Question: Do you believe there should be a Palestinian state?

“I certainly have some concerns. The first step in any peaceful negotiation for a two-state solution for the Palestinians is to recognize the right of Israel’s existence. They have to denounce terrorism in both word and deed. And they have to sit down and negotiate with Israel directly. Anything short of that is a non-starter in my opinion.”

— Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), in an interview with Time magazine, Sept. 15, 2011

Handling the Israeli-Palestinian relationship is one of the most delicate and time-consuming tasks faced by a U.S. president, as demonstrated by this week’s drama concerning the Palestinian push for recognition as a state by the United Nations. In fact, one can argue that missteps early in President Obama’s tenure have helped lead the administration to the crisis it now faces today.

That’s why Perry’s comments to Time magazine struck us as interesting and potentially revealing. How deep is his understanding of this long-running conflict?

I’d say it’s deeper than the people questioning his command of the facts, that’s for sure.

WaPo goes on to blather on and on in an attempt to prove Perry is wrong, but then hits this point:

The PLO has long recognized Israel’s existence — though not the militant group Hamas that controls the Gaza Strip, so maybe that’s what Perry meant. Israeli officials in recent years have also demanded Palestinian recognition of Israel as a “Jewish state” — which Palestinians have refused — but Perry did not make that distinction.

Just to be sure, we sent Perry’s remarks to three experts on Middle East diplomacy — an Israeli, a Palestinian and an American. All three said he appeared to be remarkably uninformed.

We contacted Perry’s spokesman for an explanation but as usual he did not respond.

Wow. That’s pretty harsh. The PLO has recognized Israel’s existence, they say, so case closed. Perry is wrong. Right?

Yeah. Not exactly.

The image above is the PLO logo. Notice that green thing in the middle? Sure you do. It’s Israel.

So unless your argument is that the PLO wants Israel to exist as long as it’s controlled and occupied by the PLO, the argument that they recognize Israel is so asinine it borders on not even needing a response.

For its entire existence, the Arab world’s stated goal is to remove the Jews from Israel, turn the land back over to the Palestinians, and drive the Jews into the sea. The PLO has a logo that essentially calls all of Israel Palestine. Reconcile all of that with the WaPo’s claim that they want Israel to exist. Go ahead. Fly in the face of facts if you must. It’s never stopped anyone before.

For all the criticism on his depth of understanding of the issue, it seems that Perry has a better command of the realities facing Israel than those that claim he has none.

Despite repeated assurances from President Obama and military leaders that the U.S. would not send uniformed military personnel into Libya, four U.S. service members arrived on the ground in Tripoli over the weekend. 

According to Pentagon spokesman Capt. John Kirby, the four unidentified troops are there working under the State Department’s chief of mission to assist in rebuilding the U.S. Embassy. 

Kirby noted the embassy in Tripoli was badly damaged during the conflict between Muammar Qaddafi’s forces and the rebels. 

Two of the military personnel are explosive-ordnance experts who will be used to disable any explosives traps left in the embassy. The other two are “general security,” according to Kirby. 

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland assured reporters Monday that the four individuals are not in Libya to fight. 

“When the president made his commitment to ‘no boots on ground’ … obviously that had to do with entering into the fray between the Qaddafi forces and the Libyan freedom fighters, and that’s not what these guys are engaged in,” Nuland said.  

Kirby also made clear these troops are in no way part of a military operation on the ground. They are armed, however, if for some reason they need to protect themselves. 

So now on top of having the most service members of any country in the “coalition” we now have boots on the ground. Victoria Nuland, however, wants us to believe that boots are only touching the ground when they fit a certain definition of boots and ground.

And in the meantime, throughout all of this conflict, our President has been in complete and undeniable violation of the War Powers Act.

Source

The app is called “Third Intifada.” To put what an intifada is in perspective, an intifada is an uprising. During the second intifada a few years ago, suicide bombings were the daily norm in Israel and thousands of Israelis were murdered by bomb-toting Palestinians. With that “perspective” in mind, is it so unreasonable that Apple would be asked by Israel to enforce their hate speech guidelines for the App Store? I certainly don’t think so, particularly since there have been a few cases in the past of anti-Islam apps being removed from the App Store.

