Opuscula Before accusing, Personally check Facts you espouse

IT IS BEYOND MY KEN how people parrot “facts” that are indeed lies.

Israel is an “apartheid state.”

Israel oppresses Arabs.

Israel is racist.

Those canards are, in two words, BOVINE EXCREMENT

Bovine Excrement meter from WWW

QUICK QUESTION

Have any of the people making these claims ever BEEN to Israel. Do any of these people have first hand knowledge of life in Israel?

HONESTY IN BLOGGING: I live in Yavne, Israel, within range of Hamas’ missiles targeting civilian sites.

I am being treated at a Tel Aviv hospital because my family doctor feared to send me to Ashdod, south of Yavne, because of Hamas’ missiles.

I have been confined to a roughly 10*12 “safe room” with three other adults, three children, and a large dog because of Hamas’ rockets.

Apartheid

First, define “apartheid.”

Wikipedia does this at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid

Britannica defines it at https://www.britannica.com/topic/apartheid

Merriam-Webster lists it at https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apartheid

Collins Dictionary explains it at https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/apartheid

Dictionary.com offers a succinct definition at https://www.dictionary.com/browse/apartheid:

(in the Republic of South Africa) a rigid former policy of segregating and economically and politically oppressing the nonwhite population.
any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

All definitions basically are the same; some offer more commentary, but the “bottom line” is segregation and economic restrictions.

APARTHEID DOES NOT EXIST IN ISRAEL

True, there are predominately Jewish neighborhoods.

Likewise, there are predominately Muslim neighborhoods.

There also are — fewer now following recent riots — mixed neighborhoods. (https://tinyurl.com/wvvt2kcp)

By law, any Israeli citizen — Arab (Druze, Muslim, etc.), Jew, and “other” — can live any place he or she can afford.

Most people tend to prefer living close to people of similar background; that’s human nature. Call it “natural” social apartheid.

Economic apartheid

There IS economic apartheid in Israel.

Muslims rarely are found in positions where national security is an issue.

Rarely, but not absolutely.

Arabs — whenever “Arab” appears on this blog, the word refers to Arabs regardless of their religion, or lack of it — are everywhere:

Courts


Knesset


Medicine,


Military


Municipal governments


Police


Universities and schools

There are NO Arab-free occupations (except perhaps the rabbinate).

There ARE some “Muslim-free” occupations when national security is concerned.

Communists once were banned from employment by the U.S. government. Communists once also were banned from Congress. Apartheid? Or common sense?

I recently spent far too many days in an Israeli hospital.

I was checked by Jewish and Muslim doctors.

I was “observed” by Jewish and Muslim medical students trailing their professor on rounds.

I had blood drawn (repeatedly) by Jewish and Muslim technicians.

Jewish and Muslim nurses attended to my care.

Jewish and Muslim aides were a constant.

I shared space with an Arab.

What was absent was animosity, at least as far as patient care was concerned.

In other words, no apartheid at the hospital (or the associated university).

 

Occupation

When your country is repeatedly attacked by your neighbors, you try to keep the neighbor at bay.

The so-called West Bank was captured by Jordan in 1948.

1947 Partition and 1948 Arab aggression map(https://tinyurl.com/mfr8umvy)

The so-called West Bank was reclaimed from Jordan after the 1967 (6-Day) war in which Israeli implored Jordan not to enter.

Before and after 1967 (6-Day) War (BBC @ https://tinyurl.com/u7ye8s)

Even after defeating the invading Arab armies (again) and gaining control of Israel’s historic capital (Jerusalem), Israel allowed the Muslim Waqf to maintain jurisdiction over Judaism’s holiest site — only Number 3 to Muslims — making the Temple Mount a place Jews cannot pray.

Talk about apartheid!

Check points

What is the purpose of border check points?

According to Wikipedia (https://tinyurl.com/34vr9m62), A border checkpoint is a place, generally between two countries, where travelers or goods are inspected. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. ... To prevent entrance of goods that are illegal or subject to restriction, or to collect tariffs.

Arabs from the PLO/PFLP and Hamas occupied territories are obliged to go through check points to enter Israel.

(Israelis enter these areas at the risk of their lives. Now THAT’s apartheid.)

Arabs from Hamas-controlled Gaza also must pass through an Egyptian check point — when the border portal is open.

U.S. citizens visiting Canada are required to pass Canadian border security inspection. On their return, U.S. citizens (now) need to provide a U.S. passport and a declaration statement.

Only illegal aliens crossing the U.S. southern border are exempt from these onerous inconveniences.

Residents of both PLO/PFLP and Hamas have been known to sneak weapons into Israel to murder Israelis — Arabs, Jews, and “others.” Most security-conscious people would consider a border check point a wise endeavor.

Despite the fact that too many people from the PLO/PFLP and Hamas-controlled areas have tried, and sometimes succeeded, to murder Israels, their masters complain about the inconvenience.

Racism

Is there racism in Israel?

Yes.

Although they have been in Israel since King David, the swarthy Israeli is looked down on by Euro-Jews, recent arrivals (c 1890).

These is the same culture that brought racism to the U.S.

The U.S. inherited racism from the English who not only are racists but classists (snobs) as well.

It might be considered “fair” since the first Jews in North America were Spanish-Portuguese (Sefardi). The Sefardim were less than welcoming when the German Jews arrived. (The Germans then snubbed Jews who came later.)

Israel is a nation of color.

White as snow to black as night.

There are no restrictions on where any Jew (or Arab citizen, for that matter) may reside, but as noted above, people tend to prefer to live with others of a like mind.

Likewise, there are no restrictions regarding employment.

There is a requirement for a university degree to get any good paying job in Israel; no paper, no prestigious job. It’s not what you know but what piece of paper you have. (Another left over from the English.)

The Ethiopians are the newest immigrants. As the “new kid on the block,” and lacking higher education, they currently are working mostly as unskilled labor.

BUT, they are gaining education and as others before them, they too will move up.

It’s not “racism,” it’s “paper-ism.”

 

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Check facts

Opuscula Is Biden killing Abraham accords To spite Trump ?

WHILE “APPEARANCES CAN BE DECEIVING,” it appears that the Biden – Harris Emhoff administration is doing its best to dismantle the Abraham Accords.

 

IN ORDER TO GET some of Israel’s political foes to the table, former president Trump offered the Arabs a carrot salad they couldn’t refuse.

