Saturday, August 05, 2006

Israel’s Peculiar Position

Eric Hoffer wrote The Jews are a peculiar people: things permitted to other nations are forbidden to the Jews. Other nations drive out thousands, even millions of people and there is no refugee problem. Russia did it, Poland and Czechoslovakia did it, Turkey threw out a million Greeks, and Algeria a million Frenchman. Indonesia threw out heaven knows how many Chinese-and no one says a word about refugees.

That is a very good point
But in the case of Israel the displaced Arabs have become eternal refugees. Everyone insists that Israel must take back every single Arab.
And Israel did not even expell the Arab refugees. In 1948, when seven neighboring Arab armies (Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen) invaded Israel, most of the Arabs living within the boundaries of the newly declared "ISRAEL" were encouraged to leave by the invading Arab armies to facilitate the slaughter of the Jews and were promised to be given all Jewish property after the victorious Arab armies won the war. The truth is that 70% of the Arab Palestinians who left in 1948 – perhaps 300,000 to 400,000 of them – never saw an Israeli soldier!

There is a lot of Arab land in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen, and since they told the Arabs to leave, they should find somewhere in their own countries, for the refugees to live.
Arnold Toynbee calls the displacement of the Arabs an atrocity greater than any committed by the Nazis. Other nations when victorious on the battlefield dictate peace terms. But when Israel is victorious it must sue for peace.

Everyone expects the Jews to be the only real Christians in this world. Other nations when they are defeated survive and recover but should Israel be defeated it would be destroyed. Had Nasser triumphed last June
This was written in 1968, and he is referring to the Six Day War
he would have wiped Israel off the map, and no one would have lifted a finger to save the Jews. No commitment to the Jews by any government, including our own, is worth the paper it is written on.

There is a cry of outrage all over the world when people die in Vietnam or when two Negroes are executed in Rhodesia. But when Hitler slaughtered Jews no one remonstrated with him. The Swedes, who are ready to break off diplomatic relations with America because of what we do in Vietnam, did not let out a peep when Hitler was slaughtering Jews. They sent Hitler choice iron ore, and ball bearings, and serviced his troop trains to Norway.
Good point.
The Jews are alone in the world. If Israel survives, it will be solely because of Jewish efforts. And Jewish resources.
I don't think that was true in 1968, and it is certainly not true now. America is Israel's best friend, and they will survive (no "if" about it, and it will be because of our friendship.
Yet at this moment Israel is our only reliable and unconditional ally. We can rely more on Israel than Israel can rely on us. And one has only to imagine what would have happened last summer had the Arabs and their Russian backers won the war to realize how vital the survival of Israel is to America and the West in general.

I have a premonition that will not leave me; as it goes with Israel so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish the holocaust will be upon us.

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Yalla Ya Nasrallah

Hat tip to Powerline for this clip, which the Israelis hack into Lebanese television and play this video, which expresses disdain--to put it mildly--for Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah.

How effective is it, I have no idea, but I agree with John at Powerline, it's highly entertaining, and the tune is catchy.

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Bombs on German Trains: A Middle Eastern Connection?

Spiegel reports A leak from the investigation into a pair of unexploded bombs found on trains in Germany this week has produced a strange detail -- a bag printed in Arabic.

Gee, just because you found a bag printed in Arabic, what made you think their might be a Middle Eastern connection?

Who the heck else do you think would be leaving bags of explosives on trains? Linguistic students?
German officials won't confirm anything, but the case has ignited a national debate about rail security. Two suitcase bombs discovered early this week in western German train stations may be traceable to the Middle East according to Friday reports. Both bombs -- packed in abandoned pieces of luggage and left on separate trains -- were found by officials in lost-and-found centers on Monday and Tuesday. One package allegedly contained a plastic bag printed with Arabic writing. The Süddeutsche Zeitung reported that the bag came from the Lebanese capital of Beirut,
Maybe it came from someone in that Hesbollah "political party" that Europeans are reluctant to call terrorists. Maybe if the next package blows up they will change their reluctance.
but German officials wouldn't confirm the story. "We don't give out details on the results of an ongoing investigation," said Ullrich Schultheis, a spokesman for the German Attorney General's office in Karlsruhe.

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Friday, August 04, 2006

Judges in Egypt: Scrap peace deal with Israel

Ynetnews Judges in Egypt called upon the government to dissolve its peace agreement with Israel, on the grounds that it is inconceivable for Egypt to coexist peaceably with Israel while the IDF operates in Lebanon. The judges expressed support of popular resistance against Israeli
advances, which, in their eyes, is the only way to protect the Arab ummah (greater nation).

