Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?: Hamas

Showing posts with label Hamas. Show all posts

UN Double Standards

Meryl's post UN on Israeli “war crimes” in Gaza: The fix is in brings to mind an old joke.

Dan Rather, Katie Couric, and an Israeli sergeant were all captured by terrorists in Iraq. The leader of the terrorists told them he would grant them each one last request before they were beheaded.

Dan Rather said, 'I'm a Texan, so I'd like one last bowlful of hot spicy chili.' The leader nodded to an underling who returned with chili. Rather ate it all and said, 'Now I can die content.'

Katie Couric said, 'I'm a reporter to the end. I want to take my tape recorder, then describe the scene here and what's about to happen. Maybe someone will hear it and know I was on the job till the end.'

The leader directed an aide to hand over the tape recorder, and Couric dictated some comments, then said, 'Now I can die happy.'

The leader turned and said, 'And now, Mr. Israeli tough guy, what is your final wish?'

'Kick me in the ass,' said the soldier.'

'What?' asked the leader? 'Will you mock us in your last hour?'

'No, I'm not kidding. I want you to kick me in the ass,' insisted the Israeli.

So the leader shoved him into the clearing and kicked him in the ass. The soldier was sent sprawling, but rolled to his knees, pulled a 9 mm pistol from under his flack jacket, and shot the leader dead. In the resulting confusion, he jumped to his knapsack, pulled out his carbine and sprayed the rest of the terrorists with gunfire. In a flash, all terrorists were either dead or fleeing for their lives.

As the soldier was untying Rather and Couric, they asked him, 'Why didn't you just shoot them in the beginning? Why did you ask them to kick you in the ass first?'

'What?' replied the Israeli, 'And have you two assholes report that I was the aggressor?!'

That's the sort of humor that creates a wry grin because there is a perverse truth to it. If you picked up the paper and read that a senior IDF official sneezed on a Palestinian and was being investigated for war crimes you'd shake your head, but some of you would believe it to be a true story.

Some of you would believe it to be true because you have been conditioned to believe that most Israeli actions are based upon malicious intent. But before some of you accuse this post of being the standard polemic I want to draw your attention elsewhere.

The Guardian has some terribly shocking video and an article that has received far too little media coverage.

Video of girl's flogging as Taliban hand out justice

A video showing a teenage girl being flogged by Taliban fighters has emerged from the Swat Valley in Pakistan, offering a shocking glimpse of militant brutality in the once-peaceful district, and a sign of Taliban influence spreading deeper into the country.

The two-minute video, shot using a mobile phone, shows a burka-clad woman face down on the ground. Two men hold her arms and feet while a third, a black-turbaned fighter with a flowing beard, whips her repeatedly.

"Please stop it," she begs, alternately whimpering or screaming in pain with each blow to the backside. "Either kill me or stop it now."

A crowd of men stands by, watching silently. Off camera a voice issues instructions. "Hold her legs tightly," he says as she squirms and yelps.

After 34 lashes the punishment stops and the wailing woman is led into a stone building, trailed by a Kalashnikov-carrying militant.

Where is the outrage. Where are the hundreds of newspaper stories decrying this action. Where are the editorials demanding justice. How can such a thing take place and receive so little news coverage.
The silence is deafening.

Crossposted on Yourish.

Israel & Gaza

The War in Gaza hasn't really ended it has just moved into a different venue. Now we get to see it taken apart within the blogosphere and the MSM. Not to mention the report filed by the UN.

If you know nothing about the war and rely solely upon these stories and reports you receive a very skewed perspective that lacks context and context is everything. These articles do a very fine job of painting a picture of a Big Bad Israel that is intent on murder, mayhem and mischief.

The lack of context creates a very fine narrative for the sort of screenplay that movie watchers love. You have a noble underdog fighting to free themselves from the yoke of some oppressive tyrant. Pardon me for a moment, I think that I am getting a bit choked up about it.

What they neglect to mention is that the noble underdog helped to create the problem by indiscriminately firing rockets into Israel. Nor do they spend time discussing the actions of the peaceful government of Gaza. You know, the fine fellows of Hamas who like to engage in vigorous interaction with those they disagree with.

Take a look at the video and tell me what you think about people who settle their disagreements in such a peaceful manner.

You'll forgive me for being a bit skeptical about the peaceful intentions of people who treat their fellows in such a fine fashion. But is that video really any worse than watching them use children as human shields.