Carrot & stick cartoon by Berger & Wyse (https://tinyurl.com/33fwu25z)

Along comes Biden & Friends and suddenly

(a) the Abraham Accords carrots “disappear”

(b) The sticks the PLO/PFLP and Hamas feared are replaced by America’s open wallet

(c) Iran is free to develop a nuclear arsenal to use against Israel, the U.S., and Iran’s Muslim neighbors

(d) China is given free access to American technology

 

QUICK What is the difference between the U.S. giving money to Israel and giving money to terrorists?

1. Israel is an ally, not a terrorist; just ask the U.S. State Department, no friend of Israel.

2. Israel is obliged to “Buy American” — to spend U.S. dollars to prop up the U.S. defense industry; a gift with not just a “string,” but a “hawser.”¹

3. The PLO/PFLP and Hamas use the NON-REFUNDABLE dollars to teach hate, to buy war materiel from Iran , China, and Russia — the U.S. enjoys zero ROI.

 

Basically, Biden & Friends are busy UNDOING everything positive that Trump accomplished.

Biden’s master had a problem with former Israeli prime minister Netanyahu. Netanyahu is gone (but Biden’s master remains coaching from the wings.)

Perhaps Biden’s plan is to encourage Iran’s bomb building and convince the PLO/PFLP, Hamas, and Hezbollah that Trump was just a bad dream; they can go back to doing what their charters demand: the destruction of Israel — with America’s blessing.

Since Israel primarily uses Made in America weapons, the U.S. military-industrial complex will have a live proving ground for its products. No Americans soldiers will be put in the line of fire. A win-win for Washington.

With the U.S. Congress controlled by “woke” Democrats, Biden’s folly goes unchecked.

Trump may have been a bull in a china shop and his tweets were often embarrassing to those who supported him, but he DID accomplish a great deal toward world peace; he did restore the U.S. to a position of strength.

Biden is destroying everything Trump accomplished; he is trying to make 2016-2020 “disappear” as if they never happened.

 

THE QUESTION Will the Abraham Accords survive Biden, Harris-Emhoff, and the sycophants surrounding them.

 

Maybe The Shadow knows (right).

Time (the magazine) won’t tell.

 

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Sources 1. Hawser: https://pekasis.com/en/jetty-topside/mooring-hawser/

 

 

 

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Biden erasing Abraham Accords

Opuscula There is A difference

WHEN I WAS A KID, from six years old to teen years, I went to summer camps.

As a six year old, I learned to ride (and care for) horses and shoot a single-shot .22 rifle.

Later, as a teen member of Civil Air Patrol’s (CAP’s) Miami Composite Squadron 2, I went to camp at Eglin AFB in Florida’s panhandle.

 

AT THE “DUDE RANCH”, our weapons of choice were cap pistols and the “enemy” varied — sometimes “bad guys” (e.g., the Daltons), sometimes guys in the next tent. While “Cowboys and Indians” were popular on radio and tv, I don’t recall — 70-plus years later — that indians ever were the enemy. It would have been more likely that the “enemy” would be Germans or Japanese; this was c 1948 and World War Two was not far removed.

Gatling guns and M-1s

At Elgin AFB, we heard 10-second bursts of “Gatling” guns (currently the GAU-19/B .50 caliber Gatling – see video at https://tinyurl.com/3kaubs43) being test fired on Air Force F-104 fighters.

I vaguely recall firing an M-1 Garand rifle, but any fire arms training was limited and only in passing. We were not trained to be combat soldiers.

As a CAP cadet we wore military style uniforms, but we studied flying-related subjects: weather, navigation, search-and-rescue functions, and two-way radio operation among others. CAP in many ways is similar to Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps, or JROTC. No bayonet drills, no bomb making, but lots of close order marching.

Later, as a 17-year-old enlistee in the Air Force, I fired an M-1 Carbine that had more cosmoline than bullets — the Air Force is not famous for maintaining training rifles.

Bottom line: We were not trained to be soldiers and certainly not shahids (martyrs). We were more likely to hear Gen. Geo. Patton’s famous admonition:

No dumb bastard ever won a war by going out and dying for his country. He won it by making some other dumb bastard die for his country.” (https://tinyurl.com/55vaadxc)

than to be encouraged to go gung ho into an unknown situation.

We were not trained as children and teens to volunteer to die for flag or apple pie.

We were trained in schools, from first grade to graduation, to protect ourselves from the “Russians” who were coming. Hiding in a school basement or under a desk (a totally useless exercise in a nuclear attack) were regular drills.

Later I got to know some contemporaries from the Ukraine. We shared stories that turned out to be basically the same; the only thing that changed was the name of the attacking nation: in the U.S., “the Russians are coming”; in the Ukraine, “the Americans are coming.” It seems most “Russians” wanted to avoid war as much as most Americans.

I probably got more actual survival training in the Cub and Boy Scouts (back when the Boy Scouts were for boys).

Not being trained to die for the flag is not the same as being trained as pacifists. There never was a suggestion that we should dodge the draft (although may of my generation did, some due to conscientious beliefs, and some for other reasons).

In Israel

I have three grandchildren, ages 10 and 6 (twin boys).

None are playing soldier, alhough all know they may have to do their time with the military. Their father did his time, as do most Israelis, male and female.

Despite being forced to repeatedly run to a safe room as mortars were fired from Gaza, the children are not playing “Israelis and Gazans.” Armed with water guns, the victims are brother and sister.

When they go to summer camp, they learn thngs children need to know — how to swim being a primary lesson. Singing and dancing are a big part of camp life, be it day camp or overnight camp.

Learning to die for country is not part of the curriculum.

Golda Meyer (nee Goldie Mabovitch, later Myerson) is famously quoted saying: “Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us.”

Golda Meyer quote

Given what the world knows — albeit hates to admit — Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, and other Iranian proxies apparently are not ready to love their own children, instead teaching them to hate Israel and Jews and preparing them to be shadids — martyrs for a senseless cause.

The PLO/PFLP has numerous times been offered — and refused — opportunities to have another “Palestinian” state. (Jordan is, according to the 1947 partition plan, the “real” Palestinian state and the majority of its population are people who claim to be Palestinians.)

The United Nations, in the form of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East a/k/a UNRWA , allows its facilities to be used to promote hate against Israel and Jews in general.

