Internal Hamas Debate about Rethinking Its Policies

Yoni Ben Menachem – Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs

See more at: http://jcpa.org/hamas-stocktaking/#sthash.4veJWWNE.dpuf

The results of the Gaza war have caused Hamas serious distress, something its leadership did not foresee before launching the war with Israel. The movement now appears to be in a process of stocktaking and reassessment in light of its situation, including the difficulties in rehabilitating the Gaza Strip, the bitter rift with the Palestinian Authority, and the deterioration in relations with Egypt. Among other things, Egypt has been constraining Hamas’s ability to arm itself.

To this must be added the effects of the weakening of the Muslim Brotherhood, the parent-movement of Hamas, and of the strengthening of the Islamic State as an organization that, in the name of Islam, has been challenging Arab regimes and Western states as it acts to establish the Islamic Caliphate-the goal to which Hamas also aspires.

A recent conference at Bir Zeit University near Ramallah addressed the issue of “The Political and Strategic Status of the Gaza Strip.” Among the topics discussed were the difficulties Hamas is encountering in the domestic, national, and regional spheres and the need for a thorough rethinking of its tactics and strategy.

Dr. Khaled al-Hroub, a conference participant and researcher at Cambridge University, published in the newspaper Al-Ayam several ideas of Sheikh Ahmed Yusuf of Gaza, a prominent Hamas leader. In the framework of the conference, Sheikh Yusuf presented a study focusing on the outcomes of Operation Protective Edge and on the need for a new ideology and political strategy for Hamas.

Al-Hroub provides quotations from Yusuf’s article that harshly criticize the Hamas government in Gaza, claiming that it “was not on the level required of the movement and lacks vitality and innovation.”

Hamas Leader: Time to Rethink Policies

Yusuf asserts that “there is a need to rethink how it behaves in light of the local, Arab, and international changes.”

Yusuf’s words indicate that Hamas leadership in the West Bank and Gaza did not take part in the decision to go to war with Israel and that the movement’s decisions sometimes were not brought to the Hamas Shura Council for deliberation.

Yusuf emphasizes the need for a major revision of the movement’s aims, which, he says, were written down in December 1987 and are outmoded.

Al-Hroub presented several main points from Yusuf’s recommendations to the Hamas leadership:

- Military activity must be discussed, and a plan must be formulated to halt it for a limited period of up to five years and thereby enable the recovery and rehabilitation of Gaza and the attainment of a national consensus.

- Discussion of direct negotiations with Israel must be continued, in line with previous statements on this issue by Dr. Mousa Abu Marzouk, deputy chief of the movement’s Political Bureau.

- Assessing relations with Egypt, Iran, and the Gulf states, and especially with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and bolstering ties with Qatar and Turkey.

- Give the highest priority to the achievement of stability and security in the Sinai Peninsula so that relations with Egypt can be improved.

- Hamas and Fatah will run in the coming elections on a single agreed list.

- In the next presidential elections, if Mahmoud Abbas decides not to run for the post, Hamas must support Dr. Salam Fayaed.

- Consideration must be given to changing the Hamas Charter of 1987, which is exploited by Israel, especially the articles that are viewed as “anti-Semitic” and are exploited by Israel to attack the valid Palestinian problem.

- Support for Mahmoud Abbas’s plan to join international conventions, while enhancing his legitimacy as leader of the entire Palestinian people and allowing him freedom of movement.

- Recalibration of the Hamas movement’s relationship with the West while distancing it from everything connected to Al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

Sheikh Ahmed Yusuf’s positions are seen as courageous among Palestinians, especially their presentation in a document published in a Palestinian news outlet. They reveal the true condition of the movement and prescribe for Hamas leadership a real change and a way out of its current malaise.

It is doubtful whether Hamas leadership will adopt most of Yusuf’s proposals. Palestinian commentators, however, believe that the adoption of some of these 

  recommendations would probably improve the movement’s status both in the Palestinian street and from a regional standpoint.

