BBC Panorama Distorts the Facts About Jerusalem

From CAMERA:

"Finding a route to peace in [Jerusalem] is not exactly a walk in the park," says Jeremy Vine in a play on words to introduce the January 18th segment of BBC's "Panorama," entitled "A Walk in the Park." The segment presents alleged attempts by Israeli Jews to "change the demographics of East Jerusalem" and the title refers to the green areas being developed to link communities around Jerusalem. But viewers learn far less about the difficulty of "finding a route to peace" in Jerusalem than they do about the difficulty of finding objective information on the BBC.

Narrator Jane Corbin takes viewers on a "walking tour" of "what is happening on the ground" in eastern Jerusalem, scurrying from one "stop" to another to report on Israel's alleged misdeeds. Omitting essential facts and context that explain Israel's position, she provides a one-sided perspective that establishes Israelis as the villains and the Palestinians as their innocent victims...continue reading.

A phenomenon that continues to perplex me is that of Jews turning against Israel. One day I'd love to sit down with one and ask, WHY? Again from CAMERA:

In 1505, a Moravian Jew named Joseph Pfefferkorn denounced his faith and undertook a campaign to get the Talmud banned by claiming it blasphemed Christianity. Pfefferkorn was unschooled and a criminal, but that didn't stop the Dominicans in Cologne, who at the time were eager to cast aspersions on the Jews, from employing him. They recognized the value of a Jew accusing other Jews...Anna Baltzer - Jewish Defamer of Israel

CNN's Christiane Amanpour can't seem to help herself. Whatever the subject of the program, she's inclined to inject mention of Israel and its alleged myriad faults. An interview with Tibet's revered Dalai Lama prompted her to insert jarring comparisons of Tibet and the Palestinian "nakba." (Though with no musings on the absence of Tibetan suicide bombers.)...Amanpour's Impulse: Smear Israel

Throughout his years as a commentator on the Israeli-Arab conflict, Henry Siegman has consistently toed the Palestinian line that Israel is to blame for the failure to resolve the conflict. In a Jan. 25, 2010 article in The Nation, Siegman essentially promotes the current strategy of the Palestinian Authority leadership to bypass a negotiated settlement with Israel in favor of "forceful outside intervention." The purpose of this strategy is to compel Israel to accept a Palestinian state under the conditions demanded by the Palestinians...Henry Siegman Promotes Forceful Intervention Against Israel


From FrontPageMag:

The past year brought a fresh wave of anti-Israel rhetoric and accusations, most of which cited Israel’s “siege” of Gaza during last winter’s Operation Cast Lead as evidence of Israel’s injustice toward the Palestinians. The international press frequently echoed calls by human rights groups and activists to “end Israel’s illegal blockade” and “liberate Gaza.” Such messages have been conceived to undermine Israel and present a very misleading picture of the actual Gaza conflict...Eyeless in Gaza


From Asia Times:

(Perhaps BHO should be worrying about Biden)

DAMASCUS - United States President Joseph Biden landed in Baghdad on Friday amid speculation that he might help hammer out differences between Sunnis and Shi'ites ahead of Iraq's March 7 parliamentary elections...Sunnis scramble for allies


And don't forget your daily dose of Off The Wall News!

Smearing Jews on British TV

The level and extent of global anti-Semitism never ceases to amaze me.

From Pajamas Media:

I am glad a bout of bronchitis felled me for a week because it allowed me time to gather the fallout from a scurrilous November 16 documentary produced by Britain’s Channel Four television, Inside Britain’s Israel Lobby.

