Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Israel Guilty of Crimes against Humanity

Can the Whole World be Crazy? Of Course.


The UN Investigation into crimes against humanity found Israel  guilty of massive disproportionate destruction.  According to the UN, the 2,100 Palestinians killed, mostly innocent civilians and children, prove disproportionate, massive destruction that Israel must account for. This narrative parrots the story sold to the media by Hamas -- a terrorist organization.

The Human Rights Commission is an insult to human rights and to investigations.  Information countering these claims is widely available.  The 1,200 innocent civilians Israel supposedly killed (after 900 Hamas military deaths) included 150 opposition party members, 50 protestors and 38 collaborators. This does not count deaths from over 1,000 Hamas IEDs and 850 of their missiles that exploded in Gaza, and violators of Hamas rules such as curfews.

Israel achieved what no other army ever does -- it killed almost no civilians in what was  one hell of a pinpoint operation, putting  Palestinian lives above the military advantages of surprise attacks. What did the world do? It ignored this. Hamas deliberately aimed at Israel’s civilians -- ignored. If it were not for Iron Dome Israel might not exist-- ignored. The 93% overlap between Hamas and UNRWA -- ignored. Hamas now boasts that the  tunnels under Israel are rebuilt -- ignored.

The Temple Mount, the holiest Jewish site on earth is covered with garbage, the remains of molotov cocktails, barbed wire, rocks, and fires. A few days ago a swastika was painted on the Temple Mount. When  Israeli police stop this, according to the UN, this is incitement.  Do Muslims do this at Mecca?

This description of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is similar to others. The singular focus on this part of the world creates an impatient need for solution. Negotiations, Nobel prizes, land for peace, concessions, protective measures, pressure on Israel have all failed  and will never succeed.  This is why. This is not some squabble between grade school children, although the "adults" in the West prefer to portray it that way. There is no solution because the Muslims will not stop until they have all of Israel and Palestine, and the Israelis are not going to commit suicide. 

Imagine Israel did everything asked, stopped building, withdrew from the west bank, ended the “occupation,” gave Palestine a harbor and airport, and created a corridor between Gaza and the west bank.  Would there be peace? Of course not. Ask Hamas and the PA.  Check their charters. Listen to what they say, especially in Arabic. They will never stop fighting until they conquer all of Israel and Palestine -- Hamas through war and the PA by getting what they can politically first.  Abbas postures as a moderate to the world, but every time he negotiates,  he reassures Palestinians:  “Don’t worry, this is only the first step. We will have it all".

Obama and Kerry are selling the idea that because of ISIS, it is especially important to achieve “peace” at this time, through a two state solution.  Actually, this is the worst time to create a new Islamic-fascistic country with violent young people who see no future, a breeding ground for terrorist extremists where ISIS already has a foothold, with  weak leadership and a disgusted population. Why do this when there are so many other countries that want a Sharia lifestyle ruled with stoning, amputation and genital mutilation.

There is one solution that would work. UNHRC does it and the world badly needs it today --  population exchange.  Christians, Yazidis, and Kurds desperately need a home to escape slaughter. Relocate these people to Israel.  Relocate Muslims to any number of Muslim countries.

Stop the slaughter and end the war. Does the world truly want that or is there something they derive from an insoluble status quo of perpetual war?

Can the entire world be nuts?

Of course.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Yes, The Entire World Can Be Crazy

According to Ban Ki Moon the  investigation of Israel’s war crimes, based entirely on information provided by Hamas, confirms  Israel’s responsibility for massive, disproportionate destruction as the 2100 people killed were "mostly civilians" [according to Hamas] while Israel lost  70 people, of which 64 were soldiers

Substantial evidence counters the accusation that Israel killed civilians unnecessarily. In fact most were killed by Hamas,   Of the innocent civilians [not the 900 combatants] Israel allegedly  killed,  750 died of natural causes, 150 were PLO members, killed by Hamas, 400 were opposition party members, 50 were protestors, and 38 were collaborators. This does not count Gazans killed by missiles and IEDs that exploded in Gaza, or those who violated curfew, forced to stay in homes. All of this ignored, Israel's overzealous efforts to protect Palestinians to the point of giving up the advantage of surprise, , Hamas's intended genocide. Ignored. Overlap of 93% between UNRWA and and Hamas in Gaza, ignored,  the fact that Hamas has already rebuilt tunnels under Israel, boasts of it and is using humanitarian aid deliveries to do that. Ignored, Evidence that much of the property  destruction in the war was done by Hamas even after published by the New York Times, hardly pro-mIsrael paper. Ignored

Blaming Israel for provocations at the Temple Mount, after it has been repeatedly littered with garbage, stones, remains of Molotov cocktails, barbed wire, when fires have been set there simply because Jews wanted to come to our MOST holiest place [not third] is unconscionable. Yesterday a swastika was painted on the holiest of all places for Jews. Do Muslims do that at Mecca?

