Stand for Israel

Lebanese government submits to Hezbollah demands

Here's a good indicator of the hold Hezbollah has on Lebanon:

Lebanon's cabinet was expected on Wednesday to cancel measures it took against Hezbollah that triggered fighting during which the Iranian-backed movement briefly took over parts of Beirut, political sources said.

"You can say it's a done deal, but we're waiting for the cabinet meeting," one political source said. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who is supported by the United States, was due to hold a cabinet meeting at 11:30 a.m. EDT.

Rescinding a ban on Hezbollah's communications network and the sacking of Beirut airport's security chief, who is close to the group, is one of Hezbollah's demands to lift its blockade of the airport and its campaign of civil disobedience.

Missile strikes shopping center in Ashkelon

JPost:

At least 14 people were wounded Wednesday evening, including a baby girl and her mother, when a Grad rocket fired from Gaza hit the Hutzot Shopping Center in Ashkelon.

MDA said that the baby was listed in moderate condition, her mother and two others were seriously wounded, two people were in moderate condition and nine people, including two children, were lightly hurt. Dozens of people were treated for shock. The casualties were evacuated to the city's Barzilai Hospital.

The rocket hit the top floor of the building, where offices and clinics are located, and the shopping mall sustained considerable damage.

Elderly woman killed by Kassam

Palestinian terrorists' ongoing rocket attacks on Israel claim another victim:

A woman who came to visit a relative in moshav Yesha, near the Gaza Strip, was killed on Monday evening when a Kassam rocket struck the family's house.

The woman, 75, was first reported to be in serious condition, but quickly succumbed to her wounds.

Minutes after the attack, the Islamic Jihad terror organization claimed responsibility.

The deadly attack comes just four days after a mortar shell barrage killed Jimmy Kedoshim, 48, a father of four, as he stood in the yard of his house in the Negev Kibbutz, Kfar Aza.

One killed in mortar attack

Ynet:

One person was killed and another sustained light injuries after two mortar shells hit the western Negev kibbutz of Kfar Aza Friday evening.

One mortar landed near a house and a second one near a community hall in the kibbutz, causing some damage to one of the buildings.

MK Shai Hermseh, a member of the kibbutz, said that the man killed was inside his house at the time of the attack. "This situation is unbearable, not fortifying our houses or taking any action, we live in a fire range," he stated.

Three Qassam rockets and several mortars have been fired at the area since the morning hours.

Hanson takes on Carter

At NRO's The Corner, historian Victor Davis Hanson takes on Jimmy Carter's continued vilification of Israel:

It is hard to think of any ex-President in our history who has written and done so much to counter the official policies of his own country abroad. Of all the countries one could blame for human rights violations — Iran, Syria, the Palestinians and Hamas, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Cuba, Libya, etc. — why would he single out the only liberal democracy in the Middle East?

Live coverage of situation in Lebanon

Real-time posts on the deteriorating situation in Lebanon, via Ya Libnan.

Beirut falling to Hezbollah?

A Lebanese news service reports:

Hizbullah gunmen took control of large parts of Beirut Friday and forced the closure of MP Saad Hariri's media outlets in a major confrontation with Prime Minister Fouad Saniora's government.

At least 11 people were killed and 30 others were wounded in fierce street battles which broke out in west Beirut on Thursday after Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said a government crackdown on his Iranian-backed group was a declaration of war.

Again, Michael Totten's Middle East Journal does a great job of exploring the hidden details of this complex and troubling story -- a story that has critically important implications for Israel.

Battles rage in Beruit

Hezbollah calls the recent attempt by the Lebanese government to crack down on its activities "a declaration of open war":

"We believe the war has started and we believe that we have the right to defend ourselves," [Hezbollah head Hassan] Nasrallah said in a televised speech. "We will cut the hand that will reach out to the weapons of the resistance no matter if it comes from the inside or the outside."

More on what's going on in Lebanon over at Michael Totten's blog.

