Gaza: When There's No Beef Stroganoff--THAT'S Poverty!

True, there are real shortages in Gaza as a result of the border closure and the Israeli blockade--shortages that are the direct result of the Hamas terrorists who control Gaza and continue to fire rockets into civilian areas in Israel.

But sometimes, these claims of poverty become absurd.

The Crashing Of Symbols

We are inundated with protestations by people who shout incendiary phrases without a clue as to what they really mean. When it comes to Israel, the world is filled with cries about "international law"--generally by those who have no knowledge of the law but enjoy the implications.

Thus we hear about "occupation" and "disproportionate force" as if there were no scholarly opinions written that defend Israel's position.

Now we hear cries about "illegal blockades," "international waters" and "piracy" and when the law is clear on the legal rights of countries to have such blockades, defends their right to go into international waters to defend such a blockade and explains why exercising that right is not piracy at all.

But why bother with words when you can create a media sensation, when you can put together a flotilla declare that you are doing nothing more than following in the footsteps of  the ship The Exodus. If one picture is worth a thousand words, imagine how much it is worth to appear on the evening news.

Yet here, once again, we have people--some innocently, others purposely--twisting the symoblism afforded by the flotilla.

French philosopher Bernard-Henri Lévy writes:

Iran: If You Want A #Flotilla Done Right...

Iran is apparently dissatisfied with the flotillas, whose cargo has been redirected by Israel to Ashdod, where it is examined and brought to Gaza:

Iran has warned that it could send Revolutionary Guard naval units to escort humanitarian aid convoys seeking to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza – a move that would certainly be challenged by Israel.

An Activist Who Defends The US and Israel

The following speech was translated by Portal of Ideas in January 2009:

Pilar Rahola is a Spanish politician, journalist and activist. She is a passionate defender of the United States and Israel and an indefatigable fighter against anti-Semitism. All these despite being ideologically from the left. Her articles are published in Spain and throughout some of the most important newspapers in Latin America. She is the recipient of major awards by Jewish organizations.

I came across this speech and felt that it was worthwhile placing it in my blog. I translated it and assume full responsibility for any errors. If you want to visit her blog, you can do so by clicking here: Pilar Rahola. Some of her articles translated into English.

Why don’t we see demonstrations against Islamic dictatorships in London, Paris, Barcelona? Or demonstrations against the Burmese dictatorship? Why aren’t there demonstrations against the enslavement of millions of women who live without any legal protection? Why aren’t there demonstrations against the use of children as human bombs where there is conflict with Islam? Why has there been no leadership in support of the victims of Islamic dictatorship in Sudan? Why is there never any outrage against the acts of terrorism committed against Israel? Why is there no outcry by the European left against Islamic fanaticism? Why don’t they defend Israel’s right to exist? Why confuse support of the Palestinian cause with the defense of Palestinian terrorism?

We Are Long Past The Point Of Hypocrisy In Criticism Of Israel

In Should Jews Apologize to Turkey or Go Back to Poland and Germany?, Victor Davis Hanson notes the Turkish op-ed in the Washington Post, and the glass house in which Turkey lives:

There is, of course, no mention by Tan of the origins and nature of the Turkish “peace” group that organized the gambit. Only in passing does the ambassador mention the rallying cries of the protestors (e.g., “Whatever the aid carriers may have chanted in opposition to Israel, this was a humanitarian initiative.”), after failing to note the chants, in fact, included both calls for a new holocaust (“Shut up, go back to Auschwitz” ) and glee about Americans killed on 9/11 (“Don’t forget 9/11″).

If anyone might be offering apologies, it should be Ambassador Tan, or at least an explanation for why a ship left a Turkish port headed for a planned confrontation. A ship, it should be added, staffed in large part by the Insani Yardim Vakfi organization, which according to American and European intelligence chiefs is a terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda — an apparent conclusion that formerly a Turkish government used to share when it periodically raided the IHH’s compounds.

But on a larger point, the sanctimonious tone of Tan’s piece is depressing.

The Sadistic Pathologically Lies, Moral Bankruptcy, and Intellectually Corruption Of The Media--And Israel's Silver Lining

In Israel's Silver Lining, Benjamin Kerstein writes:

Over a hundred years ago, the Zionist writer Ehad Ha’am wrote that the one silver lining to the blood libel was that it provided conclusive and irrefutable evidence that it was entirely possible for the Jews to be right and the world to be wrong. He was right then, of course. And he is right now. I think it is safe to say, however, that the blood libel is no longer necessary. Hateful, demented, conspiratorial, psychotic, and outright murderous lies are being told about the Jews on a fairly regular basis nowadays, and if there is any comfort to be taken in this fact, it is not so much the certainty as the irrefutable surety that the world not only can be, but usually is wrong when the Jews are concerned.

