Another military target, I thought. A bomber could blast this place and hit nothing but soldiers and soldier girls, except for the owner, the waitresses and me. I could see the report from Ariel Sharon’s staff: Suicide Terrorist Targets Innocent Israeli Teenagers in Ashqelon Recreation Establishment. I was talking to a Russian poolroom owner on March 6th in a strip shopping center in seaside Ashqelon, who told me that almost all of his patrons were off duty soldier boys and girls. “They are the only ones with money and time.” He said. But not one was in uniform.
You have just read a quote from my own article released on the Internet on the afternoon of May 6, 2002. Many received it as a part of Intelligent Bombs vs. Smart Bombs. It turned out to be an unintended prophecy, for the next day, May 7, 2002, an Intelligent Bomb blew up a mirror image pool hall/drinking/gambling establishment near Tel Aviv.
The Truths about the Sheffield Club:
A large crowd of drinking and gambling patrons were attacked in the Sheffield Club pool hall, 10 miles south of Tel Aviv in an industrial district, by a lone Palestinian, who hand-ignited a suitcase bomb. It is overwhelmingly likely that most of the patrons were off-duty Israeli Defense Force personnel, but few Americans have been allowed to know this.
This author was stunned at the first reports of the attack in the American Press, because the site sounded so similar to the pool hall I visited in March, about which I had written only 24 hours earlier, that I thought it might be the same one! Just as I had surmised while eating my midnight sandwich in that Ashqelon pool hall, the Israeli propaganda machine tried its best to tell us this event was a terrorist attack on innocent civilians.
The sterilized story of what did not happen was then broadcast and legitimatized by the Israel-friendly US Press. The American press and the Israeli press are both loyal to Israel and present the same slant on Israeli-style justice. Both report deaths and injuries  that result from body bombers as “terrorism.” But it would be embarrassing if the dead were Israeli soldiers, for soldiers are paid to be targets in wars, even when drunk.
Only rarely does an Israeli or American report ever state how many of those killed and wounded were military and how many were civilians, and names are almost always withheld. In the absence of such information, we are expected to assume that all were civilians and that the event was planned and carried out with the specific intent to destroy the innocent. Dont we Americans assume that the casualties were civilian, if were not told otherwise?
It is not necessary for this author to guess whether some of those bombed were military, because a close look at the propaganda itself reveals the intent to deceive. One published photo of a victim being carried out of the rubble from the Sheffield Club had the unmistakable appearance of a 20 year old male Israeli soldier with his hair cut to about 1/4 inch, and though his face was clearly visible, he was not identified. But no mention was made of any Israeli military casualties, in or out of uniform. This is most suspicious, because in the militarist state of Israel, off-duty soldiers are seen wherever there is “fun” late at night.
But Israel almost never admits to the death of it own military in bombing attacks. Instead, it portrays all bombings as terrorist acts against civilians.
The Israeli propaganda machine, controlled by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Israeli Defense Force, both have active websites where all Palestinians are usually referred to as “terrorists.? Members of the Israel press, writers, relief agencies,  ambulance companies–all go along with the Foreign Ministry’s scheme…referring to all the killed and injured as “people” or “Israelis”, and nothing more. The Ministry’s bombing reports almost never mention the name, rank, job or position, sex or physical description of the casualties.
This colorless “people” designation is reminiscent of Orwell in his book, 1984, where his hero, Winton Smith, has a career creating lies in the “Ministry of Truths”. Smiths job was to make lying safer by eliminating all color language, such as adjectives, so that the official propagandists would be less likely to trip over their words.
An example of Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs propaganda is a piece from its website dated May 24, 2002. It states: “Reserve IDF Sergeant First Class Oren Tzelnik, 23, of Bat Yam, was killed and two soldiers wounded, when terrorists opened fire on their APC during a counter terrorist operation Friday in Tulkarm,? and it references an article in Haaretz. But the Haaretz article makes no mention of the sergeant being killed by “terrorists.” It reports that the deceased was shot while on a military patrol into enemy or “terrorist controlled” territory–in other words, killed in action by people who were probably defending their homes in besieged Tulkarm during an armed military operation. Haaretz suggested the deceased might have fallen to his death while riding in an Armored Personnel carrier. The Minister added the “terrorist” label for propaganda purposes, with the intent to deceive.
