MadLib Replies to My Readers on Israel

From Barry Rubin, but applicable to so many situations, especially many of my readers:

Dear Reader: Thank you for your note explaining why

___ Israel is to blame for not having destroyed Hizballah
___ Israel is to blame for not having destroyed Hamas
___ Israel should win total victory
___ Israel should invade the Gaza Strip and take it over
___ Israel is going to collapse because of the demographic gap
___ Israel is doing hasbara all wrong and you have the solution
___ Israel should make its main priority answering all the idiots who attack us rather than going about our business
___ Israel should make huge concessions to the Palestinians just in case they might like to make peace after getting them
___ Israel should make huge concessions to the Syrians just in case they might like to make peace after getting them
___ Israel should let Hamas stage terrorist attacks and not respond to show we are nice people, those of us who are still alive
___ All of the above

I very much appreciate your taking the time to write. Your interest in Israel is very much welcomed by people here. Given the clarity of your ideas, if you are Jewish, permit me to suggest you:

___ Make aliya and join the army
___ Make aliya and pay taxes
___ Make aliya and have a lot of children
___ Make aliya and find out it isn’t so simple to entertain you and gratify your wishes
___ All of the above

If the above does not apply to you, you aren't Jewish or you are not interested in all those alternatives, perhaps you might consider the need to:

___ Get another hobby
___ Focus on dictatorships in Iran and Arab states to see how they treat people
___ Think what it is like to live under an Islamist regime
___ Do some actual reading and research on the Middle East before mouthing off
___ All of the above

In future, please feel free to write to someone else. Otherwise I will be happy to send you my rates for corresponding with you. We accept checks, cash, and credit cards.
Sincerely yours, Barry Rubin

(For Barry Rubin's blog on Middle East issues, see http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com where you can also subscribe. or the work of the GLORIA Center including MERIA Journal and subscriptions, http://www.gloria-center.org)

Otherwise, drop me a line at my website, http://www.davebrianbender.com

Israel: 'A Soldier's Mother,' on Iran, and Defining 'Normal'

Click on the image for a full-sized, readable photo (Courtesy: Israel Homefront Command)

A Soldier's Mother has a painfully poignant entry about what the average Israeli must face daily, and, especially in recent days over the prospect of a missile war with Iran, and other neighboring countries and entities:

"They sent us something that is designed to be attached, hung, or using the magnet conveniently located on the back, stuck to the refrigerator door. The slogan says, “To be protected exactly in time.” (Trust me, it sounds better in Hebrew).

"The rest of the hand-out features a map of Israel in various colors. To the right of the map, the question: “How much time do we have to get to a protected area?”

"Below the question, there’s a legend, divided into two parts. The top part covers the bulk of Israel from the north Isra(bordering Lebanon and Syria), the instructions say to enter immediately. The next area, just to the south and west of these areas shows that you have 30 seconds. From there, down through the rest of the country, you have anywhere from 60 seconds to 3 minutes. To comfort those who know us personally, we are in the 3 minute zone, aren’t we lucky?"

Read the rest.

Gaza: Hamas Turned Aid Meds Into Grenades

From The JPost:

Medicine bottles, transferred to the Gaza Strip as humanitarian aid by Israel, were used by Hamas as grenades against IDF troops during Operation Cast Lead. Pictures of the grenades were obtained exclusively by The Jerusalem Post.

Hamas turned these drug containers into weapons.
Photo: Courtesy

The medicine bottles were manufactured by the Jerusalem Pharmaceutical Company, which is based in el-Bireh, a town adjacent to Ramallah, and the global pharmaceutical company Shire.

The medicine bottles were filled with explosives, holes were drilled in the caps, and fuses were installed. Once Hamas fighters lit the fuses, they had several seconds to throw the grenades at soldiers. The IDF also found small explosive devices that used medical syringes to hold their fuses.

