Somewhere on A1A...

Monday, June 30, 2003


Time for Patience...

... but I don't have much. Near Jenin, the Al Aqsa Martyrs have already busted the cease fire. How many more will be killed while the US stubbornly forces the Road Map on the region? I wish I had Sidney Zion's optimism.

Because if Bush is true to his reputation as a man who means what he says, this road map will not be the road show they think it is. Instead, it will be the last chance they have for peace.

The road map they signed on to obligates them to destroy the infrastructure of Hamas and the other terrorist gangs as a first step. If they don't do that — and Mahmoud Abbas, the prime minister, says he'll never use force to do it — the only thing the Palestinians will have is the hope that Bush will double-cross Israel and force it into appeasement.

If they're wrong — and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is betting his life, if not his country, that they are — Bush will walk away from the road map and allow Israel to do what we did in Afghanistan and Iraq.
I hope the President means what he says, and that he'll fight palestinian terror as fiercely as he fights Al Queda. I'm not optimistic.

The Road Map calls for dismantling terrorist organizations, not negotiating with them. The way the western press has lauded Hamas as heroes for agreeing to a cease fire shows me they have conveniently forgotten that Hamas' destruction is a palestinian obligation before any steps need be taken by Israel. The Israelis are, once again, showing the strength of their desire for peace by giving the Arabs much more than is required of them, I fear it is too much.

The winners, so far, in the Road Map to Peace are the same terrorists that George W Bush has vowed to defeat. Although the situation calls for patience, my patience is thin. My optimism is too.


Friday, June 27, 2003


Fruitcake Alert

Tipping my hat to Scotch Drinker for this. Although, instead of a hat tip, I ought to be sending him an obscene gesture for encouraging me to waste an obscene amount of time in exploring this nut case's online presence. Dr. Michael Emin Salla is apparently the founder of the new study of “Exopolitics,” or

the political implications of what an overwhelming amount of evidence conclusively points to as an Extraterrestrial presence on Earth that is known by clandestine government organizations who keep official knowledge of this presence secret from the general public and elected political officials. The evidence suggests that decision making is restricted to a small group of officials drawn primarily from the military and intelligence branches of various national governments who operate on a 'need to know' basis, and whose appointments are made in a way that 'stretches' or breaks accepted constitutional guidelines and processes.
You might like to attend his summer seminar where you can discover the hidden function of Capital Beltway. Sacred Geometry is another of his favorite endeavors.

But for shear enjoyment you'll need to read his paper on the real reason the President went to war in Iraq. It appears that he is really after the Stargate which will allow inter-galactic travel....

...all along I thought the loony ones were the "It's all for Oil" crowd....


Saudi Labor Relations.. or is it Racism?

From The Arab News:

A young Saudi cashier at a major supermarket chain on Dhabab Street created a scene on Wednesday night when he refused to move the items from an expatriate’s shopping basket onto the counter for scanning.

Instead the cashier asked the expatriate — from the Subcontinent — to do the unloading himself. The expatriate refused on the grounds that it was the duty of the cashier to place the items on the scanner.

When the cashier remained adamant, the shopping supervisor, also a non-Saudi, was called to discipline him. When his words fell on deaf ears of the Saudi cashier, a Bangladeshi employee of the supermarket came forward to do the job...

...Checking out after a 45-minute wait for some minor shopping, the Arab News correspondent suggested to the shopping supervisor, an Asian expatriate, that it would make sense to open all the counters to customers during peak hours to clear the growing queues.

He replied: “What to do? The counters have to be manned by Saudis under the new law. But they did not show up.”

These two instances provide a glimpse of Saudization at work in the supermarkets. The Saudis who have replaced the expatriates at the cash counters think it beneath their dignity to serve expatriate shoppers, especially if they happen to be from the Subcontinent.



Consequences

I've asked and wondered what the US reaction will be when they finally decide the palestinians are not living up to their responsibilities for following the Road Map. I expect that they/we will stubbornly refuse to acknowledge Arab failures, we'll try to force Israel into even more concessions in order to get the peace process back on track, and for as long as is possible, we will keep to the original concept of a time-line, regardless of Arab cooperation. In short we'll cave and show the terrorists that their tactics work.

At least the Isreali's are talking about consequences... we should be too.



Thursday, June 26, 2003


Present-day Romantics

Here's Martin Peretz describing the "fellow travellers" of history's failed revolutions, people in the US and the west who have sympathised and worked for one failed revolution after another, still with a need to move on to the next cause:

But move on they would, armed as always — as author David Caute put it — with their usual arsenal of "bifocal lenses, double standards, a myopic romanticism."

Of course, there is now no world revolution into which these deluded folk can vest their ardors, as yesteryear's fellow travelers did when extolling the nonexistent — but exemplary — democratic virtues of Stalin's Russia or of some other transformatory idyll. Only certified kooks are in the business these days of changing the nature of man.