Israel at 60

Today, Israel observes Israel Independence Day. If you've got the time, read this long but fascinating account of the struggle in Washington over recognizing the Jewish state 60 years ago. In it, the writers tell of a 1961 meeting between David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first Prime Minister, and former U.S. President Harry Truman, who made the U.S. the first nation to recognize the newly-formed Jewish state:

At our last meeting {David Ben-Gurion recalls} after a very interesting talk, just before [President Truman] left me - it was in a New York hotel suite - I told him that as a foreigner I could not judge what would be his place in American history; but his helpfulness to us, his constant sympathy with our aims in Israel, his courageous decision to recognize our new state so quickly and his steadfast support since then had given him an immor­tal place in Jewish history. As I said that, tears suddenly sprang to his eyes. And his eyes were still wet when he bade me goodbye. I had rarely seen anyone so moved. I tried to hold him for a few minutes until he had become more composed, for I recalled that the hotel corridors were full of waiting journalists and photographers. He left. A little while later, I too had to go out, and a correspondent came to me to ask, "Why was President Truman in tears when he left you?"

What better reminder that, since the beginning, the U.S. and Israel have been the strongest of allies, bound by common values that extend far beyond politics. Happy birthday, Israel!

Yom HaZikkaron

Today is Yom HaZikkaron, a day when Israel honors its fallen soldiers and citizens killed in terror attacks:

"We sanctify life, not death," Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Wednesday during a Mount Herzl ceremony for victims of terror attacks.

"I cannot help but think of how deep the moral gap is between us and our enemies," he said. "We make every possible effort to limit and focus our attacks on the terrorists and we never intentionally harm the innocent. We don't have jihadists, shahidim or mothers who joyfully send their children with bomb belts to blow themselves up in packed buses or in busy malls."

More on what Yom HaZikkaron looks like in Israel from Jerusalemite.

60 years of Israel

In anticipation of Israel Independence Day next Thursday, close out your week with this Time magazine photo gallery that covers the modern state of Israel's 60 year history. Have a great weekend, everyone.

UMC divestment goes "down in flames"

On the Methodist issue, Solomonia posts:

As I understand it, it went basically like this: The committees recommended a no-vote on the measures and that they not be put up for floor discussion and vote. It only took 20 signatures to take it off this list and place the matter back on the schedule for discussion for the full plenary and this was done (hence the Fat Lady showing up in our comments earlier to warn us she hadn't sung). This was then voted off the schedule and back onto the list of things which would be accepted by consent as per the committee recommendation.

Is that confusing? Just know it was defeated. The Methodists aren't interested.

Any rejection of Israel divestment is a good thing. Let's hope now that the United Methodists not only turn away from anti-Israel initiatives, but start adopting ones that will help the Jewish state in its continued struggle for peace and security.

Divestment "back in play" at Methodist General Conference?

A commentor to the post below notes:

The news that divestment has been rejected is premature. Divestment is back on the table as of this morning, May 1.

We can't verify this as yet, but only note right now that Solomonia has the same info. Watch this space for more ...

Methodists reject divestment

Some good news from the United Methodist Church's General Conference:

Several sweeping divestment proposals aimed against Israel have been defeated in committee at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church. They now appear to be dead. The proposals, which exclusively faulted Israel for strife in the Middle East, would have moved the church to divest itself of investments in companies that did business with Israel.

My father's will

Just one of the many extraordinary stories of courage and tragedy from the Holocaust:

"On the 9th day of the month Heshvan, 5703, came the turn of our city. 'Jews, find shelter. Hide yourselves and do not go like lambs to the slaughter,' the rabbi of our city addressed his people.

"He himself, the rabbi and leader of the community, went out to the square - umschlagsplatz - with a small Torah scroll in his arm. The people asked him, 'Rabbi, why don't you hide?' He answered that he would not abandon his people on their last journey and would go with them wherever they would go."

The survivor's account went on: "In the early morning we arrived at Treblinka on the transport from our ghetto. On the ramp the selection process had begun. Together with a group of youngsters, I was taken from the crowd and pushed aside. We stood and watched the groups being led in the direction of the gas chambers.

"Suddenly, we heard the familiar, strong voice of our rabbi. He was standing in the midst of the Jews of his community reciting the confessional viduy prayer said when Jews know they are about to be martyred. The rabbi said a verse, and his "congregation" repeated it after him, verse by verse."

