Chins up, old chap
I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this Jerusalem Post article. Yehuda Avner, an Israeli diplomat and former ambassador to Britain tells of his friend, a pro-Israel "British Foreign Office type". I do hope his optimistic prophecy at the end comes true.

I could relate to this article too. Jonathan Ronsenblum, on being a reluctant Republican.

"Republicans, on the other hand, are far more likely to trust in the righteousness of American arms. They see American foreign policy as the least narrowly self-interested of any country, and prefer a world policed by America to one policed by Kofi Annan and the UN bureaucracy. They cannot understand why America's ability to protect itself should be subjected to the economic interest of the French, who would not only sell their grandmothers for a drop of oil, but who look with cynical disdain at anyone who would not. And they question the UN Security Council's moral authority to dictate to America, especially when that Security Council was recently chaired by Syria, a country that killed tens of thousands of its own citizens in a few days, and holds its neighboring state captive".
posted by Imshin 16:48

Kisa Gotami
Kisa Gotami was the wife of a wealthy man of Savatthi. She had only one child. When her son was old enough to start running about, he caught a disease and died. Kisa Gotami was greatly saddened. Unable to accept that her son was dead and could not be brought back to life again, she took him in her arms and went about asking for medicine to cure him. Everyone she encountered thought that she had lost her mind. Finally, an old man told her that if there was anyone who could help her, it would be the Buddha.

In her distress, Kisa Gotami brought the body of her son to the Buddha and asked him for a medicine that would bring back his life. The Buddha answered: "I shall cure him if you can bring me some white mustard seeds from a house where no one has died". Carrying her dead son, she went from door to door, asking at each house. At each house the reply was always that someone had died there. At last the truth struck her, "No house is free from death". She laid the body of her child in the wood and returned to the Buddha, who comforted her and preached to her the truth.

posted by Imshin 07:54

A fishing boat full of explosives blew up last night next to an Israeli navy gunship, opposite the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Four soldiers were injured.

Update: The BBC knows what really happened: It was a “'Suicide' attack on Israeli naval patrol […] The Israeli military says its patrol boat approached the other vessel and tried to make contact with two "suspicious" people on board after it entered Israeli waters. When there was no response, they sprayed water at it and then fired warning shots in an attempt to force it back into Palestinian waters, the spokesman said. The "suicide fishing boat" then exploded, injuring the three Israeli servicemen and damaging their boat.”

[Emphasis mine; inverted commas - theirs]

posted by Imshin 06:36

La Cosa Nostra di Ramallah just has to keep the people entertained. Blogging is going to the dogs.
posted by Imshin 06:32

Shabbat Shalom.
posted by Imshin 16:27

Lt. Dan Cohen was killed in Hebron a week ago tonight. His parents found this farewell letter:

”Does one human being have a purpose?

The world exists for something that has yet to come, that is yet to happen, and every one of us is an essential part of the development of the world and of humanity with a view to that exalted something.

Therefore, what is required of everyone, and in actual fact the purpose of life, is to be a part of the puzzle in the best way he can. This means that someone who walks the path of the religious Jew must carry out the Jewish religion in the most effective way so as to make the generations that follow better than him, by influencing his descendants and his environment.

I must belong to the part that is meant to influence its environment, and you belong to the part that influenced (as in influence and in abundance [same root in Hebrew – I.J.]) its descendants. I just wanted to tell you that I am quite happy/contented with what I have accomplished in the limited time frame allotted to me, and that I feel that I was a quite good “Shofar” [traditional: a ram’s horn used in Jewish rituals; here used figuratively, meaning mouthpiece – I.J.] for the way you educated me and that I can’t think of a better way to bring up a child than the way you brought me up (well, maybe you spoiled me a bit…).

In my meager experience I have seen that the people who usually break in an irreparable way as a result of bereavement, are the people who have some feelings of guilt. Although you have no reason, I know you well enough (especially Mom), to know that you may regret some things that you did or didn’t do, that you said or didn’t say. I just wanted you to know that you really did do everything right, and besides short breaks, I have been happy/contented for over twenty years, and I just want to say thank you!

