Joel Leyden reflects on international public relations, public affairs, Internet marketing, search engine optimization SEO, crisis communications, social networking - Web 2.0 and the State of Israel.
Leyden Communications Assists Israel PR On UN Goldstone Report
By Herb Brandon Israel News Agency
Tel Aviv ---- October 30, 2009 ..... The Leyden Communications Group, an international crisis communications, reputation management and Internet PR SEO firm based in Tel Aviv, Israel has volunteered its professional media consultancy services to the Israel government.
With the UN General Assembly set to debate the UN Goldstone Report on the Israel Gaza War next week, Leyden is credited with having created several Internet Websites including the UNGoldstoneReport.com and several Facebook, Google and Yahoo groups including UN Goldstone Report Encourages Terrorism Against Democracies - which discredits the Goldstone report's biased findings and provides accurate and objective facts of the Gaza war.
Israel President Shimon Peres responded to the UN Goldstone Report saying that it "makes a mockery of history." That the UN Goldstone Israel Gaza War Crimes Report "does not distinguish between the aggressor and the defender."
Respected Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz states: "The report gives de facto legitimacy to terrorist initiatives and ignores the obligation and right of every country to defend itself, as the UN itself had clearly stated."
"The effect, if not the intent, of the UN Goldstone report will be to keep Israel troops in the West Bank longer."
"This UN report not only takes away the right to self-defense from democracies, it gives this self-defense to the terrorists," says Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.
"It's time that we started to speak out in Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube on the severe lack of human rights, political and social justice in the Arab Islamic world."
"By voting for the Goldstone Israel Gaza War Crimes Report to be moved onto the UN in New York, those members of the United Nations who voted for this resolution will have blood on their hands as this resolution directly and clearly encourages "resistance" or terrorism against democratic states," says Leyden.
"There are very few international PR firms which have integrated classic PR and branding into Web 2.0 and social networking," says Leyden. "We have created information Websites and pushed them out through Google News, Google Adwords, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in the most powerful manner. As a result I am now getting an increase in death threats coming from Islamic terror groups, which means that we are doing something right"
Leyden, who co-created Israel's first commercial Website in 1995 – NetKing , the first online news organization - Israel News Agency - and the Yitzhak Rabin Condolence site in 1995, created the largest global support group on the Internet for Israel during the Gaza war entitled: I Support the Israel Defense Forces In Preventing Terror Attacks From Gaza, gathering over 100,000 members.
"My advice to the general public which wishes to support Israel is to go on the offensive," says Leyden.
"It's time that we started to speak out in Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube on the severe lack of human rights, political and social justice in the Arab Islamic world. The lack of freedom, so-called free elections which were hijacked in Iran, 9/11, the terror bombings in London, Turkey, Egypt, Bali and Paris, discrimination against women, high unemployment, poverty, honor killings and nuclear weapons aimed at Europe and US bases. Arab leaders whose families have become rich from oil but deprive their own people and have been using Israel as a false rallying point to cover up for their own domestic problems. The democratic and free world will not longer accept this position."
Google is launching social search, a new feature which will allow users to include information from other social networks including Twitter.
By Emma Barnett, Technology and Digital Media Correspondent in San Francisco, reporting from Web 2.0 conference Published: 8:35AM BST 22 Oct 2009
Google has announced it has also signed a search deal with TwitterPhoto: GETTY IMAGES
In a surprise announcement made by Marissa Mayer, Google’s vice-president of search products and user experience, at the Web 2.0 conference in San Francisco, Google said it would launch the new initiative as an experiment in Google Labs in “the next few weeks.”
In order to use social search, users need to be logged into a Google profile. Google will then suggest connections to those listed as friends on users' publicly available social network profile information and by crawling your Gmail contacts, if they have a Gmail account.
Once these details have been tracked for the first time, search results from social networks will always appear at the bottom of the page with a note of which network the information has been pulled from.
Ms Mayer used the example of searching for New Zealand on Google. If users have recently visited New Zealand and written anything about it on a social network or a blog, social search will pull in these results at the bottom of the page.
Google has also built social search into its image search. When searching for a celebrity, for example, George Clooney, the new opt-in feature will also bring up photos of real friends also called George, at the bottom of the image results page.
However, this tool is only likely to work with social networks and websites, where the data is open – so it is unlikely to be able to crawl Facebook, as the majority of information is closed behind privacy settings.
“This is great from a precision and relevance standpoint,” said Ms Mayer. “Social search recognises a fundamental need for real-time information and demonstrates Google's commitment to innovating in search.”
Google has announced it has also signed a search deal with Twitter on the same day Microsoft’s Bing declared its partnership with the microblogging service.
Google retaliated, announcing a very similar sounding deal via its blog. The post said: “Given this new type of information and its value to search, we are very excited to announce that we have reached an agreement with Twitter to include their updates in our search results.
“We believe that our search results and user experience will greatly benefit from the inclusion of this up-to-the-minute data, and we look forward to having a product that showcases how tweets can make search better in the coming months. That way, the next time you search for something that can be aided by a real-time observation, say, snow conditions at your favourite ski resort, you’ll find tweets from other users who are there and sharing the latest and greatest information.”
SEO is a term widely used in Internet marketing. It is quite useful for any site to increase traffic, sales and services. So, it is important for any site to achieve its optimum results.
SEO is the process of increasing the volume and traffic to a web site from various search engines by organically search results for targeted keywords. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results or the higher it “ranks”, the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
Now, What is SEX?
I think there is no need of the explanation for this term because it is the most searched term on the Internet. Everyone knows about sex and its importance for stability, sensation and satisfaction in life. So, it is called a basic need. In the same way as SEO is critical for your site.
Why SEO and SEX is important?
SEO is important for the instant growth of your business. If you are not ranking well in the Search Engines then it can help you in various ways.
It will enhance your site traffic.
Traffic will increase your sales and services as you penetrate the market. If you rank well, you may establish a brand name in the market.
SEX is a sensation which is most important for a healthy, happy and peaceful life. A greater satisfaction may increase your thinking and coolness in life. If you enjoy healthy sex on a daily basis then it can enhance many other aspects of your life.
For ultimate satisfaction, a healthy sex life is important. In the same manner with SEO you will secure more organic traffic then the greater will be your satisfaction.
The more natural and open as your involvement in sex, the more powerful the sensation, in the same perspective as when you get a boom in business naturally then good results may fill you with sensation.
There are various similarities between the SEO and SEX.
But there are some differences which makes SEO better than SEX. Well friends I am going through the alphabetical approach to describe how SEO and SEX is similar and dissimilar.
Both Create Sensation:
SEO and SEX both create sensation. SEO is a sensational thing for any Website and SEX generates sensation during physical intercourse. As I stated above - SEO brings traffic to a site organically or naturally and SEX creates sensation in the orgasm and in the human body by a natural phenomenon.
Both are organic functions - although both can be paid for ;>
As traffic increases for a site it brings new customers and increases business for the company behind the site. In a similar way, as the climax during SEX increases the pleasure increases. So, traffic for a site may be simulated with the Climax in the SEX.
Expertise Needed:
In both cases an expert may generate wonderful results.
An SEO expert can manage the site for Google rankings well in the SERPs and secure increased traffic to the site. It is the tactics based on extensive knowledge and practice of the SEO expert by which he/she can have site ranked high in a very short time for targeted traffic. Working quicker than Viagra!
