Friday November 23, 2012, 8:27 am
Well, yes. But one must ask is any country in the world more completely outnumbered and surrounded by other nations that are sworn to exterminate each and every person in it? Israel has yet to fight a war it began. While I do not approve of all of their actions, I do defend their right to defend themselves against people who want every single Jew in the world killed. I might be a little paranoid myself if my neighbors posted a note like that on my front door.

Friday November 23, 2012, 11:32 am
Isreal does have the right to defend themselves. Their neighbors do not have a chance to do too much damage and they bring it upon themselves and are to blame for civilians being killed. I wonder if there will ever be peace in the middle east?
Thanks Carrie for posting.

Friday November 23, 2012, 11:57 am
Since its existence, Israel has had to defend itself from bordering countries that want nothing more than to see its demise. It has been attacked outright in 1967, and 1973. In both attacks Israel gained territory to the disgust of its enemies.
In the last 30 years, Israel has returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt, and has lived in peace with Egypt, only to be smacked in the face with this new regime. The Gaza is land the Palestinians feel is there's by rights.Those rights were lost in war.
Israel has dominated the Middle East since 1945. They brought agriculture, socialization, democracy. education,later ,technology to a region the Palestinians could never come equal.
To hand over the Gaza to terrorists would be a dishonor to those Israeli soldiers who died in 1967. For Israel, this land is border security, and they are not to simply give it up.

Friday November 23, 2012, 6:11 pm
Considering Israel's military prowess the only real threat they face is from themselves. I see no real hope for a lasting peace with leaders like Netanyahu, who want war.

Friday November 23, 2012, 7:15 pm
Someone has had to comments on this post removed. I don't know why because they certainly were not inappropriate in any way.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 4:15 am
Case# 1527
Seems, some sorry censored pitiful censored CENSORED (or, possibly though not likely at all: some strange unexplicable phenomenon) has aaAaaaaaaaaggGGGggain been very busy deleting my comment(s), unless, of course, they disappeared magicallly. Kind of a very-well-established habit meanwhile. There is something EXTREMELY ROTTEN in care2 ...

And isn't it .. errr shall we say: fascinatingly remarkable, how (very targeted) someone/thing/whatever here @care2 keeps, for years now --per-sis-tent-ly-- deleting (some) comments (of some users), WHEREAS --in appalling sharp contrast-- care2 has not even managed to delete spam postings when the spammer's profile gets deleted ?
==

" I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed. " -- Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)
===

> $3 billion in military assistance PER YEAR, that is, and " [Before 2004,] Total US aid to Israel since 1949 has amounted to over 100 G$, making Israel -a country the size of New Jersey- the fourth most powerful military in the world. " -- "Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land" (2004) -- full documentary (80 min) on u-tube --- @ IMDb

Saturday November 24, 2012, 12:41 pm
The majority of the $$$ given to Israel, from the Obama Administration were used to continue building the "iron dome" that has been very effective in saving 1000's of lives!!!......and each shell cost more than 3 times the cost that HAMAS KEEPS firing!!

Saturday November 24, 2012, 12:51 pm

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U.S. Military Aid and the Israel/Palestine Conflict

The U.S. is providing Israel with at least $8.5 million each day* in military aid and is giving the Palestinians $0** in military aid during Fiscal Year 2012.

Amount of Military Aid Per Year in Dollars
Israel
Palestinians
0
2,500,000
5,000,000
7,500,000
10,000,000
​
“Since the October War in 1973, Washington has provided Israel with a level of support dwarfing the amounts provided to any other state. It has been the largest annual recipient of direct U.S. economic and military assistance since 1976 and the largest total recipient since World War ll. Total direct U.S. aid to Israel amounts to well over $140 billion in 2003 dollars. Israel receives about $3 billion in direct foreign assistance each year, which is roughly one-fifth of America's entire foreign aid budget. In per capita terms, the United States gives each Israeli a direct subsidy worth about $500 per year. This largesse is especially striking when one realizes that Israel is now a wealthy industrial state with a per capita income roughly equal to South Korea or Spain.”

- John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt
"The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy"
* The source for US military aid to Israel during Fiscal Year 2012 is the Congressional Research Service’s “U.S. Foreign Aid to Israel,” written by Jeremy M. Sharp, Specialist in Middle Eastern Affairs, updated March 12, 2012. According to this report, the Obama Administration requested $3.1 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Israel for the fiscal year 2013.

