We Aren't Crying Wolf

Why did it take the holiest city in the world going up in flames for anyone to finally listen to our prime minister’s cries of “I smell smoke”?

RACHEL BRESINGER \ 

11/26/2014 

Full article at http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/We-arent-crying-wolf-382917

In the days and weeks leading up to the major terrorist attack at Jerusalem’s Kehilat Yaakov synagogue, Israeli leaders such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman and Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett voiced over and over again to the Western world that Palestinian incitement was fueling the violence in Jerusalem.

Both publicly and most probably privately as well, these leaders expressed their concern and dismay to Western leaders about the incitement coming from Abbas, Fatah and Hamas, yet nothing was done. It literally took the holy sanctuary of a synagogue turning into a slaughterhouse for the majority of Western leaders to turn their blind eyes toward Jerusalem and finally acknowledge the role the Palestinian leadership has played in fanning the flames in Jerusalem.

We in Israel are left with many questions.

-     Why did it take the holiest city in the world going up in flames for anyone to finally listen to our prime minister’s cries of “I smell smoke”?

-     Why did it take four Jews and one brave Israeli Druse policeman being butchered for American Secretary of State John Kerry to publicly state that Abbas’ calls for “days of rage” in Jerusalem contributed to the devastating attack and to demand that Abbas condemn such acts of terror?

-     Why are countries like Sweden willing to reward the Palestinians with a state despite the Palestinian’s unwillingness to recognize the Jewish State of Israel?

-     Why are incitement, hate and terrorism being rewarded? Why, out of all of the major leaders in this world, is Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper seemingly the sole leader who truly understands the threat of fanatical Islam and is willing to stand firmly with Israel?

-     Why do Americans and Europeans continue to fund the PA despite the fact that many of these funds go to teaching hate and instilling anti-Semitic ideas and beliefs into the hearts and minds of Palestinian youth? In May of this year, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) released the results of a global survey on anti-Semitism, which found that 93 percent of Palestinians hold anti-Semitic beliefs. Anti-Semitism has deep roots in Palestinian society.

The religious father of what later became the Palestinian people is Haj Amin al-Husseini, the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Al-Husseini became close friends with Adolf Hitler during the Second World War, and said in March of 1944 on Radio Berlin, “Arabs, rise as one man and fight for your sacred rights. Kill the Jews wherever you find them. This pleases God, history and religion. This saves your honor. God is with you.”

A child does not come out of the womb as an anti-Semite. In Palestinian society, anti-Semitism continues to be taught in the classroom, across their airwaves, in mosques and at home.

For 93% of Palestinians to hold anti-Jewish beliefs says it all.

When Palestinians are taught from a young age that it is their national and, yes, religious duty to become shahids (martyrs) – meaning to murder Jews and to be killed in the process, how does the Western world still believe that peace is possible? When a child is taught to hate and shahids are celebrating and glorified in Palestinian society, land is no longer the issue. I think most intelligent people can see that “land for peace” does not truly work.

In Israel, we are not just crying anymore; we are screaming, screaming for the world to wake up and see the root of the problem. Anyone who actually believes that Jews’ building apartments is the true root of the problem is a fool. Israel has been combating fanatical Islam and hate for decades now.

And Fanatical Islam is not just an Israeli problem. As Naftali Bennett poignantly said on British television just several weeks ago, “We are fighting your war.”

The tidal wave of militant Islam will one day in the near future hit the shores of Europe and America. Whether it will be in one year or two years or tomorrow, no one can be sure.

We can be sure, however, that unfortunately when this does occur, the same European and American leaders who refused to stand firmly with Israel in our battle against fanaticism will be begging Israel for help in fighting what we have been fighting since before the inception of the State of Israel.

For those of you reading, you might be wondering if Israel will indeed help despite everything.

And I say to you that despite everything, we will assist you in this global fight because although you did not have the moral backbone to stand with Israel, we are taught from a young age that it is our national and religious duty to do everything within our power to make this world we live in a better place and to truly be a “light unto the nations.” In the sheer darkness of the Middle East, Israel is the small flicker of light.

The PA's Inconvenient Truths

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3526/palestinian-authority-inconvenient-truths

Western journalists, funders and decision-makers need to know that there are many truths being hidden from their eyes and ears.

The truth sometimes hurts; that is why the Palestinian Authority has been working hard to prevent the outside world from hearing about many occurrences that reflect negatively on its leaders or people.

In recent years, the Palestinian Authority leadership, often with the help of the mainstream media in the US and EU, has been successful in its effort to divert all attention only toward Israel.

