As I'm sure you've heard, things have been pretty bang-bang boom-boom in the Middle East lately. Unusual, I know, but these are tragic times.
Frankly, I've been more preoccupied with lesbian haircutgate myself, so apologies if my summary is a bit like that girl who hasn't seen Star Wars.
Basically, there's a thing called Hamas running Gaza, which comprises half the Palestinian territories in Israel (or "Palestine" if you prefer), and it's been feuding with a thing called "Benjamin Netanyahu" which runs the Israeli part of Israel (or "Palestine" if you prefer). Anyway, a few days ago they started shooting missiles at each other hoping to settle grudges dating back to early November at best or the Old Testament at worst.
In any case, the only real important question is who do the Canadian editorial pages support?
Here's a hint: not Hamas.
"When the Toronto Sun was founded in 1971, one of our founding principles was fairness to Israel," says that paper's editorial board, so don't expect us to just roll over when our buddy has "rocket attacks fired at its major cities by Hamas terrorists." I mean, "if terrorists holed up in the North York Civic Centre were firing rockets at Toronto City Hall" we'd be outraged too. At least during a Rob Ford administration.
True, the Israeli/Gazanian body count has not exactly been equal, concedes Rosie DiManno in the Toronto Star, but it'd be "downright absurd" to use "casualties as a yardstick for measuring the misery" of the two sides." Israel, after all, is a sunny happy democracy where people have jobs and stuff, while Hamas-controlled Gaza is just a "cesspool" of anti-semitism and stale falafel.
If anything, Hamas' crappy missile kill score just proves their "war performance was pathetic" quips National Post overlord Jon Kay. Only five dead Israelis? That's a "a 1:240 fatality-per-launch ratio." C'mon Hamas, are you a murderous Islamist terror sect or my little sister playing Duck Hunt?
But folks beyond our usual chorus of ornery pundits have been weighing in, too, which is good, because for thorny topics like Mideast wars it's crucial our newspapers recruit some scholarly, impartial voices. The Montreal Gazette, for instance, got the, uh, Israeli Consul-General.
Shalom Quebeckers, he says, I'm the Israeli Consel-General and I'm opposed to terrorists who make "rockets rain down from our skies." Sure, some might harp on the "lack of proportionality in the death toll," but in my unbiased opinion, the reason more Gaza people are dying is because "Israel goes through extraordinary measures to protect each and every one of our civilians" while Hamas makes theirs hide in shelters made of paper bags and orphans. Be sure to consider Israel for your next Victoria Day long weekend!
Way on the other side, meanwhile, sits noted anti-Israel professor Patrick Seale in the Star, writing a fun summary of some recent Q and A with his Muslim pals. Surprise! Turns out they felt the "cruel fate of the Palestinians was a badge of dishonour for every Arab." Now I obviously don't want to cast aspersions on the prof's impartiality here, but considering one of his questions was "How did Arabs react, I wondered, when Israel's minister of interior, Eli Yishai, said that 'The goal of the operation is to send Gaza back to the Middle Ages?'" I think there might have been some slight witness-leading.
In any case, the war is over now or something, so it's time for everyone to move on, and ditch the embarrassing single-mindedness with which you supported your chosen side.
That's what domestic politics is for.
So, some time ago, the Conservative Party of Canada evidently decided they were done with this whole "being conservative" thing. Maybe it was after their fourth consecutive budget deficit, maybe after they started bragging about the highest transfer payments in Canadian history, either way: it happened. The Tories are quite objectively not the party of fiscal discipline anymore. It is a dead parrot.
To the Canadian pundit brigade, this then begs an obvious question: uh, what exactly makes our parties different again?
Well, incumbency, for starters, answers the Post's Jon Ivison. By 2015, he posits that "enough centre-right voters will have been turned off by nine years of Mr. Harper" that they'll swing to the Liberals simply because they'll appear to be a somewhat "acceptable, progressive face of fiscal conservatism," based on the Tories' own low standard.
And the NDP? Well, doy, they should merge with the Liberals, says unauthorized Jon Ivison knock-off Jon Ibbitson at the Globe, adding that if the Tories win a narrow victory in Calgary next week it will very, very obviously be because "the centre-left vote was split." Hear that, Liberal leadership candidates? Spliiiiiiiiiiit!
