Celebrations in Gaza after shooting attack

Celebrations in Gaza after shooting attack



Processions of joy took place at a number of locations in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, after the shooting attack near Hebron, which left four Israelis dead.


Nevertheless, residents expressed concern of an Israeli military response. Palestinians reported that UAVs and fighter jets were seen circling the Strip's skies. (Ali Waked)

Source: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3947257,00.html

Reform movement to DOJ: Protect Muslims

Reform movement to Justice Department: protect Muslims

By James Besser  08/31/2010  from the New York Jewish Week     excerpt

As invective about the proposed Islamic center in Manhattan gets uglier, the Reform movement has joined with several other faith and advocacy groups in calling on the Obama administration to take stronger measures to “protect millions of American Muslims” and to take stronger steps to protect religious freedom in today's overheated political climate.

The coalition, representing the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, the Interfaith Alliance, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and Muslim Advocates met with Justice Department officials yesterday and urged the administration to make a strong statement “underscoring the federal government's commitment to religious freedom, condemning hate crimes and other forms of harassment and discrimination targeting the Muslim and other faith communities, and stating that the Department of Justice will hold perpetrators accountable.”

The group also wants the DOJ Civil Rights division to lead a “coordinated federal response to the backlash” against Muslim-Americans, and to “direct its Community Relations Service (CRS) offices to to act to defuse tensions where incidents have already occurred and in areas where incitement activities are expected to take place, such as Gainesville, FL where a church is planning to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of September 11.”

Also on their list of suggestions: making better use of the recently passed federal hate crimes law and creating a Civil Rights Division hotline for reporting hate crimes.

Blair: Combat de-legitimization of Israel

Tony Blair’s Five Steps Towards Fighting Israel Deniers

By Orit Arfa  August 24, 2010

http://www.jewishjournal.com/bloggish/item/tony_blairs_five_steps_towards_fighting_israel_deniers_20100824/

Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, now Envoy of the Quartet on the Middle East, was the keynote speaker of the August 24 symposium entitled “The De-legitimization of Israel: Threats, Challenges and Responses” organized by The Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy at IDC Herziliya in cooperation with the Office of the Leader of the Opposition.

Speaking to an auditorium packed with press, students, and security, Blair, calling himself a proud friend of Israel, distinguished between the obvious Israel deniers (Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah) and the more “insidious” critics who say they accept a two-state solution but don’t sincerely try to understand Israel’s position.

“It’s not about an overt denial of Israel’s right to exist,“ Blair said. “It’s an application of prejudice in not acknowledging that Israel has a legitimate point of view.”

For example, those who de-legitimize Israel would take issue with Israel’s desire to inspect incoming vessels into Gaza but wouldn’t acknowledge Israel’s legitimate concern over the transport of weapons in the Gaza.

He sympathizes with critics of the Occupation, “but there has to be security once they lift the Occupation….Hamas, with an unchanged position on Israel running the West Bank, Israel would have a legitimate right to be concerned about its security.”

He tells those who condemn Israel defensive actions: “Don’t apply rules to the government of Israel that you would never dream of applying to your own government or country,” a statement which elicited fierce applause form the audience.

He proposed five steps to combating the de-legitimization Israel.

First: “The aim is not to make people agree with Israel’s point of view but to insist that they listen to it and persuade them at least to a point of understanding.”

Second:  “Israel has to be staunch and unremitting actor for peace.“ The restart of negotiations next month is a positive step and “shows there is a simple and sincere yearning on part of people of Israel to live an enduring and honorable peace with their neighbors.”

He acknowledged cynicism about the peace process, but believes “if Israel can receive real and effective guarantees about its security, it’s willing and ready to conclude negotiations for a Palestinian state.”

Third: Negotiations must include discussions of final stages. “Proposals on this issue will be a litmus test to seriousness.”

Fourth: While taking into account legitimate security concerns, Israel must do what it can to improve quickly the daily life of the Palestinians.

“No top down negotiations will work without it.”

Fifth: “It is our collective duty, yours and mine to argue vigorously against the de-legitimization of Israel. It is also our collective duty to arm ourselves with an argument and narrative we can defend and with which we can answer the case made against Israel with pride and confidence.”

Having spent more time in Israel since his premiership, he has come to admire the democratic nature of Israel: its vibrant parliament, freedom of the press, and enforcement of individual rights. The creativity of the Jewish state, he said, stems from the Jewish spirit of achievement in the arts and sciences.

