We are all Davids

Folks, the name of this blog is Smooth Stone, and as I wrote here, I based the name of Smooth Stone on the Bible story of David and Goliath, in 1 Samuel 17. You see, all it took was one smooth stone for David to slay Goliath, the arrogant Philistine. David was a shepherd and carried only a sling and a pouch, and within the pouch were five smooth stones he found from a nearby brook. David carried no sword. David told his king, Saul, that he needs no armor to face the Goliath, the taunting Philistine. David did not want to fight Goliath, but the Philistines had been gathering themselves for a very long time and during this time they grew to have a large army. And having gotten together a great army, they made war against the Israelites.

Goliath cursed the Israelites and cursed David by the name of God, and threatened to give his flesh to the beasts of the earth, and to the fowls of the air, to be torn in pieces by them. To whom David answered,

Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a breastplate; but I have God for my armor in coming against thee, who will destroy thee and all thy army by my hands for I will this day cut off thy head, and cast the other parts of thy body to the dogs, and all men shall learn that God is the protector of the Hebrews, and that our armor and our strength is in his providence; and that without God's assistance, all other warlike preparations and power are useless."

Why do I repeat this story?

Because I want to tell you the story of Oded Balilty, the photographer and one of the winners of the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Photography.

Here is the citation:

For a distinguished example of breaking news photography in black and white or color, which may consist of a photograph or photographs, a sequence or an album, in print or online or both, Ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

Awarded to Oded Balilty of The Associated Press for his powerful photograph of a lone Jewish woman defying Israeli security forces as they remove [illegal] settlers in the West Bank.

And here is the award winning photograph. It is a photo of a lone female Jewish settler pushing back against at least 20 Israeli security officers during clashes that erupted as authorities cleared the West Bank settlement of Amona, east of the "palestinian" town of Ramallah.

This woman is David, and the Arabs and the murderers amongst them, and Olmert and his self-loathing government - they are Goliath.

Dr. Washington Asks: Why Is Israel Afraid To Be Israel?

Folks, when I get a chance at work, I try to sneak in a listen to Israel National Radio, a wonderfully, profoundly rich and delicious website providing both downloads and live feeds to some of the greatest Zionist and religious voices Israel has. I skimmed over their front page like I would a menu at a tasty steakhouse, and glommed on this deelish tidbit:

Dr. Washington Asks: Why Is Israel Afraid To Be Israel?

He's not Jewish, and he's not an Israeli. Yet, this guest can't understand why we in Israel don't stand up and take what is ours. Tamar Yonah interviews Dr. Ellis Washington, who lectures and writes on American and constitutional law. He says, "Take charge of the Temple Mount. Annex Gaza and the West Bank. Define and secure your borders. Withdraw from the U.N. who is your enemy." Hear what else this insightful academic and lover of Israel has to say. Read his weekly column on WordNetDaily.com

And boy was I in for a treat. You have to listen to this interview with Dr. Ellis Washington. His perspective and recommendations for the Israeli government are illustratively Zionist. A role model. A leader. And a great friend of Israel. G-d Bless Dr. Ellis Washington.

Listen Now or Download

My letter to WMATA, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, for partnering with US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation

In reference to WMATA's state-sponsored collusion with the US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation poster campaign starting May 13, 2007:
============================

I am outraged that even as Israel completes its evacuation of more than 20 "settlements" in the Gaza Strip, Arabs still make the argument that Gaza remains "occupied" territory, even though Palestinians exercise self-government and the Israeli civilian and military presence in these disputed territories have been removed. Now, WMATA is gullible enough to let the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation post 20 posters of anti-Israel propaganda denying those aforementioned facts.

The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, like many other anti-Israel organizations, thrive on the intentional use of false data in order to sway world opinion against Israel.

The basic premise of the Palestinian claim - that the 'occupation' causes terrorism -is historically flawed. Arab and Palestinian terrorism against Israel existed prior to the beginning of Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza as a result of the Six Day War of June 1967, and even prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948.

That WMATA is willing to single out Israel as being uniquely evil, and worthy of measures that are not contemplated against anyone else, is intellectually disreputable.

Will the WMATA also slap up posters whcih boycott China, where there are hundreds of political prisoners? Will WMATA pick on North Korea, a totalitarian state in which millions of people have been deprived of the bare necessities of life? Will WMATA also allow indignation against Saudi Arabia, an autocratic state where women do not enjoy rights that are taken for granted in Israel?

The WMATA has been sold a bill of goods, of propaganda, and as a municipality, the WMATA should slap up posters with an opposing viewpoint.

Now THAT would be real Freedom of Speech.

Shame on WMATA and it allowing itself to be manipulated by Arabists.

Anti-Israel Ad Campaign Set for Washington Subway

Folks, even as Israel completes its evacuation of more than 20 "settlements" in the Gaza Strip, Arabs still make the argument that Gaza remains "occupied" territory, even though palestinians exercise self-government and the Israeli civilian and military presence in these disputed territories have been removed.

This proves that the palestinian claim of "occupation" is just an excuse to kill Jews and the reason for this is that their religious leaders tell them to do it. Now Washington D.C. is getting involved in impugning Israel.

From Anti-Israel Ad Campaign Set for Washington Subway:

Starting May 13 for four weeks, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has ordered 20 of its subway stations to place posters advertising a June 10 rally to end "Israel's illegal military occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem."

Initiated by the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, the 46-by-60-inch posters depict an imposing tank pointing at a child with a schoolbag. Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, president of the Israel Project, said she expected the ads to have a "minimum impact."

Many participants in focus group studies on the ad upon first glance thought the tank was an American one surrounded by Iraqi children.

To send your letters of disgust at this flawed attempt by these arabists to impugn Israel, contact the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation at us_campaign@endtheoccupation.org. The US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, like so many other anti-Israel organizations, thrive on the intentional use of false data in order to sway world opinion against Israel. For example, their rhetoric is littered with concepts, mostly mythical, intertwined with words like "East Jerusalem", ""Palestinians", "West Bank", etc. There is no law on earth that requires the Jewish people to accept the revision of their history nor their own demise merely because Arabs and arabists say we should.

For more information on the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, click here.

Furthermore, here are the facts about Arab terrorism prior to the establishment of the legitimate and sovereign nation of Israel in 1948 (Source: Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs):

The basic premise of the Palestinian claim - that the 'occupation' causes terrorism - is historically flawed. Arab and Palestinian terrorism against Israel existed prior to the beginning of Israeli control over the West Bank and Gaza as a result of the Six Day War of June 1967, and even prior to the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948.

For example, Arab terrorism was rampant during wave of anti-Jewish riots in 1920-21 (which was characterized by the brutal murder in Jaffa of the prominent Jewish author Y. Brenner), during the 'Disturbances' of 1929 (which included the massacre of the Jewish community in Hebron), during the Arab Revolt of 1936-39, and in many other recorded incidents of wholesale anti-Jewish Arab violence throughout the pre-state period.

The Palestinian terrorism campaign was stepped-up on the eve of the UN Partition Resolution of November 1947, and led to the joint Arab invasion of 1948-49 which delineated the boundaries of the newly established State of Israel.

Indeed, this deplorable violence can be traced back to the beginning of the renewed Jewish settlement of the Land of Israel over a century ago.

After the War of Independence, Arab terrorism expanded in scope. In 1952, when 'fedayeen' terrorist border incursions reached their height, there were about 3,000 incidents of cross-border violence, extending from the malicious destruction of property to the brutal murder of civilians. This anti-Israeli violence encompassed both frontier settlements and population centers, and was perpetrated, for the most part, against innocent civilians, most of them new immigrants.

In conclusion, the oft-repeated Arab claim that the Israeli 'occupation' is somehow to blame for the Palestinian terrorism is nothing more than an empty retort, repudiated by the facts, and disproved by a century of historical reality.

The following is a partial list of documented acts of Arab terrorism, all occurring prior to the beginning of the Israeli administration of the West Bank and Gaza in 1967:

Major Arab Terrorist Attacks against Israelis Prior to the 1967 Six-Day War

Jan 1, 1952 - Seven armed terrorists attacked and killed a nineteen year-old girl in her home, in the neighborhood of Beit Yisrael, in Jerusalem.

Apr 14, 1953 - Terrorists tried for the first time to infiltrate Israel by sea, but were unsuccessful. One of the boats was intercepted and the other boat escaped.

June 7, 1953 - A youngster was killed and three others were wounded, in shooting attacks on residential areas in southern Jerusalem.

June 9, 1953 - Terrorists attacked a farming community near Lod, and killed one of the residents. The terrorists threw hand grenades and sprayed gunfire in all directions. On the same night, another group of terrorists attacked a house in the town of Hadera. This occurred a day after Israel and Jordan signed an agreement, with UN mediation, in which Jordan undertook to prevent terrorists from crossing into Israel from Jordanian territory.

June 10, 1953 - Terrorists infiltrating from Jordan destroyed a house in the farming village of Mishmar Ayalon.

June 11, 1953 - Terrorists attacked a young couple in their home in Kfar Hess, and shot them to death.

Sept 2, 1953 - Terrorists infiltrated from Jordan, and reached the neighborhood of Katamon, in the heart of Jerusalem. They threw hand grenades in all directions. Miraculously, no one was hurt.

