Soldier loses leg in rocket attack

Nov. 30, 2008

Just a month ago I was in southern Israel visiting a kibbutz, Nahal Oz, which borders the Gaza Strip. Standing by the tree line, which shields the kibbutz homes from direct line of sight from Gaza, I could clearly see Palestinian apartment buildings and minarets. In this photo of Yankale Cohen, kibbutz manager, the Gaza skyline is visible in the distance.

Miraculously, this farming community had been free of human tragedy since rocket attacks began in 2000. However, the rockets have cost the kibbutz 15 percent of its arable land due to its proximity to the border, the military's ban on pesticide planes and the justifiable fear of the workers to get within sniper range.

That all changed on Friday night though when a mortar shell landed near a military post on the kibbutz and injured eight soldiers. One, 21-year-old Noam Nakash, lost his right leg. Shelling from the Gaza Strip continued through the weekend.

In light of these events, here is an updated take on an old story. I was at Nahal Oz in June, before the cease-fire was reached, and again just a month ago with a film crew.

Post Traumatic Stress

While most rockets have missed Israeli homes, the trauma of each launch is finding its way into the lives of many Israelis in the Gaza border region right along with the shrapnel.

“Fifty percent of the people are suffering from trauma, usually called post traumatic, but it’s not ‘post’ yet,” said Chen Abrahams, a social worker. “It has been like this for eight years.”

Abrahams lives at Kibbutz Kfar Aza where a neighbor was killed earlier this year in plain sight of many residents. As a social worker in Sderot, Abrahams sees many cases of trauma to varying degrees, but says that every child has its own manifestation of anxiety.

And she is not immune either: Her 8-year-old son sleeps in bed with Abrahams and her husband and has been doing so for months now. “You can imagine what that does to the relationship between me and my husband,” she said.

Parents also grapple with issues like whether to let their children play outside, or sometimes, even whether to go to school. Schools have begun to make a game out of running to the shelter since sirens go off frequently.

The Red Alert system gives a 15-second warning to residents when a rocket has been launched. But that doesn’t help everyone.

“Deaf people don’t hear the alert,” noted Chezy Deutsch, director of international relations for the army’s Home Front Command.

Deutsch and his team go door to door mapping out residents with specific needs. They distribute beepers to the deaf and advise caretakers on how to move the elderly and immobile in case of an emergency.

According to a research document published by the Israel Trauma Center for Victims of Terror and War, 90 percent of residents have seen or heard a rocket hit, while 65.3 percent personally knew someone hurt in an attack. Almost half of Sderot residents know someone who had been killed in an attack and 74.2 percent of children in Sderot from ages 7 to 12 suffer from phobias.

"It's possible to see a growing deterioration in the coping mechanism of Sderot residents," Dr. Roni Berger told the Israeli website Ynet. "Today, with the renewed rocket fire, I predict a lot more problems than in the past."

On top of that, the feeling of abandonment is rampant. Sderot Mayor-elect David Buskila slammed the government for abandoning Jewish communities in the Gaza belt area.

"I heard the defense minister's equation of 10 rockets a month. This is outrageous. I could accept that equation if it was eight rockets on Sderot, and two rockets on Tel Aviv – and would like to see if he could make peace with that equation," Buskila added.

Productivity Suffers

Many businesses in southern Israel are losing productivity not just to property damage, but more to the constant rocket alerts that send workers scurrying for cover.

“There is an alarm five to 10 times a day,” said Ronnie Levine, vice president of marketing for Erez Industries, a textile and plastic manufacturer at Kibbutz Erez near the Gaza border. “The workers leave the machine, run outside for shelter and when they come back, either the machine is not working” or they spend time trying to find out if their family members are okay.

“Eighty-five percent of their mind is not on the machine,” Levine estimated, accounting for a 30 percent loss in business over three years.

Prior to the Gaza evacuation, Erez employed Palestinian workers and still pays the salaries of two who worked there 20 years.

At Nirlat paint factory, employees can see right across the barren field to Gaza. “They are constantly observing us,” said manager Yehuda Kaplan. Nirlat has absorbed a couple of direct hits from rockets and mortars. After each, workers have taken one to two days off before they dared return.

Further north, 10 percent of the land at Kibbutz Nahal Oz can no longer be cultivated because it is in sniper range. “Our main problem right now is to convince workers to go out in the fields,” said agricultural manager Yankela Cohen.

Cohen, 73, is no stranger to these hazards. In the 1950s the kibbutz was founded as a joint military-agricultural venture and the workers dodged Egyptian fire. Now the kibbutz is prohibited from using a plane to spray pesticide within 1.5 miles (2.5 km.) of the Gaza border, for fear that it could be shot down, and pests are feasting on their crops.

“There are direct and indirect losses,” Cohen said. “There is no way to continue like this. We are going to lose the whole Negev. We are losing the future."

Good reading

Nov. 28, 2008

Sometimes writer's block leads to the reading of other fantastic pieces. Thus, today I found some must-read articles on:

1. Pakistan and how the latest attack in Mumbai reveals yet another hot spot we need to watch on the world terror front.
2. Communism never died, it just reinvented itself. Excellent points in this article.

The map says it all

Nov. 28, 2008

As the whole world pushes Israel to cede land and agree to a two-state solution, this map seen behind Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas clearly reveals Palestinian demands in a final agreement: the whole thing.

This photo, from Abbas' office in Ramallah, appeared on the front page of al-Ayyam, a Palestinian newspaper, on Monday (translated and posted by Palestinian Media Watch). Something missing in this map? Just the State of Israel.


I read this at Israel Matzav. Nice catch.

Live by the RPG, die by the RPG

Nov. 28, 2008

A certain home video is making its way around websites of a Gaza terrorist who was killed while trying to fire an RPG at a parked vehicle with an Israeli flag. The incident occurred in 2005. was recorded on a cell phone and is only making its way around now.

You can see the video here if you feel up to it on Israel National News which has this to say about it:

The Blue Eye website calls the video "very rare."

It shows Fatah terrorist Khalid Hamid of Khan Younis trying to fire an RPG at a vehicle marked with an Israeli flag. The rocket goes off prematurely and the other terrorists on the scene begin shouting 'Allahu Akbar' and crying after realizing Hamid is hurt.

Hamid is evacuated by fellow terrorists, who place him inside a vehicle which takes him away. No medical personnel or equipment are to be seen. Hamid was later pronounced dead.

New suggestion: Dangle the EU carrot in front of Israelis and Palestinians

Nov. 27, 2008

Professors Richard N. Rosecrance and Ehud Eiran have suggested that perhaps if Israel and the Palestinians were offered membership in the European Union, they'd be able to nail down a peace agreement.

Richard N. Rosecrance is a professor at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center and on the policy planning council at the State Department while Ehud Eiran is a research fellow at the Belfer Center and served in Israel's prime minister's office.

The two list the failures of all previous attempts for a peace deal: Oslo, the Gaza disengagement, and even the Intifadas (uprisings). They lame opponents of peace agreements: Israeli settlers and also call to task weak political leadership on both sides.

Then they go on to sugest this shocker: Offer the Israelis and Palestinians EU membership. I had to pause, but I read on. Giving the two EU status would not only provide fresh vision, but it would serve to heal the historic wounds between Christians, Jews and Muslim. I'll just let them state this in their own words:

To find a path forward, we need to go back to the origins of it all. It was Europe's violent rejection of Jews in the past that begat modern Zionism and paradoxically contributed to its success. Once the problem, Europe may now be the solution. To both encourage and reward a territorial and security agreement between the Israelis and Palestinians, it should offer a clear path for their membership in the European Union.

It could help the parties fashion a settlement. The prospect of joining the richest union of states on earth is an enormous incentive for reaching a deal. The union's organization and values offer the frame for a peace agreement.

...

Of course, there will be challenges. Israelis are haunted by the potential flood of Palestinian refugees from the open borders that Europe espouses (though the Schengen agreement has been applied differentially). Palestinians are still angered by the result of European colonialism, and Europeans may not want to proceed beyond admitting the nearby Island of Cyprus. Europe might hesitate to broker such a deal, but the possibility of their succeeding with a Palestinian settlement, which had eluded the US for 40 years, would be a strong incentive to proceed. All these are weighty issues, but solvable ones.

The possibility of a day in which the descendants of the ancient foes – Christendom, Islamic civilization and Judaism – come together to resolve the century-long conflict over the Holy Land, finally acknowledging their common ancestor, Abraham, is not far afield. By using entrance to the European Union as an incentive for peace, Europe would not only free the region from a seriously destabilizing quarrel, but may also finally put to rest a millennia-long rivalry.

