The yearly Arab Christmas scam

Every year around Christmas a clever routine has been figured out by the Anti-Israeli campaigners. From the best minds of the unholly Islamist-leftist coalition comes the scam, that shamefully hijacks Christmas, to shock the average Western media consumer. The purpose is, as always, the demonization and vilification of Israel. And it works. Just look at what The Independent twitted on December 25th - the day of Christmas:

No normal human being can remain indifferent in the face of such "injustice". No human being can ignore the suffering of the "poor Palestinians" at the hands of the "evil Zionist occupation". And on the most sacred of holidays, close and dear to everyone in the world too!

A picture is worth a thousand words, and this would, understandably, be the natural human reaction to such an image. I don't doubt that this was the emotion, The Independent Twitter editor was guided by, when he retwitted the image. Yet, since pictures do tell us a thousand words, let's not miss a single one. Look at it closely. What's that lying on the ground on the left side of the image? Besides the foot of one of the paramedics? And in the hand of the other? That's right, it's a gas mask. And why would a "peacefully protesting" "Santa" need a gas mask? Well, that would be why:

Photos by Iyas Abu Rahma.

The scam works as follows: Arab provocateurs dress up like Santa and then go on violent riots against the IDF and/or The Border Police. When the violent riots are suppressed, amazing, perfect, highly effective photos are ready for the gullible world media - photos of struck down Santas!

Works like a charm every year.

Now, here are a few crucially important facts to know and realize about Bethlehem. The believed birthplace of Jesus Christ, has been almost entirely emptied of Christian population. Since the implementation of The Oslo Accords in 1995, the city was governed by the Palestinian Authority. Since then the life of Chrisitians in the town has been made practically impossible by their fellow Muslim Arabs. From a Christian majority under Israeli rule, the Christian population in Bethlehem has dwindled to less than 7% under Palestinian rule, and roughly a thousand leave every year. Most Bethlehem Chrisitians live abroad today. Muslims pretend to be Christians for tourists. Muslims pretend to be Christians for Pope's visits. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]

That "peaceful Santa protester"? 93% he's not a Christian.

Christy Anastas, a Christian from Bethlehem, tells her story in Uppsala University earlier this year.

Another popular, recurring line of "narrative" is the "Mary and Joseph meeting the IDF" storyline. "What would happen if Mary and Joseph would come to Bethlehem today?" The fallacy claims "Joseph and pregnant with baby Jesus Mary would be stopped at an Israeli checkpoint, at the security barrier, by the IDF. Oh, those evil Zionists!"

The reality is, as usually, vastly different. If there was no security barrier in today's situation, the couple of Jews, Mary and Joseph, would have been lynched by a crazed Arab mob upon entering Bethlehem. Tragically, this is not a mere "racist slur". Exactly that happened in another Palestinian governed city - Ramallah in 2000. A crowd of some 1,000 Arabs, who were minding their own daily business just moments before, quickly flocked together demanding the blood of Israelis, who mistakenly entered the town. 

So Mary and Joseph, if alive today, would thank God for having the security given to them by the IDF.

The projections of leftist fantasy (left) and the grim reality of Ramallah, 2000.

The reality, of course, infuriates the Islamist-leftist agitator. In reality Israel is the only safe haven for Christians not only in the entire Middle East, but also in the entire North Africa. Israel is the only place in the region where Christians, just like any other religious confession, are free to worship as they please.  Israel is the only place in the region where Christian population actually grows. Israel is the only place in the region where Christians are not only not persecuted, but are encouraged to take an active part in soceity.

Much like in Bethlehem, Christians are persecuted in the entire Muslim world. 

Raymond Ibrahim, author of 'The Al Qaeda Reader', explains.

So, enjoy this beautiful Holiday Season, wether you celebrate Hannukah, Christmas or The New Year. May this season finally bring more quiet than conflict to the world.

And may you use your brain every day this new year!

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The source of violence in the world

How many times have you heard the claim that Israel is one of the most violent places on Earth? The source of violence in the world, in fact? The root cause of global Islamic terrorism? How many world polls have put Israel among the biggest threats to world peace [1, 2, 3, 4]? This claim is repeated way too often and absolutely matter-of-factly, as if it was some common knowledge, an undisputed axiom. It is repeated by highly influential individuals; statesmen, scholars [1, 2], media [1, 2, 3]. Many of those individuals are otherwise perfectly sane and quite intelligent.

So how can they be so ignorant in this matter?

Let's try to put emotions aside and look at the facts. Just some cold numbers.

In the entire (entire!) 154 (one hundred and fifty four) years of the Israeli-Arab conflict a total (total!) of 121,879 people (Arabs AND Jews) were killed. During that period of time we had all-encompassing wars, military operations, Intifadas and also many years of relative quiet. Still that's a lot of people. That's a lot of wasted lives. That's something we all wish to put an end to already.

But let's compare that to some of the other current conflicts. Just a few from the top of my head.

In 2006 the then Mexican President Felipe Calderón proclaimed a war on the drug cartels. Since then, according to a leading Mexican newspaper 'La Jornada', and up to 2012 (6 years) more then 136,000 people were killed as a result of this drug war. That's approximately 11.6% more than the casualties of our entire conflict, except they were slaughtered some 29 times faster. Since the drug war isn't over, it's safe to assume these numbers are much higher today.