Mar 17, 1954 - Terrorists ambushed a bus traveling from Eilat to Tel Aviv, and opened fire at short range when the bus reached the area of Maale Akrabim in the northern Negev. In the initial ambush, the terrorists killed the driver and wounded most of the passengers. The terrorists then boarded the bus, and shot each passenger, one by one. Eleven passengers were murdered. Survivors recounted how the murderers spat on the bodies and abused them. The terrorists could clearly be traced back to the Jordanian border, some 20 km from the site of the terrorist attack.

Jan 2, 1955 - Terrorists killed two hikers in the Judean Desert.

Mar 24, 1955 - Terrorists threw hand grenades and opened fire on a crowd at a wedding in the farming community of Patish, in the Negev. A young woman was killed, and eighteen people were wounded in the attack.

Apr 7, 1956 - A resident of Ashkelon was killed in her home, when terrorists threw three hand grenades into her house. Two members of Kibbutz Givat Chaim were killed, when terrorists opened fire on their car, on the road from Plugot Junction to Mishmar Hanegev. There were further hand grenade and shooting attacks on homes and cars, in areas such as Nitzanim and Ketziot. One person was killed and three others wounded.

Apr 11, 1956 - Terrorists opened fire on a synagogue full of children and teenagers, in the farming community of Shafrir. Three children and a youth worker were killed on the spot, and five were wounded, including three seriously.

Apr 29, 1956 - Egyptians killed Roi Rotenberg, 21 years of age, from Nahal Oz.

Sept 12, 1956 - Terrorists killed three Druze guards at Ein Ofarim, in the Arava region.

Sept 23, 1956 - Terrorists opened fire from a Jordanian position, and killed four archaeologists, and wounded sixteen others, near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel.

Sept 24, 1956 - Terrorists killed a girl in the fields of the farming community of Aminadav, near Jerusalem.
Oct 4, 1956 - Five Israeli workers were killed in Sdom.

Oct 9, 1956 - Two workers were killed in an orchard of the youth village, Neve Hadassah, in the Sharon region.
Nov 8, 1956 - Terrorists opened fire on a train, attacked cars and blew up wells, in the North and Center of Israel. Six Israelis were wounded.

Feb 18, 1957 - Two civilians were killed by terrorist landmines, next to Nir Yitzhak, on the southern border of the Gaza Strip.

Mar 8, 1957 - A shepherd from Kibbutz Beit Govrin was killed by terrorists in a field near the Kibbutz.

Apr 16, 1957 - Terrorists infiltrated from Jordan, and killed two guards at Kibbutz Mesilot.

May 20, 1957 - A terrorist opened fire on a truck in the Arava region, killing a worker.

May 29, 1957 - A tractor driver was killed and two others wounded, when the vehicle struck a landmine, next to Kibbutz Kisufim.

June 23, 1957 - Israelis were wounded by landmines, close to the Gaza Strip.

Aug 23, 1957 - Two guards of the Israeli Mekorot water company were killed near Kibbutz Beit Govrin.

Dec 21, 1957 - A member of Kibbutz Gadot was killed in the Kibbutz fields.

Feb 11, 1958 - Terrorists killed a resident of Moshav Yanov who was on his way to Kfar Yona, in the Sharon area.

Apr 5, 1958 - Terrorists lying in ambush shot and killed two people near Tel Lachish.

Apr 22, 1958 - Jordanian soldiers shot and killed two fishermen near Aqaba.

May 26, 1958 - Four Israeli police officers were killed in a Jordanian attack on Mt. Scopus, in Jerusalem.

Nov 17, 1958 - Syrian terrorists killed the wife of the British air attache in Israel, who was staying at the guesthouse of the Italian Convent on the Mt. of the Beatitudes.

Dec 3, 1958- A shepherd was killed at Kibbutz Gonen. In the artillery attack that followed, 31 civilians were wounded.

Jan 23, 1959 - A shepherd from Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan was killed.

Feb 1, 1959 - Three civilians were killed by a terrorist landmine near Moshav Zavdiel.

Apr 15, 1959 - A guard was killed at Kibbutz Ramat Rahel.

Apr 27, 1959 - Two hikers were shot at close range and killed near Massada.

Sept 6, 1959 - Bedouin terrorists killed a paratroop reconnaissance officer near Nitzana.

Sept 8, 1959 - Bedouins opened fire on an army bivouac in the Negev, killing an IDF officer, Captain Yair Peled.
Oct 3, 1959 - A shepherd from Kibbutz Heftziba was killed near Kibbutz Yad Hana.

Apr 26, 1960 - Terrorists killed a resident of Ashkelon south of the city.

Apr 12, 1962 - Terrorists fired on an Egged bus on the way to Eilat; one passenger was wounded.

Sept 30, 1962 - Two terrorists attacked an Egged bus on the way to Eilat. No one was wounded.

Jan 1, 1965 - Palestinian terrorists attempted to bomb the National Water Carrier. This was the first attack carried out by the PLO's Fatah faction.

May 31, 1965 - Jordanian Legionnaires fired on the neighborhood of Musrara in Jerusalem, killing two civilians and wounding four.

June 1, 1965 - Terrorists attack a house in Kibbutz Yiftach.

July 5, 1965 - A Fatah cell planted explosives at Mitzpe Massua, near Beit Guvrin; and on the railroad tracks to Jerusalem near Kafr Battir.

Aug 26, 1965 - A waterline was sabotaged at Kibbutz Manara, in the Upper Galilee.

Sept 29, 1965 - A terrorist was killed as he attempted to attack Moshav Amatzia.

Nov 7, 1965 - A Fatah cell that infiltrated from Jordan blew up a house in Moshav Givat Yeshayahu, south of Beit Shemesh. The house was destroyed, but the inhabitants were miraculously unhurt.

Apr 25, 1966 - Explosions placed by terrorists wounded two civilians and damaged three houses in Moshav Beit Yosef, in the Beit Shean Valley.

May 16, 1966 - Two Israelis were killed when their jeep hit a terrorist landmine, north of the Sea of Galilee and south of Almagor. Tracks led into Syria.

July 13, 1966 - Two soldiers and a civilian were killed near Almagor, when their truck struck a terrorist landmine.

July 14, 1966 - Terrorists attacked a house in Kfar Yuval, in the North.

July 19, 1966 - Terrorists infiltrated into Moshav Margaliot on the northern border and planted nine explosive charges.

Oct 27, 1966 - A civilian was wounded by an explosive charge on the railroad tracks to Jerusalem.

Remember this, Jew-haters: We're not going to apologize for surviving a 60+ year war that Arabs started, the same war that Arafat, the Egyptian, helped perpetuate when he created the PLO in 1964 - three years before there was an "occupation" to come in 1967.

To those with a moral conscience, I say, be disgusted with the demonization of Israel, the nazification of Zionism, the politicization of all things Israeli, the Islamic oversimplification reducing all discussions of Israel to the palestinian problem.

Be disgusted with the myth that all will be peaceful once the Israeli "occupiers" are gone. Be disgusted by Arab bullies who make life miserable for non-Arabs in the Middle East and around the the world.

Do not fall into the trap of endlessly denying what Islam is as revealed by its 1400 year history. Do not become like the 193 zombies and illiterates listed here (Source: anti-Israel site) who support the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation, who are too uneducated, too cowardly, too mendacious, too uncivilized to know the real truth: ma fish falastin.

Why Israel But Not Burma?

From Why Israel But Not Burma?:

The motion by the National Union of Journalists to single out Israel as being uniquely evil, and worthy of measures that are not contemplated against anyone else, is intellectually disreputable. The NUJ has not passed any motion to boycott China, where there are hundreds of political prisoners. Nor has it picked on North Korea, a totalitarian state in which millions of people have been deprived of the bare necessities of life. The same could be said of Burma. I do not believe that the NUJ has puffed itself in indignation against Saudi Arabia, an autocratic state where women do not enjoy rights that are taken for granted in Israel. Whatever criticisms can be justly made of Israel, it is a functioning democracy with a free press and a robust tradition of free speech. Why is Israel singled out? I hesitate to raise the charge of anti-Semitism, but though laying aside that explanation, I confess that I am unable to find another one.

Taliban Video of Boy Executioner Causes Anger

From Taliban Video of Boy Executioner Causes Anger:

A Taliban video of a 12-year-old boy beheading a man accused of spying has angered many Afghans. "It's very wrong for the Taliban to use a small boy to behead a man," religious teacher Mullah Attullah said Thursday. The video released this week shows the boy in a camouflage jacket and a white headband using a knife to behead a blindfolded man accused of being a spy for foreign forces as men cry "Allahu Akbar."

Little boy beheader = bad. Adult men beheaders = okay. That's Islam for you.

Gaza Is Becoming Somalia

I am outdone at the untoward display of arrogance by Muslim madmen. From Gaza Is Becoming Somalia:

A Somalia-like chaotic situation developing in Gaza seems to have contributed to Israeli restraint in the face of Palestinian provocations. The Palestinian rocket attacks peaked this week while Israelis celebrated their 59th Independence Day. Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum sounded elated when he talked to a Yediot Ahronot reporter. "How are you feeling today in Israel? You have a holiday today," he said and burst out laughing, the newspaper reported. A military source in the IDF Southern Command said Hamas has been involved for some time in planting bombs near the border and in sniper fire. Chaos and infighting in Gaza have reached frightening proportions. The Palestinian Al-Mezan Center for Human Rights reported Tuesday that during the first three months of 2007, 147 people were killed and 918 injured in clashes and feuds, double the number of victims in the first quarter of 2006.