It really comes as no surprise that certain groups are pushing to try Israel for war crimes or that much of this drama is taking place in the court of public opinion. In an earlier post I pointed out some of the flaws in the UN report and also gave some attention to some of the problems created by shoddy journalism.

But it is always worth noting that journalists are not fail proof and that they do make mistakes. So while the Guardian, HaAretz and others eagerly strive for a hard hitting piece let's take a moment to consider some of these issues.

Yourish provides one example to review in Is Ha’aretz is pulling a Scott Thomas on us? and Yaacov Lozowick shares another in UK Journalists are Fools and we'll hit the trifecta with Solomonia's Who Makes Your News: An Outburst on Tape.

So before some of the fans of The Shack go apoplectic let's cover a few basic points and then we'll wrap it up.

The decision to go to war did not take place in a vacuum. No nation will ignore daily rocket attacks. It doesn't matter how many people are killed by said rockets. There is no relevancy between the decision to defend people and how many are killed or injured by the rockets that precipitated the response.

I have never heard of a war in which civilians were not killed. It is a terrible tragedy and we can say that the victims died a senseless death. But we have to remember that it is war and that Hamas took an active role in trying to create a situation which would result in an invasion.

The problem was that they had their asses handed to them. So when they were unable to capitalize upon the war as a great military victory they switched to Plan B in which they try to delegitimize Israel's right to defend itself.

Circling back to the topic of context I would anticipate that there are those of you who provide accusations of that being a PR trick. But the reality is that context is not a PR trick. It is the substance that is required to make an informed and honest decision. It is just too bad that so many articles seem to be lacking it.

Crossposted on Yourish.

UN's "Unbiased Observer" Alleges Israeli War Crimes

Ynet reports that the a United Nations Human Rights Investigator alleges that Israel committed war crimes during Operation Cast Lead.

Color me skeptical but the UN is not exactly a bastion of human rights. In fact if you look at who sits on the human rights committee and their supporters you'll see examples of countries that are human rights violators.

Color me skeptical but the man appears to have taken Palestinian press releases and just regurgitated them on UN letterhead. It is common knowledge that the terrorists do not wear uniforms and intentionally operate from within densely packed civilian areas, but that doesn't matter to Mr. Falk.

Before we go any further let's look at an excerpt from the story.

A United Nations human rights investigator said on Thursday that Israel's military assault on densely populated Gaza appeared to constitute a grave war crime.

Richard Falk, UN special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, said the Geneva Conventions required warring forces to distinguish between military targets and surrounding civilians.

"If it is not possible to do so, then launching the attacks is inherently unlawful and would seem to constitute a war crime of the greatest magnitude under international law," Falk said.

"On the basis of the preliminary evidence available, there is reason to reach this conclusion," he wrote in an annual 26-page report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council.

Falk gave the same death toll from Israel's offensive in December and January - 1,434 Palestinians, including 960 civilians - as the Palestinian human rights center.

Israel, which lost 13 people during the war, disputes the figures and has accused Hamas fighters in Gaza of using civilians as human shields during the conflict - an allegation which Falk said should be investigated.

Is Falk blind or unable to use the internet. There is raw footage that shows evidence of Hamas war crimes such as the video of them using children as human shields.

Maybe the issue is that he receives his information from biased members of the media such as
Nidal Rafa.

You know who Nidal Rafa is, don't you. She is the journalist who was employed by CNN. Tom Gross provides a short report that sheds some very interesting information about her partisan approach. It includes a YouTube video in which she verbally attacks a member of the Knesset.

I know, journalists would never be biased. They serve the public by providing an unbiased report of the news. If only that was the case.

To be clear I do not believe that all journalists are bad. I do not believe that journalists who portray Israel or other countries in a negative light are automatically bad. But there are lines and Rafa crosses them far too often.

And when you take a situation where the foreign press must rely upon interpreters I grow very concerned at what is being translated and what is not.

So it really warms the cockles of my heart when I see a fine man like Falk deliver such an important and well thought out report.

Ok trolls, go to town.

Hilary Whatever Are You Doing

CNN is running an article in which Sec. of State Hilary Clinton makes all sorts of wacky remarks. Just for fun let's grab a few selections:

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Tuesday ruled out working with any Palestinian unity government that includes Hamas if Hamas does not agree to recognize Israel.

In the absence of Hamas agreeing to the principles that have been adopted by such a broad range of international actors, I don't see that we or they -- or anyone -- could deal with Hamas," Clinton said in an interview with CNN."

