US Senate unanimously backs Jerusalem on Gaza

[JEDIYoda]

Good for the United States!!
Israel does have a right to defend herself......


https://search.yahoo.com/search;_yl...+&toggle=1&cop=mss&ei=UTF-8&fr=yfp-t-901&fp=1

WASHINGTON — The US Senate unanimously approved a nonbinding resolution in support of Israel’s right to defend itself against rocket fire from the Gaza Strip.

The resolution, which had 78 bipartisan sponsors, passed late Thursday by unanimous consent, a week after it was introduced by Sens. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH).

A similar resolution, introduced by Reps. Steve Israel (D-NY) and Tom Cole (R-Okla.) and with over 140 cosponsors, passed unanimously in the US House of Representatives on July 11.

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which backed both resolutions, praised the Senate for its passage.

“Israel launched Operation Protective Edge to defend its citizens against hundreds of rockets launched from Gaza by Islamist terrorists,” AIPAC said in a statement, referring to the airstrikes launched by Israel July 8 in response to an intensification of rocket fire from Gaza.

“While Israel accepted a cease-fire plan offered by the Egyptian government, Hamas rejected it and continues to send rockets into the Jewish state,” AIPAC said.

The resolution “reaffirms its support for Israel’s right to defend its citizens and ensure the survival of the State of Israel,” “calls on Hamas to immediately cease all rocket and other attacks against Israel” and “calls on Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to dissolve the unity governing arrangement with Hamas and condemn the attacks on Israel.” Abbas had entered into unity talks with Hamas prior to the current outbreak.

Separately, six Democrats in the House wrote President Obama and US Secretary of State John Kerry urging them to bring about a cease-fire and return the parties to peace talks, which collapsed in April.

“Ground troops, air strikes, and rockets do not lead to permanent peace in the Middle East,” said the July 17 letter, first reported by Al-Monitor and signed by Reps. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), Jim Moran (D-Va.), John Conyers (D-Mich.), Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) and Barbara Lee (D-Calif.).

“The United States government, together with international partners, must redouble our efforts to urge all parties to avoid further loss of life on both sides by coming to a cease-fire.”



Read more: US Senate unanimously backs Jerusalem on Gaza op | The Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/us-senate-unanimously-backs-jerusalem-on-gaza-op/#ixzz38456FysN
Follow us: @timesofisrael on Twitter | timesofisrael on Facebook

Just as it was stated in the Bill Maher piece -- the civilians and children being killed are not so innocent and are being used by Hamas as a public relations tool......

But lets ask the bigger question -- Whose fault is it?

If it`s your father or uncle or brother who is firing those rockets into Israel, whose fault is it really?


Do you really expect the Israeli`s not to retaliate?

To understand this better we need to look at thee Hamas Charter...which even though the rook out article 10......their leaders as of 2012 had called for the destruction of Israel....
Yet even now the charter calls for the murder of Jews in general...

Hamas doesn`t care if they kill Israeli citizens...but they don`t care if Palestinian civilians die...for Hamas until recently having Palestinians die has been a huge public relations coup for Hamas!! To Hamas that is a win, win!!

It has been said that Israel is using a missile defense system to protect its citizens and Hamas is using it`s citizens to protect it`s missiles!

If Hamas had the opportunity they would kill the maximum number Israeli`s they could....
Yet Israel has the opportunity to kill way more people and they do not.....

If you are Israel you have to win every war or military engagement.....to continue to be Israel you cannot go 8 and 1.....


Then we have the fact that everybody wins when that region of the world is peaceful! At present nobody is winning....both sides will win when the region is in peace!!

The Palestinian people have made some very bad choices of their own leaders and Pre victimized by their leaders...

Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005.....it`s not occupying Gaza.
Then the Palestinians elected Hamas in 2007!

Truth be told Israel doesn`t want to be in Gaza...Israel wants to take out tunnels and missile launchers and leave Gaza...

If Hamas truly cared about the Palestinians people they would have built underground shelters for the people! Instead they built tunnels to smuggle and hide missile launchers...

 

[theeedude]

Shocked they didn't offer to toss Netanyahu's salad in that unanimous consent. Really makes me question their commitment to Israel.

 

[DesiPower]

no surprise there, its common sense...

 

[Brainonska511]

Seems like a disingenuous thread title. Unanimous consent in the senate simply means that no one present objected to the passing of the measure. It doesn't necessarily follow that every individual senators support it.