Shimon Peres' remarks

Read Israeli President Shimon Peres' comments at the opening ceremonies of Holocaust Remembrance Day 2008:

We will not forget, we will not cover up, and we will not stop asking ourselves anew each morning, what we can do so that what happened will never happen again. And we will remember - history has taught us to be vigilant. We must cultivate both our spiritual and physical power. We have to strengthen our position, with the power of justice and justifiable power. We need to seek out friends in this world, and to demand that they keep their eyes open and recognize imminent danger, rather than offer comfort after the fact.

Holocaust Remembrance Day begins at sundown

JPost:

Israel will pause Wednesday night in memory of the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust, as the country marks the start of Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The hourlong event will be broadcast on television and radio, and will be attended by President Shimon Peres, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and scores of dignitaries from around the world.

The central theme of this year's ceremony is Holocaust Survivors in Israel.

Hamas: Ceasefire a "tactic" in struggle against Israel

A moment of honesty from Hamas head Khaled Mashaal:

[Mashaal] said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television that Egypt had proposed a six-month truce between the Hamas rulers of Gaza and Israel. He said his group was ready to cooperate but added: "It is a tactic in conducting the struggle ... It is normal for any resistance ... to sometimes escalate, other times retreat a bit. ... Hamas is known for that. In 2003, there was a cease-fire and then the operations were resumed."

Don't expect Jimmy Carter to comment. He's still busy congratulating himself for his recent trip to the Middle East. As Rabbi Eckstein comments in his weekly message:

Former President Carter's "success" reminded me of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's promise to the English people in 1938 that he had secured "Peace for our time" after his negotiations with Hitler. We know how that story ended -- Chamberlain's "peace" was followed by one of the most brutal, far-reaching wars in modern history, and the extermination of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.

Don't divest -- invest

An op-ed in this week's Jewish Journal, co-written by a Methodist Bishop and the Muslim head of the Afghan World Foundation, adds a welcome note of sanity to the United Methodist Church's debate on divestment from Israel:

Successive corrupt Palestinian leaderships have fed the political, economic and humanitarian crisis in the territories. Any wishful thinking that divestment will lead to military calm along Israeli-Palestinian borders is strategically flawed. The present war of attrition between Israel and self-governing Gaza has been instigated and sustained by the extremist Hamas leadership whose charter calling for the eradication of Israel harms the very people it claims to serve, malnourishing the nascent Palestinian state which otherwise has the support of virtually the entire international community.

Why Hamas wants a ceasefire

Over at YNet, Moshe Elad examines Hamas' real reason for talking about a ceasefire:

Khaled Mashaal’s declaration regarding “recognition of the 1967 borders” without recognizing the State of Israel and a “10-year hudna” is no more than a cynical manipulation that is reminiscent of Yassar Arafat at his best.

We should note that Arafat claimed that “it is permissible to lie for the sake of the Palestinian people” and did so often with amazing bluntness. For example, after he was caught secretly declaring jihad against Israel a week after signing the peace agreement, he argued that there is such thing as “jihad of peace!” – Now Mashaal seeks to outdo Arafat.

Mixed messages from Hamas

Canada's National Post reports:

Hamas's senior leadership in Gaza and in exile confirmed Thursday it was ready to sign a peace deal with Israel based on the 1967 borders, despite continuing violence between the two sides.

But, almost simultaneously, Hamas called on tens of thousands of Gazans to surge toward the Israeli and Egyptian borders after Friday prayers in an attempt to break an economic blockade of the Palestinian territory.

Talking "peace" on the one hand and urging violence on the other? Nothing new for Hamas.

Bush administration to brief Congress on Israeli air strike

More info is surfacing on Israel's air strike in Syria last September:

The Bush administration will tell Congress tomorrow that a nuclear facility in Syria built with North Korean help was nearly complete when Israel bombed it in September, and that Pyongyang has not provided any further nuclear assistance to the hard-line Arab nation, at least at that site, U.S. officials said.

CIA Director Michael V. Hayden and other intelligence officials are expected to brief several congressional committees in closed-door sessions, breaking the administration's silence on the issue.

The Syrian facility has become a key issue in six-nation negotiations to end the North's nuclear programs.

“The belief is that the reactor was nearing completion,” said one official familiar with the content of the briefings. “It would have been able to produce plutonium.”

