Sderot: Rockets, Iran and Obama

Cross posted by Findalis

From the Sderot Media Center

50 Gaza Rockets Strike Israel Since Ceasefire

by Anav Silverman

Over 50 Palestinian rockets and mortars have been fired into Israel since the unilateral ceasefire began between Hamas and Israel on January 18. This is the third Hamas-Israel ceasefire held since November 2006.

Two Qassam rockets were fired at the Eshkol region early Thursday morning, on February 19. Around 7:18 am, the Tzeva Adom sounded, followed by the rocket attacks. A third rocket had exploded earlier on the Gaza side. At 6:00 in the evening, the Tzeva Adom set off again–this time in Sderot. A loud explosion followed, with the rocket slamming in the Sderot cemetery.

On Wednesday, February 18, western Negev residents woke up to the sound of the Tzeva Adom, Color Red alert siren blaring at 7:40 am in the morning. A Palestinian rocket fired from Gaza slammed into the Sha’ar HaNegev kibbutz causing no reported damages or injuries. Late Wednesday night, a mortar rocket from Gaza was fired at Sdot Negev region as well. No physical injuries or damages were reported in any of the terror incidents.

There have been at least five Palestinian rocket and mortar attacks on Israel in the past six days.

On Friday, February 13, Palestinian terrorists fired three rockets at Israel, striking the Sderot area. A week before on Friday, February 6, a Palestinian rocket fired from northern Gaza struck Ashkelon at 9: 30 am morning. Another Qassam rocket hit the Sha’ar HaNegev Regional Council area earlier in the morning the same day.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak stated after the Ashkelon attack that Israel is not gearing up for a second offensive in the Gaza Strip.

According to YNET News, (February 6, 2009) Barak stated that:

“We have no intention of embarking on Operation Cast Lead number two. We said there would be a response (to the rocket fire) and we responded,” he said, “Our deterrence is intact. Hamas is barely picking up the pieces and is looking for a lull. If we play our cards right and prevent further escalation than we have a good chance of some peace and quiet.”

The IDF has responded to the attacks on Wednesday, February 18, by striking seven smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border and a Hamas security base near Khan Yunis.

Previous ceasefires with Hamas have fraught with rocket fire violations. During the first ceasefire held with Hamas from November 11, 2006 to May 15, 2007, over 315 rockets struck Israel throughout the six-month ceasefire. During the second ceasefire, held between June 19 to December 19, 2008, over 538 Qassam and mortar rockets slammed into Israel.

*Jerusalem Post and YNET News contributed to this report.

In a cease-fire both sides stop fighting not just one. That is unless you are Israel. Then you are the only side to stop all attacks and allow your civilian population to be terrorized by thugs.

The Iran-Hamas Connection and President Obama

by Anav Silverman

As US President Barack Obama makes historic overtures in attempting to foster open dialogue with Iran, the rest of world watches in optimistic anticipation. The UK’s Guardian recently reported that Obama’s administration drafted a letter to Iran “aimed at unfreezing US-Iranian relations and opening the way for face-to-face talks.”

Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has welcomed US overtures saying that:

“The new U.S. administration announced that it’s willing to bring about a number of changes and is now taking the course for dialogue. It’s quite clear that the real change should be fundamental, not just tactical change, and it is quite clear that the Iranian nation will greet real changes.” (CNN, February 10)

Change or no change, residents of southern and northern Israel have reason to be wary of Iran, a country that continues to fund Hamas and Hezbullah terrorism operations.

Thanks to Iranian-produced respectively, along with Grad missiles and technology, Hamas now holds rockets that place close to 1 million Israelis within target range. During Operation Cast Lead, Hamas was able to strike Israel’s fifth and sixth largest cities, Ashdod and BeershebaNetivot, Ofakim, Qiryat Gat, Yavneh, and Kiryat Malachi.

Hamas now has aspirations to target other Israeli cities, particularly Tel Aviv. Hamas’s Al-Aqsa TV recently proclaimed on a program: “Tel Aviv, all our options are open.” (Al Aqsa TV, January 10, 2009)

But it is not only the rockets which are worrying.

Although the Obama administration is keen on turning a new leaf with Iran, the fact remains that Iran is the “central banker” for Middle East terrorism, as former US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice aptly put when she spoke to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Iran’s role in supporting Islamic terror in 2006.

The Iranian nation is a leading financial supporter of three terror networks; Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah. Iran transfers several hundreds of million of dollars a year to Hamas, financing the movement and its military wing, Iz Al-Din-al Qassam Brigades. When Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in 2006, Iran awarded the regime with a $50 million bonus (BBC report April 16, 2006).

The Hamas website reported on December 11, 2006 that the Iranians had given $250 million to top Hamas official and fundraiser, Ismail Haniya, of which $100 million was used to cover the salaries of Hamas employees in the social, labor and cultural ministries for a six-month period in 2007. (Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center report )

According to the IICC, Iran regards Hezbollah and Hamas as two important sources of power which Iran uses to promote its strategic goals, that of regional hegemony.

“Using Hezbollah, Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist organizations, the Iranian-Syrian axis can increase its influence in the Arab and Muslim world, pose a serious challenge to Mahmoud Abbas, harm the negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and export the Iranian brand of radical Islam to other Sunni countries, especially Egypt. From the Iranian point of view, its sponsorship of Hamas is considered as a means of establishing an Iranian foothold in the heart of the Sunni world.”

Iranians themselves fully identify with Hamas’s goals to destroy Israel, as most recently indicated when more than 70,000 Iranian student volunteers registered to carry out suicide bombings against Israel to support Hamas during Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. (AP January 5) The rush of volunteers transpired when Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei delivered a religious decree stating that anyone who carried out an attack against Israel would be considered a martyr.

Iranian schools, like Hamas, contain children’s textbooks which teach Iranian schoolchildren to hate and fear Israel. IMPACT recently published a short volume on The War Curriculum in Iran, which exposes the way in which Iranian textbooks connect the Islamic Revolution in Iran to the struggle for the liberation of Palestine.

