IsraelProud

How dare the UN!

2011-10-02T10:01:00.001+02:00

Far too often buzz words, conceptions, concepts and ideas become acceptable without any factual or or informative information. Alan Dershowitz puts it straight for all those who have an opinion about the ME, Israel, UN and Palestinians.

These 17 minutes will upset your logic, change your views and leave you astounded.

Comments welcome....

View video

Cry for Palestinian Children

2010-06-05T17:25:00.002+03:00

This video does not leave room for an introduction or explanations:

Shame...

Israel Kills 'peace' Seekers II

2010-06-03T16:39:00.000+03:00

A follow up on my previous post "Israel Kills 'peace' Seekers".

Glen Beck from FoxNews.com analyzes the 'Peace' Flotilla to Gaza, its background and intentions.

In this video, he looks at the people behind "Free Gaza" who financed and organized part of this flotilla.

Israel Kills IHH 'peace' Seekers

2010-06-03T11:16:00.004+03:00

Glen Beck from FoxNews.com analyzes the 'Peace' Flotilla to Gaza, its background and intentions.

Interesting observations and questions for the anti-Israel mob.

Looks like the world media is so anti-Israel and biased that I will not be surprised to soon see people and nations defending the following headline as a democratic, peaceful and internationally acceptable trend:

"Let's Kill the Israelis peacefully".

Comments are welcome.

Flotilla aid refused by Hamas

2010-06-02T23:26:00.002+03:00

The humanitarian aid aboard the 6 boats has been transported to the Gaza border crossing yet Hamas is refusing to allow the aid to enter the Gazastrip.

Read the entire article from the Jerusalem Post here:

Flotilla aid refused by Hamas

Flotilla "peace" activists

2010-05-31T20:05:00.001+03:00

For those who buy all the world media sell them, here are some of the peace activists before starting their humanitarian aid sail to Gaza:

Courtesy of Haaretz

And here they are in action, calling for peace:

Khaibar is the name of the last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad's army in 628. Many Jews were killed in that battle, which marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia. There are Muslims who see that as a precursor to future wars against Jews. At gatherings and rallies of extremists, this chant is often heard as a threat to Jews to expect to be defeated and killed again by Muslims.

Israeli soliders kill 10 'peace' activists

2010-05-31T15:38:00.005+03:00

Wow! - some headline - the mighty Israeli army cold bloodily executes peace activists.

Many are going gobble, savor and digest the above headline which will appear in all its ferocious forms in the world media. Good luck to those. For many others, those who are able to breath for a second before resorting to a default "Israel bash" mode, read on...

Since this incident is far from over, I am extremely cautious not to provide unofficial information that has not been categorically verified. For now, lets examine some of the known verified facts:

During the planning stages, the Israel Defense Force and government repeatedly announced that unwarranted maritime vessels with unmonitored cargo will not be allowed to enter territorial waters.
An alternative conventional and viable solution was proposed - the cargo would undergo security checks in Ashdod harbor and then be delivered by Israel. This solution was refused.
Before the military operation, the flotilla was repeatedly requested to change course and warned of the takeover. The warnings and requests were met with clear defiance and refusals.
Israeli soldiers were equipped with demonstration dispersion equipment in an effort to prevent using live ammunition.
In video footage, it is clearly evident that the soldiers were attacked with iron bars and other material, yet did not hasten to open fire with live ammunition. In one case, a soldier is seen to be trying to ward off an attacker without making use of a weapon.
Five our of the six vessels were overpowered without any show of violence on behalf of the activists and therefore, on these boats, no one was injured.

Fresh reports announce that the first wave of soldiers was not armed with live ammunition in an attempt to prevent unnecessary violence but rather with riot equipment. After almost being lynched (some of them jumped in the water to escape), the second wave of soldiers took control of the vessel. (Remember that these are highly trained navy commando seals).

No nation allows unmonitored cross border access. An alternative reasonable solution to pass humanitarian aid were offered but refused. Despite repeated warnings the organizers decided to defy orders and were thus overpowered. Only after the activists initiated violent attacks on the soldiers (clearly seen on video footage), and apparently shooting at soldiers from a seized weapon, did the Israeli soldiers justifiably use live ammunition on the Mari Marmara.

Was the purpose of this flotilla to send humanitarian aid into Gaza? Or, was it a provocation designed to de-legitimize Israel? Why were the "peace" activists on the Mari Marmara armed with axes, iron bars and clubs? Here is the footage of a "peace" activist stabbing a soldier!

(Courtesy of Israel Channel2 News)

The Turkish charity "IHH" is the organization behind this flotilla to send humanitarian aid sent to Gaza. Closely tied to Hamas (considered a terror organization by most of the international community) previous aid sent to the "people of Gaza" was in effect handed over to Hamas leadership (the IHH even confirms in a published document).

That is is for now - I'll keep you posted or revisit for updates.

Goldstone report - pure anti-Israel bias

2010-03-17T12:58:00.004+02:00

The above heading might seem a bit powerful but it will never be as powerful as this report - considered as Israel's first real response to the Goldstone Report.

This 349 page report by The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center provides the main findings of a study which examined how the Goldstone Report dealt with the nature and activities of Hamas in the Gaza Strip before and during Operation Cast Lead. The main conclusion of this study is that there is an enormous discrepancy between the findings of the Goldstone Report and the factual findings, and an extreme imbalance tipped against Israel.

The Goldstone Report systematically relies on selective, biased information, in many cases supplied by Hamas or by individuals and/or institutions controlled by it. The Report analyzes the selective, biased information in a way clearly intended to reinforce the thesis that Israel deliberately targeted civilians.

This report contains lots of video footage and graphic images:

This study is based on a vast amount of intelligence information from the Israeli
intelligence community which was made accessible to the team of researchers. It also made
extensive use of Palestinian, Arab and international media, and of previous bulletins issued by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (which were used selectively by the
Goldstone Mission). In addition, the intelligence information was supported and
complemented by statements and investigations of IDF forces who fought on the ground.

The report is found here: http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/malam_multimedia/English/eng_n/pdf/g_report_e1.pdf

The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center website: http://www.terrorism-info.org.il http://www.terrorism-info.org.il

The Green Prince

2010-03-08T18:40:00.001+02:00

Musab Musab Youssef, son of the Hamas leader in Judea and Samaria (West Bank), followed his convictions to save lives and became an agent of the Israeli General Security Service. For 14 years he served as anagent and prevented many Israeli and Palestinian deaths by exposing suicide bombers and even a planned attempt on Shimon Peres's life.

He left Israel, resides in Canada and has converted to Christianity. A very brave man who has endangered the rest of his life for the sake of saving lives. His book "The Green Prince" has recently been released. (Click the link on the left to purchase).

Below is an exclusive interview on Israeli TV. The introduction is in Hebrew but the interview is conducted in English.