See more at: http://jcpa.org/hamas-stocktaking/#sthash.4veJWWNE.dpuf

Gazans must get rid of Hamas -Palestinian view

We Palestinians can no longer deny our responsibility for the death of our own people.

Bassem Eid 08.12.14 (described as a Palestinian from East Jerusalem)

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4557777,00.html

 For 26 years I have been devoting my life to the mission of defending human rights. I have seen wars and terror. And yet, the past month has been one of the most difficult times in my life.

  

I live in East Jerusalem and witness the destruction of life around me. Highway 1 has once again turned into the line separating between east and west. The Palestinians in the capital attacked traffic lights and damaged the Light Rail and power supply lines. But I cannot accept that as a social protest – it's pure vindictiveness.

The coexistence I have been fighting for my entire life has been executed in the city square.

There is no doubt that the death and destruction Gaza has been hit by are like a tsunami. Both people are in pain, but each side denies the other side's pain, and so the pain gets worse.

And still, as a Palestinian, I must admit: I am responsible for part of what has happened. We can no longer deny our responsibility for the death of our own people.

Most of the Palestinians were against the rocket fire on Israel. They realized that the rockets would not give us anything. They called on Hamas to stop firing, knowing that it had paved the way for the death of its own people.

We knew that Hamas was digging the tunnels which would to lead to our destruction. We knew that three people live on every square meter in Gaza. And Hamas knew that an attack on Israel would lead to mass death, but it's leaders are more interested in their own victories than in the lives of their victims.

Indeed, Hamas depends on death, which gives it power and allows it to raise funds and purchase weapons. Hamas has never been interested in liberating the Palestinian people from the occupation. And Israel will never be able to destroy the infrastructures it has built. Only we, the Palestinian people, can do that.

It was the Gazan residents' responsibility to rebel against the Hamas rule. We knew what they were doing to us, but we let ourselves off easy and allowed it to happen.

Will all this death finally teach us a lesson? I hope so. The lesson is that we must get rid of Hamas and completely demilitarize Gaza. And then open the crossings.

I'm saying this as a loyal Palestinian. I'm saying this because I am concerned about my people's future.

PA Acknowledges Cooperation with Israeli hospital

Official PA daily acknowledges
Israeli hospital's medical care
for Palestinian children and training of doctors

The official PA daily reported on a visit by the PA Minister of Health, Hani Abdeen, to Israel's Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. The daily noted that 30% of the child patients in Hadassah are Palestinians and that the Israeli hospital is training "60 Palestinian medical interns and specialist physicians who will be returning to the [Palestinian] Authority areas to carry out their work." The hospital has a special program to train Palestinian doctors to treat cancer among children, reported the PA daily.

The following is the report:
"[PA] Minister of Health, Hani Abdeen visited the Israeli Hadassah Hospital yesterday [May 5, 2013]. This is the first visit by a Palestinian minister to one of the most important Israeli hospitals, according to the hospital's announcement.

Minister Abdeen who was accompanied by a delegation that included senior officials of the ministry and of the PA, met with the Director of Ein Karem Hadassah Hospital, Yuval Weiss. He [the minister] visited Palestinian patients being treated in the hospital, and he distributed gifts. [Hospital director] Weiss said: 'We relate to patients without regard to nationality and religion. We treat Muslims, Christians, Jews, and other nationalities without bias, and 30% of the patients who are children are Palestinians.'

He went on to say: 'We've begun cooperating with the Palestinians. We now train teams of physicians from the hospital in Beit Jala in the southern West Bank, to treat cancer among children. We have about 60 Palestinian medical interns and specialist physicians who will be returning to the [Palestinian] Authority areas to carry out their work.'"

[Al-Hayat Al-Jadida, May 6, 2013]

BDS - In Their Own Words

BDS proponents often present their case  in terms of peace, human rights and justice; however, this masks the real agenda of seeking to destroy Israel rather than simply improve the lives of Palestinians and help them achieve independence. 

