During live MSNBC coverage of a terrorist attack in Tel Aviv in the 3
p.m. ET hour on Wednesday, NBC correspondents Ayman Mohyeldin and Martin
Fletcher took turns blaming Israel’s “right-wing” government for
Palestinian “frustration.” Mohyeldin ranted: “...in terms of the context
of what has been happening in the occupied Palestinian territories, the
occupation, the shift of Israeli politics, including now the current
government, more to the right, to what has been described by Israelis as
even more of an extreme right-wing government, some of the measures
that have taken place in the West Bank, the siege that continues in
Gaza, all of those continue to fester.”
Is this what the US State Department told Belgium and France after their terror attacks?
Posting this in the hope that @apdiplowriter will ask the State Department about it this afternoon.
In the aftermath of the terror attack at the Max Brenner restaurant at Tel Aviv's Sarona Market on Wednesday, the US State Department is warning Israel not to 'escalate tensions.'
"We understand the Israeli government's desire to protect its
citizens after this kind of terrorist attack," said Mark Toner, a
spokesman for the State Department. "We would just hope that any
measures that Israel takes would be designed to not escalate tensions
any further, but we certainly respect their desire to express outrage
and to protect the safety of their people."
Nine Israelis were
shot on Wednesday night by at least three Palestinian men, in what has
been characterized by the United Nations, the US and Israel as an act of
terror. Four of the victims have died.
The decision by Israel not to return the bodies of dead
Palestinian perpetrators to their families– a policy Israel considers a
deterrent against future attacks– is "obviously an internal matter for
Israel to debate," Toner remarked. But he made note of Israel's decision
to constrict ease of travel for thousands of Palestinians in and out of
the strip.
I doubt the State Department bothered to look, but Saturday night and Sunday are the Jewish holiday of Shavuoth, and on Jewish holidays travel from Judea, Samaria and Gaza (isn't there a 'blockade' in Gaza anyway?) is always restricted to humanitarian cases to enable the army to give more leaves.
The Washington Institute's Rob Satloff asks the right question:
Well, of course they didn't. But a different standard always applies to Israel.... I can't wait to hear the reaction when they find out that the cabinet is meeting today to expedite the demolition of the terrorists' homes.
And by the way, the terrorists came from Yata, which is south of Hebron, and not from Gaza.
What difference does it make? Hamas lauds terror attack, Abu Mazen calls it 'natural response' to Israeli 'crimes'
Hamas lauded and - as you can see from the picture above - Gazans celebrated Wednesday night's terror attack in Tel Aviv in which four Israelis were murdered.
The world still doesn't get it. Or doesn't want to get it. Russian Nikolay Mladenov is the UN Special Coordinator for the 'peace process.' He condemned the attack:
I condemn the #terror attack in #TelAviv, all must reject violence & say #NO2terror. Our prayers are with the families of those killed
And Gaza was not the only place they celebrated. Here's a picture from a NATO country of a celebration of the Tel Aviv terror attack. Can you guess in which country this took place?
Okay, it says Istanbul. Yes, Turkey. You know, the country that's supposed to be 'reconciling' with us any day now. Don't hold your breaths.
And finally, for those who have not seen it yet, here's a harrowing video of last night's terror attack.
Mrs. Carl and I went out to dinner here in Jerusalem shortly before the attack happened. The place where we ate had actually had a suicide bombing very close by during the intifada in the early 2000's, and I was surprised to see that there was no security guard outside. My guess is that you go back tonight, there will be one there.
The 'Palestinians' continue to look for opportunities to murder us. Occasionally, they succeed. Fortunately, it's far less often than it was 15 years ago.
By the way, the United States and Hillary Clinton have condemned last night's terror attack. I have not yet seen any condemnation issued by President Obama or Donald Trump. If you see one, please give me a holler. I've been too busy working to post much recently....
There's a 'gay pride' parade today in Tel Aviv, which has drawn more than 200,000 people. For those who accuse Israel of 'pinkwashing,' perhaps this tweet sums it up best:
40-year old terror victim pulls knife out of neck, stabs and neutralizes terrorist - UPDATED with more video WARNING GRAPHIC
A 40-year old ultra-Orthodox Jew in Petach Tikva pulled a knife out of his own neck this afternoon and stabbed and killed the 'Palestinian' terrorist who had stabbed him.
