Islands of Peace: Jordan Valley Co-Existence

The Jordan Valley is an important region both historically, religiously

and economically. Economic cooperation between Jews, Arabs and

Christians helps this region bloom like never before.

GIVING EAR - Co-Existence Project

BY BARRY DAVIS   MARCH 16, 2017

 Violins, not violence: The Nazareth-based Polyphony venture fosters musical and cultural harmony.

It has been mooted that the basic difference between discrimination and mutual acceptance is that, while in the former case, we see anyone different from us as inferior, possibly threatening and certainly unwanted, the latter entails the realization that, if someone is different from us, by the same token we are different from them.

Then again, there are always common denominators to be sought and found, and that can help to bridge discrepancies in cultural, religious and political lines of thought.

Nabeel Abboud-Ashkar certainly goes along with that ethos. Abboud-Ashkar is cofounder of Polyphony, which sprang into life in 2012 in Nazareth when he joined forces with Jewish American social entrepreneurs Craig and Deborah Cogut. The idea was, as the organization’s brochure has it: “to bring together Arab and Jewish youth in Israel by offering them equal opportunities in music.”

The venture title certainly fits the stated conceptual and artistic bill. The online font of vocabulary definitions, dictionary.com, describes polyphonic music as “having two or more voices or parts, each with an independent melody, but all harmonizing.”

That all sounds delightfully healthy and uplifting, and the project appears to be making waves across the upper echelons of the international music community.

The Polyphony Artistic Partners cross-disciplinary roster includes the names of such illustrious members of the global art world as conductors Zubin Mehta and Sir Andras Schiff, opera singer Renée Fleming, multimedia artist Yoko Ono, jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis and Israeli singer-songwriter David Broza.

Marsalis was recently in Nazareth himself, to help a bunch of budding Arab and Jewish musicians progress with their instruments and spread the musical word in general. Schiff was also here a month or so ago. “Branford gave a workshop for the kids and a concert for the parents,” says Abboud- Ashkar. “That really helps.”

The professional supporter lineup is mightily impressive, and there appears to be an abundance of layman backing, too.

“There is great interest from the international musical community. There is also interest from the Jewish community in the US,” the director continues, “and there is, obviously, a strong interest in the Arab and Jewish communities of Israel for Polyphony to work.”

Getting youngsters to play and enjoy classical music, says Abboud-Ashkar, offers added value for all, and not just in the Middle East. “When you appreciate this kind of music, and are able to perform it, you immediately become part of a much larger and more international community.

Straightaway it makes you part of something much bigger than your immediate surroundings. So that, I think, makes Western classical music important for us. By us, I mean the Arab-Palestinian community of Israel, and Israeli society in general – both Arab and Jewish communities.”

The ostensibly extraneous nature of the art form, he feels, also helps to bridge cultural and personal gaps. “Because it is not coming from one side or the other, classical music being so international, it is a wonderful means for bringing people together.”

Then there are the rewards to be gained from engaging in an activity that is not only creative but also requires the participants to cooperate and to listen to each other in order to reach a pleasurable and quality end result.

The Nazareth-based initiative is clearly managing to provide young Jews, Muslims and Christians here with a bridge spanning sociopolitical and ethnic gaps that can sometimes appear to be entrenched and permanently divisive.

However, it wasn’t just about getting kids enthralled with the idea of producing harmonious sounds from their instruments. For the project to succeed, it needed the blessing and backing of the wider community, too. “Parents have become more and more aware of the importance of what we are doing, and the importance of music education.”

In Keshet Eilon, Abboud-Ashkar and his cohorts in the Nazareth-based program found a natural bedfellow. “We founded Keshet Eilon [at Kibbutz Eilon in the Western Galilee] in 1990,” says general manager Gilad Sheba. “We called the program ‘keshet’ because of the bow of the violin, but also in the sense of a bridge between cultures and people.

There are wider-reaching rewards. “When students come here from abroad they discover a different Israel from the one they see in the media,” Sheba adds. “They see the finer side of Israel – the culture and excellence. Don’t forget, we engage in people who chose a very competitive profession and one of our goals is to turn them into a family. Nabeel and Polyphony come into this context.”

Polyphony continues to go about its educational and enlightening business, which takes in joint ensembles with Keshet Eilon.

Abboud-Ashkar is conscious of the need for spreading the word as far and wide as possible, in addition to enabling youngsters to acquire precious musical skills, and then helping them to raise their game. Mother Nature precludes the existence of anything in a vacuum, and that applies equally to the social environment.

