Nikki Haley And What Today's UN Vote Really Meant

 

In response to agitation by the Palestinian Authority over President Trump's decision to recognize Israel's capitol and move the U.S. embassy there,the UN Security Council (UNSC) hurriedly put together a resolution criticizing it. The entire process was little more than bad Kabuki theater, since the U.S. said openly it would use its veto as one of the five permanent members. The other 14 members all voted for it.

A look at who these members are is illuminating:

PERMANENT MEMBERS

Britain, France, The U.S.A, China, The Russian Federation

NON PERMANENT MEMBERS

Bolivia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Senegal, Sweden, Ukraine, and Uruguay.

Some of these countries are actively hostile towards Israel, especially but not exclusivelythe Muslim majority nations. Others have large groups of restive Muslims they need to appease, others have important trade relationships with the Muslim world and some have a combination of all three.

U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley correctly diagnosed this as an insult to the U.S., who hosts the UN on its soil and funds a disproportionate part of the organization's budget. Here's what she had to say:

“The United States will not be told by any country where we can put our embassy. What we have witnessed here is an insult. It won’t be forgotten. It is one more example of the UN doing more harm than good in addressing the Israeli Palestinian conflict."

Well, true enough. Israel at the UN remains the Jew among nations..despised, discriminated against for the most part and singled out as the chief evil in the world community. For instance, non-permanent members of the UNSC serve rotating terms. One nation that will never get a chance to serve on the UNSC is Israel, and that's deliberate because many countries in the region Israel was lumped in with don't even recognize its existence let alone go along with allowing Israel to serve.

What happened next is that Iran and Yemen advanced a resolution in the UN General Assembly, which allows no veto and where every member gets a vote. This one passed 128-9, with 33 abstentions and a pretty fair share of no-shows, as the chart below shows.





Again, there are certain patterns. For instance, you'll notice that all of the Western EU members with large numbers of violent restive Muslims they imported to their countries voted for this resolution,like the UK,France, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany. So did EU countries historically biased against Israel like Ireland and Norway. Most of the EU countries in Eastern Europe voted against it, abstained or simply didn't show up for the vote.

Most majority Muslim countries voted for it, as did most countries with a substantial Muslim population. But Turkmenistan did not. Neither did Kenya, which enjoys a very good relationship with Israel in terms of trade and security cooperation. India, which likewise has a great relationship with Israel voted for it, largely because of commercial interests and their large Muslim population.

So what does all this mean? Here's what today's UN vote really meant.

Absolutely nothing.

The same is true of the UNSC vote earlier.

Like all the other UN diktats involving Israel, this one is worth about as much as used toilet paper. Only Security Council resolutions with a Series 7 category mean anything or have any legal standing at all, and all the ones Israel has supposedly 'ignored' are Series 5 at best.

Fun fact...the UN, of course only abides by what it wants to, even when it comes to Series 7 resolutions that supposedly have consequences for violations.

In 2006, Israel had overcome a poor start in its war against Hezbollah once the always incompetent Ehud Olmert realized that he actually had to have a real plan rather than just sending the IDF into battle piecemeal with zero support. And a real professional soldier with command experience running things. So he told his far left Defense minister Amir Peretz to go hide somewhere and put Ehud Barack in charge. The IDF under his command was able to regroup , beat Hezbollah at its own game and advance to the Litani River, where they had Hezbollah in an iron ring. At that point, GW Bush's dysfunctional Secretary of State Condaleeza Rice stepped in and bullied Olmert into accepting a ceasefire.

As an incentive, Ms. Rice engineered a Series 7 UNSC resolution, UNSC #1701. It called for the disarming of Hezbollah, for UNFIL(United Nations Forces in Lebanon) forces on the border to stop Hezbollah from simply returning to its old bases in South Lebanon and sanctions and penalties on any country that rearmed Hezbollah and replenished it's missile arsenal. The resolution passed, and Olmert stupidly agreed, removing the IDF from Lebanon instead of finishing off Hezbollah once and for all.

The minute the IDF left and UNFIL took over, Hezbollah started creeping back to its old bases in the south, When Israel complained about UNFIL not abiding by UNSC 1701, the commander of what were mostly Pakistani troops simply laughed at the Israelis and replied that stopping Hezbollah from moving back to the border wasn't his job, no matter what any UNSC resolution said. Needless to say, Hezbollah was never disarmed, and Syria and Iran started re-arming Hezbollah and replenished Hezbollah's missile arsenal in record time.

The UN is dysfunctional at this stage for one simple reason. Democracies simply don't do well when they're dealing with despotic non-democratic countries...especially when two of those non-democracies have veto power and can obstruct and gum up the works at will. The minute the UN opened its doors to despotic countries like the Soviet Union, it was eventually doomed to failure. It would have been far better to allow these countries to address the UN in discussion but limit voting to the democracies. The scramble to admit brand new countries with 'strong men' in charge that followed WWII and introduced tribalism and ethnic blocs into the equation only sped up the process of decay.

As for today's shadow show, yes, what today's UN vote really meant was... nothing.

For a number of countries that have good relationships with Israel to abstain from this fiasco or even vote yes is simply a case of not buying trouble by indulging in a worthless display. And believe me both Trump and the Israelis know it. India, Japan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria and Vietnam, all of whom have great relations with Israel voted yes, and like Canada, Australia, who also has great relations with Israel abstained. I guarantee you that countries friendly to Israel who felt compelled to vote yes or abstain talked to them about it beforehand. And of course, Israel isn't going to abide by it anyway.

Even voting on this nonsense one way or the other is giving it more importance than it actually has, although I wouldn't be surprised if Trump administers some puppy training to some of the 'yes' voters in a few cases. Because it is an insult, to tell America who or what it can recognize and where it can put its embassies.

And when you deliberately insult someone, there are certain results. Especially when that someone is your landlord and paymaster.

Oh, and those nations who voted no, abstained from voting or the 21 nations didn’t cast a vote? Ambassador Haley is giving them a party. There are certain results that come from supporting the U.S. too.

Trump And Jerusalem - The Story Behind The Story

President Trump announced today that the United States is now formally recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capitol, and that the U.S. would be moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. here's what he had to say.



The U.S. congress passed a law 22 years ago to move the embassy to Israel's capitol, but including a
bi-annual waiver the president could sign if he felt national security conditions warranted a postponement. President Trump signed the first waiver in June, when he was still very involved in other matters and was still working on the outline of a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. The deadline for the signing of a new waiver was December 4th. President Trump not signing it and his subsequent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capitol and the movement of the American embassy not just a nod to reality but a sign of a new realism in the Middle East and perhaps, even a possible solution.

The responses to the president's relatively even handed speech are hideously revealing.

The most interesting ones came from U.S. European allies. And they deserve some examination.

'I'm intending to speak to President Trump about this matter. Our position has not changed, it has been a long standing one and it is also a very clear one. It is that the status of Jerusalem should be determined in a negotiated settlement.'  British Prime Minister Theresa May

Why yes, Madame Prime Minister, Britain's position on Israel  is indeed long standing and clear. Let's recall a few things, shall we?

It was Britain who added to the death toll of the Holocaust substantially by disregarding their responsibilities under the League of Nations Mandate and closing Palestine to all Jewish migration in 1939. It trapped many Jews in Europe who were desperate for refuge and whose lives would have been saved...while unlimited Arab migration to Palestine was allowed. It was the British who prior to WWII actually sent desperate Jewish men, women and children they caught trying to enter Palestine back to the countries they had escaped from, including Nazi Germany. It was the British who attempted to strangle Israel at birth by arming and training the Arab armies attacking them, even though they knew the Arabs were openly promising a second Holocaust.

And it was British officers who led Jordan's Arab legion and oversaw the ethnic cleansing of every Jew in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem, the burning of 28 historic synagogues and the use of the Kotel as a garbage dump and latrine. That, by the way is Jerusalem was divided in the first place and got most of its Arab population…with the eager assistance of Britain.

You've already turned your own capitol  over to the Muslims to the point where whole areas aren't safe for non-Muslims, and whose own Muslim mayor recently said that London would 'just have to get used to terrorist attacks' like the London Bridge massacre.  If the British people are stupid enough to vote for  politicians like you intent on turning their country into a place where women and children aren't protected, where jihadist mosques flourish, where the once renowned London cabs have become largely unsafe for non-Muslim women and where Britain's heritage and culture of freedom is becoming replaced by something far more sinister,  well, I suppose they can.

