Demography Demonlogy Not Scary

Some 80% of the opposition to Israel retaining the territories, in Jerusalem and Washington, among other locations where people really think they know how to think, is the demographics issue.

That is, too many Arabs means Israel will be swamped and must choose: either a repressive regime or bye-bye to a Jewish state.

Read this:

Muslim Israelis' growth rate slows down

The birthrate of the Muslim community in Israel is on the decline, according to data provided by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS)...at the end of 2008 the Muslim population in Israel stood at 1.240 million, an increase of 34,000 compared with the previous year.

The growth rate, 2.8 percent, is a whole percentage point lower than the 3.8% measured in 2000.

...The Muslim population in Israel is relatively young, with 510,000 - 41.2% of the overall Muslim population - aged up to 14. Only 3% (around 37,000) were found to be older than 65.

The relatively young age stems from Muslim women's high fertility rate; however, the overall fertility rate (the number of children a woman is expected to give birth to during her lifetime) has dropped from 4.7 per woman in 2000 to 3.8 per woman in 2008...

Funny Images

A Bit of Shiloh Humor

This is happened this week in Shiloh.

Shiloh, Texas, that is.

A manhunt is on for an inmate who escaped from a Road and Bridge work crew east of Groesbeck Tuesday.

The Limestone County Sheriff's Office reports Kevin Lee Dabney was working off of County Road 422, just east of Groesbeck on FM 1953 when he apparently walked away. He was last seen wearing a short-sleeved orange jump seat with the letters "LCDC" across the back.

Dabney has family living in the Shiloh community and deputies believe he is in that area.

And why was he arrested in the first place?

The Sheriff's office says Dabney was being held on an evading arrest charge.

Exaggerating Erekat Displays Ignorance

Saeb Erekat is quoted as saying:

The last I know, Washington is 6,000 miles from Jerusalem, while Jericho is 67.

As far as I know, and I've checked, the distance between Jerusalem and Jericho, where Erekat lives, is approximately 17 miles, which is about 27.2 kolometers.

Darn that Erekat, always exaggerating.

Remember the "500" figure for the "Jenin Massacre"?

Iranian Justice is 'Stone Code'

Reported:

Iran's moral police have arrested a dozen couples for engaging in illicit sexual acts, including swapping partners, the conservative Jomhuri Eslami reported on Monday.

The report said the couples and another individual were running a website, Iran Multiplication, which was aimed at promoting illicit sexual relations.

The couples were said to have carried out sexual acts in the presence of each other and several times with multiple partners, the report added.

Those arrested held university degrees, while some were government employees and had children.

The newspaper gave no further details about their identities or when or where they were arrested.

Extra-marital sex is illegal in Iran where Islamic sharia law is the principal source of legislation. If found guilty of adultery, those arrested in the crackdown face being stoned to death.

Talk Like An Egyptian

From Version I to Version II:-

Before Mr Peres's arrival, Mr Mubarak claimed Israel was responsible for the failure of attempts to resume peace talks.

"I will use words that are not open to interpretation," he said. "Israel is destroying the opportunity for peace, with its plans to populate Jerusalem with Jews and excavate around the al- Aqsa Mosque."

(that was I)

At a news conference yesterday following the talks with Mr Peres, Mr Mubarak said: "I expressed my concern to President Peres that peace talks have not progressed since our last meeting in July, and that Egypt is looking forward to an Israeli response, such as halting the building of settlements in east Jerusalem."

(that was II)

And let's address the Jerusalem issue:

...Mr Peres addressed the issue raised by Mr Mubarak regarding the al-Aqsa Mosque, which is part of the Temple Mount area of Jerusalem's Old City.

"I want to send a clear message to the Arab world - we have no intention of building on the Temple Mount. We respect the Muslims, and I am sorry for the frequent rumours and lies."

