Tag Archives: Hamas

Palestinian Authority Perfects Hypocrisy

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On May 19, 2016, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he was considering adding a right-wing party, Yisrael Beytenu, to his coalition. The Palestinian Authority’s reaction to this rumor was quick.

“The Israeli government sent a message to the world that Israel prefers extremism, dedication to the occupation and settlements over peace.”

In a region which has perfected finger-pointing, the Palestinian Arabs have once again shown their mastery of hypocrisy.

liberman netanyahu
Yisrael Beytenu’s Avigdor Liberman with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
(photo: Reuters)

On June 2, 2014, the Palestinian Authority (PA) welcomed the terrorist group Hamas into a unity government. That move abruptly ended the many months of peace negotiations going on between Israelis and the PA which was shepherded by US Secretary of State John Kerry.  Within two weeks of forming the unity government, Hamas loyalists kidnapped and murdered three teenage Israelis and launched a war against Israel that killed thousands.

That’s a message of preferring “extremism” to peace.

Care to do a simple comparison of Yisrael Beytenu and Hamas?

Position Yisrael Beytenu Hamas
Land Extending full governmental control east of the Green Line (EGL), above current military control Complete destruction of all of Israel
Death penalty For terrorists convicted of killing Israelis For all Jews
Compromise Yes. “in the debate over unity of the land or the unity of the people, the unity of the people must take precedence, because over the unity of the people there can be no compromise and a deep fracture will not be overcome” None. “Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement”
Minority Rights in country All minorities welcome, as long as loyal to the government Only “under the wing of Islam” can non-Moslems live in the land.
Legal System Full separation of powers, such as in the United States Shariah, Islamic Law
Racism No negative stereotypes Jews referred to as Nazis (Art. 20) and schemers and plotters (Art. 22)

Sources: Yisrael Beytenu positions; Hamas Charter

Hamas is considered a terrorist group by many countries,

  • but the Palestinian Arabs decided to vote them into a majority of Parliament anyway;
  • but the acting Prime Minister of the PA, Mahmoud Abbas, decided to create a coalition government with them anyway;
  • and the Palestinians actively killed the peace process that US Secretary Kerry had worked on for months anyway;
  • and they launched a war that killed thousands anyway.

So should anyone be surprised by the audacity and hypocrisy of the PA condemning Netanyahu for bringing Yisrael Beytenu into his coalition?  Which party has aligned itself with racists and murderers, and shown a complete unwillingness to compromise and make peace time-and-again, Netanyahu or Abbas?

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Palestinian Unity Government June 2, 2014
(photo: AP/Majdi Mohammed)

Related First.One.Through articles:

“Mainstream” and Abbas’ Jihad

Abbas Knows Racism

The Undemocratic Nature of Fire and Water in the Middle East

“Peace” According to Palestinian “Moderates”

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The UN is Watering the Seeds of Anti-Jewish Hate Speech for Future Massacres

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“One of the key warning signs of genocide is the spread of hate speech in public discourse and the media…. And every day, the seeds of future massacres and genocides are being planted.

The only way to prevent genocide and other egregious violations of human rights is to acknowledge shared responsibility and commit to shared action to protect those at risk.

It is essential that Governments, the judiciary and civil society stand firm against hate speech and those who incite division and violence.”

UN Secretary General (UNSC) Ban Ki Moon April 11, 2016

Ban Ki Moon
UNSC Ban Ki Moon

The powerful words of the current UN Secretary General clearly denounced hate speech and recognized their role in sowing massacres and genocides.

However, the UNSG never reflects on his own theory when he considers the Palestinian Arabs and their attacks on Jews and Israel. Consider:

  • The Hamas party is the most anti-Semitic ruling governmental entity in the world that specifically calls for killing Jews and destroying Israel, yet the UNSC called for Hamas to be integrated into the Fatah party in a reconciliation government.
  • The acting Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority and head of the Fatah party Mahmoud Abbas continually denies Jewish history in the Holy Land and calls for a Jew-free state, but the UN endorses these efforts, including a UNESCO resolution denying any Jewish history on the Temple Mount and the UNSC backing Abbas’s Jew-free state.
  • The Palestinian Authority routinely celebrates murderers of Jews by naming schools, squares, streets and tournaments after them. The UNSC absolves their words and actions by stating that Palestinians are simply “resorting to violence“, because a peaceful solution has not yielded the results they seek.
  • Mahmoud Abbas, who wrote his doctoral thesis on a theory that Israel actively supported the Holocaust, routinely uses Nazi Germany imagery about Israel, but the UN remains silent.

The world must unite against Hamas and state clearly that the United Nations is wrong about including Hamas in a unity government.

The world must categorically reject the notion that Jews should be barred from living in any country, and recall the words of Article 15 of the 1922 British Mandate Article which specifically stated that “no person shall be excluded from Palestine on the sole ground of his religious belief.”

Countries should consider their own laws which ban Holocaust denial as a form of hate speech, while they stand and applaud Abbas at the United Nations.

Countries should withhold financial aid to the Palestinian Authority, every time they promote another murderer onto the walls of their institutions.

Israel’s Mission to the United Nations will host 1500 students and organizations on May 31, 2016 to combat the toxic narrative around Israel which is part of the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) of Israel initiative, as part of Israel’s “Ambassadors Against BDS“.  It is an effort that is unfortunately needed because of the United Nations endorsement of Palestinian Arab hate speech.