The true aims of BDS become clearer when the views of the movement’s leaders are examined. As the examples below demonstrate, they oppose a two-state solution or any other resolution to the conflict that would recognize the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in their homeland. 

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“Going back to the two-state solution, besides having passed its expiry date, it was never a moral solution to start with.”

-Omar Bargouti

Founder, Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel

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“Israel is the oppressor, not the settlements.”

-Hind Awwad,  National Coordinator, BDS Committee

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“Good riddance! The two-state solution for the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is finally dead. But someone has to issue an official death certificate before the rotting corpse is given a proper burial and we can all move on and explore the more just, moral and therefore enduring alternative for peaceful coexistence between Jews and Arabs in Mandate Palestine: the one-state solution.”

-Omar Bargouti

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“(The one state solution means) a unitary state, where, by definition, Jews will be a minority.”

-Omar Bargouti

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“I am completely and categorically against binationalism because it assumes that there are two nations with equal moral claims to the land.”

-Omar Bargouti,

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“Ending the occupation doesn’t mean anything if it doesn’t mean upending the Jewish state itself…BDS does mean the end of the Jewish state. But can’t I see the value in reaching across the aisle, so to speak? The movement may be burgeoning but remains too small. Why shouldn’t we indulge in ad hoc partnerships to get things done? Richard Silverstein, Richard Goldstone, and many other self-proclaimed Zionists have done an immeasurably positive amount of work in skinning the Zionist cat (That’s a deliberate analogy. I don’t kid myself about how difficult it must be for a Jewish person to criticize the Zionist state), shouldn’t they be asked to join the BDS movement?

To be sure, I’m not dogmatically against cooperating with people whose views I find objectionable. If it came down to it, I’d be happy to work with the racist up the street to get the city to fix a neighborhood pothole.”

-Ahmed Moor, Pro-BDS Author

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“BDS represents three words that will help bring about the defeat of Zionist Israel and victory for Palestine.”

-Ronnie Kasrils

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“[Israel] was Palestine, and there is no reason why it should not be renamed Palestine.”

-Omar Barghouti

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“The real aim of BDS is to bring down the state of Israel….That should be stated as an unambiguous goal. There should not be any equivocation on the subject. Justice and freedom for the Palestinians are incompatible with the existence of the state of Israel.”

-As’ad AbuKhalil

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“Peace-or better yet, justice-cannot be achieved without a total decolonization (one can say de-Zionization) of the Israeli state.”

-Michael Warschawski, BDS activist

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“[Palestinians have a right to] resistance by any means, including armed resistance. [Jews] aren’t indigenous just because you say you are….[Jews] are not a people…the UN’s principle of the right to self-determination applies only to colonized people who want to acquire their rights. ”

-Omar Barghouti

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“I think the BDS movement will gain strength from forthrightly explaining why Israel has no right to exist.”

-John Spritzler, Pro-BDS Author

————————————————————————————————————–

“BDS’s stated goals (ending the Occupation, equality for non-Jews and Jews, and the right of return of the Palestinian refugees) logically imply the end of Israel as a Jewish state….The “state of the Jews” is actually an instrument by which a Jewish elite ruling class of billionaires and generals and politicians secures its oppressive grip on ordinary Jews in Israel…This is why there should not be a Jewish state.”

-John Spritzler

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“The goal of #BDS is the full restoration of Palestinian rights, not an agreement to create an artificial mini-state in order to save Zionism”

-Ali Abunimah, BDS activist

The Real Number of Palestinian Refugees?

From the recent Ettinger report analysing the true number of refugees, we read:-

*According to an August, 1971 Ford Foundation report, by 1950, the majority of the Palestinian refugees began evacuating the camps and non-refugees moved in to benefit from UNRWA’s services. For example, half of the population in the Jelazoon refugee camp, near Ramallah, settled there after 1950.

*A November 17, 2003 report by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) documented that less than 33% of registered Palestinian refugees live in refugee camps.

