{"article":{"id":174222,"heading":"THE YOKE OF ZION [The Fallout from Lebanon] - by Israel Shamir","author":"Israel Shamir","created":"2006-08-16 17:09:36","modified":"2013-11-11 00:43:38","last_modified":"Mon, 11 Nov 2013 07:43:38","article":"

.

from

IsraelShamir.net

(good website)

http:\/\/www.israelshamir.net\/English\/Yoke.htm<\/a>



The Yoke of Zion

by Israel Shamir



A small band of determined warriors takes on, and fights off the mightiest army of the region: this is the stuff history is made of. Thermopylae , move over - Bint Jbeil is coming! Bishop Philip of Antioch has compared the levelling of this small Lebanese town with the destruction of Stalingrad , but these cities are also comparable by the courage of their defenders. Seldom is a generation able to witness such a shining example of valour: for three long weeks a handful of Hezbollah warriors -- two thousand by the most optimistic count -- fought to a standstill ten, twenty, thirty times more numerous Israeli troops. Forty years ago, Israelis defeated three armies in one week, but now the invader’s charm has worn off, or has passed over to the vanquished. In today’s somewhat feminine victim-centred narrative, suffering attracts more attention than masculine gallantry. Thus the Qana massacre has overshadowed something more significant: the steadfast resistance of the Lebanese fighters. But Andromache’s sorrow should not obscure Hector’s courage: Hezbollah’s deeds deserve to be immortalised by poets.

Why the war? Leave the small details to a future Plutarch; this is another round in the battle for Palestine. Supported and supplied by their captive empire, the US , the Jews had all the weapons, all the ammunition, all the diplomatic support, when hubris-drunk they drove into disarmed and starved Gaza to kill off its last resisters and impose the Yoke of Zion. Their invasion had been prepared by a year-long siege and incessant shelling; they were cock-sure they could devour Gaza at will. And indeed, everyone kept mum: the Egyptians traded the glory of the Ramadan War for greenbacks, the sons of Hejaz and Nejd were too busy serving oil at the pump, and the princes of the Gulf cared only for their falcons. The Jews felt secure as they stooped to finish off Gaza : who would disturb the lion of Judah roaring at his prey? And a tiny force from the Mount Lebanon said: we will. They attacked the all-powerful Jews; the hobbit pierced the sinew of Nazgul as he stooped to kill. Roused from its prey, the Israeli army turned north and lashed with all its might at the Hezbollah fighters. But they stood fast.

This was most unexpected. The Israelis were used to killing or dispersing weaponless untrained Palestinians. Instead, the fighters of Sayyed Nasrallah dug their heels into the bare hills of Bint Jbeil and gave battle. If they were destroyed quickly, Israeli generals would lead their victorious troops to Damascus and Teheran before turning back and despoiling Palestine of its priceless jewel, Haram al Sharif. This still could happen, but the chances have been diminished by the steadfastness of Hezbollah.

More importantly, Hezbollah has refused to cease fire as long as Israel occupies the land of Lebanon . This daring step undermined the whole strategy of Zionists. They had planned to occupy the South and wait there until an international (or NATO) force entered to do their job for them. Hezbollah’s decision lacks one detail: any cease fire must extend to Palestine , as well. It is inconceivable that Lebanon will lay down its arms while Gaza is besieged and Nablus is ravished.

Israeli PM Ehud Olmert said: “We have changed the Middle East .” I do not know whether all the Middle East has changed, but in Israel we witness a great change. Until now, only a few just men and women of Israel called for their government to desist from its their aggression against Gaza and Lebanon . But the Katyusha rain changed the minds of many. At first carried away by the arrogance of their generals, Israelis have now discovered the heavy price of war. Early complaints about the army’s failure to deliver have given place to critique of the policy itself. They have begun to understand that time is not on their side.

The now-subservient regimes of neighbouring countries can fall any minute or remove the Yoke of Zion. Their rulers were led to believe in Jewish superiority, and that is why they chose to condemn “imprudent” Hezbollah. But now that their people see that even a small force of determined fighters can beat the enemy, they find no justification for the cowardly behaviour of their rulers. It can lead to revolution, for King Faruk was removed by young officers of Falujah fame who were disappointed by his weakness in 1948.

Neil MacFarquhar reports in the NYT (28.7.06): “At the onset of the Lebanese crisis, Arab governments, starting with Saudi Arabia, slammed Hezbollah for recklessly provoking a war, providing what the United States and Israel took as a wink and a nod to continue the fight.