Israel to cede Golan?

A Syrian cabinet minister says that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has agreed give Syria the Golan Heights in exchange for peace:

"Olmert is ready for peace with Syria on the grounds of international conditions; on the grounds of the return of the Golan Heights in full to Syria," Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban told al-Jazeera television.

Methodist General Conference begins

Today is the first day of the United Methodist Church's General Conference in Fort Worth, Texas. The Institute on Religion and Democracy has a handy one-page white paper that sums up the status of "divest from Israel" initiatives as the conference beings -- check it out (PDF document). We'll keep you up to date on what happens.

Hezbollah chases away UNIFIL monitors

Another problem with the U.N. "monitoring" force charged with preventing Hezbollah's rearming in southern Lebanon -- in a confrontation with Hezbollah, they lose every time:

Hizbullah gunmen chased away UNIFIL inspectors in south Lebanon who identified a truck carrying arms belonging to the guerrilla group, a report published twice a year by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon revealed Tuesday.

The incident was the first time UNIFIL troops confirmed the presence of Hizbullah gunmen south of the Litani River, in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1701, Channel 1 reported.

More on Methodist divestment

A press release from the harshly anti-Israel Methodist Federation for Social Action goes into greater detail on the resolutions to be considered at the upcoming United Methodist General Conference -- the item below notwithstanding, it's clear that divestment measures are still on the table:

With the withdrawal of the only single-company divestment petition before General Conference, the way is clear for United Methodist delegates to focus on the major question before them related to divestment: Will United Methodists continue to profit from the Israeli occupation of Palestine, an occupation the denomination is on record opposing?

On the other hand, "Will the leaders of the United Methodist Church recognize and disavow the Islamist terrorist threat to Israel and urge Israel's enemies to recognize the right of the Jewish state to exist?" is not a question the anti-Israel faction in the UMC deems worth asking.

Methodists withdraw divestment measure

The United Methodist Church (UMC), which will begin its General Conference on April 23, has reportedly withdrawn its call for divestment against construction manufacturer Catperpillar for selling equipment to Israel:

The denomination has about $5 million of its estimated $17 billion pension portfolio invested in Caterpillar stock, according to a press release on the UMC website.

Caterpillar’s response to The United Methodist Church, however, was deemed “positive” by the denomination, which subsequently announced that it would withdraw its petition of divestment.

While this particular proposal has been rejected, there are other anti-Israel measures on the table at the Methodists' upcoming meeting. Stay tuned.

Carter's world vs. the real world, part 2

Jimmy Carter, fresh from his meeting with Hamas head Khaled Mashaal and Syrian tyrant Bashir Assad, confidently announces:

"There's no doubt that both the Arab world and Hamas will accept Israel's right to exist in peace within 1967 borders," he said, adding that the Islamic group was prepared to "live as a neighbor next door in peace." He also stated that the group was ready to accept a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

Meanwhile, in the real world:

Two IDF soldiers were moderately wounded and 11 others were lightly wounded Saturday morning at the Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip, when Hamas gunmen initiated a coordinated attack on the Israeli side of the crossing, which included heavy gunfire, mortar shell barrages and two car bombs.

Note, too, that Hamas itself contradicts Carter's rosy outlook:

[Carter] added that Hamas would not undermine Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' efforts to reach a peace deal with Israel, as long as the Palestinian people approved it in a referendum.

However Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said Carter's comments "do not mean that Hamas is going to accept the result of the referendum."

Carter gets his meeting with Hamas

Defying all common sense, moral and ethical considerations, and the wishes of the U.S. and Israeli government as well as millions of those concerned about peace and security for Israel, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has met with Hamas head Khaled Mashaal:

Carter's meeting with Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal followed two other meetings between the former American president and the Palestinian militant group in the Middle East this week. Hamas officials say the meetings have lent their group legitimacy.

Earlier Friday, Carter met with Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Carter should be ashamed of himself, but of course he won't be -- he's too busy living in a world of his own making, a world where he plays the role of courageous statesman taking bold and innovative steps for peace, a world where terrorists dedicated to Israel's destruction can be pacified through concessions, a world where hopelessly corrupt tyrants can be swayed through negotiation.

