GAZA

[Sir-Qalbi-Adeyg]

Originally posted by *Ibtisam*:

Layzie G I don't know how American idol works, nor do I know where you live, so I thought you was serious. :confused:

 

As for IDF being charged with war crimes, well it is nothing new, in the last six Arab wars they have been guilty of war crimes, so I am not surprised at all. Same old abuse and story.

 

As for what is driving me, injustice and human suffering, even if they were not Muslim, the human abuse and lack of respect for civilian population is mind blowing and everyone should be pained by it, over 879 death toll and 4,000 people injured, more than

50% women and children. Who is the terrorist with this in mind?? The fact that they are Muslims give us an extra responsibilities and Allah will ask us about our silence in the face of such crimes. I think the Gaza situation and the human cost has been a massive and horrible massacre which is being ignored. As Muslims we should be at the forefront of speaking out against atrocities, wherever they maybe. When the Somali invasion happened, that was my priority, when 5 months ago there draughts in Somalia, that was my priority. Right now, the biggest and most painful attack on Muslims is Gaza, so I am prioritising raising the awareness about this.

 

Palestine is the longest running injustice and abuse, the single biggest issue which has remained unresolved for 50years, a battle ground for so long. The repression of the Palestinian population has been in so many ways, controlling every aspect of Palestinian life, from education, food, medication and travel.

 

I've worked and campaigned for the Palestine cause since I was 17, when Israel is doing their sneak attacks, it is hard to prove to people the scale of abuse that the Palestinians suffer, but in times like this it is obvious for all to see and times are desperate for people in Gaza. This is the time where people can educate themselves and do their own research on this issue and make a stand as a human beings.

 

Sorry it is a bit long, I did try to keep it short.

good work ibtisam, seriously keep it up.

[Ibtisam]

NOT in OUR NAME:

 

In the midst of the carnage in Gaza, it defies belief that my synagogue has asked me to march in solid support of Israel.

 

In any conflict between peoples, there is a time for balancing the books, for placing facts neatly in the debit and credit columns, for issuing measured statements about the rights and wrongs on both sides. But not in the midst of one-sided carnage. The only decent thing to feel at the present time is outrage. The only thing for decent people to do right now is to condemn, without reserve or qualification, the brutal campaign that the Israeli military is waging against the population of Gaza. Every if and but derogates from decency.

 

Earlier this week, my synagogue sent its members an email containing details of two rallies in support of Israel "which we would urge you to support". No ifs and buts here, just solid support for the perpetrator in the midst of the horror it is perpetrating. Is it possible to go further in the opposite direction to decency?

 

Attached was a flyer for a "Mass Rally in Support of Israel" organised by the Board of Deputies of British Jews and the Jewish Leadership Council, with "the support of the major organisations of UK Jewry", to be held in London this weekend. The flyer proclaims: "End Hamas terror!" No ifs and buts here either. No hint at the unspeakable state terror being unleashed, day after day, by the Israeli military. It defies belief.

 

So, let me place on record the following fact: the board does not speak for all British Jews and certainly not for this one. Nor does the so-called Leadership Council, nor any of the organisations associated with this misbegotten event. None of them represents me or the Judaism that I cherish and which leads me to say as follows: I condemn utterly the military offensive by the government of Israel against the people of Gaza. The loss of any human life, on whatever side of this conflict, is a terrible thing. At this juncture, though, my heart is with the Palestinians on the ground in the midst of their misery. And I extend my hand to those Israelis who are speaking out against their own government.

 

For alternative views among Britain's Jews, see the website of Independent Jewish Voices

 

Source: Comment Is Free

[LayZie G.]

As Muslims we should be at the forefront of speaking out against atrocities, wherever they maybe. When the Somali invasion happened, that was my priority, when 5 months ago there draughts in Somalia, that was my priority.

Enough respect Ibti, this is exactly what I was hoping you would say.(just wasnt sure where your drive came from or who its target was but the fact that you are balanced tells me that you are not just advocating for today's crisis but all crisis**with laura bush accent "karasis"**)

[Ibtisam]

^^^Okay, Inshallah Khyire for everyone.

 

I dedicated this thread to you earlier today. http://www.somaliaonline.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?/t opic/6/11545

 

It is a different perspective on today’s "karasis".

[LayZie G.]

^let me go read it.