Mass protests in Mexico City, demanding justice for the 43 missing students,

recently identified dead, as the violence in Mexico continues. 

Since 2011 (4 years) more then 200,000 people were killed in the ongoing Syrian civil war. That's approximately 40% more, 38.5 times as fast.

Homs, a destroyed Syrian city.

Numbers vary significantly, but the most modest of estimations talk of 2.7 million (million!) dead in the many civil wars in Congo since 1998. These conflicts still continue to this day and the country is in a state of constant crisis. I won't even do the math on Congo.

When was the last time you even heard of Congo?

A fragment of the two million Congolese refugees.

Too bad they don't have a private, unique refugee agency all for them.

Now, don't get me wrong, dear Anti-Semites; I'm not saying that the Israeli-Arab conflict is okay, because in many other places in the world the carnage is much worse. I, just like any other Zionist, am not proud of a single dead. I, just like any other Zionist, wish for the violence to stop. But with that said, a certain sense of proportionality must be implied. My point is - Israel is not "the root cause of violence in the world". It's a tiny insignificant speck in the vast oceans of global violence.

The claim Israel is the reason for the rise of Islamic terrorism is equally absurd. The Syrians are not slaughtering each other because of the "Israeli occupation" of 1967. Nigerian Sunnis don't murder hundreds of other Sunnis because of Israel. The Islamic State is not slaughtering Kurds and Yazidis because Jews go up on The Temple Mount. They can't even show it on a map.

And you'll tell me: "But Israel is a democracy! We hold Israel to a higher standard!"

The moment you hold the Israelis to a "higher standard", you automatically hold the Congolese, the Syrian and the Mexican (who, are democratic as well, by the way) to a lower standard.

Not to speak of the supremacist patronizing of the Palestinians that phrase implies.

Besides, it'll be interesting for you to know, that Jerusalem as the capital of, not only Israel, but also the entire Israeli-Arab conflict, with all its religious and national tensions is much safer right now than such "perfectly peaceful" and "fully democratic" cities like: Edinburgh, Reykjavik, Copenhagen, Toronto, Berlin, Amsterdam, Vienna, Helsinki, Madrid, Sydney, Oslo, London, New York, Los Angeles, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Rome and Dublin - just to name a few. Speaking in violence rates, Jerusalem is not even on the same planet as Baltimore, New Orleans and Detroit.

So, you see, wether you "hold it to it" or not, Israel is on a higher standard than the absolute majority of countries.

Former AP correspondent Matti Friedman explains CNN the media bias over Israel.

Despite what the media and the academia tell you, the Israeli-Arab conflict is not one of the main, most significant, highly crucial conflicts in the world. While solving it, is obviously an utmost priority to its direct participants, it bares practically zero impact on the planet. Solving it won't solve the world's problems, won't stop Islamic terrorism and won't prevent a third World War.

So next time you hear your local media pumping "Israel this, Israel that" in your local news, switch to something more relevant to you, something closer to home or, perhaps, something truly crucial to the world's security.

Or just try using your brains. It's simple and pleasant.

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What makes a 'right wing activist'?

What does it take to be labeled a 'right wing activist'? Radical ideas? Hardliner beliefs? Violence? 

In the case of Rabbi Yehuda Glick, it seems a long beard and a yarmulke were enough.

On Wednesday last week Rabbi Yehuda was shot four times by an Arab terrorist at close range in Jerusalem. He was badly wounded. As I was writing these lines, he was operated four times, and now, it seems, he's recovering. The media, reporting on the (political) assassination attempt was quick to label Glick 'a right wing activist', as if explaining to the readers: "this is all his fault, the poor Arab terrorist had no choice". But is it fair to label Glick thus? Let's look at the facts, and examine his actual activity.

Photo from Yehuda Glick's official Facebook page.

Yehuda Glick advocates for the right of Jews to visit and pray on the holiest place for Jews - The Temple Mount. As it currently stands  Jews are allowed to visit the sacred site only a number of hours a day, excluding Fridays. Saturdays and Muslim Holidays. They, much like the tourists, can enter the Mount from one specific entrance alone, but unlike the tourists they are subjugated to meticulous security checks to make sure they're not carrying any Judaic items. They are also strictly forbidden from praying, and are usually accompanied by a Jordanian Waqf member, who makes sure they don't even mutter anything or appear to be praying at heart.

Let me repeat that: Jews are not allowed to pray in the holiest place for Jews in the Jewish state. Most of the time they're not even allowed in. Furthermore, the single entrance allowed to Jews is often closed depending solely on the mood of the Arabs (1, 2, 3, 4).

Apartheid, anyone?

The Arabs, who also claim The Mount to be a (third most) holy place to them, on the other hand are free to enter the Mount from any entrance at any time. Entrance to the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock, that are located there, is barred from all non-Muslims. This discriminatory status-quo is kept in order to "keep the peace" and to "avoid provocation". Many believe in all seriousness that this is "the most inflammable / explosive / tense place in the Middle East / the entire world" and that "it would start for sure The Third Intifada / World War III" (!). The moronic notion the Second Intifada started because of then PM Ariel Sharon's visit to The Temple Mount (!) still prevails in the Israeli mainstream.

