I’m angry

“I’m angry.

You see, as most Americans were waking up this morning, and those in Europe and elsewhere around the world were going about their daily routines, here in Israel — over one million people were running for cover from a hail of rockets being rained down by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza.”

via Arsen Ostrovsky: My Country is Under Attack. Do You Care?

Published October 25, even more relevant today.

Seems the foreign press has been largely out to coffee during the past year. According to them, this latest action started when Israel, in a precise strike, killed Ahmed Jabari, Hamas’ top military man, rather than following months, weeks and days of rocket attacks on civilian centers in Israel.

Don’t believe me? Watch this November 15th interview of Mark Regev by CNN.

No one chooses to live under daily rocket attacks, yet a million and a half+ people are doing exactly that (see update below). Hamas continues with its declared agenda to destroy the State of Israel.

Don’t believe me? Here’s what Hamas official Khalil al-Haya had to say following Jabari’s demise,

“The battle between us and the occupation is open and it will end only with the liberation of Palestine and Jerusalem.”

Via: Fox News

I’ve lived here for a long time (32 years) and been through enough popular uprisings, wars, actions and operations  to know that this agenda hasn’t changed since the days of the PLO. Extremists do not know the word “compromise,” no matter how much the Israeli and Palestinian peoples may want and long for peace and quiet (and, yes, there are those on both sides that do). It’s a bleak outlook ahead for everyone.

UPDATE:  Currently Hamas is firing Fajr-5 rockets, provided by Iran, that can reach the Tel Aviv metropolitan area, which is the area I live in, making the total number of people under fire significantly larger (3.5 million). Like all missiles fired from Gaza, Hamas is firing them from within civilian areas, putting its own population at risk, again.

NOTE: In the interview with Mark Regev, at time-mark 1:20 there is a split-screen video from Reuters where an injured Palestinian man in a black shirt and beige jacket is being carried away from a bombing site. This video has been debunked as completely staged. A few minutes later, the same man was photographed standing up and walking away from the scene.

Business as Usual

So you wanted to know what it’s like living under fire from Gaza?

Yesterday evening, straight from Netivot (speakers on)

Related articles

• Grad Missile Hits Netivot Home (israelnationalnews.com)
• Grad rocket slams into Netivot home; several treated for shock (timesofisrael.com)
• IDF launches three Gaza strikes in response to rocket fire (haaretz.com)

Five Years and Four Months Later, A Homecoming

If you’re a regular visitor to my blog, you’ll certainly have noticed the banner over there in the top right corner of my blog’s sidebar. Sargent Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas on June 25th, 2006, when he was a 19 year-old corporal on active duty in the IDF. In Israel army service is compulsory for all young men and women and their tour of service ranges from 18 months to 3 years, followed by a lengthy reserve duty.

Gilad was not in Gaza when Hamas kidnapped him, he was within Israel’s borders at a military base. The terrorists who took him wounded from his tank were members of Hamas’ military wing. The other 2 troops in Gilad’s tank, including his commander, died, 5 others were wounded in the attack. Over the five-year period of his captivity, there were no visits from the Red Cross to ensure that his humanitarian rights were upheld, no routine proof of life given.

Until now, all the efforts to secure Gilad’s release have failed. In exchange for his return this upcoming week, Israel has agreed to release more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners, including some 450 terrorists who have directly caused the deaths of both Israelis and foreigners. They include Nasser Batima, jailed for planning a hotel bombing in Netanya during Passover in 2002 in which 30 Israelis were killed as well as Ahlam Tamimi, the Palestinian woman who drove the suicide bomber who attacked a Jerusalem pizza restaurant in 2001, killing 15 people. Also included on the list of those to be released are those who participated in the 2000 “lynching” in Ramallah of two Israeli reserve soldiers and those responsible for the abduction and murder of soldiers Nahshon Waxman, Avi Sasportas, Ilan Sa’adon and Shahar Simani.

There is not an Israeli who does not understand Aviva and Noam Shalit and the anguish they have suffered during their son’s 5-year captivity. And yet, while we rejoice with them in Gilad’s hopeful return, we cannot but wonder how long before someone else’s son or daughter becomes the next kidnap victim or the next victim of a terrorist act at the hands of one of those released in the exchange.

So while Hamas will be joyful and welcome their sons and daughters home with a hero’s welcome, Israelis will remain subdued. We have too much experience with the promises of terrorists to do otherwise.

Hoping that people and the media can give #giladshalit the space and time he needs to recover. Let him be #Gilad again before anything else.—
JenniferT (@wysiwygjt) October 12, 2011

Related:
News of Hamas-Israel prisoner deal met with apathy in Ramallah
Bereaved families petition High Court against Shalit deal

Update October 18, 2011:
09:10 – The news media have been talking non-stop since early this morning and as of now the pace has picked up to a frenzy. Still no sight of Gilad other than reports of his having been transferred to Egypt and the Rafiah border crossing. Celebrations in Ramallah, Um el Fahum and Gaza. Reports of calls for another kidnapping. Haniyeh confused why the world is celebrating the return of Shalit but not the Palestinian prisoners. East Jerusalem residents are demonstrating in the streets with Hamas flags.
09:30 – Two female terrorists, one mentioned above, have refused to leave the Red Cross bus so that they are not deported to Gaza.
09:45 – IDF confirms that Gilad has been transferred to Egypt.
09:55 – Thanks to the intervention of Egypt, one of the female terrorists will be deported directly to Egypt rather than Gaza. Not clear what is the fate of the 2nd female terrorist.
10:05 –  The prisoner exchange continues and you are invited to follow the developments on Ha’aretz’s Live Blog.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Sergeant First Class Gilad Shalit Enters Israel – ow.ly/70Ab9 #giladshalit—
IDF (@IDFSpokesperson) October 18, 2011

Can we get #GiladShalit to his home so we can get some good food in him. #JewishMothers—
Carol Warady (@carolw) October 18, 2011

AMEN! and later today, after so many, many days, my #giladshalit banner comes down.

Israeli grand slam in the Marcel Bezençon Awards 2010

Harel Skaat, Israel-photo by aktivioslo on flickr

While certainly not a dedicated Eurovision fan like Laurie (make sure to check out her Eurovision page), I enjoy watching the contest not only for the talent, but also for the cheese. This year again had plenty of both.

Israel was expected to do well this year, but ended up in 14th place, still better than some icons of the Eurovision Song Contest who ended up in last place. After surviving two tortuous hours, my two picks were Germany and Belgium and at least I was right on one account.

But even before the contest final itself, the Eurovision entries are judged for the Marcel Bezençon Awards which include three categories: the journalists’, the composers’ and the commentators’ award. In the eight years that these awards have been running, this year was the first time that a single entry took all three prizes, and that was Israel.

In hindsight, had the date of the ESC or the Bezençon Awards been delayed by a day or two, I have my doubts that the voting would have gone this way no matter how talented the Israeli delegation was. But that is something best left for a post of its own.

via Israeli grand slam in the Marcel Bezençon Awards | News | Eurovision Song Contest – Oslo 2010.

Image credit: aktivioslo

I’d like to thank the Academy

There’s only one thing I can say after listening to our PM’s awards acceptance speech press conference last night about the unilateral cease fire in Gaza,

Where is

Gilad Shalit?!

(941 days in captivity and counting…)