Let's go to the videotape. More after the video.
The Palestinian assailant had followed the man, who was collecting money
for charity, into a wine shop on the central city’s Baron Hirsch Street
and began stabbing him “multiple times” in the upper body in a
“frenzied attack,” police said.
At one point, the victim managed to break away
and fled the store, while the owner of the store hit the attacker and
tried to subdue him, police said. The victim then returned to the store,
pulled the knife out of his own neck, and stabbed his attacker.
Initial reports had said the stabbing may have
occurred during an altercation; however, the incident was later
confirmed by police as a terror attack.
Magen David Adom paramedics said they treated the victim at the scene before taking him to the city’s Beilinson Hospital.
Here's video of the Petach Tikva terrorist on the ground. WARNING - GRAPHIC.
Ten other terror victims were not as lucky this evening in Tel Aviv. They were all stabbed by another 'Palestinian' terrorist on Tel Aviv's beach promenade before the terrorist was shot and killed by police. One victim - an American tourist - has died of his wounds.
An American tourist was killed and at least 10
people were injured Tuesday evening when a Palestinian man carried out a
stabbing spree in Jaffa. Five of the injured were described as being in
critical condition.
The terrorist stabbed his victims in at least three locations in an attack that lasted some 20 minutes, reports said.
The attacker was shot dead by police after a
chase from the Jaffa Port along the Tel Aviv beach promenade. Police
said he was a 21-year-old man from the West Bank Palestinian refugee
camp in Qalqiliya.
...
The Wolfson Medical Center in Tel Aviv
confirmed one victim, a 29-year-old American tourist, arrived at the
hospital dead, and one other was being treated in the trauma unit in
critical condition. The tourist’s wife was severely injured in the
attack, according to Zaki Heller, spokesperson for the Magen David Adom
ambulance service.
Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital said it received
six victims, one in critical condition, two in moderate condition and
two suffering from lighter wounds. The hospital’s medical director
confirmed that one of the victims was a pregnant woman. Another of the
victims was an Arab Israeli — Jaffa is a mixed city with a sizable Arab
population — and one a Palestinian man who was residing in Israel
illegally, police reported.
Waiting to hear if the United Nations 'human rights council' calls the Petach Tikva victim's response 'disproportionate.'
Two police officers were also shot in the head in a drive-by shooting by a 'Palestinian' terrorist outside the Old City of Jerusalem's Damascus Gate. One of those officers is in critical condition.
UPDATE 11:18 PM
For those who speak Hebrew, here is an interview with 39-year old Yonatan Ezrihab from Yavneel (a small village on the Western part of the Galilee in which Mrs. Carl and I have stayed a couple of times). Ezrihab is a father of five children and he was the one who pulled the knife out of his own neck and stabbed the terrorist in Petach Tikva today.
Let's go to the videotape.
גיבור היום: יונתן, אב לחמישה, נדקר בפיגוע בפתח תקווה - והצליח להדוף את המחבל. צפו בעדותו http://bit.ly/1pvXqCUלהצדיע לו!
Posted by ynet on Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Israeli police kill terrorist who murdered 3 in Tel Aviv, 'Palestinian peace partners' declare him a martyr
Shavua tov, a good week to everyone.
Last Friday, a 'Palestinian' terrorist named Nashat Milhem opened fire on a Tel Aviv cafe murdering three people. (The number of people Milhem murdered has been corrected in this post).
This Friday, agents from Israel's General Security Service killed Milhem in a shootout in his hometown of Arara in Northern Israel.
Milhem was found in his hideout and was discovered after the Shin Bet
received information on his location on Friday, following an intensive
Shin Bet - Israel Police investigation that included many undercover
and overt operations to track him down.
The shooter tried to escape when he noticed security in the area, and
opened fire at security forces using the Spectre M4 Falcon sub-machine
gun in his possession, which he also used to murder his victims in Tel
Aviv the previous week, the Shin Bet stated.
The family has erected a mourner's tent in his memory.