UNRWA buildings have been used as missile launch sites and UNRWA schools are used as storage areas for war materiel.

UNRWA summer camps are run by Hamas and Islamic Jihad to train children to murder Israelis. (https://tinyurl.com/fnvxsy66)

Editorial cartoon by Yaakov Kirschen (https://tinyurl.com/mczb7b2v)

This training is on-going and blatant.

It is not like summer camp in any democracy.

It IS a summer camp that trains children to sacrifice their lives (while their masters hide safely far from the conflict).

It IS a summer camp that trains children to murder others.

It assures that another generation will be raised to hate, will be prepared to die for a senseless cause, a cause that could have been resolved peacefully in 1948.

And the UN looks the other way.

 

 

 

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

 

 

 

Comment on Difference

Opuscula FRUSTRATING

IT MUST BE FRUSTRATING for groups such as Honest Reporting and CAMERA to constantly read/see that Israel

✡ Is apartheid
✡ Kills children
✡ Fails to provide “Palestinians” medical care
✡ Maintains "humiliating" checkpoints at borders

and a multitude of other canards.

 

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Late addition — cannibalism?

On May 26, Dr. Fidaa Wishah wrote a post saying, “We will uncover your thirst to kill our Palestinian children. … We sense your fear. The fear of your collapse. A state based on atrocity, inhumanity, racism and cannibalism never last long! Hey #israel … your end is coming sooner than you think.” (https://tinyurl.com/ydttj59k/)

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HONEST REPORTING (https://honestreporting.com/) and the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America, a/k/a CAMERA (https://www.camera.org/) have full time jobs for full-time staffs to read publications from all corners and to watch videos from around the world, all for one purpose: to identify and publicize errors and outright lies about Israel.

I live in Yavne, a community south of Tel Aviv and north of Gaza.

Being a geezer — I’m only 78 years old — with some medical issues, I have spent far too many days in Israeli hospitals.

I mention that because the doctors, nurses, and aides are a mix of Jews and Arabs, some Muslims, some not. There are Jews who report to Arabs and Arabs who report to Jews.

Cleaning crews generally are new immigrant Ethiopian Jews who came to Israel sans education. They are getting educated and they are, to borrow a line from The Jefferson’s tv program, “movin’ on up.”

 

In the beginning

There have been Arabs — again, Muslim and non-Muslim — in Israel’s parliament (Knesset) since 1948 !

There is an Arab party (Ra’am ) whose leaders promote destruction of Israel in the government. What other country would be so stupid to permit people who are sworn to the state’s destruction to sit in the government. Would the U.S. have allowed Communists to even run for congress back in the days of the “Cold War”? Admittedly there were pro-nazis in high positions during Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s reign, but to the best of my limited knowledge, no one in congress was a nazi sympathizer. Granted, today’s congress has its share of members who support anti-American causes and America’s sworn enemies, but so far they have not called for America’s destruction or an end to its democracy.

 

Ubiquitous

In Israel, Arabs — Muslims and non-Muslims — are ubiquitous: on the courts, including the highest court, in the national police, in almost every ministry (government department), in schools through university, in medicine, even in the military. There are newspapers in Arabic (as well as Yiddish, English, and a host of other languages.)

All Israeli citizens have the vote.

Arabs can live wherever they can afford to buy. (Buying a small apartment in Israel is nearly two times more expensive than buying a 3/2 private residence on a quarter-acre in most U.S. communities. (Personal experience.)

In Israel, Arabs and non-Arabs ride the same buses. (There once was an Arab-owned bus service between Haifa and Nazareth [Natzeret] — I rode it c 1977 — apparently it is no more.

There ARE buses where Arabs (from the PLO/PFLP-controlled areas) ride to jobs in Israel.

Keep in mind that some Arabs have been known to (try to) blow up buses with their passengers and to ride a bus to a town to murder civilians. (https://tinyurl.com/kvwcp24k)

So much for the “apartheid” claim.

 

ON THE OTHER HAND, there IS apartheid in Gaza and in the PLO/PFLP-controlled areas.

A Jew cannot freely go into either area. An Arab citizen faces a death sentence if he sells property to a Jew.

 

War Crimes

The PLO/PFLP, Hamas, and leftists worldwide have convinced the International Criminal Court (ICC) that Israel has committed either/both war crimes or crimes against humanity.

For what constitutes a “war crime” see The Washington Post (https://tinyurl.com/exrsj674).

Hamas, and Hezbollah in Lebanon/Syria commit war crimes and crimes against humanity. Samples include: (https://tinyurl.com/yc24haa2)

☠ Attack directed against any civilian population (missiles from Gaza and Lebanon/Syria)
☠ Attack prior to declaration of war
☠ Send civilians, including young children to the border with Israel while Hamas and Islamic Jihad “soldiers” stand behind the human shields
☠ Send civilians, including young children, to protect launch sites
☠ Use civilian buildings (e.g., AP and Al Jazeera offices) as command centers
☠ Use of non-military facilities (e.g., schools, hospitals, mosques) to store war materiel

 

Photo propaganda

The “world” is inundated with images of child causalities of war thanks to both “professional” (e.g., newspapers, tv) and “social” media.

Unfortunately, many times the images were not made (https://tinyurl.com/h2xx2aw2)

When claimed
Where claimed

The media, “professional” and “social,” have been duped again and again, largely because editors/bloggers are too lazy, or as they will claim, too busy, to check available sources.

 

Logical Indian discovers fake (https://tinyurl.com/hpp256kz)

One that checked The Logical Indian (https://tinyurl.com/hpp256kz) did a Google reverse image search of the viral image and found the same image was uploaded by a Quora user Lin Xieyi on April 2, 2020, with a caption, "J-10C". In this image, Soumya is not embossed on the fighter jet.

The same image also was published by the Chinese website Gushiciku.cn. The image is captioned as, "As the J-10C adopts new standards, its craftsmanship is also the best besides the J-20 stealth fighter; this point can be experienced in detail from the J-10B that has been publicly displayed many times." The aircraft belongs to the Chinese air force.

 

The same effort should apply to reporters’ copy, with one caveat: In some locations (e.g., Gaza), outgoing news (allegedly) is censored. Reporters who report stories less than favorable to Hamas, et al, soon find themselves (a) unable to transmit copy to their bosses and/or (b) persona non grata.

