Dave Bender: Compelling Photography: 11/01/2006

Thursday, November 30

'Peace breaking out' index: Rice praises leaders as Navy foils possible seaborne attack

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SOUND UP: TELETYPE (under v/o)

V/O (1940's-style radio announcer): "And here's the latest 'Peace breaking out' index for Thursday evening, November 30th – four days into the reputed ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Debka File leads with a update that the Israeli Navy interdicted a Palestinian vessel from Gaza loitering near Ashkelon's offshore oil terminal. The Israeli crew stopped the boat “after a chase and exchange of fire outside the limits set for Palestinian fishing boats. Security authorities seek to establish if the boat was bound for a sabotage operation against Israel’s key oil installations.”

Meanwhile, The Jerusalem Post reports:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for his speech earlier this week, saying that his call for a renewal of Palestinian-Israeli negotiations was an important step that was likely to both contribute towards calm and advance the peace processes in the region.

And Haaretz adds:

Speaking a press conference with Abbas in Jericho hours earlier, Rice said that Washington wanted to "intensify our efforts" to renew the peace process. She said that the U.S. has made clear it expects a viable, contiguous Palestinian state when it is created, and that no actions should be taken now to prejudge the outcome of a final peace agreement.

She added that the U.S. is interested in seeing Palestinian Authority reforms of its security services and political institutions.

Meanwhile, Abbas told reporters that talks on a unity government with the ruling Hamas organization had reached a "dead end."

Ynet News warns, however, that all the international and local good will and backslapping/stabbing haven't stopped Palestinian in Gaza from continuing to smuggle in weaponry from Egypt:

Knesset members, military officials warn 'truce' damaging Israel's security; Popular Resistance Committees: Ceasefire offers a period of calm for our fighters to recover and prepare for our final goal of evacuating Palestine

"It's business as usual," said a Palestinian security official in Gaza. "Nothing out of the ordinary as far as smuggling. Not a massive amount, just the normal routine amount."

"We will keep fighting (Israel), but for the moment we will postpone certain parts of the military struggle," said Abu Abir. "We will reinforce very quickly and rush what we are doing to prepare (for attacks against Israel) in Gaza and in the West Bank."

Abu Abdullah, a senior leader of Hamas' so-called "military wing," told WND Hamas agreed to the ceasefire "because we need a period of calm to recuperate. This lull in fighting will not bring us to speak about peace."

SOUND UP: TELETYPE (under v/o)

This has been a "Peace breaking out" index update for Thursday evening, November 30th. More background about the reported ceasefire is here.

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Fast Times on Hebron Road: Harry Potter's 'Night Bus' vs Egged

Harry Potter's "Night Bus" vs Egged: See of you can spot the differences.

This is a great post on a new immigrant's blog about riding on Jerusalem's buses (which regularly break the laws of physics and kinetic energy, not to mention parcels in the aisle), and how fast the No. 8 can slalom through a turn:

Anyone at all familiar with the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling knows "the Night Bus." Israel's Egged bus line has its very own version of the Night Bus, albeit it has no shrunken heads, doesn't physically shrink and has no beds. Read it all.

Seriously worthwhile posts (nothing to sneeze at!)

Blogging was and will be light today, due to a scattered - but nasty - head cold-front moving in fast, as well as work projects (damned how they always go together like that, huh?).

In the meantime, two well-written, moving posts:

This week would have been my daughter's 21st birthday.

She won't be here to celebrate it, though. Five years ago, a Palestinian terrorist ended my Malki's life while she stood in line in the Sbarro pizza restaurant in the center of Jerusalem. Fourteen other innocent Israelis, including seven children, perished with her. One family was decimated - both parents and three of their eight children died.

That terror bombing elicited responses from leaders around the world. But not many. And certainly nowhere near as many as Israel's November 8th attack on Beit Hanoun in the Gaza Strip. That misfired artillery shell has unleashed a torrent of anti-Israel rhetoric both within Israel and beyond. After the first 24 hours, it drew 2,026 articles on Google. Fifty Sri Lankan civilians were killed in another artillery shelling that same day. By comparison, only 141 stories reported on their deaths.

Read more.