These absurd claims are, of course, overblown beyond belief. No serious comparative, academic study can actually compare or connect The Temple Mount, and the violence it might have "ignited", to the rivers of blood being spilled right now in the Middle East, let alone the world. No sane person would ever buy into the "it's all Sharon's visit's fault". Still, if IQ isn't your top feature, there is now a multitude of evidence revealing Yasser Arafat's careful pre-planning of the Intifada (1, 2). And yet, Israeli governments tiptoe around the Temple Mount issues, perpetuating both the racist and the religious discrimination against its own people. Status Quos seem to be an addiction.

By the way, if you support these Status Quos, you're either: A. An Anti-Semite - believing a "Judenrein" policy is the best way for peace. B. A racist - "understanding" and thus - enabling and encouraging senseless and violent Arab behavior, the likes of which you wouldn't tolerate from anyone else on the planet. C. Both.

Congrats!

In the meantime Arabs destroy archaeological relics in their "holy site", pile garbage at their "holy site", allow kids to play soccer at their "holy site", stockpile rocks and fireworks to riot violently and attack Jews with inside their "holy site".

The sad state of things at the Muslim administered "holy site".

In the meantime that infamous, much feared "Third Intifada" is already raging for months in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria. No matter how silent will the media be, or what euphemisms will it come up with to describe the situation, forgetting that "Intifada" is in itself a euphemism for "terror war".

As Churchill is commonly paraphrased:
"You were given the choice between war and dishonor.
You chose dishonor and you will have war."

So coming back to my original question and to Rabbi Yehuda Glick. What was he doing to deserve 4 bullets? Was he indeed a "right wing radical"? Was he indeed "provoking" the Muslims? Was he "inflaming" the entire Middle East, as all the radical Muslim Facebook pages shout, and the "liberal" media cheerfully repeats? Was he, perhaps, calling to destroy the Muslim holy sites and replace them with Jewish ones? Was he indeed "the most dangerous man in the Middle East"(!) ?

A photo taken from a radical Islamic Facebook page.
Tagline says in broken Hebrew: "Death to you soon".

Not at all. Not even close. His message is a message of peace, coexistence and unity. Just check the videos below. This has always been his message both in Hebrew and in English. Even those videos on YouTube with incitement in Arabic over them prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Yehuda is a man of peace. A Human Rights activist advocating for freedom of religion, not a "right wing activist".

He, on the other hand, was often a victim on The Temple Mount of verbal and often physical abuse.

Rabbi Yehuda Glick. Judge for yourselves.

Furthermore, Rabbi Yehuda is as apolitical a person as one could get. He never goes into any of the issues I described above. He always makes it his point not to pass judgement on any politicians or any government decisions. In one of the Temple Mount conventions he arranged, that I visited (a convention much like the one after which he was shot), some of the speakers were, for example, quick to call for the resignation of the Internal Security Minister, in light of the growing and violent unrest in the capital. Not so Yehuda. He publicly pronounced in the very beginning of the conference he has no criticism to pass on any politician, nor on the work of the police. Just a deep belief that All is One and a dream of a Prayer House for All Nations, a center for all monotheistic religions.

Rabbi Glick's ideology put to practice on The Temple Mount.
Sharing a prayer with the Muslims in Arabic and later in Hebrew in good spirits.

And this is, of course, the reason he was targeted by the radical Islamists. Not because he's a radical, but because he's a moderate. Because he's the epitome of moderation. And that's scary to the Arab extremist. That is much more dangerous to the radical, militant Islam than any far-right oponent, because The Temple Mount must remain a "scary" place for the Jews. Rabbi Yehuda is bringing the Temple Mount to the mainstream consciousness of the Jewish people, where it belongs, and he does it without violence or extremism. And if that happens, if The Temple Mount will return to the mainstream of the Jewish people, the entire "indigenous Palestinian" narrative will collapse as the fallacy that it is.

Glick's humorous reaction to a shoe, thrown at him by a Muslim woman on The Temple Mount.

And that's what it's all about. This is why the enemy positions The Temple Mount as the heart of the conflict and gives it so much weight in their propaganda. We, the "enlightened" and the "civilised" in Israel and in the West, can fool ouserves that it's about the "67 borders", or "the occupation", or "the two state solution", or whatever. It's not. It's time for all to realize, The Temple Mount is not a sideline issue for the fanatic and religious, but the very heart of our national conflict.

As a Western, liberal, atheist, I'd like to add that I would expect my country, as a free, democratic country that it is, to equate this religious site to all other religious site, of which our tiny land has an abundance of. No reason whatsoever to treat The Temple Mount with "special needs". Visiting hours should be, if not the same then, similar to the visiting hours of the Jewish Western Wall or the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Access should be opened to all without exception, like it is on the Jewish Western Wall or the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Finally, a site so obviously filled with history, should have archaeological works on it 24/7. 

Those of you who pray, pray for Rabbi Yehuda Glick's speedy and full recovery.

Those of you who don't, keep using your brains.

Yours truly at The Temple Mount earlier this year. 

A "right wing provocation", isn't it?

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Yom Kippur and false conceptions

Last Saturday Jews in Israel and Worldwide observed Yom Kippur. A day of repentance, forgiveness, fasting, prayer and soul searching.