While I realize that it's politically expedient for you to bloviate  on this subject, but you might want to clean your own house first. If you still can.

'This decision is a regrettable decision that France does not approve of and goes against international law and all the resolutions of the U.N. Security Council.' French President Emmanuel Macron

Mais oui, Monsieur Le President. After all, a Socialist like you needs all those Muslim votes if you're going to keep in power and that comes first, even while most of your army is deployed in your streets to try and maintain some kind of peace and security. Paris, the cultural capitol of Europe has become another Algiers, a city under siege. What is it, three years under a state of emergency? Bien jouie' President Macron, that must be a new record!

Oh, and those UN resolutions? None of them were Series 7 and thus legal or binding. That means they have all the meaning and value of paper towels in a pissoir.

That seems to be where your approval ratings are headed as well, sur le pissoir. Perhaps you too need to focus a lot more on what's happening outside the Élysée Palace instead of sticking your nose into anything to do with Israel and Jerusalem.

Of course, there were also the usual threats of Muslim violence and terrorism:

'This decision will open the gates of hell on US interests in the region.' Hamas official Ismail Radwan

'Death sentence for all who seek peace.' Qatar's foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani

There is no way that there can be talks with the Americans. The peace process is finished. They have already pre-empted the outcome.' Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi.

The U.S. decision 'destroys the peace process.' Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah.

Let's explore how and why this happened and what it really means.

For starters, the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians, or at least what passes for their leadership made a huge mistake. They thought they were still dealing with Barack Hussein Obama and overplayed their hand.

As I pointed out last July, the Trump Administration was getting increasingly fed up over 'Palestine's ' unelected dictator Mahmoud Abbas, his obstruction and his refusal to make any concessions or take steps showing he was interested in an actual peace agreement.

The chief ones asked of him were that he stop using donor funds to encourage terrorism by rewarding terrorist murderers and their families, and that he end incitement against Jews and Israel in the mosques, media and schools he controls. He refused the first and ignored the second.

As I reported, Abbas actually got into a shouting match with Trump advisor Jared Kushner at their meeting in Ramallah, saying that rewarding the terrorists, or as he put it, holy martyrs was his 'social responsibility.'

Abbas, of course, had heard requests for these basic things for years but he took them, correctly, for lip service that meant nothing. Except for President Trump, it meant quite a bit.

There were quite a bit of other things going on for President Trump at that time, so he put the Mideast peace process on the back burner for awhile, choosing to see what would develop between then and December.. Abbas mistook this for once again literally getting away with murder.

And then decided to up the ante and act out accordingly. He did four things that openly showed his contempt for any peace process that didn't involve him getting everything he wanted while not giving up a single concession.



The first thing he did was to manufacture a major outbreak of violence and incitement at the Temple Mount. This definitely influenced President Trump's thinking on the matter.

Abbas then went to the ICC in what amounted to a futile attempt to indict Israel and Israelis for various 'crimes.' That was unsuccessful, but the fact that Abbas did it after the U.S. asked him not to make things worse by doing so did not improve the president's opinion of him.

Abbas also made a huge error in his unity agreement with Hamas, an officially designated terrorist group in America and the EU, although the EU seems to have forgotten that based on their approval of the pact.

The original basis for the unity agreement was that Hamas would allow Abbas to control the crossings and most of the administration of Gaza in exchange for a lot more donor cash. The one huge hangup is that Abbas, like most dictators didn't want anyone but his people armed...and Hamas refused to turn over its weapons or its missiles. There were also a number of disagreements about how much cash Hamas was going to get, various intra-clan disputes and who would get certain admin jobs. So the pact is now on life support.

Another factor was Abbas and the PLO shrugging their shoulders about being able to control Hamas terrorism against Israel, just like back in Arafat's day. That got the Israeli government to announce they wouldn't negotiate at all with any Palestinian government that contained Hamas.

Finally, Abbas and his minions refused to even consider a fairly reasonable peace plan advanced by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that would have given them a state in parts of Judea and Samaria,Gaza, increased territory in northern Sinai and a capitol in Abu Dis, an Arab suburb of Jerusalem. It would have given 'Palestine' more territory than it now controls while for the most part, guaranteeing Israel's security needs.

Given that the plan involves territory that now belongs to Israel and Egypt, it's obvious that the Saudis ran this by them first. It's also fairly obvious that President Trump was aware of it also, since this plan, if accepted, would have settled a sore point and have been an important step in building the coalition of Israel and the Sunni Arab states against Iran, something definitely in the works and the president's main goal. Abbas turning it down cold convinced all parties involved that he's not serious about the real negotiations needed to make this work.

Contrary to popular belief and the spicy rhetoric that gets served up on occasion, most of the Sunni Arab states are sick and tired of the 'Palestinians.' Kuwait, Iraq, and Jordan have tossed out and/or killed thousands of them as politically unreliable elements. Many Arab states only let them in on short term work visas. They simply aren't an important issue anymore, especially not compared to Iran and the Shi'ite bloc.

President Trump decided to show Abbas, unlike any president in the last 20 years that the choices he made have a cost. And he chose very shrewdly, since Jerusalem is one issue a vast majority of Israelis agree on. They were never going to agree to redivide the city anyway...especially not the Old City with the Kotel and their holiest shrines. They remember all too well what kind of respect the Arabs and their British officers showed those holy shrines after 1948.

As the president pointed out, the ridiculous policy of not acknowledging Israel's capitol never had any positive effect on the peace process, in fact, the reverse. President Trump has understood that for a while, and decided the time was right to honor a campaign promise he made that was also made by three previous presidents who weaseled out at the first opportunity once they got elected. President Trump is of a very different quality.

While President Trump was careful to give some lip service to the idea that part of Jerusalem might be up for grabs in a final settlement, he knows better. Anyone who thinks the Jews are willingly going to give up Jerusalem again ought to seek psychiatric care.

Israel is under G-d's Divine protection, The City of David redeemed and united, and the Jews are home. They're not going anywhere.

The Jerusalem Temple Mount Crisis - Why it Erupted, How To Solve It

Recent events continue show exactly why the peace process in the Middle East is dead on arrival right now, at least where Israel and the Palestinian authority is concerned. The Jerusalem Temple Mount crisis is the latest example of Mahmoud Abbas's destructive tactics in attempting to sabotage it and stay relevant.

As I pointed out in an earlier article,the Mideast 'peace process' is currently DOA and President Trump is strongly considering simply pulling out of it as a bad job. Moreover, the entire effort was part of a much larger program, creating a strategic bloc between the most powerful Sunni States of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates (and possibly a newly formed, U.S. backed Kurdistan) with Israel to defeat ISIS and al-Qaeda, oppose Iran and reaffirm U.S. leadership in the region.

Mahmoud Abbas has essentially torpedoed that arrangement at least as far as Israel and the Palestinian Authority is concerned. Although the larger program of a strategic bloc composed of Israel and the Sunni states will probably survive.

Abbas did it with the same tactics he's always used. He refused, as he always has,  to make any concessions to Israel, especially when it came to his using international donor funds to reward convicted terrorist murderers and their families, or to stop the incitement of the murder of Jews in the mosques, media and schools the PA controls. The meeting he had with U.S. special adviser Jared Kushner ended in a shouting match, with Abbas saying that continuing to pay terrorists and their families out of donor aid was 'my social responsibility.'

Next, Abbas went to one of the few places where he's taken seriously, the UN, and got UNESCO to pass a resolution that declared that all the Jewish holy sites, including the Western Wall were 'occupied Palestinian territory' and renaming them with Arabic names, something that had no practical effect except to inflame Israelis. And finally, he once again used the al-Aqsa Mosque to inflame tensions.

The first incident involved two Palestinians who smuggled weapons into the mosque itself, not just 'the compound' as is being reported. They sneaked out of the mosque and murdered two Israeli police in cold blood, literally shooting them in the back. The two killers were later killed in a shootout with Israeli police. Palestinians inside the mosque and in the compound responded with rocks, bottles, knives and sticks. One of them was blown up by his own Molotov cocktail. The riot that ensued was so violent that the police actually had to storm the mosque to restore order.

The police then searched the mosque. inside they found a number of weapons hidden, knives, axes, firearms, gas bombs and ammo.

