ERETZ ISRAEL

Thursday, July 10, 2014

WE JEWS ARE FULL OF HOPE AND UNITY

Israelis heard the news early Monday morning, June 30. The search was over. Yes, the search was over, but the boys were dead. The response throughout the land was palpable: the air of hope and unity was punctured, replaced by raw anguish. But by 2:00 the following morning, some Israeli women responded by taking action. Their action was not one of vigilantism, nor was it to raise their fists at the intractable enemy. Yehudit Katsover and Nadia Matar, the indefatibable Women in Green, along with a group of supporters, went to a lovely little hill just off from the Gush Etzion Junction – the site of such despair – and began clearing the area. Since July 1, Kassover and Matar have been joined by dozens and dozens of Israelis and of visitors. They are reclaiming a bit of land that has been set aside (the site has long had official approval for tourism development), and are developing it as a functioning and vibrant tourist site. They also renamed the hill. Previously the site was known as Givat Oz (Hill of Strength). The new name incorporates the initials of the three boys who were kidnapped and murdered – Gilad, Eyal and Naftali – and the acronym created also happens to mean great wisdom. The site is now known as Givat Oz v’Gaon. Nadia Matar, that steadfast soldier in the war to reclaim the land, spoke with The Jewish Press about the new site. “This is a Zionist response of the Jewish people to the incomprehensible act of killing our boys,” Matar said. “Our enemies think they will scare us away with their acts of terrorism, but they are wrong. We cling to the land ever more strongly in response to their efforts.” The area is being cleared by hand. People show up on a daily basis to help move the rocks, clean the lone remaining stone building, and set up picnic tables for meals and chairs for lectures and services.“ This will be a camping site,” Matar says. “This past weekend, the first of Givat Oz v’Gaon, we had already 70 or 80 people who brought tents to spend Shabbat here. The residents of the nearby kibbutz Migdal Oz came to join us for seudat shlishit (a meal before evening services) and swelled the crowd to between 200 and 300 people.” The residents of Migdal Oz came by a road that connects the back of the kibbutz to the Gush Etzion junction. This is also significant, Matar explains, because for quite a long time the kibbutzniks did not use the road as there had been frequent attacks by Arabs from nearby towns. “Now, with a strong Jewish presence between the kibbutz and the Gush junction, this road is also being ‘reclaimed’ as our response to terrorism,” Matar shared with a sense of satisfaction. Ruthie Lieberman lives in nearby Alon Shvut. Her home was used by people who participated in the searches for the boys; she and her family lived through it with great intensity. “The families got up from shiva yesterday,” Lieberman said. “And I found myself on this site today, helping to clear the land, to plant new trees – the ultimate act of positive Zionism.” Lieberman and her daughter, Merav, planted one of the three trees planted in memory of the three boys. Incidentally, a few serious friends of Israel in the U.S. congress introduced legislation which will, if passed, offer a reward of up to $5 million for information on or the capture of the terrorists who kidnapped and murdered 16 year old Naftali Frenkel, an Israeli-U.S. citizen, on June 12, 2014. Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the legislation in the U.S. Senate and Congressmen Doug Lamborn (R-CO-05) and Brad Sherman (D-CA-30) introduced the companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

JUST ANOTHER WEDNESDAY IN ISRAEL

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and GOC Southern Command Maj.-Gen. Sammy Turgeman in the Negev city, which has been hit repeatedly by Grad Katyusha missile fire from Gaza. “We have decided to further increase the assault on Hamas and the terrorist organizations in Gaza,” Netanyahu said. “The IDF is prepared for all possibilities. Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing at Israel’s citizens. “The security of Israel’s citizens is our primary consideration. Our military is strong, the home front is steadfast and our people are united. This combination is our response to the terrorist organizations that want to attack us. “We are all united in the mission to strike at the terrorist organizations and restore quiet. The operation will be expanded and will continue until the firing at our communities stops and quiet is restored. I ask that the public continue to listen to the instructions from IDF Home Front Command – they save lives. On behalf of Israel’s citizens, I thank all IDF soldiers and Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) intelligence personnel who are participating in the measures, known as the Naftali Fraenkel Reward Bill, were introduced on Wednesday, July 9. Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon called Wednesday on the government to halt supplies of gas and electricity to the Gaza Strip as long as rocket fire continues to hold Israeli civilians hostage. While Hamas and their allied terrorists continue to launch rockets and missiles at Israeli civilians, shipments to their civilian families are continuing unabated. Some 200 trucks of foodstuffs and other basics goods and products have traveled through the Kerem Shalom crossing since the start of Operation Protective Edge, officials report. The Israeli government has been adamant — as it was during past conflicts — to differentiate between terrorists and civilians who reside in the Gaza region. Israel does its best not to punish Gaza civilians for the attacks perpetrated by the terrorists in their midst. PHOTO of the then Captain Benjamin Netanyahu when he served in the IDF/SAYERET MATKAL

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

KEEPING SCORE...

WHEN THREE OF OUR BOYS WERE MASSACRED, PALESTINIANS WERE KEEPING SCORE AND CHANTING THREE-TO-ZERO...LET US SEE HOW WELL THEY ARE KEEPING SCORES NOW...FRANKLY, WE RATHER KEEP SCORES OF THE MUNDIAL FIFA IN BRAZIL...BUT OUR "NEIGHBORS" INSIST IN BOTHERING US WITH ROCKETS...WELL...ISRAEL IS UNITED AGAINST THIS AND OTHER AGGRESSIONS AND NOW IT IS THEIR TURN...