Polyphony duly invests in generating the requisite support group context, to create a healthy and encouraging environment for the kids to follow their natural artistic bent.

Israel`s Contribution to Palestinian Healthcare in 2013.

(With thanks to Charles Abelson of TbT – Truth be Told)

Quick Overview:

Since 1967, when Israel captured the areas of Judea and Samaria, Palestinian infant mortality has been reduced from approximately 100/1,000 to 13.49/1,000. Gaza: 15.46. Life expectancy has risen by about 10 years.

1)  Life Expectancy

a)    Judea, Samaria 75.69 years

b)    Gaza 74.64

c)    Jordan 74.10 years

d)    Egypt 73.45 years.

e)    Turkey 73.29 years.

f)     Israel 82.1 years (higher than USA)

2) Mortality Rate

Palestinian Territory’s low rate of Infant mortality also belies any accusation of "genocide".

Infant mortality rate compares the number of deaths of infants under one year old in a given year per 1,000 live births in the same year, and is often used as an indicator of the level of health in a country

Both the West Bank and Gaza have a lower rate of infant mortality (13.49 and 15.46) than Egypt. (22.41 deaths per thousand births), Syria (15.79), Jordan (15.73) and Turkey (21.43).

In spite of all evidence to the contrary, the enemies of Israel and the enemies of truth continue to bandy about spurious accusations of "genocide".

Massacre? Genocide? “Do not care”? You decide.

2013 Judea, Samaria:

Health Permits: Israel permits the transfer of Palestinian patients for treatment in Israel whenever required due to inadequacies in the Palestinian health system. The number of medical permits issued were (previous years also stated):

2011:   197,713

2012:   210,469

2013:   225,410

Due diligence: for each patient, one permit was issued for a family member accompanying the patient. Thus for 2013 there were about 110,000 patients (over 400 each weekday) and about 120,000 permits for family members.  

Massacre? Genocide? “Do not care”? You decide.

Emergency transfers:

In emergency situations the rapid transfer of patients in dire need of advanced medical treatment to be examined in Israeli hospitals is permitted.

In 2013 the number of emergency medical evacuations rose, with Israel providing 2,207 evacuations by ambulance (up from 600 in 2012) and 11 medical evacuations by helicopter (up from 10 in 2012).

Israel also arranged for the overseas treatment of five Palestinians whose medical needs were unable to be met in Israel.

Massacre? Genocide? “Do not care”? You decide.

Children:

The number of Palestinian children from the West Bank who received medical treatment in Israel in 2013 stood at 40,000, an increase from the previous year's 21,270.

Israel was responsible for the coordination and funding of 10 "fun days" for 250 Palestinian children, who were also joined by members of their families.

Israel spent more than a million NIS to provide various treatments for dozens of Palestinian children hailing from families unable to afford the necessary medical bills (probably unable to afford Palestinian health insurance payments).

Massacre? Genocide? “Do not care”? You decide.

He who saves a life saves the world. The story of one Palestinian child, Yakub Bachziat, 16, Bethlehem

Yakub was born at Sharei Tzedek Hospital (Jerusalem) in Israel and was immediately diagnosed with acute kidney failure. His condition led to several other medical problems, and he had to undergo several treatments in the hospital. None of his family members were compatible donors, so the family, completely despondent, turned to Dalia Basa, the Israeli Health Coordinator with the Palestinian Health Authority for help. Three days after Dalia met with the child, a donor was found: a deceased Israeli child whose parents had agreed to donate his kidneys. Immediately, Yakub was transferred to Schneider Medical Center (Petach Tikva) for the life-saving transplant. The operation and medical expenses at Schneider were covered by Israel, at the cost of 200,030 NIS. Since the surgery Yakub has maintained perfect health.

Training

Israel promotes the development of the Palestinian health system through several different programs and training.

 In 2013, 2,314 Palestinian doctors, nurses, and other medical health care professionals attended 159 courses, conventions and programs that Israel hosted.

Israel provides a special program for training physicians, nurses and technicians at Israeli hospitals, for  the sake of operating hospitals in Judea and Samaria, and to improve the Palestinian health system.

Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital (Jerusalem) trains 60 Palestinian interns who are replaced every year. Also, technicians and nurses from the Bet Jala Hospital (Palestinian Authority) are trained in cancer treatment, while a program operates out of Augusta Victoria Hospital regarding diagnostic medicine.

During May 2013, the Palestinian Minister of Health, Dr. Hanni Abadin, paid an unprecedented visit to Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital in Jerusalem. Dr. Abadin thanked Hadassah for the opportunity to visit and for its services, visited Arab children hospitalized at Hadassah and gave them gifts.

