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Future vision: what the Arab Israeli leadership is calling for in Israel

FYI, this is an old article (from 2007), but within it is information which is vital to understanding the dynamic between Jews and Arabs within Israel. The mainstream leadership of Arab Israelis have united around a "Future Vision" document which does the following:

• Ellimination of the Jewish character of Israel
• Ellimination of the Law of return
• Ellimination of the Magen David as Israel's national symbol
• Making Israel an officially bi-national state
• An apparent call for right of return for Palestinians (end of the Law of return for Jews, but implementation of 'right of return' for Palestinians)

More equal distribution of government aid and benefits (this is a tricky subject; aid is not distributed equally in part because Arab Israelis do not serve in the IDF, nor do they vote in the same percentages Jews vote; much of the aid is distributed based upon voting numbers as well as status as an IDF veteran)

The "Future Vision" document calls the creation of Israel a "Nakba" (catastrophe in Arabic) Ending any Jewish control over the Arab schools - teaching Arab Israelis a "Nakba education" (please note that already Arab Israelis learn a "nakba education")

Here are more articles discussing the 'future vision,' which came out around the time I first was in Israel...

IHT

Haaretz

The document itself

Please note a few background facts. Firstly, as you may or may not be aware, there are 57 members of the Organization of Islamic Conference. This means 57 states in the world define themselves as explicitly Muslim in character. There are numerous states which also explicitly call themselves Christian in character. In neighboring Jordan, Jews are not allowed citizenship, nor can they own land. In Saudi Arabia, non-Muslims are not even allowed to enter the city of Mecca, nor can non-Muslims get citizenship or even be allowed to openly practice their religion. Furthermore, any Palestinian state would most likely be defined as Islamic in character.

As far as the Law of Return goes; it is important to note that the Arab Israeli document does not mention the more than 750,000 Jews who were kicked out of Arab countries after 1948, without compensation, and for the mere crime of being Jewish. It is also important to note that while the Arab Israeli document calls for the end of the Jewish Law of Return, it calls for an explicitly Arab return to Israel, thereby reducing Jews in the one state they are a majority to a minority within Israel. This document also fails to note the fact that the 'Palestinian' refugees exist because they declared war upon the nascent state of Israel in 1948; there would be no refugee problem if there was no war which was declared upon Israel.

Thus far, no major Arab Israeli leader I am aware of has disavowed the "Future Vision" document. In fact, it appears that, though the document itself may not have been read by Arab Israelis, the concepts within them are certainly widely accepted.

In my opinion, it is harmful for Arab Israelis to learn a different history than Jewish Israelis, and have a separate education system. This means they become a separate people, and a state-within-a-state. It is problematic enough that Arab Israelis are exempt from the IDF and rarely serve in National Service. What the "Future Vision" document is calling for is essentially a "two state solution," wherein there is a 'Palestine' in the West Bank, and an Israel-of-Arab-character-possibly-to-be-renamed-an-Arab-name to the West. So really two Arab states.

Food for thought when considering what should be done re: the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Defining RIGHT and WRONG.

I was reading over old posts, and I came upon a gem of a comment I wrote back in 2006. I still adhere to this ideology, and so I thought I would post it for you kind C4A folks: This was written back in 2006 in response to someone who claimed "nonviolence is always possible," and that "sin is only a religious concept."

You said again and again that 'nonviolence is always possible.'

Please point to a single case of nonviolent peaceful resistence against the Nazis by the Jews that resulted in the saving of Jewish life.

Obviously, I am aware that many Jews simply fled Nazi Germany and were able to live because of this. I also know that, prior to Nazi Germany starting the Holocaust, some Jews were saved out of Germany. That is not my question.

I want to know of a single case of Jews saving Jews in the middle of the Holocaust that was done in a nonviolent manner. One single case.

You flat out said on multiple occasions that 'nonviolence is always possible' and 'killing leads to more death.'

So point to one single case of this. You would certainly have half a leg to stand on if you could point to a single case of this.

The concept of sin has been linked to religion, but also is linked to secular humanism. I am referring to crimes against humanity, and NOT against God. Many secular humanists absolutely believe in morality and right and wrong.

The fact that you lump together what Israel is doing to the 'Palestinians' and what was done to the Jews during the Holocaust is the essence of BOTH moral absolutism AND moral relativism.

All killing is wrong, according to you. This is moral absolutism.

Hence, according to your very words: I don't see violence as being any more acceptable because it wasn't indiscriminate.

That means that aiming for Bin Laden is the same as aiming for a crowd.

Both involves killing. And killing is always wrong.

Your extreme stance on killing results in presenting equivalencies between very different scenarios.

Correct me if I am wrong, but according to you, there are two choices: die or fight back. Those are the only two choices if one wants to be ethically sound. Should someone fight back, they are no longer ethically sound to you, as killing is always wrong, regardless of why it is going on.

