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Archive for January, 2009

Israeli soldier writes to Gazans whose home he took over

Posted in Gaza, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on January 31, 2009 | 1 Comment »

The following text is a letter posted on the Facebook profile of Yona Cymerman, an acquaintance of mine. It is written by her brother-in-law and translated by Yona. I’ve posted it here because it is quite powerful. There have been reports of IDF soldiers leaving notes for the Palestinians whose homes they commandeered throughout the [...]

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Erdogan walks out on Peres

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 30, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Here is the full video from the Davos panel on Gaza where on Turkish PM Erdogan walking out at the end after the Israeli president gave him a dressing down he will never forget.
You can also watch it here:

Peres used the high profile forum, probably one of the most [...]

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SA Jews set to take Hajaig to court

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on January 29, 2009 | 5 Comments »

UPDATE: Hajaig has apologized:
The Jewish Board of Deputies is satisfied with deputy foreign minister Fatima Hajaig’s second apology, made after President Kgalema Motlanthe held “discussions” with her about them, it said on Thursday.
“To the extent that my statement may have caused hurt and pain, I offer an unequivocal apology for the pain it may have [...]

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Holocaust Denial Memorial Day

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on January 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

The United Nations designated January 27 as international Holocaust memorial day in 2005, marking the date Soviet troops liberated the largest Nazi death camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau, in Poland.
There is a definite counter-move by anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers on this day, not just to deny the Holocaust, but to link it with the recent war in Gaza. [...]

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Bibi’s YouTube babes

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on January 25, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Check out these two new YouTube videos about Binyamin Netanyahu and the Likud:
One is obviously very anti-Bibi, done in the ‘Leave Britney Alone’ mold:

This one is from young Likud Anglo activist Ariel Rodal:

Which one would you vote for?
Pity nobody’s done a “I got a crush on Bibi” [...]

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Some thoughts on the situation

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on January 25, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Since the Gaza war [can we even call it a war?] started, the Israeli government barred foreign correspondents from entering the Gaza Strip to cover the war.
AP now has a good story about how Al Jazeera, who were one of the few media outlets to have reporters inside Gaza, were the big winners of [...]

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Jews lost and found, in India

Posted in Bnei Menashe, tagged , , , , , on January 20, 2009 | 4 Comments »

Dotted across villages on the slopes of mountains that make up the lower Himalayan ranges in northeast India, thousands of Indians are adopting and practicing Jewish traditions in the hope of one day officially converting to Judaism and immigrating to Israel. In the states of Mizoram, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland along the Burmese border, these [...]

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Ceasefire in Gaza; until the next round

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Day 1 of the unilateral ceasefire Israel embarked on in Gaza. We’ve already had Hamas firing rockets at the south, but that’s because this is an Israeli ceasefire, not something Hamas has signed onto. There is wide consensus that eventually, Israel and Hamas will clash again. The government’s aim in embarking on Operation Cast Lead [...]

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Is Israel breaking international law in Gaza?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Here is a Q&A with Dr. Robbie Sabel, a lecturer in international law at the Hebrew University and former legal adviser to the Foreign Ministry.
Israel has been accused of violating the laws of war during the Gaza fighting. What are these laws, and is the accusation true?
Israel, during the fighting in Gaza, has taken greater [...]

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Photos of Israeli soldiers in Gaza

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged on January 16, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Here are some pictures sent out by the IDF Spokesperson’s Office of Israeli soldiers in Gaza.
If you want to read my story about Israeli urban warfare click on Gaza will not be Stalingrad.

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UN-Israel relations going up in Gaza’s smoke

Posted in Ehud Olmert, Gaza, Iran, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, Sderot, Syria, Turkey, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Looking at the massive plume of thick smoke rising above the Gaza skyline on Thursday, Israelis tasked with coordinating humanitarian aid shipments into the Strip couldn’t believe their eyes. Thousands of sacks of wheat and other foodstuffs sent through the Israeli crossings over the past weeks and stored at the food storage warehouse at UNRWA [...]

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IDF will try avoid hitting Gaza ambulances

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Due to increased pressure by international medical and humanitarian agencies, the IDF has tightened open-fire orders regarding Palestinian ambulances suspected of being involved in terrorist activity, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
As part of the army’s increasing coordination with international humanitarian agencies, IDF soldiers in Gaza have been told to exercise extreme sensitivity to the [...]

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What are Egypt and Hamas talking about?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on January 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Israel wants Egypt to guarantee that it will implement some mechanism that stops weapons smuggling into Gaza. If they do this, Hamas will not be getting any more weapons, and that means a totally different Hamas over time than what we’re used to.
Can Hamas survive without a constant supply of weaponry? Will it focus [...]

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Salaries to Hamas men paid at Gaza’s Shifa Hospital

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 12, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Internal security minister and former Shin Bet secret service head Avi Dichter had some interesting things to say Monday morning on Army Radio about Hamas in Gaza.
Regarding Israeli intelligence reports that the Hamas leadership has taken refuge in Gaza’s Shifa Hospital:
“Shifa Hospital has long ago ceased to be just a hospital, just as the UNRWA [...]

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IDF denies firing on UN aid convoy at Erez Crossing

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on January 10, 2009 | 1 Comment »

The IDF was not responsible for the death of a Palestinian aid worker contracted to the UN and the wounding of two others last Thursday, the IDF Spokesperson said Saturday.
“An IDF investigation has found that it was not the army who fired on a UN truck at the Erez Crossing,” the Spokesperson’s office said. The [...]

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Treading water and dying in Gaza

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 9, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Day 14
The Israeli cabinet has decided to keep the forces inside Gaza but not to approve a wider, stronger attack against Hamas.
I fear this is the worst possible decision. It is a decision not to decide.

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Who fired at a UN convoy?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Who killed the Palestinian driver of an aid truck and wounded two others as their convoy made its way into the Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing during Thursday’s “humanitarian cease-fire?”
According to the foreign media, who based their information on UN sources, IDF tank shells blasted the truck. According to the Magen David Adom medic [...]

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Go in hard or get out quick

Posted in Gaza, Israel, Israel Defense Forces, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment »

Day 13
It is getting harder to shake the feeling that the government and army have been feeding the media a problematic line of information.
We were told repeatedly over the past week that the IAF has managed to severely disrupt the Hamas military wing command-and-control apparatus, and that Hamas commanders on the ground [mostly under [...]

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Hates Israel, loves the pita

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on January 6, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Gaza War Day #11
Here’s a reporter’s notebook from driving around here today visiting my reporters.
There is a steakhouse not far from the Gaza border that has a closed military zone inside it at the back. There is a sign on a drawing board which says: War Room, High Command, No Entry, Closed Zone. Behind the [...]

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Gaza will not be Stalingrad

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 6, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Israeli forces have seized sparsely populated areas in northern and southern Gaza and by Monday morning were dug in on the edges of Gaza City, which has been isolated and surrounded.
As of this writing, Hamas is trying to draw IDF forces into the cities of Gaza, and the IDF is trying to coax Hamas combatants [...]

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