Humanitarian Aid Pours into Gaza

2010-03-02T11:11:00.000+02:00

There is much talk about Israel's so-called blockade of Gaza. Egypt was the first to close the border, followed by Israel. If you carefully read this article by an "activist [who] discusses Israeli blockade of Gaza", you will notice that Egypt and Jordan delayed and tried to prevent aid from Turkey reaching Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel allows aid to pour into Gaza. Interestingly, this does not feature in the world media.

The following is from the IDF spokesperson's office:

During the week, 976 tons of humanitarian aid were transferred into the Gaza Strip from Israel. 255 medical patients crossed into Israel and Judea and Samaria for treatment

Over the last week, a total of 595 truckloads, consisting of 13, 976 tons of humanitarian aid were transferred into the Gaza Strip from Israel via the various crossings. Likewise, ten truckloads of carnations were exported from Gaza to Europe.

Photo: IDF Spokesperson

Additionally, 255 medical patients and accompanying individuals from the Gaza Strip crossed into Israel and the Judea and Samaria region for medical treatment. 222 staff members of international organizations crossed into the Gaza Strip.

Essential food and humanitarian aid products, including milk powder, baby food, rice, cooking oil, flour, hygiene products and medicals supplies including a CT scanner were among the goods that crossed into Gaza this past week.

Lastly, 1,216,297 liters of diesel fuel and 992 tons of cooking gas also crossed into Gaza.

Vote for the Dead Sea

2010-03-01T16:40:00.002+02:00

The New7Wonders Foundation, which is behind the New7Wonders campaigns, has the express aim of undertaking documentation and conservation works of monuments worldwide under the motto:

"OUR HERITAGE IS OUR FUTURE"

New7Wonders calls on all citizens of the world to support it
Through film, television, the Internet and books, people shall be sensitized to the beauty of the world’s heritage, both man-made and natural, and be alerted of its destruction and decay.

Photo: Laurence Seeff 02/2010

You can vote for the Dead Sea and 6 other sites at the New7Wonders Foundation website

Co-existence in an Israeli school

2010-03-01T16:04:00.001+02:00

Israel is often portrayed as an intolerant, elite society which disregards the needs and desires of minority groups. This video shows integration where Arab and Israeli children co-exist.

First Burn Center in Congo - joint Israeli & USA effort

2010-02-25T09:35:00.003+02:00

Most of the international media wrongly connects the words "Israel" and "humanitarian" to "violations" and "Palestinian" (Google the first two words), however Israel is also connected to other leading humanitarian efforts worldwide.

The Israeli nonprofit aid organization Moriah Africa (an IsraAID member) has joined hands with Los Angeles human rights organization Jewish World Watchhttp://www.jewishworldwatch.org/ and MASHAV, the Israeli Foreign Ministry aid arm, to establish a Burn Center in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Center will be housed in the large central government hospital in Bukavu, a key city not only in eastern Congo but also in the wider Great Lakes region.

In a country of 65 million people, where almost the entire population continues to cook over open fires and constant insecurity acutely limits access to medical care, burns and their crippling, disfiguring after-effects are relatively widespread. Yet modern treatment for basic burns and skin trauma is nonexistent. This burn center will be the first ever established in Eastern Congo.

Working together with Israel’s Rambam and Soroka hospitals, the medical exchange effort has brought expertise and initiative together for the purpose of expanding the surgical skill level and creating a center for reparative plastic surgery for the Congolese population. Combining modern training, equipment, supplies, evaluation and follow-up, the project is a multi-phase effort. With support from the partners—Moriah Africa, Jewish World Watch, and MASHAV--Rambam Hospital provided Phase I training to a Congolese general surgeon, Dr. Leon Mubenga. Phase II began on February 19, when Dr. Mubenga returned to DRC with an Israeli plastic surgeon specialist, Dr. Eldad Silberstein from Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva.

Now in Bukavu, in addition to daily lecture sessions each morning, Dr. Silberstein is currently training surgeons from six area hospitals in reparative plastic surgery techniques via intensive surgical intervention activity for more than eight hours each day. Surgeons are divided into teams to have two surgical theaters in operation simultaneously. Dr. Silberstein provides guidance, and with the help of the new equipment, surgeons from the six area hospitals are learning to practice their new skills. A transformation is taking place, not only in terms of changed patients but also in terms of changed surgeons.

These are the first steps in setting up the burn center. It is an ongoing process that will continue to grow. Given the very positive and productive beginning, Moriah Africa, Jewish World Watch and MASHAV are looking forward to the next steps.

"As the word has spread, the numbers of new patients arriving daily to the hospital here is astounding,” said Gila Garaway, director of Moriah Africa. “I knew there was a problem but had no idea how many maimed people have stayed hidden away. It is a great gift to see this rich blessing unfolding here."

Tzivia Schwartz-Getzug, Executive Director of Jewish World Watch, added: “We are proud to support this program that will also help the doctors in Eastern Congo expand their expertise, and make available modern equipment and treatment protocols that will immeasurably benefit burn victims there for years to come.”

About Moriah Africa: The mission of Moriah Africa is to stimulate and facilitate local, regional, and national initiatives, with a focus on providing expertise to support the realization of this vision through training and training seminars, training materials for medical personnel, agricultural experts, water and sanitation engineers, English teachers, program designers and others. The effort has also included financial support, supplies and equipment for schools, health and training centers. Moriah Africa works through partnerships with communities, Government Organizations, and Non-Governmental Organizations.

About Jewish World Watch: Jewish World Watch, a Los Angeles-based human rights organization, is a coalition of 64 synagogues working together to combat genocide and other egregious violations of human rights worldwide. Since its founding five years ago, JWW has achieved significant success within its three mission goals: education, advocacy and humanitarian relief, having allocated almost $4 million in direct assistance to the people of Darfur. It now begins a campaign to end the atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo as well.

For more information, see www.jewishworldwatch.org. 

Campus Intifada

2010-02-23T22:54:00.002+02:00

University campuses have become the new battleground for anti-Israel propaganda behind a smokescreen of intellectual freedom of speech.

A short film worth watching.

Goldstone Report Rejected by USA

2010-02-22T08:27:00.004+02:00

Israel is not the only country which has rejected the validity of the Goldstone report. The American government has strongly rejected the report by calling it "deeply flawed" and "irredeemably biased."

In an article published on the AIPAC website, a summary of the flaws are listed concisely under the following headers:

The United States has rejected the findings and methodology of the Goldstone report.
The Goldstone report failed to recognize Israel's right to self-defense after years of rocket attacks against its civilians.
The Goldstone report is part of a pattern at the U.N. of singling out Israel for criticism and condemnation.
Israel's actions in Gaza were consistent with international law and subject to rigorous internal legal scrutiny.

Read the whole article here.

