A Migrant Thai Worker Killed by an Indiscriminately Fired Rocket from Gaza

"I condemn any kind of violence. We have got to find a peaceful solution to the issues and problems,"
Catherine Ashton during her visit to Gaza as the top diplomat from the EU. 


Thanks for being the voice of the EU Cathy. But we arent talking about "violence of any kind" today.

What a weak and insulting comment / condemnation from the EU's top diplomat in response to a blatant act of murderous terrorism targeting civilians... while she is actually present in the strip no less!

A proper response could have been: "If this is how you people are going to act then we are withdrawing all of our aid." But then maybe she is worried that the rockets might simply get pointed in Europe's direction instead. Then again, they are already pointed at Europe from one of Gaza's largest supporters today.... Iran.

The story in the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704207504575129213578261560.html?mod=WSJEUROPE_hps_SECONDTopStories#articleTabs%3Darticle

Ron Artest Looks For Some Defensive Help From Hebrew

I turned on the Lakers - Magic game the other night and could not believe my eyes... Ron Artest of the Los Angeles Lakers, decided it would bring him some extra defensive ability on the court if he had the word "defense" written on his head. He imprinted the word in three different languages: Hindi, Japanese, and Hebrew!

Jewish Jamaican History Now a Tourist Attraction

This is a great article from the Wall Street Journal about Jewish heritage in Jamaica and the new efforts being made by the Jamaican tourist industry to preserve it.
Lets Go!!

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703382904575059113221038280.html?mod=WSJ_World_MIDDLENews

The Dubai Police Mockery

For far too long we have been hearing about the "alleged" Israeli assassination of a top Hamas operative in Dubai. Why has the media carried on so long (over a month now) about the death of this Hamas operative? Why does the world seem to care so much?

The answer: because it "allegedly" involves Israel.

We have always seen this disproportionate amount of attention on Israel in the media but this time there is nothing even concrete to tie Israel to the story except that it involves an operative of Israel's vile enemy, Hamas. If the world media was so quick to point the finger at Israel for this murder without ANY evidence, then there must be a reason that Israel would want such an agent of Hamas dead. It turns out that this particular Hamas operative was the go-between of Hamas and Iran for smuggling weapons to the Gaza strip.

Now Dubai's response is to ban entry to ALL Israeli citizens (who before this were only allowed to enter using an alternate foreign passport, if they were dual citizens). To do this the police force in Dubai says that they will "seek to identify Israelis by physical features and the way they speak.'' said Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, chief of the Dubai Police Dept.

The Dubai police are making a mockery of themselves with this high profile response and should instead focus their efforts on the many high profile exiled terrorists (with similar resumes to the Hamas operative killed) residing peacefully in their emirate.

It is quite clear that it is not in the interests of the Dubai Police force to crack down on local Islamic militancy, but rather to point the finger ignorantly at Israel for all of Dubai's embarrassing woes.

This Wall Street Journal Article expands:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703429304575095124162751164.html?mod=WSJ_World_LEFTSecondNews#articleTabs%3Darticle

The Passing of a National Hero

This morning I learned of the passing of Zvi Shafir ז"ל, the grandfather of good friends of mine here in Israel. This man was a great representative of a fantastic generation here who pioneered the establishment of the modern Nation of Israel. He was one of the lucky Jewish refugees from a morally tattered Europe who made it to then Palestine and toiled to create this country for the generations to come. Zvi was part of a generation who will hold legendary status in the lengthy annals of Jewish history. It is of my opinion that proper tribute can hardly be paid to Zvi and the many others of his time who created a new future, pride, and a hope of surviving and prospering for the Jewish People. I feel lucky to have known him. His passing simply highlights how my young generation must truly cherish the opportunity to still sit and learn first-hand of the tribulations of those times over 60 years ago.

Please take some time to watch this incredible video interview produced just weeks before his death by his granddaughters:

Zvi's Memories from Gustavo Sales on Vimeo.

The Newest Method to Indiscriminately Attack Us

Hamas has resorted to new outrageous offensive maneuvers against us... indiscrimately floating explosive barrels towards our beaches. So far, thanks to our diligent naval and intelligence services, no real harm has been done.


Israel Searches for Explosive Barrels in Sea

By JOSHUA MITNICK

TEL AVIV—Israel closed a stretch of beaches north of the Gaza Strip after two explosive-laden barrels washed ashore and Palestinian militants promised more, in revenge for what some in Hamas said was Israeli's assassination of a top Hamas leader last month.

Reuters Mounted police officers patrol a beach in Ashkelon, Israel, on Tuesday.
.
Maritime authorities warned civilian vessels to be alert to possible dangers in the Mediterranean after the military linked the barrels to two explosions at sea Friday. At the same time, police deployed helicopters and mounted units to comb the length of Israel's coastline to the Lebanon border in search of additional explosive devices.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told a news conference that Israel would respond to the explosives found on the beaches, and Israel launched airstrikes in Gaza shortly after that, officials on both sides said, according to Reuters. No injuries were reported. An Israeli army spokesman said the strikes targeted two sites where tunnels were dug to help gunmen infiltrate from Hamas-ruled Gaza into Israel and to smuggle in weapons from Egypt.

continued...


http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052748703338504575041521232295824-lMyQjAxMTAwMDAwMzEwNDMyWj.html

Our Efforts in Haiti

Life amid death: Baby born in Israeli field hospital in Haiti

By Natasha Mozgovaya, Haaretz Correspondent, and News Agencies


Amid the tragedy and devastation encompassing the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince since Tuesday's 7.0-magnitude earthquake, a happy event took place Sunday inside the field hospital erected by the Israeli relief delegation in the city. Doctor Shir, who works at Hadassah, delivered the first healthy baby in the Israeli hospital.

The mother told Dr. Shir that she would name her son Israel. "Amid all the death around us," the doctor said, "it is very symbolic." He said that childbirth in impoverished Haiti doesn't normally take place in hospitals, and that this particular woman received the best care from the best doctors.

"She was very quiet," he said. "It wasn't even clear initially that she was in labor."

"It is very exciting," Shir continued. "It offers some small balance to the things that are happening. Life is stronger, after all, and a woman will give birth even if the ground is shaking. This is what maintains the human race. This country has a very high infant mortality rate, and we delivered this healthy baby." ...

For the rest of the article:

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1143165.html