This is also the anniversary of the 1973 Yom Kippur War, a war that is largely remembered in the Israeli consensus as the most traumatic. A coalition of Arab armies led by Egypt and Syria attacked Israel on its holiest day, in what is generally seen by the mainstream Israeli discourse as a "great surprise" and the result of Israeli "complacency". Some scholars put in on par with the greatest military surprises of the 20th century: Operation Barbarossa and the attack on Pearl Harbor.

This year, 41 years later, just like any other, Israeli newspapers, tv shows and internet portals all dealt deeply with that war, providing even more new stories, angles, insights, excuses and apologies. Much is said about a sort of a PTSD the nation still suffers from 41 years later. Interestingly enough, if we look at the results objectively, it's easy to put Yom Kippur War in the same line with The War of Independence and The Six-Day War along with Israel's greatest victories. Just to put things into perspective: the unanimously-agreed "triumphant" Six-Day War lasted (as the name suggests) for 6 days; the generally-considered "disastrous" Yom Kippur War lasted for two weeks and a half. Helplessly outnumbered and surprised in the beginning, the war ended in the outskirts of Cairo and Damascus, not Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem. It was after the Yom Kippur War that the Arab countries' ambition to destroy Israel by force was crushed, (turning instead to propaganda and "indigenous" narratives). And still, perhaps in line with the Yom Kippur traditions, we keep repenting and searching within ourselves, trying to realize how did we go "so wrong"? What lessons can we learn from the mistakes of 1973? How can we make sure we don't repeat them?

IDF accepts surrendering enemy soldiers in Egypt (left) and Syria in 1973.

And here comes the interesting part: the mainstream is convinced the great surprise of the attack was allowed by the "false conception" the command was trapped in. The intelligence knew of the Arab armies' preparations, the soldiers in the Sinai peninsula saw the movement of the Egyptian forces, Golda Meir received the warning of King Hussein of Jordan, and still the false conception prevailed. The conception the Arabs will not actually dare to attack. Now let me ask you: if that was indeed the case, are we not wasting Yom Kippur War's lessons away? Are we not trapped again in a false conception?

For some 20 years now Israeli governments, left and right, operated within the paradigm of the two-states solution, "land for peace" formula and the belief that only the establishment of a Palestinian country in the very heart of our own will solve all our problems. This, however, was tried and failed numerously. If there's indeed any science in "political science", then these "experiments" and "observations" must be taken into the most serious of consideration.

1. Israel went through with the Oslo Accords, establishing (and arming) the Palestinian Authority, relinquishing control over Areas A and B in Judea and Samaria, hoping this would end violence and become a step towards peace. Instead we received a rise in violence, terror and bombings. It took Operation "Defensive Shield" and the construction of the Security Barrier to bring bloodshed coming from the PA to a halt.

2. Israel left Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah took over and started terrorizing the Israeli north with missile fire. Israel had to return and engage Hezbollah in 2006 in what was dubbed the Second Lebanon War.

3. Israel disengaged from the Gaza Strip in 2005, extracting all military and civilian presence and pulling back to the revered (pre-)67 borders. Instead of establishing a prosperous Palestinian state, Hamas (who took over by force in 2007 after winning the elections by a landslide) invested millions (millions!) of international aid money in its terror industry. Millions that could have went to infrastructure and welfare. Since then three military operations and counting were needed to block Arab aggression against Israel.

Infographic taken from http://www.idfblog.com.

If the main disagreement between PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who is considered to be a right wing conservative and Zehava Gal-on, leader of the far left Meretz party is where the border with the future Palestinian state would be, how many Jewish "settlers" will be evacuated, will Jerusalem be divided or not, then at the end of the day both of them are operating within left-of-center, destructive, proven wrong time and again paradigm. We are trapped once again in a false conception. This conception tells us to ignore the realities on the ground and the historical precedents for the sake of some pre-constructed ideas, and believe the hostilities towards Israel will magically stop with the establishment of a Palestinian state. Lest we want to repeat the mistake of Yom Kippur, we must start thinking outside the box. The excuse of the left used to be "well, what is your alternative?", suggesting there's no choice but the two states. Well, now we have a countless array of classical right wing alternatives. It's time to be original and brave and invest the money, intelligence and think tanks that go into the "peace process" industry towards finding an actual working and lasting solution. Sure, it's not going to be easy and it is going to be very expensive. There are no magical solutions. But all is better than a certain suicide.

Happy Tishrei holidays, all!

Don't stop using your brains!

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Shut down UNRWA! part 1

This is a call to action, and you won't find a lot of those in this blog. It's time to raise awareness around the world to the nature of this organization and its actions. It's time everybody knew the difference between what this body claims to do and what it actually does.

It has nothing to do with your political persuasion. Whether you're 'left' or 'right', pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian, pro-Two-State-Solution or pro-One-State-Solution.

It's time for everyone to unite and call to shut down UNRWA!

Make no mistake, this call is not only because of the recent developments. It's not only because of the suspicion that the Hamas mortar that killed a 4-year-old boy on Friday, was fired from an UNRWA school. It's not only because of the fact that terror rockets were found on three different occasions in UNRWA schools in Gaza. It's not only because UNRWA returned the missiles to the "local authorities" - i.e. Hamas terrorists on at least one of the occasions. Make no mistake, these developments are horrific, and could certainly be enough to make such a call, or at least a call to launch a serious investigation into UNRWA and its conduct. But the reasons to shut down this corrupt facility go way deeper than that.