That would be the same family whose head called for his son's arrest. The father was arrested anyway four days ago.
Hamas declared Nashat Milhem a 'martyr.' So did our 'peace partners' at the 'Palestinian Authority.' Until they figured out that he was an 'Israeli Arab.'
The PA Ministry of Health initially added Milhem, who is an Israeli
citizen, to its list of “martyrs” who were killed by Israelis during the
current wave of terrorism, which began in early October.
However,
the ministry on Friday night removed Milhem’s name from the list. The
ministry explained that it documents the names of Palestinian “martyrs”
only in areas that fall under its jurisdiction, namely the West Bank,
Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem.
However, the ministry did not
offer any explanation as to why another Israeli Arab, Muhanad al-Okabi,
is included in its list of “martyrs.” Al-Okabi, who carried out the
October 18 terror attack at the Beersheba Central Bus Station, appears
as number 31 on the PA ministry’s list of “martyrs.”
The
ministry defended the decision to remove Milhem’s name from its “list of
martyrs” by arguing that this does not mean that he is not entitled to
be characterized as a “martyr.”
A statement issued by the PA
ministry praised Milhem as “one of the most precious martyrs whose name
has been inscribed with his pure blood that watered our the soil of our
free land.”
The ministry dismissed criticism by many Palestinians
for excluding Milhem from the list, saying he is no difference between
him and any other Palestinian “martyr.”
“We are proud of our
Palestinian people in the 1948 lands,” the PA ministry said, referring
to Israel’s Arab citizens. “We are proud of their sacrifices and
achievements. No one can deny their belonging to their homeland,
Palestine.”
In other words, the 'Palestinian Authority' still loves him anyway.
It will be interesting to see how many 'Israeli Arab' politicians show up at the 'mourning tent' and how their Leftist supporters in Tel Aviv will react if they do.
Breaking: Five shot, 1 dead in apparent terror attack in Tel Aviv - UPDATED x2 2 Dead 7 Wounded
There's been what was probably a terror attack on Tel Aviv's swanky Dizengoff Street. As you'll see below, the rescuers are saying it was a terror attack, and that the terrorist was wounded, but Israel Radio's 3:00 pm news reported that the background of the incident is not clear, and that police are chasing the attacker through the streets of North Tel Aviv. Of course, one account does not necessarily contradict the other.
Sharon, Massachusetts teenager murdered in terror attack in Israel
Greetings from Chicago where I have VERY limited internet access.
An 18-year old on his 'gap year' in Israel was murdered today in a terror attack near Gush Etzion. Below is the email sent out by my alma mater, Maimonides School in Brookline, Mass. from which Ezra Schwartz HY"D (May God Avenge his blood) graduated just a few months ago (Hat Tip: Lance K).
Dear friends,
It is with a broken heart that I must share with you the very sad news that Ezra Schwartz, z"l, a graduate of the Class of 2015, was murdered in a terrorist attack in Israel earlier today. Ezra was spending his gap year studying at Yeshivat Ashreinu in Beit Shemesh.
While here at school we are focused on supporting our 550 students and our alumni in the Class of 2015, I am writing you this brief note because we are all part of the Maimonides School family and today we suffered an unbearable loss.
We offer our deepest condolences to Ezra's parents Ari and Ruth Schwartz of Sharon and siblings Mollie '14, and current Maimonides students Avi, Elon, and Hillel.
May the Schwartz family and the Maimonides School family be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
Very sincerely,
Naty Katz
Head of School
No, he was not in the IDF - he was in the Ashreinu Yeshiva in Beit Shemesh. Here's Arutz Sheva.
[Ezra Schwartz] and the other students who were hurt in the attack had come to
help build the Oz Vegaon site, which was established in memory of the
three yeshiva students who were abducted and murdered last summer.
His funeral will be held in Boston on Sunday.
ZAKA emergency services have contacted his family in the US, as well as a relative in Israel who is to identify his body.
The Beit Shemesh Municipality announced that it is "shocked and
grief-stricken by the murder of the yeshiva student, in the shooting
attack at Guush Etzion."
Schwartz had come, together with five other students from abroad, to hand out food to soldiers in Gush Etzion.
