Staying Real in Israel
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Guess that’s life in Southern Israel these days…

So me and the wife are settling in the other night for our evening ritual of TV series and snacks. I’m setting things up and Ellen is downstairs getting into her ‘jammies and sweats.
She calls me, but, me being a new member of the 60+ generation and a bit hard of hearing even before qualifying for membership in the AARP, I don’t answer, so she tries a bit louder.

“MARTY!!!”

“WHAT?”, my witty reply.

“It’s a siren”, she says, a bit louder this time. “You better get on down here”.

“Oh, crap”, says me, “We’re going to miss the beginning of Boardwalk Empire!…”Okay, okay, I’m coming…and I’ll bring the dogs.”

I realize that we better get in the “safe room”/bomb shelter that every home in Israel is required by building code to have. It’s rare that Hamas hits anything with their primitive missiles, but every now and then there’s a wrecked house, and there’s even been a few dead people.

So we gather downstairs, in the basement, under a doorjamb, far from any glass windows, but NOT QUITE in the bomb shelter itself. It’s kind of too cluttered with old cribs, books, dental molds and bird food for a full size human to fit in, let alone a couple and three dogs. Besides, the missiles don’t usually hit anything, right? But that siren is still wailing and it’s kind of a scary sound, even after the tenth time hearing it and running (slowly) to the shelter. Better safe than sorry.

So after a couple of minutes the siren stops. Ellen says, “Let’s go upstairs and watch TV”.

“But the orders say we wait in the shelter for10 minutes to be sure nothing explodes”.

“But we’re not REALLY even in the shelter.”

“Alright, alright”

After about 90 seconds, we get tired of standing there like fools, so we head up and hit the popcorn (now a bit burned), sunflower seeds. Boardwalk Empire, House and Dexter are waiting.

I turn to Ellen about an hour later and say, “You know, I was just thinking. How weird is it? There are people that are actually shooting rockets and missiles at our house. For real. They want to blow up our house and kill you, me, the dogs and the children. FOR REAL!!! Could you imagine that if we were still living in America?”

“Shhhhh…”House” is starting.

I guess you get used to anything after a while.

Life in Southern Israel…

What do all three of these “statesmen” have in common? (other than having been appointed to jobs for which they are incompetent to perform by an incompetent president)

Radio Show/Podcast!!!

Listen to the show…

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They have all made headline-grabbing statements about Israel in public forums in the past week…All of which were mis-informed, ignorant, wrong and harmful to the Jewish State…

Find out what they said and why they should have kept their mouths shut…

Also…Honor killings in England…Driving women in Saudi Arabia…

Plus…Barbara Streisand to sing to Israeli soldiers…

All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…

Listen to the show…

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If they were REALLY concerned only about getting needed supplies to Gaza, and not just with stirring up conflict with the Israeli authorities and hatred towards the Israeli Jews, why would the “humanitarian activists” refuse the offer of the Greek government to ship all of the so-much-needed supplies to Gaza?

The leopard has so clearly revealed it’s stripes…Why does the world not see this?
At least the Greek and Turkish governments seems to have come to their senses with their respective legal actions succeeding in stopping the the sailing of this abomination…at least for now…
Kol Ha Kavod (congratulations, and thank you), Greece and Turkey!…

Flotilla activists reject Greek offer to ship aid to Gaza

Harbor-bound pro-Palestinian activists say Athens’ offer to deliver aid to Strip a scheme concocted in cahoots with Israel

Reprinted from ynetnews.com

Participants of the Gaza-bound flotilla claimed Sunday that Greece’s offer to ferry their humanitarian aid cargo to the Strip through the Ashdod or El Arish ports, in coordination with the United Nations, was a fraud.

The activists rejected the offer, calling it “a fraud that aims to preserve Israel’s blockade on Gaza.”

Earlier Sunday, Athens – whose authorities have so far prevented any vessel associated with the flotilla from leaving its ports to Gaza – stated that “Greece reiterates its willingness and proposes to undertake the task of transporting the humanitarian aid, with Greek vessels or other appropriate means, through the existing channels…

“To this avail, Greece will come into immediate and direct contact with the UN and all the concerned parties, in order to render the mission feasible on behalf of our country.”

Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has reportedly called Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the latest developments in the Palestinian arena and the efforts to restart the peace talks with Israel, as well as convey Athens’ offer.

Members of the “flotilla coalition” said the offer was the result of the two’s conversation, and slammed Abbas for “stabbing us in the back.”

The activists further quoted a 2008 statement by the Palestinian president suggesting that any attempt to breach the blockade was “a foolish game.” They claimed that Abbas said at the time that since all vessels entering Gaza undergo security checks, they can hardly be seen as “breaching the siege.”

Meanwhile, the American passengers of the “Audacity of Hope,” which was prevented from sailing to the Gaza Strip on Saturday, have declared a hunger strike and staged a protest outside the US Embassy in Athens.

Some activists also marched on the Israeli Embassy in the Greek capital and together with local pro-Palestinian Greek activists staged a protest rally.

Protesters were reportedly shouting “Free Palestine,” “Stop the occupation,” and “Lift the Gaza siege.” One of the American protesters described the atmosphere as “very supportive.”

Members of the various organizations taking part in the flotilla said that would try to set sail again on Monday.

Former Israeli Dror Feiller, who is among the flotilla’s organizers, said that “there are still surprises to come. We intend to set sail soon. If the Greek want to stop us – let them stop up. We won’t stop trying.”

We must keep the pressure on these law-breaking useful idiots…
Their true goals must be revealed to the world…They must be stopped, by any means possible…

Shurat HaDin sues Inmarsat for providing satellite services to Gaza flotilla

ISRAELI HUMAN RIGHTS GROUP FILES CIVIL ACTION AGAINST SATELLITE
GIANT INMARSAT OVER HAMAS SHIPS

Reprinted from imra.org.il

(MIAMI, FLORIDA) On Tuesday June 28, 2011, the Israeli human rights group
Shurat HaDin brought a civil action against the UK and US based global
satellite company Inmarsat, alleging that it was providing communication
services to ships used by suspected terror organizations in the Gaza
flotilla planned for the coming days. The lawsuit was filed in Florida
State Court in Miami-Dade County.