[cynical lady]

'Solidarity during war is Israel's finest hour'

By GREER FAY CASHMAN

 

Although Israeli human rights organizations, along with other local groups and individuals, have called for Operation Cast Lead to be halted, President Shimon Peres on Wednesday declared national solidarity behind the military operation to be Israel's finest hour.

 

Speaking to an American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) mission at Beit Hanassi in Jerusalem, Peres insisted that the people had never been so united, and that there had never been such a mood of sacrifice and solidarity between the country's religious and secular elements as there is today.

 

"For me, this is very moving," he said. "This is the best generation that Israel has ever had."

 

Peres, who has been paying condolence calls to the families of fallen soldiers and visiting the wounded in hospitals, said that he had heard no complaints, even from the families whose loved ones had been killed by friendly fire.

 

Referring to the way Operation Cast Lead has been conducted, Peres said: "The army has never been as well trained or as well prepared as this time," making a tacit contrast to ill-preparedness of the forces that fought in the Second Lebanon War.

 

Implementation of the current operation had gone 90 percent according to plan, he said, including the planning and training of ground forces.

 

As he has in nearly all his meetings with foreign visitors, Peres blamed Hamas for the deaths of more than 900 Palestinians in Gaza. If Hamas had not been firing rockets at populated Israeli areas, Israel would not have caused a single one of the casualties, Peres said, adding that Israel did not have a choice.

 

After professing an inability to understand why Hamas chose to consistently fire at Israel after Israel had forced its settlers to leave Gaza and allowed the passages to remain open, Peres cited evidence that would suggest that Hamas has no real interest in the welfare of the Palestinian people.

 

A lot of money had been spent on building hothouses and greenhouses in the settlements, he noted. When people were evacuated from these settlements the hothouses and greenhouses were left intact, but Hamas destroyed them.

 

Conscious that the IDF has been roundly criticized abroad for firing on a school, Peres observed that it was against international law to use an educational facility as a launching pad for rockets.

 

Hamas had violated both the Oslo Accords and conditions laid down in the Road Map said Peres. The "State of Palestine," he said, was supposed to be demilitarized.

 

While many note that Hamas was democratically elected, Peres contended that "democracy is not just the outcome of elections. Democracy is a system that respects laws."

 

Mahmoud Abbas, he reminded his audience, had received 62% of the vote, which made him the legitimate leader of all the Palestinian people. But Hamas revolted against him and killed many members of Fatah, brutally dropping them from the tops of buildings.

 

"I don't think they respect anything," said Peres.

 

Gratified by Egypt's attitude to Hamas, Peres underscored that "this is the first time that an Arab country stands clearly and loudly against them."

 

Peres had no quarrel with those television networks broadcasting difficult images from Gaza.

 

"I don't blame the TV," he said, noting that it was natural for television camera crews to focus on such scenes.

 

He even understood that coverage could not be balanced, "because TV cannot show what it means for one million Israelis to be constantly nervous. We cannot show the daily tensions on TV."

 

Israel's aim, he said, was to provide a strong blow to the people of Gaza so that they would lose their appetite for shooting at Israel.

 

The other aim was to prevent an Iranian takeover of Gaza and Iranian weapons from entering Gaza. He supported the idea of food being sent from Iran to Gaza, but not rockets or explosives.

 

"We have to stop the smuggling of arms, but someone else has to stop the provision of arms," he said.

 

Most Arab states are even more worried than Israel about Iran, Peres asserted, because they don't want to be governed by Iran.

 

Getting back to civilian suffering in Gaza, Peres said, "it gives us no pleasure to see people suffering."

 

Countering charges that Israel has denied civilians in Gaza medical treatment and humanitarian aid, Peres said that the Peres Peace Center, before and during the current crisis, has facilitated the admission of 5,000 Palestinian children to Israeli hospitals

[cynical lady]

Only you can defend Israel on the Internet

By ALEX MARGOLIN

 

Israel's much-maligned public relations effort got a big boost from the media in recent weeks. Major news outlets, including the Associated Press, CNN and The Jerusalem Post took notice of its forays into the "new media," including the IDF's YouTube videos of air strikes and humanitarian aid deliveries, and the New York Consulate's innovative "press conference" held entirely on the micro-blogging site, Twitter, where all questions and answers were limited to 140 characters.

