October 7, 2023 - In memory of heartfelt freedom..!
The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced Monday that he is seeking arrest warrants for Israeli leaders Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, (known as Mohammed Deif), and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.
On May 20; 2024 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded in a video message. Read the full transcript below as provided by the Government Press Office.
The outrageous decision by the ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, to seek arrest warrants against the democratically elected leaders of Israel is a moral outrage of historic proportions. It will cast an everlasting mark of shame on the international court.
Israel is waging a just war against Hamas, a genocidal terrorist organization that perpetrated the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. Hamas massacred 1200 Jews, raped Jewish women, burned Jewish babies, took hundreds hostage.
Now, in the face of these horrors, Mr. Khan creates a twisted and false moral equivalence between the leaders of Israel and the henchmen of Hamas. This is like creating a moral equivalence after September 11th between President Bush and Osama Bin Laden, or during World War II between FDR and Hitler.
What a travesty of justice!
What a disgrace!
The prosecutor’s absurd charges against me and Israel’s defense minister are merely an attempt to deny Israel the basic right of self-defense. And I assure you of one thing: This attempt will utterly fail.
Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were totally defenseless against our enemies. Those days are over. Now the Jewish people have a state and we have an army to defend our state.
Notwithstanding the blood libels Mr. Khan has leveled, Israel will continue to wage this war in full compliance with international law. We will continue to take unprecedented measures to get innocent civilians out of harm’s way and to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those in need in Gaza.
Mr. Khan also sets a dangerous precedent that undermines every democracy’s right to defend itself against terror organizations and aggressors. The ICC has no jurisdiction over Israel and Mr. Khan’s actions will not stop us from waging our just war against Hamas.
But Mr. Khan’s abuse of this authority will turn the ICC into nothing more than a farce.
He’s doing something else. He is callously pouring gasoline on the fires of antisemitism that are raging across the world. Through this incendiary decision, Mr. Khan takes his place among the great antisemites in modern times. He now stands alongside those infamous German judges who donned their robes and upheld laws that denied the Jewish people their most basic rights and enabled the Nazis to perpetrate the worst crime in history.
Two weeks ago, on Holocaust Memorial Day, I pledged this: No amount of pressure and no decision in any international forum will prevent Israel from defending itself against those who seek our destruction.
To all the enemies of Israel, including their collaborators in The Hague, I renew that pledge today. Israel will wage our war against Hamas until that war is won. Because never again is now. ----
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“Imagine if on October 8, 2023, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to condemn Hamas for war crimes, demanded the immediate return of all hostages, and ordered Qatar to extradite Hamas leadership to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, where they could have been tried for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. Had that occurred, think of how many people in Gaza would be alive today.”
Then ask yourself why that didn’t happen?
"The coalition" of clueless imbeciles, left wing anti-semites, muslim lunatics and other useful idiots for Palestine..
Fake news debunked since the October 7th massacre
1. Al Shifa Hospital incident (October 17, 2023): Hamas claimed that an Israeli airstrike targeted the hospital, killing hundreds. It was later revealed that the explosion was caused by a misfired rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad, not an Israeli strike.
2. Flour Massacre (October 22, 2023): Hamas accused Israel of bombing a flour factory, leading to mass casualties. Independent investigations showed that the factory was never targeted and the casualties were fabricated.
3. Al-Ahli Hospital explosion (October 31, 2023): Hamas reported that an Israeli missile hit the hospital, killing many. Forensic evidence confirmed that the explosion was caused by an errant Palestinian rocket, not an Israeli attack.
4. Al-Tabaeen incident (November 5, 2023): Hamas claimed that Israeli forces deliberately bombed a civilian shelter in Al-Tabaeen, killing dozens. Subsequent reports indicated that the structure was a weapons storage site used by Hamas, and the casualties were primarily militants.
5. Boreij Refugee Camp bombing (November 12, 2023): Hamas alleged that Israel bombed the Boreij Refugee Camp, causing mass civilian deaths. Later investigations showed that the site was a Hamas command center and that the reported death toll was exaggerated.
6. Jabalia Market attack (November 18, 2023): Hamas accused Israel of targeting a crowded market, killing many civilians. Video evidence and eyewitness accounts later proved that a Hamas rocket, not an Israeli airstrike, caused the explosion.
7. Rafah School bombing (November 25, 2023): Hamas claimed Israel bombed a UNRWA school in Rafah, killing numerous children. UN investigations confirmed that the school was not hit by any airstrikes and that the casualties were fabricated.