The true barriers to this magical peace the world insists on are unrelated to any of these things,   Imagine for a moment Israel showed “courage initiative” , took risks for peace, and  did  everything asked- stopped building, withdrew from the west bank and Gaza, gave Palestine  an airport a naval  port, and a  link between  Gaza and the west bank, would there be peace? Of course not. Ask Hamas. Ask Abbas. Hamas will never stop fighting. Their charter says this and they say this continually. The PA will not either. Abbas is billed as a moderate but differs from Hamas only in strategy: Get what you can politically and take the rest militarily. He doesn't say this to the world. but in Arabic he  constantly reassures Muslims when he negotiates,  telling them this is only a first step.

This is not some squabble between grade school children, although the 'adults' in the west prefer to portray it that way. There is no solution because the Muslims will not stop until they have all of Palestine and Israelis are not going to commit suicide.  It is not a matter of a Palestinian country. That has been offered and rejected again and again, Sisi offered a space along the ocean that is much larger; they said no.

Individual Palestinians are sick of this, they don't love Israel but they know they had a better life before this peace nightmare began. People in Gaza know they had a better life before Israel withdrew with every intention of giving everything they are asking for now until they voted for a terrorist government - Hamas .

The west seems committed to the belief that Hamas and ISIS have nothing in common. This is as absurd as saying Al Qaida and Hezbollah are as peaceful as the Koran is. The difference between ISIS and Hamas is only this:  Hamas's goal is a caliphate in what is now Israel and Palestine and ISIS wants the same thing in Iraq, Syria, part of turkey and part of Lebanon.

There is one solution that would work, a solution that UNHRC often does - population exchange. There is no lack of Christians, Yazidis, Kurds who need a home in order to escape slaughter,. Send them to Israel and send Muslims who want to live in Sharia-land to any one of the many countries that already are ruled by these revolting laws, instead of creating another Sharia country and leaving innocent people to be slaughtered. Israel isn't the problem. It could be the solution.

Netanyahu and his predecessors have done everything possible to balance what the world wants with what Israelis want, to the point of angering Israelis by compromising.  After a report like this, after the US has joined the chorus of Israel bashers, after the whole world voted to recognize Palestine and its terrorist government, believing that because of ISIS, it very important to add another fascist theocracy, another fertile breeding ground for terrorist extremism to the mid-east, Actually, this is the worst time to close the door on a democracy and  invent a  new theocracy whose laws include stoning, amputation and genital mutilation, a state that has weak leadership, an angry population that sees no future and powerful bombs,

Can the entire world be nuts?
Absolutely.

Why Israel should change its name to Palestine

 It was only after the United Nations recognized a Jewish state that the Ben Gurion used the name Israel . Perhaps, we should  change it back to Palestine,. Why? Here are twelve reasons:


1. As anybody in sales or marketing knows, if you have  a product that people don’t like, rename it.

2. International conflicts would become internal criminal proceedings; police would replace the United Nations.

3. Housing and property disputes would be resolved in civil courts. There would be no    more murders of Palestinians for selling land to Israelis  because everybody would be Palestinian.

4. The press, pundits, the United Nations, Obama,  Syria, Europe commentators to all news and human rights organizations  could move on to world problems that need handling line... world hunger?  ISIS, Ebola , murder of tens of thousands of people im Syria, collapsing world economy, world hunger.

5. Clarity of  who is in charge-  All 75  Jihadist parties could try to gain seats in parliament peacefully through the democratic process.

6. Freedom of  movements for all[except criminals].

7. Standard of living of  former Palestinians would increase dramatically.

8. No boycotting of Israel, as everything is made in Palestine.

9. Other Palestinian states in the neighborhood could decide they want to be part of  Greater Palestine.

10. Israeli economic skills, and weapons. weapons of mass destruction, combined with the ferocity of Palestinian non-negotiable demands and persuasive PR would make an impressive addition to international politics.

11.  All Palestinians would continue to be eligible for UNWRA benefits, of course, including  healthcare housing, food, until the end of time.

