User:Tkalisky/Sandbox

Hello World !!

On February 15, 2009 the Jerusalem Post published the IDF account of the Palestinian fatalities in the incident. According to the IDF Gaza Coordination and Liaison Administration (CLA), 12 Palestinians were killed in the incident - 9 Hamas operatives and 3 noncombatants. The CLA also stated that the IDF was returning fire after coming under attack, that its shells did not hit the school compound, and that this has been acknowledged by the UN. Colonel Moshe Levi, head of the CLA said that: "From the beginning, Hamas claimed that 42 people were killed, but we could see from our surveillance that only a few stretchers were brought in to evacuate people". ^[1] The Jerusalem Post from February 29, 2009 quotes CLA officials stating that on the day of the incident officers from the CLA contacted the Palestinian Health Ministry and were told that 3 Palestinian civilians had been killed and that Hamas was hiding the identities of the remaining casualties. ^[2]

• Hamas Exploitation of Civilians as Human Shields. Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center 6 January 2009, see also [2] and [3] (pdf)

• IDF Releases Information on Military Investigations related to Operation Cast Lead, IDF Spokesperson, 22 April, 2009.

According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, an Israeli-based organization with close ties to the IDF, among the materials seized by the IDF in the course of Operation Defensive Shield were two documents issued by the Martyrs’ Families and Injured Care Establishment, which falls under the authority of the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Social Affairs. The documents address the transfer of a grant in the sum of $2,000 to the father of the suicide bomber, who was living in Jordan at that time (June 18, 2001). According to the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, the transfer was made in spite of the suicide bomber’s Hamas affiliation, in spite of the father’s public support of the suicide bombing attack, and in spite of Yasser Arafat’s public condemnation of the suicide bombing attack. ^[3]

"These two settlements, Allon Shvut in Judea/Samaria, and Bnei Yehudah in the Golan Heights ..." ^[4]

"... established in Judea in 1975 (Alon Shvut, in Gush Etzion, which was founded earlier, was originally meant ...)" ^[5]

"... distinguishes between the special status of the settlement in Gush Etzion, which enjoys a wide consensus, and the messianic enterprise of settlement in Judea and Samaria ..." ^[6]

a region termed by some as Judea. ^[7]

"Prior to 1948 only a few Jewish settlements existed in Judea and around Jerusalem, with none in Samaria. All of them were abandoned in 1948, but some have been reoccupied since 1967. Aside from Hebron which has a new Jewish quarter, the most concentrated settlement area is in Gush (Bloc) Etzion, which included four Jewish settlements in 1948" ^[8]

The Israeli debate over Judea and Samaria was thus to a large extent a debate over the character of the State, and as such a debate about post-Zionism. ^[9]

Hello. I have a feeling the dispute here is really not in place since both terms are widely used geographically to describe the area. A quick google-scholar or google-book search finds many internationally published academic Geography articles using both "west bank" and "Judea and Samaria". For example, some maps designate the whole area as "west bank" and partition it into "Judea" (the southern part) and "Samaria" (its northern part). I think both terms can be used interchangeably and I really cannot understand the insistence of some editors for removing all mention of the Hebrew/biblical terms. In my opinion the dispute here is a repercussion of the real world political conflict and really not an encyclopedic/academic one.

I also agree with user:Moshe Constantine Hassan Al-Silverburg that the term "Israeli and Jewish editors" used above is inappropriate and I would ask all editors participating in this discussion to keep it cool. Please remember that we are all working together to write and encyclopedia. Best. Tkalisky (talk) 20:41, 25 February 2009 (UTC)

As in many geographical regions, the exact borders differ according to the context. The topographical border between the two geographical units is usually taken to be Wadi Uja [5]. You can find a map with some of the geographical regions here [6][7] or in this map^[5] (titled "Major natural regions in the land of Israel"). If you are looking for a map with exact borders between geographical entities, please note that none of these maps give the exact border between the Negev and the Shephelah for example, which I hope you consider legitimate geographical terms for these regions ....

p.s. of course there are other ways these places are called (e.g. "west bank" in the political context). My point here is that both terms are used in different contexts.

Thanks for your interest in the geography of Israel.