*The actual number of Palestinian refugees is determined by the following: 

a) Before the 1948/9 War, 800,000 Arabs (per inflated numbers) resided within the boundaries of “pre-1967 Israel”. 

b) At the end of that war, 170,000 Arabs stayed in Israel.  

c) Of the remaining 630,000Arabs, 

     - 100,000 were absorbed by Israel’s family reunification gesture; 

     - 100,000 middle and upper class Arabs left before the beginning of the               1948-49 war and were absorbed by neighboring Arab states; 

     -  50,000 migrant laborers returned to their Arab countries of origin; 

     -  50,000 Bedouins joined their brethren-tribes in Jordan and Sinai; 

     -  and 10,000 were war fatalities. 

Thus, the actual total number of Palestinian refugees was 320,000.  

*Most of the refugees followed their political, economic and social leadership, which left before the eruption of the war.  Many were enticed to depart by Arab leaders, who promised a quick devastation of the Jewish state that would provide the evacuees with Jewish property. British authorities influenced others, pressuring the minority in mixed Jewish-Arab towns to evacuate: Arabs evacuated but Jews did not. 

For a full report see http://bit.ly/18GhJP0 

Just another "Snow" story

Palestinian Red Crescent ambulance assisted in tackling the snow and Ice near Bethlehem by the IDF. Just another area of cooperation!!

Seminar on Agricultural Cultivations for Gaza Farmers

The Israel Gaza Coordination and Liaison Headquarters (GCLH) had held a seminar for Gaza farmers on agricultural cultivations, designed to further facilitate the Gaza agricultural sector. During the course of the seminar, attendants had concluded various tours and learning sessions on a variety of topics. The farmers` attendance at the seminar was achieved via the GCLH Agricultural Liaison.

Date: 04.07.13     Author: Gaza CLA

Last Wednesday and Thursday two groups of Palestinian farmers (60 persons in total) had left the Gaza Strip in order to attend an agricultural seminar in northern Israel, designed to further facilitate the Gaza agricultural sector. Farmers, heads of agricultural associations and merchants had arrived at the conference sponsored by Origins Seeds Company, a company which exports cucurbitacae (pumpkins, squashes, etc.) and field cultivation seeds to 17 world countries, including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

Last years, the farmers had purchased seeds from the company and were pleased with their quality, and so it was important for them to attend the seminar and learn more about the product they're using. During the seminar, the farmers completed several workshops on cultivation methods, planting schedules, soil preparation, proper use of irrigation and fertilizer and disinfestations methods.

In addition, the farmers focused primarily on watermelons, and had stated that this year, owing to the training programs conducted frequently in Israel; growers had achieved unprecedented crop yields – 11 tons of produce for each decare of cultivated fields – A twofold increase compared with the preceding year.

Seminars such as this take place once a year. Nevertheless, Gaza farmers, with the help and guidance of the GCLH, attend seminars and vocational training sessions such as this on a monthly basis. The seminar allows farmers to obtain information directly from Israeli companies with which they conduct business, as well as from companies from around the world, thus further supporting and improving the Gaza agricultural sector.

A Proud Israeli, Arab, Muslim

This interesting article has been cross posted from "A Jewish Israel", www.http://ajewishisrael.com/

An Interview with Anett Haskia: Proud Israeli, Arab, Muslim

I met Anett Haskia, a woman I hadn’t previously heard of, on a pro-Israel Facebook page run by Cliff Pinto, a guy I’ve come to respect for his deep understanding of the Arab-Israeli conflict and love for the Jewish people.

Anett and I became instant friends. Since the day Cliff introduced us, we’ve been talking on the phone almost on a daily basis. Last week, I had the tremendous pleasure of meeting Anett at Tel-Aviv University where she made a short presentation on her life story and struggle on behalf of Israeli Arabs. Out of all the political groups on campus, Im Tirtzu was the only one that was interested in hearing Anett’s story.