From the moment narrator-producer Peter Oborne came on screen, I knew this was going to be one of those “lemme tell you about the Jooze” exposes in which every prominent Anglo-Jew is wheeled out as an example of the disloyalty and double allegiance of folks who support the survival of the state of Israel. Yes, I know there was the Larry Franklin case in which it was proven that a Washington insider was also double-crossing his nation and passing data to the Israeli embassy. I know there is Jonathan Pollard in jail for life for betraying the United States. Yes, there are bad Jews like Madoff and Maxwell and Levitt and Milken and hated Jews like Dick Fuld. So now that I have gotten the rotten apples out of the way, let’s talk about a nasty Channel Four show that seems to imply that the British government is being subverted by a very large gang in an endless parade of rich Jews determined to bully all of Britain into supporting Israel or else...Continue Reading


From CAMERA:

"Letter from Gaza - Captives"( New Yorker, Nov. 9, 2009) by Lawrence Wright, the acclaimed author of The Looming Tower; Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, promised to be a penetrating piece. It starts out strongly with an informative and captivating description of the evolution of the conflict in Gaza, but Wright's reliance on biased sources becomes increasingly apparent with each successive factual misstep. His journalistic insight flags entirely towards the end of the piece when he resorts to reciting dubious figures for Palestinian civilian casualties and destroyed civilian structures provided by biased sources...New Yorker's Lawrence Wright Proffers Palestinian Narrative


And the EU wants to divide Jerusalem. What is it about Israel that the world is against it? Joel Rosenberg reports: BATTLE INTENSIFIES TO DIVIDE JERUSALEM

Also from Joel: AHMADINEJAD SAYS U.S. TRYING TO PREVENT 12TH IMAM ARRIVAL

Don't forget to check out your daily Off The Wall News

Here's a very informative article from one of the Off The Wall News links that helps put things into perspective: What the Palestinians Really Want.

Christians Suffer Under the Palestinian Authority

The American government refuses to acknowledge the medieval abuses of Christians at the hands of the Palestinian Authority.

Rev. Bill Harter is a charismatic and well-respected Presbyterian Church (USA) pastor who has taken forty church missions to Israel and the Palestinian Authority territories. On various occasions at meetings with State Department officials, Rev. Harter revealed to them that Christian Palestinians say one thing in public and the opposite in private.

He requested that the State Department appoint a human rights officer and station him at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem in order to monitor, record, and redress the abuses that Christian Palestinians are undergoing at the hands of the Palestinian Authority and Hamas-sponsored gangs.

Rev. Harter was told in whispers, in the privacy of Christian Palestinian families’ homes, about the fears they have of remaining in their towns and living there under the control of a Palestinian state. During his earlier trips, members of the Arab Christian community had expressed great fear for their safety as Israel withdrew from the Bethlehem area and handed it over to Arafat and the Palestinian Authority (PA). According to Harter, Christians under PA control are intimidated into speaking out against Israel and are abused if they seem to accuse the PA of any wrongdoing...Continue Reading


From CAMERA:

The board of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) unanimously voted to reject a proposal by staff members to boycott Israel. The Board stressed the need to maintain open communication between scientists at NTNU and those at academic institutions in Israel. This comes after a counterpetition of professors at the same university (which drew three times as many signatories as did the original boycott proposal ) and an international counter-boycott petition (which drew over 3,500 signatories — i.e. more than 1.000 times as many as the original proposal) became public...Norwegian University Votes Down Anti-Israel Boycott


President Jimmy Carter and Judge Richard Goldstone have a lot in common. Both prominent men of international standing have published hefty reports slamming Israel. Both made their arguments with countless factual errors that were exposed by critics. Both denied that their critics dealt with the substance of their reports and insisted that their detractors resorted to launching only ad hominen attacks...Carter, Goldstone and Gaza


From American Thinker:

I served in the U.S. Department of State as the first Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism from 2006-2009. As the Obama administration considers its options to fill my position, I offer the following analysis on the severity of antisemitism in Europe...Fomenting Anti-Semitism in Europe


Don't forget to read the latest Off The Wall News

Arab leaders are responsible for refugee problem

For Zion's Sake Ministries:

"....In recent years, Palestinian leaders, writers and refugees have spoken out in the Palestinian media, blaming the Arab leadership for the creation of the Palestinian refugee problem. According to these accounts, and contrary to the Palestinian myth that hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were deported by Israel in 1948, the vast majority of the Arab exodus from Israel was voluntary, and the result of orders by the Arab leadership...Read more


CAMERA:

Claim About Destroyed Gaza Hospitals Contradicted By Dugard's Own Findings


Joel Rosenberg:

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF IRAQ?