UNRWA - United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or as their logo states in short, the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, and The UNHCR - The United Nations High Comissioner for Refugees, or as their logo states in short, The UN Refugee Agency, were created roughly at the same time and, you'd think, for the same reasons.

Notice any difference?

The difference, however, is not only in the logo and the tagline. Lets see what the agencies tell us about themselves in their own websites!

UNHCR mandate: "The agency is mandated to lead and co-ordinate international action to protect refugees and resolve refugee problems worldwide."

UNRWA mandate: "We provide assistance and protection for some 5 million registered Palestine refugees to help them achieve their full potential in human development."

UNHCR statement of purpose: "Its primary purpose is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees. It strives to ensure that everyone can exercise the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another State, with the option to return home voluntarily, integrate locally or to resettle in a third country."

UNRWA statement of purpose: "The Agency’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance, including in times of armed conflict."

UNHCR defines refugees through the legislation of the 1951 Geneva Refugee Convention: "a refugee is a person who is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail him — or herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution." They also add that: "A person may no longer be a refugee when the basis for his or her refugee status ceases to exist. This may occur when, for example, refugees voluntary repatriate to their home countries once the situation there permits such return. It may also occur when refugees integrate or become naturalized in their host countries and stay permanently."

UNRWA has its own, unique definition, as it proudly states: "UNRWA is unique in terms of its long-standing commitment to one group of refugees. It has contributed to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestine refugees, defined as “persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.” The descendants of Palestine refugee males, including legally adopted children, are also eligible for registration."

UNHCR in figures: Around 8,600 employees, dealing with some 34 million refugees worldwide.

UNRWA in figures: More than 30,000 employees, only some 200 of them are not "Palestinian refugees" themselves, dealing with some 5 million "Palestine refugees".

UNHCR achievements: "In more than six decades, the agency has helped tens of millions of people restart their lives."

UNRWA achievements: "When the Agency began operations in 1950, it was responding to the needs of about 750,000 Palestine refugees. Today, some 5 million Palestine refugees are eligible for UNRWA services."

UNHCR (left) and UNRWA. More than a cosmetic difference.

Got it?

There are two kinds of refugees in the world: "Palestine refugees" and all other refugees. One agency is busy resettling refugees, another simply "takes care of them". One agency solves refugee problems, another perpetuates them. 

One group of refugees are the immediate individuals in need, another group passes their "refugee status" on to their children, grand children and grand-grand children. One group of refugees has to prove it was driven outside of their country of nationality or habitual residence, another has only to prove they resided in British Palestine for two years before the war (sorry, "indigenous Palestinian people" enthusiasts!). One group of refugees is dependant on objective criteria, another group is not dependant on anyhting at all. For example, it can have multi-millionaire "refugees", "refugees" who are already citizens of third countries, etc. One group seeks to get rid of its refugee status, another group seeks to join in by all means.

Unbelievable? Mind-blowing? Disturbing? Sickening? All of the above?

You're goddamn right!

After all it's not every day you get undeniable proof  of UN's double standards, hypocrisy, basic disregard of its own legislation and of any human decency whatsoever in its regard to the Israeli-Arab conflict directly from the horse's mouth!

So how did it ever come to this? How was UNRWA established? Why did "about 750,000 Palestine refugees" (a figure totally disproven) need a unique agency, with unique criteria all for themselves in a sea of tens of millions of refugees just like them?

When the attack of five Arab armies on the newly reborn state of Israel, with the stated purpose of "driving the Jews into the sea", surprisingly failed, some 609,071 Arab residents of British Palestine became refugees. Some were driven out by the winners, most escaped voluntarily, guided by the Arab promise of a quick triumph, after which they could return home, despite the Jewish leadership pleading them to stay and live side by side. Arab leadership insisted they leave, and after they've lost - surprise, surprise! - no place was found for them in the neighboring Arab countries. Instead of incorporating them in their countries they came up with the "Right of Return" for the Arab refugees of Palestine, which is in fact a Demand of Return, because no such "right" actually exists in international practice, no such precedent ever took place, no group of refugees nowhere in the world was ever eligible for such a "right".

Also, if we take into consideration some 800,000 Jewish refugees (around 200,000 more than the Arab ones) who were expelled from their (actual) ancestral homes in their Arab countries, following the Arab defeat in the War of Independence, who were incorporated in Israel as equal citizens, we get a simple population exchange. Yes, a sad practice. Yes, losing a home is always tragic. But, sadly, a common practice in the post WWII world, with more than 50 million people undergoing population exchange, as many new nation states were created. But, instead of acknowledging all this, the creation of UNRWA was pedalled. And voila! Whatever good and honest intention there might have been to the (initially temporary body) in the beginning, is long gone more than 60 years later.

Today there are roughly 8 times more people dependant on UNRWA than in 1950. 8 times more people still live in misery and want, unaccepted by their fellow Arab countries, unintegrated in their fellow Arab societies, living in conditions of true Apartheid (unlike the made-up, non-existent Israeli one). No one ever, in more then 60 years, lost his eligibility for UNRWA aid. The UNRWA register is filled with deceased individuals, "refugees" who in the meantime recieved citizenship elsewhere, grand children of refugees Why? To serve a weapon against the Jewish state, a means to vilify Israel at the cynical expense of their fellow Arabs. Since the original mandate (dealing with 1949 refugees) is no longer relevant in any way, UNRWA's mandate has developed and became more and more abstract to incorporate more and more fields, and employ more and more people. Now, this monster of corruption exists simply to keep existing and provide paychecks to its vast staff from the international community donations. 