New Revelations About the UN Goldstone Report

2010-02-11T16:53:00.003+02:00

The Goldstone report caused lots of damage to Israel's image worldwide. I am convinced that quite ironically, because the accusations towards Israel are so grave, the international arena will not be able to just let the report lie (no pun intended). I regularly will be posting updates on the Goldstone report as they emerge, so check in often to see how the bare truth is slowly revealed.

Credibility: JCPA (Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs)

New Revelations About the UN Goldstone Report that Seriously Undermine its Credibility

Col. (ret.) Desmond Travers was one of the four members of the UN Fact Finding Mission that produced what is widely called the Goldstone Report. The Mission investigated Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip between December 27, 2008 and January 18, 2009. Travers joined the Irish Defense Forces in 1961 and retired after forty years. As the only former officer who belonged to Justice Richard Goldstone's team, he was the senior figure responsible for the military analysis that provided the basis for condemning Israel for war crimes.

After following his repeated public appearances with the other mission members in July 2009, and especially in light of his most recent interviews, serious flaws have now become evident in the methodology he followed, in his collection and processing of data, and in the conclusions he draws. In the past, the flaws in the Goldstone report, and especially its lack of balance, have been criticized by the London Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Economist, but the fundamental problems of its military analysis have not been fully addressed. In the material presented here, this becomes evident in four specific ways:

1. A Fundamental Bias against the Israel Defense Forces

During the Mission's collection of testimonies from Palestinian psychologists in the Gaza Strip, Travers asked them straight out to explain how Israeli soldiers could kill Palestinian children in front of their parents. In an interview with Middle East Monitor, on February 2, 2010, he asserted that in the past Israeli soldiers had "taken out and deliberately shot" Irish peacekeeping forces in Southern Lebanon. Both of these statements by Travers are completely false. It should be stressed that one of the most vicious and unsubstantiated conclusions in the Goldstone Report is the suggestion that Israel deliberately killed Palestinian civilians.

While Travers assumes the worst of intentions on the part of the Israel Defense Forces, he praises Hamas for their cooperation with the Mission. When he was asked about Hamas intimidation that affected the Mission's inquiries, he replied that that there was "none

whatsoever." Yet the Goldstone Report itself noted in Paragraph 440 that those interviewed in Gaza appeared reluctant to speak about the presence of Palestinian armed groups because of a "fear of reprisals." He rejects the notion that Hamas shielded its forces in the civilian population and does not accept the idea that Israel faced asymmetric warfare.

2. False Information Reported About Weapons Systems

Travers comes up with a story that the IDF had unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's) that could obtain a "thermal signature" on a Gaza house and detect that there were large numbers of people inside. Incredibly, he then suggests that with this information that certain houses were "packed with people," the Israeli military would then deliberately order a missile strike on these populated homes. The primary technical problem with his theory is that Israel does not have UAV's that can see though houses and pick up a thermal signature. More importantly, Israel used UAV's to monitor that Palestinian civilians left houses that had received multiple warnings, precisely because Israel sought to minimize civilian casualties, a fact that Travers could not fathom, because of his own clear biases.

3. Completely Inaccurate Data

Travers rejects that Israel began military operations against the Gaza Strip on December 27, 2008 as an act of self-defense in response to Hamas rockets. He bases this idea on a "fact" that he presents that in the month prior to start of the war, there were only "something like two" rockets that fell on Israel. Israeli military sources found that there were in fact 32 rockets fired from Gaza at Israel over three days alone--between December 16 and 18, 2008. He adds to his analysis that at this time Hamas sought to extend the tahdiya, or lull arrangement--which he called a cease-fire. Yet the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades of Hamas announced on December 17 that the lull would come to an end two days later and would not be renewed. The head of the Hamas political bureau in Damascus, Khaled Mashaal, announced the end of the lull on December 14. To say that Hamas wanted to continue the lull is a complete distortion of events.

In his Middle East Monitor interview, Travers states that he "only came across two incidents of where there was an actual combat situation" – the exchange of fire between Israel and Hamas. Because he minimizes the possibility that Israel was engaged in real combat in the Gaza Strip, it follows that he naturally conclude that Israel was essentially attacking non-combatants during Operation Cast Lead.

4. Lack of Professionalism in Conducting Thorough Investigations

Travers relies on his own prejudices when he looks into the question of whether Gazan Mosques had been militarized by Hamas and turned into weapons depots. In an interview with Harpers, published on October 29, 2009, Travers makes a sweeping generalization: "We found no evidence that mosques were used to store munitions." He then dismissed those who suggested that was the case by saying: "Those charges reflect Western perceptions in some quarters that Islam is a violent religion." How many mosques did Travers investigate? He admits that the Mission only checked two mosques.

Of course, Israel produced photographic proof that large amounts of weapons were stored in mosques, like the Zaytun Mosque. In a subsequent interview, Travers rejected the Israeli proof: "I do not believe the photographs." He described the photographs as "spurious." Travers appears to be bothered by proof that contradicts the conclusions he reaches on the basis of a very limited investigation. In early 2010, Colonel Tim Collins, a British veteran of the Iraq War, visited Gaza for BBC Newsnight (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8470100.stm, 20 January 2010) and inspected the ruins of a mosque that Israel had destroyed because it had been a weapons depot. He found that there was evidence of secondary explosions cause by explosives stored in the mosque cellar. Travers clearly did not make the effort that Collins made.

In his questioning of Palestinian witnesses in the Gaza Strip, Travers does not ask the questions that a military advisor should raise. He did not ask those giving testimony if they were member of the Izz al-Din al-Qassam units of Hamas and were combatants. He also failed to ask them straight out if their homes had been used to store munitions, like Grad rockets. Instead, his questions reflected his ideological bias.

Travers most recent interview also had a disturbing additional element. When addressing the role of British officers in defending Israel's claims, Travers suddenly adds: "Britain's foreign policy interests in the Middle East seem to be influenced strongly by Jewish lobbyists." Travers implies that British Jews have interests that differ from Britain's own national interests and that Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government is influenced by these considerations. This statement, unless corrected, places Travers is a position in which his views are suspect of being motivated by anti-Semitic prejudices. Even without this last statement, he clearly emerges as an individual who is not qualified to take part in any serious fact-finding mission and the U.N. should not seek his services in the future. Given his statements, Justice Richard Goldstone should repudiate Col. Travers and completely reject the conclusions that he reached as a result of his work.

"The resilience of the people is stronger than we expected"

2010-02-11T16:32:00.007+02:00

Israeli volunteers have opened a makeshift school in Port-au-Prince, providing education and counseling for 800 of the city's traumatized children.

Photo by UN Photo/Logan Abassi, Flash90.

The resilience of the people is stronger than we expected

Tribute to Alan Dershowitz

2010-02-05T19:21:00.010+02:00

Alan Dershowitz is an American lawyer, jurist and political commentator and is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Known as "Israel’s single most visible defender – the Jewish state’s lead attorney in the court of public opinion", he comments regularly on issues related to Judaism, Israel, civil liberties, the War on Terror and the frist amendment.