Wrong Documents

Rick Richman has a post over at Contentions, "Re: The Value of an International Guarantee" and in it, he writes:

Let me add a note to Evelyn Gordon’s important posts yesterday and today regarding Mahmoud Abbas’s weekend assertion that the UN should endorse a two-state solution “based on the June 4, 1967 borders” – a solution he contends is reflected in the relevant UN Security Council resolution and the Roadmap...it would be a breach of a longstanding international guarantee to Israel for the UN to endorse the June 4, 1967, lines as the basis of a Palestinian state. It would also violate repeated assurances made to Israel by the United States.

Would it be so simple.

I hate to break it to everyone but the Pals. base themselves on another document.

Yes, the Oslo Accords.

Allow me:

Declaration of Principles
On Interim Self-Government Arrangements
(September 13, 1993)

The Government of the State of Israel and the P.L.O. team (in the Jordanian-Palestinian delegation to the Middle East Peace Conference) (the "Palestinian Delegation"), representing the Palestinian people, agree that it is time to put an end to decades of confrontation and conflict, recognize their mutual legitimate and political rights, and strive to live in peaceful coexistence and mutual dignity and security and achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement and historic reconciliation through the agreed political process. Accordingly, the, two sides agree to the following principles:

ARTICLE I
AIM OF THE NEGOTIATIONS

The aim of the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations within the current Middle East peace process is, among other things, to establish a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority, the elected Council (the "Council"), for the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, for a transitional period not exceeding five years, leading to a permanent settlement based on Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338...

...ARTICLE IV
JURISDICTION

Jurisdiction of the Council will cover West Bank and Gaza Strip territory, except for issues that will be negotiated in the permanent status negotiations. The two sides view the West Bank and the Gaza Strip as a single territorial unit, whose integrity will be preserved during the interim period.

Now, I will be the first to point out, similar to what the Arabs have done to us Zionists regarding the Balfour Declaration, that a Jewish National Home will be reconstituted "in Palestine" but not all of it will be the future Jewish state (see: The initial draft of the declaration, contained in a letter sent by Rothschild to Balfour, referred to the principle "that Palestine should be reconstituted as the National Home of the Jewish people." In the final text, the word that was replaced with in to avoid committing the entirety of Palestine to this purpose), that the wording is not 100% solid in supporting the Pal. assertion.

For example, in this phrase:

to establish a Palestinian Interim Self-Government Authority...for the Palestinian people in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip

but, nevertheless, basing themselves on that last phrase, that "the West Bank and the Gaza Strip [is] a single territorial unit", the situation is nebulous.

And yes, one could say that the single-unit integrity is only for the length of the interim period and that there are those final status issues that could evolve into an alteration of geographical configurations. But to presume that the Pals. will willingly yield on territory is wishful thinking.

It doesn't preclude, of course, that Israel will also demand that a strict literal interpretation be held to by all concerned. Something that should happen.

However, in basing themselves on what they do, both Evelyn and Rick have to rethink their arguments.

Quotable Words

Getting back to the Obama administration: what is the principle behind the critique of construction in Gilo? There are many parts of Jerusalem that share its standing. Those places include the Jewish Quarter of the Old City and the Western Wall, both of which, like Gilo, were controlled by Jordan during the twenty years between the founding of the state and the Six Day War.

Is the Jewish Quarter a settlement? Is the Western Wall occupied? Is Israeli construction in them inimical to the peace process? Someone should ask these questions of Robert Gibbs at the next press conference. By the administration’s Gilo logic, the answer to all three would have to be yes.

Noah Pollack

An (The?) Obama Problem

..the problem, of course, stems from Obama’s obsessive infatuation with that “God of Multilateralism,” an aversion to projecting American power, and a refusal to embrace (or even fake belief in) American exceptionalism. Then there is Obama’s adoption of unhelpful excuse-mongering on behalf of those anxious to be unhelpful (e.g., the Palestinians are like enslaved African Americans, the Russians are fearful of the West), his amoral willingness to jettison human rights in the hopes of gaining favor with tyrants, and his narcissistic view of foreign policy that assumes his personal history and non-George-Bush-ness will be significant in dealing with international powers.

Found here at Jennifer Rubin's blog.

A Point of...History

My wife made a point which I would like to repeat.