Orwell could have been talking about Israel; it fits. People is Orwellian jargon that covers all of the following: young men and women, soldiers, out-of-uniform military personnel, waiters and waitresses, bartenders, old men, late night drunks, tourists, prostrates, drug runners, and an endless list of possible patrons of the Sheffield Club. It is clearly a drinking and gambling saloon catering to off-duty young Israeli military boys and girls, just like the one I saw in action down the road in Ashqelon!
In view of George Orwell’s excellent insight and Israels desire to confuse us, we shall henceforth refer to all the propaganda functions of the Israeli government generically as the Ministry of Orwellian Truth (MOT).
It is not easy to catch MOT in its lies, even when you know they are doing it, because the Israeli press is even more state controlled than our own. One hint that confirms my view of the Sheffield Club bombing comes from an Associated Press writer in Israel named Jason Keyser, who no doubt knows the rules of how to get along with MOT. He wrote his story, which was printed worldwide, without interviewing a single victim. Keyser followed the  MOT protocol by referring to everyone in the Sheffield Club as “people.”
Fortunately for us, Mr. Keyser must have wanted to create a readable story. He interviewed two persons who were said to be outside the Sheffield Club when the blast occurred, and in doing so, he left a clue as to who was really in the bustling hall of drinking, gambling and sport. He interviewed an “off duty soldier” named Amit Elor, who happened to be “just outside” when the bomb went off, and who said, “all of a sudden WE heard this loud blast with noise. I went in to help.” It appears the soldier was not asked who was included in “We.” And, Mr. Kaiser may not have thought to ask the lone soldier if any of his friends were hurt in the blast. Or if he did ask this logical question, he did not print the answer.
We are supposed to believe all the people inside were civilians. Picture, if you will, a gambling saloon, with one lone off-duty soldier just outside the door at ll:03 PM. Ask any former American GI if the story makes sense to him. Off-duty soldiers are found where there is booze and fun. If there was one outside the door, you can bet there were many more inside. Soldiers travel and play in groups and crowds, not alone.
A close look at many reports from the MOT shows that the reports are full of holes. This writer carefully examined all 60 official Israeli Foreign Ministry bombing reports from April
6,1994, through April 12, 2002. In those reports, the MOT reported a total of 180 killed, but only 10 of these were identified as military; 10 more were identified as civilians, and 7 were citizens of other countries. That leaves 153 dead who were simply called “people” in those
reports. How convenient it is to add 15 more “people” to the list from the Sheffield Club and let it be assumed that all were innocent civilians. This consistently ambiguous manner of reporting indicates deliberate deception.

Get your own bomber report.
There is more that condemns the MOT as liars. On April 12 the Ministry of Foreign Affairs absolutely contradicted local Haifa telecasts and news reports about who was killed in
an April 10 bus bombing in Haifa. This bombing occurred at 4:51AM, an hour when few would likely be up riding buses, except for the military, who would probably be in uniform and carrying weapons, thus easy to recognize. The local press on the scene reported that most of the killed and wounded were “military.” But the official MOT report said that eight
people were killed and 22 were injured.” The MOT did not call them civilians; it only implied  it!

Two conclusions are obvious from these two bombings: first, both were military targets, being troop concentrations; one was an off-duty military hangout and the other was a military transport on its way to a battle zone. Second, the official Israeli propaganda machine lied in both cases about who was killed. These back-to-back bombing distortions, call the entire Israeli propaganda machine into question. If it lied about the bus bombing in Haifa, and the bomb in the Sheffield Club; why not everywhere?
The pattern of report warping continued on May 27, 2002, when the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website told us a grandmother and an infant were killed and 37 civilians were wounded in a bombing outside a shopping mall in Petah Tikva on Monday May 27. The Ministry “linked” its brief report to the full story dated the same day by Haaretz Daily. But the two stories are factually different and contradict each other, so somebody is not
telling the truth.
According to Haaretz Dailys story 44 persons were wounded, which is not the same as 37 civilians. Who, then, are Ministrys missing seven persons? The “Ministry of Truth” again appears to be juggling the numbers to give the impression that the Bombers targeted civilians. Could it be that seven soldiers were injured in the blast?
