The hotel shop has been closed since Friday afternoon, so Friday’s is the last Post I have. It’s a bit thicker than usual, containing three magazines.
On the front page of the main paper is the story about the UK terror plot, headlined, “Air terror plot for ‘unimaginable mass murder’ foiled by UK police”. That “unimaginable mass murder” quote seems more unfortunate than ever in a paper read by Jews. I suppose we can’t expect the police to have much imagination, though.
In a box next to that story is one headed, “British Jews fear backlash”. It says that British Jews are already suffering from “heightened anti-Semitism” following Israel’s attacks on Hizbollah. Mark Gardner of the Jewish Community Security Trust is quotes as saying, “There’s no doubt that any increase in tensions brings with it an increase in pressure against the Jewish community at time like this. People look for scapegoats. Jews and Israel come near the top of the list. This will not help the situation.”
An analysis by Yaakov Katz titled, “IDF ire at victory denied” . Apparently one unit was told to advance and then told to stop because, under pressure from the US, the Israeli defense minister wanted to give diplomacy one last chance. “The IDF was disappointed. Senior officers said they had been looking forward to the fight. Reaching Litani and eliminating Hizbullah from the villages on the way could have provided, senior officers believe, the victory that Israel has been hoping to achieve since July 12.” I think there will be big problems in the future if Israel is denied the chance to win outright and destroy Hizbollah. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Hizbollah break any ceasefire, and that will be all the invitation Israel needs.
Also on the front page, “European tourist stabbed to death near the Old City”. I bought this newspaper before I went there and I’m glad I didn’t read it until now! The 24-year-old was murdered by an Arab assailant, and “Police said the attack was apparently terror related.” I didn’t mention it before, but it seems relevant now: I’ve always made sure there are Jews around wherever I’ve been in the city, because whether I really am or not, I *feel* safer with them around. There is some rationality to this: if a Jew who knows the neighbourhood feels safe enough to walk around, it can’t be that dangerous. Don’t get me wrong, all the Arabs I’ve met have been friendly and helpful, but I know there’s at least one or two out there who’d want me dead or kidnapped. I’m pretty certain no Jew wants to kill or kidnap me…
The West Bank is in the news. “Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is under growing pressure to dismantle the PA because of the continuing violence and anarchy in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Jerusalem Post has learned.” It could be all rhetoric, though. The complaint boils down to the fact that Israel has arrested some Hamas terrorists who are also ministers and legislators. The PA also see dissolving as a way to force Israel to pay for all of their welfare, schools and hospitals, which they think they should be doing anyway because they are an “occupying force”. Not everyone in the PA agrees: legislator Qais Abdel Karim is quoted as saying, “Israel is trying to destroy the Palestinian Authority so that it could tell the world afterward that there is no partner for peace on the Palestinian side. This is the first step toward imposing unilateral solutions on the Palestinians. The question, therefore, is not whether we should dissolve the authority or not, but how to strengthen it so that it could continue to assume its responsibilities.” Remember though, that Hamas wants to destroy Israel, so it’s not surprising Israel is arresting Hamas people, whether elected or not.
On page 2 is a story about a mother and 5-year-old son killed by a Katyusha rocket in Deir el-Asad. Next to it the day 30 key developments graphic says that the IAF attacked an old radio broadcast tower in Beirut and destroyed antennas belonging to Lebanon’s official radio station. I don’t know why they would do that — are Lebanon broadcasting pro-Hizbollah propaganda?
On page 3 Doron Almog draws parallels between Hezbollah rockets and the rockets fired from the Gaza strip in June. “In both cases, Israel gave up 100 per cent of the territory. In both cases, the territory that was evacuated was taken over by terroris organizations — Hamas in Gaza and Hezbullah in South Lebanon.”
On page 4 is a story about three rabbis meeting with Hamas to discuss a hudna — Arabic for ceasfire. “The proposed hudna would be between Hamas and the Jewish people — not with the state of Israel — to circumvent Hamas’s refusal to recognize the Zionist entity.”
Another story is headlined “Jerusalem’s Shabbat siren goes musical to avoid unnerving northern refugees”. I didn’t know there was a siren, and I didn’t hear any music here at the hotel, either. Presumably this is just in the centre of the city. On page 5 is a story about the opposition leader saying that there should not be a BBC boycott. He has been in London this week presenting Israel’s case and giving interviews to the BBC. He said that “Israel should make its presence felt and engage in debates.” He goes on to say that Israel is “in a war coceived, organized and equipped by Iran, with Iran’s goal of destroying Israel and its fantasy ideology of building a once-glorious Muslim empire in which we are merely the first stop. [...] If Israel disappeared from the face of the Earth, it would only make them move faster. If the world doesn’t understand we are facing a mad ideology, the world will have no idea how dangerous a turn we are facing.”
On page 6 the Reutersgate story is covered. Little Green Footballs gets a mention: “Within hours of Charles Johnson’s posting on Little Green Footballs, readers of the web site had gone to work uncovering an array of damning evidence against Hajj.” On the subject of LGF, they have a link to a YouTube video of an interesting documentary about Pallywood, the staging of news.
I mentioned there are a few magazines. In Jerusalem‘s main article is about “co-existence programs” in which Palestinian, Arab-Israeli and Jewsish children mix together. The article says that these have a profound effect on the individuals involved but questions their effectiveness at affecting the politics. Meanwhile, the letters page has a charming letter from someone complaining about litter, and a letter about something called the Safdie Plan, which is about developing Westerm Jerusalem. The letter writer argues that it is a “poorly disguised plan for promoting disengagement and flight of Jerusalem’s wealthier and better educated populations from the center of the City.”
The magazine Up Front has an “in-depth look at disengagement, one year later, and in a post unilateralist war in the North”. I haven’t read this yet. Finally, Billboard has entertainment and culture news, including a preview of the Oliver Stone movie World Trade Center.
“Next to it the day 30 key developments graphic says that the IAF attacked an old radio broadcast tower in Beirut and destroyed antennas belonging to Lebanon’s official radio station. I don’t know why they would do that — are Lebanon broadcasting pro-Hizbollah propaganda?”
Maybe this will help your understanding Rob. I read an article in the Times a few days back which said that despite the IDF targetting known Hezbollah radio statiosn and transmitters, Hezbollah’s radio transmissions were continuing to be broadcast. Given that Hezbollah forms a part of the Lebanese government it may well be that they have had access to the state radio system to carry on broadcasting which may well be why the IDF have targetted it.
Thanks Cerebros, that sounds plausible.