Israel will step up its actions against Hamas and the other terrorist organizations operating from Gaza as part of Operation Protective Edge, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Wednesday following security deliberations held in Beersheba. "The operation will expand and continue until the rocket firing on our cities stops, and the quiet returns," he said on the second day of the military operation. Netanyahu has consistently defined the objectives of the operation in relatively modest terms to restore the quiet" not, as some are suggesting, to topple Hamas or destroy its rocket infrastructure inside Gaza. Those later objectives would necessitate a ground action, something Netanyahu has said the IDF is prepared for, but which he has not yet ordered. Following the meeting with Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen Benny Gantz, and OC Southern Command Maj.-Gen Sammy Turjeman, Netanyahu said that the IDF was prepared for all contingencies. "Hamas will pay a heavy price for firing on Israeli citizens," he said. Our army is strong, the home-front is firm, and our people are united. That combination is our answer to the terrorist organizations that want to harm us," he said. "We are all united in the aim of hitting the terrorist organizations and restoring the quiet. Netanyahu called on the public to continue to heed the instructions of the home-front command, saying those instructions "save lives." Also on Wednesday, Netanyahu spoke to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the latest wave of violence. During the conversation, Netanyahu told the leaders that no other country would allow rocket fire into their countries and that Hamas was responsible for the deaths of innocent civilians in Gaza because they use them as human shields. “We are destroying arms, terrorist infrastructure, command and control systems, and institutions," defense minister says on day 2 of Operation Protective Edge; Palestinian officials say 4 killed in Gaza on Wednesday. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said on Wednesday that Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip will expand in the next few days while vowing that “it will exact a huge price.” “We are continuing to carry out attacks that are exacting a heavy price from Hamas,” Ya’alon said as Operation Protective Edge entered its second day. “We are destroying [Hamas’] arms, terrorist infrastructure, command and control systems, institutions, government buildings, terrorists’ homes, and we are killing terrorists in the organizational high command.” The IDF confirmed on Wednesday that an IAF airstrike targeted Hamas terror operative Abdullah Difallah while he was riding on a motorcycle in the northern Gaza Strip. Palestinian sources had earlier reported that Israeli aircraft struck a motorcycle killing one person and seriously injuring another. The IDF stated that Difallah had been responsible for firing rockets into Israel. According to Palestinian media, three other people were killed in IAF strikes on Wednesday, bringing the death toll since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge to 27, with more than a hundred injured. “This activity will continue and escalate,” the defense minister said. “From our standpoint, this is a campaign that will not end anytime soon, and we must continue to maintain stamina and patience. We will continue to hit Hamas and other terrorist organizations hard from the air, at sea, and on the ground in order to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel.” “The campaign against Hamas will expand further in the next few days, and the organization will pay a very steep price,” Ya’alon said. “I would like to once again praise the manner in which the citizens have conducted themselves and I call on them to continue to be attentive to instructions. I would like to once again offer my hearty best wishes to the commanders, soldiers, and support staff on land, at sea, and in the air who continue to act with determination and professionalism in order to protect the citizens of Israel.” IDF units intercepted a Hamas commando unit that sought to infiltrate Israel from the sea at Zikim Beach, just north of the Gaza Strip, on Tuesday. Soldiers killed several terrorists, and pursued at least one more, security sources said, stressing that they were speaking as the incident continued to unfold. A senior security official said an IDF detachment was dispatched to Zikim Beach after the military detected suspicious movements in the area. The unit engaged the terrorists, and shot and killed five of them. One soldier was lightly wounded in the exchange of fire. Civilian eyewitnesses told Channel 2 that soldiers ran toward the beach from the Zikim Army Base and fired their weapons, as a boat approached from the Mediterranean sea and men on board fired at the beach. Police closed off the vicinity and told residents of Kibbutz Zikim to stay indoors. Izzadin Kassam, Hamas’s military wing, claimed on its Twitter account responsibility for the attack, saying that it “stormed the Zionist naval base on the shores of the sea.” JERUSALEM – Deputy Minister of Defense Danny Danon (Likud) demanded this morning during the Security Cabinet meeting that Israel stop supplying Gaza with electricity and fuel. “The supplying of electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip must be stopped immediately”, said Danon, “It’s inconceivable that on one hand we are fighting the Hamas and on the other hand we supply them with electricity and fuel used for the propelling of rockets fired at us.” He demanded that Israel use all its leverage to bring Hamas to a cease fire. THIS IS VERY INTERESTING: This morning an Egyptian news site quoted an Egyptian military official who stated that Egypt has destroyed 19 tunnels connecting the Gaza Strip to the Sinai. This further hinders the Hamas’ supply and rearmament efforts. Are ISRAEL and Egypt working together???? Three explosions were heard in Jerusalem as Hamas launched long range rockets at the city, as well as around the country. This rather annoyed people as they spent way too long in a hot, stuffy bomb shelter. Jerusalem has opened its bomb shelters. There are reports that a house was hit.

