What Makes People Tick?

Recently read an article entitled "Freedom Under Attack" in the Op-Ed section of The Jewish Press. The writer, Ron Prosor, is Israel's ambassador to the United Nations. Read the article at: http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/freedom-under-attack/2015/03/05/ A lot of what Ambassador Prosor says has me nodding, not just today but in the past as well and from what I read, I find that he makes a lot of sense to me. Which is why I'm sharing some quotes from the article. The quotes are in bold text, my own words are in plain text. Ambassador Prosor starts by looking at 1945, the year World War Two ended in Europe. The year 2015 marks seventy years since the closing of Auschwitz - Birkenau and other Nazi camps, the death of Anne Frank, the liberation of Europe from the claws of Nazi Germany and the eventual end of World War Two. My grandparents lived through that War and growing up, it was not uncommon that they and other grown-ups, those old enough to remember ...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to the United Nations General Assembly on 29 September 2014. The Times of Israel published the full text of his speech online. May the world listen, for a change, and see the truth of what Israel's Prime Minister is saying. "Our hopes and the world’s hope for peace are in danger. Because everywhere we look, militant Islam is on the march.  It’s not militants. It’s not Islam. It’s militant Islam.  Typically, its first victims are other Muslims, but it spares no one. Christians, Jews, Yazidis, Kurds — no creed, no faith, no ethnic group is beyond its sights. And it’s rapidly spreading in every part of the world." The past few months have shown very clearly that the 'Islamic State' does not care about Christians, Jews, Yazidis or Kurds. It does not even care about other Muslims who happen to think for themselves and disagree with the terrorist group's extremist views. American and British journalists were ...

Yale University's Avalon Project has a copy of the Hamas Covenant 1988  in their archives. The following is a direct quote. I encourage all readers to read the entire Covenant and to form your own opinion based on your personal interpretation of the document. Article Twenty-two:   For a long time, the enemies have been planning, skillfully and with precision, for the achievement of what they have attained. They took into consideration the causes affecting the current of events. They strived to amass great and substantive material wealth which they devoted to the realisation of their dream. With their money, they took control of the world media, news agencies, the press, publishing houses, broadcasting stations, and others. With their money they stirred revolutions in various parts of the world with the purpose of achieving their interests and reaping the fruit therein. They were behind the French Revolution, the Communist revolution and most of the revolutions we heard a...

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Middle East this week. He met Israeli Prime-Minister Benyamin Netanyahu and gave a speech on Tuesday 22 July 2014 from Tel Aviv, Israel. It gladdens me that the United Nations fully support Israel's right to protect itself. It gladdens me to see that the UN condemns the use of their facilities for terrorist purposes. It gladdens me to see that the UN, unlike so many people I hear from and speak to these days, seem to care about both sides instead of praising one side and condemning the other. "My message to Israelis and Palestinians is the same: Stop fighting. Start talking. And take on the root causes of the conflict, so we are not back to the same situation in another six months or a year." Source: Ban Ki-moon's speeches: Remarks at press conference with Benjamin Netanyahu , United Nations News Centre

Israel National News reports that for the second time since the start of Operation Protective Edge; United Nations workers have found rockets stored in one of their schools in Gaza. United Nations relief agency UNRWA has discovered, for a second time during the current war in Gaza, Hamas terror rockets stashed in one of its vacant schools.  A statement by UNRWA Tuesday said that “Today, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip.” Source: Again, Rockets found in UNRWA schools , Arutz Sheva - Israel National News

Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Frans Timmermans spoke to the United Nations Security Council about the 'downing' of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 carrying a total of 298 innocent men, women and children, 193 of whom were Dutch. Parts of Mr. Timmermans' speech were shown on Dutch television news ( NOS Nieuws ) such as the statement I transcribed below in order to share it with readers of this blog. Minister Timmermans' speech can be viewed here on YouTube . Any transcription errors are mine. "Just for one minute, I'm not addressing you as representatives of your countries... But as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers.  Just imagine that you first get the news that your husband was killed. And then within two or three days you see images of some thug removing a wedding band from their hands. Just imagine that this could be your spouse.   To my dying day I will not understand that it took so much time for the rescue workers to be allowed to do their ...

"Yesterday, in the course of the regular inspection of its premises, UNRWA discovered approximately 20 rockets hidden in a vacant school in the Gaza Strip.   UNRWA strongly condemns the group or groups responsible for placing the weapons in one of its installations. This is a flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law.   This incident, which is the first of its kind in Gaza, endangered civilians including staff and put at risk UNRWA’s vital mission to assist and protect Palestine refugees in Gaza."  Source: UNRWA strongly condemns placement of rockets  in school , UNRWA Published 17 July 2014.

Today was a day full of interesting developments in Israel / Palestine. The Jewish Press reports: Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas swore in what he called a new PA “unity government” today (Monday) at 1:00 p.m. local time in a televised ceremony in Ramallah.  “Today, after announcing the government of national unity we declare the end of division that caused catastrophic harm to our cause,” Abbas said. “This black page in the history (of the Palestinians) has been turned forever, and we will not allow it to come back.” Source : The Wedding is On – Hamas and Fatah Unite in Palestinian Authority , The Jewish Press Al Jazeera English also reports on the formation of a Palestinian unity government: In a pre-recorded message that aired on Palestine TV, Abbas said the new government was transitional, and that negotiations with Israel would remain in the hands of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. "This government, like its predecessors, will abide by all previou...