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.

Shabbat Shalom From Eilat

The mountains of Eilat (Landscape photos: Pria Bender)

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)