If only Ban Ki Moon would listen to his own words that “It is essential that Governments, the judiciary and civil society stand firm against hate speech and those who incite division and violence.”

Related First.One.Through articles:

The Palestinians aren’t “Resorting to Violence”; They are Murdering and Waging War

Names and Narrative: Genocide / Intifada

What do you Recognize in the Palestinians?

The United Nations’ Adoption of Palestinians, Enables It to Only Find Fault With Israel

UN Breakthrough? “Hamas continues to directly threaten the security of Israel”

UNRWA’s Ongoing War against Israel and Jews

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Every Picture Tells a Story: The Invisible Killed Terrorists

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France Against ISIS

Every media outlet reported repeatedly about the devastation in Paris in November 2015. The terrorist attacks throughout the city killed 130 people going about their daily lives, and pictures filled newspaper pages of the bloody scene of the Batclan night club where most of the people were murdered. There were many other pictures and articles of the various innocent victims over the following days.

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Front page of the New York Times, November 15, 2015

In the following days the headlines of newspapers broadcast that France was attacking ISIS in retaliation for the attacks. Liberal papers like the New York Times editorial section even stated that “France rightfully attacked ISIS.” The papers reported 20 sorties.

Yet, where were the pictures of the dead ISIS fighters?  Where was the headcount of how many fighters were killed?

For all of the coverage about the terrorist attack and follow-up airstrikes, there was virtually no discussion of the deaths inflicted on the ISIS fighters in Syria or Iraq.

The pictures in the paper show the innocent victims of France. Nowhere does it show the images of what the French did in response.

The US Against Al Shabab

On March 8, 2016, the New York Times reported that the US struck and killed 150 fighters in Somalia, belonging to the terrorist group Al Shabab. The United States has been fighting against Al Shabab, an affiliate of Al Qaeda, for a decade.  While this group has not conducted any attacks on US soil against American civilians, a Pentagon spokesperson claimed that the group was planning a “large-scale attack” against US troops.

The US attack was the deadliest attack against Islamic militants in Africa.

There were no pictures in the newspapers to accompany the article.

There were no follow up stories.

Israel Against Hamas

Hamas has defined itself as opposed to the very existence of Israel.  They refuse to acknowledge any right or legitimacy of the Jewish State.  They repeatedly state in their charter and on their news programs that there can be no peace agreement with Israel, only jihad.

Hamas has launched over 10,000 rockets into Israel, since Israel left Gaza in 2005.  The group has instigated three wars and killed over a thousand Israelis.  Those Hamas wars have claimed thousands of Palestinian Arab lives as well.

However, unlike the invisible terrorists of ISIS and Al Shabab, the papers post the pictures of dead Palestinian terrorists.  Whether covering the front pages of the paper in the summer of 2014, or running long articles with several pictures of Gazans dying using the tunnel network, the paper relays the Palestinians in a sympathetic light.  The people of Gaza, who voted for and are governed by the terrorist group Hamas, are shown as victims time and again.

 

The United Nations often condemns Israel for “disproportionate” force in stopping Palestinian attackers actively involved in attacking people.  It did not condemn France  nor the United States for its actions against terrorists.

Maybe every day people can begin to condemn the media for disproportionate coverage of Israel’s handling its War on Terror.

Related First.One.Through articles:

Review of Media Headlines on Palestinian Arab Terror Spree

Every Picture Tells a Story: Arab Injuries over Jewish Deaths

Every Picture Tells A Story: Only Palestinians are Victims

Every Picture Tells a Story- Whitewashing the World (except Israel)

The Big, Bad Lone Wolves of Terrorism

The New York Times Refuses to Label Hamas a Terrorist Group

Flip-Flopping on the Felling of Terrorist Groups’ Founders

My Terrorism

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What’s “Left” for The New York Times?

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On February 27, 2016, the New York Times ran an article on page A7 by Diaa Hadid titled “Palestinian Fugitive Is Found Dead in Bulgarian Capital.” The article described how “a Palestinian man who escaped from prison in Israel more than 20 years ago was found dead outside the Palestinian Embassy in Bulgaria.” The piece described how “Mr. Zayed, 52, was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of the murder of Eliyahu Amedia, an Israeli yeshiva student, in 1986…. Omar Zayed escaped custody in 1990 after he went on a 40-day hunger strike and was transferred from prison to a hospital in Bethlehem, according to a statement by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a leftist Palestinian group to which Mr. Zayed belonged.”

Wow. The New York Times described the PFLP as a “leftist group.” Is it?

Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)

The PFLP was founded in December 1967, and makes no secret about its enemies: Israel; the “World Zionist Movement”; and the United States of America. The inclusion of the USA is clear, as the PFLP states on its website: “In the battle for the liberation of Palestine, we are facing a third force, that of world imperialism led by the United States of America.”

The goal of the PFLP is the complete destruction of Israel through armed conquest from all sides. As it states in its manifesto written in 1969: “The armed struggle against Israel and all imperialist interests in our homeland, the expansion of the armed struggle front which stands in the face of Arab reaction and all imperialist interests and bases in the Arab homeland, and the encirclement of Israel with the strategy of the people’s liberation war from every side – from Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and inside the territory occupied before and after 5 June 1967 – is the only path that leads to victory.”

pflp
PFLP logo, showing map representing the Arab world
entering and consuming all of Israel

Some of the group’s activities have included:

  • Hijacking El Al plane (July 1968)
  • Hijacking three planes (September 1970)
  • The assassination Israeli Member of Knesset Rehavam Ze’evi (October 2001)
  • Suicide bombing in a pizza store in Karnei Shomron killing three civilians (February 2002)
  • Suicide bombing in a bus station in Tel Aviv killing three (December 2003)
  • Suicide bombing in a food market in Tel Aviv killing three (November 2004)
  • Killing four rabbis praying in a synagogue with axes and knives in Jerusalem (November 2014)

The PFLP continues to incite terrorism, as it praises attacks and calls “on all strugglers in Palestine to escalate the flame of the intifada.”