EU Urges Release of BBC Gaza Reporter

From EU Urges Release of BBC Gaza Reporter:

The European Parliament Thursday added its voice to international calls for the release of BBC reporter Alan Johnston, 44, who was kidnapped in Gaza on March 12. The parliament called for the PA to "redouble its efforts to secure Mr. Johnston's speedy release...and to ensure that all attacks against journalists and other civilians are investigated thoroughly and those responsible brought to justice."

EU Aid to Continue to Bypass Palestinian Government

From EU Aid to Continue to Bypass Palestinian Government:

EU aid will bypass the Hamas-led Palestinian government until it recognizes Israel, renounces violence, and abides by interim peace deals, EU aid commissioner Louis Michel said Thursday. "As long as these criteria are not fulfilled, there will not be a change in the system, the manner, [or] the process of aid support from the European Union," he said. Palestinians had hoped the formation of a unity government between Hamas and Fatah would prompt the EU and other major donors to lift a year-old economic embargo of the PA.

Fatah Women in Gaza Announce: "We Will Be Human Bombs"

From Fatah Women in Gaza Announce: "We Will Be Human Bombs": The Al-Aqsa Protectors, the Missiles Brigade, the Martyr Hassan Al-Madhoun Brigade, and the Homeland Strike Force, which are all part of the Fatah-affiliated Al-Aqsa Brigades, announced the formation of a joint operations room to respond to an expected Israeli invasion of Gaza in a coordinated and forceful fashion.

Many female members of the Al-Aqsa Brigades also declared their readiness to die for the Palestinian cause. "We will be human bombs and we will explode in the face of the occupation," they warned.

From Praising Terror: "Oh, Lord, martyrdom is [being done] for you," crooned a singer, as pictures of prominent Palestinian women suicide bombers, clad in white, floated across the television screen. Part of a music video that aired on April 22 on the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), the television network under the direct control of PA leader Mahmoud Abbas, this disturbing montage was but the latest sign that official Palestinian broadcast media have sharply increased anti-Israeli propaganda in recent days.

Pandering to Muslims: We are no longer equal in the United States

The Kansas City International Airport has added several foot-washing basins in restrooms to accommodate a growing number of Muslim taxicab drivers who requested the facilities to prepare for daily Islamic prayer, WND has learned.

The move concerns airport police who worry about Middle Eastern men loitering inside the building. After 9/11, the airport beefed up its police force to help prevent terrorist attacks.

"Why are we constructing places of worship for them inside our airports?" said an airport official who requested anonymity. "Why are we catering to their rituals? We don't do it for any other religion."

Other major airports also are dealing with increased demands from Muslim cabdrivers.

For instance, cabbies at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport recently caused a stir when they refused to carry passengers possessing alcoholic beverages or accompanied by seeing-eye dogs. Alcohol is forbidden in Islam, and dogs are considered unclean.

There are approximately 250 taxicab drivers operating at KCI Airport in Missouri, one of the largest airports in the U.S., linking some 10 million passengers between mid-America and other U.S. cities. Approximately 70 percent of the drivers are of Middle Eastern heritage and practice the Islamic faith, sources say.

KCI Airport Police are responsible for the cab drivers, including the holding areas of the building. The KCI Aviation Department, which oversees the police, recently expanded the taxicab facility restroom area to include the construction of four individual foot-washing benches.

The cost of the project is not immediately known. A spokeswoman for the engineering department said she could not break out the figures.

KCI Airport Police Capt. Jim Harmon declined comment, explaining, "This is a touchy subject."
He referred questions to the KCI Aviation Department.

In a cleansing ritual known as ablution, Muslims are required to wash their feet before praying to Allah five times a day. They often complain that public restroom sinks do not accommodate their needs. Floor-level basins make it easier for them to perform their foot-washing ritual.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations has pressed government agencies and businesses to install the foot basins in restrooms.

The controversial Muslim lobby group advises employers to allow Muslim workers time to perform both the washing ritual and prayer, which "is usually about 15 minutes," according to a pamphlet CAIR publishes called, "An Employer's Guide to Islamic Religious Practices."

The Islamic purification ritual, known in Arabic as "wudu," involves a 10-step process, which includes:

1. Praising Allah while washing both hands up to the wrist three times, making sure that the water reaches between fingers and under rings.

2. Rinsing out the mouth thoroughly three times, using the right hand (the one not used for cleaning private parts) to bring the water to the mouth.

3. Snorting water into the nostrils from the right hand, three times, to cleanse them of demons that Muslims believe reside there, clearing the passages of any mucous using the left hand.

4. Washing off the tip of the nose with the left hand.

5. Washing the entire face three times from right ear to left ear.

6. Continuing to wash from forehead to throat.

7. Washing the right arm and then the left arm, three times, from the wrist up to the elbow, removing watches.

8. Moving wetted palms over the head from the top of the forehead to the back of the head.

9. Passing the wetted tips of the fingers into the grooves and holes of both ears, and also passing the wetted thumbs behind the ears and ear lobes.

10. Finally, washing both feet to the ankles starting with the right foot, including between the toes, then reciting: "Ash-hadu an la ilaha illal lahu wa ashhadu anna Muammadan 'abduhu wa rasuluh" – meaning there is no god but Allah and he has no partners, and Muhammad is his servant and messenger.

Who is Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi?

The al-Qaeda leader who is thought to have devised the plan for the July 7 suicide bombings in London and an array of terrorist plots against Britain has been captured by the Americans.

Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi, a former major in Saddam Hussein’s army, was apprehended as he tried to enter Iraq from Iran and was transferred this week to the “high-value detainee programme” at Guantanamo Bay.

Abd al-Hadi was taken into CIA custody last year, it emerged from US intelligence sources yesterday, in a move which suggests that he was interrogated for months in a “ghost prison” before being transferred to the internment camp in Cuba.

Abd al-Hadi, 45, was regarded as one of al-Qaeda’s most experienced, most intelligent and most ruthless commanders. Senior counter-terrorism sources told The Times that he was the man who, in 2003, identified Britain as the key battleground for exporting al-Qaeda’s holy war to Europe.

I hope you die choking on your own blood, you unholy detestable bastard.

Rare recording of Al Jolson singing Hatikva

Click here to hear Al Jolson sing Hatikvah, found on Mt. Zion Congregation website.

The following link goes to a recording introduced by NPR's Scott Simon from 61 years ago. It features a reporter who was with the British army when they liberated Bergen Belsen in May 1945. In the midst of chaos, with dead bodies lying around them, the surviving Jews, some barely able to stand, joined voices to sing Hatikva, "The Hope," which would become the Israeli National Anthem. It will bring tears to your eyes.

http://genealogy.org.il/BergenBelsenHatikva.mp3

And if you'd like to follow along with the lyrics, you can find them in both Hebrew, a transliteration of the Hebrew and English at this Israeli site. You'll also find a number of other versions including a performance by Barbra Streisand:

http://www.science.co.il/Israel-Anthem.asp

Daled Amos has another excellent post on Al Jolson as well as the original words to Hatikva, here.

Arabs attack five young Jews in Jaffa, just for being Jewish

A group of five Jews was attacked in Jaffa (Yafo) on Saturday night near an ice cream shop. The five, four women and one man, are all IDF soldiers, but they were not wearing their uniforms or carrying weapons. They stopped for ice cream after a day at the beach, they said, and were set upon by ten Muslim Arab youths with sticks.

The Muslim Arabs began hitting the front windshield of their car and attempted to forcibly drag one person from the car. The Jewish victims managed to drive away, but not before their vehicle sustained damage from the attack.

Jews in Yafo, which borders southern Tel Aviv, have been complaining of Arab bullying which has resulted in Jewish emigration from the city. Arabs assaulting Jews, threatening them, and spitting upon them are as common placeas Hamas and PLO flags fluttering from Arab windows.

Simply because they were Jewish.

Librescu Family Condolence Page

Professor Liviu Libresco--a 75-year old Romanian-Israeli survivor of the Holocaust--used his body to block the classroom door and enable others to escape, sacrificing his life for those of his students.

Professor Liviu--Levi ben Isidore--and his wife Marlina emigrated to Israel from
Romania in 1978 and had been living in the U.S. for 22 years.

"May you be comforted among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem."

If you wish to express your sympathy to the family please sign the Condolence Book. Your message will be shared with Mrs. Libresco and the Libresco family.

Mahmoud Abbas and the Maalot Massacre

This post was moved to SmoothStoneBlog

Video: Hamas tells Arabs: Genocide of Jews still on

While Hamas courts favor internationally, an Arabic sermon on Palestinian TV showed the ruling party continues to call for the genocide of Jews.

Hamas spokesman Ismail Radwan, quoting the hadith – the oral tradition of Muhammad – declared to the Palestinian audience: "The Hour [of Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews and the Muslims kill them, and the rock and the tree will say: "Oh, Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, kill him!"

A video excerpt of the March 30 sermon can be viewed here.

Radwan concluded with a prayer for Allah to "take" Israel and the U.S., reported the Israel-based media monitor Palestinian Media Watch.

What is the West Bank?

The West Bank is considered landlocked territory not officially recognized as part of any country. Israel calls the land "disputed."

The United Nations claims the West Bank is "occupied" by Israel, which maintains overall control of most of the area while the Palestinian Authority has jurisdiction in about 40 percent. The Palestinians claim a population of roughly 2.4 million, but new demographic studies show the numbers are likely inflated. The actual Palestinian population could be up to 1 million less.