So the present-day romantics, who at home typically despise the idea of the nation-state and the realities of national interest, are left with often contrived and almost always murderous nationalisms to adore. The nationalism du jour is Palestinian nationalism.



Wednesday, June 25, 2003


Talk and Terror... Both Continue

Shark catalogued some of the Triumph of Hope over experience. At best, today's news is more of the same.

Though the headlines speak of "progress" in Hamas-PA and PA-Israel talks, there's no sign of it on the ground. The search is on for a terrorist with a bomb near Rosh Ha'Ayin, and another Kassam rocket hit Sderot this morning.
The more likely scenario is that Hamas has figured out that what they SAY means more to the Americans than anything they actually DO. America will herald progress while murder and terror continue.


Liberty? University ... Obviously a misnomer

From the Dean of Women: Dress Code For Women

From the Dean of Men: Dress Code For Men also for the men who must have trouble controlling themsleves: Liberty from Pornography

Hat Tip: Venomous Kate



Tuesday, June 24, 2003


A Year Ago Today.... forgotten already

The President, From the Rose Garden:

For too long, the citizens of the Middle East have lived in the midst of death and fear. The hatred of a few holds the hopes of many hostage. The forces of extremism and terror are attempting to kill progress and peace by killing the innocent. And this casts a dark shadow over an entire region. For the sake of all humanity, things must change in the Middle East.
He articulated conditions for change:
I call on the Palestinian people to elect new leaders, leaders not compromised by terror...

I call upon them to build a practicing democracy, based on tolerance and liberty...

And when the Palestinian people have new leaders, new institutions and new security arrangements with their neighbors, the United States of America will support the creation of a Palestinian state whose borders and certain aspects of its sovereignty will be provisional until resolved as part of a final settlement in the Middle East...

A Palestinian state will never be created by terror -- it will be built through reform. And reform must be more than cosmetic change, or veiled attempt to preserve the status quo...

A Palestinian state will require a vibrant economy, where honest enterprise is encouraged by honest government...

A Palestinian state will require a system of reliable justice to punish those who prey on the innocent...

Today, Palestinian authorities are encouraging, not opposing, terrorism. This is unacceptable. And the United States will not support the establishment of a Palestinian state until its leaders engage in a sustained fight against the terrorists and dismantle their infrastructure...

Arab states have offered their help in this process, and their help is needed...

I've said in the past that nations are either with us or against us in the war on terror. To be counted on the side of peace, nations must act...

Every leader actually committed to peace will end incitement to violence in official media, and publicly denounce homicide bombings...

Every nation actually committed to peace will stop the flow of money, equipment and recruits to terrorist groups seeking the destruction of Israel -- including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Hezbollah...

Leaders who want to be included in the peace process must show by their deeds an undivided support for peace...

Arab states will be expected to build closer ties of diplomacy and commerce with Israel, leading to full normalization of relations between Israel and the entire Arab world...

As violence subsides, freedom of movement should be restored, permitting innocent Palestinians to resume work and normal life...

I can understand the deep anger and despair of the Palestinian people. For decades you've been treated as pawns in the Middle East conflict...
In just a year he has trashed ALL of the conditions. Isreal has conceded too much already. It's way past time for the Arabs to do something to prove that peace is possible. Words are NOT enough.





Monday, June 23, 2003


An Apology to the Arabs

By Professor Stephen Berger of Tel Aviv Medical Center: (quoted in its entirety from FrontPage Magazine)

Our Apology
By Stephen Berger
FrontPageMagazine.com | June 23, 2003

Following the latest atrocity in Jerusalem, Secretary of State Powell urged the Palestinians to issue some form of denunciation.

Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas complained that only the Palestinian side is ever required to denounce terror.

Predictably, the Palestinian denunciation later mumbles that they "deplore the murder of civilians on both sides."

Perhaps the Palestinians have a point, and so to set the record straight, I do hereby denounce the following in the name of the Jewish people:

1. All Jewish suicide bombers who have ever acted against Arabs.

2. All Arab buses blown up by Jews.

3. All Arab pizza parlors, malls, discotheques and restaurants destroyed by Jewish terrorists.

4. All airplanes hijacked by Jews since 1903.

5. All Ramadan feasts targeted by Jewish bombs.

6. All Arabs lynched in Israeli cities; all Arab Olympic athletes murdered by Jews; all Arab embassies bombed by Jews.

7. All mosques, cemeteries and religious schools fire bombed or desecrated by Jews in North Africa, France, Belgium, Germany, England or any other country.

8. The destruction of American military, governmental and civilian institutions in Kenya, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen - >> along with the murder of U.S.Marines and diplomatic personnel.

9. All Jewish school books which claim that Arabs poison wells, use Christian blood to bake pita, control world finance, and murdered Jesus; or that Arab elders meet secretly to plot a world takeover.

10. And I am particularly ashamed at the way my fellow Jews attacked the World Trade Center, Pentagon and civilian aircraft on September 11th and danced in the streets to celebrate the act.

