The Spectacle stands, not unreasonably, on Spectacle Lane. Follow it and you come to this unexpected and pleasing ford.
Scroll down this page on the Northants Weather site for a picture of the little river in spate.
The ford on Spectacle Lane, Boughton
The Spectacle stands, not unreasonably, on Spectacle Lane. Follow it and you come to this unexpected and pleasing ford.
Scroll down this page on the Northants Weather site for a picture of the little river in spate.
The unexpected benefits of the sugar tax
Written by Jack Watson, it was based on a briefing from the Taxpayers' Alliance. Its chief arguments were that the tax would hit the poor (note the tension between "everyday" and "occasionally":
The TPA also suggested the sugar tax would “push up the cost of everyday products for hard-pressed families”. Many low-income households consume soft drinks occasionally as part of a balanced diet. Is it fair to put the cost of tackling obesity on those households?And that:
As liberals we believe in the freedom to choose independent of government coercion.One instinctively nods in agreement with the latter statement, but the truth is that Britain has had consumer protection legislation since the mid 19th century and we liberals have consistently promoted and supported it.
There was a useful report on the likely effects of a sugar tax published last year by the Behavioural Insights Team. It suggests that the effects will be wider and more varied that Jack Watson allows.
Among those effects are:
We often think about behavioural change in terms of how we influence individual behaviour. But there is growing recognition that the some of the biggest health benefits can be achieved through product reformulation by producers. For example, the gradual reductions of salt in processed foods, which have drastically cut salt consumption without consumers having to change their purchasing decisions.
Because it is already possible to replace sugar with low-calorie sweeteners, producers are likely to respond by reformulating their existing products. And we think that this will be where we are likely to see the biggest health impacts.And:
The effect of price changes will likely be stronger if retailers make these changes more salient at the point of purchase. Research has shown that consumers underreact to taxes that are not salient. In one study by Raj Chetty in the US, posting tax-inclusive prices reduced demand by 8%, even though the same price was paid whether the tax was highlighted or not. In other words, if cans of cola are clearly marked as being higher in price because of the levy, this may lead to a greater effect on behaviour.And:
The final, and in some ways most elusive and interesting, effect of the sugar tax will be the signalling effects that the levy creates – namely that highly sugared drinks can be bad for your health, and that there are alternatives available. If this wider attitudinal change starts to change purchasing behaviours, we will be on the path towards reducing obesity in the UK.Or it may simply be that the sugar tax is an effective and popular way of raising revenue.
The New York Times reports that Philadelphia is poised to become the first large American city to pass such a tax:
Mayor Jim Kenney’s original proposal was to tax sugary drinks at 3 cents an ounce, a rate that would have doubled the price of many sodas. Aware of the political challenges, he tried a novel strategy to promote his tax.
Instead of selling it as a nanny state measure meant to make the city healthier, he presented it as a big untapped source of revenue that could be used to pay for popular initiatives, including expanded prekindergarten, and renovations of city libraries and recreation centers.The arguments for and likely effects of a sugar tax are more varied and interesting than the Taxpayers' Alliance allows.
"Let's face it, we Arabs are a violent people"
From Ha'aretz Hebrew, translated by Yoel:
Lets face it: we Arabs are a violent people by Abed L. Azab*
Why organize conferences against violence in Arab society, Taleb el-Sana and Samah Salaime Agbaria? Our violence has positive sides: it provides work for the Israeli police; research grants for those who want to study the phenomenon; and something to talk about when you're interviewed by the media.
You claim it does harm and that many human lives are lost? But what's a human's life worth for Arabs? Nothing. In Iraq life is more peaceful than in Denmark according to UN reports. Syria is nothing less than heaven on earth. Egypt? Not even one civilian was killed and not one plane blown up since Mubarak the traitor was ousted and replaced by a Saudi puppet. Saudi Arabia and its neighbours in the Gulf? Even the Swedes have much to learn from them on human rights, especially women and minority rights.
Enough with the hypocrisy. In order to solve the problem let us first admit that we're a violent people. That's our mentality. And don't start with your mantras about Islam being a religion of tolerance, kindness and compassion. Have you noticed that today violence among our Christian brothers is much lower than in Muslim society? Second, if Islam is indeed a tolerant religion - which I doubt - it seems that most Muslims aren't practicing their religion.
Lets be frank and admit that when someone is murdered, the family, clan and tribe rally behind the murderer and start raising money for him so he can pay the murdered person's family legal and ransom money, if they are willing to accept it.
Lets admit it is still considered "honorable" to carry arms. And the more so if those arms are illegal. Lets admit Jews carry licensed arms but they still don't shoot at weddings and villages as is the case by us. When we sit in our coffee shops and see "the unknown" shooters all we do is smile and carry on with our business. When a woman is murdered because of so called "family honor" in most cases her murder is justified. We said we'll talk frankly right?
Don't you know the youths who ride around the village on ATVs, endangering peoples' lives and sometimes running them over? Are they from a Jewish village? And when you recognize them what do you do? You wink at them and tell them what men they are. And you say it in Hebrew because it sounds so much cooler. But if they are from a rival family you curse their father, mother and sister, since rivalries are what keeps us going and our sole raison d'etre.
[...]
This is the essence of the cursed Arab mentality: me and my brother against my uncle, and me and my uncle against someone else. And don't start blaming the economic situation and the police for this. True, there is discrimination and racism. But that is exactly why we must unite against violence, not rally in support of it. The cancer of violence in our society will only be eradicated when every father will report his son carrying illegal arms, when every daughter will report her father. Excuse me, I must have been dreaming.
*A chemist and a teacher who lives in Ara
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.Six of the Best 604
The Sports Direct scandal is the result of successive governments desperate for jobs, says Conrad Landin.
"If I ever see you in the street, I hope you get shot." Dawn Foster on her experience of moderating comments on the Guardian website.
Steve Parnell looks back at the work of the angry and passionate Ian Nairn, the outspoken critic of England’s 'subtopian' demise.
The Birmingham Conservation Trust takes us to Moseley, where 1945 prefab houses can still be found.
"I think these were the first books where I really had a sense of place from them, whereas Blyton’s descriptions don’t tend to be of anywhere specific and nicely pleasantly general, Saville’s descriptions of location were precise and taken from real life. It made me want to visit Shropshire and since I was 16 or 17 I have done, frequently. Its become one of the places I love to be most in the world." A contributor to World of Blyton recalls discovering the charms of Malcolm Saville.
Bibi and Vlad: “It’s complicated” (Vic Rosenthal)
Vic Rosenthal's Weekly Column
Today Israel’s PM Binyamin Netanyahu is concluding a two-day visit with Russian President Vladimir Putin. This is the fourth time within a year that Netanyahu and Putin have met. Russian-Israeli relations now are probably the best they have been since the period immediately after the War of Independence.
