THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE

Cognitive Dissonance presents the sufferer with a binary choice -- an honest but difficult option and a dishonest but easy option -- for alleviating that intellectual ailment.

The first option is to change one s opinions to conform them to the facts. This is the honest but difficult option. Those who alleviate their Cognitive Dissonance by abandoning erroneous opinions, because they are not justified by the facts, honor the Truth.

The second option is to change the facts to conform them to one s opinions. This is the dishonest but easy option. Those who alleviate their Cognitive Dissonance by falsifying the facts, so that they can justify maintaining erroneous opinions, dishonor the Truth.

Support for the genocidal Palestinian Cause requires adoption of the second option. Mark Rosenblit

THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE TO THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE

Peace activist murdered by Palestinian

Angelo Frammartino, a 24 year-old Italian student, planned to set up summer camp for Palestinians; He was attacked and murdered by Arab knifeman

By: Nir Magal

(ynetnews.com, August 11, 2006) Angelo Frammartino, a 24 year-old student from Italy who arrived in Israel as a human rights organization activist, was stabbed to death Thursday by an Arab knifeman.

"He believed in what he did and was always ready to help others," a friend described him.

The website of Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera reported that Frammartino was working for the setting up of a children's summer camp for Palestinians in Jerusalem's Old City, and was supposed to return to Italy on Friday.

The youth was stabbed in the back while walking with four friends in the Sultan Suleiman street in the capital, near the Prahim Gate.

The attacker left the knife at the scene of the crime and fled. Police set up checkpoints in the area and arrested three suspects for suspected involvement.

It is believed that the attack was a nationalistically [i.e., in furtherance of the Arab Cause ] motivated terror attack, and not an attempted robbery.

Resuscitation attempts by Magen David Adom paramedics who arrived on the scene could not save him, and Frammartino was declared dead due to loss of blood.

Frammartino, a resident of Monta Rotondo, arrived in Israel at the start of the month with an Italian organization, ARCI, working to advance human rights in the world.

He planned for the experience for a year and was chosen with another youth from his city to take part in the project.

Frammartino was a law student. "He was very interested in politics and in the issues of society, like his father," said Monta Rotondo's Mayor, Anonino Lopi. "Something so beautiful ended in such a tragic way," he added.

The mayor expressed his condolences on behalf of the whole city.

'Not an extremist, just a pacifist'

In a letter sent a few months ago to a local newspaper, Angelo expressed his world view: "We must recognize that a situation with no violence is a luxury in many parts of the world, but we are not seeking to prevent legitimate self-defense operations. I never dreamt of condemning the resistance, the blood of the Vietnamese, the blood of nations under colonial occupation, or the blood of Palestinian youths from the first intifada," he said.

Angelo's neighbor said his parents were worried by their son's request to go on a 'different holiday,' but were proud of it and did not oppose. They set out on holiday, leaving their eldest daughter, Francesca, at home. She was alone when the news from Jerusalem came.

"My parents are on holiday. When they return, the house will never be the same as before," said a neighbor who burst out in tears. "He was a golden guy. He dealt with politics, but he wasn't an extremist. He was just a pacifist, the poor guy."

www.ynetnews.com

[Note: It is indeed ironic that pacifist Angelo Frammartino was most likely murdered because his attacker mistook him for a Jew. The American Heritage Dictionary contains the following definition of pacifism :

pac i fism (p s -f z m) n. 1. The belief that disputes between nations should and can be settled peacefully. 2.a. Opposition to war or violence as a means of resolving disputes. b. Such opposition demonstrated by refusal to participate in military action.

Clearly, Frammartino -- who justified Palestinian Arab resistance to colonial occupation (i.e., Palestinian Arab terror attacks against Israel s Jewish population centers) -- was not a pacifist. Rather, he was a dupe who paid the supreme price for his support of the very violence that killed him. -- Mark Rosenblit]

Three Palestinians charged with brutal rape of UN worker in capital

By: Etgar Lefkovits

(Jerusalem Post, January 4, 2009) Three Palestinian teens were indicted Friday in a Jerusalem court for raping and robbing a 59 year-old UNIFIL [United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon] worker in her northeast Jerusalem home.

The three suspects, including two minors, were arrested last month after the woman, who is from a Scandinavian country, filed a police complaint.

The identity of the fourth suspect is known, and police are looking for him.

The suspects, who live in the West Bank and are not connected with the UN institution, allegedly committed the crimes on December 4 after following the woman to her apartment in the [Arab-populated] Beit Hanina neighborhood.

According to the indictment, the suspects scaled a fence between the West Bank and east Jerusalem and broke into the woman's apartment through a window on the roof at about 1 a.m.

They found the woman in bed, tied her legs and hands at knife-point, and strangled her with their hands, the charge sheet says.

Over the next two hours, they raped and sodomized her one after the other, according to the indictment.

As each suspect took his turn, the other three ate, drank and watched TV in her living room and looked for valuables, the indictment recounts.

Two hours later, the four left the apartment with stolen goods, the indictment states.

During the arraignment, the State asked the Jerusalem District Court to remand the suspects for the duration of their trial.

( ) The Jerusalem Post

www.jpost.com

[Note: There are virtually no foreigners residing in Beit Hanina. The reason that this female U.N. employee decided to live in that "Palestinian"-populated neighborhood (located in the eastern portion of Jerusalem which was reacquired by Israel during the 1967 Six Day War) was to demonstrate to the "Palestinian" Arabs that she sympathized with their "Cause". Due to the paucity of foreigners -- especially foreign women -- in Beit Hanina, her presence and her purpose were widely known among the local Arabs. The "Palestinian" teenagers who abused her merely decided that their barbarity trumped her solidarity.