In the peace agreement Egypt got back the Sinai; does this means that Israel now owns the Sinai again, including the Suez Canal?
In a statement issued Thursday, Egyptian judges censured "the barbaric Israeli attacks on the Palestinian and Lebanese people." They also warned of American attempts "to rearrange the Middle East, based on the 'Greater Middle East' plan, via Israeli pride and American hegemony, in whose eyes the lives of hundreds of Arab children are not worth the wounds of one Israeli child." The judges expressed their belief that the popular resistance is the only way to protect the Arab nation and their honor,
What honor is there in firing rockets from a civilian area, so that a retalitory strike will kill innocent civilians. Do the Arabs not have enough honor to protect their innocents by not drawing fire to them?
and stated their support from "the bravery of Lebanese resistance fighters and the stance of Lebanese people of all denominations." The statement declared that it is inconceivable that the US will continue to be considered a friend or strategic ally of any nation in the region, after having proven itself to be the primary instigator of attacks on the Arab nation.

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Thursday, August 03, 2006

Theme park calls off "Muslim Fun Day"

Reuters reported Britain's biggest theme park has called off the country's first "National Muslim Fun Day" because of lack of interest, the park said Wednesday. Alton Towers in central England was to open on September 17 for Muslims -- with halal food, a strict dress code and prayer areas.

They told them they would not be allowed to kill Jews, and that is all they thought would be fun.
Music, gambling and alcohol were to be banned for the day and theme park rides such as "Ripsaw," "Corkscrew" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" all segregated by sex.
Where is the fun in that?
But the park said the event's organizers, Islamic Leisure, who rented the park for the day and were marketing the event, had called it off due to "insufficient ticket sales."

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Mentality of the Middle Ages

MEMRI TV reported excerpts from an interview with Arab-American psychiatrist Wafa Sultan. The interview was aired on Al-Jazeera TV on February 21, 2006

Wafa Sultan: The clash we are witnessing around the world is not a clash of religions, or a clash of civilizations. It is a clash between two opposites, between two eras. It is a clash between a mentality that belongs to the Middle Ages and another mentality that belongs to the 21st century. It is a clash between civilization and backwardness, between the civilized and the primitive, between barbarity and rationality. It is a clash between freedom and oppression, between democracy and dictatorship. It is a clash between human rights, on the one hand, and the violation of these rights, on other hand. It is a clash between those who treat women like beasts, and those who treat them like human beings. What we see today is not a clash of civilizations. Civilizations do not clash, but compete.

It is a clash between Civilization and a lack of Civilization.
[...] The Jews have come from the tragedy (of the Holocaust), and forced the world to respect them, with their knowledge, not with their terror, with their work, not their crying and yelling. Humanity owes most of the discoveries and science of the 19th and 20th centuries to Jewish scientists. 15 million people, scattered throughout the world, united and won their rights through work and knowledge. We have not seen a single Jew blow himself up in a German restaurant. We have not seen a single Jew destroy a church. We have not seen a single Jew protest by killing people. The Muslims have turned three Buddha statues into rubble. We have not seen a single Buddhist burn down a Mosque, kill a Muslim, or burn down an embassy. Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people, and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them.
You must show respect, before you demand respect.
Hat tip to Indian Chris at Hooah Wife.

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Gringos with Katyushas

Wizbang I have a simple question for those who say that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization, or strictly a terrorist organization, or are a legitimate resistance group:

Under that precedent, wouldn't it be fair to equip the Minutemen Project with rockets and missiles to help them secure the United States' southern border?

I'd be willing to bet that after a bunch of people and buildings in Tijuana, Juarez, Nogales, Matamoros, and other border cities are blown to bits, Mexico will pay a bit more attention to our border concerns...


ROF, LMAO

(Rolling on the floor, laughing my a$$ off)

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Wednesday, August 02, 2006

Right to exist

BK at My Rubix Cube posted about a guest editorial in the Tucson Citizen entitled Israel has no moral right to exist.

BK said The writer makes a few ignorant statements about Arabs, but I overlooked that for now. It is refreshing to see someone openly criticize Israel and its existence, and moreso to see their submission make print.

Please read it and comment.


I commented...

I heard Tammy Bruce say in that shrill voice of hers that the feud between the Jews and the Arabs has been going on for thousands of years. That's not true. In fact, it's just the opposite.

No it has been going on since the time of Abraham, when God told Abraham to make Isaac his heir, and when God promised that He would bless Ishmael and his decendents.

No people have been more tolerant of other religions than the Muslims. They never tried to kill or expel Jewish people in the lands they conquered.

