Open letter to ABC

The ABC shapes the debate in a way which seems offensive to large sections of the Jewish community, NOT because the ABC is anti-Israel, NOT because the ABC is pro-Arab whatever those terms mean.

The ABC shapes the debate by selectively using sources. An example from today′s news sources : Hizbulla has seriously wounded a UN worker. Are there any headlines about this? Honestly, if Israel had seriously wounded a UN worker would it be on page 3?

As I and others have argued over the years the ABC needs to widen its viewpoint. Here are Thirty eight examples from yesterday′s and today′s material on the internet, so easily accessible , which ought to be blended into your journalists′ and reporters′ background reading before they file reports.

Overseas Sleeper Hizballah Cells "Reawakened" for Attacks on Jewish, Israeli Targets

1,293 Israelis Injured in Hizballah Rocket Attacks Since War Began

U.S. Speeds Up Bomb Delivery to Israel

Report: Iranian Soldiers Killed in Lebanon

Iranian Involvement in Lebanon

Hamas Fires Katyusha Rocket Manufactured in Gaza

Iraqi Shi′ite Militia Ready to Join Fight in Lebanon

Iran′s Ahmadinejad Tells Israel to Pack Up and Go

In Iran, Aid to Hizballah Stirs Resentment

Syria - The Real Target of Arab Elites

UN Observer Seriously Wounded by Hizballah Fire

Bush Remains Opposed to Mideast Cease-Fire

U.S. Defends Israel′s Actions in Lebanon

Hizballah Lets Iran Buy Time for Nukes

Tehran Must Be Dealt With Too

With Iran on the Attack

An Opening to Disarm Hizballah

Go All the Way

Kofi Annan′s Disappointing Plan for Peace

Europe Meets Israel

Israel Considers International Force

Israel Weighs International Force on Northern Border

Israel Hastily Musters Its Citizen Army

Israel′s Reservists Shift from Civilians to Soldiers in a Day

Californians Rally for Israel

London: Thousands Rally for Israel

Rally in Atlanta Supports Israel

Two Israelis Killed in Hizballah Rocket Strikes on Haifa

Ha′aretz

IDF Ground Troops Striking Hizballah Rocket Deployment

IDF Nablus Raid Targets Fatah Terrorists Recruited by Hizballah

Shin Bet: Prepare for Mini-Lebanon in Gaza

Palestinian Rocket Fire from Gaza Continues

No Ceasefire in the War on Terror - Benjamin Netanyahu
Some 44 years ago, when Soviet missiles in neighboring Cuba threatened American cities, John F. Kennedy set one goal: Remove the missiles. Today, when Israel′s cities are pummeled by Hizballah missiles launched from neighboring Lebanon, Israel′s goal should be the same: Remove the missiles. Or destroy them.
It is not enough to push Hizballah 30 kilometers north of the border. Hizballah rockets have a range of up to 200 kilometers, and could easily be fired from Beirut. Nor is it enough to achieve a cease fire. With its missile arsenal intact, Hizballah could re-emerge triumphant a year or two from now and again menace Israel′s population. The objective of the military campaign currently being waged on Israel′s northern border, as well as any diplomatic effort to bring that campaign to an end, must be to disarm Hizballah, first and foremost from its missile arsenal. (Wall Street Journal)

An Iranian Hand Guides HizballahDennis Ross
Hizballah, until now, has branded itself as a protector of the Lebanese people, not the representative of a foreign agenda. That self-image is no longer tenable. Many Arab (and non-Arab) observers see an Iranian hand guiding Hizballah. Isn′t it interesting, they ask, that Hizballah′s attacks coincided with the deadline the EU set for Iranians to respond to its proposed nuclear deal? During my time as an American negotiator, we were constantly aware of Iranian pressure on Hamas and Islamic Jihad to initiate acts of terrorism in Israel. And that was when we had a peace process.
Hizballah and Hamas are tools in the Iranian game of self-promotion, furthering an Islamist agenda, and undoing Western influence in the area. The Syrians, for their part, seem to believe that Iran is on a roll, and better to be playing along with it than with others, and they clearly see little price for doing so. (New Republic)

Casus Belli - Moshe Yaalon (New Republic)

• For years, we were told that the "root cause" of the Middle East′s problems was the Israeli occupation of Arab lands, and that peace would come, according to this view, only when Israel finally retreated to its 1967 borders. The "root cause" theory has never looked quite so naive and simplistic as it does this week. The present crisis was initiated - in Gaza by Hamas and in southern Lebanon by Hizballah - from lands that are not under Israeli occupation.
• Perhaps, then, the conflict is the result of different "root causes": namely, Iran, Syria, and the radical Islamists they sponsor. Only when these states and their terrorist proxies are defeated will the Middle East finally know peace.
• The radical Shia regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wants to establish hegemony over the Muslim world, to severely curtail American power, and, ultimately, to provoke the return of the Hidden Imam and thereby usher in a Muslim messianic age. To achieve these goals, Iran is willing to support just about any terrorist organization that will confront the West.
• Targeting Israel signals Iranian strength to the Muslim populations worldwide that the mullahs hope to lead. Iran also sees the destruction of Israel as a means of neutering - or even as a prelude to destroying - the United States. Ahmadinejad himself has referred to "a world without America."
• Ahmadinejad and his allies have good reasons to think their plan is working. Islamists take credit for pushing the U.S. out of Lebanon in 1984, the Soviets out of Afghanistan in 1989, the Israelis out of Lebanon in 2000, the Spanish out of Iraq in 2004, and the Israelis out of Gaza in 2005.
• Iranian influence in the Palestinian territories has been on the rise lately, but, with Iranian proxies evicted from Lebanon, it will become more difficult for the mullahs to aid Palestinian terrorists. In addition, Hamas will see that the international community is resolute in its determination to punish terrorist activity.
• The question of where Israel ends up setting its permanent borders can no longer be seen as the underlying cause of regional mayhem. That distinction belongs to Syria, Iran, and their radical Islamist proxies. Hemming their power is the best chance Israel and the West have of preventing further bloodshed - and of cutting off terrorism at its real roots.

  The writer, a distinguished military fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces from 2002 to 2005.

Bush: Confront Hizballah and the Nations that Support It
President Bush said Saturday: "In 2004, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1559, which recognizes the sovereignty of Lebanon, calls for all foreign forces to withdraw from Lebanon, and calls for the disbanding and disarmament of all militias. Hizballah defied the world′s just demands by maintaining armed units in the southern region of Lebanon and attacking Israel in defiance of the democratically elected Lebanese government."
"I′ve directed Secretary of State Rice to travel to the Middle East.... Secretary Rice will make it clear that resolving the crisis demands confronting the terrorist group that launched the attacks and the nations that support it. For many years, Syria has been a primary sponsor of Hizballah and it has helped provide Hizballah with shipments of Iranian-made weapons. Iran′s regime has also repeatedly defied the international community with its ambition for nuclear weapons and aid to terrorist groups."(White House)

Diaspora Solidarity Missions in Israel - Hilary Leila Krieger
American Jews seem to be more united in their backing for Israel than at any time since the Six-Day War, Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said Sunday in Jerusalem at the start of a three-day solidarity tour. The Conference of Presidents brought 50 people, including conference chairman Harold Tanner, on one of several missions of international Jewish leadership coming to bolster Israel while it′s under attack from Hizballah.
Hoenlein announced an initiative to help sustain the tourism sector in the north. The "virtual tourism" plan encourages foreigners to pay for nights in hotels and bed and breakfasts throughout northern Israel. Instead of reserving specific dates, however, customers receive a voucher which they will be able to use any time in the next year. (Jerusalem Post)