Hmm...do we have any reason to believe that Hamas is suddenly going to alter their position. Color me a skeptic but I find that difficult to believe. Israel did a fine job of beating the snot out of them during Operation Cast Lead but that hasn't stopped them from posturing and continuing their attacks.

"The interview was conducted a short time after Clinton met with Israeli Prime-Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, who does not support an independent Palestinian state, the bedrock of U.S. policy.

Asked whether the United States could effectively work with Netanyahu anyway, Clinton said, "The two-state solution is the inevitable, inescapable outcome of any effort. It is hard to imagine what other positive outcome could be arrived at."

"Diplospeak." You have got to love it. Reminds me of Blazing Saddles and "authentic frontier gibberish" which is a good description of Hilary's comment.

At one point in time I thought that a two state solution made a lot of sense.

I didn't believe that there was any historical reason for it. It is not like there ever was a Palestine ruled by Arab Palestinians that was magically erased and required restoration to right some sortg of historic wrong. However it seemed to me like a practical solution to a dilemma.

However over time I have become less and less convinced that a two state solution is sensible. In fact at this point in time I fail to believe that the Palestinians will settle for two states, especially the fundamentalists that run their government in Gaza. Remember, those silly old fools whose charter calls for the destruction of Israel.

So allow me to quote Diana Ross and The Supremes "You can't hurry love." I don't think that we're in a position to bring about a two state solution, not now. And trying to force the issue as President Clinton did at Camp David is not wise. There are many things in life that require time and preparation.

And I happen to believe that the peace process is one of them. I'd like to see a different approach taken in which we stop pushing so hard to come to a long term agreement. Instead I'd like to see an approach in which small steps are taken to bring about a more peaceful situation. Given some time in which no wars are fought and terrorist rocket attacks are not a daily occurence will go a long way.

It will help establish a foundation of trust that really doesn't exist right now and without that foundation there is simply no way that the situation will ever improve.

Olmert Reacts to Rockets

It makes me ever so happy to know that the U.S. is going to send $900 million in aid to terrorists who continue to fire rockets at Israel. Prime Minister Olmert made it clear that Israel will not allow the attacks to continue and that it will not hesitate to respond.

Funny thing about this CNN report is that it is another example of how the terrorists manipulate the media. Hamas does not wear uniforms. They intentionally dress in civilian garb and operate in highly populated areas.

While it is certain that civilians were killed during the war, it is also certain that a large portion of the 1,300 reported killed in the report were not actually civilians.

"JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel will retaliate against Palestinian-controlled Gaza with a "painful, sharp, strong and uncompromising response" if rocket attacks do not stop, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Sunday.
He warned "terrorists" that they would not be able to anticipate Israel's moves.
"The Israeli response will -- in no way -- be what the terrorist organizations expect. The state of Israel has a wide range of options that will be utilized in order to bring complete quiet to the south," he said Sunday at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting.
Rocket fire from Gaza, which is run by the militant Hamas movement, was the main reason cited for Israel's three-week assault on the territory in December and January. The air and land campaign left about 1,300 Palestinians dead. Thirteen Israelis died.
But rocket attacks into Israel continue.
Over the weekend Palestinians fired nine rockets into southern Israel. One of them slammed into an empty school in the city of Ashkelon, causing extensive damage. Since the end of the military operation in Gaza, over 110 rockets have been fired into Israel, a spokeswoman for Israel's military said."

Israel On College Campuses

Many Jewish college students have been struggling with the way Israel is treated on campus. It is becoming more common for adversaries of the state to hold anti-Israel demonstrations and activities on campus.

Quite a few of these activities are not friendly gatherings of students handing out flowers and suggesting that we just give peace a chance. Many are populated by rampant antisemitic commentary and false accusations about the misdeeds of Israel. Counter demonstrators routinely tell stories of being threatened, intimidation is routine.

The demonstrations rarely are balanced. You don't attend them to hear speakers present both sides. They are hate rallies in which the speakers do their best to whip the crowd into a frenzy. They are part of a movement that is doing its best to delegitimize Israel and make it untenable to voice dissent for fear of repurcussions.

UCLA professor Judea Pearl wrote an essay that is worth reading.

...when an e-mail from a colleague at Indiana University asked: “Being at UCLA, you must know about this symposium ... pretty bad.” Attached to it was Roberta Seid’s report on the now famous “Human Rights and Gaza” symposium held a day earlier at UCLA (see “UCLA Symposium on Gaza Ignites Strong Criticism,” Jewish Journal, Feb. 11, 2009).

