Posts Tagged ‘terrorism’

h1

§288 IDF Didn’t Hit School. Sri Lanka did. And Nkunda has been arrested

February 2, 2009

 

UN Admits: IDF Didn’t Hit School

 
by Maayana Miskin

(IsraelNN.com) During the Cast Lead operation in Gaza, IDF tank fire near a United Nations school in Gaza was blamed for the deaths of dozens of civilians who had taken refuge in the building. The incident became one of the most highly publicized attacks in the war, and led to heavy international criticism.

Recent reports suggest that the incident was not accurately portrayed by senior U.N. officials. John Ging, the director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, spoke to the Toronto Globe and Mail last week and agreed that no shell had actually struck the school building. Ging said he had never claimed that the school itself was hit, and he blamed Israel for confusion over where the strike took place.

Shortly after the alleged attack, Ging harshly criticized Israel for firing near the school, saying he had given the exact coordinates of the compound to the IDF. He charged that the IDF had failed to avoid hitting the building.

While admitting that Israeli fire had not hit the school compound, Ging insisted it made little difference. “Forty-one innocent people were killed in the street… The State of Israel still has to answer for that,” he said.

While many Israel news outlets reported that the strike had taken place near the school, several international media networks reported that the UN school building itself was hit. The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs may have added to the confusion by releasing a report stating that Israeli fire “directly hit two UNRWA schools.”

Almost all reports said that the victims were primarily civilians who had fled to the school for shelter – a version of events cast into suspicion by the Globe and Mail report.

A teacher who was in the school at the time of the shelling reported that several people within the compound were injured, but that none were killed. Those killed were all outside in the street as the shells were fired, he said. Only three of those killed were students at the school, he added.

The teacher did not give his name, explaining that U.N .officials had told staff not to talk to the media.

The IDF responded to criticism over the attack by explaining that soldiers were simply responding to terrorist fire and did not mean to hit a civilian area.

 

Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129696

 

You know, I made a google news search for “shell hits school”. Out of the 10 first items, 7 are about the israelis hitting the school, one (admitting, the first one – apaprently the most recent) is about that they did not hit the school.

But when UN staff in a school are exposed to military fire in Sri Lanka, that’s not top news, is it? Why is no one condemning the Sri Lankan army for this? Because they can’t prove since journalists are banned there? That happened in Gaza too. Because the Tamil tigers are crazy and evil terrorists and suicide bombers that use children soldiers and civilians as shields? That can be said about Hamas too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/world/asia/28lanka.html?ref=world

If you compare the conflict in Sri Lanka between the Sinhalic government and the terrorists that claim to represent the Tamil minority, with the one in Israel, the resemblance is actually quite striking. Three major differences though:
1 – The Tamil terrorists are much more well equipped than Hamas or PLO ever were. They even have planes and boats and control areas that they have conquered by force. No palestinian force has ever conquered areas from Israel. It has all been agreements (except one stupid disengagement decision in 2005 – and that unilateral withdrawal was an israeli initiative). Hamas conquered the Gaza strip by force from Fatah-PLO, not from Israel.
2 – Sri Lanka has been much less successful in protecting its civilians than Israel. Many suicide attacks in Colombo during the past few years have claimed a much higher body count than in Israel.
3 – Sri Lankan army is ruthlessly killing civilians with the terrorists, not really doing much efforts to save as many civilians as possible. Bombing schools, hospitals, whatever.

Vellupillai Prabhakaran - terrorist leader of LTTE

Velupillai Prabhakaran - terrorist leader of the LTTE

Sri Lanka seems to be in deeper problems than we. I lean towards being more pro-government, as I know that they are fighting terrorists. Still, they’re not doing it very well when they’re bombing schools and hospitals like that. I hope they take control of the area soon, capture that terrorist leader Vellupillai Prabhakaran, put an end to terrorism and LTTE and give the Tamil people democratic rights. I also hope that’s what’s going to happen in Congo now that Nkunda has been arrested in Rwanda:

http://www.zimdaily.com/news/nkunda27.6814.html

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/africa/article5058019.ece

Laurent Nkunda - crazy terrorist killer or peaceful christian preacher?