Some of the topics that they admit to discussing have been economic, trade, technological and agricultural cooperation and the funding of pensions to Russians who have immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union. Military aides discussed communications to prevent accidental clashes between Russian and Israeli forces operating in Syria. Russia and Israel have many interests in common, and both Netanyahu and Putin are happy to talk about some of them publicly.
There are other things that they keep private. The situation is remarkably complicated.
Israel is not happy about Russian sales of sophisticated arms to Iran, such as the S-300 air defense system. Israel wants to break the chain of supplies from Iran, through the Syrian Assad regime, to Hezbollah in Lebanon. It is also worried about the Hezbollah and Iranian forces in the Syrian Golan Heights.
But Hezbollah is fighting alongside Assad, and Putin is supporting Assad. He wants Assad to keep control of at least part of the country in order to protect Russian naval and air bases. Putin also hopes to make Syria a client and embarrass the West, who are supporting some of the anti-Assad rebels.
Meanwhile, Israel is trying to improve relations with Russia’s historic rival, Turkey, while Turkey has been assisting some of Assad’s enemies, and even shot down a Russian plane last November.
Complicated enough? Don’t forget the Islamic State, which more or less everyone opposes, except maybe Saudi Arabia and Turkey (but they don’t admit it). The Saudis are also supporting some of Assad’s other enemies, which puts them in conflict with Russian aims.
Where is the US in all this? Almost nowhere, since it made it clear that it would not intervene against Assad when he used chemical weapons in Syria, probably because it didn’t want to upset Assad’s patron, Iran. It is operating against the IS to a limited extent, and supporting Iranian forces fighting IS guerrillas.
Israel has tried to stay out of the conflict in Syria, but it is the strongest power in the region and is right next door. The rational thing would be for Russia and Israel to jointly decide Syria’s fate in a way that would serve both their interests. Not even the US or Iran would be able to prevent the two from dictating such an arrangement.
Russia has a great deal of influence over Iran, certainly more than the US has obtained from Obama’s sycophantic courtship of the contemptuous regime. It seems to me that there is plenty of room here for cooperation, and for Israel to drive at least a small wedge between Russia and Iran. Suppose Israel agreed to help Russia guarantee Assad’s survival in at least part of Syria in return for Russia pressuring Iran to withdraw Hezbollah forces from the area close to Israel’s border?
Russia’s help would also be valuable in staving off an international agreement on Syria that includes the Golan Heights.
The Russian S-300 system was initially considered a game-changer. Its delivery to Iran was delayed for years, perhaps a result of Netanyahu’s approaches to Putin. But we haven’t heard many complaints from Jerusalem since the first units were delivered. Could it be that Israel has developed countermeasures to render it less dangerous? It is even imaginable that Israel received information from Russia about how to neutralize the version sold to Iran.
The US has protected Iran’s nuclear program from Israel, because the Obama Administration (stupidly) does not consider Iran a threat against the American homeland. Iran recently tested a missile with a range of about 2000 km (Tel Aviv is 1500 km from Tehran). It won’t be long before Moscow, only 2500 km away, will also be in range. It’s hard to believe that the Russians will be comfortable with this. Will they help Israel delay Iran’s nuclear arming?
Finally, there is the Palestinian issue. There have been hints that the US would not veto a UN Security Council resolution declaring settlements illegal or setting a time limit for Israel to withdraw from Judea and Samaria, especially if it is proposed after the American elections in November, when the administration will not have to fear political fallout. Russia is one of the five Security Council members that has the power to veto such a resolution. Even if it didn’t go that far, it could apply pressure to weaken the resolution before the vote.
Russian diplomacy has in the past leaned toward the Palestinians, although there have been several recent statements by Russian diplomats opposing imposed solutions and calling for direct negotiations between the parties. Everything considered, a turnabout in American and Russian votes in the Security Council would be surprising – but it could happen.
Russia wants to increase her influence in the Middle East and reduce that of the US. Putin understands that the Obama Administration has pushed Israel away, and sees an opportunity to step into the gap.
Russia wants to be more involved in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. It seems to me that at this point it would be more flexible and understanding of our position than Obama has been or Clinton is likely to be (I won’t try to predict the behavior of a Trump Administration), so I welcome this development.
Some have said that Putin himself has a “positive attitude toward Jews.” If this is true, it makes him one of a select few among national leaders. But in any event, it is irrelevant. Nobody in Putin’s shoes, and especially not a chess-playing, Machiavellian ex-KGB officer like Putin, makes decisions based on feelings. Israel has been very careful not to step on Russia’s toes – it did not join in Western criticism of Russia for its actions in Ukraine, for example – and Netanyahu seems to have put together a solid package of inducements for a better relationship.
Israel started off life as a state with the support of the Soviet bloc, which it lost in the 1950s, when the Russians felt that it would be a more effective Cold War strategy to support our enemies, and in the 1967 and 1973 wars they armed and supplied them. In 1975, the notorious “Zionism is racism” resolution at the UN was orchestrated by the Soviet Union. During the 1970s and 80s, the Soviets trained and supported the PLO and other terror groups. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, diplomatic relations with Russia were resumed, and more than a million Russian Jews were able to come to Israel (where I live, I hear Russian on the street as much as Hebrew).
Today Russia is one of Israel’s biggest trading partners. Israel buys oil from Russia, sells military equipment to it, and hosts Russian tourists. Visas are not required for travel between the countries – as opposed to the US, which has refused to waive visa requirements for Israelis – and there is a plan to establish a free-trade agreement.
With the American withdrawal from the Middle East and the increasingly anti-Israel tone of the administration, Israel is finding new partners. The Israel-Russia relationship “is complicated,” as Facebook would say, but it could be critical to our survival.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.06/09 Links Pt1: Tel Aviv victims: professor, mother of 4, ex-commando, engaged woman
From Ian:
Israeli anthropologist murdered in #TelAvivAttack, as American Anthro Assoc censures Israel for security measures
Tel Aviv victims: professor, mother of 4, ex-commando, engaged woman
Miracle amidst tragedy: Tel Aviv terror victim survives two shots to the head
Hamas blames Tel Aviv attack on ‘Al-Aqsa violations,’ threatens more
Honest Reporting: Dressed to Kill
Honest Reporting: IBT Unclear On Who Killed Who
Honest Reporting: MSNBC Blames Israel for Getting Shot by Terrorists
Four Israelis killed in terror attack, but Metro reveals what’s really ‘shocking’
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.
Israeli anthropologist murdered in #TelAvivAttack, as American Anthro Assoc censures Israel for security measures
Just three days ago, on June 6, the American Anthropological Association announced that the membership narrowly defeated an anti-Israel academic boycott resolution.
The resolution was opposed by many Israel anthropologists, including Dr. Michael Feige of Ben-Burion University of the Negev:
The boycott, if passed, would have directly affected not only universities like Ben-Gurion, but those who work there like Dr. Feige.