My audio report for The Jerusalem Post of that day's terror, can be heard in the podcast player on the upper rt-hand corner of this page.
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Breakfast in the Dan Panorama Hotel, Jerusalem. Tables groan under the weight of endless plates and baskets of food. An American group of Christians sit together, clasp hands, say a prayer to Jesus and dig in. The women all wear ankle-length L.L. Bean style dresses with neat little capelets over their chests, and fabulous stiff white translucent bonnets on their heads. Hair is uniformly swept back into a tight, severe bun. Think of your 19th century local school marm. The men wear jeans and plaid shirts. They have beards without mustaches--Amish style. I learn that the men work in trades: carpenters, shoemakers, garage door installers, "honest labor."
"I'm Bother Peter."
"Are you Mennonites?"
"No, we are The Old German Brotherhood. And you are an Orthodox Jew. I can tell by your black beanie."

Read more.

Wednesday, November 29

JerusalemOnline news update: Nov. 29th (Video - Channel 2 TV)

Nationwide union strike cripples country
Palestinians brandish new rocket in West Bank
Negev nuclear reactor leak worries gov't, residents

Click here or on image for latest
Israel Channel 2 news update

Tuesday, November 28

Israel At Level Ground in The Washington Post

The Washington Post's PostGlobal launches a new measure of world actors' ability to achieve shape our world.

From where you write, who's gaining power, who's losing it, and who is coming in fast from the outside?

Winners: Iranian hegemonic aspirations, whether in its nuclear abilities and political and strategic realms, namely an incremental, grudging respect for their power and influence by western European nations - and even the US, and a steadily strengthening Hizbullah/Syria/Hamas axis.

To read the rest of my reply, click here.

For more about this story, click here.

My previous PostGlobal entry is here.

'Peace breaking out' Index: Pals call Olmert's peace plan a 'conspiracy'

And the Kassams keep on coming...

From The Jerusalem Post:

In violation of a day-old cease-fire, terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip launched two Kassam rockets at Sderot Tuesday evening. The rockets landed in open territory and no one was injured in the attack.

"The IDF played only a partial role in the decision to reach a cease-fire agreement with the Palestinians," IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee earlier Tuesday.

From Israel National News:

According to new orders issued in the last 24 hours to IDF units operating along the Gaza Strip perimeter, PA terrorists positively identified as members of specific rocket-firing cells may be targeted for elimination by ground or air forces.

However, soldiers will require authorization from Southern Command officers before opening fire. The new orders modify IDF rules of engagement initially implemented in light of the recently agreed-upon ceasefire between the PA and Israel. In consultation with other senior officers, IDF Southern District Commander Yoav Galant issued the revised open-fire orders after PA terrorists fired Kassam rockets at Sderot on Monday.

And from the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority:

'This is a conspiracy. This is a new maneuver. Olmert is speaking about the Palestinian state without giving details about the borders,' said Ghazi Hamad, a government spokesman.

And meanwhile, from eastern neighbors:

Jordan's King Abdullah II called for renewed efforts to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a speech Tuesday, a day before he meets the U.S. president, but he warned Jordan would not accept a deal that causes an influx of Palestinians.

The 'Global Power Barometer' shows the weight, direction of of int'l political power

A new feature from The Washington Post: The Global Power Barometer:

This contraption basically churns through thousands of op-eds from around the world and analyzes what the world is saying about key nations and ideologies. Are they gaining power or losing it? Are they in or out of favor?

The idea is to provide a quick visual snapshot of who is managing to affect world opinion day by day, week by week, and month by month. You can click through the graphic display to see a small sample of the thousands of articles from around the world that were used to make the calculations of the day.

This is an interesting item, but I wonder how the core analysis of what to include or leave out in compiling the database is accomplished.

Just guess which way Israel's arrow is pointing...

Monday, November 27

Break Free (Photo)

(Photo: Dave Bender)

Break Free. Photo shot of a sculpture located on the observation deck at Tel Aviv's swank Azrieli office towers. Security is tight there, due to the location, close to the Defense Ministry, and two guards approached me, asking for ID, and wondering what I was taking pictures of...

More photos of the office complex are here.

'Peace Breaking Out' Index: Ceasefire under the gun (Editorial Cartoon)

More about this:

Here.
Here.
Here.
Here.
aaaand Here.

