Myths and Facts

Israel’s Major Wars

September 5, 2019 | Eli. E Hertz

International law makes a clear distinction between defensive wars and wars of aggression. All of Israel’s wars with its Arab neighbors were in self-defence.

About six months before the War of Independence in 1948, Palestinian Arabs launched a series of riots, pillaging, and bloodletting, then came the invasion of seven Arab armies from neighboring states attempting to prevent the establishment of a Jewish state in accordance with the UN’s 1947 recommendation to Partition Palestine, a plan the Arabs rejected.

The Jewish state not only survived, it came into possession of territories – land from which its adversaries launched their first attempt to destroy the newly created State of Israel.

In the first critical weeks after the British left the region and Israel declared its independence, the combined Arab armies of Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Trans-Jordan, Iraq, and contingents from Saudi Arabia and Yemen,2 aimed at a small Jewish militia with three tanks and five artillery pieces. Israel had no air force, and until arms were rushed in from abroad and a regular army could be organized, it relied on the only strength it had: 70 years of social solidarity inspired by the Zionist endeavor.
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T. Belman.  What follows is a review of this book by Tabitha Korol

Please note:  this review was refused by Amazon!

By Joan Swirsky, RenewAmerica

Since 9/11, writes Tabitha Korol in her riveting book, “Confronting The Deception: Inflamed by 9/11, fired up by eight bad years,” the United States, Israel, and cultures that still value our freedoms have been fighting a battle of survival on several fronts.

The primary battle, Korol explains, is with the ideology born out of the Islamic attempt to claim Ground Zero as its Caliphate – and from there, literally to conquer the United States of America.

The religious-political-supremacist system of Islam was invented in the seventh century and has since led a relentless drive to take over the world, establish a caliphate ruled by Shariah Law – the law that mandates cutting off the clitorises of five-year-old girls, throwing homosexuals off roofs to their deaths, engaging in “honor killings” of teenage girls whose behavior they disapprove of, and killing all Jews. That sharia law.
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By Dr. James M. Dorsey

BESA Center Perspectives Paper No. 1,279, September 5, 2019

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: A controversial former security official and Abu Dhabi-based political operator, Muhammad Dahlan, has lurked for several years in the shadows of Palestinian politics. It is possible that he will emerge in an attempt to pave the way for US president Donald Trump’s much maligned “Deal of the Century” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

President Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestine Authority, and Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, have condemned President Donald Trump’s proposed, yet-to-be-published “Deal of the Century.” They boycotted a conference in Bahrain in June organized by Jared Kushner, Trump’s negotiator and son-in-law, that focused on economic aspects of the proposal.

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The message conveyed on Tuesday revealing Hezbollah’s precision missile factory in Lebanon and the military base being built by Iran in eastern Syria cannot be mistaken: Israel is warning its enemies to cease and desist or face the consequences – even if it means going to war.

by  Yoav Limor ISRAEL HAYOM

IDF artillery cannons near the Lebanese border this week | Photo: Eyal Margolin/JINI

The message conveyed on Tuesday – revealing Hezbollah’s precision missile factory in Lebanon and the military base being built by Iran in eastern Syria – cannot be mistaken: If the activity there doesn’t cease, Israel will have to make it cease.

Both revelations were publicized simultaneously but through different channels. Israel directly released the information regarding the former, via the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. The latter was exposed by Fox News, whose report was based on “Western intelligence sources.”
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The ADL just published the Report titled “Two Years Ago, They Marched in Charlottesville. Where Are They Now? It is very disturbing. As far as I can tell, in order to produce such a damning report they conflated Nationalism with “White Supremacy”. Thus all nationalists are white supremacists.

Two Years Ago, They Marched in Charlottesville. Where Are They Now?

• August 8, 2019

In August 2017, hundreds of far-right extremists descended on Charlottesville, Virginia, ostensibly to protest the removal of a Confederate statue from a local park. Dubbed “Unite the Right,” the gathering was the largest and most violent public assembly of white supremacists in decades. It also demonstrated a resurgent and emboldened white supremacist movement.

The violence on the streets of Charlottesville has kindled two major tracks of white supremacist activity. The first is the rampant dissemination of propaganda designed to promote their views and attract attention. The other, more troubling track is a broader series of violent attacks in the two years since Unite the Right.
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By Gil Zohar

Update on Sep. 4: An excerpt of Netanyahu’s remarks during his Hebron visit, given by the prime minister’s media advisor:

“I am proud that one year ago my government approved the plan for the Jewish Quarter, to build dozens of new housing units for the Jews of Hebron. Residents moved into Machpelah House last week. We are also dealing with other important issues that you brought up, regarding accessibility in the Tomb of the Patriarchs and the realization of the historic Jewish property rights. While we are not coming to banish anyone, neither will anyone banish us. To cite the late Menachem Begin and the late Yigal Allon: ‘Hebron will not be devoid of Jews.’ It will not beJudenrein. And I say on the 90th anniversary of the disturbances – we are not foreigners in Hebron, we will stay here forever. We always remember the eternal call of Caleb, son of Jephuneh, who was faithful to Hebron, and we act in accordance with it: ‘Let us go up.’”