The plaintiff in the suit, Michelle Fendel, a resident of the Southern
Israeli town of Sderot, asserts that under U.S. law, Inmarsat and its
officers have aided and abetted terrorism by providing satellite services to
the Gaza-bound ships. The Gaza Strip is controlled by Hamas, an Islamist
movement designated by the US, the UK, Israel and the European Union as a
terrorist group, and is subject to an Israeli naval blockade. Thousands of
Qassam rockets launched by Hamas have landed in the area of Fendel’s home
in Sderot, which borders on Gaza, killing numerous Israeli civilians and
injuring many more.

The complaint alleges that Inmarsat is one of the largest satellite
telecommunications companies in the world and the main provider of maritime
communication services. The Flotilla ships rely upon Inmarsat’s network to
communicate with ports, naval authorities and other vessels and cannot sail
without it.

Andrew J. Sukawaty, Inmarsat’s C.E.O. was also named as a defendant in the
case.

The plaintiff is represented by attorney Isaac Jarosiewicz of Miami,
Florida, Robert Tolchin of New York and Nitsana Darshan-Leitner of Tel Aviv,
Israel.

One year ago, a previous Flotilla bound for Gaza, was intercepted by the
Israeli Navy. There was a violent battle on board the ships between armed
militants and Israeli SEALs, that resulted in numerous deaths and injuries.

Prior to filing the lawsuit, the attorneys for Fendel sent Inmarsat a
warning letter demanding that it discontinue all satellite services to the
boats being utilized to engaged in hostile operations against Israel. The
letter noted that providing services during the upcoming flotilla, Inmarsat
and its corporate officers were in violation of US criminal statutes
prohibiting the provision of material support for acts of violence and
terrorism (18 U.S.C. § 2339A and § 2339B) and the provision of material
support for naval expeditions against U.S. allies (18 U.S.C. § 960 and §
962), and would also be held civilly liable for any damages or harm caused
by participants in the flotilla.

The lawsuit alleges that: “Inmarsat’s provision of satellite communication
services to the Flotilla Ships constitutes a present and on-going danger to
the life, person and property of Plaintiff Michelle Fendel and other
residents of Sderot.”

The attorneys for Fendel are asking the Miami Court to formally declare that
Inmarsat’s provision of satellite communication services to the Flotilla
Ships constitutes a violation of American criminal statutes and endangers
the life of the Sderot residents. In addition, they have asked the Court
to grant a permanent injunction against Inmarsat which would require the
company to immediately and permanently cease the provision of any services
to any of Flotilla Ships.

The government of Israel is considering releasing from Israeli jails scores of arab terrorists…terrorists that have already murdered hundreds of innocent Jews…

Gilad Shalit

Our hearts are torn over the pain and suffering already endured by Gilad Shalit and his loved ones, after being held in captivity in Gaza for five years by heartless, inhumane palestinian terrorists. We MUST do everything possible to obtain his release…NOW.

Jewish law and Jewish morality places the redeeming of Jewish captives amongst the highest priorities of any Jewish community…but not at any price. We are required to be certain that the redeeming of one precious life does not become the cause of later, even greater LOSS of life…

It is the responsibility of the government of Israel to do everything in its power to obtain the immediate release of Gilad Shalit. It is also the responsibility of the government of Israel to protect and defend the lives of the rest of Israel’s citizens. The government must not only think about Shalit today, but must consider tomorrow, the DAY AFTER his release…What is likely to happen?

This nightmarish “day after” scenario posited by my friend Dr. Aaron Lerner at IMRA seems all too likely to occur, should the government decide to free arab terrorists of the most dangerous variety in return for the release of Gilad Shalit…

Observation: The day after release of Shalit in huge trade

The following is a reasonable prediction of what will happen after Gilad
Shalit is released in a huge trade:

Reprinted from imra.org.il Dr. Aaron Lerner

1. Every terrorist group and even freelancers make absolutely every
effort to grab someone to replace Shalit.

2. The country is on high alert due to intelligence reports of plans to
kidnap another soldier.

3. Many of the attempts are foiled.

4. Thursday is a nightmare for both soldiers and their families as
soldiers make their way home for the weekend from their bases. Ditto for
Sunday as soldier return. In both instances the roads are clogged with the
cars of parents who opted to transport their children themselves rather than
rely on public transportation.

5. Within a relatively short period, a soldier is dragged off the streets
of Israel but the terrorists kill the soldier because they find that they
are unable to hide him.

6. Ultimately one of the kidnappings succeeds when a soldier dragged off
the streets reaches Gaza after being smuggled out to Egypt – all this before
it is even certain that a soldier is actually missing.

7. The IDF carries out various attacks but since Israeli intelligence is
clueless as to where the soldier is being held and since Israel wants to
avoid condemnation at this time for a massive operation, most efforts to
gain the release of the captured soldier are diplomatic and via PR.

8. The country is depressed, frustrated and there are articles in the
paper that many families with children slated to enter the IDF are seeking
ways to keep their kids out of the army.

9. There are calls to meet the demands of the terrorists to gain the
release of the new kidnapped soldier.

10. Some former senior defense-intelligence officials issue a call to
release all terrorists now being held by Israel once they have been
interrogated for information so that there is no longer any reason for the
terrorists to kidnap Israelis.

11. Under the banner “Peace Now: For the safety of our soldiers” former
senior defense-intelligence officials issue a call for Israel to make every
and any conciliation required to reach a final status agreement with the
Palestinians.

The above series of events might not transpire, but the odds that they do
are magnitudes greater than optimistic scenarios.

The former senior defense-intelligence officials who assert that Israel
knows how to deal with security threats are correct. There will be security
alerts, etc. but none of these activities will stop the kidnapping from
taking place with every terrorist group and even freelancers making
absolutely every effort to grab someone to replace Shalit.

Now that’s not to say that the recommendation of the former senior
defense-intelligence officials who are pushing for Israel to carry out the
trade aren’t right.
Its just that they should have the intellectual honesty to concede where we
may find ourselves after the deal.

Don’t they have something more important to worry about, like maybe saving Greece or Spain from economic collapse?