Laurent Nkunda - crazy terrorist killer or peaceful christian preacher?

But I know, it’s just wishful thinking. I just don’t get this fighting between the Hutu and the Tutsi. They look exactly the same, they believe in the same religions, they talk the same languages… still the Hutu killed thousands of Tutsis in Rwanda in the genocide 1994, and the Tutsi killed lots of Hutus in Burundi in the 70’s… it just goes back and forth with new generations growing up with war and wishes to revenge for what they’ve gone through. Basically, from what I can see most african conflicts are like this:
One group wants to kill another ethnic group (Sudan government the Darfuris, Rwanda Hutu the Tutsis, Darfur rebels the government, etc). There’s a genocide, people are thrown from their homes and they flee to neighbouring countries. The neighbouring countries (whether the government or other military units around – government affiliated or rebels) either kill the refugees creating more genocide, or protect them by wagin war against the neighbour. Or protect them by killing all civilians around that belong to other ethnic groups.

If I understand Congo correctly, the killers are claiming to protect the victims of the 1994 genocide by killing the wive’s and kids of the people associated with the ones commiting that genocide? Won’t that happen again in a few years, but back again the other way around?

It’s good we have UN peace keeping troops, isn’t it? We now we can always trust them, right?

http://humanitarianrelief.change.org/blog/view/relief_from_relief_sexual_exploitation_by_peacekeepers

 

One thing that strikes me regarding the above pictures is that no crazy terrorist looks like a crazy terrorist. Let’s take a look at a few others:

Omar el-Bashir - President of Sudan and mass murderer

Omar el-Bashir - President of Sudan and mass murderer

Mugabe - Zimbabwe dictator and serial killer

Mugabe - Zimbabwe dictator and serial killer

 

Khaled Meshal - Leader of extremist terror organization Hamas, cowardly hiding in Damascus

Khaled Meshal - Leader of extremist terror organization Hamas, cowardly hiding in Damascus

 

Except Mugabe maybe, they all look pretty normal, don’t they? They could all be happy fathers with a beautiful wife, a few children and a villa (which is probably true regarding most of them). Now picture them watching and smiling as their troops slaughter a few families with children, ripping the kids from the mothers, shooting them in the head as the parents watch. These are people who would actually watch this and smile. As long as the right people are killed.

The scary thing is that they are not detained in prisons or in mental hospitals. They’re adored as leaders and freedom fighters by thousands. People actually listen to them and act on it.

h1

§285 Freedom of speech

January 25, 2009

Geert Wilders is being prosecuted in Holland. I guess the next step will be to ban all churches from declaring that Jesus is the only way.

Death to Holland for letting people say that we are violent people. Kill all who call us violent

"Death to Holland for letting people say that we are violent people. Kill all who call us violent"

Below I publish Geert Wilders speech at Four Seasons in NY, September 25th 2008. At the bottom I am adding his movie Fitna (warning: disturbing images) and a few charicatures mocking Islam. I do this davka*. I probably wouldn’t do this if it wasn’t for the multitude of muslims wishing to deprive me, Europe and America of the freedom of speech. The freedom of speech is the most precious thing we have. It doesn’t matter if you agree with his below speech or not. If you believe in freedom, sign the petition to the Dutch government against the prosecution of Geert Wilders. Wilders has embraced his right of free speech and the minute we give in to those who wish to deprive us of that right, we might as well give up our heritage, our future, our freedom. Our right to critisize our governments, our right to write whatever we want on our blogs, our right to make fun of anything, our right to be ourselves. It’s all at stake here. It’s time to speak up for the freedom of speech. If my own people had burned dolls of Bush for allowing KKK members and Neo-Nazis to speak out in the US, I’d do the same.

If Geert Wilders is prosecuted for this, there are a number of others who should be prosecuted as well:
George Carlin for mocking Christianity.
Magnus Betner for standing in a church saying that Jesus was gay.
Glen Benton for spreading satanism and hatred.
Bill Hicks for mocking creation believing Christians.
Any member of NSM for spreading nazism and hatred.
-All bloggers for daring to write down their own thoughts that are not government sponsored.