 

Borders

Pity the poor “Palestinian” who has to traverse an Israeli check point to come to/return from work In Israel.

According to a news reports,

Hundreds of Palestinians staged demonstrations at the entrance to the Erez border (Gaza) crossing into Israel yesterday to denounce severe security measures imposed by the Israeli authorities, witnesses said. (https://tinyurl.com/64raks56)
Construction of a new pedestrian terminal on the Palestinian (PLO/PFLP area) side of the crossing has worsened the conditions for Palestinians, who must use temporarily use a narrow passage in which thousands push and shove each other. The construction of the new pedestrian passage which has harmed the flow of traffic at the crossing was initiated by the Palestinian Civil Administration. (https://tinyurl.com/2jcmyun3)

Consider, Hamas and other Gaza-based terror organizations use ambulances and other “non-threatening” vehicles to sneak armed men and women into Israel to murder civilians. Would any country that tries to protect its citizens allow everyone to freely enter?

Note it is not Israel that delays entry from the PLO/PFLP areas but the PLO/PFLP.

An Israeli bus company provides transportation from the border crossing to major transfer points in Israel for the “Palestinians” who come to Israel for jobs and better compensation.

What is the problem with border checkpoints?

The United States has border checkpoints with Canada and Mexico. Americans are obliged to go through passport checks after visiting a neighboring country (e.g., Jamaica, Bermuda, Belize) or even taking a cruise.

The inconvenience of border checks is a fact of life any time any national border is crossed.

Why should the “Palestinians” — especially with their penchant to (try to) murder Israelis — be given a free pass?

Beyond documentation control, there also is (again/still) concerns about the Chinese virus.

 

Top: U.S. border with Canada (left) and Mexico (Right)
Bottom: Israel border with PLO/PFLP (left) and Gaza (right)

 

Health & Oslo

The media claims that

Israel is responsible for the health and welfare of the “Palestinians”
Israel refused to give “Palestinians” some of the Pfizer vaccines
Israel was willing to give the “Palestinians” outdated vaccines

False, false, and false again.

The ”Palestinians” insisted they would take care of their own and they made this part of the so-called “Oslo accord,” and “accord” that was broken almost before the signatures were dry. Is is not, by “Palestinian” fiat, Israel’s responsibility to provide care for “Palestinians.”

However, “Palestinians, especially well-connected “Palestinians,” have access to Israeli medical care. When allowed by “Palestinian” authorities, all “Palestinians” have access to the same medical care as Israeli citizens.

It might be noted that Qatar sent not one but two jumbo jets loaded with medical supplies to the PLO/PFLP.

Both planeloads were rejected by the PLO/PFLP authorities since the Qatari planes landed at Lod, Israel’s major international airport. “Palestine” lacks an airport capable of accommodating jumbo jets.

"Palestinians" rejected Israel's offer of Pfizer vaccine that was nearing expiration.

Later, when other countries contacted Israel for its surplus vaccine, the PLO/PFLP had a change of heart and decided to accept the vaccine.

 

Audience

Honest Reporting (ibid.) does a considerable amount of Arabic translations.

This is interesting because what is said in Arabic for local consumption often is drastically different in translation.

Bottom line: Propaganda, a/k/a Public Relations or, in Hebrew, Hasbara, is tailored to the audience.

It pays to know what really was said to the locals; is it closer to the truth? (Usually.)

 

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PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on FRUSTRATING

Opuscula World silent About Islam’s War crimes

I FIND IT CURIOUS THAT THE International Criminal Court (ICC), encouraged by the PLO/PFLP, Hamas, and other Islamic terror promoters, is seeking to try Israel for war crimes.

 

LET’S CONSIDER WAR CRIMES.

According to The Washington Post (https://tinyurl.com/exrsj674),

The list of potential war crimes is long, but its measures include the intentional killing of civilians or prisoners, torture and the use of child soldiers.

There are numerous web sites that address war crimes and crimes against humanity ¹, but the WashPost article (ibid.) sums it up in the fewest words.

Hamas shelling of Israeli civilians

The Rome Statute (17 July 1998) of the International Criminal Court (https://tinyurl.com/jxekdnc2) defines a war crime as

(a)"Attack directed against any civilian population" means a course of conduct involving the multiple commission of acts referred to in paragraph 1 against any civilian population, pursuant to or in furtherance of a State or organizational policy to commit such attack.

Nothing ambiguous about that.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired mortars and other unguided missiles at Israel with the intention of killing, wounding, or otherwise injuring civilians. The aggressors do not deny the fact.

According to the Rome Statue, adopted by the United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court on 17 July 1998, Hamas and Islamic Jihad committed war crimes — more than 4000 missiles were fired at Israel sans targeting — yet the ICC and world opinion fail to consider or condemn the actions of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Use of children

Hamas and Islamic Jihad are following in the path of their Iranian masters.

According to Al Arabiya English (https://tinyurl.com/yrzwfvwu)

During the Iraq-Iraq war, Khomeini’s regime used hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren as cannon fodder. It has been reported that most young recruits received between one to three months of military training before they were being sent to the war front.

There were reports of nine-year-old children being used in human wave attacks, while others were asked to run over minefields to clear the path. In fact, many child soldiers captured by Iraqis during the Iraq-Iran war were in their early teens.

Note that the report is from Arab media.

 

Iranian child soldiers marching off to fight Iraq
in the Iran-Iraq War (https://tinyurl.com/ekbts7km)

 

The New York Times’ Terence Smith, writing about Iran in 1984, described the use of child soldiers by Iran to clear minefields. (https://tinyurl.com/a9t5dxv2)

Young boys, aged 12-17 years, wore red headbands with the words ‘Sar Allah’ in Farsi (Warriors of God) and small metal keys that the Ayatollah declared were their tickets to Paradise if they were martyred in their mission. Many were sent into battle against Iraqi tanks without any protection and bound by ropes to prevent desertion.

They were the first wave, making the way for Iranian tanks by clearing barbed wire and minefields with their bodies.

Sending children to their deaths as Iran did is, take your choice, a crime against humanity or a war crime, over which the ICC has jurisdiction. There is no “statute of limitations” for these crimes. Has the ICC brought charges against Iran?