Anett told us of her early years, of growing up in Akko, of how family had disowned her when she began supporting Israel, and much more.

Anett’s goal is to replace the current Arab MKs in the Knesset. Her platform includes measures such as a law that would make it compulsory for Israeli Arabs to either serve in the IDF or do national service in return for equal rights. She doesn't believe in the creation of a “Palestinian” state or in giving up Israeli territory in return for empty promises. Anett is trying to find a fund or individual who’d be willing to sponsor her campaign.

I recently had an opportunity to interview Anett:

Me: Please tell me about yourself: Where did you grow up? Where do you live today? How many children do you have?

Anett: I was born in the Old City of Akko. I’m 44 years old. I’ve been divorced for more than 20 years now, and have three wonderful kids. I work as a hair stylist.

I’m a social activist in the Arab sector. I’m fighting for equal rights for Arabs but together with that, I insist that Israeli Arabs do their part for our country by volunteering for either the army or national service and giving back to the State in other ways. I’m a proud Israeli Arab who has nothing to do with the “Palestinian people.”

Me:  Why do you support Israel? What are you doing to show your support?

The fact that I support Israel goes without saying. I was born here and will always be at the side of my one and only homeland.  I’ve helped—and continue helping many young Arab guys and girls volunteer for national service.

I do everything to explain to them that Jews aren’t our enemies and that the Arab MKs have created a good life for themselves with our money and support. As a result of this, we’re the ones paying the price which comes in the form of the Jewish community distancing itself from our affairs. A lot of us, however, would like to be able to pursue a better life right here, in Israel as respected partners with the Jewish people.

Me: How does your family feel about your political activity? Has anyone tried to hurt you or your children?

Anett: I’d say that my family doesn't support me at all, but we try not to discuss this because it leads to only more trouble between us. They’re also afraid that someone might kill me. I've been targeted a lot of times. They have made a lot of attempts to show me they’re following me.

Me: I realize that all your kids have served—or are serving in the IDF. How do you feel about this? Was it difficult for them to get accepted to the army? What was the reaction at the recruitment office?

Anett: I’m proud of my kids for serving the State and paying their dues like everyone else. At the recruitment office, no one believed them that they were Muslim Arabs and not Bedouins.

Me: What do you think about “Palestinian” “peace activists?” Jewish “peace activists?” The far right who’d be willing to kick even someone like you out of Israel?

Anett: Unfortunately, I don’t really have an opinion on Palestinian “peace activists.” I don’t think such a thing exists. I hope I’m wrong.

Jewish “peace activists” are causing a lot of damage to Israeli Arabs. I blame them along with the Arab MK’s for the hatred between the citizens of this country. They think they’re doing me a favor by supporting my right to be here. I don’t accept their “kindness” because I don’t consider myself a third-class citizen to begin with. As far as the far right, I consider them a terrorist organization.

Me: What’s your message to the Palestinian people? To the Israeli government? To the international community?

I’d tell the Palestinians to try to remember the good lives they had here before Arafat and Hamas took over. I doubt they can have an effect on the government because they’re all afraid for their lives—and rightly so. Even Abu Mazen, whom the world calls a “peace partner” is afraid and won’t do anything without the support of Hamas.

I’d be happy if the Israeli government continued punishing those who hurt innocent Palestinians and soldiers who abuse random people. Theoretically, I’d like for the government to allow them to work in pre-’67 Israel and to ease the security restrictions, but unfortunately, there have been cases where these workers have murdered Jews, so I’m not asking for this. I don’t want to pay the price for their hatred and insanity and for my children to feel horrible every time they show anti-Arab protests and signs saying “Death to the Arabs!” and “Transfer!”

I find it ridiculous that the left-wingers don’t go out to defend us with signs of “These aren’t Israeli Arabs—these are West Bank Arabs!” They’ve never done this. I hope Palestinian Arabs (the ones living in the West Bank) end up leaving Israel and go work in Jordan or other Arab countries.

