THE REAL PALESTINIAN NAQBA: Hamas utilizes its newfound expertise in murdering fellow Palestinians, blames Israel for the massacre--and then fires rockets in supposed retaliation: a sign of what Al-Naqba is really all about.

The Real Palestinian 'Catastrophe'

by Cameron S. Brown and Asaf Romirowsky
Philadelphia Daily News
May 29, 2007

On May 15, the Palestinians commemorated the 59th anniversary of al-Naqba ("the Catastrophe"), a day of "mourning" the establishment of the modern state of Israel on May 15, 1948.

In a sense, al-Naqba is the quintessential event that separates the Palestinians' historical experience from that of other Arab Muslim groups and forges their unique national identity.

It is worth noting that the Palestinians use the same day Israel declared its independence to mark their national day. As is the case with so much of Palestinian society and culture, it is the actions of their Jewish neighbors - not anything of their own doing - that's the constant focus of their attention.

Read the whole thing.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Hamas and Al-Naqba and Palestinians.

NETANYAHU ON IRAN: The Wall Street Journal had a weekend interview with Netanyahu on divesting from Iran.

And then there is that other question:

Is a political comeback in his future? "I hope that we can get to elections as soon as possible," he says. "But that's a decision for 61 out of 120 Knesset members to make, and they're not going to readily part with their jobs."

Technorati Tag: Israel and Netanyahu and Iran.

WHY SDEROT MATTERS: Israel Perspectives quotes Haaretz:

It should not have been like this. Sderot is not Gush Katif. There is no debate. On the contrary: Sderot is a "Green Line" city. Sderot is a post-withdrawal city. Sderot is the righteous Israeli city after the occupation. Sderot is the future.

The question is what that future will bring.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Sderot.

LABOR: LEFT AND CENTER. Yoni the Blogger has a post about the early results of the Labor party leadership race:

Too bad the winner will be a left leaning person willing to sell Israel's future in order to chance the fantasy of peace. [emphasis added]

But never fear, the AP assures us that the Labor Party is centrist.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Labor Party.

A WALK TO THE MAISH CAVE: From TeacherTube:

This video can be viewed with English subtitles at: http://mojiti.com/bofangqi/5117/14672. The Maish Cave is a unique local landmark in the Zichron Yaakov area of Israel. This video was created by elementary students as part of a school project to preserve the cave and its surrounding area.

There are also 2 videos on Hebrew vocabulary here and here.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Maish Cave and TeacherTube.

...TO THE CAMPS OF TRIPOLI: In some places, support of the Palestinian cause is considered a good PR move. And then there is Lebanon:

Of the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, about 250,000 live in twelve camps scattered across the country. The camps are mainly ruled by militias, because the Lebanese army cannot enter under a 1969 agreement ceding control of the camps to the Palestine Liberation Organization. Inside the camps, where living conditions are miserable, regional players hustle for power. Some groups are loyal to Damascus; others to Palestinian parties like Hamas and Fatah; some even span the Sunni-Shia divide and lean toward Hezbollah (most Muslim Palestinians are Sunni, not Shia). What makes this mix of influences particularly volatile is the danger that trouble could spread to other camps as the fighting drags on.

...Loyalty to the Palestinian cause has always been a reliable way to boost your Arab nationalist credentials; this is why Saddam Hussein donated money to families of Palestinian suicide bombers. So attacking Palestinian civilians is generally not a good p.r. move in the Arab world.

But there's deep resentment of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and they're often an easy scapegoat for the country's problems. When we ask Abu Saqr if he knows about civilian casualties inside the camp, he answers by referring to the Palestinians as "Jews," and the camp as "Tel Aviv."

Technorati Tag: Lebanon and Tripoli and Palestinians.

ROBERT SPENCER STARTS BLOGGING THE QURAN: Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch and writer on Islam has started blogging about the Quran on Michelle Malkin's Hot Air:

So over the course of the next few months, I’m going to read it, and discuss it in a series of columns. All of it. Not “cherry-picked” or “out of context.” The whole thing, beginning to end. Some of you may be familiar with David Plotz’s series on Slate, “Blogging the Bible.” This series will be similar to that one, but rather than just write about what I think or feel about a certain passage, I will, unlike Plotz, refer to commentaries – all Muslim ones – on the Qur’an. I’ll try to explain how mainstream Muslims who study the Qur’an will understand any given passage, and what its import might be for non-Muslims.

...I’ll refer to Islamic traditions when necessary, as well as to traditional commentaries, to shed light on various passages. And by the end of this journey, I believe we will see more clearly what makes the jihadists tick – and also perhaps understand what we can and must do to resist them.

...Next week: chapter one, the Fatiha, the most important prayer in Islam.

CAIR keeps complaining that we should all learn the Quran and become more sensitized to and understanding of Islam--they will be so pleased!

Technorati Tag: Robert Spencer and Koran and Quran and Islam.

WILL HAMAS GO THE WAY OF SINN FEIN? We can only hope. In Ireland:

The good news from last week's election in the Irish Republic is that Sinn Féin, the party of terrorism, bank robbery, and cop-killing, garnished with half-baked sub-Marxist economic theories, achieved only a 0.4 percent increase in its first-preference votes, and actually lost one of its seats in the Irish parliament. Gerry Adams, the Sinn Féin leader, had predicted a doubling of their number of parliamentary seats, from 5 to 10; instead they have gone from 5 to 4. The "boost" for SF from all the publicity about their participation in the new power-sharing arrangement in Northern Ireland failed to happen, confirming the view of us cynics that hardly anyone in the Republic gives a fig about Ulster.

But how long will it take for Palestinians to really wise up?

Technorati Tag: Israel and Palestinians and Ireland and Sinn Fein and Hamas.

SIMPLETOREMEMBER.COM: There is a new website, SimpleToRemember.com with a wide collection of articles on Judaism:

This website was created as a result of my search into Judaism. I was inspired by the many incredible people I had come into contact with and started e-mailing friends their material. After a while, I thought, why not compile what I had found into one website and just send a link? The website turned into a hobby with which I am still very involved. Your feedback has helped improve the site, so please don't hesitate to send me your comments and suggestions. I hope you enjoy the site as much as I do!

Check it out.
[Hat tip: Life in Israel]

Technorati Tag: Judaism.

BLUEGRASS' LEADING BAAL TESHUVA: That would be Andy Statman, wearing a plain black kippa, while playing "Rawhide" in a performance with other Bluegrass greats. Lazer Beams has the video.

Technorati Tag: Andy Statman and Bluegrass.