Prof. Stephen Berger works at the Tel Aviv Medical Center.
Hat tip to Solomonia


The Arab Crutch

First printed in the WSJ, here without subscription requirements, Ruthe Wisse restates the obvious, but often overlooked essensce of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Unfortunately, the Arab war against Israel is no more a territorial conflict than was al Qaeda's strike against America, and it can no more be resolved by the "road map" than anti-Americanism could be appeased by ceding part of the U.S. to an Islamist enclave. From the moment in 1947 when Jewish leaders accepted and Arab rulers rejected the U.N. partition plan of Palestine, the Arab-Israeli conflict bore no further likeness to more conventional territorial struggles. Arab rulers defied the U.N. charter by denying the legitimacy of a member state. Arab countries refused to acknowledge the existence of a single Jewish land. Arab rulers did not object to Israel because it rendered the Palestinians homeless. Rather, they ensured that the Palestinians should remain homeless so that they could organize their politics around opposition to Israel...

...It goes without saying that President Bush must subordinate other considerations to America's security and interests. And Americans obviously would be better served if there were no conflict in the Middle East. Yet until Arab leaders give up the crutch of anti-Semitism they can make no real progress toward responsible self-government, and it is futile to pretend that obsession with Israel is compatible with Palestinian independence. Rantisi greeted the "road map" by organizing major attacks against Israel, which he calls "our land, not the land of the Jews." America can't hope to win its war against terror while ignoring some of its major perpetrators and propagandists.
A graphic of the "Israel is a thorn in Arabia's side viewpoint," Hat tip to lgf.


60 New Terror Warnings

Still following the Road Map, while still hoping for a miraculous change in Arab objectives:

Israel has received intelligence information warning of over 60 potential attacks against its citizens, Israel Radio reported Monday.

Over [Only] half of these alerts warn of attacks from Hamas. These potential attacks are in various stages of planning, and Israel forces are working continuously to prevent terrorist infiltration into the country.
Hamas:
But the director of the London-based Al Hayat daily, Jihad Khazen, who has himself mediated over the past few weeks between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, presented a bleaker picture of the general mood in Palestine and Israel.

“The peace process won't work, Hamas leaders are categoric,” Khazen said after recent contacts with Hamas political leader Khaled Mishaal, who is now based in Damascus.

“Yesterday my last attempts failed: They [Hamas leaders] said they haven't been defeated... Hamas' policy is that as long as there is occupation there will be resistance: Nothing was offered to them in exchange for stopping military operations and that is why they refused negotiations,” said Khazen.

He pointed to a lack of trust between Hamas and the Palestinian Authority. Mishaal and Palestinian Premier Mahmoud Abbas had never met each other until Khazen introduced them, very recently, Al Hayat editor said.



Friday, June 20, 2003


Shabbat Shalom


More Arab Terror... without consequence

Another Shooting, in which two Americans were injured; and a new one: a bike-bomb... a booby trapped bike bomb.

And Powell is negotiating with the terrorists. What message are we sending? What message are we receiving?

Rather than fighting Islamist terrorists, PA leader Mahmoud (Abu Mazen) Abbas has been conducting intense negotiations aimed at bringing them under the PLO/PA umbrella. On Thursday, Abu Mazen met with representatives of thirteen different Arab terrorist organizations in Gaza, including Islamist factions. The meeting was part of ongoing talks among PA terrorists regarding the possibility of a temporary cease-fire agreement and the incorporation of the Islamist groups into a Unified National Leadership for the PLO. Abu Mazen further said that PLO leader Yasser Arafat has given his approval for the proposed expansion of PLO ranks.
It appears we are no longer engaged in a war on terror.


Refugees... then and now

AS the UN prepares to focus on refugees for a day, it's an appropriate time to look at a group of refugees almost entirely ignored: Jewish refugees from 50+ years ago.

Did [the] “collusion” of Arab nations create a large but little-known refugee population of nearly 900,000 displaced Jews — more than the approximately 650,000 displaced Palestinians at the time?

That’s the conclusion by a coalition group called Justice for Jews from Arab Countries.

With support from major Jewish organizations, JJAC plans to unveil a major report on Monday arguing there was “a pattern of repressive measures” 50 years ago among a dozen Arab governments to forcibly drive out Jews from the lands they had lived in for thousands of years, even before the birth of Islam. read the rest...



Thursday, June 19, 2003


A Jewish Friend e-mails Dallas based writer Rod Dreher:

"If you're a World War II Polish Jewish pianist fighting for his life in a movie, people will give you an Oscar and rush to theaters to watch your story unfold. If you're an Israeli Jew fighting for his life for real, people will call you a murderer."


His bleak humor notwithstanding, none of this is a joke to my correspondent, who writes of Jewish friends and colleagues quietly making plans to emigrate to Canada, Australia and the United States. Jews and their institutions in France are being attacked by anti-Semites throughout the country, with Muslim thugs beating Jews in the streets and holding pro-Palestinian demonstrations at which they chant, "Death to the Jews!" The French establishment, especially the French media, prefers to look away or to perform a collective Gallic shrug.
read the rest....