Olmert to Palestinians: 'I hold out my hand in peace'

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaking during a memorial
ceremony for David Ben-Gurion in the southern kibbutz
of Sde Boker on Monday. (AP)

Here is an excerpt of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's speech, given today in a memorial at the graveside of Israel's first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, at Kibbutz Sde Boker:

We started it the day before yesterday. We embarked on this path - and I hope that it will lead us forward towards the goal we all aspire to - peace, tranquility and mutual trust. We are ready and willing to pursue this path, and persevere until we reach the sought-after solution.

If a new Palestinian government is established - a government which will be committed to the principles of the Quartet, implement the road map and bring about the release of Gilad Shalit, I will invite Abu Mazen [Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas] to meet with me immediately, in order to conduct a real, open, genuine and serious dialogue between us.

(...) If you demonstrate the necessary determination and discipline, you will find in us a ready partner. The State of Israel is a powerful State. Do not be fooled by our internal differences, our political rivalries or the gloomy atmosphere which we sometimes project.

In a violent battle, we will prevail, even if it is lengthy and even if it claims many victims; even if it involves compromises on comfort or quality of living, the State of Israel has proven its strength in the past and is prepared for it today.

Do not put us to another test, which will involve many casualties and destruction, and which will lead to total hardship and despair.

Read the rest here.

'Peace breaking out' index: Kassams hammer Sderot

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SOUND UP: TELETYPE (under v/o)

V/O (1940's-style radio announcer): "And here's the latest 'Peace breaking out' index for Monday evening, November 27th - two days into the ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinians in Gaza again fired several Kassam rockets into nearby Sderot; there were no injuries or reported damage in the attack.

Meanwhile, as The Jerusalem Post reports:

Jenin Islamic Jihad leader, Mahmoud Al Saadi, threatened that his organization would carry out suicide bombings deep inside Israeli territory in response to Israeli violations of the cease-fire in the West Bank.

Al Saadi called on his counterparts in Gaza to reject the fledgling truce unless it covered all the Palestinian territories and warned that his group might launch a suicide attack on Israel.

And Haaretz informs us:

Israel Defense Forces troops in the West Bank shot dead at least one member of a militant group with ties to Gaza's Popular Resistance Committees early Monday, raising concerns that there could be a violent response from the Strip.

In the words of Omri at Mererhetoric:

Seriously, could we please do some sort of review of basic effing material existence here? A ceasefire does not "take hold" if there are multiple "Palestinian rocket attacks". That's not what ceasefire means, for crying. Out. Loud. That's the opposite of a ceasefire. That's "Israel not responding to Palestinian provocation"... maybe! But it's not a ceasefire, because - you see - fire hasn't ceased. It's just not what that word means.

SOUND UP: TELETYPE (under v/o)

This has been a "Peace breaking out" index update for Monday evening, November 27th. More background about the tremulous ceasefire is here.

SFX: DING!

Sunday, November 26

Palestinian 'wannabe' suicide bomber to US Jewish reporter: 'Enjoy your tea before hell'

Following - if it's to be accepted at face value - is an excerpt of an interview between an American Jewish reporter and a 23-year-old Palestinian in the West Bank city of Jenin, who has been recruited to become a suicide bomber:

WND: You talk about fighting them, the Jews. I'm an American Jew. Do you want to kill me?
BOMBER: You are here and nobody hurts you and nobody thinks to do so. But if, unfortunately for you, if you will be in a place where my (suicide) operation will take place, I will not feel sorrow.

You American Jews are fully partners with the Zionists and even more dangerous than the Israelis because of the international support you give to the Israelis in their massacres against our people and the maintenance of the occupation.

WND: So if after today's meeting you saw me in a cafe in Jerusalem that you were sent to attack, you'd still try to blow it up?

BOMBER: At the moment there will not be a place for feelings and hesitations. If I go in an operation it means that I decided to leave behind my loved ones – my mother, my father, brothers and sisters, all my family and my friends. And if I am capable of this I would not give you a break just because we met for one time.

Meanwhile and before I drive you to hell in an operation, enjoy your tea and our hospitality. (Laughing).
Read the rest.