Following are examples of some of the inconvenient truths that the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank do not want others to know about:

- Over 100 senior PLO and Fatah officials hold Israeli-issued VIP cards that grant them various privileges denied to most Palestinians. Among these privileges is the freedom to enter Israel and travel abroad at any time they wish. This privilege has existed since the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO in 1993 [almost 20 years ago! ].

- Out of the 600 Christians from the Gaza Strip who arrived in the West Bank to celebrate Christmas, dozens  asked to move to Israel because they no longer feel comfortable living under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas.

- Dozens of Christian families from east Jerusalem have moved to Jewish neighborhoods in the the city because they too no longer feel comfortable living among Muslims. [Israel is an "apartheid state," you say?? - ]

- Palestinian Authority security forces in the West Bank continue to summon and arrest political opponents, journalists and bloggers who dare to criticize the Palestinian leadership.

- The Palestinian Authority government, which has been complaining about a severe financial crisis for the past few months, just cancelled outstanding electricity debts for Palestinians in the West Bank. Palestinians pay their bills to the Arab Jerusalem Electric Company, which buys electricity from the Israeli Electric Company; the Palestinians have not been paying their electricity bills and many have been stealing electricity from their Arab company.

- Tens of thousands of Palestinian Authority civil servants in the Gaza Strip receive salaries to stay at home and not work. The practice has been in effect since Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip in 2007. According to Fatah spokesman Ahmed Assaf, the Palestinian Authority, which is funded mostly by American and European taxpayer money, spends around $120 million each month on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

- Mahmoud Abbas's ruling Fatah faction has allocated more than one million dollars for celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of the "launching of the revolution" -- a reference to the first armed attack carried out by Fatah against Israel.

- Despite the calls for an economic boycott of Israel, more than 40,000 Palestinians have received permits to work in Israel. Moreover, another 15,000 Palestinians continue to work in Jewish settlements in spite of an official ban.

- Top PLO and Fatah officials continue to do their shopping in Israeli-owned businesses both in the West Bank and Israel. Earlier this year, for example, a member of the PLO Executive Committee and his family were spotted shopping in Jerusalem's Malha mall. Of course, the PLO official did not forget to bring along his private driver and maid.

- The wife of a senior PLO official recently spent $20,000 for dental treatment in Tel Aviv at a time when there is no shortage of renowned Palestinian dentists in Ramallah, Bethlehem and Nablus.

These are only some of the inconvenient truths that the Palestinian Authority does not want the outside world to know. Palestinian journalists often avoid reporting about such issues out of concern for their safety or for "ideological" reasons. These journalists have been taught that it is forbidden to hang out the dirty laundry.


Western journalists, funders and decision-makers who deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict need to know that there are many truths being completely ignored or hidden from their eyes and ears.

The Dangers of Premature Recognition of a Palestinian State

8 Jun 2011
A unilateral declaration harms true peace, challenging the most basic principles of Mideast peacemaking, and undermines all internationally accepted frameworks for peace. All call for a mutually-negotiated and agreed resolution of the conflict. All reject unilateral actions.

Agreements should be respected. They certainly should be respected in the United Nations. Yet in just a few months time, the Palestinian Authority (PA) is expected to violate its agreements with Israel and all the international frameworks for Mideast peace by seeking premature recognition of a Palestinian state in the UN in September.

Israel remains dedicated to direct negotiations as the only method of resolving the conflict. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Authority has long abandoned peace negotiations. Instead, the Palestinian leadership has embarked on the path of unilateral action, preferring to attempt to force their will on Israel through international pressure. It has long been the dream of the Palestinians to bypass a negotiated settlement, bypass the need for necessary compromises through the application of international coercion on Israel.

A unilateral declaration harms true peace, challenging the most basic principles of Mideast peacemaking. It undermines all internationally accepted frameworks for peace, including UN Security Council Resolutions 242, 338, 1850 and the Roadmap for peace. All call for a mutually-negotiated and agreed resolution of the conflict. All reject unilateral actions.

The declaration of Palestinian statehood outside the context of a negotiated settlement would violate existing bilateral Palestinian-Israeli peace agreements. The important Interim Agreement from 1995, which expressly prohibits unilateral action by either side to change the status of the West Bank and Gaza, would be breached.

A unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood will do nothing to solve the conflict. Indeed, it would intensify rather than end it. The Palestinians would no longer have any incentive to negotiate and compromise. Unilateral measures will not settle any of the key permanent status issues, such as borders, Jerusalem and refugees. As has been agreed previously between the sides - and supported by the international community - these complicated issues can only be resolved in direct negotiations between the parties.

Premature recognition would ignore Israel’s legitimate concerns, especially regarding security issues. It would also allow the Palestinians to continue to avoid the important step of mutual recognition, which includes Israel’s right to exist as the nation-state of the Jewish people. This issue lies at the core of the conflict and its avoidance will harm efforts to reach a genuine peace.

Moreover, recognition of Palestinian statehood at this time is an untenable move as the Palestinian Authority currently fails to meet the established legal tests for statehood. In particular, the PA does not pass the test of effective government: it does not rule the territory in question. According to existing agreements, the PA exercises varying degrees of control only over relatively small areas of the West Bank. Furthermore, the PA does not have effective control over the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, despite the recent reconciliation agreement among Palestinian factions.

Recognition at this time would constitute recognition of a terrorist entity. Hamas seeks Israel’s destruction and rejects the most basic conditions of the international community for recognition as a legitimate actor in the region (recognition of Israel’s right to exist, acceptance of existing agreements and an end to violence). In preparation for the unilateral declaration of a state, the Palestinian Authority has signed a reconciliation agreement with the Hamas. Supporting this agreement without any change in position by Hamas would serve as de facto international recognition of Hamas' legitimacy. It should be remembered that Hamas continues to be recognized as a terrorist organization, outlawed in numerous states throughout the world, including the UK and the US.

On the other hand, Israel has a long proven track record of making strategic concessions for peace. It has proved its willingness to negotiate land transfers, abandoning Sinai for peace with Egypt and leaving the Gaza Strip and South Lebanon. The fact that Israeli peace steps in the last two instances were answered with rockets and violent attacks should be a sobering warning about the risks Israel takes for peace and the importance of reaching a solution that serves the interest of all sides to the conflict.

Clearly, premature recognition of a Palestinian state would render the negotiating process and the ideals of compromise and dialogue meaningless. All who desire true peace in this region should reject Palestinian efforts to act unilaterally and forsake the negotiating process. Only through direct negotiations can a lasting peace agreement be reached.

Goals of the HAMAS

The the reports of a unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas, it is worth reminding ourselves of the openly declared goals of Hamas. If the world expects Israel to try to reach an agreement here, they must be out of their minds.

The Goals

"The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinguished Palestinian movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine." (Article 6)

On the destruction of Israel:

"Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." (Preamble)

The exclusive Moslem nature of the area:

"The land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf [Holy Possession] consecrated for future Moslem generations until Judgment Day. No one can renounce it or any part, or abandon it or any part of it." (Article 11)

"Palestine is an Islamic land... Since this is the case, the Liberation of Palestine is an individual duty for every Moslem wherever he may be." (Article 13)

The call to jihad:

"The day the enemies usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad becomes the individual duty of every Moslem. In the face of the Jews' usurpation, it is compulsory that the banner of Jihad be raised." (Article 15)

"Ranks will close, fighters joining other fighters, and masses everywhere in the Islamic world will come forward in response to the call of duty, loudly proclaiming: 'Hail to Jihad!'. This cry will reach the heavens and will go on being resounded until liberation is achieved, the invaders vanquished and Allah's victory comes about." (Article 33)

Rejection of a negotiated peace settlement:

"[Peace] initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement... Those conferences are no more than a means to appoint the infidels as arbitrators in the lands of Islam... There is no solution for the Palestinian problem except by Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility." (Article 13)

Condemnation of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty:

"Egypt was, to a great extent, removed from the circle of struggle [against Zionism] through the treacherous Camp David Agreement. The Zionists are trying to draw other Arab countries into similar agreements in order to bring them outside the circle of struggle. ...Leaving the circle of struggle against Zionism is high treason, and cursed be he who perpetrates such an act." (Article 32)

Anti-Semitic incitement:

The Day of Judgment will not come about until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks and trees, and the rocks and trees will cry out: 'O Moslem, there is a Jew hiding behind me, come and kill him." (Article 7)

"The enemies have been scheming for a long time ... and have accumulated huge and influential material wealth. With their money, they took control of the world media... With their money they stirred revolutions in various parts of the globe... They stood behind the French Revolution, the Communist Revolution and most of the revolutions we hear about... With their money they formed secret organizations - such as the Freemasons, Rotary Clubs and the Lions - which are spreading around the world, in order to destroy societies and carry out Zionist interests... They stood behind World War I ... and formed the League of Nations through which they could rule the world. They were behind World War II, through which they made huge financial gains... There is no war going on anywhere without them having their finger in it." (Article 22)

