The simple truth. RETWEET pic.twitter.com/sF7K4XOdWV

“Israel Deserves an Apology”

1 Av 5774 Rosh Chodesh Av

This is a share from Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi’s facebook page…

I am sick of apologizing for Israel’s right to defend itself. I am sick of the word “ceasefire” when all that really means is “time for Hamas to build more rockets” while we stand by helplessly. I am sick of the UN calling this an Israeli-Palestinian War when all along it’s clearly been a prolonged terrorist attack that the IDF is courageously trying to stop. I’m sick of people criticizing Israel for killing innocent people when they have done more than any country to warn Gazans and have even brought the gunmen into their own hospitals. I’m sick of apologizing for being a Jew. For being part of a nation whose kindness and compassion shine through even on the battlefield.

Somehow the world is turning everything around. Turning the terrorists into victims. Turning the attacked into the aggressor. This is the anti-Semitism of today. A hatred and disgust with Israel no matter what we do.
Now I ask you. Who should be apologizing? The millions of Jews running for cover as rockets attempting to smash into their school yards and tear apart their homes come raining down? The parents of all the soldiers who have tragically died in this frustrating, dangerous ground war in Gaza, where every move is calculated and re-calculated to prevent the loss of life?

Should the soldiers apologize for risking their lives to fight terrorism while the rest of us shake our heads over the news? I am sick of apologizing for Israel when it is Israel that really deserves an apology.

Israel deserves an apology from the media for falsely portraying them as aggressors. From the Jews who have turned their backs on their own people when they are needed most. From the terrorists themselves, for the constant panic and fear, for the horrific loss of life, for destroying our homes, for diverting our planes, for turning our lives upside down, and for putting innocent Arab lives in mortal danger. Israel deserves an apology.

And I also want to apologize to Israel and her courageous people. I am sorry for not defending you loudly enough. For not doing more to speak up against the staged newspaper photographs and the false criticisms. I am sorry for the hours in which I forget about the pain and the suffering that you are going through. I am sorry, dear parents of all the fallen soldiers. I am sorry for your aching grief and loss, sorry that you had to sacrifice your sons in this war for Jewish survival. Because they were not just fighting for Israel, they were fighting for all of us.

I apologize to all of you, who live in the only place in the world where every Jew is welcomed home, that you are not recognized on a daily basis for holding up the fort for all of us, for teaching your children to remain calm under fire, for sending your sons to guard our borders, for holding onto your faith when everyone around you is intent on taking it away.

Thank you Rabbi Mizrachi for your courage to always tell the truth!

Joan Rivers — GOES OFF on Epic Israel/Palestine Rant

New Declassified Report Exposes Hamas Human Shield Policy from IsraelDefenseForces

Missionaries Harassing IDF Soldiers Manning Iron Dome

IDF soldiers fighting the battle against Hamas are being forced into another battle – against missionaries. ‘They’ve crossed a red line’.
By Moshe Cohen 27July2014 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/183395#.U9XLHruk2b8
Even as IDF soldiers grit their teeth to fight a tough war against Israel’s Hamas enemies, they have other threats to worry about – like missionaries seeking to convert IDF soldiers, preventing them from concentrating on their mission.

Anti-missionary group Yad L’Achim said Sunday that it had gotten numerous complaints from residents of Ashkelon and from soldiers that missionaries had made a nuisance of themselves several times at an Iron Dome installation.

The location of the installations are supposed to be secret, but because Israelis can see where the missiles that intercept Hamas rockets are fired from, the location of the Iron Dome batteries is an “open secret.” Israelis, anxious to see the vaunted system that had prevented Hamas rockets from wreaking havoc on Israeli cities, flock to the launching sites to cheer on soldiers and bring them refreshments and gifts.

The missionaries have come as well, said Yad L’achim – but their purpose in coming is not to cheer soldiers on, but to preach Christianity to them. Such incidents have been happening throughout the country where Iron Dome installations are located, the organization said, with missionaries harassing soldiers before, during, and after they finish their shifts.