KEEPING SCORE

LE DEUXIÈME JOUR DE LA GUERRE

YESTERDAY, ALL MY TROUBLES SEEMED NOT SO FAR AWAY

9 DE JULIO, 2014/// 11 DEL TAMMUZ, 5774 WHILE WE IN THE MIAMI-DADE AREA, FINISHED WORKING, WENT HOME, HAD DINNER ETC. BACK HOME IN ISRAEL THEY WERE HAVING NOT-A-GOOD-NIGHT-AND-DAY…THESE ARE THE CODE RED ADVISORIES FOR ERETZ ISRAEL… 8:05 PM Gush Dan, Beit Hana, Ness Tziona and surroundings … Yavneh Givat Brenner, Rehovot… 8:00pm Ashkelon 7:46pm Yerucham and Dimona Color… Ramat Negev, Be’er Milka Regional Council 7 rockets at Dimona. 3 taken down by Iron Dome. 7:35pm Rocket hit near kindergarten in Shaar HaNegev. Another building hit. Second in an open area. 7:12pm Sderot, Sha’ar Hanegev 7:09pm Ashkekon. Iron Dome 7:05pm Ashkekon, Karmiya, Hof Ashkelon 6:55pm Hof Ashkelon and Shaar Hanegev 6:21pm Sdot Negev, Shaar Negev. 4 mortars. No injuries. 6:05pm Channel 2 reports a rocket was launched at Israel from the Sinai. No injuries reported. 6:01 PM Ofakim, Eshkol , Sdot Negev 5:40pm Red Alert Metar Rahat Eshkol, Al Kasum, Bnei Shimon, Har Hebron x3 5:10pm Iron Dome x2 Gush Dan Region 5:01pm Sirens in Bnei Shimon Region 4:39pm Red Alert Eshkol, Beer Tuvia, Yoav, Lachish, Mateh, Shafir, Beit Gubrin, Aderet, Harel, Neve Shalom, Sderot JM Police: Mateh Yehuda – Iron Dome fired. No damage or injuries reported. 4:12pm Sirens in Bnei Shimon and Merchavim regions, Ofakim. 4:03pm Color Red alerts in Ashkelon and Hof Ashkelon areas. 2:45pm Color Red alert in Netiv Ha’Asara and Erez 2:33pm Missile explosions in Soreq area 2:30pm Color Red alert in Zichron Yaakov and surrounds 2:24pm Color Red alert in Or Akiva, Binyamina, Bat Shlomo, Pardes, Caesaerea 2:17pm Color Red alert in Sderot, Giv’im, Sha’ar Am 1:18pm Color Red rocket alerts in Sederot and Shaar HaNegev regions. 12:39pm Yad Mordechai and Netiv Ha’Asara, Ashkelon Coastal Region Color Red alert 12:25pm Color Red alert Ein Hashlosha 12:23pm Color Red Alerts in Eshkol region 12:10pm Color Red alerts in Hof Ashkelon, Lachish and Shaar HaNegev regions. 11:59am IDF reports that anti aircraft weapons have fired at IAF jets from Gaza during the operation 11:57am Barrage to Kirya Malachi, Nir Banim, Segula, Lachish Beer Tuvia, Yoav region, Gedera, Soreq, Ashdod 10:58am Israel hit terrorist: Abdallah Difalla in his car in northern Gaza. Direct hit while he was riding his motorcycle. He is one of those responsible for Hamas for rocket attacks on Israel. 10:02am Sirens in Ashdod and surrounding areas 9:18am Two rockets explode in Eshkol region 9:04am Shrapnel discovered in Shfela region 9:03am Reports of sirens in Ofakim…. 8;59am Color Red alerts in Ashkelon 8:51am Gaza border towns 8:41am Sirens in Tel Aviv. Multiple Iron Dome intercepts. 8:38am Travellers at Ben Gurion airport have been moved to safe locations…. 8:36am Unconfirmed reports of at least 5 Iron Dome intercepts. 8:35am Sirens reported in Modiin. 8:31am SIRENS in Ashdod. x2 8:30am SIRENS IN GREATER TEL AVIV AND ASHDOD. 8:19am Color Red rocket alerts….Shaar HaNegev and Eshkol regions 8:01am Color red in ashkelon and eshkol regions 8:00am Good morning. This rocket update will be updates soon with the overnight attacks (if there’s time). We’re just recuperating from the busy night, last night.

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

ELI...ELI...PADRE SANTO-D-OS NUESTRO

TODAY I LIGHT UP A SMALL CANDLE TO ASK YOU A VERY IMPORTANT FAVOR...NOT FOR ME...BUT FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE I.D.F. PLEASE, POR FAVOR, GUARD THEM FROM HARM, THEY ARE PROTECTING THE PEOPLE WHOM YOU CHOSE AS YOURS, THEY ARE SAFEGUARDING THE LAND YOU GAVE US...AND THEY ARE ALSO TAKING THE TORAH YOU GAVE US TO BATTLE...ONE MORE TIME...MAY THE SHOFARS OF JOSHUA SOUND AGAIN...MAY THE STONE OF DAVID'S SLING HIT HARD... G-D OF MOISES, ABRAHAM, ISAAC, JACOBO...OF DAVID AND SALOMON...WATCH OVER YOUR CHILDREN WHO ARE ABOUT TO GO INTO HARM'S WAY AND BRING THEM SAFE AND VICTORIOUS TO THE ARMS OF THEIR FAMILIES. WE WANT PEACE AND LOVE WHILE OUR ENEMIES WANT WAR AND HATE...LET US PRAY THEN, A PRAYER FROM THE DEEPEST OF OUR HEARTS...AMEN

