the real tragedy is the Arab mindset. Even Mr. Ray suffers greatly from this distorted syndrome of refusal to speak truth and see truth. They are pre-programmed for some odd reason to not admit truth even when truth are like words carved in granite. The best they can do is revise and twist it. And this is what they do. Mr. Ray a thinking man must see this within himself yet he still manufactures lame excuses and down right twisting of truth. You write the words and they literally see something else within them. It is impossible. It goes beyond ignorance for Mr. Ray is surely not ignorant. It is refusal at any cost. How darn pathetic.

He has left out key bits of very significant information, omissions that change the picture completely. Further, the inappropriate (according to its definition) use of the term "Gulag" shows his aim is to inflame, not inform.

It's called "they burned their bridges"

Ray, How's it writing from the safety of your American home office? It must be invigorating.

these articles are always a waste of time, and i'm sure ol' ray will continue his moral equivalence drivel.

How about the 15 year old jewish girl arrested in hevron several months ago and still in jail because she protested arabs rebuilding a house next to the gan? Or Nadia Matar charged because she called some fool a judenrat; sheese....me and my big AMERICAN mouth, used to speaking my mind, would be in deep shit also if I lived there. Seems like if you disagree with the secular Israeli gov't; you don't have any rights. Israel needs a directly elected representative form of goverence and a bill of rights to stop these abuses of power from a small ruling click. Hmm...if they would only look in the Torah, they would find the answers to life's problems.

Ray, YES Falah deserves justice and a fair hearing. YES arabs are often mistreated in Israel and legitimate cases are made. That said, your article contains no facts. No comments from the court. Nothing that would either accuse or exhonerate the state of Falah. The only info we have is that he was taking pictures at the beach. Now if he were the only arab to own a camera and the only arab to have ever taken a picture - then the racist card could be dealt. But Mr. Haniya - 1000's of Arab citizens own and use cameras all over the country regularly - including at the beach. Without arrest or questioning. Before taking up the banner of violated human rights - you really do need to be clear on the facts. IN FACT, I'm a strong proponent of forcing the media to use alot more facts and alot less speculation.

Got to wonder. Who's the bigger idiot. Hanania or Ynet. One is too stupid to know what he is taking about and pretends to be a saint. The other is too stupid and lazy to find a thoughful Arab who could provide a decent dialog.

I find it so incredibly amusing that everytime somebody uncovers something negative about Israel, whiners come out of the woodwork and claim it's all "propaganda". Israelis are capable of racism too, y'know.

I understand why an Arab "Palestinian" is writing what he is writing - he is a paid or unpaid Hizballa agent. And for Hizballa to win the information battleground is the only way to survive as a militant terrorist group. I do not understand why an Israeli media asset gives a tribune to this rubbish, thus cooperating with the enemy during the war time?

It is wierd how some people condemn Israel for things that happen in any other country, but dont do the same with the other countries. And what a coincidence. These are the same people whose only interest in life is to criticize Israel and to support those who want to destroy it. And now I bring you an example, for you to compare. It is not unfrequent for pals to lynch people charged with cooperating with Israel against terrorism. Sometimes the lynched people had not even done that. Do you condemn these lynchings? And why are you people so obssessed with uncovering something negative about Israel? I cannot see the point in this obssession, since these same people condemn Israel for anything it does. So if Israel is evil in itself, what is the purpose of splitting hairs about the fact in this article?

Providing a platform for serious debate is always welcomed when substantiated by facts. To do so otherwise is disengenuous at best. Mr. Hanania suggests we examine a specific case, unsubstantiated in fact I might add, to extrapolate a "racist" policy on Israeli Arab citizens by the Israeli government. It should be noted that propogandists use this same technique by showing "dead babies" in wartime to illustrate how barbaric the other side is in conducting themselves. I doubt if Mr. Hanania would like to comment about the similarities. Re the sophmoric comments he made on what constitutes a hostage vs. a POW has been covered by others with no comment by Hanania......If you want to make a point at least know what you are talking about. Some of us are semi-educated. Words of advice..........stick to your day job while you can.

Mr. Haninia brings a unique (and yes, moderate) perspective to this forum. I am appalled with how vicious and rude some commentators have been. We are not Hizbollah - we can listen and consider other perspectives, even when they hurt or challenge us. With regards to Professor Falah, his actions and fate cannot be decided by YNET readers. Professor Falah has been held without charges, denied access to Canadian officials, and denied access to his lawyers. Whether he is guilty or not (and neither I, Mr. Haninia, or any of the readers really knows), he deserves all of the above. Come on people, either we live in state of law or not. If people can be arrested and held without charge and denied access to counsel, the state becomes something else.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3283702,00.html

Lebanon's PM thanks Hizbollah for its "sacrifices" Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora thanked Hizbollah on Sunday for its "sacrifices" In its war against Israel. "We are in a strong position and I thank the Sayyed for his efforts," Siniora said when asked about a Saturday statement by Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah calling on the government to take advantage of Hizbollah's steadfastness against Israeli military might. (Reuters)   (07.30.06, 18:10)

What I find hilarious is the statement at the top of the talkback form says "Comments containing incitement, slander and inappropriate language deemed to violate our terms of use won't be published” when EVERY SINGLE ARTICLE Hanania has published here is filled to the brim with incitement and slander. Furthermore, hasn’t anyone else wondered what the h-ll a Palestinian (that would actually be Arab-American (not hardly) columnist, author and STANDUP COMEDIAN knows about Israeli national security threats? Standup comedian indeed!

It seems little Ray was all bent out of shape because that the so-called "washed up" comedian Jackie Mason, who just happens to be Jewish refused to give him his "big chance" at a comedy club in Chicago. Why does always seem that these arabs think Jews owe them something.. no make that everything?

