Iran's Threats to Israel With Nuclear Attack

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                  

                                                             After Hiroshima was Hit
King Solomon (961-920 BCE) of Israel proved a point when in his wisdom he solved an argument between two women claiming one child by offering to cut it in half.  One mother backed off, not wanting to harm the child which was the clue for Solomon to see who the real mother was.

So it is with Iran and Israel.  Iran threatens seriously to destroy Israel and at the same time is hurriedly creating nuclear tipped missiles that could carry out their wishes.  Amid all the bluster and harsh, ugly threats, one would have to be an idiot not to see that they were meant for Israel's destruction.  So really, Jerusalem has no meaning to Iran.  They would just as soon destroy this ancient city..

They would rather destroy Israel which includes Jerusalem than allow this Jewish state to exist.  They wouldn't mind an attempt such as this which would destroy the Temple on Mt. Moriah where the Ark had been kept, that now has become the Mosque of Omar, which is in the hands of the religious Muslim authority as Israel has seen fit to allow.

They would not be bothered with the 1.7 million Arabs dying that are citizens of Israel as long as they can kill Jews, for they have sworn to finish what Hitler didn't.  The states are so close to each other that those Arabs living in Judea and Samaria as well as Gaza would also be affected and could easily take the brunt of the attack, for their artillery isn't all that easy to guide.  In fact, this threat is also a threat upon Egypt and Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Lebanon as well.  They're all within a dangerous range of fallout if not a direct hit.

When Hiroshima was hit with "Little Bug," an A bomb, on August 6, 1945, 80,000 people were immediately vaporized.  135,000 people 1/2 mile away were killed  by a firestorm that ensued.  Every building 1 mile from the blast was destroyed.  Buildings 10 miles away were damaged.  Windows 12 miles away were shattered from the blast.

Radioactive fallout (Black rain) does the damage.  People suffer from burns due to radiation.  Your body suffers from this by getting leukemia, cancer in every part of the body, even genetic damage happens and future children will have birth defects and degenerative diseases.  20% of a population can be killed in the blast.  There is the heat, the ground shock from instant radiation effects from the neutrons and gamma rays.

Water supplies are contaminated.  Years after a bombing the earth feels the effects and nothing can live in the contaminated area.

An unverified source has  said  in March that Quds (Jerusalem) underground nuclear site in Iran was seen by satellite.  It's never been inspected by the Atomic Energy Commission as it was declared a military site only.  Naming the site  "Quds", meaning Jerusalem in Arabic, is a contemptuous way of  verifying their desire to destroy Israel.  Iran has been teaming up with North Korea in their joint venture since 2002  to produce nuclear-tipped missiles in their quest to destroy the USA and Israel.

Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Sudan, Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Qatar, all with a dominant Sunni population, will be held hostage by the all Shi'a Iran.  This has as much to do with religious dominance with Israel as it has to do with the Sunni Muslims.  This is one reason why Iran had a 9 year war with Iran from September 1980 to August 1988.  Wasn't it over power?

Pakistan, 97% Sunni is very close to Iran, which is 98% Shi'a.  Turkey is 99% Sunni and Afghanistan is 99% Sunni.  Yemen is 99% Sunni while Syria is busy slaughtering its own citizens which have been 90% Sunni/Shi'a.  Lebanon is 60% Sunni/Shi'a, already affected by Iran through Syria.   Whether these countries border Israel or are farther away, all will be under the thumb of the country with the A bomb.

I just want to remind all that the rumor has been that Israel has nuclear abilities.  They have never threatened anyone with destruction nor have they used this possible weapon in its 65 years.  Another reminder:  just how do you think Israel has survived all these 65 years with 7 times being attacked in major wars and coming out the winner against all odds?  Do you think it has just been the USA's help?  Think again.  Think out of your box.

Resource:  http://www.atomicarchive.com/Docs/Effects/wenw_chp2.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fallout
http://voices.yahoo.com/effects-atomic-bomb-japan-nuclear-fallout-8067970.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_nuclear_explosions_on_human_health
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran%E2%80%93Iraq_War

Oh oh! Arabs and Israelis Having a Cultural Exchange-Like "Dugri"

                                                                         

Nadene Goldfoot                            King of falafels and Queen of falafels compete in Israel 

Israelis are having a cultural exchange with the Arabs.  There's a Hebrew word - "dugri", which roughly translates as "frank" or "down to earth". It's also an Arabic word meaning "straight" or "straight ahead". It was used famously by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who told Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas at the UN that only by talking "dugri" could they achieve peace."  Is this why Abbas is afraid of sitting down and talking about peace with Netanyahu?  He knows that Netanyahu will be a straight-shooter, something many people count as a fault with Israelis.    After that, Israelis liked the phrase so much, they started to wear it on T-shirts.

Arabic and Hebrew share many similarities.  Both are read from right to left horizontally.  The alphabets are completely different though, but share similar names to start, like A is called alef and alif;  B is called beyth or baa.  Salaam and Shalom mean hello, good-bye and peace.   Shalom aleichem and Salaam aleikum  or   Peace be upon you.   This happens when you live closely with another culture.  Languages are full of examples. Jewish tribes lived in Medina, Saudi Arabia at the time of Mohammad and trading in goods went on between them.

TV is used as a Hebrew word, borrowed from the USA. Instead of McDonald's,  Israel  has McDavid's for a place to buy a good hamburger.  The USA has lots of things in Israel; coca cola, for one, music, but no American soldiers.

Hebrew and Arabic go back to the same root over 1,000 years ago, probably stemming from the  Phoenicians.    The following video will go over numbers, body parts, people in a family, students, and a common verb like "eat" and "gold".  as well as "peace."
                                                                       

Perhaps this is what the surrounding Arab nations are afraid of,  a cultural exchange.  Israel is unique, made up of so many former Westerners or Ashkenazi Jews who come along with democratic ideals.  That they are a Jewish nation is really  not so different and threatening to Islam.  Both believe in one G-d.  Are they trying to tell us that the values of Islam are so terribly different from Judaism, then? That's the way it's coming across, but really isn't so.  There are those Muslims who are all for peace and good will with Jews, which includes Israel.    The governments are radically different, though,  and it might give their populace ideas, and this must be the fear.  However, I don't think that they can blame the Arab Spring onto Israel.  More likely  we can give credit to President Obama of the USA for that.  His first act as president in 2008 was to go to Egypt and make a speech that must have led to it.