Ramat Shlomo, Jerusalem

Besides, haven’t the French learned yet that Israel’s building of homes, communities, or even cities has NOTHING WHATSOEVER to do with peace or the lack thereof in the Middle East?

But I DO hate to see those Frenchmen so deeply concerned over anything…

France deeply concerned over Israeli settlements

France is deeply concerned about Israel’s authorization for the expansion of 2,000 settlement homes built on occupied Palestinian land in east Jerusalem, the Foreign Ministry said Monday

Reprinted from dailystar.com

“Our position is constant: Settlement building is illegal in the eyes of international law, in the West Bank as well as in East Jerusalem,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero.

Jerusalem’s municipal council Sunday approved the expansion of 2,000 homes in the settlement district of Ramat Shlomo, allowing each home to add a room. The Ramat Shlomo neighborhood lies in an area of Arab East Jerusalem, which Israel captured during the 1967 war and later annexed in a move not recognized by the international community.

France called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to resume peace talks based on proposals made by French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe when he visited the region earlier this month.

“We call on the parties to resume negotiations based on principles contained in the French initiative … and to refrain from unilateral gestures,” Valero said.

Those pesky checkpoints that check for bombs, knives and what-not carried by palestinians crossing into Jewish population centers in Israel …

Israel keeps removing them, under U.S. and European pressure, of course…confidence-building measures to reassure the palestinian enemies of Israel that they have true partners in their quest for peace…

The removal of checkpoints seems to inevitably lead to a successful terror attacks and the spilling of innocent Jewish blood
…and the IDF checkpoints keep on preventing the murder of Israeli Jews on a daily basis…

Palestinian shot trying to stab Israel soldier

A Palestinian was shot and injured on Sunday after he apparently tried to stab a soldier at a checkpoint in the northern West Bank, the Israeli military said

Reprinted from vancouversun.com

“Today, a Palestinian rushed in the direction of an Israeli soldier shouting Allahu Akhbar (God is greatest) and trying to stab him. The soldier opened fire and wounded him in the leg,” a spokeswoman told AFP.

“The Palestinian was evacuated to an Israeli hospital and an investigation has been opened,” she added.

The military said the incident occurred near the Ariel settlement in the northern West Bank, south of the Palestinian city of Nablus.

Palestinian security sources confirmed that their Israeli counterparts had notified them of an incident in the northern West Bank in which they said a man tried to stab a female soldier,

But the sources added that they had no details or independent confirmation.

In January, Israeli troops shot and killed a Palestinian man at the Hamra checkpoint northeast of Nablus.

Initial reports claimed the man had tried to stab soldiers but the military later said troops had opened fire when the man entered an unauthorised lane at the checkpoint, apparently wielding a bottle.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Palestinian+shot+trying+stab+Israel+soldier+army/4971620/story.html#ixzz1PjGRGyjt

Believe it or not…Possibly oil reserves in Israel greater than those in Saudi Arabia!

Watch this video, if you think that it’s too good to be true…

Can you even begin to imagine the implications of this find?
Just think about it…OPEC becomes irrelevant?
And then there are the natural gas fields that Israel is just now beginning to develop…
The Lord works in strannnngggge ways…
Read more »

If any of you are still deluding yourselves that the “flotillas” coming with the “humanitarian” mission to break Israel’s blockade of the terrorists in Gaza have anything whatsoever to do with peace…

Please, think again…

Death threats against an Israeli musician by the organizers of the latest flotilla?
Can this have ANYTHING whatsoever to do with peace?
Can anybody involved with these violent assaults on international law and Israel’s sovereignty truly call themselves a “peace activist”?

Yuval Ron

I don’t think so…

Israeli musician cancels Istanbul concert

Death threats, allegedly from flotilla-organizing IHH, lead Yuval Ron to cancel performance in Turkey.

Reprinted from jpost.com

Death threats, allegedly from the Turkish NGO that helped organize the 2010 Gaza protest flotilla, led to the cancellation of a concert in Istanbul by Oscar-winning Israeli musician Yuval Ron, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Friday.

The IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has denied making the threats, but confirmed that it did oppose the holding of the concert.

Ron, the leader of a musical ensemble that includes Muslim, Jewish and Christian artists, told Hurriyet on Friday, “I am very sorry, I had to cancel the concert because of the safety of my team members.

The cancellation of the concert will harm Turkey’s image in the world. But I want to return to Turkey and realize this concert [in the future],” said Ron, who won the 2007 Academy Award for Short Film for writing the music for West Bank Story.

The concert, which was scheduled for Thursday night in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet neighborhood, was canceled it because of threats from IHH, Hurriyet reported.

Why do actors think that they are qualified to engage in international diplomacy???

Leonard Nimoy

Since when does being very famous and being very good at pretending to be someone that you are not in a situation that is not real in front of a camera or on stage…since when does that qualify you as an expert on international affairs? Why should anyone give an actor any more credence than a plumber (no offense to plumbers…I respect THEM more than I do actors…they do something MUCH more useful to society) when it comes to their opinion on international issues (that they usually know nothing about)???

Nimoy, you may be Jewish, but you do NOT live in Israel, you do NOT have any particular knowledge about events in the Middle East, neither you nor you children serve in the Israeli Army, and you are not even particularly identified as being Jewish or caring about Israel, even if your Vulcan hand signal is an imitation of the Jewish priests’ hand position while blessing the Jewish people (you probably didn’t even know that)…

So, when it comes to your efforts for “peace” in Israel…please keep them to yourself and your family and close friends…

‘Spock’ calls for Jerusalem’s division

Jewish actor Leonard Nimoy known for famous Star Trek role writes letter on ‘Americans for Peace Now’ website supporting two-state solution

Reprinted from Ynetnews.com

The Americans for Peace Now (APN) organization published Tuesday a letter written by actor Leonard Nimoy, best known for his role as Spock in the original Star Trek series and movies, in which the actor supports the establishment of a two-state solution.

The 80-year-old actor called upon the American people to support the peace initiative.

“I reach out to you as someone who is troubled to see the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians continue apparently without an end in sight,” Nimoy wrote.

