Mike's Noise

An Israeli Orthodox Jew speaks out on the war with Lebanon

You should read this provocative email recieved by Dawn Eden from her Aunt Sarah, an Orthodox Jew currently living in Jerusalem:

Yes, poor Lebanon explains that it can't control Hezbollah's militia in the South. But it is the government's function to control its imports and its commercial traffic, especially elsewhere in the country. And obviously they do. Except that they closed their eyes or blinked at the steady traffic in enormous and exotic high-tech war materiel heading toward the wholesale slaughter of the Jews. And the world did, too.
 
Yes, poor Lebanon is afraid of a civil war. Yes, poor Lebanon explains that the Hezbollah is a "state within a state". Yes, the Moslems are in the majority, and yes, the Shi'ites are the majority of those, and yes, they hold government positions and yes, they have a coercive power which the so-called Lebanese government won't stand up to. And so what it amounts to is that Lebanon, like Vichy France, is a willing and co-operative prop for fanatical, murderous, genocide-bent enemies and haters of the Jews...

If we are going to insist that Israel observe the Geneva Conventions, then Israel must have a sovereign state with which to contend.  The Lebanese government is not simply a group of innocent bystanders; they must be held responsible for allowing Hezbollah to flourish within their nation for over twenty years.

Condoleezza Rice: The Umbrella Woman

Writing over at Willisms, regular WizBanger JayTea digs up an incident that occurred in Israel six years ago, perpetrated by Hezbollah and overseen by the UN:

As Meryl Yourish brought to my attention, nearly six years ago a group of Hezbollah terrorists invaded Israel under false guise as UN Peacekeepers, attacked an Israeli military patrol, and kidnapped three Israeli soldiers. They then fled back to Lebanon, where the soldiers were killed and their bodies traded for live Hezbollah prisoners.

Virtually the whole incident was observed and recorded by United Nations Peacekeeping forces, who had been bribed to allow the attack to take place. And the United Nations, on direct orders from Secretary General Kofi Annan, did everything humanly possible to cover up their involvement. They denied everything, destroyed evidence, refused to turn over that which they did not destroy, and eventually censored that which the did give to Israel to make it worthless.

And while they stonewalled, those three Israeli soldiers died brutal deaths.

Surprisingly, I'm not going to write about the utter incompetence, corruption, and lack of responsibility routinely exhibited by the UN.  Instead I want to focus on this observation:

On a far more profound level, though, by brokering an agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, the United Nations would be drawing an equivalency between a free, democratic, independent nation and a terrorist group. (The cynic in me points out that it would merely be not overly significant; the UN routinely denounces Israel as "criminal" and "terrorist," to this would simply formalize the position.) This would grant Hezbollah the standing and status of a modern nation, with none of the attendant responsibilities and obligations and duties inherent therein. This would be an unprecedented victory for terrorists.

This is the exact same error that is made when authorities insist that we treat terrorists according to guidelines outlined in the Geneva Conventions, even though terrorists cannot claim to be represented by a sovereign government and never follow conventional rules of just or legal warfare.

JayTea then goes on to outline a solution similar to the solution being proposed by the Bush Administration:

There is a very simple solution to this problem. It arose because Lebanon failed to fulfill its obligations as a sovereign nation and assert control of its southern territories. It needs to wrest those areas from Hezbollah, rigorously patrol its lands, and enforce the peace -- the basic obligations of any nation-state.

With luck, Israel's ongoing destruction of Hezbollah personnel and ordnance will weaken that terrorist organization to the point where Lebanon can achieve that. Then -- and only then -- should a ceasefire be arranged, and between Lebanon and Israel only. Hezbollah should not be a party to those talks.

I whole-heartedly agree.  The Bush administration has just sent Secretary of State Rice to the Middle East in order to meet with leaders of other Arab/Muslim nations and try to organize an "umbrella" of nations that will be willing to stand up to terrorists and tell them to "get lost."  This certainly seems to be a much more realistic approach to solving terrorism problems, as opposed to previous attempts at sitting down with the terrorists themselves and trying to negotiate "cease fires" and "settlements."

We should pray that (hopefully non-violent) coercion on the part of other Muslims will soften the Islamist terrorists and, at the very least, lessen the current bloodshed.

(By the way, Neville Chamberlain was known by the humorous moniker "The Umbrella Man."  We can only hope that Secretary of State Rice is more successful at securing peace with her "umbrella.")

Modern warfare and the deaths of civilians

I've been thinking a lot lately about the deaths of civilians at the hands of the Israeli military during the last few weeks.

What disturbs me the most is that we have entered an era of warfare in which the word "civilian" is being rendered more and more meaningless.  Consider these two photos, the first a recent AFP photo from Lebanon ...