8. Beit Hanoun UNRWA school incident (December 3, 2023): Hamas alleged that Israel shelled a UNRWA school, causing high civilian casualties. UN observers later reported that the damage was caused by Hamas rockets misfiring and hitting the school.
9. Deir al-Balah family massacre (December 10, 2023): Hamas accused Israel of deliberately targeting a family home, killing all inside. Evidence showed that the house was being used by Hamas militants, and the reported deaths were significantly inflated.
10. Gaza power plant destruction (December 20, 2023): Hamas claimed that Israel bombed Gaza's main power plant, plunging the region into darkness. Independent analysis revealed that the plant was never struck and that power outages were due to Hamas's internal mismanagement.
11. Khan Younis marketplace bombing (December 27, 2023): Hamas accused Israel of bombing a crowded marketplace in Khan Younis, causing significant civilian casualties. Investigations later revealed that the explosion was caused by mishandling of explosives by Hamas operatives in the area.
12. Al-Rimal neighborhood airstrike (January 3, 2024): Hamas reported that an Israeli airstrike targeted a residential building in Al-Rimal, killing several families. Subsequent investigations showed that the building was being used as a Hamas command post, and many of the reported casualties were Hamas fighters.
13. Jabalya refugee camp incident (January 10, 2024): Hamas claimed that Israel bombed a refugee camp in Jabalya, leading to numerous civilian deaths. It was later confirmed that the site was a Hamas military installation, and the reported death toll was exaggerated.
14. Al-Qassam Brigade headquarters strike (January 17, 2024): Hamas claimed that an Israeli strike on what they described as a "cultural center" was actually their military headquarters. The strike targeted senior Hamas leaders, contrary to their claims of civilian casualties.
15. Sheikh Radwan neighborhood airstrike (January 24, 2024): Hamas alleged that Israel bombed a civilian neighborhood, killing many. Evidence showed that the area was being used to launch rockets into Israel, and most of the casualties were Hamas militants.
16. Rimal Elementary School bombing (January 31, 2024): Hamas claimed Israel targeted a school in Gaza, causing a high death toll among children. Investigations later showed that the school was empty at the time, and the damage was caused by Hamas rockets that misfired.
17. Al-Saftawi area strike (February 7, 2024): Hamas accused Israel of targeting a civilian area, killing several families. It was later revealed that the site was a Hamas weapons storage facility, and the casualties were mostly militants.
18. Shuja'iyya neighborhood bombing (February 14, 2024): Hamas reported that Israel bombed a densely populated neighborhood, causing mass casualties. Independent investigations revealed that the area was a Hamas military stronghold, and the casualty figures were inflated.
19. Rafah border crossing incident (February 21, 2024): Hamas claimed that Israel bombed the Rafah border crossing, preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. It was later confirmed that the crossing was closed due to Hamas's refusal to allow aid to pass without diverting it for their own use.
To be continued...
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Sophia Salma Shramko, an Israeli Arab and Stanford graduate confidently states, "99% of Israeli Arabs condemn what happened on Israel."
Sophia is actively involved in Israeli advocacy and fights against anti-Semitism in the United States.
She is the daughter of the late Hussein Alhayib, who was a reconnaissance officer and the first Bedouin Lt. Col. in the IDF.
Sophia Salma says:
I am an Israeli Arab. I was born to a Muslim Bedouin family in the north of Israel, in the Galilee. It’s been hard, and painful, to see the violence on the streets of Israel.
"We are truly falling behind in the narrative war. It's shocking to witness what's happening here: from Stanford to other campuses across the United States, there are calls for violence against Jews and the annihilation of the Jewish state 'from the river to the sea.'
As a muslim women, I am being targeted for condemning Hamas. It's hard for them to witness a Muslim woman voicing her thoughts, especially when she's speaking the truth.
Israel for me is the place that has given me equal rights as a woman, and an opportunity for a better future.
I come from a Bedouin family and think that if the State of Israel had not been established, I would probably be an illiterate shepherd in an arranged marriage to my cousin.
Instead, I am a tech entrepreneur with a master’s degree from Stanford University.
Of course, all of this was obtained with dedication and hard work, but Israel made it possible.
Living in Israel allowed me to go into fashion modelling, despite receiving death threats from my uncle for dishonouring our family; both of us knew that I was protected by the nation’s laws.
So, thank you Israel for the compulsory education law that forced parents to send girls to school, and thank you for the excellent schools and universities.
Thank you for the justice system and the welfare services allowing women to dare and live their dreams, thank you for the social benefits that allow some families to survive, and thank you for the advanced health care and hospitals.
