# 133 – Beaches & Terrorism

January 3, 2010

I’m quite busy right now. Got a lot of projects on my desk. And then I have to move slowly because of my new knee.

But the news is so full of ‘you know what’, that my ‘Letter’ side is screaming to be heard…

This statement from a Spanish journalist is the excuse I am making to start this epistle…

First of all, a reminder that Israelis have other things to do then bang their heads on the walls (or bang their own heads as part of a religious ceremony). Yesterday, Jan 2^nd, it was around 25C here in Tel Aviv. So of course, we take the thermos, the papers etc. and go for a walk on the beach…

First pic is facing Herzlia, north of our beach –

Second pic is facing back south –

Well, yes, they are – during the week. But yesterday was the Sabbath, so this was the typical scene at each ‘beach centre’.

Now….in between your swigs of champagne, have you been reading, watching, listening to the news these last few days? Ridiculous summary:

·                Nigerian attempts to blow plane up – appears to have been trained by Al Qaida in Yemen

·                The new-fangled scanners would not have caught him, claim the media. But Israel’s system would have – and that includes profiling. Sorry, but that has to be the accepted norm for the future. Until Islamic terrorism ceases, and ceases to be the dominant player in this horrible drama, Moslem travelers have to be suspect. A sad fact.

• • Everyone’s now talking about Yemen – and the ‘failed states’. Well, good morning. There have always been – and will be failed states. The difference between then and now is the use of these states by terror groups.

  • Murder attempt on the Danish cartoonist of Mohammed. Guess where he came from? A failed state.

  • Suicide bomb in Pakistan kills over 90 and injures many more at volleyball game – after locals attempted to push militants out of the area

• Iran threatens they will produce their own nuclear fuel

• British hostage released after 2 1/2 years in Iraqi captivity. British foreign minister attempts to convince everyone that nothing was given in return. “We do not give in to terrorism”. Israel is about to release 1,000 prisoners, half of whom are hardened criminals/terrorists, as price for 1 hostage. Something wrong there.

Thank Heaven I heard a few reports about the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List and the best songs of 2009, otherwise….oh, I can’t say it. You’d think me too right-wing, and I’m still trying to be a lefty who just sees the light.

Stephen

PS – Jan 4 –

It’s as if someone forwarded my ‘Letter’ to the Jerusalem Post.

This morning, they had several reports on the subject/s of Islamic Terrorism’s threats around the World, plus a commentary from Charles Krauthammer, admittedly a more right-wing journalist who is often seen on Fox News. His article is entitled ‘War? What War?, and focuses on Obama’s attempt to downplay the labelling of what the problem really is.

And the J-Post’s leader comment is entitled ‘Name the Enemy’, professing more worries about the international community’s inability to face the facts.

Of course, the majority of Moslems are moderate and peace-loving. That’s easy to say, and easy to admit. It’s also a fact that nearly all ‘international terrorists’ are Moslem.

Obama sends another 30,000 troops to Afghanistan to fight the ‘War on Terror’, yet refers to the Detroit bomber as a suspect, and ensures that he is provided with the full benefits of U.S. law, including the right to silence.

My main criticism of George Bush and Tony Blair’s actions against Iraq (and I was partly in favour), was that the decision to invade broke up whatever unity there was among ‘western’ and/or ‘democratic’ nations. The UN, with all its faults (and there are so many) is all we have to ‘police’ this crazy little world of ours.

In the face of violent anarchy, we must show a united front. We stand little chance of fighting this threat if we fight each other. (I have often said in the past that, if there were no Israel in the Middle East, there would still be a war every year or two there. They also have little unity).

Stephen