Hanson's view: https://amgreatness.com/2018/
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An IDF soldier reports from Gaza. (See 1 below.)
Haley defends Israel's right to defend itself. (See 1a and 1b below.)
Another Obama program gone astray.'I gave the US trucks and ammunition to Al Qaeda': The chaotic US effort to arm Syrian rebels.
Meanwhile, if fifty people decided to knock down your door and enter your home with the intent to kill your children would you defend/protect them or would you allow them to enter?
If you would let them enter I daresay you watch MSNBC, read The New York Times ,voted for Obama and hate Trump.
Certainly that is your privilege. https://www.creepsonamission.
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There was no need for a Palestinian refugee problem. (See 2 below.)
Living next to such nice people the Palestinians are. (See 2a below.)
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Iran scrambles. (See 3 below.)
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Irish humor.:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++Paddy was driving home, drunk as a skunk, suddenly he has to swerve to avoid a tree, then another, then another. A cop car pulls him over as he veers about all over the road. Paddy tells the cop about all the trees in the road.Cop says "For God's sake Paddy, that's your air freshener swinging about!"
______________________________ __Reilly went to trial for armed robbery. The jury foreman came out and announced, 'Not guilty.''That's grand!' shouted Reilly. 'Does that mean I can keep the money?'
______________________________ __An old Irish farmer's dog goes missing and he's inconsolable.His wife says: "Why don't you put an ad in the paper?"The farmer does. Two weeks later the dog is still missing."What did you put in the paper?" his wife asks."Here boy" he replies.
______________________________ __An answer I can understand.....An American tourist asks an Irishman: "Why do Scuba divers always fall backwards off their boats?"To which the Irishman replies: "If they fell forwards, they'd still be in the bloody boat."______________________________ __Murphy told Quinn that his wife was driving him to drink.Quinn thinks he's very lucky because his own wife makes him walk.
______________________________ __Finnegin: My wife has a terrible habit of staying up 'til two o'clock in the morning. I can't break her out of it.Keenan: What on earth is she doin' at that time?Finnegin: Waitin' for me to come home.
______________________________ __Slaney phoned the maternity ward at the hospital. 'Quick!' he said. 'Send an ambulance, my wife is goin' to have a baby!''Tell me, is this her first baby?' the intern asked.'No, this is her husband, Kevin, speakin'.'
______________________________ __Did you hear about the Irish newlyweds who sat up all night on their honeymoon waiting for their sexual relations to arrive?
Dick
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1)55 killed and over 1200 wounded.
I'm writing this post for my good friends- my moral, humane friends,
and for all those who are concerned and angry over today's deaths and
injuries on the border with Gaza.
Regarding Israel's exodus from Egypt, when the Egyptian army drowned
in the Red Sea just before overtaking the Israelites – our sages say
that God scolded the angels and prevented them from singing and
rejoicing, saying “my creations are drowning in the sea and you are
singing?!”
I write these words with great caution, and from a sense of mission. I
can understand and identify with all of those good and moral Zionists
who fear that the many Palestinian victims may be our fault, the
result of mistakes made by our side.
I’m writing because I am one of the few who was there – in uniform, in
the reserves, but I was there. Yes, right there on the fence where the
demonstrations are happening. It was last Friday – but I saw it with
my own eyes; I was on our side but I could see and hear and understand
everything. I want to testify from my firsthand knowledge, not a
theoretical point of view. Because I was there.
I want to testify that what I saw and heard was a tremendous, supreme
effort from our side, to prevent in every possible way Palestinian
deaths and injuries.
Of course, the primary mission was to prevent hundreds of thousands of
Gazans from infiltrating into our territory. That kind of invasion
would be perilous, mortally dangerous to the nearby communities, would
permit terrorists disguised as civilians to enter our kibbutzim and
moshavim, and would leave us with no choice but to target every single
infiltrator.
That’s why our soldiers were directed to prevent infiltration – in a
variety of ways, only using live ammunition as a last resort. The IDF
employs many creative means of reducing friction with Gazans and uses
numerous methods, most of which are not made public, to prevent them
from reaching the fence.
In addition, over the last few weeks there have been serious efforts
to save the lives of children and civilians who have been pushed to
the front lines by the Hamas – who are trying to hide behind them in
order to infiltrate and attack Israel.
When there is no alternative and live ammunition must be used to stop
those who storm the fence – the soldiers make heroic and sometimes
dangerous efforts not to kill and only to injure those on the other
side.
