Update #10 on the War in Gaza can be found here. It is filled with links to various news sources and blog posts that discuss the war in Gaza.

It is a good way to get news and analysis about the war that you are unlikely to find anywhere else.

An amazing article by Nic Robertson (CNN).

Finally we know where suicide bombers come from. The article describes the trauma that children of Gaza are undergoing these days.

The children have seen terrible images of tragedy: their friends injured or killed and bloodied bodies in the streets. They are images Hassanin says he will never forget. He’ll keep them stored away until he’s old enough to do something about it.

And the punchline? Here it is:

“When we will grow up, we will bomb them back,” a CNN translator quoted the boy saying on Hamas TV.

Right, and here comes a professional confirmation from a Gazan psychiatrist, no less:

“Today children are experiencing a serious kind of trauma, and I fear for the future,” el Sarraj said. “The children of the first intifada were throwing stones at the Israeli troops. And because of the trauma they were subjected to, 10 years later, the same children became suicide bombers.”

So now we all know where suicide bombers come from.

Just a quick exercise in arithmetic for Gazan doctor: children of Sderot and other towns and villages on the Israeli side of the border were subjected to daily bombardment of Qassams for almost eight years. Taking the average age of a kid as 7 years and the average age of a suicide bomber as 20 years, how many suicide bombers will the Israeli side provide in, say, ten years?

Cross-posted on SimplyJews.

There is an ongoing discussion among my Jewish friends and I. Actually there are many ongoing discussions but for the purpose of this post we’ll focus on one. What is our role as a Jew. It is not so much a religious discussion as a question of what does it mean when you’re the only Jew in school or the office.

You see for whatever reason many of us seem to feel that when we are the only Jew around we have to assume the mantle of spokesperson for the Jews. It is especially noticeable during the holiday season or times like now when Israel is at war. Because now people start to approach us to ask questions or make statements about Israel.

Now let’s be clear about something there is no one person or organization that speaks for all of us. And there are many Jews who have never been to Israel or are relatively uneducated about it. They don’t know much about the history and can’t really discuss the politics with any degree of expertise. If you ask me that is ok. I play basketball with a Chinese guy who can’t tell you a thing about Chinese politics. He is an American who was born and raised in Los Angeles. He happens to be Chinese, but that doesn’t mean he knows Mao from Kung-Pao.Although I frequently ask him to Free Tibet.

The point is that there shouldn’t be a reason why a Jew who doesn’t live in Israel has to be an expert on what happens there. But the world is a funny place and my friends and I have found that while we shouldn’t have to know, it is helpful. Because for better or worse what happens in Israel impacts us.

If you have spent any time reading about the protests against the war in Gaza you’ll be aware that they don’t just focus on Israel, but also on Jews.

Victor Davis Hanson in an article called Creepy Times writes:

“There is something especially nauseating about the latest Middle East war — scenes of worldwide Islamic protests with photos of Jews as apes, protesters (in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida of all places!) screaming about nuking Israel and putting Jews in ovens, parades of children dressed up with suicide vests and fake rockets, near constant anti-Semitic vicious sloganeering,”

It wouldn’t take any effort to provide additional examples including video and pictures of the actions of these people. I could relate personal experiences I have had with Anti-Israel protesters lament that Hitler should have finished the job. Sadly that is not hyperbole, it is reality.

As it happens I have been to Israel many times and have a lot of friends and family who live there. So when things happen I am always concerned. As I write this I worry about their safety including younger cousins who have been called up. The connection is personal so it is easy for me. I like knowing what is going on. I like being able to give an intelligent answer to the questions I receive.

Still, I am American. Been here all of my just short of my 40 years of life. I vote in every election, recite the pledge, sing the national anthem (poorly) and have a barbecue on the fourth of July. So when people come to me and ask why Israel is acting in a certain manner I sometimes shake my head. Ben-Gurion didn’t bestow me with any special honors. I am an ordinary American Joe who happens to love Israel.

But these protesters remind me that some people think otherwise. It is a peculiar thing if you ask me. They protest a war and allege that there is a humanitarian crisis. Yet in the process of working towards sainthood they dehumanize me and my fellows. They curse and threaten us and suggest that a genocidal maniac should have been successful in his efforts to eradicate us.

Earlier today I played in my weekly pickup basketball game. While sitting in the locker room a Nigerian man approached me and asked me to explain what was going on and to get my opinion. Midway through the discussion I looked at him and said, “To some Jewish blood is cheap, but the cheapest blood of all is African.”

For a moment I wondered if I had offended him and then he nodded and gave a wistful smile. He paused and responded, “Jack, no one cares about Africa. Most Americans don’t know much if anything about it all. They can’t tell me a thing about my country. And the world, well the world ignores the pain and suffering because we have nothing that they can sell for money. You’re right, African blood is the cheapest.”

Crossposted on Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?

There is a new War In Gaza Update #9.5. It is a collection of news stories and blog posts from around the world.

Due to time constraints it is not as complete or as polished as I’d like. Keep checking back in because it will be updated and revised.

Edition 10 should come out later this evening, between 10-11 P.M. PST.

The special edition of SNN is up.

Listen, and forward the link to a friend. Remember, you don’t need an iPod. All you need is a computer that has a media program, like Windows Media, to listen.

And go vote for us in the 2008 Weblog Awards while you’re at it.

William Kristol in “Why Israel Fights,” may be excessively optimistic. However he makes a point that seems lost on most analysts of the current war against Hamas.

And, of course, not all military efforts against terror fail. Recall Israel’s incursion into the West Bank in the spring of 2002, when, under the leadership of Ariel Sharon, Israel succeeded in ripping up established terror networks and began the defeat of the second intifada. Israel also was able to avoid a long-term re-occupation, while retaining the ability to go back in on anti-terror missions. What’s more, the 2002 bloodshed didn’t seem to do lasting damage to hopes for progress or moderation on the West Bank. After all, it’s Gaza, from which Israel withdrew in 2005, not the West Bank, that became a Hamas stronghold.