To refresh readers’ memory, this symposium, organized by UCLA’s Center for Near East Studies (CNES), was billed as a discussion of human rights in Gaza. Instead, the director of the center, Susan Slyomovics, invited four longtime demonizers of Israel for a panel that Seid describes as a reenactment of a “1920 Munich beer hall.” Not only did the panelists portray Hamas as a guiltless, peace-seeking, unjustly provoked organization, they also bashed Israel, her motives, her character, her birth and conception and led the excited audience into chanting “Zionism is Nazism,” “F—-, f—- Israel,” in the best tradition of rhino liturgy.

Point of information: In the late 90's I worked on campus at UCLA and have a few stories of my own about what was happening then. I was confronted several times by male students who suggested that it wasn't safe for me to disagree with them. Perhaps I'll share more about this later.

Pearl continues on and suggests that Jewish faculty members should have anticipated this and done more to try and help to steer the conversation so that it wasn't so one sided. He writes about the many dilemmas presented by a society that tries to protect rocket launching terrorists and decries self defense.

And he discusses how it has become harder to be an outspoken Zionist for fear of the repurcussions.

These are dilemmas that had not surfaced before the days of rockets and missiles, and we, the Jewish faculty, ought to have pioneered their study. Instead, we allowed Hamas’ sympathizers to frame the academic agenda. How can we face our students from the safety of our offices when they deal with anti-Israel abuse on a daily basis — in the cafeteria, the library and the classroom — and as alarming reports of mob violence are arriving from other campuses (San Jose State University, Spartan Daily, Feb. 9, and York University, Globe and Mail, Feb. 13)?

Burdened with guilt, I called some colleagues, but quickly realized that a few have already made the shift to a strange-sounding language, not unlike “Honk, Honk.” Some have entered the debate phase, arguing over the rhino way of life vs. the human way of life, and the majority, while still speaking in a familiar English vocabulary, are frightened beyond anything I have seen at UCLA in the 40 years that I have served on its faculty.

Colleagues told me about lecturers whose appointments were terminated, professors whose promotion committees received “incriminating” letters, and about the impossibility of revealing one’s pro-Israel convictions without losing grants, editorial board membership, or invitation to panels and conferences. And all, literally all, swore me into strict secrecy — we have entered the era of “the new Maranos.”

I am sad to say that I wasn't surprised by any of this. It is not so long since I was producing daily updates about the War in Gaza. In return I was repeatedly attacked on the blog and via email with some of the most hateful speech I can think of. I was called a racist and a nazi. I was told that the world would be a better place if I died.

People did their best to try and intimidate me. Intimidation is a central part of their tactics. It is what they do best. If you don't toe the party line, if you dare deviate then you are attacked from every angle. Physical threats combined with attempts to ostracize you socially and professionally.

I'll continue to advocate fair and balanced of criticism of all countries. Israel can and should be criticized. But when the Anti-Israel crowd continues to include epithets suggesting that Jews should go to the gas chambers and similar hate speech it is impossible to accept their claims that their criticism is not antisemitic. These types of attacks are attacks on all of us and must be opposed.

Unless we take action we are going to read more stories about intimidation at the universities. It is past time to draw a line in the sand and hold the universities accountable for activities that take place under their purview.

Crossposted on Yourish.

P.S. for those who are interested here is a link to some resources you can use to help educate people.

The Inner Workings of Hamas

It is a relatively short time since the hostilities ended and a mutually agreed ceasefire led to relative quiet, relative being the operative term. Since then we have borne witness to the typical mumblings from useful idiots about war crimes and disproportionate response. They are just buzzwords that are used by people who do not understand what they mean and or do not care about whether they are truly applicable.

Today we heard about more violations of the ceasefire by the kindhearted Gazans who are only trying to survive. But what we rarely read or hear about are the tales of how Hamas really operates.

A JPost story helps to shine a light on this area by sharing stories from captured terrorists. In it we learn about how Hamas used schools to fire rockets at Israel, stole humanitarian aid and how Hamas treats those who refuse to assist them. Let's take a moment to look at an excerpt or two.

Nuaf Atar, 25, lives in Atatra, in the northwest Gaza Strip, and was captured by paratroopers on January 11. In his interrogation by the Shin Bet, Atar said Hamas government officials "took over" humanitarian aid Israel allowed in to the Strip and sold it, when it is supposed to be distributed for free.

