Image 01 Image 03

Gaza Tag

This week we have seen a rise in open anti-Semitism throughout the world as protests against Israel spread in reaction to the Gaza conflict. It is expected in places like Pakistan and some Arab countries, where hatred and demonization of Jews always is in the open. But what is remarkable is that it is in the open in Europe and to a lesser extent in the United States.  And the heart of the hate is a coalition of leftists and Islamists -- a coalition we have written about for years regarding places such as Malmö, Sweden, and British universities. Anti-Israeli protesters carrying Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) banners and messages attacked a Synagogue in Paris while it was packed with worshipppers. In Boston, an anti-Israel protester not only attacked a pro-Israel student, she shouted that there would be no place for Jews once Israel was defeated -- only for Christian and Muslims: "We'll claim back Jerusalem, Christians and Muslims." The protest was organized by leftist and anti-Israel "Jewish Voice for Peace" -- which is anything but. Throughout the U.S. comparisons of Israelis to Nazis were predominant at demonstrations, including anti-Semitic smears. In Frankfurt, Islamist and leftists were joined by neo-Nazis, as reported by The Jerusalem Post:
A demonstration in Frankfurt against Operation Protective Edge erupted into violence, with protesters tossing stones at the police. According to the Frankfurter Rundschau paper, about 2,500 protesters appeared in downtown Frankfurt, screaming “God is great,” and slogans such as “freedom for Palestine” and “children-murderer Israel.” Eight police officers were injured. One sign at the rally was titled, “You Jews are Beasts.” German media reported that after the protests, groups sought to locate Jewish institutions. The Frankfurt police said Jewish institutions would be protected. It is unclear if the goal was to attack said institutions
The JPost did not run the photo, but I believe this is the sign "The Jews are Beasts" to which they were referring (see Featured Image also):

Prof. Jacobson posted yesterday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepted an Egyptian ceasefire proposal. This morning Israel's security cabinet accepted the Egyptian proposal. The New York Times reports:
Israel has accepted Egypt’s proposal for a cessation of hostilities with Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip, the prime minister’s office announced at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, the appointed hour for the start of the cease-fire in the proposal made by Cairo on Monday night. “In accordance with the government directives, the I.D.F. now holds fire,” Lt. Col. Peter Lerner, a military spokesman, said in a statement nearly two hours later, using the abbreviation for the Israel Defense Forces. “We remain alert and preserve high preparedness levels, both defensive and offensive. If the Hamas terror organization will fire at Israel, we shall respond.”
Hamas, as The Washington Post reported, rejected the Egyptian proposal.
A senior Hamas official, Sami Abu Zuhri, called the proposal “unacceptable” and complained that Egyptians have not spoken with the Gaza leadership. The group’s armed wing, the Qassam Brigade, wrote on its Web site that the initiative was “not worth the ink it was written with” and “the resistance will continue until all the demands of our people are met.”
Arutz-7 reports that according to the IDF approximately 35 rockets have been fired into Israel since the ceasefire. One hit a house in Ashdod but there were no injuries:

Egypt has offered a cease fire proposal, as reported by Haaretz at its live blog (times are Israel time):
10:29 P.M. Sources in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry say Egypt has proposed a cease-fire outline to Israel and Gaza: The cease-fire will start at 9 A.M., meaning Israel will stop aerial, naval and ground operations against the Gaza Strip and promise not to engage in a ground offensive or harm civilians. At the same time, all the Palestinian factions will hold their fire. Crossings between Gaza and Israel will be reopened, and restrictions on the passage of commodities and people will be eased, in return for a halt to hostilities. Within 48 hours after the cease-fire, Israeli and Palestinian delegations will arrive in Cairo for continued indirect talks to discuss the details of the truce and its implementation. Egypt will receive guaranties from both sides, and promises to implement the outline. (Jack Khoury) 11:14 P.M. Israel's security cabinet will meet Tuesday morning to discuss the Egyptian cease-fire proposal. A senior minister in the cabinet said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accepts the Egyptian offer and will bring it to a vote in the meeting that will take place on Tuesday at 7 A.M. "This is a basic proposal that can be accepted as a starting point and after that further discussions on the specifics can be held," the minister said. (Barak Ravid)
This presents an obvious problem for Hamas.

The Times of Israel sums up the casualties so far.
As of Saturday afternoon, the death toll in Gaza from Israel’s Operation Protective Edge had climbed to 127 people, after Israeli forces struck 60 targets overnight Friday and into Saturday; Israel had no breakdown on the proportion of civilian and combatant casualties. Among the dead was a relative of former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, named as Nidal al-Malash, who the Israeli army said was in a terror cell that was hit as it prepared to fire rockets at Israel. No Israelis had been killed by rocket fire as of Saturday afternoon, though several were injured, including an Ashdod man badly hurt in a rocket strike at a gas station Friday. A Haifa woman suffered a fatal heart attack dashing for shelter on Friday.
The Times also notes that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "that all Gaza casualties were 'the responsibility of Hamas,' since the Strip’s Islamist rulers deliberately put Gazans in harm’s way by firing on Israel, hiding out, and storing weaponry among the civilian population." In an implicit admission of Netanyahu's charges, Hamas told Gaza residents not post photographs of rockets being fired from their neighborhoods to social media. Also as the IDF tweets: 2014-07-13_065803_IDF_Warning

In the propaganda war against Israel, fakery is key. Pallywood is the longest running series in the history of fiction. This video is from the November 2012 Gaza conflict: In the July 2014 Gaza conflict, even the BBC -- notoriously hostile to Israel -- has reported that many of the photos circulating in social media are fake, old, or based on conflicts elsewhere, or all of the above:

Rockets fired from Gaza were shot down today over several major Israeli cities, including Tel Aviv -- and landed in the Jerusalem vicinity. Hamas landed 5 "naval commandos" by sea. They were taken out by an IDF helicopter gunship. (added) Another video from the Israeli Navy of the same incident: Elsewhere, Palestinians at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem cheered the rockets landing in Israel (via Truth Revolt):

This video does not appear to be a Pallywood production. The Times of Israel reports, Gaza surveillance cameras pick up Israeli strike on terrorists:
Unverified footage posted to YouTube on Saturday appears to show the Israeli air strike carried out Friday afternoon on a car carrying two operatives belonging to the Popular Resistance Committees, a coalition of armed groups in Gaza. The footage shows a vehicle driving along a coastal road before being struck. Passersby remain seemingly unharmed. Israel confirmed carrying out the targeted killing of Osama Has​sumi, 29, and Mohammad Fatzih, 24, on Friday, charging that they were involved in a cell responsible for repeated rocket fire on Israel’s southern cities over the past several weeks and were planning terror attacks on Israeli civilians.
Interesting comment at YouTube:

The Leftist-Islamist anti-Israel coalition relentlessly complains about the Israeli military blockade of Gaza.  On a number of occasions they have put together flotillas of civilians to break the blockade. One of those flotillas, organized by Turkish Islamists and loaded with European leftists, led to the controntation in 2010 in which nine people were killed after Israeli troops boarding the ship were attacked and beaten: (Mavi Marmara Passengers Attacking IDF, May 31, 2010 -- additional footage here) That blockade is legal, as even a U.N. panel ruled (and U.N. panels almost never side with Israel). Israel today seized a ship loaded with long-range missiles destined for Gaza via Iran. Here are two videos:

When you read the first few news dispatches below from the past year and a half, keep this photo in mind. Aid Groups and U.N. Agencies Urge Israel to Lift Gaza Blockade - The Associated Press - June 14, 2012 Fifty international aid groups and United Nations agencies urged Israel...