 

[JEDIYoda]

http://www.timesofisrael.com/after-...a-kerry-backs-israels-right-to-defend-itself/

After airstrikes kill dozens in Gaza, Kerry backs Israel’s right to defend itself

Army says it warned residents of Shejaiya to evacuate; US secretary says no nation ‘would sit there while rockets are bombarding it’

S Secretary of State John Kerry said Israel “has every right in the world to defend itself” against attacks by Hamas in Gaza, but the US is working diligently to get an immediate ceasefire in place.

Kerry said Israel has long endured rocket attacks by Hamas, and no nation “would sit there while rockets are bombarding it.” He said “thousands of rockets” were being fired at Israel. “People can’t live that way.”




Kerry also cited tunnels constructed by Hamas in what he said is “an obvious effort” to try to kidnap Israelis.

Kerry told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that it is “unacceptable by any standard anywhere in the world” and that Israel must protect its citizens.

In response to a question on ABC’s “This Week,” Kerry dismissed claims that Israel was committing genocide as “rhetoric that we’ve heard many, many times.”

Kerry turned his answer into an excoriation of Hamas and continued, “What they need to do is stop rocketing Israel and accept a ceasefire. It’s very, very clear that they’ve tunneled under Israel. They’ve tried to come out of those tunnels with people with handcuffs and tranquilizer drugs to capture Israeli citizens and hold them for ransom, or worse. They’ve been rocketing Israel with thousands of rockets.

“They’ve been offered a ceasefire, and they’ve refused to take the ceasefire. Even though Egypt and others have called for that ceasefire, they’ve just stubbornly invited further efforts to try to defuse the ability to be able to rocket Israel.”

Kerry, a combat veteran, said that the situation in Gaza was “ugly, obviously,” acknowledging that “war is ugly, and bad things are going to happen,” but added that “they” — not specifying whether he meant Hamas or the Palestinian Authority as a whole — “need to recognize their own responsibility.

“We have offered to have a ceasefire and then negotiate the issues. We’ve obviously shown our bona fides in the United States, and the president has put his presidency behind the effort to try to find peace in the region,” he continued. “So they need to join up and be responsible and accept a unilateral — not a unilateral, but a multilateral ceasefire without conditions, and then we pledge to discuss all the underlying issues, which we’ve been trying to do for the last year-and-a-half.”

Kerry placed responsibility for the escalation on Hamas, arguing that “when three young Israeli kids are taken and murdered, and Hamas applauds it and celebrates the fact that they were kidnapped and supported the kidnapping, and then starts rocketing Israel when they’re looking for the people who did it, that’s out of balance by any standard, George. And I think it’s important for people to remember the facts that led to this. Hamas needs to join up, be part of a solution, not the problem.”

Kerry also said he believes that President Barack Obama will want him to return to the Mideast shortly to see if a ceasefire can be put in place.

Israel’s cabinet was set to meet late Sunday to discuss the ongoing ground offensive against Hamas, with no likelihood of a ceasefire seen in the immediate future.

In interviews with US media on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had to stop the rockets and the Hamas tunnels. He said Israel needs “a sustainable ceasefire” and to work for a demilitarized Gaza. Speaking to CNN, Netanyahu said of Hamas: “They want to pile up as many dead civilians as they can… The more dead, the better.”

Netanyahu and Kerry were speaking after Israeli strikes on Gaza’s Shejaiya neighborhood killed 60 people, Palestinian medical officials in the Gaza Strip reported.

Israeli officials said Shejaiya is a Hamas stronghold, and that 150 rockets had been launched from that area in the past two weeks, Israel’s Channel 2 reported. Israeli military officials said Sunday that they had told civilians to leave the Shejaiya area days ago, ahead of the IDF military action.

 

[pcgeek11]

Hamas is getting Exactly what they have been asking for. I say good, run the whole population of the Gaza into the ocean and they will all be better off for it.

Everyone, please take notice. Passions are running high over this, and I don't wish to be heavy-handed, so I am presently just ASKING everyone not to indulge in such blood-thirsty rhetoric.

Perknose
Forum Director

 

[JEDIYoda]

Seems like a disingenuous thread title. Unanimous consent in the senate simply means that no one present objected to the passing of the measure. It doesn't necessarily follow that every individual senators support it.