Children as young as eight years of age learn in Iranian history textbooks that

“God willing, the day will come when all Muslims will be united, liberate Palestine and save Jerusalem from the hands of the enemies of Islam.”
Social Studies, Grade 3 (2004) p. 56

And finally, Iran’s perception of the West is just as hostile. Iranian school books equal the United States with “the Great Satan.” Westernization receives a special label in Persian, known as Gharbzadegi, which literally means being smitten with the West in a way that corrupts the soul. “Westernization is treated as an ominous danger targeting Islamic identity.” (The War Curriculum in Iranian Schoolbooks p.162)

Is it any wonder that Iran and most of its population of 74 million residents determinedly supports the Hamas regim? After all the Iranian national education system and religious institutions for the past thirty years has indoctrinated a hate education against Israel and the West.

The question is– what will President Obama be willing to believe of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad should he engage in direct talks, as Iranian financial aid and rockets continue to strengthen Hamas and Hezbollah. And will Israel be pressured to talk to Hamas in the same fashion?

Obama is trying to emulate both FDR and Abraham Lincoln, but in reality he is emulating Neville Chamberlain. Obama has gone down a path that will not bring peace to the region, but I do invision him stepping down from Air Force One in the future, waving a piece of paper, and shouting: “We now have peace in our lifetime.” The word for that is appeasement and surrender. And neither one is an option.

Like always I ask my readers to say a prayer or Psalm 130 for the people of Sderot, to subscribe to the Code Red alerts, contact your Representatives in Congress and the President, and if they can to send a donation to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post and follow the instructions there. But don’t stand idly by.

Qassam Shmasam

by Findalis

From Sderot Media Center

By Livnat Shaubi

Statements such as “a rocket landed in an open area” or “no one was wounded and no damage was reported” permeate the news reports from Sderot.

But what happens when these rocket attacks result in death and serious injuries?

The Abekasis Family lost their daughter Ella four years ago. Seventeen-year-old Ella was returning from a “Benei Akiva” youth group meeting on a Saturday night when the “Tseva Adom” siren sounded. She lay on top of her brother when a Kassam rocket landed near them and saved his life. In doing so, however, she sustained injuries from the rocket and died a week later.

This Thursday, February 5, 2009, a memorial will be held in “Mishkan Ella,” a bomb-safe activity center in Sderot that was built in her memory.

Livnat Shauvi from the Sderot Media Center met her parents, Yonatan and Sima Abekasis, who shared stories about Ella’s unique personality and final heroic action.

Ella’s story spurred President Shimon Peres to visit Sderot after a long absence from the city. Following his “kasam shmasam” remark two years ago in the media, Mr. Abekasis called him on the phone and told him that his mocking of the citizens of Sderot was a disgrace. Peres, who was not President at the time, told him that the mayor of Sderot did not invite him to visit the city. Mr. Abekasis told Peres that Sderot is not the mayor’s kingdom and that he is welcome to visit. After Peres was elected President, he came to visit Sderot for the first time. There, the mayor introduced him to Mr. Abekasis. The President was impressed by the father’s story.

Yonatan repeatedly shares the story of Ella’s final, courageous act. Mishkan Ella was built with the assistance of “Mif’al HaPais”and houses a commemoration hall dedicated to Ella. Different photos of Ella from different periods of her life hang in the room. Also in the room are different papers she had written for elementary and high school. In the commemoration room, a short video is on display that describes the moments after rocket attack and the building of Mishkan Ella. Mishkan Ella hosts a variety of social meetings and gatherings, in addition to offering visitors from across the country an insight into Ella’s unique and selfless character.

A conversation with her mother Sima revealed a noble and extremely unique girl: “When Ella wanted to apply for “Ulpena” (religious high school) she went in for an interview. After a few minutes of conversation with the principal, he told her she was accepted and that she could return to her classroom. Ella did not have to take any exams, but rather her interview alone won her acceptance into the school. Her passion for study was so clear that there was no doubt she was fit for the school.

Ms. Abekasis recalled Ella sharing her feelings with her while talking about her girlfriends. “Once when another girl insulted her, she wouldn’t let me interfere with the situation. She would say each person has her way to express anger and that it is not her duty to educate them. For her, each person was responsible for their own personal growth.”

Ella’s heroic action shocked the entire country. With no regard for her own life, this brave teenager threw herself onto her brothers’ body to protect his life. In that moment, fear ceased to exist and only the devotion and care for a young brother dictated her actions. Ella reacted in a matter that tells of a heroic story that cannot be forgotten. Since her death, the Abekasis family has been to different places in the country and around the world, and wherever they go they meet people who have heard the story and sympathize with the courageous act. In Italy, they went together to the “Benei Akiva” branch, where the relative introduced him to all of the people who already knew the story already. “In Switzerland we were in a hotel, and the daughter of the hotel manager came up to us and said we looked familiar. We told her that we live in Sderot and we lost our daughter. She immediately recalled seeing us on a television news report” said Yonatan.

In this painful week, the fourth annual memorial for her death will be held. The family members repeatedly tell all the things Ella achieved in her seventeen years. For example, they discuss her capability of multitasking-as if she knew she only had a short time to do everything she had planned. Her room remains as she had left it that afternoon before going to Benei Akiva. The same sheets, pictures, closet, and the same smell that has been missed for the past four years. Ms. Abekasis has not gone into the room since Ella’s death because it is too hard for her to cope with the loss and the pain. Again this year, family and friends from all over will come to take part in the memorial service. In her memory, a few friends are planning to get together and have a monthly meeting in her memory, in which she will be remembered not only through words but also by deeds. The Benei Akiva branch will also be moving into Mishkan Ella. It is the youth group to which Ella devoted all of her time and to which she will never be able to return.

May her soul rest in peace.

Translated by Avital Mimran-Rosenberg

Just an average teenager, yet she showed exceptional courage in the face of danger. Disregarding her own safety, she saved the life of her younger brother. And in doing so became a symbol of the innocent Israeli civilians.

Already the Kadima government is preparing to agree to an 18-month truce with Hamas. During the last truce the rockets didn’t stop. The people of Sderot can expect the same.