Yeah, the message could not be clearer if was shouted by the two-headed ghost of Pierre Trudeau and Tommy Douglas, agrees Postie Chris Selley; the future for Canada's pragmatic left is, "if not a merger in itself, then at least parliamentary co-operation."
Ever since Mitt Romney's big loss way back when, the North American commentariat has spent much time debating the future of continental conservatism, with the Canucks constantly insisting that the surest path to power entails emulating the style and substance of our brilliantly moderate only-barely-right-of-centre party.
More than a little ironic, theretofore, that toppling the mighty Tory empire is apparently just a matter of parliamentary arithmetic and running out the clock.
From Haaretz:
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during her talks in Israel this week not to take any extreme actions in response to the Palestinian move in the United Nations for recognition as a non-member state. Clinton said such steps against the Palestinian Authority could bring about its collapse. The Palestinians are planning to ask the United Nations General Assembly to vote on upgrading its status from non-member entity on the symbolic date of November 29.The day after the cease-fire with Hamas took effect, Israel is preparing for the next crisis with the Palestinians, which is scheduled for six days from now. November 29th is the anniversary of the United Nations vote on accepting the Partition Plan in 1947, which led to the founding of the Jewish Sate. It is also the United Nations' International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
Read more here.
From the Jerusalem Post:
Washington is urging Israel not to allow construction in the area known as E-1 between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim as a possible response to the Palestinian bid for statehood recognition next week at the UN, The Jerusalem Post has learned.Building in E-1, which would create contiguity between Jerusalem and Ma’aleh Adumim to the northeast beyond the Green Line, is something various Israeli governments have long wanted to do, but which US opposition has prevented.
Read more here.
The New York Times' Jodi Rudoren chronicles displays of pride and sacrifice:
Inside a courtyard, there are faded remnants of “Congratulations from the uncles,” from the April wedding of a son of Ahmed al-Jabari, the commander of the Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, whose assassination last week was the beginning of the latest round of intense battle between Israel and the Gaza Strip.On the wall outside, the colorful Arabic script reads “Welcome hajji, Abu Muhammad,” a reference to Mr. Jabari’s return from a pilgrimage to Mecca last month. Nearby, the freshest paint pronounces a message from the troops: “Rest in peace. The mission has been accomplished.”
Read the full story at the New York Times.
An underground tunnel connecting through which I got into Gaza from Egypt. Israel has repeatedly targeted the tunnel network, trying to hinder flow of goods and weapons into the strip. (Photo by Mosa'ab Elshamy via Flickr)
16 soldiers spelled out 'loser' with their bodies to critique Netanyahu and show frustration at not going into battle.
The Economist discusses how the ceasefire was achieved and whether it could lead to lasting peace in the region.
Among others coming and going were the UN secretary-general, the American secretary of state and the foreign ministers of Turkey and Germany. But the real bargaining took place behind closed doors at the headquarters of General Muhammad Shehata, Egypt’s intelligence chief. There, in separate rooms, the Egyptians haggled with a legal adviser to the Israeli prime minister, and with representatives from Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that runs Gaza, and a smaller, more radical Palestinian faction, Islamic Jihad.
From the Associated Press:
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's army spokeswoman says an Israeli Arab who is a member of Hamas has been arrested for Wednesday's bus bombing in Tel Aviv.The bombing injured 27 people near Israel's military headquarters and threatened to scuttle efforts to broker a cease-fire to end fighting between Israel and Gaza.
Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Col. Avital Leibovich reported Thursday on Twitter that authorities had arrested the man who planted the bomb on the bus and identified him as an Arab Israeli from the village of Taybeh. She said he was a member of Hamas.
| @ haaretzcom : BREAKING: #Israel security forces arrest suspects in #TelAviv bus blast http://t.co/91fS0v48 |
A Palestinian boy and militants of the Izzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of Hamas, attend funerals of five Hamas militants in Mugharka village, central Gaza Strip, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Five Hamas militants were killed in an Israeli air strike yesterday, Palestinian health officials said. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
While the cease-fire agreement between Israel and Gaza on Wednesday brought an end to the rockets and airstrikes, the political fallout is just beginning. The Associated Press offers a breakdown of who won and who lost as a result of the truce agreement:
Read the full story on HuffPost World.