The medical grenades were discovered in northern Gaza by troops during last month's three-week battle against Hamas. The grenades were taken to military explosives experts, and then disassembled and studied.

Noted Israeli Left-Wing Pundit: 'Shock & Awe' Against Gaza (audio)

More and more, Israel's military response to Hamas' in Gaza is making some pretty surprising bedfellows.

Yaron London is one striking example.

He's a thoughtful, veteran tv, radio and print commentator and self-described left-winger from way back. His two shekels worth of punditry on affairs of the day are taken seriously by many, including by many Israeli political rightists.

However, on a recent morning drive radio talk show with fellow left-winger Razi Barkai - on Army Radio, mind you (a bastion of "indie" thought, suprisingly enough - not at all like most national military media which usually function as media lapdogs for senior brass), he comes out with nothing less than a "'War Is Hell,' and the Palestinians brought it upon themselves by voting for Hamas," POV.

I am looking for a print version of this in Hebrew or English - anyone got a link?

London, IMHO, often comes across as a classic case of a fairly unctuous spokesman of the "chattering classes," who, if translated into an American milieu might be in the realm of say, Tom Friedman of the New York Times, or one of the less screechy columnists at The UK's The Guardian newspaper.

But - unlike some other Israeli pundits and opinion-makers - London lives in Israel and has a reputation to uphold, so for him to come out with his unprecedented remarks about Gaza is even more of a shock - not the least of which to his interviewer.

A gut-check tells me that this may be a bellweather of what Hamas and the Arab world may self-inflict via the IDF and with a shuddering, teeth-grinding approval by major Israeli left-wingers if the current conflict continues: "Their civilians or ours? So be it. Theirs."

While the translation below is from right-wing Israel National Radio, who likely fist-pumped the air and went, "Yeeeeah!!!," over this, I listened to the segment, and can vouch for the accuracy and contextuality of the translation:

London first outlined his views in an article in Yediot Acharonot, and then elaborated upon them for clearly-shocked interviewer Razi Barkai on Army Radio.

“It appears that we have exhausted the options of moderating Hamas fanaticism with measured responses,” London wrote, “and the time has come to shock the Gaza population with actions that until now have nauseated us - [such as] killing the political leadership, causing hunger and thirst in Gaza, blocking off energy sources, causing widespread destruction, and being less discriminating in the killing of civilians. There is no other choice.”

Asked by Barkai, a veteran left-wing broadcaster in his own right, why there is no choice, London responded, “The strategy of modular and gradual pressure has not brought the desired results. We cannot absorb any more Kassams, we cannot fortify the entire south, we cannot take over Gaza because the price will be too heavy, and gradual pressure has only made Hamas and the Gaza population even tougher and more fanatic. I therefore concluded that there are only two remaining options: being extra nice to them, or being extra tough –"

Barkai interrupts and says, “There is a third option: negotiations with Hamas.”

London: “Which will bring what?”

Barkai: “I have no idea, but it is a possibility, at least in theory.”

London: “Negotiations will lead only to a ceasefire, whose duration will be determined solely in accordance with Hamas interests; we will not come out of that period with a greater advantage in terms of arms and weapons…”

Asked how he can guarantee that a tougher Israeli offensive will yield the desired results, London said: “Experience in past wars shows me that if we are tough enough, then at a certain stage, their standing-power will break… I am referring to both the population and their leadership; they are the same, because the population voted for Hamas. I can’t separate between one who voted for Hamas and a Hamas leader.”

Barkai: "We will have to deal with very difficult pictures of hungry children –"

London: "Yes."

Barkai: "and destroyed houses –"

London: "Yes."

Barkai: "and dead unarmed civilians, etc. How will we be able to deal with this?"

London: "Everyone in Gaza is armed… There is a consensus in Israel that the time has come to take action. We cannot fortify Ashdod, and Netivot, and Sderot, and bear this disgrace."

Barkai: "There might be thousands of dead?"

London: "I hope not – I hope that one real blow will put an end to this before we get to that."

