The Miracle of Jewish History by Rabbi Ken Spiro and J-TV 12 - As David Ben-Gurion said, "For a Jew to be a realist, you have to believe in miracles."

“Palestinians” try to steal Israeli land by planting trees

“Palestinians” have reached a new low by planting trees in Judea and Samaria in attempt to steal Israeli land! They must stop creating lies!

Judea and Samaria

Judea and Samaria, or in Hebrew Yehuda V’Shomron, belong to Israel. These lands belong to the Jewish people. The world likes to call it “The West Bank.” But that removes the Jewish connection to the land. The land is called Judea and Samaria.

And now, “Palestinians” are trying to steal Israeli land by planting trees and claiming possession of the land. Yes, it is as crazy as it sounds.

Tree Planting with the Radical Left

The “Palestinian” Authority spreads enough lies about Jewish history – a history that dates back to thousands and thousands of years before the name “Palestinian” was ever created. Not only are they spreading lies about Israel, but now they are planting trees in Judea and Samaria to claim ownership. And Radical Left organizations are helping! Is this not an absurd thing to do? It just further proves they are trying to take land that does not belong to them. You can watch in this video how the “Palestinian” man lies as well as the radical left activist.

Is the World Blind?

Is the world so ignorant? Are they blind? Or do they just not care about the truth? The facts are right there. The history is there. And surely the archaeology is there. ALL to prove the Jewish connection to their homeland, Israel. To Judea and Samaria, which is part of the Jewish state despite the lies claiming otherwise. Why is it rational to believe the lies of the “Palestinians” and not the truth of the Jews?

The Jews will just continue to fight the lies with the truth. The darkness with the light. And the “Palestinian” trees with Jewish trees. Because ultimately, the truth will win!

What America needs to know about border security can be learned from Israel

Should the United States learn about border security from Israel?  There are reasons to argue both ways.  President Trump says that the wall in Israel is 99% successful.  But, that is not such a simple argument.

Walls against Illegal Immigration, Walls against Terror

The wall on Israel’s southern border has indeed curbed illegal immigration from Africa into Israel.  However, what Israel faces in the heartland of Israel against the threat of Arab terrorists is totally different than the United States immigration issues.  So, it is probably true that what worked for Israel’s south will work for the south of the United States.

But, in truth, immigration policy in the United States is a completely different issue than what Israel deals with.  Should Israel allow in more terrorists?  Of course not.  Should the United States allow in more immigrants from Central America?  It may very well be advantageous for America to allow in most of the families that would like to immigrate.

The problem is weeding out the terrorists from the normative families.  This is not a new issue.  It has bee around for many decades in nearly every Western country.

This is not a problem that the wall will solve.  This goes back to policy implementation.  The main issue that Israel can perhaps help with is the emerging issue of homegrown terrorism.  This issue will probably continue to grow across America and Israel may have more experience on this than nearly any other country.

Stunning discovery of the Exodus story the Muslim world might destroy

Where is Mt. Sinai?  Where is the place that the climax of the story of the Exodus took place?  Ryan Mauro’s stunning discovery is a mind-blowing discovery.  There is a tradition that Mount Sinai is in the Sinai desert.  But there is a different mountain that has a tradition that goes back even longer than the tradition that Mount Sinai is in the Sinai.

Best Kept Secret?

Could it be that for centuries the ancient tradition has actually been kept secret from most of the world?  Ryan Mauro says yes.  He even brings some opinions that the Saudi government kept the secret from the masses.  This is earth-shattering.  Even if only part of the thesis is true, it is fascinating to note that till today, we still don’t know where some of the Biblical stories occurred.

Where did the Sea Split?

The best part of this video for me was the part where Mauro brings a theory about the Red Crossing.  It will blow your mind.  It is amazing how many stories of the Exodus seem to fit with this theory of where the stories of the Exodus took place.  Even the locations of the Golden Calf are discovered by Mauro in this documentary.  But watch the entire documentary for even more surprises.

This is truly amazing.

The Saudi Interest

One would think that the Saudis would have good reason to publicize all of these potential tourist spots.  But the country of Saudi Arabia is not looking for Christians and Arabs to flock into their country.  There is no question that all of these discoveries could attract tens of millions of tourists every year.  Will Mauro bring a sea-change to the tourist map of the Middle East?   It probably depends on the Saudis.  If they open up the doors a bit, and decide to police their bedouin a bit, this will no doubt change the entire concept of what the world knows about the story of the Exodus in the Bible.

