AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/06/2002 05:24:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Shana Tova!
Tonight is the beginning of a new year 5763 – úùñ"â according to the Jewish calendar. In the last few days everyone is greeting each other here with “Shana Tova” – May you have a good year or plainly saying: “Hag Sameha” – Happy holiday – and that’s kind of fun, I like it and I say Shana Tova to everyone I speak to. So here is me wishing you my readers and friends Shana Tova. I’ll also want to hope that this will be a good year for Israel and the Palestinians. Neither side will have a good year alone, It could only be a happy year for both people or it won’t be a good year for the both. So hopefully the Palestinians will get it that we want to talk not to fight.
Once there was a tradition to send Shanot Tovot – special greeting cards for the new year, today you usually get e-cards instead (Imshin writes about a bit, worth checking out). Any way I found an Israeli site with all kinds of different old Shanot Tovot and the above is taken from there. Through this index (in Hebrew) you can find a couple of nice ones.
Have a happy New Year.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/06/2002 01:19:00 PM
-----
BODY:
A common European view
Kalle Westman a Finn living in Sweden wrote the next piece in Tal G. comments section about the new Danish/EU Middle East plan:
“The central issue could the european viewpoint, the one where Israel isn't seen as the victim per se, which I guess bugs you off. But you should really see it from another angle, europeans loathe military solutions. i stated it before, and I'll do it again. After Hitler and WWII there is little understandment for the belief that war solvesfundamental issues. That in context also generates scepticism and hostility to terrorist and military states alike. That's what you need to understand, the suggested solutions looks at the win-win angles for both sides, and also weighs both sides demands equally. While I guess you rather want the total blaim put on the palestinian side only, and throwing in the other arab countries in it for good measure. Or?"
Fair enough – What is the Israeli point of view? Kalle may be surprised but through the years it was the Arab countries who chose the violence/war to defeat Israel. And referring to the latest outbreak of violence with the Palestinians: After 7 years of negotiating it was the Palestinians who decided it’s time to switch back to war tactics, not the Israelis.
Israelis don’t like wars more than the Europeans do, but when someone messes with us we don’t turn the other cheek to get smacked again, we hit back, hard. So the Palestinians set out the fire, got hit terribly by Israel but to Europeans Israel is the warmonger. All Israel wants is the Palestinian terror to stop, than the Israeli military pressure will be eased and the two sides can start negotiating one again like civilized Europeans.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/06/2002 01:02:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Policy update
As my blog gains popularity more and more frustrated Anti Israelis are making their way to read it, some leave a comment or two, some do it in a civilized manner, others just say Israel = bad, baby killers, Nazis, etc. with those I really have no interest in confronting with. So from now on the delete and ban options will be used more often.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/05/2002 06:32:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Depressing
I was cut off from news all day and only an hour ago I listened to today’s news – It was depressing. Two soldiers killed in Gaza Strip – usual; Barghouti trial is getting on my nerves, and it makes me mad to hear this murderer saying he in is a Bolitical leader that wants Beace (Arabs pronounce P as B); A 600 kg car bomb was intercepted but it’s just a matter of time when they’ll succeed to blow one in a crowded place; A woman IDF soldier is suspected in handing out military information to the Palestinians – probably for money/ drugs; Two Israeli Arabs are indicted for helping suicide bomber – who knows how many of this scumbags are still free helping more suicide bombers. What can I do about it? Nothing, so I switched to different radio station and listened to some music.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/04/2002 08:20:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Why we are so angry
Two days ago cynical joe left a question in my comment section that I didn’t have the time to answer it yet: “Of course Israel has the right to defend itself, but don't Palestinians have the right to resist the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza? If palestinians changed from suicide bombs in Israel to only attacking military targets in the territories would it still be considered terrorism by Israelis?"
So what I have to say on this rather important question. I can only guess what will others Israelis would think, and probably there would be many different views. But, I’m quite certain that most Israelis will agree with me in this issue. Here goes:
I will consider it to be terrorism for one simple reason: The Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat vowed to abandon the way of terror. In return Israeli governments agreed to negotiate with him on a future Palestinian state – That was the deal. For 8 years Arafat and his people played the game and had substantial gains. When Arafat learned that the maximum he can get out of Israel (and could have gotten a lot) is not enough for him he decided to literally blow off “the game”. That’s it he decided we got as much as we can in talking and lying from the Israeli suckers, now it’s time to get more by the old method of terror (which actually wasn’t abandoned at all by the Palestinians at any stage).
If there was no Oslo accord and the Palestinians never have gotten a chance to get their independence then one could say that their resistance is legitimate. You can’t start talking peace and then break the rules just because you don’t like them anymore. The Palestinians are so stupid, If they’ll announce they abandon terror and really stop all, and I mean all terror activity, Get a new not terror infected leadership they’ll have a state very quickly.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/04/2002 07:38:00 PM
-----
BODY:
New Israeli blog
New Israeli blog in the block: Ribbity Frog, as some of you probably already noticed. The blog is only a few days old but one negligible blog already linked to him and then unlinked because the blog was “far too pre-occupied with Middle East politics with a vague leaning towards the pro-Israel camp.”
If that blogger wasn’t in the Mid-East conflict why did she link to that Israeli blog in the first place?
