmc9UfyhOXXWt5eOZPh8-CXJY/s1600/giladstory.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKHRZzYwD1LzX8gm0PdaZxI_YfOvfwF4J_bBwtsJCoDwZeL9Lxmp4i-qGaid10dkSmB9N5eCUz4Df59lIwfhihYFI-zvaVALK_0KpImAoe8kZYrpec-lhmc9UfyhOXXWt5eOZPh8-CXJY/s320/giladstory.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And today I come home to<a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4134235,00.html"> read the headline</a> we've been waiting for for over five years.<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Gilad could be home within days</span><br />
<br />
I can hardly believe it.<br />
<br />
I know there are two sides to this argument.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>I understand the Shalit family who are doing everything in their power to garner attention to their son. How can any mother sleep at night, knowing that her son is cold and hurt and alone? How can a father look at himself in the mirror without seeing the man whose job it is to always be there for his son? How can a brother or a sister go on with their lives while a void walks alongside them all the way? If you were any one of them, wouldn't you do everything and anything to free Gilad?<br />
<br />
I also understand the families of the victims of terrorists, and all those who will say that the price we are paying is too high. Of course they are right, how can we free a single terrorist with blood on his hands and no remorse in his soul, let alone a thousand of them? How are we not encouraging more abductions? What about the feelings of the families of the future soldiers who risk getting kidnapped?<br />
<br />
My younger brother is entering the IDF in a little less than three weeks. Right about the same time as when this deal is supposed to take place. Freeing a thousand terrorists and empowering Hamas is going to make everything so much more difficult for him, so much more dangerous. But how can I ignore the agony Gilad is still suffering for the comfort of my brother? How can I tell Aviva Shalit that in order for me to sleep soundly at night, I require her to continue having nightmares about what might be happening to her son?<br />
<br />
I can't do that. Which is why, though I agree that the price is immensely high, and that Israel will be more vulnerable than before, and that my brother will be among the soldiers whose job it is to protect Israel's vulnerability, I wish for this deal to go through and for Gilad to finally go home.<br />
<br />
They are right, it is a high price. It is our greatest flaw: we value life over everything else. But the opposite is worse.<br />
<br />
So little brother, go and join the ranks of Israel's keepers. Be extra cautious. While you keep us safe, remember that we will also do everything to keep you safe in return.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQt5S3wwNvrTnw8yMthfG-vXiONhansme0gs-Z-lqZLLuKNKxrTl-Azg8oY3UgeM81elSFvr7O4spuKLTETAfE44oCyKa98j6OiXQ50Mx5VRyeFxw686Fxss2KYLEfatvXnQl3Qr2OI4/s1600/gilad-shalit-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIQt5S3wwNvrTnw8yMthfG-vXiONhansme0gs-Z-lqZLLuKNKxrTl-Azg8oY3UgeM81elSFvr7O4spuKLTETAfE44oCyKa98j6OiXQ50Mx5VRyeFxw686Fxss2KYLEfatvXnQl3Qr2OI4/s320/gilad-shalit-1.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-49262174500963929622011-10-02T01:54:00.000+02:002011-10-02T11:49:08.344+02:00Analysis of Abbas's UN speechFor a while now, I hear people around me ask innocently "why shouldn't the Palestinians be recognized as a full member-state by the UN?" as if that's the solution to the whole Middle East Peace Process.<br />
<br />
These people can go to lengths dissecting Netanyahu's speech, casting doubt on his willingness to go to negotiations, taking offense at his slightest criticism of the Palestinian Authority for the current status quo, and generally feeling that his concerns regarding terrorism and security are bordering on paranoia.<br />
<br />
But place these people in front of Abbas's speech, and they can't find a thing to criticize. Oh yeah sure, he hasn't been the perfect negotiator, but he's the most secular leader the Palestinians are likely to get, or something just as apologetic.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZepxjiDyCFuk6paGmJnZxXfuMI1rL7NTCEoYPwoqdqpEGVc9JEPEr0UaL6w0Pn-rQ-vyqom0jBQia8Wr9NAtsb2HHrFoIObTcOsIecYIyXk0BnOI8nvArjNRI_HxS21BpL7wfUBJLFY/s1600/110925-abbas-UN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZepxjiDyCFuk6paGmJnZxXfuMI1rL7NTCEoYPwoqdqpEGVc9JEPEr0UaL6w0Pn-rQ-vyqom0jBQia8Wr9NAtsb2HHrFoIObTcOsIecYIyXk0BnOI8nvArjNRI_HxS21BpL7wfUBJLFY/s320/110925-abbas-UN.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You expect so little of me that I can get a standing ovation just by waving this wad of papers</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Why is it that people have such <b>low expectations</b> of the Palestinian leadership? Raise the bar a bit, you're not doing them any favors by treating them like incompetent kindergartners.<br />
<a name='more'></a>The reason why the Palestinians and their chosen leaders are nowhere near ready is heard loud and clear, not in Netanyahu's speech, but in Abbas's. Abbas had an opportunity to speak up and reach out to the moderates in the Palestinian public, to those who strive towards coexistence. Instead he fed more anger and frustration to the continuous addiction the Palestinians seem to have for eternal victimization.<br />
<br />
The whole speech is full of venom and angry repetitions of brutal words like "the occupying power", "colonial military occupation", "aggression" "racial discrimination", "confiscation", "annexation", "Nakba", "demolition", "displacement", "ethnic cleansing", "racist annexation wall", "apartheid policies", "Israeli obstacles", "tragedy", "horrors", "suffering", "uprooting", and I could go on and on (like he did basically).<br />
Does this sound like someone who's ready to face reality, accept responsibility, and move forward?<br />
Or like someone who can only play the victim?<br />
<br />
Such a huge part of the speech was one long conscious lie, that it's hard to pull out some particular moments which mind baffling. However, here are some exceptionally hard-to-believe excerpts from the speech Abbas held at the UN last week:<br />
<blockquote>
The Question Palestine is intricately linked with the United Nations via the resolutions adopted by its various organs and agencies and via the essential and lauded role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - UNRWA - which embodies the<b> international responsibility towards the plight of Palestine refugees, who are the victims of Al-Nakba</b> (Catastrophe) that occurred in 1948.</blockquote>
Again and again with the <i style="font-weight: bold;">Nakba</i>. Does no one realize how offensive it is that they keep calling Israel's independence "the Catastrophe" ? Would the world be patient with us if we called the Palestinian independence (should its peaceful presence ever grace us) as <b><i>The Disaster</i></b>?<br />
Notice also how he delicately points out that the plight of the Palestinian refugees is a responsibility of the international community, rather than the responsibility of the Arab countries who refused to absorb them and instead let them rot in refugee camps for ages in order to keep them as pawns against Israel.<br />
<blockquote>
A year ago, at this same time, distinguished leaders in this hall addressed the stalled peace efforts in our region. [...] We entered those negotiations with open hearts and attentive ears and sincere intentions, and we were ready with our documents, papers and proposals. But <b>the negotiations broke down</b> just weeks after their launch.</blockquote>
And why did the negotiations break down Mahmoud dear? It wouldn't have anything to do with the decision of President Mahmoud Abbas to <b>stop peace talks with Israel</b> due to the <b>expiration of the 10 month</b> Israeli freeze on West Bank construction, would it? Seems like <i>someone</i> has selective amnesia.<br />
<blockquote>
But all of these sincere efforts and endeavors undertaken by international parties were repeatedly wrecked by the positions of the Israeli government, which quickly dashed the hopes raised by the launch of negotiations last September.</blockquote>
You see, peace efforts weren't wrecked by the Palestinians' preposterous pre-conditions to negotiations. No no, they were wrecked by the evil Israeli's refusal to <b>accept </b>these pre-conditions. Because that's how negotiations work, you decide on the results <i>before</i> the actual negotiations.<br />
<blockquote>
This [settlement] policy will destroy the chances of achieving a two-State solution</blockquote>
Well of course if you decide that in advance, there isn't much hope, is there? The settlements are only an issue because you want them to be an issue.<br />
<blockquote>
All of these actions taken by Israel in our country are unilateral actions and are not based on any earlier agreements. Indeed, what we witness is a selective application of the agreements aimed at perpetuating the occupation. <b>Israel reoccupied the cities of the West Bank by a unilateral action, and reestablished the civil and military occupation by a unilateral action, and it is the one that determines whether or not a Palestinian citizen has the right to reside in any part of the Palestinian Territory.</b> </blockquote>
Are you delusional? No new settlements have been built since the Oslo Agreements in 1993, in which <b>both parties agreed</b> to the subdivision of areas A, B and C. Nothing has changed since then, so what on earth are the actions which you consider to be unilateral?<br />
<blockquote>
In 1974, our deceased leader Yasser Arafat came to this hall and assured the Members of the General Assembly of our affirmative pursuit for peace, urging the United Nations to realize the inalienable national rights of the Palestinian people, stating: “Do not let the olive branch fall from my hand”.</blockquote>
Suffering from Alzheimer perhaps? Are you forgetting that in his other hand, Arafat held the proverbial freedom fighter's gun? Are you subliminally implying that your unilateral declaration of independence is comparable to an olive branch, and that if it's not supported, you will turn to the freedom fighter's gun again?<br />
