Moon of Alabama Brecht quote
Back to Main

February 28, 2008
Playing Soccer and Zionist Strategy

Haaretz: IDF kills 18 Palestinians in Gaza, W. Bank, including 5 children

Israeli security forces struck a range of targets in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing a total of 18 Palestinians, including five children. Meanwhile, militants in Gaza continued to fire rockets at southern Israel, striking as far north as Ashkelon.

The deaths come a day after IDF troops killed 12 Palestinians and an Israeli was killed in a Qassam rocket strike on a college in Sderot.

…
Four children – all under the age of 16 and three from the same family – were killed in an IAF strike in Jabalya, a refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said. Witnesses said the children were playing soccer when the missile struck. Another boy wounded in that strike, a 12-year-old neighbor, died later, hospital officials said.

Professor James Petras just published a piece on The Israeli Agenda and the Scorecard of the Zionist Power Configuration for 2008.

Petras forsees changes in U.S. support for Israel in 2009 and thinks that Israel will use 2008 to push as much as possible of its agenda down the U.S. throat. It is a longer read but well worth your time.

The lede describes the strategic aims of Israel. These do not include to let Palestinian kids play soccer:

The strategy of the Jewish state is the complete Zionization of Palestine, the takeover of land, water, offshore gas (estimated to be worth $4 billion dollars) and other economic resources and the total dispossession of the Palestinian people. Tel Aviv’s tactics have included daily military assaults, giant walls ghettoizing entire Palestinian towns, military outposts and controls undermining commerce and production to force bankruptcy, poverty, severe deprivation and population flight. The second priority of the Israeli colonial state is to bolster the Jewish state’s political and military supremacy in the Middle East, using preposterous arguments of ‘survival’ and ‘existential threats’. The key postulate of Israeli Middle East policy is to destroy or intimidate the principle adversaries of its Zionization of Palestine and its expansionist Middle East policy.
…

Posted by b on February 28, 2008 at 19:17 UTC | Permalink
Comments

Not killer robots, just robotically minded humans killing — but there’s little difference from the Palestinian point of view. They’ve been living in that “future” for a long time.

Posted by: Cloud | Feb 28 2008 21:45 utc | 1

I have sat here staring at the white empty text space for 15 minutes trying to think of something meaningful to say…
Fuck, fuck fuck. Humanity really is a virus isn’t it.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Feb 29 2008 4:29 utc | 2

Beware Germany, right-wing extremist Israelis are after you…. No Caving in…can the guilt…you’re doing just fine…German Jewish leader urges Merkel to back Israel’s stance on Iran
Munich – The leader of Germany’s Jewish community called on the German government Thursday to support Israel in the dispute over Iran’s controversial nuclear program.
Israel’s intelligence community has information about a threat posed by Iran that strongly contradicted the “loose” assessment of the United States, said Charlotte Knobloch, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
The council expects German to support the Israeli view that a hard line needs to be taken against Tehran, Knobloch said after a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel during a visit to a new Jewish center in Munich.
Merkel said there were suspicions that Iran’s nuclear program “does not conform to the rules of transparency and one cannot be certain, therefore, that it serves peaceful purposes.”
The chancellor, who plans to visit Israel with members of her cabinet in the middle of March, said Germany had a special responsibility towards the Jewish state.
Knobloch said after the meeting that Merkel told her she believed the United Nations Security Council could tighten sanctions against Iran, despite diverging views among its members.
The five permanent Security Council members and Germany already agreed on the outline of a new resolution that would impose further penalties if Tehran refused to halt uranium enrichment.

Posted by: jj | Feb 29 2008 4:43 utc | 3

bankruptcy, poverty, severe deprivation and population flight
Trail of Tears?