When you try to sit down and look at the current events, and try to figure out why no solution seems to work, you have to go back to the beginning. And UNRWA was there at the biginning, part of the original sin, that perpetuates the conflict and the "Palestine refugee" status. UNRWA is nothing but an obstacle to peace. 

So, if you're pro-Palestinian, if you believe Palestinian refugees deserve the same human rights as everyone else on the planet, you must spread the word of the real nature of UNRWA. Talk about UNRWA, post about UNRWA, share information about UNRWA, use hashtag #ShutDownUNRWA on social media.

If you're ever serious about peace in the Middle East in our times, if you're ever serious about solving the Israeli-Arab conflict - UNRWA must go!

And just in case you're thinking, "sure, UNRWA perpetuates the problem, but it's also a legit, objective, non-aligned, humanitarian organization", then stay tuned for more coming up soon, as we'll explore some of UNRWA's recent activities and "achievements"!

Keep using those brains!

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History as farce

In 2002 Israel had to stop the, so called, "Second Intifada" - a bloody, terror war, waged against all Israelis by suicidal Arab terrorists. Israel launched operation Defensive Shield in the Arab towns and cities of Judea and Samaria. The operation along with the construction of the Security Barrier were eventually successful. Suicide bombings were practically entirely stopped. During the operation a tough battle took place in the, so called, "refugee camp" - really, a town just like any other, of Jenin. The Arabs made a huge international media uproar, claiming a "genocidal massacre" took place in the town, with the IDF "slaughtering" some 500 unarmed people. A propaganda "documentary" was even made by a prominent, successful Israeli Arab actor Mohammad Bakri, and naturally became a hit in film festivals.

The UN took the cries of the "oppressed, occupied Palestinians" very seriously and launched an investigation. The results? The claims of "massacre" turned out to be "slightly" exaggerated; 52 Arabs, not 500, were killed, most of them gunmen. Israel lost 23 soldiers in that battle, if anyone cares.

In 2008 Israel had to stop an increasing barrage of rockets, fired at Israeli civilian population from the Gaza strip. Israel launched operation Cast Lead to block the terrorist shelling on its villages, towns and cities. With the highest death toll since The Six Day War, the media uproar was higher than ever. Yet another UN Fact Finding mission was erected. Its conclusions, known as The Goldstone Report, were an absolute PR catastrophe for Israel, suggesting both parties might be guilty of War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.

Alas, to the dismay of the Antisemites all over the world, Judge Richard Goldstone publicly retracted his report two years later, especially those parts vilifying Israel.

And now it's 2014, and it's rockets from Gaza again, this time with terror tunnels, and it's operation Protective Edge. It's seems the operation is already practically over, but the death toll is alredy higher than that of Cast Lead. The Arabs with the omnipresent help of the bleeding hearts both from Israel and outside of it, are already drafting their statements, collecting their "evidence" and preparing the ground busily for their next day in court.

More than 1,800 Gazans were killed by the time I was typing these lines. Leading news outlets from all over the world claim that more than 80% of these victims are civilians, which immediately paints Israel as a bloodthirsty, trigger-happy monster in the eyes of the everyman. The world media is quick to take the word of official Gazan bodies on the matter, bodies with fancy, important-sounding names like "The Gaza Health Ministry" and "Gazan police". Both of these bodies are under the jurisdiction of... You got it! Hamas!

Your local media is cheerfuly citing Hamas as a credible sourse! Terror group Hamas, in case you were wondering, isn't exactly known for its truthfullness and honesty.

"The Independent" is independent from objectivity.

Now, lets play along for a second with the "official" data from Gaza, and assume it is actually accurate.

First of all, even with the ratios presented by Hamas, Israel would do better than the apparent norm of warfare.

Now, if indeed the goal of Israel was to "slaughter as many Gazans" as the Arab-leftist coalition tries to convince you, then the IDF, with its advanced weapons and powerful building-destroying missiles is not doing a very good job at all, is it? With the operation continuing for almost a month now, Israel's weapons in densely populated areas (and we've all heard the shameless "Gaza - the most densely populated city in the world lie"!), could achieve this amount in less than a day. In fact, the numbers presented by Gaza unwittingly prove Israel's restraint and care for civilian life. Don't get me wrong, every civilian casualty is a tragedy, and every Israeli would agree with me. But, here you have a country that's breaking world records in the extremes it takes to prevent the loss of civilian life, against an enemy that deliberately uses civilians as human shields, that considers every civilian death a victory to parade in front of the cameras.

If we take for granted Hamas data, then the unfortunate death of some 1,440 civilian casualties in an entire month of fighting is an astonishing, admirable, achievement of humanity on the part of the IDF.