Lori's links and comments:

US Policy: Jews in Eastern Jerusalem are Unwanted ‘Settlers’ ,

Fatah: No Recognition of Israel – Ever,

Haniyeh: Hamas will not stand in the way of state on '67 borders,

The world has finally spoken, but awaits Israel’s response,

Barkat: We'll resist attempts to divide J'lem,

Israelis Wary of US-Backed Peace Process,

US to transfer $200 million to Palestinians,

Water Crisis in Iraq: The Growing Danger of Desertification,

The Future of Babylon Project,

Russia: Iran reactor to be switched on this year,

Shanghai urges 'two-child policy' ,

Italian ambassador says there can't be EU without,

Cuba says ready to discuss bilateral relations with EU,

All hail the planet ,

Friday sermon in Khartoum ,

File under "More Vodka!"... Russian Navy UFO records say aliens love oceans,

Israel's Tamar gas reserve bigger than expected

For Zion's Sake Ministries:

The natural gas reserve discovered off the shores of Haifa is approximately 25 to 30 percent richer than previously assessed, US oil operator Noble Energy Inc., said after drilling to verify the find. The site, previously assessed to hold more than 142 billion cubic meters (BCM) of natural gas, may in fact hold as much as 180 BCM. The potential revenue from selling gas from the offshore reserve may reach $30-35 billion...Read more

A quarry from the late Second Temple Period that produced stone to build the Temple Mount's supporting walls has been uncovered in central Jerusalem, the Antiquities Authority said this week...Ancient Temple Mount quarry found in Jerusalem

The Pope has called for the world economy to be restructured in line with the principles of "love, truth and charity" in a new encyclical issued today. He urges the reformation of the United Nations and economic institutions to address the global economic crisis, which he links to relativism, globalisation and the abuse of modern technologies...Pope calls for 'God-centered' global economy

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen spoke Tuesday about Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon in rare comments by a US official, acknowledging the possibility that Iran will succeed in acquiring a capability America has long termed unacceptable...Mullen: Iran focused on developing nuclear capability


CAMERA:

In its May/June issue, the Columbia Journalism Review published an article by J.J. Golberg about charges that Israeli soldiers shot unarmed Palestinian women during its operation against Hamas in Gaza. For most of the piece, Goldberg treated the unfounded allegations as if they were true. The fact that they almost certainly were not was buried and minimized — it wasn't until the article's fourth and final page that he admitted, albeit dismissively, that the charges were shown to be mere hearsay...Read more


Lori's Links:

Obama said US had "absolutely not" given Israel green light to attack Iran,

Euro nations divided over single IMF seat,

Israel fumes at EU settlement statement,

TransAtlantic Legislator's Dialog,

One president for 27 nations: Can Tony Blair lead Europe? ,

Abbas: We Left Galilee on Our Own,

Israel agrees delivery of assault rifles to Palestinians,

Arab Incitement Violating Roadmap Obligations,

Did Israel Sign a Deal With Turkey to Import Water? ,

US, Russia sign deal to cut nuclear weapons,

Zambia's defence minister resigns,

Thanks Lori!

PS Is it me or is BHO miffed regarding all that attention MJ is getting?

Myths and Facts about the Fighting in Gaza

The Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA) takes a look at some Myths and Facts related to the Gaza conflict...

Myth: Israel’s attacks against Hamas are illegal since Israel is still occupying Gaza through its control of Gaza’s borders and airspace, and it is therefore bound to protect the civilian population under the Fourth Geneva Convention.