THE MORAL OF THE STORY

The elements that make one society superior to another are to be found in its culture, its arts and its sciences, in its religious inspirations, its engineering feats, its medical research, its poems and songs, its roots to the past and its vision to the future. A morally superior society protects these things by protecting them against invaders and enemies. Charity begins at home. So does morality. A society that is too moral to protect itself is immoral because it is incapable of protecting the sources of its morality. A moral society does not put its people in harm's way rather than protect them. If it does so, in the name of some warped sense of ethics toward the enemy, it is not a moral society. It is an immoral society. Moral societies make it possible for their people to be moral by taking on the burden of protecting them. A society that abandons this burden and demands that its people be moral by accepting suffering, whether it comes from crime or terrorism, is a society that gives its people a choice between becoming monsters or martyrs. This is not the behavior of a moral society, but a self-destructive society that glories in the empty martyrdom of the moral high ground. A government that will not protect the people and will not let the people protect themselves is not moral, it is destructive. It demands that the people embrace martyrdom in the name of a self-nullifying set of ethics that will ultimately result in the martyrdom of their extinction or their transformation into monsters who are forced to reject all human norms in order to survive. A moral society does not embrace martyrdom for any purpose other than the perpetuation of itself. The traditional Jewish martyr who died for the sanctification of the Name of G-d was choosing physical death for the perpetuation of a religious idea that was also a national identity. He was choosing a form of death that would keep his religious and national identity alive, over a living death that would enable him personally to live, while wiping out his people. The new Jewish martyr dies for an irreligious humanistic martyrdom. He perishes to prove the moral high ground of his people. It is a martyrdom with no point and no future. It echoes Gandhi's call that the Jews voluntarily go to the gas chambers without resisting in order to make an ethical point. Perhaps if Tel Aviv is nuked and the flames of a new Holocaust rise into the sky, the world will finally realize that Israelis did their best to be nice to their enemies. And if not, there are always millions more to be offered up on the universalist pyre to the man-made god of our own morality. Having created our own faith in our own moral superiority, we must be willing to die and kill each other in its name. These are not sacrifices of peace. They are the martyrdom of a moral superiority that can only be proven through victimization and our own mass murder. They are a perverse deviation from both our religion as Jews and from Zionism as a political movement. For Israel and the Jewish people to survive, this masochistic creed has to die. Instead of sacrificing our children to Tikkun Olam, universalist ethics and a conviction in our own moral superiority, let us sacrifice these things on the altar so that our children may live. Let us pile them up on the altars of our hearts and burn them up. Let us take the ideas and the books, and most of all, the false sense of superiority that we are better because of our martyrdom, and watch them go up in smoke. Only when these things perish, will we be able to be Jews or Zionists. As long as they live within us, what we believe and what we worship is the Stockholm Syndrome that says we must allow ourselves to be abused and killed to prove to ourselves that we are good people and thereby disprove the results of that abuse on our psyche. The more we are abused, the more certain we become that we deserve it and the more we welcome that abuse, to disprove that we deserve it. It is a vicious cycle in which we allow ourselves to be murdered to disprove that we deserve to be killed, in which we hate ourselves to prove that we do not deserve to be hated. Instead of proving our morality through our self-hatred, let us prove it by instead protecting our worth. Our enemies are willing to die because they have nothing to offer but murder. It is natural for them to choose death because they are worthless in every sense of the word. Let us choose life. This twisted attitude is not unique to Israel and Jews. It has engulfed the entire West. Against the Islamic cult of death, we have constructed our own cult of death. The dysfunctional relationship is that of the abuser to the abused. They know that they are morally superior because they kill us. We know that we are morally superior because we accept their abuse and allow ourselves to be killed. If we do not learn to take pride in our civilizations, if we do not learn to love our accomplishments, then we will die. If we continue to eat away at ourselves, to act as if our moral and ethics are inferior to those of our enemies, then they will destroy us and then destroy themselves and the darkness will fall. Let us choose life, light and love. Let us learn to love ourselves and hate our enemies, not out of some reflex or petty jingoism, but because we have come to value what they seek to take from us. Let us drive out the self-hatred. Let us take apart our own cult of death and replace it with a religion of life. Only when we destroy our own cult of death, will be able to defeat the cult of death of our enemies. "I have yet before you life and death, the blessing and the curse," G-d tells Israel. "Therefore choose life that you may live, you and your children." If we do not choose life, then we cannot live. Daniel Greenfield is a New York City based writer and blogger and a Shillman Journalism Fellow of the David Horowitz Freedom Center. You can read his articles in http://sultanknish.blogspot.com/

ONE GOD, ONE NATION, ONE PEOPLE and ONE TORAH

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's Statement: “The State of Israel is in the middle of a campaign to bring back quiet and security for our citizens. We won’t tolerate rocket fire on our cities and towns. So I have ordered a dramatic widening of the IDF operation against the Hamas terrorists and against the terrorists of all other terror groups in the Gaza Strip.” The escalation was ordered “only after all attempts to bring back quiet went unanswered, and Hamas chose escalation. We do not go joyfully to battle, but the security of our citizens and our children comes first. We will do everything it takes so that the quiet that existed here in recent years will continue.” Yesterday, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Protective Edge in Gaza. This operation is an effort to stop the recent escalation in Hamas terrorism and missile fire. Since the beginning of the year, over 450 rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel. Yesterday alone, 80 rockets were fired into Israel. Once again, the residents of southern cities such as Sderot, Ashkelon, Ashdod and Be'er Sheva have returned to the bomb shelters. Today, a missile fired at Tel Aviv was stopped by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. Israel has blamed Hamas for the brutal murder of three students kidnapped on their way home from school. In the coming days, many will criticize Israel's actions while glossing over the necessity for them. As we pray for the safety of the Israel Defense Forces and innocent civilians on both sides of this conflict, we must not be silent. We must know our facts and speak out in Israel's defense. Israel must not be condemned for doing what any responsible government would do to protect its citizens from terror. We must not permit Israeli defense to be equated with Hamas aggression. The IDF has commenced Operation Protective Edge in Gaza against Hamas, in order to stop the terror Israel’s citizens face on a daily basis Gaza terrorists have fired more than 450 rockets at Israel since the beginning of the year. The attacks have sent thousands running into bomb shelters and threaten 3.5 million Israeli lives. Since Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, terrorists from the strip have fired more than 8,000 rockets into Israel.

HERE WE GO AGAIN...ONE MORE TIME

The IDF started Operation Protective Edge to eradicate terrorist targets and reduce rocket fire on southern Israeli communities. Already in the first hours of the operation, 50 terrorist targets were hit, including the homes of four senior level Hamas terrorists who were involved in firing rockets.The Israeli security establishment made clear that Hamas is responsible for all rocket fire on Israel and that their operatives will be held accountable. “The IDF is prepared to defend the residents of the State of Israel and to continue to work with strong determination to eradicate terrorist networks that harm Israeli citizens,” the IDF Spokespersons Unit stated in response. Since January of this year, Gaza terrorists have fired more than 450 rockets towards Israeli citizens in communities across southern Israel according to the IDF spokesperson. Over 200 of those rockets have been fired from Gaza since June 12, the day on which three Israeli teens were abducted and murdered by Hamas terrorists. The IDF is determined to bring quiet to Israel and especially to families in the south with Operation Protective Edge. Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told media on Tuesday, “We intend to make sure there will be total silence – zero rocket fire – aimed at Israel when we are done this time. “The situation on the ground has proved that Hamas does not want a truce.” IAF fighter pilots have flown sorties throughout the day, carrying out targeted air strikes aimed at eliminating selected Hamas military leaders and terrorists who operate rocket and missile launchers. The Israeli Air Force has struck multiple terror targets in the Gaza Strip early Tuesday morning since the IDF announced the launching of Operation Protective Edge (“Tzuk Eitan” in Hebrew). The IDF spokesperson stated the early hours of Tuesday morning that “the IDF has commenced Operation Protective Edge in Gaza against Hamas in order to stop the terror that Israel’s citizens face on a daily basis and to restore quiet to Israel’s border.” Ya’alon said he told mayors in the Tel Aviv metropolitan area to “take into account there will be possible fire on their cities.” The Home Front Command search and rescue unit is preparing for deployment in the Tel Aviv area, officials said. In addition to Tel Aviv, officials in Rishon Lezion have also opened the public bomb shelters, and have warned residents to stay away from the beaches. During the last mini-war, Gaza terrorists fired Iranian produced Fajr-5 and M75 missiles at Tel Aviv, Rishon Lezion and the Jerusalem area. The IDF struck more than 100 targets throughout Gaza on Tuesday as part of its mission in Operation Protective Edge. At least 15 Palestinian Authority Arabs were killed in the attacks, including several terrorists. Also among the casualties were at least two children and 25 wounded in an incident that indeed was what an Arab terrorist would call a ‘celebration of death’ rather than life. The terrorists have made a point of using their civilians as human shields, and those who live in Gaza have for the most part been willing volunteers in the effort. Seven people – including the two children – were killed in a house in Khan Yunis belonging to the Kawara family. The head of household is a key member of Hamas and Israeli air force pilots at first fired a small mortar at the roof to warn residents they were planning to attack, and tell them to flee before a second, full-force attack ensued. The casualties occurred during the second attack — when occupants instead gathered as human shields on the roof itself, hoping their presence would deter Israeli fighter pilots. The IDF is preparing for a “long and forceful” operation, with a call up of some 40,000 reservists authorized by the Cabinet on Tuesday. Overnight Monday, the IDF struck at least 50 targets, including four houses used as command bases by Hamas terrorist officials.

