The father of the Arab child who died in a firebomb attack on his home in Duma died himself this morning. Israel has made a lot of noise about arresting 'Jewish terrorists' and yet to date, no one has been charged with the attack in Duma, and rumors continue to swirl about the victimized family being involved in a long-standing feud within the local community.
This is from the second link.
The ZOA issued a statement that says in effect, don't be so fast to blame the Jews. They note several very strong points:
1. The victims' family have been involved in a blood-feud with an opposing clan for the last 18 years;
2. The two homes set on fire were in the center of a hostile Arab
village – an unlikely choice for Israelis entering from outside the
village. It would have been extremely difficult for Israeli Jews to
reach and then to depart from the center of a hostile Arab village
without being detected.
3. Similar graffiti has never been found in radical Jewish "price-tag" attacks.
And, in adding my own doubts, what hit-man has the time to stand
around and compose graffiti on the walls, complete with drawing crowns
and Stars of David? In fact, the Star of David in the above photo looks
very much like the type you'd see in Arab anti-Semitic cartoons.
Israel's secret services are very capable. A professional
graphologist can discern quite a bit from the above two writings on the
walls. Even a novice like me can tell you that the crooked kuf in nekama [above] is indicative of a person with extremely violent
tendencies, one who has probably harmed people before. Without a doubt, a
professional could shed much light on the perpetrator's profile; that
is, if the Israeli Government really wants the truth.
The first two points were both discussed at great length here.
'Settler' goes along on Leftist condolence visit to Arab village
A revenant in his 20's named Yonadav Tapuchi went along on a Leftist-sponsored visit to the site of the two arson attacks in the village of Duma last week. (You can see a post about a similar visit here). Tapuchi said that he went along on the trip to show that not everyone on the Right agrees with last week's actions (which are still presumed to have been carried out by a Jew from the Right), and that although he is a supporter of Jewish settlement of the entire land in Israel, some actions are simply beyond the pale.
For those of you who read Hebrew, you can find his original thoughts here (it's accessible). For those who do not, Hillel Fendel has translated most of them into English.
"I had difficult feelings after my trip," Yonadav wrote, "which can
be divided into three groups. First, there is no doubt that this was
a shocking crime. It is simply terrible to wake up in the middle of the
night to find your house and family going up in flames, to escape by the
skin of your teeth, and then to find that you have lost a son.
...My condolences to the family; may they know no more pain."
"The second area concerns the anthropological experience I had on the
bus filled with veteran left-wing activists from Tel Aviv – a
horrific scene of hatred-filled talk: hatred of settlers, hatred of the
religious, and especially of haredim; hatred of the State of
Israel; and explanations why it was a moral imperative to leave and move
to another country.
"When we arrived at the village, we were surrounded by Arab
photographers. We were informed that the original plan had been
changed, and that before visiting the actual mourning family, we would
first see the burnt houses. Thus, a bunch of Jews with their heads held
low were photographed near and in the burnt houses and the Hebrew
graffiti there. A representative of the family and the village then gave
a short speech ('the settlers should expect the worst!,' he warned). We
were then told that actually, the village is quite up in arms, and that
it would not be convenient for us to actually comfort the mourning
family, and that we had better leave fast.
"I and others felt that this whole thing was a media trick to get the
'Yahud' [Arabic for 'the Jews' – ed.] to take part in humiliating set
of photos near the buildings, and that they had never planned to allow
us to come in actual contact with the family."
The third set of impressions that Yonadav Tapuchi came away with
concerned the suspicious nature of the alleged arson. He did not
mention that there have been reports of an ongoing, 18-year feud between
two clans in Duma that might be related to the murderous arson. In
addition, one of the two graffiti messages – the single word nekamah,
meaning "revenge" – has calligraphic elements that raise the suspicion
that it was actually sprayed by an Arab.
There was actually a report up in Hebrew on rotter.net yesterday that claimed that suspects had been arrested in connection with the arson, and that they were Arabs. But when I clicked on the link from Twitter, the post had been removed. It is not unheard of in this country for a report like that to be censored by the military censor for some period of time. In other words, the report could still be true.
And that's not the only thing that's suspicious.