“In fact, there is an end in sight. It’s known as the two-state solution – a secure, democratic Israel as the Jewish State alongside an independent Palestinian state. Even Israel’s nationalist Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, has come to see this as the shape of the future. The problem is how to reach that end point. It’s something we should be concerned about – not only as world citizens, but as Americans.”

He went on to write that he supports the division of Jerusalem, mentioning 50 other prominent Israelis, including former heads of the Mossad, the Shin Bet and the military who support a two-state solution.

“There is a sizable number of influential voices in Israel saying the same thing… a call for two states for two nations. Their plan includes a Palestinian state alongside Israel with agreed-upon land swaps. The Palestinian-populated areas of Jerusalem would become the capital of Palestine; the Jewish-populated areas the capital of Israel.”

“I’m a strong supporter of APN and the work it does,” Nimoy wrote. “Peace Now’s activities and programs… keep peace on the world’s agenda… Like those Israelis who issued the peace plan, the members of Peace Now have their boots on the ground. They serve in Israel’s military reserves and see every day what life is like without a negotiated peace with the Palestinians.”

Nimoy also addressed the Itamar massacre and the increase in violence in the Middle East.

“A Jewish family was murdered in the West Bank and a woman was killed in a bus bombing in Jerusalem. A rocket attack on southern Israel from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip resulted in a school bus being hit and a teen died of his wounds. Israel, in turn, has retaliated,” he said.

He added that a strong American leadership is needed to “pivot from the zero-sum mentality of violence to an attitude that focuses on the parties shared interests: Security and prosperity.” Paraphrasing his famous Star Trek quote: “Live long and prosper.”

Nimoy recalled a Star Trek episode called, “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield,” in which the Enterprise runs into “two men, half black, half white, are the last survivors of their peoples who have been at war with each other for thousands of years, yet the Enterprise crew could find no differences separating these two raging men… And they were prepared to battle to the death to defend the memory of their people who died from the atrocities committed by the other.”

The actor attempted to convince the American people to act by supporting the APN, mostly through donations, in order to help resolve the conflict.

“I’m a strong supporter of APN and the work it does. It is a leading voice for Americans who support Israel and know that a negotiated peace will ensure Israel’s security, prosperity and continued viability as a Jewish and democratic state,” wrote Nimoy.

Nimoy stressed he does not intend to belittle the issues that divide Israelis and Palestinians.

“What I do mean to suggest is that the time for recriminations is over. Assigning blame over all other priorities is self-defeating. Myth can be a snare. The two sides need our help to evade the snare and search for a way to compromise,” he said.

The actor also noted how the tumultuous situation in the Middle East has a direct effect on the US economy.

“We’ve seen oil prices rise sharply and America become involved militarily in Libya. The cost to American lives and our economy continues to rise at a time when unemployment and deficits are sapping our country’s strength.”

Nimoy explained that it is also in the interest of the US “to spread the message that there is a peace solution, and to let Congress and the White House know it’s preferable for America to be part of the solution than to be drawn into another conflict.”

Sadly, nothing has really changed…RFK was right in 1948, and the facts remain the same…The palestinians want to destroy Israel

The articles show some things have not changed at all, and point to the roots of the Arab-Israeli conflict, which are no different 63 years later:

The Arabs are most concerned about the great increase in the Jews in Palestine: 80,000 in 1948. The Arabs have always feared this encroachment and maintain that the Jews will never be satisfied with just their section of Palestine, but will gradually move to overpower the rest of the country and will eventually move onto the enormously wealthy oil lands. They are determined that the Jews will never get the toehold that would be necessary for the fulfillment of that policy.
They are willing to let the Jews remain as peaceful citizens subject to the rule of the Arab majority just as the Arabs are doing in such great number in Egypt and the Levant states, but they are determined that a separate Jewish state will be attacked and attacked until it is finally cut out like an unhealthy abscess.

Kennedy describes “annihilation” of the Jews as the Arab purpose:

Within the Old City of Jerusalem there exists a small community of orthodox Jews. They wanted no part of this fight but just wanted to be left alone with their wailing wall. Unfortunately for them, the Arabs are unkindly disposed toward any kind of Jew and their annihilation would now undoubtedly have been a fact had it not been that at the beginning of hostilities the Haganah moved several hundred well-equipped men into their quarter.

Read more of what Kennedy wrote in a series of articles for a Boston newspaper in 1948, after his visit to “Palestine”…

Bobby Kennedy in Palestine — Four Boston Post Articles from 60 Years Ago

Robert Kennedy, Special Writer for Post, Struck by Antipathy Shown by ‘Arabs and Jews’

By Robert Kennedy, June 3, 1948 (posted on Lenny ben David’s blog)

Certainly if Arthur Balfour, Britain’s foreign minister during the first World War, had realized the conflicting interpretations which were to be placed on his famous “declaration” calling for a homeland for the Jews, he probably would have drawn it with its meaning clearer and saved the world the bloodshed that its double promises have caused. In his attempt to conciliate both Jews and Arabs in a time of distress for the British empire, conciliated neither.

No great thought was given to it at the time, for Palestine was then a relatively unimportant country. There were then not the great numbers of homeless Jews that we have now and no one believed then that the permission granted for Jewish immigration would lead 30 years later to world turmoil on whether a national home should mean an autonomous national state.

First let us consider the viewpoint of the Arabs in regard to the national homeland promised to the Jews in the Balfour Declaration.
The Arabs by word and deed leave no question in anyone’s mind how they feel. They argue that the Balfour Declaration supports their point that no national state was promised, pointing to the clauses in the declaration that says the national home shall be set up subject to the civil rights of the people living in Palestine at this time. In recent years they have pointed to the United Nations charger and the Article dealing with the self-determination of nations. Let us adhere to that, the Arabs say, and let the people, that is the Arabs who are involved, decide the question by the democratic processes. If this policy of participation was truly adhered to they say, then why couldn’t there be a partition with the “the” partition set aside for the Arab minorities?

The Arabs are most concerned about the great increase in the Jews in Palestine: 80,000 in 1948. The Arabs have always feared this encroachment and maintain that the Jews will never be satisfied with just their section of Palestine, but will gradually move to overpower the rest of the country and will eventually move onto the enormously wealthy oil lands. They are determined that the Jews will never get the toehold that would be necessary for the fulfillment of that policy.