HuffPost Live's Ahmed Shihab-Eldin moderates a panel of bloggers and journalists and looks at whether members of the media have been targeted during the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza.
Statement From the U.S. State Department:
Question: Have the United States and Israel spoken specifically about the importance of safety for journalists covering the ongoing conflict in Gaza?Answer: U.S. officials discussed a range of issues with their Israeli counterparts with respect to the conflict in Gaza, including our concerns for the safety and security of civilians in both Israel and Gaza, which includes journalists in Gaza. In any armed conflict, journalists must be respected and protected from any form of intentional attack. Appropriate measures should be taken to ensure the safety and security of journalists as much as possible.
— Joshua Hersh
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| @ haaretzcom : Israel's FM Avigdor Lieberman: We didn’t negotiate cease-fire with #Hamas, we negotiated with #Egypt http://t.co/91fS0v48 #Gaza |
A Gaza man hugs a Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant after a press conference in Gaza City, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. Gazans are celebrating a cease-fire agreement reached with Israel to end eight days of the fiercest fighting in nearly four years constricting the Gaza Strip. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)
| @ alextomo : #c4news #gaza Nature does it better: flashes of white light and rolling thunder as a storm piles in over Gaza AND Israel |
| @ NadimJBaba : #Gaza City's got a thunderstorm, windows at Jazeera office still to be replaced after blast damage. Many families in same boat tonight |
| @ AymanM : Pouring down rain in #gaza, eating dinner, loud thunder heard, everyone starts clapping & laughing thinking it was an airstrike #onlyingaza |
| @ sarahussein : My @AFP story on life returning to normal in #Gaza http://t.co/pRiAPilH |
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| @ haaretzcom : Do you think the recently achieved #Gaza cease-fire could lead to a broader agreement with the #Palestinians? http://t.co/Krn55GvI |
Citing a human rights group, the Maan News Agency reports that Israel has transferred to administrative detention approximately 30 Palestinians from the West Bank who were involved in solidarity events for Gaza.
Under the policy of administrative detention, Israel can hold prisoners for renewable terms of six months without pressing charges.
Among the prisoners were leaders from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, as well as university students.
--Eamon Murphy
| @ blakehounshell : RT @BarakRavid: Behind the scenes of Israel's decision to accept Gaza truce - new post on Diplomania - http://t.co/QC2afTKL |
Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Bratslav Hasidic sect, that gathered to show support for the forces, dance as they celebrate atop of a tank in southern Israel, close to the Israel Gaza Strip Border, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
On the heels of his crucial role in peace negotiations between Israel and Hamas, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi has consolidated power through a series of constitutional amendments and decrees, the Associated Press reports.
Morsi's amendments also call for the re-trial of members of Hosni Mubarak's regime for the killing of protesters during the Arab Spring.
Read the full story on HuffPost World.
A flak jacket hangs on the cannon of a tank as another is guided to a new position at a staging area near the Israel Gaza Strip Border, southern Israel, Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)
Mohammed Badei, leader of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, has come out against Wednesday's peace accord between Israel and Hamas.
"The enemy knows nothing but the language of force," said Mohammed Badei. "Be aware of the game of grand deception with which they depict peace accords."
Badei's comments come in sharp contrast to the peace negotiations by Egypt's President, Mohammed Morsi, who is also a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Badei also went on to say that "jihad is obligatory" and called on Muslims to "back your brothers in Palestine."
Read the whole story on HuffPost World.
Paul Danahar, a BBC reporter in Gaza, has been following on Twitter the saga of a doctor at a hospital in the Strip who found himself suddenly treating his own six-year-old child, who later died from injuries sustained during the shelling. There are few details so far, but on Thursday Danahar added one more sorrowful note: the doctor, according to the UN, had been working so hard helping patients from the bombing that he hadn't seen his own family for three days, until suddenly the patient dying on the table before him was his boy.