Tick, Tick, Tick...

Another Arab blows himself up...
Colin Powell condemns the terror and ignores it...
Still Israel holds out its hand for peace by transferring some of its population out of a settlement.

The clocks keep ticking, the bombs keep ticking, how many more will be killed?



Wednesday, June 18, 2003


Please Remember Shiri Negari

A year ago today. Shiri, a 21 year old Israeli, was killed when a terrorist blew himself up on bus 32A. I didn't know her, but somehow she touched soemthing deep inside me. Her family and friends have vowed to keep her memory alive. I hope you'll help. Visit her memorial page, get to know her just a little and I'm sure you'll be touched too.

A year ago today Laurence at Amish Tech Support was dead too. He wrote about the same attack that killed Shiri. It's definitely worth reading again.



Road Map Scorecard

According to statistics compiled by the IDF, there were 142 Palestinian terror attacks in the 10 days prior to the Aqaba summit. But in the 10 days immediately following it, there were 154 an increase of almost 10%.
These included shootings, stabbings, bombings, rocket attacks against Jewish communities, and the detonation of explosive devices against civilian vehicles.
Moreover, in the 10-day period before Aqaba no Israelis were killed by Palestinian terror, whereas in the corresponding period after Aqaba, 28 Israelis lost their lives.
Are the Arabs living up to their commitments and obligations? Are they sincere? Are there any consequences for their failures?
NO, they are not meeting their obligations. No they are not sincere. No. There are no consequences for failing to meet their obligations.

Why then, do we continue to expect a change in their behavior? It’s insanity, absolute insanity to expect any progress as long as we continue to act like it doesn’t matter. Actions are the key, our words are almost worthless. Killing, terrorism, and the incitement to destroy Israel and “reclaim” land will continue unabated as long as we let it. How much longer are we going to allow it?



How Many More must die?

It will never be too late to work for peace. But, while the US tries to force it's solution du jour upon the situation, too many lives are being lost and ruined. The Road Map to Peace may be a fine map, but it appears to me that the Arabs have a different destination in mind adn a different idea of where and what Peace is than the President has. How many more lives must be ruined and lost while the Arabs wait for us to accept their notion of the Road Map's destination?

Hamas is probably right in thinking it speaks for the Arabs, and is almost certainly correct in it's assessment that the US is miscalculating the degree of Arab support.

Arab countries will not act against Islamic resistance movement Hamas as requested by the United States, the group’s leader Abdel-Aziz al-Rantissi said on Sunday, June 15.

“I am confident that Arab countries would not accept to play such a role demanded by the U.S. and Israel, as they would rather hold to minimum support for the Palestinians’ steadfastness,” Rantissi said in an exclusive interview with IslamOnline.net…

…“Hamas will continue its Jihad, and its military wing still reiterates calls for foreigners to leave all parts of the Zionist entity,” Rantissi added.
The issue that the west in general and George W. Bush in particular needs to understand and address, is that Hamas really does speak for the majority of the Arab world in its stated desire for foreigners to leave all parts of the Zionist Entity.

The idea that non-Arabs must leave the area must be defeated. As long as the west, especially America, continues to play a weak diplomatic game and continues to give hope to those Arabs who want to destroy Israel, the terrorism will continue. Getting the Arabs to realize that we are resolute in our support for a safe, secure state of Israel is our biggest challenge and the biggest obstacle to any real progress.

Forcing, or even by simply asking, the Israelis to make more concessions is seen by the Arabs as a sign of weakness and an indication of wavering resolve. Simply through Israel’s willingness to negotiate and its stated willingness to live with a second palestinian state, the Arabs perceive weakness. We should not let that desire for peace continue to be misunderstood.

As long as we tacitly support the terrorists, we should expect no progress. By not condemning any PA association with terrorists like Hamas, we give our tacit approval. This should be absolutely unacceptable:
As part of a cease-fire package, Abbas offered the militant Hamas a political role in his government, a participant in the Tuesday talks said.
Meanwhile, Arabs continue to kill Jews and Israel continues to defend itself with as little force as possible. How many more must die before we see any real change in the way the situation is handled?

To make any progress towards our view of peace, perceptions must change on the Arab side. Until they perceive that their current path is not working, then Arab intransigence will continue, Arab subjugation of the refugee people they created will continue, and innocents on both sides will continue to die. It’s insanity to expect any change as long as we continue to reward the Arabs by continuing to pressure Israel. As long as our actions send a different message than our words, our words will be ignored. As our words continue to be ignored the frustration will increase. How many more lives must be lost until our frustration drives us into changing our actions?



Tuesday, June 17, 2003


Cherry Picking in the Golan Heights

When you read Allison's account of her trip to the Golan, don't rush. Take the time to click through the links, it's worth it.