Interesting take. Not that I think it would work. Thoughts?

Jordan paper refuses ad because of Israeli flag

Nov. 27, 2008

Ok, last week four Israeli newspapers ran full-page ads paid for and produced by the Palestinian Authority calling for Israelis to accept the "Saudi initiative." The initiative itself calls on Israel to cede large swaths of land in exchange for peace and recognition that it is a state even by Arab nations.

But a paper in Jordan, one of only two Arab nations with a peace agreement, albeit tenuous, with Israel has refused to run the ad because it shows an Israeli flag along with an entire border of Islamic nations' flags.

This refusal shows there is "long way to go before we reach peace," Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Wednesday.

An editor at Al-Arab Al-Yawm was quoted as saying that the advertisement was rejected both because of the flag and because it promoted the idea that Israel accepted the peace initiative, "although Israeli officials have rejected the initiative."

In fact, President Shimon Peres has said it is a good starting point for negotiations. But never mind.

"This shows the gap in terms of freedom of opinion and expression between Israel and its neighbors," Palmor said. "While it was possible for a foreign government to place a political advertisement in Israeli papers it seems impossible for the same government to place a call for Israeli Arab peace in a Jordanian paper, because of the Israeli flag. Some people have a long way to go before we reach peace."

To say the least. And of course, this is Jordan which already recognizes Israel as a state. Imagine the others.

Eye for an eye

Thing to be thankful for #2: That you don't live in Iran!
Nov. 27, 2008

An Iranian court has sentenced a man who blinded a woman with acid also to be blinded with acid, Iranian media is reporting. The nation rules by Islamic law, which implements an eye-for-an eye justice.

The 27-year-old man confessed to attacking Ameneh Bahrami in 2004 to dissuade anyone else from marrying her. Newspapers said that Ameneh asked the court to sentence Majid, only identified by his first name, to be blinded by acid to prevent similar attacks on other women.

Majid may appeal the verdict.

Something for which to be thankful

It' a regular work day everywhere else but in the US, however, this is a story of goodness, hope and thankfulness: Holocaust survivor reunited with her Polish rescuer after 60 years
Nov. 27, 2008

An Israeli woman was reunited yesterday for the first time in 60 years with the woman who hid her and her family during the Holocaust.

Rozia (Seifert) Rothshild and her family lived in an underground bunker, while Wiktoria (Jaworska) Sozanska's Catholic family brought them food and disposed of their waste every day. Sozanska, who risked her own life, along with her widowed mother and five siblings, kept the Jewish family hidden from the Nazis between 1942 and 1944.

They met again at JFK Airport, thanks to the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous.

"I cannot fully express how grateful I am to Wiktoria and her mother Anna. They opened their home and their hearts to me, risking their own lives in order to save me," Rothshild said. "Their bravery is what has allowed me to live and build a wonderful family of my own, with three children and four grandchildren. I am so thankful to them and the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous for making this extraordinary reunion possible."

Rozia Seifert was one of 5,000 Jews from Turka, Poland rounded up to be transported to a ghetto. Wiktoria Jaworska, then a young woman, looked at furniture the Seifart family was selling before their move, but when she learned that the girl would be taken away to the ghetto, she told the family: "We will take care of you. You will come with us."

In the middle of the night, Sozanka's brother Mikolaj Jaworska came to the Seifart home in a hay cart and snuck Rozia, her brother Lucien, her father Mendel and disabled aunt Fanya away, past the eyes of the Germans on patrol.

The Germans raided Turka in the summer of 1944, when the Soviet army began to approach. Sozanka and her mother moved the Seifarts into the woods, where they lived for two weeks until the area was liberated.

After the war, Rozia Seifert met her Israeli husband and immigrated with him, changing her name to Shoshana - the Hebrew version of her name. Wiktoria Sozanka, now in her 80s, lives in Wroclaw, Poland.

"In the many years we have worked with survivors and their rescuers, I remain awestruck by the heroism of the thousands of rescuers who risked their lives to save others. By holding true to their values, these individuals saved Jews from certain death," said JFR Executive Vice President Stanlee Stahl. "We owe a great debt of gratitude to these men and women, and through our work, hope to improve their lives and preserve their stories."

The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous was created in 1986 to provide financial assistance to non-Jews who risked their lives and often the lives of their families to rescue Jews during the Holocaust. Today the JFR supports more than 1,200 aged rescuers in 26 countries. The Foundation preserves the legacy of the rescuers through its internationally lauded Holocaust education program for middle and high school teachers and Holocaust center personnel.

Thank God for happy endings. Happy Thanksgiving!

Breaking News: Olmert close to indictment

Nov. 26, 2008

Israel's Attorney General has informed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert he is charging him for using his position to take money and benefits. Shula Zaken, the prime minister's aide, was also notified of a pending indictment.

The prime minister is suspected of double billing more than one non-profit organization for trips that he made abroad to raise money for them, collecting $110,000, police say.

Olmert "rejects the allegations." Olmert has said he will not run for re-election, but he also has refused to step before the elections. He has resigned as head of the center-left Kadima party, and as been replaced by Tzipi Livni, foreign minister.

Hamas: Israel, US weaker since election day

Ever wonder what the terrorist groups think of Obama's election?
Nov. 25, 2008

A military wing of Hamas has concluded that without George W. Bush as president of the U.S., the "weak" Israeli government will continue to tolerate daily missile, mortar and rocket strikes on the Jewish state as long as casualties remain low, the World Tribune reported.

"Our decision to accept the calm was based on operational need, the damaging Israeli attacks and our view that [U.S.] President [George] Bush was strong," a Hamas source said. "None of these things is relevant today. We are stronger, and the Israelis and Americans are weaker."

"We drafted what would be Israeli options to any missile attacks, and concluded that the Olmert government was too weak to order a major operation against us," the source said.

One could take this an indication that Hamas thinks of the incoming U.S. president is weak. Hamas and all the other terrorist organizations, especially those in Iraq.

And then a hero comes along

Assad awards convicted murderer, terrorist Syria's highest medal
Nov. 25, 2008

Syrian President Bashar Assad on Monday awarded Samir Kuntar the country's highest medal for spending nearly three decades in an Israeli jail.

Kuntar has the dubious distinction of being the longest-held Lebanese prisoner in Israel. He was imprisoned in 1979 after he was convicted of an atrocious attack - killing a man in front of his 4-year-old daughter, and then killing the girl, crushing her skull with his rifle butt.

Here is the story of Kuntar's in Smadar Haran's own agonizing words (full article here):

It had been a peaceful Sabbath day. My husband, Danny, and I had picnicked with our little girls, Einat, 4, and Yael, 2, on the beach not far from our home in Nahariya, a city on the northern coast of Israel, about six miles south of the Lebanese border. Around midnight, we were asleep in our apartment when four terrorists, sent by Abu Abbas from Lebanon, landed in a rubber boat on the beach two blocks away. Gunfire and exploding grenades awakened us as the terrorists burst into our building. They had already killed a police officer. As they charged up to the floor above ours, I opened the door to our apartment. In the moment before the hall light went off, they turned and saw me. As they moved on, our neighbor from the upper floor came running down the stairs. I grabbed her and pushed her inside our apartment and slammed the door.

Outside, we could hear the men storming about. Desperately, we sought to hide. Danny helped our neighbor climb into a crawl space above our bedroom; I went in behind her with Yael in my arms. Then Danny grabbed Einat and was dashing out the front door to take refuge in an underground shelter when the terrorists came crashing into our flat. They held Danny and Einat while they searched for me and Yael, knowing there were more people in the apartment. I will never forget the joy and the hatred in their voices as they swaggered about hunting for us, firing their guns and throwing grenades. I knew that if Yael cried out, the terrorists would toss a grenade into the crawl space and we would be killed. So I kept my hand over her mouth, hoping she could breathe. As I lay there, I remembered my mother telling me how she had hidden from the Nazis during the Holocaust. "This is just like what happened to my mother," I thought.

As police began to arrive, the terrorists took Danny and Einat down to the beach. There, according to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat so that his death would be the last sight she would ever see. Then he smashed my little girl's skull in against a rock with his rifle butt. That terrorist was Samir Kuntar.

By the time we were rescued from the crawl space, hours later, Yael, too, was dead. In trying to save all our lives, I had smothered her.

