Yesterday morning an Israeli Arab was released from prison and received a hero's welcome in the town of Baqa Al Gharbia near Hadera About thirty years ago our hero murdered a young Israeli soldier, Moshe Tamam After Shimon Peres left politics without ever attaining his dream accomplishment - being voted prime minister - he decided that president of Israel was a good second prize one needs a majority of Knesset members' votes Arab MKs have the right to vote and influence the nature and direction of the Jewish state Many Jews think this makes sense and is the apex of morality -in fact an example of Jewish morality Arab MKs have determined the path of the Jewish state at some of its most vital junctures The Oslo Accords and the expulsions of Gush Katif and Shomron residents were decided with Arab MK votes The same votes decide who will be Israel's president Aware that his ambition depended on Arab MKs Peres did what was necessary and invoking humanitarianism promised to reduce the sentences of Arab terrorists if elected president He was elected and promptly kept his side of the bargain The Israel/Jew hating murderer from the Israeli town of Baqa can thank Shimon Peres for his freedom and hero status The family of the murdered Jewish soldier are reliving their nightmare and protesting The Arab murderer's family are celebrating the majority of its Jewish politicians openly court Arab parties for their political support and consent to govern the Jewish state This was considered outside the pale by Ben Gurion and the vast majority of Israel's Jewish population. A few still believe that if this last barrier is broken there is no longer a moral argument to be made for a Jewish state The National Religious party (six seats) led by Bezalel Smotrich and the much-villified Otzma Yehudit of Itamar Ben Gvir are among these few Because they refuse to "change with the times" and accept the popular sell out to the anti-Israel Arab MKs These are indeed fascinating and critical times for the still Jewish state I am convinced that there is a happy ending to this drama God did not perform so many miracles for His people for nothing Shalom Pollack is a veteran tour guide, who says: "I have the oppportunity to observe many sides of our beloved country. As a Jew who has come home, I am passionate about sharing my observations and thoughts." He can be reached [email protected] '#' : location.hash;window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery = location.search === '' && location.href.slice(0 location.href.length - window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash.length).indexOf('?') !== -1 '?' : location.search;if (window.history && window.history.replaceState) {var ogU = location.pathname + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUQuery + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash;history.replaceState(null "\/liveblog_entry\/iran-claims-90-of-its-missiles-hit-their-targets-in-israel\/?__cf_chl_rt_tk=rvgdOWDehNc48YoY6Z_u6xyMr8Gy3eVzFQ_58SCVYKE-1746533265-1.0.1.1-MlxctATPvDMUvpqixkZ0xpPUjsW7iHdnQy6ogQcKBt0" + window._cf_chl_opt.cOgUHash);cpo.onload = function() {history.replaceState(null ogU);}}document.getElementsByTagName('head')[0].appendChild(cpo);}()); Robert Azzi is a photographer and writer who lives in Exeter His columns are archived at robertazzitheother.substack.com Tuesday was the last day of Ramadan fasting believers began calling or sending ‘Eid Mubarak’ greetings to each other I received greetings throughout the day as Kuala Lumpur to Exeter — unfolded and embraced its nearly two billion adherents in thankfulness and joy Eid al-Fitr, a three-day holiday, started in earnest with communal prayers on Wednesday, many outdoors to accommodate the number of families who gathered. Families got together for festivities, visited with relatives and friends and shared large meals with traditional foods — among my favorites are muhammara and molokhia Many people wore new clothes and bought presents for children or gave them cash gifts Eid al Fitr is also known as ‘sweet’ Eid and many worshipers ate something sweet before the communal prayers, such as dates or my cookie of choice, ma’amoul There was nothing sweet about Eid al Fitr in Gaza this year clearly witnessed by a civilized word as genocide and enforced starvation and famine has been imposed for months by the occupying power where the average caloric intake imposed upon its residents enforced by troops bearing American-supplied arms less than 12% of the average daily caloric needs of a healthy adult — fewer calories than in a small handful of M&M-coated peanuts If they were lucky Tuesday Gazans weren’t bombed as they prayed communally If they were lucky they might even have found a mosque with its qibla still intact to direct their prayers toward Mecca If they were lucky they might have found some food — or M&Ms If they were really lucky they might have located some surviving relatives with whom to share blessings and commiserations There was certainly no luck in Gaza last Easter Monday a day some in the Christian tradition refer to as the “Monday of the Angel” to honor the angel who appeared in the empty tomb and told Mary that Jesus wasn’t there because he had “risen,” when Israel assassinated seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen (WCK) who were in Gaza to try to provide aid to needy and hungry Palestinians No angel was present to guide their convoy of three vehicles to safety In response to the murders of his colleagues accused Israel of targeting his aid workers “systematically car by car” during strikes that left seven dead on the Monday of the Angel 7 to satisfy Israel’s seemingly unquenchable thirst for vengeance “This it seems is a war against humanity itself,” Andrés said as world leaders expressed outrage and dismay Because humanity eventually will always prevail.” said that Israel