The reason is simple.

If they had perpetrated this atrocity upon an Arab woman, her relatives would have tracked them down, tortured them, and summarily killed them. By attacking a non-Arab woman, they ensured that -- if caught -- they would merely be sent to an Israeli prison.

Their exercise in depravity was a fine way to thank this na ve U.N. employee for her residential gesture to the "Palestinian" Arabs. -- Mark Rosenblit]

Actor Juliano Mer-Khamis gunned down in Jenin

By OREN KESSLER and KHALED ABU TOAMEH

Prominent Israeli filmmaker and peace activist was the son of a Jewish mother and a Christian Arab father from Nazareth.

(Jerusalem Post, April 4, 2011) Well-known actor, filmmaker and peace activist Juliano Mer-Khamis was shot dead in his car Monday in Jenin, the volatile West Bank city in which he made his home and founded the controversial Freedom Theater.

A masked assailant shot Mer-Khamis five times from close range at the entrance to the theater, a Palestinian Authority security source said, adding that a woman who was in the car was lightly wounded.

PA security forces made several arrests after the shooting.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Mer-Khamis is survived by his wife, who is pregnant with twins, a daughter and a son, who was reportedly also with him at the time of the shooting.

Mer-Khamis, 52, was rushed from the theater in the Jenin refugee camp to the city s hospital, but doctors were unable to save his life.

His body was later transferred through a checkpoint to Israeli authorities and taken to the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Abu Kabir.

Mer-Khamis was the son of Arna Mer, a Jewish Israeli activist for Palestinian causes, and Saliba Khamis, a Nazareth-born Christian and one of the leaders of the Israeli Communist Party in the 1950s. The filmmaker s maternal grandfather was Gideon Mer, a Lithuanian-born scientist who pioneered the study of malaria in Mandate- era Palestine.

An uncompromising critic of Israel in later life, Mer-Khamis s mixed parentage meant he spent much of his life straddling both sides of the Green Line.

He was born and raised in Nazareth, the hub of Arab life in Galilee, but served as a combat soldier in the elite IDF Paratroopers Brigade and as an adult split his time between Haifa and Jenin.

His cousins are the director and screenwriter Lihi Hanoch (the former wife of iconic pop star Shalom Hanoch) and the musician Ran Efron.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad condemned the killing.

We cannot stand silent in the face of this ugly crime, he said. It constitutes a grave violation that goes beyond all principles and human values, and it contravenes the customs and ethics of coexistence.

Kadoura Musa, the PA governor of Jenin, said a team had been set up to investigate the murder.

The person who did this will be caught regardless of his identity, Musa said. Mer- Khamis, he said, was a resident of the Jenin refugee camp and helped build Palestine. He did not deserve to die this way.

The Jenin refugee camp was the scene of one the fiercest battles of 2002 s Operation Defensive Shield after the IDF determined it to be the home of a large and varied terrorist infrastructure and the launch pad for a number of deadly suicide attacks.

Mer-Khamis opened the Freedom Theater there in 2006. The venue was firebombed three years later, after leaflets were distributed in the refugee camp describing Mer- Khamis as a fifth column and calling for his death.

In a 2009 Reuters interview, Mer-Khamis attributed the opposition to a ghetto mentality" and dictatorship of tradition built up under Israeli occupation.

One of the theater s cofounders was Zakariya Zubeidi, Jenin chief of the Aksa Martyrs Brigades described in a 2006 Sunday Times profile as chief strategist of suicide bombers in the camp Israelis refer to as the capital of suicide terrorism. In 2007 Zubeidi renounced terrorism and said he had committed himself to cultural resistance through theater.

On Monday, a Jenin resident who lives near the theater told Britain s Guardian newspaper: I don t think he was killed because he was Jewish. Some people were angry with the liberal values he was promoting at the theater, but to me he was a very nice guy who worked hard for the people here.

Mer-Khamis was an outspoken, often strident proponent of Palestinian rights and a fierce critic of Israel. Armed struggle is legitimate as long as it s against an occupier and is done on occupied land, he said in a 2009 press conference at his theater.

But if there isn t history, culture and art behind one s rifle, that rifle kills rather than liberates.

I m in favor of a single Palestinian state from the river to the sea, he said at the same press conference. If the Jews want to live with us, ahlan wasahlan (welcome).

He consistently rejected the label of Israeli-Arab, telling Israel Radio the same year: I m 100-percent Palestinian, and 100-percent Jewish.

Mer-Khamis s first film was The Little Drummer Girl, a 1984 US adaptation of a John Le Carre thriller on the Israeli- Palestinian conflict. He later appeared in a number of films by leading Israeli filmmakers Avi Nesher and Amos Gitai, and in Wedding in Galilee by the Nazareth-born director Michel Khleifi.

In 2002, he was nominated best actor at the Ophir Awards, Israel s Oscars, for his performance in Gitai s film Kedma.

A year later, Mer-Khamis produced and co-directed his first documentary film, Arna s Children, on his mother s work to establish a children s theater group in Jenin in the 1980s.

Israelis from the film and theater world also expressed their shock at the killing.

He was a special person, brave but crazy to do what he did, fellow actor Alon Abutbul told Reuters.

I was stunned, I stopped breathing, he was a person I liked so much, added Nesher. This is such an absurd murder because he went there to give.

www.jpost.com

[Note: The late peace activist Juliano Mer-Khamis advocated for the peaceful solution of replacing Israel with a State of Palestine . He believed that such a declaration of fealty to Palestine would endear him to the Arab residents of Judea and Samaria. But then he announced: I m 100-percent Palestinian, and 100-percent Jewish. Obviously, his murderers hated the Jew in him more than they loved the Arab in him. -- Mark Rosenblit]

Body of Kidnapped Italian ISM Activist Found

by Elad Benari, Gil Ronen and Gavriel Queenann

(Arutz Sheva, April 15, 2011) Security forces [of the terrorist organization Hamas] in Gaza located overnight Thursday the body of Vittorio Arrigoni, an Italian member of the anti-Israel International Solidarity Movement (ISM), who had been kidnapped by Salafist Muslims earlier.