Feige was one of hundreds to sign a statement against the boycott.
Despite the loss of the resolution vote, the AAA Executive Board, led by Alisse Waterston, AAA’s president and an anthropology professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, issued without a membership vote a censure and other steps against Israel.
A key justification for the censure and other steps was Israeli security practices such as checkpoints:
Tel Aviv victims: professor, mother of 4, ex-commando, engaged woman
Police have released the names of the four victims killed in Wednesday’s terror attack in Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market.PMW: Abbas doesn't condemn killing Israelis; instead, expresses "opposition to any operation that harms civilians"
Forty-two-year-old Ido Ben Ari from Ramat Gan, 39-year-old Ilana Naveh from Tel Aviv, 58-year-old Michael Feige from Ramat Gan and 32-year-old Mila Mishayev from Rishon Lezion were killed when two Palestinian terrorists opened fire inside a restaurant in the shopping complex in central Tel Aviv, according to police.
All four were Israeli citizens, a police statement added.
Sixteen others were injured in the attack. Three of the victims remained in intensive care Thursday morning at nearby Ichilov Hospital, along with one of the attackers who was shot by a security guard, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Ben-Ari was a father of two. He served in the elite Sayeret Matkal unit during his IDF service and was working in a senior position at The Coca-Cola Company’s Israel branch, his sister told the Ynet news site.
Since October 2015, the PA and Fatah have honored and glorified all the terrorists who have carried out lethal attacks. At times, the Palestinian Authority did not immediately glorify the terrorists due to fear of international condemnation.
As of today, the process of public honoring has not yet begun for the Palestinian terrorists who killed four Israelis yesterday in Tel Aviv. However, the PA and Fatah have made their opinions clear in the careful language they have chosen to report on the terror attack.
It should not be forgotten that the Palestinian Authority's clearest affirmation of terror is that the two terrorists who murdered the Israelis yesterday in Tel Aviv and who were apprehended by Israeli police will be rewarded with a monthly salary from the Palestinian Authority starting immediately. This is PA law.
Since the terror attack was immediately condemned in strongest terms by many governments and by world leaders including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Mahmoud Abbas has issued a statement, not of condemnation of yesterday's terror attack, but of his "opposition to any operation that harms civilians by anybody, regardless of the justifications." [WAFA (the official Palestinian news agency), June 9, 2016] His statement does not even refer directly to the attack.
He also implicitly blamed Israel, as his Fatah party did earlier in the day explicitly, (see below) when he added: "Achieving peace requires everyone stop carrying out operations that are likely to increase the tension and resorting to violence." The implication is that some "operations" forced these people to "resort to violence."
Miracle amidst tragedy: Tel Aviv terror victim survives two shots to the head
Among all the tragic accounts that emanated from Wednesday night's deadly terrorist shooting in central Tel Aviv, there was one that resulted in a miracle.Hamas claims terrorists who killed 4 in Tel Aviv bloodbath as its own
Asaf Bar, one of the wounded victims in the attack by two Palestinians at the upscale Sarona market, narrowly escaped the harrowing experience with his life intact.
Bar and his girlfriend were sitting at the Max Brenner cafe when the nearby terrorists opened fire in their direction. Bar was shot in the head and wounded, but he miraculously survived and stayed conscious throughout the terrifying events.
Bar's father, Avner, and his sister, Dana, spoke to Israeli media and recounted his ordeal.
"Asaf was sitting there with his girlfriend. They were there eating a breakfast meal, and the perpetrator, the first thing he did was to shoot two bullets at Asaf," they said.
"I feel like [my] boy is here as a gift from God," he father marveled.
The Hamas terror group said in a statement early Thursday that the two gunmen who shot up a Tel Aviv cafe on Wednesday night were members of the organization.
At least four people were killed in the terror attack Wednesday night at the Sarona Market shopping complex, and another 16 were injured, including three in serious condition. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed “decisive action” to track down those responsible for the third deadly attack in the city this year.
The two suspects were named in Palestinian media reports as Muhammad and Khalid Muhamra. One of the men was shot by a security guard and seriously injured, the second was arrested by police and taken in for questioning.
The two 21-year-old men from the West Bank village of Yatta, near Hebron, entered Israel illegally, but had no criminal record.
Hamas blames Tel Aviv attack on ‘Al-Aqsa violations,’ threatens more
The Hamas terror group on Thursday praised a deadly terror attack in Tel Aviv the previous evening and said it came in response to unspecified Israeli “violations” at the flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.Uncle of Sarona terrorists murdered four in 2002
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Israeli “violations” at the Mosque were responsible for the shooting attack at the Sarona Market in central Tel Aviv that left four Israelis dead and another 16 injured.
“The Tel Aviv operation is a natural response to Israeli desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the crimes against the Palestinian people,” he said in a statement, without specifying what the so-called violations and crimes were.
The attack came during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, typically a time of increased religious tensions [ie. terrorism].
Police revealed Thursday morning a family connection between the two terrorists involved in Wednesday night’s deadly terror rampage, reporting that Khalid and Muhammad Musa Mehamara were cousins, hailing from the prominent Mehamara clan in Yatta, south of Hevron.PreOccupiedTerritory: Palestinian Villagers Forced To Buy Israeli Sweets To Celebrate Tel Aviv Killings (satire)
Terrorism apparently runs in the family, and Khalid and Muhammad are not the first terrorists from the clan to kill Israelis.
An uncle of the cousins, Taleb Mehamara, was a member of a terror cell that in 2002 targeted Israelis in southern Judea, killing four in a shooting attack.
Taleb, a member of the Fatah Tanzim terror organization, was later captured, tried, and sentenced. He is currently sitting in an Israeli prison. In addition, his house was demolished by the IDF.
Israeli forces sealed off Yatta overnight, raiding the home of Muhammad Musa Mehamara and detaining relatives of the two terrorists.
Residents of this isolated town north of Nablus confessed they felt awkward last night and this morning upon discovering that the only candies available at the moment for distribution to hail the killing of four Israelis in a Tel Aviv restaurant last night were of Israeli manufacture.Israel nixes thousands of Ramadan entry visas after TA attack
Two Palestinian gunmen opened fire in a trendy, downtown Tel Aviv cafe Wednesday night, killing four and injuring five. In celebration, Palestinians everywhere gave out candies and pastries. In Dayariyya, however, the relative isolation meant that the local shops had been unable this week to replenish their stocks of Palestinian-made goodies, and residents had no choice but to celebrate using candies whose purchase would indirectly support Israeli enterprises.
Village elders voiced consternation. “We’re very much in favor of BDS, most of the time,” said Dayya Bittis, a retired construction worker. “Unless it affects our bottom line. Jobs, you know? But this is a slightly different situation. It’s not our livelihoods that are at stake, but our sense of identity. Can we truly claim the mantle of Palestinianhood without distributing sweets when our brothers murder Israelis? And if we do celebrate, can we in good conscience do so if the only means available involves putting money in the pockets of Israelis?”