Massacre? Genocide? “Do not care”? You decide.

2013 Gaza:

Health: Erez Crossing (People)

The Erez crossing is open between the hours of 08:00-16:00 Sunday through Thursday, and 08:00-14:00 on Fridays. However, it is staffed 24/7 in the event of emergency.

Medical Permits for Gaza Palestinians

In cases of dire need, Israel permits the entrance of patients in need of medical treatment in Israel. Medical Evacuations- High priority is given to the processing of medical requests. The services requested by those who received permits to enter Israel included hospitalizations, long-term treatment, and short-term emergency medical care. In 2012  there were 9946 cases

In 2013, 13,734 permits for healthcare in Israel were granted, of these - 4,519 were in need of specialized medical transport, which was provided for them.

Despite frequent claims that Israel turns away ambulances carrying people in desperate need of medical services, in 2013, out of the 1,189 ambulances which requested permits, 1,188 received them, and only one was refused.

Amongst the Gazan residents treated in Israel were the sister and granddaughter of Hamas`s leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

Health: Kerem Shalom (trucks)

In 2013, Israel coordinated the entrance of 2,311 truckloads of medical supplies, carrying thousands of tons of medical equipment into the Strip. Included in these shipments were large amounts of polio vaccines, as periodic tests turned up positive for poliovirus in the area. In order to ensure the health of residents in Gaza, Israel took special measures to ensure sufficient shipment of the needed vaccine.

Massacre? Genocide? “Do not care”? You decide.

How did Hamas make payment for these healthcare services? In 2013, a relatively quiet year, there were only 41 rocket attacks on southern Israel.

Palestinians and the "Death Boats" Scandal

Khaled Abu Toameh  September 27, 2014  

Full article http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4734/palestinians-and-the-death-boats-scandal

Summary

As the past few weeks have, shown, hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians would rather risk their lives at sea than live under Palestinian governments and leaders whose only goal is to enrich their bank accounts.

Instead of creating job opportunities for young men and women, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have spent the past seven years fighting over money and power. They are now busy planning how to lay their hands on the millions of dollars that are supposed to go to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Hamas wants to use the Palestinian Authority as a tool through which the international community channels funds to he Gaza Strip — a move that would  ultimately empower Hamas to tighten its grip over the Palestinian population there.

They said that Hamas officials are providing the emigrants with forged visas and travel documents to to enable them to enter Europe.

=======================

Over the past few weeks, dozens of Palestinian immigrants from the Gaza Strip have been killed or injured while trying to reach Europe by sea.

At least 500 Palestinians have gone missing after the boats carrying them sank in the sea. Some reports have suggested that rival gangs deliberately sunk the boats. The gangs are fighting for the cash the Palestinians are prepared to pay to leave the Gaza Strip. Palestinians refer to the situation as their "Death Boats" scandal.

The Palestinian immigrants are said to have paid thousands of dollars to Hamas officials and Egyptian smugglers to facilitate the exodus from the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki claimed that each Palestinian paid $1,000 to Hamas personnel at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Others are believed to have paid $5,000 each to leave the Gaza Strip.

Malki said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have fallen victim to Hamas and Egyptian gangsters who managed to lure them with false promises.

According to various reports, some 13,000 Palestinians have already fled the Gaza Strip to Europe with the help of the gangsters. Most left through Hamas's smuggling tunnels or by bribing its security officials at the Rafah terminal. Another 25,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip have applied to various European countries for immigration.

Although Hamas has denied any connection to the mass exodus, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip revealed that the Islamist movement had set up special offices to register those wishing to start a new life in Europe. They said that Hamas officials are providing the emigrants with forged visas and travel documents to enable them to enter Europe.

A Palestinian journalist in Gaza City said that at one of the mosques in the southern Gaza Strip, a leading Hamas preacher told worshippers: "Those who are not happy can always emigrate to Europe. We do not force anyone to stay here."

Most of the immigrants left the Gaza Strip through a two-kilometer tunnel belonging to a senior Hamas operative. Survivors told a Palestinian Authority Commission of Inquiry that when they reached the Egyptian side of the border, Egyptian gangsters intercepted them and robbed them of their money.

"Hamas gangsters worked in cooperation with gangsters on the Egyptian side of the border," said a senior Palestinian Authority official involved with the inquiry commission. "They operated like a real mafia, exploiting the predicament of the people, especially young men who were hoping to find jobs and better lives in Italy and other European countries."

Palestinians say that the emigration began long before the last military confrontation between Hamas and Israel. But the trend has witnessed a dramatic increase since the end of the fighting in late August.