We Jews and the Pals., among other things, claim historical rights to this land.

My wife and I live here in Shiloh.

We arrived on September 1, 1981.

We brought along with us, and actually, they preceded us by a day so that they could start the school year at 8AM in the morning with all the other pupils, three of our children and one six-week old baby. A fifth child was born here two years later.

And, as my wife wrote:

places like Shiloh, which only has a Jewish History.

Yes, history.

Have you heard of any historical event that is connected with Shiloh and an Arab?

That's my point.

Day-to-Day Life Near Shchem

At a blog called Bluematter, I found a fascinating glimpse into current Arab reality of life at this blog post.

I bring you this excerpt:

We went out of Nablus, and he [an IDF soldier] said please walk, get out of the car. I told him we have the license and stuff, he said no - walk. They are like an international airport these checkpoints, it's not a checkpoint per se; you have a rotating door, and this is for the car, and several guns pointing at you from several directions; I got scared at that point. Why is he asking me to walk when I have the permit to leave?

So I walked out of the car and the guy said, well, he started speaking to me in Hebrew. I tell him no; only speak Arabic or English. One of them then goes, 'hold on, you speak English you said'? And I said yes, I do speak English. And he said - in Arabic - 'how is it to curse?'

And I thought, shit, this is gonna - because you hear stories, of them making fun, taking the piss. The guy is bored at the checkpoint and he wants to insult you basically so he tries to insult you in any way he finds. So I think, fuck, I'm not going down this route, you know.

And he said 'you know, bitch, fuck, how do you curse?' And I said 'I don't know these words man; I just learned English in school, they don't teach us these words'. And then he goes - in Arabic - 'no, you know, sharmuta, manyak - speak some Arabic swear words. I want you to curse'. And I spoke a few swear words in Arabic. And he said 'OK, come with me'.

So I went into that room, and they had a guy, they took out his shirt, put it on top of his head and two guys are kicking him. Apparently, on the check point, after he left, he cursed at them. And they did the whole thing, they made everyone wait for an hour, with so many cars behind you know, and they are beating this guy and waiting for someone to come and tell him that they are beating him because he is cursing on them. And most of the time of course they can speak full arabic. But it's just - you know, setting an example. So, in this case, the whole thing was for me to see what's happening so they can set an example - the guy [the IDF soldier] spoke perfect Arabic, they didn't need me to tell the guy anything. [pause]

At checkpoints, you cannot move unless he [the IDF soldier] tells you to move. And with these guys, you know, it's random; he can tell you 'wait for an hour and after one hour I'll let you guys move'. They don't need a good reason to do that.

- Where was that?

In Nablus, going out of Nablus.

Now, if this is true, I would want an investigation. I have served in the territories. I have manned roadblocks. I have chased suspected terrorists (I was younger and still could run fast) and I once crawled 100 meters to surprise a suspected terrorist at home. There is no need for any of this type of behavior. Even in using weapons there are limits and constraints.

I hope the next two installments come soon.

In the meantime, I left this one comment there:

Thanks for the insight, Fascinating. I just thought the opening statement needs a bit of thinking, and not only because it sets the framework for his presentation.

He said: "The West Bank, politically, is Palestinian land - under UN law it is for the Palestinians". Well, the UN really doesn't make law but if it does, I wonder why, back in 1947, when it voted to establish a Jewish state and an Arab state in part of the former territory of Mandated Palestine (I write 'part' because back in 1923, the area of Transjordan was separated from the area set aside for the Jewish national home but was still administratively part of the Mandate rule until 1946) the local indigenous Arabs (a) rejected that and tried to wipe it out through violence and then (b) after they lost the war, they seem too have voted to join up with the Hashemite Kingdom and not establish an Arab Palestine (see here)?

And the famous 242 Resolution doesn't mention a "Palestine" (see here).

It seems that only in 2002 did the UN refer to a "vision of two states, Israel and Palestine" (see here).