Not my title....That was the title taken from the article.......
Seems to me like your trying to play word games to prove the title is disingenuous ..get over it......US Senate unanimously backs Jerusalem on Gaza !!

 

[sportage]

The US supports Israel, but during WWII the US was fairly silent on the matter of Jews.
It wasn't until Japan pissed us off that we entered the war.
I find it hard to believe many US leaders and politicians did not know exactly what was going on during WWII with the jews trapped in Germany.
So its like we have this knee jerk reaction for aways supporting Israel 100%.
But somehow i see a disconnect when you get right down to it.
I don't know if the US really supports Israel that much, or more so aligns with those that support Israel, not to risk falling on the wrong side of politically correctness.

 

[fskimospy]

Interesting title, as the US doesn't recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

 

[glenn1]

Interesting title, as the US doesn't recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

Yeah, we wouldn't want to hurt the Palestinians' feelings, else they might get angry and launch a Katyusha rocket indiscriminately.

 

[fskimospy]

Yeah, we wouldn't want to hurt the Palestinians' feelings, else they might get angry and launch a Katyusha rocket indiscriminately.

You realize there are only two countries on Earth outside of Israel that recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, right? The powerhouses of Guatemala and El Salvador. Maybe if 193 of 196 countries don't accept something there's a reason beyond being worried about making the Palestinians mad.

 

[glenn1]

You realize there are only two countries on Earth outside of Israel that recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, right? The powerhouses of Guatemala and El Salvador. Maybe if 193 of 196 countries don't accept something there's a reason beyond being worried about making the Palestinians mad.

Jerusalem is where the seat of Israeli government is and the Knesset holds sessions. Not "recognizing" it as the capital of Israel is just being obtuse, stupid, and denying reality. if 193 of 196 countries didn't recognize Berlin, London, or Paris as the capitals of their countries would you say "there's a reason" also and pretend it was Hamburg, Manchester, and Lyons instead, or just hold the position they didn't have a capital at all?

 

[werepossum]

Jerusalem is where the seat of Israeli government is and the Knesset holds sessions. Not "recognizing" it as the capital of Israel is just being obtuse, stupid, and denying reality. if 193 of 196 countries didn't recognize Berlin, London, or Paris as the capitals of their countries would you say "there's a reason" also and pretend it was Hamburg, Manchester, and Lyons instead, or just hold the position they didn't have a capital at all?

Well . . .

What if we pretended really, really hard?

 

[Newell Steamer]

Finally, we can begin putting an end to beach football soccer everywhere,..

{:*-)

 

[HOSED]

The Senate may be 100%, but apparently John (apartheid remark) Kerry may not be http://news.malaysia.msn.com/tmi/kerry-makes-open-mike-gaffe-on-israel From the article: A frustrated Kerry then says: "It's a hell of a pinpoint operation, it's a hell of a pinpoint operation," in apparent frustration over the civilian toll in the Israeli operation ..
My take, why not suspend ALL US taxpayer funded aid to the region until a solution can be reached? Once reached do not resume it for at least 5 years or until Rand Paul is president.

 

[fskimospy]

Jerusalem is where the seat of Israeli government is and the Knesset holds sessions. Not "recognizing" it as the capital of Israel is just being obtuse, stupid, and denying reality. if 193 of 196 countries didn't recognize Berlin, London, or Paris as the capitals of their countries would you say "there's a reason" also and pretend it was Hamburg, Manchester, and Lyons instead, or just hold the position they didn't have a capital at all?

I would definitely say that if 98.5% of the world's governments were of a certain position there would probably be a reason for it. In this case the reason is that Israel is trying to claim its capital is partly made of territory that is not legally theirs.

It's kind of like how if the US had declared Baghdad our new capital a lot of countries wouldn't have recognized that either, as that would have been similarly illegal. Maybe you're fine with illegal annexation of territory, but a lot of people aren't. Expecting them to change their mind about that seems awfully foolish.

 

[glenn1]

I would definitely say that if 98.5% of the world's governments were of a certain position there would probably be a reason for it. In this case the reason is that Israel is trying to claim its capital is partly made of territory that is not legally theirs.

It's kind of like how if the US had declared Baghdad our new capital a lot of countries wouldn't have recognized that either, as that would have been similarly illegal. Maybe you're fine with illegal annexation of territory, but a lot of people aren't. Expecting them to change their mind about that seems awfully foolish.