In practice, say the villagers, elders have refrained from giving specific guidance on whether to abstain from celebrating in the traditional manner or to buy Israeli candy. Local grocers report that some customers have bought packages of Israeli candy without comment, but that several did specifically ask whether there was any of local provenance.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu met with Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot upon the Prime Minister’s return from a state visit to Russia, Wednesday night, to discuss Israel’s response to the terror attack in Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market which left four dead and five wounded.Israel-friendly reactions to attack don’t herald new-found support
In the wake of the attack, the Defense Ministry has frozen work entry visas for some 204 members of the attackers’ extended family. The attackers, identified as Khalid and Muhammad Musa Mehamara, both 21-years old, are cousins from the village of Yatta, south of Hevron. The two terrorists reportedly entered Israel without permits and resided in Israel illegally for months while preparing for the attack.
Israel has also rescinded some 83,000 entry permits given to Arabs from Judea and Samaria for Ramadan. Goodwill gestures to Gaza Arabs, including travel permits to Jerusalem to participate in Ramadan prayers on the Temple Mount, have also been rescinded.
In their statements on Wednesday’s deadly terror attack in Tel Aviv, world leaders refrained from their usual chorus of asking both Israelis and Palestinians, in the same breath, to exercise “restraint” and to resume peace talks. Rather, they limited themselves to outright condemnations of the murders and in some cases even denounced Hamas for celebrating the bloodbath and called for an end to the anti-Jewish propaganda that is seen to have inspired it.UN Watch: Rare: UN chief rebukes Hamas leaders for celebrating Tel Aviv terror attack
However, rather than a sea change in world attitudes toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, this remarkably different tone from the international community is solely a matter of semantics.
Hence, pressure on Israel to move toward the implementation of a two-state solution is liable to pick up not long after the reports of this attack fade from the headlines, and even probably intensify dramatically in the coming weeks and months.
The change in style of post-attack condemnations is unmistakable, though, as a quick comparison indicates.
In a rare move, the United Nations has rebuked Hamas leaders, with secretary-general Ban Ki-moon saying he was “shocked” that they celebrated last night’s deadly Palestinian terrorist attack in Tel Aviv, which claimed the lives of four Israelis, wounding another 16.Australian Ambassador dines at TA market in show of solidarity
Anyone remotely familiar with the Hamas terrorist group may rightly ask whether there’s any reason to be “shocked.” Yet Mr. Ban’s expression was a form of rebuke, and it is to be welcomed.
Unlike the usual mealy-mouthed UN responses to attacks on Israelis, this one rightly called it a terrorist attack; noted that the assailants were Palestinians; and called out Hamas leaders for glorifying the murders.
Initially, the UN chief was silent, while only Nickolay Mladenov, the UN envoy to the Middle East peace process, was speaking out:
Words of condemnation and support continue to pour in from foreign leaders, following the deadly shooting spree by Arab terrorists in central Tel Aviv on Wednesday night.UK prime minister 'stands with Israel against terrorism'
But one senior foreign diplomat in Israel felt words were not enough.
On Thursday morning, Australian Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma announced that he and his entire staff would be having lunch at the Sarona Market, at the site of the attack which claimed the lives of four innocent Israeli civilians.
Speaking to Arutz Sheva, Ambassador Sharma said he and his staff had been particularly effected by the attack at the popular tourist hotspot, which was packed with customers and visitors despite last night's attack.
"Last night's terrorist attack at Sarona Market was felt deeply by the Australian Embassy," he said. "It's a place we have all spent many happy hours with family and friends, so seeing the tragedy unfold last night was profoundly shocking.
"We came here to have lunch today to show the people of Israel that we feel your pain, mourn your loss, and stand alongside you as you confront such terror."
British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday morning joined the chorus of international condemnation following Wednesday night's deadly shooting attack at Tel Aviv's Sarona Market.US condemns 'cowardly' and 'horrific' terrorist attack in Tel Aviv
On Thursday morning, the UK's prime minister added his voice to the condemnations, along with several other leading British government officials, and reiterated that his country would continue to stand in solidarity with the Jewish state.
"I am sickened by the appalling attack in Tel Aviv," Cameron said. "We stand with Israel against terrorism and my thoughts are with the victims and families."
UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Twitter slammed the "cowardly" attack, stating on Twitter: "Cowardly attack in #TelAviv. Thoughts & condolences with victims & their families, no justification for terrorism anywhere"
Last night, Britain's Ambassador to Israel David Quarry similarly tweeted: "Condemn the attack in Sarona,Tel Aviv this evening. No possible justification for terrorism anywhere. Our thoughts w/ victims and families."
The United States condemned an attack on a popular Tel Aviv market on Wednesday night as a "cowardly" and "horrific" act of terror.Hillary Clinton Condemns ‘Heinous Terrorist Attack’ in Tel Aviv
A statement issued by the State Department said that US officials are in touch with Israeli authorities to express "support and concern."
"The United States condemns today’s horrific terrorist attack in Tel Aviv in the strongest possible terms," the statement reads. "We extend our deepest condolences to the families of those killed and our hopes for a quick recovery for those wounded. These cowardly attacks against innocent civilians can never be justified."
Presumptive Democratic US presidential nominee Hillary Clinton condemned a deadly attack on Wednesday at a popular shopping and restaurant area in Tel Aviv. Clinton reiterated her support of Israel’s right to defend itself.Arab MKs condemn terror attack - but blame Israeli government
Four people were killed and six others were wounded in the attack, after two Palestinians dressed in suit and tie and posing as customers at a restaurant, pulled out weapons and opened fire on passersby.
Arab MKs from the anti-Zionist Joint List party released a statement Thursday morning condemning the deadly terror attack Wednesday evening in a restaurant in Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market.Tel Aviv mayor blames terror attack on 'occupation'
But alongside their condemnations, Joint List MKs also blasted the Israeli government for instigating the ‘cycle of violence’.
Joint List chairman Ayman Odeh issued a statement Thursday which read:
“I condemn and [am] hurt by the terrible assault on civilians. My heart goes out to the families. Attacks on the innocent are always wrong, and there can be no justification for shooting civilians in the street.”
“This government has only brought a deepening of hatred and violence. We must completely remove Palestinian and Israeli civilians from the cycle of hate and blood. We must struggle together in a just way to bring an end to the occupation and to bring justice and peace for the two peoples.”
MK Dov Henin, the Joint List’s sole Jewish representative, issued a similar statement both condemning the terror attack as well as the “cycle of violence”.
Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai spoke to Army Radio on Thursday regarding Wednesday’s deadly terror attack at the Sarona Market in the center of Tel Aviv.Egyptian journalist condemns Tel Aviv terror: 'What's heroic about shooting people?'