In a similar way, an expert in SEX can generate more pleasure than a new member. He/she may know about the right sexual positions, time and the procedure to follow which can increase the sensation in the body.
Optimization:
Here is where SEO differs from SEX because the word sex does not contain the letter “O”.
The SEO is the process of optimizing search results by using the expert knowledge of an SEO professional.
Professional SEO services will increase the optimum results day by day. But in the case of SEX a human having more sex may lessen his/her interest and stamina with time.
The X - Factor:
“X Factor” refers to the undefinable “something” that makes one thing better than other. SEO is the process of making an “O”RDINARY site into an E“X”TRA ORDINARY site so the X letter is silent in SEO in this way. So, here is the difference or X - factor which differs SEO from SEX and makes SEO better than SEX.
Well friends, SEO has an extra silent X which proves that it is better than sex.
Excessive linking in SEO and Excess of SEX:
Excessive means “exceeding a normal, usual, reasonable, or proper limit”.
Linking which means “to become connected with or as if with a
link”.
Google releases their guidelines on Link Scheme and below one can find violations of Google’s webmaster guidelines and can negatively impact your site’s ranking in search results.
Links intended to manipulate PageRank.
Links to web spammers or bad neighborhoods on the web.
Excessive reciprocal links or excessive link exchanging (”Link to me and I’ll link to you.”)
Buying or selling links that pass PageRank.
The excessive linking may harm your site search results and authority. When you link excessively the Search Engines will stop counting them when evaluating your authority.
Now in the case of SEX the result is same.
Excess SEX may be harmful to your health. Some health care providers say that excess of sexual activity can put an extra strain on your heart, especially if your heart is already weak from a heart attack or heart disease.
The Effect of No SEO and No SEX:
If a site owner has no SEO then he may loose an opportunity to increase his/her business. And the site and owner may worry about other tactics which may be expensive for him/her. And he/she may go for the paid referrals, - Google Adwords - advertisements. And he/she may loose the opportunity to get customers naturally.
In the same way in the case of No SEX the life of a human being may be random and full of dissatisfaction. SEX is a basic need so its fulfillment is necessary for a healthy and peaceful life.
The above news story was translated from an Indian site.
If you care for more information on SEO or SEX, please click here:
UN Goldstone Report Council Vote Endorses Terrorism, Israel Lacks PR
With the passing of the resolution to send the UN Goldstone Report to New York, those members who voted for this resolution will have blood on their hands.
Jerusalem, Israel ---- October 16, 2009 ..... A friend just asked: "Am I the only one who feels like crying?" My response was: "we don't have time for tears."
And so the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today endorsed the UN Goldstone Report, which will now send this flawed and biased so-called human rights report on Israel defensive war against Hamas terrorism to the UN Security Council and the International Criminal Court.
The UN resolution in Geneva on the Goldstone Report passed 25-6, with mostly developing countries in favor and the United States and five European countries opposing. Eleven Europe and African countries abstained, while England, France and three other members of the 47-nation body declined to vote.
The UN Goldstone Report effectively ignores Israel basic right of self defense. The Goldstone Report makes unsubstantiated claims about its intent and challenges Israel's democratic values and rule of law.
Israel President Shimon Peres responded to the UN Goldstone Report saying that it "makes a mockery of history." That the UN Goldstone Israel Gaza War Crimes Report "does not distinguish between the aggressor and the defender."
Respected Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz states: "The report gives de facto legitimacy to terrorist initiatives and ignores the obligation and right of every country to defend itself, as the UN itself had clearly stated."
"The effect, if not the intent, of the UN Goldstone report will be to keep Israel troops in the West Bank longer."
"This UN report not only takes away the right to self-defense from democracies, it gives this self-defense to the terrorists," says Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon.
By voting for the Goldstone Israel Gaza War Crimes Report to be moved onto the UN in New York, those members of the United Nations who voted for this resolution today will have blood on their hands as this resolution directly and clearly encourages "resistance" or terrorism against democratic states.
And these effective and truthful soundbytes will be repeated over and over again.
But in Israel, we must ask ourselves one and only one question, who is to blame for the outcome of today's vote in Geneva?
It would be easy to point our fingers at the Arab states, Iran, Syria, Islamic terror groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, al-Qaeda and Hezbollah. To those Europe nations who bow down to Arab oil. And to place responsibility with South Africa Judge Richard Goldstone for being naive, for being used as a wooden puppet by those who seek to destroy Israel, those who seek to destroy any chance of real peace with the Palestinians.
And to say that it is a numbers game, would also be correct. There are more Muslims, more Arabs than there are Jews and Israelis.
But if we are to believe in our own rhetoric that the UN Goldstone Report was based on politics rather than human rights, then we must also address Israel's failure to address the politics with the most potent PR and public affairs professionals and NGO's who have been placed on standby by the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs since Goldstone inked his report.
Could Israel have done more to illustrate its basic right to defend herself against Islamic terrorism? Against over 8,000 terror missiles launched by Hamas from Gaza, a place that Israel left 4 years ago in an unilateral peace move?
Yes. So what went wrong?
Without going into great detail or logistics, without mentioning names, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israel Prime Minister's Office and the IDF critically lacks the professional PR manpower.
Yes, they have the tools. They have the capability of reaching the world media and governmental leaders using some of the most sophisticated Web 2.0, social networking, viral marketing and SEO tools in a matter of minutes.
But the MFA, the IDF and the Prime Minister's Office suffer from a cultural Achilles' heel. Israel believes that if you have the right product, there is no need to market it. People will come and buy. That if we are telling the truth, that if we really are humane, people will believe us. This is where we go wrong.
Yes, we have some very professional and creative public relations and public affairs people in government. Mark Regev, Danny Seaman, David Saranga, Amir Gissin, Jonathan Peled, Ashley Perry, Ronit Ben-Dor and Lt.-Col. Avital Leibowitz to mention just a few.
But these Israel PR media professionals either lacked the manpower and or the mandate to get the job done.
So what now?
Let's place the responsibility where it rightfully belongs. Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who made one of the finest speeches in Israeli history this month at the UN and Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
Israel lacks professional, crisis communications PR but does not see nor acts on this problem which has a direct effect on Jewish and Arab life.
These two gentlemen cannot accept today's UN Goldstone Report UNHRC vote in Geneva. A few good soundbytes will not dismiss the ramifications of the International Criminal Court passing future judgment on every IDF soldier.
Netanyahu and Lieberman must hire the finest crisis communications PR professionals they can find and give and make a mandate that the Israel MFA, the IDF and the Prime Minister's Office will and must follow.
As I write this news report, the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs has senior staff in the most sensitive international PR and public affairs positions, staff of which have no professional experience whatsoever in journalism, PR, media placement, branding and Web 2.0 social networking. This flaw in our government must be addressed immediately with the same vigor that former Israel Defense Minister Amir Peretz was dealt with as he viewed war exercises with binoculars whose lense caps were still on.
Israel public relations and public affairs have a direct effect on lives on the ground. Both Jewish and Arab life. It is time that the modern master of Israel public relations, Benjamin Netanyahu, puts on his war uniform and secures the most potent media weapons he can find.
Submarines, space satellites, the Mossad and F-16's are just not enough.