After removing the weapons, the Israelis came up with the solution of installing metal detectors. The Vatican and the main mosque in Mecca have similar equipment installed. Abbas used that as an excuse to incite and actually fund more riots with financial incentives, and to involve Jordan's King Abdullah. Per an arrangement made with Jordan by Israel's Labor government after Jordan attacked Israel in 1967, a Jordanian religious administrative body known as the Waqf has custody of the al-Aqsa mosque at the top of the Temple Mount. The Waqf has allowed stones to be stockpiled for Arabs to throw down and attack Jews worshiping at the Kotel, the Western Wall on more than one occasion. Incendiary sermons at the mosque are common.

Israel's relationship with Jordan is said to be peaceful, but it's actually an extremely frigid armistice, a ceasefire. Anti-semitic rants are quite common in Jordan's parliament, and there is little if any tourism or security cooperation. The Jordanians recently gave early release just this last March to Ahmed al-Daqamseh, a Jordanian soldier whose heroic deed was gunning down and murdering 7 Israeli schoolgirls who were on a field trip on Israel's side of the border. He received a hero's welcome in Jordan upon his release. We could discuss what kind of society it is that celebrates a child murderer as a hero, but I digress. The point is that Jordan is no 'ally' of Israel and would definitely attack Israel if it had the military capacity to do so.

King Abdullah is not exactly popular in his own country, so he took advantage of Mahmoud Abbas's opening to bolster that approval by mouthing a number of incendiary remarks of his own. That led to a terrorist attack on Israel's embassy in Amman, which the Jordanian police were supposedly guarding. One of the attackers who entered the embassy attempted to stab an Israeli security guard and wound up being shot and killed in response. Jordan insisted on 'interrogating' the Israeli guard, and that word has a very different meaning in a country like Jordan than it does in say, America or other countries where what's considered the rule of law is quite different.

The Israeli staff inside the embassy refused give the Jordanians the security guard, and were essentially blockaded in their embassy. A couple of days later, an arrangement was apparently made to allow the embassy staff to return to Israel with the security guard. In exchange, Israeli PM Netanyahu agreed to remove the metal detectors from the entrance to al-Aqsa and investigate the incident at the embassy, which still remains empty as I write this.

As word from one of my notorious little birdies has it, the Trump Administration had a major part in resolving this.

Meanwhile, the embassy in Amman is still empty, and King Abdullah and Mahmoud Abbas are still mouthing incendiary remarks and threatening war. In the case of Abbas, this incitement resulted in the hideous murder of a Jewish family in the village of Neve Tsuf (Halamish) who were sitting down to a Friday night Sabbath meal and celebrating a Shalom Zachar (celebration of the birth of a boy). The killer, who climbed over the security fence knocked on the door and was admitted, since the family thought it was a neighbor. Instead, Omar al-Abed rushed through the door with a knife and murdered the grandfather, 70-year old Yosef Salomon, his daughter 46-year old Chaya Salomon, and his son, 36-year old Elad Salomon (HY"D.) The grandmother, 68-year old Tova Salomon, was seriously wounded. The carnage would have been even worse if not for some quick thinking by daughter-in-law Michal Salomon, who rushed her five children into a room, locked the door and called the police. An off-duty soldier neighbor shot the terrorist through a nearby window, wounding him.

 

Omar al-Abed will receive the equivalent of $3,000 per month from Abbas, courtesy of your tax dollars. That's a very hefty sum in 'Palestine.' No wonder Omar's mom is so proud of him!

Reflecting on this, we can come to a few unavoidable conclusions.

First, Israel's attempt to share holy sites with Muslims doesn't work. It hasn't worked on the Temple Mount. It hasn't worked at the The Me'arat HaMachpela, the Cave of the Patriarchs where the Jews returned during their Holy Days to find that the Muslims had urinated and defecated in the area used to store the Jew's Torah scrolls and decked out the designated Jewish area with Hamas flags and anti-Semitic grafitti. It hasn't worked with Rachel's Tomb, which the Arabs firebombed. It hasn't worked with Joshua's Tomb or Joseph's Tomb. It  has always resulted in violence, murder and the most obscene desecration and destruction imaginable.

Second, Israel will never be able to live in peace with the Palestinian Authority, especially as long as Fatah is running things. And the best that can be expected of Jordan is a frigid ceasefire.

Third, both King Abdullah of Jordan and Mahmoud Abbas can be depended on to use the Temple Mount as a tool for incitement of violence at will. No matter what Israel does or doesn't do, they will always rant about 'changing the status quo' and 'trying to control the area' and 'disrespecting Muslim rights' whenever they need to use such rhetoric as a weapon against Israel.

And Fourth, Israel is never going to cede any part of Jerusalem to the Arabs. The last time Arabs controlled the area, in 1948, 28 historic synagogues were burned to the ground, Jewish tombstones from the Mount of Olives were used as pavement and the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism was used as a garbage dump.

But there's actually a simple solution for this situation. Israel is always being accused of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount, a status quo that really doesn't work anyway as far as keeping things peaceful goes.So it's better to just call Jordan and Abbas's bluff by doing just that.

First, the Jordanian Waqf should be sent packing. There's no question but that they were complicit in the recent violence as well as violence that has occurred in the past. Instead Israel needs to appoint a committee of Israeli Arabs or perhaps even a single commissioner as a liaison for matters regarding maintenance of the al-Aqsa mosque. And the authority of that committee or commissioner should be limited to just that, discussions of necessary maintenance.

And finally, the entire Temple Mount area should be closed to all, Jew and Muslim alike. No one goes up there except for needed maintenance or once in a while,a few carefully vetted scholars for scientific or historical research.

This solution would effectively neutralize the weapon King Abdullah and Abbas now hold. There would undoubtedly be some disturbances at first, and the usual hate-filled rhetoric. But that already exists now, at Abbas's whim. Since it's difficult to accuse Israel of 'Judaizing the Temple Mount' when Jews aren't allowed there either, eventually such things lose their impact. And there would certainly no need for metal detectors!

Unfortunately, Muslims have amply shown that to them,  the al-Aqsa mosque is a political tool rather than a place of peaceful worship. And as far as I'm concerned, Jews shouldn't be treading on that holy ground either. So close it down to all prayer, and let it rest in peace...until there is true peace.

IDF Paratroopers Who Liberated Kotel In Jerusalem Return 50 Years Later

According to Israel's Hebrew calendar, today marks the Jubilee celebration of Israel's Six Day War and the liberation of Jerusalem. Take a good look at the three men standing there, along with Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely, Dr. Yitzhak Yifat, Tzion Karasenti and Chaim Oshri.

they took a tour of the Old City as part of the festivities, retracing the exact steps these three men, then young paratroopers in the Tzahal took on that day, from the Lion's Gate until they reached the 2,000 year old stones of the Western Wall. They were the first Jews to stand before the Kotel in 19 years after Jordan seized it and ethnically cleansed every Jew from the Old City in 1948.

The picture they're holding is an iconic photo of these three men, taken originally by David Rubinger. They all signed it and gave the copy of it to Minister Hotovely. Here's a larger version of it:

 

When these men first saw the Kotel, it was not what is today. The Jordanians used it as a trash dump, and scribbled obscene graffiti on it. But the awe these three young soldiers had upon reaching it shows on their faces. Besmirched and vandalized, it was still the Kotel, the Western Wall. Afterwards, (and as some tell it, when there were still a few Jordanian snipers not yet dealt with) Chief IDF Chaplain Rabbi Shlomo Goren came to the Western Wall with Torah scrolls to thank G-d and blow the Shofar, celebrating the end of Israel's long exile from its holiest site.

 

One of them, Tzion Karasenti expressed exactly what that meant to a crowd of foreign students from around the world studying in Israel at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herziliya and at Hebrew University, who were invited to come along and participate in the tour. He told the students that that the moment they reached the Western Wall in 1967 was the moment when the beating heart of the State of Israel was restored.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hotovely also had some remarks to make. She said that "the longing to reach the Western Wall, and the tears of the paratroopers who returned to the Western Wall after 2,000 years of prayer, are the best answer to those who are trying to sever the deep connection between the Jewish people and their capital."

"We are celebrating a great period," she added. "The unification of the city under Israeli sovereignty was the moment when every person of every religion could walk in Jerusalem. Our duty to liberate the city is to preserve a united Jerusalem and to strengthen its status so that the world recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."

This celebration comes  just days after UNESCO passed yet another anti-Semitic UN  Resolution trying to deny the Jew's claim to Jerusalem.

They simply don't get it. Jerusalem, especially the Old City is united with the Jewish people again. All the UN resolutions, hatred and sophistry Israel's haters can muster isn't going to change that. No threats are going todo that. No bogus offers of 'peace' and 'full relations' are going to change that, because the Israelis have already seen what that means. Fifty years is not such a long time in the almost 6,000 years of Jewish history. It is barely yesterday.