Posted by: DeAnander | Feb 29 2008 5:42 utc | 4

Gaza offensive looms as violence spirals

The escalating fighting between Israel and Hamas peaked Thursday with a direct hit by a long-range rocket on a home in the port city of Ashkelon and the killing of at least 18 Palestinians in Gaza air strikes . These included five boys.
Israeli military analysts say that as Ashkelon becomes a permanent target of Hamas missile attacks, an Israeli ground offensive is becoming inevitable and likely to occur sooner rather than later.
…
The latest spike in violence began Wednesday, when five Iranian-trained Hamas militants, including two rocket masterminds, were killed in an Israeli air strike in southern Gaza. In retaliation, Hamas fired dozens of Qassam rockets as well as longer-range Iranian-made Grad rockets.
Nabil Abu Rudainah, a spokesman for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, said in a statement that Israel’s military actions “meant only one thing: the Israeli government … aims to destroy the peace process”.

Posted by: b | Feb 29 2008 7:15 utc | 5

German minister ‘warns of Jewish holocaust’

A senior German minister today warned of increasingly bitter conflict in Warszaw and that the Jews would bring on themselves what he called a “holocaust”.
According to Reuters news agency, Adolf Eichman, Germany’s deputy defence minister, used the German word for holocaust in an interview on German army radio.

Upps – wrong program – try this:
Israeli minister ‘warns of Palestinian holocaust’

A senior Israeli minister today warned of increasingly bitter conflict in the Gaza Strip and that the Palestinians would bring on themselves what he called a “holocaust”.
According to Reuters news agency, Matan Vilnai, Israel’s deputy defence minister, used the Hebrew word for holocaust in an interview on Israeli army radio.

Posted by: b | Feb 29 2008 11:06 utc | 6

“five Iranian-trained Hamas militants”.
it appears that all the Arabs opposing US/Israeli hegemony in the ME are just too stupid to operate effectively without Iranian training and assistance, if you believe US/Israeli sources. what horseshit.

Posted by: ran | Feb 29 2008 12:49 utc | 7

“The strategy of the Jewish state is the complete Zionization of Palestine…”
Actually, no it’s not at all. Never has been, never will be. That lie has been repeated a lot, but it remains a lie. The Israeli’s only desire is to live in peace on their own land, on the state that’s been theirs for 3000 years. Actually it’s the Palestinians who want the complete “Palestinization” of Israel, the elimination (by any means necessary) of all Jews in the Middle East, and, of course, the theft of their land. This isn’t really open to discussion. It’s very openly stated in Hamas’ charter, and can’t be denied. Criticize the Israel attacks if you want, but don’t doubt for a moment that the Palestinians would murder every single Jew if they could. And then they’ll get to work on the Christians.
Trying to disguise what the Palestinians are attempting to do by falsely accusing the Israelis of doing it is a clever tactic, but it’s not going to work. Other than a lunatic fringe, virtually the whole world knows who started this war and whose fault it is. If the Palestinians ever want to end their suffering the only way is to accept responsibility for their actions, admit that they have been in the wrong, and recognize Israel.
But if you folks want the Palestinians to continue to suffer, just keep encouraging them to pursue the same absurd positions and politics that they’ve followed for the last 60 years. If they continue to do the same things, then they will continue to experience the same results. Those of you who actually care about the Palestinians will tell them that the world thinks they are in the wrong and to surrender and recognize Israel. Encouraging them to think that they can win their illegal, unjustified and absurd war will only hurt them.

Posted by: mike | Mar 1 2008 5:24 utc | 8

And what are the borders of this 3000 year old Jewish state that should be recognized by the Palestinians, mike? Is it open to discussion? to definition?

Posted by: ww | Mar 1 2008 6:34 utc | 9

ww, check the old testament, the corrupted king james. all the lands of canaan
promised to g-d’s chosen people, which at that time were neither xtian nor muslim,
since neither, conveniently, existed when g-d was stilling whispering the torah.
all the lands of abraham belong to isaac and ishmael. oops. son of another mother.
like america has always belonged to republicans for 300 years. virtually the whole
world knows that the democrats are the ones who caused the wars, the recessions,
they’re troublemakers, just like ishmael, shave their heads and cover them with
ashes and sack cloth, send them out to the wilderness to find their own paradise.
what’s mine is mine, what’s your’s is mine. ich alles bestizen und alles allein.