Statement by Israel Amb. Leshno Yaar to UN Human Rights Council - Goldstone Report 15 Oct 2009
The political weapon proposed here today has nothing to do with human rights. And when you next wonder why this body does not receive the respect it would like, remember this moment and you will have your answer.
Statement by H.E. Aharon Leshno Yaar Permanent Mission of Israel to the United Nations, Geneva 12th Special SessionHuman Rights Council15 October 2009
Transcript:
Mr. President,Only two short weeks have gone by since we last met. In the real world, absolutely nothing has changed to justify calling all of the respected members of this body back to this hall.
Every person here knows that today's meeting is not about human rights but an abuse of the integrity and procedures of this organization to make a point to a domestic Palestinian audience.
One might think that the Human Rights Council would seek to build a modicum of credibility by holding fast to the idea that it should be the home for honorable discussions on Human Rights. It should say that such special meetings, like the one called for today, should only be called in the case of a true emergency, where the words from this hall could have a healing power. But here we are today, for another opportunity for the favorite and most infamous subject of some within this Council, Israel bashing.
There is a call to pass this on to other fora, to any place where politics, buried under the flag of human rights, can be waged against one state, against Israel.
In regards to the question of the situation in Jerusalem, as Prime Minister Netanyahu emphasized earlier this week: "Extremist elements tried to undermine quiet and peaceful life in Jerusalem. An extremist minority disseminated lies to the effect that (Israel) intend(s) to dig, or was actually digging, under the Temple Mount. … (T)his is an outright lie."
In recent weeks, as has been the custom in the 42 years that Israel has controlled the Old City of Jerusalem, access to the Holy sites of all faiths has remained unfettered. A number of provocations and inciting statements, called for violence, totally fabricated any Israeli step or intent. These violent incitements began, on 27 September, without any connection to recent events in this hall, contrary to claims made by some. Individuals gathered and threw rocks and other projectiles from the area around the mosques on the Temple Mount, and a number of locations in East Jerusalem. All of this was met by extreme restraint by Israeli police and officials. Regular contact, consultations and updates were held with officials from Egypt and Jordan in order to ensure calm.
Visits to the Holy sites by Muslim pilgrims and tourists have been taking place and will continue peacefully and in cooperation. During the recent holy month of Ramadan, over 100,000 Muslims visited the Mosques on the Temple Mount each Friday, all without incident. The Mosques remain freely accessible for Muslims, including Palestinians, without any interaction with Israeli security officials.
Internal Palestinian debates about domestic strife have somehow been fed by artificially emphasizing an extremist agenda regarding Jerusalem. And packaging this panic and hysteria here in Geneva, with a reintroduction of the Goldstone Report, also for domestic political purposes, offers a hollow victory for those that want to sow conflict in our region. The moderate forces are weakened, not aided, by these resolutions and conflicts.
Earlier this week in Jenin, Mahmud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority made just this point, saying that Hamas is using the Goldstone Report and its ramifications to fight any chance for progress in the peace process and even to cause division within the Palestinian community. Mr. Abbas said that "Hamas used the report to sabotage the reconciliation."
In that same speech, in Jenin, President Abbas, stated that during the events of Gaza last winter, [quote] "the Hamas movement hid in basements. The leaders of Hamas ran away in ambulances to Sinai and left our people to bleed."
The Goldstone Fact-finding mission devoted an entire chapter to the allegations of misuse of ambulances and, unsurprisingly, rejected concerns regarding Hamas misuse. Paragraph 485 of the report definitively determines [quote]: "(o)n the basis of the investigations it has conducted, the Mission did not find any evidence to support the allegations… that ambulances were used to transport combatants or for other military purposes".
This biased and flawed report accuses Israel of war crimes for having taken action to fight against Hamas – war criminals who openly call for our destruction, fired thousands of rockets against us and endangered their own population by hiding and fighting from within densely populated areas. Israel has given a substantive and clear explanation to anyone who was interested in listening, its criticisms with the fact-finding mission.
We explained carefully why we believed the Report was wrong both in spirit and in law.
Israel openly shared its dilemmas as a democracy fighting against terror along its border, in the most complex of situations, against terrorists who intentionally put their own people at risk.
We offered detailed explanations about our security, legal and political policies and concerns. Mistakes that were made are being investigated by Israel’s relevant authorities, as has always been the case within Israel’s democratic system. Israel’s courts remain open to all, including Palestinians and NGO’s who seek redress. Regrettably, the report saw no problems with the actions of Hamas terrorists, using mosques, homes and hospitals for military purposes, even offering explanations why such action could somehow be excusable.
We still do not understand how a report that completely ignored the concept of Israel's inherent right of self defense, Hamas' smuggling of weapons and Israel's genuine humanitarian efforts during the conflict could be seen as anything but biased and irrelevant. It was fascinating, and telling, to hear Justice Goldstone himself tell a journalist about the distinct limits of his report, saying [quote] “if this was a court of law, there would have been nothing proven.”
The supporters of the resolution have no interest in Israel's actions to limit negative effects to civilians, its domestic investigations, the workings of its legal system or the fact that there is no likelihood that this body, or any other, will truly look into allegations of Palestinian crimes. The sponsors of the resolution are not even asking for the smallest amount of introspection from the Palestinian side who are calling on the Council to "endorse" a report that stated that their own people committed war crimes.
There are members that want this Council, as well as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, to be so preoccupied that there will be no time to investigate human rights in their countries. They are among the "auspicious" group that supported the call that dragged us back here. None of those states could ever imagine any dialogue on human rights or democracy or complementarity in their countries. So they shift the discussion to Israel. Today's session has nothing to do with human rights but everything to do with Palestinian politics and abuse of the integrity of this body.
Mr. President,The resolution, as proposed, will be a reward for terror and will send a clear message to terrorists everywhere.
They will clearly hear that this new form of warfare, as used by Hamas in Gaza, will offer immunity as countries will be prevented from waging effective responses. This strategy will be repeated in other places, against other countries fighting terror.
And finally, and perhaps most sadly, action taken here today will set back hopes for peace.
Any chance for a real dialogue and better and more secure future for our region demands confidence. It would not be special sessions or abusing the agendas of esteemed international organizations, but dialogue, that would offer clear benefits and a mutual building of trust that would strengthen the position of the leaders of the Palestinian Authority. Dialogue, not threats, would also build the confidence of the Israeli public for supporting the peace process. The only beneficiaries of today's proposal would be Hamas and their allies who only seek division and conflict and an end to any hope for peace.
Mr. President, members of the Council, the political weapon proposed here today has nothing to do with human rights. Nothing. And when you next wonder why this body does not receive the respect it would like, remember this moment and you will have your answer.
UN Goldstone Report: Israel Has No Right To Defend Herself
The UN Goldstone Report states that Hamas terrorists have a right to "resist" by attacking Israeli civilian populations.
By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem, Israel ---- October 14, 2009 ..... On September 15, 2009 the United Nations News Centre declared: "the Goldstone fact-finding mission on the Gaza conflict at the start of this year has found evidence that both Israel forces and Palestinian militants committed serious war crimes and breaches of humanitarian law, which may amount to crimes against humanity."
“We came to the conclusion, on the basis of the facts we found, that there was strong evidence to establish that numerous serious violations of international law, both humanitarian law and human rights law, were committed by Israel during the military operations in Gaza,” said the head of the mission, Justice Richard Goldstone.