"According to the Duma version, the attackers burnt one house, then
saw that it was empty, and so they went to set fire to the next
house. The second house is enclosed by a fence, and the windows are
covered by a dense lattice; a firebomb cannot be hurled through the
windows, and in any event it is very hard to reach the windows behind
the fence. The arsonists had to go around the house, enter the yard, and
place the firebombs through the lattice. According to the Duma version,
the attackers entered the house, stood over the parents and did not let
them leave until the flames engulfed the house. Only then did the
arsonists run away from the village.
"I can only say that when the arsonists are ultimately caught, we
will get to hear a fascinating story of why they chose to navigate their
way all the way into the middle of the village, and how they had time
to set a house on fire, wait to find that it was empty, then walk
around and enter another house and set it on fire, wait with the
parents, spray graffiti in two places – including with a little design
of a crown! – and then run away through the middle of the village with
all the townspeople surely already up and on their feet seeing
the flames and hearing the family's cries. Something here is very
fishy…"
The Samaria Revenants Committee has put out a video attacking Israel's Left as collaborators with European (neo) Nazis.
Let's go to the videotape.
Does it go too far? Let's just say that one of the reasons it has caused such an uproar here is that there is a lot of truth to the accusations.... Note that the coin being flipped to each collaborator is a Euro and the Europeans heavily fund Israel's Leftist NGO's.
But I have to say that the Left has gone way out of line in response, accusing the Prime Minister of being behind the video. The revenants are nearly as critical of Netanyahu as they are of the Left.
Can you imagine what would happen if an Israeli consulate in the US did this?
On Friday, US consulate personnel from 'east' Jerusalem showed up at the Israeli encampment in Samaria known as Adei Ad to 'investigate' the alleged uprooting of trees by local residents. The consulate personnel were accompanying 'Palestinians.' They did not coordinate their visit with the Israeli security forces (as is the accepted protocol) and when the residents started throwing stones at them, at least one consulate security guard pulled a shotgun and an M-16 rifle.
An Israeli police spokeswoman said the delegation arrived at Adei Ad in U.S. diplomatic cars without first having coordinated the visit with Israeli authorities. She said the purpose of the trip was to inspect nearby trees that had been uprooted in what their Palestinian owners suspect was vandalism by Jewish settlers.
"Rocks were thrown at them by residents of Adei Ad. We are investigating. Arrests have yet to be made," the spokeswoman said. She said she did not know of any damage to the vehicles and had no further information on the delegates' identities.
An Adei Ad resident who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said that he had not witnessed the incident but had been told by fellow settlers who were involved that the U.S. delegates came within 50 yards (metres) of the settlement in two diplomatic cars accompanied by local Palestinians.
The resident said several settlers went out to confront the group. He declined to confirm or deny that the settlers threw stones, but said two armed diplomatic guards briefly emerged from the cars.
"One had a pistol, the other an M-16, and they pointed them at the settlers," the resident said.
Asked about this account, the Israeli police spokeswoman said: "We have no indication that anyone in the U.S. delegation brandished weapons."
Can you imagine if the Israeli embassy sent someone to investigate alleged vandalism (against Israeli citizens - here the 'Palestinians' may not have been American citizens) in the US? Everyone involved would be immediately declared persona non grata. And that's exactly what the revenants would like to see happen.
Acting Head of the Samaria Regional Council, Yossi Dagan, has filed a
request to the Minister of the Interior Gilad Erdan demanding he
immediately expel the American Consulate staff members who entered the
Samaria village of Adei Ad Friday and threatened Israeli Jews with an M-16.
"As revealed through Wikileaks few years ago, these supposed
'officials' are intelligence agents and spies in every respect," said
Dagan, adding "this time, they went too far and participated in a
provocative tour with the Palestinians in the southern
Samaria and north Binyamin, without any coordination as required with
the IDF and police, and pulled out a firearm and threatened Israeli
civilians."
"This is a crossing of all red lines," he continued. "This event
could have descended easily into bloodshed and only as a result of the
settlers' responsible behavior was [a scenario like that] prevented."
"I request that in view of the serious and criminal conduct, that
these [US] security guards and officials be deported," he added.
"If Israeli intelligence officials and armed Israeli security
guards stationed in one of the Israeli consulates in the United States
had participated in a political provocation without any coordination
with the police and threatened American citizens with weapons, at best,
they would be arrested and deported, and the more likely case would be
them spending several years in federal prison."
Indeed they would. The hostility of the 'east' Jerusalem consulate to Israel is well-known and this is not the first incident involving consulate personnel overstepping their bounds. It will be interesting to see what is said at the State Department briefing on Monday about this incident (there has not been a briefing since last Tuesday). But if the US makes a fuss out of this, Israel should push back hard.
