PM Olmert to Israel: Drop Dead - L'etat, C'est Moi!

"Feeling the 'Winograd' Noose"
(Photo: AP)

Ehud Olmert. Go home. You utterly failed and betrayed the people of Israel and the House of Israel in it's hour of need. Take Amir Peretz with you. We are a nation of heroes. You lead a government of craven cowards.
“Good evening. This afternoon I received the first part of the Winograd
Committee report (). The Government established the Committee seven months ago in order to examine the Second Lebanon War.

"I have studied the main points of the report. The report is grave and
harsh. There were achievements. There were failures by the main
decision-makers with myself at their head. Lessons must be drawn. Faults - and they are many - must be corrected. There is much to do. I intend to act in order to correct everything that needs correcting, thoroughly and
quickly."
Ehud Olmert. Go home. You utterly failed and betrayed the people of Israel and the House of Israel in it's hour of need. Take Amir Peretz with you. We are a nation of heroes. You lead a government of craven cowards.
"I intend to convene a special Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, 2.5.07.  I will propose that a team be appointed to quickly study the report and implement the necessary lessons.

"It would be incorrect to resign and I do not intend to do so.

"This Government made the decisions and this Government will correct the
faults."
Ehud Olmert. Go home. You utterly failed and betrayed the people of Israel and the House of Israel in its hour of need. Take Amir Peretz with you. We are a nation of heroes. You lead a government of craven cowards.
"From our point-of-view, the submission of the report does not close a
chapter in the war.  The submission of the report opens a new - and no less important - chapter, that of correcting the faults and learning the lessons.

"This evening, I am thinking about the bereaved families who lost loved ones in this just and unavoidable war.  I am thinking about the wounded and I am thinking about Udi, Eldad and Gilad Shalit.  Like all of Israel, I believe that it will be possible to bring them back home quickly."
Ehud Olmert. Go home. You utterly failed and betrayed the people of Israel and the House of Israel in its hour of need. Take Amir Peretz with you. We are a nation of heroes. You lead a government of craven cowards.

"Lastly, I would like to thank the Committee of Inquiry - its Chairman,
retired judge Eliyahu Winograd, and its members: Prof. Ruth Gavison, Prof.
Yehezkel Dror, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Menachem Einan and Dr. Chaim Nadel, for
their serious, thorough and dedicated work.”

Honor and thank them by leaving. Ehud Olmert. Go home. You utterly failed and betrayed the people of Israel and the House of Israel in its hour of need. Take Amir Peretz with you. We are a nation of heroes. You lead a government of craven cowards.

Changed Israel At Level Ground URL - and changed it back...

You are still here: http://betbender.blogspot.com for the meantime. Please ignore the following, if you received it in an email:

http://IsraelAtLevelGround.blogspot.com. You used to be at http://betbender.blogspot,com.

Thank you for visiting. Please update your bookmarks, etc.

Can't imagine why I didn't do this sooner.
D



--
Posted By Dave Bender to Israel At Level Ground at 4/30/2007 04:37:00 PM

Palestinian human rights advocate slams Arab culture for woes (Exclusive video interview - Updated)

Jerusalem-based Palestinian human rights advocate Bassam Eid on Palestinian suffering:

"It's not because of occupation but because of Arab culture... They could have, at least, built the infrastructure of Gaza strip."

Read the rest here in the The Washington Times.

How he's still alive after repeatedly slamming the Palestinian leadership for years is a mystery to me. Many who have voiced far more neutered criticism of the Palestinians have commonly died in shootings or been found strung up on telephone poles in Ramallah and Gaza.

I have no doubt that voices in Palestinian society and the Arab world would consider his measured (and all the more scathing for that) appraisal of the Palestinian leadership's failings treasonous. I have interviewed Eid, and in my honest opinion, he means what he says, and walks the walk. Any viewer has to give him credit for that.

