21 Sivan 5779
24 June 2019
The News On The Israeli Street
Palestinian terror on the Gaza Border in the last 24 . . .
Dozens of explosive balloons were launched into southern Israel yesterday afternoon and last night with resulting fires reported at Be’eri, Nahal Oz, Sha’ar Hanegev, Besor Stream, and Sa’ad. Other fires occurred in the Eshkol and Sdot Negev regions.
Just another fire ravaging southern Israel yesterday.
What was the IDF non-response to these balloon attacks?
You guessed it. The “fishing” range for Palestinian “fishermen” in Gaza (aka “smugglers”) was lowered from 10 to 6 miles for today.
Just plain pathetic.
But not as pathetic as the fact that for the first time in years, the IDF allowed helium gas into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom Crossing yesterday.
The IDF order permitting helium into Gaza yesterday.
This is the same helium gas that is used to fill the balloons that are launched into southern Israel and the same helium gas that is used to weld together missiles that are launched into southern Israel.
What explanation did the IDF COGAT unit give for allowing the helium into Gaza?
It said that there was a “humanitarian need” according to the World Health Organization in order to operate MRI machines in Gaza hospitals. The IDF spokesman went on to blather: “Any attempt to link the entry of liquid helium from Israel to hospitals in the Gaza Strip for purposes of terrorism is baseless and wrong.”
Unbelievable.
Everyone, except the IDF apparently, knows that every item permitted into Gaza goes straight to Hamas and is used for terror purposes.
And where is the World Health Organization when southern Israel is being blasted by missiles? Where is the World Health Organization when virtually all of the Israeli residents of the Gaza border area are suffering from respiratory problems caused by constant smoke inhalation?
The bottom line for the WHO is that there is no such thing as a “humanitarian need” when Israelis are concerned.
The bottom line for the IDF COGAT unit is that there is no limit to its naive stupidity.
Outrage at Ben Gurion Airport . . .
It was announced yesterday that McDonald’s has won the right to replace Burger Ranch in two locations at the airport for a period of 7 years beginning on November 1. The Israel Airports Authority had requested 7 million shekels for the concession: McDonald’s bid 17 million shekels, Burger King 12 million, and Burger Ranch 11 million.
Why is this outrageous?
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Because the owner of the McDonald’s franchise in Israel is Omri Padan, one of the founders of Shalom Akhshav (Peace Now) and an ardent supporter of BDS boycotts against Israel. He has specifically refused to place any McDonald’s restaurants in Judea and Samaria.
These facts were pointed out by residents of Judea and Samaria who sent hundreds of letters to Israel’s Finance and Transportation ministers and to the Israel Airport Authority to protest the fact that McDonald’s was allowed to bid.
In the end, those letters and Padan’s support for boycotts against Israel made no difference. Only money mattered.
That is outrageous.
TODAY’S BLOG:
President Trump And The Doctrine of Proportionality
President Trump’s National Security Advisor John Bolton was in Israel yesterday. Ironically, just as he was speaking about how the Iranians should not misinterpret President Trump’s lack of retaliation for the shoot-down of the U.S. Navy drone, President Trump was back in Washington giving an interview in which he basically accused Bolton of being a war-monger.
Your humble servant has already written his own opinions concerning what is happening in the Gulf, but there is one item that should be added about the reasoning behind President Trump’s decision. That reasoning was given in a Trump tweet in which he said: “ . . . I asked, how many will die. 150 people, sir, was the answer from a General. 10 minutes before the strike I stopped it, not proportionate to shooting down an unmanned drone.”
Not proportionate.
As we all know, the “disproportionate” argument is one that is used against Israel all the time. Just today, several so-called “human rights” NGOs are claiming that Israel’s reduction of the “fishing” zone from 10 to 6 miles because of endless explosive balloon attacks on the citizens of southern Israel is “disproportionate.”
In every war or mini-war that we fight, we are always accused of being “disproportionate” in our response. The theory seems to be that if four of our citizens are killed by terrorists, then we are only allowed to kill four terrorists in return. Such thinking is folly.
The way to stop evil is to destroy it–not to proportionately attack it.
Just think about Israel’s experience with Hamas. We did not destroy Hamas the first time we had a chance in 2009 because of the doctrine of proportionality that we adhered to because of the international community. As a result, we continue to have to fight war after mini-war with the terrorists.
Or think about Israel’s experience with Hezbollah. We did not destroy Hezbollah when we had a chance in 2006 because of the doctrine of proportionality that we adhered to because of the international community. As a result, Hezbollah now has more than 100,000 GPS guided missiles aimed at us.
In sum, as much as we might respect President Trump for what he has done for Israel and for how he has put the sanction squeeze on Iran, his adherence to the doctrine of proportionality is misguided to say the least.
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.