The Role of the UNRWA in Gaza

The Role of the UNRWA in Gaza

UNRWA: Its Role in Gaza
Posted: 11 Aug 2009 03:55 PM PDT

UNRWA:
Its Role in Gaza
by
Arlene Kushner

Iz A-Din Adel Al-Fara. Was a student in an UNRWA school in Gaza,and participated in a Hamas-affiliated organization.

“…laying off the agency employees because of their political affiliation means laying off all the employees of the aid agency [UNRWA], because…they are all members of the ‘resistance,’ in its various forms [i.e., terrorist organizations].”
— Mustafa Sawaf, editor-in-chief of the Hamas daily Felesteen,
on April 16, 2009, in a letter to John Ging, UNRWA Director of Operations

© Arlene Kushner

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is perceived as a purely humanitarian agency; consideration is being given by the international community to utilizing it as a major conduit for distributing funds and material going into the Gaza Strip for reconstruction.
In light of this, it would be instructive to examine UNRWA’s recent role there in the current political and security situation.

A genuine understanding of UNRWA’s actions and statements in the past months is not possible unless they are set into a broader context about what has been recently transpiring in Gaza:
In December 2008, after seven years of Hamas and other terrorist groups launching rockets and mortar shells from Gaza at civilians in the south of Israel, Hamas announced that a six-month temporary ceasefire—during which 538 rockets had been fired[1] at Israel—would not be renewed. In the days that followed, rocket firings averaged 40 per day, with over one million Israeli citizens within range.

On December 27, 2009, Israel began a major military operation — Operation “Cast Lead”—against Hamas in Gaza. As Hamas operated within densely populated civilian areas, Israel utilized pinpoint strikes and unprecedented efforts to warn the civilian the population; nonetheless Israeli operations were unable to avoid collateral damage. As international critics were quick to blame Israel, often without an accurate assessment of the situation, Israel opened a second, information and public relations, front.

Operation “Cast Lead” ended on January 18, 2009, with a ceasefire unilaterally declared by Israel, followed by a similar ceasefire announcement from Hamas. In the course of the Operation, Hamas was disabled but not defeated; it is still in control in Gaza, and still smuggling in weaponry. From the time the war ended through July 20, 2009, 144 rockets, 79 mortars and 6 Grad Katyushas[2] have been fired into Israel.

By March 2009, $4.5 billion, including $900 million from the US, had been pledged by the international community for humanitarian relief and reconstruction. There is considerable unease, however, about how to proceed with the major reconstruction that is required but at the same time preventing money and supplies from falling into hands of Hamas.

UNRWA involvement in Gaza is apparently greater than in any of the other regions in which it operates, including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Judea & Samaria (West Bank). Largely, this is a function of demographics: 70% of Gaza’s population, estimated at 1.5 million, consists of persons registered with UNRWA as refugees — thus UNRWA maintains a significant presence in the region. There are 10,000 UNRWA workers in Gaza, almost all Palestinian Arab refugees themselves, so roughly one out of every 150 persons resident in Gaza is an UNRWA employee.
A strong connection between UNRWA in Gaza and Hamas has been previously documented[3] and evidence that this continues is provided later in this report. Of particular significance are the recently held elections within the teachers’ sector of the UNRWA union in Gaza,.

Candidates associated with the Islamic Bloc, an affiliate of Hamas, won all 11 seats for the executive council[4]— granting Hamas an enormous influence within the UNRWA schools.
The Islamic Bloc (known in Arabic as Al-Kutla Al-Islamiah) maintains broad programs in these UNRWA schools, beginning as early as junior high school, which promotes radical incitement for jihad and opposition to Israel. Its goal appears to be winning the hearts and minds of students so they can be recruited into the Hamas military wing during high school or after graduation.[5]

During “Cast Lead,” statements of a political nature and accusations leveled at Israel were repeatedly made by key UNRWA personnel, inappropriate from individuals who represent an organization the official mandate of which is purely humanitarian.[6] These statements indicated an anti-Israel bias and frequently a misrepresentation of facts.

UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness —in a radio interview[7]—began talking about “proportionality” on January 5, 2009, apparently without reflecting what international law says[8] on this subject.

Gunness also took it upon himself to explain Hamas’s rocket attacks: “But let me also say that the root of the rockets - and people in Gaza tell you this all the time - and, by the way, I also spend a lot of time in Gaza. They will tell you that the occupation is being resisted. That’s the reason for the rockets…” Gunness offers a justification (coincidentally the same as Hamas’s) for Hamas’s attacks that totally disregards Hamas’s insistence on the illegitimacy of Israel and its call for Israel’s destruction via jihad.[9]amHamHH

Commission-General of UNRWA, Karen AbuZayd, also made exaggerated statements about the situation: “The saddest thing, is that all of the private sector - every single factory and workshop - was destroyed. Anybody who was working has to start all over.”[10] In point of fact, Israeli attacks were pinpoint — done to hit specific identified targets. One might also ask how AbuZayd determined such a thing: how could she know that there was not a single workshop left standing? This is not a case of empathy for the residents of Gaza that would lead to a tendency to exaggerate.. In this instance, one is led to the possibility that AbuZayd might have willfully and maliciously misrepresented information for political purposes.

Instances are also documented in which UNRWA representatives made fallacious charges against the IDF—or leveled charges before facts were checked—with regard to damage done to UNRWA buildings or personnel during the conflict. For example, it was either claimed or strongly implied that the IDF hit an UNRWA school in Jabaliya that was sheltering civilians, thereby killing 40 people.[11] An IDF investigation, however, indicated that eight to ten Hamas gunmen were killed near the school, which was never hit, after the terrorists had fired mortar shells at IDF troops.[12]
n style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#000066;">
Precipitous charges were made—before facts were confirmed —that the IDF had killed an UNRWA driver in a convoy. An IDF investigation later found this was not true.[13]
Other charges included the claim made by UNRWA that the IDF had made illegal use of white phosphorus[14], which was later refuted by the IDF.[15]
span >
UNRWA’s multiple connections to Hamas have been documented in this report, Evidence has been provided that UNRWA is not simply a humanitarian organization, but has been overtly political. This argues against the advisability of relying upon UNRWA as the major conduit for funds and material to be sent into Gaza by the international community for reconstruction. For it is a goal of the international community that these funds and construction materials —which could be used to build weapons storage facilities and rockets—not find their way into the hands of Hamas.

INTRODUCTION

It is less than a year since the last report on UNRWA by this author was released.[16]
However, the current critical political/security situation in the Gaza Strip requires a new analysis of UNRWA’s various roles in this specific locale, especially as consideration is being given to the utilization of UNRWA as a major conduit for funds and materials going into Gaza for reconstruction. This proposal is being floated within the international community because UNRWA is perceived as a purely humanitarian agency.

In August and September 2005, Israel withdrew entirely from the Gaza Strip. At this point, the Palestinian Authority (Fatah) assumed administrative control, at least nominally.
Israel had endured intermittent Kassam rocket attacks from Gaza since 2001; these rockets were launched by various terrorist groups, with Hamas a significant player. After Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, the number of rocket launchings increased by 500 percent.[17] Hamas may have felt newly empowered and, absent the presence of Israeli forces, had greater latitude to operate. Fatah was either unable or unwilling to act with sufficient deter­rence to significantly reduce these attacks.

Hamas control of Gaza

In June 2007, Hamas seized control of Gaza in a violent coup. At this point the number of rockets launched and mortars fired into Israel again escalated significantly. During the course of 2008, there were 3,300 rocket and mortar attacks,[18] three-fold the number of attacks in 2006.
Israel responded to attacks intermittently, by initiating pinpoint operations, swift airstrikes, and occasionally raids on specific targets such as launching sites or weapons storage facilities — as well as against those responsible for planning or launching attacks.
Additionally, in response to Hamas’s control of Gaza —and to warnings of terrorist attacks at the crossings into Gaza— Israel exercised tightened control over these crossings, however allowing the entry of humanitarian aid.

Tahadiyah

On June 19, 2008, a six-month Gaza “ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas brokered by Egypt went into effect. More properly called a tahadiyah [lull, calm] in Arabic, it was a temporary and informally agreed upon period of calm that called upon Hamas to cease rocket attacks, and Israel to halt air strikes and incursions into Gaza. Although rocket attacks from Gaza were substantially reduced, they were not halted: 538 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza during this period.[19] Moreover, the smuggling of more sophisticated weaponry and the manufacture of Kassam rockets continued. With the exception of a single response to an immediate threat,[20] Israel refrained from acting inside Gaza at this time.

Termination and Escalation

As the six months drew to an end, attacks from Gaza increased —from November 4 to December 19, 340 rockets were launched by Hamas.[21] Finally a Hamas spokesman declared that the tahadiyah would not be renewed. In the seven days after the tahadiyah ended, there were 280 rockets and mortar attacks, averaging 40 per day.[22] Some of the rockets launched were Grad Katyushas, with a greater range and accuracy than Kassams. A wide swath of southern Israel, and over a million Israeli citizens, were now within range.