If you believe these people have a right to say what they say, then you need to sign this petition too. This is not about whether you agree with Wilders or not. This is about your right to practice free speech. Dutch government has started to consider to give up on this human right. This is when we all need to stand up and say no. And in the name of free speech, publish exactly what they want us not to publish. Write exactly what they don’t want us to write. When they’re trying to take away the very foundation of our freedom – we need to do exactly what they don’t want us to do.

Here is his speech. Below that is the movie. Below that a few charicatures mocking fundamentalist muslims, and mocking islam. Why? Davka*. That’s why.

*Davka, or dafke – “Particularly, just for spite, in spite of the expected”

 

Dear friends,

Thank you very much for inviting me. Great to be at the Four Seasons. I come from a country that has one season only: a rainy season that starts January 1st and ends December 31st. When we have three sunny days in a row, the government declares a national emergency. So Four Seasons, that’s new to me.

It’s great to be in New York. When I see the skyscrapers and office buildings, I think of what Ayn Rand said: “The sky over New York and the will of man made visible.” Of course. Without the Dutch you would have been nowhere, still figuring out how to buy this island from the Indians. But we are glad we did it for you. And, frankly, you did a far better job than we possibly could have done.

I come to America with a mission. All is not well in the old world. There is a tremendous danger looming, and it is very difficult to be optimistic. We might be in the final stages of the Islamization of Europe. This not only is a clear and present danger to the future of Europe itself, it is a threat to America and the sheer survival of the West. The danger I see looming is the scenario of America as the last man standing. The United States as the last bastion of Western civilization, facing an Islamic Europe. In a generation or two, the US will ask itself: who lost Europe? Patriots from around Europe risk their lives every day to prevent precisely this scenario form becoming a reality.

My short lecture consists of 4 parts.

First I will describe the situation on the ground in Europe. Then, I will say a few things about Islam. Thirdly, if you are still here, I will talk a little bit about the movie you just saw. To close I will tell you about a meeting in Jerusalem.

The Europe you know is changing. You have probably seen the landmarks. The Eiffel Tower and Trafalgar Square and Rome’s ancient buildings and maybe the canals of Amsterdam. They are still there. And they still look very much the same as they did a hundred years ago.

But in all of these cities, sometimes a few blocks away from your tourist destination, there is another world, a world very few visitors see – and one that does not appear in your tourist guidebook. It is the world of the parallel society created by Muslim mass-migration. All throughout Europe a new reality is rising: entire Muslim neighbourhoods where very few indigenous people reside or are even seen. And if they are, they might regret it. This goes for the police as well. It’s the world of head scarves, where women walk around in figureless tents, with baby strollers and a group of children. Their husbands, or slaveholders if you prefer, walk three steps ahead. With mosques on many street corner. The shops have signs you and I cannot read. You will be hard-pressed to find any economic activity. These are Muslim ghettos controlled by religious fanatics. These are Muslim neighbourhoods, and they are mushrooming in every city across Europe. These are the building-blocks for territorial control of increasingly larger portions of Europe, street by street, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, city by city.

There are now thousands of mosques throughout Europe. With larger congregations than there are in churches. And in every European city there are plans to build super-mosques that will dwarf every church in the region. Clearly, the signal is: we rule.

“Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy”.

Many European cities are already one-quarter Muslim: just take Amsterdam, Marseille and Malmo in Sweden. In many cities the majority of the under-18 population is Muslim. Paris is now surrounded by a ring of Muslim neighbourhoods. Mohammed is the most popular name among boys in many cities. In some elementary schools in Amsterdam the farm can no longer be mentioned, because that would also mean mentioning the pig, and that would be an insult to Muslims. Many state schools in Belgium and Denmark only serve halal food to all pupils. In once-tolerant Amsterdam gays are beaten up almost exclusively by Muslims. Non-Muslim women routinely hear “whore, whore”. Satellite dishes are not pointed to local TV stations, but to stations in the country of origin. In France school teachers are advised to avoid authors deemed offensive to Muslims, including Voltaire and Diderot; the same is increasingly true of Darwin. The history of the Holocaust can in many cases no longer be taught because of Muslim sensitivity. In England sharia courts are now officially part of the British legal system. Many neighbourhoods in France are no-go areas for women without head scarves. Last week a man almost died after being beaten up by Muslims in Brussels, because he was drinking during the Ramadan. Jews are fleeing France in record numbers, on the run for the worst wave of anti-Semitism since World War II. French is now commonly spoken on the streets of Tel Aviv and Netanya, Israel. I could go on forever with stories like this. Stories about Islamization.