I already presented the most extreme examples of gunmen going into your home and hoping to annhiliate your family, and you still said that killing would be wrong EVEN THEN.

I realize you are being consistent, and certainly I cannot criticize you for that! I also realize you do not give Jews a double standard that you would not apply to yourself. What you are saying does not stem from antisemitism - I see that very clearly.

What I don't get if why you insist on these logical extremes. The 'choice' between killing and being slaughtered oneself is hardly a choice at all. If what you are saying is that you are hoping to avoid a slaughter, then isn't a slaughter going to happen if Israel does not and accepts 'Palestinians' coming in and massacring Jews? And is it ethical of a nation to allow the mass slaughter of its citizens because it refuses to fight back? What is the point of nationhood if NOT to get some measure of protection against the world?

You also said the following: In case you haven't read it enough times, my view is that genocides are always wrong because they entail the killing of innocent people. I don't make exceptions for those who wish to kill Jews any more than I make exceptions for those who wish to kill those of any other particular ethnicity or nation.

This assumes that Israeli Jews are actually trying to genocide 'Palestinians' when they fight back. This is absolutely untrue. The Israelis have the firepower such that if they wanted to, they could kill every 'Palestinian' in a matter of days. Yet they do not do this. Why? Because they take the time to only kill those who are terrorists and take great pains to avoid civilian death. This is never 100% - but the intent is not to kill civilians. As I said, this is equivalent to a robber coming into your home, shooting at you, and when you shoot back, you kill a civilian. The legal responsibility for that death is on the robber. Same applies here.

Where is there an intent to genocide? If there was such an intent, the 'Palestinians' would have ceased to exist long ago. I already showed you a link to an extensive archive of 'Palestinian textbooks' and media, showing a clear intent to wipe Israelis off the face of the earth. We know the 'Palestinians' are attempting a genocide (not all are, but at least the leadership is). This is definitively proven. If they had the firepower, they would kill every Israeli today. What do you point to when you claim that Israelis are genociding the 'Palestinians'? What shred of evidence can you even claims supports this?

The bottom line is that your claims of Israelis genociding the 'Palestinians' are as spurious as your claims of Israel being an apartheid state.

My words were as important then as they are now. My only quibble would be that I now do believe it is extraordinarily difficult to define 'sin' and 'right' and 'wrong' without religion. Unless there is a fixed star to define what is good and what is bad, I do fear moral relativism. This moral relativism can also occur with religion, and it is ultimately one of the greatest enemies of our times. It is why I have been studying Judaism now for about two years, and continue to study it weekly.

Why am I reposting this? Because of comments that have been posted on C4A in response to a post I wrote a year and a half ago concerning my night at the theater to see 'Masked' the play. The responses are not substantive, but center upon some idea that I do not believe in 'peace.' (Of course their version of 'peace' is ultimately the 'peaceful' destruction of Israel; they claim to love Jews, but they only appear to love the Jews of the Holocaust who walked peacefully to the gallows.)

I believe that these commentators believe what they believe because they fail to appreciate the difference between right and wrong, and fail to comprehend that you have to stand up for your rights. There is also a dynamic similar to the battered wife syndrome which I already commented upon in my original 'Masked' post. But I believe, in addition to the battered wife syndrome concept, these commentators simply fail to appreciate the difference between right and wrong. That is why I am posting the comment I wrote about 2 1/2 years ago.

Jews such as the ones who replied to that post will often be seen pouring over books on Yiddish and think this is an example of their 'love' of Jewry. This makes perfect sense to me. Such Jews believe in the weak and ghetto Jew as epitimized by the Jews of Europe during the 19th and early 20th centuries. And so "J-Street" Jews and their ilk will profess a love of Yiddish culture...only it really is a love of Jews of the Holocaust, who [mostly] walked meakly to the gallows.

This is not real love, it is ultimately hatred, despite the protestations to the contrary often witnessed by such leftist Jews. This is the sort of 'love' that the Neturei Karta engage in. They too claim to truly 'love' Jews - as long as they are the meek Jews of the Holocaust.

I was not diplomatic in my original post on the topic (and could have phrased things better), but I do stand by the sentiment I expressed concerning my encounter at 'Masked' the play.

In response to those who believe the BBC is being 'unfair' in refusing to air a video calling for aid to Hamas...

The BBC recently announced it will not air a commercial asking for aid money to be sent to Hamas. In response - as you can imagine, shoes were thrown at the BBC, and all sorts of claims of 'human rights violations' were screamed about.

The BBC is a cesspool of anti-Israel sentiment, yet it happened to do one right thing in refusing to air a call for funding Hamas. That's about the only thing to say. This action does not mean the BBC suddenly has become a pro-Israel institution.

The reality is that the "appeal for aid" was an appeal to fund Hamas, and nothing less. The BBC, for once, decided it has principles (I know, shocking!) and does not want to air an ad requesting funds to go to a jihadist terror organization.