Hamas set up rocket launchers and fired rockets into Israel from within school compounds since the operatives knew that the Israel Air Force would not bomb the schools, he said.
Palestinians who opposed Hamas's use of their land and homes as launch pads were shot in the legs, Atar added.

and

Another fascinating account was provided by Raji Abed Rabo, a 22-year-old member of Islamic Jihad and resident of the Jabalya refugee camp in northern Gaza. Abed Rabo told interrogators he was recruited into the organization at the age of 17 and began by distributing anti-Israel propaganda.

In 2006, he joined the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and underwent military training. In 2007 he returned to Islamic Jihad and was recruited to the Jabalya cell. His job was to conduct reconnaissance and gather intelligence on IDF movements along the Gaza border.
He stored weaponry in his house, including roadside bombs, and was knew of a number of tunnels that were to be used to kidnap and surprise IDF soldiers. He also told the Shin Bet about a large bunker that was built under Shifa Hospital in Gaza City and was used as a hideout for a number of senior Hamas operatives during the recent Israeli offensive.

Hamad Zalah, 29, is also a resident of Jabalya and was captured by the IDF on January 12. During his interrogation, he revealed that together with his brother, he was tortured by Hamas at a headquarters in Jabalya for his affiliation with Fatah and his intention to light a memorial candle for Yasser Arafat.

You don't hear about these stories. You don't see the videos of Hamas using children as human shields.

The so called Anti-Zionist crowd doesn't like to share those stories, fine humanitarians that they are. Not like they chased the fine British police down the street or promoted violence at their rallies. Remember the peace loving demonstrators are just humanitarians who fight for peace around the world.

Ok, the sarcasm is growing old but the reality is that there is an appalling disconnect about the cause and effect of the situation in Gaza. Those who cry for Gaza but fail to exhibit the same concern about Israel are sorry hypocrites. You can't sue for peace while supporting the terrorist actions of those who sanction murder.

Crossposted on Yourish.

Gaza- The Dust is Still Settling

So now the dust is beginning to settle and we can start to assess the results of the war in Gaza. This post offers a collection of perspectives and thoughts about that.

The video above was made by the Libi fund which helps support IDF soldiers.

From the traditional media we have:
NY Times: Obama Sends Special Envoy to Mideast and Europe
CNN: Week-old Gaza cease-fire is breached
WAPO: Obama Voices Hope for Mideast Peace in Talk With Al-Arabiya TV
Fox: The Smuggling Tunnels are Open for Business!
AFP: Shalit should not be part of Gaza truce deal: Hamas
The Spectator: A British soldier's view of Operation Cast Lead
The Spectator: The ugly face of bigoted Britain
Financial Times: Saudi warning (is it rude to say Bite Me Limey)
The Australian: Israeli troops were told to kill themselves to avoid capture
YNET: Carter: Hamas can be trusted
YNET: Time to take responsibility
JPost: EU official: Hamas responsible for Gaza
JPost: Israel hits back at war crimes charges
JPost: Caroline Glick Our World: Defending freedom's defenders
Haaretz: ANALYSIS / Recognizing that Israel's effort to topple Hamas has failed
Haaretz: Summit on Holocaust: Gaza war legitimized equating Jews with Nazis
Haaretz: Egypt to Hamas: Take Gaza truce before Netanyahu is voted PM
Commentary: A Gaza Post-Mortem
Commentary: Michael Totten writes The Mood in Israel Now

From the blogosphere:

Seraphic Secret shared And the Ladies of Gaza. The FP has How badly did Gaza poison the well?

At Solomonia you should read A Pragmatic Voice and Video: War Protests or Pro-Hamas Hate Rallies?.

Weasel Zippers Red Crescent Says Hamas, not Israel Prevented Their Ambulances From Picking up Wounded Gazans....

Gateway Pundit shared Pro-Hamas Thugs Attack Pro-Israel Protest in Sweden with Eggs, Rocks, Bottles & Tear Gas Grenades.

At the Augean Stables take a look at HRW and Israel: Ken Roth vs. Gerald Steinberg and Jenin Redux: Casualty Figures Reconsidered.

Daled Amos blogged Europe May Finally Catching On To Hamas and Sharansky: Neither Hamas Nor PA Can Be In Charge Of Rebuilding Gaza.

EOZ offers World press ignores Hamas' media intimidation. I covered Saudi Arabian Hypocrisy.

At Yourish Jimmy Carter: Stooping to new [moronic] lows. Yaacov Lozowick shared So What was Achieved?

Soccer Dad discussed Israel's legitimacy is debatable; hamas's is not. At Adloyada read UK govt minister claims Israel cowed BBC into turning down Gaza appeal.