The IDF Soldiers of Netzah Yehuda

Thanks for the Memories, Nikki

The Washington Free Beacon bids a fond farewell to departing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley.

For two years, she faced down Israel-bashing, led a global sanctions regime against North Korea, stood tall against the Russians, and provided a strong voice of moral, forceful American leadership in the world.

A former South Carolina governor believed by some critics to be too inexperienced in foreign policy to navigate the difficult terrain of the U.N., she proved doubters wrong during her widely praised tenure.

EOZ: Jordanians upset their prime minister DIDN'T step on an Israeli flag

Arutz-7 reports:

Israel's Foreign Ministry lodged a protest after Jordan's Information Minister and Government Spokeswoman Jumana Ghunaimat was seen stepping on an Israeli flag.

Ghunaimat had trampled on the Israeli flag during a visit to Amman's trade union headquarters, where a Jordanian government meeting was held.

The trade union headquarters in Jordan stuck an Israeli flag at the entrance to its offices, inviting passersby to step on it on their way inside, a deep insult in the Arab world.

Prime Minister Omar al-Razaz entered the road through a side entrance, thus avoiding the Israeli flag.

More than one minister, as well as the mayor of Amman, deliberately stepped on the Israeli flag painted on the floor.

 Al-Razaz's decision to avoid stepping on the Israeli flag has angered Jordanians. Here he is going in through the side door.

Members of the trade union and Jordanian media were upset at their leaders that allowed Al-Razaz to enter through the side door, wanting them to force him to publicly renounce Jordan's ties with Israel.

PMW: The great Palestinian dream: To liberate "Palestine" from the River to the Sea

Palestinian children are still being taught that “Palestine” includes all of Israel. Decades after the Oslo Accords, the PA and Fatah still don’t recognize Israel's existence.

The photo above is a prime example of this. The Palestinian Authority Presidential Guards posted this image of a young boy making the “V” symbol for “victory” while holding a Palestinian flag. Behind him is the PA map clearly named “Palestine” that includes all of Israel and the PA areas.

The names of the following Israeli cities and regions are written in the colors of the Palestinian flag on and around the map: “Haifa,” “Jerusalem,” “Safed,” “Nazareth,” “Jaffa,” “Tal Al-Rabia (i.e., Tel Aviv, see note below),” “Tiberias,” “Be’er Sheva,” “Ramle,” “Ashkelon,” “the Negev,” “Lod,” “Acre,” and “Beit Shean.” “Gaza” is also marked. The text on the image, states that Palestinians will “return”:

Posted text: “#Good_morning #The_Palestinian_Presidential_Guards”

Text on image: “Palestine We will surely return”

[Official Facebook page of the PA Presidential Guards, Nov. 25, 2018]

Another Palestinian way of saying that all of the State of Israel is “Palestine” is to describe it as stretching “from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.” This is one of the PA's popular slogans. Recently it was repeated by a university lecturer who described the “great Palestinian dream”:

Rector of Al-Istiqlal University in Jericho (The Palestinian Academy for Security Sciences) Saleh Abu Osba: "I always say that life without dreams is empty. As I see it, we the Palestinians have a great dream before us: To liberate Palestine from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea. This dream will remain before us and requires of us willpower. Our people’s willpower is strong. The proof of this is the thousands of prisoners and the thousands of Martyrs who have fallen to realize the dream of liberating Palestine."

[Official PA radio station The Voice of Palestine, Sept. 13, 2018]

Palestinian Media Watch has documented endless examples of PA and Fatah denying Israel's existence or right to exist in any borders. Recently, this was taught to children on official PA TV. A girl recited a poem stating that "a Zionist stole the land of Palestine." Upon hearing this and the rest of the poem, which encouraged Palestinians to “rebel” and “shoot” to be “victorious,” the PA TV children's host responded:

“We are returning. Soon, Allah willing, we will return to our land...” 

[Official PA TV, The Best Home, Nov. 1, 2018]

From Ian:

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Eugene Kontorovich: Airbnb’s Anti-Israel Hypocrisy

The tech company will operate anywhere and serve anyone—except Jews in the West Bank.

Two very different organizations took action last week against Jews owning property in the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority sentenced two Palestinians to 15 years hard labor for selling land to Jews. And Airbnb, the tech behemoth and online marketplace for lodging, announced it would no longer serve Jewish communities in the West Bank. The two actions differ in brutality but are based on the same idea: Jews should have no home in the West Bank.