Kuntar and four Hizballah terrorists were freed in July in exchange for the bodies of Ehud Goldwasswer and Eldad Regev, two Israeli soldiers captured by Hizballah in 2006. Fair exchange, hey?

Kuntar praised Syria saying that "when I was arrested 30 years ago, she was firmly struggling against Israel and, when I visit today, she still is."

"Soon Assad will fly the Syrian flag over the Golan Heights," he declared.

And Israel is seriously talking "peace" with Syria??

Quiz: Can you guess who this is?

Nov. 25, 2008

If nothing else has scared you yet, this little guessing game could do the job!

(http://www.chicagogop.com/blog/598-Who-am-I-598.html)

Hizballah missile stock 'tripled'

Missiles could reach well past Jerusalem to Beer Sheva
Nov. 25, 2008

Hizballah, the Shiite terrorist group based in Lebanon that fired thousands of missiles into Israel during the 2006 conflict, has tripled it weapons supply since then, not to mentioned enhanced its quality as well as quantity. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Knesset that some of the 42,000 missiles could reach southern cities of Ashkelon, Beersheba and Dimona, more than 125 miles from the border.

According to intelligence estimates, the organization has 14,000 rockets before the last war.

Barak said that because Hizballah is now an elected part of Lebanon's national unity government earlier, Israel would take wider action against the country in future conflicts. Previously, the army tried to target Hizballah strongholds, but even those are dispersed among civilian centers.

"The integration of Hizballah into the Lebanese state exposes Lebanon and its infrastructure to in-depth attacks in the event of a new conflict," he said.

Someone NOT suffering from Bush Derangement Syndrome

Israeli Prime Minister says Bush will go down in history for preserving the security of many
Nov. 25, 2008

While the American media and left is foaming at the mouth with Bush derangement syndrome, at least one world leader is sad to see him go. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said shalom to US President George W. Bush. The two leaders did their best to get a peace plan while both in office but for several reasons it never happened.

Olmert praised Bush for his efforts in Iraq and for his courage in preventing terrorism in the US since 9/11, something that is beleived to have caused the Republicans the White House and congress. Middle Easterners see the developments in Iraq more clearly and more positively than Americans. And heck, we are closer to the action. But here are Olmert's words from DC on Monday:

I'm delighted to have this opportunity to express again the deep gratitude we all have to you, personally, as a human being, as a friend, as a courageous leader who has helped Israel so much over the period since you were President of the United States of America.

I will never forget that you have removed one of the most threatening strategic dangers from Israel on the east side, in Iraq. And this is a great achievement that makes life much better for many people in our part of the world, particularly for us and for our neighbors, as well.

You have set forth in motion the Annapolis process, which I was very proud to take part in. It continues with your guidance and support and inspiration. And this is very important, because as you say, a two-state solution is the only possible way to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

So, Mr. President, on behalf of the people of Israel, I want to thank you. The importance of your leadership is greatly appreciated in our country. And I'm sure that when the history books will be written, the contributions that you made to the safety and security of many people will be greatly appreciated.

O Little Town of Bethlehem gets 900 toy soldiers this Christmas

'Happy birthday, Jesus. Sorry your party is so lame.'
Michael Scott, The Office
Nov. 24, 2008

Bethlehem Mayor Victor Batarseh announced today 900 Palestinian Authority policemen will be sent to Jesus' traditional birthplace for Christmas. No, its not a present, but part of a gradual deployment of Palestinian troops in several West Bank cities.

The PA is negotiating with Israel to allow the forces to stay on after the holiday. PA security forces have so far taken over Nablus, Jenin and Hebron as a result of Palestinian negotiations with Israel. Israel is responsible for some parts of the West Bank, but is slowly turning over law enforcement authority to the Palestinians.

Bethlehem is traditionally known as a Christian Arab town. Christians once comprised more than 80 percent of the population. Now, however, the Christian population is less than 20 percent and the Muslims comprise 80 percent. Many have left due to persecution and the dire economic conditions.

But there is no Palestinian state yet

PLO leaders give Abbas the title 'President of Palestinian State'
Nov. 24, 2008

Why not? America has a king but no monarchy. Might as well give a stateless nation a president-of-state title. From the Jerusalem Post:

Palestinian Liberation Organization leaders voted Sunday to give Mahmoud Abbas an additional title of president of the Palestinian state. The move comes ahead of the anticipated showdown with rivals from the Hamas over the end of Abbas' term.

Abbas was elected Palestinian Authority president in 2005. Hamas says his term ends in January. Abbas' loyalists say he has an additional year. Hamas rules Gaza, while Abbas runs the West Bank.

And on the northern front...

Hizballah training in full and flagrant violation of UN resolution
Nov. 24

While Gaza is heating up again in the South, Hizballah apparently conducted military maneuvers north and south of the Litani River this past weekend. Their military ops coincided with a military parade by Lebanese armed forces in downtown Beirut marking Independence Day.

Al-Arabiya TV reported that Hizballah didn't use weapons, but trained in mountain deployments and other military actions. The television network pointed that the Shiite movement was conducting its maneuvers despite UNSCR 1701, a resolution that bans Hizballah from south of the Litani River. (Reported at www.albawaba.com)

UN Security Council Resolution 1701, which ended the Second Lebanon War in summer '06, calls for a UN patrol between the Litani River in southern Lebanon and Israel's northern border. Hizballah is supposed to stay north of the river. The resolution has been completely ineffective.

Hizballah has also been said to have amassed more weapons than it had when it started the war against Israel 2.5 years ago and abducted two soldiers in a cross-border raid. Intelligence experts say that the smuggling over the Syrian border is unchecked. The terrorist movement (Hizballah means Party of Allah) also has seats in government as of this year's elections. Why would they need to conduct military operations completely disconnected from the national army?

Rhetorical question, I know.

Israel should consider killing Ahmadinejad, Israeli official says

Nov 24, 2008

The Hebrew media is all abuzz with a report from Australia's Sidney Morning Herald on Sunday. The Herald quotes former Israeli Army Chief of Staff Moshe Yaalon as saying "all options," including killing Iranian leader, must be considered to defeat the regime in Tehran

"We have to confront the Iranian revolution immediately. There is no way to stabilize the Middle East today without defeating the Iranian regime. The Iranian nuclear program must be stopped. All tools, all options, should be considered."

According to the article, asked whether "all options" included taking out the Iranian leadership by military strikes, including on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Yaalon replied, "We have to consider killing him."

"I was chief of staff during Operation Iraqi Freedom (the US invasion of Iraq in 2003) and I was surprised the US decided to go into Iraq instead of Iran … Unfortunately, the American public didn't have the political stomach to go into Iran. Military intervention (in Iran) would not be one strike. It needs to be a sustained operation … Any military strike in Iran will be quietly applauded by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the Gulf states. It is a misconception to think that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the most important in the Middle-East. The Shiite-Sunni schism is much bigger, the Persian-Arab divide is bigger, the struggle between national regimes and jihadism is much bigger. And I can't imagine the US will want to share power in the Middle East with a nuclear-armed Iran."

In response to the article, Yaalon said he did say the Iranian regime could be defeated through political, diplomatic and economic means, but with a military strike being the last resort.

Labor party parliament member Ophir Pines said Yaalon's political statements were good for election season maybe but were irresponsible and "will set the Middle East on fire, lead to the international isolation of Israel and interfere with efforts to thwart Iran's nuclear program."

But whenever an Israeli army official makes comments like there, you can believe that everyone, including Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is listening and wondering.

Rockets continue in the South

Nov. 24, 2008

Since the cease-fire (more accurately called a tadiyeh, or calm) that was declared on June 19, more than 90 rockets have been launched by Hamas in Gaza at Israelis. More than a third of these rockets fell in one November day alone (35 on Nov. 5).

Israel has held her fire for the most part until recently. But during the tadiyeh, Hamas has been smuggling in arms from Egypt through its vast tunnel network that reaches under the border and has conducted major training session for its fighters.

This is what Israelis have known and tried to say all along, but the Palestinians are also admitting it: A Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees rep told the London newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that terrorists have used the tahdiyeh “to train in the abduction of [Israeli] soldiers and martial arts,” and he threatened Israel with “unpleasant surprises.”

And who doesn't love surprises?

Meanwhile, Hamas took it as a sign of victory when the Israel Defense Forces moved out permanently from their base at Zikim, south of Ashkelon, last week. The base is within a couple miles of Gaza. A rocket attack on the base wounded 69 soldiers in 2007.

