Homer Simpson is the Solution to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict....

... because he's someone they can all get pissed off at together!

It's no secret that somewhere along the line a few years back, The Simpsons stopped being funny. I have no idea when since I only watched the show only a little more than half-heartedly, but I'd say season 9. In the past year or so, it's gotten funny again, though the humor is really different than before. I'm guessing they got new writers.

Anyways. I just saw this JPost article. Even if I had still given up on the Simpsons by now, it's reason enough to watch this one episode. I'm glad the show is funny again; a Simpsons Israel episode definitely deserves to be funny.

Oh, and happy late St. Patrick's day! This at least is one thing to look forward to after college; I can finally start celebrating it with Guinness and pinches instead of textbooks and essays. It always falls around finals season for us college folk.

Bibi Tells Obama 'No' On Flying UN Flag Over Jerusalem

Seems like Obama thinks it's his duty to solve the Israeli-Palestinian crisis single-handedly.

Arutz Sheva reports:

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu vowed at the Mercaz HaRav yeshiva in Jerusalem Thursday night that the Israeli flag will continue to fly over the Western Wall (Kotel). The first prime minister in years to appear at the venerable yeshiva on Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), he ignored U.S. President Barack Obama’s apparent trial balloon that he wants to see the United Nations flag fly over the Old City holy sites.

[...]

Prime Minister Netanyahu declared, "The flag that flies over the Kotel is the Israeli flag... Our holy places, the Temple Mount -- will remain under Israeli sovereignty forever.”

Nevermind the insult of the suggestion to fly the flag of the UN over Jerusalem in place of an Israeli flag when the UN has been so obsessed with damning Israel and holding it to insane double-standards. Nevermind the audacity and slap in the face such a suggestion entails. Nevermind that.

Anyone who's been following Obama's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can spot from a mile away the ulterior goal of Obama's desire to have a UN flag flying over Jerusalem. First comes the flag, next a suggestion of constructing a UN building in Jerusalem, then giving that building some legal authority in the city, and before you know it Israel has lost control of Jerusalem so that part of it can be given to Fatah to placate their insane demand of East Jerusalem. Which begs the question... how stupid does Obama think Bibi is?

Bibi's response is music to the ears, soothing for the soul and reassuring on the mind. Bless this man for having the courage to stand up for Israel and say 'No' to Obama. A man of this caliber has been a long time coming to Israel in this modern day.

Khaled Abu Toameh

While a large portion- if not majority- of Arab-Israelis are hostile time bombs just waiting to explode, there's always an exception to the rule. Khaled Abu Toameh is a Palestinian Muslim Arab-Israeli journalist who used to write for the PLO, and surprisingly he's one of the most respected voices on the Mid-East conflict. For good reason.

This is an article Toameh recently wrote. I had the fortune to see him speak at our campus. The man is to be commended for his open-mindedness; he brings a healthy and refreshing moderate and unbiased view of the conflict to the table. He focuses not so much on the conflict but more on how Yasser Arafat and the PLO are primarily responsible for the Palestinians' current predicament. His personal experiences in Israel and the Palestinian territories has brought out in him a very unique persepctive on the conflict.

The Gaza Offensive

A lot has been going on these past few days. Israel finally retaliated against Hamas for breaking their 6-month truce (technically they broke it long ago, but whatever), and has been pounding them unbelievably hard, as they should. Of course, the entire Arab and anti-Semitic world is screaming bloody murder at Israel to stop, and the sad part is Israel is probably going to give in to international pressure soon.

It's sad that Palestinian civilians are dying. But the fault does not all lie with Israel. This article sums up the fault of Hamas in the matter very well. If you provoke a stronger enemy, you're going to get raped. Hamas broke the truce. They used it as a resting period simply in order to stock up military supplies and build an army to attack Israel again. What Hamas is experiencing now in Gaza is nothing more than what they deserve for provoking a stronger enemy.

I heard Israel confirmed that it will launch a ground offensive on Gaza, but don't take my word on this just yet. My guess is the IDF is risking its own people so as to quiet down all the bitching about the civilian casualties. Of course, they excuse that Hamas uses schoolyards and civilian backywards as launching pads and civilians as human shields.

It's inconceivable how people can condemn a country for acting in self-defense. If rockets from, say, Iran, landed in say, Kentucky, the American people would demand action. There is no reason why Israel is not entitled to defend its citizens as well.

In other news, I'm fighting the flu. Right before New Year's. Damn it.