IN GAZA, Hamas and Islamic Jihad

• Store offensive weapons (rockets, etc.) under schools and hospitals, and in mosques (https://tinyurl.com/3u65sd42 and https://tinyurl.com/7zt82z)
• Send civilians, including young children, to protect launch sites
• Send civilians, including young children to the border with Israel while Hamas and Islamic Jihad “soldiers” stand behind the human shields (https://tinyurl.com/ys8k4znk and http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/)
• Use civilian buildings as command centers

Mohammad Suleiman was a boy in Gaza who died because Hamas forced him to be a child soldier. (https://tinyurl.com/ee5awxj8) Note: the cited article includes a video of the child’s training.

The Washington Institute for Middle East Policy (https://tinyurl.com/34hd3c5u) contends Hamas’

willingness to accept high casualty counts suggests that this is part of its political and military strategy. When used as human shields, civilians provide cover for Hamas military activities, and the resultant casualties serve the group's propaganda interests. In short, Hamas is acting more like a guerrilla group fighting an insurgency than a government responsible for the safety of its citizenry.

The Institute then lists six (6) way Hamas could limit civilian casualties in Gaza:

1. Move weapons and fighters away from built-up areas
2. Evacuate civilians from defended localities
3. Do not use civilian buildings for military purposes
4. Use the military tunnel system as civilian shelters
5. Put fighters in uniforms
6. Do not use ambulances and medical facilities for military purposes

Hamas and Islamic Jihad does none of those things.

War crimes? Crimes against humanity?

Is the ICC investigating anyone in Gaza. In a word: NO.

Another Port Arthur

For those who ignored history, the Japanese sneak attack on Port Arthur in 1904 opened the Russo-Japanese War. (Japan later successfully repeated its sneak attack tactic on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1943, bringing the U.S. into World War Two.)

Attacking sans warning, as Japan did twice, is now a war crime.

Hamas began firing missiles at Israeli civilians without warning or declaration of war.

Admittedly, Hamas’ charter calls for total destruction of Israel and perhaps pro-Hamas lawyers could argue that this charter serves as a declaration of war, but would it stand up to legal scrutiny?

Yet another case of a true war crime that the ICC chooses to ignore.

Hamas agrees to a “cease fire” while Iran rearms its proxy, just as it did before.

(The previous cease fire lasted until the 2020 U.S. presidential elections. Make of that what you will.)

 

Homes in Ashdod destroyed by Gaza rockets
(Reuters: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-57148097)

 

No Israeli sources

Note that none of the sources cited are Israeli; not government nor non-governmental. This is deliberate.

This scrivener, a dual national, keyed this in Yavne Israel. He has personal experience dodging Hamas, and earlier, Hezbollah, missiles. He has seen both the destruction caused by these missiles, even those destroyed by the Iron Dome defense system that result in falling shrapnel.

He also knows, again first hand, that claims of apartheid in Israel are false; that there are Israeli Muslims who are loyal Israelis. Finally, Israel has an open (exit) door policy; any Muslim who wants to relocate to Gaza or the PLO/PFLP areas, or any other country may do so.

---

 

 

Sources

1. War crimes defined: https://tinyurl.com/z4eux9ts, https://tinyurl.com/ukxru825, https://tinyurl.com/ypj6aymf

 

 

 

 

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on War Crimes

Opuscula Return to Sender: How to stop missiles Fired from Gaza

ISRAEL IS — NOT “AGAIN,” BUT “STILL” — BEING ATTACKED BY MISSILES FROM GAZA.

The U.S. and leftists around the world blame Israel for the attacks.

The first shots were fired from Gaza. Missiles fall indiscriminately on children, old people, and people in their homes.

Israel retaliates by leveling Hamas sites; Hamas just changes venues and continues the attack.

Israel could, and in my opinion should, end the attacks by giving back to Gaza what Gaza sends to Israel.

 

Hamas rocket strikes Israel (MAHMUD HAMS | Credit: AFP )

 

TIT FOR TAT

I believe the only way to stop the indiscriminate attacks on Israel is for Israel to fire rockets indiscriminately back into Gaza.

During World War 2, all the warring parties bombed civilian targets. Dresden, London, and Nagasaki quickly come to mind. (The Japanese sent fire balloons over the U.S. west coast causing minor physical damage; psychological damage was something else.)

While there are those who live well in Gaza, shopping in super-malls for ISRAELI-MADE goods (!), most Gazans are reportedly poor and lack what most Americans and Europeans consider “basic necessities.”

I have not been to Gaza and rely only on reports — some pro, some con.

Hamas allegedly rules Gaza with an iron hand and is pressured by other anti-Israel Islamic groups, e.g., Islamic Jihad and Islamic Brotherhood, to maintain control over the strip.

For all the claimed oppression of the people, they have not been pushed far enough to revolt.

So far, all Israeli attacks on Gaza have been precisely targeted and limited to Hamas sites and leaders.

Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland

After WW2, Russia, then the now former USSR, took control of many Eastern European countries, including Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland. The Russians installed Communist dictators to rule the countries.

The USSR ruled with a heavy hand, much as Hamas etc. does today in Gaza.

Eventually, these and other Warsaw Pact countries forced the Russians out, often by successful partisan attacks. (The Russians would call these people “terrorists.” Perspective.)

Russia’s presence was almost over whelming, but the people prevailed.

Granted, there was a cost. Some partisans were injured; some died.

But the Russians were sent packing and the people had control of their countries.

The “bottom line” for the Czechs, the Hungarians, and the Poles was that they had to get rid of the Russians no matter what the cost.

They did.

It can be done. It was done.

Gazans can do the same.

Currently Gazans apparently are willing to put up with Hamas et al’s heavy-handedness, lack of electricity, lack of potable water, lack of employment.

If Israel were to do as Hamas does, and indiscriminately fire missiles into Gaza, one missile into Gaza for every missile fired from Gaza, the Gaza “man in the street” might decide it was time to rid the strip of the despots.

When the children, the seniors, and the average Gazan find themselves under attack by Israeli missiles in retaliation for missiles fired from Gaza, perhaps the people will cast out Hamas et al.

Only Gazans can end Hamas terror

The “bottom line” is that the Gazans must want peace with Israel, a permanent cease fire at a minimum.

The only way this can be accomplished is if the Gazan “man in the street” casts off Hamas’ yoke and forms a government that cares about ALL the people of Gaza, not just Islamic leadership.