Great news: 'Palestinians' willing to take 'some' Jews but no 'settlements'
A former 'Palestinian minister' says that the 'Palestinian Authority' would be willing to have 'some' Jews remain in the reichlet that they are demanding that Israel give them. But they are not willing to have any 'settlements,' which has to make you wonder where they think those Jews will live.
[Ashraf] Al Ajrami told IDF Radio that “Israeli settlements will not be allowed to remain inside the territory of the Palestinian state.”
"If you want to reside [there], you will have to reside [there] as a
Palestinian citizen like all the others,” he explained. “If there is
agreement on leaving a few thousand [Jewish] citizens within the
territory of the Palestinian Authority, that can be done. But Israeli
settlements – that is, under some kind of Israeli control – will not
exist.”
Al Ajrami had been asked to respond to the idea leaked by Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's bureau, according to which Jewish
communities will not be torn down in a future peace deal with
“Palestine” – but rather transferred intact into Palestinian
sovereignty.
Al Ajrami also estimated that the negotiations between Israel and the
PA are on the verge of collapse. “I know where things stand,” he
assured his interviewer.
Meanwhile, MK Moshe Feiglin says that if Netanyahu is serious about abandoning the revenants across the green line, he could at least leave part of the IDF there with them.
Feiglin thinks that if Israel opts for the plan, it should at least
give the settlers part of the IDF, so they can defend themselves.
"The part filled by the settlers in the state's security – in blood
and money – is greater than that of any other section sector in Israel's
population,” wrote Feiglin on his Facebook page.
"The idea of abandoning them to the gangs of the PLO and Hamas is an
evil and cruel one. But if someone means this seriously, it is only
right that the settler's proportional part in the edifice of the IDF be
left in their hands, so that they can defend themselves.”
That's a nice idea, but it won't happen. The IDF would have to give up too much of its officer corps.
Economics Minister Naftali Bennett (Jewish Home) quickly shot down the idea in a Facebook post.
“The idea that Jewish communities will live under Palestinian
sovereignty, as expressed by the Prime Minister's Office, is a very
grave matter, and it reflects a panicked loss of values,” said Bennett.
"2,000 years of longing for the Land of Israel did not transpire so that
we could live under Abu Mazen's rule”
The idea “pulls the ground out from beneath our settlement of Tel Aviv” as well, he stated.
Bennett called on Netanyahu to immediately deny that the idea reflects his policy.
He wants Netanyahu to deny the truth? Maybe Bennett needs to wake up to reality. Saying that he's going to leave the revenants behind in a 'Palestinian state' has two huge advantages for Netanyahu and for his Leftist allies (like Yair Lapid whom Bennett helped bring into the government). First, he avoids the heart-rending scenes of the IDF forcibly expelling Jews from their homes. And second, he avoids having to pay 'compensation' when the revenants flee for their lives into a rump state of Israel.
It is Netanyahu - and not Bennett - who has learned the lessons of the Gaza expulsion. And in fact, Ehud Olmert would have done the same thing in 2006 had the Second Lebanon War not quashed his plans. It's a brilliant strategy. Despicably evil, but brilliant.
Others knew better than Bennett how to respond to Netanyahu.
Two hawkish Likud MKs also warned against Netanyahu's idea. Deputy
Minister of Transportation, MK Tzipi Hotovely, said that “a diplomatic
plan that relegates the Jewish settlement enterprise to Palestinian
sovereignty will not receive political backing in Likud. The commitment
not to uproot settlements is not enough. It is important that Israeli
sovereignty be maintained.”
Deputy Defense Minister MK Danny Danon rejected the plan and said:
“Whoever thinks that Jews will live under Palestinian control in Judea
and Samaria is invited to try and visit Gaza today and understand the
meaning of 'tolerance' in the Middle East.”
Danon added: “In areas where the military will not be present and
bear responsibility – no Jew will enjoy security. We will not abandon
the settlers behind enemy lines.”
The Legal Forum for the Land of Israel warned against implementing the idea and said that it will lead to a bloodbath.
“One of the basic civil rights is the right to life,” stated Forum
Director Nahi Eyal. “No one has a moral and legal right to hand over
responsibility for the security of Israel's citizens to Palestinian
policemen and murderers whom the government released from jail in recent
months.”