Mere Rhetoric blogged Palestinians Blow The Lid Off Cover Up Of Glorious Hamas Victory and UN Chief: Yeah, I Guess It Sucks That We've Been Helping Hamas Shell Israeli Civilians For Eight Years.

Check out Joshuapundit's '60 Minutes' Libels Jews And Israel.

That is all for now folks. Stay tuned for a resumption of light hearted posts about college life, raising kids and assorted odds and ends.

Gaza Continued

There is so much that could and should be said about the situation in Gaza and the hypocrisy exhibited by so many. We could go round and round in circles about the nonsense. We could ask why those who protest the war are not protesting the brutal treament of Palestinians by Palestinians, but what fun would that be.

Instead we'll share a collection of links that you might find to be of interest:

CNN: Palestinians: 1,300 killed, 22,000 buildings destroyed in Gaza (What this story doesn't say is how many of those who were killed were terrorists and how many buildings housed weapons or were used as launching pads.

It also doesn't talk about how Egypt turned a blind eye while allowing tons of weapons to be smuggled into Gaza.

WSJ: Israel Scored a Tactical Victory

Telegraph: Analysis: Hamas did not win conflict but did Israel? (Good questions here. It remains to be seen.)

JPost:'Hamas torturing Fatah members in Gaza' (You just had your ass kicked up and down the street, so what do you do. Oh, I know, let's go terrorize other Palestinians and see if it makes us feel better.)

JPost: Iran renews efforts to supply weaponry to bruised Hamas (Will the world just watch as the leader fomenters of terror continue to try and wreak havoc. My guess is the answer will be yes.)

And now for some blog posts to review:

Mere Rhetoric: Opps! Al Arabiya Accidentally Airs Description Of Hamas Firing Rockets From Al Arabiya's Own Studio

Yourish: More threats, lies from Saudis

Seraphic Secret: Chaos

Solomonia: Hamas children's propaganda film reinforces illusion of war victory

War- What is it Good For

Forgive me for using an antiwar lyric for a war I supported, it just seemed fitting. Fitting because like so many others I have been trying to determine what was accomplished. What sort of benefits have been derived by three weeks or so of bloodshed.

We can start with the obvious and ask if Israel was truly able to stop the rockets and re-establish some deterrence. Have they put the fear of God into Hamas and made them rethink their positions on little things like not recognizing the state. Was Gilad Shalit rescued and returned from what Seraphic Secret rightfully calls cruel captivity.

There is an obvious answer to the question of what happened to Gilad. The answer is that he has not yet been rescued and that there have been reports that he was killed by Israeli artillery fire. Until proven otherwise I refuse to accept this as anything more than Hamas propaganda designed and intended to demoralize.

But I will again add my voice to the chorus of those who find it unacceptable that he is still in captivity.

As for whether deterrence has been established, well that is a question that we can't answer overnight. I tend to adopt a similar position to Yaacov Lozowick who says

"Now we've got to wait till the morning after the morning after (I liked Thomas Friedman's formulation) to see if Hamas has reached a stage similar to the one Hezbullah reached the morning after their morning after their "victory" in 2006. If this morning's rockets cause no casualties and cease by the afternoon, not to be renewed for years, that's fine. If they continue, however, even if only in a drizzle, we have to keep on hitting, inaugural parties in Washington or not."

He is correct. If the rockets continue Israel needs to resume pounding them.

Back on the topic of identifying accomplishments from the war it is also clear that the war provided antisemites from around the world with another excuse to commit barbaric and hateful acts of their own. Just look at this post from Zombietime for a list of events in the global intifada.

In a side note to my Israeli family and friends, this is why you sometimes hear from us about having a voice in what happens. My personal perspective is that I prefer to have the bigots out in the open. I'd rather know exactly who I am dealing with. Not to mention that the sort of scum bag that engages in this behavior would do so regardless of what Israel does. But this does serve as a sort of beard for his/her behavior.

The war made it apparent that we need to work harder on educating the ignorant masses about international law, moral relativism and what disproportionate force means. We also need to be cognizant of how many people are choosing to question Israel's existence. It used to be that we heard discussions about occupied territory and we knew that part of Israel was being discussed. Now the tune is changing and we're having more talk about the entire state.

Don't believe me or want a source for this. Go read this post and report back to me. In the meantime here is are links to all of the roundup and some more posts to read:

1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16, *17, *18, *18.5, *19 and ceasefire edition.