They just made them Dhimmi, and required them to pay a special tax (jizya)

Unlike Christians, they did not force them to convert to their own religion.

I am not aware of Christians ever forcing one to convert to Christianity. Encourage, yes; force no. But when Muslims conquer a country the residents have three alternatives: convert to Islam, become second class citizens (dhimmi) and pay a special tax (jizya), or die.

Spain, when controlled by the Muslims, was the most tolerant place in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Tolerance and the Middle Ages are phrases I have never seen in the same sentence, regardless of the country or religion.

The Arabs didn't get mad until they decided to take their country away from them. It happened in 1949.

Actually the Balfour Declaration happened after WWI (November 2, 1917) and it was under the League of Nations.

Western powers, particularly the United States and Great Britain, decided the Jews who had escaped Europe and Russia and sought refuge in Palestine should have their own country there. In a place where Arabs had lived for centuries.

As did the Jews

The Arabs didn't mind the Jews living in their country until they decided to steal it.

Actually the Arabs pushed the Jews out from TransJordan (subsequently became Jordan) and did not pay them for their land, and they moved to the newly formed Israel, where they bought land from Arabs that decided not to stay in a Jewish country.

.... The U.N. picked the land around Jerusalem simply because Jewish ancestors had lived there 2,000 years ago.

It was the "Promised Land" given to them by God. (or G-d, as a Jew would write it)

Under that logic, the Apaches are entitled to Arizona. And the Mexican immigrants we call illegal have the right to take back land stolen from them in the Mexican-American War.

And the Muslims should have to give back all of the land they have taken by conquest. In fact Muhammad should have to give back Mecca to the Quraysh tribe that kicked him out not wanting to embrace this new religion, but that Muhammad's warriors from Medina helped him defeat.

The Iranian president has a point when he says the Jews should be given a country in Europe

When God lead Moses out of Egypt to the "Promised Land", it was not in Europe.

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s. Toufeeq a. Ahmed said...

Don, I am just confused. Which one are your arguments (in italics? or in bold?)..

In Italics are the ones I agree with most...

Bold ones are just plain ignorance...





Don Singleton said...

Italics are the quotes from the article bk brought up

bold face are my responses

Specfically what do you disagree with in my response




s. Toufeeq a. Ahmed said...

Almost all. Except factual accuracy balfour decl.

The article in tuscon citizen is somebody's opinion. And like him you are also entitled to have your own opinion.

I can argue/debate with each of your 'opinions', but does that help in anyway?

There are two types of people.
  1. who wants to leave a better world/earth, then they lived in, for their children
  2. who don't care about anything, not self, not fellow human beings, not their children, not planet earth.
I feel, I belong to category 1 and and like people who belong there. For people who belong to 2, only thing I can do is pray for them.

Peace, Your friendly neighbourhood muslim.




Don Singleton said...

s. Toufeeq a. Ahmed, certainly your second response is far more polite than "Bold ones are just plain ignorance..."

What do you find factually inaccurate about the Balfour Declaration:

(1)did it not happen after WWI?

(2)was it not November 2, 1917?

(3)was the League of Nations, not the United Nations, in existence at that time?

Because those are the three things I asserted about it.

Those are the three factual assertions I made.

As far as I can argue/debate with each of your 'opinions', but does that help in anyway? a polite exchange between people of different faiths, seems far superior to me than killing each other. If you would be interested in such an exchange, but do not want to do it here, where your fellow Muslims would be more likely to watch, I invite you to comment on this post of mine, responding to a post on ProgressiveIslam.Org




bk said...

Don, if you knew even a little bit about T2 (aka Syed Toufeeq) it is that he LOVES to debate, argue, etc and could care less if his fellow Muslims are watching. We have nothing to hide from one another, which is why we blog :)

As for your points, I can refute each one of them with historical facts that were NOT written by the winners. But I wouldn't expect an Anglo-Christian to grant credibility to them- how about you give up your apartment/ house so that a Native American can re-claim the land its on?

Better yet, let's create a brutally powerful army of Native Americans and have them bulldoze your residence, shoot you and then build a settlement in your district?




s. Toufeeq a. Ahmed said...

Don: Thanks for understanding and taking initiative for talking to different faiths. Because as you and I know, if we dont talk, we dont know each other and that is the first seed of sucpicion.

I meant, balfour decl. is accurate and all other of your comments to the tuscon citizen article, are you opinions, which I dont agree upon.




Don Singleton said...

BK As for your points, I can refute each one of them with historical facts that were NOT written by the winners. But I wouldn't expect an Anglo-Christian to grant credibility to them- how about you give up your apartment/ house so that a Native American can re-claim the land its on?