In Israel, all  students study Hebrew and English, and then have a choice between studying Arabic or French. I have seen students sitting together and helping each other with their Arabic and Hebrew studies.  It brings them together.  Signs are in Hebrew, Arabic and English.

Bagels are not bagels in Israel, but you can find bagelas, which are just a little different. That was my experience in 1980-85 and I see it's true in 2008 as well.   Pita is the most popular and everyone eats felafels for breakfast, lunch and dinner when they want.  Middle East cuisine rules.  Shopping is done in outdoor markets called Shuks.  That's where one can use their bargaining skills over prices.  Then you know you're not in the USA.

I imagine that the biggest fear of all is intermarriage, and this does happen once in a while.  It's been happening since the beginning of time.  It was Ruth, the Moabite,  who married into the Jewish family of Naomi's son Mahlon. He died and Ruth then married Naomi's kinsman (probably a cousin once removed) Boaz.    She became the ancestor of King David. And where was Moab?  It was a country in south Transjordan or where Judea and Samaria (West Bank)  and Jordan are today.  They were kindred to the Israelites, descending also from Lot.  Their language was like biblical Hebrew.  During the Exodus, their land was ruled by the Amorite monarch, Sihon.  After Joshua conquered the territory,  the land was occupied by the Israelites and was the object of contention between them and the Moabites and Ammonites.  King David wound up conquering Moab.  There are probably quite a few Jews with a few Moabite genes.

 Usually the woman takes on the religion of the man,  unless the husband is not involved in his own religion, and in Israel,  most men are very much involved, Muslim or Jew.

Resource:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s95yAJye36w
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22089936
https://sites.google.com/site/arabichebrewlexicon/reference-charts/the-arabic-alphabet---hrwf-alalfba-llghte-alrbyte
http://www.ehow.com/list_7446791_hebrew-arabic-similarities.html
http://howtobeisraeli.blogspot.com/2010/05/foods-surprisingly-hard-to-find-in.html
http://www.redbubble.com/shop/israel+dugri+drawing+t-shirts?ref=shop_tag_refinement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_alphabet

Lies People Tell About Jews and Israel

Nadene Goldfoot
Since the truth being told about Israel is not helping the Palestinians in their fight to destroy Israel, they have been fighting with lies, which is what the Nazi regime used as well.  If you tell a lie enough times, they thought, people will believe it.

When telling the truth, they can mange to tell it in a deceitful way if their goal is to disparage Israel.  One example is saying that Israel doesn't allow Arabs or any non-Jew into the IDF (Israel Defense Force).    Arabs have not been required to serve in the Israeli army for obvious reasons.  In other words, they have been exempt unless they have wanted to serve.  Now even the USA is not that liberal.  If you are a citizen and in time of stress, your name was called in days of the draft.  The Druze are not a Jewish group but have been serving since Israel's creation.  They are one of the best and are very loyal.   Bedouin Arabs are among the "most sought after recruits as they make such good soldiers.

 Recently, Major Ala Wahib, a general in the army has written about how strongly he feels about Israel.  We also have Anet Haskia, a Muslim Arab mother who is proud of her children who serve in the IDF and of her country, Israel.  It may come to the point where all Arabs will be asked to serve along with everyone else. Netanyahu's new coalition has been talking about this.  

As it is, all women under age 26 serve  for 20 months. Men under 29 are called up for 3 years  Men will do milueem for a month out of every year until age 55.  That is a practice time to keep in shape.  Doctors may be called up until age 34.  During 1982's Lebanon War, all the men in Safed were called up and the streets were empty.  Women took over their husband's jobs.  I saw a unit of white-haired and bearded old men marching up the street protecting us.  Surely they were past 55.  We women were asked to bake cakes for the soldiers.  They were put in kiosks that were set up along with coffee for soldiers getting to their destinations.  In that way I helped, but I was afraid that these 18-55 year old soldiers would all suffer from a sugar high.

Orthodox Jewish men have been left to study if they are in Yeshivote (religious higher education), and this may change as well.  Israel is a very little country with only 7 million people and their vast  neighborhood is full of millions of Muslims who have not accepted change in the area.

My husband and I were new olim and had moved to Israel in 1980.  Danny had been in the US air force but had a serious liability of a lung disease that scared even Israel:  He was called in for his physical at age 43 and was given something like a 4F.  Instead, we both served in the Civil Guard where we did duty with others once a month,  training first for 3 days on an M1 Rifle.  Our friend, another Portlander who had moved into an apartment across the street in Safed, had a heart problem which did not keep him out of the army.  He managed, but Dan did die with his disease a few years ago.

Another lie constantly told is that Israel is Apartheid.  One thing I've noticed is that if there's a fault among the Arab population, they will place that fault onto Israelis to get it off their backs.  In fact, they plan to make their Palestine free of Jews, "Judenrein."  Israel has about 1.6 million Arab citizens with full citizenship and rights.  In fact, it is the only country in the Middle East to do so for these Arabs who would have been refugees from 1948's war.  Many Arabs have risen to prominency in Israel.  There are Arab ministers in Israel's parliament.  Arab doctors treat Jewish patients next to Jewish doctors who treat Arab patients.

 I lived in Binyon 213 in Safed, an apartment building full of Jews and Arabs.  During a broken water pipe crisis where my apartment was becoming flooded, an Israeli Jewish lady and an Israeli Arab lady  came to help me without me asking.  They could easily chat with each other while I, a new immigrant, was left pretty much in the dark but loved it.