"Hamas has failed to help the Palestinians ever since it came to power in 2007," said Ahmed Bader, whose son managed to leave the Gaza Strip through a tunnel one week after the end of the fighting. "There is nothing for the young people to do in the Gaza Strip: no jobs, no entertainment and no security. Young men who graduate from universities cannot find work if they are not members of Hamas."

Both Hamas and the Palestinian Authority bear responsibility for the tragedy of the Palestinian immigrants. The two rival parties have failed to improve the living conditions of their people in the Gaza Strip.  Instead of creating job opportunities for young men and women, Hamas and the Palestinian Authority have spent the past seven years fighting over money and power.

Hamas says that Palestinians are fleeing the Gaza Strip because their leader (Mahmoud Abbas) is a helpless 80-year-old man "who suffers from half the diseases of the universe." The Palestinian Authority, for its part, says that the Palestinians are fleeing the "hell of Hamas.". Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are trading allegations and abuses while their people are being exploited emotionally and financially, then robbed, drowned and fed to sharks.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority are now busy planning how to lay their hands on the millions of dollars that are supposed to go to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.

At last week's "reconciliation" talks between the two sides in Cairo, they completely ignored the tragedy of the Palestinian immigrants. Once again, Hamas and Fatah officials exchanged kisses and hugs as they announced yet another agreement to implement a previous agreement. 

In fact, this is what Hamas and Fatah have been doing since 2006 – signing one reconciliation agreement after the other without tangible results. Needless to say, so far none of these agreements has been implemented. Skeptics say the most recent agreement between Hamas and Fatah is also likely to remain ink on paper due to the wide gap between the two parties.

Hamas appears to be willing to bring the Palestinian Authority back to the Gaza Strip not because it has changed its ideology. Rather, Hamas wants to use the Palestinian Authority as a tool through which the international community channels funds to the Gaza Strip – a move that would ultimately empower Hamas to tighten its grip over the Palestinian population there.

But many Palestinians in the Gaza Strip have obviously lost their confidence in both Abbas and Hamas. As the past few weeks have shown, hundreds, if not thousands, of Palestinians would rather risk their lives at sea than live under Palestinian governments and leaders whose only goal is to enrich their bank accounts.

Hamas: Give Us West Bank So We Can Destroy Israel

 Khaled Abu Toameh  September 7, 2014

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4676/hamas-west-bank

What Hamas and Iran are saying is that if and when Israel pulls back to the pre-1967 lines, they, together with other Palestinians, would bring weapons into the West Bank to achieve their goal of eliminating the "Zionist entity."

Abbas's initiative also ignores that Hamas could easily seize control of the West Bank through force or through the promised free and democratic elections, which recent polls show Hamas is assured of winning. Abbas is demanding something that would bring about his own demise.

If the West Bank had one quarter of the weapons that the Gaza Strip has, Israel would be eliminated in one day. This is what Hamas leader Mahmoud Zahar told worshippers during a sermon he delivered on September 5.

Zahar, who delivered his first sermon since the Egypt-brokered cease-fire between Hamas and Israel was announced in late August: he chose to remind Palestinians and the rest of the world of his movement's dream to destroy Israel.

"If only the West Bank had one quarter of what Gaza has of resistance tools, the Israeli entity would end in one day," Zahar declared, reiterating the claim that Hamas had scored a "big victory" in the war.

The Hamas leader went on to criticize those who still have doubts as to whether Israel could be destroyed.

"Those who were skeptical as to whether Palestine could be liberated are no longer doubtful after the enemy was hit from the Gaza Strip," Zahar said. "Can you imagine what would happen if the enemy is targeted from the West Bank, which makes up 20% of the size of Palestine?"

Zahar's wish to see the West Bank flooded with rockets and mortars and other "tools of resistance" was echoed by other Hamas and Islamic Jihad leaders and spokesmen after the recent war in the Gaza Strip.

Zahar himself was quoted recently as saying that Hamas's goal now was to "move the Gaza example of resistance" to the West Bank.

Even the Iranians seem to think that the time has come to turn the West Bank into a launching pad for attacks on Israel.

During the war in the Gaza Strip, a senior Iranian commander of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, Mohamed Reza Naqdi, announced that Tehran had plans to "arm Palestinians in the West Bank" in order to destroy Israel.

Naqdi boasted that the weapons used by Hamas and other Palestinian groups during the recent war had been manufactured and supplied by Iran.