Calling this app a “Pro-Palestinian” app implies that it’s merely a free speech issue and that Israel wants any “pro-Palestinian” information removed from sight, but that’s clearly not the case. If you want to see what these monsters are all about, hit up their site. If you’re using Google Chrome, it’ll even translate it for you.

You tell me what you come away with.

How do you negotiate with a party who won’t even recognize your right to exist at all?

And… Go…

The Guardian did a nice infographic on the topic…

And I broke the data down so you can see the actual numbers…

So now that the lie of our involvement being “limited” is over, when does the President get some sort of authorization from Congress to continue his foreign adventures?

See that red swath?  That’s Israel.  Not a portion thereof.  You can’t negotiate with people who don’t recognize your right to exist.

End.

Of.

Story.

The Fatah Revolutionary Council concluded its fifth convention in Ramallah over the weekend by declaring its refusal to recognize Israel as a Jewish state.

The council also urged the Palestinian Authority leadership to work toward foiling a new Israeli law requiring a referendum before any withdrawal from Jerusalem and the Golan Heights that has not been passed by two thirds of the Knesset.

The Palestinians are opposed to any understandings between Israel and the US that could harm their interests, the council said.

“The council affirms its rejection of the so-called Jewish state or any other formula that could achieve this goal,” said a statement issued by the council.

“The council also renews its refusal for the establishment of any racist state based on religion in accordance with international law and human rights conventions.”

The council made its statement as Israel awaits a document from the US which would set out an incentives package in exchange for a 90-day freeze on new settlement construction based on the terms of the 10- month moratorium on such activity which expired on September 26.

But hey, Israel building houses is really the reason peace talks are stalled, not the savages that refuse to recognize them at all.

Carry on, folks. Nothing to see here.

Source

A three-year-old Iraqi child is lying in his hospital bed in Israel and smiling, after his life was saved thanks to a surgery performed by Israeli doctors.
 
The child, Boland, suffers from an inborn heart defect that requires intense cardiovascular effort for any small effort, as if he was running a marathon.
 
The level of medicine in Iraq is not advanced enough to handle the problem, prompting the international Shevet Achim foundation, which cares for sick children in Iraq and Gaza, to fly him to Israel for surgery given the Jewish state’s advanced capabilities in the field.
 
The child arrived in Israel with his mother about a month and a half ago, and was hospitalized in Safra Hospital for Children at the Sheba medical center near Tel Aviv. He underwent the surgery in recent days and now feels better – he is smiling and his eyes express his gratitude.

Don’t bother Israel; we see right through your mock kindness and concern for children.

Zionist pigs.

Source

(Hint: the above commentary accompanying the quote was sarcasm)

But why is this a major story? Compared to the constant stream of hate-mongering, murderous blabber, and TV shows for kids extolling the virtues of killing Jews that emerges from Hamas and the Palestinians themselves, this little comment by Rabbi Yosef is tame by comparison. After all, Yosef hoped that God would do the smiting. The Palestinians want their own children to start the next Holocaust.

To be sure, Rabbi Yosef is well known as a bit of a crank and his rhetoric is echoed by almost no other Israeli of similar position — or even lesser for that matter — anywhere in the country. So, why is the media bothering with him?

You already know the answer, but click through if you want to read it anyway.

Source

Some lawmakers have urged the State Department to rethink plans to sponsor the imam behind a controversial mosque on a trip to the Middle East.

Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is at the center of efforts to build a mosque near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York. He is going to the Middle East on a trip funded by the State Department.

Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Peter King (R-NY), the ranking members of the Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security committees, called the State Department’s funding of Rauf’s trip “unacceptable,” and said American taxpayers should not have to subsidize his tour.

“The State Department’s selection of Feisal Abdul Rauf to represent the American people through this program further calls into question the administration’s policy and funding priorities,” the statement said, noting the Imam has suggested in interviews that America was to blame for the September 11 attacks.