Danny”


[This is my (inadequate) translation. In my attempt to keep it as close as possible to the original, I have translated the Arabic word “Mabsoot”, often used in Hebrew slang, as “happy/contented”. This is the closest equivalent I could think of. – I.J.]

posted by Imshin 14:10

Curiosity killed the cat
The Christian Science Monitor reporter writes about The Routine of Terror.

I'm feeling like we’re a freak show. At least they edited the pictures of the bus on Israel TV. There was an awful video of it on CNN, showing something that shouldn’t be shown. I was worried my daughters would see it. (This is not connected to the CSMonitor article, which is OK. I'm reacting to a flashback I had, just now, to that CNN thing).

posted by Imshin 11:18

So archives are not working properly on Mideast: On Target, either. I have therefore taken the liberty of posting the whole of this essay:

Thursday, November 21, 2002

The EEC: Killing Jews Selectively
By Yisrael Ne'eman

Believe it or not in Cairo the European Union is still trying to negotiate an agreement between Arafat’s Fatah/Tanzim and the Hamas where it will be agreed only to kill Jews in Judea, Samaria and Gaza but not inside of Israel’s 1967 lines. The Islamic Jihad is not part of the picture and they hold the right to kill Israeli Jews wherever they may be found. Neither the Fatah/Tanzim who were involved in the Kibbutz Metzer massacre, nor the Hamas who took credit for this morning’s suicide/homicide bus bombing in Jerusalem’s Kiryat Menachem neighborhood (killing 11 and wounding 45) seem to be making progress towards classifying Jews to be massacred.

The problem is understandable since neither group wants to stop killing Jews. Limiting killing Jews to specific areas also cuts down on the possibilities of high casualties. The Europeans want to prove that only certain Jews deserve to die, mainly those in the 'occupied territories'. Does that mean these areas are to be Judenrein? After all there are Arabs living in Israel and even if there will ever be a peace agreement (there almost was one when Barak was prime minister) does that mean no Jews are allowed to live in a peace loving, secular, democratic Palestinian state?

Categorizing Jews into those deserving of death and those who are allowed to live due to geographic domicile sounds contradictory to the usual 'humanistic' line being pushed at us by the self-righteous European Union. To this observer it rings of German policies towards the Jews in the 1930’s when the Nazis wanted to rid the Reich of its Jewish citizens through state sanctioned terror, only here the terror is Palestinian and it will now get the sanction of the EEC.

But looking ahead how do the European intermediaries expect to handle such international terror attacks (when the Jews are preferred targets) such as the bombing of the Jewish community building in Buenos Aires in the 1990’s? Surely Diaspora Jews should not be killed. But what happens if a Diaspora Jew gives money for Jewish development beyond the 1967 borders? Is he not an accomplice to other Jews living in this wrong geographic area and thereby a legitimate target?

And what if a non-Israeli Jew (or even an Israeli for that matter) just wants to visit a Jewish holy site like the Cave of the Machpela in Hebron or even the Western Wall and Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem (many have forgotten this area was captured by Jordan in 1948, emptied of its Jewish residents until recaptured by Israel in 1967). One could probably make the case for his being allowed to live if he is only visiting, but the exact amount of hours need to be negotiated, otherwise he may be considered a temporary resident and draw the death penalty. This could be avoided however if he were to make a generous donation to Yasir.

The Europeans may consider the areas of residence of certain Israeli Jews to be illegal, but that does not take away the legitimacy of these people to live. The Europeans are no longer compromising with terror, they are encouraging it.

