Arlene Kushner on More Examples of the West Turning A Blind Eye Towards Palestinian Terrorism

Arlene Kushner:
December 17, 2014

This Way and That

Some news a tad encouraging, and other news that’s nothing short of infuriating. Sometimes it’s hard to determine whether we have, on average, broken even.  Doesn’t look so here.

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But let’s put that aside from a moment, and attend to first things first.  It is Chanukah, and I want to share a video that is absolutely beautiful, in terms of tying together Chanukah and an understanding of who we are.

Charlie Harary is an inspirational speaker, whose videos are frequently used by Aish.  But never before have I seen one that is as brilliant and inspiring as this one. If you attend to nothing else in this posting, please do see this.  He touches on an essential truth of our uniqueness:

Arlene Kushner on Sweden Recognizing A Palestinian State (If They Can Find It)

From Arlene Kushner:
October 7

Sukkot

“v'samachta bechagecha”: and you shall rejoice in your festival.  This is it, Sukkot, our season of rejoicing.  My very favorite holiday.  The spirit is in the air, here in Jerusalem.  I look forward to meals in the Sukkah (much larger than the illustration here!), and sleeping in the Sukkah with my grandchildren. 

And blessings over the lulav and etrog.

 

Sukkot starts tomorrow night, and I will post only very erratically, if at all, during the coming eight-day period.  The older I get, and the worse the world seems, the more I understand how important are these moments of joy.  To all celebrating, I wish a Chag Sameach.

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Efraim Karsh on Palestinian Authority Running Away from Statehood, Again

The following by Efraim Karsh is reposted here with permission of Middle East Forum:

Running Away from Statehood, Again

by Efraim Karsh
BESA Center Perspectives
April 28, 2014

http://www.meforum.org/3812/palestinian-statehood-israel

^{The Palestinian Authority' decision to strike an agreement with Hamas instead of with Israel is of little surprise. Since before 1948, the Palestinian leadership has continually rejected any possibility of attaining statehood, in favor of a commitment to violence and promoting their self-inflicted plight for their own financial benefits. With the possibility of another failed round of peace talks, one wonders whether the Palestinian leadership is even interested in independent statehood of any kind.}

Efraim Karsh

The "historic" agreement of last week between The Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Hamas, to form a united government casts a serious doubt not only on the Palestinian leadership's commitment to a two-state solution, but also on its interest in the attaining of statehood at all.

Not that this should have come as a surprise to anyone. For nearly a century, Palestinian leaders never have missed an opportunity to impede the development of Palestinian civil society and the attainment of Palestinian statehood.

Had the Jerusalem mufti Hajj Amin Husseini, who led the Palestinian Arabs from the early 1920s to the late 1940s, chosen to lead his constituents to peace and reconciliation with their Jewish neighbors, the Palestinians would have had their independent state over a substantial part of mandate Palestine by 1948, and would have been spared the traumatic experience of dispersal and exile.

The Media and the West Ignore Palestinian Human Rights Violations

Khaled Abu Toameh notes how Palestinian Authority Human Rights Violations Ignored by Media, West:

A report issued by the Palestinian Independent Commission for Human Rights (ICHR) this week criticized the Palestinian Authority [PA] and Hamas for assaults on human rights and freedoms in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

The report, which has been ignored by mainstream media and human rights organizations in the West, reveals that 10 Palestinians died in January 2014 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a result of anarchy, lawlessness and misuse of weapons.

Mideast Media Sampler 4/16/13 Why Does Palestinian Authority Spends 25% Of Its Budget On Weapons?

by David Gerstman, contributing blogger at Legal Insurrection


1) The PA's defense budget

The Palestinian Authority regularly complains about its budget woes. Nitzana Darshan-Leitner writes that the largest portion of the PA's budget goes to defense:

Recently, the Palestinian Authority publicly revealed its new budget. In approving the 2013 fiscal plan, the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas signed off on a startling $3.9 billion spending spree. What is fascinating, however, is not just the amount of money being destined for expenditures but rather the manner in which the PA is planning on allocating it.

Abbas's Palestinian Authority Sued For Terrorism By Shurat HaDin

Ynet News reports Israeli NGO to sue PA for terrorism:

An Israeli civil rights NGO is preparing to sue the Palestinian Authority in the International Criminal Court (ICC) for its alleged responsibility for thousands of terrorist attacks on Israel.

"Terrorizing Terror" is the Shurat HaDin - Law Center's tagline for the campaign, meant to deter Palestinian efforts to file lawsuits against Israeli soldiers.

Obama's Planned Visit With Abbas At Ramallah And The Mixed Signals It Will Send

Shoshana Bryen, Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center, writes about Obama's visit to Israel and the implications of Obama at Ramallah.