It’s Rauf’s third trip to discuss Muslim life in America and religious tolerance, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

The upsetting part of this, of course, is that the White House has repeatedly refused to acknowledge having an opinion on the Mosque Feisal Abdul Rauf is building.

I’ll reiterate my earlier position: I don’t care where the President stands (pro or con) but to say he has no opinion, to me, is laughable. There’s no way in hell that this man has no opinion on the issue. To shunt it away as a local issue is laughable considering he’s stuck his nose into two “local” issues of very high profile already; the Arizona immigration law (SB1070) and the controversy over his loudmouthed buddy and a cop in Cambridge.

Judging by the fact that the White House thought enough of this man to send him to the Middle East to do a sucky-face tour, I think we know their opinion, in spite of the fact that they’re outwardly trying to deny having one.

Source

To wit, we have this video of the peaceful protesters chanting about Khaibar… More on that in a second… Video first…

So what is Khaibar?

Khaibar is where the last battle to remove the Jews from Arab land happened.

But hey, this guys are all about peace. It must be true. The lazy media says so! After all, arranging a flotilla of ships to ram a blockade is a totally peaceful act.

In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning – along with China, Russia, Japan and France – to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies including the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Qatar.

Secret meetings have already been held by finance ministers and central bank governors in Russia, China, Japan and Brazil to work on the scheme, which will mean that oil will no longer be priced in dollars.

The plans, confirmed to The Independent by both Gulf Arab and Chinese banking sources in Hong Kong, may help to explain the sudden rise in gold prices, but it also augurs an extraordinary transition from dollar markets within nine years.

Source

After the verdict was read in the Cairo courtroom, Nabih al-Wahsh, an Egyptian attorney, jumped for joy and received an avalanche of telephone calls from friends congratulating him on his latest legal victory.

Al-Wahsh has managed to extract a ruling from Egypt’s Administrative Court — which rules in disputes between citizens and the state — that would force the Egyptian government to strip Egyptians married to Israelis of their Egyptian citizenship. The May 19 ruling was met with the cheers of millions in this populous Arab country.

“This is an historic ruling,” al-Wahsh said to reporters after the ruling. “Egyptians married to Israelis are dangerous to Egypt’s national security, acting in ways that contradict the constitution of their country and Islamic laws,” he said.

Calls flooded into TV talk shows discussing the verdict and readers posted comments on Web sites of newspapers that wrote about it.

Everyone appeared united in elation at the ruling, as well as in hatred of the Jewish state and everything that related to it, even if it was originally Egyptian.

“Israel clamors to become an integral part of the Arab world and to do so it lures Egyptians to get married to its women,” one reader wrote to a local newspaper, commenting on the ruling.

Nothing but paranoid hatred from the Arab world. So deep is the hatred that the Palestinians accused Israel of sicking rats on their country to torment them. So deep is the hatred that the Palestinians elected Hamas, a known terrorist organization, to run their country. So deep is their hatred that no matter how much aid the Palestinian Government gets, there has not been one new school, hospital, roads or courthouses (more on that tomorrow) in 16 years and so deep is the hatred for Israel that the Palestinian Government keeps its people in refugee camps (instead of building homes for them) to foment the hatred they need and to use them as pawn in their “oppression” and terrorism regime.

So while our President asks Israel to sacrifice more and give up more and fight less, he ignores the insane amount of hatred that’s been the real barricade to peace since day one. That’s what you get when you elect a guy who’s got no foreign policy experience, no international relations knowledge, and no media to point it out to the rest of the country. You get a President who strives to make all sides in an argument equal when it just isn’t so.

Maybe instead of asking Israel to sacrifice yet again it’s time to tell the Arab world enough is enough with the scapegoating of Israel for all their problems. If those words came out of a President’s mouth ever, that would be truly historic.

Not Hamas Headquarters.

A building of enlightenment and education.

[flv:nablus.flv 540 414]

The Al-Jazeera satellite television station recently broadcast footage of Obama on holiday in Hawaii, wearing shorts and playing golf, juxtaposed with scenes of bloodshed and mayhem in Gaza. Its report criticising “the deafening silence from the Obama team” suggested Obama is losing a battle of perceptions among Muslims that he may not realise has even begun.