When the Washington Post and others compare the current war with the Hezbollah war of 2006, it’s easy to get the impression that they want Israel to lose. (Part of Kristol’s optimism is that he views the unsuccessful war against Hezbollah as a success on some level.) The idea that Israel could successfully defend itself is alien or abhorrent to many who comment on the Middle East. They’re slaves to the idea of negotiation, incapable of comprehending that there are some villains with whom compromise and diplomacy are useless. Or worse.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

God bless the people of this church in Harlem:

A church in the Manhattan neighborhood of Harlem included a special prayer for the people of Israel, the Israeli government and peace in its traditional Sunday prayer.

The prayer was organized by Bishop Carlton Brown of the Bethel Gospel Assembly, who runs a network of 18 chains in the New York district.

About 1,000 people took part in a special prayer. The bishop, who visited Israel three times this year and was even in Sderot, invited Israel’s Consul-General to New York Assi Shariv to attend the prayer.

[...] All of New York’s television stations covered the event. Consul-General Shariv addressed the worshippers and read out a children’s story written by kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit. The meeting concluded with a 10-minute prayer for Israel.

Israel does have friends, probably more than we know—because these stories don’t get around much.

Tzipi Livni gave a great press conference. Read the whole thing, and I think you’ll agree. Then, buried at the end of the article (where it belongs), is this pearl of wisdom from the Czech foreign minister:

The Czech foreign minister, whose country serves as the current EU president, said that a ceasefire must be implemented as soon as possible and must include an end to the rocket fire directed at Israel.

He added that a ceasefire must be declared before all military targets are achieved.

How do you say “Eff off” in Hebrew?

What nerve. What absolutely disregard for the safety of Israel. Declare a ceasefire before you eliminate the threat?

Asshat.

This is the guy that says he understands Israel is acting in self-defense? Looks like the Euroweenies got to him.

John Bolton argues that the two-state solution is dead for now.

Let’s start by recognizing that trying to create a Palestinian Authority from the old PLO has failed and that any two-state solution based on the PA is stillborn. Hamas has killed the idea, and even the Holy Land is good for only one resurrection. Instead, we should look to a “three-state” approach, where Gaza is returned to Egyptian control and the West Bank in some configuration reverts to Jordanian sovereignty. Among many anomalies, today’s conflict lies within the boundaries of three states nominally at peace. Having the two Arab states re-extend their prior political authority is an authentic way to extend the zone of peace and, more important, build on governments that are providing peace and stability in their own countries. “International observers” or the like cannot come close to what is necessary; we need real states with real security forces.

Bolton doesn’t really see this possibility as likely, but argues.

For Palestinians, admitting the obvious failure of the PA, and the consequences of their selection of Hamas, means accepting reality, however unpleasant. But it is precisely Palestinians who would most benefit from stability. The PA — weakened, corrupt and discredited — is not a state by any realistic assessment, nor will it become one accepted by Israel as long as Hamas or terrorism generally remains a major political force among Palestinians.

The reason that trusting Arafat and empowering Hamas didn’t work goes back to the basic ideology of Palestinian nationalism. It never was primarily about creating a state, but about destroying another one. Boltion’s argument implicitly points this out. There was no major agitation for a Palestinian state before 1967. Well there was, but it wasn’t in Judea, Samaria or Gaza. The first two were occupied by Jordan and the last by Egypt. The goal was to found Palestine on the state Israel in the borders it accepted at the end of its war of Independence.

In order to justify this change, the world’s diplomats became preoccupied with “occupation” that not only defined the potential borders for a Palestinians state, but served to make Israel the bad guy for denying the Palestinians what no one else had ever granted them in the past. So Israel was supposed to accommodate terrorists - because their terror was justified - and allow terror movements to have a state or else be declared illegitimate. The moral inversion implicit in creating a Palestinian state is enormous. And of course expecting a movement dedicated to destruction to become constructive required the triumph of hope over experience.

Boltion’s suggestion may go nowhere but it’s still a reminder of what once was.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Shortly after Hamas won the PA elections, nearly three years ago, the Washington Post ran an editorial, Hamas’s Choice. The editors of the Post wrote:

Many Palestinians who voted for Hamas don’t support the Islamists’ fundamentalist agenda: Polls show that large majorities want an end to violence and a resumption of peace talks with Israel. Wednesday’s vote was not an embrace of extremism, but — as President Bush suggested yesterday — a rejection of the corrupt and incompetent clique of leaders left behind by Yasser Arafat. Since Arafat’s death more than a year ago, his Fatah movement had been unable to reform itself or control its violent elements, despite the good intentions of Mr. Abbas. Now, perhaps, a new generation of secular leaders will be able to purge Fatah and prepare to offer Palestinians a better alternative, while crooks and armed thugs are cut from the government’s payroll. Mr. Abbas himself should remain in office, as Mr. Bush urged yesterday, and will retain considerable power to check a Hamas-led government.

This is actually false, as Khaled Abu Toameh recently wrote:

Back then, Hamas ran in the parliamentary election under the banner of Change and Reform. Its leaders promised the Palestinians good government and an end to financial corruption. But Hamas also promised the Palestinians that it would “pursue the resistance against the Israeli enemy.” It also pledged never to recognize Israel’s right to exist in this part of the world.

To its credit, Hamas did not hide its agenda. Its leaders were very clear in the messages they sent to the Palestinian public and the international community. Hamas’s message was the same in Arabic and English.