Posted by: Troy McClure | Mar 1 2008 7:53 utc | 10

Tom Segev in Haaretz:
An invention called ‘the Jewish people’

Every Israeli schoolchild is taught that this happened during the period of Roman rule, in 70 CE. The nation remained loyal to its land, to which it began to return after two millennia of exile. Wrong, says the historian Shlomo Zand, in one of the most fascinating and challenging books published here in a long time. There never was a Jewish people, only a Jewish religion, and the exile also never happened – hence there was no return. Zand rejects most of the stories of national-identity formation in the Bible, including the exodus from Egypt and, most satisfactorily, the horrors of the conquest under Joshua. It’s all fiction and myth that served as an excuse for the establishment of the State of Israel, he asserts.
According to Zand, the Romans did not generally exile whole nations, and most of the Jews were permitted to remain in the country. The number of those exiled was at most tens of thousands. When the country was conquered by the Arabs, many of the Jews converted to Islam and were assimilated among the conquerors. It follows that the progenitors of the Palestinian Arabs were Jews. Zand did not invent this thesis; 30 years before the Declaration of Independence, it was espoused by David Ben-Gurion, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and others.
…
Prof. Zand teaches at Tel Aviv University. His book, “When and How Was the Jewish People Invented?” (published by Resling in Hebrew), is intended to promote the idea that Israel should be a “state of all its citizens” – Jews, Arabs and others – in contrast to its declared identity as a “Jewish and democratic” state. Personal stories, a prolonged theoretical discussion and abundant sarcastic quips do not help the book, but its historical chapters are well-written and cite numerous facts and insights that many Israelis will be astonished to read for the first time.

Posted by: b | Mar 1 2008 8:45 utc | 11

New Israeli raids on Gaza kill 26

Israeli forces have carried out further attacks on the Gaza Strip, killing at least 26 Palestinians.
Medical staff said four children aged nine to 16 were among the dead, as well as at least six Palestinian militants.

Posted by: b | Mar 1 2008 10:02 utc | 12

Yes, the biblical and mythical Israel is much discussed.
I wanted Mike to clarify what he meant by Palestinians “recognizing Israel”. Is it like recognizing Canada or Kosovo? What “Israel” do Egypt and Jordan recognize? Mandated Israel plus all the aquifers, hilltops and fertile valleys the boys from Brooklyn can steal from their neighbors or that as defined in #10. A Jewish “homeland” to live in with their Arab neighbors? A state with guaranteed Jewishness? Anything and anywhere they want it to be? The absurdity of it all is in the details.

Posted by: ww | Mar 1 2008 13:04 utc | 13

New Israeli raids on Gaza kill 32
More than 50 Palestinians and an Israeli have died in recent days

Posted by: annie | Mar 1 2008 14:04 utc | 14

sorry b, i didn’t realize that was the exact same article w/an updated title.

Posted by: annie | Mar 1 2008 14:08 utc | 15

sorry b, i didn’t realize that was the exact same article w/an updated title
Haaretz does that all the time – changing headline and content(!) of pieces without changing the URLs.
—
What makes me wonder about this argument used by Troy and Mike is how anyone can come up with something that some spagetti monster in the skys supposely uttered several thousand years ago and expect to be taken seriously.
It’s so fucking stupid …

Posted by: b | Mar 1 2008 15:02 utc | 16

A bump for b’s post at 6:
Why isn’t this all over the media today? Is it just because I’ve been picking my way through the spattered brains in Fisk’s book that this seems so unbelievably significant?

Posted by: Tantalus | Mar 1 2008 15:45 utc | 17

What makes me wonder about this argument used by Troy and Mike is how anyone can come up with something that some spagetti monster in the skys supposely uttered several thousand years ago and expect to be taken seriously.
maybe if you take a little stroll around mike’s ‘history readings’ (scroll down) it will better explain his world view.

Posted by: annie | Mar 1 2008 16:48 utc | 18

I think ww brings up a fair point and wish that Mike would respond. Just how much does Israel have to have before they are content? What borders do the Palestinians have to recognize to stop the continued attacks upon them? Are the original 1947 borders at all relevant?
I believe Troy’s answer was sarcastic but I could be mistaken.

Posted by: dan of steele | Mar 1 2008 16:53 utc | 19

more words of wisdom from mike @ his ‘Israelis and Palestinians’ link. i assume it’s the same mike. he offers the same email address on his homepage.