During the interview, Huldai linked the terror attack to what he referred to as “the occupation” – Israel’s liberation of eastern Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria in June 1967.
Huldai addressed the public celebrations in the Palestinian Authority following the terror attack, saying:
“We, as a state, are the only ones in the world with another people living among us under our occupation, denying them any civil rights.”
“The problem is that when there is no terrorism, no one talks about [the occupation],” claimed Huldai. “Nobody has the guts to take a step towards trying to make some kind of [final status] arrangement. We are 49 years into an occupation that I was a participant in, and I recognize the reality and know that leaders with courage just say things.”
“We need to show to our neighbors that we really intend to return to reality, to a Jewish state that is smaller but that has a solid Jewish majority.”
Huldai also appeared to show understanding for the spontaneous celebrations taking place in some Arab towns after the attack.
Egyptian journalist and former presidential candidate Bothaina Kamel condemned the Tel Aviv shooting at the Sarona complex on Wednesday, saying "What's heroic about entering a restaurant and shooting people who are dining there?"PreOccupiedTerritory: Report: Visiting Site Of Attack Not Cynical If Left Does It (satire)
The series of tweets, translated by MEMRI (Middle East Media Research Institute), criticized those in the Arab world who praised the attack on social media.
Kamel's tweets sparked outrage on Twitter among Arab speaking Twitter users, who claimed that the attack against Israeli civilians was in response to Israel's policies of "occupation", "expelling of people from their homeland" and "starving of men, woman and children."
Kamel replied that while those were indeed "great crimes," she added that "responding to one crime with another does not mean that the [one who responded] did not perpetrate a crime."
"Sadly, the weapons mafia is leading the world, and mankind is paying the price. There is no choice but to end this cycle of evil," she wrote in a final tweet.
A new study published today in a scientific journal indicates that when right-wing politicians visit the site of a terrorist attack and make pronouncements, that involves a cynical exploitation of emotions for political purposes, but when the same activity is performed by politicians toward the other end of the spectrum, it is an act of noble solidarity and resolve.Honest Reporting: The Media Must Cover Celebrations of Palestinian Terror: Agree?
The latest issue of the journal Politics features research that study authors say proves different motivations behind otherwise identical behaviors by Israeli political figures, as manifest in whether the figure in question expresses left-wing or right-wing views.
According to the study, if, for example, a terrorist shooting attack takes place on Dizengoff Street in Tel Aviv, and a right-wing politician such as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu then pays a visit to the site of the incident, the visit constitutes unacceptable exploitation of a tragedy for political gain, and might also be racist if the attack was perpetrated by an Arab. Conversely, if a left-wing politician visits the site of, for example, an upscale market where two terrorists shot up a chocolate shop cafe, the move takes on the character of a welcome condolence call and a show of determination and encouragement for the neighborhood, city, and country.
“This research demonstrates what certain public figures have been claiming for some time,” said lead author Shelly Yechimovich. “Now we know that the cynical exploitation is a function of someone being on the wrong part of the political spectrum, but if one agrees with, for example, the center-left, then one’s visit to the site of a tragedy is an act of support and warmth.”
PLEASE ADD YOUR NAME IF YOU AGREE THAT THE MEDIA MUST REPORT PALESTINIAN CELEBRATIONS OF TERRORTel Aviv Market Terror Attack: Media Mess Ups
After Palestinian terrorists murdered four people in an attack in a popular Tel Aviv shopping center, many Palestinians were seen celebrating in the streets. Hamas called the murders a “heroic” operation and Fatah blamed Israel. Palestinians were seen handing out candy in celebration of the slaughter of innocent people.
The glorification and promotion of terrorism by the Palestinians is a critical component of the story that the media have an obligation to cover. While many in the media prefer to blame Israel for the current situation, it is the open embrace of terrorism that prevents peace more than anything else.
If you agree, please add your name to this call for the media to cover the whole story.
A deadly Palestinian terror attack in Tel Aviv’s busy Sarona market on Wednesday night has resulted in at least four deaths and several serious injuries.CNN comes under fire for botching Tel Aviv shooting report
Here’s a first look at some of the media mess ups in the initial aftermath of the attack.
IT COULDN’T POSSIBLY BE PALESTINIANS COULD IT?
Having quoted Israeli police and eyewitnesses describing a terrorist attack, the BBC still couldn’t figure out who might be responsible.
Could there possibly be a link between this attack and those from the past several months that have been perpetrated by Palestinians?
CNN came under fire Wednesday for misreporting on the shooting attack at the Sarona Market in central Tel Aviv that left four Israelis dead and seven others wounded.Yahoo News, Russia Today, Misreport Tel Aviv Terror Attack
The breaking news update on CNN's Twitter account presented the word "terrorists" in quotes, angering dozens of followers, who wondered why the news outlet would qualify its report, despite the clear nature of Wednesday's incident. The CNN tweet said: "Two 'terrorists' captured after Tel Aviv attack, Israeli police spokesman tweets."
"Take the quote marks off terrorists when that is exactly what they are! It's not a subjective noun or adjective; civilians murdered," one follower wrote.
"Tell your writers that those who open fire in an open market are terrorists," another said.
A third follower wrote, "This is the reason why no one trusts 'news' anymore." A fourth wondered, "Did the 'terrorist' 'murder' four 'innocent' people? What 'wonderful' reporters you have."
As we were posting an article noting Yahoo News's prior connections to radical hate sites, and its continued promotion of extreme and inaccurate anti-Israel propaganda, Palestinian terrorists opened fire outside a chocolate shop in a crowded area of Tel Aviv, leaving four Israelis dead.
After the attack, Yahoo News on Twitter gave the false impression that the "militant attack" targeted Israel's defense ministry:
Responsibility for that tweet might lie with AFP, whose breaking report, which Yahoo News linked to, used similar language. But while AFP has since updated its reporting to note that the shooting occurred at "a Tel Aviv bar and restaurant complex," Yahoo News seems to be sticking with the "Defense Ministry" spin. A subsequent tweet by the Yahoo account again described the attack as being "near Israel's defense ministry."
Honest Reporting: Dressed to Kill
Fairfax Media outlets the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age both republished a Washington Post article on the Tel Aviv terrorist attack with one of the worst headlines we have seen so far. They chose not to describe the terrorists as murderers, assailants, attackers, or even militants. No, they decided that the most accurate way to describe them was based on what they wore:
Honest Reporting: IBT Unclear On Who Killed Who
The IBT leaves you in no doubt about who’s doing what regarding Israel revoking Palestinian travel permits, but in the same sentence leaves out the vital context to the attack which would explain why Israel decided to do that. With their reluctance to name Israelis as the targets and Palestinians as the shooters, the IBT has managed to make it seem as though Palestinians were killed in a shooting attack.Honest Reporting: NZ Herald’s Shocking Inversion of Morality
But the IBT knows exactly who carried out the attack though, as well as the Palestinian town they’re from, because the article goes on to report that Israel pulled work permits for the “gunmen’s relatives,” and closed off the “attackers’ [Palestinian] home town” [with the exception of humanitarian cases.] But when it comes to describing the attack itself, the IBT noncommittally says that the gunmen were “both thought to be Palestinians according to AP.”