The threats by Hamas and Iran regarding the West Bank show why it is critically important for Israel (and the Palestinian Authority) to insist on the demilitarization of the Gaza Strip as part of any long-term cease-fire agreement.

Even more significantly, these threats underline the need to keep the West Bank a demilitarized area in any future peace agreement, especially one that would see the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state.

Moreover, these threats support Israel's insistence on maintaining permanent security control over the border with Jordan. Without such a presence, Iranian-made weapons would easily find their way into the West Bank.

What Hamas and Iran are saying is that if and when Israel pulls back to the pre-1967 lines, they, together with other Palestinians, would bring weapons into the West Bank to achieve their goal of eliminating the "Zionist entity."

Zahar does not even believe that there is a need for large amounts of weapons – just one fourth of what Hamas and Islamic Jihad already have in the Gaza Strip are sufficient, in his eyes, to destroy Israel in one day.

In the aftermath of Operation Protective Edge, it is not difficult to understand why flooding the West Bank with weapons poses an existential threat to Israel.

But this is also something that would wreak havoc on Palestinians in the West Bank.

Fortunately, Mahmoud Abbas and his Palestinian Authority are fully aware of attempts by Iran and Hamas to turn the West Bank into a base for terrorism and jihadis.

Thanks to Israel, they are also aware of Hamas's effort to topple the Palestinian Authority and replace it with an Islamist government.

Last month, Israel announced the arrest of more than 90 West Bank Hamas members who planned to stage a coup against Abbas and renew terror attacks against Israelis. Were it not for Israel's effort, Abbas and his top officials would have been either killed or imprisoned by Hamas.

That episode explains why Abbas has now ordered a massive crackdown on Hamas members 

and supporters in the West Bank. During the Gaza war, Abbas refrained from such measures against his Hamas rivals out of fear of being accused of "collaboration" with Israel.

Since the cease-fire went into effect, Abbas's security forces in the West Bank have detained more than 80 Hamas men. They have also stopped Hamas-affiliated preachers from delivering sermons during Friday prayers.

Abbas will be able to rein in Hamas in the West Bank only if he pursues security coordination with Israel.

However, it would be unrealistic to expect Abbas or any Palestinian government to disarm Hamas and its allies in the Gaza Strip.

Abbas and the Palestinian Authority would not be able to survive for one day in the West Bank without the presence of the IDF, especially given Hamas's rising popularity among Palestinians in the aftermath of the war.

Last week, Abbas sent two senior officials, Saeb Erekat and Majed Faraj, to Washington to present his "new peace initiative" to Secretary of State John Kerry.

Abbas's initiative envisages the establishment of a Palestinian state within three years either through negotiations or by having the UN Security Council impose a solution on Israel.

Abbas's initiative, however, ignores the threat from Hamas and Iran to use the West Bank as a launching pad for destroying Israel. It also ignores that Hamas could easily seize control over a future Palestinian state by force or through the promised free and democratic elections, as assured by a recent public opinion poll published by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research.

Abbas is demanding a full Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines (including the border with Jordan). But he cannot offer any assurances that Hamas and Iran would not use this border to smuggle weapons into the West Bank.

In fact, Abbas is demanding from the Israelis and Americans something that would bring about his own demise. His only option for now is to hold onto power in the West Bank and continue to work with Israel against the common enemy – Hamas. The day Hamas agrees to lay down its weapons and abandon its dream of destroying Israel, he will then be able to go to the U.S. and Security Council and ask for an independent state next to Israel.

Western Progressives Successfully Prevent Israel's SodaStream From Employing Palestinian Workers

GUEST POST WRITTEN BY Abraham Miller

Mr. Miller is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Cincinnati.

The full article is available online at: http://onforb.es/1lzxovf

The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel appears to have won a Pyrrhic victory over SodaStream, resulting in 900 Palestinian workers, who received Israeli wages and benefits, being thrown out of their jobs. SodaStream is putting a good face on the “potential” closing, saying it is not submitting to the terror-aligned BDS campaign. But two hundred Palestinian workers have already been let go, and to many observers in Israel, the handwriting is on the wall.

In the front ranks of the campaign against SodaStream has been the

sanctimonious Oxfam, which proudly reminds us that it does not support BDS, but it is for boycotting SodaStream.

Now the left can celebrate sending 900 Palestinians into poverty, people who made four times the going rate for wages in the Palestinian Territories—that is if they could have found jobs in an economy with 40% unemployment. In the Berkeley hills, the peace and justice crew and the gaggle of assorted leftists are opening fine bottles of California wine, looking out over their million-dollar views, and clinking crystal glasses in celebration. Meanwhile some of these 900 former factory workers will find their way into the territories’ sole thriving industry, terrorism.