Jerusalem is now what it once was, the beating heart of Israel and the Jewish people, just as Tzion Karasenti said. With G-d's help and Israel's strong right arm, it will remain so.

U.S. East Jerusalem Consulate Creating Own Private Palestinian Terrorist Militia

 

As some of you may know, The White House refused to locate its embassy in Israel capitol, Jerusalem. Instead, it has two consular facilities, an embassy in Tel Aviv and a consulate in East Jerusalem that openly sees itself according to its own web page “as the embassy of the United States of America in Palestine.”

There is a small consular office in West Jerusalem but it is pretty much limited to tasks like turning in absentee ballots. If Jews living or traveling in Israel need to have a passport issued, obtain a visa for the US, register for social security or register children as American citizens, they either have to use the 'East Jerusalem' consulate or travel to Tel Aviv to use the American embassy.

The American diplomats whom work there live in West Jerusalem but commute, and are noted for their pro-Palestinian sympathies, and the East Jerusalem consulate is staffed mostly by those Arabs whom identify themselves as Palestinians whose hostility to Jews is an open secret. There is one exception to this..or there was until now.

Under a 2011 agreement with the U.S., only IDF combat veterans would be authorized to carry arms as consulate guards. Also, those arms were limited to 100 handguns.

The Hebrew daily Yedioth Ahronoth has reported that this agreement has now been blatantly violated. The consulate's new security director, Dan Cronin has hired 35 Palestinian security guards, many of whom have criminal records.

Three Israeli security guards who worked at the US consulate resigned in the wake of a plan to hire 35 Palestinians from East Jerusalem as armed security guards who are currently undergoing training in Yericho (Jericho). One of them has gone so far as to accuse the consulate of creating "an armed Palestinian militia."

According to the report in Yediot Aharonot, the plan is to employ the Palestinians mainly to escort convoys of American diplomats in Judea-Samaria.

...

The report said that the change in the consulate Israelis began months ago, with the appointment of consulate security officer Dan Cronin. Employees say that since they started working there seven Israeli security guards were fired, compared with one Palestinian guard.

The three Israeli guards who recently resigned in protest at his behavior, say he is training the Palestinian security guards at the American facility in Jericho, where Palestinian security forces are training. Some of the guards were even flown to the US for training.

"The law in Israel is only a recommendation for him," one employee fired. "Cronin does whatever he wants."

According to them, some of the Palestinian security guards employed at the consulate were arrested in the past for throwing rocks or have relatives who were convicted of hostile terrorist activities.

"The Consulate head's behavior tends toward the Palestinians, and Cronin actually established a Palestinian armed militia for the Consulate," an employee said. "He is training them with weapons, combat and tactical exercises. There is a lack of responsibility here - who ensures that such weapons, once given over to Palestinian guards, won't make their way to terror groups?"

The answer to that question is certainly easy. Any weapons, materials and trained personnel given to 'Palestine' have always ended up being used against Israeli civilians, whether it was the cement for 'construction' given to Hamas by UNRWA and USAid used to create the terror attack tunnels or the M-16s given to Arafat's security thugs prior to the Second Intifada.

The anti-Israeli character of the consulate today is clear, according to the report: the most senior adviser is a Palestinian Arab, Ibrahim Delalsh, who sat in Israeli prison for belonging to Fatah-linked terror groups. Another advisor is a relative of one of the leaders of Hamas in Jerusalem, Muhammad Hassan Abu Tir, who has been in and out of Israeli prisons many times.

But wait, there's more.

Yediot is also reporting that the consulate also keeps an arsenal of machine guns and rifles on the premises,a further violation of the 2011 agreement.

The U.S. consulate refused to allow reporters to speak directly to Cronin or to address any of the allegations in the article directly,but merely issued a blanket statement saying that “The US Consulate General in Jerusalem has full confidence in the professionalism of its staff.”

“We do not discuss the security of our diplomatic missions, but note there are many inaccuracies in the story.”

“In addition,” he said, “we coordinate fully and regularly with local authorities.”

Needless to say, the statement didn't point out any 'inaccuracies.' And there was very obviously no co-ordination with the Israeli government or the Israeli police...although I'm sure Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah security thugs knew all about it.

What the Obama Administration is doing is creating a trained cadre of terrorists and a private arms depot where weaponry can be smuggled under diplomatic cover to Area A, the part of Judea and Samaria where the Palestinian Authority is in charge.

This overtly hostile action is similar to the two fully armed combat brigades the Obama Administration created for Fatah trained by General Keith Dayton with our tax dollars. Since these units are not going to take on the IDF directly, they're designed to conduct guerilla war against Israel's civilians and that's what they're going to be used for eventually.

 

 


Their innocent blood will be on our hands...we paid for it.

So much for President Obama's horse manure about Israel's security.And people wonder why the relationship between America and Israel has been damaged so badly?

When Israel gets demonized for being intransigent or hardline for failing to follow the Obama Administration's diktats or for not clearing its security actions with America, remember this nonsense.

A Sermon At Al-Aqsa "We Will Slaughter The Jews"

A typical Friday sermon on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Israel. This one was given November 28th and is a perfect example of what goes out every day in 'Palestine's' mosques, media and schools.

This is why 'two states for two people living side by side in peace' was and has always been a con game. Arafat's former commissar in Jerusalem, the late and unlamented Faisal al-Husseni put it very well when he called Oslo "just a Trojan Horse", designed to "cheat and ambush the Jews."

It's also worth keeping in mind that every imam and other religious 'Palestinian' figure is vetted by the Palestinian Authority (or by Hamas if they're in Gaza) so this is not some rogue imam. He's preaching the message that Abbas and his friends want put out there.

That Israel allows this to go on in their capitol is outrageous.

The Blood Of Zion Cries Out

 

Early this morning, four Jews at morning prayers were murdered in a synagogue in Jerusalem after two Palestinian broke in and assaulted the worshipers with gunfire and meat cleavers.

Many others were wounded and four are in critical condition.

The terrorist attack took place in Har Hof a predominantly Orthodox neighborhood at the at the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue on Agasi Street.

The Murder victims were identified as Rabbi Moshe Twersky, the head of the Torat Moshe yeshiva, 59; 40-year-old  Rabbi Aryeh Kupinsky; 50-year-old Rabbi Kalman Levine; and 68-year-old Rabbi Avraham Shmuel Goldberg(HY"D). Rabbi Kupinsky, Rabbi Levine and Rabbi Twersky were all American citizens, while Rabbi Goldberg was a British subject. A Druze policeman, 30-year-old Master Sergeant Zidan Sif subsequently died of his wounds as well, and all Israel will mourn and honor him.

The killers stormed the synagogue at 7 AM local time. There was no warning and no way for the victims to defend themselves.The rabbis were murdered during the sacred prayer of Shimoneh Esrei, with siddurim (prayer books) in their hands and their tefillum on.

Eye witness Ya'akov Amos said: 'The terrorist moved to within a metre of me then started shooting. One, two, three, bang, bang, bang. I immediately hit the ground and tried to protect myself with a prayer stand. He kept screaming 'Allah hu'Akbar'.

 

There was blood everywhere, so much that one of the medical workers slipped in it and broke his leg.

The international reaction was interesting. Even U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry seemed shocked, with his voice quavering. He even used the "T" word and called for an end to incitement against Jews.

Phillip Hammond, Britain's Foreign Secretary contented himself with a bloodless statement that 'both sides' should seek to 'reduce tension.' President Obama, of course, said much the same thing. Somehow, I doubt they would have merely talked about both sides reducing tension if four imams had been murdered by a Jew and Qu'rans profaned in this way.

Israel's economics minister Naftali Bennett was interviewed by the BBC today, and provides us with another indication of exactly how sick and depraved Britain has become when it comes to Israel and the Jews.



(just a hint - when Bennett mentions Abu Mazen, he is using Mahmoud Abbas's nom de guerre, the terrorist name he used as Arafat's second-in-command.)

Notice how the interviewer doesn't even address the issue of Abbas inciting terrorism, but pulls the case of an Arab bus driver who died yesterday, as though that made the savage murder of four Jews at prayer legitimate. That Arab driver, by the way, had a full investigation and an autopsy done on him and there is no doubt he committed suicide. Unlike the Palestinian Authority, Israel jails murderers no matter who they are.