Thank you for the infrastructure of roads, water and electricity (my mother as a child walked miles with a donkey to fetch water, so nothing is taken for granted).
Thank you for the democracy that allows us to make our voices heard.
Thank you for the economic development that allows us to contribute in high-tech, medicine, science and a variety of other professions.
Thank you, Israel Defence Forces, for keeping us safe from the shower of rockets and cold-hearted terrorists who would also persecute Arabs like ISIS did in Syria.
And thank you to the deeply kind and warm-hearted people of Israel who will always have your back.
Thank you, my beloved country.
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Boycott Israel..?
I am shocked for a simple reason: there is not and has never been a system of apartheid in Israel .
That is not my opinion, that is fact that can be tested against reality by any Edinburgh student, should he or she choose to visit Israel to see for themselves. Let me spell this out, since I have the impression that those members of EUSA who voted for this motion are absolutely clueless in matters concerning Israel, and that they are, in all likelihood, the victims of extremely biased propaganda coming from the anti-Israel lobby.
Being anti-Israel is not in itself objectionable. But I'm not talking about ordinary criticism of Israel . I'm speaking of a hatred that permits itself no boundaries in the lies and myths it pours out. Thus, Israel is repeatedly referred to as a "Nazi" state. In what sense is this true, even as a metaphor? Where are the Israeli concentration camps? The einzatsgruppen? The SS? The Nuremberg Laws? The Final Solution? None of these things nor anything remotely resembling them exists in Israel , precisely because the Jews, more than anyone on earth, understand what Nazism stood for.
It is claimed that there has been an Israeli Holocaust in Gaza (or elsewhere). Where? When? No honest historian would treat that claim with anything but the contempt it deserves. But calling Jews Nazis and saying they have committed a Holocaust is as basic a way to subvert historical fact as anything I can think of.
Likewise apartheid. For apartheid to exist, there would have to be a situation that closely resembled how things were in South Africa under the apartheid regime. Unfortunately for those who believe this, a weekend in any part of Israel would be enough to show how ridiculous the claim is.
That a body of university students actually fell for this and voted on it is a sad comment on the state of modern education. The most obvious focus for apartheid would be the country's 20% Arab population. Under Israeli law, Arab Israelis have exactly the same rights as Jews or anyone else; Muslims have the same rights as Jews or Christians; Baha'is, severely persecuted in Iran, flourish in Israel, where they have their world center; Ahmadi Muslims, severely persecuted in Pakistan and elsewhere, are kept safe by Israel; the holy places of all religions are protected under a specific Israeli law. Arabs form 20% of the university population (an exact echo of their percentage in the general population).
In Iran , the Bahai's (the largest religious minority) are forbidden to study in any university or to run their own universities: why aren't your members boycotting Iran ? Arabs in Israel can go anywhere they want, unlike blacks in apartheid South Africa . They use public transport, they eat in restaurants, they go to swimming pools, they use libraries, they go to cinemas alongside Jews - something no blacks were able to do in South Africa.
Israeli hospitals not only treat Jews and Arabs, they also treat Palestinians from Gaza or the West Bank.
On the same wards, in the same operating theatres.
In Israel , women have the same rights as men: there is no gender apartheid.
Gay men and women face no restrictions, and Palestinian gays often escape into Israel, knowing they may be killed at home.
It seems bizarre to me that LGBT groups call for a boycott of Israel and say nothing about countries like Iran , where gay men are hanged or stoned to death. That illustrates a mindset that beggars belief.
Intelligent students thinking it's better to be silent about regimes that kill gay people, but good to condemn the only country in the Middle East that rescues and protects gay people. Is that supposed to be a sick joke?
University is supposed to be about learning to use your brain, to think rationally, to examine evidence, to reach conclusions based on solid evidence, to compare sources, to weigh up one view against one or more others. If the best Edinburgh can now produce are students who have no idea how to do any of these things, then the future is bleak.
I do not object to well-documented criticism of Israel . I do object when supposedly intelligent people single the Jewish state out above states that are horrific in their treatment of their populations. We are going through the biggest upheaval in the Middle East since the 7th and 8th centuries, and it's clear that Arabs and Iranians are rebelling against terrifying regimes that fight back by killing their own citizens.