Despite evidence to the contrary, at the time, the editors of the Post persisted in claiming that the election was about Fatah’s corruption not about Hamas’s commitment to destroy Israel. So later they wrote:

Hamas’s eagerness to avoid hard choices was evident in the swiftness with which its leaders proposed yesterday to form a “unity” government with Fatah despite the Islamists’ control of 76 of the 132 seats in the legislature. The two parties will have to forge some agreement on security, since each effectively controls its own armed forces, with those of Fatah now funded by the government; war between the two is a danger.

For the editors of the Post Hamas had a hard choice to make. After all they supported the election that brought Hamas to power. But if the editors of the Post thought that Hamas would have to choose between peace with pragmatism and continued terror, they were deluding themselves. An organization does not readily cede its raison d’etre.

Yesterday’s editorial, Escalation in Gaza, shows the same self-deception is still in play.

The problem is that Israel probably cannot end the rocket fire by military means alone. Nor, without toppling the Hamas government and reoccupying part or all of Gaza, can it unilaterally ensure that Hamas does not rebuild its arsenal once the current fighting ends. To win this mini-war, Israel will have to rely on the United States, Egypt, Turkey or possibly European governments to broker a settlement. By that measure, a victory for Israel still appears uncertain — and the ground attack may not help its cause.

Allowing Hamas to compete in the elections is one of the causes of the current violence. Hamas, in its campaign showed that it was not interested in accepting the niceties of democratic government. It won’t be easy for Israel to win, but defeating Hamas will have to be part of the solution. Diplomacy hasn’t worked.

Hamas is unreceptive because it hopes to replicate what it sees as the success of Hezbollah during its 2006 battle with Israel in Lebanon. The Shiite militia gained political power in Lebanon and prestige around the Middle East simply by surviving the Israeli assault. Israel has been drawn into escalating its offensive so as to force Hamas to settle. On Thursday and Friday it began bombing the homes of Hamas leaders, killing one senior figure; yesterday armored columns drove across the border to begin what will likely be a costly battle with entrenched Hamas fighters. While justified by Hamas’s continuing attempts to kill Israeli civilians, the invasion heightens the risks that Israel has faced all along. Even a defeat of Hamas on the ground might not end the missile threat, and it could be forced into a full-scale occupation of Gaza. That outcome would be a serious blow to Israel’s larger interests — and those of the United States.

Instead of conceding that a defeat of Hamas woujld be good for Israel (and for American interests) the Post’s editors fret about what would happen if Israel would re-occupy Gaza. I’m not convinced that that would be the disaster the Post’s editors feel that it was, but would it be worse than the disengagement was?

A defeat of Hamas, including the killing or capture of its leadership would be the first step. No it may not stop all rocket fire. On the other hand an organization that loses its leadership and specialists will be hard pressed to continue operating at top efficiency. Diplomacy, until now, is what’s allowed Hamas to build its threat against Israel. Recall that in late 2006, Israel was hesitant to open up all of Gaza’s border crossings.

Although tunneling in the area is as old as the border itself, Israeli military officials say higher-grade weapons are flowing through the passages to various Palestinian militias, whose arsenals until now have been relatively modest.

“These groups are constantly trying to expand and improve their weapons,” said Capt. Noa Meir, an Israeli military spokeswoman. “It would not be incorrect to say they are learning from Hezbollah.”

The Israeli military has presented little tangible evidence to support the claim. Palestinian officials say the military is citing the tunnels to argue for a large operation in Gaza that could help rehabilitate its reputation after the Lebanon experience. Israel’s security cabinet earlier this week ordered the military to prepare plans for a large operation.

Try as the Post’s reported did to dismiss Israel’s fears,the Israeli claim has been substantiated by events. Israel gave in to diplomacy and opened the Philadelphi corridor and that hampered its ability to stop the flow of weaponry into Gaza. So it is diplomacy and inaction that led to this war. Had Israel not had its hands tied from preventing the arming of Hamas, Israel’s citizens would not be under the threat they are now under. And Hamas would have neither the power nor the resources it now has. Those must be degraded for Israel to be safe.

It’s a little late in the game to hope that diplomacy will save Hamas. It is diplomacy that has strengthened Hamas and made it a threat to hundreds of thousands of Israelis. The editors of the Post have learned nothing.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

The news media are falling all over themselves to conclude that no matter what happens, Israel loses. When I woke up to NPR this morning, the first thing I heard was (paraphrasing) “Israeli forces haven’t stopped the rocket fire into southern Israel, with more than 20 rockets being fired today.”

CNN’s summary of their latest Israel piece:

NEW: Hamas rocket fire into southern Israel persists despite 10-day campaign

And the headline tells you the focus of the media:

Gaza death toll rises as Israel pounds Hamas

You see? No matter what Israel does, she loses. Might as well not even bother fighting. Hamas can’t be beaten.

What a load of crap. Of course Hamas can be beaten. Israel had the terrorists on the rope before, but then they granted them a truce. Every time Hamas is seriously wounded, it sues for truce. And Israel grants it. Why? Several reasons: Israel would rather not send her sons into battle to be hurt and killed if she can accomplish the same result through negotiations. (Of course, it doesn’t really work like that with terrorist groups. If you don’t kill them, they keep coming back at you. They’re like horror movie monsters.) And because Israel hopes against hope that the terrorists are people, too, and that all they really want is peace. They may be people, but they don’t want peace. Hamas has proven that, over and over again.

But the IDF can win this war. Hamas’ biggest boast: They will kill and kidnap Israel soldiers. But when boast became reality, here’s what happened:

A Golani soldier managed to single-handedly foil an attempt to kidnap him during nocturnal operations in the Gaza Strip overnight Sunday, Israel Radio reported.

[...] Upon entering the house, the soldiers discovered entrances to several tunnels, which the Hamas terrorists holed up in the house had used to escape underground to neighboring houses. According to the report, the terrorists were shooting into the building when the soldiers entered.

