Placing The Blame On The Wrong People

Those who are protesting the Israeli incursion into Gaza need to remember the events of October 7, 2023. Up until that point, Israel was existing peacefully next to Gaza,  providing jobs for residents of Gaza who couldn’t find work in Gaza. On October 7th, many of those workers killed and tortured the people who were helping them feed their families. What kind of mindset does that? On October 7th, the paradigm changed–it became obvious that a two-state solution was not possible. You can’t live peacefully next door to people who want to kill you and steal your land. Unfortunately, there is a propaganda war that Hamas has been waging since that day that has been way too successful.

On Monday, The Associated Press reported the following:

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Monday called for Israel to be banned from sports events after pro-Palestinian activists disrupted the end of the Spanish Vuelta cycling race in chaotic scenes in Madrid.

Israel’s foreign minister responded by calling Sánchez an “antisemite and a liar.”

Tensions between the countries have escalated in recent weeks as Spain’s left-wing government expressed support for protesters who interrupted several stages of the Vuelta, including Sunday’s final stage in Madrid, because an Israeli team was taking part.

Speaking to members of his Socialist Party, Sánchez said Israel, just like Russia, should not be allowed to compete in international sports because of its military campaign in Gaza.

“The sports organizations should consider whether it’s ethical for Israel to keep participating in international competitions. Why expel Russia after the invasion of Ukraine and not expel Israel after the invasion of Gaza?” Sanchez said. “Until the barbarity ends, neither Russia nor Israel should be in any international competition.”

Notice that the pro-Palestinian activists disrupted things–not the Israelis. But in condemning Israel’s attack on Gaza, Sanchez says nothing about the people who baked babies in ovens, raped women, and celebrated murder on October 7. I have a problem with his double standard.

The article notes:

The Spanish government had already expressed sympathy with the protesters and suggested the Israel Premier Tech team should have withdrawn from the three-week-long race that became a diplomatic battleground.

Just for the record, Spain was one of the countries that voted to support a sovereign State of Palestine in a recent United Nations vote. These countries have bought into the Hamas propaganda. There will never be a peaceful Palestinian state–the goal of a Palestinian state is a one-state solution–no Israel. There will not be peace in the Middle East until the countries of the world figure that out.

Doesn’t Anyone Remember That Israel Was The One Attacked?

Almost two years ago, Israel was brutally attached by its neighbors living in the Gaza Strip. In 2005, Israel left the Gaza Strip, forcibly removing the Jews that lived there, and fully turning the area over to its Arab residents.  They allowed the residents to work in Israel if they could not find jobs in Gaza. These are the same Arab residents of Gaza who on October 7, 2023, brutally murdered the people who had helped them and took over 200 people hostage. Israel had no choice but to attack and attempt to rescue the hostages. Because the war has dragged on (partially because Israel has been so careful to avoid civilian casualties), public pressure on Israel to stop defending itself has increased. A few nations have begun to recognize a so-called Palestinian state, not realizing that the terrorist state behind October 7th was essentially a Palestinian state.

On Friday, Hot Air reported:

As lily-livered Western countries go wobbly on supporting Israel–The Arab League supports Israel’s policies more than Britain, France, or Canada–Israel is threatening to cut intelligence ties with its faithless “allies.”

…Diplomatic sources have told The Times that Binyamin Netanyahu’s government is examining the response as one of a range of options if Britain presses ahead with Palestinian recognition next month.

An official warned that Britain and other countries considering diplomatic recognition should “carefully consider” the consequences of such a move.

Another diplomatic source said: “London needs to be careful because Bibi [Netanyahu] and his ministers have cards they could play too. Israel values its partnership with the UK but recent decisions mean it is coming under pressure and the UK has a lot to lose if Israel’s government decides to take steps in response.”

Israel has reacted furiously to the decision by Starmer, accusing him of handing Hamas a “prize for terror” by going ahead with recognition outside of a peace process and before the remaining hostages are released. Starmer has said Britain will recognise the state of Palestine next month unless Israel allows more aid into Gaza, stops annexing land in the West Bank, agrees to a ceasefire and signs up to a long-term peace process.

All you need to end the war is for Hamas to release the hostages and surrender. Why are you calling for the victim of the attack to surrender rather than the attacker?

Under Current Conditions, This Won’t Work

On Friday, Hot Air posted an article about one previously considered solution to the problems in the Middle East. There was a time when a two-state solution was considered a solution to the Israel-Palestine problem. Unfortunately, after October 7, that time has passed.

Golda Meir understood the problem.