Does this mean that you do not agree with the concept that winners in a war get to keep the spoils of the war? Then how did Islam spread?

Should they be required to give back all of the land they conquered to the previous owners, or does that rule only apply to Anglo Christians?

Should the Muslims have to give back Mecca to the Quraysh tribe that kicked Muhammad out not wanting to embrace this new religion he came up with, but that Muhammad's warriors from Medina helped him defeat.




bk said...

Don, you are comparing apples and oranges. 'Winning spoils in a war' does not apply to Israel and its massive land-grab from the Palestinians.

The main reasons why the US feels it has to turn a blind eye to Israel's atrocities are:

1- Strong political lobby = money = weapons = kill Palestinians

2- Delayed action during the Holocaust = US has historical guilt = Zionists do whatever they want

3- Arab and Muslim lives are just not as important / precious / valuable as those of Israelis

The numbers speak for themselves:

121 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians and 763 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis since September 29, 2000.

1,084 Israelis and 4,126 Palestinians have been killed since September 29, 2000.

7,633 Israelis and 30,563 Palestinians have been injured since September 29, 2000.

The clincher:

0 Israeli homes have been demolished by Palestinians and 4,170 Palestinian homes have been demolished by Israel since September 29, 2000.

Did you support apartheid in South Africa? If the answer is no, why would you do the same with Israel?

Think outside the box.




Don Singleton said...

Don, you are comparing apples and oranges. 'Winning spoils in a war' does not apply to Israel and its massive land-grab from the Palestinians.

What massive land grab? When did it take place?
  • Balfour Declaration in 1917?
  • Action in 1948 by United Nations
  • Land taken in the Six Days War in 1967
  • Sometime later?


... 3- Arab and Muslim lives are just not as important/ precious/ valuable as those of Israelis

The numbers speak for themselves:

121 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians and 763 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis since September 29, 2000.


I regret the loss of both. Are you suggesting that 642 more Jewish children should have died?

How many died as a result of an attack (suicide bomber, rocket fire, etc. and how many as a result of a response to such an attack.

The Palestenians said they wanted land free of Israeli control. Israel removed all of its soldiers and settlers from the Gaza strip, and gave them a chance to show they wanted a country of their own. Since then there have been over 100 rockets fired into Israel, and two soldiers killed and one kidnapped.


Did you support apartheid in South Africa? If the answer is no, why would you do the same with Israel?

In what way are they the same. The Israelis have not created special "homelands" and forced all of the Arabs into them. There are Arabs living peacefully in Israel right now. Some of them were killed by rockets fired by Hezbollah on a primarilly Arab city in Israel.



bk said...

The land-grab took place when Palestinians were first thrown out of their homes so that a Jewish state could be created (1948-1949).

The numbers speak for themselves. One side has one of the most powerful militaries in the world; the other side does not.

As for the 2 Israeli soldiers, yes they were kidnapped. Do you know that this was provoked by Israel kidnapping 2 men who had done nothing? Do you know how many Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners are being held by Israel without due process or credible evidence of wrongdoing?

Around 10,000. Oh my, it's another Gitmo.

Apartheid is when Israelis have swimming pools and Palestinians have no clean water to drink. Apartheid is when Israelis have easy access to education, employment and healthcare and Palestinians do not. Apartheid is when non-Jews are severely restricted in their land and home ownership, service in the armed forces and demand for political equality.




Don Singleton said...

The land-grab took place when Palestinians were first thrown out of their homes so that a Jewish state could be created (1948-1949).

You supported "Winning spoils in a war" beginning with Muhammad the people he recruited in Medina taking Mecca from the Quraysh tribe, and the many subsequent countries that Muslims took over by force.

Sources here, here, here, here, and here.

In World War I the Allied Powers defeated the Central Powers in Europe as well as the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire's lands were divided among the victors. Some of it became the new Republic of Turkey, but the the League of Nations gave Britain the land including the modern territories of Israel, Jordan, and the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and it was called the British Mandate of Palestine.

The Balfour Declaration called for the establishment of a Jewish homeland in this land, 3/4 of the land, which was east of the Jordan River (TransJordan) was to be the Arab part, and the Jews were to get the land west of the Jordan (1/4 of the British Mandate of Palestine) but the Arabs opposed he Jews immigrating.

The United Nations, the successor to the League of Nations, attempted to solve the dispute between the Palestinian Jews and Arabs. The UN created the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine (UNSCOP), composed of representatives from several states and it called for the creation of independent Arab and Jewish states in Palestine. The 1947 U.N. Resolution 181 partition plan was to divide the remaining 25% of Palestine into a Jewish Palestinian State and a SECOND Arab Palestinian State (the first now being the Kingdom of Jordan).