The territory remained under Jordanian rule from 1948 until Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 after Jordan's King Hussein ignored Israeli pleas for his country to stay out of the Six Day War. Most countries rejected Jordan's initial claim on the area, which it formally renounced in 1988.

The West Bank borders most of Israel's major cities, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Military strategists have long estimated Israel must at a minimum maintain the West Bank to defend its borders from any ground invasion.

In essence, the West Bank should be part of Israel.

Many villages in the West Bank, which Israelis commonly refer to as the "biblical heartland," are mentioned throughout the Torah.

The Book of Genesis says Abraham entered Israel at Shechem (Nablus) and received God's promise of land for his offspring. He was later buried in Hebron.

The nearby town of Beit El, anciently called Bethel meaning "house of God," is where Scripture says the patriarch Jacob slept on a stone pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven. In that dream, God spoke directly to Jacob and reaffirmed the promise of territory.

And in Exodus, the holy tabernacle rested in Shilo, believed to be the first area the ancient Israelites settled after fleeing Egypt.

But that's a moot point to Muslims and arabists. They ignore the facts that when the West Bank and Gaza were "occupied" by Egypt and Jordan, from 1947 thru 1967, the palestinian leadership had no complaint about any "alien occupation " and expressed no desire for self-determination.

There was no movement toward a palestinian state when Gaza was under the control of Egypt and the West Bank under Jordan.

Jordan didn't give up its territorial claims until 1988 by which time, of course, it had no control over the area. Fatah was founded in 1964 with Arafat; unless causality has no meaning, the resistance to Israel was born with no reference to 1967 but, rather, with Israel's birth in 1948 and, indeed, with the arrival of Jews in the land in the 19th century.

The point of all of this is that it is outrageous in the extreme that the world would accept a scheme that would permit Arabs to have an ethnically cleansed geographical region where no Jews can live.

Why do Christians support Israel?

Via Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME):

After thousands of years of anti-Semitism, persecution and genocide at the hands of Christians, it’s no surprise that many Jews question the motivations of Christians who support Israel today. Most Jews simply cannot understand how the tiger could change his stripes---and many Jews harbor more than a small suspicion that pro-Israel Christians have an unspoken ulterior motive, that their support of Israel primarily serves “selfish” interests.

After attending a number of sessions featuring pro-Israel Christians at the AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) Annual Policy Conference a few weeks ago in Washington, D.C., I came away with a radically different understanding. (Of course Christian support of Israel is nothing new to us at FLAME---a large proportion of our contributors are Christians---and we have always heartily welcomed their blessings.) At AIPAC, for the first time, I heard a methodical explanation of why Christians do and should support Israel. Note that these reasons have nothing to do with hastening the Apocalypse, a myth often repeated in Jewish circles, but which has no part in the thinking of most Evangelical Christians.

In fact, a major source of the misunderstanding Jews have about pro-Israel Christians stems from ignorance about the many sects within the Christian community. Most Jews do not understand the profound difference, even occasional enmity, between Catholics and Protestants---they can’t comprehend why many Protestants would sooner vote for a Jew than a Catholic. Even fewer Jews understand the variations among Protestant sects---the huge difference between an Episcopalian and a Baptist, and the substantial chasm between most mainstream Protestants, like Methodists and Presbyterians, and Evangelicals, or born-again Christians. Suffice it to say, Evangelical Christians are by far the most assertive in their support of Israel because of their strict interpretation of the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. Evangelicals are important to the pro-Israel movement because they number some 50 million in the U.S. alone, compared with five million U.S. Jews, many of whose support for Israel is tentative at best.

One of the most moving speakers at the AIPAC conference was the Reverend John Hagee of the John Hagee Ministries out of San Antonio, Texas. Hagee is a powerful orator, whose declaration of love for Israel and the Jewish people provoked numerous standing ovations. I urge you to view a segment of this speech right now by going to http://www.jerusalemonline.com/specials12.asp.

When you’ve listened to Hagee’s inspiring address, please return to this letter.

Click here for a detailed, seven-point explanation by Hagee, based in Torah and New Testament texts, as to why Christians should support Israel. Hagee also heads up an organization called Christians United for Israel (www.cufi.org), which advocates and lobbies Congress on behalf of the Jewish state.

Whether you’re a Jew or a Christian, I think you’ll find Hagee’s exegesis eye-opening and useful.

(in Australia) Hilali charity probe widens

The Australian Federal Police has seized documents and will question key Islamic community figures after widening its investigation into allegations Australia's mufti, Taj Din al-Hilali, gave charity funds to supporters of al-Qa'ida and Hezbollah terrorist outfits in Lebanon last year.

The Weekend Australian understands the AFP [April 7, 2007] contacted Sheik Hilali's confidant Keysar Trad -- who is in Lebanon -- about the probe. In recent days, police have seized documents from the Sydney-based Lebanese Muslim Association, which is linked to Sheik Hilali, and also interviewed its president, Tom Zreika.

It is believed the federal police "intelligence probe" will include the LMA's affiliate organisations that helped raise the charity donations. The Australian revealed this week the LMA raised $70,000 in conjunction with other Islamic bodies following the Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon last year. The money was earmarked for war victims. But LMA documents, in Sheik Hilali's handwriting, reveal he gave $US10,000 to a political party leader and alleged supporter of the Iraqi insurgency and al-Qa'ida, Sheik Bilal Shaaban.

The LMA, which runs the nation's most powerful mosque in Lakemba, in Sydney's southwest, will also be asked by the AFP to submit paperwork detailing its financial transactions. The Weekend Australian understands Sheik Hilali, who is overseas, and LMA employee Sheik Yihya Safi will be asked by the AFP to provide a detailed outline of how they distributed the Australian-raised funds in Lebanon, amid accusations that Sheik Hilali met the leader of Hezbollah's terrorist wing, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah is an Iranian-backed group with a political arm in Lebanon and a militant arm that is proscribed in Australia.

Sweeping Anti-Semitism in South Africa Under the Carpet

From the author of It's Almost Supernatural:

I have been waiting for weeks for the South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the South African Jewish report to publicize the findings of the South Africa Anti-Semitism report,06 by the Institute of Contemporary Anti-Semitism and Racism at Tel Aviv University. And I will most likely continue waiting until the Messiah comes so I have decided to take the liberty of publishing its disturbing findings myself.

Disturbing is not descriptive enough. Read the complete post here.

A Pro-Israeli European Leader

It would be nice if Hillary Clinton, who I abhor, loathe and detest, but who I believe, with great sadness and with a heavy heart, has a decent chance of winning the 2008 presidential election because most Americans are too stupid to vote otherwise, should take some notes. Via Front Page Magazine:

Palestinian Authority officials have accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel of "offending the Palestinians' feelings" during her visit earlier this week to Ramallah, where she met with PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.

The accusations, the first of their kind against a European leader, were made by top PA officials only hours after Merkel and her entourage left Ramallah on Monday.

"She did everything to provoke the Palestinians during her visit," said one official. "She showed no understanding for the plight of our people. On the other hand, she appeared to be very biased toward Israel."

The official claimed that while Merkel refused to meet with families of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, she focused during her talks with Abbas on the need to release kidnapped IDF Cpl. Gilad Schalit, who has been held in the Gaza Strip since last June. In addition, he noted, Merkel met with the families of missing IDF soldiers during her visit to Jerusalem.

Read the complete article here.

Taiwan's Nazi Movement

I always thought it was hypocritical of the U S to endorse a sovereign "Palestinian" state -- but shun Taiwan’s claim to independence. But if this new emergence of Nazism in Taiwan continues to contaminate itself from within, then the Taiwanese don't deserve a state any more than the fake "Palestinians" do. From Der Spiegel:

A Nazi organization which promotes a fascist ideology of national unity and strength, and reveres Adolf Hitler, is seeking official status in Taiwan -- much to the fury of Jewish groups.

The emergence of a Nazi group in Taiwan that reveres Adolf Hitler and advocates curbing immigration has been condemned by an international Jewish human rights organization.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center on Tuesday hit out at the National Socialism Association of Taiwan (NSA) on Tuesday for championing the former Nazi dictator. "In the global interconnected world we live in, it is unacceptable anywhere to seek to promote the policies and images of Hitler and Nazi Germany as worthy of emulation," Simon Wiesenthal Centrer Associate Dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper said in a statement.

The year-old NSA is seeking the status of a non-governmental organization from the Taiwanese authorities and plans to hold its inaugural convention this coming Saturday. The controversial association has around 1,000 members, mostly of college age, who use their Web site to publicize their extremist views. The Web site is emblazoned with a Nazi swastika and says the group's ranks are reserved for people "who do not dislike Hitler."

One contributor to the Web site's discussion forum advocates policies on immigrant workers that bring to mind the German National Socialists' final solution. "If foreign laborers have children in Taiwan the government must exterminate them," the blogger writes. He adds: "In order to stop our genetic stock from further deterioration, strict monitoring and cruel punishments are called for."

Another contributor to the online blog writes: "What Hitler meant by 'superior race' is superior cultural content and not biological phenotype." Other members of the NSA have posted photos of themselves on the Internet posing in German army uniforms.

Taiwan, which has a population of 23 million, currently hosts about 300,000 immigrant workers, most of them from neighboring countries in South-East Asia. The self-styled NSA leader, 23-year-old Yue Shu-ya, thinks that Taiwan could learn useful lessons from the Führer's welfare state model. "We want to study Hitler's good points, not study his massacres," he said. "It has nothing to do with Naziism."