"Zionism scheming has no end, and after Palestine, they will covet expansion from the Nile to the Euphrates River. When they have finished digesting the area on which they have laid their hand, they will look forward to more expansion. Their scheme has been laid out in the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion'." (Article 32)

"The HAMAS regards itself the spearhead and the vanguard of the circle of struggle against World Zionism... Islamic groups all over the Arab world should also do the same, since they are best equipped for their future role in the fight against the warmongering Jews." (Article 32)

Even Palestinian Journalist Can't Report What They See

Last week a delegation of journalists from the West Bank and Gaza met with Israeli journalists in order to try to build bridges. The atmosphere was very friendly but there were natural differences of opinion. The Palestinian journalists commented on their lack of freedom of movement particularly in Gaza and also significant censorship by Hamas.

Thus an initiative created some dialogue where there had been none in the past.

Within a few days of this meeting, the same Palestinian journalists have now been condemned as "collaborators". They now face expulsion from the Fatah controlled Palestinian Journalists Syndicate on charges of promoting normalisation with Israel. This syndicate is to meet in the coming days to discuss punitive measures against any journalist who defies the ban on normalisation. The incident has been defined as a "tragedy" .

And the Western media persists on quoting reports from such journalistic organisation in Gaza and the West Bank, perceiving them as the "truth".

A total lack of objectivity in reporting on the Middle East is propagating the Anti Israel feelings around the world and creating an even greater concensus within the country.

The Palestinian Illusion

If anyone is still under the illusion that the Palestinians are the least bit interested in a peace with Israel then maybe Alice looking through the looking glass represents reality.

The concluding session of the current Fatah Assembly decreed that the return of both east and west Jerusalem to Palestinian control was a "red line" which was non-negotiable, and would need to be fulfilled before any peace talks with Israel could renew, Israel Radio reported.

According to the report, a document adopted by the Fatah delegates declared that Palestinians would "continue to be sacrificed until residents of Jerusalem are free of settlements and settlers." The document went on to state that all of Jerusalem, including the surrounding villages, belonged to the Palestinians, and lands conquered following the Six Day War shared the same status as those located within the Green Line.

In a recent interview on the BBC Persian service, an Iranian writer and commentator observed that in the history of world conflicts no peace treaty has been achieved by victor and vanquished being treated as equals. Israel was victorious in the wars with the Arab States and in this case of the Israel Palestinian conflict, he goes on to say, the UN has always interfered to ensure that Israel has been unable to reach any agreement.

This declaration by Fatah is a clear message to all those who maintain the illusion that the Palestinians were prepared for compromise.

In re-electing Mahmoud Abbas as head of Fatah, it is going to be more of the same. Moderation? Forget it, the emperor has NO clothes!!

The Israeli Jerusalem Rat

This recent newspaper report has got to take first prize in the ability to stretch people’s "imagination". I wonder when the BBC will pick this up as surely they will!!

The report published by two Palestinian newspapers – one of which, “Al-Hayat Al-Jadida” is an official Palestinian Authority organ directly controlled by the office of PA President Mahmoud Abbas - are accusing Israel of releasing rats to chase away the Arab residents of Jerusalem."

According to the PA papers on July 18th, this amazing creature, the "Israeli-Jerusalem" rat, no doubt secretly developed in Dimona, or other secret place is:

- Immune to rat poison
- Aggressive and larger than usual
- Unafraid of cats and able to scare them away
- Highly fertile, with females giving birth to 140 young rats a year, four times the normal average

and now best of all!!

- Able to distinguish between Jewish and Arab neighbors!!.

Now there is a non military way to solve the woreld's problems!!

Israeli Democracy - The Arabs View

Whist I consider the corruption case against Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is a matter to be dealt with internally through the judicial system and therefore not a subject for debate in international blogs, one aspect of the case is of extreme interest. That is the reactions of the Arab bloggers from the countries around us.

It seems that Israel has earned a tremendous amount of respect throughout the Arab world, and many have called on their leaders to benefit from Israel's democratic system and independent judicial system. Thus reports Khaled Abu Tomeh in the Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041432454&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Words of praise for Israel are a rare phenomenon in the Arab media. But judging from the reactions of many Arabs to the corruption case in the past week, the trend appears to have changed. Even some Arabs who describe themselves as "sworn enemies of the Zionist entity" have begun singing praise for Israel.