Monday, July 7, 2014

HIJOS de UNOS e HIJOS de OTROS

1) Eyal Yifrah, Gil-Ad Shaer and Naftali Fraenkel were teenagers. They were abducted and brutally murdered by Palestinian terrorists from Hamas, a partner in the Palestinian Authority’s unity government, and a terrorist organization dedicated to the annihilation of Israel and the Jewish people. The teens’ abduction and murder was supported by Palestinian society as a whole. While Israelis were united as never before in worry and prayer for the missing boys, Palestinian society was united in its expressed delight at the abduction and murder of the boys. 2) The investigation into the murder of teen Muhammad Abu Khedeir is progressing: following the arrests of six Jews with suspicion of murdering the teen, Channel 2 News now reports that one of the arrestees is now cooperating with investigators. The suspect confessed and implicated five of his friends. The investigation also revealed that this was not a well disciplined and ordered group, but rather an initiative of a few young extremists who knew each other beforehand. Police suspects that the six, who belong to a right wing group, committed the murder as an act of revenge for the kidnapping and killing of the three Israeli teens. According to the partial information that can now be published, a few of which are minors, who live in the areas of Beit Shemesh, Adam settlement and Jerusalem. PA President Mahmoud Abbas says Abu Khdeir was the victim of Jewish extremists incensed at the discovery last week of the remains of Gil-Ad Shaer, 16, Eyal Yifrah, 19, and Naftali Fraenkel, 16, all of whom were buried Tuesday. 3) The murder of 19-year-old Shelly Dadon of Afula has been solved, the Shin Bet said on Sunday, nearly a month after it arrested the man it said carried out the grisly murder. According to the Shin Bet, on June 16 it arrested Hassin Yussef Hasin Halifa, a taxi driver from Ibillin in the Galilee, on suspicion of carrying out the murder on the night of May 1. Though Halifa was arrested weeks ago, news of his arrest and confession were only publicized Sunday, after the Israeli media began covering the arrest of a group of Jews for allegedly murdering a Palestinian teen in a nationalistic crime last week. President Shimon Peres called Thursday for an end to incitement and respect for the rule of law: “I call upon every citizen, all citizens, with a serious request,” Peres told reporters. “Now is a time for two things: To respect the law and to avoid incitement. We weren’t born to hate, we weren’t born to speak in a hateful language. A few days ago we all behaved as one with dignity, even during our sorrow but together we called for restraint, we called for investigation, we were careful with our words. “It’s time to stop incitement, it’s time to be respectful and to respect the law. It’s in our hands. People who are engaged in incitement are not always aware where it can lead, to more sorrow, to more dangers. It’s time for all of us to show restraint, to show understanding and let us as human beings, all of us, be true to our morality, to our hope to live together in peace,” Peres said. And referring to the cousin of Muhammad Abu Khedeir…if you are an American citizen and go overseas, you should not get involved in riots and then when the police stomps on you…go crawling to the US Consulate in Jerusalem (actually it is the US Embassy which should be there) and cry wolf. When you go overseas, you should behave accordingly…

JUST ANOTHER MONDAY...