“The best answer to the de-legitimization of Israel lies in the character of Israel itself and the openness, fair-mindedness and creativity of all Israelis. That character is what built the state of Israel.”

He received a standing ovation when he concluded with: “What you’ve created is remarkable for you, but what you’ve created is remarkable for the rest of us.”

Cordoba Project Imam on Israel: Favors one-state solution in comments made in 2005

Again, whether you support or oppose placement of an Islamic Center near Ground Zero, 

you should know that  Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the leader of the project ( The Cordoba Initiative,)

 appears to favor positions that can be characterized as anti-Israel. 

 

A win-win solution to the Palestinian/Israel conflict requires a two-state solution:  A safe and secure Jewish state and a safe and secure Palestinian Arab state.

 

 In 2005,  Imam Rauf  publicly advocated for a one-state solution, in which no separate State of Israel will exist.   

 

 Rauf said he does not favor the plan to establish a Palestinian state along with Israel.

 

 "The differences, perhaps, may lie on whether the solution lies in the two-state solution or in a one-state solution. I believe that you had someone here recently who spoke about having a one land and two people's solution to Israel. And I personally - my own personal analysis tells me that a one-state solution is a more coherent one than a two-state solution. So if we address the underlying issue, if we figure out a way to create condominiums, to condominiamise Israel and Palestine so you have two peoples co-existing on one state, then we have a different paradigm which will allow us to move forward."

 

Source:  http://www.investigativeproject.org/2121/rauf-lecture-reveals-radicalism  ( Steve Emerson)   Audio documentation  

 

 

 As you may already know, Imam Rauf declines to repudiate the terrorist organization Hamas.

 

 When asked to acknowledge Hamas as a terrorist organization, Imam Rauf refused, saying, in part:

"I am a peace builder. I will not allow anybody to put me in a position where I am seen by any party in the world as an adversary or as an enemy." 

Souce : http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/imam_terror_error_efmizkHuBUaVnfuQcrcabL 

In writings translated from Arabic, Imam Rauf states that he sees Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad -- organizations identifed by the U.S. State Department as terrorist organizations -- as organizations seeking 'justice."  

Source: http://redcounty.com/content/walid-shoebat-translation-ground-zero-mosque-imam-faisal-abdel-rauf-%E2%80%9Cafter-911-%E2%80%9Chamas-hezbol

 

//Mark Finkelstein    jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

Imam should have no role in Cordoba Project because of his support for Hamas

 

Whatever your opinion about the Islamic Center proposed for construction near Ground Zero in Manhattan, you should be aware that the imam of the Cordoba Project, Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf has refused to acknowledge Hamas as a terrorist organization.  

 

 In my opinion, this is unacceptable, no matter the rationalization.   If the imam cannot clearly repudiate Hamas, the imam should have no role in the project.

 

 Hamas is listed by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist organization.  Hamas regularly and intentionally targets Israeli civilians.  Hamas both conducts and plans military attacks while embedded among Palestinian civilians, and its Charter embraces the hope that Jews will be subjected to genocide.

 

When asked to acknowledge Hamas as a terrorist organization, Imam Rauf refused, saying, in part:

"I am a peace builder. I will not allow anybody to put me in a position where I am seen by any party in the world as an adversary or as an enemy." 

Souce : http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/imam_terror_error_efmizkHuBUaVnfuQcrcabL

Given the deeds and intentions of Hamas it is surely in American interests, in Israel's interests, and in Jewish interests to stand against Hamas as an adversary. 

 

To go further into the matter,  go beyond what individuals, such as Imam Rauf, say in English and attend to what they say in Arabic.

 

The following is from Walid Shoebat, an anti-Islamist [ not anti-Muslim, but anti-Islamist] activist.  The text suggests that Imam Rauf is not 'neutral' towards Hamas ( as he would claim) but indeed embraces Hamas.

 

//Mark Finkelstein    jcrc@dmjfed.org

 

 

Imam Faisal Abdul Rauf. In his translation  from the Arabic in an article “Sharing The Essence Of Our Beliefs” by Feisal Abdul Rauf, published in the  Al-Ghad Newspaper in Jordan, 5/9/2009, Shoebat noted:

In it, Imam Rauf reveals his views to Muslims right after the 9/11 attacks that Hamas, Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad were born as a result of the Muslim hunger for Islamic law and justice. 