Dershowitz is an outspoken commentator on the history and politics of Israel, and has engaged in highly publicized media confrontations on a number of different topics including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and lately, the Goldstone report. Dershowitz is often interviewed and commentates in the mainstream media.

Dershowitz is the author of a number books and articles which have been published worldwide. He often takes issue on controversial issues, and challenged Jimmy Carter to a debate at Brandeis University regarding Carter's book "Palestine Peace Not Apartheid". Carter declined the challenge on the grounds that "There is no need . . . to debate somebody who, in my opinion, knows nothing about the situation in Palestine."

Dershowitz has recently been active refuting the Goldstone report, a UN investigation of the "Operation Cast Lead" offensive in Gaza. He was invited to Forham Law School give a talk about the report. Dershowitz invited Goldstone to debate his analysis and findings and rebuttals. Goldstone refused.

In his talk, Dershowitz explains why the report is a farce and excuse to bash Israel which does not even legally classify as an investigation. He then continues to explain his views and finally, opens the floor to questions.

A captivating 1.5hr video of the talk can be found here.

I am awed by his commitment, devotion, knowledge, eloquence and activities in a lot of fields that are dear to me.

Jews of Six Arms

2010-02-05T18:42:00.010+02:00

From a speech by Pilar Rahola, a Spanish politician, journalist and activist and member of the far left. Her articles are published in Spain and throughout some of the most important newspapers in Latin America.

Why don't we see demonstrations against Islamic dictatorships in London, Paris, Barcelona?
Or demonstrations against the Burmese dictatorship?

Why aren't there demonstrations against the enslavement of millions of women who live without any legal protection?

Why aren't there demonstrations against the use of children as human bombs where there is conflict with Islam?

Why has there been no leadership in support of the victims of Islamic dictatorship in Sudan?

Why is there never any outrage against the acts of terrorism committed against Israel?

Why is there no outcry by the European left against Islamic fanaticism?

Why don't they defend Israel's right to exist?

Why confuse support of the Palestinian cause with the defense of Palestinian terrorism?

An finally, the million dollar question: Why is the left in Europe and around the world obsessed with the two most solid democracies, the United States and Israel, and not with the worst dictatorships on the planet? The two most solid democracies, who have suffered the bloodiest attacks of terrorism, and the left doesn't care.

And then, to the concept of freedom. In every pro Palestinian European forum I hear the left yelling with fervor: "We want freedom for the people!"

Not true. They are never concerned with freedom for the people of Syria or Yemen or Iran or Sudan, or other such nations. And they are never preoccupied when Hammas destroys freedom for the Palestinians. They are only concerned with using the concept of Palestinian freedom as a weapon against Israeli freedom. The resulting consequence of these ideological pathologies is the manipulation of the press.

The international press does major damage when reporting on the question of the Israeli-Palestinian issue. On this topic they don't inform, they propagandize.

When reporting about Israel the majority of journalists forget the reporter code of ethics. And so, any Israeli act of self-defense becomes a massacre, and any confrontation, genocide. So many stupid things have been written about Israel, that there aren't any accusations left to level against her.

At the same time, this press never discusses Syrian and Iranian interference in propagating violence against Israel; the indoctrination of children and the corruption of the Palestinians. And when reporting about victims, every Palestinian casualty is reported as tragedy and every Israeli victim is camouflaged, hidden or reported about with disdain.

And let me add on the topic of the Spanish left. Many are the examples that illustrate the anti-Americanism and anti-Israeli sentiments that define the Spanish left. For example, one of the leftist parties in Spain has just expelled one of its members for creating a pro-Israel website. I quote from the expulsion document: "Our friends are the people of Iran, Libya and Venezuela, oppressed by imperialism, and not a Nazi state likeIsrael."

In another example, the socialist mayor of Campozuelos changed Shoah Day, commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, with Palestinian Nabka Day, which mourns the establishment of the State of Israel, thus showing contempt for the six million European Jews murdered in the Holocaust.

Or in my native city of Barcelona, the city council decided to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the creation of the State of Israel, by having a week of solidarity with the Palestinian people. Thus, they invited Leila Khaled, a noted terrorist from the 70's and current leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a terrorist organization so described by the European Union, which promotes the use of bombs againstIsrael.

This politically correct way of thinking has even polluted the speeches of president Zapatero. His foreign policy falls within the lunatic left, and on issues of the Middle East he is unequivocally pro Arab. I can assure you that in private, Zapatero places on Israel the blame for the conflict in the Middle East, and the policies of foreign minister Moratinos reflect this. The fact that Zapatero chose to wear a kafiah in the midst of theLebanon conflict is no coincidence; it's a symbol.

Spain has suffered the worst terrorist attack in Europe and it is in the crosshairs of every Islamic terrorist organization. As I wrote before, they kill us with cell phones hooked to satellites connected to the Middle Ages. An yet the Spanish left is the most anti Israeli in the world.

And then it says it is anti Israeli because of solidarity. This is the madness I want to denounce in this conference.

Conclusion:

I am not Jewish. Ideologically I am left and by profession a journalist. Why am I not anti Israeli like my colleagues? Because as a non-Jew I have the historical responsibility to fight against Jewish hatred and currently against the hatred for their historic homeland, Israel. To fight against anti-Semitism is not the duty of the Jews, it is the duty of the non-Jews.

As a journalist it is my duty to search for the truth beyond prejudice, lies and manipulations. The truth about Israel is not told. As a person from the left who loves progress, I am obligated to defend liberty, culture, civic education for children, coexistence and the laws that the Tablets of the Covenant made into universal principles.

Principles that Islamic fundamentalism systematically destroys. That is to say that as a non-Jew, journalist and lefty I have a triple moral duty with Israel, because if Israel is destroyed, liberty, modernity and culture will be destroyed too.

The struggle of Israel, even if the world doesn't want to accept it, is the struggle of the world.

Pilar Rahola's website can be found here.

Gaza blockade

2010-01-31T21:56:00.003+02:00

My response to MJ Rosenberg's article "Lift Gaza blockade now" (http://mediamattersaction.org/blog/20100). This article is cleverly quotes Haaretz but is laced with bias and hearsay. He writes for "Media Matters Action Network" and writes some vile anti-Israel content.

Rosenberg,

Great article: http://mediamattersaction.org/blog/201001150001 (“Lift Gaza blockade now”).

If you are “correcting conservative misinformation” and “ensuring accuracy” and “providing a full range of resources” (as appears in your “about us” text), please correct the following misinformation and ensure its accuracy by providing a full range of sources for the following, quoted from your article:

“…the war it launched that took 1400 lives (mostly civilians, including 320 children)…”

Please provide your sources, because it looks like the only possible conclusions (pending your reply) are:

A. The majority of the casualties during Operation "Cast Lead" were militants.
B. "The Palestinian Center for Human Rights" (PCHR) blatantly lied and distorted the findings.

