Ariel Sharon Moved to Home Ranch from Long-Term Care Facility

Former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon will be moved from the Sheba long-term medical center facility to his home ranch near the Gaza strip. Sharon suffered a massive stroke in January 2006 and has been in a coma for almost five years.

Ariel Sharon

Sharon is believed to be breathing on his own with occasional oxygen use. The actual date of the move is unknown for security purposes.

Mr. Sharon served as Israel's eleventh prime minister from March 2001 officially through April 2006. He is a retired general from the Israeli Army. He is 82 years old. He was succeeded by Ehud Olmert.

An elevator was installed in the home at Sharon's Sycamore Ranch, to enable moving him from the ground floor to his bedroom on the second floor.

Ariel Sharon was married twice, and twice widowed. His first wife Margalit was killed in a head-on auto accident in 1962. They had one son. He married Lily, who was Margalit's sister, in 1963. They had two sons. Lily died of lung cancer at age 63 in 1999. She is buried on the family farm.

Sign The Petition!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

The Tomb of the Patriarchs

Recently UNESCO declared (Without Proof) that The Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel's Tomb were not Jewish Heritage Sites, but in fact they were designated Mosques.  This is being done to destroy any ancient connection between the Jewish people and the Nation of Israel by the Muslims who will stop at nothing to destroy every Jew in the World.

There's a petition online against UNESCO's actions in declaring Rachel's tomb to be a 'mosque' and trying to deny that the tomb and the Machpeila cave in Hebron are part of Israel's Jewish heritage.

We the undersigned protest The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) ruling that Israel has no right to add the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron, where almost all of Israel’s patriarchs and matriarchs are buried, to the National Heritage list. The Tomb of the Patriarchs, the oldest Jewish shrine and the second holiest site in Judaism, centers around the Cave of Machpelah, an ancient double cave revered for almost 4,000 years as the burial site of the Hebrew patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and their wives. The connection of the Jewish people to the Cave of Machpelah was established some 3,800 years ago, when Abraham, the first Hebrew, purchased it for the express purpose of using it as a burial site for himself, his wife Sarah, and their future generations. It is the cradle of Jewish history and the focal point of Jewish identity. The rectangular enclosure over the caves is the only fully surviving Herodian structure. Thus the Tomb of the Patriarchs is of inestimable historical value as well as great sacred significance for the Jewish people.

We also protest the decision by UNESCO to re-label as an Islamic mosque the tomb of Rachel, Israel’s other matriarch, and to demand that Israel remove the site from its National Heritage list. The Tomb of Rachel, Judaism's third-holiest site, has been the scene of prayer and pilgrimage for more than three thousand years, and has an especially meaningful connection for Jewish women. Rachel, the matriarch who died in childbirth and was buried at that spot on the road to Hebron, has been a comfort and hope to Jews since biblical days. “Thus says the Lord, 'Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for your work shall be rewarded…and they shall return from the enemy's land and there is hope for the future'… 'Your children shall return to their own country.” Jeremiah 31:16-17. Until 2000, the Palestinians recognized the site as Rachel’s Tomb. It was called “Rachel’s Tomb” in Al-mawsu'ah al-filastiniyah, the Palestinian encyclopedia published after 1996 and in PALESTINE, THE HOLY LAND, a Palestinian publication, with an introduction by Yasser Arafat. However, during the second intifada, Al-Hayat al-Jadida, a Palestinian daily, announced a new-found historical connection to Rachel’s Tomb, declaring that is was "originally a Muslim mosque.”

In an effort to erase Jewish history and supersede Jewish religious sites with Islamic institutions, Muslims have intentionally built mosques upon numerous synagogues and Jewish holy sites. The clearest examples are the Al-Aqsa mosque which sits on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, and the Dome of the Rock, which was built on Judaism’s holiest site of the two biblical Jewish Temples. This pattern repeats itself at the second and third holiest sites. Thus at the Tomb of the Patriarchs, there are domes over the tombs of Abraham and Sarah and a mosque over the tombs of Isaac and Rebecca. Photos from the early 1900's show no Muslim cemetery near the Tomb or Rachel. After 1948 Muslims built their own cemetery surrounding three sides of Rachel’s tomb and now claim that Rachel's Tomb is one of their burial plots and that it contains a Muslim rather than Jewish notable.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office decried the ludicrous nature of the UNESCO decision:
“The attempt to detach the Nation of Israel from its heritage is absurd. If the nearly 4,000-year-old burial sites of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs of the Jewish Nation – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah –are not part of its culture and tradition, then what is a national cultural site?”
“Sites such as the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb (which sits on the edge of Bethlehem) present an inconvenient truth for the pro-Palestine movement and its supporters, who want to claim that the Jews have no historic ties to this land.”

In cooperating with efforts to erase Jewish historical ties to Israel, UNESCO is aiding and abetting those who hope to and obfuscate Israel’s Jewish past and undermine Israel’s Jewish future.

The UNESCO mission states: “Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.”

We demand that there be no exception to UNESCO’s mission when it comes to Jewish heritage. Israel’s Jewish legacy must be recognized and preserved and not swept away to conform with the pro-Palestinian narrative. In attempting to sever the Jewish cultural, religious and natural heritage bond with the Tomb of the Patriarchs and Rachel’s Tomb, UNESCO denies the history it is mandated to preserve, engages in a political maneuver designed to weaken a member UN nation, and undermines its own principles. It aims to rob the Jewish people not only of two sacred sites, which are irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration, but also of their past and a legacy to pass on to future generations. We demand that UNESCO, whose purpose it is to protect heritage, also protect Jewish heritage, rather than deny it.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Please sign the petition.  This destruction of Jewish Heritage is taken directly from Hitler's playbook.  If this angers you as it did me, then in addition to signing the petition, you can send a letter to your Congressman and Senator protesting the use of US funds for anti-Semitic actions.

Rachel's Tomb

Why Children Should Not Play In Traffic!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

This story has traveled around the world a few times already.  At first it seems to be another let's make Israelis look worse than Jack the Ripper.  But when the video hit, the story is different.

Two Arab children from the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem were injured after they were hit by a car driven by Elad director David Be’eri. Be’eri, head of a group that advocates for Jewish families to live in the predominantly Arab neighborhood, claimed that the youths were throwing rocks at his car and he hit them accidentally in an attempt to flee from the area.

“His car was surrounded with tens of people with rocks,” Elad spokesman Udi Ragones told the Jerusalem Post. “When they started throwing them, and he hit them when he tried to flee from the area. It seems that they were lying in wait and the ambush was planned with rocks, it may have even been a lynch situation. He felt his life was in danger.”

Elad director David Be'eri, claiming he was ambushed by Arabs, injures two kids with car; "He felt his life was in danger,” Elad spokesman says.