12. Until 1948,  Israel was called Palestine anyway, so it isn’t really anything new.


Saturday, October 18, 2014

From Israel 10/18/2014








Israel provokes violence 10/18/2014


A funeral in Nablus was held for a 6 year old girl whose death provoked angry demonstrations across the west bank. Israeli police were ordered to not t respond to prevent an already volatile situation from deteriorating further.  The settlers who had killed the  young  girl were  arrested and detained in Jerusalem this morning  after the child’s picture hit international news.

Mahmoud Abbas attended the funeral as did President Rivlin, Tzipi Livni and members of Meretz along with the international press. In his speech before the  funeral, Abbas decried the cruelty of Israeli settlers. “They rip away the homeland of the Palestinian  just as they did when they killed this innocent child.  As his  voice faded, the  child’s mother wailed as she walked towards the tiny shrouded figure,that had been lifted above the crowd. The mothers shrieks continued and she had to be pulled away from the corpse. She fell to the ground in grief. The sound of Cameras clicking was suddenly interrupted.

“Mama, Mama,”  It was the unmistakable voice of a little girl, THE little girl whose pictures were plastered on every building in the city and every newspaper,  very much alive running to her mother who looked at her in horror . The child held her arms out to be hugged but instead received two sharp slaps on the face,“. You were supposed to be a Shaheed” she spat. :” You have dishonored your family. You are not my daughter:”  She turned her  back to the child.

Men moved towards the little girl, who tried to avoid their grasp. Even at the age of five she knew they would kill her. Her  efforts were to no avail., They had almost squirreled her away when a shrill voice cried out

“Noooo,” a woman threw off her veil revealing a hideously burned face,  “Pigs. Dogs., you. will not do this to my sister. Hands grabbed her pulling her  into the crowd but she continued to should in fury. The angry crowd began throwing rocks and   but were subdued by Israeli police and taken the men into custody along with the girls mother and the sister who immediately requested and were granted asylum.

A western journalist managed a brief conversation with the scarred woman and learned that she had been  cut and burned after she was raped and dishonored her husband.
The journalist barely audible spoke if human rights violations hidden from the west.

President Abbas denied any connection between Islam and the husband;’s actions assuring all that anybody doing such an act in Palestine was punished to the full extent of the law. “ This is an Israeli plot to deprive the Palestinian people of their land. “

The NY Times’ article on the event read. “Settlers kidnap little girl, provoking riots against the occupation in Nablus.”

Sunday, October 12, 2014

The Price of Israel's Resounding Silence

Delegates from 50 nations  and 20 regional and international organization pledged  5.4 billion to rebuild Gaza. At the UN Netanyahu seemed very sure of himself when he told the world that rebuilding Gaza and Israel’s security must be linked. Yet  when Nations met to pledge funds, Israel did nothing to link international assistance for rehabilitation of Gaza to disarmament and it is this forum that counts

This major mistake is not a surprise. Israel is consistently passive  in international discussions, and usually says nothing until forced to. This strategy has consistently created vacuums of opportunity that Palestinians have milked for all they are worth.

In this case, nobody from Israel told the attendees  how many people were actually killed by whom, how much destruction there actually is even though these figures are known to Israel.  More important,  nobody told the attendees that demilitarization must be tied to funding not  as a vague principal but via specific rules, that if this was not done, all the donations in the world would be a waste and Israel could not  cooperate. Instead Qatar just about announced its intention to fund Hamas’s future military campaigns. The west's lingering discomfort about money being funneled from Abbas to Hamas was shoved under the rug after a few pronouncements.

Netanyahu ,in keeping with his one speech solution to crises, was silent as usual.  Lieberman, an odd foreign minister who proclaims all of his policy statements only in Israeli media behaved as usual and Livni still stuck in the mentality of... "If only we were nicer" they would have invited us, took the opportunity to blame Netanyahu as usual

This ‘ but we weren’t invited’  is nonsense.   Israel had and still has an opportunity in or out of the conference to male sure those assembled  know that no  plans  they make can occur without Israel cooperation and and cooperation isn't free. Demilitarization is a necessity, and there most likely are others preconditions.

If the past predicts the future,  Netanyahu will continue to say nothing until someone starts nudging about 'peace' talks again. By then Hamas will be re-armed, and commitment to the 1967 border solution will be accepted as truth by all.  Abbas will come in with his set of demands and Israel will be reasonable.

The speeches after the war about how weak Hamas was now, how its infrastructure and leadership had been hit , sound hollow now. Before the war, Hamas was a desperate group in danger of falling apart , not able to pay workers. Now its in a  terrorist’s candy store. Can’t you just see Haniyah’s mouth watering at the thought of all of those lovely weapons. Abbas has gone from a doddering fool to a statesman and Israel is in deep trouble as are the Jews world-wide.

