Israellycool

I had never heard of Erykah Badu before this next story, and I hopefully won’t hear about her again.

Not unless the words “apologizes for being a huge jerk” appear next to her name.

You see, she seems to think that she is doing Israel a huge favor by gracing us with her presence.

Sporting a huge, billowing afro and a T-shirt with an anti-Iraq war slogan, Erykah Badu expressed her support of black leader Louis Farrakhan and the Palestinian cause Thursday before a crowd of Israeli fans and journalists in Tel Aviv.

The Grammy-award winning neo-soul vocalist, 36, is in Tel Aviv to perform on Saturday night. She has also won acclaim for her acting roles in Cider House Rules and House of D.

“I come from across the water bringing light and hope,” said Badu in her deep, languid voice. She commissioned a poster design especially for her visit to Israel, featuring a large hamsa, a traditional Middle Eastern good luck charm, that appears to be growing out of her hair. At the bottom, the words for peace in Hebrew and Arabic appear side by side.

However, Badu could not name any Israeli hip hop artists. She explained that she identified best with the Palestinians and their hip hop scene, saying that they are a part of her tribe of hip hop.

“They use (hip hop) as a form of liberation, as a form of pre-resistance, as a form of therapy,” Badu said.

Badu defended Louis Farrakhan, the leader of the Nation of Islam, who has drawn fire over the years with pronouncements including praise for Hitler in a 1984 speech, for which he was censured by the U.S. Senate, repeatedly denouncing Israel and the Jewish people and calling the pretense for the war in Iraq a Zionist conspiracy.

The Anti-Defamation League, a leading Jewish group, has labeled Farrakhan’s statements bigoted and anti-Semitic. On its Web site, the ADL lists dozens of Farrakhan statements it considers anti-Semitic.

“(Farrakhan is) not an anti-Semite. He loves all people,” insisted Badu. Her next album, Nu AmErykah will be released February 26, the date of Savior’s Day, a main Nation of Islam holiday.

Niiiiice. Insult the hosts, and support people who murder them and hate them.

Bring back the Black Eyed Peas, I say.

Question: What do Tom Cruise and Bart Simpson have in common?

Besides being the same height.

Answer below.

I’m a little late posting the plug for the latest Shire Network News. It was a long show but might provide a little humorous diversion from the nonsense that is the Winograd Report. And how on earth did they manage to release it on a day of snow in Jerusalem?

Podcasts asks if Liberals are Fascist?

Jonah Goldberg is the guest on Shire Network News this week. His new book, Liberal Fascism, is causing a bit of a stir among liberals who don’t understand. Just don’t understand is how that sentence was meant to end. There is a whole blog about the books reception set up at the National Review.

You can buy his book from Amazon.com via the following link: Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning.

This week’s guest writer on Blog News is Right Wing Duck. You can sometimes find him on IMAO. Let us know what you think.

Also this week we once again hear from Evan Sayet who’s got Bill and Hilary in his sights again.

Meryl Yourish is giving her liberal perspective on Fascism.

Doug Payton is considering what sort of culture bans ever reference to pigs. And Cowboy builders. You can find background here.

This week’s Winston Churchill quote is from The Gathering Storm:

Fascism was the shadow or ugly child of Communism… As Fascism sprang from Communism, so Nazism developed from Fascism. Thus were set on foot those kindred movements which were destined soon to plunge the world into even more hideous strife, which none can say has ended with their destruction.

Get some discussion going in the comments while I take some deep breaths.

Updated throughout the day. Scroll down for updates and new posts.

It’s been raining down here in Israel, and, unlike recent weeks, I am not talking about Qassams. Rather, there has been heavy rainfall and, in some places such as Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, snow. And perhaps it is at least partially due to the weather that I have little to report in terms of terror attacks or IDF operations, except that the IDF arrested a wanted terrorist near the village of Burkin, west of Jenin.

The much anticipated event of today is the release of the Winograd report, a 500-page document reviewing the conduct of the IDF and Israeli government in the years leading up to the Second Lebanon War, as well as their performance during the war. Initial leaks indicate that Prime Minister Olmert may get off lightly, but not so the IDF.

In other news, Egypt has reportedly issued an ultimatum to Hamas to pull back from Egypt dozens of their gunmen (I guess their gifts didn’t help), and palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a Hamas-delegation led by Khalid Mash’al, are heading to Cairo to hold talks with the Egyptian government about the possibility of reopening the Gaza-Egypt border crossings.

Updates (Israel time)

10:12AM: The Egyptian daily al-Ahram has reported that 5 palestinian terrorists carrying explosives belts and planning a suicide bombing against Israel were recently apprehended by the Egyptian authorities. The newspaper also reported that several other palestinians had tried to bribe Egyptian guards to allow them to cross with explosives without being searched.

In other words, the inevitable is occurring. Bear in mind, that it was Hamas who orchestrated this whole thing, so it stands to reason that terrorists will exploit the situation - the situation was brought about by terrorists.

So there you have it - the palestinians are not merely coming back into Gaza with motorbikes, televisions, and cigarettes.

2:48PM: PA President Mahmoud Abbas to Hamas: We won’t talk to you unless you meet certain conditions, including relinquishing control of Gaza and accepting new early elections.

Hamas to PA President Mahmoud Abbas: Talk to the hand.

2:53PM: Senior Israeli Defense officials have stated that Israel and Egypt have made “dramatic progress in terms of closing the breached border at the Rafah crossing.”

3:55PM: The Israeli Supreme Court has upheld the government’s move to cut fuel and electricity supplies to the Gaza Strip, saying:

“We emphasize that the Gaza Strip is controlled by a murderous terror group that operates incessantly to strike the state of Israel and its citizens, and violates every precept of international law with its violent actions.”

Israel will continue to supply enough fuel and electricity to “fulfill the vital humanitarian needs of the Gaza Strip at this time.”

4:25PM: The Jerusalem Post reports:

President Shimon Peres on Wednesday revealed that already in 1974 he had asked the US to purchase a space shuttle, Army Radio reported.

According to Peres, when he submitted the request he was subjected to ridicule. However, today, he said, everyone understands the importance of “conquering space.”

Spoken like a true space cadet.

4:35PM: Gorilla boy is frothing at the mouth again:

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on the West Wednesday to acknowledge Israel’s “imminent collapse.”

Speaking to a crowd on a visit to the southern port of Bushehr, where Iran’s first light-water nuclear power plant is being built by Russia, Ahmadinejad further incited his listeners to “stop supporting the Zionists, as [their] regime reached its final stage.”