Too bad for Israel, and for anyone truly interested in Middle East peace, that his world bears absolutely no relation to reality.

Kassam lands in Sderot

As the Passover holiday approaches in Israel, the rockets continue to fall:

Shortly after 9:45 pm the Color Red alert system was heard in town, followed by a loud explosion. Magen David Adom emergency services, police units and firefighters were called to the rocket's landing site.

Sderot resident: Carter "bored, looking for something to do"

On Tuesday, Jimmy Carter visited the embattled Israeli town of Sderot. One might guess that the former U.S. President known for his harshly anti-Israel stance was attempting to show his "evenhandedness." But Sderot residents seemed unimpressed:

"Today Carter comes to visit the city that Hamas terrorizes with rockets and later he will speak to the Hamas leaders who advocate this rocket fire," said one Sderot onlooker as Carter arrived with his security personnel into the city. "His visit to Sderot doesn't make any sense."

In fact, many of the residents in Sderot felt that the entire Carter visit was a joke on the residents.

"He looks like an old politician who is bored, looking for something to do," says Hamutal Ben-Shitrit, a local Sderot photographer who photographed Carter's visit at the Sderot Police Station, where the former US president viewed the hundreds of Kassams rockets stored away.

WAPO grants op-ed space to terrorist

The Washington Post today published an op-ed by a leader of Hamas, Mahmoud al-Zahar:

Last week's attack on the Nahal Oz fuel depot should not surprise critics in the West. Palestinians are fighting a total war waged on us by a nation that mobilizes against our people with every means at its disposal -- from its high-tech military to its economic stranglehold, from its falsified history to its judiciary that "legalizes" the infrastructure of apartheid. Resistance remains our only option. Sixty-five years ago, the courageous Jews of the Warsaw ghetto rose in defense of their people. We Gazans, living in the world's largest open-air prison, can do no less.

As if to absolve itself for offering a mouthpiece to a terrorist, the Post on the opposite page publishes an editorial critical of al-Zahar and former President Jimmy Carter's upcoming meeting with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal:

No act of terrorism is out of bounds for [al-Zahar], who endorses the group's recent ambush of Israeli civilians working at a fuel depot that supplies Gaza. The "total war" of which he speaks was initiated and has been sustained by Hamas itself through its deliberate targeting of civilians, such as the residents of the Israeli town of Sderot, who suffer daily rocket attacks. These facts would hardly need restating were it not for actors such as Mr. Carter, who portray Hamas as rational and reasonable.

But why publish al-Zahar's reprehensible words in the first place? Sadly, it's nothing unusual -- the Post has done this kind of thing before.

3 Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza battle

YNet:

Givati Brigade's Corporal Matan Ovdati (19) from Moshav Patsih in the western Negev, Corporal Menahesh Albinath (20) from the Negev town of Kuseife and Corporal David Papian (21) from Tel Aviv were killed Wednesday morning during intense clashes with a Palestinian terror cell near the security fence in central Gaza.

Three other soldiers sustained light to moderate injuries in exchanges of fire that erupted in the area. Corporal Ovdati was promoted to the rank of sergeant posthumously.

Hamas' armed wing, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, claimed responsibility for the assault on the IDF troops.

Zoo made kosher for Passover

Only in Israel! Watch the video.

82% of American Christians support Israel

Ynet:

A new survey conducted by a Washington DC-based evangelical organization among American Christians has found that 82% of them believe they have a moral obligation to support the Jews and Israel.

Hat tip: Meryl Yourish, who remarks, "how refreshing it is to have Jews and Christians on the same side of an issue for a change. Here. Have a virtual handshake, folks."

"Imminent" terrorist threat in Sinai

Following a dire warning by the Israeli government to Israeli tourists in the Sinai, Egyptian security forces are reportedly searching for members of a terrorist cell:

The group is "armed and driving around in four pick-ups," AFP quoted a security official as saying. He added that security forces had bolstered checkpoints on roads in the north and south of the Sinai peninsula.

"These people are suspected of planning terrorist attacks in the Sinai," the official said.

Channel 10 said that a total of five terror cells were being searched for.