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Over the last 20 years, the U.S. has been slowly phasing out economic aid to Israel and gradually replacing it with increased military aid. Beginning in 2007, the U.S. has increased military aid by $150 million each year. Beginning 2012, we will be sending Israel $3.1 billion a year (or an average of $8.5 million a day) and will continue to provide military aid at that level through 2018. U.S. tax dollars are subsidizing one of the most powerful foreign militaries. According to the CRS report, “[current U.S. military aid] grants to Israel represent 18.2% of the overall Israeli defense budget.”
Contrary to ordinary U.S. policy, Israel has been and continues to be allowed to use approximately 25% of this military aid to purchase equipment from Israeli manufacturers. According to CRS, “no other recipient of U.S. military assistance has been granted this benefit.” Thanks in part to this indirect U.S. subsidy, Israel’s arms industry has become one of the strongest in the world. “Between 2001 an 2008, it was the 7th largest arms supplier to the world with sales worth a total of 9.9 billion.”
In addition, the United States contributes funds for a joint U.S.-Israeli Missile Defense Program designed to thwart short-range missiles and rockets fired by non-state actors (such as Hamas and Hezbollah) as well as mid- and longer-range ballistic missiles (this refers to Iran and/or Syria's asenals). The U.S. spent $106.1 million on this program in 2012 and plans to spend $99.8 million in 2013.
By all accounts the United States has given more money to Israel than to any other country. The Congressional Research Service’s conservative estimate of total cumulative US aid to Israel (not adjusted for inflation) from 1949 through 2013 is $115 billion.
A November 2008 Washington Report article “A Conservative Estimate of Total Direct U.S. Aid to Israel: $114 Billion,” by Shirl McArthur, puts the cumulative total even higher.
According to McArthur, “[T]he indirect or consequential costs to the American taxpayer as a result of Washington’s blind support for Israel exceed by many times the amount of direct U.S. aid to Israel. Some of these ‘indirect or consequential’ costs would include the costs to U.S. manufacturers of the Arab boycott, the costs to U.S. companies and consumers of the Arab oil embargo and consequent soaring oil prices as a result of U.S. support for Israel in the 1973 war, and the costs of U.S. unilateral economic sanctions on Iran, Iraq, Libya and Syria. (For a discussion of these larger costs, see ‘The Costs to American Taxpayers of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: $3 Trillion,’ by the late Thomas R. Stauffer, June 2003 Washington Report, p. 20.)”
** The source for US aid to the Palestinians during Fiscal Year 2009 is the Congressional Research Service's Report “U.S. Foreign Aid to the Palestinians”, written by Jim Zanotti, Analyst in Middle Eastern Affairs, updated August 12, 2010. According to the report the U.S. has never provided Palestinians with military aid (although we have provided Palestinians with aid for policing their own people as well as with humanitarian and development assistance).

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has provided the Palestinian people with some indirect economic assistance through funds distributed to U.S.-based NGOs operating in the West Bank and Gaza. According to the CRS report, "Funds are allocated in this program for projects in sectors such as humanitarian assistance, economic development, democratic reform, improving water access and other infrastructure, health care, education, and vocational training." The program is subject to a vetting process and to yearly audits...
In addition, some funding has occasionally been provided directly to the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA) in an attempt to strengthen it against competing political parties (particularly Hamas) and for use in policing the Palestinian people. Such funds are usually only authorized once Congress has received proof that they will be used for "non-lethal assistance."
The United States also provides funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), "which provides food, shelter, medical care, and education for many of the original refugees from the 1947-1949 Arab-Israeli war and their families—now comprising approximately 4.8 million Palestinians in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank, and Gaza." (Learn more about Palestinian refugees.)
$400.4 million have been appropriated for economic aid to the Palestinians and $100 million for support of PA police training, etc. for FY2010. The U.S. also provided just over $61.5 million (as of February 13, 2009) in emergency humanitarian aid through USAID, UNRWA, and the International Committee of the Red Cross following Israel's assault on Gaza.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 1:52 pm
War kills - there is no winner.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 2:47 pm
Noted & thanks for the info, Carrie. So unfortunate that when someone suggests to stop funding, or decrease funding to Israel, they're labeled as haters.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 2:53 pm
Carrie, I have repeatedly shown you reality yet you refuse to acknowledge it. Why?