Hamas officials, who reported that Arrigoni's body had been found, added that the body had been found in an abandoned home in Gaza.

Earlier, the Bethlehem-based Ma'an News Agency reported that Arrigoni's kidnappers belong to A-Tawheed wal Jihad, a terror group of the Salafist Muslim stream. The kidnappers released a video showing Arrigoni bruised, tied and blindfolded, and text scrolling across the screen "threatens that he will die unless Hamas releases Salafist prisoners by 5 p.m. Friday."

The organization wants Hamas to release all of the members of their organization who are currently jailed. Topping the list is a senior member of the group, Hisham al-Sa'adi.

Sources in Gaza told Voice of Israel state-run radio that Arrigoni has been living in Gaza for several years after arriving there on one of the Free Gaza boats.

Arrigoni writes a blog for Guerrilla Radio and for communist newspaper Il Manifesto. During Israel's Cast Lead counter terrorist offensive in Gaza, he wrote: "Israel has every right to laugh and sing, even while it massacres its neighbor. Palestinians are only asking to die a different death, one of old age."

Kidnappings of foreigners are commonplace in Gaza. In the past year 14 such kidnappings have occurred. In each case the victim has been released after a short period of time and unharmed. The demands are not usually aimed at Hamas, however.

In Sufi and Shi'ite literature the term Salafi is interchangeable with the term Wahabi, but many Salafis reject the term as unfounded despite philosophical similarities. Wahabi Islam dominates the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and characterizes the philosophy of the al-Qaeda international terrorist organization.

Both sects are a part of the Sunni orthodox mainstream.

www.IsraelNationalNews.com

[Note: The late Vittorio Arrigone was an Israel-hating peace activist who immigrated to Gaza in order to show his solidarity with the peace-loving Arabs of Gaza who had been firing a continuous stream of rockets and mortars at Jewish populations centers throughout the southern half of Israel both before and after his arrival. Unfortunately for him, his periodic journalistic screeds against Israel did not protect him from being properly thanked for his service to the Arab Cause. -- Mark Rosenblit]

American Jew killed in Egypt 'deeply cared about Middle East'

Andrew Pochter, a 21-year-old college student from Maryland, was stabbed to death for no apparent reason while observing a protest in Alexandria, Egypt, his family says. "Reports suggesting Andrew was involved in the protest are lies," says friend.

By Daniel Siryoti and Israel Hayom Staff

(Israel Hayom, June 30, 2013) Andrew Pochter, a 21-year-old Jewish college student from Maryland, was stabbed to death during violent protests in Alexandria, Egypt on Friday. He was one of two people killed in Friday's clashes, and one of six people killed in clashes this week.

Pochter's friends, who were in Alexandria with him, and his family in the U.S., vehemently denied reports that he had been stabbed by supporters of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi while taking active part in the protests against the latter's Muslim Brotherhood party, currently washing over Egypt.

A young Egyptian by the name of Said Moslem recounted leaving Pochter, his friend, at the protest moments before he was stabbed.

"The reports suggesting that Andrew was involved in the protest are nothing but distorted lies," Moslem said. "He was merely standing and watching and taking notes for his school research. He was not involved in any way. He was murdered in cold blood."

According to Moslem, Pochter was even more careful than most at the protests, due to his Jewish background.

"He did not hide his Jewish heritage," Moslem said. "He spoke very good Arabic and said all the time that he was working with children, whom he taught English, for the sake of a better future in the Middle East."

According to a statement issued by the family, Pochter was stabbed for no apparent reason by one of the protesters. He had traveled to Egypt during his semester break to teach English to primary school students and to improve his Arabic.

He went to Egypt "because he cared profoundly about the Middle East, and he planned to live and work there in the pursuit of peace and understanding. Andrew was a wonderful young man looking for new experiences in the world and finding ways to share his talents while he learned," the family said in a statement.

Pochter had planned to stay in Egypt for the summer before returning to Kenyon College in Ohio in the fall. He was in Egypt as part of an American education program sponsored by the non-profit organization Amideast, which works to strengthen mutual understanding and cooperation between Americans and the peoples of the Middle East and North Africa.

The organization posted a statement on its website mourning Pochter's death: "Amideast is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Andrew Pochter during the riots in Alexandria, Egypt. Andrew, a rising junior at Kenyon College in Ohio, was spending his summer as an intern at our training center in Alexandria, engaged in teaching English in the Kids' Program. He viewed his summer internship as an opportunity to develop his Arabic language skills and deepen his knowledge of Egypt and the Arab world. Those who worked with him in the short time he had been in Egypt remember him for his enthusiasm, compassion and engaging and friendly manner."

In 2010, Pochter lived in Morocco for a year as part of the U.S. National Security Language Initiative for Youth. During his stay, he wrote a blog for Al-Arabiya about his experiences there during the course of the Arab Spring.

"My Moroccan host family represents a prime example of the kind of change I have noticed among the middle class. My surrogate parents, being teachers, for the most part have been satisfied with their jobs, livelihood and finances," he wrote on his blog.