The five other students were lightly wounded and are being treated at Shaare Tzedek Hospital in Jerusalem.
The students are in Israel as part of a program in which youths
volunteer for 9.5 months, studying at yeshiva during the day and
volunteering in the evenings.
The adult who was killed in the attack was Yaakov Don, an alumnus of Yeshivat Har Etzion, where I also studied.
Full story of the Alon Shvut terror attack here. There was also a terror attack at a Tel Aviv synagogue today. That story is here. 'Peace' is not at hand.
Passengers on an Iberia flight from Madrid to Tel Aviv on Wednesday reported that the pilot welcomed them to 'Palestine' on landing.
During the flight from Madrid by Spain’s
national carrier, the pilot announced in Spanish that he was preparing
to land “in Tel Aviv, in Palestine.” In English, he subsequently said he
was preparing to land “in Tel Aviv,” and did not repeat the “Palestine”
comment; neither did he say “Israel.”
Lior, a passenger on the flight, told Channel 2 news that he was “a little bit shocked.”
“I don’t understand why he said this,” said
Lior. “We live in the State of Israel and he should have said ‘Israel.’
There was a reason he didn’t say it in English. It was deliberate.”
Another passenger said “everyone noticed” that the pilot didn’t mention Israel by name.
One of the passengers sent a letter to the
company complaining about the pilot’s conduct, saying he and his family
“were very offended,” and adding, “It is inappropriate and does serve
your company well,” Channel 2 reported.
The Spanish news website 20 Minutos reported
on Thursday morning that the Israeli ambassador in Madrid penned a
“tough letter” to the president of Iberia in which he asked him to take
disciplinary measures against the pilot.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported that an Iberia
spokeswoman in Israel apologized on behalf of the airline and said the
pilot who made the announcement would not be flying the route to Israel
until the matter was fully investigated by the airline.
Iberia is now denying that the pilot said 'Palestine.'
After speaking with “members of both cockpit and cabin crews and with
other passengers on board” to clarify the situation, Iberia has
determined “the word ‘Palestine’ was not used in the announcement,”
according to a statement posted on the airline’s website.
“The captain adhered to the standard format, in which only the
airports of origin and destination are named, and not countries,
regions, or territories,” Iberia said.
The announcement was first made in Spanish and then in English. The
airline claims the captain said, “Dear passengers, we’re now descending
to land at our destination, Tel Aviv.”
However, passengers may have been confused, according to Iberia.
“Both the airline and the crew regret the misunderstanding, which
could have been caused by the similar sound of the Spanish word
‘destino,’ meaning ‘destination’, with ‘Palestina.’ No such confusion
was caused by the message in English, passengers said.”
If he had said 'Israel' or 'Palestine,' it would have been a breach of protocol. I fly a lot, and I don't recall ever hearing an airline pilot announce the name of the country in whose airport we were landing.
'Sources' accuse @AmericanAir of selling out to anti-Israel crowd
'Industry sources' are accusing @AmericanAir of stopping service to Israel out of a desire to please its partners in the OneWorld alliance.
“Profitability wasn’t a problem,” said an industry source, who asked not to be identified. “The past year hasn’t been easy for the airline industry in general, but that’s far from saying that the route wasn’t profitable. No one would have operated a money-losing route for so many years.”
American made the decision due to the OneWorld global alliance, whose members include Arab carriers like Qatar Airways and Royal Jordanian and the carrier of the Muslim-majority Asian country Malaysia, asserted the source.
Oneworld is the third largest global alliance in terms of passengers flown by its member carriers, behind Star Alliance and SkyTeam. American was one the founding airlines of Oneworld, which helps smooth connections between member airlines and coordinate frequent-flier benefits.
American flew about 95,000 passengers on the route so far this year, an increase of 2.7% from the same time in 2014, according to Israel Airport Authority figures.
But a spokesman for the carrier, Casey Norton, told Bloomberg News that the airline lost $20 million last year on the route and that it had never been profitable. “It is strictly a financial decision,” Norton said.
American began flying to Israel almost two years ago after it took over the route in a merger with US Airways, which had been serving Israel since 2009. After the merger, American signaled its commitment to the Israel route by sending a team of executives to Israel. In meetings with the media, they vowed to expand the route and add U.S. destinations.