Now, with hundreds of Lebanese dead and Hezbollah holding out against the vaunted Israeli military for more than two weeks, the tide of public opinion across the Arab world is surging behind the organization, transforming the Shiite groups leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, into a folk hero and forcing a change in official statements. The Saudi royal family and King Abdullah II of Jordan, who were initially more worried about the rising power of Shiite Iran, Hezbollahs main sponsor, are scrambling to distance themselves from Washington .”

The report sees popular opinion, “the Arab street,” as the vehicle for change; but the change can come from above, too. The cruel bombardment of Beirut and of all of Lebanon was supposed to frighten the Arab nations into obedience; instead, it convinced the rich and powerful Arabs that as long as the Jews run the writ in the Middle East , their own riches and power can be taken from them anytime by will of a Jewish general. Beirut was peaceful, Beirut agreed to expel Syrians, Beirut was the capital of the most pro-Western state, and yet this did not save the city from Jewish -- not even vengeance, for there was nothing to avenge -- but arbitrary heavy-handedness. The Arabs in power ask whether the Jewish state can be a peaceful neighbour at all, or whether (as the Iranian President Ahmadinejad says) it is bellicose by nature and must be dealt with as the Crusader Kingdom once was.

Indeed, the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem existed longer than the Jewish state, and probably would have lasted for centuries, but for its innate aggressiveness and its preparedness to serve as a bridgehead for European invasions. The turning point in the Crusaders’ fortunes took place some 850 years ago during the Second Crusade, which bore an uncanny resemblance to the Second Lebanese War. By that time, the Arab nations were inured to the invincibility of the Crusaders; sheer arrogance of power led the Crusaders to march on Damascus -- their peaceful, complacent and hedonist neighbour, the least belligerent among small independent and much-divided Arab states, a Lebanon of the 12th century. At first, the Crusaders ran into guerrilla resistance of the then-Hezbollah, and lost a lot of soldiers. When they besieged the city, the ruler of Damascus was forced to ask for the help of his neighbour Nureddin, the Ahmadinejad of his day; an army of Nureddin’s drew close and the Franks had to retreat in haste.

The Arab neighbours learned two things: (1) submission and complacency can’t guarantee their peace, for the Crusader state is a Damocles’ Sword forever hanging above their heads; and (2) Crusaders can be defeated. Out of the Second Crusade came Saladin, a nephew of Nureddin, who united Syria and Egypt and eventually defeated the Crusaders at Qurn Hittin. Now the same two lessons have been delivered to the Arabs, courtesy of the IDF. Is a new Saladin on the way?

II

But the Jews may yet face another danger caused by their assertiveness. They relate to themselves the fiery prophesy of Rev. 19: 15 “Out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, with it he should smite the goyim, and he shall shepherd them with a rod of iron; and he is crushing with his feet the grapes of Gods wrath.” They take it so seriously that their massacre of Qana (120 butchered refugees) was named the Grapes of Wrath. These features are not the most endearing; and not only Arabs object to being shepherded by an iron rod.

The US pays heavily for this Jewish fun. A poor American may hate to think about the fact that while he has no medical insurance, his government has to pay tribute to rich Israel . The average American filling his average car may dislike paying for support of the Jewish state, since before the Neo-Cohns got into power in the Administration gas was much, much cheaper. A wealthy and worldly American may feel vexed that he is not welcome wherever he goes from Paris to Istanbul - as he was before the Yoke of Zion.

An easy-going American may dislike the fact that he cant cuss out a Jewish cop without reading about it in the New York Times. A believing American may be upset that he can’t mention Christ unless he is ready to be summoned to a court hearing. An honest American or European may be annoyed by their hypocrisy: It is not enough that they push for war, they also blame others for it. It is not enough that they kill children in droves, they also preach about the immense value of human life.

A religious, Bible-thumping American may remember the prophecy of Ezekiel, 22 who said to the leaders of Israel in the name of the Lord: “You have become guilty in your blood that you have shed; everyone among you, putting out his full force to shed blood” -- that is, the blood of innocent Palestinians and Lebanese; Ezekiel also prophesied the Zionist Gathering of Jews, and that it would lead to a major disaster for Zionists: “the house of Israel has become dross to me; therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in its midst, and you shall know that I, the Lord, have poured out my fury upon you.” The Israelis have used oppression, and have committed robbery, and have wronged the poor and needy; indeed, they have oppressed the gentiles wrongfully, and therefore I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath; their own way have I rewarded upon their heads, said the Lord God.