“The mission concluded that actions amounting to war crimes and possibly, in some respects, crimes against humanity, were committed by the Israel Defense Force (IDF),” concluded Goldstone.
The 575-page UN report, created by a four-member panel led by the South African judge Richard Goldstone, details evidence of so called war crimes committed by Israel.
The UN Human Rights Council will discuss the Goldstone report in a special session. The debate in Geneva is set for Thursday, the day after the UN Security Council in New York is scheduled to discuss the report.
Eighteen of 47 Human Rights Council member states approved a motion to hold the special session, the sixth time the council has singled out Israel in a special session in its three-year existence.
The UN Goldstone Report debate on the Israel defense against Hamas terror missile attacks is expected to last into Friday.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed his support for reopening the debate on the report in a telephone call to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
A vote on the report in the Human Rights Council was postponed until March at the request of the Palestinian representative. Abbas has said he authorized the postponement in order to gain support for a vote to send the report on to the Security Council for action, which could include charges filed with the International Court of Justice.
Israel MK Danny Danon attacked the UN Goldstone report today during a speech in Knesset and ripped up a synopsis of it."Anti-Semitism has become a swear word even within this institution MKs went to Durban in order to speak out against Israel," Danon said. "They found a loyal partner by the name of Goldstone. All 600 pages should be thrown into the garbage can of history."
The UN Goldstone Report effectively ignores Israel basic right of self defense, makes unsubstantiated claims about its intent and challenges Israel's democratic values and rule of law. At the same time the UN Goldstone Report all but ignores the deliberate strategy of the internationally recognized terror group Hamas of operating within and behind the civilian population and turning densely populated areas into an arena of battle. By turning a blind eye to such tactics it effectively rewards them.
In the words of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking at the UN: "what we are witnessing here is a double war crime by Palestinian terrorists. That Hamas fires over 8,000 missiles at Israel civilian cities and towns and does so hiding behind the Palestinian population in Gaza, using men, women and children as human shields."
The UN Goldstone Report troubled many distinguished individuals, including former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, who refused invitations to head the Mission and admitted that the UN Goldstone Report was "guided not by human rights but by politics".
"The UN Human Rights Council and the Goldstone Report are either biased or mistaken in some of their fundamental accusations against Israel," said B'Tselem human rights group director Jessica Montell.She said the council was wrong in its gravest accusations against Israel.
These include the claim that Israel intentionally targeted the civilian population rather than Hamas, and the "weak, hesitant way that the report mentions Hamas's strategy of using civilians [in combat].""There's no question that the HRC, which mandated the UN Goldstone Report, has an inappropriate, disproportionate fixation with Israel," she said. She added that the council was "a political body made up of diplomats, not human rights experts, which means that the powerful states are never going to come under scrutiny the way the powerless will. So China, Russia and the US will never have commissions of inquiry, regardless of how their crimes rank relative to Israel crimes."
The implications of the UN Goldstone Report are against what Israel is trying to achieve, which is peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians. Ths Israel Foreign Ministry has stated that any action taken on this UN report, unfortunately, is going to have a detrimental effect on the peace process, if not, indeed, striking it a mortal blow. First of all, if Israel is trying to engage with the Palestinians to achieve something, we cannot be under constant attack by the very same Palestinians. Attacks today can be implemented with grenades or bullets or with words. And sometimes words - and we know this from history - can be more dangerous than bullets.
So the Palestinians, with all due respect, cannot hold sticks in both hands. They cannot just try and dialogue with us and talk about peaceful coexistence and a two-state solution and, on the other hand, keep attacking us. Whether the attack is militarily, economically or politically, there is no difference. Today the attacks in the international arena, whether it's New York or Geneva or anywhere else, are just as bad. Everything ties together in a campaign of trying to delegitimize Israel and to push us into a corner and create more pressure. This will not work.
But there is another implication here, which is, how this government of Israel or how any future government of Israel can have any flexibility in the future to make concessions to the Palestinians and take further risks. Israel has been taking enormous risks in the pullout of Gaza, in what's actually happening in the West Bank, where we removed more than two-thirds of the checkpoints and roadblocks and in trying to really push the Palestinian economy forward. And if, with all these risks, there is no reciprocity from the Palestinian side, but further attacks, I don't think there will be any basis here for continuing any dialogue with the Palestinians.
And this is something which is very, very important to realize because what we are trying to engage in with the Palestinians is difficult enough, complex enough, emotionally-laden enough, problematic enough, to add a real blow to any basis of trust that we are trying to build with the Palestinians. And without any trust, whether it's on the political level or the operational level, it is also very important to note that in order to create a Palestinian state, which I would say now most Israelis believe in, you need to have not only the trust of the leaders and the trust of the public, but also cooperation between the professionals, whether military or otherwise, on both sides.
This, now, is nonexistent. Certainly the Palestinians, people in the Palestinian Authority, members of Fatah, who are the ones who are actually pushing us to do away with Hamas, are now trying to push us and take us into these international courts and everything that come along with that. This is something which has global effect, especially where the international community, at this point, is engaged in a very bitter struggle against extremists, against fanatics, whether it's in Afghanistan, whether it's in Kashmir, whether it's in Iraq or any other place around the globe. So this is something which concerns each and every country, certainly all democracies, certainly all decent countries with the rule of law.
The UN Goldstone Report all but ignores the deliberate terrorist strategy of operating in the heart of densely populated civilian areas which dictated the arena of battle. Even when the Hamas terrorists mixed among civilians, the Report rejects the notion that there was an intention to put the civilian population at risk.
The UN Goldstone Report also ignores Israel's extensive efforts, even in the midst of fighting, to maintain humanitarian standards. While it does, reluctantly, acknowledge Israel's "significant efforts" to issue warnings before attacks, it does not find any of these efforts to be effective While the UN Goldstone Report passes judgment against Israel in respect of almost any allegation, it seeks to absolve the Hamas of almost any wrongdoing.
The word "terrorist" is almost entirely absent. IDF Soldier Gilad Shalit, now held incommunicado in captivity for over three years, was "captured during an enemy incursion" and the Hamas members that the Mission met with in Gaza are thanked as the "Gaza authorities" for extending their full cooperation and support to the Mission.
Even the thousands of terror rocket attacks against Israelis which necessitated the Gaza Operation are given the most cursory treatment, and indeed the Report indirectly blames Israel even for these by terming them "'reprisals".
"The Goldstone committee is a committee that was set up to find Israel guilty of crimes that were determined in advanced, and the committee's members did not let the facts confuse them," said Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in his comments in response to the harsh UN report investigation the events of Israel Defense Forces Operation Cast Lead.
Lieberman said the committee's conclusions were predetermined, and he accused its members of serving the purposes of utilitarian countries. "The whole purpose of the report, from the moment the decision was made to write it, was to destroy Israel's image, in service of countries where the terms 'human rights' and 'combat ethics' do not even appear in their dictionaries," the foreign minister alleged.
Lieberman went on to say, "I can say wholeheartedly, as can any man that examines the matter in an objective manner, that the IDF is the most moral army in the world, and it is forced to deal with the most vile terrorists, who set for themselves the goal of killing women and children, and hide behind women and children."
