Ludicrous, laughable and stupid!
The Hamas Minister of the Interior, Fatih Hammad, in an interview with Al Hayat newspaper, admitted today (Nov 1) that between 600-700 fighters, half of whom were Hamas members, were killed by the IDF in Operation Cast Lead in December 2008. This corresponds very closely with the IDF estimate at the time of ca. 750 fighters killed, while Hamas originally admitted only 50 killed. Since the overall number of dead was estimated at 1200, a figure more or less agreed by most commentators, this means that instead of the number of over 1000 civilians killed, actually only ca. 500 civilians were killed, but in fact the number was probably much less because many fighters dress in civilian clothes and the IDF estimated that the number of civilians actually killed was 250-300.
Compare this to the estimate of ca. 150,000 dead in Iraq and another ca. 15,000 listed as dead in Afghanistan in the 400,000 secret documents issued last week by Wiki-leaks. Most of these dead resulted from US military action, and most of them were civilians. Now compare the amount of negative publicity against Israel for the ca. 300 civilians killed in Gaza, the discrepancy is enormous. Israel received incredible amounts of negative publicity, millions of column inches for the 300 or so Palestinian civilians killed, including a full enquiry sponsored by the UN Human Rights Commission, resulting in the Goldstone Report, that cost millions of dollars to produce, while there was virtually no interest in the dead Iraqis and Afghanis. Why not? They were Muslims too. There can only be two reasons, first the Palestinians get more attention from all media and all international agencies, since they are the cause celebre of the left, irrespective of the facts. Second, anything that Israel does, including defending itself from rocket attacks by terrorists, is considered "disproportionate." It's ludicrous, laughable and stupid.
Every time the media is wrong by accepting Palestinian numbers and discounting the Israeli/IDF numbers. This goes all the way back to the Lebanon War in 1982, when the PLO said that 50,000 had been killed and 500,000 displaced, when there were only ca. 350,000 living in the whole of South Lebanon and the number actually killed was about 150. Then there was the "massacre" in Jenin in 2002, when it was claimed that 500 were killed by the IDF when only 54 fighters were actually killed. Also the killing of Mohammed al Dura in Gaza in 2000, that is enshrined in the Arab mind as an example of Israeli cruelty, but was actually faked. And so it goes. When is the media going to learn the lesson of history, that it is the Palestinian figures that should be discounted, they are merely propaganda, while IDF figures can be trusted! And for those left wing and liberal Jews who always jump on the anti-Israel band-wagon out of some misplaced sense of guilt, give me a break!
In other examples of recent anti-Israel propaganda, a Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome to consider the Middle East, came up with a typical conclusion, that the Jewish belief in the "Promised Land" could not be used to justify establishing the Jewish State. Sorry guys, you are 62 years too late, Israel was established and so this puerile attempt at de-legitimizing Israel is just a bit too late. Also, a UNESCO Committee voted to recognize two Jewish Holy sites as Mosques. The Tomb of Rachel near Bethlehem has never been a Mosque and is undoubtedly a Jewish heritage site. Also, the Caves of Machpelah in Hebron was a Jewish shrine long before Islam existed. The Committee vote was dominated by Muslim countries, only the US voted against. This is a further attempt to deny the historical relationship of the Jews in the Land of Israel.
One victory for Israel's cause came about in a most unexpected place, the Cambridge Union Debating Society. They debated the proposition that "Israel is a rogue State," and despite a very hostile audience, at the end of the day the vote was 74% against. This shows that even in the most surprising of places, support for Israel persists.
Compare this to the estimate of ca. 150,000 dead in Iraq and another ca. 15,000 listed as dead in Afghanistan in the 400,000 secret documents issued last week by Wiki-leaks. Most of these dead resulted from US military action, and most of them were civilians. Now compare the amount of negative publicity against Israel for the ca. 300 civilians killed in Gaza, the discrepancy is enormous. Israel received incredible amounts of negative publicity, millions of column inches for the 300 or so Palestinian civilians killed, including a full enquiry sponsored by the UN Human Rights Commission, resulting in the Goldstone Report, that cost millions of dollars to produce, while there was virtually no interest in the dead Iraqis and Afghanis. Why not? They were Muslims too. There can only be two reasons, first the Palestinians get more attention from all media and all international agencies, since they are the cause celebre of the left, irrespective of the facts. Second, anything that Israel does, including defending itself from rocket attacks by terrorists, is considered "disproportionate." It's ludicrous, laughable and stupid.
Every time the media is wrong by accepting Palestinian numbers and discounting the Israeli/IDF numbers. This goes all the way back to the Lebanon War in 1982, when the PLO said that 50,000 had been killed and 500,000 displaced, when there were only ca. 350,000 living in the whole of South Lebanon and the number actually killed was about 150. Then there was the "massacre" in Jenin in 2002, when it was claimed that 500 were killed by the IDF when only 54 fighters were actually killed. Also the killing of Mohammed al Dura in Gaza in 2000, that is enshrined in the Arab mind as an example of Israeli cruelty, but was actually faked. And so it goes. When is the media going to learn the lesson of history, that it is the Palestinian figures that should be discounted, they are merely propaganda, while IDF figures can be trusted! And for those left wing and liberal Jews who always jump on the anti-Israel band-wagon out of some misplaced sense of guilt, give me a break!
In other examples of recent anti-Israel propaganda, a Synod of Bishops meeting in Rome to consider the Middle East, came up with a typical conclusion, that the Jewish belief in the "Promised Land" could not be used to justify establishing the Jewish State. Sorry guys, you are 62 years too late, Israel was established and so this puerile attempt at de-legitimizing Israel is just a bit too late. Also, a UNESCO Committee voted to recognize two Jewish Holy sites as Mosques. The Tomb of Rachel near Bethlehem has never been a Mosque and is undoubtedly a Jewish heritage site. Also, the Caves of Machpelah in Hebron was a Jewish shrine long before Islam existed. The Committee vote was dominated by Muslim countries, only the US voted against. This is a further attempt to deny the historical relationship of the Jews in the Land of Israel.
One victory for Israel's cause came about in a most unexpected place, the Cambridge Union Debating Society. They debated the proposition that "Israel is a rogue State," and despite a very hostile audience, at the end of the day the vote was 74% against. This shows that even in the most surprising of places, support for Israel persists.
posted by Jack Cohen at 8:02 AM
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