Under Airbnb’s policy, an American Jew with a rental property in the West Bank is barred from listing it for rent on the website. But an American Arab is welcome to list his home a few hundred meters away, even though the Palestinian law forbidding real-estate deals with Jews carries a maximum penalty of death. That openly racist policy doesn’t trigger Airbnb’s delisting policy.

Airbnb admits the West Bank is the site of complicated “historical disputes.” Until 1948, the West Bank was part of the League of Nations’ 1922 British Mandate for Palestine, created to become a “national home” for the Jewish people. In 1947, the U.N. General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution suggesting the territory be divided into Arab and Jewish states, an idea the Arabs immediately shot down. Indeed, when the mandate ended and Israel declared independence in 1948, all its Arab neighbors invaded immediately. Jordan occupied the West Bank and massacred or expelled every Jew in the area, took their homes and destroyed their synagogues. Israel only regained the West Bank after Jordan foolishly attacked again in 1967. Many Jews then returned, including to lands Jews had purchased before Israeli independence.

Since then, the dispute has narrowed. Israel signed the Oslo Accords with the Palestinian leadership in 1993, leaving all settlements—the new and returning Jewish communities—under complete Israeli control. Jordan and Israel signed a peace treaty in 1994. To be sure, the Palestinians still demand the removal of Jews from the entire West Bank. But Airbnb’s policy applies only to the Israeli—primarily Jewish—communities in the disputed territories.

Israeli cities in the West Bank are open to any lawful resident of Israel, including Arabs. By contrast, any Jew who enters the West Bank’s Palestinian towns risks his life.

EOZ: No, National Geographic, Oslo is not about "returnng" land to Palestinians

Words matter, and when lies get embedded into everyday descriptions of the Middle East as fact it is enormously difficult to set the record straight.

National Geographic has a nice article (not yet online) about the race to find and preserve Biblical archaeological texts, many of which can be found in Israel and areas controlled by Israel. But one parenthetical statement makes one wonder who does fact checking for the esteemed magazine.

"In 1993, after signing the Oslo Accords - which provided a framework for returning disputed territories to Palestinian control - the Israeli government launched Operation Scroll, an urgent survey of all the archaeological sites the country potentially stood to lose."

It is nice that the author didn't lazily say "occupied territories" instead of "disputed territories," but it is quite untrue that Oslo was about "returning disputed territories to Palestinian control."

Because they were never under control of anyone known as Palestinians, nor were they ever under control of any independent political entity since the Romans defeated the Jews in 70 CE.

They were under control of Jordanians, British, Ottomans, Crusaders, Fatimids, Umayyads, Byzantines and others - but never the Arabs who moved into the area many centuries after the Jewish kingdoms fell.

Too many people think it is axiomatic that a people called the Palestinians have been indigenous to the region and deserve to control "their" land. However, the Palestinian Arab people are an invention of the 20th century. There were Arabs in the land called Palestine but they were not a people by any definition of the term; no one identified them as such and they didn't identify themselves as such.

Many get very upset when this is pointed out but mollifying those who implicitly threaten violence when they don't get their way does no service to the truth.

If the land is being "returned" to any indigenous people, it is the Jewish people who deserve it. Whether the current Israeli government decides it is in the interests of its people to give the land away to others is a separate issue. If any people can claim the right to the land, from a historical, moral or legal perspective, it is the Jewish people.

Netanyahu’s Vision for the Middle East Has Come True: From Qatar to Iran, none of the countries participating in the MED2018 conference seemed really interested in the Palestinians. Normalization with Israel, on the other hand, was all the rage: ‘It’s a total change in paradigm’

ROME — Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of Qatar, listed the Middle East’s main problems at the MED 2018 conference in Rome last Thursday. Naturally, at the top of the list he put Saudi Arabia’s ongoing blockade of his family’s little kingdom. Next were the bloody wars in Yemen and Syria, the chaos in Libya and the political unrest in Lebanon. That was it.

Missing was another regional conflict in which the Qataris have been deeply involved: the Palestinian issue, and more specifically the question of Gaza’s future, in which the Emirate is now investing $15 million a month, in cash.

Al Thani wasn’t the only one to downgrade the Palestinian issue at the conference – Ahmed Aboul Gheit, secretary-general of the Arab League, also began his talk by listing possible reasons why the region is still broken, saying it could have been the Iran-Iraq war, Iraq’s 1990 occupation of Kuwait, 9/11 or the American invasion of Iraq. According to Gheit, who served as foreign minister in Hosni Mubarak’s regime in Egypt until 2011, it was most probably “the so-called Arab Spring that caused the destruction of the Arab world.”

