Israel’s News Blog Magazine: Daily Stories Video and Photos

I saw this in LGF, finally a Canadian Premier showing some balls and this of course is the article from the “slightly” slanted Toronto Star’s resident Islamist, Haroon Siddiqui.

A Canadian prime minister thus did not utter a word of protest against the killing of eight Canadians, let alone of nearly 300 other people and the displacement of about 500,000 civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.

It’s a line of thinking in which the only lives that matter, and the only territories worthy of immunity from violence, are American and Israeli.

This is the immoral calculus that’s at the heart of so much havoc in the world today. And it is this that Harper has committed Canada to, with little or no debate in Parliament or anywhere else.

“This is the immoral calculus that’s at the heart of so much havoc in the world today”
I guess that really depends on your definition of havoc, doesn’t it?

This is your chance to get even with Nasralla. I can suggest a couple of good combinations..

Saed and Elad I hope your words catch on like wild fire throughout the middle east.

Dear International Friends of OneVoice,

There are rockets flying into Israel’s Northern towns as far down as Haifa as we write this, while the people of Gaza are in fear for their homes and lives, without electricity and running water. People are suffering, people are dying and people are afraid. It’s a crisis. We are writing to tell you though not to give up on us, or to give up on hope for an end to the conflict.

The situation today makes it very difficult to talk about conflict resolution - to see an end to the conflict. Sometimes it is easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel, at the moment the tunnel is dark. But this crisis and this conflict will end, and we say that with sobriety and rationality. As much as we feel helpless today, as rational people we must see any crisis as an opportunity to rise up and overcome the reasons that brought that crisis.

The situation will come to an end, when we do not know. In the meantime both people suffer so badly. Believe us that no-one is happy with this life. We want everyone around the world to know that we, and many friends and colleagues like us at OneVoice, are working to change this situation. We are ready. We are ready to do anything necessary to help end this situation. We have done so many activities and introduced so many people to OneVoice and it always gives them hope and energy. We can not and will not lose all of this however hard it is at this moment. We will strive to improve this life.

A resolution to the conflict may seem like a dream, but let us dream it and keep helping us do whatever we have to do to make it a reality. The day will never come when Israelis and Palestinians are prepared to accept living with this situation. How far we are from the day when we have a situation we will accept is hard to say, but we will work for it, even as the fighter jets and rockets go overhead, we will work for it.

Thank you,

Saed and Elad

Daniel Pipes, a world renowned commentator and author, wrote an article to both the New York Sun and Jerusalem entitled: Israel’s Unnecessary War. The gist of the article dealt with Israel’s past dealings with both the Palestinians and Hezbollah, including pulling out Lebanon in May, 2000, as well as last summer’s disengagement from Gaza. He also pointed out that many think that this new conflict is mainly for the purpose of obtaining the release of two kidnapped soldiers from the Hezbollah, as well as a third from the Palestinians. While the two incidents that resulted in these kidnappings and deaths of 10 Israeli soldiers may have been the “straw that broke the camel’s back”, they are not the main reason for the intense fighting that is now occurring on no less than three fronts, including the West Bank.

Israel has had to deal with entities who want nothing more than to destroy the Jewish State – to “wipe it off the face of the map” as Iranian president Ahmadinejad so graphically expressed it. Even deceased Yassir Arafat, who often proclaimed himself to be Israel’s ‘partner for peace’ gave covert orders and permission for suicide bombers to blow themselves up on Israeli busses, at shopping malls, and at discotheques. On Israel’s northern borders, the Hezbollah were causing problems years before former P.M. Ehud Barak consented to pull Israel’s troops out of the so-called ’security zone” which had been set up to keep these forces for firing their Ketusha and other types of missiles into Israeli towns and cities. We all now see that what is going on, from Hezbollah’s viewpoint anyway, has in the works for years. Even Nashrallah himself admitted that his organization had been building up their armament for years, getting for such a day. When they well able fill in the vacuum that had been created, following Israel’s pullout, Israeli border towns and settlements suddenly found themselves facing the smiling and bearded faces of Hezbollah fighters, now occupying positions that both the IDF and the SLA (Southern Lebanese Army) had been occupying – even using equipment that Israel, due to lack of time, had not been able to bring back.