"Show me one Arab or Islamic country where a prime minister or a senior government official was ever questioned for financial corruption or bribery," said a reader who identified himself only as Majed.

"The Israeli regime with all its defects is better than all the Arab 'democracies' and still changes ministers and governments every few years." said a reader named Sami

"Before we curse Israel, we must learn from the democratic and judicial system in Israel, where no one is above the law," wrote a Saudi national named Abdel Karim urged his Arab brethren to stop criticizing Israel and learn something about its democracy.

Khaled, another Saudi national, chimed in: "Although we are talking about Israel, which I have always hated very much, there is still no one above the law there."

Mahmoud al-Bakili of Yemen posted the following response on one of the Web sites: "We want this kind of accountability and transparency in the Arab and Islamic world."

An Arab who described himself as a Syrian Voice: "Despite my strong hatred for the Zionist regime, I have a lot of admiration and respect for this entity because there is no one above the law. In the Arab world, laws are broken every day and no one seems to care."

"There is corruption in Israel and the Arab world," wrote Abu Hadi from Iraq. "But the difference is that the Israelis hold their leaders accountable, while we the Arabs remain silent about corruption."

Jamal, who described himself as the Madman, wrote that "the reason why Israel has lasted for so long is because of its independent and fair judicial system. I challenge the Arabs to have such an independent judicial system."

Mohammed in Lebanon: "Can you imagine if there was an investigation against an Arab or Muslim leader? Do you know how much money they would discover?"

Abu Yusef in Egypt: "Unfortunately, this is the real democracy. Our enemies are very good in practicing democracy. In the Arab world, our leaders steal everything and no one ever dares to ask a question."

Rashid in Saudi Arabia: "Despite all our problems with the Jews, they are much better than us in fighting corruption and revealing the truth."
Israel Lover in Saudi Arabia: "Israel is a state that deserves to exist. It deserves our profound respect. I wish I were a citizen of this state."

Hani in Ramallah: "This is democracy at its best! Enough of dictatorship in the Arab world! Let's learn from the Israeli example. Let's benefit from Israel's democracy."

Rashid Bohairi in Kuwait: "I swear Israel is a state that will succeed. They are prosecuting their prime minister because of tens of thousands of dollars. What about the millions of dollars that Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority stole? How come the Palestinian people are still hungry?"

The Forthcoming Peace Conference?

With the comments made by Mahmoud Abbas recently, one has to wonder if there is any way he can take part in the November “Peace Conference”. As a negotiator between employers and trade unions in a former life, the success of any negotiation involves give and take. From all the comments by Abbas in the media there seems to be no way that he is able to negotiate anything with the agreement of all the Palestinian factions.

As Khaled Abu Tomeh of the Jerusalem Post reports this week “The shift in the PA's position toward the conference is largely attributed to Abbas's failure to persuade the majority of the Arab countries to take part. The Saudis, Egyptians, Jordanians and Qataris are said to have informed Abbas that they see no point in attending under the current circumstances, especially in light of the ongoing power struggle between Hamas and Fatah”
.
So where do we go from here? It seems to me that neither Olmert nor Abbas has the backing of their electorate but neither wants to be the one to call the conference off. Each seems to be playing “chicken”, leaving the decision to the very last minute.

Abu Tomeh goes on to say that “Abbas is also reluctant to participate in a highly controversial conference held under the auspices of the US at a time when the Palestinians are more divided than ever. He knows that any deal he brings back will be severely criticized by Hamas and many other Palestinians, who will accuse him of succumbing to American and Israeli pressure.“

Meanwhile the Palestinian population is still being bombarded with jihad messages on their TV’s and in the sermons in their mosques. The last film to be seen from Palestinian TV shows a 2 year old planning for his personal jihad, yes a two year old!!
And from this we must go to peace? It seems to me it will take more than a generation to switch the present mindset, or am I being pessimistic?

Is It Getter Hotter or Cooler?

Weather wise I wonder if we are over the worst of the summer heat. Although the days have temperatures in the upper 80’s, the evenings are starting to be a bit more pleasant. We actually haven’t switch on the air conditioner on the last two evenings.

Another week and the clocks will go back as we go off summertime and on to wintertime. Meantime the country is preparing for the New Year holiday, shops are bustling with shoppers stocking up for the 3 day weekend, this being an unusual occurrence in Israel, 2 days of the New Year holiday and 1 day for the Sabbath.