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When we adopted this [peace] program, we were taking a painful and very difficult step for all of us, especially those, <b>including myself, who were forced to leave their homes</b> and their towns and villages, carrying only some of our belongings and our grief and our memories and the keys of our homes to the camps of exile and the Diaspora in the 1948 Al-Nakba, one of the worst operations of uprooting, destruction and removal of a vibrant and cohesive society that had been contributing in a pioneering and leading way in the cultural, educational and economic renaissance of the Arab Middle East.</blockquote>
Funny how he glosses over the fact that Safed, where his family lived in 1948, was going to become the Jewish state according to the partition plan in any case. However, what more interesting is that Abbas chose to tell this story to the UN public, because most of them probably don't know that a few years ago <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=149036">Abbas recounted his story and admitted that <b>his family left of their own free will</b></a>.<br />
How on earth are we supposed to build a peaceful future with this guy if he can't be truthful about our common history?<br />
<blockquote>
When division struck the unity of our homeland, people and institutions, we were determined to adopt dialogue for <b>restoration of our unity</b>. <b>We succeeded months ago</b> in achieving national reconciliation and we hope that its implementation will be accelerated in the coming weeks. </blockquote>
Unity? Don't make me laugh... This unity deal was signed a couple of months ago for the sole purpose of getting through the UN bid and giving the impression of unity which is already crumbling because Hamas is not interested in this unilateral bid.<br />
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The time has come to<b> end the suffering and the plight of millions of Palestine refugees</b> in the homeland and the Diaspora, to end their displacement and to realize their rights, some of them forced to take refuge more than once in different places of the world.</blockquote>
And for once, I agree with Abbas. Yes, it is time to end the refugees' plight. <b>By letting them become citizens of the countries they're in</b>. Refugees are not an unusual consequence of wars. In fact, most wars cause massive population dislocations. However, the Palestinians' refugee status is unique in that it is the only one which seems to be hereditary for generations, which is why they are now "millions". They have also not been accepted as citizens in hardly any of their host countries, even though they share the same language and customs and religion, for the sake of keeping them as pawns against Israel.<br />
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Dear President Abbas, why did you have to take this road of victimization? Were you so hungry for praise that you forgot you had a chance to make a difference in this world? Netanyahu, with all his flaws, has learned to let go of past grievances and has stretched out his hand for peace. Why can't you grab it?<br />
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<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-81509259738926238752011-09-23T19:32:00.000+02:002011-09-23T20:16:21.396+02:00Abbas whines at the UNSome people really have no shame.<br />
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Abbas could have had a great moment at the UN. Imagine coming in, and declaring "As a result of successful negotiations, and a strong infrastructure in cooperation with the Jewish State of Israel, I am proud to declare the establishment of the State of Palestine" or something just as <i>kumbaya</i>-ish.<br />
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Instead, <a href="http://gadebate.un.org/sites/default/files/gastatements/66/PS_en.pdf">we got this</a> (PDF text in link).<br />
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Notice how there is no mention of Hamas or terrorism. No mention of Jews.<br />
Just perpetual whining.<br />
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He even talks about Arafat's 1974 UN appearance with his famous ""Do not let the olive branch fall<br />
from my hand", failing to mention that the other hand held the proverbial "freedom fighter's gun".<br />
Just as all of his narrative, he glosses over anything the Palestinians may have done wrong, because they are just perfect citizens, aren't they?<br />
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The more things change the more they stay the same<br />
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<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-2906221975733297742011-09-23T06:30:00.000+02:002011-09-23T06:30:00.984+02:00Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN<div style="text-align: center;">
Last night <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2011/09/ahmadinejad-through-years-at-un.html">was nice for some snark</a> but here are a few <i>serious</i> things regarding Mad Moody's speech at the UN General Debate yesterday.</div>
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Take a look at the delegations who've left the assembly room. Can anyone tell who they are?</div>
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<a href="http://gadebate.un.org/sites/default/files/gastatements/66/IR_en.pdf">Here's the speech</a> if you want to read along</div>
Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-35087690142805515512011-09-23T00:30:00.000+02:002011-09-23T00:30:01.094+02:00Erdogan at the UNOur dear friend <strike>Tayyip</strike> Tantrum Erdogan's speech at the UN General Debate.<br />
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Since when does he care about the plight of African countries?<br />
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The text of his speech isn't available on the UN website yet... Soon enough...Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-81632095097351386092011-09-22T20:40:00.001+02:002011-09-22T23:31:45.860+02:00Ahmadinejad through the years at the UNHe doesn't change his clothing style much, does he? He did dare that light grey suit once, but it probably didn't seem ominous enough, so he went back to this usual dark suit...<br />
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He's also very didactic. Notice how he's always using his hands to make sure we understand.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2005 - First time at the UN</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2006 - trying to wow us with the new suit</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2007 - I broke a nail on my right hand so I'm using my left hand this time</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2008 - Just once can't you sit through my speech?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2009 - I can't be crazy this year, Muammar Ghaddafi's stolen the show</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2010 - I've brough props this time!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011 - Do I have anything stuck between my teeth?</td></tr>
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He's gained a little weight hasn't he?<br />
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Anyway, Mahmood Ahmadinejad will always be Mad Moody to me.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I taken a double dose of my happy pills today!</td></tr>
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<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-72651137160624688622011-09-21T00:42:00.000+02:002011-09-21T00:42:10.102+02:00Define Irony?Has anyone noticed the theme of this year's UN General Debate?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"The role of mediation in the settlement of disputes by peaceful means."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">I kid you not. You can't make up stuff like this.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">While we wait for the agenda of the General Debate to see when Israel and the Palestinian delegation will speak, here's a little piece of nostalgia.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Ariel Sharon at the General Assembly in September 2005. Six years just flew by...</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"> <object align="middle" classid="clsid:d27cdb6eae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,0,0" height="500" id="cspan-video-player" width="410"><param name='allowScriptAccess' value='true'/>
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<embed name='cspan-video-player' src='http://www.c-spanvideo.org/videoLibrary/assets/swf/CSPANPlayer.swf?pid=188881-3' allowScriptAccess='always' bgcolor='#ffffff' quality='high' allowFullScreen='true' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer' flashvars='system=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/common/services/flashXml.php?programid=147612&style=full' align='middle' height='500' width='410'></embed></object></span>Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-7885493389760617942011-09-18T15:43:00.000+02:002011-09-18T16:22:10.518+02:00Who actually has legal rights to Palestine? Part 2Now that we've established the legal framework in place before the creation of the State of Israel, we can discuss the agreements, rights and obligations which followed it, particularly UN Security Council Resolution 242.<br />
(If you haven't <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2011/09/who-actually-has-legal-rights-to.html">read Part 1 yet, I highly recommend it</a>, it's good for your health)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is Israel always in the UN's cross hairs?</td></tr>
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<b>United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 does not call for the return to 1967 borders</b><br />
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I assume most of you were already familiar with this concept. Still, it never hurts to be reminded of the context around this resolution. There are many points of discussion in regards to this resolution:<br />
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<li>Does every single word matter?</li>