More than 30 rockets were fired towards communities in southern Israel by Gaza militants in the span of 30 minutes on Monday evening . Code Red sirens blared across the south, in towns and cities including Ashkelon, Kiryat Malachi, Ashdod, Netivot, and Beersheba. Iron dome shot down a number of rockets during the barrage. Rocket sirens sounded in Jerusalem, Mevasseret, Gush Etzion, Ashdod, Rechovot, Be’er Sheva, Ashkelon, Har Hebron as Gazan terrorists launched a barrage of 30 long-range missiles at Israel. One Israeli sustained a shrapnel wound from a rocket that exploded north of Ashdod, Monday night. Rocket fire came as fast as every five minutes over the past two hours. Home Front Command has ordered all residents within 40 kilometers to stay within 15 seconds of bomb shelters. No day camps on Tuesday and public shelters are ordered open in Be’er Sheva, Ashkelon, Ashdod and all cities within the 40 kilometer zone. Over 70 rockets have been launched at Israel, since noon today. Hamas warned today that they would hit Judea and Samaria. Up to 1,500 reserve soldiers will be ordered to report to the Sderot region. According to the Times of Israel, most of the soldiers will be from the Home Front Command and those trained to operate the Iron Dome anti-missile batteries, but the IDF Spokesman’s Office could not confirm that to TheJewishPress.com. At the same time, military officials stressed that Israel would prefer that Hamas decide on its own to rein in the rocket launchers, but they quickly added that Israel has the ability and the will to put an end to the rockets if need be. The move comes on the heels of the largest rocket barrage out of Gaza since 2012. After celebrating the abduction of Eyal Yifrah, Gil-Ad Sha’ar and Naftali Fraenkel on June 12 by handing out candies and flashing a three-finger victory sign, Hamas responded to the unprecedented manhunt for the boys with renewed rocket fire at Israeli civilians. 7/7/2014 A typical afternoon in the south of ISRAEL: 7:44 PM Shaar HaNegev 6:53 PM Eshkol 6:30 PM Shaar Hanegev. Open area. 6:05 PM Nachal Oz 5:55 PM Eshkol 5:37 PM Ein HaShlosha x4. No injuries. 5:33 PM Eshkol 4:21 PM Eshkol 4:20 PM Eshkol 4:16 PM Eshkol 4:11 PM Kissufim 4:08 PM Eshkol 3:39 PM Eshkol Chicken coop hit. Damage. No human injuries and all chickens were killed. 3:26 PM Shaar Hanegev x 2 3:21 PM Sdot Negev, Shaar Negev 2:51 PM Shaar Hanegev 2:40 PM Shaar Negev More than 30 rockets pounded southern Israeli communities on Monday, with one Grad rocket reaching as far as Beersheba. The Eshkol and Sha'ar Hanegev areas were heavily hit by rocket fire on Thursday morning and afternoon. The Security Cabinet met on Monday to discuss possible responses to the continued projectile fire from Gaza which has seen some 150 rockets hit Israel's southern communities in recent weeks. Preparing for an escalation: after 12 days of continues fire at Southern communities, the Cabinet decided tonight (Monday) to intensify the operations in the Gaza Strip – at this point mostly air operations – and if that will not bring calm, the option of a ground invasion is being considered too. Close to 20:00 a barrage of 30 rockets was fired at communities in the West Negev area. At this time no injuries were reported. False alarm sirens were sounded in the Jerusalem area in the center of Israel area. Iron Dome intercepted three rockets in the area of Netivot and Ofakim.

Heavy rocket barrages slammed into southern Israel on Monday evening, triggering air raid sirens across wide areas, including the Hof Ashkelon Regional Council, Sderot, Rehovot and Beit Shemesh. Seven long-range Palestinians rockets were intercepted over Ashdod, and five over Netivot. Some 30 rockets were fired from Gaza in the Monday night barrage. A total of 80 rockets slammed into southern Israel throughout the day and evening. The attacks came shortly after a senior military source said the IDF is taking “significant steps” to prepare itself for a stepped up campaign of attacks against Hamas in Gaza. He spoke as Palestinian projectile fire from the Strip continued unabated.

Thursday, July 3, 2014

SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM /// Platón, Vegetius

Lines of tanks, armored personnel carriers and jeeps are moving along roads that were carefully paved smooth earlier this year. Thousands of IDF soldiers already toting their gear are ready, seated in trucks and APCS, patiently waiting for orders that will decide their actions. But for now, they’re still in waiting mode. The orders haven’t yet been issued – they’re only getting into position – everyone’s just moving south to the border with Gaza. Disc jockeys and talk show hosts on Army Radio have that manic quality in their voices as they strain with extra effort to be especially funny in routines that have a sharper edge than usual. The music is jumpier, punchier. No information that could let you know what’s really going on. Standard procedure for the State of Israel in high-tension security mode. It would be smart for Gaza terrorists to rethink their actions, if they’re thinking clearly at all. Now is a good time to consider their families, if they ever consider anyone. The requisite warning to Hamas went out. They know the steps to the dance. No fools they, the entire leadership of that terrorist organization went underground at least 48 hours ago. No bellicose statements issued from Ismail Haniyeh since the beginning of the week. He’s hiding from Israeli fighter pilots and air strikes, content to let Gaza families pay the price for his belligerence when Israel is forced to bomb rocket launchers buried up against their homes. In that way, he’s not much different from Hezbollah terrorist chief Hassan Nasrallah, who has been in hiding for years, since the 2006 Second Lebanon War, for similar reasons. But the rocket fire continues, and it will soon have to be silenced one way or the other. The price for leaving it is getting too high. Tens of thousands of Israeli civilians cannot sleep at night, cannot function by day. Too many children are growing up damaged. It’s approaching the time to put the matter to rest. IT IS UP TO THE PALESTINIANS...IF THEY WANT PEACE...LET THERE BE PEACE IT IS UP TO THE PALESTINIANS...IF THEY WANT WAR...LET THERE BE WAR BUT REMEMBER...WAR IS BAD FOR EVERYBODY BUT ALSO REMEMBER THAT PEACE IS GOOD FOR EVERYBODY...SO IT IS UP TO YOU SI VIS PACEM...PARA BELLUM

LET THEIR PEOPLE GO...300 MILES DUE WEST OF ISRAEL

A Palestinian Authority polling institute survey of Arabs living in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and eastern Jerusalem indicate that most want to leave the Land of Israel and emigrate to other countries, according to a Ynet report. 68% of the Arabs surveys are concerned for their economic well-being. 70% of the Arabs surveyed would emigrate to the West if they could. LET THEIR PEOPLE GO…AS FAR AS I AM CONCERNED THEY COULD GO 300 MILES DUE WEST…AND LEAVE US ALONE.....LOL