Anyone who thinks this is a "human rights violation" or that the BBC is being unfair should ask themselves why exactly appeals for aid to Hamas should be aired on the BBC. I will ask a follow up: should the BBC air appeals to aid for Al Queda? At what point do they have even a minimal responsibility to protect the public? Or should the BBC air every terrorist propoganda video on earth, and/or every video on earth calling for aid to terror organizations?

Given the history of the BBC's craven capitulation to jihad, I expect they will cave on this soon, and air a commercial asking for aid to be sent to Hamas. I find the whole thing pathetic, that people have the shocking gall to believe this renders the BBC somehow biased in favor of Israel. The reality is that this means is that the BBC has at least a tiny vestige of principles left, but nothing more. It should be a given that it is wrong to air an appeal to aid a jihadist terror organization.

As an aside, here is a link to an article which discusses money from a UK Islamic 'aid' society going to Hamas.

UPDATE: This is a must read article which details exactly why the BBC is right - for once - in its refusal to air the disgusting "appeal to aid" for Hamas.

Here is an excerpt:

Who adjudicates on which victims to support via such charitable aid - and according to whose political morality? Why did the BBC not launch an appeal for the victims of collateral damage during Nato's bombing of Serbia in 1999 during the Kosovo campaign? And had it done so, would it have given money to ethnic Serbs as well as to Kosovars and Bosnian Muslims, all of whom were “cleansed” during the Balkan wars of that decade? What about the victims of insurgencies and counter- insurgencies in Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Chechnya or Georgia? Or Israeli victims of the next Hamas suicide attack? Indeed, what about the Palestinian victims of Hamas's hideous human rights abuses, still so shamefully under-reported by the British media as a whole?

And who are these supposedly impartial charities who are attacking Mr Thompson's (albeit belated) attempt to uphold the Corporation's traditional standards? While groups such as the British Red Cross and Christian Aid are generally impartial in other areas of the world, that cannot be said to apply to their role in the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, where they regularly view the conflict through a deeply partisan lens.

In the months prior to the decision by Hamas to end the six-month ceasefire and resume rocket attacks, these charities issued a flood of one- sided denunciations aimed at Israel. Their campaign repeated tendentious and often highly inaccurate terms such as “collective punishment” and “violation of international law”. On March 6, 2008, CARE International, Cafod, Christian Aid and Oxfam (among others) published a widely quoted report under the headline “The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian Implosion”. The authors did not bother to hide their political bias against Israel, repeating standard Palestinian political rhetoric and including claims that Israeli policy “constitutes a collective punishment against ordinary men, women and children” and is “illegal under international humanitarian law”.

Read it all.

Ceasefire Hopes

Hamas supporters are in celebration that Israel has announced a cease-fire as Hamas continues to fire at Israeli civilian centers. Is everything that simple, or is the Israeli government using a card up its sleeve?

Consider the protests around the world defending Hamas and demanding a ceasefire. Their voices have been so loud. Imagine how impotent their voices will become if and when Hamas continues to fire at Israeli civilians after Israel announces a unilateral cease fire.

If Hamas continues to attack Israeli civilians, how long will Israelis allow that to happen before they demand military actions to resume? If the Israeli government is wise, this ceasefire will give Hamas two options.

1. Continue to attack Israelis, and invite reprisals.
2. Stop attacking Israel. (This may be the best solution to prevent Fatah taking power.)

Time will tell.

What are your thoughts?

A brief history of the conflict between Israel and the Arabs

This post has been inspired by a column I read on Gay Conservative Liberal's website. He believed there must be a reason Israel is hated, because it is hated so much! This is what I replied to him in a comment...

You are far off the mark in this one. Think of it this way. Six million Jews died in the Holocaust. According to you, there "must have been a reason." You fail to realize some people hate just because they are taught to hate from birth. That is the only reason, and the reason why we have an intractable problem with regards to the Israeli Arab conflict.A longer time frame of the conflict can be found on the Myths and Facts website.

To give you a long story short: there have been pogroms and attacks against Jews for thousands of years. But specifically, these attacks increased during the 20th century, under the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. After the Holocaust, Israel was offered a state, as were the Palestinians, by the UN. The Palestinians, under the Mufti (who was an architect for Hitler's Final Solution), rejected the partition plan. This plan was to have an Israel on land which was majority Jewish due to immigration before and after the Holcaust.

Instead of accepting this state, the Palestinians (a people which did not exist at the time, and are not a seperate ethnicity from Jordanians any more than New Yorkers or New Jerseyians are seperate ethnicities) waged war upon Israel, and attempted a genocide after the Holocaust...and lost. Prior to the Israeli Arab conflict, 'refugees' were not defined as people who are part of a group that attempted a genocide and then lost.