Have you managed to work out how Israel can live with Hamas? I have given you extracts from their charter and asked you to explain it to me. I have also asked you to read the koran and again explain how anyone can live with Muslims.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 3:04 pm
Gillian, why does Hamas exist?

Saturday November 24, 2012, 3:12 pm




Carrie B. (192)
Saturday November 24, 2012, 3:04 pm
Gillian, why does Hamas exist?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hamas Charter
[From Article 13] “… Peace initiatives, so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. For renouncing any part of Palestine means renouncing part of the religion….”

[From Article 6] “….. The Islamic Resistance Movement is a distinct Palestinian Movement which owes its loyalty to Allah, derives from Islam its way of life and strives to raise the banner of Allah over ever in inch of Palestine. Only under the shadow of Islam could the members of all regions coexist in safety and security for their lives, properties and rights. In the absence of Islam, conflict arises, oppression reigns, corruption is rampant, and struggles and wars prevail….”

Saturday November 24, 2012, 3:15 pm
Thank you for posting this article Carrie. It focuses largely on Israel's military capacity. However, Israel's real strength comes from the fact that it is the only true democracy in the Middle East and the only country there that has virtually unlimited freedom of speech. There is more gender, religious, sexual orientation, and ethnic equality in Israel than in any other Mideastern or Muslim country. The rights of women, gays, and others are far more fully recognized and implemented in Israel than anywhere in the Arab world. The Israeli army does not disciminate against women or gays, and the Israeli Knesset was the first government to include an openly gay member. I have seen signs at a Gay Pride parade in Toronto "Queers for Palestine" and it left me wondering how much those placard-carriers really knew. The reality is that if anyone were to display such a sign in Gaza or Muslim countries they would risk being killed. Actually, gay Palestinians who were tortured because of their sexual orientation have sought and received asylum in Israel. Israeli Arabs sit in the Knesset, serve on the Israelli Supreme Court, and have their own newspapers. By every single standard Israel would surpass other countries in that region.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 3:39 pm


IF it's even true, it shows that with the untold trillions of petrodollars of the Arab Oil States, that the Arabs certainly don't fear Israel as an aggressor.

Let's also consider that quite a few Gazans travel to Israel's medical facilities for medical treatment, because of the high caliber and commitment of Israeli doctors and institutions (especially compared to anything in the Arab world) to excellent medical care for ALL, regardless of religion or race (and even if coming from enemy territory). Not a quality that the U.S. PAID the Israelis to have, but an inherent part of the Israeli value system of loving life and giving its best.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 5:33 pm
Carrie, the huge money Israel has to spend to defend itself against Islamists terrorising it and planning its destruction are the money stolen from us all. Israel is a world leader in scientific research in many fields, including medicines.

Islamist terrorists forcing Israel to spend money on military steal these resources from being invested in medicine and new drugs from being created. Shame on Islamist military and hateful ideology, that contributed nothing to the world progress.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 5:42 pm
The reality of aggression by Israel as well as its subjugation of others means nothing to many here. Can you not read?

Saturday November 24, 2012, 6:42 pm
Israel has the strongest army in the middle east and, I believe, the 5th in the world. Yet, they are so afraid of the Palestinians that yesterday they tried to provoke a ceasefire break by shooting on a Palestinians (working in the field - Gaza source!) which resulted with 1 death and 9 injured (or 19, according to other sources).

Also confirmed by Haaretz: Palestinians: One killed, several wounded by IDF fire on Gaza border

Palestinians to UN Security Council: Israel's breach of cease-fire threatens calm

Just to heat up the atmosphere, on Saturday IDF arrests Hamas MP in West Bank, amid dozens of arrests in West Bank after Operation Pillar of Defense.... acting as a true messenger of peace.

Saturday November 24, 2012, 7:29 pm
Thank you Jelica, but I fear we are speaking to deaf ears!