Now a team of American executives is due to arrive in Israel next week to oversee the practical steps of shutting down the route. The fate of the 19 staff the carrier now employs in Israel is unclear – sales will likely be taken over by an independent agent.
Sorry - I don't buy the 'financial reasons' for shutting down the route (at least not the claim that it was a money loser), but I don't buy this either. Here's a list of the other airlines in the OneWorld alliance that fly into Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport: Air Berlin, British Airways, FinnAir, Iberia and (ha! ha!) Royal Jordanian. No, they aren't stopping the flight here because of OneWorld.
I would bet that the real reason is those former TWA employees. $15 million is a lot of money for a route that probably makes a fraction of that every year.
Oh and remember when American ended their code sharing relationship with El Al? It was back again on European flights almost immediately. No, you can't earn American miles for an El Al flight anymore, but you can earn and redeem miles on El Al flights using American code share numbers.
Say it ain't so: @AmericanAir to stop flying to Tel Aviv
By 5:00 am on Friday, I had two emails asking me if it was really true that American Airlines is going to stop flying its Tel Aviv - Philadelphia route. As a Platinum frequent flier with 500,000 miles on American, I have a small stake in that decision. Unfortunately, the answer appears to be yes.
American Airlines announced Friday that it will close its Tel Aviv-Philadelphia route in 2016.
The decision was made based on financial considerations, the airline said.
The
last direct flight from Philadelphia to Tel Aviv will be on January 4,
2016. The final Tel Aviv to Philadelphia flight will take place the next
day.
Dormant complications between former Trans World Airlines employees
and American Airlines are rekindling after American merged with US
Airways, which currently operates flights from the United States to
Israel.
The tension between the former workers and the airline began when
American acquired TWA’s assets in 2001 and discontinued service to
Israel. According to newspaper reports at the time, the move left over
75 people without jobs and pension benefits. The situation spurred a
nine-year legal battle between the former TWA employees and American,
which was settled four years ago in court.
TWA operated non-stop flights from the U.S. to Israel for over a half a century before it was forced into bankruptcy.
That article was from 2014, which means that the settlement was in 2010. One can only wonder why American settled (they rejected the TWA contracts in bankruptcy court, which is completely legal in the US). They could have ignored the former TWA employees... except that they wanted to operate in Israel, which would not regard the American bankruptcy court ruling as the last word. That must mean that the market here is lucrative. And it is. We have a huge tourism industry for a country this size, and British and Lufthansa - the two largest European carriers here - keep adding flights. United and Delta have never complained about having problems turning a profit here. If American can't make it flying here out of Philadelphia, they could surely make it out of Miami or Chicago or San Francisco, all of which have huge traffic to Israel (the latter being largely high tech types and not necessarily tourists) who don't have direct flights here. So what gives? Well, here's a hint:
American still owes Israeli ex-TWA employees over $15 million.
However American is saying that the reason for the cancellation is that the route has always been a money-loser.
That’s rather curious as USAirways’ president Scott Kirby has called
the route among the most lucrative in their system. Newark-Tel Aviv was
also publicly called the most profitable in Continental’s system in the
past.
Of course profit is a funny thing. United CEO Jeff Smisek lied about Cleveland’s hub not being profitable when the real reason for the cuts was a severe regional jet pilot shortage. But
that couldn’t be the stated public reason because that would make
United liable to pay millions of dollars to Cleveland and Ohio for
pulling out against their promise to keep the Cleveland hub alive as
long as it remained profitable. United is even adding flights back to
Cleveland , including several nonstops to Florida and more routes will
be returned as well according to sources.
Profit can easily be manipulated by
attributing various costs to the flight. And no doubt the cost of paying
back the ex-TWA workers is a factor here.
Or perhaps American doesn’t want to pay off TWAs debts to avoid
setting a precedent of paying off TWAs debts when they only purchased
TWAs assets in the first place?
At any rate, American is stating that they will not be serving Tel
Aviv from other hubs. Both their JFK and Miami routes are natural fits
for service to Tel Aviv, so if American’s issues are ever resolved I’d
expect routes from those hubs rather than Philadelphia.