Former Defense Minister Moshe Arens said the army's decision is a reflection of "the government's reckless policy of retreating instead of fighting our enemies." Such retreat only encourages the enemy to continue firing rockets, he said.

Hamas agrees. Palestinians, predictably, gloated and claimed victory. From Ynet:

"The evacuation of Zikim serves as further proof that the IDF is going from defeat to defeat," Abu Abur, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), told Ynet. "It began with the withdrawal from Lebanon (May 2000), the pullout from Gaza (August 2005), the defeat in the Second Lebanon War (summer 2006) and, of course, the daily beating from the Palestinian resistance. Zikim won't be the last place from which Israelis will be evacuated."

This is why the next election is all about land-for-peace. Withdrawal hasn't worked any time it has been practiced in recent history.

Sunday Special: When Life Deals You Lemons, Make Beer

There is some good news to report from the Middle East, it just doesn't get nearly as much coverage. Here is one example of a politically charged but positive story that I wrote about recently. Taybeh is worth a visit if you are planning a trip to this part of the world. The residents need some moral support. And the beer isn't bad either :)
Nov. 23, 2008

TAYBEH -- The strains of accordion music by a Bavarian band piped through the fall sky. An announcement for a rugby game followed the performance. Beer songs and beer itself flowed freely.

Oktoberfest was in full swing. But this was surreal--Oktoberfest was not taking place in a European city, but a small Arab town behind a checkpoint, under the shadow of an army base.

In the twisted maze of Israeli and Palestinian towns respectively under Israeli and Palestinian control, where snipers fired at Israeli cars during the Intifadas (uprisings) and many feared to tread, Taybeh is tucked as a small Christian town surrounded by 16 Moslem villages.

Mayor David Khoury took the narrow, pot-hole riddled road toward the main highway where one direction takes you into an Israeli town and the opposite brings you to his. He draped an Oktoberfest poster over the sign that warns Israelis they are prohibited, by Israeli law, to enter territories under Palestinian autonomy.

“This is peace?” asked the mayor of Taybeh. “I want Israelis to feel welcome in my town.”

Many Taybeh residents and the mayor himself blame “the occupation” for their economic hardships and say they prefer to live under Palestinian rule, calling themselves Palestinians first, Christians second.

“Sometimes we face problems (with Moslems) because they look at us as different,” said Christine Shahin, a Christian student from Birzeit. “But the Jews treat us the same as a Moslem Palestinian.”

But politics aside for a weekend, Taybeh showcased its beer and in doing so the mettle of the small Christian town to take a difficult situation and turn it into an economic model in the Palestinian territories. Khoury is a consummate businessman. With an MBA from Boston College and 30 years in the United States as a business owner, Khoury told Israel Today he returned to his hometown of Taybeh in 2000 to invest in the economy.

The Khoury family started the brewery, founded by David’s brother Nadim, in 1995 with the name of the town as the beer’s label. David Khoury became mayor in 2005 and said his goals as mayor includes investing in the economy, creating jobs and keeping the town clean. Indeed, the city is clean, welcoming and the brewery has created some jobs for residents.

Taybeh is the only micro-brew in the Middle East. Made from the pure German formula that uses no preservatives or additives, rendering the beer 100 percent natural with malts from Belgium, hops from Bavaria and yeast from the United Kingdom. Taybeh produces three brews: golden, light and dark and just this year unveiled a nonalcoholic version, a beverage more marketable to their Moslem neighbors. Taybeh Beer became the first Palestinian product to be produced in Germany under the Taybeh license.

Because of its natural ingredients and lack of preservatives, the beer spoils quickly so long delays at Israeli checkpoints threaten to ruin the beer as it sits under the sun. This challenge to get the beer from Taybeh to Jerusalem--a mere 20 miles away--has caused the town to turn to tourism. If the beer can’t get outside, the town will try to bring the outsiders to them. Maria Khoury, David’s wife, relentlessly promotes tourism to the town.

“The Oktoberfest story is really a reflection of how private sector can positively influence and boost the Palestinian economy,” she writes in an Internet article. “This is the new challenge in the private sector when you have achieved excellence in Palestine how then can you share it with the world when you are on the wrong side of the Wall?”

Accordingly, Oktoberfest began in 2005. This year, some 12,000 people filtered in and out of this year’s festival, enjoying the performances by the local schools, a Bavarian band and the first-ever rugby match between Palestinian teams from Ramallah and Beit Jalla. The festival also featured other local products such as honey, olive oil and embroidery.

Taybeh clings to its Christian roots and its 100 percent Christian population, the only such town in the Middle East. But it doesn’t mean the Christians are staying--the population has dwindled from 12,000 to 2,000 in about a decade.

Called Ofra in the Old Testament and later Ephraim in John 11:54, the town has been occupied by Christian Arabs for hundreds of years, Khoury said. His own family claims about 12 generations there. The village has kept its unique identity as Christian for 2,000 years. Khoury wants to keep it that way and to improve life for its citizens.

“I wanted to make a modern Palestine,” Khoury explained his return to combat a an astonishing 60 percent unemployment rate in the town. “Taybeh is now on the map.”

Israel's Fischer urges continued tax cuts

Pretty soon Israel is going to be more capitalist than America
Nov. 21, 2008

I love Stanley Fischer, governor of the Bank of Israel. He said something yesterday so logical as he was commenting on the economic stimulus package before the parliament: Cut taxes, stimulate the economy, give the public disposable income. And, to practice what he preaches, Fischer cut interest rates here to 3 percent.

Such logic, however, appears to be lost on the United States of bailouts and NYC’s Mayor Taxman Bloomberg, allegedly trying to “save” the American economy.

It is vital that all possible measures be taken, within the budgetary framework, to encourage real activity in the economy, and to give the business sector, especially small and mid-size businesses, easier access to credit facilities,” Fischer said. “It is important to move forward with the planned reduction in tax rates alongside these measures.”

This is the opposite direction in which the U.S. is moving. Israel’s government and economy has its roots in socialism. But between Benjamin Netanyahu as finance minister and now Fischer, the country is reducing government regulation and has broken up government-run monopolies, trying to increase competition.

Don’t get me wrong: Israel still has a national health care system, and it is not recommended. And the banks here still charge 70 fees for services, down from 300! Israel is far from capitalist. But Fischer seems to know a lot better how to simulate the economy as opposed to the bailout Senate and Congress in D.C.

Olmert heading to Washington to see Bush - but why?

Could Iran be high on the agenda?
Nov. 21

Could I ask any more rhetorical questions? Don’t answer.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will be meeting with US President George W. Bush on Monday. But why? Both men are lame duck leaders. However, with the latest news that Iran has enough uranium for at least one nuke, the buzz is Israel is that the two will discuss a strike on an Iranian nuclear facility. Quick before Jan. 20!

White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino simply said on Thursday that Bush "looks forward to discussing with the prime minister the strong bilateral relationship between the United States and Israel, our continuing, mutual efforts to bring peace to the Middle East and a wide range of regional and international issues."

The meeting was initiated by Bush.

"The prime minister welcomes this opportunity to meet with the president and to express his most sincere appreciation for the eight years of American friendship and American support for the state of Israel," said Regev. "The prime minister believes firmly that George Bush is not only a friend of Israel, he also views the president as a personal friend."

But the plot thickens: The Time of London (known to be wrong or exaggerated in several instances of sensational Israeli news) reported that chances of an Israeli preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities have significantly increased in recent weeks.

The report comes a day after the a UN nuclear watchdog group said that Iran would have enough highly enriched uranium to produce its first nuclear weapon by the end of 2009.

But have no fear, the Israeli Air Force is ready to attack Iran's suspected nuclear weapons project, according to Commander Ido Nehushtan in an interview published in Der Speigel on Tuesday.

"We are prepared and ready to do whatever Israel needs us to do and if this is the mission we're given then we are ready," Nehushtan said. “If I understand it correctly, all options are on the table ... The Air Force is a very robust and flexible force. We are ready to do whatever is demanded of us."

Meanwhile, Israel’s Foreign Ministry said this simply “illustrates Iran's continuous violation of UN Security Council resolutions. The report emphasizes and clarifies military aspects of Iran's nuclear activities.”