One of the soldiers reportedly followed the gunmen into a tunnel and managed to contain several Hamas fighters in an underground firefight, before teaming up with his comrades again. Two IAF helicopters were scrambled to support the infantrymen, Israel Radio said.

The military assessed that the Palestinian terrorists were trying to lure the soldier to go after them alone into the tunnel in an effort to kidnap him.

The IDF is poised to go deep into Gaza City tomorrow, Israel time. It’s going to get worse before it gets better. But I don’t see how it can get any worse in the media.

This headline appeared on Ynet*:

Hamas threatens attacks on Israeli civilians

It comes from our long-time friend Mahmoud al-Zahar, who probably missed the sublime irony of that threat. What else Hamas was busy with for the last ten years?

(*) In fact, it comes via AP. Shouldn’t really be that surprising, taking into account that AP mostly missed that Hamas’ activity during all these years.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews.

I just published my newest round up of news and information about The War on Gaza Update #9. Before you click over a couple of thoughts to share with you.

Sometimes the world is a funny place in that way that makes you throw your head back and laugh with reckless abandon. And sometimes it is the kind of funny that makes you wonder if somehow you are living inside a piece of Salvador Dali’s artwork.

It is well and good to moan the loss of life and suggest that goodwill be spread to all mankind. It is a noble sentiment but it is not one that is shared by all people. One of the fundamental flaws of some people is the belief that kindness will always generate a similar response. Because the reality is that this is not true. Sometimes treating people the way that you wish to be treated means that you are going to take a boot in the ass and a poke in the eye.

I teach my children to be nice, kind and respectful of others because it is the right thing to do. I also teach them to be aware of when that sort of behavior is not received well. Because good, bad or indifferent there will come a time when others will try to take advantage of them.

And right now a terrorist organization of thugs and slugs is taking advantage of the good will and kindness of many people. Far too many people look at Hamas and praise them for the charitable work they do for their people. That is great. Yet it ignores the reality that they also exploit them.

They exploit them by hiding in hospitals and mosques. They exploit them by intentionally placing them in dangerous situations. They hope that there are civilian casualties so that they can play upon world sympathy. And that is simply wrong.

But the ideology that allows them to intentionally send the innocent into harm’s way is one that we cannot accept as being equal to others. We cannot provide a free pass. We cannot celebrate shared values and coo over how interesting their culture is. Because it celebrates death and that is just not equal to cultures that celebrate life.

Crossposted on Random Thoughts- Do They Have Meaning?

At the beginning I just wanted to lift the picture from this post by Andrew Ian Dodge:

But then, the whole post has to be repeated, so here it goes:

Stating your objection to something Israel does is your right, though I will probably disagree with you. However, if you lead a rally with signs like this, don’t act shocked when people consider you a jew-hating scumbag like the rest of Hamas. It would actually help if you realised that: 1. Hamas was elected to run Gaza 2. Hamas clearly states they hate all Jews and want to see Israel wiped of their face of the earth…its in their charter. 3. Hamas are not keen on gays (they kill them), have brought back crucifixion and don’t like women much either.

And the hilarious:

Update: Are these the most clueless Hamas supporters ever?

Cross-posted on SimplyJews.

Six months of cease fire did nothing. No, wait. Apparently, it encouraged more attacks.

Shootings, stabbings, rocket and missile fire, and a bulldozer attack by Palestinian and Arab terrorists killed 36 Israelis and tourists in Israel in 2008, compared to 12 in 2007 and 29 in 2006, according to a report by Hatzalah Judea and Samaria released over the weekend.

The organization, which provides rapid response first aid in Judea, Samaria and the Gaza border area, also reported a sharp rise in the number of injuries by Kassam rockets, Grads and mortar fire compared to the past two years.

These attacks on Jewish settlements within firing range of Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, wounded 947 in 2008. A total of 464 were wounded in 2007 and 227 in 2006.

A total of 1,683 Kassam rockets fell in Israel near Gaza and another 108 shot from Gaza fell back into Palestinian areas.

In Israel, eight people were killed in 2008 by rocket attacks, 19 were killed in shootings, one person was stabbed to death, one was killed in a suicide bombing, one in a bulldozer attack, and an additional eight soldiers were killed in battle.

There’s a statistic you’ll never see on the mainstream media sites.

When Israel shows weakness, she is attacked. Let’s see how the Gaza war plays out. If all goes well, there will be a dramatic drop in terror attacks on Israelis. There will certainly be a dramatic drop in rocket attacks from Hamas.

Israeli morale isn’t shaken at all. Listen to the words of one of the soldiers just back from Gaza:

In a smoking area outside the hospital, a Golani private, visibly shaken, said he was a member of the platoon whose men were hit by the mortar shell and that in the aftermath, his mother had revoked her permission for him to go into combat. He was an only son and army protocol required a parent’s signature. His mother, he explained, had had a change of heart.

“But I’m dying to go back in there,” the private said, sucking down the cigarette he had just lit with shaky hands. “I’m not going to tell you that it wasn’t frightening. We went in, it was all quiet, and then boom, the mortar hit and Hamas fighters started coming out. We repelled them, but it was a real balagan.”

Hello Yourish readers,

I am Jack and I am pleased to be given the privilege to post here. Meryl has been kind enough to provide some links to the updates I have been running on the war.

I am going to continue that process by encouraging you to go review the War on Gaza Update #8.5.

You’ll find that is a collection of articles from the main stream media and post from around the blogosphere. The goal is to help provide a more comprehensive and complete understanding of the war. It is a challenging task because of the number of obstacles to overcome.

Those obstacles include sloppy reporting, intentional misinformation and or mischaracterization of what is going on and the willingness of some people to close their eyes and put their fingers in their ears. More on this at a later date.

In addition to the updates I am also the administrator of the Jewish/Israeli blog carnival called Haveil Havalim. I’d like to point out that I took over from the inimitable Soccer Dad who also posts here.

