In Their Own Words…

Hamas: “Half of Palestinians are Egyptian and the Other Half are Saudi”

Muslim Brotherhood: “We Will Restore the Caliphate, with Jerusalem as its Capital”

Iranian Cleric Issues Fatwa on German-Based Rapper

May 10, 2012

A senior Iranian cleric has issued a Fatwa on a Germany-based Iranian rapper for insulting Islam, the Fars news agency reported Wednesday.

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Shahin Najafi

Najafi, 31, was forced to move to Germany when his politically-motivated lyrics for an underground band he was associated in Iran, earned him a ban.

His songs mostly deal with issues such as theocracy, poverty, sexism, censorship, child labor, execution and drug addiction.

My Two Cents

In June 2011, Germany refused to sell lethal injection drugs to the United States due to the former’s opposition to the death penalty.

This week, a foreign country’s judges have called for the murder of a German resident because he exercised his right to free expression, a freedom that Germany claims to protect.

Where is Germany’s protest now?

IDF Thwarts Attacks

May 4, 2012

IDF forces arrested overnight Friday a Palestinian man with a 14 centimeter blade in his possession, outside Elon Moreh settlements in the West Bank.

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On Thursday, Border Guard officers arrested two Palestinians in possession of pipe bombs and knives near Tapuach Junction.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4224624,00.html

IDF Prevents Terror Attack

April 28, 2012

IDF troops nabbed … a Palestinian in possession of two explosive devices near the Hawara roadblock in the West Bank, south of Nablus.

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Last Saturday, Border Guard and Judea and Samaria police forces thwarted a terror attack in the area after detaining two Palestinians armed with four pipe bombs, a handgun and some ammunition.

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Some three weeks ago, another terrorist was detained in possession of seven improvised explosive devices, three knives and rifle bullets. The suspect was nabbed while going through a West Bank roadblock.

Arab Israelis: “Independence Day A Day Of Mourning For The Palestinian people”

April 26, 2012

“The Jews’ independence day is our day of mourning,” thousands of Arab Israelis chanted Thursday during a march commemorating the “Nakba,” or the “catastrophe” of the establishment of the State of Israel.

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A number of Arab Knesset members, as well as Raed Salah, the head of the Islamic Movement in Israel’s northern branch, were among the thousands who took part in the rally.

“Independence Day is a day of mourning for the Palestinian people, and on this day we remember the victims of the expulsion and expropriation,” said MK Jamal Zahalka (National Democratic Assembly).

My Two Cents

Of course, Israel’s independence did not result in the expulsion of Arabs. In fact, Israel’s Declaration of Independence states:

WE APPEAL – in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months – to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions.

It’s true that many Arabs were displaced during the preceding and following months – as were many Jews. This was a consequence not of Israel’s independence, but of the war started by Palestinian Arabs and carried on by Arab countries to prevent Israel’s existence, and later, to destroy it.

In truth, this march has nothing to do with any “expulsion” or “expropriation,” and everything to do with Israel’s existence. This is why, of all the days the marchers could have chosen to commemorate their calamity, they chose Israel’s Independence Day. What’s more, they chose the Hebrew anniversary of Israel’s Independence Day – that is, the fifth of the Hebrew month, Iyar, the day that coincided with May 14, 1948. They chose the date that should mean something to the Jews alone because the march is not to commemorate anything that happened to the Arabs, but to mourn that which occurred for the Jews: the creation of the State of Israel.

Once again, they’ve shown that they do not take issue with Israel’s presence in Jerusalem or Judea and Samaria, but with Israel’s presence in Tel Aviv, Petah Tikvah, Haifa…and every other part of Israel.

And these marchers include Arab members of the Israeli Knesset! This is comparable to a member of the US Congress mourning the creation of the United States. Absurd and intolerable.

And yet this shows, once again, the extent of freedom Israel provides its citizens (perhaps foolishly so) – that members of its government can voice protest against its very existence without fear.

Two Attacks Amid Israeli Independence Day Celebrations

April 26, 2012

Rocket Attack:

An air raid siren was sounded on Wednesday night and one rocket exploded in the region.

Residents told Ynet that at around half past midnight, at the height of an Independence Day party, a siren sounded. Some of the residents said that they also heard an explosion.

Family Attacked:

The Shukrun family arrived at a park located in the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the Jerusalem Cinematheque, to celebrate Independence Day

“…It was calm; there were a number of Jewish and Arab families near us so we weren’t scared. My kids played soccer with the Arab children,” Tzipi said.

Yonatan Shukrun, Terror Victim

But as the family was preparing to leave, the [Arab] teens approached and began cursing. “My two brothers, my father and another teenager tried to prevent them from reaching my children. In response, they took out clubs, chains and a knife and began brutally attacking the children,” Tzipi said, adding that the assailants yelled out “Yahud (Jew).

PA Sentences Arab To Death For Selling Land To Jews

April 23, 2012

Former Palestinian intelligence official Muhammad Abu Shahala has reportedly been sentenced to death by the Palestinian Authority for selling a Hebron home to Jews. In response, Jewish officials from the community in Hebron are calling for international officials now to get involved—in order to save Abu Shahala’s life.

My Two Cents

If Israel had sentenced a Jew to death for selling land to an Arab, you can be sure the international community would not need to be “called on” to get involved.