“Accept that the life of Zionists will sooner or later come to an end,” the Iranian president said in a televised speech.

He added, “What we have right now is the last chapter [of Israeli atrocities] which the Palestinians and regional nations will confront and eventually turn in Palestine’s favor.”

That’s some olive branch, huh?

5:20PM: At 5:00PM (Israel time), Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak received the final Winograd report. They are to begin reading the report(if they haven’t started already) and at 6:00PM panel chairman Eliahu Winograd will meet with journalists, give a statement (including the main points of the report and general comments on the work of the committee), and will then hand over to committee member Ruth Gavison for a summary of Winograd’s address in English.

5:24PM: The Jerusalem Post’s Gil Hoffman talks about the report here.

5:30PM: Military sources reportedly don’t expect any further personnel changes following publication of the report because “the chief of staff and all the generals in top positions during the war have resigned.”

5:33PM: Channel 10 has reported that Olmert is consulting with his lawyers now, and the top brass of the IDF have also received the report.

5:42PM: In what might just be the worst timing in live-blogging history, I need to drive home now due to the risk of snow in my city tonight.

After I get home, I’ll bring you up to speed.

7:43PM: Winograd for dummies:

• The Second Lebanon War last summer was a missed opportunity for Israel, since “a quasi-military organization withstood the strongest army in the Middle East for weeks.”
• The final, large-scale ground operation launched in the final 60 hours of the war “did not achieve any military objectives nor did it fulfill its potential,” but the decisions behind it were acceptable.
• There were severe failures and faults in the decision making process (”in the political and the military echelons and their interface”), failures that “began long before the Second Lebanon War”

You can read more here in the official statement detailing the Winograd Committee’s announcement on their Final Report.

Other links:

Ha’aretz

Ynetnews

Jerusalem Post

8:05PM: Here’s a copy of the report for the Hebrew speakers amongst you (second link).

Note that it doesn’t include “the many facts that cannot be revealed for reasons of protecting the state’s security and foreign affairs.”

8:25PM: Reactions to the report:

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert:

I have “complete faith in the IDF, in its commander, in its soldiers and in its abilities.”

Kadima Minister Ruhama Avraham-Balila:

“The opposition’s attempt to find flaws in the decision making process has received a crushing response in Winograd’s remarks. The opposition must apologize to the public, the prime minister and the bereaved families.”

Likud (Right):

“Olmert must accept personal responsibility and resign. (Defense Minister Ehud) Barak, who promised to leave the government upon the publication of the final report, should keep his promise. If the defense minister searched for an excuse in the report not to resign, he did not find one.”

Meretz (Left) chairman Yossi Beilin:

“The Winograd Commission’s final report reinforces the impression that critical decisions for the future of Israel were made without using judgment and without understanding their potential outcomes. If the prime minister understands that he bears personal responsibility, the only conclusion is not that he is the only one who can amend his mistakes, but that he must resign.”

National Religious Party chairman, Zevulun Orlev:

“The ruling regarding major failures by both the government and the IDF in running the war, demand that Olmert follow in (former Defense Minister Amir) Peretz and (former IDF Chief of Staff Dan) Halutz’s footsteps. If Olmert evades personal responsibility, then the defense minister must honor his promise and dissolve the government.”

Hizbullah:

“The report confirms what was known by Hizbullah for a long time: Israel completely failed in achieving its goals and the Israeli military suffered a defeat.”

8:35PM: More reactions:

Aides to former Defense Minister Amir Peretz:

“Everyone knows now that he was acting responsibly and consistently and many people owe him an apology.”

MK Chaim Oron (Meretz-Yahad):

“The sigh of relief coming from Olmert’s office is uncalled for… he has nothing to celebrate, since he was largely a part of these failures.”

Likud MK Silvan Shalom:

“This is a serious indictment that constitutes an earthquake in the political echelon. The report found grave failures and faults, that alternatives were not examined, nor was the readiness of the army or home front.”

Likud MK Yuval Steinitz:

“This is the most severe report in the state’s [history]. It says the prime minister conducted a war in a failed, negligent, and amateur manner like never before.”

Alfred E. Neuman:

“Wot, me worry?”

8:52PM: Tomorrow will be “snow day” in Jerusalem.

8:55PM: Egyptian police shot dead two migrants from the Ivory Coast as they tried to enter Israel illegally overnight. But had they been terrorists carrying explosives belts and planning a suicide bombing in Israel, they would have merely been apprehended (per the 10:12AM update).

9:10PM: Via an LGF reader, an important piece from Daniel Pipes: Give Gaza to Egypt

Excerpt:

Washington and other capitals should declare the experiment in Gazan self-rule a failure and press President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt to help, perhaps providing Gaza with additional land or even annexing it as a province. This would revert to the situation of 1948-67, except this time Cairo would not keep Gaza at arm’s length but take responsibility for it.

Culturally, this connection is a natural: Gazans speak a colloquial Arabic identical to the Egyptians of Sinai, have more family ties to Egypt than to the West Bank, and are economically more tied to Egypt (recall the many smugglers’ tunnels). Further, Hamas derives from an Egyptian organization, the Muslim Brethren. As David Warren of the Ottawa Citizen notes, calling Gazans “Palestinians” is less accurate than politically correct.

Why not formalize the Egyptian connection? Among other benefits, this would (1) end the rocket fire against Israel, (2) expose the superficiality of Palestinian nationalism, an ideology under a century old, and perhaps (3) break the Arab-Israeli logjam.

9:13PM: An M-16 rifle has been stolen from a soldier in Tel Aviv.

10:06PM:  According to a Channel Two poll:

• 56% of Israelis think PM Olmert should quit
• 27% said he should stay in office
• 45% believe Defense Minister Ehud Barak should resign
• 41% think he should remain in his role

Last night, the IDF captured the Islamic Jihad chief in Bethlehem, after encountering resistance from palestinians throwing molotov cocktails, blocks, and rocks, in yet another sign that many of the “average palestinians on the street” support terrorism. This particular scumbag commanded numerous Islamic Jihad cells, and had been involved in the planning and financing of numerous terror attacks. Elsewhere, the IDF arrested another 17 wanted terror suspects.

Meanwhile, as the terrorists of the PA/Fatah and Hamas fought for control of the Gaza-Egypt border, palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had already won European, American and Arab backing for PA control.