“People recall his campaign slogan of change and hoped that it would apply to the Palestinian situation,” Jordanian analyst Labib Kamhawi told Liz Sly of the Chicago Tribune. “So they look at his silence as a negative sign. They think he is condoning what happened in Gaza because he’s not expressing any opinion.”

Regional critics claim Obama is happy to break his pre-inauguration “no comment” rule on international issues when it suits him. They note his swift condemnation of November’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Obama has also made frequent policy statements on mitigating the impact of the global credit crunch.

Obama’s absence from the fray is also allowing hostile voices to exploit the vacuum. “It would appear that the president-elect has no intention of getting involved in the Gaza crisis,” Iran’s Resalat newspaper commented sourly. “His stances and viewpoints suggest he will follow the path taken by previous American presidents… Obama, too, will pursue policies that support the Zionist aggressions.”

Whether Obama, when he does eventually engage, can successfully elucidate an Israel-Palestine policy that is substantively different from that of Bush-Cheney is wholly uncertain at present.

It’s something he’s going to have to deal with sooner or later; it’s just a shame it’ll now appear as if he was shamed into doing so.

As Barack Obama was running for President, many of us wondered how he would deal with Israel. Typically, very few Democrats ever take strong positions on Israel and Israel defending themselves unless they’re from a predominantly Jewish area (for example, Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, for the most part, are very much pro Israel). The question marks come when you’re from an area that’s very left-leaning and not as much Jewish.

In Barack Obama’s weekly address this week, we got our answer, whether he wanted to give it to us or not. His address to the nation (because, as you know, it’s important for a man who holds no office yet to tell you what he thinks) this week did not mention Israel. Not one time. Not at all. Not even in passing. In fact, since Change.gov launched, Israel has only been mentioned once, and then only in the concept of a general foreign policy outline.

I’m not saying he needs to layout his entire plan, or that he even has to come charging onto the camera and call for Hamas to be destroyed. What bothers me most, however, is that this conflict has been going on forever, and over the past month has escalated. Originally, it was Hamas and their lackeys firing rockets into Southern Israel, hundreds at a time, for a few weeks. Eventually Israel started striking back, and it escalated this weekend with Israel sending ground troops into Gaza.

Despite this escalation, Barack Obama has chosen to make the topic of this week’s address the economy.

Doesn’t that seem odd to anyone?

Now you may say that his video is pre-done. That’s fine. This conflict isn’t new and he hasn’t addressed it yet. President-elect Obama doesn’t seem to have an opinion on the issue in any way. In fact, the AP noticed it and contacted the Obama campaign to get some clarification.

As the clock ticks down to Barack Obama’s inauguration, the US president-elect has kept silent on the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its latest deadly turn in the Gaza Strip.

Obama transition officials have ventured little more than saying their boss is “monitoring” the situation in Gaza, where at least 460 people have been killed in eight days of air raids before a ground offensive began Saturday.

In the same period, Gaza militant rockets have killed four Israelis and wounded several dozen people.

“The president-elect is closely monitoring global events, including the situation in Gaza,” his national security spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said in a statement after the ground assault got underway.

But she offered no further comment on the violence in Gaza and used a phrase repeated often by Obama and his aides: “There is one president at a time and we intend to respect that.”

Oddly enough, the fact that there is only “one president at a time” has never kept the Obama “transition team” from discussing other issues such as the economy, the environment, and so on. 16 days from the inauguration, and this is the issue he’s decided to defer to the President on? I guess there wasn’t only one President back in July, when Barack Obama told the New York Times:

In a July interview with The New York Times, Obama said he did not think that “any country would find it acceptable to have missiles raining down on the heads of their citizens.

“If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do everything in my power to stop that,” he said. “And I would expect Israelis to do the same thing.”

As for talking with Hamas, Obama told the Times that it was “very hard to negotiate with a group that is not representative of a nation state, does not recognize your right to exist, has consistently used terror as a weapon, and is deeply influenced by other countries.”