... and this classic photo recovered by Israeli forces a few years ago during a raid on Palestinian terrorist facilities:

Daniel Drezner recently addressed the issue of "just war" in regard to Israel's attacks on Lebanon.  A commenter on Drezner's blog had this to say:

Guerilla warfare was called ‘protracted warfare’ by Mao. This method of war always seeks to extend a conflict so as to produce the highest expenditure of resources and lives. Hezbollah are the world’s greatest experts in protracted war. They know that by extending a conflict and producing the highest numbers of civilian casualties, they can usually attain their political goals ...

Most Hezbollah fighters operate out of uniform; they hide amongst civilian populations; they impersonate civilians, UN personnel, and medical personnel; they do not follow the rules and customs of war; they intentionally target civilians; they intentionally target medical personnel; they routinely execute POWs. Damage to infrastructure and the unintentional death of civilians are the result of Hezbollah perfidy; hence, the blame and responsibility ought to lie with them as well.

US soldiers serving in Iraq have complained repeatedly that civilians in small towns are very aware of al-Qaeda activity, even to the point of knowing where roadside bombs are planted and who planted them.  Palestinians have created among themselves a mythical culture of holy warfare in which mothers dream of their children becoming suicide bombers and killing Israelis.  And certainly much of the population of Lebanon has ties of one sort or another to Hezbollah.

The "civilized" warfare created by western Christian European nations, the warfare fought by uniformed armies operating under a set of gentlemen's agreements and mostly leaving civilians alone, was largely abandoned by the middle of the twentieth century.  The Geneva Conventions are, sadly, an antique relic of a bygone era.  I suppose it's nice to think that those who abide by the Conventions are the "good guys," but ultimately those efforts will be in vain.

I'm not saying "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out."  What I am saying is that modern warfare will be warfare of the protracted kind, fought by terrorists and guerrillas who shoot, bomb, and then completely integrate themselves back into an "innocent civilian" population that has been conditioned to see warfare as a part of their cultural identity.  When others try to strike back at these terrorists and guerrillas, the only targets that they will be able to find are "innocent civilians."

We need to rethink how to combat the tactic of protracted terrorist warfare.

________________________________________________

Here is a gruesome gallery of civilian deaths in Lebanon.

And over at Christianity Today, a Lebanese Arab Christian takes Evangelicals to task for not denouncing the Israeli attacks. (h/t Smart Christian)

No Federal $$$ for embryonic stem cell research

I suppose that as a Christian I ought to write a few words about embryonic stem cell research and President Bush's veto of a bill that would have provided federal funding for such research.

Liberals and Bush-bashers of course wasted no time labeling Bush a fundamentalist simpleton pandering to Pat Robertson and Jerry Fallwell.  Such an idiotic charge deserves no response.

But I will direct readers to this article by Dr. Michael Fumento, who reminds his readers that embryonic stem cell research has never progressed beyond the "oooh--aaah!" and "potential" stages, while adult stem cell and umbilical cord stem cell research has actually yielded medical treatments.

Let me say that again:  stem cells harvested from the placentas of newborns and from bone marrow in adults -- methods that do not involve the destruction of a living human embryo -- have already provided useful medical treatments, while embryonic stem cell research -- which involves the destruction of a living human embryo -- has yet to do so.

Ahhhh, you say, but embryonic stem sell research might be fulfilling the futuristic promises of its proponents if we would remove its stigma and give researchers the big bucks from Uncle Sam.  The problem with this theory is that foreign nations have been conducting embryonic stem cell research for some time now.  So has the United States, utilizing strains of stem cells that have already been harvested some time ago and whose perpetuity does not involve killing more living human embryos.  And the research has been less than fulfilling.

Which brings up another point from Dr. Fumento's article: if embryonic stem cell research is so critical and so promising, why are its proponents so cash-strapped that they are begging from the Federal government?  Perhaps the dearth of private funding tells us all we really need to know about the usefulness of embryonic stem cell research.

Roundup and commentary on the Israeli War - July 20, 2006

Israel shows no sign of backing off their offensives in Gaza and southern Lebanon. 

Sissy Willis has a good post describing the first-rate SNAFU's instigated by the nascent UN when it created the Israel and West Bank partitions in 1947-1948.  Israel was forced to fight for its survival in 1948.  Can things work differently now, or are they just as hopeless as they were sixty years ago?

From my bookmark files, here is an insightful document linking Hamas and Yassir Arafat's PLO.

Israel is currently trying to root out Hezbollah terrorists who are operating out of southern Lebanon.  Hezbollah was created in 1982 in response to the previous Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.  Hezbollah's goal is to destroy the nation of Israel and replace it with a fundamentalist Islamic state.  Hezbollah operates as a political party in Lebanon and receives support from Syria and Iran.  Michelle Malkin notes that there are perhaps thousands of Hezbollah operatives in the US right now, awaiting their cue to strike.  The FBI is looking into the situation.