Well, yes. But you'd have to go back to the Shamir government (1990-92) to find the last government in this country in which moral and legal values were predominant.
Dozens of Jewish men were abducted and beaten in a mob attack in the
Binyamin region on Tuesday afternoon. The men were set upon by an Arab
mob, chased down, tied up and beaten senseless.
One of the men told Arutz Sheva about the vicious attack. The men
were attacked as they were walking from the Jewish village of Esh Kodesh
to the nearby Givat Hayovel.
Suddenly, they were set upon by an Arab mob, he said. “They blocked
us in with trucks. The Arabs started hurling rocks at the Jewish group.”
The Jews were forced to hide nearby, he continued. “We called the
army, because we felt our lives were in danger. The Arabs gathered us
into one place, tied our hands and legs, and beat us cruelly,” he said.
The beatings were so severe that he passed out, he said.
The army arrived, and convinced local Arab leaders to order the
Jewish men released. The victim who spoke to Arutz Sheva said that IDF
officers seemed to blame the victims.
He recalled that one officer told him, “You came to do a ‘price tag’
and now you’re going to get it.” Jews living in Judea and Samaria have
widely been blamed for “price tag” attacks - nationalistically-motivated
vandalism targeting Arab-owned property - despite evidence that most
perpetrators of such vandalism are not from the region.
The Israelis, who appeared to be aged between 15 and 30, were
detained in an uninhabited house on the outskirts of the Palestinian
village of Qusra after what Palestinians said was a settler assault on
local farmers.
"I was tending my fields when a group of around 30
settlers came down the hill and attacked us with stones," Palestinian
farmer Mahmoud Tubasi told Reuters.
"We chased them and they fled
to a house under construction. They were cornered there and some of the
people here beat them - they had attacked us on our own land."
A
Reuters witness said the villagers beat 15 Israeli settlers with their
fists and sticks, causing some to bleed from the head and mouth.
And they weren't exactly 'released' either.
The Palestinians later released the group, whom they said came from a
nearby Jewish settlement, to Israeli soldiers, after forcing them them
pass one-by-one though a gauntlet of residents who rained blows on them.
And finally, the 'Palestinian' version of events:
Palestinian villagers from three Nablus area villages Tuesday confronted Israeli settlers who entered their fields to uproot and destroy olive trees, according to a local official.
Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlements in the north of the West Bank, told WAFA that settlers, protected by soldiers, proceeded to uproot newly-planted olive trees in the villages of Qaryout, Jalout and Qusra when villagers rushed to their fields to stop the settlers.
He said confrontations broke out between them and soldiers fired tear gas canisters towards the Palestinian residents. No injuries were reported.
At one point, villagers were able to hold more than a dozen settlers in the fields in spite of the Israeli army protection to the settlers.
Amazing how WAFA (from whom that summary came - I got it by email) changes the story, isn't it?
If you're a revenant, please think carefully about going outside your village without weapons. Better safe than sorry.
Interesting comment from Dan Friedman in New York City.
There is something to be said for the anger and courage of the Egyptian
people. Even though their motivations, and their goals, may not be our own,
still, they are willing to give it their all. So where is Israel's Tamarod ("Rebel") movement? Where is Israel’s
appreciation that it has everything to lose if they stay on the current
path? Where are the masses of Israelis who are organizing to oppose Obama's
obvious meddling in Israel’s political affairs? Where are those who are willing
to rise up against Netanyahu’s scheme to betray his own people living in our
biblical heartland, Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria? The quick answer: nowhere to
be found.
The video you're about to see below shows Israeli border police tasering Yitzhar resident Boaz Albert. Albert, a father of six, was served with an administrative order forbidding his presence in Judea and and Samaria on August 15. This video was shot that night in Albert's home.
For the Hebrew-impaired, the shouts you hear are:
1. (Apparently Albert's wife) asking to let her remove one of the children so that he does not see his father electric-shocked.
2. Albert himself asking why they are breaking his hand and electrocuting him when he is not resisting arrest.
3. (Apparently a neighbor) asking why is he being dragged out - what has he done.
I don't know what's behind the administrative order, but this video, which has been seen by many here in Israel, is having an effect.
National Police Chief Yochanan Danino suspended the use of tasers by police
while investigators from the police operational branch examine their use by
officers.