But don't worry, the Hamas and Fatah/Tanzim are not going to come to any implemented agreement not to kill Jews based on Jewish geographical residence, so in the end our valiant European peace-makers will fail.

posted by Imshin 11:02

She says she's through blogging...
...but she gives her blog a new look. I wonder.
posted by Imshin 10:39

Original Mahler manuscript discovered in Jerusalem
Conducter, lecturer and very new immigrant, Charles Bornstein, discovered, by chance, a manuscript of Mahler's First Symphony with previously unknown corrections by the composer, in the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem.

posted by Imshin 08:59

Pathetic.
A man who knows Tawfiq Fuqara was driving his car this week when he heard about Fuqara's alleged hijack attempt on the news. "As soon as I heard it, I burst out laughing," says the man, who wished to remain anonymous. "I pictured him trying to hijack an airplane and I couldn't stop laughing. I had to pull over to the side of the road and stop for five minutes until I calmed down."

Such a strange story this attempted hijacking.

posted by Imshin 08:40

”The French insurance firm, AXA, has agreed to look into insurance policies taken out by Jews living in Arab countries before the establishment of Israel. It has promised to pay policy holders or their heirs if the policies were not cashed in”. Haaretz.
posted by Imshin 08:25

We’re back in Bethlehem. This is where yesterday’s suicidal mass murderer came from. This time the army blocked off the entrance to the Church of the Nativity straight away to prevent terrorists from hiding there.
posted by Imshin 08:19

This is much too good to leave on the comments.
"An international force is a terrible idea", By Ze'ev Schiff Ha'aretz 14 November 2000.
Thank you Haggai for this, and also for linking to the obituary for Abba Eban, by his cousin Oliver Sacks, which I missed in Haaretz.

posted by Imshin 06:57

N.Z. Bear on opposition to divestment from Israel in Yale and other Campuses.
posted by Imshin 20:52

Mitzna is wasting his breath
(Israeli) Left or Right - it's all the same to the Palestinians.

posted by Imshin 20:50

Early morning. A bus in a residential area in South Jerusalem: 11 murdered; 50 injured. 8 critically wounded. Many schoolchildren on the bus.

Parents hurrying passed with their small children on the way to school and kindergarten, trying to cover their children's eyes, so they won't see the bodies. One mother trying to explain to her small child what has happened and he can't understand and keeps asking "Why? Why?"
(Eyewitness account, Reshet Bet radio station)

The first name released: A thirteen-year-old girl, Hodaya Asaraf. Her first name means "thanksgiving". She is not the only youngster murdered. There is also Michael Sharshevsky, 16, who was killed with his mother; Ilan Perlman, 8, who was killed with his grandmother, and Yafit Revivo, 13. And another five adults. And then there’s the wounded.

posted by Imshin 20:04

The Shiva, the seven days of mourning will soon be over. The twelve families mourning their loved ones, killed in Hebron on Friday, will get up and go back to their fresh graves. What difference does it make to them if it was a terrorist attack or a “legitimate” military ambush? Their loved ones are gone forever. I am with them in their sorrow.
posted by Imshin 23:46

This is precious: Arafat is extending his hands to Amram Mitzna, sparkling new chairman of the Labor party, so that together they can create the Peace of the Brave (kissy kissy) and sail hand in hand into the sunset (more kissy kissy) [OK, I made the last bit up]. Now I feel much more convinced to vote for Mitzna. [This was a humble attempt at sarcasm]

Arafat can’t loose with Amram “OsloSpeak” Mitzna because he “has said (that) even if Arafat fails as a peace partner, he would unilaterally withdraw from much of the territories”. Thus our new master negotiator. I’d say Arafat’s rubbing his hands together with glee at the chance of engaging this easy touch for a game of “Till Death Us Do Part” poker (emphasis on the Death).

[Message for Andrew: I don't mean ANYTHING by this. I have no POINT to make. I'm just being a small-minded, catty Israeli, expressing my displeasure at "OsloSpeak" Mitzna's intention to negotiate (unskillfully) with a terrorist and a liar, if elected. Hopefully, I'm not the only Israeli with these sentiments, so maybe we'll be spared his bright ideas reaching fruition.]