Always Will Attack

They are willing to let the Jews remain as peaceful citizens subject to the rule of the Arab majority just as the Arabs are doing in such great number in Egypt and the Levant states, but they are determined that a separate Jewish state will be attacked and attacked until it is finally cut out like an unhealthy abscess.

The Arabs believe they contributed greatly to making the Allied victory possible in the first World War. At the Paris peace conference they felt that they received nothing comparable to what they were promised for their fight under Lawrence against the Turks. Rather, due to power politics, British and French domination replaced that of the Ottoman empire. The Arab leaders attribute their country’s backwardness to these 400 uninterrupted years as subservience to the Ottoman empire.

The Jewish people on the other hand believe that if it were not for the wars and invasions that racked Palestine and which sent them scattered and persecuted throughout the world, Palestine would today be theirs.

It would be theirs just as when Moses led them from Egypt into the Palestinian plains which they point out were unoccupied except for a few Bedouin tribes.

Set Up Laboratories

Under the supposition that, at the finish of the mandate, this was to be their national state, they went to work. They set up laboratories where world-famous scientists could study and analyze soils and crops. The combination of arduous labor and almost unlimited funds from the United States changed what was once arid desert into flourishing orange groves.
Soils had to be washed of salt, day after day, year after year, before crops could be planted. One can see this work going on in lesser or more advanced stages wherever there are Jewish settlements in Palestine.
From a small village of a few thousand inhabitants, Tel Aviv has grown into a most impressive modern metropolis of over 200,000. They have truly done much with what all agree was very little.

The Jews point with pride to the fact that over 500,000 Arabs in the 12 years between 1932 and 1944, came into Palestine to take advantage of living conditions existing in no other Arab state. This is the only country in the Near and Middle East where an Arab middle class is in existence.

The Jews point out that they have always taken a passive part in the frequent revolutions that have racked the country, because of the understanding that they would eventually be set free from British mandateship. They wished to do nothing to impair this expected action.

During the second World War they sent numerous volunteer Jewish brigades which fought commendably with the British in Italy. In addition to that, many Palestinian Jews fought as volunteers with Allied troops throughout the world and still others were dropped by parachute into German-held territory as espionage agents. They were perhaps doing no more than their duty, but they did their duty well.

The Jews feel that promise after promise to them has been broken. They can quote freely, for example, from speech after speech of Labor Party leaders in the election campaign prior to the victory of the Labor Party in England, to attest to the fact that one need not even refer back to the controversial Balfour declaration to learn Britain’s attitude and promises toward a Jews state was to be one of the first acts of the Labor government if it were put into power. The Jews, remembering this, have rather bitterly named the black bombed out [area] in the Ben Yehuda disaster, “Bevin square.” [An Arab car bomb in Jerusalem in February 1948 killed some 50 people.]

It is an unfortunate fact that because there are such well founded arguments on either side each grows more and more bitter toward the other. Confidence in their right increases in proportion to the hatred and mistrust for the other side for not acknowledging it.

Never Searched

When I landed at Lydda Airport [see picture] I became immediately aware of it. I carried letters of introduction to both Arabs and Jews and at the airport where both sides intermingle it was explained to me by first one and then the other that I was taking a great risk. The Jew said it was all right for me to carry Arab papers in Jewish territory for I wouldn’t be molested, but when I entered Arab territory I had better be rid of all letters to Jews for I would immediately be searched and, if they found anything, would be quickly shot. The Arab said exactly the opposite and I found both to be half right, in that I was never searched by either side.

Another fact I became immediately aware of was a basic violent hatred of the British by both sides. I talked to a British army sergeant who had been in Palestine for two years, and he placed the blame with the Palestine Colonial Police. Later I found many to be in agreement. He called them the “underpaid uneducated dregs of society.” They were evidently the most corrupt group of police in the world, firstly because they were so underpaid and, secondly, because when colonial police were sent to their posts the worst of the lot were invariably sent to Palestine.

The Arab bitterness and also fear toward the British had as its starting point the 1936-1938 revolution, which was crushed most ruthlessly by the British.

Increasing Bitterness

Leading Arabs in the higher committee speak in all sincerity of the Indian brought by the British into the country because of the great skill and knowledge that he possessed in being able to torture with fire while leaving no scar tissue. Many claim to have suffered by having their nails pulled out from their fingers and toes and others of having burning matches thrust beneath their nails. I found little evidence that these stories were true.

The Jewish attitude toward the British has been one of increasing bitterness. The Jews have looked upon the British civil administration, which some years ago took over from the army, as most unfriendly and uncooperative and which has therefore led to much mutual distrust. Jews received virtually no financial help for building schools and hospitals in Jewish settlements and the post office which was set up to serve Tel Aviv wasn’t suitable for a village of several thousand inhabitants. I was forced to wait well over an hour in line in order to purchase stamps.

When told if they wanted a port they would have to build it themselves, the result was the port of Tel Aviv, which was constructed entirely through Jewish capital and labor. Nevertheless, it is taxed as high as the Arab port of Jaffa, which was built and maintained by funds raised by taxing both Arabs and Jews. These arguments are infinitesimal compared with the larger issues that have swept both sides during the last year, but they are mentioned to show that the hate that exists now is not something newly born and has a substantial background.

Kennedy in Palestine — Part Two
Jews Have a Fine Fighting Force
Make Up for Lack of Arms with Undying Spirit,
Unparalleled Courage — Impress the World
By Robert Kennedy, June 4, 1948

The Jewish people in Palestine who believe in and have been working toward this national state have become an immensely proud and determined people. It is already a truly great modern example of the birth of a nation with the primary ingredients of dignity and self-respect.

Malca and her family to me are the personification of that determination. She is a young girl of the age of 23 and her husband and four brothers are members of the Haganah. She herself is with the intelligence corps and worked on the average of 15 hours a day, which evidently was not unusual. She had seen and felt much horror and told me the story of a case she had just handled.

A Jewish girl in her teens was picked up by some members of the Haganah on the road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and, as she was injured, she was taken to the Hebrew Hospital in Jerusalem. They believed that she had somehow been separated from a Jewish convoy which had just gone through and which had had a scrap with the Arabs.
She was particularly noticed because of the strange people who were her visitors and by the fact that she insisted on being moved to the English hospital. Malca was sent to question her. She was turned away gruffly by the girl after the girl admitted that she had in reality been in a British tank with a boy friend and wanted nothing to do with the Jews.