Disabled Gaza toddler lives at Israeli hospital

Abandoned by his parents and the Palestinian government, 3-year-old Mohammed has been at Tel Hashomer Hospital all his life

http://www.timesofisrael.com/disabled-gaza-toddler-lives-at-israeli-hospital/

RAMAT GAN, Israel (AP) — In his short life, Palestinian toddler Mohammed al-Farra has known just one home: the yellow-painted children’s ward in Israel’s Tel Hashomer Hospital.

Born in Gaza with a rare genetic disease, Mohammed’s hands and feet were amputated because of complications from his condition, and the 3½-year-old carts about in a tiny red wheelchair. His parents abandoned him, and the Palestinian government won’t pay for his care, so he lives at the hospital with his grandfather.

There’s no care for this child in Gaza, there’s no home in Gaza where he can live,” said the grandfather, Hamouda al-Farra.

“He can’t open anything by himself, he can’t eat or take down his pants. His life is zero without help,” he said at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, part of the Tel Hashomer complex in the Israeli city of Ramat Gan.

Mohammed’s plight is an extreme example of the harsh treatment some families mete out to the disabled, particularly in the more tribal-dominated corners of the Gaza Strip, even as Palestinians make strides in combating such attitudes.

It also demonstrates a costly legacy of Gaza’s strongly patriarchal culture that prods women into first-cousin marriages and allows polygamy, while rendering mothers powerless over their children’s fate.

Mohammed was rushed to Israel as a newborn for emergency treatment. His genetic disorder left him with a weakened immune system and crippled his bowels, doctors say, and an infection destroyed his hands and feet, requiring them to be amputated.

In the midst of his treatment, his mother abandoned Mohammed because her husband, ashamed of their son, threatened to take a second wife if she didn’t leave the baby and return to their home in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, Farra said. In Gaza, polygamy is permitted but isn’t common. But it’s a powerful threat to women fearful of competing against newer wives.

Now Mohammed spends his days undergoing treatment and learning how to use prosthetic limbs.

His 55-year-old grandfather cares for him. Mohammed’s Israeli doctors, who’ve grown attached to the boy, fund-raise to cover his bills, allowing him and his grandfather to live in the sunny pediatric ward.

But it’s not clear how long he’ll stay in the hospital, or where he’ll go when his treatment is complete. As a Palestinian, Mohammed is not eligible for permanent Israeli residency. Yet his family will not take the child back, the grandfather said. His parents, contacted by The Associated Press, refused to comment.

As his grandfather spoke, Mohammed used his knees and elbows to scamper up and down a nearby stairwell, his knees and elbows blackened and scarred from constant pressure. He used his arms to hold a green bottle he found in a stroller. His prosthetic legs with painted-on shoes were strewn nearby.

He crawled toward his grandfather’s lap. “Baba!” he shouted, Arabic for “daddy.” ”Ana ayef,” he said — a mix of Arabic and Hebrew for “I’m tired.”

Dr. Raz Somech, the senior physician in the Tel Hashomer pediatric immunology department, attributes Mohammed’s genetic disorder to the several generations of cousin marriages in his family — including his parents.

In deeply patriarchal parts of Gaza — not in all the territory — men believe they have “first rights” to wed their female cousins, even above the women’s own wishes. Parents approve the partnerships because it strengthens family bonds and ensures inheritances don’t leave the tribe.

Repeated generations of cousin marriages complicate blood ties. It’s not clear what affect that has had on disability rates in Gaza; but Somech said a third of patients in his department are Palestinians and most have genetic diseases that were the result of close-relation marriages.

Further worsening the situation, disabled children are often stigmatized.

Some families hide the children, fearing they won’t be able to marry off their able-bodied children if the community knows of their less-abled siblings. And they are seen as burdens in the impoverished territory.

Some 183,600 Gaza residents — or 10.8 percent of the 1.7 million Gazans — suffer some kind of disability that affects their mental health, eyesight, hearing or mobility. Some 40,800 people suffer severe disability, the Palestinian bureau of statistics reported in 2011.