At first, he didn’t mention Israel-Palestine, though later on he said that along with Iran’s “encroachment” on the Arab states, the Palestinian issue was still one of the two problems haunting the region and that “without a settlement to [the Palestinian issue] the turmoil [in the region] will continue.”

But listening to other representatives of Arab League member states at the conference, who either ignored or downplayed the Palestinian issue, Gheit’s words sounded like lip-service.

Instead, on the stage and behind the scenes, there seemed much more appetite for normalization with Israel. Oman’s Foreign Minister said it quite clearly when he called on the Arab world to “come to terms with the reality that Israel is a fact of life in the region,” and therefore should have its share of “rights as well as obligations.”

The degree to which Israel and the Palestinians were no longer a central issue was evident even in the appearance of Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, who focused his criticism on the Saudis and the United States, and refrained from mentioning Israel in his talk. Even Zarif seemed to realize that this wasn’t a venue for Israel-bashing.

A veteran editor of an Arab news organization explained that he simply no longer had the strength to deal with the issue. “It’s fatigue, fatigue. It’s been going on since I was born, it’s coming out of my ears. There’s no progress on the issue, there’s nothing we can do about it, [Israel is] a fait accompli, it’s realpolitik. It’s the reality. We have bigger fish to fry.”

“The only reason now not to speak publicly with Israelis,” said one Lebanese pro-democracy activist at the conference, “is social media. It’s bullshit, but a selfie with an Israeli on Instagram can still get you in trouble. There will be a pile-on with people saying nasty things. But everyone knows that is just another stage toward normalization.”

The conscientious organizers of the annual conference, which is hosted jointly by Italy’s foreign ministry, the Italian Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI), and public broadcaster RAI, devoted  a couple of sessions to the Palestinian issue, but even they had an air of quiet desperation to them.

The onstage interview with the Palestinian Authority’s foreign minister, Riyad Maliki, was a long and barely-concealed rebuke of the international community and the Arab nations for forsaking the Palestinians, which could be summed up with his warning that the Palestinian issue “will stay there knocking on the door of each and every one of you.”

Maliki promised that the Arab states would not “normalize” with Israel as long as there was no end to the occupation of the Palestinian Territories. But at MED 2018 there was about as much chance of hearing about potential cooperation with Israel on energy and desalination, as of the enduring conflict.

One senior Middle Eastern diplomat listening to Maliki commented that “the basic fact is that for better or worse, the world isn’t bothering Israel anymore about the Palestinians. It’s a total change of paradigm.” This fact that was borne out by the interview with the senior Israeli representative, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein; it contained just one question tangentially connected to the Palestinian issue, regarding his expectations of the Trump peace plan (pretty low). The rest of the talk revolved around how Israeli technology can help the region, and the threat of Iran – what else?

At a small side-session devoted to the future of Gaza, speakers seemed more focused on the need for a rapprochement between Hamas and Fatah as a way of solving Gaza’s multiple crises, than on pressuring Israel on the matter.

One leading European expert on the Middle East, who has spent decades writing about Israel and the Palestinians, echoed the widespread underlying feeling. “It’s hard for me now to convince editors and think-tank directors of the need to write papers on Israel and Palestine. No one can see any point, and quite frankly, I’m not sure I can either.”

“It looks like Netanyahu’s dream come true,” observed a former Israeli diplomat at the conference. “He always tried to get the Palestinians off the agenda. But careful what you wish for. The Palestinians aren’t going away, and this issue will come back to haunt us with a vengeance.”

Haemtzah: Islamic Fundamentalism is the Real Enemy

Either Palestinians have the best PR machine in world history - or their representation by the mainstream media is biased. I’m pretty sure it is mostly the latter.

There is nothing new about media reportage in the Middle East. The narrative is always about the suffering Palestinians in Gaza are experiencing at the hands of the all powerful Israeli military.

Their overcrowded conditions, poor economy, lack of enough food and medical supplies is due to Israel’s blockade of supplies that would improve their lives. Gaza is fenced in on all sides. And that has brought desperate Gazans to attempt to overrun the blockade by any means necessary – for their very survival!