On May 14, 1948 the "Palestinian" Jews finally declared their own State of Israel and became "Israelis." On the next day, seven neighboring Arab armies... Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Yemen... invaded Israel. Most of the Arabs living within the boundaries of the newly declared "ISRAEL" were encouraged to leave by the invading Arab armies to facilitate the slaughter of the Jews and were promised to be given all Jewish property after the victorious Arab armies won the war. The truth is that 70% of the Arab Palestinians who left in 1948 – perhaps 300,000 to 400,000 of them – never saw an Israeli soldier! They did not flee because they feared Jewish soldiers, but because of a rational and reasonable calculus: the Jews will be exterminated; we will get out of the way while that messy and dangerous business goes forward, and we will return afterwards to reclaim our homes, and to inherit those nice Jewish properties as well. They guessed wrong; Israel won the war, and the Arab Palestinians are still tortured by the residual shame of their flight. Those that decided to stay are now citizens of Israel, and they live free in the Jewish state.


The numbers speak for themselves. One side has one of the most powerful militaries in the world; the other side does not.

Then if the Arabs had any sense, they would stop attacking the more powerful state.

As for the 2 Israeli soldiers, yes they were kidnapped. Do you know that this was provoked by Israel kidnapping 2 men who had done nothing?

No I don't know that, and I doubt it is true.

Do you know how many Palestinian and Lebanese prisoners are being held by Israel without due process or credible evidence of wrongdoing? Around 10,000. Oh my, it's another Gitmo.

The prisoners in Gitmo are being treated much better than they would be as free men in their own country, and much much better than they would be as prisoners in their own country.

Apartheid is when Israelis have swimming pools and Palestinians have no clean water to drink.

Are we talking about the Arab citizens of Israel, who live quite well, or those that the Arabs urged to leave when the seven armies invaded in 1948, but none of those countries would accept those people in their own countries, but instead made them live in squalor.

Apartheid is when Israelis have easy access to education, employment and healthcare and Palestinians do not.

When Israel had some settlements in Gaza, there were a lot of jobs, but the terrorists kept attacking Israel, so it forced its own citizens to come back into Israel, and turn those properties over to the Arabs, who had no idea how to run those businesses. They now have a Gaza free of Jews, but rather than creating a country out of it, they take all the money that they get and use it to buy rockets to shoot at Israel.

Apartheid is when non-Jews are severely restricted in their land and home ownership, service in the armed forces and demand for political equality.

The Arab citizens of Israel don't seem that unhappy. Do you think they would prefer to live in Gaza or the West Bank? I doubt it.



s. Toufeeq a. Ahmed said...

"The prisoners in Gitmo are being treated much better than they would be as free men in their own country, and much much better than they would be as prisoners in their own country."

Are you sure? Have you read any of amnesty international reports. Watch this movie "Road to Guantanomo"

A Prisoner if made to stay at 5 star Hilton is worse of then a life of nomad in desert. Thats what makes the word "Freedom" valuable.

My friend Don, if you have some time to spare watch this documentary. This will give you the Real side of the story.



Don Singleton said...

Are you sure? Have you read any of amnesty international reports. Watch this movie "Road to Guantanomo"

I know that the average prisoner is fed special halal meals, costing three or four times what is spent on the meals for their jailers, and the average weight gain is 18 pounds.

A Prisoner if made to stay at 5 star Hilton is worse of then a life of nomad in desert. Thats what makes the word "Freedom" valuable.

True. And a number of prisoners released have rejoined the Jihad and tried to kill more Americans.

My friend Don, if you have some time to spare watch this documentary. This will give you the Real side of the story.

No it gives one side of the story, much like most documentaries. I won't burden you with one from the Israeli side.

Muslims are so accepting of the rights of a victor in a war to take over territory and make it their own. Does that right only extend to Muslims taking over non-Muslim territory.

Or are you upset by or confused by the fact that Israel did not claim all of the conquered land as their own, and require the people living their to either convert to Judiasm, or live as second class citizens (Dhimmi), or kill them? Are you upset by the fact that they made peace with two of the countries they were at war with, and returned their land in exchange for peace, and that they were willing to do that with most of the other land?




s. Toufeeq a. Ahmed said...

I am not an Israeli nor I am an Arab.

Nor am I. I am an American who is a Christian.

So all I can say is I can just read news of their deaths and feel sorry for them. But how hard I try I can't feel their Pain and Suffering.