Bryen notes the comparison with the Obama administration's unquestioned support for Egypt, both while continuing US support for Mubarak as well as its current unquestioning support for the extremist Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi -- where both dictators flout democracy --

Who Was The Real Loser of Operation Pillar Of Defense: Abbas and the Palestinian Authority

Brig.-Gen. (res.) Michael Herzog writes about Operation Pillar of Defense: Objectives and Implications.

First, here is a summary:

• Both in the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead and in the 2012 Operation Pillar of Defense, Israel’s government focused its objective on enhancing deterrence  – opting for hitting the terrorists hard enough to give them an interest in a ceasefire for as long as possible – rather than dismantling Gaza’s terror infrastructure or toppling the Hamas government.

Today Is The 4th Anniversary Of The End Of President Abbas's Term As President

Abbas would very much like you to think that he is president of "Palestine"

But he isn't.

For example, if you look at the Wikipedia entry for Abu Mazen, you will find the following:

Abbas's term as President expired 15 January 2009, since then Aziz Duwaik has been recognised as President by the Haniyeh government in the Gaza Strip, while Abbas is recognised as President by the Fayyad government in the West Bank and all the states that recognise the independance of Palestine, as well as the UN.

Actually, according to the Palestinian Constitution, neither Abbas nor Fayyad are in charge -- rather Hamas has a better claim to both positions.

US Judge Allows Destruction Of Document Tying Palestinian Authority To Murder Of 2 Americans

On Feb. 16, 2002, a Palestinian terrorist blew himself up in a packed pizzeria in the Israeli town of Karnei Shomron, killing American citizens Keren Shatsky, 15, and Rachel Thaler, 16 and Israeli teenager Nehemia Amar, 15.

Shurat HaDin has posted on its website that a US Federal Judge Orders Destruction of Secret Memo that Evidences Palestinian Authority Role in 2002 Terrorist Murder of Three Jewish Teens:

A US court has ruled that the Palestinian Authority (PA) has the right to cover up a document linking it to a 2002 suicide bombing that killed two Americans and one Israeli teenager. The suicide bombing was perpetrated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a constituent faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).

Why Abbas Has Finally Dropped The Pretense of Moderation

For years Abbas has been inciting hatred of Israel -- naming stadiums and such after terrorists and paying them salaries while they are in Israeli prisons. In addition, his maps of "Palestine" include Israel as part of its territory.

So the fact that he accused Israel of genocide at the UN last year after years of refusing to sit and talk peace should not have been such a surprise.

Now, Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi documents how indeed, Abbas Reinstates a Radical Political Doctrine:

• Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestinian Authority and leader of the PLO and the Fatah movement, presented a radical political doctrine in his speech on January 4, 2013, honoring the anniversary of Fatah’s establishment. The messages Abbas conveys express the political and national vision that he bequeaths to the Palestinian people.

Some Facts About Palestinian Corruption The Media Is Not Reporting

Western journalists, funders and decision-makers who deal with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict need to know that there are many truths being completely ignored or hidden from their eyes and ears.
Khaled Abu Toameh

Khaled Abu Toameh writes about The Palestinian Authority's Inconvenient Truths, noting that one of the benefits the Abbas regime gains through its consistent anti-Israel statement is that it makes it easier to hide the corruption and hypocrisy of the Palestinian Authority.

• Of the 600 Christians from Gaza who arrived in the West Bank to celebrate Christmas, dozens requested to move to Israel because they do nt feel comfortable living under the Palestinian Authority and Hamas. In fact, dozens of Christian families in east Jerusalem have moved into Jewish neighborhoods in Jerusalem because they don't feel comfortable living among Muslims.

Audio: Middle East Forum Briefing: After Operation Pillar of Defense & PA's UN Upgrade (With Summary)

The following by Steven J. Rosen is reposted here with permission:

Israel and the Palestinians

A briefing by Steven J. Rosen
December 17, 2012

http://www.meforum.org/3418/israel-palestinians

Multimedia for this item Audio Recording

Steven J. Rosen, director of the Middle East Forum's Washington Project and former foreign-policy director at AIPAC, addressed the Middle East Forum on December 17, 2012, via conference call. Steven Rosen and MEF President Daniel Pipes recently met with Israeli officials to discuss strategy and policy in the wake of Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza and the Palestinian Authority's (PA's) upgrade to a non-member observer state by the UN General Assembly. Mr. Rosen shared some insights and conclusions of these discussions.

Abbas Apparently Seems Intent To Abandon Palestinian Arabs To Hamas

After threatening 20 separate times to quit, Abbas is at it again: If stalemate continues after elections, Netanyahu can take back the keys to the West Bank:

If there is no progress even after the election I will take the phone and call [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu," Abbas said. "I'll tell him, 'my dear friend, Mr. Netanyahu, I am inviting you to the Muqata [the PA presidential headquarters in Ramallah]. Sit in the chair here instead of me, take the keys, and you will be responsible for the Palestinian Authority.