Monday, June 16, 2003


A hint of what's to come?

Every once in a while we get a glimpse of what's likely to come with any new palestinian state. Today's Jerusalem Post does just that with an article by Khaled Abu Toameh.

Mahmoud Zahar, a senior Hamas official, said the PA "bears the blame for the growing phenomenon of collaborators. Hamas is unable to arrest these collaborators because the families of some of them would turn against us. Some of these collaborators are also supported by elements in the Palestinian Authority."

Criticizing the PA security forces for failing to crack down on the alleged collaborators, Zahar said death sentences handed down against several suspects have yet to be carried out. He said Hamas succeeded in capturing a number of Palestinians suspected of working for the Shin Bet in Rafah, but the PA failed to take any action against them after they were handed over to the Preventive Security Service in the Gaza Strip.
Some seem to think that by creating a new palestinian state these factions will magically come together and exercise their monopoly on the legitimate use of violence. But I am more in line with the Armed Liberal in thinking that it's putting the cart before the horse to create a second palestinian state before the Arabs have some sort of unified voice/force to speak for the new nation.


Saturday, June 14, 2003


War on Terror?

The President, looking more and more like George W deVillepain, at least is discussing Hamas as a separate organization. Why he can't bring himself to say that they are terrorists and to treat them, and those who harbor them, the way he told us he would, is a mystery.
Caroline Glick makes the same observation:

But in light of the 25 Israelis murdered since last week's summit at Aqaba, and given the fact that both the Palestinians and the US have made clear that fighting terrorism runs contrary to a peace process, Sharon is faced with an unenviable decision. He can either combat terrorism to safeguard our lives and the future of our country or he can enjoy positive relations with the White House. As it is presently formulated, the Bush administration's Middle East policy leaves no room for maneuver.
I just don't understand why the President has backed away so far from his initial stance in the War on Terror. Have the Arabists hijacked the Middle East Policy?


Thursday, June 12, 2003


Coffee with the enemy

Sarah Shapiro tells the story of a brief encounter with three Arab women in a Jerusalem cafe. These three Arab women, free to enter a cafe in Israel without fear of death, free to enjoy a cup of coffee in peace, yet the don't want to hear the other side of the story.

The three Arab women are glad to point out the hassle at the checkpoints, and to repeat the lies from their TV and newspapers. They still talk about the Jenin massacre, and how Israeli’s are killing their children, but the irony is completely missed. Sarah tells them:

If the terrorism would stop, Israelis would build a normal life together with you. It’s part of the Jewish character to want to make peace. We accept your presence here, and if you would accept ours” — here I take a cue from the taxi driver — “there’d be room enough for everyone in this beautiful little country. Look, you know very well what can happen if a Jew goes to one of your neighborhoods.” She peers at me with an expression I can’t quite identify — a mix of amused interest and reluctant agreement. “But you come here for lunch and know that nobody’s going to hurt you. Right?”

A little smile’s playing on her lips. “Yes. This is true.”
They don’t really want to see the other side of the story, and likely have never even considered it.

Israeli’s are hampered by their conscience, by their desire for justice and fairness. The Jews are almost obsessed with understanding and improving their lives while helping others. The Jewish need of self-criticism, both as individuals and as a nation, means constant questioning and evaluation of issues from every side in their efforts at making the world a little bit better. Debate is not only welcomed, it’s expected, it’s a part of the Jewish identity.

Every opinion has value in the Jewish tradition. (even though mine is right and yours is wrong.) When mistakes are made they are admitted, punished when necessary, and efforts are made to keep the mistake from happening again. There is a strong and sincere desire to make the world a better place. Questions, discussion, argument, debate, and self-criticism are at the essence of the Jewish character. The Arab side has no such mechanisms, no need to seek truth and Justice.

The Arab side seems content to believe what the TV and newspaper tells them. There is no free press to present different opinions and as Sarah’s conversation illustrates, there is not even any acknowledgement of the possibility of another view. These women, who were free to enjoy a cup of coffee in Israel, probably can’t notice the reality of the situation because they have never considered the possibility that what they know might be wrong.

With no tradition of open debate no tradition of questioning authority, and a strong tradition of looking to authority figures to take care of them, the Arabs seem remarkably united. That illusion is extremely harmful to well-intentioned people who impute the Arabs with Western values. Conversely the diversity of the Israeli debate is taken as a sign of weakness and uncertainty.

The chimera of Arab unity will always have the advantage over the Israeli need for analysis and debate and the Jewish desire for peace and justice. A real peace is extremely unlikely unless it is imposed upon the Arabs, or unless the Arabs develop the ability for open debate and self-criticism. As long as the Arabs remain incapable of admitting their own mistakes, and as long as they are incapable of facing their responsibilities, nothing will change.

Putting pressure on Israel to make concessions is exactly the wrong thing to be doing. It only makes matters worse. We should not reward Arab obstinacy. It only encourages them to be even more obstinate.


