No Virginia. This is not a genocide

 The shrill cries of " Its a Genocide!!!!" are repeated everywhere- from social media to city council chambers, to the ubiquitous anti-Israel protests.

No, its not.

This is a war.
A war Hamas started. 
A war that Hamas is losing (badly). 
And a war that Hamas can end today, by surrendering and freeing the kidnapped Israeli hostages.

In our lifetime, there have been many wars, military actions and insurrections

1. The Second Congo War (5,000,000 dead)
2. The Vietnam War (4,000,000 dead)
3. Soviet–Afghan War (2,000,000 dead)
4. The Nigerian Civil War (2,000,000 dead)
5. The Second Sudanese Civil War (1,500,000 dead)
6. The Syrian civil war (600,000 dead) 

7. The Angolan Civil War (500,000 dead)
8. The First Sudanese Civil War (500,000 dead)
9. The Ethiopian Civil War (900,000 dead)
10. The Iran–Iraq War (1,000,000 dead)
11. The Rwandan genocide (700,000 dead)
12. The Bangladesh Liberation War (2,000,000 dead)
13. The South Sudanese Civil War (350,000 dead)
14. The Yemeni Civil War (380,000 dead)
15. The Boko Haram insurgency (350,000 dead)
16. The Somali Civil War (400,000 dead)
17. Burundian Civil War (300,000 dead)
18. The War in Darfur (300,000 dead)
19. The Russian invasion of Ukraine (300,000 dead)
20. The First Congo War (600,000 dead)
21. The Colombian conflict (400,000 dead)
22. The Mexican drug war (300,000 dead)
23. The Tigray War (350,000 dead)
24. The War in Afghanistan (250,000 dead)

Even if we believe the death toll from the Hamas run Gaza Ministry of Health (and we have no reason to believe them) the total is far far less than any of these actions. 

No, Virginia.   Its not a genocide. 
From an article originally posted at Pro Israel Bay Bloggers

Gaza: Land of 1230 Mosques. Gazans are asking "Why"?

Gaza, an area 25 miles long and 8 miles wide has 1,230 mosques, many ornate and extravagant.

The people of Gaza are begining to ask why.

Imam al-Shafei Mosque in the al-Zaitoun neighborhood of Gaza was built at a cost of $3.5 million.

Imam al-Shafei Mosque in Gaza

Al-Hassayna Mosque in Gaza City cost over $2 million.

Al-Hassayna Mosque in Gaza

The Al-Khalidi and Salim Abu Muslim mosques in Gaza were built at a cost over  $1 million each.  More lavish mosques will be opening soon.

Gaza's Al-Khalidi Mosque

In improverished Gaza, citizens are begining to question the wisdom of such lavish expenses.
From Al-Monitor:
 
Mohammad al-Khalidi, a citizen from Gaza, poured out his resentment of such luxury mosques. “The Ministry of Endowments claims that the donors funding the construction of the mosques want to spend this much money on them. But why would it [the ministry] not inform the donors that there are other fields in Gaza where the donations could be more useful? Mosques can be built at a reasonable cost and the remainder of the donations could be used to build hospitals, schools or residences, for example.

Al Khalidi questioned these priorities:

“The opening of the Khalil al-Wazir Mosque in the coming months will stir an uproar among Gazans due to the large number of mosques already present in Gaza, in the absence of development projects, hospitals and sewage networks. For example, in the Beit Lahia area in northern Gaza, the Salim Abu Muslim Mosque was built at a cost of $1 million, while a nonregulated landfill in the area is endangering the health of the locals and the environment.”

The construction of these lavish mosques in Gaza is yet another indication of how out of touch the  Hamas leadership is to the needs of its people and how misplaced its priorities have been.

Read more here:
Gazans outraged over millions of dollars spent building mosques

(Cross-posted at Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers)

Summer Camp in Gaza. This is No Way to treat a Child.

There are no lanyards, s'mores, swim lessons or silly songs around the campfire in Gaza summer camps. They are dead serious affairs, intent on indoctrinating and training the next generation of martyrs.

The Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades was founded in 1991 as the military wing of Hamas. It is the largest and best-equipped of the Gaza terror groups.   Al-Qassam Brigades has begun recruiting  for its  "Vanguards of Liberation" summer camp 

Al-Qassam Brigades "Vanguards of Liberation" summer camp in Gaza

The stated goal of these camps aim to "ignite the flame of jihad in the generation of liberation, sow Islamic values ​​and prepare the expected victory army for the liberation of Palestine"

Recruiting for Al-Qassam Brigades "Vanguards of Liberation" summer camp in Gaza

Recruitment, at several locations in Gaza, was brisk.

Sadly, it looks like there will be no shortage of  jihadi-wannabe's and young martyrs for the next conflict.