Since 1948 (the founding of the state), the Palestinians and Arabs in general have refused to accept any state of Israel on any land at all. Instead, there has been constant terror attacks against Israel.

In 1967, there was an attempted annihilation of Israel, which was defeated in the Six Day War. This is how Israel won the Sinai, Judea and Samaria, and Gaza. In response, Israel attempted to give this land - won in a defensive war - back. All they wanted was peace and recognition. Instead, in Khartoum, they got the famous "three Nos" - no peace, no recognition, no negotiations. source Since then, the jihad has not ceased. The 'two state solution' was proposed first in Oslo, only to find out that Arafat did not truly intend two states - he wanted jihad. (Abbas has not proven different) And Hamas is even further radical.The past eight years have witnessed eight years of rockets against Israel, and nary a response. Finally Israel is defending itself, and doing so in the most pinpointed way possible.

I say this war is not only justified, but necessary. If Israel does not go after Hamas in Gaza, and fails to defend the South of Israel, they lose all right to call themselves a state. The primary duty of a state is to defend its citizens.

To sum up, if you want to know the root of this conflict, read about the history of jihad. That is what this conflict is about.

As an aside, for gay reasons to support Israel, I highly suggest you read the attached link, which discusses why it is the gay thing to do to support Israel!

My reply to those who do not believe Hamas uses human shields

Somehow the fact that 'Palestinians' use human shields does not sink in for everyone. So I will supply yet more links:

Video 1: video evidence of Hamas using human shields

Video 2: Hamas TV officially calls on children to be human shields

Link 3: Human Rights Watch (an organization extremely biased against Israel) nonetheless wrote of the extensive use of human shields, including human shields who voluntarily try to become 'shahids,' aka, martyrs.

link right here

Link 4: Hamas themselves discuss the use of human shields

To those who still doubt the use of human shields, I believe I have presented irrefutable proof they in fact do exist. To claim that Israel should give up and commit suicide, rather than fight against jihadists simply because they use human shields, contravenes every norm of international law. It is a biased and offensive double standard against Israel that you do not have against any other nation on earth.

I will go on. Israel uses missile technology which has the capability of changing the missile paths to avoid hitting civilians. a link right here

The IDF does everything it can - far and above what every other nation on earth does - to avoid hitting civilians. There is, as I have said, literally nothing more they can do.

The blood of every single 'civilian' in Gaza is on Hamas's hands. Caleb, if your friend actually cared for the well being of his fellow travellers, he would be anti-Hamas. But he does not care about their well being. He just cares about demonizing Israel.

There have been violent demonstrations against Jews in major cities around the world. It has gotten so bad, that now synagogues are being fire bombed and vandalized. I can assure you there was no equivalent against Muslims after 9/11 - a crime that actually was Islamically perpetrated. I have seen - with my own two eyes - open calls for the mass murder of Jews. In Golders Green, roving gangs attacked Jewish stores. In Chicago, synagogues were defaced with swastikas. On Long Island, a Jewish wedding was interrupted with calls for jihad. In France, by Strasbourg, a synagogue was firebombed. In Antwerp, roving gangs terrorized the Jewish neighborhood. In Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (more Holocaust survivors per capita than anywhere else on earth, outside Israel), there was a call for Jews to be sent to the ovens and for Israel to be nuked.

It has gotten so bad that in NYC, there now is self defense training for Jews, and the start up of a CST-equivalent (CST is a volunteer security service for Jews in the UK). Many people appear to not care or recognize these attacks, but I am deeply troubled. I have had the displeasure of personally seeing a Hamas rally and calls for the annihilation of Israel. This rally went violent. I went to a rally for Israel, and it was all about how Israel wants peace.

To claim a moral equivalence between the two is ludicrous and offensive and strips morality of all meaning.

Objectively, worse than the Nazis.

No, I am not just throwing around the word Nazi for effect - lets look at this objectively.

While the NSDAP (Nazi Party) did not make the extermination of worldwide Jewry a founding principle, Hamas has. Hamas is an organisation that openly declares its intention to wipe out the Jewish people all over the world, and they made this intention clear in their founding charter.

Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.

There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.

The Islamic Resistance Movement aspires to the realisation of Allah's promise, no matter how long that should take. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him salvation, has said:

"The Day of Judgement will not come about until Moslems fight the Jews (killing the Jews), when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Moslems, O Abdulla, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him. Only the Gharkad tree, (evidently a certain kind of tree) would not do that because it is one of the trees of the Jews." (related by al-Bukhari and Moslem).

Read the full charter. Read more about Hamas.

This founding decoration is objectively worse than the Nazis founding documents. Hamas is an arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, and have ties to Iran - a nation which is also open in its genocidal hatred.

Despite this fact, I am sitting here watching the news coverage on Israel and the Arabs, astounded at how low our media can be in its coverage, presenting Hamas (and the Palestinians who elected Hamas) as victims.