The PCHR (Palestinian Center for Human Rights) published very similar figures. Since then, Hamas has published their “martyrs”. You can find their names and photographs here:

http://www.hosem.org.il/Cast-Lead

Something is very wrong, I am afraid. Israeli reports, published immediately after the Operation, pretty much confirm this new info, yet you rely and publish old inaccurate figures. Surely this is considered misinformation. I hope you have not fallen into the Pallywood net. Please correct this urgently, it discredits your article and paints them with bias.

Another point to consider and correct:
Hamas publicly announced the end of the 26 week cease-fire. Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak pleaded with Hamas not to resume indiscriminate rocket fire at Israeli civilians. Mubarak also blamed Hamas for the Operation which followed. The cease-fire did not end "because Israel did not live up to its commitment to lift the blockade and continued, despite the cease-fire, to target and kill Hamas militants in Gaza".

I could go on, but prefer to allow you to make these corrections first.

Sincerely,

Laurence Seeff

SACH - Save a child's heart

2010-01-30T09:40:00.004+02:00

I can personally identify with this organization.

Save a Child’s Heart (SACH) is an Israeli-based international humanitarian project, whose mission is to improve the quality of pediatric cardiac care for children from developing countries who suffer from heart disease and to create centers of competence in these countries. SACH is totally dedicated to the idea that every child deserves the best medical treatment available, regardless of the child's nationality, religion, color, gender or financial situation.

SACH is motivated by the age-old Jewish tradition of Tikkun Olam – repairing the world. By mending the hearts of children, regardless of their origin, SACH is contributing to a better and more peaceful future for all of our children.

Since 1995, Save a Child's Heart (SACH) has treated more than 2,200 children suffering from congenital and rheumatic heart disease aging from infancy to 18 years of age from the “four corners of the Earth” - 36 countries where adequate medical care is unavailable.

40% of the children who underwent cardiac surgery are from Africa; 49% from the Palestinian Authority, Jordan & Iraq; 4% from Moldova, Russia and former USSR and 7% from China, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

The number of children treated by SACH has grown dramatically from 48 cases in 1996 to over 200 in 2008.

http://www.saveachildsheart.org/

Israel: Harvesting organs in Haiti

2010-01-28T13:00:00.005+02:00

Amid talk that Israel sent medical teams to Haiti with cynical motives, among others, to harvest organs and capitalize on the earthquake tragedy, here are a number of links that advocate the humanitarian work that keeps IsraelProud:

Videos:

Low supplies, many injured - abcNews
Israeli hospitals in Haiti - CNN Report
IDF Search & Rescue Team Saves Trapped Man - IDF Spokesperson's Unit
Makeshift ICU saving lives in Haiti - Fox News

Articles:

Israel's field hospital - Haaretz newspaper
Israel: sending soldiers of peace to Haiti - Los Angeles Times

Israeli government sources have said that the hospital includes 10 tons of medical equipment, 40 doctors, 24 nurses, medics, paramedics, x-ray equipment, a pharmacy, an emergency room, two surgery rooms, an incubation ward, a children’s and maternity ward.

Update:
I have seen some published texts that claim that Israel might have caused the earthquake in order to distract world attention away from the Apartheid and genocide carried out in Israel.

The Peace Activist

2010-01-27T18:52:00.018+02:00

This letter was written in response to an article written by a self-proclaimed "peace activist".
I suggest reading this individual’s article first at: gilasvirsky.com/godbliss.html to pick up the thread.

Dear Gila,

I stumbled onto your article “God Bliss” through a link from a website that recommended reading your article.
I read the article.

I also read about your commendable commitment, devotion and activities to bring peace into this troubled area. I respect all those who are concerned with making the world a better place and take the time and effort to do so, ultimately contributing to bringing about positive change for our generation and those to follow.

However, your article troubles me deeply, perhaps as deeply as your contempt for those who turn a blind eye to the hardships of the Palestinian populations in Gaza and the West Bank. It troubles me fivefold.

Firstly, unknown to many, there is a media war, a media “intifada” that does as much damage to Israel and the Jews, in Israel and abroad, as does Antisemitism, biased ignorant hate, war and bloodshed. I am certain that you do not intend contributing to the countless hate websites at worst, or anti-Israel sites that feed on disinformation published on the internet to swing public opinion.

We both know that “each small step counts”, and that words are powerful and cause wars. I am thus personally very careful and selective with what I say and convey, no matter what my disposition or the subject.

While I respect open debate and freedom of speech, I take into account the “public opinion” you mention in your article. Yes, you want to make a change in Israeli society and I respect that. Your publicized website article addresses the entire public, which unfortunately addresses many outside of Israeli society. Now, you don’t exactly hang out your dirty washing or publicize your relationship hitches, but rather work on them from within. Since there is no need to convert the converted, this leaves the "floaters" to swing and I dread thinking of the floating Mr. Smith who reads your article. The uncanny ease of hanging out dirty washing with little consideration of the impact and consequences, borders on masochism.

You might like me to qualify some of above, as I will do after each section. I can refer you to a number of online sources with direct links, but will suffice with adding headings for now, pending your response – “The Al-Dura Affair”, “the Jenin Massacre”, “Honestreporting”, “Pallywood”, to provide just a few.

Secondly, you downplay Israel’s “good deeds” by connecting it to “the blockade of Gaza” and the “Separation Barrier”. I fail to see the connection or the point you are trying to make.
Please enlighten me.
For now, I remain very proud that country of 7 million with no diplomatic relations with Haiti, was the only country to arrive there very quickly, the only country to erect a field hospital, the only country to perform complex operations to selflessly save many who were, and probably won’t be of any benefit to Israel, ever.

Yes, it was reported and should be.
You wrote: “it’s hard work transforming international public opinion after the Israeli bombardment of Gaza one year ago, which played out so poorly in the Goldstone Report and European capitals”.
Whose hard work? Yours?
This is also confusing – do you agree or disagree with the Goldstone report?
Goldstone himself admitted that the report was compiled from pure hearsay and none of its contents have any legal implications whatsoever.
Well, yes, it is hard work when people write “bombardment of Gaza”. This is conveys a general indiscriminate encompassing bombardment, something along the lines of the Blitz of Dresden. No, that is not what happened, and should (must) not be conveyed like that. We both know that Israel is capable of bombarding Gaza, Egypt, Jordan as well as a few other countries to smithereens within the hour.
Israel did not.

I am sure you have a figure of around 1,400 hundred killed in Operation Cast Lead, of which XXX (make up a figure) were civilians, right? The PCHR (Palestinian Center for Human Rights) published the list of civilians killed after the operation while Hamas refused to release any information. Lately, Hamas published their list of “martyrs”.
Guess what? Over 70% of the “civilians” killed turn out to be Hamas terrorists...uh...sorry, militants, according to their list. Please note: Israel had nothing to do with these publications.