According to his family, Pochter had planned to study in Jordan next spring.

www.israelhayom.com

[Note: At this point, although it is clear that Andrew Pochter was enthralled with Arab culture, there is not enough publicly-available information to ascertain whether his definition of pursuing peace and understanding in the Middle Estate included being a Jewish advocate for the Palestinian Cause. However, it is noteworthy that neither his past, present nor future itineraries seem to have included Israel as a destination. In light of ongoing civil strife as well as inherent Antisemitism in Egypt, it was foolhardy for any Jew to be there. Moreover, it is highly unlikely that the murder of Pochter -- who was known to be both an American and a Jew -- was a random act of violence. Consequently, it appears that this young Jew paid the supreme price for his na vet . -- Mark Rosenblit]

'Releasing terrorists has nothing to do with peace'

Ian Feinberg came to Israel from South Africa when he was 18 and worked tirelessly for the advancement of the Palestinian people In 1993 he was murdered by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza This week, one of his killers was freed as a gesture.

By: Sigal Arbitman

(Israel Hayom, August 16, 2013) Like every mother, Gillian Feinberg has that unscientific but accurate gut feeling when it comes to her children.

"There are those moments that are etched in your memory that you recall after a terrible tragedy happens," she says, describing what she went through on April 4, 1993, the terrible day that her son, attorney Ian Feinberg, was killed.

"I remember that I asked him not to go into the Gaza Strip on the day of the closure, but he said, 'Mother, don't worry. They're my friends. They know me. I'll be fine.' I remember my stomach was churning with worry -- I really remember that physical feeling -- and that was the day they murdered him."

Over the past two weeks, Gillian and the other members of her family have been revisiting that horrible day in the office building in Gaza where Ian was murdered. Two busy weeks of protests, media interviews and attending hearings at the High Court of Justice on the petition submitted by the Almagor Terror Victims Association against the release of the Palestinian prisoners went by. But as everyone knows, ultimately the petition was rejected and the murderers, including Ian's killers, were released last Tuesday night. Another one of his killers had already been released in the 2011 prisoner exchange in which Gilad Schalit was released.

Ian Feinberg's story is unique. He was not an unfortunate bystander or anonymous victim who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Feinberg devoted his life to helping the Palestinians improve their economic standing. Many of his colleagues saw him as one of their own, and after he was murdered, the Palestinian street, too, was shocked and stunned.

Feinberg's family, who marked the 20th anniversary of their eldest son's murder four months ago, never imagined that they would have to deal with the ghosts of the past yet again. For 20 years, his family has been trying to pick up the pieces and move on, and in a stroke of one government decision, the wound has been ripped open once again. In all honesty, it never healed.

The family members are exhausted from two weeks of frustrating battles with the High Court to stop the wretched decision to free the man who murdered their son. Only Gillian, a petite woman with curly hair, agreed to be interviewed; the rest were too tired. Her enormous strength and inner resources shine through her gentle demeanor and calm tone. She believes that "it s important that Ian be remembered, that people know everything he did for the people who murdered him."

"We learned that Ian s murderer was to be released from the media," she says. "It was also through the media that we learned that he had been murdered. My second eldest son was listening to the radio on the bus, on his way home, and heard that a young Jewish attorney had been murdered in Gaza. He ran home and asked us if we knew where Ian was. We said, 'Sure. Ian s at work.'

"I remember that we had just sat down to dinner that evening. He told us what he had heard, and we started making telephone calls. Ian didn't answer, of course. His wife didn't know where he was, and for two hours we were beside ourselves. Around 8 p.m., I looked through the kitchen window and saw two people coming up the street, searching for an address. I realized right away that they were looking for us, and so they were."

Behind their backs

Feinberg, who was murdered shortly before his 30th birthday, was survived by his wife and three small children.

"I really wanted to set the date for his birthday celebration with the whole family, but he was so busy with his project in Gaza that he couldn't commit," his mother says. "He promised me that the moment he was done, we'd have a proper celebration. He was murdered a few days before the project was completed."

Feinberg's family moved to Israel from South Africa out of Zionist motives when Ian was 18. Gillian keeps the trembling out of her voice and the tears from her eyes throughout the entire interview, but when I ask her to tell me about her son, she can no longer keep from weeping.

"Ian was my eldest son. He was a tall and strong young man, but gentle and good. He had a black belt in karate, he was a smart kid, a real genius, but very modest and quiet. He always had a wonderful smile.

"He was a real pursuer of justice. That was why he studied law -- to help the weak, the underdog, those who couldn't look after themselves. Because of that, he was drawn to working with the Palestinians in Gaza. That provided him with the challenge that he needed. When he studied law at Bar-Ilan University, the apartment he rented with his roommate was broken into and items were stolen. Ian found the culprits and asked them nicely to return the stolen items. Within an hour, everything was returned. That was how Ian was. Everyone loved him."

His connection with the Palestinians began when he served as an attorney for the IDF Military Advocate General inside Gaza. After completing his army service, the law office where he worked accepted a project from the European Union whose purpose was to establish a flour mill in Gaza. Naturally, Ian was assigned to the project.

"He knew everybody there," says Gillian. "He had a really good relationship with the Palestinians with whom he worked. He invited all his Arab friends to his eldest son's circumcision ceremony, and they all came. They had a whole table during the celebration. He fit well into working with the European Union because the EU workers didn't know the local people, and they needed someone who knew the field well. Ian was a perfect fit because of his abilities and his good nature."

"He had immunity from the European Union, a certificate given to lawyers, social workers and all kinds of people who worked with the Palestinians for the EU. Where was that immunity when he was murdered?"

On the day of the murder, Feinberg was in the EU offices in Gaza for a business meetings. At midday, he and his colleagues went to lunch, and afterward, Ian went back to the office on his own. The murder had been planned in advance, and the murderer was waiting for him on the roof of the building. One of the workers there, whom Ian knew well, collaborated with them, notifying the murderer that Ian had returned and was in his office. Feinberg was attacked a short time later and died of several stab wounds to the neck.