Shyeah, riiight. Another ignorant stooge emerges from its underground cavern. For more information on Taiwan's Nazi Party, click here.

A large Taiwanese advertisement showing a cartoon of a smiling Adolf Hitler supporting German-made electric space heaters with the English translation of "Declare war on the cold front!" printed across the top hangs on the wall of a popular subway station in Taipei, Taiwan.
Photo: AP

Judaism based on murder “I kill, therefore I am”, says Hamas representative

Via Palestinian Media Watch:

Statements maligning the Jewish religion and the Jews as the enemy of Allah are common within the Palestinian Authority. A prominent official from the Palestinian Legislative Council recently attacked Judaism saying, “it is a faith that is based on murder: 'I kill, therefore I am.'” The Hamas representative, Dr. Yussuf Al-Sharafi, further says that Israel will cease to exist “through blood and Shahids [martyrs].”

This past week Dr. Ahmad Bahar, acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council said that the Jews were a "cancerous lump” and prayed to Allah for the genocide of Jews and Americans with them: "...count them and kill them to the last one and don’t leave even one."

A similar attack on Judaism by Bahar that was broadcast on PA TV last year included the libel that the “false Talmud, [the] false Torah, and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion call for the murder of children, women and men."

Below are the 3 Hamas statements attacking Jews and Judaism:

"The representative of the Legislative Council, Dr. Yussuf Al-Sharafi, of the 'Change and Reform' faction [Hamas], emphasized the option of Jihad and resistance to banish the thieves of the occupation, who longed to drink the blood of our massacred people... because the Jewish faith does not wish for peace nor stability, since it is a faith that is based on murder: 'I kill, therefore I am'… Israel is based only on blood and murder in order to exist, and it will disappear, with Allah’s will, through blood and Shahids [martyrs]."
[Al-Risalah, Hamas, April 12, 2007]

Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Bahar (acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council): “This is Islam, that was ahead of its time with regards to human rights in the treatment of prisoners, but our people was afflicted by the cancerous lump, that is the Jews, in the heart of the Arab nation… Be certain that America is on its way to disappear, America is wallowing [in blood] today in Iraq and Afghanistan, America is defeated and Israel is defeated, and was defeated in Lebanon and Palestine… Make us victorious over the infidel people… Allah, take hold of the Jews and their allies, Allah, take hold of the Americans and their allies… Allah, count them and kill them to the last one and don’t leave even one.”
[PA TV, April 20, 2007]

Sheikh Dr. Ahmad Bahar (acting Speaker of the Palestinian Legislative Council):
“Oh warrior brothers, who stay put and withstand the [patience] test on the land of beloved Palestine. Do you know these Zionists, why they kill the children, the women and the men? This is the policy of the Zionist entity, this is a planned and organized policy. Their false Talmud, their false Torah, and the Protocols of the Elders of Zion call for the murder of children, women and men, and they want to implement them [the books] on the land of Palestine and Lebanon of today.”
[PA TV, August 4, 2006]

Palestinian builds home in Israel thinking one day it "may belong to us and our children"

Via Palestinian Media Watch:

The daily Palestinian Times, reported April, 5, 2007 on a Palestinian cement worker who was adding extra cement to the home he was building in Bnei Brak, an Israeli city north of Tel Aviv, because he believed it may eventually be his children's home and he wanted it to be strong. What is significant is not only the worker's sentiment, but that the Palestinian daily chose both to cover his story and to routinely refer to the Israeli city as "his [the worker's] land."

Last month PMW reported that 75% of Palestinian's deny Israel's right to exist [to see the bulletin click here] and this story is an indicator of how these polls are expressed in conversation, beliefs and opinions by Palestinians.

The following is the text from the Palestinian Times:

Palestinian looses job for ‘speaking his mind’

This narrative involves two characters, a Palestinian worker and an Israeli employer. It is a story about perceived ownership of land. This tales illuminates the mindset of both the Palestinians and Israelis. In this account, the worker loses his job because he defends his principles, concerning his people and land... “I was working for an Israeli employer in the Bnei Brak area inside Israel...the employer asked me to prepare a cement mixture,” said Hamed. “As I was preparing the mixture I put double the amount of cement. When the employer returned and saw the dark color of the mixture, he asked why I have doubled the cement quantity. I replied by saying that I did so to strengthen the foundations of the building since one day these buildings may belong to us and our children.”“Wherever did he learn to speak in this logic?” asked the shocked employer. He continued by telling Hamed that this is very dangerous way of thinking and is a threat to the wellbeing of land of Israel. He then told Hamed not to return to his job. -- [Palestine Times, April 5, 2007]

College Campus pro-Israel Activism: DAFKA.ORG

Ronald Radosh writes in The Real Agenda of the New Student Left that

there is an emergence of a new and dangerous student anti-war movement, one that seeks to confuse its audience by the rhetoric of peace and human rights, while in fact seeking to organize a new anti-capitalist and anti-Israel campus activism. It is truly a coalition of the leftover Left- a group seeking anxiously to create a new umbrella cause that they hope can be for their generation what Vietnam was for that of their parents.

DAFKA.org (an acronym for Defending America For Knowledge and Action) is a pro-Zionist information site with articles aimed at countering Palestinian and anti-US activism on American campuses.

Lee Kaplan, DAFKA's chief editor is an investigative journalist, news bureau head, businessman and political activist, who formed DAFKA to create a more proactive movement against the Saudis' well-financed campaign against Israel on US college campuses and elsewhere, as well as the professional propaganda plans of PASSIA.

Lee Kaplan is also a contributor to Front Page Magazine. He is also a regular columnist for the Israel National News and Canada Free Press and a senior intelligence analyst and comunications director for the Northeast Intelligence Network. In addition to heading Defending America for Knowledge and Action (DAFKA), he also heads Stop the ISM. He has been interviewed on over one hundred nationally and internationally syndicated radio shows and been a guest on Fox Cable TV’s Dayside with Linda Vester and Bill O’Reilly’s The Factor. He guests every Tuesday on the Jim Kirkwood Show on Utah's K-Talk Radio 630am.

Nonie Darwish, a US citizen of Middle East/Moslem origin is also a contributing member of DAFKA's editorial team. She is a freelance writer and many of her articles are published at http://www.frontpagemag.com/ and http://www.worldnetdaily.com/. Her website is http://www.noniedarwish.com/ .

DAFKA chapters on college campuses nationwide play Palestinian Television for all to see the reality of the Arab movement to create a "Palestinian" country to destroy Israel. [WARNING: Graphic videos, please be advised.]

Folks, it's imperative that you please spread the good word about DAFKA to your friends and family.

New site: Judeophobe Watch

Folks, there's a new site, Judeophobe Watch, which has an angle I can really appreciate. Judeophobe Watch allows for people of good conscience to debunk, refute, chastise, and debate anti-semitic postings from various Judeophobic web sites. Give it a looksee and add Judeophobe Watch to your blogroll.

Today in Jewish History - Iyar 9

Sponsored by Aish.com:

In 1948, the Arab Legion captured the police station on Mount Scopus, isolating it from the rest of Jerusalem. One month earlier, a convoy of 78 Jewish medical personnel en route to Mount Scopus were killed in a merciless Arab ambush. After 1948, Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital both closed their Mount Scopus facilities and relocated to western Jerusalem. When Jerusalem was reunited in 1967, these facilities reopened on Mount Scopus.

Video: Who is Mahmoud Abbas aka Abu Mazen?

Presenting the first PowerPoint Presentation on Mahmood Abbas, a.k.a. Abu Mazen, via Israel Behind the News.

Today in Jewish History - Iyar 8

Sponsored by Aish.com:

In 1516, the Jews of Venice were forced to move to an enclosed area, the site of an old metal foundry. The Italian word for foundry is "ghetto," thus giving rise to a concept that would be used over the centuries to persecute Jews. In 1555, for example, Pope Paul IV created the Roman Ghetto, and in the 20th century the Nazis forced Jews into dozens of ghettos -- the Warsaw Ghetto alone held 450,000 people (30% of the entire population of Warsaw), crammed into a tiny area.

Why Boycott Israel?

From Why Boycott Israel?:

Given a vast palette of injustice and depredations in the world, the British National Union of Journalists singled out Israel to boycott. The boycott was issued as "a gesture of support for the Palestinian people," some of whom, as it happens, abducted a BBC correspondent, Alan Johnston. The government of Gaza is the political arm of a terrorist organization, and if the West Bank is suffering, the cause is related to a morbid Israeli fear of terrorism. British journalists would no doubt approve similar measures if London's city buses had not once but repeatedly been blown to smithereens by passengers with the exact fare and belts of explosives. The British journalists, like the British academics before them, dare to tread where an army of goons has gone before. If they do not recognize the ember of anti-Semitism still glowing within them, they ought to park themselves before a mirror and ask why, of all the nations, they single out Israel for reprimand.

Cross-posted on Divest From "Palestine"

How a British Jihadi Saw the Light

One ex-Jihadi is not enough. From How a British Jihadi Saw the Light:

I had never expected to see such poverty in Saudi Arabia. Many African immigrants in Jeddah live in Karantina, a slum full of poverty, prostitution, and disease. Visiting Karantina, it dawned on me that many Muslims enjoyed a better lifestyle in non-Muslim Britain than they did in Muslim Saudi Arabia.