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

SIN MISERICORDIA

LOS ASESINOS DE ESTOS TRES JOVENCITOS ESTAN SIENDO BUSCADOS POR TODO ISRAEL...CUANDO LOS ENCUENTREN LOS VAN A TRATAR SIN MISERICORDIA...DEBERIAN DE NO ENTREGARSE...PARA QUE CUANDO LOS SOLDADOS DE ISRAEL LOS ENCUENTREN LOS PUEDAN EJECUTAR SUMARIAMENTE. SI LOS ENCUENTRAN, LOS LLEVAN A JUICIO Y DESPUES TODA LA PRENSA EXTRANJERA SE METERA EN EL ASUNTO Y SE VOLVERA UN LIO...LOS METERAN EN LA CARCEL Y ALLI ESTARAN BIEN CUIDADOS Y ALIMENTADOS...QUE INJUSTICIA...Y LOS TRES JOVENES QUE??? NUNCA VIVIRAN PARA DISFRUTAR DE SUS VIDAS, CON SU FAMILIAS, SUS ESTUDIOS, SUS AMORIOS...SUS MATRIMONIOS Y EL PLACER DE VER NACER SUS HIJOS...SE DEBERIA DE INSTITUIR LA PENA DE MUERTE PARA ESTE TIPO DE CRIMEN Y DESPUES DE UN JUICIO...SIMPLEMENTE LLEVARLOS AL CADALSO Y YA. LO QUE ME PREOCUPA ES QUE ESTE HORRENDO ACTO PUEDA OCURRIR DE NUEVO Y QUE EN VENGANZA SE HAGA LO MISMO EN CONTRA DE CUALQUIER JOVENCITO PALESTINO Y SE EMPEZARIA UNA LARGA Y NUNCA TERMINABLE CADENA DE ODIO...SI ES QUE YA NO EXISTE...PERO POR EL MOMENTO, DESDE LO MAS PROFUNDO DE NUESTROS CORAZONES Y MENTE SOLO PEDIMOS...VENGANZA!!!

FAREWELL EYAL, GIL-AD AND NAFTALI

Tens of thousands of Israelis, including haredi men in long coats and side curls, Sephardic women in tight jeans and low-cut tops, and, of course, thousands and thousands of national-religious representing the entire swath of the religious Zionist spectrum braved searing afternoon heat Tuesday to give one final honour to three boys – and their families – who unified a fractured nation. In many ways, the funeral procession of Eyal Yifrah, Gil-Ad Sha’ar and Naftali Fraenkel had a different feel to other mass funerals following terror attacks. Of course, the event bore terrible resemblance to other mass funerals following horrific terror attacks. As at funerals of the Fogel family, Koby Mandell, and countless more victims of Oslo, today’s procession was marked by teenage boys crying openly on each-other’s shoulders, middle aged men and women staring blankly at the crowd, trying in vain to understand the justice and the Divine logic behind the tragedy, and teenage girls sitting on rocks and dirt paths, quietly sobbing into prayer and Psalm books. But a closer look revealed another, unusual side to the burial of three children murdered in cold blood. In addition to the natural human instinct to offer comfort to the grieving families, mourners seemed moved by another, deeper feeling. As much as a tribute to the victims, the gathering seemed to be a desperate grasp to hold on to the last three weeks – a period of fear and uncertainty, and of hope, all of which eventually exploded into the biggest show of national unity since the abduction and murder of Nachshon Wachsman in similar circumstances in 1994. As Israelis of all political and ethnic stripes mourned the boys’ murder, there is a reluctance to bid farewell to Iris Yifrah, Rachael Fraenkel and Bat-Galim Sha’ar, the devastated mothers who both drew strength from the support they received from Am Yisrael and returned it to the nation tenfold. To paraphrase Prime Minister Netanyahu said, the past three weeks were a lesson – for Israel and the world – in prayer, in belief, in national unity, in humanity. Today’s gathering, then, was in many ways a desperate attempt to down one last gulp from the cup of unity and faith that defined the past 19 days. As happened at memorial services around the country when word of the murders made the rounds last night, groups of teens hugged, linked arms and soothed their pain with the songs that have defined the entire ordeal – songs about God’s power and goodness, prayerful songs asking God to redeem captives, and especially the line from the Passover Haggada – “The promise made to our forefathers holds true also for us: For more than once they have risen against us to try to destroy us… But the Holy One, Blessed be He, saves us from their hands.”

THE WORLD MISSION OF ISRAEL

The tragic end to the kidnapping of Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-Ad Shaer and Eyal Yifrah has elicited a number of responses from the government. An intensive military operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip is being considered along with a continued crackdown in areas in the West Bank where Hamas is known to operate or receive funds. This would send a clear message to Hamas that no differentiation will be made among its various activities, whether they are political or “military.” Rather, the terrorist organization as a whole must be held responsible for any act of violence carried out by a person or group that identifies with Hamas’s goals, clearly stated in its charter. It hardly matters that the two Hamas terrorists Amer Abu Aysha and Marwan Kawasme, who went missing hours before the June 12 kidnapping, murdered the three boys without a specific order from the organization’s leadership. They carried out their ugly act with the full knowledge that what they did reflects Hamas’s spirit. Implementing the death penalty against terrorists convicted of murder is another option being weighed. Not necessarily a deterrent, instituting a death penalty for terrorist murderers would be a moral statement. The State of Israel would be upholding an ethical principle: Anyone who commits murder and justifies it in the name of religion – in this case a violent and reactionary form of political Islam that is responsible for most of the suffering in the region – deserves to be obliterated. Regardless of the steps Israel takes in response to the kidnapping, however, it is yet another reminder that swathes of Palestinian society continue to be irreconcilably committed to Israel’s destruction and are willing to condone the most despicable acts of violence, even if by doing they doom to oblivion any chances for national self-determination. From its inception, the Palestinian national movement has chosen time and again violence over compromise, a strategy that has consistently failed and brought ruin upon Palestinians. It began with the 1929 Hebron massacre, which left 67 Jews dead, including a dozen women and three children under the age of five. It continued with a series of riots launched by Palestinians between 1936 and 1939 that resulted in the deaths of several hundred Jews. Ultimately, however, the Palestinians suffered from the results of their own actions. The aggressive response of British Mandatory forces resulted in the death, wounding, imprisonment or exile of more than 10 percent of male Palestinians aged 20 to 60. While the Palestinians emerged from the riots severely weakened, pre-state Zionist militias such as the Hagana received crucial support from the British Mandate. This set the stage for the next Palestinian debacle: the rejection of the 1947 UN Partition Plan and the misguided decision to launch a military offensive against the fledgling Jewish state. The result was aptly called the “Nakba,” or disaster, by the Palestinians and it was entirely their own doing because they chose violence over compromise. Palestinian political choices after the Six Day War resulted in additional defeats. Yasser Arafat’s return to terrorism after the breakdown of the 2000 Camp David talks yielded similarly disastrous results. So did Palestinians’ decision in the 2006 Palestinian Authority legislative election to vote Hamas into power. Dozens of suicide bombings and shootings, thousands of Kassam rockets have yielded no benefits for Palestinians. Meanwhile, the Jewish state has continued to flourish and grow and develop in leaps and bounds. It has produced amazing people such as Naftali, Gil-Ad, Eyal and their families and it will produce many more. While Palestinians focus their energies on destruction and victimization, Israel has became one of the most innovative economies in the world, producing technologies in every field from medicine and computers to agriculture. There is nothing we can do to stop the Palestinians from choosing, time and again, violence over compromise, destruction over construction, and we should not deceive ourselves that we can. Remember the words by Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose: “One individual may die for an idea; but that idea will, after his death, incarnate itself in a thousand lives. That is how the wheel of evolution moves on and the ideas and dreams of one generation are bequeathed to the next’” All we can do is mourn the terrible loss of Naftali, Gil- Ad and Eyal, and continue with the amazing project of Zionism. This is our revenge and our way of honoring the memory of the three boys. This is our mission. ZIONISM FOREVER!!!