Israel has control over Gaza’s air space and sea coast, and its forces enter the area at will. As the occupying power, Israel has the responsibility under the Fourth Geneva Convention to see to the welfare of the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. (Rashid Khalidi, What You Don’t Know About Gaza , New York Times Op-Ed, Jan. 8, 2009)

Read more HERE

Recently, several papers and the UN have variously inferred, and accused, Israel of using White Phosphorous in its incursion into Gaza. Camera takes a look at some of the claims HERE

U.N. outrage – but only when it's safe

Article by Hal Lindsey at WorldNetDaily.

According to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and elsewhere, Israeli forces deliberately shelled a United Nations compound filled with "hundreds of refugees" and buildings filled with "humanitarian supplies."

"The U.N. compound in Gaza had only that morning become a makeshift shelter for hundreds of Gaza City residents seeking sanctuary from relentless Israeli shelling," said a U.N. official in Gaza. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the media.

The official claimed that shortly afterwards a shell hit one of the U.N. schools used as a sanctuary. Three people were wounded. He also said that two other shells hit a warehouse that contained humanitarian supplies and a U.N. parking lot.

A school. A warehouse housing humanitarian supplies. Three Israeli shells also hit a hospital in the al Quds neighborhood, setting its pharmacy afire. It couldn't sound any worse.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said the damage caused to the al Quds hospital was "completely and utterly unacceptable based on every known standard of international humanitarian law."

U.N. General Secretary Ban Ki-moon thundered into the region to express his outrage at the targeting of the U.N. school and compound being used to shelter hundreds of refugees. He expressed "strong protest and outrage" at the shelling of the compound and demanded an investigation...Read MORE

More articles and news:

Academic Jew-Hater

Israel Must Defeat Hamas

A Petition to the U.N. on Hamas’s Crimes

IAF Pounds Hamas; 40 Targets Hit

More from Joel Rosenberg plus some more headlines

NOTES FROM CONFERENCE CALL WITH BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Warns of Iran’s “nightmare scenario”

Iran warns Hamas not to accept truce

Gaza economy grinds to a standstill

Dr. Gary Frazier and Jan Markell talk about the war in Israel HERE

THE TRUTH OF WHAT IS HAPPENING IN ISRAEL

Here is a personal perspective from someone who has lived in fear under constant missile attacks in Israel. Grab a coffee, get comfortable in a nice cosy chair; then read it and put yourself in their position. What if it happened in your town or street...on a daily basis?

Dear Friends,

As you all know, Israel is in a middle of a war. First, we would like to thank you for your prayers and to tell you that we are doing fine. I know that the news broadcast picture the Palestinians as the victims and us as the aggressors. But the truth must be said. In the last eight years… eight years! The cities in the south west side of Israel suffer from attacks by the Hamas…

Read it HERE at Overcomer’s blog.

Something else to think about:

Europe's Rampant Muslim Jew-Hatred, and Absent Jewish 'Islamophobia'

The War Against the Jews

A formula for perpetual war

Hal Lindsey makes a few salient points about the current crisis in Gaza:

As the current Israeli war against Hamas in Gaza continues, the worldwide propaganda assault against Israel grows exponentially. In the light of this, it's important to review a little history about Gaza. In 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza and completely turned its administration over to the Palestinian Authority. All of the Jewish settlements were disbanded and their residents forcibly removed. The Israeli agricultural, commercial and residential assets – which were considerable – were left for the Palestinians...