Peace breaks out between Olmert, Abbas; IDF soldier still kidnapped (UPDATE II)

Gaza: Palestinian Kassam rocket crew readies
volley for firing. (Photo: archive)

(UPDATE) Whoops! Seems our erstwhile leaders clinked champagne glasses just a wee bit too soon. From Haaretz:

The Israel Defense Forces said all troops were withdrawn from Gaza in the hours before the cease-fire began. Streets in northern Gaza were empty immediately after the truce took hold. Minutes before the ceasefire went into effect, Palestinian militants in Gaza fired at least three Qassam rockets at Israel.

One of the rockets hit a house in Sderot, causing damage but no injuries:

Two Qassams landed at the entrances to kibbutzim in the western Negev, causing no damage or injuries. Hamas claimed responsibility for the attacks. Several additional rockets hit open areas in Israel during the course of the night. No damage or injuries were reported.

(UPDATE II) Double whoops! (C'mon - you saw this one coming a mile away, right?...):

The armed faction of the Islamic Jihad and Abu Reish, an armed faction of Fatah, both announced early Sunday that they were not part of the ceasefire agreement.
A spokesman for Abu Reish denied the movement's participation in Saturday's meeting between Palestinian Authority Prime Minster Ismail Haniyeh and Palestinian factions during which the ceasefire was agreed.

From Yid With Lid, who takes sharp aim at this developing report:

Just in time for Holiday Season Sales, Hamas has announced the re-release of the terrorists favorite toy, Ceasefire, the game Mid-East Peace. It has been a few months since we played so let me give you a refresher course on how the game works.
Each round starts with a Terrorist leader announcing a ceasefire, well sort of, remember Oslo? Recall those promises to remove the call for the destruction of Israel from the PLO’s charter? Ever wonder the destruction of Israel is still in the PLO charter years later? The reason is that a key part of the game’s opening move. Terrorist leadership has to convince the world it wants peace, but to use fuzzy language to give it an out. In the case of Gaza, Abbas called Olmert to tell him:
“That he had received an agreement from all the different Palestinian factions to the ceasefire and in response "requested that Israel would stop all military operations in the Gaza Strip, and withdraw all its forces from there.

"Israel accepted a Palestinian cease-fire to go in effect Sunday morning, and will stop military operations in Gaza in return for an end to all Palestinian violence, including rocket fire, tunneling, and suicide bombers, the Prime Minister's Office announced Saturday night."

According to reports, there was no discussion of the return of the kidnapped soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, the reason the IDF offensive started.

An undated image released by
the family of Gilad Shalit.
(Associated Press)

JerusalemOnline news update: Nov. 26th (Video - Channel 2 TV)

Hamas warns of renewed 'intifada'
Palestinian terrorists hiding bombs in teddy bears
Police manhunt after escaped serial rapist
This Week in Israel's History

Click here or on image for latest
Israel Channel 2 news update

Friday, November 24

'Protocols of Zion:' It's all true - and here's the toe-tappin' tune...

So good, so, Jewishly, Israeli-y in your face. I love it. From Rav Shmuel, himself:

The Protocols Of The Learned Elders of Zion is a book which purports to be a record of the wicked plans and tactics the Jewish elders use to take over the world. The Protocols were actually written in Paris sometime between 1895 and 1899 by an agent of the Russian secret police though Anti-semites don't think so. In particular, within the last few years there have been several TV series on Arab TV which have assumed this book to be true. I think the whole thing is funny in a sad and twisted weird way - so here's my take on it...

The Song for this video is on the Album called by the same name: Protocols - released by JMG.

(H-T: Bagel blogger, who sez': I'll be looking closely to see if Mahmoud Ahmadinejad adds this CD to his Amazon account...)

Synopsis: Despite all the evidence, millions around the world continue to blame the Jews for 9/11. This belief is a modern-day incarnation of the infamous "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," the century-old forgery that some people claimed to be the Jews' master plan to rule the world. Filmmaker Marc Levin sets out to understand why "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" has been revived, and to challenge one of the most persistent, insidious conspiracy theories of all time. In the course of his explosive journey, Levin finds himself delving into the heart of hate, facing those who would traffic in bigotry, all in the name of God.