Eid, in a refreshingly honest, forthright and exclusive interview, shares his analysis of the state of the Palestinian leadership, power-sharing with Hamas, relations with Israel, and the relative state of freedom to critique Arab society - only available in Israel.

(More clips of my interview with Eid, held in 2004/5 will be posted here during the day. D)
Part 1:

Part 2:

Part 3:

(Click back a bit later and refresh the page (F5) if the videos do not show or play)

Iran threatens 'tens of thousands of missiles'

From The Washington Post:

Iran will strike U.S. interests around the world and Israel if attacked over its disputed nuclear program, a senior official was quoted on Thursday by the official IRNA news agency as saying.

"Nowhere would be safe for America with (Iran's) long-range missiles ... we can fire tens of thousands of missiles every day," said Mohammad Baqer Zolghadr, the deputy interior minister in security affairs.

After Imus: Jewish comics, Lenny Bruce & Sarah Silverman

From Jewish World Review:

For Jewish comics, Dom Imus is no joke.

In the wake of the shock jock's unflattering comments about the Rutgers University women's basketball team and his shockingly swift departure from the national airwaves has come a national discussion about the propriety of character defamation in the guise of humor, and predictions that an era of increased civility will ensue.

Today, boundaries are the subject of discussion. What type of language is an acceptable part of a public performance? Are profanity, sexual references and derogatory references to specific minority groups — Imus' downfall — to be banished by overt legislation or covert consensus?

So, ahh, what do we do with the legacy of Lenny Bruce?:

"Children ought to watch pornographic movies : it's healthier than learning about sex from Hollywood." (from How to Talk Dirty and Influence People, 1965)

"I really dig what they do with a homosexual in this country. They put him into a prison with a lot of other men. That's a really good punishment." (Dustin Hoffman in Lenny)

American stand-up comedian and brilliant satirist, who created much controversy in his time due to his use of so-called 'dirty words' in his nightclub comedy act. The black humor of Bruce's largely improvised shows often overstepped the bounds of what was considered in the 1950s and 1960s respectable. Bruce's performances, his fresh and daring way of breaking rules, influenced such comedians as George Carlin, Richard Pryor, and Robin Williams.

More on Bruce is here.

Aaaaand while we're talkin', how about Sarah Silverman - will she go on welfare or get a job flipping burgers anytime soon?

“I wear this St. Christopher medal sometimes because—I’m Jewish, but my boyfriend is Catholic—it was cute the way he gave it to me. He said if it doesn’t burn through my skin it will protect me.”

“I was raped by a doctor,” she says. “Which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl.”

And finally (NSFW - but for a good cause, so, what the hell...):

The New Yorker interview with her is here.

Israel At 59: Megadeath, Hip-Hop Hatikva, 'Human Beat-Box' & Dudu Fisher

There. That got your attention.

Click the flag.

Also from Ynet News, other artists do Hatikva:

• Teapacks

• Zehava Ben

• Rivka Zohar

• Daniel Zamir

And, of course, while we're talkin' odd musical covers in the national anthem, why not try out Megadeath guitarist Marty Friedman, from a recent gig in Tel Aviv:

Happy 59th.

Memorial Day: The heart breaks, the soul mourns

Grieving mother of Israeli civilian
killed in Katyusha strike in Haifa
holds his photo, as her sister looks on.
(Dave Bender)

As Memorial Day in Israel draws to a close and Independence Day enters, The Jerusalem Post offers photos of civilians and solders, Jews and Arabs, religious and secular who were killed during last summer's Second Lebanon War.

A total of 43 Israeli civilians (including four who died of heart attacks during rocket barrages) and 116 IDF soldiers were killed in the Israel-Hizbullah war.

Listening to the achingly sad songs on Galei Tzahal Army Radio via Internet from across the sea, and the heart wrenching litanies of family and friends telling of their fallen friends, comrades, children, parents and loved ones, the heart grieves, the soul feels the pain, loss - and longing to return to Israel soon. To be at home.