Two Arab children from the Silwan neighborhood of Jerusalem were injured after they were hit by a car driven by Elad director David Be’eri. Be’eri, head of a group that advocates for Jewish families to live in the predominantly Arab neighborhood, claimed that the youths were throwing rocks at his car and he hit them accidentally in an attempt to flee from the area.

“His car was surrounded with tens of people with rocks,” Elad spokesman Udi Ragones told the Jerusalem Post. “When they started throwing them, and he hit them when he tried to flee from the area. It seems that they were lying in wait and the ambush was planned with rocks, it may have even been a lynch situation. He felt his life was in danger.”

An Al-Jazeera video clip and AFP photos from the incident show just four youths with rocks surrounding Be’eri’s car, and then two youths getting hit. One was lightly injured, and one was in moderate condition. Both were evacuated to Moqassed Hospital in the area.

Be’eri lives in the area and was on his way home with his son at the time of the incident, Ragones said. Be’eri was taken by the police for an investigation, and later released on bail. An investigation is ongoing, lead by an examiner with the police’s traffic division. Police are using photos from the incident in their investigation.

Ragones said the incident took place less than 100 meters from where a private Israeli guard for the Jewish residents shot and killed Samr Sirkhan, an Arab resident who was throwing stones, about three weeks ago. The shooting prompted widespread riots in east Jerusalem, which injured ten people. Over 50 Arab residents arrested in the week that followed for violent incidents.

Elad, a Hebrew acronym which means ‘To the City of David,’ is a right-wing group that has operated in Silwan since 1991. They support 62 Jewish families living in the area, and are not connected to the controversial Beit Yontaton building, home to an additional eight Jewish families. Elad also runs the City of David archeological park, which hosts more than 400,000 visitors per year.

Be’eri, 57, established the City of David foundation in 1986 to explore ruins from the Second Temple period. Since then, the archeological dig has angered Silwan’s Arab residents, who accuse the organization of making a land grab.

The Arab Press claims that the boys were just playing with their rocks when they were hit by the Israeli Car Lunatic Israeli Settler on purpose.  Guess which version of the truth the MSM and State Department is going with.  Even after viewing this video:



Palestinian parents send their children out to throw stones at cars, at Israeli soldiers, at Israeli civilians.  When they do the so-called media are there with their cameras ready to "document" the atrocity that the Israelis are performing upon the "innocent" Palestinian children.  Thus if all you saw was the photo on the top  of this post, you would believe the worst.  Yet by viewing this video we see that the children were being directed instructed by an adult on the etiquette of rock throwing.

We also see the child running towards the car, throw a rock then get hit by the car.  One can then deduce that the whole purpose of this child's action was to throw a rock at the car regardless of the consequences of his action.  He is very lucky.  For if that car had been going faster he would have ended up with either major injuries or death (In accordance with Muslim beliefs he is unlucky.  For if he had been killed he would have been declared a Shahid and received his 72 virgins.).  As it is, this child didn't even want to go to the hospital.  In fact was trying to do everything not to get into the car (As seen in the video).  Plus if he had been very badly hurt, he would have been bleeding very heavily and an ambulance would have been called.

So for the MSM it was just another incident to blame Israel, Israels and Jews for Nazi-like behavior.  To those of us who have viewed the video and saw the truth for ourselves it just reaffirms the truth:

Children Should Not Throw Stones OR Play In the Street!!

Rashid Khalidi Columbia University adds Palestine Studies Center

Rashid Khalidi is the co-director of the new Columbia University Palestine Studies Center where he is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies. Columbia has had a Middle East Institute for over 50 years, but the new "center" for Palestine Studies is considered "the first of its kind."

Rashid Khalidi

You'll remember Khalidi:

1) recently raising funds for a Free Palestine/Support Hamas terror flotilla, named The Audacity of Hope, (named after Obama's book) in waters where Israel has the right to blockade any movement of weapons into Gaza,

2) has a friendship with White House gatecrasher Tareq Salahi (see the pic of Obama with with Salahi's long before the gatecrashing, and most infamously,

3) celebrated Palestine and the audacity of Israel at a farewell party with Barack Obama and Bill Ayers for Khalidi. There were unconfirmed talks of a "toast" to something considered inappropriate regarding Israel with Obama present. Speculation was that the toast was perhaps to the "toasting"(as in "destruction") of Israel. The Los Angeles Times has the video, and refuses to release it.

 Khalidi is a former advisor to, and spokesman for, Yassar Arafat and a former professor at the University of Chicago. Khalidi's wife Mona was the English language editor for the PLO press agency.

In 1985, Mr. Khalidi published an adulatory book on the PLO in which he personally thanked Yasser Arafat: "Permission to utilize the P.L.O. archives ... was generously given by the Chairman of the P.L.O. Executive Committee, Yasir Arafat. To him and to the dedicated individuals working in the office of the Chairman, the P.L.O. archive and the Palestine News Agency (WAFA), who extended every possible assistance to me on three trips to Tunis, I owe deep thanks."

Today, however, Mr. Khalidi distances himself from his past.

In truth, Mr. Khalidi is still spinning for the Palestinian leadership. For example, although the Palestinian Authority (PA) is ruled at the whim of a despotic Yasser Arafat, Mr. Khalidi argues the PA has an "elected leader." He asserts that Israel's government "refused to negotiate" with the PA when, in reality, Israel has formally negotiated with the PA since 1993.

Moreover, Mr. Khalidi would like us to believe that Israel has "violated every one of the seven agreements it signed with the PLO since that time." This is, of course, a transparent inversion of the truth. Source: Campus Watch

 As Khalidi departed UC to takeover Columbia's Middle East studies, Obama's attendance at a 2003 farewell party, along with Bill Ayers and wife, Bernardine Dorn, and a crowd of mostly Palestinian-Americans is well-documented. According to Los Angeles Times writer Peter Wallsten claimed that the LA Times had a copy of the video. From the National Review:

At Khalidi’s 2003 farewell party, for example, a young Palestinian American recited a poem accusing the Israeli government of terrorism in its treatment of Palestinians and sharply criticizing U.S. support of Israel. If Palestinians cannot secure their own land, she said, “then you will never see a day of peace.”

One speaker likened “Zionist settlers on the West Bank” to Osama bin Laden, saying both had been “blinded by ideology.”

The same article says that state Senator Obama took a more measured response, suggesting that we just all get along.

As Columbia University begins the new study center, there is little said about the connection to Barack Obama or Bill Ayers or Obama's emotional commitment to the Islamic Palestine. Nevertheless, the L.A. Times article referenced above speaking of the farewell party for Khalidi, makes this argument:

But his presence at such events, as he worked to build a political base in Chicago, has led some Palestinian leaders to believe that he might deal differently with the Middle East than either of his opponents for the White House.

"I am confident that Barack Obama is more sympathetic to the position of ending the occupation than either of the other candidates," said Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow for the American Task Force on Palestine, referring to the Israeli presence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip that began after the 1967 war. More than his rivals for the White House, Ibish said, Obama sees a "moral imperative" in resolving the conflict and is most likely to apply pressure to both sides to make concessions.