Israeli citizens, Jews and Arabs alike, do not rebel (though they are free to protest). Yet Edinburgh students mount no demonstrations and call for no boycotts against Libya , Bahrain , Saudi Arabia , Yemen , and Iran . They prefer to make false accusations against one of the world's freest countries, the only country in the Middle East that has taken in Darfur refugees, the only country in the Middle East that gives refuge to gay men and women, the only country in the Middle East that protects the Bahai's.... Need I go on?
The imbalance is perceptible, and it sheds no credit on anyone who voted for this boycott. I ask you to show some common sense. Get information from the Israeli embassy. Ask for some speakers. Listen to more than one side.
Do not make your minds up until you have given a fair hearing to both parties. You have a duty to your students, and that is to protect them from one-sided argument.
They are not at university to be propagandized. And they are certainly not there to be tricked into anti-Semitism by punishing one country among all the countries of the world, which happens to be the only Jewish state. If there had been a single Jewish state in the 1930's (which, sadly, there was not), don't you think Adolf Hitler would have decided to boycott it?
Your generation has a duty to ensure that the perennial racism of anti-Semitism never sets down roots among you. Today, however, there are clear signs that it has done so and is putting down more. You have a chance to avert a very great evil, simply by using reason and a sense of fair play. Please tell me that this makes sense. I have given you some of the evidence.
It's up to you to find out more.
Yours sincerely,
Denis MacEoin
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I think that is fair.
I’m going to try and prove it to you. There is an old Portuguese colonial city in China called Macau. You may have heard of it.
Macau was leased by the Portuguese in the 1550s. They paid rent to the Chinese government and used the area to store trade goods and dock their Asian fleet. Many people came from places like Japan, Indonesia, and of course Portugal. They created a unique community. But then a wave of European imperialism swept the globe in the 1870s and 1880s. In this context Portugal seized Macau, following the example set by the British in Hong Kong. But it remained Chinese territory legally.
Macau was spared the ravages of WWII, the Chinese Civil war, and Mao’s famines and Cultural Revolution. It was a backwater of Portugal. A community developed.
But as the Hong Kong handover date loomed the Chinese took a renewed interest in Macau. After all it was theirs. Legally and historically. Many in Macau were weary of this, especially after there was some unpleasantness in Beijing in 1989.
But many more were excited at the opportunities leaving a European backwater to join a modern Asia mega power would bring. However, at the end of the day the Macanese had no choice. They were going to be part of China whether they wanted it or not.
At this point they had two choices
- armed resistance.
- make lemonade out of lemons.
They wisely chose option 2.
Macanese and Portuguese officials negotiated a treaty whereby Macau got to keep many of its colonial era laws, including public healthcare, a mandated publicly funded university, and legalised gambling. The government in Beijing would also pick up a lot of funding that was then being given by Lisbon.
Then the Macanese did this:
They cashed in on their history and legalised gambling. Meanwhile the mainland government subsidised its healthcare and education, and built Macau a fairly decent regional airport. Today Macau is a leader in medical tourism and a top destination for students in Asia. They also have access to the Hong Kong stock exchange and can use the HK dollar freely, making it an attractive place for investors. It is also one of the top tourist destinations in Asia.
Oh and those casinos? They brought in the equivalent of $28 billion USD, which is down from pre-covid levels. The overwhelming majority of it from mainland China.
They did that with some, but by no means overwhelming, support from Lisbon and then Beijing and Hong Kong.
How about our noble resistance in Gaza?
Well Gaza has been given more revenue than Macau by UNRWA for just existing. A LOT more. Idiot Iberian socialists will champion them no matter what they do too, so it isn’t likely to ever stop. They have had schools, infrastructure, and hospitals all built and paid for by others. They have been given every opportunity to succeed.
They choose to fight. Nothing less than driving the infidel out will do. Never mind any legality or morality. Resistance is always noble.
They will dig up pipes and hide in hospitals to destroy the Israelis.
They will not stop until a nuclear armed Israel, and everyone in it is dead. Never mind the millions that will die and the holy places that will be irradiated for the next 10,000 years by such a course. Death is all that matters.
They could have the Gaza resort and hotel. They could have a world class banking sector tied to Israel or Dubai. They could be a hub for medical tourism akin to the UAE. They could have idiot Israelis and yuppie Europeans going to Gaza every week to blow the equivalent of $28 billion a year in Gazan casinos. They could have top universities. They could have a major airport to act as a hub and destination similar to what Dubai and Hong Kong do.
Instead they have hate.
Whenever you start to feel any admiration for Hamas and the Palestinian Arabs remember one thing.
They could have this for their children:
Instead they willingly choose this:
All while following people who spend the billions given to them to live like this:
I can only assume that they do not care about their children..
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