The IDF is stationing senior commanders at every confrontation point
to ensure that every shot is approved and backed up by a responsible
figure with proper authority. Every staging area has an especially
large number of troops in order to make sure that soldiers are not put
into life-threatening situations where they will have no choice but to
fire indiscriminately.
A situation where thousands of people rush you is frightening, even
terrifying. It is extremely difficult to show restraint, and it
requires calm, mature professionalism.
55 dead is an enormous number. But I can testify from my first-hand
experience, that every bullet and every hit is carefully reported,
documented and investigated, in Excel spreadsheets. Literally. I was
there and I saw it with my own eyes.
This isn’t the time or place to discuss the situation in general and
the desperate plight of the residents of Gaza. I’m not interested in
starting a political discussion here, although I do have a clear
position.
What I’m trying to do is present, for everyone who really wants to
listen, the extent of the IDF’s enormous effort to protect Israel’s
borders while minimizing injuries and loss of life on the other side.
And despite all this – the situation on the border with Gaza is
deteriorating. I hope that we won’t be called up again soon for
reserve duty to protect our country. But if we are, we will go with
the knowledge that we are serving a just and morally correct cause. We
do not rejoice when we must go to war, but we also don’t go like sheep
to the slaughter. Not anymore.
1a)
Haley: Israel acted with restraint in Gaza
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said that the IDF acted with "restraint" in dealing with violent riots along the Gaza border Monday.
"In recent days, Hamas terrorists, backed by Iran, have incited attacks against Israeli security forces and infrastructure. That is violence that should occupy our attention too," Haley said during an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
"No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has," she added. "In fact the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained."
She said that the UN continued to demonstrate "double standards" against Israel.
The US ambassador called on the UN to focus its attention on Iran's destabilizing actions in the Middle East.
Haley criticized those who say that the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem yesterday directly caused violence. "How is that justified?"
"Let's remember that the Hamas terrorist organization has been inciting violence for years, long before the United States decided to move our embassy.
"In recent days, multiple news organizations have documented the Hamas incitement in Gaza. They have documented the Hamas maps and social media which show the fastest routes to reach Israeli communities in case demonstrators make it through the security fence. They have reported o Hamas messages over loudspeakers that urge demonstrators to burst through the fence, falsely claiming Israeli soldiers were fleeing, when if fact, they were not," Haley said.
"Hamas has attacked the Kerem Shalom Crossing, the biggest entry point in Gaza for fuel, food and medical supplies. This is how determined they are to make the lives of the Palestinian people miserable."
Addressing the Security Council members, Haley asked: "Who among us would accept this type of activity on your border? No one would."
1b) The politics of human sacrifice
We should mourn the deaths of Palestinians, not use them to cynically advance a partisan political agenda.
(May 15, 2018 / JNS) All responses to the deaths of dozens of Palestinians in assaults on the border between Gaza and Israel must begin with sadness. Irrespective of why they happened or who caused it, the loss of so many lives is a terrible tragedy. Our grief at the deaths of our fellow human beings should not be diminished by our views about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, or our collective differences in opinion on the Trump presidency. The waste of human life and the suffering of those involved require us to put aside our normal roles as antagonists in a political struggle and to first simply state that what happened is awful.
Yet, like so many other great tragedies, the reaction to the carnage at the Israel-Gaza border has not been driven by any recognition of our common humanity or sorrow. In this case, the grandstanding was as much, if not more, about American politics as the struggle between Jews and Arabs. And that is the point where our tolerance for this kind of cheap exploitation of spilled blood—no matter whose blood it is—should end.
Far from being peaceful affairs analogous to those marches mounted during the struggle for civil rights in the United States, the protests on Monday and Tuesday—and every Friday since March 30—were organized by Hamas terrorists. And they involved violence on a mass scale, including rock throwing, Molotov cocktails and incendiary devices in an attempt to incinerate the Israeli landscape.
Dubbed the “March of Return,” these riots, as its title indicates, are way of keeping alive the fantastical notion that the descendants of the Arab refugees of the 1948 Israeli War of Independence would somehow “return” to what is now Israel. Its goal is to reverse 70 years of history and eradicate the Jewish state. The clear intent of those storming the border fence was mayhem and the dispossession of Israelis, many of whom are the descendants of an approximately equal number of Jews who fled or were forced to flee their homes in Arab and Muslim countries during the same time period.
The fact that the terrorists that rule Gaza are exploiting those who charged the fence shouldn’t cause us to view their deaths with equanimity. Golda Meir famously said,
“We can forgive the Arabs for killing our children. We cannot forgive them for forcing us to kill their children. We will only have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us.” The spirit that animated that statement—grief about war and a desire to avoid being put in the position where there is no choice but to cause suffering, even in self-defense—should not leave us.