Again, this is nothing new. Rarely does the media even mention that all this has been brought about by the determination of Hamas Palestinians that rule Gaza. Whose sworn goal is the liberation of their holy land, Palestine, from the infidel Israelis. Even at the expense of martyrdom. They have been joined in that goal by virtually all of fundamentalist Islam. From Hezbollah in Lebanon to the Islamic Republic of Iran. Again – nothing new. Nor is it new that these facts are virtually ignored by mainstream media reporters in the region.

Which is why I haven’t been commenting on the current flareup there. Not that it doesn’t concern me. Of course it does. Every Jew hurt of killed simply because they are defending their country or worse - simply because they are a Jew living in the holy land pains me greatly. It’s just that none of this is new. If I were to comment on it as much as it deserves, I would be repeating myself. And I would be doing it at the expense of other important issues. Many of them as existential to Judaism as is the conflict there to Israel.

But I can’t watch what is going on yet again without comment. Scenes like the one depicted in the photograph above have moved me to comment yet again.

According to some estimates as many as 400 rockets have been fired indiscriminately into populated areas in Southern Israel. Including the city of Ashkelon. (See video below) Not that rocket attacks are new either. But rocket attacks continue in such great number that it makes me wonder just how they get those rockets. Why haven’t the boycotts and blockades against Gaza worked to keep them out?

I don’t have an answer to that question. But I do have an answer to where they are getting them: The high probability is that they are being supplied by Iran.

The mainstream media simply reports that violence has once again flared up between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza. As though both parties are to blame - but that the underlying problem is that Palestinians in Gaza are drawn to use violence as the only resort to get out from under Israel’s oppressive thumb.

I wish the mainstream media would have the integrity to report the facts. Yes, Gaza is suffering.  Why don’t they report the real reasons why? It might be because the media believes that if not for Israel - life would be better there. And then Gaza and Israel would behave like good neighbors.

But I doubt they are really that naive. Any serious journalist that ever took the time to see what is really going on there would know that the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza are not sourced in Israel’s legitimate security needs. I think the media knows that it isn’t as simple as that. But don’t have the integrity to say what the source of Palestinian suffering in Gaza really is. 

It is the Islamic fundamentalist goal of taking back all of Palestine from the hands of the infidel Jews and return it to their rightful owners, Islam. There is not the slightest doubt in my mind about that. To fundamentalists this is a religious imperative. There is no compromising on what they believe to be the will of God. 

That requires doing whatever it takes including martyrdom. And if lying about it serves that goal, it is a religious imperative to do so. If depriving their own citizens basic needs and blaming it on Israel serves that purpose, they will do it enthusiastically. They will put innocent children in harm’s way so that any defensive tactic taken by Israel in Gaza will virtually assure that children will be killed. All in the goal of driving world opinion of Jews as baby killers undeserving of heir own state. Jews that are responsible for all the suffering they currently endure.

But that real suffering that can only be blamed on the religious views of the fundamentalist Palestinians that rule Gaza in the form of Hamas.

Iran is of the same exact mindset and has been so since the overthrow of the Shah 40 years ago - and fundamentalism took over. Jews are considered evil interlopers into the holy Islamic land of Palestine and defile it by their mere presence. 

Like Hamas, Iran too believes that Palestine must be liberated for the sake of Islam. There is little difference between Islamic fundamentalist sects on that score. Fundamentalists of Shia and Sunni Islam may be mortal enemies. But on this they agree: The immortal Jew must be swept out of holy Islamic soil or be killed in the process. There are no innocent Jews - if they live in Israel. They are just evil infidels that need to be erased one way or another.

That Iran feels that way is not a secret. Their religious and political leaders shout it from their rooftops. It should not surprise anyone that the Iran, biggest supporter of terror in the world supplies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon with those rockets. An unlimited supply that seems to be getting deadlier with each attack.

Which to me is the best reason to have canceled that terrible deal with Iran. Even if it did temporarily stop them from developing their own nuclear weapons, it did nothing to stop them from supplying their surrogates in Lebanon and Gaza with an unlimited supply of deadly weapons. I’m glad to see the pressure reinstated on Iran by the United States. 

Even if they do decide to reinstate their nuclear weapons program (an to the best of my knowledge they haven’t yet) they may not get the chance and very well end up with a new revolution by their own people now suffering at the hands of their Islamic leaders. That would be the best of all possible outcomes. If Islamic fundamentalism is destroyed and replaced with some sort of western style democracy. It would end their exportation of terror. 