Because Israel was created to be a Jewish state, the only Jewish state in the world, does not make it apartheid. There are now 6 million Jews and 1.6 million Arabs living there as citizens.   There are 49 Muslim majority states in the world.  Only Jews have suffered the slings and arrows of anti-Semitism for 2,000 years and were in desperate need of their own state.  The Holocaust, where Nazis tried to exterminate all Jews in the whole world, was the turning point for this world to understand that we needed our own country.  We knew it even before while suffering from terrible pogroms in Russia and started the ball rolling then to create our own state.  We knew it again when in 1894 Lt. Dreyfus was put in prison in France just for being Jewish and that caused the wheels to start turning.

2.2 Billion Christians in the world=32% of world population

1.6 Billion Muslims in the world =23% of world population

1.0 Billion Hindus in the world = 15% of world population

500 Million Buddhists in the world= 7% of world population

 14 Million Jews in the world= 0.02% of world population 

Resource:  http://www.israelmuse.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
http://www.christianpost.com/news/poll-christians-most-numerous-worldwide-nones-majority-in-six-countries-86895/

Living in the Middle East as Dhimmas Before and After May 14, 1948 For Jews

Nadene Goldfoot                                                               

                Jewish family in Palestine living around Mt. Zion-Mount Zion is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David ....  

First, in most Muslim states, Jews and Christians were not 1st class citizens in Muslim countries; they were called dhimmas (protected) .  If you were not a Muslim, you had to be subordinate to a Muslim. Usually you had a choice between death and conversion.   Jews were thus protected, but from what?  Supposedly from other Muslims.  The protection involved as a dhimma did little to help.  They were still infidels and had to acknowledge openly the superiority of the Muslim.  Besides all sorts of penalties and hardships, they had to pay a poll tax symbolizing the subordination.  

With the creation of Israel on May 14, 1948, almost all the Muslim nations reacted.  Not only did they make war on Israel immediately, but on the Jews in their own country.  

                                                                       

                                                      Raqia Ibrahim, Egyptian Jewish actress

EGYPT: population 79,089,650
1947:  90,000 Jews...1948:  75,000 Jews............1991:  less then 200
70+  Jews were killed and almost 200 wounded by bombs set off in the Jewish Quarter right after Israel was declared a state May 14, 1948.  In the 1956 War of Sinai, 25,000 Egyptian Jews were expelled and their property was confiscated by the government.  1,000 were went to prisons and detention camps.  November 23, 1956 proclamation which was read aloud in mosques said that "all Jews are Zionists and enemies of the state and would be expelled.  Thousands were ordered to leave the country and could take only one suitcase and a small amount of money.  Then they were forced to sign  declarations "donating all their possessions to Egypt.  People were taken hostage so that those that left wouldn't speak against them.  In 1967 War, Jewish homes and property were confiscated.  Hundreds of former Nazis were allowed to live in Egypt and given positions in the government.  The Egyptian secret police was run by Leopold Gleim, head of Polish Gestapo, who was sentenced to death in absentia.  By 1979 the small remaining Egyptian Jewish community finally had official contact with Israel and those few can not practice Judaism without restrictions or harassment.  I met my young Egyptian-Jewish co-teacher in Tzfat in 1981 who told me that there were only a few old people left there.

IRAQ (Mesopotamia) ..pre Muslim history was called Babylonia: population: 31,234,000
1948:  150,000 Jews........1991: 150 in Baghdad
Jew that were expelled from Arabia settled in Kufa, Iraq.  A 2,700 year old Iraqi Jewish community had suffered terrible persecution in Iraq in WWII. Jews in June 1941 in Baghdad  suffered from riots and a pogrom by the Mufti-induced pro-Nazi coup of Rashid Ali.  The mobs were armed and the police and army murdered 180 Jews and wounded almost 1,000. Operations Ezra and Nehemiah brought Jews to Israel.   More outbreaks happened between 1946-1949.   By 1950 Jews were permitted to leave within a year if they forfeited their citizenship.  May 1950, 113,000 fled to Israel in "Operation Ali Baba."  In 1951 the property of emigrating Jews was frozen and economic restrictions were placed on those who remained.  By 1952 Jews were barred from emigrating and 2 were publicly hung after arresting them for throwing a bomb at the Baghdad office of the US Information Agency which was a false charge.  1963 saw the rise of the Ba'ath party which caused more restrictions on the remaining Jews.  They couldn't sell their property.  All Jews had to carry yellow identity cards.  After 1967's War, Jewish property was just taken, bank accounts were frozen, they were fired from public jobs, businesses were shut, trading permits were cancelled, telephones were disconnected, people were placed under house arrests for long periods or restricted to the cities.  1968 was the worst time when many were jailed when a spy ring was found.  14 men (11 Jewish) were hung in public squares in Baghdad.  Others were tortured to death.  On January 27, 1969, Baghdad Radio called people to come and enjoy a feast.  A crowd of 500,000  were called to see the hanging and they all chanted, "Death to Israel."By the 1970's, the remaining Jews were able to emigrate.  Those left were too old to leave.

SYRIA Aram) population 22,505,000
1948:  30,000 Jews.............1991: 4,000
The Syrian Jews suffered the most in the Arab world, so it's not hard to realize that the Muslims there are also suffering today.  In 1944 Syria became independent from France.  The new government didn't allow Jewish emigration to Palestine and severely restricted teaching of Hebrew in Jewish schools.  Attacks grew and Jewish businesses were boycotted.  Partition was declared in 1947 which caused Arab mobs in Aleppo  to attack the 2,500 year old Jewish community.  Many Jews were killed.  200+ homes, shops, and synagogues were destroyed.  Thousands fled illegally to get into Israel.  Things then became even worse.  Freedom of movement was severely restricted.  If you tried to leave the country you were killed or imprisoned  with hard labor.  Jews couldn't work in the government or banks.  The Jewish cemetery had a road paved over it in Damascus.  Jewish schools were closed and given to Muslims by the government.  1987-88 was when the secret police grabbed 10 Jews and tortured them for suspicion of violating travel and emigration laws, planning to escape and taking unauthorized trip abroad.  November 1989 had the promise to allow emigration of 500+single Jewish women.  Only 24 got to in 1989 and another 20 in 1991.  Jews in Syria live in extreme fear. Their Quarter in Damascus is under constant surveillance of the secret police.  They have continued to harbor Alois Brunner, one of the most notorious Nazi war criminals at large.  He was the chief aide to Adolf Eichmann, and was an adviser to the Assad regime.  He is always protected by the Syrian security service.