It is unfortunate, but the impetus may have to come from Israeli missiles falling indiscriminately on all Gazans.

Israelis and Gazans deserve to live in peace, without fear of missiles falling on them.

---

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Return to Sender

Opuscula PLO/PFLP blocks Sick “Palestinians” From Israeli medics

BEFORE ANYONE (FALSELY) CLAIMS THAT ISRAEL prevents sick residents of the PLO/PFLP and Hamas controlled areas from accessing medical care in Israel, LEARN THE FACTS.

It is NOT Israel that prevents “Palestinian” access to Israeli medical care. The PLO/PFLP closed the border (to everyone except politicians and their near kin).

 

 

GRANTED, even before the PLO/PFLP and Hamas closed the border, getting medical care in Israel oft times was difficult.

That might be because too many “Palestinians” brought bombs and other weapons with them into Israel to slaughter any Israeli they could attack.

But “Palestinians” have been coming to Israeli public and private hospitals from the beginning; even before there was a call for another “Palestinian” state. Jordan is the original Palestinian state and it controlled the area where Egyptian Yassar Arafat wanted to create a new state. Egypt controlled Gaza and most Gazans have an “Egyptian connection.”

According to a headline in the English on-line version of Israel HaYom, PA's bid to halt application of sovereignty leaves Gaza patients in limbo¹ “The refusal to process requests for medical permits, aimed at protesting Israel's plan to begin applying sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria, has instead hurt many sick Palestinians.”

Jomaa al-Najjar was desperate to send his 2-month-old daughter Joud out of the Gaza Strip to Israel for urgent medical treatment for epilepsy. But with the Palestinian Authority refusing to relay his request, there was no way to coordinate her transfer.

This week, she died in a Gaza hospital.

Who killed the child?

Mahmoud Abbas.

Last month, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said the authority was no longer bound by previous agreements with Israel going back to the 1990s, which created the PA. He suspended all ties with Israel, even security coordination.

The Palestinians view Israel's proposed sovereignty initiative in the Jordan Valley and some settlements as an existential threat because it would make it virtually impossible to create a viable Palestinian state in Judea and Samaria, Gaza, and east Jerusalem.

Never mind that the so-called Trump Plan — a plan that Abbas refused to even review — did create a “Palestinian” state in Israel that included the PLO/PFLP and Hamas-controlled Gaza.

"We are on the brink of medical chaos," said a spokesperson for Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, a humanitarian group. It said the PA Health Ministry has also stopped covering the cost of treatment in Israeli hospitals, meaning that organ transplant patients are unable to return for post-surgery rehabilitation. The group has appealed to Israeli authorities to ensure the continued movement of Palestinian patients to Israel for treatment.

It is the PLO/PFLP and Hamas that are preventing their citizens from treatment in Israel. Given that Israel is treating patients from area countries, sometimes via an intermediate country such as Cyprus, it is highly unlikely that Israel would refuse to treat any legitimate patient from anywhere. Worst case, Israel could bill the patient’s government, even realizing there is little chance of collecting.

Patients requiring advanced treatment usually travel to east Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, or even in Israel proper. They need Israeli permission for all three. Egypt has sealed its border with Gaza since March due to the coronavirus.

Hamas has no direct contact with Israel but allows a PA-run liaison office in Gaza to coordinate the entry and exit of medical patients, even during the wars.

According to the Israel HaYom posting, “The Palestinian Center for Human Rights, a Gaza nonprofit, briefly stepped in to help coordinate the permits but stopped after Israeli media reported the arrangement.”

Ibrahim Melhem, a Palestinian Authority spokesman in Judea and Samaria, defended the decision to cut ties.

"Israel is the occupying power on the borders of Gaza and it bears responsibility for the results of delaying or preventing patients from crossing to hospitals in Jerusalem and [Judea and Samaria]," he said.

Gisha, an Israeli nongovernmental organization that advocates for Palestinian freedom of movement, said Israel, the PA, and Hamas must protect that right. It called on Israel to "identify an immediate solution to meet the urgent needs of Gaza's residents for movement, especially patients in need of life-saving treatment."

But if the PLO/PFLP and Hamas refuse to even talk to Israel HOW can Melhem honestly claim that Israel “bears responsibility for the results of delaying or preventing patients from crossing to hospitals”​ As for Gisha, this apparently left-wing NGO also refuses to lay the blame where it belongs: squarely at the feet of the PLO/PFLP and Hamas “leadership.” Rather than demanding that Israel "identify an immediate solution to meet the urgent needs of Gaza's residents for movement, especially patients in need of life-saving treatment" it should be pressing the PLO/PFLP and Hamas to do exactly what it demands of Israel.

The world undoubtedly will hear only the cries of Ibrahim Melhem and Gisha, blaming the lack of access to health care in Israel on Israel.

True, it often is difficult and time consuming to get permission to cross into Israel for medical care. But it was being done.

In January, close to 3,000 Gazans left for treatment via the Erez crossing with Israel, according to UN figures. That number plunged in the following months as authorities heavily restricted travel to prevent the spread of coronavirus, but 188 crossed in April.

It is not Israel that is preventing the residents of the PLO/PFLP and Hamas areas from accessing medical care in Israel. It is the pride of Mahmoud Abbas that has closed the borders.

For want of a nail²

Had Israels neighbors accepted the new state in 1948, Israel would be tiny and Jordan/Palestine would be huge.

Had Israel’s neighbors not continued to attack the small country,

*  Syria still would be in control of the Golan Heights

*  Jordan still wold be in control of Jerusalem (and restricting access to Jewish sites)

*  The PLO/PFLP and Hamas probably would not exist as Jordan and Egypt would put them down early on.

 

---

 

Sources

1. Israel HaYom: https://tinyurl.com/yaxmh834

2. For want of a nail: https://tinyurl.com/n7sb629

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Web sites (URLs) beginning https://tinyurl.com/ are generated by the free Tiny URL utility and reduce lengthy URLs to manageable size.

 

Comment on Blame PLO/PFLP

Opuscula Coin has two sides, Major media gives One & ignores other

THE OTHER DAY I READ that Hamas, the despotic rulers in Gaza, want to take Israel to the International Criminal Court (ICC)¹ because Israeli forces used live ammunition against Gazans attempting to infiltrate Israel to kill Israelis (Jews, Christians, Muslims, sans discrimination).