A total of fifty-four million Muslims now live in Europe. San Diego University recently calculated that a staggering 25 percent of the population in Europe will be Muslim just 12 years from now. Bernhard Lewis has predicted a Muslim majority by the end of this century.

Now these are just numbers. And the numbers would not be threatening if the Muslim-immigrants had a strong desire to assimilate. But there are few signs of that. The Pew Research Center reported that half of French Muslims see their loyalty to Islam as greater than their loyalty to France. One-third of French Muslims do not object to suicide attacks. The British Centre for Social Cohesion reported that one-third of British Muslim students are in favour of a worldwide caliphate. A Dutch study reported that half of Dutch Muslims admit they “understand” the 9/11 attacks.

Muslims demand what they call ‘respect’. And this is how we give them respect. Our elites are willing to give in. To give up. In my own country we have gone from calls by one cabinet member to turn Muslim holidays into official state holidays, to statements by another cabinet member, that Islam is part of Dutch culture, to an affirmation by the Christian-Democratic attorney general that he is willing to accept sharia in the Netherlands if there is a Muslim majority. We have cabinet members with passports from Morocco and Turkey.

Muslim demands are supported by unlawful behaviour, ranging from petty crimes and random violence, for example against ambulance workers and bus drivers, to small-scale riots. Paris has seen its uprising in the low-income suburbs, the banlieus. Some prefer to see these as isolated incidents, but I call it a Muslim intifada. I call the perpetrators “settlers”. Because that is what they are. They do not come to integrate into our societies, they come to integrate our society into their Dar-al-Islam. Therefore, they are settlers.

Much of this street violence I mentioned is directed exclusively against non-Muslims, forcing many native people to leave their neighbourhoods, their cities, their countries.

Politicians shy away from taking a stand against this creeping sharia. They believe in the equality of all cultures. Moreover, on a mundane level, Muslims are now a swing vote not to be ignored.

Our many problems with Islam cannot be explained by poverty, repression or the European colonial past, as the Left claims. Nor does it have anything to do with Palestinians or American troops in Iraq. The problem is Islam itself.

Allow me to give you a brief Islam 101. The first thing you need to know about Islam is the importance of the book of the Quran. The Quran is Allah’s personal word, revealed by an angel to Mohammed, the prophet. This is where the trouble starts. Every word in the Quran is Allah’s word and therefore not open to discussion or interpretation. It is valid for every Muslim and for all times. Therefore, there is no such a thing as moderate Islam. Sure, there are a lot of moderate Muslims. But a moderate Islam is non-existent.

The Quran calls for hatred, violence, submission, murder, and terrorism. The Quran calls for Muslims to kill non-Muslims, to terrorize non-Muslims and to fulfil their duty to wage war: violent jihad. Jihad is a duty for every Muslim, Islam is to rule the world – by the sword. The Quran is clearly anti-Semitic, describing Jews as monkeys and pigs.

The second thing you need to know is the importance of Mohammed the prophet. His behaviour is an example to all Muslims and cannot be criticized. Now, if Mohammed had been a man of peace, let us say like Ghandi and Mother Theresa wrapped in one, there would be no problem. But Mohammed was a warlord, a mass murderer, a pedophile, and had several marriages – at the same time. Islamic tradition tells us how he fought in battles, how he had his enemies murdered and even had prisoners of war executed. Mohammed himself slaughtered the Jewish tribe of Banu Qurayza. He advised on matters of slavery, but never advised to liberate slaves. Islam has no other morality than the advancement of Islam. If it is good for Islam, it is good. If it is bad for Islam, it is bad. There is no gray area or other side.