The Jewish Agency offered to send the girl out on a farm in order to let her regain her health and give her a new start, but she just demanded her release which they were forced to give her. She continued consorting with the British police despite warnings from the Stern gang.

Brother Shoots Sister

One night the Stern gang followed the tactics of the underground forces in the last war. They shaved all the hair off the girl’s head. Two days after Malca told me the story the sequel took place. The girl’s brother returned for leave from duty with the Haganah up in Galilee and, finding her in such a state, shot her.

Malca’s youngest brother is only 13, but every night he takes up his post as a sentry with the Haganah at a small place outside of Jerusalem.

His mother and father wait up every night until midnight for him and his older brother, 15, to return home. The other two brothers, both younger than Malca, give full time duty with combat troops.

An understanding of the institutions it contains, and of the persons that run these institutions, is most important if one would make up one’s mind as to the worth of this “de facto” Jewish state.
I visited and inspected a community farm through the kindness of a Jew who 40 years ago was in Boston making speeches for my grandfather, John F. Fitzgerald, when he was a candidate for congress. A third of the agricultural population live in such community farms which were set up originally to help newly-arrived refugees who had no money or prospects.

They are in reality self-sustaining States with a State and all the people in common undergo arduous toll and labor and make great sacrifices in order that their children might become heir to a home. An example of this is that when a child is one year old he is placed in a common nursery, with the result that all but the sick and infirm are able to devote their talents to the common cause. They get paid nothing for they need no money. Everything is financed by a group of elected overseers who get their money by selling what the farms produce. In our country we shrink from such tactics but in that country their very lives depend upon them.

The whole thing is done on a volunteer bases and one may leave the farm with this proportionate share of wealth at any time he chooses.

Jewish forces
The one we visited was a Givat Brenner and, although no one paid attention to the firing going on in the plain below, one could see all around preparations being undertaken for the coming fight.

I talked to members of the underground organization Irgun. They were responsible for the King David Hotel disaster and told me proudly that they were responsible for blowing up the Cairo Haifa train which had just taken place with the loss of 50 British soldiers.

Disillusioned
They believed the time had long since passed for the Jewish people to expect anything but treachery and broken promises from the outside world. If they wanted an independent state they would have to fight for it, and before they could even do that, they had to rid the country of foreign troops. They believe unquestionably that if it weren’t for their so-called terrorist activities the British would have remained on in their country. Bevin’s recent speeches in the House of Commons, they argue, have been ample proof of that. The question, though, in other Jews’ minds is whether this compensated for what they have lost in good will by such tactics.

I went to the training camp at Netanya, north of Tel Aviv, where for three weeks and with very little equipment, Jewish youths, trained mostly by former British officers, were attempting to learn the basic tenants of army life. We watch a first-week group attempt an obstacle course, and while maybe the flesh was weak, it emphasized all the more what can be accomplished when the spirit is willing. We watched a graduation class make its final round and they gave the appearance that they might well be whipped into a fighting force before much time has passed.

The security forces and Haganah are far more experienced. After landing at Lydda Airport (pictured), I was immediately taken to be questioned and my credentials examined by the Haganah. After being released and going to my hotel in Tel Aviv, I went for a walk around this city of 200,000 inhabitants. I wasn’t out for 10 minutes before I was recognized as a foreigner and picked up by the Haganah, blindfolded and once again brought to headquarters for questioning.
I talked to a Haganah soldier who fled from Prague as the Germans were taking over the city and he and his brother, who was killed, fought with the British throughout the war. He received news that his mother and two sisters who he had left in Prague were killed by the Germans and that his home had been completely destroyed.

Kennedy in Palestine — Part Three
British Position Hit in Palestine
Kennedy Says They Seek to Crush Jewish Cause Because They Are Not in Accord with It

By Robert Kennedy, June 5, 1948

The convoys that didn’t make it
I was in Palestine over Easter week and even then people knew there was absolutely no chance to preserve peace. They just wanted the British out, so that a decision could be reached either way. An early departure of the British has been far more important strategically to the Jews than to the Arabs.

The City of Jerusalem has more Jews than Arabs but the immediate surrounding territory is predominately Arab. Through part of that hilly territory winds the narrow road that leads from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
It is by this road that the Jewish population within Jerusalem must be supplied, but it is fantastically easy for the Arabs to ambush a convoy as it crawls along the difficult pass. On my trip from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem I saw grim realities of the fact and while in Jerusalem the failure and destruction of another Jewish convoy made meat non-existent and lengthened food queues for other items.

Jews lining up for water and rations
The Arabs living in the old city of Jerusalem have kept the age-old habit of procuring their water from the individual cisterns that exist in almost every home. The Jews being more “educated” (an Arab told me that this was their trouble and now the Jews were going to really pay for it) had a central water system installed with pipes bringing fresh hot and cold water. Unfortunately for them, the reservoir is situated in the mountains and it and the whole pipe line are controlled by the Arabs. The British would not let them cut the water off until after May 15th but an Arab told me they would not even do it then. First they would poison it.

Orthodox Community

Within the Old City of Jerusalem there exists a small community of orthodox Jews. They wanted no part of this fight but just wanted to be left alone with their wailing wall. Unfortunately for them, the Arabs are unkindly disposed toward any kind of Jew and their annihilation would now undoubtedly have been a fact had it not been that at the beginning of hostilities the Haganah moved several hundred well-equipped men into their quarter.

This inability to make any long range military maneuvers because of the presence of the British has been a great and almost disastrous handicap to the Jews. If the brief but victorious military engagement on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road had not taken place, the Jewish cause would have suffered such a setback as to be virtually lost. If the Haganah had waited for May 15th and the withdrawal of British troops, there would be few alive in Jerusalem today. Strong units of that body had moved into the hills on either side of that strategic road and repelled Arab counterattacks long enough for several hundred truckloads to make the 40-mile trip into the city, and then, only after threats from the British commander to use force against them, had withdrawn from their positions. As a Jew said to me at the time, “This is our battle of the Atlantic.” The maneuvers had to take place and took place despite the British.