Barkai: "Give me an example of such a blow."

London: "I don’t want to give an example, but you can go back to history and see."

Barkai: [short pause] "The only thing I can think of, and that you apparently don’t want to say, is the bombing of cities such as in World War II."

London: "Right. You don’t need to bomb a whole city; a quarter of a borough should be enough…"

Barkai finally asked, “Tell me, have you undergone an – I don’t want to say ‘ideological crisis’ because that sounds too high-brow, but perhaps a little crisis—"

London: "My brothers in Sderot are what brought me to this."

Barkai uses his trademark phrase: “Ki ma?” [Because what?]

London: "Because I can’t take the idea of little frightened girls running around in the streets of Sderot. That’s the whole thing. You can tolerate it for a certain amount of time, like the kibbutzim of the Jordan Valley did, or if it’s only a small amount of terror organizations, or whatever. But when an entire population of 1.5 million [Gaza Arabs] voted for this Hamas government, then this population has to bear the responsibility. That’s the whole story."

To hear the interview in its entirety (in Hebrew), click here.

Israel, Hamas, Don Corleone & Blanche Dubois

In an incendiary op-ed, Jonathan Mark of the New York Jewish Week says Israel not only lost the battle with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, it abjectly surrendered, and on someone else's timetable to boot:

"This war was supposed to re-establish Israel's deterrence. That was supposed to be the lesson. Instead, the lesson is that Israel quits before the rockets do.

"Israel has established in Gaza exactly what it established in the Hezbollah war: That Israel can go three weeks and only three weeks, and then Israel looks at its watch (or at the European Union's watch) and goes home, job incomplete."

Read the rest for the Godfather and A Streetcar Named Desire references.

And as they say, "in related news:"

Gaza Doctor: Hamas Exaggerated Gaza Death Toll - 600 Killed, Mostly Fighters, Not 1,300 - Yossi Bar (Maariv-Hebrew)
The Italian newspaper Corriere della Serra Thursday quoted a doctor at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City saying that, despite Hamas and UN claims, most of those killed in Gaza were young men who were members of terror groups.
"The number of deaths was between 500-600...most were young men between 17 and 23 who were recruited into the ranks of Hamas, which sent them to be slaughtered," he said.
Journalist Lorenzo Cremonesi confirmed that only 600 people were killed, and not 1,300 as was widely reported, based on hospital visits and discussions with families of the victims.
"It was strange that the non-governmental organizations, including Western ones, repeated the number without checking, but the truth will come to light in the end," said the doctor.
"It's like what happened in Jenin in 2002," he said. "At the beginning they spoke of 500 dead; afterwards it was clear there were only 54 dead, at least 45 of them fighters."

---

Hamas Shot from Civilian Neighborhoods - Rod Nordland (Newsweek)
Israel blames Hamas for using housing areas, hospitals, schools and mosques to launch attacks into Israel or against its soldiers, provoking defensive counter-fire that it says is responsible for most of the civilian casualties.
Every one of the residents interviewed in eastern Jabaliya insisted that there had been no provocation from the area, no resistance fighters, and no rocket launchings.
"There aren't any tunnels around here, we are not resistance," said Najah Abd Rabo. Yet not more than 20 feet away from Najah, there was just such a tunnel, which Israeli troops had unearthed. Right in the middle of the road, it had a convincingly camouflaged roof that matched the rest of the road.
Talal Safadi, an official in the leftist Palestinian People's Party, said that Hamas fighters were firing from positions all around Al Quds Hospital in the Tal-al Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City.

---

Hamas Confirms Executing Fatah Collaborators - Khaled Abu Toameh (Jerusalem Post)
PA Minister of Social Welfare Mahmoud Habbash accused Hamas on Wednesday of confiscating 63 trucks loaded with humanitarian aid while they were on their way to UNRWA in Gaza.
He also said 19 Palestinians were murdered in cold blood by Hamas during and after Israel's Gaza operation, while more than 60 others were shot in the legs.