In "Wind of Remembrance," colleague Judy Lash Balint writes so movingly about Memorial Day ceremonies in Israel. Go read it, and buy her new book Jerusalem Diaries II.

JerusalemOnline Memorial Day update (Video - Channel 2 TV)

Today's Headlines:

Click to watch Memorial Day ceremony: Israel remembers its fallen Click to watch a Memorial Day commemoration Click to watch a tribute to those who fought and fell for Israel Click to watch the story of an Israeli peace activist killed in a terror attack.

Click on screen for more news

22,305 Fallen: Every number a name, a face, a memory

Faith Under Fire

War Against Hizbullah, Summer 2006:
Israeli Defense Forces soldier at brief morning prayers
along northern border; smoke from a recently fallen Katyusha rocket rises in distance.
(Photo: Dave Bender - More images are here)

From the Israel Foreign Ministry:

A total of 22,305 men and women have been killed defending the land of Israel since 1860, the year that the first Jewish settlers left the secure walls of Jerusalem to build new Jewish neighborhoods.

In the past year, since Remembrance Day 2005, 233 members of the security forces - police, IDF, Border Police, Israel Security Agency and other organizations - have been killed in the service of the state.

Israel's 59th Independence Day celebrations will commence on Monday evening, April 23, when the state flag is raised to full mast at a national ceremony on Mount Herzl, at which twelve torches are lit.

Israel at 59: Statistics

Click image to view a memorial
film on Israel's fallen

Israel At 59: Orthodox Union slideshow

Ok. Shameless self-promotion disclaimer here - but hey, they asked.

So, What Does Israel Mean To You?

(Image courtesy AJC)

This?


This?


This?

Or something in between?

Comments are welcome, and many will be posted here (some with appropriate replies, so be nice...). So, c'mon - speak up.

To see an Israel beyond the headlines, go here and here for features, and here and here for images.

Israel at 59 to Hamas: you need us

Cor-ten steel sculpture on observation deck of
Tel Aviv's Azrieli Towers (Photo: Dave Bender)

From Bradley Burston in Haaretz:

To you, the leaders and activists of Hamas, on the occasion of the 59th anniversary of the darkest day on the Palestinian calendar, I offer my sympathy.

After all this time, perhaps there is only one thing more galling for you than the fact that the State of Israel still exists: the fact that you need us.

(...)You want to believe that if you wait long enough, endure enough anguish, exact enough revenge, the Jews will relent. It seems only fair, only just, that after all this sacrifice and struggle, you will come into possession of the very state for which you have sworn to give your very life.

You don't know the Jews.

Virginia Tech: heroic Israeli Holocaust survivor's last moments

An absolute must read in Newsday:

Theresa Walsh was one of the last people to see Liviu Librescu alive.

"He looked horrified, almost as if he knew what was going to happen," said the Virginia Tech math major, who had stepped into the hallway from a second-floor classroom across from his when she heard gunshots.

---
From Ynet News:

Librescu was buried Friday morning at the Ra'anana cemetery. Hundreds of mourners accompanied Librescu to his final resting place.

From The Jerusalem Post:

According to Librescu's wife [Marlena], lighting Shabbat candles was his favorite mitzvah.

...[Son] Arie said his mother would now move to back Israel once she has completed the arrangements in the US.

Gheorghe Angelescu, adviser to the president of Romania, presented Marlena Librescu at the funeral with the Grand Cross of Romania - the country's highest civilian honor, which was previously granted to the prime ministers of France and Italy.

Librescu was given the award for his scientific achievements and the heroism surrounding his death. According to Angelescu, Librescu "was a very important scientist - not just for Israel or Romania, but for the world."

Professor Liviu Librescu's funeral (photo: Ido Erez)

Jews worldwide - whatever your level of observance - take an example from Librescu, and light Shabbat candles this evening, just before sunset. Here's how.

Librescu condolence page.