Due to its mission and actions, the US State Department labeled the PFLP a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) when it formulated such list at inception on October 8, 1997, together with the PFLP-General Command.

pflpsweetsgaza
PFLP hands out sweets after the group claimed credit for hacking four Jewish worshipers to death in a Har Nof synagogue
November, 2014

And the New York Times decided to label this terrorist group a “leftist group’ rather than a terrorist group.

The New York Times Welcomes Arab Terrorism to the “Left”

The NYT is proud of its left-leaning ways.

Just recently, as the paper endorsed Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination for president, it considered that her challenger, Senator Bernie Sanders had fortunately brought the former Secretary of State further to the left: “[Sanders] has brought income inequality and the lingering pain of the middle class to center stage and pushed Mrs. Clinton a bit more to the left than she might have gone on economic issues. Mr. Sanders has also surfaced important foreign policy questions, including the need for greater restraint in the use of military force.”

Note that the Times considers the “greater restraint in the use of military force” to be a leftist ideal. Yet, somehow, the Times called a militant Palestinian Arab group, an organization which has led dozens of suicide bombings, murders and plane hijackings, a group which is a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) according to the US State Department – a “leftist group.”

Perhaps the greater restraint of military forces is a leftist ideal, only when such force is used by America and its allies.

If the right-leaning Wall Street Journal decided to label a terrorist group a “left-wing group,” presumably, many people on the left would be greatly offended. Aligning mass murderers and people who are sworn enemies of the United States, with the liberal cause would be called out as a libelous charge. Letters to the editor would pour forth from “progressive” pens denouncing the comparison.

But here, the left-leaning NYT opted to embrace the terrorist group as one of its own. It actively chose to align their political points of view.

The liberal paper has long declined to label Hamas, another Palestinian Arab group, as a terrorist group.  The paper often uses soft language like “a militant group” or “an Islamist group” to portray that FTO.

In February 2016, the Times moved passed softening the image of Palestinian terror.  It baptized and embraced Arab terror.

If this is the modern day version of being “progressive,” the entire world should loudly condemn it in every way possible.

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New York Times article by Diaa Hadid on February 27, 2016

Related First.One.Through articles:

The New York Times wants the military to defeat terrorists (but not Hamas)

Why the Media Ignores Jihadists in Israel

The Palestinians aren’t “Resorting to Violence”; They are Murdering and Waging War

What do you Recognize in the Palestinians?

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UN Breakthrough? “Hamas continues to directly threaten the security of Israel”

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But fear not, the UN still wants Hamas to be part of the government.

On January 26, 2015, United Nation’s Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon stated that it was “human nature” for the Palestinians to attack and kill Israelis on the streets, in a statement that was roundly criticized by pro-Israel advocates. Just a few weeks later, on February 18, 2016, Nickolay Mladenov, Secretary-General’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, made a more balanced report to the UN Security Council. His comments included:

“The issue of incitement runs to the heart of the current climate of tension and fear. It is essential that authorities on both sides do more to address this scourge. I am particularly concerned that some Palestinian factions continue to glorify violence and terror. Such acts only contribute to tensions and violence.   Governance reforms must also remain a central commitment for the Palestinian Authority.  

Volatility persists in Gaza amidst a tenuous security situation. The collapse of another four tunnels — bringing the total to date this year to five — and the continued test firing and launching of rockets at Israel indicate that Hamas continues to directly threaten the security of Israel. Such actions risk not only people’s lives but the fragile reconstruction process in the devastated Strip.”

What might Mladenov have been describing?

Consider the February 14th Palestinian cartoon calling on all men to stab and kill Israelis.  Just days later, two 14-year old Palestinian Arabs stabbed two Israelis in a supermarket, killing one.

Mladenov
Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov.
(photo: UN/Devra Berkowitz)

The Mladenov comments were much more specific than Ban Ki-Moon has been about Palestinian incitement to violence and Hamas’s threats against Israel.  Ban would only generally refer to incitement by both Israelis and Palestinians and never refer to Hamas at all.

Perhaps a giant breakthrough at the United Nations, that it is active incitement by the Palestinians to commit murder, and not “human nature” that is causing the deaths of hundreds?

Don’t be too sure.

Endorsement of Hamas

Even while Mladenov more specifically placed blame on Hamas, he still urged for a Palestinian government that included the group, just as Ban has.

Mladenov stated that “[a]dvancing genuine reconciliation on the basis of non-violence, democracy and PLO principles is a key priority. I welcome the recent unity talks in Qatar and urge all sides to continue their discussions and implement previous agreements, particularly those brokered by Egypt. The formation of a National Unity Government and long-overdue elections are vital to laying the foundations of a future Palestinian state.”  Those comments suggested that either Hamas’s threats and acts of violence are a passing phase, or not objectionable to be part of a ruling Palestinian government.  In this regard, he echoed the sentiments of the Secretary-General who said:

“I strongly urge the Palestinian factions to advance genuine Palestinian unity on the basis of democracy and the PLO principles.  
Reconciliation is critical in order to reunite the West Bank and Gaza under a single legitimate Palestinian authority.   
Healing Palestinian divisions is also critical so that Palestinians can instead focus their energies on establishing a stable state as part of a negotiated two-state solution. 
Genuine unity will also improve the Palestinian Government’s ability to meet pressing economic problems, which are adding to the frustration and anger driving Palestinian violence.”