Wednesday, June 11, 2003


Are these the words of men who want peace?

A leader of Hamas, Mahmoud Zahar, called the bombing "a message to all the Zionist criminals that they are not safe and that the Palestinian fighters are capable of reaching them everywhere," The Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile the President "...who was in Chicago today, condemned the bus bombing "in the strongest possible terms," a spokesman, Scott McClellan, told reporters within minutes of the attack." Does anyone think Hamas takes his statement seriously?


When are terrorists not a terrorists??

When they're killing Jews. Update: Jeffrey Dunetz agrees.

At least that's what Mr. Bush would have us believe. In excusing Hamas's intransigence while condemning Israel's aggression, he sounded more like George W. De Villepin. Appease the Arabs is the new battle cry.

More on the Road Map from David Warren and why the Road Map will take us nowhere:

Mr. Sharon and Israel will not stop retaliating for terrorist hits. Nor, for that matter, will they be stopped from dismantling West Bank settlements, if they can see the prospect of something in return. In yesterday's case, there was nothing in return: for Mr. Abbas had already declared he wouldn't himself act against Hamas.
The Israelis will make hard decisions, but not suicidal ones, and granting an open season on Jews to Palestinian terrorists would be suicidal.
Although the Arabs are willing to commit suicide as long as they take Jews with them, the Israeli’s are NOT.

The Israelis’ made a PR mistake through the timing of the attack on Rantisi, but the attack was still justified
The Israelis retaliated for the latest terrorist hits on Israeli soldiers and civilians, by attempting to assassinate Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a senior leader of the terrorist organization Hamas. They did this several days after the new Palestinian premier, Mahmoud Abbas, publicly declared that he would "under no circumstances" act against Hamas, and after Hamas itself had publicly pledged to continue terror strikes on Israel. From his hospital bed, Rantisi repeated his call for the extermination of all "criminal Zionists" -- an expression which in the Hamas lexicon means all those Jews not descended exclusively from Arab forebears (who would thus be entitled to "dhimmi" or protected minority status in return for paying special taxes under an Islamic theocracy).
George W Bush has taken a turn that is putting him on the wrong side of the war on terror. Appeasing the terrorists is not in our interest.


Tuesday, June 10, 2003


Peace Process

Thanks to Laura for pointing me to this one, by Caroline Glick.

In listening to the debate about the settlements and the necessity of removing them, I ask why? Why is it discussed as removal of the settlements and settlers but it's transfer of Arabs? Why are Arabs living in Israel as full citizens, yet it is assumed that the second palestinian state will be Judenrein? Why do the Arabs label Israel as an Apartheid state, and do it with a straight face? Why do otherwise intelligent people repeat the lie throughout Europe and the US? Why are the Arabs so unwilling to live peacefully with Jews?

Caroline Glick’s column poses some of the same questions.

If the Palestinians are committed to peaceful coexistence with Israel, why should they demand that their nascent state be Judenrein? Why should it matter to the Palestinians if overlooking their villages is a man named Shibi Drori who patiently tends to his vineyard or a man named Rabbi Melet who teaches religious Jews to farm and raises goats?
My conclusion on the Arab’s stance on Israel is that they simply do not want peace, they want a world where Israel doesn’t’ exist. Glick seems to have used the same logic.
Also on Tuesday, US President George W. Bush attended a summit of regional leaders to which Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was not invited. Israel was banned from this US-sponsored forum in Sharm e-Sheikh because the other guests, particularly the popular potentate of Saudi Arabia, refused to sit in the same room as Sharon.
After tolerating this Arab discrimination of their Jewish neighbor, US officials saw their efforts to get their Arab friends to agree to normalize relations with Israel meet with abject failure. Then, too, Bush and his aides stood by as their host, Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, refused their request to reinstate his ambassador to Israel.
And yet, apparently unmoved by Arab intransigence, at the end of the meeting Bush announced his determination to see Israelis expelled from their homes to remove obstacles to peace. At Aqaba on Wednesday, Bush reiterated, "the issue of settlements must be addressed for peace to be achieved."
There is a huge disconnect between American policy in regards to Israel and reality. It is by no means a new phenomenon coming out of the Bush Administration, but it is a great disappointment.

Because of his tough stance and his clarity in fighting terrorism elsewhere in the world, I had great hope that this Administration could actually do something different with its efforts to promote Middle East peace while defending Israel’s security. It’s a major disappointment to see the same old crap oozing out of Washington that offers no real hope for real peace. Mr. Bush I expected more.



NYTimes Spinning

Hamas walks out of peace talks, plans and carries out a joint operation with Islamic Jihad and the Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, and tells the world:

Abdel Aziz Rantisi, a Hamas leader, said the attack was intended to send a message to the Palestinian leadership that Palestinians will continue to fight Israel and will not "surrender to the pressure exerted by Israel and the United States of America."
"We are unified in the trenches of resistance," he said.
And how does the New York Times see it when Abdel Aziz Rantisi is targeted?
The botched attack against Abdel Aziz Rantisi, which killed his bodyguard and a bystander, came just as Hamas was considering a truce with Israel....
That's the tease on the Times Front Page. If you read the article you'll get a more balanced discussion but their bias is unmistakable.



