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PMW | King George 59 | Jerusalem | Israel |
Monday, December 29, 2008
From: The Jewish Community Relations Commission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines. December 29, 2008
Jewish Federation of Greater
Hamas’ dramatic intensification of attacks on Israeli civilians required
For additional information, contact: Mark Finkelstein, JCRC Director for the Jewish Federation. jcrc@dmjfed.org
For continuing coverage on this and other matters of pertinence to the Jewish community, view or subscribe to the JCRC’s Informational Blog: http://jcommunitynews.blogspot.com
The following is a statement from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs [JCPA], the umbrella group of Jewish Community Relations Councils across the nation. The Jewish Community Relations Commission of the Jewish Federation of Greater
National JCPA Supports
JCPA Executive Director Rabbi Steve Gutow issued the following statement about the unfolding operations in
"It is unfortunate that
Even while rockets rained down on the frequently targeted town of
As Israel moves towards elections and the possibility of turning a new page, it is our hope that the Palestinian people will take the opportunity that this transition presents to turn their own page on Hamas' failed leadership."
###
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs is the community relations arm of the organized Jewish community.
Background
Israelis living near the
Hamas is anti-Jewish, as clearly demonstrated by passages in its Charter that call for the killing of Jews – not Israelis – Jews. Hamas is dedicated to the total destruction of
On November 19th of this year, Hamas unilaterally decided to end a cease-fire negotiated with
In regard to the situation,
Everyone knew that something had to be done to stop Hamas from continuing to assault
Last Thursday, December 25, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert addressed the people of
Olmert said: " I appeal to the residents of
suffering - for all of ours.
I say to you in a last-minute call, stop it. Stop it. You the citizens of
But to no avail. Despite all pleas, Hamas continued to launch rockets into
Overview
· Abbas: Hamas Could Have Avoided Gaza Raids - Alaa Shahine
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday in Cairo that Hamas could have avoided the Israeli attacks on Gaza. "We talked to them and we told them 'please, we ask you, do not end the truce. Let the truce continue and not stop' so that we could have avoided what happened," he said. (Reuters)
· Israel Must Defend Its Citizens - Amos Oz
The systematic bombing of the citizens in
Rice: U.S. Holds Hamas Responsible for Gaza Violence
The United States holds Hamas "responsible" for the renewal of deadly violence in
Egypt: Hamas Responsible for Israeli Response - Roee Nahmias
At a press conference Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit held Hamas responsible for
Information prepared for JCRC by Mark Finkelstein
---end-----
Sunday, December 28, 2008
A 9 year old's "Rocket estimation table"
Translated from INN. 9 year old "Shir" wrote a list for herself in case of rocket attacks on her home in Southern Israel. This way she knows how long it takes to run to the bomb shelter from everywhere in her home, from the time she hears the air raid siren.
From the living room -- 10 seconds to run to the bomb shelter.
From Or's bedroom -- 10 seconds to run to the bomb shelter.
From the dining room -- 6 seconds to run to the bomb shelter.
From Shir's Bedroom -- 13 seconds to run to the bomb shelter
From my parents bedroom -- 10 seconds to run to the bomb shetler.
From the hall bathroom -- 10 seconds to run to the bomb shleter.
(From: muqata.blogspot.com)
Special Edition of the Daily Alert. [excerpts]
Prepared for the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
by the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
DAILY ALERT |
|
IDF Hits Prime Hamas Targets - Yaakov Katz (Jerusalem Post)
The initial Israel Air Force strike hit 50 targets including Hamas bases, training camps, headquarters and offices.
A second wave struck at 60 targets, including underground Kassam rocket launchers - placed inside bunkers and missile silos - that had been fitted with timers.
Targets included the Hamas headquarters and training camp in Tel Zatar; a Hamas operations center and armory in Gaza City; the Hamas police academy, which was bombed during a graduation ceremony, killing 70-80 people; training camps in southern and central Gaza; the former office of Yasser Arafat in Gaza City that is now used by Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh; and the Izzadin Kassam Brigades headquarters in northern Gaza.
Not Just Another "Surgical Strike" in Gaza - Amos Harel (Ha'aretz)
Israel's opening salvo on Saturday was not merely another "surgical" operation or pinpoint strike. This is the harshest IDF assault on Gaza since the Six-Day War in 1967.
Palestinian sources in Gaza report that 40 targets were destroyed in a span of three to five minutes.