Meanwhile, Khaled Abu Toameh explains What Do Abbas's Latest Threats Really Mean?:

Arab NGO Condemns Human Rights Abuses Of Palestinian Authority

The Jerusalem Post reports that UK-based Arab HR group accuses PA of abuse

An Arab human rights group based in London accused the Palestinian Authority of inhumane practices and human rights violations against Palestinian civilians in a scathing report published on Friday.

The Arab Organization for Human Rights has put the primary blame for the human rights abuses on PA President Mahmoud Abbas and called on the UN, Arab League and Organization of Islamic Cooperation to take urgent action.

Among the findings of AOHR:

From 2001: Jonathan Schanzer on Why the Palestinian Territories Might Become Two Separate States

The following by Jonathan Schanzer is resposted here with permission:

A Gaza-West Bank Split?
Why the Palestinian Territories Might Become
Two Separate States

by Jonathan Schanzer
Middle East Intelligence Bulletin
July/August 2001

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has been disintegrating for months. This spring, US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk reported that a state of semi-anarchy and gang rule was engulfing the West Bank and Gaza.¹ Israeli journalist Danny Rubinstein concurred, stating that the breakdown of the Palestinian administration has been evident in every area.²

To make matters worse, internal breakdown has spawned internal opposition. As the PA attempts to enforce its current cease-fire with Israel, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Palestinian Hezbollah, Fatah and the Tanzim continue to challenge the PA's authority. In fact, PA Chairman Yasser Arafat is now said to be facing opposition from a number of important aides and advisors.

Barry Rubin: Questions and Answers on Palestinian Authority Unilateral Independence Bid

Questions and Answers on Palestinian Authority Unilateral Independence Bid

by Barry Rubin

1) What are the chances that the PA achieves a triumph at the UN?

It depends on what you mean by the word “triumph.” Will a Palestinian state that doesn’t even control the Gaza Strip (half the territory it claims), has not kept its diplomatic commitments, and doesn’t seek a peace agreement with Israel get recognition for unilateral independence? No. Because if the proposal passes the General Assembly it will still be vetoed by the United States in the Security Council.

A triumph may include public relations’ successes plus the recognition by several more countries—though many countries have recognized such a state since it was declared in 1988. Yet in material terms it will change nothing. By the same token, it would mean that the entire year 2011 has passed without negotiations, delaying the creation of a real Palestinian state.

Erekat Threatens To Dismantle PA--You Call That A Threat!?

Now there's a question: should the Palestinian Authority be dismantled?

Apparently, some think that is an actual question--take Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, for instance:

Erekat said that if the United States continued to stymie the Palestinian efforts to get a state recognized by the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority should be dismantled.

"[PA President Mahmoud Abbas] should throw the keys in their faces," Erekat said.

Dealing With The Murder of Americans By Hamas

Looks like Hamas needs Westerna aid after all. According to the Associated Press:

The exiled political leader of Hamas said Friday the world has the wrong image of the Islamic militant group and he urged the international community to stop viewing it through the eyes of Israel

The world has the 'wrong' image of Hamas?
OK. Let's view Hamas through the eyes of the US.

Last year on August 30, the Boston Globe carried this story:

Palestinian Authority's US assets are frozen
WASHINGTON -- A Rhode Island lawyer trying to collect a $116 million terrorism judgment against the Palestinian Authority has obtained a court-ordered freeze on all its US-based assets, severely limiting most Palestinian economic and diplomatic activities in the United States at a critical moment for the fledgling government.
Article Tools

The frozen assets include US holdings in a $1.3 billion Palestinian investment fund meant to finance economic development as well as bank accounts used to pay Palestinian representatives in Washington, according to lawyers and court documents filed in Rhode Island, Washington, D.C., and New York. Also frozen are about $30 million in assets from the Palestinian Monetary Authority, the Palestinian equivalent of the US Federal Reserve.

Providence attorney David Strachman, who is representing the orphaned children of a couple killed in Israel by Palestinian militants, has also initiated a court action to seize and sell the Palestinian-owned building in New York that serves as the Palestine Liberation Organization observer mission to the United Nations.

It is not till later in the article that we find that the law suit derives from the murder of 2 Americans by Hamas back in 1996:

The case is the first to result in a financial judgment under a 1991 antiterrorism law that allows US citizens to sue foreign organizations in civil court for terrorism. It stems from the 1996 murders of Brooklyn-born Yaron Ungar, a US citizen, and his pregnant Israeli wife, Efrat, whose car was sprayed with bullets by Hamas militants.

But the Ungars were not the only Americans murdered by Hamas.