Operation “Cast Lead”

On December 27, 2008, Israel commenced a major military operation in Gaza, “Operation Cast Lead.” It began with air strikes and proceeded with a ground operation. Israeli military goals were to: weaken the Hamas infrastructure; take out rocket storage sites and launching areas; reduce the number of smuggling tunnels between the Sinai and Gaza; and remove Hamas fighters and —at least in some instances— those planning operations.[23]

While attacks were carried out with pinpoint accuracy, the IDF was faced with an adversary which —in defiance of international law— used Gazan civilians as human shields[24]: Hamas fought from, stored weapons in, and launched rockets from civilian areas.[25]

Israeli efforts to avoid collateral damage were extraordinary: tens of thousands of leaflets dropped warning people to get out of the way; phone calls made to homes about to be attacked; operations aborted if it became clear that civilians were in range; and firing rockets designed simply to make noise dropped on buildings used as weapons storage or launching sites to frighten people into leaving before the buildings were hit.[26]

Unavoidably, however, collateral damage occurred.. As international critics were quick to place blame on Israel, often before acquiring a full understanding of the situation, Israel opened a second, information and public relations, front in this war.

Major public buildings in Gaza —including Islamic University— were sites for the development and storage of weapons and terrorist organizations hubs, and therefore legitimate targets for attack during the operation. Unfounded charges ensued, claiming that the IDF committed wholesale and indiscriminate destruction of buildings.[27]

While Israel maintained a general closure on the crossings into Gaza so that weapons and other war material would not reach Hamas, they nonetheless permitted large numbers of trucks to go through bearing humanitarian relief. As the Operation progressed, the IDF initiated an unprecedented practice: the voluntary cessation of military activity for a period of roughly three hours each day to allow humanitarian supplies that had been brought to be distributed. Neither water nor electric power supplied to Gaza by Israel was ever halted. Yet, despite this, international criticism was leveled at Israel for allegedly exacerbating a humanitarian crisis.

Following the military operation

Operation “Cast Lead” ended January 18, 2009, with a unilateral decision by Israel to cease firing and withdraw during the course of the following days; the major portion of the pullout were completed by January 20. Israel’s announcement was followed by a “ceasefire” declared by Hamas.

In the course of the Operation, Hamas was shelled heavily but not destroyed; Hamas is still in control in Gaza, and still smuggling weaponry.

From the six months since the war ended through July 20, 2009, 144 rockets, 6 Grad katyushas, and 79 mortar shells[28] have been fired into Israel.

With a few specific exceptions,[29] crossings are open for commercial[30] and humanitarian materials. By March 2009, $4.5 billion dollars, including $900 million from the US, had been pledged by the international community for both humanitarian relief and reconstruction.
However, as Hamas continues to be in control in Gaza, there is considerable unease about how to proceed with the major reconstruction that is required while at the same time preventing money and supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas.

THE UNRWA ROLE IN GAZA

UNRWA’s Gaza operation

UNRWA involvement in Gaza is greater than in any of the other regions in which it operates: That is, in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Judea & Samaria (West Bank).
This is a function of demographics: 70% of the Gaza’s population, currently estimated at 1.5 million, consists of persons registered as refugees with UNRWA.[31] Thus UNRWA, which serves these people, maintains a significant presence in the region. There are 10,000 UNRWA workers in Gaza; these are almost all Palestinian Arab refugees themselves, which means that roughly one out of every 150 persons resident in Gaza is an UNRWA employee, and that 40% of the schools in Gaza are run by UNRWA.[32]

It was likely, therefore, that UNRWA would have involvement in what transpired during the time of Operation “Cast Lead.”

UNRWA was responsible for some (but not all) of the humanitarian relief distributed, including managing the truck convoys that brought in supplies from crossings; maintaining warehouses where supplies were stored; and distributing the supplies.

UNRWA schools were used as shelters for civilians when homes were destroyed, and UNRWA buildings and personnel were exposed to the possibility of collateral damage.

The UNRWA-Hamas Connection

The connection between UNRWA and Hamas in Gaza has been solidly documented in prior reports.[33] Further, it has been demonstrated that UNRWA over the years has promoted radical Muslim ideology via a Hamas-affiliated presence in its schools.[34]
This connection is an on-going phenomenon:

UNRWA Union representatives

The UNRWA teachers’ union in the Gaza Strip —by far the largest union sector— has close to 7,000 members; the civil service sector has about 2,000; and general UNRWA workers number about 1,500. Elections are held once every three years to choose representatives to executive councils.

For over 15 years, Hamas (via its affiliate Islamic Bloc)[35] has dominated the UNRWA’s teachers’ union in the Gaza Strip. In 2006, the Hamas victory was decisive: for the first time, its candidates won all 11 seats, meaning that Hamas representatives would control the executive council of this union sector.
span >
Elections for the unions of the UNRWA workers in 2009 ran from March 16 to March 24. It was estimated that some 97% of those eligible to vote participated; balloting was held at UNRWA headquarters in Gaza. Once again, Hamas-affiliated candidates won all 11 seats in the teachers’ section,[36] guaranteeing Hamas control of UNRWA schools in Gaza.[37]

Almost immediately, a representative of Hamas in Gaza released a statement, declaring the result an indication of the “enormous support” Hamas enjoys.[38]

Within days, John Ging, UNRWA director of operations, threatened to relieve UNRWA personnel of their positions if they were associated with political parties.[39]

Ging wrote letters to a small number of employees, indicating his concern about a “worrisome” situation. In this letter, he observed that parties “hostile” to UNRWA have advertised the victory in UNRWA elections of certain political candidates over the years, but only now did these statements come from inside Gaza, giving them enhanced credibility.[40]
This indicates that there was UNRWA concern about appearances at a time when UNRWA was being watched by the international community. The affiliation of the Hamas-associated candidates had not changed from 2006. What had changed was the fact that Hamas was now in control in Gaza so that the affiliation had more import.

Since this happened, UNRWA has avoided making public the list of winning candidates for the teachers’ sector, and —while there have been rumors[41]— there has been no opportunity for discovering if anyone was actually let go.

One of the persons who had been mentioned as having been suspended by Ging was Suhail Al-Hindi, who had been elected chairman of the teachers' section. Al-Hindi is a well known Hamas activist.[42] However, the Palestinian news website Sama[43] reported, on May 31, 2009, that when Ging attended an event honoring retired UNRWA teachers, he was accompanied by Al-Hindi.

Further evidence that Ging did not actually fire teachers is provided by an editorial, in the form of a critical letter to John Ging, written by Mustafa Sawaf, editor-in-chief of the Hamas daily Felesteen, on April 16, 2009.

The most severe criticism leveled by Sawaf concerns Ging’s “threat of layoffs.”
There is no reference to actual lay-offs: as the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, which reported this letter, states, “even though that threat is not carried into effect.”[44]

Hamas presence in UNRWA schools

As the teachers’ sector of the UNRWA union in Gaza is controlled by Hamas, it is to be expected that Hamas would have entrée into the schools. This has been the case and is now the case.[45] On December 30, 2005, a cultural event was held to honor a hundred teachers, male and female, who had been singled out for their excellence from an UNRWA school in Khan Yunis.
Among those present was Dr. Yunes Al-Astal, one of the heads of Hamas who openly advocates terrorist attacks against Israel, and who has issued religious edicts (fatwas) to the effect that Jews will be burned in both this world and the next.[46

Khaled Madi, an UNRWA teacher, told the audience that “those worthy of being honored are the teachers who sacrificed their lives for the sake of Allah and the homeland, like the shahids [“martyrs” who gave their lives in terror attacks] Tareq Abu Al-Hussien, Subhi Abu Namous, Iyad Al-Sir, Muhammad Al-Awaj and Majid Al-Slibi, who were all teachers in Khan Yunis.”[47]

Another teacher, Sheikh Mansur Bariq taught in UNRWA schools for five years. On March 7, 2009, the Hamas website reported on a ceremony that was held by Al-Qassam Brigades in honor of the families of shahids (martyrs) in the western part of Rafah. In his speech at this event Shiekh Bariq said that the way of “resistance” was the only way for the Palestinians to return their rights: “what was seized with force will not be returned but with force and Hamas will be loyal to the blood of the shahids.[48]

The Hamas-affiliated Islamic Bloc (known in Arabic as Al-Kutla Al-Islamiah) maintains broad programs in UNRWA schools; these begin as early as junior high school, and promote incitement for jihad and opposition to Israel.

Representatives of the Kutla operate in the schools, with each group of representatives supervised by a counsellor (amir) assigned by Hamas. The goal is winning the hearts and minds of students so they can be recruited into the Hamas military wing during high school or after graduation.[49]

This is done via supplemental programming, special events, and offers of assistance, including: clean-up projects; visitation of sick students; vacations; soccer tournaments; planting trees at the schools; assistance in preparing for exams; quiz contests with prizes; bringing in bands and singers associated with Hamas; and so on. Teachers are also given gifts by Kutla at holiday times.[50]

In early 2009, the Hamas website[51] reported on Kutla programming being done in an UNRWA junior high school in Rafah. The goal, according to the website, was “to draw in 155 new students to operate under the Islamic flag.” Methods included: distributing pamphlets and magazines containing religious indoctrination (Daawa); attending school programs; arranging competitions; meeting new students, and offering gifts to teachers and students.