I especially concur with his thoughts here:

What is it about Israel that makes it the world's pariah state? How can it be that no insult to the Arabs is too slight to justify wholesale murder, whereas no atrocity, no matter how outrageous, justifies an Israeli defensive response? It matters not how reasonable and legitimate the defensive action would be for any other nation. But leaders from around the world have streamed into the U.N. to defend the "Palestinian democracy" – as if such an entity exists. READ MORE

A new post by Joel Rosenberg:

ROCKETS FIRED FROM LEBANON AT ISRAEL: Fears of a second front

From another blog…

“I can't forget Zionism is an extremist racist political ideology cloaked behind the Holocaust religion. I do believe a lot of innocent Jews died in WWII, but I don't believe in the Holocaust as a sacred, holy, untouchable, beyond questionable historical event. To me that's ridiculous. I also believe a lot of other nationalities and religious people died in WWII too. I'm sure the Japanese consider nuking cities something very much worth remembering, but they're not forcing me to bow before their shrines or pray to their God. I know my grandfathers honored their dead comrades buried at Normandy. It was a WORLD war and people died in horrible ways, en masse, across the globe.”

I came across this statement elsewhere but I’m not going to link it unless someone specifically asks. The writer is obviously intelligent and articulate but the essay contains vexing opinions and assertions relating to Zionism, Christianity and Israel in general which I have strong concerns with, and which I want to address at a later time. I’m primarily interested with the following remarks because I’ve come across this thinking before.

“…but I don't believe in the Holocaust as a sacred, holy, untouchable, beyond questionable historical event. To me that's ridiculous. I also believe a lot of other nationalities and religious people died in WWII too.”

Make no mistake; the statement betrays a fundamental prejudice and this is patently obvious to me later in the article. There is no question that millions have died “en masse” around the globe and that it should be properly acknowledged. But how does that fact trivialize the Holocaust? And how is it relevant to the current crisis in Gaza? The drivers in this conflict are totally different.

The Jews have been subject to attempts of mass extermination throughout history and it very nearly happened during WW2. No other race has had to face the constant threat of extinction and irrational hatred as have the Jews and that is just one of the many reasons why we should ALWAYS remember the Holocaust. One should ask - what is it about Israel – as distinct to any other race - that attracts such consistent hatred and prejudice?

Killing Their Own

By Jacob Laksin

FrontPageMagazine.com Tuesday, January 06, 2009

From reprimands of “disproportionate response” to condemnations of civilian casualties, Israel’s military offensive in Gaza has drawn de rigueur denunciations from the international community. Less noticed is that while Israel has taken great pains to avoid innocent deaths in Operation Cast Lead, at great peril to its fighting men and women, Hamas vigilantes have spent recent days deliberately assaulting and killing their fellow Palestinians, just as they have done for years.

According to the Jerusalem Post, since the beginning of the Israeli offensive, more than 75 Gaza Palestinians have been shot in the legs or have had their hands broken; more than 35 have been executed by Hamas operatives who accuse them of being Israeli “collaborators.” Of course, Gaza is not teeming with Israeli spies and most of Hamas’s victims are not only not traitors but likely helped vote the terrorist group into power in the January 2006 legislative elections. Instead, Hamas’s campaign of homegrown terror is the latest example of the terrorists turning on their Palestinian compatriots – a brutal but seldom-discussed cycle of violence in which Palestinians emerge as their own worst enemy...
Killing Their Own

Also:

Israel’s Operation Cast Lead aims to stop Hamas from launching rockets from the Gaza strip at the Jewish nation’s soft underbelly and prevent the terror group from obtaining more powerful rockets from its Iranian sponsor. But the hidden agenda in this crisis is Tehran’s manipulation of its terror proxies to prevent Israel from attacking Iran’s atomic weapons program.

Iran is arming Hamas and terror proxy Hizballah in Lebanon with long-range rockets that eventually will threaten Israel’s major cities and the Jewish nation’s nuclear facilities at Dimona. That situation could create a “Mexican stand-off” between Tehran and Jerusalem. That is an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities would cause Tehran to unleash its proxies to attack Israel’s key cities and Dimona... Tehran's Sinister Agenda in Gaza

More from FrontPage Magazine

For months now, the Palestinian terror group Hamas has been shelling Israeli cities with little in the way of an assertive response. But this weekend, which capped a week when at least 300 Hamas-fired rockets and mortars pounded southern Israel, the Israeli government has at last decided to retaliate... Israel Strikes Back