LIBYA: population: 6,173,579
1948:  38,000 Jews.......1991: 5
Jews suffered in a terrible pogrom in Tripoli on November 5, 1945 which killed more than 140 Jews and wounded hundreds more.  The synagogues were looted.  By June 1948, rioters murdered another 12 Jews and destroyed 280 Jewish homes.  Thousands fled after Libya was given independence and membership in the Arab League in 1951.  After 1967 the Jewish population of 7,000 suffered more pogroms in which 18 were killed and many more injured.  This caused a mass exodus that left less than 100 Jews.

LEBANON: 4,196,453
1948:  20,000 Jews....... 1991: less than 100
Christian Arabs ruled Lebanon before 1980 and Jews were tolerated but were insecure.  Most left in 1967.  All they had to do was cross their southern  border and they were in Israel.  Fighting took place from 1975-76 around the Jewish Quarter in Beirut and damaged many of the Jewish homes, businesses and synagogues.
The remaining 1800 Jews emigrated in 1976 fearing a growing Syrian presence. About 1985 Hezbollah kidnapped 9 Jews from Beirut, most were leaders of the community.  4 were later found murdered.  In 1991 were reports that a few were brought to Syria and were the central prison in Damascus.

ALGERIA: population: 34,895,000
1948:  140,000 Jews......1991:  300
A country of ancient Jewish communities dating back to Carthaginians and Romans.  There were even Berber tribes who embraced Judaism.   In 1934 a Nazi-incited pogrom in Constantine caused 25 Jews' death and many injured.  This was an early start of attacking Jews.    Algeria got independence in 1962 and then the government harassed the Jewish community and kept them from their economic rights.  So almost 130,000 Jews immigrated to France.  One synagogue is maintained in central Algiers today if any Jews are remaining.  Mondovi, Algeria was the home of writer Albert Camus who was a Nobel Prize winner in Literature who wrote "The Plague," in 1947, a historical satire in which the plague is the German occupation of France from 1940 to 1944 during WWII.  In it the town of Oran, Algeria is the equivalent of France with citizens that were slow to realize the magnitude of the danger because they didn't believe it could happen to them as the French were complacent at the beginning of the war.  They couldn't imagine that the Germans could defeat them in 6 weeks.  France fell in June 1940.

MOROCCO: population: 33,723,418
1948:  265,000 Jews.......1991:  6,000
Jews lived here when it was Mauritania, a Roman province.  Casablanca was a center for Jews.  June 1948 saw bloody riots in Oujda and Djerada which killed 44 Jews and wounded many more.  Economic boycotts were instigated against the Jews.  By 1956 Morocco had its independence and Jews couldn't emigrate to Israel until 1963 which allowed more than 100,000 Moroccan Jews to reach Israel.  Moroccan writer Said Ghallab wrote how Muslims felt about their Jewish neighbors in 1965.  "The worst insult that a Moroccan could possibly offer was to treat someone as a Jew...They were very anti-Semitic.  A whole Hitlerite myth is being cultivated among the populace.  the massacres of the Jews by Hitler are exalted ecstatically.  ..his arrival (couldn't believe he was dead) is awaited to deliver the Arabs from Israel."  King Hassan tried to protect the Jewish population.  Moroccan Jews had held leading positions in the business community and government.  July 1986 King Hassan was the host to Prime Minister Shimon Peres of Israel. My boss in the English Department of Tzfat Junior High was a beautiful Moroccan lady whose husband was a doctor.  She taught English and French, being French was her native language.  Of course she was fluent in Hebrew as well.  The principal of our school was also from Morocco.

YEMEN (SW Arabia) population: 23,580,000
1948:  58,000 Jews........1991:  1,500-2,000
Home of my favorite singer, Ofra Haza, one of Israel's best and most beautiful.  In 1922 the government took up an ancient law saying that Jewish orphans under age 12 were forcibly converted to Islam.  After the partition vote of 1947, Muslim rioters with the police instigated a bloody pogrom in Aden that killed 82 Jews and destroyed their hundreds of homes, stores, businesses.  The Jewish community was paralyzed.  By 1948 looting happened after 6 Jews were accused of the ritual murder of 2 Arab girls.  50,000 emigrated between June 1949 and September 1950 in "Operation "Magic Carpet."  Migrations continued into 1962 when a civil war started.  It was then thought that the Jewish community in Yemen was extinct, but in 1976 an American diplomat fund a small Jewish community in northern Yemen.  Jews remained to care for the elderly and sick that couldn't emigrate.  Then they were isolated and trapped.  They just gave up being they were without everything and converted to Islam.  By 1991 organizations have been able to go in and give aid.

ADEN: (port in S. Arabia in Yemen) population: 1,000,000
1948:  8,000 Jews........1991: 0
Jews have been here from remote times.  It was a British protectorate.  After the British annexation in 1838, Jews immigrated from Yemen.There were serious attacks by the local Arab population in 1947.  After Israel was a state in 1948, Aden served as the base for Operation Magic Carpet and most of the Jews there emigrated.  Anti-Jewish attacks increased in 1967 as the protectorate ended and the last Jews left.