had not done enough to protect civilians and noted that the [WCK] deaths were not a “stand-alone incident.” He said the conflict “has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed.” What about outrage over how many Palestinians have been killed What about outrage over starvation and famine What about outrage over the unknown thousands of Palestinians buried under Gazan rubble caused by American bombs The swell of outrage after the targeted assassinations of six white people — Polish a Palestinian) — was too much even for those white people complicit with Israeli war crimes Shocked to find that assassinations are going on here Shocked that six white people were murdered in a convoy one car after another (and incidentally including a Palestinian driver/translator) trying to provide humanitarian aid to non-white peoples for many of Israel’s benefactors and supporters to be shocked by the over 33,000 deaths (including over 15,000 children) already documented with thousands more unaccounted for — Palestinians either missing or perhaps even bulldozed amidst rubble by occupation troops white people to be martyred in order to recognize the humanity of the Palestinian people and today I mourn how untouched far too many people are who still fail to recognize the humanity of people unlike themselves There is little sweet for Muslims this year Wednesday I read that an olive-skinned Palestinian a novelist and children’s book author and one of Israel’s most prominent political prisoners He had completed a 37-year prison sentence a year ago but Israel refused to release him even though it was believed that he had suffered from medical negligence and was in desperate need of medical attention As he approached death both his wife and daughter were denied permission to visit him Amnesty International noted that attempts to have him released on health grounds were blocked by Israeli courts which argued that his illness “wasn’t serious enough.” “It is heart-wrenching that Walid Daqqa has died in Israeli custody despite the many calls for his urgent release on humanitarian grounds following,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas Israeli forces attacked mourners visiting the family home in the city of Baqa al-Gharbiya The forces removed a funeral tent set up outside the family’s home in order to allow people to offer their condolences and arrested five people His body has yet to be released to his family “This it seems is a war against humanity itself.” you agree with our use of cookies to personalize your experience measure ads and monitor how our site works to improve it for our users The 21-year-old student is buried in her home of Baka al-Gharbiyye The funeral of international student Aiia Maasarwe, who was murdered in Melbourne last week Maasarwe, a Palestinian citizen of Israel who was studying in Melbourne, was killed after getting off a tram near La Trobe University at Bundoora. The 21-year-old was buried in her hometown of Baka al-Gharbiyye, an hour north of Tel Aviv. Read moreAfter arriving from Australia her coffin was transported to the local mosque A billboard showing murdered student Aiia Maasarwe along the street leading to the mosque in her hometown Photograph: Tessa Fox/EPACars jammed the streets A sign outside the mosque read “violence is the language of filthy ones” in Arabic Maasarwe’s coffin was carried out by close family members draped in silver cloth and lowered into the ground just after 11am local time had boarded a flight out of Melbourne on Tuesday a small vigil was held near where she was murdered with plans to plant a memorial tree and unveil a plaque at the site Maasarwe’s death is the second time in seven months that a young woman has been killed on her way home at night in Melbourne “If anybody feels unsafe, they are more than welcome to stay inside until they are at ease and feel comfortable in going back out,” Newlands Pizza said in a Facebook post that has been shared over 1,000 times. The store’s owner, Faouzi Daghistani, says he came up with the idea following Maasarwe’s murder. “After all the news came out last Friday, a lady came in here. She sat in here for about 90 minutes. I just got the sense something was not quite right. She kept looking outside. “I realised maybe there was a situation happening that she didn’t want to talk about. She was afraid. She wanted somewhere safe to go into. “That’s the reason I decided to put the post up, to let people in this area know if you are feel unsafe, if you feel insecure or there is danger out there feel free to come inside and let us know about it.” Codey Herrmann, 20, has been charged with Maasarwe’s rape and murder. a week after she was murdered in Melbourne.The body of international student Aya Maasarwe has been buried during a funeral service in Israel. The service took place in her home town of Baqu al Gharbiyye a Palestinian city one hour north of Tel Aviv where her family and community members paid their last respects.Mourners attend the funeral of Aya Maasarwe at her hometown of Baqa al-Gharbiya where prayers were held for her.Cars jammed the streets many displaying black flags in mourning for Ms Maasarwe whose family has requested for her to be referred to as Aya instead of Aiia to reflect her Palestinian heritage.After prayers Maasarwe's coffin was carried out by close family members draped in silver cloth and lowered into the ground just after 11am local time (8pm AEDT).It is a very tragedy for all the family because we never thought or accept think about this thing will happen to Aya," her uncle our heart is broken."Mourners also gathered along the sandstone walls of Ms Maasarwe's old school in Baqa Al-Gharbiyye as relatives and neighbours filed into her family's home to offer condolences.Share2 min readPublished 24 January 2019 10:36am Available in other languagesShare this with family and friends