The most recent edition of Haveil Havalim #199 is the aptly named:
The We Can’t Stop Twittering/Blogging/Reading/Worrying/Watching/What’s Going On in Israel Right Now Edition….
or….The Stuck To My BlackBerry Like Glue Edition….

Thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing you again.

Several not necessarily related items that caught my attention since yesterday. If you want a blow by blow war journal, you better look elsewhere - some people do it much better.

Israel

Vice premier, Industry, Trade and Labor minister refrain from voting in favor of sending ground troops into Strip, after cabinet denies their motion for mission’s operational goals to include toppling Hamas regime.

Toppling Hamas regime, no more and no less. Do they also mean offing all the voters who… aw, what the heck - the Trade and Labor, being a Shas mouthpiece and thus as close to the deity as possible, is running around with “kill all Hamasniks” idea for a fairly long time. But Ramon? Gee… Have these two any idea what’s the program after the army act is over? (more…)

Now there’s logic for you. The French police can’t handle “youths” who burn hundreds of cars in the Parisian suburbs nightly, but they decided that a pro-Israel rally can’t be held in front of the Israeli embassy.

Several thousand demonstrators waved Israeli flags and sang Hebrew hymns in Paris Sunday to show support for Israel in its military offensive in Gaza, a day after a huge pro-Palestinian rally.

Warmly dressed to brave seasonably cold weather, about 12,000 demonstrators gathered on a street not far from the Israeli embassy, according to organizers, the CRIF, an umbrella group of French Jewish organizations.

Police said 4,000 people turned up for the demonstration held on a side street after city authorities barred them from massing directly in front of the embassy.

By the way, the difference between us and them:

Pro-Palestinian protesters Saturday burned Israeli flags, torched several cars and smashed windows of shops along the chic Hausmann Boulevard near the Paris Opera house.

Click the link. Nice pictures of a sea of Israeli flags.

Jack and I found a new division of labor: I let him do the work right here, so I don’t have to.

Seriously, I’m going to be busy today and the work week starts tomorrow, so I can use all the help I can get.

Please remember that I have several co-bloggers before you say, “Meryl” in the comments.

One of these days I need to make the byline larger. By a lot.

CNN does not disappoint.

The headline: Israeli forces push deeper into Gaza; death toll rises

In the summary: NEW: At least 24 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza Sunday, sources say

The context: None.

The AP: Accepting Palestinian casualty figures blindly while pretending that they’re actually using objective sources and confirmations.

Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, cutting the coastal territory into two and surrounding its biggest city as the new phase of a devastating offensive against Hamas militants gained momentum.

The military used overwhelming firepower from tanks, artillery and aircraft to protect the advancing soldiers, and Gaza officials said at least 31 civilians were killed in the onslaught. The military said troops killed several dozen militants, but Gaza officials could confirm only four dead — in part because rescue teams could not reach the battle zones.

Reuters: Oh, please. They’re not even pretending to be objective anymore.

Israeli troops and tanks split the Gaza Strip and ringed its main city on Sunday in an offensive against Hamas militants but civilians trapped in the Palestinian enclave suffered more bloodshed.

Bloomberg News: Finally, a somewhat objective piece.

MSNBC: The headline and subhead say it all.

Israeli forces bisect Gaza, surround biggest city
500 Palestinians killed in just over a week; Hamas rockets slay 4 Israelis

The rest of the story is AP. But the subhead is all MSNBC.

Fox News: What’s that I see? Objectivity? Can.t be. The lead:

Israeli ground troops and tanks cut swaths through the Gaza Strip early Sunday, dividing the coastal territory into three parts in an effort to prevent Hamas militants from accessing weapons.

Israeli defense officials told FOX News that an estimated 30 Hamas militants had been killed in the incursion so far, though precise numbers are difficult to pin down.

Israel’s army also announced that a soldier was killed in the fighting on Sunday — the first Israeli fatality in the ground offensive launched late Saturday

Yes, it can be. Objectivity.

Fox wins.

Update to my readers who are getting here from the CNN article: I’m trying to present the side that you never see—particularly by watching CNN. Try looking around and reading some of the other posts. There are plenty of contrasts to the stories you’ve been getting. And they’re all true. I post nothing that I can’t back up with facts.

Bookmark this post, people, and use it when you are defending Israel’s actions in Gaza.

The Hamas police officers were just police officers: No, they weren’t. They were members of the Hamas military wing.

Rashid Thabet, who writes regularly for a website identified with Hamas, has praised the policemen killed in Gaza, stating that they were no mere regular cops who flunked out of school and were recruited to oppress the residents on behalf of a tyrannical regime, but policemen who were the elite of Palestinian soceity.

He said that nearly all of them were ‘Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam members, who by day carried out security missions and by night engaged in jihad and attacks.

Palestinian rockets are “crude, homemade rockets” that almost never kill: Aside from the fact that no other nation in the world is expected to accept the daily bombardment of its citizens, there are these facts (French link):

Hundreds of Hamas members were sent for training in Damascus and Tehran to learn to launch Katyusha and Grad 2 rockets, a former head of security in the Palestinian Authority in Gaza told Le Figaro.

The Gaza operation will unify Palestinians against Israel: Hamas is far too busy executing Fatah members to think about Palestinian solidarity. But I think not.

Fatah officials in Ramallah told The Jerusalem Post that Hamas militiamen had been assaulting many Fatah activists since the beginning of the operation last Saturday. They said at least 75 activists were shot in the legs while others had their hands broken.

Wisam Abu Jalhoum, a Fatah activist from the Jabalya refugee camp, was shot in the legs by Hamas militiamen for allegedly expressing joy over the IDF air strikes on Hamas targets.

The Palestinians voted for Hamas because they wanted a less corrupt government, not more terrorism: Really? I don’t think that’s going to happen..