TUNISIA: population: 10,383,577
1948:  105,000 Jews.........1991: 300
Jews lived here since Carthage in Roman times.  Tunisia was independent in 1956 and then decreed anti-Jewish laws.  In 1958 the Jewish Community Council was abolished and synagogues, cemeteries and the Jewish quarters were destroyed for "urban renewal."  (This also happened in Portland, Oregon).  Instability caused 40,000+ Tunisian Jews to emigrate to Israel.  In 1967 the Jewish population was down to 20,000.  During the 1967 War, Jews were attacked by rioting Arab mobs.  synagogues and shops were burned.  President Habib Bourguiba apologized to the Chief Rabbi.  The government asked the Jews to stay, but  7,000 Jews emigrated to France.  By 1982 there were attacks on Jews in Zarzis and Ben guardane.  The government tried to protect the Jews.  In 1985 a Tunisian guard opened fire on worshippers in a synagogue in Jerba and killed 5. 4 were Jewish.  Since then they have given Jews more protection.  When Israel bombed the PLO headquarters near Tunis on October 1, 1985, the government worked hard to protect the Jews from reprisals.  They did so again in October 1990 after the Temple Mount tragedy.  The government even was paying the salary of the Grand Rabbi of the community.

TURKEY: population: 73,722,988
1900:  350,000 Jews...... 1990:  20,000            2010: 17,000 (emigrated to Israel)
Turkey was the exception to the rule. Jews have a history of living here for 2,400 years.   Those  escaping the Spanish Inquisition were able to go to the Ottoman Empire.  Jews were favored as a valuable trading and artisan element .  After Israel was pronounced a state in 1948, 37,000 Turkish Jews emigrated to there.  Many Turkish Jews emigrated to Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington in the early 1900's.  18,000 Jews remained in Istanbul, 1,500 in Izmir and smaller communities in Edirne, Brusa and Ankara.   "Turkey was neutral in WWII.  As early as 1933 Ataturk invited numbers of prominent German Jewish professors to flee Nazi Germany and settle in Turkey. Before and during the war years, these scholars contributed a great deal to the development of the Turkish university system. During World War II, Turkey served as a safe passage for many Jews fleeing the horrors of the Nazism." The spiritual and cultural distinction of former days has ended, however. "There are several Jewish professors teaching at the universities of Istanbul and Ankara, and many Turkish Jews are prominent in business, industry and the liberal professions."  Today's government has suddenly become harsh towards Israel after a long friendship as it has moved towards embracing the Muslim Brotherhood and what it stands for.  

IRAN;  (Persia)  population :  76,923,300
1948: 100,000 Jews...... Jews.....1979: 80,000........2004: 20,000 to 25,000 Jews
Jews have been in Persia since the 6th Century BCE at the time of the 1st Temple.  Queen Esther was a Jewish queen married to King Ahasueros.  "Today Jews are faced with constant suspicion of cooperating with the Zionist state and with "imperialistic America" — both such activities are punishable by death.The government does not generally allow all members of a family to travel abroad at the same time to prevent Jewish emigration. Again, the Jews live under the status of dhimmi, with the restrictions imposed on religious minorities. Jewish leaders fear government reprisals if they draw attention to official mistreatment of their community.   Iran's President Ahmidinejad has called Jews and Israel names and has threatened to put an end to Israel while his country is working on a nuclear reactor that will be able to produce an A bomb.  This is the most serious situation Israel is facing.  At least 13 Jews have been executed in Iran since the Islamic revolution, most of them for either religious reasons or their connection to Israel. For example, in May 1998, Jewish businessman Ruhollah Kakhodah-Zadeh was hanged in prison without a public charge or legal proceeding, apparently for assisting Jews to emigrate.

JORDAN:  population: 5,568,565
1948: 0 Jews...........1990:  0
In 1921 the area of Transjordan was detached from the land originally incorporated under the Mandate and Emir Abdullah (1883-1951) became the king. He was the 2nd son of Hussein, sherif of Mecca and later the king of Hejaz.  He supported Britain during WWI so he got the nomination to be the ruler of Transjordan in 1923  He's the man ruler who negotiated with Chaim Weizmann in 1922 but since the British disappointed him went along with the other Arabs in invading Israel in 1948.    In 1948-1950 he annexed the eastern part of the land east of the Jordan River "West Bank" illegally. The UN had made it a part of the Jewish Homeland.  Abdullah was assassinated  in Jerusalem at the orders of the Mufti, Haj Amin el-Husseini.  His grandson, Hussein, ruled from 1952.  In 1967 Hussein sided with the other Arabs and involved Jordan in the Six Day War.  They were defeated and Israel took over what had been called "West Bank" but in reality it was the original Jewish  land of Judah and Samaria.  In 1970 he expelled the PLO from his country but later reconciled with Arafat and his son married a Palestinian girl.  He also acted as protector of the Arabs but in 1988 withdrew from this role and left it to Fatah.  His major supporters are the bedouin tribesmen while a majority of its population are Palestinians.  Many keep saying that this is really the land that should be "Palestine."  However, the king of Jordan is against such an idea.  He has been a good neighbor since the War of 1973. He was the least enthusiastic enemy then as he had not been informed about Egypt and Syria's war plans.  However, he sent his best units to Syria which took positions in the southern sector defending and attacking Israeli positions along the road on October 16th.  3 Jordanian artillery batteries also participated in the assault carried out by almost 100 tanks.

Israel was flooded with 900,000  immigrants from the Middle East countries at about the same time shortly after May 14, 1948 and took them all in.  That's what it was created for in the first place; to be a haven for Jews living in countries that did not want them.  None became refugees needing UN support.  "Jews in some Arab countries such as Syria and Yemen are held as hostages to this day."

So when I hear anyone in the Middle East population complain about Israel's treatment of Arabs in any way shape or form, I have to say, really?  You should be happy that they are not treating you as you have treated them.  They are trying to do a much better job.

Resource:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Camus
Myths and Facts; a concise record of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Dr. Mitchell G. Bard and Joel Himelfarb
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Turkey.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antisemitism_in_Turkey
http://www.meforum.org/263/why-jews-fled-the-arab-countries
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/anti-semitism/iranjews.html
http://hsje.org/displacement_of_jews_from_arab_c.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aden

Satirist in Egypt, Bassem Youssef Does It Again

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                            

Bassem Youssef is not only a cardiothoracic surgeon in Egypt in his spare time, but also  a satirist and is doing a takeoff of our American Jon Stewart and his program, The Daily Show. Bassem is the host of a news program.     He has already been in hot water with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood government by their charges of insulting Egypt  and President Morsi which led to his lockup for a week.