The appointment of the investigative team on Sunday follows the arrest
Thursday night of settler Boaz Albert, carried out by YASSAM officers from the
Judea and Samaria District police. The officers delivered electric shocks to
Albert's chest as he lay on his back in his home surrounded by
police.
...
MK Orit Struck (Bayit Yehudi) on Saturday night said that
such administrative restraining orders must be stopped, because they are issued
without any judicial procedures and without any explanation.
In 2007, the
Knesset plenum approved a declaration against administrative restraining orders
issued without judicial procedures, Struck said. It garnered support from many
of the parties in the Knesset including Likud, Kadima, Shas, United Torah
Judaism, Yisrael Beitenu, National Union, Labor and Meretz, Struck
said.
But, she said, the Knesset’s declaration must now be turned into
law.
“I call on everyone who cares about human rights to protest against
the arrest of Boaz Albert whose only crime is his conscientious and justified
refusal to obey an administrative detention order that is anti-democratic and
immoral,” she said.
...
Judea and Samaria police said on Thursday
night, that the district's YASSAM unit tried to arrest Albert when another man
appeared and attempted to prevent the arrest. The decision was made to use force
and a taser was used against him, a spokesman said.
“Boaz Albert did not
resist arrest,” the spokesman added.
On Friday, police described the
incident as follows: “Last night, officers from the Judea and Samaria District’s
YASSAM unit carried out an arrest of a person violating an administrative
restraining order for the third time. In the video you can see that it has been
edited and is biased, but if we ignore that we can still observe the police
conducting themselves with determination and without the use of violence, in
keeping with regulations.”
What a load of lies. They used a taser gun to arrest a suspect who was not resisting who was served with an order that was never brought before a judge. 'Without the use of violence'? Watch the video (which deserves to go viral) again for yourselves.
A District Court in Lod ordered Albert
released on Friday, but his restraining order still stands.
...
Attorney Yitzhak Baum wrote a
letter to the police said that according to the law, the gun could only be used
when a suspect is resisting arrest.
“In this case, the suspect is lying
on the floor and did not resist arrest,” Baum wrote.
And you thought Israel was a democracy....
In the aftermath of the Rabin assassination, administrative detentions were widely used against the opponents of Oslo. This Wikipedia article gives the impression that they are only used against 'Palestinians,' but that's just not so.
The legal basis for Israel's use of Administrative Detention is the British Mandate 1945 Law on Authority in States of Emergency' as amended in 1979. Administrative detention is often used for indefinite detention of Palestinian political prisoners.[20] According to Addameer, Israel held 285 Palestinians in administrative detention in June 2012.[21] Eighteen of them were members of parliament, out of 4,706 political prisoners. According to B'Tselem, as of April 2012, about 308 Palestinians were being held under administrative detention by the Israel Prisons Service and statistics on those held by the IDF were unavailable.[22] According to the Israel Prison Service figures for December 2012, 178 Palestinians were being held in administrative detention (without charge or trial).[23] Administrative detention seems to be mainly used by Israel against individuals not engaged in violent activities.[24]
Administrative detention is also used in cases where the available
evidence consists of information obtained by the security services
(particularly the Shin Bet), and where a trial would reveal sensitive security information, such as the identities of informers or infiltrators.
Although it is commonly applied to alleged Palestinian militants, it
has in the past also a few times been applied to Jewish Israeli
citizens, including Jewish right-wing public-figures and activists (e.g.
in the aftermath of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin) and in more recent years sometimes to settlers for short periods.[25]
Within Israel,
the Defense Minister has the authority to issue Administrative
Detention orders for up to 6 months in cases where there is a reasonable
chance that the person harms the security of the state. The same
Minister has the authority to renew such orders. Likewise, the Chief of
the General Staff can issue such orders, but valid for only 48 hours.
Law enforcement authorities have to show cause within 48 hours (in a
hearing behind closed doors).
Administrative Detention orders can be
appealed to the District Court and, if denied there, to the Supreme Court of Israel.
The District Court can annul such orders if it finds the administrative
detention occurred for reasons other than security (e.g., common
crimes, or the exercise of freedom of expression). Overall supervisory
authority on the application of the relevant law rests with the Minister
of Justice.