Perhaps I should not be surprised. Hamas may be an openly genocidal, but so are Hezbollah. The mass media did so much to support Hezbollah during 2006, they went past the point of manipulating the news to outright fabrication. Why should I be surprised at the double-standard when we see Ahmadinejad of Iran being invited to present an "Alternative Christmas Message" to the Queen this year?

We can see the hypocracy of people through their double-standards. Notice that there have been no global outcry while Israeli families are being terrorised from barrages of rocket attacks aimed at their towns, cities, schools, hospitals and kindergartens, for years. Notice that right now, there is no talk demanding Sri Lanka halt its operation on the Tamil Tigers, yet Israel is told to stop firing so Hamas can rebuild. These hypocritical double-standards are regularly applied to the Jewish nation.

As far as I am concerned, the way Israel is treated reeks of anti-Semitism. If it makes it any better, I suspect the vast majority of those equating Israel to Hamas, or those calling for Israel to stop defending itself are simply "useful idiots", sheep for the policy makers.

The conflict in Gaza in a nutshell

During the present war between Israel and Hamas, there has been a great deal of misinformation. As such, Culture for All aims to bring you as many FACTS in an easy to understand format as is possible. As such, I thought you, dear readers, would appreciate the following:

1) FACT: Israel did not break the 'ceasefire', rather, there never was a working 'ceasefire.' In November, Israel sent a few missiles to simply go after rocket launchpads in Gaza. Israel did this because Hamas and Islamic jihad were launching rockets, ceaselessly, at Sderot and Southern Israel (over 10,000 since 2001).

2) FACT: Israel operated with both hands tied behind its back for eight years on end, letting about 10,000 rockets get lobbed at Sderot (and making life intolerable for the citizens of Sderot). The country failed in its duty to protect its citizens, and this fact alone made me cynical about the leadership of the Israel. It is the absolute duty and obligation of any country to defend its citizens, which, for eight years Israel was not doing. NOT ONLY did Israel fail to defend the citizens of Sderot for EIGHT YEARS, it was called a 'warmonger' when it took only small steps to eradicate the rocket attacks! Moreover, Israel left Gaza, including leaving greenhouses for the Gaza 'Palestinians' to use to set up an actual economy, and these greenhouses were destroyed in order to use these greenhouses as rocket launch sites. Let me repeat this, just so you have a deeper understanding of exactly how far Israel went to appease 'Palestinians' in the name of 'peace': The IDF went to Gush Katif (the Jewish-run 'settlement' in Gaza) and forced out about 7,500 Jews out of Gaza, all in the name of 'peace.' In response, there was a threefold increase in rockets towards Sderot. Here is a great timeline - well documented - of rockets and statistics from 2005 ('disengagement') to the present day.

3) FACT: Hamas operates its rocket launch sites next to 'civilian' areas on purpose, hoping to maximize their own 'civilian' (and I use the term 'civilian' loosely) casualties, for the world press. By doing this, and by using human meat shields against Israel, it has the blood of all those 'civilians' who have died in Gaza on its hands. Now, you might ask why I use the term 'civilian' loosely. That is because Israel, in my opinion counter-tactically, flies leaflets over areas it intends to bomb, asking 'civilians' to leave. In response, Gaza 'civilians' have actually run to the very bomb targets, hoping they will either prevent the IDF from attacking a military target, or will die as martyrs. As such, these 'civilians' often are not 'civilians' as you and I define the term. A Soldier's Mother writes more of this right here.

Israel goes out of its way to kill as few 'civilians' as they can, even to the point of decreasing their military effectiveness. What army in the world informs their target where they are going in advance? No army but Israel! And yet Israel still gets blamed as killing all these 'civilians'? That only shows the bias of the world press and world governments.

Without exception, the death of every single 'civilian' in Gaza is the fault of Hamas. There would not be a war if Hamas did not send over 10,000 rockets into Southern Israel, with the intent of killing as many ACTUAL Israeli civilians - women and children - as possible. Then, when Israel dares to fight back - after EIGHT YEARS (and making Gaza Jew free in the process) Gaza 'civilians' are used as human shields. As such, every single death - both Israeli and 'Palestinian,' is the fault of Hamas.

4) FACT: There is a distinction between killing and murder. Not all killing is murder, and this has to be understood. Killing someone in self defense is not murder. Killing a baby in cold blood is in fact murder. As such, given every single 'Palestinian' killed by the IDF in Gaza was killed in self defense, none of these deaths were murder. Every single Israeli killed was killed in cold blood - THAT is murder. Moreover, Hamas just murdered 35 'collaborators' (i.e., Fatah members) in Gaza. THAT is murder.