Rashid Khalidi often speaks of the revisionist history that lends support to Israel. Speaking of revisionist history - we haven't seen anything yet, as our college students traverse through the one-way street of Khalidi's Palestinian studies.

Thanks to Weasel Zippers

Posted by Maggie@Maggie's Notebook

Throwing Rocks at Joooooozzzz Not a Good Idea (Video)

I have to tell you, this gave my tummy a jolt, even though these Palestinian boys were throwing rocks at a car, which according to Weasel Zippers, is driven by a Jew. It's the Mom in me I guess. Incredible video below.

Posted by Maggie @ Maggie's Notebook

They Really Have Conned The World!

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) also known as the Kill the Jews Commitee has voted that Israel committed War Crimes against the Mavi Marmara on May 31.

A report by three United Nations appointed human rights experts Wednesday said that Israeli forces violated international law when they raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, killing nine activists, earlier this year.

The UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission concluded that Israel's naval blockade of the Palestinian territory was unlawful because of the humanitarian crisis there, and described the military raid on the flotilla as brutal and disproportionate.

Israel has maintained that its soldiers acted in self-defense when they shot and killed eight Turkish activists and one Turkish-American aboard the Mavi Marmara on May 31. Israel Defense Forces released footage showing its troops coming under attack as they tried to board the boat.

The Human Rights Council blamed Israel prior to the investigation and it is no surprise that they condemn after, said Andy David, a spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, referring to the 47-member body's resolution in early June condemning the raid.

This is the same organization headed by that bastion of Liberty and Human Rights:  Libya.

Yes they excel in the pursuit of human rights for all people.  You can find such outstanding examples of their humanity here, here, and here.

Or listen to the words of Kristiana Venelinova Valcheva, a nurse from Bulgaria.

I am Kristiana Venelinova Valcheva, a nurse from Bulgaria. To make my identity clearer I will add a few keywords - Bulgarian medics, hostages, inquisitions, Libya, Qaddafi, death sentence, issued trice.

If someone told me eleven years ago that these words would become my "visit card", I would laugh. Because eleven years ago my life, the lives of my husband, Dr. Zdravko Georgiev, of another four Bulgarian nurses and the Palestinian doctor Ashraf., as well as the lives of our families were cut in the middle - before and after 1999.

It all began on February 9, 1999, in Benghazi. On that day we, five Bulgarian nurses, were abducted in a gangsters' manner by the Libyan authorities. They abducted us from our homes and workplaces, threw us into a bus with our hands, eyes and mouth tied, and carried us overnight one thousand and hundred kilometers away to Tripoli 1,100 km. In Libya they call this a lawful arrest.

We did not know why this was happening and what was coming after. We did not know that we ware a part of a sinister scenario of a dictator. We did not know that what was awaiting us were eight years and a half in the hell of the Libyan prisons.

For 14 months they kept us at a school for police dogs. For 14 months we were subjected to barbaric torture, humiliation and mockery.

They stretched me at a window frame and beat me with sticks and cables. Night after night they forced us to stand on one leg with our hands raised and if anybody tried to put his second leg on the floor out of exhaustion, that one would be mercilessly beaten. They would beat us over the soles of our feet, and then make us run with our feet swollen and black of beating, blood and lymph flowing from them. They injected me with drugs, undressed me totally naked, bind me to a metal bed and then the worst started -- inquisition by electrical shock.

You see that under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights every Muslim nation is allowed to torture, falsely imprison, rape and even murder any non-Muslim in their land.  So it is ok for Libya or any other Islamic nation hellhole to do what they want without any repercussions from the rest of the world.  In fact they are rewarded for their actions!

Yes they have really conned the world!

John Bolton Presidential Bid?

Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, was asked three times in an interview if he will consider a run for the presidency. Three times Bolton did not say 'no,' but he also did not say 'yes.' The  usually straight-talking Bolton alluded to not being electable, but said his candidacy would raise the profile of national security - and that would be a good thing.

John Bolton

In an interview with the Daily Caller's Jamie Weinstein, Bolton answered the first question of a possible presidential run by saying he was honored that anyone would even ask the question. Acknowledging that the economy is first on everyone's mind, he astutely reminds us that "our adversaries overseas are not going to wait for us to get our economic house in order."

Asked again, DC says Bolton "seemed to suggest" that his presence in the race would escalate the national security conversation.

Asked a third time, he said he would not do "anything foolish" because he understands how the media works and that understanding would be a part of any decision he makes.

Bolton is a constant critic of the Obama administration. Everything Obama has done in Afghanistan, Bolton believes he was forced to do, and he believes Obama will never strike Iran. He is equally as critical of Obama's domestic agenda.

Asked if he gives any credit at all to the president for increasing drone attacks against terrorists in Pakistan and elsewhere, and tripling  troop levels in Afghanistan – both moves that have upset his left flank – Bolton said they were moves the president was forced to take.

“Well, certainly he has done things that have been unexpected in Afghanistan and certain aspects of the Terrorism. I think those are steps he has taken because it has been impossible – even for him – to avoid taking them,” Bolton proffered. “For example, much of what he has done in terms of interrogation or Guantanamo Bay or aspects of the War on Terrorism are things that are driven either by the imperative of defending executive branch prerogatives under the Constitution or because he has come to realize that the Bush administration looked at a lot of alternatives and couldn’t find any. So it is not that he has done these things happily or willingly.”

Bolton has been the lone voice crying-out in the wilderness, and echoing you and me, national security before all else - or else it will be too late, and that the United Nations is deceitful and wholly corrupt - and wholly against Israel. I would welcome John Bolton into the race for president. It is a sad commentary on our nation that a brilliant man who ultimately supports peace through strength would be lynched and worse by the media. Oh, Ran at Si Vis Pacem asks: ...but what if he ran as Sarah's Veep?

August 21 Deadline for Dropping One on Iran Without Radiation Release

Fox News' David Asman and for U.S. U.N. Ambassador John Bolton have a detailed conversation about Iran's announced launch of the first of ten nuclear reactors. The real news here is that a strike on Iran before August 21st can be done without releasing radiation into the atmosphere. According to Bolton, after August 21st radiation is an issue for the area. Bolton doesn't believe Israel or anyone will drop the big one on Iran's nuclear facilities. [Disclaimer: In my title, "Dropping One" does not refer to Dropping The One] See the video below. See an update below.

John Bolton

News that Russia will load nuclear fuel rods into an Iranian reactor has touched off a countdown to a point of no return, a deadline by which Israel would have to launch an attack on Iran's Bushehr reactor before it becomes effectively "immune" to any assault, says former Bush administration U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton. 