As American swings left, Israel scrambles toward the right

Polls show Israelis may be subconsciously worried about Obama
Nov. 21, 2008

Benjamin Netanyahu is gaining in the polls leading up to a February election for prime minister while Kadima leader Tzipi Livni is losing ground. As Israel swings toward the right, it seems some of it has to do with fear that a left-wing Israeli government combined with a left-wing American government would strip Israel of her defenses and favor the Palestinians too heavily in land-for-peace deals.

Netanyahu is not planning on losing this time: He has seemingly copied the design of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign website and he just hired two Obama advisors this week.

Ynet reports that Netanyahu, the opposition leader, finalized the employment of Bill Knapp and Josh Isay, who have worked in recent years with candidates of the Democratic Party in the United States, including former President Bill Clinton, Senator Joe Lieberman, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and president-elect Obama.

PA Does PR in Israel

Nov. 20 2008

Palestinians bypassed normal political negotiations to appeal directly to the Israeli public by buying full page ads in Israeli newspapers to promote the Saudi peace initiative, the first time the Palestinian Authority has run ads in Israeli papers.

Israeli parliament member Ahmed Tibi, who is Arab, said PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas “believes that this initiative is the best method to solve the conflict, and he thinks that up to this point the Israeli public and Israeli politics have not been given a chance to truly understand the initiative.”

The ad, ringed by the flags of dozens of Muslim nations and titled “The Arab Peace Initiative--Full relations and diplomatic ties between Israel and 57 Arab and Muslim states in exchange for a comprehensive peace agreement and a full end to the occupation,” ran in at the four daily Israeli newspapers.

The ad included quotes from Saudi Prince Abdullah calling for “a full Israel withdrawal from all Arab territories conquered in 1967” and promising “normal relations in the context of a comprehensive peace with Israel, by convincing Arab states that a military solution to the conflict will not bring peace or security.”

Under the Saudi Plan, Israel would be required to cede the Golan Heights, all of Judea, Samaria and most if not all of eastern Jerusalem, including the Old City. Israel would also be required to find “a just solution” for millions of foreign Arabs claiming descent from those who fled the country during the War of Independence.

President Shimon Peres does not fully support the plan, but has said he believes it to be a good starting point for negotiations. Tzipi Livni, chairwoman of the Kadima party, has expressed similar sentiments.

And the Israeli public just might buy it too. Many here vote leftwing and several subscribe to the land-for-peace theory. And most Israeli will try anything for peace, even if it involves giving away most of your land, evacuating thousands of your fellow citizens and destroying their homes and then building dozens of new neighborhoods in order to relocate these people.

Does anyone remember Gaza? Did that work? Or could it be that the rockets that come from Gaza will then come from a Palestinian state and would be able to reach every part of Israel, not just the traumatized ones in the South?

An only-in-Israel moment

Nov. 19, 2008

It was one of those things that only happens in Israel. I would've had a story for you today about the Palestinian economy, but the guest speaker, a Palestinian businessman, couldn't make it: He was detained at the checkpoint by Israeli soldiers and was delayed by more than an hour. In the end we did a phone interview on someone's mobile on speaker in a room with about 20 reporters. But the point was lost. The real story was his absense.

This was a public relations nightmare for Israel, by Israel. Here were 20 reporters from the foreign press: NY Times, BBC, La Stampa (viva Italia!) and others (like me), waiting for an update on the state of the Palestinian economy, and here the speaker was detained by a 19-year-old Israeli soldier at a checkpoint. Samir Hulileh is the CEO of Palestinian Development and Investment Ltd. and has a "VIP pass" that should get him through Jerusalem checkpoints without a problem. But of course, not today.

Instead, reporters already heavily sympathtic toward the Palestinians, got a different story, one that supports the views of "Goliath Israel vs. the underdog David Palestinian."

The checkpoints are there ostensibly to catch suicide bombers or others with terroristic intents. Today, it stopped a man on a quest to improve the quality of life for his people. Only in Israel.

Lawyer: Rape Israeli women

Nov. 19 2008

An Egyptian lawyer, who happens to be female, says that sexual harassment and even rape against Israeli women is warranted since Israelis are "raping the land." It's a new form of resistane, she says. Thanks to MEMRI for translating and posting this video. (I can't seem to embed it here)

Of course this begs the question, WHAT Israeli women in Arab lands? Israelis are not allowed into most Arab countries. Israelis in Egypt, beware!

Good thing America voted with the world...

Excerpt from a Times Online interview by Richard Beeston, Foreign Editor, with President Shimon Peres of Israel ahead of his visit to London on Nov. 17, 2008:

Times: How might Barack Obama's election change the situation?

Peres: This is the beginning of the end of racism. A black man reaching the top position is the strongest answer to Hitler. It is the political equivalent of the black runner (Jesse Owens) who won the gold medal in 1936. No one looked at the colour of his leg or the colour of the sportsman, they measured his speed. The capacity of America to renew itself is a welcome surprise. Obama was elected by the American people, but he was chosen by the world.

Me: Speechless. Well, mostly. Even Peres believes this guy is the Messiah!

UN gets stern with Israel while rockets still fly over the border

Picks on Israel for closing crossings; doesn't criticize Hamas for breaking cease-fire
Nov. 19

While rockets are flying overhead and Israeli tanks on are standby to head into Gaza, a war of words is flying back and forth between United Nations and Israeli officials.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay accused Israel of "forcibly depriving" 1.5 million Palestinians of "basic human rights for months." She called for Israel to end air strikes and incursions into Gaza, and for Palestinians to stop firing rockets, urged Israel to allow the flow of aid to resume, and to restore electricity and water service in the Hamas-controlled territory.

Israel's Foreign Ministry fired back with a furious press release:

It is shocking to read the High Commissioner's utterly shortsighted press release regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Most disturbing is the way she casually refers to Palestinian aggression in the last sentence of her statement, as almost an afterthought. Unfortunately, Israel does not have the option of being so casual in its response to rocket and mortar attacks on its civilians, attacks which violate the most fundamental right of all, the right to life.

Overall responsibility for the situation in the Gaza Strip lies with Hamas, which invests all of its resources in arms and terrorism instead of providing for the civilians that it brutally controls.

Electricity and water continue to flow from Israel to Gaza, and 33 trucks laden with supplies arrived in Gaza yesterday, with more waiting to enter as soon as Hamas ends its violent attacks. It is disappointing to see the high commissioner fall victim to Hamas' cynical manipulation of the media.

Rather than engaging in the political game being promoted by the Palestinians, Israel expects the High Commissioner to investigate the facts before issuing one-sided statements about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, and to begin by forcefully condemn the perpetrators of terror

In the last 10 days, Hamas has fired more than 170 rockets and mortars at Israel.

Writing in Ynet, Robert D. Onley pleads for Israel to wake up and reassert her sovereignty regardless of UN and international criticism:

Indeed, where in the UN Charter does it say that if a nation is subject to terror attacks, then that nation can be blamed for causing them? And who among Israel’s political elite is actually convinced that some form of negotiated agreement, imposed or otherwise, will permanently end hostilities with Hamas and appease its leadership? Surely the failure of the current ceasefire should serve as a stark warning for any future permanent "ceasefire."

...Leaders in Jerusalem must realize that one day soon, Israel will ultimately be alone in the world. Which world power legitimately can and will defend Israel once the United States packs up from Iraq and goes home to lick its wounds? Will Barack Obama supernaturally appear in the sky to save "God’s Chosen People?" Perhaps the Europeans will reluctantly pick up their guns to protect the same people they practically annihilated a mere 63 years ago?

...History demands that Israel wake up, stop its internal bickering and incessant dithering, recognize its extraordinary past and patently defend the land it rightly possesses. If Israel does not do so, one day soon there will be more than just a few Arab nations calling for a 'final solution' to the Middle East conflict.

Decisions must be made today to defend against that future. Indeed, a nation that lacks the will to safeguard its sovereignty will one day simply fail to exist. Israel cannot fail at this crucial juncture; may history guide and protect her footsteps in these perilous times. Alas, no one else is willing.

Land-for-peace leads to war

Former army chief of staff admits land-for-peace policy is a mistake
Nov. 19, 2008

Moshe Ya'alon, a former army Chief of Staff, backtracked today on his previous support of "land for peace," a policy that has been proven to lead instead to war, he said.

In an interview with Voice of Israel government radio, Ya'alon said he has learned over the past 15 years that giving up land "deteriorates our security." Ya'alon once stated that Israel could defend itself without the Golan Heights.

He said today that the expulsion and the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000 left Israel exposed to Hizballah attacks from the North (as in the Second Lebanon war in 2006) and with rocket attacks in the South since Jewish settlements and the army were completely withdrawn from Gaza in 2005.