Kutla activities in UNRWA schools

In May 2008, the Kutla ran a commemoration of the Nakba [“catastrophe,” by which is meant the founding of Israel] in an UNRWA junior high school, Izbeh Beit Hanun. A video on the Hamas website documented the ceremony, in which an unnamed boy, accompanied by a Kutla representative, stated:

“We are still holding the key for our return, we are holding weapons and we are defending our country until we return, with the help of Allah, our ownership right….we will free Al-Aqsa [mosque]…and our homeland…from the heretic pigs of the sons of Zion …we shall return…we shall return…we will never recognize what is called Israel.”[52]

In another school, Iz-A-Din Adel Al-Farah, a 15 year old student in eighth grade in UNRWA’s Al-Qarara junior high, had joined the Kutla and was head of the Daawa committee. After he was killed in an IDF operation in January 2009, Kutla activists in the school hung up posters that included a picture of Al-Fara in uniform and carrying a gun.[53]


Letter by strong>Mustafa Sawaf

Equally telling, is the letter to John Ging written by Mustafa Sawaf, editor-in-chief of the Hamas daily Felesteen, on April 16, 2009—alluding to the alleged layoffs above. In part, Sawaf wrote:

“[John Ging] should know that laying off the agency employees because of their political affiliation means laying off all the employees of the aid agency [UNRWA], because they are all affiliated [with some political organization]. If they are not members of parties and organizations, they belong to this resisting homeland, i.e., they are all members of the ‘resistance,’ in its various forms [i.e., terrorist organizations]. Not only the officials…belong, but also school children…Will you fire them too, [denying] their right to receive education in the agency's schools?”[54]

UNRWA DURING “CAST LEAD”

Public statements by UNRWA

Charges regarding the damage being done

A week after the beginning of Operation “Cast Lead,” there emerged the beginning of a pattern in which reports by UNRWA officials painted a more dire scenario in Gaza than what Israeli officials were reporting as the reality.

“Bread and wheat are going to run out extremely rapidly, and people are going to start getting extremely hungry," said UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness on January 4, 2009. "Medical supplies are in critically short supply. When you have a situation where houses are being blown up and women and children are being maimed, I would say that's a humanitarian crisis.”[55]

At this same time, high level Israeli officials maintained that there was no humanitar­ian crisis and that one would not be permitted to develop.

Political Charges: UNRWA spokesman

A day later, Gunness —in a radio interview[56]— began to raise political questions, starting with the issue of “proportionality”:

“First of all, we at the United Nations condemn the rockets…They are utterly condemnable. And my message is as much to the rocket launchers as to the Israeli army, which is that enough innocent women and children, dozens have been killed just within the last few days. And, of course, our hearts go out to those families in Sderot, who…are being terrorized. Of course, that is absolutely condemnable. However, let’s look at the proportionality here.[57]
“Let me ask [Meagen Buren, of The Israel Project, speaking unofficially on Israel’s behalf] how many have been killed in the last few days? Five-hundred-thirty-one, among them, women, children. Just last night, seven of our refugees, unconfirmed reports saying killed in their beds while they slept. Nine of our students killed in one air strike.[58]

“This is not proportionate. And what is happening in Sderot, which is utterly condemnable, I don’t think justifies this level of disproportionality.[59]

“Anyone looking at the facts, straightforward, on the ground, listens to what [Buren] is saying and says, ‘Yes, of course it’s unforgivable. It’s condemnable.’ But surely, you can also understand that this degree of killing of innocent women and children and babies is not justified.”[60]

So began the leveling of political charges against Israel by an official spokesperson for UNRWA.

There immediately seem to be two problems with what Gunness said:

· A humanitarian organization should not be making politicized statements.

· The questionable veracity and the balance of the charges being leveled.

Gunness cites unconfirmed deaths as if they were facts. Moreover, he implies that if an individual killed by the IDF were a “refugee,” it is somehow a given that he was innocent — evading the fact that a refugee or a student might also be a terrorist and therefore a legitimate target for Israeli soldiers. He tells us nothing about who the people allegedly killed actually were.

a name="_Toc237591086">Advocacy

Further, there a stance that accuses Israel of gratuitous killing without a word about Hamas’s responsibility, based on the Geneva Conventions, for these deaths brought about by having used civilians as human shields.

Gunness also approaches the issue of “disproportionality” without examining the parameters of international law, according to which “proportional” force” does not require that an equal number of people be killed on either side.

Under international law, the basis for determining proportionate force lies in that force being militarily necessary for defense. Whatever is legitimate to that end is considered proportionate force. If attempts are made to minimize civilian damage, then even a strike that causes considerable civilian damage —but is directed at a target with a large military value— would be lawful.[61]

Gunness further states:

“But let me also say that the root of the rockets —and people in Gaza tell you this all the time— and, by the way, I also spend a lot of time in Gaza. They will tell you that the occupation is being resisted. That’s the reason for the rockets…

“And from the UN’s point of view, there is one occupied territory. So if there’s one Israeli soldier occupying the West Bank, then Gaza is also occupied. I’m afraid that is how international law works. Gaza has continued to be occupied. And until the underlying cause of this, the occupation, is addressed and the strangulation, which is part of that occupation, is addressed, I fear for the people of Sderot.”

At that point, Gunness not only politicized his view, but spoke for UNRWA as if he were the spokesperson for Hamas.

What Gunness said here precisely echoes what Hamas says for its public relations: that it launches rockets because of “the occupation.” Military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank is implied. Gunness, speaking for an ostensibly humanitarian agency, presumably has no business explaining why Hamas does or does not launch rockets, period. From the perspective of humanitarian concerns, launching rockets at civilians is wrong; from the perspective of international law, forbidden.

Further, Gunness was offering a justification for Hamas’s attacks, while totally disregarding Hamas’s insistence on the illegitimacy of Israel and its call for Israel’s destruction via jihad.[62]amHamHH

Gunness claims that in UN eyes, Gaza and the West Bank are one unit, and that, according to international law, a single Israeli soldier in the West Bank means that Gaza is occupied. This is simply not the case.[63] This statement restricts “occupation” to presence only in the West Bank or Gaza; according to Hamas, however, “occupation” means an Israeli presence anywhere from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Later, in a lecture in Ulster, Ireland, on March 25, 2009, Gunness continued: “The deaths of 300 children in the latest violence is an example of what happens when then this failure [to protect innocent people] occurs.”

Similar statements by UNRWA director of operations

John Ging, director of operations for UNRWA, also weighed in with his assessment of the situation:

“The whole infrastructure of the future state of Palestine is being destroyed. Blowing up the parliament building—that’s not a Hamas building. The president’s compound is for the president of Palestine. Schools, mosques.”[64]

How he was able to determine which buildings Hamas was not utilizing is unclear. Hamas frequently used such public building for its purposes: in several instances, mosques were made into storage areas for rockets,[65] while research and development for Hamas weapons was done within the premises of the Islamic University in Gaza City.[66]

Commissioner-General’s public statements

Statements made by UNRWA commissioner-general Karen AbuZayd speak for themselves:

Addressing the Security Council on January 27, 2009, AbuZayd described “what appears to have been systematic destruction to schools, universities, residential buildings, factories, shops and farms,” and a Palestinian “rage against attackers for often failing to distinguish between military targets and civilians.”

In late March, she told a UN “Seminar on Assistance to the Palestinian People” in Cairo that Israel had damaged 57 UNRWA facilities, including “37 schools and various other premises.”
In neither instance did she allude to the problem of Hamas utilization of civilian sites for storage and launching of rockets.[67]

AbuZayd made additional statements in the course of a talk delivered at DePaul University in Indiana (her alma mater) on March 12, 2009:

“The saddest thing,” she said, “is that all of the private sector - every single factory and workshop - was destroyed. Anybody who was working has to start all over.”[68]
Also, one must ask, how could AbuZayd have determined such a thing? How could she know with certainty that there was not left standing a shoe-maker shop in one place, a pottery shop in another, a dress-maker’s shop in a third? A carpenter’s shop? A butcher shop?
This seems to be an attempt to present the damage done by Israel during the course of the war in the worse possible light: to have destroyed “every single factory and workshop,” Israel would have had to carpet bomb all of Gaza and this was not remotely what occurred. All bombing was pinpoint—done to hit specific identified targets.

British journalist Yvonne Green, who visited Gaza in March 2009, reported:
“What I saw was that there had been precision attacks made on all of Hamas's infrastructure.

“…most of Gaza…was visibly intact.”[69]

The IDF, in its final report on Cast Lead[70] states on page 102 “The Operation in Gaza,” that “the IDF conducted pinpoint surgical aerial strikes, using precision guided munitions.”
“Anybody who was working has to start over”? What about agricultural workers and those who sell agricultural produce?

Expressing empathy for the residents of Gaza could inspire a tendency to exaggerate; but in this instance AbuZayd seems to have willfully and maliciously misrepresented the situation for political purposes.