It would be nice if our future President would stand by his words, but I don’t see it happening. He’ll just defer to W. until he’s in office and then make no decisions and defer to Congress. This is the guy you elected, America. President Hopeandchange.

Today was the most traumatic day of my life. I don’t even know where to start in explaining what I went through and how I felt, because I just don’t know the words to express the whirlwind of emotions I felt. I guess the best way to give a picture of what I went through is to go through my day as it happened and try to give some sort of idea as to what I experienced.

So I woke up early today for Hebrew classes, exhausted as usual but excited that we were meant to be going to the market today to practice our vocabulary. But before I left my boyfriend started throwing up and was so sick and vulnerable that I felt I couldn’t leave him, and for me it was more important to stay and look after him. I spoke to my leader and she said it wasn’t a problem. At 10.30 we were due to leave on another trip to somewhere called Sderot, which was a place I had heard of recently but knew very little about. I made the choice to stay with my boyfriend and take an unexcused absence rather than go on the trip. However my leader kept calling me and demanded that I come with and I went.

It was going to be a long journey and so to keep us occupied and entertained we had ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ playing on the TVs. We were laughing and smiling, shouting when the bus driver made it quieter, and generally doing as we do everyday. No one gave much thought to anything but the amazing look of wonderful chocolate on the screens above us. When we drew closer to our destination our teacher turned down the film (which we got VERY angry about) and said he needed to say a few things. He told us that the city we were visiting constantly has rockets, called ‘Quassam rockets’, directed at it. This is a fact most people knew and was indeed the reason we were visiting this city. He then went on to tell us that there had already been 10 rockets in the early hours of this morning and so it is unlikely that we should have any now. However, we must be aware and alert and that when a rocket is fired a siren sounds all over the city, at which point one has 15 seconds to seek shelter before the rocket lands. No one knows where the rockets will land so wherever you are you must take cover in case it is near where you are. He finished by telling us that we are not in danger and we should not worry. I was instantly taken aback as I had not expected this at all. I was still half asleep and worrying about whether my boyfriend was still throwing up all over the place and then I hear about all this. But I really didn’t give it as much thought as you’d expect. We all laughed a bit at the fact that we are apparently “not in danger” and yet we were told how serious it is for us to act and move quickly if we hear the siren. As awful as it sounds, you just don’t dwell on it at the time. You trust that you are safe and you can’t possibly imagine anything like that happening to yourself because it is simple not something that we are familiar with.

As we drove along I noticed that every bus stop is also a bomb shelter and that more shelters were located all over the town. There is no stretch of land where there is not a shelter; they were everywhere and this really mad me start to think about how normal it must be for these people to require bomb shelters in their daily lives.

We began our trip by visiting a police station where we saw hundreds of previously launched rockets that had been collected. Each was labelled with the date it was fired. Most are braded with different colours or symbols which indicate the organisation that was responsible for firing that particular rocket. It was strange and shocking, yet once again I was still able to think of other thing: to read a text I was sent, to think of how hungry I felt, to think about the blazing sun on my face and anything else that was going on around me. I was focused and listening, but I can’t pretend that what I was hearing was having a huge effect because it wasn’t really. Don’t get me wrong, it did make me think and bring to my attention things I never knew and was chocked to learn, but the feelings were minimal.