So as for being "Palestinian land", I would think this is quite a recent concept whereas already in 1917 (Balfour Declaration) and 1920 (San Remo Conference) and 1923 (the League of Nations) all affirmed that "Whereas recognition has thereby been given to the historical connection of the Jewish people with Palestine and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country" (see here), it would seem that politically, there still remains a problem.

New "Yaakov Chesed" Album Out

Go here. Or here.



Of the "Blue Fringe" style.

Robi Damelin - Cont'd

On October 30th I blogged about a sign of weakness in Israel's society: Robi Damelin.

Well, she's off on a lecture tour sponsored by another weak-link, Yitzhak Frankenthal. With one "Ali Abu Awwad, a West Bank former revolutionary".

You can read the report here, and the sole reference to her son's murderer is this:

...tonight he hugs Robi as he says it. Not because they have established a mother-son relationship — that is too simplistic, they insist. But after five years he knows how much she is hurting merely uttering the name Taer. Robi insists that she will, urged on by her older son Eran, go on writing and explaining about David to her son’s killer in prison. “Perhaps this is the beginning of a new dialogue. I am not going to let this turn me into a victim,” she says.

Now, why should she be hurt? And why should you consider Robi a bit weird when she obliquely mentions 'the beginning of a new dialogue'?

Well, you have to read Taer's letter to her.

Here's an excerpt from my previous blog post:

In March 2002, Ta'er Hamad positioned himself with an old carbine rifle on a hill opposite a checkpoint in Wadi Haramiya, killed eight Israeli soldiers and two Israeli civilians - and escaped unscathed. [I pass that spot twice daily and my neighbor Avigdor Schatz was wounded trying to extricate those caught up in the ambush] Two and a half years later, in October 2004, he was arrested by an Israel Defense Forces unit operating in his village of Silwad. After learning of his incarceration, Damelin decided to contact him and his family, seeking reconciliation.

So, what was Hamad's response?

"I recently learned of the contents of a letter by Robi Damelin, mother of the soldier David, who was one of the 10 soldiers of occupation who were killed in the operation for which I was sentenced to 11 life terms," Hamad wrote. "I cannot address the soldier's mother directly. Not because it is difficult for me to convey my response from prison, but because my hand refuses to write in a style that epitomizes the policy of the occupation, that refuses to recognize and to accept the rights of our people. I cannot hold a dialogue with someone who insists on equating the criminal and the victim, and on equating the occupation with its victims. This is my response to the letter of Mrs. Robi, and I hereby criticize her sarcastic style when she thinks that with emotional words it is possible to resolve this decades-old conflict."

Hamad bluntly rejected the bereaved mother's outstretched hand. "Mrs. Robi did not explain what led the soldier David to enlist," he continues. "She doesn't know the iron fact that her son not only took part in the torture of my people, but stood at the head of the perpetrators of the killing and murder. From her letter, it appears that she is living on another planet. She forgets that the late Abu Amar (Yasser Arafat) called for peace 35 years ago. I wish to remind the mother of the soldier David that history proves that a people that does not fight an occupation with all means, including arms, cannot obtain its rights. This is the lesson that must be taken from looking at your ally the Americans who were humiliated in Vietnam and this is the lesson of your army's withdrawal from Lebanon. You must remove your hands from our land and from our people, and if not, it is our duty to kill the murderers.

"Mrs. Robi says that she joined the Palestinian and Israeli parents' organization for peace, after the death of her son," Hamad added. "This is an organization of parents who lost their children in the arena of the conflict, while she, Robi, is determined to equate our martyrs with their casualties, likening those who are fighting for their rights with the occupiers. Just as I refused to directly address the soldier's mother, I cannot wish to meet her. I cannot meet with the occupier of our land on the same land. I carried out the operation as part of the struggle for freedom, justice and the establishment of an independent state, not out of a lust or love for killing. Acts of violence are a necessity imposed upon us by the occupation and I shall not abandon this path for as long as the occupation continues."...

..."When I told Eran [her oldest son] that I received a letter from the sniper, I expected him to say, 'For god's sake, Mom, let this thing go.' But he said something very beautiful. He said, 'Mom, this is also the beginning of a dialogue.'"