He turned around and created a song which makes fun of the Muslim Brotherhood for selling out to Qatar, the oil-rich Gulf state that is giving money to Egypt.  Before he can be prosecuted for this one, he has just received word that he is being prosecuted by Egyptians  for insulting Pakistan and spreading atheism.

As he is going, it might just take his doctor's salary to pay for the times he is being prosecuted as a TV host.  Evidently Egypt is having a hard time accepting such humor.

Resource: http://www.timesofisrael.com/egyptian-satirist-leads-choir-in-ode-to-qatar/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassem_Youssef_(television_host)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2013/apr/09/laughing-stock-egyptian-satirist-cleared
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-3445_162-57578264/the-revolutionary-comedy-of-egypts-bassem-youssef/
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/egypt-court-investigate-bassem-youssef-insulting-pakistan

Long-Haired , and Spiked Hair Hamas Teens Get Hamas Police Angry

Nadene Goldfoot
The Hamas Police have seen it all, now.  Their teen-agers are copying the western look of long hair and pants hanging below the waist.  They are now grabbing these teens who have either long hair or spiked-gelled  hair off the streets, putting them into jeeps and driving someplace where they are shaving their heads and mocking them.  Perhaps this is tough love?

Gaza has been very conservative, following the Muslim Brotherhood which is forcing its fundamentalist interpretation of Islam since 2007.  This new crackdown on hair and tight or low waist pants is one of the most aggressive phasess of the campaign so far.  Sometimes it also calls for beatings along with the shaving.

Two boys and a rights group have complained about it.  I wonder what their parents have been saying about their look.  Whatever do parents here and in England say about it?  One 19 year old housepainter, Ayman al Sayed,  said, "'The only thing I want to do is leave this country,' said the teenager, who despite his ordeal defiantly wore stylish but outlawed narrow-leg tan khakis yesterday."  A roundup began last week in separate sweeps in Gaza City.

How these looks come and go is amazing to us all.  Gone are the days of boys in crew cuts, off-white cords and cashmere sweaters that looked so neat.  They are all rebelling with this wild sci-fi look.  By the time they fix themselves up they're not recognizable even to their own mothers.  I wonder how the Muslims will take tattooing.  That's another part of this "look."

"Police said: 'We want you to respect our tradition', claim teenagers.

The young teens say they were warned by police that Gaza 'is Islamic.'" 

Resource:  Oregonian newspaper, 4/8/13 page A4,  world, Gaza Strip, from wire reports
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2305770/Police-shave-heads-young-men-long-hair-tight-trousers-Hamas-ruled-Gaza-crackdown.html

UN Relief and Works Agency Threatened in Gaza by Protesters

Nadene Goldfoot
As of July 1972 there were about a million Arabs living in the administered areas of Judaea, Samaria, Gaza Strip, North Sinai and Golan Heights.  These are the areas that fell into Israel after winning the 1967 War.  640,600 in Judaea and Samaria (5,900 sq km or 2,270 sq miles
388,600 in Gaza Strip (360 sq. km or 140 sq miles) and North Sinai
   8,000 in Golan Heights (1,250 sq km or 500 sq mi)
1,037,200 Total 

Israel pulled out of Gaza on 17th of August 2005 in the name of Peace. "All of the greenhouses in the 6 cities they evacuated from  were left intact after the Economic Cooperation Foundation  raised $14 million to buy the greenhouses for the Palestinian Authority.  They left greenhouses for the Palestinians that were their businesses but the Palestinians just demolished them.  The Jewish community of 8,600  from Gush Katif, religious Jews,  were some that were forced to leave. In all, 1,700 Jewish families were removed.   70% of Israel's organic produce came from Gaza, which would not be continued by the Gazans.   Shortly afterwards in 2006 started the bombardment of mortars, rockets and  missiles into southern Israel.

Now on April 4th Gazan protesters, used to getting food and cash assistance that is distributed by the UN  Relief and Works Agency daily found out that their behavior of rioting caused the agency  to close down Friday.  The protesters were so angry over the agency's curtailing the cash-assistance program for the poor that they had stormed the agency's main compound in Gaza City on Thursday.  The result is that the food distribution in Gaza Strip has indefinitely been suspended starting on Friday . Adnan Abu-Hasna,  the Palestinian Ambassador,  announced this.    .

815,000 Palestinian refugees, nearly half the population  of 1,657,155 (2011) get nutrition, education, health and other services from this agency.  Evidently they've been doing this since 1948.   The staff felt there was a threat to their life and are greatly concerned about their safety.  Therefore the food-distribution centers and the relief offices will be closed in the coming day unless they receive the proper security they need.  Gaza's population has quadrupled in the past 41 years.  

In the meantime, there are about 160,000 Palestinians living in 12 Palestine Lebanon refugee camps that Lebanon considers stateless.  Nearly 13,000 of those are living in extreme poverty, said Ashraf Dabour.  They are banned from entering anywhere from 20 to 75 professions in Lebanon. I only found that they couldn't be doctors or lawyers.    Practicing these careers would be a breach of Lebanese law.  Though the Lebanese parliament amended the law of restriction to work, the cabinet hasn't put the amendment into effect.  They could work as taxi drivers, construction workers and other menial employment.  They are in competition with Syrian guest workers.

The Palestinian health sector in Lebanon owes the Lebanese  hospitals about $2 million.  The Palestinian health sector  can't afford certain medical procedures and Arab and Palestinian businessmen are urged to help the refugees. Hospitalization in Lebanon's hospitals  are beyond the means of most refugees.   They often face a choice between foregoing essential medical treatment and falling deeply into debt. The PA's Ramallah-based government was doing its best but the PA is facing a financial crisis which reflects in not being able to help the refugees in Lebanon.