--Joshua Hersh
According to Al Akhbar, a photo uploaded on September 29 to the Facebook profile of the head of the IDF's social media unit shows the lieutenant posing with brown mud on his face under the caption: "Obama style."
Sacha Dratwa, a 26-year old "immigrant from Belgium" as he was described in Tablet magazine, is in charge of the IDF's Facebook, Twitter and very controversial Instagram account.
-- Ahmed Shihab-Eldin
In the midst of the fighting between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza, a Palestinian Authority ambassador vented his anger and frustration about the Hamas leadership in a phone conversation with an Israeli diplomat, Haaretz has reported.
The exchange, which was reported by the Israeli diplomat in a cable that was later leaked to Haaretz's Barak Ravid, captures the irritation and, ultimately, the impotence of the Fatah leadership in the West Bank, which found itself sidelined from the diplomatic conversation over a cease-fire in Gaza, despite technically being the appointed representatives of the Palestinian people around the world.
"The Hamas offices that were destroyed are not important," the unnamed ambassador apparently reported, expressing his sense of Hamas's indifference to what happens to their people. "The real offices are the mosques, which are connected to a widespread network of tunnels. Everything happens underground. Hamas has no regrets over the destruction in Gaza. On the contrary. Hamas gets a great deal of economic and political benefit from the terrible destruction because of the large donations that will come from the world and the political image of the organization that stands on the front line against Israel.”
The Israeli diplomat also reported the PA official as decrying his boss, PA president Mahmoud Abbas (informally known as Abu Mazen) for his failure to bring the people of Gaza under his wing:
"Abu Mazen never troubled to bring the residents of Gaza close to him," he reportedly said. He does not like Gaza, and if he could get rid of it, he would be happy to do so.... One way or another, Abu Mazen’s time is more or less up. The problem is who will replace him.
Reading over the exchange, Jeffrey Goldberg, a close Israel watcher, noted, "The difference between Israel and Fatah is that Fatah dislikes Hamas more."
Read the whole report here.
| @ BBCBreaking : Israeli soldier injured by mortar fire on Wednesday dies of wounds - sixth Israeli to die in recent conflict - reports http://t.co/6aUYSUvw |
| @ RichardEngel : #Israeli troops begin leaving border sites with #gaza |
This New York Times graphic not only charts the attacks in Israel and Gaza, but also identifies the different rockets used by Hamas and the neighborhoods affected by Israeli fire.
More important for many, though, is the context for how big Gaza is in comparison to New York City.
Follow J.J. McCullough on Twitter: www.twitter.com/JJ_McCullough
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IsraelNewswire
Arutz 7: Arab Killed in Gaza Tunnel Collapse http://t.co/CZD5HYvpW8 #israel
1 day ago from twitterfeed
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IsraelNewswire
Ha'aretz: Egypt blocks Gaza border, Hamas calls continued closure 'unjustified' http://t.co/N2NzMxVXw1 #israel
1 day ago from twitterfeed
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One can acknowledge the many negative qualities of Hamas while also acknowledging that Israel is to blame for most of this conflict. Indeed, Israel and Hamas feed off of each other. By refusing to make peace with the PA and accelerating its settlement of Palestinian land, Israel has made obvious that it has no desire for any kind of just peace or workable Palestinian state. Along the way, it has proven to Palestinians that the PA and its moderation yield no results. This has made the population more radical and strengthened groups like Hamas, which may well have been the Israeli intention all along. After all, Israel was instrumental in strengthening Hamas in the 1980s in an effort to undermine the PLO. It may be playing a similar game now. It's important to note that Israel has never followed up on any of Hamas' overtures for long-term truces or even its hints that it might be open to a two-state solution. The most reasonable explanation for this is that Israel doesn't want peace with the Palestinians because it knows this will mean giving up land. Israel is the regional superpower; the Palestinians pose no threat. So it sees no need to compromise.
On the other side of the debate: The Palestinians are victims who have never done anything wrong. Ever. If you criticize Palestinians, you are a rabid, racist Islamophobe.
I wonder why no progress is ever made in these Middle-East discussions?
ie which came first ---who started it ---
when the thinking gets around to omlette tasting ---progress will have been made