Power Supply

The same basic difficulty that exists in relation to the water exists with regard to electric and power supply. Fortunately, an immediate danger is not yet present, but the Arabs have had months of preparations for a maneuver they know their opponents must eventually make.

The Jewish ghetto in the old city of Jerusalem would not have been in such an untenable position if it could have been periodically relieved, or if with a Jewish victory in that area it could have been connected with the main Jewish section in the new city.

The Jews have small settlements or community farms such as Givat Brenner in completely hostile territory. They take pride that, despite the great difficulties, they have not evacuated any of them. From the very tip of Galilee right down to the arid Negev these communities exist with such Jewish names as Zan, Safed, Yehsem, Mishmar Haemak, Ben Sheba, Laza. All have their supply problems. But no great military operation can be undertaken into Arab territory to relieve the increasing Arab pressure.

Need True Facts

In addition to these handicaps that the Jews suffered through the presence of the British, there are many more far-reaching aspects of British administration which unfortunately concern or, rather involve us in the United States.

Having been out of the United States for more than two months at this time of writing, I notice myself more and more conscious of the great heritage and birthright to which we as United States citizens are heirs and which we have the duty to preserve. A force motivating my writing this paper is that I believe we have failed in this duty or are in great jeopardy of doing so. The failure is due chiefly to our inability to get the true facts of the policy in which we are partners in Palestine.

The British government, in its attitude towards the Jewish population in Palestine, has given ample credence to the suspicion that they are firmly against the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine.

The bombing of the Jewish Agency
When I was in Cairo shortly after the blowing up of the Jewish Agency [March 11, 1948] I talked to a man who held a high position in the Arab League. He had just returned from Palestine where he had, among other things, interviewed and arranged transportation to Trans-Jordan for the Arab responsible for that Jewish disaster. This Arab told him that after the explosion, upon reaching the British post which separated the Jewish section from a small neutral zone set up in the middle of Jerusalem, he was questioned by the British officers in charge. He quite freely admitted what he had done and was given immediate passage with the remark “Nice going.”

British Markings

Just before I arrived in Palestine there was the notorious story of the foundry outside of Tel Aviv. It was situated in a highly contested area and the British accused the Jews of using it as a sniper post for the Jaffa-Jerusalem road. One day the British moved in, stripping the Jews of all arms and ordered them to clear out within 10 minutes. The British had scarcely departed when a group of armed Arabs moved in, killing or wounding all the occupants. The British government was most abject in its apologies.

British checkpoint in Jerusalem
I came in contact personally, however, with evidence that demonstrated clearly the British bitterness toward the Jews. I have ridden in Jewish armored car convoys which the British have stopped to inspect for arms. As always, there were members of the Haganah aboard and they quickly broke down their small arms, passing the pieces among the occupants to conceal them so as to prevent confiscation. Satisfied that none existed, the convoy supposedly unarmed was allowed to pass into Arab territory. If the arms had been found and confiscated and the Arabs had attacked, there would have been but a remote chance of survival for any of the occupants. There have been many not as fortunate as we.

British Informants

When I was in Tel Aviv the Jews informed the British government that 600 Iraqi troops were going to cross into Palestine from Trans-Jordan by the Allenby Bridge on a certain date and requested the British to take appropriate action to prevent this passage. The troops crossed unmolested. It is impossible for the British to patrol the whole Palestinian border to prevent illegal crossings but such flagrant violations should certainly have led to some sort of action.

Five weeks ago I saw several thousand non-Palestinian Arab troops in Palestine, including many of the famed British-trained and equipped Arab legionnaires of King Abdullah [of Trans-Jordan]. There were also soldiers from Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Trans-Jordan, and they were all proudly pointed out to me by a spokesman of the Arab higher committee. He warned me against walking too extensively through Arab districts as most of the inhabitants there were now foreign troops. Every Arab to whom I talked spoke of thousands of soldiers massed in the “terrible triangle of Nablus-Tulkarem-Jenin” and of hundreds that were pouring in daily.

Oversubscribed

When I was in Lebanon and asked a dean at the American University at Beirut if many students were leaving for the fight in Palestine he shrugged and said, “Not now – the quota has been oversubscribed.” When journeying by car from Jerusalem to Amman I passed many truckloads of armed Arabs and even then Jericho was alive with Arab troops. There is no question that it was taken over by the Arabs for an armed camp long before May 15.

Our government first decided that justice was on the Jewish side in their desire for a homeland, and then it reversed its decision temporarily. [Editor’s note: In March 1948 the State Department reversed its support for partition and called for a UN trusteeship.]

Because of this action I believe we have burdened ourselves with a great responsibility in our own eyes and in the eyes of the world. We fail to live up to that responsibility if we knowingly support the British government who behind the skirts of their official position attempt to crush a cause with which they are not in accord. If the American people knew the true facts, I am certain a more honest and forthright policy would be substituted for the benefit of all.

Kennedy in Palestine — Part Four
Communism Not to Get a Foothold
Jews Guard against Red Agents in Guise of Refugees – Want No Part of Russian Tyrant
By Robert Kennedy, June 6, 1948

Jewish defenders
The die has long since been cast; the fight will take place. The Jews with their backs to the sea, fighting for their very homes, with 101 percent morale, will accept no compromise. On the other hand, the Arabs say:

Religious Crusade

“We shall bring Moslem brigades from Pakistan, we shall lead a religious crusade for all loyal followers of Mohammed, we shall crush forever the invader. Whether it takes three months, three years, or 30, we will carry on the fight. Palestine will be Arab. We shall accept no compromise.”

The United Nations is scoffed at by both sides and the United States will never be able to regain the position of ascendancy she previously enjoyed with the Arab world. She lost the love of the Arabs when she supported partition. She lost their respect when she reversed that decision. [Editor’s note: In March 1948 the State Department reversed its support for partition and called for a UN trusteeship.] She lost it irreparably. For days on end Arab commentators drummed into their people that finally the power of the Arab world had been realized.