The stakes get higher, the options fewer and the danger to Israel's survival greater.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

What if Israel took risks for peace?

Israel is constantly castigated, threatened with sanctions, and vilified for its cruelty to Palestinians, for refusing to allow them to have their own homeland, for building apartheid walls, for insisting on a military presence in the west bank, for cruel senseless murders of Palestinian children, and for land grabs.  Could the entire world be wrong?

Why doesn't  Israel do what the world knows is the right thing to do and make peace?  The situation of Israel in the world today, the reasons for these demands and their likely outcome point to the answer.

Israel in today’s world

In today’s world represented by the UN, Israel has a status different from that of any other country. The UN, like the news media, gives Israel a level of attention no other other country gets,  disproving the mantra that all publicity is good publicity.  Israel is held responsible for all problems in the  Middle East. According to American Middle Eastern scholars and advisers, the  Israel-Palestinian problem is the cause of hatred for the west,  If solved, antipathy of Muslims to the United States would become less intense and might even disappear. 
There are Israelis and Jews who share this  belief that if Palestinians had a homeland Israel would become an accepted  member of the world community.  Hostility would morph into friendship. Israeli leftists and moderates demand compromises and concessions, clinging to the belief that if would Israel behave properly, it would be accepted into the world community.

What is asked of Israel?


What does Israel have to do in order to be accepted into the cabal?  Nothing much. Solve the Palestinian problem by evacuating settlements.  Give the Palestinians the state they deserve. A seductive proposition, because being a country accepted by others would be Nirvana. If only it could be.

Would it work?

Nevertheless, however appealing a dream, basing it on a delusion is worse than futile. A sober look at how Israel is treated now, could keep us from making an irreversible mistake.  With a few exceptions, the entire world condemns  Israel for human rights violations.  In the Operation Protective Edge human rights investigation violations are based on figures and information provided by Hamas and aren't questioned. The pictures in the news were heart wrenching. So were the film clips in the movie “Wag the dog."

A UN investigation is an oxymoron. The Protective Edge "investigation"  is a celebration of Israel’s culpability. Watch some of it on Youtube if you have a strong stomach.  This is theater. There are no criteria or standards. There is no attempt to compare alternative versions of what happened  to determine what Israel or Hamas did, no attempts to determine whether genocidal acts were committed against Israel, no attempts to delineate specific crimes against humanity Israel is purportedly guilty of and provide supporting evidence beyond opinions.

An investigation would concern itself with questions like: Are the published numbers of dead and wounded accurate?  Is the breakdown of civilians and terrorists accurate?  Were the Palestinians  who were interviewed able to speak freely? What do Palestinians say when they are free to speak? Are the photographs valid?

Israel’s special treatment.

The scenario in the UN today is this: Israel has the honor of being the only nation on earth blessed with its very own human rights committee to constantly monitor Israel (and only Israel) for human rights violations.  When compared to human rights violations elsewhere --  Iran, Syria, genocide against Christians, Kurds, Yazidis  and ISIS -- anything Israel did is trivial.   The threat of nuclear weapons in Iran, chemical weapons in Syria, ISIS’ severing heads with continued expansion and support for ISIS in the Arab world,  these all receive minimal coverage. Israel even gets more coverage then the danger of an worldwide Ebola pandemic.

In Europe, Islam is bringing in the new Islamic world order. For Jews, the result has been migration from France, where Jews’ lives are endangered, along with anti-semitic posters and statements eerily similar to those that preceded WWII. Jews have been denied access to stores and Muslims have surrounded synagogues with the purpose of destroying them and everyone in them. European leaders commiserate and apologize, but don't take this seriously enough to do anything about, such as stopping BDS, or not voting for a recognition of  Palestine, when Palestine's leaders openly proclaim  genocide for Jews. Instead the EU threatens to cut ties with Israel if Israel’s actions do not promote “peace”.  In the US,  people have been murdered because they are Jewish. Police refuse to label these crimes as hate crimes. People who do acknowledge anti-semitism  call it "overflow" from critique of Israel's policies. Jews should eliminate the "root cause" -- Israel's occupation. Do this and everything will be candy cane and lollypops.

The likely results of taking risks for peace


What if Israel followed this advice and took these  “risks for peace?” What if Netanyahu in his speech at the UN announced that all Israeli settlements are being evacuated starting today?  Would Abbas walk up to the podium and hug Netanyahu or would he call this a trick to deprive Palestinians of all that they deserve?  Would anti-semitism in the West vanish? Would the war crimes investigation against Israel stop?  Would Abbas recognize Israel’s right to exist? Would Erdogan’s anti-semitic speeches stop,  or would more demands follow-- Palestinian right of return to pre-1948 homes all over Israel? Would Israel's response to Hamas rockets coming from the now Palestinian west bank and Gaza be called disproportionate?  If the world’s demands of Israel defy rationality today,  why would that change if Israel took “risks for peace”?