Once the fuel rods are loaded, Bolton told Fox News on Friday afternoon, "it makes it essentially immune from attack by Israel. Because once the rods are in the reactor an attack on the reactor risks spreading radiation in the air, and perhaps into the water of the Persian Gulf." 

Jim Hoft at Gateway Pundit has more information.

Update 8-17-10:
This report from The Jerusalem Post says if the Bushehr plant is hit after the fueling begins, the radiation can reach as far as the waters of the Persian Gulf.


David Asman and John Bolton - Deadline for Bombing Iran (video)
Posted by Maggie @ Maggie's Notebook

Guantanamo Detainee Saeed al-Shihri Threatens Saudi Monarchy: Al-Qaeda Targets Saudi Monarchy, Saudi Christians, Israel

Al-Qaeda's Saeed al-Shihri was detained at Guantanamo, then released and is now in Yemen calling for accelerated jihad within the Saudia Arabian army. Al-Qaeda has "supporters" in the Saudi army. Who knew (of course we knew)....and we are sending arms to the Monarchy at stealth speed? De-throning the Saudi Arabian royals is now officially on the terrorism calendar, according Saeed al-Shihri, who accuses the Saudi monarchy of aiding the U.S. in killing Muslims in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. The order has gone out to kidnap Saudi princes, ministers and Christian residents of the country, and to attack Israel "from northwestern Saudi Arabia.

Saeed al-Shihri

According to Saeed al-Shihri, who is a Saudi national, some Saudi military members are asking whether they should stay in the "army" or join al-Qaeda in Yemen. The advice given:

“Unite ranks, call for Jihad within your departments, and form Islamic cells to attract whoever can help in military or political organizational work.”

The al-Qaeda leader also called on its followers in the armed forces to attack Israel from northwestern Saudi Arabia. “Carry your arms against Israel, which is only few kilometres away from you,” al-Shihri said. “Whoever among you is a pilot should seek martyrdom in the skies of Palestine, and who works in the navy should aim his weapon at the Jews there.” 

The U.S. embassy has notified U.S. residents of the danger:

The U.S. embassy warned its citizens in the kingdom that it has credible information that unidentified extremists may be planning to attack western nationals in al-Qassim province north of Riyadh, according to a Warden Message on its website dated Aug. 4. The timing and method of potential attacks aren’t known, according to the statement.

Al-Shihri is suspected of involvement of the Yemen U.S. Embassy in September 2008, and as an al-Qaeda member held at Guantanamo, he is one of approximately 61 believed to have returned to the battlefield after release.

In the meantime, the U.S. has devised a continued arms sale package to Saudi Arabia, considered the biggest overseas U.S. arms sale in our history. The al-Saud family has a lot at stake. They need us and we need them, but what happens after the Iranian nuclear threat to the area is gone? Think how this story might different had we dealt with Iran several years ago. Jihad Watch has more.

Elias Abuelazam Palestinian Arab Killer of Blacks: Antwoine Marshall I.D.s Elias Abuelazam

Elias Abuelazam, also known as Elias Abullazam, has been arrested and is believed to be a Palestinian Arab, perhaps previously residing in Israel...after first being reported to be White...and then Jewish. It is possible he is a Palestinian Christian..., and then again, maybe not. While he has not been charged, he is believed to be a serial killer of Blacks, suspected of some 20 stabbings. Antwoine Marshall, the first victim, identified an FBI photo in the early morning hours today. Five of the 20 did not survive. Police believe the attacks are racially motivated, and it is important to note that law enforcement authorities have not formally charged Elias Abuelazam/Abullazam.

Elias Abuelazam

Haaretz reports that Abuelazam is an Israeli citizen, formerly living in Ramle, Israel. The report says that he was living legally in the U.S. with a green card, and recently visited Israel for the wedding of a sister. Note that Haaretz says nothing about Abuelazam being Christian.

One Ramle resident said Abuelazam left Israel at age 19 or 20 after finishing high school.

Another resident said Abuelazam was orphaned by his father at a young age.

The resident added that Abuelazam was allegedly involved with criminals and had a violent streak, which led his mother to send him abroad.

However, other neighbors who studied with Abuelazam in high school said he avoided violence, despite his physical build. They added, however, that Abuelazam seemed to have undergone significant changes during his recent visit to Israel.

A., a former neighbor and classmate, said Abuelazam was pleasant during the time they studied together, but that lately he would picks fights with "anyone who looked him in the eye."

He added when Abuelazam got angry, it took three people to restrain him.

"In recent years he experienced something that changed him entirely. He started using drugs, so his family sent him abroad."

Other rumors in Ramle alleged that Abuelazam engaged in relationships with older women in the U.S. who then supported him financially.

Elias Abuelazam married American Jessica Hirth in mid-2004. They were married for three years and divorced in 2007. His former mother-in-law, Kimberly Hirth said Abuelazam "was just the sweetest guy." At the time of the marriage, he worked at the Piedmont Behavioral Health Center (now Northridge Behaviorial Healthcare). Jessica Hirth has remarried and is now Jessica Nimitz. Abuelazam has a sister living in Leesburg, Virginia.

The attacker has consistently been described as a tall, muscular white man who often wears a baseball cap. He often gets close to victims by asking for directions or for help with his car; other times he says nothing at all while he approaches his targets from behind. All of the victims were alone when they were attacked.

Abuelazam, 33,  was arrested at the Atlanta airport as he tried to board a Delta Flight 152 to Tel Aviv, Israel. He left a wake of victims in Michigan, Virginia, and Ohio. The first stabbing victim survived the attack and was visited by the FBI this morning, shown a photo of Elias Abuelazam and was able to identify him as his attacker. In this report, posted at 2:23 PM CDT, he is still identified as an Israeli.

The attacks began surfacing in late spring, and picked up the pace as the stabber traversed the country.

Police have said they usually follow a pattern: The suspect approaches black men late at night on lonely urban roads and asks for directions or help with a broken-down car. Then, without warning, he pulls out a knife and strikes. Then, he speeds away in his vehicle, leaving them for dead.

The brazen nature and the frequency of the attacks -- the assailant has struck an average of about once every four days since the first stabbing in May -- has terrified some of those in cities he's already targeted.

The youngest victim was 17; the oldest was 60. They ranged in size from 5-foot-4 inches and 120 pounds to 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds.

Sixteen stabbings of the 20 attacks happened in Flint, Michigan, where Abuelazam worked in a convenience store. He was stopped for a traffic violation in Arlington, Virginia last week. He was "wanted on a simple assault warrant in Leesburg," Virginia but was released on his own recognizance. He has a string of mishaps with the law, including an arrest in December 2007 for felony gun possession. Those charges were dropped in 2008.

Once a Green Chevy Blazer became the focus of the hunt, Abuelazam's time as a free man and a killer shortened considerably.

Abuelazam asked his first known victim, Antwoine Marshall, to help him with his green SUV. He was stabbed twice as he opened the hood of the car. The stabbing cut three of his organs. He has a long scar from his chest to his pelvic area.