Quran as Allah’s own word and Mohammed as the perfect man are the two most important facets of Islam. Let no one fool you about Islam being a religion. Sure, it has a god, and a here-after, and 72 virgins. But in its essence Islam is a political ideology. It is a system that lays down detailed rules for society and the life of every person. Islam wants to dictate every aspect of life. Islam means ‘submission’. Islam is not compatible with freedom and democracy, because what it strives for is sharia. If you want to compare Islam to anything, compare it to communism or national-socialism, these are all totalitarian ideologies.

This is what you need to know about Islam, in order to understand what is going on in Europe. For millions of Muslims the Quran and the live of Mohammed are not 14 centuries old, but are an everyday reality, an ideal, that guide every aspect of their lives. Now you know why Winston Churchill called Islam “the most retrograde force in the world”, and why he compared Mein Kampf to the Quran.

Which brings me to my movie, Fitna.

I am a lawmaker, and not a movie maker. But I felt I had the moral duty to educate about Islam. The duty to make clear that the Quran stands at the heart of what some people call terrorism but is in reality jihad. I wanted to show that the problems of Islam are at the core of Islam, and do not belong to its fringes.

Now, from the day the plan for my movie was made public, it caused quite a stir, in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. First, there was a political storm, with government leaders, across the continent in sheer panic. The Netherlands was put under a heightened terror alert, because of possible attacks or a revolt by our Muslim population. The Dutch branch of the Islamic organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir declared that the Netherlands was due for an attack. Internationally, there was a series of incidents. The Taliban threatened to organize additional attacks against Dutch troops in Afghanistan, and a website linked to Al Qaeda published the message that I ought to be killed, while various muftis in the Middle East stated that I would be responsible for all the bloodshed after the screening of the movie. In Afghanistan and Pakistan the Dutch flag was burned on several occasions. Dolls representing me were also burned. The Indonesian President announced that I will never be admitted into Indonesia again, while the UN Secretary General and the European Union issued cowardly statements in the same vein as those made by the Dutch Government. I could go on and on. It was an absolute disgrace, a sell-out.

A plethora of legal troubles also followed, and have not ended yet. Currently the state of Jordan is litigating against me. Only last week there were renewed security agency reports about a heightened terror alert for the Netherlands because of Fitna.

Now, I would like to say a few things about Israel. Because, very soon, we will get together in its capitol. The best way for a politician in Europe to loose votes is to say something positive about Israel. The public has wholeheartedly accepted the Palestinian narrative, and sees Israel as the aggressor. I, however, will continue to speak up for Israel. I see defending Israel as a matter of principle. I have lived in this country and visited it dozens of times. I support Israel. First, because it is the Jewish homeland after two thousand years of exile up to and including Auschwitz, second because it is a democracy, and third because Israel is our first line of defense.

Samuel Huntington writes it so aptly: “Islam has bloody borders”. Israel is located precisely on that border. This tiny country is situated on the fault line of jihad, frustrating Islam’s territorial advance. Israel is facing the front lines of jihad, like Kashmir, Kosovo, the Philippines, Southern Thailand, Darfur in Sudan, Lebanon, and Aceh in Indonesia. Israel is simply in the way. The same way West-Berlin was during the Cold War.

The war against Israel is not a war against Israel. It is a war against the West. It is jihad. Israel is simply receiving the blows that are meant for all of us. If there would have been no Israel, Islamic imperialism would have found other venues to release its energy and its desire for conquest. Thanks to Israeli parents who send their children to the army and lay awake at night, parents in Europe and America can sleep well and dream, unaware of the dangers looming.

Many in Europe argue in favor of abandoning Israel in order to address the grievances of our Muslim minorities. But if Israel were, God forbid, to go down, it would not bring any solace to the West. It would not mean our Muslim minorities would all of a sudden change their behavior, and accept our values. On the contrary, the end of Israel would give enormous encouragement to the forces of Islam. They would, and rightly so, see the demise of Israel as proof that the West is weak, and doomed. The end of Israel would not mean the end of our problems with Islam, but only the beginning. It would mean the start of the final battle for world domination. If they can get Israel, they can get everything. Therefore, it is not that the West has a stake in Israel. It is Israel.