In early 2005, the Israeli Knesset passed the Disengagement Plan Implementation Law, which was the legal expression of Ariel Sharon’s desire to give the Palestinians in Gaza precisely that which they wanted and demanded; an end to Israeli occupation. But, true to its Charter, that is not enough for Hamas. For only the destruction of Israel and the creation of a first-time Palestinian state “from the sea to the river” will suffice. What has led to the ongoing and massive Israeli precision airstrikes within Gaza against carefully vetted Hamas targets bares this fact to be as true as the sea is deep...The Lessons of Gaza

The core of the Arab-Israeli problem is Israel's "territorial addiction." So declares a December 3 Haaretz article by one Alex Sinclair...'Territorial Addiction' and Academic Debasement

Along with today's TV propaganda in which Hamas depicts itself as a victim, Hamas continues to portray itself as the heroic killer of Israelis... How Palestinian TV is Covering the War

More headlines on the current conflict...

Once again, no surprises. It seems that the world looks the other way whenever Hamas or the PA attacks Israel and then retreats to hide among their own people (making it difficult to weed them out). But as soon as Israel defends herself the vocal critics find a stage.

UN condemns 'disproportionate' Israeli airstrikes in Gaza:

Mr Ban said he condemned excessive use of force which resulted in the killing and injuring of civilians.

The Security Council called for the restoration of calm to "open the way for finding a political solution to the problems existing in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli settlement".

The White House statement is notably more astute:

The White House however, put the main responsiblity for the violence on the Hamas government in Gaza.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the US strongly condemned the repeated rocket attacks against Israel, and held Hamas responsible for breaking the ceasefire, which she said should be restored immediately.

The problem is that the UN han't got any solutions, and either has anyone else for that matter.

This includes JAVIER SOLANA who always seems to find voice at times such as this, yet lacks any answers:

'The current Israeli strikes are inflicting an unacceptable toll on Palestinian civilians and will only worsen the humanitarian crisis as well as complicate the search for a peaceful solution,' EU High Representative Javier Solana said in a statement.

'I call for an immediate cessation of military actions on both sides. The EU has repeatedly condemned rocket attacks against Israel,' the statement said.

Solana's comment came hours after the French government, which holds the EU's rotating presidency until the end of the year, condemned a series of rocket attacks on Israel launched from the Gaza Strip as an 'unjustifiable provocation' and the Israeli response as 'disproportionate.'

Déjà vu? It seems like only yesterday that the "powers" that be were striving to force the division of Jerusalem.

Thanks to Lori for the following news items:

Israel tanks mass near Gaza as jets again pound Hamas

IDF Releases Photos of Hamas Targets, Terror Training Facilities

IAF Destroys 40 Tunnels in 270 Seconds

IAF Warplanes Seen Flying Over Lebanon

Iranian Red Crescent vessel heads to Gaza

Syria, Turkey Break Off Talks with Israel Because of Gaza Op.

Pray for the inoccent Palestinians caught up in this war and pray for Israel.

Joel Rosenberg has a new post

WAR IN GAZA CONTINUES, COULD IGNITE IN NORTH: Pray for peace

Israel retaliates

Israel has finally retaliated. I only have time to post this Headline.

Let's wait and see how the media handles this one!

More....

The toothless UN demands 'immediate' halt to attacks

In a statement released Saturday, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for an immediate halt to all violence in both Gaza and southern Israel.

"While recognizing Israel's security concerns regarding the continued firing of rockets from Gaza, Ban firmly reiterates Israel's obligation to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law and condemns excessive use of force leading to the killing and injuring of civilians. He condemns the ongoing rocket attacks by Palestinian militants and is deeply distressed that repeated calls on Hamas for these attacks to end have gone unheeded," the statement continued...

No surprise here...

Tibi protests Israeli 'war crime'