treppenwitz

Word-Cloud of Misery

[A Guest Post by Zahava]

Grief-stricken.

Horrified.

Mournful.

Furious.

Heart-broken.

Ill.

Distressed.

Irate.

Sorrowful.

Demoralized.

Upon learning that yet another innocent soul was violently and prematurely stolen in what should have been the sanctity of her own home...

Hallel Yaffa Ariel, הי׳ד -- may your memory always be for a blessing and may G-d comfort your family, loved ones, and friends during this tragic and difficult time.

We have never met, but you will forever live in the memory of my mind in a special corner dedicated to remembering the ones you unfairly and brutally joined today...

Including, but not limited to:

Rachel, Neriyah (15), Tzvika (12) and Avishai (5) Sabo of Itamar -- June 2002

Yossi Twyto of Itamar June 2002

Gavriel Hoter of Otniel -- December 2002

Eli and DIna Horowitz of Kiryat Arba -- March 2003

Udi, Ruth, Yoav (11), Elad (4), Hadas (4 months) Fogel of Itamar -- March 2011

Dafna Meir of Otniel -- January 2016

To say nothing of those viciously torn from their lives and loved ones in suicide bombings, shootings, stabbings, ambushes, stonings, rock-throwings, and car-rammings....

Determined.

We will pause to mourn. To be inconsolable. To grieve. And to rant and rave over the insufferable and intolerable and hateful and fanatical nature of our enemy.

And then.

With a bit more heaviness in our step from the weight of an added tragic memory, we will pick up our feet, steel our hearts, and continue our daily living with a touch more vigor, love, and resolution to honor the memories of those who have been ripped from our lives.

The hate, the zealotry -- they are neither contagious nor deterrent.

For the first time in 2 millenium, we are home. And. We. Will. Not. Leave.

MSNBC Presents 'The Bigger Picture'

Even as their television coverage showed graphic footage of the site of last night's attack on the screen, two of their commentators wanted to make sure the viewers understood the context (read 'justification') for the terror attack:

Note that this was a 'mass shooting' and not a terror attack.

Is there any depravity which these ass-clowns can't explain away?

Caution Above Honesty

Here in Israel, when ideologically motivated individuals kill civilians they are referred to by the international media as 'gunmen', 'militants', attackers'... anything but terrorists.  Apparently, the media wants to avoid the appearance of taking sides or rushing to judgement.

And far from generating a media frenzy, coverage of such attacks on Israeli civilians tends to be an arid, reserved academic affair, employing cautious words such as 'alleged', dutifully placed before any description of the perps... and plenty of "scare quotes" * placed around any and all information provided by the Israeli government.

Needless to say, after last night's terror attack in Tel Aviv, The New York times did not disappoint.  Their cautious mention of last night's unpleasantness spent only a few hours on the periphery of their home page before being relegated to the 'world' section of their site.

And as previously mentioned, when describing the individuals who shot at diners with assault rifles at point blank range, there was nary a 'terrorist' in sight - only 'gunmen' and 'attackers' - even though the event was clearly described elsewhere in the article as terrorism!  

Terrorism without terrorists; That's a pretty neat trick, if you think about it.

I alluded to this in the post I put up this morning, but it has been gnawing away at the back of my mind ever since.

When ideologically motivated individuals kill civilians in New York, London, Paris, Madrid, or pretty much everywhere on earth, they are referred to as terrorists in the frenzy of news coverage that inevitably follows.  

Everywhere, that is, except in Israel.

So in keeping with this apparent need for cautious, academic correctness, I will refrain from stating that the entire New York Times editorial staff richly deserves to die in a fire.  

Rather, I will suggest that in a perfect world, their aggregate biologic functions would simultaneously cease in conjunction with the rapid oxidation of their surroundings in an exothermic chemical process of combustion.

 /snark

* Scare quotes are quotation marks placed around a word or phrase when they are not required, thereby eliciting attention or doubts.

I'm Shocked, Shocked...

... to find that gambling terrorism is going on in here Israel!

For those who haven't been following the news, last night two Palestinian terrorists (the New York Times took pains to call them 'gunmen') entered a popular Tel Aviv cafe with assault rifles and killed four Israeli civilians and injured at least three others.

As hard as it may be to believe, the title of this post is a pretty much a direct quote from the U.N. Secretary General!  

I am not paraphrasing or putting words in anyone's mouth.  Here is the full quote from his spokesperson (lest someone accuse me of taking liberties):

“The Secretary-General reiterates that there is no justification for terrorism nor for the glorification of those who commit such heinous acts. The Secretary-General is shocked that the leaders of Hamas have chosen to welcome this attack and some have chosen to celebrate it. He calls upon the Palestinian leadership to live up to their responsibility to stand firmly against violence and the incitement that fuels it.” [emphasis mine]

Notice that, even though Hamas has publicly stated that the terrorists were operatives in their organization, the UN Secretary General didn't specifically denounce anyone.  No, he seemed to be mostly bothered by the unseemly celebration of the attack.

If only UN Secretary-General were half as charming and witty as Claude Reins' portrayal of Captain Renault in the film, Casablanca, one could, perhaps, overlook his turning a blind eye to the Palestinian terror organizations continuing to do what terrorists are wont to do.  

But since, Ban Ki-moon is neither charming nor witty (it would be challenging to identify a more wooden or obtuse career diplomat), and we're talking about the senseless slaughter of Israeli civilians and not some cinematic victim-less crime, I think it would be safe to say that we are in no danger of starting any kind of friendship with him... beautiful or otherwise.

Shocked... shocked!