AUTHOR:G.
DATE:7/27/2002 09:07:00 PM
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BODY:
Business as usual
In the last 3 days I’ve been to 2 cafes, a pub, a restaurant and the cinema and I’m glad to say that they were all full of happy Israelis having good time. I think more and more people are adapting my fatalistic way of thinking and I glad about it.
Some have a different look on things, Imshin wrote in the comments to my previous post: “All very true, this is definitely the spirit, but... it's more difficult to adopt this attitude when you have people you're responsible for such as children, and so on. Besides feeling responsible for keeping my daughters out of dangers way, as much as possible, it flashes through my mind occasionally that I have to make an effort to try to stay alive myself, for their sake, if not for my own.”
I understand Imshin. There is no wrong or right each one should do as he/she feels. I’m gonna keep my spirit up :-)
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AUTHOR:G.
DATE:7/26/2002 09:35:00 PM
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BODY:
It’s not an easy task to come and begin a new life in Israel these days
I read over at Renata’s that some of here fellow “olim hadashim” (new immigrants) in her “Ulpan” (the place they are staying and learn Hebrew) take Hamas’s threats of revange very seriusly and they are afraid to go to crowded places.
It’s very clear why some of them are afraid, they are new to this routine. Now I’m, not saying that there aren’t born Israelis who are afraid as well, but I for myself am not afraid.
I think that the Hamas is very serious with his threats to carry out terror attacks. They have been doing it quite successfully for years and it’s obvious that in the near future they’ll try even harder to “revenge” the killing of Shehada. There is no doubt that they will succeed to execute a few terror attack out of their overall planing, and there is no doubt that Israelis will be murdered. What can I do about it? Well nothing actually. I’ve got more important things to do then to stay at home worried.
I guess those of the “olim” that will be able to adjust to this fatalistic way of thinking will get used to life in Israel. As for those who won’t, I’m not sure how many of them will stay here.
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AUTHOR:G.
DATE:7/26/2002 09:34:00 PM
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BODY:
Still about Shehada
My last comments about Shehada: What I tried to say in my last two posts is very simple, sure it’s bad that children died in the attack, maybe another kind of bomb should have been used but Shehada had to be eliminated. In my post about Afghanistan and Kosovo I tried to make it clear that war is an ugly thing and even “good guys” shed innocent people blood, there never was a war without innocent casualties and there never will be.
Israel is a small hated country and it’s very easy to criticize her, thus its very popular. You’ll have to excuse me for having a different opinion.
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AUTHOR:G.
DATE:7/24/2002 01:40:00 PM
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BODY:
Blogging will be light to non existent in the next couple of days. I'm getting a new computer. I'll be back.
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AUTHOR:G.
DATE:7/24/2002 01:32:00 PM
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BODY:
About hypocrisy and double standards
"The high rate of civilian casualties caused by the NATO bombardment of Kosovo and Serbia further undermines any notion that the air war has a "humanitarian" purpose. Fred Kaplan of the Boston Globe has suggested that at least 1,200 civilians have been killed since NATO started its air war, and that the number of civilian casualties per ton of bombs dropped is greater than during the height of the Vietnam War. The reason for the higher civilian casualty rates is simple: more NATO bombing raids are taking place in heavily populated areas, so that even if most of the bombs are close to their intended targets, those that miss the mark and are more likely to hit adjoining apartment buildings, offices, hospitals, old age homes, public markets, and other places where civilians congregate". This was just a quick reminder to some "enlightened" European countries who where afraid to risk their soldiers on the ground and chose the easy way of massive air strikes on just about everything in Serbia and Kosovo, giving shit about civilian casualties.
And another reading material for U.S. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer who said: "This heavy-handed action does not contribute to peace". -
"What causes the documented high level of civilian casualties -- 3,000 - 3,400 civilian deaths -- in the U.S. air war upon Afghanistan? The explanation is the apparent willingness of U.S. military strategists to fire missiles into and drop bombs upon, heavily populated areas of Afghanistan."
And how about a quick look over the Daily Casualty Count of Afghan Civilians Killed in U.S Bombing Attacks
And this is an interesting article from the New Zealand Herald that discusses how many civilians really have died in the US bombing of Afghanistan and why have we heard so little about them?
Oh, and the last one: Bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri's wife and five children were killed when the house was hit during an American bombing raid.
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AUTHOR:G.
DATE:7/23/2002 11:49:00 AM
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BODY:
The death of a mass murderer
Salah Shehada, 40, the commander of the military wing of Hamas, Izz a-Din el-Kassam, in the Gaza Strip, joined his ancestors tonight after a short but misfortunate meeting with an Israeli missile launched from an F-16 warplane.
Shehada was the No. 1 man on the Israel Defense Force's wanted list in the last two years. He was behind hundreds of terror attacks in the last two years against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Shehada's involvement in Hamas stretched back to the beginning of the first intifada, which erupted at the end of 1987, he spent time in Israeli jails and even in a Palestinian jail until Arafat decided to set this "good man" free in the beginning of 2000. According to the Shin Bet (Shabak - Israel's internal security service) Shehada was one of the movement's most extreme members and rejected any talk of limiting suicide attacks.