We then visited someone’s house that had been hit two months ago. The old lady is in a fragile state physically and was therefore incapable of running for cover in a bomb shelter, and so when she hears the siren, she has no choice but to stay put. For years she was fortunate enough to be safe where she was, but two months ago a rocket fell through her roof and destroyed her family’s house. Fortunately she is alive, although how that is appears to be a miracle. Her house is in shambles. The roof in on the floor; every room is turned upside down; all her possessions are destroyed, and yet she is still here. Her daughter was severely injured and hospitalised for days, but is also fortunately now well and safe. I saw the look of despair and loss in the old lady’s eyes and fell silent with sadness at what I was seeing. The family are currently living in a small apartment elsewhere but do not have the money to move nor repair their house. As I walked out the house, neighbours were asking us to witness the destruction to their homes too, but we were hurried onto the bus to leave. As we drove away I could see that her house was only one of many hit on her street alone. At this point the bus was quieter, everyone in thought about what we were seeing and how devastating it must be for them to live in such a way.
We then went to lunch in a shwarma place in the city. We were glad to be eating there as opposed to the normal packed lunches we receive on trips, and were told that the reason for this was to try to help the city out by buying their food. We were sitting together and eating away, laughing and chatting as usual. It was easy to go from a state of thought and sympathy for the people of the down, to the thoughts of my food and trying my best not to make a mess! I had finished up and was sitting watching a boy eat a white ice-cream, although I can’t now remember who the person was, when all of a sudden everyone was rushing and shouting and I was confused as to what was going on. Over all the chaos I heard my leader shout, “Everyone to the bomb shelter!!” The siren had sounded and we had 15 seconds to reach safety. I jumped up and grabbed my bag and ran for the door. As I did so my bag got caught on the chair and I actually took about 1 or 2 of those precious seconds to release my bag so that I would have it with me. Looking back it seems insane to have taken that time, or rather wasted that time to get my bag, but at that moment all I was thinking was that God forbid I get hurt or worse, then I want to be able to speak to the people I love. All that kept going through my head was if I would ever see my family and those I love again, would I tell them I love them, would I laugh and smile with them…..would I live? As I ran out of the building I just thought I was going to die; I was in open space and I just thought that was it. I ran with such panic across the road to the closest bomb shelter which was a small bus stop. I was one of the very last to reach the shelter and couldn’t quite manage to get in. after a few seconds of shouting and pushing I was under cover. My eyes began to tear slightly and I began to shake, but I was still confused and mixed up and overwhelmed by what was happening. Shortly after we were given the clear that we could leave the shelter. As I walked out I began to cry. We all hugged each other close, both those who we like and don’t like, whoever they were it didn’t matter, we were all together and we all had to be there for each other. I managed to get hold of my dad, but when he picked up the phone saying “hey sweetie how are you?”, I throat closed up and I began to sob so hard that no words could come out. I was finding it hard to breathe normally and could simply sob. I was shaking so hard that my whole body jerked. A friend of mine came up to me and put his arms around me, at which point I relaxed enough to explain to my dad what had happened. We then all sat together, comforting those around us, joining as a group and supporting one another. We were told that we would not be ending our trip and that we would continue the day. I understood that if our leaders had decided to take us home straight away it would not be a very good lesson or message, yet at that point all I wanted to do was go back to Jerusalem and feel safe again.

As we made our way to the coach and continued on our journey, I couldn’t not relax. I would sit still, then suddenly burst out in tears at any quick movement, I saw the bomb shelters in the road as we drove by and I pictured the moment I ran towards it for my life, and welled up once again. I couldn’t get the awful thoughts out of my head. What if I had died? What if I never saw my loved ones again or told them what they mean to me?? When we got off the bus again I heard the teacher telling another girl how lucky we were that the rocket was not near us. He said that we did not reach the shelter in nearly enough time and that had the rocket been where we were, half our class would have died. Half our class would have died. That would have been me too. I was one of the last three to reach the shelter, I could barely even get in once I got there, and so if the rocket had been near us, I would not be able to write about my experience now.

I couldn’t get these thoughts out my head. I could not relax or take anything else in. I just wanted to leave. A car alarm sounded behind a group of us girls and we all jumped, some of us bursting out crying in fear that it was another siren. My eyes would not dry out, every second I thought I could feel alright again, I would feel the fear and anxiety I felt as I ran for cover and I would begin to cry again.

We were visiting a building in the process of development which was being built with protection from rockets. Everyone went onto the roof to see the view and be taught about something, although I do not know what that something was because I couldn’t bare to go onto the roof in open space. I stayed downstairs with a group of other people discussing our feeling and how shocked we were that as educated Jews who visit Israel on a regular basis, we knew noting of this place or what people experience on a daily basis.