On August 3rd a Leesburg, Virginia teenager was stabbed in the back while jogging. A few days later a 67-year-old man in the same area was stabbed while sitting on the steps of his apartment. On August 6th Abuelazam again asked a man to help fix his green SUV. He hit the helper in the head with a hammer. That attack was recorded by a nearby security camera.

A Flint, Michigan neighbor said she noticed the green Chevy Blazer in the driveway of a house, but did not call the police because he was "a dark Middle Eastern man," and descriptions always said the man wanted was White.

Other than the articles linked herein, there is not a lot of confirmation about who Elias Abuelazam is, if he indeed lived in Israel as an Arab citizen, and certainly little confirming that he is Christian. Updates coming as available.

by Maggie @ Maggie's Notebook

Sderot- The bomb shelter capital of the world

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

For the last week rockets fired from Gaza have been a daily occurrence.  Although they have caused limited damage to property and no one has been hurt or killed. (Frayed nerves and a couple of neurotic cats.)  It is only a matter of time before someone is killed.

A Grad rocket fired by Gaza terrorists hit an open area near a residential neighborhood in Ashkelon on Friday morning. No physical injuries were reported, although several people suffered shock and required medical attention. A vehicle was also damaged.

Ashkelon had experienced relative quiet following the Cast Lead counterterror operation in Gaza in early 2009.

The attack follows an attack last week that was carried out using an imported rocket more sophisticated than the short-range “Kassam” rockets produced in Gaza. In that case, the rocket failed to explode, and no injuries were reported.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has followed a policy of quick response to attacks from Gaza. Air Force planes have demolished smuggling tunnels and weapons factories in the region following previous rocket attacks.

Sderot is the only town and the Western Negav is the only region in the world, where missiles are fired towards civilian population in the 21st Century.--Sderot Media Center

If you are planning a visit to Israel, plan a side visit to Sderot.  You can contact the Sderot Media Center for a tour.

No child should have to endure this.  Please help!

Gaza Mall Iron Dome

By Findalis of  Monkey in the Middle

From the Sderot Media Center

Gaza "Strip Mall"- Did the EU's Ashton check the opening sales?

By Jacob Shrybman

As an everyday person and member of the general public, aren't you tired of being lied to?

This past Saturday night the Gaza Strip had a grand opening for its new shopping mall called "Strip Mall." As the world continues its chastising of Israel, the nation that uprooted its citizens and got at least one rocket per person it uprooted in return for its sacrifice for peace, Gazans including the over 10,500 that received Israeli medical treatment in 2009 can enjoy the new goodies of the "Strip Mall."

This Sunday morning, EU's Senior Representative for Foreign Affairs Catherine Ashton called for Israel to lift the blockade on the Gaza Strip. On her last visit this past March 18th she was in such a hurry to get to Gaza that she didn't visit nearby Netiv HaAsara where a Gaza qassam rocket murdered Manee Singmueangphon, a thai worker. On this visit when she was so overwhelmed with seeing all the terrible sites of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, was she able to stop in to check the opening day sales at the "Strip Mall?"

This past Saturday as the Gaza "Strip Mall" opened Sky News reported on the "still dire" situation in Gaza. The article reads, "The blockade has meant that only basics like flour, rice and sugar have been allowed into Gaza from Israel." Isn't it funny how one does not see any of these items in the joyous pictures of the Gaza "Strip Mall" grand opening?

UNRWA President John Ging,said on the day of the Gaza "Strip Mall" grand opening said that the people of Gaza, "Can't afford to buy cans of Coca Cola from Israel." But they can afford new clothes, luxury hair products, and children's toys at the new Gaza "Strip Mall?"

Is John Ging kidding me? The UN gave nearly $200 million in aid to Gaza in just the six months following Operation Cast Lead. It only gave $10 million in aid to Haiti following the devastating earthquake- Wyclef Jean should be campaigning in Geneva not just on The Huffington Post.

To what humanitarian crisis are these international "aid" ships sailing to? Does the Libyan warlord dictator Qaddafi, who sent a ship this past week, own a store in the Gaza Strip Mall?"

As an everyday person and member of the general public aren't you tired of being fed these lies about Gaza. If you're not, take a day off and go shopping at the new Gaza "Strip Mall."

Jacob Shrybman is the Assistant Director of the Sderot Media Center,www.SderotMedia.org.il . Jacob grew up in Takoma Park, MD and now hosts elected officials from around the world and international media visiting the Sderot/Gaza region. He has been published in The Jerusalem Post, USA Today, The Huffington Post, YNet News, and appeared on several international television and radio stations.

It has been over a week since the Gaza Mall opened its doors,  Yet the world still cries out that there is an "Humanitarian Crises" in Gaza.  Can you say Double Standard?

Southern residents have mixed reactions to Iron Dome

by Ben Hartman

Anti-missile system is set to be deployed in Israel in November.

After passing its final operational test on Monday, the Iron Dome anti-missile system is set to be deployed in Israel in November, and residents living within rocket range of theGaza Strip are greeting the announcement with both relief and dismissal.

Ashkelon Mayor Benny Vaknin, whose city was bombarded by Kassam and Grad rockets during Operation Cast Lead, welcomed the impending deployment of Iron Dome, which he said would make a significant improvement in the quality of life of his city’s residents.

“I very much hope that one of the Iron Dome teams will be deployed in Ashkelon, because it can ensure us protection,” Vaknin said on Tuesday. “We took hundreds of rockets and Grads in Cast Lead, so we deserve a system like this.”

Vaknin called the news “very positive” for Ashkelon and vowed that the defense system would increase the deterrence against Israel’s enemies, as well as feelings of security among the public. “It’s expensive, but what can you do, it’s for the sake of security,” he said, when asked about what many consider the platform’s prohibitive cost.

Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna’i said later in the day that Iron Dome would not succeed in intercepting all of the rockets fired into Israel. “It is more likely that it will intercept about 80 percent,” he told Israel Radio.

Vilna’i said that residents of Gaza-belt communities would continue to be threatened by rockets for “years to come.” He added that the IDF would not deploy the system along the southern border immediately, but would do so based on operational requirements.

Development of Iron Dome has cost over $200 million, and the program has come under repeated criticism because of its high cost. The system operates by identifying an incoming threat and then firing a missile to intercept it in mid-air. The missiles cost tens of thousands of dollars each, while the crudely-made rockets they’re meant to take down cost very little.

In an article on the CBN News Web site on Wednesday, Yossi Drucker, director of the Iron Dome project, said each Tamir missile would cost $100,000.

Military analyst Reuven Pedatzur is less than thrilled about the system, which he has referred to as “a scam.”

“If each missile we fire costs $100,000, and each Kassam costs $10, $20, then all they’ll need to do is shoot as many rockets as they possibly can until we go broke. Hizbullah alone is believed to have over 150,000 longrange rockets. We can’t afford this.”