Israel President Shimon Peres responded to the UN Goldstone Report saying that it "makes a mockery of history" and that "it does not distinguish between the aggressor and the defender." "War is crime and the attacker is the criminal. The defender has no choice. The Hamas terror organization is the one who started the war and also carried out other awful crimes. Hamas has used terrorism for years against Israeli children," said Peres."The report gives de facto legitimacy to terrorist initiatives and ignores the obligation and right of every country to defend itself, as the UN itself had clearly stated."
"The effect, if not the intent, of the Goldstone report will be to keep Israel troops in the West Bank longer," says Harvard Law School Professor Alan Dershowitz.
"President Obama was right when he said that "the first job of any nation is to protect its citizens." The UN Goldstone report has made it virtually impossible for the Israel army to protect its citizens against rocket attacks from territory that is no longer militarily occupied. It encourages Israel's enemies to provoke Israeli self-defense measures, which they know will produce condemnation of the Jewish state.
This is a great tragedy, for Israelis, for Palestinians and for all who favor a two-state solution and an end to the occupation."
Israel Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke today with a number of European officials ahead of a UN debate on the Goldstone Report. Barak spoke to the foreign ministers of France, Spain and the UK and called on them to ignore the Goldstone report because it is "twisted, fraudulent, and tendentious, and encourages terror".
While the Goldstone Report is being debated in Geneva tomorrow, the Israel government will focus on the explosion that occurred at a Hezbollah member's house in Tyre, Lebanon this week illustrating Hezbollah's violation of UN Resolution 1701 that ended the Second Lebanon War.
Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon placed the UN Goldstone Report in clear perspective. "This report not only takes away the right to self-defense from democracies, it gives this self-defense to the terrorists," said Ayalon.
"Because, as we speak, Hamas in Gaza is getting more ammunition and more equipment, making more terrorism plans and more fortifications, and is waiting to see the results in Geneva or in New York. And that could easily give Hamas and organizations like Hamas, whether it's Islamic Jihad or Al-Qaida or any other terror organizations, the tools to really continue hitting civilian targets and democracies with impunity basically, or without any recourse."
יחסי ציבור בינלאומיים / שיווק באינטרנט / ייעוץ לקידום אתרים (SEO) של מסחר אלקטרוני
האם הלקוחות הפוטנציאליים שלך יכולים למצוא אותך במנועי החיפוש?
חברת ליידן תקשורת היא בעלת נסיון של יותר מ-25 שנים בשיווק בין-לאומי והיא חברת ה-SEO (קידום אתרים) המובילה בישראל בתחום השיווק באינטרנט, קידום אתרים במנועי חיפוש ושירותי ייעוץ לעסקים אלקטרוניים.
חברת ליידן עובדת עם מודעות המילים של גוגל (Adwords) בהצבה של מילות מפתח של גוגל למטרות של SEO (קידום אתרים) בישראל וברחבי העולם. העובדים והמנהלים במשרד ה-SEO (קידום אתרים) של ליידן הם אנגלוסקסים שאנגלית היא שפת אמם ותרבותם , תכונה שהיא קריטית במסעות שיווק באינטרנט SEO (קידום אתרים) בישראל וברחבי העולם.
קידום אתרים במנוע חיפוש - SEO
(קידום אתרים) הוא ראשי תיבות שפירושם אופטימיזציה עבור מנועי חיפוש . זהו תהליך שבו כמות המבקרים באתר האינטרנט הולך וגדל באמצעות דירוג גובה יותר של האתר בתוצאות של מנועי החיפוש. ככל שאתר מדורג גבוה יותר בתוצאות החיפוש כך גדל הסיכוי שגולשים יבקרו באתר. גולשים באינטרנט אינם נוהגים לעבור מדף תוצאות אחד לשני ומשום כך הדירוג של האתר בתוצאות החיפוש הוא קריטי על מנת להפנות אליו תנועת גולשים גדולה יותר. השימוש ב - SEO (קידום אתרים) תורם לכך שהאתר יהיה זמין ונגיש למנוע החיפוש, והוא משפר את הסיכויים שמנוע החיפוש ימצא את האתר. היחסים בין מומחה שיווק באינטרנט באמצעות SEO (קידום אתרים) וחברת גוגל הם מיוחדים מאד. מומחה SEO (קידום אתרים) לומד, לאחר שנים של נסיון, כיצד גוגל ומנועי חיפוש אחרים משתמשים במילות מפתח , קישורים ותכנות כדי להביא אל הגולש את תוצאות החיפוש הכי רלוונטיות עבורו.
גוגל איננה מתירה הצפה (spamming) ואמצעים לא-אתיים אחרים כדי להשיג דירוג גבוה של מילות מפתח. אם אתה עובד כמומחה שיווק באינטרנט באמצעות SEO (קידום אתרים) כדאי שתקרא את קוד ההתנהגות של גוגל בקישור הזה.
חברת ליידן היא החברה המובילה בישראל בתחום השיווק באינטרנט באמצעות SEO (קידום אתרים).
שיווק באינטרנט
כיצד להשיג תנועה רבה יותר באתר הישראלי שלך באמצעות שיטות שונות של שיווק באינטרנט, כולל פרסום בחינם ובתשלום.
תוכנת קידום אתרים
תוכנה ומוצרים נוספים באינטרנט יכולים להפוך רבים ממשימות השיווק באינטרנט לאוטומאטיים.
שיווק באמצעות הדואר האלקטרוני
הדואר האלקטרוני הוא אחד מהאמצעים היעילים ביותר לקידום אתרים, אך גם זה הסובל מחוסר ההבנה הרב ביותר. למד להשתמש בדוא"ל ככלי רב- עוצמה לשיווק באינטרנט.
קידום אתרים באינטרנט באמצעות SEO (קידום אתרים)
דרכים יעילות להשיג דירוג גבוה במנועי החיפוש במחירים נמוכים.
טיפים לקידום אתרים
ייעוץ מקצועי כיצד לנצח את היריבים שלך ועצות "עשה" ו "אל תעשה" נוספות בנוגע לקידום אתר האינטרנט הישראלי שלך.
הבטחות , הבטחות - המיתוס הגדול של הגשת אתרים למנועי החיפוש
אתם מכירים את המיתוס, נכון? זה שאומר "השתמשו בשירותי ה-SEO (קידום אתרים) שלנו על מנת להגיש את האתר שלכם למנועי החיפוש, והגולשים מיד יגיעו בהמוניהם!"
אך מה הן העובדות כשמדברים על הגשה למנועי
חיפוש?
SEO (קידום אתרים) באמצעות הגשה למנועי החיפוש היא דרך נהדרת להגדיל את תנועת הגולשים באתר שלך אבל רק אם אתה מצליח לדרג את האתר שלך בין עשרת הראשונים. היו לנו אתרים שנכללו בעשרת הראשונים שהצליחו להגיע לאלפי מבקרים ביום. לעומת זאת, היו לנו אתרים מחוץ לעשירייה הראשונה שהצליחו לקבל רק מאה מבקרים ואפילו פחות מכך ליום. וברוב המקרים - פחות מכך.
אז איך משיגים דירוג בעשירייה הראשונה?
זה לא קל, אחרת לא הייתם קוראים את המסמך הזה. כמעט כל כלי להגשת אתרים למנועי החיפוש הנמכר היום יגיש את האתר שלך למנועי החיפוש (חלקם יגישו אותו לאלפי מנועים) אך שנינו יודעים שהגשה לבדה אין בה כדי להבטיח דירוג גבוה.
