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Dec. 3, 2008
Steven Emerson: Yes, the terrorists are winning
Don Terry: Lifetime, no see
Dec. 2, 2008
Melanie Phillips: The Mumbai atrocity is a wake-up call for a frighteningly unprepared world
Stratfor Geopolitical Intelligence Report: Strategic Motivations for the Mumbai Attack
Dec. 1, 2008
Max Freidlander, as told to Jacklyn C. Wadler: India Inkings
Mark Steyn: Whodunit!?
Nov. 28, 2008
Rabbi Ahron Rapps: An evil seed that didn't have to be
Melanie Phillips: Carpe diem --- or can we all relax now?
Nov. 26, 2008
Michael Feldberg: Meet the Orthodox Jew who laid groundwork for scientific development of ordnance that undergirds America's current world leadership
Andrea Simantov:
Shades of life
Nov. 25, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Getting Emotional For Influence
The Kosher Gourmet
by Ethel G. Hofman : Thanksiving feast!
Nov. 24, 2008
Rabbi S. Binyomin Ginsberg: 'I just Became a grandchild!'
Barry Rubin: Don't flatter your enemies, protect your friends
Nov. 21, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?
Caroline B. Glick:
Civilization walks the plank
Nov. 20, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness
The Kosher Gourmet
By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto
Nov, 19, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality
Elliot B. Gertel:
'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?
Nov, 18, 2008
Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason
Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?
Nov, 17, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason
Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?
Nov, 14, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia
Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead
Nov, 13, 2008
Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic
The Kosher Gourmet
by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla
Nov, 12, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers
Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks
Nov, 11, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?
Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate
Nov, 10, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?
Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist
Nov, 7, 2008
Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality
Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy
Nov, 6, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism
The Kosher Gourmet
By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes
Nov, 5, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors
Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie
Nov, 4, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law
Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East
Nov, 3, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?
Jonathan Tobin:
Was He Wrong About Everything?
March 22, 2007
J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 31, 2006
/2 Shevat, 5766
Terrorists win: Why the surprise?
By
Cal Thomas
Worse than denial, is denying you have been in denial
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
The biggest surprise about the big win by the terrorist organization Hamas in last week's Palestinian legislative elections is that so many people were surprised.
Worse than denial, is denying you have been in denial. Despite the Hamas and Palestinian Authority charters calling for Israel's destruction; despite unilateral concessions and actions by Israel; despite negotiated "land for peace" deals, which only Israel has kept; despite massive amounts of U.S. and European aid, much of which was funneled into Swiss bank accounts under the regime of the late Yasser Arafat; despite pressure and cajoling and confidence-building measures, none of it mattered. Hamas won anyway.
Now comes more denial. One hears Westerners say things like "Hamas now must deliver because people are most concerned with jobs, running water and trash pickup so they will have to moderate their views." There is talk of cutting off U.S. and Western European aid to the Palestinians because of the Hamas victory. Do people sincerely believe that a religious mandate can be modified by economic threats, or that Hamas cannot get funding from others, like Iran?
The "Quartet," comprised of the United Nations, European Union, Russian Federation and the United States, issued a statement that mentioned the "aspirations for peace and statehood" of the Palestinian people. Expressing the obvious, the statement continued, "…there is a fundamental contradiction between armed group and militia activities and the building of a democratic State." If the Quartet had not been in the state of denial, it would have seen the contradiction of attempting to make peace between Israel and people who are not interested in a "two-state solution," but in a region without Israel.
Why should Hamas listen to the Quartet? The Quartet has repeatedly demanded that the Palestinian Authority disarm terrorist groups before negotiations proceed, but the terrorists have continued attacking Israeli civilians. Why shouldn't they when it appears the strategy is producing results for them?
Following the election, President Bush told a news conference, "I don't see how you can be a partner in peace if you advocate the destruction of a country as part of your platform. And I know you can't be a partner in peace…if your party has got an armed wing."
The president, indeed the world, should have seen this coming. For years from mosques throughout the region, to newspapers and television programs the violent rhetoric against Israel, Jews and the West has not only been tolerated, but also promoted by states we claim are our "friends." We now say we will have nothing to do with Hamas, but that will change. We will eventually deal with Hamas after they claim to have eliminated or modified their charter for Western consumption.
How does one modify a charter that is the will of "G-d"? A senior Hamas official, Mushir al-Masri, told the Associated Press that recognizing Israel and negotiating with it are "not on our agenda." Even if Hamas did negotiate with Israel, why would anyone believe it would live up to any promises it might make?
People who have tried to draw distinctions between the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah and other groups have been in denial. They are all cut from the same terrorist cloth and all seek the same objectives despite occasional rhetoric to the contrary: a Palestine that doesn't include Israel.
What else is one to make of a statement by Hamas leader Abdel Aziz Rantisi, in an interview with Al-Jazeera, as reported in the Jerusalem Post on June 10, 2003: "By Allah, we will not leave one Jew in Palestine. We will fight them with all the strength we have. This is our land, not the Jews … You will have no security except outside the homeland Palestine … We have Allah on our side…"
Last Sept. 16, Mushir al-Masri addressed a rally in Gaza. His remarks were carried on Al-Jazeera TV: "We have come here in multitudes to proclaim that Hirbiya and Ashkelon will be taken by the mujahideen … that weapons of the resistance that you see here will remain … so that we can liberate Palestine all of Palestine from the sea to the river, whether they like it or not."
Google "Hamas Charter" and after reading it and the foregoing statements, the only ones who can believe they mean something other than what they say and do must be in extreme denial. And that condition can get a lot of innocent people killed.
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Cal Thomas Archives
© 2006, TMS
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