Back then, Hamas ran in the parliamentary election under the banner of Change and Reform. Its leaders promised the Palestinians good government and an end to financial corruption. But Hamas also promised the Palestinians that it would “pursue the resistance against the Israeli enemy.” It also pledged never to recognize Israel’s right to exist in this part of the world.

To its credit, Hamas did not hide its agenda. Its leaders were very clear in the messages they sent to the Palestinian public and the international community. Hamas’s message was the same in Arabic and English.

When Hamas talked about pursuing the “resistance” against Israel, it was referring to the firing of rockets and the launching of suicide bombings.

Hamas will moderate, and can be negotiated with: No, Hamas will never moderate.

Hamas is dead set against a two-state solution, whether it joins a unity government or remains in the opposition. Indeed, Hamas deploys suicide bombers specifically aimed at derailing progress toward peace. Engaging Hamas will not help the peace process, but it will legitimize the group most violently opposed to such progress.

Muslim and Arab states will rise up as one against Israel: They haven’t even managed to agree on a special meeting of the OIC.

A senior aide to President Ahmadinejad says only eight Islamic states had voiced their readiness to attend an emergency meeting on Gaza.

Arab nations know that Iran’s hand is behind Hamas. They fear Iranian hegemony in the Middle East.

The myth of disproportionate response: I could go into all the technicalities of international law here, but as I’m not a lawyer, I’ll simply pass along Alex Bensky’s comment on that:

I have discerned that the people claiming Israel is making a disproportionate response aren’t liars or hypocrites, they have just given “disproportionate” a new meaning–it’s now synonymous with “effective.” They don’t mind Israel doing something, just as long as it’s quiet and useless.

Tne NYT’s the Lede had an interesting feature on Israel’s attacks on Gazan smuggling tunnels.

One man interviewed by Mr. Eranger claims that the Israeli military seems to know the difference between the two kinds of tunnels:

Muhammad al-Zarb said that the Israelis somehow seemed to know which tunnels were commercial and which were run by Hamas, and that they seemed to be selective in their bombing. “If someone has a tunnel for Chipsy, it seems O.K.,” he said. “When a Hamas guy has a tunnel for weapons, they bomb it.”

Ralph Peters:

From earlier briefings in Israel, I know the IDF takes an almost absurd degree of care in its targeting. The questioning doesn’t stop with “Is that the right building?” it then asks, “What should be our angle of attack to ensure any rubble falls into the street, not atop the primary school next door?” (Hamas consistently embeds terror facilities among innocent civilians.)

Hitting a terrorist hideout in an apartment building, for example, an F-16 would be armed with the smallest warhead that could do the job. If the terrorists are tucked into rooms on the fourth floor, targeting officers evaluate which window the guided missile should go through to kill the terrorists, while minimizing harm to civilians living below.

Any military veteran can tell that the Israelis are taking enormous care to spare civilians. Given the number of airstrikes thus far and the hundreds of tons of bombs dropped, it remains remarkable that so few innocents have been injured in such a dense urban environment.

Yaacov Lozowick:

So far this post hasn’t said anything new: you knew it all already. Well, in my professional life I deal with complex IT systems, and I’ve given a bit of thought t this issue seen from that perspective:

First, Israel clearly has created a sophisticated GIS (geographic information system). A system that records tens of thousands of buildings, their location, and their distance from each other. Then there’s a database with the names of the tens of thousands of families who live in the buildings, and the phone number of each family. The system has the ability to identify all the families and phone numbers that could be affected by an attack on any given building. Finally, given the numbers involved, there must be a system that automatically makes concurrent phone calls to dozens of families, since everybody has to have the same ten-minute warning.

Ah, and someone put tens of thousands of piece of information into that database.

Such a system costs real money, takes time to set up, and since it is obviously operating close to flawlessly, it was tested, fiddled with, tested, fiddled with, and tested again. The purpose, I remind you, is to save the lives of thousands of Palestinians who happen to have murderous neighbors.

I hope to get to numerous posts on the relevant international when I have time, but just consider these three accounts when you hear someone talking about the disproportionate Israeli response.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

We’ve gotten a couple of really charming comments lately.

Some brave, brave mujahid from Australia left this for me this morning:

all what i wanna say is that you fucking bitch ..you all will pay for it

Uh-huh. Nice to see that Australian jihadis still have that respect for “covered meat” that their religious leaders have. By the way, that’s the nicest sexist comment that’s been left. The rest, of course, use the c-word.

Most of the comments are just clueless moonbats spreading clueless moonbat talking points like this:

More innocent Palestinians have been killed in the last 7 days by Israel than all innocent Israelis killed by Hamas in the last 7 years! For every Israeli killed, there have been more than 100 Palestinians killed. Can a home made Qassam rocket (which a former Israeli Defence Minister said is more a psychological weapon than an effective one) compare to the Israeli tanks, F16s, Apache helicopters, drones…. How can the Isrealis do this to a people when they have underwent horrors of the holocaust is beyond me. Who is the worse terrorist? The one who kills more civilians, and by simple math it is Israel. The whole world, except for 2 countries, Israel and the US, has condemned the genocide. I guess the whole world is wrong. I always used to wonder how a whole nation could follow a psychopath like Hitler in killing Jews while the rest of the world stood silent! We now stand silent as the massacre continues. Gone are the days when I used to view Israel as a shining morale beacon of the Middle East!

Yes, Jeff (he left a real name), the whole world is wrong. But you’re a particularly dumb example of the wrong side who managed to hit just about every fallacy in one comment. Thanks!

Here’s a Canadian that makes a seemingly logical argument that stays evenhanded—until he hits the usual “blame it all on Israel” conclusion.