<li>Which version actually counts, the English or the French version?</li>
<li>Is this resolution legally binding?</li>
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<a name='more'></a>Yes, every word counts. Otherwise they wouldn't have bothered writing them, would they?<br />
Let's revisit the actual text for reference.<br />
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Affirms that the fulfillment of Charter principles requires the establishment of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East which should include the application of both the following principles:<br />
(i) Withdrawal of Israel armed forces <b>from territories</b> occupied in the recent conflict;<br />
(ii) Termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect for and <b>acknowledgment of the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every State in the area</b> and their right to<b> live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries</b> free from threats or acts of force.</blockquote>
It very clearly says "from territories" rather than "from <b>the</b> territories", which makes a huge difference in the English language. The absence of a definite article ("the") means that a full withdrawal was <b>not</b> requested from Israel. If it were, it would very clearly clash with the "live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries" in the point directly following it. The 1949 armistice lines were never secure boundaries.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
It also says that Israel's sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence should be recognized. It does not say the same for the "Palestinian State".</div>
<div>
<i>"Oh really?"</i> I can already hear you say, <i>"it says 'every State in the area'"</i>. Quite right, it does dear friends. However, given the fact that<b> there was no Palestinian state in 1967</b> (or ever mind you), they were not a subject of interest in regards to this UN resolution. Who was?</div>
<div>
Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria. (The latter only accepted the resolution in 1973).</div>
<div>
<blockquote>
The Security Council resolution 242 of November 22, 1967 is often referred to as the source of rights and obligations for the parties in the Middle East. I focus on Jerusalem. I take the position that again, rights have been granted based on the recognition of historical rights, based on the principle of reconstituting what the Jewish people used to have. <b>The Jewish state and the Jewish people have done nothing to relinquish, surrender the rights that were given in respect to that territory</b>.</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrGbZ0b7gM0VfOVhJFS7CzKFhixOi-JRiFq1yVAGmaQY2wLp7TW4O-gp2zmyFr13X0_mZP4ZCcOLikbH8YWyN-mzuht2snapT-CpEPNdSNf7qHRSS-uh8wK72biYLL-Shv7-WHTHeX5Y/s1600/French-to-English-translation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHrGbZ0b7gM0VfOVhJFS7CzKFhixOi-JRiFq1yVAGmaQY2wLp7TW4O-gp2zmyFr13X0_mZP4ZCcOLikbH8YWyN-mzuht2snapT-CpEPNdSNf7qHRSS-uh8wK72biYLL-Shv7-WHTHeX5Y/s1600/French-to-English-translation.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Now, if you've ever looked at the original grainy resolution (you can find a pdf of it on the UN's site), you'll see that it's in two languages side by side: English and French. Where in English it says "from territories", in French it says "Retrait des forces armées israéliennes <b>des</b> territoires occupés lors du récent conflit."</div>
<div>
<br />
Houston, we have a problem.<br />
The French text submitted by Mali and Nigeria, over which there <b>was no vote</b>, has a definite article! That means that people can <b>just ignore the text in English</b>, wave the French text around and say "Israel needs to abide by this resolution which says that they need to completely withdraw from the West Bank!".<br />
<br />
No they can't.<br />
<br />
Not that this stops anyone, but they can't. You see, legally, in case of texts clashing in regards to their translations, there is always <b>one language which has precedence</b>. In this case, since the text which was originally submitted to the UN Security Council and later voted on was a British text, it was obviously <b>written in English, and that's the only legally valid text</b>.<br />
<br />
But is it legally binding?<br />
<br />
Usually, UN Security Council resolutions are legally binding. It depends of the extent to which they are adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. A Chapter VII resolution, according to the UN Charter, is an "<i>action with respect to threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression.</i>" To those not fully well versed in legal mumbo jumbo, it means that <b>IF the Resolution is the result of an act of aggression, then it's legally binding</b>. Israel's Six-Day war was <b style="text-decoration: underline;">not</b> characterized as an act of aggression at the UN, and therefore did not fit into Chapter VII, but under Chapter VI which deals with "Pacific Resolutions of Disputes". Since Israel was <b>not an aggressor</b> in the Six-Day War, according to Resolution 242, Israel was assigned rights and obligations with respect to the territories its forces had captured.<br />
<br />
Then why are we even discussing this resolution? Why do we care if it's not legally binding?<br />
<br />
We care because, as is the UN's grand scheme for a better and peaceful world, we used that resolution (and resolution 338, which followed the Yom Kippur War) as <b>a basis for the Oslo accords</b> between Israel and the Palestinians. The Oslo accords, <b>signed contractual agreements</b>, encompass these resolutions and as such these resolutions are rendered legally binding.<br />
<br />
But that's not all that's legally binding.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmkBrxqeDva7VOozXc75in7CM9Na-g5_Jkq0RxF5x-NZwHy-vxoA4KDhtlHeazrAk2EdpzF22xigLawA_R06leyAaLmFytQbh8NGP0f0k6D2dnBES_pY_X9DDAFoBTCULRY4ERmFy_KY/s1600/tie+fixing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrmkBrxqeDva7VOozXc75in7CM9Na-g5_Jkq0RxF5x-NZwHy-vxoA4KDhtlHeazrAk2EdpzF22xigLawA_R06leyAaLmFytQbh8NGP0f0k6D2dnBES_pY_X9DDAFoBTCULRY4ERmFy_KY/s400/tie+fixing.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yassir, never having mastered the Windsor tie, decided to ignore the required dress code.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed legal agreements, or <u>contracts</u>, which give both parties not only rights but also <u>obligations</u>.</b><br />
<br />
After many years of failed agreements through third parties, the Oslo Accords, or Interim Agreement, were the first attempt at a direct negotiation between Israel and the PLO. The first part was signed in 1993, you all remember the pictures with Bill Clinton on the lawn of the White House, and the second bit (the actual Interim Agreement) is from 1995 (shortly before the Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin).<br />
<br />
Before I get to the point of the rights and obligations of the Palestinians in the Oslo accords, I'd like to touch up on a point which comes up very often in discussions. <b>This illusion that Israel's building of extra housing units or schools in settlements is somehow illegal and contrary to the Oslo accords</b>.<br />
<br />
The number of <b>authorized</b> West Bank Israeli communities<b> has remained the same</b> ever since the 1993 Oslo Accords. However, since 1993, the number of structures and people in many of the settlements has grown. It was never the intent for this natural expansion not to be the case. The Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians did not prohibit either group from building communities in the West Bank. Even Rabin said<br />
<blockquote>
I am not ready for there to be a law in Israel to forbid building houses in existing settlements, or a kindergarten or a cultural center in a place where people live today</blockquote>
Additionally, when seeking Knesset approval for Oslo II on October 5 1995, Rabin stated before the vote:
<br />
<blockquote>
I wish to remind you, we made a commitment, meaning we reached an agreement, <b>we made a commitment to the Knesset not to uproot any settlement in the framework of the Interim Agreement, nor to freeze construction and natural growth</b>.</blockquote>
And this coming from one of our most dovish Prime Ministers.<br />
<br />
So now that we've cleared up this issue and conceded that Israel has not violated a written agreement, we can move on.<br />
<br />
What obligations were the Palestinians legally bound to? I mean besides fighting terror and educating toward peace, which they weren't very successful at? What <b>tangible obligations</b> could there possibly have been for the Palestinian Authority?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJmwdVZl5lI04EEs8lkrKRdUtjW90ehW27iww4pboqBUoWAE0WZzVgMeZKyeVeXJWOQOQHrTZD2Zochml-jnXatqOlMXDng0LJ26_9vRrbkq8I-3DWhntB4m6QdlK1Sg9GTUPAC4Uva8/s1600/education_incitement.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJmwdVZl5lI04EEs8lkrKRdUtjW90ehW27iww4pboqBUoWAE0WZzVgMeZKyeVeXJWOQOQHrTZD2Zochml-jnXatqOlMXDng0LJ26_9vRrbkq8I-3DWhntB4m6QdlK1Sg9GTUPAC4Uva8/s320/education_incitement.gif" width="219" /></a></div>
<blockquote>
The original Oslo agreements, the first one in 1993 the big Oslo Agreement in 1995 known as the Interim Agreement, had a clause in them called Article 31, and it said: “<b>Neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations.</b>”<br />
If the Palestinians try to change the status of the territory, without negotiating with Israel, that is a unilateral act <b>which violates this commitment.</b><br />
Now why is this particularly important for Europe? Because when the interim agreement was signed with that critical clause, at the White House in the presence of president Clinton, <b>the European Union signed the Agreement as well as a witness</b>. And therefore if EU countries decide to support the Palestinian move in the UN <b>in contravention of that Palestinian commitment in Oslo</b>, what they’re essentially doing is lending a hand to a violation of a written agreement to which they are also signatories. <br />
So the immediate question in Israel will be “<b>Who would ever rely on the European Union again</b> to be involved in the peace process, if it violates the very agreement that it itself signed?”