Hamas wants the ICC to believe that it is harmless and helpless against the Israeli army.

Yet

• It digs tunnels into Israel to murder Israelis² (it also build tunnels into Egypt³)
• It sends explosive-laden drones over Israel⁴
• It uses kites (shades of the WW 2 Japanese balloon attacks on the U.S. west coast⁵) with incendiary devices attached to destroy Israeli farmers’ fields and, where possible, the farmers’ homes.⁶

In the later case, Israel is seeking relief from the ICC.

Although Gandhi would surely disagree⁷ ("The Jews should have offered themselves to the butcher's knife. They should have thrown themselves into the sea from cliffs, the Babylonian Talmud states: If a man comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first ⁸, with attention to footnote 18

The leftists and media, in Israel and elsewhere, generally align with Gandhi, even his quote, addressing the English, to give up the fight against Hitler and Mussolini: 'Let them take possession of your beautiful island ... allow yourself, man, woman and child, to be slaughtered. He also did not believe that women should resist rape, but preferred that they should 'defeat' their assailants by remaining passive and silent(ibid.) That last comment probably would not sit well with the ladies of any political point of view.

It is well to remember that, with military aid from the U.S., England kept its island; meanwhile, in Gandhi’s India, abuse of women is the biggest human rights violation on Earth.⁹

Israelis, save for the leftists, and the Muslims in the nation’s Knesset (congress), refuse to follow Gandhi’s admonishments to offer themselves to the (“Palestinian”/Hamas) butcher’s knife, even as much of the world condemns the nation for defending itself.

The media will provide half the story, but don’t depend on it to tell the whole story.

A fellow reporter, “back in the day.” reported almost daily on the city’s street lighting project. He was a good reporter, but the editor had to often remind him that he had to provide the background for the day’s update; tell the readers the whole story (albeit in encapsulated form).

Today’s media only goes as deep as a headline; the “news” is a photo caption under an image that may, or may not, be faked.¹⁰

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Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/yceun7vq

2. http://tinyurl.com/yb58fyk7

3. http://tinyurl.com/yd25omt4

4. http://tinyurl.com/y8csclzw

5. http://tinyurl.com/yc7tw8du

6. http://tinyurl.com/yaq6mh3f

7. http://tinyurl.com/yc2bb2r2 , http://tinyurl.com/y7yr8uec

8. http://tinyurl.com/y7zx9s6v

9. http://tinyurl.com/yccjhvrd

10. http://tinyurl.com/y8smbj29 , http://tinyurl.com/y784h9mw

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

Comments on Coin

Opuscula "PC" on a field Of bovine feces

 

IT IS NO WONDER THAT "The Donald" (Trump) has such a following.

Under liberal Democrats, political correctness and "all others' rights" rule.

Case in point: A federal DEPARTMENT (Justice) is telling states that they must allow transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice.

WHAT ABOUT MY RIGHTS?

As a white male, my civil rights have been limited for years.

Females must be admitted to male-only domains and organizations, but males can be - and are - banned from female domains and organizations (think Shapes; it advertises "Shapes Total Fitness locations are exclusively for women.")

Female reporters voyeuristically wander males' locker rooms to get a story; has anyone ever heard of a male reporter being allowed in a female athlete's locker room?

Now, a federal department - not Congress, not a court, and not even Obama with his penchant for executive orders that run roughshod over the constitution - has ordered states to let transgender people - those who consider themselves a sex other than their biological sex - entry into any public- accessible bathroom regardless of their biological sex.

For the record, when I learned English, "sex" was a male and female identifier for humans; "gender" was for everything else. Many non-English languages apply "gender" to objects such as tables and anatomical parts such as eyes. Even in casual English, couples have "sexual relations," they don't have "gender relations."

Mrs. Clinton, if elected, promises to keep up Obama's good work, to sustain his legacy, a legacy that her husband called "awful." (There goes HIS shot at a cabinet position.)

And then there is that nasty word "terrorism."

It seems almost nothing is "terrorism" any more, and never, never are the words "Muslim" and "terrorism" allowed to be uttered together. In Germany a Muslim attacked people with a knife at a train depot while exclaiming "Allah is Great."

"Allah is Great" it the battle cry of Muslim terrorists around the globe.

But if a mass murderer is a Muslim he - or she - obviously cannot be a "terrorist." Saying that, even in the face of clear evidence that yes, the attacker IS a Muslim and a terrorist is not "PC." Timothy McVeigh was a terrorist; the Unabomber was a terrorist. But neither was Muslim so calling them terrorists is OK, it's PC.

AND THEN WE HAVE the U.S Agency for International Development giving Hamas - which the U.S. considers a terror organization and with which it has no official relations - $50 million for an aid program for the Gaza Strip.

This $50 million is on top of $5.4 BILLION pledged at a donor conference meant to raise funds to rebuild the Gaza Strip. Qatar, which is close to the enclave’s rulers, offered the most. (To be fair, Robert Turner, the Gaza head of UNWRA – the UN agency for Palestine refugees – said that “virtually none” of the pledged funds had reached the territory.)

Who will monitor the fund the American taxpayer is giving to Hamas, considered a terrorist group not just by the U.S. but by a number of other nations as well? The watchdog will be Catholic Relief Services.

Does anyone have information on how Hamas treats non-Muslims, in fact anyone other than its Sunni brand of Islam? How does Hamas deal with Christians in Gaza? The Rescue Christians.org web site has an article titled Christians In Gaza Have Faced Increasing Persecution Since Hamas Wrested Control that gives a "clue" how the Catholic Relief Services will be greeted and tolerated. The Gatestone Institute also discuses the The Disquieting Treatment of Christians by the Palestinians. I could have cited the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs article The beleaguered Christians of The Palestinian-controlled areas but it might be considered biased, at least by the politically correct.

Even the UN's Blue Bonnets cower from Hamas' militias and allow Hamas to use UN facilities as points to launch rockets into Israel - and places to hide when Israel retaliates.

Asking U.S. taxpayers to rebuild Gaza following damage inflicted by Israel in response to continued Hamas attacks is "PC" as is condemning Israel for the"chutzpah" of defending its citizens from Hamas attacks.

Interesting to note that while Americans are giving Hamas $50 million, there are those in Gaza City who don't seem to be suffering, at least not according to a YouTube video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbKxiQbJ9U0.