And now for a joke (warning: could cause tears, but not from mirth):
What sort of Israelis does the BBC see fit to interview?
Those who despise Israel and other Israelis the most, of course.

posted by Imshin 17:36

This UK Guardian writer is a bit panicky about the danger of nasty chemical and biological warfare. I love this. Even the most hysterical Israelis seem to be a lot more sensible than these British alarmists, and we've got much more chance of it actually happening here in the foreseeable future.

I suppose silly journalists will be silly journalists will be silly journalists.
posted by Imshin 17:35

Follow up on Shas
If you thought I was writing off Shas, religious Sephardi party yesterday, forget it. Shas is very durable. And they haven’t started giving out good luck charms yet (Don’t even ask). So far only one Arye Deri supporter has dared leave Shas and move to Rabbi Kadouri's party.

Presenter Dalia Yairi, political expert Hanan Crystal and a religious political expert whose name I didn't catch, discussed this on Reshet Bet radio station this morning and speculated if it would all end in a summit meeting between the Rabbis, the new party evaporating. At the end of the day, with all Arye Deri's political power and popularity, Rabbi Ovadia is boss. It would be interesting to see how much votes the charismatic Arye Deri is really worth, though. And the Kadouri family, for that matter.

Dalia Yairi floated an interesting hypothesis - that the whole business is nothing more than a publicity stunt to revive interest in Shas, in view of the poor results the party is getting in the polls. Crystal and the other guy didn't back her up, but even if it's not intentional, this new party is focusing a lot of attention on Shas, isn't it?

Shahar Ilan, Haaretz expert for religious matters, pointed out later, also on Reshet Bet, that the Kadouri family has no political power and that they're probably in it for the payoff they'll get from Rabbi Ovadia in return for getting out of the race.

A word of explanation, in case you've been finding all this bewildering: Shas is not a very modern or democratic party (understatement time). I have never considered voting for this party (duh!), but someone, who will remain nameless, says he regularly tells pollsters he intends to vote for Shas, just to throw them off the track. He seems to regard this as some sort of patriotic duty.

posted by Imshin 17:24

Hey, who said there aren’t enough Hannuka songs?
Not long, yet. They’re already selling sufganiot (Hannuka doughnuts) in the supermarket.

posted by Imshin 17:23

More information about the archeological find in Ein Gedi.
I must say it's rather tiresome to have every little (attempting to be) humorous remark of mine analyzed to death in the "comments". There are no grand messages in things I write. As I have said before, I'm not trying to make any points in this blog, I am reacting. A thought pops into my head and I jot it down.

The story about the archeological find is much more interesting. Haaretz has more details.
posted by Imshin 06:35

Which era in time are you?

posted by Imshin 22:46

So it looks like Mitzna is heading Labor
Today has been a fun day in politics. Labor party members have been choosing the head of the party. They had Fouad Ben Eliezer, Haim Ramon or Amram Mitzna to choose from. According to exit polls Mitzna got 57%. The media is giving it a lot of attention. No on else could really care. Most people I know who voted for Labor in the past have no intention of voting for them this time. They’ll probably be taking a few voters from Meretz, seeing as the two parties will be indistinguishable, as far as their platforms are concerned, with Mitzna heading Labor.

Another interesting development is the establishment of a new Sephardi (Eastern Jews) religious party, supported by Rabbi Kadouri, and, which could take votes away from Shas, the veteran Sephardi religious party, if it takes off. The new party, Ahavat Yisrael, claims to be affiliated with the ever-popular ex-con Aryeh Deri, who says he’s steering clear of these elections, because he’s got another court case soon. It looks like a few of Deri’s political cronies in Shas are moving to the new party because his successor as head of Shas, Eli Yishai, is pushing them out, with the support of Rabbi Ovadia Yossef. The elections could turn out to be a showdown between Rabbi Ovadia, Shas’ spiritual leader, widely accepted as the spiritual leader of all the religious Sephardi Jews and Rabbi Kadouri, who is a popular Kabbalist. Many people believe Rabbi Kadouri is not really aware of what goes on around him, because of his advanced age. His grandson handles his lucrative business of selling blessings to the gullible. There’s no love lost between the two Rabbis, but Rabbi Ovadia tolerated Rabbi Kadouri’s backing of Shas in the past because of his immense popularity with the Shas voters.