Besides preaching, the missionaries distribute what they promote as “holy books” to the soldiers – New Testaments, in Hebrew. Yad L’achim volunteers have been collecting the books and dealing with them in an appropriate manner, the group said.

The missionary preaching hasn’t been making much of an impression on the soldiers from an ideological or religious viewpoint, soldiers reported to Yad L’achim, but they do find the preaching very annoying.

In a letter to Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, Yad L’achim demanded that the missionary activity be stopped. “This activity is unprecedented and has crossed all red lines,” the group said. “We respectfully ask that these people be banned from areas where soldiers serve and congregate.”

14 Ways Hamas Weaponizes Women, Children, Animals, Against Israel

20July2014 http://grid.pjmedia.com/?cmd=view-show-profile-article&id=1934

14 Ways Hamas Weaponizes Women, Children, Animals, Against Israel http://grid.pjmedia.com/?cmd=view-show-profile-article&id=1934

Brit. Col. Richard Kemp on operation Protective Edge

Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi – The Debate Part 1

Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi – The Debate Part 2

An Inside Look Into Life Under Hamas’ Tunnel Threat

Strikes on houses in Gaza used for military purposes – Legal aspects

11 July 2014 https://mfa.gov.il/MFA/AboutIsrael/State/Law/Pages/Strikes-on-houses-in-Gaza-used-for-military-purposes—Legal-aspects.aspx

In many cases, Hamas uses its commanders’ own homes, where their families and other civilians reside, for military purposes. When such houses are used for military purposes, they may become legitimate military targets under international law.

Throughout the initial stages of Operation “Protective Edge” – initiated in order to restore security to Israel’s civilian population under constant rocket and mortar fire from the Gaza Strip – the IDF struck a number of houses throughout the Gaza Strip belonging to Hamas operatives used for military purposes.

Hamas conducts its military activities deep within residential areas in the Gaza Strip. By doing so, Hamas exploits the IDF’s desire and efforts to avoid harm to the Palestinian civilian population. In many cases, Hamas uses its commanders’ own homes, where their families and other civilians may be residing, for military purposes. These houses may be used for activities such as weapons storage, command and control centers and communications. The cynical use of such homes can be seen in the following video, where a secondary explosion can be identified as the result of the detonation of weapons stored under the building.

When such houses are used for military purposes, they may become legitimate military targets under international law. The IDF only aims its attacks against legitimate military targets as defined under the relevant rules of international law. In order to accurately determine military targets, the IDF employs advanced methods, including multiple levels of intelligence, the provision of legal advice and extensive prior training provided to operational commanders.

Even where a house is considered a lawful military target, the IDF takes great efforts to minimize any potential harm to the surrounding civilian population. It does so by using tools that may be available at the time, such as real time visual coverage in order to assess the civilian presence at the time of the attack, by carefully choosing weaponry and ammunition which will help to minimize any harm caused and by providing advance warnings in certain instances. Many of the IDF’s efforts in this regard go over and above its legal obligations and the accepted practice of other militaries conducting hostilities in urban areas. Unfortunately, many of the IDF’s attempts to provide advance warning are exploited by Hamas, who uses civilians as human shields in order to deter attacks.

Further, where a commander determines that an attack is expected to cause collateral damage which would be excessive in relation to the military advantage anticipated, the attack will not be carried out.

Nevertheless, regrettably, the IDF cannot guarantee that no civilian harm at all will be caused during its operations. When terrorist organizations such as Hamas deliberately use civilian homes for terrorist purposes, it is unavoidable that some civilians will be harmed when the IDF acts against these targets. Unfortunately, Hamas exploits such instances to claim that the IDF deliberately seeks to harm the civilian population in the Gaza Strip – but fails to acknowledge that it has intentionally put these citizens in grave danger by masking their terrorist activities behind a civilian veil.

The IDF will continue to conduct its operations in full accordance with international law – including by only attacking legitimate military targets, and will continue its efforts to minimize the harm to the civilian population. In contrast, Hamas deliberately and constantly fires indiscriminately towards Israel’s civilian population, and celebrates when Israel’s civilians are harmed. These actions constitute the most heinous war crimes. The IDF will continue to defend its citizens from such terrorist activity.