'Wandering Jews' get a 'Geni' map

Jewish memorial tree, Budapest, Hungary
(Photo credit)

Blogger Brian Blum is touting a new web-based genealogy app: Geni:

Every time you add a name, you can include an email address. Geni then sends a message inviting that person to join your tree and start entering data of his or her own. In that way, your family tree grows as other people do the heavy lifting. Geni sends out an email summary of every week of who's joined and allows you to enter missing addresses directly into the email.

To give you an example, I started by entering 21 names into Geni. I knew the email addresses of 15 of those people and they were automatically invited, a number of whom immediately began filling in their part of the tree. After about 3 weeks of using Geni, there are now 472 people in my tree dating as far back as the 1850s – to my great-great grandfather who lived in Berlad Romania – and as far a field as my aunt's ex-husband's sister's family. That comes out to 115 blood relatives and 356 in-laws.

Worth a visit and sign-up, I'd say.

More Jewish genealogy resources are here.

Virginia Tech slayings: A fitting Jewish response

In a response to the appalling Virginia Tech slayings, Chabad on Campus has set up the Hearts to Hokies campaign:

A National Week of Goodness and Kindness

Join the "Hearts to Hokies" campaign to spread the light of goodness and kindness in the world. Add an extra good deed, whatever it may be, in memory of the victims.

The deeds will be collected from campuses and communities across the nation and presented to the Virginia Tech community, as a tangible expression of our love and concern and our dedication to making the world a better place.

Go there now, sign in and do this.

Here is the condolence page for Liviu Librescu, the 75-year old Romanian-Israeli Holocaust survivor who was slain in a true act of Kiddush Hashem - sanctifying God's Name - as he heroically defended his students from the killer.

More on Librescu here.

Seeing terrorism against civilians - from the inside out

From the very impressive site (and turn on your speakers):

The purpose of terrorism is to create victims. The goal is to murder and maim as many innocent people as possible. It is a political tool that has worldwide appeal, because it works. We have allowed it to work by not condemning and isolating those who use it. Terrorism has destroyed thousands of innocent lives in the past six years alone. Civilized people everywhere must condemn terrorism. We must speak in one voice. There is no excuse for terrorism - ever.

They represent a broad cross-section of humanity.

They are commuters on the London subway system. And on the trains in Madrid. They are celebrants at a wedding in Amman, Jordan and at a bat mitzvah in Hadera, Israel. They are little kids eating pizza; they are tourists in Bali and Egypt. They are people praying in churches and mosques and synagogues. They are celebrating the Passover Seder.

Even doctors who try to help can become victims. In September of 2003, Dr. David Applebaum, the head of the ER deparment at Shaare Zedek Medical Center was murdered along with his 20 year old daughter, Naava. They were in Café Hillel in Jerusalem.

(I wrote about this particular terror attack from a personal, painful POV here).

Stunning Hebrew Calligraphy

Beautiful, haunting images. Go and look.

Virginia Tech: Israeli Holocaust survivor killed trying to save students (UPDATED)

Image: Instapundit

From the JPost:

As Jews worldwide honored on Monday the memory of those who were murdered in the Holocaust, a 75-year-old survivor sacrificed his life to save his students in Monday's shooting at Virginia Tech College that left 32 dead and over two dozen wounded.


Professor Liviu Librescu, 76, threw himself in front of the shooter, who had attempted to enter his classroom. The Israeli mechanics and engineering lecturer was shot to death, "but all the students lived - because of him," Virginia Tech student Asael Arad - also an Israeli - told Army Radio.
---
Alec Calhoun, a 20-year-old student who had been in Librescu's class in room 204, told a reporter that at 9:05 a.m. the heard screams and a loud banging sound from the next-door classroom. When the students realized it was gunfire, he said, some hid behind tables, and others leapt from the classroom's windows. Calhoun himself was among the last to jump. "Before I jumped from the window, I turned around and looked at the professor, who stayed behind, maybe to block the door. He had been killed."