Hamas: Misplaced priorities during the global pandemic

(Cross posted at Pro Israel Bay Bloggers)

The world is at a standstill with shelter in place orders interupting all but the most basic routines.  Governments are investing significant resources to test and treat Covid-19 patients. Scientists are studying the virus, looking for points of weakness, and potential vaccines.

And in Gaza, they are shooting rockets at Israeli civilians, and digging terror tunnels.

On Tuesday, a rocket was fired from Gaza, targetting Israeli civilians in the southland. And today the military wing of Hamas- the al-Qassam Brigades- announced the death of 25-year-old Moamen Ahmed Abu Hajar after a terror tunnel he was working in collapsed.

Two examples of the woefully misplaced priorities of Hamas, directing their resources towards terror.

Moamen Ahmed Abu Hajar

Moamen Abu Hajar was given a hero's funeral in Gaza, with no adherence to the  "social distancing" guidelines meant to reduce the spread of infection.

Funeral of Moamen Ahmed Abu Hajar

Moamen Ahmed Abu Hajar in happier times, presented for those that still claim the tunnels are the work of a desperate starving people.

Why is Hamas spending its money, its time, and its energy on terrorism in middle of a global pandemic?  Why do they continually prioritize taking Jewish lives, rather than saving Palestinian ones?

Strawberry Fields forever. Gaza exports strawberries to the world

Its time for the strawberry harvest in Gaza.

Some of the luscious red berries are sold domestically.

Others are exported.   According to Gaza Ministry Director Adham Al-Bassiouni  3 tons of the strawberries were exported to the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Nine additional tons of the Gaza berries were exported to England.

(Yes, "starving" Gaza exports agricultural products) Bet you didn't know THAT.

According to COGAT, since the start of the season, more than 450 tons of strawberries have been exported overseas and to Judea and Samaria, and strawberry exports are expected to continue over the coming weeks

Eyad Kishawi: Spreading a new Blood Libel?

Cross-posted at Pro-Israel Bay Bloggers
One of the most recognizable images from this weekend's escalation in Gaza has turned out to be fraud.



Eyad Kishawi, from the local branch of the extremist organization Al Awda just sent out this email - to thousands


From: Eyad Kishawi ekishawi@yahoo.com
Sent: Saturday, March 10, 2012 10:37 PM
Subject: [Al-Awda-SF] Israeli Zionism in action-another massacre in Gaza [2 Attachments]

[Attachment(s) from Eyad Kishawi included below]

Please share and break the silence. Show how Israel murders our children and has been doing so for 64 years. Let people know what Obama and Netanyahu do to a population under siege.

End Israeli apartheid, end the occupation, end ethnic cleansing. Boycott, divest and enforce sanctions on this criminal entity.

This girl deserved a future.

Eyad, like J Street, needs to hire a fact checker. This photo was taken in 2006, and had been used fraudulently to demonize Israel before.



ATTENTION EDITORS - CAPTION CORRECTION FOR SJS01 - 05 WHICH WERE TRANSMITTED AT APPROXIMATELY 1725 GMT ON AUGUST 9, 2006. THE CAPTION INCORRECTLY STATES THE CAUSE OF DEATH. CORRECTED VERSIONS IMMEDIATELY FOLLOW THIS ADVISORY. WE ARE SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE CAUSED. REUTERS. A Palestinian man carries the body of three year-old Raja Abu Shaban, in Gaza August 9, 2006. The three-year-old girl who had been reported killed by an Israeli air strike in Gaza on Wednesday actually died of an accident, Palestinian medical workers said on Thursday. Workers at Gaza's Shifa hospital said on August 10, 2006 that the initial mistake over the cause of death appeared to have arisen because the girl's corpse was brought in at the same time as the bodies of the gunmen. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES)

Thanks Israellycool for bringing this to our attention.

We've learned today that J street can be fairly casual with truth and accuracy, but when prodded will issue a correction. Eyad Kishawi will get a copy of this post via email. Will he issue a retraction to the Al Awda email list? We'll let you know.