In other news, a study has shown that the Israeli public has lost a considerable amount of the confidence it used to have in its leadership, this leadership has rejected Labor talk of early elections, US President George W. Bush renewed his call for Iran to stop enriching uranium, while Iran once again stepped up the rhetoric against Israel.

Updates (Israel time)

9:25AM: US President George Bush, in his State of the Union address:

“We are also standing against the forces of extremism in the Holy Land, where we have new cause for hope. Palestinians have elected a president (Mahmoud Abbas) who recognizes that confronting terror is essential to achieving a state where his people can live in dignity and at peace with Israel. Israelis have leaders who recognize that a peaceful, democratic Palestinian state will be a source of lasting security…This month in Ramallah and Jerusalem, I assured leaders from both sides that America will do, and I will do, everything we can to help them achieve a peace agreement that defines a Palestinian state by the end of this year. The time has come for a Holy Land where a democratic Israel and a democratic Palestine live side-by-side in peace.”

I couldn’t disagree more. Leaving aside the validity of the palestinian “right” to a state in the land of Israel, Mahmoud Abbas is not confronting terrorism, and the palestinians are nowhere near ready for democracy.

11:45AM: As I surmised a few days ago, Israel is going to allow the PA to control the Gaza-Egypt crossing. G-d help us.

1:15PM: Israellycool reader abunafha recently commented here about Saudis teaching the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in their schools. He now found this a few minutes ago on the Israeli Ynetnews site:

2:12PM: UN Watch has asked UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour to clarify a recent endorsement of the Arab Charter of Human Rights, given that it “contains several provisions that promote classically anti-Semitic themes,” such as the following sentences:

• “rejecting all forms of racism and Zionism, which constitute a violation of human rights and a threat to international peace and security”
• “all forms of racism, Zionism and foreign occupation and domination constitute an impediment to human dignity…all such practices must be condemned and efforts must be deployed for their elimination.”

2:40PM: Following from the previous update, you might recall this from right after last summer’s Second Lebanon War:

Israel could be considered deserving of more blame for its actions in the Lebanon war than Hizbullah, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post Thursday.

Asked by the Post if there was a distinction under human rights law between missile attacks aimed at killing civilians and military strikes in which civilians are unintentionally killed, Arbour said the two could not be equated.

“In one case you could have, for instance, a very objectionable intent - the intent to harm civilians, which is very bad - but effectively not a lot of harm is actually achieved,” she said. “But how can you compare that with a case where you may not have an intent but you have recklessness [in which] civilian casualties are foreseeable? The culpability or the intent may not sound as severe, but the actual harm is catastrophic.”

So in other words, it is very likely that Arbour’s recent endorsement of the Arab Charter of Human Rights was made with full knowledge of the vehemently anti-Israel /anti-Semitic provisions.

3:08PM: National Religious Party chairman Zevulun Orlev has made calls to put on trial the Arab Knesset members who attended the funeral of PLFP founder George Habash.

He’s right.

3:35PM: In yet another worrying example of Arab-israeli disloyalty, Ra’ad Salah, the constipated head of the Islamic Movement in Israel’s Northern Branch, has been charged with incitement to violence and racism, over a fiery speech he gave a year ago in which he invoked the blood libel:

“We have never allowed ourselves to knead [the dough for] the bread that breaks the fast in the holy month of Ramadan with children’s blood,” he said. “Whoever wants a more thorough explanation, let him ask what used to happen to some children in Europe, whose blood was mixed in with the dough of the [Jewish] holy bread…Great God, is this a religion? Is this what God would want? God will deal with you yet for what you are doing.”

4:20PM: A Flying Pig moment on the CNN website today, with this appearing on the front page:

In other words, specific mention of the fact that the teenager killed by the IDF was a terrorist.

However, when clicking on the story, the headline was truer to form:

4:50PM: Yet more molotov cocktail lovin’ expressed by the palestinians.

6:15PM: Israeli President Shimon Peres Peres has urged world youth to fight anti-Semitism using Facebook. Because we all know, turning anti-Semites into Zombies, or poking them, is much more effective than, say, blogging.

7:57PM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert seems to think many people are oblivious to the truth.

“In the south of this country a war is taking place and people in the center do not always feel this or understand it.”

Meanwhile, this was Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, yesterday:

“We [Kadima] still have many more years in power.”

The king of oblivious.

9:45PM: A victory of sorts at the UN, with Libya withdrawing its proposal to condemn Israel, thanks to Israel’s refusal to compromise on the wording.

Now if only Israel had this same attitude to negotiating with terrorists.

9:48PM: Olmert the lonely?

9:58PM: Hizbullah deputy chief Naim Kassem (no relation to Casey) has threatened to kidnap more IDF soldiers.

10:06PM: Great moments in palestinian protest: Gazan fuel companies are rejecting fuel from Israel to protest the fact that Israel are not providing them with enough fuel. And palestinians stranded in Egypt who say they are lacking basic necessities plan to protest their predicament by going on hunger strike.

From, of all places, The Electronic Intifada:

I have succeeded in making peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians. In an interview preceding the Annapolis Conference, Palestinian Authority (PA) negotiator Saeb Erakat claimed that peace could be delivered in half an hour. The basis, everyone already knows, is the Clinton draft: two states with border adjustments and division of Jerusalem. In my case, peace took two hours — or, well, two years. I delivered it in 2009. I watched the express train glide through the Safe Passage from Gaza to the West Bank. I brought together Israeli, Palestinian and Jordanian farmers; we are planning a tri-state organic cooperative. Jerusalem is the capital for all. Euphoria!

How did I pull this off? As a subscriber to the Israeli daily Haaretz, I received, in advance of Annapolis, a computer game from the workshop of the Peres Peace Center. It begins with a survey of the conflict from 1922 until the end of 2007. I was offered the choice of being either the Israeli or the Palestinian leader. I chose the former. The game set me the goal of lowering the level of violence, providing Israelis with a feeling of security, and improving the economy. In addition, I was supposed to make life easier in the occupied territories and advance toward a peace agreement. I was provided with a range of tools, including the “stick” of selective assassinations, air strikes, curfews, etc. and the “carrot” of opening roadblocks, granting permits to work in Israel, and economic cooperation (as a reward to the PA for combating terrorism). I could also expand or dismantle the settlements and initiate projects to improve the Israeli economy, such as tax breaks or aid to the elderly.