In late December Israel retaliated for the non-stop rocket attacks, the world pitched a fit. Yet the same world said nothing about the 8 years of rocket attacks on Israel.

The world will do and say nothing to stop the rockets, the Kadima government will do nothing to stop the rockets, and the people of Sderot will continue to suffer.

You can do something. You can sign up for Code Red alerts to be sent to your cell phone. You can call your Senator, your Congressman, the President to stop the rockets. You can pray for the people of Sderot and the South of Israel. And if you can, you can donate to the Sderot Media Center. Just click on the logo at the top or bottom of this post. The money you donate will be used directly for the people under attack. But get involved and do something.

We Have Won! Sort Of…

by Findalis

It hasn’t been a week since the IDF stopped Operation Cast Lead and already Hamas Leader Khaled Mash’al is claiming victory.

Following are excerpts from a public address delivered by Hamas Leader Khaled Mash’al, which aired on Al-Quds TV on January 21, 2009:

TO VIEW THIS CLIP AND OTHERS, YOU MUST LOG IN/REGISTER FOR MEMRI TV, AT http://subscriptions.memri.org/content/en/member_registr_tv.htm. REGISTRATION IS FREE OF CHARGE.

To view this clip, visit http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/1992.htm?auth=2c2fc0eae230e567c0f596bbed5f3b9c.

“This Is The First War That Our People Has Won On Its Land… Therefore, The Gaza War is a Turning Point in the Struggle With The Zionist Enemy”

Khaled Mash’al: “Yes, Gaza emerged victorious. Yes, the enemy has failed, and the resistance has emerged victorious, and with it, our people and our nation have emerged victorious. Allah be praised, our victory in Gaza was greater and clearer than the false claims of the aggressors, and than the doubts cast by the collaborators, and by those who have forsaken us. Does it not suffice that the goals of the enemy have not been accomplished? It has failed on the ground, just as it has failed politically. Ultimately, after three weeks, it was forced to declare a unilateral cease-fire and withdrawal, without any agreement or terms that bind or limit the resistance.
[…]

“This is the first war that our people has won on its land – the first
real large-scale war. Therefore, the Gaza war is a turning point in the struggle with the Zionist enemy. With its significance, its accomplishments, its timing, and its greatness, it serves as a cornerstone for an effective and serious strategy for liberation, which begins in Palestine, and will continue everywhere, with the support of the nation.” […]

“Compensation For Your Blood And Souls You Will Get From Allah… In Paradise”

“We will bear our responsibility vis-à-vis the displaced. Allah willing, we will give you
all shelter. We will compensate you with what we can, but compensation for your blood and souls you will get from Allah, in the World to Come, in Paradise.

“Your brothers in the Hamas movement, and in the government of my brother Haniya, as well as all the honorable national and Islamic leaders, have already begun working to accomplish this project – the project of rebuilding, housing, compensating, and treating the wounded. We have contacted several countries, some of which we even visited. Everybody is working like in a beehive for your sake.

“There are two tracks with regard to our role in this plan. In the urgent track – to the families of the martyrs and the wounded, and to the displaced families who have lost their homes, we will give specific sums of money, the details of which I leave to the government of my brother Haniya.
We will also treat the wounded. This is the urgent track. The subsequent track will include a reconstruction plan, with which we will compensate you for all that has happened, and rebuild what was destroyed.” […]

“I Say to [The Arab Countries], Regarding the Money [Donated]…: Scrutinize Carefully Into Whose Hands You Place It”

“I say to [the Arab countries], regarding the money [donated] on behalf of your countries and good peoples: Scrutinize carefully into whose hands you place it. Do not place it in the hands of the corrupt people. There are two options: Either give it to the legitimate government of my brother Ismail Haniya in Gaza – an honest government with proven experience in serving the people – and they will lead the reconstruction
under your supervision, or carry it out yourselves, through companies from your own countries, funds and institutions from your own countries, or any method you
choose. You yourselves take over the reconstruction plans. But today, no Palestinian – and I believe that no none among your own peoples – will accept that this money be placed in the hands of the corrupt people. You know the truth. You have vast experience in that.” […]

“Some Say: What Kind Of Victory Is This, With All The Destruction… To Them, We Say: Was There Ever A People That Was Liberated Without Casualties?”

“Some say: What kind of victory is this, with all the destruction? Some people have emerged from the holes in which they hid during the war. They were afraid of the war, so they lowered their voices, fearing the rage of the Arab, Islamic, and Palestinian masses. Today, they have begun croaking like ravens, saying: Hamas should see what has befallen our land.

“To them, we say: Was there ever a people that was liberated without casualties? Take a look at history. This is important, and should reach the whole world. Large cities in the world were destroyed and rebuilt. These cities suffered great destruction. What happened to London in World War II? What happened to Paris? What happened in Hanoi, in Leningrad, and in Stalingrad? What happened to you, my brothers from the factions that have a history in Lebanon? What happened to Beirut? Beirut was not your land. You were guests there. Nevertheless, you fought for 88 days. So why do you pin your opposition to the steadfastness in Gaza on the destruction, the killings, and the massacres, even though you allowed yourselves to go on for all those days in Beirut in 1982?” […]

“Who Does the British People Respect More – Churchill, Who Fought the Nazis, or Chamberlain, Who Appeased Hitler?”

“Who does the British people respect more – Churchill, who fought the Nazis, or Chamberlain, who appeased Hitler? Does the French people respect De Gaulle, who from London continued his resistance to the Nazis in France, or General Pétain, the leader of the Vichy government, which resembles more than anything the [Palestinian] ‘Autonomy’ Authority. Only the honorable are recorded in history in letters of light.

“To those who appease [the enemy], under the pretext of avoiding casualties, we say that victory can only be achieved through blood. In 1940, Churchill, who is not considered a terrorist by today’s criteria, because he had European blood in his veins, said to British people as soon as he took power in 1940: I can only promise you sweat, blood, tears, and toil. This is what leaders should be like. Leaders should not be like beggars on the negotiations track.