What America needs is not "a good five cent cigar" but a leader in the mold of Harry S (no period) Truman (remember the Berlin Airlift?)

Tell me about War Crimes

 

There is a lot of talk lately about war crimes.

Mostly the talk is about war crimes allegedly committed by Israel in its aggression against Hamas.

As if war crimes were something new.

Certainly the United States never would commit war crimes. Nor would its loyal ally and former master, England. Or Russia, now or in the guise of the "Soviet Union."

The list can go on and on and on; hardly any nation is exempt.

How about the Federal's Gen. Sherman and his march across Georgia; his "scorched earth" policy. It might not have been a "war crime" then, but it would be now.

How about Germany. Slaughtering civilians - Romas, Jews, Communists, mentally disabled, homosexuals - that's counted as a "war crime."

Likewise bombing civilians in England; London was a prime target of the nazi's V-bombs; fortunately they were about as accurate as a Hamas rocket fired into Israel.

The U.S. and England retaliated and fire bombed the German city of Dresden. There are reports of mothers with babes in arms incinerated by the ally's bombs.

What Japan did to Koreans is not for "G-rated" blogs; but perhaps what the U.S. did to the civilians of Nagasaki and Hiroshima is likewise not stuff for a "G-rated" blog. War crimes?

Is it a "war crime" to bomb civilians?

If it is, then Hamas is guilty of war crimes.

Is it a "war crime" to deliberately put non-combatants into harms way?

If it is, then Hamas is guilty of war crimes.

Is it a "war crime" when civilians and traditionally non-military targets collateral damage when the aggressor places his weapons in highly populated areas and in hospitals and schools?

If it is, then Hamas is guilty of war crimes.

Is it a "war crime" when non-combatants are executed by beheadings broadcast for all the world to see?

If it is, then Muslims are guilty of war crimes.

Is it a "war crime" for military (e.g., the U.S. cavalry) and para-military (e.g., Cossacks) to attack villages and slaughter all the inhabitants simply "because." (Lest anyone forget, America's horse soldiers wiped out some 300 Sioux at Wounded Knee.)

Now reconsider Nagasaki and Hiroshima.

The U.S. dropped leaflets telling Japan that in "n" days a horrible weapon would descend upon it. Having warned the nation and having given it a chance to surrender and end the war in the Pacific, the Japanese government refused to end the war.

So who committed the "war crimes" that incinerated Nagasaki and Hiroshima?

Consider Israel and Gaza.

Israel is famous for calling non-combatants and warning them of an impending attack.

It drops leaflets.

It drops warning bombs.

If Hamas keeps the non-combatants in their homes and these people are injured or killed, who is guilty of "war crimes?"

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt KNEW about the nazi's death camps. Despite people begging him to bomb the railroads taking people to the mostly-in-Poland death camps, FDR refused. Like Hitler, FDR would not "waste" resources on saving those headed to their deaths. (Hitler refused to relinquish his resources to the war effort, preferring to make his land "Jew free.") Was FDR guilty of "war crimes?" Was Hitler? Certainly the latter is a "no brainer."

If Israel would burn Gaza to the ground, a la Dresden, THEN Israel would commit a "war crime."

If Israel destroyed schools and hospitals not used as weapons depots or as launch sites for Hamas rockets and mortars, THEN Israel could commit a "war crime."

Given the number of pubic facilities - including the "neutral" UN buildings where Hamas weaponry has been discovered, and often admitted by Hamas or the UN - Israel MUST be given the benefit of the doubt; it's targeting enemy materials and launch sites, NOT public building per se. The "war crimes" lie at Hamas' feet, not Israel's.

Collateral damage happens, but it IS "collateral." Unlike Israel, Hamas fires its weapons at civilian targets in Israel. That is a war crime.

As much as Hamas, the PA, and their sponsor, Iran, might want to haul Israel before a world court for "war crimes," they cannot because they - Hamas, the PA, and Iran - have bloody hands from committing war crimes against others and their own.

ERM-BC-COOP: Mid-east conflict Impacts supply chain

 

Years ago I worked for Tadiran, a multi-division company that dealt in everything from air conditioners and telephone systems to highly classified military material for use by armies around the world.

I worked for Tadiran's Electronics Division in Holon, Israel, and its Telecommunications Division in Clearwater FL, USA.

It was while working for the telecom division - analog and digital business systems - that I became aware of (potential) customer concerns about getting replacement parts for an Israeli product if normal operations were interrupted by rocket attacks from Israel's neighbors.

This was after the Begin-Sadat peace treaty but before the peace agreement with Jordan. The Palestinian Authority was then headed up by non-Palestinian Yasser Arafat.

Today, with rockets from Gaza and Lebanon indiscriminatingly falling on Israeli civilians the question raised by Tadiran's potential clients remains valid.

Is it safe to buy products from a country in conflict?

It really makes no difference which country is involved in a conflict, the question is a valid one.

What should a risk management practitioner recommend?

FIRST, Check the desired product's Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF). Most electronic gear has an established worst case MTBF based on testing and "aging" by the product's manufacturer. I define "worst case" as the part in the system with the lowest MTBF; the part most likely to fail.

At Tadiran in Holon we used to "age" product samples under carefully monitored, and recorded, conditions. We also performed a series of abuse tests. In the end, the aged and abused device was disassembled and thoroughly inspected.

SECOND, based on the MTBF confirm that the local (in-country) vendor has spares available; more for parts that have lower MTBFs. Also find out how many installations of equipment use the low-MTBF part. If the in-country vendor lacks sufficient known-good replacement equipment consider having your own reserves or looking at a competiting product.

It's not just terrorists that can jeopardize spares.

Consider strikes.

Strikes at, alphabetically,

• Any transportation link (truck, rail, sea, air) and related (e.g., strikes at ports of all type)
• Government agencies (e.g., Customs)
• In-country vendor
• Manufacturer
• Manufacturer's vendors

And those are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

When I was with Tadiran in Clearwater FL, we had spares and replacement systems. If the Telecommunications Division was unable to ship parts from Israel for a month or two, we were covered; we had the parts our clients might need.

The threat of a conflict in the country where a product is manufactured should be only a minor concern; there are too many other things that can disrupt the supply chain.

The question to ask: does the in-country vendor have sufficient parts to meet all the clients' needs and, if not, what options does management want to consider?