5) FACT: The majority of Gaza 'Palestinians' support jihad against Israel. I am speaking of a majority of these 'Palestinians,' according to public opinion polls, as well as the blatant actions of 'Palestinians.' As a recent example, at least 300,000 Gazan 'Palestinians' recently showed up for a "Death to Israel, Death to America" hate rally in Gaza City. A 'Palestinian' dressed up as Gilad Shalit, the IDF soldier being held prisoner in Gaza, and 300,000 'Palestinians' in the crowd laughed and jeered. That shows a sick and diseased society. The fact that the society is sick and diseased means that you will see such sickness as 'Palestinian' 'civilians' running to be bombed by the IDF, you will see Pallywood productions of fake deaths, you will see bombs/rockets/missiles being launched from schools, you will see children recruited as homicide bombers, and you will see schools/mosques/media besieged by the worst form of hate education.

If you would like to see true 'peace' in the region, the only way for this to happen is for Israel to take over Gaza, throw out Hamas, take over the schools, and send an army of teachers, teaching non-hate education. This will not happen, as Israel has made it clear that this is not the goal of the IDF. As such, the most I am hoping for is for Hamas to be crippled substantially enough that they will not be sending thousands of rockets a year into Sderot, claiming they are abiding by a 'ceasefire.' This is all that I can sadly hope for. 'Peace' is utterly impossible unles the hate education is dismantled, and Israel refuses to do that, as it would require an extreme amount of casualties for it to occur. The 'two state solution' will not accomplish 'peace,' and is dead in practical terms. Meanwhile, the world (specifically, the UN and the 'quartet') continue to fund hate education and villify Israel. Those who think they are being 'generous' and 'open-minded' and think 'both sides are wrong,' do not realize that sometimes there is a right and a wrong.

This is the world we live in. In this world, there is absolute truth and right and wrong, whether people want to acknowledge this or not. When I go to 'pro-Palestinian' demonstrations, I see open calls for the murder of Jews and Israelis. That is wrong. Supporting Israel against the jihadist onslaught is right.

Rally in NYC today by the Israeli Consulate

Below is a link to pictures that I took at the rally for Israel by the Israeli Consulate. This rally, not a counter-protest but an affirmative rally, occurred today in NYC during my lunch hour. It was so crowded, it was very hard to take pictures. At least 3,000 came out to brave the cold. Am Yisrael Chai!

http://picasaweb.google.com/redtulips/RallyByIsraeliConsulateAllProIsraelPeople

There was no significant counter-protest to this, just some random Neturei Karta 'Jews.' It was so wonderful to see the Jewish people united behind a common cause, and speaking out about what is right. This pro-Israel rally, whereby the speakers spoke of how the Palestinians themselves are victims of Hamas, contrasts with what was seen a week ago, with open terror support. Every speaker I heard said how war was not desired, but was simply necessary for self defense. Moreover, none of the other rallies I attended had this level of attendance. I am so proud to be a Jew, a New Yorker, and someone who loves and appreciates humanity itself. The message was so clear: Israel wants peace and security. These are basic needs. Rest assured; the truth WILL win out in the end. And I will continue going to rallies and doing what I can to bring out the truth amidst so many lies.

Last night's pro-terror and anti-terror rallies

Last night there was a protest against Israel that essentially was little more than a rally openly in favor of Hamas. Thankfully, Stand With Us was on the case and there was an anti-terror rally across the street. Here is a link to pictures I took on my friend Irina's camera of both rallies. You will note open terror support, including "We support the resistance in Gaza." The Neturei Karta were also out in full regalia. I told them they are a "chillul hashem," aka, a desecration of G-d's name. I nearly got into an altercation with Hamas supporters, who were out and proud of their open Hamas support. I have to repeat: this was not simply a rally against Israel's right to self defense. Rather, these Hamas supporters were openly shouting Hamas and Hizballah slogans and holding up signs in support of terrorism. I thanked every police officer I saw, and told them I loved the NYPD and valued their good work. I added that I hoped they were profiling these terrorists. In the subway home, a group of at least four Hamas members hopped on the subway car, and it quickly got ugly. They shouted at me and we nearly came to blows.

Through it all, I realized: I am so lucky to be Jewish and American. Our side is right and their side is wrong. It cannot be any more simple than that. Anyone seeing the screaming, foaming-at-the-mouth monstrosity that is the Hamas support of the anti-Israel crowd cannot possibly say those cretins are civilized human beings deserving of respect. We are right, they are wrong, and it feels good to walk tall and proud as a Jew, as an American, and as a lover of humanity itself. I am optimistic for the future, as this degeneracy cannot and will not win out.

We cannot continue to 'apologize' for being members of humanity. It does a disservice to humanity itself. We need to stop 'engaging' with these Islamonazi thugs who mean to wipe us off the map. These are barely literate buffoons who seek to destroy us. 'Dialogue' will hardly stop this hatred. The only thing that will stop it is pride in country, religion, and ourselves. Am Yisrael Chai and G-d Bless America! Have a healthy and Happy New Year (Gregorian calendar), knowing that we WILL indeed win!