IDF Pinpoint Strike on Weapons Storage Facility in Gaza

Targeting civilians – a crime against humanity

Palestinian Envoy to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) Ibrahim Khreisheh was interviewed last week (July 9) on Palestinian Authority TV (interview translated into English by MEMRI,The Middle East Media Research Institute).

He said: “The missiles that are now being launched against Israel, each and every missile constitutes a crime against humanity, whether it hits or missed, because it is directed at civilian targets…Targeting civilians, be it one civilian or a thousand, is considered a crime against humanity.”

Relating to Israel’s mode of operation in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge he stated: “Please note that many of our people in Gaza appeared in TV and said that the Israeli army warned them to evacuate their homes before bombardment. In such a case, if someone is killed, the law considers it a mistake rather than intentional killing, because (the Israelis) followed the legal procedures.”

Translation of the leaflets dropped over northern Gaza.

New map confirms: the Shuja’iya neighborhood is a terrorist stronghold where Hamas uses residents as human shields. pic.twitter.com/NVTPEbydq4

THIRD Rocket Arsenal Found At UN School In Gaza

29July2014 http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Peace/2014/07/29/THIRD-Rocket-Arsenal-Found-At-UN-School-In-Gaza

The United Nations Relief & Works Agency For Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced Tuesday that another rocket stockpile has been found at one of its schools in Gaza. This instance marks the third time since the beginning of Operation Protective Edge that a weapons arsenal has been found at an UNRWA school in Gaza.

.@UNRWA says rockets found on Tuesday at one of its schools in central Gaza, adds school was closed for the summer & not used as a shelter.

— Dan Williams (@DanWilliams) July 29, 2014

Dan Williams-tweet-29July2014-UNRWA says rockets found on Tuesday

UNRWA has yet to place blame on any individuals or organizations for placing the weapons stockpile within a children’s school. The UN body refused to do so on the past two previous occasions as well.

The UN body, after both previous findings, has handed the rockets it had found back into the possession of “the local police,” otherwise known as the terrorist group Hamas.

This week, UNRWA supplies and building materials had been found in Hamas’s tunnel infrastructure, which has been used to smuggle weapons and carry out attacks on the State of Israel.

The UN agency has a well-documented history of using their US taxpayer-funded facilities to promote anti-Israel and anti-Semitic propaganda. It has in the past been accused of aiding and abetting radical Islamists in Gaza and elsewhere.

UNRWA was created in 1949 to provide relief and public works programs for displaced Arab refugees that had formerly inhabited the British mandate of Palestine. UNRWA is currently the largest agency-subdivision of the entire UN, employing over 30,000 staff. UNRWA has objectively failed in its primary goal of finding homes for those it has deemed “refugees”. From 1949 to present day, refugees recognized by UNRWA has grown from 750,000 to 5,000,000 people.

NDTV exclusive – how Hamas assembles and fires rockets

Published on 05August2014
Minutes before the 72-hour ceasefire began, this rocket was fired from deep within a civilian zone.
Watch more videos: http://www.ndtv.com/video?yt

They waited until they left Gaza to air the report.

This report is being aired on NDTV and published on ndtv.com after our team left the Gaza strip – Hamas has not taken very kindly to any reporting of its rockets being fired. But just as we reported the devastating consequences of Israel’s offensive on Gaza’s civilians, it is equally important to report on how Hamas places those very civilians at risk by firing rockets deep from the heart of civilian zones.

Exclusive: Hamas rocket launch pad revealed near Gaza homes

Published on 05August2014
FRANCE 24 has exclusive footage of a Hamas rocket launching pad that appears to prove the militant group has been firing from areas heavily populated with civilians.
Comment:

The occurrence proves Israel’s contention that Hamas fires rockets from among civilians, using them as human shields and manipulating any civilian casualties that are thus incurred, in order to make Israel look bad.