From the traditional media:

CNN: Bodies dug from rubble during Gaza cease-fire (Who else was in there.)
CNN: Hamas, Israel set independent cease-fires
NY Times: Rebuilding Begins Upon a Wobbly Truce
The Spine: Reviving the Oldest Hatred
WSJ: Defeating Terrorists (Sometimes force works)
Boston.com: The violence network
JPost: Yadlin: Hamas likely to keep attacking
JPost: Analysis: The operation is over but the war continues
JPost: Analysis: Europe's plea for peace ignores the Gaza reality
Mark Steyn: Jew-baiting, then and now

From the blogosphere:

Yaacov Lozowick's Inventing Your Own Reality.
Omri says CAIR: Complaining About The Anti-Semitic Attacks We're Inciting Is A "Distraction"
EOZ: I must be much dumber than Olmert
Solomonia: Big Gas Field Discovered Off Haifa
Solomonia: The MSM is the Enemy
Soccer Dad: Report from the front
Soccer Dad: Shiny happy dhimmi - #9

Crossposted on Yourish.

War in Gaza Update #18

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #18.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15, *16 and 17.

From the traditional media we have:

CNN: U.N. condemns shelling of aid complex
CNN: Third-ranking Hamas leader in Gaza killed
CNN: Arab nations split on Gaza diplomacy
NY Times: War on Hamas Saps Palestinian Leaders
Time: Hamas Ranks Showing Signs of Division
Time: How Badly Has Hamas Been Hurt in Gaza?
WSJ: The No-State Solution
Guardian: Gaza split prompts Arab countries to boycott emergency summit
YNET: Iran: It is not feasible for Israel to live
YNET: Olmert’s ill-advised move
Commentary: Con Denver
Commentary: An Obama Peace Process?
Commentary: An Exercise in Comparing and Contrasting
National Review: Can We Trust the Casualty Numbers?

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF blog has Summary of Overnight Events, 15 Jan. 2009 08:30 IST.

Take a letter, Dear World.

From Mere Rhetoric
Top US Communication Listserv: Hey, How About Some Anti-Israel David Duke Pamphlets?

At Daled Amos Talk Again Of Ceasefire--But Not Of Gilad Shalit? and United Nations Relief and Works Agency: We Employed Terrorists At Palestinian Schools.

The Elder continues to produce posts you need to read such as Fact: Palestinian Arabs lie and Morning news roundup.

Crittenden blogged about The Media War. Soccer Dad asks Who's getting sapped?

Jewish Current Issues shared Three Posts on Judging and Justifying Israel. Discarded Lies has IDF get another "rich" target: Hamas interior minister.

At Yourish go read It’s not anti-Zionism—it’s anti-Semitism.

Carl and Atlas Shrugs talked about the shelling of the UN complex in JIHAD USES UN COMPOUND TO FIRE AT ISRAEL and.'Palestinians': UNRWA headquarters on fire; UPDATED: 'Palestinians' fired anti-tank missiles from UNRWA HQ.

Jack and Jill Politics has a different perspective What’s Happening in Gaza is Wrong & It Needs to Stop Now.

Back at Yourish read Hamas: Still hurting, still needing to be destroyed. and Mark Regev responds to biased CNN anchor

From Sderoth Some Musings on Proportionality.

Shiloh Musings wants to know why Israel won't finish off the terrorists.

You might want to read Six wounded, two seriously as Grad hits Be'er Shev.

More idiocy from the protests Ringo's Pix: Bad Craziness in Los Angeles.

This is not a picture of the latest bomb shelter.

This concludes the round up. More to come later.

War in Gaza Update #17

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #17.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5, *15 and 16.

From the traditional media we have:

Fox: U.N. Agency That Runs School Hit in Gaza Employed Hamas and Islamic Jihad Members
CNN: Medical toll (Excuse me for being skeptical about some of these numbers.)
CNN: Bin Laden message (Wonder if he is hiding in the same cave as Nasrallah)
CNN: Bergen: Tape shows Gaza conflict 'big deal' to bin Laden
NY Times: Why Israel Can’t Make Peace With Hamas
NY Times: Israeli Rights Groups Call for War Crimes Inquiry
TNR: Why Do the Jews In the Media Love Hezbollah?
TNR: Coverage of the Gaza Crisis
JPost: Hamas accepts Gaza cease-fire initiative 'in principle'
JPost: 'Are human rights for some, but not for others?'
The Atlantic: Race and The Israel Lobby
The Atlantic: The Walt Counterfactual
Commentary: Let’s Get Real

From the blogosphere:Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF provides IDF VLOG: Israeli Airstrikes Aborted to Protect Civilians.

and here is a video of a strike against Hamas terrorists.