The reality in Israel can be very complex, but with Palestinian terror attacks on innocent Israeli civilians, there is only one way to accurately report the news. Yet the media continue to mislead and misinform when they insist on going to great lengths to avoid portraying Israelis as victims and Palestinians as perpetrators.
The New Zealand Herald performed a startling inversion of morality today; casting hero as villain and terrorist as victim.
With the sensational headline, “Shocking footage – Israeli police shoot suspected terrorist”, readers were enticed into watching a brief snippet of video footage of an Israeli policeman shooting and ending with multiple uniformed men surveying a scene.
The article failed to mention that just prior to this, two Palestinian men dressed in suits and ties sat at a café before pulling out Carl Gustav-style guns and shooting, killing four people and hospitalising 18.
Honest Reporting: MSNBC Blames Israel for Getting Shot by Terrorists
In an on-air tirade that was nothing short of insane, MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin and Martin Fletcher excused the Palestinian terrorists who murdered four Israelis at a shopping mall yesterday, and blamed Israel instead.
Newsbusters was quick to pick up on the story, noting that both Mohyeldin and Fletcher ranted about Israel’s “right wing government” and about “Palestinian frustration,” even as the Palestinian terror organization Hamas announced more attacks to come, and Palestinians celebrated the murders with cheers, fireworks and apparently even cookies.
In reality, both of Mohyeldin and Fletcher’s claims are simplistic and incorrect: the makeup of any democratically elected government does not justify terrorism against that country’s people, meanwhile Hamas has stated clearly that this attack was due to false claims of Israeli violations at the Al Aqsa mosque, rather than “frustration” or the makeup of Israel’s government. Hamas has used this excuse for terrorism frequently in the past.
But more importantly, where in the world is it acceptable to blame terror victims for having been attacked? And why cover up the Palestinian joy over successfully committing murder? Is MSNBC really so eager to blame Israel?
Four Israelis killed in terror attack, but Metro reveals what’s really ‘shocking’
Last night, two West Bank Palestinians, Muhammad and Khalid Muhamra, walked into Tel Aviv’s Sorona Market and began firing their machine guns at innocent civilians at an eatery, killing 4 and injuring many more.BBC coverage of Sarona Market terror attack – part one
Palestinians in parts of the West Bank and Gaza celebrated the attack. Hamas described the assault on innocent civilians as “heroic”. Fatah, the party of PA President Mahmoud Abbas, justified the “operation” as an understandable reaction to the occupation.
Yet, editors of the print edition of the UK newspaper The Metro clearly has its pulse on what’s really ‘shocking’ about the entire incident – the “BLOODIED suspect”.
In addition to the troubling editorial decision to focus on the capture by Israeli police of one of the terrorists, the victims didn’t just “die” (as the headline suggests), but of course were killed by the terrorist in the photo. Additionally, their brief synopsis under the photo gets a key fact wrong. The claim that the terrorists were dressed as Orthodox Jews was debunked – in part by a video of the incident – shortly after initial rumours surfaced.
So few words, so much disinformation.
As information concerning the terror attack in Tel Aviv’s Sarona Market on the evening of June 8th came to light, the BBC News website updated its report on the incident numerous times over a period of some ten hours.PreOccupiedTerritory: Report: Israelis Killed In Shooting Allegedly Shopped, Dined First (satire)
The initial article was titled “‘Several wounded’ in Tel Aviv shooting”. None of the later amendments to the headline – made after circumstances became clearer – informed readers that the incident was a terror attack, with editors opting instead to use the ambiguous phrasing “shopping centre attack”.
The first three versions of the report made no mention of the word terror. Later versions included statements from the Tel Aviv chief of police, the Israeli prime minister and from eye witnesses which did include the word terror inside quotation marks but in all versions the BBC refrained from telling audiences in its own words that Palestinian terrorists had murdered and wounded civilians enjoying a night out in a café.
Police investigating this evening’s shooting attack in the downtown area of this city are reporting initial findings that indicate all nine of the Israelis killed or wounded in the incident may have been engaged beforehand in such suspicious activities as shopping, visiting cafes, attending a film, and texting loved ones, activities that threatened the Palestinians who felt compelled to open fire. Four Israelis were killed, and the Palestinian attackers, who were disguised as patrons of an upscale chocolate shop and cafe, were shot and arrested.
Tel Aviv District Commander Nissim Turjeman told reporters that preliminary evidence indicates that the nine, four of whom are in serious or critical condition at Ichilov Hospital, were engaged in the threatening behaviors immediately prior to being shot, perhaps offering a window into what prompted the shootings.
“Eyewitness accounts have the deceased and injured involved in such activities prior to the shooting as walking hand-in-hand with a significant other, discussing possible purchases, remarking on the weather, and wishing friends a pleasant evening,” Turjeman said at an impromptu press conference near the Sarona Market, site of the incident. “We are still piecing together many of the eyewitness reports, some of which, owing to the chaos of the scene, appear to contradict one another. It appears, however, that all of the victims of the shooting were engaged in the types of activity that, for understandable reasons, provoked the shooters.”
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The BDS movement tries to be coy about its goals, sometimes saying that they only want and end to "occupation" or they seek "equal rights."
But this letter to New York Governor Cuomo, written on behalf of major BDS organizations and meant to be a defiant response to his stand against boycotters, proves his point better than anyone else could. They don't care about free speech or human rights - they simply want to destroy Israel.
Interesting that Paul Larudee is speaking on behalf of all these organizations that share the same EIN number.
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But this letter to New York Governor Cuomo, written on behalf of major BDS organizations and meant to be a defiant response to his stand against boycotters, proves his point better than anyone else could. They don't care about free speech or human rights - they simply want to destroy Israel.
Interesting that Paul Larudee is speaking on behalf of all these organizations that share the same EIN number.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.PLO calls terrorists "martyrs"- in English
Usually, the Negotiations Affairs Department of the PLO tries to stick to Western-style language when spinning its propaganda.
But in its latest report on supposed Israeli violations, it repeatedly refers to terrorists killed while trying to murder Israelis as "martyrs."
Here is an example:
Thaer Abu Ghazaleh was shot while stabbing 5 Israelis in Tel Aviv.
Baha’ Mohammad Allayan, together with an accomplice, shot and stabbed 3 Israelis to death on a bus in Armon Netziv. The victims were Richard Lakin, 76, Alon Andrei Govberg, 51, and Haviv Haim, 78. when Allayan ran out of bullets he started strangling passengers.
Abdel-Muhsen Hassuneh was shot when he rammed his car into a bus stop at the entrance to Jerusalem, injuring 11 Israelis.