Ya'alon is joining Benjamin Netanyahu on the Likud ticket. Elections are set for February.

Hizballah - More dangerous than al-Qaida?

Nov. 18, 2008

While CIA Director Michael Hayden said last week that al-Qaida was still the largest threat to the United States, intelligence analysts warn that the Shiite organization, Hizballah, should not be underestimated, according to Olivier Guitta writing in The Middle East Times yesterday:

Pre Sept. 11, 2001, Hizballah was the organization believed to be responsible for the deaths of the largest number of Americans killed in terrorist attacks. Former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage called Hizballah "the A-team of terrorists, while al-Qaida may actually be the B-team."

...Hizballah is believed to maintain a vast network of operatives across the world; from Europe to Africa to the Middle East, to Latin America and even North America.

...Europe presents other possible targets. Counterterrorism officials, especially in Europe, are sometimes privately more concerned by Hizballah than al-Qaida. Intelligence officials say that infiltrating the movement is almost impossible, mostly because of the lack of a large Shiite population on the continent, and when compared to Intel on Sunni terrorist groups, European law enforcement officials say they are almost blind.

The Middle East remains the region where Hizballah can inflict the most damage to the West. Being clearly in command in Lebanon, UNIFlL forces in southern Lebanon remains vulnerable to attacks.

Hizballah's arsenal is impressive and includes some 40,000 rockets that have been supplied by Iran, Syria and Eastern European countries. These weapons could also end up in the hands of the insurgents in Iraq.

The article goes on to say that Hizballah has a vast fund-raising operation, an extensive network of operatives on American soil and an "ongoing capability to launch terrorist attacks within the United States," according to then-CIA Director George Tenet.

Peres: Israel will gladly hand back the Golan

In the name of 'peace'
Nov. 18, 2008

(Photo caption: Metulla Mayor Jacob Katz points to the massive Golan Heights in the distance. The Golan overlooks all of the Galilee and produces some great Israeli wine, I might add.)

Israeli President Shimon Peres said Syria already knows that Israel will return the strategic Golan Heights, captured during the 1967 war, in order to attain peace. Never mind that doing so would give Syria and friends (Iran and Hizballah) a sniper's view into the heart of Israel.

"Egypt made peace with Israel, and so did Jordan and they got back all the territory. Syria knows that if it will make peace it will get the same," Peres said today during state visit to Britain.

Making peace with Syria is contingent on Damascus cutting ties with Iranian-backed Hizballah based in Lebanon.

Peres told BBC Radio: "If Syria will understand that they can't have the Golan Heights and keep Lebanon as a base for the Iranians, then the decision will be clear. But if she wants the Golan Heights back and keeps her bases in Lebanon - which are really controlled and financed by the Iranians - no Israeli will agree to have Iranians on our borders."

But they'll agree to Syrians? And can Syria stop the Iranian Revolutionary Guard from coming through their borders? Or is Israel bargaining for a military base in Syria on Iran's border? Now that would be interesting.

Meanwhile, more peace: A Palestinian man was caught with pipe-bomb at checkpoint outside Nablus on Tuesday morning.

The plight of Arab Christians

But this time in the words of a Muslim
Nov. 18, 2008

Christians are being persecuted not only in Iraq, but in most Arab countries, regardless of their numbers there. They are subjected to every possible kind of discrimination, as well as expulsion. The problem is that it is not only Arab officials who are remaining silent, but, alarmingly, so are Arab intellectuals, the elites, non-government organizations, and leaders of the private sector. All these groups look on at these unprecedented [acts of] folly without apprehending the danger with which these crimes are fraught.

Statistics show that in 2005 the number of Christians in Iraq was as high as 800,000. By early 2008, it had dropped by half, [indicating] that 50 percent of Iraqi Christians had been expelled from their homes and lands.

Let us be honest with ourselves and courageously say out loud that Palestinian Christians are taking many severe blows, yet are suffering in silence so as not to attract attention. I do not refer here to the suffering caused by the occupation... but to actions of the past 20 years at least - that is, since the beginning of the occupation in 1967 - involving the confiscation of Christian property, especially in Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Al-Birah.

What makes things worse is that those who are plundering [the Christians'] property are either powerful [in their own right] or are backed by various elements, among them high-ranking military officials or influential members of large clans.

...Furthermore, there has been an attempt to marginalize Christian culture in Palestine, even though it is rich and deeply rooted [there]. This began with [accusations] of unbelief [against Christians] - a move that ultimately harmed Palestinian society as a whole... Despite all the injustices [against the Christians], no one has seen or heard of any constructive action to curb it and to [defend] the Christians' rights.

...But the most fundamental problem here may be related to culture. We continue to instill a horrific culture in our children, one that sees Christians as infidels... and as 'the other.' We need an injection of humanistic and national awakening; we must raise an outcry and stand up to restore the Christians' rights, of which they have been deprived in order to preserve the demographic balance, which will safeguard the unity of our homeland and the justness the Palestinian cause.

...It is not words that we need, but progressive attitudes, and the truth, so that it can be presented to tyrannical rulers, and so that clerics and old men will not be the only Christians left in the Holy Land and in the city of [Jesus'] birth.

By Abd Al-Nasser Al-Najjar writing in the Palestinian daily Al-Ayyam, Oct. 25, 2008. Translation: MEMRI

Let's pray for the Christians as well as this writer.

'Partial cease-fire' = 10 rockets

Nov. 17, 2008

For Hamas, 'partial cease-fire' means they send over a few rockets to Israel, but Israel does not respond. That's partial, all on their part.

Tough words, so far no actions, from Israeli leadership: "There is no such thing as a partial lull – it's either there or it isn't, and today it isn't there," said Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Livni.

More than 10 rockets have been fired from northern Gaza towards Israel just today. Residents are all too familiar with the trauma and immediately returned to pre-calm panic calling on the government to respond immediately.

I'll hazard a guess the cease-fire is over. Anyone want to make that official?

To free Shalit, speak directly to the source

Forum circulates a video to Hamas prisoners' families in Gaza appealing to them for help
Nov. 17, 2008

In the apparent absence of government action, someone is doing something: A forum called Smart Middle East has an Arabic video being circulated on You Tube via email to the families of those Palestinian prisoners appealing to them to pressure Hamas to release Gilad Shalit.

"Hamas is using the issue of Shalit to safeguard its rule in Gaza. We know that behind closed doors you weep as any father or mother would. Hamas is to blame for the delay. Call Hamas and let your voice be heard," the video urges.

"We believe you must put pressure on the family members of Hamas prisoners," said Eli Avidar, head of the Smart Middle East forum and Israel's former consul to Qatar, on the group’s website (video in Hebrew).

More from Avidar on Ynet:

"The deal is being held up, but not because of the price or the number of prisoners. Hamas, as opposed to Hizbullah, has no interest in this deal because they see Shalit as their insurance card. But this appeal can help because Hamas is sensitive to its public. They swept the elections because they understand the public, and this initiative appeals to the public," said Avidar.

“(The forum) believes that our leadership over the past 30 years doesn't understand how to operate in the Middle East. You can't talk to Hamas about a 'price' in terms of 200 or 400 prisoners, because the price will immediately go up," he said. "The government's initiatives are useless. The government is offering money for information (about Shalit), but we are appealing to the families' emotions. The appeal isn't inflammatory, it speaks with a clear voice."

Let’s pray that some in Gaza will have ears to hear that voice.

Shalit was kidnapped on June 25, 2006. Does anyone read Vince Flynn novels? Is it too much to believe that an agency like Israel’s Mossad couldn’t have already gotten Shalit out? He’s only 22. He’s been in hostile captivity more than 800 days. Think about that.

Olmert agrees to free 250 Palestinian prisoners

Gone and somewhat forgotten is Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped two years ago and apparently still alive
Nov. 17, 2008

No sooner did a false cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza come crashing to an end when Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised to free 250 Palestinian prisoners next month as a goodwill gesture to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Now, Israel has separated the whole concept of Palestinians from Hamas and Gaza so the two are supposedly separate in Olmert’s mind, presumably. But as more Palestinian prisoners go free out of good will, Gilad Shalit rots at the hands of terrorist, a soldier in his 20s whose life is probably worth thousands of live Palestinian prisoners, at least estimating by the last tragic prisoner exchange (terrorists for two dead bodies: the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were turned over to Israel on July 16, 2008 by Hizballah).