עליך לבקש יותר משריות הגשת אתרים SEO (קידום אתרים) מקצועי !
רוב הכלים להגשת אתרים וקישורים עושים רק את זה - מגישים. חברת ליידן מציעה לך הרבה, הרבה יותר מזה. אתה יודע שזה לא מספיק רק להגיש את האתר ולקוות שיהיה לך דירוג גבוה. שירות השיווק באינטרנט והגשה למנועי החיפוש שלנו מציע מערך שלם של נסיון וכלים שכולם חיוניים להשגת דירוג גבוה. לא תמצא את השירותים הללו במסגרת השירותים הניתנים ע"י מעצבי ובוני אתרים בישראל. אנחנו דוברים את השפה הבין-לאומית של האינטרנט, של מסחר ועסקים אלקטרוניים - אנגלית. והיכולת שלנו לשלב בקפדנות את האנגלית השיווקית שלנו במנועי החיפוש היא שהופכת את עבודת השיווק באינטרנט שלנו לכל כך חזקה. המומחים היחידים למנועי חיפוש עם אחריות אמיתית בישראל!
מה אם אני אומר ששירותי השיווק באינטרנט SEO (קידום אתרים) שלנו מבטיחים דירוג בעשירייה הראשונה בתוצאות של מנועי החיפוש - או שאתם לא משלמים? מה אם אני אוסיף ואומר שבשונה מכל שירות דומה בשוק הישראלי, לנו יש צוות תמיכה שלם העומד לרשותך לאורך כל התהליך במטרה להבטיח שהאתר שלך נכנס למנועי החיפוש - ומהר?
דע את העובדות אודות הגשת אתרים למנועי
החיפוש!
בכל מקרה, ייקח לך זמן מה עד שתגיע לדירוג בעשירייה הראשונה, אולי חודשיים- שלושה (בגלל שכל כך הרבה אנשים מגישים את האתרים שלהם מדי יום, לוקח למנועי החיפוש בין 4-8 שבועות לקטלג אתר). בידיעה שזו המציאות, האין זה מוזר שרוב כלי ההגשה מציעים החזר כספי לאחר 30 יום? הרי, אין לך מספיק זמן לבחון האם התוכנה עובדת או לא!
ההתחייבות המלאה שלנו לשיווק באינטרנט
ההתחייבות שלנו פשוטה מאד. אנחנו נותנים לך להשתמש בשירותים שלנו במשך ששה חודשים, ללא כל סיכון, במטרה להשיג דירוג בעשירייה הראשונה. בזמן הזה אנחנו מציעים לך נגישות מלאה לצוות התמיכה שלנו. החברה' האלה נמצאים שם מסיבה אחת בלבד - לעזור לך להגיע לדירוג בעשירייה הראשונה בכל דרך שהם יכולים. בכל רגע במהלך חצי השנה הזו, אם אתה מחליט שהשירותים שלנו לא שווים את המחיר המקצועי הנמוך והאתר שלך לא מדורג בעשרת הראשונים, אנחנו נחזיר לך את מלוא כספך.
האם תנצלו הצעה מיוחדת זו עוד היום?
אתה חייב את זה לעצמך שייראו את האתר שלך. מאחר שאתה בוודאי יכול למצוא חברה ישראלית שנהנתה מהשירותים שלנו (כולל צבא ההגנה לישראל) אין שום סיבה שלא תיצור אתנו קשר היום. האם תקח את קידום האתר שלך בידיים? האם תיצור אתנו קשר היום?
שיווק באינטרנט בישראל מגביר את תנועת
הגולשים ואת ההכנסות. השיווק באינטרנט הוא חיוני לעסק שלך.
השקעת הרבה זמן וכסף בבניית אתר עסקים אלקטרוני.
אבל - האם אנשים ימצאו אותו? האם מנועי החיפוש יאתרו אותו? האם תופיע בעשרים האתרים הראשונים? האם תופיע בכלל?
קדם את האתר שלך היום - ותתחיל להזרים גולשים אל העסק שלך.
צור קשר עם חברת ליידן המספקת שירותי שיווק באינטרנט, שירות SEO (קידום אתרים) וקידום אתרים כדי להבטיח דירוג גבוה ברשת!
שאל אודות הסמינרים שלנו לשיווק באינטרנט, חקר קידום האתרים ברשת, מקרי מבחן בתחום המחסר והעסקים האלקטרוניים ופתרונות שיווק באמצעות הדואר האלקטרוני. הגדל את הלקוחות הפוטנציאליים, התפוצה, נתח השוק וההכנסות עוד היום!
Jerusalem, Israel ---- October 9, 2009 ..... It definitely sounded innocent enough. NASA in a search to discover if there's water on the moon, bombed the moon today with a rocket weighing some 2.2 tons, carrying the destructive force equivalent that of 1.5 tons of dynamite.
In pre-dawn hours, a US spacecraft punched a deep hole in the moon's south pole to find out whether ice is hidden in a crater that hasn't seen sunlight in billions of years. Two rockets hit the moon at more than twice the speed of a bullet.
As rumors started to spread out on the Internet asking "who did the risk assessment?" and "we're not risking sending the solar system out of balance?" these words were quickly neutralized.
Bruce Betts, director of projects at The Planetary Society , said in an email to Computerworld that this morning's moon crashes would have no negative impact on the moon or the Earth.
"The spacecraft are far too tiny compared to the moon, in fact, to have any significant effect on the moon's orbit or dynamics," he added. "The impact might be likened to a gnat hitting the windshield of a truck."
While millions from the US, UK, Mexico and Japan to Canada, France, Israel and China watched their TV sets for any sign of an explosion on the moon, there was very little chatter on the Internet about a 79-million USD message being sent to Iran and other Islamic terror nations and groups.
Any student of history knows that space exploration as we know it, did not have it origins in a Buck Rogers American science fiction adventure. But rather as Russia, at the urging of their Ministry of Defense, launched the Sputnik satellite on October 4, 1957. And the US responded. Although on July 29, 1955, US President Dwight Eisenhower announced that the US would launch an artificial satellite, they failed to be first. The US defense establishment then set it sights as being the first to place a man on the moon and succeeded on July 20,1969.
This has been labeled as the great space race, it has been nothing more and nothing less as to which nation will control the skies with weapons. Ronald Reagan enhanced this drama with his "Star Wars" program.
The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was a proposal by former US President Ronald Reagan on March 23, 1983 to use space-based systems to protect the US from attack by strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. The initiative focused on strategic defense rather than the prior strategic offense doctrine of mutual assured destruction (MAD). The Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO) was set up in 1984 within the United States Department of Defense to oversee the Strategic Defense Initiative.
The US, deep in economic recession, is spending 79 million dollars to find moon water or defending herself from a nuclear Iran?
Just days ago the Pentagon acknowledged that it had moved up the date for deployment of a massive bomb capable of penetrating deeply buried enemy facilities. Most believe the weapon is designed for a possible attack on Iran nuclear facilities, but officials will not make that connection.
It is officially called the Massive Ordnance Penetrator. Informally it is referred to as a new and larger type of Bunker Buster. It weighs more than 13 metric tons. The US Defense Department will not confirm its capabilities, but analysts believe it is designed to penetrate up to 60 meters of earth, or a thick layer of concrete, before exploding.
