Broken Compass

Let's Hope the World is Right About 'Evil' Israel


Can we trust the world's compass if it is that broken?

Dennis Prager [click to read] in Jewish World Review.

"The reason mankind has to hope that the world, its leaders, its newspapers, its so-called human rights organizations and the United Nations are right about Israel is quite simple: If Israel is the decent party in its war with the Palestinian Authority and Hamas — and nearly all the world's countries, nearly all the world's media and the United Nations are morally wrong — what hope is there for humanity? If the world's moral compass is that broken, are we not sailing into a dark age?"

The Plain Truth about Israel [click to read] by Caroline B. Glick.

"Peace" Activists on the Boat to Gaza

"Artists, Intellectuals and Journalists"


Kind of reminds you of some 1960's 'peace' activists.

Remember Al Capp, the cartoonist who drew 'Lil Abner? Although he billed himself as a 'certified hillbilly cartoonist,' he lived in New England when the student protests erupted on campuses like Harvard. He created a charicature of the wild angry students he dubbed "Students Wildly Indignant about Nearly Everything," or S.W.I.N.E.

The artists, intellectuals and journalists in the Gaza boat seem remarkably similar to the angry students depicted by Capp.

Who is Manee Singmueangphon?

...And Why You Need to Know

Every now and then I check in on Noam Bedein's site: Sderot Media [click to read] and pray for the safety of the residents of this city in Southern Israel. Manee Singmueangphon is a Thai greenhouse worker who was killed in a rocket atack recently. He worked alongside other Thais and Nepali guest workers in Israel's agriculture industry. He was 33 years old, a husband and father who's death left a grieving family back in Thailand.

Sderot Media Has More [click to read] on the tragic death of Mr. Singmueangphon and why the media needs to get an understanding of the type of terror attacks being made on Sderot by Hamas.

"As long as the world tolerates those Islamic jihadists who fire rockets against innocent Israeli civilians and accepts their legitimization for it, terrorism will continue to strike innocent civilians everywhere. The killing of Manee Singmueangphon by a Gaza rocket should serve as a constant reminder that people of all nationalities are indiscriminate victims of Iranian-sponsored Islamic terrorism."


A child's drawing from Sderot shows
the horror of war.


Sderot children have fifteen seconds to reach this pipe
when the missles start coming in.
Photo courtesy of www.sderotmedia.com

Christians in Gaza

Another Underreported Side of Life Under Hamas

The Suffering of Gaza's 3000 Minority Christians under Hamas rule is as real as the rain of rockets on Sderot. Lela Gilbert in Jewish World Review gives us a bit of their story. For a Christian family living under Hamas, the threats of extortion, rape, beatings and murder are ever present.

'Disproportionate' Demonization

"The World is Strangely Blinkered in the Tragedies to Which it Responds."

Mona Charen Describes How the World Values Some Victims More than Others We are reminded daily of how bad things are in Gaza. Certainly all of us pray for that situation to come to an end. David Suissa's Gaza Riviera would be a dream come true.

"68 percent of General Assembly resolutions regarding violations of human rights targeted Israel. Afghanistan was cited in 4 percent of the resolutions along with Azerbaijan, Georgia, the United States and a few others. Russia, Sudan, China, and Saudi Arabia, just to name a few, were not cited at all. In 2007, 32 countries were mentioned for human rights violations, though most just barely. Israel once again topped the list with 121 actions taken against her. Sudan came in second with 61, Myanmar third with 41. The U.S. was No. 4, with 39 actions, tied with the Democratic Republic of the Congo!" -- Mona Charen

Visit www.persecution.com and you will see a whole lot of hostility towards Christian minorities in places that never make the nightly news. In places like India, these Christians will bring hope and dignity to people such as the Dhalit [untouchables] and face beatings from brutal Hindu radicals for their efforts. If the media is truely interested in bringing to light human suffering in the world, they have their work cut out for them.

Hamas' Other Unseen Victims

Gaza's Christian Minority Suffers in the Conflict

Here's a Communication Received by Voice of the Martyrs. The 3000 some Christian minority in Gaza is asking for prayer. Hamas' terrorism and the Israeli response create a terrible situation for them as well. The Middle East is a complex region. Again our news media leave us in the dark about so much essential information.

There seems to be no one like Noam Bedein in their community to tell their story for them. But look at the pictures from Sderot and use your imagination. The horror of war stretches beyond the visible horizon.

Update: The Gaza Riviera:

A Look at What Might Have Been

'Disproportionate' Response II

What is 'Disproportionate' is the News Coverage

"Undoubtedly, a powerful impression has been created by large Western newspaper headlines that describe massive Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, without any up-front explanation for their cause." -- Dore Gold

If you watched the evening news last night, you got the distinct impression that big bad Israel is using bear mace on a mosquito again while it goes after pesky old Hamas. Those of us who know of the Seven Year Siege of Sderot can only wish for 'fair and balanced.' This is a nasty war and about 4000 missles have been fired at Israeli population centers from Gaza. Somehow the major news outlets don't find that newsworthy.

Read This Piece by Dore Gold before you cast any judgement in this situation. Like most situations in the Middle-East you need to do your homework before you can even hope to understand.


Dr. Dore Gold was Israel's ambassador
to the United Nations from 1997 to 1999.
He is the Author of 'Hatred's Kingdom'
which describes Saudi Arabia's ties to
global terrorism.

Update:

Here's a Reality Check from Joel Rosenberg

A really good graphic map of the Gaza missle threat is included in Joel Rosenberg's report.

Breaking Point -- The Real Story of Israel's Gaza Operation

Here is a Site where the people of Sderot tell their story. You can send them a word of encouragement. I did.


Sderot children have fifteen seconds to reach this pipe when the missles start coming in. Photo courtesy of www.sderotmedia.com

In Sderot, they protect their children by providing these concrete 'caterpillars' in the playground. When the siren sounds the children know they have fifteen seconds to take cover.

Sadly Hamas Has Used Children as Human Shields to deter attacks on missle assembly plants. Any clear thinking Middle-East policy should demand that children's lives be respected.

"Hamas's brazen use of human shields is directly facilitated by the international community's reluctance to address the issue and denounce the premeditated endangerment of ordinary people. According to all rules of warfare, including the Geneva Convention, this is nothing short of a war crime. When the crimes of Gaza's terrorists against their own people are consistently overlooked around the world, it can only encourage the Islamists' immorality."--The Jerusalem Post

'Disproportionate' Response

When meeting that enemy, be proportionate

Many years ago the Western cities of Virginia had good reason to fear an attack from West Virginia. The American Civil War had some ugly chapters where seige warfare became 'modernized' and that should be interpreted as shelling the cities [as was done along the Mississippi] into submission. No reasonable historian would fault the defenders of Vicksburg, Memphis, or the brave men who built Fort Johnson on the Western border of Augusta County to protect the towns of the Valley of Virginia.

If we could but remember the threat of close destruction, we would not fault the defenders of Sderot either. In fact, we would likely agree with Jonathan Mark's Observation that Israel's Response is Disproportionate. Put yourself in their shoes and you will see the problem in a different light.


A child's drawing from Sderot shows
the horror of war.