Two days later, on May 29, the Ministry appears to have put pepper on the trail by switching its link to a story about the same event written by the Jerusalem Post and containing a yet different number of casualties from an unverifiable source, a female victim. It is again likely there was a military target in the mall and unreported military injuries. The pattern of  deception is consistent, with distortion of numbers to cover for probable military injuries.

While non-military persons are killed in Israel, as in every war, it is clear from the targets
chosen that the Intelligent Bombs targeted concentrations of vulnerable military personnel in the vast majority of the 61 raids we studied. But if the MOT admitted this, they would have a tough time justifying the slaughter in Jenin, or the shooting of defenseless school children for getting to close to a checkpoint or acting “suspiciously.”

Over 400 Palestinian children have been killed in the last l8 months–most were shot in the head or chest with high power weapons. The Israels own official reports of 60 body  bombings list only seven children killed in eight years! That is a ratio of 59 Palestinian  children for every Israeli child killed! This is no longer denied… it is simply justified!
The entire Israeli occupation hinges on painting the Intelligent Bombs as terrorists, which they are not when they target military. The only reason many Americans support Israels brutality in Palestine is because of their misguided belief that the Body Bombers  deliberately target civilians. If Americans knew that the bombers usually make heroic efforts to attack military troop concentrations, some would not be so easily deceived into supporting the wanton destruction of Palestinian civilians.
Does the Israeli “Ministry of Truth” ever tell the truth? The answer is yes, when the truth suits it purpose. The following report seems to be true: “May 28: Netanel Riachi, 17, of
Kochav Yaakov; Gilad Stiglitz, 14, of Yakir; and Avraham Siton, 17, of Shilo – three yeshiva high school students – were killed and two others wounded in Itamar, southeast of Nablus, when a Palestinian gunman infiltrated the community and opened fire on the teenagers on Tuesday night, before he was shot dead.” This report seems to be true.
The Palestine side of the story is that the gunman was also a youth whose cousin and
two friends were assassinated by a blast from an Israeli tank less than a week ago in Palestinian cemetery. The boy pledged retribution. It should also be noted that at the age of 19 all Israeli boys become soldiers, so two of those killed would have soon been in the IDF. The gunman did not stop to card them before shooting them. The man who killed the gunman was a teacher in the active Israeli reserves, carrying a gun. War is not a one way
street.
Our Readers Write:
A few, from concerned friends who think we are going too far in presenting the Intelligent Bombers side. William Rood is one who wrote: ” I did some reading on your site last night.
You make some interesting points about Israel being an armed camp and almost anything being a legitimate military target, but I think you take it a bit too far and therefore damage your credibility. Just this morning, I saw identifications of some of the victims, particularly of the Passover bombing, who clearly were civilians. Even Arafat condemns such attacks. Theres enough truth on the Palestinian side. We need’nt stretch it.”- William Rood
WHTT Replies:
We appreciates the thoughtful letter with our best interest in mind. We ask Mr. Rood to consider two facts common to many who sympathize with the plight of the Palestinians but dont want to be seen sympathetic toward the suicide bombers. Mr. Arafat is now in this camp we are sorry to say. We do not think this issue can be dodged no matter how we may feel personally about suicide, or how much sympathy we have for the families and the bombers themselves.

First, of course not every bomb hits clear-cut military targets; many explode without hitting any target at all, and a few do hit the innocent. We do not know why, because the bomber cannot tell. The Israeli million-dollar American smart bombs also “miss”.  In Gaza, I saw those hit schools and ambulances. On just one day, May 5, 2002, Israelis shot children aged three, five and nine in the head and chest.
The bomber is intelligent and resourceful, much more so than the “smart bomb,” but his weapons are incredibly primitive, which is why they require human delivery and manual detonation. Some blow up prematurely, others are detected and the bombers are killed before they get near a target, usually because there are military guards on military targets. And some bombers may panic or make mistakes; who can know? Palestine is at war for its existence, and the Intelligent Bomb is its only attack weapon, so it can hardly be ignored just because it makes us uncomfortable to talk about it.
If Mr. Rood were to go back and look at the Passover guest list of 250 people, he would find it unavailable and the casualty list as well. He would find that only a few selected cases were identifiable as civilians. Most of the 28 “people” reported dead and 128 injured–20 seriously–have not been identified at all. Who were they? How many were
out-of-uniform military and reserve personnel? Ask the MOT; we would like to know. We agree this probably was a religious celebration even though in a posh hotel with lots of military present. But I am told the Israeli Ministry of Truth still stands guards at the tomb on Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli Reserve officer, who in 1994 entered a mosque and murdered 29 Palestinians with a machine gun, including children, while they prayed. The MOT never denounced Dr Goldstein as a terrorist.