It is very difficult to be an optimist in the face of the growing Islamization of Europe. All the tides are against us. On all fronts we are losing. Demographically the momentum is with Islam. Muslim immigration is even a source of pride within ruling liberal parties. Academia, the arts, the media, trade unions, the churches, the business world, the entire political establishment have all converted to the suicidal theory of multiculturalism. So-called journalists volunteer to label any and all critics of Islamization as a ‘right-wing extremists’ or ‘racists’. The entire establishment has sided with our enemy. Leftists, liberals and Christian-Democrats are now all in bed with Islam.

This is the most painful thing to see: the betrayal by our elites. At this moment in Europe’s history, our elites are supposed to lead us. To stand up for centuries of civilization. To defend our heritage. To honour our eternal Judeo-Christian values that made Europe what it is today. But there are very few signs of hope to be seen at the governmental level. Sarkozy, Merkel, Brown, Berlusconi; in private, they probably know how grave the situation is. But when the little red light goes on, they stare into the camera and tell us that Islam is a religion of peace, and we should all try to get along nicely and sing Kumbaya. They willingly participate in, what President Reagan so aptly called: “the betrayal of our past, the squandering of our freedom.”

If there is hope in Europe, it comes from the people, not from the elites. Change can only come from a grass-roots level. It has to come from the citizens themselves. Yet these patriots will have to take on the entire political, legal and media establishment.

Over the past years there have been some small, but encouraging, signs of a rebirth of the original European spirit. Maybe the elites turn their backs on freedom, the public does not. In my country, the Netherlands, 60 percent of the population now sees the mass immigration of Muslims as the number one policy mistake since World War II. And another 60 percent sees Islam as the biggest threat to our national identity. I don’t think the public opinion in Holland is very different from other European countries.

Patriotic parties that oppose jihad are growing, against all odds. My own party debuted two years ago, with five percent of the vote. Now it stands at ten percent in the polls. The same is true of all smililary-minded parties in Europe. They are fighting the liberal establishment, and are gaining footholds on the political arena, one voter at the time.

Now, for the first time, these patriotic parties will come together and exchange experiences. It may be the start of something big. Something that might change the map of Europe for decades to come. It might also be Europe’s last chance.

This December a conference will take place in Jerusalem. Thanks to Professor Aryeh Eldad, a member of Knesset, we will be able to watch Fitna in the Knesset building and discuss the jihad. We are organizing this event in Israel to emphasize the fact that we are all in the same boat together, and that Israel is part of our common heritage. Those attending will be a select audience. No racist organizations will be allowed. And we will only admit parties that are solidly democratic.

This conference will be the start of an Alliance of European patriots. This Alliance will serve as the backbone for all organizations and political parties that oppose jihad and Islamization. For this Alliance I seek your support.

This endeavor may be crucial to America and to the West. America may hold fast to the dream that, thanks tot its location, it is safe from jihad and shaira. But seven years ago to the day, there was still smoke rising from ground zero, following the attacks that forever shattered that dream. Yet there is a danger even greater danger than terrorist attacks, the scenario of America as the last man standing. The lights may go out in Europe faster than you can imagine. An Islamic Europe means a Europe without freedom and democracy, an economic wasteland, an intellectual nightmare, and a loss of military might for America – as its allies will turn into enemies, enemies with atomic bombs. With an Islamic Europe, it would be up to America alone to preserve the heritage of Rome, Athens and Jerusalem.

Dear friends, liberty is the most precious of gifts. My generation never had to fight for this freedom, it was offered to us on a silver platter, by people who fought for it with their lives. All throughout Europe American cemeteries remind us of the young boys who never made it home, and whose memory we cherish. My generation does not own this freedom; we are merely its custodians. We can only hand over this hard won liberty to Europe’s children in the same state in which it was offered to us. We cannot strike a deal with mullahs and imams. Future generations would never forgive us. We cannot squander our liberties. We simply do not have the right to do so.

This is not the first time our civilization is under threat. We have seen dangers before. We have been betrayed by our elites before. They have sided with our enemies before. And yet, then, freedom prevailed.