From there we went to the Sderot media centre to have a look at photos from previous attacks and hear about what exactly they do. When we walked in we began to write down our email addresses in order to receive regular updates on the situation in Sderot. As the second person began writing down their details, a lady ran in to the building to tell us it was a ‘Red Alert’. The siren ha just sounded again, another rocket had been launched. Our teacher shouted for us to run out to the bomb shelters but as we went to leave, we were told we did not have time to reach the shelters. One girl had already run outside towards the nearest shelter and was out in the open when she realised no one was with her and turned back towards the building. She was back with us in a matter of seconds. We were told to stay inside, to drop to the floor and stay as low as possible and if possible next to walls. I dropped to the floor and crunched into a ball and began to shake and sob harder than I ever knew I could. This time I really thought it was it. We were lucky the last time, even our teacher said that, we were still there because we were fortunate, but perhaps this time it would not be the case. I couldn’t catch my breath and I was shaken up with panic. The same thoughts went through my head, my mum, my dada, my siblings, my boyfriend, my friends; everyone I love and care about….. What if this is it? Moments later we were told to jump up and run to the shelters, at which point another rocket was launched and once again we would not reach the shelters in time. One person was shouting for us to leave, another was shouting for us to stay, what were we meant to do? And then a third siren, yet another rocket launched. My cries became deeper and harder and at this point I thought it would never end. This was all happening in a number of seconds, each rocket about 20 seconds apart, but as I was curled up on the floor rocking myself in my own arms it felt like forever. My usual concept of time was out the window. It was all such a rush and panic that it seemed too quick to comprehend, and yet it felt like I was sitting awaiting my destiny for hours.

As we sat crunched together we heard 2 of the 3 rockets land and explode somewhere. I don’t know how near or far away they were, but we could hear them land. After the third rocket, there was no sound of a further siren and so we knew we had time to make it to the shelter and so we ran across to safety. This time I was the first one out of the building and into the shelter. I cried and cried and shook with fear, yet felt relief that I was under the safety of the shelter. At that moment my step mum called me and I cried harder at the sound of a voice o someone I love. I was told to get off the phone however and so I stood alongside the people around me. We were so united and joined as one, it was amazing how much because can care for one another in such times. Some people ensured that their friends were out the building before they themselves ran for cover. Some didn’t appear shaken but rather acted as the supporters for those who were braking down. I myself ran for my life with no other thought other than my own safety in the hope that I would not be taken from the ones I love. Is that selfish? I don’t know, but it’s what I did and it’s how I reacted. I was so happy to be with the people around me and it made the experience more manageable, if it is possible to say that, by having companions with me, however when my thoughts were with the people I care about and I did all I could to protect myself for them.

A while after we were told that we would no be ending our trip and leaving straight away. It was not necessary to visit more of the town in order to understand what was happening there; we had seen it for ourselves. We made our way to the coach and left soon after. The tears did not stop the whole journey back. Towards the end they stopped rolling down my cheeks but my eyes did not dry up. When we arrived at our youth hostel in Jerusalem I was slightly more composed and could the tears had stopped. I went straight to see my boyfriend and as I saw his face I burst out crying once again and felt so unbelievably blessed at the fact that I could see him and was not taken from him. I sobbed into his arms and though I felt relieved to be safe, I could not get rid of the fear that had taken over me just hours before. Since I’ve been back in safety for the past four hours, I have been up and down. Every time I speak to a family member I can’t control myself and my emotions are thrown all over the place, but the bottom line is: I am so happy that I am speaking to them right now.

Today has been a whirlwind of emotions and it is something I will never ever forget. I have never been so scared in my entire life and have never actually considered the possibility of my life coming close to an end. The thought is not something that can be explained or described and I do not believe that anyone can understand what it feels like until you are in that position yourself. We all handled it in very different ways today and you could see a large variation of responses to the traumatic situation, and you can’t know how it is you would react until you experience it. I hope that you will never have to know what you would do, because it is simply the most horrible thing in the world to have to go through such a situation.