"I didn't want to know anything then," Gillian says. "I didn t attend the murderers' trial. I didn t want to know the details. My daughter, Gila [Molcho, who worked intensively to stop the government decision to release her brother s killer], was involved, and she read the report about the murder, but I didn't want to see it. It was very hard for us after the murder. I tried to keep the family from falling apart, help us pull ourselves together and go on. I didn't care what happened to the murderers. I knew they would be going to prison and that was it. I never imagined in my worst nightmares that they would be freed."

The family found out only recently, at the High Court hearings, that the first killer had been released as part of the deal that freed Gilad Schalit.

"A BBC correspondent approached Gila and told her about it. We hadn't known at all," Gillian says. "But that's all right. If he was released to bring another person home, then it was for a good purpose. A person returned from captivity. But this is something entirely different. The terrorist [Abdel-Aal Sa'id] was released in exchange for nothing, as far as I'm concerned. He was released for no good reason. To start some diplomatic procedure? What has that got to do with it? How exactly will that help?"

Are you angry with the state about the release?

"As far as I'm concerned, the prime minister should have spoken about it with the public. He should have explained the significance of the act to the people of Israel, said that it was difficult, that he was sorry, but it had to be done. It's the least he could do, in my opinion. It would have eased our pain a little. But they way it was done simply hurts. I felt they had gone behind my back, as if they were hiding something.

"It's hard for me to see their celebrations. It's hard for me to see them going back home as though nothing had happened. It s hard for me to hear the terminology the foreign media networks are using as they cover the release, calling them 'political prisoners' or 'freedom fighters.' These are not freedom fighters. These are terrorists. These are murderers."

Ian Feinberg was a good person who believed that people were good at heart and trusted them -- and that, as his mother believes, was what led to his death.

"That fact is the hardest one for us," she says. "The fact that one of his friends betrayed him when all he wanted to do was help them, give them a leg up. Ian believed that if the Palestinians developed a good, strong economic infrastructure, they would be able to move forward and help themselves. He really thought that if we helped them develop their economy, they would live with us in peace. But that didn't happen.

"They missed a golden opportunity to advance themselves. If he hadn't been murdered, maybe now they'd be able to have big enterprises and good industry. After his murder, the European Union stopped the project. They were shocked that such a thing could happen. I remember that the EU's official response was reported in the foreign media. They said that the murder of Ian Feinberg was something that should never have happened."

Ever since the names of the Palestinian prisoners to be released from jail was publicized, and efforts to prevent the release began, the Feinberg family has undergone an emotional whirlwind that they did not think they would ever experience.

"We feel like we are in a surreal situation, as if this isn't really happening," says Gillian. "We planned to voice our objections in court. We were 12 people in all, but the media waited for us and suddenly it became something very big. We didn't plan on talking, but we did so because it was important for us to raise awareness of the issue, and it was important for us to mention Ian. All our sadness and grief have been opened anew."

Do you believe that the prisoner release will help move the peace process forward?

"Not at all. One thing has nothing to do with the other. It's very foolish to link the release of murderers with the peace process. [Former prime ministers Yitzhak] Rabin and [Menachem] Begin promised that they would not release murderers, and look, 20 years later, the exact opposite is happening. Doesn't the government want people to have good lives here? Doesn't it want people like me, who came here out of Zionism and sacrificed the dearest thing they had, to live here in peace and quiet? What's the connection between the peace process and this 'gesture' of releasing prisoners? How does that help us? If there's peace, and I hope there will be one of these days, that will have nothing to do with these terrorists who were released now. It simply makes no sense."

Do you sometimes regret having moved to Israel?

"No. We moved here for Zionist reasons and we've had a good life here for many years. There are so many questions of 'what would have happened if ...' -- if Ian hadn't worked there, if we hadn't moved here at all. But there's no sense in thinking about those things. There are people who leave Israel because they don't want something to happen to them here. So they move to the United States or Canada, and something terrible happens to them there, of all places. It seems that was his fate, and there's nothing to be done about it now.

"All I wanted was to rebuild our lives here, with the pain. For 20 years I thought we were succeeding, and then something like this happens. Even as we struggled over the past two weeks, I never really thought it would be possible to persuade the government not to release the terrorists. I didn't think it would help, but I felt it was important to tell Ian's story, as if he were alive now. I'm sure he'd be proud of us now, and that's what gives us comfort. After the murder, we didn't create a monument for him, so maybe that is our way to commemorate him and tell everybody what a wonderful human being he was."

www.israelhayom.com

[Note: Although the European Union and this young Jew s family were shocked by his murder in Gaza, they should have realized that the longstanding Arab hatred of Jews will always trump any benefits that peaceful coexistence might have produced. -- Mark Rosenblit]

Palestinian rights activist attacked by Arab youths

By DANIEL K. EISENBUD

As long as the occupation exists, events like this will happen, says victim Daniel Seidemann following weekend east Jerusalem assault.

(Jerusalem Post, November 26, 2013) This ends not when Palestinians behave better, or when our Shin Bet becomes more efficient, Israeli activist and attorney Daniel Seidemann wrote on his Facebook page Sunday 24-hours after being hospitalized following a rock-throwing attack while driving his car in east Jerusalem It ends when occupation ends.

Seidemann, an internationally recognized expert on contemporary Jerusalem law and outspoken proponent for peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Jews, was attacked while traveling home from Sur Bahir after visiting a Palestinian friend Saturday afternoon.

Despite the attack being carried out by Palestinian youths resulting in several stitches to the back of his scalp Seidemann, whose law practice specializes in legal and humanitarian aid in east Jerusalem took to Facebook while convalescing to fault the violence on Israel s occupation.