However as the weather may be cooling down, the political areana is heating up. Last week, the official Syrian Arab News Agency http://www.sana.org/eng/22/2007/09/09/138435.htm began to report a claim that Israel Air Force jets had flown over northern Syria the previous night, and had been spotted and engaged by Syrian air defences. According to the initial reports, the Israeli planes broke the sound barrier and dropped munitions over uninhabited areas of northern Syria, before leaving Syrian airspace. The claim of dropping munitions was later changed to a claim that the Israeli jets had jettisoned fuel tanks which had landed on Syrian soil. Subsequently, the Turkish authorities showed photographs of what was purported to be the fuel tanks on Turkish soil.

The fact is that in spite of resolution 1701, the Hizbollah have threateningly announced that they have now rearmed and have 20,000 missiles available for attacking Israel. Last year before the war they had 14,000. In spite of the evidence, the United nations force seems unwilling or unable to stem the flow of weapons from Syria.

Meanwhile missiles galore rain down on Sderot and terrorist attempts continue unabated. A Palestinian teen detained by an IDF force at a checkpoint near Nablus Sunday was found to be carrying three pipe bombs meant to be used in a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. IDF officers said terror organizations in Nablus, including Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front and Fatah, were making intensive efforts to launch attacks into Israel.

In the midst of all this we read that Hamas security forces wielding clubs on Friday beat protesters, hurled stun grenades and fired into the air to disperse open-air prayer meetings held by Fatah in defiance of a Hamas ban on such gatherings. Medical officials said 20 people were treated in hospital. Hamas men had set up checkpoints Friday morning throughout Gaza to prevent Fatah supporters from reaching the prayer sites. Demonstrations against Hamas were also held throughout the West Bank.

On the other foot, Palestinian security allied with the Fatah rulers of the West Bank beat Hamas protesters with clubs at a demonstration Sunday outside Hebron University. PA security forces forbade journalists from taking pictures, confiscating the camera of one photographer. Some journalists were also beaten. The Tel Aviv-based Foreign Press Association http://www.fpa.org.il/ issued a statement condemning the behavior of Palestinian security.

Let’s hope the New Year will bring us peace.

Another Summit, more promises

Another summit has been concluded with more of the same words and promises as has happened so often in the past. Money given (this equates to ammunition for Fatah) and prisoners to be released (equates to future terrorists)

I know this seems very negative and I would really like to find positives in what went on but history has shown us that nothing has changed in Fatah. I would love to feel the the Palestinians, at least on the West Bank, would have a leader of the stature of Nelson Mandela but everything not said by the Palestinian leadership indicates a continuation of the failed policies of the past. Incitement on TV and in the schools continues unabated.

A report by a Palesinian journalist this week, received from Palestinian Media Watch,http://www.pmw.org.il/Latest%20bulletins%20new.htm#b2303006 says “We knew that they would do it, especially in Gaza, where a mother brushes her young son's hair at 7:00, so that he will be killed at 7:30, and where the children learn that death is preferable to life! We knew that they would do this, it was clear to us: with language overflowing with the rhetoric of death and the norms of killing, in the religious rulings [Fatwas] and in Friday and holiday sermons.” [Ghassan Zaqtan, Al-Ayyam, June18, 2007]

Real progress can only be made if there is a willingness for peace on BOTH sides.

Much talk is heard in the coffee shops on the possibility of renewed violence in the north this summer. One of our contacts writes; "We are very concerned about the situation here - the only thing to hope for is that the Hamas takeover of Gaza will somehow serve as a catalyst for something to happen that will tip the scales towards peace. I am wondering what will happen in the summit in Cairo next week. No one is optimistic about what will happen up north, and people on both sides of the border are getting very jumpy. Last Monday's rocket attack on Kiryat Shmona was an isolated incident, but I think it would not take a lot to set things off again. So we are hoping for a hot but quiet summer."


Meanwhile, this week is full of joy and celebration within our circle of friends. we all enjoyed a wedding blessing ceremony on Sunday. The son of friends of ours had been married in London and to compensate their Israeli friends who could not attend the wedding, a party was held in Kibbutz Bet Oren just 15 minutes away from our home in the middle of the Carmel Forest, what a romantic setting.
On Wednesday, we will be travelling a little further afield to the Arab village of Abu Gosh, just 15 mins west of Jersualem for the wedding of another friend's son.

It never ceases to amaze us how every wedding we attend has its own personality. no two weddings ever seem to be the same. with so many different cultures represented in the country, this should not be surprising.