I cannot feel the pain of a 4 year old, who just saw her parents blown apart... nor I can feel the frustation of 8 year old who has to run to a bomb shelter 8 times a day.

I am not here to support what Egypt did or what Isreal did, or what Hezbullah is doing.

"An Eye for an Eye will leave whole world blind".


I agree with the statement, although I fail to see how the referenced article illustrates that.
Israel does this with international impunity, yet insists on disarming any aspiring Arab states.

When has Israel sought to disarm Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iraq or Yemen (the seven countries that attacked them in 1948, and some of which have attacked them since then? Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and the PLO are not Arab states. They are terrorist organizations with one objective: the destruction of Israel. Israel would be happy to see resolution 1559 enforced, and all of the militias in Lebanon, including Hezbollah disarmed, and have Lebanon take full control over all of their terrority. Lebanon would find Israel to be a very good neighbor.

Unlike Israel, other Middle Eastern states are held to be rogue regimes that cannot be trusted and will abuse such technologies....

Are you foolish enough to think that if Iran gets atomic weapons that they would not immediately use them to try fulfil their stated objective, to destroy Israel, even though they know that it would immediately start an exchange of atomic weapons which would destroy the entire middle east, if not the entire world?

The United States talks about peace and justice, yet militarily and morally supports Israel's gross human rights violations against Lebanon's civilians and sovereignty....

False. The US would love to see Lebanon establish sovereignty over all of their country. Lebanon did not attack Israel, Hezbollah did, and Israel is seeking to destroy Hezbollah, not Lebanon.

Has history forgotten that Hezbollah was formed in 1982 as a direct result of the Israeli invasion of South Lebanon that was led by Ariel Sharon?....

An invasion triggered because South Lebanon was filled with the PLO, doing the same thing to Israel as Hezbollah did.

I was holidaying with my family in Lebanon when the Israeli Defence Forces started their "self-defence" bombardment....

What would you call an incursion that killed eight soldiers, kidnapped two more, and then rocket fire on innocent Israeli cities.

But I pray that when they sing the second line in the Lebanese national anthem, "Our pencil and our sword are the envy of the ages", they focus more on the pencil as their weapon.

I share that prayer.
I am here to stop from world going blind, with what ever resources or means I have (which are not much, to start with).

I will ask the same question I ask you before, Don?

"Does you and me arguing/debating is going to help anybody, anyhow?


I have not killed you, or anyone you know, and you have not killed me, or anyone I know.

And we have even discovered things we can agree on. Is this not a good thing?

In response to a post on my blog, in which I said "In fact they are willing to kill not just Christians and Jews, but also other Muslims, and by other Muslims I don't just mean that Sunnis are willing to kill Shia, and vice versa, but they are also willing to kill people of their own sect, if they stand in the way of them getting power." you responded
I competely agree with you.

Is complete agreement a bad thing? Is it not worth reaching out to one another and seeing if we can understand where the other is coming from?

May be we will clean up our own deamons, our own insecurities. Beyond which I dont see much.

May peace be with you and may the lord of all worlds show you the right path. Amen!


Assalamu alaikum



bk said...



Don Singleton said...

Free Palestine.

I don't have it locked up.

Under the Clinton Administration Israel offerred them most of the land they wanted, and offerred to give up parts of Israel to make up for the difference, and even offerred them East Jerusalem, and Arafat turned it down, and launched the second Intafada. He did not want peace; he wanted war.

Since then Israel pulled out of Southern Lebanon, and got attacked for doing it: rockets, dead soldiers, and kidnapped soldiers.

They pulled out of Gaza, using force against their own people, and got rocket attacks and dead soldiers and a kidnapped soldier, rather than a peaceful neighbor.

Israel is willing to give Land For Peace, just ask Egypt and Jordan. But why give Land For War.




s. Toufeeq a. Ahmed said...

AsSalaam Alikum Don,

"Is it not worth reaching out to one another and seeing if we can understand where the other is coming from?"

Yes, It is worth every penny, every minute we spend on it.

Peace.




Don Singleton said...
From your lips to God's (Allah's) ear.

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Europeans don't understand reality

My Rubix Cube
WaPo reported The European Union's 25 foreign ministers called Tuesday for an immediate cessation of hostilities in southern Lebanon and expressed their "readiness" to serve in a multinational peacekeeping force there once Israel and Hezbollah agree to halt their fighting and settle their political differences.

Europe will send peacekeepers once Israel and Hezbollah settle their political differences

Let us see. In the short term, Israel would like to see 1559 enforced and Hezbollah disarmed, and Hezbollah wants to be rearmed, because they used a lot of their rockets firing on innocent Israeli cities. How does Europe suggest that be resolved?