An unnecessary war? War in itself is never pleasant, and is always filled with horrors and human suffering. Many wars are necessary, however, in order to defeat forces of darkness who want to shut off the lift of freedom and enlightenment that would set back civilization to a darker era. The recent article comparing Israel’s present plight with that of England in the early days of WWII is a sterling example. Just look what is presently going on in Israel’s north, with more than a million people living in shelters, and with more internal death, injuries, and property damage than any war fought by the Jewish State since the War of Independence in 1948-49. And this destruction is far from being over, with fears that it could reach Israel’s center; and even Jerusalem as well.

A lot of talk about Israel government policies, including the pull out for Gaza, organized by Ariel Sharon, and a possible future one form the West Bank, have been criticized by many, with the belief that is has weakened Israel’s position with it’s enemies. These matters are open to interpretation and discussion and the final outcome will only be known years from now. The question before all of us living here in this new reality is whether we will ever be able to live ’side by side’ with these people (i.e., the Palestinians) at all. Lebanon is another matter, and though the Lebanese have virtually no kind feelings toward Israel at present, they may change their minds one day when they have their country back – out of the hands of those who want to change it into something that the majority of those Lebanese, who went out into the streets of Beirut to celebrate the withdraw of Syrian forces, would not like to happen. Few if any of them would like to see their country turned into another Islamic republic, like Iran.

And this war, as painful for them as it is, will hopefully help them realize the dawn of a new day.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert came yesterday for a visit in Haifa and other cities and towns in the north. He met with mayors and talked to citizens, as well as ambassadors and Israeli representatives who are being sent abroad on diplomatic assignments. Along side promising the residents of the north every help they require, he also said that Iran is the one truly behind the war. “The timing of Hezbollah’s actions was no coincidence” said Olmert, “It corresponded to Iran’s desire to move the international attention away from it. Unfortunately Iran’s trick worked. Everybody now talks about the decisions made in the G-8 conference and nobody is talking about the Iranian threat.”

The Prime Minister added that Israel does not rule out negotiation to a cease-fire, but only on the bases of the G-8 resolutions. In another opportunity in the Israeli press Olmert said that Israel condition to a cease-fire is the release of the two soldiers Hezbollah had kidnapped about a week ago, which was the incident that brought about the explosive situation.

As for the European and UN suggestion of deploying an international force in Lebanon, the Prime-Minister responded, “It makes a good headline, but experience dictates that there’s nothing behind it. There’s an international force in Lebanon today already, and they’re nowhere to be seen. I want to be cautious about this, but I think it’s still early to discuss this.”

In the meantime another Israeli citizen was killed today from a direct rocket hit. Nevertheless, residents of the cities and towns of the north seems to be determined in withstanding Hezbollah’s attacks. The mayors and citizens, who had met with the Prime Minister yesterday, have expressed their support of the government’s policies and asked him to continue with what they were doing.

Israeli author Noami Ragen wrote today on the Israeli news site YNET, “We are prepared to be patient and make the sacrifices as you ask of us, now just show us that our sacrifices are not in vain.”

Armed with his guitar and some good will, singer David Broza surprised the residents of northern Israel yesterday when he showed up as if from nowhere, to play for them and lift their spirits. Broza migrated between different local radio station and performed also in public places to the pleasure of those who are cooped up inside shelters for the last week.

“I haven’t been sleeping much, but the joy in people’s eyes is worth It.” said the singer. When asked to describe the situation in his own eyes, the singer said, “You meet a lot of frightened people who live in uncertainty. Every few minutes you can hear the bang of a rocket hitting somewhere, and all around you on the way to Tiberius you see burned up fields. It’s very hard to describe.”

When asked if he was afraid, Broza said, “I think I’m repressing… I’m not a hero, but this is my country and I feel like I have to do something”. Broza also said, “The world media is showing only the Lebanese horrors. There’s nearly no reference to what’s going on in Israel. They should call me and I’ll tell them what it feels like to be under rain of Katyusha rockets.”

And following Broza’s path, many Israeli artists and performers will come to the north of the country in the next few days, to perform for the shelter bound citizens. The list of artists who have already volunteered is quite long, amongst them are Aviv Geffen, Dana Berger, Boaz Sharaabi, the band “Hadag Nachash”, the comedians Eli and Mariano, and even some members of the Israeli Magicians society, who will perform every day in a different town. Theaters in Tel-Aviv have announced that residents from the north who fled to the central area will be able to go into plays free of charge. Some actresses and entertainers are also planning on going to the north this week, to entertain the children who spend most of their time in shelters. Even the Israeli renowned comic’s artist, Uri Pink, will come and give the children some drawing lessons in the shelters.

