This is a beautifully written speech. In it Yair Lapid identifies two lessons namely the need to fight vigorously to defend ourselves and the need to remain moral. Unfortunately he doesn’t make the point that the first is more important than the latter. Sometimes we don’t have the luxury to be moral. In the name of morality we have no right to sacrifice our own soldiers to save the lives of our enemy. And yes they are the enemy. This is a war between us and them and not between the IDF and Hamas. This is not to say that we should be gratuitously cruel. We shouldn’t but we should do what is necessary to achieve victory with the least casualties on our side and secondarily the least on their side. But war is war and in all wars civilians are killed. So be it. Ted Belman

The following is the text of a speech delivered by Yair Lapid Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at Platform 17, Holocaust Memorial Site, Berlin.

The Holocaust causes us all to ask of ourselves the same question: What would I have done?

What would I have done if I was a Jew in Berlin in 1933, when Hitler rose to power? Would I have run? Would I have sold my house, my business? Removed my children from school in the middle of the year? Or would I have said to myself: it will pass, it is just momentary madness, Hitler says all these things because he is a politician seeking election. Yes, he’s anti-Semitic, but who isn’t? We’ve been through worse than this. It’s better to wait, to keep my head down. It will pass.

What would I do if I was a German in Berlin on the 18th October 1941, when the first train left this platform, heading East and on it 1,013 Jews – children, women, the elderly — all destined for death.
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TOI

Masked Hamas gunmen on Friday afternoon killed seven suspected informants for Israel near a Gaza City mosque as worshipers were ending midday prayers, bringing the total number of alleged collaborators killed in the coastal strip during the day to 18, according to witnesses and Hamas media.

One witness said masked gunmen lined up the seven men in a side street and opened fire on them. He spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing for his own safety.

Other witnesses told AFP that six of the victims were grabbed from among hundreds of worshipers leaving the city’s largest mosque, by men in the uniform of Hamas’s military wing. They were pushed to the ground. One of the masked men shouted: “This is the final moment of the Zionist enemy collaborators,” then the gunmen sprayed them with bullets.
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On Aug. 19, Israel attempted to assassinate the “head of the snake” — Mohammed Deif, commander of Hamas’ military wing. As I’m writing this (on Aug. 21), it remains unclear whether the attempt succeeded. Hamas denies Deif was harmed. But there are growing indications to suggest that Deif was indeed inside the bombed building in Gaza City’s Sheik Radwan neighborhood. If he was inside, there’s no way he could have survived the attack. All that was left of this multistory building is a pile of rubble. Unlike the past, this time Israel had no second thoughts about which armament to use. The building was razed with one-ton bombs to ensure that if Deif was inside, he would stand no chance of survival.

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By Ted Belman

IDF warning: We’re stepping up attacks in Gaza

I’m not impressed. Not only have we not re-entered Gaza, we have refrained from using artillery. As you may know, the US criticized Israel for using artillery rather then expensive smart bombs. Screw them, use artillery.

Under no circumstances should Israel look to either the US or the EU to mediate a ceasefire. Been there, done that. It only makes us beholden to them. And we know they are pressing for the ’67 lines.

It is imperative for Israel to state loudly and clearly, that she will never agree to the ’67 lines even with swaps, nor negotiate so long as the EU and the US back such a solution. It is not necessary that we reject a two state solution but we must reject borders based on ’67 lines.
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Avi Dichter, not known for right-wing views recommends Israel Seize the Moment.,

If Israel wants to deny Hamas its capacity to perpetrate terrorism, it must destroy its military infrastructure. Once that has been taken care of, the task of demilitarizing Gaza would become a whole lot easier.

The legitimacy lent to the Israeli operation in Gaza over the past six weeks has been sky high. We must seize the moment, we do not need more Israeli fatalities as a pretext for a Gaza invasion to root out terrorism. It is time for the Gaza sequel to Operation Defensive Shield.

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead.