402,585-to 436,154  descendants of 1948 refugees registered in Lebanon in March 2005 and then in January  2012.  That makes  10% of their population, and they are listed as foreigners.  They can't attend public schools, own property or leave a will.  This is connected with their contention that they expect to get property back from Israel, thinking they had been landowners and had lost their property.  This would need proof, of course, which I doubt that they have.  Most Arabs were not landowners and real landowners had left "Palestine" for larger and better cities  in other countries such as Paris. In fact most were recent immigrants themselves who left their homelands nearby to look for work from the Jews.

Lebanon also has the problem of having a minority of Christians, and  the Christian Palestinians have been given citizenship.  Most of the rest are Sunni Muslims, but there is a balance of Sunni and Shi'a and taking them in as citizens would upset the balance of the trio.  60,000 Palestinians have citizenship.

"UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight."

The situation today  makes at least 828,000 people who are unskilled and unemployed, unable to take care of themselves.  That's almost 3 generations of people who have not supplied their own needs and the time has come where changes must be made.  A good portion of those working in Gaza are working for UNRWA.  At least they are learning a few skills.  The Arab leaders had insisted that these people stay in refugee camps as they became fodder to use against Israel in propaganda.  Evidently none of the countries who took the refugee camps are out much money as their finances come from the UN.

The Arab community in Israel had at the end of fighting in 1949 about 140,000 left in Israeli territory.  They have increased either by natural increase or re-admission of thousands who had fled when the Arab States attacked Israel.  At the beginning of 1972 the Arabs and Druze numbered 458,500 living in Israel proper.  Almost half lived in about 100 villages and 2/5 in towns including 73,000 in Jerusalem.  The rest were semi-nomadic Bedouin.  75% were Moslems, 17% Christians and 8% Druzes and others.

 As of September 2012, there were 1,636,600 Muslim and Druze citizens of Israel.  They make up 20.6% of the population.  They live on 8,000 sq. miles of land with the rest of the Israelis which is 20% of the promised Jewish Homeland by the British Mandate through the League of Nations.  These are the Arabs whose ancestors did not leave in 1948 at the bid of their leaders.  Those that left were promised an Arab victory that would result in them taking over Jewish land and homes.  It didn't happen.  They went into these refugee camps instead.

 Resource: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=582832&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Oregonian Newspaper 4/6/13 page A4  Gaza Food Rations
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Lebanon
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip
http://www.unrwa.org/etemplate.php?id=65
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza%E2%80%93Israel_conflict
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel's_unilateral_disengagement_plan
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/gaza_settlements.html

Babylonian UR, Today's Iraq Is Site of Breathtaking Find in Archaeological Dig

Nadene Goldfoot                                                                  

                                                                             UR
Archaeologists from Britain have made an exciting find near Ur of Mesopotamia, the home of Abraham and his father Terah, the idol maker,  before they set out with nephew Lot for Canaan.  Ur is in southern Iraq.  Ur of the Chaldees  was an ancient Babylonian city situated on a former branch of the Euphrates River.  Past excavations in the ruins were conducted by Sir Leonard Woolley which revealed  the highly civilized nature of the city.  They also feel they had uncovered evidence of an extensive flood at an earlier date.  The Brits recently  uncovered a complex they think is about 4,000 years old that could have been an administrative center around the time Abraham lived there.

This is important since Abraham lived there.  He was the father is Ishmael and Isaac.  Ishmael's mother was Hagar, the maid of Sarah, his wife.   Ishmael was the ancestor of the Arab people.   Finally Sarah bore a son named  Isaac, ancestor of the Jewish people.  Ishmael and Hagar had been sent away from Abraham's compound because of the friction between the two women and the two sons.  Jews have the tradition that it was Isaac who Abraham was going to sacrifice to G-d while the Muslims tell it with Ishmael being the sacrifice.

                                                                           UR
To make matters more complicated, Isaac married Rebecca and she had twins, Esau and Jacob.  Again we have this split.  Esau became Jacob's enemy.  The story of the twins symbolizes the relationship between the two nations that ensued which developed into hostility.     Jacob-or Israel as he later was called  was the father of the Jewish people by being the father of 12 sons that became the 12 Tribes of Israel.   Ishmael's daughter then married Esau.

It was Stuart Campbell of Manchester University who led the dig in Iraq.  The complex they found was 80 yards on each side, a huge square of rooms around a large courtyard was 12 miles from Ur, which was the last capital of the Sumerian royal dynasties.  This would make the square footage to be 57,600 sq.feet.which is very large.

This compound is near the site of the Ziggurat or Sumerian temple.   Sumeria was a section in southern Babylonia which was named for a non-Semitic people who migrated there in prehistoric times and founded a series of city-states.  Its culture was the basis of Babylonian civilization and influenced the Semitic people of Accad.   Nimrod and Cush are connected with Sumerian tradition.  Nimrod, whose father was Cush,  was a biblical figure of Cushite origin who was a strong ruler of the kingdom of Babylon, Erech, Accad, etc.  Assyria was known as "the land of Nimrod."  Cush refers to tribes in Africa and southern Arabia.

They found a a 3.5 inch clay plaque showing a worshipper wearing a long, fringed robe.

Babylonia, also known as the land of Shinar or the Kasdim (Chaldees) seems to be the cradle of humanity and where man first revolted against G-d with the Tower of Babel.  Babylonian literature found in Ur have parallels in the Bible (Torah). such as the Flood.  The Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar II inherited the Assyrian Empire and restored Ur in the 6th century BCE.  He conquered Judah in 597 and 586 (fall of Jerusalem)  which resulted in the exile of many Jews to Babylon.  The 10 Tribes were exiled before this, so there was a large Jewish population there.  Many remained even after Cyrus allowed them to return to their land of Israel in 538 BCE.  .