All my talk of ummah seemed so juvenile now. It was only in the comfort of Britain that Islamists could come out with such radical utopian slogans as one government, one ever-expanding country, for one Muslim nation. The racist reality of the Arab psyche would never accept black and white people as equal. Racism was an integral part of Saudi society. Even dark-skinned Arabs were considered inferior to their lighter-skinned cousins.

Two weeks after the terrorist attacks in London, a student in my class in Saudi Arabia said, "Teacher, I want to go London next month. I want bomb, big bomb in London, again. I want make jihad!" Another student shouted: "Me too! Me too!" Other students applauded. In protest I walked out of the classroom. My time in Saudi Arabia bolstered my conviction that an austere form of Islam (Wahhabism) married to a politicized Islam (Islamism) is wreaking havoc in the world. This anger-ridden ideology, an ideology I once advocated, is not only a threat to Islam and Muslims, but to the entire civilized world.

Duh.

PA Media Call for Suicide Attacks, Kidnappings of Israelis

From PA Media Call for Suicide Attacks, Kidnappings of Israelis:

Official Palestinian broadcast media have sharply increased anti-Israeli propaganda in recent days, including explicit and implicit calls for suicide attacks on Israeli civilians and kidnappings of Israeli soldiers. While PLO Chairman Abbas has told Israeli and American officials he is working for the release of kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, Palestinian officials appearing before Palestinian audiences say that the Palestinians are entitled to use the "Zionist soldier" to extricate thousands of convicted Arab terrorists from Israeli jails. Mosque speeches broadcast by the PA media are turning back to the anti-Semitic themes which regularly appeared during the leadership of Yasser Arafat, and there is scant difference between the messages of Abbas' Fatah and Hamas. Israeli Army intelligence reported that during the second half of March there was an increase in the number of rockets fired at Israel (22), following a reduction in such attacks of the first two weeks of March (12).

Al-Qaeda "Planning Big British Attack"

From Al-Qaeda "Planning Big British Attack":

Al-Qaeda leaders in Iraq are planning the first "large-scale" terrorist attacks on Britain and other Western targets with the help of supporters in Iran, according to a leaked intelligence report. Spy chiefs warn that one operative had said he was planning an attack on "a par with Hiroshima and Nagasaki" in an attempt to "shake the Roman throne," a reference to the West. There is no evidence of a formal relationship between al-Qaeda, a Sunni group, and the Shi'ite regime of President Ahmadinejad, but experts suggest that Iran's leaders may be turning a blind eye to the terrorist organization's activities.

Syria Readying for War

From Syria Readying for War:

The Syrian army is increasing its battle readiness, munitions production (especially of rockets and missiles), emergency stores, and is acquiring more weapon systems from Iran. It has purchased a large number of advanced anti-tank missiles from the Russians, with whom it is also negotiating the purchase of Russia's latest anti-aircraft missiles. The Syrians have deployed Iranian naval missiles (originally Chinese), the C. 802, and the destructive power and range of Syria's rockets and missiles has clearly grown in recent years. Israel does not rule out a possible Syrian grab for the Golan Heights.

Dozens of celebrating Jews threatened by Israeli Arab mob

Via IsraelNationalNews:

An Arab mob of several thousand - including young men on horseback and others waving PLO flags - surrounded and threatened about 150 Jews from Haifa who to a public forest to celebrate Israeli Independence Day. A Jewish young man was lightly injured in the ensuing clash.

On Tuesday afternoon, shortly after the group of Haifa families made their way to the Megiddo Forest, in the north of the country, a group of Arab youths on horseback accosted the Jewish celebrants, jeered and threatened them. As the young Arab men continued their menacing behavior, they called more Arab youths to join them. Some of the new arrivals were waving flags of the PLO terrorist organization.

At this stage of the incident, a few of the Jewish young men, with Israeli flags in hand, charged the gathering Arab mob. Within moments, a fight broke out, during which one of the Jewish youths suffered a light injury to the face. The Arabs, still threatening the Jewish families, called for more of their comrades to join them.

Within forty minutes of the start of the incident, 6,000 Arabs waving PLO flags and making menacing threats had gathered around the group of Jews in Megiddo Forest. It was only at this point that a border guard patrol jeep showed up on the scene, with just six soldiers.

It appears the Jewish celebrants had unknowingly chosen to hold their Independence Day picnic near the site of the central event held by Israeli Arabs to mark 'Nakba Day' - 'the day of the catastrophe' - as they call Israel's independence. Several thousand Arabs had come to attend the event, and heard speeches from several Arab Knesset Members, bemoaning Israel's 1948 War of Independence. Interestingly, the Arab leadership appears to be marking its 'alternative' day based on the Jewish calendar.

In response to an Arutz-7 query, the regional police department said that they were aware of the incident; however, "both sides promised they would press charges with the police, but neither side did. Therefore, the matter was not handled [by the police]." In August of 1999, Megiddo Forest, a planned fir forest located adjacent to Kibbutz Megiddo and the Arab-Israeli city of Umm El-Fahm, was the scene of a terrorist ambush and double murder. Two young hikers from Haifa, Yechiel Finfeter and Sharon Steinmetz, were murdered there by an Israeli Arab carrying out what was called "a nationalistic crime of opportunity.

Folks, actually this is understandable. If the Jews were manifesting any enjoyment, it would have been an unacceptable threat to the darkness and ignorance that Muslims thrive on.

See, the last thing Muslims can tolerate is a population of Jewish people who enjoy life. Introduce any kind of positive view on life into the Muslim population and the Islamist dies.

To the Islamist, killing a Jew is just a matter of self preservation.

Who is Khaled Mash'al?

--Head of the political bureau of the terrorist group Hamas
--Characterizes suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians as legitimate forms of "armed resistance."

Khaled Mash'al, the political bureau head of the terrorist group Hamas, has little patience for Palestinians who suggest reconciliation with Israelis. This is not at all surprising, because his group, Hamas, is dedicated to the permanent destruction of Israel by violent means. Indeed the Hamas Covenant, written in 1988, declares: "There is no other solution for the Palestinian problem other than jihad [holy war]. All the initiatives and international conferences are a waste of time and a futile game."

Consider Mash'al's reaction to a speech delivered at the Aqaba peace summit by former Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Abu Mazen, who, calling for an end to the armed Intifada, declared: "We will exert all of our efforts using all our resources to end the militarization of the Intifada, and we will succeed. The armed Intifada must end, and we must use and resort to peaceful means in our quest to end the occupation and the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis. And to establish the Palestinian state . . . our goal is clear, and we will implement it firmly and without compromise: a complete end to violence and terrorism."

In response to these words, Mash'al condemned what he called "the conspiracy being woven against the Palestinian people," a conspiracy he believed was being carried out with Mazen's passive acquiescence. Mash'al accused President Bush of conspiring with Israel to keep the Palestinians eternally subservient. And he denounced Mazen for speaking "[about] the [Palestinian] resistance as terror, and about putting an end to the armed resistance."

In short, Mash'al characterizes suicide bombings targeting Israeli civilians as legitimate forms of "armed resistance."

In July 2006, Mash'al said: "You [Israelis] will be defeated with God's help. Victory's day is approaching with God's help. (audience replies with "Death to Israel" and "Death to America") Before Israel dies, it will not escape humiliation and surrender. Before they die, with God's help theu will witness humiliaton and surrendering. And America will not be there to help; nor will their generals. The last general is forgotten. God made Sharon disappear and he wasw departed from them. … We forced a new equation in this battle. The new equation plays to our hands. We will defeat them [the Israelis]. We will defeat them emotionally and mentally before we defeat them in the field of battle. Gaza is the victory's bed. … Victory in these elections sends a message to Israel and America and all the abusers of this world. With us you will never succeed and you will always lose. If you want war, we are ready for war. … The days of defeat within six days with hours are over. Today you are fighting against the army of Allah. Today you are fighting against people who care for dying for Allah, dying for honor and prestige more than they care for life itself."

Source: FrontPageMagazine

What is Hamas?

Hamas says it is "preparing a major cemetery" for Israelis. What is Hamas?

--Islamic terrorist group founded in 1987
--Received funding from Saddam Hussein
--Receives funding from Iran
--Responsible for many suicide bombings and terrorist acts against Israeli targets

Announcing that a “truce” it made with Israel in Gaza last November is "officially over," Hamas Tuesday fired 39 Qassam rockets and 79 mortars from the Gaza Strip, aiming them at nearby Jewish communities on the day that Israelis nationwide celebrated their country's Independence Day. The projectiles served as a diversion as Hamas terrorists tried to storm an Israeli military base on the Gaza border to kidnap Israeli soldiers. (It should be noted that the cease-fire itself was a charade; during the five months from November to April, Hamas has passed its weaponry to other organizations that have, in turn, launched more than 200 rockets from Gaza into Israel.)

According to Abu Abdullah, a leading member of the Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' nominal military wing: "We don't recognize Israel's right to exist. We will never allow Jews to remain in our lands. Today's attack was only a sample of what we can do. We have thousands of rockets ready to be shot. The cease-fire is officially over.”

The Israel Defense Forces thwarted the kidnap attempt, sent helicopters to intercept the gunmen behind it, and fired missiles at Qassam launch pads in Gaza. But IDF sources said the military response to the Hamas attacks would be limited. Meanwhile, Abu Abdullah warned that if Israel raided Gaza in retaliation, "the Zionists will be entering hell. We are preparing a major cemetery for them. We will step up attacks, including dispatching suicide bombers to Tel Aviv." He further explained that Hamas had used the cease-fire to stockpile weaponry and train for attacks against Israel.