You write about a “blockade” and “siege”. Blockade and siege are harsh words when compared to reality. There certainly are restrictions on certain materials - those that are used to construct rockets that target Israeli civilians in heavily populated areas.
(If you need official reports on this, let me know).

Yes, there were few local reporters in Gaza during the operation, for two main reasons: (1) There was an ongoing military operation and the safety of our soldiers comes first (sorry!) - reporters during the second Lebanon war revealed crucial detrimental location information of forces active in that area. What exactly did you want them to report, anyway? (2) Their own safety.

Yes, it was a “popular” war, not because of a handful of war-mongering bloodthirsty generals, but because of hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians that were living under the terror of rocket fire from Gaza for eight (8!) years and after exhausting all other channels to stop the rocket fire.

Thirdly, Israel is not Iran with a brutal police force that nonchalantly and brutally attacks peace activists, not in the West Bank and not in Israel. The “peace activists” you refer to, for the most part are provocative, side with Palestinians in the West Bank to physically tear down the “separation barrier”, thereby breaking the law. If it is the law that is wrong, I suggest working to change the law, rather than attacking the army, police force and painting a distorted reality. I strongly condemn unlawful behavior by soldiers and policemen and am proud to boast many court cases in which perpetrators are and have been punished for the crimes committed.

Fourthly, you provide a one-sided biased snapshot of a complex historical problem without providing the unwary reader with any perspective of the chain of events. In my humble opinion, you thereby willingly join the slander network that sports anti-Israel and Anti-Semitic banners based on treacherous and often willful ignorance. The Israel Arab conflict did not begin with the Six day war in 1967, and it was not about occupation. It began before there was an Israel. The Israeli-Arab or Israeli-Palestinian conflict is about the right of Israel to exist, and the right of self-determination of the Jewish people. Everything that you discuss is the fruit of that conflict, and of the determination of the Arabs of Palestine and their political leadership to eliminate Jewish sovereignty anywhere in the land that we call Israel and they call Palestine.

The current demography of Jerusalem does reflect vicious racist policies. You are right about that. "Arab" East Jerusalem became and remained Arab by systematically excluding Jews from most areas, even though Jews constituted a majority in Jerusalem since about 1880. Before 1948, Jews living in the old city and eastern areas were confined mostly to the Jewish quarter of the old city of Jerusalem. In 1948, Jews were ethnically cleansed from there as well.

Nobody outside Israel objected. In fact, the Jordan Legion was praised for its humanitarian handling of the issue, since the Jews were not massacred. The Arab objection to Jewish settlement in lawfully purchased homes in Sheikh Jarrakh which you have noted, is based on a convenience. It sounds better to the world if they focus on Sheikh Jarrakh. It has been engineered as a good political point - an "obstacle to peace" supposedly. However, in reality they do not object one wit less to "Judaization" of the Galilee or the Negev. There are campaigns against Jewish settlement there too, are there not? If there is no Jewish "settlement" in Sheikh Jarrakh or the old city of Jerusalem, will the Palestinian Arabs recognize Israel as the national home of the Jewish people?
Will they agree that there should equally be no Arab settlement in Acco or Nazareth? Do you agree? Of course not! Why not? The Jews of the old city were there for hundreds of years, and likewise the Jewish community in Hebron. The logic that prevents Jews from "settling" in Sheikh Jarrakh is equally applicable to Arabs "settlers" in Silwan or in Nazareth. Arabs can buy land under Israeli law anywhere in Israel. If there are limitations, you rightly object. But Palestinian law dictates the death penalty for anyone who sells land to Jews.
You seem to take this monstrous racist discrimination as a matter of course.

The Arabs of Silwan and Sheikh Jarrakh were not there "from time immorial." They are "settlers." Before 1948 there were only Yemenite Jews living in Shiloach
("Silwan") and a hundred years ago there was not much of anything in Sheikh Jarrakh other than the American Colony hotel.

For that matter, Palestinian Arabs object equally to Jews living in Tel Aviv or Ashdod or Sderot. They are opposed to the law of return as "racist" and lobby to limit Jewish immigration to Israel, just as during World War II, Hajj Amin al Husseini lobbied to ensure that Jewish orphans went to death camps and murdered rather than to Palestine. Hamas press releases noted regularly that their rockets fell on the "settlements" of Sderot and Ashqelon.

Fifth. You complain about the lack of reporting and “…no image”.
I’ll give you an image, that is not reported. We have an acquaintance serving in the army, a smart very left wing 20 year old who cringes each time he is sent on a “mission”.
Your snapshot of the mission would be: “Israeli soldiers ransack a Palestinian home in the West Bank”.
Yes, the house was ransacked.
This certainly is terrible.
The full perspective of the reality is that a male family member was arrested and confessed to assembling explosive devices to be used in terror attacks on civilian targets in Israeli cities.
This is terrible too, in my opinion. Our acquaintance did the dirty, unreported work, to keep me, you and yours safe. This is not hearsay, it is very real and unfortunately, for some odd reason, has historically been necessary since 1948, before the “separation barrier”, West Bank issues, Hamas and the likes. This is a reality that is not reported, that is kept quiet amongst the many who have devoted their lives to preventing the re-occurrences of events from the 1929's, 1940’s, 1948’s, 1973’s etc. Do you want this reported too? Do you have an explanation why we are still in this ugly cycle, actually since time in memorial? Perhaps thinking of the number of weekends that you could not spend in Nahariya in your sweet weekend home, might put you on the right track.

Gila, I may be harsh and this may be perceived as a personal attack. It is not. It is a very brief account from the other side of the coin.

You are most welcome to come and drink verbena tea in our home along with some of our Palestinian friends. Yes, we have Palestinian friends who want to get on with their lives just like you and I. They are not Hamas, not Fatah but well meaning individuals. Unfortunately, the simple man in the street has a forced responsibility too, to choose peaceful change and ultimately their leadership. We can argue whether the Hamas takeover of Gaza was democratic or not. If the man in the street is helpless against a gang mob, then that is just the crux of the problem – there is a gang mob running the place. I feel for the man in street but do not accept helplessness as an excuse.

Peace on you,

Laurence Seeff

Hamas does not target civilians?

2010-01-20T11:10:00.000+02:00

Hamas claims that they did not intentionally target Israeli civilians before "Operation Cast Lead", but military targets only.

In an exceptionally unusual report, the BBC2 screened footage (Newsnight 19.01.10) of Gulf War veteran Colonel Tim Collins' trip to Gaza for a soldier's view of the conflict.

A summary of his report can be seen here thanks to Conflictzones.tv.

Below is a snapshot from the video footage showing rockets targeting Sderot, a civilian town in Israel. This is a Hamas billboard poster, not Israeli. Does this look like a military target?

The full BBC2 video report can be found here.