The Jews are bitter in disappointment. As one Jew said, “Britain let us down for 25 years but you bettered them in a week.” The feeling stops at disappointment and there is none of the hatred that exists for the British. They can understand us not wishing to send troops and so become entangled in a war that does not immediately concern us, but they plead only for the right to make this fight themselves. They want arms and frankly admit that if they cannot get them from us they will turn to the East. “What else can we do?” They are fighting for their very lives and must act accordingly.

Won’t Accept Communism

That the people might accept communism or that communism could exist in Palestine is fantastically absurd. Communism thrives on static discontent as sin thrives on idleness. With the type of issues and people involved, that state of affairs is nonexistent. I am as certain of that as of my name.

When I was in Tel Aviv, a group of refugees was landed and amongst them the Jewish Agency’s “FBI” immediately picked up one of these agents. He was loaded down with money and papers, and all agreed that he must have been sent with the intention that he be captured to mislead the security forces into thinking that all the Russian agents would be as inept as this one and equally easy to capture. Lethargy would set in and it would be then that they would smuggle in their Mata Hari.

Demands Allegiance

Communism demands allegiance to the mother country, Russia, and it is impossible to believe that people would undergo such untold sufferings to replace one tyrant with another. Robert Emmet, the Irish patriot, on trial for his life before a British tribunal stated the principle. When accused of attempting to bring French forces into Ireland to help wrest it from the British, he said why he, who loved and had been fighting for his homeland, deem it to his country’s interests to replace a known tyrant by an unknown one. These people want a homeland of their own.

That to them is the sole issue.

“Take that Goliath!” Pretend slingshot
Vehemence and hatred between the Jews and Arabs increase daily. But in many cases Jews and Arabs work side by side in the fields and orange groves outside of Tel Aviv. Perhaps these Jews and Arabs are making a greater contribution to the future peace in Palestine than are those who carry guns on both sides.

The Arabs in command believe that eventually victory must be theirs. It is against all law and nature that this Jewish state should exist. They trace expectantly its long boundary and promise that if it does become a reality it will never have as neighbors anything but hostile countries, which will continue the fight militarily and economically until victory is achieved.

Stabilizing Factor

The Jews on the other hand believe that in a few more years, if a Jewish state is formed, it will be the only stabilizing factor remaining in the Near and Middle East. The Arab world is made up of many disgruntled factions which would have been at each other’s throats long ago if it had not been for the common war against Zionism. The United States and Great Britain before too long a time might well be looking to a Jewish state to preserve a toehold in that part of the world.

Both sides still hate the British far more deeply than they hate one another. There was a British high commissioner who when attending the opera used to have his car parked directly in front of the main door, a place usually reserved for discharging passengers. An even more unpopular practice was the regulation that at the end of the opera everyone had to remain in their seats until the British high commissioner was out of the opera house and in his car.

But the British have left – and now the issue is to be resolved in a bitter war between Jew and Arab. I do not think the freedom-loving nations of the world can stand by and see “the sweet water of the River Jordan stained red with the blood of Jews and Arabs.” The United States through the United Nations must take the lead in bringing about peace in the Holy Land.

Years later his daughter said, “My father was killed by a
Palestinian terrorist [Sirhan Sirhan] because of his strong support for
Israel.” He was killed on the first anniversary of the 1967 Six Day War.

Robert Kennedy’s Yahrzeit (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968)
Remembering the Words of a Friend of Israel

Reprinted from lennybendavid.com

A young Harvard graduate, Bobby Kennedy, defied his father and decided to visit Palestine in March 1948, before “Israel” had been proclaimed. The perceptive observer described his experience in a series of articles published in June 1948 in the Boston Post, a newspaper that closed in 1956. Click here to read the pro-Yishuv (Jewish communities) series, including pictures provided by RFK’s family.

Editor’s note: Years later his daughter told me, “My father was killed by a Palestinian terrorist [Sirhan Sirhan] because of his strong support for Israel.” He was killed on the first anniversary of the 1967 Six Day War.

A special report, live from Israel…

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They want to ELIMINATE Israel…wipe her out…make Israel NOT EXIST anymore…
Fatah, the current leadership of the Palestinian Authority under Mahmoud Abbas, aired this speech calling for the establishment of the palestinian state on ALL of the land that is currently Israel. As if that was not good enough, they even re-broadcast the speech…in case there was any doubt whatsoever as to the intentions of the palestinian leadership…This makes if clear…

They have said it time and time again…The palestinians, including their leadership, wish to destroy the State of Israel…NOT make peace with her

Is ANYBODY listening, other than Glen Beck…oh, and the palestinians themselves…

PA leaders attend Fatah performance that presents Israel as “Palestine”

Note: This video orginially aired on Feb. 27, 2011 and was rebroadcast May 12, 2011.

Reprinted from Palestinian Media Watch

“We commit and promise to stand behind you, oh Mahmoud Abbas, until Judgment Day. I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of the free. No matter how long the nights of exile, I am returning to you, oh land. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra (northern Israel) our coast, and Beit Shean (Israeli city). Above your soil, oh my land, is a picture of Garden of Eden. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra our coast, and Beit Shean. Above your soil, oh my land, is a picture of Garden of Eden. From Rafah to Rosh Hanikra, north and south, are the picture’s borders. From Haifa (Israeli city) and Tantura to the [Jordan] valley (i.e., all of Israel). I am returning to you, the purest land, oh land of the free.”

Israel’s position for talks with the palestinians are clear and reasonable…

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NO return to the 1967 Auschwitz borders…
NO division of Israel’s capital, Jerusalem…
NO return of so-called palestinian refugees inside of Israel’s borders…
NO negotiations with the palestinian Al-Queda, Hamas…

And, of course, the palestinians must recognize and accept the existence of Israel as a Jewish State…

All of which the palestinians have already refused to do…but we knew that, anyway, didn’t we?

Also…palestinian leader Abbas openly denies history by repudiating any Jewish historical connection with the land of Israel, while claiming a “palestinian” legacy…none of which is supported by history, OR archeology…

Plus…American AND Israeli leaders have come and gone, but the Jews continue to be fruitful, multiply and settle the Land of Israel…specifically, Judea and Sameria…Why we will never leave, no matter WHO is in “power”…

All this and more on “The Marty Roberts Show”…

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