It’s unfortunate that with 2000+ years of unrest in the Middle East, there is no light at the end of this tunnel… except for an oncoming locomotive. Whatever excuse or decisions each side makes to escalate to full war, nothing changes or gets better. There must be a stronger “will” by the global community to take a stand against Israel and Palestine. They should be forced by the international community and hold each nation responsible for their hostilities. Both Israel and Palestine need their supporting nations to keep them inline. In regards to Israel defending itself, just an excuse…

I’m sorry, there were 2000+ years of unrest? Really? The Palestinians 2000 years ago were called “Jews,” genius. The enemy were the Romans. Palestinians are a nomenclature that was invented in the 1960s to give terrorist groups a pretend claim to Israel.

Here’s another one from Canada that’s just breathtaking in its anti-semitism.

But is it anti-semetic to wonder if the banking in Gaza City was or is meant to be seized?; is it attacked and entirely expected to be refused for Jewish interests: indeed that it has secretly been agreed to that gaza become part of Israel officially. Erabat, is not reassuring to my opinion or desires enough.

Right. Israel did it for the money in Gaza. The 3,000 rockets fired into southern Israel were just a cover. (Is that the Twilight Zone theme I hear?)

This one just puzzles me. It’s another Canadian who acts like she knows me, but I don’t recognize the name. Or get the logic.

I see Meryl is still up and at it, betraying Jewish ethics in favour of Jewish tribalism.

A great big “WTF?” to Anne.

Here’s one that makes you laugh at the unintended punchline. This guy’s from Philly.

why are Isralies in the midddle east
when what 99.0% are from Europe or the former USSR. I live in America and they would all be deported . I say import Mexicans and stop Fighting GOD DOES NOT LIKE UGLY LEARN FROM YOUR PAST AND BE GOOD CHRISTIANS SHOW CHARITY …

That’s right. Learn to be good Christians, Israeli Jews. (Cognitive dissonance and stupidity. Not a good combination.) God does not like ugly? But I thought God loves us all.

Zelda (from Virginia) is actually one of my favorites. I generally don’t approve comments like this because I have a problem with insanely stupid commenters. They annoy me. But this needs to be shared.

Is this war over a relgious piece of territory they both claim?
How Godly if that is fact.
The madness and egoistic reasoning behing all this bloodshed is beyond all human rights of existance.
The world is small.
We are killing the planet.
We are insane.

That’s enough for now. The truly vile comments will stay completely unpublished, as those hit the trash bin and stay there. Unless I decide to send them to the abuse departments at their companies of origin.

Told you so.

The United States thwarted an effort by Libya on Sunday to persuade the UN Security Council to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after Israel launched a ground invasion, diplomats said.

Several council diplomats told reporters that the U.S. refusal to back a Libyan-drafted demand for an immediate truce at a closed-door emergency session had killed the initiative, since council statements must be passed unanimously.

He owes Israel, and he knows it.

Then there’s the matter of Bush knowing the difference between terrorist attacks and defending yourself from terrorist attacks. Too bad he let State bash that perspective out of him where Israel was concerned.

CNN is asking for first-hand reports. To my Israeli readers: Click here and write about your experience with rocket and terror attacks.

Share photos. Do what you can to fight the anti-Israel propaganda.

Anthony Shadid wrote Attacks Further Split Arab Rulers, People for the Washington Post. In it he concludes:

The disconnect between policy and sentiment has become a feature of Arab politics, especially in recent years, as U.S. influence has dominated a region long contested during the Cold War. But some analysts say the divide today has threatened the very legitimacy of governments that, in public at least, offered support for Palestinian rights as a staple of policy. Egypt once deemed itself at the forefront of that conflict.

“That’s the real story,” said Karim Makdisi, a professor of political studies and public administration at the American University of Beirut.

“This gap, which has always been there, is greater than ever. I think we’re in the middle of something new,” he said. “This polarization — where you have regimes perceived as getting closer to American and Israeli interests at the expense of very clear Arab and Muslim rallying points. They’re acting oddly against their own interests. They’re misreading the pulse of the people, the extent of the anger among most Arabs.”

First of all these are not regimes that are not dependent on the consent of the governed, so to say that taking a policy that disagrees with the sentiments expressed in the “Arab street” is misleading. Arab regimes derive their “legitimacy” such as it is from force or threats of forces, and they will continue to do so. Second of all, given that Arab regimes are not famous for their records on freedom of assembly and freedom of the press, if they are allowing demonstrations and publications against Israel, it is because they approve of the sentiment. In other words, the gulf that Shadid describes, is superficial. But there is a reason that Shadid wrote this article. Go to the op-ed page and there’s David Ignatius writing in For Obama a tough page to turn:

The unyielding response of Hamas was conveyed in a statement from its military wing, quoted in the New York Times: “It would be easier to dry the sea of Gaza than to defeat the resistance and uproot Hamas.” Until the Israeli assault, that would have been a fatuous boast; Hamas was increasingly unpopular in its home base. But the attacks have boosted its popularity, in Gaza and around the Arab world.

Pro-Hamas demonstrators were on the streets last week, from Egypt to Jordan to Lebanon to Turkey. Indeed, the biggest worry among diplomats wasn’t so much stopping the fighting as preventing its spread.

In other words, Ignatius in continuing the Post’s assault on Israel. There’s a need to show that Israel’s actions are counterproductive, Shadid provided the reporting to support Ignatius’s conclusion.

Here’s Barry Rubin:

For years now, anti-Americanism has served as a means of last resort by which failed political systems and movements in the Middle East try to improve their standing. The United States is blamed for much that is bad in the Arab world, and it is used as an excuse for political and social oppression and economic stagnation. By assigning responsibility for their own shortcomings to Washington, Arab leaders distract their subjects’ attention from the internal weaknesses that are their real problems. And thus rather than pushing for greater privatization, equality for women, democracy, civil society, freedom of speech, due process of law, or other similar developments sorely needed in the Arab world, the public focuses instead on hating the United States.