“In Stalingrad… In Leningrad, there were 600 casualties… Sorry, there were 600,000 casualties in Leningrad, and there were one million displaced people. This rule applies to us, just as it applies to any other nation.”

“We Want a Palestinian Reconciliation – But After the Lesson of Gaza, What Will Be The Basis For The Reconciliation?”

“My beloved [brothers] in the West Bank – your day has come. I know that you waged an Intifada in the past, but the oppression has prevented you from waging a great Intifada, as you did in the past. However, we cannot place the entire national burden on Gaza.

[…]

“We want a Palestinian reconciliation. But after the lesson of Gaza, what will be the basis for the reconciliation? We want it to be based on the resistance, and on adherence to our national rights, and not on these futile negotiations, or on concessions regarding Jerusalem, the Right of Return, or the land.

[…]

“Yes, we support internal Palestinian dialogue, but in order for it to be a serious and successful dialogue, it must be preceded by certain steps. The detainees must be released, and the security cooperation with the enemy must be stopped.”[…]

“The International Community… the Quartet, and… Obama’s New Administration… Should Stop Israel… The Time Has Come For You to Deal With Hamas”

“This was a lesson to the reasonable people in the international community, to the Quartet, and to Obama’s new administration and his allies in Europe. They should stop Israel, and they should know that Israel is incapable of defending itself, and that the occupation and aggression have no future. The second lesson that needs to be learned is that three years of attempting to rule out Hamas are enough.
[…]

“The time has come for you to deal with Hamas, which has gained legitimacy from its struggle, from the ballot boxes, from its incorruptibility, from its service to its people, and now it has gained legitimacy from its victory over the strongest power in the region. The time has come for you to deal with Hamas properly – not because we have something to gain from this. By no means. This is a national demand. We do not force ourselves on anybody.”

For some reason I don’t quite understand, how can you call something a victory when your leadership is either dead or hiding in tunnels like rats. When your population is subjected to bombings and shootings, and your troops threw down their weapons and ran. Your crack troops, the one’s trained by your masters in Iran, were slaughtered to a man. It didn’t even take the IDF an hour to defeat them.

How strange it is to see him quote Sir Winston Churchill. But here is a better quote from Sir Winston. One that shows exactly how he felt and would feel about Hamas and its leadership today.

“How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanatical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule or live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that in Mohammedan law every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property‹either as a child, a wife, or a concubine‹must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Moslems may show splendid qualities. Thousands become the brave and loyal soldiers of the Queen; all know how to die; but the influence of the religion paralyses the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. Far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science‹the science against which it had vainly struggled‹the civilisation of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilisation of ancient Rome.”

~~ Sir Winston Churchill

Not very supportive of Hamas, Islam and Palestinians is it? But that shouldn’t stop him. After all he was on a roll. And a big mistake, a fubar, he gave away. One had to listen carefully to it and know the news to understand this one:

“In Stalingrad… In Leningrad, there were 600 casualties… Sorry, there were
600,000 casualties in Leningrad, and there were one million displaced people.
This rule applies to us, just as it applies to any other nation.”

Doesn’t seem like much of a mistake until you read this report from the Jerusalem Post:

Maximum 600 Palestinians died in Gaza

The number of Palestinians killed in Operation Cast Lead did not exceed five or six hundred, Lorenzo Cremonesi, a correspondent for Italy’s Corriere della sera reported on Thursday.

Cremonesi based his report on tours of hospitals in the Gaza Strip and on interviews with families of casualties. He also assessed the number of wounded to be far lower than 5,000, the number quoted by Hamas and repeated by the UN and the Red Cross in Gaza.

“It is sufficient to visit several hospitals [in the Gaza Strip] to understand that the numbers don’t add up,” he wrote.

In the European hospital in Rafah, one of the facilities which would presumably be filled with wounded from the “war of the tunnels,” many beds were empty, according to Cremonesi. A similar situation was noted in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, and in the privately-run Amal Hospital Cremonesi reported that only five out 150 beds were occupied.

Cremonesi interviewed Gazans who echoed Israel’s insistence of how Hamas gunmen used civilians as human shields. One Gazan recalled civilians in Gaza shouting at Hamas and Islamic Jihad men, “Go away, go away from here! Do you want the Israelis to kill us all? Do you want our children to die under their bombs? Take your guns and missiles with you.”

“Traitors, collaborators with Israel, spies of Fatah, cowards! The soldiers of the holy war will punish you. And in any case you will all die, like us. Fighting the Zionist Jews we are all destined for paradise. Do you not wish to die with us?” the religious fanatics of Hamas reportedly responded.

Other Palestinians told Cremonesi of Hamas operatives donning paramedic uniforms and commandeering ambulances. A woman identified as Um Abdullah, 48, spoke of Hamas using UN buildings as launch pads for rockets.

Cremonesi reported that he had difficultly gathering evidence as the local population was terrified of Hamas.

Civilians scared of their government. Terror coming not from Israel, but from Hamas. And a big slip of the tongue from Hamas Leader Khaled Mash’al all adds up to one thing:

Hamas if fighting for its existence and is vulnerable.

From Sderot: Cease-Fire? Rockets And A Plumber Named Joe

Cross posted from Monkey in the Middle by Findalis

Every day for 8 years rockets have fallen in the Western Negev. The primary focus of these rockets has been the city of Sderot. Sderot is less than a mile from Gaza, and Hamas has made it a focus of its attacks in an effort to drive the citizens out of it and annex it into Gaza. Founded in 1951, Sderot attracted settlers from all walks of Israeli culture. Before 1990, Sderot was noted for cultural achievements. It was the center for underground music and is best noted as the birth place of Israeli poet Shimon Adaf.

Here now is the news from Sderot:

Cease-fire or Please-fire?
By Rob Cohen

As the conflict in Gaza entered its 19th day (or 8 years and 19 days depending on your perspective), the world increases its pressure for cease-fire talks to stop being talks and become reality.