AbuZayd was also involved in an incident in mid-February in which she delivered a letter, written by a Hamas foreign ministry advisor and addressed to President Obama, to Senator John Kerry during his visit to Gaza.

Hamas later disavowed official responsibility for the letter, but only after what appeared to be considerable backtracking or dissembling.

A senior Israeli official commented: “Unfortunately there is a pattern here. That no one finds it strange that UNRWA, whose mandate is humanitarian, is the vehicle through which Hamas passes messages on to the US, just shows where UNRWA is at.”[71]

IDF and UNRWA

During the course of Operation “Cast Lead,” UNRWA made several accusations regarding IDF attacks on its buildings or personnel:

Accusation of attack on school in Jabalyia

One incident involved the charge that on January 6, the IDF hit an UNRWA school, al-Fahoura, in the refugee camp of Jabalyia in northern Gaza, which was sheltering civilians who had been forced to leave their homes. It was claimed that at least 40 people had been killed, including many women and children.

In an interview on January 7, UNRWA spokesman Christopher Guness said:

“Well, first of all, for the attack at Jabalyia, we said yesterday 30 confirmed fatalities and 55 injured, including 15 critically. Very sadly, overnight, 10 people passed away.

“The fatality figure has now risen from 30 to 40. The people in the compound, over 1,300 people—by the way, some of those, many of them had been told by the Israeli army to leave their houses and move to a safe place…

“…they…came - frightened, terrified, vulnerable - to our center. They were coming to what they thought was a neutral United Nations shelter, and then the rest is history - 40 people killed.”[72]

At the time, the IDF responded that three civilians and eight to 10 Hamas gunmen had been killed near the school, with no shell having hit the school: an IDF unit that came under fire from a Hamas cell near the school had returned fire.[73]

Early in February, the UN issued a revised report, and explained that the statement in the original report indicating that the compound itself had been shelled was the result of a "clerical error.”[74]

Gunness went on to tell the Jerusalem Post that UNRWA never stated that the shell hit the school, but rather always spoke in more general terms of the casualties in the area.[75] First, the implication was that the school had been hit. Then, there is the question of the number he not only alleged were killed but cited as “confirmed fatalities.” Confirmed by whom?
The British journalist, Yvonne Green, cited above, noted after her March visit to Gaza that:
“Seeing Al-Fakhora made it impossible to understand how UN and press reports could ever have alleged that the UNWRA school had been hit by Israeli shells. The school, like most of Gaza, was visibly intact.”[76]

On April 22, 2009, following an investigation of the incident, the IDF stated: “the IDF used minimal and proportionate retaliatory fire, using the most precise weapons available to them. Hamas made this necessary, as it fired mortar shells at Israeli forces 80 meters from the school. Additionally, it was concluded that all of the shells fired by IDF forces landed outside of the school grounds. According to a Senior IDF Military Official, the United Nations has also confirmed this finding.”[77]

Alleged killing of UNRWA driver

On January 8, 2009, UNRWA announced that it would be suspending operations to deliver food in Gaza because Israeli fire had killed one driver and injured others. UNRWA claimed that those who had been fired on were part of a convoy picking up supplies from the Erez crossing into Gaza, and that Israel had allegedly fired upon it even though the convoy carried a UN flag and had been given Israeli clearance.

John Ging, in a video hook-up from Gaza said at a news conference to the UN’s New York headquarters: “This is heartbreaking… a very, very difficult decision for us to take. The population here are in a dreadful state and really need our help at this point but we have also a responsibility to our staff, and eager as they are, and believe me they are, we cannot fly in the face of the security situation.

“[There are risks in a combat zone, but] added to those is the fact that we cannot rely on firm commitments given by the Israeli side, carefully coordinated with them, green lights given to move… specifics provided, carefully coordinated throughout, and to have the Israeli forces on the ground firing at and now hitting aid workers.”[78]

Although this occurred shortly after the incident, there was no indication from Ging about how it had already been definitively determined that Israeli fire had been at fault.
Shortly thereafter, a report surfaced concerning a Magen David Adom [MDA, the Israeli “Red Cross”] medic, who said he had transferred the Palestinians, injured and dead, to an Israeli hospital. The medic stated that he had spoken to the Israeli soldiers who had, at personal risk, assisted in the evacuation of the Palestinians; they told him that the convoy had come under Hamas sniper fire.[79]

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, contradicting the statement of the MDA medic, maintained that it had evacuated the Palestinians. The Jerusalem Post, in the face of conflicting claims, was able to confirm that on the day of the incident there was one dead Palestinian, and two other Palestinians being treated for gunshot wounds, at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon.[80] (The fact that they suffered gun shot wounds is significant; reports stated that they had come under IDF mortar fire.)

By January 10, after a preliminary investigation, the IDF officially announced that it had not shot at the convoy at the Ezra crossing. The Jerusalem Post reported that UN sources had admitted, subsequent to the original charges, that they were not sure in which direction the truck was headed when it was hit, and also could not say with certainty that [Israeli] tank shells were responsible.[81]

The rush with which UNRWA leveled unconfirmed charges against the IDF in this incident seems yet one more deliberate attempt to damage the IDF image. Ging’s statement, “We cannot rely on firm commitments given by the Israeli side,” moves beyond carelessness.

UNRWA headquarters in Tel El-Hawa

On January 15, 2009, the IDF was charged with hitting UNRWA headquarters in Tel El-Hawa, as well as a nearby Red Cross pharmaceutical storage facility. The blow to UNRWA headquarters generated a fire. The IDF was accused of using white phosphorus —which, according to international law, is illegal as a weapon in urban areas — in attacking the headquarters. (The next section discusses charges against the IDF regarding the use of phosphorous permitted by international law.)

Christopher Gunness claimed that the building had been used to shelter people, and that supplies desperately needed by Palestinians in Gaza were on fire.

“What more stark symbolism do you need?” he asked. “You can’t put out white phosphorus with traditional methods such as fire extinguishers. You need sand, we don’t have sand.”[82]
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon expressed "strong protest and outrage" and demanded an investigation.[83]

What the IDF discovered upon investigating was that the two incidents took place in the course of intense fighting in the Tel El-Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City. Hamas had placed anti-tank squads near sensitive facilities, intending to hit an IDF tank. IDF soldiers had been under fire from both the anti-tank weapons and small arms.

In the instance of the pharmaceutical storage facility, the IDF did not return fire at the Hamas fighters near that facility until direct fire from an anti-tank unit had been sustained. The returned fire apparently did hit the pharmaceutical storage facility. However, the IDF had never been provided with information by the Red Cross as to the location of this facility, and it was not marked on IDF maps. No persons were injured in this incident.[84]

Regarding the UNRWA headquarters: the IDF had deployed a smoke screen in the area to “protect a tank force operating in the neighborhood from Hamas anti-tank crews which had positioned themselves adjacent to the UNRWA headquarters. The smoke screen was intended to block the terrorists' field of view…[it]…prevented precise anti-tank fire against IDF forces.”[85]

The smoke projectiles were fired a considerable distance from the UNRWA headquarters. However, fragments of the projectiles apparently hit a warehouse located in the headquarters, causing it to catch fire.

During the incident, claims also were made that an explosive shell or shrapnel had hit the UNRWA headquarters. The subsequent investigation, however, showed that these shells or shell fragments had been fired at military targets within the battle zone. Once the UN complained about a shell having hit headquarters, however, IDF forces in the area were ordered to cease firing shells. When the report about the fire was received by the IDF, all firing was stopped and entry into the area of the firefighting trucks was coordinated by the IDF.[86]

The IDF investigation summed up:

“The damage caused to the UNRWA headquarters during the fighting in the Tel El-Hawa neighborhood is the unfortunate result of the type of warfare that Hamas forced upon the IDF, involving combat in the Gaza Strip's urban spaces and adjacent to facilities associated with international organizations. These results could not be predicted.”[87]

What is remarkable is that no one from the UN or UNRWA condemned Hamas for shooting “from urban spaces and adjacent to facilities associated with international organizations,” thereby precipitating the problem.

Criticism was leveled exclusively at the IDF.

The charge that the IDF utilized phosphorus

The findings of the IDF investigation[88] were that:

All use by the IDF in Gaza of munitions containing white phosphorus conformed to international law. Moreover, no phosphorus munitions were used on built-up areas or for anti-personnel purposes.

Two sorts of munitions utilizing white phosphorus were utilized in Gaza by the IDF:
In a limited number of cases, incendiary munitions were used - but only in open areas — for marking and range-finding. In a single case, such munitions were used to uncover a tunnel entrance.

“As a precautionary measure, even though international law does not prohibit [them], as of January 7th 2009, it was decided that in order to further minimize the risk to civilians from munitions containing phosphorous, the IDF would cease to use the munitions containing larger quantities of phosphorous (i.e. those not used for smoke screening). All IDF forces were directed to act accordingly.”[89]

The two exceptions uncovered of use of incendiary phosphorus munitions, after January 7, were for purposes of marking only and, consistent with all IDF use of phosphorus, conformed to international law.