Unfortunately, last week’s incident on the high seas – in which the Israeli navy intercepted a flotilla of vessels attempting to run the blockade of Gaza, resulting in a vicious and unprovoked attack on the commandos involved by a gang of racist thugs – was not merely a case of the world being wrong. The reaction to the incident in media and political circles around the world exposed Israel’s critics, once and for all, as a sadistic, pathologically lying, morally bankrupt, and intellectually corrupted establishment whose attitude toward the Jewish state is not only unjust, but cowardly, hypocritical, racist, defamatory, delusional, inhuman, and at times simply sickeningly evil.

Indeed, the most striking thing about the reaction has been the raw volume of lies that have been spat out by ostensibly reputable journalists and politicians. Helen Thomas’s remarks in support of, effectively, ethnic cleansing are only the most succinct and straightforward version of what a great many have been saying over the last few days. And they have shown a distinct willingness to lie, falsify, and spin conspiracy theories in order to justify their debased hatreds.

...And this, my friends, is what all of this is really about. The dark truth behind all of these lies is that those who tell and repeat them desperately wish they were true. They want Israel to have massacred peaceful, non-violent activists. They want Israel to be an all powerful manipulator of reality. They want Israel to be the demonic monster they imagine it to be. Their lies and slanders; their outbursts of racism and genocidal hatred; their conspiracy theories and defamatory concoctions; their relentless, feverish, desperate refusal to accept the truth is a product of simple wishful thinking.

The question, then, is why?

Kerstein doesn't hold back, and neither should you.

Read the whole thing.

Technorati Tag: Media Bias.

Breakdown of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza May 30th-June 5th

From the IDF blog, below is an official detailed breakdown of the humanitarian aid that has been provided to Gaza from May 30th- June 5th. It includes the number of trucks and how many tons of aid have been imported during the past week, and which goods were brought in.

There were 484 truckloads brought into Gaza, including 20 truckloads of aggregates (materials used in construction) and 2 truckloads of cement.

Here is the documentation:

The Latest In Reuters Fauxtography--A Whole Lotta Crop (Updated)

A testimony in journalistic integrity!

Here is the Reuters original photo

But that is after Reuters got done with it. Here is what the original photo looked like:

Notice the hand on the left with the knife in its hand. We can't go around showing that those 'peace activists' aboard the Mavi Marmara were armed now--can we? Context be damned. This original photo is from the IHH website, where they are proud of their work and not ashamed of showing it off.

But in addition, if you lighten that area by the hand with the knife--guess what else you find hidden from view in the Reuters photo: a second injured Israeli soldier.

Hat tip: Killgore Trout on Little Green Footballs

But that is not the only example. Here is a photo taken off the website of a Turkish newspaper.

"Amos Oz: Another Clueless Israeli Intellectual"

Amos Oz: Another Clueless Israeli Intellectual
Alex Grobman

In a June 1, 2010 editorial in The New York Times titled, “Israeli Force, Adrift on the Sea,” Amos Oz, one of Israel’s foremost writers, novelists, social critics, and an active member in the Israeli peace movement, concluded that “the only way for Israel to edge out Hamas would be to quickly reach an agreement with the Palestinians on the establishment of an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as defined by the 1967 borders, with its capital in East Jerusalem. Israel has to sign a peace agreement with President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah government in the West Bank — and by doing so, reduce the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to a conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip.”

What has Abbas and Fatah ever said or done to suggest that this is a solution they truly desire? Anyone who seriously wants to understand why this is a utopian fantasy should regularly be visiting the Palestinian Media Watch and MEMRI websites, where they can read what Abbas and Fatah really say to their supporters about advocating the demise of Israel.

More On The Aid Brought In On The #Flotilla--Expired Medicine And Camouflage

From The IDF Blog:

The spokesman for the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT) announces that the unloading of humanitarian aid from the flotilla continued during the day.

Up Until now, 30 truckloads were unloaded, containing clothes, blankets, schoolbags, mattresses, children’s safety seats, closets and medical supply such as mechanical wheelchairs, X-ray reflection, wheelchairs, bandaging supply, medical beds and medications.

Some of the medicine unloaded from the ships had expiration dates from 2009. Furthermore, military camouflage fabrics, supposed to be delivered to the Hammas terror regime, were found on the ships.