On the international scene, I worked with the US (which always cooperated), the UN (most of whose members were skeptical about my intentions) and the European Union (which was not especially helpful).

The game is complex. If your disapproval rating climbs beyond 70 percent, it’s all over and you go home to feather your nest. It was no coincidence that peacemaking took me two years. It was very hard to supply security to the Israelis and prosperity to the Palestinians while sticking to the rules and conditions, which reflected actual events.

Every time I rewarded the Palestinians, my disapproval rating in Israel soared, but do you think the Palestinians were satisfied? Not at all. They just wanted more. Because of them I almost lost my coalition.

Right at the start, on the day I took office, there was a major suicide bombing: 18 dead and 40 wounded. I turned to the PA president and demanded he take action against the militants (my disapproval rating in Israel jumped to 20 percent). He said I had a lot of nerve to demand such a thing after destroying his security apparatus. I offered to help and build it anew — but got clobbered by him and my own right wing. My Israeli disapproval rating climbed to 30 percent. I added roadblocks and performed a few selective assassinations. Israeli disapproval dropped accordingly to 10 percent, but Palestinian disapproval now rose to 20 percent. In order to stabilize the situation, I gave a speech for peace in English (the pundits were underwhelmed). I turned to the US president for help in restarting negotiations, and I let in 5,000 Palestinian workers. The settlers raised a ruckus, but I managed to calm them. I initiated a tax cut to spur the economy. My approval rating rose by five percentage points on both sides, Israeli and Palestinian.

Then I spent half a year learning how to make a stable government. Conclusion: fight terrorism as if there are no peace negotiations, and negotiate peace as if there is no terrorism!

For two years I went back and forth between selective assassinations and dismantling illegal settler outposts, between getting American aid and stabilizing the PA president by restoring his economy. I handed out a lot of work permits.

By the 18-month mark I was getting approval from more than 50 percent of Israelis and Palestinians. I could afford to absorb a suicide attack here and there, because the economy was stable on both sides of the Green Line and the Palestinians had something to lose. The PA president grew stronger and began to suppress the militants. When at last we ran the train between Gaza and the West Bank, Hamas caved in. I understood that we had passed the point of no return. I then started dismantling settlements. The settlers again raised a ruckus, but I clobbered them. A few cabinet ministers jumped ship, but the Zionist Left gave me backing to continue. I added joint patrols in order to raise the feeling of security, and I reached the 80 percent approval mark. I got word that in Nablus people had started to smile. I was euphoric. I agreed to allow 100,000 Palestinian refugees into Israel, and I released prisoners with blood on their hands. To my great surprise, this didn’t seem to bother the Israeli public. I came to the end of the game. I didn’t have to trouble myself about dividing Jerusalem. I received an announcement on the screen that it was already divided, accompanied by a notice thanking me for bringing peace. Now the game suggested that I play the part of the Palestinian leader.

This is amazing - a blueprint of roughly what Kadima is very possibly planning to do in the guise of a computer game, together with absurdly optimistic results from these “wise” decisions (not to mention the wishful thinking of an 80% approval mark.) Starry-eyed dreams abounds even as it pretends to tackle reality. It even includes Olmert’s decision to push off talking about Jerusalem until he can pretend that it is going to solve itself.

One of the commenters on my cross-posted version of this article adds:

I played the “game” too. Whenever the Palestinians made a terror attack, I clobbered them. In a few short moves, another “intifada” started, I was declared the loser & the game was over.

The so-called game is bogus piece of propaganda.

Israellycool reader and friend Dr Sam finally received a reply from ABC Australia regarding the David Hardaker drug libel against Israel (after almost 3 months without a response, Dr Sam finally received a reply within a few days of letting the ABC know that their libel had drawn “international attention,”with a link to this LGF entry).

From: ABC Corporate_Affairs8 [mailto:Corporate_Affairs8.ABC@abc.net.au]
Sent: Friday, 25 January 2008 4:54 PM
To: drsam@xxxxxxxxx.com.au
Subject: Re: David Hardaker report

Dear Dr Sam

I refer to your emails of 17, 21 and 23 January, and your telephone
conversation with Kirstin McLiesh of 24 January.

As previously advised, the ABC is investigating your concerns in keeping with section 13 of our Editorial Policies. Consistent with our policies, the ABC does not provide details to a complainant of an investigation while it is in process; nor do we withdraw the report which is the subject of the complaint. However, in response to your query of 17 January, I can assure you that Mr Hardakerwas asked to provide feedback on the points you raised, and he has done so. However, Audience & Consumer Affairs, to properly and independently consider your complaint, has asked for further supporting material.

We are currently awaiting a copy of a report to help us with our investigation, which I understand was posted by Mr Hardaker the week ending 10 January, and we have yet to receive it. I am advised the report runs to some 90 pages, and that it was not practicable for Mr Hardaker to scan or fax the document.

Once again, I apologize for the long delay in responding to your complaint, and assure you that when we are in receipt of the information we require to conclude the investigation, it will be our first priority.

Yours sincerely

Denise Musto
Audience & Consumer Affairs

In her conversation with Dr Sam, Kirstin McLeish (the ABC Head of Consumer Affairs) confirmed that there is a 90-page document coming from the palestinian equivalent of the bureau of statistics that she says supports the ABC’s claims.

Oh, this should be good.

I cannot imagine what a 90-page document proving these claims looks like. Are there hundreds of signatures from Jews confessing to their crimes? Or - even better - photographs catching them in the act?

Watch this space for latest developments. Because the suspense must be killing you.

Update: Dr Sam has let me know that Kirsten McLeish had promised to email him today with an update but did not do this. I guess she must have been too busy getting through the 90 pages.

Another quiet evening and early morning, a further sign that perhaps IDF operations against the terrorists, as well as the terrorism-supporting (or at least not terrorism-opposing) population of Gaza, has had an effect. That is not to say that the terrorists have been resting - once again, the IDF arrested 10 wanted palestinian terror suspects across the West Bank last night. And the IAF strike I posted about last night reportedly did wound some terrorists, at least according to some reports.

Across the border, Egypt continued trying to contain the beast it helped unleash. Egyptian police officers forced shopkeepers in the northern Sinai city of El-Arish to close their stores to prevent shopping by palestinians from Gaza, and in more scenes from the theater of the absurd, Hamas-affiliated forces crossed into Egypt to join Egyptian security in urging palestinians to start heading home to Gaza. And if you think that sounds ridiculous, get a load of this: Iran has offered to help Egypt deal with the border chaos.

