SPECIAL NOTICE 7 am September 23 2014:
Two terrorists who are no longer on the planet.
Marwan Kawasme (Qawasmeh) and Amer Abu Aysha, the two Hamas terrrorists who kidnapped and murdered the three Israeli teenagers Gil-Ad Shaer, Eyal Yifrah, and Naftali Fraenkel were killed early this morning in a gunfight with IDF soldiers who surrounded their hideout in Hebron.
In a joint operation of the Shin Bet and IDF, the house in which the terrorists had hidden was discovered at 1 am in the morning. According to the commander in charge, the building was just off a main road, and the terrorists were holed up in an unseen floor below ground level.
Troops then surrounded the building and started a procedure called “pressure cooker”. After several hours Kawasme and Aysha came out of the building and opened fire. The IDF returned fire killing both instantly.
Thus comes to an end (of course it will never end for the families) one of the most horrific sagas in recent years in Israel. Your humble servant would like to add that he is thankful that the terrorists were killed and hopes that their deaths will give the families of the teenagers some small amount of peace.
UPDATES 9 am Israel time, Tuesday, September 23 2014:
**Which of the following stories do you find most egregious this morning?
1. Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, speaking yesterday at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab Group at the United Nations respectively, both declared that Israel has “no right” to defend itself against Hamas missiles being fired from Gaza.
Thirty other countries joined in the anti-Israel bashing fun including Russia, China, Switzerland, Ireland, and Iceland. A good time was had by all.
2. The Danish Foreign Minister, Martin Lidegaard, said yesterday that if Israel does not take unilateral and immediate steps to stop “illegal settlements” and “end the blockade of Gaza”, Denmark and the rest of the European Union will take action:
“If nothing happens in the peace talks this time, and if we don’t see a new pattern of response from Israel’s side, then we will need to discuss the possibility of taking new steps, including changes to our trade relations with Israel. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but I think that the EU’s policies are moving in that direction.”
What can you say about a morally bankrupt Denmark and European Union which will both probably issue a statement this morning condemning Israel for what happened in Hebron this morning? No matter how many missiles they shoot, tunnels they build, and teenagers they kill, the “poor Palestinians will always be the “victims”.
3. Mohammed Afif, the public relations chief of Hezbollah, said in a New York Times interview yesterday that Hezbollah is now receiving American intelligence information to support Hezbollah in its fight against ISIS/DAAS*. A Lebanese commentator for the pro-Hezbollah television channel Al-Mayadeen added that the U.S. cannot support Hezbollah overtly, but “what happens underneath is something totally different.”
So here we have the Obama Administration perfectly willing to provide intelligence information to a vicious anti-Israel terrorist entity, yet being unwilling to release Jonathan Pollard from prison after nearly 30 years for supplying Israel with intelligence information concerning Iraq.
Unbelievable.
TODAY’S BLOG:
Yesterday, Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority released information that there are more than 8.9 million Israelis now living in Israel. It was a number reported on numerous blogsites; however, your humble servant did not report the number because it was an estimate and because it included permanent and temporary residents of the country who are not citizens.
This morning, in its usual pre-Rosh Hashana publication, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics have come out with the real numbers–and they are fascinating. Below is a small glimpse at the stats:
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Population of Israel: 8,252,500
Jewish citizens: 6,186,000. This constitutes 75% of the population of Israel.
Arab-Israeli citizens: 1,709,000. This constitutes 20.7% of the population of Israel.
Other citizens (non-Arab Christians, people of other religions or no religion): 356,000. This constitutes 4.3% of the population of Israel.
[These numbers reflect the fact that the percentage of Jews and Arabs in the population has stabilized after years of an increasing percentage of Arabs and decreasing percentage of Jews. The pendulum, as long predicted by israelstreet is now beginning to shift in the opposite direction].
The population in the Jewish sector grew by 1.9%. The percentage is increasing.
The population in the Arab sector grew by 2.2%. The percentage is decreasing.
The birthrate for Jewish mothers is 3.05 children. The birthrate is increasing.
The birthrate for Arab mothers is 3.35 children. The birthrate is decreasing.
[For example, if this rate remained the same for next year (which it is not because the percentages are changing as noted), it would mean an increase of some 117,000 Jews in the country, and 37,000 Arabs. By the way, the birthrate for Arab mothers in 1960 was 9.23].
The life expectancy for women has increased from 83.6 two years ago to 83.9.
The life expectancy for men has increased from 79.9 two years ago to 80.3.
[This parallels the worldwide phenomenon of longevity increases].
75% of all Israelis are now Sabras (native-born).
[In 1948, at the refounding of the state of Israel, only 35% were Sabras.]
More statistics will be given tomorrow, but all in all, we should be feeling good about the demographics of this country. With the orthodox birthrate exploding, and Arab birthrate declining, it is time for the demographic fears that continually beset those on the Israeli “left” and are used by them to threaten the rest of us–to be put to bed.
A student from Malawi, who had worked with an Israeli health volunteer in his country battling AIDS, came up to us as we walked down the street in the UC-Davis Picnic Day Parade and wanted to carry the Israeli flag.