Pedatzur called statements that Israel now has the means to solve all of its missile and rocket threats “nonsense and delusional,” citing the short flight time of most projectiles fired at Israel, and the time it takes for Iron Dome to identify and intercept a threat.

“The system can’t defend against anything with a range of less than four and a half kilometers, and also possibly projectiles with a range of up to 10 km,” he said. “It can’t protect Sderot or the western Negev because there isn’t enough time, enough range. The flight time of a Kassam is 14 seconds, and it takes Iron Dome 15 seconds to identify a threat and fire a missile.”

Pedatzur added that the system can’t target mortars, which were heavily used by Gaza militants during Cast Lead.

“Basically, the whole story, that they have solved the threats facing Israel, is nonsense, it’s delusional.”

Sderot resident and director of the Sderot Media Center Noam Bedein was similarly underwhelmed by news that Iron Dome was on its way to deployment, saying that it won’t provide protection to the western Negev town.

“Iron Dome is supposed to work only on objects fired from over 4 km. away, so those of us on the border with Gaza won’t be protected. Here in Sderot, everyone understands that it won’t protect the people.”

Bedein added that if the government was so sure about the effectiveness of Iron Dome, it wouldn’t have spent “half a billion dollars turning us into the bomb shelter capital of the world.”

Yaakov Katz contributed to this report.

Iron Dome is a joint venture between Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and the Department of Defense.  Iron Dome is only one of the many joint projects being developed.

From Rafael about Iron Dome:

The Iron Dome is an effective and innovative mobile defense solution for countering short range rockets and 155 mm artillery shell threats with ranges of up to 70 km in all weather conditions, including low clouds, rain, dust storms or fog.

The system uses a unique interceptor with a special warhead that detonates any target in the air within seconds.

The Iron Dome radar detects and identifies the rocket or artillery shell launch and monitors its trajectory. Target data is transmitted to the Battle Management & Weapon Control (BMC) for processing. The threat’s trajectory is quickly analyzed and the expected impact point is estimated.

If the estimated rocket trajectory poses a critical threat, a command is given within seconds and an interceptor is launched against the threat.

The interceptor receives trajectory updates from the BMC via uplink communication. The interceptor approaches the target and uses its radar seeker to acquire the target and guides the interceptor within passing distance. The target warhead is detonated over a neutral area, therefore reducing collateral damage to the protected area.

The drawbacks to such a system are:

1.  Limitations of time.  It takes Iron Dome 15 seconds to respond, a Kassem 14 seconds.

2.  Each Iron Dome missile cost $100,000, a Grad or Kassem costs $10, $20.

3.  It is only 80% effective.  In the North Hezbollah can overwhelm the system with the amount of sheer numbers of rockets at their disposal.

While not the panacea both government are claiming, it is a lot better than the nothing that was there before.

Every day thousands of Israeli civilians live with the fear of an rocket attack from Gaza.  And the world doesn't care.  They are nothing to the world, less than animals to the media.

You can help change that.  When the idiots leftists cry that Gaza is under  siege, is a concentration camp, a prison, point to the Gaza Mall, the Olympic Swimming Poolor The Roots Club.  Ask where the money came from?  The concrete?  How do they stock the stores in the mall?  Or where the food for the restaurant  is delivered (Aren't the people starving due to there being no food in Gaza?  See the pictures here. Warning Graphic Pictures of the Gaza Crises! )?

But most of all, you can donate. The few dollars you send to the Sderot Media Center does a world of good.  It helps the people of Sderot cope with the daily barrage of rockets.  Did you know that over 85% of all children in Sderot suffer from PTSD?  There is no other place in this world that occurs.  Counseling for these children is expensive and the government can only help a few.  So please give.  It just takes a few moments of your time.  Just click here.

Thank you!

PLO PA Flag Flies at State Department: PLO PA Gets Diplomatic Immunity

Hillary Clinton's State Department has upgraded the status of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) from a "bureau" to a "general delegation." This moves gets the terrorist organization's flag flying at "the people's State Department building. This upgrade will also grant diplomatic immunity to "visitors" of the "delegation," and gives the PLO and the PA the same status as "Canada and many western European countries."

Who abides within the "delegation?" Will their terrorist credentials get a security check? Is there anyone in the delegation we will refuse to allow in the U.S.?

Apparently, Netanyahu knew this was coming, didn't object, and don't we know, that would be useless anyway:

Israeli Radio reported that sources in Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said that the Prime Minister knew of the planned step and did not object to it. . Diplomatic sources in Jerusalem claimed that the step was taken to strengthen Abu Maazen and try to get him to agree to direct talks with Israel. However, they expressed dissapointment that the White House did not make ceasing the PA's anti Israel incitement a condition for the status upgrade.

For attitude, see Right, Wing-Nut! who suggests using the Israeli flag as a doormat may be next and Solomonia muses about Israel's motive,

Only Israel

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

A hit on YouTube with over 350,000 views, Yedida Freilich's song "Only Israel" speaks the truth louder than the meager words I can write.

A 22-year-old pianist from the Gush Etzion settlement of Neveh Daniel has become the latest YouTube phenomenon with her pro-Israel hasbara song “Only Israel.”

Yedida Freilich, a composition student at the capital’s Rubin Academy of Music and Dance, wrote the mournful piano ballad along with her father, Gabby, and brother Yuval, following the Gaza flotilla incident last month. In only two weeks, the video has attracted over 350,000 views on YouTube and turned Freilich into a celebrity in nationalist circles.

“The song transpired by chance,” Gabby Freilich told The Jerusalem Post this week from Australia, where he was visiting family. “One of Yedida’s projects in school was to compose a musical piece for a political song. As it happened, the assignment fell on the same week as the flotilla.”

Freilich said he was moved to write down lyrics after seeing the world’s reaction to the IDF raid on the Mavi Marmara, which left nine passengers dead.

The video clip of her moving performance on piano and vocals, with lyrics switching between English and Hebrew, is juxtaposed with images of Kassam rockets, St.-Sgt. Gilad Schalit, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, judge Richard Goldstone and the Mavi Marmara.

The lyrics decry the double standard Freilich says Israel faces when trying to defend itself, and includes couplets such as “Eight thousand rockets is no excuse / suicide bombers, it’s all just a ruse” and a Hebrew chorus of “Darfur is ignored, Russian troops in Chechnya, only Israel has no right to defend itself, because the world cares nothing about Jewish blood.”

“It was obvious to me that this was a hasbara [public diplomacy] song. Our efforts at explaining what happened with the flotilla were so appalling, and this did so well in explaining our positions, I knew it had to go on YouTube,” said Freilich.

He found a professional videographer, Daniel Sass, who volunteered his time, and together they chose the images and produced the clip.

Freilich insisted that the song appear with English, Hebrew and Arabic subtitles.