On Tuesday, Defense Minister Ehud Barak suggested "that Israelis take seriously the warning not to travel to Sinai in the near future."

Jimmy's world

In the Wall Street Journal, Bret Stephens provides a list of things Jimmy Carter could do to really advance the cause of liberty in the Middle East during his current trip to the region. Here are just a few:

- With the Palestinians, Mr. Carter could denounce the Hamas-operated Al Aqsa TV, whose programming includes a Sesame Street-like show that urges its young viewers to "get rid of the Jews."

- In Syria, Mr. Carter could ask to meet with representatives of the National Council of the Damascus Declaration for Democratic Change. A dozen leaders of this pro-democracy umbrella group were arrested in December on charges of "spreading false or exaggerated news which would affect the morale of the country"; Human Rights Watch charges that at least eight of the men signed false confessions under torture.

Stephens concludes: "Will Mr. Carter do any of this? The odds are long. Instead, he will meet with Mr. Mashal, author of the murder of several hundred Israeli civilians and not a few Americans, too." Read the whole thing.

Cleaning house for Passover

As Passover approaches, this article from AISH should give you a good idea of the tremendous effort many Jewish families will be going through to make their homes kosher for the holiday. Note that the article is titled "Passover cleaning made easy" -- and still comes in at over 8,000 words!

Here's more on Passover cleaning from the Israeli blog A Mother in Israel. (Note: the Hebrew word "kashering" means to make a non-kosher utensil or cooking implement suitable for kosher use, while "chametz" refers to leavened bread or leavened bread products).

Carter's "intentional distortions"

At The Corner on National Review online, Michael Rubin comments:

As controversy continues over Carter's current trip to the Middle East and his plans to meet with Hamas' most unrepentant terrorist—a man responsible for the deaths not only of Israelis but also Americans—one major item remains absent from the press coverage: The inconsistency of Carter's statements with the historical record. The press gives Carter a pass that they would never give Hillary Clinton.

Read Rubin's post, including the interview with Carter's former associate Ken Stein that he links to, in its entirety.

Action Alert!

Tell Jimmy Carter to cancel his visit with terrorist leader Khaled Mashaal. And after you've sent a message, be sure to share our action alert with your friends.

Carter's foolish journey

A good editorial in today's Chicago Tribune tries to remind Jimmy Carter of who he'll be speaking to if he goes through with his planned meeting with Hamas head Khaled Mashaal next week:

Mashaal is a terrorist leader. He's accused by Israeli officials of ordering the 2006 abduction of an Israeli soldier, triggering Israel's incursion into Gaza. At the time, U.S. Ambassador to the UN John Bolton urged Syria to arrest him and shut down Hamas headquarters in Damascus.

Over the years, Mashaal has claimed responsibility for many of Hamas' suicide bomb attacks in Israel. He leads an organization that praised as "heroic" Palestinian terrorists who crossed into Israel and killed two civilians at a fuel depot on Wednesday. Hamas allows—or instigates—the continuing barrage of rockets into Israel, taking every opportunity to disrupt peace negotiations.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials are giving Carter a well-deserved cold shoulder:

Citing scheduling difficulties, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, and opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu turned down requests for meetings from the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

“You draw your own conclusions,” said an Israeli official who declined to be identified. “Israeli officials have expressed outrage at the possibility that he'll meet Mashaal. ... He's the leader of a terrorist organization.”

20 Hezbollah fighters killed during training in Iran

Yet another story confirming Iran's support of terrorist groups throughout the Middle East:

The Lebanese official did not say exactly how the [Hezbollah] fighters were killed, but he made clear that "Hizbullah regards those killed while training in Iran as holy ones who died fulfilling their duties, and this concerns not only Shi'ites, but also Sunnis who are loyal to Hizbullah."

"The training in Iran lies at the heart of our connections with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard", said Husseini, who added that "this is known to all Lebanese people."