The Apology That Will Never Come

"We Have Love And It Will Win/Gush Katif and Samaria." (Photo: Dave Bender)

The sticker in the photo above was put out by opponents of Israel's Disengagement from the Gaza Strip and parts of Samaria in the summer of 2005. Jewish residents of the aforementioned areas tried to "market" their opposition to the traumatic national step not with anger and rancor, but via a message of faith, trust, hope and love. So much for that in a world ruled by money, guns and realpolitic.

By the way, go on and guess where and when I shot that photo. Go on, I'll wait...

It's the door of an shrapnel-riddled civilian apartment building in a poverty-stricken area of Israel's northern coastal city of Nahariya, just south of Lebanon.

The holes in the wall are from an exploded Katyusha rocket that Hizbullah fired at the town. A dozen feet away from the building is a synagogue that also sustained damage in the barrage - one of some 4,000 that hit the city in the summer of 2006.

I'm reminded of that photo by what Nadav Shragai, writing in Haaretz. He gives vent to what I, and I am certain many others, are feeling more and more deeply these last few weeks: 
Now, after the war and just before the election whirlwind sucks in our politicians once again, it would be appropriate for many of them to go out of their way and visit the mobile-home sites where those uprooted from Gush Katif live. This way they can tell them one small thing: I'm sorry.  

Tzipi Livni, Ehud Olmert, Shaul Mofaz and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israel Defense Forces and the police should do this - they, their agents and everyone else who initiated, implemented and aided in using force to uproot 10,000 people from their homes in Gush Katif and Northern Samaria, maliciously and without any real purpose.

Everyone who saw some good in the evil of the disengagement and evil in the good of Gush Katif has turned light into darkness and darkness into light. At the very least, they are obligated to make this small apology. 
Read the rest.

And I add my own mea culpa for placing my trust in all the military, academic and media "experts" I've interviewed over the years, leading up to and following the expulsion in the summer of '05 that confused black with white. Truth with lies, and honor, love, valor and elemental human decency, with squalid greed, fear and baseless hatred.

And you, dear reader?

The Gaza Riviera and What Might Have Been

Sderot billboard: "Who's next in the lottery?" sits above "Eli's steakiya," and across the street from the beleaguered town's City Hall - also the target of hundreds of Kassam rocket strikes. The red words between the Coke caps: "Lucky corner." Eh... maybe not so much. (Photo: Dave Bender)

David Suissa is an LA PR maven, who also happens to be pretty credible teacher and commentator on the Jewish mysticism front.

Here's a sad "parallel history" musing, about what might have been the future of the Gaza Strip, had the Palestinians taken the high road after Israel's pullout in 2005:

"...the other day, as my mind was numb from yet another report from the Gaza war zone, I saw something that made me go off on a wild dream. It started with the sight of two Israeli soldiers as they drove into Gaza in an armored personnel carrier, and as I watched the soldiers, I recalled how much Israelis love to go to the beach.

"As if I was hallucinating, I then imagined the same two soldiers in their beach clothes, in a convertible roadster, with a surf board sticking out and the music blasting, and instead of going to war, they were going to meet their buddies for a day of partying on the beach.

"They were going to the jetsetters' newest fun spot: the Gaza Riviera.

"By now, my mind was losing control. Images started flooding in. I saw this fabulous strip of hotels and casinos right by a sparkling ocean. I imagined thousands of proud Palestinians working with smiles on their faces to serve the thousands of tourists from around the world who were coming to their little strip of ocean paradise.

"Behind this paradise, I saw a bustling economy, where the highest quality produce was grown and exported; where entrepreneurs built software companies, banks and advertising agencies; where a university attracted students from around the world; where local culture and the arts thrived; and where you could take the Orient Express train to Beirut, Cairo and, yes, even Tel Aviv."