Here again is the link to pictures:

http://picasaweb.google.com/sicat222/StandWithUsRally?feat=email#

Photographs from the Negev

Thanks David. :-)

Israel at 60 event at radio City Music Hall: Demonstration and Counter-Demonstration!

Greetings! Sorry for not posting in ages! I have been very busy. Last night, I attended the Israel at 60 event at Radio City Music Hall. I was counter-demonstrating outside, and then I received a free ticket!

I was able to hear Matisyahu, he's amazing! The bands inside were amazingly talented, and I was able to hear Governor David Patterson speak. He was amazing! I am now a huge Gov. Patterson fan. :)

Anyway, below are pictures from the demonstration outside against Israel. As you can see, there was open support for terror, and the conflation of the Sean Bell case with the 'Palestinian' cause. I never knew Sean Bell was a 'Palestinian'! You learn new things every day! I told one of the people, a 70+ year old man, that he was associating with terror supporters (a clear fact), and he screamed, at the top of his lungs: "MURDERER! MURDERER! YOU MURDER LITTLE BABIES!" I was so shocked to see this level of hate in his eyes that I nervously laughed, and then walked away. The only surprise for me was the lack of the Neterei Karta presence.

Click here to see pictures of the 'demonstration'!

Samples:

Open terror support!

Then there was our counter-demonstration (yay Andy!). Click here to see some pictures. Am Yisrael Chai!

Samples:

It is clear who is flying American flags and who hopes to take down America.

UPDATE: Please read the Jewish Week for a summary of the concert last night. Rightly, Gov. Patterson was mentioned as an amazing speaker. He really did stand out.

Land of milk and start ups

While I am on an updating surge, I thought I would link an article about "Silicon Wadi," namely, the high tech industry in Israel. It is quite an interesting and informative read. Take a look!

The mindset of the typical Israeli entrepreneur has also helped shape the business. He (and it is usually a he, for there are even fewer female entrepreneurs than in Silicon Valley) is more of a nuts-and-bolts innovator than a clever marketer. Having grown up in a truly multicultural society, he is well equipped to deal with diversity, for instance in standards bodies. Being used to less generous funding, he knows how to improvise. Many Israelis also see their work as an act of patriotism, which explains how they can be both ultra-competitive, yet help each other out. And they are more interested in inventing things than in protecting them with patents. “It's like painting a good picture for others to see it,” says Zion Hadad, boss of Runcom, a pioneer of WiMax, an upstart wireless-broadband technology.

Read it all, for insight into the Israeli high tech industry!

Dor Chadash invites anti-Israel self hater to come speak

Dor Chadash is a Zionist organization, whose goal is to facillitate Jewish American and Israeli friendship, dialogue and understanding. It is an abomination that this supposedly 'Zionist' organization would invite some to speak who said that Israel acts like Nazi Germany. This is some sort of a 'legitimate' viewpoint?

And so, it happened that last night I went to the launch of "Z-Mag" (a Zionist blog) with the American Jewish Committee, and I was able to speak with the organizers of the Avrum Burg event from Dor Chadash. These people literally have no idea what Avrum Burg really said and think that he has a "legitimate viewpoint" that "deserves to be aired" and "it is censorship" to deprive him of a viewpoint. I told them that his "viewpoint" is nothing short of libels and hysteria, and says that Israel is essentially the new Nazi Germany. I said that his perspective is no more "legitimate" than Ahmadinejad, and if Dor Chadash allows Avrum Burg to speak, they might as well allow Ahmadinejad to speak. (why not? Columbia did!) I further said that if you were going to have a self hating Israeli come to speak, there should be some counterpoint to his hysterical perspective. I was told there was going to be someone from the "Forward" as a moderator. I replied that the "Forward" is a leftwing newspaper and not an effective counterpoint. I said a true counterpoint would be a Nonie Darwish or a Khaled Abu Toameh - Arabs who are pro-Israel. She replied "Well, we found it really hard to schedule people, it's not easy to bring people in to speak!" I said "Well, then you should not have scheduled Avrum Burg, because it is NOT an effective counterpoint to simply have the audience respond to him. The ONLY TRULY efective counterpoint to his perspective is to have an academic who is an Arab refusnik counter his blood libels." She basically was left speechless. I think I got through to the organizer from Dor Chadash, and she understands it might have been a mistake to invite this anti-Israel blood libeller to speak at what is *supposed* to be a Zionist organization.

If you are in the NYC area on April 1, I heartily encourage you to attend the Avrum Burg event to ask the difficult questions that need to be asked.

[UPDATE: Please go here for a fuller interview with Avrum Burg, so you can understand exactly who this man is.]

Human butchers mass murder in Jerusalem yeshiva

Just disgusting. Israeli Arab terrorists killed at least eight yeshiva boys today.

