The Gaza strip is drowning in filth, says Al-Jazeera. How bad is it?
Palestinian pollution
March 2nd, 2007Hamas makes second front preparations
March 2nd, 2007Preparations are being made to open a second front against Israel from Gaza when the next round of the war with Hezbollah (and possibly Syria) breaks out:
According to official sources in Jerusalem, some 100 Hamas terrorists crossed the Rafah border terminal in recent weeks. Intelligence information collected by the defense establishment indicates that the terrorists make their way to special training camps in Iran and Syria, founded specially to train and coach Palestinians for terror attacks against Israel should Hamas decide to terminate its ceasefire.
Security officials in Israel said this phenomenon was part of the recent trend by which Iran and Syria have shown increasing involvement in developing Palestinian terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. — YNet
For more discussion of imminent threats from the north and south, see my previous post and also this.
Pressure on the Syrian border
March 1st, 2007Syria is building up forces on her border with Israel:
According to [IDF] officials, the Syrian military – while restricted in the number of troops it is allowed to deploy along the border – has moved military infrastructure, including fuel depots, closer to the frontier. The Syrians have also built structures in the area that could serve as weapons stores and military bases.
“There is no doubt that something out of the ordinary is taking place on the Syrian side of the border,” a high-ranking official said. — Jerusalem Post
Note also that Hezbollah is busy constructing installations north of the Litani River, where they will not be inspected by UNIFIL.
Whether or not these developments warn of war in the near future, they will certainly be part of the pressure applied to Israel to give up the Golan Heights. The US has recently announced that it will be talking to Syria and Iran about Iraq, and it’s certain that the Golan will be part of the quid pro quo that will be demanded by Syria.
A fresh look at the “longest hatred”
March 1st, 2007What turned the anti-Semitism that had its profane banal explanations, such as economics and social rivalry, into something lethal was precisely the fact that Jews had “assimilated” so intensely. They were like super-Germans, super-French, super-Englishmen, etc. Because of this, the traditional anti-Semitism that was based on religion no longer had the same effect or resonance. Recourse was made, then, to an argument against which there is no defense, namely race. You cannot change your race; even conversion can’t help you. A Jew remains a Jew under all circumstances, whether he is baptized, becomes totally assimilated or rejects any residual Jewish identity.
Ironically, the argument Jews always used in their apologies was that they were great contributors to their societies. They produced whole volumes about “the Jewish contribution to German culture.” But, of course, this further fed the very anti-Semitism they were trying to counter, because it completely confirmed the feeling that yes, indeed, they were contributing to society – they were totally Judaizing it. — Interview with Dr. Robert Wistrich
Wistrich explains the past and predicts the future in this remarkable piece. Assimilated American Jews in particular need to understand why they are not protected by their “Americanness”.
Technorati Tags: antisemitism, Wistrich
Victims of Arab rejectionism
March 1st, 2007By Vic Rosenthal
Israeli Foreign Minister Livni “told the Palestinian daily Al Ayamm in an interview published Thursday morning that ‘Israel could not accept the Arab peace initiative in its current format.'” (Jerusalem Post).