“I thought that it was important that the Arabs would be able to understand it,” he said.

“I think it’s a powerful song and a great tune. Yedida sings it from the heart. You can tell she’s involved in the lyrics and the performance, because it’s part of her life – her friends and her family are involved.”

Read the full story here.

Only Israel

Pass this on!

News From Sderot

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

From the Sderot Media Center 2 important articles.

In the 90th minute of the PR game, does Israel have a last shot at Europe?

by Noam Bedein

Israel's legitimacy as an independent Jewish state is being undermined and threatened like never before, especially in Europe.

This became apparent during a short journey to Brussels and a nine-day speaking tour in Norway during the diplomatic crises of the Gaza aid 'flotilla'.

"It doesn't look good for Israel in the future if in this crisis, Israel loses support from friendly countries such as Spain and Italy" said a colleague who works as a political consultant of an Italian MP, (and asked not to be named citing security concerns).

At the European Parliament house in Brussels, the flotilla aftermath made one issue obvious: Israel had better start strategizing on focusing its talking points and PR in presenting the Israeli perspective to the last of the Europeans still willing to listen. Or else Israel risks becoming isolated like South Africa was in the last years of Apartheid.

"It is a dangerous situation when EU members choose to be blind, in order not to see and hear the actual facts," an Italian MP told me regarding the Israel's side presented to the EU Parliament house after the flotilla episode.

This observation was made while en route to a press conference where Efraim Halevy, former Israeli ambassador to the EU, was ' lynched’ by reporters, over the flotilla crises, and was raked over the coals by a REUTERS reporter. Ironically, the same REUTERS news agency had fabricated flotilla photos to present the image of 'peace activists' by splicing out the knives carried by the Turkish terrorists.

All this took place minutes before a Conference on Global Terrorism, where Mr. Halevy was asked by the Palestinian ambassador to the EU: "What about the serious accusation of the Swedish reporter about the stealing Palestinian organs by Israeli soldiers during the Gaza war? Why was that reporter kicked out of Israel for further investigation?"

The fact that questions like these about Israeli policies still ring in the international forums, reflect the depths of hatred and pure misinformation that is being cultivated in Europe--emanating from successful propaganda campaigns reminiscent of the Third Reich era against the Jewish people.

No matter what basic facts were presented and exposed to all about the Gaza aid flotilla, as so well presented by Law Professor Alan Dershowitz in his article- "Israel obeyed international law: Legally, the Gaza flotilla conflict is an open-and-shut case" it wouldn't matter because EU countires and their MP's have already been wooed to one side.

"The EU’s primary ‘case' against Israel in the EU Parliament regarding the flotilla crises, is with no doubt the killings’ in "international waters," according to Mr. Nuno Martines from European Friends of Israel.

Israeli PR is ticking at one minute before the END GAME, where there’s no looking back. It must refocus its main points and battles, when the Gaza/Palestinian narrative has had so deep an effect on people’s minds and hearts.

And this is the result of losing in the first battle in the Second Gaza Media War:

Case in point: a small briefing of the Israeli Ambassador to the EU took place in a local library in down town Brussels. This session was scheduled before the flotilla crises organized by the organization "Young Professionals of Foreign Affairs’ regarding the relationship between Israel and the EU.

Almost all the questions asked by young professionals in the audience at the meeting had a direct reference to the Holocaust or to Nazi Germany.

A young Italian woman's query was typical: "I admit I don’t know enough about the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, but how can you as people who experienced a Holocaust can let children starve in an humanitarian crises like Gaza is?"

A young staffer for a Belgian MP chimed in: "How can people who’ve been through so much only 65 years ago, ignore the sufferings of the Palestinians?"

And the last question,asked in a laconic, non-chalant manner - "Why should Israel keep its identity as a Jewish state? After all, we all remember the last European country that wanted to define itself on a nationalistic note, and look what happened in Germany from there..."

The people who assess the results of the Israel PR media war at this time must come to some immediate conclusions. It is vital that we work to promote the basic human rights as Jews and Israelis for self determination as a state. The time has also come to pioneer a proactive response to the Gaza narrative as Hamas has become a household term around the world.

Based upon this experience in Brussels, Israel must re-focus its time and efforts on outreaching to the thousands of young adult professionals who work as MP staffers to the 736 EU MPs of the EU Parliament house and the European commission. Sending young Israelis to conduct dialogue with Europe's up and coming generation is the most effective outreach that can be done.

As an Israeli who lives less than a mile from Gaza and experiencing the third 'cease fire' between Israel and Hamas where already hundreds of rockets have been fired towards Israel, I know that the times are difficult. The total number of rocket and missile attacks fired from Gaza towards Israel as of mid-June, has risen to 370 since the end of the military operation in Gaza, January 18, 2009. It is clear is that the security situation in southern Israel on the ground is very fragile, just as Israel’s image is in neighboring Europe. We need to do all we can to prepare for the inevitable battle of rocket/flotilla warfare, while simultaneously implementing a media strategy to retain our allies in Europe.

As Israel marks five years to the withdrawal of Israeli troops and civilians from Gaza Strip--the only nation in modern history that has ever given land for peace after winning a war--Hamas continues to find other means to wage conflict. Since Hamas militarily took over the Gaza Strip in 2007, the battle for Israel's right to exist has only increased. As of now, the Islamic regime of Hamas today, the only such terrorist organization in the world that controls an entire population of civilians thanks to international support, is doing all it can to win on the PR front.

It's seems as Gaza today is haunting us..

And here comes the next load of ships...

I personally have given up on Europe and the trash that lives there.  I firmly believe that within a  few years Europe will be living under Shar'ia Law as Dhimmis.  Too bad for them, the warning signs are there now.


Finding an Oasis of Israel Support Among Christian Zionists

by Noam Bedein

As the director of Sderot Media Center, I find it is important to speak at eye-level to university students and other young audiences and to present a first-hand account of Israel’s stand versus the Gaza narrative.

During my fourth visit to the Christian Zionist communities in Norway, where I was invited by a pro-Israel advocacy group by the name of MIFF, to take part in a media conference that took place in Oslo. As a resident of Sderot, I talked about what it is like to live under the constant threat of missiles fired from Hamas-ruled Gaza.

I defend Israel’s blockade of Gaza, as a legal and necessary measure against an entity sworn to Israel’s destruction and its removal that would lead to a flood of heavy Iranian weaponry, including long- range missile systems entering Gaza.

My visit coincided with Israel’s latest diplomatic crisis in wake of the Turkish-led Flotilla to Gaza that tried to forcefully break Israel’s naval blockade while posing as a self-described human rights delegation offering humanitarian aid.

I cannot begin to describe the oasis of comfort I felt at the sight of the huge Israeli flags waving proudly from the terraces of pro-Israel Christians.