In other news, Arab MKs plan to attend the funeral of one of the palestinians’ most despicable terror leaders, a senior political source has confirmed that Prime Minister Olmert has no clue, Shas has reiterated its threat to quit the government if negotiations over the fate of Jerusalem begin, and the EU wants to throw more money at the PA.

Updates (Israel time)

11:25AM: The Iranian foreign minister has said that Iran is close to resuming full diplomatic relations with Egypt.

12:50PM: Arab foreign ministers are blaming Israel for the deterioration in the Gaza Strip and demanded that Israel immediately lift its blockade. Yeah, I know. It’s not really news.

1:10PM: Egyptian Sandmonkey has a post, which although a couple of days old already, is still too important to not mention.

Here’s an excerpt:

The people aren’t as hungry or suffering as you all claim: A Palestinian-american friend of mine just came back from visiting his grandparents in Gaza ( just jumped over the fence and back he said, no one is controlling the borders apparently), and he was telling me how the entire “they are hungry people looking for food” headline story is a crock of sh*t. He laughingly told me that they are buying motorcycles, mattresses and TV’s and other such basic survival needs (the media is confirming it if you think I am lying you big morons), and how some of his family members after going to Al Areesh-on the first day of the “people power” event-for vacation mind you, were like “This is Areesh? This sucks! Gaza is better!” and then went back the next day. He also told me that the price of the AK 47 in Gaza has now dropped to a measly 400 JD’s. There is apparently too much supply to the demand. Yay for Open Borders!

By the way, here’s some proof of what he’s talking about.

Toshiba television

Cigarettes

1:45PM: The Egyptian security forces and Hamas terrorists are still working together to prevent palestinians from getting into Egypt, stringing a barbed wire fence across one of the three breaches in the border. The Hamasholes are probably secretly laying down some explosives for the next time they decide to blow up the border wall.

4:20PM: Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has had this to say about Israel:

“Israel is too weak to confront Iran. The leaders of this illegitimate fake regime know well would happen in the region in response to an attack (against us).”

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan News.Net reports:

Iran extends olive branch to Israel and U.S

Lost in translation perhaps?

4:27PM: Egypt has reportedly said it want Abbas’ force to control the Gaza border.

7:00PM: Over an hour ago, palestinians fired a mortar round from northern Gaza, which landed by the separation fence near the Kissufim border crossing.

7:05PM: From the Department of Wishful Thinking:

Addressing fears of instability in his party ahead of the publication of the Winograd report on the Second Lebanon War, Ehud Olmert told a Kadima faction meeting on Monday that Kadima still has many years in power left.

“I’ve been asked a lot what will happen this week. Don’t worry - we still have many more years in power,” he said, referring to the impending report.

G-d forbid.

8:30PM: Today, the Knesset held a special session to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

This is what Prime Minister Olmert had to say:

“We will not permit ourselves to be complacent to the sounds of voices calling for the obliteration of Israel, which are backed by murderous and jealous ideologies, tyrannical regimes, supporters of terrors and malicious programs to develop weapons of massive destruction.”

But we will hand over parts of our land to them, including part of our holiest city, and trust our security with them.

And this is what Opposition leader Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu had to say:

“Anti-Semitism is back in full force. In the past it was confined to the Right, but today you can also find it in the Left as well as among radical Islamic elements sweeping Europe…There are frequent calls for Israel’s extermination, yet the world remains silent or says very little.”

Meanwhile, the UN plans to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day as follows:

On Monday, the UN General Assembly will hear addresses by survivors of Nazi death camps, including U.S. Congressman Tom Lantos, and a concert by the Tel Aviv University Symphony conducted by Zubin Mehta. The UN plans also to issue a special stamp to mark the day.

It might as well have numbers on it, given that the UN is instrumental in ensuring never again becomes again.

8:45PM: Introducing Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger’s solution for peace in the Middle East:

Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger has been quoted as calling for Gazans to be transferred to the Sinai Peninsula, to a Palestinian state which he said could be constructed for them in the desert.

In an interview in English with the British weekly The Jewish News, the chief rabbi also said that while peaceable Muslims should be allowed to pray in Jerusalem mosques, they should recognize that Jerusalem belongs to the Jews. Muslims have Mecca and Medina, he was quoted as saying, adding that “you don’t need a third place.”

Metzger called for Britain, the European Union and the United States to assist in the construction of a Palestinian state in Egypt’s Sinai Desert.

According to Metzger, the plan would be to “take all the poor people from Gaza to move them to a wonderful new modern country with trains buses cars, like in Arizona - we are now in a generation where you can take a desert and build a city. This will be a solution for the poor people - they will have a nice county, and we shall have our country and we shall live in peace.”

Metzger was quoted as telling the paper that the plan was new and he had not presented it to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

“I have thought about it with some wise people only in the last two weeks, and I think it is a great idea - nobody spoke about it before.” He expressed his intent to discuss the matter with Olmert and anticipated that the idea would find popularity among Israelis. He prefaced his comments by pointing out that he could not advise on political matters as he is a religious leader in Israel, noting that according to the law he “cannot be involved in political situations.”

He seems pretty proud of this idea, despite the fact that it has two chances of succeeding - none and Buckley’s. That’s not to say it has no merit. After all, if the Gazans lived in the Sinai, they wouldn’t have to blow up walls to get access to cheap televisions, cigarettes, and semi-automatic weapons.

8:55PM: Here’s video of the recent LSE debate on a motion to brand Israel an apartheid state (hat tip: Solomonia).

8:58PM: Shower time for Omri Sharon will never be the same again.

9:05PM: IDF troops operating in Bethlehem have reportedly arrested Islamic Jihad member Muhammad Aabdo, presumably for something other than having a hard-to-pronounce surname.

10:18PM: Egyptian Bedouin have shown solidarity with their palestinian brethren, and welcomed them into Egypt with open arms.

Well, the arms part is correct. They actually opened fire in the air to warn them away.

10:45PM: Those master media manipulators of Hamas are back at it again, this time presenting themselves as a bunch of generous, gift-giving folks (with the help of a more-than-willing AP):

A Hamas member, right, part of a delegation gives an Egyptian police officer, left, a copy of the Quran, Islam’s holy book, as a present at the border crossing in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday Jan. 28, 2008. Egyptian security forces strung new barbed wire across one of the breaches in the border Monday in a sign that a six-day opening of the frontier may finally be reaching its conclusion. (AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill)

An Egyptian police officer holds a picture of the Dome of the Rock Mosque, located in east Jerusalem’s Old City, presented to him as a present by Hamas members, at the border crossing in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, Monday Jan. 28, 2008. Egyptian security forces strung new barbed wire across one of the breaches in the border Monday in a sign that a six-day opening of the frontier may finally be reaching its conclusion. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

10:54PM: Further to my 1:10PM update, let’s not forget the motorbikes (hat tip: LGF).