But that would have assumed they ever stop missing a chance to miss a chance.

This, by the way, is no idle wishful thinking. The average Israeli is "game" in more ways than one (sorry) to work and fork over millions of dollars into Palestinian coffers, both for goodwill, and for a "normative" life.

Not that I personally supported the venture - financially or ideologically - but the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government did. So the PA opened and ran the Oasis Casino in Jericho (yes, THAT Jericho, where the dice were to have been tumblin' down, instead of walls) - until, of course, the bloodlust for dead Jews got the better of them:

"The Oasis Casino, which sometimes had a daily turnover of close to a million dollars, was built in Jericho after the signing of the Oslo Accords, over ten years ago. In 1999, it made a profit of $54 million from the close to 2,900 people who visited the casino daily - 99% of them Israelis.

"The casino shut down in late 2000, a month after the PA started the Oslo War, after its roof was used for terrorist gunfire attacks at Israeli targets. The building was heavily damaged by Israeli retaliatory fire, and though it was later refurbished, it has never re-opened.

Here's a WaPo travel article on the place.

Gaza: The Downside of Firing Mortars at Israel (Shocking 'Darwin's Surprise' Video)

The downside of firing mortars at Israel? That'd be when they stop going up:

Cast Lead 'Leathernecks'

Shahar Golan has an edge, interesting blog, and great post about a cadre of Israeli tv hard news reporters, who apparently all went to the same leather good shop on their last visit to Turkey ("GREAT prices... ask for Hakim and tell him I sent you"):

http://frgdr.com/blog/2008/12/29/tonight-evening-news-cast-lead-leather/

H-T: Harry, who also does Jerusalemite.

Pro-Israel Rallies Worldwide (Photos)

Pro-Israel Rallies Photos:
http://www.jr.co.il/rally/world/index.html

(H-T: Jacob Richman)

Hamas School, Petting Zoo Snuff Porn (Graphic Videos - updated)

Ok. Now alla'you'se sick, twisted freaks that got off on that title can shove off back under the rock.

All the rest: watch the two following videos and let's have a show of hands if you -- by this point -- are still unable to wrap your heads around the idea, that yes, Hamas has, does, and will inculcate and murder Palestinian children and even cute furry animals, just to win a PR victory over the Jews:


IDF unit discovers school and petting zoo wrapped with primacord fuzing, ready to blow. (update: the wires were connected to - sit down for this one - 200 kilograms of explosives)


Film clip from Palestine Media Watch showing -- as far back as 2002, long before the current fighting -- official Palestinian Authority TV was spoon feeding toxic martyrdom messages to children and toddlers. (Personal note: I worked with PMW at the time this video was produced, and can personally attest to the scruplous measures taken by the translators to ensure the accuracy and correct nuance of the Palestinian-dialect Arabic)


Official PATV clip. (Personal note II: Now, just for comparison and for the record, my kids, who have been taught in the standard officials Israel religious state school system have never been taught anything remotely like this. When I go to PTA meetings, the feltboards and display cases are filled with the usual stuff we all grew up with, worshiping life, joy, learning and peace).

Makes you want to go wash your eyes out, and knock back a stiff drink just to lose this memory, huh?

'One Of These Things Is Not Like The Other'

I don't often write about the Holocaust, but David Harris, director of the AJC has a really good post at his blog about remembrance, and forgetting, and about Israel and the exploitation of the murder of European Jewry by the detractors of both:

"...As Israel pursues its military operation against Hamas, reparations are under way around the world for Holocaust Remembrance Day on January 27.

The two are not disconnected.

A Catholic cardinal - and leading Vatican official - refers to Gaza as a "concentration camp."

A Greek newspaper entices readers with the banner headline "Holocaust," referring to Israel's alleged actions in Gaza.

A Brazilian newspaper publishes two cartoons - one of Hitler wearing an armband emblazoned with the Star of David and swastika, saluting, "Heil Israel!"; the other of a Star of David casting a shadow in the form of a swastika over the Gaza Strip.