I myself am not that surprised, since I’ve never accepted this prejudice that claims that the Arabs are uncivilized and democratic people who don’t care what their people think.
…
But given the degree and intensity of the attacks on Jews (disguised as attacks on Israel) in the leftist and liberal blogosphere, I would think that SF would be one of the first places this type of thing would happen.
And it’s not going to stop there. The next step will be direct assaults on Jewish stores, then on Jewish homes, and then to direct attacks on Jews themselves. It’s only a matter of time. And with the likelihood of a Catholic like Kerry getting elected, I certainly wouldn’t expect the government to do anything about it. If anything, I’d expect them to tacitly encourage it, beginning with supporting the establishment of a Palestinian state.
Jews really need to wake up to the degree of danger that they are in. Not just the Israelis, but all Jews everywhere. The situation is just as dangerous as it was during the 1930s, if not worse. Except that this time it’s not just the Christians but the Muslims as well. These people are totally committed to the complete elimination of Jews from the planet. And too many Jews are wasting time and energy trying to figure out why this is, and, even worse, trying to negotiate with them. Who cares why it is? Let’s fight first, and then later try to analyze the why’s and wherefore’s.
“What’s the difference between a Jew and a pizza? A pizza doesn’t cry on its way to the oven.” — Joe Kennedy, father of Kerry mentor Edward Kennedy.

dos Just how much does Israel have to have before they are content? What borders do the Palestinians have to recognize to stop the continued attacks upon them? Are the original 1947 borders at all relevant?
from mike’s I &P link

You often read that the Israeli-Palestinian “conflict” could “lead to war.” But the fact is that there has been an active state of war there since 1948. The reason that the Palestinians and other Arabs constantly refer to the 1967 borders is an attempt to create the impression that it all began then. To try to hide the fact that it all really began when the Arabs declared war in 1948, and that the Israelis, being totally committed to peaceful coexistence, then and now, only took measures in 1967 to protect itself after three separate wars were launched against it over the previous twenty years.
The Arabs also constantly demand that the Israelis respect the various UN resolutions that have been passed against it. But they conveniently ignore that in 1948 they totally refused to respect the original UN resolution which originally partitioned the lands, and continue to do so. You can’t have it both ways folks. The first step towards peace is for the Arab countries to drop their declarations of war against Israel, and to recognize the country. Israel can’t recognize Palestine until the other countries recognize it. It doesn’t make sense, legally or otherwise.

yawn

Posted by: annie | Mar 1 2008 17:10 utc | 20

Ole Mike has got himself a pretty good persecution complex going on, don’t he?
“All lies and jests, still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.”

Posted by: dan of steele | Mar 1 2008 17:24 utc | 21

yeah, whenever they haul out the lunatic fringe defense you know they’re sinkin’ fast.

Posted by: annie | Mar 1 2008 19:13 utc | 22

The latest operation raised the death toll to 91 since Wednesday.

Posted by: annie | Mar 2 2008 0:47 utc | 23

Meanwhile, in West Bank, it isn’t only Israel ensuring that normal life will not be a possibility. Now the puppet PA is beginning to copy Israel’s modus operandi, as well.
Horror and shame

The torturing to death of a Palestinian Islamist by Palestinian Authority intelligence sends out shockwaves of revulsion while the occupation continues to attack Palestinian society

Posted by: Alamet | Mar 2 2008 1:16 utc | 24

the seedy zionism & its bloody results – of people like mike & troy make me want to retch

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Mar 2 2008 1:37 utc | 25

If the Saudis know something, no one around there is going to be playing much soccer in coming weeks.
Saudis order their nationals out of Lebanon one day after xUS ships show up off shore
Increasingly, I suspect ships will be to warehouse refugees from extensive bombings.

Posted by: jj | Mar 2 2008 2:42 utc | 26

Good work annie! Buy ya a drink?

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Mar 2 2008 8:18 utc | 27

grrr.. that should have been more specific… and read,
Good work annie! @# 20… Buy ya a drink?

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Mar 2 2008 8:22 utc | 28

Back to Main