It might even lead to the restoration of diplomatic relations between Israel and Iran. Which was the case before Islamic fundamentalism took over in 1979.  If I am right and Iran is the primary (if not exclusive) supplier of rockets to Gaza and Lebanon, that would end too. Without Iran backing them Gaza and Lebanon would have little in the way of weapons to use against Israel. 

Not that this would stop them completely. Where there is a will there is a way. Hamas has proven they can do a lot of damage by sheer innovation. Like terror tunnels and gasoline filled balloons set on fire and sent over the border into populated areas into Israel.

Unfortunately I do not believe there is a solution to the violence coming out of Gaza. As long as there is a religious imperative and fanatics willing to do whatever it takes to implement it - Israel will have no choice but to continue to defend itself. And that will continue to make life difficult for innocent Gaza citizens. Which will continue to cause them to blame Israel for their troubles. And on the surface, who can blame them? Certainly not the mainstream media who sympathize with their plight and imply - if not directly say - it is Israel’s fault.

I see no solution to fighting an ideal that is instilled into fundamentalist Muslims form birth and constantly reinforced by religious and political leaders as well as by their media, schools, and through various of their entertainment media.

But if we can at least get those rockets out of there, that will be progress.

Civilian killed as rockets hit Israel's Ashkelon

PMW: "Death to Israel" song on Hamas TV half-hour before station destroyed

"Death to Israel" song on Hamas TV  

half-hour before station destroyed 

 

By Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

About a half hour before Hamas' TV station in the Gaza Strip was bombed by Israel, the station broadcast a music video repeatedly announcing: "Death to Israel." The video shows footage from terror attacks and scenes from funerals and burials of Israeli terror victims. The words "DEATH TO ISRAEL" flash in Hebrew on the screen as the Arabic song focuses on that message:

Song: "Expel the thieving occupier from the enraged land of Jerusalem,

Rid your house of that one, that Zionist in his humiliation,

Write 'death, death, death to Israel' with flowing blood,

And with the bleeding body cause death, death, death to Israel"

Text on screen in Hebrew: "Death to Israel"

Hamas leader Nizar Rayan: "[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews. The soldiers of Muhammad have started to return."

Visuals: Funeral of Israeli terror victims

Song: "Be red death. Have no mercy on the army of aggression that wears the clothes of the soldier and the settler."

[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), Nov. 12, 2018]

Embedded in the music video is a clip with Hamas leader Nizar Rayan chanting with the audience: "[Remember] Khaibar, Khaibar, O Jews. The soldiers of Muhammad have started to return." This slogan is often chanted as a threat to Jews that they should expect to be defeated and murdered again by Muslims, just as Muhammad murdered Jews at the village of Khaibar in the year 628.

That Hamas TV broadcast a song calling for the killing of Israelis/Jews is not surprising. Such music videos are common on Hamas' Al-Aqsa TV, as Palestinian Media Watch has documented.

In fact, Hamas broadcast a similar song calling for "death to Israel" after the terror organization had agreed to a cease fire with Israel in November 2014. Israel had launched an aerial offensive in the Gaza Strip called Operation Pillar of Defense, with the aim of crippling the terrorist infrastructure in Gaza and protecting Israeli civilians from Hamas rocket fire. On Nov. 22, 2014, one day after Hamas and Israel had brokered the ceasefire, Hamas broadcast the following music video with the words:

"Repeat in the name of your Jihad: Death to Israel! 

With blood and fire, resist until freedom 

Defeat the soldiers of aggression the enemies of humanity."

[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), Nov. 22, 2014]

Despite the new ceasefire, which Hamas and Israel agreed on yesterday, Hamas - an Islamic terror organization that writes in its charter and declares openly that Muslims have a religious obligation to destroy Israel and exterminate Jews - will hardly change its hate messages.

The following are additional examples of Hamas TV music videos and messages encouraging violence and terror against Israel. The dates on the videos below show that Hamas' calls to kill Jews have not changed over the years:

Hamas TV music video (2016): "Strap on an explosive belt... O Martyrdom seeker, respond to Al-Aqsa's call... send them to Hell... Let fire burn them, turn them into body parts, roast them."

Hamas TV music video (2014): "Fire your rockets, make them explode... victory is from Allah... O Martyrdom-seeker, O blaze, hurry, blow up Tel-Aviv." 

Hamas TV music video (2012): Killing Jews is worship of Allah, "Repeat in the name of your Jihad: Death to Israel!"
 

Hamas to Israelis (2012): "We've missed the suicide attacks, expect us soon at bus stations and in cafés." 