MEMRI

Special Dispatch No. 8258 | September 4, 2019

Saudi Journalist: The Hadith Which Instructs Us To Fight Unbelievers Until Islam Is The Religion Of The Entire World Contradicts The Quran And Is Exploited By ISIS, Should Be Removed From The School Curriculum

Saudi Arabia recently published its new school textbooks for the 2019 school year. Following the publication of the books Dr. Suhaila Zain Al-‘Abidin Hamad, a researcher of Islam and the daughter of Sheikh Zain Al-‘Abidin Hamad (d. 1975), a former imam and preacher at the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina, published an article in which she opposed the inclusion in the high school curriculum of a hadith (tradition attributed to the Prophet) which calls for fighting the non-Muslims until they convert to Islam. Writing in the Al-Madina daily, she argued that the hadith is not authentic because it contradicts the Quran, and said that it has been included in the curriculum only because it is quoted in the two most important Sunni collections of hadiths, Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, which grants it credibility in the eyes of many.
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I can’t recommend this enough even though it is 76 minutes long. Extremely entertaining and informative. The intellectual audience of all ages worshiped at the feet of these two 28 year olds who never graduated University. Truly amazing.

Dec 28/18

Lengthy New York Times piece shows the extent to which Obama administration pressured Israeli leader not to attack Iran. US also tested 30,000-pound bomb, report says. “If I’d had a majority, I would have done it, unequivocally, ” Netanyahu tells Times.

by Ariel Kahana, ISRAEL HAYOM

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his tour of an F-35 squadron | Photo: GPO/Ariel Hermoni

The US monitored Israeli activity to make sure Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not carry out an uncoordinated strike against Iran’s nuclear program, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.

According to the report, the US believed that Israel was on the verge of attacking the Islamic republic in 2012, and at one point discovered that Israel was allegedly carrying out extensive intelligence operations without its knowledge through Azerbaijan.

The Times said that the information was gathered through “interviews with dozens of current and former American, Israeli and European officials over several months reveal the startling details of how close the Israeli military came to attacking Iran in 2012.”
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US sanctions on Iran have resulted in big budget cuts for Hezbollah. This and Israeli operations have compromised its preparedness for battle. But the battle is coming: It’s not a matter of if but when.

by  Rachel Avraham, ISRAEL HAYOM

Recent days have been extremely tense in northern Israel after Hezbollah fired a missile at an IDF vehicle. Although no one was wounded in that missile attack, pundits are wondering whether a Third Lebanon War is on the horizon.

Hezbollah has since asked Israel to bring the conflict to a halt and the firing has ceased. But IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi reiterated that the UN Interim Force in Lebanon needs to stop Hezbollah’s missile program or Israel will. According to a recent report in The Jerusalem Post, Hezbollah is currently setting up a precision missile site in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.

According to Mendi Safadi, head of the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy, Research, Public Relations and Human Rights: “Israel is prepared and ready for any scenario, both from Lebanon and the Syrian border; every small shell will be answered by heavy artillery that will paralyze the source of the shooting.” Nevertheless, he notes, “Hezbollah does not have the physical ability to launch a continuous war with Israel.”
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Prime minister tells Likud backers long-awaited US proposal to resume Israeli-Palestinian negotiations to roll out right after September 17 vote

By TOI STAFF

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday that US President Donald Trump’s peace plan will be released “immediately” after Israel’s elections later this month.

Netanyahu made the remark at a Likud campaign event in the northern city of Kiryat Ata, while assailing his political rivals for their positions on Iran and an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

“Who do you want to be dealing with talks over the Deal of the Century of President [Donald] Trump, which will be coming in just a bit, immediately after the elections?” he asked supporters.
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Last of a 3 part series (links to other parts below): A terror organization lies behind the Arab Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC) which is building illegally in Area C.

By Edwin Black, INN

For parts I and II, click here.

Hundreds of millions of euros flow annually from European nations to fund illegal Palestinian settlements in Area C. Under the Oslo Accords, only Israel can issue construction permits. The current rapid expansion plan dispenses with any coordination with Israel.

According to Israeli activist watchdog groups, such as Regavim, during the last five years, illegal Palestinian settlements and infrastructure have sprawled across more than 9,000 dunams (9 square km) in more than 250 Area C locations, supported by more than 600 kilometers of illegally constructed access roads and more than 112,000 meters of retaining walls and terracing. This massive works project is being conducted in broad daylight.
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Netanyahu is pushing on all fronts to make his Likud party the largest on the September 17 vote. But the main threat comes from a former ally, not Benny Gantz

By Anshel Pfeffer, HAARETZ

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking in the West Bank settlement of Elkarna, September 1, 2019.Tomer Appelbaum

Three months of election campaigning have passed and, like soldiers stuck in the mud of the trenches in the Great War, the front lines have barely moved. The polls are static and no major issue seems to be motivating voters. It’s a phony election, devoid of nearly all passion.

As Israelis emerge from their summer stupor and enter the last two weeks before Election Day, it remains to be seen whether something or someone can invigorate the battle for the 22nd Knesset.

In the polls so far, very little has moved since the April 9 election. The bloc of right-wing and religious parties won 65 seats then and are now polling on an average of 64. Like before, the two major parties — Likud and Kahol Lavan — are neck-and-neck with perhaps the slightest of advantages to Likud.
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By David French, NATIONAL REVIEW

When political realities and national-security imperatives are at odds, political realities often win.

It appears the Trump administration is on the verge of an “agreement” with the Taliban that could represent the beginning of the end of America’s ground-troop presence in Afghanistan. Note well that I did not use the phrase that many in the media are using. I did not say that this agreement would “end America’s longest running war,” because it almost certainly will not. Instead, it will mark an American retreat in a war that will rage on for the foreseeable future, regardless of our wishful thinking.

America’s dilemma is simple: It’s facing a relentless political reality that is increasingly incompatible with its national-security needs. The American people want to end our long-standing wars and bring our troops home. But when and if we do retreat, our enemies rush to fill the vacuum, gaining prestige and restoring their strength.
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