According to the bureau, two-thirds of young disabled Gazans are illiterate and some 40 percent were never sent to school, suggesting either their parents kept them home or did not have the means to educate them — a likely scenario in the territory, where about two-thirds of the population live under the poverty line. Over 90 percent of the disabled are unemployed, the bureau said.

"Bye-Bye London"

I live here in Israel and yet receive reports daily from all walks of life in the UK about the changing attitudes towards Israel and Jews in that country.

Having discussed this issue with the UK Ambassador and his staff at various meetings, the usual canards are spouted that ”we are exaggerating”, the incidents are carried out by fringe elements” and “basically everything is OK in the UK”. In fact the Ambassador fails to understand why more Israelis are not prepared to study in UK universities since “there really are no problems”!!

Just who is he trying to kid??

The blog below is yet another instance of how the herd mentality is inexorably gaining momentum not just amongst the rabble rousers but also amongst the “chattering classes” and the “upper crust” of UK society.

 

 

Bye-bye London

Caroline Glick January 21, 2013, 11:27 AM

In an interview with Haaretz in November 2010, British novelist Martin Amis said the following about discussions of Israel in his motherland:

I live in a mildly anti-Semitic country, and Europe is mildly anti-Semitic, and they hold Israel to a higher moral standard than its neighbors. If you bring up Israel in a public meeting in England, the whole atmosphere changes. The standard left-wing person never feels more comfortable than when attacking Israel. Because they are the only foreigners you can attack. Everyone else is protected by having dark skin, or colonial history, or something. But you can attack Israel. And the atmosphere becomes very unpleasant. It is traditional, snobbish, British anti-Semitism combined with present-day circumstances.

After participating last week in a debate in London about Israeli communities beyond the 1949 armistice lines organized by the self-consciously pretentious Intelligence Squared debating society, I can now say from personal experience that Amis is correct. The public atmosphere in England regarding Israel is ugly and violent. 

The resolution we debated read: "Israel is destroying itself with its settlement policy. If settlement expansion continues Israel will have no future."

My debating partner was Danny Dayan, the outgoing head of the Yesha Council. 

We debated Daniel Levy, one of the founders of J-Street and the drafter of the Geneva Initiative, and the son of Lord Michael Levy, one of Tony Blair's biggest fundraisers; and William Sieghart, a British philanthropist who runs a non-profit that among other things, champions Hamas. Levy has publicly stated that Israel's creation was immoral. And Sieghart has a past record of saying that Israel's delegitimization would be a salutary proces and calling for a complete cultural boycott of Israel while laudingHamas. 

We lost overwhelmingly. I think the final vote tally was something like 500 for the resolution and 100 against it.

A couple of impressions I took away from the experience: First, I can say without hesitation that I hope never to return to Britain. I actually don't see any point. Jews are targeted by massive anti-Semitism of both the social and physical varieties. Why would anyone Jewish want to live there?

As to visiting as an Israeli, again, I just don't see the point. The discourse is owned by anti-Israel voices. They don't make arguments to spur thought, but to end it, by appealing to people's passions. 

For instance, in one particularly ugly segment, Levy made the scurrilous accusation that Israel systematically steals land from the Palestinians. Both Dayan and I demanded that he provide just one example of his charge. And the audience raged against us for our temerity at insisting that he provide substantiation for his baseless allegation. In the event, he failed to substantiate his allegation.

   

At another point, I was asked how I defend the Nazi state of Israel. When I responded by among other things giving the Nazi pedigree of the Palestinian nationalist movement founded by Nazi agent Haj Amin el Husseini and currently led by Holocaust denier Mahmoud Abbas, the crowd angrily shouted me down. 

I want to note that the audience was made up of upper crust, wealthy British people, not unwashed rabble rousers. And yet they behaved in many respects like a mob when presented with pro-Israel positions. 