Now, lets look at some more credible data. Until the fighting isn't completely over, we won't have fully accurate data, of course, but some agencies have already tried to name the dead. And I'm not talking about Israeli sources, don't jump! First, there's Al Jazeera, the well-known Arabic news outlet, and then there's The Palestinian Centre For Human Rights. Al Jazeera belongs to Qatar, that among other terrorist groups also funds Hamas, and the The Palestinian Centre For Human Rights... well, is just that. Not exactly "Zionist propaganda mouthpieces", are they? Now if you use the futuristic, unbelieavable, undoubtedly unavailable to any self-respecting, liberal journalist, tool of Excel, like the excellent team of CAMERA did, on the casualties names and ages presented by these bodies, you will notice a number of interesting patterns.

A graph of the male fatalities by age. The x axis is age, the y axis is the number of fatalities at the corresponding age. Graph produced by www.camera.org.

For example that fascinating jump in the number of male casualties, when they reach 17 that goes strong all the way to 39, when statistically this demographic numbers roughly 16% of the strip's population. Female casualties number less than 10% of all casualties, while they're roughly half of Gazan population. Teens under 17 and children represent about 20% of casualties. A tragedy, no doubt, but it is important to remember that in reality kids make up almost half of the population of Gaza.

Statistics on Palestinian society taken from the 'Palestinians at the end of 2013' report, 

produced by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. 

Now, while this analysis doesn't necessarily prove that the large chunk of young, able men of combat age are all terrorists, it certainly proves beyond a reasonable doubt Israel does NOT fire indescriminately and does NOT commit genocide. It also certainly raises way more than just a reasonable doubt on the "80% civilians" claim.

They say, history repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce. If The Goldstone Report was a tragedy (and for Israel, it certainly was), then this impending future International Investigation into "Israel's crimes" by all means will be a farce, and first and foremost a farce for the UN, who once again allowed itself to be fooled by the "Palestinian Cause".

If useful idiots would ever use their brains, they wouldn't have been useful idiots.

Use your brains! Don't be a useful idiot!

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Israeli military operations in Gaza: FACT vs FICTION

Yet again Israel was made to take action against the terrorist factions of Gaza. Yet again the escalation of rocket fire against Israeli civilian population became unbearable. Yet again Hamas and a variety of other Islamic terror groups have forced Israel's hand. And yet if you open the world media, you are unlikely to find these simple truths. All you're likely to find is "Israel attacking Gaza, killing civilians, murdering babies".

"Oh, no! Behold the tears of a child! The lamentations of a liberal journalist!"

What you're about to read is true and accurate. It's true and accurate now when the operation is only aerial. It'll be true and accurate whether ground forces enter or a ceasefire is achieved. It was true and accurate for operations 'Cast Lead' and 'Pillar of Defense'. It's true and accurate now for operation 'Protective Edge'. It'll be true and accurate two years from now for the next operation. Hopefully, though, two years from now it won't be needed.

Myth #1: "Israel attacked Gaza!" - BUSTED!

Even if you don't know a single thing about the Israeli-Arab conflict, or about geopolitics in general, or about the world - you can still use your brains! Ask yourself, why on Earth would a successful, prosperous, economically stable, democratic country attack a neighboring entity, unless, of course, it's provoked by it to do so?

Hamas terrorists have been firing rockets randomly at civilian Israeli population for some 10 years now. In recent years other "freedom fighting" groups like The Islamic Jihad and ISIS joined them. Their goal is killing as many Israelis (their randomly fired rockets don't distinguish between Jews and Arabs, in case you wondered), frightening all of the Israeli citizens into sitting in bomb shelters and ultimately destroying Israel. Israel TOLERATES these rocket drippings (a concept unimaginable to any other country in the world) for years and years at the expense of their own citizens' safety, who have to live in Gazan missile range (which grows with every year). This year Gazan rockets covered some 80% of Israel from Eilat in the south to Haifa in the north. Thus, the absolute majority of Israelis (and Judea and Samaria Arabs as well) have between 15 seconds to 2 minutes to get into a bomb shelter when the sirens go off. When the rocket "rain" becomes unbearable Israel has no choice but retaliate.

So, for Israel it's not about "attacking Gaza", it's about executing a counter-terrorism offensive. It's about bringing peace and quiet back to the citizens.

Diagram from The Wall Street Journal.

Myth #2: "Israel commits genocide!!!1" - BUSTED!

Israel strikes terror targets in Gaza. Rocket launch sites, arms warehouses, smuggling tunnels, weapon workshops, residences of terror leaders. The problem is all those are hidden deep within civilian population. Israel uses its top technology to make sure the strikes are as accurate and surgical as possible, and that there are as little civilian casualties as possible.

Now, last time I checked, the definition of "genocide" is a deliberate and systematic annihilation of a people. In what universe (besides that of a Haaretz reader/writer, of course) does the aforementioned constitute a "genocide"? Not to mention, "Palestinian" life quality improved and is improving constantly in every aspect under the "evil Zionist occupation" according to the World Development Indicators of the World Bank.

IDF Strike on Concealed Weapons Causes Massive Secondary Explosion

Myth #3: "Israel deliberately kills civilians, children and babies!!!!!!!1" - BUSTED!

Civilians die in conflicts, it's a sad reality of war. Yet, when talking about Israel, two facts must be remembered:

1. No other country ever goes to the extremes Israel goes to protect civilian population: A. Israeli Air Force drops leaflets over areas soon to be attacked with warnings in Arabic, explaining the situation and urging civilians to leave. B. IDF phones each and every apartment in a targeted building and urges them to leave. C. Israel uses "knock on roof" policy, firing a tiny mortar on a targeted roof to let all escape before the building is brought down. D. IDF aborts missions when civilians are in sight. E. Israel sends humanitarian aid to Gaza, while Gazan terrorist wage war against Israel.