Where only moments before I felt so isolated, drowning in a sea of hatred while the massive negative media blindly turned against Israel, with every headline screaming “Israel massacres human rights activists”, these Chrisitan Zionists unapologetically took a stand for Israel. While European politicians were calling for a boycott on Israel - the Christian Zionists communities got together and made a point of purchasing products with labels “Made in Israel.”

My travels have exposed me to the pro-Israel Christian communities.

Being raised in an orthodox Jewish home, it has been somewhat of an experience for me to feel at home with the Christian communities. Yet, only they understand me when I point out that the Middle East conflict is a war of religions. These communities are completely familiar and in agreement with the Jewish people’s right to live in the Land of Israel.

Nancy and Doug's beautiful home in Lyngdall, Norway.

When I get up with the Bible in hand and say “here in this Bible is the word of God saying that the Land of Israel belongs to the People of Israel”. We have every right to live in Sderot and any other part of the land in peace and security". The audience cheers and says “Amen” and “Hallelujah.”

It was New Year’s Eve, 2010, when I first met the presidential candidate of Zambia, Dr. Savior Chishimba. Savior, a devout Christian and staunch Zionist, came to Sderot to take part in the Sderot “Sderot Rally for Hope” - an initiative of the Sderot Media Center - commemorating one year to the “Cast Lead” military operation in Gaza, marching to the hope that the new decade will bring a halt to Qassam rockets from Gaza targeting civilians in Sderot.

Dr. Savior represented the African civilians who fell pray to acts of terror from radical Islamic forces during the last decade.

Saviour Chashimba at the Sderot Rally for Hope.

Nowadays, most African countries do not have diplomatic relations with Israel due to their succumbing to the Arab boycott and their oil dependency on the Gulf States.

Traveling to Africa, I was invited to speak at the Kenya Security Council and at two Kenyan universities where most of the students are Christians. I was received warmly and was able to talk openly about life in Sderot alongside Islamic terror and the necessity for a security fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip. This was mentioned in context to the parallel threat facing Kenya and the importance of a security fence between Moslem Somalia and Christian Kenya where approximately 5000 Moslems infiltrate Kenya daily including radical Islamic elements who carry out terror attacks on Kenyan territory.

Our paths crossed again last March at the “Jerusalem House of Prayer” in Lusaka, capitol of Zambia where I was invited to speak. Savior said he was planning another visit to Israel and I invited him to join my family for Seder night.

Dr. Savior took me up on the invitation and indeed joined my family for Seder Night at my parents’ home in Efrat, Gush Etzion:

Savior took delight in the many rituals he witnessed at our Seder table. He enjoyed the taste of his first Matza and loved the idea of drinking 4 cups of fine wine! He followed with rapt attention the story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt and it was clear that he was familiar with the story.

Chashimba and Bedein at press conference in Lusaka, Zambia.

His parting words to us were his promise to renew diplomatic ties with Israel when elected president and to set up the Zambian Embassy in Jerusalem. “I plan to awaken the Christian majority in Zambia to the importance of having ties with the Jewish people in Israel”, he said.

“Whosoever blesses the Jewish people will be blessed and whosoever curses the Jewish people will be cursed. You see that all the nations are now coming out against Jerusalem and the Jewish people but you have nothing to fear because the Jewish people will come out on top!”

When he left, someone at the table declared: "Elijah the Prophet has come to give us good tidings!

Speaking to many Christian Zionist audiences all over the world, has led me to believe that in order to make a dent in world opinion that is currently stacked up against us, Israel’s leaders must enlist the help of our Zionist Christian allies. To do so, Israel must send out emissaries to these communities and provide them with advocacy tools so they can stand with Israel and the values it represents and to be prepared and effective in swaying world opinion away from the dangerous Jihadists who vow to destroy all Western civilization.

May G-d Bless the Christian communities world-wide who understand, love and support the State of Israel.  May they grow and flourish for many years to come.

Take a good look at those so-called Christian churches, the ones called Main Stream.  They are dying. The young people don't attend, the families stay away, they are dying.  They also don't support or recognize Israel's right to exist or the right of the Jewish people to have a homeland in our ancestral home.

The churches that are thriving have Zionists for their membership.  They will flourish and grow.

The Sderot Media Center is a voice to the world for the people of Sderot.  It exists only with the aid of contributions from people like you.  Please give.

Turkey Demands Israel Apology: Israel Says Get Over it

Remember the terror flotilla filled with anti-Israel activists that Turkey tried to send to Gaza? As Turkey grows closer and closer to Iran and Syria, they were aware of Israel's legal blockade, but sent the hostile flotilla anyway. People aboard the Mavi Mamara died after video clearly shows the flotilla activists attacking Israeli forces. Now Turkey wants an apology. Israel says there will be none.

Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish prime minister, Erdogan, said his country will cut all ties to Israel if the apology isn't issued. Turkey is relying on another UN report sanctioning Israel, the most UN-sanctioned country in the history of the dictatorial, Muslim-dominated body. Sanctioning Israel is routine in the United Nations - certainly nothing new, and Israel has dug-in.

Israel and Turkey forged a "friendship" of sorts in past years, and shared military operations and intelligence. Turkey knows and must understand the life-saving blockade, so why test Israel with the terror flotilla? Maybe this is the reason:

Turkey has improved relations with neighbours such as Iran and Syria in recent years and Erdogan became a popular figure among Muslim countries for championing the Palestinian cause. 

Israel believes Turkey may vote against harsher sanctioning of Iran in the UN.

An interesting side-story is two well-known Muslim journalists, Magdi Khalil and Abdallah al-Hadlaq, taking Israel's side in the flotilla search, saying they had every right to do so, and the flotilla was intended to be hostile and was armed.  Read that story here.

Related and Background:
Reuters Crops Terrorist Knife, Hides IDF Soldier's Blood - Photos

Israel Protests Right to Search Ships Bound for Gaza - IDF video

The Intolerable Misery in Gaza - video

The Gaza You Didn't Think Existed - video


Young Jewish Man Carries Israeli Flag in LA Muslim Street Protest (Video)

Gaza Flotilla Terror Choir: We Con the World (Video)

Furkan Dogan American Dead on Gaza Flotilla

Hamas Flotilla Aid Refused

Gaza Flotilla - al Qaeda Members Aboard

Susan Rice, American UN Ambassador Skips Terror Flotilla Discussions at UN

Flotilla War Atmosphere before Israel Boarded - Martyrdom or Gaza Shores



Why Support Israel? Here are my answers:

The Angst of Supporting Israel
Who and What are Palestinians?
Rupert Murdock: U.S., European Survival Without Israel
Without Support, What Happens to Israel?
Golda Meir: War and Wisdom
About that Two-State Solution
How the Gaza Tunnels into Egypt Work
Discovering Kryptonite, Disabling Superman
United Nations Condemns Hamas - Gotcha!
United Nations Seal Condemnation of Israel