Mohammad Abu Khalaf stabbed a border policeman in the head in Jerusalem.
Abdel Malik Abu Kharoub was killed in a gun battle after he shot at a bus near Jerusalem. Fatah created a poster calling him a "hero and a martyr."
Mohammad Kalouti shot and critically injured an Israeli civilian at a light rail stop in Jerusalem.
Abd al-Hamid Abu Srour blew himself up as he tried to planted a bomb on a bus in Jerusalem, injuring 20.
These are the people that the PLO considers "martyrs."
Maybe some reporter will ask Saeb Erekat why his organization venerates people who murder Jews.
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But in its latest report on supposed Israeli violations, it repeatedly refers to terrorists killed while trying to murder Israelis as "martyrs."
Here is an example:
Thaer Abu Ghazaleh was shot while stabbing 5 Israelis in Tel Aviv.
Baha’ Mohammad Allayan, together with an accomplice, shot and stabbed 3 Israelis to death on a bus in Armon Netziv. The victims were Richard Lakin, 76, Alon Andrei Govberg, 51, and Haviv Haim, 78. when Allayan ran out of bullets he started strangling passengers.
Abdel-Muhsen Hassuneh was shot when he rammed his car into a bus stop at the entrance to Jerusalem, injuring 11 Israelis.
Mohammad Abu Khalaf stabbed a border policeman in the head in Jerusalem.
Abdel Malik Abu Kharoub was killed in a gun battle after he shot at a bus near Jerusalem. Fatah created a poster calling him a "hero and a martyr."
Mohammad Kalouti shot and critically injured an Israeli civilian at a light rail stop in Jerusalem.
Abd al-Hamid Abu Srour blew himself up as he tried to planted a bomb on a bus in Jerusalem, injuring 20.
These are the people that the PLO considers "martyrs."
Maybe some reporter will ask Saeb Erekat why his organization venerates people who murder Jews.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.Apologists want to put Tel Aviv attack in "context." OK, let's do it.
Some Twitter reactions from oh-so-peaceful people:
MSNBC:
The "context" that these people plead for is "occupation" and "Israel's right wing government."
Context is a funny thing, though. It can be a bit more expansive than these people claim.
The Quran says twice about Jews "Allah has cursed them on account of their unbelief" (2:88, 4:46). Also "you shall always discover treachery in them excepting a few of them" (5:13). It refers to Jews and Christians by saying "may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!" (9:30).
Is that too wide a context? Okay, let's narrow it a bit,to how Muslims treated Jews in the 19th century:
Perhaps this context is still too wide for the lovers of context. Let's look only at how the Arabs in Palestine treated Jews before Theodor Herzl coined the word "Zionism."
From James Finn, British consul to Jerusalem from 1853-6:
Before any Likud prime minister, before 1967, before 1948, before the Balfour Declaration, before Herzl, Arabs and Muslims treated Jews like dirt both within and without Palestine.
The reason for modern terror attacks isn't because of "occupation" or Israel's refusal to participate in the French peace initiative that is meant to pressure only Israel to make more concessions. It isn't because of Israel's "extreme right wing government." It isn't even because of Zionism.
The reason that Arabs attack Jews is because the very idea of Jews acting as equals, with the right to self-determination and the right to have a land of their own, is an insult to Arab honor. Jews are meant to be wretched, second-class citizens bowing and scraping and paying extortion money to their Muslim masters, and there has never been a greater humiliation to the Arab people than seeing these despised Jews beating them militarily.
Arab psyche is driven by insistence on honor and fear of shame, and everything done since 1948 has been meant to erase the ultimate humiliation of Jews controlling land that Arabs consider their own. Do I really need to catalog the many terror attacks before 1967, before 1948, before 1917?
Yes, let's put the Tel Aviv attacks in context. The context is that Arabs (both Muslim and Christian) believe that Jews are a cursed people and that the existence of proud Jews not acting as proper dhimmis in the Middle East is an affront to Arab honor.
Everything else is apologetics.
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overdone live @cnn coverage of Tel aviv attack but not a single word on the CONTEXT of the situation, the israeli rejection of french plan?— Daoud Kuttab (@daoudkuttab) June 8, 2016
I am opposed to all the attacks on Israelis and Palestinians which are result of an illegal occupation. We need to put things in context— Daoud Kuttab (@daoudkuttab) June 8, 2016
There was a shooting in Tel Aviv sadly. Get ready 2 hear media disinformation about evil Palestinians w zero context about Israeli violence— Rania Khalek (@RaniaKhalek) June 8, 2016
"An occupation leads to foreign rule. Foreign rule leads to resistance. Resistance leads to oppression. Oppression leads to terrorism— ygurvitz (@ygurvitz) June 8, 2016
MSNBC:
Ayman Mohyeldin and Martin Fletcher took turns blaming Israel’s “right-wing” government for Palestinian “frustration.”
Mohyeldin ranted: “...in terms of the context of what has been happening in the occupied Palestinian territories, the occupation, the shift of Israeli politics, including now the current government, more to the right, to what has been described by Israelis as even more of an extreme right-wing government, some of the measures that have taken place in the West Bank, the siege that continues in Gaza, all of those continue to fester.”
The "context" that these people plead for is "occupation" and "Israel's right wing government."
Context is a funny thing, though. It can be a bit more expansive than these people claim.
The Quran says twice about Jews "Allah has cursed them on account of their unbelief" (2:88, 4:46). Also "you shall always discover treachery in them excepting a few of them" (5:13). It refers to Jews and Christians by saying "may Allah destroy them; how they are turned away!" (9:30).
Is that too wide a context? Okay, let's narrow it a bit,to how Muslims treated Jews in the 19th century:
In the year 1823, at the same Damascus, all the Jews suspected of having property were thrown into prison, and compelled to pay forty thousand purses or lose their heads. At Safet, in 1834, their houses were stripped, and great personal cruelties inflicted upon them, for the like purpose of extorting money; and generally in Syria they were compelled to work for the Turks without payment, being bastinadoed if they remonstrated. The lowest fallaah would stop them when travelling, and demand money as a right due to the Musselman; which robbery was liable to be repeated several times a day upon the same Jew.
The occupation of Syria by the Egyptians did not mitigate the hard condition of the Jews of Palestine' They were still defrauded and insulted; the commonest soldier would seize the most respectable Israelite, and compel him by blows to sweep the streets, and to perform the most degrading offices. The contempt indeed in which they are held by Mahometans, however difficult to be accounted for, exceeds that which they have experienced in Christian lands. In the East they are truly become a proverb, the term Jew being applied despitefully, as the most reproachful and degrading known.
In Persia the condition of the Jews is worse even than in Syria. Often whilst they are assembled in their synagogues, a soldier enters with an order from the Shah for money; they are compelled to work without payment; and their women are unceremoniously taken from them, without their daring to murmur.