Since 1991, Seidemann, a retired IDF Reserve Major and Ivy-League educated Syracuse native who immigrated to Israel in 1973, has been a leading figure on the capital s municipal policies and practices, representing both Israeli and Palestinian residents of the capital.

Awarded the title of Honorary Member of the Order of the British Empire in 2010, Seidemann is also the founder of two NGOs advocating for peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, Ir Amim and Terrestial Jerusalem.

On his Facebook page he wrote that the attack occurred when he encountered a traffic jam near a school area in the center of the Palestinian neighborhood, while students were going home for the day.

I didn t see it coming, but should have: I was a sitting duck, he wrote. The rock was probably thrown at point blank range; it smashed the side window with enough force to leave a deep gash in the back of my head.

Shortly thereafter, Seidemann, who lives a kilometer away, wrote that the traffic loosened up and he was able to flee the area to get the gash sutured and undergo neurological testing at the hands of two Palestinian physicians.

The rock that hit me yesterday was not directed at me, personally, he wrote. Most likely, it was hurled because I am an Israeli the occupier. It s also possible that it s because I am a Jew, irrespective of the occupation. We will never know.

The wonderful people who visited me today are living under occupation. My occupation.

www.jpost.com

[Note: . . . It s also possible that it s because I am a Jew, irrespective of the occupation. We will never know. It looks like some Common Sense tried -- but failed -- to enter the brain of this na ve and delusional Jew. It seems that this internationally recognized expert never heard about the Palestinian Arab pogroms against the resident Jewish population centers in Mandatory Palestine that took place in 1920, 1921, 1929, 1936 - 1939, and 1947 - 1948 and the pan-Arab (including Palestinian Arab) attempts to annihilate the Jewish State in 1948 and 1967 -- all before the existence of the Occupation . -- Mark Rosenblit]

Palestinians vs. Pro-Palestinian Israelis

by Khaled Abu Toameh

January 21, 2014 Gatestone Institute

"Normalization [with Israel] is an act of treason." Large poster outside Ramallah peace conference.

If Israelis and Palestinians are unable even to talk about peace, what would happen if and when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signs a peace deal with Israel? Might he, too, find himself being escorted out of Ramallah under police protection for daring to talk peace with Israel?

Israeli peace activists who arrived in Ramallah recently were forced to leave the city under Palestinian Authority [PA] police protection.

The activists were escorted out of Ramallah in police vans after Palestinian protesters attacked the hotel where a "peace conference" between Israelis and Palestinians was taking place.

The event in Ramallah was organized by Minds of Peace, a not-for-profit organization whose mission is "Grassroots Peace Making and Public Diplomacy: A novel approach to the peaceful resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict."

Although the event in Ramallah was supposed to last for two days, during which Israelis and Palestinians would talk about peace and coexistence, as soon as the conference began at City Inn Hotel in Ramallah, scores of Palestinian activists arrived at the scene, chanting slogans against the presence of Israelis in Ramallah.

Palestinian protesters try to force their way into the "Minds for Peace" conference in Ramallah. (Image source: Screenshot from Zamnpress YouTube)

"Israelis out, out! Palestine is Arab, from the sea to the river," shouted one a female protester. "This land is not for sale!" shouted another protester, as he tried to force his way into the conference hall.

Palestinian policemen who were rushed to the scene were unable to stop the protesters from damaging windows and doors as they hurled stones at the hotel.

The protesters also hung a large poster at the entrance to the hotel declaring, "Normalization [with Israel] is an act of treason."

The protest finally forced the organizers of the conference to call it off, with the Israelis quickly leaving Ramallah out of concern for their safety.

"The situation outside is very tense and we have to stop here," Ibrahim Enbawai, one of the Palestinian participants in the conference declared after a brief chat with the police commander. "There are hundreds of people outside and the police have asked that we stop the event."

The following day, January 9, the Israeli and Palestinian activists tried to meet at the Ambassador Hotel in Jerusalem. But here, too, they were confronted by dozens of Palestinian "anti-normalization" activists who forced the Israelis and Palestinians to leave the hotel in a humiliating manner.

Amal Obaidi, one of the protesters, said she was opposed to the "peace" conference because it represented a policy of "surrender and normalization with Israeli occupation." She further explained, "We reject any normalization meeting. Jerusalem is an Arab city and it will remain so."

This was not the first time that Palestinians expressed their opposition to meetings between Israelis and Palestinians. "Anti-normalization" activists have succeeded in foiling many other meetings, especially those that are held in cities and towns under the control of the PA.

That is why the Israeli and Palestinian "peace activists" have been forced to hold their meetings in secret locations or in different countries around the world.

There are a number of disturbing elements in the story of the "anti-normalization" advocates.

First, the protesters are acting against Israelis who openly support the Palestinian issue and are completely opposed to the policies of the current Israeli government. In other words, the Palestinians are "spitting in the face" of those Israelis who support their demands and are prepared to put their lives at risk by entering Ramallah to talk peace.

Second, most of the activists who are protesting against such meetings are affiliated, in way or another, with the same Palestinian Authority, which is conducting official peace talks with Israel under the auspices of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. So why don't the "anti-normalization" folks also turn out against the Palestinian leadership in Ramallah? Most probably because they are scared of being arrested or harassed by Palestinian security forces. Moreover, many of the activists are on the payroll of the PA and are afraid of losing their salaries.

Third, there is the troubling role played by some Palestinian journalists in organizing, and later reporting about, Israeli-Palestinian meetings. The protesters who foiled the "peace" conference in Ramallah and Jerusalem said they had been tipped off by Palestinian journalists who urged them to take action against the meetings.