There is a lot of disillusionment with Shas anyway, because their ministers are seen to be squandering money and are thought to be insensitive to their voters, many of whom are very poor. There’s a story circulating that Rabbi Ovadia has a jaguar (car not animal). The change in the voting system this time is bound to lose them a lot of votes, as well.

posted by Imshin 21:07

It seems it’s not just me that thinks peace is more than some scribbled names on a piece of paper. Barbara Amiel seems to favor Bibi Netanyahu. Well, that’s her business. She may have more influential connections than me in Israel. But I've got the vote.
posted by Imshin 17:59

What? The Jews were here two thousand years ago??!
Erm, what were the Palestinians doing back in the period of the Roman conquest and the Jewish rebellion?

posted by Imshin 17:30

Cut the OsloSpeak, why don’t you?
OsloSpeak is all about emphasizing the details and avoiding the substance. OsloSpeak is all about ignoring unpleasant truths that we’d rather not notice, in the hope they’ll go away. OsloSpeak is oh so civilized, so European, so Anglo-Saxon. Let us all just sit down together for some nice tea and biscuits and we’ll all feel much better.

Thanks to OsloSpeak, for the last decade we’ve busied ourselves with the details and hoped the substance would disappear. Well, surprise, surprise, it’s back again, and what do you know? The Arabs still don’t want us here; they still don’t accept our deep roots in this country; they still don’t respect our religious beliefs. They still refuse to compromise.

How can that be? OsloSpeak is such a successful, logical language, thought up by the best minds with the best of intentions. The Palestinians were all meant to be having a lovely time by now, all affluent and educated. The Palestinians were all meant to be benefiting and not just a tiny layer of “Tunisian” newcomers and a few American immigrants of Palestinian descent. The Palestinian leaders weren’t meant to be pocketing the money while feeding the people on hate. The Palestinian Authority was meant to be fighting the radical Moslem organizations and preventing terrorism against Israelis. How could it possibly not be working? It doesn’t add up.

It must be the Israelis fault.

Bzzzzzz. Wrong answer! Anyone else like to try?

How about: OsloSpeak is the wrong language.

I used to be quite fluent in OsloSpeak. Ah, those were the good old days. Some day, years from now, we old-timers will sit around the campfire on Lag Ba’Omer, after the kids have gone off to play Truth or Dare, and remember OsloSpeak.

But right now we need a new language, one that the oh-so-civilized West may not be able to decipher, even with it’s acclaimed LINGUISTS. We need a language that will be quite clear to the people in question (and not the Scandinavians).

Just do me a favor, while we’re trying to formulate the grammatical rules of the new language, DON’T TRY RESURRECTING OSLOSPEAK. It’s better for everyone, if it just stays buried.

posted by Imshin 17:12

My blog the Golem
I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed by all these lively discussions on my comments. I realize that I have a certain responsibility for the content of the comments because it’s my blog. So behave yourselves, you lot! Oh, and please don't use my comments for dealing in illegal substances or inciting to violence (not that this has happened yet, as far as I've noticed, you've all been very good). Or else ;-)

I find the discussions interesting and often eye-opening. Many propose points of view I hadn’t though of and remind me of pieces of information I had forgotten (or didn’t know).

But sometimes I feel rather detached from them. It’s like: you kids feel free to chat among yourselves while I sit here quietly and stare out into oblivion. This will sometimes happen to me when I’m sitting with a group of “real-life” friends. I lose track in the middle of a discussion and then I tend to either daydream; go check up on the bookshelves (if I’m in someone else’s home); wander into the kitchen and end up helping the host/ess with the tasties; strike up a rival conversation or watch the smaller kids playing (usually most rewarding). Bish (who is much nicer than me) wonders why we’re never invited again.