- Israel Retaliates for Gaza Rocket Fire - Samuel Sockol
Israeli planes pounded Hamas installations across the Gaza Strip on Saturday in retaliation for rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel. At least 225 Palestinians were killed and more than 400 wounded. Palestinians in Gaza had fired more than 60 rockets and mortar shells into southern Israel on Wednesday and more than 80 on Thursday, sowing fear in Israeli towns. (Washington Post) - Rice: U.S. Holds Hamas Responsible for Gaza Violence
The United States holds Hamas "responsible" for the renewal of deadly violence in Gaza after the Islamist group broke its ceasefire with Israel, Secretary of State Rice said Saturday. "We strongly condemn the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence there." The six-month ceasefire, which Hamas said last week it would not renew, "must be restored immediately and fully respected," she said. On the day the truce expired, she warned that renewed violence against Israel by Hamas would only hurt the Palestinians, and that the movement "needs to concentrate on turning away from violence." (AFP)
See also White House Puts Onus on Hamas to End Escalation of Violence - Robert Pear
The Bush administration issued blistering criticism of Hamas on Saturday, saying the group had provoked Israel's airstrikes on Gaza by firing rockets into southern Israel. Gordon D. Johndroe, a White House spokesman, said that Hamas, the group that controls Gaza, was responsible for the outbreak of violence and called its rocket attacks "completely unacceptable. These people are nothing but thugs," he said. "Israel is going to defend its people against terrorists like Hamas."
During the presidential campaign, Mr. Obama made statements that sounded similar to those issued by the Bush administration on Saturday. "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I'm going to do everything in my power to stop that," Mr. Obama said in July. "And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing." (New York Times)
See also Britain and U.S. Refuse to Demand End to Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza - Nicola Smith (Times-UK) - UN Security Council Calls on Israel, Palestinians to Halt Violence - Purnell Murdock
The UN Security Council Sunday called for an immediate halt to all violence in Gaza amid ongoing Israeli airstrikes that followed days of rocket and mortar attacks on Israel by Palestinian militants. (VOA News)
See also Israel Defends Gaza Operation to UN - Jonny Paul
Israeli UN Ambassador Gabriela Shalev on Saturday defended Israel's decision to embark on a military operation in Gaza to put an end to Palestinian rocket attacks. In an urgent letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the UN Security Council, Shalev wrote that Hamas "holds the sole responsibility for the latest events." Israel "has exhausted all means and efforts to reach and maintain quiet and to respect the state of calm....No country would allow continuous rocketing of its civilian population without taking the necessary actions to stop it." (Jerusalem Post)
See also below Observations: The Operation in Gaza - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Prime Minister's Office) - Abbas: Hamas Could Have Avoided Gaza Raids - Alaa Shahine
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said on Sunday in Cairo that Hamas could have avoided the Israeli attacks on Gaza. "We talked to them and we told them 'please, we ask you, do not end the truce. Let the truce continue and not stop' so that we could have avoided what happened," he said. (Reuters)
See also Egypt: Hamas Responsible for Israeli Response - Roee Nahmias
At a press conference Saturday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit held Hamas responsible for Israel's military action in Gaza, saying that "Egypt warned for a long time, and someone who ignores warnings is responsible for the outcome." Earlier, Gheit had said, "we suspected this would happen. Hamas didn't stop shooting rockets at Israel." (Ynet News)
See also Egypt: Hamas Denying Gaza Wounded Treatment in Egypt - Alaa Shahine
Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said on Sunday that Hamas was not allowing Palestinians wounded in Israel's attacks on Gaza to cross into Egypt for treatment. "We are waiting for the wounded Palestinians to cross. They are not being allowed to cross," he said. Asked who was to blame, he said: "Ask the party in control on the ground in Gaza." Hamas has been in control in Gaza since June 2007. (Reuters) - Palestinian Rocket Falls Short, Kills Girls in Gaza - Sheera Frenkel
Two Palestinian girls died Friday when militants in Gaza bombarded southern Israel with homemade rockets and mortars, one of which fell short and hit the victims' home. (Times-UK)
Global Commentary and Think-Tank Analysis (Best of U.S., UK, and Israel):
- Israel Must Defend Its Citizens - Amos Oz
The systematic bombing of the citizens in Israel's towns and cities is a war crime and a crime against humanity. The State of Israel must defend its citizens. It is obvious to everyone that the Israeli government does not wish to enter Gaza; the government would rather continue the ceasefire that Hamas violated and finally revoked. But the suffering of the citizens surrounding Gaza cannot go on.