Fourth, not a single Palestinian official has dared to condemn the assaults on the Israeli and Palestinian peace activists. Even the PA leadership, whose representatives often say (in English) that they are in favor of such meetings, has yet to denounce the actions and threats of the "anti-normalization" activists.

If fifteen Israelis and an equal number of Palestinians are unable even to talk about peace, what would happen if and when PA President Mahmoud Abbas signs a peace agreement with Israel? Might he, too, find himself being escorted out of Ramallah under police protection for daring to talk peace with Israel?

www.gatestoneinstitute.org

[Note: Ouch! It seems that the Arabs of Ramallah have little respect and much hatred for na ve Jewish dupes. Moreover, expelling these Jewish peace activists from Arab-occupied areas of the Land of Israel is merely the Arab way of saying to them: Thanks for your service to the Arab Cause . -- Mark Rosenblit]

Breaking the Silence Tour Bus Stoned by Arabs

By: Jewish Press News Briefs

Published: December 25th, 2015

A tour bus visiting the Hebron/Kiryat Arba area was stoned by Arabs on Friday afternoon.

The bus was carrying a group organized by the anti-IDF [Israel Defense Forces] NGO [non-governmental organization] Breaking the Silence .

Three students on the bus from the Hebrew University were lightly injured.

Breaking the Silence is a foreign-funded NGO that travels around the world and bad-mouths the IDF.

IDF soldiers are now protecting the passengers.

www.jewishpress.com

[Note: Ouch again! Stoning that bus was not the right way for the Arabs of the Hebron area to say: Thanks for your service to the Arab Cause . It must be humiliating for these IDF-hating Jewish peace activists to have been forced to seek the protection of that very same IDF. -- Mark Rosenblit]

Iraqi Shi'ite militia implies it wasn't involved in Israeli's kidnapping

The movement additionally accused Tsurkov of being connected with Israel's security services in a statement on Thursday.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF July 7, 2023

The Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah militia in Iraq appeared to imply that it was not behind the kidnapping of Russian-Israeli researcher Elizabeth Tsurkov in a statement on Thursday in which it said that it would make an effort to discover her whereabouts.

The movement additionally accused Tsurkov of being connected with Israel's security services in the statement.

"The recognition by the prime minister of the Zionist entity of the existence of a captured Israeli security element in Iraq is a very dangerous indicator that must be considered and dealt with carefully and firmly," said the Kataib Hezbollah militia. "The competent security services must uncover the networks associated with this entity and bring them to justice."

"In our role in Kataib Hezbollah, we will make a double effort to find out the fate of the Zionist captive or captives in Iraq in service of the public interest and to learn more about the intentions of this criminal gang and who facilitates their movements in a country that prohibits and criminalizes dealing with them."

The statement on Thursday was the militia's first comment on the matter since the Prime Minister's Office announced on Wednesday that Tsurkov had been held captive in Iraq by Kataib Hezbollah since March and that efforts were continuing to get her released.

Tzurkov entered Iraq on her Russian passport to do research for her PhD at Princeton University, a senior diplomatic source said, and she has likely traveled to Lebanon and Syria as well.

Magazine Tsurkov contributed to says academic 'is not a Zionist'

In an appeal to the US government to help release Tsurkov, New Lines Magazine, where Tsurkov was a contributor, wrote on Wednesday that "Somewhat ironically, Liz, who some claim was kidnapped for being the Zionist enemy, is not a Zionist at all," noting that the researcher is "a fierce critic of Israeli national security policy."

"It is unclear whether her kidnappers actually believe she is the enemy or merely useful, but what is clear is that she has many friends from the region," wrote New Lines Magazine, adding that Tsurkov is an "outspoken critic" of the most likely parties involved in negotiating her release: Israel, Iran, and Russia.

[Kidnapping an Israel-bashing Jew is a fine way to thank her for her service to the Palestinian Cause. Despite her predicament, Israel should never free imprisoned terrorists in order to retrieve citizens who intentionally enter hostile States (e.g., Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, etc.) for private purposes. In this case, the irony is rich, as the detained Israeli works for Gisha, a foreign-funded NGO which seeks to demonize and delegitimize Israel in service to the "Palestinian" Cause. As Gisha is funded by Finland, Ireland, Norway, Switzerland, the E.U. and the U.N., let one of them pay the price for her release. -- Mark Rosenblit]

Hamas hostage is peace activist who helped sick Gazans, grandson says

Yocheved Lifshitz, 85, and her husband, whom Hamas did not release, took Palestinians from the Erez border crossing to Israeli hospitals every week her grandson says

By REUTERS OCTOBER 24, 2023 Republished by Jpost

Yocheved Lifshitz, an Israeli grandmother released by Hamas terrorists on Monday, is a peace activist who together with her husband helped sick Palestinians in Gaza get to hospital for years, her grandson told Reuters.

Hamas said they released Lifshitz, 85, and a second woman, Nurit Cooper, 79, on health grounds, after taking them and more than 200 others hostage during Hamas's October 7 massacre, in which terrorists killed 1,400 people.

Lifshitz and her 83-year old husband, Oded, were kidnapped from their home at the Nir Oz kibbutz, close to the border with Gaza in southern Israel, the Israeli prime minister's office said late on Monday. Oded remained captive, it added.

"They are human rights activists, peace activists for all their life," grandson Daniel Lifshitz told Reuters in Tel Aviv before the release was confirmed.

"For more than a decade, they took ... sick Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, not from the West Bank, from the Gaza Strip every week from the Erez border to the hospitals in Israel to get treatment for their disease, for cancer, for anything," he added.

Hamas terrorists also kidnapped her husband, still hold him in Gaza.

Hamas posted a video on its Telegram page appearing to show Lifshitz being handed over to workers with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which said it helped transport them out of Gaza.