Oregonian newspaper, 4/5/13 QuickREAD,  page A6, British archaeologists
Tanakh, Stone Edition
The New Jewish Encyclopedia
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ur

Norway Paying Salaries to Palestinian Terrorist-Murderers Exposed

Nadene Goldfoot
As my Swedish grandmother, Augusta would say, "Oh, those Norwegians!" She was born there in 1870, left when 18 and died in the States in 1955.   As I would say, why is Norway backing terrorists and shelling out $50 million each year to Palestinians who are in jail in Israel for extremist crimes such as murder?

Take for instance, Ibrahim Hamed.  He bombed Hebrew University's cafeteria on July 31, 2002 which killed 9 students,  and is a convicted murderer of 46 Israelis.There are 5 more attacks attributed to him.   He was a Hamas military commander in the West Bank who ordered suicide bombing attacks during the Al-Aqsa Intifada until he was  caught  on May 23, 2006.  Ibrahim's responsible for 96 civilian deaths and 400 wounded.  He was tried in a military court and convicted on June 27, 2012.

Now even 3 of the largest parties in Norway are wondering as well.  They want to investigate this further.  Peter Gitmath of the Conservative parliamentarian party, the Progress party and the Christian Democrats are checking into it.  Jonas Gahr Stoere  misled the Parliament twice, they say.  They know that those "mean" Israelis allow "prisoners in Israeli jails serving long sentences to receive payments from the PA. These prisoners can choose to whom they want to give the money. Contributing about 50 million dollars annually to the PA, Norway is one of its largest donors.  "  Supposedly this is allowed by Israel so as not to create a hardship on the families of these misguided terrorist-murderers.  Of course this money from Norway is supplying the group of Hamas itself to do more damage to Israel. This should be deemed a criminal act by Norway to take advantage of Israel's  humanitarianism.   I doubt very much if this is allowed in the USA for murderers.  

Norway is not the only Nordic country showing its anti-Semitic petticoat.  Sweden has also been showing theirs, especially in Malma, Sweden,  where older Jewish citizens, refugees from the Holocaust, have been driven away by strong-armed Muslims who have moved in.  In Norway Alan Dershowitz, well known Jewish lawyer and author from the USA,  was not allowed  to give a free lecture on International Relations and Israel.  Freedom of speech must not be an important thing in Norway.  

Studying the Nordic reactions is the 2008 book  by Manfred Gerstenfeld  "Behind the Humanitarian Mask: The Nordic Countries, Israel and the Jews" which  was a lone foreign voice documenting that Norway is a pioneer in promoting Israel-hatred and anti-Semitic acts.

Hopefully Norway will change their underwear and start see Israel and Jews in a better light. As I would say, they have their facts about "occupation" so fouled up."   As Dershowitz wrote, "It is important for the world never to reward terrorism by supporting the policies of those who employ it as an alternative to reason discourse, diplomatic resolution or political compromise."

Resource: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Is-Norway-funding-the-murderers-of-Israelis-308349 by Manfred Gerstenfeld
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_Hamed
http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Humanitarian-Mask-Nordic-Countries/dp/9652180661/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364930203&sr=1-1&keywords=Behind+the+Humanitarian+Mask..
http://www.aish.com/ci/s/Norways_Bigotry.html

Blood Libel Kept Up By Hanan Ashrawi

                                                                         

Nadene Goldfoot
Who would imagine that today a Christian woman with an honorary doctorate degree would continue the Passover blood libel that Jews use blood in their matzos but Hanan Ashrawi has been doing just this.  She claims that we Jews use Christian blood for Passover rituals.

Born October 8, 1946 as Hanan Daoud Khalil, in Nablus or Ramallah in Judea-Samaria, and educated in Beirut, Lebanon, this Christian Palestinian married Emile Ashrawi, another Christian Palestinian in 1975.   Her father was one of the founders of the PLO, Palestine Liberation Organization led by Arafat.  Hanan has become a legislator in the PA.  She has been friends with Edward Said, proponent of Palestinians and author. "Ashrawi also has a PhD. in Medieval and Comparative Literature from the U of Virginia.

I have seen her on TV ranting very loudly to the effect about the rights of Palestinians and saying that Israel had none. "Ashrawi "has just earned a gold medal in historical revisionism" for asserting "there were no Jewish refugees from Arab countries. Instead, according to her, there were only 'emigrants' who left their ancestral homes voluntarily.   Jews were not singled out for persecution, and if they were, it was, in reality, a plot by 'Zionists, '" she said.

."She surprises me with this libel found on Miftah, a group she started in August 1998 to "promote the principles of democracy and good governance of which she acts as secretary-general. " Miftah is also spoken of as  the" Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy", and she has served as secretary general of that organization since that time.  "It's supposed to be an initiative which works towards respect for Palestinian human rights, democracy and peace."   This organization gets money from the UN and the Ford Foundation for its funding.  Hanan is also Miftah's chairperson on the Board of Directors.   To say such a stupid thing should even be embarrassing for her.

First of all, it is against our kosher laws to eat blood.  Period!   Part of the kosher laws forbids the eating of certain animals, and then eating parts of the permitted animals that would have the most blood.  Then there is the getting rid of any blood by the washing in a salt water bath.  Everything is done so as to not eat any blood.  Matzos must be made only of flour and water.  It's a libelous lie that she is spreading.  Is this done in her idea of promoting democracy and good governance?

It only shows me that certain people still have the mentality of the uneducated people of the 1200's to swallow such lies.  Did she actually believe anything about Jews she might have read in her Medieval studies?    Or is she just saying this to stir her people up so that they will attack Israel?  She calls herself a humanitarian. This is the type of person that has been interviewed on Al Jazeera.

Hanan,  telling such lies about Israel's people and its religion is not going to get you any respect either personally or for your people.  You are only hurting  your own interests.

Re: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanan_Ashrawi
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.co.il/2013/03/passover-blood-libel-in-hanan-ashrawis.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/ashrawi.html
http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/03/28/plo-official-hanan-ashrawis-ngo-publishes-passover-blood-libel/
http://www.miftah.org/AboutUs.cfm
David Harris, of the Huffington Post and Jerusalem Post columnist