Like the Palestinians who were staked out as human shields during Hamas’s armed conflicts with Israeli forces in the last decade, we should not be indifferent to their pain. Even so, it doesn’t necessarily follow that the Israeli Defense Forces were in the wrong. It’s easy to criticize the use of disproportionate force, but the idea that it is within the power of the IDF to stop mobs intent on destroying the border fence and advancing into Israel without it is a nonstarter.
To focus only on Israel’s alleged shortcomings—and not on those who planned the incidents so as to generate the maximum number of casualties—is morally irresponsible. Those who do so are encouraging (as they have in the past) Hamas by effectively ensuring that the terror group will continue to try to cause the deaths of as many Palestinians as possible in order to undermine Israel’s image.
But what is truly unforgivable is to treat the struggle between Israel and its foes as fodder in the never-ending battle between the Trump administration and its foes to win American news cycles.
That’s the only way to interpret the claims that it was U.S. President Donald Trump who caused the deaths of the Palestinians killed at the border.
Trump broke the rules the foreign-policy establishment laid down for American involvement in the Middle East when he ordered the moving of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv. The same is true about his calls to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas to cease paying terrorists, and to stop inciting hatred for Jews and Israelis in his official media and schools.
But whether you think the policies of the previous decades that helped nurture delusions like a belief in a right of “return” were wise or not, the one incontrovertible fact is that these issues long predated Trump. The notion that Hamas’s shift of tactics from rockets and terror tunnels (which have been thwarted by Israeli counter-measures) to a mass assault on the border was caused by anything he did is ludicrous.
Rather than lament the Palestinian deaths, all too many of those Americans who commented on them sought to exploit them in the same way that everything that happens in Washington is used to advance a point of view about Trump.
That’s the only way to explain things like the New York Daily News’ cover that showed Ivanka Trump unveiling the sign at the new U.S. embassy in Jerusalem photo-shopped to depict her smiling at a picture of Palestinian casualties in Gaza. The headline “Daddy’s Little Ghoul” may seem appropriate to those who think anything is fair game with respect to the Trumps. But while his opponents are free to call him or his family monsters, treating Hamas’s practice of human sacrifice and Israel’s impossible border dilemma as if it were just one more political talking point is deeply wrong.
Those who think that they are helping solve a problem with no realistic solution in sight by engaging in moral preening at the expense of Israel are telling us more about themselves than anything else. And those who think dead Palestinians who have been deliberately sacrificed on the altar of the war against the Jews by their leaders are fodder for America’s political wars have lost their moral compass. Instead of bemoaning Trump’s failings, they should look in the mirror and contemplate their own.
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2)What caused the Palestinian refugee problem?
Exclusive PMW video compilation of 13 personal stories
told by refugees themselves
told by refugees themselves
- "Cars with megaphones roamed the streets, demanding that people leave"
- "The one who made us leave was the Jordanian army"
- "The radio stations of the Arab regimes kept repeating to us: 'Get away'"
- "Our [Arab] district officer issued an order that whoever stays in Palestine is a traitor"
- The Arab Salvation Army told the Palestinians: "We have come to you in order to exterminate the Zionists... Leave your houses and villages, you'll return to them safely in a few days."
- "The Arab Salvation Army said: "Leave, but don't go far from the village because they [the Jews] will make a short visit..." The people left with nothing, even without bread."
2a)
"Bring a knife, dagger, or handgun,"
kidnap Israeli civilians,
and murder soldiers and settlers
- Instructions on Facebook to Gazans
for "March of Return"
by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik
Two Palestinian Facebook pages and a forum directing rioters in Gaza gave explicit instructions to murder and kidnap Israelis on May 14, the day the US embassy opened in Jerusalem, as well as suggestions on how to accomplish this goal. It is not clear if Hamas itself was the group sending these messages. What is critical is that Gazans were encouraged to bring weapons to the demonstrations and use these weapons to either murder or capture Israelis. Israeli soldiers may have been facing Palestinians who were using the cover of demonstrating civilians to attempt to break through the border with the goal of murdering and kidnapping Israelis.
The following are the instructions to bring weapons, murder "soldiers and settlers," and kidnap Israeli citizens for use as bargaining chips to impose conditions on Israel:
"Rebelling young people,
Treat seriously and do not take lightly the requests to bring a knife, dagger, or handgun, if you have one, and to leave them under your clothes and not use them or show them, except if you identify one of the [Israeli] soldiers or settlers. Do not kill Israeli civilians, instead hand them over to the resistance immediately, because this is the point that Israel fears, as it knows that the capturer can set any condition he wants."