According to reports Hamas are getting closer to sitting down at the table and have provided Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, with detailed proposals of their demands. In turn the Egyptians, appear to not be entirely comfortable with all elements of the plan, according to Al-Jazeerah.net, saying that, “We will tell the Israelis what we have obtained from our brothers Hamas,” “There are Hamas positions that we will discuss with the Israelis in the context of all the elements of [Egyptian] President [Hosni] Mubarak’s initiative. We hope that things will move forwards but we will not enter into details.”

Talk has emerged of a week long humanitarian cease fire but it isn’t clear where this idea originated. Reports in the Jerusalem Post suggest a clear rift between Israeli PM, Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni. With Barak seemingly floating the idea of a longer ceasefire through less than official lines. It is becoming apparent that the forthcoming elections are encroaching into the way the conflict may be managed by Israel’s leaders, and a cease-fire may be being viewed as a please-fire, with votes up for grabs.

Pensioners Minister, Rafi Eitan, had foreseen the possibility of the politicisation of the conflict from the outset and called for a postponement of the elections until after the conflict had ended. Thus far those calls have been ignored.

“The people of Israel must be given an opportunity to vote for their new leaders with clear heads, it is impossible to make rational judgements while the country is being hit with missiles and while its sons and daughters are involved in defending its citizens from attack” Said Noam Bedein, Director of the Sderot Media Centre.

Read more here.

A cease-fire will just embolden Hamas and give it a chance to regroup, rearm and attack. Any cease-fire must come with the release of Gilad Schalit and a total cessation of all rocket fire. Without that, a cease-fire only benefits Hamas and Israelis will have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Qassam causes heavy damage to Sderot home
By Anav Silverman

Rocket attacks continued against Israel on Thursday, as an Egyptian brokered ceasefire was being discussed in Cairo. Palestinian terrorists fired over 25 rockets from the Gaza Strip throughout Thursday morning. Six Israelis were severely wounded in Be’er Sheva, including a woman and a seven-year old boy, when Palestinian terrorists fired two Grad rockets which exploded in the city. One rocket directly hit a car.

Most of the Palestinian rockets fired on Thursday were launched in the early morning between 7-8 am.
A Grad rocket landed in Gedera, causing no casualties or damages. Earlier in the morning, a Qassam rocket slammed into a house in Sderot, causing heavy damage to the home and to the cars parked nearby.

The occupants of the house, an elderly couple who have lived in Sderot for eight years, raced to their bomb shelter as soon as they heard the Tzeva Adom (Code Red), the siren warning of rocket attacks coming from Gaza. The husband saw a shower of glass exploding everywhere from where he stood in the bomb shelter and understood that the rocket had hit their home.

Read more and view the video here.

The rockets haven’t stopped. Their range is getting larger each week. Pretty soon Tel Aviv, and Dimona will come under rocket attack. And the world still says nothing. Their silence is deafening.

But not the silence of Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber. He is in Sderot coving Operation Cast Lead. His words are the words of the average American. He hasn’t been bought by Saudi Oil Money, nor has any friends in the PLO or Hamas. He speaks for Middle America, with common sense and wisdom.

Worse than a Stinking Drain: Joe the Plumber Wants Average Joes to Know the Truth
By Rob Cohen

Many people come to the Sderot Media Centre to be given a first hand insight into the impact of the 8 years of “rocket reality” in the Western Negev; journalists, film-makers, diplomats, politicians, presidents and prime ministers. However, this week, in a slight departure from the usual visitor, the “Joe the Plumber” straight-talking club hit town harder than a Qassam! Joe visited Sderot with the Government Press Office director, Danny Seaman.

Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, hit the headlines during the US presidential election for giving it straight to Barak Obama on his tax policies. Now it seems he has a new role of reporting on the world’s affairs for the world’s “Average Joes” – people who want it said straight “I want the average American Joes to understand the story here from the point of view of someone like them,” he said.

And Joe is angry! Having had a tour of Sderot by Noam Bedein, Director of the Sderot Media Centre, seeing some of the surrounding areas and having spoken to some of the residents of the area, he is very angry. He is angry at what has been happening here for the past eight years, he is angry at what innocent citizens have had to endure, he is angry at the way the world condemns the actions of a democratic state in defending its citizens, he is angry at the Israeli Government for waiting so long before taking action and he is angry with the way the media has covered the story.

So angry that when he got his opportunity, surrounded by the world’s press on a hill overlooking Gaza, he took the opportunity to remind them that the reporting needs to properly reflect the situation here, that this isn’t just a story about the problems the Palestinians in Gaza face. This is a story, about more than 1 million Israelis, trying to go about their daily peaceful existence under constant fear of rocket attack. “I know if I were a citizen here, I’d be damned upset.” He commented. “I’m a peace loving man, but when someone hits me, I’m going to unload on the boy. And if the rest of the world doesn’t understand that, then I’m sorry.“

Read more and watch the video here.

Joe has experienced a rocket attack. He has seen the suffering. He has witnessed the horror first hand. And we all should be to.

Like always I ask my readers if they can spare a few dollars to send to Israel. To the Sderot Media Center. It is more than a clearing house for information and news. It has become a center of help in Sderot. Your donation helps rebuild shattered homes and lives. If you wish to give, just click on the logo below. And remember to keep the people of Sderot, Ashkelon, Be’er Sheva, Ashdod and the South of Israel in your prayers.

From Sderot: Cease-Fire? Rockets And A Plumber Named Joe

Cross posted from Monkey in the Middle by Findalis

Every day for 8 years rockets have fallen in the Western Negev. The primary focus of these rockets has been the city of Sderot. Sderot is less than a mile from Gaza, and Hamas has made it a focus of its attacks in an effort to drive the citizens out of it and annex it into Gaza. Founded in 1951, Sderot attracted settlers from all walks of Israeli culture. Before 1990, Sderot was noted for cultural achievements. It was the center for underground music and is best noted as the birth place of Israeli poet Shimon Adaf.

Here now is the news from Sderot:

Cease-fire or Please-fire?
By Rob Cohen

As the conflict in Gaza entered its 19th day (or 8 years and 19 days depending on your perspective), the world increases its pressure for cease-fire talks to stop being talks and become reality.