David Weinberg, a journalist that I respect, doesn’t blame Netanyahu for the way in which he is fighting the war. He blames the IDF:

Substantial responsibility for the current stalemate rests with the IDF leadership, which has not sufficiently prepared the army for full-scale ground warfare against the enemy. This has greatly limited the military options at Netanyahu’s and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon’s disposal.

Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz and his team have openly and unabashedly chosen in recent years to downsize and de-emphasize the ground forces, investing instead in the air force, cyber capabilities, far-reaching intelligence gathering and special operations capabilities. As a result, Israel doesn’t have enough well-trained and properly equipped troops, or truly well-developed battle plans, for re-conquering the Gaza Strip and crushing Hamas.

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This is all the more remarkable considering the support the Harper government gives Israel and given the fact that there is a vibrant Jewish population in Toronto. Further testimony that we have lost the battle of the narratives. Ted Belman

The Ontario branch of the Canadian Federation of Students unanimously passes a motion to boycott Israel.

 White House website:

Jim Foley’s life stands in stark contrast to his killers. Let’s be clear about ISIL. They have rampaged across cities and villages — killing innocent, unarmed civilians in cowardly acts of violence. They abduct women and children, and subject them to torture and rape and slavery. They have murdered Muslims — both Sunni and Shia — by the thousands. They target Christians and religious minorities, driving them from their homes, murdering them when they can for no other reason than they practice a different religion. They declared their ambition to commit genocide against an ancient people.

So ISIL speaks for no religion. Their victims are overwhelmingly Muslim, and no faith teaches people to massacre innocents. No just God would stand for what they did yesterday, and for what they do every single day. ISIL has no ideology of any value to human beings. Their ideology is bankrupt. They may claim out of expediency that they are at war with the United States or the West, but the fact is they terrorize their neighbors and offer them nothing but an endless slavery to their empty vision, and the collapse of any definition of civilized behavior.

JPOST

WASHINGTON — The Islamic State poses a greater threat to the United States than al Qaeda did leading up to September 11, 2001, top brass at the Pentagon acknowledged on Thursday, discussing the crisis fast unfolding in eastern Syria and northern Iraq.

“This is beyond anything that we’ve seen,” Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said, speaking to journalists with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey. “We must prepare for everything.”

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Ted Belman.This proposed resolution is ridiculous. First of all, Hamas has said it won’t affect them. Secondly the borders are open as Bennett said save for military supplies. This is exactly what the resolution intends. Thirdly, it suggests a joint EU/UN monitoring of the borders. But the EU had this task pursuant to the Rafah Agreement. At the first sign of trouble they abandoned their post. The Agreement provided “The PA will act to prevent the movement of weapons and explosives at the Rafah crossing.” and “The 3rd party (EU) will have the authority to ensure that the PA complies with all applicable rules and regulations concerning the Rafah crossing point and the terms of this agreement. In case of non-compliance the 3rd party has the authority to order the re-examination and reassessment of any passenger, luggage, vehicle or goods. While the request is being processed, the person, luggage, vehicle or cargo in question will not be allowed to leave the premises of the Rafah crossing point.” There is no provision for demilitarization. It intends to replace Hamas with Fatah. Its all about positioning for the peace process. The EU is determined to force us back to the 67 lines.

Diplomats say proposal, likely to be joint UN-EU effort, will include opening of Gaza’s borders, return of PA to Hamas-controlled territory, security assurances for Israel.

YNET

With Egyptian efforts to end the Gaza war collapsing, Britain, France and Germany are discussing a possible Security Council resolution calling for a sustainable ceasefire and an international monitoring mission to ensure its implementation, UN diplomats said Thursday.

One diplomat said both Israeli and Palestinian officials have privately suggested Security Council action would be helpful in persuading their constituents to accept measures to end the conflict, which has killed more than 2,000 Palestinians and 67 people on the Israeli side.
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Those of us who want to avoid a two-state solution have their work cut out for them. We can fantasize all we want, but the international community is united in support of the TSS with ’67 plus swaps as borders. The pressure on Israel to give in will only increase. The country is divided on this issue and we have no allies. The Gaza War was conducted in the shadow of the TSS. While there was some support for demilitarization, there was no support other than in Israel for destroying Hamas. The right in Israel wanted to defeat Hamas as a prelude to annexing more land. The Left in Israel also wanted to destroy Hamas as a stepping stone to a unified PA and a peace agreement. Bibi doesn’t want to destroy them for what ever reason but he too is talking about restarting negotiations. Does he think they will result in Israel getting a better deal or does he intend to capitulate? Ted Belman

Summary: The failure of the current talks with Hamas emphasize the urgent need for Israel to end its ”separation policy” of isolating Gaza from the West Bank.

