Zamir recants; troops want investigation

Even as Danny Zamir protests, IDF reservists who served in Operation Cast Lead are asking Israeli's attorney general to investigate Ha'aretz for publishing the accounts of supposed "war crimes" without adequately checking their veracity.

The letter, signed by 65 reservists who served in Operation Cast Lead, sent the letter to Mazuz on Monday and asked that he launch an investigation against Haaretz on charges of slander for reporting on the testimonies as if they were fact and not hearsay.

"It appears to us that Haaretz did not do the minimum of checking before reporting false accusations," the letter read.

"We are fed up with being called murderers and war criminals," said Amit Barak, who initiated the letter. "We will not tolerate being treated this way after as reservists we contribute to the state and come to serve in the IDF. We expect the state to stand up for us, its soldiers."

I am sypathetic to this request. The irresponsibility of Ha'aretz continues today. However, I can't believe that the Attorney General would be able to take any action against Ha'aretz. Unless Ha'aretz could be shown to have been in violation of the law or libeled someone specific, it will be free to be irresponsible. That's the nature of press freedom. Unfortunately.

Both Backspin and CAMERA wonder if Zamir's regrets will get the play his charges got. Israel Matzav is skeptical that Zamir regrets what he did, but is rather concerned with keeping his pre-military academy going.

I hardly expect the media to cover Zamir's regrets. Dion Nissenbaum at his blog, both failed to note that the Israeli investigation found out that the allegations were unsubstantiated hearsay.

Nissenbaum quoted the Ha'aretz reporter, as if this were grounds for conviction:

"When statements came only from Palestinian witnesses or 'the hostile press,' it was possible to dismiss them as propaganda that served the enemy," Haaretz journalist Amos Harel wrote in his analysis of the allegations. "But what can be done when the soldiers themselves tell the story?"

Nissenbaum even followed up with two more posts about "war crimes," and continued to suggest that there was something to the allegations even after the IDF investigation. Now that Zamir is apparently recanting, will Nissenbaum acknowledge that he's been giving too much attention to rumors?

Crossposted on Soccer Dad.

Chag v'kosher sameach

Have a happy and kosher Pesach, my friends.

Hamas will never, ever recognize Israel

Talk to Hamas? Why? Because they'll eventually moderate, learn to live with Israel in a Palestinian state, side by side in peace and equality?

No, they won't. They keep saying so. The world keeps ignoring it when they do.

Dr. Ismail Radwan, a senior political leader of Hamas, stated that Hamas will not deal with or be part of any government which recognizes the occupation, and will not accept the demands of thew Quartet.

Radwan added that Hamas will not accept the abandonment of legitimate Palestinian rights, and will not be part of any government which recognizes Israel as a legitimate entity on the historic lands of Palestine.

In a written statement received by the Palestine Information Center on Monday evening, Radwan said that Hamas will never recognize the occupation and will not grant it legitimacy.

This is from a Palestinian media outlet. And there's more.

Islamic Resistance Movement, Hamas, stated that any new government in Ramallah, under any name, will not be legitimate without a submission to legislative council for a confidence vote. He added that talks on rebuilding Gaza are another deceit by the Ramallah government.

In a statement to the Quds Press, Sami Abu Zuhri, spokesperson of Hamas, called on Fateh movement “to free itself from the US preconditions”.

“We are not the problem”, Abu Zuhri said, “The problem is in those who link the success of the talks with an American blessing”.

He also said that Ramallah government is illegitimate, and that any new government will not be legitimate unless it is presented and approved by the legislative council.

Abu Zuhri further said that the term of president Mahmoud Abbas in office had already ended, and added that this issue is one of the problems obstructing unity talks.

It's all there, for those who want to see it. But that won't be the media, international negotiators, the UN, the EU, and most especially, Jimmy Carter.

In every generation, they rise against us. Tonight, we celebrate the failure of our enemies to destroy us. Hamas will be a story told around the Seder tables many years from now, if at all.

Beverly Giesebrecht - kidnapped or run away?

Beverly Giesebrecht aka Khadija Abdul Qahaar, the woman who converted to Islam to honor her new brethren's breathtaking victory of 911, who created a pro-Jihadi Web site, Jihad Unspun, was allegedly kidnapped by her Taleban colleagues.

My guess would be that it is not a kidnapping at all. It is just a playacting, based on the old and honorable tradition still strong in some rural areas - the fake kidnapping of the bride. Now she is, most probably, in some exclusive cave with a breathtaking view, tending to her hubby's guns, horses and goats.

And on the face of the evidence available

I would say: let it go, folks. Finders keepers.

Cross-posted on SimplyJews