An American politician, maybe even an American president, may get tired by the Jewish Lobby’s endless need to demand sympathy or to protest an outrage; by keeping his on his toes, by their ideological censorship and party discipline, by their blackmailing habits, by their fat pockets and grip on media, by the Damocles’ Sword they hang constantly over his head.

Moreover, an American or a European who today calls himself a Jew may wonder whether he has much in common with the people whose poets call upon their soldiers to “Storm on Lebanon and Gaza, and plow it and sow it with salt, raze it down, let no human being remain alive\/ Turn them into a desert, rubble, a valley of mess, unpopulated\/ Save your nation and drop bombs \/ On villages and cities, their collapsing houses do shell \/ Kill them, shed their blood, turn their lives into living hell \/.”

He may give thought as to whether he wishes to be a secret weapon of Israel in the words of Prime Minister Olmert who said: “Arab weapons, even when they hurt us, are nothing like the powerful, secret weapon we possess: The Jewish people? across the world, and the special feeling of love and mutual commitment that prevails between all Jews, regardless of where they are.” Instead, he might just stop considering himself a Jew and melt into the general populace, as millions have done before him.

A Jewish friend of mine wrote: “I have asked a number of my friends in the US whether they think the Zionist mantra retains its power, and they agree it does not. The lobby does not, I think, have a bright future - that is why its agents have faced prosecution. Even if their lock on Congress persists for some time, their hold on American opinion must now diminish. I believe Lenny Brenner when he argues that young Jews are deserting Judaism and Zionism in droves.”

Israelis, i.e. dwellers of Palestine who consider themselves Jewish, may also contemplate whether they want to fight and support the ideological Yoke of Zion which brings them only hatred from outside and poverty from within. Instead of living in economic prosperity and in harmony with our neighbours, the Yoke of Zion turns us into impoverished cannon fodder.

And after all, Americans and Europeans may just get bored with the guys that endlessly preach to others and are never willing to hearken to others’ views. Even Germans may one day kick their masochist habit of endless repentance. The Yoke of Zion will be gone, for this Yoke is nothing but shared belief in Jewish superiority. And the perfectly harmless Jews will have to learn and be ordinary citizens of their countries, without special access to presidents, bank coffers and TV screens.

____________________________________________________

Israel Shamir, a leading Russian Israeli writer, is a champion of the \"One Man, One Vote, One State\" solution seeking to unite Palestine & Israel in one democratic state. Shamir's work and that of his contributors speaks to the aspirations of both the Israelis and the Palestinians seeking an end to the bloodshed, true democracy and lasting peace.

His biography:

http:\/\/www.israelshamir.net\/Biography.htm<\/a><\/p>\n","contact":"","link":"","address":"","phone":"","parent_id":0,"mime_type":"text\/plain","summary":"Why the war? Leave small details to a future Plutarch; this is another round of battle for Palestine. Supported and supplied by their captive empire, the US, the Jews had all the weapons, all the ammunition, all the diplomatic support, when hubris-drunk they drove into disarmed and starved Gaza to kill off its last resisters and impose the Yoke of Zion. Who would disturb the lion of Judah roaring at his prey? And a tiny force from the Mount Lebanon said: we will. They attacked the all-powerful Jews; the hobbit pierced the sinew of Nazgul as he stooped to kill. The Israeli army roused from its prey turned north and lashed with all its might at the Hezbollah fighters. But they stood fast. ","numcomment":94,"fileurl":"\/uploads\/","filesize":null,"article_url":"\/news\/2006\/08\/174222.php"},"attachments":[],"comments":[{"id":174223,"heading":"the ziopaths are gonna LOVE this!","article":"the ziopaths are gonna LOVE this!","author":"the ziopaths are gonna LOVE this!","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 17:10:48","modified":"2006-08-16 17:10:48","fileurl":""},{"id":174242,"heading":"young Jews are deserting Judaism and Zionism in droves","article":""I believe Lenny Brenner when he argues that young Jews are deserting Judaism and Zionism in droves. ...Instead, he might just stop considering himself a Jew and melt into the general populace, as millions have done before him.\u201d\r\n\r\nRef. (article): "THE YOKE OF ZION" - by Israel Shamir ","author":"Israel Shamir","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 18:07:58","modified":"2013-11-11 00:43:38","fileurl":""},{"id":174261,"heading":"today's Jerusalem Post (jpost.com) 8\/15\/06: "Kiryat Shmona STILL a ghost town (pg. *1","article":"ziopath: "I was crossing my fingers for the vaunted Hizbullah to break the spirits of all the Israelis"\r\n\r\n\r\nAlso see:\r\n\r\nJerusalem Post (8\/15\/06): \r\n\r\n"Lone Soldier: War\r\nA reserve soldier tells the true tales of his TERRIFYING trip to Lebanon"","author":"the Jerusalem Post","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 18:48:09","modified":"2006-08-16 18:48:09","fileurl":""},{"id":174263,"heading":"now everytime you hear the word "vaunted" israeli military in the news...","article":"it's used tongue-in-cheek!","author":"ALL HAIL THE VAUNTED ISRAELI MILITARY!","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 18:48:49","modified":"2006-08-16 18:48:49","fileurl":""},{"id":174269,"heading":"I got'cha lernin' right here: _28_ dead IDF and _37_ wounded IDF in 1 day by Hezbollah!!","article":"ziopath: "Duh. Someone has been trying over the past two days to educate me about the problematic state of food and gear distribution and the lack of traning for scores of reserve soldiers in the "vaunted" IDF, but I *steadfastly* refuse to learn!"","author":"Jerusalem Post","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 19:13:58","modified":"2006-08-16 19:13:58","fileurl":""},{"id":174276,"heading":"I got'cha lernin' right here: 2 of their own were run down by IDF tanks!","article":"Farrakhan admirer: "Duh. Someone has been trying over the past two days to educate me about the problematic state of food and gear distribution and the lack of traning for scores of reserve soldiers in the "vaunted" IDF, but I *steadfastly* refuse to learn!"\r\n\r\nWell, more friendly fire fatalities occurred in the span of one month in the 1991 Operation Desert Storm among the US Armed Forces in Iraq, or the friendly fire fatalities in the same vaunted US military in many of the months of the current 3 year long invasion of Iraq! Contrast this with the appalling lack of training for many reserve soldiers in the "vaunted" Israeli miltary, through in their food and gear distribition straits, and you would marvel at the astonishingly low rate of Israeli friendly fire incidents if you're an anti-Zionist that respects the enemy he hates!!!","author":"Jerusalem Post","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 19:32:12","modified":"2006-08-19 04:08:58","fileurl":""},{"id":174289,"heading":"and yes...","article":"i'm an antiziopath.","author":"antiziopath","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 19:55:13","modified":"2006-08-16 19:55:13","fileurl":""},{"id":174308,"heading":"Not even a nice try for the forging shitstain loser","article":"\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n"Now I've got you learnin'!!! \r\nby YAAAHOOO...!! \r\nziopath: "yes, I'm an ziopath" \r\n\r\nRecognizing the fact you're a sociopath and psychopath is the first step toward getting professional help! " \r\n\r\nUltra true.