On his website, white supremacist David Duke reacts to the Gaza crisis by lamenting that Hollywood portrays Jews as Holocaust victims rather than perpetrators.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez calls on Venezuela's Jewish community to denounce the "Holocaust" being committed in Gaza.

Posters equating the Star of David with the Nazi swastika are ubiquitous at anti-Israel rallies around the world.

A demonstrator in Holland confidently asserts that "Anne Frank would be turning over in her grave" if she saw what was happening in Gaza."

Read the rest.

Kassams & Kids: Closer Than You Really Want To Know

Imagine this was a sign on your street:


"Slow - Children Crossing." Rocket-shrapnel riddled street sign in Israel.

Gaza rocket ranges into Israel (so far...):

Click on the image, or here for this, and similar full-sized interactive maps.

(H-T: DoubleTapper)

Noted US Christian Broadcaster Hurt In Kassam Strike (VIDEO ADDED)

Kassam Blast Knocks American Broadcaster to Ground from Israel Always on Vimeo.

Earl Cox is a highly-regarded broadcaster, who has worked tirelessly for Israel's sake for decades. He has worked for two decades in four U.S. Administrations. He is also a friend and colleague, and I have assisted his efforts in Israel in the past, as a recording technician.

This afternoon in Sderot, he was blown off his feet into a concrete bus stop when a Kassam rocket fired from Gaza slammed down close to where he was standing. He and an assistant were "sore and shaken up," in the wake of the attack, according to a colleague, who communicated the details to me.

Earl Cox (on the bench inside bus stop) and aide at the moment of the Kassam impact near them.

This is the release his organization sent out a short time ago:

"SDEROT, ISRAEL --- International Christian broadcaster and columnist, Earl Cox, today lived through what Jews in southern Israel live through each day. Cox, who is known as "the voice of Israel to America," was in Sderot, an Israeli city on the Gaza border, identifying some of the many humanitarian needs of the people living in this area where warning sirens and rocket blasts are a part of everyday life. Cox and his crew experienced a first hand taste of this terror today; not once but twice. As he and his crew were preparing to film a video report when the siren sounded alerting everyone of incoming Kassam rockets. All scrambled for cover. The rocket landed so close to Cox and his crew that the shock waves from the blast threw him and one of his aids against the wall inside one of the 50 portable bomb shelters placed in and around Sderot by Israel Always and Operation LifeShield. Thanks to this shelter, Cox and his crew escaped serious injury.

"Shortly after this first blast, Cox and others on his Israel Always team experienced a second rocket attack and had to scurry for shelter this time finding only an unprotected building. Fortunately they again escaped injury.

"The Israel Always team will remain in southern Israel until the end of Israel's war with radical Hamas terrorists in Gaza. Since beginning his campaign in support of Israel more than ten years ago, Cox and his organization have raised huge sums of money to help meet humanitarian needs in Israel."

Earl and Kathleen are directly responsible for raising money for such reinforced bus stops that saved Earl's and the others in the film's lives. I am certain that this event will only spur them on to greater goals for Israel's sake. Find out more about LifeShield here: http://www.israelalways.com/lifeshield.html

My thoughts and prayers are with Earl, Kathleen and all in Israel for their steadfastness and valor in the face of personal danger.

Click here for more reports about Sderot and Gaza.

What it's Like Prepping for a Gaza Op (exclusive story & audio)

For all the new readers (especially Doubletapper) who are visiting my blog: This is a personal - maybe even too personal - journal of what it's like "getting the call" after 01:00 to prepare for an incursion into the Gaza Strip.

I wrote it over the course of several weeks after a terror bombing at a gambling parlor/bar in the town of Rishon Letzion, near Tel Aviv in 2002.

I recorded the introduction to the linked audio soon after an IDF foray to try to rescue IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit.