The words of Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf:

(Translated from the Arabic by Walid Shoebat)

If someone in the Middle East cries out, “where is the law”, he knows that the law exists. The only law that the Muslim needs exists already in the Koran and the Hadith. People asked me right after the 9/11 attack as to why do movements with political agendas carry [Islamic] religious names? Why call it ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ or ‘Hezbollah (Party of Allah)’ or ‘Hamas’ or ‘Islamic Resistance Movement’? I answer them this—that the trend towards Islamic law and justice begins in religious movements, because secularism had failed to deliver what the Muslim wants, which is life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. 

Source: http://redcounty.com/content/walid-shoebat-translation-ground-zero-mosque-imam-faisal-abdel-rauf-%E2%80%9Cafter-911-%E2%80%9Chamas-hezbol

Peace Cannot Be a One-Way Street - Micky Boyden

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

---

From: DKaufman@aol.com

Date: Sat, 21 Aug 2010 09:09:04 EDT

To: <DKaufman@aol.com>

Subject: Peace Cannot Be a One-Way Street - Micky Boyden

Peace Cannot Be a One-Way Street

I have friends, who today are supporters of J-Street, and were involved in Peace Now back in the 1960's. I was there too, back in the old days. I voted for Yitzhak Rabin z"l and remember him saying: "We shall fight terror as though there were no peace, and make peace as though there were no terror".

I still have a bag bearing the stickers "Peace Now" and "A Whole Generation Seeks Peace". But then came the 2nd Intifada, Intifada Al- Aqsa, which claimed the lives of over 1,100 Israelis and left many thousands more wounded, some of whom still bear the physical and mental scars of their injuries to this day.

None of us will forget how the Palestinians danced on their rooftops as Scud missiles fell on Tel Aviv, and rejoiced as the Hizbollah rockets pounded our northern towns and villages.

I understand them. They are weary of an Israeli occupation, which they have had to endure for over forty years. Not that they had ever enjoyed independence. Prior to 1967, the Jordanians were their masters, while prior to 1948, the British had held the reins of power, which they in turn had wrested in 1917 from the Ottoman Empire, who had conquered Palestine four hundred years earlier..

But today the Palestinians want a state of their own, although there are few signs that they are able to work together, or that such a state will be democratic. When and if it is ever established, it will most likely join the ranks of the dictatorships and the theocracies in our region. Nevertheless, most Israelis support them in their quest for independence.

However, statehood comes at a price. The Palestinians will have to forgo their ambitions to destroy Israel. They will need to recognize that no Israeli government will allow the Jewish state to be swamped with hundreds of thousands, if not millions of the grandchildren of those who claim to have been displaced by the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

One year earlier, in 1947, the United Nations had presented its Partition Plan for the division of the territories west of the river Jordan between a Jewish and an Arab state. We reluctantly accepted the plan in spite of all of its disadvantages and limitations. After all, half a cake is better than none. However, the Palestine Arab Higher Committee, supported by the Arab League, rejected it.

More than 60 years later, the Palestinians are faced with the same dilemma: Compromise and accept less than what you want, or remain where you are.

As the US Administration tirelessly works to cajole Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) into direct negotiations with Prime Minister Netanyahu, it is to be hoped that the President of the Palestinian National Authority will be more pragmatic than his predecessors. Were we seeing Palestinian moderates calling upon him to compromise for the sake of peace, then the chances of success would be greater. But I don't hear them.

Micky Boyden
Rabbis For Israel
WeAreForIsrael.org

 

David Jay Kaufman
Rabbi
Temple B'nai Jeshurun
Des Moines, Iowa
www.templebnaijeshurun.org
www.rabbikaufman.blogspot.com
515-274-4679
dkaufman@aol.com

Netanyahu welcomes Clinton's invitation - Israel News, Ynetnews

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?source=reader&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ynetnews.com%2Farticles%2F0%2C7340%2CL-3940607%2C00.html

Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

Op-Ed: Palestinian leaders must foster hope, not hate | JTA - Jewish & Israel News

http://m.jta.org/news/article/jta/2010/08/16/2740494/op-ed-palestinian-leaders-must-foster-hope-not-hate

Erekat: 'We will educate for peace when there is peace.'

Palestinians deserve better from their leaders.
Sent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®

U.S. State Dept: Lebanese army's fire on IDF "totally unjustified, deliberate"

 

US State Department spokesman condemns incident of Lebanese fire on IDF troops

AFP and Ahiya Raved

 

The Lebanese army's fire on IDF troops working on Israel's northern border was "totally unjustified and deliberate," US State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley said Wednesday.