Sunday, June 08, 2003


How long will this continue?

In Washington, Secretary of State Colin Powell said the bloodshed must not be allowed to shred the road map. ``We have to all work together to get this terrorism under control but at the same time not let terrorism stop us moving forward,'' he told Fox News Sunday..."

What Powell is really saying is, “We must work together to give the terrorists a new state of their own.” He’s wrong.

Until the Arabs can demonstrate that they are willing to live in peace with Israel, then we in the US should not ask Israel to make even the slightest concession. To do so is to say that terrorism works.

Who, in the Arabs world should we look to for proof that they really want peace? Most, if not the vast majority of Arabs simply want Israel to disappear. Where is the leadership among the Arabs to say that peace is an honorable and desirable goal? There is none, there is no leader willing to admit that Arabs share in the responsibility of the mess and that they are willing to make the changes to accept Israel.

By any measure, the actions of the Arabs show us they are not interested in peace unless it’s the peace they gain by millions of Jews disappearing, and by the Zionist entity along with them. And it’s not only the terrorists that are to blame.

The editors, writers, cartoonists, and teachers who continually preach and teach hatred, who continue to lie to their population, are just as guilty as the deluded ignorant youth who decide to blow themselves up just for the chance of killing a Jew or two. The decay in Arab society, especially in the camps in the disputed territories, is broad and deep. Civil war may be necessary for any change.

But there will not be civil war. There will not be any sort of democratic revolution, mainly because there is little difference in opinion in the average Arab’s views on Israel. There is no reason to rebel. The terrorists are lionized, Jews are demonized, and everyone denies Israel’s legitimacy. Until this changes, there is no chance of peace. Still we hope.

Despite all evidence, we continue to hope that a miraculous change will take place in the Arab world. “If only we can get Israel to give a little more,” we seem to be saying, “then we’ll have real peace.” We gobble up every morsel of hope the Arabs throw at us. We take their words as solemn oaths. How much longer will we be the fools?

Through their actions, the Arabs tell us they have no interest in peace, yet we ignore them. We continue with the fantasy that they really think like us, that they have the same values as we do, and we hold them to a much lower standard. As long as this remains true, there is no chance for peace.

A real chance for peace with the Arabs will only be possible with some real leadership on the Arab side. It will demand courageous leadership that is willing to confront the faults in Arab society, and admit responsibility for their own shortcomings. That leadership is non-existent. Colin Powell cannot provide that leadership.

No one in the US, in Israel or anyplace else can give the Arabs the leadership they need. We can talk about working together to fight terrorism, but as long as we continue to reward the terrorists with any connection to the PLO, there will be no chance of peace.



Friday, June 06, 2003


Chag Sameach

...and Shabbat Shalom



Reliving Tragedy

I missed this when it was first published and don't remember seeing much in any blogs about it. As a personal story that illustrates the brutality of the terrorists, it's both shocking and moving. It's about an event most people never heard of, please read her story.

Abu Abbas, the former head of a Palestinian terrorist group who was captured in Iraq on April 15, is infamous for masterminding the 1985 hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro. But there are probably few who remember why Abbas's terrorists held the ship and its 400-plus passengers hostage for two days. It was to gain the release of a Lebanese terrorist named Samir Kuntar, who is locked up in an Israeli prison for life. Kuntar's name is all but unknown to the world. But I know it well. Because almost a quarter of a century ago, Kuntar murdered my family.

It was a murder of unimaginable cruelty, crueler even than the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, the American tourist who was shot on the Achille Lauro and dumped overboard in his wheelchair. Kuntar's mission against my family, which never made world headlines, was also masterminded by Abu Abbas. And my wish now is that this terrorist leader should be prosecuted in the United States, so that the world may know of all his terrorist acts, not the least of which is what he did to my family on April 22, 1979.
Especially with the recent release of palestinian terrorists to coddle the PLO leadersip, stories like these ought to be re-told. We should all realize the brutality and the fanaticism of these terrorists. Ask the question, "What are they going to do to build Israel's confidence that their attitudes have changed? Why must Israel be asked to concede anything before they are sure that Peace is really the Arabs' goal?



Wednesday, June 04, 2003


more on Losing Faith in the President

While discussing the trend of Jews in increasing numbers moving to support the Republican Party Michael Freund asks:

After all, how can Bush possibly justify coercing Israel to appease Arab terror at the same time that America is using force against it? And why should the Palestinian regime be rewarded with statehood when the Taliban and Saddam Hussein were punished with removal from power?
I'd like to hear the Administration's answers.


Losing Faith in the President

The President was at his best on September 20, 2001 when he said:

The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them. Our war on terror begins with al Qaeda, but it does not end there. It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated...