American will be contacting customers booked to fly
the Philadelphia-Tel Aviv route next year with options for alternate
arrangements or a refund.
So it's the Israeli employees after all? I've seen that pension liability estimated at $15-20 million, which is a lot of money for 75 employees - about half a million dollars each. There's no Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation here like in the US. On the other hand, one has to wonder how a bunch of ticket agents (hint: There were no pilots based here) built pensions that size.
By the way, one of the upshots of that episode is that when you check in at the airport with any airline other than El Al, the person checking you in is almost always an airport employee and not an employee of the foreign airline. How do I know that? Because I've had enough conversations with British Airways and American (USAir) agents in the last two years. When they tell me they've never been to London or the US, it's pretty obvious they're not airline employees (the biggest perk of being an airline employee is free airfare).
In any event, at least one Philadelphia Congressman is furious about this.
Congressman Chaka Fattah (PA-02),
released a statement after the announcement by American Airlines today
that they will stop service on their nonstop route between Philadelphia and Tel Aviv effective January 4:
"I am strongly opposed to the decision announced today by American
Airlines to cancel this flight route. It is a critically important
route, both for the constituents in my district who travel between Philadelphia and Tel Aviv, and also for the growing business relationship between our city and Israel.
The effects of this decision will not only hurt tourism between our two
countries, it will have a negative impact on our economies. The ease
and accessibility offered by this flight had significant long-term
potential to stimulate growth and communication.
"I hope to work with American Airlines to see if there is an
alternative solution to cancelling the route and will seek a meeting
with the appropriate officials in the coming weeks to discuss options to
keep this flight operating."
Okay, so it's kind of funny to see Chaka Fattah making such a fuss about this. His last appearance on this blog was here.
I'm sure a few of you are going to wonder what I'm going to do with all that mileage. I'll probably just keep right on flying, but it's going to be harder to accumulate and use the mileage. Here's why:
1. There was no mileage for American frequent fliers on USAir until quite recently. Until March of this year, I had never flown the USAir flight. I've flown it once to Philadelphia and twice to Tel Aviv since March. Where were all my other trips? (I'm going for the 5th time this year later this month). Mostly British, at least until London, but in the last two years I have also flown out of Israel on Iberia, FinnAir and Air Berlin.
2. Nearly all of El Al's European flights now have American code share numbers. I can accumulate mileage that way... but I can only do it on the way back to Israel if I can limit myself to one suitcase.... (Fat chance).
3. Other than American, the only airlines in the OneWorld group that come in here that give full mileage credit for any leg into or out of Israel are British and FinnAir. Iberia gives you 80% in coach on Madrid-Tel Aviv flights, and Air Berlin gives as little as 25% depending on how much you pay for your ticket. By the way, I flew FinnAir Tel Aviv - Helsinki - London either last winter or the winter before and they were a pleasure.
4. It would take me six months or more to reach the point where I can choose my own seats in advance on any other airline group. Six months of sitting with my knees against the seat in front of me (and I'm only 5'8")....
5. British and Iberia both charge huge fees for 'free' travel - $350 per leg the last time I checked. But as an elite flyer I may be exempt from that which will give me opportunities to use my mileage.
6. One thing I will NOT do is switch to El Al (yes, I have a number, but I rarely use it). I'm not flying an airline that takes away my mileage every 18 months whether or not I fly. I'd rather accumulate my miles and use them for big family trips and the like.
Anyone who has advice, please feel free to chime in....
A couple of years ago I posted the video below, which simulates a nuclear attack on Israel. I couldn't find the post, but I found the video.
Let's go to the videotape.
@KurtSchlichter has written a fictional account at Townhall of an Iranian nuclear attack on Israel - aided and abetted by the Obama administration. It's a very realistic scenario and it's about a year away.
The Iranians, from the beginning, cheated on a massive scale, and
Benjamin Netanyahu’s government immediately redoubled its efforts to
ensure the Iranians could not cross the line from aspiring to actual
nuclear power. Israeli cyber warriors worked to slow the program
remotely, but the NSA – on President Obama’s orders – assisted the
Iranians in hardening their computer systems pursuant to the nuclear
deal’s notorious “sabotage” provisions.