The article at Hot Air reports:

I was a member of the “Two State” solution club. It seemed so obvious, at least back in the day when I was formally studying the Middle East in the 80s and 90s. 

For those of you who don’t get the reference, it refers to the proposal to create a Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank alongside Israel. The idea is that in exchange for formal recognition of Palestine as a separate state, the Palestinians will give up violence and coexist alongside Israel. 

Sure, it would require Palestinians to become civilized human beings instead of biological reservoirs of hate, but plenty of Palestinians are civilized, and there is no genetic reason that the rest can’t be. They are human beings, after all. Look at what happened post-WWII in Germany and Japan. People can reform themselves. 

Alas, it is not to be because generations of Palestinians in the formerly occupied territories (both are self-governing now, and that has been a disaster) have been trained to be hateful bigots whom even the other Arab countries disdain. You will notice that none of these countries is interested in taking in Palestinian refugees because they are nothing but trouble. 

That’s why Joe Biden is apparently offering America as a sanctuary for some of the most murderous people in the world, continuing his unbroken streak of being always disastrously wrong on every issue. 

The article concludes:

One would have thought, without actually seeing how long hatred can persist, that the fire would burn out. Alas, it shows no sign of doing so even after the better part of a century. 

But one thing is clear: there is no way to allow anything close to statehood for the current crop of Palestinians. It is insane to think that there is. 

Every bit of aid, legitimacy, and resources that enter the West Bank and Gaza will eventually be turned on the Israelis. 

Suggestions? I’m all out of them. 

Unless the Palestinians change (at least 75% of the Palestinians support Hamas), they will never been welcome in any country. They are an Arab tribe. They have no actual claim to Israel. Unfortunately, because of their past (and present) behavior, none of their fellow Arabs want to take them in. Iran is Persian–it is not Arab–and is more interested in stirring up trouble in the region that helping anyone. Whatever the solution, we need to get our hostages back!

 

 

Believe Them When They Tell You Who They Are

On February 12th, PJ Media posted an article about a recent comment by Elham, described as a Member of Hamas and a Planner of a Suicide Bombing.

The article reports:

The video is of a hijabed woman, identified as “Elham, Member of Hamas, Planner of a Suicide Bombing,” explaining matter-of-factly that “we don’t only fight against occupation. Our goal is to spread Islam to all, everywhere.” This suggests that Hamas would not be satisfied with a Palestinian state, but would continue its war against the diminished Israel that would remain after the creation of a Palestinian state until the remainder were Islamized as well. What’s more, Elham’s statement amounts to a declaration of war against every state that is not governed under Islamic law.

Of course, there is no indication that Elham speaks for Hamas as a whole. However, many other Hamas spokesmen have said essentially the same thing. Last December, Fathi Hammad, a member of Hamas’ Political Bureau, also spoke of Hamas as having a universal mission beyond the destruction of Israel. He explained that “the [Palestinian] people have been soldiers throughout history. They are now preparing to liberate Jerusalem and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and I am saying this loud and clear: [The Palestinian people] are preparing to establish the Caliphate, with Jerusalem as its capital city, Inshallah. Jerusalem will not only be the capital city of Palestine as an independent state – it will be the capital city of the Islamic Caliphate.” 

The link above will allow you to view the video.

The thing we need to understand is that up until 1922 there was an Islamic Caliphate. It was the Ottoman Empire. When the Empire fell, Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) set up the secular state of Turkey in what remained of the Ottoman Empire. Some members of the global Islamic community were not happy about the fall of the Empire or with Turkey becoming a secular nation. Hassan al Banna, who lived in Egypt, formed the al-Ikhwan al-Muslimin, the Muslim Brotherhood. The goal of the Muslim Brotherhood was to unify all the Islamic states under a new caliphate and put all lands under Sharia Law. In the quote above, Elham is simply restating that goal. This basic philosophy is the reason Hamas will never be at peace with Israel.

 

Even Hamas Opposes A Two-State Solution!

On Monday, Ed Morrissey at Hot Air posted an article about a recent comment by Hamas Leader Abroad Khaled Mashal.

The article reports:

For Khaled Mashal, it marked the first time that Hamas successfully turned the West into cheerleaders for their genocide, which fuels their fight in Gaza to this day. “From the river to the sea” means exactly what it states, Mashal asserts in this interview caught by MEMRI — and that is a radical-Islamist Palestinian state replacing Israel entirely:

…“I believe that the dream and the hope for Palestine from the River to the Sea and from the north to the south has been renewed. This has also become a slogan chanted in the U.S. and in Western capital cities, by the American and Western public,” he said.

“Palestine is free from the River to the Sea—that’s the slogan of the American students and the [students] in European capital cities.