The point here is that the MOT reveals only the part of the truth that suits them. Israel is at war, but they want a one-sided war in which only they can strike, and their opponents are imprisoned and must take it.

Mr. Rood mentioned Mr. Arafat, who has shown he is willing to denounce the Intelligent Bombers. They come from factions that compete with Arafat politically. Arafat may not be a popular leader of the Palestinians; he is blamed by many for legitimatizing the terrible Oslo Accord, which legitimized the pure theft of his peoples property. When he was penned up in Ramallah, he told the world he wished he could die as a martyr. He did not do it; martyrdom is not an easy choice, which is why there are so few. The Palestinians have their martyrs, they need a new leader.
Every race and nation venerates its fallen heroes–those who died for the cause when they did not need to die. History is filled with tales of those who chose death over recantation or compromise: Joan of Arc, the Christian martyrs of first century Rome, the 12 apostles, Paul, Timothy, John the Baptist, St. Steven… and Americans too, Nathan Hale?.Davie Crockett, Jim Bowie and all the Heroes of the Alamo — every society has had such heroes, and those committed few knew the odds but considered the mission worth more than their
lives. The Intelligent Bombs are such as these. No oppressed group ever had less to work with and faced a more powerful and ruthless enemy than do the Palestinians.
In order to justify their own violence, the Israeli Ministry of Orwellian Truth and our own government are spreading a gigantic lie about who it is that the Intelligent Bombers target. We must do our best to expose the truth.
Gary Nelson writes:
Please delete me from your mailing list. Your defense of murder, especially coming as it does from a professed follower of the Prince of Peace, makes me want to retch.
We reply: Dear Gary Nelson:
Retching could be very bad for your health unless you remove your head from the sand first. ?Ed.
Finally, Simon Stephan writes to WHTT about one Israelite Bible hero who was an Intelligent Bomb:
I saw it fit to bring to your attention the subject of describing human bombs and
suicide bombers as terrorists and all the Media and press reports and even
people of power describing it the same in the western world. It seems that the
double standards that apply to most of what goes on in our world is related to
showing one group as bad and another as good.
The creation of the State of Israel is linked to an assumed biblical term that God
the all mighty promised a land to his chosen bunch and therefore they have every
right to do what they please to fulfill that promises.
On the other hand the same biblical records show that a simple act of self destruction committed by Samson was an extremely honorable act when he shook the pillars of the temple and made it fall on him and the people in it that were his enemies. Was not that and act of terrorism? Wasnt that an act of a suicide bomber? Wasn’t that an act of murder against innocent civilians?
How can the world condemn those who sacrifice themselves believing that it is the only way to justice and their only means of resisting occupation, oppression and humiliation, while it glorifies the acts of Samson and justifies his action as something honorable?
I personally do not believe in people killing themselves for any reason and believe that God has given us a life to fulfill a target or dream, and it is up to his judgment when to live and when to die. At the same time I do not accept that a whole nation or population could be massacred under the pretences of self-defense and the retaliation of the poor  defenseless State of Israel.
Keep up the good efforts and hope that the truth comes out as bright as noon
sun. Sincerely, Simon Stephan
Your author returns:
We are told every day by our press and many professed Christian leaders (like Gary Nelson) that Palestinians are the most evil of people who must be imprisoned and liquidated because less than 100 individuals, most of them less than 20 years old, have
resorted to using their bodies as human bombs. But it is not bombing that is being criticized, but the choice of targets. Israel cannot criticize anyone for bombing, for they do it every day. Some world leaders call the Intelligent Bombs “cowards.” These include George W. Bush, Ariel Sharon and Binyamin Netanyahu. Now Yassar Arafat has joined this select group which also includes Dick Armey and most Celebrity Christian leaders. What every one of these people has in common is they make their living by asking the public for money. For most, their bravest act is to pass the collection plate. All have proven to be liars on the question of Palestine. Some are cowardly killers in their own right. To
whom will you listen?
C. E. Carlson