\r\n","author":"Not a zionazi","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 20:27:09","modified":"2006-08-16 20:27:09","fileurl":""},{"id":174371,"heading":"Ooooo! What a sharp comeback!","article":"ziopaths are not dangerous because they have _brains_!","author":"antiziopath","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-16 21:26:54","modified":"2006-08-16 21:26:54","fileurl":""},{"id":174416,"heading":"Massive Western Aliyah This Week, Despite Month of War","article":"Despite the two-front war, the thousands of missiles, and the evacuation of northern communities, more than 800 North American and British Jews are moving to Israel this week. \r\n \r\n\r\nAfter a month of war, and even though they have had plenty of time to postpone or reschedule their Aliyah (immigration to Israel), four planeloads of Jews are scheduled to arrive in Ben Gurion airport in the coming week \u2013 the first on Thursday.\r\n\r\nOn Wednesday, August 16th \u2013 the one year anniversary of the forced eviction of the Jews of Gaza \u2013 three simultaneous flights will arrive. Embodying the Jewish prayer that the nation be gathered \u201cfrom the four corners of the Earth,\u201d the planes will depart from Canada, America and England \u2013 all arriving simultaneously in the Holy Land.\r\n\r\nThe August 16, 2006 influx will constitute the largest number of Jews in history making Aliyah to Israel from Western countries in a single day.\r\n\r\nOverall this summer, 3,000 North American and British Jews are moving to Israel on specially chartered flights organized by the Nefesh b'Nefesh Aliyah assistance organization, in close cooperation with the Jewish Agency.\r\n\r\nGreeting the arrivals Thursday will be Minister of Public Security and former Shabak Chief Avi Dichter (Kadima) and Minister of Immigrant Absorption Ze'ev Boim (Kadima). Opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu greeted the last group of arrivals last month.\r\n","author":"Am Yisroel chai!","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-17 01:52:14","modified":"2013-11-11 00:43:39","fileurl":""},{"id":174421,"heading":"Only religoius NUTSO Zionists Jews move from the West to Israel","article":"I say settle them in the northern half of Israel so they can be wiped out in the next (even bigger!) war with bigger, more accurate Hezbollah missiles!","author":"good riddance","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-17 02:49:22","modified":"2006-08-17 02:49:22","fileurl":""},{"id":174447,"heading":""more than 800 North American and British Jews are moving to Israel this week"","article":"Fortunately, most Jews are smart enough to not walk into a death trap. Even Germany is more attractive a destination for emigrants than is Israel:\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/www.dw-world.de\/dw\/article\/0,2144,1455185,00.html\r\n\r\n(snip)\r\n\r\nEach year for the past three years, more Jews have immigrated to Germany than to Israel.\r\n\r\n(snip)\r\n","author":"Israel: death trap for Jews","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-17 13:15:35","modified":"2006-08-17 13:15:35","fileurl":""},{"id":174498,"heading":" 243 N. American Immigrants Arrive in Israel Thursday","article":" 243 N. American Immigrants Arrive in Israel Thursday\r\n18:33 Aug 10, '06 \/ 16 Av 5766\r\nby Ezra HaLevi\r\n\r\n\t\tThe first chartered plane of a record-setting week of Western Aliyah arrived in Israel Thursday, with not a single one of the 243 immigrants signed up backing out or postponing due to the war.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nThe plane touched down and pulled alongside a special hangar near Ben Gurion Airport\u2019s Terminal 1, where the new immigrants were greeted by hundreds of well wishers, family, friends, IDF soldiers, Public Security Minister Avi Dichter and prominent American Aliyah supporter Rabbi Hershel Schachter.\r\nA new oleh blows a ram's horn, invoking the daily Jewish prayer: "Sound the great shofar for our freedom and gather us together from the four corners of the world to our land."\r\nNbN co-founder Rabbi Yehoshua Fass is greeted on the tarmac by Yeshiva University Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Hershel Schachter.\r\n\r\nThe flight was the 18th chartered flight of immigrants organized by the Nefesh b\u2019Nefesh Aliyah assistance organization, together with the Jewish Agency.\r\n\r\n\u201cA few months ago, 243 people registered to be a part of this flight today,\u201d Nefesh b\u2019Nefesh co-founder Rabbi Yehoshua Fass said. \u201cThey listened to the news and watched the scenes of war on television. But today, that plane landed with 243 olim (immigrants to Israel). We asked G-d to comfort the Jewish people on [the fast of] Tisha B\u2019av last week. Not one person cancelled, and it brings great comfort to all of Israel.\u201d\r\n\r\nAt every welcoming ceremony, one of the arriving families takes the stage and receives their Aliyah identity card, holding it up and saying a few words. Wednesday, as people awoke to the news of 15 fallen reservists in battles in Lebanon, Harold Sternlicht, one of the new immigrants said: \u201cFor many years people have come to Israel running away from things \u2013 the Holocaust, persecution. Today we are running to Israel!\u201d\r\nHarold Sternlicht and his family made Aliyah from Pittsburgh, PA.\r\n\r\nThe audience of new and veteran olim cheered and IDF soldiers who had been brought to the ceremony to greet the arrivals looked on in awe. \u201cThis is extremely emotional,\u201d said Rachel, who added that when Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah turns on his television and sees the new arrivals, \u201che will see that the nation of Israel is stronger than he ever imagined.