Librescu is survived by his wife of 42 years, Marlena, who was with him in Virginia, and sons Aryeh and Joe who are in Israel. They intend to bury him in Israel.

More here.

Hizbollah: Iran ok'ed all operations

Today's Headlines:

Hizbollah admits all operations approved in Iran Survivors bear witness on Holocaust Remembrance Day Witnesses in Eichmann trial meet for first time Weekly Summary – click to watch the top stories

This Just In: 'What We Call the News' (Video news coverage slapdown)

Too perfect.

Breaking: Pal' group says killed captive BBC reporter

From Ynet:

Palestinian Jihad and Tawheed Brigades say Alan Johnston has been executed, blame British, Palestinian governments...

BBC reporter Alan Johnston has been killed by an al-Qaeda affilated Palestinian organization, according to an internet statement obtained by Ynetnews.

The statement was signed by the Palestinian Jihad and Tawheed Brigades, an organization named after an Iraqi al-Qaeda group.

Maybe this will convince the British National Union of Journalist's call to sanction and boycott - Israel.

Yeah. Right. /sarc off...

Holocaust Memorial Day: online exhibitions

Please click here to view online exhibitions.

Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoah in Hebrew) is a national day of commemoration in Israel, on which the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust are memorialized. It is a solemn day, beginning at sunset on the 27th of the month of Nisan (Sunday evening, April 15, 2007) and ending the following evening, according to the traditional Jewish custom of marking a day. Places of entertainment are closed and memorial ceremonies are held throughout the country.

The central ceremonies, in the evening and the following morning, are held at Yad Vashem and are broadcast on the television. Marking the start of the day, in the presence of the Acting President of the State of Israel and the Prime Minister, dignitaries, survivors, children of survivors and their families, gather together with the general public to take part in the memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem in which six torches, representing the six million murdered Jews, are lit. The following morning, the ceremony at Yad Vashem begins with the sounding of a siren for two minutes throughout the entire country. For the duration of the sounding, work is halted, people walking in the streets stop, cars pull off to the side of the road and everybody stands at silent attention in reverence to the victims of the Holocaust.

Learn more here.

You Must Read This. My Mere Words Do Not Do It Justice.

Really, no kidding, and all clever witticisms aside. It is long-ish, but very worth it in so many ways. And after that, read this for the backstory.

Thanks.

Holocaust Memorial Day: Why bother anymore?

Because of this:

As Hamas seeks international recognition by softening its tone in English, in Arabic it continues the calls for genocide of Jews. In a recent sermon on PA TV, Hamas spokesman Dr. Ismail Radwan made it clear that the classical Hamas ideology had not changed, including its continued incorporation of extremist Islamic beliefs into Hamas ideology and policy. He reiterated:

1. The Hour – the Islamic Resurrection and End of Time– is literally dependent on the killing of Jews by Muslims.
2. The remaining Jews will unsuccessfully attempt to hide, as the rocks and trees will expose them, calling out "there is a Jew behind me, kill him!"
3. "Palestine… will be liberated through the rifle," a euphemism meaning that Israel will be destroyed through violence.
The Hamas spokesman ended with prayers to Allah to "take" Israel and the USA.
The following is the text of the Hamas spokesman's call for genocide of Jews:

The Hamas spokesman, Dr. Ismail Radwan, PA TV, March 30, 2007 -

The Hour [Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: "Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!"
We must remind our Arab and Muslim nation, its leaders and people, its scholars and students, remind them that Palestine and the Al Aqsa mosque will not be liberated through summits nor by international resolutions, but it will be liberated through the rifle. It will not be liberated through negotiations, but through the rifle, since this occupation knows no language but the language of force… O Allah, strengthen Islam and Muslims, and bring victory to your Jihad-fighting worshipers, in Palestine and everywhere… Allah take the oppressor Jews and Americans and their supporters!

Click here to see the video.

(H-T: Solomonia)