The leftist retort is that the settlements are illegal and they impoverish the Palestinians. Like most things that come from the left, the legality or illegality of the settlements is far and away more complex than stated, especially in the SodaStream case, which operates in Area C, an area legally under joint Israeli/Palestinian administration.

The factory was a glimmer of hope where hope is a rare commodity. It was a cooperative venture between Palestinians and Israelis, a reminder of what could and should be. Economic integration between Arabs and Israelis is the road to both peace and prosperity, just as it was in medieval Wales, where the market place brought Welshmen and Englishmen together in a common, vital interaction that assuaged their differences and over centuries transformed them into one people.

Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has spoken against BDS as

hurting the Palestinians. But the left knows better. For them, ideological purity is more valuable than alleviating the socio-economic conditions of the Palestinians. Oxfam cherishes its work in alleviating hunger, while in the Palestinian territories, it has just condemned 900 people and their families to the economic conditions it works to prevent.

Well done, BDS. You have helped extinguish that ray of hope that might lead to peace.

I DON’T GET IT!

Reflections from a friend of mine

I am now 68 years old. I am probably slowing down a bit so please bear with me as I share some of my frustrations with you. I just don’t get it.

My parents and teachers of blessed memory taught me to distinguish between right and wrong. It wasn’t very difficult. Most of it was actually straight forward, even intuitive. The principles I learned as a kid provided me with the tools to overcome the moral and ethical challenges I faced on my journey through life. I was taught to love, not to hate. I was taught to tolerate what I didn’t like. I was taught to respect my fellow man and made aware of my duties to society. I was taught the sanctity of human life.

It seems that not everybody was as fortunate as I was. Too many people, even those who claim to be intelligent, thinking and progressive, were born to different parents and taught by different teachers. They have been taught to hate and that tolerance is not a virtue. For them, human life is merely a commodity. Their distinction between right and wrong is dramatically different to what I was taught.

I read that Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has condemned Israel for not sharing its life saving Iron Dome air defense system with those who fire missiles at Israel’s civilian population with the sole intention of killing and maiming as many Israelis as possible. Does she require that my tax dollars be spent on protecting those committed to killing me? I don’t get it.

In the same way that capital cities around the world compete with one another to host quality marathons and gay parades, so do they strive to host increasingly violent anti-Israel demonstrations supporting Hamas aggression against Israel. Self-styled leaders of the International Community use hate speech to condemn Israel’s actions to defend herself. This hate speech provides the legitimacy for the racist slogans used on the banners at these demonstrations. I don’t get it.

The death toll in Syria is rapidly approaching 200,000. Surely that’s enough to warrant a demonstration in at least one of the world's capitals? I don’t get it.

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan uses the most disgusting inflammatory and blatantly anti-Semitic rhetoric against Israel. Who would have believed we would be subjected to this abomination less than 70 years after the Holocaust? The International Community condones his comments by its deafening silence. Has anti-Semitism become politically correct? Surely not. I don’t get it.

Qatar finances state of the art Islamic terror infrastructures.  I would have thought this is wrong but Qatar was chosen to host the 2022 World Cup. I don’t get it.

After finding missiles stockpiled in their schools, UNWRA advises Hamas this is against the rules. Either store them elsewhere or use them now! A UN clinic was booby-trapped and claimed the lives of Israeli soldiers entering the building. Shouldn’t UNICEF be concerned about the Hamas use of children as human shields? I thought UN agencies had humanitarian responsibilities. I don’t get it.

The UN hasn’t missed an opportunity to claim there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. If there are shortages of food and medical supplies and the housing, education, transport and social service infrastructures are sub-standard, how did the Gazans manage to construct such a sophisticated network of terror tunnels? The video footage now available has to be seen to fully comprehend this. How were they able to stockpile more than 9,000 missiles and other military hardware? I don’t get it.

Whatever steps Israel takes to defend her civilians are considered by the International Community as being contrary to International Law or, at best, disproportionate. How does the International Community expect Israel to defend the lives of its citizens against missiles and terror tunnels? I would have thought that proportionate was what it takes to achieve the objective. I don’t get it.

So many NGOs have been established to promote human rights. Why do many of them support movements like Hamas whose charter is genocidal and advocates ethnic cleansing? Surely that’s wrong. I just don’t get it.

Am I missing something? Is it because we are Jewish?