In Morocco they are equally ground down by a barbarous despotism. The Moors consider that the object of a Jew's birth is to serve Musselmen, and he is consequently subject to the most wanton insults. The boys for their pastime beat and torment the Jewish children: the men kick and buffet the adults. They walk into their houses at all hours, and take the grossest freedoms with their wives and daughters, the Jews invariably coming off with a sound beating if they venture to resist. In 1804 those of Algiers were subjected to horrible tortures, being suspended from the walls by long ropes with hooked nails at the ends, merely because they had unsuspectingly lent money to persons who were secretly conspiring against the Dey; nor were they released without the payment of a large sum. In 1827 the Dey threw a rich Jew into prison for no other purpose than to extort from him 500,000 Spanish dollars. At Tripoli the bashaw extorted a large sum from them on account of the drought, which he declared them to be the cause of. Mr. Ewald, after describing the beauty, fertility, and prosperity of the island of Gerba in Morocco, “where, if any where, (he says) every one lives quietly beneath his own vine and fig-tree,” next speaks of the Jews as the only exception, among whom he nowhere witnessed greater poverty and oppression...
Perhaps this context is still too wide for the lovers of context. Let's look only at how the Arabs in Palestine treated Jews before Theodor Herzl coined the word "Zionism."
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| Jews being banned from Temple Mount, 1883 painting |
In times gone by these native Jews had their full share of suffering from the general tyrannical conduct of the Moslems, and, having no resources for maintenance in the Holy Land, they were sustained, though barely, by contributions from synagogues all over the world. This mode of supply being understood by the Moslems, they were subjected to exactions and plunder on its account from generation to generation ... This oppression proved one of the causes which have entailed on the community a frightful incubus of debt, the payment of interest on which is a heavy charge upon the income derived from abroad... the Jews are humiliated by the payment, through the Chief Rabbi, of pensions to Moslem local exactors, for instance the sum of 300£. a year to the Effendi whose house adjoins the ' wailing place,' or fragment of the western wall of the Temple enclosure, for permission to pray there; 100£. a year to the villagers of Siloam for not disturbing the graves on the slope of the Mount of Olives ; 50£ a year to the Ta'amra Arabs for not injuring the Sepulchre of Rachel near Bethlehem, and about 10£ a year to Sheikh Abu Gosh for not molesting their people on the high road to Jaffa, although he was highly paid by the Turkish Government as Warden of that road.Palestinian Christians were no better to Jews:
In 1847 it seemed probable that the Christian pilgrims, instigated by the Greek ecclesiastics, were about to reproduce the horrors enacted at Rhodes and Damascus in 1840.
A Greek pilgrim boy, in a retured street, had thrown a stone at a poor little Jew boy, and, strange to say, the latter bad the courage to retaliate by throwing one in return, which unfortunately hit its mark, and a bleeding aukle was the consequence. It being the season of the year when Jerusalem is always thronged with pilgrims ( March), a tumult soon arose, and the direst vengeance was denounced against all Jews indiscriminately, for having stabbed (as they said) an innocent Christian child, with a knife, in order to get his blood, for mixing in their Passover biscuits. The police came up and both parties were taken down to the Seraglio for judgment ; there the case was at once discharged as too trivial for notice.
The Convent Clergy, however, three days afterwards, stirred up the matter afresh, exaggerated the state of the wound inflicted, and engaged to prove to the Pashk from their ancient books that Jews are addicted to the above cannibal practice, either for purposes of necromancy, or out of hatred of Christians, on which His Excellency unwisely Buffered the charge of assault to be diverted into this different channel, which was one that did not concern him ; and he commanded the Jews to answer for themselves on the second day afterwards. In the interval, both Greeks and Armenians went about the streets insulting and menacing the Jews, both men and women, sometimes drawing their hands across the throat, sometimes showing the knives which they generally earn» about with them, and, among other instances brought to my notice, was that of a party of six catching hold of the son of the late Chief Rabbi of London (Herschell) and shaking him, elderly man as he was, by the collar, crying out, ' Ah! Jew, have you got the knives ready for our blood ! '
Before any Likud prime minister, before 1967, before 1948, before the Balfour Declaration, before Herzl, Arabs and Muslims treated Jews like dirt both within and without Palestine.
The reason for modern terror attacks isn't because of "occupation" or Israel's refusal to participate in the French peace initiative that is meant to pressure only Israel to make more concessions. It isn't because of Israel's "extreme right wing government." It isn't even because of Zionism.
The reason that Arabs attack Jews is because the very idea of Jews acting as equals, with the right to self-determination and the right to have a land of their own, is an insult to Arab honor. Jews are meant to be wretched, second-class citizens bowing and scraping and paying extortion money to their Muslim masters, and there has never been a greater humiliation to the Arab people than seeing these despised Jews beating them militarily.
Arab psyche is driven by insistence on honor and fear of shame, and everything done since 1948 has been meant to erase the ultimate humiliation of Jews controlling land that Arabs consider their own. Do I really need to catalog the many terror attacks before 1967, before 1948, before 1917?
Yes, let's put the Tel Aviv attacks in context. The context is that Arabs (both Muslim and Christian) believe that Jews are a cursed people and that the existence of proud Jews not acting as proper dhimmis in the Middle East is an affront to Arab honor.
Everything else is apologetics.
We have lots of ideas, but we need more resources to be even more effective. Please donate today to help get the message out and to help defend Israel.Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah: The murdered Israelis deserved it
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| Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades of Fatah |
Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah issued a statement justifying the murder of Jews, although they didn't take credit.
Fatah said in a statement that the Tel Aviv "operation" is a natural response to the "occupation and violations against our people everywhere."
Munir Aljagub, a spokesman, said: "Israel must realize very well the consequences of what they are doing from the continued push towards the option of violence and house demolitions and forced displacement of Jerusalemites and successive intrusions by the settlers to the courtyards of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Palestinians killed in cold blood in the territories occupied in 1967 ".
At the exact same time, Fatah issued another statement strongly condemning the shooting attack in Jordan that killed 5 soldiers, saying "it is a crime of terrorism par excellence, not only because of a desire for bloody barbarism that drives these shedders of blood, but also to violate the laws and principles of values and ethics of humanity altogether, and the Islamic principles especially, this is the holy month when Islamists slaughter their victims with the idea that it would bring them to paradise."
The moderate Fatah also compared the Muslim Brotherhood, whom they blame for the Jordanian attack, to - you guessed it - Jews, saying "The Brotherhood is characterized by a mentality of revenge and this attribute it identical with its Talmudic twin." (Palestinians may have been responsible for the attack so Fatah wants to blame the Muslim Brotherhood to take the heat off.)
Quite a contrast between how they condemn an attack on a military target and condone an attack on civilians eating dinner. But, you know, those civilians were "Talmudic" and therefore deserved it.
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