So, this is... dialogue?

Maybe.

But of the deaf...and dumb.

For Robi's sake, I hope she at least occasionally informs her audiences the full truth, the whole
truth and nothing but the truth.

We need the truth in this conflict and so far, despite all the sugary characterizations, Robi is not helping out.

More Slipping Sand

From Patricia Cohen's book review:-

...Mixing respected scholarship with dubious theories, the author, Shlomo Sand, a professor at Tel Aviv University, frames the narrative as a startling exposure of suppressed historical facts. The translated version of his polemic has sparked a new wave of coverage in Britain and has provoked spirited debates online and in seminar rooms.

Professor Sand, a scholar of modern France, not Jewish history, candidly states his aim is to undercut the Jews’ claims to the land of Israel by demonstrating that they do not constitute “a people,” with a shared racial or biological past. The book has been extravagantly denounced and praised, often on the basis of whether or not the reader agrees with his politics.

The vehement response to these familiar arguments — both the reasonable and the outrageous — highlights the challenge of disentangling historical fact from the sticky web of religious and political myth and memory.

...Since Professor Sand’s mission is to discredit Jews’ historical claims to the territory, he is keen to show that their ancestry lines do not lead back to ancient Palestine. He resurrects a theory first raised by 19th-century historians, that the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, to whom 90 percent of American Jews trace their roots, are descended from the Khazars...By now, experts who specialize in the subject have repeatedly rejected the theory, concluding that the shards of evidence are inconclusive or misleading, said Michael Terry, the chief librarian of the Jewish division of the New York Public Library. Dr. Ostrer said the genetics also did not support the Khazar theory.

...Professor Sand accuses Zionist historians from the 19th century onward — the very same scholars on whose work he bases his case — of hiding the truth and creating a myth of shared roots to strengthen their nationalist agenda. He explains that he has uncovered no new information, but has “organized the knowledge differently.” In other words, he is doing precisely what he accuses the Zionists of — shaping the material to fit a narrative.

In that sense, Professor Sand is operating within a long established tradition. As “The Illustrated History of the Jewish People,” edited by Nicholas Lange (Harcourt, 1997), notes, “Every generation of Jewish historians has faced the same task: to retell and adapt the story to meet the needs of its own situation.” The same could be said of all nations and religions.

Perhaps that is why — on both sides of the argument — some myths stubbornly persist no matter how often they are debunked while other indubitable facts continually fail to gain traction.

Ten? Why Not Nine?

Reported:

TV: Israel proposing 10-month settlement freeze

JERUSALEM — Israel TV reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is proposing a 10-month freeze in construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

The TV report said the freeze would not apply to Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. Palestinians claim that part of the city as their capital.

Ten?

Why not nine?

You know, that way it's full-term and either there's a birth, a still-born or a miscarriage.

New "Fun & Games" Custom in Florida

Do you know what "kick a Jew day" is?

You're about to find out.

But first, do you know where Collier County is located?

Here:



And in Collier County, which is located at the southern end of Florida's Gulf Coast, and bounded by: Hendry County, Florida - north; Broward County, Florida - east; Miami-Dade County, Florida - southeast; Monroe County, Florida - south; and Lee County, Florida - northwest, a

Student assaulted during 'Kick A Jew Day'

The details:

There are disturbing accusations of anti-Semitism at a Collier County school. Ten students are serving suspensions for their roles in what was called "Kick a Jew Day" at North Naples Middle.

..."Oh, I think it's horrible. I don't understand why they would do that," said parent Jodie Hovland.

According to the Collier County School District, 10 students were suspended for their roles in "Kick a Jew Day" last week.

Word had spread around school that if you saw a Jewish student on Thursday, you were supposed to kick them, as was first reported by our news gathering partners at the Naples Daily News.

...We also obtained an email one parent sent to the principal, the Collier County Superintendent and school board members, describing what he says happened to his daughter.

