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Watch: Hamas Minister Admits the REAL Roots of Palestinians

Apr 28th, 2012
by Leah.
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For decades,  Palestinians have been claiming to be the indigenous people of the Land of Israel and casting Israel as a colonialist occupier.

Well, apparently the Hamas Minister of Interior hasn’t receive the memo regarding the official party line on Palestinian genetics. In this candid interview for the Egyptian TV he is adamant that every single Palestinian can trace his roots to Egypt, Yemen, or Saudi Arabia.

The entire video is well-worth watching, but the real nugget is around 0:45 minutes.

 

Need I say anything else?


 

Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza – Gourmet Videos

Jun 16th, 2010
by Leah.
6 comments

What images does “humanitarian crisis” conjure in your mind? For me, it’s the stories of the siege of Leningrad during WWII, which some of my family members experienced first-hand.

Leningrad siege 253x300 Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Gourmet Videos

The face of a humanitarian crisis

The Hamas and its supporters (especially in the media) would like us to believe that something of the sorts is happening in Gaza. Then, last week, the Israeli Government Press Office spoiled the show by sarcastically inviting the foreign press corps in Gaza to visit the Roots Club and get a first-hand glimpse of the humanitarian situation in the strip.

The owners of Roots have reportedly invested over US 1 million into the site, which leaves us with two options: either they are stark-stupid, throwing money to the wind or there is no shortage of clients for this posh establishment.

Lest you think this ritzy restaurant is one-of-a-kind place for the rich and famous (as Palestinians have been claiming since the publication), think again. Just in case you should ever  find yourself in Gaza with nothing to eat, here is a sampling of YouTube videos from Gaza restaurants in a variety of price ranges (use Google Translate to verify Arabic captions). Note that all videos are from 2008 and on (well into the Israeli blockade of the strip).

Lighthouse Restaurant – Gaza

Pay attention to the fountain and the manicured lawns (in view of the severe water crisis in Gaza).

Key West Restaurant – Gaza

If you’d like something simpler, this Gaza-style Kentucky Fried Chicken should suit your fancy. (I do hope the Hamas doesn’t burn them down for identifying with enemy values).

Almat’haf Museum and Restaurant

Man doesn’t live on bread alone. At Almat’haf Museum and Cultural House cultural experiences and fine dining go hand in hand. Note the planned construction of a boutique hotel, which seems to be unhampered by the alleged Israeli embargo on building materials.

Falafel – Gaza Style

Finally, no Gaza dining guide would be complete without some first-class falafel with an assortment of pickled vegetables.

Wow, that looks appetizing!

Gaza Flotilla – Just the Facts

Jun 1st, 2010
by Leah.
7 comments

As the world condemns Israel for exercising its right to self-defense in boarding the so-called Free Gaza flotilla, three claims are made:

1. Israel has violated the international law by boarding peaceful ships in international waters.

2. Israel ambushed the ships.

3. IDF troops used excessive force to kill peace activists.

For anyone with even a drop of intellectual honesty, here are the facts:

1. Here’s the relevant paragraph from the “international law” (HT to The Yid with the Lid):

According to the San Remo Manual on International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea, 12 June 1994:
SECTION V : NEUTRAL MERCHANT VESSELS AND CIVIL AIRCRAFT

Neutral merchant vessels

67. Merchant vessels flying the flag of neutral States may not be attacked unless they:

(a) are believed on reasonable grounds to be carrying contraband or breaching a blockade, and after prior warning they intentionally and clearly refuse to stop, or intentionally and clearly resist visit, search or capture;
(b) engage in belligerent acts on behalf of the enemy;
(c) act as auxiliaries to the enemy’s armed forces;
(d) are incorporated into or assist the enemy’s intelligence system;
(e) sail under convoy of enemy warships or military aircraft; or
(f) otherwise make an effective contribution to the enemy’s military action, e.g., by carrying military materials, and it is not feasible for the attacking forces to first place passengers and crew in a place of safety. Unless circumstances do not permit, they are to be given a warning, so that they can re-route, off-load, or take other precautions.