According to reports Hamas are getting closer to sitting down at the table and have provided Egyptian Foreign Minister, Ahmed Abul Gheit, with detailed proposals of their demands. In turn the Egyptians, appear to not be entirely comfortable with all elements of the plan, according to Al-Jazeerah.net, saying that, “We will tell the Israelis what we have obtained from our brothers Hamas,” “There are Hamas positions that we will discuss with the Israelis in the context of all the elements of [Egyptian] President [Hosni] Mubarak’s initiative. We hope that things will move forwards but we will not enter into details.”

Talk has emerged of a week long humanitarian cease fire but it isn’t clear where this idea originated. Reports in the Jerusalem Post suggest a clear rift between Israeli PM, Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzippi Livni. With Barak seemingly floating the idea of a longer ceasefire through less than official lines. It is becoming apparent that the forthcoming elections are encroaching into the way the conflict may be managed by Israel’s leaders, and a cease-fire may be being viewed as a please-fire, with votes up for grabs.

Pensioners Minister, Rafi Eitan, had foreseen the possibility of the politicisation of the conflict from the outset and called for a postponement of the elections until after the conflict had ended. Thus far those calls have been ignored.

“The people of Israel must be given an opportunity to vote for their new leaders with clear heads, it is impossible to make rational judgements while the country is being hit with missiles and while its sons and daughters are involved in defending its citizens from attack” Said Noam Bedein, Director of the Sderot Media Centre.

Read more here.

A cease-fire will just embolden Hamas and give it a chance to regroup, rearm and attack. Any cease-fire must come with the release of Gilad Schalit and a total cessation of all rocket fire. Without that, a cease-fire only benefits Hamas and Israelis will have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

Qassam causes heavy damage to Sderot home
By Anav Silverman

Rocket attacks continued against Israel on Thursday, as an Egyptian brokered ceasefire was being discussed in Cairo. Palestinian terrorists fired over 25 rockets from the Gaza Strip throughout Thursday morning. Six Israelis were severely wounded in Be’er Sheva, including a woman and a seven-year old boy, when Palestinian terrorists fired two Grad rockets which exploded in the city. One rocket directly hit a car.

Most of the Palestinian rockets fired on Thursday were launched in the early morning between 7-8 am.
A Grad rocket landed in Gedera, causing no casualties or damages. Earlier in the morning, a Qassam rocket slammed into a house in Sderot, causing heavy damage to the home and to the cars parked nearby.

The occupants of the house, an elderly couple who have lived in Sderot for eight years, raced to their bomb shelter as soon as they heard the Tzeva Adom (Code Red), the siren warning of rocket attacks coming from Gaza. The husband saw a shower of glass exploding everywhere from where he stood in the bomb shelter and understood that the rocket had hit their home.

Read more and view the video here.

The rockets haven’t stopped. Their range is getting larger each week. Pretty soon Tel Aviv, and Dimona will come under rocket attack. And the world still says nothing. Their silence is deafening.

But not the silence of Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber. He is in Sderot coving Operation Cast Lead. His words are the words of the average American. He hasn’t been bought by Saudi Oil Money, nor has any friends in the PLO or Hamas. He speaks for Middle America, with common sense and wisdom.

Worse than a Stinking Drain: Joe the Plumber Wants Average Joes to Know the Truth
By Rob Cohen

Many people come to the Sderot Media Centre to be given a first hand insight into the impact of the 8 years of “rocket reality” in the Western Negev; journalists, film-makers, diplomats, politicians, presidents and prime ministers. However, this week, in a slight departure from the usual visitor, the “Joe the Plumber” straight-talking club hit town harder than a Qassam! Joe visited Sderot with the Government Press Office director, Danny Seaman.

Samuel Wurzelbacher, aka Joe the Plumber, hit the headlines during the US presidential election for giving it straight to Barak Obama on his tax policies. Now it seems he has a new role of reporting on the world’s affairs for the world’s “Average Joes” – people who want it said straight “I want the average American Joes to understand the story here from the point of view of someone like them,” he said.

And Joe is angry! Having had a tour of Sderot by Noam Bedein, Director of the Sderot Media Centre, seeing some of the surrounding areas and having spoken to some of the residents of the area, he is very angry. He is angry at what has been happening here for the past eight years, he is angry at what innocent citizens have had to endure, he is angry at the way the world condemns the actions of a democratic state in defending its citizens, he is angry at the Israeli Government for waiting so long before taking action and he is angry with the way the media has covered the story.

So angry that when he got his opportunity, surrounded by the world’s press on a hill overlooking Gaza, he took the opportunity to remind them that the reporting needs to properly reflect the situation here, that this isn’t just a story about the problems the Palestinians in Gaza face. This is a story, about more than 1 million Israelis, trying to go about their daily peaceful existence under constant fear of rocket attack. “I know if I were a citizen here, I’d be damned upset.” He commented. “I’m a peace loving man, but when someone hits me, I’m going to unload on the boy. And if the rest of the world doesn’t understand that, then I’m sorry.“

Read more and watch the video here.

Joe has experienced a rocket attack. He has seen the suffering. He has witnessed the horror first hand. And we all should be to.

Like always I ask my readers if they can spare a few dollars to send to Israel. To the Sderot Media Center. It is more than a clearing house for information and news. It has become a center of help in Sderot. Your donation helps rebuild shattered homes and lives. If you wish to give, just click on the logo below. And remember to keep the people of Sderot, Ashkelon, Be’er Sheva, Ashdod and the South of Israel in your prayers.

No Cease Fire !