But it was not the Israelis who discovered the secret Iranian
parallel program that Netanyahu revealed to the world in March 2016. It
was the Americans who discovered it; the Israelis found out from sources
within the U.S. intelligence community who were horrified that the
Obama administration knew the Iranians were steadily advancing toward
completing their first bomb but was keeping it secret.
Ignoring the Iranians’ actions, President Obama lashed out at
Netanyahu after the Prime Minister revealed the program in a press
conference.
“These kind of inflammatory statements harm the cause of peace and
drive a wedge between allies,” Obama said, his rage unhidden. “This kind
of behavior is, frankly, dangerous to Israel’s safety.”
Obama’s barely-concealed threat was clear; he would not tolerate any
challenge to his legacy regardless of the risk to the Jewish state.
...
On July 5, 2016, with one hour to go before launch, Netanyahu
received a call from Vice President Joe Biden. U.S. intelligence had
seen the preparations and anticipated the strike; Biden, as the
conversation transcript later revealed, was clearly frightened.
“Benjamin, we’ve known each other a long time. You’ve got to believe
me. If you launch, he’ll warn the Iranians and he’ll order American
forces to shoot down your jets. I can’t talk him out of it. He’s
serious. He’ll do it. Please, please call it off.”
At that moment, Netanyahu was handed an intelligence update. There
was increased aircraft activity on the USS Reagan afloat just outside
the Persian Gulf, and Iranian anti-aircraft missile batteries were
alerting. President Obama was preparing to launch fighters and had
already warned the Iranians.
With a heavy heart, Netanyahu called off Operation Masada. A week
later, news of the fiasco was leaked by “an anonymous White house
source” to the New York Times. In the resulting uproar in Israel,
Netanyahu resigned. His place was taken by an elderly Laborite who
proclaimed, “This is an opportunity for peace!” and vowed to work
closely with the Obama administration. He was welcomed to Washington the
next week and treated with respect in return for his obedience.
Israelis were going to breakfast on August 30, 2016, when the bomb
went off above Tel Aviv. There was an unfathomably bright flash in the
cloudless sky at about 1515 feet, calculated precisely to be high enough
to maximize the thermal and blast effects but low enough to churn up
substantial fallout. It detonated over the Jaffa area of southern
outskirts of the city instead of where it was aimed, the government
center – only the Iranians could manage to miss a city with an A-bomb.
Ironically, Ground Zero was heavily populated by Israeli Arabs.
...
On CNN and MSNBC, Democrat “strategists” went on the air offering the
carefully crafted talking points hurriedly drafted in the West Wing,
accusing “warmongering Republicans” calling for retaliation against the
mullahs of “playing politics with this tragedy.” On the campaign trail,
Hillary Clinton refused to take questions, and insisted that, “This is
no time for the kind of hateful, incendiary language my opponent is
using.”
Only Fox News showed footage of Iranians laughing and singing in the
streets. Similarly, on several college campuses, students marched to
demand that there be no humanitarian aid to “the Zionist entity.” There
was also a video, widely shown on Fox and on conservative websites, but
never on any mainstream media outlet, of a prominent Democratic Senate
nominee high fiving some of her donors upon hearing the news.
Read the whole thing. The only details that might be unrealistic are that he has Scott Walker winning the Presidency (if only the next US President is a Republican - I fear it is going to be Hillary Clinton) and making the Marine who stormed out of the US command center that wouldn't help Israel the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and that he has Netanyahu returning to power after Walker's election.
Kurt's article reminded me a lot of this article by Steven Plaut about the day after a 'Palestinian state.' It was written in 2003, around the time that Israel started getting a handle on the intifadeh.
But the counterposing of those two data points won't stop the gay community worldwide from attacking Israel and supporting the 'Palestinians' and the Muslim world in general.
We are sharing the following message from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv:
The Israel National Police advised the U.S. Embassy that a demonstration planned by members of the Ethiopian Israeli community is scheduled for today, Sunday, May 3, at15:00in the vicinity of haKirya, Kaplan Street, and Azrieli Towers in central Tel Aviv, near district government offices and the Israeli Defense Forces headquarters.