Hamas TV animation (2016) encourages stabbings, shootings, and ramming attacks, shows daggers, butcher's knives, and guns, honors 3 murderers who killed 6. 

Khaibar is the name of the last Jewish village defeated by Muhammad's army in 628. Many Jews were murdered in the battle, which marked the end of Jewish presence in Arabia. There are Muslims who see this event as a precursor to future wars against Jews. At extremist Muslim gatherings and rallies, this slogan is often chanted as a threat to Jews implying that they should expect to be defeated and murdered again by Muslims.

Jewish Comic Book Legend Stan Lee Has Died at 95

EOZ: Gaza terror groups brag about bombing civilians. @HRW and @Amnesty completely silent on admitted war crimes.

While Hamas still pretends to be aiming its rockets at Israeli military targets, Islamic Jihad is more honest.

In a statement where it announced a new, deadlier rocket, the terrorist group said "the new missile was used recently during the shelling of the occupied city of Ashkelon, and the rocket caused serious damage to the houses of the settlers....The new missile has great destructive power and was able to turn the occupied city of Ashkelon into hell."

Besides making it clear that they believe that all of Israel is "occupied," the statement brags about targeting "houses of settlers" - which is not a military target under any circumstances.

Yet throughout the two day bombardment of Israeli towns and cities in the south, not one tweet from Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch was issued condemning this clear and obvious war crime and attack on the lives of Israelis.

HRW's Ken Roth, who tweets every daylight hour and who can always find anti-Israel articles to publicize, couldn't issue a single tweet about hundreds of rockets being shot into Israel.

Omar Shakir, HRW's Israel and Palestine Director, retweeted others' outrage at Israel attacking the Al Aqsa TV station, but didn't say a word about the hundreds of rockets shot indiscriminately at Israel.

The rule at these NGOs is that it is only acceptable to mention war crimes against Israelis after there are ten times as much discussion of alleged Israeli crimes.

Civilians as human shields: Recognize how Hamas fights Israel

• In 2014, Hamas demanded Palestinians stay in their homes and become "Martyrs," despite Israel's warnings their houses would be bombed
   
• "You [Israelis] are fighting divine soldiers, who love death for Allah like you love life, and who compete among themselves for Martyrdom," - Hamas leader Muhammad Deif, during 2014 Gaza war
   
• Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, during 2014 Gaza war: 

• Hamas told Palestinians that "Martyrdom" for Allah and death in the war with Israel was "a privilege"
   
• "We are leading them [our people] to death - I mean, to confrontation" - Hamas' spokesman in 2014 Gaza war
   
• Paradoxically, it has been Israel which has tried to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians by warning of air strikes in advance, while it was Hamas who intentionally endangered them, causing many civilian deaths among Palestinians 

by Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik

It is clear from past wars that Hamas doesn't care about the lives of the almost 2 million Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian Media Watch has documented that Hamas unscrupulously uses Palestinian civilians as human shields when fighting Israel. This might be what is in store for Palestinians again, as Hamas escalates its missile attacks on Israeli civilian targets in towns and cities. Hamas has launched hundreds of missiles yesterday alone, forcing Israel to respond with military force.

In the 2014 war, Hamas openly and intentionally demanded that civilians ignore Israel's warningsprior to bombings of terrorists hiding among civilians. Hamas insisted they welcome death, so that Hamas could use them as human shields for their fighters and rocket launchers.

Hamas' spokesman at the time, Sami Abu Zuhri, called on Palestinians to "oppose the Israeli fighter planes with their bodies alone" which he said had "proven an effective method" against "the occupation:" 

Al-Aqsa TV reporter: "Witnesses are talking about a large crowd. The residents are still gathering to reach the Kaware family home in order to prevent the Zionist occupation's fighter planes from striking it." 

Al-Aqsa TV host: "People are reverting to a method that was very successful once." 

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri: "The people oppose the Israeli fighter planes with their bodies alone... I think this method has proven effective against the occupation. It also reflects the nature of our heroic and brave people, and we, the [Hamas] movement, call on our people to adopt this method in order to protect the Palestinian homes."

[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 8, 2014]

The spokesman of Hamas' Ministry of Interior demanded Palestinians stay in their homes, telling them to ignore Israeli warnings:

"[Israel] has been sending tens of thousands of voice messages to citizens' phones... asking them to evacuate their homes by a certain time... There is no reason to be concerned by them or pay attention to them and by no means should they be heeded." 