As I’ve been writing this I’ve managed to keep going the whole time just letting it out as it comes, but right now I stopped for a few moments, tearing up again, just thinking how lucky I am to be sitting here and how horrible today was.

I am lucky, but I can’t say the same for everyone who was in Sderot today. What about the innocent civilians that live there? What about the children that have to run out their classrooms numerous times a day? When I cried “I want to go home!”, what did they cry? They are home. That is their lives and they have no choice but to live it for as long as they can. Rockets have been launched over the border from Gaza for 7 years now, into Sderot and other nearby areas. In that times over 8000 rockets have been launched. My experience today, though complete out of the ordinary in my perspective, is part of the everyday lives if the people living there. When we were in the bomb shelter after the first rocket, an Israeli lady was making a fuss for us to let her out quickly because she was going to miss her buss. Someone responded that it is better for her to miss her bus than miss her life. For us it is crazy to even think of the importance of catching the next bus at such a time, but for people who live there and have had hundreds of rockets a month for seven years, they have no choice but to continue with their lives as normally as is possible. Yet they also have to live in a way that takes into account their situation. Families sleep in one room so that they are all together when sirens sound at night; people bare in mind the shoes and clothes they are wearing so that they are able to run when necessary; people take very quick showers and usually have someone standing near them who can tell them if the siren sounds; and so many other things become a routine in these people’s lives so that they can find a way to live in a town which does not know safety.

How is it that I never knew this was going on? How is it that it hasn’t been stopped in so many years? If this was happening in London…. well it just wouldn’t be, it would never continue like this, it would be stopped and we would all know about it. But we do not know about everything. As a person who has come to Israel over 20 times in my life, and who has learnt about Israel and who is interested in politics and current affairs, I never knew about this. I never knew until today, even after having been living in Israel for the past 7 months, I still never knew.

I don’t even know what else to say. I am still overwhelmed by what has gone on today, I can’t get rid of the feelings and emotions that I have felt, or the shock that something so horrific can be taking place for so long and yet barely anyone knows and barely anything is done. If I can ask one thing of you, please read my story and share it with others and perhaps if enough people become aware of the situation, changes can begin to take place. There is so much more that I don’t know about and my story really only gives you part of the picture.

(I apologise if some of this is jumbled or doesn’t make sense but at this stage I just had to get out what I felt and I can’t bare to read it over again so it is in front of you exactly as it came out when I wrote it.)

Katrina

One of two Palestinian suicide bombers from Gaza who apparently sneaked into Israel from the Egyptian Sinai blew himself up at a shopping center in this southern desert town on Monday. He killed an Israeli woman and wounded 11 people, medical officials said.

Israeli police at the scene of a suicide bombing in Dimona, Israel, on Monday.

It was the first suicide attack in Israel in more than a year.

The second bomber failed to detonate his explosive belt and was shot dead by a police officer, a police spokesman said.

Militant groups in Gaza made the names of the attackers public later on Monday, saying they had come from Gaza.

Over the previous 11 days, residents of Gaza were able to move in and out of Egypt with relative ease because of a temporary breach in the Gaza-Egypt border. The Egyptian military resealed the border on Sunday, and crowds began to gather at the crossing on Monday. One Palestinian was killed and 16 people were wounded, including Egyptian border guards, when the guards used tear gas and fired on the crowd, according to medical officials in Gaza.

Did you catch what I caught?

A breach in the border? Border “resealed?”

Doesn’t anyone see what’s going on here?

The Arab countries in the Middle East are desperate for us to feel the plight of the poor Palestinian people, yet when it comes time for the Palestinians to enter another Arabic country, they’re kept in refuge camps and segregated from the population. Instead of allowing the free movement between countries that they constantly demand of Israel, they seal their own borders and restrict entry.

Why?

Because the myth of Palestinian oppression only exists so long as the rich Arab nations surrounding Israel can keep fomenting hatred by not allowing Palestinians to move on from the areas they lay claim to. And the left in this country falls all over themselves to sympathize and continuously blame Israel for all the ills of the terrorist-controlled Palestinian territories.

In chess, we call them pawns.