An article in the Jerusalem Post on August 2, 2002 reported on the reaction to the murder of 5 Americans by Hamas in a bombing at Hebrew University:

US politicians call to extradite HU terrorists
Several New York politicians are calling on the Bush administration to demand the extradition of the perpetrators of last week's terror attack at the Hebrew University to the US to stand trial for the murder of five American citizens.

Twenty-four Americans have been killed in Palestinian terror attacks, and 43 wounded, since September 2000.

At a Thursday evening press conference in New York, Sen. Charles Schumer (D) demanded the extradition of Hamas leaders to the US, among them spiritual head Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, after the terror group claimed responsibility for the July 31 blast inside a university cafeteria, which claimed the lives of seven students and staff members.

"If Hamas killed five Americans on US soil, the United States would demand justice for the families of the victims, and we would go after Hamas," Schumer said.

"We should do no less now. This was an attack on America, not simply an attack on Israel. And we need to take action. We cannot simply sit on the side and let these horrific attacks go unanswered."

Apparently the 'excuse' that Hamas was not intentionally trying to murder Americans does not wash:

Schumer dismissed a statement issued by Hamas after the bombing claiming that Americans had not been targeted in the attack. By planting the bomb at the Hebrew University, "they knew that they wouldn't just be killing Israelis, that they'd be killing Americans as well," said Schumer.

In the House, Rep. Anthony Weiner sent a letter to Attorney-General John Ashcroft on Thursday asking him to extradite those responsible for the attack. "US law makes it a crime to kill or injure, or to conspire to kill or injure, an American national outside the US in furtherance of a terrorist cause even if Americans were not the intended targets," Weiner wrote.

Actually there are even more Americans that have been murdered by Hamas. One website with a list of American victims of Palestinian terrorism running from 1968 to 2003 lists the following American victims of Hamas terrorist attacks:

December 1, 1993: Yitzhak Weinstock, age 19, an American-Israeli student whose family came from Los Angeles, was murdered by Hamas terrorists in a drive-by shooting attack near El Bireh, north of Jerusalem.

October 9, 1994: Nachshon Wachsman, an American-Israeli, was kidnapped and then murdered by Hamas terrorists.

August 21, 1995, Jerusalem, Israel. A bus bombing in Jerusalem by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) killed four, including American Joan Davenny, and wounded more than 100.

February 25, 1996, Jerusalem, Israel. A suicide bomber blew up a commuter bus in Jerusalem, killing 26, including three U.S. citizens, and injuring 80 others, among them another three U.S. citizens. Hamas claimed responsibility for the bombing.

March 4, 1996, Tel Aviv, Israel. A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device outside the Dizengoff Center,David Boim Tel Aviv's largest shopping mall, killing 20 March 4, 1996 Tel Aviv Bombing persons and injuring 75 others, including two U.S. citizens. Both Hamas and the Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for the bombing.

July 30, 1997, Jerusalem, Israel. Two bombs detonated in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, killing 15 persons, including a U.S. citizen and wounding 168 others, among them two U.S. citizens. The Izz-el-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' military wing, claimed responsibility for the attack.

September 4, 1997: Yael Botwin, age 14, an American-Israeli from the Los Angeles suburb of Claremont killed in a Hamas suicide bombing attack in downtown Jerusalem.

August 9, 2001, Jerusalem, Israel. A suicide bombing at Sbarro's, a pizzeria situated in one of the busiest areas of downtown Jerusalem, killed 15 people, including a 31-year-old tourist from New Jersey, Shoshana Greenbaum and wounded more than 90. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

July 31, 2002, Jerusalem, Israel. Seven people including four Americans, Marla Bennett (24) of Marla Bennett David Gritz Benjamin Blutstein Janis Ruth CoulterSan Diego, California, David Gritz (24) of Peru, Massachusetts, Benjamin Blutstein (25) of Susquehanna Township, Pennsylvania and Janis Ruth Coulter (36) from New York were murdered when a remote-controlled bomb detonated in the Frank Sinatra Cafeteria on Jerusalem's Hebrew University Mt. Scopus campus. Eighty-six others were injured. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attack.

According to the Boston Globe article above:

Palestinian officials have refused to pay the claim, arguing that doing so would be a politically dangerous admission of responsibility for terrorist acts by militants that the Palestinian Authority contends it does not control. Three officials interviewed by telephone from Gaza and the West Bank say they fear setting a precedent that would spur an avalanche of lawsuits that could bankrupt the new government.

Now that we have the 'right' image of Hamas, by all means, let the avalanche begin.

Update: Soccer Dad has a post from December 2004 that discusses other successes in suing terrorists--and the difficulty in collecting.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Terrorism and Hamas and Palestinian Authority and Schumer and PLO.