Best,

Tkalisky (talk) 22:14, 5 March 2009 (UTC)

In May 2008, Bassem Naeem, the minister of health in the Hamas government in Gaza, responded to allegations of antisemitism and Holocaust denial in Al-Aqsa TV programs.^[10] In his letter to The Guardian, Naeem stated that the Al-Aqsa Channel is an independent media institution that often does not express the views of the Hamas government or the Hamas movement.^[10]

In response, Alan Johnson wrote^[11] that Al-Aqsa TV cannot be a media institution independent of Hamas. Johnson presented two arguments:

• Al-Aqsa TV is headed by Fathi Ahmad Hammad, chairman of al-Ribat Communications and Artistic Productions - a Hamas-run company which also produces Hamas's radio station, Voice of al-Aqsa, and its bi-weekly newspaper, The Message.^[11]
• After driving Fatah out in 2007, Hamas blocked PA broadcasts into Gaza, so the idea that genuinely independent media can be found in Gaza is "not serious".^[11]

• MEMRI TV Al-Aqsa TV Page (In English)

The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a report in July 2009 that stated that "the IDF inquiry revealed that the mosque was not attacked at all." The report further stated that "the individuals reported as killed in this incident were in fact killed in other incidents not involving the mosque. Further, the supposed 'civilians' who were casualties of the attack were in fact Hamas operatives killed while fighting against the IDF." The report also stated that the IDF rules of engagement "expressly forbid attacks directed against sacred places, unless they are used for military purposes."^[12]

• The use of mosques for military and political purposes by Hamas, The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center, March 1 2009.

• IDF Releases Information on Military Investigations related to Operation Cast Lead, IDF Spokesperson, 22 April, 2009.

• According to Joseph Alagha, The Hezbollah and its leader Hassan Nasrallah regard the Jews living in Israel, either civilian or not, as "racist Zionists Jews" who should be killed.^[13]

• According to Shaul Shai, Hassan Nasrallah has often made sharp anti-Semitic statements that not only revile Israel as a state, but also the entire Jewish people, while using themes taken from classic and Muslim antisemitism.^[14] Two of the examples he quotes:
  • According to Shaul Shai, Hassan Nasrallah said in a speech delivered in Beirut and aired on Al-Manar TV in September 28, 2001: "What do the Jews want? They want security and money. Throughout history the Jews have been Allah's most cowardly and avaricious creatures. If you look all over the world, you will find no one more miserly or greedy than they are.".^[14]
  • In a 1998 speech marking the Day of Ashura, and published in what was Hassan Nasrallah's official website^[15][16][17] at that time, Nasrallah referred to Israel as "the state of the grandsons of apes and pigs – the Zionist Jews" and condemned them as "the murderers of the prophets."^[18][19][20]MEMRI, CAMERA and Shaul Shai interpret this language as broadly antisemitic.^[18][20][21]

• Badih Chayban in his October 23, 2002 article in The Daily Star, Nasrallah said that "if [Jews] all gather in Israel, it will save us the trouble of going after them worldwide."^[22] Charles Glass believes that the quotation was likely a fabrication, citing other published accounts of Nasrallah's speech that had no reference to the anti-Semitic comment, and statements by the editor-in-chief of the Lebanese newspaper which published the quotes, that questioned both the translation and the "agenda of the translator."^[23] Glass also wrote that a Hezbollah spokeswoman, Wafa Hoteit, denied that Nasrallah made the statement.^[23]

• Saad-Ghorayeb quotes Hassan Nasrallah as saying, "If we searched the entire world for a person more cowardly, despicable, weak and feeble in psyche, mind, ideology and religion, we would not find anyone like the Jew. Notice, I do not say the Israeli."^[24][25] Charles Glass questions the attribution of the quote to Nasrallah, noting that both the footnote in Saad-Ghorayeb's book and her original dissertation instead attribute the quote to an interview she conducted with a Hezbollah member of the Lebanese Parliament, Muhammad Fneish.^[26]

• US President George W. Bush, the Official White House website, the Claremont Institute, and CAMERA, cite Hassan Nasrallah as saying during a speech aired on Beirut Al-Manar Television in September 27, 2002: "Let the entire world hear me. Our hostility to the Great Satan is absolute. … I conclude my speech with the slogan that will continue to reverberate on all occasions so that nobody will think that we have weakened. Regardless of how the world has changed after 11 September, Death to America will remain our reverberating and powerful slogan: Death to America"^{[27][28][29][30]}

• During the 2006 Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah declared in a speech aired on Al-Manar TV and Al-Jazeera TV that: "If there had been a Muslim to carry out Imam Khomeini's fatwā against the renegade Salman Rushdie, this rabble who insult our Prophet Mohammed in Denmark, Norway and France would not have dared to do so. I am sure there are millions of Muslims who are ready to give their lives to defend our prophet's honour and we have to be ready to do anything for that." ^[31][32]

• According to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Robert Satloff, in a speech carried during the Shi'ite Moslem "Ashura" flagellation ceremony on April 9, 2000, Hassan Nasrallah said that: "The Jews invented the legend of the Nazi atrocities. It is clear that the numbers they talk about are greatly exaggerated".^{[33][34][35][36]}