Hamas is actually eager to cause Israel to embark on a military operation. The Arab world will rally together around the atrocious sights that Al-Jazeera will air from Gaza, and the world court of public opinion will rush to accuse Israel of war crimes. This is the same court of public opinion that remains unmoved by the systematic bombing of population centers in Israel. Hamas' calculation is simple, cynical and evil: If innocent Israelis are killed - good. If innocent Palestinians are killed - even better. (Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs) - Israel Tries to Change the Rules of the Game in Gaza - Ron Ben-Yishai
What started in Gaza on Saturday is a limited move aimed at securing a long-term ceasefire between Hamas and Israel on terms that are favorable to Israel. These include: An end to mortar and rocket attacks; an end to terror attacks across the Gaza fence; serious negotiations on the release of Gilad Shalit; and an end to Hamas' military buildup. The means for securing these objectives is shock treatment - literally. This way, Hamas will no longer be initiating and setting the pace of developments, while Israel makes it clear that it would respond "disproportionally" every time Israeli residents are hurt. At this time, we are not talking about an attempt to topple Hamas' regime in Gaza. (Ynet News) - A Time to Fight - Editorial
On Friday, a Hamas spokesman made Israel the following proposal: You keep the stream of humanitarian aid and supplies flowing into Gaza and we will keep launching rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians. It was an offer Israel had little choice but to refuse. On Saturday, Israel finally told Hamas that it would not be bled, slowly, to death. The Islamists need to decide whether they want to go down in flames or are prepared to take on the responsibilities that come with control over Gaza.
That over 200 Palestinians have been killed compared to only one Israeli leads some journalists to conclude that Israel is inherently in the wrong. If one Jew is killed, we get very little piety. If, heaven forbid, an Israeli kindergarten was to take a direct hit - Israel might, temporarily, gain the sympathy of news anchors from Paris to London to Madrid. At that price we would rather forgo their sympathy.
We wonder how an international community that can't bring itself to explicitly support Israel's operation against the most intransigent of Muslim fanatics expects to play a positive role in facilitating peace in this region. Hamas must be stopped. And the civilized world must help stop it. (Jerusalem Post)
Observations:
The Operation in Gaza - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Prime Minister's Office)
- For seven years, hundreds of thousands of Israeli citizens in the south have been suffering from missiles being fired at them. Life in the south under missile barrages had become unbearable. Israel did everything in its power to fulfill the conditions of the calm in the south and enable normal life for its citizens. The quiet that we offered was met with shelling.
- No country can countenance such a reality. The lives of our citizens are not forfeit. In recent days, it became clear that Hamas is bent on conflict. In such a situation we had no alternative but to respond. We do not rejoice in battle, but neither will we be deterred from it.
- The operation in Gaza is designed, first and foremost, to bring about an improvement in the security reality for the residents of the south. This is liable to take time and each one of us must be patient so that we can complete the mission. We want to restore the quiet and the tranquility and give the residents of the south the ability to live the normal lives that every country provides its citizens.
- On Thursday I made it clear to the residents of Gaza [in an interview on Al-Arabiya television] that we are not acting against them and that we have no intention of punishing them for the actions of Hamas. We will see to the needs of the population in Gaza and will do our utmost to prevent a humanitarian crisis that will impinge upon residents' lives.
- Residents of Gaza, we are not your enemies and we are not fighting against you. This terrorist organization has brought disaster to two peoples. Israel is not fighting the Palestinian people but the Hamas terrorist organization that has taken upon itself to act against the residents of Israel.
Israeli Defense Minister: Would U.S. Accept Ceasefire with Al-Qaeda? (FOX News)
Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told FOX News on Saturday: "For us to be asked to have a ceasefire with Hamas is like asking you [the U.S.] to have a ceasefire with al-Qaeda....It's something we cannot really accept."
Saturday, December 27, 2008
From the Jewish Community Relations Commission of the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines
12/27/08
On behalf of the Jewish Federation, JCRC supports the statement below issued by our national agency, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA). We stand with Israel in its reluctant but necessary efforts to return normalcy to the lives of Israeli civilians who have been subjected to long-term, escalating bombardment from Gaza by Hamas, a terrorist organization as identified by the U.S. State Department. We concur, as well, with the announced U.S. position of "condemn[ing] the repeated rocket and mortar attacks against Israel and hold Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire and for the renewal of violence there."
Comments on this matter may be directed to Mark S. Finkelstein, Director of Community Relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines. jcrc@dmjfed.org
The National Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Supports Israel’s Efforts
to Stop Gaza Rocket Attacks
NEW YORK— December 27, 2008 The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is standing behind Israel’s efforts to extinguish weeks of sustained, daily rocket fire and mortar shell attacks from the Gaza Strip into Israel. While JCPA has a strong record of supporting Israel in its quest to negotiate peace with the Palestinians, no country can be expected to absorb continuous and unrelenting violence.
JCPA Executive Director Rabbi Steve Gutow issued the following statement about the unfolding operations in Gaza:
“It is unfortunate that Israel has had to resort to air strikes and is now grappling with a possible ground operation in the very area that it has tried hard to disengage from since 2005.
Israel has taken great lengths to avoid this sort of escalation, but was left with no other way to ensure that its civilians would not have to live in fear of rocket fire. Just a few days ago, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert made an appeal on the Arab television station Al-Arabiya asking Gaza residents to stop the firing of rockets and mortar shells so that a military response could be avoided.