Then again, my latest post about Hebron was a direct result of a thread of comments on the subject, so my hazy detachment obviously has its limits.

posted by Imshin 22:59

I would like to say something in memory of Abba Eban, who passed away today at 87, but I really am too tired. Haggai has said a few words about him.
posted by Imshin 21:40

OK, I'm angry and I'm tired and I’ve got a headache. The little angel on my left shoulder says: "Imshin, go to bed. Leave it for tomorrow". The little devil on my right shoulder says:

"With whom exactly are we to make peace?"
Iran supports Islamic Jihad and Hamas by pouring in millions of dollars to fund their activities.

While Friday night's Hebron attack, funded and aided by Iran, was taking place, representatives of Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, were giving out $10,000 each to four families of men killed by the IDF in a special ceremony in another part of the city. According to the IDF, these men were on their way to perpetrate a terrorist attack. The Palestinians claim they were innocent laborers.

Following Friday night's attack, celebrations took place in the Gaza strip. Palestinians took to the streets to express their delight at the great success.

So you want us to evacuate Hebron Jewish quarter do you? You think this is the right time? You think it'll give the Palestinians the right message? You think this will prove to them and to the world that this war is not about the territories, not about colonialism? I don’t think you’ve thought it out right to the end. Think about the victory celebrations; think about the feelings of pride in the hearts of Palestinians at the great military victory; think about the surge of motivation for more carnage and more attacks in the hope of more such successes.

The problem with the Palestinians is not that they are hopeless and depressed. The problem is that they're not hopeless and depressed enough to stop the carnage and make peace. They still believe they're on the right track. And as long as they continue to feel this way, they will see no reason to stop the attacks or prevent them. If they see tangible results, they really will have no reason to stop the attacks or prevent them.

You know I believe in evacuating the permanent Jewish presence in Hebron, and all the other settlements that are not part of, or adjacent to, large population centers (in return for unpopulated areas), but not until the time is right.

The time will not be right until the Palestinians have fully understood a few things. One of them is why we are here. I believe in evacuating Hebron, I believe in painful compromise in Jerusalem, but the Palestinians must accept and respect our deep connection to Jerusalem and Hebron and other places of religious meaning to the Jews. Many Jews already accept and respect the deep connection of Moslems to these places. Those Jews who don’t must also learn to respect and accept the beliefs of their neighbors. But Peace cannot mean we Jews give up all our beliefs and bow down to those of the Moslems. Peace means mutual respect and understanding.

For peace to be possible, Palestinians must make an effort to understand, accept and respect that Jews have a history in this land too, and that large parts of it are held dear by Jews as places of pilgrimage and worship, and that even if they are evacuated by Israel, Jews must be allowed free access and worship rights in them. Only when they accept that we are not a foreign entity in this area, but as much a part of it as them, will peace, real peace, be possible.

We'll probably come to some sort of agreement with them before that happens (or hell freezes over, which may happen first). Until such an agreement is signed and implemented – heavily reinforce the police presence in Hebron. Make sure the settlers there behave themselves or throw the book at them. Enough pussyfooting around them. Enough double standards. Arrest without bail for settlers involved in shootings, beatings, not to speak of killings. Serious prison sentences for the offenders. Expel families of those who mistreat their Arab neighbors. No more sending children out to create havoc. If a ten year-old settler (not liable to criminal law in Israel) kicks over the stall of an Arab, destroying his merchandise, hold his parents responsible and expel the whole family from Hebron, immediately. I think the settlers there will soon learn to live in peace with their neighbors, if not because they are capable of respecting fellow human beings, then because they are forced to.

But no evacuation under fire. No wholesale pictures of Jews being yanked out of their homes, as Diane puts it, while Arab neighbors cheer and jeer, if we’re lucky, and shoot, if we’re not. Evacuation of settlements – yes. As part of a real, meaningful peace agreement, one that respects both sides’ religious beliefs, among other things.

Bish believes the Palestinians are at the end of their tether; that they are close to breaking point; that what we are doing to them may be cruel, but it is effective and it is working. I hope he’s right. Oh, I do so hope he’s right.

posted by Imshin 19:44

home