I have yet to see anything in the Arab press that mentions George Habash’s death as less than tragic.

The entire Arab world - from moderate US allies and Arab members of Knesset to the PA and the far reaches of the diehard Islamist terror groups - is uniformly mourning an arch-terrorist leader.

He is being described most often in the Arab press as a force for “unity” and yet he was an unrepentant advocate of terror against civilians worldwide. All of the Arabs who claim to be against terror nowadays are uniformly mourning one of the architects of modern terrorism - without the slightest reservation. I could find no expressions of regret over his methods, over the scores of deaths of innocents worldwide that he was responsible for.

And it is not like Habash changed his positions in his later years. He remained with the same mindset that came up with airplane hijackings and bombings in the 1960s and 1970s.

His death, and the outpouring of grief and mourning it has spawned, is a damning indictment of the willingness of Arabs across the political spectrum to truly eschew terror.

This man remains a hero to people that we are supposed to be negotiating with as if they live in the same moral universe as we do. That fact should give us pause when we hear platitudes about “terror” from our erstwhile allies.

(cross-posted at Elder of Ziyon)

Here’s a run down on what I missed this Jewish Sabbath…

Israel has demanded that Egypt restore order in Rafah, and take action to prevent the unsupervised crossing of palestinians back and forth between Egypt and Gaza. For their part, Egypt today announced that they will ask Hamas (as well as the PA) to send representatives to Cairo to discuss the Rafah Crossing crisis, after at least 36 Egyptian security personnel were injured (some critically) due to “actions by Palestinian elements.” No doubt they will speak about the competing Hamas and PA offers to restore the border and assume control, both of which would be detrimental to Israel.

On the Qassam front, it was a relatively quiet day, with 2 falling in open areas of the western Negev. And if you think that was bad luck for the palestinian terrorists, the 2 mortar shells they fired landed in the Gaza Strip. Back to terrorist school for them.

Come to think of it, it wasn’t a good day for palestinian terrorists, with Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) founder George Habash dying in Jordan, and a knife-wielding palestinian being caught in Hebron. But that isn’t to say the terrorists did not enjoy some success; a terrorist managed to stab an Israeli Border Guard police officer at the Atarot industrial zone north of Jerusalem (he is in moderate condition; the terrorist is in critical condition after being shot). And some rock-throwing palestinians lightly hurt 4 Israelis who were engaged in the unspeakable crime of driving.

In other news, Iran received the 7th shipment of nuclear fuel from Russia, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak told the Washington Post that the Iranian nuclear program is quite advanced, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told an Israel radio reporter (!) that Iran is not threatening Israel and does not want nuclear weapons (!!), Libya is withholding support for a UN Security Council draft declaration which includes an unprecedented condemnation of palestinian rocket fire into Israel, Israeli Left-wingers were being Israeli Left-wingers, and Israel’s Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram won the Australian Open men’s doubles final.

Updates (Israel time)

Saturday Jan 26th

10:18PM: From the Hurt Egos Department:

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s office released a statement saying that “Minister Tzipi Livni did not inform us in relation to her meeting with reservist soldiers and bereaved families. That said, we have no problem with it, every person is allowed to meet with whoever with want.”

Is it just me, or does it feel like we are back in primary school?

10:20PM: The “moderate” PA has announced a three-day mourning period to mark the passing of PFLP terrorist George Habash. What I want to know is does the mourning period necessitate fasting? Because it would be a shame for all that Egyptian food to go to waste.

10:25PM: They really should lay off the drinks: More molotov cocktails from the palestinians.

10:38PM: Despite the fact (or perhaps because of it) PFLP founder George Habash opposed compromise with Israel, PA President Mahmoud Abbas said:

“The death of this historic leader is a great loss for the Palestinian cause and for the Palestinian people for whom he fought for 60 years.”

10:45PM: Fellow blogger JammieWearingFool described George Habash’s death as follows:

A real wart on the face of mankind has passed away

Heh.

Sunday Jan 27th

8:40AM: Since my last update, the IDF caught 2 wanted palestinians and found 6 weapons west of Hebron, and Egyptian security forces caught 20 Palestinians in the Sinai in possession of explosives and electronic devices which would enable them to listen in to the Egyptian forces’ communications networks.

9:35AM: The Jerusalem Post reports on the Oxford University debate over Israel’s “right to exist,” which turned out to be as absurd as the debate topic and the identities of the debaters supposedly on the side of Israel.

In a lengthy and fiery debate at Oxford University over the weekend, the student union conceded Israel’s “right to exist” by just over 100 votes.

Proposing the motion “This House believes that the State of Israel has a right to exist” were Norman Finkelstein, formally of De Paul University in Chicago, and Ted Honderich, professor of philosophy at University College London.

Questions about the seriousness of the event were raised ahead of the debate, since not only opposers of the motion, but also its proposers, were considered detractors of Israel.

Finkelstein, who had been supporting the motion, voted against it, while Honderich, who had crossed sides during the debate, voted for the motion, adding to accusations that the debate was a farce.

Supporting the motion, Jessica Prince from Oxford’s University College spoke about the “absurdity” of the debate title. “I didn’t think it was a question that we ask anymore,” she said.

Opposing the motion, Lewis Turner from Oxford’s New College said that if Israel is supposed to be a safe haven for Jewish people, “it’s not working out because it’s one of the most dangerous places for them to live.”

“I was shocked to hear Honderich actually say that, ‘Palestinians have a moral right to terrorism,’” said Olga Belogolova, a Jewish student from Boston University studying at Oxford for the semester.

“It was disappointing to see how many people were applauding the obviously radical speakers who were at times dishonest during the debate,” she said. “It was disappointing to see students who agreed with the justification of terrorism and who were not questioning the rhetoric of the speakers.”

“The debate was another childish attempt at sensationalism by the Oxford Union,” said Yair Zivan, campaign director of the Union of Jewish Students (UJS). “To have a debate about Israel without a single mainstream voice present shows the debate was the farce we expected. The Oxford Union owes better to its membership to allow for intellectual debate and they should try to seriously engage with issues.”