Even while rockets rained down on the frequently targeted town of Sderot and in the town of Kiryat Gat—a first-time target—Israel continued to transfer food and medicine into Gaza despite no apparent end to the attacks.
As Israel moves towards elections and the possibility of turning a new page, it is our hope that the Palestinian people will take the opportunity that this transition presents to turn their own page on Hamas’ failed leadership.”
###
The Jewish Council for Public Affairs is the community relations arm of the organized Jewish community. JCPA is online at www.jewishpublicaffairs.org
From the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. Statement from Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni
From the Embassy of Israel in Washington, D.C. December 27, 2008 11:30 am, EST Israel Launches Counterterrorism Strikes Against Hamas
Dear Friends,
In response to the hundreds of rockets and mortars that have been fired into Israeli civilian populations over the past several weeks, early this morning Israel launched as a self defense measure a series of Airstrikes against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Statement by Israel's Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni:
Israeli citizens have been under the threat of daily attack from Gaza for years.
Only this week - hundreds of missiles and mortars shells were fired at Israeli civilian communities including the firing of 80 missiles on a single day.
Until now we have shown restraint. But today there is no other option than a military operation.
We need to protect our citizens from attack through a military response against the terror infrastructure in Gaza.
This is the translation of our basic right to self sefense.
Israel left Gaza in order to create an opportunity for peace.
In return, the Hamas terror organization took control of Gaza and is using its citizens as cover while it deliberately targets Israeli communities and denies any chance for peace.
We have tried everything to reach calm without using force. We agreed to a truce through Egypt that was violated by Hamas, which continued to target Israel, hold Gilad Shalit and build up its arms.
Israel continues to act to prevent humanitarian crisis and to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians.
Unfortunately, Hamas cynically abuses its own civilian population and their suffering for propaganda purposes. The responsibility for harm to civilians lies with Hamas.
Hamas is a terrorist organization, supported by Iran, that does not represent the legitimate national interests of the Palestinian people but a radical Islamist agenda that seeks to deny peace for the peoples of this region.
While confronting Hamas, Israel continues to believe in the two State solution and remains committed to negotiations with the legitimate Palestinian Authority in the context of the peace process, launched at Annapolis.
Israel expects the support and understanding of the international community, as it confronts terror, and advances the interest of all those who wish the forces of peace and co existence to determine the agenda of this region.
Ben Sack
Officer for Public Affairs
Embassy of Israel
Phone: (202) 364-5548
Fax: (202)364-5423
Visit us at: http://www.israelemb.org
Israel retaliates for continues rocketing of Israeli citizens from Gaza
News summary from combined sources.
| Livni: Israel is doing what is necessary to protect its citizens (Haaretz) | |
 | |
| Barak: We must do everything it takes in order to return the quiet (Haaretz) | |
| |
Israeli Air Force strike Hamas Gaza compounds. Israel will expand operation if needed
| Barak: We have hit 150 Hamas militants in Gaza |
Israeli Air Force planes destroyed Hamas security headquarters in Gaza City, and compounds, police stations and ports across the Gaza Strip. Several Hamas commanders were killed in the bombardment of a Hamas military passing-out ceremony. Among them was a police chief Tawfiq Jabber.
The United States on Saturday urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties in its strikes, but did not call for an end to the offensive, essentially signaling its support for the operation.
The White House said for the violence to end, Hamas must stop rocket attacks into Israel.
Map: Gaza and Israel http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl
Hamas and other Palestinian factions have ordered its "fighters to avenge Israeli attacks."
The Israeli military spokesman said the Gaza operation is "just beginning." An Israeli official said all Air Force planes had returned safely to base but the operation carried out in response to Palestinian terrorist attacks would be expanded and intensified if needed. They went into action a second time Saturday against missile teams which hit killed a woman in Netivot and bombarded Ashkelon from northern Gaza.
Egypt has condemned Israel for its military attack and mobilized its rescue and medical services in Sinai, including hospitals for aid to casualties for the Israeli air bombardment of Gaza. Egyptian ambulances are standing by at the Rafah crossing to transport wounded Hamas operatives.
Defense minister Ehud Barak has placed Sderot and locations surrounding the Gaza Strip on an emergency footing.
The Israeli air attack launching some 40 missiles began 11.00 a.m. local time Saturday, Dec. 27, eight days after Hamas terminated the informal Gaza ceasefire by showering missiles and mortar rounds on Israel day by day and targeting 200,000 civilians.
Last week, the Israeli cabinet gave the Israeli military the green light for reprisals as Palestinian missile attacks escalated, 13 mortar rounds fired Friday, when Israel allowed 90 trucks of food and medicines to cross into the Gaza Strip.
Since Israel evacuated the Gaza Strip in 2005, the Palestinians have fired 5,000 missiles.
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