And about that support from Iran ... Hezbollah launched an Iranian-made C-802 cruise missile and struck an Israeli naval vessel.  Does the thought of organizations like Hezbollah possessing advanced weapons like cruise missiles make you a little more nervous?

Israel has already insinuated that an attack on Israel that can be traced directly back to Syrian or Iranian operatives will be considered an act of war by those nations against Israel.

So far, 86% of Israelis support the war.

For an interesting explanation of the now infamous photo of Israeli children writing "messages" on artillery shells (visible at the above MSNBC link) you should read this:

It seems the parents, and not the photographers, were encouraging the children to draw flags and doodles on the shells, not messages, which were written by the parents. But ... the presence of twelve photographers all eager to take shots, no doubt contributed significantly to the fact that it happened.

Perhaps the reason that more liberals have not spoken out against Israel is that they would be agreeing with Pat Buchannan.  Pat is always provocative, and this article is no less so.  If you are a Christian, you should read it an then ask yourself, if Jesus Christ was committed to peace, how should Christians respond to what many consider an excessive use of force by Israel?

And just for the record, here is how Christians should NOT respond to Israel's military offensive against Hamas and Hezbollah.  My apologies to the author of this post, but you are way off the mark.

Of course you know this means war ...

I suppose that at one time or another each of us uses humor in order to partially deflect the severity of a tense situation.

There is obviously nothing funny about what is going on in Middle East right now, with Israel fighting Hamas and Hezbollah on two fronts (Gaza and southern Lebanon), Hamas ambushing Israeli forces again and kidnapping two more Israeli soldiers, and Syria and Iran trying to figure out a way to declare Israel's military actions against Hamas and Hezbollah as a proxy war against their sovereign nations.

Today's raid on a home in Gaza today by Israel is probably a foretaste of what is to come -- Israeli warplanes bombed the home because Hamas was using the residence to plan military operations.  Of course Hamas leaders failed to evacuate civilians from the home or from surrounding areas, so women and children were killed in the attack, and dozens were wounded.  I am saddened by such an event, but ultimately the responsibility falls on Hamas, who refused to evacuate the women and children, and on the adults, particularly the mothers, who chose to stay in the company of terrorists with their children.

There is a darker view of this as well -- the notion that Hamas wants as many civilian deaths as possible at the hands of Israel, simply because photos of dead children make great television and further solidify the hatred of Muslims (and Western liberals) for Israel.

I blogged earlier that these attacks by Hamas were an attempt to test Israel, now that Israel has lost the heroic Ariel Sharon as its prime minister.  But there can be no doubt that Israel knew all along that the only reason the Palestinians wanted the Gaza Strip all to themselves was so they could turn it into a giant terror operations base and training camp.  Now that Hamas has committed acts of war against Israel, Israel finally has a good reason to attack and destroy both the Hamas infrastructure in Gaza and the Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon.  Unfortunately the only language that Muslim terrorists seem to speak is the language of violence, and Israel seems poised to unleash Hell upon them.

I look at this situation and wonder why Christian organizations like Christian Peacemaker Teams and liberal or "blue" Christians have not been flocking to the West Bank and Gaza in force, trying to teach the Palestinians about non-violence and peace.  If (as Palestinians and their ardent supporters claim) the Israelis only know how to react to Palestinian problems with violence, then a peaceful campaign of non-violence would stymie Israel and could accomplish more good in five years than terrorism has accomplished in the last sixty.  I am not the only one who has articulated this idea.  But I surely would like to see someone seriously try it.

Sadly though, I am reminded of the words of former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir: "Peace will come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate us."

Let us pray that this conflict is ended as soon as possible with as little bloodshed as possible.  Pray that God would change the hearts of the Palestinians and move them toward a non-violent solution to their dilemma.

Animal madness

I keep seeing stories like this one:

Two women in Marion County, Fla., were arrested after a 5-year-old boy was found living with 14 dogs, four cats, two ferrets and three large turtles in a home that had air pollution at "lethal levels," according to investigators.

... so I've decided to open up a new blogging category for them, inspired by TLC: "Dating is awkward, but so is becoming the crazy cat lady."

Another: "At Least 62 Cats Removed From Matteson House"

Headlines & Comments - July 11, '06

Colorado passed a tough illegal immigration reform bill, which will now require applicants to prove citizenship when applying for state benefits.  The Colorado legislature is dominated by Democrats, by the way.  The "restrictions = racism" immigration meme being pushed by national Democrat leaders is starting to look weaker now.