</blockquote>
All the previous obligations which weren't upheld could be waved off as being out of the PA's control. But this? Going to the UN to change a status in clear contravention of a signed agreement? The PA can't say that this is beyond their control. So they go and break an agreement which has been in place (though fickle) for 18 years.<br />
<br />
Maybe it is me, I was always under the impression that when you negotiate you work <b>together </b>to bring about a settlement that is agreeable to both sides. The <b>PA continues to pre-define the outcome of the negotiations</b> -and the world sits back and nods its collectively ignorant head!<br />
A yawn would have almost been nice at this point from the world. We have countries, some from the EU, who are actually convinced it's a good idea and who will vote Yes in New York next week. But should Israel come close to not respecting every understated comma, you can bet there will be world condemnation. (Heck there already is.)<br />
<br />
But ask yourselves, why is the PA actually doing this? They'll get a veto at the UN Security Council (if Obama can be held to his word), so all they'll get is a resolution in the UN's General Assembly. But as you'll recall from the previous post, UN General Assembly resolutions are <b>not legally binding!</b><br />
<br />
The only reason they have to do this is the same reason they've always had for doing anything at the UN: Propaganda, avoid responsibility, feeding their addiction to the culture of victimhood, and generally force Israel into a tight spot repeating fallacies.<br />
<br />
Positive note to end this gloomy post:<br />
<a href="http://www.michaeltheurer.eu/presse/MEP_Letter_on_UDI_11_07_2011.pdf">A letter from over a hundred Members of European Parliament</a> (out of 736 MEPs! Not bad ey?) to Catherine Ashton asking for a clear "No" from the EU on this unilateral move at the UN. <br />
Who's representing your country?<br />
<br />
I've transcribed the some of the most interesting bits of this video for these posts, but if you want to watch the full 15 minutes of it, here it is:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/oVsjNzXojCM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
Shavua Tov!</div>
Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-4906594126044077992011-09-18T03:14:00.000+02:002011-09-18T15:50:39.634+02:00Who actually has legal rights to Palestine? Part 1With all this media frenzy about the Palestinian unilateral state bid at the UN this coming week, does anyone ever stop to think whether this move will have any legal ramifications? What's more, does anyone even care what previous commitments state and what they oblige their parties to uphold?<br />
<br />
Well, the Mainstream Media (MSM) sure doesn't. Furthermore, President Abbas knows very well that the MSM has a selective amnesia when it comes to these subjects, and he exploits that to the max.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpEP2GGE0p8m3K5rJvCenrXJ8T0ElTzEsEkoI2vAFP1_j9KYdnmh_5uDNG2OKU2agmBpsASyZq2zWc6vLhKVOCKKtmvrkF0TyrZ5yszUUrjqQsl5-rYtksv43KJsl8e7LYmMNyljeIME/s1600/contract.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbpEP2GGE0p8m3K5rJvCenrXJ8T0ElTzEsEkoI2vAFP1_j9KYdnmh_5uDNG2OKU2agmBpsASyZq2zWc6vLhKVOCKKtmvrkF0TyrZ5yszUUrjqQsl5-rYtksv43KJsl8e7LYmMNyljeIME/s320/contract.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why yes, contracts are legally binding. Unless you signed a contract with Israel obviously.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
Points to keep in mind which we'll be developing in this post:<br />
<ul>
<li>United Nations General Assembly Resolutions are <b>not</b> legally binding.</li>
<li>Rights in regards to Jews and Arabs in Palestine were created in International law during the British Mandate of Palestine (in other words, a long time ago)</li>
<li>United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 does <b>not</b> call for the return to 1967 borders</li>
<li>Israel and the Palestinian Authority signed legal agreements, or <b>contracts</b>, which give both parties not only rights but also <b>obligations.</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<b>United Nations General Assembly Resolutions are <u>NOT</u> legally binding.</b><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
Wait, what? No way.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<div>
Well yes. In their own words: <i>The General Assembly is not a world government - its resolutions are not legally binding upon Member States.</i></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
That can't be right, can it? Then what the hell are they useful for? <strike>Not much really</strike> Actually yes it's right, and again in their own words: <i>However, through its recommendations it can focus world attention on important issues, generate international cooperation and, in some cases, its decisions can lead to legally binding treaties and conventions.</i><br />
<div>
<br /></div>
But then what's the deal with resolution 181, the Palestine Partition Plan? Why do we get all teary eyed <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2007/11/miracle-at-flushing-meadow-60-years-to.html">when recounting the votes</a>, and even name streets after that fatidic date of 29th November?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZOKEPCF7m2xRECohIJs2xgVsEtz_svq7V6qqtfpjQq3FKgvAAdHrtN086Y4NYu_lac20RSEO9qmhb5kaXKrqFBPuwe-f3zpf5iQ2fJszWXc_USAv3IXF8AKh92sdlFEfgzSDR0FJI_s/s1600/450px-Kaf_tet_benovember_st%252C_Ramat_Hasharon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihZOKEPCF7m2xRECohIJs2xgVsEtz_svq7V6qqtfpjQq3FKgvAAdHrtN086Y4NYu_lac20RSEO9qmhb5kaXKrqFBPuwe-f3zpf5iQ2fJszWXc_USAv3IXF8AKh92sdlFEfgzSDR0FJI_s/s320/450px-Kaf_tet_benovember_st%252C_Ramat_Hasharon.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<br />
First of all, because it was a kick-ass resolution! Even if for just one ephemeral moment, everything seemed perfect. And it could have been, had the Arabs accepted the partition plan.<br />
<br />
But from a legal point of view?<br />
<div>
<blockquote>
Resolution 181 in the United Nations General Assembly in 1947 paved the way for the rebirth of the state of Israel in 1948. However, did this give Israel legitimacy?<br />
The answer is “No”.<br />
Generally speaking in International law, General Assembly resolutions are not binding.<br />
It’s a white myth, there’s absolutely no truth that Israel’s legal foundation is based on the UN partition resolution of November 1947.<br />
If the Jewish people and the Arabs had agreed to enter into a treaty based on the terms of the resolution, then rights and obligations could have been created in international law. But that didn’t happen.</blockquote>
This is like finding out your parents never got married. We're an illegitimate child then? Where do we find our legitimacy?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<b>Rights in regards to Jews and Arabs in Palestine were created in International law during the British Mandate of Palestine (in other words, a long time ago)</b></div>
<div>
<blockquote>
The legal foundation of modern Israel really is initially traced back to the period right after the first world war, when the great powers at the time and the League of Nations, which was the UN of that particular period, had decided what’s going to happen to various former enemy territories.</blockquote>
In case you need reminding, up till the end of WW I, Palestine was part of the Ottoman Empire, who were on the losing side of that war. That war also brought about the establishment of the League of Nations.<br />
<br />
Many people believe that Israel's claims to legitimacy exist only thanks to a short little note which we now know as the Balfour Declaration of 1917. That may have been what ignited it all, but Israel's right to exist is based more on just this.<br />
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<br />
<br />
In April of 1920, there was the San Remo Conference, which was attended by the four principal Allied powers of World War I, namely Britain, France, Italy and Japan. It determined the allocation of mandates on territories in the Middle East previously belonging to the Ottoman Empire.<br />
The precise boundaries weren't yet specified, to be finalized only four years later. The conferences decisions were only finally confirmed by the Council of the League of Nations in 1922, and <b>Turkey accepted the terms in 1923</b>.<br />
<blockquote>
It’s in this place that the leaders with the powers to make binding dispositions with respect to the Ottoman territories deliberated and made the decision, having heard claims from the Zionist Organization [...], having heard submissions from the Arab delegations in respect to what they wanted in the Ottoman territories, having heard these submissions, a group of them gathered here, and made final binding decisions in international law as to who would get what. At San Remo, that what had been exclusively a British approach, received the full backing of the international community.<br />
And in that sense, Israel’s legitimacy is linked to an international decision at San Remo, and not just a whim of British policy.</blockquote>
And what binding decisions were made in San Remo?<br />
<blockquote>