Condemnation of Murder

An open condemnation of the murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir

We unequivocally condemn the horrific murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir. It was unjustifiable under any circumstances. The killing was reprehensible and we hope that the criminals who did this sickening act are found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Israel is a country run by the rule of law. There are reports that Jews have been arrested for this crime. If a trial finds that Jews are indeed guilty of this unconscionable killing, our condemnation is redoubled. The idea that Jews could do such an act fills us with shame and horror.

The people who murdered Mohammed do not represent us in any way. It is not enough to dissociate ourselves from the dreadful act; we must also ensure that crimes like this are never repeated.

Just as the appalling murders of Naftali Fraenkel, Eyal Yifrach and Gilad Shaar do not in any way justify the hideous murder of Mohammed Abu Khdeir, neither does Khdeir's murder justify the violence, terrorism, destruction and incitement we have seen over the past few days against Israelis and Jews.

We hope and pray that everyone, Arab and Jew, lives in peace and security in the region.

Theater of the Absurd??

A letter I received recently is trying to gather support for a “Haaretz” (Israeli newspaper) Peace conference to be held shortly.

The letter states:

“In an effort to promote a broad and effective, "peace coalition" that can bring an end to the “Theater of the Absurd” produced by the Government of Israel, we a group of friends from different professional backgrounds have contacted and continue to contact leading people in the Peace Camp .

WE are realists. We know that try as we may, our small initiative has minimal impact. Accordingly, we focus our attentions on people who can use their reputation , political clout and organisations to make a change . Someone has to listen to them and we need to back them in their efforts.

We ask for an immediate freeze in settlement building and the advancement of a two state solution

One has to ask:-

If the writers are realists, how come they don't realise that the basic Palestinian aim is not peace? Yes, they want a peace, but a peace without Israel and a Palestine without Jews.

Who says so? They, the Palestinians do. Continually and emphatically.

Why aren't the letter writers, who claim to be realists, listening to the Palestinians, both Hamas and Fatah?

Have the letter writers taken note of the Hamas Charter and the PNC covenant? Have they actually read them clause by clause?

Surely Israel has to pay some attention to what the Palestinians (and their allies) broadcast in their media, what they teach their children, and the campaigns to demonise Israel that are being carried out throughout their society and the entire world.

It would be wise man who could suggest there was something Israel could do that would satisfy the Palestinians and the wider Muslim and Arab world and bring about a real and lasting peace. But it is hard to think what that might be.

Any peace initiatives will be wasted as long as the Palestinians stick to their long term plan of eventually getting the land from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. They are preparing the ground very nicely by demonising Israel with BDS campaigns and the like until the words Nazi, apartheid, etc. are synonymous with the Jewish state and Zionism is a dirty a word as the word “Jew” used to be.

Palestinians and their supporters are preparing public opinion worldwide to accept that Israel must go. And they aren't making a bad job of it. At the moment we haven't reached that point, but there is a real danger that we will.

Meanwhile we must actively promote our own case and our own cause, and not keep telling the world that it's Israel’s fault that there isn't peace here.

Looking at what is going on around us, with ISIS making gains, already with a presence in Gaza and a possible threat to Jordan, what odds would anyone give Abbas if he came to an agreement with Israel.

The Middle East in practically on fire, dangerous and turbulent and Israel must keep all its security options open. The main danger in the area doesn't come from building blocks of flats.

Why it is hypocritical to boycott Israel

The following report confirms that more and more people are now beginning to realize that BDS is irrational and not promoting peace in any form. Its main objective seems to be eliminating the State of Israel from the map.

The journalist below has withstood the pressure from BDS activists to cancel his visit and explains why.

Jake Wallis Simons  May 5th, 2014

http://tinyurl.com/ln65lrr

 

We're not normally called upon to justify a decision to travel abroad. Few people would challenge me if I were visiting China, despite that country’s appalling human rights record, repression of free speech, and colonisation of Tibet. If I was travelling to America, even though Predator drones kill hundreds of innocent people each year, and even though Guantanamo Bay still holds 154 detainees, nobody would complain.

I would not be criticised for travelling to Egypt, which has become a police state that imprisons journalists, attacks protesters, and sentences political opponents to death. Nobody would suggest that I boycott India; or Pakistan; or Venezuela; or Saudi Arabia; or indeed Britain, which – I seem to recall – ignored the United Nations and attacked Iraq.

I could go on. But later this month, I am planning to travel to Israel to appear in the Jerusalem literary festival. As surely as night follows day, I have received an “open letter” from a group of 71 activists calling themselves the British Writers in Support of Palestine (BWIP), led by a poet and “professional Tarot card reader”. They were, I was informed, “extremely disappointed” by my decision, and “respectfully encouraged” me to boycott the event. But I am honoured to have been invited to Israel, and will be proud to attend. Here’s why.