In the video, a man carrying a long gun and wearing a bullet proof vest emblazoned with a Hamas flag escorts Lifshitz to a white ICRC van. Before entering the van, she reaches her hand out to the man and tells him "salam," Arabic for peace.

Reuters could not immediately verify the video.

In a message passed to Reuters by a family friend, Lifshitz's daughter Sharon in London wrote: "While I cannot put into words the relief that she is now safe, I will remain focused on securing the release of my father and all those - some 200 innocent people - who remain hostages in Gaza."

The two women were the third and fourth hostages to be freed. On Friday, Hamas on Friday released an American woman and her daughter.

[Note: Many of the massacred Jews and many of the Jewish hostages from the Jewish villages bordering Gaza -- like the abducted Oded Lifshitz and Yocheved Lifshitz -- self-identified as peace activists . Incredibly, after all the carnage wrought by these terrorists, and despite the continued captivity of her husband, Yocheved Lifshitz publicly wished peace upon her captor. Hamas has now thanked the very people who thought that they could peacefully co-exist with a Hamas-ruled Gaza by hunting, torturing, raping, murdering, immolating, dismembering, and beheading more than 1200 of them, including more than 40 babies, resulting in the depopulation of the 22 Jewish villages near Gaza. -- Mark Rosenblit]

'I have friends in Palestine': The tragic irony of a peace activist held by Hamas - comment

Her dramatic and heart wrenching words, "I have friends in Palestine," should be a wake-up call: Hamas, as well as a majority of Palestinians, will never acknowledge Israel.

By ZVIKA KLEIN

(Jerusalem Post, May 22, 2024) "I have friends in Palestine." These words, spoken by Naama Levy, an Israeli soldier and peace activist, that were uttered to her Hamas captors while her face was covered in blood, underscored the tragic irony of her abduction. Levy, who dedicated her young life to promoting peace and understanding between Israelis and Palestinians, was brutally kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

At 19 years old, Levy should have embodied the hope for a future in which Israelis and Palestinians could coexist peacefully. But this did not come true; on the contrary. Raised in Ra anana near Tel Aviv, she became deeply involved with Hands of Peace, an organization committed to fostering dialogue and mutual understanding among young people from both sides of the conflict. Through this program, she participated in workshops, dialogues, and activities aimed at breaking down barriers and building bridges between communities long divided by hatred and violence.

Through this program, she participated in workshops, dialogues, and activities aimed at breaking down barriers and building bridges between communities long divided by hatred and violence.

The absurdity of Levy s situation is heart-wrenching. Here is a young woman who, despite the profoundly entrenched conflict, chose to extend a hand of friendship and understanding to her Palestinian peers. Her dedication to peace and justice was not just theoretical; it was deeply personal and active. She fought for the rights of Palestinians, believing in a shared humanity and a better future for all.

Yet, on that fateful day in October, this same dedication was met with unimaginable violence. Levy was abducted from the Nahal Oz kibbutz military base. Footage of her abduction showed her in distress, injured, and forcibly taken by Hamas terrorists. In a cruel twist of fate, the very people she fought to understand and support became her captors, not because of her actions or beliefs, but simply because she was Jewish.

This stark contradiction is not just tragic; it is an indictment of the blind hatred that fuels such conflicts. Levy s abduction is a grim reminder that in this brutal cycle of violence, even the most ardent advocates for peace are not spared. Further, her story highlights the absurdity and futility of a conflict that also punishes those who seek to bridge the divide.

Relentlessly pursuing her release

Levy s family has been relentless in their efforts to secure her release, appealing to international organizations and global leaders for support.

For instance, her father, Yoni Levy, has been particularly vocal in his criticism regarding the silence of organizations like the Red Cross and the UN, which have yet to intervene on her behalf. As for her mother, Ayelet Levy Shachar, on International Women s Day in 2024, she spoke at a gala in Tel Aviv, reminding the world of her daughter s plight and condemning the lack of acknowledgment from women s groups regarding the sexual violence inflicted during the attacks.

Despite her unimaginable ordeal, Levy s commitment to peace continued to inspire. Her story has been shared in various forums, including a meeting with the United Kingdom All-Party Parliamentary Group, where her brother, Amit Levy, highlighted her dedication to fostering understanding and dialogue.

Her journey from promoting peace to becoming a symbol of the struggle for justice underscores the enduring human spirit s capacity for resilience and the relentless pursuit of peace amidst conflict. If only those calling for justice for Palestine would acknowledge that true justice should be made through Levy and her peers.

Her dramatic and heart-wrenching words, I have friends in Palestine, should be a wake-up call:

Hamas, as well as a majority of Palestinians, will never acknowledge Israel. They want to destroy us but young Israeli women such as Naama Levy are the testament to the fact that we are strong, determined, and will never, ever, give up.

[Note: Jewish peace activists view the Arab enemies, including the Palestinian Arab enemies, of the Jewish State as ordinary human beings who share with the Jewish people a commendable aspiration to create a stable and prosperous existence for themselves and their families. Consequently, from their perspective, Israel should view its enemies through the lens of that shared aspiration. And, from their pacifist perspective, logic dictates that, if offered territorial concessions and economic incentives, these enemies will accept a compromise with the Jewish people that facilitates the realization of that shared aspiration for both Jews and Arabs. However, this reasoning is fallacious. That is because, although these Arabs, like all human beings, do indeed aspire to a stable and prosperous existence for themselves and their families, they also hate the Jewish people. In prioritizing their Jew-hatred over their aspiration for a stable and prosperous existence, these Arabs have chosen a perpetual war over an enduring peace. That is their habitual way of thanking Jewish peace activists for their support. -- Mark Rosenblit]

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