...They want to overthrow existing governments in many Muslim countries, such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. They want to drive Israel out of the Middle East...

...Our response involves far more than instant retaliation and isolated strikes. Americans should not expect one battle, but a lengthy campaign, unlike any other we have ever seen. It may include dramatic strikes, visible on TV, and covert operations, secret even in success. We will starve terrorists of funding, turn them one against another, drive them from place to place, until there is no refuge or no rest. And we will pursue nations that provide aid or safe haven to terrorism. Every nation, in every region, now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists. From this day forward, any nation that continues to harbor or support terrorism will be regarded by the United States as a hostile regime.
Why is he retreating on these words? What part of palestinian terror doesn't fit into his declared goals for the war on terror? Why do we demand so much of our Israeli friends and expect so little from the Arabs?

The clarity of Bush's address to the Joint Session of Congress is gone.

There is no will to hunt or fight the PLO terrorists. By meeting their number 2 man, we give tacit approval to Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Hamas, Fatah, PFLP, al-Aqsa Martyr’s Brigade, and every other terrorist group. As long as they have influence with Arafat and Mahmood Abbas palestinian connected terrorist organizations have carte blanche. Somehow their terrorism is OK. I don’t understand how or why we just ignore them.

Do we really support giving National Sovereignty to those thugs? Do they really think that relief for the innocent Arab victims of the 55 year war with Israel will come by granting sovereignty? Do they really think democratic reforms will happen so quickly?

Call me a cynic, but democracy won’t have a chance for success in a sovereign state of Palestine. As long as the thugs and terrorists in charge there will be no change in the lives of the common people. Eventually they will have to be utterly defeated and reforms will have to begin from scratch. Iraq’s history should be studied and compared.

The President has lost his clarity of purpose. He is reaching too far to appease the Arabs. He is, like every President in recent history, letting the Arabs continue their delusional thinking. Yes, delusional thinking. How can it be described as anything but delusional? Take Sadat’s assassination, gunned down at a military parade to commemorate the Egyptian victory in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. By continuing to coddle the Arabs on the issue of their war with Israel we encourage these delusions.

The President is taking a big risk in involving himself so personally at so early a stage in this round of talks. Simply by his presence, he gives legitimacy and credibility to the corrupt leadership of a loosely knit consortium of terrorists whose immediate aim is the destruction of Israel. By pressuring Israel into more concessions he further confuses the issue. He is showing the Arabs that terrorism works, while declaring a continued War on Terror. His message has been muddled.

This loss of clarity has confused the situation and is causing confusion and frustration among both friendly and unfriendly governments, and among his political supporters. It worries and saddens me. I'm losing faith in this Administration's ability to lead.


Monday, June 02, 2003


Random Thoughts from a News Free Weekend

* 3v3 Soccer is a great game to watch. The games are action packed, fast, and with 12 minute halves and 2 minute half time breaks, they're over in a hurry...

* Fortyish Soccer Moms were drooling over some of the adult team players, young, fit, nice looking..... Soccer Mom's overheard Quote of the Day: "I'd like to test theri cardiovascular fitness" too bad their weren't any womens' teams entered...

* How can smoking be enjoyable, especially when its' 95 degrees and the humidity is 99% ?

* Ladies, unless you wear about a size 2 shoe, please get rid of the French Tip pedicures, they make your toenails look like claws. Shades of red and pink are much, much more attractive. Leave the French Tips for your fingers.

* Guys, when the sun is bright enough to blind you, and you're getting a headache from squinting, please take your sunglasses off the visor of your ball cap and actually put them on your face... they might work better.

* Pregnant women should not wear bikini tops at a crowded athletic park full of kids... Even if you are a tri-athlete.

* And the 45 year old dad with his wife-beater T-shirt yelling "You Go Girl" to the 11 year olds, and chanting "Go Phoenix, Go Phoenix, Go Phoenix..." while rowing down the sideline was probably not as big an idiot as he looked.

* Kids love action and competition... parents seem much more concerned about winning and losing... while parenst talked strategy, the kids were off getting the free balls, candy and stickers from Snickers, Capri Sun, Kraft, and dozens of other local sponsors... Its' nice to have sponsorship, but kids' sports are over-organized. Late blooming athletes are cut out of the picture before they'll ever have a chance to get interested. It's a shame. Still, the volunteers do terrific work in giving a whole lot of kids a great experience. The kids loved it.

* It just makes me sad that bicycle gangs of 12 year olds heading to the local parks or school yards for day long pick up games are a thing of the past. Adult supervision is required at the parks and the school yards are fenced and locked. The only exposure most kids have to sports is through organized leagues with way too much parental involvement. Whoever calls that "quality time" is nuts. One Dad as the "all-time pitcher" or all-time quarterback" is plenty of parental involvement... where can the kids play without well-intentioned but obnoxious adults sitting in the stands screaming and making fools of themselves?



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