Within the West Bank and Gaza Strip,
any local army commander can issue an administrative detention order,
and the order can be appealed at the local military court, or, if denied
there, at the Supreme Court. Here too, an administrative detention
order is valid for at most six months, but can be renewed by the
appropriate authority. Israel refers its use of administrative detention
in the occupied territories to Article 78 of the Fourth Geneva Convention
1949, which states that "If the Occupying Power considers it necessary,
for imperative reasons of security, to take safety measures concerning
protected persons, it may, at the most, subject them to assigned
residence or to internment."[26]
In the aftermath of the Rabin assassination, I argued with someone that administrative detention should be abolished. Yes, even for 'Palestinians.' It's nothing but an excuse for prosecutorial laziness. If you want to hold someone, charge him with something. If you can't charge him with something, you shouldn't hold him. Judges hear 'secret evidence' all the time in every western country. And orders telling people to stay away from certain areas ought to be only to protect persons in those areas (e.g. abused spouses) and not because the police want to punish a man by keeping him away from his own home.
One other thing that should be pointed out. The Yassam unit of the border police is notorious for brutality and for its membership largely consisting of 'minorities' (Druze and Bedouin Arabs who are less than sympathetic to Israeli Jews). They were the perpetrators of the Amona incident seven years ago. Sadly, the government has done nothing to curb their brutality since. It's time for that to change.
And you thought Israel was a democracy? Well, it's still the closest thing to a democracy in the Middle East, but it's government is less than representative and its 'civil rights' leave a lot to be desired. Even for Jews.
The most anti-Semitic country in Europe? It's Britain
On Tuesday, I reported that Europe is threatening to require visas from all all 'settlers' who wish to enter its territory in the event that the Kerry mission to restart 'peace talks' fails. That would apparently include yours truly.
The basis for that report is apparently notes taken at the European Council meeting at the end of June. Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the biggest Jew hater of all? Unsurprisingly, it's apparently Britain.
While most European Union diplomats backed new guidelines prohibiting EU agencies from funding Israeli bodies connected to West Bank
settlements, the British delegate to the talks went even further,
suggesting the guidelines should apply to every Israeli citizen who
lives beyond the Green Line.
That
emerges from the notes taken by a senior European diplomat who attended
the talks, held in Brussels over the last few weeks.
...
The British diplomats “warmly welcomed the guidelines and asked why they were not applicable to individuals,” he wrote.
A
member of the EEAS replied that there were several reasons for this.
One was that it involved hundreds of thousands of people. “It was
considered impractical to ‘chase’ individual persons and would also mean
that they would be singled out,” he said.
Given that Britain did more than any other country to attempt to prevent the establishment of the State of Israel, is anyone really surprised?
Barak Ravid reports with some consternation that former Yesha Council head Danny Dayan is giving the revenants something they never had before: A diplomatic alternative. Dayan is heading to Washington this week, and he is the first 'settler leader' ever officially to do so.
Dayan feels that there has been a change in the attitude of the
international community towards the settlers in the past year. The
United States and the European Community countries believe that the
settlements are in contradiction of international law, that they are an
obstacle to peace and must be removed. But they understand that the
settlers are a significant political player that cannot be ignored.
“From total indifference and treating us like lepers with whom one
doesn’t speak, the situation has changed − now there’s curiosity and an
eagerness to hear what we have to say,” notes Dayan.
For
example, one day last October Dayan’s cell phone rang. It was former
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, who is currently the vice
president and director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution in
Washington. The two, each of whom was at different meetings in the
Knesset, arranged to meet in the Knesset cafeteria.
While
talking to Indyk about “the situation” Dayan realized that he was
actually in the midst of an “audition.” At the end of the meeting Indyk
invited him to participate in the Saban Forum − one of the most
prestigious events in Washington dealing with Israel-U.S. relations. The
Israeli participants − politicians, academics, diplomats and
journalists − are traditionally identified with the left. Dayan was the
first representative of the settlers.
George Mitchell, the U.S. Middle East envoy during the first term of U.S. President Barack Obama,
has never agreed to meet with Dayan or any representative of the Yesha
Council. All requests were turned down at best, or ignored at worst. The
only liaison for Dayan and the settlers was the U.S. consul general in
Jerusalem, who is actually credentialed to the Palestinian Authority.
Nowadays Dayan is invited to dinners in the home of U.S. Ambassador to
Israel Dan Shapiro. When one of the most senior advisors to President
Obama visited Israel a few weeks ago he sat with Dayan for two hours.