Last month US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said an attack against Iran would only "buy time," delaying Tehran's dispute nuclear program by about three years.
That same month Iran conceded that it had begun building a new uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom.
With Iran threatening to "wipe Israel off the map" former Israel Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and present Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have reportedly been asking the US for a green light to attack Iran nuclear weapon building facilities.
There are three locations where Iran facilities are producing elements for nuclear weapons.
Israel officials named these sites as: Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges produce enriched uranium; Isfahan, where 250 tons of gas are stores in tunnels; and Arak, where a heavy water reactor produces plutonium.
Netanyahu called Iran "the major terrorist-sponsoring state of our time. He says that Tehran "could give those nuclear weapons to terrorists or give them a nuclear umbrella that would bring terrorism beyond our wildest dreams."
"Although Twitter and Facebook are quite less expensive and dramatic, this 79-million dollar bombing of the moon leaves no doubt in anyone's mind that if the US cares to destroy Iran nuclear facilities which are buried deep underground, they have the proven capability of doing so from outer space," says an Israel security analyst.
"If Israel was forced to go it alone it could use low-yield nuclear “bunker-busters”, but it appears that the US and Israel are very much on the same page when it comes to a nuclear Iran. The US will not allow it and is making it very clear that they want Iran to stand down. It's ironic that on the same day that US President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, he gave the order to use the moon for target practice. But it just might be that this new, potent precision US weapon in space which may ultimately keep the peace in the Middle-East and beyond."
Mary Robinson: "I am afraid the resolution is not balanced ... This is unfortunately a practice by the Council: adopting resolutions guided not by human rights but by politics. This is very regrettable." (Le Temps, 4 February 2009).
Israel Analysis and Comments on the UN GOLDSTONE GAZA FACT FINDING MISSION REPORT September 2009
Israel is appalled and disappointed by the UN Goldstone Report published on 15 September 2009 by the UN Gaza Fact Finding Mission. The UN Goldstone Report effectively ignores Israel right of self defense, makes unsubstantiated claims about its intent and challenges Israel's democratic values and rule of law.
At the same time the UN Goldstone Report all but ignores the deliberate strategy of the internationally recognized terror group Hamas of operating within and behind the civilian population and turning densely populated areas into an arena of battle. By turning a blind eye to such tactics it effectively rewards them.
The UN Goldstone Report barely disguises its goal of instigating a political campaign against Israel, and in its recommendations seeks to involve the Security Council, the UN General Assembly the International Criminal Court, the Human Rights Council, and the entire international community in such a campaign.
Netanyahu reminds world that England when attacked by Nazi rockets leveled cities in Europe, while Israel went house to house in Gaza. Why was Israel, the defender, condemned? Why did the UN not condemn the terror group Hamas for firing rockets at Israel cities and towns?
The Mandate of the UN Mission
The one-sided mandate of the UN Gaza Fact Finding Mission, and the resolution established it, gave serious reasons for concern both to Israel and to the many states on the Council which refused to support it - including the member states of the European Union, Switzerland, Canada, Korea and Japan.
It also troubled many distinguished individuals, including former High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson, who refused invitations to head the Mission and admitted that it was "guided not by human rights but by politics".
The Conduct of the UN Mission
These concerns were exacerbated by the conduct of the UN Mission itself, including reports in the Palestinian media that, throughout its visits to Gaza, it was continuously accompanied by Hamas officials and its refusal to recuse members of the mission with clear political views on the issues under investigation. One mission member signed a letter to the Sunday Times saying that Israel's actions against Hamas attacks were acts of "aggression not self-defense", prejudging the investigation before it had even begun. The unprecedented holding of telecast hearings also gave cause for concern. The fact that all the witnesses were prescreened and selected, and none were asked questions relating to any Palestinian terrorist activity or the location of weaponry and terrorists in civilian areas only supports concerns that they were part of an orchestrated political campaign.
A "non-judicial" document
Justice Goldstone as Head of the UN Mission repeatedly insisted that the Mission was not a judicial inquiry and so "could not reach judicial conclusions". On this basis that he justified the inclusion of partisan mission members, admitting that their involvement "would not be appropriate for a judicial inquiry'. The UN Goldstone Report however is highly judicial in nature, reaching conclusive judicial determinations of guilt, and including 'detailed legal findings' even in the absence of the sensitive intelligence information which Israel did not feel able to provide. These determinations are made notwithstanding the Report's admission that it does not "pretend to reach the standard of proof applicable in criminal trials".
Elements Ignored by the UN Goldstone Report
The UN Goldstone Report all but ignores the deliberate terrorist strategy of operating in the heart of densely populated civilian areas which dictated the arena of battle. Even when the Hamas terrorists mixed among civilians, the Report rejects the notion that there was an intention to put the civilian population at risk.
Astonishingly, despite the many widely reported instances in the international press of the abuse of civilian facilities by terrorist groups, and the statements of Hamas own leaders praising women and children who acted as human shields, the UN Goldstone Report repeatedly stated that it could find no evidence of such activities. This, even despite its admission that those interviewed were "reluctant to speak about the presence or conduct of hostilities by the Palestinian armed groups".
The UN Goldstone Report also ignores Israel's extensive efforts, even in the midst of fighting, to maintain humanitarian standards. While it does, reluctantly, acknowledge Israel's "significant efforts" to issue warnings before attacks, it does not find any of these efforts to be effective
While the UN Goldstone Report passes judgment against Israel in respect of almost any allegation, it seeks to absolve the Hamas of almost any wrongdoing. The word "terrorist" is almost entirely absent. IDF Soldier Gilad Shalit, now held incommunicado in captivity for over three years, was "captured during an enemy incursion" and the Hamas members that the Mission met with in Gaza are thanked as the "Gaza authorities" for extending their full cooperation and support to the Mission.
Even the thousands of terror rocket attacks against Israelis which necessitated the Gaza Operation are given the most cursory treatment, and indeed the Report indirectly blames Israel even for these by terming them "'reprisals".
Rejection of democratic values
In a Report which relies so heavily on Israel human rights organizations and which also petitions on sensitive security issues to Israel's Supreme Court the Report devotes considerable attention to "repression of dissent in Israel". It bases this assertion in large part on the widespread support for the military operation in the Israel public, assuming that Israel has "created a political climate in which dissent is not tolerated. The notion that the majority of Israelis genuinely supported action to bring years of continuous rocket and missile attacks against Israeli civilians to an end does not appear to have occurred to the members of the Mission.
The UN Goldstone Report is also critical of Israel internal investigations even though these compare favorably to investigations of allegations in military matters in most western countries, and have regularly resulted in criminal investigations and convictions.
Recommendations
The UN Goldstone Report's recommendations are as one-sided as its findings. It seeks to harness the Human Rights Council, the Security Council the General Assembly, the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights and the International Criminal Court and the international community as parts of its hostile political campaign.
Despite token recommendations in respect of the Palestinian side, all the international pressure is directed solely against Israel.
The true test of such a Report can only be whether in future conflicts it will have the effect of increasing or decreasing respect for the rule of law. Regrettably a one-sided report of this nature, claiming to represent international law, can only weaken the standing of law in future conflicts. At the same time, it will broadcast a deeply troubling message to terrorist groups wherever they are that the cynical tactics of seeking to exploit civilian suffering for political ends actually pays dividends.