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

AM ISRAEL CHAI - QUE VIVA ISRAEL, SU PUEBLO Y SU TORAH

Eyal Yifrach, Gil-ad Shaar and Naftali Frenkel will be buried side by side in the Modiin Cemetery today, Tuesday, in a joint funeral. At the moment the schedule is as follows: Eyal Yifrah’s funeral will begin at 2:30 PM, in the Beit Knesset Neria shul in Elad,. The burial will be at 5:30 PM in the Modi’in cemetery. Gil-ad Shaar’s funeral will begin at 3:00 PM, in the Talmon shul, and they will leave to the cemetery at 4:30 PM. Naftali Frenkel’s funeral will begin at 3:00 PM in Nof Ayalon, and the burial will be at the same time, in Modiin, at 5:30 PM. The bodies of the kidnapped boys were found yesterday. They were kidnapped on June 12 by terrorists from Hebron, and murdered soon after. Gone-but-not-forgotten! They died just because they were Jews, the same reason why we have been killed thru the ages…Romans, Inquisition, Pogroms, Nazism and now Zionism. It does not matter if they use arrows, spears, swords, rifles, pistols or Zyklon-B…it is all the same. This is the call for all of us to make Aliyah to Israel. Let’s us take the lands of the Palestinians and kick them out…let them go about 300 miles due WEST. Let’s raze Gaza, their homes in the West Bank, let’s raze the Temple Mount and the Al-Aksa Mosque and build the Third Holy Temple…we want and need revenge…and we want it now….AM ISRAEL CHAI! Let the memory of Eyal Yifrach, Naftali Frenkel and Gilad Sha’ar not fade. Let their blood not have flowed in vain. May their memories be for a blessing and may G-d avenge their blood. May the soldiers of the IDF and the agents of the Shin Bet find success in the next phase of Operation Brother’s Keeper as they continue their hunt for the murders of our boys.

ONCE UPON A TIME...THERE WERE THREE BEAUTIFUL ANGELS

The number 18, "Chai”, has taken on new meaning for all of us. This number, which always represents "life," now brings us a feeling of sadness. It reminds us of the 18 days from the kidnapping of Naftali, Eyal, and Gil-Ad until the discovery of their bodies. It reminds us of the 18 days during which we prayed and hoped, only to be let down in the worst of ways. The pain is horrific, the sadness is deep, and the tragedy can lead us to despair. However, as we grieve as a nation with the families, and mourn as individuals, I believe that these 18 days reinforce the eternal strength of our nation and remind us that "Am Yisrael Chai" – we are alive and well. I view these last 18 days as a gust of wind. The air is always there but it takes a gust of wind to remind us that air surrounds us at all times. The unity, love and caring among Jews is always there. These last 18 days simply reminded us of this phenomenon. And that is why these 18 days continue the theme of "Chai." The three boys, our three boys, are no longer alive but Am Yisrael, the Jewish people, is alive and well. We have a unity of purpose and destiny which exists at all times – during the good as well as the bad. We may have our disagreements. We certainly have our share of difficulties with one another. However, despite all this, we share a common denominator which cannot be broken by any of our enemies. We will mourn together while soldiers from diverse backgrounds will continue to search for the murderers, punish our enemies, and defend us together. We will return to work together and we will strive to make the country a better place together. We will rejoice in each other's happy occasions together and continue to celebrate our successes and lick the wounds of our failures together, and, yes – we will continue debating and arguing – together. Naftali, Eyal, and Gil-Ad are no longer with us physically. But we, as a nation, are alive and well – physically and spiritually – with unity and love for one another. The "wind" of the last 18 days reminded us of this reality but it is always there and always will be there. Dov Lipman’s words are echoed around the world by Jews, as well as Christians, as well as people who love life…L’chaim!!! Chief Rabbi David Lau said that the entire Jewish people across the globe were shocked by “the despicable murders.” “The boys who were murdered are a sanctification of G-d’s name,” said Lau, who has cut short a visit to US Jewish communities because of the murders. “They were murdered simply because they were Jews, and join the chain of martyrs and pure ones of our people who have been murdered throughout the painful history of the Jewish people.” Deputy Minister for Religious Services Eli Ben-Dahan said he closely felt the pain of the three bereaved families and said he was certain the prayers that were since the boys were abducted were not in vain. "I have no doubt that the prayers helped the Jewish people which has united around the families in the last few weeks," said Ben-Dahan. He also called on the cabinet to punish the families of the the suspected murderers as well as Hamas "so that this phenomenon does not recur," and to impose Israeli sovereignty over the Gush Etzion settlement block. "Firstly, the families of the murderers must be sent into exile abroad, their houses must be destroyed and rebuilding them must be prevented. Additionally we must take advantage of this moment and impose sovereignty over the broader Gush Etzion region."