These are not times in which to take lessons from appeasement, capitulation, giving away, giving up or giving in. These are not times in which to draw lessons from Mr. Chamberlain. These are times calling us to draw lessons from Mr. Churchill and the words he spoke in 1942:

“Never give in, never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy”.

 

Fitna movie part one:

Fitna movie part two:

Interview with Wilders:

 

A few charicatures:

122808242_d26036e180

325px-muhammed_and_the_jew

122778011_8cf4389841

122779411_e2d6ae626f

122787335_684612c3ee

122802757_ef41864b0e

122802758_8d90f17042

122808239_4359559dc1-1

122808241_b4d2884a1b

122811973_2e565a2255

h1

§276 Discrimination

January 13, 2009

In recent news, Birthright Israel bans Messianic Jews from participating in the program:

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/159212

Wasn’t this recent news two months ago too?

http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/489485.aspx

Am I the only one who finds this discrimination disturbing? Now I feel divided here. I will support Israel in its fight against terror as if there was no discrimination. And I will fight the discrimination as if there was no fight against terrorism.

 

And my problems with the traffic jams finally reached national headlines. Woo-hoo.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/159222

h1

§268 A prayer

January 5, 2009

He Who blessed our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob — may He bless the fighters of the Israel Defense Forces, who stand guard over our land and the cities of our God, from the border of the Lebanon to the desert of Egypt, and from the Great Sea unto the approach of the Aravah, on the land, in the air, and on the sea.

May the Almighty cause the enemies who rise up against us to be struck down before them. May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor.

May He lead our enemies under our soldiers’ sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory. And may there be fulfilled for them the verse: For it is the Lord your God, Who goes with you to battle your enemies for you to save you.

Now let us respond: Amen.

Source: The sidur “Da lifney mi ata omed”, nusach ashkenaz, published by Koren, 2004
Source of translation to English: http://www.aish.com/spirituality/prayer/Prayer_for_Israeli_Soldiers.asp

I tried to find a similar prayer for the civilians in Gaza too, but couldn’t. Not even a muslim prayer. Nothing. The only thing I found when searching “prayer for palestinians” and “prayer for palestine” were things condemning Israel for defending itself, or it was in arabic without translation so I couldn’t know. Nothing simple about keeping the civilians from harm, only hate propaganda, and calls for Israel to end the “occupation”. Sad indeed.

I tried to be balanced here.

h1

§265 Tired… so tired

January 1, 2009

Never ever ever again 3 courses at once. I can’t deal with it. It’s impossible. A few weeks ago I focused on the accounting and the macroeconomy course to get the papers in in time, and neglected price theory where I have recorded lessons. Now I still have 6 hours of lessons left of price theory just to catch up to be able to do the paper that is due on Sunday. There’s a bunch of papers in every course, and a minimum requirement. In accounting I’ve done the minimum, and could, theoretically, stop study, and then learn all I need really really fast before the test. In price theory and macroeconomy I’ve reached the point where I must hand in almost everything left in order to make it.

If I fail to hand in everything I won’t fail the class. But the papers not handed in will get zero points which will affect my average, and as a result I must get a much higher grade in the test in order to pass.

Yesterday I was up until 0200 seeing a lesson in price theory. (Only 6 hours left to see). I got up at 6 this morning to get to accounting class in time (not the same as the univeristy studies). Need to go much earlier today, because the traffic jams at the checkpoint are much worse nowadays because of higher alert due to Gaza situation.

The local Maale Adumim paper screamed with desperation, how the government DARE neglect the inhabitants of Maale Adumim like that. I say shut up. The Palestinians go through 5 checkpoints a day going to work, even if they stay inside the West Bank. How can you, as a settler, say that that’s ok, and complain about the checkpoints you go through and still look at yourself in the mirror? I don’t get it. I’m considering writing something to the paper.