2. Israel gave the ships ample warning to re-route or pass the humanitarian assistance through the available channels either in Israel or in Egypt.

Here’s the video of the message being communicated:

3. The  “peace activists”  attacked IDF soldiers, who had boarded the ship, with iron bars, knives, and axes. Remarkably, IDF troops took a beating for 40 minutes before finally opening fire to defend themselves.

Here’s that footage:

I am sure that brainwashed Palestinian sympathizers will not be confused by the facts. As to decent people looking for truth, I offer just one small question to ponder. How many acts of terrorism and violence have been committed by Jews in your native country? How many by Muslims?  Why should this be any different in the Middle East?


 

A Letter to Goldstone

Oct 19th, 2009
by Leah.
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Someone sent me a copy of a letter in which a personal friend of Judge Goldstone berates him for his involvement with the anti-Israel committee named after him.

I have no idea whether the cover story is true and who really penned this letter, but that in no way diminishes the poignancy of the arguments or the validity of the facts.

Judge for yourself.

To: Judge Richard Goldstone
From: Barbara Press
Subject: Hello Richard… It’s been a while…

Dear Richard

Our paths have crossed many times compelling me to correspond directly with you. I pray your indulgence that you hear me out by reading to the end of my missive. In fact I ask you to share my letter with Noleen from beginning to end and to respond with your thoughts.

It has been a while since (inspired by you as head of ORT South Africa) I, together with Rabbi Bernard at Oxford Shule, established a school to teach the Killarney-Houghton Black domestic workers how to write, read, sew, cook and drive. It has been a while since you praised my father, Hubert Press, as one of the finest business brains  you had ever encountered. It has been a while since I dined with you, Noleen, David and Marilyn Rivkin, discussing opera.

Jewish life has been crying out for a man of the stature of Adolph Cremieux, of Justice Louis Brandeis, of Sir Moses Montefiore, people of the highest integrity and purpose. For those who champion their own people are remembered forever in the annals of history. But those who are self-serving are lost in a trail of ignominy.

South African Jewry stands tall and your efforts in championing Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa were applauded and earned you a  reputation as a man of stature.

I am bewildered by the direction you have taken as part of the United Nations Human Rights Council. This rogue Council has been tainted by a membership that does not condemn Iranian tyranny, Chinese oppression, African despotism, but spends their time condemning one country unjustly, Israel.

The Goldstone Commission bears your name. One would expect the mandate of any report to be objective, so that your name could be respected and a legacy ensured. Instead your committee ignored the facts, embraced bias and rendered the report bearing your name,  illegitimate.

You tried to defend yourself in the New York Times but it was transparent and not effective. You could have resigned from the commission and retained your integrity. You knew that Israel faced 12,000 Grads and Kassams from its Iran-backed terror base of Gaza, 8,000 irreversibly traumatizing the families and children of Sderot. You knew that the U.N. never passed one resolution condemning these deadly missiles. You knew that before and during Operation Cast Lead, Israel made thousands of cell phone calls to warn civilians. You knew that Israel sent thousands of texts to warn civilians. You knew that Israel dropped hundreds of thousands of leaflets in Arabic (I managed to obtain one of these as evidence) to warn civilians. You knew that Israel aborted operations to avoid civilian deaths. You knew that Israel set up medical facilities on the edge of Gaza to treat civilians. You knew that Israel dropped supplies of food into Gaza to feed civilians.

You also knew that Hamas operatives are not “civilians”. You knew that not only were they not civilians, but that they hid behind their own civilians to fire on Israeli civilians. You knew that they misused ambulances for military purposes. You knew that mosques and schools were used for Hamas depots and launching pads. You knew that Hamas operatives kill or shoot at the legs of any Gazans refusing to target Israel.

The video footage and U-tube sequences are still available for any and all of us to witness.

You clearly knew that one of your team members had condemned Israel in a published letter, even before the conclusion of the incursion or  the beginning of your investigation. But you did not resign or distance yourself from the hypocrisy of this illegitimate report.  Instead, a tedious 500-page report of the 3 week battle was padded with pages from the tainted U.N. mockery of Israel’s security barrier (misnamed the “wall”). What a sad indictment of the charter of the United Nations.