A letter to EAPPI

2010-01-06T10:20:00.007+02:00

A letter to a church organization that apparently has a just cause. The unwary reader might be fooled by the humanitarian wrapping on this disguised anti-Israel website. The organization's vision, quoted from the website:

"The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) seeks to support local and international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and bring a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a just peace, based on international law and relevant United Nations resolutions".

My letter:

Dear Sirs,

I would like to join your wonderful organization after reading about it on the official EAPPI website (http://www.eappi.org/en/about/overview.html).

I especially found that your commitment to impartiality, in reference to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict interesting:

"One of the EAPPI guiding principles is 'principled impartiality', the EAPPI Code of Conduct states: 'We do not take sides in this conflict and we do not discriminate against anyone but we are not neutral in terms of principles of human rights and international humanitarian law. We stand faithfully with the poor, the oppressed and the marginalized. We want to serve all parties in this conflict in a fair and unbiased manner in word and action.'"

It appears under the heading "Principles", in the overview of organization and definately meets my expectations of an organization that seeks to:

"…bring a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with a just peace based on international law..."

as stated under the heading "Vision", in the same overview.

I cannot express my awe and admiration. I felt that I had finally found an organization with not only a truly just cause, but honorable principles, guiding code of conduct and clearly defined vision. Wow!

Our (I am already joining!) organization's "Objectives" follows the vision, mission and principles statements. Unfortunately, here, I have run into a few problems and have some questions, so perhaps the "code of conduct" or policy makers in the organization may kindly offer some assistance, please.

I will address each point in turn:

1. "Participate in the daily life and work of Palestinian and Israeli civil society, Churches and Christian communities".

I have managed to find references on the website to participation in Palestinian civil society; however there is no mention of participation in Israeli civil society. Where do I find examples of this work?

2. "Be visibly present in vulnerable communities, locations or events, e.g. near Israeli settlements and the wall/fence, schools and homes, fields & orchards".

I presume that the addition of the word "Israeli" is an error, or at least it should be "Israeli and Palestinian". Distinctly naming only one of the parties contradicts the impartiality principle. I can think of many Israeli towns and cities that are, or have been indiscriminately rocketed from within Palestinian territories.

3. "Actively listen to local people's experiences and give voice to peoples' daily suffering under occupation and write or speak about these experiences in their reports and public speaking engagements".

I guess that this is ok, as long as we give voice to the Israelis too, because, the impartiality principle states that "We want to serve all parties in this conflict in a fair and unbiased manner in word and action ". I would like to request a list of Israeli experiences reported at the public speaking engagements you mention above.

4. "Monitor the conduct of Israeli soldiers (e.g. at checkpoints and other barriers and during demonstrations and other military actions) and contact relevant organizations and authorities to request intervention".

There are two issues here:

a. Once again, singling out Israeli action seems very one sided and biased. Perhaps this should be taken out completely or "Palestinian terror groups shooting rockets at Israeli civilians" should be added, to make this impartial.

b. I am sure that you can supply a list of organizations EAPPI contacted regarding indiscriminate rocket fire into Israeli towns as well as a list of efforts made to convince Gilad Shalit's rights as a prisoner.

Just for now, I will have to refrain from the regarding the organization as ours. Something seems to be not quite right with the mission and principles and stated objectives.

5. "Engage in non-violent ways with perpetrators of human rights abuses"

This is fantastic – you'll finally be able to protect Gazan civilians from being used a human shields, and also stop rocket fire into Israel.

6. "Produce high quality, first-hand written materials, testimonies and analysis".

Fantastic! Please supply a list of both Palestinian accounts and Israeli accounts, where and when they produced. Does this include suicide bombing accounts and child indoctrination to become martyrs for the cause?

7. "Report on violations of human rights and international humanitarian law that EAs witness and document and use these reports to inform governments and intergovernmental bodies and press them to take action".

Great! I am sure that you can produce a list of violations from both sides. Please include accounts of Fatah members being thrown off high-rise buildings after the democratic elections, as well as the intergovernmental bodies and press to which these reports were sent.

8. "Engage with the media locally, nationally and internationally".

I would appreciate a list of engagements that have taken place.

9. "Be part of international advocacy and networking activities that highlight the human rights situation in Palestine".

This is terribly impartial. What is highlighted? I hope it includes the needs of the Israeli civilian population, Sderot for example. Since Palestine is not a country, yet anyway, please provide a clear definition of what you consider Palestine, oh…and the highlights too.

Hmmmm….out of nine objectives, if I give you immediate benefit of the doubt (pending the requested lists), 33% are anti-Israel. In my humble opinion, at least the objectives should be objective/balanced/impartial.

Unfortunately, I cannot join right now, but will seriously consider membership after receiving your detailed reply that will surely uphold the impartiality principle from the "code of conduct". The bible forbids us to put a stumbling block before the blind. Proclaiming impartiality followed by what seems like bias, is a definite stumbling block for the unwary reader.

I am sure that you will welcome my remarks and not want to be considered as one of those cheap Israel bashing hate sites or organizations.

I also see no mention of real Christian issues in Gaza and the West Bank. The Christian populations there have serious human rights issues and are suffering too, at the hands of their Moslem neighbors. Why has this been left out? I could actually supply you with a wealth of information on this. In fact, the Christian population there is hunted, persecuted and violently ousted.

Thanks for your urgent attention,

Laurence Seeff

NB. I would like to contact some of the team here in Israel but there are no contact details or surnames. Any particular reason?

Crticism and Choices

2009-01-27T21:48:00.001+02:00

Written during the third week of "Operation Cast Lead" in which Israeli armed forces went into Gaza to stop eight years of indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza, at Israeli civilian targets.

I find it imperative to take a moment from my self-inflicted enlistment into the electronic media war to finally write something of my own, to my own.

After two weeks of combat, I am a little weary of firing on deaf ears. There seems to be a need to raise the morale amongst those in my own ranks and heal some of the battle wounds that the foreign (outside of Israel) media may have managed to inflict upon some of you. I have noticed and heard that there are some hairline cracks in folks' outlook and opinion of what Israel is doing, and so this is a short break to reinforce some of your foundations. My break is only a result of battle weariness, and not because of any lack of ammunition. Quite the opposite. The foreign media fuel my ammunition dumps exponentially each minute with their bias (at best) and outright lies (as second best). I have been shouting in silent type for two weeks, and despite apparently doing it again here and now, in yet another email, this time I would like to freely add some politically incorrect thoughts and let some emotion erupt.

It is disturbing enough to hear and see the world opinion and media, which include calls for our annihilation. It is even more disturbing to have to spend limited energies on arguing my case to those (of "us") who doubt the justification of this operation, its magnitude and time-span. I need to address our critics, those of "us" who are critical and condemn Israel's actions in the current operation in the Gaza area.

While I value opinion and discussion at all times, I will not tolerate any negative opinion or criticism right now. Many critics have been sitting in glass houses (with a sense of security due to Israel's existence) before the operation, and now seem ready to throw stones (at best). I am not only referring to Jews in the Diaspora, but also to those in Israel (some found it suitable to demonstrate in Tel-Aviv against the operation in Gaza and to wave Palestinian flags). The only criticism I am open to is criticism of our own bad choices.