January 14, 2009

Exclusive: Ceasefire in Gaza

Dr. Denis MacEoin

…As their Covenant makes clear, they are fighting a Jihad, and the rules they observe are Jihad rules, based on centuries of legislation about the waging of war against unbelievers. The problem with Jihad rules is that they simply don’t recognize all the elements of international law that modern states base their treaties and international conventions on. Jihad law includes rules on how and when to deceive the foe, and envisages no outcome other than the death or submission of non-Muslims. …

A recent Hamas pronouncement boasted that the Palestinians (for which read Hamas) have made an industry of death and that everyone plays a part: “…the women exceed at this, and so too do the mujahideen [fighters in jihad] and the children. That’s why they have formed human shields of the women the children the elderly and the mujahideen in order to challenge the Zionist bombing machine.” (My italics)

This is the only fighting force in history to boast that they have made human shields of their own people. There are films of “brave” Hamas gunmen dragging screaming children along to serve as shields, and of civilians sent onto the roofs of rocket launching sites, where, ironically, they know the Israelis will not fire on them. It is a mockery of military ethics, yet it goes barely noticed in the Western media….

This war is not a pretty war, but, truth be told, no wars are pretty. If Hamas cannot be fought to a standstill or until it is a spent force, lulls in the fighting will be of absolutely no use. Beaten to a ceasefire, Hamas will return. They will return and they will fight to a standstill again, then they will regroup and attack once more. More deaths, of Israelis and Palestinians both. Ever-postponed statehood for the Palestinians, unending vituperation of Israel, which is only a democracy trying to defend its civilians from crimes this country would not bear for a week.

I have given you a substantial sample of this fact filled, logical explanation of the situation in Gaza. Click the title link and read it all. Read the concluding paragraph twice. You will learn a great deal about Hamas and its malicious mission. You will learn about the world’s double standard and why it is morally unacceptable. You will learn why there must be no cease fire. You need to know; you must inform others.

Tzipi Livni: Damn Fool

Tzipi Livni, Israel’s Foreign Minister, is quoted by The Israel Project as saying this at a press conference with Ban Ki-moon.

“Hamas cannot become legitimate until it accepts the terms of the international community.”
[Kirsh, Elana, “Ban: Death toll in Gaza ‘unbearable’,” The Jerusalem Post, Jan. 15, 2009, http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1231950861136&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull ]

Anyone who suggests that Hamas can become legitimate is either a damn fool, a liar or both. Hamas is Islam. Read its Charter. Clues for the clueless:

• Article Five

  As the Movement adopts Islam as its way of life, its time dimension extends back as far as the birth of the Islamic Message and of the Righteous Ancestor. Its ultimate goal is Islam, the Prophet its model, the Qur’an its Constitution. Its special dimension extends wherever on earth there are Muslims, who adopt Islam as their way of life; thus, it penetrates to the deepest reaches of the land and to the highest spheres of Heavens.

What is it if the Qur’an is its Constitution?

• Article Eight

  Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Qur’an its Constitution, Jihad its path and death for the case of Allah its most sublime belief.

Hamas = Islam. Islam is permanent war. Hamas is permanent war.

• 2:216. Jihad (holy fighting in Allah’s Cause) is ordained for you (Muslims) though you dislike it, and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.
• 9:29. Fight against those who (1) believe not in Allah, (2) nor in the Last Day, (3) nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (4) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (i.e. Islâm) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), until they pay the Jizyah with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued.
• Sahih Bukhari Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177:
  Narrated Abu Huraira:

  Allah’s Apostle said, “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. “O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him.”

• Abu Dawud Book 14, Number 2526

  Narrated Anas ibn Malik:

  The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Three things are the roots of faith: to refrain from (killing) a person who utters, “There is no god but Allah” and not to declare him unbeliever whatever sin he commits, and not to excommunicate him from Islam for his any action; and jihad will be performed continuously since the day Allah sent me as a prophet until the day the last member of my community will fight with the Dajjal (Antichrist). The tyranny of any tyrant and the justice of any just (ruler) will not invalidate it. One must have faith in Divine decree.

Islam is perfected, therefore it can only be defiled, never improved. Neither can Allah’s word be changed.

• […]This day, I have perfected your religion for you, completed My Favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islâm as your religion. […] [5:3]

• […]This, indeed, is the biggest favor from Allah to this Ummah, for He has completed their religion for them, and they, thus, do not need any other religion or any other Prophet except Muhammad . This is why Allah made Muhammad the Final Prophet and sent him to all humans and Jinn. Therefore, the permissible is what he allows, the impermissible is what he prohibits, the Law is what he legislates and everything that he conveys is true and authentic and does not contain lies or contradictions.[…] Islam Has Been Perfected For Muslims

10:64. For them are glad tidings, in the life of the present world (i.e. righteous dream seen by the person himself or shown to others), and in the Hereafter. No change can there be in the Words of Allah, this is indeed the supreme success.

Islam is commanded to fight Jews until they are subjugated and extorted; until only Allah is worshiped. The Jihad is prophesied to continue until the last day; when the last Jew will be hunted down and killed by Muslims. Hamas, being Islam, is bound by the same commands and prophesy.

If we can comprehend these fatal facts, why can’t Foreign Minister Livni and Secretary of State Rice? There will be peace when the intelligent and moral Muslims have apostatized and the recalcitrant remnant are dead, not until. The time is long over due to quit bitching about Israel’s self defense and start cursing Islam’s aggression.

The UN Must Investigate Child Abuse By Hamas

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

The UN has been silent to the following criminal activities of the Hamas terrorist organization:

1. Hamas has violated the rights of the Palestinian children abusing them, brainwashing them and inciting them to hate and kill.
2. Hamas has deliberately and exclusively fired missiles at Israeli civilian populations hoping to hurt as many civilians as possible. In 2008 alone, Hamas fired 3,278 rockets and mortars from Gaza to Israeli cities.
3. Hamas has been firing these rockets from within densely populated areas using the Palestinian people as human shields. Mosques, hospitals, kindergartens and children are criminally being used as human shields by Hamas operatives.

Enough is enough. UN: your silence to this brings shame to your institution.

Children of Hamas

View at YouTube

Now that you’ve seen this, we’re sure you’ll agree that international attention must be drawn to this outrage. Act For America That’s why we have crafted a petition to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling on him to initiate an investigation into Hamas’ terrible abuse and exploitation of children in the Gaza Strip.