Not enough? Too little? Should do more? A legitimate point of view. But if you hold it, tell me what army does more than the IDF to protect and save civilians. No? You know what, tell what other army does at least as much as the IDF! Nothing? Well, then surely you can mention an army that does at least some of the things IDF is doing! Huh?

2. Hamas and friends deliberately operate deep within civilian population and actively use their civilians as human shields: A. They encourage them to come to places that are about to be bombed. B. They locate their bases, arms storages, rocket launchers in hospitals, mosques, schools and playgrounds to make sure they're always surrounded with innocent civilians, to make sure every Israeli attack is a monstrous act in the eyes of the world. C. They specifically forbid their civilians to comply with Israeli warnings and leave a targeted location. They forbid them to save their lives and demand them to sacrifice themselves in order to smear Israel. They don't care about their own civilians. D. They refuse Israeli humanitarian aid, sent in to ease the suffering of Gazan civilians. E. They break ceasefires ushered in to allow humanitarian relief.

All admirable acts of "freedom fighters", right?

Myth #4: "But the Goldstone report proved the Israelis are bloodthirsty animals!!!!11" - BUSTED!

Richard Goldstone is a South African judge who led a fact finding mission mandated by the UNHCR to look for evidence of Human Rights violations in Gaza after the 2008 Israeli operation Cast Lead. His report stated that violations probably took place on both sides, that both sides should make their own investigations and that Israel deliberately targeted civilians. Two years later, upon learning the facts (that are stated above), he retracted his initial report, emphasizing that "civilians weren't targeted as a matter of policy", claiming that "if he had known then, what he knows now, the Goldstone report would have been a different document". Golstone then also mentioned that Israel actively investigated over 400 allegations of operational misconduct, while Hamas did no such thing within themselves.

Watch Egyptian Anti-Israeli TV host expose the true face of Hamas.

Now, how come Israel is submitted to different standards then any other country, by being submitted to International Human Rights Law, while International Criminal Law would be much more appropriate during a war, is beyond me. You see, from a Human Rights point of view any loss of civilian life is a horrendous act of monstrosity, yet Criminal Law has far better tools to distinguish between unfortunate civilian death and targetting civilians as policy. In other words this is what Criminal Law does, this is its specialty, while Human Rights Law was originally designed to deal with other issues.

What is also beyond me, is how the same person releases a libelous document against Israel, and then negates it two years later? Why, as the head of a "fact finding mission", wasn't he able to find any facts on time? If, ideed, he wasn't, why did he still produce a report? If, indeed, Israel didn't collaborate with his mission, what facts did he base his report on? Those presented by Hamas?

Good questions all, but I'm no psychologist to answer them. It is, however, interesting to know that back in the Apartheid days Goldstone was responsible for sentencing 28 black South Africans to death...

Myth #5: "During this current escalation Israel already killed hundreds, and the terrorists succeeded in killing only one, therefore Israel's acts are disproportionate!!! Israel is the real terrorist!!!11" - BUSTED!

This one is probably my favorite! No other cliché exposes both the mental and the moral bankruptcy of the radical left-Antisemite coalition better!

What is proportionate? How does this term work in your mind? Should Israel turn off its Iron Dome defense system, so hundreds of Israelis would die as well, to meet your deluded ideas of proportionality? Should Israel, perhaps, fire rockets randomly in the general direction of Gaza, to meet your liberal unicorns-and-rainbows concept of proportionality?

The truth is the concept of proportionality in International Law doesn't exactly work the way you imagine it in your fantasies. There is no notion in International Law, that forbids you from winning absolutely and decisively. There is no notion, that forbids you from being more technologically advanced than you enemy. There is no notion, that the amount of your casualties must equal that of your enemy. The concept of proportionality in International Law actually talks about making the harm if need be inflicted on civilians proportionate to the military advantage secured. Israel, as already explained, tries to secure the safety of its citizens from random rocket fire, as Professor Eugene Kontorovich, an expert on International Law from Northwestern University, explains. Listen to the interview with him if you wish a better understanding of actual legal concepts versus childish liberal dreams mixed with Antisemitic delusions.

The Palestinian envoy to the UNHRC "is not a candidate in any Palestinian elections", so his take on the legality of Hamas attacks versus the legality of the Israeli attacks might surprise you.

Myth #6: "Israel still occupies Gaza, therefore it's all the fault of Israel's occupation and oppression!!!!!11" - BUSTED AGAIN AND AGAIN!

Been there, done that, read here!

For conclusion, the eternal questions always rise:

Why nobody cares when Arabs kill hundreds of Arabs every day, but when Israel has to protect itself the world goes crazy?

Why nobody cares when terrorists deliberately fire rockets unto civilians? Why the general feel from their actions is "it's okay, it's normal, it's natural"? Why the racist double standards towards the Arab people? Why the racist "higher standards" towards Israel? Why should it hold an even higher standard, than the higher standard it already acts upon?

Food for thought.

Next time you hear baseless lies about IDF conduct, call them out!

If you hear mistakes, correct them!

If you hear how "IDF is the most moral army in the world", nod your head quietly in agreement!

And don't stop using your brains!

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