Hamas (an acronym for Harakat al-Muqawamat al-Islamiyya, or "Islamic Resistance Movement") is a radical fundamentalist group founded on December 14, 1987 by the Muslim Brotherhood. ( Hamas describes itself as "one of the wings of the Muslim Brother[hood].") As a single Arabic word rather than an acronym, "Hamas" means "zeal." Its avowed purpose is "liberating Palestine" from the Jew "oppressors," whose presence in the Middle East it considers an affront to Muslims' rightful sovereignty in the land of the Prophet Mohammad. The organization's individual co-founders were Ahmed Yassin and Abdel Aziz al Rantisi.

With tens of thousands of loyal supporters, Hamas' strength is concentrated principally in the Gaza Strip and a few areas of the West Bank. The group's leadership is dispersed throughout these same areas, with a few senior leaders residing in Syria, Lebanon, and the Gulf States. Hamas receives funding from the government of Iran and has a close working relationship with Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based terror organization that is one of Hamas' major suppliers of weaponry. When the United Nations Oil-For-Food program was in effect, Saddam Hussein skimmed more than $21 billion from its coffers and sent it directly to Hamas.

Hamas is best known for using violent methods -- including suicide bombings against Israeli military and civilian targets -- to destroy Israel and replace it with an Islamic Palestinian state. Hamas receives some funding from Iran, but it is supported primarily by donations from Palestinian expatriates around the world and private benefactors in Arab nations. Some clandestine fundraising takes place in Western Europe and North America as well.

The Hamas Charter, written in 1988, puts forth "The Slogan of the Hamas," which reads as follows: "Allah is its goal, the Prophet its model, the Qur'an its Constitution, Jihad its path, and death for the case of Allah its most sublime belief." The Charter says that jihad, or holy war, “becomes an individual duty binding on every Muslim man and woman; a woman must go out and fight the enemy even without her husband's authorization, and a slave without his masters' permission."

The Hamas Charter explicitly abjures negotiated settlements as mechanisms for peaceful coexistence: "There is no other solution for the Palestinian problem other than jihad. All the initiatives and international conferences are a waste of time and a futile game." According to the Charter, those against whom jihad is to be directed are the Jews. "The Nazism of the Jews," it says, "does not skip women and children, it scares everyone. They make war against people's livelihood, plunder their moneys and threaten their honor." Hamas seeks to fulfill the Qur'anic scripture which reads: "The prophet, prayer and peace be upon him, said: The time will not come until Muslims will fight the Jews (and kill them); until the Jews hide behind rocks and trees, which will cry: O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, come on and kill him!"

Hamas' rejection of negotiated settlements was given voice in October 2000 by its founder and then-leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, who was killed on March 22, 2004, by Hellfire missiles fired by Israeli helicopter gun ships. Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat eulogized Yassin and declared three days of mourning.

Yassin was immediately replaced by Hamas co-founder Abdel Aziz al Rantisi, who had escaped an Israeli assassination attempt in June 2003. The 54-year-old pediatrician initially threatened retaliatory attacks against both Israel and the United States, but later said that Hamas would target only Israel. On April 17, 2004, An Israeli helicopter launched a strike on Rantisi's car, killing him and two others -- one of them a bodyguard.

That same month, Yasser Arafat told the German magazine Focus that he was prepared to include Hamas and Islamic Jihad in a new leadership structure to operate in parallel with the Palestinian Authority. "Forming a unified Palestinian leadership does not contradict the Palestinian Authority," Fatah Central Committee member Hani al-Hassan told Fatah-connected newspaper Al-Ayyam, "as it is an internal Palestinian factional issue." "We think that all political movements should take part in the political decision-making process," agreed senior Hamas figure Sheikh Said Siam. "We want a political partnership along new guidelines which take into account the weight of the various movements." But this alleged diversity of political viewpoints was illusory. On January 3, 2003, PLO political chief Farouq Al-Qaddoumi candidly acknowledged that Fatah, "strategically," was "never different from Hamas."

In March 2005, FBI Director Robert Mueller stated, "Of all the Palestinian groups, Hamas has the largest presence in the United States with a strong infrastructure … [and] is theoretically capable of facilitating acts of terrorism in the United States." In October 2005 an FBI counterterrorism agent in New York affirmed Mueller's assertions, stating "We have information Hamas agents have been on U.S. soil the past few years and that the group may currently have up to 100 agents operating inside America." According to terrorism expert Steven Emerson, "Hamas has an extensive infrastructure in the U.S. mostly revolving around the activities of fundraising, recruiting and training members, directing operations against Israel, organizing political support and operating through human rights front groups. … [I]t has the capability of carrying out attacks in America if it decided to enlarge the scope of its operations."

In August 2005, the founders and political leaders of Hamas joined forces to publicly announce that the organization's attacks against Israeli targets would continue even after Israel's impending withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Senior Hamas member Ismail Haniyye characterized Israel's withdrawal as a "retreat" that was "a result of resistance and our people's sacrifice." Promising more violence, Haniyye declared, "Hamas confirms its adherence to resistance as a strategic option until the occupation retreats from our lands and holy places. Our movement reaffirms that it will protect its military apparatus …"

In elections held on January 27, 2006, Hamas won control of the Palestinian government when its party members took a majority of parliamentary seats. Formally assuming power on March 29, the newly installed Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh pledged to cooperate with President Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat’s successor and head of the defeated Fatah party. At a Gaza news conference, Haniyeh said his relations with Abbas would stress "cooperation and harmony, based on the supreme interest of the people" -- which meant confronting "Israeli aggression against the people." The new 24-member Hamas Cabinet included 14 ministers who had previously served time in Israeli prisons.

On February 15, 2007, following months of difficult negotiations and violent street fighting, the Hamas-led Palestinian government resigned in order to pave the way for a "unity government" that would include both Hamas and its rival Fatah. Ismail Haniyeh kept his position as Prime Minister, and Hamas retained a majority of the cabinet, with twelve seats, with Fatah holding only six.

Hamas' current worldwide leader is Khaled Mash'al, who first became a member of the Hamas Political Bureau in 1996.

Source: FrontPageMagazine

Today in Jewish History - Iyar 7

Sponsored by Aish.com:

In 1943, the first Jewish agricultural settlement was established in the Negev, Kibbutz Gevulot. David Ben-Gurion believed that the Negev -- encompassing about half the land mass of Israel -- was the fledging country's great frontier. Though the Negev was virtually uninhabited and thought by many to be uncultivable, Ben-Gurion believed that the desert could be tamed and turned into an asset. Many agricultural innovations, such as the use of hydroponics, have been developed in order to cultivate the Negev. And today, Beersheba -- first known as the biblical watering hole for Abraham's sheep -- is a modern city of 190,000.

The region was uninhabited. No "palestinians" were supplanted. When will the truth set us free?

Smooth Stone has been nominated

Folks, nominations for the 2007 Jewish and Israeli Blogosphere Awards (JIB) have concluded and Smooth Stone has made it to the final nominations in the Best Pro-Israel Advocacy Blog category - Category C.



Voting has already begun. Here's your chance to pick your favorites and narrow the field down.You may vote 1 time in each award type and sub-group during this round.

We're up against some tough competition from both the Left wing and Right leaning camps of Israel advocacy, but like we've said before , we're honored to have been nominated.

Go to the voting page, select the award and the sub-group you wish to vote for. Voting will be open for 1 week, through Sunday April 29.

Vote Here...Vote Best All Around - Vote Best in Class - Vote Speciality Awards

To vote for Smooth Stone, click here.

Memorial Day/ Independence Day - from Conceptwizard

Received by email from Udi & Mal Ohana, the geniuses at ConceptWizard and the authors of
History in a Nutshell, History in a Nutshell 2 , Pipeline of Hatred and others.
==============================

Dear Friends,

The siren has sounded for Israel's fallen, and it is now Independence Day. We invite you to view and pass on our info page, where the new article below now appears.

Shalom,

Udi & Mal Ohana
http://www.conceptwizard.com/info.html

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INDEPENDENCE DAY - 2007

Israelis are a polyglot mix of varied geographical, ethnic and religious origin. The State of Israel is only 59 years old, yet the complexity of its history, the interaction between the various sectors of its diverse
population, and its religious sectarianism - all give rise to an explosive melting pot of vast dimensions.

A few days ago, life came to a total standstill while the two-minute commemorative siren wailed in remembrance of the Holocaust victims. Everything came to a stop - except for the ultra-Orthodox, for whom such a tradition is alien, regarded as "gentile" in origin, and therefore taboo - rather like army service, I guess.

In fact, in one State Religious (i.e. government-funded) school, several girls who respected the siren, and stood in silence for those two minutes, were severely reprimanded by the school principal, and told to recite psalms, while standing, for the rest of the school day. A former Chief Rabbi of Israel, in a radio broadcast on the eve of Holocaust Memorial Day, even blamed the Reform movement in Germany for having angered God in the 1930s, and triggering the Holocaust - as a divine punishment.

Despite the siren, and the day-round TV and radio broadcasts, the attention paid by Israeli governments - past and present - to the victims who actually survived the Holocaust is deplorable. Around half a million Holocaust survivors are still alive today. Half of these survivors live in Israel - though they are dying off at the rate of about two thousand each month. It is estimated that one-third of the survivors in Israel live in dire poverty. Haven't they suffered enough? They clung to life though the most terrible period of history, yet now, In Israel, they don't have enough money for food, clothes, heating or medicine. Instead of providing for their needs with reparation funds received for this purpose from Germany, the government puts petty bureaucratic hurdles in their way. In a country that spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on memorial services for the dead victims of the Holocaust, I am personally ashamed that funds are not made available
to enable this small population of living victims to live out the remainder of their lives in relative comfort.

