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Father God, thank you for the love of the truth you have given me. Please bless me with the wisdom, knowledge and discernment needed to always present the truth in an attitude of grace and love. Use this blog and Northwoods Ministries for your glory. Help us all to read and to study Your Word without preconceived notions, but rather, let scripture interpret scripture in the presence of the Holy Spirit. All praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

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Monday, March 4, 2024

Antisemitism > The Hamas War - Most Americans back Israel; Islamic Bookstore closed by authorities in Nice; NYTimes chooses to believe the unbelievable

 

Vast Majority of American Voters Back Israel

in War Against Hamas, New Poll Reveals

by Ben Cohen, Algemeiner, February 28, 2024:

The vast bulk of American voters back Israel in its bid to oust Hamas from Gaza, with clear majorities expressing support for Israel’s ongoing military operations alongside opposition to a ceasefire that does not involve the release of more than 100 hostages still held captive by the terrorist group, according to a new Harvard-Harris poll released this week.

Asked whether they back Israel or Hamas more in the current conflict, 82 percent of voters chose Israel. A further 68 percent agreed that Israel was trying to avoid inflicting civilian casualties in Gaza as it seeks to eradicate Hamas from the territory.

Asked whether a ceasefire should be put in place, 68 percent of the respondents said that such a move should be conditional on the release of the remainder of the hostages.

On the question of Israel’s military operation, 67 percent said they supported a continuing ground invasion of Gaza even when it was pointed out that they might oppose it because “1.2 million civilians have taken shelter there [in Rafah] and will be under significant risk of harm if Israel pushes forward.”

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France: Islamic bookstore selling books

calling for murder of homosexuals,

violence against women shut for 3 months

Do French authorities think this bookstore will reopen in three months filled only with books advocating the values of a secular republic? Do they really think that other Islamic establishments aren’t offering materials that say the same things? 

‘Religious fundamentalism,’ decision of the prefecture, reactions…

We summarize the affair surrounding the closure of this bookstore in Nice

translated from “”Fondamentalisme religieux”, décision de la préfecture, réactions… On vous résume l’affaire autour de la fermeture de cette librairie de Nice,” Nice-Matin, February 29, 2024 (thanks to Medforth):

The iron grille has been hastily lowered. The sign, “Welcome, open,” still hangs in the shop window between djellabas, headscarves, kaftans and abayas. A hasty closure for the “Iqra bookshop,” 23 rue Marceau in Nice (…).

[Among the] complaints identified:…the sale of “fundamentalist and indoctrinating” works, according to the prefect, although, as he writes, “this establishment, located in a particularly busy area, receives a clientele made up of both adults and young people, especially minors.” Among the offending works was “Les grands péchés” (The Great Sins) by Imam Chams Ad-Din Adh-Dhahabi (1274-1348). The prefect of the Département Alpes-Maritimes found statements in it that “call for the murder of homosexuals.” Others advocated “violence against women.”

Their lawyer, Maître Guez Guez, is appalled by the decision to close the centre….He will apply to the Nice Administrative Court for an interim injunction against the closure in order to have the prefecture’s closure order lifted. The media lawyer is also acting as an advocate for the management of the private Muslim school Avicenne in L’Ariane….Two Muslim institutions targeted within three days, “that’s a smear campaign,” says Sefen Guez Guez.


 


It's very easy to find verified examples of Hamas lies and extreme exaggerations. On the other hand it is almost impossible to find verified examples of the IDF lying. People who genuinely fear God are not predisposed to lying. Satan is the Father of Lies. Muslims have no compulsion to tell the truth. Neither Mohammed nor Allah have any requirement for it.


How the New York Times Reported on the

‘Massacre’ in Gaza

The New York Times, ever faithful to its anti-Israel animus, reported on the stampede on February 29 in northern Gaza by doubting every part of the IDF account, and credulously accepting, instead, the account put out by Hamas and its supporters. More on this double standard can be found here: 


The evidence to the “massacre” that the @NYTimes believes

Elder of Ziyon, March 1, 2024:

The New York Times sifts through the evidence of the stampede in northern Gaza yesterday. As usual, it shows skepticism for anything the IDF says and implicit trust in whatever Gaza “witnesses” say.