The urgency to place Hamas into the Palestinian Authority, even while it promotes the murder of Jews, is a critical part of the UN strategy.  Perhaps it is because those violent actions threaten “the fragile reconstruction process in the devastated [Gaza] Strip,” which is a key UN concern.

Mladenov’s comments are a baby step forward for the United Nations on Israel: words that finally call out the Palestinian incitement and threats.  Unfortunately, the UN still urges for flawed policies to elevate the terrorist group.

Related First.One.Through articles:

The United Nation’s Ban Ki Moon is Unqualified to Discuss the Question of Palestine

The Undemocratic Nature of Fire and Water in the Middle East

The Palestinians aren’t “Resorting to Violence”; They are Murdering and Waging War

What do you Recognize in the Palestinians?

Differentiating Hamas

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The Undemocratic Nature of Fire and Water in the Middle East

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Israeli President Shimon Peres

Former President of Israel and Nobel Peace Prize winner Shimon Peres is well liked by the left-wing and even admired by the right-wing in Israel and around the world. His long history of working on behalf of Israel was highlighted by many wonderful quotable phrases. His farewell address in the United States was no different.

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Israeli President Shimon Peres, June 2014
(Photo by Kobi Gideon / GPO)

On June 26, 2014, Shimon Peres addressed the US Congress for the final time, receiving the Congressional Medal of Honor. His remarks addressed the strong bonds between the United States and Israel, as well as the threats of terrorism. While cautious, Peres remained an optimist about the chance for peace:

“President Abbas is clearly a partner for peace.  He spoke bravely in Saudi Arabia, in Arabic, against the kidnappings, against terror, and for peace. But you cannot put fire and water in the same glass. Hamas is clearly not a partner for peace.  Hamas fires rockets at our civilians. They oppose peace and support terror. Finding a way forward is hard. But we must not lose hope. There is no better solution than two states for two peoples.”

Peres’s comments about acting-President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas had mixed reactions in Israeli society: the left believes that Abbas is a partner for peace; while the right-wing believes he is simply a more polite face of terrorism. However, both the right and the left agree that the rabidly anti-Semitic, jihadist, militant, terrorist group Hamas is an enemy of peace. Peres spoke clearly that any Palestinian government that included Hamas was not one that sought peace with Israel.

Peres used an analogy from nature: that fire and water cannot co-exist in the same small space. Similarly in politics, the Palestinian Arabs cannot advance a plan of destroying Israel, while claiming it seeks peace with the Jewish State.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations had a very different view of nature in the Middle East.

Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-Moon

Promoting Reconciliation of Hamas and Fatah: Ban Ki-Moon has pushed aggressively for Hamas to be included in the Palestinian government and in peace talks. Some examples from after the Peres speech to the US Congress:

  • October 21, 2014: “Palestinians are taking critical steps to forge a united path to the future. This includes an intra-Palestinian reconciliation agreement followed by a historic meeting in Gaza of the Cabinet of the Government of National Consensus.”
  • April 21, 2015: “I welcome ongoing efforts to promote Palestinian reconciliation. The Government of National Consensus must assume its leadership of Gaza, including control of border crossings.”
  • January 26, 2016: “Reconciliation is critical in order to reunite the West Bank and Gaza under a single legitimate Palestinian authority.”

This view is diametrically opposed to Peres’s and almost all Israelis.

Hamas has never recanted its founding charter which calls for killing Jews and destroying Israel. It explicitly states that peace talks are not to be pursued. That the only pathway to freeing Palestine is through militant jihad.

Terrorism is Natural: Even while Ban Ki-Moon condemned terrorism, he made excuses for it. During the same January 2016 comments calling for a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation government, he stated:

“as oppressed peoples have demonstrated throughout the ages, it is human nature to react to occupation, which often serves as a potent incubator of hate and extremism.”

The Secretary General of the UN stated that the victims of terrorism are to be blamed for their own injured status. According to him, it is “human nature” to walk into a family’s home at night and stab and murder all of the inhabitants, including a three month old baby (as Palestinian Arabs did to the Fogel family), because of “occupation”.

Israel’s left-wing champion, Shimon Peres, stated that nature itself dictates that peace and terrorism cannot coexist.  As such, Hamas can never be accepted into a legitimate Palestinian government if there will be peace between the Israelis and Palestinian Arabs.

Ban Ki-Moon argued that human nature demands freedom from a ruling authority it does not want. Therefore, his proposal is to remove Israeli controls and restrictions from the “West Bank” and Gaza.

But Ban went beyond that.

He demanded that no Jews be allowed to live in either of those lands, even if they legally purchase houses. He demanded that no Jew be allowed to run a business in those areas, even when they hire many Arabs and help the local economy.

Ban does not just argue about the “occupation” of an Israeli military, but against the simple presence of Jews.  He stated that any Jew prevents the “the viability of a Palestinian state and the ability of Palestinian people to live in dignity.”

Israelis see no room for an anti-Semitic death group to be part of a future of peaceful coexistence.

The United Nations sees no room for Jews to coexist with anti-Semites.

Peres has urged Israelis to make peace with those that seek peace.