There
has also been a change in the attitude of the international media. Last
August The New York Times, which is known for an editorial policy
critical of the settlements, wrote a flattering portrait of him entitled
“A Settler Leader, Worldly and Pragmatic.” A month earlier Dayan
published an article in the Times entitled “The Settlers are Here to
Stay.” In March he published another article in which he declared that
“The Two-State Formula is Impossible.”
But
the most interesting example is the British newspaper The Guardian,
compared to which the New York Times looks like the mouthpiece of the
Yesha Council. Many European leaders read the op-ed page of The Guardian
with their morning coffee. Two weeks ago Dayan published an article in
the paper entitled “What You Call ‘Settlements’ are on Solid Moral
Ground.” Dayan claimed that the settlements are not an obstacle to peace
and that the world must recognize the fact that the settlers are not
the problem but part of the future solution.
The
article received 565 responses. Some were erased by the editors,
apparently because they contained various types of curses and invective.
The rest consisted mainly of harsh criticism of Dayan and of The
Guardian itself for publishing the article. “The Al Qaida manifesto
demands the return of Al Andalus in Spain where I live. Perhaps we
should have an article by one of them explaining how the land is theirs.
I am appalled that such a propaganda article has appeared in The
Guardian,” wrote one respondent. Many bloggers also published posts
attacking The Guardian.
One
can think of many reasons for the change in the attitude of the
international community towards the settlers. The stagnation of the
peace process, the lack of hope for the two-state solution and the
outcome of the recent election in Israel are some of them. “My
explanation is that for the first time in 20 years the world is
beginning to internalize that we don’t necessarily have to travel on the
two-state highway,” says Dayan. “We’ve reached a crossroads and
everyone is asking themselves where do we go now. People have understood
that ignoring the settlers was a mistake and only undermined the
attempts to find solutions.”
After
many years of opposing the idea, Dayan now believes that the settlers
have to present a genuine and serious diplomatic plan as an alternative
to the two-state solution. He has no consolidated plan as yet, but his
basic assumption is that there will be permanent Israeli control in
Judea and Samaria and no foreign sovereignty west of the Jordan River.
The Yesha (revenants') Council has sent a letter to the police, accusing Haaretz's Amira Hass of inciting violence against the revenants by writing a column that claims that the 'Palestinians' have a 'right' to throw stones at the revenants.
In a column published Wednesday, Ha'aretz writer Amira Hass,
who lives in the PA city of Ramallah, wrote, “Throwing stones is the
right and the duty of anyone living under foreign rule.” Later in the
column she termed rock-throwing “a metaphor for resistance.” Hass is the
official Ha'aretz correspondent for what the newspaper labels the "occupied territories".
Hass, who also lived in Gaza for three years in contravention
of Israeli law, wrote that arrests of rock throwers "is part of the role
of the foreign occupation, no less than gunfire, torture during
investigations, land theft... and discrimination in distribution of
water."
Several recent rock attacks by Arabs targeting Israelis living in
Judea and Samaria have caused serious injury. In the most serious case, a
terrorist wounded a mother and three of her children, including a
3-year-old who was critically injured. All were rushed to the hospital, including the toddler who has since undergone numerous surgeries.
Hass’ column constitutes praise for violent rock attacks and gives
such attacks legitimacy, Ro'eh and Shachner said in their complaint,
adding that it ignores the dangers posed by such attacks.
I do not understand why successive Israeli governments have allowed this woman to live in and report from the 'Palestinian' side. This is not the first time she and Israel's Hebrew 'Palestinian' daily have incited violence against Jews, nor is it likely to the last. Ironically, very few Israelis read Haaretz - it is one of the least read newspapers in the country. It's the international media that give Haaretz its power.
Dr. Ben Carson on White liberals... and Israeli Leftists
Dr. Ben Carson is a pediatric neurosurgeon at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, who has gotten a lot of publicity since this speech about two months ago.
In the quote above. Carson is saying that 'affirmative action' is wrong because it dumbs down black people.
The behavior of White liberals in the US is very similar to the behavior of Israeli Leftists. The Leftists argue that we need to have a 'two-state solution' so that 'we'll be over here, and they'll be over there.' Except that they'll be over here too, so we really haven't solved anything other than making ourselves insecure.
The media's greatest detective, and Europe remains focused on what is truly important
The Tribal Update presents the true story of Kusra and Esh Kodesh, as
revealed by the greatest investigator of all time, and brings you a
glimpse of the indomitable European spirit.