In the long term, Israel would like to be at peace with all of its neighbors, and Hezbollah would like to see Israel destroyed, with them in control of the area. How does Europe suggest that be resolved?
The agreement increased international pressure on the United States to press Israel for a halt to its military offensive. It also complicated U.S. diplomatic efforts to quickly stand up a multinational force under the mandate of the United Nations and carrying the authority to check Hezbollah's ability to attack towns in northern Israel.

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Monday, July 31, 2006

Let us pray

On ProgressiveIslam.Org Muslim Hedonist had an interesting post: I don't know what it is about wartime prayers, but something about them makes me shudder.


These are Israeli gunners at prayer near the Lebanese border early today, right beside their artillery piece. When I saw this picture, it reminded me of three pictures I remember seeing in a newspaper during the 1980's, under the title, "Let Us Pray:"
  • The first one was of an orthodox Jewish soldier wearing a prayer-shawl and praying with a prayer-book.
  • The second was a PLO fighter in sujud (prostration), with his machine-gun propped up on the wall in front of him.
  • The third showed a Lebanese member of the Phalangist militia kneeling in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary in a church, his gun lying beside him on the steps.
At the time, I was struck by the irony of it all---the three Western monotheisms, Abrahamic kissing-cousins, all turning to God, perhaps within a few miles of one another. Yet if they were to meet, they would probably kill one another if they could. And think that by doing so, God would be pleased.


In a comment Sitaram said Supposedly, Abraham Lincoln once said, "In time of war, we should pray, not that God is on our side, but rather that we are on God's side."

I could not find any reference to that quote from Lincoln, but it is true, and something we should all keep in mind. In terms of the the observations from Muslim Hedonist, the Jewish soldier and the Phalangist militiaman were both hoping that God would see them as being on His (God's) side, and honor their prayers. The PLO fighter in 1980, or the Hezbollah fighter today are following clerics that have hijacked the honorable Islam faith, and perverted it into one seeking to kill anyone they can (Jew, Christian, or even Muslim) to get them more personal power.

Christians, Jews, and Muslims are all "People of the Book" (or ahl al Kitâb) Surat Al 'Imran, 64 (Qur'an 3:64) says "O People of the Book! Let us rally to a common formula to be binding on both us and you: That we worship none but God; that we associate no partners with Him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than God."

Surat aal-E-Imran, 3 (Qur'an 3:3) says It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming what went before it; and He sent down the Law (of Moses) and the Gospel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong)

And Surat al-Baqara, 136 (Qur'an 2:136) says Say ye: "We believe in Allah, and the revelation given to us, and to Abraham, Isma'il, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, and that given to Moses and Jesus, and that given to (all) prophets from their Lord: We make no difference between one and another of them.

But the hijackers of Islam disagree. They make a difference between one and another. In fact they are willing to kill not just Christians and Jews, but also other Muslims, and by other Muslims I don't just mean that Sunnis are willing to kill Shia, and vice versa, but they are also willing to kill people of their own sect, if they stand in the way of them getting power.

I hope that the Moderate Muslims are able to deal with these people that have hijacked their faith, because otherwise God (Allah) is going to settle the matter.

As children when we would fight with our brothers and sisters, when our parents yelled out "Settle down in there, or do you want me to come in there" we settled down, because we knew we did not want an angry parent to "come in there" and settle things.

By the same token, I really don't think we want God (Allah) to come down here and settle things.

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Mideast peace process

Haaretz reported Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose Arab country was the first to sign a peace treaty with Israel, warned Monday that the entire Middle East peace process could collapse because of Israel's fighting in Lebanon.

What Middle East peace process? Do you mean "Land for Peace", where Israel pulls out of Lebanon, just to see Hezbollah spend six years loading up with enough weapons to allow it to kill 8 Israeli soldiers and kidnap two others, and then begin launching rockets into Israel. Or do you mean "Land for Peace" where israel pulls all of its settlements out of Gaza, to see if the Palestinians really want peace, and then they are subjected to hundreds of rockets being fired into Israel, two soldiers killed, and another kidnapped? That does not sound like a Peace Process to me.
"Egypt, which triggered the peace process, warns of the consequences of its collapse," Mubarak said in a nationwide televised statement. "The Israeli aggression undermines the opportunities to continue it."
Is Egypt going to invade Israel, as it did in 1967? They got their butts handed to them, and after six days Israel controlled major parts of the Sinai, as well as major blocks of land of three other countries that attacked it.
He added: "There is an urgent need for an unconditional cease-fire which would pave the way for international efforts to end the crisis and deal with its consequences.".... Iran is a significant, respected player in the Middle East which is playing a stabilizing role, French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Monday, during a visit to Lebanon
The French Foreign Minister then passed out samples of the funny cigarettes he had been smoking, and every one had a fine time, as far as they can remember.
.... The French foreign minister repeated his country's call for an immediate cease-fire, saying the military situation was at an "impasse" so a political solution was needed.
And France would be willing to supply the White Flags so Israel could surrender (since we know Hezbollah has no intention of surrendering or making peace).
Blue Crab blogged At this point, there is mounting evidence that something is very wrong about the media accepted storyline of what happened in Qana (aka Cana and Kana). Instead of jumping merrily aboard the condemnation bandwagon, it would be a smart move to investigate what really happened there. As for France, there is little hope for a cure for what ails them. They are too far out of touch with reality these days.