The Oxford University Debating Society refused to comment on the debate.

Meanwhile, Jewish and Israeli students at the London School of Economics (LSE) claimed victory after defeating a controversial motion calling for a boycott of Israel and calling Israel an apartheid state, raised at the university’s union general meeting on Thursday.

The motion was defeated by seven votes following a mobilization of Jewish and Israeli students on campus.

The motion, proposed by LSE student Emiliano Huet-Vaughn, an International Solidarity Movement activist, branded Israel an apartheid state and called on the LSE student union to start a campaign to lobby the university and National Union of Students to divest from and boycott Israel.

Released 48 hours before the union meeting, the motion created a huge backlash and prompted Jewish and Israeli students to respond to what UJS called “extreme anti-Israel rhetoric on campus.”

“Israel is an apartheid state, a state that promotes racism and xenophobia through acts of parliament, a democracy so-called only for people recognized in Israeli laws as ‘Jews,’ supported by a set of racist laws under which different laws regarding citizenship, housing, land ownership and marriage apply depending on whether someone is classified in law as ‘Jewish’ or ‘non-Jewish,’” the motion read.

“[The year] 2008 marks the 60th anniversary of the Nakba, the expulsion of the great majority of Palestinian Arabs from their homes and homeland in historic Palestine between 1947 and 1949. The expulsion, planned and systematically carried out by the founders of the State of Israel, was essential to the creation of an expressly Jewish state in the political Zionist sense of the term,” the motion said.

The motion also supported the one-state solution and the end of the Israeli state. “Israel should be a state for all its citizens and stop discriminating against the indigenous Palestinian population. The Palestinians have the right to return to their homeland and receive just compensation and Israel should implement all international laws that it is currently violating,” it read.

Following a highly tense and hostile meeting, 292 voted for the motion, 285 against it and 100 abstained.

“It was fantastic to see so many students turn out and show their opposition to this horrific one-sided and unconstructive motion,” said Zivan. “Jewish student activists once again showed that they will stand up for Israel in even the harshest circumstances and won’t let these kinds of actions go unchecked.

“It was welcome to see so many students with no personal affiliation to the Middle East conflict vote against the motion and reject extremist rhetoric at LSE,” he continued. “We hope this sets the tone for a more civilized and balanced debate in the future.”

“We only had 48 hours to organize the campaign but the response has been phenomenal,” said Sam Cohen, a graduate student at LSE who led the campaign and spoke against the motion at the meeting. “Jewish and non-Jewish students proudly opposed extremist language at LSE and have shown that we want a moderate, sensible and constructive debate around the issues of the Middle East. I really hope this is the last time people try to polarize the student body in this way.”

“It’s [the motion] a really negative development,” said Lior Herman, an Israeli PhD student at LSE. “While I’m very happy with the academic level here [LSE] I don’t feel as comfortable. Every day there seem to be posters and slogans against Israel. The motion was the culmination… it did nothing to help the Palestinians or promote understanding.

“Not just Jewish and Israeli students want sensible discussion and bridge-building. Instead we’re getting bridge-burning. Instead of doing what they should do, looking after the welfare of students, the [LSE] union meetings have become a platform for a minority to push their sinister agenda. Thus a large number of students, not just Jewish or Israeli, attended [the meeting] to make their voices heard,” he said.

11:30AM: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA President Mahmoud Abbas are set to meet today in Jerusalem, to discuss the situation on the Egyptian border.

12:03PM: Al Jazeera has reported that Gazans were continuing to flow into Egypt this morning but in smaller quantities than in previous days.

12:08PM: Six Israeli-Arabs have been indicted for arms dealing with Tanzeem terrorists (although Ynet seems to think they were “indicated”).

12:50PM: Yet another palestinian carrying a knife has been taken in for questioning.

1:40PM: Egypt and the PA have agreed on PA President Mahmoud Abbas’ plan to assume control of Gaza’s crossing with Egypt. Under this plan, the palestinian presidential guards are to assume control of the Rafah crossing. Israeli Prime Minister Olmert has until now rejected the idea, and it is unlikely that a transfer of control over the crossings will occur in the short term, especially considering the Hamas factor.

2:50PM: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert are currently meeting to discuss the issue of transferring control of the Gaza Strip border crossings to the PA. Let’s see if Olmert changes his mind and allows the PA to control the crossing (which would further jeopardize our security).

2:56PM: Israel has announced that it will restore the fuel supply (2.2 million liters per week) to the Gaza Strip, effective immediately, in response to petitions submitted by two “human rights” groups. However, the State Prosecutor’s Office added that “if the rocket fire continues, we will consider limiting the supplies again.”

3:00PM: Still on the subject of people with their heads in the clouds (as evidenced by the last update), a NASA delegation is set to arrive in Israel for a six-day visit to participate in memorial ceremonies for Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli astronaut, who died in the the Columbia space shuttle crash five years ago.

3:42PM: Arutz Sheva reports that Egyptian forces have received permission to fire back at palestinian terrorists.

3:43PM: The Olmert-Abbas meeting has finished. Awaiting news on what (if anything) was agreed upon.

4:00PM: Ha’aretz reports that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert promised palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that Israel would not disrupt the supply of food and medicine into the Gaza Strip. Still no word on whether or not he agreed to transfer control of the border crossings to the PA.

4:50PM: This AP caption writer does not even pretend to hide where his sympathies lie:

Activists from a Pakistani Shiite Muslims group burn the Israeli and U.S. flags during a rally to condemn the American and Israeli aggressive policies against Palestinian and Irani people, Sunday, Jan. 27, 2008, Karachi, Pakistan. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)

Not to mention his poor grasp of the English language. Irani?

5:25PM: Ynet reports that Olmert and Abbas did not discuss the border crossings at great length, since Abbas is scheduled to meet Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak on Wednesday and discuss the matter.

I smell a rat. If Olmert is firm about rejecting the idea of the PA controlling the border crossings (as he should be), why would the Wednesday meeting with Mubarak make a difference? My prediction: Olmert will has agreed to go along with the idea.

6:18PM: Palestinian terrorists have opened fire at an IDF base from a vehicle near Jenin, causing no damage. Meanwhile, a Border Police officer was lightly hurt after he was hit by an object thrown at him by palestinians near Maale Hachamisha in the Jerusalem area.

8:25PM: Palestinians have fired 3 mortar shells at Israel, with all of them landing in open areas and causing no damage.