Anyway Ribbity Frog has a good answer for her: “Oh very droll, Winnie-brain. I am sorry if I'm pre-occupied with Middle East politics, but you see every time I send my tadpoles off to school (in a taxi only, because I'm too frightened to send them by bus) I wonder if they'll be murdered, and every time I go into the city centre I wonder if I'll return in one piece. Just today I went to a local hospital who is has just woken up after 28 days and is suffering from severe burns, punctured lungs, and stomach injuries after being blown up in a cafeteria. So pardon me if I have a little more to worry about than were my teddy is. (Apparently, Isabella's teddy is now in Kalamazoo, where, by amazing coincidence, Mrs. Frog, aka the Ribbitzen, comes from. This frog has also been there.) Oh, and just for the record, my leaning is not vaguely towards the pro-Israel camp.”
For that the frog jumped straight in to my links puddle on the left.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/04/2002 06:16:00 PM
-----
BODY:
A simple decoy
Finally after many many legal procedures Israel “relocated” the two Palestinians family members of a blown to bits suicide bomber. I’m glad all that the case went through the Israeli high court, as Israel is a law keeping state. A little bit of diversionary tactics were used to dump the two in a field near Gaza City.
From Ha’aretz: “Dozens of reporters waited for Kifah and Intisar Ajouri on both sides of the Erez crossing, but the IDF used diversionary tactics, declaring the crossing a closed military zone and surrounding the area with canvas covers before sneaking the two into Gaza through a different crossing near Netzarim Junction.
When the two did not pass through the Erez Crossing as expected, journalists waiting on the Palestinian side went to look for them at around 2:30 P.M., and found them wandering in a field west of Netzarim.” – That sure is funny. A little decoy for the PA and the journalist and the IDF prevented a circus show that would have harmed Israel.
About “relocating” (not deporting because it’s from one Palestinian territory to another, not to another state) – It’s not something that is going to end suicide bombings but it’s another small step in that direction. It’s another measure in grinding down Palestinian terrorism that will hopefully lead them to see that the violence they produce is damaging them.
Positive signs for that appear from time to time, the most recent one is the call of Palestinian Interior Minister Abdel Razzak al-Yahya to stop the armed actions against Israel: “All resistance acts that are characterized by violence, such as using arms or even stones...are harmful. I call for civil resistance within the framework of the political struggle.”. Yes, he said it to Reuters not in Arabic infront of his own people, and yes, he is not the leader of Palestinians, and that’s correct that the Palestinians terror organizations already denounced his call – Yet I see this as a positive progress towards a complete ceasefire.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/04/2002 02:08:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Plagiarizing my posts
I’ve been kinda busy in the last few days, which resulted in poor amount of posting. In the meanwhile it seems that someone by the name Andrew Smith from Dallas who is a prior life attorney (what the hell is that?) plagiarized my Marshall plan II post and posted it in Yahoo’s Israeli-Palestinian Conflict message board as if he wrote it him self. I tell you, some people got the nerve. A different member of that message board revealed that this Smith guy just copied the post from my blog and so I found out about it. I left a messege there on what I think about this guy.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/02/2002 03:58:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Syria - Al Qaeda - I'm not surprised
Ha’aretz commentator Ze’ev Schiff revealed today that Syria allowed hundreds of escaping Al Qaeda terrorists to settle in Lebanon. Schiff is the top military commentator in Israel in he is in world class. His sources are the highest that can be.
“Damascus has allowed some 150-200 Qaida operatives to settle in the Palestinian refugee camp Ein Hilwe near Sidon in Lebanon. The group, including senior commanders, arrived from Afghanistan through Damascus, Iran and directly to Lebanon. These Qaida operatives are responsible, among other things, for the latest outbreak of fighting inside the refugee camp, as part of their effort to take over the camp.”
“Mohammed Atta, the leader of the Qaida group that conducted the Sept. 11 airplane suicide attacks on the Twin Towers in New York, flying the first plane into the towers, visited Syria twice or three times. The Syrians did not give that information to the Americans on their own volition.”
It’s not surprising that the Syrians are hosting Al Qaeda members, They already host so many terrorist organizations in their capital Damascus. It’s nice to hear that there evidence for that (it was speculated for a long time – Debka) and it’s even better that it comes out to the general public, hopefully to lead to pressure on the US government to do something about it. In a quick view over American News sites I couldn’t find this story published anywhere. I hope this story will make headlines, it’s too important to miss.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/01/2002 03:52:00 PM
-----
BODY:
I’m curious
I’ve got my first ever poll up. The comments section in my blog is usually the playground for those who disagree with me. They just love to make some noise and that’s okay as long as their points are made in a civilized manner. I know that a lot of people agree with me so they don’t have the urge to comment. Now you can show me you love or hate anonymously, so please do he poll is on the left side.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/01/2002 03:13:00 PM
-----
BODY:
Palestinian casualties
In several different incidents during the last days Palestinian civilians, some of them were children, were killed from IDF fire. It’s something that Israel should try to minimize, as we are not killers. We seek to catch or kill those who murder us. The IDF is not targeting civilians but accidents do happen, war is a dirty business and the Palestinians should have thought about it when they launched their terror campaign. There are people that say that in relatively calm periods, as we are in now, Israel should halt its target killings and other “provoking” military actions. I don’t agree with them. Israel should keep the pressure until we’ll see more than randomly quiet, meaning there will be someone new and serious in the Palestinian side that we can talk with that will actually do something to stop terrorists. The IDF is slowly grinding down Palestinian resistance. That’s the only way they will consider to stop their terror campaign against us. Sadly I do think that Arab/Palestinians aspirations to drive us out to the sea are not likely to disappear in the next few decades.
--------
AUTHOR:G.
DATE:9/01/2002 11:33:00 AM
-----
BODY:
IsraPundit
A group of energetic bloggers has joined together to create a pro-Israel advocacy blog. There are quite a few good bloggers writing there it’s probably going to be a good blog. Check it out.
--------