I had to turn off the sound to watch this because I'm in mourning for my father, but I hope the music is good. The words are translated into English for the Hebrew-impaired, but it's the images I want to discuss, and I'll do that after we....
... go to the videotape.
Many of you abroad might not have understood the images, but every one of them until the screen before the pictures of the politicians appear says ''settlements' are great, past governments have destroyed them, we won't.' The seals (which you still see in the picture above before you click on the start button) are seals belonging to organizations that oppose the 'settlement' movement. The politicians are Likud (and Yisrael Beiteinu, if I recall correctly) politicians.
This is the first time I can recall the Likud so openly pitching for the revenant vote. It's clear that Netanyahu still believes his biggest threat is from the Right and not from the Left. And it's clear that the country is no longer willing to treat the revenants as outcasts.
Hussein Obama can say whatever he wants, but the bottom line is that all this 'settlement building' reflects a national consensus in a democratic country. That consensus cannot and should not be ignored.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day: +972 names its person of the year
Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Far Left blog +972 has named the Israeli settlerrevenant as its 2012 person of the year.
In 2012, the game became reality: The settlers are the new ruling elite of Israel.
According to all the polls, Israelis will elect an unprecedented number of Members of Knesset (MKs) from far-right parties, even as Likud’s relative moderates have been ousted and replaced by settlers and ex-settlers with radical political agendas.
A settler was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2012, while a former
justice declared that the West Bank was not actually occupied territory.
Israel’s fourth estate, too, is partly “occupied” by the settlers.
This year, Shlomo Ben-Zvi, a far-right publisher and settler who owns
the frankly nationalist daily Makor Rishon, bought Maariv
– one of Israel’s three veteran daily newspapers. While Maariv took a
right-of-center editorial line in recent years, for decades it was
Yedioth Ahronoth’s chief competitor for the title of Israel’s most
mainstream daily newspaper.
Throughout the year, over and over, settler violence – price tag
attacks on Palestinian property, unprovoked violence against
Palestinians, even flat-out murder – has gone unpunished. Worse, it
rarely elicits public condemnation or even, except for a few
high-profile incidents, extensive media coverage.
The settlers have influenced the national narrative to the point that
politicians who talk about peace, the two-state solution and
negotiations risk becoming irrelevant.
For all these reasons, +972 Magazine has chosen The Settler as its Person of the Year for 2012.
Israeli Supreme Court to decide whether 'settlers' can employ private guard services
Butting in yet again in a case that should be none of their business, Israel's Supreme Court has decided to consider the question of whether 'settlers' in 'east' Jerusalem may hire private security guards to do a job that the police are unwilling to do: Protect them from their Arab neighbors.
Roughly 350 armed security guards from the Modi’in Ezrahi
company are employed in east Jerusalem.
The company won a public tender
from the Construction and Housing Ministry to provide security for Jewish
residents living in places like Silwan and the Old City’s Muslim
Quarter.
The guards are responsible for regular patrols around Jewish
apartments, securing Jewish residents’ as they enter and exit their homes, and
escorting their children to school in the Old City’s Jewish
Quarter.
During the hearing, the justices found it problematic that the
Housing Ministry had undertaken responsibility for security matters. But they
warned that the police would never do “static” guarding – maintaining a
permanent patrol in one place – something the private company does. The court is
expected to hand down its ruling in the coming weeks.
...
There are approximately 2,000 Jewish residents
living in predominantly Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Places such as the
heavily guarded Beit Yehonatan apartment building in Silwan, home to seven
Jewish families, have become flashpoints for stone throwing and verbal abuse
between Jewish and Arab neighbors.
A resident of Beit Yehonatan who
declined to give his name insisted that he was not concerned about the
petition.
“I don’t care,” he said. “However the state wants to
protect us, I trust them.”
The Construction and Housing Ministry budget
for private security guards in east Jerusalem has risen from NIS 7 million in
1991 to NIS 76 million in 2011, according to ACRI figures.
In early 2010,
Construction and Housing Minister Ariel Atias sent a letter to Prime Minister
Binyamin Netanyahu recommending that security for the area be the responsibility
of a “professional body” such as the police, rather than the ministry, which is
not equipped to handle such matters.
Sorry, but this should be decided by the City of Jerusalem or by the national government's executive branch. It'snot a decision that belongs in court.
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
