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"Israelated - English Israel blogs" - 37 new articles
Green Events at the Porter School of Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University this Week :: Green ProphetRead this article on the community site If being more environmentally friendly is one of your New Year's resolutions, you might consider going to one of the great "green" events hosted by the Porter School of Environmental Studies at Tel Aviv University this week.First up is a screening of Urban Legend - an... Brotherly love, 'Palestinian' style :: Israel MatzavRead this article on the community site With everything else they've had to do this week, the Hamas terrorists have found the time to treat the Fatah terrorists, and those whom they accuse of 'collaborating' with Israel, with tender loving care: Fatah officials in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas militiamen had been assaulting many Fatah activists since the beginning of the operation last Saturday. They said at least 75 • Email to a friend • Related • Al-Beeb on anti-Israel protests in London :: Israel MatzavRead this article on the community site This is an al-Beeb report on what have been described as violent anti-Israel protests in London. Warning: Red Ken appears in this video. Let's go to the videotape. • Email to a friend • Related • Video: IDF forces prepare to enter Gaza :: Israel MatzavRead this article on the community site Shot earlier this evening for the IDF spokesperson's office.Let's go to the videotape. • Email to a friend • Related • Hamas Desires DEATH--> The Last Thing They Want is Peace :: Yid With LidRead this article on the community site  "For the Palestinian people death became an industry, at which women excel and so do all people on this land: the elderly excel, the Jihad fighters excel, and the children excel. Accordingly [Palestinians] created a human shield of women, children, the elderly and the Jihad fighters against the Zionist bombing machine, as if they were saying to the Zionist enemy: We desire death as you desire life." --Hamas Legislator Fathi Hamad: There's the rub, Israel is fighting an enemy who wants her destroyed and the entire nation replaced by a radical Islamic state. How can you "make peace" with people who desire death?.......... Hamas Doesn't Want Peace, Reconciliation, or End to Carnage In Hamas' view, a Muslim may do his duty and wage war for Israel's destruction. Or a Muslim may shirk his duty. There is no third option. By contrast, if Israel can deliver a crippling blow to Hamas, the mission of the militant jihadists will appear to have lost Divine sanction. As my colleague, the historian Michael Ledeen, has noted: "Nothing is more devastating to a messianic movement than defeat." • Email to a friend • Related • The "correct" progressive opinion about Gaza :: ZioNation: Progressive Zionism and IsraelRead this article on the community site • Email to a friend • Related • Hey, Al Jazeera! :: Simply JewsRead this article on the community site From Al Jazeera Twitter:Czech EU presidency says Israel does not have the right to undertake military offensive into Gaza since civilians a re mostly affected. From Ynet:European Union president, the Czech Republic, said on Saturday an Israeli ground incursion in Gaza was "defensive, not offensive" action."At the moment, from the perspective of the last days, we understand this step as a defensive, not offensive, action," Czech EU presidency spokesman Jiri Potuznik said. • Email to a friend • Related • On the Ground in Gaza :: Simply JewsRead this article on the community site By Barry Rubin Tel Aviv, Israel Israel didn't want to attack the Gaza Strip from the ground or from the air. Hamas, which had long broken the ceasefire, canceled it altogether. Then it began large-scale attacks on Israel. This is a war of defense. And it is being conducted just 30 miles from here, Israel's main city. According to the just-released Israeli government statement on the offensive:"The objective of this stage is to destroy the terrorist infrastructure of the Hamas in the area of operation, while taking control of some of rocket launching area used by the Hamas, in order to greatly reduce the quantity of rockets fired at Israel and Israeli civilians."The operation will…strike a direct and hard blow against the Hamas while increasing the deterrent strength of the Israel Defense Forces, in order to bring about an improved and more stable security situation for residents of southern Israel over the long term."Even as the 2006 war was continuing, the Israel Defense Force was evaluating the mistakes made in Lebanon—helicopters needed better short-range munitions, improved air-ground coordination, care in using tanks unsupported by infantry, and so on. But contrary to the insistence of armchair strategists now, it would not be easy to seize control of all the Gaza Strip and govern it for an extended period of time. Hamas is not going to go away. International support for Israel is limited. Fatah and the Palestinian Authority will not react strongly to try