I hope you'll agree that I did my best to be fair and objective interviewing one of the soldiers, a Canadian immigrant, despite the circumstances. My deepest thanks to him for his honest, personal responses. Comments and questions are welcome.

(The audio and written accounts reveal no sensitive IDF material, and were cleared at the time by senior officers)

Audio: Preparing for the Gaza War

The call came...

...My concern rises to the surface like a half-forgotten bad dream tailing me out of my slumber.

"This is a 'tzav-8' call-up. You need to arrive at the base by 9:00 am," she says, asking if I understand the instructions and other pertinent details. I mumble my assent, hanging up the phone as I fall back into a chair.

Stunned, I told my now-awake wife that no, this wasn't a drill and that no, they weren't kidding. Suddenly taken aback in a rush of confusion and inchoate fear, I drag down the dusty, readied backpack from the crawlspace over the bathroom, mentally going over the list of needed last minute supplies.

Later, deep in the heart of the night, we finish packing the bag, both finally comprehending that I was Gaza bound, and though uncertain, likely en route to harms way.

I arrived at the sprawling Negev-area base later that morning. Hundreds of friends and acquaintances - all brothers in arms - were already there, milling in and out of ragged lines, signing in and signing out on rifles, gear and webbing. Guys in the unit I hadn't seen appear for duty in years, aged and way past enlistment age were there, trying on wrinkled fatigues and lacing up stiff boots. Reports said we were at well over a 100 percent show rate. Fairly amazed, proud, and somewhat abashed at the plain show of patriotism, I went from group to group, catching up on news since our last term of service together.

The knowing looks between us as we backslapped and traded stories of times gone by wordlessly said it all. Our unit, together with many others, was preparing to go into operation against the Palestinian terror infrastructure in the Gaza Strip...(more here)

I utterly condemn Israel's disproportionate response!

"I condemn Israel's disproportionate attack on Hamas because, so far, it has only lasted four days and I would like to see a proportionate response that terrifies Hamas for seven years, the years that have filled Sderot and neighboring towns with nightmares, death, amputations and trauma coming from rockets and mortars fired from Gaza."

Read the rest.

Israeli paratrooper parablogging from Gaza

Parabursts are here.

New full-length film about Sderot - watch the trailer here (updated)

From 12 Tribes Films' e-burst:

"The world today is mostly focused on criticizing Israel for it's attack on the terrorist forces in Gaza. Instead of criticizing Israel, the world should be asking what took Israel so long to respond to the 8 years of rocket attacks on its civilian population! Now is the time for us to show as much support and understanding for Israel as possible.

"This Sunday, January 4th, join thousands of people worldwide in watching QASSAM, the powerful movie about people in Sderot, and share in their experiences over the past 8 years!

Click here to see the trailer for Qassam."

Update - Avi sez':
Get yer' virtual movie tickets here:
http://israelwecare.weebly.com

Gaza: The real reasons Israel - finally - retaliated (Update 4)

High resolution map of the Gaza area. Click on the image for a close-up view. (University of Texas)

Read this, and then feel free to come back and talk to me about the "disproportionate" Israel response to over 10,000 rockets, mortars and terror incursions that have gone largely under and just plain unreported by the international press for, oh, 'bout the last 7-8 years.

I'm here. Listening. Waiting. I dare you. Really.

Update: Click here for a clear, in-depth audio interview with a British resident of Sderot on the current situation.

Meanwhile: A Twitter Kassam feed.


(Courtesy SderotMedia.com)

Above is a amalgam of video clips showing how Sderot residents (and thousands of other Israelis in rocket range of the Gaza Strip) have been living for the past 7 years.

The interviewer is asking the child about the "fun day" activities in Sderot, when they are interrupted by the town loudspeaker announcing "Color Red," the alert for an incoming rocket attack.

Residents have 15 seconds to reach shelter, before the missile slams down. About the same amount of time it took you to read this far.