Israel President Shimon Peres has slammed the Goldstone Commission's report on IDF Operation Cast Lead, saying it "makes a mockery of history and fails to distinguish between aggressor and those acting in self-defense." Peres claimed the commission members would not have written such a report, which accuses Israel of war crimes, "had their children been living in Sderot, Israel under the constant threat of Hamas rockets." The Israel President blames Hamas for launching the war, stating the terror group had committed numerous horrendous war crimes, and stressed that Israel had to defend itself.
"Hamas carried out attacks against the children of Israel, detonating bombs in city centers, hurting civilians, firing more than 12,000 rockets and mortar shells at innocent civilians with one clear aim - to kill," he wrote in a statement. The UN Goldstone Report legitimizes terrorism, shooting and killing, while ignoring every state's right and obligation to self-defense, which are clearly anchored in the UN charter, Peres wrote.
The Israel president went on to recall Israel's disengagement from Gaza and Hamas's bloody takeover of the Strip.
"Israel removed all of its troops and citizens from the Gaza Strip, opened the border crossings and helped construction in the Strip - the Israeli occupation in Gaza ended. But after Israel completed the disengagement from Gaza, a murderous and illegitimate terror group took control over the Strip and threw out the legitimate Fatah leadership.
"While Hamas continued to fire rockets, Israel used diplomatic efforts, including many appeals to the UN, to bring about a cease fire. Instead of building Gaza and caring for the welfare of its citizens, Hamas built tunnels to attack Israel, cruelly using children and innocent Palestinians to hide terrorists and ammunition," he wrote.
The state of Israel had to defend itself, as would any other country in the world, Peres stressed, adding that "those who criticized Israel did not propose any other way of stopping the rocket fire."
The Israel president recalled how "Israel has been criticized for its actions against Hizbullah terror attacks from Lebanon and Hamas attacks from the Gaza Strip, as well as for building the security barrier in the West Bank to prevent suicide bombers from entering the country.
"This criticism did not stop the rockets from hitting the South and the North, nor did it stop terrorists from blowing themselves up in our central cities," wrote Peres. "The IDF's actions are what have brought economical prosperity to the West Bank and have enabled Gazans to have normal lives again," he concluded.
Also responding to the UN report, Israel Ambassador to the UN Gabriela Shalev said that it would hamper Middle East peace efforts.
Speaking to Israel Army Radio, Shalev added that "the international atmosphere is very influential. We have already begun a public diplomacy campaign in world capitals in order to explain the extent to which the report is biased, one-sided and political."
Israel Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said Jerusalem made the right decision not to cooperate with the inquiry.
"The report only came out because of countries like Pakistan, Libya and Saudi Arabia, who are members of the UN Human Rights Council," Ayalon told Army Radio. "The results just prove the correctness and legitimacy of the decision not to cooperate.... The report was compiled without any connection to investigations on the ground."
"It completely ignores all Hamas terror activity that preceded the IDF operation," he continued, stressing that the main reason for Israel's boycott of the investigation "was the presence on the commission of those who insisted that the operation was not one of self-defense, but an Israeli aggressive action."
Ayalon said that Israel would now focus its energy on "making the report dissipate" and that Jerusalem was in contact with the US over the findings, emphasizing that the report could have repercussions for American troops fighting in Iran and Afghanistan.
"We must remember that all Western nations opposed the inquiry commission, and our work with the Europeans and Americans can prevent the consequences," he said, asserting that the report would have negative effects on efforts for Israeli-Palestinian peace and normalization between Jerusalem and the Arab world.
Ayalon concluded that there was "no one better" than Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman to lead the campaign against the report and put Israel's side across. Israel former ambassador to the UN, Danny Gillerman, said that the UN Human Rights Council report contained "blatant, one-sided, anti-Israel lies."
"Members of the UNHRC include countries like Zimbabwe and Libya that spend 90 percent of their time on Israel and don't deal, for example, with the Darfur massacre," he told Army Radio.
Gillerman also said that the UNHRC should never have been set up in the first place. "We and the US were only ones who voted against the body being established. We knew it would be very one-sided and anti-Israeli," he said, adding that former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan had said that allowing the UNHRC's establishment was one of his biggest mistakes.
Gillerman said Israel was right not to cooperate with the inquiry, saying, "The findings would never have been objective."
He stressed that while soul searching was being done by Israel and would continue, Operation Cast Lead was conducted to protect a million southerners from rocket attacks. "We went to lengths no other country would have gone to in order to avoid civilian casualties," he went on, adding that the IDF embarked on an operation any other country would have carried out under the circumstances, but that other militaries would have caused greater collateral damage.
On a positive note, Gillerman said that the Israel media was getting "more worked up" by the report than others. "I haven't seen other media outlets around the world dedicating so much time to the issue."
"The Goldstone committee is a committee that was set up to find Israel guilty of crimes that were determined in advanced, and the committee's members did not let the facts confuse them," said Israel Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, in his comments in response to the harsh UN report investigation the events of Israel Defense Forces Operation Cast Lead.
Lieberman said the committee's conclusions were predetermined, and he accused its members of serving the purposes of utilitarian countries. "The whole purpose of the report, from the moment the decision was made to write it, was to destroy Israel's image, in service of countries where the terms 'human rights' and 'combat ethics' do not even appear in their dictionaries," the foreign minister alleged. Lieberman went on to say, "I can say wholeheartedly, as can any man that examines the matter in an objective manner, that the IDF is the most moral army in the world, and it is forced to deal with the most vile terrorists, who set for themselves the goal of killing women and children, and hide behind women and children."
The Israel Foreign Minister further claimed that "the Goldstone Report wishes to take the UN back to the dark ages, where it was also determined, through the leadership of utilitarian countries, that Zionism is racism." He said, "The UN Goldstone Report has no legal, factual or ethical value, and more than a testament to the State of Israel, it is a testament to the writers of the report and those that sent them." Lieberman's response is one in a long line of censure and attacks against the report on the part of senior Israeli officials, which has been continuous since the report was published on Tuesday.
The officials' defensive response is meant to minimize possible damage the document could cause Israel, officials in office at the time of the operation, and senior officers in the IDF. It should be noted that the UN Goldstone committee ruled that some of the incidents of the Gaza war may carry with them personal criminal liability. Israel experts on international law have said this could lead to lawsuits against officials in various state in which the law allows it.
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Joel Leyden, a native of New York, has practiced international public relations, public affairs, crisis communications, reputation management, Web 2.0 and journalism for 25 years.
As an Internet pioneer in Israel, he co-created Israel's first commercial Website - NetKing in 1995.
In addition, Leyden produced the first Website for an Israeli prime minister, established the first condolence website for assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, created the Israel Defense Forces Website, was the first SEO - search engine optimizer in Israel and serves today as both commercial PR / SEO and publisher of the Israel News Agency, Israel's first on-line news organization.
Joel Leyden, the proud father of three children, is a leading father's and children's rights activist in Israel advocating equal access and reforms in Israel's gender bias family court custody laws and public child welfare departments for children of separated and divorced parents in Israel.
Joel Leyden, who has university degrees in journalism, psychology and mass communications, resides in a suburb north of Tel Aviv, Israel and in New York City.