I really felt like saying 'Kol Hakavod' when Bennett held up a picture of one of the victims, which the interviewer hastily told him to put down lest he upset the gentle sensibilities of her viewers. I think it is absolutely essential to do just that - to let the British public see what their government is funding and supporting. And I hope it upsets them to the point of utter shame.

At the end of the interview, Bennett says that Britain is going to have to make a choice of whether they support the Free World or not. As I'm sure Bennett knows, the British Government has already made that choice.Which is why, perhaps, they feel compelled to put up with soldiers being beheaded in broad daylight and no go areas for police and non-Muslims in London and other large British cities.



The murderers were both killed in a shootout with police at the scene. They were Ghassan and Oday Abu Jamal from the Jabal Mukaber neighborhood in east Jerusalem. Needless to say, they were acclaimed as heroes and martyrs by all the factions of the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians.







 "We responded with shouts of joy when we received the news about their deaths," Ala'a Abu Jamal said of his cousins Ghassan and Uday Abu Jamal to Yedioth Aharonoth. "People here distributed candies to guests who visited us, and there was joy for the martyrs."

In a message published on its official new website Al-Resalah, Hamas said the attack was “a quality development in fighting the occupation. We highly value the heroism of its operatives.” Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri praised the attack on Qatari news channel Al-Jazeera as “heroic,” calling for more attacks of the same kind.

 Hamas MP Mushir Al-Masri happily wrote on Twitter that “Jerusalem has nothing but men who love martyrdom. The heroes of the knife are in Jerusalem. The heroes of the run-over [car attacks] are in Jerusalem. In Jerusalem men take revenge.”

And he posted this on his Facebook page:

The Arab killer is asking 'Where are they hiding?" Needless to say, in spite of what this cartoon shows none of the worshipers were armed.

And Fatah? Mahmoud Abbas, AKA Abu Mazen issued a 'condemnation' that wasn't one. In a statement (in English, not Arabic)it said that “The Palestinian presidency" condemns violence "from whatever source" and "demands an end to the invasions of Al-Aqsa Mosque and the provocations of the Settlers."

In other words, 'So sorry, but unless you surrender Jerusalem to us expect more of the same.'

This is the same Mahmoud Abbas who accused Jews of “contaminating” Al-Aqsa Mosque last week, who just a few days ago was telling his people, in Arabic, to 'defend Jerusalem' by any means necessary. This is the same Mahmoud Abbas who said nothing when Fatah published cartoons and Facebook posts encouraging terrorist attacks on Jews and “days of rage” to defend the 'threatened' Al-Aqsa.

Tawfik Tirawi, former chief of the Palestinian General Security in the West Bank and a member of Fatah’s Central Committee made it even plainer, and in Arabic. Today he told a radio station in Hebron that the attack was “nothing but a reaction to the recent crimes of the occupation and the settlers in occupied Jerusalem and across the nation. The threats of the occupation against our people and the Palestinian leadership, represented by the president, will only increase our efforts in safeguarding our rights.”

His remarks were reprinted on Fatah's official Facebook page.

I should make something clear here. This is not the fault of Abbas, or Hamas, or any of the Arabs who identify themselves as Palestinians.

It is the fault of the Israeli government.

A significant number of the Palestinians are simply acting as they have always acted since the 1920's, and these tendencies were unleashed even further once Arafat and the PLO were allowed in to take over after Oslo.



Israeli governments since Oslo have always allowed themselves to be pressured to ignore these instances of sheer horror...to release  convicted murderers, to make concessions to the terrorist entities on Israel's borders, and most of all to avoid  finishing them off entirely when their violence and bloodshed mandated a response. This has been especially true since Barack Obama, who styles himself as the Palestinian's very own community organizer entered the White House.

Is it any wonder that this sort of thing continues to happen? Is it really so puzzling that after allowing Hamas to continue in Gaza and maintaining any kind of relationship with Abbas and the PLO once they allied themselves openly with Hamas that they would resort back to Arafat's tactics?

Yasser Arafat himself outlined for his followers what this war was really about. On Jordanian TV, right after signing the Oslo Accords he was criticized for signing a peace agreement with the Jews. He responded by reminding his audience of the Peace of Hubidiyeh, a treaty Mohammed made with the Quraysh tribe that he violated as soon as he was strong enough to massacre them, a story every Muslim knows. And then he outlined exactly what this war was about, saying that "either the Jews will push us into the sea or we will push them into the sea."

Arafat, the leaders of Hamas and numerous members of Fatah have sung the same songs for years. Is it their fault that Israeli governments for years have refused to take them seriously?



It is time they did.

The violence in Jerusalem can be curtailed, not by more security patrols and not by putting guards in front of every synagogue and public building but by teaching the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians that there are real world consequences for their actions.

As you may have noticed, no matter how much innocent Jewish blood is spilled, it is always Israel who is advised to 'reduce tensions' and 'avoid provocation.'  It is always Israel who is castigated for building homes for its people, in spite of over an estimated 40,000 illegal Arab-built structures in East Jerusalem, and an entire city  being constructed from scratch with EU and US Aid money that encroaches on Israeli communities in Area C of Judea.

This is the first time I have ever heard John Kerry mention the constant hatred being spewed by the mosques, media and schools in both Gaza and in the PLO occupied areas of Judea and Samaria as something counterproductive to any real peace. And even his condemnation of this horror as well as the other ones from the UN and EU that will no doubt be voiced are maddeningly hollow..because they still fund and support this evil.

As Naftali Bennett said, they are going to have to choose sides, and that particularly applies to the United States.But Israel has some choices to make as well.

Are they going to settle for the status quo and a war of attrition that favors Israel's enemies? Or are they are they going to do what's necessary to end it and win the right to live peacefully?

I've always favored Israel simply delineating its own borders and annexing that land,along with a transfer of populations to the respective sides of those borders. But at the very least Israel should answer every terrorist attack with the outright annexation of more land in Judea and Samaria, showing the Arabs whom call themselves Palestinians that they are there to stay, and that attacks on Israel cost them dearly. Build on the land, and call the EU's bluff. In the unlikely event that they follow through on their threats to indulge in sanctions,they have a lot more to lose than Israel does right now economically.

When there are violent riots, as there were in Jabal Mukaber today, simply arrest the perpetrators,take away their Israeli ID cards and expel them to Gaza or to Area A for Abbas to deal with.Aside from providing real world consequences, it will also separate those Arabs who like the good life in Israel and are willing to live in peace (and there are more of them them you think) from those whom want to poison the well with violence.

Make the disarmament of Hamas an iron clad condition for any further reconstruction aid, especially since Hamas is already diverting money and materials to remaking its terrorist infrastructure. Both the EU and Secretary of State Kerry have given lip service to the importance of disarming Hamas for peace. Hold them to it.

If the Muslim Waqf that is in charge of the al-Aqsa Mosque continues to incite riots and stone throwing on the Temple Mount and refuses to allow Jews to enjoy it peacefully, simply explain to them that the next time it happens the police will respond in force, the Waqf's control of al-Aqsa and the Mount will be ended, the members of the Waqf expelled from Israel and the mosque shut down.

And allow Israelis to sue the PLO and Hamas in Israelis courts for damages to property and person, taking the judgments out of the tax monies Israel collects for the PLO.

These are the sort of steps that are ultimately going to defeat the Third Intifada. It's long past time to treat Hamas/Fatah like the hostile entity it is. And if it becomes necessary to dismantle the Palestinian Authority, so be it.

I am tired of seeing headlines like I saw today, tired of seeing the Arabs whom identify themselves as Palestinians celebrating each new atrocity, tired of seeing world leaders being complicit with this evil.

And I am especially tired of Israel accepting this hypocrisy. I am sick to death of it. It is one thing to be the Jew among nations, but something else entirely to live on your knees and internalize it.

Selah.

More Palestinian Terror In Jerusalem Today As U.S. tells Israel 'Avoid Provocation'

 

Palestinian terrorists struck again in Jerusalem today.

The first attack occurred when a Palestinian driver the plowed his truck into a crowd of people at a light rail station along the seam-line between East and West Jerusalem late Wednesday morning, killing a Border Police officer, and injuring 14 more people, one of them critically.

 

Ironically, the police officer was a Druze, an Arab from Beit Jann, a Druze village.Border Police officer Jedan Assad (HY"D, May G-d avenge his blood) was a father to a three-year-old son, and his wife is five months pregnant. His father said later that Assad “loved his service, and loved Jerusalem.”

I guarantee you their will be hundreds of Israelis, both Duze and Jews at  his funeral.