Dear People of Lebanon,

Images. Images of wide-spread destruction, of death and human suffering, and of mass exodus of people trying to flee their country for safe havens in Cyprus and other locations. These are the images shown to the world by zealous news commentators from CNN, Sky News, The BBC, and a host of others, including even Israel’s own dedicated journalists and broadcast teams. What has been going in Lebanon, seemingly almost like a re-run of both the Lebanese civil war and the 1982 Operation Peace for Galilee has once again turned the Country of the Cedars into a scene of destruction and chaos. Watching this human drama unfold has become prime-time viewing for us all, particularly for those who feel that those who are involved in creating this destruction (i.e. the Israeli military forces) appear to be overzealous in their pursuit of their sworn enemy, Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah and his Hezbollah organization. All of this appears to be going unabated, including the death and destruction that has been rendered upon Israel by the Hezbollah, who refuse to agree to a cessation of hostilities, including the release of two Israeli soldiers being held captive by them, and one of the primary causes for this tragedy to begin in the first place.

This situation has unfortunately led to all-out warfare, with hundreds of thousands of innocent Lebanese caught in the middle between the two warring sides. You, the people of Lebanon, composing a variety of religious backgrounds, and living in a land that has contributed much to the history of the region, including a people known as the Phoenicians; whose colorful sailing vessels plied the trade routes of the Mediterranean, and whose people built the mighty City State of Carthage in what is now modern day Tunisia. Your ancestors also helped to build the Israelite Temple in Jerusalem. That is correct; one of your illustrious kings, Hiram of Tyre, was hired by King Solomon to build the Temple; partially made with giant cedar trees cut and brought by sea to ancient Israel in order to be used to construct the innermost chamber of the Temple as commanded by God.

It has been most unfortunate that you, the people of this land with so rich a heritage have not been able to live in peace with the descendants of ancient Israel, as you once did during those glorious days when the combined Phoenician and Israeli commonwealths contributed so much to the cultural and commercial life of the entire eastern Mediterranean. You may not recall, but, before Israel became an independent country in 1948, thousands of Jewish Palestinians used to vacation in Lebanon and go skiing on the slopes of the Souf or Lebanon Mountains during the winter months. Your unwillingness to be at peace with your Israeli neighbors has done you more harm than good; especially due to groups like the Hezbollah being allowed to thrive there and conduct their terrorist operations. No doubt, many of you are not supporters of Sheikh Nasrallah and the Shiite Islamic ‘fiefdom ‘ he created. In fact many of you, especially those of Christian or Druze persuasion, may even live in dire fear of this organization, whose main aim is to turn your country and a big part of the surrounding area into a strict Islamic fundamentalist Caliphate with Nasrallah as its leader.

I assure you, people of Lebanon, that your neighbors to the south do not want to occupy you, and do not want to be your enemy. They would like nothing better than to be at peace with you; a peace similar to the one they have with another nearby country, which is more than 95% Muslim, i.e. Turkey. In case you not aware of it, more than 400,000 Israelis visit Turkey annually: spending millions of dollars in tourist resorts, casinos, and other attractions offered by a country who decided many years ago that the was a better way to ‘fly’. Why can’t this happen in your country as well, with Israeli tourists skiing once again in the Souf as their great grandparents did, enjoying the casinos, hotels and discotheques of a rebuilt Beirut, and investing capital into your banks and other financial institutions. If you truly want your country to once again be called the ‘Switzerland of the Middle East’, then this is the best way to accomplish this goal, and not by siding with one of the world’s most vociferous terror organizations whose ranks and leader are no less heinous than the Al Qaeda organization and Osama bin Ladin himself.

So, People of Lebanon, the choice is yours. As has been said so correctly by Dr. Phil McGraw, one of America’s most popular television show psychologists: “you either get it, or you don’t”. At this moment, dear Lebanese people, as you watch your country being torn apart once again as your board ships and other conveyances provided for your escape: you apparently don’t get it.

I don’t always agree with him : but he is PRICELESS

This is what the siren sounds like and for some of you this brings back memories…

This is circulating online. Our dear President is being accused by several (over 7 I believe) women of sexual harrasement. The sticker makes a play on words - President can aslo be read as “try” so the sticker says “Try and Enjoy“.