 

Crowley spoke after a statement released by the UN Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) declared that the trees troops were uprooting Tuesday, before shots fired by Lebanese soldiers killed Lieutenant Colonel Dov Harari and wounded Captain Ezra Lakia, were located the "Israeli side".

 

"UNIFIL has established... that trees chopped down by the Israeli army are located south of the Blue Line, the Israeli side," UNIFIL said Wednesday in a statement.

 

The Blue Line was drawn by the UN following the withdrawal of the IDF in May 2000 from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation to act as a border.

 

 

Iran denies Ahmadinejad assassination attempt

Iran television denies reports of attempt on Ahmadinejad's life

Published:  08.04.10, 13:14 / Israel News

Iranian television denied reports of an assassination attempt on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

 

At the same time, the Iranian website that first reported the incident noted that the president's vehicle was some 100 meters from the minibus which absorbed the hand grenade explosion. (Dudi Cohen)

UNIFIL: Israeli forces did not enter Lebanon

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3929817,00.html

JFNA Briefing: Israel and Lebanon Clash on Northern Border

 

LEADERSHIP BRIEFING

ISRAEL AND LEBANON CLASH ON NORTHERN BORDER Aug. 3, 2010 A major escalation of tension and hostilities took place a few hours ago on the Israel- Lebanon border. Since there were Israeli casualties, a media blackout was in place in Israel on some details until about one hour ago, when JFNA prepared this report.  According to the Israel Defense Forces, Lebanese soldiers opened fire across the border at Israeli troops in the most serious incident since the end of the Second Lebanon War. A senior IDF officer, Lieutenant Colonel Dov Harari, 45, was killed in the skirmish. Harari was an IDF reservist who served as a battalion commander in the sector where the clash took place. In the past, border incidents have involved Hezbollah terrorists, but in this case, it was regular Lebanese Army troops who fired on the IDF. According to the IDF, Israeli soldiers were engaged in routine maintenance near Misgav Am, in an area between the internationally recognized ‘blue line’ border and Israel’s security fence, when they came under fire. The Lebanese government is claiming the Israeli troops had crossed over the border and entered no-man’s land in order to tear down a tree that was blocking Israel's vision. The IDF says the troops had remained on the Israeli side of the border. There are no claims that Israeli troops actually crossed into Lebanese territory. “It was a planned ambush by a sniper unit … this was a provocation by the Lebanese Army,” said IDF Major-General Gadi Eisenkot. “We view this fire as a highly grave incident. Our forces responded at once, and immediately after that we resorted to artillery and gunship fire.” Three Lebanese soldiers and a Lebanese journalist also died in today’s clash, following heavy Israeli retaliation with artillery and tank fire. The wounded Israeli soldier is 30-year-old reservist Captain Ezra Lakia, who was evacuated by helicopter to Haifa's Rambam hospital. After the initial fire, Israel directed artillery fire at other Lebanon Army outposts and also dispatched gunships to strike the posts, which hold a dominating position and could have posed a risk to Israeli troops on the ground. The Israel Air Force also struck a Lebanese Army headquarters in a nearby village. Several Lebanese military vehicles were destroyed in the strike. At one point, the Lebanese Army requested a ceasefire in order to evacuate wounded soldiers. The IDF agreed, but during this lull, a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at an IDF tank, though it missed its target. There is speculation that this was an intentional Lebanese attack aimed at deflecting Lebanese public attention from a UN report on the assassination of former President Rafik Hariri, which was threatening to cause major civilian unrest in the country in the coming days. Some news accounts say the report will blame Hezbollah for the killing. Israel today lodged an urgent and immediate complaint with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, saying Lebanon committed a blatant violation of the UN-sanctioned 2006 ceasefire. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated: “I hold the Lebanese government directly responsible for this provocation.” He added that Israel would continue to respond with force to any further attempts to violate the ceasefire and disturb the lives of residents of Israel’s north and the IDF troops who protect them. Foreign Minister Ehud Barak issued a warning to the Lebanese government, saying that Israel would not tolerate any attacks on citizens or soldiers on its “sovereign territory.” Barak called on the international community to condemn the “criminal acts of the Lebanese Army.” Earlier in the day, Kiryat Shmona Mayor Nissim Malcha said there is no need for northern residents to enter bomb shelters. JFNA will keep Federations updated as major news develops.