to take Gaza back for itself. There are about one million people in the Gaza Strip and Hamas will make every attempt to ensure there are civilian casualties—and pretend there are even more. So "total victory" is not easy, if it is even possible. The irony is that Israeli policy is based on the idea that there is no military solution to these issues. But since there is no diplomatic solution either, force must be used to protect Israel and its citizens. It should be remembered that Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip, dismantled all settlements, and wished the Palestinians good luck. The Palestinian Authority (PA) was not up to the challenge. It could and would not change its corrupt and incompetent ways. U.S. policy insisted that Hamas be allowed to run in the elections, even though it did not meet the standard of accepting the 1993 Israel-PLO agreement. Hamas won. But Hamas invoked the radical Islamist policy of "one man, one vote, one time." It staged a coup and kicked out its PA and Fatah rivals. Rather than focusing on economic development or even maintaining peace to build up its own power, Hamas pursued its strategy of permanent war against Israel. Children's programs taught the kiddies that they should grow up to be suicide bombers and kill Jews. Hamas soldiers, or their junior allies, fired rockets and mortars at Israel. And of course Hamas staged a cross-border raid and kidnapped an Israeli soldier. In spite of this, many in the West think Israel has some kind of choice in this matter, that diplomacy was an option, that Hamas could be reasoned with. Those people have clearly never heard a Hamas leader speak or read anything on the group's Arabic-language websites. In a real sense, Hamas is more extreme than Usama bin Ladin, who periodically offers his enemy the chance to repent. Hamas's goal is genocidal. This has nothing to do with being dovish or hawkish, left or right. For those who are the biggest peaceniks—and this is true in Israel—know that Hamas must be defeated if Israel is ever to make peace with the PA. Even the PA knows it, and that's what they say in private, no matter what they say in public. The offensive is only going to last so long. It would be nice to believe that Hamas will be overthrown, less extreme Palestinians will take over, or Israel will just sit in the Gaza Strip for months or even years to come without any major problem. These are not real options. Hamas wants nothing more than to be able to organize an underground to launch daily attacks on Israeli patrols going through the center of refugee camps. It should be remembered that, for better or worse, it was the Israeli military—not the politicians—who wanted to withdraw from the Gaza Strip for tactical reasons. It was easier to hold a defensive line in strength than to play into Hamas's strong points by trying to control all the territory.Clearly, this didn't take into account the rockets but it is easy to think that if Israeli forces had been in the Gaza Strip every day since the withdrawal, Israeli casualties would have been a lot higher while Fatah and Hamas would be fighting side to side against Israel, and international diplomacy would have been far more hostile to Israel.No one should have any illusions that this conflict is going to go away. The peace process era, 1993-2000, taught us that Iran, Syria, Hamas, Hizballah, and radical Islamist groups meant what they said. They will never accept peace with Israel. Israel will be involved in a struggle with these extremist groups for decades.Yet that does not mean Israel cannot—and does not—prevail. It prevails by maintaining good lives for its citizens, developing its economy, and raising living standards, progressing in technology and science and medicine.In this context, Israel will not listen to those many who counsel it to commit suicide, but it also has no illusions of a victory, of a war that will end all wars. And in a real sense that is Israel's true strength: it is not naïve about either concessions or force. If you have realistic expectations, if you aren't disappointed, then you never give up.Often, nowadays, it seems as if all history is being rewritten when it comes to Israel. In World War Two, allied air forces carpet-bombed cities even though there were no military bases in civilian areas. In France alone, tens of thousands of civilians were killed by allied bombs that fell on their intended targets.Even the Nazis didn't put ammunition dumps in houses and use human shields. And up until now the blame for doing so would fall on those who deliberately and cynically sought to create civilian casualties in order to gain support for themselves.Up until now, a country whose neighbor fired across the border at its people and even staged cross-border raids had the right of self-defense.Up until now, there has been a capability of understanding which group is inciting hatred, trying to turn children into robotic terrorists, calling for the extermination of another people, and committing aggression.Many people, many journalists, many governments, and even many intellectuals still understand the most basic principles of right and wrong as well as of the real world. Unfortunately, too many don't or at least don't when Israel is the target.Finally, it is of the greatest importance to understand that this is not an issue of Gaza or of Israel alone. The great issue of our era, of our remaining lifetimes, is the battle between radical Islamism—whether using the tactic of terrorism or not—and the rest of the world. To isolate this question as merely something about Israel is to misunderstand everything important about the world today.Barry Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal. • Email to a friend • Related • GAZA WAR--> The Rats Come out of the Sewer :: Yid With LidRead this article on the community site