Two of the more recent bloody terror attacks he masterminded are the attack on a pre-army training course in the settlement of Atzmona in which five students were killed, and the infiltration into the "Africa" outpost near Kibbutz Kerem-Shalom in which four IDF soldiers were killed. He was also involved in the production of the "Kassam" rockets which have been fired at Gaza settlements and into Israel.
After the "info stuff" I have a few comments to make.
Except for Shehada and his close assistant/bodyguard Zaher Nasser another 10 Palestinians were killed in the attack, 8 of them are reported to be children. I'm sorry that children got killed, I'm not sorry that Shehada's wife got killed. I think the killing of Shehada, even that Palestinian civilians where killed as well, was a necessary move. Shehada was responsible for the murder of tens of Israelis including small children and teenagers - and when it comes to who I rather see dead Israeli children or Palestinian children the answer is obvious. So I'm sorry that Shehada chose to stay with his family even though he knew he is a target for the IDF, maybe he even thought that Israel will be not try to kill him while he his surrounded with his family.
It's a difficult mission to fight terrorists, especially when they hide in a high density populated area and get great support and admiration from the local population. So yes even though it wasn't a clean operation by the Israeli Air Force I still think it was a good call to shoot him down.
The Palestinians got into a minor shock after the attack. The usual statements were made: The Hamas announcement said, "We will avenge the blood of the martyrs ... Anyone who dreams of so-called peace is mistaken. There is nothing called 'peace with Israel'". - I'm sure they'll try to execute terror attacks, as they do in the last 10 years!. To those with short memory I'll remind that just a few days ago 2 suicide bombers blew up in Tel Aviv killing 3 and before that an attack on a bus near Immanuel killed 9. After the previous killing of a major terrorist I the Palestinians also promised revenge, and as I wrote then : Like they need excuses! do me a favor!
And what about the corrupted Arafat regime you ask - Well a statement from the Palestinian Authority denounced the Israeli strike and called for international intervention to "stop these massacres". The statement charged that the aim was to "sabotage the international efforts to pressure the Israeli government to withdraw troops ... and to get back to negotiations." - Does the PA call it a massacre when Israelis get blown to shreds? And when Palestinians murder Israelis in restaurants, buses, shopping malls, etc' are they promoting love, peace and getting back to negotiations?
To those who died tonight: Shehada and the ones who chose to be in a close vicinity to that murderer and to the stunned Palestinians: "You play with fire - You get burned" - Comprende?
More about Shehada's death: Ha'aretz, Jerusalem Post
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AUTHOR:G.
DATE:7/22/2002 04:48:00 PM
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November 2003 - Elections time in Israel
I know there is quite a lot of time till November 2003 but it's very easy to notice all kind of "motions" in the Israeli political arena. In the last 2 elections the voters had to choose a prime minister in one ballot and a party for the Knesset (Israeli parliament). The 2 ballots system led to reduction in the number of seats of the "Avoda" (Labor) and the "Likud" who traditionally held around 30-40 seats each out of a total 120 seats in the Knesset. In the current Knesset Avoda has 26 seats and Likud has 19 seats (only 2 more seats than the Sepharadic religious party "Shas" has). The two ballots system caused an impossible situation, its very difficult for the elected PM to for m a coalition because the Knesset got divided into zillion small parties, each with a different agenda.
This time the elections are going to be with one ballot as it used to be for many years. The leader of the biggest party will be the PM and as such he'll have a good start in building a firm coalition.
I voted Avoda last elections and I'm quite certain I won't vote the same this time, that party is ruined, the current leader Israel's defense minister Ben Eliezer is not PM quality. I also dislike the other "wanna be's" in the Avoda: Avrum Burg and Haim Ramon. As for the Likud: Sharon is good for now but I'm not sure I want him to lead Israel for another 4 years. Bibi Netanyahu - A big NO!
All kinds of new political groups are beginning to organize these days, some of them not declared publicly yet. It seems that a major one will be consisted of a group of businessmen and ex-army generals who will leave their comfortable jobs in the privet sector and try to help the whole country. Center Parties in Israel have a bad history of rising fast like a meteor and collapsing even faster. We will have to wait and see if this one (not declared yet) will be different. In The mean while according to polls this party can get up to 25 seats and become one of the biggest parties in Israel.
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AUTHOR:G.
DATE:7/21/2002 12:10:00 PM
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BODY:
Of course they don't want it
It is well known that most of the Palestinians oppose the building of a Security Fence/Wall between Israel and the Palestinian areas. Some even call it by really stupid names such as Apartheid. They say that the two people depend on one another, let me correct them: 2 people indeed but only one (the Palestinians) is depended on the other one (the Israelis). We tried to cooperate with the Palestinians during the Oslo peace process, but they blew it (literally). The Palestinians have proven that it is impossible to live peacefully aside them but they insist to have an "open border". The benefits for them are clear: they can easily launch terror attacks in Israel and at the same time work and earn their living in Israel. The benefits for Israel are none.
Once there is a security fence along all the border between Israel and the Palestinian areas it will be very difficult to cross it, either to find a working place or to murder Israelis. If things will calm down a regulated, supervised entrance of Palestinians would be allowed by Israel.
Those who oppose say that you can't put a border between two peoples, really? It seem to be working just fine with Jordan, Syria and even Lebanon. We are not talking here about two European countries, It's not the same as if the Dutch would decide to build a fence between them and Belgium. For more than a 100 years the Palestinian are murdering Jews in the Land of Israel, we must try to stop it.
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