What a Gulag!

Gee Ray, it seems your buddy has been released. But wait!! There’s something missing here. In HIS statement to the press he doesn’t say anything about his “sick” mommy. During his investigation, Falah denied the allegations and claimed he was a TOURIST from Canada simply filming the landscape. He was approached by individuals who identified themselves as security officials, and who instructed him to stop photographing. Falah refused, and after an argument, was arrested. (well duh) Falah, a professor of geography at the University of Akron, said he had taken the pictures as part of his academic research." Ray, we believe him just about as much as we believe you.

So, I guess one can only accept that Prime Minister Fouad Siniora considers all the children that have been killed because they were being used as shields.. Hezbollah’s "sacrificial children".?

Well, they only deprived him of his rights for 22 days, so that isn't too bad. He was mildly tortured for several days (sleep deprived and interrogated 48 hours). Still, he was released and that is good considering there was no reason to arrest him, other than that he was an Arab with a digital camera at a public beach taking pictures of things in plain sight. The statement from the prosecutor was they didn't have evidence to formally charge him, rather than "Mr. Falah, an Israeli citizen, was wrongly detained and we apologize." Oh. At least Ynet and Yedioth got the story right. He was arrested July 8, five days before Hezbillah attacked which means that unless we are arguing Israel and Hezbollah have been at a constant war -- which would undermine claims that we are surprised Hezbollah attacked an armed military convoy -- then the arrest had nothing to do with concerns over Hezbollah. Or, does his arrest suggest that Israeli officials anticipated an Hezbollah attack on July 12 but said and did nothing? Or, is the real issue here that Falah was an Arab Israeli and his arrest underscores the complaints of many Arab Israelis that they are victims of constant discrimination? Don't hammer the messenger just because you don't like the news. Ray Hanania

This isn't news; its anti-Israeli propaganda and you are the propagandist.

We must call it the way it is: 1. The system is wrong putting him in court without counsel and without declaring why he was being held. 2. Prejudice exists in Israel between jews and arabs. This prejudice is based on mistrust and resentment. It will probably continue until the conflct is resolved. It is wrong, but its there. I wish it would stop. If Falah was not Arab he probably would have not been detained. 3. Israel's "Gulag" system prevailed as it bases its decisions on facts vs. race. It releases detainees that should not be held. Hopefully they will improve on 22 days - too long. Falah is not the first nor will he probably be the last to be suspected, interrogated and released without "sufficient evidence" until this conflict is over. In fact, if this is as bad as it gets we'll be in a great place. Finally, if Falah was called Daniel Pearle, and he was detained by Hammas, Hizbollah, Iran or Syria he would have been found guilty of being a Mosad agent (in only 2 days - not 22) and executed on video for the world to see. If you're looking for guilt based on race Ray, then that's one for your books - or does guilty for being Jewish not count?

He means well. He wants only to end the violence. What he does not realize is that his advice to Isrealis, to not let emotions get in the way of clear thinking, is exacly what he does himself. He pays no attention to facts and delivers his message based completely on emotion which makes him a propogandist wether he realizes it or not. In my dialogue with him I have noticed how he cannot address the facts behind the issues, resorting always to the same rhetoric of "both sides are guilty", a very convenient argument and rebuttal. His last claim - that the arrest of Falah demonstrates that Israel anticipated the kidnapping of two soldiers and a war , is so ridiculous, that I have lost any shred of respect I had for him. Once again he comes up with an idea which is supported by nothing. He claims that Israel and Hizbullah have been at a constant war since 2000. When I asked him if Israel has attacked the Hezbullah since then, he avoided the question. When I asked him to explain what he means by a "constant war" he could not answer. He repeatedly fails to place the blame for this war on the Hezbullah. He claims Israel was ready for this attack, with a thought out game plan all ready. When I asked him what about the fact that Israeli troops entered Lebanon and then hastily came back after realizing it was to much of a risk, he ignored it. When I asked him what the Hamas or any palestinian group has done to stop the qassams in southern Israel after we gave back Gaza, he ignored it. When I asked him if he thinks that the Hezbullah do not put civilians in the line of fire when they fire their rockets from residential areas, he did not answer. He claims to be for Israel yet against our government. He does not realize that Israel stands behind its government. He would also probably claim that the Gaza kidnapping was in retaliation for a kidnapping of a Hamas member. When he examines the facts ( if he ever does) he will see that the tunnel system used in the Gilad Shalit kidnapping take a lot more than 36 hours to build (the time since the Israeli kidnapping). True or false Ray - Hamas and the Hezbullah want Israelis dead....Why then, is it wrong for Israel to fight them? Ray I would advise you, before you start puking out more unbased rhetoric, to try and forget that you are palestinian and look at the FACTS in this current situation from a normal persons logical point of view. Ask yourself if you really believe that Israel is not justified in sticking it to the Hezbullah or is that just what you WANT to believe. And don't answer me until you are ready to acknowledge facts.

not to take pictures from a plane? Never in my life, not on an El Al flight or any other company. Why would British Airways do that? Are you sure they didn't tell you to turn off the cellphones maybe? even the ones with built-in cameras? just wondering. Yes, there is prejudice against Arabs here. It's a tough situation. Arabs don't serve in the military, for the most of them, and are considered by some to be a "fifth column" among us. It's the sad truth. More often than not, there will be some basis for arrests, but sometimes the security services may be too keen to make the arrests. That said, please understand that dealing with what our security services have to deal with, it's not always easy to avoid some infringement of civil rights in the process. This happens everywhere, not just in Israel.

They are held without charges. This is not civilisation, this is crime against humanity. No one can hide the thruth...even if all the zionist media, money and armies are trying to.