[Hamas Ministry of Interior spokesman's Facebook page, July 15, 2014]

When Israel warned Palestinians who lived near the Israeli border in the Northern Gaza Strip, an area from which Hamas launched long-range missiles, to evacuate their homes to areas of safety before Israel would bomb the launching sites, Hamas told civilians to remain in their homes in spite of the danger.

"We call on our Palestinian people, particularly the residents of northwest Gaza, not to obey what is written in the pamphlets distributed by the Israeli occupation army. We call on them to remain in their homes and disregard the demands to leave, however serious the threat may be." 

[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 13, 2014]

To support the policy of using civilians as human shields, Hamas TV presented dead civilians as being privileged to have died this way, achieving Shahada - "Martyrdom":

Hamas TV host: "Every soul has its time. These people - their time had come, and they were Martyred (i.e., Gaza civilians killed in war). They have gained [Paradise]. They have nothing in this world, especially in the Gaza Strip. There's no life in the Gaza Strip. What life can we have in the Gaza Strip? Being with Allah is better. Being with Allah is better. What we see is very hard but we won't surrender, Allah willing. The first to say it are the Martyrs' family. The first to say it are the Martyrs' mothers and fathers... Don't be disturbed by these images. He who was killed this way doesn't feel. By Allah, he does not feel. These are not my words, but the words of our beloved Prophet [Muhammad]: He who is Martyred doesn't feel. Only we suffer by these images. By Allah, [the Martyr] doesn't feel. His soul has ascended to Allah. His soul is with the Lord. His soul is inside a green bird. He is with Allah now. He is in Paradise. Only we suffer by these images... In other cities, in other countries, thousands die in earthquakes, floods, plane crashes, in ferry or shipwrecks, in natural or unnatural disasters. Thousands die. Thousands die but we don't know what their fate is with Allah. But we [in Gaza] are Martyrs. The enemy has killed us and we are Martyrs."

[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 20, 2014]

When Palestinians criticized the great loss of life among civilians, Hamas' spokesman belittled these "defeatist" Palestinians, suggesting their losses were nothing compared to Algerian losses in 1945. He also made a telling slip of the tongue when referring to the population in Gaza: "We are leading them to death," he said, then quickly corrected himself: "I mean, to confrontation." 

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri: "The resistance (i.e., Hamas) is truly glorifying our people and our nation. We are paying a price, but we remember our brothers in Algeria, who had at least a million and half Martyrs... In 1945, in a single day in Algeria, 45,000 Algerians died. In a single day. It wasn't described in Algeria's history as forsaking the blood of the Algerians, as some defeatists are describing today the number of Martyrs as 'trading with Palestinian blood and forsaking Palestinian blood'... We are not leading our people to execution as we stand by and look on. No. We are leading them to death - I mean, to confrontation."

[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 13, 2014]

To scare Israelis and possibly boost Palestinian morale, Hamas TV broadcast statements by two senior Hamas leaders, both emphasizing that Palestinians "love death for Allah." 

Hamas leader Muhammad Deif: "Today you [Israelis] are fighting divine soldiers, who love death for Allah like you love life, and who compete among themselves for Martyrdom like you flee from death." 

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh: "We love death like our enemies love life! We love Martyrdom, the way in which [Hamas] leaders died." 

[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), July 30, 2014]

Similarly, Hamas TV chose to broadcast a speech by a Kuwaiti Muslim Brotherhood leader who addressed Gaza civilians, reiterating that Martyrdom for Allah is "the highest wish":

Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Kuwait, Tareq Al-Suwaidan: "Without a doubt, the blood being spilled [in Gaza] is dear. But the equation is 'Those killed from our side are in Paradise, and those killed from their side in Hell.' (Hadith) We are not afraid of Martyrdom. Not long ago, you cried out loud: 'Death for Allah is our most exalted wish!' (Muslim Brotherhood slogan) You received the death you wanted. We have no problem with death. We are not like the children of Israel: 'And you will surely find them the most greedy of people for life.' (Quran) Whereas we yearn for death and Martyrdom... Every mother - especially the mothers in Palestine, but every mother in the [Islamic] Nation, not just Palestine - must nurse her children on hatred of the sons of Zion. We hate them and they are our enemies. We will plant this in their [our children's] souls, so that a new generation will grow among us, which will erase them from the face of the earth."

[Al-Aqsa TV (Hamas), Aug. 1, 2014]

Paradoxically, in previous wars it has been Israel who tried to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians, while it has been Hamas who intentionally endangers them, causing many civilian deaths among Palestinians.