\u201d\r\nJack and Riva Ben-Ezra are moving to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu, in the Beit She'an Valley. Riva volunteered there 18 years ago and is excited to return.\r\nBenjy Lovitt is moving from New York City to Tel Aviv. "Postpone my Aliyah?" he asks. "What are you, crazy?"\r\nDrawings that won a contest held by Nefesh b'Nefesh adorn the side of the plane. The artists are two young girls who arrived on the plane.\r\n\r\nJudy, another soldier, herself came on Aliyah from Los Angeles almost two years ago. She has been in the IDF for a year, in a soldier\/teacher program working with underprivileged kids. She says that the sight of crowds of new immigrants reminds her of why she chose to make Israel her home.\r\n\r\nKim Richardson, 21, is arriving from Poughkeepsie, New York. She is joining her sister, Jen, who moved to Israel two years ago. Both sisters say they never thought about moving to Israel while growing up, but attended a program called Netiv their freshman year of college, during which they worked on Kibbutz Saad, studied at Hebrew University and fell in love with the Jewish state. \u201cThe hair stylist I went to before I boarded the plane yesterday understood why I decided to move here the best,\u201d Kim said. \u201cHis name was Hugo, and he told me, \u2018It\u2019s all about your generation \u2013 you can change the world.\u2019\u201d\r\nNew immigrant Kim Richardson (right) with a friend and her sister Jen (left).\r\nVeteran NbN oleh Yehoshua Coren greets arriving friends.\r\nA family reunited dances for joy.","author":"Arutz Sheva","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-17 17:15:05","modified":"2013-11-11 00:43:40","fileurl":""},{"id":174518,"heading":"zionoiac: "I don't feel fearful from Arabs where I live"","article":"paranoid zionoiac in other thread ('We are just hit-and-run guerrillas'): "Islamofascist bullies of the _WORLD_, beware. Battered Israel has shown all people oppressed by Islamofascists part of the way. The days of Islamofascist anti-Jewish bullies are numbered, and not just in the Middle East."","author":"Zionoiacs-R-Us","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-17 19:01:51","modified":"2006-08-17 19:01:51","fileurl":""},{"id":174697,"heading":"10 REASONS WHY ISRAEL LOST:","article":"ISRAEL'S STATED OBJECTIVES: \r\n\r\n\r\n1. the _ORIGINAL_ stated objective: get back their two soldiers from Hezbollah (captured in Lebanese territory at that) through military action. \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST \r\n\r\n\r\n2. alienate Hezbollah from the majority of other Lebanese. \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST \r\n\r\n\r\n3. by targeting and bombing Lebanese civilians and destroying Lebanon's civilian infrastructure, to get the Lebanese to force Hezbollah to give up. \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST \r\n\r\n\r\n(by the way, I thought that Israel, the U.S., the West said that the targeting of civilians or civilian infrastructure for the purpose of forcing a politcal goal is defined as "terrorism".) \r\n\r\n\r\n4. destroy Hezbollah's weapons. \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST \r\n\r\n\r\n(some of Hezbollah's largest retaliatory rocket barrages were on the last days of the war and Hezbollah stood fast in combat against the IDF, inflicting serious casualties and even tank losses, 'till the end\/cease-fire.) \r\n\r\n\r\n5. defeat and destroy Hezbollah. \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST \r\n\r\n\r\n6. push and occupy Lebanon to the Litani River (no doubt in an attempt to then annex all of south Lebanon as part of Israel, like Israel has with the Golan heights). \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST \r\n\r\n\r\n7. increase\/sustain its vaunted military credibility (to intimidate others) in the region \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST \r\n\r\n\r\n(Now the region, and the world, knows that Israel is only good at attacking defenseless women and children, stone-throwing boys, and fairly unarmed Palestinian men.) \r\n\r\n\r\n8. gonna teach Hezbollah a lesson \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST \r\n\r\n\r\n(no, Hezbollah taught _Israel_ a lesson.) \r\n\r\n\r\n9. have the people of the world on their side. \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST -- BIG TIME! \r\n\r\n\r\n10. Israel met _NONE_ of its military objectives in its war on Lebanon. \r\n\r\nISRAEL LOST -- ON EVERYTHING.\r\n\r\n\r\nWas Israel better off or worse off than before its invasion? \r\n\r\nWORSE. \r\n\r\n\r\nAnd it still doesn't have its 2 captured soldiers back.