Israel
Further to Dr. Abuelaish and the CMHR
By BERNIE BELLAN
(Posted March 31)
We received an email from an online subscriber who had read the story about Dr. Abueliash in this week’s issue of the JP&N. The reader, who asked that his name be witheld, sent more information about the incident involving the deaths of Dr. Abuelaish’s three daughters and his niece.
When you read this you will no doubt be left wondering why Dr. Abueliaish insisted on remaining in his house, despite repeated warnings from Isaeli army officials that his house lay directly in an area that was being used by Hamas to fire upon Israeli soldiers.
Here is what the e-mail contained (in part):
“The terrible tragedy of the Abuelish family is without question!! This is a good and decent physician and I am sure Canadian patients have benefited from him being here. But, after reading his book several years ago, I needed to know more about the exact details .
“As you know the IDF Military Advocate General’s Office and others review, analyze, and publicly report, in quite some detail, all operations of this nature and even further, investigate all complaints and incidents like the Abuelish one. I doubt there is another army in the world who is as complete.
“Here is the link to the July 2009 report — http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA_Graphics/MFA%20Gallery/Documents/GazaOperation%20w%20Links.pdf
“The entire report is worth a read, but especially the section on the the Abuelish incident. I draw your attention to pp 142-143 of the report (subsection “(iii) The House of Dr. Abu el Eish: 17 January 2009″, paragraphs 392-397). There is more to this story. It provides a detailed description of the events leading up to and surrounding this awful tragedy. The question must be asked, why Dr. Abueleish did not remove his family from this obviously very unstable and high risk area when advised to by the IDF??”
I did go to the relevant section of the IDF Military Advocate General’s Office,
Here is what it had to say about the incident involving Dr. Abuelaish in January, 2009:
THE OPERATION IN GAZA: FACTUAL AND LEGAL ASPECTS
(iii) The House of Dr. Abu el Eish: 17 January 2009
392. The IDF thoroughly investigated this incident, in which the doctor‘s three daughters were killed. The investigation concluded that an IDF tank fired two shells, which resulted in these unfortunate casualties.
393. The investigation found that the IDF force operated in the area of Sajaiya for several days, during which they were engaged in face to face combat within short range of Hamas terrorist units. The IDF forces discovered tunnels used for ambushing and attacking IDF forces, and identified homes that were booby-trapped.
394. On Friday, 16 January 2009, the IDF force came under sniper and mortar fire in an area laden with explosives and IEDs. The IDF force identified and located the source of fire as a house adjacent to that of the doctor‘s. The IDF returned fire and then saw several figures moving suspiciously in the upper level of a house nearby, which was in fact, Dr. Abu El-Eish‘s house. The IDF troops concluded that these figures were spotters directing the arms fire of the snipers. Hamas had used this method of target location throughout the Gaza Operation. Still, under heavy fire, the commander of the force waited about 20 minutes in an effort to ensure that the suspicious figures were in fact Hamas operatives, and that civilians would not be at risk before ordering the attack on the house. Only then did he give the order to open fire on the presumed spotters.
395. Following the firing of shots, the IDF soldiers heard screams from the direction of the house, and immediately halted all fire. When contact was made with the doctor, the IDF force made sure that ambulances could evacuate the injured via the Erez Crossing for immediate emergency medical treatment in Israel.
396. In the days leading up to the incident, officers in the Coordination and Liaison Administration had contacted Dr. Abu El-Eish several times to urge him to temporarily evacuate his home, as many others in the neighbourhood already had, because of Hamas operations and the intense fighting that was already taking place in that area for several days. In addition to the personal contact made directly with Dr. Abu El-Eish, the IDF issued warnings to the residents of Sajaiya by dropping thousands of leaflets as well as issuing warnings via Palestinian media outlets. Dr. Abu El-Eish chose to remain in the house, with his family, despite the specific personal warnings he received and the evident risks associated with Hamas sniper activity from the adjacent building.