The crucial question is whether the IDF shot at people waiting for humanitarian aid. The Times isn’t convinced by the IDF drone video:

The drone video, which does not include audio, was edited by the Israeli military with multiple clips spliced together, leaving out a key moment before many in the crowd start running away from the trucks, with some people crawling behind walls, appearing to take cover.

After a cut in the drone video, at least a dozen bodies are visible on the ground at the scene; it is not clear whether the people are injured or dead. A small number of people may have been struck by aid trucks during the panic, and two Israeli military vehicles are also visible at the scene.

The New York Times wants its readers to be skeptical of the IDF report, suggesting that it “edited” the drone video to deliberately keep out views of the Israeli gunfire supposedly being directed at Palestinians.

And the Times reports, without any evidence, that only “a small number of people may have been struck by aid trucks.” Why should we believe that only a “small number” were struck by aid trucks? And what about those who were crushed by their fellows, who pushed them down and then fell on top of them, in the frantic stampede to snatch food aid from the 30 trucks in the convoy? We know now that there were thousands of Gazans present, that there was a wild stampede, with people in front being crushed — pushed down, stomped on, smothered by other bodies of those coming from behind and toppling onto those in front — and that a total of 124 people (not 104 as first reported) people died at the site of the stampede. But the Times wants to blame the IDF for shooting many of those who died, and so it slyly suggests that the IDF has edited its drone video so that the sounds of its gunfire can’t be heard.

But another video, from propaganda channel Al Jazeera, is described without any skepticism:

separate video released by Al Jazeera of the crowd near the aid convoy captures the sound of gunfire and shows multiple tracer rounds, originating from the southwest where an Israeli military base is located.   

That video is also heavily edited, but the NYT doesn’t mention that. 

But most importantly is that the Al Jazeera video shows that all the tracer rounds visible were shot well above the heads of any people.

Al Jazeera captions the video as “The first moments of the occupation shooting towards Palestinians waiting for aid” when the video shows that they are clearly not shooting at them.

The video posted by Al Jazeera is given a caption that claims the very opposite of what that video shows. The AJ claims it shows “the occupation” (that is, the IDF) shooting at “Palestinians waiting for aid.” That’s not what the video shows. It shows the IDF shooting up into the sky, far above the heads of those in the vast crowd, what are obviously meant as warning shots to those approaching the IDF vehicles, telling them to stay away.

People do duck when they hear the gunshots, but there is no indication of anyone shot or injured.

The AJ video doesn’t refute the IDF account that they first fired warning shots at a crowd that approached them away from the convoy. It confirms it.

But the NYT also has “witnesses.

Around 100 people with gunshot wounds were brought to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza City, according to its director, Husam Abu Safiya. The hospital had also received 12 bodies, he said. Another witness at the hospital, Hussam Shabat, 22, a journalist, said all the casualties he had seen had bullet wounds, including to the chest, jaw and shoulder.

Are Husam Abu Safiya and Hussam Shabat credible witnesses, as the New York Times seems to think? The paper’s editors apparently did no checking on the background of either “witness.”

Husam Abu Safiya has been interviewed numerous times during the war, consistently attacking Israel. In December he told Al Jazeera that the IDF placed weapons in the hospital, photographed them, and then arrested innocent people. He told other outlets that “The occupation shoots anyone who passes in the streets or looks through the windows.” 

Do you believe that the IDF plants weapons in the hospital where Abu Safiya works, photographs them, and arrests people whom it claims are Hamas operatives who have used the hospital as their base? Has Israel ever done such a thing? Are the wicked Israelis simply trying to fabricate a reason for shutting down hospitals in Gaza, so that more innocent civilians will die? And that’s not the only absurd tale from Husam abu Safiya. He depicts IDF soldiers as mad dog killers, shooting to kill “anyone who passes in the streets or looks through the windows.” Then why do these killers spend so much effort warning civilians in Gaza to leave areas, or buildings, that the IDF is about to target? Why would they drop 14 million leaflets, send millions of messages on the Internet, and make 72,000 phone calls, to warn Gazans to stay away? Doesn’t Husam Abu Safiya strike you not just as unreliable, but as an outright liar, when it comes to his accusations about IDF soldiers “planting weapons” in hospitals and in shooting anything that moves?

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