This dangerous military escalation complicates efforts by the international community and in particular the European Union and France, the members of the Quartet and the states in the region to end the fighting, bring immediate aid to civilians and reach a permanent ceasefire,"
Its incredible how France can still talk about Hamas terrorism and Israel's self-defense in the same statement. Israel's civilians in the area endured a life of terror their children have been raised under the threat of Kassam attack and despite it all for years Israel held back. Israel decided that after eight days of air attacks on its bases, tunnels, missile silos and terror chief, Hamas was still strong and able to attack Israeli children. So she had to send in troops. And the "collective punishment" argument is nonsense. There is no denying the extent to which the people of Gaza contributed to their own misery Hamas and that of Israel. Lets face it the people of Gaza helped put Hamas into power in the 2006 elections when Hamas won over 65 percent of the vote in the Gaza Strip. Coming out of a sewer on 48th street in Manhattan, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon called for an immediate end to Israel's ground operation in Gaza on Saturday, the U.N. press office said in a statement. In a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Ban conveyed his "extreme concern and disappointment," the statement said. Ban "is convinced and alarmed that this escalation will inevitably increase the already heavy suffering of the affected civilian populations," the statement said. He asked that Israel ensure civilian safety and allow humanitarian assistance to reach those in need, according to the statement. As I write this, the UN Security Council is meeting to bash Israel, they will probably try to write a one-sided resolution that the US will have to veto. MAN...so many rats are showing up in NY Today. Please email me at yidwithlid@aol.com to be put onto my mailing list.Feel free to reproduce any article but please link back to http://yidwithlid.blogspot.com • Email to a friend • Related • Over 50 thousand Palestinians and Jews marched together in Tel Aviv against the war in Gaza :: O C C U P I E DRead this article on the community site From Jaffa we left in 2 fully packed buses and many cars, carrying placards, flags and banners. Others from Jaffa came directly from the big demo which had been held earlier that day in Sakhnin. • Email to a friend • Related • Off to the south :: O C C U P I E DRead this article on the community site For the 6.5 regular readers of this blog: for the next few days i'll be photographing in the south of Israel, so i may not be on-line much. • Email to a friend • Related • Second stage of Operation Against Hamas in Gaza Begins: MFA Update :: CIC SceneRead this article on the community site Here is an update from the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Second stage of operation against Hamas terror in Gaza begins Security Cabinet decision on continuation of IDF operation in Gaza The Ministerial Committee on National Security Affairs (the Security Cabinet) met yesterday (Friday), 2 January 2009, in order to discuss the continuation of IDF operations in the Gaza Strip. In continuation of the Ministerial Committee's 24 December 2008 decision, in the framework of which approval was given to the operational methods that were recommended by the IDF and security establishment vis-a-vis action against Hamas and the other terrorist organizations in the Gaza, the Committee decided to instruct the IDF to continue operations and proceed to the stage that includes a ground entry into the Gaza Strip. The goal of the operation is to continue advancing the goals that the Government has set for the operation as a whole, including striking hard at Hamas's terrorism infrastructure and changing the security reality for residents of the south. IDF forces plan – inter alia – to take control of the launch areas from which most of the missiles that have hit Sderot, Ashkelon and Ashdod in recent weeks and months have been fired from. The Committee decided that the timing of the plan's implementation would be determined by the security establishment in accordance with its operational judgment; this was determined for Saturday evening, 3 January 2009. The Ministerial Committee further instructed the IDF to prepare for additional stages of the operation and to maintain alert in other areas, and, to these ends, to mobilize the necessary reserve forces - tens of thousands of soldiers. Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Tzahi Hanegbi and Opposition Chairman MK Benjamin Netanyahu have been informed of the foregoing. Second stage of Operation Cast Lead begins A short while ago IDF forces began to implement the second stage of Operation Cast Lead. Land forces have begun to maneuver within the Gaza Strip. The objective of this stage is to destroy the terrorist infrastructure of the Hamas in the area of operation, while taking control of some of rocket launching area used by the Hamas, in order to greatly reduce the quantity of rockets fired at Israel and Israeli civilians. The IDF Spokesperson emphasizes that this stage of the operation will further the goals of Operation Cast Lead as communicated till now: To strike a direct and hard blow against the Hamas while increasing the deterrent strength of the IDF, in order to bring about an improved and more stable security situation for residents of Southern Israel over the long term. Large numbers of forces are taking part in this stage of the operation including infantry, tanks, engineering forces, artillery and intelligence with the support of the Israel Air Force, Israel navy, Israel Security Agency and other security agencies. The operation is in accord with the decisions of the Security Cabinet. This stage of the operation is a part of the IDF's overall operational plan, and will continue on the basis of ongoing situational assessments by the IDF General Staff. The forces participating in the operation have been highly trained and were prepared for the mission over the long period that the operation was planned. The Commander of the operation is Maj. Gen. Yoav Galant, GOC Southern Command. The IDF and the Homefront Command have taken the necessary steps to protect the civilian population. All residents of Southern Israel are requested to follow the directives of the Homefront command as communicated via the media. The IDF Spokesperson wishes to reiterate that the residents of Gaza are not the target of the operation. Those who use civilians, the elderly, women and children as "human shields" are responsible for any and all injury to the civilian population. Anyone who hides a terrorist or weapons in his house is considered a terrorist. On the basis of a situation analysis, The IDF is taking steps to raise the level of alert for its forces in other areas of the country. Reserve troops drafted As part of Operation Cast Lead the IDF has begun to draft numerous reserve units, in order to allow the expansion of the operation. The majority of the reservists called up belong to combat units, some form part of the Home Front Command and the remainder belong to various other military units. The reserve units are being drafted in accordance with the law and will be reporting for duty after having undergone extensive training over the past two years. At a number of the recruitment centers the IDF is already implementing a project that is designed to replenish and renew emergency stores and military equipment. A special emphasis is also being placed on logistic support for the reserve units. IDF enforces naval blockade on Gaza In accordance with the decision of the Defense Minister and current security assessments, as of Saturday January 3rd, 2009, the IDF has begun enforcing a naval blockade for 20 nautical miles from the Gaza Strip. The length of Gaza's shore is used by the Hamas terror organization, and the presence of its operatives on the shoreline and in the open sea constitutes a threat against the citizens of southern Israel. Let the military do it's job :: Gentile WarriorRead this article on the community site Israeli ground troups enter Gaza strip :: Simply JewsRead this article on the community site According to the IDF spokesman, the objective is "to destroy the Hamas terror infrastructure in the area of operations" and "to take some of the launch areas used by Hamas".Vague enough to serve any purpose.May all our soldiers come home alive and well.Update from CNN:"We will defeat the army just like they were defeated before," Abu Thaer, spokesman for the military wing of Fatah - the al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades - told the television network Al Jazeera. We will rub their noses in the sand. To the Arabs of 1948, today it is the time to act, to carry martyrdom operations in the heart of Israel. In case they will get in really on the ground, they will be taught a lesson that they will never forget. The Israeli army is the loser from ground operations in Gaza.You just have to love that flowery style. I just have to love that "like they were defeated before".But then, we were defeated every time since 1948... • Email to a friend • Related • Gaza War - 10,000 Israeli Protesters Couldn't Stop the Invasion :: things.co.ilRead this article on the community site For the third time in a week, I came to protest against the ongoing war in Gaza. This time, the turnout was massive: there were about 10,000 people that came to protest against the war in Gaza, that is going on.  