Aside from this limited use of phosphorus for purposes of marking and range-finding, phosphorus munitions were used only for the purpose generating a smoke screen. The munitions contained pieces of felt dipped in phosphorous in a manner not intended to cause injuries, and which are non-incendiary…these are munitions which conform in full, with international law. “…the limitations under international law on the use of ‘incendiary munitions’ do not apply to this type of munitions.”

It is clear from the IDF report that the fire that erupted in the UNRWA headquarters in Gaza on January 15 could not have been started as a result of IDF utilization of incendiary phosphorus munitions.

John Gunness’s statement, which directly implies that this was the case, is a misrep­resenta­tion of the facts. On the basis of what information did he come to speak about needing sand to put out the fire? That he additionally spoke of the situation as “stark symbolism,” was to exacerbate the false charges to a degree that borders on libelous.

Additional charges

A number of other charges were also leveled at Israel regarding attacks upon, and damage to, UNRWA facilities or personnel in the course of Cast Lead. In all cases, initial investigations were done by the IDF at the time charges were made.

After the military operation Cast Lead was completed, IDF Chief of Staff, Lt. General Gabi Ashkenazi appointed five teams —headed by officers with the rank of colonel, who were not part of the chain of command for the actions in question— to investigate the conduct of IDF soldiers. Many of the incidents that were investigated involved UNRWA.

Findings were made public on April 22, 2009.[90]

Issues involving UNRWA that were investigated included the following:

· The charge: The IDF attacked a building that contained a mother-child clinic.

The finding: Hamas utilized this building for weapon storage; the mother-child clinic was not identified as a clinic. The IDF, however, did warn residents of the building prior to attack.


· The charge: IDF forces attacked an UNRWA vehicle in the Tel El-Hawa neighborhood in Gaza City.
The finding: The vehicle did not bear UN identification and was carrying a Palestinian anti-tank squad.

Conclusion

UNRWA’s multiple connections to Hamas have been documented in this report, in particular within the school system of UNRWA.

Evidence has been provided that UNRWA is not simply a humanitarian organization, but has been overtly political.. Statements made during “Cast Lead” by its senior staff strongly reflect a bias against Israel, and suggest a predisposition towards Hamas.

All of this argues against the advisability of relying upon UNRWA as the major conduit for monies and materials that are to be sent into Gaza by the international community for purposes of reconstruction. For it is the goal of the international community that these funds and construction materials—which could be used to build weapons storage facilities and rockets—not find their way into the hands of Hamas.

Arlene Kushner is Senior Analyst for the

taken fromB'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

OBAMA'S GAME PLAN

OBAMA GAME PLAN

What’s Going On?


WOW! There is much coming out of the Obama administration that seems to be confusing, or just confused (see the conclusion at the end of this article). Every time we turn around, it’s another screw up or broadside: From movie gifts that won’t pay on British sets; insulting Britain, narcissist based gifts to the Queen of England, bowing to a fascist Arab terrorist sponsoring monarch; declaring America to NOT be a Judeo-Christian civilization; declaring American patriots and veterans to be terrorist threats; apologizing for America being America; a de facto acceding to Iranian nuclear arming, a totally insane but clearly fascist approach to imposing a politically based health plan on America; working to agree to international treaties that will confiscate American guns and abrogate the Second amendment; arrogantly declaring that the Constitution is not to his liking; attacks on the First Amendment’s freedom of expression, its a daily crapshoot regarding what Obama and his gangster crew of venomous snakes in the grass will come up with next.

Honest people, concerned citizens, voters, taxpayers, legitimate patriots with America’s best interests at heart are very concerned if not becoming just plain fearful of Obama’s clearly socialist/fascist intentions.

Obama falsely claims that he has a national healthcare plan. He has no plan, just a bunch of words and promises that change every day. There are a dozen or more versions of work in progress that are wildly directed, and most certainly arrayed against real Americans. The Congress recessed with a 1,000+ page plan that none of them have read that few if any can comprehend or understand, and everything they say seems to be a falsehood, especially mindless liberals who otherwise can’t find their way out of a paper bag with both ends open and bright lights shining the way. Obama’s stalwart supporter dubbed “Queen” Pelosi, actually Pelosi-Mussolini the blind fascist is the greatest joke in modern American politics and society.

What about Obama’s extreme efforts to cover-up personal information that Americans have a legitimate need to know about regarding his basic eligibility for the presidency? Based on his extreme efforts to block access to vital information indicate to growing numbers of citizens convinced that he is a fraud, perhaps even an illegal immigrant.

His Chicago gangster machine management style is working. But, along the way, he is burning bridges and annoying a large number of people who voted for him. Combine those unhappy democrats with the 48% of Americans who voted for other than Obama, and a growing majority of Americans are coming down firmly against Obama and his agenda. Cracks are appearing in his façade. At a recent G-8 meeting, national leaders refused to take on any more of America’s steeply climbing debt. Obama doesn’t care and will likely do what the Zimbabwe gang has done, and what the Weimar Republic did not too long ago – print a bunch of useless money. The diminished value of the dollar will be a two sided issue where imports will be wildly higher priced, and our own exports will rise. The problem with this is that we have little manufacturing base remaining so imports will be essential, and inflation will rise staggeringly. Expect that Japanese made car that sells for $35,000 now to pop up five years later at $90,000. So, those Chevys may be more affordable, but their quality under UAW factory management will sadly diminish. But, Obama’s Cap and Trade will tax those factories so high that the Chevy prices will rocket up too, just not as fast as the foreign made car prices.

Obama has declared that the war on terrorism is over, and that the United States is not at war with Islam. However, e-v-e-r-y facet of Islam’s Koranic verified dogma re-affirmed again and again by myriad Moslems at all levels and stations in Islam that Islam is clearly at war with us. Even here, in the USA, Moslem leaders have declared that it is their mission to eliminate the Constitution (along with the bill of rights, the right to vote, and all that makes America work), and replace the government with a Caliphate. Based on this solid information, and Obama’s background, leanings, associations, and direction, it appears that he is working towards becoming that Caliph.

Despite Obama’s decidedly pro-Arab Hamas/Hezbollah/Fatah actions and regularly condemning Israel, Ahmadinejad increased his anti-American vitriol. Israel is not bowing to his anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish demands and is rightfully thumbing their noses at him. They recognize his vow to support Arabs against Jews, and will now bow down to another Obama desired holocaust.

Israel seems to be preparing to initiate a defensive pre-emptive elimination of Iranian nuclear facilities, and all that the self-declared anti-Semite Obama does is whine about Israeli settlements. In this, the Arabs are so fearful of Iran that they may likely turn a blind eye to an Israeli attack launched via Saudi air spaces if not from Saudi airfields.
Iran’s election was a farce, and when Ahmadinejad’s Acorn…..oops (a Freudian slip)... Basiji force along with scores of other Iranian government thugs viciously attacked peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators, Obama remained largely mute, acquiescing to Iran’s hardliners. Hundreds have been murdered. Hundreds more have vanished. Thousands have been savagely beaten, brutally molested and raped, mutilated, and dropped onto the streets for all to see in a form of inhuman repression and intimidation. In all things Iranian, Obama shows having no evidence of a strategy, and his promised dialogue with Iranian leaders is clearly doomed before starting.

Obama complained more about China’s firm handling of fanatic Moslem Chinese tribal Uyghurs than he did about the horrid repression in Iran.

As American forces are standing down in Iraq, things are beginning to unravel and Iraqi violence against Iraqis is rising.

The Afghan war, now Obama’s war in Afghanistan is generating more American coffins coming home than are successes in taking on the Taliban and al-Qaeda. He has no strategy for victory. His strategy is only for engagement, another recipe for another Vietnam. If we are not prepared to fight the war in Afghanistan with a clear vision for victory, we need to leave now. Obama and his gangs have no idea of what is required for a victory.

Guantanamo still holds about 200 violent, hateful detainees, and in spite of his boastful promises, Obama can’t release them, nor can he repatriate them. He has instructed that whenever a combatant in Afghanistan is caught, they are to be given their Miranda rights rather than a bullet between their eyes. Huunh???? These ‘combatants’ are enemy soldiers arrayed against us, and Obama wants to give them rights. This is outrageous. When is he going to Mirandize every American combat soldier?

With impunity, the North Koreans have advanced their long range missile and nuclear programs, and Obama has shirked taking any leadership role.

In the coming months, do not be surprised if the dollar collapses when our creditors demand settlement; Iranian mischief will accelerate; Pakistan will turn itself inside-out, Russia will get even more aggressive both internally as well as with her neighbors, Mexico’s civil war expands, and a helpless Obama bows more to UN demands and compromises America further.

Then, there are the domestic issues.

CONCLUSION: Is Obama just a flim-flam chump with an ego so huge that he believes he can continue just ‘winging’ it along, or is there something else? A long time follower and student of communists, socialists, America haters, Islamists, and anarchists, Obama understands that he cannot follow the classic path of anarchy, just going around and blowing things up. However, Obama is clearly using anarchist tactics (that are not yet violent) to fowl everything that he can up in every way that he can, to cause widespread confusion, bewilderment, frustration, and demoralization, to break America down. He must be stopped before he destroys America. That is his real objective. After everything is totally mucked up, he wants to resurrect America in his image.

