This Ongoing War

The mainstream Australian media are reporting with astonishment on the sight of elementary school children being pushed front and center by radical adults to embody the lust for Islamist jihad and to advocate the killing of unbelievers.

Thinking that he had loaded a car bomb into the Jeep Cherokee that he was driving, he parked it outside a bar in downtown Chicago and walked away into an alley after doing everything he thought necessary for it to detonate. Safely distant, he then pressed the trigger mechanism in the presence of the agent, intending an explosion and deaths to follow. He was then arrested. Unknown to him, the bomb was inert and was designed not to explode. A preliminary hearing is set for Monday at a U.S. courthouse in Chicago.

Hezbollah now has 60-70,000 rockets, according to Maj.-Gen. (ret) Amos Gilad, a former IDF Spokesperson and Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, who delivered a major speech last week at the World Summit of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism in Herzliya, Israel, which ended yesterday. "The next war will be aimed against the home front," he said. But Iran, which backs and has been arming Hezbollah may be a greater threat. In a paper from May 2012, Gilad said however that the "the main issue today is how to prevent a nuclear Iran."

In the past seven years since the Disengagement from Gaza, we have been witness to the conversion of Gush Katif into an armed camp, an arsenal from which some 9,400 rockets and missiles have been fired at the Israeli civilians and communities on the other side of the fence.

Despite President Obama's assertions at the 9-11 memorial that the fight against terror is only against al Qaeda, it was still good to hear him speaking about the enduring nature of a nation’s memory of its terror victims. Here in Israel, we (the bloggers behind This Ongoing War) waged a campaign for years to require the Jerusalem municipality to remember Jerusalem’s victims of terror.

In tough economic times, you make tough economic decisions. Unless you're the Palestinian Authority. Palestinians receive the highest levels of aid per capita, use it to fund terrorists in prison and at the same time rack up high debts, such as their NIS 700 million debt to the Israel Electric Company. The bulk of the aid comes from the U.S. and Europe.

From far away, it may seem surprising that Israelis still continue to seek normal relations with the Arabs with whom we share so many aspects of life. Anyone in doubt about this needs simply to walk into any Israeli hospital.

According to the Egyptian newspaper, Al-Masry Al-Youm, due to negotiations between Egypt and jihadists groups, "Operation Eagle" has been halted, at least temporarily.

We have searched and have not yet found a blog, article, published speech or op-ed in her language, Arabic, which criticizes proud terrorist Ahlam Tamimi or her views. So far, not one. If our readers can point us to exceptions, please do. This is deeply shocking. Tamimi's message resonates throughout the Arab and Islamic world. Her views don't even rise to the level of controversial. She's simply a hero, wall to wall.

Watch how this woman's face radiates the joy that comes from recounting how the death toll grew steadily in the hour or so that she spent fleeing the scene via public transport, unhindered by the police.

Terrorists inside cars, frequently young men with explosives stuffed into their clothing, are a fixture in streets controlled by Hamas and other like-minded terrorist groups. There's an understandable reticence on the part of the Palestinian Arab terror organizations to own up to the way they place their own communities and neighbours at mortal risk, using them in effect as human shields.

How can people understand the defensive measures Israel's military takes if basic information about ongoing constant terrorist attacks goes unreported in the news media?

“If you believe that the 11 murdered athletes must be mentioned, stand for a spontaneous minute when the IOC president begins to speak,” said Ilana Romano, wife of Yossef Romano, a weightlifter who was murdered in the 1972 attack.

When it comes to carrying out deadly terrorist attacks on Israelis and/or Jews, just how dangerous and persistent is the government of Iran?

Several days ago, our Prime Minister's indulgence toward terrorists resurfaced. Netanyahu, we learned, is primed to free another 123 prisoners incarcerated in Israel since before the Oslo Accords. Most of them are Fatah members who have been in imprisoned for 25 to 35 years after being convicted of involvement in terrorist attacks in which Israelis were killed. The goal is to woo Mahmoud Abbas back to the negotiating table.

How often do Gaza's Palestinian Arab terrorists end up hitting their parents, children, spouses or neighbors? Do you see these self-inflicted losses reported in the news media that serve your community? Keep the question in mind the next time you hear of injuries or deaths in Gaza along with Israeli denials of involvement.