To read and sign the petition, please click here. This is about more than the children of Gaza. This is about exposing to the world the horrors of the jihadist doctrine that drives Hamas and its virulent, ugly anti-Semitism. It’s about giving the world yet one more perspective on the evil inherent in Islamofascism, the perspective that Brigitte Gabriel witnessed first-hand as a child used as a human shield by the Palestinians in Lebanon, as detailed in my New York Times Best Seller Because They Hate: A survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America.

It will only take you a few moments to sign the petition.

I appeal to your conscience to join me today. Children are the future. Hitler used the children to build a killing machine without conscience. The Islamists are doing the same today preparing and calling for the second holocaust. We cannot sit silent and allow this to happen under our watch. Join me in sending a strong message to the UN saying, “not in my name, not in my time, we demand an investigation and action about this.”

Brigitte Gabriel

It will only take a few minutes of your time. Do so today.

The UN Must Investigate Child Abuse By Hamas

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

The UN has been silent to the following criminal activities of the Hamas terrorist organization:

1. Hamas has violated the rights of the Palestinian children abusing them, brainwashing them and inciting them to hate and kill.
2. Hamas has deliberately and exclusively fired missiles at Israeli civilian populations hoping to hurt as many civilians as possible. In 2008 alone, Hamas fired 3,278 rockets and mortars from Gaza to Israeli cities.
3. Hamas has been firing these rockets from within densely populated areas using the Palestinian people as human shields. Mosques, hospitals, kindergartens and children are criminally being used as human shields by Hamas operatives.

Enough is enough. UN: your silence to this brings shame to your institution.

Children of Hamas

View at YouTube

Now that you’ve seen this, we’re sure you’ll agree that international attention must be drawn to this outrage. Act For America That’s why we have crafted a petition to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling on him to initiate an investigation into Hamas’ terrible abuse and exploitation of children in the Gaza Strip.

To read and sign the petition, please click here. This is about more than the children of Gaza. This is about exposing to the world the horrors of the jihadist doctrine that drives Hamas and its virulent, ugly anti-Semitism. It’s about giving the world yet one more perspective on the evil inherent in Islamofascism, the perspective that Brigitte Gabriel witnessed first-hand as a child used as a human shield by the Palestinians in Lebanon, as detailed in my New York Times Best Seller Because They Hate: A survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America.

It will only take you a few moments to sign the petition.

I appeal to your conscience to join me today. Children are the future. Hitler used the children to build a killing machine without conscience. The Islamists are doing the same today preparing and calling for the second holocaust. We cannot sit silent and allow this to happen under our watch. Join me in sending a strong message to the UN saying, “not in my name, not in my time, we demand an investigation and action about this.”

Brigitte Gabriel

It will only take a few minutes of your time. Do so today.

How Israel Got Her Groove Back

Cross posted by Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

In the movie How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Stella a successful, 40-year-old stock broker raising her son and niece, is talked into a trip to Jamaica by her friend Delilah. In Jamaica she meets William Shakespeare, 20 years her junior and is caught up in a steamy romance. During which she examines her life and tries to strike a balance between her need for romance and her life as a mother and executive.

Israel has been like Stella. Israel was going through a crises. Trying to please the US and Europeans with concession after concession and getting nothing in return. The disaster of the Second Lebanese War of 2006 left her vulnerable, her enemies gathering like wolves for the slaughter.

Now that has changed. Today Israel is back to her old self. She is stronger, better equipped to handle what the world throws at her. And her enemies are worried.

Courtesy of Power Line

Dan Diker is a foreign policy analyst with the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs. He writes from Jerusalem today with an optimistic assessment of Israel’s current offensive:

Israel may have reached a deterrent moment in its war in Gaza against Iranian-backed Hamas. I spoke with a senior Arab diplomat last night. He told me that the Arab street is afraid that “the Jews have gone crazy.”

Yes, it’s true. He noted, “Israel has begun to restore its deterrence” in the Arab world. “Hamas miscalculated,” he added. They had thought Israel would not attack, but would merely accede to tougher Hamas demands for an improved “Tahdiya,” their version of a temporary calm.

This is perhaps one of the more optimistic assessments I have heard from Arab colleagues recently. There is supporting documentation. Hizbullah’s immediate public denial yesterday of the Katusha rocket attack from Southern Lebanon against Israel’s North and the reports on Lebanese TV of convoys of Lebanese (read: Hizbullah) vehicles moving north in expectation of a major Israeli reprisal strengthens this sense.

It’s also notable that Al Jazeera’s reportage yesterday avoided interviewing ordinary Gazans. Arab sources in Gaza confided that the public anger is not directed at Israel any more than it is at Hamas. Al Jazeera, doing a superb job as PR agents for Iran’s proxies, likely wanted to avoid risking those types of reactions from the battlefield.

The source also said that Hamas is “doing very bad things” to Fatah activists in Gaza both as revenge against claims that Fatah leadership provided intelligence to Israel, and as a warning to Fatah to avoid the temptation of being convinced by Egypt, the US and the West that they reassert control in Gaza.

Fatah officials in the West Bank are also demoralized. Nasser Juma’a, a Palestinian Legislative Council Member from Nablus told a well known British reporter yesterday that the “Hamas are insects” and noted that the Palestinians would likely “not see a Palestinian state in his lifetime.” Qadura Fares, a Fatah senior, said that the PA would not succeed either in the West Bank or Gaza without “tackling the privileges of the Fatah elite,” who he said “have become like princes.”

Yes, Israel has gotten their groove back! Gone are the days of concession after concession without anything in return. Gone are the days of humiliation at the hands of her enemies, and gone is the idea of the Saudi Peace Plan. A plan by Saudi Arabia to destroy the Jewish Nation.

There will be no more concessions on Israel’s part. Jerusalem will be taken off the negotiating table forever, Hamas and Hizbollah are scared of her might.

I spoke with a senior Arab diplomat last night. He told me that the Arab street is afraid that “the Jews have gone crazy.“

The Jews haven’t gone crazy. They are remembering that they are the Lions of Judea! That they are God’s Warriors! That they are not, and never will again be Ghetto Jews!

Today Israel got her groove back. Jews and their supporters all over the world are walking taller, with a pride in their step.

And it feels damn good!