Obama must be stopped!

taken from B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

Jewish Defence League of Canada to lead a Protest to Expose and Confront J Street

Jewish Defence League of Canada to lead a Protest to Expose and Confront J Street

PROTEST!!
EXPOSE AND CONFRONT J STREET

President Obama is more concerned with a few homes built for Jews in Israel, than Radical Iran building a Nuclear Bomb pointed at Israel !!

The Jewish Defence League of Canada is calling upon all supporters of Israel to join with us, as we will Confront and Expose J Street at their 1st National Conference in Washington DC. In Late October, J Street will have a major conference in Washington DC. Many of their supporters fund groups that call for a boycott of Israel and refer to Israel as an "Apartheid State". In an effort to apply pressure on Israel, President Obama has given support to J Street and wants J Street to represent the Jewish People. It should be understood that much of J Street's monetary support comes from Arabs and Muslims. J Street's Moslem, Arab Donors are Revealed

Sunday, October 25, 2009 at 9:00am --Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 7:00pm

Grand Hyatt Hotel, 1000 H Street NW, Washington, DC

For information call how you can help, please call Jewish Defence League of Canada 416-736-7000 or http://www.jdl-canada.com/

taken from B'NAI ELIM (Sons of the Mighty)

Israel Matzav: Arabs from the Gulf buy hundreds of dunams of Galilee land

Arabs from the Gulf buy hundreds of dunams of Galilee land

Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.

Arabs from the Persian Gulf recently bought hundreds of dunams of privately owned agricultural land in the Galilee from private owners who were forced to sell due to financial crisis.

Farmers in the Galilee tried to unite in an effort to thwart the sale, which was reportedly funded by tycoons from the Persian Gulf, but did not succeed in raising sufficient funds to buy the land from its owners, who were forced to sell after suffering from financial problems.

The Israel Lands Administration (ILA) told the radio station that it could not interfere with the transaction since the lands are privately-owned and not state property.

Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon (Labor) said in response to the report that the issue was not his responsibility.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Arabs from the Gulf buy hundreds of dunams of Galilee land

WOODSTOCK (1969) IT WAS FORTY YEARS AGO...

Yes, Woodstock was 40 years ago.
Already ?
So it seems. As they say :"Time flies"

Well, here's some videos of the festival, just to remember.

New Supernova Image Reveals Third Dimension | Wired Science | Wired.com

New Supernova Image Reveals Third Dimension Wired Science Wired.com

IDF Says No Soldier Missing; Returns to Normal Operations - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies

IDF Says No Soldier Missing; Returns to Normal Operations - Inside Israel - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies

Shared via AddThis

Fatah Woes Continue as Elections Lead to Infighting - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies

Fatah Woes Continue as Elections Lead to Infighting - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies

Shared via AddThis

Congressmen Face Evidence of PA Incitement - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies#replies

Congressmen Face Evidence of PA Incitement - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies#replies

Shared via AddThis

National Union: Katz vs. Netanyahu, Ben-Ari vs. Ministers - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies

National Union: Katz vs. Netanyahu, Ben-Ari vs. Ministers - Politics & Government - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies

Shared via AddThis

Public Fast Called to Fight Swine Flu - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies#replies#replies

Public Fast Called to Fight Swine Flu - Jewish World - Israel News - Israel National News#replies#replies#replies#replies

Shared via AddThis

Israel Matzav: Obama misses Fatah's message

Obama misses Fatah's message

Caroline Glick argues that the Fatah Congress in Bethlehem this week sent a very clear message to the Obama administration. But President Obumbler and his gang of Kumbaya-singing Leftists don't want to hear it.

Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas's decision to remove both his own mask and that of his organization should cause the Netanyahu government to reassess its current policies toward the group. For the past four months, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his government have quietly barred all Jewish construction in eastern, northern and southern Jerusalem neighborhoods, as well as in Judea and Samaria. The government's unofficial policy has been implemented in the hopes of pleasing the Obama administration, which argues that by barring Jewish building, Israel will encourage the Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority to moderate its policies and so engender an atmosphere conducive to a peaceful settlement of the Palestinian conflict with Israel. The Fatah conference put paid to that fiction.

Fatah's message to the Netanyahu government is important. But even more important is the message it conveys to the Obama administration. For Netanyahu, the Fatah gathering bore out his prior assessment that the group is a wolf in sheep's clothing. For US President Barack Obama, the message of the Fatah conclave was that his administration's assumptions not only about Fatah, but about terrorists and terror-supporting regimes in general are completely wrong.

FOR THE Obama administration, Fatah was supposed to be the poster child for moderate terrorists. Fatah was supposed to be the prototype of the noble terrorist organization that really just wants respect. It was supposed to be the group that proved the central contention of the Obama White House's strategy for dealing with terror, namely, that all terrorists want is to be appeased.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Obama misses Fatah's message

Israel Matzav: Dutch government providing significant funding to more anti-Israel NGO's

Dutch government providing significant funding to more anti-Israel NGO's

NGO Monitor reports that the Dutch government is indirectly funding at least three anti-Israel NGO's: Human Rights Watch, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights and Adalah.

Oxfam Novib in the Netherlands receives nearly €130 million annually from the Dutch government – approximately 70% of this NGO’s budget – primarily via co-financing subsidies (2007, 2008). And from here, the funds are distributed to a number of highly politicized NGOs active in the Arab-Israeli conflict. For example, Oxfam Novib partnered with the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR) on a “lawfare” project (funded by the EU), designed to “[c]ontribute to the abolition of the death penalty...via extrajudicial executions” by the Israeli military. PCHR has led the “prosecution of Israelis suspected of committing war crimes” such as the “universal jurisdiction case in Spain.” Oxfam Novib also lobbied “EU ministers of Foreign Affairs to shelve the plans for intensifying relations between Europe and Israel.”

In 2007-8, Oxfam Novib donated $987,818 to Human Rights Watch (HRW) – which makes the Dutch government one of HRW’s major donors, and is inconsistent with this NGO’s claim that it “accepts no government funds, directly or indirectly.”

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Dutch government providing significant funding to more anti-Israel NGO's

Israel Matzav: As Obama obsesses with 'settlements' the 'West Bank' is flourishing

As Obama obsesses with 'settlements' the 'West Bank' is flourishing

Israeli ambassador to the United States Michael Oren has a column in Friday's Wall Street Journal that shows how the 'Palestinian' economy in Judea and Samaria is flourishing while the Obama administration obsesses with 'settlements' and misses the boat.

Imagine an annual economic growth rate of 7%, declining unemployment, a thriving tourism industry, and a 24% hike in the average daily wage. Where in today's gloomy global market could one find such gleaming forecasts? Singapore? Brazil? Guess again. The West Bank.

According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the West Bank economy is flourishing. Devastated by the violence and corruption fomented by its former leadership, the West Bank has rebounded and today represents a most promising success story. Among the improvements of the last year cited by the IMF and other financial observers are an 18% increase in the local stock exchange, a 94% growth of tourism to Bethlehem—generating 6,000 new jobs—and an 82% rise in trade with Israel.

Since 2008, more than 2,000 new companies have been registered with the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank. Where heavy fighting once raged, there are now state-of-the-art shopping malls.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: As Obama obsesses with 'settlements' the 'West Bank' is flourishing

Israel Matzav: Netanyahu to Sarkozy: 'Non'

Netanyahu to Sarkozy: 'Non'

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has turned down a request from French President Nicolas Sarkozy to grant early release to a 'Palestinian' terrorist who attempted to assassinate former Chief Rabbi Ovadiah Yosef (pictured). The terrorist, Salah Hassan Hamori, has French citizenship.

In a letter to the Sarkozy sent earlier this week, Netanyahu said that Hamori did not meet the criteria for early parole. The prime minister wrote that Hamori did not express any regrets for his deeds and that according to the opinion of the state's attorney-general he still represents a threat to the public.

Sarkozy sent the letter to Netanyahu last week, following massive Palestinian pressure on to work toward Hamori's release from jail.

Israel Matzav: Netanyahu to Sarkozy: 'Non'

Israel Matzav: 'It's the 'Palestinians' fault there are no negotiations' says.... Steny Hoyer

'It's the 'Palestinians' fault there are no negotiations' says.... Steny Hoyer

Earlier this week, I blogged an article that argued that Congress is in the process of reining in what it sees as President Obama's excess pressure on Israel. The arguments in favor of Congress reining Obama in were 71 Senators signing on to the Bayh-Resch letter urging President Obama to pressure Arab countries to make confidence building gestures to Israel and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md) (pictured with Shimon Peres) telling the Jerusalem Post that 'east' Jerusalem is different from the 'West Bank.'

Now, there is another data point and it comes from Hoyer again. Hoyer told reporters in Jerusalem on Thursday that it's the 'Palestinians' fault that there are no negotiations between the 'Palestinians' and Israel.

"I think the largest thing impeding the negotiations at this point is simply the unwillingness of (Palestinian president Mahmud) Abbas to sit down (with the Israelis)," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters in Jerusalem.