“The Palestinian consensus—or almost a consensus—is that we will not give up on our right to Palestinian in its entirety, from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea and from Rosh Hanikra to Eilat or the Gulf of Aqaba,” he continued.

The Charter of Hamas has always said that its goal was to drive Israel into the sea. Why are we still surprised when their actions support this goal? I wonder if the Americans chanting “from the river to the sea” understand the meaning of what they are chanting.

As Americans, we need to remember that Hamas’ sponsors in Tehran routinely promise “death to America.” Only Joe Biden, Antony Blinken, and their Obama-administration minders refuse to take that either seriously or literally.

 

 

This Is A Form Of Antisemitism

The Federalist posted an article today about a recent decision by the EU’s Court of Justice (ECJ), the highest court in the EU. The court ruled that Jewish products made in contested areas of Israel must bear consumer warning labels.

The article notes:

Prior to the ruling, U.S. lawmakers in Congress fired warning shots, cautioning the EU that such a move would prompt the enforcement of American anti-boycott laws, thus endangering the EU’s trade with the United States.

Now, according to reporting by Adam Kredo of the Washington Free Beacon, the Trump administration is ready to go to battle over the ruling. Currently, the United States is the EU’s largest trading partner.

The origins of the legal dispute stretch back several years to when the EU issued a mandate in 2015 declaring that products produced in the West Bank and Golan Heights be labeled as coming from an Israeli settlement, facially for the purpose of promoting “consumer protection,” although it’s unclear if that is actually achieved here. In late 2016, France became the first EU member state to attempt to enforce the mandate, resulting in the Israeli winery Psagot filing a lawsuit claiming that such a mandate violated the EU’s anti-discrimination laws.

Under the new rule, goods produced by Jews will be labeled as having been produced in an Israeli settlement, while goods produced by Muslims may be labeled as made in “Palestine,” indicating blatant discriminatory treatment. Unsurprisingly, Israel’s presence in the West Bank and the Golan Heights are the only contested areas in the world to be the focus of the labeling ire of the EU.

The article notes that Israel is the only country singled out for this treatment:

“No other territory, occupied, disputed, or otherwise is subject to such requirements,” noted Eugene Kontorovich, director of the Center for International Law in the Middle East at George Mason University. Kontorovich emphasized the peculiarity of the ruling. “In no other case does any ‘origin labeling’ require any kind of statement about the political circumstances in the area. This is a special Yellow Star for Jewish products only.”

Indeed, there are a multitude of contested areas throughout the world that produce goods for which the EU has deemed politicized labeling requirements unnecessary. Despite Russia’s occupation of parts of Georgia or Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara, nothing in EU law or greater international law requires labeling goods produced by Russia in occupied parts of Georgia as “Made in Georgia” or goods produced by Morocco in Western Sahara as “Made in Western Sahara.”

Just a side note about the concept of contested territories. If you look at a map of the land originally given to form a Jewish state, it not only includes the ‘contested territories,’ it includes Jordan. The country of Jordan was originally intended to be the Palestinian state (as there had never been a Palestinian state), but was turned over to the Hashemites. For pictures illustrating the history of Israeli territory, go here.

The Sorry State Of Freedom On Our College Campuses

A friend sent me a link to a Washington Post article posted on October 9. The headline in the article is, “A second Michigan instructor withheld a recommendation letter from student headed to Israel.”

The disturbing part is the reason given:

The article continues:

Her email echoed the one that arrived last month in the inbox of Abigail Ingber, another junior at the University of Michigan. 

“I am very sorry, but I only scanned your first email a couple weeks ago and missed out on a key detail,” John Cheney-Lippold, a cultural studies professor, wrote to Ingber in early September, upon realizing that the reference was for a program at Tel Aviv University. “As you may know, many university departments have pledged an academic boycott against Israel in support of Palestinians living in Palestine. This boycott includes writing letters of recommendation for students planning to study there.”

The concept that Israel includes Palestinian land is simply not true. As Walid Shoebat has stated, “One day during the 1960s I went to bed a Jordanian Muslim, and when I woke up the next morning, I was informed that I was now a Palestinian Muslim, and that I was no longer a Jordanian Muslim.” Jordan was established to be the Palestinian state. The Palestinians were kicked out of Jordan after they attempted to overthrow its government. The Arab countries have kept them as refugees for generations in order to gin up anger against Israel with the hopes of driving the Jews into the sea. It is unbelievable that our college professors are encouraging this sort of behavior. It’s a shame our college teachers don’t know history. In actuality, the land occupied by Jordan was initially given to Israel.