Billionaire Arkady Gaydamak is a controversial figure on the Israeli scene. Whether you see him as a fugitive from justice, or a modern-day Robin Hood, his philanthropic efforts - in erecting a tent city on Nitzanim Beach and providing three square meals a day for thousands of shell-shocked residents of northern Israel during the Second Lebanon War last summer, presenting a weekend respite from the daily rockets to 800 Sderot residents in Eilat, and his current endeavor, organizing free, star-studded Independence Eve and Day
entertainment for the Tel Aviv area, can only be commended. What Mr Gaydamak sees, through his businessman's glasses, is what most Israeli politicians forgot about long ago - that their first priority should be to take care of the constituents who elected them. With these benevolent activities, Mr Gaydamak has turned himself into a kingmaker - and may well hold the identity of Israel's next prime minister in his hands.

For Israel to survive the life-or-death predicament in which it now finds itself, all segments of the population have to pull together. In order for the 22,305 servicemen and women who have fallen in Israel's struggle for
existence, not to have died in vain, we all have to decide that the future existence of a democratic and economically vibrant Israel is more important than the contentious arguments that split our society. "All" means the Orthodox, modern religious, secular, old-timers, new and old immigrants of Moroccan, Russian, Yemenite, Anglo, Ethiopian, European and other origins, right-wing, left-wing, and even - and especially - the Israeli Arabs (who comprise about 20 percent of the general population).

I believe that religion and state cannot and should not coexist in the Israeli political arena. The large majority of Israelis want to live in a democracy, not a theocracy. Religious leaders should stop meddling in politics, and go back to making Judaism the meaningful, caring, life-embracing religion that I remember from the Diaspora.

I further believe that the elitism and laissez-faire mentality of the Israeli establishment is what has led to the present wave of corruption and scandal. If we want Israel to continue to exist, with a strong leadership
and efficient government that can lead us through these difficult days, there is no longer any room for elitism or sectarianism. We need to seek unity, and leaders with integrity and vision to guide us toward peace and
coexistence - with each other and with our neighbors. This is the only way forward.

Mal

The bastards love death

Kassam rockets fired by Hamas Muslim terrorists slammed into the western Negev in the early morning light of Israel's Independence Day, in a faint echo of the Arab attacks on the nascent state in 1948.

In a statement issued from Gaza City, the Izz a-Din al-Kassam Brigades, said it had fired up to 30 rockets and 50 mortar shells at Israel. The terror group said the attack was a “reaction to the continued Zionist crimes against our people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”

Folks, people like to keep diapering and bottle feeding palestinian Muslims so they never grow up, but the fact is, they're not exactly chained to their homicide belts and kassam rockets.

It isn't Israel that prevents palestinians from succeeding. It's Islam that prevents palestinians from succeeding. And that's a home grown failure.

Heroes of the Second Lebanon War

From Heroes of the Second Lebanon War:

They fought with courage and determination on the battlefield and sacrificed themselves while trying to save others. Here are the stories of two of the soldiers being considered for citations of valor.

Palestinian murderer/bombmaker killed in Nablus

From Leading Palestinian Bombmaker Killed in Nablus:

During an IDF arrest operation Saturday night in Nablus, Tanzim terrorist Amin Mahmoud Amin Lubadeh and Islamic Jihad terrorist Fahdel Muhammad Mahmoud Nur were killed in exchanges of fire with IDF forces during an attempt to arrest them. Lubadeh was the leading manufacturer of bombs and explosive belts in the Samaria region and was involved in numerous attacks. His activity was funded by Iran through Hizbullah and by terror operatives in Gaza. Fahdel Nur was involved in planning suicide bombings and recruiting bombers for attacks inside Israel.

Hamas Calls for Kidnapping More Israeli Soldiers to Achieve Release of 10,000 Terrorists

From Hamas Calls for Kidnapping More Israeli Soldiers to Achieve Release of 10,000 Terrorists:

The Prisoners' Committee of the Palestinian Legislative Council has suggested "further kidnappings of Zionist soldiers as a solution to end the prisoners' suffering," according to Hamas' Al-Aqsa Television. Hamas statements indicate they see the kidnapping of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still being held hostage, as an effective policy since Israel has already offered to release Palestinian terrorists from Israeli jails.

Freed Palestinian Terrorists Would Pose Immediate Threat

From Freed Palestinian Terrorists Would Pose Immediate Threat:

If hundreds of terrorists are released in exchange for abducted IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit, they will pose an immediate threat to Israel, a high-ranking defense official said. Should the government accede to the demand, the official said, the IDF would need to modify the way it operates in the West Bank. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has expressed "disappointment and reservations" over the list of prisoners, which is said to include as many as 450 murderers. "The Palestinians in prison have the terror know-how and the influence over the terror groups," the defense official said. "If they are released they will be taking those qualities with them and we will need to be prepared."

Report: "I Found Saddam's WMD Bunkers"

From Report: "I Found Saddam's WMD Bunkers":

Dave Gaubatz says Saddam's WMD did exist. He found the sites where he is certain they were stored.

Having served for 12 years as an agent in the U.S. Air Force's Office of Special Investigations, Gaubatz, a trained Arabic speaker, was posted in 2003 in Nasariyah in Iraq.

His mission was to locate suspect WMD sites, discover threats against U.S. forces in the area and find Saddam loyalists, and then send such intelligence to the Iraq Survey Group and other agencies.

Between March and July 2003, he was taken to four sites in southern Iraq - two within Nasariyah - which, he was told by numerous Iraqi sources, contained biological and chemical weapons, material for a nuclear program, and UN-proscribed missiles.

He was in no doubt that this was true because of the massive size of these sites and the extreme lengths to which the Iraqis had gone to conceal them.

Three of them were massive bunkers buried 20 to 30 feet beneath the Euphrates, with walls made of reinforced concrete five feet thick.

There were "signs of chemical activity - gas masks, decontamination kits, atropine needles. The Iraqis and my team had no doubt at all that WMDs were hidden there," said Gaubatz.

In addition, the medical records of Gaubatz and his team showed that at these sites they had been exposed to high levels of radiation.

Gaubatz subsequently learned from Iraqi, CIA and British intelligence that the WMD buried in the four sites were excavated by Iraqis and Syrians, with help from the Russians, and moved to Syria. The location in Syria of this material, he says, is also known to these intelligence agencies.

Folks, this confirms my previous article, Evidence of WMDs in Iraq and Syria.

Hezbollah Affiliates Invited to US by Members of US Congress

The World Council of the Cedars Revolution

Representing the hopes and aspirations of many millions of Lebanese throughout the Diaspora

cedarsrevolution@gmail.com

To: ALL MEMBERS OF THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES & SENATE

Friday 20th of April 2007

Washington Bureau

It is utmost concern that we bring to your attention the invitation to the United States of Lebanese Government personnel connected with the Terror Group Hezbollah.

According to our sources in Lebanon, US Congressmen have invited to the United States, this Saturday April 21, 2007 and upcoming week; members of the Lebanese Parliament for a democracy workshop. Unfortunately, two of the named: Ibrahim Kenaan and Ghassan Moukheiber, are members of the Michel Aoun’s Bloc, a group that has officially signed a memorandum of understanding with and lists Hezbollah as their closest Ally.

Hezbollah is on the State Departments list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). FTOs are foreign organizations that are designated by the Secretary of State in accordance with section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended. FTO designations play a critical role in our fight against terrorism and are an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business.

We urge all involved to disallow entry into the United States of anyone connected with terror groups. We must not send a message on the one hand of labeling Hezbollah and its affiliates as being a terrorist network and then on the other hand inviting them to the United States to attend a democracy workshop. As Secretary Rice has repeatedly stated, You can not have one foot in terror and one foot in the democratic process. We must also be aware that Nabih Berri who is the current speaker of the democratic government of Lebanon was involved in the selection. Nabih Berri is being charged by the Cedars Revolution as the main opponent to Democracy in Lebanon by closing the Parliament and not allowing any general sessions to take place. Nabih Berri’s Amal Movement has also been implicated in the 1985 TWA high jacking in which U.S. Navy diver Robert Stethem was murdered.

We must not allow any information to be shared with groups that are planning our demise and the demise of democracy in the region.

As President Bush most wisely said we will make no distinction between the terrorists and those that support the terrorists. And as the leadership of both parties, Democracts and Republican wisely co-signed the Syria accountability act, there is an American consenus on opposing Hizbollah’s Terror strategies

It should be made clear that Ibrahim Kenaan and Ghassan Moukheiber because of their groups political agreement with, constant communication with, sharing information with a terrorist organization – Hezbollah; that their entry into the United States for a democratic workshop will not be allowed and is not in the Interest of Democracy in the Region and especially not in the interest of the United States.

The World Council for the Cedars Revolution is a partner on the side of the United States and its friends/allies in this Global War on Terror. As such, we are very concerned about Petro Dollars, Iran, and its allies Syria/Hezbollah infiltrating all aspects of democracies around the world. We must recognize that a war of ideas is taking place and we must act to stop this spread of disinformation warfare that can influence the decision makers of today and tomorrow.

John Hajjar, US Director, World Council for the Cedars Revolution, cedarsrevolution@gmail.com