\r\n\r\n\r\n_______________________________________________________\r\n\r\n\r\nFor more analysis on Israel's LOSSes, see articles by Uri Avnery in CounterPunch and Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker:\r\n\r\n\r\nThe Thirty Three Day War \r\nFrom Mania to Depression \r\n\r\n- by Uri Avnery\r\n\r\nhttp:\/\/counterpunch.org\/avnery08172006.html \r\n\r\n\r\nWatching Lebanon\r\n\r\n - by Seymour Hersh\r\nhttp:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/fact\/content\/articles\/060821fa_fact ","author":"10 REASONS WHY ISRAEL LOST:","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-18 22:39:42","modified":"2006-08-18 22:39:42","fileurl":""},{"id":174721,"heading":"Here's the truth, in pictures--zionist racism in all its glory","article":"See the rabid racism of the zionists for yourself:\r\nhttp:\/\/www.indybay.org\/newsitems\/2006\/08\/12\/18296586.php\r\n","author":"The revealer","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 01:07:14","modified":"2006-08-19 01:07:14","fileurl":""},{"id":174731,"heading":"Sloppy --- tisk","article":"Conflation again . Without even anyone noting the tired association which doesn't exist, between Jews and Zionists. Except by way of convenience.\r\nI call it the one legged dance.\r\n","author":"Sheepdog","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 01:46:46","modified":"2006-08-19 01:46:46","fileurl":""},{"id":174732,"heading":"oh, excuse me","article":"Ignoring the noise.","author":"remarking upon the lead article","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 01:51:00","modified":"2006-08-19 01:51:00","fileurl":""},{"id":174735,"heading":"Well Toady- this is what the moral high ground sounds like:","article":"We ask that everyone who joins our demonstration help to\r\npromote a professional environment. We demand that\r\npeople who join our demonstrations follow the rules\r\nset forth both by the the organizers of the rally and\r\nby police. This includes not using foul language in\r\nsigns and not shouting epithets that would serve to\r\ndenigrate an entire group of people. \r\n\r\nWe absolutely forbid signs or graphics offensive to\r\nany racial or ethnic group including but not limited\r\nto Arabs, Islam, or Palestinians. If you are unsure\r\nif a message is inappropriate, substitute "Jews" for\r\n"Muslims," "Arabs" or other group -- if it then\r\nappears anti-Semitic, then it is clearly not\r\nacceptible under our guidelines.\r\n\r\nThese signs and messages are contrary to our mission\r\nand are unacceptible. Furthermore, they are\r\ncounter-productive and, as we have seen, can easily be\r\nused by the media or by the other side to paint our\r\nside as extremist. \r\n\r\nSimply put, we encourage professionalism at our\r\ndemonstrations. This way, the passers-by and the\r\nmedia can focus on our clear and important messages\r\nabout Israel.\r\n\r\nStandWithUs\/San Francisco Voice For Israel is the\r\ngroup that organizes these counter-demonstrations. We\r\npay for flags and signs, coordinate with Jewish and\r\nnon-Jewish community organizations, and maintain the\r\ne-mail lists and websites through which the events are\r\npublicized. We hope you agree that this gives us the\r\nright to set the appropriate guidelines for our\r\nevents. \r\n\r\nThe members of our organization urge you to please\r\ncooperate with our our guidelines out of respect for\r\nall the work we do. Those who do not care to abide by\r\nour guidelines are welcome to stand elsewhere. They\r\nwill not be allowed to stand with us. \r\n\r\nThank you in advance for your cooperation\r\n\r\nLets see ANSWER condemn hate speech. I'm not holding my breathe..","author":"not that you'd know","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 02:02:44","modified":"2006-08-19 02:02:44","fileurl":""},{"id":174740,"heading":"Yes roadster, this is what the zionist "moral high ground" looks like","article":"Well, this plus pompous moral posturing, wailing moaning self-victimology preached on streetcorners, and relentless lies. You know the drill","author":"TW","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2006-08-19 03:13:06","modified":"2006-08-19 03:13:06","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/fetus_murdered_by_idf.jpgs5kfcc.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/fetus_murdered_by_idf.jpgs5kfcc.jpg"}},{"id":174741,"heading":"And this too is what their "moral high ground" looks like","article":"**","author":"TW","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2006-08-19 03:19:47","modified":"2006-08-19 03:19:47","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/qana_baby.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/qana_baby.jpg"}},{"id":174742,"heading":"And this","article":" ","author":"TW","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2006-08-19 03:21:33","modified":"2006-08-19 03:21:33","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/gaza_beach_murders.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/gaza_beach_murders.jpg"}},{"id":174743,"heading":"And this","article":" ","author":"TW","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2006-08-19 03:21:50","modified":"2006-08-19 03:21:50","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/idf___heroes___kill_another___terrorist__.jpg2d7dcn.