His murderer has been identified as 48-year-old Ibrahim al-Akary from Shuafat in East Jerusalem. He hit several pedestrians at a light rail station on the corner of Bar Lev and Shimon Ha’Zadik streets, close to the Border Police headquarters on Route 1, and then continued driving along the tracks, hitting several cars along the way until finally crashing to a halt.

Here's a link to footage of bystanders at the light rail stop being run down by Akary, as they tried to get out of the way of the speeding van. This footage is graphic and not for the fainthearted.

He then got out of his white commercial van, carrying a metal bar, and began attacking a group of policemen before Border Police at the scene shot and killed him. Needless to say, this murderer is a hero to Hamas/Fatah.


His brother, Musa Muhammad al-Akary, served 19 years in an Israeli prison for the 1992 kidnapping and murder of IDF soldier Nissim Toledano in Lod. He was released in the 2011 deal that ransomed kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit from Hamas captivity.

The second attack took place near the Gush Etzion junction, when a Palestinian drove a truck with Palestinian plates into a group of three IDF soldiers standing near a checkpoint by al-Arroub. They suffered moderate-to-severe injuries according to Magen David Adom rescue personnel. The families have reportedly been notified.

The vehicle escaped towards Hebron, and Israeli security forces are searching the area and placing barricades to catch the suspect. Needless to say,Mahmoud Abbas's Security forces aren't going to turn the terrorist in.

It also should be no surprise that the U.S. ambassador to Israel,Dan Shapiro made the usual meaningless condemnation and then called for Israel to ‘act with restrain and lower tensions.’

“It’s a very tense time in Jerusalem, especially around the holy sites. We think this is a time when everyone, and we’re calling on to act with restraint, to lower the tensions, not to engage in provocations, either word or deed, and to make very clear that violence is never acceptable.

"That’s the leadership that’s needed right now to prevent a further deterioration of the situation in Jerusalem, and we’re working with all sides to try to achieve that."

Of course the Obama Administration is working with both sides.are they telling Mahmoud Abbas to stop incitement or lose all that U.S. funding for Hamas/Fatah? Of course not. It's only Israel who needs to act with restraint, and avoid 'provocation', which apparently occurs simply because Jews are in Jerusalem at all.

The answer the Israelis have come up with so far is to place concrete barriers at train stops so vehicles can't injure people waiting for the trains. That's fine as a quick fix but doesn't solve the problem.

Some of the Israeli leadership may still be in denial, but they need to face up to the fact that this is the Third Intifada. And just like the second one, it was planned long in advance and merely awaited a convenient excuse to launch it. The provacation Ambasador Shapiro spoke about is not coming from Israel, but from Hamas/Fatah. And if th eU.S refuses to curb them, it's up to Israel to do so.

It's time to start cracking down hard on terrorism in Israel's capital. Enough.

A Murder In Jerusalem...And What To Do About It

Last night, A three-month-old baby was murdered and at least seven pedestrians in Jerusalem after a terrorist attack as an Arab driver deliberately drove his car into a crowd of people waiting at a Light Rail station close to the National Police headquarters.

 

The baby, Chayah Zissel Bron (HY"D) was an American citizen.




The killer has been identified as Abdelrahman al-Shaludi, who previously served time in jail for terrorist activities ( he was the nephew of Mohiyedine Sharif, Hamas's former chief bomb maker) and has been identified by Israeli government spokesman Ofir Gendelman as a member of Hamas. He was shot by police as he attempted to flee and later died in the hospital. He had bragged for months on social media that he wished to murder Jews.

Needless to say, both Hamas and 'moderate' Fatah made him into a hero.



They published this poster honoring him. "The Silwan branch of Fatah honors the heroic martyr Abdel Rahman Al-Shaludi, who executed the Jerusalem operation which led to the running over of settlers in the occupied city of Jerusalem,” read the notice, posted on Fatah’s official Facebook page.

Both Hamas  and Islamic Jihad also praised the attack, with Hamas spokesman Mushir al-Masri, a senior Hamas spokesperson saying, “The attack in Jerusalem is an act of heroism and a natural response to the crimes of the occupation against our people and our holy places.”

Yes that is exactly how they look at it. Al-Shaludi's family also received a financial award from Fatah. Yes, the murderer of an American citizen received blood money paid for by your tax dollars.

He was reportedly a resident of Silwan. I'd love to know why this cockroach was free and living in Jerusalem.Was he one of the terrorists freed from custody as a 'gesture' to Abbas? Or perhaps as part of the Shalit deal?

Nor was that the only violence in Jerusalem today. There was sporadic rioting in the Arab neighborhoods of Jerusalem, and a Jewish kindergarten in East Jerusalem in the Ma’ale Hazeitim neighborhood on the Mount of Olives was pelted this morning by stones thrown at the children in their playground.

And attacks on the light rail continued, with Arab residents of the city hurling rocks and damaging two train cars in Shuafat.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas for the continued attacks in Jerusalem, saying Abbas was inciting violence against Jews in the city.

"This is how [PA President Abbas's] partners in government act, the same Abbas who just a few days ago incited attacks on Jews in Jerusalem,” Netanyahu said in a statement. Abbas has called for the Arabs whom identify themselves as Palestinians to 'resist the settlers' by any means necessary.

Of course Abbas is responsible. As I revealed previously, this intifadah, these attacks on Jews in Jerusalem and elsewhere were  planned at least a year ago, just like the last intifadah was by Arafat. Abbas and Hamas/Fatah were simply waiting for a good opportunity to unleash it. But Netanyahu is wrong here. The real blame lies with him and the Israeli government, who have put up with this nonsense for months.

It is the Arabs whom ethnically cleansed every Jews from their part of Jerusalem when they invaded the city in 1948. It is the Arabs who refused Jews access to their holy sites, who vandalized Jewish cemeteries, who destroyed 28 historic synagogues in the city and used the Western Wall as a garbage dump.It is the Israelis who offered to put that behind them, to share Jerusalem, share the Temple Mount and live in peace after reuniting the city in 1967. It is Israel who allowed the al-Aksa mosque to remain open.

It is time the Israeli government realized that this policy of reconciliation is a failure.For too many of the Arab residents of Jerusalem, sharing is simply not in their vocabulary.

Especially egregious to me was the reaction of America's State Department. “We express our deepest condolences to the family of the baby, reportedly an American citizen, who was killed in this despicable attack,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement.

“We urge all sides to maintain calm and avoid escalating tensions in the wake of this incident.”

All sides? So according to our State Department, Israel and the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians are equally to blame?And it's merely an 'incident' not a terrorist attack?

Maintain calm? Avoid escalating tension? Who is escalating the tension? Is it Israeli Jews murdering U.S. citizens in Jerusalem? What if it was your child, Ms. Psaki? Would you still call for restraint?

And if it was such a despicable attack, why is the U.S. government still funding Hamas/Fatah? And pressuring Israel for more and more concessions to the sort of people whom think this kind of attack is a heroic and even a holy thing?

Just compare the U.S. State Department's reaction with that of Australian Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma who posted this message on Twitter:

“Shocked by terrorist attack in Jerusalem + condemn unreservedly,” Sharma wrote. “Esp saddened by death of 3-month-old baby girl. Deep condolences to family.”

He wasn't afraid to use the 'T' word, you'll notice. And there's no language in his message implying that Israel is equally to blame for this atrocity.

All that aside, what really counts now is Israel's reaction.

Netanyahu has said he plans to reinforce the police units in Jerusalem, and come up with new plans formulated to deal with riots.Well and good, but it isn't going to solve the problem.Israel needs to provide natural consequences for the violence that matters to the perpetrators, and frankly, a stint in the comfortable Israeli jails with three square meals a day, status as a 'martyr' and a nifty salary from the Palestinian Authority as a reward for killing Jews doesn't qualify.

A far better punishment in many cases is simple loss of citizenship and/or expulsion to PA-run Area A. In fact, a whole new category of offenses with expulsion and loss of citizenship as the penalty need to be codified into Israeli law.

Stone throwing at cars or the light rail? When the perpetrators are caught, make them or their families pay in full for repairs, with expulsion to the PA-run Area A for a repeat offense. In any event, when there isn't money available to pay damages, deduct the cost of repairs from the tax monies Israel collects for the PA.And let the victims sue for damages in Israeli courts, again with the awards to be deducted from from the Palestinian Authority's tax monies.