[Independent Palestinian Facebook page
"The Great March of Return", May 14, 2018]
The instructions also described how masses of Palestinians would "collectively" breach the security fence aided by bulldozers:
"At a certain time... there will be a collective advance towards the barbed wire fence until we remove it with our strong hands and exposed bodies all at once, while being aided by loudspeakers and calls of 'Allahu Akbar' (i.e., Allah is greatest) by the masses. Therefore, do not advance individually, make do with the collective advance according to the instructions, because there will be bulldozers at the back that will advance in order to completely remove the fence."
Gazans were instructed not to deal with "the wounded or the Martyrs" but to concentrate on "the battlefield":
"Do not busy yourselves with the wounded or the Martyrs (Shahids), as the medical teams behind us are ready for this. Just pay attention to the battlefield and act wisely and according to the instructions."
The portrayal of the events in Gaza by some news agencies as peaceful demonstrations is clearly false.
The Facebook page "The Great March of Return" was opened in March 2018 and states its goal as "live and continuous coverage of the activities of the Great March of Return." It posts updates from the march every few minutes and has around 6,000 followers. It is not clear if Hamas itself is involved in this page. The second Facebook page that ran the post is called "Gaza Now," [May 13, 2018] but the post was later removed from this page. Likewise, the instructions were shared in a forum thread on the "March of Return" protests on a Palestinian web forum named "PALDF." [May 13, 2018]
The following is the full translation of the instructions to Gazans to bring weapons, and murder and kidnap Israelis:
Posted text: "#IMPORTANT #Instructions for participants:
Rebelling young people,
Tomorrow, Monday [May 14, 2018], we will begin by standing along Jakkar Road from Beit Hanoun to Rafah at 10:00 a.m., and at a certain time that we will notify you about later there will be a collective advance towards the barbed wire fence until we remove it with our strong hands and exposed bodies all at once, while being aided by loudspeakers and calls of 'Allahu Akbar' (i.e., Allah is greatest) by the masses. Therefore, do not advance individually, make do with the collective advance according to the instructions, because there will be bulldozers at the back that will advance in order to completely remove the fence.
Rebelling young people,
Treat seriously and do not take lightly the requests to bring a knife, dagger, or handgun, if you have one, and to leave them under your clothes and not use them or show them, except if you identify one of the [Israeli] soldiers or settlers. Do not kill an Israeli civilian, instead hand them over to the resistance immediately, because this is the point that Israel fears, as it knows that the capturer can set any condition he wants.
Rebelling young people,
Disperse the [Israeli] snipers and make them leave their posts and run, and always check the area, and think what to do and then act. Do not busy yourselves with the wounded or the Martyrs (Shahids), as the medical teams behind us are ready for this. Just pay attention to the battlefield and act wisely and according to the instructions."
[Independent Palestinian Facebook page "The Great March of Return", May 14, 2018]
The same text was also posted on the independent Palestinian Facebook page "Gaza Now" on May 13, 2018, but was later removed. Likewise it was shared in a forum thread about the March of Return protests in Gaza on the Palestinian website PALDF on May 13, 2018.
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- 3) Iran in Panic Mode, Scrambles to Save Nuclear Deal
Iranian leaders holding talks with Europe in bid to save economy
By Adam Kredo - The Iranian ruling regime is racing to save the landmark nuclear deal after President Donald Trump bucked European powers and walked away from the agreement with a vow to reimpose a package of harsh sanctions on the Islamic Republic, according to U.S. officials and regional experts who say the hardline regime is scared about losing the sweetheart deal.Leading Iranian officials have been locked in tense meetings with European countries and former U.S. officials to ensure they continue to uphold the deal and keep doing business with the Islamic Republic.Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif, one of the country's lead negotiators, held a series of meetings with European Union countries on Tuesday to plead with them about saving the deal and ensuring Tehran remains open for business as the United States tees up a package of sanctions that could cripple Iran's already ailing economy.European leaders also have been pleading with members of Congress, where they are being met with a cool reception, according to multiple sources familiar with these closed-door talks.European diplomats are said to be blaming the Obama administration for drumming up business with Iran and telling these allies that they could engage in economic transactions without penalty. The reaction from lawmakers has been unsympathetic, source said, explaining that congressional opponents of the deal long warned these European countries the deal would be subject to harsh scrutiny after President Barack Obama left office.A State Department official familiar with the progress of new negotiations surrounding the deal said the Trump administration is set on fundamentally changing Iran's behavior, including its buildup on ballistic missiles and support for terrorism, before it agree to any Iranian demands."The president has directed his administration to work with