 

 

In parallel, on-line activists launched private efforts. A group called Help Us Win created a site meant to serve as a hub for on-line activity. Facebook groups with names such as "I Support the Israel Defense Forces In Preventing Terror Attacks From Gaza," and "IDF Internet Soldiers" have attracted thousands of members. Some 10,000 Facebook users "contributed" their status alerts to QassamCount, posting daily updates on the number of rockets hitting the country. HonestReporting led an on-line drive for fair media coverage that drew more than 36,000 supporters and published a guide for on-line activism.

 

With all this activity, it's tempting to believe that government officials and organized activists have the situation covered. In reality, however, these efforts only address half the equation. The second half belongs to the public. Because of the "social" nature of today's Internet - where content is increasingly generated by users, not the sites themselves - quality content is not enough. It is also vital to maximize the quantity of people spreading Israel's message.

 

In other words, state agencies can do great work providing videos, images and information and activists can organize the material and create channels for public participation, but success in the media war will largely be determined by what the masses of supporters do with the information.

 

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THE NEW media, often referred to as "social media" because they allow people post their own content, make on-line "friends" and form communities around common interests, have actually been around for years. Even Time magazine, not known for early detection of on-line trends, picked "You" - the Internet content provider - as its Person of the Year for 2006. Since then, social media have only grown, with sites such as Facebook and YouTube joining the media establishment and upstarts such as Twitter attracting widespread attention.

 

While the first wave of Web sites on the Internet featured one way communication - site owners would post their content and users would read it - social media sites provide platforms for conversation and interaction. Today, "news aggregators" such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit, and many others, allow users to post their favorite articles and the community votes for the ones it likes best. These sites have proven popular, particularly with the generation that grew up communicating with each other through their computers, because they place the power in the hands of the users.

 

The open nature of social media, however, means anyone can post material and have a chance to influence millions of people. That holds true for Israel's opponents as well as its supporters. Many biased, misleading or even false stories about Israel appear on sites alongside articles defending its right to protect its citizens. But a single pro-Israel article on any platform, no matter how well argued, is unlikely to win the day when faced with dozens of rebuttals. Even high-quality content is often no match for a wave of vitriol.

 

BUT IF the masses made their voices heard across the Internet, the equation would quickly change. For example, on Yahoo Answers - a site that consists entirely of user-generated questions and answers - a pro-Palestinian activist posted a question asking if Israel should be convicted for war crimes. Seven answers followed, five supporting Israel, several of them pointing out its rights under international law and Hamas's war crimes. An objective reader would likely come away with a favorable impression.

 

Of course, there are many other questions on Yahoo Answers and many other platforms. On Digg, the largest of the news aggregator sites according to the number of users, pro-Palestinian activists appear to have the upper hand. While some pro-Israel stories receive a relatively high number of votes, most languish with no more than a few dozen, while a post accusing the IDF of deliberately targeting Palestinian journalists received 657, enough to be designated "popular" and win a place on the coveted front page of the site, where public exposure is maximized.

 

For Israel to succeed on a site like Digg, people must be able to find appropriate content and the community must show support by voting for it to make it popular. The government has dramatically improved its distribution of quality material. Organized groups such as HonestReporting have created platforms to spread the content. But the rest is up to the general public. If the past is any indication, supporters are sure to rise to the challenge.

 

*the comments are as follows;

 

13. More "ammo" for the online "war"

Alan Abbey - Israel (01/15/2009 13:19)

12. Re #6 Wikipedia

Erik - Sweden (01/15/2009 13:11)

11. Read arabs sites !!!!

Alfred - Argentina (01/15/2009 13:04)

10. Document everything that happens and use the internet

Chemda - Norway (01/15/2009 12:48)

9. Excellent article! Post pro-Israel blogs and sites!

Pro-Israel Gentile! - USA (01/15/2009 12:37)

8. War!s greatest casualty..the TRUTH

georgepeter HERMAN - Canada (01/15/2009 12:05)

7. Good article

Shalom - (01/15/2009 09:26)

6. Help needed in the WIKIPEDIA

yariv - USA (01/15/2009 11:11)

5. Join the fight - start a blog http://anothermudpit.blogspot.com/

Richard - (01/15/2009 11:04)

4. Israel's public relations has done a terrible job based on such anti-Israel propaganda

humbly - (01/15/2009 11:00)

3. 15 second film

janet - israel (01/15/2009 10:41)

2. New Statesman special Gaza issue

Sherlock Holmes - England (01/15/2009 10:11)

1. Pro- Israel people need a guide to most important sites to post on on the Internet

Shalom Freedman - Israel (01/15/2009 11:24)