"Kids pretended to kick her and later, at lunch, some large kids actually kicked her. Apparently many kids, all Jewish, were kicked during the day. I was furious and attempted to call the parents of the girl who initiated this hatred," the email stated.

...But one grandparent said he just chalks it up to kids being kids. "Personally I think it's a non issue," said Raymond Brusca.

The 10 students involved received one-day in-school suspension and the school had conferences with their parents...Until further notice, the school will take the first 20 minutes of the day and focus on character traits instead of the usual reading and tutoring time. The district and the principal declined on camera interviews.

These kids should maybe be reading some of the web sites I do so at least they could try to "justify" their crude hate practices by claiming these Jews support Israel and we all 'know' how bad Israel is.



(Kippah tip: BT)

All of Them? The 'Cryptos' Too?

All of the residents of Hebron.

I mean this rational considered opinion:-

The business of the Hebron settlers is terrorism, pure and simple; not quasi-terrorism, crypto-terrorism, neo-terrorism, potential terrorism, or something akin to terrorism, but the very thing itself. And the business of the Hebron Fund is funding terrorism.

That was Aaron Leavitt.

Aaron who?

Aaron Levitt is a member and past board member of West End Synagogue in Manhattan, a member of Jews Against the Occupation (JATO), and is presently Director of Research at a large New York City social services agency. Levitt has been working in support of a just peace in Israel/Palestine for the past seven years. He can be contacted at aaronjlevitt@gmail.com.

A Question of Unification

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman opened his mouth:-

"We greatly regret the recent decision to allow the construction of new homes in East Jerusalem," spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told reporters at a regular news conference.



"Settlement building in East Jerusalem is a major stumbling block on the road towards sustainable progress in the Middle East peace process," he said, adding Merkel would discuss the matter with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu next week.

Major? Regret?

Well, Germany is just going to have to get over it.

The city of Berlin was eventually unified.

Jerusalem was eventually unified.

Jerusalem shall remain unified.

That is the major reality.

And no regrets.

Fired Up Wall Poster

This one is a bit convoluted:-

There is a way-out group of Hareidim, recently 'converted', I think, who denounce wigs. Only kerchief headcoverings for their women.

They have been campaigning fiercely.

Seems they have taken to filming in Hareidi neighborhoods to catch waywarders in wigs.

But to use a video is a big no-no in other Hareidi quarters.

So, there have been fights and pummelings.

The above poster warns:

"A burning fire one doesn't extinguish with kerosene"

Before Or After the Irgun Blew It Up

Blew up the King David Hotel, of course.

What do I mean?

Well, read this item first:-

Egyptian banks demand return of shares in King David Hotel

Two Egyptian banks petitioned the Israel High Court of Justice, demanding the return of their shares in the King David Hotel, Jerusalem, Israeli media reported on Monday.

The Egyptian Arab Land Bank and the Bank of Egypt stated that the shares in the hotel were purchased during the 1930s and are worth millions of US dollars, according to the Israeli daily Ma’ariv. The petition put forward stated that after the 1948 war, the shares were transferred to the Israeli Absentee Property Custodian, which in turn sold the shares to Israeli companies.

The petition further highlighted that the Absentee Property Custodian should have returned the shares owned by the Egyptian banks following the peace agreement between Egypt and Israel, as stipulated by international law.

Hmmm.

Do any of us own shares in the pyramids?

As noted:

Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin said, “[Jimmy] Carter worked harder [on the Camp David Accords] than our forefathers did in Egypt building the pyramids.”

Of course, we already had this some six years ago:-

Egyptian Jurists to Sue 'The Jews' for Compensation for 'Trillions' of Tons of Gold Allegedly Stolen During Exodus from Egypt

The August 9, 2003 edition of the Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram Al-Arabi featured an interview with Dr. Nabil Hilmi, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Al-Zaqaziq who, together with a group of Egyptian expatriates in Switzerland, is preparing an enormous lawsuit against "all the Jews of the world."

Since the family that built the hotel was Jewish and since I am presuming that all their wealth was nationalized by the Egyptian regime, I think we should start all over and demand our money back.