Richard, you were indeed a respected legal giant in Johannesburg. This report did not arise from ignorance or naivete. I am trying so hard to resist the conclusion that your role and report might represent a self-serving desire to ingratiate yourself for a more senior position in the kangaroo court called the United Nations. But  if true – and one hopes that this is not the case – at what price?  Association with the infamous U.N.,  garners no respect in the USA so why would anyone seek to be head inmate at the U.N. Asylum?

I have been very direct as South Africans are want to be. But many of us South Africans have been tainted by the perfidy of the Goldstone report. This is the Jewish time of Judgment when the scales of fate are entered in the book of life and we all need to look into our souls. I am not sure how you could comfortably extricate yourself. Perhaps we could discuss this face to face.

Good Yomtov to you, Noleen and your family.

Regards,  Barbara Press Fix

From Mahmoody to Goldstone and back

Sep 28th, 2009
by Leah.
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While reading Betty Mahmoody’s For the Love of a Child (the sequel to Not Without My Daughter), I got an insight into the folly known as the Goldstone Report. What’s the connection, you may ask? Read on.

As a mother, I wholeheartedly understand Betty Mahmoody’s motivation for fleeing Iran to bring up her daughter in a democratic Western society. But if we put aside our cultural biases, is there really a difference between Betty’s abduction of her daughter to the US (following which, the girl was forever separated from her father) and the husband’s original insistence on moving the family to Iran, even at the expense of separating the child from the mother? Each one of the parents wanted to bring up the child in his or her native culture, and, unable to reach an agreement, acted unilaterally on this desire. (I am aware of Betty’s claims of abuse, but I am setting this issue aside for the sake of the argument).

Likewise, though I wholeheartedly support the efforts of Yad Leachim to bring Jewish women married to Arab men (as well as the children of these marriages) back to the fold, I understand that my outlook is colored by my Jewish faith. The mechanism by which a Jewish woman takes her children unilaterally from Ramallah to Jerusalem to bring them up as Jews is the same as the one employed by her husband to take them back and raise them as Muslims.

So long as humanity is not united by a single ethical belief, the moral high ground often depends entirely on the subjective position of the observer. The same goes for Israel’s attempts to defend itself from its neighbors’ attacks. As long as the observers (be it the UN or the self-appointed European freedom fighters) have undertaken the Palestinian cause, no amount of ethical safety measures will absolve Israel from accusations of human rights violations.

To the contrary, the higher the hyper-ethical standard Israel attempts to maintain, the louder the accusations. I will never forget the terrifying hours during which we frantically tried to contact my brother-in-law stationed in Jenin, after hearing rumours of heavy casualties in the city during Operation Defensive Shield in April 2002. Though he emerged from combat unscathed, 13 of his comrades paid with their lives for Israel’s insistence on sending in ground troops in an effort to preserve civilian Palestinian lives. The “reward” for these efforts were movies the likes of Jenin Jenin and a worldwide outcry against Israel’s humanitarian violations.

In a similar vein, though IDF is the only army in the world to go through the pains of telephoning enemy civilians to warn them of planned air raids, as was done during the 2008 incursion into Gaza, Judge Goldstone and his ilk have no qualms lambasting Israel as a perpetrator of genocide.

Judaism’s dedication to the values of human life and compassion is unmatched by any religion. From ancient Jewish kings known throughout the world as “the kings of mercy” (1 Kings 20:31) to outstanding levels of voluntarism in modern Israel, Jews in general and Israelis in particular have no need for anyone’s ethical preaching. All efforts to live up to a superlative level of morality, not practiced anywhere else in the world, has so far backfired on Israel’s defensive efforts to defend itself.

The time has come for Israel to redefine its military ethic to conform to the Talmudic teaching of “if someone comes to kill you, arise and kill him first” (Sanhedrin 72a) and dispense with the attempts to save face while doing so. Though there’ll be little change in Israel’s public image, its defensive abilities will improve tremendously.

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