nations around the world to create a new coalition to counter Iran’s nuclear and proliferation threats, as well as its support for terrorism, militancy, and asymmetric weapons like ballistic missiles," the official told the Free Beacon. "This coalition will bring all necessary pressure to bear on Iran to change its behavior."One veteran U.S. adviser close to the White House told the Washington Free Beacon that Iran's reaction indicates its desperation to remain in the Obama-era agreement and continue receiving cash windfalls."As President Trump has always said, the Iran deal was great for the mullahs and terrible for the American people," the source said, speaking only on background. "Obama gave Iran more than they could ever have imagined, and now Trump is taking it away. The Iranians are rushing to grab and save whatever they can. Europe will have to choose a side."Zarif and other Iranian leaders have even looked to former Secretary of State John Kerry in guidance, with Iran's foreign ministry confirming that the country's leaders have been holding shadow diplomatic talks with him.It also is believed Kerry recently met with Kamal Kharrazi, head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, an organization created by Iran's Supreme Leader that answers directly to him, according to sources who reviewed publicly available information on Kerry's recent meeting in Europe."We don't see the U.S. just as Mr. Trump; the United States is not just the current ruling administration and there are many figures who have different views on international and regional issues," Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi said in recent comments.Zarif has been scrambling across Europe in a bid to save the nuclear deal.Following a Tuesday meeting with EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini in Brussels, Zarif claimed to have gotten "guarantees" that European countries will continue "to meet Iran's interests after the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal," according to regional reports carried in Iran's state-controlled media."We share the common view that the nuclear deal is emphatically needed to be implemented by all the remaining parties and Iran should enjoy the merits of the nuclear deal and receive [assurances] in this regard," Zarif was quoted as saying following the powwow."We ought to rest assured that no country [including the United States] will manage to benefit from its illegal withdrawal, and that only other members who have remained loyal to the deal can have its dividends," Zarif said.Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei also has been conducting diplomacy to convince European leaders to stay in the deal.Following a round of Tuesday meetings with envoys from New Zealand, Nepal, Estonia, and Latvia, Khamenei lashed out at the United States and affirmed his desire to see the deal survive."The first result of these wrong decisions is Washington's isolation in the world public opinion," Khamenei was quoted as saying. "Iran may remain in the nuclear deal if it receives all its benefits from the agreement."Iranian leaders also have begun to threaten the United States as a result of the withdrawal, promising to expose "which Western politicians and how much money they had received during nuclear negotiations to make" the deal a reality, according to Zarif's senior adviser, H.J. Ansari.Regional experts and former U.S. officials with knowledge of Iran's ongoing diplomatic efforts to save the deal told the Free Beacon that Europe will soon have to choose between Iran and being hit with harsh sanctions by the United States."Iran has nothing to lose by waiting a bit to see if Europe is crazy enough to break or evade U.S. sanctions," said Richard Goldberg, a former senior aide to Sen. Mark Kirk (R., Ill.) who now serves as an adviser the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. "It's political theatre that reinforces the notion of a transatlantic split. Zarif may be able to charm a room of diplomats but he'll soon find out he can't convince European businesses to commit suicide."Regional experts agree.Michael Rubin, a former Pentagon adviser with close ties to officials, told the Free Beacon that Iran has started to beg behind-the-scenes with European allies, a sign that leadership is worried U.S. sanctions could completely cripple the country and lead to the ruling regime's ouster."Basically, the Iranians are begging the Europeans to slap a fresh coat of paint on a termite-infested house and say it's structurally sound," Rubin said. "The Iranian strategy has always been to divide and conquer Europe and the U.S. and this is more of the same.""And Zarif's logic is nonsense: Kerry allowed Iran to have its rewards upfront rather than calibrate them to compliance," Rubin said. "Iran tried to pull a fast one and keep its illegal archives and got caught. Remember, if the Iranians wanted people to invest, all they have to do is stop taking hostages, stop threatening genocide, and crack down on the corruption of their leadership."Saeed Ghasseminejad, an Iran expert also at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, slammed Kerry's recent shadow diplomacy with Iran, saying it will only further inflame opponents of the nuclear deal."I am not sure why Iranians are have been meeting John Kerry, an old retired secretary of State," Ghasseminejad said. "Maybe they are just gathering information, maybe they hope Kerry can rally the Democrats to support Tehran's position and the JCPOA, or they may be hopeful that Kerry will run in 2020."Update 4:18 p.m.: This post has been updated with comment from the State Department.
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