We make "bad choices" when it comes to dealing with the Arabs.

We "chose" to fight a number of wars against our Arab neighbors, one of them on our holiest days. We "chose" to fight against suicide bombers and shrewdly disguise our violence by erecting a fence (only 2% is wall) to keep them out. You see, we militant Israelis, we like choosing violence. It took the trigger-happy Zionist generals and politicians seven years of continuous rocket fire to choose to go to war.

Unfortunately, once again, we are at war.

Unfortunately, some require clarification and elaboration of the above. This war is not academic, nor a war of words or politics. Right now it is a war in which real blood is shed, in which people are maimed and killed. "People" means soldiers, terrorists, militants, families, elderly and children. "Maimed" means crippled and traumatized. Oh...on both sides, notice my choice of words. (Glad I cleared that one up for some.)

There is one thing that we perpetually choose too, if you really need me to point it out.

We chose life.

We'd like to choose to live our lives in our country without having to build bomb shelters in every building since our independence 60 years ago. We choose to warn innocent civilians of an impending bombardment with flyers, phone calls and stun grenades. We chose to offer almost all of the West Bank in peace talks at Camp David, Annapolis and other talks. We chose to warn the Hamas about officially ending the cease-fire "lull." We chose to try turning a blind-eye to the rockets that were launched during the "lull" and seven previous years. We chose this war option.

We "chose" war. We chose war despite knowing and living the ramifications of war. We chose to send our soldiers to war. "Our soldiers" is not an idiom. It means family, friends, colleagues, neighbors -- i.e., people we know firsthand. We chose to take the calculated risk that some will not return, and that others will return maimed for life.

During an ongoing war, I find the audacity of some of my own putrid. It sickens me to hear misinformed foreign-media-fed misguided individuals pass negative opinion and criticism. I find it uncanny not to leave the academic rhetoric aside, while blood is being shed. We are engaged in fighting enough enemies on enough fronts. We do not need an internal front, too. Some Diaspora Jews freely enjoy the sense of security that just the pure existence of Israel provides. Now, some spit into the well. Whether it be democratic, free, enlightened, correct or not, I'll hit anyone I catch pushing over an elderly person. Furthermore, you'd probably find me refusing to even discuss it and with a smirk on my face. Perhaps that might awaken a sense of duty to give a hand, an ear or a shoulder to the pains of war.

War is synonymous with pain, suffering and bloodshed. We, as war-mongering Israelis, have lots of experience. So much so, that (listen carefully to this): I may one day forgive our enemies for killing our people in pursuit of their ideology, but I will never forgive them for forcing me into a situation in which I have killed some of their innocents. I suggest reading the latter again. Only when the Arabs can honestly understand this will they be ready for true peace. Until then, we will remain in a cycle of violence and war that has war-ups and truce-downs. The truces, lulls, and whatever names they may use, are only types of pseudo-surrenders that they agree to, in order to recuperate.

So, dear brethren, if you still harbor any doubt at all or need some ammo for those who do, one question remains: "What is your alternative to this war?"

I was going to end here, but feel that I need to elaborate for those whose vision has been obscured by the likes of Pallywood smoke screens and political rhetoric. Let me put it another way, "What do you propose we do to ensure that our kids go to school safely?" Hmmm....Let's look at the most common answer to the current situation:

"Stop the operation immediately and negotiate".

We have been there already - didn't work. There was a "cease-fire", a "lull", during which the Hamas terrorists militants lobbed rockets into Israel and armed themselves for their "final solution." Who publicly and proudly announced the end of the "lull"? Who sent 900,000 civilians into bomb shelters?

Negotiate? With whom exactly? A radical group that openly seeks our total annihilation at all costs (and they are crying now at the cost, poor things). A fanatic terrorist group that came into power after a violent coup, intent on "freeing all Palestine of Jews?" If you really need to ensure that my facts are correct, then look up the Hamas charter. I consider myself "a nice guy" and am open to discussion, but don't know how to go about it. Please set an example by negotiating with Al-Qaeda and then teach me how it works.

Let's take this little further. "Do you know what Hamas wants?" Hmmm... I suspect they don't either although it is in their charter. "Do you know what they expected to achieve by firing rockets into Israel?" Hmmm... I have no idea. So let's look at their charter again. I suspect it is a word that begins with a big "T" and has three "r"s. They once wanted us out of Gaza. We are out of Gaza. So? Now what? Any ideas?

Oh yeah... I almost forgot. So if the war now might seem justified, criticism turns to the use of "disproportionate" force. The British (oh I just love the Brits -- BBC, Sky, Tim Marshall, Tim Butcher and the other blatant liars who act as journalists instead of Pallywood), bombed Dresden disproportionately, citizens, hospitals, all of it! Before pointing a finger at Israel, please make sure that: you pointed a finger at Hamas for seven years; have made sure that civilian deaths are an integral part of Israeli policy; make sure that Israel is publicly proud of civilian deaths and distribute sweets with each; have lodged complaints against the Hamas for using human shields; and...and...and... Then, and only then, might I be prepared to hear gripes from "ours."

Well, Israel is here, a fact and a reality. I am here and not going anywhere. Right or wrong, I'm not going anywhere and neither are my people. I am going to choose violence when negotiations and warnings go nowhere and my children remain in danger. I'm going to be very violent to try to ensure a brighter future for my children and brethren, whether it includes war or not.

Some say that violence breeds violence. It sure does. It sure has, I am now violent. I reached a dead end after seven years of exhausting all peaceful options and turning a blind eye to over 4,000 rockets. History doesn't seem to be able to teach the other side anything. Perhaps someone has a way of getting it through to them. Please enlighten me. I'll type it slowly for you and whisper it for those that cannot easily read vulgarities:

Don't mess with us! You have chosen to force us to remain mightier, we have and will, until you choose otherwise.

I am not going to wrap this in airy political, democratic, diplomatic or academic cellophane. That is the bottom line, the bare truth. I remain proud of my vulgarity that stems from our basic right to protect our citizens. I remain proud of our attempts to prevent civilian casualties, on both sides. I remain proud of our "disproportion" and the humanitarian aid we let pass into Gaza. I remain proud that there are wounded Palestinians in our hospitals. I remain proud of our humanness. I remain proud of our gutsy cabinet. I remain proud that after sixty-something years we still hunt Nazis and that we hunted the Munich games perpetrators, Abu-Jihad and the rest. I might need to feel ashamed at some isolated incidents, but will deal with those later because they are a tiny minority and do not reflect policy.

We will remain strong enough to fight to survive only if we are armed with: some history; an understanding of enemy mentality; unequivocally support Israel and spew out internal criticism from the good-for-academic pacifists during times of war.