397. The IDF regrets the tragic deaths of Dr. Abu El-Eish‘s daughters. However, considering the constraints of the battle scene, the threats endangering IDF forces and the reasonable estimation of the forces that the house was being used to direct sniper fire, the decision to target the building was intended only to respond to a perceived threat, and in no way breached the Law of Armed Conflict.
Israel
Join the Masa Canadian Professionals Volunteers Program!
You are invited on a 4-week volunteer program in Israel from October 14th to November 10th. Help rebuild Israeli society post-October 7th over Canadian Thanksgiving, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. Spend three weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
Features
New website for Israelis interested in moving to Canada
By BERNIE BELLAN (May 21, 2024) A new website, titled “Orvrim to Canada” (https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/ovrim-en) has been receiving hundreds of thousands of visits, according to Michal Harel, operator of the website.
In an email sent to jewishpostandnews.ca Michal explained the reasons for her having started the website:
“In response to the October 7th events, a group of friends and I, all Israeli-Canadian immigrants, came together to launch a new website supporting Israelis relocating to Canada. “Our website, https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/, offers a comprehensive platform featuring:
- Step-by-step guides for starting the immigration process
- Settlement support and guidance
- Community connections and networking opportunities
- Business relocation assistance and expert advice
- Personal blog sharing immigrants’ experiences and insights
“With over 200,000 visitors and media coverage from prominent Israeli TV channels and newspapers, our website has already made a significant impact in many lives.”
A quick look at the website shows that it contains a wealth of information, almost all in Hebrew, but with an English version that gives an overview of what the website is all about.
The English version also contains a link to a Jerusalem Post story, published this past February, titled “Tired of war? Canada grants multi-year visas to Israelis” (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-787914#google_vignette) That story not only explains the requirements involved for anyone interested in moving to Canada from Israel, it gives a detailed breakdown of the costs one should expect to encounter.
(Updated May 28)
We contacted Ms. Harel to ask whether she’s aware whether there has been an increase in the number of Israelis deciding to emigrate from Israel since October 7. (We want to make clear that we’re not advocating for Israelis to emigrate; we’re simply wanting to learn more about emigration figures – and whether there has been a change in the number of Israelis wanting to leave the country.)
Ms. Harel referred us to a website titled “Globes”: https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001471862
The website is in Hebrew, but we were able to translate it into English. There is a graph on the website showing both numbers of immigrants to Israel and emigrants.
The graph shows a fairly steady rate of emigration from 2015-2022, hovering in the 40,000 range, then in 2023 there’s a sudden increase in the number of emigrants to 60,000.
According to the website, the increase in emigrants is due more to a change in the methodology that Israel has been using to count immigrants and emigrants than it is to any sudden upsurge in emigration. (Apparently individuals who had formerly been living in Israel but who may have returned to Israel just once a year were being counted as having immigrated back to Israel. Now that they are no longer being counted as immigrants and instead are being treated as emigrants, the numbers have shifted radically.)
Yet, the website adds this warning: “The figures do not take into account the effects of the war, since it is still not possible to identify those who chose to emigrate following it. It is also difficult to estimate what Yalad Yom will produce – on the one hand, anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israelis around the world reminds everyone where the Jewish home is. On the other hand, the bitter truth we discovered in October is that it was precisely in Israel, the safe fortress of the Jewish people, that a massacre took place reminding us of the horrors of the Holocaust. And if that’s not enough, the explosive social atmosphere and the difference in the state budget deficit, which will inevitably lead to a heavy burden of taxes and a reduction in public services, may convince Zionist Israelis that they don’t belong here.”
Thus, as much as many of us would be disappointed to learn that there is now an upsurge in Israelis wanting to move out of the country, once reliable figures begin to be produced for 2024, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that is the case – which helps to explain the tremendous popularity of Ms. Harel’s website.
Features
Message from a Palestinian in Gaza to protesters: “You’re hurting the Palestinian cause”
A very brave Palestinian who was willing to put his name to paper and write an article for Newsweek Magazine has exposed the utter hypocrisy of all those students – and others, who have been setting up encampments across the U.S. – and now Canada, too.
You can read the article at https://www.newsweek.com/message-gazan-campus-protesters-youre-hurting-palestinian-cause-opinion-1894313
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