The IDF Must Hold Fire

The latest furor over supposed Israeli war crimes in Gaza has once again followed the classic pattern: a charge made without any evidence later proves to be unverifiable, Israel is put in the untenable position of trying to prove the negative statement, the world media trumpets the charges in bold page 1 headlines, and when the facts are made available, corrections are published in small print well on the inside. The only difference from the alleged Jenin "massacre" is that this time the charges were made by Israelis-- published in English rather than in Hebrew to make it clear that they were playing for the world media rather than attempting to have a serious public discourse within Israel.
Of course, for the next few years anti-Israel websites and public demonstrations will prominently feature "IDF War Crimes" as part of their many grievances against Israel. But focusing on what did and didn't happen, while important both for the historical record and for Israelis who want to know that their sons behaved morally, really isn't the essence of the issue. After all, in every single war there are soldiers who have indeed behaved immorally; in every single war, civilians are killed either by scared teens armed with weapons, by angry soldiers who just watched their friend get blown into small bits, or by human error when shells didn't get aimed where they were intended. And when fighting against an enemy that doesn't hesitate to use human shields, that cynically uses schools as rocket launching pads and hospitals as military headquarters, that tells its own population that the highest calling they can seek is to become martyrs, civilian casualties are bound to be higher.
So what IS the essence of the issue? It's those who are opposed to any defensive action Israel takes, regardless of the provocation, regardless of the rationale, regardless of the situation where one side is clearly told that its fate is to be exterminated. It's well summarized on this sign displayed at the anti-Israel protest in San Francisco during the Second Lebanon War:








Hezbollah or Hamas can murder Israeli civilians at will, can rain rockets down over the entire country, and can blow up buses and cafes. But the IDF? It--and only it-- must hold fire. That's the message that is really being delivered to Israel. Double standards, anyone?



photo courtesy of Zombie

LAUREN BOOTH WEEPS OVER GAZA, NOT OVER DARFUR

Lauren Booth, sister-in-law of former British prime minister Tony Blair, said that the "concentration camp" of Gaza received less media attention than Darfur.


Has Gaza in fact received less attention? Not just less media attention, but less attention overall?


An internet search for 'Darfur,' shows 16,300,000 results.
[Deaths in Darfur: nearly half a million over the past five years.]

An internet search for 'Gaza,' shows 39,400,000 results.
[Conflict deaths in Gaza: 7007 since 2001.]

Note: The idea for comparing death tolls was taken from an Arutz Sheva article. It dramatically highlights the disparity. There is relevance, and then there is 'relevance'. I got the idea for internet searches from the same article.


Further searches showed a similar pattern:

5,330,000 results for 'Darfur UN'.
9,840,000 results for 'Gaza UN'.

603,000 results for 'AFP Darfur'.
1,380,000 results for 'AFP Gaza'.

1,940,000 results for 'BBC Darfur'.
3,040,000 results for 'BBC Gaza'.

1,350,000 results for 'Reuters Darfur'.
2,790,000 results for 'Reuters Gaza'.

387,000 results for 'Al Jazeera Darfur'.
1,020,000 results for 'Al Jazeera Gaza'.

32,300 results for 'Ha'aretz Darfur'.
361,000 results for 'Ha'aretz Gaza'.

3,690 results for 'Algemeen Dagblad Darfur'.
5,260 results for 'Algemeen Dagblad Gaza'.

19,100 results for 'Volkskrant Darfur'
31,800 for 'Volkskrant Gaza'.

1,050,000 results for 'Guardian Darfur'.
2,040,000 results for 'Guardian Gaza'.

1,610,000 results for 'New York Times Darfur'.
2,800,000 results for 'New York Times Gaza'.


There are two logical conclusions.

The first one is that Lauren Booth is an ignorant and biased woman who neither knows nor cares about the truth. The second one is that each Gazan is worth far, far more than at least fifty Sudanese in the eyes of the world.

One might also think that the killing of Gazans is frowned upon, and the deaths of Sudanese positively welcomed.
But it is probably only people like Lauren Booth who incline that way.

My own personal conclusions are that the world cares too little about Darfur, and that Lauren Booth and her type are evil and vicious.
I would be keen to hear from anyone who knows ms. Booth whether that latter conclusion matches their perception.

--------------------------------

NOTE:

This article is crossposted here:
http://atthebackofthehill.blogspot.com/2008/09/lauren-booth-weeps-over-gaza-not-over.html

I compared the figures for the fatalities in Darfur and Gaza in several places: B'Tselem, The United Nations, various Palestinian and activist websites, etcetera.
The figure for Gaza is based on B'Tselem. I did not include Palestinians killed by other Palestinians, such as the victims of political assassinations by the factions, targeted killings by gangsters such as the Dogmush clan, murdered kidnap victims, or poisonings.

Lauren Booth Shopping in Gaza

Although Jewish Voice for Peace has claimed that Israel is slowly starving 1.5 million Gazans and that Palestinians in Gaza are being "deliberately malnourished", Lauren Booth of the "free Gaza" flotilla doesn't seem to have any trouble finding food at this well stocked Gazan store.

Photo from Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images
http://www.daylife.com/photo/02uy2JZ8Uw445/gaza

And if anybody wants to claim that the "Free Gaza" movement wasn't in bed with the terrorists of Hamas, this picture should set the record straight (the one in the middle raising his cup is Haniyeh; the rest are wearing medals he personally awarded to them).