I have no words. This is an Israeli Arab group, supposedly 'so well integrated' into society,' who are doing the butchering, and in this case they purposely attacked a school - with teenage boys. The brutality and inhumanity is disgusting and beyond words.

What is most shocking is that somehow, despite the fact that this attack happened, 'peace talks' will go on, as if somehow there is a culture for 'peace,' or anything other than a desire for PIECES of Jews.

Tragic.

UPDATE:

If you have time, please say the following:

PSALM 130: A song of ascents. From the depths I called you Ado-nay. My Lord, hear my voice, may Your ears be attentive to the sound of my pleas. If you preserve iniquities, O' God, my Lord, who could survive? For with you is forgiveness, that you may be feared. I put confidence in Ado-nay, my soul put confidence, and I hoped for his word. I yearn for my Lord, among those longing for the dawn, those longing for the dawn. Let Israel hope for Ado-nay, for with Ado-nay is kindness, and with Him is abundant redemption. And He shall redeem Israel for all its iniquities.

PRAYER FOR THE ILL: He who blessed our forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak and Ya'acov, Moshe, Aharon, David and Shlomo, may He bless and heal those injured today in the terrorist attack at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav. Because I (insert your name) will, without taking a vow, contribute charity on their behalf. In reward for this may the Holy One blessed be He be filled with compassion for them to restore their health, to heal them, to strengthen , to revivify them. And may He send them speedily a complete recovery from heaven among the other sick people of Israel, a recovery of the body, a recovery of the spirit, swiftly and soon and let us all respond Amen.

Jerusalem Our Capital

Via Carl in Jsrusalem:

In response to the murder of fifteen innocent civilians by a suicide bomber at Sbarro's Pizza in Jerusalem earlier that day, on August 9, 2001, Israeli security forces shut down Orient House (pictured at top left), a building just over the 'green line' in 'east' Jerusalem that the 'Palestinians' had made into a quasi government headquarters in violation of the Oslo Accords they had signed with the Rabin government in 1993 and 1995.

In August of this past year, 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud Abbas Abu Mazen appointed former director of the Islamic Wakf Adnan Husseini as his 'adviser on Jerusalem affairs.' The Wakf is the organization that controls anything the Muslims call a holy site, and that currently controls the Temple Mount; the organization is responsible for multiple, daily violations of Israel's Antiquities Law on the Temple Mount. Husseini is also a cousin of the late Faisal Husseini, who held the position under Yasser Arafat. In an interview with the Jerusalem Post shortly after his appointment, Husseini placed a priority on reopening Orient House.

My only question is: Why isn't Israel making Jerusalem its true capital?

Red Colour

[ Video Source ]

When Israel Cant Be Blamed

Here is a must-read article from The Sudanese Thinker:

We need Israelis to step into Darfur, because when they do the Arab media will blast the spotlight on the nastiness taking place there… and they’ll blame it on the Jews.

We need a few Zionists to walk around the slums at the outskirts of Khartoum because when they do, people will finally discover and realize the amount of misery that exists there… and then in a fraction of a second, they’ll somehow blame it on the Jews.

At the Altar of Palestine, we sacrifice our issues. Mona Eltahawy isn’t alone in what she thinks because indeed, there can be no denying the obvious.

For decades, successive dictators in the Arab world have sacrificed their respective national concerns on the altar of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, telling us it must be resolved before any kind of progress can be made, whether it’s stopping terrorism, embracing democracy or ending poverty. Unsurprisingly, despite peace with Israel for the past 29 years, Egypt still suffers from all those problems.

[ Full Article ]

The Worlds Richest Arabs

The amazing Sudanese Thinker recently posted an article listing The Worlds Richest Arabs.

Take a look at that article, but not just the article. The comments are good too. For example:

Interesting factoids:

1. The richest Israeli is a woman
2. The richest Arab (30 Billion) is richer than the richest Israeli (4 Billion)
3. Bin Laden is richer than the richest Israeli
4. Despite the fact that so many claim that Bin Laden fights the rich for the poor
5. And despite the fact that so many claim that the Jews have all the money and oppress the poor Arab world

But there are two different types of wealth. One is based on bringing new wealth into the world, like inventing a new gadget or creating products. The other is based on claiming what others could claim too if they had the power.

I put it to this forum that most rich Israelis made their money by creating wealth, by contributing to the world what did not exist before or by contributing capital to such enterprises.

And I put it to this forum that a number of the richest Arabs made their money from sitting on oil and related benefits, while contributing nothing to the world’s total wealth themselves.

- Andrew Brehm

I’m surprised that their brothers in Gaza and other Palestinians had to suffer so much considering what that wealth could have done to ease their suffering. [They] could have built power plants, factories, housing and maybe even a new greenhouse? And think of how nice those refugee camps could be. Shoot, they could even build an island or two (AK47 shaped perhaps?) for even more land to live on.

- Lynn

Funny, and true.