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Sunday, July 30, 2006

A random gallery of "lone" shooters

Michelle Malkin presents a random gallery of "lone" shooters

July 28, 2006 Seattle, Wash. Naveed Afzal Haq

July 25, 2006 Dickinson, Texas Dr. Wameeth Fadhli

June 25, 2006 Denver, Colorado Michael Julius Ford

June 15, 2006 Owings Mill, Md. Mujtaba Rabbani Jabbar

October 2002 Black Muslim convert John Mohammed and protege Lee Malvo

July 4, 2002 Los Angeles, Calif. Hesham Hadayet

Feb. 23, 1997 New York City Abu Kamal

March 1, 1994 New York City Rashid Baz

What do all of these "lone shooters" have in common? They are Muslims. Certainly all Muslims do not go out and shoot people, but as Robert Spencer at Jihad Watch said:

[O]nce again the media will ignore the question of why a man who describes himself as a Muslim American angry at Israel would think that murder of innocents was an appropriate outlet for his anger. No one will ever consider whether such behavior is encouraged by the texts and atmospherics of Islam, and if so, what can be done about it.
Certainly the key figure in Christianity, Jesus Christ, preached peace and love, and the key figure in Islam, Muhammad, preached war and conquest.

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Photos that damn Hezbollah

Herald Sun reported This is the picture that damns Hezbollah. It is one of several, smuggled from behind Lebanon's battle lines, showing that Hezbollah is waging war amid suburbia.


The images, obtained exclusively by the Sunday Herald Sun, show Hezbollah using high-density residential areas as launch pads for rockets and heavy-calibre weapons. Dressed in civilian clothing so they can quickly disappear, the militants carrying automatic assault rifles and ride in on trucks mounted with cannon.
Hezbollah is made up of cowards that are afraid to meet their enemy in the battlefield like real soldiers, but they hide in civilian areas, hoping that Israel will not attack, and knowing that if they do, more civilians will be killed than Hezbollah, so the world will accuse Israel of acting disproportionately. Israel only targets locations firing rockets or anti aircraft fire, while Hezbollah fires rockets into Israeli civilian areas all the time. Why don't the innocent Lebanese arm themselves, and shoot these cowards from Hezbollah before their fire against Israel draws Israeli retaliation.
The photographs, from the Christian area of Wadi Chahrour in the east of Beirut, were taken by a visiting journalist and smuggled out by a friend.

CQ blogged According to the text, the paper has another picture of a Katyusha rocket lying in a devastated residential area, hit by Israeli bombers. The Australian who took the pictures said that the neighborhood had not been targeted by the Israelis until Hezbollah set up the rocket launchers there -- and then the IDF returned fire and destroyed the residential buildings around the launcher.

When people complain about the civilian death toll in Lebanon, we need to remember why it has been as high as it has been. Lebanon and the UN allowed Hezbollah to use civilians as human shields for their rocket launchers and anti-aircraft batteries. The Israelis have little choice but to target Hezbollah's offensive assets, and that makes the collateral civilian damage the responsibility of the terrorists and their enablers.


Flopping Aces blogged They are doing what they do best, killing innocent people. Their own people this time but it obviously matters not to them since they continue to do it. They must believe Israel will back off…..hopefully they will not get their wish. This fight is for not only the survival of Israel but its another front on the war on terror.

Blue Crab blogged Why is it that I doubt I'll see these pictures in the US media?

AJStrata blogged So it is clear who targetted Israeli jets and their bombs: it was Hezbollah. We have the proof from the Australian reporting one day prior. As I said when posting the pictures of Hezbollah locating their weapons in civilian areas, this clear war crime has to be exposed. Because Hezbollah finally got what they wanted. They aimed Israeli bombs at their own people.

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