Ban has demanded that Jews abandon their homes to accommodate Jew-haters.

For Israelis, the natural world can be one of peace, where there is respect for Jewish history, culture and people.

For the United Nations, the natural world is rife with anti-Semitism.

A Democratic and Undemocratic Nature

Jews are happy to co-exist with non-Jews. The Israeli government granted all non-Jews citizenship in May 1948. Non-Jews account for 25% of Israeli citizens today.

In a democratic natural world, Jews and non-Jews are not “fire and water.”  The only opposites are peace and war.  Israel’s mission is to have peace extinguish the fire of hatred, terrorism and war.

The United Nations represents the undemocratic world.  As the agency says of itself “When the founders of the United Nations drafted the Charter 70 years ago, they did not include the word democracy. This was hardly surprising. In 1945, still more than today, many of the UN’s Member States did not espouse democracy as a system. Others laid claim to it but did not practise it.”

The undemocratic natural world is one of anti-Semitism, where Jews are the fire to be extinguished.  So stated the UN’s Secretary General.

Related First.One.Through articles:

The United Nation’s Ban Ki Moon is Unqualified to Discuss the Question of Palestine

The Palestinians aren’t “Resorting to Violence”; They are Murdering and Waging War

The UN Can’t Support Israel’s Fight on Terrorism since it Considers Israel the Terrorists

The Hollowness of the United Nations’ “All”

The United Nations’ Remorse for “Creating” Israel

A “Viable” Palestinian State

The Israeli Peace Process versus the Palestinian Divorce Proceedings

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The United Nation’s Ban Ki Moon is Unqualified to Discuss the Question of Palestine

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On January 30, 2016, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon made a statement about the Hamas leadership’s intention to continue to attack Israel.  His comments clearly spell out why he is unqualified to lead the UN and comment on the “Question of Palestine.”

Ban Ki Moon
Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki Moon

From The United Nations: Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on statements by Hamas leadership:

“The Secretary-General is alarmed by recent statements from the Hamas leadership in Gaza about the group’s intention to continue building tunnels and firing rockets at Israel.”

  • Alarmed? Maybe he should read their charter, watch PalWatch or MEMRI where they describe their intention to kill Israelis and destroy the country time and again. To be alarmed is to be willfully ignorant about the situation and therefore undeserving to comment or be the head of the United Nations.

 

“Such statements and actions put at risk reconstruction, humanitarian and development efforts by the international community and Palestinian and Israeli authorities. They also do a serious disservice to the long-suffering people of Gaza.”

  • The building of tunnels and firing rockets into Israel puts ISRAELIS AT RISK of attack and death. It continues the disservice that the world community is complicit in ignoring the SUFFERING OF ISRAELI CIVILIANS. To ignore the threat to Israel in a statement about Hamas is to be complicit in the crimes of Hamas.

“After three devastating conflicts in seven years, people in Gaza and the people of southern Israel deserve a chance for peace and development. Every effort must be made to improve the living conditions of the people of Gaza.”

  • In a statement about the continued military aspirations of the elected leadership of the people of Gaza to attack and kill Israelis, why isn’t the Secretary-General clearly highlighting the need to improve the living conditions of the people of ISRAEL? Why are those that harbor evil intent, granted good will? Why are the innocent ignored?

“The Secretary-General reiterates his condemnation of terrorism in all its manifestations.”

  • A condemnation of Hamas barbarity should have clear condemnation of Hamas and its actions, not a general statement about terrorism generally.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations has shown himself unfit to judge the Arab-Israel conflict squarely and fairly.

Related First.One.Through articles:

The Palestinians aren’t “Resorting to Violence”; They are Murdering and Waging War

The United Nations “Provocation”

The UN Can’t Support Israel’s Fight on Terrorism since it Considers Israel the Terrorists

The Hollowness of the United Nations’ “All”

UN Concern is only for Violence in “Occupied Palestinian Territory,” not Israel

UN Comments on the Murder of Innocents: Henkins

The United Nations’ Remorse for “Creating” Israel

UN Press Corps Expunges Israel

The United Nations Audit of Israel

The United Nations and Holy Sites in the Holy Land

An Inconvenient Truth: Palestinian Polls

Extreme and Mainstream. Germany 1933; West Bank & Gaza Today

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Oxfam and Gaza

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Oxfam seems like such a nice charity.  It’s slogan is “The power of people against poverty.” What can be controversial about that?

Much of the organization’s work is focused on providing aid and services to poor communities around the world.  Work includes bringing clean water, food and basic services to people in need.

However, the organization also goes beyond a core mission of charity to other rights-based work including human rights and women’s rights.  The charity claims that “when people have the power to claim their basic human rights, they can escape poverty – permanently” and “the right to gender justice underpins all of our work.” Such activity leads Oxfam to get involved in politics and to advocate for particular actions by governments.

Oxfam produces reports and details its assessments of certain regions and their treatment of people.  Consider the report which warns about a potential slide in the treatment of women in Afghanistan.  Oxfam clearly “called on world leaders to ensure that any peace deal includes benchmarks to guarantee women’s rights” and highlighted the terrible crimes of “honor killings” in which wives and daughters are killed by family members if they engaged in something considered impure, like dressing inappropriately or turning down a male suitor.

Oxfam also puts feet on the ground to encourage peace in places such as South Sudan where “Oxfam has been working closely with communities and their leaders in Rumbek to establish peace committees that are now avenues for different clans to meet on a regular basis to discuss issues, mediate conflicts and encourage peaceful co-existence.” Such activity is obviously well beyond delivering humanitarian aid.