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/idf___heroes___kill_another___terrorist__.jpg2d7dcn.jpg"}},{"id":174745,"heading":"And this","article":"***","author":"TW","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","created":"2006-08-19 03:24:56","modified":"2006-08-19 03:24:56","fileurl":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/israel__s_terror_victims.jpg2d7dcn.jpg","image":{"original":"\/usr\/local\/www-domains\/la.indymedia.org\/public\/uploads\/2006\/08\/israel__s_terror_victims.jpg2d7dcn.jpg"}},{"id":174750,"heading":" Yet another war started under false pretences.","article":"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/technology\/feeds\/ap\/2006\/07\/12\/ap2873051.html\r\n\r\nHezbollah Captures 2 Israeli Soldiers\r\nBy JOSEPH PANOSSIAN , 07.12.2006, 05:41 AM\r\n\r\nThe militant group Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers during clashes Wednesday across the border in southern Lebanon, prompting a swift reaction from Israel, which sent ground forces into its neighbor to look for them.\r\n\r\nThe forces were trying to keep the soldiers' captors from moving them deeper into Lebanon, Israeli government officials said on condition of anonymity.\r\n\r\nThe Israeli military would not confirm the report.\r\n\r\nEarlier, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called an emergency Cabinet meeting and said Lebanese guerrillas would pay a "heavy price" for Wednesday's attacks.\r\n\r\n"These are difficult days for the state of Israel and its citizens," Olmert said. "There are people ... who are trying to test our resolve. They will fail and they will pay a heavy price for their actions." ","author":"repost","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 05:42:39","modified":"2006-08-19 05:42:39","fileurl":""},{"id":174752,"heading":"Hostages","article":"http:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/finkelstein-benami.shtml\r\n\r\n(snip)\r\n\r\nNORMAN FINKELSTEIN: . . . you have to say it doesn't speak too much in Israel's favor that it's the only country in the world that legalized torture. It was also the only country in the world that legalized hostage taking. It was also the only country in the \u2014\r\n\r\nSHLOMO BEN-AMI: It wasn't legalized \u2014\r\n\r\nNORMAN FINKELSTEIN: Well, yes. As your chief justice called it, \u201ckeeping Lebanese as bargaining chips.\u201d \r\n\r\n(snip)","author":"repost","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 06:17:28","modified":"2013-11-11 00:43:41","fileurl":""},{"id":174810,"heading":"so does this mean","article":"Does this mean Hizzbollah and Lebanon are holding hostages illegally?\r\nI suppose we all Knew this was true- under the Geneva convention, prisoners are allowed certain rights and priviledges (including visits from the Red Cross)- the Israeli soldiers held hostage by Hezzbollah have been deprieved of their Geneva Convention rights. Where is Amnesty International when you need them?","author":"Lebanon is holding","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 15:28:47","modified":"2006-08-19 15:28:47","fileurl":""},{"id":174812,"heading":"Oh yeah.","article":"is that I hear next to nothing in the way of intensive Israeli pressure on the UN and EU to overturn this situation. What's wrong with so many representatives of my nation?","author":"But worse","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 15:42:09","modified":"2006-08-19 15:42:09","fileurl":""},{"id":174814,"heading":"The captive Israeli soldiers are "enemy combatants"","article":"The thousands of Arab prisoners being held in Israel's dungeons, many without trial, some for decades, are being held illegally. Unless there is a prisoner exchange, as well as complete withdrawal of Zionist forces from all of Lebanon, including Saaba Farms, fighting will eventually resume. \r\n\r\nNext time Hizbullah wont fight with one hand tied, like the did this time. They will maul the IDF armor. They have the weapons. They know how to use them. Without armor, the IDF will have to fight Hizbullah soldier to soldier. They will lose because a conventional army stands no chance a guerrilla army on its home turf. The best they can hope for is a military victory and a political defeat. Even that is unlikely. \r\n\r\nWhat will probably happen is they will be defeated militarily. Either way, they will be defeated politically. \r\n\r\nIsrael is its own worst enemy. There is a reason its only friend is the Anglo-American empire. Nobody like a bully. Israel is a bully. They do very well against unarmed women and children. But against trained guerrillas, they either withdraw or they die. Either way, the world hates them. Israel can't win militarily because there is no military solution to the problem. Only a just and fair political solution can resolve the situation in Lebanon and Palestine. Until that happens, resistance is certain. Until that happens, no Israeli is safe from the revenge of their victims.","author":"it's not about law, it's about justice","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 15:49:15","modified":"2006-08-19 15:49:15","fileurl":""},{"id":174889,"heading":"BBC World News, August 18, 2006, Tel Aviv:","article":""Opinion polls show that most Israelis believe that they LOST the war."","author":"report","parent_id":174222,"mime_type":"text\/plain","created":"2006-08-19 20:28:50","modified":"2006-08-19 20:28:50","fileurl":""}]}