Riots on the Temple Mount? Firecrackers, rocks and gas bombs thrown at Jews trying to pray peacefully? Explain to the Muslim Waqf that is in charge of the al-Aqsa Mosque that the very next time it happens, not only will the police respond in force but the Waqf's control of al-Aqsa and the Mount will be ended, the members of the Waqf expelled from Israel and the mosque shut up, with no more services conducted.

Actual terrorist attacks like the one today? Ideally, I'd love to have Israel adopt capital punishment, but that's unlikely. Since Hamas and Fatah are now in bed together, aside from imprisoning the perpetrator, allow the victims to sue in Israeli courts and collect judgments from the tax monies Israel collects for the PA. And make the prison conditions a lot less luxurious, as an incentive for better behavior.

And build, build,  build. Right now, Netayahu's government is acting like half of Jerusalem actually belongs to Hamas/Fatah. Since something like 75% of Israel's Jews are opposed to any agreement that would re-divide Jerusalem, I would say that the consensus of the majority of Israelis is that Jerusalem belongs to Israel. Act like it.

For instance, some Jewish families recently purchased apartments legally in Silwan, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem that used to be thought of primarily as Arab but is now undergoing demographic changes. Some of the local Arab residents have responded by attempting to firebomb the Jew's homes.

I haven't heard of any arrests or punishments doled out to the perpetrators, but the least that should happen is heavy fines to repair any damage and a jail sentence...with expulsion to Area A for any repeat offenses.

You see, while some Arabs are willing to engage in what amounts to treasonous or illegal activities on behalf of Abbas and the PA, the idea of living under Abbas and company's derelict little kleptocracy horrifies them and every poll shows it. They like the social welfare benefits, the freedom and the employment and educational opportunities in Israel.

Losing Israeli citizenship or residence permits and being expelled to Area A or Gaza to live under Hamas/Fatah is a real life consequence that might modify their behavior. And in any event, it will separate those Arabs (and there are more than you might think) willing to be productive and peaceful citizens from those whom aren't.

-Selah-

NBA Players Call Off Israel Visit

Magic Johnson and a number of other past and present NBA stars were scheduled to attend the inauguration ceremony of Jerusalem's new multi-purpose sports arena in September.

Without any explanation, they suddenly called it off.

The Jerusalem Municipality and the event's production company, Ariel, were surprised to receive a phone call from the stars' representatives on Sunday, informing them that they were cancelling their participation in the festive event.

Ariel and the municipality have been working on the Jerusalem Arena inauguration ceremony, which will take place on September 4, for several months now.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat had invested many efforts to complete the construction and increase the number of seats in the arena after many delays over the years.

The municipality had planned a major opening, which would create a media buzz around the new sports complex. The highlight of the event was supposed to be a festive exhibition game between 10 retired and present NBA players and the Hapoel Jerusalem basketball club.

The guest of honor would have been Earvin "Magic" Johnson, Jr., one of the greatest basketball players of all times.





Ariel CEO Zion Turgeman confirmed that the NBA players had canceled their visit to Jerusalem. "This is a serious blow to the arena's inauguration. We have been working on the opening event for a long time, and now we will have to readjust."

Turgeman added there was no plan to postpone the inauguration event. "We intend to invite 5,000 soldiers to the opening in order to thank the IDF for its contribution to the state," he said.

Mixing brave warriors with a bunch of pampered, overpaid cowards? I think Magic and his buds did Jerusalem a huge favor. They may look tall on the basketball court, but they've revealed themselves as little men and such creatures are never missed, not really.

The real guests of honor will be sitting in the stands.



-Selah-

Yes, The Peace Talks Are Dead - And An Opportunity For Real Peace Comes Alive

While neither side has formally acknowledged it, the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are dead, and even John Kerry has thrown in the towel.

The Obama Team would never admit it, but they're fully aware that it was Palestine's unelected dictator Mahmoud Abbas that pulled the trigger and ended the talks, and his own controlled Palestinian media proudly admits it. Both Palestinian and Israeli media outlets on Thursday night quoted Abbas as saying, “I would rather become a martyr” than rescind the applications he signed on Tuesday to join 15 UN and other international treaties and conventions.

Which of course means the talks are over, since that was the sole concession Abbas was willing to give in order to even participate in the negotiations, and he had to be bribed with the release of over 100 convicted terrorist killers in Israeli custody to even do that much.

Kerry and the rest of the Obama team managed to arm twist the Israelis into discussing a further release of convicted terrorists along with releasing the fourth batch provided Abbas rescinded the UN membership applications and agreed to extend the deadline of the talks.

Instead of agreeing to what amounted to another gimmee, Abbas came out with a whole new set of pre-conditions to continue talks, conditions he knew no Israeli government could accept. According to Abbas' own Palestinian News Agency Ma'an, the new pre-conditions included formal Israeli recognition of the borders of 'Palestine' as the pre-67 lines with all of East Jerusalem as its capitol; the release of 1,200 Palestinian prisoners including convicted terrorist leaders Marwan Barghouti, Fuad Shweiki and Ahmad Saadat; a Israeli building freeze in East Jerusalem and all of Judea and Samaria; Israeli citizenship for 15,000 Palestinians under a 'family reunification program' essentially a recognition of a Palestinian 'right of return'; the end of Israel’s blockade of Hamas in Gaza; the right of return for PLO terrorists who were exiled to European countries under an agreement between the EU and Israel after the 2002 Palestinian siege of the Church of the Nativity; forbidding the IDF to enter Area A, the part of Judea and Samaria under PA control which would essentially create an escape zone for terrorists after attacks on Israelis since the PA has never jailed anyone for murdering an Israeli; and Palestinian control of parts of Area C, the areas now under full Israeli sovereignty.

And that was just to continue listening to Abbas say no for another few months!

Kerry's deputy Martin Indyk mediated a nine hour meeting between head Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, Head of Palestinian intelligence Majid Faraj, and Israeli negotiators Tzipi Livni and Yitzhak Molcho and tried to cable together some semblance of a reasonable platform, but he was yelled down by the Palestinian negotiators and the entire meeting turned into a shouting match, with even the ever flexible Tzipi Livni unable to contain herself. At one point, Livni reportedly  demanded of Erekat that Abbas rescind the applications to the 15 UN organizations and conventions he'd submitted in order to negotiate any other preconditions. Erekat flatly refused, and Livni announced the next day that Israel would definitely not release that fourth batch of convicted Palestinian terrorists.

When Indyk tried to reason with the Palestinians, saying that any agreement had to consider Israel's security considerations, Faraj snapped back that the Palestinians weren't there to discuss Israeli security, but to negotiate over a timetable to get all of their demands met.

Things went quickly downhill from there, with the Palestinians threatening to join even more international bodies and take prosecute Israel for 'war crimes' at the International Criminal Court and the Israelis promising retaliation if they did so.

Abbas never had any intention of actually negotiating. Even Saeb Erekat admitted earlier this month that Abbas was staying in the talks just to get the terrorist releases.

Kerry. for his part has pretty much given up, saying in Algiers during his North African trip,  "You can facilitate, you can push, you can nudge, but the parties themselves have to make fundamental decisions to compromise."

In a way, I almost feel sorry for him. The real author of this fiasco was none other than President Barack Obama.The 'nudge and pushing' , and indeed the threats were reserved for Israel, while Abbas and the PLO got nothing but concessions and applause from the White House. Had President Obama told Abbas during their last meeting that yet another refusal to meet the Israelis half way was going to entail real consequences for Abbas and the PA, the talks just might have been salvaged. Instead the president stuck to his preferred role as the Palestinian's lawyer and community organizer and left Kerry to deal with the mess the president created.

This will end up in the UN. And contrary to the president's remarks about not being able to defend Israel in international forums, a simple look at the UN Charter shows that the US can easily veto statehood for Abbas' corrupt little apartheid reichlet, just like any other permanent member of the Security Council. I have my own ideas how that particular brawl will end up going, but we'll see.

As it is right now, Israel needs to work on the divorce, end any serious discussion of the Two State mirage and secure its rights in Judea and Samaria as well as its national security. That should have happened a long time ago. Israel needs to unilaterally mark out its own borders, annex those areas, bring any Jews on the Arab side of the line to the Jewish side and move any non-Israeli Arab citizens to the other side, perhaps with property compensation.Then build the land and defend it.

The odd part is that it might actually work for the Palestinian's benefit. Abbas and the rest of the corrupt Fatah crew are on the way out with the money they stole. An autonomous Palestine might even decide that its best chance for peace and prosperity would be better relations with Israel.