I honestly don't know whether there are policy implications that arise from my experience in London last week. I have for a long time been of the opinion that Israel shouldn't bother to try to win over Europe because the Europeans have multiple reasons for always being anti-Israel and none of them have anything to do with anything that Israel does. As I discuss in my book, these reasons include anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism, addiction to Arab oil, and growing Muslim populations in Europe. 

I was prepared to conduct a civilized debate based on facts and reasoned argumentation. I expected it to be a difficult experience. I was not expecting to be greeted by a well-dressed mob. My pessimism about Europeans' capacity to avail themselves to reasoned, fact-based argumentation about Israel has only deepened from the experience. 

One positive note, I had a breakfast discussion last Wednesday morning with activists from the Zionist Federation of Britain. The people I met are committed, warm, hardworking Zionists. I wish them all the best, and mainly that means, that I hope that these wonderful people and their families make aliyah. 

While their work is worthwhile, there is no future for Jews in England.

Israel Army Rescues Palestinians

With the extreme conditions this week culminating in heavy snow on the high ground, the IDF , the Civil Administration and the Palestinian security forces have coordinated rescue activities in several operations throughout the Judea and Samaria region: Seven people were rescued near Jenin, five in Hirbat Jabara and five near Nua a-Shams.

IDF forces also rescued an Arab-Israeli school bus carrying 30 children near Jenin, as well as two cars and an a Palestinian ambulance – all stuck due to rising water.

Fifteen people had to escape to the roof of their building in Baqa-jatt, near Haifa, after the area was flooded. The Air Force has been able to rescue them and they were taken to Hillel Yaffe Medical Center in Hadera in mild condition.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4330127,00.html

The Palestinian and the "Settler"

A story received from a Jewish citizen in Gush Etzion, a Jewish community in the West Bank near Jerusalem depicts the reality of life which is somehow very different t the "stories" reported in the media:


Location:- Friday night, Shabbat, the synagogue in an Eastern Gush Etzion settlement.


We hear an alarm on Friday night. We think and wonder, but do not do anything. Then a loud explosion is heard. Sirens of the security forces are sounded and messages broadcast on the need to find shelter.

Then there is another alarm, and this time everyone runs downstairs to the room underneath the synagogue to take cover. Children and grandchildren in our arms to get down as soon as possible.

The phone rings. The Emergency squad member holding the mobile phone which is on although it is Saturday and answers.

The voice is a voice he is used to hearing. The voice on the line speaks with an Arab accent: "Pinni, Shabbat Shalom," says Muhammad, with panic in his voice. "Pinni, an alarm has sounded and there are explosions, what are we supposed to do?"

Muhammad is a friend of Pinni, from a neighboring village, an Arab village. They have no shelter and are not aware of the rules behavior under missile attack.


Pinni explains to Muhammad that we are under missile attack from Gaza, and to go inside his house and to stay away from windows.

"Thanks Pinni," admitted Muhammad and apologized that he had called on Saturday.


This is reality, Arab "Palestinian" calls to a befriended "settler" to get instructions on how to defend himself against his brother Palestinian offensive missiles from Gaza.

Rambam treats Palestinian with Parkinson's

This summer, a 51-year-old Palestinian resident of the West Bank came to Rambam Medical Center for Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) therapy in a successful bid to control the disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease.


Tarik Sadek Abu Baker, an accountant by profession, developed an aggressive case of early onset Parkinson's disease at age 39. Twelve years down the line, he had stopped responding to Parkinsonian medications. On his behalf, the Palestinian Authority turned to the Movement Disorders Center at Rambam, directed by Senior Neurologist Dr. Ilana Schlesinger.

Deep Brain Stimulation therapy to correct movement disorders was pioneered by French neurosurgeon Prof. Alim-Louis Benabid in 1987 and has been available to the medical community since approximately 1999. It has been available in Israel since 2003 and at Rambam since 2008. The surgery involves implanting two electrode-equipped leads in the brain and two battery operated neurostimulators in the chest

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