Seraphic Secret has the scary story Marriage Hamas Style. Soccer Dad is Teaching Thomas.

Omri has
No, Of Course Hamas Didn't Accept A Ceasefire, Hezbollah Using Proxies To Bomb Israeli Civilians, Erode Israel's Deterrent and

Red Cross: Of Course Israel's White Phosphorus Shells Don't Violate Int'l Law.

Rafi has the picture of the day. Meryl pointed out Catch-22 on ICC in Gaza and Iranian ship turned back by Israel and Egypt.

Treppenwitz covered Okay, now that everyone has 'checked in'... and Picture this...

At My Pet Jawa read sabbah.biz: source of Palestinian campaign targeting Israeli officials' communications and The War Victims the Media Forgot.

Joshuapundit provided "Dear World"...An Open Letter From An Israeli Jew.

Weasel Zippers has the shameful story about New Zealand: Muslim Cafe Owner Kicks out Israeli Customers, Refuses to Serve Jews Until Gaza Offensive Over....

Go to Simply Jews Hamas - change of language and pricing issues. Rob wrote Gaza and Mogadishu.

American Power blog has Fanatical Islam's Tightening Grip in Britain. At Daled Amos Video Alert: The UN Lynch Mob.

Gateway Pundit says Helen Thomas Compares Jews to Nazis, HAMAS FIRES PHOSPHORUS BOMB INTO ISRAEL and 55 Anti-Semitic Attacks in France Since War In Gaza.

EOZ continues to set the tone with ICRC president inflates Gaza's population density and Free Gaza Movement allows dozens to die!

From Taylor Marsh The Thugocracy of Hamas in Gaza. Planck's Constant says Arabs Live Better under Israeli Rule.

No Quarter offered “Gaza Burning” - Worldwide Impact »
From Shiloh Musings "I Need Help," My Friend Said and Frightening Pictures.

Don Surber has Israel.

Stay tuned I will update this later today.

War in Gaza Update #16

Welcome to the War in Gaza Update #16.

Previous editions of the round up can be found below:1* 2 *3* 3.5* 4* 4.5* 5* 5.5* 6*6.5 *7* 7.5* 8* 8.5.*9, *9.5, *10, *10.5, *11, *11.5, *12, *12.5, *13, *13.5, *14, *14.5 and 15.

From the traditional media we have:

NY Times:Olmert Says He Made Rice Change Vote
NY Times: Israel Says Hamas Is Damaged, Not Destroyed
CNN: Israel tightens grip on Gaza City; Hamas stays defiant
WAPO: Israeli envoy plans 'decisive' talks in Egypt
WSJ: Europe Reimports Jew Hatred
WSJ: Ending the West's Proxy War Against Israel: Stop funding a Palestinian youth bulge, and the fighting will stop too By Gunnar Heinsohn
Arutz Sheva: 'Cast Lead' Photo, Video Essay: Anti-Aircraft Gun Inside Mosque
Arutz Sheva: Humanitarian Aid: Reaching Gaza's Poor?
JPost: US says Olmert's UN vote story 'just 100%, totally not true'
JPost: Saying 'No' was a mistake
JPost: Red Cross: 'Israel's white phosphorus use legal'

Jefferey Goldberg: Does "Black Hawk Down" Portray an American War Crime?
Daily Dish: The Iran-Hamas Axis, Ctd.

From the blogosphere:

Aussie Dave and The Muqata continue live-blogging the war. The IDF provides video of a "Weaponized Mosque."

Much has been made about how this offensive is going to backfire because it will create more hatred. Yaacov takes that on in a post called Sowing Eternal Hatred in which he evaluates whether that theory is true or not.

Read about The Red Mosque of Death at Seraphic Secret.

Yourish has the story about Hamas to CSM: We won’t stop firing rockets, even with a truce.

The Elder has The war against Starbucks and Another terrorist "civilian".

Atlas Shrugs: UK: BLOOD LIBEL HORROR: JEWS EATING DEAD BABIES and ANTI-HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL VOTES AGAINST ISRAEL EXCEPT CANADA.

Zombietime has pictures of a protest in San Francisco.

Gateway Pundit told us Neo-Nazis Join Pro-Hamas Rally In Calgary. GP also shared this crazy story and video Muslim "Peace" Protesters Chase UK Police Down Street Screaming "Run You F**king Cowards!" (Video)