In the 1922 Palestine Mandate, the League of Nations together voted on a very special resolution. It decided that they would <b>give recognition to the historic rights of the Jewish people</b>. To do what? To reconstitute their national home. If you look at that language, you see two things. You see they are recognizing <b>a pre-existing right and not creating a new right</b>. In other words, the historical rights of the Jewish people to this land were recognized by the great powers of the time. By the equivalent of the UN at the time. <br />
It was the Jewish people that were chosen to be the beneficiaries of a trust, a mandate, under the care of the British government, in respect to Palestine. It was the Arab inhabitants of the territories of Mesopotamia (Iraq now), Syria and Lebanon that were chosen to be the beneficiaries of a trust or a mandate; part of it under the trusteeship or mandate of the French, in Syria and Lebanon, part of it under British supervision, Mesopotamia. <br />
I want to underline that <b>the primary objective of the Mandate for Palestine was to grant political rights in respect to Palestine to the Jewish people</b>. <br />
The civil and religious rights of the Arabs as individuals were fully protected in the mandate document; but insofar as the national and collective rights, and the collective political rights, we’re concerned these were reserved exclusively for the Jewish people, because the Arabs were given those same rights not in Palestine but in the neighbouring countries. <b>And that is why today you have 21 Arab states, and one Jewish state.</b></blockquote>
Mind you, the Palestine of 1920 was not the Palestine of 1922. Here's a little reminder of how the Middle East was subdivided between Great Britain and France at San Remo<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtxwcjE0RmHmm2GTJ__JIj6KcU7vNvxqhZBMryWteqgUkuKvioSdMx5VvL3ctr8htISH2u_xougAFP5dAOdGxGvNWk3KAfYsK-72Pu64AFpAH9K00KH3AUWLZSIHz9F7_f7bzFPA3unY/s1600/mandates.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixtxwcjE0RmHmm2GTJ__JIj6KcU7vNvxqhZBMryWteqgUkuKvioSdMx5VvL3ctr8htISH2u_xougAFP5dAOdGxGvNWk3KAfYsK-72Pu64AFpAH9K00KH3AUWLZSIHz9F7_f7bzFPA3unY/s320/mandates.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
In September 1922 the Council of the League of Nations recognized Transjordan as a state under the British Mandate and Transjordan memorandum excluded the territories east of the River Jordan from all of the provisions of the mandate dealing with Jewish settlement. So while at the San Remo Conference in 1920 "Palestine" meant that whole purple blob, by 1922, a big chunk of the blob (76%) had become the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The Jews would be left with 24%.
<br />
<blockquote>
The second world war brought about the demise of the League of Nations. It was superseded by the United Nations in 1945. How does this affect the rights of the Jewish people under international law? <br />
In their final resolution passed by the League in April of 1946, it is specified that the intent is that after the dissolution of the League it is necessary to continue to look after the well-being and development of the people concerned in each mandate. For Palestine, that meant the Jewish people. <br />
Article 80 of the Charter of the United Nations:<br />
“Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed in or of itself to alter in any manner the rights whatsoever of any States or any peoples.”</blockquote>
In November of 1947 came the already oft-discussed Partition Plan. As said before, it was not legally binding, and seen as the Arabs did not use this resolution as a launching pad for a treaty with the Jews, nothing really came of it.<br />
In fact, it was so <b>not legally binding</b> that when, during the war of independence in 1948-1949, <b>Jordan's Arab Legions</b> crossed the Jordan river and <b>occupied the West Bank and East Jerusalem</b>, the UN did nothing about it.<br />
Not even protecting the status of Jerusalem, which according to the resolution should have been an International city. Excellent move UN, thanks to you no Jews were allowed into <b>Jordan occupied Jerusalem and West Bank</b> for nineteen years.<br />
<br />
Ooh ooooh, did you know that when there are armistices (such as between Israel and Jordan in 1949), there are armistice treaty agreements involved? And yes, they are also binding legal contracts with, yes, rights and obligations, oh my!<br />
<blockquote>
The green line is simply an armistice line, the line chosen between Israel, the Jewish people, and the Jordanians, <b>when they stopped fighting in 1948-1949</b>. That line, it is specified in the treaty agreement between Israel and Jordan, was never intended to be for anyone the source of rights and obligations.
“It is also recognized that no provision of this Agreement shall in any way prejudice the rights, claims and positions of either Party hereto in the ultimate peaceful settlement of the Palestine question, <b>the provisions of this Agreement being dictated exclusively by military considerations.</b>” – Article II of the General Armistice Agreement between Israel and Jordan – April 3, 1949</blockquote>
You know what this means? That when people say "the 1967 borders" they're just saying a string of words that actually have no meaning whatsoever.<br />
<blockquote>
Following Israel’s statehood in 1948 the country was invaded by five Arab armies intending to destroy the Jewish state. The eastern part of Jerusalem was annexed by Jordan. The city was divided for nineteen years. Jordan’s sovereignty over the West Bank and Jerusalem was never recognized by the United Nations. In 1967, <b>Israel recaptured East Jerusalem in a war of defence</b> and later annexed it.</blockquote>
We all know what came after this, right? The often misquoted and very much misunderstood UN Security Council Resolution.<br />
<br />
All this will be discussed in <strike>the upcoming</strike> <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2011/09/who-actually-has-legal-rights-to_18.html">part 2 of this post</a>.<br />
Stay tuned!</div>
Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-66484860978519974492011-09-17T14:36:00.000+02:002011-09-17T14:36:58.719+02:00Why do Jews wear Kippas?To breakdance of course!<br />
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Gotta say, I'm really loving these Jewish holidays creative videos that have been popping up the past year. This "Rosh Hashanah Rock Anthem" is by Street Art Production. Cool stuff!Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-76891433960121061012011-09-14T17:39:00.000+02:002011-09-18T03:15:29.637+02:00Two weeks to 5772<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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With just two weeks to go until Rosh Hashana, I'd like to share with you the colorful song which I've been singing in the shower the last few days.</div>
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Dip your apple by the Fountainheads (what a great name!) definitely makes me less grouchy!</div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/FlcxEDy-lr0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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If you're anything like me, you'll want to sing along, right? Here are the lyrics (after the jump):<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
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<br />
Tekia, shevarim, terua x2<br />
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<div>
A new year rising<br />
A new beginning<br />
Lift your heard up, turn yourself ‘round, the world is spinning<br />
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Feel the magic<br />
<div>
Of a new day<br />
Open your heart to a fresh start, send your fears away<br />
<br />
You’ve made mistakes</div>
<div>
You feel it<br />
You’ve got what it takes</div>
<div>
Believe it<br />
<br />
Any wrong can be made right<br />
Just forgive you need not fight<br />
Shana tova u metuka </div>
<div>
It's Rosh Hashana!<br />
<br />
Shana tova, u’metuka<br />
Dip your apple in the honey</div>
<div>
It's Rosh Hashana!<br />
<br />
So many new hopes<br />
Waiting to find you<br />
Open your eyes, the dreams you prize are all around you<br />
<br />
The smiles are hiding<br />
No use in guessing<br />
Make up your mind, go out and find life's simple blessings<br />
<br />
This is your time </div>
<div>
You feel it<br />
How sweet it is </div>
<div>
Believe it</div>
<div>
<br />
Any wrong can be made right<br />
Just forgive you need not fight<br />
Shana tova u metuka</div>
<div>
It's Rosh Hashana!<br />
<br />
Shana tova u metuka<br />
Dip your apple in the honey </div>
<div>
On Rosh Hashana<br />
Shana tova u metuka<br />
Hear the sounds of jubilation </div>
<div>
It's Rosh Hashana!<br />
<br />
Yehi ratzon shenihiyeh le rosh lo zanav<br />
Sweeten life for those around us with joy and love</div>
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Avinu malkeinu chaneinu veanaeinu<br />
<br />
Hear our prayer Oh Lord this hour<br />
Inscribe us in the book of life<br />
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Aneinu</div>
<div>
(Anenu)</div>
<div>
<br />
Shana tova<br />
<br />
Shana tova u metuka<br />
Dip your apple in the honey </div>
<div>
On Rosh Hashana<br />
Hear the sounds of jubilation</div>
<div>
It's Rosh Hashana!<br />
<br />
(She hichiyanu)<br />
Give us life Lord</div>
<div>
(Ve kiyemanu)<br />
And sustain us<br />
(Ve higi'anu)<br />
Oh deliver us<br />
To salvation<br />
<br />
In this New Year<br />
(On Rosh Hashana)<br />
Make your loved ones smile<br />
(It’s Rosh Hashana)<br />
Open your hearts to one another </div>
<div>
(It's Rosh Hashana)<br />
And begin life anew</div>
<div>
(It’s Rosh Hashana)</div>