It is my strong belief that Israel is, relatively speaking, a force for good in the world. I’m not saying that it is free from controversy, and I’m not saying that I have no sympathy with Palestinians. But every country that abides by the democratic process, enshrines in law the rights of women and minorities, and conducts itself with compassion both in war and in peace – or at least aspires to do so – deserves our support and respect.

But what about Israel’s flouting of international law, I hear you ask? Very well: but has Britain always been squeaky clean? I have already mentioned the example of Iraq. Britain intentionally bombed civilian targets during the Second World War, which was the last time we were under existential threat (the Area Bombing Directive ordered the RAF to attack the German workforce and destroy morale). Moreover, the Army’s Combined Services Detailed Interrogation Centre, based in Kensington Palace Gardens, London, between 1940 and 1948, carried out systematic torture on enemy prisoners. If we were at war again, against an enemy that was able to strike at the heart of our civilian population centres, how would we behave?

Would we, perhaps, be tempted to react as we did when the IRA were terrorising the streets of London? Would we reprise the British Army’s Operation Demetrius of 1971, which allegedly included detention without trial, beating, starving, hooding for long periods, harassment with dogs, placing nooses around prisoners’ necks, forcible head shaving, denying prisoners clothes, forcing them to run barefoot behind Army vehicles, burning them with cigarettes, dragging them by the hair and pressing guns to their heads? Would Bloody Sunday, in which 26 protesters and bystanders were shot by British paratroopers, happen again?

These examples are particularly relevant when you consider the geographical, topographical and historical context in which Israel exists. The Jewish state is roughly the size of Wales, with a ridge of high ground running along the middle of the West Bank. If Britain were surrounded by hostile neighbours at such close proximity, some of which contained terror groups bent on the destruction of the country, would we be doing any better? And would a fearful British public be outraged at the Army’s brutality? Or relieved that it was keeping us safe?

It is significant that a man who knows war, Colonel Richard Kemp – the former commander of Britain’s armed forces in Afghanistan – testified to the UN Human Rights Council that the Israeli military does “more to safeguard the rights of civilians in a combat zone than any other army in the history of warfare”. It is right that every instance of military abuse should be treated gravely. But this does not justify a boycott.

From a historical point of view, Israel has been attacked repeatedly by an enemy bent on its destruction (when the Arab world attempted to liquidate the Jewish State in 1967, the settlements had not yet been built). The country has suffered terror attack after terror attack, tragedy after tragedy. Clearly, whatever the boycott activists may say, to draw a parallel with pre-1994 South Africa is ludicrous.

Of course, Israel presents many areas of concern. In particular, the situation on the West Bank is disturbing, as are the societal disadvantages that confront minorities in Israel, particularly Israeli Arabs. The army has been guilty of heavy-handedness many times. And it is sad to witness the tit-for-tat violence the plagues the region, not to mention the heavy civilian losses that are sustained by Palestinians in warfare.

Again, I could go on. But to boycott Israel alone reveals a deeply partisan approach to the conflict, and a ridiculously naïve and even hypocritical one.

By the standards of the pro-boycott activists, should the Palestinians not also be boycotted? Their society is severely intolerant of homosexuals, many of whom go to live in Israel rather than face oppression at home. Both on the West Bank and in Gaza, the authorities regularly harass and imprison journalists who criticise their leaders; last year, 26-year-old Anas Said Awwad was sent to prison for one year for "insulting" President Mahmoud Abbas by depicting him as a member of the Real Madrid football team on Facebook.

Moreover, the Palestinian government has signed a reconciliation deal with a terror organisation, and within weeks they may form a unity government. And as I reported in the Telegraph last week, the Palestinian leadership pays huge financial rewards to those convicted of terror offences, and cold-blooded child killers are celebrated as heroes when they are released.

If all of this does not merit a boycott, I don't know what does.

While we’re on the subject, shouldn’t the BWIP have called their group “British Writers In Support of Palestine and Israel”? And if not, why not?

For these reasons I am proud to be travelling to Israel later this month. As a journalist I value objectivity above all, and am not interested in closing my ears to one side of any story, particularly a story as complex as this. And as a novelist, my concern is with the human condition; attending a festival with fellow writers and artists who are not afraid of challenging ideas can only be a good thing.

And given that according to a YouGov poll, three-quarters of Britons “see no reason why British performers should not travel to Israel” – and fewer than one in five Britons believe that Israeli artists should be barred from the UK – I travel in the knowledge that I have public opinion on my side.