• According to MEMRI, in a speech aired on Al-Manar TV and Al-Jazeera TV in 2006, Hizbullah leader Hassan Nasrallah expressed support for Holocaust denier Roger Garaudy calling him a "great French philosopher" who "proved that this Holocaust is a myth".^[37]

According to MEMRI, in an interview aired on Al-Alam TV in May 15, 2009, PFLP-GC representative in Lebanon Anwar Raja denied the Holocaust, claiming that "the Jews have managed to falsify history" according to their interests and that the figure of 6 million jews (killed by the Nazis) is an "inflation, falsification, and exaggeration". He further claimed that "If Hitler had won, we would be reading a different version of history" and that "Hitler was no worse than the current U.S. administration" ^[38]

" ... Sabich. The latter may be considered the first street snack that sprang from a Jewish culinary tradition. This sandwich combo of hard-boiled eggs and fried eggplants is based on the traditional Shabbat breakfast of Iraqi Jews."^[39]

• In October 2008 the Association of Lebanese Industrialists sought protected status from the European Commission for hummus as a uniquely Lebanese food, similar to the Protected Geographical Status rights held over regional food items by various European Union countries.^[40][41][42]
• Food critic Jana Gur wrote that the ethos of some early Jewish settlers in modern Israel "was rejection of everything that reeked of Diaspora and an eager, almost childish, embrace of the Levant. The infatuation with falafel and hummus, staples of Arabic cuisine, started there."^[43] The outcome, according to another commentator, was that "Shawarma, falafel and hummus soon became “sabra” foods."^[44] According to Jana Gur, "While not a single Israeli will claim that this chickpea and tahini concoction is anything but Arabic, the status it has reached in Israel is unprecedented anywhere in the Middle East: In Lebanon or in Jordan, hummus is a simple morning fare or a part of a meze table. In Israel it is a religion. The best hummus restaurants, invariably owned by Arabs, are considered national treasures. Guides are dedicated to the best places to "mop up" hummus, books and essays discuss comparative virtues of fluffy Jerusalem hummus as opposed to chunky Galilean versions. This love affair, that has been going on for decades, shows no signs of dying. The latest addition to the hummus scene is a wave of upscale restaurants serving hummus with fancy toppings ranging from foie gras to ragoût bolognaise. The popularity of hummus didn't go unnoticed by the food industry, and supermarket shelves burst with a variety of hummus products, sporting catchy names (most of them Arabic)".^[43] According to Gur, "The success of certain brands of Israeli hummus abroad may have been what brought about Abboud's (Fadi Abboud, the president of the Lebanese Industrialist's Association) anger" leading him to claim that "Israel has been stealing their country's national dishes, like hummus, falafel, tabbouleh and baba ghanouj."^[43]
• Interviewed on the BBC program Cooking in the Danger Zone, Israeli food editor Gil Hovav stated that Hummus is so popular in Israel such that "even during the Intifada years Jews would sneak in to risk their lives, sneak into the Muslim quarter just to have a vital, really genuine good humous ...". When asked if Humous originally Jewish or, or Arabic, he answered that "Humous is Arabic. Falafel, our national dish, our national Israeli dish, is completely Arabic and this salad that we call an Israeli Salad, actually it’s an Arab salad, Palestinian salad. So, we sort of robbed them of everything..."^[45]

Like other settlements in the West Bank, Ma'ale Adumim is widely regarded by international community as illegal under international law according to Fourth Geneva Convention (article 49), which prohibits an occupying power transferring citizens from its own territory to occupied territory. Israel argues international conventions relating to occupied land do not apply to West Bank because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state in the first place.^[46]

Modi'in Illit is an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It is widely accepted that under international law, such settlements in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel are illegal.^[47][48][49] Israel argues that the international conventions relating to occupied land do not apply to the Palestinian territories because they were not under the legitimate sovereignty of any state in the first place.^[47]

• In 2008 Ra'ad Salah, was charged in Jerusalem Magistrate's Court with incitement to violence and racism, over a speech he gave during 2007 in which he invoked the blood libel. According to the charges, during the speech at the February 16, 2007 protest in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz, Salah accused Jews of using children's blood to bake bread.^[50]

• Salah was released from prison in 2005 after serving some two years for having contact with a foreign agent, as well as financial crimes related to the Islamic Movement.^[51]

• During a demonstration some six months ago against Israel's aim to renovate a bridge situated in close proximity to the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Salah called for an "intifada" to protect the holy site. In a fiery speech given in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Wadi Joz, Salah accused Israel of attempting to rebuild the Jewish Temple on the Temple mount while drenched in Arab blood. ^[52]

• ^[53]