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If that didn't put a smile on your face, you're made of stone. Or you've listened to the news too much these days.<br />
Shanananana ...</div>
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Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-87875715905341130362011-09-14T01:00:00.000+02:002011-09-14T01:00:06.196+02:00What present to get for a BDS friend?Bored <span class="il">kids</span> seeking to experience <b>self-righteous indignation</b> and then pretending that that indignation is useful to anyone. I'm sure we all know at least one person who fits that description. I have quite a few friends who do.<br />
<br />
Now, the problem is, what do you do when their birthdays come around?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_hYwEZt5i-RQeNKi66YtO_tHrmy4QprlJgdgwKaMr6JfOdvlMMHuTQyIcCMawgh-z9BQRu4bhdm1wXei_rjI1d-JndY3iyWpur1i2bLw60NcO1KhzJ-wMinSNxr0_cVZi8xqH6aZfvs/s1600/nothing_cake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia_hYwEZt5i-RQeNKi66YtO_tHrmy4QprlJgdgwKaMr6JfOdvlMMHuTQyIcCMawgh-z9BQRu4bhdm1wXei_rjI1d-JndY3iyWpur1i2bLw60NcO1KhzJ-wMinSNxr0_cVZi8xqH6aZfvs/s1600/nothing_cake.jpg" /></a></div>
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Yesterday, we had a little get-together for a close friend's birthday. Now to be totally fair, this friend isn't really active in the Palestinian arena of her organization, she concentrates mostly on developing countries in Africa (good on her!). However, this doesn't stop her from randomly posting her organization's messages about the Arab-Israeli conflict on facebook, and to have simplistic four-word opinions such as "Palestinians live under oppression" or "Jewish settlers prevent peace" or even "Israel is exaggerating. Again". While she doesn't actively seek to BDS (She has no idea that all of the <b>herbs she buys at the supermarket are from Israel</b>), she knows her organization does a lot of propaganda for it, and she agrees with their reasons to do so.<br />
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She's not a bad person, though she does have some very <b>enlightened </b>thoughts such as that Jews wear funny little hats and that they don't integrate well, and they're really <b>obsessive about their kitchens</b>. (She babysat to a religious family once, and thought it was okay to bring her frozen lasagna and heat it in their oven. Let's simply say that hilarity did not ensue, and that the oven spent a week disassembled in the garden.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOBpsx_Nc2ZP7Tal_WQZWfqET8u2cgtNbrd3jZwcO9BTUQC3ZWOylaQPSA6grnx-bGGFLaF1ETwgDOqhlOjuvYOZL1G5UhzTRT59UKrGoRrc1IWMvOFhTJkr8-eFubcj2kANKI-Wy-60/s1600/milk_meat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwOBpsx_Nc2ZP7Tal_WQZWfqET8u2cgtNbrd3jZwcO9BTUQC3ZWOylaQPSA6grnx-bGGFLaF1ETwgDOqhlOjuvYOZL1G5UhzTRT59UKrGoRrc1IWMvOFhTJkr8-eFubcj2kANKI-Wy-60/s1600/milk_meat.jpg" /></a></div>
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Again, to be really fair, it's understandable that with what the medias here show of the conflict, it's almost <b>impossible to have a different opinion</b>, and it takes a great mind to be able to question oneself and search beyond the available platitudes.<br />
<br />
I digress.<br />
<br />
Her organization is very active in boycotting all things Israel, including open hearings and debates if they include anyone from Israel "with an agenda". They are definitely not in the business of understanding. Few <b>people who proselytize about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict believe there is any value in listening to the other side</b>.<br />
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I could have given her a little set of Ahava creams, or a basket filled with bamba, bissli and other Israeli calories, or perhaps an Israeli music CD (who doesn't love Idan Raichel?). But would she have felt differently about Israel's policies after feeling her super soft hands? Doubtful. I want something that will get her thinking, something that will start a debate. I don't need to convince people and to have everyone agree with me, but I do want their horizons to spread beyond their comfort level. <b>Progress is made when ideas clash together.</b> Or something.<br />
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Getting her a heavy duty geo-political book about the situation, or some historical analysis wouldn't be quite right. I'd obviously pick for something "from my side", and she'd be very wary reading it (if she ever would). I decided to give her an illustrated book called "<b>How to understand Israel in 60 days (or less)</b>" by Sarah Glidden.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQZ8NDz9rox-nGz1fFD8Ykj5dYRkW_Wo-Lidvg7bJrj3sWWYbK2ZgdJDG-leAl8llySwjtP-47K2ykuiarYL_JwWMJbepTLu99BKepDhhEyg4UDIPU6Ip8i2oK2a7ykUdfBZvjiNUMEQ/s1600/book_english.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDQZ8NDz9rox-nGz1fFD8Ykj5dYRkW_Wo-Lidvg7bJrj3sWWYbK2ZgdJDG-leAl8llySwjtP-47K2ykuiarYL_JwWMJbepTLu99BKepDhhEyg4UDIPU6Ip8i2oK2a7ykUdfBZvjiNUMEQ/s1600/book_english.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
It's the story of Sarah, a young American Jew, who goes to Israel for the first time, expecting it to fit her <b>preconceived notions</b> of it. It didn't. The tension
in the story is based on the fact that progressive Sarah, like many of her cohorts, is
critical of the State of Israel, particularly its treatment of the Palestinians. But what she sees is a <b>reality much different</b> from what she believed. Not all of it is good, which is probably the book's strongest point. It doesn't have all the answers. Heck, it doesn't even have all the questions. But she does question herself, and in that she does a grand job. It takes a very strong personality to say "<b>I was wrong</b>, I learned something new."<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4K2soPzsavWN89n0sMQTIa0HBdC1fRyPfufnDn3dnVj2N_nclBdxZ94NMZVipcFnn788N7sv9LB0iHKux2F8AMgDyvznok5YrBQBWbmGcxxexPhUItqAlPgJIqJKijANbQyPrT5YExXs/s1600/glidden-birthright-bedouin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="344" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4K2soPzsavWN89n0sMQTIa0HBdC1fRyPfufnDn3dnVj2N_nclBdxZ94NMZVipcFnn788N7sv9LB0iHKux2F8AMgDyvznok5YrBQBWbmGcxxexPhUItqAlPgJIqJKijANbQyPrT5YExXs/s640/glidden-birthright-bedouin.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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There are a few points in the book on which I wish she would have dug deeper, but on the whole I feel it's a very nice starting point for a more <b>civilized</b> discussion than random shouting of slogans. <span class="Apple-style-span">I hope that after reading this book my friend will see that there are <b>no easy answers</b>, and that not everything can be divided into "good" and "bad". Just because the loudest voices she hears seem to be so certain <b>doesn't mean that they're right</b>. It just means that they're the loudest.</span><br />
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I hope that after reading it, we'll have some interesting conversations where she'll be more open to hear my thoughts (right now, I can't <i>possibly</i> be objective because <i>I'm Israeli and therefore too involved</i>).<br />
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Hasbara doesn't always have to be directed at the masses, this type of <b>hasbara is one person at a time</b>. The book is available in English, French, Spanish, German, Italian and Dutch. I'm sure you all know a person who could benefit from a book like this as a light introduction to the subject. Don't wait and make a lovely gift to your favorite BDS friend today!<br />
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Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-36066428430306309722011-09-13T00:00:00.001+02:002011-09-13T00:00:55.615+02:00Of course Erdogan acts this way - you let him!Erdogan now thinks that he <a href="http://www.israel7.com/2011/09/erdogan-s%E2%80%99enfonce/">can say words in Latin</a> and look intelligent.<br />
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He thinks the Mavi Marmara incident can be considered as a <b>casus belli</b>. He wants to use international law to attack Israel, all the while ignoring the international law whose verdict was that <b>Israel's actions were completely legal.</b><br />
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Does NATO not care that its ally is openly threatening to enforce a legal blockade?<br />
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Why do you think Turkey's Erdogan feels such freedom to publicly express his heinous and <b>hypocritical</b> opinions?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVImKHb7GcHXH7uGDFejbUhk1SpcQsqpuVzpBogjuB6cVqTWPVtdfDBSmruMjASjqQQHQaTfxy6l5Ci-cI6Rt5M6yUfXFoX7XiCKgUJtlX0hoaG7I9FjVzYsVOuYQrkrly9ipjjkocvkk/s1600/D11911_3.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVImKHb7GcHXH7uGDFejbUhk1SpcQsqpuVzpBogjuB6cVqTWPVtdfDBSmruMjASjqQQHQaTfxy6l5Ci-cI6Rt5M6yUfXFoX7XiCKgUJtlX0hoaG7I9FjVzYsVOuYQrkrly9ipjjkocvkk/s1600/D11911_3.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">drybonesblog.blogspot.com</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The world exploded with headlines about Israel's excessive force and refusal to apologize, but was predominantly silent in regards to Turkey's faults. The world gave Erdogan a welcoming stage for his fury, while chastising Israel for its refusal to apologize for legally acting in self defense.<br />