I had an argument in accounting class today with a couple of settlers. I’m a settler myself, and I do believe in the concept, but these had some weird view that I really can’t understand. She told us her bus was hit by a rock thrown by an arab on her way here. It smashed the door glass but no one was hurt. Then she turns to me and says “and you still think we shouldn’t be racists”. And then she goes on that “they are all like that” and that “they all voted for Hamas, they’re alll terrorists. If they clap their hands at terrorists acts they don’t belong in this country”. I try to understand what she is saying… “so you say we should evict them all? How can you believe that and still be against evicting settlements? Isn’t evicting people from their homes immoral whatever circumstances?” But no, the settlers in Gaza had bought the land fair and square, and they had cultivated the country, etc, etc. It sounded like she was arguing with me that the disengagement was wrong. No need to convince me, I’m with you. But I think evicting is immoral in any case, no matter jews or arabs, no matter settlers or palestinians. Then I asked how she can be mad at people being happy about the suicide bombs, if she is happy at the civilians killed in Gaza. I explained that I’m in favor of this defense, but we should still be able to feel sorry for the killed civilians. Apparently nono from her. The civilians there are to blame that they live there. Hamas is using the area to shoot on us, it’s the civilians’ responsibility to leave the area. Besides, they all voted Hamas in any case…

I reallly really hope that most settlers are not like her. I tried to bring it to religion. Aren’t all humans created in God’s image? Shouldn’t we be able to feel sorry for every killed human being, no matter who he was or what he did? Of course we should be glad that our country is finally defending our civilians. But we should still be able to see the suffering on the other side. The Palestinians are suffering from Hamas terror acts too.

Problem is, that since the intifada, and since all problems in the released/occupied areas (whichever you want to call them), I’m afraid that most settlers are like this. Because anyone thinking clearly will put his children before ideology, and would leave the area. Only the extremists are left. In the end, isn’t that also the terrorisms fault? It’s a bad circle. Terrorists do violence. Normal Israelis and Palestinians leave. Extremist settlers and soldiers are left. Crazy israelis are the only israelis palestinians see. They think we are all like that, and with a little Hamas brainwash, they become terrorists too, and so the circle goes on. It has gone on like that ever since the mufti of Jerusalem Haj-Amin al-Husseini started the jihad against jews. It has gone on for almost 100 years. Will it ever end? I’m not sure. As long as there’s a few terrorist fundamentalists, they will make sure the suffering goes on and on. And as long as there’s suffering, the mighty arab (and iranian) dictators will have a way to unify their people – hate against Israel. It will go on as long as the fundamentalism and the suffering is serving the interest of mighty and rich people.

If there was no conflict in Israel, the arab nations would most probably make up one.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m still against a two-state solution, and I still believe this is our God given land. I just think that narrow minded idiots make things worse. If you can’t see a situation from your opponents point of view, you should get away from the situation alltogether.

On the other hand I can also understand this settler. When you experience these things, it makes a personal impression that can be impossible to shake off. When you see that entire crowds of arabs make boo-whistles during a silent minute for terror victims (happened at a soccer game after the yeshiva shootings – israeli arabs, not even palestinians), it’s very easy to think they are all like that. And to a certain extense she is right too. But then she can’t complain that they think that all jews are like her, who wants them evicted.

I spoke a few years ago with another settler who had a much brighter mind. He actually said that “if I believed that moving to Tel Aviv would bring peace – I would do it. But I don’t think it will. It will only bring the front closer to israeli population”. The Gaza disengagement certainly proved him right. He also said that he has no problem with the palestinians living where they live, as long as they don’t have a problem with him living where he lives. There are huge beautiful areas in the West Bank, and there’s plenty of room for everybody. I hope that more settlers are like him. I really hope so.

Why did I reach this rant? I was only speaking of the traffic jam this morning, and it got to this… oh, well. Besides all that, I will be busy changing from 2008 to 2009 at this place. We got the inventory done yesterday (and today in Tel Aviv). I am looking forward to get all this done with. Both at work and the studies. But I have a couple of months left at both.

Why can’t I ever write short things? Why does it always get to this? No one will ever read all that.

Happy celebration of the fact that January is named after the two-faced roman God Janus, and enjoy the upcoming voyage around the sun, named “2009” because of a certain monk’s miscalculation. I celebrated my new years a couple of months ago.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started