What does everyone mean when they demand risks for peace or  proportionate responses?  What does "Israel ha a right to defend itself" mean if  defensible borders ate ignored? What support is there for the belief that Palestinians would be satisfied with the west bank and Gaza?  If we believe ISIS when they say that their goal is to establish a caliphate, why don't we believe Hamas when they say their goal is to establish a caliphate in ALL of Palestine including the part now known as Israel? These are issues the world steers clear of. For Israelis, Jews and anybody concerned with the survival of Israel they are critical.

What’s at stake

What if this experiment -- Palestinian state for peace -- fails?  It cannot be undone. What if Israel cannot defend herself?  Which countries will have her back? The West has no answer. Islamic terrorists fighting to end Israel and the Israeli "occupation" do have answers.  In the words of Fatah Central Committee member Abbas Zaki, speaking for Mahmoud Abbas in Al Jazeera [9/23/2011]

               While the agreement is based on the borders of June 4, 1967, the President,  Mahmoud Abbas understands and everybody knows that it is impossible to realize the inspiring idea this great goal in one stroke. If Israel withdraws from Jerusalem, if Israel uproots its settlements, 650,000 settlers, if Israel removes the security fence, what will be with Israel? Israel will come to an end. If I say I want to remove it from existence, that would be great, great but hard. This is not a stated policy. You can’t say it to the world, but you can say it to yourself. 

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Israel's policy of sweeping things under the rug

We wouldn't  want to upset people

This has been an Israeli policy when there are attacks.  In Jerusalem, buses on certain routes were stoned every day for over a month after the Protective Edge cease fire.  A bus of 13 year old girls on a trip to Hebron that had been cleared by the PLO, was surrounded and hit by stones and Molotov cocktails. The only thing that prevented the deaths of everyone was bulletproof glass and the driver's quick reflexes.  A mother and her two daughters were riding in a van when they were surrounded and attacked by a band of Muslim men.  By some miracle they escaped.  The Mount of Olives Jewish cemetery was vandalized.  Riots at the Temple Mount are a regular occurrence.  The solution to the riots was the dismantling of a bridge that allowed Jews to reach the Temple Mount. If you read about these events at all in an Israeli paper, you will see a short article. Rarely if ever will the common  thread be noted and described.

Since the ceasefire on August 29th, Israel has been attacked multiple times. On September 15th, a rocket was fired from Gaza, and fell just outside the fence of an Israeli community. On September 28th, a man armed with a knife was caught seven km inside Israel.  The following day riots near the  Gaza fence distracted Israeli soldiers, allowing one man to break through the fence and get 9 km inside Israel.

Despite claims that Israel destroyed Hamas’ weapons cache, and Benny Gantz’s claim that the IDF had destroyed rocket production capabilities, on Friday October 3rd terrorists fired a rocket into the sea in a test of Hamas' capabilities.  Hamas has managed to rebuild weapons and has also received large quantities from Iran.

In addition to questions about the appropriateness of Israel’s tactics there is another even more obvious question.  Why does Israel keep these events secret, dismiss attempted terror attacks as misfires, not count some attacks,  and not call Abbas and Hamas on their failure to control Palestinians and their violation of the ceasefire agreement.  In a similar situation, Abbas would not have remained silent. Abba Eban said “the Arabs never miss an opportunity.” Israel it seems is committed to missing as many opportunities as possible.

In Jerusalem, on one specific route, buses were hit with rocks every day. After a month of this the mother of a girl who rode the bus every day complained to the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat.  He said events were not made public or were kept low profile to prevent people from getting upset. The girl’s mother said “I used to accept that policy. Why upset people? I don’t support it now. Failure to act is too dangerous."

Failure to let people know about terrorist attacks so they won’t get upset  is a very shortsighted policy. It encourages complacency in Israelis, removes pressure to respond, and allows terrorists to get away with their potentially lethal attacks.  Rewarding terrorism encourages them to implement more extreme attacks to  test the limits of what they can do.  Israel’s silence misleads the world  into  believing that the ceasefire agreement is being kept by both sides when it is not. Any leverage Israel could have gained from  Hamas’ breach of the agreement is lost.

One can speculate on the reasons for this policy, but that does not change the damage to Israel that results. Unfortunately, this type of response from Israel is not uncommon.