By Akiva #Eldar, al Monitor

The most recent violation of the cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza casts doubt on the Egyptian effort to bring the sides to some sort of “resolution,” a euphemism for an “agreement.” The failure of the Egyptian initiative thus far stems, to a great extent if not solely, from the refusal of both sides to accept two strategic decisions.

Hamas and the organizations opposed to Fatah have avoided accepting rule by the Palestinian Authority (PA), led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and the reconciliation government over the Gaza Strip. They find it difficult to commit themselves to cooperation with the PA’s security apparatus in the West Bank, adopt the practices of the security apparatus and obey the orders of its commanders. Meanwhile, the Israeli side persists in adhering to the illusion that its unilateral disengagement from Gaza effected a separation of the territory, with its 1.8 million residents, from the Palestinian problem and its solution.
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In his column in the paper Al-Anba, former Kuwaiti information minister Sami Al-Nisf wrote that liberalism and pluralism are the solution to the problems of the Arab countries, rather than nationalism or socialism, which lead to failure. He added that the Arab liberalism that prevailed in the 1920s-1950s yielded achievements for the Arab countries, unlike the revolutionary regimes and the political Islam movements that emerged later.

Sami Al-Nisf

The following are excerpts from his article:[1]

“During the golden age of Arab liberalism, from the 1920s until it fell [victim] to the barbaric coups of the 1950s and subsequently, the [Iraqi cities of] Basra, Baghdad, and Mosul were united and a constitutional monarchy was established in Iraq; the [Lebanese] Rachaya, Hasbaya, and Western Beqaa districts were united, greater Lebanon was established, and its territory was expanded…; Sunnis, Druze, and Alawis rejected the autonomy that had been given to them [by the French colonial power as part of a divide-and-rule policy]and modern Syria was established; the liberal regime in Egypt preserved the unity of the Nile valley, that is, [between] Egypt and the Sudan; and, likewise, King Idris Al-Senussi [Idris I of Libya] united the provinces of Barka [Cyrenaica], Fezzan, and Tripolitania (which for a while was a separate republic) into a single federal kingdom, which he later transformed into a united kingdom.
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INSS Insight No. 596, August 21, 2014

As war goes on, politics as usual

By Dan Margalit, ISRAEL HAYOM

I am very upset. Netanyahu keeps talking about protecting our citizens rather than destroying Hamas.  What better protection is there than that? His goal is still restoring calm. Ted Belman<

Gilad Morag, YNET

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the press Wednesday evening and said the operation in Gaza would not end until calm is returned to Israel. He refused to respond torumors regarding the fate of Hamas’ military leader Mohammed Deif, only saying that “Hamas leaders are legitimate targets.”

Netanyahu began his speech by praising IDF soldiers and sending his condolences to the bereaved families. He said the operation was not over yet, and would not be until calm is returned to the south.

“Our policy regarding Hamas is simple: If you fire, we will hit back. They think they will exhaust us, but they are wrong,” Netanyahu said.

“The operation did not end. Our struggle against terror groups is a long and goes back many years. In recent weeks we have dealt Hamas a massive blow, the most serious blow since their establishment. We are determined to continue and use any means needed,” he said. Read more…

By CAROLINE B. GLICK, JPOST
20/08/2014

It doesn’t take a PhD to understand what the game is. And Israelis – even many with PhDs – understand what is happening.

For most Israelis, the international discourse on Gaza is unintelligible.

Here we were going along, minding our own business.

Then on a clear night in June, apropos of nothing, Palestinian terrorists stole, murdered and hid the bodies of three of our children as they made their way home from school.
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