Despite the fact that Olmert will be leaving office under a cloud of scandal after the upcoming elections and is essentially a lame duck, how he has managed to agree to another prisoner release is astounding. At least one Knesset member noted as much.

"Olmert is not relevant to the political process, and he does not [have the authority] to make promises in Israel's name," said Reuben Rivlin. "We're tired of him and his political mischief."

I betcha so are Shalit’s parents.

One bit of hope is that despite the government’s short-term memory that one of their young men is probably psychologically ruined for life even if he does live through this ordeal, many citizens do remember. Every day protestors are camped outside the prime minister’s house with Shalit posters reminding passersby and the government that one of theirs is in enemy’s hands.

Britain declares economic war on Israel

UK tells EU to stop buying imports from settlements; Israel appeals to UK FM
Nov. 17, 2008

Britain has warned the European Union of selling “illegal” goods produced in Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria in an apparent bid to pressure Jerusalem to halt construction in the settlements.

I reported this in the upcoming December issue of Israel Today magazine. England has asked EU members to avoid buying goods produced in Israeli settlements, which are then entering Britain after being exempt from tariffs. This violates an Israel-EU trade agreement: Goods designated as having been produced in the “West Bank” could mislead consumers into thinking they are from Palestinians, England maintains. Jewish settlements in the West Bank are not kosher to the EU or UK.

Israeli officials believe this is an attempt by Britain to pressure Jerusalem to stop building or clear out Jewish settlements. Britain’s move follows consumer protests in The Netherlands last year when a major importer of organic produce promised to refrain from dealing in settlement-produced items. Also this year, the Dutch company Heineken, which has a partial ownership of Barkan Wineries, moved the last of the winery’s operations out of a West Bank industrial zone, under pressure from consumer groups and the Dutch government.

This week with British Foreign Minister David Miliband was here for a two-day visit aimed at advancing Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. His Israeli counterpart Tzipi Livni called Britain’s stance "exaggerated."

Today, Miliband headed south to view the rockets from Gaza firsthand.

“I'm here today because Sderot has become the front line of Israel's security. It's very important that counties like mine and others show solidarity with the people of Sderot and that's what I'm doing today," Miliband said. "Israeli people need to know that the British people know of Sderot, and we know of the tragedy they are facing, and we stand with them."

Just not their controversial products from the settlements.

Americans concerned about Iran

New poll shows that Americans are pro-Israel especially, but American-centric
Nov. 16, 2008

While Americans generally support Israel under many circumstances, a new bi-partisan poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research and commissioned by The Israel Project, shows that the driving support for Israel is based on shared values, but mostly a fear of an Iranian threat. Some highlights:

• 72 percent say "even with all the problems that America faces at home now, we must still work hard to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons"
• 66 percent say America should be a supporter of Israel and only 6 percent say America should be a supporter of the Palestinians
• Recent news has made close to two-thirds of Americans more concerned about Iran
• While economic issues top the list of American concerns, it does not dampen voters’ wishes to stand with Israel and to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
  

Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, founder and president of The Israel Project, said she was encouraged that "depsite the economic crisis, people are still willing to stand up on the issue of Iran,” which she labeled as the "seurity issue of the decade."

However, the results also show that American support is based on American, not Israeli, interests. The Israeli-Palestinian issue was fourth on a list of foreign policy concerns. Americans worried that Iran could give nuclear weapons to terror groups hostile to or already in the United States or that it could create more economic unrest.

"Voters supporting Obama as well as McCain all find Iran with nuclear weapons to be a grave threat to the US and feel the need to work hard to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons,” said Stanley Greenberg, PhD of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research.

It seems, however, that American support of Israel tends to be as that of a preliminary shield for the United States, especially when it comes to Iran.

Hamas say 'dig this' as Gaza heats up again

Flimsy cease-fire spiraling into new round of violence
Nov. 16, 2008

All of a sudden we are back to pre-cease-fire days in the South of Israel. Throughout the "cease-fire" Hamas continued to fire sporadic rockets from the Gaza Strip. But this last weekend, two dozen rockets pounded the Sderot area and Ashkelon. An 80-year-old woman was injured and several Israelis were treated for shock. Defense officials said at least two of the rockets were Grad missiles. Israel responded with an air strike that four Palestinians as they were trying to fire homemade rockets.

This latest round of violence between Israel and Hamas has left 15 Palestinians dead and the five-month-old truce on life support. The truce came into effect on June 19.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert placed the entirety of the blame on Hamas and hinted at retaliation from Israel: "We cannot tolerate the price that the terrorist organizations are trying to set for the prevailing situation there. It is our right to prevent further terrorism, threats and the breaking of the calm that is harming – first and foremost – the residents of the area."

Hamas has been using its time during the 'cease-fire' (or more accurately translated as 'calm') wisely though. Earlier this month, the Israeli army uncovered a tunnel on the border with Gaza meant for kidnapping soldiers. According to the Foreign Affairs Ministry:

The force successfully located a structure, under which a tunnel, designed to enable the immediate abduction of IDF soldiers, had been dug. During the operation, armed terrorists inside the structure opened fire at the IDF forces. The forces returned fire and identified positively hitting a number of them. Two IDF soldiers were moderately wounded and two were lightly injured.

"The rules regarding Gaza are clear: If there is calm and the time is not utilized to prepare the next attack - there will be calm in return," said Vice Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. "But if Israeli citizens are attacked - Israel will respond forcefully in order to protect them. Israel is not interested in deterioration, but we won't put up with recurring violations of the calm. The other side must understand that there are times when Israel must say 'enough is enough'."

Israel security expert: Obama’s policies “worry me a great deal”

The Iran theories
Nov. 16, 2008

Talk to Israelis about the effect of an Obama presidency for Israel and they'll tell you there are many theories.

The first is that Israel is preparing to attack before prez-elect Obama legally ascends to office. After all, why else is the outgoing (not in the extrovert sense) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert going to visit the lame-duck President GWB? Not to say shalom, presumably. Both leaders, going out with low approval ratings, would benefit from a boost by some James-Bond move to enhance their ratings.

I know I said 'many theories,' but no one ever gets past the one, almost as if it is a foregone conclusion. I don't know if there are any other theories actually. I guess it sounds more educated to say 'several' but then stop at the only actual one. 'The one' (not to be confused with Barack Obama himself) is discussed ad infinitum.

Israeli security experts say that with Obama at the helm of American politics, the Jewish state faces a grave situation with a nuclear Iran. Director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center Barry Rubin said he is worried about Obama’s stated intention that he will “conciliate" with his enemies means he will drop his friends.

"That worries me a great deal,” Rubin said, adding that Obama's stance on Iran is an “extremely serious strategic challenge which affects 20 countries or more.”

“We have every reason to believe that (Obama) will take a relatively soft approach whether or not he holds direct negotiations or indirect negotiations” Iran, he said. “We cannot expect that he will take a tougher line on sanctions and pressures and that he will not persuade Tehran that he’s going to do so. This will have a predictable affect that the Iranians are going to push ahead on nuclear weapons as fast as they have with much less concern over consequences.”

Indeed, while Israeli leaders expressed congratulations and optimism regarding Obama in the press, security sources say behind the scenes there was a bit more concern as to the ramifications of his conciliation with Iran.

Even Foreign Minsiter Tzipi Livni publicly intoned dissonance with Obama’s readiness to talk to Iran, which would be perceived in the Middle East as a sign of weakness, she said.

“We live in a neighborhood in which sometimes dialogue--in a situation where you have brought sanctions, and you then shift to dialogue-- is liable to be interpreted as weakness,” Livni said. Asked if she supported US dialogue with Iran, Livni replied: “The answer is no.”

Most Israelis, and Palestinians for that matter, say that the Palestinian-Israeli situation is not likely to be affected by any American president. However, just today a news report quoted the prez-elect as favoring the 1967 borders in a peace agreement. The ‘67 borders essentially push Israel out of the Old City and leaves Jewish institutions like Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital on the Palestinian side. It also cuts off families from each other plus brings West Jerusalem to the front line of rockets and snipers. This certainly doesn’t make him more left-wing than Israeli leaders. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and President Shimon Peres already added their support to it as well. THis stems from the "Saudi initiative."

At the UN last week, Peres lauded the idea and was applauded when he told King Abdullah “I wish that your voice will become the prevailing voice of the whole region, of all people.”