Consider Oxfam’s approach to Gaza.

Gaza

Oxfam has repeatedly called for “world leaders to press the Israeli government to lift the blockade on Gaza“ which Israel put in place in June 2007 to prevent arms smuggling after the terrorist group Hamas took over Gaza.  Hamas has used its weapons to fire over 10,000 rockets into Israel since then.

Legality: Oxfam called the blockade “illegal,” even though the United Nations Palmer Report of 2011 clearly stated “that Israel’s naval blockade was legal… Israel faces a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza.  The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law.”

Ignoring the ruling authority of the terrorist group, Hamas: Oxfam stated that “The government of Israel holds the primary responsibility to lift the blockade, although agencies signing on to the campaign also recognize that reconstruction is hindered by the failure of Palestinian political parties to reconcile and prioritize reconstruction, and by Egypt’s closure of its border with Gaza.”

An amazing gloss over the facts.  Not only does Israel have “primary responsibility” for the situation, but the failure to alleviate the plight of ordinary people in Gaza according to Oxfam is also “the failure of Palestinian political parties to reconcile.” Hamas is a terrorist organization sworn to destroy Israel that repeatedly attacks Israelis. Until it relinquishes control of Gaza, the blockade will stay in place. It is not a matter that there is an internal division between Palestinian leaderships, as Oxfam states.

Collective Punishment:  Oxfam continued: “The government of Israel justifies the restrictions on security grounds. However, the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross have repeatedly asserted that the blockade is a violation of international law. Indeed, there can never be justification for collective punishment of an entire population and leaving tens of thousands of families homeless and hundreds of thousands of children without a school or health centers.”

Not only did the UN report specifically state that the blockade is legal as noted above, it also disputed the nature of “collective punishment” when it concluded that “although a blockade by definition imposes a restriction on all maritime traffic, given the relatively small size of the blockade zone and the practical difficulties associated with other methods of monitoring vessels (such as by search and visit), the Panel is not persuaded that the naval blockade was a disproportionate measure for Israel to have taken in response to the threat it faced.“

Blame: Further, the phrasing of the Oxfam article put the blame for homeless families and “children without a school or health centers” on Israel, instead of the terrorist group Hamas that continues its war to destroy Israel.

Women’s Rights and Co-Existence:  Interestingly, for an organization that claims that “gender justice underpins all of our work,” it never once mentions in any of its numerous articles about Gaza, that Gaza now leads the world in the number of “honor killings” of women per capita.  It also doesn’t seem as keen to promote co-existence between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs as it does in South Sudan.

Oxfam is not simply a charitable organization, but a political one as well. It goes beyond important work of helping the poor, to a mission-based action group influencing governments.

When it comes to Gaza, it has turned a blind eye to an anti-Semitic terrorist government and focuses instead on demonizing a democracy that is protecting its citizens. It has produced articles with misinformation and circulated petitions to open Israel to attacks.

Consider that when you see an Oxfam volunteer walk up to you on the street.

oxfam

Related First.One.Through articles:

UN’s Confusion on the Legality of Israel’s Blockade of Gaza

Cause and Effect: Making Gaza

Honor Killings in Gaza

Gaza Blockade versus Cuban Blockade

Save the Children

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The New York Times Refuses to Label Hamas a Terrorist Group

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Readers rightfully assume that newspapers go through the effort of educating its readers. As such, the papers should include descriptions and backgrounds of the main actors in any news story.

“Good” actors and “bad” actors are often labelled as such.  For example, readers would imagine that the media would specifically call out a terrorist organization, and almost all of the time, they do. The exception is the terrorist group Hamas.

Consider this comparison:

P.K.K.

A group that is often-mentioned in the New York Times lately that is labelled a terrorist group is the P.K.K. The Kurdish group has been fighting for years against Turkey to gain independence and has used violence to achieve its goal. Some people consider the Kurdish aspirations for independence similar to the Palestinians, but there are many differences, such as the fact that the Kurds are actually a distinct people compared to Arabs and Muslims in Syria, Iraq and Turkey where they live, as opposed to Palestinians who are an indistinguishable part of the broader Arab world. The P.K.K. fights alone for the Kurdish people, while the whole Arab world fights for the Palestinian Arabs. Put those facts aside and look at recent reports from the New York Times.

The NY Times is consistent in labelling the P.K.K. a terrorist group.  It may state that the label is attributed to Turkey and other groups such as NATO, the United States or just “widely considered.”  But it usually avoids just stating that Turkey alone considers the group to be a terrorist organization:

  • October 12, 2015: “Turkey and its NATO allies consider the P.K.K a terrorist organization.”
  • September 9, 2015: “The Kurdish group, which is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, has been attacking Turkish security officials almost daily since the breakdown of the fragile peace process.”
  • August 12, 2015: “a Kurdish separatist group known as the P.K.K., which is widely listed as a terrorist group”
  • August 6, 2015: “Mr. Erdogan has said he is acting in Turkey’s national security interests in targeting terrorists of all stripes, both the Islamic State and the P.K.K”
  • July 29, 2015: “Under alliance rules, they are bound to protect Turkey from threats, and they have long listed the Kurdish militant group that fought a long insurgency in Turkey, the P.K.K., as a terrorist organization”
  • July 26, 2015 (an exception to prove the rule): “targeting camps of the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party for the first time in four years… ended an unstable two-year cease-fire between the Turkish government and the Kurdish militants, also known by the initials of their Kurdish name, P.K.K.”