8:33PM: Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb “Massacre” Erekat has stated that the palestinians will not agree to a situation in which the responsibility over the state of affairs in the Gaza Strip will be assigned to Egypt. Which is odd if you believe all the palestinians wants is a better life for themselves, but quite predictable if you subscribe to the belief that they really want the destruction of Israel.

8:40PM: Channel 2 has reported that Defense Minister Ehud Barak secretly met with Pakistani President Musharraf last week.

8:52PM: JPost has more on the item in my last update, adding that Barak expressed his concern of Pakistan’s nuclear capabilities seeping into terrorists’ hands.

9:07PM: How about a resolution ousting Libya from the Security Council?

The United Nations’ Security Council is expected to make a final decision about a presidential statement on the situation in Gaza, Monday, after a long week of negotiations that failed to result in the necessary consensus.

But where the United States had been the sole objector for most of the week, Friday the cards turned. This time the Libyan envoy stood out among the 15-member council as the only country unwilling to accept a new draft which now includes a condemnation of the kassam attacks on Israel.

By the way, if you haven’t already seen the footage of Libyan president Giadalla A. Ettalhi being forced to read a harsh condemnation of the Katyusha rocket attack on northern Israel earlier this month, you should do so now.

10:42PM: Senior Hamas leader Khalid Mash’al told the Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat newspaper that Hamas is ready to turn over the presidential security headquarters to palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

10:50PM: According to Ha’aretz, the IAF has attacked a Hamas armored car in Gaza, but no-one was hurt.

In further evidence that Ha’aretz has completely lost the plot, they have published a piece from none other than anti-Israel blogger Richard Silverstein.

The piece - entitled In Praise of the Jewish Blogosphere - is nothing more than an exercise in self-promotion, and an attempt by Silverstein to get more readership, and blast those who oppose his virulently anti-Israel views.

In praise of the Jewish blogosphere

By Richard Silverstein

I began my blog, Tikun Olam, in February, 2003, one month before the Iraq war began. Even more than opposition to the imminent war, what motivated me was my passion to speak out on behalf of Israeli- Palestinian peace. Military force, I have always believed, though it might serve a legitimate defensive function, ultimately could never resolve the conflict. I have been dedicated to this cause all my adult life, but until blogging developed, I had no regular, public means of expressing my views.

It was lonely at first. The world of blogs, not to mention of progressive Jewish ones, was much smaller five years ago. But what drove me was seeing blogging as a personal expression of angst, passion, anger, identity - whatever are your deepest emotions.

In the beginning, I reached out with mixed success to other like-minded bloggers. In 2005, I created Israel-Palestine Forum, for progressive discussion, and in the hope that this would amplify our message in the greater blog world. But bloggers are fiercely independent creatures. They don’t necessarily want to be organized or part of a community. So I’ve had to adjust my ambitions and set humbler goals.

After five years of blogging, 2,000 posts, and 6,000 comments, I have a modest but substantial readership with 200 subscribers and 200,000 unique visitors annually. I would like my impact both on the blog world and the broader debate over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to be larger. But bloggers are often seen by “serious” journalists as shouters, dilettantes and dabblers rather than serious participants in the media discourse. While these generalizations sometimes are true, many of us break important stories and do serious independent research. Some of us have sources, life experience or expertise that few journalists have.

In the age before blogs, Jewish leaders were like political bosses. They ruled their roosts, and anyone who questioned them was easily frozen out of communal discourse. Their politics were conservative and generally supportive of the Israeli right. For its part, the Jewish media was a corporate entity that largely expressed the views of such leaders. The few dissenting individuals and organizations made barely a ripple in the communal pond.

Blogs have changed that. Now, Jewish “bosses” can be held up to immediate public scrutiny. When Abraham Foxman, of the Anti-Defamation League, refused to acknowledge the Armenian genocide, the Jewish press and bloggers took him to task and he backed down. When the Jewish Telegraphic Agency published a quote falsely attributed to Desmond Tutu equating Israel with Hitler, the MuzzleWatch blog brought this to the Jewish community’s attention, and JTA corrected the record.

More importantly, when Israeli policy goes off the rails, as it did during the Second Lebanon War, peace bloggers published almost minute-by-minute coverage documenting the carnage and folly of the military-political decisions that informed the conflict, demonstrating the power of the Internet to circumvent the control of governments and centralized authority.

And if most Israelis who supported the war while it was happening concede today that it was a failure, I would argue that that is, in part, because of the dissenting voices in the Israeli and world media, including blogs like mine and others, which caused a reconsideration of both the cost of the war and the supposed benefits touted by Israel’s politicians and generals.

Bloggers conducted a furious debate for and against the war. No one could pull the plug on us, and even if we weren’t feared or noticed by the Olmerts and Halutzes of this world, we could have our say and people listened.

Not that all’s always well in the Jewish blog world. The breaking down of communal consensus has caused a breakdown of civility, and some blogs are characterized by a barrage of hate, invective and verbal assault.

There has also been a steep rise in partisanship. More radical, violent and racist ideas get more attention than they ever did in the past. I have been unsuccessfully sued for libel for calling militant pro-Israel activist Rachel Neuwirth a “Kahanist.” The owner of another far-right site, Masada2000, started a mock blog in my name, which included pornographic references and a stolen image of my son and me, with a caption saying we were making bombs (we were baking cookies). Masada2000’s owner also threatened me with genital mutilation. Members of the Kahanist Jewish Task Force Web site wished that I would get cancer of the rectum. It would be wrong to see these merely as aberrant Jewish expressions or the actions of lone troubled individuals (though they might be that). For the Internet has given nuts a huge megaphone to amplify and spread their hate.

My aim is to improve the Jewish blogosphere by encouraging more liberal voices to join the debate. We need more prominent communal figures and even journalists to understand the power of blogs and begin writing their own. Some, like Leonard Fein, Bernard Avishai and Daniel Levy have already done so. But there is room for much more. And, as more newspaper readers migrate to the Web, I’m hoping that the mainstream media both in Israel and America will expand their interest in blogs and incorporate what we have to say into their reporting.

Notice how Silverstein talks of the “breakdown of civility”, and blogs which are”characterized by a barrage of hate, invective and verbal assault,” as if his is not one of the prime examples of this.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, feel free to read any of my posts on Silverstein.

But if you really want to be entertained, you have to read the talkbacks to his article.

Here’s a sample for your reading pleasure.