The same applies to hatred of Israel. (I’m pretty certain that Prof. Rubin has written similar paragraphs regarding Arab hatred of Israel, but I haven’t found them yet.) The official Arab media are virulently anti-Israel and most of the public statements of the government encourage hatred of Israel.

The gulf that Shadid describes then is largely superficial and temporary. Promoting the Palestinians cause and demonizing Israel is what Arab regimes do. To make unquestioning support of the Palestinians a requirement for legitimacy - as Shadid does - is to excuse every excess of the Arab regimes and serves to legitimize the hatred of Israel in the Arab world.

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

I’m quite sure President Bush is feeling guilty that he allowed State to pressure Ariel Sharon into giving up the Philadelphi corridor, which allowed Hamas to import thousands of tons of weapons and arms, and which greatly contributed to the current constant attacks on Israel.

So I think his parting gift to Israel will be to continuously block UN resolutions against Israel until this war is done.

He blocked a one-sided statement from coming out.

The United States late Saturday blocked approval of a Security Council statement calling for an immediate Israeli-Hamas cease-fire in Gaza and southern Israel and expressing serious concern at the escalation of violence.

US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said the United States saw no prospect of Hamas abiding by last week’s council call for an immediate end to the violence. Therefore, he said, a new statement at this time “would not be adhered to and would have no underpinning for success; would not do credit to the council.”

Good.

Bush has nothing to lose. He’s outta here on January 20th.

As for all those idiots wondering why Obama doesn’t act, or say anything: We have a president. It’s George W. Bush until January 20th, after Obama is sworn in. Deal with it, crybabies.

Dawn is a couple of hours away in Israel. I’m going to let the Israeli bloggers take it away.

Spanish FM sides with Palestinians: Shocked, shocked I am. Go click on this link to see how shocked I really am. Three years ago, the world told Israel to suck up the rocket fire. Three effing years ago.

Israeli film critical of Israel wins critics award: There’s a shocker.

Ban Ki-Moon finds a spine: Of course, it’s only where Israel is concerned. Still waiting to hear him tell Hamas to stop firing rockets before Israel responds to the rocket fire.

According to Ban’s spokesman, the UN chief “reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of all violence, and urged regional and international partners to exert all possible influence to bring about an immediate end to the bloodshed and suffering.”

What’s diplo-speak for “Eff no”?

Keen Grasp of the Obvious Winner of the Day: C’mon, JPost headline writers. Don’t make me come over there.

Palestinians were throwing explosive devices at IDF soldiers operating in the Jebaliya refugee camp late Saturday night, Israel Radio reported.

Clashes ensued between troops and Hamas terrorists after the military embarked on a ground operation in the evening.

Anyone out there that thought they wouldn’t do this? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Oooh! Donny and Marie, live on Larry King! Really folks, don’t miss it! (Must switch to other station during commercials.)

Alan Dershowitz looks like a puppet. Really. Right out of Team America. (James Zogby looks like a dick. Whoops, did I type that out loud?)

Hamas slaughtering Fatah in Gaza: It’s a repeat of 2007.

JPost says Hezbullah will step in: Iran has supposedly told its proxy that if Israel goes in on the ground, Hezbullah comes in in the air. Tomorrow will tell. Omri is convinced that Hezbullah believes the IDF when Israel said it would flatten Beirut if Hezbullah launched more missiles. Not Hezbullah-controlled Beirut. ALL of it.

James Zogby, effing liar: Just told Wolf Blitzer Gaza is the most densely populated place on earth. Lie. But then, the Palestinian side lies, lies, lies, and then lies again.

I think that’s enough for the night. Over to you, Israelis and Californians.

Can we please stop running and rerunning and rerunning the same damn footage of the fuel depot getting hit, over and over again? Yes, I’m talking to you, Fox News.

On that same note, can you kindly stop showing flares being fired and having to keep correcting yourself every time you call them mortars?

Aaron David Miller, CNN analyst and former adviser to the State Dept.: The combover is fooling no one. Really. No one.

Crap. There are two episodes of How It’s Made on. They’re like crack, I tellya! Crack! I can’t stop myself. Resin figures! How they make resin figures! Help! Help! I can’t turn away! (Oh, so that’s how they make that tacky crap you can buy at the gas station shops.) Look! It’s wearing a six-pointed star. Joooooos! Zionists control everything, even making tacky figurines. “Her fine brushwork is what brings this figurine to life.” Uh-huh. Sure. Nothing says “lifelike” more than eight-inch high tacky resin figurines.

Yes! Another tacky commercial on Fox. It’s the Snuggie! The blanket with sleeves! And only $19.95! Call right now!

We are using far too many exclamation points in this post. But then, you know, we could all use a break from the grim.

All right. I think it’s dinnertime for me. Talk among yourselves.

The ground operation’s objective is the rocket launching sites Hamas has created throughout Gaza.

And the headline is the only part of that Ynet story that expounds upon that objective. Bad headline writer! Bad! Well, anyway:

IDF ground troops entered the northern Gaza Strip Saturday evening, as the army launched its long anticipated ground operation.

Army officials confirmed that dozens of terrorists were hurt in clashes with IDF ground troops, some of them were killed. In several cases, armed terrorists approached Israeli forces and were shot at by ground troops and IDF gunships. There are no reports of Israeli casualties at this time.

Large IDF ground forces, including Armored and Engineering corps units, as well as infantry soldiers are currently operating in the Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanoun areas, from which rockets have been launched toward Israel.

The army is preparing to enter the third phase of the operation, which is expected to be much broader in scope. In this framework tens of thousands of reserve soldiers will be pouring into training bases in north and south Israel during the early hours of Sunday morning.

In a shocking twist, Fox News says the UN Security Council resolution, introduced by Libya, says absolutely nothing about Hamas rocketing Israel. I know, I know. Shocking.