The economy is looking good.  The projected deficit is shrinking, tax revenues are up, and the stock markets are strong.  So we had a great economy under Clinton, and now we have one under Bush -- and both men had opposite views of how to achieve a strong economy.  Which probably proves that the economy isn't as much affected by the (D) or (R) after a president's name as party hacks wish it was.  PowerLine Blog has more.

First Bush was a unilateral cowboy who was going to get us all killed, now he is too soft on North Korea?  What gives?  Liberals went nuts when Bush named the "Axis of Evil" -- Saddam's Iraq, Iran, and North Korea --  and they insisted that such a diverse collection nations could not be lumped together; each required unique and individualized foreign policies.  Now they are upset because we are not going to invade North Korea the same way we invaded Iraq.  But we are keeping the Norks under close watch.  And Rick Warren is planning to preach there.  So now I guess liberals have a real dilemma on their hands: who poses more of a threat to North Korea -- Christians or Republicans?

Look!  Up in the sky!  It's a bird!  It's a plane! It's a megacryometeor!  Looks like a job for Superthunderstingcar!

Massachusetts will allow a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage on the general November ballot.  And Stones Cry Out reports that the Georgia Supreme Court has upheld a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage that was passed by voters two years ago.

They make us take our shoes off at the airport, but when Houston TSA workers actually find a guy with hollowed-out shoe soles, they let him board the plane anyway.  Oh, and did I mention he had an Arabic name, carried a Koran, and also lied about having a laptop computer in his carry-on bag?  Your tax dollars at work.

Robert Novak finally has told how he learned of the details surrounding Joseph Wilson's trip to Niger, and how he learned the identity of Joseph Wilson's wife Valerie Plame -- all he did was look up her name in Joseph Wilson's entry in Who's Who.  Way to keep a "top secret" there, Joe.  For those who care, JayTea at WizBang has a good tongue-in-cheek summary of the Novak-Plame-Wilson "scandal."

And finally, the Russkies got the guy who claimed responsibility for the planning of the Beslan school massacre.  Like many other conservatives, I feared massive bloodshed when the Russians, who are not known for their patience or kindness, went looking for the terrorists who perpetrated that horrible act.  Fortunately they have been very professional in their restraint.

Oklahoma City Forum on Immigration

On June 25, 2006, Oklahoma City First Church of the Nazarene (my home church) hosted a community-wide forum on the Christian response to the issue of immigration.  Around 400 people attended, and a panel of seven speakers presented opening statements and then fielded questions submitted in writing by the audience.  (L-R: Rex Friend, Shirley Cox, Rep. Gary Banz, Rev. Gabriella Rodriguez, Rep. Kevin Calvey, Kelly Basey, Pat Fennell)

The Immigration Forum Panel included the following members:

Rex Friend - a Quaker who practices immigration law and has been an outspoken activist and organizer of compaigns for non-violence and social justice including abolishing the death penalty and the rights of immigrants

Shirley Cox - Director of Social Action at Catholic Charities in Oklahoma City for the past nine years, also practices immigration law and works as an activist for issues such as social justice, right to life, welfare reform, euthanasia, the death penalty, and immigration.

Rep. Gary Banz - serves District 101 in the Oklahoma House of Representatives (vice chair of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee), also an Army veteran, retired public school teacher, and former member of the Oklahoma County Election Board and Rose State College Board of Regents

Gabriela Rodriguez - ordained minister and pastor of Davina Trinidad church, sponsored by Trinity Church of the Nazarene in Oklahoma City

Rep. Kevin Calvey - chair of the Revenue and Taxation committee, also a member of the Oklahoma National Guard and very active in his church community where he has taught Confirmation Class for ten years

Kelly Basey - served as Oklahoma County Assistant District Attorney for twelve years, during that time she helped to found the Oklahoma Mental Health Court; she currently serves on the Girl Scouts board of directors and practices immigration law with an Oklahoma City law firm

Pat Fennell - native of Quito, Ecuador, served as former state president of the National Association of Social Workers, earning the award for State Social Worker of the Year in 1992; also serves on the Oklahoma State Human Rights Commission and is the founder and Executive Director of the Latino Community Development Agency in Oklahoma City

My notes from the Forum, as well as some additional thoughts, are in the extended section.  This is not a transcript of the event; rather it is paraphrased notes taken during conversation.  Feel free to post comments about the points made by the forum panelists or about my thoughts regarding immigration issues.

(I also blogged a race relations forum in January.  My summary of that forum and related comments are here.)

Weekend reading (late edition): The "D" Word

Holly Pivec from Biola University discusses the de-emphasis of doctrine in contemporary churches.  Some interesting observations in this well-researched piece.  Check it out.

(h/t Smart Christian)