Gaza War - Big Demostration Against It The rally was bothered by group of "counter protesters" - right wing activists that didn't like this demonstration. Luckily, the police was scared that this event would turn violent, and there were lots of policeman that kept the two sides seperated. The war has quite strong support among the Israeli public. But when the public is asked about the ground operation - the Israeli public is divided is divided 50-50. Unfortunately, the ground operation began this evening, exactly in the time of the protest (and the counter protest): Lots of troops and tanks entered the northern Gaza strip. It's all over the news. Tens of thousands of Israeli reserve soldiers will be drafted very very soon. For Israelis, this is much more scary than the conflict was until tonight. Here's a short video to get a feeling of the demonstration: I believe that even a succsseful operation will leave casualties on our side, something that will turn around the Israeli public from support to unapproval of the Gaza war. Barak's war games before the elections will not achieve his goal to become popular. I know that you, my readers are tired of hearing of yet another protest, but apart from showing that there's another opinion in Israel, going to protests and writing about in my blog are probably the most I can do to stop this useless bloodshed.  Big Rally Against the Gaza War And I'll keep going to protests, and I'll keep on reporting about them. And relating again to my readers, in the past few days I've received a huge amount of comments. I'm not used to it, and I can't respond to all of them. I apologize. I was quoted in Ynet, and received lots of entries from Google that are related to the Gaza war. I can't respond to all of them, and I'm glad that in some cases, the readers began a discourse amonsgt themselves. More picture from the Big Anti Gaza War Demonstration. Live bloggers track Gaza ground war :: FresnoZionism.orgRead this article on the community site Don't waste time with CNN. Live bloggers from Israel: Ground attack in Gaza begins — what to expect :: FresnoZionism.orgRead this article on the community site You will read a lot of nonsense about this war. Here are some basic principles to help you understand the truth: On the Ground in Gaza Israel didn't want to attack the Gaza Strip from the ground or from the air. Hamas, which had long broken the ceasefire, canceled it altogether. Then it began large-scale attacks on Israel. This is a war of defense. And it is being conducted just 30 miles from here, Israel's main city. According to the just-released Israeli government statement on the offensive:
Even as the 2006 war was continuing, the Israel Defense Force was evaluating the mistakes made in Lebanon—helicopters needed better short-range munitions, improved air-ground coordination, care in using tanks unsupported by infantry, and so on. But contrary to the insistence of armchair strategists now, it would not be easy to seize control of all the Gaza Strip and govern it for an extended period of time. Hamas is not going to go away. International support for Israel is limited. Fatah and the Palestinian Authority will not react strongly to try to take Gaza back for itself. There are about one million people in the Gaza Strip and Hamas will make every attempt to ensure there are civilian casualties—and pretend there are even more. So "total victory" is not easy, if it is even possible. The irony is that Israeli policy is based on the idea that there is no military solution to these issues. But since there is no diplomatic solution either, force must be used to protect Israel and its citizens. It should be remembered that Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip, dismantled all settlements, and wished the Palestinians good luck. The Palestinian Authority (PA) was not up to the challenge. It could and would not change its corrupt and incompetent ways. U.S. policy insisted that Hamas be allowed to run in the elections, even though it did not meet the standard of accepting the 1993 Israel-PLO agreement. Hamas won. But Hamas invoked the radical Islamist policy of "one man, one vote, one time." It staged a coup and kicked out its PA and Fatah rivals. Rather than focusing on economic development or even maintaining peace to build up its own power, Hamas pursued its strategy of permanent war against Israel. Children's programs taught the kiddies that they should grow up to be suicide bombers and kill Jews. Hamas soldiers, or their junior allies, fired rockets and mortars at Israel. And of course Hamas staged a cross-border raid and kidnapped an Israeli soldier. In spite of this, many in the West think Israel has some kind of choice in this matter, that diplomacy was an option, that Hamas could be reasoned with. Those people have clearly never heard a Hamas leader speak or read anything on the grou |
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