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Breaking news: Massive exchange of fire on Lebanese border

Dead, wounded in massive skirmish on Lebanon border Article by YnetNews, August 3, 2010 Explosions rock northern border Tuesday as IDF clashes with Lebanese forces; at least four Lebanese reportedly killed; Northern residents in Israel report major blasts, UNIFIL urges both sides to show restraint.  [more]

Eilat, Aqaba targeted by rockets; 1 dead in Jordan

My #1 son is currently in Eilat, Israel, a location targeted by terrorist rockets early Monday morning. He reports that another group on his trip heard the rockets, but that everyone is safe.//Mark Finkelstein


Rockets fired toward Israel, kill one person in Jordan

August 2, 2010 By ARON HELLER AND MARK LAVIE. The Associated Press 

JERUSALEM - A string of rockets was fired early Monday toward the Israeli resort city of Eilat, and one hit in neighboring Jordan, killing one person and wounding four, officials in the two countries said.

The rockets appeared to have been fired from the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, an Israeli police spokesman said, though Egypt denied the claim.

It was the second such attack this year.

http://www.newsday.com/news/world/rockets-fired-toward-israel-kill-one-person-in-jordan-1.2167644

Issacharoff: World Jihad targeting Jordan and Egypt, not just Israel

 World Jihad targeting Jordan and Egypt, not just Israel

Concern over possible missile strikes or major terror attacks has spurred the Jordanians to closer security collaboration with Israel.

By Avi Issacharoff  8/3/10  http://www.haaretz.com/blogs/mess-report/mess-report-world-jihad-targeting-jordan-and-egypt-not-just-israel-1.305616

A Jordanian citizen was killed and three others were wounded by Grad rockets fired on Monday from Egyptian territory at the Gulf of Eilat and Aqaba. One rocket struck open space north of Eilat, three struck Aqaba's hotel area, one rocket apparently landed in the sea and one landed in Sinai.

On an Army Radio show on Monday morning, the presenter, a well-known comic, ridiculed the rocket launchers for having bad aim and mistakenly hitting Aqaba. But the perpetrators, apparently members of the group known as Global Jihad, intended to hit Aqaba no less than Eilat. They consider the Hashemite kingdom to be as legitimate a target as Israel, if not more so.

Aqaba has become an attractive destination for European, American and even Israeli tourists in recent years, and is an important source of income for Jordan. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in new hotels in the area, which is what makes it attractive to terrorists.

This is not the first time Aqaba has appeared on the map of Islamic terror. As recently as April, two Grad rockets were fired at Eilat and Aqaba, causing no injuries. Jordan itself has had several serious terror attacks, the most deadly of which was in Amman, when three suicide bombers blew themselves up simultaneously in a hotel, killing almost 60 people.

Concern over possible missile strikes or major terror attacks has spurred the Jordanians to closer security collaboration with Israel, despite this past year's rift between the Israeli government and the Jordanian monarchy. Throughout this period, the parties have continued coordinating on security matters; the information on more than one occasion thwarted an attack on Israeli or Jordanian soil. It seems that quite a few people in Israel are unaware that they owe their lives to Jordanian security forces.

The authorities haven't determined from where the Grads were launched. Israeli sources think they were fired from Sinai, a charge the Egyptians have roundly denied. The Egyptians say this couldn't happen when Egyptian security forces are so effectively deployed in Sinai. But Sinai was and still is a hotbed for Global Jihad. Weapons are being smuggled from Sinai into Gaza, including Grad missiles. Some of these missiles presumably remain in Sinai, waiting to be launched.

A Grad missile was fired at Ashkelon Friday, causing no injuries. Radical Islamist groups in Gaza could be behind both attacks. There are at least five groups identified with Al-Qaida or Global Jihad: Jaish al-Umma (army of the nation ), which first appeared in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, although it was officially established only two years ago; Jaish al-Islam (the army of Islam ) - a group associated with the Dughmush clan; and Jund Ansar Allah (army of the supporters of Allah ), which clashed with Hamas a year ago in Rafah, ending in Hamas killing 24 of its activists after the group declared an Islamic emirate in Gaza. This group was assisted by non-Palestinian Global Jihad activists; Jaish al-Momaminin (the army of the believers ); Al-Qaida Palestine, which took responsibility for the attack on the American school in Gaza; and Kataib al-Suyuf al-Haq al-Islamiyah (the brigades of the swords of Islamic justice ).

Global Jihad activists have come to the Gaza Strip, trained there, armed themselves and returned to Sinai to commit acts of terror against tourist targets in Sinai and elsewhere in Egypt. That may be the case this time as well.