Saturday November 24, 2012, 11:13 pm
Jelica and Carrie - heads in the sand as usual. 1948 Arab-Israeli war; 1967 - 6 day war-Egypt, Syria, Jordan - against Israel; Egypt, USSR, Jordan and PLO- against Israel; 1973 Yom Kippur - Coalition of Arab states trying to retake territories lost in the 6 day war - against Israel. There are other areas of conflict - all started by the Arabs NOT Israel. These Dogs of Hell will never learn. They do not want peace - they care only for the death and destruction of Israel. They do not even care for their own people. What is is with you two - that you disavow the truth of the situation. Dumb and Dumber.

Sunday November 25, 2012, 9:00 am
Jelica, Israel stands up against a unified Arab hate front, hate and armies paid by by oil dollars. Besides US Aid covering a small portion of military expense, Israeli people must provide from their taxes huge money, which come much easier to oil-rich Arab states.

Sunday November 25, 2012, 9:02 am
Carrie,

Israel left Lebanon to give peace a chance and got Hesbola rockets.

Israel left Gaza to give peace a chance and got Hamas rockets.

What is this subjudication thingy you are talking about? Islamist dawah?

Monday November 26, 2012, 5:20 pm
Bob. What was Israel doing in Lebanon? What was Israel doing in Gaza and still do in West Bank? This is not Israel's territory and IDF has nothing to do there.

Israel was recognised in 1949 with borders from 1948 armistice, which exclude Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza Strip; and a big chunk of land along the border with Egypt, now occupied by Israel, for which even Arafat agreed to let go (Oslo Accords).

And what happened with the right to return or be compensated for all refugees, as UN Res. 242 demanded?

Israel is strong enough to protect it's territory and citizens against neighbours. Besides, neighbour politicians have full hands of their own problems and Israel is not at a top of their lists. But to tolerate the disastrous situation in which Palestinians are for 65+ years and be friend with Israel will not work for them domestically, because people (not only) in the region have strong feelings for Palestinians plight.

I am sure that Israeli politicians understand this issue very well. Why then they do not use it to contribute to security and piece in region? Nethanyahu wants peace and security, at least he always emphasize it.

Monday November 26, 2012, 9:52 pm
Jelica, Israel was fighting Arab terrorists in Lebanon, protecting Lebanese Christians and counteracting against Syria which also had its army in Lebanon.

Gaza was Israeli territory captured from Egypt in a defensive war. it became Israeli land, but considering the huge number of Arabs living their and their birth rate, Israel decided to give them that land to give peace a chance.

There is no such a thing as 1948 borders, Armistice lines mean nothing legally. Now that Israel got West Bank from Jordan in the same defensive war, this is already Israel land. Israel is willing to give some of this land to Arabs so that they could make their own state, and it must be taken as a gift. In comparison, Arab states gave only hell to their minorities wanting to get their own states.

You know how much Druze and Kurds are suffering at Arab hands.

I think many people, including myself, lost any sympathy for Palestinian Arabs due to many reasons:
* They elected Islamist extremists. These extremists oopenly call for a war with Israel, abuse their minorities and women;
* Arabs abused UN system to get huge funding and became World Best Paid Refugees, essentially, stealing UN money from real refugees in war, suffering much worse than Arabs living in Arab countries;
*Arab states moved their responsibility for their wars against Israel to UN and got our clean. They think they can stay away from contributing their huge oil $$$ for as long as they wish, demanding from struggling US, EU, Canada or Israel to squeeze from their economies more and more money for their brothers.

You see, for many people Arabs are not the "Most Important" people, they are just everybody else. And Arab states, having 10,000 more land than Israel could and had to give room to their brothers in need, like Israel gave room to Jews kicked out of Arab countries. LIke Germans helping Germans, Russians helping Russians, Uzbeks helping Uzbeks, Serbians helping Serbians, etc.

Arabs have to understand that even though Arabic is a language of Koran, not many people will take this as a reason for supremacy.

Wednesday November 28, 2012, 5:57 pm
Bob, have you read UN Res. 181 and seen the map? If you did, then you clearly see that Gaza Strip and West Bank were never parts of proposed state of Israel, if you know how to read a map, that is.

The rest of your comment is pure nonsense not worth reading and, even less, replying.

Saturday December 1, 2012, 2:09 pm
If Israel does not dominate the middle east who are predominantly muslim countries then it will no longer exist
Any intelligent person can see that