If the U.S. Congress had actually moved and began holding sessions in Baghdad, that would be the capital by definition. It doesn't really matter if 100% of the other countries held a different position, they'd just be making a political statement that ignores reality. Either Jerusalem is Israel's capital or you're saying that the Israeli government isn't legitimate and thus has no seat of government, there really are no other answers that aren't sophistry. Just because you think the truth is unpleasant doesn't mean you get to substitute your own alternative reality.

 

[fskimospy]

If the U.S. Congress had actually moved and began holding sessions in Baghdad, that would be the capital by definition. It doesn't really matter if 100% of the other countries held a different position, they'd just be making a political statement that ignores reality. Either Jerusalem is Israel's capital or you're saying that the Israeli government isn't legitimate and thus has no seat of government, there really are no other answers that aren't sophistry. Just because you think the truth is unpleasant doesn't mean you get to substitute your own alternative reality.

Actually, the capital is the official seat of government of a country. It does not necessarily have to be where actual legislative business is conducted. What is "official" of course is defined by what everyone agrees is official. For example, in Chile their legislature meets in Valparaiso, but the official capital is Santiago. Given your definition, Chile appears to be terribly confused about their capital. Should we write them a letter?

This is pretty simple. To Israel, Jerusalem is their capital. To the rest of the world, it isn't.

 

[emperus]

Color me surprised. This is akin to propaganda. I'm embarrassed at the US when I read stuff like this.

Again, I think people who hold dual citizenships shouldn't be allowed to be Congressmen.

 

[werepossum]

I would definitely say that if 98.5% of the world's governments were of a certain position there would probably be a reason for it. In this case the reason is that Israel is trying to claim its capital is partly made of territory that is not legally theirs.

It's kind of like how if the US had declared Baghdad our new capital a lot of countries wouldn't have recognized that either, as that would have been similarly illegal. Maybe you're fine with illegal annexation of territory, but a lot of people aren't. Expecting them to change their mind about that seems awfully foolish.

Jerusalem itself is not annexed territory, EAST Jerusalem is annexed territory. If memory serves, the reason Tel Aviv was originally the seat of Israeli government was the constant attacks on Jerusalem, Tel Aviv being harder to hit.

Perhaps you should go personally to all the Democrat Senators and explain to them that Israel is a rogue state and the Jews deserve everything they get. I'm sure they would come into line with 98.5% of the world's governments if they just heard it from an expert.

 

[fskimospy]

Jerusalem itself is not annexed territory, EAST Jerusalem is annexed territory. If memory serves, the reason Tel Aviv was originally the seat of Israeli government was the constant attacks on Jerusalem, Tel Aviv being harder to hit.

Perhaps you should go personally to all the Democrat Senators and explain to them that Israel is a rogue state and the Jews deserve everything they get. I'm sure they would come into line with 98.5% of the world's governments if they just heard it from an expert.

The entire US government has the wrong position on this. Why are you talking about Democrats and Republicans? Oh wait, no need to answer that, you're trying to shoehorn this into your crazed view of what progressives must think. Every issue, every time.

 

[werepossum]

The entire US government has the wrong position on this. Why are you talking about Democrats and Republicans? Oh wait, no need to answer that, you're trying to shoehorn this into your crazed view of what progressives must think. Every issue, every time.

Well, I was assuming you knew the Republicans were beyond convincing because they are, you know, Republicans. Even an expert such as yourself can't convince Republicans.

 

[glenn1]

Actually, the capital is the official seat of government of a country. It does not necessarily have to be where actual legislative business is conducted. What is "official" of course is defined by what everyone agrees is official. For example, in Chile their legislature meets in Valparaiso, but the official capital is Santiago. Given your definition, Chile appears to be terribly confused about their capital. Should we write them a letter?

This is pretty simple. To Israel, Jerusalem is their capital. To the rest of the world, it isn't.

*Shrug* whatever helps you sleep at night. By your definition then, Ramallah is the capital of Palestine.

 

[fskimospy]

Well, I was assuming you knew the Republicans were beyond convincing because they are, you know, Republicans. Even an expert such as yourself can't convince Republicans.

You're a moron.

 

[werepossum]

You're a moron.

And yet all the Senate Democrats agree with me. Hmm . . .