<br />
Why shouldn't Erdogan feel free to expell the Israeli ambassador? To threaten to cross the blockade? To send warships to the Mediterranean? After all, he learned from the best didn't he?<br />
<br />
Were there gigantic headlines when Ahmadinejad insisted that the Holocaust was a myth? Did Iran get any <b>backlash from the UN for threatening to wipe out Israel, another member of the UN</b>? Their chronic terrorism founding?<br />
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Erdogan has seen that for years <b>Ahmadinejad can get away with whatever the hell he wants</b>. Why on earth shouldn't he do the same? Why should he hide any longer behind some pseudo politically correct mask?<br />
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The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.<br />
<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-74027894932496017122011-09-11T07:00:00.000+02:002011-09-12T09:38:42.755+02:00Daniel Lewin - First victim of 9/11I wrote <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2011/09/11-september-2001-where-were-you.html">a little earlier about Daniel Lewin as a side note</a>. I feel he deserves a full post.<br />
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Born in the US, he encouraged his family to make Aliyah while he was still at school. After a brilliant IDF service, followed by studies at some of the most prestigious institutes on the planet, Daniel founded akamai, an Internet content delivery network and worked in the US.<br />
He was aboard Flight 11, the first of the hijacked flight to come to attention. Daniel Lewin was on board that flight, in business class. As the hijacking started to take place, Daniel's Sayeret Matkal instincts came into action. Unfortunately, he probably didn't imagine that there were more than a couple terrorists on board, let alone five. One of the terrorists was sitting behind him and stabbed him. He was the first to stand up and fight terror, and was also its first victim.<br />
How symbolic that in what was to become the worlds largest terror attack, the first to fight would be the Israeli.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
(if the video about Daniel doesn't work on your browser - <a href="http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4120871,00.html">you can see it here</a>)</div>
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A reminder that Israel is always in the front line in the war on terror. But what gets past the Israeli defense will indubitably end up barging through the front door of the rest of the civilized world.<br />
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<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-39465707626563691202011-09-11T06:00:00.000+02:002011-09-11T12:02:33.159+02:0011 September 2001 - where were you?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's almost funny how some things haven't changed since that Tuesday morning 10 years ago. Headlines still talk about US Open results and the latest politician sex scandals. Except that today's headlines will be overshadowed by 9/11 stories: What happened, what changed, what will happen, new Al Qaeda threats, analysis about what should have been done, what could have been done, where did we go wrong...<br />
<br />
Where were you and what were you doing when you heard about it all? Did you see it unfold live? What where your first thoughts?<br />
<br />
We had recently landed in Rome, and after a smooth taxi ride we got into our hotel room. We turned on the TV and started channel surfing. I called my grandmother to let her know I landed safely. My grandma asked me if I had seen New York and the plane and all that. I gently reminded her that I was in Rome, not New York. "No, no, on the television". Just then, the channel surfing showed images of one of the two trade towers with black smoke and flames coming out of it. Funny, I thought, they're showing the same movie here. It took me a few seconds to realize that it wasn't a movie. I told her I'd call her back, and sat on the bed, hypnotised by the screen. It was a little before 3 PM in Rome.<br />
<br />
As we watched the images, the black thick smoke coming out, we listened to the narrator explaining that there's more and more fire, I try to comprehend how many people are stuck there.<br />
<br />
Then, a black silhouette of a plane charges right at the fire. Everything happened so fast, an explosion, the narrator stopped mid-sentence to find his words which sound something like "Oh my god... a second plane". 3:03 PM. This is now officially no longer an accident.<br />
<br />
You couldn't ply me away from that television with a crowbar. I remember saying "If this turns out to be Palestinians, that's it for them, they'll never get anything now". I couldn't be further from the truth. I didn't feel the time go by, just watching those images, and CNN showing again and again the plane that flew into the second tower. Then they start talking about the Pentagon. What? A plane flew into the Pentagon? Total mayhem. Every channel is contradicting everyone else and even itself. A plane! A missile! An explosion! What?<br />
<br />
Images, horrible images on television. People jumping from unimaginable heights. Theories already running rampant all over the place. Then that second tower to be hit starts cascading down on itself. Papers flying everywhere. In a matter of seconds, a whole building is gone. Inconceivable.<br />
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Reports of a fourth plane, brought down in the middle of nowhere, Pennsylvania. How many more planes are there? The first tower to be hit goes down as well, people on the streets are covered with thick grey dust, running in every which direction. Both buildings completely gone. Where do you even begin with the recovery efforts? How do you assist in a disaster of such magnitude? We stayed glued to the television for a few more hours.<br />
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Later that night, we strolled around Via Veneto. The American Embassy was surrounded by Italian soldiers forming a human barrier around the compound. This was just the first of many security measures which would change in the coming years.<br />
<br />
A few days later, we learned that the uncle of a family friend was on board flight 11, the first flight to hit the towers. His name was <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_M._Lewin">Daniel Lewin</a>, and other than being a brilliant entrepreneur, he was a graduate of Sayeret Matkal, an elite IDF unit. He was the first victim of what was to become the biggest terror attack in history. From various recordings, there is a high degree of certainty that he tried to foil the hijacking, before getting stabbed by a terrorist who was behind him.<br />
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The rest is, as they say, history.<br />
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Where were you?<br />
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<br />Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-78333657675461934852011-09-10T23:55:00.000+02:002011-09-10T23:55:00.640+02:00Palestinians celebrated 9/11 with candyAs we near the somber anniversary of the greatest terror attack ever perpetrated on US soil, take a moment to remember how you reacted. Take a moment to remember how your fellow citizens in your respective countries reacted.<br />
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How did people in East Jerusalem react?<br />
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<br />
The Palestinians danced joyfully in the streets, distributed candy, and flashed V for victory signs.<br />
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Remember this in a couple of weeks as these same Palestinians insist to the UN on their right to a state, in the very same city whose destruction they celebrated.Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-42049184173456789852011-09-06T21:00:00.000+02:002011-09-06T21:04:43.484+02:00Erdogan's Israel hate started long before the flotilla<a href="http://www.jpost.com/MiddleEast/Article.aspx?id=236871">Turkey suspends all defense ties with Israel</a> today, which adds to the already long list of ridiculous actions by Turkey trying to prove that they don't have to listen to reason.<div>
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But in fact, reason's ship has already sailed long long ago from Istanbul's port. (Ankara doesn't have a port).</div>
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Here's an oldie but goodie, Erdogan's temper tantrum at the honorable Shimon Peres during Davos 2009.</div>
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"One minute! One minute! One minute!"</div>
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Erdogan would have taken any excuse to cut ties with Israel.</div>
Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-891567029588977014.post-11287382714446578372011-09-05T00:00:00.000+02:002011-09-05T00:50:23.421+02:00Flotilla hypocrisy excessive, but raid still legal - part 2(continued from <a href="http://moishe-oofnik.blogspot.com/2011/09/flotilla-hypocrisy-excessive-but-raid.html">part 1</a>)<br />
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So, though the Palmer report confirms that<br />
<ul>
<li>the blockade was legal</li>
<li>that the flotilla tried to breach it</li>
<li>that Israel <b>must</b> enforce its blockade for it to be effective</li>