The rest that follows should be clear enough.
---


Caption: we're not the State's sitting ducks." Young Sderot residents don red and black armbands in a protest against ongoing Hamas-led Kassam rocket attacks from Gaza against their southern Israeli town in 2006. (File photo: Dave Bender)

Resident of an Israeli farm bordering Gaza looking at a hole blasted in a wall of her house by a Kassam rocket, that killed her son's girlfriend in 2004. (Photo: Dave Bender)


View from the other side of the wall of the shattered room. (Photo: Dave Bender)

Here's what local residents throughout the south of Israel are reading this evening:

Dec 27^th, 2008

Israeli Communities within Range of Rocket Fire – Emergency Instructions for Civilian Population

The firing of rockets at Israeli communities surrounding the Gaza Strip is expected to continue over the next few days, and may expand to additional area. Therefore, residents are requested to follow directions for preparing a protected room and act in accordance with the instructions at the sound of an alarm, an explosion, or a "Color Red" alert.

Residents of villages adjacent to the security fence are asked to remain within shelters tomorrow, in close proximity to protected areas, and are requested not to assemble in groups.

All schools and commercial centers will remain closed, with the exception of vital services, such as medical centers, grocery stores and public transit will operate on a limited schedule.

Residents in the rest of the villages within range of up to ten km of the Gaza security fence are directed to ensure that they are no more than fifteen seconds from a protected area. Public gatherings in this perimeter are forbidden.

Residents of towns in the range of ten to twenty kilometers from Gaza , must be able to enter sheltered areas within thirty seconds. This area includes the cities of Ahkelon, Netivot and the surrounding towns. In these towns, gatherings of up to 100 people are allowed to be held only under reinforced ceilings. Commercial activity will only be allowed to take place in reinforced buildings.

Residents of towns in the range of twenty to thirty kilometers from Gaza , must be able to enter sheltered areas within forty-five seconds, and gatherings of up to 500 people are allowed to be held only under reinforced ceilings.. This area includes the cities of Ashdod , Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Mal'achi, Ofakim, Rahat, and the surrounding towns. Educational activity will take place in reinforced buildings only. Commercial activity will only be allowed to take place in reinforced buildings.

A number of important issues for the population:

• The Home Front command has advised the local authorities to open the public shelters. Entrance to the shelters is advised only if they are reachable within the aforementioned time frames.
• Gatherings near rocket attack sites should be avoided. Unidentified objects and rockets should not be approached. In such instances the police should be notified.
• Adhering to these guidelines and entering sheltered rooms - saves lives.
• Additional information can be obtained via the Home Front Command's hot line 1207 and website: www.oref.org.il.

Just sayin'.

Update:

Listening to the Israeli radio stations through the night there (Saturday night here), I hear, over and over, Israeli songs that are always played when there's a genuine "warlike" situation nationally.

Mostly local hits from the 1960's and 70's, along with a smattering of Europop faves. Nothing "nationalistic," or militaristic mind you, just an accent on songs - many of them pretty odes to a simpler day, that have pretty much served as the soundtrack of Israeli society through war and national crisis. Like American's talking about the "good ole' days" of television around the "national campfire."

Ok - slight update: Army radio (one of Israel's most trusted, iconoclastic and non-propagandaish news outlooks, btw), is playing James Brown's "It's A Man's World." Go figgur.'

No massive message here - feel free to add your own, though.

Gilad Shalit: A Bronx Story

From Ynetnews:

Students at P.S. 22 in the Bronx, NY, take turns reading aloud a story written by IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped by Hamas gunmen from an outpost facing the Gaza Strip. The event was part of an initiative by Israel's NY Consulate to mark the second anniversary of his captivity.

Click on the image above to read a personal letter from Aviva and Noam, the parents of captive IDF soldier, Gilad Shalit.

Click here to learn more about the events surrounding his abduction, and that of IDF soldiers Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border.
Click here for downloadable versions of the story,
"When The Shark and the Fish First Met"