This demonstration has the potential of drawing large crowds. A similar protest held in Jerusalemon Thursdaylasted several hours and turned violent, resulting in injuries, arrests, and property damage. We advise U.S. citizens to avoid the area and to monitor local media for updates.
Even demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence. You should avoid areas of demonstrations, and exercise caution if in the vicinity of any large gatherings, protests, or demonstrations.Review your personal security plans; remain aware of your surroundings, including local events; and monitor local news stations for updates. Maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to enhance your personal security and follow instructions of local authorities.
The demonstration in Jerusalem on Thursday was the result of the publication on the internet of a video in which police in Holon (a suburb of Tel Aviv) beat an Ethiopian soldier who attempted to enter an area that had been cordoned off due to the presence of a suspicious object. Suspicions of racial motivations seem to be universal these days....
More 'Palestinian' terrorism: Molotov cocktail thrown at bus on main Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway - UPDATED X2
#Imagine riding a bus home then this: Molotov cocktail hurled at Israeli bus on main road between Jerusalem & TelAviv pic.twitter.com/wQWIr1uDbf
— Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) April 25, 2015
Not sure whether this is Route 1 or Route 443. The latter seems more likely.
UPDATE 11:09 PM
In a tweeted response to me @LTCPeterLerner says that the bus was plying Route 443.
A liberal who's been mugged is a conservative. Get a load of this:
The French foreign ministry issues a statement expressing solidarity with Israel in its struggle with terror. I think a first. #TelAviv
— Noga Tarnopolsky (@NTarnopolsky) January 21, 2015
The 'Palestinian Authority' is trying to shift the blame to Hamas for Wednesday morning's terror attack in Tel Aviv.
גורם ביטחוני פלסטיני: המחבל תומך חמאס. לא פעיל רשום. זומן בעבר לחקירה במנגנוני הרש"פ. אמו, מוכרת לבוש לדתיות מוסלמיות, פעילה בחמאס רמאללה.
— Gal Berger גל ברגר (@galberger) January 21, 2015
The tweet is from Gal Berger, Israel Radio's Arab affairs correspondent. Translation for the Hebrew-impaired:
'Palestinian security source': The terrorist is a Hamas supporter. Not a registered activist. Has been invited for questioning in the past by the 'Palestinian Authority' system. His mother sells clothing to religious Muslims, and is active in Hamas in Ramallah.
The mother is divorced. The terrorist has been living with her in Ramallah (which is quite close to Jerusalem) but is originally from Tulkarm (which is northeast of Tel Aviv).
The assailant, a 23-year-old male from the West Bank city of
Tulkarem who entered Israel illegally, was shot in the leg by an Israel
Prison Service officer on Hamasger Street, near the scene of the
incident, and taken into custody.
The attack took place on Bus number 40 on Menachem
Begin Road, a major thoroughfare in Tel Aviv, near the Ma'ariv Bridge.
Three other people were moderately wounded, and five of the casualties
were in light condition, according to Magen David Adom emergency
services. A further five were suffering from shock.
The stabbing is being treated as a "terror attack," Israel Police foreign press spokesman Micky Rosenfeld wrote on Twitter.
The terrorist's name is Hamzeh Matrouk, and although he was from Tulkarm, he actually lives in Ramallah.
Hamzeh Matrouk is the name of the stabber in Tel Aviv. From Tulkarem but lived in Ramallah.
— Khaled Abu Toameh (@KhaledAbuToameh) January 21, 2015
Prime Minister Netanyahu blamed 'moderate' 'Palestinian' President Mahmoud AbbasAbu Mazen for inciting this attack, while Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman went even further and blamed the entire 'Palestinian' and 'Israeli Arab' leadership. Hamas is celebrating, while Israel's Left notes that Israelis don't feel safe. No kidding. Do you think we'll feel safer if the 'Palestinians' can enter our cities freely?
On March 21, 1997, six-month old Shani Winter survived a suicide bombing in Cafe Apropos in Tel Aviv when her mother, Anat, shielded her with her body. Anat was killed in the bombing along with two other women, and 48 people were wounded.
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