<li>that the flotilla had ties to terrorist organizations</li>
</ul>
<div>
Now here comes the brain fart: The Palmer report also says that the IDF soldiers used excessive force in response to the violence they encountered on board the Mavi Marmara, and that Israel should apologize to Turkey.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
So, let's rewind a little to analyze why the IDF soldiers used the force they used.</div>
<div>
<blockquote>
The take-over began with an attempt to board from two speedboats. These withdrew when faced with resistance from Mavi Marmara passengers. IDF naval commandos were then landed on the vessel by fast-roping from three helicopters. Starting at 4.29 a.m. 15 IDF personnel began to fast-rope onto the roof of the vessel from the first helicopter and met with <b>violent resistance</b> from a group of passengers. </blockquote>
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<div>
Violent resistance? That's somewhat of a euphemism, isn't it?</div>
<div>
The Naval commandos who abseiled on the vessel were Shayetet 13 soldiers. It is an elite naval commando unit of the Israeli Navy, considered to be among the world's special forces. These people are not easily subdued, it takes a lot of violence to do that. They were armed with paintball rifles in their hands, plastic bullet riot dispersal handguns at their sides, and hidden firearms. They were beaten with metal pipes and chairs as they were coming down, remember?</div>
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The passengers on board were separated into two groups, the "soldiers" on deck, and the "others" below deck. The "soldiers" were well prepared, with gas masks, bullet proof vests, metals bars, knives, chains, and organized into positions.</div>
<div>
Three of the commandos were captured and taken below deck. Do you realize the intensity of the Mavi Marmara "soldiers" violence if they managed to neutralize three elite Shayetet 13 commandos? To reduce them to this?</div>
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<div>
After seeing three of their soldiers get captured and taken away (they couldn't guess that people below deck weren't as violent as the people above), the soldiers got serious.</div>
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<blockquote>
IDF personnel involved in the operation needed to take action for their own protection and that of the other soldiers.<br />
The Israeli report concluded that IDF personnel acted professionally in response, and switched back and forth between lethal and “less-lethal” weapons as appropriate during the incident, consistent with their rules of engagement and the exercise of self defence.</blockquote>
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This is where the Israel Double Standards strike once more. </div>
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Imagine, if you will, a bunch of hooligans, doing something illegal, who start to hit the police officers who come to arrest them. The hooligans manage to capture three police officers, basically holding them hostage, and they continue with their rage and violence, and face to face combat. What do you think would happen? No shots would be fired? And at the end of the day, who do you think would have the most "damage"? The trained, armed police officers, or the overweight hooligans who tried to hit armed soldiers with metal pipes? </div>
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<br /></div>
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But replace "police officers" with "IDF soldiers" and "hooligans" with "flotilla activists", and of course the IDF used "excessive force".</div>
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And the metal pipes and knives the flotilla activists were using? Your light everyday stuff..</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkPrNIEGAV5fWIH2o363RiDfQL0fPgGv1GA05dp9y00Zna2-WUo9V169g-9KdWM14YgkwBkFgGBMEcdcFBgYT5QFVLzLiOCWmFeuCWWnQdr7TQdS2afz_kczzk6qSruvOIHTcS4_R5O4/s1600/flotilla11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkPrNIEGAV5fWIH2o363RiDfQL0fPgGv1GA05dp9y00Zna2-WUo9V169g-9KdWM14YgkwBkFgGBMEcdcFBgYT5QFVLzLiOCWmFeuCWWnQdr7TQdS2afz_kczzk6qSruvOIHTcS4_R5O4/s320/flotilla11.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are not butter knives</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoSV5IUpS9YX7p9D5IomHiKJsoml_ESSf8I4EsM5xlvHkZRy2IVOpCZRp3g8bPjg0r0GlIqjnYc-v-fVe2bWMwHCzbc2kyIZdd_9eGWLDza6dxLc6qo37fErDcf4xFEylpUf4u7UEto0/s1600/flotilla15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoSV5IUpS9YX7p9D5IomHiKJsoml_ESSf8I4EsM5xlvHkZRy2IVOpCZRp3g8bPjg0r0GlIqjnYc-v-fVe2bWMwHCzbc2kyIZdd_9eGWLDza6dxLc6qo37fErDcf4xFEylpUf4u7UEto0/s320/flotilla15.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gas masks always spell "peace" to me</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOFKtoQmfyOmuTma84qbFRCg7UWWeQwcVNyRliDqMnSKhDb8tLuopX8wKCWZGZBHTPI3OARB5AVdtOhthJZN4LKfAZwiDxfhfz8WRMg-otdng4DJKG05xcYUAd8hJjnGRNHQ-2HTTI7w/s1600/flotilla2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkOFKtoQmfyOmuTma84qbFRCg7UWWeQwcVNyRliDqMnSKhDb8tLuopX8wKCWZGZBHTPI3OARB5AVdtOhthJZN4LKfAZwiDxfhfz8WRMg-otdng4DJKG05xcYUAd8hJjnGRNHQ-2HTTI7w/s320/flotilla2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, I would stop to consider non-lethal options when a knife that size approaches</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once the soldiers saw that their non-lethal weapons weren't getting results, of course they weren't going to just stand there, and they had to escalate the situation to get back the advantage. Yes, 9 activists died, as a result of thinking that attacking soldiers while wearing flip-flops might actually have a positive outcome. Which makes the Palmer report state this:<br />
<blockquote>
Israeli Defense Forces personnel faced significant, organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers when they boarded the Mavi Marmara requiring them to use force for their own protection. Three soldiers were captured, mistreated, and placed at risk by those passengers. Several others were wounded.<br />
The loss of life and injuries resulting from the use of force by Israeli forces during the take-over of the Mavi Marmara was unacceptable. Nine passengers were killed and many others seriously wounded by Israeli forces. No satisfactory explanation has been provided to the Panel by Israel for any of the nine deaths. <br />
Forensic evidence showing that most of the deceased were shot multiple times, including in the back, or at close range has not been adequately accounted for in the material presented by Israel.</blockquote>
What is this secret mathematical equation that makes this excessive? Wasn't the flotilla activists' reaction to the IDF on-boarding even more excessive?<br />
<br />
But anyway, Israel has adopted the report, with a reservation.<br />
<blockquote>
At the same time, Israel does not concur with the Panel’s characterization of Israel’s decision to board the vessels in the manner it did as “excessive and unreasonable.” [...] Israel feels that the Panel gave insufficient consideration to the operational limitations which determined the manner and timing of the boarding of the vessels and to the operational need for a covert takeover in order to minimize the chances for resistance on board.<br />
As to the actions of Israel’s soldiers, given the panel’s conclusions regarding the resistance that they encountered when boarding the Mavi Marmara, it is clear that the soldier’s lives were in immediate danger. [...]<br />
Given these circumstances, Israel’s soldiers clearly acted in self-defense and responded reasonably, proportionally and with restraint, including the use of less-lethal weapons where feasible. The Panel's characterization of the circumstances which led to the nine deaths on board the Mavi Marmara does not adequately take into account the complexities of what was clearly a chaotic combat situation.[...] Given the close range combat that clearly took place aboard the vessel, wounds sustained at close range do not in themselves suggest wrongdoing by Israeli soldiers. </blockquote>
And while Israel refuses to apologize (and rightly so), they have not undertaken and steps to cut diplomatic relations with Turkey, and hope they can return to path of cooperation.<br />
The Turkish reply?<br />
<ul>
<li>They reject the report</li>
<li>They expell the Israeli ambassador</li>
<li>They <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14777558">will challenge Israel's Gaza blockade at the International Court of Justice</a> (because they love us there)</li>
<li>They <a href="http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-turkey-navy-to-escort-aid-ships-to-palestinians-in-gaza-1.382305">will escort aid ships</a> to Palestinians in Gaza</li>
</ul>
<div>
All this, because Israel didn't apologize. I see. Turkey doesn't need to accept the Palmer report criticism of the support of IHH and their failure in stopping the flotilla, but they can embrace the tiny portion which is critical of Israel. Hypocrites.</div>
<div>
Grow up Turkey, and take it like man, now move on with your life. Don't you have some Kurdish massacres to cover up?</div>
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<br /></div>
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It's Israel Double Standards time! Don't worry, it's only on days that end with a 'y'.</div>
Moishe Oofnikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14541749326285176150noreply@blogger.com0