Readers of the New York Times are educated by the paper over-and-again that many countries outside of Turkey consider the P.K.K. a terrorist group.  Understanding that designation gives readers specific context with which to consider the story.  A government fighting a terrorist group is logical and appropriate; a defensive action of “the good guys” against the “bad guys”.

Now consider the labeling of Hamas in the New York Times.

Hamas

Hamas has been labeled a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” by the United States government since 1997. This is not subject to interpretation but is established fact.  It was awarded this designation on the same day as other notable terrorist groups including: Abu Nidal; Hizbullah; Palestine Liberation Front; Palestinian Islamic Jihad; Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; PFLP-General Command; and the P.K.K.  It is also consider a terrorist group by the European Union, Canada and other countries.

However, the New York Times does not call Hamas a terrorist group.  Instead it prefers to call it a “militant group.”  The Times does not call attacks by Hamas “deliberate attacks” but uses terms like “resorting to violence.”  The Times does not say that Hamas is the favorite established political party of the Palestinians, winning 58% of the Parliament, but uses terms like “dominates Gaza” to make it appear as an outside force against its own people.

All of these observations are plain facts for any reader of the Times to see (some examples are listed below, but do your own search of Hamas and the Times and see it for yourself).  These descriptions by the Times are used to transform readers’ mindsets:

  • from thinking of Hamas as a terrorist organization, to a freedom fighting group.
  • from a group that seeks to destroy all of Israel, to one that simply wants freedom of movement.
  • from a group that actively seeks to kill innocents, to one that is left with no choice.
  • from a popular Palestinian political party, to a small outside force.

From a terrorist group that violently seeks to overthrow a democratic government which must therefore be combatted aggressively with force, to a group that justly uses an armed struggle to achieve modest ends which should be placated.

  • July 17, 2015: “Saudi support for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, the two dominant but feuding Palestinian factions“
  • June 30, 2015: “the ruling Islamist group, Hamas“
  • June 8, 2015 “Hamas, the militant group that dominates Gaza”
  • June 3, 2015: “Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, has worked to enforce the cease-fire with Israel,” makes Hamas part of the peaceful solution (enforcing a cease-fire), not the core of the problem.
  • May 26, 2015: “The militant group Hamas used last summer’s war” separates Hamas from launching the war to a group that just used the war.
  • September 4, 2014: “…orchestrated by Hamas, which Israel regards as a terrorist group committed to its destruction” makes the characterization specific ONLY TO ISRAEL and not the US and many other countries.

IMG_3608
New York Times October 30, 2015 referred to Hebron as the
“‘Fortress of Hamas,’ because of its role as the Islamist group’s
unofficial West Bank headquarters.”

In short, the liberal paper goes through efforts to transform the broadly popular terrorist group that seeks the destruction of Israel and murder of Jews, to a fringe militant religious group that controls a part of the Palestinian population and occasionally resorts to violence against Israel. In such a narrative, who does the Times label as the “good guy” and who is the “bad guy”?  In such a scenario, is the current wave of violence just an “intifada” or “uprising” or part of a broader war to destroy the Jewish State?

Related First.One.Through articles

CNN’s Embrace of Hamas

Differentiating Hamas

The New York Times wants the military to defeat terrorists (but not Hamas)

Cause and Effect: Making Gaza

Why the Media Ignores Jihadists in Israel

The Palestinians aren’t “Resorting to Violence”; They are Murdering and Waging War

What do you Recognize in the Palestinians?

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UN’s Confusion on the Legality of Israel’s Blockade of Gaza

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In June 2015, the United Nations issued a report highly critical of Israel’s handling of its war against Palestinian attacks. Throughout the report, the committee suggested that the Israeli blockade of Gaza was a major cause for suffering of Palestinians, rather than a result of Palestinian actions, and helped precipitate the war.

Member of the Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict Doudou Diene (L) gestures next to Chairperson of the Commission Mary McGowan Davis during a press conference to present their report on June 22, 2015 at the United Nations Office in Geneva. Both Israel and Palestinian militants may have committed war crimes during last year's Gaza war, a widely anticipated United Nations report said on June 22, decrying "unprecedented" devastation and human suffering. AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

Member of the Commission of Inquiry on the 2014 Gaza conflict Doudou Diene (L) gestures next to Chairperson of the Commission Mary McGowan Davis during a press conference to present their report on June 22, 2015 at the United Nations Office in Geneva.  AFP PHOTO / FABRICE COFFRINI

2015 UN Assertion that
Blockade was Cause for Conflict

In the section of the report that reviewed the background to the 2014 conflict, the report stated that “In the preceding months, there were few, if any, political prospects for reaching a solution to the conflict that would achieve peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis and realize the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people. The blockade of Gaza by Israel, fully implemented since 2007 and described by the Secretary-General as “a continuing collective penalty against the population in Gaza” (A/HRC/28/45, para. 70), was strangling the economy in Gaza and imposed severe restrictions on the rights of the Palestinians.” By way of correction and education to the reader, the naval blockade of Gaza only began in January 2009 (not 2007). The land blockade of Gaza began in 2007 after Hamas routed Fatah from Gaza and took complete control of the region.

It is important and significant to point out that this 2015 report suggested that there were “few POLITICAL PROSPECTS for reaching a solution” and that the “blockade of Gaza.. was strangling the economy” and “imposed severe restrictions” on Palestinians. This directly implied that the Palestinians were seeking a political solution and rightfully frustrated with a blockade that was imposed on them (presumably for no reason).  Therefore, since a political solution was not available, they were forced to pursue a military response.