Abbas has refused to meet with Israel's new right-leaning government until the Jewish state ceases all settlement construction in the occupied West Bank in line with repeated demands from the White House.

Hoyer however said the issue of settlements should be addressed through direct negotiations and said if he had met Abbas during his delegation's week-long visit to the region, he would have asked him to drop "preconditions."

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: 'It's the 'Palestinians' fault there are no negotiations' says.... Steny Hoyer

Israel Matzav: Missile City Kids

Israel Matzav: Missile City Kids

Israel Matzav: The newest terror sponsor: Venezuela

The newest terror sponsor: Venezuela

The United States has maintained a terror sponsors list since the mid-1990's. Terror sponsors lost their sovereign immunity from lawsuits in US courts and suffer from various other sanctions. Over the years, Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya and North Korea all appeared on the list. Iraq was removed after the US accomplished 'regime change' there. Libya was removed after Khadaffi cut a deal to give up his nuclear weapons. North Korea was removed for no apparent reason.

No country has been added to the terror sponsor list in years, but David Hazony says there's one country that may well need to be added: Venezuela.

For many years, its neighbor and close American ally, Colombia, has suspected Venezuela of actively supporting the FARC rebels, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization. But according to at least one high-ranking Israeli military official, FARC is not the only such group enjoying the Venezuelan regime’s support: Hezbollah, it turns out, has established a major presence there as well, supported by the regime in “investing significant efforts to carry out terrorist attacks against Israeli targets and Jewish institutions in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Peru,” according to today’s YNet.

Obviously, the State Department should not take the Israelis’ or the Colombians’ word for it and must conduct a thorough inquiry before making any moves. Yet the failure to dig deeper suggests a dramatic shift in U.S. policy on international terror when compared with not only the Bush administration but the will of Congress as well. Since 9/11, U.S. policy and law have aimed at showing zero tolerance for terrorism, the centerpiece of which strategy has been to make sovereign states accountable for the terrorism they support—not just through the occasional military replacement of their regimes, as in Afghanistan and Iraq, but also through a wide range of legal and diplomatic sanctions.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: The newest terror sponsor: Venezuela

Israel Matzav: Interview with Dr. Izzeldim Abuelaish

Israel Matzav: Interview with Dr. Izzeldim Abuelaish

Israel Matzav: Anatomy of a blood libel

Anatomy of a blood libel

On Thursday, I discussed a Human Rights Watch report that accuses Israel of killing eleven 'Palestinians' who were holding white flags in seven different incidents over the course of Operation Cast Lead. For good measure, most of those killed were allegedly children. Later in the day, I posted a video released by the IDF, which shows a Hamas terrorist hiding among white-flag-wielding 'Palestinians.' With aerial surveillance, Israel was able to identify and arrest this particular terrorist.

Some of you may be wondering how Human Rights Watch is able to consistently produce such one-sided reports while maintaining an air of impartiality. Noah Pollak explains.

And who wrote the report? A charming fellow named Joe Stork, who is HRW’s deputy director for its Middle East programs, which in practice means the deputy director of HRW’s campaign to criminalize the Jewish state. HRW would like to create the impression that Stork is part forensic specialist, part human-rights expert. But he is neither. He is among the harshest of anti-Israel partisans. Here is some information on Stork’s pre-HRW activities from a JCPA report:

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Anatomy of a blood libel

Israel Matzav: The Standard Left Explanatory System

The Standard Left Explanatory System

Carlo Strenger, an extreme Israeli Leftist (anyone who approvingly cites Yeshayahu "Judeonazis" Leibovitz is an extreme Israeli Leftist in my book, but look at this), explains why Israel's Left has been wiped off the political map.

The Israeli left's thinking is governed by what I call SLES (Standard Left Explanatory System). This intellectual construct gained popularity in Europe and the United States in the 1960s after the demise of European colonialism. The basic principle of SLES is simple: Always support the underdog, particularly when non-Western, and always accuse Western powers, preferably the United States and its allies, for what the underdog does. Anything aggressive or destructive a non-Western group says or does must be explained by Western dominance or oppression. This ranges from the emergence of Al-Qaida, which is blamed on the United States' dropping of its support for the Mujahideen in Afghanistan after the Soviets were expelled, to corruption and violence in Africa, which is blamed on the aftereffects of European colonialism.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: The Standard Left Explanatory System

Israel Matzav: Jeopardy for 'moderates'

Israel Matzav: Jeopardy for 'moderates'

Israel Matzav: Obama's apartheid plans in Jerusalem

Obama's apartheid plans in Jerusalem

Steven Plaut has an idea of where President Obama is heading:

The Mufti had owned some property in what is now the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. That property was legally purchased by American businessman Irving Moskowitz, who has owned the property for 20 years now and has a permit to construct an apartment building there in place of the current structure on the site, the Shepherd's Hotel.

The Obama administration is claiming that since the property once belonged to the Grand Mufti and is now in a predominantly Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem, Israel should freeze and halt all Jewish building there. Evidently, under Obama's new affirmative apartheid policy for Jerusalem, only Arabs should be permitted to build in East Jerusalem.

Now, Obama happens to lives not far from Arlington Cemetery, which sits on land confiscated from Confederate General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. Israel has at least as much right to use the property taken from the Grand Mufti as the U.S. has to fill up Gen. Lee's plantation with graves.

The idea that Israel should prevent Jews from building in East Jerusalem because Palestinians claim some sort of right to it is as absurd as suggesting that all construction in the District of Columbia be frozen because the British once claimed rights over it.~

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Obama's apartheid plans in Jerusalem

Israel Matzav: Bibi birther?

Bibi birther?

This has to be one of the most ridiculous stories I have heard in a LONG time. But consider the source.

The Israeli government has allegedly used its influence in American politics to strengthen the rumors about US President Barack Obama's birthplace.

On Monday, well-known investigative journalist Wayne Madsen said Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's entrenched alliance with the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), various neoconservative groups and fundamentalist Christian organizations had made it "very easy for him to bring this whole canard back" about allegations that Obama has been born in Kenya rather than the United States.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Bibi birther?

Life in Israel: Israelis at their best

Life in Israel: Israelis at their best

Israel Matzav: What J Street has in common with pigs

What J Street has in common with pigs

J Street, which describes itself as being 'pro-Israel, pro-peace,' but advocates Israel's confinement in a best case scenario to what diplomat par excellence Abba Eban referred to as the 'Auschwitz borders,' enjoys key financial support from several Arabs and State Department personnel who have served in Arab countries. If they were really so pro-Israel, would these people be supporting them?

"It raises questions as to their banner that they're a pro-Israel organization. Why would people who are not known to be pro-Israel give money to this organization?" asked Lenny Ben-David, a former Israeli diplomat and staffer for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a major Washington lobby but not a PAC that makes contributions to candidates. "Once you introduce a large group and large amount of money from people who are suspect in their pro-Israel credentials, J Street loses some of its credibility in claiming it is pro-Israel and representing the Jewish community."

Ben-Ami described the organization as one that is "primarily but not exclusively Jewish" and said that as the numbers of Arabs and Muslims participating in J Street are low, he would like to welcome more non-Jews into the fold.

The funds that come from these sources indeed constitute a small fraction of the year-and-a-half-old organization's political fundraising, which totaled around $844,000 in 2008 - a key election year - and $111,000 so far in 2009. They comprise several dozen of the PAC's 4,000-5,000 donors.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: What J Street has in common with pigs

Law and Occupation

Law and Occupation

Someone with the tag "Kung Fu Jew" left this comment on a previous post
I think we need to acknowledge that warfare is indeed changing since Israel's inception. But all I'm sensing here is disgruntled complaints about how it's not fair that Israel can't play by the older, more barbaric set of rules. Or how other countries can get away with it, but Israel can't. Suggesting that we lower the bar for Israel, not raise it for other countries, strikes me as wrong.There is a necessary adaptation to a new contemporary understanding of war that the world must make. Changing our international laws of war to account for guerrilla terrorism is part of that. But at least America's public voted down Bush's version of the answer. (And largely Israel's answer, by similarity.) I also think it's fair to say that Israel can't be sympathized with for trying to fight an unjust war justly. Having done work in the territories, I can say that I don't need the majority voices to tell me that what goes on there is unacceptable. I have eyes, it's pretty plain to me that settlement expansion and a majority of the security barrier are not for security at all. There is no just war Israel can fight until the occupation is over. And I feel comfortable with that.

Short and pungent.

Kung Fu blogs at Judaism Without Borders. So here's my response.

Israel plays according to the laws of war. It is more scrupulous about it than any other country, as I document on this blog with regularity.

The problem with the criticism of Israel which pretends to be based on international law is that it isn't. It's based upon an imaginary version of international law – and yes, this imaginary version is not used for any other country. This is hypocrisy and antisemitism, both.

America's public is just fine with the fact that its own way of waging war is far less scrupulous about the laws of war than that of Israel, again a point I make regularly on this blog. Moving from the Bush to the Obama administration has not changed this. Collateral damage is acceptable to Americans to a degree Israel would never dream of; Obama has no intention of changing this because it's the American way of war, though in Afghanistan at the moment the Americans are beginning to be more careful: for tactical reasons, not moral or legal ones.