Would there be a lot of international posturing? Media outrage? Of course there would, for a time. I can literally smell the likes of Tom Friedman and Peter Beinart from here. But much of the world, particularly the EU is tired of 'Palestine', they can't financially support it any more, they have their own problems to solve and many of them are ready to move on after the obligatory lip service.

That's how the question of 'Palestine' needs to be settled once and for all, in the same way every other question involving refugees has been settled throughout history. This ought to be the last time the Arabs who identify themselves as Palestinians have an opportunity to miss an opportunity, with all the blood and treasure involved each time they do. Enough.

Real peace beckons..it's time Israel embraced it.

Bibi Explains Jerusalem To Kerry

h/t Jack W. via Carl

John Kerry's Stupid,Futile 'Peace Process' Gambit

 

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is headed back to the Middle East to try and push through a 'grand bargain' between the Israelis and Palestinians that is more than 99% certain not to to succeed, and will lead to war and bloodshed in the unlikely event that it does.

The Obama Administration's policy thus far has been simply to cajole/threaten the Israelis for more and more concessions, while trying to get the Palestinians to make any concessions whatsoever. That sort of thing has its limits, and they've been reached.

The latest big idea has to do with Israeli control of the Jordan Valley, something that is absolutely vital for the small country's security.And an area, by the way, mainly settled and populated by Israel's Jews.

Originally, Kerry's big idea was a UN force like the farcical UNFIL, which sat back and watched while Hezbollah rearmed, moved back into its bases in South Lebanon and refreshed its missile arsenal, all in violation on UN Resolution 1701. The Israelis wisely refused to even consider that suicidal notion. Kerry's next plan involved a gradually diminished IDF presence for ten years, something again that the Israelis were reluctant to consider even after Obama's special envoy Martin Indyk hectored senior IDF generals to ignore their security concerns and persuade a skeptical Israeli public to accept Kerry's plans.

Neither Israel or Jordan want Abbas and the PA to have control of the strategic area, because it will simply become a conduit for terrorists and heavy weapons.So the meeting did not go well, with one Israeli general who attended saying, replace 10 years with 50 years, minimum, and a UN force with the IDF:



The Palestinian Authority is unwilling to consider it either. Mahmoud Abbas has been adamant that not a single Jew will be allowed in his new Palestinian state, let along Israeli soldiers. Since the Arab League has now endorsed that position as well, it's hard to see exactly who Kerry figures he's going to sell this to.

Abbas, to his credit has been clear about his positions from the start, which is that he's unwilling to make any concession to Israel and simply wants all his demands met. He will not recognize Israel as a Jewish state, will not allow his 'Palestine' to be demilitarized, will not consider any solution that does not include all of east Jerusalem as the capital of a future Palestinian state as well as all of Judea and Samaria, of course including the Jordan Valley. He likewise insists on all of the convicted terrorist murderers Israel is holding in its jails be released forthwith.

These conditions are not a recipe for peace, but simply some gains Abbas hopes to pocket to improve his position before continuing the War Against The Jews.That's especially evident now that Abbas and Hamas have once again agreed to join forces.

In response to this, the Israelis are talking seriously about simply annexing the Jordan Valley and taking it off the table, the smartest thing they could do in my opinion.

Kerry has also reduced his leverage with the Israelis by insisting on the release of 106 convicted terrorists to the Palestinians. A lot of Israelis are making the connection between the recent upswing in terrorist attacks on Israel and the release of imprisoned terrorists and they're livid about it. Looking at some of the next batch of killers to be released will give you an idea of the political price Netanyahu has already paid for going along with this.

Kamil Awad Ali Ahmad, who murdered 16 Israelis is tops on the list. He's joined by Yakoub Muhammad Ouda Ramadan and Afana Mustafa Ahmad Muhammad, who stabbed to death 38-year-old Sara Sharon(Hy"D), a mother of seven, in Netanya in January of 1993, Abu al Rub Mustafa Mahmoud Faisal, a PA Tanzim terrorist who murdered Yoram Cohen(Hy"D) in Jenin in September of 1991. There's also Damara Ibrahim Mustafa Bilal, one of the team of  murderers who kidnapped and stabbed Steven Frederick Rosenfeld,(Hy"D) an American citizen to death in 1989 as he went hiking near the city of Ariel.And Abu Mohsin Khaled Ibrahim Jamal, who murdered 76-year-old Shlomo Yahya(Hy"D) in September of 1991 in Moshav Kadima as he came out to work in his garden.

No civilized society would want men like these released, except to act as role models and trainers for the next generation of jihadis. You can imagine how the families of the victims feel.

Oh, as an aside, U.S. Law requires the FBI to investigate any instance in which an American citizen is murdered outside of the US.At this time, there has never been a case in which the US has prosecuted the murderer of an American citizen in Israel, and there have been quite a few of them.

Apparently there are special rules about applying that law when it comes to Jews and Israel.

According to one of my sources inside the PA, Abbas plans to stick to his hardline positions, because he has nothing lose, thanks to the way Kerry and Obama's team have handled things. When the talks collapse in April, he will simply blame Israel, go the the UN, demand Palestinian Statehood along the pre-67 lines and wait to see if President Obama vetoes it. I'm personally guessing he won't, and will probably have the U.S. abstain at best.

The Israelis could simply head this off by delineating their own borders, annexing all of Area C, the parts of Area B they feel they need and moving any non-Israeli citizens to the other side of that line, but the political realities of dealing with the Obama Administration seem to mandate that this game will continue, and that the ending will be a lot bloodier than it otherwise would have been.

Just as a coincidence, the Palestinian 'elections' with Hamas participating as part of a new Palestinian unity government take place in March or so, right before the deadline. It will be intereesting to see how this plays out.

How The Palestinians Look At 'Peace'

Want further evidence that Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority have no intention of negotiating anything with Israel?

The above picture is from Abbas' Facebook page. It shows a Palestinian flag superimposed on “The Al-Buraq Wall,” which is the Muslim term for the Western Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

The text above the flag reads, 'Palestinians know al-Kuds (Jerusalem) is their right' .

The message is crystal clear. The Palestinians insist that Jerusalem is theirs, they intend to take over the Jewish Holy sites in Jerusalem and they will desecrate them and make them judenrein, just as the Jordanians did for 19 years until they foolishly attacked Israel in 1967 and were driven out.

They have no intention of negotiating anything or compromising in any way. In their minds Israel will give and they will simply take. And take. And take.

Of course, no one would ever dream of chastising the Palestinians for incitement, or accuse them of endangering peace negotiations...least of all the U.S. State department.

The EU Rebuilds The Walls Of Its Jewish Ghettos

In Europe prior to the Enlightenment (and in many areas until the Napoleonic Era), those places where Jews were permitted to live at all were surrounded by walls, with severe restrictions on the coming and going of the inhabitants. At night, the Jews were literally locked under guard inside their ghetto prisons.

The Nazis happily revived this custom as a temporary measure until the Jews could be collected for  'resettlement' in places like Auschwitz and Treblinka. 


The European Commission, which is the operative arm of the EU, and sets parameters for cooperation between the EU and its members states has decided to reinstate this age old European tradition and rebuild the walls of its Jewish ghettos.

Today it arbitrarily issued instructions forbidding EU member states from cooperating, transferring funds, giving scholarships or issuing research grants to public or private bodies in Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and even the Golan Heights. In other words, the new Jewish ghetto according to the EU consists of Israel's indefensible 1948 ceasefire lines.The new diktats go into force Friday, July 18th. Jews are not to be recognized by the EU as having the right to live outside these new ghetto walls.

These are the same people who refuse to name Hezbollah a terrorist group.

The EU ruling also states that any future agreements signed between EU member states and Israel must include a section that explicitly says Judea and Samaria, eastern Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights are not part of sovereign Israel, and not included in the agreement.

The reality is that a number of EU countries have been involved in a de facto boycott of Israeli goods and institutions for some time now, but this just makes that kind of racism official policy. So it's not like this is going to have any major economic effect on Israel.

 Israel still makes and grows things the world wants to buy, so when it comes to trade there will undoubtedly be 'repackaging' by non-EU countries like Switzerland, Georgia, Croatia, or Belarus, and probably several EU countries that will quietly ignore the new ruling.


But the fact remains - the EU has decided to confine Jews to a ghetto again, and make those Jews living outside the walls non-persons. Boycotting the Jews living in the EU's imposed ghetto itself, and even Jews living in Europe is by no means out of the realm of possibility.

We've seen this movie before, haven't we?