That is outrageous on many levels.

  1. Hamas has stated clearly in its charter and in addresses by its leaders that it seeks the complete destruction of Israel and that it will never enter peace negotiations. (A fact that was never mentioned in the UN report)
  2. Hamas clearly stated that it would not pursue any “peaceful solutions and international conferences” as seen in its charter, below.
  3. Hamas’s takeover of Gaza in 2007 is never mentioned in the UN report.

Hamas Charter Article 13: “Initiatives, and so-called peaceful solutions and international conferences, are in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic Resistance Movement…. These conferences are only ways of setting the infidels in the land of the Moslems as arbitraters… There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors.”

The UN report inverted reality and ignored that the blockade of Gaza was in response to Hamas’s taking over of Gaza and firing thousands of missiles at Israeli civilians.

 2015 UN Report
Call to Remove the Blockade

The UN report concluded with several suggestions which clearly placed the blame for the conflict on Israel’s actions: “The commission calls upon the Government of Israel… to address structural issues that fuel the conflict and have a negative impact on a wide range of human rights, including the right to self-determination; in particular, to lift, immediately and unconditionally, the blockade on Gaza.”

This conclusion and suggestion are in stark contrast to the September 2011 UN “Palmer Commission Report” which clearly spoke of the legal nature of Israel’s blockade of Gaza and spoke to the harm and evil intent of Hamas which necessitated the blockade.

 

2011 UN Report
on LEGAL NATURE of Blockade of Gaza

To start, the Palmer Report correctly identified the different blockades of Gaza and the reason for them: “the tightening of border controls between Gaza and Israel came about after the take-over of Hamas in Gaza in June 2007.  On the other hand, the naval blockade was imposed more than a year later, in January 2009.”

The report continued that “the naval blockade as a distinct legal measure was imposed primarily to enable a legally sound basis for Israel to exert control over ships attempting to reach Gaza with weapons and related goods.  This was in reaction to certain incidents when vessels had reached Gaza via sea.”

The report then continued in greater detail on the “structural issues that fuel the conflict” with specific history (as opposed to simply echoing the Palestinian narrative as it did in the 2015 report): “Israel has faced and continues to face a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza.  Rockets, missiles and mortar bombs have been launched from Gaza towards Israel since 2001.  More than 5,000 were fired between 2005 and January 2009, when the naval blockade was imposed.  Hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians live in the range of these attacks.  As their effectiveness has increased some rockets are now capable of reaching Tel Aviv. Since 2001 such attacks have caused more than 25 deaths and hundreds of injuries.  The enormity of the psychological toll on the affected population cannot be underestimated.  In addition, there have been substantial material losses.  The purpose of these acts of violence, which have been repeatedly condemned by the international community, has been to do damage to the population of Israel.  It seems obvious enough that stopping these violent acts was a necessary step for Israel to take in order to protect its people and to defend itself.”

In regard for using a naval blockade to prevent the assault from Gaza on Israel, the report stated “The Israeli report to the Panel makes it clear that the naval blockade as a measure of the use of force was adopted for the purpose of defending its territory and population, and the Panel accepts that was the case.  It was designed as one way to prevent weapons reaching Gaza by sea and to prevent such attacks to be launched from the sea.  Indeed there have been various incidents in which ships carrying weapons were intercepted by the Israeli authorities on their way to Gaza.”

In sharp contrast to the 2015 report which cited the UN Secretary General’s comment that the blockade was a “collective penalty against the population in Gaza“, the 2011 Palmer Report concluded that “Although a blockade by definition imposes a restriction on all maritime traffic, given the relatively small size of the blockade zone and the practical difficulties associated with other methods of monitoring vessels (such as by search and visit), the Panel is not persuaded that the naval blockade was a disproportionate measure for Israel to have taken in response to the threat it faced.”

The report concluded with clarity: “Israel was entitled to take reasonable steps to prevent the influx of weapons into Gaza.  With that objective, Israel established a series of restrictions on vessels entering the waters of Gaza.  These measures culminated in the declaration of the naval blockade on 3 January 2009… There is nothing before the Panel that would suggest that Israel did not maintain an effective and impartial blockade….  it is evident that Israel had a military objective.  The stated primary objective of the naval blockade was for security.  It was to prevent weapons, ammunition, military supplies and people from entering Gaza and to stop Hamas operatives sailing away from Gaza with vessels filled with explosives… It is also noteworthy that the earliest maritime interception operations to prevent weapons smuggling to Gaza predated the 2007 take-over of Hamas in Gaza.  The actual naval blockade was imposed more than one year after that event. These factors alone indicate it was not imposed to punish its citizens for the election of Hamas….  As this report has already indicated, we are satisfied that the naval blockade was based on the need to preserve Israel’s security.  Stopping the importation of rockets and other weapons to Gaza by sea helps alleviate Israel’s situation as it finds itself the target of countless attacks, which at the time of writing have once again become more extensive and intensive…  We have reached the view that the naval blockade was proportionate in the circumstances… The Panel therefore concludes that Israel’s naval blockade was legal… Israel faces a real threat to its security from militant groups in Gaza.  The naval blockade was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law.”

Quite a different narrative and conclusion than the UN wrote up in 2015.

Related FirstOneThrough article:

Cause and Effect: Making Gaza

Gaza Blockade versus Cuban Blockade