Settlement expansion in the West Bank is far more limited than you think. The security barrier incorporates less than 5% of the West Bank. Moreover, it has proved to be wildly successful in saving lives.

The war isn't about the occupation. Israel offered to disband most settlements and end the occupation in July 2000 and the Palestinians answered with a wave of suicide murders. Israel unilaterally ended its occupation of Gaza in 2005, and the Palestinians answered with thousands of rockets at civilians. In both cases the Palestinian violence eventually ended when Israel responded with effective violence, thereby proving that its reaction had been proportional to the threat – which takes us back to international law.

The war is about Israel's right to exist. Even prominent Palestinian apologists such as Agha and Malley now admit this. The Palestinians, to give them credit, never said otherwise. Never. Our problem was that we weren't listening to what they were saying quite openly.

taken fromYaacov Lozowick's Ruminations

The Torah Revolution: Does he know?

The Torah Revolution: Does he know?

The Torah Revolution: Is Israel a "Jewish" state?

The Torah Revolution: Is Israel a "Jewish" state?

Parshat Re’eh: Between Man and God and Man

Parshat Re’eh: Between Man and God and Man

August 14, 2009 · Filed Under Re'eh, Weekly Parasha ·

Written by: Nathan Light

This week’s parshah basically consists of an array of commandments. The parshah starts off with negative commandments; divine commands concerning actions we must stay away from. The bulk of these commandments relate primarily to idolatry, and to staying away from forbidden foods. The next half of the parshah then deals with positive commandments; divine commands concerning actions we must cling to in order to serve God. These include tithes, the sabbatical year etc.


Read All at :

Parshat Re’eh: Between Man and God and Man

Posted using ShareThis

Sefer Chabibi Deepest Torah: RE'EI: LIKE WATER FOR BLOOD

RE'EI: LIKE WATER FOR BLOOD

by Rabbi Baruch Binyamin Hakohen Melman

Native Americans honor the spirit of the hunted animal by drinking its blood. They recognize the spiritual nature intrinsic to the blood, and seek thereby to identify with its spiritual essence. The Torah, on the other hand, also recognizes the spiritual essence of life being in the blood, but at the same time forbids us from drinking it.

In parshat Re'ei we are explicitly enjoined to not "eat" the blood of the sacrificial offering. Also in this week's Torah portion we learn that we do not eat the blood because the blood is the soul of the animal:

"ki haDam hu haNefesh (Deut 12:23)."
"for the blood is the soul/life."

Native Americans understood this but in its opposite application. They drank the blood of their prey so as to honor its spirit.But we may rightly ask, in this post sacrificial age, what possible moral lessons can we derive from this teaching? Aside from the practicalities associated with the ritual slaughter that is performed for food, even in this day and age, what can we learn from the following verses?

Read All at :

Sefer Chabibi Deepest Torah: RE'EI: LIKE WATER FOR BLOOD

The Torah Revolution: Scoop: The White House May Be Spamming - Comment sent to Fox's White House correspondent

The Torah Revolution: Scoop: The White House May Be Spamming - Comment sent to Fox's White House correspondent

Israel Matzav: All present and accounted for, sir

All present and accounted for, sir

The IDF announced on Thursday evening that it has accounted for all soldiers and that no soldier has been kidnapped.

The IDF on Thursday night allayed suspicions that a soldier was kidnapped after all soldiers were said to be accounted for at the end of a protracted roll call.

...

The army immediately initiated an emergency procedure roll call throughout all active units, including reservists, after a female soldier who was getting off a bus near an air force base outside the airport told her commanders that she had seen two civilians forcefully pushing a soldier into a car and then fleeing the scene. She was some distance from the scene she had witnessed, officials said, noting that she had passed a lie-detector test.

The IDF reviewed the reliability of the soldier's testimony - the only eyewitness account - while police scrambled helicopters to join ground units trying to prevent the alleged kidnappers from fleeing the region. By the evening, almost all soldiers had been accounted for.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: All present and accounted for, sir

US delegates blame Palestinians for no peace talks - Yahoo! News

US delegates blame Palestinians for no peace talks - Yahoo! News

DoubleTapper: IDF Women

DoubleTapper: IDF Women

PA Agency: Jewish State Threatens All of Humanity - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

PA Agency: Jewish State Threatens All of Humanity - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

Shared via AddThis

70% of Americans See Israel as Ally - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

70% of Americans See Israel as Ally - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News


Shared via AddThis

Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigades Responsible for Terror Attack - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News

Fatah's Al-Aksa Brigades Responsible for Terror Attack - Defense/Middle East - Israel News - Israel National News


Shared via AddThis

Israel Matzav: Breaking: IDF soldier kidnapped near Ben Gurion Airport; UPDATED

Breaking: IDF soldier kidnapped near Ben Gurion Airport; UPDATED

The 'Palestinian' news agency Maan is reporting that an IDF soldier has been kidnapped near Ben Gurion Airport and is being held somewhere near Bethlehem (Hat Tip: Eliyahu P).

Israeli authorities said they were investigating reports of the capture of a soldier near Ben Gurion International Airport, in the center of the country, on Thursday.

“The matter is being investigated,” a military spokesperson told Ma’an when asked about the reports.

A previously unknown group calling itself the “Al-Quds Army” claimed responsibility for the reported capture in a statement sent to Ma’an.

“A group of our resistance fighters captured an Israeli soldier near Ben Gurion Airport and withdrew along with the soldier without incident … we will provide details about the captured soldier later,” the statement said.

Reliable Israeli sources also said that a state of security alert prevailed inside Israel in response to a phone call from a soldier who said he had been captured.

Israeli forces have also set up checkpoints on roads leading into major cities, though reports conflict about the nature and intensity of the reported security measures in Israel. Heavy security checks were also imposed on the road linking Tel Aviv to city of Modi’in (part of which, Modi’in Ilit, is a settlement ) causing a traffic jam.

The website of the prominent Israeli newspaper Haaretz said security checks caused severe delays near the airport.

Some Israeli news sites reported the security measures, but said they were the result of a “specific security warning,” the nature of which the Israeli military censor may have banned from publishing.

More details when I have them.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Breaking: IDF soldier kidnapped near Ben Gurion Airport; UPDATED

Israel Matzav: Video: Hamas terrorist with white flag hiding among civilians

Israel Matzav: Video: Hamas terrorist with white flag hiding among civilians

Israel Matzav: Livni: 'Hundreds of thousands of Israelis' want to leave

Israel Matzav: Livni: 'Hundreds of thousands of Israelis' want to leave

Israel Matzav: Ayalon: Back channel dialogue between Avigdor Lieberman and Hillary Clinton, Livni and Abu Ala notes on Annapolis contradictory

Israel Matzav: Ayalon: Back channel dialogue between Avigdor Lieberman and Hillary Clinton, Livni and Abu Ala notes on Annapolis contradictory

Israel Matzav: Human Rights Watch plays prosecutor, judge and jury

Human Rights Watch plays prosecutor, judge and jury

Human Rights Watch, which recently raised money in Saudi Arabia by bragging about how it 'does battle' with 'pro-Israel pressure groups' claims in a report released on Thursday that Israel shot eleven unarmed 'Palestinians' waving white flags in seven different incidents during Operation Cast Lead. For good measure, most of the eleven are claimed to be women and children.

HRW said it conducted extensive investigations into each of these incidents by visiting the attack sites, examining ballistic evidence, collecting medical records, and interviewing multiple witnesses, at least three people separately for each attack. In one case, forensic pathologists examined a survivor.

While that may (and is designed to) sound impressive, I have to wonder how a forensic pathologist would examine a survivor:

Forensic pathologists determine the cause of death by examination of a cadaver. The autopsy is performed by the pathologist at the request of a coroner usually during the investigation of criminal law cases and civil law cases in some jurisdictions. Forensic pathologists are also frequently asked to confirm the identity of a cadaver.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Human Rights Watch plays prosecutor, judge and jury

Israel Matzav: Life Magazine photos of Israel 1948-67 Part 4: The Life and death of photographer Paul Schutzer

Life Magazine photos of Israel 1948-67 Part 4: The Life and death of photographer Paul Schutzer

This is the fourth and final installment in the collection of Life Magazine photographs of Israel 1948-67 published by Ben Atlas. They are pictures taken by Paul Schutzer, a Life Magazine photographer. Ben explains what happened to him:

Lenny wrote that Paul Schutzer “was embedded with an Israeli armored column moving into Gaza in the 1967 war. His half-track took a direct hit”. They found this film roll in the camera next to Paul Schutzer’s body. I went back to the archive and this is the last roll:

Here's a picture from the roll with Ben's caption:

You can see from the roll that Paul was taking several photos of this moving tank and then the tank takes a direct hit. Next is the direct hit on Paul Schutzer’s track and the three last photos by Paul Schutzer.

Read All at :

Israel Matzav: Life Magazine photos of Israel 1948-67 Part 4: The Life and death of photographer Paul Schutzer