The trouble with talking

Over at Powerline, Lee Smith responds to former President Carter's ill-conceived plan to meet with Hamas head Khaled Mashaal:

Khaled Meshaal is not a Hamas "hardliner" ostensibly at odds with more "moderate" Hamas figures; rather he is the man who calls the shots. This is why chief of Egyptian military intelligence Omar Suleiman dealt primarily with Meshaal during the Gaza breakout in February, and not, say, Ismail Haniyeh. In Damascus, Meshaal gets his marching orders from Tehran, which means that the former American president, during whose tenure the US lost a pillar of its Persian Gulf security strategy to the Khoemeinist revolution, will effectively be talking to a representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Carter to meet with Hamas

Former President Jimmy Carter will reportedly be traveling to Syria to meet with the exiled head of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal:

Deanna Congileo, Carter’s press secretary, confirmed in an e-mail to FOXNews.com that Carter will be in the Mideast in April. Pressed for comment, Congileo did not deny that the former president is considering visiting Meshal.

“President Carter is planning a trip to the Mideast next week; however, we are still confirming details of the trip and will issue a press release by the end of this week,” wrote Congileo. “I cannot confirm any specific meetings at this point in time.”

Meshal, who lives in Syria to avoid being arrested by the Israeli government, leads Hamas from his seat in Damascus, where he is a guest of Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton had this to say about Carter's proposed meeting with the terrorist group:

“It’s about par for the course from President Carter, demonstrating a lack of judgment typical of what he does," said John Bolton, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations. "To go to Syria to visit Hamas at this point is just an ill-timed, ill-advised decision on his part."

Meanwhile, how does Hamas feel about the prospect of meeting with Carter?

A Hamas official said that that the meeting would show that Hamas is a power that can't be ignored in addressing the Palestinian question.

So terrorists are emboldened, and Carter gets to congratulate himself for being a "peacemaker." Meanwhile, peace and security for Israel are elusive as ever.

Two Israelis killed in shooting attack

Ynet:

Two people were killed Wednesday afternoon in exchanges of fire which erupted near the Nahal Oz terminal in the central Gaza Strip, the Magen David Adom emergency services reported. Medical teams were making their way to the scene of the incident.

IDF officials estimated that two gunmen infiltrated the fuel terminal, hit two Israelis and fled back into the Strip. Simultaneously, a large number of mortar shells were fired at the area.

A senior Palestinian source confirmed that a group of gunmen had infiltrated the terminal, near the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip.

Israel begins massive nationwide civil defense drill

Israel takes being prepared for the worst very seriously:

Israel has begun a week-long civil defense drill. On Sunday the cabinet was briefed by Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilna'i, who is commanding the nationwide exercises. Everyone from kindergarten children to senior civil servants will practice the emergency measures to be taken in the event of an actual attack or catastrophic earthquake. These national home front exercises are intended to help authorities evaluate how prepared the country is to face the threat, for instance, of missiles - conventional, biological, chemical or nuclear - smashing into our population centers.

Yemen's few remaining Jews under fire

As unrest in the Middle Eastern country of Yemen intensifies, that country's tiny Jewish community is feeling the pressure:

In the latest attack targeting Yemen's few remaining Jews, rebel Houthi militiamen destroyed several homes that had belonged to the now-absent Jewish community in the northwestern Saada province.

"The Houthis destroyed part of my house and looted it," Rabbi Yehia Youssuf told Reuters in the capital, San'a.

All 67 members of Saada's Jewish community fled following threats from the Houthis, the rabbi says.

Voices from Sderot

The Britain Israel Communications and Research Center has put together these four videos of Sderot residents telling their heart-wrenching stories of what life is like on the front lines. Take a look.

A trip to Eilat

If spring is a long time coming in your part of the world, as it is here, take a trip via these beautiful photos to sunny Eilat, Israel.

More on Eilat, which lies at Israel's southernmost tip, here.

The United Methodist divestment push continues

Solomonia calls attention to an anti-Israel website set up by pro-divestment Methodists that claims to be "educational," but is in fact another excuse to peddle the same ridiculous nonsense about Israel:

The usual mantra that the Mainliners who support divestment adopt is that they're only after an end to the "occupation," and not against Israel per se. Yet this web site that purports to be about educating on the issue carries two particularly disgraceful pages that belie this limited motivation.

Rabbi Eckstein notes that there are many men and women in the pews of mainline churches who do not share the anti-Israel prejudice of a very vocal segment of their leadership. Let's hope that after they become aware of this stuff, they stand up and say, "enough!"