The article concludes:

Michael Zakim, a cultural historian at Tel Aviv University, argued that the boycott would end up undermining “the Palestinian struggle” by unwittingly supporting forces “determined to delegitimize the humanism and internationalism that predominates on Israeli university campuses.” He labeled as “inanity” some of the means taken to “discredit Israeli academic culture,” such as the refusal to serve as an external reader on a dissertation.

Feisal G. Mohamed, then of the University of Illinois and now at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, responded, saying the boycott didn’t compel each of the actions decried by Zakim. Still, he reasoned, “any and all available means must be used to end an occupation.”

At Michigan, the board of regents declined last year to form a committee to investigate divesting the university’s endowment from companies doing business with Israel, after the student government passed a resolution supporting such a move.

But refusing to throw its weight behind BDS isn’t enough, Secker (Jake Secker) warned. If the university doesn’t take further action to insulate its students from the political actions of their professors, he said, it could have a crisis on its hands.

“This is an epidemic that’s starting to begin,” he said. “Especially being someone who has an Israeli background, I took it personally. It really disturbed me.”

Any university discriminating against students who want to study in Israel should lose all federal and state funding. BDS is not an acceptable policy, and the government should not be funding it.

More Information On The Peace Process

Flag of Israel with the Mediterranean sea in t...

Image via Wikipedia

Since I am technologically challenged, I have no idea how to embed a video into this website. I apologize. However, I will provide a link to a YouTube video that clearly and concisely explains the history of the State of Israel. This video helps understand how we got to the place we are today in regard to peace in the Middle East. Enjoy.

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The Logo For the Permanent Observer Mission Of Palestine To The United Nations

This is the logo for the Permanent Observer Mission of Palestine to the United Nations. The Weekly Standard posted this picture yesterday.

Please notice that there is no Israel on this map of the area where Israel currently exists. That should tell us everything we need to know about the intentions of the Palestinians in regard to Israel. Do we really want to create another terrorist state in the Middle East? Aren’t there enough already?

Also, my favorite quote regarding Palestinian statehood is from Walid Shoebat:

“Why is it that on June 4th 1967 I was a Jordanian and overnight I became a Palestinian?”

If the United Nations ever wants to be a force for peace in the Middle East, they will vote down the Palestinian request for statehood, stop sending Palestine money, and tell the Palestinians to create a peaceful nation with infrastructure (rather than spending all their money on weapons) and then come back again. We need to remember that when Israel turned over the Gaza Strip to the Arabs, it was an economically viable area with a worldwide business of exporting flowers. The Arabs promptly destroyed the greenhouses and turned it into a poverty-stricken ghetto. Unless the Arabs in Gaza and the West Bank show a desire and effort to create a functional, peaceful society, they should be shunned by the rest of the world. We don’t reward children when they behave badly and destroy things, we shouldn’t reward grown-ups who do that either.

 

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Anti-Semitism In England

Yesterday Scott Johnson at Power Line posted a story about protests that took place in London last Thursday when the Israeli Philharmonic, led by Zubin Mehta, participated in the annual eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts known as the Proms. The concert by the Israeli Philharmonic was disrupted to the point that the BBC cut off its live broadcast.

The New York Times reported:

…the repeated disruption of its (the Israeli Philharmonic) concert at Royal Albert Hall in London on Thursday night by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, to the point that the BBC cut off its live broadcast and played recordings of the evening’s program instead. 

Stephen Pollard in the UK Telegraph had a slightly different take:

But Thursday night’s events can only be understood in the context of anti-Semitism. When have there been similar protests against “violations of international law and human rights”, as was chanted on Thursday, by any other country? And this in the middle of the Arab Spring, when genuine protesters for human rights are daily risking their lives in Syria against a murderous dictatorship.

If, indeed, this was a protest against the actions of the Israeli government, rather than against Jews, where have been the similar disruptions of performances by Russian, Chinese, Turkish, Iranian or any number of other nations’ musicians? What about disruptions of British national companies, in protest at British human rights abuses? To pose the question is to answer it. There’s little doubt in my mind that this was an action motivated specifically by the fact that the performers were playing in the national orchestra of the Jewish state. 

If the Jews are the canary in the coal mine, we need to pay attention–the gas is rising. As the day nears when Palestine will unilaterally declare itself a state–regardless of the fact that it has never adhered to the Oslo Accords, we can expect to see more accusations against Israel and more anti-Semitism under the guise of supporting human rights. This is the same kind of upside down logic that has been used in the past to persecute Jews. We need to our own research on what is happening rather than believing everything we see in the news.

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