Year of Jubilee for American CEOs

It's a jubilee year for the "United States of Bailouts"
Nov. 13

I don't know if they meant to be spiritual or not, but the American government seems to be adhering to the biblical calendar. This is suspected by some to be the "year of jubilee" on the Hebrew calendar and, biblically, all debts are canceled in such a year.

I say 'suspected' because we've lost count of the actual jubilee year centuries ago. However, some rabbis and Christian teachers have somehow estimated this year, 5769, which began in late September with Rosh Hashana, to be a Jubilee year on the Hebrew calendar. And if that's the case, the U.S. government appears to be in line with the times and seems to have become super spiritual lately. With the financial "crisis" looming heavy, many CEOs are finding that they can weather this thanks to the scriptural principles being put into practice by the federal goverment! It's rather heartening.

Let's list the bailouts and possible bailouts this year:

• Fannie
• Freddie
• GE Capital
• GMAC
• Chrysler Finance
• AIG
• Morgan Stanley
• Goldman Sachs
• American Express
• General Motors Corp.
• Ford Motor Co.
• Chrysler LLC
• and U.S. auto-parts makers

And more to come, so we've heard. If you want some comic relief, or possibly, some great ideas on how to cash in on the bailouts, read this witty piece by Elizabeth MacDonald of Fox Business News.

Unfortunately Israel doesn't abide by the jubilee year so my mortgage still stands (thankfully only at 3 percent interest though).

Interfaith Intolerance

Judaism? In Israel??

Nov. 13

While Israeli President Shimon Peres tripped over himself to equate all "three" religions (the three major ones represented in Israel at least), the Palestinian representative, however, sort of forgot to mention Judaism. This all happened at the United Nations where the Saudi King Abdullah's organized this peace initiative, and even invited Israel.

Let's take Peres first (emphasis mine):

"In our region, children bear the names of prophets who are sacred to us all. Why should Moses, Moshe, and Musa, Avraham, Abraham and Ibrahim grow up as adversaries, in animosity? As our prophets asked: 'Have we not all one father? Hath not one God created us? Why do we deal deceitfully every man against his brother, by profaning the covenant of our fathers?' And Abraham added to his nephew Lot: 'Please let there be no strife between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen, for we are kinsmen.' That was the first call for peace among brothers in history. ... Religious belief requires that we recognize the eternal message that all men were created in God’s image. Harming a human being is tantamount to harming God himself. ... Inter-faith dialogue will elevate our spirits, bring a breath of fresh air to our peoples today and live on in posterity. Let us renew our faith in one God."

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad:

"Jerusalem is holy to two religions - Islam and Christianity. Jerusalem is home to the third most holy place to Islam, the place where Muhammad rose to the heavens, and the place where Jesus, the Christian, was resurrected."

He also said Jerusalem was "occupied" in 1967 and that a future Palestinian state capital should be located there. 

So, being this far apart on equality and religion, to the point where Fayyad, a moderate no less, cannot even mention Judaism (despite being in negotiations with a Jewish state), how will the two sides ever come to terms?

Nir-ly there

Poor Nir Barkat. I just got back from a news conference, Barkat's first time on the firing line as mayor, where he displayed his woeful ignorance of Christian issues.

A reporter asked Barkat what he would do as mayor regarding the factional fighting between denominations at the Holy Sepulchre. Barkat proudly answered that he had recently attended a CUFI (Christians United for Israel) meeting and met John Hagee. Impressive. But completely unrelated.

If Nir wants to reach his stated goal of bringing in 10 million (not a typo) tourists a year to Jerusalem, he's going to have to brush up on the Christian issues. Hagee represents evangelical Christian Zionists, Protestants, who support Israel. Way, way different from the warring priests at the Holy Sepulchre. Nir's ignorance of the situation isn't unique in Israel. He merely displayed the typical Israeli knowledge of Christians, simply neither Jewish nor Muslim.

I posed a question about Christian tourism to Barkat this spring when he was the only candidate campaigning. He admitted then that he didn't yet know the difference between "evangelists" and other Christians. Yikes. Evangelists = missionaries and that is a byword in this country. As a matter of fact, the Jerusalem City Council as been increasingly hostile toward that evangelical population lately. One council woman tried to ban Christian participation in the Jerusalem parade. Christian tourists, mind you, comprise nearly 90 percent of the parade.

It is precisely that attitude Barkat will have to combat if he wants to see 10 million tourists in the city. Stamp out the hostility especially to the nation's best friends and especially if you want their money, either as tourists or donors.

Holy city goes secular

In what was a referendum on religious vs. secular this mayoral election, the holy city went secular. According to exit polls, businessman and lifelong Jerusalem resident Nir Barkat took 50 percent of the vote, while Meir Porush, an ultra-Orthodox Jew, received 42 percent.

Of course it wasn't without a hitch. A policeman was injured by a stone. Several haredi protestors apparently harassed voters at a city polling station and tried to stop people from voting. More tomorrow.

Yes he did!

Fueling suspicions of anti-Israel leanings, Prez-elect Barack Hussein Obama reportedly had his people meet with Hamas' people in the Gaza Strip during the campaign. At least that's what Hamas claims. 

Ismail Haniyeh's political advisor said the Islamist group met with Obama aides after an email exchange, but was told to keep the meeting a secret. Well, no longer a secret. Ahmed Yousef, Haniyeh's political advisor, said: "We were in contact with a number of Obama's aides through the Internet, and later met with some of them in Gaza, but they advised us not to come out with any statements, as they may have a negative effect on his election campaign and be used by Republican candidate John McCain (to attack Obama)." Source: the London-based Arabic-language newspaper Al-Hayat

Contact with Obama's advisors is ongoing, Yousef said.  The Obama camp has not yet commented on this report.

Because Hamas is on the US State Department terrorist list, America hasn't negotiated with the organization yet. Yet.

Haniyeh & Olmert: Perfect Peace Partners

Who knew? Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the ousted prime minister of the Palestinian Authority, and outgoing (not in the extrovert sense) Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert look ready to strike a perfect peace deal.

In separate reports, both Haniyeh and Olmert said they are ready for a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders. Imagine that? Well, sign the paper then. Of course, everyone in the Israeli government is scrambling to distance themselves from Olmert since that would be the most fanatical concession of any Israeli administration.

But this is a major concession for Haniyeh as well. According to Haaretz correspondent Amira Hass, Haniyeh said the "Hamas government had previously made it clear that it was willing to accept a Palestinian state that followed the 1967 borders and to offer Israel a long-term hudna, or truce, if Israel recognized the Palestinians' national rights."

Of course this falls short of recognizing Israel as a state, but it is still scaled back from "pushing Israel into the sea."

Olmert, for his part, used the auspicious occasion of a memorial day for assassinated Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin to make this astonishing statement: "If we are determined to preserve the Jewish and democratic character of the State of Israel, we must inevitably relinquish, with great pain, parts of our homeland, of which we dreamt and for which we yearned and prayed for generations, and we must relinquish Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem, and return to that territory which comprised the State of Israel until 1967. ... We must return to our familiar places, in the Galilee and the Negev, build them and realize the tremendous potential embodied in the unbounded energies of our people; we must reignite the flame of ingenuity and creation, and nurture a new kind of Zionism – realistic, sober, responsible and bold."

Kadima leader and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, running for prime minister in February's elections, said she is "not committed to the outgoing prime minister's comments."

Surely all this talk only helps Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu who has positioned himself as the right-wing alternative and the only other viable candidate at this point.

In some countries, its a good time for a mortgage

Interest rates here took another dramatic dive thanks to Bank of Israel Gov. Stanley Fischer. Fischer unexpectedly lowered the rates to 3 percent, the lowest level ever.

Yisrael Hayom wrote in an editorial that Fischer is "a rare breed that does not exist in our country of jacks-of-all-trades – someone of proven talent who actually works and operates in the field in which he is an expert. Amazing." That compared to what the paper called "insane people," who are demanding Fischer's resignation.

It will be interesting to see how Israel weathers the economic crisis compared to other countries, including Fischer's native USA. Fischer was the college adviser to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Fischer slashed rates before the opening of he Prime Minister's Conference for Export and International Cooperation, earning a line up of praise at the conference.

"Israel has one economic leader, and his name is Stanley Fischer. The Governor of the Bank of Israel understood long before everyone else here where we were headed, and he knew how to prepare the Israeli economy. Regrettably, we haven’t yet seen action on the fiscal policy side," said Manufacturers Association of Israel president Shraga Brosh, in a swipe at Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On.